(Countdown to Tournament)
*July 16th, 1906*
*Emerald Palace*
The gang which included Ozma, Betsy, Zeb, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Lion, Uncle Henry, and Aunt Em saw Dorothy and Omby Amby stepping outside of the chamber.
Dorothy smiled at her loved ones as she stepped out of the time chamber along with Omby Amby.
"Hey, my friends. It's been a while, well at least for me, how's it going?" Dorothy spoke to everyone joyfully as everyone was happy to see the young girl.
Scarecrow and the others quickly ran up to their friend to check up on her and they were happy to see her.
"Dorothy, my friend! How did it go? Did you get strong enough to defeat Dion?" Scarecrow asked his friend in a happy tone while Dorothy shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"I did get stronger, quite a lot; however, I don't know about defeating Dion in battle.." Dorothy responded while the news shocked everyone in the room.
"Wait do you mean?! What exactly did you even do for the past year!? I think you need to go back, we missed you and all but you're still not ready.." Tin Woodman advised Dorothy rather sternly while Scarecrow nodded in agreement.
After seeing this, Dorothy smiled at what she heard before she began to speak once more.
"Oh, I'm ready. I was being honest, that's all. We don't know how strong Dion truly is. I feel like he's hiding so much power from us.." Dorothy responded to Tin Woodman as she began to walk toward Aunt Em and Uncle Henry while Tin Woodman stared back in disbelief.
"What does Dorothy mean? She's usually so upbeat about things. Does this entail that Dion is truly a force to be reckoned with…" Tin Woodman thought to himself while he continued to stare at the young girl who was talking to her caregivers.
"Dorothy, I can't believe you've gotten taller. You've truly grown up, my dear child." Aunt Em spoke to her child while gently easing the bruise that was on Dorothy's cheek by rubbing it.
Dorothy smiled back at the comment as she chuckled at this before speaking once more.
"Yeah, I believe I'm five and eight inches…which isn't that tall but it's still a difference regardless, but more importantly, I've missed you and Uncle Henry so much.." Dorothy responded as she smiled at her caregivers before hugging them warmly which was returned by them.
"And we've missed you too. It's only been a day but I know it was an eternity for you, my child." Aunt Em responded while Uncle Henry nodded in agreement.
"It's good to have you back, Dorothy. It truly is." Uncle Henry responded to Dorothy as well with a warm voice and these words made Dorothy smile.
Omby Amby watched everything with a smile as he saw Ozma and the others walking toward Dorothy before he eventually followed them.
*Emerald Palace*
Dorothy and the others all sat in the living room area while Ozma told Dorothy everything about what happened on the last day including what happened to Polychrome, the armies that the Nome King brought being defeated, etc, and this left Dorothy feeling shocked.
"I see, I can't believe Dion would go as far as to head over to my world, it's maddening.." Dorothy spoke with a shocked yet calm voice while Ozma and the others nodded in agreement.
"Exactly, that's why we need to take down Dion and win this tournament or else he'll terrorize everyone." Ozma seriously responded to her friend while Dorothy got up from her seat, making Ozma raise an eyebrow.
"Wait, where are you going? Are you planning on.." Ozma asked her friend with a slight surprise in her voice while Dorothy smiled at this.
"Yup, I'm going to visit Dion. I'm not going to fight him or anything. Just want to talk to him!" Dorothy responded while running toward the exit of the palace.
"Dorothy! Don't be reckless! You don't know what he's capable of…" Omby Amby warned Dorothy while seeing the girl run off with a worried expression on his face
Omby Amby looked over and saw that Uncle Henry and Aunt Em weren't worried.
"They don't seem to be alarmed. I guess Dorothy knows what she's doing or they don't have much worry due to how strong she's become.." Omby Amby thought to himself while he continued to think about this.
Meanwhile, Dorothy ran outside the palace, and she immediately began to fly away from the palace and headed toward the west.
"Thank god Omby Amby taught me how to master my flying skills. The last time I've flown was when me, Polychrome, Button-Bright, and Shaggy Man faced off against those Scoolders.." Dorothy thought to herself while continuing to fly across the Land of Oz with great speed.
*Topeka, Kansas*
A few minutes passed as Dion stood alone in his arena, feeling bored at the moment.
"Maybe I shouldn't have made everyone wait ten days, this boredom is maddening.." Dion spoke to himself while continuing to stand in peace; however, this was interrupted as he felt someone approaching him which made him open his eyes, and it was none other than Dorothy herself as she landed on the arena.
"So, you've finally shown yourself, Dorothy." Dion responded with a smirk while turning around to see the young girl staring back.
"And you must Dion, I must say, you're ain't too bad looking." Dorothy complimented the creature with a smirk while Dion chuckled at the comment.
"I could say the same for you, but more importantly, have you gotten stronger?" Dion asked Dorothy curiously while waiting for an answer.
"Definitely, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to defeat you if I'm being honest.." Dorothy responded with a confident smile that took Dion aback.
"What do you mean?! It's clear that you've been training, right? Where is this self-doubt coming from? Not like it matters to me.." Dion responded with a hint of surprise in his voice while Dorothy began to speak.
"I mean, you've been holding back, right? I kinda sensed it when you fought Ozma, but she was also holding back.." Dorothy responded with a chuckle while Dion glared at her; however, his expression turned into one of confidence.
"You're smart, aren't you? And to answer your question, I was holding back. I want to showcase my power to you, my Dorothy." Dion responded with a chuckle while Dorothy smiled back.
"And that's something I can't wait for, but I have to head back so I'll be seeing you, okay?" Dorothy spoke to Dion for the final time before flying away from the arena while Dion smirked.
"Foolish girl.." Dion spoke once more before he closed his eyes to enjoy the peace that had now returned to the arena.
*Emerald Palace*
A few more minutes passed as Dorothy returned to the palace, and everyone was eager to hear the updates.
"So, what did you say to him?! We're curious to know…" Tin Woodman asked his friend while everyone else sat up with great interest.
"Hey, Mr. Chopper, and I've told him that I've gotten stronger, but not enough to defeat him, and that's about it." Dorothy responded in a calm voice while Tin Woodman and the others were surprised by this.
"Cousin, you seem too calm, aren't you nervous or something?" Zeb asked his cousin in a curious voice while Dorothy nodded her head in confirmation thus surprising everyone.
"Yeah, I'm nervous as hell, but I also feel a sense of calmness. It's hard to explain, but that's how I feel." Dorothy responded while running over to the hospital wing and these words made Zeb and the others confused.
"Dorothy, this isn't like you. SOMETHING happened in that chamber and it's making you hide things.." Tin Woodman thought to himself with great concern while seeing his friend enter the hospital wing.
During this, Tin Woodman began to follow his friend in hopes of finding out what her odd behavior was.
*Hospital Wing*
Dorothy entered the hospital room to check on her friend, Polychrome, and she was resting on the bed.
"Polychrome, I'm glad you're okay. It seems you had a tough battle out there.." Dorothy thought to herself while walking over to get closer to her friend as she gently placed her hand on the rainbow girl's forehead.
During this, a voice called out to Dorothy and it was Tin Woodman.
"Dorothy, may I talk to you for a moment? It's regarding you.." Tin Woodman asked Dorothy while the young girl turned her direction to him.
"It's about what I said, right? I'm not lying. I don't know if I could beat him or not." Dorothy responded with full honesty while Tin Woodman continued to process what he was hearing before speaking once more.
"I see, but does that mean that Dion is too strong or is it that you don't want to sound overconfident in your strength." Tin Woodman asked Dorothy in response to what he heard while the young girl chuckled at this before getting up and walking toward the window.
"Maybe both. It's just I don't want to get everyone's hopes up by getting people excited only to get my ass kicked in mere seconds and disappoint them once the tournament starts, but I'm also kinda getting everyone's hopes down as well…" Dorothy responded with a smile while Tin Woodman nodded before walking over to stand with his friend.
"It takes heart to admit that, and at least you're being honest with everyone, but I believe that you have the power to defeat Dion, no matter what you say." Tin Woodman responded to Dorothy once more and this made the young girl smile.
"Thanks. It means a lot, and don't worry! We'll kick Dion's ass! One way or another!" Dorothy responded to her friend in a confident voice while continuing to smile as the pair watched the beautiful afternoon sky together.
Unknown to them, an amnesiac Nome King watched them from the door, and he had listened to the conversation.
"That girl looks familiar yet she seems nice.." Nome King whispered to himself before turning around to continue roaming the palace in confusion since he was brought to the palace as well.
*10 days until tournament*