A/N: This chapter is dark and contains the deaths of multiple characters, some major. Some of it is violent and it may be upsetting. If you do not wish to read about the deaths of beloved characters, you can skip this chapter.

Do keep in mind that this is Oz and these stories have brought back deceased characters before.

...

Bryson and Dorothy looked on horrified, both of them trembling as they approached the teen lying on the floor and bleeding out.

His skin was pale as the rest of the group surrounded him. Kyle was pale-skinned and the blood just wouldn't stop gushing out of his stomach, his shirt stained.

The group all had defeated and sad looks on their faces. Tommy and Charlotte seemed especially effected, sobbing softly. Colton hid into his mother's side, bewildered.

"What..what happened?" Bryson asked, voice cracking and tears forming.

Dorothy sobbed. "Oh.. this is so terrible! Why does this keep happening?!" She cried out and hid on Bryson's shoulder, who stroked her arm to comfort her.

"An anti-outsider saw us. Screamed how it was all our fault, the deaths in Oz. Pulled out some sort of knife and stabbed Kyle's stomach. A pro-outsider chased them off.." Thersea said through her sniffles.

Kyle grunted in pain and placed his hand over his wound, staining his hand with blood.

The group realized that there was nothing that could be done. The life was leaving him and the wound was fatal.

"I.. I tried to save him. But when I saw all the blood, I.. I knew it was too late." Thersea whispered, shaking.

"Kyle, tell us about your life. Focus on the.. the positive. Oh, you poor thing.." Dorothy frowned.

"Well.." Kyle gulped. "When life started, it wasn't the greatest. Grew up.." He coughed. "With a wacked up family. Dysfunctional. I was always my dad's favorite and I think that's why my brother always picked on me. Wasn't as nice as it sounded. Hated being the favorite.. having to feel like I had to be good at everything for my old man. Love what he loved. Hate what he hated. And the only reason I never said anything is because I loved my dad and it made him happy to see me do what he loved doing. But it made me and my brother not have a good relationship. Came to resent him, I was happy when he left for college. Then my mom got some new boyfriend that hated me. My brother came back, started pickin' on me again.. and then Oz intervened. And ever since that trip.. despite how.. scary it got. My life changed for the better. Knew more, understood more. All those problems.." he coughed. "Just went away.

"Except for one thing.." Kyle coughed. "My brother.. haven't seen him in so long. I thought maybe he'd be there when I graduated high school, but he wasn't. He's all but walked out on me. And mom, too. I thought.. maybe after this trip, it'd be fixed. Like this all had.. some sort of purpose." Kyle coughed some more. "Maybe he'd see me go off to college. But he won't do any of that now. And my mom.. sh-she's gonna be alone." He coughed. Kyle sounded remorseful now.

Bryson got chills from Kyle's words. Would Oz be so cruel it'd let a boy who wasn't even from the place die?

Dying with regret was terrible for anybody. How could this happen to such a young teen?

It just wasn't feasible. It didn't make sense. Oz was the pure and innocent fairy tale fantasy land. The place where stuff like this didn't happen.

"You're not gonna die.. everything's gonna be fine, don't talk like that." Charlotte insisted.

But everyone looked at each other, as if knowing it wasn't true.

"M-maybe I'll be a ghost or somethin.' Lingering around Oz forever.." Kyle sighed. "That'd be cool." His voice was so soft it sounded lighter than a whisper.

Kyle grunted, the blood rapidly leaving him. He coughed more, his eyelids twitching and closing.

Tommy reached over to try and find a pulse, but there was nothing. "He's.. he's gone." Tommy whispered.

Bryson shook his head. "No.. no, not here. Not here." He began to sob. "No, this isn't right.. not in Oz." This had to be one of Kyle's ghoulish tricks, right?

But it wasn't. Kyle had died in Oz with regret. With so much life left to live.

Bryson's stomach dropped. After the intense happiness of thinking Oz had been unified, this had happened.

"It's my fault.." Charlotte sniffled. "I wished to myself that he wouldn't go off to college. And be around me, instead. And I've gotten my wish." She sobbed.

"Don't you say that, this is not your fault. This is nobody's fault except the scum that did this. I swear to god, whoever is responsible needs to pay.." Bryson's voice trembled.

Dorothy sobbed in Bryson's shoulder, Colton looking confused as he leaned into his mother.

Bryson looked over to see it, and it felt like it was all playing out in slow motion.

Everyone was fighting in the fields of Emerald City and there fresh corpses in the Poppies.

People were screaming, tackling each other, punching and kicking each other. Stabbing.

There were a few fires around, explosions in the distance. It seemed weapons were going off and Emerald City had once again turned into a battlefield.

A tear fell down his face, and then he felt too spent to cry any more.

He felt he'd get lost in his depressive thoughts, but he then heard the sounds of large footsteps.

"I tried to tell you. He would've lived if you had just given me the watch. Safe in my paradise."

Bryson looked up and gasped when he saw Zavick in his black outfit. His stance over a knelling Bryson was intimidating, but he didn't know what to do.

He looked up at his alternate future self with conflict and horror.

"Bring him back.." Bryson gulped. "Take my watch and bring him back.."

Zavick looked down sadly at the boy. "I have my own plans."

Suddenly, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion were behind Zavick. It seemed that he had spotted him enter Emerald City and were trying to stop him.

"Zavick! Get away from Bryson! That watch is not yours!" Scarecrow said in a panic, stumbling as he and the other two gasped at the sight of Kyle dead on the floor.

Zavick slowly turned. "You see what Oz is now. Its brokenness. I'm going to destroy it. And destroy Earth. And start anew. Playing God is no easy task."

"You monster! You're going to kill so many!" Tin Man yelled.

"No heroic act is without sacrifice." Zavick stated coldly.

"Bryson, what are ya doin'?! Run before he gets your watch!" Lion cried out.

"Right, shit!" Bryson tripped over himself and began to sprint away. His heart raced and ached. He had mourned Kyle and Oz too deeply to run properly. He stumbled, falling onto the ground and tripping after rushing off a few feet away.

He turned on the grass, near the fighting of the Ozians.

He looked up and saw the most horrifying visual of his life.

Tin Man pulled out his axe and yelled as he prepared to strike down Zavick. "I'll never let you commit this atrocity, you monster!"

Tin Man slashed at Zavick, who hastily pulled out one of his swords to counter Tin Man.

The two swiped at each other violently. Lion roared and prepared to pounce at Zavick.

Zavick ducked, causing Lion to tumble over.

Scarecrow yelled out, leaping to Zavick with his flimsy body as if to tackle him.

Zavick pushed off Scarecrow's body as if he were made of paper instead of straw.

Scarecrow tumbled over to Tin Man, both of them falling together on the ground.

"I didn't want to do this, Scarecrow. But you have left me no choice." Zavick said coldly, yet somehow regretfully. "You brought me comfort and wisdom in childhood. But it is now time to let go.."

Scarecrow stumbled, trying to lift himself up before Zavick had reached over to one of the nearby fires.

Zavick lifted his sword, which now had Scarecrow's worst fear and largest weakness on the blade.

Scarecrow yelped out. Tin Man and Lion gasped, scrambling to their feet to intervene.

Zavick stabbed Scarecrow right through his chest of hay. And the Scarecrow's body began to engulf in flames.

"NO!" Tin Man yelled.

The Lion roared lowly, prepared to lunge after Zavick. But Zavick quickly pulled his fiery blade from Scarecrow's body and tossed the weapon at Lion.

Lion screamed in pain, his own body on fire. He ran away, screaming as if desperate to find something to put the fire out.

Tin Man was sobbing violently. But he seemed to remember it would cause him to rust, and he steadied himself.

He readied his axe. "Come on! Do your worst!"

Zavick had no weapon, but he approached the Tin Man regardless.

Tin Man began to swing his axe, but Zavick caught the handle and yanked it almost effortlessly.

"Don't let your emotions get the better of you, Tin Woodsman. I'm sorry, but I cannot have anyone interfere." Zavick said as he lifted the axe.

"No, no! Stop it!" Dorothy sobbed, rushing and sprinting over. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground, sobbing and pleading at Zavick's legs. "Don't do this, no!" Her voice was unrecognizable through her cries.

"I'm sorry, Dorothy. Don't watch."

Zavick swung the axe and beheaded the Tin Man with his own weapon.

"N-no... no..." Dorothy cried out weakly. "Sc-Scarecrow.. T-Tin Man.. L-L-L-i-ion.."

Zavick seemed remorseful, especially when he looked down at Dorothy.

Nevertheless, he trudged forward.

Bryson was watching. Frozen. He couldn't get up.

He was too weakened.

Seeing Zavick do this sent him into a state of disbelief. And he could not get up.

And Zavick was relentless.

He mowed down several Oz citizens in his way with his sword.

A few Munckins and guards tried to stop him.

Zavick dodged and stabbed them with ease.

It seemed he had gone through rigorous training. He was unstoppable.

And before Bryson knew it, Zavick was hovering over him.

Bryson didn't react. He felt he would be sick.

An alternate reality version of him had murdered what he had considered childhood heroes. And now friends. Especially friends of Dorothy.

He was sitting motionlessly until Zavick had gripped his Oz-hauler watch.

"No, no!" Bryson yelled, grunting and giving it all his might to swipe his hand away from Zavick.

After all his failures.. after everything. He could not allow this. Not this.

Not the murder of billions. And the destruction of both Oz and Earth.

Bryson pulled his free hand back and punched Zavick in the back of his head.

Zavick flinched and stepped back, but then..

He managed to rip the Oz-hauler watch off of Bryson's wrist.

"No!" Bryson yelled as he lifted his leg high up in the air and kicked the watch several feet away.

Zavick gasped and immediately ran over to grab the watch, which was laying in the middle of the field.

Bryson and Zavick sprinted over in a race to get the watch.

All of Bryson's energy suddenly returned now that he had properly registered the stakes of the situation. He had to get that watch, he could mourn later.

They were close, but Bryson managed to step on the watch with his foot. He slipped up the watch and was prepared to put it on his wrist before Zavick kicked him away.

"Oof! No!" Bryson cried out, but was now getting trampled in the sea of Ozians fighting.

He desperately tried to crawl away, but the legs of a few Ozians moving around rapidly rendered him unable to stand up.

But he could see it through the legs of the Ozians.

Zavick had the watch.

He reached for his black outfit, pulling something out.

An emerald-like object.

It was ruby red. And it seemed like it had been ripped off of something. Definitely a piece of the Ruby Slippers, just like he had said.

Bryson screamed. "HELP! HELP! SOMEONE STOP HIM!"

But everyone was battling it out, lost in each other.

"I'VE SAVED OZ TWICE! AND NOW IT'S TIME TO SAVE IT FOR GOOD! TO BEGIN NEW LIFE!" Zavick declared as he dropped the shard of the slipper into a slit in the watch.

It seemed to cause a reaction of magic, of something connecting.

The watch began to tremble slightly, glowing a mixture of vibrant bright rainbow colors.

"Yes.. the power... just as I imagined!" Zavick proclaimed.

"Shit.. oh my god. Please, god. No, no. SOMEONE STOP HIM, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Bryson yelled desperately, finally leaping free out of the crowd.

He snapped his head over to see what he presumed to be Zavick's own group of Flying Monkeys flying around his group of friends, preventing them from stopping Zavick.

Bryson leaped forward to the Oz-hauler on Zavick's wrist.

He gripped it hard, trying to tug it away.

Zavick lifted the wrist Bryson was grabbing at and back handed him hard, right across the face.

Bryson was sent tumbling onto the ground and watched in horror.

Zavick slapped the button right in the middle of the watch and a loud thunder-like boom was heard, a white flash of light blinding the entire land of Oz for a quick second.

Bryson panted, breathing heavily. "What.. what happened?" He whispered on the ground, looking terrified as he sweated profusely and lifted himself off the ground and snapped his head around, as if to search for what Zavick had enacted.

The people of Oz seemed horrified, beginning to panic and scream.

Bryson was confused until he had seen Dorothy, Tommy, Charlotte, Thersea, Colton, and even Kyle's body rise from the air.

They kept rising and rising, and they seemed frozen in place. Not responding. It was like they were being beamed up.

"Oh my... I... what's happening?!" Bryson screamed.

"I'm taking them to the new Oz. My new paradise." Zavick said lowly, a smile creeping up on his face.

Once the entire group had vanished from the sky, Zavick looked at Bryson.

"Oz is no more. Now I just need to get what I need from Earth." Zavick stated, pleased. As if he'd already won.

And he had, it seemed.

Because with another tap of the button on the green watch, Bryson vanished as if he had never existed to begin with.

All that was left was Zavick in a white void.

All of Oz was gone, due to his command from the watch. And he was ready to create a new, perfect world. Right after he did what he needed to with Earth.

...

Zavick has won. And the fate of Oz and the world has never been more bleak.

Can this be undone or will Zavick continue to wreck havoc?

Find out in the next chapter.