Dakota and the Vampire Trains

This is the fifth book written in the 10th grade (2011-2012) and the eighteenth series in the series. The story introduces Maud and Leah, Willa and Olenka's exchanges from France. They have since become the exchanges who have had the most adventures. The story takes place in January 2012, after Olenka returns from her exchange trip from France (explaining her absence in the previous books).

Summery
Thomas the tank engine is waiting at Knapford Junction when Armand rushes past announcing that Olenka had just returned from her exchange trip to France. Armand continues on to Tidmouth where Willa, Olenka and Dakota (as a maglev) are waiting. Along with them are two visitors, Maud (Willa's exchange) and Leah (Olenka's exhange). Armand welcomes them warmly and explains to them and Olenka that the kids had recently gotten magic costumes which turns them into trains. Olenka and the exchanges get excited when they learn that there are more costumes waiting for them. Dakota swiftly takes them, as well as Willa and Armand up to Ffarquhar.

Meanwhile Raven, the vampira Armand and the others encountered the previous year, is surfing the web when she discovers Armand's video describing the Legend of Lady the Magic Engine. She learns that Lady runs on coal mined from the island and doused heavily in magic. An idea forms in her head and she prepares herself for departure.

Olenka, Maud and Leah each picks a costume of their own and heads outside to morph into trains. Willa accompanies everyone by putting her costume on. After they are turned to trains, Thomas arrives and is introduced to Maud and Leah. Thomas then tells Willa and Armand that Little Engine (aka the Little Engine that Could) wanted to show them something. He takes the two kids to her and there they find that she has discovered and restored Doc Brown's Time Train. Excited, Armand proposes to test it out. Willa, Thomas and Little Engine joins him as he sets the coordinants to the Victorian Age before Lady first ran under her own power. The time travel prove successful and while Thomas and Little Engine carefully explore pre-20th century Sodor without being found, Armand and Willa go to the coal mines to get accurate details on the magic coal. Armand gets the information he needs and the two leave, unaware that Raven transported herself to the same location via a teleporting portal in her saliva residue stuck on Armand's neck from the last time they met. She waits until Willa and Armand are out of eyesight and pulls out a vial.

Armand and Willa rest on a hillside and watch the sunset before collecting Thomas and Little Engine and returning to the time train. Arriving back to their time period however, they discover a horrible surprise awaiting them. All the trains, including the kids, have become vampiric. Even Lady has become a vampire engine. The four try to escape but Armand is caught and knocked out by Diesel 10 and Lady.

Armand wakes in his own room where he recieve more terrifying shockers, in this time period he is dating Raven, is employeed by the Merminator, and all the significent friends who have brought him happiness in his life have been killed. Escaping his home Armand journeys back to Sodor seeing the entire world being brought to evil and destruction as vampires, nazis and communists thrieve on his homeland.

Armand finds the cemetary where his friends are buried and mourns for them until Willa, Thomas and Little Engine find him. They return to Ffarquhar where they learn through the internet that Armand's video on the Legend has changed: when Lady first comes to life, she looks vampiric from the start. The four conclude that Raven went back in time with them and desecrated the special coal. They are interupted when the Merminator barges in, revealing that he knows Armand and Willa have merfolk magic in their DNA. As Thomas, Armand, Willa and Little Engine escape, the Merminator chases after them but is slain by Raven who is not ready to lose Armand yet. Thomas and Little Engine head off to collect the time train while Armand and Willa lead Raven away from them in hopes of preventing her from stopping their plans. Raven calls upon the other kids who turn into vampire trains and try to hunt them down.

Eventually the two come to a perdicament, Thomas, Little Engine and the time train are so closer but the vampire trains are all around them. Willa figures that she has to lead the vampires away even if it means the risk of becoming a vampire herself. Armand objects to the notion and pleads with her not to go, but Willa reminds him that he has a job to do and only he can do it. She then sacrafices herself in leading the vampires away while Armand joins Little Engine and Thomas and the three go back in time.

Things do not go entirely to plan however when Raven travels back in time along with all the other kids, including Willa, to stop Armand and to vampirise Thomas and Little Engine. Armand fights off the vampires, save his engine friends and leads the vampires away on a wild goose chase. Finally Raven personally confronts Armand and the two fight resulting with Armand unintentionally taking a stake and driving it into Raven's heart. Though glad that the fight is over (for the moment) Armand weeps openly because the experience of taking a life, even one of an enemy, was terrifiying.

Finally Armand tracks down the past Raven and stops her before she can douse the magic coal in vampire blood. Furious, Raven vows that he hasn't seen the last of her and disappears. Armand collects his friends, all of whom have been restored to human, and Thomas and Little Engine, and they all go back in time.

Back in the restored time period the team all encounter Raven who has gotten a train costume of her own and turned herself into a hideous vampire engine. Armand leads her away and she chases him until they get to a rickety old bridge that Armand knew about. Getting to the other side safely, Armand watches as Raven falls into the river as the bridge collapses under her. At last losing her patience Raven leaves to fight another day.

Kids

 * Willa
 * Danielle
 * Olenka
 * Rose Tui
 * Sophia
 * Thea
 * Sabine
 * Alana
 * Maud
 * Leah
 * Dakota
 * Armand
 * Eli
 * Sophia Eve (Mentioned)
 * Vita (Mentioned)
 * Melinda (Mentioned)

Trains

 * Thomas
 * Little Engine
 * Percy
 * James
 * Lady
 * Evil Diesel
 * Diesel 10

Created Characters

 * Raven
 * The Merminator
 * The Merminator's Bodyguard 1
 * The Merminator's Bodyguard 2
 * The Merminator's Gangster
 * The Merminator's Strongmam

Trivia

 * The designs for the vampiric train costumes were inspired by the 'Vegas Showgirl' styled costumes used for the coaches in the musical Starlight Express. The 'Vegas Showgirl' design originated (obviously) in the Las Vegas performance and was carried through to the 2003 USA tour, both the 2004 and 2012 UK tours, the 2009 New Zealand Tour and the 2013 Hong Kong/Singapore Tour.