Sir Topham Hatt had every right to worry, even after watching the rescue group go off again after receiving a call from Stephanie!
He watched the ships leave the bay and watched from the dockside, even nervously watching what looked like ocean liners moving.
'If one of those ocean liners discovered Stephanie,' Sir Topham Hatt thought, his hands still clutching the collar of his dress jacket. 'I don't know or want to know what will happen to her.'
As Sir Topham Hatt watched the ocean for the ships to arrive at the docks, an invisible door opened, and someone stared at Sir Topham Hatt's back.
The person perked up and walked up to Sir Topham Hatt as he was distracted from watching the ships arrive back at the port with Stephanie on one of their docks.
The person stepped through the door and started approaching Sir Topham Hatt, a familiar arm sticking out, before a voice spoke as the hand landed on his back, "Sir?"
Sir Topham Hatt's whole body jolted after hearing someone suddenly speak and touch his back, causing him to yelp and whip around, only calming down as soon as he saw Stephanie.
"Bless me!" Sir Topham Hatt sighed as he had a hand on his chest while the other was supporting himself on the railing of the docks.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry," Stephanie apologized after accidentally scaring Sir Topham Hatt. "I didn't mean to scare you like that! Are you okay?"
"Am I alright?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, looking at Stephanie as she shrank worriedly. "What about you?! You were suddenly pulled into the ocean by a horse made of ocean water!"
"An Nøkk," Stephanie gently corrected, her shoulders hunched a little and looking anxious. "The 'horse made of ocean water' was an Nøkk, but I'm fine!"
'Wait, how did I know what a Nøkk was?' Stephanie thought in silent confusion.
Sir Topham Hatt instantly pulled her into a hug that startled Stephanie as he gently scolded her, "Don't ever scare me like that again, young lady!"
Then he paused after smelling something and released her as he had his hands on her shoulders, asking, "Why do you smell like fish?"
"It's a long story," Stephanie sheepishly chuckled as P.T. Boomer and the others stepped out, sneaking out and closing the door behind them. "But I'll sum it up the best I could after-"
Stephanie winced when her legs started to ache, knowing that was coming from swimming for a long time, and forgot the meaning of cramps when back on land, leaning against Sir Topham Hatt's stomach as he had his arms around her to keep her from falling over.
"Are you certain you are alright?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"Nope," Stephanie shook her head, worrying Sir Topham Hatt. "Cramp in my legs."
Sir Topham Hatt looked confused after Stephanie answered his question before noticing a young girl approaching them.
"Are you okay, Steph?" the girl asked.
"Just a little sore, Dippy," Stephanie nodded, surprising Sir Topham Hatt. "A human thing whenever we swim too long in the water. But it's also a sign that you'll get good sleep and exercise too."
Notches instantly approached Stephanie and were about to rub against her leg in relief after seeing her, but stopped after taking a whiff and gagged, moving away from Stephanie.
'It seems like Notches does not like the smell of fish.' Sir Topham Hatt thought after seeing Notches gag.
Sir Topham Hatt looked around to see if his bodyguards were around while keeping Stephanie close to his body as she tried to get her legs to stop cramping.
But he noticed the group and Lieutenant Hammerman were wincing, holding their legs while hopping on one foot and leaning against something sturdy.
"Excuse me?" Sir Topham Hatt perked up after seeing the group as they flinched, glancing over to see Sir Topham Hatt. "What are you all doing here?"
He accidentally removed his arms from around Stephanie to place them on his, and Stephanie winced, gripping his dress jacket as he continued talking: "The docks are no place for criminals like you all to be here."
"Can't you see I'm in pain at the moment?" Sailor John groaned as he sat on a log support on the docks, feeling his arthritis and legs hurting him. "I'm not in the mood to attempt to persuade."
Sir Topham Hatt was slightly offended that Sailor John snapped at him, but he noticed the weight on his front and realized Stephanie was almost toppling backward.
So he wrapped one arm around her before she fell backward, giving her a sorry expression.
Stephanie nodded after Sir Topham Hatt apologized, and Dippy looked at Sir Topham Hatt and the group, asking, "You knew them?"
"Vividly, yes." Sir Topham Hatt nodded with a frown. "Especially P.T. Boomer."
P.T. Boomer said nothing after Sir Topham Hatt mentioned him, still not facing him as he turned his wrists a little, and there were faint popping noises.
Ember stood up from sitting on the ground, wincing as she rubbed her knees with her hands while crouching a little after standing up too fast.
"Got arthritis in your knees?" P.T. Boomer asked with a smirk before wincing when his hands started hurting.
"What about your hands?" Ember poked back, causing P.T. Boomer to blush at her comeback.
Lieutenant Hammerman's army arrived at the docks and saw him wincing while leaning against one of the dock's support boards.
They approached Lieutenant Hammerman, and he leaned his weight onto one of them as the other moved his arm over his shoulders.
"Just take us to the base," Lieutenant Hammerman groaned.
Though they struggled with Bernie and Conrad, the army nodded and helped carry Lieutenant Hammerman and the others.
Bernie was a little sheepish and wanted to help, while Conrad blushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, wait, wait, wait!" Stephanie exclaimed, moving away from Sir Topham Hatt and wobbling over. "Diesel 10, I forgot something."
Diesel 10 looked over with confusion as she wobbled over before gently taking Pinchy in her hands, looking at the bracelet around Pinchy before pausing.
"I need to meet you at the railroad," Stephanie remarked. "It's not good to pop it off while standing over water."
"Pop what off?" Diesel 10 asked.
"The Human Key," Stephanie responded, showing Diesel 10 the bracelet around Pinchy. "It's a new magical item that each key grants you the ability to transform, like shape or size. This," Stephanie said, tapping the bracelet around Pinchy. "Transform you and Diesel 10 into humans without Dust because I can't use it underwater."
"You put this into Pinchy and turned it, which transformed me into a human without Dust?" Diesel 10 asked, summing it up in his own words.
"Exactly." Stephanie nodded. "All I have to do is take this off for you and Diesel to return to normal," she said, pointing at the ocean and the wooden docks. "You'll sink like a rock if I remove the bracelet."
Diesel 10 nodded after Stephanie explained, and Sir Topham Hatt approached her, gently removing her from leaning against Pinchy as she leaned against him for support.
"Wait, what about me?" Dippy asked.
"You don't have the key with you," Stephanie explained. "I used Copper Dust to transform you into a human for the moment, different from the Human Key. The only way to revert is by using Gold Dust or jumping into the water."
"Why jump into the water?" Dippy asked.
"If I attempt to use Dust underwater or if the whistle is soaked from water," Stephanie explained. "I can't use it until it is dry or out of the water. It becomes useless if submerged in water, and if someone is covered with Dust, it'll wash off after submerging."
Diesel 10 and Diesel looked at each other after Stephanie explained, now understanding why the Dust washed off them when submerged underwater.
Dippy looked back at the water as Abzû hopped inside, their feet transforming into fins before swimming over to Dippy, submerging in the water, and making a 'follow me' mention with their hand.
Dippy knelt, took Abzû's hand, and hopped into the water, watching the Copper Dust wash off from her body, soon transforming back to herself as Abzû watched.
Once she was transformed back to normal, Dippy submerged and looked over at Stephanie as she smiled, saying, "You're welcome."
Dippy smiled a little before heading off as Abzû looked back over at Stephanie, asking, "𐎢𐎠𐎭 𐎼𐎤 𐎬𐎤𐎤𐏂 𐎤𐎠𐎢𐎧 𐎮𐏂𐎧𐎤𐎱 𐎽𐎮𐎬𐎤 𐎮𐏂𐎧𐎤𐎱 𐏂𐎨𐎬𐎤?"
"𐏀𐎤𐎽," Stephanie nodded, speaking in the same language as Abzû was talking in. "𐎨𐏂 𐎬𐎨𐎦𐎧𐏂 𐏂𐎠𐎪𐎤 𐎠 𐎫𐎮𐎭𐎦 𐏂𐎨𐎬𐎤 𐎡𐎤𐎢𐎠𐎸𐎽𐎤 𐎨 𐎸𐎽𐎸𐎠𐎫𐎫𐏀 𐎵𐎤𐎭𐏂𐎸𐎱𐎤 𐎠𐎱𐎮𐎸𐎭𐎣 𐎽𐎮𐎣𐎮𐎱 𐏂𐎮 𐎫𐎮𐎮𐎪 𐎥𐎮𐎱 𐎭𐎤𐎼 𐎢𐎫𐎸𐎤𐎽, 𐎡𐎸𐏂 𐎨 𐎼𐎮𐎸𐎫𐎣 𐎢𐎮𐎬𐎤 𐎮𐎵𐎤𐎱 𐏂𐎮 𐏂𐎧𐎤 𐎮𐎢𐎤𐎠𐎭 𐏂𐎮 𐎽𐎤𐎤 𐎨𐎥 𐏂𐎧𐎤𐎱𐎤 𐎠𐎱𐎤 𐎬𐎮𐎱𐎤."
Abzû nodded after Stephanie spoke to them and turned around, diving into the water before disappearing into the distance with something following them, but they could not see it.
"Okay," Stephanie said, speaking English as everyone looked confused. "Let's keep walking."
"Wait, how did you do that?" one of the riflemen asked. "You spoke in their language and then switched back to English."
"Oh, yeah." Stephanie nodded after realizing that part as they started walking. "That's one of them. Somehow, I can understand the language someone is speaking and translate it before speaking into the language they are saying. The weirdest part is that I didn't notice that because it was normal English between the person and me until someone mentioned that I had spoken a different language."
Stephanie winced a little when her leg twitched with cramps, ignoring them as Sir Topham Hatt held her near his body to keep her from accidentally falling over.
During this time, Stephanie explained what had happened while underwater, explaining a new change to her body that she had not noticed for a long time.
Sir Topham Hatt was confused about what she was mentioning, but Stephanie told him she would show him once the fish smell lingering from her was washed off.
She even told him about the Withered Lover they were chased by, which is why Stephanie did not return to the docks and was rescued by Lieutenant Hammerman and the others.
Lieutenant Hammerman was sheepish because he was being thanked for rescuing a young child.
Half of him felt pride for being thanked, but the other half felt a little shy because he was doing something good, which is way out of his villainous habits.
Stephanie continued talking about how she finally found a ruby to power her Zodiac Pocket Watch's Cancer Zodiac and rescue Lieutenant Hammerman's submarines that the Withered Lover had gathered to protect its pearl, which was its weakness.
Once the pearl was destroyed, Abzû saved them all from danger after finally defeating the Black Zodiac, taking them to the entrance to the Cancer Zodiac, where they were healed of their injuries, thus the rip on Stephanie's clothes.
They soon arrived at the nearest station and helped the group sit on a bench, relieving them as they outstretched their legs, wincing a little from the cramps.
"That was one of the longest swims I had ever had," Conrad remarked.
"But, hey," Stephanie shrugged with a smile. "It's healthy."
"Yeah, healthy for being chased by a large crab," P.T. Boomer snorted with a roll of his eyes.
Stephanie's ears flicked a little with embarrassment as Diesel 10, and Diesel were wincing from the pain in their calves, asking, "Is this normal for humans to feel this?"
"Well, we are feeling it at the moment," Conrad huffed, rubbing the back of one of his legs.
Stephanie chuckled after Conrad remarked before asking the two humanized diesels, "Would you two like to return to normal since the cramps are too much for you?"
"Yes." Both Diesel and Diesel 10 quickly answered.
Stephanie gingerly stood up and walked over to the two after they stepped in between the rails, and she took Pinchy in her hands.
She pressed a hidden button on the bracelet, and it popped off from around Pinchy, transforming into a key in her hand.
After the bracelet was removed, Diesel 10 and Diesel transformed back to normal while Stephanie was on top of Diesel 10's roof, a little startled that she was accidentally on his roof.
"That's much better," Diesel 10 sighed, feeling no more cramps.
Pinchy gently scooped Stephanie up from Diesel 10's roof and back onto the ground before one of the riflemen asked, "Can you help us take Lieutenant Hammerman back to his base?"
"Sure, we're headin' in that direction anyways," Diesel 10 shrugged.
They opened the door to his cab and carried Lieutenant Hammerman inside as the others followed behind.
"It was nice meeting you all," Stephanie smiled as Sir Topham Hatt looked confused. "I hope we can meet again without problems."
"Hopefully," P.T. Boomer nodded as he waited for his turn. "But be careful next time."
Stephanie nodded after P.T. Boomer told her and watched as Diesel 10 coupled with Diesel and went off, seeing that Diesel had nodded off to sleep from exhaustion.
After watching Diesel 10 left with a sleeping Diesel behind him, Stephanie sat beside Sir Topham Hatt after standing for too long, feeling her calves twitching with soreness.
She looked over and saw Notches, but his face looked slightly scrunched, and she asked, "What's wrong Notches?"
"You smell like fish," Notches responded, one of his paws covering his nose. "As much as I am glad you are alright, I can't get close to you because I hate the smell of fish."
Stephanie sheepishly smiled, apologizing to Notches, "Sorry, I'll wash the smell off once we arrive back at Sir Topham Hatt's mansion."
"Good idea," Notches nodded before Amy and her coaches arrived at the station.
She looked over and saw Stephanie along with Sir Topham Hatt and perked, along with the coaches.
"There you are!" Kristy exclaimed.
"Are you okay?" Isabella asked.
"We heard you were grabbed near the docks!" Daniel exclaimed.
"She's alright," Sir Topham Hatt assured the worried coaches. "She had a very long adventure through the ocean. Right now, she must be taken from the ocean for safety measures."
"Yes, sir." they simultaneously nodded as the two boarded Amy's coaches.
On board, Stephanie noticed that the new passengers looked confused, feeling more sheepish about her fish smell as Notches hopped onto the seat in front of them.
After the last passenger boarded, the guard blew his whistle and waved the green flag, allowing Amy to continue.
As they arrived at Tidmouth, Stephanie and Sir Topham Hatt stepped out, but one of the workmen approached Sir Topham Hatt and said, "Sir, we have some bad news."
"What is it, Albert?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"There is a wreckage near one of the stations, and the yardmaster was trying to call you, but you were not near the telephone or in your office," Albert explained.
"Bother," Sir Topham Hatt sighed. "I'll join you in a moment after helping Stephanie."
Albert nodded and walked off as Sir Topham Hatt turned to Stephanie, saying, "I'm sorry I wouldn't take you to my mansion to help."
"It's okay, sir," a voice responded, causing Stephanie to look, seeing Romeo with Darius and Cleo. "We'll help Stephanie while you investigate the damage."
"Ah, thank you," Sir Topham Hatt thanked. "I'll be back soon to check on Stephanie after investigating."
Stephanie looked up at Romeo with confusion as Sir Topham Hatt left before he covered his nose, exclaiming, "Ugh, you stink of fish!"
"Ah, yeah," Stephanie sighed. "I'll explain why after taking a bath."
Then she walked over to the door, adding, "Let's use a shortcut to get to Sir Topham Hatt's mansion."
"What 'shortcut?'" Darius asked. "And it's going to-" Stephanie opened the office door, and instead of leading to the office, it led to the mansion itself. "Take a long time…"
Romeo and Darius' eyes were wide as saucers after Stephanie opened the door, and Cleo excitedly stepped through, asking, "You practiced?"
"Yep," Stephanie nodded as she stepped inside too. "I even accidentally stumbled upon some different realms too."
"'Realms?!'" Cleo excitedly exclaimed. "Like what?"
"Pocket dimensions," Stephanie shrugged while taking her sweater off and putting it on the coat stand as Darius looked through the window, seeing the office, but the door showed the mansion. "One has what I collected; the other might be my room."
"Can I see them?" Cleo asked excitedly before wincing from the smell with a gentle, "Eww."
"Right after a bath," Stephanie sighed.
Stephanie headed to the bathroom and stepped inside, taking off her clothes as the camera panned down to her shoes before she took them off along with her socks.
The camera then switched to her back, which was covered with her long hair, placing the clothes in a neat pile in a hamper as white scars trailed on her body from underneath the hair.
Some white scars can be seen, but the rest are hidden as Stephanie is not facing the camera as she removes her glasses.
Then she walked over to the tub and turned one of the knobs, running warm water as she carefully slipped into the water.
But after slipping into the water, Stephanie's body transformed into her half-fish appearance, causing her to panic a little about accidentally breaking the tub.
So she scrambled out of the tub, but her squirming accidentally spilled a lot of soapy water, and she slipped after getting out, landing on her side with a thud.
"Ow!" Stephanie winced as she pushed herself up.
Seeing the mess, Stephanie quickly stood up and tried to reach for a towel, but her webbed hind legs slipped on the soapy water, and she fell, this time on her back, twisting some of the fins on her back.
"Ow!" Stephanie winced again.
Outside the bathroom, Darius kept hearing thumps coming from the bathroom and felt confused, wondering what was happening inside.
He knocked on the door and asked, "Are you okay in there, Stephanie?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Stephanie quickly responded. "Just slipped-Ow!"
Another thump happened in the bathroom with something clattering, but Darius felt more worried.
"Do you need help in there?" Darius asked as there were slipping noises.
"Ow!" Stephanie winced before responding, "Uh, n-no, thank you! I can deal with this-"
More slips and a loud thud came from inside the bathroom, and Darius winced after hearing the thud before a groan came from Stephanie.
"Darius, what's going on?" Romeo asked.
"And what's all that thumping noise?" Cleo asked.
"I don't know," Darius responded, mentioning the bathroom door. "It's coming from Stephanie."
After Darius answered Romeo's question, Romeo knocked on the door and called, "Stephanie, are you in there?"
"Yes, and I'm fine!" Stephanie responded. "No reason to-" A slip comes from inside, and a thud happens, causing Stephanie to exclaim, "Ow!"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Romeo asked. "What's all that slipping happening in there?"
"I dropped a soap bar!" Stephanie called back. "Just trying to get it, but-" Stephanie gives small yelps before stopping. "I kept slipping on the tile ground."
"Do you need one of us to come in there to help?" Cleo asked.
"No thanks!" Stephanie called, but a slip happened and THUD, causing the three to wince.
"…Ow." Stephanie winced.
Sir Topham Hatt had already entered the mansion after inspecting the damage to one of the stations but flinched after hearing a thud from the bathroom.
"Darius, is Stephanie alright?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"I don't know," Darius responded, moving to the side to allow Sir Topham Hatt to approach the door. "There's a lot of noise coming from the other side."
"Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt spoke. "I'll open the door and see what is happening. We want to help, okay?"
A slight pause came inside the bathroom before Stephanie responded, "Okay."
Sir Topham Hatt opened the door after Stephanie said 'okay,' but stopped after seeing Stephanie sitting on the ground with a sheepish expression and soap all over the floor and from the tub's ledge.
But the thing that most stuck out was Stephanie's body, covered with scales, webbed hands, and hind legs, even a tail flicking slightly with nervousness as her finned ears drooped.
"Uh," Stephanie responded with a small chuckle as she pushed back some hair with her right webbed and clawed hand. "I can explain?"
"Ai, yi, yi, yi!" Darius exclaimed after seeing Stephanie's body. "What happened?!"
"Well, this is why," Stephanie explained, showing her webbed hands. "I smelled like fish. I transform into a half-fish humanoid after touching any form of water. And be careful because there is a lot of soap around here."
Sir Topham Hatt walked away momentarily as Stephanie tried standing up but slipped from the soap covering the ground, landing on her front with a thump.
"Ow." Stephanie winced as she pushed herself up, huffing with slight irritation and embarrassment as soap covered her body, including some on her nose.
Sir Topham Hatt returned after being gone for a moment, not wearing his dress jacket or vest but a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.
He cautiously stepped into the bathroom and kneeled before Stephanie, taking her webbed hands into his and helping her up to her feet.
"Here," Sir Topham Hatt offered. "Let me help you wash off."
"Thank you," Stephanie thanked, her cheeks flustered a little with sheepishness as her fin-like ears flicked slightly.
Sir Topham Hatt carefully picked Stephanie up from the ground but slipped a little, luckily keeping himself upright from falling on the tile floor.
He placed Stephanie into the tub, and Stephanie's tail flopped out of it, and she got herself comfortable, although a little cramped as she had grown a little.
"Now then," Sir Topham Hatt said, and Stephanie looked up. "Care to explain more about your new form?"
Stephanie chuckled sheepishly at Sir Topham Hatt and started explaining while Sir Topham Hatt helped her wash herself off with soap.
There was that strange lingering feeling, but she could not figure out what it could be while watching the ocean waves.
A large ocean liner continued sailing through the ocean, looking confused about the strange mythical feeling.
"Queen Mary?" The ocean liner perked up after hearing the name and glanced over, seeing another ocean liner approaching her as she stopped. "Did you feel that same feeling?"
"Yes," she nodded. "But it couldn't be from Gordon. He is pulling coaches and taking passengers around."
The second ocean liner paused before asking, "Could it be from someone stronger?"
"Impossible," a third ocean liner huffed as they approached Queen Mary and the second. "There's no one as strong as us! It is us and us only."
"Don't forget," Queen Mary frowned. "Gordon is equally strong like us, too."
"Yeah, yeah, him too," the third rolled their eyes. "But what is so important about this feeling?"
"It could mean another one out there," Queen Mary explained. "If this feeling is the same as Gordon's, then this one could be the same as him too."
"Well, where is it?" the third ocean liner scoffed. "It's not like it is roaming on Sodor and growing powerful over time."
Queen Mary stayed silent after the third ocean liner scoffed, looking over at Sodor, worried that it could not be over on Sodor.
…What if it could be another locomotive, though?