The Apocalypse of Oz

A/N: I recently read my "Definitely Not in Kansas Anymore" story and while I had some good ideas, I didn't like the writing style. It was written in the middle of my writing's maturing so I really wanted to re-write it. I then decided to make it kind of a twisted fairy tale and make it dangerous instead of romantic.

1: There's No Place like Apocalyptica

Dorothea let out a groan of displeasure as she came to. Slowly opening her eyes, she pushed herself up with her hands, finding that the source of her discomfort had been landing face-down on a mound of gravel. Some smaller rocks had stuck into the heels of her hands and bigger ones made imprints in her skin. With another groan she sat up, tucking her legs beneath her, and looked around.

This was definitely not her hometown. You couldn't tell how the town was meant to look, given that almost all the buildings had collapsed and the road was ripped up. The air smelled of mold and decay, and Dorothea could swear there was blood on the dying leaves barely hanging on to the trees.

She stood on shaky legs and looked down at herself, wondering how badly she'd been hurt. The tornado that uprooted her house had flown her quite a ways away, apparently. Nothing seemed familiar. She definitely wasn't in the same town – probably not even the same state.

She brushed off some dirt and rubble, leaving behind a few smeared dirt stains on her dress. It was originally a royal blue, but now a faded blue-grey. The white button-up shirt she wore beneath her dress hadn't fared well either, now torn at the sleeves and dusted with dirt. Both of her knees had been skinned in her evident fall, peeled skin and dried blood obvious on both legs. Her black leather boots survived, having been thick enough to rebel against the rocks and rubble. Holding up her hands, she saw small lacerations and lots of peeled skin and bruises. She mused that she must have tried to break her fall with her hands. She reached up to re-braid her hair, finding that it was now frizzy and tangled. The wind from the tornado had twisted her and her hair this way and that. Wincing slightly, she combed through her long brown locks with her fingers, trying to smooth it out enough to retie the braids.

Having secured them, she took a tentative step forward, glad that her legs were strong enough to carry her. She didn't want to venture too far into this broken land, in case whatever broke it was still around. She couldn't hear any sounds that indicated someone was home, but perhaps they had seen her fall and were just being exceptionally quiet.

"Who are you?" a high-pitched voice called. Dorothea froze and turned on her heel, coming to face a middle aged woman in a pink dress. It appeared as though it was once a fancy ball gown, but it had been ripped in whatever occurrence destroyed the town. Her curly red locks seemed in place, held down by a sparkly pink tiara. Dorothea wondered if she was some sort of princess.

"Dorothea," she replied, furrowing her brows as she noticed the pink lady holding a sparkly wand. "Who are you?"

"Gizelle," the other answered. "The Good Witch of the North. How did you get here?"

"A tornado uplifted my house and threw me here." Dorothea paused to turn and point to where she had awoken. "There's what's left of my house."

"And what's left of the Wicked Witch…" Gizelle whispered, slowly stepping closer to the rubble. Dorothea turned to see what she was talking about, finding a small green hand holding a simple black wand. Gizelle bent down and plucked it from the deceased witch's hand, turning back to Dorothea.

"You killed the Wicked Witch," she said softly with a hint of a smile.

"Is that a good thing?" Dorothea asked, eyes darting between Gizelle and the want.

"Oh, yes," Gizelle replied, clearly relieved. "You have saved Munchkin Land from a great threat."

"Is that what this place was?" Dorothea inquired. "Munchkin Land?"

Gizelle nodded sadly. "It was once a happy place, full of life and color. The munchkins are a very lively people. They never harm anyone. They stay out of other's way."

"Why was the Witch targeting them then?"

"The Witch targets everyone who's not on her side." Gizelle walked past Dorothea and sat on a broken sidewalk. "The munchkins were all about good and kindness, while the Witch wanted to take over the land with her dark evil. I usually managed to help them, drive the Witch away. But she and her sister finally got to them."

"Her sister?" Dorothea questioned, sitting beside Gizelle.

"The Witch you killed was the Wicked Witch of the East. She has a sister; the Wicked Witch of the West. She's much worse. More power and more spite. She'll come after you for killing her sister."

"What did she do to Munchkin Land? It looks completely destroyed."

Gizelle sighed sadly. The Wicked Witches decided to create an apocalypse. They infected every last munchkin; turned them into zombies. They all began attacking each other and every single resident of Munchkin Land. They even came after me, but I used my magic to escape. Once they realized there was no one left to eat, they got bored and began destroying things. Houses were ripped apart, they smashed the sidewalk, set fire to most of the plant life. It's a disaster area."

"Are they still around?" Dorothea wondered, looking around cautiously. "I didn't hear anything, but it doesn't seem like they'd just go away."

"They've ventured off into other parts of the land," Gizelle explained. She pointed down to the cracked and faded yellow bricks littering the ground. "That used to be the Yellow Brick Road, and it leads to every part of this world. It can take you all the way to Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz. I'm sure they're on their way to corrupt him, too."

"The Wizard of Oz?"

"He's a powerful man, and a good one too. He tried to save Oz when the Witches first began their scheme. But they sent their flying monkeys after him to keep him quiet. I haven't heard a word from him since."

Dorothea's head was spinning. "What flying monkeys?"

"Originally, it was just the Wicked Witches trying to take over. They're powerful, but they didn't have a following. So they created mutant money creatures with large wings to do their bidding. Those little monsters follow everything the Witches tell them. They're the reason no one can escape from Oz."

Dorothea leaned back against the broken water fountain behind her, letting out a breath. Zombies, Wicked Witches, and flying monkeys? What kind of world was this? She needed to get home… But this world was clearly in danger, and it didn't seem like she would be able to get home unless something got fixed.

She turned to Gizelle with a serious face. "How can I help?"

Gizelle's eyes widened slightly before excitement took over. She held out her hand, offering Dorothea the black wand. "Take this. It belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East. It has all of her powers, so the Witch of the West will try and take it. Don't ever let it out of your possession. It's your only defense against her."

She stood up and placed her hand on the brunette's shoulders, pulling her up as well. Her emerald green eyes gazed into Dorothea's chocolate brown, conveying hope, fear, and admiration. "Follow what's left of the Yellow Brick Road. Follow it all the way to the Emerald City. As I said, the Wizard is a powerful man. He can help you. Between the two of you, I'm sure you can stop the Wicked Witch, especially now that there's only one."

She pulled Dorothea into a quick hug before pulling back. "Beware of the munchkins. I'm sure they're scattered all over the land by now. When the Witches infected them, they became her minions. They'll try to stop you."

Dorothea nodded and turned towards the Yellow Brick Road, steeling herself for the journey ahead. As she began walking, Gizelle called her name. She turned around with a brow raised.

Gizelle stood with a small smile on her pink lips. "The Land of Oz thanks you. Good luck."