//------------------------------// // Chapter 2-Too Many People, Too Many Problems // Story: Thomas and Friends: a New Generation // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Five Years Later... The morning began to awaken over the sleepy town of Falmouth, Cornwall. As the night slowly gave way to the glorious dawn of a new day, the sun opened his sleepy eyes and looked down, focusing his gaze upon the small seaside settlement. Falmouth was a town defined by the sea. A magnificent relic of the former age of sail, it was from here the Packet Ships had sailed to connect the corners of the British Empire, ensuring news and communications could flow across Britannia's realm. Although a shadow of its former self, the docks still handled plenty of cargo, and the town was also home to cultural and academic pursuits. It was home to a University specialising in the arts and specialised design and media, and also to a branch of the National Maritime Museum. And we shall now turn our attention away from the town proper. The town was flanked on many sides by cliffs that climbed almost to the heavens, and the white cliffs nicely echoed the blue sky that hung above them. Just to the edge of these cliffs sat a small tower, which was painted white and blue, and had a dome on the top made largely of glass with a blue top cover. A house built of Cornish stone sat at the bottom of the tower. This structure was the former Falmouth Lighthouse, that had guided ships into and out of the port for centuries. It had since been decommisioned and turned into a home, but the lense still worked and was sometimes still lit up for special events, such as Cornwall Day. Sometimes it even sounded a message in Cornish in Morse Code to the world, showing that the Cornish language, although dying, was not dead just yet. It is inside this house that our story begins. The light shone directly into one of the rooms inside the home, and within the noise and light a figure began to stir. "My beaver went swimming in a piano," she murmered to herself, slowly hauling herself out of bed. Sunny Starscout placed her feet onto the floor and glanced over to the clock on her bedside table. Her eyes widened like dinner plates when she saw the time, and she shook her head to try and shift any remaining tiredness from her eyes. "Oh sugarcubes! I'm gonna be late!" She dashed out of the room, having tried and failed to clear her rather severe case of bed hair, and once she had finished showering she got changed into her clothing of choice. This consisted of a pair of blue jeans complemented with a purple shirt and orange hoodie. She slipped a personal bag over her shoulder, locking the strap into place with a click, and walked into the kitchen. "Dad? I over... slept..." she trailed off, seeing the room empty. She turned to the fridge and saw a note on it. Figured you were tired and decided to let you sleep in. I'm at the University and should be back by lunchtime. I left a croissant for you in the fridge if you'd like it. Best of luck with your stand today. Dad. Sunny smiled as she popped open the fridge door and took the food out, munching on it to get her start whilst the coffee machine boiled. After a few minutes, she was ready to head out into the world. She strolled over to the door and lifted a blue striped helmet off a hook, securing it in position atop her head before fitting elbow and knee guards to her arms and legs respectively. Finally, she strapped on a pair of roller skates and regained her balance on them, before sliding out of the door and closing it. The door closing caused a picture of her and her dad to go askew, she she dashed back in and corrected it before looking the door behind her. At last, she was on her way into town. Sunny rollerbladed through the streets, sure enough feeling a song coming on as she sped by. "Good morning, sun! No time to chat, I gotta run! 'Cause I've got places to be! "So much to do Excited, yes, and nervous, too! A change is starting with me!" She skidded past a nearby bus, rolling out of the way just in time before it rolled past. The bus driver blasted his horn, annoyed, as Sunny landed on another pathway. "I never worry 'bout Upsetting carts, hardened hearts Or wonder "Will I belong?" "I've heard it enough, I'm callin' their bluff- I'll never get lost in the grey! There's somethin' inside, burns bigger than pride Shines out of me lighting the way!" Seeing the pathway suddenly end in front of her, Sunny hopped on the rail and skidded down it in a manner not disimilar to a Sonic character sliding down a rail, before dropping back onto the path again. "Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (be my day) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (oh-oh-oh-oh) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (gonna be my day) Gonna be my day!" (ooh-ooh) Sunny had no idea where the backing singers were coming from, nor did she really care. Carefree was her watchword. "Hey there, hello The friends I make, the friends I know Today you answer my call!" Sunny sped past a news stand and picked up a newspaper, tossing the coins to the shopkeeper. He waved kindly, glad that a teenager was actually bothering to read a newspaper. "Instead of hide- Instead of staying stuck inside Instead of building your wall?" "Come on and party with me Join the band, understand We'll all be singin' this song!" Sunny had taken a higher road, and swung around by the railway station, seeing a diesel train rattle to a stop in the platform, and some tourists get off. Up ahead was a banner. FALMOUTH WELCOMES VISITORS TO THE TECHNOLOGY FAIR THE UNIVERSITY IS NEARBY Sunny turned down a tight passageway, effortlessly rolling down the cobbled streets. "I've heard it enough, I'm callin' their bluff! I'll never get lost in the grey! Go big or go home, get real or get known! Get ready and raring to say!" "Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (be my day) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (oh-oh-oh-oh) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (gonna be my day) Gonna be my day!" (ooh-ooh) Sunny turned a corner with a vista that opened up onto the sea, the sun illuminating the water and causing it to glow with almost incandescent power. "Everyone's afraid- Always judgin', never budgin', Ain't it time we made The team, the dream? Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhh!" Sunny flew along main street, not far from many of the local homes and the Fisherman's Arms (a popular place for students at the University). Not far from here was where she positioned her table for selling milkshakes. "Let's cross a new aisle, let's flash a new smile Let's sparkle right out of the grey! We'll open our eyes, sun's starting to rise And finally able to say!" "Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (gonna be my day) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (gonna be my day) Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day! (gonna be my day) Gonna be my day!" (be my... day!) (Oh-oh-oh-oh) "Gonna be my day! (Oh-oh-oh-oh) Gonna be my day!" Sunny skidded to a stop at one of shops and wheeled out her table, followed by the refridgeration unit which she kept her milkshakes in. Whilst not a poor family, Sunny preferred to do something productive with her holidays, a sentiment shared by the school she went to. A policeman walked past. "I must inform you, madame, that you were in violation of the Singing Broadway Numbers in Public Act. It is my civil duty to inform you that this is a Civil Offence, and that any subsequent violations will result in fines." Sunny looked slightly deflated, but soon recovered when she saw a customer arrive. "Good morning, sir! Can I get you anything?" "Oh, hello Sarah," the man said. "Do you have a vanilla one?" Sunny nodded. "Coming right up!" Sarah was her real name, but she had acquired the nickname Sunny whilst in primary school based on her personality, and the name had rather stuck. She handed over the milkshake and nodded. "That'll be three pounds, please." The customer seemed satisfied, and Sunny looked about to see if anybody was about to arrive. Things seemed slightly quiet for now, with the only noise being a band playing an old Hornpipe tune nearby. She figured that she had some time available to do some reading, and so popped out a book from her bag. Inside it was a small text. The title was a familiar one to her, as it was one of several historical railway texts penned by her father. She momentarily shaken out of her focus by a familiar voice speaking. "You reading one of your crackpot books again?" Sunny looked up to see Sprout looking at her. Although taller, and a bit thinner, and with a deeper voice, not much else had changed. Sprout still had a mean sneer to him that was characteristic to his family. He was currently dressed in camouflage. "Good morning Sprout," Sunny replied. "Why the uniform? I didn't realise this was a military matter." Sprout shrugged. "That's Corporal Sprout to you. And the uniform is because the CCF are providing parking and security detail for the technology fair today. Which is a far better use of time than reading nonsense like that. A Comprehensive History of the Non-Faceless Vehicles? I can just sense you've inherited your dad's craziness!" Sunny flinched. Sprout had touched a rather sore nerve with that remark, but she resisted the desire to punch him in the face. Instead, she started on an inspired speech. "It's not crazy because it's true! Dad saw it all! And we have proof!" Sprout rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, here we go again." "If Sodor and the machines of the island don't exist, as you so often claim is the case, then how do you explain how photographs exist of them? Or the fact that Sodor occurs in world and British maps? What's your rebuttal?" "Photoshop and cartographer's errors, I bet. Your dad's a photography expert, right? He could easily make fakes like that. If these 'non-faceless vehicles', as you call them, exist, how come nobody's ever seen one?" Sunny breathed out. "One day, I will find one and bring it to Falmouth, and prove that we are right." "Whatever." Sprout's face was unmoving. "I've got to get to work. Feel free to stay on your soapbox and rant about things nobody cares about." Sunny sat back in a chair as Hitch walked up, also in camo. "Sorry about him," he said. The three chevrons on his chest revealed him to be a Sergeant. "But I have to say you're not helping yourself." "I just want to show them the truth..." Hitch sighed. "I'm one of the last friends you have in this town. There's only so far I can go before this starts affecting my chances too. Do you want to lose me too?" Sunny shook her head. Hitch saw he had been a bit harsh. "Come on, for old time's sake." The duo started off on an elaborate series of hand gestures combined with a rhyme. "Up high, down low, hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny-side up and on a piece of toast!" Hitch walked away. "See ya later." Sunny glanced back to her stand before hearing screaming from the street up above. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" shouted one person. "FLEE! FLEE! FLEE YOU IDIOTS!" said another. "NOT TOWARDS IT!" said another. "THERE'S A GREAT BIG MONSTER AT THE STATION!" said somebody. Sunny pulled on her skates, as curiosity got the better of her. She dug into the ground and sped off for the station, keen to see whatever had turned up.