In the Enchanted Forest, Daring and Rosabella were searching for Gilda's friends. Rosabella looked at the picture Gilda provided on her Mirrorphone. "Hopefully, we'll find Gilda's friends in time. They could be hurt."
Daring laughed. "Fret not, Rosabella. This Prince Charming will prevail in our grand and glorious quest!"
"Daring, it's not just about you, y'know." Rosabella reminded. "Our friends are helping too, y'know."
"True. But can our friends handle an evil witch that has taken over Oz?" Daring inquired. "That's a job required for a true hero!"
"Guys!" Raven's voice called out from above. She, Coral, and Ginger arrived on the scene riding on Raven's pet dragon, Nevermore. The dragon flapped her mighty wings as she landed, causing clouds of dirt to hit Daring and Rosabella.
"My hair!" Daring screamed. Rosabella coughed as she tried fanning the dust away with her hands.
"Sorry, guys!" Raven apologized.
Coral slowly slid off of Nevermore's back and landed her feet on the ground despite her wobbly legs. "Whoa...my very first dragon ride..." Her face broke into a feverish grin of excitement. "That was the coolest experience of my entire life!"
Ginger got off Nevermore as well. "I'm not much of a dragon rider, but that was fun nonetheless!"
"Daring, Rosabella, we just saw Wicca flying in this direction!" Raven said.
Just then, Raven was cut off by the sound of birds. But not the peaceful chirps of songbirds commonly seen in Ever After.
"HIT THE DECK!" Raven screamed. Everyone ducked dowm in time as a huge flock of black birds flew just inches above their heads.
A few moments later, the birds were gone. Coral shivered as she looked up. "W-What were those things?!"
Rosabella picked up a stray feather belonging to one of the birds. "Judging from this feather, I'd say it was a flock of crows."
"A-ha! Wicca must have summoned those crows to do her evil bidding!" Daring deduced. "I knew she was behind this!"
"Whoa, Daring, let's not jump to conclusions!" Rosabella said. "Let's just-"
"This is no time to talk! Follow those crows!" The bombastic teen prince reached into his backpack and pulled out a sword. He let out a mighty battle cry and took off charging.
Rosabella sighed.
"Let's get on Nevermore." Raven said. "Let's go!"
The girls hopped on Nevermore and followed Daring. Coral noticed how Daring nimbly jumped over logs and cut down branches in his way as he charged forward. "Wow! Daring sure can move on those legs! I'm still getting used to running on my legs!"
"Yeah, at least Daring is actually making an effort to be a hero." Rosabella noted.
"Or he's making an effort to show off." said Raven.
The gang followed Daring and the crows to a huge clearing near the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest. There, they saw a rather unusual sight.
A girl with long, blonde hair was sitting on a fence while strumming a bango. She wore a short sleeve orange dress with yellow pom-pom fringe on the sleeves and skirt. There were crows perched on her shoulders, burlap hat, and all along the fence. She tapped her brown cowgirl boots to the beat of her bango and started to sing.
"When you've got a brain, you always think a lot.
There's so many wonders that'll give you many thoughts.
Like, what makes a kingdom? Or what's right or wrong?
Or how to play a banjo and sing a little song?
When you've got a brain, when you've got a brain.
Sure, you'll feel some strain, but it comes with having a brain."
As she played, the crows cawed to the rhythm as some danced in the air.
"When you've got a brain, there's many ways to learn.
Life is full of surprises, many twists and turns.
When you hit the books or take in many sights.
It really makes you wonder when you're comin' home at night.
When you've got a brain, when you've got a brain.
Sure, you'll feel some strain, but it comes with having a brain."
The girl strummed into another toe-tapping banjo solo. The crows flapped their wings and squawking to the beat. When the girl finished her song, she heard applause. Looking up, she saw a group of kids she's never seen before.
It was Raven, Coral, Ginger, Rosabella, and Daring. They were clapping for the young musician.
"That was amazing!" Raven praised.
The girl smiled and hopped off the fence. "Thanks!" She walked over to the group of friends. Once Raven and her friends got a good look at her, they each gasped in alarm.
The girl had stitches on her neck, arms, and legs. Her skin wasn't actually skin, but rustic burlap. Up close, she looked like a living rag doll in cowgirl boots. "Howdy!" she greeted. "Hayley Scarecrow, pleased to meet 'cha!" She politely took her hat off to the stunned humans. In the middle of her head was a hole that was stuffed with straw.
"Y-You're a scarecrow?!" Ginger muttered. She watched a crow land on Hayley's shoulder. "But I thought scarecrows scare birds away!"
Hayley shrugged. "I'm suppose to but...I don't have to." She pet the crow's little black head. "Plus, I don't see how someone like me can scare anyone." She scratched her neck. She scratched it harder. "Hold on." She put down her banjo and pulled a string on her neck, undoing the seam. She pulled her head right off and a crow came out of her neck stump.
Ginger and Coral squealed. Raven shuddered. Daring shrieked and held onto Rosabella.
"Wallace! I was wondering where you were!" Hayley said with her head in her hand. She gently set the bird down to the ground then took out a needle and thread. She began sewing her neck back on while everyone else stared blankly.
Once her head was reattached, she returned her attention to the humans. "So, is this Ever After or did that tornado take a wrong turn?"
"Yeah, you're in Ever After all right." said Raven. "Gilda rounded up a search party to find you guys."
"She did, huh?" Hayley suddenly paused, then blinked twice. "Uh..." She scratched her head. "Um, where exactly am I again?"
"Ever After." said Coral.
Hayley blinked. "Oh, yeah! I forgot."
"How could you forget that?" asked Daring.
Hayley shrugged. "It comes with being a scarecrow. My head's all stuffed with straw instead of brains. Speaking of brains, who's up for a song?" She picked up her bango and played a few notes. "How about you, honeycomb? Care to sing along?" she asked Coral.
Coral shook her head. "Oh, noooo! I am not a very good singer!" she responded quickly. "My voice is terrible!"
"Really? I thought mermaids were great singers!" said Raven.
"I'm a sea witch, meaning I'm only half mermaid." Coral said. "I couldn't carry a tune if my life depended on it."
Hayley played a few notes. "Well, it never hurts to carry a tune when you hold it's handle. Go on, give it a try."
With a sigh, Coral let Hayley play a little melody and opened her mouth to sing. The moment she did, Raven, Ginger, Daring, and even Rosabella covered their ears in agony. Coral's voice sounded like a thousand wailing guitars going through a trash compactor.
But Hayley kept playing as Coral sang. She didn't looked phased at all from Coral's awful singing. The crows squawked like mad and flew away from the area as fast as their wings could flap.
Just then, Coral stopped singing and uncorked an unholy scream. Her hand flew to her arm as she fell to her knees.
"CORAL!" Raven screamed. Before she could rush to help her friend, Ginger screamed and fell to her knees.
"GINGER!" Rosabella and Daring rushed to Ginger's aid.
Hayley stopped and hurried to help Coral, but a voice called out, making her stop.
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM, HAYLEY!"
Turning around, Hayley and Raven saw a girl with long, brown hair that was tied into two braided pigtails charging right at them. The girl ran so quickly, Raven thought she was part wolf like Cerise. She stopped on a dime, creating a cloud of dirt that blinded Raven. As the dirt stung Raven's eyes, the girl pulled out a glowing dagger from her belt.
While Raven was disoriented, the pigtailed girl belted out a battle cry and attempted to stab Raven with the dagger.
"STOP!" Hayley shouted. But her plea fell on deaf ears.
The dagger stopped mere inches from Raven's shoulder. The kind-hearted sorceress managed to open her eyes and gasped, backing away fearfully as her attacker was suspended in mid-air by a magical green aura. The girl grunted, struggling to move, but she couldn't free herself.
Behind Raven's attacker was Wicca, her green eyes glowed fiercely. Her stretched out hand revealed she was the one who saved Raven's life. She turned her hand into a fist and the magic twisted the girl's arm, forcing her to drop the dagger.
"I should have known you'd be here." Wicca growled in her throat. "You just can't resist an opportunity to kill anyone you think is a bad witch..." Her eyes glowed brighter. "Daphne Gale."