(The Swords of Each Kingdom)
January 15th, 1907*
*Nome Kingdom*
Alice found herself to be in the Nome Kingdom, and she observed the kingdom.
"What a boring place, but I might get some answers on the Sword of Oz.." Alice spoke in a bored voice as she began to walk across the kingdom.
Along the way, the Nomes, who were always working all stared at the young girl, whispering among themselves regarding the intruder.
After this, Alice walked across the area before being stopped by Guph, commander of the Nome army.
"Halt! State your name and business or feel the wrath of the Nome army." Guph commanded Alice with a stern voice while he blocked the entrance to the throne room.
Hearing this made Alice sigh before she eventually answered the question.
"My name is Alice and I want to talk to your ruler, it's something important that a good friend of mine wants." Alice responded politely, awaiting Guph's response as she hoped that her tone was enough to convince him.
After hearing this, Guph thought to himself for a moment, not wanting to trust her right away.
"How did this Alice even get here anyway? Nobody but Princess Ozma could get past the Giant.." Guph thought to himself before eventually opening his mouth to speak.
"Our great ruler, Roquat is feeling unwell so you won't get your answers; however, I can still allow you to talk to him, Alice." Guph responded in a formal voice while this made Alice smile, bowing at him in respect.
Soon after, Guph opened the entrance doors, entering the Nome King's room.
"Thank you, and I won't be long.." Alice responded in the same polite voice before following Guph into the main palace room.
The pair walked across the royal, lit throne room which was filled with plenty of emeralds, treasures, and other such royal objects.
Alice observed the room with slight wonder since she didn't expect such a sight.
"Your majesty. You have a visitor, she calls herself Alice.." Guph called to Nome King, bowing in respect while he waited for a response from his ruler.
After this, the throne slowly turned, revealing the Nome King eating stone ice cream.
"Alice? What a beautiful name. I expect you want my riches, right? Well, forget it!" Nome King greeted Alice before laughing to himself while Alice stared back.
"I didn't come here for any of that boring stuff. I want you to tell me something and it's best to cooperate with me, Roquat." Alice responded with an attitude, looking at him with an annoyed expression.
Of course, Guph glared at her; however, he knew Alice wouldn't face the true wrath of the Nome King since his memory was still lost.
"Good, but anywho, state your business, little girl, and make it quick. I was busy listening to the sounds of metal." Nome King responded to Alice in a rather impatient voice while waiting for whatever Alice wanted from him.
Hearing this made Alice step closer to the throne as she began to respond to the question.
"Do you have the Sword of Oz? If not, tell me the last apparent location. Do not lie to me.." Alice asked Nome King in her usual innocent voice that made Guph's eyes widen with surprise.
"She asks for that?! Is she crazy? I'm sure not even Nome King knows of its location, but then again, he never told me anything about stuff like that; however, his memory is still lost from being thrown into the Fountain of Oblivion…" Guph thought to himself while he continued to watch the ongoing conversation between the pair.
On the other hand, Nome King was confused by what he just heard, rubbing his beard.
"Sword of Oz? Never heard of it. I don't know what Oz might be but I heard it's a place, I think? But I don't have any of the sort." Nome King responded in a soft voice, feeling confused about what he heard.
Of course, Alice didn't take the answer as she took out her sword, swinging it across the air, making Guph and Nome King feel uneasy at this action.
"Oh, really? I hope you're not lying to me. I hate grownups who lie to people…" Alice warned Nome King, glaring at him rather innocently while Guph nervously chuckled, hoping to ease the tension.
"W-Well, I'm sure our majesty is telling the truth. S-So please don't get mad or anything, my child." Guph advised Alice in a nervous voice, hoping to ease the worries of the girl.
After hearing this, Alice looked at Nome King with a distrusting face, putting her sword away.
"Well, I'm going to take my leave then. I have no business here. I just wanted to see if anyone knew about the sword." Alice responded, feeling disappointed at her lack of progress she got ready to depart from the Nome Kingdom.
Nome King saw the girl turning around to leave, scratching his head in confusion.
"What a strange girl. I was going to offer her some stone lemonade and rice cakes, oh well.." Nome King thought to himself as he continued to sit on his throne, still suffering from his memory loss.
Of course, Guph sighed, placing his hand on his face in embarrassment.
"Oh, what am I going to do with you…" Guph uttered, wishing that his ruler would regain his memory promptly.
*Dominions of Nome King*
Alice stood in front of the windy mountains of the dominion, staring into the mountains.
"No luck so far.." Alice uttered in disappointment as she stared down at the floor in silence, hearing only the wind breezing across her.
The quiet moment was interrupted by Zorya, who appeared from behind Alice, surprising her.
"Zorya? I didn't expect you here, but I'm having zero luck so far and Enzo is being a lazy good-for-nothing cheat…" Alice greeted Zorya in a calm yet surprised voice as she hugged her master, gently holding her face.
Despite the hug and gentle display of affection, Zorya's expression remained cold, almost sullen and depressed.
"Alice, I've been doing my own research, and I think you might need a few more swords. I think you might need a sword from each majoring kingdom to make it appear, I trust you to gather the four swords, they're the Winkie Sword, Munchkin Sword, Quadling Sword, and Gillikin Sword. Each sword is guarded by a protector so be on your guard…" Zorya explained to Alice in the same depressed voice while Alice nodded, fully understanding her assignment.
"Taking down four mean-bots who threaten your happiness will be no problem, don't worry…I won't fail you.." Alice responded, gently kissing Zorya on the lips, catching her off guard.
After the kiss, Zorya's eyes gently widened, her fingers touching her lips as she looked at Alice.
"Why? I mean…" Zorya asked Alice curiously while she heard the giggles of her ally.
"Because I want you to be happy. If turning everything into darkness means your happiness then I'm willing to go to such lengths to make you happy." Alice responded with a smile before she used her sword to disappear while Zorya was left to her own thoughts.
"Happiness…" Zorya quietly whispered to herself while pulling out her sword, and swinging it across the mountains with all of her might.
After Zorya swung her sword, a small yet powerful energy managed to collide with the mountain, causing it to be split in half.
"Don't fail me, Alice." Zorya thought to herself, placing her faith in her ally.
*Rose Cottage*
One hour passed, and back at the cottage, Betsy rose up from the bed, aching in pain before looking over to see Dorothy tending to her wounds.
"Betsy, I'm glad you're awake, and please rest. You're still hurt.." Dorothy advised her friend while gently laying her back down.
During this, Betsy felt confused since she remembered her previous defeat at the hands of Blaze and she quickly remembered the threat.
"B-But she's coming.." Betsy uttered, wincing in pain as she wasn't able to finish her sentence.
Of course, Dorothy shook her head, hoping to ease her friend's worries as she began to speak to her once more.
"Don't worry, we've taken care of Blaze, and you're not going to believe what happened.." Dorothy responded with a hint of anticipation before pulling out the shoes that Rose gifted Betsy.
After hearing this, Betsy's expression became a shock as she wondered how exactly Blaze was defeated or even what Dorothy might imply.
Once Dorothy showed the shoes to Betsy, a familiar voice was heard from the shoes, belonging to Blaze.
"You better listen up! I'm in a bad mood so I won't repeat myself twice…" Blaze spoke to Betsy from the shoes, her tone of voice being rather annoyed and upset.
This, of course, surprised Betsy as she let out a surprised yelp.
"B-Blaze? H-How did you end up being inside my shoes.." Betsy asked her former opponent with a hint of curiosity in her voice while observing the shoes, hoping to get answers.
Hearing this made Blaze groan before finally responding to the girl, much to her own annoyance of course.
"Like I said, I'm only going to tell this idiotic story at once so shut up and listen.." Blaze responded fiercely, her tone of voice being filled with annoyance and disdain.
Right after this, Blaze began to tell the story of her defeat while Betsy carefully sat up, eager to know the tale.
How exactly did Blaze end up being inside of Betsy's new shoes?!