Chapter 9: The Merry Old Land of Oz

After a long trek and the near miss with the poppies, the gang was finally within a stone's throw of the Emerald City and walked up to the gate.
You're out of the dark!
You're out of the night!
Step into the sun!
Step into the light!
March onto the gate
And bid it open!
Open...
By the door there was a long rope bell, and they rang it as a man with a blond buzz cut and brown eyes came up. He was dressed in blue and white armor.
"Who rang that bell?!" The figure asked angrily.
"We did!" The group remarked.
"Can't you read?!" The doorman asked angrily.
"Read what?" Ben asked.
"The notice!" The doorman insisted.
"What notice?" The group asked again.
"It's on the door." The doorman said. "Plan as the nose on my-"
He glimpsed at the door as the note wasn't there and he quickly went back in and slapped the notice onto the door.
"'Bell out of order. Please knock.'" The group read as they then knocked on the door.
"Well, that's more like it." The doorman said. "Now state your business."
"We wanna see the Jedi." The group explained.
"The Jedi?" The doorman asked alarmed. "The Jedi?! But no one can see the Great Oz! No one has ever seen the Great Oz! Even I've never seen him!"
"Then how do you know there is one?" Siri asked.
"Because he's in my..." The doorman began before he stopped himself and groaned. "You're wasting my time!"
"Oh please, please sir." Siri pleaded. "I've got to see the Jedi. The Jedi Witch of the North sent me."
"Prove it." The doorman said with a suspicious glare.
"She's wearing the Ruby Slippers she gave her." Ben responded as the doorman looked down and saw the slippers.
"Well so she is." The doorman responded, much friendlier. "Well bust my buttons! Why didn't you say so in the first place? That's a horse of a different color! Come on in!"
They headed into the city and saw that everything in the city was colored green, right down to the clothes, to match the emeralds.
"Cabby!" A man with black hair in white and yellow armor called out. "Cabby! Just what you're looking for! Take you anyplace in the city, we do!"
"If you please, we wanna see the Jedi." Siri explained.
"The Jedi?" The cabby asked in shock. "The Jedi?! Well I uh... Yes, of course! But first I'll take you to a place where you can tidy up a bit, eh?"
"Oh, thank you so much!" Siri said excitedly. "We've been gone such a long time, and we feel so messy..."
The end of Siri's sentence trailed away as she saw a horse that seemed to be changing color as they watched.
"What kind of a horse is that?!" Siri asked enthralled. "I've never seen a horse like that before!"
"No, and never will again, I fancy." The cabby said. "There's only one of him in existence. This is the horse of a different color you've heard tell about."
They then headed out with a good chuckle that seemed to come from the city and spread through it.
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
And a couple of tra-la-las!
That's how we laugh the day away
In the merry old Land of Oz!
Buzz-buzz-buzz! Chirp-chirp-chirp!
And a couple of la-di-das!
That's how the crickets crick all day
In the merry old Land of Oz!
The cabby led them to a beauty parlor.
We get up and twelve
And start to work at one!
Take an hour for lunch
And then at two we're done!
Jolly good fun!
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
And a couple of tra-la-las!
That's how we laugh the day away
In the merry old Land of Oz!
Ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
And a couple of tra-la-las!
That's how we laugh the day away
With a ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
In the merry old Land of Oz!
At the parlor, several people were restuffing Ben for some of the straw that had fallen out during the journey and also giving him a bit extra for endurance.
Pat-pat here. Pat-pat there.
And a couple of brand new straws.
That's how we keep you young and fair
In the merry old Land of Oz!
Meanwhile, Vader was getting scrubbed and polished to make his metal body shine.
Rub-rub here. Rub-rub there.
Whether you're tin or bronze.
That's how we keep you in repair
In the merry old Land of Oz.
Siri meanwhile was being attended to by several spa workers who curled her hair and made her look very regal indeed.
We can make a dimple smile
Out of a frown.
"Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?" Siri asked.
"Mm-hm." The workers said.
"Jolly old town!" Siri called out as Chewbacca was getting his whole body trimmed.
Clip-Clip here. Clip-clip there.
We give the roughest claws...
"That certain air of savoir faire in the merry old Land of Oz." Chewbacca finished.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Ben laughed as he saw Chewbacca's pedicure.
"Ho-ho-ho!" Vader chuckled at Chewbacca's manicure.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Siri laughed at Chewbacca's new cape.
"Ha." Chewbacca replied good naturedly.
That's how we laugh the day away
In the merry old Land of Oz!
That's how we laugh the day away
With a ha-ha-ha! Ho-ho-ho!
In the merry old Land of Oz!
They continued to laugh together when in the sky they saw black smoke billowing from a distant object and very familiar laughter.
"Who's she?" Chewbacca asked nervously. "Who's she?"
"The witch!" Siri said even more nervously. "She's followed us here!"
Just then, Talzin left leaving a billowing bit of sky-writing that read in uneven letters...
Surrender Siri!
"Siri?!" A citizen asked. "Who's Siri?!"
"The Jedi will explain it!" Another citizen responded.
"The Jedi!" Yet another citizen called out as they all headed off.
"Oh dear!" Siri gulped. "Whatever shall we do?!"
"Well we better hurry, if we're going to see the Jedi!" Ben said quickly and plainly.
With that, the group rushed off.


Oh boy. Just when they think they're safe, Talzin attacks.