Had it not been for Dorothy snuggling into his side and mumbling quiet reassurences the whole night, Bryson would not have slept a bit.
Zavick telling Bryson the dark horrors of his future was enough to keep him up. Along with the generalized guilt of the war. The path he could follow.
Even if he did defeat Zavick, the war and the consequences wouldn't go away so easily.
There wasn't an easy objective this time around.
It wasn't just "get the scepter away from the crazy man."
It wasn't just "stop the theme park from happening."
And while there was the objective of "destroy the watch", there was so much more to it now.
Luckily, Dorothy kissed on his jaw and held him tighter. Her quiet whispers and soothing touches were enough to send him to sleep.
He just hoped to whatever God their could be that Zavick would not get the watch as promised.
Scarecrow and Tin Man, not requiring sleep, promised to be on lookout. He appreciated the safety net.
However, something else terrible had happened once he awoke.
"Bryson, Bryson! Get up! Get up!" Dorothy shook him awake.
He jolted up. "Did he take the watch?!" He exclaimed immediately, slapping his hand and feeling the Oz-hauler still attatched to his wrist.
"No, no! Quadling Country is under attack! Let's go, let's go!" She insisted, pulling and tugging on his arm.
Bryson gapsed and they ran out of the room, feeling the walls shake around them.
As they rushed into the hallway, a huge crowd of people rushed out and filled the room. It was frantic and claustrophobic.
"Oh, goodness!" Dorothy yelped out, almost tripping. She gripped his hand and they both held the wall for support. They squeezed each others hands so they wouldn't lose each other.
She pressed into him. They wrapped their arms around each others waist as they both leaned into the wall awkwardly to avoid the hoarde of people.
Bryson could hear screams outside and the castle continued to shake violently, making it harder for the pair to hold on.
Once the huge hoarde had cleared, Dorothy squeezed his hand tighter and rushed them out of there.
They ran together, panting. "What do you think's happening?!" He yelped.
"Just seems like we've got some unfriendly visitors!" Dorothy panted as they ran for the doors of the castle.
Once outside, they could see what the panic was about.
A pack of wolves growled and pounced on random Quadlings.
A flock of crows flew around to storm onto them, violently battering their beaks onto the people.
But most curious of all was the sight of creatures that resembled dragons. They weren't huge, but they weren't minuscule either.
The top half of the dragon-like creatures were black and the underbelly was purple. The outer parts of the dragon's wings were black and the insides were also purple.
Bryson watched in horror as the creatures flew into the the castles. Their body mass seemed to be enough to damage the castle.
They kepy flying into it, knocking over the structure of the castle. Everyone could only watch in horror as the castle was soon almost completely topped over.
Dorothy screamed and Bryson gasped out. "No!"
The two could only hope everyone had made it out safely.
A swarm of bees suddenly flew around, stinging and attacking people. "Oh, no! That's what Theodora sent after me years ago! Oh, no, I hope Scarecrow and Tin Man are okay!" Dorothy cried out.
Bryson and Dorothy ran aimlessly around the fields of Quadling Country.
Ozians, presumably pro-outsiders, were storming the area and attacking ruthlessly along with the several creatures launching a crusade of violence upon the land.
Bryson held Dorothy's hand tightly and they gripped at each other aimlessly in a futile attempt to shield each other from the attacks.
"Oh, this is horrible! This is not Oz! This is not Oz, how could they be doing this?!" Dorothy cried out in agony, sniffling as she continued to rush around with Bryson. They helplessly tried to dodge and avoid the attacks.
Bryson could hear screams and cried. Explosions in the distance. Glinda was nowhere to be found to help.
Rubble and debris began to fly out from the toppling castle and Dorothy screamed. Bryson gasped loudly and the two clutched to each other while trying to hurriedly storm the area.
But their worries were soon moved elsewhere. They rushed towards the trees to find out in a nearby forest area when they were suddenly surrounded.
"We've got him!" A voice cried out.
Bryson and Dorothy snapped their heads around to see several Ozians in blue outfits that read "P.O." Presumably standing for pro-outsider.
The Ozians all lifted up spears similar to the ones guards used at Emerald City.
"It's him. It's the Wizard." One of them sneered.
Bryson gasped, recognizing the face. It was the same guard who had rejected his rule and refused to serve under him.
In fact, a few of the people surrounding Bryson and Dorothy were familiar faces. Guards that used to serve him along with random Ozians he had never seen.
"Guys... I.. what do you want from me?" Bryson asked with a shaky voice.
"You, Wizard. We will not allow you to return to Emerald City to write in more nationalist and authoritarian rules." The defected guard now dressed in blue spat at him.
Bryson took a few moments. "Guys. Look. I understand.. that I let my fear get to my head. I did.. bad stuff as Wizard. I'm sorry. I don't intend to keep that up. But there is a lot going on around here." He said, arms up as if to signal the fact he didn't want to hurt anybody involved.
"Of course you'd say that when we're surrounding you with weapons, Wizard. We are going to capture you and end this war. Come with us or else!" Another pro-outsider huffed, raising their spear higher.
Bryson shivered and Dorothy spoke up. "Now, come on. You heard him. He admitted his mistakes. We don't need anyone else hurt.. or captured. Come on, everyone. Oz isn't supposed to be like this! We're supposed to treat everyone with kindness around he-"
"Dorothy Gale. You have been a tremendous help to our land. A true testimony to how outsiders only enrich the great world of Oz. But please, step aside. The Wizard of Oz is nothing but a coward. And we must take him to end this war." One of them insisted.
"Ending the war isn't gonna be that simple. Besides, I am on your side now! There is no reason to capture me." Bryson insisted.
"Wait a second. This... this isn't the Wizard. I know this man." A smaller voice said.
Bryson squinted. He gasped when he turned his head down to see a pro-outsider in the same blue outfit. It was a Munchkin. But not just any Munchkin. Donna. The first person he had ever spoken to in Oz that had helped guide him.
"Bryson Scott." The small Munchkin deduced.
The others squinted.
"Hey.. isn't that the outsider that helped us defeat Rabadan and those theme park goons?" One of them asked.
"I remember his statues. Similar hair and build. But he looks older." One of them noticed.
Bryson shuddered. "Shit.." he mumbled. No one had ever figured out who he really was. This is what he got for getting rid of his beard and hair.
"Oh my.. of course! He's a fraud! He was never the real Wizard!" The defected guard scowled.
"Wait, you don't understand! The Wicked Witch of the West did this! She wiped his memory and convinced him to rule over Oz. He had no idea what he was doing. Oh, please. Don't hurt him." Dorothy insisted, putting her arm over his shoulder as if to protect him.
"Theodora? That Wicked Witch stuff is propaganda set up by Glinda and Snowmella. Anti-outsiders, Dorothy! They were the good ones all along. They captured video of Glinda admitting to slaughtering a village!" One of them argued.
"No, no! I was there! The whole thing was faked! Theodora is trying to make herself look good. She wants to put Dorothy on trial and have her killed!" Bryson retorted in a panic.
"Yeah, let's trust the guy pretending to be The Wizard of Oz. A fake, all this time! No wonder you never showed us your magic." One of them groaned.
"An outsider siding with anti-outsiders. Sad. Well, let's take you back and expose you now." The defected guard insisted.
"No, no! If Oz finds out, they'll just grow more distrust!" Bryson yelled.
"Maybe they need a little more distrust in who rules over them." One of them argued.
"Bryson.. I can't believe you were the one setting up all these rules. You were such an innocent child when I met you. Inspired the Munchkns to rally together and help defeat Rabadan. And now.. here you are.. causing war and bloodshed. So many of my friends are gone.." Donna teared up.
That felt like a shot to the heart. He had never felt so much guilt consume him. Seeing the start of his Oz journey culminate into this years later was like a dagger to his insides.
"I... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never wanted this." Bryson teared up.
"I think we've heard enough. Surrender or we kill you here." The defected guard growled.
"No!" Dorothy stood in front of him.
"No, Dorothy.. it's okay.." Bryson knelled down as if he was going to surrender.
"Arms behind you. We'll cuff ya." The defected guard said.
Bryson did put his arms behind him and could hear them stepping forward to cuff him. Dorothy protested.
It was all a trick, however. Bryson sneakily turned the dial on the Oz-hauler and slapped it, being sent back to his world.
...
He was back in his cabin at home. It always felt so odd being in the real world after the chaos of Oz.
He had to be quick on his feet, knowing he couldn't leave Dorothy behind.
He grabbed a basket laying around the house.
...
"What in Oz name?! He just vanished!" One of them cried out.
"Maybe he is the Wizard after all!" One of them suggested.
Bryson had re-appeared a few feet behind him. He made eye contact with Dorothy and nodded at her. She beamed when she saw him, tip-toeing over to him to not alert the group of pro-outsiders.
"Hey, what are you doing?" One of them asked.
Dorothy just rushed off to Bryson. "Alright, they spotted us!"
Bryson just threw the basket at the defected guard. It was a weak weapon, but it made him stumble over.
"Ah, go after the fake Wizard!" He called out.
Luckily, Bryson and Dorothy managed to sprint away and were eventually out on a field and away from the chaos of the area. The only good thing about it was the fact it seemed to stop the pro-outsiders from stopping them.
They found a large rock to hide behind.
"I'm glad we got away, but I hope they aren't hurt." Dorothy pouted. "We should go back now that we've escaped. Check on everybody."
Bryson sighed and looked on at the sight. The castle - or the very bottom half of what was left of it - was burning and they could hear the screams in the distance.
Dorothy gasped, turning away with tears in her eyes.
Bryson didn't know how much more he could take.
But then, something even more bizarre happened.
A big flying pirate ship came down from the sky.
"What the hell.." Bryson mumbled, squinting. It seemed that the Dragon Machine wasn't the only flying machine in Oz.
Suddenly, Flying Monkeys were descending out of the ship in the sky and down upon the ruins of Quadling Country.
Bryson couldn't make out what it was, but they had something in their hands.
The object shot out a strange purple ooze all over what was left of Quadling Country.
The pair both gasped. They were reducing Quadling Country to a purple slimy wasteland.
It was the strangest sight. He could hear people screaming, see the broken buildings and structures. See the fire in the distance. But the purple ooze and the nature of the land made it seem like a childlike massacre. The strangest and most unsettling combination he could imagine.
A few other monkeys flew down from the ship, carrying a gigantic fish net.
They dropped the net onto the blue Dragon Machine, capturing it.
It seemed as if the Dragon Machine had a mind of its own, the monkeys struggling to pick it up before the monkeys carried it back up to the ship.
"Oh, my! What could be happening now?!" Dorothy exclaimed in frustration and fear.
The two stared at the sight in horror and confusion. But suddenly, they felt something looming over them.
Before they could react, they had been captured.
Several more monkeys had flew down with a net that captured Bryson and Dorothy.
"Oh, god! What are they doing?!" Bryson struggled violently in the net, as did Dorothy. His hand with the Oz-hauler attached was now caught up in the net. "If I can just free my hand and reach you I can take you back to my world and get us out of this net!"
"But Scarecrow told me it can only carry one person!" Dorothy fretted.
"Well, there goes my plan!" Bryson gulped, looking up and seeing the monkeys fly them up in the net. They both screamed, and it was such an odd sensation being hoisted up by the flying creatures.
Before long, they were plopped onto the big brown pirate ship and it began to slowly fly away.
"It's one thing after another." Bryson huffed, frustrated as they disappeared into the clouds with the ship. He could've sworn the sky was red, but perhaps that was just his mind playing tricks on him.
After all, things in Oz were looking pretty bleak.
He sighed, continuing to struggle wildly in the net with Dorothy. His heart raced, wondering what was in store for them.
...
How will the war in Oz continue? Can Bryson and Dorothy get out of this trap? And what awaits them?
Hope you enjoyed and have had a great Holiday season. I appreciate and am grateful for all support and reviews. Have a great day.x