Thomas winced as he sat there in his engine form. At least 4Town already knew his secret—but now the entire middle school did, too. All the kids stood in stunned silence as a steam engine with a face looked down at them.
"Um... Choo Choo?" he managed, chuckling nervously as a burst of steam shot out from his pistons with a loud hiss. Yet, he did not care. Part of him felt relieved; he'd bottled up this secret for far too long. He just wasn't expecting it to come to light like this.
"What the heck?!" one kid shouted. "
Am I dreaming?!" another exclaimed.
"This can't be real—a talking train?!" someone else gasped.
Thomas looked out at their bewildered faces, blow the stage, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, he noticed Mei climbing up onto the stage. "Uh... M-Mei, what are you doing?" he whispered.
Mei reached Robaire and snatched the microphone from him. "Okay, um... everyone," she began, glancing behind her. "You just found out about Thomas's big secret..." She paused, then addressed the crowd. "He's... just like me, in a way. He can turn into a steam locomotive—I can turn into a panda. We're not really all that different."
A kid piped up, "That's a big difference, actually."
Mei sighed. "But he's still the same Thomas. He's just a steamer."
"Mei..." Thomas whispered to her. "Can I say something?"
Mei turned, nodded, and brought the mic over to him, up to his mouth. Thomas took a deep breath, then looked out at the sea of expectant faces. "I know this is a shock for some of you—I was shocked, too, when it first happened. But yes, I can change into a steam locomotive. It hasn't been easy, but with the help of my friends and my boyfriend, I've been getting better. Just like how Mei channels her power, I have to work with mine. I never imagined I'd have to share my secret like this, but..."
"Um..." interrupted a student who stepped forward. "No one knows this about me, but I really love trains. Could I see inside your cab?" he asked, smiling shyly in Thomas's direction.
Thomas blinked, then glanced at Mei and the rest of 4Town before replying, "Uh, sure." He sounded a bit confused but agreed.
The student beamed, leapt onto the stage, scrambled up the steps to Thomas's cab, and clambered onto the footplate. Thomas could hear the excitement in his voice as he marveled at the inner workings of the cab.
Before long, many of the kids were lining up to take turns peering inside Thomas's cab.
Thomas couldn't believe what was happening. "Cinders and ashes..." he muttered to himself. No one was being rude or acting weirded out—no one hated him. Even the kid who admitted his love for trains was treated with genuine curiosity. Which, surprised him.
It all felt surreal. The students were touching him, marveling at the cold, hard iron of his engine, exploring the controls, and even sitting on his running board. Thomas's heart swelled with a mixture of disbelief and joy.
He caught Carter's eye and mouthed, "What is happening?" Carter simply giggled and shrugged.
"Um... Thomas? That's your name, right?" A kid asked.
Thomas then noticed another student looking at him and smiled at her. "Yeah..." he replied.
"Can we blow your whistle?"
"M-My? Whistle? Um... sure...!"
She smiled, then ran back to his cab. "He said yes!" "He said yes!" she yelled excitedly. Then, Thomas felt someone yank the whistle lever—
"PEEEEP! PEEEEEP! P-P-P-PEEEEeeeEeeeeeEEEEEPPPP!"
"OMG, COOL!" the kids cheered.
"That's amazing!" one exclaimed. "He's got a British steam whistle!"
For a moment, Thomas wondered why so many students were fascinated by locomotives. Then it struck him—the school was running a steam locomotive unit for the month. Almost everyone was suddenly interested in all things steam-related thanks to the curriculum. Thomas smiled at the realization. He felt happy. Steam huffed out of his pistons as he peeped into his whistle, grinning.
"Oh my gosh, look at how happy he is... awww," Carter said, smiling broadly.
"I know! Our classmates are all over him," Miriam remarked.
"I'm low-key kinda jealous," Mei chuckled.
Percy sat silently, watching everything unfold. Tyler leaned over. "Percy, you okay?" he asked.
Carter reassured him, "Hey, don't be scared of Thomas. He's still the same person."
Abby nodded, "He is."
Then Percy unexpectedly made his way onto the stage with a determined look on his face.
"What's with him?" Miriam asked.
"Does he want to go into his cab?" Carter wondered aloud.
"I don't know—he's climbing up the stage," Mei observed. They watched as Percy reached the stage and slowly approached Thomas.
Thomas noticed Percy drawing near, still feeling content with how everyone treated him. "Oh? Percy..." he greeted.
"Yeah, well, it's your first time in Toronto—this is something that happens here, I guess," Thomas added lightly. "Humans can just change into different things-," He blinked when he saw Percy ignore him. He said nothing; his expression remained blank as he walked to Thomas's side.
"P-Percy?" Thomas asked softly.
"What's Percy doing?" Miriam queried as everyone watched intently.
"Let me go talk to him," Tyler interjected.
Percy stood next to Thomas, took a deep breath, and then—suddenly, as Tyler was about to climb up—the air exploded with a burst of steam beside Thomas.
"H-Huh?" Tyler asked, staring up at Thomas, he was sure Thomas had transformed back. But Thomas in his engine form was still there. There was a white mist at the side of Thomas. All the kids who where inside of Thomas's cab, stopped talking and looked.
No one could believe their eyes—not even Thomas.
Right where Percy last stood was a bright green GWR Trojan Saddle-Tank Engine. It sported the number 6 on its coal bunker and displayed a "Trojan" nameplate on its saddle tank. Thomas gasped, "WHAT?!" as everyone's jaws dropped. Tyler was so shocked he tumbled off the stage.
Tae Young's shock turned to excitement. "H-HE'S A TANK ENGINE TOO?!" he exclaimed.
"Thomas, did you know about this?!" Robaire blurted out.
Mei exchanged a slow, stunned glance with Miriam. "Holy shit..." she breathed.
"Percy is just like Thomas...?" Carter said blinking.
Tyler, recovering, returned to his friends. "Guys! M-My boyfriend is a train?!" he blurted.
"I knew that number on his shirt looked close to Thomas's!" Abby exclaimed.
"So, anyone with a number on their shirt can be an engine?" Carter wondered aloud. All eyes then slowly turned to Tyler. "Huh? W-Why are you all looking at me?" Tyler stammered, glancing down. "W-Wait! No! I'm not a train! Don't even think about it! And what engine would have 15 as a number?" he insisted, folding his arms.
"Look at him, though!" Abby declared. "He's even cute as an engine!"
"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about..." Tyler snapped, a trace of jealousy in his tone.
"Geez, you've only been on one date with him!" Abby retorted.
"He's still got the freckles—and is it weird that he and his engine look alike?" Mei mused.
"Yep, small and stout, that's Percy alright," Miriam laughed.
The other kids were shocked at seeing another engine, but they went inside Percy's cab, and pulled his whistle.
"PEEEEEP! PEEEEP!" Percy's whistle blared, filling the stadium
Thomas couldn't take his eyes off Percy. Part of him was jealous that Percy was stealing his thunder as most of the kids shifted their attention, yet he was equally astonished to find someone else like him in the same space as him.
"I knew that number on his shirt wasn't a coincidence..." Thomas murmured to himself.
Then Percy spoke softly, addressing Thomas, "Thomas... I should have known your name sounded familiar. I should have known it was you."
"Wait, what?" Thomas asked, confused.
Percy smiled warmly. "The magic railway... I've heard a lot about you from my parents. They said a boy named Thomas—a blue engine—would be the key to fixing the mistakes of the magical lady who bestowed this gift upon us."
Thomas blinked, processing the revelation. "F-Fix the mistakes...?" he repeated quietly to himself.
Percy's smile broadened. "I'm glad you've found the confidence to embrace your power," he said warmly.
Thomas looked down, then up, and finally smiled softly. He had done it—he had come out with his true self, and no one judged him. In fact, it seemed like they liked him even more. Overwhelmed by happiness, he blew his whistle extra loudly, with a giant smile.
"Look at him—he's so freaking happy," Carter remarked proudly.
"So happy, he's about to blow his whistle off!" Tyler joked.
Tyler hesitated, glancing at Percy.
"What? Just go say hi to him," Mei encouraged.
"But I'm nervous..." Tyler admitted, fidgeting with his hands.
"Nervous? Come on, dude, it's still the same guy," Carter nudged him. "Just go and say hello to the engine."
With a reluctant grunt, Tyler allowed himself to be pushed forward and began walking toward the stage.
Percy and Thomas were deep in conversation. Thomas mentioned the island.
"The island?" Percy blinked. "I was supposed to go back there once," he recalled.
Thomas looked at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You were? I thought it was a private island..."
"No, it used to be owned by the U.K. government, but it was up for sale to anyone who could afford it. So, before your dad got it, it was public—though hardly anyone went there. It's sad what happened; it once belonged to an old railway called Shining Time Railway, or STR. But that's just untold history now."
Thomas absorbed the new information. Shining Time? Did Dad ever mention that before? he wondered.
At that moment, Percy noticed Tyler weaving through the crowd towards him. Percy's face flushed as he saw him. "O-Oh... T-Tyler..." he stuttered.
Thomas watched Percy and Tyler closely. "O-OH..." Thomas gasped, realizing Percy's surprise must have affected his date.
"Oh bleedin' Christ... How do I say this..." Percy began, blushing furiously.
"It doesn't matter," Tyler interrupted.
"Ah?" Percy looked up.
"I don't care what you look like—or can change into, I still like you," Tyler admitted, blushing and nervously looking away with his arms folded.
"O-Oh..." Percy smiled warmly. "Thanks, Tyler," he said,
Tyler then gave him a brief hug on his running board before shyly retreating to rejoin his friends.
"He definitely changed," Thomas remarked to Percy.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
Thomas simply smiled. "We all changed... and I think for the better.