Luke gulped as the long narrow hallway seemed to go on for an eternity. He had never felt so uneasy in his life. He could feel Redoll's paw shaking madly in his hand so Luke gave it an extra squeeze to reassure him. They slowly walked down the hall until another pair of double doors came into view and slowly opened.

"ENTER, STRANGERS!" A voice boomed causing the group to jump. Poor Redoll was doing everything in his power to keep from literally turning tail and running. Luke glanced down to make sure Trevor was still behind them and they slowly entered the grand room. It was large and round and somehow the shade of green inside looked far richer than anywhere outside. At the far back of the room was a large throne with a tall pedestal in front of it.

Luke flinched as smoke and fire rose from the ground, surrounding the throne and pedestal as the voice boomed. "I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ!" His voice was so loud, Luke thought he and Trevor would be blown away. "STATE YOUR NAMES AT ONCE!"

Luke looked at his companions to find that they were all shivering madly. Luke gulped and faced the pedestal; he was the reason they were here, so he should be the one to speak. He took a few shaky steps towards the pedestal, where he could barely make out a large figure through all the smoke. Luke took a deep shaky breath and managed to find his voice, "I-I'm Luke Triton s-sir." he said as clearly as he could. "Th-The witch C-Claire sent us t-to ask you…"

"SILENCE!"

Luke jumped and ran into Sharon's arms in fright. "I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE COME. YOU WISH TO GO HOME, CORRECT, BOY?" The Wizard said loudly, his eyes lighting up a neon green through all the smoke and fire.

Luke nodded with wide eyes, "Y-Yes."

"YOU, SCARECROW, WISH FOR A BRAIN."

Lando flinched but nodded anyway, "Y-Yes sir, th-that's right."

"YOU, THE WOMAN MADE OF TIN, WISH FOR A HEART."

Sharon kept her protective embrace around Luke and nodded, "Y-Yes sir."

"AND YOU, LION, YOU WISH FOR COURAGE." Redoll was shaking so hard that he couldn't even answer or even nod. A large pillar of fire shot up from the ground before the Wizard spoke again, "VERY WELL, I SHALL GRANT YOUR REQUESTS."

Luke and his friends slowly stopped shaking as they processed his words. "R-Really?" Luke asked. Was he really going to give them what they wanted?

"HOWEVER," The Wizard continued. "FIRST YOU MUST PROVE YOUR WORTH." Prove their worth? What did that have to do with anything? If this Wizard was so powerful, why couldn't he just grant their wishes right away?

"W-What do we have to do?" Redoll asked.

"YOU MUST COMPLETE ONE SIMPLE TASK." The Wizard answered. "BRING ME THE SWORD OF THE WITCH ANTON. THEN YOU SHALL GET YOUR WISHES." Bring him Anton's sword? But that was impossible! Luke would be walking right into the witch's hands! And to get that sword, wouldn't that mean that they would have to...kill him? "THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN!" The Wizard boomed. "NOW GO."

The group was in no way eager to argue with the Wizard so they slowly turned and exited the throne room. Once they were safely back outside the Wizard's palace, they let out a collective sigh of relief that they didn't know they were holding. "Sheesh, that's one terrifying drama queen." Lando muttered.

"D-Do we really have to fight that witch?" Redoll asked.

Sharon shrugged, "It seems we don't really have a choice." she said.

"But what about Luke?" Redoll asked, catching Luke's attention. "Didn't you say the witch was after him?"

Lando nodded, "That's true…" he trailed off and Luke immediately knew where this was going. "I'm going with you." he said. "There's no way I'm letting you leave me behind."

"Luke, it's too dangerous." Lando said firmly. "You'll be safer if you stay in Oz."

"I'm not a child!" Luke protested. "And Anton knows I'm here; what if he comes and attacks Oz while you're gone?" He looked at all the happy people, going about their day, their fear of Anton completely forgotten. "I don't want all these people to get hurt because of me."

'And I don't want you guys to get hurt for me either.' He added in his mind. Luke looked at his companions with hard eyes, "The witch is after me, so it's only right that I go with you."

"Are you sure Luke?" Sharon asked. Luke nodded and even Lando could tell that he couldn't change his mind. "Well, it's getting late now." Lando said, looking at the sky which was starting to turn orange. "We should find a place to stay for the night."

They asked a few people on the street until they were directed to the Emerald Inn. Apparently the Wizard had already informed the manager that they were coming so he gave them a room for free. The room was quite spacious (and green of course) and had two large double beds.

Luke climbed onto one of the beds and started bouncing on it, "These are the softest beds I've ever seen!" he exclaimed as Trevor bounced slightly beside him.

Redoll climbed onto the other side to see for himself and purred slightly. "Yes, it's very comfortable." he said.

Lando looked out the window to see that it was already getting dark and faced Sharon, "Well, who sleeps with who?" he asked.

"I think it's already been decided." Sharon said softly, pointing to the second bed to see that Luke and Redoll were already fast asleep. Redoll was curled up like a cat on the bed and Luke and Trevor were snuggled up against him like two cubs.

"That was fast." Lando commented.

"It's been a long day." Sharon admitted, sitting down on the free bed.

Lando sat down next to her and noticed that she seemed a bit down. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Do you really think we'll be able to get Anton's sword?" she asked. "We've seen how dangerous Anton is, and I...I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Lando's face became sympathetic, understanding her concern. He slowly reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know it will be dangerous," he said. "But we have to do this for Luke." They both looked behind them at the sleeping boy. "If we don't do this, Luke will never be able to get home."

Sharon shook her head, "That poor boy has been through so much…"

Lando nodded, "Yes, but he's also very brave for coming so far." He said. He fully faced Sharon and gripped both her shoulders, "We'll make it through this Sharon, I promise you." he said sincerely. "And when this is all over, you'll finally have a heart, I'll have a brain, Redoll will have courage, and Luke will finally find his home; we'll be able to live our lives to the fullest."

Sharon stared at him and slowly smiled, "You're right Lando." she said before looking away. "Thank you; you really know how to lift someone's spirits."

Lando chuckled, "It seems all I can do is make things laugh, both people and crows; bloody things would never leave my cornfield alone." Sharon let out a soft laugh as well. "And besides, smiling suits you much more."

The two smiled warmly at each other until they realized that their faces were only inches apart. Lando's cheeks turned bright red and Sharon cleared her throat, a faint blush tinting her cheeks (unless it was a trick of the light) as they turned away from each other.

"Well, we should probably get to sleep." Sharon said.

Lando nodded, "Yeah, we're fighting a witch tomorrow, can't be up too late." They both lay down on the bed facing away from each other. However, unknown to either of them, a small smile had crossed both of their faces.

The next morning, sun shone through the window, bathing the room in gold. Lando stirred and rolled on his side as the sun shone on his face, not wanting to wake up.

"Morning you two!" He heard Luke call. Lando opened his eyes to see Luke, Trevor and Redoll hovering over him, sitting in the middle of the bed. "Are you comfortable?" Redoll asked with a wide smile.

Lando frowned in confusion when he looked to the side to see Sharon's face just inches away from his. Sharon was just as shocked as the two jumped away from each other while Luke laughed. Both of them turned away to hide their burning faces.

Definitely a good way to start the morning. Especially considering that they were going off to fight a wicked witch. They ate breakfast downstairs and finally, began their journey towards the West.

Heheh, sorry, you'll have to wait until we kill Anton before you see the Wizard (insert trollface here) X3

Have I mentioned that I suck at writing romance?

RandallxAngela shippers in the house say Eeeeeeeyooo!