(The Winkie Statue)

*January 15th, 1907*

*Winkie Country*

Alice stood in front of the Winkie Guard, her eyes focusing on the sword in front of her.

"How must I get the sword, sir. I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do, good sir." Alice spoke to the statue in an innocent and polite voice, waiting for whatever was coming next.

The statue's expression remained stoic before finally speaking to Alice, giving her an answer.

"So your name is Alice, your intention is to give this sword to your friend, right? Are you good or evil? That shall be the deciding factor if you want the sword.." The Winkie statue responded to Alice, giving her a warning about her intentions as it awaited a response.

After hearing this, Alice looked innocently at the statue, giving off a completely good aura.

"I'm just a curious girl who wants to make her friend happy, I know this sword can help her become happy." Alice responded, hoping her convincing lie would sway the stature into surrounding the sword, otherwise, she'd use force.

The statue listened intently, placing its fingers on its chin in great concentration before deciding on an answer, its expression becoming serious.

"I shall test your memory, Alice. If you have great memory and skill, then the sword shall be worthy to you.." The Winkie statue spoke to Alice as it snapped their fingers, bringing out three cups, making Alice's eyebrows raise with curiosity.

Once Alice saw the cups, she knew what game he was trying to get her to play so she sat on the floor, allowing events to play as planned.

"I shall place an object on the cup, and I shall spin the cups around, okay? If you can find the object, then you pass the first round.." The Winkie statue explained to Alice while the young girl nodded understandably, ready to play the game.

"I'm ready, sir." Alice responded in a serious but polite voice as the game officially began.

Once the game started, the statue placed a single marble inside the middle cup, and with great speed, they shuffled the cups at a fast pace, surprising Alice as she observed the fast movements.

Each movement grew faster by the second before eventually stopping as the Winkie statue smiled.

"Now, please find the cup containing the marble and if you do, you shall proceed to the next round; however, failure will immediately disqualify you and you shall leave…" The Winkie statue advised Alice in a serious voice, warning her of the consequences as Alice nodded.

The game officially began as Alice observed the three cups carefully, her eyes studying each cup with great interest before finally answering.

"It's in neither cup. At the last second, you've hidden the marble in your sleeve. It's a good trick for those with bad eyesight or lack of experience, I must say." Alice responded with a smirk, surprising the statue.

Soon after, the Winkie statue smiled as they revealed the marble from their sleeve, feeling proud of Alice's intelligence.

"Correct. Most people would have failed yet you've shown that you are great in intelligence and concentration, you win this round" The Winkie statue congratulated Alice as they put the cups away before so they could prepare for the next round.

Alice smiled at this, bowing in respect as she continued to play along with the game, even if she felt like it was stupid.

"I'm glad to have participated in such a game, now we should begin the next round.." Alice responded politely as she waited for what was next.

A few seconds of silence would commence before the statue finally pulled out its sword, ready for combat which made Alice raise an eyebrow.

"The final test, showcase your strength! I want you to overpower me in battle, if you do, the sword is yours.." The Winkie statue ordered Alice as it fully engaged in battle, alerting the girl.

Once the battle commenced, the statue quickly swung its sword, creating a powerful wave that sent Alice flying back; however, she managed to catch her footing.

"Overpower you? now that'll be easy." Alice spoke in a sing-songy voice before smirking as she pulled out her sword, ready to fight the statue.

Suddenly, Alice blitzed toward the statue with great speed, aiming her sword directly at her opponent.

During this, Alice focused on her breathing, keeping a calm and collected mood as she began her attack.

"Queen of Spades: Heart Blade!" Alice cried out as she swung her sword toward her opponent with great speed, hoping for a direct hit.

A slew of heart-shaped attacks come rushing toward the statue with great speed, alerting the statue as its eyes widen.

"She's fast. She's not an ordinary girl.." The Winkie statue thought to himself as he attempted to block the attack with his sword.

Unfortunately, he wasn't lucky as he was impacted by the attack which exploded on contact, sending him flying across the area and into a wall, debris and rubble falling on him.

Once the attack was done, the statue slowly got up, staring at Alice as he saw her walking toward him.

"Care for another demonstration? I have plenty more attacks, some cute and fun but some deadly…" Alice asked her opponent in an innocent yet creepy voice as she began to laugh, a soft yet deadly laugh.

*Unknown Location*

Meanwhile, Enzo and Zorya watched everything with great interest while Enzo commented on the events.

"Alice might as well steal the sword at this point, she's won." Enzo commented in regards to what he just saw while Zorya simply watched without saying a word.

Enzo looked back at Zorya as he began to speak to her.

"Zorya, I'm curious, what happened between you and your brother, Flynn? I thought you and him were close, am I wrong?" Enzo asked Zorya, knowing he was charting into dangerous territory by asking such a question but he didn't care.

After hearing the question, Zorya walked away as she answered the question.

"He didn't appreciate my plan or me. He had forsaken me when I needed him the most.." Zorya responded in a low voice before disappearing back into her cave, leaving Enzo more curious.

"Well, that didn't help. That Zorya girl is quite mysterious. Why does she even want to turn everything into darkness…" Enzo whispered to himself as he continued to watch Alice's fight with the Winkie statue with great interest.

*Zorya's Room*

Meanwhile, Zorya entered her room, it was a dull room with only a single bed as she lay down, thinking about her plan.

"Once I get the Sword of Oz, I shall use its power to turn everything in Oz and Dorothy's world into darkness, nothing but peace and solitude with no suffering.." Zorya whispered to herself as she let out a sigh, thinking about her brother as she pulled out a photo of them as kids.

"My twin brother, I will make you understand. I'm doing this for you as well, my dear brother.." Zorya whispered once more as she put the photo away before closing her eyes to shut her mind off from the world.

*Winkie Country*

Back at the cave, Alice delivered another fatal blow toward the statue, causing a few cracks to form as it was sent knocking back.

"S-Such power.." The Winkie statue uttered, feeling themselves getting exhausted by Alice's sheer power.

"Of course, this next attack shall overpower you. Wonderland:.." Alice attempted to speak in a deadly voice; however, she noticed the statue's hand in the air, a sign of surrender.

Once Alice saw this, she put her sword away, letting out a smile of victory while doing so.

"You're strong and with that, I shall give you the sword. Use its powers wisely.." The Winkie statue spoke to Alice, slowly walking over to where the sword was resting, ready to hand over the sword.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared and with a strike, Enzo appeared, slashing through the statue, destroying it completely as it let out a groan before shattering.

This action surprised Alice since she wasn't expecting Enzo to show up; however, she quickly reverted to a more serious expression.

"You're welcome." Enzo greeted Alice with a cocky smile as he walked over to grab the sword so he could hand it over to Alice.

During this, Alice sighed in annoyance as she snatched the sword from him, placing it in her scabbard.

"I didn't need your help, Enzo. I was going to destroy him anyway.." Alice responded with annoyance in her voice as she began walking toward the exit while Enzo followed her.

"Come on, I was trying to help, and besides, who knows when Dorothy and her friends might make a move.." Enzo responded as he walked alongside her; however, Alice wasn't interested in his response.

Alice and Enzo walked outside of the cave, the evening sun beaming upon the pair.

"One down, three more to go, My next destination should be Munchkin Country, you can join me if you want.." Alice spoke to Enzo as she pulled out her sword so she could use it to teleport to her next location.

Following this, Enzo held onto Alice's shoulder, agreeing to join her in gathering the swords.

"Swody, take us to Munchkin Country!" Alice commanded her sword as a brilliant flash of light consumed them, sending them straight to their destination.

*Munchkin Country*

At the beautiful blue country, Ojo sat on the grass, thinking about what to do for the rest of the evening.

"Jeez, I'm bored, maybe I should finish working on that doll Dr. Pipt wants me to make.." Ojo spoke to herself as she got up from the grass, making her way toward her house; however, she felt a loud boom, causing her to turn around.

Alice and Enzo arrived at their destination, setting their sights on finding the next location of the sword as they stared at the munchkin.

"Good Evening, Munchkin." Enzo greeted Ojo with a smile while Alice waved at her like a child.

Ojo stood there, staring at the pair as she thought of what to say next.

*The unexpected confrontation continues in the next chapter!*