After three more days of travel, Risa and her friends came upon a massive field of reddish flowers that stretched almost as fair as the eye could see, gently wafting in the breeze. The group paid little heed to the flowers, however, seeing a massive citadel beyond the field. It shone with a brilliant indigo and blue light in the afternoon sun, contrasting with the Copper Stone Road that led up to it. Crafted to resemble a set of reflecting prisms set in a ring, the City of Sapphires loomed up in front of Risa and her companions.

Everyone briefly shouted in joy, and was ready to pass through the flower field to reach the City, before Risa suddenly stopped. She smelled something strange.

"Wait!" she called out. The scarecrow and iron man, already running through the field, stopped and turned around. The lion and Usagi, about to join them, suddenly froze.

"What is it?" the iron man asked, coming back to join her.

"Are those flowers…safe?" Risa asked. She couldn't help but have a terrible feeling about them. The scarecrow looked at her doubtfully, before he bent down to examine the flowers more closely. He recoiled in horror as he recognized them.

"Das poison poppies!" he said in alarm, waving at Risa, Usagi and the lion to get back. He and the iron man soon passed back out of the flowers, rejoining their friends.

"How are we supposed to pass through the poppies if they're poisonous?" the lion asked.

"Das easy," the scarecrow answered with a smile. "Das iron man and I can't be poisoned, so we'll just clear out das path for the rest of you! You cut down das flowers with your kendo stick," he indicated to the iron man, "and I use das thresher to cut flowers down," he chuckled, revealing the miniature thresher Risa had seen the scarecrow used when she first met him.

"This not the way we das usually kill the flowers," the scarecrow explained. "We das see them on the farm, but we use das magic to create a frost. Das munchkins can't get close enough to cut them down."

"I can't use magic," Risa shook her head. "And I somehow doubt anyone would have come along at the last minute to save us if we'd gotten poisoned."

"That would be just too convenient," the iron man agreed.

Between them, the scarecrow and iron man quickly cleared a path for Risa, Usagi and the lion, allowing them to pass down the Copper Stone Road as easily as if they were walking through a prairie meadow. Half an hour of walking finally led them to the great gates of the City of Sapphires.

Risa stopped the scarecrow as he was about to ring the doorbell. She figured simply knocking on the doors would be faster and easier. Picking up one of the huge knockers, she hit it against the door repeatedly, creating a loud, hollow banging sound.

A sliding panel in one of the doors suddenly opened up, as a guardsman wearing a teal-colored cap and sporting a handlebar moustache stuck his head out and looked at the group.

"Did you knock on the door?" he demanded.

Risa and her friends nodded in response.

"Don't you know you're supposed to ring the doorbell first?" the guard scolded them.

"Why?" the lion asked.

"That's just the way it works!" the guard stormed, before he retreated inside the door and slammed the panel shut. The scarecrow shrugged and pulled on the cord to ring the doorbell.

The guard emerged from his panel again.

"Who rang that bell?" the guard demanded.

"We did!" the group answered in unison.

"You told us to, remember?" the iron man reminded him.

"Well, can't you read the sign?" the guard demanded.

"What sign?" Risa asked innocently.

The guard looked around for the sign, before heaving a frustrated sigh and retreating inside for a moment, returning with a sign which he promptly hung on the door-knocker. It read:

BELL OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE KNOCK.

Risa, the scarecrow, the iron man, the lion, and Usagi all sweat-dropped in unison as the guard slammed his panel shut once again.

Frustrated, Risa knocked on the door a second time.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" the door guard demanded.

"We're the people who've been trying to get you to let us in for the last five minutes," Risa answered slowly.

"We want to see the Wizard," the lion added.

"Well, you can't come in! Nobody can see the Wizard!" the door guard barked at them.

The whole group collapsed in frustration.

"What do you mean, we can't see the Wizard?" Risa demanded, finally losing her temper. "Do you have any idea what we've been through? I've got a homicidal witch after me because I'm stuck with a pair of ruby tap shoes I didn't want and can't get rid of even if I try, we've been attacked by killer Kelidas, we had to make our way through a field of poisonous flowers, and we've been on the road for more than a week now! We hear so much about this Wizard, and he can't even make five minutes for-"

"You...have the ruby tap shoes?" the guard asked in amazement.

"See for yourself," Risa sighed, sticking out her feet to show the guard. "They're not going anywhere. I've tried. Believe me."

"Well, then, that's a Hentai Tentacle Beast of a different color!" the guard said brightly. "Come on in!"

Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man and the lion all cheered as the gates opened, before they walked into the City. The guard called a carriage to transport them to the Wizard's castle. Risa stayed behind, rooted to the spot as she saw the creature that was to escort their carriage into the City.

The guard and her friends stopped, turning around at Risa.

"What das matter?" the scarecrow asked.

"A horse…a horse…shouldn't it be a horse of a different color…?" Risa asked in a daze, swaying back and forth. The guard merely shrugged.

"If you insist," the guard said casually. "Sorry, Yoggy," he said to the monster that was attached to their carriage. Yoggy released himself and walked away dejected, as a horse came up to take his place.

A much-relieved Risa joined her friends as they passed through the beautifully crafted city, noting all the people dressed in blue kimonos who came to greet them as they headed towards the Wizard's palace. They were filled with hope that their dreams might finally be fulfilled. Risa and her friends were given a chance to freshen up and rest from their journey before going to see the Wizard, and relaxed as they were given some food to eat.

Finally, Risa and her friends were led to a pair of massive, perfectly symmetrical double doors fashioned from blue quartz, which slowly opened to admit them, before slamming shut ominously.

Risa, Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man, and the lion held one another for support as they walked down the dimly lit corridor ahead of them, the only sound being the ruby tap shoes' sound echoing off the walls. They finally emerged into a grand hall with a raised dais squarely in the center that loomed above them as they glanced around nervously.

Suddenly, the incense-burners to either side of the dais lit up dramatically, as a field of blackness gathered on the dais, gathering into the image of a blue-robed man, whose face was concealed by his hood. He sat on a throne of pure sapphire, gazing down intently at his guests.

"So…you are the ones who seek my favor?" the hooded man asked them.

"Y…yes…" Risa said nervously. She could hear the lion quaking behind her. "You're…the Wizard?" The hooded man's voice sounded strange, echoing the way Mitsuko's stereo system always did back at Inazuka.

"Of course I am," the hooded man answered. "Now, what did you want from me?"

The friends looked at one another hesitatingly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the wizard demanded. "I can't help you unless you tell me what you want!"

The scarecrow and iron man stepped forward first.

"I want…das brains," the scarecrow said slowly.

"And I need a heart," the iron man answered.

The lion and Risa stood back nervously, before the wizard nodded at them. They came forward slowly.

"I…need…" the lion swallowed hard. "If you please…courage…and lots of it…"

"And I need to return home, to Japan," Risa finished. "The Good Witch of the North didn't have the power to do it-she said you were the only one."

The wizard bowed his head for a moment, as if considering their requests.

"I can grant your requests," the wizard said slowly, as Risa and her friends began to celebrate, "…if you do something for me in return."

Risa and her companions suddenly froze.

"You want us to do something?" Risa asked in surprise.

"Bring me the wand of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is the source of her power," the wizard said coldly.

The friends looked back aghast. They glanced at each other in astonishment and shock. A strange look crossed the scarecrow's face.

"Why do you need us to take das witch's wand?" he asked. "You're more powerful than her…why don't you do das job?"

"YOU DARE TO QUESTION ME?" the wizard shouted back at the scarecrow, who recoiled in surprise.

"You can't talk to him like that!" the lion suddenly snapped, offended by the wizard's attitude. "He has a point, you know!" He bared his fangs at the wizard, who neither flinched nor moved from his throne.

Risa stood behind them, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. The last thing she wanted was to meet the Wicked Witch of the West again, much less bring the ruby tap shoes right to her. Besides, how could she possibly take the Witch's wand, when she couldn't even fight properly? She looked back at the wizard plaintively.

"Can't you send Risa home first?" the iron man asked, coming to her defense. "I can handle this sort of thing myself. Why should she have to go through all this? On my honor-"

"Honor's a strange thing," the wizard replied. "The way I see it, I am asking you to do something. If you do it, I can fulfill your requests. Otherwise, you get nothing. That's all I'm offering. Take it or leave it."

The friends looked at one another in astonishment. Usagi, the scarecrow, the iron man, and the lion all looked at Risa. She looked back at each of them in turn.

"It looks like we don't have any choice," Risa said slowly. She looked up at the wizard, still seated on his throne.

"I can't believe you," she said accusingly. "If you could grant our requests, why couldn't you just do it? What would the harm have been?" Turning around, she left the grand hall, Usagi and her friends following behind.

After Risa and her friends had left the hall, the wizard did not seem to move, but he seemed to make an audible sigh of guilt and regret. One could only imagine what his true face, concealed by his hood, would have revealed.