Stephanie opened the door to a beautiful garden that stretched out in the distance and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.
"Oh, wow!" Stephanie perked up with amazement as the door behind her disappeared. "It's a massive garden!"
She approached one of the garden beds and looked at the wooden sign as it read, 'STRAWBERRIES.'
"They're strawberries!" Stephanie remarked with amazement. "Look how red and big they are!"
"Look at those!" Patches pointed, and Stephanie looked at one of the trees. "What are those?"
"Those are apricots!" Stephanie excitedly smiled and then pointed at a tree. "And pears, plums, durians—"
Stephanie suddenly stopped talking after saying 'durians' and glanced back at what she had seen with a confused expression, seeing a bundle of durian trees.
"Durian?" Stephanie blinked with confusion as she headed towards the trees. "Aren't durian trees supposed to grow around Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Thailand?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Captain asked.
"Well," Stephanie began as she stopped walking. "Durian trees need a lot of enrichment from sunlight, water, and room to grow, and it takes years for them to grow."
She mentioned the tree with one hand, finishing, "But how can a durian tree grow here with others and stay perfectly fine?"
Something snapped that caused the group to perk up, watching a durian fall from the tree at full speed and land on the ground with a solid but hard THUMP!
The durian stayed there from where it landed with the others, and Stephanie added with a slight wince, "Oh, that's why no one gets underneath them, too."
Patches looked around from standing on Stephanie's head before gently patting her cheek and saying, "What's that tree over there?"
Stephanie looked at Patches after she asked and said, walking away from the durian tree, "Oh, that's a lemon tree! I never saw one bloom like that before."
"Really?" Patches asked, looking down at Stephanie's face. "What is the fruit like over where you are?"
"In Shining Time," Stephanie explained. "In my hometown, before getting into Sodor, the fruit is usually either not ripe, bruised, or not good overall. Then, when I arrived in Sodor, I never attempted the fruit because of my experience."
"That's bad!" Patches remarked, and Stephanie nodded. "What about the beautiful flowers and such, like that one?"
Patches pointed towards a bush filled with blue roses, and Stephanie perked up, approached the bush of roses, and responded, "No, not like this either. Most of the things from Shining Time are usually dead."
"Wow, your world sounds dull," Patches remarked as Stephanie looked around curiously at the plants and growing vegetables.
"Yep," Stephanie nodded with a somewhat tired sigh. "That's why I want to stay on Sodor rather than Shining Time."
Radar took a moment to scan the perimeter with his scanning ability as Stephanie stood back in the area where she was, listening to the beeping noises before the screen beeped green.
"All good!" Radar gives the thumbs up to Stephanie. "There are no signs of any life forms around here, which seemed strange."
"Then it is a garden dimension," Stephanie shrugged, pulling out her notebook with a mechanical pencil. "How interesting."
She paused a little when she returned to the page about the Toy Room Dimension and muttered, "Right, I forgot to finish that page."
Stephanie discovered a bench and sat down carefully, sitting comfortably as she began to quickly draw out the sketch of a map of the toy city, even finishing writing what she had discovered.
As she was doing that, Patches noticed something around her neck and picked it up with her tail, which brought out the Dust Whistle from inside, causing Stephanie to perk up.
"What's this around your neck, Stephanie?" Captain asked, mentioning the whistle around her neck.
"Oh, it's a Dust Whistle," Stephanie explained. "It allows me to control different kinds of Dusts from Sodor and use them for helping others and myself."
"What does the Dust look like?" Patches asked, removing her tail from the whistle's necklace.
Stephanie drew a magic circle and reached inside, taking out a notebook, and she closed the one on her lap as she had already finished writing and drawing the map.
She opened the journal and showed the first Dust Crystal, Gold Dust, the main source of Sodor, and allowed the group to read the page.
Stephanie carefully removed the other journal from underneath the second journal and returned to drawing and writing, allowing the toys to read her second journal.
Her writing reads:
The Garden Dimension:
A very massive area filled with millions of trees, bushes, ferns, and so much more that it looked like the world's largest garden on planet Earth.
It is filled with various fruits, vegetables, and herbs that beat out a typical grocery store.
Sometimes the sky is filled with clouds, which can occasionally rain to water the garden.
I haven't tried any fruits yet because I'm unsure about trying them after having bad experiences with fruit myself.
But I will try them out to see their taste because the smell is enticing.
Note: Don't walk underneath the durian tree because the fruits are dangerous and will crack open a skull if you attempt to stay underneath.
Stephanie started drawing before finishing, closed her book, and noticed the group was still looking through her book of Dust Crystals.
Being patient, Stephanie waited as she looked at the trees, wondering which one she would try since they all looked good.
But her eyes went to a peach that piqued her interest, and Stephanie thought of how to get that peach… however, she was stuck because she did not want to move and interrupt the toys.
Remembering her circle ability, Stephanie remembered how she managed to get things without moving or reaching into her bag.
What about practicing reaching for an item that is just miles away?
It may be challenging, but it is something worth trying to practice.
Focusing on her magic, Stephanie drew a circle in front of her and looked over at the peach tree, seeing a circle halfway drawn before it shattered.
Trying again, Stephanie focused and drew a circle in front of her, looking over as the same circle drew underneath one of the peaches, stopping halfway but completing it and opening up to the peach she was thinking of.
Stephanie perked up with amazement after opening a small portal, gingerly putting her arm through it and watching her hand go through it and touch the peach.
She smiled with pride, gripped the peach, and tugged it once, snapping it off the branch and, in her hand, out of the portal too.
After holding onto the peach in her hand, Stephanie drew another circle, which was blue, and put the peach through it, watching it go inside before popping out from the bottom, completely soaked.
After using different kinds of circle magic, Stephanie perked up with amazement and looked at the washed peach.
She was hesitant to eat the peach because of her thoughts about her experiences with eating fruits and other foods before, always on the verge of vomiting or, worse, feeling like something was hurting her stomach.
But she plucked the peach from the tree, so it would be wasteful if she left it behind without eating it.
So Stephanie prepared herself and carefully sunk her teeth into the peach, feeling the juices trickle down her chin as she turned her head away from the toys to keep them dry.
At first, Stephanie thought her body would reject the food on her tongue, still hesitant about swallowing, but… the peach suddenly had a sweet taste that caused her to perk up with curiosity.
She thoughtfully chewed the fruit chunk in her mouth, getting more of the flavor across her tongue before slowly swallowing, now feeling bewildered.
Stephanie took another bite and did the same thing, slowly enjoying the taste across her tongue and, for the first time, starting to love the fruit in her hand.
She continued eating the peach in her hand and took out a napkin to wipe the juice off her hand and her bottom jaw, soon reaching the pit and eating around it.
Stephanie finished the peach and looked around before looking at the peach pit in her hand with curiosity.
There are no wastebaskets around, so Stephanie decided to save this for later to plant after the toys were finished reading her journal, seeing they had reached the final page.
"Stephanie," Cadet spoke, and Stephanie responded with a "Hmm?" "Are all these Dust Crystals littered all around Sodor?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "The map you saw has sticky notes of where I have discovered the Dust Crystals so I can collect more."
"You do gem-hunting all by yourself?" Captain asked.
Stephanie nodded and explained, "Since Sir Topham Hatt is the controller of his line and his friends, I have to travel to get the Dusts by myself."
"But isn't it dangerous for a child?" Ace asked.
"No," Stephanie said, shaking her head. "I know how to handle myself and fight, too. I'm not a toddler anymore."
The group looked confused after Stephanie responded and closed the journal, allowing Stephanie to pick it up and place it into her sweater's pocket, along with the one she had written.
"Where are we headin' now?" D.J. asked as Stephanie scooped the group up and allowed them to climb onto her arms and back into where they were.
"To another dimension," Stephanie responded. "I'll come back here some other time whenever I want something healthy."
Stephanie flicked her wrist, and it transformed into an ink pen, and Stephanie started drawing another door, doing the same thing.
Once it was completed, Stephanie tapped on the drawn door, and it turned solid, and Stephanie turned the door knob.
Stephanie stepped through and entered somewhere bright, causing Stephanie to lift one of her arms up and step inside.
Her shoe suddenly sank into something soft and emitted a faint crunch noise that caused her to flinch when her foot sank.
Looking down, she realized she had stepped into the sand, and feeling curious, Stephanie stepped in further and saw that the area she stepped into was a gigantic beach with crystal clear water and perfect white sand.
"Oh, wow!" Stephanie remarked with a smile. "It's a beach!"
Patches instantly got excited and started climbing down Stephanie's shoulders, causing Stephanie to kneel as everyone stepped off.
"It's so peaceful here!" Patches remarked, feeling the sand underneath their paws.
Stephanie instantly headed towards the ocean and stopped at the ledge, looking out in the distance as it went on for miles and miles.
"I don't see any islands either," Stephanie remarked as she used her hands to cover her eyes slightly to squint.
Radar began his scan while everyone looked around, seeing multiple palm trees with greenery and rocks.
He waited for a while before the screen beeped green, showing the area where they were, but there were multiple life forms around.
Radar perked up after seeing the lifeforms and looked, seeing Stephanie go into the water, and he flinched, exclaiming, "Uh, Stephanie?"
Meanwhile, Stephanie had transformed into her half-fish form and was swimming underwater, seeing multiple rocks around, looking like something to swim underneath for adventure.
Her excitement and curiosity grew as she started swimming further underwater, going underneath the rocks and looking through them.
They looked like a maze, and Stephanie started to go through them, sometimes going into corners so she would make a donut and head in the other direction.
The rocks were all made naturally by the ocean's waves, and Stephanie continued swimming through them, even getting through some of the smaller spaces with ease.
While exiting the rock maze, Stephanie suddenly stopped swimming when she saw what looked like a bluefin tuna swimming toward her.
Stephanie cocked her head in confusion after seeing the bluefin tuna appear suddenly, thinking it was strange for a fish to suddenly be here in the Ocean Dimension.
…Yet again, this is the Ocean Dimension, so different fish could roam around the seas.
A face of realization appeared after she realized there would be dangerous sea animals around too!
A sudden form appeared from a distance, and Stephanie instantly stopped swimming, looking around the ocean worriedly for anything that could be swimming toward her.
Stephanie's eyes glazed over something large swimming, and she looked back, flinching when she saw what looked like a great white shark!
She became worried as the great white shark approached her, almost like it noticed her, and Stephanie prepared herself for what was to come.
As Stephanie watched anxiously, the great white shark soon approached her and started to circle around her, almost curious about her.
Her ears were hurting a little, and Stephanie reached up with her hands, wondering why they were hurting, as she rubbed the back of them.
Her hearing went out, and Stephanie became more confused, removing her hands as her hearing suddenly came back to her but hearing what sounded like someone speaking.
"What is this gigantic fish?" the voice mumbled. "It looks like one of those koi fishes."
"Hey!" Stephanie exclaimed with a blush. "I'm not a koi fish!"
The great white shark suddenly flinched after Stephanie spoke and stopped before her, staring back at her as if confused.
"Did you say something?" the great white shark asked, cocking its head.
Stephanie's eyes popped wide after the great white shark asked and stammered, "Y-You can talk!"
"Holy sh-" the great white shark almost cursed but stopped after noticing she looked young. "Cow."
Stephanie paused, reaching up to her ears and gently rubbing them, shaking her head as she muttered, "I have to be hearing things!"
"I don't have ears, and I can't believe what I'm hearing either!" The great white shark nodded. "How are you doing that?"
"I don't know," Stephanie responded. "First, it was Notches speaking, and I thought that was normal because of the Zodiac Pocket Watch, but then you started speaking, and things didn't make any sense."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, koi fish!" The great white shark exclaimed. "What's a 'Zodiac Pocket Watch?' You sound like you walked on land."
"That's because I am a human," Stephanie responded. "Whenever I walk into the water, I transform into my half-fish form."
"YOU WHAT?!" the great white shark exclaimed. "Nuh-uh, that's not true!"
Stephanie gives the great white shark an 'Oh, really?' expression before swimming over to one of the rocks as the great white shark follows.
She gingerly climbed onto the rock as the great white shark poked its head out of the water, watching her as she sat on top.
As she was out of the water, her scales disappeared into her clothes, and Stephanie shook her hair out of her face, showing her 'human' appearance as the great white shark's jaw dropped.
"Now, do you believe me?" Stephanie asked before jumping into the water and transforming back.
"Yeah, now I do." The great white shark nodded. "How are you able to do that?"
"I was born with this ability," Stephanie explained. "Like how you were born to have a bite force of over four thousand pounds per square inch."
"Ddddaaaannnngggg!" the great white shark exclaimed. "I didn't know I could bite that much!"
"Yep," Stephanie nodded.
"Huh," the great white shark remarked. "So what are you called?"
"Excuse me?" Stephanie asked.
"Are you a koi fish or some kind of blue fish?" the great white shark asked. "Some sea animals around here have names like sea lions and sea urchins."
"Oh!" Stephanie exclaimed. "I actually don't have a name while in this form, but I have a name I was born with."
"And the name?" the great white shark asked.
"Stephanie," Stephanie responded. "Stephanie Allen."
Stephanie swore she saw the great white shark 'blink' after Stephanie told it her name and muttered, "Humans have names?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "Each human has different names and nationalities."
"Weird," the great white shark remarked. "So, what are humans like from up there?"
The great white shark mentioned the water's surface, and Stephanie shrugged as she began swimming on her back, responding as the great white shark followed, "It's either great or hard. Some humans are great, even helping sea life and other creatures alike. Others," Stephanie paused. "Others can hurt you in different ways you can never imagine."
"They can hunt down other humans?" the great white shark asked.
Stephanie winced after the great white shark asked and responded, "They're the most dangerous creatures on planet Earth. Sure, you can be dangerous because you are curious and confused," the great white shark dipped its head down slightly in shame.
"But humans do more damage to anything they come across." Stephanie continued as she swam. "Like water, they dump chemicals and crap inside that hurt sea animals. Forests? They cut down the trees to make useless buildings and endanger animals. Anywhere they go, they leave behind destruction. But there is hope amid the recklessness. Many people see and fix the damage, spreading tips on how to help planet Earth by cleaning up and switching to a healthier opinion."
"Just like that?" the great white shark asked.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded before shrugging. "I don't usually pay much attention to humans because, with all the shtick I've been hearing and encountering, it sounded a lot like stupidity."
"With everything about 'saving the planet' or human stupidity?" The great white shark asked.
"Eh, it depends, but stupidity is something I hate." Stephanie shrugged as she flipped onto her front. "There are good moments about saving the planet and healthier opinions, but sometimes that message can be twisted too much through people's opinions. So it's usually around the gray area with humans."
"What about you?" the great white shark asked. "You're human too, aren't you? What about your thoughts and such?"
Stephanie paused a little after the great white shark asked and responded, "I am a hundred percent into helping planet Earth, but I never want to be stupid and join the crazy bunch. As George Carlin said, 'Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups,' and 'Think of how stupid the average person is and realize… half the people are stupider than that!'"
"Amen!" the great white shark nodded. "This George Carlin sounds like someone who speaks of truth."
"He does!" Stephanie nodded. "He speaks of cold, hard truths about stupidity and politics and even was brave enough to snark about how many idiots we had too."
Then she paused, turned to the great white shark, and asked, "What about you? What's your opinion about humans or about your friends?"
"Well, like you, we have a bunch of idiots, too." The great white shark nodded. "Mainly, my kind mistook humans for seals and such. Then there were orcas attacking seals for no reason, dolphins bullying others for differences, and-dang, there's a lot screwed up down here!"
"And you just realized that?" Stephanie asked with a slight smirk.
"Hey, I'm not a goldfish!" The great white shark growled, turning to her as she laughed.
Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and looked over, seeing it was a sea turtle, but with something wrapped around the neck and right fin.
"Aw!" Stephanie softly awed and started swimming towards the sea turtle. "Poor sea turtle!"
The great white shark turned after hearing Stephanie's remark and saw the sea turtle as it was trying to swim away from Stephanie.
"Easy, easy, easy," Stephanie gently assured, trying to calm the sea turtle as she tried reaching it. "Calm down."
The sea turtle did not listen to Stephanie, and she grabbed it with her hands, holding it as it struggled to swim away from Stephanie.
"Want me to hold it?" the great white shark asked, and the sea turtle saw the great white shark.
The sea turtle flinched and immediately froze, staring back at the great white shark with fear as Stephanie took the sea turtle over to a rock and sat down.
"I think that worked," Stephanie remarked as the sea turtle was on her lap.
Using her claws, Stephanie gingerly started to snap the garbage wrapped around the sea turtle's neck off, even using her magic to disintegrate the trash into nothing.
The sea turtle moved its neck around and even its fin after Stephanie removed the garbage wrapped around its neck and fin, eventually swimming off Stephanie's lap.
"There you go," Stephanie softly cooed as she watched the sea turtle swim off her lap. "You're free from the garbage."
She perked up when another fish swam up to Stephanie, having what looked like a lid stuck around its body and struggling a little.
Stephanie used her claw and gingerly sliced the piece of garbage from its body, using her powers again to disintegrate the lid into nothing, and the fish swam off.
Then more started to appear, and Stephanie slowly started to free each one from the garbage covering their bodies, and for some of them, she had to reach into their mouths to get hooks out from inside that were from fishing.
Bigger fish slowly started appearing as Stephanie helped them get the garbage off them, sometimes feeling uneasy when dangerous ones appeared.
But none attacked Stephanie's curiosity, and even the bigger ones, bigger than the great white shark, did not charge forward to eat him either.
Strangely, the sea life even started talking whenever they came near Stephanie, sometimes talking to each other about their adventures or towards Stephanie.
Sometimes snarking about humans' disgusting ways, Stephanie agrees with how awful humans are as they recklessly discard sharks for their fins, destroy oceans, and spill chemicals into them.
Even huffing that they are destroying the only thing they were truly 'born' from initially startled all sea life, which started with Stephanie explaining human history to all sea life while helping them be free from the garbage.
This tossed all sea animals into a rabbit hole as Stephanie explained everything about humans, still dumbfounded at how humans were born from the ocean and then went back to destroying it?
Well, it was because of human stupidity or greed that fills human hearts, as Stephanie would put it, or simply because 'they don't care.'
But she gave them hope, as humans are willing to fix what others have done, creating useful machines that would clean out the water and even help sea life by mending injuries and removing garbage tied around them.
It confused sea life with how willing humans are to repair their mistakes, asking why they volunteered to do what others did.
But Stephanie calmly told them that humans are complicated mammals, as they have their own opinions that could be either good or evil, and how they view others depends on how they were taught, never raised.
Just like how they were taught how to kill, consume, multiply, and conquer by their peers, humans were taught the same by others to do the same, endangering each other without knowing it until it was too late.
Stephanie was just about to finish mending another sea animal when all the fish swam backward, causing Stephanie to look confused.
"What's wrong?" Stephanie asked, speaking to all the fish.
Even the great white shark did not get close to Stephanie either, and she looked confused before hearing a low noise that perked her attention.
She looked at what caused that noise and saw a gigantic shadow shape in the distance, which startled Stephanie.
Suddenly, a gigantic whale appeared before Stephanie, having a hook stuck on the side and looking pretty damaged, giving small, pained bellows as it headed towards Stephanie.
Stephanie felt the pain coming from the whale itself, seeing all the scars and the hooks stuck to its body, and she looked down at her body before looking back at the whale.
As if she knew what that pain felt like.
She began to swim towards the whale as the sea animals watched from a safe distance, and Stephanie investigated the injuries across the whale's body.
Stephanie looked at one of the hooks and nodded, knowing what she would do and how to remove these bothersome hooks from the whale's body.
She gripped the sharp tip of the hook and, with all her might, crushed the sharp tip of the hook and removed her hands before starting to smooth out the metal.
Once it was smoothed out and blunted, Stephanie carefully removed the hook from the whale's body and drew a circle, putting it through as it dropped into her pocket dimension.
The whale was bleeding slightly when the hook was removed, and Stephanie moved on to the next move, focusing on her powers as the water swirled around the injury, slowly starting to heal.
Stephanie watched as the water swirled around the hole before removing it, leaving behind only two scar dots where the hook's injury used to be.
Seeing her newfound power, Stephanie swam to the next hook, smoothed out the sharp tip, removed the hook, and placed it into her pocket dimension, healing the whale's injury.
The whale was slowly swimming as Stephanie swam around its body, healing the injuries and removing what was bothering it.
She repeated the same process until the last hook was removed and the injury healed before swimming over to the whale's eye.
"There you go." Stephanie softly smiled, patting the whale's side as she stared into the eye. "You're all healed, and the hooks have been removed."
The whale made a happy noise after Stephanie told it before moving to the side as more appeared, covered with the same injuries, and some were wrapped in nets.
Stephanie reached up to her necklace and took her Zodiac Pocket Watch in her hand, opening it as she turned the pocket watch's arms to the Gemini Zodiac.
She pressed the crown and transformed into her Gemini form, splitting into multiples of herself as they started to help the pod of whales.
Each of them had the same facial mold, but their scales either had a light blue or a deep blue color as they helped remove the hooks and nets, even healing injuries littered all over their bodies.
The first whale watched as their family members were being healed from their injuries and removed from their hooks, joining with the first as it made happy noises.
Soon, the last item was removed from the last whale's body and joined with the herd as the Stephanie fused back into one, removed the collar around their neck, and transformed into a pocket watch on a necklace with the Dust Whistle.
The whales all made calls toward Stephanie as if telling her, 'Thank you for helping us be free from what is bothering us.'
Stephanie smiled after hearing the whale's calls, feeling proud for helping them as she watched them swim away into the distance.
A phone call suddenly snapped Stephanie out of her stare, and she looked around before noticing where it was coming from.
So Stephanie drew a circle and reached inside, taking out her phone as it was ringing, and sheathing her claws, tapping the green button.
"Hello?" Stephanie responded, putting the phone near her ear.
"Where are you, Stephanie?!" Cadet exclaimed, causing Stephanie to wince as she removed the phone from her ear.
"I'm underwater," Stephanie responded as a seal swam near her and gently nuzzled her left hand. "I saved a lot of sea animals from being covered in garbage, and-" she turned her attention to the seal and said, chuckling, "Yes, I know you want to be petted, but I'm on the phone now."
"Who are you talking to?" Captain asked.
"A seal," Stephanie responded as another poked her middle. "Since I have saved them from garbage, they are awfully docile towards me."
"How docile?" Radar asked as the great white shark swam towards them and gently snapped its jaws to move the seals away.
"Docile enough that a great white shark is swimming around me," Stephanie responded, swimming back a little as the great white shark huffed.
"WHAT?!" all the toys exclaimed.
"Yep, my reaction too." Stephanie nodded as the great white shark circled around her as a silent warning to the seals not to bother her.
"Okay, be careful, Stephanie!" Spyglasses warned. "Not all sea animals are always docile! Some are dangerous if you get too close to them or have someone with you!"
"I know, I know." Stephanie nodded as she looked over at the great white shark. "I am being as careful as I can be."
"Good." Captain nodded. "How long until you can reach back to land?"
"I can get there," Stephanie responded as she looked around, pausing a little. "If I could know where the island is."
"Wait, are you lost?" Patches asked.
"Seems like it," Stephanie nodded. "But don't worry! I'll get there whenever I can."
"Be careful swimming down there, Stephanie," Captain exclaimed. "It's always not rainbows and sunshine."
Stephanie chuckled as she rolled her eyes before hanging up and putting the phone back into the circle she opened as it disappeared.
"So you're lost?" the great white shark asked.
"Yep," Stephanie nodded with a sigh. "I must've been underwater too long to notice they were all waiting for me."
"Friends?" the great white shark asked.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "From another dimension."
"Ah, one of your powers?" the great white shark asked.
Stephanie nodded again as she was swimming before two sea turtles appeared before her, and one of them, a male sea turtle, said, "We know where the island is! It's where we usually go to sunbathe!"
"Hold on to our shells!" the female sea turtle nodded. "We can take you to the island."
Stephanie smiled as she gripped the sea turtle's shells carefully as they started swimming forward, and they started talking to each other while Stephanie listened to their conversations.
They talked about the East Australian Current that goes through the ocean and can help take you places, and Stephanie was curious about the East Australian Current.
They remarked that the East Australian Current was fun, as multiple sea animals take rides on their shells to get from one place to another.
Stephanie was curious about the current itself, wanting to ride through it to reach another destination, but decided to wait another time as she knew she was taking the toys too long.
They soon arrived at the island, and the sea turtles stopped swimming as Stephanie swam towards the island and reached the shore, stepping onto the land as she slowly transformed back to normal as she dried.
"Young lady, you gave me a heart attack!" Captain scolded Stephanie as she blushed with sheepishness. "You didn't stop when Radar called you!"
"I'm sorry," Stephanie apologized as she bowed towards them. "I got too excited to listen to Radar and dove into the water."
"Well, I understand you were excited," Captain nodded. "But keep in check with your excitement and listen to others before jumping headfirst into the unknown, as danger lurks."
"Like that?" Patches asked, pointing at something in the distance, and everyone looked.
There was a great white shark's head poking out of the water and staring at Stephanie and the group.
"Oh!" Stephanie perked. "I'm heading off! It was nice meeting you!"
The great white shark splashed after Stephanie called it before turning around and heading back into the ocean as the toys watched with their jaws slack.
"See?" Stephanie responded, looking down at the toys. "Docile."
"Well," Captain spoke, sounding a little surprised. "I now believe in what you said, but…" he paused slightly. "Be careful."
Stephanie nodded as she bent down to the group, allowing them to climb onto her shoulders, and Patches said, "Aw, I can't climb onto your head. Your hair is wet!"
"Well," Stephanie smiled. "You can climb into my sweater's pockets if you want."
Patches looked down at her sweater's pockets and sighed as she climbed towards them, muttering, "They're no fun."
"I know they are not fun." Stephanie nodded to the pouting stuffed dragon. "But you don't want to get yourself wet from my hair and smell like the sea."
"True." Patches nodded with a slight huff. "How long does your hair take to dry?"
"About an hour or two," Stephanie responded, flicking her wrist as it transformed into an ink pen. "I have thick hair."
Patches' cheeks puffed again with pouting as Stephanie finished drawing the door and tapped it to turn it solid before opening it once it was finished.
The door led to a dark and somewhat cold area, causing her to squint a little as she stepped inside and closed it, sealing themselves into darkness.
"What's this place?" Cadet asked before turning to Radar. "Radar, scan the area."
Radar nodded and pressed a few buttons as his antenna started scanning, and after a few minutes passed, a red beep came from the devices.
"There are no reports," Radar responded. "It seemed like this place was covered with minerals blocking my radar's waves."
Stephanie moved her left arm outward carefully and felt the wall, noticing it felt like a rock against her palm and was somewhat jagged.
She could see in the dark, but the walls were too dark to see what kind of rock it could be.
"It looks like we entered some sort of cave," Stephanie remarked as she removed her hand from the rock wall. "Let's see where this cave ends up."
Stephanie began to carefully walk through the darkness with her left hand back on the cave's wall, knowing that since everything was black, she could not see much in the dark, but using the walls would help navigate.
As Stephanie walked through the darkness, something was watching her from the darkness in the background, staring at her with red and pinprick pupils.
The toy horse sensed something in the darkness and gave a small whinny, causing Stephanie to stop walking and look down, softly asking, "What? What's wrong?"
She looked around as the pair of eyes disappeared into the darkness, and Stephanie looked back at the toy horse, seeing that it was a little shaken.
"Shh," Stephanie softly shushed as she gently brushed the mane. "It's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of."
The toy horse nickered a little as Stephanie continued petting its mane as it slowly calmed down, curling a little in Stephanie's arm as she continued walking and felt the wall with her left hand.
She spent a few minutes walking through the hallway when her hand brushed against something that caused Stephanie to perk up.
It felt like a part of the rock wall but had an almost smooth texture that differed from the rest.
"What's wrong, Steph?" Cadet asked after Stephanie stopped walking.
"I feel something," Stephanie responded before flicking her wrist as it transformed into a staff. "Lux."
The crystal on her staff glowed a light ocean blue color as it showed the inside of the cave, which looked like someone had drilled themselves through, and the walls were coated with scratches that indicated someone was drilling.
Stephanie hummed softly with curiosity and continued walking through the hallway, stepping over some debris on the ground and going deeper.
She turned around the corner and heard what sounded like someone was mining, causing Stephanie to become curious as she stepped forward more.
Suddenly, she came across the tunnel exit, seeing a faint glow, and Stephanie flicked her staff, saying, "Nox," turning off her light.
Stephanie stepped out of the tunnel and entered a majestic area filled with millions of glowing crystals of different colors and railcars moving to and fro, either with the same crystals or other minerals inside.
"Wow!" Stephanie beamed as her eyes glittered with amazement and wonder, even seeing stalagmites and stalactites. "We must've entered a mining dimension!"
A loud siren went through the air, and Stephanie winced, instantly covering her ears in pain from the loud sound as her ears flicked up and down.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" a voice shouted before a loud BOOM happened in the distance that shook the whole place, causing Stephanie to yelp as she collapsed on her bottom.
A dark gray cloud of smoke came out from one of the tunnels above as the siren turned off, causing Stephanie to look as she watched the dust clear.
Cheers and whooping came from the tunnel as Stephanie listened, noticing that those noises sounded like people cheering.
"That was one helluva boom!" a southern voice shouted from the tunnel.
Stephanie's ears stung a little as she gingerly rubbed them with her fingertips before a gruff voice asked behind her, "Excuse meh, little missy?"
She flinched and turned around, seeing it was a tall man with a full beard, a somewhat pale complexion, and wearing a miner's uniform, which is overalls, steel-toe boots, long-sleeve button-up shirt, and covered with grime.
"What are ya doin' he-yah?" The miner asked before pausing and asking, "How didja git down he-yah en the first place?"
"I can show you, mister!" Stephanie smiled, although she was a little nervous because of how big this man was compared to her. "Do you have a door I could borrow or an area clear of rubble?"
"Yeah, Aah do," the miner nodded. "Follow meh."
Stephanie followed the miner through the area as drilling noises, clinking, and other mining-like noises echoed through the place with distant rumbles that shook the floor.
They arrived at what looked like a cabin, and the miner opened the door, allowing Stephanie to step inside, and the miner followed behind.
The inside of the cabin looked like a small office with someone at the desk, also wearing a miner's uniform but elderly and almost thin.
"Hey, Papa Smurf," the miner said, and the elderly miner turned his attention from the pages to the man. "We have someone new that suddenly appeared en ow-wah main room."
"We do?" the elderly miner, named 'Papa Smurf,' asked, speaking the same southern accent before noticing Stephanie, who smiled shyly and waved hello. "Who are ya?"
"I'm Stephanie," Stephanie responded with a nervous smile. "And," she moved her hair, showing the others and Patches, who hid after hearing the explosion, "These are my friends."
Papa Smurf looked surprised after seeing the moving sentient toys as she turned back around and reached up to Patches, gently stroking her chin as she curled around her neck.
"And I arrived like this." Stephanie approached the cabin door and opened it, showing the main room of Hatt Manor. "It's a little ability of mine."
The two miners' eyes popped wide after Stephanie opened the door to Hatt Manor's main room, and the toys looked surprised to see the mansion's interior.
"Now Aah've seen things," Papa Smurf remarked as Stephanie listened to him. "Ya have abilities to open random doors 'n teleport yourself to different places."
"Exactly!" Stephanie nodded, closing the door before opening it slightly to show the outside of the cabin with the mining noises. "It works with whatever pops into my mind, usually randomly, whenever I don't think of anything."
She then turned her attention to Papa Smurf, explaining, "But I can't leave doors open for too long, or else something would escape into the world I was in. If I opened the door to a bug world and left the door open here, a bug or a horde would enter."
Papa Smurf hummed a little after Stephanie explained to him and asked, "How long have ya bin' doin' this?"
"I think about a week or two ago?" Stephanie shrugged. "I accidentally discovered my ability when I heard a strange knocking and opened the door to a Shadow Realm. Since then, I've been using it for a while but have been practicing."
She mentioned to the toys on her shoulders and in her hood, "I first went into a Toy Room Dimension where sentient toys live, and now here is the Mining Dimension."
"'N that room was your main world?" Papa Smurf asked.
"Exactly!" Stephanie smiled. "It's called Sodor, and the house I open the door to is called Hatt Manor."
"'n ya are travelin' through dimensions as a practice, right?" Papa Smurf asked.
"Yes, sir." Stephanie nodded. "And I want to look around here to see what lies around this dimension."
She took out her journal from inside her sweater's pocket and showed the journal to Papa Smurf, continuing, "I have a lot to write in my new journal!"
"Okay, okay," Papa Smurf chuckled, calming Stephanie's excitement. "Ya can look around. Just be careful where ya are steppin' beh-cuz they-yur are loose rocks, explosions, 'n other things around he-yah."
Stephanie looked confused after Papa Smurf warned her if she was traveling around the mine and asked, "What 'other things?'"
"They-yur has bin' some weird 'paranormal' things happenin' he-yah since we opened one of the tunnels," the miner explained to her. "From things startin' up en the middle of the night to machines not workin' 'n, worst of all, minerals dryin' up suddenly."
"Like that?" Stephanie asked. "You work on a tunnel, things happen, and then the minerals dry up and repeat?"
"Yep," Papa Smurf nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It has bin' lak that fo-wah fourteen years."
Stephanie looked thoughtful before asking, "Hey, why don't I look at what is causing everything?"
"Ya want to see what's causin' it?" the miner asked.
"Yes, sir." Stephanie nodded. "I am very talented with the supernatural and can help fix your problem."
Papa Smurf paused after Stephanie explained, responding slowly, "Aah don't know. It's dangerous around he-yah fo-wah a little missy lak ya, but if ya are certain to fix what is happenin' he-yah, go fo-wah it."
"Thank you," Stephanie thanked before looking at the others. "Do you mind if I allow my friends to stay here for their protection?"
"Sure." Papa Smurf nodded.
Stephanie first placed the toy horse down and went to the others, placing them on a separate table, and Patches told Stephanie, "Be careful Steph."
"Don't worry," Stephanie assured as she patted Patches' head. "I will be okay."
After patting Patches' head, Stephanie opened the door and exited the cabin, with the miner following her.
"Oh, I didn't get to know your name," Stephanie perked, turning to the miner.
"Mah name is Big Man." The miner, Big Man, smiled. "I'll show ya where the tunnel we started at is."
"Thank you, Big Man." Stephanie thanked him as she followed Big Man.
She followed deeper and deeper into the cave, away from the cabin and towards the right, hearing what sounded like engine noises.
"This is where the biggest machine resides he-yah," Big Man explained. "We use it sometimes to git further underground to spread out, but it's now damaged beh-cuz of somethin' 'n Fix-It is still tryin' to fix it."
Stephanie comes across a massive drilling machine, looking at it up and down as she looks like a small blue speck compared to the drill.
"Holy crap, it's huge!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Who built this thing?!"
"Papa Smurf's ancestor, Gray Beard, built the Huge F-ing Drill," Big Man explained. "He's the one who started this whole company, 'n Papa Smurf has bin' keepin' up with his father's business, lak his father be-fo-wah him."
"Wow!" Stephanie remarked with amazement as she saw someone working on the machine. "Is that Fix-It?"
"Yep, that's them." Big Man nodded before cupping his gloved hands over his mouth and bellowing, "Hey, Fix-It!"
A head popped over the top of the drill's operating room, and Big Man called, "Is the H.F.D. finished yet?"
"Nope, not yet!" a southern female shouted back. "It still has some wires missin' 'n someone took out one of the gears too!"
"Again?!" Big Man shouted. "How many times has it happened about now?"
"Aah don't know!" Fix-It exclaimed. "It's bin' happenin' a lot Aah rarely keep track of it anymore!"
"Huh," Stephanie gently remarked after Big Man called Fix-It. "It's not only working on other devices. It's even working on the H.F.D."
Big Man headed to the left, and Stephanie followed, soon arriving at a dark tunnel with a single cone in front with a sign on top reading, "DO NOT ENTER!"
"Okay, he-yah's the tunnel," Big Man told Stephanie before shuddering when he looked into the tunnel. "It's givin' meh the creeps whenever aah look at it."
Stephanie flicked her wrist, and it transformed into a staff, surprising Big Man as she said, "Lux."
The crystal glowed after she said the spell, showing the tunnel inside, which was still dark from the crystal's glow.
"How deep is this tunnel?" Stephanie asked, looking over at Big Man.
"About a few feet or more," Big Man explained, rubbing a hand behind his head underneath his helmet. "It's been long since we've traveled into the tunnel."
"Hmm," Stephanie hummed, glancing back at the tunnel before turning her light off after saying, "Nox."
She transformed her staff into a wand and looked at her clothes, gently tugging on her sweater as she looked at herself.
"Okay, I need to think before traveling because my style is not right." Stephanie sighed, giving a brief glance at the camera.
Then she looked at her wand, and an idea popped into her head, and she decided to make a spell to help with her clothing style.
"Mutatio." Stephanie tapped her clothes and watched as her sweater, infused with her shirt, slowly transformed into a blue tight-sleeved shirt.
Her pants were infused and transformed into overalls with a pocket on the front, connecting each other over her shoulders over her blue shirt, and her shoes' pink and white faded into a brown color and into steel-toe shoes.
Stephanie's bracelet and Dust Whistle stayed the same, eventually stopping when the transformation ended, showing Stephanie wearing an identical miner's uniform.
But instead of a button-up shirt, she was wearing a tight, long-sleeve, flexible shirt with dark blue overall jeans and brown steel-toe boots.
In her hands was a dark blue helmet with a light attached to it, and she smiled, putting the helmet on her head before turning to a surprised Big Man.
"Part of the magic." Stephanie smiled at Big Man before reaching up to her helmet and turning the light on. "Okay, I'm heading in."
Stephanie stepped around the cone and into the darkness as Big Man called, "Be careful en they-yur!"
She gave him a small wave of understanding as she continued further into the darkness, the light of her headdress lighting her way.
The darkness of the hallway sent shudders down Stephanie's spine, but Stephanie continued marching forward, listening to the sounds as her ears tuned to the noises.
The faint noises of explosions, rumbling, clattering, and clinks muffled through the earth as Stephanie headed further and further into the darkness.
As Stephanie headed further and further into the darkness, the air was becoming colder and colder as she shuddered, feeling goosebumps rising on her skin.
Suddenly, Stephanie paused when she saw something moving in the darkness and squinted, adjusting her eyes to what she saw before her.
She wanted to reach up to her light to turn it off to see what it could be, but the shadow moved away from her, which caused her to gasp.
So Stephanie began walking again and followed where she saw the shadow, traveling further in the tunnel as the shadow continued moving forward.
The shadow disappeared before her, and Stephanie screeched to a halt, accidentally crashing into something in front of her, causing her to topple backward and land roughly on her bottom.
"Ow!" Stephanie winced, rubbing her nose bridge as she looked at what she bumped into.
It was a massive wall, but it looked different from the stones she had encountered around the caves as Stephanie gingerly stood up.
The wall was a lighter color than the rocks, and it was strange that this wall looked so much different from the others.
She stepped close to the wall and was about to touch it out of curiosity about what kind of stone it was made of when her bracelet suddenly glowed and emitted a sharp zap on her wrist.
"Ow!" Stephanie winced, yanking her hand from the stone wall and rubbing her wrist, glaring at the bracelet. "What is wrong with you?! That hurt!"
The crystal glowed, and something glowed in front of her, causing her to look at what glowed, seeing Viking runes appear on the wall.
"Wow," Stephanie remarked before looking down at her bracelet as it transformed into a panjas bracelet with the gemstone in the palm of her hand.
Stephanie looked back up at the pillar of Viking runes and lifted her right hand towards it, watching them glow more in the same color as her gemstone's glow as they appeared when she raised her hand.
The runes read:
ᛏᚺᛁᛋ ᛈᛚᚨᚲᛖ ᛁᛋ ᛟᚾᛚᚤ ᚠᛟᚱ ᛏᚺᛟᛋᛖ ᚹᛁᛏᚺ ᚱᛟᚤᚨᛚ ᛒᛚᛟᛟᛞ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛏᚺᛟᛋᛖ ᚹᚺᛟ ᚲᚨᚾ ᚲᚱᛟᛋᛋ ᛁᚠ ᛏᚺᛖᚤ ᛋᛈᛖᚨᚴ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚾᚨᛗᛖ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚴᛁᚾᚷ ᛒᚢᚱᛁᛖᛞ ᚺᛖᚱᛖ.
ᛏᚺᛟᛋᛖ ᚹᚺᛟ ᚨᛏᛏᛖᛗᛈᛏ ᛏᛟ ᛒᚱᛖᚨᚴ ᛏᚺᚱᛟᚢᚷᚺ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚲᚢᚱᛋᛖᛞ ᛈᛁᛚᛚᚨᚱ ᚹᛁᛏᚺ ᚺᛖᚨᚱᛏᛋ ᚠᛁᛚᛚᛖᛞ ᚹᛁᛏᚺ ᚷᚱᛖᛖᛞ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᛋᚢᚠᚠᛖᚱ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚲᛟᚾᛋᛖᛩᚢᛖᚾᚲᛖᛋ.
"Wait a moment," Stephanie perked after the runes appeared. "Those look like the ones Erebus speaks in."
The words slowly fade into English as Stephanie watches with confusion, and they read:
This place is only for those with royal blood and those who can cross if they speak of the name of the king buried here.
Those who attempt to break through the cursed pillar with hearts filled with greed will suffer the consequences.
A bad feeling sat in Stephanie's stomach after reading the English version of the Viking runes, but she thought about what could be the queen's name of the Deyja Clan.
Stephanie needed to find out who the queen was to see what could be on the other side of this tunnel block.
A faint glow came from her palm, and Stephanie watched as a translucent sentence of someone's name appeared as if someone were writing it.
The first sentence was Viking, as it read:
ᚠᚱᛖᚤᛞᛁᛋ ᚨᚱᛟᚾᛞᛟᛏᛏᛁᚱ
The bottom reads in English:
Freydis Arondottir
"'Fredydis Arondottri.'" Stephanie read the name out loud that was on her palm.
After saying the name, something cracked, which caused Stephanie to look up, watching as the runes disappeared and the stone broke, the cracks spreading until they covered the rock itself.
Eventually, the stone shattered, causing a wave of dust to blow toward Stephanie as she coughed, waving her hand to remove the dust before peering.
It was another dark room, and Stephanie turned her light on, shining it into the room as she cautiously stepped inside, looking side to side.
From the glow of her headlight, Stephanie could see she had stepped into what looked like a Viking burial room, filled with different pots and tapestries with symbols, but the color faded.
Stephanie stepped more into the room and looked down at her palm, watching the gemstone glow as she looked confused, wondering what it was doing.
A sudden chill went through the air, and Stephanie shuddered, looking away from her palm as she wrapped her arms around her body, keeping the remaining body heat to herself.
Her breath was exhaling condensation, and Stephanie looked around while keeping her arms close to her body, understanding these signs as she prepared herself, but she was cold.
Something passed from the corner of Stephanie's eyes, and she looked over, seeing a shadow of someone approaching something in front, making Stephanie feel curious.
She followed the shadow through the Viking burial room, the air getting colder and colder as more goosebumps formed on her body as she shuddered.
Why did the room suddenly go from medium to bone-chilling?
Stephanie's teeth chattered a little as she followed the shadow before arriving at a concrete tomb with something carved on the top.
She stepped close to the tomb with her arms close to her body and peered over it, seeing that the writing read:
ᚺᛖᚱᛖ ᛚᛁᛖᛋ ᛟᚢᚱ ᛒᛖᛚᛟᚡᛖᛞ ᛩᚢᛖᛖᚾ ᚠᚱᛖᚤᛞᛁᛋ ᚨᚱᛟᚾᛞᛟᛏᛏᛁᚱ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛞᛖᚤᛃᚨ ᚲᛚᚨᚾ, ᚹᚺᛟ ᛞᛁᛖᛞ ᛁᚾ ᛒᚨᛏᛏᛚᛖ ᚨᚷᚨᛁᚾᛋᛏ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛗᛁᚷᚺᛏᚤ ᚨᛏᛏᚨᚲᚴᛖᚱᛋ ᚹᚺᛟ ᛋᛏᛟᚱᛗᛖᛞ ᛟᚢᚱ ᛚᚨᚾᛞ.
It switched to English after reading the letters, and it said in English:
Here lies our beloved Queen Freydis Arondottir of the Deyja Clan, who died in battle against the mighty attackers who stormed our land.
Stephanie cocked her head a little after reading the handwriting on the tomb's lid before hearing something that caused her ears to move upward, noticing the sound sounded like something was shuffling.
Stephanie looked around to see where the shuffling noises came from, but the shuffling sounded close to her.
She looked back at the tomb's lid, and suddenly, the lid started to twitch, causing Stephanie to gasp and step back, watching as it struggled for a few minutes but eventually lifted.
The lid was pushed to the left, and a skeleton's arm stuck out from inside the tomb, placing it against the lid and pushing it more, removing it from covering the grave.
The hairs on the back of Stephanie's neck stood up as she watched the lid removed all the way and the skeleton arm placed down on the ledge of the stone before a second appeared, placing it on the other side.
Slowly, a skeleton pushed itself out of the tomb, with long jet-black hair covering its face and wearing black female Viking clothes with a fur collar with a gold buckle, a gold Viking tiara with wings, a leather belt around the waist with a cord, and leather shoes.
It had a wooden shield on its left arm and was gingerly stepping close to Stephanie, stumbling a little while heading toward her.
Stephanie watched with amazement and slight fear as this skeleton just rose out of the tomb and started to walk towards her, slowly starting to come to life right in front of her.
The skin reappeared, long dark brown hair grew back, and even blue war paint appeared over the eyes, which were light blue.
The female Viking soon stopped in front of Stephanie and looked at her as she stepped around, and Stephanie just stayed where she was, watching the female Viking as she looked at her body.
She noticed something slightly hidden underneath her hair and moved it away from Stephanie, causing her to shudder from the cold feeling of her hands.
On the back of her neck was an eight-pointed star, at which the Viking gasped and removed her hands, exclaiming, "ᛟᚺ ᛗᚤ ᚷᛟᛞ! ᚤᛟᚢ ᚺᚨᚡᛖ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛋᛏᚨᚱ!"
Stephanie perked with confusion after hearing the female Viking exclaim and watched as she walked in front of her, still speaking, "ᛒᚢᛏ, ᛁᛏ ᛋᚺᛟᚢᛚᛞᚾ'ᛏ ᛒᛖ ᛈᛟᛋᛋᛁᛒᛚᛖ… ᚢᚾᛚᛖᛋᛋ ᛗᛟᚱᛖ ᛏᚺᚨᚾ ᚨ ᚺᚢᚾᛞᚱᛖᛞ ᚤᛖᚨᚱᛋ ᚺᚨᚡᛖ ᛈᚨᛋᛋᛖᛞ ᚨᛚᚱᛖᚨᛞᚤ."
Stephanie just stayed silent as she listened to the female Viking speak, although she was still nervous as she listened to her.
The female Viking shook her head after muttering before kneeling to Stephanie's height, saying, "ᛗᚤ ᚾᚨᛗᛖ ᛁᛋ ᛩᚢᛖᛖᚾ ᚠᚱᛖᚤᛞᛁᛋ ᚨᚱᛟᚾᛞᛟᛏᛏᛁᚱ ᛟᚠ ᛏᚺᛖ ᛞᛖᚤᛃᚨ ᚲᛚᚨᚾ, ᚨᚾᛞ ᛁ ᛋᚺᚨᛚᛚ ᚷᚱᚨᚾᛏ ᚤᛟᚢ ᛟᚠ ᛗᚤ ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱᛋ ᛏᛟ ᚺᛖᛚᛈ ᚨᛁᛞ ᚤᛟᚢ ᛁᚾ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᚢᚾᚴᚾᛟᚹᚾ ᛩᚢᛖᛋᛏ."
She held out her shield to Stephanie as it glowed slightly in an aura of black and red, which confused Stephanie as she watched the shield glow.
Curiosity filled her mind, and Stephanie slowly reached the shield as her staff transformed into a bracelet.
Stephanie placed her hands on the shield, and a surge of strange power went through her body as the black aura covered her arms.
She closed her eyes as the star birthmark on the back of her neck glowed from underneath her hair, and the same birthmark appeared from the left collarbone as she closed her eyes.
The loudest creak filled the air, and Stephanie opened her eyes, seeing she was soaking wet and lying on top of something rocking back and forth.
Confused, Stephanie pushed herself up from the wooden floorboard and looked around, seeing she was on a gigantic boat as waves were crashing on the sides.
Stephanie wobbled over the ledge and peered over the side, seeing nothing but ocean water and the rain pouring from the sky.
"God!" Stephanie perked up after hearing someone's voice and walked over to where the voice came from, seeing a bearded elderly man with his arms out towards the sky, holding a cane in his hand, and wearing a robe. "Protect me and my family from the flood!"
Another crash from the waves against the boat, and Stephanie nearly toppled over onto her side, glancing around as the waves became stronger.
Suddenly, a bright light came from the sky, and a stream of Gold Dust glittered from the sky, covering the wooden vessel as the man had his hand out, watching the dust land on his hands.
The wood started to vibrate as Stephanie glanced around, noticing that the vessel was coming to life from the sprinkles of Gold Dust.
Eventually, the vessel started to rock along with the waves instead of fighting against them, as if it noticed them and started to move along to protect its people.
Someone walked next to Stephanie, and she perked up, glancing over with confusion before gasping as she saw a stranger with golden hair and wearing a robe, almost like the Gold Dust itself.
The stranger looked over at Stephanie, and they both stared at each other, and his expression had a blend of seriousness and confusion.
"How strange," the person mumbled as their eyes glowed with a golden color as Stephanie stared back. "Why are there a demon and an angel on my deck?"
A strange feeling was on Stephanie's back, as if someone were standing over her and looking up, only to wish she did not.
Towering over her was a gigantic horned being, both human and creature, with red horns, hind legs, sharp claws, and jet-black hair with fur covering some parts of the body.
The humanoid creature looked down at Stephanie when it felt like someone was staring at it, showing ruby-red eyes with vertical pupils.
Stephanie woke up with a jolt after seeing the creature's eyes opening in darkness and lying on top of something hard.
She groaned as she pushed herself from the floor, feeling her head spin with dizziness as she reached up to her head, gently rubbing a temple.
Her skin still had some goosebumps, and her long hair was wet, making her goosebumps rise slightly at the realization that it was all real.
Even the way she went was sealed up, indicating that what she had encountered had disappeared into thin air.
As she was going to stand up more, her Zodiac Pocket Watch suddenly shook in her overall pocket, and Stephanie took it out, seeing that all the petals were glowing.
She looked around at what was making the Zodiac Pocket Watch glow, and her left hand went over something that caused it to clatter.
Stephanie looked down at what her hand had gone over and picked it up, seeing that it looked like a peridot in the palm of her hand.
The Zodiac Pocket Watch lifted from her hand, and the back opened, lifting the peridot from the palm of her hand and inserting it into one of the gem slots after it shrank to a reasonable size and shape.
After the peridot was inserted into the gem slot and landed back into Stephanie's palm, activating the next Zodiac.
Stephanie's body transformed into the shape of a lion with a long white mane and white fur, even standing on her hind legs.
After the transformation, Stephanie looked at her body and smiled, feeling her mane around her head with her fingers and seeing the claws.
"Yes!" Stephanie cheered happily. "I activated the Leo Zodiac!"
"Hey!" Stephanie flinched after hearing someone's voice and turned around, her ears pointed upward. "Are ya okay down they-yur?"
After hearing Big Man's voice, she sighed and called back, "Yeah! I'm fine! I'm going to head back now!"
"You're very loud!" Big Man called. "Are ya close by?"
Stephanie looked confused as she gingerly stepped towards the light before stopping after remembering she was in her Leo Zodiac form and would drain the peridot.
So she stopped walking and reached up with her hand, struggling to find the collar as it would be deep in her mane.
She finally found the collar and tugged it off, returning to herself and holding the Zodiac Pocket Watch before she pocketed it into her overall pocket and stepped out of the tunnel.
Stephanie encounters Big Man, and he asks, "How did it go?"
She paused after Big Man asked, still confused about what she had encountered, and glanced briefly at the tunnel over her shoulder.
"I think it went well," Stephanie slowly responded. "Whatever is causing the curse is broken."
Big Man looked slightly confused before hearing a sputtering noise, and both Stephanie and Big Man perked up.
"Yippee!" A loud cheer went through the air that sounded like Fix-It. "The H.F.D. is finally fixed!"
A loud chorus of cheers went through the air as Big Man led Stephanie to the crowd, watching as the H.F.D. was sputtering and making noises as it was rumbling.
Fix-It shuts the H.F.D. down and climbs down before receiving a hug from one of the miners, and Stephanie smiles a little, seeing that her work has paid off.
Papa Smurf approached Stephanie and asked, "How did it go, Casper?"
"'Casper?'" Stephanie echoed with confusion.
"It's your nickname!" one of the miners remarked. "Whenever you receive a nickname from someone, you are part of the family!"
"Oh!" Stephanie perked up before explaining, "I found out what was causing all the bad luck was that you stumbled across a Viking burial tomb."
The miners listened to Stephanie as she continued, "The slab you encountered explained about the curse, and I broke it, but the tunnel leading to the tomb is sealed off permanently."
They all nodded after Stephanie explained to them before one of the miners stepped out, exclaiming, "Papa Smurf! You wouldn't believe what I encountered!"
The miners followed the miner to one of the tunnels and around a mine cart barely filled with anything as Stephanie followed.
They arrived at the end of the tunnel, and the miner pointed, showing what looked like a small hole with something glowing through it.
"What's that, Skinny?" Big Man asked.
"I don't know!" the miner, Skinny, exclaimed. "I was drilling through the tunnel when I suddenly saw that shine through!"
Stephanie gingerly looked through the hole to see what it could be, but the shine from whatever could be on the other side hurt her eyes.
"Hey, Grinder?" Papa Smurf called. "Can ya git we'uns pickaxes?"
Grinder nodded and ran off as Stephanie drew a circle and reached inside, taking her tools out of it and carefully picking at the small hole.
She carefully picked around it with her hammer and screwdriver, picking away more rocks as they clattered between her feet.
"Careful, Casper." One of the miners warned.
Stephanie nodded and continued picking at the hole as it grew bigger before Grinder arrived with the pickaxes and handed them to some group.
"Here," Grinder spoke, holding one out for Stephanie. "Ya might want this."
"Thank you," Stephanie thanked, putting her tools away before picking against the wall with the other miners.
The wall collapsed after a final hit with Stephanie's pickaxe, showing a majestic cavern that shocked everyone.
The room was gigantic and filled with millions of minerals, ranging from iron, silver, gold, copper, and even gemstones, as water rushed through the place!
Every miner cheered with happiness after seeing the mine, tossed their helmets into the sky, hugged each other, and even hugged Stephanie, ecstatic to encounter the cavern too.
"Boys!" Papa Smurf called. "We all hit the jackpot!"
"Yeah, thanks to Casper!" one of the miners nodded.
"Well, let's all collect everything from Casper Cavern!" Another nodded, causing Stephanie to blush after hearing the cavern's name.
They just named the cavern after her nickname!
"Hey, Casper?" Papa Smurf called, grabbing Stephanie's attention from her thoughts. "Aah want to thank ya fo-wah helpin' we'uns with defeatin' that curse 'n findin' a new cavern fo-wah we'uns."
"You're welcome," Stephanie nodded.
"In return," Papa Smurf continued. "Ya're free to collect as many minerals as ya can from he-yah 'n use 'em fo-wah your own if ya want."
"Really?" Stephanie perked up, and Papa Smurf nodded. "Thank you so much, Papa Smurf!"
She turned to the gemstones collected in the minecarts and hummed gently before asking, "Do you mind if I help collect?"
"Sure, ya can." Papa Smurf nodded. "Just be careful."
Stephanie excitedly jumped around as she walked over to one of the cavern's walls and picked up one of the pickaxes, hacking away at the wall with the others.
She picks up different minerals from the walls and puts them into a bucket like the others, carrying the bucket over to the minecart and placing them inside.
After a few minutes of mining, Stephanie was called over to help a miner named Crazy Jack identify different gemstones, learning a little from him as he explained how to.
Stephanie began sorting and testing out different minerals, gently hitting them with a miniature hammer, looking at the inside of them with a magnifier, and shining a light.
Crazy Jack was impressed at how fast Stephanie learned as she sorted through colors with different minerals and gemstones.
Papa Smurf explained to the toys when he returned to the cabin what Stephanie did and was doing currently, surprising them all that she received a nickname from the group and her discovery.
Stephanie even meets a golem that helps the miners move heavy stones as a replacement for cranes and is named Obsidian because of the black stone it is made of.
She continued working before an alarm went through the sky, and Papa Smurf whistled, calling, "Everyone head over to the cabin! Time to head to dinner!"
"Holy crap, dinner!" Stephanie exclaimed, slapping a hand on her forehead. "I completely forgot about Sir Topham Hatt."
She quickly picked up her pickaxe and other tools before following the others, wincing slightly when she felt cramps in her legs and arms.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, cramps!" Stephanie winced, perking one of the miners.
"Yep, ya're 'unna feel that fo-wah the day, Casper." The miner nodded before giving a slight chuckle.
Stephanie nodded as she entered the cabin, seeing multiple wooden cubbies with names on them.
To her surprise, one of them had her nickname 'Casper' written in black permanent marker on a tape over it.
She smiles as she neatly places her tools inside, putting the shovel and pickaxe inside before using her magic to switch her clothes back to her normal outfit.
"Hey, where are ya going, Casper?" Skinny asked.
"I need to head back home!" Stephanie responded as she walked to the cabin, stepping inside to collect her dolls underneath one arm in a sweep of her arm. "Sorry, I'll come back here some other time! I left my phone number on one of the sticky notes if any of you want to call me for something!"
She opened the door of the cabin, and it was a different room, and she quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind her as the miners looked confused.
"What kind of magic bullsh-" One of the miners muttered but was cut off as it switched to a different scene.
Stephanie was wincing as she walked over to her bed, allowing the toys to step off as she crouched a little.
"Are you okay, Stephanie?" Radar asked.
"I feel fine." Stephanie smiled, assuring the group. "Just a little cramped from mining."
Then she wobbled a little as she placed a hand on the desk and shook her head, watching her vision spin, which was not part of the cramps.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Stephanie flinched after hearing someone exclaim and glanced down, seeing Notches. "Where were you?! I was searching all around Sodor and the mansion, looking for you. You scared-" Notches stopped talking after seeing Stephanie's expression and holding onto the desk, her forehead sweating and wobbling. "Are you okay?"
"Nope," Stephanie responded before collapsing on her front, causing Notches to scramble backward with a yowl from being accidentally crushed.
Sir Topham Hatt stepped out of his cab, looked up at a window where Stephanie's room was, and called, "Stephanie, I'm home!"
There was no response, but he instead heard what sounded like a cat yowling, and when he cocked his head to the side to see what was causing that yowling noise, he saw Notches yowling while scratching at the window.
It was strange that Notches was scratching at the window and yowling.
Unless there is something wrong with Stephanie that Sir Topham Hatt did not notice or that she accidentally activated.
So Sir Topham Hatt entered his mansion and went up the stairs as he heard what sounded like a group of people panicking along with Notches yowling.
"What on Sodor is happening?" Sir Topham Hatt mumbled in confusion.
He approached Stephanie's door as there was rapid knocking coming from the other side, which could mean that Notches was using his hind legs to knock against the door.
Sir Topham Hatt unlocked Stephanie's door, stepped inside, and watched Notches walk away toward the bed.
A bad feeling sat in Sir Topham Hatt's stomach as he stepped in further, looked at where Notches had walked off, and saw an unconscious Stephanie lying on the ground with sentient toys trying to wake her up.
"Stephanie!" Sir Topham Hatt exclaimed, causing all the toys to rush away from him as he instantly scooped Stephanie up from the ground. "Stephanie, are you alright? What happened?!"
Stephanie did not respond or move while in Sir Topham Hatt's arms, which made Sir Topham Hatt worried.
He pressed two fingers against Stephanie's neck and felt a slow but steady pulse, which calmed Sir Topham Hatt's nerves for a moment, but he was still confused about Stephanie being unconscious.
"Excuse me, sir?" Sir Topham Hatt glanced over and watched Lucy crawl out from underneath the bed along with others, and one of the new toys was speaking towards him. "Are you Sir Topham Hatt?"
"Yes, I am," Sir Topham Hatt nodded with confusion. "Who are you? And what happened to Stephanie?"
"I'm Cadet," the toy, Cadet, answered. "And we don't know. She acted weird when we arrived, was covered head to toe in sweat, and suddenly collapsed on the ground."
"What happened earlier?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"We were in a mining dimension," Radar explained, tapping on his armband and showing the scan of the mine he finally managed to scan, "It's a different dimension from where we were from, and it wasn't filled with anything toxic in there."
"A mining dimension?" Sir Topham Hatt looked confused. "How did Stephanie get into a mining dimension?"
"Yes, when?!" Notches and Lucy exclaimed, surprising the toys when he spoke, but Sir Topham Hatt did not hear him.
"Well," Patches spoke, stepping forward from underneath the bed. "She has that ability with her drawing from this," she said, lifting Stephanie's wrist, showing the bracelet. "That allows her to create a doorway into dimensions. This allows her to step into our dimension, a garden, a beach, and the mining dimension."
"And what was she doing in the mining dimension?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"Helping the miners break a curse," Captain explained. "Which could have tired her out because of how much power she had to use."
"And working to help the miners in that new cavern must've tired her!" Lucy exclaimed, and everyone sighed. "So she passed out from exhaustion. I tried to warn her to be careful with overusing her powers."
Captain gives the silent 'You too?' expression after Lucy exclaims as Sir Topham Hatt carefully picks Stephanie up from the ground, and she slumps in his arms.
"Well, good to know Stephanie just passed out instead of being hurt," Sir Topham Hatt nodded before asking, "Were there any injuries when she collapsed?"
"No, I checked that," Doc responded as Sir Topham Hatt placed Stephanie on the bed. "She may feel slight pain from the impact around her front, but she will be fine when she wakes up."
Notches climbed onto the bed as Patches flew to the top with the toys on her back and gently curled around Stephanie's chest, hearing her heartbeat as Lucy touched Stephanie's forehead.
Sir Topham Hatt turned away and left the room, allowing the toys to watch Stephanie as she was fast asleep on the bed.
"I swear, one of these days, Stephanie will get into more trouble at the rate of what she is getting into!" Notches huffed.
The group looked confused and startled after hearing Notches talk, and Spyglasses asked, "How is that cat talking?"
"Yeah, I've always been wondering," Lucy nodded, removing her hand from Stephanie's forehead and putting her hands on her hips. "How are you talking?"
Notches shrugged after Lucy asked and responded, "I'm perhaps magic myself. I just don't want to explain because it might be complicated."