I'm finally back! It almost looked like I wasn't going to get this done by today, but fortunately, I found the perfect way to plug away at writing – watching the Endless Eight all in a row! And I finished this with three to spare!

Thanks to ThomasPercyEmilyandMolly, matt0044, and DonPinata for their reviews!

From K.D: An excellent chapter!

When are you going to do Chapters 4-10?

Tell us when you do! I can't wait!

Did you even sign the petition to get the director's cutof "Thomas And The Magic Railroad" released to us yet?

From KKid: Thanks for the review! I'll try to finish the story before Thanksgiving. And yes, I did sign it finally!

From Duck 'n' Diesel: This is shaping up to be a great re-write of the movie so far, with all the missing characters from both shows having at least a cameo appearence. The only thing missing here that I think would make this really good is Campbell and O'Donnell's classic soundtrack.

However, I do feel the need to mention several errors mentioned in this chapter:

"There already was a diesel here who spoke such nonsense, and James sent him packing!" I think you mean Duck here...

"'Oliver's right,' James said. 'I even heard that Diesel 10 say that he was looking for a lost steam engine before.'

'He was?' Duck asked.

'You were there with me when he said so' the red engine groaned." In Chapter 1, Duck seemed to be the one more interested in Diesel 10's mention of Lady then James was, I think you mixed them up again.

Anyway, this is a great story so far, and I hope you'll update soon.

From KKid: Thanks for the review! I can't really put in the soundtrack, once we reach the end, I'll put a list of voice actors that I believe will suit the best engines and people the best. And I've reworked those scenes. Thanks for pointing those mistakes out! Though, since that was the story James fed Duncan, I'll leave his lines as is.

And for everyone who hasn't reviewed…shame on you all.

We aren't quite yet ready to go back to Shining Time yet, but it's time to introduce another major character to the story. Time to start chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Begineth the Search!

The engines were all up bright and early for the next day's jobs. Henry was the first to depart; he had to take The Flying Kipper at five o' clock. Donald and Douglas were next, as they had to take a heavy goods train to Brendam Docks. Gordon and Oliver soon left as well, to take their respective passenger trains. Mr. Conductor was up through all of this, aligning the turntable and shining up the brass finishings before the engines got to work, but he had to take a breather after Gordon left. He was starting to feel a little faint, and began to worry that it wasn't a simple dizzy spell. Still, he pressed on, and began to polish up James for his stopping train to Vickarstown. He had just finished when he noticed James twitching his nose in pain.

"What's wrong, James?" he asked.

"It's that stupid fly, that's what!" the red engine replied angrily. "That thing's been living in the shed for a week now, and decided just last night to land on my nose! Now I have this itch on my nose, and I don't have enough steam yet to wheesh it away!"

"Maybe I can help get that itch off you," Mr. Conductor offered. He picked up a broom, and began to scratch James's nose. James felt instant relief.

"Ooh…left a bit...a-ah, right a bit…n-no, up…ah! Oh-ha-ha!" Mr. Conductor stopped brushing.

"There, James. Tickle all gone now?"

"No," he said sadly, "still itchy." He smiled. "Just kidding!" The two of them chuckled. Mr. Conductor suddenly yawned. He stood the broom up on its handle, and leaned against the brush end. James grew concerned.

"Hey, Mr. C, why do you look so tired. It's not because I'm red, is it? Gordon sometimes says that red is a very tiring color, but I think it looks so nice against the snow…it's not that, is it?" Mr. Conductor shook his head.

"Oh, no, of course not James! I think that red is bright and cheerful, as do many other people!" James felt much better.

"Oh, good!"

" Just like my sparkle!" the mood immediately became solemn. "Or at least it was…and must will be again…"

"Mr. C?" James asked, concerned.

"It's nothing. Now off you go to work now! We wouldn't want the passengers to complain!"

"R-right, Mr. C. Keep your steam up!" And he steamed onto the turntable and headed for work. Once he was off, Mr. Conductor walked over to the turntable controls, and repositioned the track so that it was in line with the last engine that had to leave.

"Beg pardon, sir," Duck said to him, "but are you really alright?"

"Does it look that bad?" Mr. Conductor replied. "There's never been a shortage of gold dust before in my family as far as I can remember…the only plan in case of a crisis was to find the waterfall…and I think I know which one! Duck, can you take me to Crovans Gate? I need to get to the Skarloey Railway as soon as possible!"

"Will do, Mr. Conductor." Mr. Conductor hopped into Duck's cab, and the Great Western engine set off for the mainline.

"A magic railroad?" Thomas repeated to Donald and Douglas at the junction. "Here? On Sodor?"

"We dinna believe en it ourselves," Donald stated, "bet after descussin' the matter weth Duck an' Oliver, it's the only cenclusion we culd come up with."

"Mr. C's sparkle runs out," Douglas explained, "just as that Diesel 10 comes ta Sodor, statin' that he's returned fer a lost steam engine. Yet none ev us ever remember him frem all those years workin' this line. A bit strange, isn't it?"

"It certainly is," Thomas said.

"Weel, we be off ta see Edward," Donald whistled. "Maybe he knows a thing or two 'bout the legend. Take care!" The Scottish twins departed the station, bound for Edward's branchline. Their long train obscured Thomas's line of sight, preventing him from seeing Duck and Mr. Conductor pass through the junction on the next track.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island at Vickarstown, Gordon approached the station, as usual, right on time. As he slowed to a halt, he could see the stationmaster waving to him on the platform.

"The turntable at Barrow is jammed," he explained to him. "Some diesel shunted a train straight into the well! You'll have to turn around here and bring the train over the bridge tender-first."

"Must have been Diesel Ten or one of his henchdiesels," Gordon grumbled as he uncoupled. "Now I'll have to look like a tank engine to those diesels again. The indignity…" he grumbled all the way to the Vickarstown sheds, and onto the turntable. The big blue engine didn't notice that while he was turning, a pair of eyes were watching him. Not the eyes of Splatter and Dodge, but the eyes of George the Steamroller. George glared enviously at Gordon, who was already halfway around the turntable. Diesel 10 purred up alongside him.

"Rotten things, turntables are!" George grumbled. "They take up too much space better suited for a road!"

"I agree," Diesel 10 concurred. "They're necessary for most steam engines, since they can't go fast tender first. But we diesels can go just as well forwards or backwards. We don't need turntables." He paused. "How about we join forces, eh? You help me, and I help you." George looked at the diesel.

"You realize that not only do I hate railways, but I'm also a STEAM roller?" he asked.

"Wheels before power, my friend. You are a vehicle before a steam engine in my eyes, and even if I considered you to be a steam engine, well, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' If you help me, I promise you the turntable." George froze.

"The turntable?" he repeated.

"Yes," Diesel 10 said, "Vickarstown AND Tidmouth." George pondered the terms. He had never wanted to completely rip out the turntables in the first place. No, he wanted to take out the mechanisms for the track, leaving a smooth, barren pit.

"My own personal roller rink…" he daydreamed aloud. "And I'll have two of them…" He imagined himself driving down one side of the pit, gaining enough speed to rocket up the other side. He shot into the air, doing a spin while sneering at Gordon, Henry, and James, who were watching from afar in disgust and envy.

"Deal!" George stated as he snapped back into reality. "What's my end of the bargain?"

"There's a lost engine that I'm looking for that's connected with Twinkle Toes," Diesel 10 explained. "Twinkle Toes can travel between worlds, just like his father once did forty years ago. He helped stash away the engine before I could get to her on a magic railway, which only his son knows about. As much as I know, the railway ends at a set of buffers which transport an engine to this railway rather than stop a train. However, if I sent myself or my henchmen in to ram a buffer set that isn't the right one, we'll only derail, and end our search then and there. But you can go off the rails without problems, so I want you to ram the buffers on Sodor until you find the magic buffers. You got that?"

"Yes, sir!" George replied. He looked around, and immediately spotted a set of buffers on one of the nearby sidings. The steamroller charged full speed at the set of buffers, shattering them to pieces.

"No, no, no!" Diesel 10 groaned. "They wouldn't be in such an obvious place like the yard! They'd be on a disused siding or a lightly used branchline!"

"Hey, Diesel 10!" Gordon called over. He had spotted him when George demolished the buffers. "How about I hook you onto the end of my Express, and you ride all the way to London?"

"No thanks, you pompous puffbox!" he replied, as he backed away. "Remember, George! All of the buffers!" George groaned when he heard this. When he signed up for this, he was expecting to knock over only a few buffers…but all of the Island's buffers…

At Crovans Gate, the Narrow-Gauge engines were getting ready to start their day's work. Peter Sam had the first train today, and Nancy, the guard's daughter, was busy polishing him up before the run.

"Almost done, Peter Sam," she told the green engine. "Just a few more spots left on your dome, and-"

"Hurry up, Nancy!" Duncan interrupted. "I can already see my reflection in Peter Sam's paint for crying out loud! Why not polish up someone like me instead?"

"Because you'd come back having my polish go to waste!" she giggled. "My father said that you are taking trains to the slate mines today." The other engines laughed, while Duncan scowled.

"Pah!" he groaned. "Hopefully, these trucks won't be for that clawed diesel again…"

"I told BoCo about Diesel 10 last night," Rusty said. "He's assured me that there'll be no problems with him, but the little bit about the lost engine is bothering me…"

"It's probably nothing," Sir Handle told him. "Let BoCo and the other engines handle this out. Remember when Henry told Peter Sam he would leave his passengers behind if he was late?"

"I'd rather not…" Peter Sam groaned.

"Diesel 10 has said that he has already been on the North Western Railway before," Duke noted. "Maybe Skarloey or Rheneas know more about the situation than we do." Just ten, Duck puffed up alongside the engine shed. "Good morning, Duck. What brings you off of the Little Western?"

"I wish I had the answer," Duck replied, as Mr. Conductor hopped out of his cab.

"M-M-Mr. C-conductor, sir!" the narrow-gauge engines stammered when they saw him (Except Duke. He just said it normally).

"W-what brings you to the Skarloey, sir?" Sir Handle asked.

"Hello, my friends!" Mr. Conductor greeted the engines. "I need to get to Rheneas as soon as possible." Duck became puzzled.

"Isn't Rheneas at The Works for repairs?" he wondered. "Why did we go to the enginehouse then?" Mr. Conductor wobbled a bit, then leaned against Duck's water tank. "Sir?"

"I-I'm alright…" he managed. "Anyway, Rheneas the engine was named after Rhenes, the last town before the junction for the loop line. Rheneas is a Sudrian word meaning 'divided waterfall.'"

"So what does this have to do with you?" Duncan interrupted.

"Hush!" Nancy hissed. "Are you really ok, Mr. Conductor? Did something happen last night?" She turned to Duck. Henry whizzed by on the mainline with the Flying Kipper Return.

"If I may speak up, Diesel 10 attacked us in the sheds last night." The narrow-gauge engines gasped.

"Good heavens!" Duke gasped.

"That diesel is that evil?-!" Duncan asked. "Why if I would face him-!"

"You would cower back to your shed," Rusty muttered, earning an embarrassed blush from Duncan.

"I was able to ward him off," Mr. Conductor explained, "but with my gold dust running out, I'm not sure I could do the same again. My family did mention something about going to a waterfall in case of a problem a lot, though. Considering that where I come from, there are no waterfalls, Rheneas is probably the best bet to find my sparkle. After all, my family has been working on Sodor's railways for generations."

"Sounds about right," Sir Handle noted.

"Peter Sam's taking the next train to the lake," Duke noted. "You can tag along with him." Mr. Conductor turned to Peter Sam.

"Is that all right with you?" he asked.

"It's an honor to be helping you!" Peter Sam replied, and he rushed off to collect his coaches.

"When is he ever going to learn some sort of patience?" Sir Handle groaned. Duke chuckled.

"If I'm not mistaken," he noted, "you and Duncan have that energy every time you pull slate trucks!"

"Because we hate slate trucks!" they both replied in unison. Duck laughed.

"Speaking of trucks," he said, "I have to take a train of empty cars to Norramby. Goodbye, Mr. Conductor! Take care of yourself now!"

"Don't worry about me!" Mr. Conductor called back. "Watch out for Diesel 10!" Duck pulled forward onto the mainline to run around a string of seven trucks, and backed down and coupled onto the string. He then backed onto the mainline in order to switch onto the Ballahoo branch, where there was another string of trucks and . The points were switched onto the branchline, but as soon as he started, he was stopped by an object on the track. The object was George, and he straddled the branchline tracks, preventing Duck from moving forward. Worse still, one truck was still hanging over the mainline track.

"George?" Duck asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for some special buffers," George replied. "All the buffers here seem pretty normal, though."

'Buffers?' Duck thought. 'So is George working with Diesel 10, then?' "I'd appreciate helping you, but can you let me through, please?"

"You'll just have to wait!" George snapped. "Until I think of where to go next!"

"There's no time to wait, though!" the Great Western engine said. "Gordon's supposed to come by with the Express any minute now! I have to clear the line for him to speed through!"

"Then he'll just have to wait, too!" Duck began to lose patience with George.

"You can't just hold up the express on a whim just like that!" he retorted. But without a breakvan, and therefore a guard, there was nobody to alert the signalman about the blockage. He simply set the points for Gordon to speed through.

"I'll show that tin can who's the greatest and fastest!" Gordon grumbled. "Just let him watch me fly by!" He whistled long and loud as he slowed down for Crovans Gate. Duke, Rusty, and Sir Handle were still at the enginehouse, and could see Gordon approaching. They could also see that Duck's train was still on the mainline.

"Gordon!" they called. "Stop! Duck's on the mainline!" Gordon glanced at the narrow-gauge engines, then back ahead down the line, where he saw the truck on the line.

"Get out of my way!" Gordon shouted. But with George barring Duck's path, there was nowhere for the truck to move. Gordon closed his eyes, awaiting the impact.

!CRASH! The truck flew into the air, before crashing nearby in a heap of twisted wood and metal. Gordon grinded to a halt at the station platform, where Peter Sam and Mr. Conductor were awaiting Gordon's passengers.

"Good gracious, Gordon!" Mr. Conductor gasped. "What cow did you hit along the way to town?-!" The big blue engine looked down at his buffers, and groaned. His left buffer was twisted towards the sleepers, while the right one was bent towards Peter Sam. Mr. Conductor sighed.

"I'm sorry, Gordon, but you can't pull the Express without a good set of buffers. At least The Works are here, so you don't have to travel far. Duck can pull the train to Cronk with Splatter and Dodge, where Edward can take over the train." Splatter and Dodge oiled up alongside Gordon, and sniggered at his predicament. Gordon simply groaned.

"Oh, the indignity…"

It was a slow journey for the Express, since Splatter and Dodge only topped out at 35 mph, but they eventually reached Cronk. Edward was waiting for them there. Splatter and Dodge returned to Crovans Gate, as they would take Duck's train for him. Duck had a rather uneasy feeling about that, but since Mr. Conductor had ordered it…

"Goodbye, Duck!" Edward said, and pulled out of the station for Tidmouth Station. Duck waited for him to clear the block ahead, so that he could head back to the Little Western. Just as the signal dropped, BoCo arrived with a goods train.

"Hello, Duck!" he greeted. "It's a good thing that I found you; we've called for a meeting at Wellsworth. You should get there as soon as I clear the block." With that, he left, leaving Duck to wait again for a clear road. As the breakvan passed, Duck noticed that Gordon was coupled to the rear of the train. He looked depressed, which, considering his situation, was understandable. Soon, the signal dropped, and the Great Western engine took off for Edward's station.

As Duck passed over the mainline, he had to cross over the viaduct. He could swear that he felt his wheels wobble as he crossed the bridge. He then proceeded to conquer both sides of Gordon's Hill, and coasted towards the station. He whistled at Oliver and Toad as they passed in the other direction. He didn't give as cheerful of a greeting to Diesel 10 when the diesel raced by, fortunately too far away for Pinchy to reach him. The Great Western engine was switched into the small yard at Wellsworth, where an open track was waiting for him. Thomas, James, BoCo, Gordon, Henry, Daisy, and Douglas were waiting for him in the yard.

"It looks like this is enough engines to have the meeting now," BoCo noted.

"Beg pardon," Duck interrupted, "but what is the reason for the meeting?"

"'Tis about Mr. Conductor," Douglas explained.

"I think his sparkle's all gone," Thomas lamented. Bertie the bus drove into the yard.

"What's with the sour face, Thomas?" he asked. "It's a bright and sunny day!"

"My smokebox doesn't feel sunny," Henry grumbled. "It feels all stuffed up."

"Nasty fumes from dingy diesels," Gordon suggested. "No offense to present bodies, of course."

"None taken," BoCo said.

"But how bad could a diesel be?" Daisy wondered." I've yet to see that diesel do anything bad on the line with my own eyes yet." At that moment, they were alerted to a clickety-clack noise on the mainline. It was Toad, who was racing back down the mainline, without an engine or guard to check the train's speed.

"OOH, HELP!" Toad screamed, as he rattled through the station, the trucks giggling and laughing behind him. A minute later, Oliver came puffing down the line, running bunker-first, and in hot pursuit of his train.

"Bother that Diesel 10!" he grumbled. "Breaking the coupling of my train…Hang on, Toad! I'll catch you! I must!" The other engines watched this scene.

"…Is that enough proof for you?" James asked the diesel railcar.

"…yeah. That's good enough for me."

"It's worse than that," Gordon stated. "Diesel's recruited George to help him find the lost engine."

"And if he finds her," BoCo noted, "It might be the end of you."

"Whet do you mean?" Douglas wondered.

"BoCo fears that with the power of the lost engine," Toby explained, "Diesel 10 will be able to destroy us all." Gordon wouldn't believe it.

"What, even an engine as big and grand as me?-!"

"Yes, Gordon, even you." The engines fell silent for a moment.

"Ah…ahh…ACHOO!" Thomas sneezed.

"Say it, don't spray it," Daisy said.

"It's not his fault," James protested. "He still has the sneezing powder up his funnel from Diesel 10."

"I heard George saying that he was looking for some buffers," Duck noted. "And Mr. Conductor muttered something about buffers. Maybe they have something to do with the lost engine?"

"Could be," Douglas said. "Eef dere's a lost engine, maybe she's behind a lost set ef beffers."

"We should keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Toby told them. "Meanwhile, we should get back to work. That's what Mr. Conductor would want us to do." The engines all left the yard to get back to their respective duties, except for Thomas. Bertie drove up alongside him.

"How about a race, Thomas?" he suggested. "That might cheer up your mood!"

"Sorry, Bertie," Thomas apologized. "I have to be a really useful engine today, and help solve some mysteries instead." He puffed out of the yard.

"I guess that means I win!" the bus called out. "Or perhaps another day?"

Peter Sam was puffing nicely out of Glennock station. He had had a good run out of the station, and it looked like they were going to reach Rheneas early.

"Not long now, Mr. C!" Peter Sam called out to his friend. But he was wrong. Peter Sam was so happy to be helping Mr. Conductor, he forgot to take on coal and water before he left the station. As a result, he became stranded on the line between Glennock and the river bridge, out of water, and out of the happiness he had only moments ago.

"Bother!" he groaned. "Here I was, trying to make a good impression for you, Mr. C, and I go and blow it!"

"Nevermind, Peter Sam!" Mr. Conductor assured him. "You've saved me a ton of walking already. The guard already ran back to the station to get another engine. I'll just walk on ahead, and head over to the waterfalls."

"Will you be all right?" Peter Sam asked.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to get lost following a rail line." Mr. Conductor set forth down the line. Shortly after leaving Peter Sam, though, he began to feel light-headed again. He was still walking, but everything around him became hazy. He stumbled over rocks and bushes, not knowing where he was going. Histle, but all it did was make some noiseAt long last, his dizziness cleared up. Mr. Conductor looked all around him. His field of vision was nothing but trees, trees, and more trees. He was nowhere near a rail line at all, let alone civilization.

"What happened?" he said. "Where's the railway? Where's the waterfall? That's where I'm supposed to be?" He looked in every direction for a sign pointing the way, but there was a thick blanket of fog in every direction, obscuring even the sun from view.

"That's just great, now I've completely lost my sense of direction!" He tried to blow his whistle, but all it did was make noise. "And now my sparkle is all gone…If I don't find the source of making more gold dust soon, my dream won't stay just as a dream. Now only if my family told me better directions than 'If you can't remember the clue, the waterfall will remind you.' Where is the waterfall? And what is the clue?" He paced back and forth for a few minutes, before a noise caught his attention. He whipped around to see that, not far behind him, was a bed of…

"Carrots?" Mr. Conductor walked up to the vegetable bed. "Well they do say that carrots are good for the brain." He pulled one out of the ground, brushed off the dirt, and bit off the tip of the carrot. Within a few seconds, he began to have a strange reaction to the carrot.

"Plane, drain!" he blurted out. He quickly snapped back, and looked curiously at the carrot, before taking another bite. "Mountain, fountain!" He then noticed a celery plant in the ground.

"I wonder…" He pulled the plant out of the ground, and took a bite. The celery plant had a different reaction. "Sausage, bicycle – hic! – toothpaste, presents – hic!" he was about to take another bite, when a thought occurred to him.

"Presents…presents…presents!" he cheered. "That's it! That's it! Haha!" He quickly grabbed his whistle, and took it apart. Running his finger along the inside, his eyes lit up when he got the feeling he was looking for – gold dust residue.

"I need to find a bell flower," he muttered. "I need to make a call."

For Your Information…

Bits and pieces from Bye George! And Toad Stands By were used in creating this episode.

Next time, we'll return to Shining Time Station, where we'll meet the rest of our major human characters. But what will Diesel 10 do in the meantime? And will anyone else cause trouble as well? Find out next time, so ciao for now, and please continue to support my works!