Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor respect their great works.
For many years, this story has given faithful service to the Young in Heart; and Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion. To those who have been faithful in return, and to the Young in Heart; I dedicate this FanFiction Crossover.
(Kansas - 1930)
Kansas, the Sunflower State within the United States of America. Great prairies. flat acres, and fields made up the land on every side with not a tree, house, nor river breaking the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun baked the plowed land into a gray mass with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color seen everywhere. In the middle of this bleak, rural setting lived a slightly orphaned Kansas farm girl. Her name: Dorothy Gale.
Dorothy Gale was a girl in her early teens, twelve-years-old. In fact, she looked more like a young woman. She was polite, generous, honest, sweet-tempered, humble, compassionate, and incredibly mature beyond her years, behaving in a civilized manner, but also smart, loving, and brave. Dorothy had fair skin, sapphire blue eyes, and long brown hair with two braided pigtails over her shoulders that were tied halfway with blue bows and loose on the bottom. She wore a white, short-sleeved frock with a white-blue checkered overall dress, light blue socks, and old shoes.
With the farm girl was her pet dog, Toto, who was a small male Cairn/Yorkshire Terrier with long black, silky hair and small black eyes on either side of his wee nose. Both of them were running down the prairie dirt road away from the schoolhouse and a disastrous encounter with the snooty and mean-spirited neighbor, Miss Almira Gulch. They were in a deep dilemma. Dorothy soon stops and kneels down to Toto to check up on him.
"She isn't coming yet, Toto. Did she hurt you?" Dorothy says stroking Toto's back with her right-hand
Dorothy picked up her small dog and held him closer to her.
"She tried to, didn't she? Come on. We'll go tell Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Come on, Toto." Dorothy says
Putting her dog back down on the ground, Dorothy and Toto continue running up the road until they reach an old farm with a small, white farmhouse, and a red barn. This was the home of married farm couple, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.
Aunt Em was a hard-working, middle-aged woman who was always helping her husband, Henry with the farm, but was affectionate at times to her niece, Dorothy. She had grey hair and brown eyes, wearing a grey dress with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a dark grey apron, and brown shoes.
Uncle Henry was a humble farmer who knew only the simple, peaceful ways of farm-life. Like her wife, Em, he was very fond of Dorothy and even views her as his daughter. Henry had grey hair and brown eyes, wearing a tan shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a brown vest with a tan shirt underneath, dark tan pants and shoes.
Dorothy pushed past the white gate to the farm and went over with Toto to her aunt and uncle, who were busy counting chicks from an old, broken-down incubator.
"Aunt Em! Aunt Em! Aunt Em, just listen to what Miss Gulch did to poor Toto. She tried to-" Dorothy says
"Dorothy, please. We're trying to count." Em says
"Oh, but, Aunt Em, she hit-" Dorothy says
"Don't bother us now, honey. The old incubator's gone bad and we're likely to lose a lot of our chicks." Henry says
"Oh, that poor little thing." Dorothy says
Dorothy picks up a small chick in her hands and followed Aunt Em as she places some chicks in an open box with others that were already inside.
"Oh, but, Aunt Em, Miss Gulch hit Toto right over the back with a rake just because she says he gets in her garden and chases her nasty old cat every day." Dorothy says
The middle-aged woman takes the chick from her niece's hands and puts it into the box.
"Seventy. Dorothy, please!" Em says
"Oh, but he doesn't do it every day! Just once or twice a week. And he can't catch her old cat, anyway. And now she says she's gonna get the sheriff and-" Dorothy says
"Dorothy. Dorothy. We're busy." Em says looking back over her right-shoulder
"Oh... Oh, all right." Dorothy says
Backing away quietly, Dorothy leaves her aunt and uncle to tend to the chicks and wanders off elsewhere on the farm.
Near the barn house and the pig pens, three men were attempting to fix a broken wagon. One was crouched down underneath the wagon, trying to make a fix underneath the left-rear wheel, one had a toothpick in his mouth, holding up the wagon, and the other observed from the other side of the wagon. These three farm hands were Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke, friends of Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry, who helped work around the farm. Hunk was the one fixing the wagon, while Hickory held it up for him, and Zeke was the one observing the work.
Hunk wore a yellow hat, a tan long-sleeved shirt with a brown vest, greenish-grey work gloves, dark khaki pants, and brown boots.
Hickory wore a brown hat, a dark forest green work jacket with a khaki shirt underneath, brown gloves, black pants, and black boots.
Zeke wore a yellow hat like Hunk, a burgundy shirt, brown gloves, khaki pants, and black boots.
"How's she coming?" Zeke asks
"Take it easy." Hunk says
While trying to repair the wagon, Hunk's left-index finger gets caught and he pulls his hand out, shaking it.
"Ow! You got my finger!" Hunk exclaims
"Well, why don't you get your finger out of the way!" Zeke says
Hickory sets the wagon down in place while Hunk shakes his hand and sucks his finger to ease the pain.
"There you are." Hickory says
"Right on my finger." Hunk says
"It's a lucky thing it wasn't your head." Zeke says
Dorothy approaches the three men, Zeke specifically, and talks to him about her incident with Toto and Miss Gulch.
"Zeke, what am I gonna do about Miss Gulch? Just because Toto chases her old cats-" Dorothy says
"Listen, honey, I got them hogs to get in." Zeke says
With a metal bucket and pole in his hands, Zeke goes off to tend to his task. Hunk overheard the conversation and offers Dorothy his insight on the matter.
"Now lookit, Dorothy, you ain't using your head about Ms. Gulch. Think you didn't have any brains at all." Hunk says
"I have so got brains." Dorothy says slightly offended
"Well, why don't you use 'em? When you come home, don't go by Miss Gulch's place. Then Toto won't get in her garden, and you won't get in no trouble, see?" Hunk says
"Oh, Hunk, you just won't listen, that's all." Dorothy says
"Well, your head ain't made out of straw, you know." Hunk says
Dorothy walks away, leaving Hunk to resume working on the wagon. While he wasn't looking, Hunk smashes his finger with the hammer, causing him to silently yelp in pain. The Kansas girl approaches the pig pens a little way further down from the barn just as Zeke herded the hogs into the pen.
"Say! Get in there before I make a dime bank out of ya." Zeke says
Once the last of the pigs were in, Zeke closes the gate to the pen with a pole, then grabs a metal bucket and dumps seeds into the troughs for the pigs while Dorothy walks along the fence between the two pens, balancing herself like on a tight rope.
"Listen, kid... are you gonna let that old Gulch heifer try and buffalo ya? She ain't nothin' to be afraid of. Have a little courage, that's all." Zeke says
"I'm not afraid of her." Dorothy says
"Then, the next time she squawks, walk right up to her and spit in her eye. That's what I'd do." Zeke says
Suddenly, Dorothy loses her balance and falls into the right pig pen.
"Oh! Oh!" Dorothy says
Seeing that Dorothy had fallen into the pen, Zeke immediately puts down the bucket and jumps over the fence and into the pen to save the Kansas girl, shoving past the pigs to reach her.
"Oh! Zeke! Help! Help me, Zeke! Get me out of here!" Dorothy exclaims
Upon reaching her, Zeke frees Dorothy's right-leg, which had gotten caught in the fence, and picks her up, carrying and holding her bridal style out of the pen. Hunk and Hickory quickly came over, hearing all the commotion and helped Dorothy out of the pen as Zeke set her down.
"Are you alright, Dorothy?" Hunk asks
"Yes, I'm alright. Oh, I fell in, and Zeke..." Dorothy says
Zeke collapsed on a haybale and held his chest with his left-hand, feeling the rapid pace of his heartbeat. He wiped the sweat from the back of his head and his forehead while trying to catch his breath. Dorothy, Hunk, and Hickory noticed how scared Zeke was as they watched him.
"Why, Zeke, you're just as scared as I am." Dorothy says
"What's the matter? You're gonna let a little old pig make a coward outta ya?" Hunk teases
"Look at you, Zeke, you're just as white..." Hickory says
Aunt Em walks in on the scene, brushing past Hunk and Hickory with a plate of fried crullers in her right-hand, wondering what the commotion was about.
"Here, here! What's all this jabber-wapping when there's work to be done? I know three shiftless farm hands that'll be out of a job before they know it!" Em says
"Well, Dorothy was walkin' around-" Hickory says
"I saw you tinkering with that contraption, Hickory. Now, you and Hunk get back to that wagon." Em says pointing back at the wagon with her right-thumb
"Alright, Mrs. Gale." Hickory says
Hickory starts walking, but then he turns back and faces Aunt Em with his right-hand stretched and pointing upward and his left-hand over his heart, as if he was posing himself as a statue.
"But someday, they're gonna erect a statue to me in this town! And-" Hickory says
"Well, don't start posing for it now." Em says
Hunk laughs and Aunt Em offers the two men some snacks.
"Here, here. Can't work on an empty stomach. Have some crullers. Just fried." Em says
"Gosh, Mrs. Gale." Hunk says
"Swell." Hickory says
The two farm hands both take a fried cruller and walk off to return to their task while Aunt Em moves on to Zeke.
"You see, Dorothy toppled in with the big Duroc-" Zeke says
"It's no place for Dorothy around the pig sty! Now, you go feed those hogs before they worry themselves into an anemia!" Em says
"Yes, 'am." Zeke says nodding his head
Zeke gets back up and goes back to taking care of the pigs, leaving Dorothy with her aunt. Perhaps now she would listen to her about Toto and Miss Gulch. Taking a cruller, Dorothy proceeds to talk with Em as they walk together for a moment.
"Auntie Em. Really, you know what Miss Gulch said she was going to do to Toto? She said she was gonna-" Dorothy says
"Now, Dorothy, dear. Stop imagining things. You always get yourself into a fret over nothing. Now, you just help us today and find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble." Em says patting her niece's back four times with her left-hand
Dorothy stops and watches as her aunt walks off, heading elsewhere to do more chores on the farm and pondered over what she said.
"Some place there isn't any trouble." Dorothy says
The Kansas farm girl looks down at her dog on her right as he stood loyally by her side.
"You suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be." Dorothy says
Dorothy walks around on the farm, pondering more on the thought as she dreamed of a care-free, more colorful world.
"It's not a place where you can get to by a boat or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon... beyond the rain." Dorothy says
Dorothy stops near a tall haystack and looks up at the sky, gazing up at the clouds as she began to sing.
(Over the Rainbow - Starts)
Dorothy:
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high
The Kansas girl leans back against the haystack for a moment, still singing.
Dorothy:
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby
Moving away from the haystack, Dorothy tosses away the cruller in her hand, walks over to a two-wheeled horse drawn hay rake and leans against it, holding onto the oversized metal wheels with her hands.
Dorothy:
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Toto jumps up onto the seat of the hay rake as Dorothy turns to face him.
Dorothy:
Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney-tops
That's where you'll find me
Dorothy sits down on a haybale and gazes up at the sky, continuing her singing.
Dorothy:
Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow, why then, oh why, can't I?
The Kansas girl stares up at one particular spot in the clouds where beams of sunlight shine down on the land as she finishes up with her song.
Dorothy:
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why, can't I?
Dorothy turns to Toto and touches his head with hers, closing her eyes with a smile.
(Over the Rainbow - Ends)
Devon arrives in Kansas, walking along the dirt road among the prairies. He was curious to know which world he was in now. Not only that, but he also noticed that everything, including him, had a colorless, brownish sepia tone.
"What the...?" Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder looks over himself and his clothes.
"Uh... Okay, this is weird. Why is everything brown?" Devon says
Shrugging off the strange new feeling, Devon places his hands at his waist and gazes around at the many acres of prairies and fields that surrounded him, noticing that there wasn't much around him.
"Whatever world this is, it looks old. Very old. I wonder if there's anyone who lives around here." Devon says
The young teen looks up at the road that stretched out infront of him, going on and on for miles.
"Well, nowhere but forward." Devon says
Just as Devon started walking, a group of Nightmare Dream Eaters appeared infront of him on the road, causing him to stop. These Nightmares were three Necho Cats, three Pricklemanes, two Yoggy Rams, and a Staggerceps.
Necho Cats were Dream Eaters that had a musical theme with a long neck, six legs, two whiskers on either side of its face, bells on the tip of their pointy ears and collar, and an eight note-shape for its tail.
Pricklemanes were small, hairy lion-like creatures mostly consisting of a head with feet, a tail ending with a spiky tuft, and a spikey mane that covered most of its body. The Dream Eater Nightmare emblem was located on the bottom section of its mane.
"Dream Eaters!" Devon exclaims
The young teen turned around and saw more Nightmares of the same number and type appear behind him.
"Oh, great." Devon groans
Devon swings his right-hand over to his side and summons his Keyblade: Soul Calibur in a flash of blue light, getting into battle stance as the Dream Eaters surrounded him, looking backward and forward to see which side would strike first.
Back at the farm, Dorothy and Toto were still together by the hay rake when Toto's ears and head perked up as he looked out at the dirt road, sensing that something was wrong. Then, he started to bark, which caught Dorothy's attention.
"Toto? What is it?" Dorothy asks
Without warning, the small terrier jumps down from the seat of the hay rake and takes off, leaving Dorothy surprised by his strange behavior.
"Oh, Toto!" Dorothy exclaims
The Kansas girl chases after her dog as he runs under the fence of the farm. She climbs over the fence and continues to follow Toto as he takes off down the dirt road.
"Toto, wait! Where are you going?" Dorothy says
After several minutes of running, Dorothy finally catches up to Toto as he stopped.
"Toto!" Dorothy calls
Dorothy kneels down to her dog as he was barking at something ahead of them. When the Kansas girl looks up, she was surprised by what she saw unfolding before her.
"Oh, my!" Dorothy gasps
The Kansas girl saw the Dream Eaters infront of her, but they did not notice her as they were more focused on the Keyblade Wielder in the center of the road.
The Dream Eaters attacked with the three Pricklemanes infront of Devon charging at him, only to be cut down by Soul Calibur. Devon slices through the first Nightmare with an uppercut slash and the second with a downward slash, then dodges the third Pricklemane as it lunges to scratch with its feet, ducking away to the right and dispatching the dark creature with a reverse roundhouse slash. The three Necho Cats behind Devon rush toward together with a triplet spin, but the young teen quickly turns and strikes them down with one wide right sweeping slash. Two Yoggy Rams from the same side both shoot two fireballs from their horns at the Keyblade Wielder, but misses as he leaps up into the air, dodging the attack. In the air, Devon swings Soul Calibur across his body with a right slash, launching two blue-white light blasts down at the Yoggy Rams, destroying them. Landing back on the ground, Devon jumps back as a Staggerceps throws a right punch at him, then leaps over to the left and ducks down as the large, beetle-like creature tries to bite him with its jaws. Devon hits the Staggerceps in the head with a backflip kick, then runs and jumps off its body with a spinning left slash before finishing it off with a thrusting strike.
The three Pricklemanes leap toward Devon and attack him with the needles on their manes extended. Devon held up his crystal Keyblade and defends himself with a Reflega spell, creating a spherical barrier of blue light with white transparent hexagonal panels around himself, which protects the young teen from the prickly Dream Eaters as they smashed into the magic barrier, sending ripples on its surface. Then, the barrier disperses in splashes of light, obliterating the Nightmares. The two Yoggy Rams behind Devon charge forward and attack him. The young teen turns around as one of the goat-like Dream Eaters rears up on its hind legs to stomp down on him, only to stomp the ground instead as he leaps back and dodge the attack. Devon strikes the head of the Yoggy Ram with a left slash, then jumps up and slams Soul Calibur down on its back, knocking it into the ground. Devon turns to the other Yoggy Ram on his right and quickly ducks down as it kicks its hindlegs at him, then jumps over the Nightmare with a somersault, striking its back with his crystal Keyblade and landing on the other side. The goat-like creature attempts to ram Devon with its horns, but he leaps away to the left and strikes it down with right slash. Targeting the three Necho Cats next, Devon raises Soul Calibur into the air and uses a Thundaga spell, summoning a cascade of lightning bolts from the sky that vaporizes the Nightmares.
The last remaining Dream Eater left on the road was the Staggerceps, which charged at Devon, running straight toward him with its four legs, while he braced himself. Just as the beetle-like creature was about to ram into him, Devon jumps and hand flips over the Nightmare, then spins around and strikes it in the back with a right slash.
While the Keyblade Wielder was busy dealing the Staggerceps, another one appears infront of Dorothy and Toto, much to her horror. The Kansas girl grabbed her dog as he barked at the dark creature and clutched Toto tight in her hands as it approached the two of them.
On Devon's side, he strikes the ground with Soul Calibur, knocking his target back with a blast of energy, then follows up with multiple strikes, hitting the Staggerceps with a left uppercut slash, a right, left, and right uppercut slash, and a reverse roundhouse downward slash. Then, he knocks the Nightmare into the air with a spiraling strike that hits three times, sends it back down into the ground with a frontflip kick, and finishes it off with an overhead strike, slamming his crystal Keyblade down on the Dream Eater, landing crouched on the road.
Devon rises up after striking down the Nightmare, then he heard a scream behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw the third Staggerceps infront of Dorothy and Toto with its right-hand raised to strike them while the Kansas girl turned away and closed her eyes shut. The young teen grabs hold of Soul Calibur with both hands and brings it over to his left-side as he now focused on the Dream Eater. In the blink of an eye, Devon slices through the Staggerceps with a right uppercut slash, delivering a single, impossibly fast strike to the dark creature and saving Dorothy and her dog before it could hurt them.
With the fighting now over, Devon stands up straight and let out a sigh of relief, de-summoning his crystal Keyblade from his hand. Noticing how quiet everything was, Dorothy opened her eyes and looked up to see her savior standing infront of him with a gentle smile on his face.
"Hey, are you alright?" Devon asks
"Oh, yes. I'm fine. Thank you." Dorothy says nodding her head
Devon extends his right-hand down to Dorothy, who smiled at his kindness, and took hold of his hand as he helped her up.
"My... You were so brave, fighting those monsters. Are you some sort of knight?" Dorothy says
Devon's eyes dart to the right and he shrugs his shoulders.
"Eh... Something like that... minus the shining armor." Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder chuckled a bit, then introduces himself to the Kansas girl, placing his right-hand on his chest.
"I'm Devon."
Dorothy gives Devon a courteous, princess-like bow and introduces herself to him.
"How do you do, Devon. I'm Dorothy Gale."
"Nice to meet you, Dorothy." Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder felt some tapping on his legs and looked down to see Toto up on his hind legs, resting his front paws on his legs as he was curious to meet the new human.
"Aww... Who's this cute little guy?" Devon asks
"Oh, that's Toto. He's my dog." Dorothy says
Devon kneels down to Toto on his right-knee.
"Hey there, Toto." Devon greets
The terrier stands up on his hind legs and rests his front paws on Devon's knee, licking his face happily with his tail wagging. The Keyblade Wielder chuckles and strokes Toto's back three times with his right-hand, then rises back up on his feet. Dorothy looked at Devon with a curious expression, noticing how different his clothes were compared to hers. Obviously, he was new to Kansas.
"You're not from around here, are you? Dorothy asks
Devon shook his head.
"No. Not really. I don't even know where 'here' is." Devon says
"Why, this is Kansas." Dorothy says
"Kansas, huh?" Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder glances around at the fields and prairies that was the only environment, then looks back at the farm girl.
"You live around here?" Devon says
Dorothy nods her head yes.
"I do, with my Auntie Em and Uncle Henry on their farm." Dorothy says
The Kansas girl turns back and points down the dirt road in the direction she came from.
"It's just down the road that way. I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to stay on the farm, if you don't have any place else to go." Dorothy says
As he looked at her, Devon had a feeling that Dorothy was an orphan like him. Seems like he's been meeting a lot of orphaned people in his journey like Eragon and Harry Potter. Probably one of the qualities of being him. Still, Devon was curious to meet Dorothy's aunt and uncle.
"Sure. I'd be more than happy to meet your folks. Lead the way." Devon says
Dorothy smiles and proceeds down the dirt road with Toto loyally following her, leading Devon back to the farm.
During their walk, Devon told Dorothy more about who he was and where he came from. How he was a Keyblade Wielder, a peacekeeper whose duty was mostly the same as a hero, keeping people like her safe. And he told her about his Keyblade: Soul Calibur and its amazing powers. As expected, Dorothy was completely fascinated by everything Devon had told her.
"Oh, my..." Dorothy says
"Yeah, I know. It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Devon says
"Why, yes. So much. I'm not sure how Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, or Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke will react." Dorothy says
"Actually, Dorothy, I think its better that you don't tell your aunt, your uncle, or your friends on the farm. They're probably less likely to believe in such things than you." Devon says
Dorothy looks at Devon on his left and realized that he was right. Aunt Em would probably think she was imagining things again.
"Oh... You're right. They wouldn't believe me." Dorothy says
Soon, after minutes of walking, Devon, Dorothy, and Toto arrive at the farm, and the Keyblade Wielder looked it over, seeing the white house, the red barn, the pig pens and chicken coop. Overall, it was small, yet simple. Dorothy was about to pull the gate open to the front yard, but Devon moves infront and stops her.
"Please. Allow me." Devon says
Devon pulls the gate and holds it open for Dorothy as she and her dog enter the yard first. He follows her and closes the gate behind him.
"My, you're quite the gentleman, Devon." Dorothy says
"You can thank my aunt and uncle for that. I've been taught to have good manners." Devon says
Devon and Dorothy were soon greeted by Aunt Em and Uncle Henry as they came around from the left of the house.
"Dorothy, there you are, dear. Henry and I have been wondering where you were." Em says
"I'm here, Aunt Em. Toto ran up the road, but I chased after him." Dorothy says
Em nods her head, then both she and Henry look over at Devon on their left, noticing him as he stood next to their niece.
"Oh, and who's this young 'un, Dorothy? A friend of yours?" Henry asks
"Why, yes. Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, this is Devon. He's new to Kansas. Toto is actually the one who found him." Dorothy says
Devon nods his head and places his right-hand on his chest, bowing his head in greeting as he did for Dorothy.
"Pleasure to meet you." Devon says
The elderly couple both smiled at the teen's politeness, and they shook hands with him.
"Well, howdy, Devon. Not often is it that we get visitors on the farm. If Dorothy trusts you, then you're alright in my book." Henry says
"I agree. You look to be a fine strapping young man, Devon. Well, we may not have much to offer, but do make yourself at home, and you're more than welcome to join us for supper later this evening." Em says
"I'd like that, Em. Thanks." Devon says
Then, Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke come around the house to the front yard, having finished with their jobs.
"Ma'am, the wagon's all fixed up." Hunk says
"And the hogs are all fed." Zeke says
"Thank you, boys." Em says
The three farm workers soon noticed Devon and each of them were curious to know who he was.
"Oh, hello. Who's this?" Hickory asks
"Well, if he's hanging around with Dorothy, then obviously he's a friend." Hunk says
"Boys, this is Devon. Devon, this is Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke. They help me and Henry around the farm." Em says
Devon steps up and shakes hands with the three men.
"How do you do?" Hunk greets
"Howdy." Hickory greets
"Put 'em there, pal." Zeke greets
"Pleasure, fellas." Devon says nodding his head
"Now, Hunk, Hickory, perhaps maybe you can look into getting rid of that old incubator. We'll need to get a new one." Em says
"Right." Hunk says
"Sure thing, Ms. Gale." Hickory says
"And Zeke, could you go see to the horses in the barn and feed them?" Em asks
"Yes, 'am." Zeke says nodding his head
The three men go back around the house and set off to their tasks.
"Dorothy, dear, could you help me and Henry tend to the eggs with the chickens?" Em asks
"Yes, Aunt Em." Dorothy says
"Do excuse us, Devon. Lots of work to be done around the farm. Do make yourself comfortable." Em says
"No problem." Devon says
And with that, Dorothy, Toto, Em, and Henry head around the farm, leaving Devon in the front yard as he watched them go.
Several minutes later, Devon leaned with his arms crossed against the fence near the dirt road that he and Dorothy traveled to get to the farm, gazing out at the fields and prairies that seemed to stretch on for miles and admiring the view of the countryside, wondering if anything else was out there.
Then, he saw something or rather someone coming down the road to his left. It was Miss Gulch, the nasty woman that Dorothy spoke about earlier, riding her bicycle toward the farm. She did not look happy as Devon could clearly see the sour expression on her face, even from his distance.
Miss Gulch or Almira Gulch was a snooty, mean-spirited neighbor and was also a wealthy land owner. She had white skin, black hair tied in a bun, and brown eyes, wearing a brown bowler hat with a black bowtie, a khaki grey dress, and black heeled boots.
"Uh-oh. Trouble." Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder moved away from the fence and moved closer to the house as Miss Gulch stopped her bicycle infront of the farm. Henry, who was standing in the front yard smoking his pipe, noticed the bitter woman as she arrived on his property.
"Mr. Gale." Gulch says
"Howdy, Miss Gulch." Henry greets
Devon hid himself along the side porch of the house and peeked around the corner as Miss Gulch climbed off her bicycle, pulled the gate to the yard open, and stepped in to speak with Henry, listening in to their conversation.
"I want to see you and your wife right away about Dorothy." Gulch says
"Dorothy? Why? What has Dorothy done?" Henry asks
"What's she done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!" Gulch says pointing down at her left-leg with her left-hand
"You mean, she bit you?" Henry asks
"No, her dog!" Gulch says
"Oh, she bit her dog, eh?" Henry asks
The gate to the yard bumps Miss Gulch from behind, causing her to jump with a slight start.
"No." Gulch says
Miss Gulch walks across the yard to enter the house with Henry following her, while Devon ran to find Dorothy.
Moments later, Miss Gulch sat down in the main room with Em sitting on another chair across from her. Henry stood behind the bitter lady while Devon and Dorothy stood in between them to the left of Em and the right of Miss Gulch. Dorothy held Toto tightly in her arms as both she and Devon witnessed the argument.
"That dog is a menace to the community. I'm taking him to the sheriff to ensure he's destroyed." Gulch says
Devon and Dorothy could not believe what they were hearing. Miss Gulch wanted to have Toto put down? Clearly, she was insane. There's no way a cute dog like Toto could possibly be a threat to anyone.
"Oh, come on, lady. This tiny little dog? A menace?" Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder held up the flaps Toto's mouth with his left-hand, revealing his tiny white teeth while gesturing to them with his other hand.
"With these little chompers? You must be outta your mind to think that." Devon says
"I assure you, young man, I am not." Gulch says
"Destroyed? Toto? Oh, you can't! You mustn't! Auntie Em!" Dorothy says
Dorothy hastily walks over to her uncle.
"Uncle Henry! You wouldn't let her, will you?" Dorothy says
"No. Of course, we won't. Uh, will we, Em?" Henry says
Distressed, the Kansas girl goes back to her aunt, begging her to defend Toto.
"Please, Aunt Em! Toto didn't mean to. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong. I'm the one that ought to be punished. I let him go in her garden. You can send me to bed without supper." Dorothy says
"If you don't hand over that dog, I'll bring a damage suit that'll take your whole farm! There's a law protecting folks against dogs that bite!" Gulch says pointing at Em with her right-hand
"How'd it be if she keeps him tied up? He's really gentle. With gentle people, that is." Em says
"Yeah." Devon says crossing his arms
"Well, that's for the sheriff to decide." Gulch says
Miss Gulch opens a flap on her basket and reaches inside, taking out a form, which was an order signed by the sheriff.
"Here is his order, allowing me to take him. Unless you wanna go against the law." Gulch says handing the form papers to Em
Em and Henry look over the papers while Devon and Dorothy watched. The elderly couple both shared defeated expressions and they looked over at Dorothy.
"Now, we can't go against the law, Dorothy. I'm afraid poor Toto will have to go." Em says
"Now you're seeing reason." Gulch says
"No..." Devon gasps
Miss Gulch stands up and grabs her basket with the flap still open, turning to Dorothy.
"Here's what I'm taking him in, so he can't attack me again." Gulch says
The bitter lady extends her basket to Dorothy, expecting her to comply with the sheriff's orders, but she would not have it.
"No! No! I won't let you take him!" Dorothy says
Angry at Miss Gulch, Dorothy slaps away the basket with her right-hand, then advances towards the hag as if she was ready to make a move on her.
"You go away, you... Ooh, I'll bite you myself!" Dorothy yells
"Dorothy!" Em says
"You wicked old witch!" Dorothy yells
The Kansas girl turned to her aunt, begging both Em and her uncle to not let Miss Gulch take her beloved dog.
"Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, don't let her take Toto." Dorothy begs
While Dorothy was pleaded to her aunt, Miss Gulch reached for Toto with her left-hand and tried to steal the small terrier from her arms.
"Hand him over! I have an order!" Gulch shouts
"No! Stop it!" Dorothy shouts
"Put him in the basket, Henry." Em says
"Don't, Uncle Henry." Dorothy says
Henry walks over to his niece and slowly takes the small terrier from her arms while he whimpered.
"Oh, Toto." Dorothy sobs
Devon felt bad for Dorothy and they both watched with painful hearts as Toto was put into the basket with the flap coming down over his head. The latch sealed with a small metal bar. Upset and heartbroken by what was going to happen to her precious pet dog, Dorothy turns and runs off to her room, crying. Devon, Em, and Henry watched as she ran off, then Em turned to face Miss Gulch, staring the black-hearted woman right in the eyes.
"Almira Gulch, just because you own half the county doesn't mean you have the power to run the rest of us! For 23 years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now, well, being a Christian woman, I can't say it!" Em says
Having said that, Em goes to console her poor niece, leaving Devon and Henry in the room with Miss Gulch. Henry sits down on the chair that Miss Gulch sat in while he rubs the back of his neck with his right-hand. The bitter lady looks at him and the old farmer just shrugs his shoulders.
While everyone else was inside the house, Devon stood out in the front yard and watched as Miss Gulch rode off down the road on her bicycle with a trapped Toto inside the basket behind her.
"Poor Toto..." Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder glances back at the house, thinking of Dorothy and how sad she must be right now.
"And Dorothy..." Devon says
As he stared at the small house, a burning rage began building up inside Devon as his sadness became replaced by anger. Toto was Dorothy's dog and Miss Gulch had no right to take him away from her. Devon turned back and looked down the dirt road that the wicked lady went.
"Law or not, she's not getting away with this!" Devon says
Determined to help Dorothy, Devon vaulted over the fence and ran down the road to save Toto from being put down.
Moments later, Miss Gulch was riding her bicycle down the dirt road with her sour look, focused on finally getting Toto put to sleep and ridding herself of the filthy animal once and for all. Little did she know that Devon was following her from above on the back of his Ryu Dragon Spirit.
"There she is." Devon says
The Keyblade Wielder saw the basket that had the poor terrier inside, sitting just behind the black-hearted lady. As he gazed down at the basket, he came up with a plan. Devon pats his Ryu Dragon's neck with his left-hand.
"Okay. Take us down. Nice and easy." Devon says
The Dream Eater Spirit nods its head in understanding and quietly soars down to Miss Gulch. As they descended towards her, Devon carefully climbed down the Ryu Dragon's left-side and held onto the Spirit's front paws with his hands. The Ryu Dragon grabbed its rider's legs with its hind legs and held onto the back of his jacket with its front paws so that Devon was flat out. Soon, they were inches above Miss Gulch, gliding silently over her. The Keyblade Wielder carefully reaches for the basket with his right-hand and grabs hold of the handle. Slowly, he lifts the basket off the back of the bicycle, and they fly back up into the air.
While the bitter lady kept traveling down the road, unaware of her now missing basket, Devon and his Dream Eater Spirit quietly touch down on the ground with the Ryu Dragon releasing its grip on Devon's legs and his jacket. The Keyblade Wielder drops down with a grunt and puts the basket down on the dirt. Kneeling down, he slides out the metal bar that secured the latch and lifts up the flap, allowing Toto to jump out into his arms.
"Good boy, Toto!" Devon says
The terrier licks the young teen's face, grateful that he had saved him from Miss Gulch.
"Aww... You're welcome." Devon says
Devon sets Toto down next to him on his left and rises up on his feet. He looks over to the Ryu Dragon on his right and nods his head to it. The Spirit nods its head and vanishes in a flash of light. Gazing back out at the road, Devon watches as Miss Gulch continued riding away, completely unaware that she had been robbed. Then, the Keyblade Wielder looks down at the basket that had contained Toto, balling his hands into fists. Raising his right-foot, he stomps down on the wooden basket, crunching it into a mangled, broken mess. Devon stomps on it three more times, then kicks the flattened basket away before spitting at it.
"Screw you, you old hag!" Devon says
Devon kneels back down to Toto and strokes his back four times with his right-hand, glad that he had succeeded in freeing him from the dreadful woman.
"C'mon, Toto. Let's get you back to Dorothy." Devon says
And so, Devon and Toto run back down the other way of the dirt road, heading back for the Gale Farm.
It took Devon and Toto a while to get back on foot, but soon they were back at the house, coming up to an open window. Devon looked inside and saw Dorothy sitting on the floor next to her bed, crying. With his right-hand resting on the window sil, the Keyblade Wielder called out to the heartbroken girl.
"Dorothy?" Devon says
Dorothy ceased her sobbing and looked up at the window, seeing Devon outside.
"Devon?" Dorothy says
"Hey. Someone's back to cheer you up." Devon says
Devon bends down from the window and picked Toto up in his hands, revealing him to Dorothy. The small terrier let out three happy barks and his tail wagged happily. The Kansas girl held a surprised look on her face as she saw Toto and was absolutely delighted to see him back home safe and sound. Devon released the dog from his grip and the little creature jumped onto the bed.
"Toto, darling! Oh, I got you back! You came back! Oh, I'm so glad! Toto." Dorothy says
Dorothy immediately hugged her dog and petted his back with her right-hand. Devon smiled as he was happy that he got Toto back to his rightful owner. He climbs up over the window sil, slides in and enters Dorothy's room.
"I got him back for you, Dorothy. It's not fair that such a sweet dog like him should be put down. That Gulch lady is twisted, completely out of her mind." Devon says
Dorothy turned and looked at Devon with such a happy expression, she hugged him out of eternal gratitude, catching him completely by surprise.
"Oh, Devon! Thank you!" Dorothy says
The Kansas girl pulled away from her hug for a moment and gave the Keyblade Wielder a kiss on the right-cheek of his face, causing him to blush red for a bit before pulling him back into a hug.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Dorothy says
Devon looked at Dorothy and returns the hug, wrapping his arms around her with a smile.
"Don't mention it." Devon says
As soon as they pulled from their hug, Dorothy realized something. With Toto gone, Miss Gulch will know that he had escaped. She grabbed Toto and held him close as she knew what would happen.
"They'll be coming back for him." Dorothy says
Devon scratched the back of his head with his right-hand, knowing that Dorothy was right. Since he had helped Toto escape, Miss Gulch would undoubtedly come back to take him away sooner or later.
"Yeah... That's true. No doubt Miss Gulch will bring the sheriff back in tow. So, what do we do?" Devon says
Dorothy stood silent for a moment before she quickly came up with a solution. If Miss Gulch was going to be coming back for Toto, then they would have to go someplace where she can never find them.
"We've got to get away! We've got to run away!" Dorothy says
Almost immediately, the Kansas girl grabs a traveling suitcase from under her bed and places it up on top, opening it up and began packing clothes inside. Then, once she was done, she went and packed a basket while Devon watched. The Keyblade Wielder wasn't really sure that running away from home was the best answer to all her troubles, but he knew that he had to watch over Dorothy.
Soon, Dorothy had finished packing her things and both she and Devon snuck out of the house and walked down the road. Little did they know that they were about to be whisked away by a coming storm that would take them on an incredible adventure together to another land far, far away from Kansas.
Author's Note: I bet nobody was expecting this. Yep. That's right. The next world is The Wizard of Oz. This one has been swirling around in my head for some time and I felt that I had to include it as a Sleeping World. Let's face it, The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved, greatest films of all time and it deserves high respect, especially for its talented actress: Judy Garland. My mother and I fell in love with her because of her singing voice and her acting. It is such a sin to have a lovely actress like her die at such a young age. A fun fact: my mother used to sing to me Over the Rainbow when I was a kid to soothe me when I was sad, and she has a lovely singing voice. She sung it almost as perfectly as Judy Garland herself. Still does and she's 60. Did I forget to mention my mother was quite a dancer too back in the day? And also, to anonymous (guest), I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to repeatedly decline on your OC or Godzilla KOTM ideas. I don't want to be that friend of yours that says he'll do it and it never happens. You say that you are not guilt-tripping on me, but that is exactly what you are doing, bombarding me again and again with these requests, and I really, really, really, really do not need this kind of agonizing stress. My brain cannot handle it. I know it is incredibly hard to accept, but sometimes there are some ideas that are meant to be scrapped and rejected. Can you at least go with option 3 for Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Dream Eaters, etc. instead please? I believe those would be much more beneficial and way better than everything else you've suggested, especially for the future installments I have planned ahead. You said you cared about the stories and everything in it and begged for a chance with your ideas. Well, this is what I am giving you out of goodwill and sympathy. So, if you truly do care, I'd take this opportunity and not squander it. So, having cleared that up, let me know what you guys think about the Wizard of Oz. Pretty good for a Sleeping World? No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!