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In the room
Dorothy had indeed began to chuckle at Alex's folly. However this didn't last long because Dorothy had begun to miss her friends, family, and even her home. She started crying again, she couldn't help it.
"Oh dear, is Miss Dorothy gale crying?" Came the voice of the jester.
"Shut up!" Dorothy shouted at him.
"Sorry, sorry." The jester said getting defensive.
"They don't even know where I am, I don't even know where I am." Dorothy said looking back at him.
"Getting lonely then?" The jester asked curiously.
"No, being able to hear them talk, being able to see them will keep me sane." Dorothy said.
"You know, this place actually has a name." The jester said.
"But you aren't going to tell me." Dorothy replied.
"Nah, I'll let you figure it out yourself." The jester said before vanishing.
Dorothy looked at where the jester had just been. He hadn't been helpful at all. He was trying to get on her last nerve, no one had done that yet, she didn't even know what she would do if she got that cross. She was more worried by the fact that she didn't know where she was. She began crying harder and leaned back against the crystal ball. Her the only things that worried her were that the jester wouldn't release her, and that she didn't know where she was. She closed her eyes and began to think about her friends. She got a slight headache as she closed her eyes but she shrugged this off.
"Please, I don't know where I am, I don't know where I am." Dorothy repeated to herself in a whisper.
Back in Kansas.
The search for Dorothy once more turned up no luck. It was now nine o'clock at night and Officer Grey had called for a town meeting. The entire town was a buzzing like the bees. Everyone was worried about the girl that always showed kindness to everyone. The one person in town that everyone knew, and that everyone had cared about in some way. Alex, Ellie, Aislynn, Jenny, and Jessica were sitting at a separate table from the rest of the group watching the triplets. Alex thought this was rather pointless since they were in their carriers and still hadn't figured out how to release themselves. He spent some of the time polishing the orb on the top of the scepter with his sleeve out of boredom. The meeting was mostly people's concern about being unable to find her. Mrs. Grey however was worried about no one being able to find her and the fact that they didn't have much of a solid plan.
"What are we going to do? We've searched the entire town and the nearby woods." Mrs. Grey said.
"Dear, don't worry, we'll keep up the search." Officer Grey said.
Alex looked over and was about to say something when Glinda walked in with her parents. Mrs. Upland was wearing a black and white polka-dotted dress. This however was definitely over done by her husband who, as usual, was completely, and comically overdressed. He was wearing casual black dress pants with shoes to match, a shiny purple dress coat with a rainbow striped dress shirt underneath, a calico pattern bowtie, and a top hat that looked as if it had been passed down through several generations and patched up just about as many times.
"Sorry we're late, my husband didn't know what to wear." Mrs. Upland said rolling her eyes.
"That's alright, we haven't achieved anything really." Mr. Gale said.
Glinda sighed and led her parents over to the two empty seats next to Em and henry. She then walked over to the table where Alex and the others were sitting and joined them.
"Has the scepter done anything at all?" Glinda asked curiously.
"It's started glowing a bit brighter but other than that, nothing." Alex said sighing and going back to rubbing the orb with his sleeve.
"Alyssa and Finley have gone out and are searching through out Oz." Glinda said sighing.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Ellie asked sarcastically.
"One of the guards came and found me after they departed to inform me of their departure." Glinda said sighing.
"No one has had any luck, there's no trace of her, the entire town has begun to pitch into the effort, the entire town and the woods nearby have been searched, but to no avail, I'm beginning to wonder if the jester just took her and hid her somewhere that we ourselves cannot get to, but he can." Alex said.
"That is a possibility, but not even the jester would stoop to that low a level just to get us wound up would he?" Glinda asked.
"The Jester? Of course he would, he's tried to get to Dorothy through her friends and family, and by logic those roles can be reversed, using her to get to us." Aislynn said.
"Right dear, but that still doesn't solve the fact that we don't know where she is." Jessica said as the clock struck ten.
"If the jester hid her, there's no knowing where she is, any place that the jester uses for hiding becomes untraceable, you can't find it in the crystal ball, and not even the rainbow mover can find it." Glinda said sighing.
"So, if she is still alive, we may still never find her?" Jenny asked curiously.
"That's basically the gist of it jenny dear." Aislynn said looking over to her.
"Well, that's just peachy." Jenny said as Em came over with Mrs. Teak.
"Alex, your mother and I are going to bring the triplets back to the farmhouse, do any of you want to tag along?" Em asked curiously.
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Em smiled and she and Mrs. Teak picked up the carriers and walked out of the meeting hall. Mrs. Teak returned about half an hour later and took her seat back at the table. The meeting continued on till the clock struck midnight and everyone actually realized how long they had been there. As everyone cleared out it became evident that this was going to be a challenge, one that they wanted to accomplish. When everyone else had left leaving just the gales, the greys, the Teaks, and the uplands standing alone in the meeting hall, only then did they all sit down at the meeting table and talk.
"So, Dorothy has been missing for three days now." Mr. Teak said checking his watch.
"Thanks for reminding us dad." Annabella said with a yawn.
"How do you expect to find her, no one could survive being dropped into a cyclone, it's physically impossible." Mr. Teak said looking around at them.
"We can always hope." Alex said looking over at his father.
"And what is hope going to do? It's not going to bring her back is it?" Mr. Teak snapped out.
"Mr. Teak, you seem to be the only one who seems to think nothing can be done." Officer grey said looking over at him.
"Look, I mean no offence to anyone, but let's face it, we've seen what tornados can do, the fact that she survived one all those years ago was a miracle itself, but a second time, well, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were all of you." Mr. Teak said still unaffected.
"Dad, she's out there, somewhere, I know it, and I can just feel it." Alex said looking over at his father.
"What do you know? You are still young, to naïve to accept what you know is true." Mr. Teak snapped out at his son.
Alex was taken aback by his father's tone. He knew his father didn't like him, but now he was just trying to get him to snap. Alex wouldn't have it, not at all. And this time he was going to tell his dad what he thought.
"You know what father, I'm tired of this, what have I done to deserve all this hatred from you? You care more about Annabella than you do me, you make it seem like I'm nothing, and that any moment I'll just go back to my old ways." Alex snapped out.
"Alexander Teak, you hold your tongue." Mr. Teak snapped out at his son as he stood up.
"No, I want to know why, whatever I do, you just try to put a damper on it, I've defended you guys, I've thrown myself in the line of fire to protect mom, and yet you don't care. And though you don't care about me, you really, really believe I don't care about you guys, you think what I believe is the lie when you yourself can't even accept what's right in front of you. And you know what, I will always stand by Dorothy, even if it is just wishful thinking and hoping for others, I will not let you say anything against her, against me, or any of her friends. why can't you just see it, see that I have changed because of her, and I have changed for the better, I am not the man I was and I have seen the errors of my old ways, some things may not be able to be undone but I will try to make amends for it, not just for my sake but for hers. And if you can't accept that, then what kind of a father are you?" Alex said finally stopping to catch his breath.
Mr. Teak said nothing, he was speechless. The only other time anyone had ever said anything similar was when the jester had mentioned it back in the woods. He sat down, now pale in the face. The only thing that raced through his head was the thought that for all this time, he had been wrong. No he couldn't accept it. He had seen this kind of thing happen before when he was younger, he wouldn't accept that Alex could actually change. His thoughts, however were broken by the sound of someone letting out a slow clap.
"Oh, bravo, bravo, nicely spoken, I always wondered what you would be like if you finally snapped at him." The jester said chuckling.
Alex turned and looked behind himself to see the jester, standing behind him. He immediately felt anger and resentment towards him and was about ready to make it evident. He held the scepter ready to do whatever it took to avenge Dorothy if need be.
"You, you monster, get out of here or I'll kill you I swear!" Alex said walking closer to him.
"Ah yes, threats, you know, you shouldn't get to cocky, what would Dorothy say if she saw you acting like this?" The jester said smiling wickedly.
Ellie, Aislynn and Mr. Foreman literally had to put all their effort in to holding Alex back so that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Alex was once more in tears, just like he had been in the barn. Annabella however seemed to be the only one who was really affected by the jester's appearance. She was now sitting in her mother's lap, with her head turned in so that it was facing her mother's chest.
"Let me go!" Alex said struggling against his friends, dropping the scepter in the process.
As the scepter hit the floor, the orb sparked and glowed a bit brighter. Immediately the sound of crying filled the room.
"I don't know where I am, I don't know where I am!" Came the sound of Dorothy's voice from the scepter.
"She's still alive!?" Mr. Teak asked in shock.
"You actually thought I would kill her without letting her put up a good fight?" The jester asked chuckling.
"I'm frightened, I don't know where I am, I don't know where I am." Came Dorothy's voice from the scepter again.
"Where is she, what did you do with her!?" Alex asked picking up the scepter.
"He's hidden her, just like you thought might be." Ellie suggested.
"There's a chance that it's just another magical imitation, but if I know you well enough, you've given her something to allow her to observe us." Glinda said looking at the jester angrily.
"Oh, yes, but I think she's too busy crying to notice that you guys know she's still alive." The jester said teasingly
"Dorothy!? Can you hear me!? Because we can hear you!" Alex said into the orb.
"Alex, ask her a question only the real Dorothy could answer." Glinda said.
Back at the room.
Upon hearing the sound of Alex's voice she sniffed and turned around. She saw them, in the same room as the jester.
"Alex, can you hear me, honestly, is this even getting to you?" Dorothy asked into the crystal
"Dorothy? Is that the real you, I mean, Glinda what should I ask, how can I prove that it's really her?" Came Alex's voice from the crystal.
"Alex, you know it's me, I'm so proud of you, you've been giving people hope, just like I would do." Dorothy said into the crystal.
"Dorothy, I'm sorry I have to put you through this, but I have to, this is something only you would know the answer to, what is the one thing I hide, from most people, my old cronies, and even you for a short time?" came Alex's voice in a curious tone.
"Alex…" Dorothy said trailing off
"Dorothy, I don't care about my reputation at this point, I care about you, Answer the question." Alex replied sternly.
"Alex, you are a rather skilled dancer, you have missed several lessons because of all of this, in your room, on your desk, you keep your various dance shoes organized in a neat row, which I would like to point out, that you polish by weekly." Dorothy said giggling.
Dorothy smiled when she saw Alex's face. She laughed when she saw Ellie and aislynn's faces. They were laughing. Mr. Teak was still sitting in shock, Dorothy knew he was still in denial about his son.
"Alex, you knew deep in your heart that I was still alive, you tried to bring everyone's spirits up when the lack of result brought everything down again." Dorothy said.
"Dorothy, can you describe to us where you are?" Glinda asked curiously.
"Um, well yes and no, yes by what I can see, no as in I really have no idea of my actual location." Dorothy said.
"Well tell us then that might give us a good idea of how we can help you." Glinda and Ellie said in unison.
"Well, it sort of looks like the inside of a giant barn, the difference is the lack of a hayloft and the fact that the ceiling isn't exactly all there." Dorothy started to say before Glinda cut her off with a question.
"What do you mean by not all there?" Glinda asked.
"Well, it's there, but at the same time it isn't, it's hard to describe, all I know is that on the other side is pure, unadulterated void." Dorothy replied.
Dorothy stared into the crystal ball as everyone fell silent. Glinda looked at the jester in anger and then looked as if she was about to vomit. This was a look that worried Dorothy greatly.
"Dorothy, is there a pile of hay or straw lying next to a wall?" Glinda asked worriedly.
"I landed it in when I arrived, the jester said he had ended up here twice because of me." Dorothy said now starting to get worried.
"Dorothy, I know where you are, but at this point, you are beyond my help, where you are not even my powers have control." Glinda said.
"Well where am I?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"It's what we in the sorcery practice call the end of time itself, nothing happens there, time progresses relative to the world you came from, it's the result of trying to use magic to transport yourself without a specified destination, it's not in Oz, or your world, it's more of an in between here and there." Glinda replied worriedly.
"Well how do I get out?" Dorothy asked worriedly.
"You were brought there on purpose, not on accident, the only person who can get you out is the jester himself, and I'm sure he knows that." Glinda said glaring daggers at the jester.
"What about father time, you said this is the end of time, so can't he come here?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"No dear, that is the only place he can only observe, if he were to go there, his domain would collapse, in a way of speaking it's not really the end of time, it's a room that is in, as you put it, a void." Glinda replied.
"And she will stay there till I think she's had enough time alone." The jester said laughing wickedly.
"Guys, don't worry about me, I'm fine here, I'm just lonely, but at least I can still watch you guys." Dorothy said into the crystal.
"Hey, wait a second, I don't hear any burping, and you can't have gone through all that magical energy already." Glinda said worriedly.
"That's mostly my doing, you don't think after all those experiments my sisters did on me that I wouldn't try to find a way to get rid of magical energy faster did you?" The jester asked curiously.
"Well, no, I don't think anyone in their right mind would be able to stay sane long enough to stand all of that." Glinda said.
"When I was still young I discovered an easy little spell that allows anyone to get rid of excess magical energy, even without an object of power, and it is, may I mention, painless." The jester said pulling what looked like a page torn from a book out of his sleeve.
"So, still using that book are we? Not planning to turn anyone else into a cat are we?" Glinda asked taking a look at the page.
"Oh I don't even want to think about being a cat again, though admittedly, I'd prefer that over being alone." Dorothy said.
"Is that a fact?" the jester asked curiously.
"Don't get any ideas!" Dorothy shouted.
"Ha, ha, well, I think your friends get the point now, they can call off their search, and you can go back to, well drawing I guess, because this is the only time I'm letting you talk to them, so anything you want to say, say it now because this is the last conversation you may have for a while." The jester said chuckling.
"You're a monster." Alex said holding up the scepter to strike.
"Alex don't, if you hurt him he could take it out on me, I'm defenseless here, he's been somewhat kind to me here, providing me with food and an adequate bed, don't take anything out on him that he can use against me, alex, if you truly do love me, put down the scepter, give it to Glinda, and back off." Dorothy said into the crystal.
Alex hesitated for a minute, the thought that this man could show any kindness to anyone was hard to believe, but Dorothy was alive and well, just as he knew she was. Slowly he handed the scepter to Glinda. She smiled as he stepped away from her and looked up at the ceiling.
"Dorothy, I love you." Alex said
"I love you to." Dorothy replied.
"Well then, now that I've had to witness this gut wrenching, yet rather touching display, say 'See you later' to Dorothy, because this is the only time I'm allowing this." The jester said. Flicking the wand.
Immediately Dorothy found herself surrounded by the mist. As did her friends. Immediately both parties were met with what they had hoped to see. Dorothy saw her friends and they saw her. Both parties knew this was merely a projection, something the jester was rather good at. But it was real enough. Dorothy got up from next to the crystal ball and approached her friends in the mist.
"Take care of yourselves, live your lives like normal, call off the search and don't worry about me, I'll be fine unless this guy decides to change his mind, in which case then you can worry about me." Dorothy said looking at her friends with tears in her eyes.
"Dorothy, keep safe, don't provoke him, we'll stay strong, for you." Glinda said.
"Alex, do me a favor." Dorothy said looking directly at him.
"Anything." Alex replied.
"Well two things, one, don't play with the scepter in the barn, and don't let anyone lose hope for me." Dorothy said reaching out to him.
Alex nodded and reached out his hand. As he and Dorothy's hands crossed where they would have. Dorothy found her hand passing through the projection and Alex found the same thing. Dorothy's and Alex's eyes met for a second and Alex smiled. The mist then cleared and Dorothy turned back to the crystal.
"So, you can all stop your worrying, she'll be fine, and I, must be going." The jester said as he vanished from the crystal.
"So, how does it feel to have a sense of closure now that they know you're alright?" the jester asked appearing behind her.
"It's left a huge gap, now that I know I'm basically stuck here till you say otherwise." Dorothy said as her mood changed to one that sounded irritated.
"Well luckily they didn't hear that, and don't worry, I'm sure you'll think of something to combat the loneliness." The jester said vanishing.
Dorothy frowned and turned back to the crystal ball. She then waved her hand over it and it went dark. She was glad that that actually worked here. She waved her hand over it again and the scene reappeared. She yawned and waved her hand over it once more before getting up and walking over to the bed.
"I miss them already." Dorothy whispered to herself before laying down on the bed and falling asleep.
Well three days of searching and finally her friends get a sense of closure, but how is Dorothy going to combat the loneliness that is the void? And will Mr. Teak ever manage to accept his son?