Chapter 10: Jack and the Wizard of the West

The winged woman flew Jack over to an ominous castle and led him to the main throne room, which was pitch black. She bowed before an entity Jack couldn't see and said, "Here is the man you wished to see. We dare not harm him, for he is clearly an agent of good. Your power over our band is over. You will never see us again." So saying, she backed away into the darkness and disappeared.

Jack looked up into the darkness. He could not make out any kind of form, but he saw two eyes open and stare right into his soul. Jack knew he knew the entity. What could it be?

"So," the being said in a raspy whisper, "you are the one who destroyed my fiancée."

"You speak of the Wicked Witch of the East?" Jack said uncomfortably.

The entity groaned, in an affirmative manner. "We were going to marry, then overthrow the Wizard of Oz and rule this pathetic country."

"I was involved in that, yes, but you cannot blame me. Nature herself caused the great wind who brought the large house to this land--"

"SILENCE!" the wizard demanded. His voice made the walls shake, but it was barely over a whisper. "You will pay dearly for this crime. Forevermore, you shall be my slave. If you ever attempt to escape, you will die. I hoped you had enjoyed those moments in the sun, for they will be your last."

Jack would have asked right there what the wizard had done with his sword, but then unseen minions pushed him out and set him to his tasks. They were very unpleasant and included cleaning and gathering ingredients for magic potions. The worst thing was that he wasn't allowed any light, save for a very dim torch. He didn't give up hope, though. He knew his sword had to be somewhere, and once he found it he would take this wizard down.

One evening, as he was cleaning the chimney flu, he could hear a loud conversation outside.

"We've come to harness you like a horse to this cart."

"No! I won' let ye do it! If ye come any closer, I'll bite ye!"

"Fine. Enjoy starvation."

So, this was the fate of the Lion. That evening, Jack snuck out of the castle with some scraps from his last dinner. "Lion!" Jack whispered.

"Who's there?"

"It's Jack."

"Ah, Jack. Sorry, laddie, I've just been kinda pressured lately."

"So I've heard." Jack gave him the bits of food. "It is not much, but it is much better than no food at all."

"Sure is." The Lion gobbled it up. "So, have you thought of any ideas of getting out of here?"

"I must concentrate on defeating the Wizard first."

"You sure? I'd rather get out of here."

"Perhaps you are a coward. We came to destroy this wizard, and that is what we are going to do. I just wish I could see. Why is he so particular about the darkness? And what has he done with my sword?"

"Well, can ye defeat him without yer sword?"

"I had a friend who advised me that if I lost my own sword, I should find another. It is going to be hard to find anything in the dark, though."

But Jack searched the castle, up and down, and couldn't find his sword anywhere. Luckily, in his rare jobs in the throne room, he found a huge axe hanging on the wall. His hand happened to come across it. Yet, he soon found out what was harder than finding a weapon in the dark was fighting the mysterious entity in the dark. He hit the being several times, but most of the time was a clean miss. One time, he hit the wall and heard shattering glass. A harsh ray of sunlight told him he found what used to be a window, and that it was afternoon. The entity screamed. The light fell on its face. Jack could not believe his eyes.

"Aku!"

"Curse you!" the Wizard yelled. "Do you not know that sunlight would be the end of me?"

Jack was hardly listening. "How could you be here and the Emerald City at the same time?"

"Emerald City!" Aku groaned. "I had no ties with the Emerald City since I chased the Wizard of Oz out of my domain!"

Jack was confused. Aku swore revenge and faded away.