“I…er…” Katie was struggling to find the words.
“Ms. Barker, we’re waiting,” warned the Fat Controller. Katie sighed.
“…I lied so Edward would be sent away,” she finally revealed. Vulgar noises from the engines and their crews greeted this.
“SILENCE!” boomed the Fat Controller. “Ms. Barker, I demand an explanation! Why would you have me send away one of my engines?!”
“Because the railways on this island are operated by dated forms of locomotive power! Sodor Electric doesn’t use coal to fuel its plant! The average person’s car is tilting towards electric power! Why do you still have coal-burning and diesel-powered engines?!”
“Because the railways here are the most active and productive heritage railways in the whole of the entire United Kingdom, if not the world! I thought working here would help you understand that! You’re too obsessed with what’s new!”
“And YOU’RE too obsessed with the past! We can’t crowd the rails with dated machinery!”
“Ms. Barker, you have caused considerable confusion! We’re lucky this incident hasn’t caused any delays! You have clearly proven that you care only for mere aesthetics instead of the emotions that come with the past, present, and future! Your employment is hereby terminated!”
“You’re seriously firing me over this?” asked Katie.
“That’s right. I’m seriously firing you over this. Now collect your things and leave my railway at once!”
“I’ll leave the railway, but Auriella and I will be back! So, sleep lightly, Sir Stephen Topham Hatt!” She stormed off and left the railway. The Fat Controller then turned to Edward.
“Edward, I owe you an apology for this mess,” he said. “I should have done more to investigate this. When the fog clears tomorrow, you will return to your branch line to resume your duties. Until then, the painters will give you a fresh coat of paint.”
“Thank you, Sir!” beamed Edward. “It will be lovely to stretch my wheels tomorrow and look my best!”
“James, you and your team have done splendidly today! You shall return to passenger duties when the weather gets better.”
“Yes, Sir!” cheered James.
“Percy, Boco, I know you were eager for some minor maintenance. I believe a full overhaul is needed. Report to the Works at your earliest convenience today.”
“Yes, Sir!” replied Percy and Boco happily.
“As for you, Mr. Saunders.”
“Yes, Sir?” asked Richard. The Fat Controller was beaming.
“I’m not sure I can fully forget the party in my office, but I CAN forgive it! You and your team proved to be a credit to my railway! Once Percy and Boco are dropped off at the Works, you all can take the week off to assist your Transformer friends in keeping a lookout for your enemies. Perhaps you should add Ms. Barker to your list.”
“Don’t worry, Sir, we won’t let her get anywhere near the railways on this island. I’m glad we were able to prove ourselves to you. Now, we better drop Boco and Percy off at the Works. Crovan’s Gate, yes?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hold on, Sir,” interjected James. “Amy and Teletraan are my crew, so who’s going to be at my controls when they’re taking a holiday?”
“Your old crew’s coming back,” replied the Fat Controller. “They had taken their much-needed paid holiday while Amy and Teletraan were your crew. Speaking of which, Amy, Teletraan, do you mind collecting you and your team’s paychecks on their behalf?”
“Paychecks?” asked Teletraan.
“Hold on, we’re getting paid?” quizzed Richard.
“Well, you DID work for me, yes?” replied the Fat Controller.
“…Okay, fair enough. In the meantime, Kaitlyn, Percy, time to go.”
“You too, Boco,” said Azuliterii as she climbed into Boco’s cab. The Fat Controller invited Amy and Teletraan into his car and the three groups headed off to their respective destinations. Edward then grinned at James.
“…What?” asked James.
“I think I’ve figured out why you didn’t parade around about being the greatest detective on Sodor,” replied Edward. “You wanted your passenger duties back and figured that your boasting would land you into trouble, and to be fair, you would have been right.”
“I admit nothing!” hissed James. His scowl then vanished as he got his usual smug look. “Still, it WAS rather dashing of me to clear your name, wasn’t it?”
“…Need I remind you of the incident that took your passenger duties in the first place?” James scowled again, but said nothing.
On the way to Crovan’s Gate, Richard tried to puzzle James’ unusually quiet behavior. “…Percy,” he called, “could you help me solve a mystery?”
“What’s on your mind?” asked Percy.
“It’s about James. He wasn’t parading around when we were clearing Edward’s name.”
“Oh, I know why he was quiet,” chuckled Percy. “Have you heard about the Bootlace Incident?”
“Practically every fan of your island heard about that.”
“Well, it happened to him again! He woke up in a foul mood one morning and banged the coaches about when he was getting ready for his morning passenger run. You see, there wasn’t a shunter at the time.”
“He didn’t!” said Kaitlyn
“Another broken brake-pipe that had to be patched up with newspapers and bootlaces! The woman who surrendered them was a lot more pleasant to deal with than Jeremiah Jobling was. But the Fat Controller still had a few words for James and had him do goods work only until he could be trusted.” Richard and Kaitlyn howled with laughter.
While she was getting Boco to the Works, Azuliterii pondered about what was said at the sheds. “…Did she say…but she didn’t…did she?”
“Something on your mind?” asked Boco.
“Just thinking about a name Katie mentioned. Nothing you need concern yourself with…I hope.”
The NWR Team returned to the Ark and Glanthelantir once Percy and Boco were at the Works. Azuliterii still looked lost in thought when she arrived. “…Something up?” asked Richard.
“Richard, did Katie mention an ‘Auriella’?” quizzed Azuliterii.
“…I think so. Why, does that name mean anything to you?”
“That’s the name of an Adrexian that’s not the most…Adrexian in terms of attitude.”
“I see.” Richard then got a call from Thundercracker. “What is it?” he asked once he answered his phone.
“I did a little aerial patrol,” explained Thundercracker. “I found two people lying on the island’s southern shores. They’re Lords, one elderly male, one female with pointy ears, they’re badly hurt.”
“…Were you spotted?”
“No.”
“Then bring them here. We’ll fix them up in the Glanthelantir’s medical ward near its brig.”
“Understood.” He ended the call.
“Bring who here?” asked Kaitlyn.
“We have a pair of Lord prisoners that need medical attention.”
“Daddy, are you sure that’s a good idea?!”
“They might be friends that were kidnapped,” remarked Amy.
“That’s a pretty big unknown!”
“Batman said that other friends were assimilated,” replied Richard. “We need to take that chance.
Katie stormed into a house in a foul mood. “Oh dear,” sighed a woman’s voice, “someone’s not happy.”
“Fat Hat just fired me!” snarled Katie.
“What?!” A tall woman in a green dress then came up to her. “Why would he do that?!”
“My cousin, Richard, turned him against me!”
“Oh, poor baby!” The woman brought Katie’s head to her chest and cradled her. “My poor, upset, glamourous girl!” Katie wrapped her arms around the woman and sighed.
“I’m not in the best of moods,” admitted Katie.
“Well, I know what can help cheer you up. Shall we get some new outfits?” Katie smiled.
“…Yeah, I could do with some new dresses.”
“There’s my darling!” The woman bent down and kissed Katie on the lips.
“Auriella, what would I do without you?”
“Probably spin your wheels,” said the woman, Auriella.
“Katie, you will go nowhere,” called a third woman’s voice. The woman stepped into the room to reveal that she was of Japanese origin, had one brown eye and one black one, and had a right arm made of solid space. “Remain here for further orders. Auriella, you are to go to Culdee Fell’s summit.”
“Hold on, who died and left you in charge?!” demanded Auriella.
“Khan made me team leader, remember?”
“You forget your place, Igura!” snarled Auriella. She grabbed the woman’s left arm. “Don’t forget that Adrexians have powers beyond your imagination!”
“…You grabbed the wrong arm!” The woman, Adachi Igura, then grabbed Auriella’s face as her right hand glowed bright. That glow was accompanied by burning flesh. Auriella screamed in pain as she was shoved into Katie. “Don’t forget that your organization was built on the foundations of Shocker Rift! Also, I have Vortech’s powers. He made your universe bow to him for a while, did he not?” She left the room as Katie used her new powers to help Auriella heal.
“She’s a dead woman when this is over!” she hissed.
“In time,” said Auriella as the handprint slowly vanished. “For now, we need to suffer her. Besides, Khan can discipline her when he gets wind of this.”