CHAPTER 13
"So," Chris said, "What happened next?"
"Chris?" Karen giggled. "I thought you weren't interested?" Her, her friends, and the Professor stared at Chris amusingly.
"That is very true, young man," the Professor chuckled. "Here, we all thought you didn't care to hear this story."
Chris blushed deeply. He wasn't quite ready to show that he was actually into the Professor's story. "I don't! I, uh...I just want it to be over with as fast as possible! Yeah. That's it." He crossed his arms frustratingly. "But," he whispered to himself, "It is getting good..."
"What was that?" Karen asked.
"Nothing!" Chris shouted, blushing even more. "You didn't hear anything!" He tried to be delicate with his commentary from that point on. "So, uh, Professor? Umm...What DID happen next?"
"Yeah!" Karen said, turning back to the Professor. "Did Dorothy and the Care Bears realize that Boq, Hugs and Tugs went missing? What about the monkeys?"
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," the Professor said. He then continued his story...
Dorothy and the others went to bed and woke up the next morning, without checking to see if Boq, Hugs and Tugs had come back. They merely assumed that they had returned from their tour, and were all snug in their rooms, as they should have been.
As Tenderheart said, they left the Emerald City and headed west first thing in the morning. The first part of their journey took them through the verdant countryside surrounding the City. They entered a forest not unlike the one they went through the previous day, and continued without incident.
However, as they traveled deeper into the forest, signs of the Wicked Witch's looming presence began to show. The trees got darker and more twisted, looking like evil creatures that were going to lunge at the group at any moment. Much of the grass and other vegetation looked like it was either darkening or dying. Dry winds whipped through the air as thunder rumbled and lightning struck sideways overhead. It all instilled much fear and caution into the group. Even Braveheart was looking uneasy.
Eventually, they came across a large wooden sign.
"Wicked Witch's Castle ahead," the Lion read. "I'd turn back if I were you." He gulped louder than he ever had before. "Sounds like solid advice."
Braveheart was already holding on to the Lion's tail. "No way," he said. "We gotta go through with this. If we don't, the Wizard won't help us!"
"Well," Tenderheart gulped as well, "I'm just glad that Hugs and Tugs aren't here."
Of course, they did not know that Hugs and Tugs were, indeed, there...In the Witch's dungeon, along with Boq.
"It's so dark in here!" Hugs cried, sitting on a bench with Tugs and Boq.
"What are we gonna do, Mr. Boq?" Tugs asked sadly. "This is a terrible place for a party!"
Boq sighed, "Well, we can't do much of anything while we're in here. Our best chance may be to just wait until the others come and find us."
"But," Hugs said fearfully, "What's the Witch gonna do to us?"
"I don't know," Boq said. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not good in the slightest. If only I had my pack with me...
"And...I'm sorry...That I failed you two earlier," he said.
"Mr. Boq," Hugs said, "It's not your fault."
"Yeah!" Tugs said. "It's the monkeys that got us! You didn't send them there or anything!"
"I know," Boq said. "But...I feel like I should have done more...To protect you two."
"There wasn't much you coulda done, Mr. Boq," Hugs said with a sad shrug.
Boq sighed with such bitter sadness. He directed his eyes to the dungeon door, as if searching for an opportunity...
Meanwhile, Dorothy and the others exited the forest and into the western countryside. It was barren and desolate, with dead trees and ruined houses all over, along with dangerous looking mountains and cliffs. The skies above were as dark and stormy as can be. But, they had no choice but to press forward.
Back at the castle, the Witch was looking at the group in her crystal ball again. "Just as planned," she cackled. "I knew that capturing the cubs and the Munchkin would bring the girl to me!"
"You sure did, boss," the King said, standing on the edge of her window. "And now comes the fun part..."
"Yes, indeed!" the Witch said, turning to the monkeys. "The army!"
"Oh yes," the King snickered. "Those pathetic fluffballs may have been able to take down a small group of us...But, let's see them handle AN ENTIRE ARMY OF US!" At once, the whole flying monkey army swooped down, almost blocking out the scenery.
"Yes, yes, yes!" the Witch laughed. "Now, you all listen to me! You bring the girl and the Care Bears to me! Do what you want with the others, but I want her here, and unharmed! Those ruby shoes can't elude me forever!"
"Leave it to us, boss!" the King saluted. He jumped out of the window and flapped to the front of the army. "All right! Do you all have the magic nets ready?"
Some of the monkeys, including Raspy and Clumsy, pulled out some big nets, glowing with dark green magic.
"Good! That'll take care of those do-gooder fluffballs," the King said. "All right! Flying monkey army, move out!" The army soared through the skies and over the rough, spiked mountains, towards Dorothy and the others.
Back in the wasteland, the entire group caught the sight of the Witch's massive, imposing castle, situated in the middle of the mountains.
"That must be it," the Tin Man said, pointing. "The castle of the Wicked Witch."
"How are we going to get up there?" Dorothy asked. "Those mountains look really dangerous."
"Well, you know what they say," Wish said with a smile, "Where there's a will, there's a way!"
"And that's the truth," Lotsa Heart said.
"Yeah!" the Scarecrow cheered. "I'm sure there's a path through the mountains to get up there. Now, we just have to find it..."
Before long, they all saw the flying monkey army, heading right towards them.
The Lion gasped and fell backwards. "Wh-Wh-What are those?" he asked, pointing.
"The flying monkeys!" Tenderheart exclaimed. "A whole army of them! Get ready, everyone!" All of the Care Bears formed a line and got into their fighting stances. Everyone else gathered up behind them. The Scarecrow put his fists up, the Tin Man raised his ax, and the Lion mimicked the Scarecrow, trying to put on the bravest face he could. Dorothy just stood back, holding Toto. She knew that the monkeys wouldn't be able to harm her, so she wasn't too afraid.
"Haha!" the King laughed. "We got 'em right where we want 'em! Now, you all know what to do. Surround them!"
As they approached the group, the army spread out and surrounded them on all sides in the air.
"Now," the King said, "ATTACK!"
The monkeys began their assault, attempting to dive bomb the group. The Care Bears all blasted out their powerful combined Stare at the oncoming monkeys and blew them away. However, another group of monkeys took their place, and descended from all sides.
"Come on!" the Tin Man taunted. "We're not afraid!"
The monkeys' all-sides strategy caused the group to scatter. The Care Bears all used their individual stares to blast away some of the monkeys.
The Lion stood in place and wore his brave face. "I'm not afraid!" he told himself. "I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid! I'm not AFRAID!" On that last word, he let out his loudest, fiercest roar. It managed to stop an incoming group of monkeys in midair. The Lion smiled at them in a cocky way.
But then, the monkeys grinned, and flew towards him again. The Lion gasped, then turned and ran. "I AM afraid! I AM afraid!" he shouted, running as fast as he could away from the monkeys. They tried to grab his tail and his mane, but he shook them off. Unfortunately, that brief moment of chaos made him forget to look where he was going. He went right off a cliff, and slid down the rocks to a ravine at the bottom. He landed hard and got knocked cold.
Meanwhile, the Tin Man waved his ax threateningly at the monkeys. "Come on!" he shouted again. "I've got this ax, and I'm not afraid to use it!"
"Good thing ya won't have to, then!" Raspy said, coming up from behind and slipping the ax out of his hands.
The Tin Man looked back in shock. Then, another band of monkeys picked him up and carried him.
"Let me down!" he shouted. "Let! Me! Down!"
"If you insist!" Raspy said.
The monkeys then dropped the Tin Man, into the same ravine that the Lion fell in.
"And take your stupid ax with you!" Raspy shouted, throwing it down.
Dorothy looked around in panic, seeing the Care Bears fighting the monkeys as best as they could. She also spotted the Scarecrow swinging and swatting at the monkeys.
"Gah!" he shouted. "You're even worse than the crows!"
"And wily-er, too!" Clumsy shouted.
Clumsy and the other monkeys grabbed the Scarecrow, from his legs and his torso.
"Derr, on three!" Clumsy said. "One! Two! Uh...Two and half? No...Three!"
They then tore the poor Scarecrow right in half.
"Scarecrow!" Dorothy shouted. "No!"
"No fair!" the Scarecrow cried. "That was fresh straw!"
The monkeys lifted up both halves of him. They tossed his legs onto the branches of a dead tree, and his torso into that same ravine.
Dorothy stared helplessly at her friend being taken away. She looked around desperately for the Tin Man and the Lion, but saw no sign of them.
Meanwhile, the Care Bears were wearing down. "How are we going to handle all these monkeys?" Tenderheart cried. "There's too many of them!"
"Ha! You won't be handling us!" the King taunted. "We'll be handling YOU!" The monkeys came in with their magic nets. "Drop the nets!"
And they did just that. One by one, each net captured one of the Care Bears. The green magic around them glowed brightly as they tried to use their Stares again.
"Oh, no!" Cheer cried. "My Stare isn't working anymore!"
"Neither is mine!" Grumpy said.
"None of our Stares are working!" Wish shouted.
"And that's just the way we want it!" the King screeched in delight. "Now, take them away!"
The monkeys flew in and scooped up the nets containing the Care Bears. Dorothy saw them and tried to run after them. But, she got picked up as well, by Raspy and Clumsy.
"And I'll be taking this one myself!" the King said, snatching up Toto. "Bite on my tail, will ya? Well, who's laughing now?" Toto simply barked and growled at the King, but did nothing else.
Dorothy screamed for help. But, it was all in vain, as the monkeys carried her and all of the Care Bears, back over the mountains...And all the way back to the Witch's room.
"What'd I say?" the King boasted as they ferried everyone through the window. "No match for an army!"
Dorothy and the Care Bears gasped as the Witch came towards them. Behind her was the mopping monkey again, just trying to get his thankless job done.
"Excellent, Monkey King!" the Witch said.
The King landed on the floor, still carrying Toto. Raspy and Clumsy set Dorothy down on her feet, in front of the Witch, while the other monkeys dumped the Care Bears, still in their nets.
"It looks like my special magic nets worked just right!" the Witch laughed. "No magic will come out of them while they're ensnared!"
She then turned her attention down to her anticipated prize: The ruby shoes. "Ah ha! They are well within my reach!" She made eye contact with Dorothy, trying helplessly to break free from Raspy and Clumsy's tight grips. "All I need now, my pretty," she said, "Is for you to give them to me."
"No!" Dorothy shouted. "Never!"
The Witch snarled. "I knew you wouldn't give them up to me that easily!"
"And you can't hurt her, either!" Braveheart shouted. "She still has the Good Witch's mark! You can't even touch her!"
"You're right," the Witch responded. "I can't harm HER. But all of YOU..." She lifted her hand up, and out of it came a bolt of magic. It hit Braveheart, filling the inside of his net with sinister light. Dorothy and the other Care Bears watched in helpless terror.
"Braveheart!" Dorothy cried.
When the light went out, the net had been destroyed. However, Braveheart had been transformed into a melancholy-looking puppet, complete with strings.
"Ha ha!" the King laughed. He handed Toto off to one of his comrades and flew over to the puppetized Braveheart. He grabbed the handles and lifted him up. "Not so tough now, are ya?" He manipulated the handles and strings, causing Braveheart to move and dance in a jerky fashion. "Look at me! I'm nothing more than a puppet now! Boo hoo hoo! Woe is me!"
"No!" Dorothy cried.
"Haha!" the Witch said. "Magic can't come OUT of the nets...But it can come IN! Now you see, my pretty. The longer you put off giving me those shoes, the more of your friends will be turned into puppets! And that one will do just fine for my personal collection!"
Toto whined and struggled in the other monkey's hands. Suddenly, he bit the monkey's finger, causing the monkey to yowl in pain and dropped him.
"What?" the Witch exclaimed, shooting her head down.
"Toto!" Dorothy gasped.
Toto ran right through the Witch's dress, knocked over the mopping monkey's bucket, and ran out of the room.
"Run, Toto!" Dorothy shouted. "Save yourself!"
Toto ran down through the castle, to the drawbridge, and out into the mountains. Nobody was sure where he was going, though.
The Witch jumped back, avoiding the spilled water. "Mop this up, RIGHT AWAY!" she shouted at the mopping monkey. "You know what it does to me!" He flew over and followed her orders. She growled and snarled at Dorothy. "Well, we don't need your little dog! We'll do fine with just the Care Bears here!"
"Heh, yeah!" the King said. "After all, what's a dinky little dog like him gonna do when he's got nothing to bite?"
"Monkeys!" the Witch ordered. "Take them to the dungeon!" The monkeys took up the Care Bears again, but then the Witch cut in. "But leave the elephant and the raccoon with ME. We'll see just how long the girl can last before giving in!"
Both Lotsa Heart and Bright Heart gave depressed, defeated looks at the Witch, as the monkeys dragged everyone else away. The Witch cackled once again, as lightning once again accompanied her.
Down in the dungeon, the group was dragged to their cell.
"Oh," the King said, still playing with the Braveheart puppet, "And we have one last little surprise for you..."
The group was thrown in. When she looked up, Dorothy gave a prompt gasp. "Boq! Hugs and Tugs!"
The trio glanced over at the group, frighteningly and sadly.
The King threw Braveheart in as well. "Oh, yes!" he said. "You have a good long time to decide if you wanna keep those shoes or not! And if you do wanna keep them...Well, whatever happens will be on YOU!" He laughed as he shut the door and locked it.