"That should do it." Sharon said, stuffing a handful of straw into Lando's chest. Lando got to his feet and checked himself over, making sure everything was put together correctly. "Alright, now we have to find Luke." he said.

"It's all my fault…" Redoll muttered. "I tried to help him but…"

"Redoll, it wasn't your fault." Sharon said. "You did what you could."

"And you've got the injuries to show for it." Lando added. "Trust me mate, you tried your hardest, more than either of us." Redoll nodded, but still didn't look satisfied. Maybe if he wasn't such a coward and stayed with Luke the whole time he wouldn't have been taken. "Now, we need to get to Anton's castle." Lando said, getting them back on track.

"I still can't see any sign of it anywhere." Sharon sighed. "We don't have time to search the whole wood." Suddenly, small barks were heard in the distance. The trio looked up a path to see a familiar little dog running towards them at top speed. "It's Trevor!" Sharon exclaimed.

"But...I saw the monkeys take him," Redoll said. "How did he get here?"

Lando rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious, he escaped and knows where Luke is, don't you boy?" Trevor barked and wagged his tail, running up and down the path he had just come from. "C'mon, we have to hurry!" Lando urged and they followed the dog up the path.

They managed to climb the large cliff surrounding the castle and hid behind a boulder in front of the entrance. "Luke is in that horrible place?" Redoll asked, staring in terror at the ominous castle.

"Poor Luke…" Sharon said softly. Trevor growled, obviously not pleased either at the thought of Luke being trapped in that place. Unbeknownst to them, the hourglass Anton had placed was still draining fast of sand, with Luke still at its mercy.

Lando picked up Trevor to keep him out of sight as they stared at the fortress. The drawbridge was open, but multiple guards were lined up along it. "How will we get in there?" Redoll asked. "There's too many of them."

"There's got to be a way to sneak in." Sharon said.

Lando looked at the soldiers; they were wearing long gray trenchcoats and large furry black hats. They all carried spears so fighting them was out of the question. Plus, if they couldn't take out an army of flying monkeys, how could they possibly fight armed soldiers? Lando then spied a trio of soldiers standing almost under their hiding spot and grinned. "Guys, I have a plan."

A few moments later, three soldiers were lying unconscious behind a large boulder while the three friends put on their trenchcoats and hats and picked up their spears. "Stay close, alright?" Sharon whispered to Trevor. Just as the soldiers began marching into the castle, the three fell into the line. Trevor stayed right on their heels, taking care to not be seen until they were safely inside.

They pressed themselves against the wall and discarded their disguises. "Alright Trevor, lead the way." Lando said. The dog yipped and ran into the hallway. The trio followed him through the hall and up a winding stone staircase until they found the dog scratching at a large wooden door. Luke had to be in there. Lando pounded on the door, "Luke, are you in there?" he called.

"Luke, it's us!" Sharon called.

"Can you hear us?" Redoll called.

Inside the room, Luke shot up from the familiar voices and ran to the door. He felt hope and relief wash over him like a tidal wave. "Lando! Sharon! Redoll!" he cried, pounding on the door, "I'm in here! Please, get me out!"

Sharon pulled out her axe, "Stand back!" She warned, both to Luke and those on the other side of the door.

Luke stepped back as he heard Sharon begin to chop down the door. "Please hurry, Sharon!" Luke cried, glancing back at the hourglass which was less than a third from finishing its deadly countdown. "I'm almost out of time!" His breath was becoming labored and his face was quickly draining of color.

He could still hear his heartbeat and it was dramatically slower than before. He could even feel his legs beginning to weaken. It wouldn't be long before he completely collapsed. Anton wasn't kidding when he said he wanted Luke to suffer before death.

He felt tears prick at his eyes as panic began to take over. His slowing heart felt heavy as it pumped more blood frantically through his veins making him feel light headed. He wanted to scream in horror as every second was a second closer to his demise. He kept glancing at the hourglass every moment as he waited for his passage to freedom.

Sharon hacked as hard as she could until the lock on the door splintered and forced the door open. Luke bolted out of the door right into the arms of his friends. "You're here...you're alive!" Luke exclaimed, feeling new tears of happiness begin to dot his eyes.

All the guilt and worry he had been carrying dissolved into nothing as he felt the warmth of his friends surrounding him. He felt his strength coming back now that he was out of that room. The sound of his heart was back in his chest where it belonged, beating strongly. Once again, he felt safe.

Lando, Sharon, and Redoll crushed him in a group hug before looking him over. "Are you alright?" Sharon asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine." Luke said.

"Luke, your cheek…" Redoll said. Lando gently ran his thumb over the dried blood on the cut but Luke shook his head. "It's nothing, I'm fine." He felt tiny paws at his feet and looked down to see Trevor jumping at him happily. "Oh,Trevor!" Luke exclaimed, scooping the dog up and letting him lick his face. He had a feeling that the little dog would come back for him. "You're the greatest dog in the world." He said softly. Trevor's tail began to wag so hard, Luke was afraid it would fly off.

"Maybe we should get out of here." Redoll said uneasily, glancing down the hallway.

Lando nodded, "He's right, let's go." Trevor leapt out of Luke's arms, eyes forward and ready for action. Luke grasped Sharon and Lando's hands and they ran down the hallway, Redoll leading the way. They descended the staircase and made it to the grand hall, but the doors around them quickly shut, trapping them in.

"Going so soon?"

They looked up to see Anton looking down on them from a balcony. The doors behind them opened and an army of soldiers flooded into the room. Luke picked up Trevor and clutched him to his chest as the soldiers pointed their spears at them. He wasn't going to let these thugs hurt his dog again! "The party's just beginning." Anton said with a twisted grin, and he faced his soldiers. "Kill them." He ordered causally. "Make it as slow and painful as you want."

The group backed up against the door as the soldiers slowly made their way towards them, their spears glistening in the moonlight. Lando looked around for any avenue of escape when his eyes fell on a rope that was tied to a hook right next to him. His eyes followed the rope and saw that it led to a chandelier...and it was hanging right above he soldiers.

With no time to think, Lando grabbed Sharon's axe and sliced the rope. The chandelier fell on top of the soldiers with a crash, stopping them in their tracks. "Move! Quick!" Lando yelled. They quickly ran along the wall and out the door the soldiers came through.

"You idiots!" Anton screamed. "Seize them this instant!"

They bolted down another hallway as the yells of the soldiers came from behind them. "Where do we go now?" Luke asked.

"Up there!" Redoll said, pointing to another flight of stairs. No soldiers were coming from there so it was their best bet. They ran up the stairs and emerged on the top of the castle. From the height they were at, Oz looked very small and insignificant. They ran across the top of the castle and into another tower, but a group of soldiers were already there waiting for them.

They turned to go back, but the soldiers chasing them from before had caught up with them. They backed into a corner of the tower, their backs hitting a small table against the wall as Anton emerged from the sea of soldiers. "Thought you could just slip out of my grasp, did you?" he asked. Luke backed into his friends, holding Trevor tightly.

Anton glared at Luke, "Now as reward for you and your mangy dog causing so much trouble," he grinned maniacally. "You get the pleasure of watching your little friends die before you."

Luke's eyes widened and took a step forward. "No!" He yelled. "Leave them alone! I'm the one you want!"

Anton simply laughed. "If you had cooperated, I probably would have accepted that offer." He said. "But I'm afraid you can't worm your way out of this one." The witch's eyes ran over Luke's three companions until they finally fell on Lando. He held out his hand and fire appeared on his fingertips, making Lando pale considerably. "How about a little fire, scarecrow?" Anton hissed.

He flicked his hand towards the straw man and his arm was up in flames in an instant. Lando screamed and waved his burning arm around. "Help! Someone! Put it out! Putitoutputitoutputitout!"

Sharon and Redoll began to panic while Luke looked around for something, anything to put out the fire. He dropped Trevor when he spied a small bucket on the table behind them. He picked it up and glanced inside! Water! "Lando! Hold still!" Luke yelled and flung the water at Lando. The water doused Lando's arm and splashed onto Anton's face.

Anton screamed in pain, reeling backwards as if his face were hit with acid. "You wretched brat! Look what you've done!" he screeched. Luke watched as Anton's skin seemed to shrivel up. He hunched over as his skin cracked and began to peel, while everything else seemed to ooze off of him. "I'm melting! Melting!" he screamed as steam began to rise from his body. He slowly sunk into the floor like a snowman on a sunny day until all that was left was his cape and sword.

Luke and his companions simply stared in horror at what had just taken place. No one dared to move until Trevor came forward. The little dog pawed at the clothes and sniffed the air before letting out a final yip of "He's gone!"

One of the soldiers slowly turned to Luke. "H-He's dead," he said almost in disbelief. "You killed him."

Luke shook his head, "I-I didn't mean to, really." he said. "I-I was just trying to put Lando out." Despite having killed two people since coming here, he didn't exactly feel terrible about killing Anton. At least...not as bad as when he killed Sophia. And who knows? Maybe now they could be together.

The soldier then smiled widely, "Luke has killed the wicked witch!" he announced. The soldiers all threw their hats into the air and cheered. "Hail to Luke! The wicked witch is finally dead!"

Luke grinned at his companions when something crossed his mind. "Um, please sir," he pointed to Anton's sword. "May we take that?"

"Of course you may!" The soldier said graciously, handing the weapon to the boy.

"Thank you very much!" Luke exclaimed and faced his companions. "We did it!"

"Let's get back to the Emerald city." Sharon said. Luke couldn't agree more. His wish was going to be granted.

He was finally going home.

Luke's been cooped up in that castle long enough, don't you think?

And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for is coming next chapter: THE IDENTITY OF THE WIZARD!

I'll give you a hint, one of the reviewers has already gotten it right, so if you wanna make a list and place your bets, just check the reviews!