Even though Thomas didn't really want to change back, he knew he had no eventually. All the kids were still all over him—some sitting on the front of his running board, some inside his cab, and a few even doing the same with Percy.
Just as Thomas was about to ask everyone politely to move aside, the teacher came over. "Why are you all standing around like this?" Mr. Kieslowski asked as he approached the stage. He noticed 4Town had stepped off stage, and were near students and frowned. "Huh? 4Town? Why aren't you on stage?"
The band group didn't know what to say. The teacher's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the two engines."W-What? When... Did the dance order life-size engine models?" he stammered.
Thomas felt a flush of awkwardness—Mr. Kieslowski seemed like he thought he and Percy were just lifeless models.
Mei and her friends exchanged glances. "Um... those aren't models, Mr. Kieslowski," Mei explained.
"What do you mean? And when did this happen? I know we are in the middle of this subject in our classes. When did the school do this? I had no idea of this,"
As Mr. Kieslowski climbed a set of steps on the side of the stage, Thomas couldn't help but feel stupid, as he could have rather have used those steps than perform a pull-up to get on stage. Mei and the others just watched silently as the teacher neared the engines.
Both Percy and Thomas stood frozen while Thomas's gaze drifted downward, fixed on Mr. Kieslowski. After a moment, the teacher positioned himself in front of Thomas.
"With... faces in the front?" Mr. Kieslowski asked, his tone incredulous. "I know the school had a big fund this year, but wow..." He said placing his hands on his hips.
Thomas blinked at him, then Mr. Kieslowski blinked back.
Mr. Kieslowski then turned to the rest of the kids. "Animatronic mechanics too?" he asked, with a confused tone.
Thomas couldn't believe how much Mr. Kieslowski was thinking everything that he was not.
"I—I'm not an animatronic... S-Sir..." Thomas stuttered.
Mr. Kieslowski gasped, then spun back. "W-Wait... it talks too..?!"
Realizing the conversation was going nowhere, Thomas commanded, "Could everyone please get out of my cab for a moment?"
In unison, the students leapt out—off his running board and from inside his cab. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Thomas concentrated and warped back into his human form.
Landing on the floor and regaining his balance, he met the teacher's astonished gaze.
"T-Thomas?!" Mr. Kieslowski exclaimed.
"Ha... Surprise..." Thomas said with a small, nervous smile.
After glancing at Percy, Mr. Kieslowski suddenly pieced it together. "This... this is Percy, isn't it?"
Percy grinned and shifted back into his human form.
"You two... are actual steam engines?!" the teacher blurted.
"Yep..." Thomas replied, scratching the back of his head while Percy simply nodded.
"B-But how?" Mr. Kieslowski pressed.
"Well... I don't really know," Thomas admitted, glancing briefly at Mei. "I'm like Mei, in a way," he glanced at Percy, "We both are," he said, putting an arm around Percy in a friendly way.
"Wow! Ha! Now this is something interesting!" Mr. Kieslowski declared.
"Is it?" Percy asked, tilting his head.
"Yes! I don't fully understand how this is possible at all, but, you two can help out in school for the rest of the semester during our train lesson!" he continued.
Thomas and Percy exchanged uncertain looks.
"Uh... you mean, like, help teach?" Thomas asked.
"Since you two are real iron horses, the other kids get a real hands-on experience—it'll be fun!" the teacher explained. The other students cheered at the idea.
Thomas felt an immense surge of happiness at that. He'd want to do that so badly. Especially after the good experience he just had with the rest of his fellow classmates. But there was a catch.
Tomorrow, he was leaving.
He wouldn't be a student here for the rest of the year. By the time he would return, summer vacation would be over, and a new school year would begin—probably without trains on the curriculum for the new grade.
"Um... I wouldn't be able to..." Thomas started, but Mr. Kieslowski interrupted, "O-Oh... why not?"
"Awww..." a few kids cooed sadly.
Gathering his courage, Thomas decided to explain. "I'm still a bit shaky with my power...I need to learn to control it. When I was younger... I..." His voice trailed off as he saw Carter's sad look. "Something bad happened when I transformed. I've always struggled to channel my power, especially under emotional stress," Thomas confessed, glancing toward his panda friend. "Just like Meilin," he added, then turned back to the teacher.
"Recently," he continued, "my power started surging stronger after I'd held it in for too long." He sighed deeply. "Those times I ran out of the classroom...I lied—I wasn't actually going to the restroom. My engine was starting to emerge, and I had to get out fast, or I'd have taken out the entire room."
Mr. Kieslowski's eyes widened in shock before he turned to the observing kids. Some of them looked sympathetic—even Percy, who hadn't even been at school during those incidents. "That is why the back doors were blown out? Was it...?" the teacher asked.
Thomas's face fell as he heard whispers among the students. "Yes... I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"No..." Mr. Kieslowski interrupted kindly. "You did the right thing—you put others before yourself. A blown-out door is better than a ruined classroom with 20 lives at stake." Thomas looked up, relieved by his teacher's understanding, then continued.
"So... Yeah. I won't be here for the rest of the year," he announced to them.
"My dad owns a private island with an old, unused railway line. I'm going there for a few months to practice being a steam locomotive...and I leave tomorrow."
Mei and the others were shocked—everyone except Carter. "Wait, what? W-When did that happen?" Miriam whispered.
"He's actually leaving? I'm gonna miss him!" Abby blurted.
"I'm going to miss him too," Carter said softly. "But—"
"Of course you are! You're his boyfriend and best friend!" Miriam chimed in.
"I know," Carter replied, "but he needs to master his power. We can't expect him to do that on his own. Yes, he's like Mei, but his power is very different. He needs specialized help—not just practicing his warp."
Pyria nodded in agreement. "He's right," she said.
Abby pouted, "But I'm still going to miss him..."
"I am too," Tyler added.
"We all will," Miriam agreed.
After everything was settled, Thomas stepped off the stage. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Mei, Abby, Miriam, Tyler, and Pyria enveloped him in a group hug. The suddenness made Thomas gasp, "G-Guys!"
"I'm really going to miss you all!" Abby shouted.
"Same! You better keep in touch!" Mei added after.
"Guys... I can't breathe!" Thomas wheezed, and his friends chuckled as they released him.
"S-Sorry, Thomas..." Mei apologized.
A year ago, Thomas had doubted he'd make friends here, but now they were his best friends.
"I'm going to miss you all too," he promised. "And yes, we'll keep in touch. My dad got me a laptop—we can email each other."
Mei nodded happily. "Yes! That would be amazing!"
"I'm going to email you so many times!" Abby smiled.
"Abby is definitely going to blow up your inbox," Miriam snorted playfully.
Thomas smiled. He definitely wouldn't mind if that happened. Then, he felt a kiss—Carter's kiss, on his cheek.
"I think I'm going to miss you the most," Carter whispered.
Blushing, Thomas grasped Carter's hand. "Same here," he replied.
"Aww, they're so CUTE!" Abby yelled, and Mei giggled.
At that moment, Percy approached, smiling at Thomas. "Thomas, even though we haven't known each other long, I'm really proud of even I could have pulled all this off. You just had everyone respect you in like five seconds," Percy said.
"Ha... thanks," Thomas replied softly. "Guess not everyone makes fun of others for liking trains."
"Definitely not!" Mei exclaimed. "Trains are rad!"
As the day came to an end, it was time for everyone to leave.
But Thomas's friends insisted he took them home—at least to Mei's temple.
"You sure?" Thomas asked. They all nodded eagerly. Although only his schoolmates knew his secret—not the whole of Toronto—Thomas was ready to reveal himself fully.
"Hey, Thomas... before you go..." Thomas turned around and saw Tae. Who then hugged him.
"O-Oh..." Thomas blinked.
"I know it's been rough with your engine and that Nerraw guy, but that saturday and today have been one of the most fun days of my life. Thank you."
Thomas smiled and hugged him back.
"Heyyyyy! I want Tae Young to hug me tooo!" Abby blurted, a touch of jealousy in her voice. Tae giggled, then left Thomas to hug Abby.
"And one hug for Abby," he said. Abby squeezed him tightly.
"A-Abby, a bit too tight—" Tae giggled.
"Guys, let's go—it's almost night!" Mei urged from outside the Skydome.
"Bye, Tae!" Abby called as she ran off.
Thomas was about to leave when Tae stopped him again. "Here—" Tae said, handing him a slip of paper. "4Town's personal email," he explained with a soft smile. "I want all of us to keep in touch with you,"
Thomas blinked, accepting the he really just befriend 5 celebrities? "O-Oh... thanks, Tae," he managed.
"No problem! Enjoy the rest of your day and your time on the island!" Tae replied. Thomas nodded, tucking the paper into his pocket.
After leaving the sky dome, he found his friends waiting by the tram lines. "Guys! I'm here!" Thomas called as he raced over. In a flash of steam, his engine form reappeared, blowing steam in every direction. He smiled, "All aboard!"
"Awesome!" Miriam cheered as everyone climbed into his cab. Since Thomas wasn't in a hurry, he planned to take it slow for safety.
"Please don't crash again," Tyler teased.
"I plan not to," Thomas chuckled.
"Hey, can I come along?" Percy asked.
"Huh? Oh... sure!" Thomas replied when he saw Percy emerging from the skydome.
"Uh... I don't think anyone else can fit," Pyira remarked.
But Percy didn't join inside; instead, he shifted into his engine form behind Thomas and whistled. Thomas answered with his own whistle. "Alright then!" he smiled as he realized Percy was doing the same as him. "Full steam ahead!"
Steam hissed from both engines as they pulled out from the sky dome. Thomas whistled happily, and slowly, he chugged down the track with Percy right behind him.
"This is so cool, man..." Abby said as she watched their neighborhood whiz by.
"What do you think Mei's mom will say when she sees us?" Tyler asked.
"I'm not sure," Mei replied, and Thomas couldn't help but listen. He wasn't completely certain either, but he'd come too far to turn back now. As they climbed an incline, Thomas pushed harder.
"Geez, this is one steep hill..." Percy wheezed. Tyler poked his head out of the cab of Thomas, "Percy, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, Tyler!" Percy smiled.
"You know, I don't know why you didn't ride with your date," Miriam teased. Tyler pulled back into the cab.
"I... I don't know. I guess I was nervous," he admitted.
"What's there to be nervous about? You like him, don't you?" Carter asked. Tyler nodded. "I do. I don't care that he's like Thomas."
Eventually, the ground leveled, and the temple came into view. Ming was waiting outside, staring intently.
A steam engine—with steam billowing from its funnel and pistons echoing along the Toronto tram tracks—was not something you saw every day.
Thomas rolled up to her and applied his brakes.
"Hi, Mom!" Mei said nervously from the cab.
Ming Lee, looked utterly confused, "M-Mei... W-What... I..."
Mei's mom looked astonished as she stepped forward, examining Thomas's gray face.
"H-Hello!" Thomas managed.
"WHAT? Mei, who's this? What is this?" she demanded.
Mei climbed down the steps with her friends trailing behind. "Look at the number—" Mei pointed to Thomas's side tank.
She paused, glancing between Thomas and Mei.
"Is.. That the British new exchange student?" she whispered to her daughter.
"Uh... yeah... it's me," Thomas replied.
Just then, Percy puffed over, slightly out of breath. "Guys! I'm here! Remind me never to go up that hill ever again!"
Mei's mom stared at the green engine, bewildered.
Then Percy stopped right behind Thomas. "Hello!" he greeted Ming softly, releasing a gentle stream of steam.
"I... I'm sorry, what is this?" Ming asked.
"This... is Thomas, Mom. He's like me, in a way," Mei explained.
Abby nodded emphatically, "Yes! He is!"
Thomas chuckled nervously. "Yep! I am, and so is Percy!"
It turned out that the visitor at Mei's house was still around. When he heard the commotion outside, he came out. "Mrs. Lee? Are you alright?"
"Oh! Mr. Bao!" Mei exclaimed. Although Thomas was ready for his secret to be exposed all over Toronto, he couldn't help feeling a bit shy as Yong Bao approached.
He was about to walk up to Ming, but then he walked right past her, looking at Thomas. "I... this is new to me," Ming said, addressing Mr. Bao. "Apparently, this is Thomas—one of Mei's friends—and he can turn into a steam engine..."
Thomas watched Mr. Bao come directly toward him. His face showed the expected shock, but there was something else—a look of recognition. Mr. Bao stared at Thomas, then said, "One of her engines..." A slow smile spread across his face. "One of her children is here in Toronto," he declared.
Thomas blinked. "Huh? W-What do you mean?"
Ming blinked once, as her face fell confused, "Yeah, what do you mean?"
Mei glanced at Miriam in confusion. "What's he talking about?" Miriam just shrugged.
"You're Thomas!" Mr. Bao exclaimed. "I should have known it was you from the start!"
Now truly puzzled, Thomas asked, "What do you mean, sir?"
"The magical lady from long ago! It's written down in Prophecy that you'll be the one to completely restore her magic!"
Thomas gasped as a whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind. Mr. Bao knew about him, despite not knowing him—and about the lady his father mentioned. It began to make sense: the legend wasn't a myth, and his ability to transform into an engine was linked to her magic. But how did Yong Bao know all this?
"How... h-how do you know about me?" Thomas asked.
Mr. Bao stepped back slightly. Thomas watched him warily. Then—
What happened next was the next shock to happen to Thomas today.
Right before Thomas's eyes, Mr. Bao transformed into a massive steam locomotive. Thomas stood dumbstruck as there were a gray face, on a huge tender engine painted red with Chinese markings, smiling at him. Black side plates and a green running board completed the look.
Even Ming was visibly stunned by this transformation.
Thomas's friends were equally shocked. "W-WHAT?! WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY?!" Mei yelled.
"Is something going on? I can't see— I heard something about trains—" Percy tried to speak, but he couldn't see past the blue tank engine.
"Who's that?" Said Young Bao, he instantly changed back, seemingly like he did so with no effort, then walked past the side of Thomas, walking over to Percy.
"Oh my... WOW! Two of her engines in one place?!" he marveled. Ming approached Mr. Bao.
"I'm sorry... but what is going on? You just turned into a steam engine, just like these two!" she demanded.
"Yes! I should have told you sooner!" Mr. Bao replied. "It's why I came to Canada. When I heard that you and your daughter could morph into red pandas I knew it was similar to my own powers." He looked at Thomas and Percy, then back at Ming. "I became intrigued by your unique abilities and wanted to visit your temple, hoping for hints that might lead me to the lady who started my own powers." he said. "It's why I wanted history on your own lady wonder, Sun Yee,"
Ming shook her head. "Wait... so you have a power similar to mine and Meilin's, but not exactly the same? Then why come to our temple for that?"
Ming shook. "Wait... Ok... So you have a power similar to me, and Meilin, but... It's still not 100% similar... So why visit our temple for that?"
"Because we all use nearly identical magical energy. When you told me how your ancestors transformed into a panda, it dawned on me that the same magic was at work. Our lady used it for a different purpose," Mr. Bao explained.
Ming turned to Thomas. "So... Thomas, you and this green one are like our family?"
"Not exactly identical, but I needed more information," Young Bao said softly. "We've been trying to use this magic to bring her back. She isn't really an 'ancestor' since she lived in modern times. No one knows what happened to her—some say she died, others say she vanished without a trace. Some even claim she couldn't handle the loss of her steam engine and wished to end it all, using her magic as a final gift to help others. Either way, her magic... it seems to have cursed a lot of people."
"Cursed?" Thomas asked.
"What do you mean by that?" Mei inquired.
"This time zone is different from hers. I'm not sure if she intended for humans to turn into engines, but if so, it's affecting many people today," Mr. Bao sighed, shaking his head. "The 90s to now have changed significantly with trains. Most of the people do have the power to change, change into steam engines. I heard... a story of one person who warped into their engine, and couldn't warp back,"
Thomas gasped. "WHAT? That can't happen!"
"Don't worry too much, Thomas. It's just talk—we can't say for sure. But if it does happen, it's a real problem, especially with coal shortages. A permanent morph would rob a human of their life, replacing it with that of an outdated machine."
"Oh no... no, no... I can't let that happen to me," Thomas whispered.
At that moment, he felt Carter gently rubbing the window seal. "It'll be alright, Thomas," Carter said reassuringly. Thomas hoped it was true—he certainly didn't want to be stuck as an engine forever.
"So... Mr. Bao, what's your goal? What do you plan to accomplish?" Ming asked.
"Well, now that I've met the engine destined to help bring the magic back, he'll be able to make the lady return. And if she comes back, maybe she can reverse what she's done to all of us," Mr. Bao replied.
Carter's stomach growled audibly, drawing laughter from everyone in Thomas's cab. "Oooh, that sounded pretty loud," Miriam teased, and Carter blushed before rubbing his stomach. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry," he admitted.
Thomas chuckled, blowing a burst of steam. "Come on, Carter—I'll take you home. It'll be faster since I'm an engine,"
Thomas heard his stomach go off, and heard about his remark. Thomas blew steam from out his pistons. "Come on, I'll take you home Carter, it'll be faster since you're hungry,"
"Thanks, Thomas. I appreciate it," Carter said gratefully.
Miriam gathered her friends. "We'll get out here. Come on, Abby, Pyria, and Ty!" she urged, and they all left the cab.
"I'll stay here with them for a bit," Percy said.
"Hey! Make sure you visit us before you leave tomorrow!" Mei called after him.
"Don't worry—I won't ever leave without a proper goodbye!" Thomas replied.
Thomas chugged away, shouting, "Bye guys! Bye, Mei's mom and Mr. Bao!"
They waved as Thomas puffed along the tram lines.
"Holy bleedin' shite," Thomas muttered once he was a ways off.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Carter added, with an amused snort.
"What was all THAT about?! There's a chance I can STAY like this?! I don't want that!" Thomas cried out.
Carter wrapped his hand around the window seal and leaned against it. "Whatever happens, know that I'll never leave your side. I'll love you no matter what," he whispered, planting a quick kiss on the cold metal.
Thomas blushed. "Thanks, Carter."
"No problem. Wow—kissing metal is so cold," Carter joked, making Thomas giggle.
As Thomas rolled along the track, he passed his house before reaching the block where Carter lived. His dad was waiting for him.
'Uh oh... he's going to see I'm an engine,' Thomas thought.
Quickly, Thomas rolled by. "Hi, Dad! Bye, Dad!" he called out, speeding past.
"W-What? T-Thomas?! Wait, stop!" his dad shouted.
Steam hissed from Thomas as he continued—until he braked abruptly. Flipping his reverser, he rolled backward just enough for his dad to catch sight.
"H-Hi, Dad!" Thomas said nervously.
"Hey, Mr. Hatt," Carter greeted from the cab. Steam billowed from under Thomas as he settled.
"Son... I... wow, what happened? Just last week you were so nervous about showing your power, and look at you now! Wow!" his dad marveled.
Thomas blinked. "You're not mad?" he asked.
"How could I be? I'm proud of you!" his dad replied warmly.
Thomas smiled a little. "Um... I'll be back in a little while—I gotta drop off Carter," he explained before pulling off.
"That's quite alright, son, but hey, slow down! Don't go too fast on the tram lines," his dad cautioned.