(Gargoyle Trouble)
*January 15th, 1906*
*Land of Gargoyles*
Zeb and Kaku stood in front of each other as their battle seemed to grow more intense as Dorothy, Betsy, and Oscar watched with great interest.
"It seems Zeb intends to use headbutts to harm Kaku; however, would it even work? The opponent seems quick on his feet which could prove trouble for my cousin.." Dorothy thought to herself while continuing to observe the battle that was unfolding.
"Kekekeke! Do you intend to defeat me? Nonsense! I will defeat you here and now, so be ready to lose brat!" Kaku cried out in annoyance as he began to charge towards Zeb with great speed which made the young boy smile.
"Well, let's see about that. I'm getting pretty excited here!" Zeb spoke out in joy while he began to charge at his opponent as well.
Both Kaku and Zeb charged toward each other with great speed as Kaku attempted to land a blow on Zeb; however, the young boy quickly dodged it in great succession and he managed to headbutt Kaku in the head two times in a row which caused Kaku to cry in pain.
"D-Damn you! That hurt! Do you intend to only headbutt me?! I can see that you are bleeding in the forehead. My skin is as hard as wood! You can't even think of defeating me.." Kaku spoke out to Zeb in anger and confusion while staring at the young boy who was bleeding from his forehead, this was met with Zeb smiling back at him.
"I know, but like I said if I can increase that small pain that you're feeling, then I can defeat you so get ready to lose!" Zeb spoke out with confidence while blood was dripping from his forehead; however, this only made Kaku more annoyed as he clenched his fists.
"Shut up, you brat! I will rip you to pieces and feed you to the Dragonettes!" Kaku spat back at the young boy as he began to charge at him once more with speed.
Kaku charged toward Zeb once more as he suddenly extended his claws at the young boy in hopes of delivering damage to him; however, Zeb quickly used his fist to deliver a hard uppercut toward the wooden creature's stomach which caused Kaku to wince in pain.
"D-Damn it! H-How are you able.." Kaku uttered in slight pain while quickly stepping back in caution as this was met with many boos and some cheers from the audience while Aurora watched everything that was going on with an annoyed look on her face.
"That fool. He should be far stronger than that brat; however, it seems that the brat intends to deliver small damage by headbutts or whatever punches he has in store, I don't know what the brat is planning but it seems that he plans to force Kaku into giving up out of annoyance…" Aurora thought to herself while looking over to see Dorothy cheering for her cousin before looking back at the ongoing battle.
"You see? I intend to win this battle by any means possible. This battle is already mine!" Zeb spoke out to Kaku in confidence which only proved to annoy the wooden creature further as he grew more annoyed.
"S-Shut your mouth! Just give up and lose already! I intend to slay you and your little friends!" Kaku cried back while he charged toward Zeb once more he expanded his claws to incite another attempted attack on Zeb.
"Fool! You are wide open! Here's my chance! I shall be victorious here!" Zeb cried out with a smile on his face as he waited for the perfect opportunity to take down his opponent. Zeb saw Kaku coming toward him and with luck, the young boy grabbed both of the wooden creature's arms which shocked Kaku greatly while Zeb smiled.
"I-Impossible! I'm Kaku! The fastest of the Gargoyles. There's just no way.." Kaku spat out in shock as his eyes widened in surprise while he awaited what was coming next as he stared into Zeb's eyes.
"Take this! You wooden creature!" Zeb cried out as he began to headbutt Kaku as many times as he could which caused Kaku to feel pain with each attack. Zeb continued to headbutt Kaku in quick succession; however, despite the pain the young boy was feeling due to the sheer hardness of the wooden creature's skin, Zeb wasn't gonna give up much to Kaku's annoyance.
"I win!' Prepare to lose, rotten creature!" Zeb cried out in sheer motivation as he delivered a hard punch to Kaku's face with all of his might which caused the wooden creature to be sent flying back until he collapsed on the ground with a rather shocked look on his face.
"H-He did it! I knew you could beat him!" Betsy cried out in joy while Dorothy and Oscar smiled at each other in joy as this was followed by many cheers from the gargoyles which made Aurora annoyed.
"Congratulations! You did great!' Now we can get back to Oz without any trouble" Dorothy spoke out in joy while clapping in victory alongside Oscar and Betsy.
"That boy truly did marvelous but why is Aurora smiling despite looking annoyed? Something tells me this isn't over just yet.." Oscar thought to himself while looking over to observe the ongoing battle.
"I-I Win. I told you that I was gonna beat you.." Zeb spoke out in between breaths as the pain of his head injuries began to get to him as he fell to his knees in pain.
"D-Darn it! I knew headbutting him was risky but I had to do what I needed to do!" Zeb thought to himself while looking over to see the wooden creature slowly getting up which shocked him greatly as his face was full of shock.
"I should congratulate you for defeating my brother so easily; however, just know I won't go down as easily as that fool!" The wooden creature spoke out to Zeb as the wood began to shed from his skin to reveal a metallic exterior while many more changes began to form while Zeb watched with a surprised look on his face.
"N-No way! I-I thought I defeated you…" Zeb spoke out in shock while continuing to watch the wooden creature's transformation.
Kage had long hair, beautiful eyes, long hair, and very silverish metallic skin and despite being a gargoyle, he had a sense of beauty to him.
"Oh, excuse my manners, My name is Kage and I shall be your opponent.." Kage spoke out to Zeb as a medium size blade appeared from his wrist and with that, Kage quickly dashed towards Zeb with quick speed and successfully delivered a blow to the young boy.
"N-No way.." Zeb uttered in shock before screaming in pain as he collapsed on the ground which was met with horror from Dorothy, Betsy, and Oscar.
"Z-Zeb! Let me fight him! I'm protected by the Good Witch of the North so I can use that to defeat this terrible monster!" Dorothy pleaded to her cousin as she attempted to get up while Aurora laughed at what she was hearing as she began to speak.
"Foolish girl! As if I'll allow you to interfere so sit down and enjoy the horror show or else I'm gonna kill the boy myself!" Aurora spat out to Dorothy in a vain voice which prompted Dorothy to stare at the Mangaboo princess rather seriously; however, this was interrupted by Zeb who had heard everything.
"I-It's okay! Allow me to fight him! This is my fight alone! I'm tired of being a coward!" Zeb advised his cousin while slowly getting back up to face Kage before turning around to smile at Dorothy which eased her worries.
"Fine, but you better beat him, okay! Use your power and send that wooden idiot flying!" Dorothy spoke out to her cousin in joy before sitting back down while Betsy smiled at this as she began to speak out.
"You can do this! We all believe in you!" Betsy spoke out in hopes of further motivating her friend while Oscar cheered Zeb on which made the injured young boy smile before turning around to face Kage.
"I have many people that are counting on me so I can't give up that easily…" Zeb spoke out to Kage while the metal gargoyle laughed at what he just heard before smiling rather sadistically.
"We'll see about that, Prepare to die, you impudent brat!" Kage spat back while laughing as he charged towards Zeb with such speed.
Kage quickly used his blade to slash Zeb's cheek; however, this didn't faze Zeb as he delivered a hard punch to his face which sadly didn't faze Kage as this prompted the creature to laugh much to Zeb's surprise as the creature delivered a hard uppercut to Zeb's chin which caused the young boy to be sent flying back before collapsing on the ground.
"Fool! You will never defeat me! You hear me! Never!" Kage cried out in joy while quickly running to Zeb with his claws extended as he grabbed the young boy by the neck and quickly slammed him on the ground repeatedly which severely injured him.
"My brother should have killed you when he had the chance but he toyed around at every chance he got; however, unlike him, I will ensure that I'll be victorious.." Kage spat out while expanding his claws for the final blow.
"I-I can't escape! He's too strong.." Zeb thought to himself while struggling to break free from Kage's grasp as he saw the creature preparing to deliver the final blow; however, time began to slow down as he heard a voice calling out to him and it was none other than Queen Lurine.
"Zeb, I shall give you the power to defeat Kage. Use your fists to your advantage and win this fight for Dorothy and her friends.." Lurine spoke out to Zeb in a gentle voice as this incident made Zeb smile while still being confused about everything.
"W-Who are you and why do I feel a sense of calmness around me.." Zeb uttered weakly while seeing a silhouette of a woman appearing before him but he could not make out who she looked like.
"I shall give you a small piece of my power to defeat Kage. I have watched over Dorothy, you, Oscar, and Betsy, and you have shown me alongside Dorothy that you are worthy of receiving such power" Lurine spoke out to Zeb while extending her hand out to the young boy before healing his injuries and granting him the power to defeat Kage.
"H-How do you know my cousin's name? A-Are you God or an Angel…" Zeb spoke out as he slowly felt himself being healed along with a burning power creeping inside him while Lurine chuckled to herself as she began to speak.
"Not exactly an angel but rather a goddess; however, all will be revealed in due time but for now, please give Dorothy and Ozma my best wishes, Zeb Hugsen" Lurine responded in a gentle voice before disappearing as time resumed back into the battle as the young boy was back at the arena as he stared at Kage once more.
"Now, It's time to say goodbye!" Kage cried out in joy as the winged creature attempted to deliver the final blow; however, his attack was quickly caught by Zeb which surprised the creature greatly.
"Heh, I'm not gonna give up! I will defeat you once and for all!" Zeb cried out in motivation as he managed to ball up one of his fists as he was ready to deliver some damage to his opponent.
Zeb quickly used his fists to deliver a mighty punch to Kage's face which sent him flying across the arena.
"I-Impossible! W-where did he even get.." Kage spat out in confusion while feeling his metallic skin slowly shedding as he fell to the ground unconscious thus defeating the gargoyle brothers for good which led to many cheers from Dorothy and her friends.
"Zeb! You did it! I knew you could do it!" Dorothy cried out in joy while jumping up and down while Betsy cheered her friend on.
"T-Thanks guys. I would have won without your support but I also heard a voice.." Zeb spoke out to his cousin and friends while slowly getting back up which piqued Dorothy's interest.
"A voice.." Dorothy uttered out of curiosity; however, during all of this, Aurora appeared to grow angry.
"These cheaters! I'll teach them what happens when you cheat! There's just no way I'll allow them to get away that easily! Not a chance in hell!" Aurora thought to herself in anger as the princess slowly got up and made her way towards the arena much to the surprised reactions of everyone in the room.
"Congratulations, I'm surprised you've defeated Kaku and Kage so easily; however, there is one last test and it's to defeat me.." Aurora spoke out to Zeb with a smile as she looked over at the unconscious body of Kage.
"No fair! Just let us go already! We're tired of these games!" Zeb spoke out in protest while Aurora laughed to herself as she walked toward the creature's unconscious body.
"I know; however, you cheated by using strange powers that you aren't capable of using, I saw right through your lies and deceit. I know someone intervened during the fight but no matter, I shall defeat you in one blow" Aurora responded as she suddenly grabbed Kage's body by the neck which had awakened the creature.
"P-Princess Aurora?! W-What are you.." Kage weakly asked Aurora as he struggled to break free from her grasp as this was met with the Mangaboo Princess laughing.
"I'm gonna borrow some of your powers. If you can't use them to kill your opponents then I shall deliver the final blow myself!" Aurora responded in an excited voice as she laughed maniacally to herself as she began to absorb Kage into her body while everyone watched in shock.
"W-What does she intend to do…" Oscar uttered in shock as he saw Aurora transforming into a new being.
"I must say, I've only been alive for a couple of hours but I've never met such annoying pests as Dorothy and her little friends! I will make her pay for ruining my beautiful face right after I'm done thrashing you around like a china doll!" Aurora spat out to Zeb while letting out a sadistic smile.
The fusion between Aurora and Kage was mostly Aurora herself; however, she now had Kage's long hair, his blades, and even Kaku's wooden skin which was now her armor mixed with Kage's metallic armor.
"Zeb! We need to get out of here! If we can make it to exit then maybe we can call upon Ozma somehow!" Dorothy advised her cousin while motioning her hand over at Jim while Zeb quickly nodded his head.
"R-Right! I don't know if I can even beat her anyways!" Zeb spoke back while running to his cousin; however, Aurora wasn't gonna back down that easily.
"As if I'm gonna allow you brats to escape, I shall tear everyone into pieces!" Aurora spat out with a smile as she sped towards Dorothy and the others with great speed which was followed by Betsy's scream.
*Emerald City*
Ozma was sitting on her throne in the Emerald Palace, thinking about her friend.
"I know it's a day early but maybe I should talk to Dorothy.." Ozma spoke out to herself as she got up from her throne and began to walk toward the magic mirror as she began to speak to it.
"Magic Mirror, please show me Dorothy Gale, my dear friend from Kansas" Ozma spoke out in hopes of seeing her friend; however, unknown to her, her friend was in trouble and her mirror was gonna show her exactly what needed to be done.
