Oz Victorious
Chapter Fifteen: Ruby
"Sister, I will always love you," Katrina whispered into her little sister's ear. "It's not too late to come back. Please, Victoria...everything can be as it was before. The Wizard will welcome you into the Emerald City with open arms, as will I."
"I don't need your mercy," Victoria snarled. "I will rule over Oz by my own hand. Your Wizard will fail you. I only wish I could be there to see your face when he does."
"...In your sleep," the Good Witch continued, looking down at the dark void of the ground. "Know that I love you. May this lead you back to me some day." Then, the dream ended.
Sitting perfectly still in the darkest tower of her black castle, the Wicked Witch of the East kept her eyes closed, her breathing nearly silent. The ruby slippers upon her pale feet glistened with a fiery aura. An unseen wind blowing her long, black locks, Jadeyn felt a new power coursing through her body. The look of death upon her mother's face as she held the wand, dropping the poison into the King's tea; the scent and sights of death glowed with their own dark light. Rising into the air, the witch set her blood-red feet on the cold stone floor, and sharply opened her eyes towards the world. They gave me power, she thought. As their daughter, I was given everything...and in the spirit of their deaths, I will claim Oz.
Standing on her balcony, gazing out at the darkened skies as hoards of flying apes circled her tower, Victoria watched the world Oz now came to rule. Everything was under his control now. Her green fingers clenching the icy metal railing, the woman remained cold and still. Too many years had gone by; too much time left to ruins. "Hello, sister," Jadeyn's voice broke the silence. Turning around, the Wicked Witch of the West looked her sister in the eye.
"Why have you come here?" Victoria asked.
"I come to offer you greatness," Jade answered, an icy glow appearing in her eyes. "A gift from our mother. Oz shall fall before us. Come, defy gravity by my side." Walking over to the corner of the room, the green woman grabbed a broom, encompassing it in dark magic, and approached the balcony with her sister. The two rose into the air, Victoria riding on her broom while Jadeyn glided with the magic of her ruby slippers. Lightning struck in the clouds above the two. Soon, the sisters reached Winkie Country.
"Jadeyn, the Wizard and the good witch protect this land," Victoria cried out. "We have no power here."
"Not alone," the pale woman answered, clicking her heels together. "May your might crumble before our magic!" Thrusting down a bolt of green lightning, Jadeyn watched the great and mighty Golem burst into flames and collapse before the country it once stood for. Cackling wickedly, the two Witches continued their flight, reigning down fire and lightning over all that crossed their path.
Although the blessings of the ruler of the Emerald City kept the cities standing, the land fell to fires, and came to smolder and crumble at the hands of the Wicked Ones. One by one, the Golems fell, shattering like broken mirrors on the ground. Cries and screams echoed throughout all of Oz in its darkest of nights.
"Who summons Oz?" the massive, floating head roared, filling the room with flames and smoke.
"I speak on behalf of Munchkinland," a young woman answered, bowing before her ruler. "Oh, great Wizard, our Golem has been destroyed. Our country is vulnerable to the Wicked Witches once again."
"My magic shall watch over your people," Oz declared. "Other countries have lost their Golems as well. Fear not, though...they shall be restored, and the Witches shall burden you no more." Giving thanks, the woman departed. Letting go of his microphone and letting the projector shut down, the Wizard stared into the curtain before him, his face wearing a look of concern, distress, and great sorrow. Breathing heavily, the man gasped in all of his pain, trying to fight back the tears.
At the stroke of midnight, Oz sat in his chair, his hands cupped over his mouth. His eyes surrounded by dark bags that told too well a story of sleepless nights and anxiety, the man's gray-stained hair glistened in the light of his throne room. Addie slid the doors open just enough to slip inside, then let them close behind her. "Hello, Dad," the woman said, approaching her father. Her voice weighed down with worry, the china doll stopped. "You're up late."
"Couldn't sleep," the Wizard replied. "I suppose the same goes for you. The Golems falling has the entire land of Oz in unrest."
"...How are they doing it, Dad?" Addie asked, taking her father's arm.
"...I don't know," Oz confessed. "Please..." The man kissed his daughter's forehead. "Try to get some sleep. I can make this right."
"I'm not a little girl anymore," the doll replied. "I can tell when you're lying. You're just as upset as I am."
"Yes," the man answered, standing up. "I've been trying to gather my thoughts...But I guess there are some things even the Great and Powerful Oz can't manage on his own."
"We can rebuild the Golems," Addie began. "But gathering the supplies'll be harder than ever with the witches back. People are getting too afraid to leave their homes."
"Does anyone know where the Wicked Ones are now?" the Wizard asked. The china doll shook her head. "Your job is done for the night, my love...we'll discuss this later. But for now, please try to sleep."
"You too," Addie answered. "Love you, Dad." Kissing her father, the woman departed from the throne room.
Letting in a quaking breath, Oz dropped into The Throne, and clenched his eyes with his left hand. For a moment, silence filled the room. "A penny for your thoughts," greeted a familiar voice. "If only it were that simple."
"Everything's scattered to the wind," the Wizard answered. "I'm in ruins...If I can't stop them, we lose Oz."
"You've astounded us before," Katrina replied.
"That was before all this started," the brunette man responded, staring at the floor. "I thought our magic could stop them, but now...I don't know what's happening."
"They've found a way to break through," the good witch answered, gently lifting Oz's head upward. "We'll find a way to stop them."
"I'm not sure we can this time," the graying man replied. "Whatever they're doing...it's beyond giant statues and protection spells. I don't know what to do once they resurface." Folding his hands together, the Wizard rose up and began pasing. "If I can't save them..."
"We will," Katrina interrupted. "Have faith." Wrapping her arms around Oz, the good witch felt him let out a heavy sigh, then surrender himself to her strength. "Have faith."
Standing top a massive cliff coated in shadows, Victoria and Jadeyn gazed at the fires raging throughout Oz. A freezing wind passed over the land, blowing the Wicked Witch of the East's hair towards the west. Pressing her broom into the dirt, Tori stared into the flames. As the night began to die, the Wicked Ones returned to their kingdoms, and fell into slumber. Images flashed through their minds; memories of the old King, the fall from grace, the banishing of Katrina the Good, the coming of the Wizard, and the exodus from the Emerald City. All that would burn with the coming of a new era.
"Victoria, come on," Katrina called to her little sister. The two ran through the field, their dresses blowing in the wind. "Can't catch me!" Her green, little legs carrying her into a sprint, Tori took her sister's hand, leading the two into a twirl. As the two fell to the ground, their laughter filled the air. "I love you, Tori."
"I love you, too Trina," the younger of the Vega sisters replied, a wide smile glistening on her innocent face. The two held one another, basking in the pure glow of the sun above them. All of Oz was at peace; all life was in love. Opening her eyes, Katrina found herself alone. The world seemed so cold.
Sitting all alone upon the Throne of Oz, the Wizard focused on Victoria; the day they met, the night they disappeared from one another. Crossing his fingers in front of his mouth, the graying man finally allowed a tear to fall from his eye. All of Oz is falling...and I made them think I was their savior, Oz confessed to himself. The blue light of the full moon seemed to weaken over the Emerald City.