Stephanie blinked awake, and her vision blurred at first but slowly cleared up, revealing what looked like bundles of clouds.
She perked up after seeing the clouds and gingerly pushed herself up from where she was, noticing she was sitting on Sir Robert Norramby's lap, who was also slowly waking up.
He looked at what he was sitting on—a large, fluffy cloud resembling a chair, gently cushioning his weight.
"Don't move around too much." A voice gently warned them, causing them both to glance over. "Your bodies are still healing from the Torn Prince's attack."
Sitting on one of the clouds was a handsome man with a fan in his hand and wearing elaborate clothes, and some parts of his body were covered with sky-blue scales, horns, and a dragon's tail.
"Your movements will rip the healing seals off of your bodies," the half-dragon humanoid explained, mentioning the seals on some parts of their bodies.
"These are healing seals?" Stephanie hoarsely asked as she laid back down to keep herself from moving too much.
"Yes, they are." The half-dragon humanoid nodded and stood up from where he was as the clouds underneath him cushioned his weight. "How did you two get into my dimension, though? You both were unconscious when I discovered you on one of the clouds."
"That's a good question." Sir Robert Norramby nodded, wincing a little from one of his sore spots stinging.
The half-dragon humanoid gently cocked his head to the side with curiosity, tapping his fan in the palm of his other hand as his tail gently flicked a little.
"Are they awake?" another voice asked, and the half-dragon humanoid looked at the person who spoke.
"Yes, they are." He nodded before returning to the two. "They are still healing from their injuries."
Emerging from the clouds was a beautiful woman with short red hair, the tips of which were white, fair Caucasian skin, red eyes, and wearing a red uniform, black fingerless gloves, red boots, and a cap on her head.
"That's a relief." She sighed, stepping further toward them before pausing. "Have you got anything from them on how they got here?"
"No, they have the same reaction as us." The half-dragon humanoid answered. "They don't know how they got in here."
"Huh," the woman remarked. "Well then. Let's start with introductions and save that thought for later."
She walked over to the other side of the chair and looked at the half-dragon humanoid, asking, "May you summon a chair for me, Lóng?"
The half-dragon, Lóng, nodded and swirled his fan, causing a small bundle of clouds to form into a chair for the woman to sit down.
"Thank you," she bowed to Lóng before turning to Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby. "Now, my name is Cressida, the Western Zodiac Guardian of Leo," she mentioned to herself before mentioning to Lóng with a hand.
"My name is Lóng, the Chinese Zodiac Guardian of the Dragon." Lóng introduced with a polite bow.
"Pleased to meet you two," Stephanie nodded. "I wish to introduce myself formally, but I am currently stuck in this position and do not want to rip off your hard work of banding us."
"It's okay," Cressida assured. "You can introduce yourself like that."
"Thank you," Stephanie thanked. "I'm Stephanie Allen, the current user of the Zodiac Pocket Watch."
"And I'm Sir Robert Norramby, the Earl of Sodor." Sir Robert Norramby introduced himself.
Then Stephanie sits up a little, asking, "Where's the pocket watch?"
"It's right here." Cressida reached into her hidden pocket, took out the Zodiac Pocket Watch from inside, and showed it to Stephanie.
She sighed after seeing the Zodiac Pocket Watch, and Cressida stood up, carefully putting the pocket watch into Stephanie's pocket.
"Be careful next time you carry it." Cressida gently warned.
"Thank you." Stephanie thanked Cressida.
They continued sitting in that position, and it was a little uncomfortable for Stephanie to lie on top of someone in a suit of armor, but Stephanie was patient and stayed in that position.
But for Sir Robert Norramby, he never had a child lie on his body or even when he was sitting on a chair!
…But it felt strangely nice like he was caring for a kid of his own.
Suddenly, one of the seals broke, causing Sir Robert Norramby and Stephanie to perk up, watching the seal fall off Stephanie's arm.
"It looks like your healing is finished." Lóng perked up after noticing one of the seals breaking. "Wait for the others to break before moving."
Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby nodded and waited patiently as the seals started slowly breaking off their bodies, falling off them, transforming into ash, and disappearing.
Soon, the last one fell off Stephanie's right arm, and Stephanie carefully stepped off Sir Robert Norramby's body, then slowly stood up with the help of Lóng and Cressida.
"Thank you." Sir Robert Norramby and Stephanie simultaneously thanked them.
"You're welcome." Lóng nodded before removing his clawed hands from Sir Robert Norramby. "Follow us, please."
They nodded and started following Lóng and Cressida, Sir Robert Norramby silently noticing how soft the clouds were underneath his weight, sometimes even sinking in a little whenever he stepped forward.
"Are you okay, sir?" Stephanie politely asked Sir Robert Norramby after watching him trip a little.
"The clouds are a little too soft," Sir Robert Norramby gently responded. "I'm worried I might fall through them with all this armor on me."
Stephanie reached around her neck and removed the Dust Whistle from it, turned the knob to gold, and blew into it, the Gold Dust swirling around them before disappearing, showing them normal appearances.
"That's much better, thank you." Sir Robert Norramby thanked her, and Stephanie smiled.
They continued following Lóng and Cressida before coming across the end of the cloud, and the group stopped.
"Now, to find Brigantia and Kosumi," Lóng spoke, turning to the three. "I will carry you all to our destination."
Stephanie nodded and asked, "Are there any rules if we ride your back?"
"Don't tug too much on my fur." Lóng nodded after Stephanie asked.
He turned around and tucked his fan into his pants pocket before transforming into an Imperial Dragon as the three watched.
After the transformation, Lóng carefully knelt towards the three, and the two adults were the first to climb onto his back before helping Stephanie on, sitting in front of Sir Robert Norramby.
Once everyone was seated, Lóng took off into the sky, almost galloping through the clouds and air, swirling up and down to glide with the air.
The launch was startling at first, with Stephanie flinching and holding onto Lóng's fur with her hands, but Stephanie slowly calmed down after seeing how smooth the ride was.
Lóng soared through the air, gliding through the clouds and with the wind, carrying Stephanie, Sir Robert Norramby, and Cressida on his back.
Meanwhile, a humanoid bull with brown fur is wearing a kilt with a sash across the chest from the left shoulder and a sword in its hilt on the bull's back, and the bull is watching out in the distance, almost like they are waiting for someone.
They perked up when they watched a gigantic Imperial Dragon appear and stepped back, allowing the dragon to land before kneeling to allow passengers to hop off.
"That was fantastic!" Sir Robert Norramby happily bubbled as he helped Stephanie down from the Imperial Dragon's back. "It felt like I was riding on a smooth ride in a train carriage!"
"That's one way of putting it!" Stephanie smiled.
Cressida hopped off the gigantic Imperial Dragon's back and landed on the ground before the dragon transformed into Lóng.
"Hello, Brigantia," Lóng greeted the bull before noticing something. "Where's Kosumi?"
"Kosumi went tae check on some things," Brigantia explained. "She promisit tae be back i aboot-"
"Right now." A female voice spoke, stepping out from a bundle of clouds and carrying something in her arm. "Sorry, I was checking on the salmon flow."
She wore a red cloak with a headdress and necklaces resembling a rainbow trout but blended with a humanoid appearance.
After seeing Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby, she perked up and sighed, "Oh, good. I wasn't late for anything."
She approached the two, and Stephanie saw a small rectangular wooden box in her arm, but she decided to save the inquiry for later.
"Here," Stephanie said, reaching into her blue jeans and taking out the Zodiac Pocket Watch.
"Thank you, Stephanie." Lóng thanked her.
The four gently tapped the Zodiac Pocket Watch, and, like before, a vision appeared in Stephanie's mind.
The vision showed what looked like people working at a dock, and she was following a small group.
They looked familiar to Stephanie, but she could not tell what they could be because she could not see their faces.
A beautiful yet haunting violin melody suddenly entered the air, causing onlookers at the docks to perk up after hearing the song and looking out into the ocean.
Some looked the same, but whoever was looking out into the ocean, Stephanie's eyes were staring at their backs.
The violin music got closer and closer, showing what looked like a galleon ship arriving from the fog with someone sitting at the bow of the galleon, playing the violin in their arms.
The person had long hair that waved in the wind and was sitting comfortably at the front while holding the violin in their arms and playing that melody repeatedly.
She could not see the rest of the body as the violin continued playing, but whoever was staring out from the distance held the same box in their arms.
The vision ended, and Stephanie hummed a little, looking thoughtful as a group of clouds moved away, showing an opening that perked up the Zodiac Guardians.
"Follow us," Lóng gently ushered.
The Zodiac Guardians walked forward, and Stephanie and Sir Robert Norramby followed, exiting from the cloud-filled dimension and entering a hallway.
As they walked through the hallway, Stephanie's ears heard what sounded like a violin playing, and she stopped walking, glancing around to see where the music was coming from.
The violin's music sounded exactly like the one Stephanie heard in the vision, and she wondered where it was coming from.
"Stephanie?" Stephanie perked up after hearing her name called and glanced back, seeing Kosumi looking confused as the others walked ahead. "Why did you stop?"
Stephanie stayed silent for a second as the violin music stopped, responding, "I thought I heard something. Sorry, my ears sometimes play tricks on me."
"They do?" Kosumi asked as Stephanie caught up to her and walked by her side. "What can they hear?"
"Strange things," Stephanie responded. "It usually ranges from someone whispering into my ear to even the normal sounds like screeching brakes; it hurts me to hear those noises."
Kosumi gently hummed after Stephanie explained and slowly responded, "I think you can hear things that others can't. For instance, strange music comes from an artifact only for those who can 'hear' it."
Kosumi quoted 'hear' with her free hand while the other was holding the small wooden box as Stephanie looked at it with a somewhat thoughtful expression.
"Interesting." Before mentioning the small wooden box, Stephanie asked, "Where did you find that box?"
"I found it when a salmon accidentally crashed into it," Kosumi explained. "I don't know what it could be and can't seem to unlock it."
She showed as she tried to unlock the small lock, but her short claws only scratched at it lightly with no luck.
"Do you mind if I see if I can open it?" Stephanie suggested taking this moment to get the box.
"Of course!" Kosumi nodded, handing the box to Stephanie. "I don't have much interest in collecting things littered around the ocean floor."
Stephanie chuckled lightly after Kosumi commented as she took the box before drawing a circle to place the box into her secret dimension for the moment.
"How did you do that?" Kosumi asked.
"It's a special ability I discovered," Stephanie explained as they continued walking, noticing the group had stopped. "Hey? Why did you all stop?"
"The gate on the other side is closed," Lóng explained, stepping aside for Stephanie to look. "I kept forgetting there was another gate walking through here."
"Don't worry," Stephanie assured as she approached the gate. "I'll unlock it."
Stephanie lifted her hands and placed them on the gate, hearing the lock unlock before slowly pushing it open.
As she opened the gate, Stephanie had an eerie feeling someone was staring at her from the background, causing her to briefly look around but see no one there.
Once the gate was opened, the Zodiac Guardians stepped inside, and the others saw their siblings enter and started welcoming them, even hugging them.
Stephanie stepped to the side to allow the growing family to interact with each other, even noticing Sir Robert Norramby wandering off, exploring the place with excitement.
"Is this a zodiac dimension?" Sir Robert Norramby asked, turning to Stephanie.
"Yes," Stephanie nodded with a smile. "It's where all the zodiacs gather here to give respectful zodiacs to whoever is born. For instance, if a baby was born on a certain date or year, they have the zodiac of that exact date or year."
"Interesting!" Sir Robert Norramby commented as he looked at the shelves of books. "They even have recordings of the births."
"Och, almost aw o thaim," Eoghania responded. "We're still missin' half o' the family tae rebuild awthing thon wis separatit."
Sir Robert Norramby looked confused about what Eoghania explained, and Chayton responded, "She means that not all of the dimension is repaired because we are missing more of our siblings."
"Thon's whit A wis tryin tae explain!" Eoghania exclaimed as her fur ruffled a little.
Stephanie chuckled after Eoghania exclaimed before taking out her Zodiac Pocket Watch and opening it as she turned to the Leo Zodiac.
She tapped the crown and transformed into a half-human and half-lion humanoid, wearing her clothes, but her pants were black tights for her hind legs.
"Oh, wow!" Stephanie remarked as she looked at her body. "I am," she said, feeling her mane around her head with her hands and a smile. "I am super fluffy!"
Cressida looked confused after seeing Stephanie with a mane as she snuggled a little into it, asking, "Is it weird that Stephanie has a mane?"
"Tell thon tae her whan she has antlers i' her deer form," Moina mentioned, and Tatonga looked confused after Moina mentioned antlers.
Stephanie reached around her neck and paused when she could not feel the necklace before finally finding it snuggled within her long mane.
She removed the necklace and transformed into her human self before tapping it again to change into her bull form, resembling the Taurus Zodiac with animals but wearing different clothes.
"Huh," Stephanie remarked with a smirk as she felt around with her hands. "I look almost like my Taurus appearance."
She paused when she gripped the necklace around her neck, wondering if she could shift instead of having to pop the necklace off.
So Stephanie focused, and Stephanie slowly transformed into her dragon form before opening her eyes and seeing she was in her Imperial Dragon form but with her humanoid appearance, wearing her cheongsam.
"Perfect!" Stephanie beamed. "Now, to transform fully."
She focused again and transformed entirely into her dragon form, towering over everyone and looking at her body, even watching her whiskers gently wrap around the wrists of her arms.
"Huh," Stephanie remarked as her whisker unwrapped itself from her arms. "That's how Wendell uses his mustache."
Stephanie looked up at the ceiling with the thought of how she would fly using this form, remembering she does not have wings on her back like dragons would have.
But not wanting to create a ruckus, Stephanie gripped her necklace and focused, transforming into her Salmon Zodiac, startling herself when she collapsed on her front.
"Ow," Stephanie winced, pushing herself upright and looking at her lower half, seeing that her legs had transformed into the tail of a rainbow trout. "Oh, that's why."
She reached up to her necklace and popped it off, transforming back to normal as she stood up from the floor of the Zodiac Dimension.
"Sir?" Stephanie asked, pausing when she noticed Sir Robert Norramby was missing. "Sir, where did you go?"
She turned to Juzeth and asked, "Juzeth, do you know where Sir Robert Norramby is?"
"He wandered around over there," Juzeth explained as she mentioned the shelves of books. "But I didn't see where he went next."
Stephanie nodded and continued walking, searching for Sir Robert Norramby through the small crowd of Zodiac Guardians.
While searching for Sir Robert Norramby, Stephanie's ears suddenly heard the same violin music, causing her to turn around towards where the music was coming from.
It sounded so enchanting, like the violin was calling for her from where it was hiding.
Stephanie continued to stare out into the distance, listening to the violin music as it continued playing, and no one else seemed to hear the violin.
"Stephanie?" Stephanie flinched after feeling someone's hand land on her shoulder and looked up, calming down after seeing it was Sir Robert Norramby. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." Stephanie quickly responded with a shake of her head and noticed the music had stopped. "I was looking for you."
"I suppose I was a little curious about this place." Sir Robert Norramby chuckled sheepishly as he had a light blush on his cheeks.
"It's okay, sir!" Stephanie assured him. "You were curious, and I was trying to follow you to show you around but decided to practice with the pocket watch instead."
She flicked her wrist, and the bracelet transformed into an ink pen, piquing Sir Robert Norramby's curiosity after seeing the bracelet transform.
After the bracelet transformed, Stephanie started to draw out a door, sometimes transforming the ink pen into a staff for her to reach Sir Robert Norramby's height.
Once the drawing of the door was finished, the staff transformed into a bracelet around her wrist with a flick before tapping the drawing of the door.
The drawing transformed into a real door, and Stephanie gently took Sir Robert Norramby's hand, opening it as it showed the inside of Ulfstead Castle's throne room.
Ms. Richards was worried as she wandered back and forth in the throne room, rubbing her wrist while glancing around.
The others had started a search party through the forest but returned with no luck finding Sir Robert Norramby.
Suddenly, the door clicked open, and everyone prepared themselves as it slowly opened, expecting a Nightmare to appear.
But Stephanie stepped out of the door with Sir Robert Norramby.
"Hello!" Stephanie smiled before releasing Sir Robert Norramby's hand when Ms. Richard tackled Sir Robert Norramby into a hug.
"Robert!" Ms. Richards exclaimed before releasing him as Stephanie closed the door. "You're okay!"
"Yes, are you okay?" Sir Robert Norramby asked as they released their hug. "Did that Black Zodiac hurt you?"
"No, it just locked me in that cage." Ms. Richards answered. "But, where did you and Stephanie go? No one could find you or Stephanie!"
"May I speak up?" Stephanie asked, and Ms. Richards looked at her. "We entered the Zodiac Dimension, where the Zodiac Guardians reside after the Black Zodiac was defeated."
"'Zodiac Dimension?'" Ms. Richards repeated with confusion as she knelt at Stephanie's height. "You entered a dimension?"
"Yes, we did." Stephanie nodded. "Do you want us to explain what the dimension is?"
"Yes, I want to know what happened." Ms. Richards nodded.
Stephanie looked at the damage to the castle and responded, stepping towards the throne, "I will after fixing the castle's damage."
She flicked her wrist, and the bracelet transformed into a staff, thinking of the incantation of repairing she learned before saying, as the gemstone of her staff glowed, "Reparo!"
Instantly, everything started shifting around, and Stephanie yelped, instantly kneeling to one knee with the staff's end hitting the ground.
Outside, Glynn and the others were in their original appearances and watched in surprise as the castle's windows slowly returned to normal.
Even the scratches left behind by the Black Zodiac disappeared, along with the messes the Nightmares left behind.
The bricks were all shifting and becoming smooth, the museum's items were placed back into their original spots, and everything was becoming somewhat new.
Stephanie was somewhat bounced backward by the moving bricks but held onto her staff as the castle was slowly being repaired.
Eventually, everything was repaired, and Stephanie gingerly pushed herself up from the ground, looking slightly dizzy from all the movements.
"Okay," Stephanie groaned before being helped by Romeo and Cleo, noticing some of her energy was also drained. "Note to self: sit somewhere comfortable before activating the spell."
She perked up after seeing King Godred's ghost appear from the corner of her eye, glancing over while the group was distracted by noticing some changes to the castle.
King Godred smiled and bowed towards Stephanie, saying, "Thanketh thee f'r repairing mine own castle, young Stephanie."
Stephanie smiled back after King Godred thanked her before watching him disappear into thin air, and she turned back to Ms. Richards as she looked startled and confused.
Loud and angry snarls were heard as shattered items littered everywhere, ranging from wine bottles, destroyed plates and goblets, claw marks, and black ink-like substances on the walls.
"This mistake will not happen again!" The same voice growled, showing what looked like a person wearing red armor with long, shaggy, jet-black hair and a pair of red antlers on the head.
The person turned towards someone in the background and pointed with a clawed, black ink-like coated finger, hissing, "Bring out the others. And make sure none of them will come back empty-handed!"
"Yes, sir." The mysterious figure nodded before walking off, leaving the stranger alone as he returned to the scratched table.
"I want it." He snarls before slamming his hands against the table, and it shatters underneath his strength, roaring, "I WANT THE STAR!"