To say that Glinda Upland, Mayor of the Emerald City, was overworked, would be putting it lightly. Already today she'd signed a bill into law protecting Ozians from a growing rash of property theft, given a speech denouncing the Ozian City Council's decision to discontinue the use of mass transit, and sat in on a meeting discussing the state of their alliances within and beyond Greater Oz. Now, however, she sat before her war council, men personally responsible for helping her make the decisions involving protecting the citizens of the Emerald City from outside threats.

Not long ago, these men convinced her to sign into law a mandatory selective service act for all those between the ages of eighteen-to-thirty-five. At the start, it had been wildly unpopular, to the point of inciting riots in several locations on the Lower Levels, but a public address by Oz's own "paragon of goodliness" had done much to quell these sentiments.

Now, however, the Emerald City, and all of Oz, stood at the brink of war. The Mughellians, disgusting creatures to the Northwest, all the way from the other side of the mountains, were gathering en masse for a probable invasion of southern Munchkinland. Even now, reports of thousands appearing daily at the southern border of Mughel, building siege weapons and warships, were pouring into the defense headquarters. Glinda frowned. None of her options were particularly appealing. Munchkinland would stand with them, as well they should, and their army was filled with tough, dedicated career military personnel. They were also munchkins. Even their forces combined stood no chance of withstanding such a force as the one amassing in the mists above the Great Hills. Their only chance was to call for the outlying kingdoms and municipalities to send aid, both resources and troops. One Kingdom, however, stood out in Glinda's mind. "The Vinkus," she thought to herself. "They have over one-hundred thousand at their disposal." The thought of who would be leading those troops into battle made her heart twinge, as she wished not for Fiyero and Elphaba to be placed in harm's way, but she had little choice. She turned to her senior adviser.

"Mr. Shlador?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" He replied, using a common formal title.

"Prepare my personal convoy. I will go to the Vinkus and ask their Royal Family for all the troops they can muster to quell this threat."

A thin, wiry old man, Mr. Schlador's face betrayed fear he hadn't thought possible. "But Highness, why not have an emissary carry your message? It's far too dangerous, and you are needed here!"

"There is no other recourse, I'm afraid. We have little time. I have…history with the prince and princess there. Perhaps if I go myself, they will hear our cry for assistance."

She pulled her cloak over her shoulders. As she turned, six armed men surrounded her on all sides. She turned to her council and spoke again;

"Councilors, I will return soon. Let us pray I return with help."

Across Oz, literally a world away, the Royal Family of the Vinkus sat happily over a supper fit for people of their status. Roast bird, vegetables of different locale, and fresh bread sat steaming before them. Elphaba took her customary place, to the left of her husband, and remained standing as the Queen made her way to the table. Andino, Temo, and the usually, as now, vacated seat reserved for Cassandra, sat on the other side of the long wooden table. As Queen mother sat down, the rest of the Royal Family took their seats and were being served as conversation began.

"Andino," Fiyero began, "what news of the Mughel threat? Is there any reason to worry."

Andino pursed his lips, wanting to think carefully before answering his brother. "There's always reason to worry. We have many resources that outsiders, people who have squandered their own lands, would love to lay their hands on. If I had to say, I'd say they'd go for the Em (military for Emerald City) before hitting us, but it never hurts to be prepared."

The family quietly nodded their understanding. Andino spoke again;

"But, there's also reason not to worry. Word is, the Mughels just love to shake spears every so often. Help us remember they live down there. Those hills form a right nice natural barrier, too. Be awful hard to cross 'em, especially this time of year."

About this, he was right. Harvestine was retreating, and the time of the cold snow was descending upon all of Oz. It would be almost certain doom to attempt a crossing of the North Hills in that weather. The Queen waved her hand dismissively.

"You men and your talk of wars! Your father would spend hours every day preparing for wars that never started. We are safe here on the Vinkus, thanks to dear Andi"- the queen was the only person Elphaba had ever heard call him "Andi," and she suspected it was because it was the only person who'd go without a glare or rap on the head for doing so-"and we shan't keep ourselves up nights worrying about a threat so far away."

It was Fiyero's turn to speak up. "I believe, mother, that as one of the standing military powers in this area that it would be our duty to go to the aid of the Munchkins, or the Em, if necessary." He turned toward Elphaba. "What do you think, dear?"

Elphaba smiled wryly. "I think your son needs help with his peas."

The family looked down at Rymon in unison and watched with a mix of horror and mild amusement as Rymon Bain Tiggular smeared a very thick mixture of green pea and saliva all over his arms and shirt. Hurriedly, Fiyero grabbed his son out of his seat and took him to the washbasin, where an attendant hastily assisted the Prince in getting his son clean. Above the commotion, the suddenly overwhelmed young man managed to scream out "I just wanted to look like mommy!"

The room came to a stop. What were looks of confusion and worry on all the faces in the room turned first to horror, then outright joy as Elphaba Tiggular tried in vain to conceal the bursts of laughter erupting from somewhere deep inside her. Finally, the gruff chuckle of Commander Andino Tiggular pierced the awkward silence. Everyone else ended their attempts to hide their amusement, bathing the spacious eating area with laughs ranging from Andino's deep chuckle to young Temo's guffaw. Even the Queen, long a portrait of dignity and propriety while in the presence of attendants, broke forth with a laugh that none of them were sure they'd ever heard before. Elphaba laughed heartily, then was struck with the notion that this may have been the first time in her life she'd ever been able to laugh at a joke about the color of her skin. Her grin grew even bigger as Fiyero left his place by his son to embrace her. He drew a breath, began to speak, changed his mind, then whispered into his wife's ear:

"At least he got your eyes."

He smiled at her, kissed her on the forehead, and the whole family returned to their plates, smiling and shaking their heads at the joy that often came from the mouths of babes……

Later on, as his family prepared for bed, Andino Tiggular snuck away from his chamber to meet with his council of advisors. Despite what he'd said at the dinner table, the growing threat of invasion worried Andino far more than he was willingto admit to anyone. His most trusted advisor, General Lanson Benedict, had several maps and charts laid out on a large table in the center of a room lit only by candle. "No use disturbing everyone," Andino thought to himself. "They don't need to know yet."

He shook the hand of Benedict. "General," he began, "what news have you of the Mughellians?"

Benedict began slowly. "Nothing good, I'm afraid, my liege. Their numbers grow stronger daily. They've been joined by several other tribes native to that area."

"Arquellis?" Andino inquired, speaking of the long-standing Vinkan enemies.

"Some. But also Farlanders of all types. Somtos. Bayleans. And-" He paused momentarily, wary of the ramifications his next words would carry.

"Go on," Andino urged his friend. "Who else?"

"S-some of my scouts have reported seeing those winged monkeys camped with the leader. Said they seemed to have come to a sort of…strategic accord."

Andino nodded grimly. "That could give them assistance in crossing the Hills before Sunbreak (another Oz season)." He turned towards another man in the room. "Gelfind," he called, no longer particularly troubled with volume, "how many men are ready?"

A smaller, older man appeared to the left of Benedict. "Perhaps eighty-thousand, sir. Four brigades. Let's say two fleets worth of warships, too."

Andino ran the calculations mentally. Four brigades numbered more men than his nation had held at the ready for battle than at any one point in their proud military history. But the threat they now faced was greater than anything they'd ever seen. Even if the advisory information was skewed, conservative estimates appraised the enemies' strength at over one hundred thousand. That was a tall order, even if his men were joined by the tough, determined Munchkinland Battalions.

Still, he knew he had little choice. He still held out hope that at the very least, they had until spring to make their sprawling, expansive nation ready for war. Even now, his assembled team of military scientists were developing several different weapons that went "boom," as well as different ways to produce them. The famed Vinkan War Machine would soon be ready. Andino just hoped it could all be done in time……..