Stephanie had finally returned to her room in Sir Topham Hatt's mansion with Notches and Lucy following, and she sighed, facepalming with embarrassment as she blushed a little.
"It wasn't your fault, Stephanie," Notches assured as he hopped onto the bed. "He only grabbed you, and you reacted out of fear."
"I know." Stephanie nodded with a sigh. "It's just that I didn't have Gold Dust to transform him back."
She looked at the Dust Whistle around her neck with a slightly disappointed expression, looking at it with a sigh.
"Maybe I should've been careful with how much Gold Dust I used," Stephanie sighed as she put her Dust Whistle back in her garments.
"That reminds me," Lucy said as Stephanie glanced at her. "Where were you? We woke up, and you weren't in the room."
"I went to find a job," Stephanie responded before adding, "Yes, I know I'm not old enough to get a job, but I was looking for ideas of getting one when I am older. But… all the jobs around here looked a little different from what I was used to."
"Why on earth were you searching for a job?" Notches asked.
"To earn some money to get something to store all this I got," Stephanie explained, mentioning the items on the desk that ranged from the journal to the Dust Crystals. "It's all getting too full for me to store it all, and as much as my bag can carry it all, I'm more worried about any of the crystals breaking."
"Oh!" Lucy perked up after Stephanie explained. "I see your problem."
Stephanie nodded as she sat down on the bed next to Notches, and she thought back to the woodcarver before saying, "But during my adventure through Sodor, I came across a woodcarver who was carving something out of wood. So maybe I could make something instead of buying."
"Ah, wait a minute, Stephanie." Notches spoke as Stephanie glanced at him. "Do you know how to carve wood? Or even have the right tools to even start carving?"
After Notches mentioned the next problem, Stephanie remarked, "You're right."
She thought about using her Zodiac Pocket Watch to transform into her Chinese Rat Zodiac to draw out some tools for her to use, but she did not want to drain out the gemstones she had collected.
Stephanie racked her mind about what she could do to get the tools before her eyes glanced at her bracelet before perking.
What if she could use her drawing ability through her staff instead?
Stephanie stood up from where she was sitting as Notches and Lucy perked, watching her walk towards the door before opening it to her jungle dimension and stepping in.
"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, hopping off Stephanie's bed to follow her as she kept the door open for the two.
Once they stepped into Stephanie's jungle dimension, Stephanie closed the door as it sealed and disappeared before turning to her bracelet and muttering, "I hope this works."
Stephanie lifted her hand to flick her wrist to transform the bracelet into a staff, but something trailed that caught Stephanie's eye, causing her to stop.
Confused, Stephanie did it again, seeing a translucent white trail following her finger, and it was just like the magic coming from her staff.
She pushed her sleeve up to look at her bracelet and watched as she did the same thing again, seeing the crystal had turned white to match the color of the trail.
Curious, Stephanie used her finger to draw a magic circle using her first finger instead of her staff, surprised when she managed to draw one.
And a droplet of water shot out from the magic circle and launched forward, landing on the ground before soaking in the dirt.
"I can do that without having to flick my wrist?!" Stephanie exclaimed as she looked back at her bracelet. "Cool!"
Focusing back on what she was doing, Stephanie did the same thing, this time with a white translucent trail and drawing out a chisel shape.
After the shape was drawn, Stephanie grabbed the chisel with her hand, and it became solid, transforming into a chisel she drew.
"Awesome!" Stephanie cheered with a smile.
"I did not know you could do that," Notches remarked.
"Me either!" Stephanie nodded with a smile as she looked back at the chisel. "This is so much better than having to buy anything!"
She placed the chisel down on a rock and returned to the next item, the coping saw, and Stephanie did the same thing, drawing out the exact details of what a coping saw looks like.
After drawing it out, Stephanie grabbed the handle, which became solid, transforming into a coping saw in her hand.
Stephanie placed that item down and drew out the other tools, ranging from a carving knife to a U-gauge, sandpaper, and cleaning items.
"Okay," Stephanie nodded as she placed the last item down. "Now, all I need is wood to start the carving part."
"The only way you can find wood that can last a long time is on Misty Island," Notches suggested.
Stephanie turned back to Notches with a confused expression, asking, "What's Misty Island?"
"It's a separate island separated from Sodor that is always shrouded in mist," Lucy explained. "Thus, Misty Island. And it is also home to jobi wood, a strong type of wood that can withstand a lot of things. Even a hurricane!"
"Really?" Stephanie perked up with a smile. "Then let's find Misty Island and the jobi wood!"
"Now hold on, Stephanie," Notches spoke as she stopped. "I'm with you on getting jobi wood, but how will you carry a piece of log twice your height?"
"Good point," Stephanie nodded as she thought to herself. "Trying to fit one through the door is tricky if I use this power."
"Unless you are using the Taurus Zodiac or any super strength Zodiac, it can help you," Lucy pointed out.
The mention got Stephanie an idea, and she exclaimed, "That's it! Bronze Dust! I can use Bronze Dust to help carry jobi wood!"
"What about the door problem?" Notches asked. "Didn't you say pushing a log through the door is hard?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded as she turned to the tools and collected them. "But Sir Topham Hatt doesn't mind if I stay on the island to carve."
"In those clothes?" Lucy asked.
Stephanie paused as she looked at her clothes, nodding in agreement as she placed the tools down where they were, saying, "Ah, yes! Safety first."
She paused a little after remembering the door to her room and created a white magic circle with her magic, watching as the door reappeared and opened to her room.
"I love magic." Stephanie smiled before stepping into her room.
The door was semi-closed for privacy, and a few minutes passed until Stephanie reappeared after opening the door, wearing her overalls and a long-sleeve shirt, and her long hair was up in a bun instead of a ponytail.
She was even wearing a dark blue apron and said, putting her hands on her hips, "I am ready for carving!"
Notches smirked a little at Stephanie's optimism while Lucy giggled as she knelt to their height and allowed them both onto her shoulders.
She turned back to the door and closed it, opening it to the front door of Sir Topham Hatt's mansion before stepping outside and closing it.
"To get to Misty Island," Notches explained as Stephanie listened to him. "We must get to the Misty Island Tunnel near East of Suddery."
Stephanie looked confused before taking out the map, opening it to look at the entire map of Sodor and Notches added, noticing Stephanie's confusion, "It's near the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre."
"Oh!" Stephanie perked as she pointed at the spot. "Right here!"
"It's a long walk," Lucy remarked as Stephanie blushed sheepishly. "Let's take a bus to the general direction of the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre."
Stephanie nodded in agreement and searched for a bus stop to get onto a bus to arrive at Suddery, where Sodor Search and Rescue Centre is.
When she arrived at the bus stop, Stephanie waited patiently for the bus before perking up when a sailor stood beside her with the faint smell of fish.
He looked familiar, almost like the people in that group who were with Diesel 10, so she asked with curiosity since no one else was around, "Do I know you, sir?"
The sailor looked down at Stephanie with a gruff expression and responded coldly, "No, ye don't remember me."
"You're right," Stephanie responded with a nod, as Notches was lowly growling as Lucy hid behind Stephanie's head. "Notches, calm down."
Stephanie gently stroked Notches' side as Notches continued to lowly growl towards the sailor, who only paid attention to what he was doing.
But to the sailor, this kid was just one of those kids that… has a strange star-shaped birthmark on the back of their neck with blue hair and pointed ears.
…Weird.
"I think you know me," Stephanie gently pointed out, causing the sailor to snap out of his thoughts. "You were with Diesel 10 and Diesel, weren't you?"
Dang, she did see him among the crowd… even though he was laughing when he saw Diesel 10 stuck as a human by her.
"Ye got me," the sailor responded with an eye roll. "Wha' are ye goin' t' do about it? Use more o' yer magic spells t' transform me?"
"Nah, it was an accident," Stephanie responded, perking up the sailor's confusion. "But, never mind about that. My name is Stephanie, Stephanie Allen. You?"
"Sailor John," Sailor John responded with a cock of his eyebrow. "Why are ye bein' so formal wit' me? Aren't ye afraid?"
"Nah," Stephanie responded with a shake of her head. "You're just a normal elderly sailor to me. Not that scary."
Sailor John's cheeks flustered a little with embarrassment after Stephanie remarked as she looked around for the bus, asking but mostly muttering, "Did I miss the bus somehow?"
"If we did, then I've been standin' here fer too long." Sailor John groaned. "'N it's back t' walkin' t' Suddery or gettin' a taxi."
"Hey, right on time!" Stephanie remarked with a smile. "I'm heading to Suddery too!"
'Great,' Sailor John groaned with an eye roll. 'I'm stuck with a nuisance.'
Stephanie then got an idea as she looked at the map in her hands, looking at where Suddery was before thinking to herself, asking, "What if I can get us to Suddery differently?"
"Like wha'?" Sailor John scoffed. "Magically gettin' us a taxi or a bus?"
"I could," Stephanie shrugged. "But it's a little hard for me to create that much magic to even make one appear."
'Is this kid dense or somethin'?!' Sailor John thought with irritation.
Stephanie looked at the bracelet around her wrist thoughtfully before using the same drawing ability, this time making a translucent door with a white trail as Sailor John watched.
After completing it, Stephanie grabbed the doorknob and opened it, seeing they were at Suddery near a bus stop.
Stephanie smiled after seeing she did it and opened it, allowing Sailor John to step through before closing it, watching it magically disappear.
"Well," Stephanie started with a smirk. "I magically got us a 'taxi' or a 'bus.'"
Stephanie giggled at the end as Sailor John's cheeks blushed again with embarrassment at how she was throwing his words at him.
"It was nice meeting you!" Stephanie waved her hand before muttering, "Oh, wait! Wrong farewell!"
She saluted him with her right arm with a smile, and Sailor John perked as she walked away from him, and he muttered, "How did she know I used t' be in the navy?"
Noticing that people were staring at him, Sailor John only grunted as he adjusted his collar upward to cover his face, tipped his hat, ignored everyone, and continued walking to where he was going.
Stephanie arrived at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre and walked past it, careful not to walk directly on the tracks as she headed towards what looked like a tunnel.
"Is this the tunnel to Misty Island, Notches?" Stephanie asked, looking over at Notches.
"Yes," Notches nodded. "Just walk straight, and you'll soon arrive on Misty Island."
Stephanie returned to the tunnel and walked through it, entering the darkness as she ventured further, careful not to stumble onto the tracks.
There was an off feeling when she entered the Misty Island Tunnel, glancing around to see if there were any Nightmares as she continued walking further into the darkness.
The walls felt like they were coming in closer to Stephanie as she picked up her speed a little, walking faster down the tunnel, hoping to see an exit.
There was a faint glow at the end, and Stephanie perked, seeing it looked like the exit, and picked her speed up a little more, heading directly towards the exit, noticing the darkness started to move slightly.
"Ssssaaaammmmaaaaeeeellll…" The hairs on the back of Stephanie's neck stood up after hearing a name whispered by the darkness and soon exited from the tunnel, entering a woodland area as she panted slightly.
"Stephanie?" Lucy perked, seeing Stephanie's expression as she looked slightly freaked out about something. "Stephanie, are you alright?"
"What's wrong?" Notches asked, noticing her expression too.
Stephanie did not respond as she looked back into the darkness, seeing four eyes staring back at her with a smile.
The right eye was an emerald color, the left eye an aquamarine color, and the third and fourth eyes on the forehead.
The right eye on the forehead was a ruby color, and the left eye was an Angelite color, all with vertical pupils with a Cheshire cat-like smile.
After making eye contact, the being just disappeared into the darkness of the Misty Island Tunnel, giving shivers down Stephanie's spine after seeing the creature.
"Stephanie!" Stephanie flinched after feeling someone's hands gently grab her cheek with a tug and glanced over, seeing Lucy looking concerned for her with a hint of confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I, ah, I," Stephanie stammered after Lucy let go of her cheek, glancing a little back at the Misty Island Tunnel before back at the two. "Sorry. I panicked, thinking there was a horde of Nightmares in the tunnel."
"It's okay, Stephanie," Notches softly assured as he rubbed his head against Stephanie's other cheek. "We made it out of the tunnel."
Stephanie nodded in agreement as she gently scratched Notches' chin with her hand, and he purred, still uneasy about what she had seen.
After calming down, Stephanie returned to the jungle she entered and became curious, seeing lingering mist hovering through the trees, covering the grass with fresh dew drops.
Stephanie followed down the tracks curiously as she looked around, seeing everything was never touched by humans and barely any buildings around.
Everything around had a humid feeling with a chill as Stephanie shuddered a little from the cold but continued walking down the tracks.
She soon comes across a fork in the rails and stops, glancing around as she can hear the chattering of birds and the smell of nature through the air.
"Excuse me?" Stephanie, Notches, and Lucy flinched after hearing someone's voice and glanced over, seeing twin steam locomotives as the mist cleared.
The twins' basis is based on the Bear Harbor Lumber Company's locomotive #1, but a little modified and has separate colors.
The first twin's boiler, wheels, and lining are painted slate gray, and his cab and dome are painted amber.
The second twin's boiler, wheels, and lining are painted amber, and his cab and dome are painted slate gray.
They both have a semi-circular symbol with three yellow trees with two brown axes crossing each other on the right sides of their cabs.
"Who," the first twin spoke.
"Are," the second twin spoke.
"You?" they simultaneously spoke with curiosity.
"I'm Stephanie," Stephanie nodded with a smile. "This is Notches," she pointed at her cat before introducing Lucy. "And this is Lucy."
"Hello," Lucy greeted with a wave of her hand.
"Hello," the twins responded.
"I'm Bash," the first twin spoke.
"And I'm Dash," the second twin nodded.
"We're the Logging Locos!" they simultaneously spoke with a smile and a giggle.
"Pleased to meet you two," Stephanie nodded with a smile.
"What brought," Bash spoke.
"You here?" Dash finished.
"I came here to collect some jobi wood," Stephanie responded. "Do you mind?"
The twins looked at each other with confusion after Stephanie answered their question before Dash asked, "Why?"
"Because I am going to carve a large wooden cabinet to help store some collected items," Stephanie explained, showing the chisel in her hand.
The twins looked at each other with the same confused expression, and Bash said, "We can take you,"
"To meet Ferdinand," Dash ended.
"Okay," Stephanie nodded. "Is he the leader of the Logging Locos?"
"Yes." the twins simultaneously responded with a nod. "Older brother, too!"
Stephanie perked with interest before stepping into Bash's cab, and they both whistled and went backward, heading further into Misty Island.
Meanwhile, a Climax Class C steam locomotive painted teal with blue-gray lining sorted the wood on the flatbeds as two engines worked.
He has a semi-circular symbol with three yellow trees with two brown axes crossing each other on the sides of his cab and tender.
He even had two engines helping him with the jobi wood, one a crane that does not stack the logs but tosses them!
And there was a steam donkey crane that moved the jobi wood, but it was crazy like the crane!
He perked when Bash and Dash appeared after crossing the Shake Shake Bridge, chanting, "Shake, shake! Make me quake! Make me quake until I shake!"
They laughed as they came off the Shake Shake Bridge before going onto separate lines, approaching the steam engine.
"Hello, Ferdinand!" Bash and Dash greeted.
"We," Bash spoke.
"Brought," Dash continued.
"Someone!" Bash finished.
"Who?" Ferdinand asked, looking confused about who they picked up.
Bash's cab door opened, and Stephanie stepped out, looking slightly dizzy but staying upright as she remarked to the two twins, "That… was one crazy ride."
Ferdinand perked after seeing Stephanie and turned to Bash and Dash with a serious expression, asking, "Did you two see where her parents were?"
"She was not," Bash spoke.
"With anyone," Dash continued.
"D'oh!" Stephanie exclaimed as she facepalmed. "I forgot to mention that!"
She walked into the center of three and explained, "I'm with Sir Topham Hatt and, well, he allows me to go anywhere because I," Stephanie paused as she turned to the reader, saying, "This is going to take a whole few paragraphs to explain it all."
So Stephanie explained the best she could to the Logging Locos, showing some of the crystals she had discovered to prove some points, along with the Dust Whistle and the Zodiac Pocket Watch.
She wanted to show the Zodiac Pocket Watch to them as she had already shown what the Dust Whistle does by using Silver Dust to transform into a locomotive before transforming back.
They wanted to see what the Zodiac Pocket Watch does, but wanting to avoid draining the energy, Stephanie explained what the powers do as they listened with curiosity.
After explaining what she was doing, Ferdinand asked, "So you came on Misty Island to carve a jobi wood?
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "Is that alright with you, Bash and Dash?"
"Of course!" Ferdinand nodded. "But be careful walkin' 'round here. Hee-Haw and Ol' Wheezy can get a little crazy."
"Yeah," nodded Bash with a giggle.
"They're both really crazy," Dash snorted.
Just as the twins said, Stephanie ducked when a jobi log flew through the air by Ol' Wheezy, causing all three to laugh.
"This is nuts!" Notches exclaimed after watching a log fly before ducking when another went flying.
Taking the hint, Stephanie started to go in the opposite direction, sometimes stopping to duck a little whenever a jobi log flew through the air.
But she was careful as she went in the distance before stopping near a small clearing with some cut jobi logs lying in a somewhat pile.
"Okay," Stephanie nodded as she reached up to Lucy and Notches, taking them off and placing them onto a log. "Let's start carving."
She walked over to the pile of jobi logs and inspected them carefully, deciding which one to take and checking it before doing her woodcarving skills.
Taking her Dust Whistle out, Stephanie changed the symbol to Bronze and blew into the whistle, watching the Bronze Dust come out from it and swirl around Stephanie.
She grew twice her height, startling Notches, and Lucy before she pushed her glasses into place as she walked up to the pile of jobi logs.
Stephanie took the first one off the pile and inspected it, checking for any moss or rotting on the log as she towered slightly over the trees.
After the log was checked, Stephanie placed it on the ground and went on to the next, feeling it curiously and noticing how dense it felt in her hands.
Even at how heavy it was in her hand after picking the next one up, she compared the weight with a rock Stephanie had picked up, slowly piecing together how the jobi wood was.
Deciding to check how the wood floats, Stephanie placed the log in a small creek to see if it could float, but it sank rather than floated, which surprised Stephanie.
The density and the weight could not float because of how sturdy it was compared to the other trees.
Stephanie returned to sorting through the pile as she continued inspecting the jobi wood, as some were thick and heavy, and others were slightly thin but had that somewhat heaviness to them.
After sorting through the jobi wood pile, Stephanie picked up one from the non-rotting pile as the pile with the ones that were rotting, and non-sturdy was in a separate pile.
She placed the log down and used Gold Dust to return to normal, but remembering her promise, Stephanie reminded herself to go and find more Gold Dust to help Diesel 10 transform back to normal.
Once she was back at normal height, Stephanie started to work on the jobi wood by first chipping away at the bark, noticing it was hard, but she worked through the problem and soon finished getting all the bark off.
Stephanie started planning what the dresser would look like in her mind, using her drawing ability to draw out a pencil and sketch out the lengths of the first boards.
After sketching out the boards' length, Stephanie started cutting the piece of wood, using a saw to slice the log at the length she wanted.
Then she started cutting again once the single board was cut and started slicing into pieces, using some rocks to help with balance and her drawing skills.
After the first pieces of the board were cut, Stephanie used Bronze Dust to grow again and pulled another log, doing the same thing but with the other pieces for the part of the cabinet.
Lucy and Notches watched Stephanie curiously as she created pieces from the jobi wood taking small breaks here and there before continuing.
Once the pieces were all carved out, Stephanie started polishing each with sandpaper and rubbed a special ointment to keep the wood from chipping.
She waited patiently for the ointment to dry up before starting to put them all together, using the strange notches in the wood to keep them together, which clicked whenever Stephanie smoothly put them together.
Notches and Lucy perked with interest after watching Stephanie use the same tactic with the rest of the wood, putting it all together before finally making a large drawer with twenty-five drawers.
"I think I went a little overboard with the drawers," Stephanie chuckled. "But, hey, that's perfect!"
Stephanie used her magic drawing ability and drew a door, opening it as she poked her head inside, seeing she had teleported into a cabin, which confused her.
She opened the door more and stepped in cautiously, glancing around for anyone around but noticed it looked almost like a kitchen for a witch.
…A kitchen witch?
Stephanie noticed a letter on the counter and picked it up from the counter and opened it as it read;
I see you needed help collecting the essentials and returning to the house to create Dust, only to run out faster than you expected.
I hope the witch's cabin will help you from getting into a fuss as it holds everything you need to help save Sodor.
Written from your friendly stranger.
P.S. If you look around the cabin, there's another secret to collect with your collection of magical items.
Stephanie cocked her head to the side with confusion and curiosity, wondering who this 'friendly stranger' was written in the letter.
If she was lucky, Stephanie could come across this stranger later in the future whenever they were ready.
But what was the other secret that the letter mentioned in the cabin?
Stephanie looked around the empty cabin and nodded, seeing it looked perfect for storing everything she had collected throughout Sodor.
But nothing out of place would indicate that there was something there, even when she felt around with her hands.
She exited the cabin, walked over to the freshly made cabinet, and paused from picking it up, knowing she needed help carrying it.
Stephanie could use her Zodiac Pocket Watch to help carry the cabinet, but yet again, there is the problem of draining the gemstones if she overuses it for too long.
…Why not use it since there is no other way to do so?
Stephanie reached into her blue jeans and took out the Zodiac Pocket Watch, turning the arms to Gemini.
She clicked the crown, watching as the zodiac necklace of Gemini appeared around her neck as the pocket watch disappeared.
After transforming, Stephanie focused and separated her body, splitting herself into two, one with blue hair and the other with dark blue hair.
"Okay!" the Stephanie with blue hair nodded. "Let's start with-"
She paused after seeing the Stephanie with dark blue hair, her cheeks stained with what looked like black tears, and dark bags underneath her eyes.
"Are you okay?" the Stephanie with blue hair asked, looking worried for the Stephanie with dark blue hair.
"I'm fine," the Stephanie with dark blue hair responded with the same sad tone before using the sleeves to remove some tears. "Just a little sad, that's all."
The Stephanie with blue hair still looked concerned after the Stephanie with dark blue hair assured her before silently nodding, walking over to the cabinet, and asking, "Can you help carry this with me?"
The Stephanie with dark blue hair nodded after the Stephanie with blue hair asked and walked over, grabbing the other side before they lifted it together as Notches and Lucy watched.
They entered the cabin with the cabinet and placed it to the side, lining it perfectly before the Stephanie with dark blue hair noticed something from the corner of their eye.
She walked to the side, looked at what looked like a somewhat awkward part of the cabin's wall, and gently pushed against it, hearing what sounded like a faint click before a drawer opened.
The Stephanie with dark blue hair turned to the Stephanie with blue hair and whistled, catching the Stephanie with blue hair as she glanced over at the twin.
"What is it?" the Stephanie with blue hair asked.
"I found something." the Stephanie with dark blue hair pointed.
The Stephanie with blue hair walked over to what the Stephanie with dark blue hair pointed at and touched her shoulder, refusing back to normal Stephanie as she removed the necklace around her neck as it transformed into the Zodiac Pocket Watch.
She opened the drawer more and saw what looked like a small rectangular box that looked like it was for glasses, and she took it, looking at it with confusion.
After taking the box, Stephanie closed the secret compartment and opened the box, seeing there were different types of keys inside the box.
She reached into the box and took out one of the keys, a silver key with a moon-shaped head and different appearances.
"What strange keys," Stephanie remarked with a confused expression. "But I think these are the magical items the letter mentioned."
She placed the container of keys into her apron's pocket before exiting the cabin with Notches and Lucy following behind as she closed the door, as it disappeared.
"Well, I got that problem fixed," Stephanie nodded before pausing as she looked at the other pieces of jobi wood lying around as she placed her hands on her hips. "I got to do something about these pieces of wood."
Then she paused and got an idea, picking up one of the pieces of wood and sitting down on a log, using her carving skills to carve out something as Lucy walked around the log, lying down behind it to watch as Lucy sat on a rock that was at her height, watching with her.