A/N: I never thought this story would ever get this far. To everyone who believed in me, and supported me, thank you. 200 Chapters, baby! Let's do this!

Chapter 200: Thomas and the Magic Railroad Part 8

While Lady and Burnett got the engine looking, Lily and Patch went looking for Thomas. They searched all over the mountain, but he had seemed to have vanished. Patch could see that Lily was getting upset and wrapped an arm around her to comfort her.

"I'm sure he's alright, Lily. Maybe he got away."

"But what if he didn't? Or what if he went back to Sodor and Boomer followed him? If anything happened to him..."

Patch said nothing as they looked down into the valley, praying that Thomas was okay. Just then Lady walked up to them.

"Everything's ready to go. We must get back before Diesel 10 causes more trouble."

"Right."

Sensing Lily's feelings, Lady put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're worried about Thomas, but I know he's alright. Those folks on Sodor are tough as nails."

Lily smiled, sensing that Lady was right.

"Thank you, Lady. That makes me feel much better."

"Come on, lets get going."

With that, everyone crowded into the engine's cab as Lady drove it through the portal. When she saw the state of The Magic Railroad, she frowned.

"Oh dear, it seems like I've been gone longer than I thought."

Clearing her throat, she began waving her arms around. As she did so, magic streaked from them, illuminating the sky and tearing apart the thorns and branches, causing them to pull back to reveal the most amazing landscape any of them had ever seen. Luschious green hills rolled as far as the eye could see, and gorgeous flowers bloomed all along the lineside. Burnett smiled for the first time in years.

"Its as beautiful as I remember."

Lady patted him on the back, happy to see her father figure again.

"Tasha would be proud. I know I am."

Just then, a loud whistle sounded from behind. Everyone looked back to see...

"THOMAS!"

Sure enough, there he was waving to them from his own engine.

"Turns out there's more than one entrance to The Magic Railroad. While I was trying to evade Boomer, my engine slid down the hill and into one of these secret entrances."

Everyone sighed in relief, glad that their friend was alright. The rest of the trip went smoothly, Lily collecting the magic swirls as they flew past them.

"What are you collecting those for, Lily?"

"Just in case we need them later."

After a few more minutes, they reached the Sodor entrance, emerging onto the Island in a wonderful burst of light. Mr. Conductor and Junior were waiting for them, relieved to see they were alright.

"You guys made it! And I see you brought a friend, Mrs..."

"Call me Lady."

"Nice to meet you, Lady. I'm Mr. Conductor, and that there is my Cousin Junior."

"Charmed."

"YOU!"

Everyone turned to See PT Boomer charging at them, pointing a finger at Lady.

"I destroyed you once, and I'll destroy you again!"

"Destroy her again? What is he talking about?"

Lady cowered behind Thomas, who was already ushering her into his engine's cab.

"You guys hold him off, I'll get Lady to safety."

"Watch out for the Viaduct up ahead, its dangerous!"

But Thomas and Lady were already on their way as their friends tried to hold PT Boomer off. By the time he had pushed past them, however, Thomas and Lady had already steamed away.

"Blast it! Now how will I catch up to them!"

"Hurry up, Splodge! They're getting away!"

"Eh, on second thought boss, you get them."

"Yeah, you're engine's faster. You don't need us."

"Darn right I don't, you useless monkeys! I'll get them myself!"

Seeing his chance, Boomer stood in front of the tracks, causing Diesel 10 to slam on the brakes.

"Hey, get out of the way!"

"Move over, bozo! I want that girl, and you're gonna help me!"

"Grr, fine, but don't get in the way!"

Once Boomer was in the cab, the diesel roared to life and gave chase.

Just then, Mr. Conductor had an epithany.

"AAAH!"

"What?"

"Don't you get it? Her name is Lady. She's part of the clue to the source..."

At this moment, Junior realized where his cousin was going.

"...OF THE GOLD DUST!"

They looked back in fear as the massive Diesel raced after their only hope, then back at each other.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Meanwhile, Thomas and Lady were pushing the engine to its limit to get away from their pursuers. While they had a good head start, Diesel 10 and Boomer were catching up fast, the only things preventing them from catching up being branches, signals and other low hanging objects their claw had to avoid, but it would only be a matter of time before their luck ran out.

"What do we do, Thomas?"

"Our only hope is to make it across the Viaduct."

"But Mr. Conductor warned us that its not safe."

"Which makes it our only chance. Our engine has a chance to get across, but theirs definately can't. Come on, old girl. I know you can do it."

Before long the viaduct became clear, its structure crumbling from age. Knowing there was no other way, Thomas opened the throttle all the way, making his engine go full speed. The viaduct creaked and shaked as they raced over it. Lady looked down into the abyss below, scared.

"Thomas, are you sure about this?"

"No, not at all! Don't look down!"

At last, their engine charged onto stable ground, the viaduct continuing to fall behind them. Diesel 10 saw the crumbling structure, but couldn't brake in time.

"You idiot, you let them get away!"

"Not my fault you hijacked my engine! If you value your life, you'd better jump now while we have the chance."

The two did so, tumbling out onto the ground as their engine charged forward. It got about halfway onto the bridge before it collapsed entirely, splashing into a barge of boiler sludge down below. Diesel 10 and Boomer watched it sail off.

"Well, lovely day for a cruise, I suppose?"

PT Boomer only glared at Diesel 10 as the cops arrived.

Later that evening, Thomas and Lady returned to find their friends waiting for them, putting the finishing touches on the gold dust formula.

"Good news, everybody. Officer Joey let us know that Diesel 10 and Boomer have been apprehended and are in prison awaiting trial, not to mention extradition for Boomer. They won't be bothering us for a long time."

"That's good. We're just about ready to release the swirls. Care to do the honors, Lily?"

"Really?"

Mr. Conductor nodded, holding out the batch to her. She looked to Thomas and Lady, who nodded in encouragement.

"Do it, Lily!"

Smiling, Lily threw it into the air, the swirls exploding as gold dust rained down. Mr. Conducor and Junior giggled, scooping it up into their whistles like little kids in a candy store. Everyone laughed, glad that the whole ordeal was over.

Later that night, Mr. Conductor and Junior got ready to leave. Sir Topham Hatt had called earlier, and told them he would be back tomorrow and they could leave that night. After saying their goodbyes to the others, Mr. Conductor and Junior went to say goodbye to their friends from Shining Time.

"I guess its time for you to head back to the beach, huh Junior?"

"Well... not quite."

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"See, I figure Lady's going to need some help keeping the railroad running. And you're busy keeping an eye on Shining Time Station, so..."

"You think you're up to the challenge?"

"The Beach is nice, but if this adventure has taught me anything, its that I need to take life more seriously. Its time I started living up to the Conductor family name."

Mr. Conductor smiled, placing his cap on Junior's head and giving him a small salute.

"I'm very proud of you, Junior. And I know you'll make a fine Conductor."

Lady stepped forward, bowing to Junior with a curtsey.

"And I would be honored to work with you."

Smiling, Mr. Conductor waved goodbye to friends new and old before disappearing into a cloud of gold dust, twirling as he vanished. Lady left next.

"Thank you, all of you, for your bravery today. I owe you a great debt."

"Happy to help."

"And you're welcome back at Muffle Mountain any time."

Smiling, Lady vanished in a puff of smoke. Lastly, Mr. Conductor took his leave, but not before taking Lily's bluebird and sprinkling some Gold Dust on it.

"There. Now you'll always have something to remember this by."

"Will we ever see you again?"

"Come by Shining Time any time you want. I'm sure I'll have a story or two to tell."

Waving goodbye, Mr. Conductor blew his whistle, disappearing into a cloud of gold dust same as his cousin. Smiling, Burnett grabbed Lily and Patch, walking over to the magic buffers.

"Come on, lets get you two kids home."

"Can we come back again, Grandpa?"

"Of course, Lily."

"Can I come, too?"

"Wouldn't be the same without you, Patch."

With one last look at the wonderful Island of Sodor, the trio went home, with memories of an adventure none of them would soon forget.

"Wow, that was a great story, Mom!"

An older Lily smiled at her Son's enthusiasm.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. Now you get to sleep, and I'll tell your mom and dad how good you were today."

As she tucked the boy in, he asked her another question.

"But did it actually happen? Is there really an Island of Sodor?"

Lily smiled, remembering how excited she was when she was his age.

"Its real as long as you believe it is. I love you."

"I love you two, mom."

With that, Lily closed the door to her son's room and joined her husband Patch on the patio.

"Thinking about Sodor too?"

Patch nodded, a smile on his face.

"Do you ever wonder, was it just a dream? Looking back at it, it all seems to surreal, but at the same time, so wonderful?"

Lily smiled, leaning on her Husband's shoulder.

"Sometimes, but I know in my heart that its real. Its been a long time since we were there, but I remember it like it was yesterday."

"Well, I know that no matter what adventure life throws at us next, I want you to be there with me."

Lily grinned, kissing her husband on the lips.

"And I will. I promise, Patch."

"And I promie too, Lily."

A/N: And, done! Phew, that has got to be the longest thing I've ever written. I definately underestimated how big this would be, but I'm glad I did it.

I know Magic Railroad has gotten flak over the years, and I understand why. But me? I love it, because it is the foundation for my love for Thomas, and why its lasted as long as it has. Keep in mind, a lot of the problems with the film stem from the original pitch being rejected, requiring major rewrites up to and including the near complete removal of the major villain. But even despite its flaws, it remains something that I can look back on and enjoy when the world gets me down.

Thank you all for getting me this far. May i continue writing for many years to come!