Once Upon a Time in Enchancia
Welcome to Chapter 14 of "Once Upon a Time in Enchancia". Songs in this chapter: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", and "Carefree Highway" (both by Gordon Lightfoot).
There is a special note at the end of this chapter you will want to read.
Chapter 14: The Trip
In a future Voyager City
In a future Voyager City, it was a normal day. At the educational complex, a class full of what would be the equivalent of fourth graders sat. These students were the sons and daughters of Voyagers, and would someday become Voyagers in their own right.
As the students sat at their desks, their teacher (a man) entered the classroom.
"Good morning, Professor Molesley," the students greeted their teacher.
"Good morning, students," Molesley smiled. "Today, we'll be learning ..."
Molesley was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Molesley looked up to see an old friend (a woman) standing there.
"Would you mind if I sat in on your class this morning, Joseph?" the woman asked.
"I would be delighted," Molesley happily agreed, before turning back to his class. "You all know Captain Daisy Mason of the Voyager time ship Greenwich."
"Good morning, Captain Mason," the students greeted Daisy.
"Good morning," Daisy smiled, before turning back to Molesley. "Just act as if I wasn't here."
"Very well," Molesley complied as he began to teach the class. "Today, students, we'll learn about one of the most famous shipwrecks on the Great Lakes of North America."
"I've been looking forward to hearing about this," Pamella Pearson, daughter of Voyager Elainna Marie Pearson, whispered to another student.
"On November 10th of 1975, the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank as a result of a storm. All 29 crew members aboard died as a result," Molesley reported. "From 1958 to 1975, the Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. At the time of her sinking, the Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes."
As Molesley taught his class, Diana's adopted daughter, Tricia, walked by the classroom's open door. As she stopped for a few moments to listen to what Molesley had to say, she remembered a time where Violet, Dorrie, and Candice had taken Amber to the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
November 10, 2025
It was a afternoon on a November day at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, Michigan. The museum was located in a series of buildings which use to be a lighthouse station that had been operated by the United States Coast Guard.
Violet paid the museum admission for herself, Dorrie, Candice, and Amber, and then the four walked onto the grounds of the museum.
"Mom likes educational trips," Dorrie informed Amber.
"She's always taking us to interesting places," Candice happily added.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what is here," Amber smiled. "It looks like a very interesting place."
"It's even more interesting this year," Violet said to Dorrie, Candice, and Amber. "A new building has been added, featuring a Vox System computer to mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
"Computer?" Amber asked, not knowing the term.
"You'll see," Violet smiled as she led Dorrie, Candice, and Amber into the building.
As Amber walked inside, she saw a large metal ball mounted to a metal platform. Next to the ball was a line of clear glass panels. As Amber walked up to one of the glass panels, an image of a woman suddenly appeared.
"Hello!" the woman cheerfully greeted Amber. "Welcome to Vox System. How may I help you?"
"Oh!" Amber gasped, taken off guard. "I didn't see you there."
"I seem to have that effect on people," the woman smiled. "How may I help you?"
"What is that thing?" Amber asked, pointing at the large metal ball.
"That is my photonic memory core," the woman answered, "or P.M.C., as we say in the trade."
"What are you?" Amber asked, curious.
"I'm the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum information unit, Vox registration MI dash three nine eight," the woman informed Amber. "How may I help you?"
"Ah!" Amber remarked. "A stereopticon of some sort."
"Stereopticon?" the woman responded. "Oh, no, miss. I am a fusion-powered photonic, with verbal and visual link capabilities connected to every database on the planet."
"Photonic?" Amber wanted to know, not knowing the term.
"A compendium of all Human and Newcomer knowledge," the woman explained.
"Newcomer?" Amber asked, not familiar with that term, either.
"A large group of human-type aliens from another planet," Violet explained. "They arrived aboard a huge spaceship in the late 1980s. They live along side humans, mostly in the Los Angeles area."
"Computer," Dorrie addressed the woman. "We're here to find out more about the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking."
"Of course," the woman acknowledged. "Accessing Edmund Fitzgerald."
On the side of the clear glass panel where the woman was standing, some pictures of the Edmund Fitzgerald appeared.
"Fifty years ago, on November 10th of 1975, the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a ferocious storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 men aboard," the woman recalled. "The shipwreck would be made famous in a song by Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was released a year after the sinking. Here is a bit from the song."
"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee. The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy. With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty. That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed when the gales of November came early."
"The disaster was blamed in part on the so-called Witch of November phenomenon which is the source of memorable and fierce storms on the Great Lakes," the woman continued. "The Fitzgerald was in the worst possible location during the worst weather of the storm. The wind and waves from the west hit the freighter broadside as it tried to flee south to safety in Whitefish Bay. The ship sank in 530 feet of water about 17 miles from Whitefish Bay."
"Storms on the Great Lakes can rival hurricanes in their intensity," the woman reported. "The one that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald had sustained winds of 67 miles per hour, gusts of up to 86 miles per hour and waves reported up to 35 feet, according to another vessel in the area that survived the storm."
"Oh, my!" Amber gasped in shock.
"Would you like further information on the Edmund Fitzgerald?" the woman asked.
"No," Candice politely responded. "You've done a good job of giving us the basics."
"Thank you," the woman said, pleased. "Allow me to remind you that at seven this evening, a special ceremony will be held here at the museum. At that time, the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald, retrieved from the wreck, will be rung 29 times in memory of the crew."
Violet, Dorrie, Candice, and Amber walked out of the building, and visited the other buildings on the grounds. They visited a building where there were exhibits about the Edmund Fitzgerald and other Great Lakes shipwrecks. They then sat down to see a 20 minute video presentation about the Edmund Fitzgerald.
After watching the video, the four went to other buildings on the grounds of the museum. They explored the 1861 Lightkeepers Quarters, then explored the 1923 Surfboat House which contained exhibits connected to when the grounds were a Lifeboat Rescue Station. They then made arrangements to tour the 1861 Whitefish Point Light Tower. Afterward, they walked along a boardwalk that led to the Lake Superior shoreline.
Soon, it was seven in the evening. Everybody on the grounds gathered in an open area where the bell retrieved from the Edmund Fitzgerald had been set up.
"As we remember the men," a man started, "as we hear the bell toll, we should grieve. We should also not forget to celebrate their lives as well. As the bell is in their hearts, so they are in the bell. And in the bell's tone is the voices of the men."
As the name of each lost crew member was read, the bell was rung to remember that crew member. After the names were read, and the bell was rung after each name, the bell was rung for a 30th time in memory of all sailors who had died on the Great Lakes.
As Violet, Dorrie, Candice, and Amber started walking away, Gordon Lightfoot music started playing through a loudspeaker.
"Picking up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream. I wonder how the old folks are tonight. Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face. She left me not knowing what to do".
"Carefree highway, let me slip away on you. Carefree highway, you seen better days. The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes. Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you".
"Oh my God!" Amber exclaimed upon hearing the song. "Daddy use to sing that song to me and James when we were little. But how is that possible? Isn't that song from this time period?"
"Yes," Violet acknowledged.
"But, for Daddy to have known that song, he would have had to ... have traveled to the future," Amber theorized. "How is that possible?"
"Let me tell you a story," Violet started as she remembered something that Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones had told her once.
Flashback to April 21st of 1840
It was a sunny spring day in Enchancia. At the top of the gorge that was near Enchancia Castle, a man and a thirteen-year-old boy appeared out of thin air. The man was Phineas Bogg, and the boy was Jeffrey Jones.
"Thank God for this new Omni!" Jeffrey exclaimed in relief. "We just appear out of thin air now, instead of falling from the sky."
"No more falling on our backsides," Bogg smiled. "This new tech is going to save us a lot of bumps and bruises."
"Where are we, anyway?" Jeffrey wanted to know.
"The Kingdom of Enchancia," Bogg answered as he looked at the Omni time traveling device he held in his hand. "April 21st of 1840 to be exact."
Bogg then noticed that the Omni's red light was flashing, indicating that something was wrong with the time line.
"Red light," Jeffrey noticed. "What do we have to fix?"
"Well, let's see how this prototype electronic guidebook works," Bogg suggested as he reached into a traveling bag he was carrying. Bogg then pulled out an electronic device the size of a book, and hooked it up to the Omni by way of a patch cord. A small view screen on the electronic guidebook then started displaying information on what Bogg and Jeffrey had to do.
"According to this, we're here to see that Prince Roland doesn't fall into the gorge over there," Jeffrey observed.
At that moment, a fifteen-year-old boy raced up on a horse. The horse was out of control, and dangerously close to the edge of the gorge. In a few moments, the horse threw the boy off, sending the boy over the side of the gorge. Bogg and Jeffrey raced up to discover the boy was hanging on to a bush for dear life.
"Just hang on!" Bogg exclaimed as he and Jeffrey reached for the boy's hand. "We'll get you out of there."
"Hurry!" the boy yelled, frightened. "I'm loosing my grip!"
Bogg and Jeffrey tried to pull the boy up, but loose dirt was making the task nearly impossible.
"Activate the Omni!" Jeffrey yelled at Bogg. "It's the only way we'll be able to save him!"
"Bat's breath!" Bogg exclaimed as he used his free hand to pull out the Omni. "We're going to have a lot of explaining to do!"
Bogg pressed a button on the Omni, and he, Jeffrey, and the boy disappeared into thin air. In a few moments, the three were traveling down a vortex. A few moments later, they reached the end of the vortex, and appeared out of thin air in a new location at night. The fifteen-year-old boy looked at Bogg and Jeffrey, puzzled.
"There's a logical explanation for this," Bogg explained to the boy. "My friend and I are time travelers."
"I know it sounds fantastic, Prince Roland," Jeffrey said to Roland. "But, it's the truth. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Roland answered. "Thank you for saving me. You say you're ... time travelers?"
"Yes," Jeffrey answered. "My name is Jeffrey Jones, and this is Phineas Bogg."
"This is Prince Roland?" Bogg asked Jeffrey, taken off guard. "You could have said something before hand."
"There was no time," Jeffrey pointed out. "Where did we end up?"
Bogg opened the Omni, and read the dials. "Phoenix, Arizona - June 12th of 1974," Bogg reported. "And we have a red light."
Roland looked around. It was a strange place, filled with wonders he never dreamed existed - street lamps that glowed without the need for candles, building doors that opened on their own, and vehicles which seemed to travel under their own power without the need for a horse. As Roland continued to look at the wonders around him, he noticed a man walking down the street. As the man walked down the street, a piece of paper fell out of the man's pocket.
"Sir!" Roland cried out as he ran up to the man. "You dropped this."
"Why, thank you, young man," the man smiled as he unfolded the piece of paper, and looked at it. "This is a song I've been working on. I need this for an album I'll be doing soon."
As Bogg and Jeffrey looked at Roland and the man, the Omni's red light stopped flashing, and its green light instead turned on, indicating that the time line was now back to normal. Bogg and Jeffrey then walked up to Roland and the man.
"Is this young man with you?" the man asked Bogg and Jeffrey.
"Yes," Bogg acknowledged. "I'm Bogg, and this is my friend, Jeffrey."
"Nice to meet you," the man happily said. "My name is Gordon Lightfoot, and your friend here just saved me from loosing a song I needed."
"And what song is it?" Jeffrey asked, curious.
"It hasn't been published yet," Gordon answered. "Something called Carefree Highway."
"We're glad to have been able to help," Bogg smiled at Gordon.
"I've better get going," Gordon said. "Got to get back to my hotel. Thanks for your help."
As Gordon walked away, Jeffrey turned to Bogg.
"That was Gordon Lightfoot," Jeffrey observed. "And Carefree Highway will become the number one single on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart in October of 1974".
"Nice going, Prince Roland," Bogg smiled. "The time line is back to normal, and all it took was you giving that man his piece of paper back."
"Is this what the two of you do?" Roland asked, curious. "Making sure that things are normal?"
"Oh, yes," Jeffrey answered with a smile.
"We belong to a organization of time travelers who call themselves Voyagers," Bogg explained. "We make sure that time goes the way it is suppose to go. When it doesn't go the way its suppose to go, it's our job to make sure that time is but back on track ... like what Jeffrey and I did when we saved you from falling into the gorge."
"Then I wasn't meant to die?" Roland asked.
"Let's just say you have a lot of things to do as your life goes on," Jeffrey answered.
"It's time to get you home, Prince Roland," Bogg said as he adjusted the dials on the Omni. "I hope you'll understand when I ask that you keep to yourself the fact that you met the two of us, along with the fact that we Voyagers exist."
"Who would believe me?" Roland joked. "It would have been nice, however, to had heard that song."
"I think something could be arranged," Bogg smiled.
The three, using the Omni, appeared a year later at one of Gordon Lightfoot's concerts. Gordon started singing, as part of the concert, Carefree Highway.
"Picking up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream. I wonder how the old folks are tonight. Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face. She left me not knowing what to do."
"Carefree highway, let me slip away on you. Carefree highway, you seen better days. The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes. Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you."
"Turning back the pages to the times I love best. I wonder if she'll ever do the same. Now the thing that I call living is just being satisfied. With knowing I got no one left to blame."
"Carefree highway, I got to see you my old flame. Carefree highway, you seen better days. The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes. Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you."
"Searching through the fragments of my dream shattered sleep. I wonder if the years have closed her mind. I guess it must be wanderlust or trying to get free. From the good old faithful feeling we once knew."
"Carefree highway, let me slip away on you. Carefree highway, you seen better days. The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes. Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you. Let me slip away on you. Carefree highway, I got to see you my old flame. Carefree highway, you seen better days. The morning after blues from my head down to my shoes. Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you."
After the song, Bogg, Jeffrey, and Roland slipped away from the audience. When they were alone, Bogg brought out the Omni, adjusted the dials, and the three of them time traveled to 1840 Enchancia, just a few minutes after they had left.
Bogg and Jeffrey said their goodbyes to Roland, who promised not to tell anybody about them or Voyagers. As Bogg and Jeffrey watched Roland walk toward Enchancia Castle, whistling Carefree Highway, Bogg opened the Omni. The Omni's green light flashed on, indicating the time line was normal.
"Another job well done," Bogg smiled at Jeffrey.
Bogg pressed a button on the Omni, and he and Jeffrey disappeared into thin air on their way to another adventure.
End of flashback, and back to November 10th of 2025.
Back to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
"You mean ... Daddy actually encountered Voyagers?" Amber asked, amazed.
"Yes," Violet smiled. "I know you'd like to say something to King Roland when we return home, but you can't ... at least, not yet. Now is not the time. In a few years, the time will be right."
"Then I can wait," Amber happily acknowledged.
Violet, Dorrie, and Candice smiled at Amber's acceptance of the situation. It was a wonderful way to end the day before returning by Omni to 1868.
(End of Chapter 14)
Special note from Niagara14301 (7/28/2018)
Unfortunately, my computer at home died yesterday, and I don't have the money to get another one. Therefore, effective immediately, I am retiring from writing fan fiction. I want to thank those who have read my stories over the past few years. Your support has been greatly appreciated.
Author's notes
Daisy Mason, and Joseph Molesley, are older versions of Daisy and Joseph from "Downton Abbey". Daisy, as a Voyager, has appeared in Chapters 8 and 9 of my story "Dorrie: Book Two", and was mentioned in Chapter 10 of my story "Enchancia Castle". Meanwhile, Joseph Molesley was brought into Voyager society by Daisy who knew him from her days at Downton Abbey. Joseph, as a Voyager, is a teacher in Voyager City, and is also a historical researcher.
Elainna Marie Pearson is a character created by epear96, and is used in this story with the permission of epear96. Meanwhile, Pamella Pearson is an original character I came up with as a future daughter for epear96's original character of Elainna Marie Pearson. I now sign over the rights to Pamella Pearson to epear96 to do with as epear96 pleases.
For more about Diana, see Chapter 49 of my story "Dorrie". Meanwhile, for more about her adopted daughter, Tricia, see Chapters 42 and 43 of my story "Dorrie: Book Two".
Having Violet, Dorrie, Candice, and Amber travel to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, having Amber hear the song "Carefree Highway", remembering it was a song that Roland sang to Amber and James when they were younger, and Violet revealing how Roland knew the song was the idea of Jolly Roger Brat. Meanwhile, the flashback scene from 1840 is from Chapter 2 of my story "Glimpses".
"I've been looking forward to hearing about this," Pamella Pearson, daughter of Voyager Elainna Marie Pearson, whispered to another student - this is a nod to epear96 who was hoping I would make one or more of her original characters into Voyagers.
Newcomer is from "Alien Nation".
Phineas Bogg, Jeffrey Jones, Omni, and Voyagers are from the "Voyagers!" TV series.
Vox System is from the 2002 movie "The Time Machine". I decided to do a variation of that system for this chapter.
Disclaimer
"Alien Nation" (the movie) and everything associated with it © 20th Century Fox, and American Entertainment Partners.
"Alien Nation" (the TV series) and everything associated with it © Kenneth Johnson Productions, and 20th Century Fox Television.
"Downton Abbey" and everything associated with it © ITV, Carnival Films, WGBH Boston, and PBS.
Elainna Marie Pearson and the other original ideas from epear96 are the property of epear96, and are used in this story with the permission of epear96.
"Sofia the First" and everything associated with it © Craig Gerber, Jamie Mitchell, Disney Television Animation, Toiion Animation Studios, Team TO, and Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
"The Time Machine" (2002 movie) and everything associated with it © Parkes/MacDonald, DreamWorks Pictures, and Warner Brothers Pictures.
"Voyagers!" and everything associated with it © James D. Parriot Productions, Universal Television (MCA), and Scholastic Productions.
I only own Candice Cosmarune-Cooper, Dorrie Cosmarune-Cooper, and Tricia.