Chapter Thirty One
(I'm so sorry about not uploading the last chapter the other night. My computer was acting up and it wouldn't allow me to upload the previous chapter. I guess computers aren't really as smart as we think.
Anyway, here is a fun fact:
The Dip, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, is a green substance with some yellow when a Toon is not touching it. The reason why the Wicked Witch of the West in this story uses fire that has the colors green and yellow was because I wanted to have an idea of Doom still using the Dip as one of his weapons and because the Wicked Witch of the West is one of his terrifying forms that he was resurrected as after he was dipped by Beatrice.
I'm sorry if I'm not making any sense on that fun fact.
Okay, so, here is chapter thirty one!
Enjoy the story and life as it goes!
-imaginarytoon1
PS: Before you read the next story (The Birchwood Twin(s): Peaches and Powers!), I recommend watching/reading these movies/books, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.)
Third Person POV:
With worry, Sleazy and Psycho (with a sandwich in his hand) walked to Greasy's office. They've been worried about him since he went looking for Beatrice with Tommy (her brother), Cressida, Penelope, Smarty, Stupid, Flasher, Wheezy, and Slimy. Yes, Sleazy and Psycho looked for Beatrice, too. They were worried like Greasy but not too worried, unlike Greasy.
"Why is Greasy sad again?" Psycho asked Sleazy.
"He's actually more worried than sad." Sleazy replied. "Greasy's worried about Beatrice because he thinks that he'll never find Beatrice."
"Pretty Girly?"
"If that's what you call Beatrice, yes. And ever since we all came back from Thomas's house, Greasy is just…not…I don't know…not his usual 'on-duty' self. I don't know how to describe it but Greasy isn't really focused on most things. You know what I'm saying?"
Psycho looked at Sleazy with a blank look on his face, obviously not really getting the point.
"Never mind, never mind." Sleazy said as he and Psycho approached the door that led to Greasy's office. "Still have that sandwich?"
"Yes." Psycho said and held it up.
Then, Sleazy knocked on the door.
"Greasy, can Psycho and I come in?" He asked.
No reply.
Despite of that, Sleazy and Psycho went inside.
To their horror, Greasy wasn't in the office.
"Greasy, where are you in the office? I know you're in here." Sleazy said.
Then, Sleazy and Psycho turned their heads to their right after hearing a noise that sounded like a sad sigh.
In the far corner where Psycho and Sleazy were looking, there was a bed and the sheets were moving in and out.
"Is Greasy under there?" Psycho asked.
"Under the sheets? Yep, I believe so." Sleazy replied.
The two curious weasels walked over to the bed. Underneath it were two spectator shoes and a green zoot suit-styled trench coat and next to one of the bed posts was a green hat.
Sleazy cleared his throat and he took a deep breath.
"Greasy, are you doing all right?" He asked.
Without peeking from the sheets, Greasy said,
"Déjame en paz."
Sleazy shook his head.
"No, we can't leave you alone right now. Boss is wondering why you're taking so long to come and eat."
With strong enunciation, as if Sleazy didn't get the message, Greasy said,
"Deja ... yo ... solo."
This is where a brief moment of silence was on its cue. Psycho looked at Sleazy and he sighed.
"All right, Greasy." He said. "Psycho and I will leave you alone. We brought you a sandwich and we'll leave on your nightstand if you get hungry."
Psycho walked over to the night stand and he places the sandwich in the middle of it.
As Psycho and Sleazy were about to walk out, Sleazy said to Greasy,
"Don't worry, Greasy. We'll find Beatrice and like you, I hope that she's doing all right. We just got to keep our fingers crossed."
Then, Sleazy walked out of the office and closed the door.
After the click of the door closing, Greasy sat up from the bed and the sheets fell down from his head.
"I hope you're right, Sleazy." Greasy said. "I hope that muchacha is all right."
…
Beatrice:
"Can I believe my eyes?" The Wizard exclaimed in surprise as flames were being shot out from the bottom of the altar. "Why have you six come back here?"
Yes, Scarecrow, TW, Lion, Toto, and I have made it back to the Emerald City and we were escorted back to the chamber of the Wizard with big smiles on our faces. How we got transported back to the Emerald City isn't important right now.
So anyway, Scarecrow handed me the broomstick and with a smile on my face, I walked up a couple of feet. Toto followed me as I set the broom down in front of me and backed away from it a couple of inches.
"We've done what you told us." I said. "We've brought you the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. We melted him with water."
Brief pause.
"Oh, you liquidated him, eh?" The Wizard said. "Very resourceful!"
"Yes, sir." I replied. "So we'd like you to keep your promise to us, if you please."
With a brief explosion and spark from the flames, the Wizard exclaimed,
"NOT SO FAST! NOT SO FAST!"
His exclamation was so loud and (kind of) harsh that my smile was wiped off my face and I trembled in fear and surprise.
"I'll have to give the matter a little thought!" The Wizard said. "Go away and come back tomorrow!"
WHAT?! I thought.
"TOMORROW?!" I exclaimed. "But I want to go home right now! I can't wait tomorrow!"
I heard TW walk up and he stood beside me on my right.
"YOU'VE HAD PLENTY OF TIME ALREADY!" He exclaimed.
I heard Lion and Scarecrow walk up and they stood beside me on my left.
"YEAH!" Lion exclaimed angrily.
"DO NOT AROUSE THE WRATH OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ!" The Wizard exclaimed. "I said, 'Come back tomorrow'!"
I frowned.
"If you were really great and powerful, YOU'D KEEP YOUR PROMISES!" I shouted.
"DO YOU PRESUME TO CRITICIZE THE GREAT OZ, YOU UNGRATEFUL CREATURES?" The Wizard asked. "THINK YOURSELVES LUCKY THAT I'M GIVING YOU AUDIENCE TOMORROW…"
As the Wizard continued to talk, Head Number Two tapped my shoulder and he pointed to his left. I looked and I gasped in horror when I saw Toto standing next to an open curtain. I saw an ordinary man, who looked like Yen Sid with his beard and hair cut, with gray hair in a gray suit and pants. I made TW and Lion turn to their lefts and I'm probably guessing that they're shocked to see a man messing around with dials, levers, buttons, switches, and speaking into a hanging microphone. I'm going to give Toto credit for exposing that man behind the curtain.
"…INSTEAD OF TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW!" The man finished in the voice of the Wizard.
The man turned around and he gasped in shock when he figured out that he was exposed.
"THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN!" He said in the microphone.
Finally, the man turned around and frantically, he begins to close the curtain.
As I walked over to his control booth and the curtain that was hiding him (and the control booth), the man exclaimed,
"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! The GREAT OZ…HAS SPOKEN!"
I pulled open the curtain.
The man looked at me with horror as I crossed my arms.
"WHO ARE YOU?" I asked.
"I-I-I…" The man stuttered.
Then, he turns to the microphone and began to say,
"I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL…"
Finally, the man gives up.
"…Wizard of Oz." He concluded.
I gasped in disbelief.
"YOU ARE?!" I exclaimed. "I don't believe you!"
The man sighed.
"No, I'm afraid it's true." He said as I heard TW, Scarecrow, and Lion walk up to us. "It's just me. I'm the only wizard and there aren't any others."
"YOU HUMBUG!" Head Numbers One and Two exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Lion said.
The 'Wizard' sighed sadly.
"You're right, I'm a humbug." He said. "I'm actually a very good man. I'm a really bad wizard, that's all."
"What about that you promised TW?!" Head Number One exclaimed angrily.
"And the courage that you promised Lion?!" Head Number Two exclaimed.
"And Scarecrow's brains?" TW, Toto, Lion, and I exclaimed in unison.
"Why, my two-headed friend, anybody can have a brain." The 'Wizard' said to Scarecrow. "That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on this earth or slinks through the slimy seas has a brain! Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. When they come out, they think deep thoughts with no more brains than YOU TWO have. But they have one thing that you two haven't got: a diploma!"
The 'Wizard' turns around and grabs two rolls of paper with ribbons hanging out from the ends. He gives one diploma to each side of Scarecrow.
"Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitatus Committeatum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby confer upon you two the honorary degree of Th.D."
"'Th.D.'?" Head Numbers One and Two asked.
"Doctors of 'Thinkology'." The 'Wizard' replied.
Head Number One gave us a face that makes himself look like he's thinking of something.
"Twenty-five squared plus fifteen squared equals eight hundred fifty..." Head Number One said.
"And eight hundred fifty under the square root is twenty nine point one, five, four, seven, five, nine, four, seven." Head Number Two concluded.
I gasped in surprised and the heads gasped in realization.
"OH, JOY!" They exclaimed in unison. "WE GOT OURSELVES OUR OWN BRAIN!"
Okay, now we're getting somewhere.
"As for you, my fine friend," The Wizard said to Lion as they walked to a column on the altar (TW, Scarecrow, Toto, and I followed them.). "you are a victim of disorganized thinking. You're under the unfortunate delusion that simply because you run away from danger you have no courage. You're confusing courage with wisdom. Back where I come from, we have men who are called 'heroes'. Once a year, they take their fortitude out of mothballs and parade it down the main street of the city." The Wizard opens the column and takes out a big, black bag. "And they have no more courage than you have. But they have one thing that you haven't got: a medal."
The Wizard reaches inside the bag and pulls out…
"Therefore, for meritorious conduct, extraordinary valor, conspicuous bravery against Wicked Witches, I award you the Triple Cross." The Wizard said and clips the medal underneath Lion's trimmed mane. "You are now a member of the Legion of Courage."
The Wizard smiles and shakes his hand with Lion.
Lion begins to say something but nothing comes out of his smiling mouth and he begins to blush.
"Aw, shucks, I'm speechless." Lion said.
Then, the Wizard looks at TW.
"As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart." He said.
TW nodded.
"You don't know how lucky you are without one. Hearts will never be practical until they're made unbreakable." The Wizard said.
"But I would still like to have a heart." TW replied.
"Back where I come from, there are men who do NOTHING all day but good deeds. They are called…uh, what's that word…phil…uh…"
"'Philanthropists'?" Head Numbers One and Two and I asked in unison.
"Yes, that's it. Those men are called philanthropists and their hearts are no bigger than yours. But they have one thing that you haven't got: a testimonial."
As the Wizard continues to explain, he reaches in his bag and begins to look for something for TW.
"Therefore, in consideration of your kindness, I take pleasure at this time in presenting you…" The Wizard takes out a large, red, heart-shaped watch with a golden chain. "…with a small token of our esteem and affection. And remember, my friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love but by how much you are loved by others."
I nodded my head in agreement.
That is very, very true. I thought.
The Wizard hands TW the watch. TW puts the watch up to his ear and he exclaims, "Oh, it ticks! Listen!"
He puts the clock close to my ear and I heard it ticking. TW lets Scarecrow and Lion listen to the ticking watch and I giggled as they listen to the ticking.
"Read what my medal says!" Lion said. "'Courage'! Ain't that the truth?"
"My, oh, my." I said. "They're all wonderful."
Head Number One gasped.
"Wait a minute! What about Beatrice?" He asked the Wizard.
"Yeah, how about Beatrice?" TW asked.
I shook my head.
"I-I don't think there's anything in the black bag for me." I confessed.
"Well, you force me into a cataclysmic decision. The only way to get Beatrice back to Houston, Texas is for me to take her there myself."
I gasped.
"Oh, you are?" I asked happily. "Are you a clever enough wizard to manage it?"
"I was a Texas man myself." The Wizard said. "I liked the beautiful sunsets, the beauty of the bluebonnets, and even danced to the country music that would be played on the radio. I was a magician who performed many impossible tricks that anyone has ever seen. One day, at a country fair, I was in a hot air balloon and I was about to perform one of many spectacular feats of stratospheric skill, never before attempted by man, an unfortunate phenomenon occurred. The balloon failed to return to the fair."
"It did?" Lion asked.
"Weren't you frightened?" I asked.
"Frightened?" The Wizard asked back. "You are talking to a man who has LAUGHED IN THE FACE OF DEATH, SNEERED AT DOOM, and CHUCKLED AT CATASTROPHE. I was petrified. Then, suddenly, the wind changed and the balloon floated down into the heart of this noble city, where I was instantly acclaimed Oz, the First Wizard Deluxe! Times being what they were, I accepted the job, retaining my balloon against the advent of a quick getaway. And in that balloon, my dear Beatrice, you and I will return to the land of 'e pluribus unum'!"
I can't wait to go back to Texas! I thought. The Lone Star State and the capital of the pecan pies, here I come!