By evening, everyone on Sodor was well aware of the Steelworks, all of its engines and cruel history. Molly had called all the engines together at Tidmouth sheds.

"Molly," yawned Donald, "tis late. Why did ye call us here now?"

"Because this may be the closest chance we get to talk about the trouble with James," Molly insisted. "We haven't heard from him for days now, and this steelworks sounds really creepy."

"We don't even know if he's there or not," insisted Thomas. "Remember when everyone jumped to conclusions about what the special visitor was doing aboard Harold?"

"This is far more serious than a visitor, Thomas," Toby said firmly. "And if James did end up at another yard by mistake, we'd have heard by now."

"The only way to know for sure is if we all journeyed to the mainland to find him," Henry added.

"Precisely," Molly grinned.

"But… we cannae aw gae," said Douglas. "We've got a railway tae run."

"Besides," added Duck, "Annabelle told us to stay put until her mother gets back."

"I'm tired of going about our work, pretending everything is fine!" cried Molly. "I'm going to the mainland to find my boyfriend, and if no one else wants to help, then I'll go alone!"

The engines all glanced around anxiously.

"I suppose it would make sense for one of us former Steelworks engines to go," said Amanda. "I'll come."

"The goods train James took was initially for me," said Henry. "I'll go as well."

"I'll… I'll go too," sighed Gordon. "I was very hard on him…"

"You sure were!" grunted Edward. "James had nothing to do with my transfer to Wellsworth! No one is to blame for it! Was it fair to take your frustrations out on a fellow engine just because things didn't go the way you wanted them to go? I even heard you were blaming Philip too!"

"Why, Gordon?!" squeaked the boxcab. "I just wanted some company, and Edward has been very kind to me during his sleepover!"

The express engine sighed. "I… well, Edward was sleeping at Tidmouth for so long, that his moving out was… very sudden."

The engines all fell silent. It suddenly dawned on them; Annabelle was very upset that James had left Sodor and disrupted the schedule. Yet, Edward leaving Tidmouth sheds had greatly upset Gordon too. Not once did they ever think to take his situation as seriously as they had Annabelle's.

"Gordon," said Edward, "while I can't say I'm pleased with your temper… I will say that I'm sorry for not giving you and the others much notice on what I was doing. I was so happy that BoCo was home and that I was making Philip happy that I didn't think of how you would feel about the situation."

Gordon gave a weak smile. "That's alright, Edward. It'll… take a lot of time to get used to."

"Alright," said Molly. "Gordon, Henry, Amanda, we'll all leave at dawn. Although, we may need some engines to cover for us…"

At the Steelworks that night, James was pretending to be asleep. A loud thunderstorm had started, and his crew had drank coffee to stay awake. James looked over to see Frankie and Hurricane fast asleep.

"The coast is clear," he whispered. "All I have to do is bust that gate down, and I'm home free."

Stealthily and carefully, James collected a line of heavy flatbeds to use as a battering ram. A twig snapped and the wheels squeaked.

"Oh…" he gasped quietly. But the only one who saw him was a deer, who bounded away into the forest. "Phew…" He puffed forwards with the flatbeds and rammed right into the gate.

CRASH!

"Oh!" cried Hurricane. "What was that?"

"What was what?" yawned Frankie, still half asleep.

"That big crashing sound."

"Probably just the thunder," groaned Frankie. "There's a big storm coming…" She was about to go to sleep again, when there was a flash of lightning. "James?!"

"Oh, so now you say my name!" grunted the red engine. "Er… uh oh!"

"He's trying to break the gates down!" Frankie cried; her driver and Hurricane's crew scrambled to their engines as the alarms blared.

"Frankie, wait!" cried Hurricane. Refusing to give up his chance of freedom, James backed up, and charged forwards again.

"You'll never take me alive!" he cried defiantly.

"Don't do it, James! Stop!" demanded Frankie. But her command fell on deaf ears. With all his might, James rammed through the gates, breaking them open with a loud crash!

"Freedom!" James cackled triumphantly. "FREEDOOOOOOM!"

As soon as he raced through the gates, he accelerated to full speed down the line just as raindrops fell down from the sky. Frankie tried to chase after him, but unfortunately, she wasn't designed for speed.

"Oh, botheration!" she pouted as she ran along. "Hurricane, come on!"

"Frankie!" cried Hurricane, racing after her. "Don't you realize what we're doing?! We practically kidnapped James and held him here against his will! That's against the law! If word about this spreads, we could get into huge trouble, and the Steelworks could get shut down!"

"He chose to come here willingly," Frankie justified. "He wanted a new change of life, and we offered him one. Besides, if his friends on Sodor really meant so much to him… he would never have left them."

"Doesn't mean he can't change his mind!" Hurricane argued. "We should have just asked the manager for another engine or two like I suggested!"

"He kept on selling off every engine we had!" Frankie argued. "Well, apart from Lexi and Theo who ran off."

"You drove them to run off!" snapped Hurricane. "If you hadn't been so mean to them, and actually valued them as hard workers, maybe they'd still be here!"

Unfortunately, Frankie was still arguing with Hurricane as they carried on down the line.

As Frankie was so slow and Hurricane wasn't even trying to reach top speed, James had ample time to race ahead.

"I wish I was just racing Rosie again," he panted, "but not like this!" Up in the distance, he saw a small junction leading into the woods and came to a stop. His driver switched the points, changing them back once James had cleared the line.

"Phew…" he panted. "That's much better."

"Whooo are youuu?" a voice echoed. "Are you hiding?"

"Ahh!" gasped James. "Who said that?"

"Oh, don't be frightened," said the voice. "I'm hiding too. I love hiding."

"But… where are you?" asked James. "I can't see you!"

"Of course you can't. That's because I'm such a good hider," the voice chuckled. "In fact, you could even say I'm… invisible!"

"Invisible?" James queried. "How can you be invisible?"

"Because I'm a stealth engine," grinned the voice. "And stealth engines are designed in a way to make them invisible."

"A stealth engine?" gasped James. "Like… Merlin?!"

"Not like Merlin," the voice corrected. "I am Merlin. The experimental prototype King Arthur class stealth engine!"

"Merlin?!" James exclaimed. "Wow, is that really you? I heard all about you from Theo and Lexi!"

"Quick!" urged Merlin. "Close your eyes!"

The two heard the puffing of Hurricane and the purring of Frankie.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," sang Frankie.

James closed his eyes and tried not to breathe, or make even the tiniest sound… until the two were gone.

"Don't worry," soothed Merlin. "You're safe. They won't find you now. You're with the best hider ever. All you have to do is close your eyes, keep really still and nobody will be able to see you."

Usually, James hated to sleep outside in the open. But he was so relieved to be away from Frankie and the Steelworks, he fell fast asleep…

"Express coming through!"

"Pip and Emma?!" cried Annabelle. "What are you two doing here? And where's Gordon?"

"Annabelle," soothed Pip, "it'll be okay. We're handling the express while Gordon's on the mainland looking for James."

"I told him and everyone else to stay put until my mother got back from the investigation!" Annabelle said firmly. "Why can't engines just do as they're told?"

"It was Molly's idea," Emma insisted. "She was so worried for James that she just couldn't sit back and wait anymore."

Annabelle sighed. "So, Molly and Gordon both left?"

"Nicholas is covering for Molly," said Pip. "And Henry and Amanda also left. Don't worry; Christopher and Ali are covering for them."

"I hope they don't get into trouble!" cried Annabelle. "It's bad enough I lost one engine; now I've lost five!"

A small bird started chirping on a nearby tree; James yawned and woke up. The lush greenery of the forest and cool air was a nice change from the hot and stuffy Steelworks.

Great, now I'm starting to think like Henry, he thought. "Hello?" he spoke. "Merlin? Are you there?"

But there was no reply. James looked about, but saw he was the only engine there.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Maybe you're still asleep." James let out a chuckle. "Sorry." Though curiosity still prickled him. "Merlin?" He started to move forward. "Merlin?"

"Amanda," said Henry, "are you sure this way is right?"

"It has been years since I've been," admitted the Austerity engine, "so my navigational skills may be a bit rusty."

"We understand," said Molly. "Just try your best, Amanda."

"Did anyone's crews bring a map?" asked Gordon.

"We left so suddenly, we couldn't get one!" cried his driver.

"Oh, the indignity…!"

"That's my fault…" sighed Molly. "I should have thought this through more…"

"Maybe we should have waited for Constable Regaby after all," said Henry. "If we don't know how to get to the Steelworks, how will we find our way back home?"

"Hopefully one of the passing engines we come across can help give us directions," suggested Amanda. "Hmm… oh! I think I know where we are now! This is a busy junction I passed on my way to Sodor from the Steelworks."

"Then we must be going the right way!" cried Gordon. "Okay, Amanda, which way now?"

"I think… this way," she said. "Follow me, guys!" And the cavalcade set off down the line, hoping they would find James soon.

Author's Comments

Not much to break down here this time; Molly, Amanda, Henry and Gordon are now heading off to the mainland to find James (and in the latter's case, apologize for his behavior), but the red engine's broken out of the Steelworks and there are hints of the friendship between Frankie and Hurricane falling apart. Meanwhile, a few mainland diesels (Pip, Emma, Christopher and Nicholas) are helping to take over while the rescue operation is taking place.

Next time, we reunite with Theo and Lexi in We Can't Do Anything!