A/N: And here it is, the other world I decided to include in this story that isn't in the Kingdom Hearts games that I based on something else. So, why did I choose The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for this story? Well, two reasons, the first being that the fantasy setting really fit in what I was trying to accomplish in this story, and the second is because The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is within the public domain. Now, the movie isn't in the public domain, however the book is, hence why the lion will be on four legs and Dorothy's slippers will be silver like in the original books instead of ruby like the movie.
Additionally, Disney actually did do something with Oz in the past. The 1985 movie "Return to Oz" was actually a Disney production, so it feels like Oz could fit in well to the Kingdom Hearts lore. Now, would Oz one day appear in a future game? I kind of doubt it, hence why I am taking this gamble. If it does appear at some point in the future... well, I'll cross the bridge when I come to it. Enjoy!
A giant, black ship shaped like a whale was gliding through space effortlessly, as if it was a real whale underwater, though the 'fins' of the ship did not move as it cruised through the void. Alina was looking out the port window, mesmerized by what she was witnessing, with Ren standing right next to her and admitting silently to himself that no raft could've taken them off Destiny Islands, though deep down he knew that already.
Gamma turned in the captain's chair and stood up, his mechanical joints whirling as he did so, the robotic companion walking forward and looking over at the two teens. "Enjoying the view?", he asked with an air of amusement in his voice.
"It's breathtaking", Alina gasped, looking over at her father's creation. "And to think, I didn't even know other worlds existed until Ren arrived at ours."
"I am not surprised", Gamma replied, looking over at the window as well. "Most citizens of a world will not know that there exists many worlds outside of their own, let alone have the means to travel to them even if they did know of other worlds."
"I can attest to that", Ren laughed, unable to help himself as he reminisced. "My friend Riku somehow knew there was other worlds outside our own, and wanted to leave our world so badly that he built a raft to get us off our world. Not sure what he was thinking, since we literally had to leave The Crystal Kingdom in a giant whale shaped space ship… why did your dad make it look like whale anyway?"
"Beats me", Alina shrugged, just as confused as her companion. "When I asked him about it, he just said that's how it was. I am fond of the fact this ship has multiple rooms though, including a training room. Maybe that is why, since whales are large and dad wanted to make the biggest, most convenient ship possible."
"Most worlds not only do not know of other world, but even if they did, travel between them would normally be impossible", Gamma explained. "Worlds naturally have barriers around them, but about ten years ago, an incident occurred that shattered the world barriers. These 'barrier shards' would create the first Gummi Blocks, and thus lead to travel between worlds for the first time for those without other methods, like portals. When The Crystal Kingdom's barrier was shattered, your father sought out all the Gummi Blocks he could to build the largest, greatest Gummi Ship he could, hence the size and the shape."
"Speaking of worlds, where are we going anyway", Ren asked, looking over at the ship's central controls, which somehow Gamma has set to fly itself so he could get up.
"A world known as the Land of Oz", Gamma replied. "A large, dark energy was detected there. I set the ship to track any dark sources that seem larger then normal, ignoring Ren of course, otherwise we'd literally be flying into ourselves. The Land of Oz had a giant, dark mass on it just a few moments ago, though it seems to have shrunk down since then. I am not sure what is going on, but it is best that we have a look. Now, I must caution you guys against revealing that we are from another world, as most, if not all of the residents, aren't going to know there are any other worlds."
Ren couldn't help but agree, though he felt completely useless in the matter. Keyblade warriors, as far as he could tell from what everyone seemed to expect of him, were supposed to be powerful, world traveling experts, but he was completely lost when it came to all of this. Then again, he remembered that King Arther stated that of the keyblade warriors he knew, there was an apprentice and a master, and he was mostly flying solo when it came to all of this. "We are here", Gamma suddenly said, causing Ren to snap out of his trance. The crew stood in the center of the central command area, on a platform with a glass structure that seemed to glow when they stood on it, before being transported through teleportation onto a large field just outside of an emerald looking city, where a yellow, bricked road was leading into the green skyscrapers.
"A yellow brick road?", Ren pondered, baffled at the sight he was witnessing.
"Perhaps it is so travelers don't get lost", Gamma suggested, though even he expressed some confusion himself.
"Hey, someone is coming!", Alina shouted, pointing towards the horizon where the brick road seemed to dissolve into the sky, and Ren could see a small figure approaching them, though as it came closer, it took more form and Ren could see it was not just one person. A small girl with a blue and white checkered pattern dress that also had plane white sleeves and neckline was skipping along, arm in arm with a scarecrow, and a tin man that seemed to be made from an oversized can for a body with tube like arms and legs. A lion followed shortly behind this trio, looking around a bit as though fearful of everything. They came to a stop just short of them, looking at them cautiously and with a bit of interest.
"Who are you?", the girl asked, eyeing them as the lion hid behind her.
"A cowardly lion", Alina said with a deadpan expression. "Never thought I'd see it."
"W-who are you c-calling c-cowardly", the lion stuttered.
"Oh, come now, there is no need to be cautious", the scarecrow chimed, smiling at them all.
"Scarecrow, I know you don't have a brain, but even you should see that we shouldn't trust strangers", the tin man expressed, holding his axe at the ready.
"And while you don't have a heart, you shouldn't be so mean towards strangers", the scarecrow shot back. "After all, we were four not strangers to each other not that long ago? I am the Scarecrow, pleased to meet you!"
"You can just call me the Tin Man", the tin man cautiously said, as Ren realized immediately the lion would just be called 'the Lion'.
"I am the Lion", replied the cat, and sure enough none of them were shocked. "A-and while I m-may be cowardly, I am s-still a lion, so b-beware!"
"I'll keep that in mind", Ren gave a growl, causing the lion to cower behind the little girl once again, entertaining the twilight keyblade warrior.
"My name is Dorothy", the meat shield announced, doing a curtsy. "It is a pleasure to meet you three- oh! I see you have a tin man too!"
"Actually, I am made of a stainless steel alloy", Gamma explained. "I am Gamma."
"My name is Alina, pleased to meet you!"
"I'm Ren. So, quite an interesting group you have going on here. A small teenage girl, traveling with a scarecrow, a man made of tin, and a lion."
"You're one to talk", coldly replied the tin man, eyeing the robot.
"We are traveling to The Emerald City", explained Dorothy. "See, I'm not from here. I came from a place far away from here, and I wish for the Wizard of Oz to return me to my home. Along the way, I met Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion; they all want to make a wish to the wizard as well. Scarecrow wants a brain, Tin Man wants a heart, and Lion wants courage… but, when I got here, the house that I was in killed a witch… The Wicked Witch of the East to be exact. Now, the Wicked Witch of the West, her sister, wants revenge on me, and keeps sending these shadow creatures after me in revenge."
"Shadow creatures?", Ren asked, but did not need long to receive his answer. Several Shadow Heartless suddenly began to emerge from the ground, along with some new types that resembled winged monkeys appearing from dark portals that suddenly appeared in the sky before spitting out the heartless and closing. Ren instantly summoned his keyblade, "Dorothy, get behind me! We'll deal with them!" It didn't take much convincing for the strange group to gather behind the outsiders, as the heartless charged, but they were no match for the keyblade and Alina's magic, along with Gamma's punches and energy bullets. In fact, the entire battle was a little less then a minute, earning dropped mouths and awed eyes from the natives.
"T-that was amazing!", the Lion moaned in envy. "I wish I was a brave and strong as you guys."
"They could actually slay the creatures", the Tin Man sighed, looking at his axe. "I wasn't quite able to dispatch them that fast, they were too fast for me."
"The real question is, why are the heartless siding with the Wicked Witch of the West?", Alina wondered, thinking out loud.
"Oh, that is simple", a voice rang out. Lion cowered again as the whole group shuffled to hide behind Ren, Alina and Gamma, who turned to see a gremlin looking creature standing above them on a large tree branch. He was pale blue-green in color, with messy coral hair and red eyes with yellow scarla. He had three horns coming from his head, one large one from the top of his head and two smaller ones on the side of his head. "The heartless obey whoever is the strongest with darkness. When you are strong enough with the darkness, then you can command the heartless to do your bidding, and The Wicked Witch is very strong indeed… though no where near as strong as Master Garland, of course."
"Garland?" Ren snarled, stepping forward and pointing his keyblade at the goblin looking creature. "Who are you? Explain yourself!"
"Demands never get one anywhere, but I will reveal my identity just to taunt you", the gremlin shot back, chuckling to himself and smirking. "I am Astos, loyal dark elf servant to the master. Master Garland gave me one task before his slaying at your hands, and it was to bring the four dark crystals which trapped the fiends far away from The Crystal Kingdom before unleashing them onto the lands!"
"He must've been the source of the dark energy we've been tracking", Gamma guessed, staring up at the dark elf. "Though I do not sense much darkness from him now… probably because he released the four fiends, which are much more powerful then this thing."
"How dare you!", Astos growled. "The Four Fiends maybe stronger in the darkness then me, but I am still a force to be reckoned with! It was I who taught the Wicked Witch how to command the heartless, after all. In return, she helped me free the Four Fiends from the dark crystals!"
"Tell us where the fiends are!", Ren demanded.
"Already gone", Astos smirked, holding up four gray crystals. "But you might be able to trap them again, should you acquire the empty crystals they were once held in. Come and get them, if you dare!" And suddenly, he was gone in a puff of smoke.
"Seems like you are after something too", Scarecrow said, scratching his head. "But I didn't get a word of what that thing was talking about, did you guys?"
"Not a clue", Dorothy answered, shaking her head. "But I don't think it is any of our business, unless our new friends want to share it with us, that is."
"It's a complicated story", Alina dismissed the matter. "You said you were heading for the Emerald City to meet with the Wizard of Oz?"
"Yes", Dorothy nodded. "I was told by the good witch that he can help me, and I believe that he can help my new friends as well. Perhaps he can help you guys as well?"
"It's worth asking him", Gamma replied, shrugging a bit. "They need our help in case heartless appear, and we really don't have any leads on where Astos could've vanished to."
"Then come on!" Dorothy cheerfully sang, tugging on her companions. "All we have to do is follow the yellow brick road to the city!" Ren couldn't help but admire the happiness of the group as they headed towards the emerald city, but this didn't last long. Eventually, they entered the Emerald City, and it didn't take much convincing to be granted an audience with the wizard, as all Dorothy had to do was mention they were told to come here by a good Witch of the North. As they entered the grand hallway leading toward the throne room, Ren couldn't help but notice there was no throne, and that the group got less cheery and more nervous, especially since when they entered the room, emerald flames spewing violet smoke shot up where the throne would be, and a giant, green head appeared in the sky above them.
"I am Oz, the great and powerful", the green head spoke, booming over them. "Who are you?" No one in the group of Dorothy's spoke at first, cowering before the mighty wizard's head, so the head spoke again, this time with more boom in his voice. "WHO ARE YOU?"
"I-I-I am Dorothy", stuttered the young girl, quivering but still stepping forward bravely. "We have come to ask you-"
"SILENCE", Oz shouted, causing Dorothy to dart back to where the other three in their group cowered in fear. "I know why you are here. Tin Man, you have come to ask me for a heart? Laughable, you metallic bucket of bolts! You, Scarecrow, have come to ask me for a brain? You moronic, pile of straw! And you, Lion... SPEAK YOU SCARED LITTLE KITTEN!" The lion couldn't handle the fear, and fainted on the spot, causing the wizard to laugh in amusement.
To all of their surprise, Dorothy glared at the wizard, summoning courage at the sight of her friend fainting, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Frightening him like that, when he came to you for help!"
"Silence", Oz commanded, glaring down at her in turn. "I, the great and powerful Oz, has every intention of granting your requests!"
"You do?", the lion suddenly recovered, shocking them all.
"But first", Oz declared, "you must prove yourselves worthy by performing a very small task. Bring me the broomstick of the Witch of the West!"
"But...", the tin man gasped, looking very fearful, much more so then when they were first talking to Oz. "We would have to kill her to get it!"
"Did I stutter?", Oz snarled, glaring once again. "Bring me her broomstick, and I'll grant your requests, otherwise there will be no requests granted!"
"Pardon me", Ren spoke, stepping in front of the group to face Oz himself along with Alina and Gamma. "I believe you are asking for a lot from this group of misfits."
"And who are you three?", Oz asked, for the first time seeming confused and not in control. "I do not recall you three being in these lands before."
"We're not from around here", Alina replied, glaring at him. "And if you were such a powerful wizard, then I implore you to not abuse these four who are only asking for your help."
"You dare-", the wizard started to say, but Alina summoned her staff and pointed it at the wizard's giant head.
"Yes, I dare!", Alina shouted.
"Foolish girl!", Oz yelled, the fire under him intensifying. "You cannot harm me, and even if you tried, nothing you did to me would work! I gave my demands to the girl and her friends, and unless they bring be the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West, then none of their requests will be met!"
"Seems like a big request for such a small group", Gamma pointed out. "None of them have any combat experience, plus if the Wicked Witch of the West so powerful that not even you can defeat her-" Oz's lips seemed to thin at this, but only Ren seemed to notice. "-then it would stand to reason that you are asking the impossible of them."
"On the other hand, we are quite experienced with combat", Ren declared, summoning his keyblade, which Oz eyed with interest. "We can deal with your Wicked Witch, as long as you agree to grant them their wishes."
For a few moments, Oz didn't reply, pondering their request, before finally he spoke again. "It doesn't matter to me how the witch is dealt with, or by who... however, why should I grant the wish of someone who isn't willing to do the work themselves!? If you kill the witch, then why should I grant the wish of these four when they won't kill her without the aid of outlanders such as you three?"
"Because either way, your problem is dealt with", Ren shot back, pointing his keyblade at the wizard's giant transparent head. "But if you really want to make deals, then fine... my wish is you to grant their wishes!"
"Mine too!", shouted both Alina and Gamma in response. Clearly, Oz didn't anticipate this, the green head seeming to go a shade lighter at the bravery of the three outsiders standing before him.
"So, do we have a deal?" Ren asked, giving the head a small smirk. Once again, Oz gave pause, this time for much longer as his brain raced for a response to the twilight warrior's demands. Alina and Gamma both held ground as well, as Dorothy and her friends looked on at Ren and others with awe. Finally, Oz gave a small sigh, before he spoke again.
"Fine. If you deal with the Wicked Witch of the West, and bring me her broomstick as proof of your accomplishment of her death, then I will grant the wishes of these four... HOWEVER, I will know if you have not killed her, so don't even try and trick me! The Great Wizard of Oz sees all, now... begone from my chambers! All of you!"
"Thanks, your excellency", Ren snarled the last part with a bit of venom, glancing over at a certain that seemed to suddenly move a bit. He turned, leading the other six out of the chambers, where Dorothy collapsed onto the ground, the silver slippers she was wearing shining in the light.
"I think I am going to faint as well", she gasped, looking at Ren with wide eyes. "You were so brave, Ren! I couldn't have done that."
"You seemed pretty brave in there after Lion fainted", Alina admitted.
"Well, I think I used all my bravery just doing that", Dorothy sighed, before standing up and heading towards the exit. "I need some air..."
"Me too", Lion followed after her, hyperventilating a little.
"We better go follow them", Scarecrow sighed, shaking his head. "I think I remember the way to the Wicked Witch of the West's castle. If we head out soon, we can get there before nightfall." He began walking towards the exit as well, followed by Tin Man, who gave Ren and company a small smile in thanks before following the straw stuffed man. Alina and Gamma were about to follow, but they were stopped by Ren grabbing their wrists and holding them back.
"We got a slight issue", Ren said to them once the other four were out of ear shot. "I have reason to believe this 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz' character is a pony, which is a problem because I'm not sure how a pony is supposed to give them what they want."
"A fake?", Alina pondered, before she gave it some thought. "Come to think of it, it seems very suspicious that a wizard who is supposed to rule over this land, and even be named after it, is having difficulties with a witch. If he is supposed to be so great and powerful, then why does he seem to be outsourcing the killing of his biggest nuisance to a young girl and her friends?"
"What makes you think that?", Gamma asked, looking back into the throne room before turning back to Ren.
"I saw the curtain move suddenly as if someone was hiding behind it", Ren explained to them, shocking his two companions. "On top of that, when you accused him of not being as powerful as the witch, he looked incredibly upset. I'm not sure what is going on, but for now, let's play along. If he tries to one-up Dorothy and the others, we might be able to get the one-up on him in return." Alina and Gamma both nodded, before following after Dorothy and the others, their minds on defeating the Wicked Witch, and maybe finding Astos in the process, since Oz didn't seem like he was going to be of much help.