The Melancholy of Diesel

by AaronCottrell97

After months of wanting to turn over a new leaf, Diesel has finally worked up the courage to seek out Beatrice's counselling in hopes of taking that first step. The biggest obstacle in his way is being able to face Duck and work towards making amends with the Great Western Engine. But some scars run deeper than others, and Duck is extremely sceptical of Diesel's desire to change.

2. Exposed and Dismissed

Diesel had just scored his much angered and sought-after victory against Duck. After all the tales Diesel had told to the trucks, Gordon, James and Henry now despised Duck, and the Fat Controller had sent him on his way to work with Edward for the time being. Duck trundled sadly to Edward's station and did not shy away from letting him know what had happened.

"It's not fair," Duck complained. "Diesel has made the Fat Controller and all the engines think I'm horrid!"

Edward smiled. "I know you aren't. And so does the Fat Controller. You wait and see."

Time passed, and Duck stayed away from the yards for quite a few days. But he felt much happier working with Edward. He helped him with his trucks and coaches, and sometimes helped foreign engines by pushing their trains up the hill. But Gordon, Henry and James never spoke to him at all. Meanwhile, the Fat Controller was considering and pondering all that had occurred so far in regard to the names referring to the three big engines, and the role Duck seemingly had to do with it. All things considered, the Fat Controller did not like his railway to be disrupted by silly stories, and he intended to find out which engine was making all the trouble.

In the matter of Diesel, however, things began to change. As the days passed, his glee slowly but surely began to wear off. Although he was delighted that his plan to get rid of Duck succeeded, he now had to manage the yards all by himself, and his lack of experience often led to disorganized sidings and delayed trains, which made the big engines cross. Slowly but surely, they took more and more notice of how it was Diesel who usually made the mistakes resulting in confusion and delay, and so they began calling him out on it, which of course got him rather irritated.

"Not like that!" James would snort indignantly. "Do it right!"

"Don't interfere," Diesel would think to himself, but didn't want to accidentally expose himself.

"Get those trucks off the platform! You're holding up the Express!" Gordon would call impatiently.

"Alright, alright! Cool your funnel, will you?" Diesel would reply.

But then one afternoon, when Diesel accidentally mismanaged Henry's trucks, that's when things began to happen again…to another engine.

"Diesel, what is the meaning of this?!" Henry asked irritably. "You said you were revolutionary, yet all this funny business and lack of organization is making us late!"

"How can I help it?" Diesel retorted. "Of course I'm revolutionary, but we all make mistakes! There's sure to be occasional delay, however revolutionary one may be."

"Huh! You're the only delay I'm ending up with now, Diesel!" snorted Henry. "Now stop wasting time and get those trucks back in order! You've been managing them in a rather silly and even inferior manner of late!"

Diesel suddenly looked at Henry for a moment, his heart having flipped with offense. Then after a moment, he rolled roughly away as he rearranged Henry's train. Once Henry was ready, he set off again, while Diesel glared most angrily.

"Silly? Inferior?!" he exclaimed. "Silly and inferior, INDEED! Of all the cheek and nerve! Absolute onion sauce!"

Toby was in the yards too, and had heard the spat himself. "Oh, well. Don't take it personally, Diesel. He's probably having a bad day."

"Bad day or not, he has NO grounds to call me silly!" Diesel barked. "Not after what Duck did to me, and to the three of you, of course!"

Toby hummed lowly, then set off on his own. But Diesel continued to seethe angrily to what Henry had said about him. It had been a rough few days with the lack of organization throughout the yards, and with each engine starting to call Diesel out about it, he was feeling more and more annoyed even by the very engines who claimed to like him over Duck. He had never been called silly or inferior before, and it made him tremble with fury. Not even Duck had said such things about him…and it was then that Diesel suddenly decided that this little exchange was one shade too far for him to end his priorities just at Duck. His eye was now set on another target…

Early the next morning, Diesel went back to shunting more trucks. As he continued to recall what Henry had said about him, he could feel his anger building quickly once again as it did with Duck. Within minutes, he was too angry to pay much attention to what he was doing. Without noticing, he soon had a long line of twelve trucks as he ran swiftly and recklessly through the yards.

"Silly, indeed! Inferior, indeed! How DARE he!" he snarled to himself. "First that crackpot of a quacker, now Old Square Wheels! Seems like all steam engines think they can order and boss we diesels around however much they want! Well, I'll show them just how-"

Suddenly, Diesel felt a massive crash against his buffers, making him bump and jolt most unevenly for a moment, then came a loud clattering of wheels and the smashing of glass. He looked up at once, and saw that he had bashed into three Express Coaches, which were now disjointed off the rails and considerably damaged. Some of their windows were cracked and a few were broken in very badly. In that instant, Diesel felt his heart almost jump out of his throat with shock, surprise, indecision and most overpowering worry.

"Ohh! Egad! Well…well, I never!" he gasped. "Oh, no!"

The trucks were shocked and surprised by what had happened too. With his heart now slamming in his motor, Diesel began reversing quickly before anyone could see him. But the trucks, who had of course seen everything, saw another chance of teasing him.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho! Look at this!" one of them shouted. "You've done it in, you big black weasel!"

"The express is now going to be late!" sang another truck. "Probably cancelled altogether today!"

"Gordon will be after YOU now, Diesel! First Duck, and now you!" cackled a third one. "He'll give you a wheeshing, and serve you right!"

Then all the trucks started to sing together. "You're going to get into trouble! You're going to get into trouble!"

Knowing this to be very true, it was then that Diesel suddenly conjured his next plan…about Henry. He slowly looked right at the trucks and grinned.

"No, I won't," he slithered cleverly. "If anyone else asks…it was Henry…and he did it out of rage on account of Duck calling him 'Old Square Wheels'."

The trucks stopped giggling and suddenly looked puzzled. "What? Why would we do that?"

Diesel grinned wider before suddenly becoming rather ominous.

"Because…If you DO slip the truth and shine the lights all on me…it would be a most awful pity…for all of you."

The trucks suddenly stopped smiling and felt a tingle of fear twinge through them all.

"You do anything…ANYTHING at all to turn me in…and I'll personally see to it…that you are all BASHED and SMASHED up into teeny, tiny little pieces! Not a single one of you would EVER be recognized by the time I'D be finished with you for such betrayal and treachery!"

The trucks jumped and trembled most worriedly as Diesel snickered and rolled away. He was sure the trucks would never dare utter so much as a peep after such a threat. But even now, Diesel had still not fathomed the fact that trucks cannot be trusted. As he left the sidings and came along the station, the yard manager suddenly came hurrying over, having heard some of the noise.

"Ohh! Oh, no! What happened here, Diesel?" he exclaimed. "The coaches are all out of place and off the rails! And some of the windows are broken in!"

Diesel looked to the scene and immediately worked it in.

"Oh! I'm very sorry you didn't catch it earlier, sir," said Diesel. "You see, Henry has been in a rough mood since yesterday, and I was just passing through a few minutes ago, when he suddenly came storming through, then bashed the coaches right off the rails. Then he snorted off before I could ask why he did it."

The yard manager was surprised and a little confused, but seeing the derailed, damaged coaches as they were, he knew he'd have to follow up.

"Is that so?" said the yard manager. "I knew he was angry over that Old Square Wheels tale, but for this? I'll report it to Sir Topham Hatt on the double."

While the yard manager ran off, Diesel hid behind the station wall to see what would happen. When the Fat Controller arrived and heard the news, he hurried into the yard. There, he saw the coaches were indeed smashed up and could not believe his eyes. He was most affronted and very cross. Then sure enough, Gordon, James, Edward, Thomas and Percy came along to start their day, when they suddenly gasped to what they saw in the yards.

"What?! What happened?!" Gordon gasped. "My…my coaches! Ohh! The express will be late! Well, I never! Who did this?!"

The Fat Controller turned around to the big blue engine.

"I could not believe it myself, Gordon," he said. "But the yard manager has told me it was Henry."

"Wh-wh…Henry?!" James exclaimed. "But why? How?"

"Well, as far as I've heard," said the Fat Controller. "Henry is apparently still angry over the 'Old Square Wheels' tale the trucks seemed to have told about him, and to that effect, he stormed through here and bashed the coaches off the rails himself!"

Hearing this, the engines were all shocked and in utter disbelief. This did not seem like Henry at all, in spite of his anger about the trucks' tale. Gordon and James still fumed at their tales as well, but for Henry to do such a thing seemed most unlikely. But the evidence was seemingly right there in the yards for them to see, and Gordon was very cross with the express now badly delayed. Then sure enough, Henry came huffing into the station to start his day. As soon as he arrived, he noticed the engines all glaring at him. At first, he was confused.

"What? What's going on?" Henry asked. "Why all the glaring faces?"

"Henry!" boomed the Fat Controller. "LOOK at what has happened!"

Henry looked ahead and suddenly saw the smashed coaches himself. He was most surprised as he turned back to Gordon.

"Wh…why?" he suddenly asked. "Who did this?"

"Who did this?!" exclaimed Gordon. "Why, you have-"

"Someone has been a most uncivil engine!" the Fat Controller barked.

Henry was shocked and confused. "S-sir? What do you mean? I don't know what any of this is about! I was in the shed all morning!"

"LIAR!" Gordon roared.

"Quiet!" said the Fat Controller. "Somebody bashed the Express Coaches right off the rails, and word of mouth says that it seems to all be on account of that name, 'Old Square Wheels'!" he continued, remaining purposefully vague on who he had his suspicions about. "Now, Henry, you may still be angry with Duck for the names the trucks heard about, but if you were taking that anger out on the coaches, then that is most immoral and unacceptable!"

"Please, sir, I did NO such thing!" said Henry. "I assure you-"

Suddenly, Henry's pleas were drowned out by the shrill blast of Edward's whistle. In that instant, the entire station fell silent, and the other engines gaped with their eyes wide open. No one could recall seeing Edward acting out in such a stern manner.

"Sir…with all due respect," Edward began calmly. "We've all known Henry long enough to know that something like this is truly not in his character. I shant assume anything, of course, but I think you well know to presume innocent until proven guilty."

The Fat Controller remained silent for a brief moment. Then he nodded slowly.

"Indeed I do, Edward," he said sternly and turned his attention back towards Henry. "I was not fully accusing you of this act of vandalism, Henry, and I shall investigate the matter with an open mind...but until the true culprit has been discovered, I'm afraid that everyone could be a potential suspect. Be that as it may, you three big engines have been rather childish and juvenile in how you've handled these recent situations involving Duck and this act of vandalism. Whether or not Duck may truly be guilty for the name-calling, or whether or not Henry is truly at fault with the coaches today, nothing has been confirmed as fact!"

Then he marched off to investigate. Suddenly, the three big engines felt sorry.

"Well. If…if Henry is innocent…do you think Duck is too?" Gordon wondered.

"Well, Gordon. You say you're a smart engine!" Edward scoffed as he set off again. "Perhaps you ought to figure that out yourself!"

From behind the station wall, Diesel had heard everything and was now grinning away. To see and hear Henry be scolded for what he had supposedly did to the coaches gave him a most delightful glow in his heart. However, he couldn't help but feel a hint uneasy with the Fat Controller pledging to investigate this matter. Then he remembered the stark warning he had given the trucks and felt relieved, feeling quite sure they would indeed stay quiet, so he set off again to start his own work.

But what Diesel didn't see while he set off, was that all the engines watched him going by and suddenly felt a new feeling creeping into their boilers. It was at that moment that Gordon slowly became suspicious.

"You don't suppose…" he wondered. "That Diesel could be…up to something."

James and Henry raised an eyebrow and wondered to themselves. It was then that they decided perhaps they had to keep an open mind too. Soon, James fetched the Breakdown Train to retrieve the coaches and have them sent for repairs, whilst the other engines got on with their work. But within a few short hours, another shocking revelation would be observed, and Diesel's luck would run out before he knew it.

Meanwhile in the yard, the trucks were debating over Diesel's most ominous words towards them. They had enjoyed hearing the slanderous nicknames from him, but now, they felt almost the polar opposite about Diesel. Hour after hour, they considered and thought to themselves at each other, until at last, after quite a long time, they started chattering again.

"Most appalling!" one of them said. "After telling us such delightfully funny tales about the big engines, he threatens to smash us all in if we speak the truth!"

"Who does that ungrateful black weasel think he is saying such things to us, just to save his own oily arse?!" said a second truck.

"I'd reckon his tales about Duck are false!" claimed a third one.

"So what?" said another one. "Duck bumped us, then we paid him out by telling the tales to the big engines."

"But now, that big, black weasel has threatened to do something much worse! We have no choice but to hide the truth! It's going to get us all smashed to no return!"

"Bah!" said another one. "If he tried anything of the sort, he'd be sent packing!"

The trucks suddenly went quiet for a moment and considered this. Slowly, they began to form a plan amongst themselves.

"Yes…" one of them said again. "Which would happen anyway…if the Fat Controller finds out about the tall tales. What say we turn the tables back on him for such threats against us?"

Before the trucks could agree, they heard a distant horn and fell silent in the next instant as Diesel came rolling along again. When he noticed the silence amongst the yards, he smiled most deviously. As far as he could tell, his warning to the trucks was working like a charm, and even when he rammed into a line of ten trucks and bumped them hard, while they did exclaim and complain a little, they said nothing quite yet. Then he set off with a belch of exhaust around the bend. As soon as Diesel was out of sight again, the trucks spoke again.

"You know…perhaps it would be a jolly funny laugh to see HIM sent away instead," one of them said.

"Well, then! Let's spill the truth!" said another one. "THEN we'll see if he's brave enough to actually put his threats where his mouth is!"

"So, you know something that I don't, do you?" came an unexpected voice.

The trucks were surprised and suddenly noticed that the Fat Controller was standing nearby. He had spent most of the day reflecting on everything between Duck and Diesel once again. The trucks' chance had now come.

"I have been thinking carefully and critically all day in regard to what happened with Duck a few days ago, as well as what happened here this morning," said the Fat Controller, raising his eyebrow. "The yard manager claims that you lot were the ones who told him that Henry bashed the coaches. Is this really true…or are you only telling more tall tales to weave Henry into some form of trouble as well?"

"Only because Diesel threatened to smash us all down to pieces if we told the truth!" said the trucks. "It was Diesel who bashed the express coaches! He wasn't paying attention while he shunted us, then as soon as the coaches were derailed, he said if anyone asks, it was Henry! All so he could steer out of trouble and keep us silent under threat!"

The Fat Controller had heard everything. As he pieced it all together, it all became as perfect as a puzzle.

"Of course. I might have known it was him all along!" he grimaced. "Was it truly Diesel?"

"Yes, sir," said another truck. "He told us all about the names Duck came up with for Gordon, James and Henry. All three scandalous nicknames came from Diesel, not Duck. The most he ever said was that Duck had told them to him...now he's starting to follow suit with Henry."

There was a long and most chilling silence throughout the yards. The Fat Controller now had all the evidence and information he needed to settle the matter once and for all.

"Well…I…Never!" he said strongly with each of those words. "This is a most outrageous scandal! I shall now deal with him myself. I never thought I would say this to trucks, but I must say thank you all for your honesty."

The trucks were most delighted and pleased. The way they saw it, this had been one of their proudest moments. With that, the Fat Controller hurried off to inform a few others of this most scandalous revelation.

At Tidmouth Sheds, Gordon, James and Henry had returned from their day's work, which had been a little shaken and filled with endless thought all day. The three engines were consulting again, and they had come to a few conclusions of their own.

"Henry…on account of what happened this morning, I believe you have been falsely accused," said Gordon. "I know we've all been angry at Duck for the names he conjured up about us…but on account of the coaches this morning, I know something of that magnitude is quite the contrary to your character indeed. I really ought to have known you would never do such a thing, even at your angriest."

Henry nodded assertively. "Thank you, Gordon," he answered. "And I will acknowledge, it's only natural you would be very cross over the Express being thrown into upheaval."

Gordon nodded and went on, slowly frowning suspiciously. "Furthermore, today's events have brought me to suspect that Duck has been framed."

"What makes you say that?" asked James.

"Well…at first I believed he told all those tales," said Gordon. "But now, thinking more clearly…it truly doesn't seem right. Duck may have been boasting on and on about the Great Western Way…but I really cannot see him being as malicious and scheming as we may have thought earlier…"

"Well, who could have framed him?" Henry asked. "Who else could have been rooting up all those tales about us?"

Gordon looked very directly at the other two engines. "Isn't it obvious to either of you? The true and real villain we are after…is Diesel!"

Henry and James were at first surprised. For a few brief moments, they felt almost conditioned to deny it, given how nicely Diesel seemed to have started out with them.

"Diesel? But Gordon, he's been so polite!" said James. "For the most part, that is."

"I so thought too!" came a loud, authoritative voice.

All the engines looked. There was the Fat Controller.

"I'm afraid your assumption is correct, Gordon," said the Fat Controller. "I always had my suspicions about Diesel, but as of this very hour, he no longer has my trust. To that effect, Henry, as the evidence and the truth around the coach-bashing incident stands…it was Diesel who bashed them off the rails, then he turned the blame onto you, Henry…exactly as it happened to Duck, on account of all the tales DIESEL told the trucks, so as to make all of you think Duck was horrid."

The Fat Controller then paused and looked at the three big engines. As it did in the yards with the trucks, a chilling silence fell over the sheds. Gordon, James and Henry suddenly fell back to when they had barred Duck's way and accused him with such hostility over what they had assumed he had done to them. Now, with the truth now revealed, a great wave of hellbent anger swept over them all. Within moments they were very, very cross…but no longer with Duck.

Throughout the next hour, the three big engines hurried along the line to spread the word to the other engines as to what Diesel had done to Duck and Henry out of sheer malice and spite. Gordon told Thomas and Toby, Henry told Percy, and James told Edward, who listened of course, but also seemed a little distracted and distant, as if he had seen something serious happen…or even rush through his station just a short while ago. Of course, Thomas, Percy, Toby and Edward were appalled by what had become of Duck over the past several days, and so they all decided to team up at Tidmouth Sheds and turn the tables on Diesel once and for all.

That afternoon, Diesel returned to Tidmouth after a long, hard day of work himself, rather like Duck felt just before he was sent away. This time it was Diesel wanting a rest in the shed. But as he neared the turntable, he saw something he was not expecting at all. Gordon, Henry, James, Edward, Percy and Toby were all occupying all of the shed berths and Thomas was sitting on the line beside the shed, all looking most furious at him.

"HOOSH! KEEP OUT!" Gordon, James and Henry shouted together as they threw up a thick wave of steam.

"Stop that!" Diesel snapped as he stopped on the turntable. "What is the meaning of this scandalous outrage?! Let me in, I'm tired!"

The three big engines recognized the last two words Duck had previously spoken and followed suit at once.

"So are WE!" Gordon barked. "We are tired of YOU! We like DUCK!"

"We DON'T like you!" James added. "YOU tell tales about Duck and Henry to the trucks!"

In that instant, Diesel gulped. He could feel the fear and sense of indictment reeling through his motor, right down to his wheels. He knew now he was in serious trouble, and surely found out. But even then, he tried whatever he could to steer away.

"I…I…did no such thing!" he protested.

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this! The trucks told the Fat Controller everything, and he told us!" huffed Henry. "You made us accuse Duck, and now he's been banished for what YOU said and did to him! You purposefully made a false victim of him!"

Diesel turned red as blood in his face as he looked back.

"And I told those buggers to keep silent!" he snarled dreadfully. "Well, so help me, I'll-"

"SILE-E-E-E-ENCE!"

Everyone looked and saw the Fat Controller come down from Thomas' cab then march right up to Diesel, pointing right at him.

"Don't take me for a fool myself, Diesel!" he scolded crossly. "Now, Duck may have tricked you, but what YOU did to him in return was much, MUCH worse, with your actions amounting to false incrimination! Such dirty work is one of the most damaging crimes one can commit on the other! AND you have done the very same to Henry this very morning by bashing the express coaches, then weaving it on HIM!"

"S…Sir…" Diesel struggled. "I assure you, I was always on the steamies' side. Just…just give me some time to explain-"

"No, I will not! Not only have you lied about Duck and made all the engines think he's horrid, but this very morning, your recklessness has completely upset the express's arrangements, and instead of owning up to the truth, you made up a completely false story about Henry! This behaviour is most…"

"DISGRACEFUL! DISGUSTING! DESPICABLE!" Gordon, James and Henry shouted and echoed through the whole station.

"Precisely what I would have thought myself," said the Fat Controller.

"Furthermore, you ought to have known you can NEVER trust trucks!" Henry added.

Diesel tried quickly to think of another excuse. Anything; anything at all, but it was no use. The truth had been exposed and there was nothing he could do to hide it now as the Fat Controller made the declaration.

"As the evidence and truth now stand before us all, Diesel, I'm afraid your time on the Island of Sodor and the North Western Railway is up! You are to be sent back to the Mainland immediately! As of this very moment, you are hereby…dismissed!"

"D…dismissed? Sent…sent packing, sir?" Diesel trembled and quaked. "P-Please. Give me another chance!"

"Give YOU another chance now? Why, the very thought of it!" snapped the Fat Controller. "After telling such vicious stories not just about Duck, but Henry as well, you have proven yourself nothing more or less than a bully, and if there is ONE thing that I despise and will NEVER tolerate on this railway, it is bullying! Now, Diesel, as my final order to you, get off of MY Railway!"

Diesel turned very red, and his face tightened with full, raw contempt, but he couldn't find any words to express such contempt for what had befallen him. The engines and the Fat Controller all held their glares on him as none of them moved an inch. Diesel's face reddened even further, then when he was turned around, he slowly set off, out of the yards. All the engines kept their eyes on him, until at last, he was round the bend and out of sight, gone from the railway now.

"He…he's gone," said Gordon.

"Well…I think this has taught us one firm lesson amongst others," said Henry. "You can't trust a diesel. I would say Diesel's venom has shown us that much!"

"Now, Henry, I would not say all diesel are untrustworthy," said the Fat Controller. "But on Diesel's account alone, I would say you're right."

"Say, now," Percy suddenly perked. "Speaking of Diesel…where's Duck?"

They found out when the Fat Controller's guard came running over. There had been an emergency, and Duck had just had a crash into a barber's shop. The Fat Controller immediately got onboard Thomas, who fetched Judy and Jerome, then hurried off to help Duck. This left the other engines curious and most concerned.

"Oh, dear," said Henry. "Now that we've heard the truth…I do hope Duck is alright."

"So do I, Henry," said Gordon. "Come to think of it, I miss Duck."

"With the truth now being heard, you're absolutely right, Gordon," said James. "And I think we all want him back."

The engines heartily and solemnly agreed as they left the station, awaiting the Fat Controller and Duck's return.

Thomas and the Fat Controller soon arrived at the scene and saw what had happened. While Thomas made ready with Judy and Jerome, the Fat Controller heard how Duck had been running back down Gordon's Hill when the trucks had broken away to chase after him and bump him off the rails. Duck had hurried with all his might to outrun the trucks, rushing through Edward's station and round the bend, when at the next station, a passenger train was just leaving the platform. It could have been a nasty, nasty crash, but in those fleeting moments, Duck and the trucks veered into a siding where a barber had set up shop. Though no one was hurt, Duck had crashed through the wall, making the barber cross on account of his frightened customers, to which he lathered Duck's face in shaving soap. The Fat Controller then informed the barber how Duck and his crew had prevented a very serious accident; a very close shave, as the Fat Controller put it. Seeing the picture clearly now, the barber hurried back into his shop, fetched a basin of water and washed Duck's face.

"I'm sorry, Duck," said the barber. "I didn't know you were being a brave engine."

"That's alright, sir," said Duck. "I didn't know that either."

"You were very brave indeed," the Fat Controller said kindly. "I am most proud of you, Duck. I shall tell City of Truro about you next time he comes."

Duck felt happier than he had been for weeks as he was slowly but surely helped out of the shop by Thomas, Judy and Jerome. Duck had to go to the Steamworks to be mended, but that didn't matter to him. He had been brave and really useful indeed.

"Now, Duck," said the Fat Controller. "When you are mended, you are coming home."

"Home, sir?" gasped Duck. "Do you mean the yard?"

"Of course," said the Fat Controller.

"But sir," said Duck. "They don't like me. They like Diesel."

"Not now," the Fat Controller smiled. "I never believed Diesel. After you went, he told lies about Henry. So I sent him packing. The engines are sorry and want you back."

Duck had no words to say, almost overtaken by his pride and joy to have been so heroic, and now all the other engines knew the truth as he knew himself. After Duck was taken the Steamworks to be mended, Thomas and the Fat Controller returned to the sheds that very evening, where the engines heard everything once again. Once the close shave had been told of, Gordon, James and Henry felt even worse with themselves for what they had done.

"Fortunately, on account of Duck's bravery, not a single person got hurt," the Fat Controller went on. "He shall return soon, and I think you all ought to give him a most sincere and full apology. This has been a learning experience for all of us. Gordon, James and Henry, it is natural for you to get angry. However, it is most prudent to know the facts first, before jumping to conclusions."

All the engines couldn't agree more…and so when a few days later, he came home shining with new paint, there was a really rousing welcome for Duck the Great Western Engine. After the whistling and welcoming quieted down, Gordon, James and Heny looked most apologetic.

"We're utterly ashamed of ourselves, Duck," said Gordon. "We should have known you would never have done such things as tell all those tales. We're all very sorry."

"Oh, it's quite alright. You're not the ones who told the lies," said Duck. "But you know, the Great Western Way is a fine way of doing things…but it's not the only way."

"That doesn't matter now, Duck," said James. "Your bravery is surely a shining example of just that way."

"And on account of bravery like that, we are all a league in your honour," said Henry.

And so from that moment forth, Duck was heralded in much more positive regard, and Diesel had been exposed and dismissed.

Out on the Mainland, as evening rolled in, Diesel crawled and growled endlessly across the railway, and finally, he returned to his own yards and slunk back to the shed from whence he came. The Island of Sodor was far behind him now, and all he could endlessly think of was how his first experience on the Fat Controller's railway had been the absolute worst that any engine could have gone through, all on account of that one engine he now hated and had gotten sent away, only for his scheme to be unraveled and have him sent away in disgrace. With each passing hour, Diesel could only feel himself slipping deeper and deeper into an ever-darkening path to anger, aggression, contempt, disdain and an all-around hate for steam engines, with the most specific example being the No. 8 green engine who, as he saw it, was now his sworn enemy from here on out. None other than Duck the Great Western Engine…

---

As the given moment dawned on him again, Diesel took a deep breath and sighed heavily as he looked up at Beatrice and spoke slowly, and grimly.

"That Great Western Knave…He took everything from me, and filled me with…rage…contempt…and cold. And THAT is where the first and foremost unjust tales surrounding me…end."

Beatrice looked solidly into Diesel's eyes for a moment, then looked down at her writing pad. Her sheet of paper was just about full with all her writing. It was almost as if she were writing a book of her own, and she now had a most complex matter to think over as she looked to Diesel again.

"Goodness gracious," she said at last. "So that's how it truly unraveled for you at the very beginning, Diesel?"

"All undeniably true, Mrs. Rider," said Diesel. "Through all those stories, both the Railway Series, and my own, that is what cemented me into the very engine I have been almost regularly for all these years…too many years have I been cursed, condemned to utter Hell wherever my wheels tread."

"Perhaps, perhaps not, but the reasons for you feeling such are certainly clear," said Beatrice. "And so, as far as the Railway Series told, that was the last Sodor thought they had seen of you. Yet, at that time, no one had any idea that your tales had not ended, but were only beginning."

"Indeed. And so they thought for a good while afterwards," said Diesel. "But then one day, most miraculously, I'd say, Sir Topham Hatt summoned me back to help Duck and Percy at the Docks, seeing as they were quite overworked to the point of fainting."

"Is that right?" Beatrice asked as she turned to a new sheet of paper on her pad. "Curious. What did you think of returning at the time?"

"Well, as I told Duck, I'd hoped they were pleased to see me. I was to shunt some dreadfully tiresome trucks from here to there, and then again from there to here. But of course, the very instant I arrived, I could see that Duck had not let go of ANY of the past on my account."

"What do you mean?" asked Beatrice.

"Well, as soon as I got to work, Duck and Percy refused to leave their sheds or help me in any way. They just left me to work loudly and alone. When Sir Topham inquired with them, the first thing Duck reminded him of…was the fact that I was sent packing."

Beatrice nodded slowly as she started thinking a little more, about Duck. Diesel went on.

"Sir Topham Hatt said to them, or rather, claimed that he needed to give me another chance after all…though I'm more inclined to think the only reason was that I was the only engine available. After bumping into Percy after my driver had not secured my brakes properly, I bumped the trucks so hard that the loads went everywhere. Just being near Duck was feeding on my spite and contempt all over again."

"I see," said Beatrice. "What happened then?"

"Percy and Duck knew the Fat Controller wouldn't like it one bit," said Diesel. "That's when I suggested that perhaps they would be 'two little goody-goody telltales,' about it. This of course made them not want to be such, so they said nothing. Seeing this, I thought I would get away with my own unsavory behaviour, and that's when I shunted those trucks of China clay right into the sea…to which Sir Topham Hatt told me things worked much better before I ever arrived; I was not to be invited back…and yet even he didn't hold to that statement, since, well, here I am now."

"Yes…yes…" Beatrice nodded, clearly piecing a few things together.

At that very moment, neither Diesel nor Beatrice noticed, but some distance from the Rider House, Daisy was slowly passing through on her way back to her shed. She glanced up for a moment, then suddenly looked even closer. Now it was her turn to see Diesel and Beatrice talking face to face with her own eyes, just as Duck had seen only a short while ago. Daisy remembered her talk with Diesel at the Remembrance Day Ceremony and started to grow curious…when suddenly, there came a most awful, grinding groan from inside her.

"Ohh! Ohh! What EVER is that?!" she exclaimed. "This can't be good at all!"

Her driver tried working the levers how he would, but Daisy began to feel more and more feeble, and soon, she came to a complete stop.

"What happened, monsieur?! What HAPPENED?" she gasped.

Her driver inspected her, then looked up with bad news.

"I never thought I'd see it happen, Daisy…your engine has failed altogether. You'll have to be brought to the Dieselworks for repairs, though we might have to wait. Ryan is still busy for a while yet, and Duck has yet to come back with his Slip Coaches. I'll ask him to bring you along as soon as he returns."

Daisy nodded thank you, but felt great misfortune over what had just happened. Never had she broken down altogether like this. As she looked back toward the Rider House, she almost thought of calling out to Diesel to help, but then a new thought came to her, and she withheld her voice. She knew fully well not to interrupt whatever conversation Beatrice had with anyone she helped. Furthermore, with Diesel right here in Arlesburgh and her engine having failed just now, Daisy began to put together a little idea which she hoped would prove beneficial for Diesel, and even someone else.

Meanwhile, Diesel had moved onto another troubling memory he knew all too well.

"Several years later, I hit the scene yet again, Mrs. Rider," he said. "Henry had been dealt a bad accident and was sent for repairs. There were no other engines available, so I was brought in to help until Henry returned. By then, I was so ensnared in who I was back then, I was bragging to the trucks that Sir Topham Hatt would get rid of steam engines for good when he saw how good I was…"

"Mm-hm," said Beatrice. "But of course, the trucks had their own ideas, didn't they?"

"Most regrettably…yes," Diesel sighed. "They started singing to me again…but not about popping like a weasel. They sang to me how Henry's loads were longer than mine, therefore, he was stronger, and was I ever cross. I was sure I was stronger than Henry. I vowed to push them all at the same time, ergo the world's strongest engine. Shunting five trucks together at a time, in almost no time at all, I had put together an enormous line of twenty trucks."

"Well. That is a long line," said Beatrice. "Whilst the Flying Kipper is about six to ten vans for Henry. Had things gone differently, Diesel, do you think you really could handle twenty trucks?"

"To be fully honest, yes…I do believe I could," said Diesel. "Except for one most aggravating coincidence that day. Just as my first experience with trucks showed at the very beginning…it was Deja-vu. I hadn't noticed the shunters had set the brakes on the trucks. The trucks knew that to be true…yet they encouraged and egged me on to push anyway. Push and push as I might, the trucks didn't move. In those moments I could feel that wretched first experience charging right into me, and as soon as I tried to pull the trucks forward and they wouldn't move…I was RIGHT back where my time on this railway ever started…right down to the trucks singing at me…AGAIN!"

To Diesel's sudden bark, Beatrice's heart jumped as she could tell him was getting in a little deep.

"Please, try to contain yourself, Diesel," she said. "Just tell me what happened, and I will work with what you give me."

Diesel sighed and paused for a moment, then continued.

"Of course, to all their singing and taunting, it made me very cross. My teeth gritted so hard, I'm honestly surprised I didn't crack them. And then…pull and pull as I might…Deja-vu. The coupling broke, and I shot forward suddenly by myself, yelling for help, then falling right off the tracks…and into a barge down below the quay, leaving me to only sulk, while the trucks laughed and laughed!"

Beatrice shook her head slowly as she could almost feel some of Diesel's pain herself.

"Shortly afterwards, Henry was back in business," Diesel continued. "There, the Fat Controller crossly told me he thought I would be a proper dockyard diesel, but that he was wrong. The way I see it…he assumed ME to be completely at fault…while he overlooked the trucks' part, and I hasten to add, the shunter's part for not releasing the brakes! Then of course, Henry made up for lost time, the brakes were released, and he pulled away as easy as pie…whilst I was sent home in disgrace…again."

"Oh, Diesel," said Beatrice. "It really sounds to me that bad luck was bogging you down day and night."

"And that's not even all of it," said Diesel. "I should also mention that Thomas and Percy were watching me the whole time that day…yet they said nothing to me in particular! Had either of them just told me about the brakes, or the shunters, or ANYONE else, then I probably never would have fouled up the exact same way as I did the first time. But no! Instead they had a jolly chat on how even troublesome trucks can do you a favor sometimes…and what's that favor? Getting rid of 'Smelly Old Diesel'!"

Beatrice took Diesel's words with careful and calculated thought.

"Well, Diesel. This is all turning out to be a most layered study," she said after a few moments. "While it is true that you did make some foul mistakes in those past events, it sounds to me that rather like your first experience with Duck, these other experiences were not one hundred percent on you alone."

Diesel nodded surely, seeing how she saw his point fairly enough. It was then that Beatrice looked up and shifted a little in her seat. Diesel looked too, and saw the sun was starting to set. They had been talking for a long time indeed.

"Well, my goodness. Where has the time gone?" said Beatrice. "I see the sun is setting now, Diesel. I must say, you and I have covered a great, great deal together…but is there anything more you wish to tell me, so I may log it for another meeting? Perhaps one more tale for today?"

Diesel already had it ready and spoke again.

"Well, there is one other time I recall, albeit much briefer than most other events concerning me. Shortly after Emily first came to Sodor, I was brought in to work at the Cement Works with Fergus. He was to show me around, but of course, he was already getting the spidery sense that I could be trouble. I will admit I was being a little careless, but as he did with Bill and Ben only recently at the time, Fergus started prodding me out on doing it right and that I didn't know the rules. Of course, being the engine that I am…or was, I do hope now…I was very annoyed with him, and in retaliation, I lied to him that Sir Topham Hatt said I was better than him, and so I would stay at the Cement Works, and he had to go work at the Smelters. Of course, Fergus was scared by the Smelters, and ran off into the night, resulting in Thomas being sent to retrieve him. Sir Topham Hatt then heard what I had done, and so I was sent back to the Smelters, and Fergus went back to the Cement Works. I suppose around that time, I was just done caring at all whether I'd get caught or not…but now looking back at that event, I really can't help but feel bad for Fergus. And far beyond that, given my current state ever since Bernie fell…I've been feeling more and more regret almost by the day for my other wrongdoings."

Beatrice looked and noticed Diesel was becoming quiet and melancholy now as he looked ahead in a slightly clouded state.

"There are of course so very many other things I could recall and tell you about," he said. "But then again, I've told you a serious lot today, and most of the rest you probably already know. By now, I really am feeling guilty, ashamed and even a little horrified by some of the most heinous misdeeds I have come to commit over the years. The two absolute worst things I've ever done being when I manipulated Bernie into falling to his end…and even before that, to think that I'd stooped so low and so despicably…as to serve Sailor John during his pirate vendetta, alongside 'Arry and Bert of course…"

Hearing this, Beatrice suddenly rose from her chair and gave an almost steely look into Diesel's eyes, which made his wheels quiver. Then she spoke rather strongly.

"…So through all the hardship, strife and resentment you lived through, and more besides…you came to a point that you served the very man who wrecked utter havoc and anarchy across Sodor? You helped the same pirate who favoured Seymour Murphy's savage act of killing my beloved Lawrence onboard the express? For a very brief time, you served Sailor John, of all people, did you?"

Diesel felt a strong lump in his throat as he knew there was no denying this fact, but he swallowed hard and looked solidly and truthfully at Beatrice.

"I had nothing to do with your husband's death," he answered, then looked away with regret. "But that does not absolve me of my other sins. So many that there are, which of course, I'll have to recall those at a later date. But in short for today, Mrs. Rider…I truly and inescapably feel ashamed and most self-indicted by all of this and more, the ramifications of which have only gotten worse and worse over these past several months, with almost no end in sight…until today…when chance, hope and perhaps even fate, ultimately led me to seeing you right here, right now…"

Beatrice finished writing on her pad once more and took a long, deep breath as she sat down again. At last, she had done her fill with Diesel for one day, and what had begun as a mere recalling of the earliest tales about Diesel had shaped and molded into a most heavily detailed and even intriguing study Beatrice now had in the works. After about a minute of silence, she stood up and walked right over to her oily acquaintance.

"Well, Diesel. I must say. The way I see it, based on everything we have discussed thus far…you are truly a most complex and complicated individual. In may ways, I believe some might compare you to the average pantomime villain."

Diesel of course scoffed, thinking that to be all too obvious.

"No need to remind me of such, Mrs. Rider," he said. "I've heard such sentiments, or rather comparisons many a time since the very beginning. And once upon a time, I might have been flattered by such a comparison…but that was before and this is now. Right now, I'm trying to break away from all that. But even with the intention of moving on from all this, redeeming a villain does NOT suddenly mean they are good. It does NOT mean they completely change their moral compass, or are forgiven for all their crimes, or are now a changed person. Nothing of that nature is so binary."

"No, indeed, they aren't, Diesel," Beatrice agreed. "But if I may…from a certain point of view, I believe your flaws can actually be your strengths in disguise."

Diesel looked most confused and almost shocked by what he had just heard.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Rider. Flaws are your strengths?" he asked. "Are you sure about that? What compels you to come to that conclusion?"

"Well, here's what I mean," said Beatrice. "Once you understand and acknowledge that very fact, you're halfway there. With a dose of self-acceptance, you can embrace your flaws and even be grateful for them."

Diesel sighed, not sure what to make of this.

"More likely, the way I see it, getting everyone else to accept my flaws is practically a losing battle. Most particularly in regard to…Duck."

"Well, I will admit I have to coincide in that, Diesel," said Beatrice. "It is true that not everyone will be willing to forgive you for all that you have done all these years. But take this to heart: If Sonny and Daisy see more to you than just your flaws and accept you, then surely others can as well."

Diesel wanted to be optimistic to hear such encouragement, but it was rather hard not to be jaded and cynical after everything he had dealt with. He just nodded and hummed numbly. Beatrice then gave a little nod and spoke again.

"Well, now, Diesel. This has been a most detailed and greatly layered meeting to have with you in just one day. But by now, I think I have a very good start to where we could be going next, and for now, that will do quite nicely. It's nearly dusk now, and I'd say you should go home. Rest your mind and your body for tonight, and whenever you next have an open window of time, we can discuss this matter further and keep moving forward."

"Yes. Well…right, then," said Diesel. "Thank you for all the time you've taken for me, Mrs. Rider. I really do appreciate it, and I really do hope we can keep moving forward. Goodnight, now."

With that, Diesel slowly set off and went on his way. Beatrice watched duly as he went down the line and around the bend. As she retrieved her therapy chair and went inside the house, Duck was just coming back himself, having heard about Daisy's breakdown, and soon he would be bringing her to the Dieselworks, where yet a few more things would come to happen, hence furthering the current path Diesel was now treading.

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And so, Diesel's downfall is based on the videos "The Devious Diesel" and "Sent Packing" by Thomas1Edward2Henry3, though I've tried to make as much changes as I could so that it's not just one for one the same as those videos. Anyway, next chapter will link directly to the first chapter of "A Rare Discovery from Distant Rails", as we will see Diesel's perspective of when Daisy proposes that he take her place on the Harwick Branch Line while she's being repaired, and where we'll really see Duck and Diesel coming face-to-face. Until then, tell us what you thought of this chapter, and as always, stay safe.