Author's Note: I haven't worked on this one in forever! But I was watching The Wizard of Oz and I thought to myself "Hmm, I guess that's a good way to take a break from my rougher stories". I love how I can just have fun with this one.


The trio (with a dog in tow) was just passing an abandoned miller's cottage when an evil cackle lit up the forest around them. Seras jumped, hiding behind Walter and using his metal body as a shield. Pip leaped so high he almost lost his stuffing, and Baskerville growled as he stared at the roof, his tail bushed and ears flat against his head.

"Helping de little lady along, are you my fine gentlemen?" The three looked to the roof to see the Wicked Witch of the West standing there, musket in hand. She grinned viciously as she threw her hair over one shoulder and pointed at the group. "Vell, stay away from her. Or I'll stuff a mattress with you!" she threatened the scarecrow. She eyed the butler next. "And you! I'll use you for un beehive!" She laughed again as the two males cowered in fear. Baskerville hopped in front of Seras, snarling and barking at the woman on the roof. She sneered at the mutt before raising her musket and aiming. "Here, strohmann: Vant to play ball?" She fired a flaming musket ball at the scarecrow's boots, laughing as he danced to escape the blaze that sprung up before tapping her musket on the ground and vanishing in a haze of blue smoke. Seras screamed and helped to stomp out the fire while Walter covered it with his teapot. The three stood and looked at the leftover smoke curling into the air. After a moment, Pip spit on the ground.

"I'm not afraid of her. I'll see that you get safely to the Wizard now, whether I get a brain or not. Stuff a mattress with me; pah!" Walter nodded too and placed a cold tin hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I will see to it that you get to the Wizard, whether I get a heart or not. Beehive- really, I'd like to see her try it!" Seras sniffed, her eyes filling with happy tears.

"Oh, you're the best friends anybody ever had!" she rubbed her eyes and laughed as Baskerville barked in agreement. "You know, it's funny. I feel as if I've known you all the time. But I couldn't have, could I?" The men both shrugged.

"I don't see how, Cher," Pip agreed. "You weren't there when I was stuffed and sewn together, were you?" Seras shook her head and Walter chimed in.

"Yes, and I was rusting by myself for the longest time." Seras stared at the ground, chewing her lip thoughtfully.

"Still, I wish I could remember. I think that there was something important that I keep forgetting, but it's like I just can't grasp it. Someone, I suppose, that I keep forgetting." She reached down and patted the dog's head, scratching behind his ears. "But I guess it doesn't matter anyway. We know each other now, don't we?" The men chuckled and nodded their agreement, holding out their elbows.

"To Oz?" Pip asked happily.

"To Oz." Walter agreed in his formal, subdued way. They linked arms with the girl and began to walk down the road. Halfway down, Seras stopped.

"Oh, my basket! Hang on just a second; I'll be right back." She broke away from the pair and ran back up the road to the cottage. She grabbed her basket, which had been forgotten on an old stump when she had rushed forward to save Pip from the flames. She picked up the basket, sighing happily. A low chuckle echoed through the forest, both soft and amused. Seras stood up, looking behind her to see the two men already out of earshot. But she was sure it had been a man's laugh. Something in the air made the hairs on her neck prickle and she looked forward, taking a step towards the woods.

"Hello?" she asked, half-frightened but keen to see who was hiding from her in the trees. She thought she heard rustling to her left and moved over to look around the bushes at the edge of the dense foliage. She pressed into the forest itself; the movement was slow and hard, as if the trees were keeping her out. It was almost as if she were trying to press into a backdrop- like she wasn't supposed to be heading into the trees, but continuing down the road instead. She growled under her breath in frustration. The soft laughter, the uncomfortable excitement- it was all so familiar to her! It was on the tip of her tongue, the answer to who he was. She knew that if she spoke his name, he'd reveal himself to her but something kept blocking her memory. "Let me in!" she whined impatiently.

No, the answer seemed to come from the confines of her mind. Go back to the path, little Seras. You'll get your answers soon enough. She shivered at the words, but obeyed and turned back to find the men, her basket in tow. A pair of red eyes appeared from the darkened trees and watched her leave. A fanged, Cheshire grin appeared and a slow, rolling laughter set in as the animals ran from fear. Everything was going exactly as planned.

"So my little heroine wants to know who I am. I suppose ignorance is bliss, after all."