Race Round the World! - ThomasNATION Fanstory [Part 2]

That night, Thomas was sulking a little after losing the first race. His new friend, Ernesto, noticed this.
“Hey, amigo,” Ernesto said as he rolled up to Thomas. “What’s the matter? Still bummed about the race?”
“Yeah, a little.” Thomas sighed.
“Well, take it from me,” continued Ernesto, “I too lost my first race when I first enrolled in the rally. But I never gave up and soon enough, I got my first win!”
“Pah!” Spencer scoffed as he rolled up to Thomas and Ernesto. “Please, Ernesto. He’s not nearly fast enough to even make the top ten!”
“Well, ya win some, ya lose some. I mean, just ask Leonid.”
“Не могу поверить, что проиграл танковому локомотиву! Требую пересчета!” grumbled Leonid as he passed by.

“You mean he loses one, he loses all, eh?” chuckled a snarky engine next to Spencer.
“Perhaps you’d like to meet my new friends?” Spencer said, gesturing to two streamlined engines next to him.
“Oh yeah,” said Thomas. “Hugh and Ren, right? The Australian and Japanese racers?”
“That’s us,” Hugh chuckled.
“次のレース、トーマスに気をつけてください。” Ren warned.
“私たちはあなたを破壊することを使命としています。私たちはあなたを引き裂き、あなたの残骸を単なる金属くずとして残します！”
Spencer paused for a second. “That’s a little dark, Ren.”
“ああ、お願いします。スペンサー、あなたは私が何ができるのかわからない。”
“Okay…” Spencer gulped nervously. “…that’s right, I know how to speak Japanese.”
“彼はしません.”
“Shut it!”
Ernesto chuckled while Thomas glared at Spencer, Ren and Hugh. “Just you wait, hotshots. You haven’t seen what I can fully offer.”
“Oh…did we?” Hugh chuckled. "Because it feels like we did.”
As the three left, Thomas regained his determination. “I need to beat those guys.”
“Don’t be so sure, Thomas,” Ernesto warned. “The next race is from Sydney to Auckland. Hugh may have the upper hand.”
“Upper hand?” Thomas chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”
 
The second race was underway, and Spencer was holding a good lead. Thomas tried to catch up several times, even getting close to the top ten. This was a bit of a surprise for Hugh, who gasped as Thomas overtook him. “WHAT?!”
“Bye bye, Hugh!” Thomas called out as he raced further down the outback.
Hugh wasn’t having any of this, and diverted onto a nearby siding, shunting a flatbed of oil tankers onto the track. But not in front of Thomas - in front of the Flying Scotsman.
“Oh no!” Thomas gasped. “SCOTT! LOOK OUT!”
Flying Scotsman looked on, noticing the flatbed in front of him.
“Points!” he cried. Luckily, he diverted away from the flatbed…right into another racer, who derailed.
“Oh, and would you look at that!” cried the announcer. “American racer Abigail has derailed! What a tragedy.”
Thomas noticed the derailing and immediately put on the brakes.
“But what’s this?” the announcer bellowed. “It looks like Thomas is going back to help Abigail!”
Thomas coupled up to the back of Abigail and started pulling.
“Hey, kid, I appreciate it, don’t get me wrong” said Abigail, “but what are you doing?”
“I can’t let you sit out here while the others finish,” Thomas responded.
Thomas pulled with all his might. It took a while, but he finally pulled Abigail back onto the rails.
“Hey, thanks, man,” Abigail said in relief. “I owe ya one for this.”
“No worries, Abigail. Now, come on, we need to finish this race.”
Abigail and Thomas sped down the rails down to the finish line. Abigail slowed down a little to let Thomas get 15^th, but that didn’t change the fact that the two of them were late to the finish line.
Like, really late.
Like, “two hours since the other racers crossed the finish line” late. The other racers laughed and jeered at Thomas.
“ハ！この男を信じられますか？” mocked Ren. “私たちはこのレースをバッグに入れました、男の子！”
“This kid’s hilarious!” laughed Hugh.
“So, this is what you can fully offer?” teased Spencer. “Pathetic.”
Thomas sighed in defeat, but Abigail harshly approached Spencer. “Hey! This kid saved my bunker. Cut him some slack, will ya?”
“Please, Abigail,” Hugh snickered. “What’s that gonna do?”
“ええ、たるみは彼をこれ以上速くするつもりはありません、今はそうですか？” Ren teased.
Abigail hesitated, but ultimately, she knew they were right. “Sorry, kid. Dude’s got a point.”
As Abigail left, Thomas started considering just leaving the race altogether.

“Dropping out?” Ernesto asked. “You can’t drop out, niño! You still have four more races!”
“Why bother?” Thomas sulked. “I’m just going to lose again.”
“Don’t say that, Thomas!” Ernesto tried to comfort his friend. “There just has to be another way. Anything, like…”
Ernesto looked around to get an idea. His focus settled on Rosinella, a streamlined Italian racer. “That’s it! We just make you look like Rosinella over there.”
“Again with the streamlining,” Thomas sighed. “I don’t think that’s gonna help.”
“You don’t know that, amigo. Just trust me on this.”

Thomas thought long and hard about it. It was a tough decision, to be sure, but at the end of the day, what other option did he have? Get streamlined or bring shame onto Sodor? "I'll do it."

"That's the spirit, ¡compañero!" cried Ernesto. "I assure you, you won't regret this one bit!"

"I'll have to hold you to that," Thomas chuckled.

Thomas spent about a week in a workshop in Auckland. The streamlining process was taking ages, and the other racers, aside from Ernesto, of course, were growing impatient.

"Nini kinamchukua muda mrefu hivyo?" Andwele asked, frustrated. "Tulitakiwa kuondoka kwenda Brazil saa moja iliyopita!"

"Give him a moment, Andwele," responded Connor. "I'm sure he'll be along any second now."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Well, someone needs to go get him."

"But he's not done yet!" Ernesto pleaded.

"We need to get to Brazil now, Ernesto," groaned Hugh. "so either you go pick him up or we go without the bloke."

Ernesto left the ferry and headed to the workshop to find Thomas. He soon arrived at the workshop. "Thomas? You okay in there?"

Then the doors burst open and out came a brand-new Thomas! He was sleeker, shinier, and above all, speedier. "Is it too much?"

"¡No seas tonto, amigo!" said Ernesto. "You look fantastic! Definitely capable of beating Spencer!"

"Really?" Thomas chuckled, feeling more confident than ever. "Wow, it must be really good."

"Magnificent, even!" responded Ernesto. "Now, come on! Not a moment to waste!"

The third race was to take the racers through Rio de Janeiro through to Sucre. As the racers fuelled up, Spencer and his crew took a gander at the new and improved Thomas.

"Pah! Look at this guy!" Hugh laughed.

"この子は真面目なことはできません." Ren snickered.

"Looking sharp, Thomas!" Spencer teased. "Did you want to look fancy before you lose again?"

"Oh, will I now?" Thomas retorted. "Are you just making yourself feel stronger because you feel insecure by my newer, faster appearance?"

The other racers chuckled at Thomas' comeback as Spencer growled. "Come on, boys, we're leaving."

"You got it, maestro." replied Hugh. Ren, on the other hand, went straight into threatening Thomas.

"バディボーイ、あなたはレースで自分自身を見るべきです。" he warned. "1つの間違った動き、スペンサーはあなたを破壊します。"

"...again, Ren. Too dark." Spencer sighed.

"ごめん。"

Soon, it was time for the race to begin. The checkered flag rose, and off the racers went! While Spencer maintained a steady lead, Thomas was coming in hot.

"Thomas?!" called the Flying Scotsman as Thomas whizzed by.

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed the announcer. "Look at Thomas go! It's like he's a whole new engine!"

"Sacre bleu!" gasped Etienne.

"Keep goin' strong, my dude!" encouraged Abigail.

"That's my boy!" cried Ernesto.

Thomas was close to catching up to Spencer, but all in all, once he cleared the finish line, he had only reached seventh place.

"And the winner is Spencer once again!" the announcer cried. "But look at that marginal improvement from Thomas!"

The press were all over Thomas, who was blinded by the flashes of the cameras. Ernesto, on the other hand, loved it! "Oh, no pictures, por favor, but yes, I'm the one who taught him everything he knows."

"Thomas!" one reporter asked. "What's your plans for gaining speed in the remainder of the race?"

"Uh...well, I haven't thought of that yet," Thomas responded. "I'm just sort of winging it."

Spencer groaned at Thomas. Ren noticed this. "あなたはそのタンクエンジンに真剣に怒っていませんね？"

"I know, it's childish," Spencer vented, "but how is a tank engine, a TANK ENGINE, beating us in our own game?"

"Relax, big guy." Hugh snickered. "Just wait until the race in Tokyo..."

The fourth race took racers from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. Thomas was getting revved up as he noticed an old friend.

"Thomas?" called a familiar voice. "Hey! It's me!"

Thomas looked over at the engine. It was Kwaku!

"Whoa, what?" Thomas asked. "Kwaku? How've you been? Long time!"

"I know! I almost didn't recognize you. How are you? How's Nia? And I must say, I like the new you. You look...bluer."

"He got streamlined, compañero." Ernesto boasted.

"Oh, that's it!" laughed Kwaku. "I'm just here to cheer on my friend Andwele. Me and him go way back."

"Sorry," chuckled Ernesto, "because this kid's gonna take home the gold for the island of Sodor!"

"Wait, Ernesto," Thomas asked. "what about you? Aren't you going to want to win for Mexico?"

"Thomas, please." Ernesto chuckled. "I've already won this rally two years ago. And to see a newcomer from an unknown area of the world take home the trophy, let alone a tank engine? That's an inspiring idea, Thomas, and if you win, it can prove that anything is possible. For anyone."

"Wow, you really think I can do this?"

"I know it."

Thomas smiled, until he heard a strange sobbing sound.

"Sorry," Kwaku said through tears. "underdog stories always make me cry."

As the race began, Thomas maintained a steady lead. But in a strange turn of events, he changed tracks and went on another path. "What in the..."

Thomas wasn't sure where he was going. All he knew was he wasn't allowed to reverse, as that would slow him down further. So, Thomas just followed the path, not knowing where he was going until he arrived at a station...with a checkered banner.

"Hold on, what?" Thomas asked. "What am I doing here? Isn't this..."

"The finish line?" the announcer responded. "Yes. Turns out that the faulty junction you landed on was a real blessing for you. It led to you taking a shortcut which...in hindsight we really should've blocked off."

"So where's everyone else?"

"WHAT?!" Spencer screamed as he crossed the finish line.

"You're kidding!" cried Hugh.

"彼はどうやってそれをしましたか？" gasped Ren.

"...found them." Thomas laughed sheepishly.

Spencer groaned again, almost as if he was ready to attack Thomas.

"Hold on, big guy." Hugh said, trying to calm down his friend. "Remember, fifth race, right around the corner."

"What are you going to do with him anyway?" Spencer asked.

"Trust me. You won't be seeing him for a while..."

To be concluded...