AN: Alrighty then! So hi guys! This is my first story here and to be honest I'm a little nervous. This was adopted from the Plot Bunny Adoption Center and the original owner is WickedBrony. Now WickedBrony has brought it to my attention that there are two other people who have also shown an interest in this plot bunny so I'm hoping that this one will be very different. I do have this planned out so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes won't we?
DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Wicked. As much as I would love to own it, I don't, but I can dream can't I? I only own Fintan and the few Animals who speak in this chapter.
Dorothy stumbled through the wrecked interior of her house, clutching her scruffy black dog, Toto to her chest. The twister had stopped and by some miracle she had survived, the problem now was that she didn't know where she was.
She made her way over to the front door, tripping over a chair on the way. Toto yelped slightly in shock as she regained her footing and adjusted her grip on the small dog.
She reached for the doorknob and hesitated for a second before she slowly pushed the door open. She was greeted by a clearing.
Trees surrounded the area, acting as a sort of defence against the weather. The surrounding forest was dense and looked incredibly dangerous.
The clearing itself was rather large, on the side opposite Dorothy was what looked like the entrance to a tunnel. Paw prints, hoof prints and a large variety of other animal prints littered the ground. There were scuffed tracks in the dirt, indicating that whatever had been in the clearing had fled quickly.
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto." She told the small dog, who whined in agreement. She continued to scan the clearing for any signs of life, all the while trying to figure out where she was.
"Sweet Oz!" a small voice chirped from behind Dorothy. The young girl spun around, expecting to find the owner of the voice standing behind her. She frowned in confusion when she saw no one standing behind her.
"Who said that?" she called in a shaky voice, trying to hide her fear. A flash of yellow and brown shot into view and a small bird landed on the ground near the foot of her house.
"She's… she's dead!" the small bundle of feathers chirped in disbelief. She turned to Dorothy began to hop up and down excitedly.
"Dead?" Dorothy gulped as she caught sight of the pair of legs that was sticking out from under her house. She began to panic, and was about to apologize when the Bird shot into the sky and began to fly excitedly around the clearing, singing loudly the whole time.
"Good news everyone! She's dead! The Wicked Witch is dead!" She sang. The sound of something scrambling out of the tunnel caught Dorothy's attention. The girl turned to see an old black and white Dog pulling himself out of the tunnel, followed closely by a young Fox.
"What do you mean she's dead?" the Dog rasped as the Bird continued to sing the good news to the forest. More Animals emerged from the tunnels to see for themselves if the small bundle of feathers was indeed telling the truth.
"What is it with Fantails and their short attention span?" a Raven muttered in annoyance. Said Raven made her way cautiously over to the pair of legs that were sticking out from under the house and began to examine whoever was under there carefully.
The old Dog slowly ambled over to Dorothy and Toto, with the young Fox following behind him closely.
"Are you the one who killed her?" the Dog rasped eagerly.
"I- I didn't mean to!" Dorothy stammered. The Dog tipped his head to the side in confusion.
"Didn't mean to? But, didn't you summon that house?" he asked her slowly, his voice cracking with age.
"No! My house was caught in a twister and it landed on her!" She cried desperately.
"So… you're not a Witch?" the Fox asked slowly, his brown eyes glinting with curiosity. His tail twitching slightly as he watched Dorothy.
"Witch? Oh no! I'm not a Witch! Witches are old and ugly!" she exclaimed fearfully. A collected gasp sounded throughout the clearing and the Animals fixed her with stunned looks.
"What?" she squeaked in fear as a nearby Bear started growling at her. The old Dog shot the Bear a stern look and turned back to Dorothy with a fire in his eyes.
"That, is not true young one." He told her in dangerously low voice. Dorothy gulped in fear as she backed away from the Dog slightly. Toto growled at the bigger dog, but quickly fell silent when the Dog glared at him.
"Only bad Witches are ugly." He growled. Dorothy shot a glance over her shoulder at the Raven who was still examining the crushed Witch.
"Wh- What about her?" she stammered weakly as she pointed at her house. The Raven looked up from her work and fixed her with a gentle look.
"Oh, she was evil. She's one of the reasons why we were forced into those tunnels." She explained to the girl gently.
"Have you finished examining her?" the Fantail asked as she landed on the Dogs head. The Raven nodded, her eyes twinkling with joy.
"I have finished examining her and I can tell you my friends that she is morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably dead!" she announced happily to the crowd of Animals.
Cheers of joy rang though the clearing as the Animals rejoiced the death of the Witch. Dorothy clutched Toto closer to her chest as a Tiger raced past her to talk with a Wolf on the other side of the clearing. Other Animals rushed around the clearing talking excitedly to one another.
A few Birds flew overhead, singing their praises of the girl who'd crushed the Wicked Witch with her house. The old Dog called them to order and a hushed silence fell over the clearing.
"Who are you my young friend?" he asked Dorothy. She hesitated for a few seconds, wondering whether or not to tell them more than she already had.
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas." She told him.
"Where's Kansas?" a Kitten asked from near the front of the crowd.
"Is that in the Gillikin?" Another Animal asked.
"No, I think it's in Quadling Country!" Someone else counted. Chaos erupted as the Animals argued over where Kansas was located.
The old Dog called for order and the clearing fell silent again. He turned his gaze back to Dorothy, she gasped slightly when she noticed that one of his eyes was glazed over, with his other slightly glazed, a sign that his sight was failing him in his age.
"You can't get back can you?" he asked her softly. Dorothy nodded sadly as she gazed around the clearing.
"I don't even know where I am." She mumbled. The Raven hopped over to her and gazed at her sympathetically.
"You're in Oz." she told the girl. Dorothy must have looked confused because the Dog nudged her gently with his head and gave her an encouraging look.
"You're going to need help getting home." He told her softly. Around her the Animals began to whisper to one another.
"Do you know a way for me to get back?" She asked him excitedly. The Dog shook his head.
"I don't, but I know someone who can." He told her with a slight smile. Dorothy held her breath as she eagerly waited for the Dog to continue.
"Who?" she asked eagerly. If she was going to get home then she wanted to get there as soon as possible.
"The Wonderful Witch of the West!" the Raven announced happily. The Dog shot the Raven a glare but nodded in confirmation.
"The Witch of the West!?" the young Fox yelled in excitement. The Dog and the Raven gave the Fox a stern look, instantly silencing him.
"The Witch of the West can help you," the Dog told her, "but there is a problem." He continued when he saw the look of hope in Dorothy's eyes.
"We haven't heard any news of her whereabouts for at least three days. The last we heard, she was headed to the Emerald City to free some Monkey's. The Emerald City is a dangerous place for us, so there is a chance that she's been captured." the Dog explained to her and Dorothy's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"You're making it sound like she's dead or something! She's not dead! I know she's not!" the Fox yelled desperately. The Fantail chirped in agreement and hopped onto his head.
"Hush young one. I'm not saying she's dead. I'm saying that something could have happened to her. After all the Wizard would like nothing more than to get rid of her." The Dog soothed. The Fox muttered something under his breath but didn't argue.
"The Wizard?" Dorothy asked the Animals in a small voice. There were hisses and jeers from the crowd when she mentioned the Wizard.
"He's the one who sent us into hiding!" the Raven told her darkly, a hint of malice in her voice.
"I used to be a business owner! But then the Wizard introduced the Animal bans and I was kicked out of my home and forced to live like one of our less intelligent cousins!" an Owl called angrily.
"I was a Nurse before the Wizard came along!" a Wolf added. Dorothy looked around the group of Animals in shock. How could someone ruin their lives like this? To Dorothy it seemed unreal.
"The point is my young friend, we were all respected members of Ozian society, that is until the Wizard came into power." The Dog told her sadly. Dorothy nodded sadly, she could already tell that this Wizard would probably cause problems for her.
"What am I going to do?" she whined to the Dog. Toto whimpered as she squeezed him in her arms. The Dog looked thoughtful but the Fox leapt forward before the older Animal could say anything.
"I'll help you find her." He announced, with his head held high. Some of the Animals began whispering and shooting strange looks at the young Fox.
Dorothy took this time to examine him properly. His bright orange fur was covered in ugly scars. His long spindly legs were as black as a raven's wing, with a few small scars running along them. The white on his face and belly shone brilliantly in the small rays of light and his chestnut brown eyes shone with silent determination.
"Are you sure about this Fintan? You know that the Gale Force is out there looking for us." The Dog asked the Fox slowly. The Fox nodded.
"I'm sure. I owe her so much and Dorothy here needs to find her. I'm willing to risk running into the Gale Force if it means finding the Witch." He declared in a strong voice. The Dog dipped his head to the young Fox.
"Very well." He turned to Dorothy with a small grin on his face. "You will travel with Fintan to find the Witch of the West. Good luck and Oz speed." He told her solemnly before he turned and disappeared back into the tunnels while the other Animals began their celebrations.