Chapter 41 Epilogue

This is an idea I have for a possible new Wizard of Oz story.

I am also thinking of still doing a spin off of Khali and Tin Man. Tell me what you all think, and we'll see what happens.

As always, thank you, thank you, and thank you. You are all truly the best readers in all of Fanfiction.

I do not own anything from Wizard of Oz.

Year 2036 Galloway, NJ

20-year-old Jenna Gale had arrived home late from college the night before. She was exhausted, but happy to finally be home for the summer. She was also excited to sleep in her own bed again, and to see her family.

Her parents greeted her at the door when she drove up along with her younger brother, 17 year old Nicholas Gale.

Her mother 50 year old Dorothy Gale and her father 57 year old Fiyero Gale gave her a warm welcome like they always did when Jenna came home from college.

She hugged her mom tightly, so happy to see her. Her dad was smiling widely at seeing his daughter again, and happy her travels were safe.

She and her brother started pushing each other around like they always did, but it was all in fun.

Jenna pushed back her shoulder length dark blonde hair, and set down her bags that her dad helped her unload from her little beater of a car.

After the welcome home, and some of her mom's cooking, Jenna went to her room and looked around. She was too tired to unpack, and would do that in the morning.

Her parents retired for the night, and Jenna, seeing Nicholas, Nick for short, was still up, she sat in his messy room.

"You are going to bury yourself in here," she said laughing at the clothes everywhere.

Nick scoffed playing his game, and said, "That's what mom says.

He shrugged. "I promised her it would be cleaned this weekend."

He suddenly turned to his sister and said; "Mom and dad said I could go to my friend Joe's end of year party this weekend if I pass all of my exams."

"Oh yeah. How is that going?" Jenna asked.

Nick smiled and raised his dark eyebrows, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Three out of five," Nick said. "You wanna go?"

Jenna put her finger to her chin, and said, "Hmmm, hanging with a bunch of drunk high school kids, sounds fun."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! Do you think I like asking my sister to be my date?"

Jenna laughed. "What happened to….."

Nick growled a little. "Audrey? Yeah, she dumped me for a guy on the cheerleading squad."

Jenna laughed again and said, "You got dumped for a cheerleader?"

"So! I heard you're not doing any better," Nick shot back smiling.

He was right. Jenna and her boyfriend Scott broke up a few months ago. She was just tired of his crap. It was constant lies. She remembered calling her mom that night crying. She was still not over it, but she was getting there.

"Yeah, well, he was a jerk," Jenna said.

Nick looked disinterested. He was a teenage boy, so she was not surprised, and had to smile at her brother's attitude.

He would be in his last year of high school this coming year. He excelled in school, but his real talent was baseball. He had several awards, and banners in his room, and decided he wanted to pursue some kind of career in sports when he went to college.

Jenna stood and fixed her dark blonde hair in the mirror. Her blue eyes were a deep blue like her dads, and she had a creamy complexion. She was curvy, but thin. She had no interest in sports, but worked out on a regular basis when classes didn't take up most of her time. Her mother always said she looked exactly like her grandmother.

Nick on the other hand took after their dad almost down to body shape. Even though her dad's hair was salt and pepper now, but the blue eyes and dark hair stood out.

Jenna's parents were orphaned very young, and Jenna and Nick never met any extended family.

"So, you gonna go or not?" Nick asked as Jenna pulled her hair back in a bun.

"Sure," she said adjusting the bun.

"Good. That'll get mom off my back," Nick replied.

"I don't start my internship till next week, so I have time," she mentioned sitting down on the bed again watching Nick play his video games.

They sat there in silence for a few while Jenna texted some of her friends on her phone.

Suddenly, Nick turned to her and said; "Mom and Dad took one of their trips again."

Jenna only half paid attention as she was texting her best friend in school, Gabby.

"Really? No pictures?"

"Nope," he answered.

Jenna shrugged. Every so often her parents would say they were going away on business. Sure, the family took vacations, but these were different. They were only gone a couple of days, and never talked about it. Her dad always said they would be bored with the details.

"Ok, so?" She asked.

"Come on, Jenna. We know when mom is going to one of her conferences, or when dad takes a real business trip," Nick said turning to her.

Dorothy Gale was an elementary school teacher, who taught music, and Fiyero was a Civil Engineer, which was Jenna's major.

Jenna sighed. This wasn't the first time they had this conversation about their parents.

"Don't you think it's weird that mom and dad have absolutely no family, and go away sometimes? No pictures, no heirlooms, nothing," he would say.

Jenna would just sigh and say, "Mom and Dad have been very clear about their past, and they were orphans who met through friends. Mom was raised by a great-aunt and uncle who died when she was still young."

"Besides, mom lost a baby too once. That is hard for her to talk about," Jenna commented.

Nick nodded in agreement. "I still think there is more to their story than they tell us. No family at all. No pictures, no nothing. I looked around the attic again, and still see that locked box up there," Nick said.

Jenna gave him a stern look. "Nick….."

Nick put his hands in the air in surrender. "I'm just saying….Remember when dad beat the shit out that guy who was talking to you when you were about twelve."

Jenna remembered the stranger who was scoping out their neighborhood and tried to pick her up when she was riding her bike around the front of the house. It still gave her shivers to this day. She remembered her dad coming out of the house after spotting it. He never said a word; he just pulled the guy from the car and started beating on him.

Turned out the guy tried to kidnap a few young girls in the area, and the charges against him were dropped.

"Our dad never said anything about being in the military, but he fought better than some guys I've ever seen," Nick finished.

Jenna knew deep down there was something different about her parents, but they were always great to them, so she never seemed to mind.

There was one night that she was about fifteen, and snuck out to smoke some pot with some friends, and party. It was a school night, but she did it anyway.

She remembered coming home, and having her dad waiting for her. That could have been any parent, but that was when she realized that her dad didn't sleep, and it seemed like something was bothering him.

He never told her he was mad at her, just disappointed. Even though pot was legal in all states, he did not approve of her smoking it.

"I'm sorry dad….."

Fiyero looked up from the laptop screen, and said, "I didn't raise you this way, Jenna. I am not going to punish you, but I can't say the same about your mother."

Jenna looked down in shame, and said, "Ok. Are you mad?"

Fiyero shook his head. "Not at all. I get it, you're fifteen, but I expect you to start taking responsibility for your actions sometime soon."

She looked at him, and noticed he sat there with a haunted look in his eyes. Nick had said he had the signs of PTSD, but he never sought help for it that she knew of, so Jenna was never sure.

Actually, her mother would do the same thing sometimes, but not as much as her dad.

Yep, her mother was pissed the next morning, and she was grounded for a month. She never did it again, though.

"So? Someday, they need to tell us what they are up to. Maybe it's the CIA or something," Nick said.

Jenna rolled her eyes and laughed. Her parents were like the Cleavers. There was no way…..was there?

"On that note, I am going to bed," Jenna said yawning.

"You'll see. One day you'll be kissing my ass, because I was right," Nick said as Jenna opened the bedroom door.

Jenna scoffed. "Yeah, right."

…

The next day Jenna woke up early, and went down the stairs of their modest two-story home. Her parents were not ones for superficial things, but her dad loved his gadgets, her mother was more put off by them.

Jenna smiled as Nick sat there at the breakfast table with his eyes half-closed.

"Maybe, if you would put down those games, you wouldn't be so tired," Jenna said getting some coffee that her mother made.

Nick groaned. "I know. I heard all about it already."

Jenna giggled, and asked. "Where are they?"

Nick shrugged and said, "They took their morning run."

Jenna nodded, and took a sip of her coffee as she continued to wipe sleep from her eyes.

Nick and her sat at the table taking jabs at each other, when her parents walked in.

"Hey, honey," her dad, said smiling getting some water from the fridge.

"Hi dad," Jenna answered.

"Well, you're up early," Dorothy said.

Jenna shrugged. "I had all early classes this semester, so I got used to it."

"So, what am I going to see this semester?" Fiyero asked.

Dorothy gave him a slight glare, but he just ignored her.

Jenna turned red, making Nick laugh at her reaction.

"I got a C in Designing, and Calculus," she said in a baby voice. She wanted to hide under the table. Dorothy was more lenient on grades than her father.

"Jenna….." Fiyero began in a scolding voice.

Jenna looked down in shame, and Nick laughed again making Dorothy shush him.

"I know dad. I promise I'll do better next semester," she said.

She could tell her father was upset.

"Well, maybe this internship will make everything come together," Dorothy said reassuringly.

"I hope so," Jenna said still eyeing her dad who was looking at her angrily.

"I expect better next semester," Fiyero said sternly.

Nick continued to snicker next to her, and she punched him the shoulder.

"Nick stop that!" Dorothy warned. "Go and get ready."

Nick continued to snicker as he left the room.

"I'm sorry dad. I just couldn't get the hillside grading, and calculus was complicated," she answered.

She knew she could do better, but breaking up with Scott really affected her. They had been together for three years, and it was hard seeing him with other girls now.

She didn't want to admit that to her parents.

Fiyero shook his head as Dorothy and him stood there at the counter looking at their daughter.

"I am only a phone call away, Jenna," he said.

Jenna nodded. "I know. I know. If I need you, then I will call you next time."

"All right then. I am going to go get ready," Fiyero said.

Him and Dorothy kissed and he was up the stairs.

Jenna sat there quiet for a moment ashamed that they were mad at her. They paid a lot for her school, and she knew it.

Dorothy smiled at her daughter and said, "He will come around. I know you will do better. Was it Scott? You always had better grades than that."

Jenna smiled at her mother and said, "Yes, I guess."

Dorothy sat down across from her after fixing herself fresh coffee.

"I know. I wish I could give you some advice, but this something you need to move on from, and when you do you'll be happier. You'll realize he was not for you, and move on," Dorothy said smiling softly. "College makes people drift apart. It is just the way it is."

"I will mom," Jenna answered.

"Good! I need to leave early. I have a faculty meeting," Dorothy said looking at the clock.

"OK."

"Do you have any plans today?" Dorothy asked washing out her coffee cup.

"No, just laundry," Jenna answered. "I think I will just hang out today."

Dorothy nodded and said, "I am sure you would love a home cooked meal."

Jenna smiled. Her mom was the best cook in New Jersey.

"That would great!"

"I should be home early then," Dorothy said as she looked at the clock on the wall.

Jenna smiled widely, she couldn't wait. She was looking forward to a home cooked meal.

"How's school?" Jenna asked.

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Same politics, different idiot running the asylum," Dorothy answered.

Jenna laughed, and a few minutes later Nick and Fiyero came down the stairs both dressed and ready to go.

Jenna had come to realize how close her mom and dad was. They stood there and talked quietly as Nick rolled his eyes and made a gagging motion waiting for Fiyero to take him to school.

They smiled and talked ignoring Nick for a moment, and Jenna wondered if she would ever find that.

After saying goodbye, and Nick giving Dorothy a kiss on the cheek, the two men started pushing each other playfully.

Fiyero grabbed Nick in a headlock, and they walked out the door. More like her dad held a screaming Nick, and dragged him out the door saying bye to Dorothy and Jenna.

"Scarecrow!" Dorothy yelled from the door shaking her head in amusement.

"Didn't you ever wonder why mom only calls dad Scarecrow?" Nick asked once.

"Some kind of nickname," Jenna answered.

"A weird one. Maybe a code name, or something. Anyway, what kind of name is Fiyero anyway? Fiyero Gale, it just doesn't sound right," Nick said.

Jenna laughed as both men looked guilty, but continued to play around before getting into the car and taking off.

"What started that?" Jenna asked laughing at her mother's chagrin.

Dorothy shook her auburn head, and said, "I have no idea. Trying to out man each other, I guess."

Jenna laughed again, and Dorothy chuckled.

She turned to her daughter and asked, "I have laundry piling up too, would you mind…..Oh and there should be plenty of food in the refrigerator, if your brother didn't eat it all."

Jenna smiled and answered, "Mom, go. I can handle it. I will do the laundry along with my own."

Dorothy looked relieved, and mother and daughter hugged.

"I am so glad you're home," Dorothy said.

"Me too," Jenna said.

…

Dorothy left not soon after, but still fussed over Jenna, but she finally went to work.

Jenna began to unpack her things, and load the laundry along with the rest of the family. She offered to clean up Nick's room, but Dorothy said no, he needed to do it.

She went back down to the kitchen and hooked up her laptop, and began to look around the web, and answer her social media stuff.

She finished her coffee and showered, just slipping on a T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts with tennis shoes.

It was unusually warm for New Jersey in May, and Jenna opened the windows.

She was finishing up her work on the computer and planned to relax and watch TV when something caught her attention.

She turned hearing some kind of thumping noise coming from upstairs.

Thinking it was the washer; she went up there to check it out. No, it wasn't the washer. It was done its cycle.

She loaded the clothes into the dryer and started it when she heard another noise.

She stopped and looked around. It almost sounded like footsteps.

Her heart began to pound a little in her chest. She wondered if it was another raccoon stuck in the attic. That had happened before.

She quietly went into the hallway, and listened. Whatever it was seemed to have stopped. If it was an animal she would tell her dad about it later.

She walked to the stairs when the thumping noise began again. This time it was louder.

Oh God, I hope it's not a burglar, Jenna thought nervously.

She began to breath a little heavier, and checked every room in the house, but nothing came up.

Grabbing her phone, she decided to check the attic, and had 911 on speed dial if she needed it.

The thumping noise continued, and she made her way slowly up the stairs. She cursed her stupidity; maybe she should just call the police, and let them look around, but curiosity was getting the better of her.

The thumping continued, and she opened the door to the attic shining the cell phone flashlight up the stairs.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breathing began to quicken.

She started up the stairs when the thumping stopped.

Slowly, she got to the top of the stairs, and felt around the darkened warm attic for the light switch. She cursed herself again for not being armed with anything either.

She flicked the switch, and jumped back a little in defensive mode.

Looking around, she realized no human was there, and she began to calm down a little.

The light was not very bright, so she turned on the cell phone flashlight again, and shined through the attic. She didn't see anything move in the corners.

Nothing seemed to be on the roof either.

Curious she walked deeper into the attic, and something caught her eye.

The trunk that had been locked since Jenna was a child was open! The contents spilled onto the floor.

Neither Jenna nor Nick had ever known what was in that trunk. They had tried to pick the lock, but that thing was almost like Fort Knox, and they could never get in. Her parents never talked about it.

Jenna couldn't believe the trunk was now open for her to see the contents inside.

She knew better. She knew she should just walk away and mind her own business, but she had to know. She had to know what was in it.

The trunk was old, and brown. Very old, and very sturdy. Jenna guessed it had to be from the early 19th century.

She looked down to see some kind of book on the floor along with other papers.

She checked the time on her phone, and found she still had hours before her mother would be home.

She picked up the book, and found the lining to be old as well, but handcrafted, and it looked like it was lined with gold.

There was no title on the front or anything indicating what the book was.

She looked over the trunk and found something covered in a purple fabric.

She pulled away the fabric, and was surprised to see some kind of crystal ball still in the trunk. It was intricately designed at the base, and the ball itself was solid.

She couldn't help, but stare at it in awe. The designs on it were magnificent though they looked really evil. Yet, she wondered what the hell her parents were into. They never struck her to be involved in witchcraft or things like that. Her parents were down to earth people, and her father was always using logic to solve things.

She pulled the rest of the cloth out of the box, a small box fell to the floor. Jenna looked around again, feeling guilty, but curiosity got the better of her.

The smaller box looked like a small jewelry box. It was also handcrafted, and lined in gold.

She opened it to find an emerald encased with smaller diamonds on a gold necklace.

It was absolutely stunning!

She lifted it from the box, and it rested in the palm of her hand.

Jenna's eyes narrowed as she studied it for a moment, and then suddenly something happened.

The emerald began to glow!

Jenna gasped, and tried to let it go, but the emerald then flickered, and Jenna swooned as she could have sworn she felt a surge of power hit her body like a truck.

She dropped the emerald to the floor, and it went quiet again.

She shook her head thinking it had to be her imagination just now.

She picked it up again, and hurriedly put it back in the box, and set it down.

She had dropped the book too, and picked it up again.

She opened it, and read the words confused.

It was definitely her father's handwriting. There was no doubt about it.

She began to flip through the pages, and it seemed to her to be some kind of diary along with drawings.

She went back to the beginning, and the title caught her eye.

Ledger of King Scarecrow the Wise of Oz.

What?

Who was King Scarecrow, and what the hell was Oz?

Scarecrow?

Jenna found a box and sat down with the book open in her lap. Deciding she needed more light, she took the book and headed back downstairs leaving the attic door open.

She checked the clock again, and knew she still had plenty of time.

The laundry was now forgotten.

Grabbing what was left of the coffee Jenna set the book on the table, and began to read it from the beginning.

What she would read over the next few hours scared, fascinated, and astonished her.

Yet, she had no idea what it was that she was reading.

This was her father's handwriting after all.

It started sometime when he was crowned King of Oz, until the moment he and Dorothy left Oz.

It talked about the time he met her mother as he hung on the stick in the middle of the field.

Huh?...What is this?

Jenna remembered her mother mentioning her dog Toto, and there were writings of him.

There were two evil witches, and their brother who started a great war.

There was a fairy queen after Scarecrow abdicated the throne that betrayed him and Dorothy.

There were friends such as Tin Man and Lion. There was a castle where this Scarecrow King ruled for twelve years.

He talked of his love for her mother, and how he missed her when she went back home to Kansas. Then he talked of Dorothy coming back during this Great War, and they finally were together at last.

He talked of his death, and becoming human again.

Something caught Jenna's eye as she continued to read.

She remembered her mom talking about her miscarriage of their first child, but never mentioned anything else about it.

In this book, it said that her mother was given some kind of potion and lost the baby.

Her father wrote of his grief of war, the baby, and being separated from Dorothy.

He wrote of coming back to "Dorothy's world," and having her healed after she was attacked by an illness that was magic.

He finally finished the book, and said they were leaving this place called Oz to finally find some peace.

There was nothing else after that, except one more entry about Dorothy being pregnant with their child again.

That must have been her.

About getting used to a whole new world, and how they were adjusting.

Jenna could only stare at the book for a while not knowing what to think.

Her mind reeled at what this was. Was it some kind of fairy tale her father planned on writing? What was Oz, and it seemed to her that her father was from there, and somehow met her mother there when they were both no more than children.

Everything seemed to make sense, and yet absolutely no sense at all. She wondered what Oz was. She could see the love of her father to it, but he loved her mother more.

This was written from the heart, and for some reason Jenna knew this was no fairy tale. It was real. At least to her father it was.

Jenna began to have memories come back to her at how her parents have acted through the years. Maybe her brother had been right all along? Did he know about this book?

Jenna finally looked at the clock and knew her mother would be home from school soon.

She closed the book, and began to shake as she took it back to the attic.

Everything was quiet up there now.

She began to place the contents back in the trunk when something began to rumble around her.

She froze and looked around. The attic seemed like it was moving, and the wind began to pick up.

Gasping, she dropped the book, but the air began to swirl around her.

She looked down and could see the crystal ball began to glow.

She put up her hands as things began to fly around her, but nothing hit her.

She began to back away from the trunk and the now glowing crystal ball, but was held back by some invisible force.

She began to scream and cry in fear as the winds in the attic were getting worse, and she could barely breathe from the debris and dust around her.

Suddenly, the box with the emerald necklace opened, and it flew into her hand.

Then a noise behind her made her freeze. She began to cry, as she did not want to turn around and see what it was, but felt forced to.

She slowly turned, and pushed her hair from her face.

Behind her was a light, and tunnel that appeared out of nowhere.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, but nothing felt like it came out.

She put her hands up and began to step away still holding the emerald necklace.

However, the wind that swirled around her had other ideas.

An invisible force began to push her to the tunnel. She clawed and tried to grasp anything that would prevent her from being pulled into it.

It was no use.

She was able to turn one last time, and spotted her mother running through the door screaming her name.

"Mom!"

"Jenna! No!"

Jenna could only watch in amazement as the light began to surround her. She felt like she was flying through the air, and could not even begin to imagine where she was going or how she got there.

She spun and spun as the invisible force pulled her through this tunnel. The only thing she could think was that she was dead.

Then just as soon as it started, it was over.

She hit the ground with a slight thud, and groaned from the pain that shot up her shoulder.

Jenna lay there for a few seconds just trying to process what just happened to her.

Then another light began to permeate her eyelids. Finally, she opened her eyes and was staring at the sun.

She realized she was lying in grass. She rolled over on her side, and began to gather herself.

Breathing heavily she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

She pushed her hair out of her face, and looked around.

Her mouth dropped at what she saw. Around her were the greenest grass, hills, and forest she had ever seen in her life. She continued to look around, and the sky was the bluest she had ever seen.

She groaned as she clumsily stood up and wiped herself off.

She could only breathe heavily as she looked around again.

Where am I?

Then she spotted it. It was so majestic, that it didn't even look real. The city seemed to just glow green in the distance. There were towers reaching for the sky, and it was some of the tallest she had ever seen, and she had been going to college in Chicago.

Then she spotted it. Off to her left was a road, and it was yellow.

She stumbled closer to it, and realized it was made of brick.

Oz? No, it can't be.

OK, Jenna calm yourself. You have to be dreaming.

Jenna stood there and began taking deep breaths to calm her thoughts. She looked down and gasped again.

The emerald necklace was still in her hand!

She had to find some way out of here. Maybe, if she made her way to that city she would get help.

Or maybe this was a bad dream.

Jenna knew she had to do something. So, she began to walk towards the city.

She probably hadn't even walked fifty feet when she heard something behind her.

"Halt!"

Jenna stopped and began to turn around, but whoever spoke stopped her.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?"

"I don't know. I am just trying to figure out…."

"Tell me! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"May I turn around please?" Jenna asked getting annoyed at the voice behind her.

The male voice seemed to think for a moment, and then said, "Yes."

She turned to see a man about her age in a green and black military uniform. He held a sword to her chest as she turned and faced him.

He stared at her for a moment with the sword wavering then regained his composure.

"Now, tell me your business," he ordered.

Jenna suddenly began to weep softly, and fell to the grass again.

The soldier seemed to soften, and said, "You can tell me."

Jenna tried to catch her breath, and finally said, "I just want to know where I am."

"Please don't hurt me," she continued in a whisper.

"I won't unless you give me a reason to," he answered.

Jenna looked up at him, and despite her situation she thought he was very handsome.

She wiped her eyes, and said, "Please tell me where I am."

The soldier looked her over confused, but answered her.

"You're in Oz. Don't you know that?"

OZ!?

…..

Sorry this was so long. I didn't want to make it another couple of chapters in the same story.

Please let me know what you think. Should I continue? No? Yes? Maybe?