Disclaimer, well you get the point
Fair warning, this chapter is LOONG.
Back in Kansas.
Kansas was quiet, it was still, and now it had a threat. Just outside the Gale Farmhouse, one of the imps stood giggling to herself. She had heard the wish of Aislynn and was ready to grant it, if only for a quick laugh. She watched silently through the windows of the house, zipping here and there. Her job was, currently, to find out who was going to be in their power.
She wasn't allowed to make any decisions on that effect unless she begged. And even if her sisters would allow her the pleasure, she only got it once. She loved to have fun, almost the same way as her sisters. But as far as the acts went, she was tired of being a literal third wheel, she tried to make friends. She excelled at being different by doing stuff on her whims, and she was tired of the routine ALWAYS going the same way. The three imps were children of Mother Nature, and were punished for their nature. And their nature was to use magic, stolen and otherwise, for their own amusement and to make others particularly miserable.
This third imp was the most repented of the bunch, but she could not act against her sisters without someone ordering her to do so. There was magic protecting them as well as the vice versa. Her name was not as ugly as her sisters, and if you read above and have a dictionary on hand you may be able to guess it. But at this moment she had a magical note pad in her hands. Holding it up, immediately the pages filled with names of people whom had left Oz through the means of magic. Turning herself invisible and undetectable she immediately found herself in the bedroom of Dorothy gale. She had just gone to sleep having finished her nightly routine. the imp noticed on the dresser a golden band ring, Nome made, and sighed in relief because had Dorothy been wearing it, their game would have been a bit trickier. Searching her mind while she was asleep, she found fun memories of adventures, her fears and her hopes. But found something peculiar to her.
She found out about the girls direct but one-way connection to a girl in Oz named Madeline. Much as she wanted to explore this avenue instead, she was on a job as commanded by her sisters. The girl practically leaked magical energy, and that had been what had made her the target in the first place. She also found, hidden by a very powerful mix of a transformation spell and a glamor spell, feline features. She was cat like but still definitely of this outside world. She next found herself in Em and Henry's room and when she noticed the triplets, had she been of pale skin, it would have been white as chalk.
Invisible to all who are not of fairy origins, the triplets were marked protected by mother nature. Which to this particular imp was rather curious.
"why?" she asked herself, "would mother only protect these three but not the rest?" she added curiously.
She knew if she so much as laid a finger on them, it would bring mother down on them quick and the game would quickly be over. She would not touch the triplets, nor their parents sleeping in the bed across from them, she would tell her sisters they were off limits, and with no knowledge of magic the parents were of little consequence anyway.
Next, she found Aislynn's room, and what she found odd, was that somehow, she seemed to be unable to access the girl's thoughts or memories. And had she known about Lily and Violet, she could have easily found out why and how the girl had accomplished this. But to the Imp, this suggested a rather good amount of intellect. But this was the same girl who had made a wish, the one she was granting. To make life here a little more interesting, if only for a time. Scratching all this down onto the notepad, she smiled and quickly found herself at the Bobbin residence. She was quickly coming to the conclusion that the adults around here were of very little consequence after going through their thoughts. They were the kind of people that were they to be transformed, would panic at first, but having been to Oz would wait for someone else to figure out the solution. Her sisters would find the adults boring quickly as they would acclimate quite a bit quicker, and unamusing to watch. When she found Betsy, however, she found a fighting spirit, as well as instructions to her next target. In a winking, she was at the Griffith residence.
Asleep in an uncomfortable looking position was an old sailor with a wooden leg. She wasn't entirely sure if her sisters could actually make a transformation out of him. But his mind was full of stories so he was so far one of the more amusing adults she had been around. The child's parents were an awkward mix between boring and amusing but that was all that could be said for them, they didn't seem the type to rely on others for magical assistance but would take it if offered. However, when she got to trot, she found something that she found just as curious as the protection of the triplets. Trot had been properly marked by sea fairies; her case was just as unusual as that of the triplets as the marking implied protection of some sort.
In another instant, she found herself at the teak residence. This place was in the thoughts of the girl she had followed. Strong thoughts were pinned to this place, and to a particular resident whom she knew was not here. The adults were fun loving but they made for boring victims. It was obvious to her that Imps had not been known in this outside world for many years, has superstitious thoughts seemed to be very slim at best. People of the Nonestic Landmasses were way more amusing as they had heard of their hijinks. But this was what her sisters wanted, and until someone said her name and got her at their command, she was unable to do anything more than defy them verbally. Annabella however, was different. The Imp found thoughts of the absent one in her mind, the girl looked up to her brother. She would make an amusing spectacle to say the least.
The next place she ended up was an apartment that seemed to reek of magical energy as well. All the residence here were from Oz. however, this time she found the situation in a sort of inverse. While the parents could be transformed, she found the girl, Ellie, was under quite a bit of protection. Next to her bed was a special sword, that neither she nor her sisters could touch, and while it remained, the girl was untouchable. On the dresser there were many trinkets and trappings including a wand, which seemed rather out of place. But not as out of place as a charm it rested on top of. A gold an emerald medallion, the emeralds in a studded pattern of a leaf. It was a charm that she knew could not be forged, and the fact that it was glowing slightly showed that it was a genuine article. This girl too had the protection of mother nature, the only solace out of that was that the charm was only good for one person.
And in another instant, she found herself at Hugson ranch. These people were of very little consequence, having just been introduced to magic in the recent months. She quickly scratched them off the list. And in another instant, found herself at the house of Jon foreman, a formidable old man. Tall, lanky, almost scarecrow like in proportions. But he had a fighting spirit as well, he would definitely prove interesting to watch.
Oddly, in his head, she found other names, people who had left Oz some time before the events of their awakening, but she decided the list of young mind, and three adults were enough for a fine game, and her sisters would get many a target in Oz. and she quickly found herself back the gale farmhouse, where her sister happened to be waiting.
Meanwhile, in the emerald city.
By this time the imps had already begun their work. They knew that their sister will have been successful in her venture, just as she always was, and they were pleased as the two approached the room of Madeline. they found she was a difficult case, something strange. She two was in two minds, but from what they could tell the connection was only one way. They could feel her thoughts and the thoughts of another inside her head.
"she bears a resemblance to that girl our youngest sister followed." Imp-ertinent said with a childish grin on her face, "like the boy you mentioned back towards the queen, she is in two minds but not quite the same."
The two giggled quietly though they knew they could not quite be heard. Imp-Ertinent decided to check how their sister was doing to ensure she hadn't made any bungles with the job they had set her, as while she always proved successful, could also be quite careless at times. Leaving Imp-Udent to deal with the others. She giggled and rubbed her hands together. She looked into Madeline's thoughts and found a memory, the connection was one way, and the features between the two were shared. So, the one who left would only need to be transformed by their magic to affect this one. She took from her pocket a magic notepad and scrawled a message on it which vanished immediately. She then turned her attentions to Morris, Wendell, and Jack. She immediately centered her sights on Wendell for he was no man, but a rabbit in the shape of one. He would be the easiest to change. Jack, she looked at slumped over on the chair he would make an interesting creature, a sloth, she thought would suit him best. She giggled and pointed in his direction and immediately where Jack and been laying a sloth was in its place. She was delighted it had worked, for there were few forces in Oz or in any fairy country that could oppose these transformations.
Turning her attentions to Morris, she read his thoughts, always in competition with Wendell, a never-ending match. She decided to even the odds between them. Pointing at him, he immediately turned into a brown rabbit, with large floppy ears.
Immediately Madeline's eyes shot open and she sat up. She reached into her sleeve for her wand, and when she noticed what was happening, she quickly turned and noticed the Imp. Immediately Madeline put up her hands in surrender. It took Madeline a few minutes to work this out in her head, and she quickly realized. They were all a part of the game now.
"you know who we are?" Imp-Udent asked curiously.
"you're Imps, which means 1000 years are up, and we are in quite a pickle." Madeline said sighing,
"unfortunately, your other half proved too tempting a target, you and your friends are now part of a rather interesting game." Imp-Udent said giggling.
This did not set Madeline's mind at ease, she was aware, at least from Dorothy's standpoint that Imps, elves, and fairies, were not particularly common in the outside world. This meant trouble, something Glinda… and her thoughts trailed off for a moment. She really hoped the Imps didn't catch Glinda unawares or that could cause many problems. It seemed the Imp's game this time, was transformation. Which made them dangerous. What made the situation more dangerous was the fact, that she knew at this moment, neither Dorothy or Alex were in anyway really protected, she knew they had both removed the rings that they had been given, which was understandable, it is indeed uncomfortable to sleep with jewelry on. But Alex only slept with his sword in arms reach, he did not always keep it strapped to his belt. She wanted to warn him but unfortunately, she was powerless against an imp. Soon however, an odd sensation began to creep through her. Like she was being pulled, but at the same time, she was herself. She hiccupped, once, twice, three times. Then quickly turned into a cat, her wand clattering. Imp-Udent pulled out a small notepad and giggled.
"you are a very interesting case Hatter, you and your other half." Giggled Imp-Udent, "in this game you have a very specific handicap, you and your double will constantly be switching forms, never knowing when the next change is coming, but while one of you is the cat, the other will be in their normal shape, as of now, the game has officially begun."
Back in Kansas.
Imp-Ertinent was not pleased with what she had found, but her sister had done her job right. She found Dorothy a very interesting case indeed. And had concocted the plan of having her in a transformation loop fully by the time her sister had mentioned the hidden feline features. They were visible now, and had already silenced Toto and pockets. Which she knew her younger sister would undo once the game was at full steam. On her first transformation, Dorothy found herself wide awake. And two creatures she didn't immediately recognize. Immediately the youngest imp cleared her throat.
"Consider yourself lucky Ma'am, your friends wont fair as fortunate with transformations as far as this goes." The Imp said, though Dorothy could hear some sympathy in her voice
Dorothy opened her mouth to object but instead hiccupped, once, twice, thrice, and quickly changed back into a cat.
"what are you?" Dorothy asked glad that she could still speak in this form.
Imp-Ertinent giggled, there was no set time between transformations, the length was completely random. When her sister mentioned the protection, she was bother but too agreed that, for the sake of not incurring the wrath of their mother. Not to touch the triplets or their parents. But the Youngest imp stood in the way of her sister before they got to Aislynn's room. Imp-Ertinent knew what was coming at this point. Her young sister would immediately begin begging to do the job herself. Usually Imp-Udent was on the receiving end of the begging for a place in the game that wasn't the role of score keeper. She wanted to just say no and deal with it herself. But she decided if it was only one, then this one would have to do. And quickly the young imp found herself alone. When she got to Aislynn's room she simply pointed, and immediately a rather large dove now stood, flapping angrily, and beating its wings.
"well you did wish for things to become interesting, did you not?" the Imp asked with a giggle.
Imp-Udent, however found herself at the Bobbin Residence, everyone there, to her seemed boring. And as the small foot note on the pad her sister had given her said the adults indeed seemed of little consequence. In fact, that foot note seemed to apply to all of the adults as she would quickly find out.
She picked Betsy's transformation with a little bit of care, pointing at her, Betsy quickly transformed into the shape of a rather small bulldog. Just as with the others she was immediately roused by this sudden transformation. Immediately a voice rang through the house though, she had only heard a little of it before she found herself at the Griffith residence. The captain, she did not feel comfortable trying to transform, for he only had one real leg, and messing with the peg leg could prove messy.
Trot on the other hand, she would not touch, while she aware they were nowhere near the sea, she was aware of the large lake in town, and a watering hole of that size was bound to have a few water sprites around it. She had wondered why her sister had not crossed her sister off the list and then assumed she had put very little thought to the idea. She did however, like the parents, and after a few moments, transformed them both into a couple of parrots. Her reasoning, they could keep the captain company. Immediately the same voice from before began to echo through the house. But imp-ertinent had no time to lose.
The teak residence was next. And she quickly found Annabella. She was surrounded by a literal menagerie of stuffed animals, but the one in her arms served as inspiration for her transformation. Searching Annabella's memories, she immediately found more information about the boy Imp-Udent had mentioned. The magic she was envisioning was frighteningly familiar, and they knew that Alex would be a tougher nut to crack, but no matter, by the time she had finished with this. Her younger sister would already have returned to Oz. Pointing a finger at Annabella, immediately she was turned into a grey wolf pup. Giggling as she watched Annabella furiously try to pounce on her.
"you are unable to harm me, little pup." Imp-Ertinent said with a giggle
And immediately she found herself at the apartment of the uplands. Immediately she turned her focus on Ellie, but found the girl both awake, and now on the defense, just as her parents ran out of their room. Immediately Mr. and Mrs. Upland found themselves as small doves, now flying angrily at her. She found this funny as they could not harm her, it was still too early in the game for that. But searching Ellie's mind for a moment, told her, the family had been warned. And she immediately found herself in the presence of Jon Foreman before she could blink. This tall and imposing fellow reminded her of something like that of a scarecrow, but she would not transform him into one of those. She was sticking with the animal theme. The man stared at her; he too had been warned but was unable to move. He seemed to like to dress fancy. But in his mind, there was no pomposity. initially she figured a Stoat or a weasel would be best. But then pointing at him, Jon Foreman quickly found himself as a green badger. Looking at her pad again she noticed a household crossed off. blinking, she found it was the most normal of a group she had ever heard the thoughts of. They were all awake, no doubt warned by whomever was attempting to meddle.
"warned or not it's of no consequence, the game is on." She said giggling, and quickly vanishing.
Back in Oz.
in Ozma's room, was where Imp-Pertinent now stood. She dares not transform the daughter of the queen of the fairies, it would not bode well for them. She had tied up and gotten rid of another loose end and that was enough for her. But Ozma could prove a challenge, make the game less fun. She raised her hands in front of her and immediately something began to shimmer. In front of her an invisible wall was beginning to form, impenetrable and inescapable unless one of the Imps willed it. For Ozma's magic was something they could not contend with if she confronted them with it. They had to get her out of the way. Ozma, however through instinct, quickly realized something was wrong and was quickly awake. But it was too late, the barrier had been made. Instinct told her she was stuck, but it also told her that this was an Imp.
"what do you hope to gain from trapping me?" Ozma asked curiously.
"Just a few laughs." Imp-Ertinent replied.
The imps were mostly harmless, they just did this kind of thing for sport. Ozma was also aware that as they had awoken, they were all now part of a huge game. She sent a spell at the barrier now in front of her, only for it to fizz out before it reached it. She would've tried a transport spell but knew it was hopeless. This imp had trapped her for nothing more than a laugh, it was a cruel game, but all things considered, at least from her standpoint, a harmless one. Though, she would learn a few hours later that the game, did indeed come with casualties. She knew that with these Imps, things were going to get interesting, and become more nonsensical than usual. She sighed, escaped was out of the option, but as she had her wand, she could still keep herself comfortable. Her thoughts, however, were broken by the sound of the scepter, ringing like a church bell, in its usual warning.
Yes, like I warned above, this chapter is rather long winded. When I write, even in rough form I tend to have a hard time making a two parter that flows properly. But live and learn. However the next chapter will be, rather different as it were.
