All of the World (ARCHIVED & LESS BAD)

Part One

Prologue

The Island of Sodor was known as the birthplace of possibly the greatest mechanical marvel in history. On November 12th, 1963, Sodor partnered with Voyager Locomotives to create the very first Sentient Locomotive. The engine used in the experiment was shipped from America, which set the project back a few weeks.

However, it seems that nothing can halt progress, for just six months later, the experiment was declared a success, and the same modifications were given to every engine on the island. When it was observed that the living engines were much more efficient than the unconscious ones, Europe followed in the advancement. Then Asia, and North America soon after. Just two years after the initial release, every country had at least ten sentient engines, with more to follow.

The first test subject was kept after being brought to life, to study and tinker with as was seen fit. Jebidiah Stone, a wealthy landowner and engineer was brought to oversee these trials, under the watchful eye of Sir Charles Topham Hatt. But running a railway is a busy job, and Charles eventually stopped checking in with Jebidiah. Stone, knowing that he was free to do as he wished, conducted many horrifying and immoral tests upon the living being.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙅𝙚𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚'𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙿𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗. 𝚂𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚝, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎. 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝.

Jebidiah's mangled corpse was discovered on March 4th, 1967, alongside his two assistants, Marie Louis and Isiah Rumberger. The locomotive was found hiding in a siding three kilometres away, and didn't resist when it was apprehended. After the evidence was reviewed, the judge found Jebidiah Stone guilty of exploitation, abuse, theft and torture. Charles Hatt stated that "(he) Had not known of Jebidiah's unlawful activities". He was let off with no punishment, though many speculated that he had been involved in some way.

Finally, the experiment in question was tried for murder, and pleaded not guilty. The jury agreed with the statement, pointing out that it was an act of self defence, considering the circumstances. The judge decided that the locomotive would work on Sodor once again, with the single condition of it being assigned a driver. Stone's journal was given to the railway, although his widow requested it be sent to her. One fateful night, Sir Topham was perusing the notebook, when he found an entry that would change the island forever.

THIRTEEN YEARS LATER

Frances stared at the water, watching as the boats tied to the docks bumped against each other. The setting sun cast a pinkish-yellow glow on the water, bathing him in a rosy light. The station behind him was nearly empty, the only people being the workers who he had just dropped off. As he brushed the sand off his trousers and stood up, one of the stationmen waved at him, and he waved back happily.

As Frances approached the track, he pressed his thumb to the small pendant in his pocket, preparing for the sharp jolt of pain as gold dust shimmered around him, enough to cloud his vision. When his eyes opened again, he was back to his usual appearance, a large dusty orange steam engine.

He blew his whistle loudly, and some of the people on the platform tipped their hats at him as he pulled away from the station. The countryside quickly became a blur as he picked up speed, relieved that his work day was over. He slowed as he approached a siding near Arlesburgh, pulling into the section of the track. This time, with only a thought, he shifted back into his human form, settling against a tree. The air was warm, but a comfortably cool breeze ruffled his hair as he closed his eyes, listening to the soft sounds of crickets and birds.

The familiar sound of an engine coming down the tracks hit his ears, and he opened his eyelids, slightly annoyed at the disturbance. His frustration disappeared, however, when he saw who the whistle belonged to. "Is Tidmouth full? I was heading there myself, but if I shouldn't waste the energy..." Duck said, coming into full view. "I didn't check, actually. We don't normally get weather like this, so I'm making the most of it." Frances responded, leaning back a bit more. Duck seemed to contemplate that for a bit before replying. "You just might be right about that. Mind if I join you?"

"Be my guest," Frances said, gesturing to the tree beside himself. Duck limped over, his wooden cane slipping on the grass. "Donald and Douglas were about to leave when I did, so they should be along soon." Frances smiled at the thought of the twins joining them. He worked on the Brendam Branch on weekdays and The Little Western on weekends, so he didn't often see the Caledonians. He suddenly remembered what he had bought that day, and untied a suspiciously large knot in his sash.

Two still-cold bottles of soda tumbled out, along with two paperclips and a seashell. "I wouldnae be surprised if a motorcycle fell out of there one day!" A familiar voice called out, snatching one of the bottles from the ground. "Douglas! That was mine!" Duck protested, getting up with outrage. "Aye Dougie, you'd better give him back his drink before he sends you flying out to sea." Donald advised, knocking the soda away from his brother and throwing it to Duck, who, without thinking, yanked the cap off, spraying his face and cap with root beer.

"You're proper menaces, the three of you." Duck spluttered, wiping his face to no avail. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you lot were high out of your minds..." Oliver mumbled, passing through with a freight train. "Hello Mr. Frances!" Toad called cheerfully, laughing at the sight of Duck attempting to chase Douglas and tackle him. "Hi Toad, how's the summer been treating you?" Frances replied, opening the other bottle. "It's been great! There are so many flowers on the line, it's incredible! Well, goodbye Mr. Frances!" As Oliver pulled away, Frances lay back on the ground and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the twins arguing and the crickets chirping.