Chapter 3
"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick," Oswald said, holding onto his stomach as he stumbled out of the portal.
"The return trip's worst," Mickey warned as he followed his brother out.
Pipwolf followed close behind Mickey, the portal closing in his wake. "If we could control where the portals appeared, than it wouldn't put us in such strange places."
"Like a grave yard?" Oswald asked, motioning to the decrepit tombs around them.
"Oh no, this is Manny's" Mickey offered. "That mansion is her family's generational home."
Oswald looked where Mickey pointed to see an old Victorian styled mansion at the edge of the cemetery, it towering above the gloom that belonged with the cemetery.
"You two go on ahead," Pipwolf said, looking towards the forest behind them. "I'll, uhm, stay out here and keep watch."
"You know she already knows you're here," Mickey said, repositioning the little girl to his other hip. "Why try hiding from her now?"
"It's in my nature," Pipwolf said, already turning around to go into the woods.
Mickey gave Oswald a look, a smile on his face, before he said, "Come on, this time you can properly meet Manny."
"How'd you get here last time to ask her for help?" Oswald asked in realization.
"Toppersby, the antique shop owner," Mickey explained. "He used to be a Guide and I knew it'd be quicker to go with him than see who all just happened to be in the White Mouse."
"You'll have to tell me about your adventures out here one day," Oswald said, a smile on his face. The smile fell as he added, "You know, you didn't have to stop being a Traveler because of me."
"It wasn't entirely because of you," Mickey offered. "Right after the whole incident with Pete and Professor Exs I got stuck with a haunted version of Frankenstein's monster from a Tough-text." He looked at Oswald's confused look and added, "Short of it, the book got mad at me for not finishing it. I hate that that was when Pipwolf finally got his Guide's license but I needed a break." Mickey let out a laugh as he added, "Some break, you lead to as much excitement as anything else I've gotten into."
"I don't think I could ever see you properly taking a break," Oswald said, taking glimpses at the tombstones they past. The names he could read but the date system made no sense to him. He looked back at Mickey and added, "Well, it actually being a break."
"I don't know, there's been a few times I managed to just relax like intended," Mickey offered. He led Oswald up the steps to the grand front door and took hold of the knock with his free hand. Letting it drop twice, he let go and stepped back in time for a rat in a tux to open the door.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Mickey," the man said, stepping aside to let the two walk in. "If you'll follow me, Miss Manny will see you in her office."
Mickey put the girl down on the carpeted floor, taking hold of her hand as the three walked behind the butler up the stairs.
Oswald turned his eyes from the little mouse to take in the dark halls lit by gas scones on the wall. Paintings on the walls depicted other white furred mice, Oswald believed to be Manny's relatives, as well as smiling strangers in even stranger locations. He glanced out of a passing window to see the grave yard down below in a dreary day.
"She'll be with you in a moment," the butler said as he pushed open a door for them to enter through.
"Thanks, Flat," Mickey said as they passed the man.
Oswald gave the man a polite nod as he passed him before the door shut behind him. He took in the study, it looking like any other before it. A grand desk sat in front of a large window, the curtains drawn to expose the dreary weather outside that now threatened rain. Along the walls were bookshelves full. Oswald stepped over to a shelf and looked at the titles along the bindings only to realize most of the languages he saw he couldn't read. One caught his eye, the binding reading The Advanced Marketing and Sociology of the Human Mind, only because it was the first he could read.
"Sorry 'bout that," Manny's voice said as the door to the study opened, drawing two pairs of eyes to the door. The white mouse stood in her signature purple cape, her clothes different shades of the same purple, Pipwolf following behind her. "Sentinel called to say you were on your way," the mouse said as she stepped over to Mickey and the mouse holding his hand. She knelt down and asked, "Is this the little girl with powers?"
The girl held tight to the teddy bear in one arm as she tried to hide behind Mickey's leg while still holding onto his hand with the other.
"Hello, I'm Manny. What's your name?"
The little girl shook her head, hiding her face in Mickey's pant's leg.
"She hasn't told us, either," Mickey admitted.
"Can she speak at all?" Manny asked, rising to her feet.
"Yeah, but only a couple of words," Mickey offered.
"She thinks Mickey's her Daddy," Oswald offered, throwing a thumb at his brother.
"Pipwolf, come over here," Manny ordered, waving the werewolf over from the chair by the books he had sat in.
"I'm no good with kids," Pipwolf whined as he rose to his feet. He stepped over and looked down at the girl, his face showing his unsureness.
"Give her a smile," Manny added.
"You want me to scare her more?" Pipwolf asked. He let out a sigh as the white mouse stared him down before looking at the little girl and forcing a smile on his face.
The girl looked up at him and let out a laugh as she hid her face once more.
"Well, she's not scared of you," Manny said, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight in thought.
Pipwolf took a seat on the floor before Mickey and the little girl and said, "She does look like a tiny you, Mickey."
"But she's not my kid," Mickey said, looking down at the girl.
Big eyes looked up at him as she said, "Daddy!"
"You must look like her father," Manny mumbled more to herself.
"And sound like him," Oswald added.
"And you said she could float things?" Manny asked. "That's what Sentinel said over the phone."
"Yeah, I was gonna change her diaper and she fell asleep," Mickey explained. "Next thing I knew, everything not attached to the floor was at least a foot in the air. The bathroom's still a mess."
"A black furred mouse with magical powers..." Manny mumbled as her eyes grew wide. "I think I know where she's from."
"Well, where?" Oswald asked, his voice over Mickey's as he asked a similar question.
"There's a realm very similar to your own, but magic is seen as a punishment to be born with," Manny explained. She lowered her eyes solemnly to the little girl and dropped her arms as she added, "Her parents might've abandoned her."
"Because she was born with powers?" Oswald asked.
"Because people in the past ruled terribly with those powers," Manny explained. "Your own world has had its own problems with how people are born."
"Still doesn't make it right," Oswald said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I still wanna do everything we can to bring her back," Mickey said, squeezing the girl's hand to get her to look up at him. "Maybe they do still want her."
"If anything, we can find out her name," Pipwolf offered, drawing attention to the girl stepping carefully around Mickey's leg while keeping her hand in his.
Mickey loosened his grip on her hand, giving her the option to step away and get closer to Pipwolf, only for her to tighten her grip.
"Alright," Manny said with a sigh. "Something you should know before you go. Pipwolf will be obvious to them for being a magic user so you'll have to claim he's your slave."
"They went the extreme opposite, didn't they," Oswald mumbled.
"You're not coming with us?" Pipwolf asked, rising to his feet.
"They'd burn me," Manny stated plainly. "Pipwolf has just enough of a magical aura that's considered normal for slavery, but I'd be burned on sight."
"Is there anyway to repress somebody's magical..." Oswald took a moment before remembering, "aura?"
"Not for me, I'm too old for something like that to work," Manny admitted.
"Could it work for her? If that's why she got sent to us?" Oswald asked, looking at the little girl.
"It should," Manny drew out, looking the girl over. She looked back at Mickey and Oswald and said, "If her parents want that than they'll have to come here."
"Guess we'd better get going," Pipwolf said.
"Not just yet," Manny said, holding a hand up. She looked up at the werewolf as she rested her hand on her hip. "I can't allow you to be Mickey's Guide without a valid license."
"How else are we going to get there?" Pipwolf asked.
The door to the study opened to let in Flat, in his gloved hands was an envelope. He stepped over and handed the paper to Manny before politely nodding his head before retreating from the room.
"I got this rushed, after Sentinel called, "Manny explained, opening the envelope. She looked inside before handing it to Pipwolf. "You already passed the exam, all that you need to do was renew so I did that for you."
Pipwolf raised his brows in surprise. Without a word he stuck his hand in the envelope and pulled out a paper and card. Looking it over he said, "You renewed my Guide License?"
"Now you're legal," Manny said with a smile.
"Thanks," Pipwolf said, a large smile on his face. He turned towards the brothers and asked, "Who's ready to go?"
Oswald let out a laugh at the werewolf's kid-like change in moods.
