(A Test of Strength)

*January 13th, 1907*

*3:15 pm*

*Topeka, Kansas*

*Gale House*

Dorothy and Flynn arrived at the house while Flynn sat down on the couch.

"Nice place you got there. Do you live alone?" Flynn curiously asked while looking over to see Dorothy preparing tea for herself and him.

"I don't. I live with my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry but they're on a business trip so I have the house to myself for a few days but don't think you're going to do anything funny with me, I can fight you know.." Dorothy responded while walking over to hand Flynn a cup of tea before sitting down across from him, eager to know who he was.

After hearing this, Flynn took a sip of tea from the cup before chuckling at Dorothy.

"I'm not that type of guy and I'm mostly here for your help in a serious matter, are you willing to help me?" Flynn responded to Dorothy, hoping that she would say yes.

"Serious matter? Could you explain more about this, if you must." Dorothy curiously responded to Flynn while she waited for an answer.

Soon after, Flynn attempted to speak; however, right before Flynn was about to speak, a knock could be heard from the door, prompting Dorothy to get up and answer the door.

"Hey, Betsy! I'm glad you made it, I also got someone else over as well so I hope you don't mind." Dorothy greeted her friend joyfully, hugging her warmly while Betsy hugged her back.

"Hey Dorothy, I'm happy to see you and I don't mind at all, the more friends the better." Betsy responded with a small chuckle before entering the home and seeing Flynn sitting at the table, giving her a small wave.

"Good Afternoon, My name is Betsy Bobbin. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we can be good friends." Betsy greeted Flynn with a handshake.

"Cute name and I'm Flynn." Flynn responded while seeing Betsy sit on the chair next to him.

Soon after, Dorothy walked over to the cabinets to make Betsy some tea while Flynn finally began to tell the reason why he was there.

"So, the reason why I'm here is to hopefully seek the help of Dorothy in hopes of defeating someone who plans to turn the world into darkness. Crazy, right?" Flynn explained in a serious voice this made both Dorothy and Betsy raise their eyebrows with curiosity.

"Darkness? Who is trying to turn the world into darkness…" Betsy asked Flynn in a curious yet serious manner while Dorothy gently placed a cup of tea in front of her before sitting down.

After this, Flynn took a deep breath before proceeding with his answer.

"The person who wants to turn the world into darkness is my twin sister whose name is Zorya.

For the past few years, she's wanted to plunge the world into darkness and I need your help to stop her." Flynn continued to explain to Dorothy and Betsy, sipping on his tea while both girls looked at him rather curiously.

"Wow, so your sister wants to plunge the world into darkness, right? I wonder why she wants to do this for.." Dorothy responded while she continued to think back on what she heard before speaking once more.

"Are you and her from Oz? It seems like the two of you are from Oz but I'm also wondering how you've managed to get here when Oz was cut off or rather was rendered invisible." Dorothy curiously asked Flynn, sipping more of her tea as she felt more intrigued by the minute.

After this, Flynn continued to gather more of his thoughts before finally answering the question.

"Yes, me and Zorya are from Oz. The location in question is the Kingdom of Ix, does that place ring a bell?" Flynn responded, asking both girls the question while Betsy began to speak out.

"I recall some Queen from that location being at Ozma's birthday party a few months ago. I forgot her name but I kinda remember it." Betsy responded while Dorothy nodded in agreement before she began to chime into the conversation.

"Her name was Queen Zixi, she was pretty nice from my small interaction with her but how did you and your sister become separated?" Dorothy responded, eager to learn more about the ongoing crisis while Flynn spoke once more.

"She left on her terms. She felt like I wasn't sufficient in her plans, and to make matters worse, she never told me how she could even make such a thing possible, so that's why I was hoping to seek your help." Flynn responded in a confused manner while Dorothy and Betsy nodded their heads understandingly.

Soon after hearing this, Dorothy got up from her chair, eager to help Flynn.

"Don't worry. We'll travel to the Kingdom of Ix and we'll put a stop to your sister's plan! I've saved the world once and I don't mind doing it again." Dorothy reassured Flynn with a smile on her face while Betsy nodded in full support of her friend.

"She's right! You're looking at a gal who defeated two wicked witches, outsmarted the Nome King, and saved the world so we should have no trouble since Dorothy is with us." Betsy chimed into the conversation rather excitedly as she gently placed her arm on her shoulder.

Hearing this, Flynn smiled before getting up to walk outside the home while Dorothy and Betsy followed him.

"Wonderful, but first! I need to test your strength. I want to see if you're up for the challenge or not.." Flynn responded once more to Dorothy, pulling out a sword that he conjured up which made Dorothy curious.

"A test of power, huh? I can do that. I'm ready when you are!" Dorothy confidently spoke to Flynn while she prepared herself for the sparring session.

Following this, Betsy quickly backed up to give Dorothy and Flynn some space while she sat on the ground.

"Good luck, Dorothy! Show him who's boss!" Betsy cheered on, rooting for her friend while Dorothy gave her a thumbs up.

"Transform. I want to see that power that you used to defeat Dion.." Flynn ordered Dorothy with a smirk while he formed a stance, ready to spar.

After hearing the command, Dorothy nodded before closing her eyes in preparation for her transformation.

Soon after, a few seconds passed and the wind began to pick up speed, small trees, bushes, and everything rustling due to Dorothy's power.

"Alright, I'll show you what I'm capable of!" Dorothy cried out, letting out a battle cry while her hair began to spike up, slowly turning purple in the process; however, this proved to be a failure as Dorothy failed to transform, surprising Flynn and Betsy.

Due to this, Dorothy began to blush in embarrassment, chuckling nervously to herself

"I guess I'm still not used to my transformation or whatever…" Dorothy uttered, chuckling nervously to herself while rubbing the back of her head.

After hearing this, Flynn's eyes widened with surprise before he chuckled at this revelation.

"I-I see. That was a mighty powerful form but it seems your base power would have to do, so get ready!" Flynn responded, smirking at Dorothy while preparing himself for the sparring session.

Soon after, Dorothy smiled back, forming her battle stance as she was ready to spar with Flynn.

Once things were set in stone, the air was the only noise provided as both opponents were ready for the sparring session.

"Here goes!" Dorothy cried out, charging directly at Flynn thus kicking off the sparring session.

Dorothy charged at Flynn, aiming a punch at him; however, Flynn blocked the punch with his sword, causing a small shockwave to occur.

After the initial shockwave, Flynn quickly pulled himself away from Dorothy, breathing in and out before preparing for his attack with his sword.

"Wind Slash!" Flynn cried out, using his foot to propel himself forward to Dorothy, hoping to deliver a blow to his opponent with his sword.

Soon after, Flynn managed to deliver an attack on Dorothy, sending her knocking back into some bushes.

"He's fast. I didn't even see that." Dorothy thought to herself in surprise before quickly regaining focus as she charged directly at Flynn once more.

Dorothy began flying toward Flynn, delivering a slew of punches; however, Flynn managed to use his sword to block each hit.

"You're strong! With that power, you could have defeated Mombi if you wanted to!" Flynn complimented Dorothy while continuing to block her punches with his sword.

After hearing this, Dorothy smirked while she continued sparring with Flynn.

"Really? How thoughtful. Time to put that theory to the test." Dorothy responded rather confidently while preparing her next move.

After this, Dorothy flew up in the air while her arm began to emit a purple site.

"Fist of the Dragon!" Dorothy cried out, charging directly at Flynn in hopes of hitting him as a small dragon appeared from her arm.

Seeing this, Flynn closed his eyes, taking more deep breaths before using his footing to propel himself up in the air.

"Hurricane Blitz!" Flynn cried out as he swung his sword to create a mighty gust of wind that came toward Dorothy's way.

Soon after, Dorothy and Flynn were in a power struggle, both of their attacks struggling to overpower each other.

"You're tougher than expected! You might even be stronger than Dion!" Dorothy complimented Flynn with a smile before putting more energy into her attack while she let out a battle fry.

Following this, Flynn returned the favor by putting more effort into his Hurricane Blitz while also smiling at the compliment.

"Of course, You thought I was a pushover or something?" Flynn responded, putting more effort into the attack.

Meanwhile, Betsy saw the ongoing sparring session and she was amazed at what she saw.

"Go Dorothy!" Betsy cheered her friend on while continuing to watch the battle.

Back at the sparring field, Dorothy and Flynn continued to struggle with their attacks until finally.

"Take this!" Dorothy cried out while letting out a final yell as she put more power into her attack thus overpowering the Hurricane Blitz.

This was successful since this made Flynn's eyes widen in surprise as the attack managed to hit him, knocking him down to the ground.

"I must say. You're quite strong. I can confidently take you and Betsy to the Kingdom of Xi." Flynn spoke, slowly climbing out of the rubble while putting his sword on his back.

Hearing this, Dorothy smiled gracefully, descending back on the ground.

"I could say the same to you. I was caught off guard by your power." Dorothy responded, chucking to herself as she and Flynn shook hands with each other.

During this, Betsy clapped for her friend as she ran toward her.

"Good job! I knew you could prove your worth. And it seems it's time for another adventure, right?" Betsy congratulated her friend while Dorothy nodded in agreement.

"Yup, But first, we need someone to watch over Toto and Eureka while we're gone.." Dorothy responded while Betsy quickly came up with an idea.

"Don't worry, my parents can watch over them while we're gone and I know you don't want to worry Ozma or anyone else, right?" Betsy reassured Dorothy with a smile while her friend nodded.

"Correct, and I knew your parents wouldn't mind at all, which makes me happy." Dorothy responded, feeling relief that Toto and Eureka were being taken care of.

During this, Flynn heard everything before finally deciding to speak up.

"Alright, let's take your pets to a safer location than the next stop, Kingdom of Xi!" Flynn spoke to the girls, feeling eager to start the quest to take down his twin sister.

With everything set in stone, our heroes finally depart for the Kingdom of Xi.