Sodor's New Worker (Semi-Hiatus Due to an AO3 rewrite)

Back to Black

   True to Duck's words, Maddy spoke to exactly no one from Tidmouth. Or anyone else associated with the events that transpired. Even while she was being repainted at the Steamworks, she asked Victor to try and not let anyone near her unless they were from the Little Western. 

   She sat neatly on the railways, relaxing the best she could while painters scraped off her dark, dreary paint.

"What color would you like, amiga?" she heard Victor ask.

"Black. Black with some red sprinkled in."

"After all that has happened to you?" he questioned, concerned. "You still want to use the color that you have suffered with the most?"

"I'm not going to let that bumbling, failed excuse of a tender engine completely stop me from loving the color I love. Black with red stripes, please. A true black, not the blue-black I just had. Oh, and can my number be white?"

   Victor pursed his lips and looked over at Kevin.

"Well, she's being direct about it, boss." 

"That she is. We'll get you your black, Maddy. You sit tight."

"I can't do much else now, can I?"

"Aaah, your sense of humor is still there, amiga."

"Of course it is. Now shush. Less talky and more painting."

   Chuckling, Victor backed himself up to get her paint prepared.

"One more thing." he said.

"Hmmm?"

"Would you like your glasses cleaned?"

"Yes please, Victor."

   Workmen quickly removed the giant glasses from her face to get them cleaned. She breathed out a deep sigh, closing her eyes to block out all the work and noise that consumed the works.

   After having her old paint all scraped off and her undercoat being applied, Maddy heard footsteps approach her. She ignored it, as to her, it didn't matter who it was, she didn't want to talk to them. Even if it was someone like Wally or Percy.

   It really didn't bother her until she felt a sharp pain in her nose and Victor soon shouting after.

"HEY! HEY HEY!" the narrow gauge repair engine screamed. "THERE'S NO FIGHTING IN HERE!"

"SHE SENT ME OFF TO THE NAVY! SHE ISN'T EVEN SORRY!" Nathan shouted.

   Even if she couldn't see, Maddy could still hear, and as far as she knew, Nate was the only one she had sent off to the Royal British Navy. She knew she deserved it, but that didn't make her any less furious for getting directly punched in the nose. All she did was wait for he and Victor to stop their shouting match. Once it was over, she calmly spoke to Nathan.

"Nathan. Out."

"NO! YOU SABOTAGED ME! I DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU SENT ME OFF TO THE NAVY. I HAVE THIS UGLY BLEMISH ON MY FACE BECAUSE OF YOU."

   Nathan furiously looked at her, who was squinting at him the whole time as her glasses were still being cleaned.

"ARE YOU EVEN SORRY!?"

"For the navy? Nope. Not one bit." she plainly responded. In a way, it sent chills down Nate's spine. "But for everything else? Yes."

"How could you do that to your best friend?!"