At the abandoned Steelworks, Frankie was still attached to the magnet without anyone there to let her free.

"I can't believe this…" she seethed with resentment. "After all I did for everyone, they all up and leave! Even Hurricane…"

"Hmm…" an intrigued voice slipped into the steelworks. "What do we have here, Vinnie?"

"An itty bitty little diesel switcher hangin' 'round, dat's what!" cackled another voice.

"The proper term is 'shunter'!" Frankie corrected. "Are you not from around here or something?"

"Hey, I'm from Canada, dollface," scoffed Vinnie. "How would I know what yer called here?"

"Well, someone else could have told you!" Frankie scoffed. "In fact, you have another British locomotive hanging around you."

"Well, sorry to disappoint," said the bigger diesel, "but last time I worked with shunters, that didn't go so well. Name's Diesel 10, kid."

"My name is Frankie!" she huffed. "And don't you two forget it!"

"She's a feisty one, ain't she?" remarked Vinnie.

"I have to be!" scoffed Frankie. "What with those… meddling steamers coming in here and messing up everything!"

"Hmm…" said Diesel 10. "Was one of them a blue tank engine with the number one? Or a pannier tank numbered eight?"

"No," said Frankie, "but I did see a big green engine numbered three, a big blue engine numbered four, a medium red engine numbered five…"

"Aha!" cried Vinnie. "So ya do have common enemies with us."

"You know them?" asked Frankie.

"Do I ever…" said Vinnie with a growl. "Dat green weakling got me disqualified from da Strength Competition and dat blue rocket ship on rails knocked me out in da Great Race! Also, dat red weakling was there as a witness."

"I'm afraid I don't know the two engines you've described, Diesel 10," admitted Frankie. "They weren't here."

"Oh, believe me," said Diesel 10. "They are so well known due to the Thin Clergyman's books. Say… do you want to join us?"

"A chance to get back at them…" smirked Frankie. "I… love it!"

"Excellent," grinned Diesel 10. One of the crew members aiding the two bad engines lowered the magnet so that Frankie could be let go. "It doesn't look like you'll be able to run with the state your wheels are in, so we'll have to sneak you out of here so you can be repaired."

Frankie was put onto a flatbed, and then she, Diesel 10 and Vinnie slipped out into the night. They were hardly out of sight when Mr. Davis returned.

"Alright, Francine," he said. "An engine will be coming here first thing in the mo–" His voice trailed when he noticed someone was missing. "She's gone! I'd better phone the authorities at once!" With that, he raced back to his office, hoping he wouldn't be too late to warn everyone about the trouble about to brew…

THE END?

Author's Comments

Following on from the epilogue of The Great Railway Show, Diesel 10 and Vinnie have now added Frankie to their little group in hopes of getting their revenge on the Sodor engines. But how long will that be before it happens? Only I know the answer to that question, so keep an eye out for it!

More stories to come!