The smell of chrysanthemums made Stephanie wake up, causing her to sit up from where she was sitting in a massive field of chrysanthemums in different colors.
They were beautiful and smelled wonderful as their scent drifted into the wind, and Stephanie inspected one of the flowers, cupping it in her hand as she looked at them.
Happy laughter went through the air as Stephanie perked up, glancing around, wondering where the laughter was coming from.
In the distance, Stephanie could see two people playing in the field a few miles away from where she was, one a woman and the other a male.
Curious, Stephanie stood up from where she was and started heading towards the two, walking through the meadow as it was up to her hips.
Seeing the meadow up to her hips was strange, but she ignored it, continuing through the field as she saw the happy couple continuing to play with each other.
When she was close enough, Stephanie could see the woman had long, straight blond hair, fair skin, and light blue eyes.
She wore a short-sleeve light blue shirt dress, a white apron tied around her waist, and black boots.
Playing with her was a young man with curly brown hair, fair skin, and light brown eyes, wearing a long-sleeve white button-up shirt, light brown pants with straps, and black shoes.
From how he looked, he looked a little like Sir Topham Hatt, and he was even wearing a black top hat to add to the resemblance.
Stephanie watched the two play around in the meadow and kiss each other as she blushed a little, realizing she had wandered into the two being lovey-dovey to each other.
She was about to leave the two for their privacy when she noticed something hidden in a small tree, which was magically opening and revealing what looked like a journal with a knob.
"Excuse me?" Stephanie perked up after hearing a voice and glanced over, noticing they were staring at her, and she blushed. "Who are you?"
She was about to speak when she lifted a hand, only to pause when she saw that her hand had transformed into a skeleton's arm.
The couple's faces turned from confusion to shock as the sun set over the horizon, and the male protected the woman.
Stephanie looked panicked after looking at her hand and watching her left arm transform into a skeleton's arm like the other, and when she reached up to her face, she felt nothing but a skeleton's face.
Stephanie woke up with a flinch and a deep gasp as Notches flinched away with her jump, meowing a little as he glanced at Stephanie.
Lucy was startled awake from her gasp as she looked over, seeing Stephanie sweating from her forehead and gripping her blankets.
But they paused when he saw her eyes glowing slightly in a light blue color before stopping when she blinked.
"Stephanie?" Notches spoke as she reached up to her face, feeling it with her fingers, and it was not a skeleton's head. "Stephanie, are you alright?"
Stephanie looked down at Notches after he asked, staring up at her with a concerned and worried expression as she said, laying her head back down on her pillow, "No. I had another nightmare again."
"What is it this time?" Lucy asked.
Stephanie paused as she put the back of her hand on her sweaty forehead, explaining, "I woke up in a field of chrysanthemums, and I saw a couple playing in the field, but when I got close to them…"
She paused as she shuddered, placing her hands on her face and finishing what she explained, "My entire body had transformed into a skeleton after the sunset."
Notches and Lucy looked at each other after Stephanie explained her nightmare to them, and Stephanie shuddered again from the flashback of her being a skeleton that haunted her mind.
Lucy hopped from the bedside table to Stephanie, saying as she touched her arm, "You're still yourself, Stephanie. You're not a skeleton, and it was a nightmare."
Stephanie removed her hands from her face and looked down at Lucy, smiling as she placed a hand on her back and one behind Notches, hugging the two.
"Thank you," Stephanie said.
Notches purred as he started grooming Stephanie's long blue hair while Lucy returned the hug to her, and Stephanie began to calm down from the aftershock of the nightmare.
But there was a lingering feeling of that nightmare becoming true with the sunset on Sodor.
A knock on the door perked Stephanie's attention from her thoughts as she pushed them away, sat up from her bed, and responded, "Come in."
The door opened, and Sir Topham Hatt stepped in, wearing light blue silk pajamas and his top hat.
"Hello, sir," Stephanie greeted Sir Topham Hatt.
"Hello, Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt greeted back. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Stephanie nodded as she sighed, putting Lucy onto the nightstand, and she let go of Notches as he climbed over her onto one of the pillows and moved her blankets off her body. "I slept like a rock."
"I see," Sir Topham Hatt remarked as Stephanie stood up, noticing she was wearing her clothes. "Stephanie, I am planning to visit someone over in Drayton."
"'Drayton?'" Stephanie asked, looking over at Sir Topham Hatt. "Is that a city part of Sodor?"
"Yes," Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "And since there are more mountains there than here, you could find more Dust Crystals."
"Good idea," Stephanie nodded. "I would like to come to Drayton."
She paused after looking at her clothes, noticing she would smell like sweat with the clothes smelling like it, and added, "Right after having a bath and a new change of clothes."
"Of course," Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "Take as long as you want, and let me or my butlers know if there is anything else."
Stephanie nodded as Sir Topham Hatt left her room and headed to the bathroom after collecting a new batch of clothes, walking across from where the Hatt Family Tree was.
She paused when she stepped in front of the Hatt Family Tree and looked up at it, seeing the faces of the Hatts, including the current Hatts.
But two familiar members of the Hatt family were in Stephanie's nightmare, one with curly brown hair and the other with long blonde hair.
"Nope," Stephanie shook her head as she walked past the Hatt Family Tree. "Nope, nope, nope, not today."
She soon arrived at the bathroom and paused before entering, first knocking on the door to check if anyone was there as she listened.
Thankfully, no one was responding to her knock, so Stephanie stepped inside and showered.
Meanwhile, Sir Topham Hatt was fidgeting with his collar, silently huffing as he attempted, again and again, to get it to flatten.
Lady Hatt appeared to help her husband with her collar as Sir Topham Hatt gently took her hand as she hugged him from behind.
"Thank you, dear," Sir Topham Hatt thanked.
Stephanie then walked in wearing a long-sleeve light blue shirt with dark blue jeans overalls and carrying brown work boots while wearing white socks.
Her long hair was braided into a braid, covering the back of her neck as Stephanie prepared to start the day, and Notches came in with Lucy on his back.
Stephanie and Sir Topham Hatt ate their breakfast as Stephanie was telling him what she would do in Drayton, just in case she wandered off again.
Sir Topham Hatt listened to Stephanie tell him what she would do while he was visiting someone in Drayton.
This time, Stephanie ensures everything goes smoothly during her adventure through Drayton, though she has some doubts her plan will go right.
Once their breakfast was finished, Stephanie double-checked her Dust Whistle, looking at the Gold Dust, Silver Dust, Copper Dust, Bronze Dust, and the new Dust called Aluminum Dust, and it was all full.
Stephanie followed Sir Topham Hatt to his car and sat between his helpers, holding Notches and Lucy in her lap.
During the ride, Stephanie gently scratched Notches' chin as he purred from Stephanie's affection while Lucy rubbed one of his cheeks.
As they were getting close to Drayton, Stephanie's ears suddenly picked up what sounded like loud noises, causing her to move a hand up to hear them.
It sounded like bells, whistles, and machinery moving, which piqued Stephanie's curiosity after hearing the noises.
The noises soon grew louder, and Stephanie started to feel worried about them, her ears flicking when a grinding noise went through the air.
Sir Topham Hatt noticed Stephanie's ears flicking when they were getting close to Drayton when they passed the sign, wondering why they were flicking.
They soon arrived at Drayton, and the noises were a little loud, but Stephanie could still hear them without covering her ears.
Many engines were moving around as Stephanie looked around Sir Topham Hatt's assistants, ranging from buses, cars, locomotives, and such!
And she thought Knapford or any of the places she had been to have the most engines.
Sir Topham Hatt soon drove over to a building and parked to the side at one of the stops as Stephanie was getting curious by the minute.
Sir Topham Hatt's assistant from the right opened the door and stepped out, only for the noise to become a little louder.
Stephanie instantly covered her ears after hearing the loud noises as they flicked.
Even Notches' ears did the same after hearing the loud noises, but Stephanie gritted her teeth as Notches climbed into her sweater's hood and Lucy onto her shoulder.
Sir Topham Hatt noticed Stephanie's expression and became worried, watching her pointed ears flick while wincing and gritting her teeth.
"Are you alright, Stephanie?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm-!" Stephanie flinched when a loud, blaring horn went through the air, causing Sir Topham Hatt and his assistants to wince from the noise as well. "It's just loud!"
"Too loud for you?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
Stephanie winced again when a loud noise went through the air as her ears flicked, responding, "I can push through it! Noth-" She winced when a loud horn went through the air, finishing with a slightly pained expression, "It's nothing!"
Notches in Stephanie's hood shook his head from the noises, giving little meows while Lucy covered her ears with her hands.
"Alright, then," Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "Be back before-"
The rest of his sentence was drowned out when a loud screeching noise went through the air, and Stephanie's ears flicked like crazy, gritting her teeth while trying to listen to what Sir Topham Hatt was saying.
But that screeching noise was enough that Stephanie said quickly, "OKAYILOVEYOU!" before scrambling off with her hands covering her ears.
Sir Topham Hatt looked confused after watching Stephanie run off before chuckling lightly and entering the building with his assistants.
Stephanie was recovering from the noises as she rubbed one of her ears after walking away from the loud environment, groaning as she muttered, "How loud can this place get?"
"Too loud." Notches sighed. "Are your ears going to be alright?"
"I think so," Stephanie nodded. "That was too loud for me."
"It was?" Lucy asked, looking confused. "It sounded just like something out of a warehouse."
"Well," Stephanie began as she pushed her glasses into place. "I strangely have good hearing abilities. I can hear what is coming close and what is trying to creep towards me."
"Wow," Notches remarked. "And Crotoonia Bay was too loud?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "I think I'll stay around where it's peaceful until I return to Sir Topham Hatt."
"Good idea." Notches nodded with a sigh as he placed his head against her shoulder. "I need a moment to regain my hearing."
Stephanie smiled softly as she started walking down the sidewalk, watching different engines of different types pass by and greeting her with a whistle of their whistle, a honk of their horn, or a ring of their bells.
Stephanie returned the greeting with a wave of her hand and a smile.
Although some did not do the same whenever Stephanie waved hello towards them, she just waved at them anyway.
She continued walking for a long time before coming across a large rocky terrain and seeing Dust Crystals poking out from the wall.
"Perfect!" Stephanie smiled. "Let's start digging."
Stephanie started to chip away at that part of the rock, digging out the Dust Crystals as she collected them and placed them in her bag.
There were new Dust Crystals as Stephanie dug through the solid dirt and sniffed them to determine their type.
It ranged from more of the current Dusts she discovered, but then it went to bismuth, antimony, and some others she knew were metal or smelled dirt.
Stephanie even digs out that black, squishy crystal and grimaces whenever she pulls it out as it squishes in her hands, placing it down with the others before watching it become one.
"Yuck," Stephanie groaned with disgust before continuing to dig.
Notches grew curious after seeing the squishy black gemstone and lightly batted at it with his paws, feeling it squishes with each smack before stopping.
It did feel disgusting to the touch, but the smell is what Notches gagged about after curiously smelling it.
It smelled like someone had melted down different kinds of metal into one pot, and this black crystallized thing was what it smelled like.
Stephanie dug for a long time before she stopped, checking her bag, which was filled with multiple different Dust Crystals and was half full.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked. "I collected a lot."
"And that's a good thing," Lucy remarked. "Having extra is better than having less."
Stephanie nodded in agreement after Lucy pointed it out, but she wondered if she could do a spell to help her carry all this heavy load she had been hauling.
So Stephanie flicked her right wrist, and her bracelet came off and transformed into a wand as Stephanie drew a white circle from the top.
"Stephanie?" Notches spoke after seeing Stephanie draw a spell circle. "What are you doing?"
She tapped her bag with the spell circle, and the items inside suddenly grew lighter, causing Stephanie to perk up.
Did she accidentally use the wrong spell?
Stephanie opened her bag and peered inside, noticing it looked dark inside, causing her to look confused.
She reached a hand into her hand, but her entire arm went through it, causing Stephanie to perk up after her entire arm went into it.
But Stephanie's fingers could lightly feel something inside, and she gripped it with her hand, taking out a large book from inside.
"Whoa!" Stephanie exclaimed as she held the book in her hands. "It did work!"
Lucy looked surprised as Notches peered into the bag, seeing the same thing as he stepped back a little from accidentally falling inside.
Stephanie looked at the large book's cover as it read, 'Sodor's Greatest Legends.'
"I'll look at this book later," Stephanie reminded herself as she placed the book back into her bag.
Then she felt around with her fingers, feeling the multiple Dust Crystals she had collected to the other items she had packed into her bag.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked as Lucy peered into the bag.
"How did you manage to do this?" Lucy asked. "It has to take around three or five years to master this spell!"
Stephanie blinked a few times after Lucy pointed it out and shrugged, not knowing how she had mastered a storage spell.
"This is just gobsmacking!" Lucy exclaimed as she stepped back. "You just mastered multiple spells in just a few days!"
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Pretty surprising for me too."
But she paused and added, "I wonder if there are other spells I could master!"
"Oh boy." Lucy sighed as Notches chuckled, adding, "You can try Latin spells."
"'Latin spells?'" Stephanie asked. "There are language spells?"
"Yes." Notches nodded as Stephanie closed her bag. "You briefly used the Rat Zodiac's ink spells to create words that help you battle, but there are other spells from different languages you could try out too."
"Ooh!" Stephanie remarked. "I'll try those out in my special room!"
"I don't see why," Lucy sighed with a shrug. "But what are you going to do with those crystals?"
Stephanie looked over at the squishy black crystals she had dug out and responded, grimacing with disgust, "Rebury them."
And Stephanie did so after digging a reasonably deep hole and quickly pushing them all in, shaking her hands with disgust as she refilled the hole.
Once the squishy black crystals have been reburied, Stephanie picks Notches up after Lucy is placed on her shoulder, climbing into his favorite spot in Stephanie's hood.
Stephanie began her adventure through Drayton, seeing the beauty of nature and noticing different people walking through the city.
They range from coming out of a cartoon to living toys as they walk down the streets and greet each other.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked as she walked down the sidewalk. "I didn't know Drayton was this busy!"
"Well, that's what you get for coming into Drayton!" a villager remarked. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, child."
"You too," Stephanie nodded, silently confused about how the villager knew her.
"Hey, is that the kid who can use Gold Dust?" a child asked, pointing at her across the street.
Stephanie blushed after the child asked as the mother gently hushed, "Honey, it's not polite to point at strangers."
"She turned blue!" another kid laughed.
Stephanie blushed more after the other kid remarked about her cheeks blushing blue as she continued walking down the street.
She turned around the corner before perking up when she saw what looked like sentient airplanes slowly driving down the driveway across from where the roads go.
Stephanie's curiosity grew as she walked over to the fence, staring at the planes moving around what looked like a plane-sized version of a city.
"What is that city?" Stephanie asked out loud.
"That's Propwash Junction, ankle-biter!" a familiar Australian voice responded.
Stephanie glanced over and saw Ace parked while his driver was missing, presumably going to get groceries or gas.
"Oh, hello, Ace!" Stephanie greeted with a smile before pointing at the nearby city. "That city is called Propwash Junction."
"Yep!" Ace nodded. "That's weah the coolest airplanes resawrt ta!"
"Like who?" Stephanie asked curiously.
"Dusty Crophopper," Ace remarked with a smile. "He's the first cropdusder ta win the Wings Around the Globe race!"
"Wow!" Stephanie remarked. "He sounds like an awesome racer!"
"Oh, yes, he is!" Ace nodded. "He even pahrticipated in bein' a firefighder!"
"No way!" Stephanie gasped.
"Yes, way!" Ace laughed. "If ya want ta go ovah 'n visit him, just go ovah 'n meet his friend Chug!"
Stephanie perked up after Ace remarked and stammered, "Ah, i-is that fine with them?"
"Of course it is!" Ace nodded. "A lot of fans come ovah heah ta meet him! It's not so bad once ya go ovah 'n see him."
A knot twisted in Stephanie's stomach after Ace nodded towards the city as she said, avoiding Ace's solution, "I'm just going to look around Propwash Junction instead. It was nice meeting you, Ace!"
Ace blinked with confusion after Stephanie bid him farewell and responded. "Uh, sure! Ya too?"
Stephanie soon started walking down the sidewalk as Ace watched, looking confused about her reaction to meeting Dusty Crophopper.
Is there something about airplanes that scares her?
But Ace shook the thought out of his mind as he returned to what he was doing, waiting for his driver to return.
Stephanie continued adventuring around Propwash Junction, looking curious as she glanced around, watching planes and cars drive around.
Some humans were around, but it was not enough that they were literally walking across the runway or entering buildings.
It all feels curious for Stephanie as she walks on the sidewalks, looking around the place as she looks at the buildings, seeing how gigantic they look compared to her small size.
A loud warning-like noise went through the air, and Stephanie stopped walking, moving to the side as she watched what looked like a plane heading towards the runway as everyone moved to the side for the plane to land.
She watched as two poles appeared with a cable, and the plane landed, catching the cable and slowing down to a stop as Stephanie's jaw dropped with surprise and awe.
It was not just a plane; it was a jet plane!
The jet plane's goggles moved up after landing successfully, and the plane went over to the other planes, talking to them as if they were friends.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked the third time after witnessing a jet plane landing on the runway.
After looking around Propwash Junction, Stephanie started heading somewhere else, seeing what looked like a large toy-like city that piqued her interest.
So Stephanie walked into the city and glanced around, seeing some buildings resembling LEGO bricks or regular buildings.
"Did I wander into a toy-styled city?" Stephanie lightly muttered with curiosity.
Stephanie continued to look around the city before stopping when she discovered LEGO-themed cats starting to walk in front of her.
She counted each cat as they hopped into a car, and a woman named them Fluffy, Fluffy Jr., Fluffy Sr., Jeff, Jasmine, Dexter, Angie, Loki, Bad Leroy, Scarfield, Deathface, Metalscratch, Laserbeam, Fingernail, and Tox.
Stephanie was interested in the cats as she had finished counting them, and Notches was still in Stephanie's hood, unbothered by the cats.
The woman counted out how many she named, fumbling a little with the names and giving a gentle "D'oh!" before turning to Stephanie and asking, "How many cats did I have?"
"Fifteen, ma'am," Stephanie responded with a gentle smile. "I counted them for you."
"Thank you, dear," the lady smiled before hopping into her car and driving off.
"That was cool!" Stephanie commented after watching the woman drive off. "A lot of cats too."
She chuckled at the end as she continued walking past LEGO characters around her height as they talked with each other and other humans.
Some adults looked taller than them as they were at their original heights, while Stephanie looked around the LEGO Minifigures' heights.
Everything around her looked interesting, but Stephanie was worried about allowing her curiosity to get the best of her and touch everything.
Stephanie soon walked out of the city and entered another, walking through the gigantic place as she curiously looked around.
Everything looked so different from how she thought as she walked through the streets and saw the people.
They seemed to notice Stephanie, too, glancing over at her and watching her walk down the sidewalk with Lucy on her shoulder and Notches in her sweater's hood.
It scared Stephanie how she had so many eyes on her, trying to ignore the eyes staring at her back as she walked through the city.
She soon exited that part of the city and sighed before flinching when a gigantic foot stomped before her, causing her to step back.
"Whoops!" a voice exclaimed as the foot lifted, causing her to look up and see a robot LEGO figure with what looked like red armor like a futuristic knight. "Sorry about that! You okay?"
"Y-Yes," Stephanie nodded as the robot LEGO figure placed his foot back down. "I'm alright. I wasn't watching where I was going."
The LEGO robot figure knelt at Stephanie's height and said, "It's okay. But next time, look before walking into the streets, okay?"
"Okay," Stephanie nodded with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, mister."
"You too." The LEGO robot figure nodded before standing up to his height and walking past her as Stephanie watched.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked. "That was a huge robot!"
"Never saw that before," Notches remarked as Stephanie looked at him. "I meant to see him around. I thought his series sort of stopped production."
Stephanie shrugged after Notches remarked and responded, "Maybe his show could be on the internet. That always becomes everyone's loophole."
She chuckled as she continued walking, this time being careful where she was going as she looked up before looking forward.
Stephanie saw more gigantic robots helping around the city, from putting animals down from trees to moving items around.
They were huge compared to normal humans, ranging from fifteen feet to even taller!
Stephanie felt a little overwhelmed after seeing different beings roaming around Sodor, even ones that could transform into gigantic robots as they helped around.
"Holy crap in a pita," Stephanie remarked as she exited the city. "There were a lot of people in that one little city!"
"Do you feel overwhelmed?" Lucy asked.
"A little," Stephanie nodded. "The crowds and the traffic do not look that bad, but it was really stupidly crowded!"
Lucy and Notches chuckled after Stephanie remarked as she headed to the beach, stopping as she looked around with curiosity.
The ocean was crystal blue and had barely any garbage anywhere, just like the beaches Stephanie usually goes to calm her nerves.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked as she looked at the beach. "It's beautiful. It doesn't look like the beaches back in Shining Time!"
"It doesn't?" Lucy asked.
Stephanie nodded in agreement as Notches explained, "Campers and partygoers sometimes leave trash on the beaches at Shining Time."
"That's disgusting!" Lucy grimaced.
"I know," Stephanie nodded. "But let's enjoy this beach."
"I'll pass on walking through the water," Notches added.
Stephanie chuckled as she stepped close to the beach, stopping to allow Notches and Lucy to hop off as they sat on one of the dried, washed-up logs.
She removed her work boots and socks and placed them to the side along with her sweater, which she put next to Notches as he sat on top of her sweater.
Once her garments were off, Stephanie stepped onto the beach barefoot as the sand underneath her feet sank somewhat beneath her weight.
The sand was not too hot when Stephanie stepped towards the ocean, carefully walking through the sand as she stopped to roll her pants legs up.
Once her pant legs were rolled, Stephanie stepped into the ocean water, and it was cool, not cold like the ocean back at Shining Time, as Stephanie walked a little further.
Stephanie glanced back at the beach as she stood knee-deep in the ocean, staring out into the open as the wind blew against her form.
Was the ocean calling her?
Stephanie stared at the open ocean with curiosity, barely moving a muscle as she only started from where she stood, her braid waving in the wind.
It showed what looked like a symbol on the back of her neck, as it had points, but the angle could not make out the rest of the shape.
A gentle tug from her Zodiac Pocket Watch snapped Stephanie out of her staring, her eyes changing from a soft blend of ocean blue and azure to azure after she blinked.
Stephanie reached into her overalls' hip pocket and took out the Zodiac Pocket Watch, seeing the flower-shaped symbol glowing.
Is there a gemstone close?
Stephanie soon started moving away from where she was standing and following the glow of the flower's petals, getting closer and closer to where it wanted to lead her.
Eventually, Stephanie stopped near what looked like tidal pools, and the whole flower was glowing, indicating she had found a gemstone.
Stephanie put the Zodiac Pocket Watch into her overalls' chest pocket and looked curiously through the tidal pools.
She pushed her sleeves up and carefully reached her arms into the tidal pools, moving the seaweed back as she saw small crabs, starfish, or other miniature sea life.
Stephanie paused from searching around and was about to go to another tidal pool when a young voice suddenly asked, "Hey!"
Stephanie's entire body flinched after hearing someone's voice exclaim, and the water her arm was in vibrated with her.
She glanced over at the person who spoke and saw a small toy tugboat in one of the pools beside her, looking confused as the brown tugboat asked, "Whatcha doin'?"
"I'm searching for something," Stephanie responded, calming down after seeing it was the toy tugboat. "You scared me, though."
The toy tugboat giggled after Stephanie remarked and hopped from one tidal pool to another, hopping into the one Stephanie was looking through and in front of her.
"Sorry," he apologized. "But whatcha lookin' for?"
"I'm looking for a clam," Stephanie responded to the toy tugboat.
"What do you need a clam for?" the toy tugboat asked, cocking its head slightly.
"It's pearl," Stephanie responded with a smile.
"Ooh!" the toy tugboat perked. "You're looking for a pearl?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "But I can't find one in these tidal pools."
"Well, let's keep searching!" The toy tugboat smiled as he swam around the small tidal pool. "What's your name?"
Stephanie smiled as she removed her arm from the pool, responding, "Stephanie Allen. What's your name?"
"Scuffy," the toy tugboat responded. "Scuffy the Tugboat!"
"I like that name," Stephanie remarked as she stopped at one of the tidal waves and looked through it.
Scuffy blushed after Stephanie remarked and said with a light stammer in his voice, "I-I like your name too. It suits you."
Stephanie blushed after Scuffy remarked as her ears flicked, causing Scuffy to perk up after seeing her pointed ears.
"You have pointed ears?" Stephanie flinched after Scuffy mentioned her ears as the water rippled, saying as she removed her arms, reaching up to her ears and gently grabbing them, "Ah, my ears? Yeah, I have pointed ears."
"They look cool!" Scuffy remarked, causing Stephanie's cheeks to fluster. "Can they move on their own?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded, slowly removing her hands as they flicked up and down.
Scuffy's eyes widened with wonder as Stephanie's ears continued to flick up and down, watching them as they moved.
"Do…" Stephanie paused as she glanced away from him before glancing back at him. "Do you like them?"
"Yeah!" Scuffy nodded. "You look like an elf with those ears!"
Part of Stephanie felt a little agitated after Scuffy mentioned her ears looked like an elf's, but since he looked innocent and was remarking on them, Stephanie bit her tongue.
"Thank you," Stephanie said.
"You're welcome," Scuffy responded. "But did you find a clam yet?"
Stephanie shook her head as she looked at the tidal pools, responding, "Not yet."
"Hmm," Scuffy hummed. "Let's try searching through more tidal pools."
Stephanie nodded as she walked with Scuffy, peering into the pools and looking through the seaweed with her hands.
"Careful," Scuffy would warn her whenever her hands were near a crab. "You almost touched a crab."
"Thank you," Stephanie said.
They went to the next tidal pool and searched through it, with Stephanie moving seaweed apart and Scuffy swimming around to help her.
Stephanie could feel the Zodiac Pocket Watch starting to vibrate, causing her to feel confused when it started moving, but she decided that it was a part of searching.
They reached one of the pools and searched through it as Scuffy exclaimed, "Look, I found a clam!"
Stephanie peered into the pool, saw the clam sitting at the bottom of the tidal pool, and smiled, feeling the Zodiac Pocket Watch vibrate more.
"That's the perfect one!" Stephanie beamed.
But before she could stick her hand into the pool, a crab suddenly crawled into her path, and Stephanie stopped, watching the crab click its pincers as a warning.
"Hey!" Scuffy huffed. "We're just getting the clam, not you."
The crab only stared at them blankly, still holding its pinchers up as a warning while staring at them.
"I think the crab is thinking we're trying to attack it," Stephanie explained to Scuffy. "We might've accidentally wandered into its territory."
"Can we do something about it?" Scuffy asked.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "I can try to pick it up from behind and safely move it into a different pool."
"Are you sure?" Scuffy asked. "You'll feel a pinch from it if you get too close to it."
"It's okay," Stephanie gently assured. "I'll be careful."
Stephanie reached her hands into the pool and watched the crab move its pincher up more, being prepared for a fight as Stephanie was careful.
She did not want to hurt the crab but did not want it to nip at her fingers.
So Stephanie became cautious as she carefully planned how to pick the hand-sized crab from the tidal pool.
Scuffy watched as Stephanie quickly picked the crab up from behind it, watching it flick around, unable to grab Stephanie as she was being careful.
"I got it!" Stephanie smiled as she showed the crab to Scuffy, as it was squirming and kicking around in her hand.
"Great!" Scuffy remarked. "You didn't get pinched either!"
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded before walking to the other tidal pool.
She placed the crab into the tidal pool and watched it scramble backward once it was put down, lifting its claws as an 'I'll be watching you' gesture.
Stephanie chuckled a little as she walked back to the same tidal pool where the clam was, reaching into it and taking it out.
The clam was giant as Stephanie held it in both hands, surprised and amazed at how big it was outside the tidal pools.
"That is one big clam," Scuffy remarked.
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded with a chuckle. "But how are we going to open it?"
"You can't break it open because you don't know what you're going to do with it," Scuffy pointed out.
Stephanie looked at him with a confused expression as he explained, "You are only searching for a pearl, not a clam. It's wasteful to just open a clam without using its meat. That's what Big Mac told me."
"Oh!" Stephanie perked up before nodding in agreement. "That's a good point."
She turned back at the clam thoughtfully before saying, "What if we could attempt to make the clam laugh somehow?"
"'Laugh?'" Scuffy asked, looking confused.
"Yes, laugh." Stephanie nodded. "There's a little joke or, as others would say, a rumor that if you tickle a clam, it will laugh and open its shell."
"Let's try it out!" Scuffy encouraged her. "But, where can we get a feather?"
Stephanie thought of an idea of how to open the clam or find a feather, but as she tilted her head, her hair from the tip gently bruised over the clam, and it started to twitch in her hands.
She looked down at the clam with confusion after feeling it twitch in her hands, and an idea popped into her mind.
Stephanie switched hands and started to tickle the shell with her hair, feeling the shell squirm in her hand as the sound of laughter faintly came from it.
"It's working!" Scuffy smiled. "Keep going!"
Stephanie nodded and did so, continuing to tickle the clam as it started to laugh a little louder, its jaws opening slightly as Stephanie used her hair.
She tickled the sides of the clam, and its laughter went louder, and its jaws were barely opening as Stephanie continued, determined to get the jaws open.
Eventually, the clam started laughing harder, and the jaws finally opened, revealing a pure white round pearl on its 'tongue.'
"Excuse me." Stephanie politely excused herself as she took the pearl from inside its jaws and started calming down from laughing.
After taking the pearl as the clam calmed down, Stephanie gently placed the clam back where it was and showed Scuffy the pearl.
"Wow!" Scuffy remarked. "It's pretty!"
Stephanie nodded in agreement as she took out her Zodiac Pocket Watch, watching it float from her palm as the back opened.
The pearl floated from her fingers, inserted itself into the fourth gem slot after shrinking to the right size, and closed back up, landing in Stephanie's hand as the next power started.
Instead, Stephanie's body was split in two as Scuffy watched with confusion as two people stood.
They both looked like Stephanie, except one had blue hair, and the other had dark blue hair.
"Uh," Scuffy said worriedly. "Stephanie?"
The Stephanie with the blue hair turned to Scuffy after he asked her name, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree out of the blue.
"Aw!" The blue-haired Stephanie hugged Scuffy, who was startled when she picked him up. "You're so cute!"
Scuffy blinked in confusion after the blue-haired Stephanie remarked, and the other, the dark blue-haired Stephanie, with her hair covering her face and drooping slightly, was muttering with a sad tone, "Hey, be careful with him. You'll crush him by accident."
"Oh, I'm careful!" The blue-haired Stephanie assured her with a perky smile before releasing her hug and holding Scuffy. "He's so cute!"
Scuffy stared at the two with confusion as he asked, "What happened to you?"
"It's part of the zodiac abilities," the dark blue-haired Stephanie calmly responded before showing the collar as the pendant was in half. "Gemini allows us to divide ourselves into different personalities or mindsets."
"We can even duplicate objects, too!" the blue-haired Stephanie added with a chirp.
"Wow!" Scuffy perked up after the two Stephanies explained. "Can you two become one?"
The two Stephanies looked at each other after Scuffy asked, and the blue-haired Stephanie said, with a smile, "Let's try it!"
"Sure," the dark blue-haired Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.
The blue-haired Stephanie placed Scuffy down into one of the tidal pools, and they both held hands, fusing back together as the necklace became one, making the Gemini symbol.
Stephanie blinked after she was 'put back together' and her hair split between blue and dark blue down the middle.
Stephanie blinked as she placed her hands against her head, muttering, "That was really weird."
"Yeah!" Scuffy nodded in agreement as Stephanie removed her hands from her head. "You used a Gemini zodiac ability."
"I did?" Stephanie perked up before feeling the pendant on her choker. "Oh, that's what Gemini is! Cool!"
"What other zodiacs do you have?" Scuffy asked curiously.
"Well," Stephanie paused as she thought to herself. "There's the Aries Zodiac, the Falcon Zodiac, the Deer Zodiac, the Rat Zodiac, the Taurus Zodiac, the Beaver Zodiac, the Cat Zodiac, the Ox Zodiac, the Gemini Zodiac, the Deer Zodiac, the Snake Zodiac, and the Tiger Zodiac."
"Wow!" Scuffy remarked. "That's a lot of zodiacs for one little power."
"True," Stephanie nodded, reaching for her pendant and snapping it off, returning to normal as she held the Zodiac Pocket Watch. "This allows me to control each one without being overwhelmed."
"Wow!" Scuffy remarked as Stephanie put her Zodiac Pocket Watch into her hip pocket. "I wish I had that ability!"
Stephanie chuckled after Scuffy mentioned it, saying, "Maybe someday you can. You are pretty impressive."
Scuffy blushed after Stephanie remarked, but she perked up when she heard a "Meow!" in the distance.
"Whoops!" Stephanie perked. "I wandered a little too far from Notches."
"Who's 'Notches?'" Scuffy asked.
"My pet cat," Stephanie responded. "Including Lucy, who helps me learn the zodiac abilities."
"They sound really cool!" Scuffy remarked. "Can I see you some other time?"
"Sure," Stephanie nodded. "I'll come by this beach whenever I have some time."
Scuffy giggled as he hopped off, hopping into the ocean water before puffing off as Stephanie waved goodbye to him.
After he left, Stephanie was about to walk back to Notches when something glowed and caught her attention.
She glanced back at what was glowing and returned to it, poking her head over the tidal pool and looking into the water.
Something was glowing from the seaweed, making Stephanie's curiosity grow as she wondered what it could be.
She reached into the tidal pool and took out what was hidden in the seaweed, seeing a beautiful ocean-blue ring with engravings and an ocean-blue gemstone seemingly glowing.
Curious, Stephanie placed the ring on her finger, watching as it magically shrunk to her finger's size and stopped glowing.
After putting the ring on her finger and looking at the ring's design, Stephanie perked up when she heard another "Meow!" from a distance and started heading in that direction.
While she was walking to where Notches and Lucy were, Stephanie's arms that were wet from the water had strange blue markings, but they disappeared after the water dried.
Stephanie returned to Notches and Lucy as Notches was meowing to call for Stephanie as she was returning to them.
Luckily, her legs dried from the water, and she put her socks and boots back on and rolled her pants legs down.
"Did you find something?" Lucy asked.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "I found a pearl for the Gemini zodiac!"
"That's fantastic!" Notches remarked before noticing Stephanie's ring. "Where did you get that ring?"
"I found it in one of the tidal pools!" Stephanie answered as she felt the ring with her fingers. "It looks like a lost treasure."
Lucy looked suspicious after seeing Stephanie's ring as she showed it to Notches, knowing she had seen it somewhere.
Stephanie picked Notches up from her sweater as he was placed back on the log, picked her sweater up, and placed it on.
Once her sweater was on, Stephanie picked up Notches as he climbed into her sweater's hood and helped Lucy onto her shoulder.
After her 'passengers' were on, Stephanie started to walk through the outer parts of Drayton, her curiosity growing as she looked at nature and the places.
Stephanie soon came to a large meadow, and there was a lingering feeling she had been here before as there were some signs of familiarity.
Notches and Lucy noticed Stephanie's expression as she noticed the meadow and the trees and started to feel a little eerie about where she was walking.
"Are you okay, Stephanie?" Lucy asked as she glanced over at her.
Stephanie paused as she stopped walking, responding, "I don't know. This place looks a little too real, like my nightmare."
"It does?" Notches asked.
Stephanie nodded as she continued glancing around and walking, slowly seeing chrysanthemums everywhere as she started to feel nervous.
"Okay," Stephanie said after noticing the chrysanthemums. "This is a little too-"
Stephanie's ears suddenly perked up when she heard what sounded like whispering, causing her to stop talking and walking as she glanced around in confusion.
Notches and Lucy noticed Stephanie's expression changed, watching her glance around with a now confused expression.
Confused, Stephanie looked down at her ring, noticing it was glowing slightly, almost like the Zodiac Pocket Watch, but the whispering was not coming from it.
If it is not coming from her ring… then where is it coming from instead?
So Stephanie decided to look for where the whisperings were coming from, walking into the meadow of chrysanthemums as they were up to her hips, exactly like her nightmare.
Goosebumps formed on her neck after seeing a resemblance between her nightmare and real life.
She wandered through the meadow as Lucy and Notches stayed silent, wondering what she was doing this time.
The whispering sounds were getting closer as Stephanie wandered through the chrysanthemum meadow, noticing they were coming from a tree that looked exactly like the one from her nightmare.
Stephanie stepped close to the tree and looked around it with her hands, feeling the trunk with her fingers as the whisperings got louder.
'Wait,' Stephanie thought as she removed her hands from the tree. 'What if I use one of those magic circles?'
Stephanie flicked her wrist, and her bracelet transformed into a wand as she drew a light green spell circle using it.
After creating the spell circle, Stephanie tapped the tree with the wand's tip, waiting for the tree to open… but nothing happened.
"Okay," Stephanie said as she flicked her wrist, the wand transforming back into a bracelet around her wrist. "It's not spell circles."
Then she remembered Lucy telling her about 'Latin spells,' which are another type of spell that could be taught.
Deciding to give it a go, Stephanie lifted her hand up and, thinking of a word, said, "Resigno."
After saying that word, the tree shook a little as Stephanie perked up, watching as the tree's trunk slowly started to open, and Stephanie, Lucy, and Notches watched in awe.
The tree slowly unfurled and showed what looked like a journal with a knob, just like what was in Stephanie's nightmare, and the whisperings were loud.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked as she reached in and took the items out from inside, and the whisperings stopped.
"You found a doorknob," Notches remarked with a confused tone.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded as she opened her bag. "I think this knob has a special spell to it. Not all objects are just objects."
Stephanie put the knob into her bag and looked at the journal, which was medium blue and had some age, along with a strap keeping it together.
"Let's save this for later," Stephanie smiled as she put the journal into her bag with the knob.
After putting the items into her bag, Stephanie glanced back at the open tree and wondered if she could use the same spell to close it.
"Iuxta." Stephanie watched as the tree closed back up after Stephanie spoke the spell, impressed that she was slowly learning how to use Latin spells.
"Maybe we should start with Egyptian spells," Lucy remarked as Notches gently chuckled at Stephanie's ability to learn quickly.
Stephanie walked away from the tree and was about to continue but paused when she saw a red car parked in the distance.
"What's that?" Stephanie asked, noticing the red car.
Stephanie curiously walked over to the red car and stepped over the fence, seeing it was a mail truck, but it had a popped wheel that made Stephanie's curiosity grow.
A meow perked the three's attention, and they glanced over, seeing a black and white cat with a red collar and green eyes peering through one of the windows.
"Hello," Stephanie greeted after seeing the cat. "What are you doing here?"
Then a stranger walked around the mail van with fair skin, brown eyes, and short, reddish brown hair.
He wears the postman's uniform from the 1970s, comprising a dark blue hat, jacket, and trousers.
"Hello, Mr. Mailman," Stephanie greeted him.
"Hello," the mailman greeted back with a tip of his cap. "What brought you here?"
"I was just walking through the Chrysanthemum Meadow and noticed your red mail truck here," Stephanie explained politely. "What's wrong?"
"I ran over a nail," the mailman explained. "What makes matters worse is that there is no cell phone around where I can call for help."
Stephanie paused as she said, "Why don't I help?"
"Are you certain?" the mailman asked.
"Of course!" Stephanie nodded as she took out her Dust Whistle. "I got the perfect solution for help."
Notches and Lucy hopped off Stephanie's shoulder as she changed the symbol to Bronze Dust, whistling as Bronze Dust emerged, swirling around her as she grew twice her height.
The mailman looked surprised after Stephanie grew twice her height as she said, kneeling carefully in front of him, "Like this."
"Wow," the mailman remarked, pushing his glasses into place. "How can you do this?"
"I used Bronze Dust," Stephanie smiled as she showed the symbol to the mailman. "It grows a human twice their height."
"That's perfect!" the mailman remarked. "But how are you going to carry all the packages?"
"Easy," Stephanie smiled as she opened her bag and reached inside, taking out a small square bag. "I can use this one to carry your packages. This one," she mentioned to the brown bag. "It has a little spell that will get them, including you, lost if I place them inside."
"Okay," the mailman nodded. "Let me take out all the packages to put into the bag."
Stephanie nodded as she opened the bag, allowing the mailman to do so as he took each package from his little red van.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked as he carefully placed other items. "Your van can hold a lot of packages."
The mailman chuckled as he placed the last item into the square bag, and Stephanie carefully closed it, placing it over her chest where it would be safe.
"Now, transportation," Stephanie thought. "It would be easier like this, but I am huge and can easily get stuck in traffic."
"That sounds like what a deer could get into," Notches remarked.
An idea popped into her head after Notches remarked 'deer,' and Stephanie took out her Zodiac Pocket Watch and opened it, turning the arms to point at twelve.
She pressed the top and transformed entirely into a deer, at the same height as a truck but resembling an American deer.
With a slight chuckle, Stephanie looked at her head with her eyes and remarked, "I still got them antlers, hmm?"
She looked down at the surprised mailman as she lay down on her belly, and the bag with the packages was around her neck on the back and had a totem as a collar, saying, "Alright, climb aboard."
The mailman helped the others onto Stephanie's back, from Lucy, Notches, and his cat, and he gingerly climbed onto Stephanie's back, holding onto her long, thick fur as Notches climbed onto her head with Lucy on his back along with his cat.
"Is that everyone?" Stephanie asked.
"Yes," the mailman nodded, pushing his glasses into place. "That's everyone."
Stephanie gingerly stood up after the mailman responded, and the mailman nervously gripped more of Stephanie's fur but slowly calmed down as she started walking.
It was like riding a large dog, except this 'dog' had antlers and was a gigantic deer.
The mailman told Stephanie which direction to go, and Stephanie did so, laying down to let him take the packages to the houses after a knock, a ring of the bell, and leaving them.
Stephanie was careful as she walked through most narrow places, even stopping to allow others to go past her.
Some of the locomotives would even take one glance over at her and then a second glance after their minds registered what they saw.
Eventually, all the packages and mail were finished, and Stephanie was led to the Greendale Post Office, where Postman Pat works.
An elderly woman was outside but was gobsmacked when Stephanie appeared as a deer and moved her head down to allow Postman Pat to slide off with Jess on his shoulder.
"Pat?" the elderly woman spoke. "What happened to your van?"
"It ran over a nail, and it was towed over to the Special Delivery Service," Pat explained to the elderly woman. "Stephanie arrived just in time to help me with my packages."
Stephanie gently bowed towards the elderly woman as she said, "It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm sorry I scared you, though."
"It's alright," the elderly woman assured. "I was just a little gobsmacked about a giant deer appearing with Postman Pat on her back like a gigantic horse."
Stephanie's ears flicked a little with shyness after the elderly woman mentioned as Notches chuckled, causing Stephanie to look up at him with a faint 'Really?' expression.
"Thank you for helping me carry the packages to the houses," Postman Pat thanked.
"You're welcome!" Stephanie happily chirped as she started walking.
She exited Greendale and looked at the sun, flinching after she realized it was almost sundown.
"Oh, crap," Stephanie winced. "I didn't realize I was gone for that long!"
"Let's get back to Sir Topham Hatt before it gets too dark," Notches spoke. "It's dangerous when-"
Something chomped down Stephanie's leg, which caused Stephanie to give a deer-like noise of pain as she kicked, looking down as she saw what looked like Nightmares appearing from the darkness.
"Run!" Lucy exclaimed as Stephanie started running.
She hopped through the woods as Nightmares started appearing from the shadows, attempting to grab at her legs, but they kept missing.
Stephanie thought she would make it when her hooves suddenly went through a deep dive into the ground, and she tumbled into the water.
The Bronze Dust faded from her body as she frantically swam after resurfacing at normal deer height, feeling the Nightmares appear from under the water as they attempted to grab her.
Luckily, she made it across the other side with Lucy and Notches on her back, as they were soaking wet, and returned to running away from the Nightmares.
More Nightmares appeared as Stephanie hopped through the forest frantically as Notches and Lucy held onto her antlers.
She glanced over her shoulder as she watched the Nightmares slow down, thinking she would make it, but something swiped at her and her necklace, tearing the totem off as she reverted to being human.
Fortunately, Stephanie had already caught the Zodiac Pocket Watch and was about to tap the crown when Nightmares surrounded her.
Notches growled and hissed as Stephanie flicked her wrist, summoning her staff as she prepared herself.
Nightmares started attacking from around Stephanie as she used magic spells to launch them backward and attacked to shatter their cores, protecting Lucy and Notches from the dangerous monsters.
Stephanie soon became overwhelmed as too many were appearing and pointed her staff at the sky, shouting, "Vermillious!" and watched as a red spark flew from the crystal of her staff as the Nightmares perked, watching the spark fly up before disappearing into the darkness.
The Nightmares grew closer as she snarled and growled at Stephanie, and she started to become afraid as the Nightmares stared at her with ruby-red eyes.
Then they charged as Stephanie made a sky-blue circle with her staff and launched it downward, causing Stephanie, Lucy, and Notches to be launched into the sky, and the Nightmares collided with each other.
After the Nightmares collided, Stephanie landed safely in the distance and continued running, causing the Nightmares to roar in anger and chase after her.
Stephanie ran as fast as she could and soon exited the forest, being chased by the Nightmares as it was already dark.
One of them jumped towards Stephanie with open arms, and before it could grab her, something swung forward over Stephanie's head and smacked the Nightmare across the face, causing it to be launched backward.
Stephanie stopped running after watching something smack the Nightmare across the face, and the Nightmares screeched to a halt, hissing as she looked confused.
Suddenly, a yellow JCB 3CX backhoe digger perked Stephanie's attention as a voice shouted, "Pick on someone your own size!" before the lights turned on.
The Nightmares all hissed in pain when the lights turned on, causing them to scramble backward as some had their cores revealed, causing Stephanie to perk up.
She used her string ability to grab the cores before shattering them as the yellow JCB 3CX backhoe digger glanced over at Stephanie in confusion.
But the yellow JCB 3CX backhoe digger continued to shoo the Nightmares away as they hissed and scrambled backward, retreating back into the forest as more vehicles appeared.
A red dump truck, an orange tilting-drum cement mixer trailer, a green Zettelmeyer diesel road roller, a blue Liebherr LTM 1200-5.1 mobile crane, a small magenta compact tracked digger with a rear-end backhoe arm and bucket, and a light blue small, light blue skid-steer digger.
"Shoo! Shoo!" the vehicles exclaimed as they pushed the Nightmares away. "Go on! Get lost!"
The Nightmares hissed and attempted to attack again when a Nuffield tractor, a Scammell lorry, a 1960 K1C10&K excavator, another excavator, two Scammell Mountaineer dump trucks, a 1943 Thornycroft Amazon Coles Crane lorry, a Caterpillar bulldozer, an Erie Type B Steam Shovel, a Sentinel DG4 steam lorry, a Mack NM 6-ton 6x6 truck, a Caterpillar D9H, an Aveling & Porter R10, and a Roadheader EBZ-200 appeared, turning on more lights and causing the Nightmares to retreat.
"Go on!" one of the vehicles hissed. "Shoo! You don't belong here!"
The Nightmares eventually left after the vehicles scared them off with bright lights and noises, retreating back into the darkness.
"And stay there!" huffed another vehicle.
Stephanie transformed her staff into her bracelet as she sighed, and instantly, all eyes were on her as she froze.
"Are you okay?" the yellow backhoe digger asked.
"That was insane!" the red front loader exclaimed.
"Were you mad?" the red dump truck exclaimed.
"What are you? Nuts?" another red dump truck spoke. "You can't just wander into a forest with all those things wandering around!"
All the vehicles started talking to Stephanie as she was in the middle of them, inspecting her as she looked at them.
"I'm sorry!" Stephanie apologized as they dimmed their lights after Stephanie lifted her hand to block the lights shining in her eyes. "I was heading back to meet Sir Topham Hatt, but they almost caught me."
"You were?" the green steam roller asked, and Stephanie nodded. "Does Sir Topham Hatt know you will be gone this long?"
"I don't know," Stephanie responded. "I couldn't hear him when we were over at Crotoonia Docks. It was too loud for me."
She started worrying as her ears flicked, and the yellow backhoe digger said, "I've got an idea! Let's tell Jenny and Bob what happened!"
"Okay!" Stephanie nodded as she asked, "Who's going to take them to them, though?"
"I'll take you to them," the yellow backhoe digger smiled. "Just hop on in and hold on."
Stephanie did so and held on as the yellow backhoe digger drove off as the others returned to what they were doing.
"Oh, one thing," the yellow backhoe digger spoke. "What's your name?"
"Stephanie," Stephanie responded. "What's yours?"
"Scoop!" the yellow backhoe digger smiled.
They soon entered a small city that Stephanie had not seen before and entered a small area where two people were talking.
"Bob, Jenny," Scoop spoke as the two glanced at Scoop. "I brought someone here."
"Who is it?" Bob asked.
Stephanie stepped off Scoop and walked around him, looking sheepish as she was blushing, and her ears were flicking.
"Stephanie?" Both Jenny and Bob perked up after seeing Stephanie.
"You know her?" Scoop asked, sounding confused.
"Of course," Bob nodded. "She's Sir Topham Hatt's, erm," he paused to think of a word as Jenny said, "Stephanie has been staying in Sir Topham Hatt's manor for a while."
"Oh!" Scoop perked.
"Nevermind about that," Jenny responded. "What happened, Stephanie?"
"I wandered around Drayton after collecting some Dust Crystals," Stephanie explained. "And I stopped to help Mr. Pat until the sunset, and Nightmares appeared and started attacking me."
"We stopped them after a red spark launched into the air," Scoop explained, and Stephanie nodded in agreement.
"That's terrible!" Bob exclaimed. "Do you know where Sir Topham Hatt is?"
"I think he is still back in Crootonia," Stephanie said nervously, biting her bottom lip. "Oh, I am in so much trouble with him!"
Bob gently placed his hands on Stephanie's shoulders, which stopped her from talking, and said, "It's okay, Stephanie. We can tell Sir Topham Hatt what happened over the phone. You could spend the night here until everything is safe."
Stephanie's expression softened after Bob assured her, saying, "Now, let's get you into the house where it's nice and warm."
"That would be great." Stephanie nodded.
"I'll go back to the worksite." Scoop nodded as he left the place.
Bob opened the door as he had one of his hands on Stephanie's shoulder, and Stephanie stepped inside before removing it as Jenny stepped in, and he closed the door.
"Now, let's-" he paused when he noticed something blue on his fingertips as Stephanie winced slightly, moving her shirt down and seeing her bleeding slightly.
"Ooh, that must be where they attacked," Jenny remarked as Stephanie looked up at her. "Let me get some bandaids to mend that."
Stephanie nodded as she removed her sweater, seeing a scratch mark with blood sticking to it.
"Aw," Stephanie sighed as she stuck her fingers through the hole. "It was new too."
Jenny returned as Stephanie allowed her to look at where the injury was, removing the dried blood stain, but paused when she noticed something.
"That's weird," Jenny remarked as Stephanie perked.
"What's wrong?" Stephanie asked.
"It's gone," Jenny responded.
"What?" Stephanie reached up to where her injury was and felt it with her fingertips.
Stephanie felt confused about the injury being gone in just a few minutes while escaping and being rescued.
"H-How did it just…?" Stephanie stammered, her voice trailing off with confusion.
"Is this new to you?" Bob asked, noticing Stephanie's expression.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "How can injuries just heal in mere seconds?"
"That's a good question." Jenny nodded as she had already finished cleaning the blood. "Maybe it's part of the magic."
"Yes," Stephanie nodded, feeling where the scratch used to be. "It could be magic."
Bob picked up a phone and started dialing, waiting patiently as Stephanie calmed down from her slight confusion.
"Hello?" a familiar voice responded.
"Hi," Bob responded. "Is this Sir Topham Hatt?"
"Yes, this is him," Sir Topham Hatt responded. "Who is this?"
"Bob the Builder," Bob responded. "I'm calling because Stephanie was almost attacked by Nightmares and took residence here."
"She was?!" Sir Topham Hatt exclaimed as Bob winced slightly, moving the phone away from his ear. "Is she still there?"
"Yes, she's here." Bob nodded as he turned to Stephanie. "Here," he said, holding the phone to Stephanie. "This is for you."
Stephanie lifted Bob's phone to her ear, sheepishly responding, "Hello, sir."
"Stephanie, are you alright?" Sir Topham Hatt asked. "What happened? I thought you went to collect Dust Crystals!"
"I was," Stephanie nodded. "But I finished collecting and wandered around Drayton because of my curiosity. I was about to return after walking around, but I stopped to help Mr. Pat because his van ran over a nail, and I forgot about the time and got attacked. I'm sorry, sir."
She paused and added, "And I didn't hear the rest of your sentence because the noises over at Crootonia were too loud for me."
Stephanie's ears flicked up and down as she felt a knot in her stomach, feeling that everything would worsen for her.
"It's okay, Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt softly assured Stephanie as she gripped her overall pants leg. "I understand it all now. I understand you are a smart child who can always return and get into things, but you always explain everything to me."
Stephanie softened after Sir Topham Hatt explained to her and continued, "I'm not mad at you for not telling me or suddenly disappearing. I was terrified that you suddenly disappeared, but I was never mad."
"Really?" Stephanie asked.
"Yes." Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "For right now, stay at Bob's house until daytime comes and return to Knapford. I'll meet you there in the daytime."
"Okay," Stephanie nodded as she released her pants leg. "I'll see you soon, then."
The phone hung up, and Stephanie sighed, feeling that worried knot in her stomach unwind as she handed it back to Bob.
"You can sleep in the spare room on the left down the hallway," Bob told Stephanie. "Let us know if there is anything else."
Stephanie nodded as she walked past them, saying, "Thank you," before heading down the hallway.
Strangely, Bob and Jenny noticed a star-shaped birthmark on the back of her neck, which was covered when Stephanie flicked her braid over her shoulder.
They did not mention it as Stephanie went to the spare room, deciding to let her wind down after having a harrowing escape from the Nightmares.
Meanwhile, Stephanie entered the spare room with Notches and Lucy, still looking worried as she started to get ready for bed.
She looked down at the ring on her right hand, looking at it thoughtfully as she rubbed it, noticing it was a little stuck when she rubbed her fingers over it.
'Of course,' Stephanie thought with a sigh. 'Just like P.T. Boomer's ring.'
But she ignored that thought as she lay down in the bed, staring up at the ceiling as that worried feeling grew.
Is Sir Topham Hatt disappointed with her?
Did he lie to her because he did not want to make her feel sad that he was disappointed with her?
Stephanie gripped the blankets with worry as Notches climbed onto her body, noticing her expression looked slightly worried with a blend of sadness.
Wordlessly, Notches gently headbutted Stephanie's head with his, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She glanced at him with confusion when he gently butted his head against her cheek but softly smiled as she rubbed him.
But that lingering feeling returned to her at the thought of having to constantly run away from Sir Topham Hatt whenever she went to search for Dust Crystals.
How often can she do it until he finally gets frustrated with her?
What would she do when Sir Topham Hatt finally snaps when she disappears and has to face his wrath?
Multiple thoughts went through Stephanie's mind as she stared at the ceiling, wondering what Sir Topham Hatt and his feelings would be and gripping the blankets again.
Wait… what about Jackson?
Stephanie sighed as she moved a hand over her eyes, but from the corner of her eyes, faint tears were coming from them.
Why does she keep doing this to everyone?