When Luke saw that the path was leading them to a forest, he didn't think much of it. But when they got inside and almost all the sunlight disappeared, Luke began to regret coming in here. The shadows of the trees gave off an ominous aura around them and multiple animal cries could be heard echoing throughout. Luke gripped Lando and Sharon's hands tightly as the path behind them seemed to close up, preventing any means of escape. The only way to go was forward.
"It certainly got dark quick." Lando commented uneasily.
Luke flinched as a loud bird screeched from the treetops, "I really don't like this place." he said. He normally would try to be brave, but the darkness of the forest combined with all the strange things Oz had to offer was more than he could handle. And besides, the Professor never said that gentlemen couldn't get scared...right?
"Don't be scared, Luke." Sharon reassured him. "We should be out of here soon."
Luke's eyes darted around for any sign of danger while glancing beside him every so often to make sure Trevor was still trotting beside them. "Do you think there could be any wild animals in here?" he asked.
Sharon looked around, "There might be, no ones been through this forest in years." She sounded pretty fearless, but Luke couldn't tell if it was bravery or her lack of a heart.
"Let's just hope these animals aren't hungry for straw, tin, or meat." Lando said.
"W-What kind of animals could be in here?" Luke asked. Maybe by a twist of fate, he would be able to talk to them and persuade them to not eat them.
"I'm no expert," Sharon said. "But if I had to guess, I would say lions and tigers and bears."
Luke and Lando both started and looked at her. "L-Lions?" Luke asked.
"And tigers?" Lando asked.
"And bears." Sharon confirmed with a nod.
Luke was almost shaking in his ruby shoes as his grip grew ever tighter on his companions. "Lions and tigers and bears." he gulped.
"Oh my…" Lando agreed. Their pace unconsciously sped up greatly as the thought of being eaten by lion and tigers and bears seemed to chase them down the road. However their quickened pace was suddenly halted by a roar.
They looked up to see a young lion growling on the top of a large boulder. He had a very round face and blue eyes with a light tan mane and fur. he had two stripes of dark brown down his front shoulders looking almost like overalls. His face was surprisingly quite human, almost like a person in a very well made lion costume. His lips were drawn back in a snarl as he paced on the rock before leaping down towards them.
The three backed up and Sharon pulled out her axe. The lion eyed the weapon and slowly advanced towards them, growling all the while. Poor Lando was shaking like crazy while Sharon was too intimidated to make the first move, both of them stepping back. Luke on the other hand was completely frozen in place. He stared directly at the lion with wide eyes, too afraid to attempt to speak to it.
"Luke, get back." Lando whispered.
Luke snapped out of his daze and tried to take a step back only to trip and fall. The lion took a menacing step towards him from the sudden movement when Trevor leapt between them. He let out a series of sharp barks that translated into something that sounded like, "Leave him alone you big furball!"
Sharon took a step forward raising her axe and the lion shied away, deciding to go after the dog instead.
"No! Stop!" Luke cried as the lion chased Trevor. Luke scrambled after them and managed to scoop Trevor up. The lion came towards him so Luke picked up the closest thing to him, which was a large stick, and popped the lion right over the head with it. "Leave us alone!" Luke yelled as the lion yelped and backed away.
He stood up on two legs before he curled up on the ground holding his head. "W-What did you do that for?" the lion whined. "That-That really hurt!"
Luke was bit taken aback and a bit relieved that the lion could speak normally, but even more surprised to see that the lion's eyes were filling up with tears. "W-Well you were asking for it!" Luke scolded, waving the stick at him. "Next time, pick on animals your own size!"
The lion shivered madly making Luke feel a bit guilty, so he threw the stick away. "I-I'm sorry, please forgive me." The lion said shakily. "I-I w-was just trying to be brave."
"Brave?" Lando asked, making a face. "I wouldn't call scaring people brave."
Sharon nodded, putting her axe away. "That sounds more like cowardice if you ask me."
The lion looked at the ground shamefully. "I-I know." he said. "I'm nothing but a useless coward; I can't go anywhere or do anything without getting scared."
Luke knelt beside the lion, taking pity on the poor frightened creature. "I'm sorry I hit you so hard." he said. "What's your name?"
The lion wiped his eyes and looked at the boy, "R-Redoll, my name's Redoll." he said.
"Well I'm Luke, and this is Trevor." He pet his dog's head, "And that's Lando and Sharon." Trevor barked at Redoll causing him to flinch but Luke laughed. "It's okay, he said he forgives you for chasing him."
"Oh," Redoll looked at the dog, "W-Well, thank you." Trevor gave a small happy bark and licked his giant paw causing Redoll to smile.
Lando's eyes suddenly brightened as he stepped towards the lion, "If you're a coward, I bet that's something the Wizard can fix." he said, extending his hand.
"The Wizard?" Redoll asked as he let Lando pull him up.
Luke nodded, getting up as well, "We're going to the Emerald City to see the Wizard." He explained. "I need to find a way home, Lando needs a brain, and Sharon wants a heart."
Sharon nodded and offered a kind smile, "I bet if you asked, the Wizard would give you some courage."
"And you certainly need it, you being a lion and all." Lando added.
"R-Really?" Redoll asked hopefully. "You would let me come with you to see the Wizard?"
"Of course we will!" Luke said happily. "The more the merrier!"
"Thank you." Redoll said gratefully.
"Do you know how much longer this forest lasts?" Sharon asked.
Redoll nodded, "We're actually very close to the edge; and the Emerald city isn't far once we get out."
"Alright, then let's get a move on!" Lando exclaimed.
Luke began to feel jumpy with excitement; they were so close to meeting the Wizard. He would be home in no time! He started to skip ahead of his companions with Trevor close behind, "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz," he sang softly to himself.
"What was that?" Redoll asked, his attuned hearing picking up Luke's song.
Luke flushed a light pink, "Uh...just a little song I heard the Mysteres singing when they sent me on my way." he said.
"Well, how does it go?" Lando asked as he and the others continued walking next to him.
Luke put a hand on his chin, "I think the rest of the song goes like this…" In a few moments, the group could be heard, skipping down the road through the forest singing their little song.
"We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.
We hear he is a whiz of a Wiz if ever a Wiz there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz there was, the Wizard of Oz is one because because because because because because,
because of the wonderful things he does.
We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!"
Meanwhile, in an old castle far in the West, an amused Anton watched the journey of Luke and his three friends through a large crystal ball from his throne. "So, they've added one more to their little team." he said with a chuckle before lifting his head that was resting on his fist. "No matter; their journey will come to an end soon enough."
He got up and whipped a small jar out of his cape. He waved his hand over the crystal ball and the Emerald city appeared, with a large field of pink poppies standing between Luke and the city. "This is too easy." Anton said with a grin as he had the crystal zoom in on the poppies. He scooped a handful of scarlett dust out of the jar and sprinkled it over the ball.
"The poor boy must be exhausted from such a long journey, so why not give him a dash of poison and let him sleep...sleep and never wake up again."
Henry doesn't have a Japanese name okay?! I had no choice but to go with his Japanese last name X(
Just review and sing the song...