"Hi! What' s your name?"

"Dakota. Yours?"

"That's such a pretty name! My name's Dorothy." Already knew, but you'd freak out if I said so, I thought."Is your surname Gale?" She nodded. "Cool! Everyone was wondering when you'd come back. Travel okay?" I looked toward the sky. "Aside from the flying monkeys, I mean."

"Hit a few bumps in the road, but we're fine."

"Easy for you to say," The China Princess smoothed down her hair "Those animals were so rough, I could have gotten a crack!"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Dakota, this is Wiser, Marshal Mallow, China Princess, and Toto." Toto nuzzled up against my ankle, and I reached down a moment to pet him. He was such a cute dog! "Wonderful to meet you all!" I replied.

"So what are you looking for?" Wiser asked.

"Hhm? Oh, looking for my friends." Don't ask who. If I tell her, she'll never believe me. It's best this way.

"They went missing?" Dorothy looked worried.

"I know where they are , but I just have to get there first."

"If you 'd like, we could help." I smiled. "Thank where are you headed?"

"The Emerald City. Hopefully I can find a message telling me what happened to my friends."

"Then we're both going the same way, even better! We should cover some ground before nightfall, though."

"Yes, of course." Marshal Mallow piped up. "In a little while, we'll set up camp."

As the group forged on, I thought about our small conversation. I wish I could tell her everything, but she may not believe me. After all, if a strange woman turned up out of the blue and claimed to know my friends, I would not believe her. Though it won't be easy keeping something like this a secret for long! Alright. If Dorothy asks, I won't hesitate. For now, though, I can't let them know.

...

"Someone ALWAYS helps that girl!" He banged his fist against the crystal ball, which showed one last image of the group before green smoke filled the sphere.

"Who does she think she is, anyways? Barging in and ruining my plans. Well, what's-her-face better watch out." Nikko flew in through the window before plopping down onto the floor, completely exhausted.

"And just what do you think you're doing?! You were supposed to get her and bring her back! The easiest thing in the world! Even after Miss Hero came in, you still could have flung her to the side."

Nikko slumped. It was hard to fight, couldn't The Jester see that? Maybe if he didn't have that staff, he'd be more considerate... but Nikko couldn't do that. He'd be grounded in a heartbeat.

"Come to think of it, who is this girl? And who are her so called 'friends'? I'll find out eventually, but priority check. I'll get back to them later, I'm going to go check up on our guests"

The Jester smirked, and left the room. Nikko lingered on the floor, his thoughts gearing towards his master's "mystery girl." He had known her, once upon another time. Like the Jester, the Witch had used him for a punching bag. A lot...

The flying monkey sat in the dark and empty hallway, silently sniffling. He had just received a row from the Witch for stealing the jam sandwitch she was going to eat. He didn't know it was hers, how was he supposed to? It just wasn't fair.

Suddenly he heard light footsteps coming his way. He jerked his head up, fear in his eyes. "It's alright, I 'm not going to hurt you."

It was a soldier, but not the tough and scary soldiers come to lug him back to the other monkeys. The girl was small, with dark hair and skin and bright green eyes. She seemed nice, but he couldn't tell, because he had never seen her before.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Nikko nodded, wiping away his tears. The girl sat down beside him and gave him a hug. "That's good. She must have given you a pretty bad scare though." He nodded again. He was starting to like this girl! "She scares everybody, though nobody ever says anything. I always do my best to hide myself, and it seems to work. But someday she'll be gone, and we can leave this place. You know what?"

"What?" He chattered.

"The first place I'm going to go to is the Emerald City. I haven't heard much about it, but it sounds so wonderful anyways. Maybe I'll be a book keeper, and read during breaks."

"That does sound nice."

Nikko knew she didn't understand him, but something in her smile made it seem like she did. "Well, I'd better get going. If I stay longer, the others will get suspicious. Good bye."

She stood up and dusted herself off. "Oh, and by the way," she added "my name's Dakota."

Dakota turned around and melted into the shadows, leaving Nikko behind to think about the Exchange.

They may not have seen each other much over the passing years, but she had shown nothing but kindness whenever they met. The primate wasn't sure, but her reason for leaving the Winkie Army must have had something to do with two of the prisoners being kept downstairs. If it was true, they could all be in danger. He had to stay silent. Play dumb. It wasn't hard, no one except the other monkeys understood him. It's better that way anyways.

...

The doors burst open with a bang as The Jester strode into the room. "I hope you boys have found everything to you liking."

rolled, then tightly shut, his eyes. The jerking force of the torture wheel going back and forth had a dizzying effect, and closing his eyes was the only way to minimize the impact. The spinning momentum of the wheel , along with the emerald flames at the foot of the machine, made the contraption live up to it's name.

"Unfortunately, our little friend couldn't join us as soon as I'd hoped. But no matter, she'll find her way here either way."

"I'd like to see that smile on your face when Dorothy brings you to your knees!" Lion growled.

The Jester laughed "Oh, and I can't wait to see her try! Would you like to see her?" He waved his scepter, and the wheel slowly stopped. An image of Dorothy, Marshal Mallow, Wiser, China Princess, and another person sitting in a circle around a campfire appeared. almost gasped, prompting a curious look from The Jester. He quickly masked his expression and looked away. Dakota's going with Dorothy? Doesn't she know she's going to endanger herself?

The image disappeared, and The Jester vanished in a cloud of smoke, the torture wheel starting up again. This time, though, something else was on the straw man's mind other than trying to endure the wheel's effect.

I thought I made it clear I didn't want her to get hurt! But if The Jester finds out about how important she is, who knows what he'll do. The only thing I can do now is keep it a secret. No matter what, I can't let him know, or Dakota will be hurt, or worse.

Happy New Year everybody! So a lot of secrets are being kept now, and all have good intentions. But when will those secrets surface? I hope you like the inclusion of Nikko (he is named a lot of things, but in my theater's production of WoO it was Nikko), as he's a character who doesn't get much attention. (I kept thinking of my dad, as his favorite characters are the flying monkeys in the film) I love all the support that you guys give, because it reminds me how important this story is to the people. Stay tuned for more!

P.S.: Did you recognize the chapter titles in the story? The first one was a lyric reference to a Beatles song, the next one a pop song title, and this one a soundtrack song title. The chapters will have titles from songs, lyrics as a last resort, and you guys will have to guess who the artists were! (The first chapter will be the title and the artists) So PM or review me what your guesses are, and in the chapter after each I will tell you what the correct answer was, so start guessing!