Breakdown Breakup - ThomasNATION Fanstory
November 15, 2025
"Up we go there." smiled Judy. "Easy does it, Thomas."
"Thanks, guys," sighed Thomas with relief. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Don't mention it, Thomas." laughed Jerome. "Let's get you on the-"
PEEP-PEEP! Emily rolled up hauling Rocky. "Sorry we're late! There was a holdup near Gordon's Hill."
"Oh. Rocky." gasped Judy. Now, despite Rocky replacing her and Jerome for up to ten years, Judy had no real bad blood with the guy. Jerome, on the other hand...
"Rocky..." scowled Jerome. "We were here first, you know."
"We were called first." said Rocky, a little confused by the aggression. "We would've gotten here sooner if not for the mess by the hill."
Judy rolled her eyes at all the bickering. "Jerome, honestly, don't be so nasty. Rocky's helping us as much as we're helping Thomas."
"Does he know that?" groaned Jerome.
"Jerome, seriously. Just drop it." Judy scoffed. She was used to the animosity Jerome had with Rocky. She was just hoping they'd never have to meet him for this reason alone.
Jerome was so distracted that he wasn't paying attention and dropped Thomas hard on the ground. "OW!"
"Not him!" Judy groaned.
"Thomas!" gasped Jerome. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"...I think something fell out." Thomas winced.
Ryan took Judy and Jerome back to the Arlesburgh Yard. The two cranes had never seen Ryan so disappointed.
"What in the world was that?" Ryan asked. "What did Rocky ever do to you two?"
"Nothing!" called out Judy.
"He replaced us!" scowled Jerome.
"He didn't replace you." Ryan tried to assure Jerome. "We take care of the emergencies on the west of the island and Emily and Rocky take the east."
"Ignore him, Ryan." Judy scoffed. "He's always had this grudge towards Rocky. I've tried to talk him out of it countless times, but he won't listen. He keeps insisting Rocky replaced us."
"What? But no one could replace you two."
"I have told him that countless times."
"Well, I don't know what to say." sighed Ryan. "Maybe one of these days, you three will need to rescue an engine together and put this silly feud behind you."
"Absolute rot!" scoffed Jerome. "Some people were meant to work together. Me, Judy and Rocky aren't among them."
"See?" sighed Judy. "Now, let's just forget all about this and relax in our sheds. Maybe one day that'll happen, but I don't think it'll be anytime soon."
They say that the universe has a plan for everyone. And that plan's always in motion - a butterfly flaps its wings and it starts to rain, and so on. And as if by some divine miracle, Judy and Jerome were about to work with Rocky. But how? Enter Diesel, who was pulling out of Vicarstown with a train of heavy stone the day after Thomas' derailment. But before he could go any further, he was flagged down by the guards.
"What now?" grumbled DIesel. "I'm going to run late."
"The signal's broken, Diesel." explained one of the guards. "You'll have to wait."
Diesel sighed, but his troubles were only just beginning. James was so distracted by a bee buzzing around his funnel that he didn't see Diesel right in front of him.
BANG! James crashed right into Diesel, knocking them both off the rails and spilling Diesel's heavy stone.
"Whoa!" gasped Sonny. "You lads alright?"
But Sonny didn't notice the stone on the rails, bumping right into it and derailing. Luckily, Belle was there to see it all go down.
"Is everyone okay?" Belle asked.
"Belle! Go get Rocky!" pleaded Diesel.
"Hang in there, I'm on my way!" Belle rushed off, but again, she didn't se the stone blocking the line. You can probably guess where this is going. BAM!
The station was a mess. James, Diesel, Sonny and Belle were off the rails.
The alarm at the Search and Rescue Centre blared as Emily raced in.
"Emily?!" gasped Rocky, who had just been abruptly awoken from his nap. "What's the matter?"
"There's been a major derailment at Vicarstown!" Emily panted. "We need to get over there!"
"Right-o, let's do this!" Rocky declared as they set off.
"Wait!" the Search and Rescue Centre manager shouted, stopping Emily and Rocky. "I've got some word up at Arlesburgh. Judy and Jerome will be helping you."
"Judy and Jerome?" Rocky asked. "I dunno, that Jerome was so rude to me yesterday."
"Well, think of this as a good way to clear the air with them." Emily suggested. "I'm sure they're excited to work with you."
But at Arlesburgh...
"What?!" Jerome gasped. "We have to work with Rocky?!"
"Wow. Isn't that a coincidence?" thought Judy.
"I know, we were just talking about that yesterday." chuckled Ryan.
"You don't need to like him, Jerome," said Daisy, "but you have to be nice. It's just this once."
"Alright, fine." sighed Jerome. "You're right. What's important is getting those engines on track again."
"There you go!" smiled Judy. "Ryan, take us away!"
Ryan, Judy and Jerome pulled into Vicarstown. Emily and Rocky were already there, waiting to get started.
"You made it!" declared Emily. "Let's get started. Who do we rerail first?"
"Hmm..." Ryan thought, "...well, Diesel is closest to the rails."
"Okay, Diesel first." Judy smiled as Ryan pulled Judy and Jerome into position. But as Jerome was about to hoist Diesel up...
"I got this one!" Rocky chirped as he hoisted Diesel up.
"Oi!" growled Jerome. "That was our rescue!"
"Oh, sorry." Rocky frowned. "Tell you what, I'll give you next dibs."
Jerome and Judy settled on rerailing James. They were in the middle of rescuing him, but once Diesel was rerailed, he was just desperate to get out of there.
"Finally!" he groaned. "I need to get back to-"
BANG! Diesel bumped right into Judy, who dropped James right back onto the ground.
"Guys!" winced James. "I'd like to go back onto the rails, please?"
"Sorry, James!" called Jerome.
"I got you, James!" chuckled Rocky.
"Again?!" Jerome scoffed. "When will it end?!"
"Jerome, stop it!" Judy shouted.
"What?! He's taking our rescues!"
"Only because Diesel made us drop James!"
"So?!"
"So, why are you so upset?!"
"Because it's like he's replacing us right now for something that wasn't our fault!"
"Why does that make you so mad?!"
"Because if he's replacing us in this job, what's stopping him from replacing us permanently? Again?!"
Rocky was listening to the two of them. He was stunned. "...Jerome? Is that what this was all about?"
Jerome sighed. "Yes. Ever since you saved Gordon way back when and you took over the island's rescues, I spent years in that siding feeling so...useless. I love rescuing engines, Rocky. It gives me a sense of purpose. I don't want to stop doing what I love. I don't want to be replaced again."
"Jerome, don't be ridiculous." smiled Rocky. "I wasn't brought to Sodor to replace you, I was brought here to help you. I don't know why they stopped asking you for emergencies, but I could never replace you and Judy."
"I told you." smirked Judy.
"...uh...we're still here." sighed Belle.
Jerome looked at the pileup. "So...now what?"
"May I suggest something?" chirped Emily. "This is too big a job to go one at a time. If you're going to clean all these engines up, you need to do it together."
Soon, Judy, Jerome and Rocky were working together in perfect sync. Their teamwork was as smooth as a well oiled machine. And before long, the pileup was finally cleared in record time.
"Whoo!" cheered Jerome. "We did it!"
"I knew we could do it!" Ryan laughed. "Now, come on! Let's get back to our sheds."
As Judy and Jerome left, Jerome turned to Rocky, who was about to leave with Emily.
"Hey, Rocky?" called Jerome.
"Yes?" asked Rocky.
"You're alright." Jerome smiled. Finally, their feud was over.
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