Disclaimer, the usual.
In the jester's hideout
The jester was watching the events between the castle and the emerald city. He was chuckling evilly at his work.
"I don't care if they get out, I know they will, I just wonder how long it will take them to realize that I didn't use powerful dark magic." The jester said chuckling to himself.
He then took out the wand and waved it over the crystal. The image of Dorothy and Alex standing next to the sealed door appeared in the ball
"Do you think your sister will come up with something?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I'm sure she will." came the muffled voice of Ellie.
"Oh I know she will, she always does." The jester said as laughing wickedly
Back at the emerald city
Glinda was going through her books in the emerald city looking for the proper spell she could use. Years ago she put a transportation spell on a letter that she had sent to Dorothy. She was wondering if she could do the same thing but with a different spell. She waved her hand over the crystal ball and the image of Dorothy and Alex appeared in it. Biter was sitting on her desk nibbling at a small piece of cheese. It was then that Alison and Alyssa walked.
"Glinda?" Alison asked curiously.
"Yes dear?" Glinda responded.
"Why don't we just ask Locasta for help?" Alison asked curiously
"Because, though combined our magic is much more powerful, I want to know what we're up against in this situation, and if possible get them out of there without having to try and break any spells." Glinda said.
"Well are there any other options?" Alyssa asked.
"Surrender?" Glinda replied.
"Glinda don't even suggest that." Alyssa said.
"Well we really don't have many options, I could think of three off the top of my head, the third being surrender." Glinda said.
"What are the other two?" Alison asked.
"Go to Locasta for help, or go there myself." Glinda said.
"Well Alison and I were Just about to go there, but we need transport, you teleported Ellie and Aislynn there, could you do the same for us?" Alyssa asked curiously
"Sure, would you mind taking Biter with you?" Glinda asked curiously.
"Sure, come on little guy." Alyssa said placing out her hand.
Biter nodded and climbed onto Alyssa's hand. Glinda then smiled and waved her wand over the three. They promptly vanished and Glinda turned her attention the crystal ball.
Back in the west.
When Alison, Alyssa and biter arrived Alyssa set Biter down and he immediately ran back to the little hole in the wall he had used to get in the first time.
"Dorothy?" Biter called.
"Biter?" Dorothy said.
"Back at the hole in the wall." Biter called.
Dorothy walked over to the hole and picked Biter up. She then walked over to the door where Alex was sitting on the ground carving at a piece of wood he had found with a sharp stone. Toto was sitting in front of him watching curiously.
"Dorothy? Alyssa and Alison are here." Ellie said.
"Oh, good do we have a plan?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Of course not." Biter said.
"Well, no, but we're working on it." Alyssa said.
"Thanks, I'd rather not be trapped all day, I know for a fact there's no food here." Dorothy said.
"Well at least you have biter and Toto to keep you and Alex company." Ellie said.
"Ellie, take Aislynn back to the city, take Tugg with you." Dorothy said.
"What should we do when we get back?" Ellie asked curiously.
"Stay there and think of a plan." Dorothy said.
"Dorothy, that's basically what we are trying to do now." Ellie said.
"I know, just go, take Aislynn back to the city, use Tugg and don't worry about us." Dorothy said.
"Yes mam." Ellie replied.
Dorothy chuckled and then sneezed. She dropped the scepter and it hit portcullis. There was a loud bang as orb made contact with the barrier around the portcullis.
"What was that?" Alyssa asked worriedly.
"I just dropped the scepter and it hit the barrier around the portcullis." Dorothy said picking up the scepter.
It sparked and sent energy into the barrier before going completely dark again. It was then Dorothy got an idea. Dorothy set down biter and took a few steps back from the portcullis.
"Hey Alison?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Yes Dorothy?" Alison asked curiously.
"What would I get as a result of jamming the scepter into the barrier?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"A really loud bang and a large release of energy, enough to charge up the scepter remotely as well as destroy the orb on top, why?" Alison asked curiously.
"And what would that do to me?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"If you're lucky, you'll escape with a concussion at worst." Alison said.
"And if I were unlucky?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Um, at worse the scepter would be completely destroyed and it would kill you." Alison replied.
"I like those odds." Dorothy said taking a few more steps back.
"Dorothy, NO! Don't you dare?" Alison shouted.
Dorothy shrugged this off and ran at the door full sprint. Just as she was about to reach it Glinda appeared in front of her and stopped her in her tracks.
"NO!" Glinda shouted as she jammed her own wand into the barrier.
Immediately Dorothy was forced back as a large blast of energy sent her sprawling to the floor. Glinda flew back and hit against the wall. She fell face first onto the floor. The last thing Dorothy saw before she blacked out was Glinda's wand. Cracked completely in two on the floor, releasing sparks as the barrier around the portcullis dissipated.
Dorothy awoke several hours later to feel her head pounding. She was lying in her bed in the emerald city. Floating beside her was the scepter. It wasn't glowing the way it normally did, if fact the glow seemed feeble. At her side was Alex and Toto. On Alex's shoulder was Biter.
"Faced our fears I see." Dorothy said weakly.
"Dorothy, thank goodness, Biter, go get Elena." Alex said taking biter off his shoulder and placing him on the floor.
It was then that it struck Dorothy. Was Glinda alright? She immediately sat up and her vision blurred as her head began to throb.
"Glinda, is she?" Dorothy started to say before she lay back down.
"Dorothy, please keep calm, Glinda is fine, she came to shortly after we got you two back here, she sprained her wrist rather badly though, and her wand is in pieces but she is completely fine, she took precautions before doing what she did." Alex said placing a hand on her forehead.
Dorothy was about to say someone when Elena walked in with Biter on her shoulder. She walked over to Dorothy and placed a hand on her forehead. She then went through her bag and pulled out a bottle poppy essence. She then took out a pill and placed it in Dorothy's hand. She then ran into the bathroom and emerged a few seconds later with a cup of water. Dorothy sighed weakly and took the pill and swallowed it. She then downed the glass of water and within a few seconds she was asleep once more. Alex sighed and kissed Dorothy on the cheek before going to the scepter. The orb had been cracked when Glinda freed them. Glinda told him she could make a new one but it would take a while. She had freed them from the castle at the cost of both hers and Dorothy's object of power. With Alison's help she could repair her wand with the smaller bit that she had retrieved from the forest all those years ago, but the orb on the scepter had to be completely crafted from scratch. Glinda walked into the room with her wrist bound up.
"How is she?" Glinda asked worriedly.
"She'll be fine, have you informed her aunt and uncle?" Elena asked curiously.
"Yes, they said she can stay overnight, make sure she makes a full recovery, was she concussed at all?" Glinda asked worriedly.
"A little, but a few hours of rest and she be fine." Elena said as the scepter released a few sparks, "that is unless the scepter releases energy." She added.
Glinda sighed and walked over to the scepter. She plucked it out of the air and removed the orb. She then walked over to the foot of the bed and looked at the slippers. She motioned for Alex to come over.
"Get them off of her for me." Glinda said.
"Why can't you?" Alex asked.
"She trusts you with her life, she loves you, and they will allow you to remove them." Glinda said.
Alex nodded and pulled them off her feet. He then handed them over to Glinda. She sighed and walked over to Dorothy's satchel. She then put the slippers in there and shut the satchel. Buckling the satchel with the strap and buckle that seemed to never be used. She then handed the satchel Alex.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Alex asked curiously.
"Don't let her use the slippers for a while, they too will continue to release energy that will be dangerous to her in her recovery, but it's completely harmless to us but it's really dangerous to her." Glinda said.
"I'll take it to my room then, will that be far enough?" Alex asked curiously.
"Yes, it will, Elena if Dorothy wakes up, let her know I have the scepter." Glinda said walking out.
Elena nodded and knelt down at Dorothy's bedside allowing for biter to climb onto the bed. She told Alex it was okay for him to leave, she would take over from there. Alex was a bit reluctant at first but looked at Dorothy sleeping peacefully in the bed, Alex then smiled and walked out to head to his room with the satchel. He walked passed Glinda's room. He heard the sound of her crying. He immediately pushed opened the door and found Glinda with her head resting down on her arms on her desk. Alex walked in and Glinda immediately looked up. She wiped the tears from her face and sighed.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked curiously.
"I, I, I'll be fine, I just haven't slept for a few days and the stress is getting to me." Glinda said sniffing a bit.
"Glinda, I'm not a doctor, and I'm not Elena, but you should really get some rest, what would Ellie say if she saw you like this?" Alex asked curiously.
"I know, but trying to keep the jester at bay." Glinda said starting to cry again.
"Sis? Oh sweet Oz." Ellie said running in.
"Ellie, convince your sister to get some sleep." Alex said.
Ellie walked over to her sister and hugged her tightly.
"Sis, you need to stop, you're going to drive yourself insane if you keep this up." Ellie said helping her sister up.
Glinda nodded in agreement and sniffed. She then was led over to her to her bed by her sister. Ellie helped her sister into the bed and it didn't take long for Glinda to fall asleep. Ellie looked at Alex and waved him away. Alex nodded and walked out of the room and was about to go back to his when Elena ran into him. He dropped the satchel which let out a spark.
"She wants you, she's talking in her sleep, but she wants you." Elena said.
"Let's go then." Alex said picking up the satchel.
Elena and Alex went back to Dorothy's room. When they arrived they found Biter sitting on the bed post just above Dorothy's head. Alex walked over to get him and heard Dorothy calling for him in her sleep before returning to her state of rest. Alex sighed and picked up Biter.
"Elena, I'll take it from here." Alex said putting biter on his shoulder
"If you're sure, I'll be in the chambers." Elena said walking out.
Alex nodded and pulled over a chair. Toto whimpered worriedly as he watched Dorothy.
"I know boy, I don't like seeing her in this condition either." Alex said picking him up.
"How is she?" Ellie asked appearing in the doorway.
"Recovering." Alex said.
"Glinda is fine, I just worry about my sister sometimes." Ellie said.
"I worry about Dorothy a lot." Alex said placing a hand on Dorothy's forehead.
"I worry about her too, she's my best friend." Ellie said walking over.
"I know." Alex said.
"Is there anything you need?" Ellie asked curiously.
"Could you bring this to my room?" Alex asked holding up the satchel.
"But isn't that Dorothy's?" Ellie asked curiously.
"Yes, but it has the slippers inside it, and Glinda doesn't really want them anywhere near Dorothy during her recovery." Alex said as the satchel let a few sparks.
"I see your point." Ellie said as Alex passed her the satchel.
Ellie smiled and ran out of the room. The china princess then walked in followed by Alison.
"When Glinda realized what Dorothy was about to do she went there immediately and took care of the job herself." The china princess said walking over to Alex.
"I just can't believe she sacrificed her own wand in order to do that." Alison said.
"Everything has a price, Glinda didn't want Dorothy paying the ultimate price." Alex said.
"I know that, but still." Alison said.
"At least Glinda knew what she was doing, she emerged with a sprained wrist, Dorothy was close to the blast, and Glinda said that she was also struck with a load of the energy." Alyssa said walking in.
"You know, this is a depressing subject, can we change the subject please?" The china princess said
Alex sighed and turned away from the group he looked at biter and got up.
"Would you guys mind watching her for a bit? I think I need some air." Alex asked curiously.
"Not at all, take your time." The princess said.
Alex nodded and got up. He then took biter off his shoulder and set him on the bedside table. He then walked out of the room. He slowly walked out of the city and over to the fields by the dock. Why had he been unaffected by the blast? Why couldn't he have taken it full force like Dorothy had? He didn't know, he couldn't explain it but it just felt like a great wind blowing by him. Glinda said this was because he wasn't close to the blast but he didn't believe it. He wondered what had kept him, Toto and biter protected from the blast. He stood there for about an hour or two and cleared his head. He took a few deep breaths and looked back. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around to see Glinda standing in front of him.
"How was your nap?" Alex asked curiously.
"It was good, Ellie woke me up a few minutes ago, and I then went to find you." Glinda said.
"Why?" Alex asked curiously.
"Because I'm worried about you." Glinda replied.
"Don't be, leave the worrying to Dorothy for when she wakes up." Alex said.
"Alex, Dorothy will come too soon, the poppy essence will wear off soon, if I had put her in a dreamless sleep she'd probably sleep into tomorrow, but without my wand…" Glinda said trailing off.
"Glinda! Alex!" Ellie yelled as she ran up to them
"What is it Ellie?" Glinda asked.
"It's, Dorothy, having, a nightmare." Ellie said catching her breath.
Glinda and Alex both exchanged worried glances for a moment. They then took off in a run back into the city. When they arrived back at Dorothy's room they found her struggling on her bed. She was crying softly. Alex ran over to the bed and noticed that Dorothy had gone pale, but her skin was soaked with sweat. He wrapped his arms around Dorothy and immediately she awoke her then sat up and embraced Alex tightly.
"It, it was horrible, I, I thought I was done with them." Dorothy said crying into Alex's shoulder.
"It's an effect of the magic, this time that nightmare was not completely your own." Glinda said walking over.
Dorothy didn't respond. She simply continued to cry into Alex's shoulder.
"Would you guys mind leaving us alone, biter and Toto can stay." Alex said.
"Come on Glinda, let's go repair your wand." Alison said walking out.
Glinda nodded and followed. Everyone else cleared out as Ellie came in panting for breath. Alex looked at her and motioned for her to leave. She nodded and shut the door. Dorothy sobbed into Alex's shoulder for fifteen minutes without interruption. It was then that it struck her.
"Where, where are the slippers? More importantly where is the scepter?" Dorothy asked managing to regain composure.
"The slippers are in my room discharging energy and Glinda has the scepter, the orb cracked." Alex said.
"What?" Dorothy asked worriedly.
"Dorothy, I know that sounds bad, but Glinda said it shouldn't take long to make a new one once she gets the material." Alex said
"B-b-b-but how?" Dorothy finally managed to stutter worriedly.
"The blast of energy caused it to crack." Biter said from the table.
Dorothy tried to say something but instead let out a loud belch. Following this she exhaled a rainbow colored mist. She coughed and then burped again. Exhaling more mist.
"Ugh! That's vile." Dorothy said fanning the air away.
"Smells like, like a mix of peppermint and garlic." Alex said coughing as he smelt the air.
"Tastes worse." Dorothy said.
"I'm sure it does." Alex said chuckling.
"It's not funny." Dorothy said burping again.
"Ooh I smell magical energy." Glinda said opening the door.
"It's smells and tastes terrible." Dorothy said belching again.
"You'll be doing that for a while, its part of recovery." Glinda said walking over and chuckling.
"Well I don't like it." Dorothy replied.
"Yes, well you've never been on the receiving end of a magical blast before, let alone one so powerful." Glinda replied placing a hand on Dorothy's forehead.
"True, normally I've been the one releasing it, but I've never seen one so big." Dorothy said belching again then coughing.
Glinda nodded and sat down on the bed next to Dorothy.
"Glinda, you know I don't believe what you told me right?" Alex asked curiously
"Yes, I know, I sort of gathered." Glinda said.
"Then tell me the truth, why were Biter, Toto and I spared from the blast? All I felt was a great wind like the plains in the winter." Alex asked curiously.
"Because, what Dorothy wanted was to free you guys as well as herself, the scepter protected you guys because she cares about you guys." Glinda said sighing.
"So, she was willing to sacrifice herself for us?" Biter asked curiously.
"Yes." Dorothy and Glinda said in unison.
"Dorothy, promise me something." Alex said looking at her.
"What is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"You'll never think of doing something that stupid again." Alex said.
"Alex, I promise I won't." Dorothy said as she exhaled more mist.
"That is going to get annoying after a while, not to mention it stinks." Alex said.
"Well, she's going to be doing that for a few more hours at least, her body has to get rid of any excess magical energy." Glinda said.
"Glinda, don't you have to go repair the orb?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I have to make a new one from scratch dear, I just don't have the material, and I'll have to go the Nome king later to get some of the crystal." Glinda said sighing.
"What about your wand?" Alex asked curiously.
"Alison is in the process of repairing it." Glinda said getting up.
"Dorothy?" Toto asked curiously.
"Yes boy?" Dorothy asked looking down at him.
"What was it like being in front of that blast?" Toto asked curiously.
"It felt like, well I don't know how to describe it, it felt like someone punched me really hard in the stomach at first though." Dorothy said.
"Yes, well, I'm sorry about that, I just didn't want you getting hurt, sure the only way to die here in Oz is if something happens that prevents you from being able to live but that blast could have ripped you apart." Glinda said looking at her.
"Okay then, next question, is it safe for me to move?" Dorothy asked curiously as she belched again.
"Yes, but you won't be able to finish a conversation or do anything for that matter without burping for a while, not to mention eating will be a bit, well, the most difficult." Glinda said trying to recall all of the effects
"I'm not sure I could stomach anything at the moment." Dorothy replied.
"Is there any way to speed up the process?" Alex asked curiously.
"Yes but it is immensely painful." Glinda said.
"Okay, fair enough." Dorothy said belching again.
"Dorothy, do me a favor." Alex said.
"What now?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Take a breath mint." Alex said as Dorothy exhaled some more mist.
Dorothy giggled and Glinda took a wrapped peppermint candy from her dress and handed it to Dorothy. Dorothy thanked Glinda and burped again. She then unwrapped the candy and popped it in her mouth only to nearly go into a coughing for a few minutes. When she managed to stop herself from coughing she spit out the candy.
"You weren't kidding." Dorothy said.
"I've suffered through it before I know what it's like." Glinda said as Alison came in with Glinda's wand which was now glowing where it had been snapped in two.
"It will be done repairing in a few days, where do you want me to keep it until then?" Alison asked curiously.
"More importantly how are we going to get home?" Alex asked curiously.
"Well we until the scepter is repaired we can't really send Dorothy home, and before you ask, no the slippers can't serve as a protection from the jester, since he cannot use them they cannot protect you from him." Glinda said as Dorothy opened her mouth to speak and promptly shut it again, belching in the process.
"So, back in your room then?" Alison asked curiously.
"Yes, that would be nice." Glinda said nodding in her direction.
Alison nodded and walked out of the room. She then took off in a run.
"Could I use the slippers to send them back?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Yes, you could, if they weren't currently discharging energy." Glinda replied.
"Could you use them then?" Dorothy asked as she belched again.
"No, sadly." Glinda replied.
"Well, I'll go find Ellie have her contact your aunt and uncle, you should try to get some more rest Dorothy." Alex said leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.
Dorothy blushed and whistled for Toto. She then belched again before lying back as Toto jumped onto the bed and sat down on the pillow next to her. She smiled and then looked at Alex nodding and belching again. She then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.