Bryson looked around the scope of the Emerald City.
It was night now, the green lights even brighter then usual.
There were still people around, but the crowds weren't as vast in size as they were during the day.
Bryson had stuffed the axe into his backpack and hoped it and anything else inside it he had brought from his world would assist him.
Dorothy walked close to him, the two of them sneaking around through the landscape.
"I've never snuck out before. My aunt and uncle would be enraged at me." Dorothy said quietly to Bryson, staying glued to his side.
Bryson smirked slightly and shrugged. "I haven't either, but after everything I've done in this place I'm sort of desensitized.." He said, finding Dorothy's more innocent outlook on things to be both cute and admireable, something he wished he was able to maintain. Dorothy seemed to keep her childlike outlook on life in some ways that Bryson didn't.
Bryson's eyes darted around the room, hoping no one would catch them. He wanted to save Oz, yes, but he didn't wanna risk any consequences of the citizens knowing that Ozma warned him of.
The pair stopped at the door, waiting for a doorkeeper or someone to stop them for a moment.
"Oh.. I forgot. Finley..." Dorothy frowned, her voice sounding horrified.
Bryson frowned with her. It must have been so odd for Dorothy to be used to seeing him everyday at the door as doorkeeper, and instead there was no one around.
Bryson couldn't stand to see her sad, putting an arm on her shoulder to rub to calm her and comfort her. "Don't worry. We're gonna get him back."
Dorothy nodded, determined. "You're right. Let's go." She said, taking a step with him before pausing. "Wait. I should get someone to be Finley's substitute. Especially with those awful men around. We need a doorkeeper now more then ever."
Dorothy had found a loyal Emerald City citizen to oblidge, making an excuse about Finley being busy sightseeing.
"I can't stand that I have to lie.." Dorothy said with a frown.
As they began to walk out the door and the outsides of the city, Bryson looked up and admired the large buildings and structures. They were all sparkling green and he clenched his fists at the thought of what Bruce and his posy had planned. He couldn't let something so pure be stripped of its magic.
"I can't believe they wanna take this. God knows what they could do with it.." Bryson worried, frustrated.
"It's sick." Dorothy spat angrily, before nudging Bryson and looking up at him. "But we're gonna stop 'em, aren't we?" She had a smile on her face now, almost mischevious. "Just like we showed Rabadan, we'll show those two boneheads just who they're dealing with."
She displayed so much confidence and natural happiness it was hard for Bryson not to find it contagious. She could make any situation lighter, no matter how dire.
"You're right. I just.. worry because.. last time we had the entirety of Oz to rally with all of us. It's just us now." Bryson worried.
He still wondered why Ozma couldn't just get a large group of guards or Munchkins perhaps to stage a coup against the men, but he presumed Ozma possessed more knowledge then him. Though it also made him wonder if there was something Ozma wasn't telling him. He decided he was being paranoid.
"Well I think the two of us can make great things happen." Dorothy said with a nod, smiling up at him.
"I think you're right." Bryson smirked. "We make a pretty good team."
"We do." Dorothy said with a slight chuckle and a nod before sighing. "I just hate that people are trying to take advantage of Oz. I suppose this is why Glinda destroyed the road to Oz in the first place."
Bryson stopped in his tracks.
Road to Oz
"Road... to Oz?" Bryson asked, Dorothy stopping with Bryson and looking slightly confused, walking up to him and looking up at him. "Is something the matter?" She asked with a concerned look.
"Road to Oz.." Bryson repeated. The same name of the book Tommy had. He wondered why everything seemed to follow him. "It's just. I didn't know there was a road to Oz. Could you tell me more about it?"
"Oh, of course." Dorothy said, grabbing ahold of his arm as she explained everything to him. Bryson loved the closeness, and also the fact that Dorothy was blunt. Unlike Glinda, she gave him all the answers he wanted whenever he wanted them.
"See, the road to Oz once existed in our world. I don't know where it was or who used it, but Glinda destroyed it to keep the outside world from knowing of Oz's existence. Only people like me, you, the rest of the Alliance and a few others are deemed trustworthy enough to have knowledge of Oz. I used to tell my aunt and uncle all about Oz, but when Glinda informed me of all this, I stopped immediately out of respect. They all thought Oz was a dream. I always denied it, but I went along with it after all that. I wish everyone else could enjoy Oz like you and I, I do. But people in our world aren't so as nice compared to the ones in Oz, as you can see. We saw that with Rabadan and we're sadly seeing it now." Dorothy sighed.
Bryson understood why Dorothy agreed with her aunt and uncle that Oz was dream, and he also understood why all of those missing kids he had learned about said that they either didn't remember what happened or simply just didn't talk about what happened. They wanted to protect Oz, because they knew what he knew. All of those kids knew that if Oz's existence was exposed, there'd be extreme consequences.
In that moment, Bryson realized before he came back here, he was essentially was trying to acheive what people like Bruce and John were attempting. To find proof that Oz existed. Looking back, he was glad he didn't. He was so interested in proving it was real at first, but now he felt guilty and wished he had never done it.
"I never told anyone back home. And I'll keep it that way." Bryson nodded, Dorothy smiling up at him.
"Oh, believe me. I know we can all trust you." She smiled, her words causing his heart to melt slightly.
"That's kind of an honor to hear from you." Bryson smiled.
"Oh, is it? Because I'm the savior of Oz that killed all these witches and-"
"No. Just because I know you're special." Bryson said warmly.
Dorothy blushed slightly. "I'm not special, I'm telling you. I'm just a.."
"Farm girl from Kansas. Keep telling yourself that. I know you're more then that." Bryson smiled.
Dorothy blushed further, rubbing slightly at her red cheeks, Bryson quite pleased with himself.
"So." Bryson said, clearing his throat and blushing in time with Dorothy. "Like I was saying before we left, there's a specific spot those two were staying. If they're there, we can maybe just use intimidation. From you, mostly. You're pretty scary when you're mad, even Rabadan seemed scared of you, I remember." He nudged her, causing Dorothy to blush again and giggle. "But if they're not there, we can find clues and search for them."
"Sounds like a good idea. If only Toto were here, he could sniff them out real quick."
...
After looking around the bushy trail where two men had been located, Bryson knew it was too dark to search properly. "Let me see if I have anything that could help us.."
He unzipped his backpack quickly, digging around for a few moments for something that could provide light, careful to avoid the axe before feeling a familar blocky object.
His eyes widened and he slowly pulled it out, his hands scraping around the object in question before feeling a familiar button on the side, pressing it and being surprised when the object buzzed and turned on.
It was his phone.
He had searched his backpack, but seemingly not enough to notice his phone had been in his car and landed with him in Oz. It must have been carried along with him in the twister, Bryson thought, amazed.
As the phone turned on, it landed on his home screen.
There were a few scratches and cracks on the screen now, but it still worked.
He was thankful it was a regular phone screen instead of one of his low months when he made it Dorothy.
Bryson was flabbergasted when he noticed there was a time.
"12:54 A.M."
And even a date.
"Monday, Novemeber 19th, 2018."
Was this the date in his world? He knew Oz didn't really have a calendar or dates. Or even time. Everyone just said 'night' or 'day' and seemed to have no other concept of time.
Something Bryson might have had too much of a concept of, he thought bitterly.
He also realized this meant something horrible.
He only had three days until Thanksgiving, when he promised his family he would visit them again.
He hadn't seen them in so long and he needed to help his mother out with his father, but he couldn't do that while in Oz.
He sighed. He wanted to get away from his problems, but he didn't want to neglect his duty to help his family, either.
And now he had new problems arising in Oz.
Nevertheless, he was still the happiest he had been in years, despite the stress looming over him.
He unlocked his phone and had an idea, wondering if he could somehow manage to message his family. He knew Glinda said something about a device that might allow for communication in other worlds, but it had slipped his mind completely to ask before they had left Emerald City. It was too late now.
Much to his dismay, however, he had no service. He expected that, but it was still disappointing.
He swiped around on his phone, checking different apps, but none would load without any internet connection.
It was so odd to have this piece of technology in Oz.
Maybe he could use it to their advantage.
His battery wasn't full, but it was enough to last.
He tapped on his flashlight, a source of light now emiting from the phone and onto the scenery.
Dorothy stepped over slowly, her face scrunched up as she looked on in confusion. "My. What is that?"
Bryson suddenly panicked. He didn't want to lie to her, but he wasn't sure how to tell her the truth he knew, either.
"It's uh. I found it in my backpack. We can use it as a flashlight." Bryson said, downplaying it as she looked over at it. "My.. it has a.. screen. It looks so... defined and crisp.." She examined.
Bryson gulped and nodded.
"What do those numbers mean?" She asked, pointing at the phone, surprised when her finger made the phone react.
"Golly.." She whispered in confusion.
"Yeah.. Oz is a strange place.." Bryson mumbled nonchalantly.
The two continued their search, Bryson using the flashlight around every square inch of the landscape to find any source of clues.
"My.. there's glass everywhere on the Yellow Brick Road!" Dorothy exclaimed.
Bryson snapped his head over and rushed into Dorothy's direction, kneeling down to see the glass of the camera Bryson had smashed on the road.
"Yeah, that's from when I smashed one of their cameras when they were filming Oz." Bryson panted.
"You smashed their cameras?!"
"Yeah. Threw a rock at one."
"I certainly don't blame you for that." Dorothy said, patting his shoulder, continuing to search the scene.
"And... ooh.. o-oh no.." Dorothy stammered suddenly, her voice getting shaky as she looked on to find a few pieces of the Yellow Brick Road missing, pointing at the sight with a trembling finger.
Bryson crouched down further, using his flashlight onto the sight before them, gasping slightly at the sight of the missing bricks. When he had first caught them, a brick or two was missing, but now multiple trails of brick had gone missing.
Bryson's stomach lurched.
What if they had taken even more?
What else of the land had they swiped away?
Bryson quickly examined the rest of the area and was surpised to see a few flowers stripped away.
Now, Bryson was shaking and seething with rage.
"Those bastards aren't gonna get away with this!" He proclaimed, making a fist at the air.
Dorothy sniffled slightly, kneeling down on the Yellow Brick Road, touching it with her fingers, skimming over the space where the yellow bricks once were.
Bryson kneeled down and began to stroke her hair and down her back, comforting her. "It's alright, Dorothy." He whispered, feeling so sorry for her. She had been attatched to this world for so long and Bryson felt terrible for her. It was bad enough to see the world like this, but it was even worse knowing how much it saddened Dorothy.
Dorothy furiously wiped her tears away and stood up, panting, trying to give out words but unable to. Bryson simply stroked her hair and wrapped an arm around her as she buried herself into him. He wrapped his arms around her and they held each other tightly, Bryson getting lost in Dorothy's embrace. He found so much comfort in her and just wished he could always hold her like this.
She slowly pulled away and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Bryson." She sighed as he stroked her tears away. "I just hate this. I just want Oz to be free of all of this."
"I do too, Dorothy. Believe me. After we stop them, we can make sure this never happens again." Bryson promised.
Dorothy nodded and nuzzled into him for a moment before slowly pulling away. "I suppose we should keep going.." she said softly. Bryson pet at her hair soothingly and agreed.
"You're right. Besides.. I think we're onto them. They've left somewhat of a trail." Bryson mused, pointing ahead and aiming the flashlight at the Yellow Brick Road to show onward. Every so often, there was a piece missing in the distance.
Dorothy nodded. "Let's find them."
...
They began to walk the trail of the Yellow Brick Road.
It was morbid in a way, how the road used to lead somewhere with the yellow bricks. Now the holes in the road led them the way.
It wasn't a merry skip down the road anymore, it was a sad display of trudging down a lifeless walkway that pieces missing, cracks where one could fall if not careful.
It was a melancholy experience, walking with Dorothy along the broken road with the still beautiful life around them.
Bryson wasn't even afraid of what lurked in the forest because he was so taken aback by the beauty.
Until suddenly, a large creature lept out of the trees and landed in front of Bryson, causing him to fall over on the Yellow Brick Road. "Doh!" Bryson exclaimed.
Suddenly, the creature pounced on him and Bryson realized it was a male lion staring down at him and panting.
Bryson yelped out in fear, squeezing his eyes shut and struggling under the massive weight to no avail. "Dorothy!" He cried out.
He prepared for the worst, his mind racing, until he felt something wet against his face.
It stroked along him, and suddenly, Bryson realized it was the animal's tongue.
Upon the realization, Bryson began to laugh under the weight, his discomfort easing. He realized that there was no reason for a creature in Oz to behave in such a manner unless provoked.
"Aiden, is that you?!" The Lion asked in excitment.
Bryson's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief.
"A... Aiden?" Bryson gasped.
Aiden Parker..
"Lion! Oh dear, you can't do that to just everyone, we've been through this!" Dorothy cried out in slight horror, petting at animal's fur to calm him.
Slowly, Lion stepped off of Bryson, squinting and looking on at Bryson in confusion.
Bryson groaned, slowly getting up. He put his backpack back on, which had fallen off after the impact of the fall. He lifted his flashlight, careful not to get in anyone's eyes, but enough to examine the animal in front of him.
"My Lion. You still forget how big and scary you are after the Wizard gave you courage." Dorothy teased, petting Lion's mane.
Bryson gasped and it all made sense.
This was the famous Cowardly Lion!
Bryson was stunned.
He had now met every member of the original four friends of the original Wizard of Oz.
He couldn't help but feel honored, in some way.
"Naww, c'mon, Dorothy. Ith's just Aiden!" Lion teased back with a slight chuckle.
Bryson looked on stunned.
It didn't look like a man in a suit, this was a full on animal. He looked nothing like his movie counterpart, unlike Dorothy, who was identical. A real life lion that looked like any regular lion, except he was bigger and he spoke like a human! He even had a slight lisp. It was so odd yet interesting to see the animal talk.
He was quite charming once Bryson realized the animal's intentions.
"Oh, Lion. That's not Aiden, what ever are you going on about?" She asked, pointing over. "This is Bryson!"
Lion looked confused and looked at Bryson and back at Dorothy, then back at Bryson.
"Is that true?" He asked, tilting his head, confused.
"I'm afraid so." Bryson said, clearing his throat, his voice still shaky after being shaken up.
"Ooooh." Lion said, putting his head down as he was slightly embarassed before he lifted up his paw. "Thorry there, pal." Lion said aplogetically. Bryson chuckled and shook Lion's paw. It felt amusing, shaking his paw as if he was a man, the fur oddly comforting on Bryson's skin. Being friends with a lion didn't seem so bad, Bryson mused.
"It's the hair." Lion said with a chuckle, licking his own mane casually as if nothing happened, Bryson chuckling and finding Lion amusing.
Now that the surprise of the Lion had worn off, Bryson had to know who Aiden was.
"Wait a minute.." Lion paused, lifting up his paw to stroke it along his fur chin. "Everybody's heard of you. You saved Oz from our greatest war in history! Oh, it's a pleasure to meet ya." Lion said again, shaking Bryson's hand again with paw excitedly.
Bryson laughed, as Lion seemed to not understand how much bigger he was in comparison to everyone else.
Dorothy leaned forward. "He's still learning to adjust to interaction with humans after all these years." She teased.
Bryson chuckled, reaching out to pet Lion's mane slightly. "He's not doing too terribly." Bryson teased.
"Aww, shucks." Lion said in reply, making Bryson laugh again before that feverous need for information struck him again.
"Hey, um. This Aiden guy you thought I was. What might his last name be?" Bryson asked, his heart almost racing in anticipation.
"Parker. Aiden Parker." Dorothy stated with a nod, causing Bryson to gasp. "You know him?"
"Oh, yes. I do. We both met him here."
Bryson's head was spinning.
What his professor said was true!
He couldn't believe it.
"I.. I've heard about him. Whatever happened to him?" This was crucial, Bryson knew. It could help with his research with the Lost Boys case he had been so curious about.
"He came to Oz. He was with me about 20 or so days and lived with me in my Jungle Kingdom."
"Yes, I met him as well. He was in Oz for a while before he was sent home." Dorothy said.
"Last we heard of 'em, he went home with his family. 'Bout it." Lion stated.
Bryson was stunned.
"Has he been to Oz recently?" Bryson asked.
"Nope. Been a few years."
So one of his questions had been partly answered. Aiden Parker was real.
Bryson panted, looking at the ground for a few seconds before Dorothy spoke up.
"Oh no, Lion. You don't know yet, do you?"
...
Dorothy spent a few minutes telling Lion about what had happened with the men.
Bryson knew it was wrong (at least based on what Ozma had said) to let more people know about the situation, but he supposed one more person.. or animal wouldn't hurt.
Lion was furious, roaring in anger and growling, talking to himself about how he'd gobble the men up if they came across them.
Bryson raised an eyebrow.
"He just gets excited." Dorothy whispered, patting Bryson on the shoulder.
Dorothy informed Lion that nobody else could know about the plan and how they intended to stop it, and Lion agreed once Dorothy said it was Ozma's orders.
"Ozma's never been wrong before." Lion mused, obviously thinking extremely highly of her.
They began to continue walking down the trail, Lion pouting every time he noticed a yellow brick missing.
"It's alright, Lion. Just means we're one step closer to them." Dorothy whispered, stroking his fur in a comforting manner, always thinking positively.
But suddenly, the trail seemed to come to an end when the trio came across a large section where every brick was taken, a hole in the middle where the road continued on but with seemingly no bricks harmed.
Bryson shined his flashlight around in confusion until they all spotted a cabin in the woods.
"Hey.. isn't that Tin Man's old house we stayed in during my last trip?" Bryson asked.
"Yes, he mostly used it to flea when Rabadan was taking over. It must be run down by now.." Dorothy said. "You don't suppose those men are using it, do you?"
"Wouldn't hurt to find out." Lion said with a lick of his lips. "I'm ready to show them who they're messin' with."
They all agreed and slowly but cautiously made their way up the hill, Dorothy having to remind Lion to stay calm and not attack unless he had to.
Bryson shined the light carefully, making sure he didn't expose the fact they were there.
Lion peered around inside, growling lowly. "Nobody's in there..."
"We should check out what's in there. If they are using this thing, which it seems they are based on the trail ending here, we could steal back some things and find out what else they're doing." Bryson said.
"I'll stay out here on the lookout. Wouldn't be able to fit in the thing, anyhow." Lion scoffed with a chuckle.
Bryson and Dorothy slowly made their way inside as Lion stayed outside, growling at everything around him, prepared to pounce and attack.
As Bryson and Dorothy peered open the door, the two looked around everywhere, making sure there was no one there.
Dorothy looked around one corner of the room and Bryson looked around the other.
Bryson began to peak in the room.
He looked around and found nothing until he noticed a bunch of papers taped to the wall.
He shined the light on it and began to read the papers.
"Yellow bricks: CHECK
Dorothy:
Talking flying monkey: CHECK
Weird flowers: CHECK
Wheel person:
Wand: CHECK
At least 16 hours of footage
Emeralds:"
Bryson read it over several times.
Some of the things made no sense, as it seemed the men weren't familar enough with the creatures to idenitfy them.
Wheel person..
Did that mean wheelers?!
What did the checks mean?
It seemed these were the items and people the men wanted, noticing the things with a check were things that were already noticeably meeting.
What did the wand mean?
The possibilties were terryifing.
He scanned over to the next paper and read it over next.
"
Upload Oz pictures and short snippets
Start hashtag, spread chaos
Film the documentary, release it
Show off items at NYC the next night, prove everything
Get deal, start museum
Let it grow, build the park
Go from there
Invade (?)
Bryson was horrified as he read off the bullet points.
There it was. Their plan!
They even wanted to cause chaos.
Make a museum out of it as if these objects and people were things to be gawked at?!
The way they had it planned so intricately was what peeved Bryson the most.
Build the park.. Bryson repeated in his mind.
"Park?" He whispered.
He looked around before he noticed it.
A large object of sorts that had a big cover over it.
Bryson swiped the cover away, shining his light on it and gasping loudly.
There it was, a small hand made model of Oz.
But it wasn't Oz, no.
Yes, the Emerald City was there.
The Yellow Brick Road was there.
Munchkinland was there.
The beautiful plant life was there.
The Scarecrow's fields were there.
The Lion's forest was there.
But it was all gated off, closed off, with lines and signs everywhere.
"ENTER THE EMERALD CITY! $200!"
"WALK THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD: $5!"
"MEET THE SCARECROW IN HIS CORN FIELD: $110!"
"PARADE IN MUNCHKINLAND: $400!"
"GET A PICTURE WITH THE FINLEY THE FRIENDLY FLYING MONKEY: $500!"
"SEE DOROTHY! AKA... JUDY GARLAND! RE-BORN FOR A NEW ERA WITH NEW SONGS: $1000!"
"SEE HOW IT WAS ALL MADE, BEHIND THE SCENES: $565!"
Bryson began to tear up.
Here it was.
The worst possible scenario right in front of him.
His friends captured.
The world closed off, a world you couldn't explore freely.
A world where you had to pay for enjoyment, to admire the land.
Everyone getting able to experience Oz would be great, but like this?
What did they plan to do with Dorothy? With Finley? Make her parade as a celebrity brought from the dead? Their own slaves instead of people?
He didn't know how they planned to make this happen, but he knew it wasn't good.
He slowly looked upward, reading the big sign on the model.
"OZ WORLD!:
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD!"
COMING 2021! (?)"
He clutched to the sides of the model.
He wanted so badly to just break it in half, rip everything apart.
But he knew they might try and kill Finley if they knew he was here.
His eyes skimmed over and noticed a folder.
He lifted the folder up and slowly opened it, being faced with a barrage of drawn pictures.
He flipped through them.
A picture of the Scarecrow strapped to a pole against the cornfield with children in a line to meet him. He was strapped like a slave.
What was most disturbing was the small note next to it.
"If met with resistance, use the fire."
Bryson gasped, horrified at how the men planned to use his friend's weaknesses against them to hurt them.
He turned a page, seeing a picture of what seemed to be Finley trapped in a cage with children petting his wings.
Another picture depicted the Tin Man frozen with an automated bucket of water poured on him with children lined up with his oil can, placing it all over his body.
It was if they were making the Tin Man's condition into some sort of game!
When he turned the next page, he was met with one of the most disturbing yet.
Dorothy locked in a cage with a banner that read:
"THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD, DE-AGED AS DOROTHY! SEE THE FAMOUS STAR SING 'OVER THE RAINBOW'!"His stomach dropped and he felt tears about to fall from his face.
So this was their plan.
To expose Oz, make a documentary, a museum. To make people into slaves?!
He didn't know if he had ever been so angry, but he had to keep cool.
He trembled, causing the Oz theme park set laid out to rock.
It seemed the set had taken a long time to make.
He wondered how long the men had been here.
It ashamed him that finally, someone from his own time traveled here, and they were plotting the most dastardly plan imagineable.
He wanted to take their plans, but knowing they could hurt Finley, he instead shakily lifted up his phone and began to snap pictures of the plans they had laid out, tucking his phone away in his pocket. He knew it would be useful.
"Bryson.." Dorothy suddenly called out, her voice shaky.
Bryson was snapped out of his angered thoughts, expecting to find Dorothy looking behind him. Instead, she was walking up to him with a piece of paper in her hands, handing it to him.
It was a sketch of Dorothy and it read: "JUDY GARLAND ALIVE"
It seemed to be some of the concept art for the park or for their plot to expose Oz.
"Why is this calling me 'Judy'?" She asked with a troubled look.
The name caused Bryson to shuddder.
"This is so strange.." Dorothy said, walking over and setting the paper down on the table.
That was such a close call, Bryson mused.
He stepped over and looked down at the table Dorothy was, finding another sketch. It seemed to be the entrance of the park, with the same gate he had seen on the small set but zoomed in.
"They want to make it a theme park." Bryson said lowly.
"They.. they what?" Dorothy asked.
"Oz. They want to expose it, make it a museum. They want to make a theme park out of it! Turn the whole thing into a circus. Kidnap people, force them to be part of the attractions!" Bryson said, taking her hand and guiding her to the small model he found. "Look. They have it all planned out, they even have bullet points of what steps they wanna take."
Dorothy gasped upon seeing the model, but before she could read anything out, Bryson realized she might see the sign regarding her. Knowing she was already spooked by the earlier picture, he pointed up at the pictures with the bullet points instead. "Look."
Dorothy gasped once more, looking over the list. "Wha... check? I... and I'm on here! Oh... oh my." Dorothy stressed. "What.. what does Emeralds mean?" She asked, lifting up to graze her hands along the text.
Bryson shook his head, horrified just thinking about what it could mean.
As the two looked on at the sight in front of them, it was clear that if this park was built, it would mean the end of Oz as they knew it.
Bryson sighed, remembering the date on his phone.
Even in Oz, Mondays found a way to be a severe pain in his side.
...
It was difficult to get much sleep, but Lion coaxed them into it.
Bryson and Dorothy rested under his large fur, slumped on a tree a few yards away from the cabin in case Bruce or John came back.
They had woken up against his fur, and oddly enough, despite the intense stress and lack of a bed, Bryson had slept like a baby, smiling to reach over and see Dorothy rested against Lion.
Even though the situation was tragic, it at least gave him a sense of nostalgia of his first adventure, when the two of them would have to sleep together in harsh or unnatural conditions in the woods.
Bryson nuzzled into Lion's fur, who chuckled, causing Bryson to look up in surprise, not expecting him to be awake. "She's a heavy sleeper, ain't she?" Lion chuckled.
Bryson chuckled back, and a few moments later everyone was up.
They readjusted, Bryson putting his backpack back on. "Now that we know where they're staying we can form a better plan."
"I can rough 'em up and bring 'em to the Emerald City dungeon. Forever." Lion huffed.
"Well.." Bryson sighed. "I don't want them killed, but I can't say people who are plannning to enslave people to make a quick buck don't deserve it.."
He wondered if it was ethical to keep them in a strange land forever and never let them home, however. Their families, if they had families around, would worry. For all he knew, they had kids. He decided he would talk to Glinda to see if they could capture them in his own world instead. "I'll talk to Glinda about what kind of cage they rot in." Bryson said simply.
The three of them made small talk before a few minutes passed and out of nowhere, a current of wind began to spin around them. It blew their hair in their face, and suddenly a small white twister formed, though it was nothing compared to the twister that had brought Bryson to Oz.
Before they could ask questions, the white twister faded.
In front of them stood a beautiful middle-aged woman with blonde hair mixed with brown eyes. She was dressed in a white long sleeve dress with a white cape with white high heel shoes.
She had a white book in her hands that looked identical to the one that had bought Bryson to Oz, except for the color being different.
Bryson looked on curiously as the woman gracefully began to approach them, Bryson stunned at the sight.
"That's Snowmella.. the Good Witch of the North Glinda's sister." Dorothy said softly.
Bryson had heard of a Good Witch of the North, but had never seen her. He could see the resemblance with Glinda.
"Bryson Scott. It's a pleasure to finally meet you up close." Snowmella said, approaching him and shaking his hand. Her voice was even more graceful then Glinda's, but more airy and slightly less elegant, a bit more casual. A hint of an accent he couldn't place.
Her hand was cold, but it was nice. A cooling, comforting feel.
"How'd you know my name?" Bryson asked, shocked. But his shock was on short supply at this rate in his journey.
"Because, Bryson. I watched over your spirit with Glinda. And I'm very aware of your contributions to Oz. As we all are. Glinda was right about your modesty." Snowmella smiled, bopping his nose with her finger.
Bryson smiled. "That still sort of messes me up. Being watched over."
"Your spirit, yes. We never knew who you were until you got here. Just feelings." Snowmella said.
"Yeah, that's what Glinda said." Bryson replied, still amazed.
"Snowmella, what are ya doing here?" Lion asked, smiling and happy to see her.
"Those outsiders. I assume you're aware of what they're planning." Snowmella told Lion.
"Mhm. I'd like to get my hands on 'em." Lion growled.
"They stole my wand. I'm not nearly as powerful with it. I had to use this book to transport myself here." Snowmella said, lifting up the object.
That's what the paper meant when it had listed 'wand', Bryson realized.
"So you know? I thought that nobody could know. That's what Ozma said." Bryson said, shocked.
"I didn't. Until I was by the ocean and these men wanted to talk to me. They whisked away my wand when I wasn't looking and fled into the woods before I could do anything about it. I found their cabin and now I know everything." Snowmella explained, stepping closer to them.
"The four of us is enough. If the general population knows, it could cause civil unrest among Oz." Snowmella whispered. "I need to warn you, however."
"Warn us?" Dorothy asked.
Snowmella stepped forward. "The consequences of their plans are more dire then any of you are aware. As of now, Ozma and I are the only people in higher power who are aware of this. I'm not as vague as Ozma, nor Glinda. But I am telling you, if their plans go through.." She hesitated. "The outside world will be overjoyed at first. But sooner or later, something bad will happen and both the land of Oz and the outside world will be in chaos and war. Many people will be killed, injured, and wounded. Oz will become a corrupt place and both worlds will try to destroy the other. This could backfire and destroy not only Oz, but the other world too. War like no other." Snowmella said, looking off in the distance, obviously effected by the situation.
"Bryson. Dorothy. You two are outsiders and you stopped the most dangerous outsider Oz has ever seen. If you thought that was important..." Snowmella said, stepping closer. "This is worse." She sighed, causing Bryson to be completely shaken by her words.
"So horrible.. that I've begun thinking. Perhaps we-"
Out of nowhere, Snowmella fell to the ground.
The three gasped and saw a giant dart stuck in Snowmella's back.
Shaken, they all looked around in horror before they spotted the source.
On top of a large rock in the distance stood a man. He was black, muscular with short hair, and was wearing camouflage.
Lion suddenly pounced in front of all of them and gave a terrible, defeaning roar at the man.
"Now this." The man said, uneffected, sporting a thick accent. "Is my most fascinating hunt yet!"
He cocked his dart gun and prepared to fire.