Disclaimer, you know.
When Alex managed to get to the doors of the city he only got a few feet inside before he found his path blocked by giant crystal spikes that seemed to reach the ceiling. He tried to see if his sword did any damage to them but it simply bounced off. He let out a sigh and leaned against one of the spikes to try and weigh the situation and figure out what he could do. He figured he could look for a gap large enough to squeeze through but looking at how close together the spikes were he knew he didn't have much of a chance. He could try to climb up the spikes and try to squeeze passed near the top but the crystal was smooth so he knew he wouldn't be able to climb it. There weren't any doors nearby so as far as he could see, he was stuck. He could go back out but he had already made it that far. He sighed again and looked around for other options but decided to just wait there.
Dorothy eventually managed to get the jester running as her aim began to get better and the jester began to get tired. She chased him and shot spells as he jumped out of the way.
"You know you really need to learn how to hit a moving target better!" the jester shouted
"You need to slow down!" Dorothy shouted.
The jester let out a laugh and turned and shot a spell at Dorothy. The spell struck her in the stomach causing her to stumble and keel over. The jester began to cackle loudly as he ran ahead and was soon out of sight. Dorothy gasped a few times and eventually caught her breath. When she got up she immediately tried to start running again and almost immediately fell over again.
"Not liking my little spell? Well to bad! Catch me if you can!" came the jester's booming voice.
Dorothy groaned and leaned against the scepter for support as she got up again and tried to follow him. She was beginning to feel weak. Her vision fogged up and she collapsed again. As she tried to get up a third time she began to think about her friends and family, as well as the people of Oz whom she was protecting. She couldn't bear to think of what would become of all of them if the jester won. She then slowly began to walk down the hall after him.
Back at the entrance Alex was pacing around when he had heard the jester's voice and he began to grow worried. He knew Dorothy was strong but if the jester was teasing like this he knew she was hurt. He wished that he could find a way passed the spikes but he knew now after pacing about that it was impossible. His thoughts however were broken by the sound of a ruckus outside. His concern switched to Ellie who had been casting what looked like a powerful spell. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she came to harm because she was helping so he started back outside.
Meanwhile outside the city
Ellie's spell had allowed for Alex to get into the but eventually she grew tired and weak as the spell had taken a lot out of her. She eventually collapsed and the monkeys began to swarm her like a pack of vultures. As the monkeys began to swoop upon her to capture her they found themselves blocked by some sort of barrier. Glinda had seen Ellie go down and was now endeavoring the best she could to protect her younger sister. When Alex exited the city he saw Ellie collapsed on the ground. He couldn't see anything else through the blinding rain but he knew that Glinda could definitely see them. He quickly ran over to Ellie only to find himself blocked by the same barrier the monkeys were blocked by. He sighed with relief and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he started to take a few steps back and immediately slipped on some sort of round object. As he got back to his feet he looked and saw Ellie's wand lying on the ground. He assumed that it was either pushed away by the monkeys before they retreated to attack the others, or that it simply landed there when Ellie collapsed as it was not in the barrier. As he reached for it Ellie immediately reached out and grabbed his wrist tightly.
"Never touch that" Ellie said using Alex to pull herself to her feet.
"Ellie, I thought you were hurt." Alex said swinging at a monkey who tried to swoop down at them.
"Thank you for showing some sort of concern, but it's not needed, I thought you were going after Dorothy?" Ellie said.
"The entrance is blocked." Alex said.
"I'm sorry." Ellie said shooting a spell at a monkey.
"So am I." Alex said taking a defensive position then noticing someone walking towards them.
Back in the palace.
Dorothy eventually found herself back in the hallway of doors. An area she was familiar with but hadn't been in a long time in the normal emerald city. The dark crystal palace looked exactly like the emerald city in terms of design and locations. She didn't know if he was in any of the rooms but she had to look. She tried the door closest to her and found it locked. She tried waving the scepter over it but it didn't open.
"Ice cold." Came the jester's booming voice.
Dorothy sighed and looked at the ceiling, a game of hot and cold, the jester was trying to test her patience.
"Why so many games?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Because I know what's going to happen when you eventually snap completely, I'm just trying to prolong my life as long as possible." Came the jester's voice.
"Fair enough, I think." Dorothy said trying the next door over.
"Warmer, but still very cold." Came the jester's voice.
Dorothy sighed and looked down the hallway. She then turned around and tried the doors behind her.
"Once again, ice cold" came the jester's voice again.
"You know you could give me a hint." Dorothy said.
"alright, just for fair play, if the door you try is cold, assume the one behind you is wrong as well, good enough?" the jester asked.
"Yes." Dorothy replied.
Dorothy then let out a sigh and walked down the hallway three doors passed where she started and tried the first door in front of her. It too was locked.
"Warmer, but you are getting closer." The jester said.
This went one for ten more doors or so before Dorothy began to get frustrated. The jester had told her what he was trying to do, she knew that this was the last stand for both of them and so did he. After a few more minutes she sighed and ran straight to the end of the hallway. There was a single door. She held the scepter out and the door opened revealing the jester sitting on a staircase with his wand and a small crystal ball in hand.
"Really, you surprised me, I thought you knew me well enough to know that this is exactly what I would do and that you would have figured this out a while ago." The jester getting up.
Dorothy glared at the jester before shooting a spell at him. It struck him in the hand that was holding the small crystal. It immediately fell to the floor and shattered. The jester let out a yell and shot a spell at Dorothy which she managed to narrowly dodge. The jester chuckled and started up the stairs. Dorothy sighed and began running after him. The staircase was a spiral so she knew they were heading up a tower, which one, she wasn't sure, buts she knew they would come out somewhere on the roof. When they eventually reached the top of the tower they found themselves on the same tower that Glinda had cast her spell from. It was then some struck Dorothy.
"You planned this out didn't you?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"This seemed like a better place for a last stand than anywhere else, our first battle was on a tower, and so will our last battle." The jester said.
Dorothy looked at the jester for a moment. This was it, she had to show him. If she couldn't save him from his demise she had to at least try to save his soul. But first she had to get him down. She shot a spell at him which he blocked with the wand causing a bright flash of light that she had never seen from it before. He then sent the spell back at her which once more narrowly missed her. She glared at him again and pointed the scepter at him. The jester smiled and pointed the wand at her. Dorothy sighed and fell to her knees.
"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to do it, but tell me, did you think I wouldn't notice?" the jester asked curiously.
"Jester, just tell me, do you still love her?" Dorothy asked curiously.
The jester lowered the wand. He knelt down in front of Dorothy. His face fell and went from smugness to sadness.
"Yes, of course I do, I never stopped." The jester said.
Dorothy smiled and looked up at him. For one split second they made eye contact. That second was all that was needed for Dorothy to find herself pawing through the jester's memories. She saw him in his childhood. Everything that she had been shown by him, and other memories. She saw Rose several times. But then felt her head throbbing. She was forced out of the jesters mind and found herself inside her own memories. The jester was somehow going through her memories. Dorothy found herself not seeing all her memories, just specific ones. When he saw rose, Lily, Violet he stopped and Dorothy found herself staring at the jester.
"How does she have kids?" the jester asked.
"I was told they don't have a father, I was told that they were the result of, of a really powerful wish." Dorothy said.
The jester sighed and pulled Dorothy to her feet. He then backed away and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry" he said.
"You've said that once before, what are you sorry for this time?" Dorothy asked
"For everything, not just what I've done to you, but to everyone else as well." The jester said raising the wand and pointing it at her.
Dorothy quickly shot a spell which hit the jester in the hand causing him to drop the wand. The wand rolled towards Dorothy and stopped right by her foot. She knelt down and picked it up. She let go of the scepter causing it to float there. The jester looked at her and nodded. Dorothy sighed and took the wand with both hands.
"This is for everyone, the end of all this terror." Dorothy said taking the wand, raising it and bringing it down over her knee.
Immediately a loud bang and a large rush of energy followed by another as Dorothy assumed the two colored crystal ball burst and let out its energy. The city began to return to normal and Dorothy began to start feeling weak.
"Dorothy, cast a spell, wave the scepter a few times and channel the rest of your energy, you know that's what you should have done last time." The jester said.
"I-I can't." Dorothy said.
The jester sighed and looked up he let out a gasp which made Dorothy rather surprised.
"Dorothy, please, if he lives he will suffer, the people of will not forgive him as you and I both have." Came Rose's voice from behind.
"I told you to stay at home rose." Dorothy said.
"I saw you needed my help, everyone else is fine now, the wand is broken, it's evil cast away and can no longer corrupt anyone, Dorothy, do it now, your friends are free, the orb is indeed broken, and the energy is coming this way, towards you, the last one to cast a spell at it." Rose said standing next to Dorothy.
Dorothy turned around and saw a light coming from the staircase. She had seconds. As she turned around again she raised the scepter.
"Jester, you are forgiven, forgiven forever, and always." Dorothy just as she brought the scepter down.
Immediately the energy hit her square in the back and was channeled through the scepter. The entire land seemed to be lit up with a bright flash of light. Dorothy closed her eyes and began to feel even weaker as energy drained from her. The last thing Dorothy saw and heard before she blacked out was the jester being completely enveloped by the light.
"Thank you." Was all he said but it wasn't to Dorothy, it was to rose.
The next thing Dorothy knew, everything went black.
Well, I have no words to describe this chapter, rose and the jester get one last short meeting. And the jester learns that if he had just stuck around and not become evil, his demise would not have had to happen and he could have had a family. But I've left a few loose threads that won't be tied until the next story. Stay tuned for the final two chapters of this story.