The fighting had ceased, but there were dead bodies all around the fields around Emerald City.

Bryson was in the middle of it all. He had sunk to his knees and curled them close to his body, sighing.

it wasn't until Dorothy had rubbed on his shoulders that he moved.

He slowly looked up to see the young woman. She had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling for him and giving him an understanding and empathetic look.

Bryson sighed, watching her hand and shaking his head. "I don't know what to do." He whispered, vulnerable. "So many people are dead. And Oz is broken. This batte is done, but the war isn't over, no matter the law put in place by that trial."

Dorothy rubbed his shoulders gently. "You've been sitting here for an awfully long time."

Bryson furrowed his brows. "How long?"

"Several minutes. As if you're.. hypnotized." She whispered.

He sighed softly, shrugging.

She kept rubbing his shoulders. "Glinda's here. She says there's nothing left to do but confront Ozma. She said I could join. And I'd like you to come with me."

Suddenly, a few things clicked for Bryson.

That.. really all there was left to do, wasn't it?

She had seemingly been behind so much of this. She had started so much of this anti-outsider rhetoric.

"It only seems fitting. She's complicit in this division." Bryson decided, slowly standing up and feeling as if he'd fall over from how lightheaded he felt from the shock and distress.

"Oh, careful. Careful." She whispered, noticing the way he had stumbled as he stood up. She wrapped her arm around his to steady himself. The only current solace Bryson found in this situation was that Dorothy was still here with him.

"Where's the kid's?" Bryson asked, still mournful over Kyle.

"Thersea said she'd watch them while we spoke to Ozma. Let's go, honey." Dorothy whispered. Bryson could tell she was distressed, but she was stronger than him. She led him on and nurtured him with ease and he swore to himself to give her the same treatment as soon as he wasn't so dazed.

Dorothy guided him and they walked a few feet from Zavick's dead body, which made him shudder. Glinda was standing near the entrance of Emerald City and it almost seemed vacant. He supposed most of the citizens were in the fields battling it out and he shuddered, thinking about how many deaths there had probably been.

"What about.."

Glinda silenced Bryson's worries. "Theodora and Evanora have left Emerald City. I'm sure they'll return to their kingdom, but let's take this opportunity and confront Ozma properly. This is something I should've done long ago."

"No use in fretting over what could've been done, is there?" Dorothy sighed. "Let's go, I want to give Ozma a piece of my mind."

...

Bryson would be nervous, but what was there to be nervous about?

Oz was broken. What could Ozma do to make it worse?

Everything about Ozma just made no sense.

All these nationalistic policies set in place after nothing he had read in his world would suggest such a personality.

How strange she had acted at the trial.

How un-involved and also integral she seemed in every way. It made his stomach turn, somehow.

He imagined he'd leave the meeting still confused and hopeless, however.

They walked around the vacant Emerald City. Glinda had led the pair over, and Bryson hadn't been paying attention until he noticed they were suddenly in a large, dark hallway that was only tinted by shades of green.

Suddenly, he recognized this place. The one time he had met Ozma. This hallway seemed unchanged. Each step made such a loud sound that bounced off the walls.

The mystic, strange, creepiness to the seemingly never-ending hallway intensified as the greens changed to grays.

And suddenly, they were in Ozma's throne room.

A large figure, completely covered in a black cloak on a large golden throne.

Ozma was as massive as ever. The sheer stature and surreal nature of her made Bryson gulp.

Ozma was still as white as ever all over the black cloak. See through features.

Bright, full, yellow eyes that offered him all the knowledge in the world.

"Glinda the Good. Bryson Scott. Dorothy Gale. I sensed your presence. I knew you would come see me after the trial. Congratulations on your win. I suppose I stand corrected, yes?" Ozma greeted.

"Enough with your games, Ozma. Even with your bias, the outsiders have roamed free and Dorothy has proved her innocence. What I don't understand is why you went through all this trouble with the outsiders just to let the trial dictate something else. What is your game, Ozma? I'm through serving you. Just because you're the supposed destined ruler of Oz doesn't mean I have to follow your orders. So you can strike me down for standing up to you, go ahead. What more is there to lose?" Glinda ranted.

"I don't understand." Bryson interjected, frustration building. "You must know what goes on around here. Not once did you speak to me when I was Wizard. You've been in this throne room every time I've been here. What is it with you? Lurking in the shadows. You're clearly powerful enough to do as you please, what is your game here? You allow war and bloodshed to occur when you have the power to bring back me and all the other outsiders here against our will. You wanted to prevent chaos in Oz by ridding of outsiders and now.. this.." The anger was rising in his voice.

Ozma stared on at the three of them, never changing her expression.

"Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, a young teen boy and so many other Oz citizens are dead!" Dorothy suddenly snapped. "What kind of place is this?! What do you have to say for yourself?!" She already sounded completely irate, her composure gone now that she was speaking to the main owner of Oz.

"Because of you, I was manipulated by Theodora and spent months with her and her posy thinking they were the good guys! And I led Oz! I was the leader! I was the figurehead, whatever it was. I was making so many decisions and not once did I hear a peep from you! You had your own agenda! And now.."

Suddenly, it all the outrage came washing over Bryson.

"God, you've ruined Oz! Oz is a wasteland of war! It's no better than Earth! A corrupt leader, war, division, it's ruined! It's wrecked! And there's nothing we can do about it now! No magic as far as I can see! It's wrecked beyond repair! Why don't you just send us all home, huh? Ya might as well, right?! This... this place is a nightmare! Infested with hatred and bigotry like home! I can't believe this is the place I looked up. What's come of it?!"

Bryson began pacing around.

It was really coming to him now.

He was so angry that he saw none of the good. Just the bad.

"GOD, I HATE OZ!" He suddenly yelled. "I've been such a fool! I've been a damned fool!" He was now raising his voice louder than he knew it could go. He paced around and noticed the grey brick walls surrounding the throne room, punching it and being so angry he ignored the pain.

"All this death. This terror I've faced through my life. All this shit the last several months. Oz is just like Earth. It's all sick, it's all crooked and rotten and there's nothing we can do to save it! Tommy and Charlotte and Colton need to get home. If there's anything you can do, please just send those poor kids back home! Oz is filled with corrupt leaders and war. Evil. And I hate it now. I HATE IT! OZ IS VILE!" Bryson screamed.

His fist was still connected to the wall, eyes staring at his own feet.

"There it is..." Ozma's loud voice continued to boom and echo from the room. But.. but something was different.

The voice was now unmistakably deep and male.

And...

And...

Familiar.

Bryson slowly turned his head around, shaking.

Slowly, Ozma's body froze in place and... dissolved.

And was replaced with the most terrifying thing Bryson had ever seen, because of the sheer implications from it.

"NO!" Bryson yelled, dropping to his knees as tears filled them. "No.. you... no..."

Ozma's massive body was gone.

And replaced with John Rabadan.

The man Bryson had first faced in Oz. The man who was the first ever evil he had confronted. The man Bryson had to face to realize he was worth anything at all, back when he was a boy.

Rabadan looked as if he hadn't aged a day.

"Oh, my.. no!" Dorothy cried out.

"No, no! It can't be! No!" Glinda gasped, tears falling down her face as she fell to her knees just as Bryson had.

Rabadan was just as muscular. He still had the same scar on his face. He was wearing a silk black robe that was opened. He stroked on his dark beard, the same color as his short brown hair. He tapped his black boots against the throne.

What unnerved Bryson the most was that Rabadan had his scepter in his hands.

Rabadan broke out into a wide, accomplished grin.

It was the scariest thing he had ever seen.

The sight of what had scared him so much as a child. He used to find solace in knowing he had vanquished the idea of this man as a threat to Oz. But he was here, on the throne. With that evil scepter that had caused so much damage before.

It was as if the victory against the man he had once felt against the man as a child had been swiped away from him all at once.

Rabadan began to laugh at the reaction he had gotten. "Ah, I've been waiting a long time to see the looks on your faces when I revealed the truth. It was better than I had imagined, really."

Bryson realized the truth.

"Ozma" this whole time. It had been Rabadan in disguise.

Of course. It had explained everything.

Ozma's uncharacteristic behavior, her plans that so fickle. And all the little things that had struck Bryson odd. It was Rabadan this entire time.

"You.. you.. you were put in Emerald City dungeon. I made sure that you'd be locked away forever." Glinda gasped. Bryson had never seen her sound or look so shaken.

"Oh, I'll tell you all the little details. I've been waiting to gloat about this for a decade." Rabadan chuckled lowly.

"I was defeated by the three of you. And all of those who helped you. And I was left humiliated. But even worse, I hadn't proven my point. You see, I had spent a few months locked away in the dungeon until somebody came to my rescue. You may remember my partner who betrayed me. Laura."

Bryson gasped. He had remembered that woman. She had become crucial in Rabadan's defeat.

"Dear Laura. She was still attached to me. Felt guilty, she said. Knowing I was sentenced to a lifetime in the dungeon, never to see sunlight again. She sneaked in Emerald City and came to my rescue with the scepter she had. You may remember, Glinda. How you destroyed the scepter you had retrieved from me. But you could never find the other. Because it was in Laura's possession."

Glinda continued to listen to every word, face scrunched up in horror as if she could barely listen to this. Rabadan explain how he had played everyone for a fool for years.

"She rescued me and we discretely fled to her home in Oz. I spent the night with her and killed her in her sleep. I couldn't risk her switching sides again."

The three before Rabadan all gasped.

"And then.. I had it. The scepter. But I couldn't just repeat what I had done before. Brute force. No, that was driven by aggression and desperation. If I wanted to truly win, I knew I needed something... more tactful." Rabadan grinned, impressed with himself.

The man continued. "You see, simply attacking Oz was no way to go about it. What would it achieve? Even if I had succeeded. Oz decimated, but what victory would I have to bask in? I plotted, hidden away in the jungles with a fake version of me formed by my scepter filling in for me in the dungeon."

Bryson felt like he would throw up knowing they were all just pawns in Rabadan's game.

Rabadan noticed this, seeming to enjoy himself even more. "So I used my scepter to banish your dear Ozma to another realm. And I took her place. And I played the role of a bigoted nationalist seeking to impose my views upon Oz, the corrupt leader to push it all into motion. I summoned those theme park goons myself. I knew if they almost got away with it, I could begin plotting the end game. Because it would show the Ozians the threat of outsiders.. I had portrayed myself as a nationalist ruler to stir the anti-outsider and pro-outsider debate. To create division and chaos. Give the people of Oz something to fight for. A reason to go to war. To show you all that Oz is no fantasy land, no utopia. It's as corruptible and as bleak as Earth."

Bryson sank further to his knees, his stomach aching from the dread.

"I made sure with the magic of my scepter that all the old evil of Oz would return. To get everyone on this conflict. And it worked better than I could have ever imagined. I only had a few general scenarios of what could happen, but everyone on all sides of this have proved to be worthy chess pieces. And it has been so satisfying watching you all scramble to figure out what was really going on."

Rabadan then looked at Glinda. "All this effort to prove Oz was a great place. And for what?"

He then looked at Bryson. "And you.. oh, you. You fool. I was the one who created that alternate version of you. With my scepter.. I created a universe exactly like yours. One that was decades ahead of us, so you would be my age. I wanted to see what you'd become if I had never revealed myself to you. And I was right, Bryson Scott. I was correct. Do you remember what I told you? That this land would ruin you? Make you bitter and spiteful? I was right. You surpassed me, really! Wanting to kill all off everyone and destroy not only Oz, but Earth. You not only became like me, you surpassed me. And I hope your future self haunts you every night that you're desperate to sleep."

Bryson was trembling on the ground.

Rabadan.

His number one enemy, this whole time. This entire time, he was a piece in Rabadan's chess game. They all were. It was all him.

One man could corrupt one land.

"Oz... is corruptible..." He gulped, voice barely above a whisper.

"Victory is sweet. Bested by a fourteen year old boy and his little girlfriend. Who you still seem quite fond of." Rabadan chuckled and stroked his scepter. "And now I've ruined you."

Bryson shook his head, trembling on the ground.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance, Bryson Scott. You could've had a happy Oz adventure and moved on with your life. But no, you spared me. And here I am. And I'm not finished with you now. Not after you beat me. I'm going to devote the rest of my life to tormenting you. Bask in my victory until the end of time." Rabadan laughed.

"What could you possibly do to piss me off more?!" Bryson yelled out weakly, voice muffled as he punched the ground, face still staring at it.

"I'll get to that in due time." Rabadan chuckled.

"You're a monster!" Dorothy screamed, eyes filled with tears. "We'll stop you like we did before!"

"Oh, dear Dorothy. That spunk never leaves you. But I am afraid all is lost for you. My plan is complete. I've stripped the Child of Oz of us his powers and they can never return to him, thanks to my magic. And there are no Ruby Slippers to help you this time." Rabadan sneered. "I am the only being left in Oz with power this godlike. I am the true ruler of Oz."

"Children! How could you involve children?! You could have faced us like a man, you cretin!" Dorothy yelled.

"Children were vital to my little revenge plot, dear Dorothy. Oz is a children's product in the real world. And I wanted children here to hate Oz as much as I do." Rabadan squinted. "I only sent over a few children to see them hate the land. Tommy, Charlotte, Kyle, Colton. Four is nothing to be worked over."

"Wait, you sent them?!" Bryson yelled.

"I did. Both originally and now. To give them the illusion of adventure.. and then take it away. I knew Tommy was the Child of Oz. I knew he would unlock his powers and fix the mess left behind. I wanted to show that just because the theme park goons were gone, it didn't mean the debate they had sparked had gone. Just as I plotted, it led to war." Rabadan boasted.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU! KYLE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! THIS WAR HAS CLAIMED SO MANY LIVES! SCARECROW, TIN MAN, LION!" Bryson screamed, jolting up to stand.

"Kill me?! What could you possibly do against me? I have virtually unlimited power. And with the time I've had, I've become far more skilled with my scepter. I've cast a spell to ensure it only works if I am the one wielding it. It's over." Rabadan said definitively. "Don't deny the truth, Bryson. If you hadn't been pretending to be something you were not, they would still be alive. You had the chance to unite Oz and you failed. And I would be forced to admit that Oz was the loving and gentle place you claimed it was. But that's not what happened, Bryson. Is it?" Rabadan asked, cockily tilting his head.

"Your actions pushed the war into place. I've seen your heart in your future self and you were more than willing to kill millions. Why should the opinion of a person with death so heavily tied to his name judge me? I can see where the Wicked Witch gets her obsession with you, you make her look like a saint." Rabadan argued.

"He's a good man! He's always had nothing but everyone's best interests at heart! That version of him was your creation! He may have been the same in many regards, had some of Bryson's flaws, but you're the evil! You killed these people, you awful, wretched man!" Dorothy yelled.

Rabadan smirked, not paying any attention to Dorothy's comments. "Bryson Scott, your torment is just beginning. But I have a few more guests I'd like to have. To witness this."

Rabadan squinted, using his mind to activate the scepter's powers.

Suddenly, Gwen and Rebecca were standing near him. Gwen was wearing a purple long sleeve dress that went down to the floor along with a purple cape. With high heel boots and fancy eye-shadow and lipstick, all of the same color, though Rebecca was unchanged.

Then, Rabadan used the scepter to cause Jester to appear. The Jester's clothes were now black and white, his face painted white with red lipstick. He laughed like a madman taking the upmost pleasure in the situation.

And then, he used the scepter to cause Nome King to appear.

And then.. Evanora.

And then.. Theodora.

"And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. They were all in on this, too. Theodora and Evanora, all of the old evils of Oz were more than happy to plot with me, knowing it would result in the defeat of those they hate. They have their own priorities, and Theodora, I promise to eventually let you do as you wish with the fake Wizard once I take a break from tormenting him."

Bryson looked around to see all the villains of Oz looking at them with big grins. Evanora cackled to herself.

What somehow hurt him most was seeing Theodora had worked with Rabadan. But she wasn't laughing, she was stoic. Silent.

"And I of course couldn't have done it without my wife.." Rabadan motioned to Rebecca. "And my daughter." Rabadan motioned to Gwen.

"Oh my god.." Bryson gasped. How far had this plan gone?!

"Young Thersea, poor girl. She had never met her best friend's father. Because I was so busy jumping from my world to Oz." Rabadan shook his head and laughed. "Oh, that reminds me."

Rabadan used his scepter again, and two chairs across from each other appeared.

Thersea was tied to one, and Ethan was tied to the other. Their hands and feet were trapped, with their mouths gagged as they muffled out cries.

"You piece of shit!" Bryson hissed. "Where's the children?! Have you done something with them, too?!"

Rabadan put a hand up. "Shhh..."

Bryson shook his head. Rabadan had a child and a wife?! Bryson presumed this was done during the ten years he had begun his rule. He hoped to God that Rabadan hadn't done any damage on Earth, too.

It all made sense, now. Why these Gwen and Rebecca figures were so determined.

"Ah, that's the last thing I was going to mention. I made up the custody battle. My lovely wife and daughter fooled you all quite well! Amazing acting skills." Rabadan laughed. "They were marvelous behind the scenes these past few years. I needed to compare the evils of Earth with the evils of Oz. Set up a story, really. A poor young boy taken from his mother, and they go to Oz. And then they.. win out, right? Live happily ever after in the fantasy land? Ha! I took the typical layout of a troubled child being whisked away to Oz and turned it on its head. To continue showing the true bleakness. And it worked as a great distraction... occupying your mind to distract you from the truth, Bryson Scott.."

Thersea gave a muffled scream. It seemed she was distraught, knowing that a custody battle that had tormented her was all just a small part of Rabadan's game.

"I would say that maybe someone could come to the rescue.. perhaps the Witch of the North, Glinda's dear sister. But.." Rabadan used his scepter again, and Snowmella's body suddenly tumbled onto the ground, bloodied and motionless in her icy dress. She was dead. "I took care of her."

Glinda cried out, an uncontrollable sobbing mess as she trembled on the ground.

"Music to my ears!" Rabadan laughed at Glinda's cries. Bryson felt as if he would pass out. He had even killed Glinda's sister. No one he had known had ever been so evil.

"And now... the reveals are over. And it is time to begin your torment, Bryson Scott." Rabadan chuckled.

"Do your worst, you've done everything already!" Bryson yelled.

"Not everything.." Rabadan grinned. He used the scepter to suddenly levitate Glinda and Dorothy, who gasped as they were forced to sit on Rabadan's lap. Rabadan wrapped both his arms tightly around them, but still gripped his scepter.

Dorothy gulped. "I... what are you.."

Rabadan suddenly pointed his scepter at both women. Both their mouths hung open and they seemed dazed, lips twitching. They were silent now.

Theodora's face formed a slight smirk. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy those two being at our mercy.." She hissed, voice filled with hate and the need for revenge. "Brats." She hissed again.

"Un-hand them! What the hell are you trying to do with them?!" Bryson yelled at Rabadan, ignoring Theodora.

Rabadan stroked the backs of each woman on his lap. "I'm sure you'd love to know, but I'll let you think about the possibilities elsewhere. But don't worry! You'll have company!"

"No.. please! Please don't do this! Glinda doesn't deserve this, and.. and.. Dorothy! Don't hurt her, don't hurt Dorothy! Please, please! I'll do anything, Rabadan! Anything, don't hurt Dorothy!" Bryson pleaded, sinking to his knees. He was screaming, voice cracking and sounding unrecognizable.

Rabadan laughed and Bryson looked up to see the two women still on his lap, Rabadan chuckling.

Theodora's eyes shifted over to Bryson's cries and her smirk was gone. She was frowning now, pouting and looking at the floor as if she were now almost ashamed.

"Theodora, help!" Bryson cried out on instinct. She was the only free person in this world who had ever showed him kindness, even if it was fake and for her own gain. He was scared. And he didn't know what to do.

Her face twitched, and she just looked at the ground. Evanora laughed loudly at Bryson's desperation.

Rabadan laughed loudly. "As if the Wicked Witch of the West herself is going to assist you! Oh, boy. I'll see you around, young Bryson. But for now, enjoy your banishment.. with some old friends!"

Rabadan used the scepter and Bryson tried to react somehow, but it was too late. He had been teleported out of the throne room.

...

Bryson was suddenly in a rotting swamp, body sat against a tree in the wet grass next to the dirty water.

He coughed at the smell, shaking his head. "Wh.. what..."

He looked around at the scene, and then looked over to see the dead bodies of Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Kyle on the ground.

Scarecrow's clothes were half torn and burnt, his face gone with ashes of straw along the clothes.

Tin Man seemed normal enough, but his head was missing.

Lion and Kyle were pale, simply laying dead in the swamp.

He had never felt so hopeless.

This was it. After the highs and lows of Oz, his entire life.

This was the worst.

Everything felt dark.

He curled his legs up and sobbed to himself.

Rabadan had complete control of Oz. He had no idea where the kids were. And Rabadan seemingly had dastardly plans with Dorothy and Glinda at his mercy, thanks to that scepter.

"S-so-so-some day I'll wake and rub my eyes... and in that land beyond the skies you'll.. f-find me.." Bryson gagged. He was singing to himself through his intense sobs.

"S-somewhere... o-over the rainbow..." He sang to himself as if to somehow comfort himself. "Way up high.." he sobbed. "Th-th-th-there's a l-land.. that I h-heard of... once in a ... lullaby..."

That land was gone.

And now, even in Oz.. he was dreaming of a place over the rainbow.

...

Rabadan was Ozma the entire time, pulling the strings in secret since the second story. Where does Bryson go from here?