Journey Beyond the Stars

Chapter 4: The Enchanted Transformation

After analyzing the alien relic, Joe heard a noise nearby. She quickly put on her clothes and went to investigate.

"What was that?" she murmured, cautiously moving towards the sound.

It was a cute baby animal, similar to a fox on Earth, fluffier with fur like cotton and eyes like the universe. The creature was badly hurt.

"Oh, you poor thing," Joe said softly, kneeling down. "Let's see if I can help you."

She gently touched the animal to help it. Suddenly, her pocket sparkled, and she pulled out the things from her Pocket.

"What is happening?" Joe exclaimed, watching the element glow.

When it touched the animal, the element was used up to heal it.

"Wow, it's working," she whispered in amazement. "You're getting better."

Startled, the animal bit Joe.

"Ouch!" Joe cried. "It's okay, I'm trying to help."

Her blood fell on the alien relic, which was in contact with both the animal and Joe. In an instant, Joe transformed into the same kind of animal, her fur changing to a silver-white.

"What... what is happening to me?" Joe gasped, looking down at her new form. "This can't be real!"

Shocked and disoriented, Joe realized she was still in the same place but now much smaller. She looked at her claws and fur in disbelief.

"This can't be real," Joe said, panicking. "I'm... I'm an animal?"

She hurried to the lake to see her reflection and was stunned to find herself as an unknown creature. Feeling alone and scared, she remembered her team and her planet Earth and started crying.

"Help! Someone, please help me!" Joe cried, her voice now a series of cute whimpers and yips.

Hearing noises from the direction she had found the animal, Joe walked towards them, hoping to find someone who could help her return to her original form.

Little did she know, the noises came from hunters searching for the animal they had previously injured. They found Joe and tried to capture her. Despite her struggle, she was not used to her new body and was easily captured.

"Let me go!" Joe tried to scream, but it came out as frantic yips. The hunters gave her something that made her fall unconscious.

Meanwhile, back in the cavern, Bettis and the rest of the team had managed to find a safe place. They were in shock and deeply worried about Joe's sudden disappearance.

"What do we do now?" Samuel asked, his voice trembling with concern.

"We need to find more evidence and understand what happened to Joe," Bettis said firmly.

"We can't let Jeff get away with dismissing this," Carine added angrily. "He doesn't care about anything but himself."

The team began their research, analyzing the scan of the alien relic for any signs or clues that could explain the strange events.

"This looks like the relic we scanned earlier," Samuel said. "Maybe it holds clues about Joe's disappearance."

"We need to study this carefully," Bettis said, examining the scan. "It might be our only way to understand what happened to Joe."

"We have to get out of this valley and inform the others," Cathe suggested. "The organization needs to know about this."

Bettis nodded in agreement. "Let's gather what we can and head back. We need all the help we can get to find Joe and understand what we're dealing with."

The team couldn't shake the feeling that they were on the brink of discovering something extraordinary. They informed the organization of the situation and received orders to find more evidence of Joe's disappearance while continuing their mission. Bettis and Joe's team returned to the valley to search for more clues. Jeff refused to join, dismissing it as a trivial matter.

"Are you seriously not coming?" Kalix asked Jeff, incredulous. "Joe's missing, and you think this is trivial?"

"I have more important things to do," Jeff replied dismissively. "You go play detective."

"You're a coward," Carine muttered under her breath as they prepared to leave.

Bettis took the lead and led them deeper into the valley. This time, they went to a different location filled with crystal elements, all white instead of the usual seven colors.

"Look at these," Samuel said, picking up a white crystal. "They're different from the others."

"We need to collect samples," Bettis instructed. "Be careful."

They ventured further, finding small tornados creating portal-like structures.

"What the...?" Cathe exclaimed. "Are those portals?"

"Stay alert," Bettis warned. "We need to scan and record everything."

For a test, they threw a white crystal into one of the portals, and in return, they received a relic similar to the one Joe had found, but slightly different.

"Did you see that?" Kalix asked, amazed. "It gave us a relic!"

"This is too strange," Bettis said. "We need to get out of here and report this."

The team quickly left the valley. They decided to inform the organization about the portals but kept the crystal and relic exchange a secret.

"Do you think the organization will believe us?" Samuel asked.

"They have to," Bettis replied. "We have evidence."

The organization instructed them to further investigate the portals, appointing Bettis as the mission lead.

Jeff, furious, confronted Bettis. "Don't think you're better than me because of some mission," he spat.

"It's not about being better," Bettis replied calmly. "It's about finding Joe and understanding what's happening."

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Jeff," Carine said with a smirk.

"Yeah, maybe you should focus on the mission instead of flirting," Kalix added.

Now, Bettis and his team were ready to embark on the mission to research the mysterious portals, determined to uncover the secrets and bring Joe back safely.