Thomas the Tank Engine chuffed cheerfully down the line, as he approached the marvellous vista that was Knapford Station. Many people were already thronged there, waiting for something to happen.
He rolled to a stop in one of the platforms and sounded his whistle. "Hello everybody! Welcome to the Island of Sodor!"
Edward looked over. "Hello Thomas!" he said. "What brings you here today?"
"Sir Toppham Hatt has a very important job for all of us. It will take the entire Steam Team to pull it off!" the small blue tank engine chirped with a smile on his face. "Although little engines can do big things, sometimes we have to work together to overcome the largest obstacles!"
Henry and Gordon arrived moments later. "I hope the job isn't too challenging," Henry said. "I have a bout of boiler ache."
"Stuff and nonsense!" Gordon boomed. "If your runs with the express are anything to go by, I know this will be a doddle for you or the others!"
Percy rolled to a stop with some mail. "Sorry for the delay!" he said. "Some parcels were being most uncoperative!"
"Not to worry!" Thomas said. "If we put our minds to it, we can shift any mountain. Now where's James?"
"Probably preening over his paint again," Gordon sighed. "You know how he is."
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S JAMES!" said a familiar voice, and James rolled to a stop in the platform. "I hear something about a Special Special!"
"Well," Thomas began, "Sir Toppham Hatt told us that we have a very big task ahead of us, and-"
"This is stupid!" James suddenly said, in a voice most unlike his own.
Edward blinked. "James, are you feeling alright?"
"I said this whole thing is stupid!" James said, now speaking in a nasally, annoying voice. "I mean, whoever heard of talking steam trains? The entire thing is just impossible, you know? Besides, can't we make this more exciting by having the engines not get along!" He sped forward and charged into some trucks. "This makes things more interesting!"
Thomas spoke up in response to this... in a female voice. "Sprout, stop it!"
Three children were sat around a table in a room, looking intensely at what was on the table. The group consisted of two boys and one girl. One of the boys had pinkish skin and slicked back yellowy hair, with a mean looking expression on his face. His nose seemed to be permanently closed up in a nasty pout, which gave the distinct impression of looking down his nose at people. His clothing, consisting of ugly blue pants and a hideous looking T shirt, only reinforced this notion of snobbery and cheapness.
The second boy had peach toned skin and piercing orange eyes. These were accented by his greenish turquoise hair, which sat atop his head in a short cut. However, he had none of the nastiness present in the face of the other boy, and seemed to be trying to keep order in the room. He had the most formal clothing on by a considerable margin, consisting of jeans and a pocketed shirt, with a utility belt around his waist.
Which brings us onto the girl, the sole female in the room. She had orange skin and turquoise blue eyes, above which sat a messy mop of purple hair arranged in several strands. However, much of it was placed into a braid. She wore blue jeans and an orange T shirt, over which sat a rather awkward green jacket a few sizes too small.
"Stop what?" the first boy said. "I was only voicing my opinion, Sunny. This would be so much more exciting with some more crashes!"
"That's not how this works! They're all meant to be friends!" the girl, now revealed to be Sunny, replied. "You're not supposed to break the models, Sprout! My dad and me worked really hard on them!" She glanced over to the other boy. "Tell him, Hitch!"
Hitch shrugged. "I only know what you've told me about this, Sunny, but I'm more than happy to play the game the way you want to, Sunny."
Suddenly, there was a ringing doorbell, and Sprout jumped to his feet. "That must be mommy!" he said, and dashed for the door.
Suddenly, the door opened before him, and a man entered. He had blue skin and messy hair that would befit a mad scientist, and a fairly substancial beard to boot. His purple eyes were framed by a pair of glasses, and he wore a pair of cargo pants complemented by a dark blue shirt. He looked around the room and saw the mess on the table. He walked over to clean it up.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Dad, Sprout wrecked the James model!" Sunny replied.
Sprout stopped dead in his tracks as he heard his name being said.
The man, Sunny's father, blinked. "Sprout, what have I told you about telling Sunny how to play with her toys and messing with things that don't belong to you?"
"To not to," Sprout said. "But mommy will make sure you're sorry for being mean to me!"
The man shook his head as he walked to the door. On the other side was a pink skinned woman with greyish eyes and a hairdo that essentially screamed 'can I talk to the manager'. Her glasses looked something taken from the Dolores Umbridge rejection pile, and her grey suit more than added to the image.
"Hello, Argyle," she said. "I trust you kept my son in one piece."
Argyle sighed. "Look, Phyllis, you need to do something about Sprout. He was trying to tell Sunny how to play with her toys- again. If you don't knock any sense into him he's going to grow up entitled."
"There's nothing wrong with my little Sprout trying to get your Sunny to grow up," Phyllis replied. "And that's something you should do as well. All this Sodor nonsense is most unfitting of an adult. There comes a time to put away childish things, after all."
Argyle sighed as Phyllis and Sprout walked away. "That woman is insufferable," he said. "Come on Hitch, I'd best be getting you home. Your mother will be wondering where you are."
Several hours later, the sun was setting over the bay that Argyle called home. As he stood on the balcony and looked out, he heard a voice behind him. "Dad?"
He turned around. "Yes, Sunny?"
"Can you tell me about Sodor?"
Argyle nodded as he stepped off the balcony and towards his study. As he opened the door, a wondrous smell of old paper and well read books came out. Hanging from the walls were paintings, maps, track diagrams, and place names straight out of the wonders of England and Wales.
Argyle indicated to a seat, and Sunny sat down. He then began to speak, his kindly voice soon taking on a regular rhythm, as though he had said these words many times before.
"Picture a land where the sky is so blue... a storybook land of wonder... a magical island just waiting for you..."
"What was it like?" Sunny asked.
"Well, I was only three when the steam age came to an end, so I can't tell you what it was like on the mainland. But I did go to Sodor many times. I collected these images and diagrams during my travels." He picked one up. "Such as this standard timetable for the North Western, 1978 edition. Or these posters over here."
"What about that map?"
"Oh, that was made by a friend of mine, a Mister Dalby. He died a few years ago, and asked me to look after it." Argyle paused, a smile on his face as he felt the memories flooding back. "There really is no way to do Sodor justice with just words. You have to be there to really understand. All the people, happy and content. A place where steam still reigns supreme."
"Can we go one day?" Sunny asked, clearly excited by the prospect of visiting this legendary place.
"Of course we can," Argyle smiled, rubbing his daughter's head. "Now you'd best be off to bed. We have an early start tomorrow if we're going to catch the morning train from Bodmin."
Sunny nodded, and walked off to her room. Argyle turned around and switched on a webcam, looking into the image as he saw a familiar face pop up on the screen. "Goldie! Long time no see!"
"Hello Argyle," 'Goldie' replied. "How's my mad scientist?"
"Just fine," Argyle smiled. "We're close to finishing up for Reading Week at the university, and I think that should free up some time for me and Sunny to go and do some sightseeing around Cornwall. And you?"
"Well, more of the same. I've got a flight to catch tomorrow morning to Dresden for another financial meeting. I hope I can meet up with you again soon."
"You too, Goldenella." Argyle ended the call there, and glanced out into the sea. "Island of Sodor... where all my dreams come true." As the last of the light faded away, he exited the room, closing the door behind him, not noticing a small glowing object underneath a table lamp.