Henry had had the exact same thought as Edward, but he had a lot further to walk. Waking up almost to Vicarstown Bridge rather than his cozy place at Tidmouth Sheds was quite the surprise, even more when he fell forward on his face and found he wasn't an engine anymore.

The first thing he'd done was try to find someone to ask for help, but Vicarstown was strangely empty, of both engines and people. Not to mention the bridge to the mainland was gone- up and vanished, with no sign it was ever there.

He had to get to Knapford Station. If anyone would know what was going on and where everyone else was, it was Sir Topham Hatt. And Knapford was a long trek from here- practically the complete other side of the island- so he started off immediately.

Walking was harder than the green engine had thought it would be. Sure, he'd seen little passengers toddling along the train station platform, holding onto their parents' hands for support, but surely it shouldn't involve this much stumbling and falling. Henry was pretty convinced he had eaten ballast at this point.

The silence of the island was deafening. Aside from the occasional chirp of a bird or chatter of a squirrel in the trees, there were no other signs of life. No whistles of engines passing by on nearby tracks, no soft clattering of automobiles making their way down the country roads, no laughter of passengers walking through the fields...

"Spooky..." Henry whispered to himself, but nothing as spooky as when he entered one of the towns. "Cinders and ashes...!"

The station's structure was in varying levels of decay. Wooden planks on benches were rotten away, leaving only the rusted, metal framing. The sign that hung over the ticket booth creaked and squeaked in the wind that was growing harsher and colder the further Henry went. Windows broken and drapes on the inside torn and blowing about with whipping motion.

"H-Hello!?" He called out, hoping somebody- anybody- would answer him. He needed a friend, he needed reassurance. An engine, a train master, anyone would do.

He called out a few times, but there was no response at the station, so he moved on. A short bit further down the way from the station was a small tunnel, cutting through the hills and turning midway so that as he approached, it looked like a big, hungry mouth, open and ready to swallow him into the dark.

Henry was honestly considering climbing over rather than going through- he could do that now, right? Arms and legs and all that? Perhaps if he still had his lights, he wouldn't find it so scary, but-

The green engine stiffened as he heard a sound. Something was rustling in the bushes just up the hills from him, and getting closer!

Henry wasn't the bravest engine on Sodor- he wished he was, but new things, especially potentially dangerous things, they made him quite nervous. He was worried enough about what had happened to him, and how quiet and empty the island was, and now something big was coming his way.

Henry whimpered, ducking into the tunnel and allowing the darkness to swallow him up. If he couldn't see anything in the tunnel, then it wouldn't be able to see him. Whatever it was, he wanted to see it before it saw him.

The rustling continued, and Henry peeked out silently. He had to wonder if it was a person, someone who had heard his calls from afar and come close to find him. He jumped as it sprung out of the bushes and out onto the old tracks- but then relaxed as he saw it wasn't some monster out to get him, but rather a deer. The two looked back at each other- apparently the deer could still see him- and then the deer bleated loudly.

Henry gave a sigh of relief, feeling a pounding vibration in his new chest, like a hammer being tapped in his cab. As he calmed down, it slowed, and he realized it must be some sort of heartbeat. He put a hand to his chest, feeling the vibrations pass through the metal and into his fingertips. This new body was full of surprises...

"Phew..." He whispered, looking to the deer. "It's just you... For a moment there, I thought you were a-"

"Henry?"

"GYAAAAH!"

Henry jumped back as a voice echoed from right behind him, and he gasped as his feet left the ground and he slammed up into the top of the tunnel. He heard a loud crack as he slammed into the stone, and then he came crashing back down to the ground. His vision went dark, but after a moment, it returned, along with a series of symbols that he somehow recognized as the words-

Warning: Blunt Force Trauma to the processor detected. Intense motion not recommended.

"Henry, I am so sorry!"
The voice was familiar, familiar enough that he was certain he knew them quite well. He groaned as he sat up, and then felt a pair of small hands touch his chest and shoulder. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you like that..."

"Em...Emily...?"

In the darkness, he saw a pair of glowing eyes looking back at him. He heard a nervous giggle, and then they blinked. "Y-Yeah... Hold on, let me help you up."

Her hands moved down to his hands, and Henry grunted as Emily offered him help standing up once more. His head felt like it was spinning, and he leaned against the wall to keep from falling again. "E-Emily... Hi."

"You okay?"

"No, not really...!" Henry blinked, wishing the pain in his head would go away so he could think straight again. "W-Where is everyone?"

"Wish I knew." Emily mumbled, "But hey, check this out."

Henry heard a soft snapping sound, and then with a flash and light puff of smoke, a flame ignited in front of him. As its light spread into the crevices of the tunnel, he could see not only Emily's face, but also that the flame was just... hovering over her hands, as if lit on an invisible candle. "What...?"

"Pretty cool, right...?" Emily was smiling, the light casting stark shadows on her face. "I did it the first time by accident, but it might come in handy... As for how you shot up there-"

Henry looked up at the top of the tunnel, the stone bearing some cracks from the impact he unintentionally gave it. "Yeah... You got me."

Emily looked out the tunnel, "Have you found anybody else?"

"Other than that deer? No... You?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "Just Gordon... Who's waiting at the other end of the tunnel because he claims he can't fit."

Henry frowned, "He's not that much bigger than I am- I-I mean, like I usually am."

Emily held the flame a little closer to her chest, "Come on, we can figure out... all this, later. Call it a hunch, but I think we're not the only ones here..."

________________________________________________

Any updates?

Boulder hummed, overlooking the island from the cliffside he'd climbed. The island was expansive, even larger than Griffin Rock, and teeming with wildlife. Birds, squirrels, deer, Boulder had even passed a slumbering bear's den- But each settlement he found was empty of humans, and had been for a while. "Still tracking one of the mosaic's signals, but I can see why the files on this island stopped. Doesn't look like anyone lives here anymore..."

Well, that makes traversing easier, right? Don't have to worry about humans seeing you.

"Yeah, but why...? I've encountered several ghost towns and train stations- lots of old buildings, a few pieces of abandoned equipment, lots and lots of old rail lines, but no people... Where did they all go?"

Hmm... Maybe it was like the Gold Rush here in the states. Everyone flocked there to capitalize on a new industry, and then when the money-making was gone, they all left for work elsewhere.

"Maybe... I'll keep you posted."
Thunder cracked overhead, and Boulder looked up at the clouds. "Hmm... Storm's getting ready to come down. I hope I find the mosaics before then, it'll make traversing harder."

Most of them are on the move, joining up with each other... I've lost track of two of them, though. It's possible they've moved into shelter that's blocking the signal.

"Right." Boulder twisted his torso to stretch, "Closest ones?"

It looks like they're all heading to converge in the same central location. Head there and then you can probably get most- if not all of them- in one shot. I'll send you the coordinates.

"Thanks, Graham."
Boulder waited until the coordinates arrived in his HUD screen, and then nodded. "Okay... Hang in there, I'll find you guys..."

___________________________

"Percy, are you okay?"

"Hmm...? Oh... Yeah, I'm fine..."

Thomas and his best friend had already covered a lot of ground, following the tracks in hopes of finding other engines or even people, but no luck just yet. Step by step, motion by motion, the two had started inland, but Thomas had noticed their pace had slowed, and Percy was dragging behind a little bit now.

The little green engine blinked slowly, looking ahead before giving a yawn. "...Just tired..." He finished. He gave Thomas a smile, but then frowned. "Ugh... More symbols."

"You're seeing them too, huh?"

Percy nodded, "Says... energy level low. See? Tired."

"Hmm... Maybe we should rest then."

"I'm fine, Thomas. I'll sleep once we get back to the sheds. Cinders and ashes, I never noticed just how big Sodor is when you're not on wheels."

Thomas was kinda doubtful that this place was Sodor at this point. Sodor was inhabited, for one. Engines hauled passengers and goods trains from here to there all day and sometimes at night, people played in the fields, and farm animals dotted the land like dandelions popping up from the ballast. While not crowded, it was hard to go anywhere and not see at least someone nearby.

This island was the opposite. It had been quite some time since Thomas and Percy had started their walk, and they hadn't run into anybody- engine or otherwise.

Thomas took in a deep breath and blew out a long, loud whistle that echoed out across the fields, and Percy blew out his own. It had been a little while since they'd tried to contact anyone, perhaps now they would be within range.

The harsh, cold wind whipping in with the oncoming storm roared in their ears, making it hard to know if anyone had answered. "Ugh... This wind is probably taking it away from anybody else..."

"We have to keep trying, Thomas..." Percy whispered, and then he blew his whistle again.

This time, there came a response- the loud, sharp whistle, coming from ahead of them. They were close, and Thomas knew that whistle well. "That's James!"

Thomas took Percy's hand and tugged him up the hill ahead of them, reaching the top and seeing the bright red engine headed their way. It would appear that the red engine had been changed too, but that prideful grin still painted his face as brightly as ever. "Did someone call for the Fastest Red Engine on Sodor!?" He announced.

"James...!" Thomas huffed with a smile, "It's good to see you."

"Are you...You alone?" Percy puffed, leaning against a tree beside him as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh no, I'm not alone." James' smile faded a bit as he looked back towards two more coming their way. "Edward just decided to slow down the pace for Diesel..."

Thomas' smile faded as well, "Diesel too? Great..."

Hardly a single engine could deal with Diesel the diesel engine for more than a few minutes. A menace at best and a bully at worst, it seemed that the dirty engine's sole purpose on Sodor was to cause trouble and make things harder for the other engines, especially the Steam engines like Thomas. Bumping into other engines on purpose, blowing his horn behind them to startle them, making them late and causing general confusion and delay all over Sodor. Diesel only did the bare minimum on Sodor to not get booted off to the Mainland... or worse, sent to wherever engines went when they stopped being useful.

Edward was still smiling wide as he approached the two younger engines, "Thomas, Percy!"

"Edward!"
Percy walked over to the older blue engine and wrapped his arms around him. "It's good to see you."

"You too, Percy..." Edward patted the little green engine's head, and then looked to Diesel as he puffed his way up to the top of the hill. "Are you-"

"For the hundredth time, Edward...!" Diesel huffed, giving the blue engine a glare. "...I'm fine...!" He then looked to Thomas and his glare only got stronger. "Thomas."

"Diesel." Thomas muttered back with his own glare.

"Now now..." Edward gently rebuked, "...We can't afford to be mean right now."

"Edward's right," Percy looked over the engines present, "The five of us might be the only ones here on Sodor, for some reason."

"It is rather quiet..." James muttered, "...But what makes you think we're on Sodor?"

Percy pointed ahead wearily, "That."

The others looked where he was pointing, to a nearby hill with several rail lines spilling over from the top. "I can still hear him now... 'Express, coming through...!'"

Thomas felt something in his body drop, "...Gordon's Hill."