(The Next Phase)

*January 16th, 1907*

*Winkie Forest*

The purple flames burned with a blazing fury as Dorothy was ready to cut down the Ozmite, her eyes filled with determination.

"Dragon's Fire: Fireblade!" Dorothy cried out in sheer motivation, the flames flowing rapidly from her sword as she was ready to strike.

Following this, Dorothy cried while she swung her sword at the Ozmite, the powerful flames piercing through the metal.

This proved to be intense as Dorothy felt her hands burning due to the heat of the sword as she tried to cut through the Ozmite.

"Steady breathing. Remain calm! Don't let the heat get to you! Cut through the Ozmite!" Dorothy spoke to herself in a motivated tone as she continued to cut through the Ozmite with all of her strength.

Slowly, the sword successfully cut through the Ozmite as the flames managed to burn through the metal.

"I-I'm doing it! I gotta keep pushing! For my friends! To defeat Zorya! Everything!" Dorothy cried out in sheer motivation as she let out a stronger cry, putting more effort into the attack.

Soon after, the flames continued to piece through the Ozmite as Dorothy continued to cut through the metal and this was all watched by Luna.

"These flames manifest Dorothy's desire to protect her loved ones, and not just that, but the sword's desire to be used as a strong weapon to protect its owner's loved ones." Luna thought to herself while she continued to watch the ongoing event with great interest.

Back at the training field, Dorothy successfully cut through the Ozmite, the sound of crumbling erupting as half of the metal split into two.

This made Dorothy smile joyfully as she breathed in exhaustion.

"I-I did it! I-I passed!" Dorothy cried out joyfully while collapsing on the floor with a smile on her face, feeling proud of herself.

After this, Luna stared at the cut Ozmite before looking back at Dorothy with a proud look on her face.

"You did it. You've passed the test, Dorothy." Luna congratulated Dorothy in a warm voice as she knelt down to touch her forehead.

Once Luna spoke those words, she slowly began to fade away, her entire body being translucent.

"Now, all that's left is to continue getting used to the sword. Keep fighting, Dorothy! You must defeat my twin sister, Zorya…" Luna whispered softly to Dorothy in a pleading voice as she slowly faded away.

Of course, Dorothy hadn't heard those words since she passed out; however, it was now time for Dorothy to prepare herself to face Zorya.

A few minutes later, Dorothy slowly rose up from the grass, looking at her surroundings as she noticed Luna was gone.

"Luna? Where are you?!" Dorothy cried out as she got up from the grass to look for the girl; however, it was to no avail since Luna was completely gone.

This, of course, shocked Dorothy as she never had the chance to say goodbye to Luna.

"Luna, thank you for guiding me. I-I never got the chance to say goodbye but thank you for being with me, I won't let our meeting go to waste." Dorothy thanked Luna in a soft voice while looking up at the beautiful sunset, ensuring that she'll always remember Luna.

With sheer motivation, Dorothy picked up her sword and she made her way back to Tin Woodman's palace.

*Tin Woodman's Palace*

A few minutes passed and Dorothy arrived at the palace, sitting at the royal couches while she was chatting with Rose and Scarecrow.

"Congratulations! I knew you could do it, my friend." Scarecrow congratulated Dorothy while patting her on the back which made Dorothy smile.

During this, Dorothy thought about Luna and she decided to share her experience with them.

"Thank you, Scarecrow." Dorothy thanked her friend with a warm smile before finally deciding to speak about Luna.

"And I also met a girl who goes by Luna. She greatly resembles Zorya and she helped me during my session; however, I never had the chance to say goodbye.." Dorothy spoke to her friends in a soft voice while Rose and Scarecrow nodded as Rose spoke up.

"Interesting, perhaps she could be a relative to Zorya? Who knows but the important thing is that she was able to help you achieve your goals, now it's time to get used to the sword." Rose responded with a confident voice and smile while Dorothy nodded.

"I agree, but I wish I could see Luna again. I'm sure she's out there somewhere.." Dorothy responded once more while she continued to think about her encounter with Luna.

Rose nodded as she thought about

Luna and her relations with Zorya.

"Maybe Luna could be Zorya's sister or something considering she's described to look like her but if so, why didn't Luna join Dorothy.." Rose thought to herself before finally getting up from the couch, ready to speak with Dorothy.

"Anywho, you've passed my training session. I don't have much to teach you now. Everything else is all up to you. You may have noticed but you're much stronger than before." Rose spoke to her student in a proud voice as she placed her hand on Dorothy's shoulder, giving her a proud look.

"You've grown much stronger in the last few days. All of your training such as trying to hit me, moving the Ozmite, and cutting it down were all training to improve your power." Rose spoke to Dorothy once more as she patted her on the back, feeling proud of her student.

This made Dorothy feel proud of herself as she smiled greatly at Rose while Scarecrow also smiled as well.

"Thank you, Rose, for everything. I wouldn't have done it without you and my friends. Moving the Ozmite back at Iv and even cutting it in half, I would have never done those things without the support of you guys. " Dorothy thanked Rose with a warm smile, feeling proud of herself.

Once those words were spoken, Dorothy held on to her sword tightly, not wanting to let go of it.

Soon after, Dorothy walked toward the palace doors, ready to continue mastering her sword. Once Dorothy was outside, she looked down at the sword with a determined look on her face.

"Alright, let's go!" Dorothy spoke to herself before getting straight to work.

And so, Dorothy continued to master her techniques.

*Munchkin Country*

Back at the Munchkin Country, Keiko, Flynn, and Betsy followed Boq across an old temple-like cave to get to the location of the sword.

"This place gives me the creeps.." Keiko spoke to herself as she looked around to see old statues staring down while she walked across the long hallway.

Flynn nodded in agreement as he looked around the area, taking note of what he was seeing.

"You're right. It's best to stay on your guard. We don't know who or what might be guarding the sword.." Flynn spoke to Keiko in full agreement as he continued to walk alongside her.

The gang continued to walk until they stumbled upon a door that was guarded by a single Munchkin.

The Munchkin appeared to be a young man with a beard, his height was tall and he wore a royal blue outfit, he also held a large staff in one hand.

"Greetings, My name is Garnet. I'm the guardian of this gate. State your names and reasoning on why I should allow you to pass.." Garnet greeted the crew with a serious look on his face, his eyes glaring down at everyone.

*Gillikin Country*

Meanwhile in the northern country, Enzo had just finished choking a Gillikin citizen, throwing him to the ground.

The sound of his body plummeting to the ground could be heard as the groans of the Gillikin could be heard softly.

"I guess he doesn't know where that damned sword is." Enzo muttered to himself in disappointment as he sighed to himself before looking over at Alice.

"Alice! Did Zorya even tell you where the swords were?" Enzo asked Alice in an annoyed voice while he was met with Alice shaking her head.

"I'm afraid not. All she did was order me to find the swords and that's what I'm doing. I was lucky to even get the Sword of Winkie.." Alice responded in a disappointed tone of voice as she kicked a small pebble, watching it roll across the ground.

Soon after, Alice pulled out her sword and held it up in the air, her expression being annoyance despite her smile.

"Mr Swody, I want to summon my friend, The White Rabbit!" Alice commanded her sword in a stern voice.

Following this, a brilliant flash of light appeared, and soon, a white rabbit appeared from the sky, gently dropping to the ground.

The White Rabbit stood on both legs and it wore a suit with a bow tie and he always carried a small watch in his hand.

"A-Alice?! Is that you?!" The White Rabbit greeted in a surprised voice while Alice nodded.

"Yes; however, there's no time to waste! I want you to find Dorothy's friends and eliminate them. They're on route to retrieve one of the swords probably so if you're lucky, bring me a sword or two." Alice responded to White Rabbit in a commanding voice as she was met with her ally nodding.

Soon after, The White Rabbit quickly ran off, anxiously looking down at his watch.

"I don't want to be late! I won't disappoint you, Alice!" White Rabbit spoke anxiously to himself as he continued to run until he was out of sight.

Hearing all of this, Enzo shook his head in disbelief, having doubts that White Rabbit could do the job.

"Are you sure he can take care of Dorothy's friends? He seems quite jumpy.." Enzo asked Alice in a concerned yet smug voice while Alice giggled.

"I forgot. The Land of Oz doesn't have such stories as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In short, The White Rabbit has abilities involving time, change of body size, and other good things." Alice responded to Enzo in a sing-songy voice as she skipped around before turning around to face Enzo.

Her expression became more confident while Enzo continued to listen.

"Most of his abilities were created by me but his character is known for always being late so I figured I would send someone like him to quickly deal with those pests and gather the swords for us while we look for this one." Alice responded with a smile before continuing to walk away, humming to herself.

With the upcoming threat of White Rabbit, our heroes are blissfully unaware of the battle they are about to experience.