Usagi had found the scarecrow, iron man and cowardly lion, and was leading them back to the Wicked Witch's fortress. The lion led the way, Usagi on his back, cursing as he saw the sun setting. The castle was still a speck in the distance-even running as fast as they were, they could only hope that they were not too late.


The sand had almost run out in the hourglass, as Risa sat watching it helplessly. She had tried to turn it over, but the hourglass was protected, burning anyone except the witch who tried to touch it. She couldn't believe that this was how everything was going to end-was it all over?

It's only all over if you give up hope, a voice seemed to say in the back of Risa's head.

"But…I'm not a fighter. I'm not a magical girl. I'm not a magic-user. There's nothing I can do to-"

Stop thinking about what you can't do, and start focusing on what you can! the voice seemed to scold her. If you give up now, then the ones you care about are the ones who'll pay for it!

Risa finally stood up. If her friends weren't going to show up at the last minute to save her, she would have to do it herself. Besides, she couldn't abandon them-or her friends in Japan or the people of Yn-as long as she still had the ruby tap shoes. After everything everyone had gone through for her, how could she abandon them?

Risa quickly looked around the room. The door was locked, and even if she could have opened it, the witch's guards would have been waiting for her. She turned to the window. It was wide open, the sill leading onto the spires and buttresses of the roof of the witch's castle. She knew that, if she climbed out of here, she might be able to escape. Risa may not have been able to fight, or possess the ki and magical abilities of her friends, but her dancing skills made her as balanced and coordinated as any of them.

The only problem…was the height. Risa hated heights, and a fall from this high would prove fatal. Sweat began to break out on her forehead, but she swallowed hard and gathered her nerves. She had nothing to lose; if she stayed here, she would be as good as dead.

Risa climbed through the window and onto the roof of the witch's castle, carefully taking one step at a time, before holding on to a spire to steady herself. She suddenly saw a sickening red glow emerge from the room where she had been held captive. She shuddered, only imagining what would have happened to her had she stayed. Taking a deep breath, she resumed her climb.

The climb was long, slow and harrowing. Still, Risa pushed on diligently, even if she knew one false move could cost her everything.

Eventually, Risa was stuck, with only a large window offering any way onward. There was nowhere else to go-she would have to try and sneak through the rest of the castle. Risa cursed, hoping that the ruby tap shoes wouldn't make too much noise as she walked…

As it turned out, that was the least of her problems. As Risa passed through the window into the dark room, it suddenly lit up, revealing the chamber as a feast hall, with tables and chairs set up for grand banquets and meals.

Unfortunately, it was also filled with a score of guards, the Wicked Witch at their head. She scowled at Risa.

"Hmph," she snorted. "Clever and daring, and you obviously don't want anyone to suffer by my getting the ruby tap shoes. But this is where it ends." The Witch snapped her fingers to her guards, and pointed at Risa.

"Kill her."


Suddenly, the double doors of the feast hall burst open, as Risa's friends tore into the guards from behind. The iron man fought fiercely against the lead guards, trying to keep them away from Risa. The scarecrow grabbed a pitcher of vegetable oil from a shelf and tossed it to the floor, causing the charging guards to stumble and fall over each other. The lion simply roared, causing other guards to flee in terror.

Shrieking angrily, the Wicked Witch raised her wand, casting lightning bolts at her friends. They dodged frantically, but none of them could get anywhere near the Witch to fight back.

Risa scowled. This had gone far enough. Her friends had protected her, now she was going to return the favor.

"Hey!" she challenged the Witch.

The Witch turned.

"You want these shoes?" Risa asked. "Then come and get them!"

The Witch screamed in fury and came at Risa, throwing another lighting bolt. Risa dodged with catlike agility, looking around before she finally leapt again, and landing in front of a series of wine barrels.

The Witch cast one more lightning bolt at Risa, who took a deep breath and leapt straight over the lightning bolt and the Witch. The lightning bolt continued on and shattered the barrels, charging into the wine. The electrified wine splattered the Witch, as Risa landed on her hands and sprang again, before safely landing on her feet out of range of the charged wine.

The Witch screamed one last time, before she evaporated, the electricity burning her into nothing.

Risa clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. She hadn't meant to kill the Witch, only stun her with the electricity...she ran forward, her friends and the few remaining guards right behind, but there was nothing left. The Wicked Witch of the West was gone, only her wand remaining. Risa picked it up and held it at arm's length.

"I…I didn't mean for it to happen like this…" Risa said sadly, as her friends consoled her.

"We have das proof we need, I guess," the scarecrow said slowly.

"What about them?" the iron man asked, indicating the few troopers who remained. They looked back at Risa nervously.

"Does this wand…have power over you?" Risa asked.

One of the guards nodded slowly.

"Too much power," he said sadly.

"Not anymore," Risa said, before handing the wand to the iron man. The iron man promptly broke the wand in two with his kendo stick.

The guards' spirits suddenly seemed to lift.

"We're…free! Free! Young lady, you don't know how much this means to us! We'll be eternally grateful."

Risa smiled and shook her head.

"I only…gave you back something you had all along. There was just something blocking the way, that's all."

The guards cheered, and the mood in the hall seemed to brighten.

"So do we go back to the City of Sapphires now?" the lion asked Risa.

"I guess so," Risa replied, holding the broken wand in her hands. "The Wizard didn't say what condition the wand had to be in."

The sun rose again the next morning, as Risa and her friends were taken back to the City of Sapphires by the winged monkeys, also held in thrall by the Witch.

As she and her friends flew over the stunted trees and withered grass, Risa was taken aback by how they seemed to be blossoming. They had clearly been battered by drought, but they had still survived. Clouds were gathering on the horizon-not enough to rain now, but there would be in the next day or two.

For some reason, Risa found it all strangely comforting.