Parker slept fitfully throughout the night. The clothes he chose to wear to bed was blue-and-white striped pajamas. It was festive, but he didn't care. He just wanted something to sleep in for tonight.

Eventually, he was roused from his dreamless sleep by the tolling of a golden bell. The sound of the bell chiming woke him up, causing him to look around his bedroom in a groggy state. He jumped upon seeing his evil/grey self, scarred and burned from head to toe, with his eyes flaming red and the whites in his eyes a pinkish color. His darker self looked angry in his tattered clothes, and yet Maranguan smiled menacingly at him.

"What are you doing here?" Parker asked, sleepily.

Maranguan laughed maniacally. "Oh, don't look so alarmed. I'm here to show you your past." He smiled widely, showing his blackened spotty teeth.

"You? I thought I was expecting a friendly spirit," Parker said, worriedly.

"Now, now, there's no time for that," Maranguan said, shrewdly. He smirked, loving this. "It's time for you to see your past. I'm here to show it to you."

"Whatever you want, it's bound to be bad and ugly," Parker said, not liking this one bit.

"Humph. You didn't always think things were bad and ugly, when I was still around," Maranguan said, walking up to the window and opening it.

A chilled breeze crept in through the window, making Parker shiver and attempt to cover himself up with a white bedsheet. Parker looked at Maranguan like he had gone mad. Had he lost his mind opening that window?

"Wh-what ar-are you d-d-d-doing r-r-right n-n-now, M-M-Maran-gu-guan?" Parker spoke through chattering teeth.

"Like I said, it's time for you to visit your past." Maranguan extended a light red, burnt, scaly hand. "Come with me, Parker. It's time."

Parker hesitated. Should he trust this spirit who looked so much like his evil/grey self? How could he trust it? Maranguan might turn on him and perform some wicked spell to make him dance! Or even turn him into a duck!

But lo! That didn't happen. Instead, Maranguan extended his hand, creeping up to him, demanding he take it. What was Parker to do? This spirit meant business!

"Come on, Parker. The only way you'll face your past is to accept me, for who I am." Maranguan said, sympathetic. "Come on. Who do you trust at this hour? Your family is asleep. You're awake. I say that it's time you learned a few tricks. Wouldn't you say?"

In a way, Parker agreed to Maranguan's wishes. He didn't know why, but this part of himself wanted to come out and play. Parked huffed, taking Maranguan light red, scaly, burnt hand, surprised when Maranguan flew through the air, taking him out the window and into the chilly night air.

.

Parker screamed yelping the whole time he and Maranguan flew. Parker didn't have wings, but the notion of flying was almost aggravating. How was Maranguan doing it? He didn't have wings.

"Where are you taking me?" Parker cried, frightened.

Maranguan chuckled. "We're visiting the past. There!" He pointed to a white portal floating in the air. "Through there is the past. Your past!"

"Ohhh!" Parker cried, not enjoying this.

In seconds, he and Maranguan went through the portal, coming out on the other side to the Land of Oz with its autumn colors. Maranguan let him down, as soon as they landed on the leafy ground. Parker stood up, gathering his wits about him as he tried to cope with what he just saw.

"No. It can't be. We're in Oz?" Parker looked up at Maranguan, confused.

"Do you recognize this house? This place? Where you grew up?" Maranguan asked, showing Parker a two-story farmhouse, complete with its own spotted cow and a red barn, where other animals lived.

Parker smirked, recognizing the building and the farmhouse, even the farmer, with his short brunette hair and donned in a yellow straw hat, and his wife that came out of the farmhouse. It was familiar to Parker as if it was yesterday since he'd been here, to this farmhouse.

"I recognize this building! I know this cow! I know that farmer and his wife!" Parker said, ecstatic. "This is where I grew up, shortly after leaving the First World. How could I forget?"

He stared in awe at the young dragonoid child, the one with the light red scales and the tiny grey horns that had only one curve. He knew who this boy was since this young dragonoid looked just like him.

"That's me!" Parker cried with a warm-hearted smile. "I was so young. Can he hear me? Hey!" He tried calling out to the boy, but nothing. The young dragonoid continued on with his chores.

"They can't see you or hear you. They can't even hear me," Maranguan said from behind Parker. "These are just images from the past. Moving images, but images nevertheless." He patted Parker's shoulder, watching the dragonoid lad go about his work with no delay, scaring the farm animals in the process.

Wait. It was coming back. Parker remembered this moment.

"Wait!" Parker hesitated. "Isn't this the day I lost the cow the first time? Bonny—Bonny Blue was her name. She was such a sweet, loving cow."

Bonny Blue reared up on her hind legs, darting out of the farm before Young Parker Dooley could catch her. Young Parker ran after her, only to be stopped by a gang of human boys, carrying a whip.

"I've got her! Bonny Blue, come here!" the farmer ran off after the cow, leaving Young Parker alone with the gang of human boys.

"Well, look what we've got here, mates! Parker Dooley, the thief!" the leader of the human gang laughed merrily, as did his gang of young boys.

"I didn't steal. Honest! Look me over! I've done nothing wrong!" Young Parker said, backing away from the young boys.

"I think we should teach him a lesson. Don't you agree?" the leader of the gang turned to his companions, who nodded in agreement, snickering.

"Please! What did I do to hurt you?" Young Parker asked, yelping in pain as the whip lashed against his smooth, scaly, light red skin. "Ow! That hurt!"

"It'll hurt worse for you! Come here!" the leader of the gang brandished the whip, scarring Young Parker on his arms, legs, and his body.

Parker stared at the scene in horror, surprised his farmer foster father wasn't doing anything to help, but his foster mother came outside, right as the gang of human boys tore off, back towards the woods. His foster mother looked at Young Parker, bringing the lad into the house as he wept uncontrollably, unable to hold the tears back. Parker stared at the human boys as they went inside, with his foster mother cleaning up Young Parker.

Maranguan shook his head, admitting to Parker, "It's a sad day for a dragonoid. No one understood you in Oz, didn't they?"

"No. Not a single person understood what a dragonoid was back then. It even went to the point where my foster parents made me forget I was a dragonoid. I couldn't stand it. Even now, I wonder why I was raised by humans," Parker sighed, not liking this scene, even as it changed to an older, teenaged Parker Dooley, playing with his models of ships and figurines.

"If it weren't for that lesson, then you wouldn't be so kind to humans and hobbits," Maranguan said, allowing Parker to watch his teenaged self admiring his handiwork.

"Mama," Teenage Parker asked his foster mother, "when can I leave home? It's not that I'm asking or anything. I just know there's life out there than whips and thugs."

"Parker, why would you say that? Your home is with us. You're one of us, not a dragonoid," his foster mother said in encouragement.

"Sometimes I wonder if I am a dragonoid," Teenage Parker said, plainly.

"Why would you think such thoughts? Get back to your models and don't recall anything else," his foster mother said, returning to her cooking.

"Recall? Recall what? The fact that I may or may not be a dragonoid?" Teenage Parker said, sharply.

"Just get back to your toy models," his foster mother ended the conversation then and there.

Teenage Parker shook his head. "Someday, I'm going to get out of here and find out who I am. Just wait and see."

Parker sighed. He hated these disagreements. No one understood him in Oz. The evidence was clear, right before his eyes. He shook his head, unable to regret his decision to leave Oz.

"Your foster parents wanted to protect you, Parker. They didn't do anything awful," Maranguan said, kindly.

"I know." Parker sighed a second time. "They were kind, protecting me from harm. It didn't stop the final stroke of the whip when that gang showed up again, ruining my chances of ever finding peace and healing in Oz."

"Come on. Let's see another memory," Maranguan said, touching Parker's shoulder.

Parker looked on at the landscape, people, and creatures as they changed. He was inside a palace now, in the heart of Oz. Green and gold decked the floor, while the stairs were made of green marble. Before him was his teenaged self facing a witch with green skin and wearing a black dress, as well as a black witch's hat.

It was the Wicked Witch of the West and she did not look happy to see him.

"Why have you come here at this hour?" the Wicked Witch asked, coarsely.

"Please," Teenage Parker pleaded with her, "may we celebrate Yule? I know it's late to ask, but I wouldn't mind celebrating such a joyous time!"

"Yule is in the past. It has nothing to do with me," the Wicked Witch said, shrewdly.

"Please. Let us celebrate Yule! Let us take the day off! I'm sure the Munchkins wouldn't mind a little celebration—" Teenage Parker was interrupted by a spell blasted at him from the Wicked Witch of the West. He looked at her, asking out of a caring heart, "Please, why not celebrate the holiday?"

"Get out of my sight, Parker Dooley! Never talk about holidays with me again!" the Wicked Witch said, escorting the Teenage Parker out of the premises.

"You'll live to regret this, Elphaba," Teenage Parker said, scornfully.

"Just get out of my sight," the Wicked Witch said, quietly, watching him leave.

Parker sighed, watching in anguish at the scene presented to him. Of all the things that had to happen, the Wicked Witch of the West banning Yule from Oz was disgraceful. Didn't she know a happy holiday?

"You regretted this day, didn't you?" Maranguan asked, somber.

"It's one of the worst memories I have of the Wicked Witch of the West." Parker snarled softly. "I can't believe she would ban Yule! If only…" he sighed, "…I had done something to save Oz from this fate," he sighed again, "things would have been different." He lowered his head in shame, not wanting to see more of this memory.

Maranguan understood. "Come on. It's time to see another memory," he said, patting Parker's shoulder.

Parker looked around as the landscape changed again. Time passed and he was now in the Land of Dragons, at his two-story house at the village, Dragon's Hallow. His thirty-year-old self was busy carving a woodworking project of a whale. The whale seemed so lifelike as if it was an opera whale meant to perform on stage. By the time his thirty-year-old self was done with the whale, time moved forward.

Only this time, Parker saw his forty some-year-old self as Maranguan, only he was on Zafna and not entirely evil. Parker stared at himself as Maranguan, commanding armies of scarred lions and lionesses, before retreating to his room to think. There was Qua'ra, a young woman with a thin frame, pale skin, long, straight brunette hair that ran down to the middle of her back, and green eyes as bright as diamonds, or so he describe her eyes once before. Today, she wore a flowing dark purple tunic with straps instead of sleeves, dark blue jeans, and black boots.

The look Qua'ra gave Maranguan/Parker was one of exhilaration and pride, but there was also a need. It was this needy look that Parker understood her having at the time of this meeting.

"You see, Parker? I wasn't all that evil back when you were me," Maranguan said in Parker's ear.

"Maranguan," Qua'ra said, inquiring to Maranguan/Parker about something, "it's almost Yule. What are we going to do to celebrate?"

"We shall have a party. A glorious one. And then, we need to make plans for an agreement with the planet Naboo," Maranguan/Parker said with a smirk. "Come on, Qua'ra. We're taking the day off!"

"And then?" Qua'ra asked, curiously.

"And then, we're going to celebrate." Maranguan/Parker repeated, joyously. "Come on, Qua'ra. It's time to have some fun!"

"Yes, my lord. My emperor! Whatever you say," Qua'ra said, deviously.

Maranguan/Parker laughed, leaving the room in high spirits. Parker couldn't believe it. He was in the neutral zone and was happy about it, but also mischievous. Did he miss something?

Parker sighed, looking at Maranguan with tired eyes. "Maranguan, I can't take any more of this. Send me back to Terrence's house, please?"

Maranguan nodded, taking his hand and allowing the landscape to return to Parker's bedroom in Terrence's house, back to the present. Maranguan sighed, releasing Parker and allowing the poor light red dragonoid to sit on his bed.

"Remember this: you cannot contain me forever. Someday, I will be back," Maranguan closed his eyes, lowering his head as he disappeared on sight.

Parker cried, laying down on his bed in vain, for he hadn't expected to hear those words. He couldn't contain Maranguan forever? And yet, he saw his kinder side of Maranguan tonight. Oh, what did he do to deserve this?

*.*.*

References:

Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Land of Oz comes from the play "Wicked" and L. Frank Baum's book, The Wizard of Oz. Willie the Whale, the opera whale as he's called in this chapter, comes from Disney's film, "Make Mine Music".