“I can return us to our departure point. It’s partially my fault we are here at all.” Mr. Wiggles said.
“How so?” Andy asked.
“The last time we were all together, I felt something invade our minds as we slept. As I’ve had very little time to train my mother in protecting her dreams, I doubted any of you had any experience whatsoever in it. I attempted to fight back against whatever it was alone. While I managed to keep us all alive, I failed to do anything much beyond that. We were still thrown from the Under Library into the abyss. Luckily, as you were all still under the creature's spell, I was able to guide you all into my birthplace safely. I should be able to rip open a portal back to the Under Library, though how much subjective time will have passed when we return, I don’t know.” The cat looked at them with an apologetic face, much different than the annoyance it usually showed them after a rescue.
“And now Zoz is free to plague my childhood. This explains why the creature already harbored such a hatred for me when Chris and I first encountered it.” Ralth added in a somber tone.
“I’m truly sorry, but had I allowed Andy to find us earlier, I would have stood no chance against what Zoz had become. In my wildest imaginations I didn’t see Andrew being the one to find a way to fight the creature.” Mr. Wiggles continued his apology.
“About time I got some recognition, and now I have a penguin army. Hrm, Bill, where did you get your lab coat? I’m going to need to have several made.” Andrew smiled as he looked over at the penguins.
“It is unlikely you will have the strength to keep us around for very long. I would suggest against the lab coats for now and focus more on strengthening your ability to pull us forth.” One of the penguins suggested, causing Andrew to frown.
“Hey, as much as I’m enjoying all the fuzzy happy moments instead of running for my life. I don’t want to be here anymore. So, can yous all open the way back? I’ve almost died way too many times recently.” Twonger coughed, accentuating his near-death point.
“Penguins, Bear if you could return to your proper primal, I will then get the rest of us out of here.” Mr. Wiggles clawed the air, opening a portal to a land of snow. The penguins each hugged Andrew as they waddled their way back home, leaving a final hug from a giant bear.
“Sorry I tried to eat you, but we had to make sure you were capable.” The bear said.
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“Yes, it’s quite okay, I get it. Goodbye for now.” Andrew pulled out of the hug and waved his new friend off. The portal closed as soon as the bear was through.
“When we return, I believe we will be closer to the center of the Under Library than we left. However, I think we were closer to one of the problems plaguing the wing than we understood at the time. I don’t fully understand what we will face when we return but be prepared to run and fight. I doubt we will find much safety until we have found the chief engineer.” With those words, Mr. Wiggles once again scratched deeply into the air, leaving behind a hazy portal and a view of bookshelves.
The stacks they returned to were covered in dust and cobwebs. The air tasted stale, and everything around them seemed unkept. Andy watched as Libby ran a finger across one of the shelves, pulled it back, and looked at the grime, coating it in disgust.
“I’m guessing this isn’t normal anywhere in the library from your look?” Andy asked the Librarian.
“No. While we may have been running short on staff, there were enough janitorial staff to ensure nothing like this would ever occur. Based on this buildup, we’ve been gone for several years. Whatever infestation was already present has likely grown much worse,” she answered.
“Hey, I know I say this a lot, but we need to run now!” Twonger shouted, taking off while looking behind him. Andy turned to see what had scared the man so much and saw a little girl walking down the aisle towards them.
“Uh, Twonger, this doesn’t seem so bad.” He turned his head only to see Twonger had crashed into a giant teddy bear that had walked out in front of him.
“YOU HURT TEDDY, I DON’T WANT YOU AS FRIENDS!” The little girl screamed.
“Ralth, you’re with me. Everyone else help Twonger.” Andy ordered as he started walking towards the girl. “Hey there, little…” He cut off as they neared each other. Her form suddenly flicked from that of a small lost child into a winged monstrosity with sharp teeth.
“It appears this is why Twonger wanted us to run. It's too late for that now,” Ralth said as he channeled a blast of shimmering mana at the girl. She pulled slightly to the side, letting it tear through her wings. The holes it left started healing immediately.
“New plan. Ralth go help them get the path clear as quickly as possible. I’ll be there in a moment.” Andy yelled as he started coalescing his mana into a large black ball directly in front of him. Ralth, looking to have realized his plan, ran back the other way just as the little girl made contact with the ball.
It exploded in a wave that both lessened the gravity of the areas it hit and also flung both Andy and the girl in opposite directions. In Andy’s case, it was back towards the group and the giant bear. For the monster formerly posing as a child, it was in the darkness of the aisle.
She screamed as she went, “TEDDY, HELP ME.” Andy saw the bear leap over him as he landed, running after her.
“Well, that works, I guess. Everyone group up. We are taking to the air for as long as I can hold it.” Andy yelled.