Chapter Thirty Two

(Hey, y'all!

Sorry for not posting this final chapter last night. I was still working on it and I stayed up 'til 2:15 in the morning. I had to go to sleep and I was really tired.

Anyway, 2014 is coming tomorrow!

Grab your fireworks or party poppers ready because tomorrow is going to be a brand new year! Spend some time with your family and even read stuff from FanFiction if you want.

This is the last chapter of The Birchwood Twin(s) in The Wizard of Oz and coming up in a few days or a couple of weeks, The Birchwood Twin(s): Peaches and Powers!

I hope that y'all are having a good Christmas break and New Year's!

Enjoy the story and life as it goes!

-imaginarytoon1

PS: For those of you who love musicals, check out Matilda: The Musical on YouTube and listen to a couple of the songs that were performed in the next story.

Here's the link and I'm sorry that it's not in the best quality:

watch?v=lis51a1Esuc )

Beatrice:

A few quick hours later, the Wizard, Scarecrow, TW, Lion, Toto, and I were in the center of the Emerald City. Toto and I were in the gondola of the Wizard's hot red, white, and blue hot air balloon with the Wizard himself. Everyone in the Emerald City gathered around the balloon and they were watching with excitement and curiosity. Lion, TW, and Scarecrow were getting ready to untie the ropes that held the balloon.

Then, after everyone cheered, the Wizard announced,

"This is positively the finest exhibition ever to be shown. I, your Wizard per ardua et alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere!"

The townspeople cheered.

"To confer, converse, and otherwise hobnob with my brother wizards." The Wizard continued. "And I hereby decree that until what time, if any, if I return, the Two-Headed Scarecrow by virtue of their highly superior brains, shall rule in my stead, assisted by Tin Weasel, by virtue of his magnificent heart, and the Lion by virtue of his courage. Obey them as you would obey me."

Before the townspeople cheered, Toto SLIPPED out of my hands and jumped out of the gondola of the hot air balloon.

"HEY, COME HERE, YOU STUPID CAT!" Toto exclaimed disappeared into the crowd. "I'LL TEACH YOU A THING OR TWO ABOUT STARING AT ME AND GIVING ME THE EVIL EYE!"

"Toto, come back here!" I exclaimed and climbed out of the gondola.

"Don't go without her!" Lion said to the Wizard as I chased after Toto.

After apologizing to the owner of the cat, I chased after Toto, who was not doing a good job on keeping up with the cat. Several of the townspeople moved out of my way as I caught up with Toto. I got bumped in the arms a few times and I finally caught up with Toto before he disappeared into the crowd just because of a cat.

I ran back to where the Wizard was waiting but to my horror, the Wizard was already floating away with the balloon!

"COME BACK! COME BACK!" I cried. "Don't go without me! PLEASE COME BACK!"

"I can't come back! I don't know how this works!" The Wizard exclaimed as he was going up higher and higher into the sky. "GOODBYE, FOLKS!"

All of the townspeople waved and shouted, "GOOD-BYE!"

Everyone watched as the Wizard float up to the sky with his balloon and I sighed sadly.

"Oh, now I'll never get home." I said.

"Sorry, Beatrice. I couldn't resist." Toto said and patted my arm with one of his furry paws.

"Stay with us, then." Lion said with a little bit of sadness in his voice. "We don't want you to go."

I sniffled.

"That's very kind of y'all," I said, "but this could never be like Houston. My brother and father must've stopped looking for me and wondering where I am right now. What am I going to do?"

After a brief pause, Head Numbers One and Two gasped.

"Look!" Head Number One said.

"Here's someone who can help you!" Head Number Two said and pointed at something.

I looked at where Head Number Two was pointing and everyone, including I, saw a bubble that was constantly changing colors heading its way in the town. The bubble finally changed to a red and purple color before it touched the ground.

Glinda appears from the bubble and everyone gasped softly at the sight of her. As she walked down a staircase, every man who saw her took off their hats and bowed in respect. The women also bowed in respect but they didn't take off their hats like the men did. While Glinda walked through the crowd, they made room for her and bowed down to their knees. When she approached me, Scarecrow, TW, Lion, and Toto, the townspeople stopped bowing and watched.

I did a small curtsey and I asked Glinda,

"Will you help me? Can you help me?"

Glinda chuckled and smiled.

"You don't need to be helped anymore." She said. "You've always had the power to go back to Houston."

If I were a Toon, my jaw would've dropped to the ground. Instead, my eyes grew as wide as sugar plums.

"I have?!" I asked.

"Why didn't you tell her before?" Head Numbers One and Two asked in unison.

"Because she wouldn't have believed me." Glinda replied. "She had to learn it herself."

"What have you learned, Beatrice?" TW asked.

I paused for a second and took a deep breath.

"Well…I think that sometimes in life, someone is chosen to do something and have to follow a destiny that's been planned for them in the future. Even if they don't think that they'll fulfill it, that someone would still have to fulfill their destiny and destinies are inevitable or changed." I said and took another deep breath. "I know that if someone chooses me to be a part of something, I have to participate. If I hadn't made it to Munchkin Land when I first came to Oz, then where would Scarecrow, TW, and Lion be or what would they be doing if I wasn't around? Scarecrow would still be hanging on a pole and have crows make fun of them every day and never get their brains, TW would've stayed rusted and stand next to a fallen tree without assistance and never get his heart, and Lion would've been cowering somewhere and never get his courage." I felt tear drops running down my cheeks. "Now that I'm here with Scarecrow, TW, Lion, and Toto, I began to think about how destinies are inevitable and I faced many obstacles, temptations, and even fought an evil witch with my friends. Now I know that if I try to avoid anything that'll lead me to my destiny, something is going to make me go back and follow it. And after I ran away from home while I was taken away, I felt like I didn't belong to anybody. I also realized that I do belong to a family and nobody can replace me. There is only one Beatrice Birchwood and there will never, ever be anybody who can take my spots in life."

I took one last deep breath.

"Is that right?" I asked Glinda.

"That's all it is!" She replied with a smile.

"But that's so easy!" Head Number One exclaimed.

"We should've thought of that for you!" Head Number Two said.

"I should've felt that in my heart." TW said.

"No. Beatrice had to find that out for herself." Glinda said. "Those sandals will take you and Toto home in seconds."

"They'll take us home…right-right now?" I asked.

"Whenever you wish."

I looked at TW, Lion, and Scarecrow.

"Oh, man." I said. "It's going to be so hard to say goodbye."

I walked over to TW.

"Goodbye, TW." I said.

He hugged me and even though TW looked a lot like Greasy, I hugged him back. After he released me, I saw that teardrops were running down from his eyes.

"Please don't cry, TW." I said. "I'm very sorry to say this but the Witch got rid of the oilcan. Please don't cry. You'll rust so dreadfully."

TW wiped his tears off his cheeks with his hand.

"Now I know I've got a heart because it's breaking." He said.

I patted TW on his shoulder and I walked to Lion.

"Goodbye, Lion." I said and patted him on his shoulder. "I know that it's not right for me to say this but I'm going to miss the way you used to holler for help before you found your courage."

Lion sniffled a little bit and wiped a teardrop off his cheek.

"I would never have found it if it hadn't been for you." He said.

I hugged him and I walked to Scarecrow.

"I'm really going to miss y'all." I said.

Scarecrow pulled me into a hug and I felt Head Number Two pat my back with his hand.

"Goodbye, Beatrice." Both heads said in unison.

After I stopped hugging Scarecrow, I walked to Glinda.

"Are you ready now?" She asked gently.

I wiped a teardrop and nodded.

"Goodbye, TW. Goodbye, Lion. Goodbye, Scarecrow." Toto said and waved at them. They waved back.

"All right, Beatrice. Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times." Glinda said.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Gently but firmly, I tapped my heels together. I heard the rubies on the sandals make a clicking sound as I tapped my heels.

"And think to yourself…" Glinda said. "'There's no place like home. There's no place like home'."

"There's no place like home." I repeated with my eyes still closed. "There's no place like home."

As I continued to repeat that, I felt the wind blowing at me. I even felt like I was getting lifted off of the ground.

Then, I heard a WHOOOOOSH sound and I opened my eyes.

I was traveling through a space where many colors are zooming past me and I felt like I was in a speeding NASA rocket ship. Then, the colors changed into some familiar surroundings. Although I still felt like I was in a speeding NASA rocket ship, none of the surroundings were looking like blurs. I was now seeing trees, rock roads, open grass fields, cars, trucks, and people riding motorcycles as I speeded pass and over everything.

I even began to notice that I was slowly getting closer and closer to the ground and I knew that Toto and I are back in Houston. That reminds me. I wonder why Toto isn't saying anything right now.

Finally, my feet touched the ground and I was like a Toon screeching to a halt after seeing a road hazard in front of them. After I covered thirty feet, I began to slow down and eventually, I stopped.

"Toto, we're home." I said and looked down at him.

Toto was no longer a walking talking doll. He was back to his inanimate self. Well, at least I got to talk to him while we were in Oz.

Then, I looked at where I am right now.

"I'm five minutes away from my house." I mumbled. "I guess I can walk the rest of the way."

I looked down at my feet.

"Huh!" I said. "My tennis shoes are back. I guess Glinda now wields the sandals."

After that, I began to walk.

As I walked, I saw a 'HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TEENAGER' poster.

This is what it looked like:

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TEENAGER?

Name: Beatrice Elaine Birchwood

Last Seen: In the back of a HJI Van

Picture of me

My mom's phone number

I took off running because I prefer to surprise my family instead of someone calling them.

After a few minutes of turning a couple of lefts and rights, going a few ups, and holding a doll in my hand, I arrived home.

"There's my home." I said.

I walked up to the front door and I was about to knock on it.

What if Mom calls Mr. D? I thought. What if she yells at me? What if she verbally abuses me and gives me a harsh punishment? Wait a minute. Forget those things! I came home to forgive my mom and even start all over with her.

I reached the doorknob and twisted it a little bit to see if it was locked. It turns smoothly and I quietly enter my house.

After I closed the door, I heard Dad calling from the living room,

"Tommy…or Scarlett, any luck yet? Have you found Beatrice yet?"

I looked at the clock that was nailed on the left side of the wall. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon.

"Scarlett, have you found Beatrice yet?" Dad called from the living room.

Quickly and quietly, I ran to the living room and stood in the middle of the doorway. I saw Dad sitting in his favorite chair with a sad look on his face.

"I'm here, Daddy." I said. "I'm home."

Dad looked up and he jumped off of his chair and ran to me.

"Oh, Beatrice!" He exclaimed and hugged me. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Daddy." I replied. "Not a single scratch on me since my meeting with Angie."

"I'm so glad that you're safe."

"I'm so glad to be home."

After a few minutes, I heard a car drive up.

"Scarlett's home." Dad said after letting me go.

"Is she going to call Mr. D when she sees me?" I asked.

"Mr. D was found at the research park. He was looking for you and during the tornado, Mr. D was thrown in to the lake of the park and he was found floating on the water. The only thing that you have to worry about is how your mom going to react."

I nodded and I heard the door open up.

"Abbot?" Mom called.

"Dad?" Tommy called.

"Mr. Birchwood?" Cressida and Penelope asked in unison.

"Did anybody call?" Mom asked as I heard them walk over to the living room.

Then, all four of them walked into the living room and they saw me.

"BEATRICE!" Mom, Tommy, Cressida, and Penelope exclaimed.

Tommy, Cressida, and Penelope ran over to me and they started to hug me in excitement.

"Are you all right", "Are you hurt", "Where have you been?" Tommy, Cressida, and Penelope asked.

"You'll never believe where I was and yes, I'm all right." I replied.

"Why did you get out of Mr. D's van when he was taking you to the HJI?" Mom asked with an angry look on my face.

We all looked at her.

"You should be at the HJI." Mom said to me. "I'm going to call the people of the HJI and you're going there, no ifs, ands, or buts."

I shook my head.

"I'm not going there, Momma." I said. "That's not the place for me."

"The HJI is certainly-" Mom began.

"It isn't, Mom. I'm not going there just because you think that I'm crazy and I talk to imaginary beings. I'm not the only person who can do that and there are some people in this world who are like or similar to me. I am your daughter and I'm going to allow you to kick me out of the house because this is where I belong."

"Are you even mad at me?"

"I was mad at you because you wanted me to be out of the house and because you just wanted a son. But I don't want to have a grudge on you and I would like to have a better mother-daughter relationship. I even suggest that you should talk to someone, like Mr. Anderson, the psychologist, about why you don't love me like a daughter. What do you say, Mom? Should we start over?"

Mom thinks over what I just said and I saw Penelope and Cressida look at me with looks of surprise.

Finally, Mom sighed and said,

"Let's start over."

After she said that, time passed by quickly.

Mom, Dad, Tommy, and I were waving good-bye to Cressida and Penelope when the sun was about to set. Since they don't want to go back to their parents, they decided to live with a foster family who were eight minutes away from us.

Then, around nine o'clock at night, while everybody else was asleep, I sat down on my bed and I began to read Of Mice and Men.

I was probably in the middle of the third chapter of my book when my head was beginning to hurt. I probably haven't been drinking a lot of water when I was in Oz and maybe that's why I'm getting a headache.

I got off of my bed and walked to the kitchen.

After entering the kitchen, I walked to a cabinet and took out a small glass. I walked to the sink and filled the glass with water.

I heard shuffling after setting the glass down on the counter. I ignored the shuffling and walked to the medicine cabinet.

I opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a container of ibuprofen. I twisted off the lid and pulled out two ibuprofen capsules.

The next thing that I heard was giggling and more shuffling as I was about to put the capsules in my mouth. I looked to my left and I didn't see anything. Then, I didn't hear anything else.

"Oh, well." I said and opened my mouth.

I popped the capsules in my mouth and said, "Down the hatch."

I put the glass up to my lips and swallowed the capsules with the water in one gulp.

After putting the glass in the sink, I walked back to my room. Finally, I decided to mark where I left off on Of Mice and Men and go to sleep.

I put the book down on the floor and turned off my lamp.

After my head was on the pillow, I felt like I was out.

I was breathing in and out heavily as I tried to enjoy a good night's sleep. That was one thing that was on my list of things to do once I get back from Oz.

I probably won't wake up until six o'clock in the evening tomorrow. I thought.

My heart began to leap when I heard my bedroom door open. I tried to relax as I heard two persons walk in to my room. Who could be walking in my room at this time of the night?

I felt my bed tilt down a little and someone began to rake their fingers through my hair.

"Pretty Girly?" I heard Psycho ask me.

My eyes shot open and I turned on my lamp.

All of the sudden, something in green leaps out of nowhere and wraps its arms around me.

It was Greasy.

"You are alive!" He exclaimed. "I was so worried about you!"

"It's all right, Greasy. I'm all right." I said.

He stopped hugging me and then, Greasy made me look at him in the eyes.

"Do not, I mean, DO NOT disappear like that!" He exclaimed. "You almost gave me a heart attack! I was afraid that you were dead."

"As you and Psycho can see," I said, "I'm not dead. I don't have a single scratch on me since my meeting with Angie."

Then, Psycho crawled up on my bed and he hugged me.

"Don't do that again, Pretty Girly." He said. "Don't leave like you did in that big, bad storm."

"I won't, I won't." I replied.

Then, I felt Psycho getting pulled away by Greasy and he hugged me again.

"I'm so glad that you're back." He said.

"I'm glad, too." I replied in a voice that people use when they're relaxed, irritated, and tired at the same time.

As Greasy hugged me, he started to rock me a little bit and places one of his hands on the back of my head.

"Can I ask you a few things?" He whispered.

"Yeah. What are they?" I asked.

Greasy released me and he puts his right hand on my hands.

"Ever since the other Toons found out about the sleepwalking incident, they keep telling me and the other members of the Toon Patrol that we should've been dipped. Do we deserved to be dipped, muchacha?"

I looked at Greasy with a shocked look on my face.

"No, Greasy." I said. "Y'all don't deserve to be dipped. The only thing that y'all deserve is another chance."

Greasy and Psycho sighed in relief.

"That was all that I was looking for." Greasy said. "And…do you love me?"

"I only like you as a friend, Greasy." I replied. "We talked about this at the hospital in Los Angeles."

"I like you more than just a friend, muchacha. What exactly are you saying to me exactly?"

I sighed.

"I think that you're a really, really, really nice guy…er, weasel…and I actually appreciate your kindness towards me…but I am not ready to date anyone. I'm sorry that I told you that and I am being really honest with you." I explained.

Greasy looks at me with a blank but serious look on his face.

"Is it about what happened to you in the past? When all of the other boys took advantage of you and even abused you?" He asked me.

My eyes widened.

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Your brother told me everything." Greasy replied. "He even told me about that Austin Jakobe who used you and took advantage of you while working on a school project."

I shook my head and I tried to forget about that.

"That was the most dreadful time of my life." I said.

"Thomas also told me that you also made the choice of never hanging out with boys because you were tired of being used, taken advantage of, and abused by them." Greasy replied to me.

Then, he pulls me into another hug.

"I know you're finding it hard to trust me," Greasy said, "but you have to. I would never abuse or take advantage of you like those boys did and that's a solemn promise. I'm going to keep that."

He sighed.

"You just have to trust me."

I sighed and then, slowly, I hugged Greasy back. I'm not doing that because I just went right on ahead and immediately fall in love with Greasy. I hugged him back because I think that the other Toons who know him and the other weasels should be trusted as time goes.

"I'm going to trust you, Greasy." I said. "But only on one condition. If you do something that'll make me lose my trust in you, there will be no other way to make me trust you again."

Greasy sighed in relief and he still hugged me.

"I promise that I will never do anything that'll make you not trust me." He said. "You're the only person who actually trusts me."

"Wait a minute; I thought that Judge Doom was the only one who trusted you and the other members of the Toon Patrol."

He stopped hugging me and shook his head.

"No. Doom doesn't count anymore." Greasy said. "He is now giving every Toon a bad name."

"Doom's a bully." Psycho said.

Then, something just came to my mind.

"I need to tell Yen Sid about trying to reform the other members of the Toon Patrol." I said.

"Psycho and I already changed." Greasy reminded.

"All who's left is Smarty, Stupid, Flasher, Slimy, Sleazy, and Wheezy."

Then, one of my desk drawers opened up by itself and the Genie's lamp floats out of it.

The lamp made its way over to me and it landed in between me and Greasy.

"What's that?" Greasy asked.

"It's the Genie's lamp." I replied. "I think that I might've told you and the others about it."

The lid on the lamp pops off and a light begins to glow inside.

"Beatrice Birchwood, you have accepted a job that no other Toon wanted to accept." Yen Sid's voice said in the lamp. "I know that you know about your destiny and I wanted to give you a few warnings as you continue to make a change and find more allies with Tommy. As you already know, never let your anger or fear go out of control because if either of those things are out of control, then Doom will come back as somebody else with his characteristics and personality lingering in his new form. He'll also become more powerful and more terrifying as he looks for his own allies. I believe that there are a few more things that you and Tommy need to know. Doom is also planning on killing you and Tommy but not because he wants you dead. He wants to have your hearts."

Greasy, Psycho, and I gasped in horror and in unison.

"Since the hearts are one of your most potent weapons that you possess, Doom wants to control the world with that power with your heart's power. My advice to you and Tommy is that never let Doom control or possess you because if he does, then he'll take away your hearts and use them for his evil purpose of taking over the world and ruin the lives of humans and Toons." Yen Sid's voice continued.

"Oh, man." I whispered.

"As you and Tommy continue with your lives, keep an eye out for Doom and try to decrease his number of allies. He will be powerful but you and Tommy are the Toons' only hope of keeping Doom from taking over both the human and Toon world. I will also give you these powers that'll help you during your encounters with Doom and maybe some hints or lessons that you'll learn. One last thing, if you suspect that Doom is wandering around in your world, look out for his red eyes, high squeaky voice, and any behavior traits that makes a Toon. But for now, try to act like you're having a normal life and try to have a good school year. Stay safe and Godspeed."

The light stopped glowing inside the lamp and the lid, as if it were being pulled by a magnet, made its way back to the top of the lid, where it's supposed to be. Then, the lamp floated back into my desk drawer.

"Wow, muchacha, you and Thomas have some destiny there." Greasy said.

"This is going to be exciting." Was all I said.

Then, Greasy sighed.

"Well, Psycho and I have to head back to Toon Town." He said. "I'll see you some other time."

He tousled my hair and left my room.

Psycho looked me and smiled.

"You love Greasy, don't ya?" He asked.

"I like him as a friend, Psycho. Just a friend." I replied.

Psycho gives me a smug and moves his eyebrows up and down, as if he were saying: "Sure you do".

"PSSSH! Knock it off!" I laughed.

Then, Greasy's hand slips underneath the crack of my door and grabs Psycho as he giggled. He disappears under the crack and I heard Greasy say,

"Sleep well, muchacha."

"See you, Greasy." I replied.

Then, all goes silent.

I turned off my lamp and I sighed.

Greasy's right. Tommy and I have one exciting destiny. It's going to be exciting, dangerous, and probably epic. I have a feeling that the battle with Doom will not be like any battle that the world would remember.

There's no way that I'm going to abandon my destiny.

THE END!