Chapter 4: A New Ally
"Look we can still see Munchkin Country," Dorothy stated. Toto had been running along the road with our main group following. "I thought it was a strange place with strange people but they were nice weren't they?"
"I am simply curious as to why they ignored us at first. Obviously, our entire world doesn't seem to exist in their eyes." Richtofen stated. "Enough chatter for now, our mission is simple. We must head to this Emerald City in the hopes that some powerful being may lead us back to our homes."
Thus, our heroes continued to travel down the road. Minutes became hours and the four men were getting a little weary at the long journey. Dorothy was merely looking at her shoes, admiring their silvery status.
"Those mysterious shoes looked like something a commoner would wear before going on your feet. Now they seem to fit perfectly, almost as if you asked for a special brand to stand out amongst the common man," Nikolai remarked. Dorothy smiled at Nikolai's words.
"Regardless, if we're gonna return to our homelands, we gotta remember the mission," Dempsey reminded the group. "Following this road should allow us free travel to our countries."
Day became night, and many frogs were returning to the water to rest. Our group noticed no frogs, for they noticed the sun setting in front of them. Everyone stopped to admire the sun setting. They all agreed that a sunset in their respective countries was nice to look at, and a foreign sunset was also pretty.
"We must move before darkness consumes the land. We know not what lurks out here." Takeo stated.
So the group continued to move forward on the Yellow Brick Road. Eventually, night took over the land, and the group realized a huge problem.
"We need to find some place to sleep," Dorothy said.
"Maybe we could try rearranging some of the broken branches and leaves to create small huts?" Dempsey asked the group. "I know it won't protect us fully, but it would be better to have some form of protection than none at... wait, where's Toto run off to?"
For during their talk, Toto had run off. Fortunately for the group, he was still visible despite the worsened lighting conditions.
"Oh, you're so hopeless Toto!" Dorothy exclaimed, startling the entire group before taking off after Toto. Many hills stood in their path, but eventually they found Toto barking underneath a tree.
"Toto, what's wrong?" Dorothy asked before looking up "Oh!"
In front of the group was a simple house. The roof was curved so that the left side was taller. It also contained a pillar with a sphere on the top so it had to be larger. The right side only had a single chimney.
"Excuse me, is there anyone in there that is willing to help? Hello?" Richtofen asked while knocking on the door.
Just then, the door opened and a voice rang out "Oh dear, it's Dorothy and her companions!"
"Huh? How did you know my name and that I was traveling with other people?" Dorothy questioned the stranger. Said stranger was a Munchkin living far away from the primary village. He had a purple Do-Rag and a white shirt. His mustache was gray in color with varying degrees of miniature brushes throughout.
"Darling, we have guests," the man shouted to the interior.
A woman appeared from the left side of the door. She was wearing a small purple bonnet and a green dress with a purple skirt.
"Every Munchkin knows about you five. You're the party that felled the Wicked Witch." she spoke.
"I do think what we did was some sort of accident, as if the spirits..." Takeo began.
"You five are welcome in our home regardless," the man interrupted.
"Thank you!" exclaimed the group as they entered the house, the four men ducking to avoid hitting the ceiling.
Inside, Toto was eating from a small bowl while the remainder of the group was around a table, eating soup.
"You all claim to be heading towards the Emerald City?" asked the woman. "Eh? Whatever for?" asked the man.
"I'm going to ask the King of Oz to tell me how to get back to Kansas. And my companions want to know how to return to their respective home countries," Dorothy replied.
"I've heard the King of Oz is frightening, best leave him be, unless you have good reason," the woman stated. "I think you all will come to see it while on your journey, but Munchkin Country is a fine place to live. Why not live with us instead of going to the Emerald City?"
"I can't speak for your companions, they all seem very fine and in shape, but it is dangerous for a girl to go to the Emerald City all alone," the man stated.
"Even if we weren't here, she would still have Toto with her," Nikolai stated matter of factly.
The two Munchkins stared at Toto, almost as if they didn't believe Toto was even considered a companion to Dorothy.
That night, Dorothy went to bed and dreamt that she and the four men made it back to Kansas, however before Dorothy could reach the farmhouse, everything seemed to stretch away. Additionally, there was an ominous creature in the sky. The men instantly readied their staves, while Dorothy looked on in confusion. Just as a siren blared, Dorothy woke up, startling the entire group.
"You okay Dorothy? You look like you've seen something terrible." Dempsey questioned.
"I dreamt that we were on our way back to my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Just before we could reach the farmhouse, three things happened. First, the house appeared to be getting further away, then this unknown beast was in the sky and you all prepared those staves of yours. Finally, I heard this siren that blared twice. I wonder what it all means," Dorothy pondered at the last one, while the group was in shock at the mention of the siren. Dorothy went back to bed while the four men held a quick meeting.
"I wonder..." Richtofen asked to the entire group, "if Dorothy managed to hear the Panzersoldat siren from Kansas while we were in the Excavation Site?"
"Would the noise have carried that far?" Takeo asked.
"I agree, noise may not have entered place at all, I couldn't hear the wind when we were staring at the portal!" Nikolai remarked
"Regardless, we gotta be careful. Maybe one of those armored freaks ended up here without warning," Dempsey said.
"He's right, this land is mysterious, but we do not know if the suited zombies made it here. For the sake of everyone living here, let's hope the best case scenario ja?" Richtofen replied.
Everyone eventually returned to their slumber. When they awoke, the group met the friendly Munchkins outside the house.
"Won't you reconsider? It's so dangerous," the woman asked Dorothy.
"Yes, I don't know what the Witch of the North said, but it's crazy for a young girl to go to the Emerald City alone," the man replied.
"Thank you, but we have to get back to our homes," Dorothy stated. "Thank you so much!" Just then, everyone was shocked when Dorothy gave a quick kiss to the Munchkin man before taking off. "Goodbye!"
"Hey... wait for us!" Dempsey shouted after her, the men only regaining their senses once Dorothy was gone.
The group travelled for many hours before coming across a corn field.
"Toto, come here!" Dorothy shouted back. Toto had been observing the natural setting. The group continued their travels before coming next to a fence.
"We have come so very far on this road. We should take a break." Takeo stated.
"Agreed, Dorothy may have shoes that make her energetic, but the rest of us may only go so far without a break," Richtofen aproved.
"Are my eyes deceiving me, or is there purple fruit inside cornfield?" Nikolai asked the group before trying to reach out towards it.
"Please don't touch the corn!" a voice rang out. Almost immediately, the four men were on high alert, for they unknowingly trespassed on another person's property. Everyone did agree, that the corn looked funny.
"I must be imagining voices in my head, but after what I've been through, I believe that voice was real," Richtofen stated.
"Well, whatever, I hope Uncle Henry's field turns out like this!" Dorothy exclaimed.
"Could you tell me where this Uncle Henry's field is?" the voice asked.
'Grrrrr... Arf Arf Arf'
"Whoa... why are you barking Toto?" Dempsey asked. "Wait, where did he run off to?"
Just then, the group looked towards the direction Toto ran off too and saw a Scarecrow just hanging on a pole. He was wearing a green hat with a single yellow stripe, and was wearing a mix of green and blue throughout his outfit. His face appeared to be painted on as the nose was a red color when compared to the rest of the head.
"So you were the one talking to us?" Dorothy asked the Scarecrow.
"Please, won't you tell me who this Uncle Henry fellow is?" replied the Scarecrow.
"In Kansas, within the United States."
"Ah, I really have no brain. America, Kansas, I don't know anything," Scarecrow spoke to himself.
"Don't be concerned, the Munchkins had no idea about any of our homelands either. In fact, most of us only visited America recently," Richtofen replied.
Just then, Toto barked, causing a bunch of crows to appear and fly around.
"If you are Scarecrow, then why were there crows everywhere?" Nikolai asked.
"It's so small, but it managed to scare away the crows so easily, I really have no brain." Scarecrow noted.
"You are stuck to pole, that is not helping your case," Takeo started.
"I'm pretty fed up with being here. The crows make fun of me."
The group immediately decided to get the Scarecrow down. All of them moved to his position in the cornfield. Eventually, they made it to the Scarecrow.
"Oh you silly thing, why not just move your arms?" questioned Dorothy.
"Move them?" replied Scarecrow.
"Yes, just like this." Dorothy moved her arm so that it went around a clockwise motion.
Scarecrow did the same motion on both hands, but ended up falling to the ground.
"You okay? You let go of both hands at once." Dempsey asked.
"So you say it was easy all along, I didn't realize," Scarecrow remarked.
"Let us help you up." Takeo decided. He reached down and pushed the Scarecrow up so that he was now in a sitting position.
"I feel like I've been reborn. Thank you all." Scarecrow said.
"I am Takeo Misaki, my companions are Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Edward Richtofen, and Dorothy Gale. What is your name?" Takeo told the Scarecrow.
"I am... Scarecrow?" Scarecrow replied. "There's just straw in here. I know that much, at least."
"And that's Toto," Dorothy said, indicating her dog.
"Nice to meet you Toto," Scarecrow stated. "Why were you all in a place like this?" Thus, the group told the Scarecrow of their mission to the Emerald City, and learned what had happened to the Scarecrow throughout his creation. The group then said their goodbyes to Scarecrow and continued on their journey.
The group had barely left when Scarecrow called out to the group.
"I wonder what the Scarecrow would want," Richtofen wondered to himself.
"Take me with you please!" Scarecrow shouted. And thus the Scarecrow joined the group. Everyone alerted him to be careful since he was not used to walking quite yet. Eventually, the group came across another lake. The men grabbed some canteens and refilled them with fresh water, while Dorothy tried to offer Scarecrow some water.
"Look at my face, My mouth and eyes are drawn on. If I drink water my face will disappear... I think?" Scarecrow said, unsure if the last part was true.
"By the way, why do you want a brain if your a Scarecrow?" Dorothy asked. Scarecrow then told Dorothy about the day the crows took over the cornfield and the advice on having a brain the oldest crow told him.
Just then Dorothy and the group stood up with determination.
"A scarecrow who wants a brain, and a group of five wishing to see their homes again. We need to keep moving if we wish to see this occur," Dempsey stated.
"This way Toto!" Dorothy exclaimed, and the group took off down the Yellow Brick Road, unaware that the four staves were glowing in recognition of a new ally.