Wizard of Oz: The Return of the Witches
By Mutitoon90
Chapter Four
Back in the palace of the capital of the Land of Oz, Vicki was talking with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and a few others. One being was a lion, who was acting like he was a coward, another was a very talkative hen named Billina and the third was the ruler of the Land of Oz, Princess Ozma.
Vicki was in awe of the teenaged ruler of the Emerald City and the Land of Oz. The girl's dress was white with green and gold accents, and her manners rivaled those that were taught in the ways of etiquette, espeically the Royal Tutors of Slumberland. In the princess's hand was a golden septer with the letter 'O' and the letter 'Z,' which was inside the first letter, and on her head was a silver tiara with emeralds in it. Ozma was about the same age as Dorothy, but in her eyes hid a glint of wisdom.
"So, Glinda sent you to help us in our time of need." The Royal Ruler of Oz processed the information that Vicki had told her.
"That's correct, your Highness." Vicki felt nervous, despite that the princess was younger than her.
"We do need all of the help that we can get at this time." Princess Ozma was seldom about the situation, "I do hope that you can help us, Miss Payne."
"I want to see if this girl's a real witch." Clucked Billina, who was sitting on a cushion that was next to the throne.
"Billina." The young ruler of the Emerald City mildly scowled the chicken, "That was not needed."
"Givin' the situation, I'd thought it was a good idea." The hen defended herself as she felt the glare of the princess on her being.
"I've seen her rescue a child from some of the falling debris from the last earthquake." The Tin Woodsman pointed out in Vicki's defense, "Also, she did help me when I rusted myself again."
"Don't mean much by me." Chucked the hen with an doubt-fillled voice, "Mombi acted sweet and nice with Dorothy, Tick-Tock and me before she shutted the poor girl into a room to wait for the day that Dorothy was old enough to have her head taken."
Vicki was surprised at the old hen's story, but she also understood why the chicken would be wary of witches that spoke and acted sweetly to her or to anyone that she knew. However, she had to figure a way to convince the hen and the others that she was a good witch and was sent by Glinda.
Then, the doors in the throne room opened and a Munchkin guard entered the room and announced the following statement: "Presenting Princess Dorothy Gale of Kansas and Miss Alice Kingsleigh!"
Dorothy entered the room, dressed in an outfit that suited her station as a member of the Royal Family of the Land of Oz; her green dress suit was accented with white and gold, and the only part of the outfit that was out of place was the Ruby Slippers, which contrasted the outfit in color.
Alice Kingsleigh, a young blond girl, followed the Princess of Oz into the throne room. Her clothes was consisted of a light blue tunic that was seen under the blue overcoat, which could allow an archer to practice their archery, white trousers and dark blue boots. She entered the room and saw her good friend, Vicki.
"Vicki, you're finally here!" The blond woman ran to the darker woman and embraced her in a hug.
"It took longer than I'd thought." Vicki was shrugging her shouders at that moment after Alice released her.
"Given the situation and its servereity, I cannot blame them." The foreigner female thoughtfully stated as the others saw the friendship on display.
"It looks like they know each other." Ozma observed the interaction between the two foreign girls, but Billina still had a few things to say the foreign witch.
"I don't care! I still need proof that she's a good witch!"
"Oh, Billina..." Dorothy shook her head at the chicken's doubt.
"Don't you start, Dorothy!" The hen was quick to remind the girl from Kansas about one of the wicked witches, "Mombi nearly had you as one of her accessories!"
"I remember, Billina. There's no need to repeat it." Dorothy dismissed the chicken's repeating statements and reminders.
Ozma giggled a little upon seeing the two odd friends bicker with each other, and that was enough to cause everyone, including the foreign girls, to see the banter between the two. Everyone that knew both Dorothy and Billina knew that they like that whenever they disagreed with something.
"Princess Ozma!" A voice rang out from behind the throne room, which led to the upper audience area of the room.
The group looked at a man, who was running down the stairs. Vicki recongized the man from a picture that Glinda possessed, and with his good looks and his attire, Oscar 'Oz' Diggs certainly made a statement.
"Mister Diggs!" Dorothy was surprised about seeing the older man again.
"Please, 'Princess,'" the man bowed to Dorothy, who heard the man stressing her title, "call me 'Oscar' or 'Oz.'"
"Sorry." Dorothy sighed as she realized her mistake. While she was made into a princess of the land by both the true ruler of the Land of Oz and the people, Oscar/Oz became the ruler before Ozma's return.
Vicki giggled as she watched the man's entrance into the conversation, but mostly that she had finally gotten the name of the man that Glinda has a picture of, and it was a good thing for Vicki since she had been wanting and asking Glinda to tell her that man's name for years.
Then, the man became serious as he looked at Vicki, who was feeling very sufficated by the man's dark glare.
"You're the one that claimed that Glinda sent you, huh?"
"Yes, sir." Vicki, who was normally unintimidated by normal mortals, was shaking, but she guessed that she was dealing with a man that Glinda cares for deeply.
"Where's your proof?" The finely dressed man demanded the young witch, who was not expecting to get interrogated by the newest member of conversion.
"Finally!" Billina clucked out in agreement with the human male.
"I got a letter from her." Vicki remembered the envelope that the Good Witch had given her before coming to the Land of Oz.
"It could be a fake!" The hen warned the former Wizard of Oz.
"True." Oscar agreed, but he took the envelope from the witch.
Being careful, Oscar pulled out a letter opener from his coat pocket and use it to opened it. Once the envelope was cut open, he pulled out the note and a crystal amulet.
"That's from Crystal Land!" The Cowardly Lion exclaimed in surprise as the amulet was examined by Oz himself.
"How do we know that she didn't take it from there, or that it's a fake?" The old hen pointed out to the lion, who muttered about how the lesser creatures were smug when they were correct and the higher creatures were wrong.
"I can prove it." Dorothy stepped towards the dark-skinned witch.
As she approached Oscar, the people-chosen princess pulled a similar looking crystal from underneath her shirt, showing that she had it as a necklace. When the two crystals touched each other, they gave a powerful glow that ended when both Dorothy and Oscar pulled back from each other.
"Very clever, Dorothy." Oz commented on Dorothy, who stated with a smile, "Thank the Scarecrow for the crystal; it was a birthday present from him."
The straw-filled man bowed before Oscar gave the crystal back to Vicki and said, "Thanks."
"I wouldn't thank anyone just yet." Billina chimed at the younger witch, who threw the hen a dirty and distasteful glare.
Dorothy shook her head and stated to everyone in the room, "The only way anyone could get a crystal from Crystal Land is if they're a native of Oz."
Billina wanted to say something else, but she could not find the right words to say to anyone, including Vicki and Dorothy. So, she wisely remained silent about the topic of Vicki and whether or not that she was on their side.
Vicki noticed that Dorothy was covering her mouth, trying not to show that she was amused about the whole thing, and that nearly made Vicki giggle a little with the princess. Thankfully for her, Dorothy was able to hold back her laughter and returned to the matter at hand, but she did it in poor taste.
"So, what does the letter say about this 'wicked witch?'" Dorothy laughed as she tried to make a joke, but her joke failed to amuse anyone; even Toto wimpered at the terrible joke. Realizing her failure at livening up the mood, the farm girl shrugged her shoulders and said, "I guess the joke's should've been made at a better time."
"Like never." Billina joked, and that comment did a better job at some laughter from the others.
Dorothy, who did not have any bad feelings about the sharp cluck from the hen, finally returned to the matter at hand, saying to Oscar, "What does the letter say?"
"Finally." Oscar shook his head at the dark-haired princess before reading the possible note from Glinda.
As Oscar read the note out loud, Ozma raised a hand to her head, and that caught Billina's attention.
"What's wrong, your Highness?" The hen's question caused the others to look at the Ruler of the Land of Oz.
"I'm not feeling right." The princess answered, but the others, including the foreign girls, could not stop themselves from being concerned. Dorothy was the first to reach Ozma and said, "I think something's up."
A moment passed before she admitted to everyone in the throne room that the second princess was right.
"I'm afraid that one of the witches have placed a spell on me, and before anyone believes that this was Vicki's doing, allow me to say that she's guiltless of this curse; I've been feeling this before the letter was opened. However, the witches have been trying to steal more of the Power Emeralds for some time, and they are going to be successful, even before this curse takes effect."
As soon as the words left Ozma's lips, another earthquake came, causing everyone to lose their balance. Most of them fell to the floor, while Ozma and Billina remained in their respective places.
"What's go-going on!?" The Cowardly Lion grabbed one of coulmns, shaken by the situation both literially and emotionally.
"It's the witches!" The Scarecrow cried out, "It's the witches!"
"No kiddin'!" Dorothy exclaimed as she grabbed the throne and held on until the quake ended.
"Thank goodness that's over." Alice stated as she and the others got back onto their feet.
"No," Omza spoke in a weary tone, "it's not."
"What do you mean?" Oscar asked, as he went to the princess's side with the Scarecrow.
"The curse that was placed upon me has rendured me very weak." Ozma explained to the group, "Soon, I shall be completely under the curse."
"Are you sure?" The Scarecrow asked the Ruler of the Land of Oz, who was able to answer.
"Yes."
Vicki was the next to speak to the princess, asking in a sincerely concerned voice, "What can we do if you're under the spell?"
Ozma felt the difficulty in the making her next statement, but she managed to form the words.
"The choices that shall be carried out shall be made by Dorothy, who is a princess by both the people's and my declaration."
Vicki looked at the dark-haired Kansas girl, whose face paled when she heard Ozma's words. Apparently, Dorothy was not hoping not to be put into the postion of power.
Then, another Munchkin entered the throne room and panted out his announcement to the people in the room.
"One of the buildings was just ripped out of the ground by a whirlwind and carried it into the air!"
"No!" Oscar exclaimed upon hearing the bd news, "That's probably the one with the Power Emeralds was stored at!"
"It was!" The messager announced to the group.
An powerful silence fell onto the group, but Vicki was the first to recover and said, "We need to get to the witches' hideout and now!"
"No arguements from me!" Alice stepped forward, aiming her attention to Dorothy, who was starting to feel a great pressure being put onto her.
"Dorothy." Ozma's fading strength was evident in her voice, "I know that you're feeling great pressure, but I trust you that you'll make the right decision when the time is right."
"I hope I don't fail you and your trust." Dorothy grabbed the hand of one of her closest and dearest friends.
With a smile, Ozma made a reply, "I know that you will do what is right."
"Ha!" The Wicked Witch of the West mocked the weakening princess as she saw her spell taking affect, "That brat's got a better chance of starting an unneeded war than running the Land of Oz!"
"Agreed." Mombi played with the necklace that held the very Power Emerald that allowed her to free herself from the dungeon of the Emerald City.
Then, the ground shook, telling all within the castle of the western Wicked Witch that something had arrived. Both the witches were pleased with the arrival of the rest of the Power Emeralds.
"Mombi, you get the Wheelers to gather the Power Emerald, and I'll send the Flying Monkeys to help you with the task." The Wicked Witch of the West started to make her exit from the room, "I'll make sure that coyote knows that his work is now getting started."
Mombi smiled darkly as she followed the green-skinned witch out of the room to gather the Wheelers to complete the given task. The very thought of Princess Ozma under the slumbering curse filled her with such glee that she felt that nothing could stop their dark plan.
Back in the Emerald City, Ozma had finally succumbed to the curse, and Dorothy and the others had gathered some help to carrying the sleeping princess to her rooms and bed. Once Ozma was in her rooms, Dorothy assembled the others to discuss the current situation, including the stolen building.
"So, what do we do now?" The Scarecrow asked Dorothy, who was at a loss for words.
"Well,-"
Before the princess said a word, another munchkin enter the throne room and made an announcement to the group.
"Your Highness, there's a man that hear to see his cousin."
"His cousin?" Dorothy was confused about the sudden announcement of the strange man's arrival and demand.
Vicki had a powerful feeling who the man was, and she approached the messager.
"What does this guy look like?"
The munchkin was taken aback about the sudden question, but he was able to answer the inquiry.
"He had black hair, he was tall and when he arrived to the Emerald City, he looked like a giant blackbird!"
"A giant blackbird?" The Cowardly Lion was not happy about hearing about such a creature.
"That Howl..." Vicki groaned, knowing who was demanding Dorothy to see the young witch.
"Howl?" Oscar asked upon hearing the name of Vicki's cousin.
Dorothy also heard Vicki say the name of her cousin and turned to the messager and told him, "Allow him in; I believe that we'll have the truth soon enough."
"Yes, ma'am." The munchkin nodded before he exited the throne room.
The Cowardly Lion looked at Vicki and asked, "Do you know the giant blackbird?"
"Howl's not a blackbird." Vicki answered the question, "It's a form that he takes whenever the situation he's in requires it."
"So, what is he?" The giant feline asked, nervous about seeing the huge avian, who was really the young witch's older cousin.
The answer to the Cowardly Lion's question did not come from Vicki herself, but from the young man that entered the throne room.
The man looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties, and he was dressed in white shirt, black pants and black shoes. His messy black hair reached to his shoulders, and his bright blue eyes darted at Vicki.
"Vicki!" The young man sighed in relief as he dashed to her and hugged her, "Thank goodness! You're okay!"
"Of course I am, Howl." Vicki hugged back, "I'm a big girl."
"I know." Howl laughed at his cousin's words, which caused Vicki to became very annoyed with him.
"Who told you that I was on this mission?" The dark-skinned witch demanded from her older cousin, who answered, "Flip took me, since almost every witch, wizard and other magic-users in the known universe knows that Mombi and the Wicked Witch of the West have returned."
"I'm gonna stuff Flip with his own hat." Vicki muttered under her breath, and Howl heard it.
"Don't get angry with Flip; he's just as worried about you just as I am. Besides, these witches are powerful and dangerous, and their plan threatens everyone in the universe."
"And that's why Glinda sent a Chosen One, and that's me!" Vicki pointed out, but Howl was not willing to hear any part of the sentence.
"Forget it! You're not going anywhere near those two monsters!"
"Ugh!" Vicki was angered, if not annoyed, with her cousin, "I'm a full-fledged witch, not a new recruit of the Witches' Counsel!"
"I know that, but the witches here are truly dangerous!" Howl pointed out, and that truly angered Vicki.
"More dangerous than the time we met the Miser Brothers while looking for Santa Claus's magic bag?"
"Yes," Howl replied, "even feeling both the firey and icy burns from those two jerks."
"More dangerous than the time that Anneka, Piney, Little Acorn and I went to rescue Tannenbaum when King Winter locked him up?"
"Yes, but that was your first mission with the Blue Flame."
"More dangerous than rescuing Harrison from an evil spirit of an evil puppet that was craved from the coffin of an evil man?"
"Wow! If you're talking about Slappy, then yes."
"More dangerous than being nanny and bodyguard to Lynn and Kelly Farmer while helping them steal the Moonstone and freeing their Aunt Sophia and their aunt's fiance from their aunt's evil twin, Agatha, with the help of the witch's gravedigger, Mr. N. and Oscar from their home time?"
"Yes! Now enough! As your older cousin, I'm telling you not to face those witches!"
"And as one of the Chosen Ones," Vicki hissed at her cousin, "you can't stop me!"
"Wanna bet?" Howl glared his younger cousin, who realized what he had done.
"You didn't." Vicki gasped before she ran out of the throne room, leaving most of the people in the room confused.
"I had no other choice." Howl shrugged his shoulders when he noticed that the others were looking at him for an answer.
"What exactly did you do?" Dorothy asked the dark-haired wizard, who said in response to her question, "Follow me, and you'll see."
The group did that, wanting to know what Vicki was talking about and what Howl did to make Vicki react in the manner that she did. The most curious of the group was Dorothy, who saw from both sides. On one side, Dorothy could see from Howl's concern about Vicki's safety, but she also saw that Vicki was sent by Glinda, who was the last person to pull a prank during a time of crisis, and the younger witch did have a job to do.
Once outside, the group from the throne room saw a group of glowing orbs roughly landing on the ground, and the orbs turned into Vicki Payne. Dorothy was the first of the group of people to go to the young witch's aid.
"Vicki, are you all right?"
Rubbing her aching head, Vicki looked at the adopted princess of the Land of Oz and said, "I will be as soon as I get out of here!"
"Why do you think that's going to happen?" Howl folded his arms at his cousin, "You're staying put!"
"Says you!" Vicki felt the temptation of putting a spell on her cousin raising up on her, "I've been sent here to stop the Wicked Witches, not to be babysat by you!"
"I don't really care!" Howl refused to allow himself to let Vicki out of the city, "I'll risk the wrath of every member of the Witches' Counsel before I let you get hurt!"
"What about my wrath?" Vicki pointed out, "Besides, Tech's in danger too."
"That's another reason: This Tech you seem to be 'in love' with." Howl expressed a disdainful look upon hearing the name of the coyote.
"Here we on again..." Vicki realized that she had mentioned Tech, and that nearly always caused Howl to rant about how Tech would 'break her heart' and is 'using her for her powers.'
"Have you even met him?" The wizard asked his cousin, who answered in a heated tone of voice, "Yes! I have!"
"Outside of your computer screen?" Howl added, and that caused the darker cousin to become very outraged.
"For your information, Howl, Tech and I like each other, and I've been talking to him for months! We've even exchanged Christmas presents, for Heaven's sake! You don't know anything about him!"
"You did the same thing with Edward." Howl pointed out, and that caused Vicki to growl at her cousin, "Don't bring him up; that mess was back in high school!"
"And the same can be said about your knowledge of him!" Howl did not stop with his ranting against Tech, and Vicki was not backing off herself.
As the two cousins continued to agure with each other, Dorothy and the others were conversed with each other.
"What are going to do about the Witches?" Scraecrow pondered about the more urgent matter.
"I honestly don't know." Oscar stated to the straw-filled man.
"But if Howl's barrier can keep the Witches out, it may be the thing that could give us the time needed to think of a plan to stop them." The Cowardly Lion spoke up, but Billina was the one to shoot down that hope.
"We may not have that time that you're hopin' that plan of yours; those Witches might have already finished with their plan."
The huge feline's head drooped from the hen's harsh statement; he was hoping that a certain princess of Oz was going to stay in the Emerald City, since she was the one that the Witches wanted to harm the most.
Dorothy, the person that the Cowardly Lion was worried about, was silent in thought, hoping that she could think of an idea to stop the Wicked Witches, but she could not think of anything. Then, she heard something from Alice Kingsleigh that gave her an idea.
"With Howl's magic, Vicki has no way to leave this city, unless there was something that could let us out."
The farmgirl-turned-princess formed a plan in her head and went to the Scarecrow and Oscar, who was curious about Dorothy's sudden calling upon them.
"What is it, Dorothy?" The former leaders of the Emerald City asked the chosen Princess of the Land of Oz, who was able to answer their question.
"I got an idea, but I'm gonna need your help, guys." Dorothy motioned the two ex-rulers of the Land of Oz to come closer, and she explained her plan in whispers to the men's ears. Onc she was done, Dorothy asked, "Are you okay with this plan?"
"I don't know." Scarecrow looked wary about the princess's idea, "I'm worried what if Howl finds out."
"That's where you guys come in." The Kansas native stated with a sly grin, "All I need you two to do is to distract him long enough to get Vicki and Alice out of the Emerald City."
"But what about you?" Oscar asked the younger girl, who answered by saying, "I can handle myself; I'm not seven years old anymore, and I've been trainin' in some of the fightin' magic of the Land of Oz. I'll be all right."
The two ex-leaders of Oz were worried about Dorothy, but they knew that Dorothy was taking this course of action for the sake of the Land of Oz. Oscar and the Scarecrow nodded in agreement, hoping that their adopted princess would be careful and safe while she was on that journey.