Four more days of long, wearying travel into the western lands of Yn brought the group into a region of arid plains and sickly woods, desolate prairies that seemed to get little water or rain. The whole land seemed quiet and still, without even the slightest sign of birds or animals. Risa and her friends were alone, although they felt something watching them almost every minute, expecting something to attack them, as they approached a thick forest ahead of them.
A loud howling sound was the only warning the group got as a pack of ravening wolves emerged from the woods ahead of them, even as a flock of crows flew from the branches of the trees, screeching loudly. A loud buzzing sound followed as a swarm of bees followed right behind.
Risa's friends immediately spread out to protect her. The iron man and the lion immediately struck at the wolves, even as the scarecrow pulled a steam-making machine from one of his pockets, subduing the bees before using his spinning mallet to battle the crows.
Risa stayed well back from the melee, knowing she would only be in her friends' way. Then, out of nowhere, she heard a loud screaming and howling…coming from above?
A flock of winged monkeys struck before Risa could even react, grabbing her securely before flying off with her. She screamed to her friends, but none of them could reach her in time. The other monsters had just been a distraction. The monkeys did not even bother to stand and fight, grabbing Risa and Usagi and taking off into the evening skies, as her friends vainly ran after them, cursing themselves for being distracted by the wicked witch's minions.
Risa and Usagi were carried for what seemed like hours, before they finally passed over some scattered huts and hovels, homes of the Winkies that inhabited western Yn and suffered under the Witch of the West. Ahead of her loomed a massive, ugly castle that stood out in blunt, heavy contrast to the bloody sunset ahead. Its spires pierced the skyline, and its crooked, sharp edges were distorted and twisted.
The Wicked Witch of the West's home.
The monkeys flew up to one of the windows at the top of the building's tallest tower. They flew in without stopping, tossing Risa and Usagi roughly to the ground inside.
Risa tried to sit up as she recovered from the shock, glancing around in horror. Strange artifacts and weird vials were all around her, as well as ugly murals and strange drawings. A crystal ball sat prominently on a stand in the center of the room, while a pair of wide-open windows offered a view of the lifeless plains far below. Holding Usagi tightly, Risa turned around, before locking eyes with the Wicked Witch of the West, smiling triumphantly at her prisoner.
"Welcome to my parlor," she said sweetly to Risa. Risa tried to say something, anything, but she was paralyzed. The wicked witch merely laughed.
"Everything I could have asked for," she said. "Revenge on you for killing my sister, the ruby tap shoes, and," she said, advancing on Usagi, "a fur-lined collar for my favorite dress."
Usagi suddenly took off like a rocket, running out the tower door and down the steps, as Risa screamed for him to find their friends and bring help. The angry witch cursed, before turning back to Risa.
"I'll make you an offer," the witch smiled. "Give me the ruby tap shoes, and I'll make your death very quick and very painless. You won't feel a thing."
"Forget it!" Risa spat, fear turning to anger. "I told you before, the ruby tap shoes won't come off, and even if they could, there's no way I'd-"
One of the flying monkeys struck Risa on the back of her head, dropping her to her knees. The witch glared down at her, and Risa matched her stare, refusing to give in.
"You don't have to give them to me," the witch said, moving to a shelf in the corner of the room. "I'll just be able to take them after this runs out," she said, holding up an hourglass containing blood red sand. "I'd describe what it will do when the time runs out, but suffice it to say that I'm glad I'm not you," she laughed sadistically. "And when the shoes are mine, I'll take extra care to make the munchkins and the Good Witch of the North suffer for your little outburst."
"You made it so easy," the witch laughed, turning the hourglass over as her minions exited the room. "It would have taken me that much longer to track you down, but you brought the shoes right to me! You've practically handed Yn over to me on a silver platter! Quite a splendid way of handling things," the witch laughed, before she shut the door and locked it behind her.
Risa merely sat on the floor, watching the sand trickle through the hourglass. Suddenly, the crystal ball sparked to life, as images began to form within it. Hoping against hope, Risa looked into it, to see if could tell her about her friends.
The crystal could tell her about her friends, but not the ones she expected. The crystal showed the schoolyard of Inazuka High, which had obviously been rebuilt in the days since the tornado struck. Risa's friends were standing around the sakura tree, shouting and arguing with one another.
"Risa's been missing for almost two weeks!" Mitsuko shouted at Kai-Xiao. "Who knows what's happened to her? The storm could have-"
"Yeah, well she could have come with us to the shelter if you hadn't made her run off-"
"Me?" Mitsuko shouted incredulously. "You were the one making cracks about that photo!"
"We just meant it as das compliment!" Erik protested to an angry Setsuya and Ichiro.
"It sure didn't sound like one," muttered Ichiro, clenching his fists and staring right at him.
"You got something to say?" Kai spun around, glaring at Ichiro.
"Guys, stop it!" Tiko protested, trying to get between them.
"Didn't you do anything to try and stop her?" Mai-chan accused him.
Risa's hand flew to her mouth in horror as she saw her friends argue. Kai and Ichiro looked as if they were ready to kill each other, and the others were on a knife edge. Her running away had upset her friends, and now they were all blaming each other for her disappearance.
Risa slumped to the floor in despair. How could she have turned her back on them? They were all fighting because of her. It was as if their friendships were breaking apart because of her.
And now she was as good as dead, meaning the wicked witch would get her hands on the ruby tap shoes. And that meant all of Yn would suffer under the wicked witch's rule. In frustration, she pulled at the shoes again and again, but they stubbornly wouldn't come off.
A massive weight came down on Risa's shoulders as she realized what was happening.
Her friends in Japan were at each others' throats.
Her friends in Yn would never see their dreams come true.
The munchkins, the people of the City of Sapphires, and the Good Witch of the North would all suffer at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Everything was going wrong, everything was falling apart.
And it was all her fault.