King Godred went through the forest as fast as he could, and even though he appears old and elderly, he is surprisingly fast for being a ghost.
He knew that everyone would be in danger if he did not find Sir Robert-
Something went past his eyes, and King Godred screeched to a halt, finally finding Sir Robert Norramby, but his body looked very bad.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he was against a rock, meaning he could have broken something more severely.
King Godred quickly kneeled down to Sir Robert Norramby and paused, knowing he had never done this before but that it could be worth a try.
He phased his arms through Sir Robert Norramby's body and 'felt' around, feeling injuries ranging from a broken rib to some parts of his body bruised or shaken.
King Godred removed his arms and moved on to the next part of his idea, knowing he needed to check if Sir Robert Norramby was breathing, even though he did not feel anything moving.
He moved back his cape, took out a small dagger from inside a hidden sheath close to his body, and moved the dagger close to Sir Robert Norramby's mouth, watching the side of the blade fog from Sir Robert Norramby's breath.
He was still breathing, and King Godred removed his knife from near his mouth and quickly sheathed it back into his sheath.
King Godred focused as hard as he could and wrapped his arms around Sir Robert Norramby's body, gingerly picking him up from the ground as he slumped in his arms.
He repositioned how he picked Sir Robert Norramby up and carried him away from where he was, but he thought of how he would help heal him!
A whinny went through the air, and King Godred perked up, recognizing that whinny from a horse!
Could it be his prized horse?
The whinny happened again as King Godred adjusted his carrying position to another comfortable position and whistled with his fingers to his lips.
Emerging from the forest was his prized Thoroughbred horse, wearing his saddle on his back with his insignia and reins.
King Godred patted his prized horse's neck with a hand before putting the unconscious Sir Robert Norramby on the horse before lifting himself onto the horse, with Sir Robert Norramby in front of him to keep him from accidentally falling off.
King Godred flicked his horse's reins, and his horse galloped through the forest, taking King Godred and the unconscious Sir Robert Norramby to whatever destination.
Stephanie was writing in her room with her new glasses, seeing the small details she had missed in some of her journals, but she was patient enough to redo it all.
Notches were lying on her bed in a ball shape, purring while Lucy talked to Cadet and the others, while Patches was curled with Notches.
A loud whinny went through the air, and everyone perked up, looking at each other after hearing the whinny noise.
Stephanie stood up from where she was and poked her head out the window, seeing a ghost horse approaching Hatt Manor with someone riding on top.
"A ghost?" Notches mumbled after seeing the ghost appear.
But Stephanie quickly rushed back inside, put her shoes on, and watched as the horse stopped in front of the house behind the brick wall and whinnied.
"Dy vannaght!" The ghost riding the horse called, and Stephanie gasped after seeing the unconscious Sir Robert Norramby on the horse, even recognizing the ghost as King Godred himself. "Ta mee gearree shiu cur chaghteragh harrish gys yn lheihys euish, as cheet cooney er Sir Robert Norramby."
In Stephanie's hearing, King Godred asked to call a 'healer' to help mend Sir Robert Norramby, and she responded, poking her head out further from the window, "Wait one moment! I actually have the right tools to help him!"
King Godred looked surprised after hearing Stephanie speak and seeing him watch her rush back into the house.
Then she jumped out of the window smoothly, causing shrieking from inside the room as King Godred watched.
She landed smoothly on one of the tree branches and crawled downward fast, landing squarely on her feet with a thump before heading towards the brick wall.
Stephanie jumped over the brick wall and landed on her feet again before walking up next to the horse and seeing Sir Robert Norramby, even noticing bruises on his body as she gingerly took him off.
King Godred clicked his tongue to command his horse to kneel as it did so, allowing Stephanie to carefully pull Sir Robert Norramby down before laying him on the ground.
"What happened to him?" Stephanie asked, looking over at King Godred with worry.
"Th're wast this dragon in mine own castle!" King Godred exclaimed, speaking with an ancient accent, almost Sudric. "A gib did warn me about the gigantic creature, but alas, I wast too late to warneth ev'ryone, and t did attack. To maketh matt'rs w'rse, t did capture Sir Robeth'rt N'rramby's maiden and m'rely flick'd that gent hence liketh a flyeth, injuring that gent."
"This is terrible!" Stephanie exclaimed before turning back to Sir Robert Norramby. "Getting a doctor here would take too long for him since we are far from the nearest city."
"Then what shalt thee doth?" King Godred asked.
Stephanie was about to respond when her bracelet suddenly glowed a light green color, and a circle automatically appeared in front of her hand, causing Stephanie to be startled as she gripped her wrist.
Then, she watched a dying plant slowly being healed by the circle's light, and the circle disappeared after the plant was fully healed.
"A healing spell!" Stephanie excitedly smiled. "Perfect!"
Stephanie drew two circles with both hands and moved them down towards Sir Robert Norramby, watching as he was covered in a light green aura.
Notches climbed down the tree while huffing and panting as he carried Lucy, Captain, Spyglasses, Radar, and a few others, while Ace, Jet, Maverick, and Patches were carrying others.
Once they arrived at the bottom, Notches allowed everyone to climb off as he stretched his body out as the ones who flew landed on the ground after placing them down.
They glanced over and saw Stephanie using a healing type of power, as the palms of her hands had circles in front of them, and Sir Robert Norramby was covered with a light green aura.
The glow lasted a few minutes before the circles disappeared, the aura vanished, and there was a moment of silence.
Stephanie wondered if the healing powers worked and worried about whether she did something wrong or did not focus.
Sir Robert Norramby's eyes fluttered open before he slowly started to push himself up from the ground.
"Careful, careful, sir!" Stephanie warned him, putting one hand behind his back and helping Sir Robert Norramby sit upright as he winced slightly. "Are you okay?"
Sir Robert Norramby looked at the person who spoke and saw that it was Stephanie before seeing someone else standing on the other side.
He looked at who it was and was startled when he saw King Godred himself, but he winced when he felt a slight stinging pain from his forearm when he tried to stand up.
"What's wrong, sir?" Stephanie asked before starting to gingerly feel the area with her hands. "Are you still hurt?"
"Just a little," Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "But, how is King Godred here?"
Stephanie perked up after Sir Robert Norramby mentioned King Godred and asked, "You can see him too?"
"Tut tut tut," King Godred said, stopping the conversation between Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby. "What art thee declaring?"
"Oh, he asked how you are here, and I responded in surprise that he can see you because I'm usually the one who can see ghosts," Stephanie explained as Sir Robert Norramby looked confused.
"But never mind about that," she said, turning to Sir Robert Norramby and asking, "Sir, what happened to Ms. Richards? Do you know where she is?"
Sir Robert Norramby instantly bolted up to his feet as Stephanie exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!" but he wobbled a little halfway and was forced to sit on a tree stump. "Take a small break."
"She's still back at Ulfstead Castle," Sir Robert Norramby explained. "She was grabbed out of my grip before I could escape with her!"
"We can return to Ulfstead Castle and rescue her, Glynn, Stephen, and Millie!" Stephanie assured.
"Art thee insane?!" King Godred exclaimed. "How can an issue liketh thee square 'gainst a dragon?!"
"I'm only ten, and I've dealt with big enemies before!" Stephanie smiled but paused. "But you, me, and Sir Robert Norramby aren't going to be enough. We'll need a whole army to get to Ulfstead Castle."
Sir Robert Norramby stood up from where he was with one hand on Stephanie's shoulder, saying, "Then we'll tell Sir Topham Hatt and the others to help."
"Good idea!" Stephanie perked up with a smile before turning to King Godred. "Is there room on your horse for us?"
"Maximus hadst hath carried many did injure humans bef're and gallop'd across rocky t'rrain," King Godred nodded. "That gent can carryeth both an issue and two men."
Stephanie turned to the slightly confused Sir Robert Norramby and responded, "He said there is enough room on Maximus, his horse."
"Thee can und'rstand what I am declaring?" King Godred asked, helping Sir Robert Norramby onto his horse.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "Whenever I hear a different language, for instance, German or Greek, when I am practicing how I am doing it, my eyes or ears pick up on the language and translate it to perfect, clear English for me to understand."
Then she paused and added, "A little crystal clear English because your accent has the same accent as Shakespeare's, so there are some changes."
King Godred hummed a little with interest as he climbed onto Maximus before helping Stephanie, and she turned to Notches and the others.
"Notches," Stephanie called as King Godred clicked his tongue for his horse to stand up. "You and Lucy and the others need to stay in the manor! I'm going to defeat a Black Zodiac."
Notches responded with a loud meow after Stephanie told him, and King Godred flicked his horse's reins, galloping through the forest as Stephanie held on with Sir Robert Norramby behind him.
Sir Topham Hatt was about to leave when he heard what sounded like horse hooves clopping against the platform's concrete, causing him to look confused.
He opened the door and was startled when he saw a ghost riding a horse with Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby.
"Sir!" Stephanie perked up after seeing a surprised Sir Topham Hatt and hopped off. "Sir, let me introduce King Godred, and there's something wrong with Ulfstead Castle."
"What's wrong with the castle?" Sir Topham Hatt asked as Sir Robert Norramby hopped off.
"A Black Zodiac that resembles the Chinese Dragon Zodiac inhabited Ulfstead Castle and even had Ms. Richards, Glynn, Stephen, and Millie captured," Sir Robert Norramby explained.
"And we're going to need the help of the others since that one is powerful." Stephanie nodded.
"Very well," Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "I'll call them to tell them what happened and ask them to join us here."
"Great!" Stephanie smiled before removing her Dust Whistle from around her neck and flipping through the Dusts, coming across Silver Dust.
It was almost empty, and Stephanie nervously chewed the bottom of her lip, realizing that she must have used a lot of Silver Dust to help with transportation.
And she had forgotten to refill the Silver Dust when she arrived at Hatt Manor.
Stephanie's bracelet glowed, and she looked down at it, pushing her sleeve up a little to look at the bracelet.
It suddenly forced Stephanie's arm forward, and a magic square appeared, causing Stephanie to watch with curiosity and confusion at what was happening.
From the ground, away from the platform, was a bundle of Dust Crystals, popping out from the ground and heading towards her, causing Stephanie to flinch and remove her hand from the square, stopping the magic.
Stephanie caught the Dust Crystals in her hands and juggled some of them but kept them in her arms without accidentally dropping any of them.
After catching the Dust Crystals, she sighed, flicked her wrist, transformed her bracelet into an ink pen, and drew a table.
After finishing drawing out the table, Stephanie tapped it, and it transformed into a table, allowing Stephanie to place the new Dust Crystals onto it.
Knowing she needed to boil water to create Dust, Stephanie flicked her wrist, transformed her bracelet into an ink pen, and drew out a pot, even editing the table a little to make it into a cooking table.
Once the table was edited, Stephanie started sorting through the Dust Crystals, noticing that some had different smells while the others were identical.
So Stephanie started processing the crystals with the same 'smell' in the pot one by one, carefully filling her Dust Whistle with each different Dust.
The last Dust Crystal was placed into the pot, and after the process was finished, the Dust filled her Dust Whistle, and she looked, noticing that the symbol for tin was filled.
"That one was tin?" Stephanie curiously asked after seeing the tin symbol. "I wonder what this one does."
But she decided to save the tin for later, not wanting to use up the Dust out of curiosity but noticing someone hiding in the background.
Stephanie approached whoever was hiding and peeked around the corner, seeing P.T. Boomer with his back facing Stephanie and towards a group.
"You're telling me that we have the chance to break into Ulfstead Castle," P.T. Boomer spoke, speaking towards Baz and Bernie, while there was a stranger Stephanie had never seen before. "To find gold that could possibly be hidden in there?"
"Yes!" Baz nodded. "We can get over there before anyone notices we are in there. Just smooth sailing!"
"I doubt about the smooth part." Sailor John responded with a huff. "Didn't we learn about the first time we attempted t' sneak around a Black Zodiac?!"
"Yeah, I'm not risking myself being crushed like a tin can!" Diesel nodded, who was in his human form with Diesel 10.
"Dragons fall asleep!" Bernie pointed it out. "We'll just sneak around them and-"
"But this dragon is not the same," Stephanie explained, startling the group as they whipped around towards her. "This Black Zodiac 'dragon' is infused with a lion from the Leo Zodiac, which means that even if you attempt to sneak around it, it would smell your scent."
"Told ye." Sailor John huffed, and Stephanie asked, mentioning the new member, "Who's your new friend?"
The stranger was handsome, wearing all black with a belt, muscular, with slicked-back dark brown hair and fair skin.
"Flex Dexter is my name!" He remarked, pointing to himself with a thumb. "This job is for adults only, kiddo."
"Sure, right," Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You're planning on sneaking into Ulfstead Castle for the money and gold, right?"
"Well, other than that," Ember spoke, stepping past the group and gently pushing Flex Dexter to the side. "I didn't introduce myself, but my name is Dominique Maeve Ember. I prefer being called 'Ember.'"
"You're the woman who has been trespassing a lot, weren't you?" Stephanie curiously asked.
"Yes, I am," Ember nodded, blushing. "But the idea to get into Ulfstead Castle is because we believe something was hidden there."
"Like what?" Stephanie asked.
"That's the thing," Ember responded with a shrug. "We don't know, but these numbskulls here think it's lost money or treasure."
Sailor John looks away in embarrassment while Baz gives the 'Well, it may be!' expression, and Stephanie looks at the camera with a silent, 'Why am I not surprised?' along with P.T. Boomer.
"How about this?" Stephanie turned back to the group. "We all work together to get into Ulfstead Castle for our goals. You can search for whatever you are searching for, and we will rescue Ms. Richards, Glynn, Stephen, and Millie."
"Wait, 'Richards?' Are you saying Katie Richards?!" Ember exclaimed.
"Yes, why?" Stephanie asked.
"She's my cousin!" Ember exclaimed before kneeling at Stephanie's height. "What happened to her?!"
"Calm down!" Stephanie assured. "She's held hostage by the Torn Prince Black Zodiac over in Ulfstead Castle."
"Oh my god!" Ember exclaimed. "Then, let's work on saving her first!"
'That was quick.' went through some group members' minds as Ember walked forward.
"Excuse me?" Ember spoke, speaking towards Sir Topham Hatt as others followed. "Are you planning on heading to Ulfstead Castle?"
"Yes," Sir Topham Hatt nodded. "Are you joining?"
"Yes, Katie-" Ember paused, remembering that Sir Topham Hatt does not know her first name. "Ms. Richards is my cousin!"
Sir Topham Hatt even noticed the others and had a silent, suspicious expression before responding to Ember, "Very well, you can come."
Ember nodded and waited as Sir Topham Hatt approached Stephanie, asking, "Why are these villains here?"
"They were going to sneak into Ulfstead Castle to see if there was loot they could grab, but I told them about the Torn Prince," Stephanie explained, spilling their plan out towards Sir Topham Hatt and the others.
"D'oh!" Conrad exclaimed as Baz facepalmed along with Lieutenant Hammerman and some members.
"I see!" Sir Topham Hatt glared as he put his hands on his hips as Sir Robert Norramby crossed his arms with the other controllers. "Bad habits die hard, don't they?"
"Hey, I didn't agree to this either!" P.T. Boomer argued.
"Of course, you 'don't!'" Romeo quoted with his fingers with a frown. "You're always following others because you want to destroy magic, that's all."
P.T. Boomer's cheeks flushed after Romeo mentioned it, and an argument went on between controllers, friends, and engines towards the villains while Stephanie sighed.
"Excuse me?" Stephanie spoke, trying to break the argument. "Excuse me?"
King Godred noticed and cleared his throat, booming that startled Stephanie, even stopping the argument between the groups, "Shall all of thee shut thy mouths and stand ho arguing with each oth'r this instant?!"
Both sides of the party were shocked to see a ghost standing before them, and Conrad exclaimed, mentioning to the ghost, "I told you there was something weird happening!"
"Is that King Godred?!" Mr. Percival exclaimed.
"Yes, King Godred," Stephanie nodded. "From now on, you can see him. This means that something very serious happened at Ulfstead Castle, allowing him to leave the castle. And the reason is that I had done spirits before when I was much younger."
"Ah, thee has't the eyes of a witch." King Godred mentioned.
"What did he say?" Bernie asked.
'That's right.' Stephanie thought before answering, "He said that I have the eyes of a witch, and witches are believed to be spiritual beings who use magic. To which," she paused as she chuckled, showing her little magic circle ability. "Is ironically true. But never mind that," she said, turning towards Gordon and the others. "Let's head on over to Ulfstead Castle."
"But what about them?" Thomas crossly mentioned to P.T. Boomer and the others. "Why are they coming?"
Stephanie slightly huffed towards Thomas and responded, "Because they are important too. No offense, some members are elderly, and we need others."
Almost half of the group blushed after being pointed out of their ages, and King Godred mentioned, "Yond is a v'ry valorous pointeth thee madeth."
Everyone boarded the engines after Ember used Gold Dust crystals to transform Diesel and Diesel 10 back to their original forms and headed towards Ulfstead Castle, seeing the sky become darker with clouds in the sky.
Stephanie noticed and looked up at the sky inside Thomas' cab window with Cleo beside her.
"Something is very wrong," Stephanie quietly mentioned.
A whinny perked Stephanie's attention as she looked down from the sky and saw what looked like a horse running through the woods with someone riding on top.
There were more hidden deep within the forest, but Stephanie could not see what they were from where she was.
It all looked almost like King Godred's army, but Stephanie was unsure if it could be King Godred's.
For King Godred, he was jittering with interest as he could finally see how the Flying Scotsman's controls work, mentioning how he would sometimes watch over how either Glynn, Millie, or Stephen work, which seemed strange towards the Flying Scotsman himself.
As they were coming close to Ulfstead Castle, they noticed some changes to the castle itself, which had a looming uneasy feeling and looked more haunted than normal.
Nightmares roamed Ulfstead Castle when they almost neared the castle's gates, causing Thomas to stop when he saw the first two Nightmares in front of the entrance.
"Bother!" Stephanie softly hissed. "There are Nightmares already."
"That's what a Nightmare looks like?" Flex Dexter asked, calling from Gordon's cab.
The engines moved backward after seeing the army of Nightmares reaching near where the moat of Ulfstead Castle used to be before a shadow appeared.
Stephanie perked up after seeing the shadow and stepped out, getting ready to defend before the shadow transformed, showing a young being.
The being's body resembled a black cat with fluffy fur, a long tail, and ears, but the head and hands resembled a human's.
Then they opened their eyes and showed four eyes, each with different colors, the same ones Ember saw in the picture she had taken escaping from the tunnel to Misty Island.
"Hello again~." The being purred as the tail swished a little. "You learned too late of my warning, your highness."
"You knew them?" Stephanie asked, looking over at King Godred.
"Those gents only hath appeared in the castle and did disappear. I knoweth not much about those folk." King Godred explained.
The being chuckled after King Godred explained to Stephanie as she looked back at the being, and Stephanie asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Aether," the being responded with a small smile. "The being who sees for every being who roams around the universe, and right now, you must take care of this wretched curse on Ulfstead Castle."
"But the entrance is guarded," Stephanie responded. "How can we enter Ulfstead Castle where it is unguarded?"
Aether perked up after Stephanie rhythmically asked them and responded with a smirk, rhyming, "There are many ways through a simple castle like this one for knights and people. But there are some that they don't know for others to sneak in to steal the crown. All you have to do is look." Aether walked towards the ledge of the area where they were, and the group became worried after their heel went over the ridge and they pointed downward. "Down."
They went over the ledge back-first, and Stephanie quickly rushed forward, looked down over the ledge, and saw that Aether was not on the rocky ground, causing her to look confused.
"What happened?" Thomas called, his voice sounding worried.
"I don't see them!" Stephanie responded but saw something hiding in the shadows. "Wait, there's a gate!"
"A gate?" King Godred perked. "Yond gate is only f'r mine own royal spies to ent'r!"
"Then we'll use it!" Stephanie smirked, stood up from where she was, and removed her Dust Whistle from inside.
Everyone stepped out from the cabs to allow Stephanie to use her Dust Whistle, and Stephanie looked at the amount of Copper, noticing there was only a little in there, even though she did not bring extras.
Then she remembered the little 'riddle' Aether told her, turning the knob to tin, feeling hesitant to use it but deciding to use it.
She took a deep breath and blew into the Dust Whistle, watching Tin Dust come out of her whistle as everyone watched.
Instead, it swirled around everyone, including Stephanie herself, before disappearing, showing Stephanie wearing a different outfit.
Stephanie was wearing a mage's outfit with her staff in her right hand, and her outfit was a beautiful blend of crystal ocean blue and pure white.
"Well," Stephanie began, looking at her outfit and the staff. "This is new."
"Steph!" Stephanie flinched after hearing her name called and looked, seeing a panicked Diesel 10, who looked different from his appearance, ranging from bottom fangs and pointed ears to a surprisingly taller height. "What happened?! What did you-"
Diesel 10 paused after his bottom fangs scraped against his upper lip, wincing as he felt his mouth with his other hand and muttering, "Ow, I think I bit my lip."
A half-human and half-raven person who looked like Diesel stood up from where they were lying, stumbling a little because of the wings attached to their back before noticing their clawed fingers.
"What the caw!" said half-raven and half-human before covering his mouth with both hands, his feathers ruffling.
"Diesel?" Stephanie asked, looking at Diesel up and down, seeing that his legs were the hind legs of a raven with wings and a tail.
"Stephanie, what happened?!" Diesel exclaimed before more people started standing up.
"Wait one moment," Stephanie assured, feeling the front of her robe where she usually puts her Dust Whistle and sighing relief when she felt her Dust Whistle.
She took it from her garments and looked at the symbol, explaining, "I used Tin Dust instead of Copper Dust because I didn't have the time to refill it. I thought about Aether's riddle and used it as it could be another way of 'helping' us."
Gordon was a centaur, his upper half resembling a human with Caucasian skin, light blue eyes, and short, neatly combed jet-black hair, and he was wearing a suit that matched his livery with a number four pin on his collar.
His lower half resembled a Thoroughbred horse, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable about his new change in body.
Both Diesel and Lieutenant Hammerman were raven harpies, and both looked very confused, albeit rubbing against their arms from the feeling of feathers.
Spencer is also a centaur with a different coat and human appearance with Caucasian skin, almost white eyes, medium-long silver hair tied back in a low ponytail, and a silver suit that matches his livery.
The Flying Scotsman was a centaur as well, and he resembled an American Quarterhorse, and he had Caucasian skin, short dark brown hair, and light emerald green eyes.
Like the others, the Flying Scotsman wore a suit resembling his livery.
Thomas' appearance resembled a satyr, with short, somewhat messy jet-black hair, blue eyes, Caucasian skin, and half the appearance of a goat as he was looking at his body.
"Okay," Stephanie nervously chewed the bottom lip with her teeth. "I think we might have-"
"Who's down there?!" The entire group flinched after hearing a voice, and Stephanie whined slightly, quickly taking Gordon's wrist, quietly urging, "Come on, let's get moving!"
The others did the same, although struggling because of their new appearances, like Sir Topham Hatt's struggles with being a sheep-like satyr, urging the centaurs to hurry.
The three wobbled onto their four legs, and Stephanie created an 'air' symbol with her first finger before placing it on herself.
She floated towards the ground in the dried-up moat and removed her hand from her chest, breaking the spell before taking her Dust Whistle out.
But she paused after silently reminding herself that if she used Gold Dust to shrink back, it would wear the effects of the Tin Dust off.
She put her Dust Whistle back before taking out her keys, taking off the key with the head of the two humans, resembling the Six Inch Key Stephanie once used.
Stephanie inserted the key into the palm of her hand and turned it, watching it transform into a ring around her right hand's ring finger before starting to grow.
She was startled after she suddenly grew, but she shook the emotion away before gingerly reaching towards one of the centaurs.
"Did you hear what I asked?!" The voice snapped, causing Stephanie to hurriedly scoop everyone up before hiding in the shadows. "Who's there?"
Stephanie kneeled, placed everyone down as they hid, and took the ring off from around her finger, returning to normal as she hid.
Claws suddenly dug into the ledge where they were hiding, and everyone flinched, watching the claws as a shadow loomed over them.
Strangely, something caused the black-clawed creature to be grabbed, creating straining noises before everything went silent.
"What was that?!" Conrad exclaimed.
"I think another creature attacked the Nightmare," Stephanie responded with relief. "Let's find a way to get through that gate before another Nightmare appears."
Stephanie carefully approached the gate and looked around before turning to the group, asking, "Who's strong enough?"
"Let me." Flex Dexter pointed to himself before stepping up to the gate, grabbing it with both hands, attempting to tug it with no futile effort.
"Mr. Dexter?" Stephanie nervously smiled as he stopped. "Your race with the Tin Dust is a human barbarian, I don't think-"
Conrad, whose appearance resembled a troll, nudged Flex Dexter to the side, grabbed the gate with his hands, gave one smooth tug, and managed to rip the gate off from the walls, interrupting Stephanie's words.
"Wow!" Stephanie remarked as Conrad put the gate down. "Keep forgetting that trolls are that strong."
"Troll, huh?" Conrad asked with a tone of unamusement while some people giggled. "Ironic."
"It's fine!" Stephanie assured him as they cautiously stepped into the castle's hidden hallway underneath it. "Trolls are very unique despite their appearances! They have impressive combat skills, durability, endurance, senses, and a regenerative healing factor."
"Wait a minute!" Conrad stopped walking after Stephanie explained. "You're saying I'm stronger than I looked?"
"Yes!" Stephanie nodded. "You can adapt very well to your environments, have fear inducement, and have a powerful bite and claws."
After Stephanie explained, Conrad looked at his clawed hands, and Gordon asked, "Well, what about me?"
"Don't forget about us, little brother," the Flying Scotsman smirked, causing Gordon to groan as his ear flicked.
"Centaurs?" Stephanie asked, looking over at Gordon and the others. "Centaurs, depending on their breed, have a good charging attack, combat skill mastery, and enhanced bottom half strength, like running, jumping, and speed."
She looked at Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, adding, "Satyrs almost have the same thing too, but since they are half goats or sheep, they can climb walls at a somewhat faster speed."
"Then that means I'm faster than Gordon!" Thomas cheekily grinned, and once again, Gordon's ear flicked.
"Excuse me," Stephanie excused before hopping onto Gordon's back, causing him to stiffen when that happened, but luckily he did not use his back legs to kick anyone when they scrambled away.
"Be careful!" Gordon gently scolded.
"Sorry!" Stephanie apologized before turning towards the group as they continued walking. "Anyways, as I mentioned to Mr. Dexter, he's a human barbarian. There's nothing much about him besides having brute strength and carrying a heavy weapon."
The group snorted after Stephanie mentioned to Flex Dexter as he blushed, and she turned towards Fireman Sam, saying, "Huh, he's a Fire Genasi, a creature immune to fire."
"Matches your handwork, hmm, Sam?" Bob the Builder gently elbowed Fireman Sam, to which he chuckled a little.
Stephanie looked at Cleo and noticed her wings attached to her back that sometimes fluttered, responding, "Cleo's a fairy!"
"A fairy?" Cleo asked, moving her hair to show the wings as they lifted a little, fluttering as Darius looked worried. "Cool!"
Stephanie looked at Darius' outfit and his hands, responding with a smirk of amusement, "You're a human artificer."
"What's an 'artificer?'" Diesel 10 asked.
"An artificer is a master of invention, and artificers use ingenuity and magic to unlock extraordinary capabilities in objects," Stephanie explained.
During the time spent in the hallway, Stephanie described each person's appearance according to their race, telling them what their new race does.
Sailor John is a Sea Elf who can control water and has excellent swimming abilities, which seems strange for a castle that never has water.
Diesel and Lieutenant Hammerman were Kenkus, raven-folk-like creatures that resemble ravens, have excellent flying skills, and can pickpocket anything shiny to their eyes.
P.T. Boomer is a Goliath, a half-giant-like being who has the same attributes as Goliath from the story called 'Book of Samuel.'
Ember is a Harengon, a half-rabbit, and half-human being with the same attributes as a rabbit, which Ember loves because she enjoys rabbits.
Mr. Percival is an elf wizard, Mr. Fergus Duncan is a halfling, Bernie is a changeling, and Bernie is a half ursine.
King Godred listened to the conversation behind him as he looked around carefully, checking for any traps or Nightmares roaming around.
He soon poked his head around the corner and froze when he saw some Nightmares walking and made the 'back up' mention with his hands, causing the group to step back a little.
They all waited for the Nightmares to leave as King Godred poked his head out from where he was before nodding, allowing the group to step inside as they slowly unlocked a door towards the hidden hallway.
The hallway was a mess, filled with claw marks, and the decorations were all shredded, meaning all of Sir Robert Norramby's hard work was destroyed by all these monsters!
"This is just terrible!" Stephanie quietly exclaimed, looking over at Sir Robert Norramby, an elf knight.
He had an irritated expression but was still watching Nightmares, and Stephanie could tell he was angry about all this destruction.
King Godred led everyone through the castle while being careful around the Nightmares, wanting to avoid accidentally encountering them or walking into an army of them.
They soon arrived at one of the rooms completely trashed; all the museum artifacts were ripped out of their glass casings, and the carpet was ripped and covered with substances.
There were no signs of Ms. Richards or the others, so everyone continued walking before they stopped when a group of Nightmares arrived.
Everyone looked around for ideas to hide from them, but Stephanie quickly drew a massive circle in front of the group and touched the corners, creating a bubble around them.
The Nightmares appeared, along with others that seemed new to Stephanie but horrible to the others.
Some of them were lanky as they followed the group of Nightmares, and others were fat, struggling slightly to follow the group.
They watched the Nightmares anxiously as Stephanie prepared herself for the next move, watching them as they walked past them, not noticing they were right there.
One of them stopped for a minute and looked back, causing the group to stiffen and prepare themselves for what could happen.
It felt like minutes as they stared at the Nightmare as it turned around, whiffing in the air as if it smelled something.
Before it could step closer or see where the 'smell' was coming from, one of the Nightmares, bulkier and taller, grabbed the small goblin Nightmare, giving a slight angry growl, and dragged it away and down the hallway.
From a different perspective, it showed an empty hallway, but when the last Nightmare left, a bubble appeared and popped, showing the group pinned against the wall.
"That was close," Stephanie softly mumbled before looking down the other side of the hallway. "Let's keep going."
The group nodded and followed Stephanie, carefully avoiding either sleeping Nightmares or Nightmares walking down the hallways as if they were guarding the hallways.
King Godred wanted to attack these Nightmares guarding the hallways of the castle, his castle, and now Sir Robert Norramby.
But he had to be patient to attack these ugly creatures, and they continued walking before finally entering the throne room.
The throne room was filled with a massive pile of gold, jewelry, gemstones, and even the museum's collections were collected all in the throne room, with the throne at the very back but at the very top of the pile.
Danging from the top were chains wrapped around an unconscious Stephen, Glynn, and Millie and a cage with Ms. Richards inside.
"Okay," Stephanie nodded, turning to the group. "Help me get them down and find whatever you're trying to find."
The group nodded and separated, Ember looking through the collections to find clues to what they were searching for.
Secretly, Sailor John looked at the treasure piled in the middle of the throne room, silently cursing when he realized that it was all an illusion when his hand went through the pile to attempt to pick one up.
Stephanie carefully climbed up the chains towards the sleeping Glynn as King Godred followed behind, wanting to help Stephanie as she started to carefully inspect them for any damages.
"Glynn! Glynn!" Stephanie quietly exclaimed, gently patting Glynn's cheeks, not noticing Sir Robert Norramby was climbing towards Ms. Richard's cage. "Glynn, wake up!"
Sir Robert Norramby carefully climbed on the side of the cage and saw Ms. Richards lying on the floor, but she flinched awake and sat upright when she noticed it was moving.
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Sir Robert Norramby assured Ms. Richards, who instantly saw him. "I'm here."
"Robert!" Ms. Richards hugged Sir Robert Norramby through the bars, and he returned the hug. "You came for me!"
"I will always come back to you." Sir Robert Norramby nodded. "Let's get you out of here."
He climbed towards the cage lock and carefully inspected it as Stephanie woke the others by patting their cheeks and noses.
"Sir," Stephanie spoke, leaning towards Sir Robert Norramby carefully. "You can use a little magic to unlock it."
"What is the word?" Sir Robert Norramby asked.
"Alohomora," Stephanie responded before carefully unhooking the chains' hooks from the engines' undercarriage.
Sir Robert Norramby turned back to the lock on the cage and repeated, "Alohomora!"
The lock clicked, and the cage's door swung open, allowing Ms. Richards to properly embrace Sir Robert Norramby.
Stephanie finally got the gear to work after a few hits with her heel, causing the three engines to swing downwards, but Stephanie quickly slowed it down after briefly using an ice spell.
After the three engines landed back on the floor, Stephanie slid down the chains with Sir Robert Norramby, including King Godred.
"Well, flatten my funnel!" Stephen exclaimed. "Is that King Godred himself?!"
"Yes, he is!" Stephanie nodded.
Stephanie reached around her neck and took out the Dust Whistle, double checking if she was on the right symbol before blowing it, watching as the Tin Dust swirled around Glynn, Stephen, and Millie.
Soon the Tin Dust cleared and showed the three in different appearances, Glynn resembling a minotaur, Stephen resembling a centaur, and Millie resembling the harpy of an Eurasian blue tit.
Glynn's human body has wrinkly Caucasian skin, short white hair, and a suit that matches his livery.
Stephen's human half has wrinkly Caucasian skin, long, armpit-length white hair, and a suit that matches his livery.
Millie's human body has Caucasian skin, long jet-black hair, and wearing a blend of between dress and suit, matching her livery.
"Great!" Stephanie smiled before telling the baffled Ms. Richards after seeing the three former engines transform into semi-humans, and they were also baffled. "I'll explain later. Now, follow us."
Stephen stumbled onto his hooves with the help of Millie and Glynn, and they started heading out of the throne room to exit Ulfstead Castle.
Meanwhile, Ember was still searching for clues to find a treasure map they had discovered while looking through an ancient book Lieutenant Hammerman had discovered.
It excited Baz, Bernie, and Sailor John that they would find a treasure that did not belong in a museum, while the others were slightly offended that it was the 'only thing' they thought of.
On the other hand, Ember believed that she would discover a new source of magic that belonged to Sodor.
Unfortunately, this caught the attention of Flex Dexter when Bernie was telling it to Baz, who was fired from his job after a scene involving him with Fireman Sam.
He wants to split the money with Baz, Bernie, and Sailor John to build his own studio and 'make things even' with Fireman Sam.
There were debates on how they would split it evenly, but Ember told them that she was good at sorting and would help, mostly to her disappointment.
"Okay," Ember mumbled as she turned to the others. "The clue isn't here. Try looking in different areas that we haven't looked at before."
"Like what?" Diesel asked.
"The ceiling, the rooms, anywhere!" Sailor John huffed. "Just go find it."
"Okay, okay, fine!" Conrad snorted. "You guys search around here. I'll look in the kitchen because I think there's something good cooking there."
"Obviously thinking with his stomach." P.T. Boomer mumbled but paused as he reached around his neck and looked at his whistle.
He still has not talked much to Lady since he joined the group to keep them from trailing off from what their goals are, but he does not know how to feel about her since they made peace between the two.
With Conrad, he was walking down the hallway, where he could smell spices, and other smells through the air, impressed that Stephanie was right.
"Oh, I hope there is some good food!" Conrad smirked, walking before stopping in front of a hole in the castle as an eye opened and looked down at him. "No, I hope I can find some stew! I would like some good old-fashioned roast then!"
Flex Dexter walked over to a window, perked up after seeing Stephanie and the other group run through the hallway, and remarked, "Well, they found what they were looking for!" Then he paused after noticing that something was off. "But where's the-?"
"DRAGON!" Conrad screamed at the top of his lungs after seeing the dragon's eye as it backed up.
Conrad turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could as a burst of fire went through the hole, and he continued running in a straight line before the same dragon crashed through another hole in the castle, roaring.
Everyone turned around and saw the dragon chasing after Conrad, giving an almighty roar that echoed through the castle's walls, causing everyone to shriek.
"OH, SINK ME!" Sailor John cursed as they ran like the devil nipped at their heels.
Outside, Stephanie and the group stopped after hearing a scream and looked, watching as a dragon's tail crashed through the castle's walls, causing the second group to fall out.
Diesel and Lieutenant Hammerman quickly flapped their wings to avoid crashing the group, even flying away as the dragon went through the hole it made and went outside.
"Oh, holy-!" Stephanie exclaimed after seeing the dragon appear through the hole, giving another roar.
Everyone started running as the dragon chased, swirling before beginning to attack, causing everyone to scramble.
"I thought you said it was only a dragon fused with a lion?!" Baz exclaimed.
"I didn't specify!" Stephanie exclaimed before creating a circle and blocking an attack from the dragon when it charged toward her, causing her to be flung backward and land on her bottom as it went upward.
The dragon saw Ms. Richards and growled, angry that its captor had been freed, as Sir Robert Norramby stood between it and Ms. Richards.
It charged toward Sir Robert Norramby, but it was stopped when Flex Dexter grabbed its horns with his hands, managing to stop it from getting close.
"Don't worry!" Flex Dexter smirked as hordes of Nightmares poured through the castle's walls and windows. "I gottttwhoa!"
He was suddenly flung upward as the dragon shook its head, trying to get Flex Dexter off its horns as he held on tight.
At that moment, Sir Robert Norramby noticed something wrapped around its neck, glowing like a collar with a crystal gemstone.
The collar disappeared when the fur covered it after the dragon flung Flex Dexter off, causing him to soar before landing on the ground with an "Oof!"
The dragon was about to fire another blast when Stephanie used her string ability and sealed the dragon's jaws together, causing it to snort fire and gag a little as she struggled.
Diesel 10 noticed and wrapped his arms around Stephanie, being dragged forward as he dug his heels into the ground, holding onto Stephanie.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Stephanie winced in pain as her hands were in fists with the strings wrapped around her fingers.
The dragon used its long tail and body to swipe toward the others, missing a few times but knocking over a good half as it struggled.
The dragon lifted its head up and caused both Stephanie and Diesel 10 to lift, but P.T. Boomer grabbed Diesel 10 by wrapping his arms around him, causing the dragon to snort with pain as more gold strings wrapped around its head and neck.
"Move backward!" Stephanie called.
P.T. Boomer stepped backward while holding Diesel 10, and Diesel 10 held onto Stephanie, wincing whenever a Nightmare bit his legs or yanked at his clothes.
Everyone attended to help get rid of the Nightmares, using what they had in their hands to get rid of them and even destroying the cores, as Stephanie pointed out.
Cleo was carrying Romeo and followed Diesel and Lieutenant Hammerman as the Nightmares were jumping and attempting to snap at them before Romeo noticed the same collar with a crystal gemstone as it was doing tug-of-war against Stephanie.
Diesel noticed and, without thinking, made a bold move, quickly diving towards the shiny object but avoiding the dragon's tail, attempting to smack against him, even the arms.
Diesel gripped the gemstone and tugged against it, using his wings' strength to pull it off.
The dragon was torn between getting that winged creature away from its only weakness and the strings tied around its snout.
So it used its tail again, and with a quick, smooth swipe, it sliced against the strings, and it all snapped, causing both the dragon and Stephanie, Diesel 10, and P.T. Boomer to fall backward.
Diesel was launched forward at that moment, and the gemstone popped off from the collar, now holding onto the empty collar as it dropped and landed between the dragon and the three.
The dragon panicked after seeing its prized gemstone on the ground and attempted to reach towards it, but Diesel gave a "Caw!" after snapping out of what he was doing, startling the dragon as it sputtered feathers.
Gordon quickly grabbed the gemstone in his hand and took off, causing the dragon to snarl as smoke came out of its nostrils, and it thumped its clawed hands to grab him, but Gordon smoothly missed.
"Gordon!" Spencer called. "Toss the gemstone to me!"
Gordon did so and avoided another attack from the dragon, and Spencer grabbed the gemstone and galloped away from the dragon, playing a game of 'Keep Away.'
Diesel finally managed to escape the dragon, and it snorted but noticed that its gemstone was not in Gordon's hands but in the silver centaur.
It snarled and chased after Spencer, who instantly panicked and handed the gemstone to an unexpected Conrad.
"What should I-?" Conrad's conversation was interrupted when the dragon loomed and shrieked, and he ran underneath the dragon as it chased after him.
"Takeittakeittakeittakeittakeittakeit!" Conrad shrieked towards Sailor John, who grabbed it and quickly rushed away, and Conrad hid behind one of the tables as the dragon turned away from him.
Sailor John then handed the gemstone to Diesel 10's Pinchy, who sealed it before winding back and tossing it as the dragon narrowly missed Diesel 10.
The gemstone fumbled from Bernie's hands and scattered across the ground, causing the dragon to attempt to grab it with its claws, but it was scooped up by Cleo, who dove.
"Cleo, be careful!" Stephanie called as the dragon quickly started flying, chasing after Cleo. "Oh, crap!"
"Quick, do something!" Darius exclaimed, shaking Stephanie's shoulders with his hands.
"How?!" Stephanie exclaimed, healing her fingers from the string's burns. "That gemstone was the dragon's weakness, and it needed to shatter to get rid of the dragon!"
Sir Robert Norramby looked around carefully and got an idea, knowing he was carrying a sword with him and could have potential.
He quickly ran through the castle and kicked away every Nightmare blocking his way, sometimes pushing them out from the window or against something.
Cleo was flying as fast as she could while carrying the gemstone in her arms, looking back frantically as the dragon chased after her, roaring while smoothly easing through the narrow gaps of the towers.
She looked forward and continued flying before hearing flapping noises and looking over, seeing Lieutenant Hammerman and Diesel.
"Quick, hand it to me!" Lieutenant Hammerman urged.
Cleo handed the gemstone to Lieutenant Hammerman and avoided a bite from the dragon, which changed its mind and chased after Lieutenant Hammerman.
He then passed the gemstone over to Diesel, who did the same, squeezing through narrow gaps and the towers.
The dragon stubbornly attempted and struggled a few times before it finally wrapped itself around some towers and tried to go through the middle, but it got stuck.
Cleo, Lieutenant Hammerman, and Diesel sighed a little relief before being startled when a small group of Nightmares were holding a bag and caught them all, dropping them onto one of the roofs.
The gemstone fell out of Cleo's hands, and a Nightmare grabbed it, giving a smirk of pride before being sucker punched by Sir Robert Norramby's fist.
"Bother!" Sir Robert Norramby huffed as the gemstone clattered away before getting stuck in a gutter.
The dragon saw and took its chance, squeezing through the small gap as it clawed its claws through the stone.
Sir Robert Norramby stepped out from the window he was poking his head out of and closed it before Nightmares chased after him, slipping a little but keeping himself upright.
"Be careful, Robert!" Sir Topham Hatt called. "You're not thirty years old anymore!"
Sir Robert Norramby ignored Sir Topham Hatt and carefully walked across the tile roof, reaching towards the stuck gemstone, where it glowed.
The dragon frantically attempted to squeeze between the castle's towers, breaking one of its horns off, but ignored it as its eyes flared red.
Another slip of the foot and Sir Robert Norramby uttered a small curse but continued walking towards the gemstone while everyone watched, nail-biting anxiously.
He was nearly close to the gemstone when the window smashed, and the Nightmares poured out, some falling over the ledge while others went towards Sir Robert Norramby.
One of them grabbed his ankle and yanked him back, causing him to slip and fall on his front, but he held the ledge of the gutter in front of the gemstone.
"Robert!" Ms. Richard shrieked.
Sir Robert Norramby pulled himself forward and was barely fingers away from the gemstone, kicking against one of the Nightmares' faces to stop their attempts to drag him backward.
Stephanie quickly flicked her wrist, which transformed into a bow, aiming toward the Nightmares as Sir Robert Norramby tried to kick them away.
She waited a second before firing one of the crystal arrows, hitting one of the Nightmares holding onto his ankle, and it disappeared out of sight.
The others returned a little after Stephanie fired a few more shots, and Sir Robert Norramby took this moment, pulling himself forward and grabbing the gemstone.
Unfortunately, the dragon eventually made it through the towers and moved toward Sir Robert Norramby. Sir Robert Norramby quickly stood up, but the dragon grabbed him.
"Robert!" Ms. Richard shouted and attempted to follow but was held back by the others.
Stephanie instead took out her Zodiac Pocket Watch. She clicked on it, transforming into a Zodiac before taking off as the others watched in amazement.
Sir Robert Norramby pushed himself against the dragon's grip as it flew through the air, purposely bumping against trees to make him drop the gemstone, but he held onto it.
The dragon snorted with anger and went faster, going through more and more trees, but Sir Robert Norramby held on, not wanting to let go of the gemstone.
Suddenly, a roar went through the air that sounded like the dragon itself, but when Sir Robert Norramby looked forward, he saw what looked like an Imperial Dragon!
The Imperial Dragon had Jupiter patterns in the blue scheme with a lapis lazuli underbelly, black horns, and long whiskers, and it was flying towards the dragon as it looked back with a shocked expression.
That Imperial Dragon wrapped itself around the dragon, and the two started fighting, biting, and crashing through the trees, and Sir Robert Norramby had to hold on and make himself into a ball.
The dragon bit the Imperial Dragon on the neck and shrieked, falling downward before crashing into a small, empty area.
Everyone tumbled to the ground, and the gemstone fell from Sir Robert Norramby's arms, landing between the dragon and himself.
Seeing this, Sir Robert Norramby quickly went onto his feet, but this arthritis kicked in, but he ignored the pain as he charged forward with his sword in his hand.
The dragon scrambled up and attempted to blast fire toward him, but his foot stepped on a crystal that shot out red dust, swirling around Sir Robert Norramby as fire burst toward him.
The dragon stopped and saw that Sir Robert Norramby was perfectly fine, but the gemstone was shattered as Sir Robert Norramby swung his sword down, destroying it.
It shrieked in pain after the gemstone was shattered and squirmed around as it slowly burned away before disappearing.
Sir Robert Norramby collapsed on his knees, huffing and panting as his eyes turned red, but they were back to normal when he blinked.
A star emerged from where the dragon was and hovered momentarily before disappearing into the night sky.
Sir Robert Norramby sighed in relief as he slouched before perking up when the Imperial Dragon gingerly approached him, bleeding from around its neck.
Then he noticed the necklace around its neck with the Chinese symbol of the dragon, watching it tear the necklace off and transform it back into Stephanie, holding the Zodiac Pocket Watch in her hand as blue blood was coming from her injured neck as she had one neck covering it.
She stumbled towards Sir Robert Norramby and collapsed in his arms as he wordlessly held her, wondering what he should do to heal this injury on her neck.
Stephanie quickly pointed towards a small puddle a few steps away, silently urging Sir Robert Norramby to hurry toward it.
Sir Robert Norramby quickly followed, carrying Stephanie towards the puddle, wincing slightly from his arthritis but kneeling back down.
Stephanie placed a hand into the puddle, and water trailed from the puddle towards Stephanie from underneath her clothes, reaching towards her injury and pooling around.
Sir Robert Norramby watched as the water healed the injury around her neck before vanishing when it was all healed.
Stephanie wordlessly smiled after the healing worked before she was hugged by Sir Robert Norramby, but instead of stiffening, Stephanie returned the hug to Sir Robert Norramby.
However, they both collapsed from exhaustion from fighting against the Black Zodiac, with Sir Robert Norramby lying on his back and Stephanie on top of him.
After they collapsed, a dragon-like humanoid stepped out from the shadows and approached the two, staring at them with black scleras and red eyes with vertical pupils.
The dragon-like humanoid sighed and knelt, gingerly scooping Sir Robert Norramby and Stephanie into its arms before carrying them out from nowhere, flicking behind a purple tail.
