"Ah, hello there!" Frankie greeted. "What brings you this way, green engine?"

Ah, this must be one of the engines who captured James, Henry suspected. "My name is Henry. You may have heard of me from last year's Great Railway Show."

"Hmm… Great Railway Show…" trailed Frankie. "Er… oh, I believe that rings a bell! The engines at the goods yard told me a story or two."

"We Sudrians are quite famous, you might say," chuckled Henry; he couldn't help but let out some of his ego. "However, we have fallen into a slight problem. You see, one of my friends has gone missing. Do you know where I could find him?"

"Henry," hissed his driver, "what are you–"

"Calm down, Ted," whispered the fireman. "I think he knows what he's doing."

"One of your friends, you say?" asked Frankie. "Oh, well, we had a new engine show up at the Steelworks a couple of nights ago. Maybe that's your friend."

"Great!" grinned Henry. "Lead on, miss." He added under his breath, "We'll see what you're really like…"

Later, at the Steelworks…

"This is the hottest place in town!

We'll warm you up when you're feeling down

We'll make a smile out of every frown!" Hurricane and Frankie chorused.

"Just take a look around

At the joy we've found!" sang Hurricane.

"This is the place where you can have some fun!

Where you can feel like a number one!" ("Er… three?" commented Hurricane.)

"We've got more sunshine than the sun!" Hurricane had dropped out of singing at that point.

"There's a light in our eyes we simply… can't… disguise…" Frankie unfortunately missed her cue, not helped by the fact Henry was frowning.

"Alright, alright!" he interrupted. "This is all very entertaining, but where is James?"

"Er… who's James?" asked Frankie, acting like she didn't know who or what Henry was talking about. "I don't know of anyone by the name of James."

"He's a red tender engine who lives on the Island of Sodor," Henry explained suspiciously. "But I think you already know that because one of you delivered his trucks… Hurricane!"

Hurricane sighed. "It's… true. I did take the trucks there."

"Hurricane…" muttered Frankie.

"And he was trying to get home," continued Hurricane; he glared at Frankie. "I thought you said this engine came with you willingly!"

"He did," said Frankie. "He… said he wanted to come to find his friend, but his friend isn't here anymore."

"Well, where is he?" Henry demanded. "Did you scrap him?!"

"No!" insisted Hurricane. "He left last night to try and get home."

"Well then, I have to find him," Henry insisted. "The sooner we bring him home, the sooner life on Sodor can return to normal!"

"I'll help in any way I can," said Hurricane.

"HURRICANE?!" Frankie nearly screeched in shock.

"Look, Frankie!" snapped Hurricane. "This was our fault to begin with. If it weren't for us, James would have left and probably found Bridlington before his friend set out to find him. The right thing to do now is help find him, so they can both go home!"

The two steam engines were just about to leave when suddenly, one of the giant magnets deactivated, causing a load of scrap iron to fall onto the rails, blocking their way out.

"What's going on?!" Henry demanded.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Hurricane asked the workmen, who were responsible for the lines being blocked.

"You two aren't going anywhere," sneered Frankie. "This Steelworks needs engines to keep it running, and you two are going to help do exactly that!"

"This is against the law!" protested Henry. "My friends will realize I'm gone, and when they find me, you'll be in serious trouble!"

Outside the Steelworks, the engines all hid by some foliage nearby.

"This brings back memories…" shuddered Amanda. "Both good and bad."

"Do you see Henry anywhere?" asked Lexi. "Wait, why am I asking? I don't know what Henry looks like!"

"He's a big green tender engine with the number three," James explained. "And… no, I don't see him at all."

"Th-that means that h-he must be inside," Theo suggested. "Oh, I c-can't think what it m-must be like to be tr-trapped in there…!"

"Weren't you and Lexi trapped in there?" asked Molly.

"Well… not to the point where we couldn't leave on our own accord," Lexi explained.

"We're going to have to find a way in then," suggested Gordon. "I propose we break down the gates!"

"Perhaps I could go invisible and sneak in," Merlin suggested. "Invisibility… on!" The other engines shot him a look, one he didn't quite understand.

"We'll need to be very careful," said Amanda. "Frankie is very sneaky and cunning."

"So what can we do to outsmart her?" asked Molly.

"Maybe… we could create a diversion," James theorized. "Lexi, Theo, if you two pretend to have an accident, the gates could open and the rest of us can slip inside."

"Someone will need to be on the lookout too," said Gordon. "Merlin, when you, er… turn on your 'invisibility', that will be a signal that someone is coming and we need to come out quickly."

"Of course!" grinned Merlin. "I can keep watch. Just watch me… or you can't when I turn invisible!" he chuckled.

Theo was shunting some flatbeds of old engine parts toward the gate. The traction engine was still nervous about the whole idea.

"I think I can't, I think I can't," he whimpered to himself. "Oh, I know I can't…" Suddenly, he felt a great bump as Lexi started pushing from behind.

"Speed up, Theo," they whispered. "Move along, move along! You need to go fast!"

Theo went even faster when Lexi moved back. He was going so fast, he was almost at the gate. "Stop, Theo!" cried Lexi. "You need to stop!"

The little traction engine braked for all his worth, and the old parts fell off the flatbed. The crash caught Frankie's attention.

"What was that?" she asked a nearby workman.

"Emergency! Emergency! Engine off the line!" came a voice.

Wasting no time, Frankie was coupled to a breakdown crane, and set off to see what the commotion was. No sooner was she gone when James, Molly, Gordon, and Amanda slipped in.

"Be very quiet," cautioned Amanda. "Some of the workers actively support Frankie in her endeavors."

"They should be fired for this," whispered Gordon firmly. "Aiding a controlling psychopath just to make some quick money…"

The engines split up and quietly searched the Steelworks for their missing friend.

Meanwhile, Frankie was trying to figure out where the crash had come from.

"Hmm…" she grunted. "Come on… maybe I can 'recruit' that engine for the Steelworks." Curiously, she ventured a bit into the foliage… "What?!" she exclaimed. "Theo and Lexi?!"

"Er… surprise?" Theo chuckled nervously.

"So… came crawling back, have you?" Frankie sneered. "Realized that you couldn't make it out in the real world without a proper home?"

"Oh, we've been hanging around," said Lexi. "You just haven't bothered to look for us. It's as if we were invisible!"

Back at the bush, Merlin heard Lexi mention the word "invisible", and perked up.

"Something must have gone wrong!" he gasped. "The others might need my help! Invisibility… on!" He started to quietly slip into the Steelworks.

"Hmph!" sniffed Frankie. "I was so busy with barely any help! Even Monica left the first chance she got."

"Did you ever think for a moment that maybe you'd still have some help if you had just been nicer to us?" Lexi asked. "You know, the Golden Rule? Treat others the way you want to be treated?"

"L-Lexi…" whispered Theo. "I-I think there's a slight… p-problem…"

"What is it, Theo– Merlin?!" they gasped. "He wasn't supposed to–"

"Wait a moment!" gasped Frankie. "Where's he going?! Stop right there!"

Realizing he'd been spotted, Merlin gasped and dashed quickly into the Steelworks. So much for an easy plan…

Back inside, Henry and Hurricane were trapped in a set of cross-rails behind some trucks. Frankie had placed them there until they could, in her words, "see sense".

"This is all my fault," Hurricane sighed unhappily. "I let Frankie become so rotten. I should have stood up to her when she first started acting up, but I just wanted to make her feel happy after being bullied so much…"

"A few engines had bullying problems before they ended up on Sodor too," said Henry. "I was one of them. But… I was lucky to have run into Gordon. He stood by me for a long time, and he even offered for me to come to Sodor with him." He chuckled. "And Gordon wasn't afraid to stand up to me in my less than stellar moments."

"I'm glad you had a friend like that," said Hurricane, before sighing. "All the same, I don't know how you'll see him again; we're trapped."

"I didn't come here alone," Henry insisted. "There are other engines out there who are looking for James. With any luck, they'll notice I'm gone and track me here."

"Very perceptive, Henry," said a familiar voice.

"Gordon!" cried Henry. "Am I glad to see you."

"And he's not alone," came another voice.

"Amanda, Molly!" said Henry. "You two were quick. And… James?! There you are!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Henry," said James. "Let's get you out of here; you too, Hurricane."

Without wasting a second, Amanda shunted the trucks out of the way, giving Henry and Hurricane the freedom to leave.

"Now we'd best get out before Frankie gets back," Molly suggested.

"Hurry, everyone!" cried Merlin. "She's coming back! She's coming back!"

"Er… doesn't Merlin sound closer than he should be?" asked Amanda.

"Who's Merlin?" asked Henry.

"We'll fill you in later!" cried Gordon. "Come on!"

Amanda started to lead the engines out of the Steelworks, but then, she heard a horn.

"Oh no, she's back," Merlin said quietly.

"Stop!" called Frankie. "You can't leave me on my own!"

"Head for the gates, guys!" called Amanda. "I'll handle this."

"No!" said Merlin. "We're a team. We won't leave you alone, Amanda!"

Amanda took a deep breath. "Alright. We'll go in different directions until we can all make it through the gate. Stay in pairs for safety reasons. Henry and Gordon; James and Molly; Merlin, Hurricane and I will be in a set of three."

From there, the engines split up.

"Don't just stand there, you fools!" Frankie barked at the workmen. "Stop them before they get away!"

The workmen all nodded and started to randomly switch some points, while Frankie shunted some trucks down the sidings. True to her "performance", the rails were smooth and the trucks were gliding along.

"Fly, my pretties!" she laughed. "Fly!"

"Who sends trucks flying all over a workplace like this?!" cried James as he barely dodged a flatbed. "It's like we're in a bumper car attraction at a fairground!"

"Apparently, Frankie does!" cried Molly; she was so shocked she didn't see a truck heading straight for her.

"Molly, look out!" James raced in front of her. At the intersection, the flatbed hit his boiler and derailed.

"James!" exclaimed Molly. "Oh… oh, my handsome red sweetheart…"

"Never mind me," James winced. "Go look after the others!"

"Okay…" winced Molly. "I'll look for a breakdown crane while I'm at it. Don't worry."

"Go on, my marigold," he smiled weakly.

"I've already g-got one!" said another voice.

"Theo?!" cried James.

"Frankie was s-so s-silly, she left this r-right outside when sh-she came back to look for the 'intruders'," Theo chuckled. "We'll have you re-railed in no time!"

"Thanks, Theo…"

Molly managed to find Lexi and partner up with them.

"Come on!" said Molly. "If we try and trap Frankie, she won't be able to move!"

"Hmm," Lexi pondered. "Ah, over there in the corners with the walls! If we jam the points there, she'll really be trapped."

"Let's try and corner her from all directions!" called Molly. "Does everyone else get the message?"

"We sure do!" they all exclaimed.

"Drat!" cried Frankie. "Workmen! Stop those rebels!"

Frankie's "loyal subjects" tried the best they could to tamper with the points to stop the Sudrian and experimental engines.

"Wait, was it this set of points?" asked one of the workmen. "Or this one…" While he was trying to decide, Henry and Gordon both crossed over. "Whoopsie…"

"Idiot!" snapped another one. "Stick with me! We'll get another set of engines!"

"Quick, Hurricane and Merlin!" called Amanda. "Onto those tracks there and there!"

"Got it, Amanda!" they both called.

"And you won't pass us either!" huffed Molly.

"Give it up, Frankie!" snapped Lexi. "You're surrounded!"

Unfortunately, Lexi was going a bit too fast, and the smooth rails prevented them from stopping in time. They accidentally tipped over some trucks filled with slag.

"Everyone, get clear!" cried Hurricane.

"Get back!" called Amanda. "That stuff is super hot!"

Every engine who could backed away to safety. Luckily, Theo and James weren't anywhere near the slag, so Theo could continue the re-railing operation. However, one engine wasn't so lucky…

"Help!" Frankie screamed in panic as the molten slag circled her. "My wheels! I'm melting! I'm melting!"

The other engines looked on in horror at what they were seeing; despite what Frankie had done, this was too harsh a fate.

"Quick, everyone!" called Hurricane. "Use your water to help cool the slag down!" But before any of their crews could put hoses into their tenders and tanks, a large magnet from above caught hold of Frankie and lifted her up from the slag.

"Or… that works too," Amanda pointed out.

"Oh, I'm a mess!" Frankie sobbed. "I can't make deliveries with melted wheels, and now you're all going to go away and leave me on my own! Do something, Hurricane!"

"Not this time, Francine!" Frankie gulped; no one ever called her by her full name unless she was in trouble. "I've listened to you far too many times, and all that did was turn you into a spoiled brat who blames everyone but herself when things don't go her way! I told you we should have just asked our manager for help, but you were too stubborn to listen to any ideas but your own! You kept insisting you knew best even when you didn't! Instead of respecting most of our other recruits, you chose to mock them for their appearances, yet you had the nerve to be surprised when they decided to leave! And now, because of you, this Steelworks may end up being shut down! Dennis was right about you; you are an idiot!"

Before Frankie could object, the sound of police sirens could be heard in the air. Suddenly, many officers raced in followed by Barbara Regaby and a well dressed, yet grumpy looking, gentleman.

"M-M-Mr. Davis, sir!" Frankie gulped. "W-what's going on?!"

"I'll tell you exactly what's going on, Francine!" barked Mr. Davis furiously. "This lady here is Barbara Regaby, chief of police, and wife to Henry Regaby, Governor of Sodor! She's just informed me that one of Sodor's engines was being held captive here against his will, and what do I hear along the way? That you had the audacity to kidnap another North Western engine! Don't you know kidnapping is against the law?!"

"Well, we were down so many engines because you kept selling them all!" argued Frankie. "You never once took account of the dwelling numbers especially after Theo and Lexi ran away! We just wanted some help!"

Mr. Davis held his hands to his face and took a deep breath, trying not to lose too much of his cool.

"Then… why didn't you just say something?" he demanded. "I only sold those engines off so as to keep the Steelworks afloat down due to lack of profits when business was slow. But if I had known how much you and Hurricane had started to struggle once business picked back up, I would have made other arrangements for more help to come!"

"That's exactly what I kept saying, sir!" Hurricane argued. "But Frankie refused to listen!"

"And just how many of you chose to aid Frankie in her scheme?" Mr. Davis demanded at the workmen. Those who backed away left the workmen who aided Frankie at the mercy of the police. "Then consider yourselves fired, effective immediately with NO severance pay! Officer Regaby, get these rats out of my sight!"

"Yes, sir!" said Barbara. The police quickly got rid of all of them and sent them to their cars. When they were all taken care of, Barbara ventured back to the engines. "James… oh, James, what happened?!"

"One of the trucks was about to hit Molly, so I got in front of her so she wouldn't get hurt," he explained.

"It's true, ma'am," said Molly. "He was very brave."

"I can tell," said Barbara. "As for you, Molly, Amanda, Gordon and Henry, why did you four slip out this morning? Annabelle was worried sick!"

"We're sorry, ma'am," sighed Molly. "It was all my idea. I… I couldn't stand the thought of James suffering, and with Diesel's speculation about James being here, well…"

"Wait, Diesel figured this out?!" gasped James.

"He… oh, my goodness, he did!" exclaimed Gordon. "If he didn't assume that Frankie or Hurricane took the goods train to Bridlington, we may have never found you."

"We'd better thank him when we get home…" trailed Henry.

"Who's Diesel?" asked Hurricane.

"We'll tell you later," said Amanda. "Well… that is, if you want to come along with us. Same with you, Lexi, Theo and Merlin."

"Well, we already agreed to go!" said Lexi. "Hurricane, what do you say?"

Hurricane blinked for a moment. "Well… if you are willing to accept me, after all I've done."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," insisted Henry. "Besides, you were willing to help me find James before we could leave the Steelworks."

"Well, in that case… count me in," grinned Hurricane. "If… it's alright with you, Mr. Davis."

"If that's what you wish, Hurricane," said Mr. Davis fairly, "then yes. You may go. I'll call Sir Topham Hatt and make the arrangements as soon as I can."

"What about me?" a voice whined. Everyone looked back up at the still dangling Frankie.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," said Mr. Davis firmly. "Because of your scandalous actions, I've decided to close the Steelworks and send you back to the Other Railway where you came from."

"WHAT?!" Frankie gasped. "B-but the Steelworks is my home! Oh, please, sir, give me another chance! Hurricane got one–"

"That's because he earned his second chance," Mr. Davis argued. "All you ever did was boss everyone else around, and manipulate others into doing what you wanted them to do. If I had known what kind of monster you would've become, I wish Hurricane would never have convinced me to purchase you."

"I think we're done here," said Henry. "Sudrians, let's head home!"

From there, the Sudrian engines and their newfound allies puffed off for home, leaving Frankie hanging where she was. She growled in anger before screaming, "THIS ISN'T OVER! ONE DAY, I'LL GET MY OWN BACK! MARK MY WORDS!"

Author's Comments

And so we're nearing the end of the Journey Beyond Sodor rewrite, and the ending of this chapter diverges greatly from canon. Instead of the experimental trio helping out at the Steelworks, it's shut down and they (along with Hurricane) join our heroes on Sodor, leaving Frankie literally hanging. To those of you who weren't happy with how her redemption arc was handled, maybe you'll be happier with this instead? But this is not the last we've seen of her...

Next time, we learn that It's a Splendid Life after all as the story comes to an end!