Disclaimer, the usual
Dorothy awoke on the couch of gale hall to three things. The feeling of something furry and fluffy brushing up against her feet, causing her to giggle. Said furry and fluffy thing jumping into her lap, and the smell of something good cooking in the kitchen. Her eyes opened and she stretched. She found a fluffy cat with snow white fur on her lap. She stared at it for a moment as her vision cleared from sleep. It took a moment to notice the collar, and yet another moment to register something else.
"Ozma?" she asked with a giggle
"guilty" she replied.
"you know Glinda's going to throw a fit if she sees you in that form?" Dorothy asked rather rhetorically.
"I wouldn't say so at the moment, she's a bit busy, actually she was here not long ago with Madeline and Elphaba in tow." She said, "we've been asked to only leave the house if we plan on going straight to the emerald city via the slippers and scepter." She said
"why?" dorothy asked, both concern and curiosity entering her voice.
"because there's what Mads referred to as living magic out in town." Alex said coming into the living room
"Living magic?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.
"Yep, its why mads brought the collar, figured you'd need a distraction, she also brought a book that I've been looking through while dealing with breakfast, and one of the cooking pots." Alex said straightening his cuffs.
"anything interesting?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Only that living magic is a rare thing that forms every now and again, magical energy just sort of pools and congeals in one spot. It gets a life of its own, and usually tries to latch onto the strongest source of energy it can find." Alex said looking towards the window, "which considering the amount of energy you've absorbed in the past…" he trailed off here.
"Basically puts me on the menu." Dorothy said sighing, "anything else?"
"only that there isn't a real counter to it, only thing to do is keep it isolated and confused enough so that the mass loses cohesion and disperses" he said walking over, scratching Ozma behind the ears.
She let out a purr.
"Oh I can see why you like this so much" she said moving into Alex's hand, "that feels really nice" she said.
"I know, right?" alex asked with a chuckle.
Dorothy giggled and rolled her eyes.
"well, seeing as we're basically supposed to stay put for the moment, what did you and the cooking pot prepare?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I prepared some scrambled eggs, the cooking pot, I'm not sure, breakfast casserole I guess." He said looking back at the kitchen and shrugging, "I suppose we'll find out in a bit."
"well, first things first." Dorothy said, her mood improving, "lets get the collar off of you, Ozma." She said quickly getting it off.
This turned out to be a mistake as things stood, or rather sat. it was one thing to have a cat on one's lap, quite another to have a fairy princess on it. Dorothy, in her stupor of waking up, had forgotten that Ozma was still in fact on her lap and as she rapidly changed back to her normal form, she found herself sat on Dorothy's lap. She giggled, alex couldn't help but laugh.
"Smooth." Came the voice of the beast
"okay, 10 points for style." Alex said laughing, "minus several million for good thinking." Alex said helping Ozma off of Dorothy's lap.
Ozma then proceeded to help dorothy up, smoothing down her dress and giving her a quick kiss. She giggled in response to this.
"although, I must say" Ozma said with a giggle "your lap is quite comfortable for a cat." She said
Dorothy smiled and rolled her eyes, returning a kiss to her. This resulted in Ozma blushing.
"Feeling left out?" Dorothy asked looking over to alex.
Alex shook his head, a smirk on his face. "nope, you two can continue." He said as they arrived in the kitchen
The three sat down at the kitchen table as they had the evening before. A large plate of scrambled eggs in the center next to the cooking pot. Looking inside it, they could see a layer of browned shredded potatoes. Underneath appeared to be a mix of ground beef and what appeared to be carrots.
"I'd say a casserole" dorothy said, "though it's the wrong pan for it."
"fair." Alex said sighing.
As the three served themselves a loud bang shook the house. The three of them shared a glance.
"Sounds like a party out there" Alex said, "think we should check the crystal ball in the palace?" he asked.
"no need." Madeline said as she appeared in the room, causing the usual reaction.
She flicked her wand and a large crystal ball that dorothy recognized appeared, it was the one from castle west. Before dorothy or any of the others could remark however, she was gone as quickly as she had arrived. Waving her hand in the direction of the crystal, it immediately lit up.
"try to get it confused, that was a big burst, everyone within a mile must have felt it." Came Madeline's voice.
They watched as the picture in the crystal moved to writhing bubbling blood red sludge in the middle of them. it looked angry, if a puddle of sludge could ever be described as angry. None of them liked the look of it. Even looking at it one could feel the energy. Knowing that it was functionally right outside didn't help to keep them at ease.
The three of them slowly ate as they watched. Glinda, Elphaba, and Madeline all kept a fair distance away from it. Soon Rose and the jester joined them. it twisted this way and that, unable to settle on a target. It frothed and gurgled. It looked even angrier. Dorothy began to feel sick watching this display. Her conscience told her she couldn't just sit by and watch this. Then she heard a voice, it was rather childlike, though its tone was rather mature sounding.
"you can go out there" it said
Dorothy looked around, she found herself becoming a little confused.
"it will try to go after you but it will never reach you" the voice said
"Kitten?" Alex asked, his tone becoming worried.
Dorothy blinked and shook her head to clear it.
"yea?" she asked, somewhat in a daze
"I know that face, don't" he said firmly, "don't even think about it!" he said
"think about what?" dorothy asked, still dazed.
"about going out there to help" both alex and Ozma said in unison
Alex opened his mouth to say more when this time the voice entered his own head.
"it wouldn't harm her, it would never make it to her" the voice said.
Alex looked around, almost with the air of a confused dog. Ozma looked at both of them, a worried expression on her face. Within moments several things happened. Dorothy held her hand out for the scepter which flew to it, within seconds she had the slippers on and was out the door. Alex following rapidly behind. Ozma immediately drew her silver fairy wand and joined their flight, she didn't feel good about what was going on, but something in the back of her mind started to nag at her, telling her it would certainly turn out alright.
As they approached the mass, it became more agitated. And then several more things happened that none of them would ever be able to satisfactorily explain, even for themselves. Almost like she was being driven towards it, dorothy charged towards the mass, Alex's hands began glowing as though a transformation were about to happen, but it didn't. the scepter let out a loud ringing noise and before dorothy had even realized what she had done she had taken the scepter like a javelin and thrown it at the mass.
What came next, even Glinda had to admit shocked her. Just as dorothy was about to throw the scepter, the mass of living magic twist and rose up into what could only be described as a miniature vortex. And as the scepter made contact, there was a loud bang and a rush of energy that staggered all of them. Alex had put his hands up, and a barrier of glowing magic had formed in front of him. Keeping himself and Ozma protected. A green bubble had formed around dorothy. As for the scepter, it began absorbing the mass. The living magic seemed to seep into it, flowing into it as though it were water going into a sponge. Within seconds all of it was gone and the scepter was floating solitarily in the middle of all of them.
"well" the jester said looking at it, "that was…"
"something" Rose said, finishing the sentence for him.
Soon dorothy and alex both found themselves in the parlor of Castle garrison. Dorothy didn't feel aware of having been moved there, the scepter was floating in front of her. She could hear alex talking to the others, giving a rundown.
"and then this voice just went through your head?" the jester asked
"and I assume Dorothy's" alex said, pouring a cup of tea and placing it in front of dorothy.
At this moment her ears started ringing, she suddenly found herself back at the kitchen table in gale hall. She could hear distressed voices, but now they were muffled. Alex's voice was the only one she could work out in any way clearly. Suddenly the taste of peppermint tea reached her mouth, and it was strange as she was presently staring down her serving of casserole for breakfast.
"eat up, trust me you'll need it" came the voice again, but this time it wasn't in her head, it was in front of her.
It was a shape seated across from her, it seemed to take the shape of a young girl. Based on the height, 10 or 11. It had no other features apart from the shape. She stared at it for a moment, and then proceeded eating. The flavors melding in her mouth in a uncomfortable mix of peppermint, shredded potatoes, sausage, and cheddar. But she found herself unable to draw away from the food.
"your silence is unusual in a case like this" the figure said, getting to her feet.
"my…" Dorothy didn't even get the entire word to leave her mouth before being cut off.
"your mind is elsewhere, well, that's mostly right, technically you're in two places at once." The figure said approaching her.
This statement had no real effect on Dorothy, she wasn't amazed, nor shocked by these remarks. She continued to eat.
"you're not even curious, I know that, but I know quite a bit about you two, however, for the moment my time, and this spell are brief." The figure said, "so ill be quick."
Dorothy found herself nodding.
"I had tried to pull alex here, but he's still technically between bodies, both he and his counterpart are in control separately. His desire to keep you two safe over powers even this dangerous little spell." She says "but I was able to get you, this was a moment that needed to happen, that I personally knew must happen."
At this point Dorothy had finished her serving of food, and her attention was completely turned to the figure.
"but who or what are you?" she asked curiously.
"you already know the answer to that." The figure said, turning to the crystal ball, "I have to say though, being technically one of the first to have this opportunity, its inaccurate to define just one form of magic as living, all magic, by its very nature, is a living force, it just bends its will to suit the user." She said
Dorothy said nothing in response to this. She simply found herself nodding.
"you learned recently that one thing you thought true, was not so." She said, "that magic had its limits, this is accurate to an extent but inaccurate as a whole, as Cassandra taught, provided you know the calculations you can theoretically do anything so long as you're willing to pay the price and face the consequences." The figure said beginning to glow.
"and you're a consequence of something?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"nope, I am no more than a player, though this spell does have a consequence, being split in two to be in two places at once is no good for the timeline, technically we're in a timeline where you didn't run out to the writhing mass outside but alex and Ozma both did, at the same time you are sat in castle garrison drinking peppermint tea, and based on some things the tastes don't mix." She said.
"you know…" Dorothy found herself getting cut off once more.
"I speak in run-on sentences? No flies on you, well done" she said with a chuckle. "time is doing his darndest to right things as we speak, that's why the spell is brief, but you know what it means when its said an event had to happen?" The figure asked, sounding as though she did not expect an answer.
The image of that mysterious girl flashed through her head, their time spent in the sanctuary, the consequences of the past and the future meeting, even momentarily. The memory of the notes, of the things they had seen.
"that these events are guiding us to a specific future, one that we know happens." Dorothy said nodding, "a future that extends into the past, as we know that Glinda had an encounter long before we were ever in oz." Dorothy said.
The figure nodded, and giggled.
"the puddle of magic was always going to be there, whether we were all here or not, events pushing you all here were technically irrelevant in the grand scheme of things." The figure said lighting the crystal ball.
It showed the field now, empty, except the spot where the puddle had once been. The grass there dried out, not the yellowish green that one would be accustomed to seeing in Winkie country but now more of an orangish brown color.
"what you all encounter is condensed magic, a form of magic you have technically encountered and harnessed before, though not in a viscous form." The figure said tapping the crystal ball again.
The image shifted, to a scene long past. Dorothy stood on a balcony, rose and the jester with her. The day the crystal broke, and magic was shunted through her.
"magical buildup isn't uncommon, its just that some of the forms it takes are less noticeable." She said making the crystal go dark "while others, are noticeable but mistaken for something else, and even still more just never get noticed and fade back into the ether." The figure continued, "magic is literally everywhere, like I said, it surrounds everything and everyone, some are more attuned to it, some have to learn to attune to it."
Dorothy didn't even bother to say something, this figure was frustrating her enough, and she knew she would not get a word in. she didn't know why though. She watched the figure as it circled her. It then stopped again, basically standing right at her side. The figure whispered into her ear.
"but none of this really matters to you does it?" it asked
It was then that dorothy became aware of something, that while not strange, still disturbed her. This figure had no breath. It either did not, or could not breath.
It was now that she heard Ozma and Alex exclaim at once.
"pacified and split!?" was all she heard, and it sounded like she was hearing it through a barrier.
"seems they've worked it out" the figure said with a giggle.
Now that the figure was right next to her, she heard something she hadn't been expecting. A pinging, ringing sound. And she was sure she recognized it. It made the feeling of annoyance grow in her.
"you don't know how powerful you can be, but that doesn't matter to you at the end of the day, what matters to you are the people you care about." She said. "and that's what makes you, perfect." She said.
Dorothy opened her mouth to say something. But was cut off once more.
"it's what makes you perfect, and him too." She said with another ringing giggle. "he uses the power, but only because the curse makes it impossible not to, and no matter what he can never be rid of it, but that isn't all" she said
Suddenly dorothy felt weird, a new weird. She was seeing something, through her own eyes. She found herself on the sofa of castle garrison. Everyone standing before her. What was unusual was what she was seeing, but she knew on instinct no one else could. She seemed to be surrounded by some sort of bubble. She couldn't move to try and touch it, only continue the action she was partaking it, which was sipping a cup of tea. And then she noticed it. The bubble was distorted, stretched to contain more individuals. Two more. Alex, and Ozma.
"Bonded by the soul" the voice said.
This actually did cause a reaction from the two, who looked around confused. They remarked on it but dorothy found that despite being present she could still hardly hear it. Then suddenly she found herself being yanked back to her presence in gale hall.
"A three fold cord is not quickly broken" she said "and that will always be so."
"so" dorothy immediately stopped herself before she could be cut off.
"Oh, you're getting good at this game." The figure said, her voice sounding pleased. "your thoughts were, what you've both decided on, adding a third, might have acted as a catalyst to what is happening to you now" she said
Dorothy simply nodded.
"and you would be partially correct, it is a catalyst, but not for this." She giggled, "but that will have to wait, keeping you split and maintaining two timelines is rather draining, and I assume that father time will be here to set it right five minutes ago"
As if the prove a point the booming voice of time himself was heard.
"in that you are brutally correct, the timeline itself is already in flux, but you already had the calculations needed to maintain it without breaking it." Time said walking over, "Ms. Gale, you are presently in a state between temporal equilibrium, technically between two points, running parallel to each other, they pull towards but can never intersect, which is why hearing things from your true timeline sound far away." He continues "she needed you isolated, to make it easier, she wanted the others, but because of the limitations of it, she could only settle for you."
"the living magic was the boost I needed, its presence was enough to give me strength to prod in the right direction" the figure said
"but in splitting her, you also split yourself, which is why to stand here in this form." Time boomed, "but you've said what you must, and Miss Gale is none the more educated by you from it, I reunite you two, in your proper time, but I ask not to meddle in my domain again." He said holding his hand out.
In a flash dorothy found herself on the couch in castle garrison yet again. She took a sharp breath in and coughed as though she had been holding her breath that entire time. She found herself pulling both alex and Ozma into an embrace. So many voice now were speaking at once. All asking the same questions. Questions she wasn't sure how to answer.
