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 brown hair and blue eyes came up. He was dressed in a black jacket.
"Who rang that bell?!" The figure asked angrily.
"We did!" The group remarked.
"Can't you read?!" The doorman asked angrily.
"Read what?" Spock 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 Wizard." The group explained.
"The Wizard?" The doorman asked alarmed. "The Wizard?! 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?" Nyota asked.
"Because he's in my..." The doorman began before he stopped himself and groaned. "You're wasting my time!"
"Oh please, please sir." Nyota pleaded. "I've got to see the Wizard. The Good Witch of the North sent me."
"Prove it." The doorman said with a suspicious glare.
"She's wearing the Ruby Slippers she gave her." Spock 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 sandy blonde in a red and black outfit called out. "Cabby! Just what you're looking for! Take you anyplace in the city, we do!"
"If you please, we wanna see the Wizard." Nyota explained.
"The Wizard?" The cabby asked in shock. "The Wizard?! 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!" Nyota said excitedly. "We've been gone such a long time, and we feel so messy..."
The end of Nyota'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?!" Nyota 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 Spock 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, Data 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.
Nyota 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?" Nyota asked.
"Mm-hm." The workers said.
"Jolly old town!" Nyota called out as Worf was getting his hair tied into a ponytail to keep it out of the way.
Clip-Clip here. Clip-clip there.
We give the roughest claws...
"That certain air of savoir faire in the merry old Land of Oz." Worf finished.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Spock laughed as he saw Worf's pedicure.
"Ho-ho-ho!" Data chuckled at Worf's manicure.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Nyota laughed at Worf's new red, gray, and black clothes.
"Ha." Worf 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?" Worf asked nervously. "Who's she?"
"The witch!" Nyota said even more nervously. "She's followed us here!"
Just then, the Witch left leaving a billowing bit of sky-writing that read in uneven letters...
Surrender Nyota!
"Nyota?!" A citizen asked. "Who's Nyota?!"
"The Wizard will explain it!" Another citizen responded.
"The Wizard!" Yet another citizen called out as they all headed off.
"Oh dear!" Nyota gulped. "Whatever shall we do?!"
"Well we better hurry, if we're going to see the Wizard!" Spock said quickly and plainly.
With that, the group rushed off.
Oh boy. Just when they think they're safe, the Witch attacks.
