Escape From Reality - ThomasNATION Fanstory [Part 2]

September 18, 2021

 

Thomas and Percy stared at the genie in awe and disbelief. It took him a moment, but Thomas recognized him.
“It’s…it’s you!” he cried. “You’re the guy who sent me to this place! You’re…Gene, was it?”
“Oh, that’s where I recognize you from!” Gene bellowed. “You’re that little engine who wanted to become human!”
“Wait, hang on, now, this isn’t what I meant,” Thomas continued. “I said I wanted to know what it was like, not actually become one!”
“I told you, kid, ya gotta be careful what you wish for.”
“Yeah, but I-”
“Wait, hold on,” Percy butted in. “If you said he made a wish and you granted it, does that mean we only have two wishes left?”
“’Fraid so.” Gene explained. “But I didn’t go over the main rules. See, here’s the thing: I can’t make anyone fall in love, I can’t resurrect anybody, I can’t kill anyone, yada yada yada. Now, don’t hold back, what’ll it be?”
“Well, I know one thing I want: to go-”
“Wait, Thomas,” Percy interrupted. “What about James?”
“Oh yeah. Sorry, I got distracted. I’d like to change my first wish!”
Gene scowled. “Well, this hasn’t happened before. Okay, let’s hear it.”
“Well, I wish I could locate my friend James. He disappeared last night and all he left was this card.”
Percy handed Gene the card he found on James’ bed. He looked at it closely. “Aha…here’s the problem. You didn’t solve the anagram. If you rearrange the letters, you can see that it spells…preboiling swankies?”
“Now, that can’t be right. What could that even mean?” Percy asked.
“No, no, there has to be another meaning.” Thomas said as he took back the card. He analyzed the letters carefully and noticed something off. “Odd, they’ve all got a little number under them.”
“I noticed that,” Percy added on. “but I just assumed it was translating the numbers to letters and even that didn’t work.”
“It’s not letters, it’s an order.” Thomas thought as he put the letters in order. “That’s it! The letters, they read “PRAISE BE KING WILSON”!”
“Wilson? You mean that prince guy?” Gene asked.
“Yes!” Percy cried. “You know him?”
“I’m an all knowing being, Percy,” Gene responded. “as well as all powerful. Wanna make good on that wish, kid?”
With a flash of light, Thomas and Percy were shown a vision of James’ whereabouts.
 
In a nearby castle, Prince Wilson stood before the Mayor of Knapford and his daughter, Nia.
“I’m sorry,” the mayor said, puzzled. “you want to what?”
“I wish to take your daughter’s hand in marriage.” Wilson said with a smile. “This was a custom in my old country.”
“I’m sorry, but here in this day and age, that custom isn’t very much accepted.” the mayor explained as Nia stood forward.
“Besides,” Nia continued, “I feel like you’re only intending to use me to gain power to make up for your failing excuse for a kingdom. Am I correct?”
“Whaaaaaaaaaat?” Wilson laughed. “Me? No, no, you got me all wrong.”
“Hmm. The length of your ‘what’ tells me otherwise.” the mayor said, suspiciously. “Kindly escort him out, please.”
As two guards tried to take him away, Wilson forced himself out of their grasp. “Oh, buzz off! I can show myself out.”
But as Wilson left, he walked into his parade float under the decor. Inside? A bunch of captured people in cages - James included. “Hello, subjects. What do we have today?”
“Let me go!” cried James. “What do you want from us?”
“Glad you asked, buddy!” taunted Wilson. “See, in my old country, the Colosseum matches were the biggest tourist attractions in the world. And your little town just so happens to house one of the biggest colosseums in the world!”
“But you’ll never be king!” cried Henry, from another cage.
“But that’s the thing…” Wilson continued. “See, this town is also known for genie sightings. More than any town in the world. So all I gotta do is find that genie, use my wishes to become king, bada-bing, bada-boom!”
“Where do we fall into this?” asked James.
“Well…the matches need a fighter, right?” Wilson grinned evilly. “Now…let’s find us a lamp!”
 
Thomas and Percy broke out of their vision back in the cave.
“Cinders and ashes!” Thomas yelled. “He could kill James!”
“I don’t want him to die!” said Percy in a panic. “What do we do?!”
“What can we do?” Thomas asked before looking at the Genie. “Wait…we still have two wishes left, right?”
“Actually, kid, ya got one.” Gene explained.
“Okay, one…wait, one?!” Thomas cried. “But if I use that one wish to free James, then…”
“You’re not going home?”
“...yeah.”
Percy came up with a solution. “Then no problem; we just free James without wasting that wish!”
“Wait, can’t you just rub that lamp?” Thomas asked. “Then, wouldn’t you get three wishes?”
“No!” Gene bellowed as he pulled out a book. “According to Section C, paragraph 45, sentence 32 of the Genie Code…”
“There’s a Genie Code?”
“...’the story needs to happen, so don’t mention convenient plot holes’. It’s the oldest trick in the book, ergo, you need a new plan.”
Thomas and Percy thought long and hard on this. They needed to think of something. Anything. Until…
“I got it!” Thomas exclaimed. “The prisoners were being held inside the parade float, right?”
“Right!”
“So, we just find the next parade, sneak into the float, and free everyone!”
Percy liked this idea, except for one thing. “What about big blue over there?”
“Just hide the lamp in your pocket,” Gene suggested. “who’s gonna notice? That’s the thing with the genie life: infinite power, but a tiny home.”
“Brilliant!” Thomas cried. “Now, I believe we have a friend to free?”
 
Another parade strolled through town, with Wilson greeting his subjects. “Make way for Prince Wilson, peasants!”
Unbeknownst to him, Thomas and Percy were hiding behind a dumpster, waiting for a moment to strike.
“Now?” asked Percy.
“No, no, just a little more time…” Thomas whispered.
Soon, Wilson wasn’t facing the back of his float.
“Now!”
Thomas and Percy snuck up to the back of the float and climbed under the decorations. “Whoo!”
“Ah! Shhh!”
“Oops…whoo.”
“Percy? Other guy?” Henry asked. “What are you doing?”
“Henry?” asked Percy. “He got you too?”
Henry nodded, but Thomas looked around closely. “Does anyone see James?”
“James?” Henry asked. “He was taken to the Colosseum. He’s the first fighter against the beast.”
“What’s the beast?”
“Search me, he hasn’t found a good enough one yet.”
Thomas gasped, but it didn’t take him long to come up with another idea.
“New plan! All we gotta do is-”
“HEY!” a voice called out. “Who’s down there?!”
The float stopped, but Thomas and Percy weren’t out of the woods yet.
“We gotta go!” Percy cried. The two ran out, but little did Thomas know the lamp fell out of his pocket in the kerfuffle. Wilson climbed into the float. Neither of the kids were there, but the lamp was.
“Bingo…” Wilson snickered.
 
Thomas and Percy ran through an alleyway until they ran out of breath and stopped.
“Okay, what was this new plan you brought up?” Percy asked.
“Simple. We break James out from the arena, expose Wilson’s plot to the public, then I use my last wish to…”
Thomas searched his pockets vigorously. “No. Oh, no. Oh, please, don’t tell me…”
“What? What is it?”
“Percy, I lost the lamp!”
“WHAT?!”
“I don’t know where I lost it, but one minute I had it, the next it was-”
“Gone?” a familiar voice sneered. Thomas and Percy turned around and there stood Wilson.
“You!” Thomas cried. “What are you doing here? Where’s Gene?”
“Who, the genie?” Wilson taunted. “I’ve got some plans for him…and you.”
Before Thomas could react, Wilson swung a bat at him and knocked him out.
 
Soon, Thomas woke up in a cage in the Colosseum. Everything was dark and bleak.
“Thomas!” cried James from another cell. “What are you doing here?!”
“I dunno,” Thomas responded, “but I’m gonna get you outta here.”
“PRESENTING THE ONE AND ONLY,” an announcer bellowed. “KING WILSON!!”
King Wilson?!” Thomas cried.
“I declare this game…” Wilson cried, “…open! Unleash the first fighter!”
Thomas was shoved out onto the arena.
“Isn’t he puny, folks?” Wilson declared. “He doesn’t stand a chance against…THE BEAST! But enough stalling, let’s meet him, shall we?”
A gate opened and out crawled a giant red demonic figure. The beast wasted no time charging at Thomas, who quickly ducked and avoided its attacks.
“Augh, cinders and ashes…” Thomas sighed. “I wish I never made that wish in the first place.”
Then, it hit him. He didn’t need to fight the beast. He just needed Gene. Sure, he’d be using his final wish and wouldn’t be going home, but in the end, what else can he do? Either he stays human forever and never go back to Sodor, or die at the hands of the beast. Thomas quickly noticed the lamp sitting next to Wilson and ran back inside.
“Eh?” Wilson asked. “What’s he doing? Get him!”
The beast attacked the colosseum walls, but none of his blows hit Thomas, and inevitably, he found the lamp and rubbed like mad.
But then the most peculiar thing occurred: instead of Gene emerging from the lamp, the beast turned into Gene! “Whoa! What happened to me?”
“Gene!” Thomas cried. “What was that all about?”
“I’ll tell ya what: that man turned me into a demon!” Gene bellowed, pointing at Wilson.
“Whaaaaaaat?!” Wilson laughed. “That’s crazy talk, don’t listen to him, subjects!”
“Yes he did,” Gene continued, “and he used the first of his wishes to make himself king!”
The crowd gasped in shock, infuriating Wilson. “ENOUGH!!! I am the most powerful ruler in this country, and I will not be treated this way!”
This gave Thomas one last idea. “You may be the most powerful ruler in the country, but are you the most powerful thing?”
“What are you on about?”
“You may have all the power of a king, but compared to Gene, you’re nothing. Genies are all powerful, buddy. You’re all nothing.”
“Augh! Genie!” Wilson cried. “I wish to be the most powerful genie in history, more powerful than you, in fact!”
“Kid, what are you doing?!” Gene whispered.
“Infinite power, but tiny home…” Thomas whispered back.
“...oh! One all-powerful genie, comin’ up!” Gene cried as Wilson was turned into a genie!
“HAHA! YES! I AM NOW THE-” Wilson bellowed, but before he could finish, he was promptly sucked into a lamp.
“Bye bye, Wilson!” Thomas taunted.
The freed prisoners and the crowd all cheered for Thomas’ victory. “Oh, uh, thank you.” he chuckled.
“Nicely done, Thomas!” called Percy.
“Yeah, nice one, kiddo.” Gene chuckled. “But don’t forget - you still have one last wish. What’ll it be?”
“Simple. I gotta go home.” Thomas chuckled.
Percy gasped in shock. “Thomas, are you sure about this?”
“Yeah,” James added on. “Can’t you stay a little?”
“I know, but I gotta go home,” Thomas explained. “don’t get me wrong, being a human is impressive, it’s a lot more freeing being off the rails, but Sodor’s still my home. But I’ll try not to forget you, okay?”
Percy tearfully hugged Thomas goodbye. “I’ll never forget you, Thomas.”
“Don’t worry about me, Percy,” Thomas said. “I’ll see you on the other side, eh?”
Percy nodded and Thomas stepped forward. “Gene, I wish to go back to my home.”
“Okay, get ready, kid.” Gene said as his magic swirled around Thomas. In his final moment, Thomas waved goodbye to Percy.
 
“Thomas? Thomas, wake up.” a voice called as Thomas woke up in the Steamworks.
“Victor?” Thomas asked as he woke up.
“Morning, sleepyhead! You were out for a little while, eh?” said Victor.
“Wait! Victor! You’re an engine!” Thomas cried as he was lifted onto the rails. Seeing his wheels again, he gasped in glee. “I’m an engine!”
“Yeah, why…wouldn’t you be?”
Thomas swiftly left the Steamworks and raced down his branch line, gasping in awe at the sights. “There’s Gordon’s Hill! And there’s the watermill! And there’s Tidmouth Sheds over the horizon! I’m home!”
“Thomas?” asked Percy as he approached him. “There you are! I thought you were never going to get repaired.”
“Percy, you won’t believe what just happened!” Thomas said as he explained his experience to Percy.
 
“...so, wait, a genie turned every engine on Sodor into humans?” Percy asked as they pulled into  Knapford.
“No, no, he sent me to an alternate realm.” Thomas explained. James, on another platform, laughed at Thomas’ story.
“Really, Thomas? Genies? Alternate dimensions? That’ll be the day…” James laughed.
“Wait, all this was a dream?” Percy asked.
“Huh. Maybe it was.” Thomas responded.
“Maybe what was?” said Gene as he pulled into the platform.
“Oh, it was crazy!” Thomas laughed. “I dreamt you were a genie, and Percy had a square telephone with a lamp, and Wilson was a king!”
Gene chuckled. “You got some imagination, kid. But you should know magic and genies don’t exist.”
Thomas agreed, but mostly, he was just content to be home where he belonged. Maybe being a human is just as complicated as being an engine.

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