Stella Vermillion never imagined how deeply her life would unravel in just an instant.
Moments before, she stood in her private dorm room at Hagun Institution, preparing for the first day of the new school year. As the most powerful and celebrated student—royalty, even—her life followed a structured path: train, study, excel, repeat.
She was removing her blazer when the air pulsed with a strange energy. The room's atmosphere warped. And then it appeared: a glowing rift sliced the air in half, as though someone had torn open reality itself.
—What in the world…? —she whispered, retreating backward in shock.
The rift crackled with arcane energy, and suddenly, an invisible force began to pull everything inward—breaker, clothing, backpack—and eventually, Stella herself.
Instinctively, she grabbed the corner of her bedpost, trying to hold her ground. Big mistake. Everything on the bed—books, backpack, even a heavy metal training dumbbell—followed her in, and the dumbbell cracked her head wide open.
Blackness.
When she opened her eyes again, she was enveloped in an alien glow. The sounds around her were electronic hums, bleeps, and a constant mechanical pulse. The walls, impossibly large on the inside, contradicted the doorway she'd walked through. She had been transported into something… incredible.
A voice broke through the haze.
—Hello! You awake? Don't touch that! It might be a quantum microcontroller—or a teapot. I can never remember which is which.
Stella listened warily. The speaker's hair was wild, his eyes sharp and quick. This was the Doctor—eccentric, unpredictable, and oddly comforting.
Next, she met Endeavour, a man whose body glowed with fierce flame. His power was immense, controlled, effortless—an intensity that Stella both recognized and respected.
And then, the pirate. Jack Sparrow, swaying into the room, reeking of rum, wearing a ridiculous hat, and speaking as if in reverse.
Meeting both of them should have been unnerving. Meeting them alongside two idiotic boys—one always electric, the other awkwardly sticky—made her reconsider everything she thought she knew.
Before long, she confronted Shiryu, a warrior with armor that repelled flame attacks completely. Stella's attacks burned with magical fire, but his armor barely flinched. Her sword met steel. His technique met precision. It was the toughest fight she had ever led in her life.
—Your armor... how is it that durable? —she'd asked during a brief pause.
Back in the present, Stella walked the dusty cobblestones of a colonial port, her red hair catching moonlight, her uniform hidden beneath period-appropriate stolen clothes. She was searching for clues about the skeletal pirates and their cursed medallion. She had to understand them before they understood her.
A voice broke her concentration.
—Hey, fire-haired lady! That's one burning look you have. Care to talk?
Stella looked over to find Jack Sparrow, leaning against a barrel, his usual crooked grin in place.
—Jack Sparrow—she said, eyes rolling—. I was about to pretend you didn't exist.
His grin widened.
—Too bad—he said—. We need company.
Before she could dismiss him, Barbossa appeared: sword drawn, eyes cold, face lit by moonlight and desperation.
—Sparrow, you thief! You took gold... and something else. Tell me… who is she?
With no warning, the pirate mob attacked.
Stella ignited her flaming sword. She fought fiercely beside Jack, her power blazing. He fought with cunning clumsiness, stumbling and deflecting with unexpected agility.
But more trouble approached—soldiers were marching in.
—The governor's men—Jack hissed—. They'll be upon us any moment.
—What now? —Stella asked, cutting through steel.
—We make a run for it—he said calmly—. I know a boat.
They sprinted through alleys, firing and blocking their way to the docks. They reached a small ship unguarded.
—We can use this—Jack said, grabbing a cleat.
—No—I pulled away—this is theft!
—Second star to the right… No time for ethics. Let's move.
With a reluctant huff, she followed him aboard. She'd rather do anything but steal a boat, but time didn't offer moral options tonight.
Shots rang out behind them, but by the time they set stealthily out to sea, the only thing left to say was:
—What is my life becoming— she thought, staring at moonlit waves.