STICK WITH STEAM

Based upon "Mud Glorious Mud" by Jonathan Trueman and "Pop Goes the Diesel" (Pack) by Paul Larson

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

"When do you think Paul and Annabelle are expected home again?" This was a recurring question Patrick Percival was asked daily, and today, it was Alfie who'd asked.

"One day less than what I was asked before," was the usual response. Patrick then chuckled, "Anyone would think you wanted to be there the day they returned!"

"Can you blame us, though?" asked Jack. "Annabelle has left a huge impact on us."

"She certainly makes the rounds," nodded the intern thoughtfully.

"If that's the case," said Murphy, "we'd better get to work so Annabelle and Paul won't think we're slacking off."

"Indeed so, Murphy," called Miss Jenny, strolling over to the Pack. "We must all get to the building site fer the new café."

"Oh, I nearly forgot!" cried David. "Let's go, everyone."

"But safety first, everyone," cautioned Miss Jenny. "There was heavy rainfall last night, an' th' last thing we want is fer any o' ye to get bogged down."

"That means driving through muddy roads, doesn't it?" groaned Isobella.

"Oooh, afraid of a little mud, are we?" remarked Max.

"Heh, you'd rather stay here and not work until the weather's better?" jeered Monty.

"O-of course not!" she huffed. "I'm not lazy! I'm going to help with the café too!"

"Careful you don't end up in a muddy ditch then!" And on that note, Max and Monty sped away, laughing and eager to start work.

"Don't listen to those two, Isobella," assured Jack. "They'll get tired of it soon."

"Yeah," agreed Alfie. "They're all brawn and no brains, those two."

Isobella sighed. "Thanks, boys. I just hope no one will slip off the road in this weather."

The Pack slowly started to move off to the construction site, with Miss Jenny hopping into her land rover.

With the recent rainstorm that hit the Island of Sodor, construction on the new café had received some slight delays, but thankfully not enough to prevent the Pack from completing it on schedule.

"Watch out, everyone!" called Jasmine. "There's a large puddle here."

"We know how to handle it, sis." Poppy rolled her eyes. "It's not like we have fireboxes that can go out."

"I'd… better take the long way around," said Isobella, backing away from the puddle.

"Okay, Izzy," said Jasmine, "but don't take too long!"

"I… I won't," she insisted. She slowly backed up and rolled off.

"Oh, why does she always do that?" muttered Patrick the cement mixer. "She's going to be severely delayed fer work!"

"Come now, Patrick," Kelly sighed. "Need I remind you of… 'the tree incident'?"

"…oh…" Patrick looked down at the road sadly. Perhaps it was a lucky thing that most of the other Pack members weren't paying attention to the conversation…

Nonetheless, the Pack soon arrived at the construction site. Well, most of them did, for Isobella was still going the long way round to avoid mud as much as possible.

"I can't get caught in the mud…" she panted. "I can't…" The yellow steam lorry tensed and breathed heavily as she rolled along…

She was back in the forest. The manager had called off the workload because the storm had made it too unsafe. Unfortunately, Isobella had gotten stuck in the mud in the process. As she was struggling to get free, No. 13 rushed back into the forest to find her.

"No. 13!" she called. "Get out of here, it's not safe!"

A crack of lightning spilt through the sky, and scorched one of the trees. To make matters worse, the tree started to collapse.

"No!" No. 13 cried. They rushed over to Isobella, starting to push her. "Come on, try and start up!"

The steam lorry revved her motor again, and with a huge effort, she was finally out of the mud.

"Okay, driver," Isobella said firmly. "Get a cable to No. 13 so we can…"

CRACK!

The tree crashed down with a thud, followed by a pained scream.

"NO!"

"No. 13, no!" she wailed. "No… no…" The yellow steam lorry broke into a sob. "Why…? They were so young…"

Just then, another horn tooted. Isobella glanced up to see a familiar red steam lorry pull up next to her. "Dear sister, are you alright?"

"Oh, Elizabeth…" Isobella sighed. "I… I just bring bad luck whenever it rains."

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Elizabeth. "If it's just getting your paint dirty, it's nothing a washdown can't fix."

"It's not just that; it's just… getting dirty reminds me of that terrible night we lost No. 13."

Elizabeth blinked in shock. "You… lost a fellow Pack member?"

"Y-yes…" she gulped, and through a lot of stammering, Isobella filled her sister in on the night of the dreaded storm.

"Oh, Isobella," Elizabeth said empathetically, "I felt just the same way. Have I ever told you about what happened to Maurice?"

"Well… no," Isobella admitted. "Wasn't he one of the Coffee Pots Sir Topham Hatt designed?"

"He was; the second of the four," Elizabeth explained. "Maurice was a bit sarcastic, but overall a good sort. He had a cab which was especially useful in bad weather, whereas the other three didn't." She paused to gather her thoughts. "One night, Maurice was due out with a train, and was running late. On that same night… some bandits came to steal me. Because of his black paint, and my headlamp wasn't on… we crashed."

"Oh, those scoundrels!" gasped Isobella. "How… how bad was the damage?"

"Well… Maurice could be repaired, and he would have if Bertram– Er, Sir Topham Hatt was in charge," said Elizabeth, "but Albert Regaby had no regard for the engines' feelings and ordered for him to be scrapped."

"What?!" gasped Isobella. "Oh… oh, Elizabeth… that's awful!"

"I felt so guilty… I hid away in that old shed for years," Elizabeth confessed. "I was certain Bertram wouldn't want someone who took away one of his engines."

"But that wasn't your doing!" cried Isobella. "It was those thieves and Albert Regaby who hurt you and Maurice, not yours."

"And I understand that now," Elizabeth admitted. "And Isobella, the same thing applies to you and No. 13. It was an unfortunate circumstance that took their life, not you."

Isobella paused to think her sister's words over. The other Pack members around at the time – Ned, Patrick and Kelly – as well as Mr. Packard himself, never once blamed her for the incident. And there was the blessing of No. 13 at least going out doing a noble deed – poor Maurice never got the chance.

"You do have good points, Elizabeth," said Isobella. "Maybe… maybe it's time for the other Pack members to know the truth."

"You haven't told them?" asked Elizabeth.

"Well… yes and no," sighed Isobella. "I'll explain on the way to the new café."

The two lorries drove off, Elizabeth very baffled by what her sister meant.

Meanwhile, over at the construction site, the Pack were busily trying to make up for lost time.

"Max, Monty!" cried Jack. "Hold still! Alfie and I have to load you up!"

"We have to work quickly, don't we?" sorted Max.

"We'll never get done if you… hey!" cried Alfie, and his engine began to sputter. "Huh… my shovel… I can't… ugh! What's going on?!"

Alfie's operator tapped the glass of the fuel gauge with his knuckle. "You've run out of diesel," he explained. "No matter, though; I can run over and get a fresh barrel for you."

"Oh dear," groaned Jack as Alfie's operator went to pick up some fuel. "I'll have to load up both Max and Monty by myself!"

"Might be a problem there," said Jack's operator. "You haven't much diesel left yourself."

"Wait, what?!" gasped Jack.

"Well, that's just great!" grumbled Monty. "How are we expected to take all this dirt away if you're out of diesel?!"

"Maybe I could help," said Oliver, trundling over to the digging site.

"Oh, thanks, Oliver," said Alfie, relieved. "You're a lifesaver!"

Alfie's operator went over to where diesel fuel was kept for the Pack. Unfortunately…

"Er… did we forget to bring the diesel barrels?" he asked.

"Don't be silly," chuckled Patrick Percival. "No one would forget something like that. I'll go and check to see what we've got."

Soon, Jack and Oliver managed to finish loading Max and Monty.

"Hey, last one to dump their load is the last to get diesel later!" called Max.

"You're on!" said Monty.

"Go easy, you two," warned Oliver. "It would be wise for you to conserve what diesel you might still have."

"Ah, don't fret so much, Ollie," scoffed Max. "We've got plenty to keep us going!" He really shouldn't have said that, for before the dump trucks could clear the building site, both of them ground to a halt. First Max, and then Monty shortly afterward.

"Hey, what gives?" groaned Monty. "I was winning there for a moment!"

"I told you so," groaned Oliver.

Just then, two horns blasted, and flashes of yellow and red burst onto the construction site.

"What in the Great Roadways happened here?!" cried Elizabeth.

"I've run out of diesel," explained Alfie, "and so have Max and Monty."

"I don't have much diesel left myself," added Jack. "Someone must've forgotten to bring us extra barrels."

"Oh no!" gasped Isobella. "That won't do! We must get this project done on time!"

"Ye're quite right, Isobella," nodded Miss Jenny. "We'll investigate th' matter on what happened with th' diesel fuel. In the meantime, you an' Elizabeth must go to Kellsthorpe Road to get some."

"Not a problem, Miss Jenny," said Elizabeth. "The rest of you, try and conserve your fuel supply as much as possible until we get back."

"Don't worry," said Nigel. "We won't be as foolish as those two." Max and Monty just looked away in embarrassment.

"It's a good thing we don't use diesel," said Isobella to Elizabeth as they set off.

"Neither do we," remarked Buster to Ned. "Hey, do you two need some help?"

"Er, no thank you, Buster," chuckled Isobella. "You may need to roll the foundation flat though."

"Oh… right. Almost forgot that I can't go very fast."

The two steam lorries continued down the road, being very careful to not run over any potholes potentially caused by the storm.

"It wouldn't do if one or both of us got stuck," said Isobella. "Then we'd really be in trouble!"

"You're telling me," Elizabeth agreed. "I'm just glad that rain isn't blurring our vision right now."

However, they did come across another problem…

"Oh no!" gasped Isobella. "This is where the road's flooded! We… we have to go around."

"Dear sister, there's no time!" insisted Elizabeth. "Come on, we have to go through the flood. I remember Percy telling me about how he brought the Vicar's Sunday school home in water higher than this."

"I… I do vaguely remember that," Isobella said quietly.

"Follow after me." Elizabeth slowly drove forward through the water. It was up to her axles, and water sloshed onto her trailer, but she didn't seem concerned about that as she got to the other side. "Come on, Isobella. You can do it."

"I… I can do it," Isobella said under her breath. Slowly, she rolled forward. Her wheels touched the water, and her yellow paint started to get muddy stains on it. "Ugh… yuck!" she groaned. "Ugh… I'm going to get a washdown after this for sure…"

"Isobella," Elizabeth's voice cut through the air, "you're on dry land now."

"Huh?!" The yellow lorry looked around. No more water was sloshing at her, and droplets fell onto the road in the sun. "I… I did it! I didn't get stuck or anything!"

"Well done, dear sister!" grinned Elizabeth. "That's a good start."

"Let's keep going!" Isobella cried. "The rest of the Pack are counting on us. Buster and Ned can't do everything by themselves."

Speaking of whom, back at the construction site, Alex and David had run out of diesel as well.

"This is worse than I thought it would be," sighed Miss Jenny. "Who fergot to bring th' diesel fuel with us?"

Poppy looked down with embarrassment at the roadway. "Er… I might've gotten into a shouting match with Max and Monty before we left and… er… sorry, everyone."

"Poppy!" exclaimed most of the Pack.

"Well, for once, you can't blame us," remarked Max.

"Actually, we can, as ye two started it," retorted Patrick the cement mixer.

"Let's not point bumpers!" cried Nelson. "We have to wait for Elizabeth and Isobella to get back with the diesel fuel."

Meanwhile, the two steam lorries came across Barbara Regaby, signaling them to stop.

"Is something wrong, Constable Regaby?" asked Isobella.

"The road ahead's been blocked by a mudslide," she explained. "You'll have to go a different way."

"Oh, that's the last thing we need!" cried Elizabeth. "We have an emergency at the construction site, Barbara." She quickly filled her in.

"That is bad news," sighed Barbara. "I was actually going to call Miss Jenny to have some of the Pack clear it up, but… I guess that'll have to wait for now."

"Hmm…" Elizabeth looked over thoughtfully. "We may have to cut across that field."

"Th-that field?!" cried Isobella. "Elizabeth… driving through a flooded road was one thing… but over a muddy field… one of us could get stuck!"

"Either that or construction of that new café is stalled indefinitely."

Isobella gulped. "Y-you're right, dear sister." She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go!"

So, the two steam lorries made their way through the muddy field. Isobella winced as more mud splashed against her paint, but she didn't stop.

"Ugh, this is disgusting!" she groaned. "I'll be glad when the weather is drier."

"Keep going, Isobella," encouraged Elizabeth. "We'll be back on the road soon."

At Kellsthorpe Road, Lauren, Audrey, Hilary and Mark were waiting for their passengers. Much to their surprise, Bear rolled up with a single flatbed of fuel.

"Bear?" Lauren asked. "What's going on?"

"Miss Jenny needed someone to deliver fuel for the Pack," the Hymek explained. "For one reason or another, they forgot to bring it down."

"It was probably Max and Monty stirring up trouble," remarked Audrey. "Again…"

"You sure said it!" called another voice. Rolling up were Elizabeth and Isobella. The engines and coaches were shocked by their muddy appearance.

"Great Railway Above!" exclaimed Hilary. "What happened to the two of you?"

"Mudslide… had to… cut across… a field," panted Elizabeth.

"Well, the important thing is that you're here to pick up this diesel fuel," said Bear. The workmen had begun to unload the barrels from his flatbed and carry them over onto Isobella and Elizabeth's trailers.

Once that was done, Bear tooted goodbye and rolled away. "James will not be happy about the delay up here," he joked. Chuckling themselves, Isobella and Elizabeth set off on their way.

Back at the construction site, Buster and Ned had done all they could to keep the project going, but there was only so much they could do by themselves, especially with limited diesel fuel amongst the other machines.

"Where's Isobella and Elizabeth?" asked Buster anxiously. "I hope they get here soon."

"Me too," sighed Kelly. "I feel helpless like this!"

"They can't be too much longer," assured Murphy.

Sure enough, there was the sound of two horns tooting, and Isobella and Elizabeth pulled into the construction site, more dirty than ever before. Everyone cheered for their arrival, much to Isobella's surprise and relief.

"Ye both made it!" cried Miss Jenny. "Spot on, girls. Ye'd make a mother proud."

"Thank you, Miss Jenny!" they said together. The barrels were quickly unloaded, and the rest of the machines were soon refuelled with fresh diesel. At last, construction could resume once more, albeit slightly delayed.

"You were both fantastic!" grinned Jack, bouncing his bucket in gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

"I'd be glad for a washdown after this," said Isobella. "But if it means helping my friends, then I don't mind getting a bit dirty." She glanced back at her sister. "Thanks for your help, Elizabeth."

"Of course, dear sister," she smiled. "Now…" Her tone became more serious. "I think it's time you told the Pack something very important."

"Tell us what?" asked Jack. The rest of the Pack stopped working and gathered around.

Isobella glanced over at Patrick, Ned and Kelly knowingly, and whispered something to them. The others glanced with uncertainty, but it wasn't long before the yellow steam lorry cleared her throat. "Do you remember that story about the lorry in the forest Kelly told you two years ago on Halloween?"

Most of the Pack said "yes", but Talia and Olivia said "no".

"What happened to it?" asked Talia. Isobella quickly recounted the story for her and Olivia, right up to what happened after the lorry's accident with the tree.

"And… the vehicle who No. 13 tried to rescue… was me," said Isobella.

"And the others in the story were me, Ned and Patrick," added Kelly.

"So the story was true all along…" exclaimed Alfie. Even Max and Monty were shocked at the reveal.

"The poor lorry," gasped Nigel. "I… I can't believe it."

Isobella sighed. "…that's the main reason why I don't like getting dirty. I was afraid I would get stuck, someone else would try to save me… and then I wouldn't be able to save them…"

"Why didn't you just say something?" gasped Max.

"We wouldn't have teased you… if we had known that," added Monty.

"You were very brave today, Izzy," said Jasmine. "Thank you for facing your fears and helping us."

Isobella smiled; she still doesn't like getting dirty, for it was a habit she couldn't shake off, but if her friends needed help, she was willing to take the risk.

THE END

Author's Comments

Mud Glorious Mud was the last completed Pack episode released on DVD, both in the UK and US. For Series 6-7 Redux, there's one more Pack episode we've yet to adapt. Interestingly enough, one of the canceled Pack episodes, Pop Goes the Diesel (not to be confused with the original story or the Series 2 episode), shared a loosely similar story to Mud Glorious Mud, albeit Max and Monty were more involved. However, the outline was closer to that of Thomas to the Rescue from Series 8, which may have been the inspiration for said episode. Still, Max and Monty do play a small role in teasing Isobella for being afraid of getting dirty, but after learning the truth about No. 13, they feel bad for teasing. It really shows that while they might be troublemakers, they aren't completely heartless and do have a conscience. Elizabeth was also fun to incorporate in helping Isobella overcome her fear of getting dirty and coming to terms with what had happened No. 13 all those years ago.

At long last, we can reveal all five remaining stories of Series 6-7 Redux yet to be rewritten! We've finally reached the tail end of this redux, so here are the final five:

- Hockings' Last Stand (Trusty Rusty)

- Oliver the Snow Engine

- Duncan's Wild Ride (The Runaway Elephant/Rheneas and the Roller Coaster)

- The Tortoise and the Hare

- Three Cheers for Thomas