Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Down Ballahoo Tunnel
Gordon began to feel very exhausted as he pulled into Knapford Station. It was a lazy summer day, when the cold air provided relief after staying in the Sun’s rays.
He rolled his eyes as soon as he heard the E2 ranting on about having an exciting adventure beyond Sodor. Thomas had experienced a few such adventures already but Gordon couldn’t simply imagine it. After all, big engines don’t have time for dreaming about such nonsense.
Perhaps it was simply his age. After all, he was almost a century old.
‘What’s the point of having big adventures when there’s an important job to do? Perhaps Thomas hasn’t understood the importance of pulling the express yet.’
To tell the truth, trips to the mainland no longer excited Gordon. They felt too ordinary to the grand express engine. It could, in fact, have been that Gordon simply did not comprehend what an 'adventure’ was, but Gordon was much more mature than Thomas. Surely, he was wiser than the young tank engine.
His crew was on break, leaving the big blue engine having some time to rest before he had to pull the Express again. Gordon was more than eager to take a short nap. To his misfortune, a blur of green rushed passed him, startling the drowsy tender engine awake.
“Oh no, I’m late! I better hurry!” the figure exclaimed. Gordon recognised the engine to be Percy but he looked different. The saddle-tank’s paintwork was adorned with more gold and ruby hearts in addition to the standard red and yellow stripes, and its design, including the six, came off as more formal and intricate. Percy had what seemed to be a pocket watch attached to his buffers, though Gordon wasn’t sure how or why. What seemed to be the silliest feature on the engine was that he wore bunny ears on his smokebox, along with a fuzzy tail on the back on his bunker.
Furious, Gordon chased after Percy for an explanation, and also to complain about him interrupting Gordon's well-deserved rest. Despite this, Percy somehow managed to outrun Gordon, which shouldn’t be possible. Gordon was one of the fastest engines on Sodor. He applied his brakes when Percy entered Ballahoo tunnel without any sound.
The big blue engine decided to be rational about it, debating whether he should or shouldn’t enter the tunnel. After seeing Percy’s odd appearance, Gordon feared that whatever force changed the number 6 into what he had saw had altered the tunnel as well.
“Don’t be such a Henry, Gordon,” he muttered to himself, “It’s only a tunnel. What’s the worst that can happen-” His words suddenly became undignified screams as the tunnel’s rails vanished from under him, and he plummeted into the darkness.
It was pitch black and the unfortunate engine could barely see anything, to the point that he was uncertain if he could even feel tracks beneath his wheels.
Time was also starting to concern Gordon, as a large amount of time had passed. It was either that it was a very long drop... or that the large express engine had been falling slowly, despite his weight.
According to Gordon’s logic, he would reach the end soon, or he'd actually reached it a while ago.
Nevertheless, he used the given time to ponder. What was at the end of the tunnel? Would there be a light, like the saying? Or would he continue to be trapped in an endless cycle of falling?
Since there was no one around - or so he hoped - he talked to himself, in order to fill in the empty void with something.
“What will the others think while I’m stuck here?” Gordon wondered, “The Fat Controller would have to find another engine to pull the express. But would he actually buy another engine to just replace me? I hope not. He’d be sure to recognise that I have a grand value, not only that I’m an old engine.”
“Who would replace me anyway? Henry would take the express, but then someone would have to take his job. James would do Henry’s job… but then who would replace James? It could be Emily, but then who would do her job?”
Gordon began to make a very long list of who would replace who while he was away, which included every engine he knew on Sodor and some friends from beyond the Island. However, when he repeated it, he was already confused. He only got through a quarter of list.
“Thomas would take over Percy’s job, Duck would take over Thomas’ job… or was it Daisy doing Thomas’ job? Or Daisy doing Duck’s job? Or the other way around? Who did Diesel replace? Thomas’ or Duck’s job? Was it Victor or Spencer replacing him? But Spencer is doing Edward’s job and Victor doesn’t really leave the Steamworks that often… wait, was Donald doing Edward’s job or was it Douglas? Oh bother, I give up!” Huffed Gordon.
“You might as well just call an engine from the mainland to handle the express instead of replacing engines in a big mess.”
The engine was frustrated that the complicated system he had created couldn’t solve a problem that the simple answer could. It almost surprised him that Gordon could entertain himself with naming who would do who’s job. If Thomas or Percy or any younger, naive engines had this thought, it would appear normal for them to think like that. But for Gordon, it was very degrading. He would rather recite something more sensible, words like ‘eminence’, ‘extravagant’ and ‘elusive’. Others would find his vocabulary too formal and purple prose-like but Gordon thought that they were rather grand words to say, as if he were a gentleman from decades ago. Gordon liked to play around with vocabulary, like the more formal people on the island. Even though he didn't say them out loud very often.
What he also liked to use was logic. Logic was such a fine thing to use. You could use its basic rules to determine the solution and as a sharp weapon in the battle of wits. If there was anything that Gordon liked other than his dignity, speed, strength, and the express, then Gordon would just simply like logic and vocabulary.
The hole that he was falling through, however, Gordon didn’t like it. His logic didn’t agree with it either.
“I really should’ve reached the bottom by-” with a loud ‘clang’, Gordon grunted and found himself on rails once again. They went straight through a long passage, and at the end Gordon caught a glimpse of Percy racing down the tracks. “Oh dear! Oh my! I’ll be very late!” Percy cried.
“Percy! Wait up! I have a few words to say to you!” yelled Gordon, as he started to chuff down the line to catch up to the small engine.