Disclaimer: I do not own Oz or anything along those lines. Any mistakes are my own.

"Go away!" Ozma screeches from the other side of the door. Glinda sighed, shaking her head at the ground.

"We just want to help you, dear. I can promise you that Nessa Rose meant no harm at all." Glinda pointed out gently.

Nessa Rose shrunk down against the wall in defeat. She hadn't meant for anything horrible to happen, but sadly, this was how most of her plans usually ended. She shouldn't be surprised, though she was anyway.

"I don't want to see any of you," Ozma calls from her spot behind Nessa Rose's gigantic bed. The small girl is huddled in the corner beside the bed, pulling her feet in towards her chest. She would never admit that she is crying, because Ozma doesn't cry, but there are a few tears still running down her cheeks. She hasn't thrown a fire ball in thirty minutes, which could be considered an achievement, but Ozma was too preoccupied with what she had seen earlier.

What was wrong with that man?

Ozma continues to tell herself that the man couldn't have been the Wizard of Oz that she's heard about, because that would be ridiculous. The stories that she was told portrayed the Wizard as wonderful and powerful, while the man that Ozma had seen acted almost…crazy.

It was unnerving.

"Why don't you open the door with your eyes clothes?" Nessa Rose's voice can be heard saying. Ozma is surprised that the China Woman wasn't pitching a fit about Ozma invading her room, but she decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Ozma lifted herself up and shuffled towards the door with her eyes squeezed shut.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Nessa Rose says. She is about to say more, but knows not to say anything else when Glinda flashes a stern look in her direction. Nessa Rose has already apologized a million times, but she knows that she isn't completely off the hook yet.

Ozma can feel eyes burning a hole through her as she stands in front of the two women with her hands over her eyes, but she can't blame them. She is the one who showed up at Glinda's home uninvited, the one who started to destroy it with fire. She's the one who stands in front of her now, in a tattered dress and mussed up hair, and eyes that refuse to acknowledge her.

Glinda bends down in front of the child, taking everything about her in. She has a feeling that she knows where this child has come from, and she wonders if she is the reason why Oscar's nightmares started again. Glinda has been waiting for this child to arrive, and knew that it was just a matter of time before she did.

Some would call her selfish for keeping something like this from Oz, when he obviously had a right to know, but Glinda felt that he wasn't ready. She knew that he was still guilty about the life that he had sentenced Theodora to long ago, and his condition would probably worsen if he realized that the little "fling" had actually produced a child.

The child wasn't exactly Oscar's twin, but Glinda could tell that the two shared similarities. The biggest, however, was the confusion that the two shared. The confusion that Oscar had possessed when he first came to Oz and the confusion that he had now was the same confusion that this girl was feeling.

Ozma can feel gentle hands peeling her own away from her face, and she surprises herself when she doesn't resist. "Oh, you're eyes are beautiful." Glinda whispers, a small smile gracing her lips. Ozma keeps her eyes glued to the floor, refusing to look up and into the woman's eyes. She knows that her eyes are red and puffy as a result of her tears from earlier. She doesn't want the woman to pity her, or feel bad for her, because there isn't anything wrong.

"That was quite the firework show out there, wasn't it?" Glinda is speaking so softly that she is practically cooing like a dove. Ozma's eyes slowly make their way up towards Glinda's, which are filled with understanding. Ozma isn't sure what she was expecting, but she knows that Glinda is making her feel a little better, though she tries not to show it. She doesn't want Glinda to stop trying.

"What are fireworks?" Ozma asks; her voice hoarse from tears. She clears her throat loudly when she realizes that Nessa Rose is standing in the doorway and watches the exchange between Ozma and Glinda with careful eyes.

Glinda hesitates for a moment before leading the girl over to Nessa Rose's bed and patting the spot next to her, preparing to tell a story. "Remind me to show you sometime."

"You know that you have to get ready for dinner soon, right?" Nessa Rose asks Ozma tentatively. The girl had built a reputation around the palace as being unstable, and Nessa Rose didn't want to be the one to cause Ozma to flip a switch. Fortunately, Ozma continued to stare at the Quadling townspeople that passed by on the street. The girl seemed fascinated by the townspeople, as if she had never seen anything like it before.

"What am I supposed to make?" Ozma asks, not bothering to turn towards Nessa Rose as she answers. She finds the Quadling people strangely soothing, with the way that the wander around the city without a care in the world. She especially loves to watch the children, who play ball games with each other and draw pictures on the ground with chalk. Ozma finds herself wondering what her life would have been life if she had actually lived with her mother, but she can't decide. On one hand, her life could've been the same way that it was now, but she also could have turned out like one of Quadling children. The Witch, or Theodora, as Glinda had called her, seemed pretty fond of Ozma when they had first met.

"You don't make anything. You eat. That's the point of dinner." Nessa Rose explains slowly, flustered at the girl's lack of knowledge. Why in the world would Ozma be the one to prepare the meal? What, did she grow up in a barn or something?

Ozma could hear what Nessa Rose was saying, but she wasn't exactly paying attention. She was still in shock at what Glinda had told her earlier.

Ozma didn't understand how these people were expecting her to react. First, her mother shows up and tells Ozma that she actually has a real mother, right out of the blue. Then you have some other woman trying to explain to Ozma that her father is the Wizard of Oz, which didn't make any sort of sense in the slightest.

To be honest, Ozma didn't even feel surprised anymore.

At first, sure, she had felt angry and annoyed and sad and upset all at once. But eventually, that had started to make her feel sick, and now she just felt numb. She couldn't tell if this was one of her new superpowers or just something that her brain was doing, but she didn't really care.

But then again, this was how being numb was supposed to feel.

"…and you don't have to wear a dress this time, because it obviously didn't work out last time, but maybe you could change," Nessa Rose continues, eyeing the simple tunic that Ozma wore with disgust. "I mean, I'm sure that Glinda could find you something nicer to wear, if you wanted." Nessa Rose offers.

Ozma shrugs, kicking at the ground. "Will Oz be there?" She asks, her voice barely a whispers. Nessa Rose's head snaps to both sides, out of habit. She has half a mind to explain that Ozma isn't supposed to mention the Wizard's name when they weren't in the palace, but she's already on a roll, and she doesn't want her new dress to be burned with any fireballs.

"He won't come out of his room," Nessa Rose says, her voice dropping for the first time that day. "Finley's been in there, trying to get him to come out all day, but he won't listen."

Ozma nods as she kicks at a rock, seemingly unaffected by this information. The two sit in silence for a moment, but nevertheless, Nessa Rose feels as though she has said something wrong. "Are you going to stay?" Nessa Rose breaks the silence.

Ozma shrugs once more, twirling a strand of her hair in her finger. "Maybe, if I'm invited to."

Nessa Rose decides not to say anything after that.

Ozma continues to stare at the townspeople, offering a small smile as they pass by. She isn't sure what she wants to do at all. She doesn't want to stay somewhere where she is unwanted, even if it is her father's home. Even if Glinda says that he was just shocked to see her. Even if he wasn't aware of Ozma's existence. Even if he's been having nightmares, or whatever has been going on.

It shouldn't matter.

Ozma wasn't too pleased with Theodora's entrance into her life, but at least her mother seemed to like her. Oz screamed at her like she was a ghost of some sort, and ran out of the room.

He reacted like she was…

A wicked witch.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Ozma announced abruptly, beginning to feel sick. Nessa Rose looks at her with surprise, but nods anyway.

"I guess that I'll see you at dinner, then."

Ozma isn't sure which room would belong to Oz, but she figures that his room would be one of the bigger ones, since he was the Wizard and all.

She figures that she has to move fast, seeing as she doesn't want her courage and adrenaline to wear out. She doesn't know what would be making her do this, but she figures that this is one of the teenaged things that Mombi always told her that she would do if she wasn't properly punished.

Clearly, scrubbing the manor with a toothbrush wasn't adequate punishment.

She comes across a pair of double doors with fancy doorknobs, and she decides that this would be Oz's room, especially after she hears the painful sounds of Finley trying to make jokes. Ozma takes a deep breath, examining the situation. The worst that could happen was that he could get mad at her, and Ozma was used to that.

Ozma raps on the door quickly and loudly, quickly checking to make sure that no one else was around. Part of her knows that no one would stop her if they saw her, but she does it out of instinct.

"Um, the password is not being applied correctly-"Finley starts, but Ozma cuts him off.

"Open the door, monkey; it's me."

There's a silence on the other side of the door, and Ozma wonders if she was making the right choice. She's starting to doubt her decision when the door swings open and Finley sticks his head out of the door. "Ozma, what are you doing here?" He whispers. To be honest, Finley was surprised that the girl hadn't shown up sooner.

Ozma is about to answer, but is cut off by Finley opening the door wider. "It doesn't matter; just come in."

Ozma was so sure about this when she made the trip over here. She thought that she wouldn't care about what would happen, or what he would say, but now she can't help be freak out. Her feet feel like they are glued to the ground.

"Oh, come on!" Finley groans, tugging on Ozma's arm and dragging her into the room.

"This is ridiculous!" Theodora shrieks as she watches the scene unfold on her crystal ball. "How dare he try to fool her into pitying him."

"You sure are a lot smaller than I thought you'd be."

His voice is shaking, and he looks like a mess with his hair in his face, but at least he is speaking to her.

Ozma doesn't know how she's supposed to react, but she can feel tears welling in her eyes and she blinks them back furiously. "That's kind of what happens when people get older." She rocks back and forth, avoiding his eyes.

Oz can't take his eyes off of her. She looks just like Theodora, and nothing like him. He wonders if Glinda and Finley were actually telling the truth, but he knows that Glinda doesn't lie.

She just withholds information.

He realizes that she was the one that he has been seeing in his nightmares, not Theodora like he had first thought. He's not sure what he's supposed to say, or do. This whole situation doesn't make much sense.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Finley making a hugging gesture. He's wondering if he should try to hug her, but she doesn't look happy to see him. He can't really blame her, seeing as he wasn't around to see her grow up. He's surprised that he actually feels upset at this fact, because he isn't exactly a family man. Sure, there was Nessa Rose…

His thoughts are interrupted when the girl bursts into tears. He's startled, not only because the girl had been glaring at him a couple of seconds ago, but because he's never sure what to do when people cry, especially when that person is his long lost daughter.

"I-I'm s-sorry," The girl's lip is trembling, and she wraps her arms around her stomach as if to brace herself. Oz feels even more guilt pile onto his back, but he isn't sure how to fix it this time. He can't use a bottle of quick dry glue this time. He can't help but feel like he's failed her for all of these years, and he can see the little girl in the wheelchair sitting in front of him.

He follows his instinct and wraps her into his arms, and he can't help but marvel at how small she is. She's like China Girl, all delicate and small. She's like a munchkin that can shoot fireballs, and is named after him.

"I-it's not your fault. None of this is your fault." Oz says while patting the girl's back unsurely. Ozma hiccups, feeling embarrassed. She feels like an idiot for even starting this. "B-but-" She starts, but Oz takes a chance cuts her off and kissing her forehead. "It's alright." He says softly, hoping that she doesn't notice the way that he trembles.

Ozma wants to be angry with him, and she has every right to, but she finally feels like she belongs somewhere. She decides that she'll use all of the angry words that she was gathering tomorrow. Oz's arms are tense around her body at first, but he relaxes little by little as time goes on. He smells like pipe tobacco and peppermint, and Ozma isn't sure if she likes the combination.

Suddenly, the door bursts open and Glinda and Nessa Rose run into the room frantically.

"There's an attack on the city!" Nessa Rose exclaims. Oz instantly pulls away from Ozma, looking towards Glinda with confusion.

"The Wicked Witch and her army have arrived."

Sorry that I haven't updated in a few days; I kind of had a mental breakdown. What did you guys think?

Thanks to:

Jarjaxle: Thanks for your review! I hope that I answered some of your questions in this chapter, and you were pretty much right ;)

Guest: I'm sorry!

NadezhdSt: Aw, I'm touched *teardrop*. I really do love your reviews (I can't tell you enough) Thank you so much!

Guest 2: Roar, roar, roar! (LOL, sorry, I had to do that.)

Somebody: Thank you! I'm glad that you like it!