Just before anybody started to lose hope entirely, they came upon a bright light.
Buster awoke from his unconsciousness. He began to look around at his surrounding. He seemed to be in a very bright place. He looked down at the ground he was laying on. It was not the ground though; it was instead a huge cloud. He saw his friends still sleeping. He got up and started to wake everybody up.
"Yo Guys, wake up, we've stop falling" said Buster as he shook Babs.
"C'mon mommy" Babs murmured in her sleep, "Five more minutes"
"Babs, Wake up already," Buster said, "C'mon Barbara A …"
Babs then woke up and pounced upon Buster.
"Don't call me that blue ears" said Babs thru her teeth.
Everyone else started to wake up. Yawning and stretching their arms in the air, the whole gang began regaining consciousness.
"Yawn where are we" yawned Hamton.
"No idea Hammy" replied Buster.
"Looks a lot like a cloudy wonderland," said Plucky.
"Yeah," agreed James, "All I see are clouds, clouds and, oh yeah, did I mention more clouds."
"Hey I think I see something, or some junk," said Shirley pointing up ahead.
"What, more clouds," replied Plucky in a giggle.
"No" Shirley said, quite annoyed, "Look up ahead."
The gang looked in Shirley's direction. Up ahead (at least 45 feet ahead), was a giant library.
"Sacre Bleu," exclaimed Fifi, "Why would zeir be a library in zee clouds?"
"Maybe a place for angels to do homework" said Plucky in a sarcastic matter.
"Plucky" said everybody.
"C'mon everybody, let's investigate" said Buster as he rushed off towards the building.
"Isn't that what got us in this mess in the first place" murmured Plucky.
The old, oak door creaked as Buster slowly opened it.
"Hello," echoed Buster's voice as he called into the barren library, "Anybody home?"
"Ollie Ollie Oken Free" shouted Babs.
"Is it safe to come in?" asked Hamton.
"Pretty much" answered Buster.
The nine friends entered the library. It looked a whole lot bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. There were shelves of books as far as the eye could see. Everyone's footsteps echoed off the marble floor. The light inside the library was dim as can be. The only light sources available were the sunlight beaming through the beautifully designed stain glass windows, and the torches lit along side the walls.
"Man, look at all these books," said Buster as his voice echoed through the room, "The last time I saw these many books were in my nightmares."
"It would take me at least a hundred years to read all these books," said Plucky.
"You mean if you ever do read," replied Shirley, "The only thing you ever read are those 'Immature Radioactive Samurai Slugs' comics."
"Very funny," replied Plucky, "It is to laugh."
"Does anyone need help with anything?" said a mysterious voice. Everybody turned around, and then gave out a scream of horror.
"Sorry to have startled you. A thousand pardons dearly." Replied an old man. He was cloaked in a red robe. His face old and weary. His hair (or what was left of it) was white as snow. In his right hand, he carried a torch.
"To rephrase my question, does anyone need of assistance?" he asked again.
"Who are you?" asked Buster.
"The name is Rajah, Keeper of Knowledge. I am the head librarian here." Replied the old man.
"So Rajah, Do you know where we are?" asked Babs.
"Of course, your right here in front of me" replied Rajah.
"Great, That was a lot of help," said Plucky in a sarcastic matter.
"I mean what is the location of this place" rephrased Babs.
"Oh, You want to know WHERE you are. I see. Well, this is the Celestial Library," replied Rajah.
"Okay, and exactly what is the name of this place where in?" asked Buster.
"Well, you in a miniature dimension, of which there is no true name for," replied Rajah "However, you may refer to it as Sanctuary. I bet your wondering how you got here."
"That would be helpful," replied Buster.
"Well, I'm pretty much the reason for sending you here," said Rajah, "I saw Afghan try to destroy you all, so before his attack could hit you, I sent a transport to send you into this world."
"You know about Afghan?" asked Buster.
"Of course," replied Rajah, "As the Keeper of Knowledge, I know all. I know everything that has happened, and will happened."
"So can you tell us more about him?" asked Buster.
"And about his plan to take over the world" added Babs.
"Come with me, and all will be answered," replied Rajah.
Rajah led the nine down a dark & grimy hallway. The only light available was the torch that Rajah carried. Soon they came upon an old, oak door. It creaked as it opened. Behind the door was a huge lecture hall.
"Oh great," grumbled Plucky, "Just when you thought you were safe from any schoolwork."
"Everybody take a seat, or stand if you want, and all will be explained," stated Rajah.
So everybody took a seat, only a few just kept standing. Rajah went to the front of the lecture hall to begin the short lesson.
"A long time ago," he started, "…back in the days of the dark ages according to reality's timeline, lived a wizard by the name of Afghan. Despite his attitude, he was not always bad. Before he became an almighty wizard of evil, he was a lone apprentice of Merlin."
"You mean to tell me that this Afghan guy was a former apprentice of the legendary Merlin, as in Merlin, wizard of King Arthur's court," said James.
"Yes, that's him," replied Rajah, "As I was saying, he used to be an apprentice of Merlin. This is, of course, how he got his powers. Before he became evil, he used his powers for the good of mankind. However, as we all know too well, absolute power corrupts absolutley. Soon, he started to use his powers against mankind instead of for it. He became so powerful, that Merlin had no choice but to imprison him in the Dark Realm for the rest of eternity. Merlin did make sure to drain Afghan of his powers before sending him into the Dark Realm, but I guess there was still some power left over that Merlin forgot. He must have regained this power overtime, until he had enough to break free from his imprisonment. However, he still did not have enough power within him. He would have been destroyed if he had not possessed Montana Max. Now, I fear that he will now take vengeance against our worlds."
"How do you suppose he will do that?" asked Hamton.
Rajah stepped up to the blackboard, and started to scribble on it. Then, a flash of light appeared from it. Rajah took whatever had come out of the blackboard and presented it to the group. It was brightly shining crystal.
"Gag," exclaimed Shirley, "Like what is that exactly?"
"It is called an Ether Crystal," replied Rajah, "And I'm afraid that this is the exact weapon he plans to use in his act of destruction. Allow me to demonstrate"
Rajah went up to the board and started to scribble again. He had drawn three circles in a way that each overlapped with each other.
"Suppose each of these circles are the three worlds we all know of; Reality, Toonity, and the Dark Realm," explained Rajah, "And, the places where the three circles overlap each other is the Voidal Barrier. The Voidal Barrier's purpose is to simply keep the three worlds from merging into each other. If it were to ever be destroyed, the three worlds would violently collide and merge into each other, thus destroying them. These Ether crystals have the exact power to do just that. If Afghan's calculations are precise, once he places one of these crystals in the center of each of the three worlds, the force created by them will destroy the Voidal Barrier, and the worlds we know and love will be destroyed in a heartbeat."
"And that is why I need you help. He has already succeeded in placing the first two crystals in both the Dark Realm and Toonity, and if he succeeds in placing the final one in position in the real world, the Voidal Barrier will be destroyed. And so, I need your help in retrieving the crystals, and sending Afghan back to whence he came."
"Woe, Woe, Woe, wait a minute," interrupted Plucky, "You mean to tell me that WE have to stop HIM?"
"In a way, Yes" replied Rajah.
"But that's just crazy," said Plucky, "That guy's more powerful than…. ur…powerful. If he can destroy the world, I can barely imagine what he can do to us. There is no way I'm going on this insane mission"
"Well I'm for one am ready for a challenge," said Buster as he courageously took a stand, "So, who's with me?"
There was no response.
"I can't believe you guys," exclaimed Buster in an angry tone, "Here we are, about to watch our worlds get destroyed, and I can't believe you guys are just sitting around worrying about your own safety. You all heard what Rajah said, If we do not do anything, our worlds will end up like a cookie in a huge glass of milk. Well, I for one am not going to just stand by whiles our family and friends perish in a huge Apocalypse. I do not care if I don't make it in time, or in that matter, even survive. All I know is that if I don't do anything, It'll be the end of times. So I won't ask this question again. Are any of you with me?"
Everybody began to get looks of shame. Buster was right, how could they just selfishly think about themselves at a time like this.
Just then, Babs stood up from her seat and stepped towards Buster.
"Well Buster," she said, "If you have to do this, then I will to."
"Thanks Babs," said Buster, "I knew I could count on you. Now, Is there anybody else who wants to come along?"
Everybody looked around at each other.
"Well, If, like, Babs is in on this one, I am too" Added Shirley as she came to join her friends.
"And if Shirley's going, I am to" said Plucky.
"And If Plucky's going, I will to" said Hamton with all the courage he could gather.
"And ef Hamton iz going, zen I vill go too" said Fifi.
"And If she goes, I do too" said Caroline
"And where my sister goes, I go too" said Timmy.
"And I know mom would kill me if I went back without you two" said James.
"Then it's settled," announced Buster "Rajah, we accept the mission!"
