Dorothy knocked on the handle of the palace door. It opened slightly at the last knock. The Head Wheeler pathetically whimpered in fear as he begged Tiktok to release him.
"Let me go! Please, I'm begging you! Please, oh, please! Let me go!"
"Let him go, Tiktok," said Dorothy.
"Behave yourself now," Tiktok said sternly. "Or I will beat you again."
"Y-Yes, sir. I'll b-behave." The Head Wheeler stammered nervously.
Tiktok let go of his collar and the Head Wheeler rolled away as quickly as he could, as if in a hurry to get away from the palace like something horrible lurked within these walls. This was true.
But Dorothy did not know this as she boldly entered the palace, with Billina trotted behind her and Tiktok cautiously walking beside her, looking around as if something might spring upon them and attack them. Dorothy was shocked to see the entire place abandoned and covered in dust, just like how Tiktok had been. Some parts of the palace were a wreck like something was thrown in or out from the wall.
"I've been away from Oz for so long I'm starting to wish that I had come back sooner," Dorothy sighed dejectedly.
"Well if you ask me this Langwidere is some housekeeper," clucked Billina, looking at her surroundings.
"Shh! Quiet!" Tiktok shushed them and pointed to a nearby staircase. "I hear music, and its coming from up there."
Climbing up a grand staircase to a lovely room full of mirrors, they heard the sound of sweet music. Inside the room of mirrors it remained as nice and neat as ever, but it was occupied by a beautiful woman playing a lute.
"Excuse me but are you Princess Langwidere?" Dorothy asked when she approached the woman.
The woman, named Langwidere, yawned slightly, put down her lute and extended a dainty hand to her. "Help me to rise," she said in a soft elegant voice.
Dorothy took her hand and helped the lady to her feet. Langwidere studied Dorothy's face carefully and stroked her cheek. "I think I'll put on something more appropriate. Come with me. Your friends can stay here."
"Well, we're looking for the Scarecrow and his companions," Dorothy said, as Langwidere took her by the hand and led her to another room.
"What companions?" asked Langwidere.
"The Tin Man, the Lion, Wiser the owl, Marshal Mallow, and China Princess."
The golden door parted as the two women entered Langwidere's bedroom. Dorothy gasped in complete shock when she saw dozens of women's heads behind glass cases. They all watched Dorothy walk by, with looks of extreme worry for the young girl.
In glass cabinet Number One, Dorothy felt her heart jump when she saw the head of Glinda the Good Witch of the North. When Glinda's head recognized her, she opened her mouth to say something, but Langwidere shot her a look of pure venom to keep her silent.
Langwidere took out a ruby red key and unlocked the first cabinet she stopped at. "I think Number Four will do this afternoon," she said as she pulled her blonde hair up in a bun, unscrewed her head off her body, and placed it on the shelf in the glass case she had unlocked. After putting it away, she closed the glass case and locked it with her ruby key.
The headless body of Langwidere walked to glass cabinet Number Four, where a pretty dark brunette lady stood on the shelf. Unlocking the glass case with her ruby key, Langwidere picked the brunette's head up and held out for Dorothy to look at.
"What do you think?" asked the brunette haired woman, in a rather slightly unpleasant tone.
Dorothy was beginning to feel frightened of this strange princess, but she bravely answered, "I think you're very beautiful."
"I should hope so," added Langwidere, screwing the brunette's head firmly upon her neck. "And just who might you be and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Dorothy Gale."
Langwidere's eyes widened in surprise. "Dorothy Gale? The girl who vanquishes jesters and wicked witches?"
Dorothy nodded, and then she asked, "Do you know what's happened to the Scarecrow and the people close to him?"
"Come nearer to me," Langwidere ordered. Dorothy timidly obeyed as she approached this strange woman. "The Nome King took the Scarecrow and the people you've mentioned, and all of the green emeralds back to his mountain, and turned everybody else into stone. As for your two friends, they have been locked in the palace dungeon until I decide their fate." The princess examined Dorothy's features very closely, placing her hand under the girl's chin. "You have become rather attractive growing up, not at all beautiful, you understand. But you have a certain prettiness, different from my other heads, a face that turns the heads of men." Langwidere then smiled coldly. "I believe I will lock you in the tower until I'm prepared to take your head and add it to my collection."
"I believe you will not!" Dorothy snapped, smacking the princess' hand away from her chin.
No sooner she said this, Langwidere grabbed Dorothy's arm in an icy grip and dragged her forcibly out of her bedroom. But as soon as she reached the room of mirrors, Billina squawked angrily and flew in a shrieking Langwidere's face, pecking at her with her beak and clawing at her with her feet.
"I'm coming, Dorothy!" Tiktok shouted, running towards the evil princess, his hand lifted upward with the lunch pail to strike at Langwidere. But before he could land a blow, he stopped moving. "Uh-oh. My action has run down. I suppose my fight with the wheelers made me run down faster than usual."
"It can't be helped, Tiktok!" exclaimed Dorothy.
Langwidere grabbed the squawking Billina by the feet and growled, "I'll have you fried for breakfast!" Then she rushed to a different mirror and swung it open, revealing a secret passage up a staircase.
"What will you do with Tiktok?" Dorothy asked with concern, as she was being dragged up the staircase.
"People will think I have a new statue," sneered Langwidere, opening a door and tossed Dorothy and Billina into the room, and locked the door behind her.
"Let me out, you old witch!" Dorothy banged and kicked against the door to no avail. Giving up, she sighed and leaned back against the wall, arms folded.
"Dorothy, if this is how Oz is, I'd rather take my chances back in Kansas," said Billina.
"But Oz is in trouble, Billina, and my friends are in danger!" Dorothy snapped. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"But we've captured by a wicked old witch, escaped a field of nasty sunflowers, had a run in with wheelers, and now we're locked in the tower by a crazy princess!"
It was then Dorothy noticed her surroundings. She realized she was in the Wizard's chamber, or the throne room. She spotted the Rainbow Mover in the other side of the room and Dorothy rushed toward it, thinking she could use it to escape. But she became utterly dismayed to find the Rainbow Mover destroyed and damaged. Looks like hope of escaping was lost.
"What is that thing?" Billina asked curiously.
"It's a Rainbow Mover," replied Dorothy. "This machine brought me to Oz the second time. The Scarecrow invented it."
"How can that thing move rainbows? It's just a hunk of junk." Billina scoffed in disbelief. "And how can a scarecrow become an inventor? All they do is stand in the cornfield and scare crows."
Dorothy glared down at the hen with extreme anger. "The Scarecrow happens to be my first friend and the greatest king and inventor in all of Oz! He built this Rainbow Mover to bring me back to Oz when the Jester took over! He even saved me when I was held prisoner of the Wicked Witch! Must you always think and speak negative thoughts about my friend at a time like this!? All the people dear to me are helpless or captured, and we have no way of getting out!"
Billina said nothing; she was speechless and taken aback by Dorothy's outburst. Dorothy sat down on the steps and began to cry. Billina moved further away from her, no longer wanting to get involved.
(Dorothy)
I can't win, I can't reign
I will never win this game
Without you, without you
I am lost, I am vain
I will never be the same
Without you, without you
Getting up, Dorothy walked over to a locked window and peered out. It gave her a distant viewing of the Land of Oz and several mountain landscapes. The setting sun basked over the mountains, changing the sky to a golden orange color. Far out on the Emerald City harbor, pieces of wood and bark from a tree drifted along the river. All that was left of Tugg when the Nome King conquered the city. With a painful sigh, Dorothy leaned against the wall.
I won't run, I won't fly
I will never make it by
Without you, without you
I can't rest, I can't fight
All I need is you and I
Without you, without you
Woooooh!
You! You! You!
Without You
You! You!
Without You
Dorothy noticed a painted portrait of a long line of famous rulers that have ruled Oz hanging firmly upon the wall, all covered in dust. One of them was the great Wizard of Oz in his younger years. And another was a portrait of the Scarecrow King, the Tin Man, and the Lion, all posing and smiling handsomely. Tears welled up in her eyes as Dorothy ran a hand over he friends' portrait.
Can't erase, so I'll take blame
But I can't accept that we're estranged
Without you, without you
I can't quit now, this can't be right
I can't take one more sleepless night
Without you, without you
I won't soar, I won't climb
If you're not here, I'm paralyzed
Without you, without you
In his dungeon, the Scarecrow felt his own tears burn within his eyes. He wished he was in the Wizard's chamber to hold Dorothy until she felt better. But as he listened to her angelic voice and his heart ached to be with her, he found himself entranced. He was falling in love with her. His best friend and the Savior of Oz, Dorothy Gale.
I can't look, I'm so blind
I lost my heart, I lost my mind
Without you
Woooooh!
You! You! You!
Without You
You! You!
Without You
Then Dorothy noticed a portrait of the former King and Queen of Oz, Pastoria and Lurline, hanging next to the Wizard's portrait. The Queen was holding a beautiful baby girl in her arms. There was something about that baby that Dorothy thought looked familiar. The baby's eyes sparkled liked emeralds and her lips tinted like a tourmaline, and a bit of ruddy gold hair with a green bow tied in her hair. Dorothy remembered the girl who rescued her from the clinic who had the same description as the baby in the picture. Could it be that this girl…
I am lost, I am vain
I will never be the same
Without you, without you
Without you
"WAAAAAAAHH!"
A sudden bawling startled Dorothy so much that she lost her footing and fell backwards. Billina freaked out and squawked wildly. The bawling came from behind the throne and Dorothy walked over to see who or what was making that noise.
To her surprise, a tiger was chained to the wall with a shackle around his neck. The tiger looked about as tall and muscular as the Lion, with a face almost a lot like his even with a goatee on his chin, and a blue bow tied around his tail. The tiger was sobbing hysterically and sadly, his large paws covering his tear stained eyes.
"Oh, that's the saddest…oh-ho, that's the saddest song I ever heard!
"Could you not scare us like that again!?" Billina shouted, angrily.
"I'm sorry, it's just…oh, it's just that I heard the most beautiful voice singing a very sad song!" cried the Tiger.
"Meaning me? I'm sorry." Dorothy apologized.
"Don't apologize," sobbed the Tiger. "I liked hearing your voice, but your song sounded so sad."
The Tiger wiped his tears off with his tail, and then blew his nose on his own tail.
"Ugh! That's disgusting." Billina shook her head in disgust. "Dorothy, give him a hankie."
Dorothy took out a hankie from her pocket and offered it to the crying Tiger, who took it and used it to blow his nose again. Then he handed it back to a grossed out Dorothy, who didn't wanna touch the wet hankie and tossed it in a small green recycling box close by. Watching the Tiger cry made Dorothy feel like she was in Déjà vu again. When she had first met the Lion, he was a bit of a crybaby after discovering he was a coward.
"Will you be alright now, Mr. Tiger?" Dorothy asked, kindly, as she stroked the Tiger's forehead like petting a cat.
"I think so," the Tiger said, calming down. "But my name is not Mr. Tiger. I'm the Hungry Tiger."
"Oh! Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I'm always hungry, no matter what I eat. Sometimes I wish dentist could pull it out."
"What? You have a toothache for eating too much? If its candy you've been eating from Candy County, you should never eat from there."
"It's not a toothache I'm worried about, kid. It's my appetite I want the dentist to pull out."
Dorothy and Billina both exchanged looks of awkwardness. Then Dorothy decided to change the subject.
"Okay…my name is Dorothy Gale, and this Billina."
The Tiger stared up at her in awe. "The famous Dorothy Gale!? Oh, man! This is so cool! My childhood buddy, the Lion, told me all about you!" He took her hand in his big paw. "And let me just say enchante, senorita." The Tiger planted a big kiss on Dorothy's tiny hand while she blushed and giggled.
"Oh brother. Another admirer and big fan of Dorothy." Billina rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"So what are you doing up here, Tiger?" Dorothy asked.
"That old witch Langwidere wanted me to be her own personal bodyguard," said the Tiger. "But when I said forget it, she had me locked up in the Wizard's chamber and starve me until I'm ready. She's got one crazy temper."
"I know." Dorothy nodded gravely. "But where did she get all those heads?"
"Did you see the headless dancing girls outside?" Dorothy nodded, and the Tiger said, "Well, that's exactly where she got them. Including Glinda."
Suddenly, there came an eerie howling sound, followed by a screech, and another and another. Dorothy clung to the Tiger's neck as he put his arm around her protectively. Billina squawked and hid herself behind the Tiger's body.
"What is that?" Dorothy asked, frightened.
"It's a baboon," said the Tiger, grimly. "And I can smell a whole lot of them coming. And I can smell a witch."
"Mombi!" Dorothy gasped. She remembered how the wicked witch told her about using flying baboons to help her conquer Oz, and she also remembered those awful sounds the baboons made when they had tried to take Billina away from her. Speak of the devil. The cackling of Mombi soaring through the skies sent a shiver down Dorothy's spine.
"What's that witch doing here?" growled the Tiger.
"Maybe she came here looking for me," guessed Dorothy, sadly. "Looks like she guessed right. Now I'm gonna lose my head to Langwidere and Mombi will have her revenge on me."
The Tiger looked down at Dorothy, seeing the look of failure and depression in her eyes. But then, his face changed into a very serious look. "We're not giving up now, honey! You're known as the Savior of Oz. Only you can save us all. We just need to figure out a plan to escape."
Dorothy looked up at the Tiger. At first, she seemed doubtful that they could find a way to escape, but after considering the matter a little thought, she knew that he was right. "All right, but what can we use to get out? I mean, I'm not the Scarecrow so I'm not as smart as I look."
"Take your time, Dorothy. No need to rush."
Dorothy looked around the chamber. Junk had been thrown everywhere. It was worse than the last time she came to Emerald City with Wiser, Marshal Mallow, China Princess, and Toto. Objects and furniture were everywhere. Two sofas had been thrown to their side of the room, large palm leaves spilled on the floor with a broken vase, books and round plastic balls and tools were scattered everywhere, an extremely long piece of rope tied around the pipes of the broken Rainbow Mover, the head of a green faced moose with a goatee and antlers of a deer…suddenly, an idea popped right into Dorothy's brain and her eyes grew wide with excitement.
"Wait a minute. I have a brilliant idea!"
"You see? I told you that you could figure out a plan for our escape," the Tiger smiled. "So what's the plan?"
"Okay, first I have to get you unchained from the wall, Tiger," Dorothy explained. "While we do that, Billina can sneak through the vent, spy on Mombi, and find out where she keeps her Powder of Life."
"Right!" Billina huffed with pride. "Sneak me through the vent so I can…" But he pride shattered when she clearly understood the task she was given. "WHAAAT!?"
Meanwhile, outside the Emerald palace, dark shadows flew across the damaged city. Large creatures with giant bat wings crashed landed onto the stone statues, breaking them in half or violently destroying them as if they were real.
The wheelers woke up from their nap at the palace steps and looked up. All of a sudden, the face of a hideous ugly baboon appeared out of nowhere, roaring menacingly. The wheelers squealed like scared little girls and began rolling around each other, trying to get away, only to bump or topple into one another.
"What's going on out there!?" screamed an angry Langwidere when she came outside.
The wicked princess gasped in horror when she saw flying baboons all over the city. These baboons were much larger and stronger than the flying monkeys, but more lethal and aggressive. Their bodies were dark grey, the hairs on their heads were as white as snow, the giant bat wings on their backs were orange, their eyes were a sickly green, and their teeth were as long and sharp as their claws.
Out of the sky flying on her broomstick came Mombi, laughing evilly all the way. "Out of my way!" she shouted as she flew past the ducking wheelers. The wicked witch landed on the doorstep, facing the princess.
"What are you doing here?" Langwidere snapped. "My city is overrun with flying monkeys!"
"They're not flying monkeys, you head-changing freak!" Mombi retorted. "These are my flying baboons. You see, my cousin, the Witch of the East, used to have these creatures as her slaves. But right after the Wizard chased her and the Witch of the West out of the Emerald City, Glinda had the wings removed from them and banished them to a disagreeable country. Lucky for these babies, I gave them back their wings with a brew I concocted."
"But why use baboons when you could've used the monkeys?" asked Langwidere.
"Baboons are much stronger and much tougher than the monkeys," replied Mombi. "Now, on to business. I've discovered that Dorothy has come here through my cousins' crystal ball. Where is she?"
"I locked her up in the tower. She can't get out or use that worthless Rainbow Mover to escape."
"Perfect! And is the chicken locked up in there with her too?"
"Yes. I'm going to cook her up for breakfast tomorrow. Then, I will cut off Dorothy's head and make it a part of my collection with my other heads."
"That should certainly kill her if you did that," Mombi chuckled, wickedly. "But what about that pumpkinhead and wooden horse?"
Langwidere gave a cruel smile. "They have been thrown in the Emerald City dungeon. I plan to make the pumpkin into a pie and use his body, as well as the wooden horse, as kindle for the fire. And the mechanical clock man I want to keep for a statue."
"Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea! It's so wicked!"
Both Mombi and Langwidere cackled evilly.
"I wouldn't miss Dorothy's demise for the world," added Mombi. "You mind if I stay for the night?"
"As long as you keep those horrid beasts under control." Langwidere nodded her head to the winged baboons, the bunch teasing and terrifying the poor wheelers.
Mombi put her fingers in her mouth and gave a loud shrieking whistle. The winged baboons immediately stopped what they were doing.
"You can put your witchy things in cabinet thirty," added Langwidere, turning to go back inside the palace. "It's where I keep my original head. I don't care for it though because it's not as beautiful as my other heads."
"No wonder," muttered Mombi. "You're almost as ugly as me and cousins."
Langwidere whirled her head around sharply. "Did you say something, Mombi?"
"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all!" Mombi shook her head in denial.