Return to Oz
Told by Mutitoon90
Chapter Five
Outside, Muta and Kiyone was waiting with great worry, in Kiyone's case, for the return of the two friends that entered the tower.
"What's going on in there?" Kiyone groaned at being in her annoyance of not knowing what was happening inside.
"You're too worried about fools that are tending where angel's wouldn't be dumb enough to go." Muta scoffed at the concerns of the deputy, "Besides-" A shivering noise escaped from the cat in mid-sentense, causing Kiyone to go to the cat's aid.
"Muta, are you okay?"
"I am, Chicky." The stray cat replied after recovering from his shivering episode, "It's just I've sensed a spell from a witch."
"A spell from a witch?" The teal-haired girl asked, not knowing of what to say in response.
"Yeah," the cat nodded to Kiyone, "and it's just like the one that Dorothy used with those slippers of her's."
"Are you sure?"
"Hey," Muta threw a dirty look at the lone female human, "there's a reason that cats are seen as the usual familiars of witches and not dogs."
Kiyone wanted to disagree with the feline, but she knew that she could not, because he was right. Then, she asked, "What exactly happened?"
"I'm not a seer!" The cat growled at the officer of the law of Kansas, "All I know is that Dorothy's gotten herself in trouble."
"What else is new there?" The friend of Dorothy announced, knowing that the farm girl usually found a way to get herself in trouble.
"Then, we can leave." Muta purred, hoping that the officer would join him.
"No."
The lean cat halted in his tracks, turned around and asked in a demanding tone of voice, "Why?"
"Because Dorothy and Nightingale are still in there."
"How does that matter to me?"
Kiyone was outraged at the cat's lack of concern for anyone but himself; the officer wanted to do something horrible to the lazy cat, but she managed to restrain herself from harming Muta by turing away from him.
Then, an idea formed in the teal-haired woman's mind, which caused a sly smile to form on her face.
"Well, that's too bad, because Dorothy was the one with the lunch pails in her backpack."
Upon hearing this, Muta whipped his head towards Kiyone with a hungry look in his eyes. Then, the cat's eyes slited to smugly.
"Oh ho, you're a sneaky one; getting me through my stomach is a good idea." Then, a deep sigh came as he said, "I'll help you out, however we're going to wait."
"Why?!" Kiyone asked the cat, who answered flatly.
"Because the witch is awake, and if we go in there, we'll end up like Dorothy and Nightingale."
"So, when does the witch sleep?" Kiyone asked her only ally.
"I don't have the answer to that," Muta spoke up, "but she's got to sleep sometime."
"And while we wait, we plan." Kiyone announced, much to Muta's displeasure.
Meanwhile, Dorothy was waking up after the attack on her by Nehelenia, who was insulted by Dorothy's answer earlier.
"Whoa!" The farm girl moaned as she sat up, "That woman's got a nasty temper."
"You can say that again." A friendly-sounding voice rang out to Dorothy, who responded by saying, "Who's that?"
The answer came quickly.
"I'm... I'm... Oh, yeah! I've forgotten that I'm not suppose to talk at all."
"Really?" Dorothy asked as she went to her feet, "How are you're not suppose to talk if you have a name? Do you have one?"
"Well, my mother did name me, even though she only built me to scare Nehelenia." The voice replied in a thoughtful manner.
"Your mother?" Dorothy was confused for a moment, but then she remembered that thing's were not as it seemed in the land of Oz. Recalling that bit of information, the brunette asked, "Where are ya?"
"Why, I'm over here."
Following the direction of the voice, Dorothy found the owner of the voice, who caused the young girl to guess from shock.
The owner of the voice was a pumpkin that had blue eyes painted on, a small twig placed in as a nose and a mouth craved under the twig. The head had hair, which was made of long pieces of straw and hay.
Are you the one that's been callin' out to me?" The famed witch killer asked the 'head,' who smiled as it answered, "Yes, I am."
The response frightened the human girl, who noticed a gathering of sticks and clothing nearby, close where the 'head' was.
"May I ask you a question, Miss?" The head asked in a woman's voice.
"Sure."
"Is there any spoilage on my head?"
Confused by the question, Dorothy managed to answer the question of the 'head.'
"None that I can see."
"That's good to hear," the 'head' said with a wide smile on her face, "because I don't want to see the world if I'm starting to rot."
"Well, that makes some sense." Dorothy said, hoping that she was saying the correct thing to say as she recalled what had happened the last time
Then, the pumpkin 'head' asked, "Can you help me put myself back together?"
A little taken aback, the farm girl said, "Sure. Can you tell what to do first?"
"That's easy!" The 'head' said, "Put my head to my neck."
"All right." Dorothy nodded to the female-like 'head.'
Being very careful not to harm the pumpkin, Dorothy picked up the 'head' and looked at what looked like a neck, which she did find. Upon discovery the 'body,' the female reattached the 'head' with the 'body.'
"Oh, thank you very much, Miss!" The being said to Dorothy, "Can you find my arms?"
"Of course."
Then, Dorothy pulled out a 'limb,' only to be told that she had pulled one of the being's legs. Thankfully, that the 'female' was understanding and willing to point to where the arms were.
"Sorry about that!" The farm girl replaced the limb she had in her hands with the correct one.
"That's okay." The pumpkin-headed being said, "If I were you, I would have thought the same thing."
"Really?" The farm girl smiled as she found some rope to tie the arm to the body.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!" The pumpkin-headed being said with a smlie on its face.
"What are you-?" Dorothy asked, but the being said, "I'll show ya! Just get my arm into my sleeve."
"Okay..." The brown-haired girl complied before asking where did the arm go.
The odd being was kind in its response and directions of placement as Dorothy aided the fruit and wood being in its reconstrution. Once the arm was in the pumpkin-headed being, it came to life and grabbed it twin, putting it in its place. Following in the other arm's placement, the legs were grabbed and put in their places.
"What happened to ya?" Dorothy asked the now-tall being, who was quick to answer.
"Oh! Well, it happened after I was created by my Mama."
"Your Mama?" Dorothy asked, curious about the being's history.
"Uh-huh," the pumpkin-headed being nodded to the girl, "my Mama was the very first thing I've ever saw in my life. Although, I thought it was weird that she was holding a stick with some liquid on it."
"Liquid?" Dorothy repeated, but then she realized that the liquid that the being mentioned was paint.
"Yeah," the tall being said in conformation, "but after I saw her, Mama used some rope to hang me from the ceiling in an attempt to scare Nehelenia."
"Really?!" Dorothy was truly taken aback upon hearing the statement as the being responded to the gasped.
"Yes, but when Mama's plan happened, Nehelenia didn't get scare; she got mad, and she used her wand at me. However, she brought me to live."
"Whoa!" The farmgirl exclaimed meekly.
"Yeah, and then she got really mad and blew me to pieces."
"That mad?"
"Uh-huh." The pumpkin-headed being said as it resumed its tale, "And then, she threated to turn me into pumpkin pie. However, it's been a while since then."
"How long is a 'while?'" Dorothy asked the being, who answered, "Now, I think that was about twenty to thirty heads ago."
"What do you mean?" Dorothy added on the question.
"Well, due to Nehelenia's spell, it's made my head more resistant from getting spoiled."
"Then, who's been replacing your head?" Dorothy asked, dispite the feeling of knowing the answer already.
"My Mama; she's been taking good care of me, although she didn't put me back together. She even gave me a name."
"And that would be?"
"It's Mihoshi."
"Mihoshi?" Dorothy was confused about the name, but then she remembered that she was in Oz, where things were not as it seemed to be.
"Uh-huh," the being nodded at the brunette, "Mama didn't not want me to be nameless."
"Okay, Mihoshi," Dorothy spoke up, "when was the last time you saw your Mama?"
"It was a few days ago," Mihoshi answered bluntly, "when Nehelenia decided to move to the Emerald City, but Mama told me that only the good of heart could enter the city."
"Only as long as the Magic Emeralds were in the city." Dorothy added as she recall Nightingale's story.
"Mama had mentioned that once or twice." The being thoughtfully responded to the statement.
"Well, I- Ow!" Dorothy was about to say something about the situation she was in, but she stubbed her toe on something hard.
"Oh!" Mihoshi, the pumpkin-headed being, went to Dorothy's side and asked, "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay." The farm girl hopped a little before she added, "What was that?"
"Oh, that was Helios."
"Helios?" Dorothy asked as she looked at the thing that she had hit with her toe.
The thing, which was a stone statue, had the appearance of a young male wearing clothes that were similar to those of the clergy and curly hair. The oddest part about the statue was there was something sticking out of the forehead, which reminded Dorothy of a stump after a tree had been cut down.
"That's Helios?" Dorothy inquiried at the stick and fruit being, who nodded as it answered.
"Yes, Mama told me his name after I'd asked her about him. Also, Mama told me that he was the alicorn people, but I have no idea what an alicorn is."
"Me neither." The brunette responded, and then she asked, "Did your Mama tell you what had happened to him?"
"Yes. Mama told me that Nehelenia took his horn and claimed it as her wand. When she took that horn, she turned him into stone to keep the magic in the wand."
"That's- that's- despicable! Outrageous! Not to mention wrong on some many levels!" A furious Dorothy managed to say without cursing out her intense hatred towards the witch.
"Wow!" Mihoshi looked at the farm girl in awe, "I've never seen anyone with a face that red before!"
"Wait 'til I get my hands around that hag's neck!" Dorothy hissed in her fury.
"Don't do that!" The being made of plants-related items pleaded to the girl, "If you try to do that, she'll kill you!"
Dorothy hissed not happy about being told the truth at that point, but she knew that Mihoshi was right. Taking in a deep breath, the farm girl asked, "Then, is there a way to save Helios?"
"Yes..." Mihoshi nodded nervously, but the key for that is always on Nehelenia's person."
"Well..." Dorothy started to ponder about how to get the key without getting caught by the witch that imprisoned her in the tower. Then, she concevied her plan.
"Aha! I've got it!"
"What?" Mihoshi asked, having a strong feeling about what Dorothy was up to.
"I came up with a plan, but I need to know just a few things." The farm girl announced to the being, who moaned, who was fearful for the safety of Dorothy and herself.