Chapter 4: Talking Trees and the Heartless Companion

TOF: Woot! Chapter 4 is finally going up! I'm so excited, hehe! (Dancing around the room)

Kai: Ok, who gave her sugar and caffeine?

TOF: No one did, silly Kai. I got it myself! (Hugs Kai)

Kai: Err… O.o

TOF: Hehe, have fun reading the chapter!


The four companions continued down the yellow brick road. Max and Tyson chattered in front while Kai and Miguel remained slightly behind, the Spaniard's arm around the shoulders of the enigma.

But they stopped when they heard a grumbling sound. Max turned to the two older bladers and said, "I'm getting hungry." While holding his stomach.

"There's some apple trees over there." Stated Miguel pointing to a group of trees to their left.

"I think we could all use something to eat. We haven't had anything in awhile." Said Kai walking over to the trees. He picked an apple off the lowest branch, and as he turned to give the apple to Max, a hand-like branch suddenly slapped his hand causing him to drop the apple in shock.

"Ow." Kai muttered rubbing his hand when a voice spoke from the tree.

"What do ya think you're doing?" it asked gruffly.

Kai snapped back, "Max was hungry. So I just wanted to get him an-" he stopped, blinked cutely and then asked, "Wait, did you just talk?"

"Max was hungry." Mocked the tree. Some of the other ones laughed along with it. "And how would you feel if someone came along and grabbed something off of you?" the lead tree asked rather rudely.

"Oh fuck this." Stated Kai walking away back to Miguel's comforting arms.

Tyson looked at Max, then the trees for a minute. Then he loudly announced, "Come on Maxie, you don't want any of those apples!"

"You questioning my apples for what they are, punk?" the lead tree threatened.

"Oh no, of course not." Tyson replied innocently, before adding snidely. "I just don't think he wanted any little green worms in his apple."

That obviously was a grave insult, as the trees tried to attack them.

"What are you doing you idiot?" asked Kai.

Tyson turned to Kai and whispered, "I'll show you how to get them apples." He turned back to the tree and started mocking them. Name calling and funny faces included.

The trees grabbed the apples off their branches and started pelting them at Tyson. They hit him in the chest and fell to the ground. He just laughed. He didn't feel a thing. He, along with the others picked up some of the fallen apples and then shouted, "Thanks a lot fellas!"

Then they high tailed it away from the area before more apples could be thrown at them.

Max grabbed a few more apples that had been thrown past them further into a wood area, when he saw something amazing.

"Kai, Miguel, Tyson!" he shouted. "You've got to come and see this!"

"What is it Max?" asked Miguel as they made their way over to where Max stood.

Standing there on its own accord was a perfect replica of a man; the only difference was that he was made completely out of tin. Blue hair in a ponytail fell around its shoulders, and its arms were lifted to hold an ax, which was in perfect angle with the tree next to it.

"Shit." Muttered Kai looking at the figure closely.

It was then that a voice tried to speak; the only problem was that it was so muffled; you could barely understand a word.

"What'd you say?" asked Tyson stepping closer trying to hear.

The muffled voice spoke again and they were only able to understand one word.

"Oilcan?" asked Max confused.

Kai looked around, before seeing an oilcan propped up on a tree stump. He grabbed it, before squeezing some oil around the tin man's lips.

The lips moved for a moment trying to open.

"Oh god…" the tin man finally spoke. "I can finally speak after all this time. Bloody hell." He muttered. "Please, could you oil my arms? And my elbows?" he asked gratefully.

Miguel grabbed the oilcan to oil the left arm and elbow, before handing it back to Kai so he could oil the right side. The tin man bended his limbs, and then lowered his ax with a shrill shriek.

"Did that hurt?" asked Max a little concerned.

"No, it feels great." the tin man sighed. "I've held that damn axe up for ages, it feels good to be able to lower it."

"Geeze," said Tyson. "How long have you held that thing up?"

The tin man shrugged. "The hell if I know. I stopped counting seconds by the second day."

"At least you can move now." Said Miguel. "By the way. I'm Miguel, this is Kai my boyfriend," he said pulling Kai back into his arms. "The small blonde is Max and the scarecrow is Tyson."

The tin man stuck a hand out for Miguel to shake. "Just call me Hiro. I'm a woodman…sort of. I'm more like a tin woodman."

"Well, whoever built you should be proud," Kai told him, "You're very well-built…a perfect tin model of a man…"

"Perfect." Hiro snorted. "Bang on my chest if you think I'm perfect." When Kai hesitated, he added. "Go on bang on it, it won't hurt me."

Kai, still reluctant, banged on the tin sharply, to have his bangs echoed back at him.

"Beautiful." Laughed Tyson. "What a sound."

"Its empty." Said Hiro. "The stupid tins man forget to give me a heart." He added seeing their confused looks.

"No heart?" asked Max.

"Nope. Only tin."

There was a silence, before a light bulb went on in Tyson's head.

"We're going to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz! He's gonna get me a brain, and get Kai, Miguel and Max back home! Maybe he could get you a heart too!"

"You think he would give me a heart?" asked Hiro.

"I don't see why not." Said Max.

Suddenly there was a cold, cruel laugh; they whirled around, and standing there out of newly fading purple smoke was the Wicked Wizard of the West.

He looked at the three bladers, and sneered at them. And then he looked at the scarecrow and tin man. "Helping these boys along are we my fine gentlemen." he asked, his voice still quite sardonic, "Well stay away from them or I'll have one of my best bladers handle you personally."

But this caused Hiro and Tyson to glare hard at the wizard.

"Go back to the hell hole you came from you bastard!" said Hiro.

"Yeah." Agreed Tyson. "Leave Kai, Miguel and Max alone!"

The look of smugness in Voltaire's eyes flickered quickly, before he brandished his hand in Tyson's direction and a ball of fire flew at him.

Tyson shouted, jumping away from the flames desperately and behind Kai as the captain used his scarf to deaden the flames.

Kai looked back up at Voltaire to tell him to keep Tyson and Hiro out of this, but he was already gone in another puff of purple smoke.

'Coward.' He thought glancing around.

"Are you ok now?" asked Miguel.

Tyson panted a little but smiled. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Kai nodded, then said. "Come on. We've got to keep moving."

The four companions got started walking down the yellow brick road when Hiro ran in front of them. "So, can I come?" he asked.

"Of course you can come with us." Laughed Max.

And as the sun started to drop down in the sky, the five friends continued into the deeper, darker section of the forest, down the Yellow Brick Road and ever closer to the Emerald City.

TBC…


TOF: Finally. This one took me a while. I got stuck.

Kai: How much more torture are you going to put me through?

TOF: I haven't decided yet. Anyway, tell me what you think and I'll try to update as fast as I can! In the next chapter they meet the lion, or rather, the tiger.

PS. Making Hiro the tin man was a random choice. Origninally I was going to put Tala in that role, but then I came up with another role for him and his team. I couldn't decide who to put in this role so I just picked a random person.