The Wizard
By Ann Brill White
(with apologies to L. Frank Baum)
The last thing Devon Adair saw before the door to the cryo-chamber closed was the utter grief on everyone's face. Julia looked absolutely defeated. Danziger had turned away, as if he was unable to face the inevitable. The saddest, though, was Ulysses. Through hazy vision, Devon saw her son bravely stepping forward to place his toy Terrian staff by the crypt. As he stepped back, her heart was breaking. She wanted to call out to him -- to all of them -- but she couldn't. It was all she could do to remain conscious. The door sealed with a sucking sound, and Devon felt her awareness spiraling down into a warm, comforting blackness as her body slowly entered cryogenic sleep. She felt warm and comforted -- like she was a child again, snuggling into Yale's arms. She let go of her worries and sadness and closed her eyes. Gradually, the world faded into black nothingness...
...and she awoke behind the dashboard of the TransRover. Panicked, high-pitched voices were coming from outside. Devon shook off the last vestiges of sleep. Am I dead? she thought. Sitting beside her, where Uly would normally be seated, was a small golden-furred, long-haired dog - part Terrier, if she wasn't mistaken. The dog had in its mouth a miniature three-pronged stick with red ribbons, like it wanted to play catch.
"Uly?" she stammered, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. The dog put down the stick and yipped in reply. "What happened?" He wagged his tail and barked like crazy, like Uly would do when he started talking and couldn't be quieted.
"Hey, Lady!" a squeaky voice from outside the TransRover spoke to her. "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?"
Devon looked out the window. The TransRover was parked in the middle of what could only be described as a town square on hallucinogens. The tiny, domed buildings were painted in bright, clashing colors. Outside the 'Rover were a herd of Kobas talking animatedly. She rubbed her eyes and blinked... talking Kobas? Then, one of the Kobas, apparently the leader, climbed onto the hood of the 'Rover and tapped on the windshield with its claw. Devon hesitantly opened the door and stepped out. Uly picked up his stick with his mouth and followed her.
"You killed her," the Koba informed her. He pointed to the back of the 'Rover. Under the rear tire were two long, shriveled-up legs. "You killed the Wicked Witch of the East, Katrina. So, we want to know. Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?"
"Oh, no," Devon remarked to Uly, who whimpered in reply. Her confusion was giving way to an impending sense of doom. She turned to the Koba. "I'm not a witch at all. I'm Devon Adair..."
The Kobas interrupted her with a raucous cheer. They capered around singing "Ding, dong, the Witch is dead!" while Devon and Uly stood dumbfounded.
"Uly, I don't think we're on the stations any more."
Suddenly, a flash of light, like someone entering VR, interrupted the Kobas' celebration. A woman, dressed all in black, appeared in the center of the town square. Devon recognized her with a start. Apparently, Dr. Heller had discovered how to follow her to this crazy place.
"Julia, thank God," Devon exclaimed with relief. "You have to get me out of here."
"YOU KILLED MY SISTER!" Julia pointed a threatening DiaGloved finger at Devon and Uly. The dog hid behind Devon's legs and trembled.
"Julia, you don't have a sister."
The lead Koba tugged at Devon's pant leg and gestured at Julia. "I don't know who this Julia person is, but that's the Wicked Witch of the West, Katrina's sister. She's warped."
"No, she's chromo-tilted," Devon explained.
"Whatever she is, she's sure mad at you," the Koba asserted, then scampered away to hide.
"You're after Katrina's hiking boots!" Julia accused. Devon looked at the withered legs sticking out from underneath the 'Rover. Red sequinned hiking boots were on Katrina's feet.
"I'm very sorry," Devon apologized, without knowing why.
"I'll just take these boots and..." Julia bent down to retrieve the boots. Suddenly, two bony, leatherlike hands popped up from beneath the ground and removed Katrina's shoes. The hands and shoes vanished from sight. The next thing Devon knew, she was wearing the hiking boots. "NOOOOO!" Julia screamed, whirling menacingly toward Devon.
Uly snarled and attacked Julia. The dog bit down hard on the Witch's calf. She shrieked in pain. "Uly, no! Stop it!" Devon ordered and dove toward Uly and Julia. As in real life, Uly paid no attention to her.
Julia adjusted dials on her DiaGlove and aimed laser bolts at the dog, who wouldn't budge. "Get off of me, you little mutt!" she yelled. Unseen to Julia, a Terrian emerged from the ground and seized Uly. Before Devon could react, the Terrian reappeared next to her, with the squirming dog in hand, then dropped back down into the ground. Uly continued to growl at Julia from behind Devon's legs. Julia narrowed her eyes. "I'll get you yet, Devon Adair," she threatened, "and your little dog, too! Wicked Witch of the West, out," she intoned, put her hands to her eyes as if she was removing VR Gear, and folded backwards into her own black cape until she disappeared.
"I'm very sorry about killing her sister," Devon explained to the head Koba, who was emerging from hiding. "All I wanted to do was get back to Eden Project. Can you send me there?"
The Koba cocked his head at her, with a confused expression on his face. "No, I can't send you there, but maybe the Good Witch of the South can," the Koba informed her.
"Good Witch of the South?" Devon asked, still perplexed. She looked at Uly, who shook his head. Neither of them knew what the Koba was talking about.
The Kobas turned to face south en masse. A woman with long, curly hair, full lips, and a blouse that accentuated her breasts jogged in on a rainbow. A necklace of silverware dangled around her neck, and clinked as she moved.
"Hi, y'all!" the Witch drawled in a heavy Southern accent.
"Bess?" Devon exclaimed. "This gets stranger and stranger."
"Why'd y'all call me?" She asked the Koba. "Do you want me to trade with the Grendlers for some fruit?" Bess waved her wand. It looked suspiciously like a LumaLight.
Devon cleared her throat. Bess looked up at her with surprise, but no recognition. "No, I want to get back to Eden Project," Devon explained.
Bess paused and thought for a moment. "Eden Project? I don't think I can do that. Maybe the Wizard of G889 can." The Kobas gasped at the very mention of the Wizard.
"The Wizard of G889? Where is he?" Devon looked around. Uly started running the town around looking for the Wizard.
"Oh, he lives far from here, in a place called New Pacifica."
"New Pacifica?" Devon was relieved that something about this strange place was finally making sense. "How can I get there?"
Bess smiled and motioned with the LumaLight to the ground beneath her. Its beam illuminated a well-worn path of yellow dirt leading from the center of town to the west. "Just follow the twenty-klick road," the Good Witch explained.
"Follow the twenty-klick road?" Devon echoed, looking down at the path with a wary gaze.
"Follow the twenty-klick road," the Koba parroted. Suddenly, the Kobas all started saying the same phrase, "follow the twenty-klick road." Uly put both paws over his ears and whined.
"Yes, the twenty-klick road. I reckon if you go twenty klicks a day, you should reach New Pacifica in no time flat," the Good Witch drawled.
Devon shrugged. Do I have a choice? she asked herself. "Well, if we're going to follow the twenty-klick road, we have to get some supplies," Devon said to Uly. The dog leaped into the back of the 'Rover and pulled out a box of spirulina bars, then tossed them carelessly on the ground. Devon pulled out a dog carrier that looked like an immuno-suit. She looked down at Uly gravely. "Now, Ulysses, if you don't behave, I'll have to put you in your carrier again," she warned. Uly heeled quickly, and looked up at her with big, imploring eyes. "Well, that's better than in real life," Devon remarked.
She packed food, clothing, and doggie treats enough for a long journey, and began to set off. Uly ran back to the TransRover, and picked up his stick in his mouth. Before she left, Devon waved a final goodbye to the Kobas and the Good Witch. "Thank you for helping me."
"Good luck, Devon!" the Witch called out and waved. Strangely enough, most of her accent had disappeared.
"Well, we're off to see the Wizard." With a final wave to the Kobas, she started down the twenty-klick road, with Uly the Terrier cavorting at her feet.
Devon and Uly walked and walked past rich, fertile farmland. Everything was green. She saw corn, beans, and strawberries growing along the roadside. "This must be what a real farm looks like," she pointed out to Uly, half-expecting him to answer. "We only had hydroponics labs on the stations." Uly ignored her, and ran off to chase a strange-looking squirrel. When the critter disappeared down a hole, the dog quickly returned to her side.
They hiked past a cornfield surrounded by a split-rail fence, and came to a fork in the road. "Wonderful. Which way do we go now?" Devon removed the Jumpers from her belt and looked through them at both roads.
"Well, you can go this way..." a voice said, "Or you can go that way."
"Yes, Uly. I know that... Hey!" She turned toward the voice, and shrieked. Through the Jumpers, she saw a single brown eye filling a suddenly unrecognizable golden sky. "Oh, bother!" she muttered. "I must have had them on maximum magnification." Devon pulled the Jumpers back from heer a heart-stopping grin. "Can you help me down from here?"
"All right," Devon answered, and helped the Scarecrow down from the post in his back. He attempted to put weight on his right leg, and collapsed into her arms. He tried to grab her shoulders, but his hands landed about six inches lower instead.
"Get some of that hay and put it in my leg," he requested. Devon complied, although after his last move, she was a little wary of putting her hands in his pants. "So," she asked as she was gingerly stuffing his trousers, "why are you propped up in the middle of a cornfield?"
"I forget why I'm in this field. I forget a lot of things."
"Why is that?" Devon couldn't remember Alonzo forgetting things before.
"See, I fried out a part of my brain on a cold-sleep run. So, the Council decided to put me out to pasture, so to speak. It's not a bad life, except that there's no women around. I used to be the best pilot in the fleet, but now I've gone to seed," he chuckled at his pun. "If I only had a brain, I could go back to flying starships. What are you doing out here?"
"I'm going to see the Wizard of G889," she explained. Alonzo looked at her in amazement. "He lives in New Pacifica. I've been told he can do anything." An idea began to form in her mind. "Maybe he can give you a brain."
Alonzo stood up and tested the stuffing in his leg. "Could I come with you... what did you say your name was again?"
"Adair," she said, not surprised that he, like all of the others, didn't remember her. "Devon Adair, and this is my... dog, Ulysses." Uly woofed and did a little dance on his hind legs.
"Oh, I see. He's part Terrier," Alonzo observed casually.
Devon cocked an eyebrow at him. "How did you know?"
"Well, the beings that live in this part of the country are called Terrians. They tried to make Uly into one of them, but they got a little confused. I talk to them all the time in my dreams, and they told me what happened."
"Can these... Terrians tell you how far it is to New Pacifica?"
"I don't even know how to get to New Pacifica without flying there."
Oh, God, give me patience, she sighed. "Well, then, let's go to the right." Devon pointed down to the path beside the cornfield. Alonzo shrugged noncommittally and followed her lead. "All we have to do is follow the twenty-klick road."
"Okay, then we'll follow the twenty-klick road. You're the boss, lady." With that, Devon and Uly started off down the road accompanied by their new-found friend.
Devon, Uly, and Alonzo passed through the farmland into an orchard of ripening salt-fruit. As night fell, they noticed a clearing near the road, and went to investigate. "This would be a good place to make camp," Devon remarked as she looked around the grove. Uly barked in agreement. Alonzo flopped down onto the leaf-covered ground in exhaustion, closed his eyes, and was asleep almost immediately. "Uly," Devon instructed the dog, "you keep an eye out for me, okay? I'll be right back." He'll bark at anything that moves, Devon surmised. Already he was chasing after some unknown critter in the bushes. Satisfied that Uly was guarding Alonzo - or the other way around - she wandered off to explore.
Devon found a secluded spot away from the road and took care of some personal business. Then, she surveyed the immediate area with her Jumpers. In the light of the setting sun, she noticed a flash of light glinting off of metal. "What's this?" she muttered, and decided to investigate. In the interior of a thicket, she found two rusted-out hunks of metal. One of the metallic objects looked as if it was bent over the other. She moved closer, and inadvertently stepped on a twig. The snap startled her, and she jumped.
"Helloooo!" a gruff male voice called out.
"Hello?" she answered, looking around hesitantly. "Who's there?"
"Me," the voice answered, none too nicely. "Over here. I'm the taller piece of metal."
Devon crept over to the larger metal structure. It resembled a man with a mop of curly, light brown hair and a shirt with a tacky Polynesian print on it. A rusty tool box lay at his feet, with the tools arranged neatly inside.
"Hand me a number nine wrench," he ordered. Devon grabbed a wrench from the kit and placed it in his hand. "No, no, no!" he demanded, "I said a number NINE wrench. That's a ten. How stupid can you be?"
"Sorry," she retorted. "You're hardly in the position to be making demands of me." What a rude man! Devon thought as she pulled the wrench from his hand, and indignantly handed him a smaller one.
"That's much better," he replied. The man put the wrench around a bolt in his side and turned it. He did the same on the other side. Devon heard a loud screech of metal on metal, and the Tin Man stood upright. She recognized him, and gasped. "I'm getting a little too old for this," Danziger commented as he rubbed his back.
Wonderful, she thought. Of all the people that have to show up here, I get stuck with Danziger... "Don't you ever say thank you?" Devon snapped.
He glared at her. "THANK... YOU," the Tin Man answered, putting emphasis on both words. "Who the heck are you?"
"Devon Adair," she extended her hand. The Tin Man reluctantly shook it. "I'm on my way to New Pacifica to see the Wizard of G889. He's going to help me return to Eden Project." She decided to have a little fun at his expense. "And you are again?" She asked, acting like she had forgotten his name.
The Tin Man looked askance at her. "Danziger," he nodded and turned a bolt in his left leg.
"Why were you in the middle of the woods, all rusted out like that?"
"You ask too many questions," he growled and loosened a bolt in his right leg.
Devon sniffed indignantly. "Fine. I'll just be on my way now." She turned, and started walking back toward the camp.
"Look, you're going to need me to get you through these woods," Danziger called out from behind her.
"You must be mistaken. I don't need you. Alonzo and I can manage just fine," she shot back, and kept walking.
A clinking sound informed her that the annoying Tin Man was following. "Who's Alonzo?" he asked.
"He's a Scarecrow," she retorted, still walking away from Danziger. "He's going to see the Wizard to get a brain."
"Well, that figures. Typical male, all body, no brain."
Devon whirled to face him. She put her hands on her hips in outrage. "Of all the cruel and heartless things to say...."
Danziger stepped back, with something akin to hurt in his eyes. "You're right," he confessed sadly. "I don't have a heart."
"You don't have a heart?" she asked, amazed.
"See there was this woman... She's now half a galaxy away." For a moment, Devon thought she glimpsed something like pain in his eyes. But only for a moment.
"Oh, I see," Devon said sympathetically, easing up on her frosty tone. "We've got a camp over that hill. Do you want to join us for supper?"
She saw Danziger consider her offer. "All right," he agreed. "But you really have to learn not to invite strange men into your camp. I mean, I could be a penal colonist or something."
As they walked back to the campsite, Devon and Danziger came across a mangled Gear set half-hidden in a bush. The Gear was shorted out, presumably from having been left out in the weather. "So, are you going to tell me what happened now?" Devon led him, as she examined the Gear.
Danziger sighed in frustration. "Oh, all right," he grumbled, "I got caught out in the rain without my Gear on. Wearing that stuff is a pain in the tail. I couldn't call for help, so I just rusted." Devon sighed in frustration, and considered what kind of companion she had just acquired.
When the two of them reached camp, Uly barked joyfully, and dashed out to greet Devon. He sniffed Danziger's leg, then wagged his tail in a friendly manner. The Tin Man bent over to pet him. Suddenly, Uly jumped into Danziger's arms, and he slung the dog over his shoulders.
Devon was aghast at the thought of anyone but her picking up Uly. "Be careful!" she ordered. "He's just a little dog. You might hurt him!"
"Nah, he likes it. Don't you, fella?" Danziger asked Uly. The dog yipped in agreement and licked Danziger's ear. Maybe Danziger's not too bad, Devon thought to herself as she heard the Tin Man laugh. Uly certainly likes him.
"Hey, Devon, who's the rust-bucket?" Alonzo sauntered over and inquired.
The Tin Man gave the Scarecrow a look of assessment. Devon could tell that he didn't like what he saw. "Shut up, hayseed," he grumbled.
"Nice personality," Alonzo turned away and muttered.
Devon grabbed Alonzo's arm and turned him around to face her. "He doesn't have a heart," she explained to the Scarecrow. "I was going to ask him to come along to New Pacifica with us."
Alonzo eyed Danziger warily. "I dunno..."
"You don't have much of a choice," Danziger growled. "You need someone to keep you on the right track."
"Well, since you put it that way," Alonzo acquiesced. "I guess you can come along," he nodded to the Tin Man. Devon had a sneaky suspicion that the Scarecrow wanted her all to himself.
"Fine," she snapped. "We'll break camp in the morning." The three of them went to different ends of the campfire, with Uly curled up against Devon all night.
Alonzo, Danziger, Devon, and Uly travelled with their backs toward the rising sun the next morning. They followed the twenty-klick road from fertile farmland and bountiful orchards, into deep woods. The trees grew denser, and the forest took on a dark, gloomy, decidedly threatening cast.
"You've got to be very careful around here," Danziger advised. "You never know what you could run into."
"Like what?" Devon asked fearfully.
"Oh, like Terrians, or Grendlers, or ZEDs," he told her.
"Terrians?" Devon echoed, her voice trembling.
"And Grendlers?" Alonzo added, confused.
"And ZEDs," Danziger nodded with a wicked smile.
"Oh, my," Devon nervously peered through the forest, hoping to spot trouble before it spotted them.
All three of them moved forward with trepidation. "Terrians and Grendlers and ZEDs," they repeated in unison, with Devon interjecting a frightened "Oh, my!" in between.
A deafening roar interrupted their chant. The companions all jumped back and huddled together. Uly ducked between their legs and huddled against Devon's leg. He tucked his head under his paws and whimpered. A second roar echoed through the forest.
"What was that?" Devon whispered anxiously. "A Grendler?"
"Not quite," Danziger replied. "It sounded like a lion."
"A lion? I didn't think there were lions on G889."
"Well, I suppose there could be lions," the Tin Man shrugged. "We've certainly seen everything else here."
"So, now what?" Alonzo asked, visibly trying to be calm.
His question was answered by a third roar. The dense, green foliage rustled to their left. Devon saw a lion with tawny fur, with his long mane tied back in a ponytail. He was waving a MagPro around and scampering from tree to tree. He looked vaguely like Morgan, if he had been wearing a fur coat with a long tail.
"Come on out," the Lion postured threateningly. "Put 'em up! Put 'em up! I'll show you who's boss in this forest!" He charged the three companions, and they scattered. Morgan went after Alonzo first. He chased the Scarecrow around a tree, and ran into the Tin Man. The Lion and the Tin Man locked stares, neither of them blinking.
Naturally, Uly chose that moment to act up. The dog started barking as fiercely as a little dog could, ran up to Morgan, and promptly urinated on his leg. The Lion looked down and waved the MagPro threateningly at Uly. The dog bolted. He ran around in a circle, with the Lion chasing him.
"STOP IT!" Devon ordered, stepping between Uly and Morgan. "Stop it right now!" Uly ran behind her leg and cowered. The Lion stuck his face close to hers and growled menacingly. Devon smacked him on the nose. To her surprise, the Lion pulled back, dropped the MagPro, and started to whimper.
"Why did you hit me? I didn't do anything," he whined.
"You were chasing my dog around. You should know better than to pick on someone smaller than you!"
"I'm a bureaucrat. That's all we do is pick on people lower than us," Morgan explained. "And besides, he was attacking me."
"Attacking you? That's a cowardly response," Alonzo sneered.
"No, he was just treating government employees the way they've always been treated," the Tin Man chuckled.
The Lion hung his head. "Yes, I suppose I am a coward. I'm just Morgan, the Cowardly Lion. I used to be King of the Forest, but now, here I am. Stuck in the extended camping trip from hell, with no one to suck up to."
"What a pity," Danziger shot back. Devon glared at him, and Danziger glared back at her in a direct challenge.
"All because I wouldn't stand up to that creep, Blalock!" Morgan fumed, "I'll show him! Just let me get back to civilization and..."
"Well," Devon hesitated, "I don't know if we can get you back to civilization, but we might be able to get you some courage."
"You can? How?" Morgan's expression changed from dour to hopeful with one word.
"We're going to New Pacifica to see the Wizard of G889. I'm sure he'll be able to give you some courage. I mean, if he can give the Scarecrow a brain, and the Tin Man a heart, and me a way back to Eden Project, then I'm sure he'll be able to give you some courage."
Danziger stepped forward and interposed himself between Devon and Morgan. "Now, wait a minute, Adair," he dictated. "I'm not sure I want this mangy thing around. After all, he did attack your dog."
"Yes," she agreed reluctantly, unwilling to give Danziger the satisfaction of being correct. "But, I think we should welcome him into the group."
"Well, I'm not exactly the welcoming kind," he grumbled. "Look, Adair, you're not the boss. We're a team. I want a vote on it," the Tin Man insisted.
Devon rolled her eyes in disgust at Danziger. "All right, we'll vote," she sighed. "Alonzo?" The Scarecrow slowly raised his hand when she stared at him. "I'm in," she announced, holding up her own hand. "Uly?" she looked down at the dog. He hoisted a paw. "Danziger?" Devon glowered at him. He reluctantly lifted his hand, looking like he was regretting it already. "That settles it. Morgan, you're in."
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" the Lion gushed as he knelt at Devon's feet and clung to her knees. "I promise to be good. Honestly. I won't attack anyone unless you tell me that I won't get hurt."
"Great," Alonzo razzed. "Can I take back my vote?"
"No," Devon ordered. "Come on. We've got to get a little further down the twenty-klick road before we make camp."
With that, Devon started back down the twenty-klick road, with Uly on her heels. The Scarecrow and Tin Man pulled the Cowardly Lion along behind her.
The trees gradually thinned out, and bit-by-bit the forest opened onto a wide, golden meadow filled with flowers. Red blooms topping thick flower stalks waved invitingly in the spring breeze. Uly darted headlong into the meadow, prompting Devon to chase after him. "What beautiful flowers!" Devon called out to her male companions. "Come on, Danziger! You should stop and smell the flowers sometime," she urged the dour Tin Man. He sighed to Alonzo and followed her at a more sedate pace. Morgan, on the other hand, ran forward without thinking.
Devon bent down to sniff at one of the delicate red flowers. As she leaned in close, the pollen sac exploded, and pollen hit her right in the face. She fell to the ground in a coughing fit. "Danziger! Alonzo!" she called out. They hurried over, and bent down to examine her.
"What happened?" Danziger asked. A worried look crossed his face as he kneeled down.
"It was the flowers," Morgan warned. "See, she just stooped like this," he sniffed another flower, and got a face-full of pollen too. The Lion started coughing, and fell to the ground beside Devon. Both Devon and Morgan stopped coughing, and collapsed into a deep sleep. Uly ran over to his mistress, sniffed the pollen once, and fell asleep alongside her.
Danziger and Alonzo looked at each other with consternation. "Now what do we do?" Danziger asked the Scarecrow.
"We have to get them out of this field," Alonzo advised. "The pollen's making them sick." To demonstrate, the Scarecrow hauled Morgan up and put the Lion's arm around his shoulder.
"Why didn't you take Adair?" asked a puzzled Danziger. "Here, give me the whining furball. She's got to be lighter."
"No, I'd rather have her arm around me when she's awake."
"Shut up, Alonzo," Danziger warned. His right hand stiffly formed a fist.
Alonzo continued, regardless of the warning from the Tin Man. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you haven't noticed. She's beautiful, and intelligent and--" Danziger punched him in the mouth. Alonzo spun around the inert Morgan, and both of them fell over into the flowerbed.
"I think these flowers are affecting you, too," Danziger growled. "Come on, Scarecrow, get up. We have to get these two out of here." Danziger hauled Devon up into his arms, then flung Uly the Dog over his left shoulder. He tilted his head to Alonzo, and they trudged out of the field, back to the relative safety of the road.
"Curses!" Julia muttered in rage as she looked into her VR Gear at the party's progress. "I thought that the spring poppies would stop them. It appears that rotten Scarecrow and Tin Man aren't affected by the pollen." She turned to the Grendler standing behind her in a growing puddle of drool. "I'll just have to try something else. Maybe sedi-derms? No, I'd rather see them suffer!" She quickly rummaged through her magic trunk for something that would stop Devon and her group. "I'll get them. And, when I do, you'll get their blood." The Grendler's eyes opened wide. "Yes, you will," Julia smiled evilly at the disgusting Grendler. He started to prance in place, flapping his tiny arms madly. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? And that's why you keep obeying my every whim, right? HEY!" The Grendler began to chase Julia around the table, threatening to knock over her work. "Okay, okay!" She panicked, and tried to calm the enraged Grendler. "You'll get your blood now. You want?" Julia slowly reached for a canister of salt water and passed her DiaGlove over it. "It's magic, remember?" she spoke enticingly to the Grendler, whose mouth dripped even worse than usual. Julia held the canister to the Grendler's nose, and unscrewed it slowly. "See... here it comes... here it comes... HAH!" A spider jumped out of the container, firmly attaching itself to the Grendler's nose. The Grendler ran from the room, bellowing in pain. Julia smiled wickedly to herself. "Gets 'em every time. Grendlers are so stupid."
Devon opened her eyes slowly. Her head felt as if it was splitting apart. To her surprise, Danziger was bending over her with an uncharacteristic look of concern on his face. Their eyes locked, and he pulled out of her field of vision. She was jolted back into reality by something wet and clammy licking her hand. Devon thought for a moment that he was kissing her hand. She lifted her head to discover that it was Uly's tongue. "It's all right, Uly," she reassured him, then looked back up at Danziger. The usual scowl had returned to his face. "What happened?"
"We ran into some strange flowers," he told her. "You and Morgan sniffed them, and they knocked you out."
She sat up slowly and stiffly. "Wow. Some flowers." She shook her head to get the rest of the fog out of her brain.
"The Wicked Witch of the West planted them," Alonzo guessed, as he helped Morgan up. "She's pretty warped, and you've really made an enemy of her."
"I've made a lot of enemies on the Council," Devon replied.
"But why did she attack me?" Morgan whined and licked his whiskers. "I didn't do anything."
"So what else is new?" The Tin Man snorted.
Devon shot a warning look at Danziger and cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, please. How far are we from New Pacifica?"
Danziger pulled the Jumpers out of Devon's backpack, and held them up to his eyes. "There's the comm dish. Looks like about two klicks east," he estimated.
"That's all? We could make it there in an hour!" Devon stood up a little too quickly. Her arms flailed to regain her balance, and she leaned on the Tin Man for support. Before she could react, she released him and started hiking briskly in the direction that he had pointed. Danziger shrugged at Morgan and Alonzo, then all three of them ran to catch up with her and Uly.
Two massive wooden gates towered above Devon and her party. The gates were connected to a stone wall as high as the eye could see. Behind the wall, Devon could hear the crashing waves of the Sea of Antaeus, but she couldn't see the shore. Above everything, the red and white communications dish loomed. She cast a look back at her friends, and grabbed one of the huge, brass ring doorknockers and knocked three times.
A window in the wooden gate opened, and a dark-skinned older man with a grizzled beard poked his head out.
"You cannot enter," he said in a lilting Caribbean accent.
"Yale?" Devon asked, shaking her head with disbelief. "It's me, Devon. Let me in."
"Devon? Devon Adair? Why didn't you say so? The Wizard's been expecting you."
"Of course it's me, Yale," she snapped impatiently. Uly yipped joyfully at the sight of a familiar face, although Yale didn't seem to recognize either of them. "Now let me in."
"Wait a moment," he ordered, then disappeared. A minute passed, and Yale came back to the window. "I have uplinked to the Wizard. He says that you may come in." The window closed, and the gates ground open slowly. Devon caught Danziger's eye. He winked once to reassure her. Then, all five of them walked into New Pacifica.
The landscape was indescribably beautiful. The city was cut directly into the cliffs overlooking the Sea of Antaeus. The buildings were a mixture of domes and spires, all gleaming white. Crystal, glass, and chrome sparkled everywhere. Yet, everything was in harmony with the natural beauty of the beach. A mixture of Humans and Terrians ambled along the streets, with each species trilling greetings at the travellers. They walked on, fascinated, through the narrow streets lined with bright, well-tended flowerboxes.
"It's just as I've imagined it," Devon said in awe to no one in particular.
Danziger put a metal-clad arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him in shock. "I believe you, Adair," he smiled. Devon was taken aback at this obvious show of affection, since all they had done previously was argue. She didn't really mind. In fact, she rather enjoyed the attention. She just wished she could understand why he was doing it.
The party arrived at what Devon presumed was the center of town. They stopped in the middle of the town square. In the center of the square was a derelict Venus-class freighter. The twenty-klick road ended at the ship's entrance, and delicate wildflowers lined the path.
"The Wizard has granted you an audience," Yale announced.
Devon looked at Yale in bewilderment. "I thought you worked for me," she asked.
The cyborg Gatekeeper ignored her and turned to the panel on the wall of the ship. He inserted his mechanical arm into an access port. "Access star-13-slash-4-2-5," he directed. The door opened, and the five of them entered, with Uly trotting behind.
The group found themselves in the hold of the Venus-class freighter. A rotating screen dominated the center of the room. Devon's heart sank as a familiar figure flashed onto the screen.
"I am the Great and Powerful Reilly," the figure on the screen announced. "Who comes to petition me?"
Devon exchanged glances with the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, then nervously stepped forward. "My name is Devon Adair," she explained hesitantly. "I've come to ask for your help. I want to get back to Eden Project, but I can't. I've been told that you can do anything. Can you help me get back?"
Reilly sniffed haughtily, then focused his attention to the others in the back of the room. "What about you three? What do you want, Scarecrow?"
Alonzo boldly stepped forward to join Devon. "I... I want a brain, your Wizardness. I lost part of my brain in..."
"ENOUGH!" Reilly ordered. "You lost your mind, have you? How nice. What about you, Tin Can? What do you want?"
Danziger nodded once, barely deferring to the figure on the screen. "Danziger. And I want a heart," he growled.
"And you, Lion? What brings you here?" Reilly said to Morgan, who was cowering in the background.
Danziger shoved Morgan forward so hard that he almost hit the rotating screen. Morgan looked up, then ducked as the screen swung around. "I... I... I want some courage, sir," Morgan stammered, then slunk back to where Devon and the others stood.
Reilly began to snicker. "You come here, expecting me to give you things, when you offer nothing in return? Here's the deal. Bring me the DiaGlove of the Wicked Witch of the West, and I'll think about granting you your wishes. Now, BEGONE!" The screen stopped rotating, and was pulled into a pyramid-like projection device in the middle of the room.
The four of them looked at each other. All of them were puzzled, except for the Lion. He was still trembling. "The DiaGlove of the Wicked Witch of the West?" Devon inquired.
"But... but... she'll KILL us!" the Lion declared, and hid behind Danziger.
The Tin Man turned and glared at Morgan. "I think that's the basic idea," he added.
"Well, we should probably get started," Alonzo stated flatly. "I know I'm not coming this far without getting a brain. If the Wizard wants us to jump through hoops to get what we want, then we have to do it." He turned toward the door and started to leave. "Coming?" he turned and asked the rest of them.
"I guess we're going to pay a visit to the Wicked Witch," Devon shrugged and followed the Scarecrow out the door. Danziger came after her, dragging a protesting Morgan with him.
"Oh, how convenient," Julia sneered to her Grendler as she removed the VR Gear. "Reilly sent them here, right into my lap. It saves me a lot of effort to get Adair and that little mutt." The Grendler grunted in agreement. "Bring in the air squadron."
The Grendler waddled over the doorway. He opened the door to the hallway and played three summoning tones on a tiny chime. A minute later, he stepped aside and ushered in a fat, turquoise-colored peacock, its tail spread to reveal all the colors of the rainbow. The peacock pecked at the Grendler's toes, then strutted into the room. He moved a tailfeather to his forehead in a stylized salute.
Julia narrowed her eyes and gave the peacock an sinister stare. "See the woman and her little dog?" The peacock peered out the window, then back at Julia, puzzled. Julia gritted her teeth at the bird's incompetence. "Over there, in that little field, you idiot." The peacock looked again, and spotted Devon and her party. "I want you and your minions to go get her, and bring her back here. And don't forget the dog! I don't want to lose him, either." The peacock nodded affirmatively. Julia dashed over to the window and flung it open. "Go get her! Flyyyy!" she goaded. The peacock hopped up onto the windowsill and took flight, joining a gaggle of peacocks already flying in battle formation.
The four friends and Uly made their way west from New Pacifica, to the edge of a murky forest at the foot of the Wicked Witch's castle. They stopped for a moment in a wide, golden meadow, to rest and plan their attack.
"How do we get close enough to get the Witch's DiaGlove?" Devon asked, looking at Danziger and Alonzo for a plan.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Adair?" Morgan insisted. "I mean, I don't really need courage," He turned to flee. "Do I?"
"It would be helpful," Danziger shot back, and grabbed the Lion's tail to prevent him from scurrying off.
Devon sighed with resignation. "Look, guys," she snapped. "I'm getting a little tired of all of the sniping. We have to work together as a team if we're going to get what we want. None of us can do this on our own. Now, cut it out and get down to business." The three men shifted like boys caught fighting.
Before anyone could respond, a cloud cast an ominous shadow over the meadow. Everyone looked up at once, to see a great squadron of birds aiming directly for them.
"Wha... What is that?" the Lion stammered.
"They look like... peacocks?" Devon guessed, amazed.
"Oh, no! The Wicked Witch of the West's air corps!" Alonzo yelled. "Everyone, grab a stick or something!" The four of them hunted on the forest floor for sticks thick enough to fend off the incoming peacocks.
As each of them found a weapon, they stood and turned to face the onslaught. They were too late. Four peacocks dove in and immediately attacked Alonzo. The birds started to pull his stuffing out as he swung futilely at them. Morgan leapt in and, to everyone's surprise, struck a lethal blow at the peacocks over Alonzo's head. Meanwhile, Devon and Danziger had their hands full, too. They stood back-to-back, swinging their sticks at the onslaught. The birds were keying in on Devon and Uly. He scampered out from between Devon and Danziger, and pulled his beribboned stick out of her backpack.
"No, Uly!" Devon screamed, and swiped at another bird. "I can't play fetch with you right now!" Multi-colored feathers flew everywhere. Uly ran heedlessly away from the four of them, directly into the path of three peacocks. "And THEY don't want to play fetch, either! ULY! Be careful!" Uly ignored both Devon and the oncoming birds. He sat quickly, held the stick carefully upright between his paws, and centered it with his chin. His puppy eyes seemed to roll up into his head.
Devon fought to break free of her attackers and grab Uly, but there were too many of them. The peacocks had formed a solid wall between her and the dog. Behind them, a strange, white light began to glow. Everyone, even the birds attacking on the ground, froze in place, and turned to see what it was.
The light was Uly's stick! It crackled with blue-white arcs of electricity. In the air, six of the oncoming peacocks dove in toward him. Suddenly, Uly's eyes popped forward, and a ball of lightning leapt from the stick directly at the kamikaze birds. The first peacock was vaporized instantly. The second exploded in a dizzying swirl of azure feathers. The third could not avoid the fiery point in space where his wingman had been. His wings caught fire, and he spiralled nose-down to the ground, shrieking "EEEE--RRRRR!" As the other three veered sharply away, the entire flock responded by screeching "EEEE--RRRRR!" Apparently, it was the only sound they could make.
Uly's eyes rolled back in his head again. As his lightning stick recharged, Devon saw a turquoise flash from behind him. She pushed her way through the still-stunned peacocks. "Uly! Behind you!" she called out, but it was too late. A peacock had already plummeted in and snatched him, then had taken off again. She felt sharp claws hook into her shirt, and realized that the peacocks had her, too. The next thing she knew, she was airborne.
Devon looked down to see Uly's stick on the ground where he had been. "DANZIGER!" she screamed, but it was futile. She was being carried away to the west by the horde of peacocks.
Danziger, Alonzo, and Morgan followed the well-marked trail of bird droppings back to the Wicked Witch's castle. There was no sign of Devon anywhere. The trio hid securely behind some rocks while Danziger scanned the area with Devon's Jumpers. Below them was a decoratively tiled courtyard, trimmed in black and red. Beyond that was an ornate iron door to the castle. To be honest, the Tin Man wasn't paying much attention to the view. He was worried. Devon Adair had led them on this insane quest, and it hadn't turned out the way any of them had planned. His head was telling him to run like hell the other way and never look back. However, something else entirely was driving him to rescue Devon - by any means necessary. He didn't quite understand what was happening to him. He only knew that she made him feel different than he had ever felt before.
Danziger's brooding was interrupted by a sharp nudge in the ribs from Morgan. He turned to find the Lion rubbing his elbow where he had banged Danziger's metallic torso. "Hey, Metalhead, get a load of that," the Lion pointed with a clawed finger. The Tin Man scowled at Morgan, then looked down to see a phalanx of Grendlers parading in the courtyard. He watched the waddling cavalcade of Grendlers with a mixture of amusement and disgust.
"I've got an idea," Alonzo smiled wickedly, and beckoned them in closer. Danziger and Morgan huddled together and the Scarecrow explained his plan.
Fifteen minutes later, the Grendler procession was almost finished. Alonzo nodded once in Danziger's direction. The Tin Man placed one metallic foot on a twig, and snapped it in two. The sound attracted the attention of the lead Grendler. Below them, the Grendler dispatched three underlings to see where the disturbance was. To his left, Danziger saw Alonzo chuckle in silent anticipation. "Here they come," whispered the Scarecrow.
The Grendlers carelessly approached their position, grunting loudly and drooling. The three friends lay in wait as the Grendlers lumbered behind the rocks. Danziger immediately took a thick stick and whacked one of the ugly beasts on the back of the head. It paused, looked surprised, then toppled over on its side. Alonzo and Morgan made swift work of their Grendlers in the same way. Then, they efficiently started to remove the Grendlers' helmets and clothes and exchanged them for their own.
"God, what an odor!" Alonzo complained, holding his nose. "I'm going to need all new stuffing when I get back."
"You're not kidding," Danziger agreed, as he tried to fan the stench away. He dropped his Polynesian print shirt over the unconscious Grendler. "Too bad. That was my favorite shirt, too."
Morgan, on the other hand, was staring intently at his Grendler's apparel. "Hey, this is my shirt," he held up the shirt and complained. "These are my pants! Those thieving little..."
"Just look at it this way," Alonzo shrugged, "you got 'em back now, don't you?" He pulled the oversized Grendler shirt over his head. Morgan shrugged in reluctant agreement.
Danziger looked down at the three unconscious Grendlers with more important things on his mind. His stomach rumbled, sounding like distant thunder. "Is anyone else getting hungry?"
"Come to think of it, I'm starving," Morgan agreed, then looked down at the unconscious Grendlers. "I hear they taste just like chicken."
Alonzo looked askance at the Tin Man and Lion, then at the prostrate Grendlers, then back at the two of them. He turned up his nose in disgust. "That's sick, guys," he protested. "Really, really, sick."
"Oh, all right," Morgan griped. He nodded toward the courtyard. "Come on, they're leaving." The three friends ran down the hill, putting on their massive helmets as they ran. Morgan tried desperately to tuck his tail into the Grendler garb, but it wouldn't cooperate. They scurried into the end of the line just as the doors slammed shut with an ominous clang.
Devon and Uly, meanwhile, had been dumped suddenly and rudely by the peacocks into Julia's observation room. After the last peacock turned its back on her and left, Devon examined her prison. It was sparsely furnished, but all sorts of strange equipment lined the walls. There was one massive window, and it had been locked by the peacock. Uly whined in fear, and Devon hugged him close. She tried to reassure him that everything was going to be all right, even though she knew that it wasn't. As she was holding Uly, she noticed a set of VR Gear sitting on the diagnostic table, unused. Still holding Uly with one arm, she picked up the Gear and put the eyepiece on. Devon immediately found herself looking out from behind foggy glass into a large, dark room, illuminated by blinking lights. On the other side of the glass, she could barely make out a familiar human form. It was a stocky man with his shoulders slumped over. He appeared to be very sad. She could make out his voice, but couldn't hear what he was saying. "John," she called out, but he didn't hear her. Devon tapped on the Gear set, and adjusted some dials. Success! She heard John Danziger's voice, albeit muffled, speaking to her.
"Adair," he was saying, "I don't know how to do this. I can't be their leader. Yeah, they look to me to fix things. But you're the one that they really need. Uly's been crying himself to sleep every night since we put you in here. Dammit, Dev, come back to us. I lo..."
Devon was abruptly jerked out of VR before she could hear John finish. In the resulting disorientation, she saw a black curtain in front of her. Startled, she looked up and saw that it wasn't a curtain at all. It was Julia Heller, standing before her with the VR Gear in hand and laughing derisively. "Welcome to my castle, Devon Adair. I hope you enjoy it. It's a nice little place. I like to call it 'Hell'." Julia cackled at her bad pun. She shoved the Gear under Devon's nose. "So, you thought you could use my Gear to contact your friends, eh? Well, it won't work," Julia shoved the Gear into a pocket deep in her cloak.
"Julia," Devon asked, trying to give the person she thought was her friend the benefit of the doubt. "Why are you doing this? You're not evil."
The Witch snickered. "Really? If you don't think I'm evil, then hand over those ruby hiking boots to me."
Devon stared at Julia in shock, then shrugged in futility. "Heck, these things are more trouble than they're worth. They're damned uncomfortable, too. You can have them, Julia, if you agree to let me and Uly go."
"I'm so glad you've come to your senses. After all, this isn't your castle. You're not God here. I'm God here!" the Witch grinned and bent over, eager to get her hands on the boots. "Come to Mama... EEEEK!" Julia jumped back as a powerful charge arced off of the hiking boots and shocked her fingers. She moved forward, seized the collar of Devon's shirt, and pulled her in threateningly close. "What have you done?"
"I... I don't know," Devon stammered. It was the truth.
"I should have known there would be some kind of lockout on them," Julia spat. "You have to take them off yourself. Now, be a good girl and give them to me!"
Devon thought for a moment, then reconsidered. "The Terrians gave me the boots to me for a reason. I don't know what it is, but I won't give them up just yet."
Julia narrowed her eyes and shoved Devon away hard. Devon fell backwards onto the floor and landed on her behind. That caused Uly rush to her side and growl menacingly at Julia. "Very well, my pretty. You have one hour to reconsider. Then, I'll kill your little mutt. That's your choice, Devon. Those boots, or Uly's life." The hair stood up on Uly's back, and he snarled at the Witch. Julia merely laughed at the dog's posturing. She turned with a swirl of her raven cape and left the room, locking Devon in with Uly and her thoughts.
"Oh, Uly," Devon sat up and sighed. She stroked the top of his head. "Now what do I do?" Uly paused, barked once, and ran toward the door. He barked again, then wagged his tail. Devon stood and followed him. On the other side of the door, she heard a faint scratching sound from the general direction of the lock. "Hello?" she asked. "Who's there?" A long straw poked through the keyhole.
"It's us," she heard Danziger say quietly from the outside of the door. "Hang on, Adair. I'm picking the lock." Sure enough, the lock clicked a second after he spoke. Devon stepped back as the door slowly opened into the room. Standing on the threshold was Danziger, looking determined, but relieved to find her alive. Alonzo and Morgan stepped out from the shadowy hall to join him. Morgan was holding her backpack, but Uly's stick was nowhere to be found.
"Am I ever glad to see you," Devon smiled with gratitude. She flung her arms around Danziger, who looked decidedly embarrassed. Devon released him then embraced Alonzo, who didn't seem to mind it as much as the Tin Man had. Finally, she hugged Morgan, who was still trembling. Uly jumped into the Tin Man's arms and started to lick his face excitedly.
"Careful, boy, or you'll rust me out," he warned jovially, between laughs. As usual, Uly paid no attention and kept on licking his face.
"Let's get out of here before she comes back," the Lion warned, and anxiously looked over his left shoulder for trouble.
Devon nodded in agreement. Alonzo led Devon, Morgan, and Danziger back down the murky hallway. They crept along the musty, cobwebbed walls slowly, ducking into the shadows whenever they heard a sound. At the end of the long corridor, the group arrived at a high, curved staircase that ran along the castle wall. At the bottom of the staircase was the foyer, and the door to the outside. Alonzo made sure the coast was clear, then led the group slowly down the stairs.
As Alonzo reached the bottom step, a flash of light forced the group to stop suddenly. Morgan plowed into Devon from behind. As they watched, Julia stepped out of VR and pointed a DiaGloved finger at the Scarecrow. "Where do you think you're going?"
"We were just leaving," Morgan stammered and ducked behind Devon. Danziger pulled his tail and dragged him into the open.
"Yeah, we were just leaving," Alonzo agreed.
"Really?" Julia sneered, "You just got here." She stared at the Lion, who was still trying to cower behind Devon. "Nice clothes. Which one of my Grendlers did you steal them from?"
Devon stepped past Alonzo and held up her hands, imploring. "We don't want to hurt anyone," she explained "We just wanted to borrow your DiaGlove for a while."
"Oh yeah? Well, I'll give it to you if you give me those ruby hiking boots!" Julia waved her hand at Devon's feet.
"Don't do it, Adair," Danziger cautioned.
"Now, Julia, I know you're not a bad person. Just let me have the DiaGlove..." Devon tried to bargain with her.
"You want the DiaGlove? You really want it?" Julia held up her right arm. "Well, here it is," she turned suddenly, and aimed a deadly red laser bolt at Alonzo's calf. The straw caught fire, and the Scarecrow collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.
"My leg!" Alonzo screamed. Danziger immediately pulled out his canteen and doused the burning straw with water. Uly snarled, and retaliated by rushing Julia. He leapt up to grab her arm, but she swatted him away with ease. Uly hit the wall and was stunned. Devon screamed in horror.
"Maybe now you'll give me those ruby hiking boots. If you want your friends to live, that is," the Witch fired a bolt at Danziger, and a patch of his metallic skin melted where the laser impacted. He winced and put one hand over the melted area. "Still think I'm not evil, Devon?" Julia mocked her.
"Yeah, right," Morgan retorted stepping forward to protect Devon, "You're not a bad apple at all." In response, Julia shot a flame out of her DiaGlove at Morgan's feet. The Lion danced out of the way, but not fast enough. The pad of his paw was singed.
Devon started to panic. She grabbed the canteen from Danziger's hands and splattered the entire contents of it in the direction of Morgan's smoking paw. She missed Morgan, and doused Julia instead.
The Witch screamed in agony, and everyone stopped. Julia's clothing started to smolder. "You've killed me, Devon!" she screamed. To Devon's surprise, Julia started to melt into an oily black puddle.
"I'm sorry, Julia," Devon stammered, incredulous, "but you were trying to kill us."
Julia continued melting and screaming curses at the group. From the other side of the foyer, her guardian Grendlers waddled in, waiting to tear the group to pieces and steal their clothes. "Look out!" Devon yelled, as the Grendlers moved in closer. Danziger pulled Alonzo to his feet. Morgan and Devon moved in closer. The four of them faced outward, their backs to each other, to prepare for the Grendler assault. The Grendlers waddled in closer and surrounded them as well as their melting mistress.
Suddenly, Alonzo broke ranks and limped over to where Julia was slowly dissolving onto the floor.
"What are you doing?" Morgan called out, his brief burst of courage gone. "Get back here!"
"Hold on," the Scarecrow instructed. He bent down and pulled what was left of Julia into his arms. Then, to everyone's surprise, he kissed her passionately.
"I'm melting!" the Witch cried out. But, miraculously, she stopped disintegrating. As Alonzo continued to kiss her hungrily, Julia began to change. Not only was she becoming solid, her black robe was changing into a rainbow-colored cape. The Grendlers backed away, their walnut-sized brains unable to comprehend the change in their boss. To be perfectly honest, Devon couldn't blame them. She didn't understand what was going on either.
"I don't get it," Morgan whined. Devon was glad to know that she wasn't the only one.
"She's the Good Witch of the North!" Danziger realized. Devon and Morgan looked at him skeptically. "I wonder what happened to cause her to become evil?"
Julia came up for air, and flashed a warm, glittering smile at Alonzo. "It was the Wizard," she explained to the group, without taking her eyes off of the Scarecrow. "He forced me to become evil. I had no choice in the matter."
"Oh, yeah, right," Morgan sneered. "You're just a dirtied-up, misunderstood little apple."
"There's one way to find out for sure," Alonzo said, and took Julia's hand in his. "Let's head back to New Pacifica, and ask the Wizard himself."
Devon and her party followed Julia down the narrow steps to the basement of the castle. Before they left, Julia had packed a spare black cape, extra Gear sets, and her DiaGlove -- just in case. Now, they were treading very hesitantly down slippery stone stairs to the castle dungeon. Occasionally, a bright flash of light would appear, and a gust of wind would fan their faces. The group reached the bottom. They found themselves in a large cavern, with a channel running through the middle. They watched as the light appeared, moved past, and was gone.
"What the hell is that?" Danziger asked, examining the channel warily.
"It's a tunnel," Julia explained. "The light provides a way of getting from one place to another. Hop in," the Witch said as she stepped into the channel. Alonzo followed her eagerly.
"Where are we going?" Morgan asked.
"New Pacifica, of course," Julia snapped. "Hurry up, it's coming!" She grabbed Morgan's tail and pulled him into the channel. Devon and a reluctant Danziger jumped in. Uly jumped into Devon's arms, just as the light streaked toward them. Devon felt herself being lifted and pulled along at a breakneck pace. Then, as suddenly as they had started, the light came to a stop. All five of them, plus Uly, were caught in a tangle of arms and legs at the end of the tunnel.
"The white zone is for loading and unloading of passengers only," Julia intoned as she slowly extricated herself from Alonzo's embrace and climbed out of the channel.
The party left the tunnel surprisingly close to the Venus-class ship at the heart of New Pacifica. They snuck around the back of the ship, and huddled together. Devon stood with her friends, listening intently to Alonzo's plan to confront the Wizard.
"I'll go in first," Julia volunteered, swirling her spare black cape around her shoulders. She gave Devon her DiaGlove for safekeeping. "I have some unfinished business with the Wizard. You guys listen in on audio until I call you." Alonzo passed around VR Gear sets that Julia had brought. Devon put a miniature Gear set on Uly, then placed her own on her head.
"I still don't trust you, even if you are a nice, shined-up apple now," Morgan grumbled to Julia.
"Morgan," Alonzo warned. "We have to trust her. She's our only Witch." Morgan gave Julia a warning look, but said nothing.
Alonzo pulled Julia in close and kissed her passionately. Then, the Witch engaged her VR Gear, and promptly disappeared. The remaining members turned their Gear to audio to listen in.
A strong, firm grip on her shoulder startled Devon. She turned to see the Tin Man gazing down at her. He wrapped an arm around her very gently. "Worried, Adair?" he asked.
"Yeah," she looked up at him. "I don't think I'll ever get home to Eden Project."
"Don't worry, Dev. It'll all work out. You'll see."
"Thanks, Danziger," she smiled, then paid attention as Reilly's voice came over the channel.
"Witch Heller," Reilly addressed Julia. "I trust that everything worked out to your satisfaction?"
"Oh, yes," Julia hissed. Devon bit her lip and looked over at Alonzo, not certain that they could trust the Witch. " In fact, I rather enjoyed the visitors. Devon and I had a lot of fun."
"Very good, Witch. You have disposed of Adair, and are in possession of the ruby hiking boots?"
"Well, not exactly..." Julia began.
Suddenly, Uly leapt out of Devon's arms, and disappeared into VR. Across the audio channel, she heard the dog yipping and his nails hitting the metallic floor, as he tried to chase the rotating screen. "Oh no!" Devon cried out, and engaged her own VR Gear. She disappeared from Danziger's arms into the dark room.
Julia and Reilly both looked at her in shock. "I see that you have returned," Reilly observed drily. "Since Witch Heller is still very much alive, I must assume that you did not take the DiaGlove."
Devon narrowed her eyes and regarded Reilly coolly. "Oh, I have it," she replied shrewdly, waving the DiaGlove in the air. "But, I didn't take it. It was freely given."
A brief flash of panic showed on Reilly's face as he realized that Julia had betrayed him. After a moment, he regained his composure. "Julia," Reilly smiled a deaths-head grin. "I see you've changed."
"No thanks to you, Reilly. I'm through with your games," Julia removed her black cape with a flourish. "These people are my friends now." As she spoke, Alonzo, Morgan, and Danziger appeared in the room, looking very angry and determined.
"So, these are the people that you've been abandoned me for, Heller? What, were your Grendler guardians getting too highbrow for you? They'd do just fine for some witches." He glared at Devon, then refocused his unblinking gaze on Julia. "Adair and her friends aren't your kind. They're mere mortals. You, however, are a Witch. You were created to wield power over others."
"No." Julia said flatly. "They've taught me to use my talents to help others, not to hurt them. You see, Reilly, we've learned what you're really about. And I don't want to be a part of it. You can take back your damned glove." At a nod from Julia, Devon threw the DiaGlove across the room. As it impacted the transmitter, it dislodged something. The rotating screen blinked for a moment. "And your Gear." Julia threw her small VR eyepiece, too. The eyepiece hit the center of the screen, which flashed in a momentary spasm. Devon, Danziger, Morgan, and Alonzo simultaneously threw their VR eyepieces at the screen. It turned to static. To their surprise, a woman's face appeared where Reilly's evil leer had been moments before.
"Pay no attention to the woman on the screen," the woman ordered in Reilly's voice.
The group blinked at the screen in shock. Devon glanced over at Danziger and Alonzo for silent confirmation of her hypothesis. Alonzo nodded, but Danziger was still stunned. "Why, you had no intentions of helping us," Devon exclaimed. "You're not a Wizard at all! You're just a holographic projection!"
The woman with Reilly's voice became confused. She looked around at the assembled crew in shock. "I... I... lost my ball. I have to go," the hologram stammered, and disappeared in a cloud of static. The screen rotated twice then vanished. Behind it was Uly, carrying a blue ball in his mouth and looking extremely pleased with himself. The dog dropped the ball at Devon's feet, barked once, and wagged his tail, awaiting a reward.
Panic, shock, and disappointment showed in everyone's face. None of them could quite explain what happened, only that the Great and Powerful Reilly had turned out to be a fraud. "Oh, great," Morgan voiced his opinion first. He threw up his hands in frustration. "Now I'll never get my courage."
"And my brain," Alonzo added as he turned toward the door.
"And my heart," Danziger sighed with resignation.
"And, I'll never get back to Eden Project," Devon declared, crestfallen. Uly woofed, and leapt into her arms. The little dog started licking her face, as if to comfort her. "Come on, let's go," Devon suggested, as she scratched behind Uly's ears. They turned to go, disappointed, but proud that they had exposed the Wizard as a charlatan. Uly jumped down from Devon's arms and retrieved Julia's DiaGlove from the floor. The dog dropped the glove at the Witch's feet. Julia reached down to retrieve the glove and patted Uly's head in thanks.
As Uly trotted out, Julia took one last look at the hated chamber. She checked to see that she was alone, and spoke to the open air. "Reilly, or whatever you are, there's something I've wanted to do for a long time."
It required only one laser bolt from her DiaGlove to vaporize the blue ball.
The group trudged dejectedly out into the sunlight. Devon was so numb with shock that she barely registered Danziger's metallic arm around her shoulders. She moved as if in a dream. Behind Devon and Danziger, Morgan was muttering to himself, and Julia was trying in vain to comfort Alonzo. "This is all my fault," Devon mourned. She started to cry on Danziger's shoulder, but she remembered that he would rust.
"No, it's not, Dev," the Tin Man answered, wiping her tears off of his torso. "You did the best you could."
"That hologram wasn't going to help us anyway. He just wanted to use us to eliminate Julia and steal her power," Alonzo deduced, "and to get rid of us in the bargain."
"That's terrible. How selfish can you get?" Morgan grumbled.
Their ruminations were interrupted by a dazzling rainbow of light shimmering in from the south. The Good Witch of the South emerged from the radiance. She was still wearing the dress with the tight bodice, and her necklace of silverware clinked as she moved. In one hand, she held her LumaLight wand, and in the other was Uly's lightning stick.
"Devon!" Bess smiled graciously. Devon looked up morosely. She was not in the mood to deal with the Good Witch's saccharine cheerfulness. "I see you found out the truth about the Wizard," Bess observed. "I'm so sorry."
"Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" Devon asked Bess. "You knew that the Wizard was a phony. Why did you send us to him?"
"I know," Julia spoke up. Devon and her companions turned to stare at Julia. "I tried to compromise with Reilly, but he kept asking for more and more. He finally forced me to go against what I knew was right. At that point, I became evil. My friend Bess didn't trust the Wizard. I did, and look where it got me." Julia let go of Alonzo's hand and turned away in shame.
"So, you used us to get her back?" Morgan questioned Bess.
Bess shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. But then, if I had, you wouldn't have found what you wanted."
Four jaws simultaneously dropped. "You mean... I had a brain all the time?" Alonzo gasped.
"Of course you did, Scarecrow," Bess giggled. "You just had had to learn to use it, instead of thinking with your...." She stowed the lightning stick in the waist of her dress and held out her hand, as if the completion of her sentence was in her palm.
"Oh...," Alonzo's voice trailed off as he figured it out.
"And, I've been courageous all along?" Morgan stammered.
"Oh, Morgan," Bess simpered and flirted shamelessly. "You're the bravest Lion I know. You just needed to stand up for something." Morgan preened, obviously pleased with himself.
"I suppose you're going to tell me that I've had a heart, too," Danziger grumbled, with his arm still around Devon.
Bess just smiled angelically and looked from Danziger to Devon, and then back to him. "Amazing what you find when you tear down the walls around yourself, isn't it?"
The Tin Man looked at the dark-haired woman beside him, and his face slowly changed from skepticism to awe. "Yeah, I guess it is," he grudgingly admitted, then kissed Devon's cheek. Devon felt her face flush.
"I even have something for you, Uly," Bess beamed, removed Uly's lightning stick from her belt, and waved it in the air. "Here boy! Want to play catch?"
Uly barked in anticipation. Devon stepped forward, took the stick gingerly from Bess, and stowed it carefully out of Uly's reach in her backpack. "Sorry," she told Bess, "I don't like the thought of Uly playing catch with a particle beam weapon."
Bess sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Devon! Lighten up! You're always so protective. Uly can take care of himself. Can't you, boy?" Uly showed Bess his most threatening growl as proof. He sounded more like a soprano Doberman.
Danziger started laughing uproariously at Uly's growl, nearly splitting a weak weld patch. "Hey Morgan," he chortled, "He sounds just like you!"
The Lion whirled and looked the Tin Man straight in the eye in a mock challenge. "Watch it, buddy. I've got courage now!" Morgan put his dukes up, ready to fight Danziger.
"And I've got brains enough to stay out of this," Alonzo joked and ducked behind Julia. Julia turned around and pretended that she was protecting him.
"This is all well and good," Devon snapped impatiently, "but how do I get back to Eden Project?"
Bess smiled and waved her LumaLight wand at the ground. "Why, Devon, you'd be amazed at the things that I know. For example, I know that you've had the power to get home all along. It's in these ruby hiking boots."
Devon looked down in surprise at her feet, which were still clad in the sequinned boots. "But... but... how?" she stammered.
Bess arched an eyebrow, clearly enjoying having the upper hand. "All you have to do is click your heels three times, and say, there's no place like home."
"You're kidding," Devon asked. "That's all I had to do?" She was shaking with a mixture of anger and relief. She was grateful for Danziger's supporting presence next to her.
"Of course," Bess shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "You can go home right now if you like."
Devon glanced over at Alonzo, Julia, Morgan, and then finally up at Danziger. "I'm sorry, but I have to go back. I'm needed there." She walked over to Alonzo and Julia. "I'm glad I met you," she said to the Scarecrow. She hugged him, then Julia. "And, I'm glad that you two found each other."
"Yeah," Alonzo answered. "Me too." The Scarecrow put his arm around the Witch. Julia promptly aimed a small laser bolt from the DiaGlove's finger directly into his behind. Alonzo yelped and rubbed his smoking rear end. "You really are wicked!" he teased.
"You have no idea," Julia wrapped her arm around his waist and purred seductively.
Next, Devon turned to Morgan. She kissed him on the cheek. He blushed down to his paws. "I'll miss you, too, Morgan," she said to the Lion. "I wish I could be brave like you are." Morgan started crying, and blew his nose into his tail with a loud honk.
Finally, she reluctantly turned to the Tin Man. "I think I'll miss you most of all," Devon whispered to Danziger as she hugged him. "I'll be back, don't you worry."
He pulled her in close and kissed her tenderly. "Take care of yourself, Adair," was all he said. Two fat tears rolled down his cheeks. "What good is a heart if it gets broken again?"
Devon wiped them with her sleeve. "Now, don't you start that, Danziger," she smiled through her own tears, "You'll rust yourself again." He nodded, then kissed her again.
Devon pulled away from Danziger, although it was practically breaking her heart to do so. She took two steps toward Bess, and gathered Uly up in her arms. "Goodbye, everyone," she called out and waved. Alonzo, Morgan, Bess, and Julia waved back. Danziger turned away, unable to face the inevitable. It's now or never, she thought. Devon clicked the heels on the hiking boots three times, and said in a loud, clear voice, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." As she finished, she felt herself being lifted into the air...
...and violent coughs racked her frail body. She couldn't breathe! "Respirator, John", she heard Julia order through her mental fog. Something was fitted over her nose and mouth. After a few moments, it was easier to breathe. She felt a hypospray inject something into her neck. The fog began to lift. "She's coming around", Julia said with a note of relief.
"Thank God", Devon heard the musical lilt of Yale's voice. She couldn't remember hearing anything more beautiful, except for Uly's first cry after he was born. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, then a caress as someone wiped it away.
"Devon? Can you hear me?" Julia asked, as Devon felt a Gloved hand taking her pulse. "Vitals are almost at normal. John, you can remove the respirator now," Julia commanded. The device that was over her face was pulled away. Devon gasped, but breathed normally after a moment.
Devon Adair used all of her formidable will to open her eyes. She found herself lying on the diagnostic table in the Venus-class freighter, with hazy forms of people clustered around her. Gradually, faces came into focus. The first person that she saw was John Danziger, bending over her and stroking her hair. He looked, amazingly enough, like he had been crying. She smiled painfully at him, and he hung his head in exhausted relief. Julia came into focus next. The Doctor was rapidly moving the DiaGlove over Devon's body, checking her vital signs. Julia had dark circles under her eyes, and her face was pinched with fatigue. Other, more distant faces swam into focus - Yale, Alonzo, Morgan. In the corner, Bess was trying to hold Uly away from the action.
Devon cleared her dry throat and croaked, "Uly?"
Bess released the boy. He came running over, yelling "MOM! MOM! You're alive!" Danziger scooped Uly up, and plopped him down on the table next to her. Uly reached over and hugged his mother with fierce possessiveness.
"Woof, woof?" Devon tentatively whispered to Uly, and was pleased when he stared at her uncomprehendingly. Danziger's brow furrowed in a most un-metallic way as he observed them.
"Get her some water," Danziger directed. Morgan handed him a bottle, and the mechanic squeezed some water into her parched mouth. When she had a few sips, John gave the bottle back to Morgan, and grasped her hand. "We thought we'd lost you, Adair," he whispered huskily. "Julia figured out that you didn't have a bio-neural implant, and was able to manufacture some immuno-boosters for you." He gently pushed a wisp of hair back from her forehead.
"You did a fine job of being a leader," she murmured back to him. "The group looks to you for more than just fixing things." Danziger stared at her, at first not comprehending what she was saying. Then, a look of horror crossed his face as he slowly realized that she had heard his private words. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later. Next, she turned her attention to her tutor. "How long was I gone?" Devon asked Yale.
"About two weeks," the cyborg answered, putting his human hand into hers and squeezing.
Devon smiled weakly at all three of her men. "I had the strangest dream," she told them.
"A Terrian dream?" Alonzo asked from behind Julia, looking extremely puzzled.
"Noooo... not really. But you were there," she indicated John, "And you, Julia. And Morgan, and Alonzo, and everyone. Even that thing," she tilted her head and nodded to Uly's Terrian staff, which still stood beside the cryo-chamber. She released Yale's hand long enough to gently caress the hair on her son's head, and scratch him behind the ears. "There really is no place like home."