Epilogue 043 - Butt of the Joke

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...Previously...



"MOOOOOM!!"

The shout coming from the backyard was Angela's, of that much Rosemary Morgan was sure. But something was off. Her daughter's voice seemed more mature somehow, despite the distress. Rosemary gasped when she came outside to see what was the matter. The shock did not, of course, come from the portal to a dimension full of monsters. No, that had been there since Halloween. The lawn would never be the same, but she got over it. The surprise was seeing her daughter aged at least another five years since she went off to school that morning.

"Angela?"

"Mom! I -nnnggh!- need some help. I found this spell book, and... huff... hold on." Angela paused to catch her breath, then gripped the sides of the portal and struggled with something that Rosemary couldn't quite make out. Rosemary slowly approached her daughter as she wrestled the invisible foe.

"Honey, it's going to be all right. Magic spells are nothing to take lightly, but we can get through this, okay? Now why don't you come out of the portal and we'll talk inside."

Angela winced and looked over her shoulder. "I... uh... I can't."

Once Rosemary walked all the way to the portal, she saw the full effect of her daughter's magical tinkering. Her child's head and torso hung limply from the human world's side of the portal, while stuck in Underborough was the largest posterior she had ever seen! She clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Angela!"

"I know, I know. It's been growing ever since I left school. And now I'm stuck! Rrggh! How can the portal be a double-door on the Underborough side and a single over here? Who designed this thing?"

"Look at that keister! It's up over your head! How does that even work?"

"I don't know, Mom, but we need to... are you laughing?!"

"S-sorry, it's just..." Rosemary couldn't hide her snickering anymore. "You finally stopped Winifred's monster invasion! Hahahaha!"

"MOM!! This isn't funny! Do you know how hard it was to run home with all this?"

"The saddlebags are for the horse, my dear!"

Angela tried to cross her arms impatiently, but quickly needed to bring them back to the sides of the portal to hold her upper half up again. Summoning her last bit of dignity, she spoke. "Mother, are you quite finished? I'd really like to try--"

"Wait, one more! My daughter the doorstop saves the day! Hee-hee!"

"MOOOOM!!!"

---

Meanwhile, in Underborough, orders were being given to push until the obstruction was cleared. The order was refused. A lesser demon was heard to say that it was a line he would not cross.