Thomas woke up to Spinner licking his face. Irritated, Thomas lifted his head up to avoid the dog's bad breath. He was vaguely aware of a nightmare about terrible turbulence and spotting a cartoonishly cackling witch outside of an airplane window, but he shook his head. It seemed so real, his heart was still throbbing from the strong terror it caused. Such a silly dream made no sense, though. Thomas knew better than to dwell on that unpleasantness. Wiping the slobber from his face, he made to stand up but something held him down. With a start, his hand grabbed the restraining item, and he recognized it as a lap-belt. He realized quickly he'd somehow gotten on the plane, although now it was quiet. Too quiet.
As Thomas unbuckled the seat-belt, he looked around. The plane seemed empty, thankfully nothing seemed too damaged. No odd smells; no heat or smoke. Exiting the door, Thomas realized the plane had buried itself so that the cabin door was at ground level. Spinner trotted out behind him and barked at the tall grass field around them. Glancing around, Thomas was stricken by a cliched thought.
"Uh, Spinner, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," Thomas said as he took in the colorful sight around him.
Flowers of every description in full bloom. Green, grass-covered houses sized just right for a hobbit. A sparkling, burbling stream passing through the middle of a little village. By some miracle, the plane missed the village, touching down and coming to a rest just short of any buildings. The field they'd landed in had grass up to Thomas's stomach and it swayed gently, even though there was hardly a breeze. The plane cleared the grass around it, so there was a flat area as far as the wing where grass lay down.
As he stepped through the clearing, he could hear more than just the long blades rustling. It was just faintly intimidating, by the sound of it there were many people just out of sight. Spinner seemed content to trot at Thomas's heels. Thomas pushed at the grass, but no one could be seen.
He turned around and came face to face with a beautiful person. Their outfit was impossible; half fluffy golden dress and half impeccably tailored silver suit. Their face was split with amazing sparkly make-up on one side and a more subdued, natural handsomeness on the other, but in the middle both looks melded into each other. Even their lips became a gradient from bright red to a more natural brown. The non-binary fairy seemed to glow all over from within, as if their skin could only barely contain the magic within.
"Are you a good witch, or a wicked one?" They asked.
Thomas looked around. In spite of that lingering feeling of being watched from the grass, he was the only one in sight. "Who, me? I'm not a witch at all! I mean, Joan and Talyn brought a ouija board over once but I told them I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. I don't care if the ghost in my house wants to talk; I'm sure they'd have nothing nice to say!"
The magical being tapped a finger to their gradient colored lips. "You appear very much like a wicked one I know, but you act much differently. What kind of magic do you know?"
"Me?" Thomas asked. "I don't know much. I've never really trained. Though I know a few tricks. Nothing as good as even a birthday magician."
The surreal beauty arched a brow. "So you are self-taught? The academics in this land would certainly find that interesting, considering how powerful one must be to undo the Wicked Witch of the West. Normally I couldn't even set foot upon her land, but with that wicked one gone here I stand."
"Oh, no, don't tell me..." Thomas turned back around and ran back through the grass. Sure enough, sticking out from underneath the plane were two ruby-slipper-clad feet.
Turning back around, he came face to face with the good witch. "Glinda, I presume?" He asked.
The good witch smiled. "Sometimes. Glen or Glinda, either or both."
"How very progressive of my dreams," Thomas deadpanned as he tried not to think of the poor, likely dead, being behind him. "Look, I didn't kill..."
"Oh but you did," Glinda insisted. "You were caught in her storm; those Wicked Witches ride the barriers between worlds and often unsettle things. It is their way to disturb the natural order. In their storms, thought becomes intent which becomes power. Your thoughts were powerful enough to break her storm and crush her beneath your...intriguing-looking vehicle," Glen/Glinda waved her wand at the plane. "So, the question remains; are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
Thomas tried to wrap his head around the situation, but was still overwhelmed. Leaning against the side of the plane, he held a hand up to his forehead. "I'm good, honestly. I didn't think my thoughts would ever hurt another living being. Let alone kill, that's just unbearable. Are you sure she's dead?"
Glinda smiled, patting his shoulder kindly. "You are a sweet soul. Don't trouble yourself on her account. The Wicked Witch Valerie's power made those living here miserable, and brought you here against your will."
Thomas turned a horrified face to the protruding feet. His dream had made Val an evil witch? He was glad he could only see her feet! If he'd had to watch something horrible happen to such a dear, sweet, amazing friend, he'd have been even more upset.
Glen turned to address the tall grass. "You may all come out now, it's all right. He who set you free's a knight. A gentleman, a noble spirit, whom of your song would gladly hear it."
A chorus of voices called out in joy, the grass came alive with rustling before giving way to green-clad beings a good head shorter than the grass.
"Humble, hay! Hear what they said!
The Wicked Witch at last is dead.
Rumble, ho! And sing with glee,
The wicked one is gone, you see!"
As they sang, the little ones led Thomas to the village center. When the singing ones set foot on the road, musical accompaniment burst into the air, seeming to come from the road below them. The golden road glowed in time with their song as well. Thomas felt a warm giddiness well up inside him as he set his feet on the glowing bricks.
"The road at last glows bright certain,
The day has conquered night again
A powerful good knight, good man,
Has set us free, says Glinda/Glen!"
Glinda kept close to Thomas's side, smiling brightly at the shorter folk as they danced and sang on the glowing road. As they approached what seemed to be the biggest building in the village, a portly, jovial person stepped out and clapped his hands together.
The other voices faded as his baritone rang out.
"Our worries now have all gone past,
Our songs can once more ring at last
Our thanks to thee is deep and vast,
Name your wish, we'll bring to pass!"
The little mayor bowed, followed by the rest of the village so far around them.
"Well, actually. I have a hunch I might need those ruby slippers, the ones that the uh, unpleasant one was wearing." Thomas said, glancing back at the plane.
Glen laughed and tapped Thomas's shoulder. Pointing down, Glen instructed, "You've already got them!"
Thomas winced a bit. The slippers looked definitely feminine on the witch's feet. Looking down, he sighed as he saw the shoes transformed. They looked like bedazzled converse sneakers, now. "Well, then my second hunch is that these babies will take me home. So, you're all quite welcome, but what I'd most like is to be back home in Florida where the weirdest thing that could happen to me would have a smaller chance of being fatal. Well, by a little bit at least."
Closing his eyes and thinking of home, Thomas tapped his heels together three times and waited.
He reopened them to the same flowery sight as before. Glancing at Glinda/Glen, Thomas shrugged. "Okay, what did I forget?"
Glinda laughed and shook her head. "Well, if you tapped your heels and thought of home, I'd say the only thing you don't have is the proper perspective. You must have a deeply personal desire. And there's only one being strong enough to read the deepest, most personal desires of one's heart."
"The Wizard, right?" Thomas asked.
The Good Witch nodded. "You are strong indeed. The Wizard of Awe is the one you need."
"Oz?" Thomas asked, unsure he heard her correctly."
"Yes, Awe is," Glinda confirmed.
"Aww-iz?" Thomas asked
Glen nodded. "Correct, he is."
"The wiz is?"
"The wiz is!"
"The Wizard of Oz?" Thomas asked, confused by Glinda's pronunciation.
"The Wizard of Awe is!" Glen confirmed, tapping the wand impatiently against their trouser leg.
Thomas tilted his head. "It sounds like you're saying Aww-iz."
"I am saying Awe is!" Glinda said, stomping a high heeled foot.
"Not Oz?"
Glinda shrugged. "Awe is or Awe's. You can contract it if you want, in either case it means the same. Wonder, amazement, et cetera."
Thomas decided to test a theory. "This is the wonderful land of Oz, isn't it?"
Glinda laughed. "It is certainly a wonder-land, but not all this land belongs to The Wizard of Awe."
If anything, now he was more confused. "Wait, so this is wonderland? Is there a queen of hearts?" Thomas scratched his head.
Glinda shook their head. "None that I am aware of. The Wizard took his name from the former matrilineal Queens of Awe, unfortunately now extinct. This land's name is from the age of those Queens who ruled the whole continent. Though I don't believe any of those queens were known for wearing red. The name of this land is Awesome."
"That's cool. I'd like to hear it," Thomas said earnestly.
With a shrug, Glen looked more than a hit put out. "I just said it, man."
"Said what?" Thomas asked.
Glen answered, deadpan. "The land's name."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Awesome."
"Oz-sum? As in Oz summed up the name?"
"Awe does have some of this land, but he had nothing to do with the name. And why are you saying it like that?" Glen asked, bewildered.
"That's what you said!"
"I said it was Awesome. As in there is some awe. A-W-E!" Glen said, spelling it out and flashing the letters in the air with the wand.
"Oh AWE!" Thomas cried out, finally realizing what the matter was.
"Yes, awe!" Glen said, as the letters burst into sparkles.
Thomas chuckled to himself at the misunderstanding. "Third base!"
"Now what are you talking about?" Glinda asked, eyes suspicious.
Rather than explain it, Thomas waved a hand. "Not important. So, if things are a little different than the land I know, does the Wicked Witch of the East still exist?"
"Indeed I do," called out a low voice. Smoke billowed from the roof of the mayor's house. From within, a black and purple form emerged.
"Virgil?" Thomas asked, dumbfounded. "But I don't think of you as a villain!"
The Wicked Witch sneered, his plaid-patched elbows sticking out as he crossed his arms. "Well, I certainly don't care what you think of me! I am the Wicked Witch of the East, Elphonse! And I'm here to punish the fool who dared crush my sister to death!"
"Why would my dream name you...oh like Elphaba," Thomas said. "I swear if I see you flying around singing 'Defying Gravity'..."
"He's the fool," Glen said, pointing directly at Thomas.
"Glen!" Thomas protested.
A puff of purple smoke erupted in front of Thomas and Glen/Glinda. The good witch stepped between Thomas and the would-be assailant. "You are not amongst the tangled trees and swampy stumps of the East, Elphonse."
Elphonse stared daggers at Thomas. "You can't hide behind their sparkly shadow forever."
The sheer force of the hatred in Elphonse's eyes started Thomas into silence.
Elphonse turned to the good witch. "This sweet-scented flower flood sickens me. This land was better off in the hands of my sister, Val! Such technicolor fairytale land aesthetic offends every sense! That it reverted back so quickly upon Val's demise is sickening. These little people, that fool and his dog are all going to be in my hands soon enough. And the ruby slippers will be the first step to making that nightmare come true.
His hand erupted in flame and the wicked witch lobbed it straight towards the airplane. The little folk dove out of the line of fire as the grass field went up in flames. The field went up all at once and then subsided into ash. As the wicked witch marched through the embers, he came to a stop before turning around.
"Who has them! They're mine! Give them back right now, or I'll..."
"You will do nothing," Glen reminded him. "And if you dare to strike those standing upon the glowing golden road..."
Elphonse stomped his foot. "Don't think I don't know the magic of this world! You may think you're safe with those slippers and this wretched road, but just you watch. I'll have those slippers and the power of this land as well! And then you'll be at my mercy, and your little dog too!"
Smoke billowed again at the wicked witch's feet and he disappeared in a clash of flames and thunder.
"Wow, extra." Thomas remarked.
Glen nodded. "Even so, he is dangerous. In this world there are only four items that could save you. Those slippers, well, sneakers, are one. The mirror of the Wizard will help you home. The Amethyst City is the home of the Wizard of Awe. It lies south of here and to the east. As you draw nearer to the neutral territory, you must keep your feet on the golden road. It is a law of magic that those who stand upon it are safe from magical harm."
Thomas nodded. "Oh, so that's what you meant."
Glinda smiled and tapped the road with the wand. "One just has to sing a little song and the protection is invoked."
Thomas frowned. "But I haven't...you let Virg—Elphonse think that I was already protected."
"The people here sang for you. Although that protection they gave you extends only as far as the village limits. Beyond the gate, you must sing for yourself." Glen declared, pointing at the little wooden archway at the other side of the village square.
"So, I've got to sing. Anything?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, anything." Glinda said.
As the lyrics to his Ultimate Storytime song came to mind, he opened his mouth. To his surprise, a different song came out.
"With ruby shoes and heart alight
I set my feet to make things right
The golden road of Awe's in sight
With luck I'll be at home tonight."
As he sang, the bricks under his feet began to glow and accompanying music burst into the air. Spinner howled, his usually noisome bark oddly resonant in the music he heard in his head. He took his first steps, following the spiral pattern until he reached the wooden limit of the town. The glow followed his steps, bursting as each ruby clad foot touched the golden bricks. At the arch, he took one step and sang.
"These steps I'll take to find my way
To Amethyst, the Wizard's stay
A city bright, 'neath brighter ray
My hope, my home, to see today!"
The golden road glow spread down the path. Waving at the cheering little folk, Thomas looked to wave to Glinda/Glen, but only saw a retreating bubble. Waving anyway, Thomas turned around and started down the softly glowing road.