Zero to Hero - ThomasNATION Fanstory
April 27, 2024
It was a calm day on the Island of Sodor. The birds were chirping, the sun was beating down, and the rescue centre alarm was blaring. There had been a big derailing up at Wellsworth, and with Emily away to the Mainland, Duck had to be called in to fetch Rocky. It was all going according to plan, until...BUMP! "Ow!"
The familiar giggle of Diesel filled the yard. "Whoops! Sorry, Duck, I didn't see you there."
"Hello, Diesel," Duck rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have time for your shenanigans today. I need to head to Wellsworth."
"Oh, surely the Fat Controller wouldn't-"
"Sir Topham Hatt to you!" barked Duck.
"That's cute." snickered Diesel. "Surely the Fat Controller wouldn't mind if you showed up...well, as the young engines say, "fashionably late". Don't you agree, Ducky?"
"I can't be late, Diesel." Duck sighed. "You know this. Edward got knocked off the rails by the scrapyard."
"Whoa!" chuckled Diesel. "Didn't realise it was his time!"
"That's not what I meant!" grumbled Duck, his patience hanging on by a thread. "The track was blocked by some scrap and he derailed."
"Sure he did," smirked Diesel, "I mean, Edward's an old engine. Creaky. Beyond use. All steamies are, admit it. I guarantee you, one day this yard'll be full of diesels."
"Look, Diesel, can you leave me alone?" Duck sighed. "I'm sorry I can't chat, but this is an emergency! Just go be useful elsewhere!"
"...oh. I see." Diesel muttered, feigning disappointment. "I guess I'll just be on my way, like some sort of be-on-my-wayer."
But before Duck knew it, Diesel immediately started shunting Rocky away! "Hey!"
"Diesel, no!" Duck cried as Rocky's crane arm swang crazily. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, but I thought you wanted me to be useful elsewhere!" smirked Diesel.
Duck wasted no time and immediately gave chase. "Come back! STOP! DIESEL!"
Meanwhile, at Brendam Docks, Paxton had just come in from the Blue Mountain Quarry. Cranky immediately got to work unloading the stone onto the ships. But today, he was struggling a bit.
"Everything okay, Cranky?" asked Paxton.
"I'm fine, Paxton," groaned Cranky, "these stones are just a bit heavier than usual today! I think my crane arm's gonna-"
This is where everything that could've possibly gone wrong at that moment started to go wrong. Cranky's hook cable snapped, sending massive stones plummeting to the ground. Paxton rushed out of the way, but his troubles were just beginning. He bumped straight into a flatbed on the bed, skidded straight off the rails and right on the edge of the dock!
"PAXTON!" cried Salty.
"Are you okay?!" gasped Porter.
"I won't be for long!" whimpered Paxton. "Someone help! HELP!"
As Paxton was crying for help, Diesel's trick had led him, Duck and Rocky straight through Edward's branchline and to the docks. They had completely passed Edward, and Diesel wasn't stopping anytime soon.
"Diesel!" Duck panted. "Please, stop! This has gone on long enough, you've proved your point!"
"Catch me if you can!" taunted Diesel. What happened next, you may find a bit hard to believe. Remember when I said Rocky's arm was swinging crazily? Well, that swinging hurled his hook really far onto Paxton's coupling. And as Diesel kept shunting, Rocky yanked Paxton away from the edge, sending Paxton back to the dock and derailing Rocky. Duck gasped at the mess Diesel had made.
"Diesel, look what you've done!" cried Duck. "I mean, you've-"
"You've saved me!" gasped Paxton.
"...huh?" asked Diesel. The dockside workers cheered, clapped and hollered for Diesel's bravery. "What happened?"
"I think you saved Paxton." muttered Duck.
"Huh." smirked Diesel. "Okay, promise me when this ends up on the news, you'll keep me humble."
"...okay? Not sure what you mean by that." But what Duck didn't know is that he was about to find out exactly what Diesel meant.
The next few days were absolutely great for Diesel! Everyone had heard about his daring rescue, and they began viewing him in a brand new light. Sir Topham Hatt put him up for more important jobs like Gordon's express, people cheered for him when he passed the stations, he had even made a few appearances on the television. However, what ended up being heaven for Diesel turned out to be a nightmare for Duck. You see, the fame had given Diesel a bit of an ego. And that ego had led him to believe that simply saving him wasn't enough, so he started making up more of the story. Paxton wasn't hanging over the dock anymore, he was surrounded by giant sharks after being knocked off the rails by a collapsing warehouse. But Duck tried his best not to say anything, and the best he could do was just smile and suck it up. And as everyone can tell at Knapford, he wasn't doing so good at it.
"You okay, Duck?" asked Thomas.
"Yep." said Duck, feigning a smile. "Never better."
"You sure?" asked Percy. "You look like you're trying not to burst."
"No," smirked Duck. "I'm okay, trust me."
Thomas started to piece together what the issue was. "Is it Diesel?"
"Uh...maybe?" chuckled Duck.
"I know you've got your grudges against him," started Percy, "but he just saved Paxton's life."
"Yeah, let him have this one." continued Thomas.
"I have no problem with him saving Paxton, but that's not why I'm fed up." sighed Duck.
"Then why are you?"
Duck gestured to Diesel being interviewed by a few other engines. "...then, I saw Paxton careening on the dock surrounded by sharks. I bravely rushed over and yelled "DON'T FEAR, PAXTON! DIESEL THE DARING IS HERE!"." he boasted. "I go by Diesel the Daring now."
"See? That didn't happen!" Duck complained.
"Duck, come on!" Thomas sighed. "What do you mean it didn't happen? You're really saying Diesel didn't pull Rocky forward right as a shark jumped through a hoop of fire right towards Paxton's face right before he was pulled back onto the rails?"
Thomas sat silence for a second, realising now how silly that sounded. "Okay, saying that out loud made me realise you may be right."
"So Diesel didn't save Paxton?" Rebecca pondered.
"No, no, he did," Duck explained, "it's just everything else he made up."
"What are we meant to do about it?" asked Stanley.
"What can we do?" pondered Duck. "Besides, revenge is immature, I say we just wait until this whole thing blows over."
The engines wanted to wait, but then came the next day. Diesel had another television interview at Tidmouth Harbor where Duck and Thomas were working.
"I swear, the shark was lunging right for Paxton's face," Diesel fibbed, "and then YOINK! I pulled Paxton back onto the platform and he miraculously landed on the rails. It was amazing!"
"Right." the reporter responded.
Thomas and Duck watched as Diesel retold his story. "Wow, it's like every day his story is different. Now the sharks are breathing fire?" sighed Duck.
"You're sure you don't want to go on there and expose him?" asked Thomas.
"No," chuckled Duck. "I don't like how he's acting about it, but he deserves a little time in the spotlight."
Back over at the interview... "The Mayor is even planning on giving me a medal." Diesel bragged. "No big deal."
"Right, see, I have a problem with that story." the reporter started.
"...huh?"
"You say that Paxton was almost eaten by sharks, right?" the reporter asked.
"That is correct. Fire-breathing sharks."
"But sharks aren't native to Sodor's waters. Not to mention how fire-breathing sharks are flat out scientifically impossible."
"What's he doing?" asked Duck from afar.
"And you said that Paxton was derailed by a falling warehouse, and yet," the reporter continued. "there were no reports on any warehouses falling in Brendam for the past seven years. Care to explain why that slipped under the radar?"
Diesel was trapped. Every story he made up had come back to bite him in the bunker. He didn't know what to do. "Uh...well...here's the thing-"
"And that silence says everything, folks!" the reporter said, turning back to the camera. "Diesel the Daring is really Diesel the Deceitful. This engine is no hero."
"Wow, this is great!" Thomas laughed. "Diesel's lies are no more!"
Duck couldn't bring himself to laugh. He wanted to find joy in the situation, but Diesel was so happy when everyone saw him as a hero. Sure, he shouldn't have lied, but he didn't deserved to be embarrassed on live TV like that. He didn't know what he was thinking, but there was only thing to do. Duck immediately raced to the higher level.
"Duck! Where are you going?!" cried Thomas.
Duck kept racing like the wind. There was no stopping him, he was determined and...BLAM! He smashed right through a set of buffers, hanging dangerously over the edge. "Help! Someone!"
The TV cameras turned their attention to Duck. It was then when Thomas caught onto what he was doing and raced over to Diesel. "Diesel! Duck needs your help!"
"I don't know," moped Diesel. "You heard him, I'm not a hero. I only saved Paxton on accident, I can't save Duck."
"You can be!" Thomas said. "I know you kept making up those stories, but look around! You can prove to everyone that you really are a hero! Forget about what everyone just said. You can do this! You can be Diesel the Daring!"
Fully motivated and ready to strike, Diesel rushed over to save Duck, who was very close to falling into the sea.
"DIESEL! HURRY!" Duck wailed. "This was a very bad idea!"
"Don't worry, Duck! I got you!" cried Diesel.
Diesel had a chain attached to Duck's coupling and he immediately started pulling. At first, it didn't seem likely. Diesel's wheels kept slipping on the rails, but eventually, he hauled Duck back to safety.
"Wow!" Thomas gasped. "Diesel just rescued Duck!"
The harbor workers and even the news crew started cheering for Diesel, having seen a brilliant, brave and above all, honest rescue.
"Duck, promise me when this rescue ends up on the news, you'll keep me humble." Diesel smirked.
"No, have your time in the limelight." Duck laughed. "After all, who am I to doubt Diesel the Daring?"
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