(Each Respective Path)

*January 15th, 1907*

*Munchkin Country*

Ojo stared at Alice and Enzo with a surprised expression on her face as she was now face to face with the two visitors.

"H-Hello. I'm Ojo the Unlucky. What brings the both of you here to Munchkin Country" Ojo introduced herself to the pair in a polite voice, waiting for an answer as she remained on guard.

Soon after, Alice skipped around the beautiful blue grass, humming to herself as she began to respond to the question.

"Unlucky? How unfortunate, anywho, I'm Alice, and we need to ask you something, do you care to cooperate with us?" Alice responded, stopping completely in her tracks as she focused on Ojo.

On the other hand, Enzo remained in place as he waited for an answer as well.

"Okayy?" Ojo simply responded, her expression being a cautious one as she continued to wait for whatever was next.

Enzo began to speak regarding the Munchkin Sword.

"Good, now, do you know about the Munchkin Sword? And if so, tell us the exact location." Enzo asked Ojo with a smirk, hoping that she'd provide him with a straight answer.

The question left Ojo curious yet confused as she shook her head, denying any knowledge of the sword and its location.

"I-I don't, I'm afraid. You don't seem to be from here, right? I've never seen the both of you and yet.." Ojo responded as she grew more suspicious of the duo by the second.

This response made Alice frown as she groaned while Enzo remained composed.

"Oh, I see. We get that a lot but thanks for the help, Ojo. I'm sure you're gonna become lucky one day but until then, farewell" Enzo responded with a smile before pulling out his sword, ready to depart the area.

While Enzo did that, Alice waved goodbye to Ojo as the pair eventually disappeared from sight, leaving Ojo alone.

"Who were those guys, talk about strange indeed…" Ojo spoke softly to herself, feeling confused at the event before she turned around to go back to her usual business.

However, Ojo had a feeling that those two weren't up to no good..

*Another side of Munchkin Country*

On the other side of the country, Enzo and Alice arrived on the outskirts of the beautiful blue village Alice smirked at Enzo in a cocky way.

"I knew that Ojo girl wouldn't know where the location of the sword is.." Alice spoke to Enzo, a tone filled with annoyance as she walked towards the village, looking down at her sword as she did.

During the walk, Alice wondered why her sword didn't take her directly to the sword's location.

"Swordy, Why didn't you take me to the sword's location? Perhaps it's protected by some barrier?" Alice thought to herself as she continued to walk toward the village with Enzo by her side.

Once the pair entered the village, they noticed it was empty with no Munchkin, surprising the pair.

"Huh, where's the Munchkins? Must be a parade or something.." Enzo spoke in a curious voice while walking around the village before stumbling upon a huge note, confirming his theory.

Munchkin Parade: All-Day Event!

Enzo and Alice read the sign as they decided what to do next.

"Welp, I guess we're out of luck. We could try Gillikin Country of the North, it's not like we're in a rush or anything." Enzo spoke to Alice, placing his hands behind his head while his elbows remained up as he walked away from the sign.

Hearing this made Alice rather irritated as she followed him, walking at a fast pace.

"We are in a rush! Zorya needs those swords as soon as possible! The sooner we get this done, the sooner she'll be happy!" Alice clapped back, feeling irritated at Enzo as she stopped.

Once Alice stopped, Enzo looked back, noticing her looking down at the ground.

"Come on, if the boss wanted those swords that badly then why can't she look for them?" Enzo asked Alice in a curious yet defensive voice while he waited for an answer.

The question made Alice sigh loudly as she answered Enzo's question with a smile.

"Zorya has her reasons, and we must respect them.." Alice responded in a sing-songy voice, her innocent demeanor returning as she skipped away from the village while Enzo watched.

"Feeling happy? Is that what Zorya truly wants? Perhaps there's more to her goal.." Enzo thought to himself before running up to catch up with Alice.

*Iv Plains*

Back at the Land of Iv, It was nighttime as Dorothy and the others ate dinner at the table, enjoying their meal.

The conversation was regarding the Sword of Oz and Dorothy was curious to know more.

"So, tell me more about the Sword of Oz? I remember Ozma telling me about something like that during her birthday." Dorothy asked Rose, taking a bite of meat while she waited for an answer.

"Well, it's a legendary sword with tremendous power, it can grant any user the power and skill to do whatever their heart desires." Rose explained to Dorothy while this amazed the young girl.

During this, Flynn felt surprised about the news, knowing that this was something his sister was pursuing the entire time.

"Why didn't I think of that before? Of course, my sister wants that sword! If she can gain and use its power, then.." Flynn thought to himself while he continued to hear the ongoing conversation between Dorothy and Rose.

During the conversation, Dorothy remembered an important detail, the time when her friend, Lion, used the Sword of Oz to defeat the Giant Spider in the forest.

"Sword of Oz? I believe my friend used it to slay a giant spider. He recalled hearing a voice and it gave him the sword…" Dorothy spoke to Rose as this piece of information intrigued Rose, making her lean forward from her chair.

"A voice? Interesting…perhaps it could only come in great need for certain people or animals in his case?" Rose spoke to Dorothy in an intrigued voice, eager to learn more.

Of course, Flynn quickly stood and spoke up, correcting Rose on the information.

"Not quite, to gain the Sword of Oz, you'll need to gather the swords from the Winkie, Gillikin, Quadling, and Munchkin countries, and once you do, the swords shall call upon the Sword of Oz.." Flynn corrected Rose regarding the information.

Of course, this new information surprised Dorothy and the others as they didn't know of this.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? Your sister could be looking for those other swords or that girl we encountered a day ago." Keiko curiously asked Flynn, hoping to hear his answer while Dorothy nodded in agreement.

This event prompted Flynn to take a deep breath before answering the question.

"I know, it's just I didn't know she wanted to seek such a thing. When Rose spoke about the sword, I thought about Zorya. It was a conversation we had and I vaguely remember her bringing up the other swords from the countries of Oz.." Flynn explained to everyone while fidgeting his fingers around the cup he was holding.

Once the others heard this, Keiko nodded understandably.

"I see, but it was still worth mentioning but that means we gotta get those swords before she does. Don't withhold information from us again, okay?" Keiko responded to Flynn in a stern yet accepting voice and this made him smile as he felt better.

"You're right, and tomorrow should be good for us to begin the journey." Flynn responded to Keiko while looking over at his friends, all of them nodding in approval.

Once this was set, Dorothy began to speak up once more.

"We should visit Winkie Country first, I believe my friend Nick Chopper might know about the sword of Winkie Country, he's the ruler of the Winkies so he might be of help." Dorothy spoke up while her statement was met with Rose and the others nodding in agreement.

Everyone found the idea to be good and Rose began to speak up.

"I guess it's settled. We shall travel to Winkie Country tomorrow and don't worry, I'll still train you and Betsy on the go, so don't slack off." Rose spoke to Dorothy, giving her a confident smile while she said so.

Soon after, Dorothy and Betsy smiled at those words, nodding in agreement. "Don't worry, we won't!" Dorothy responded confidently as she had the motivation needed to continue her training.

And so for the rest of the night, Dorothy and the others ate dinner before heading off for bed, ready for a brand new day

*Unknown Location*

Meanwhile at Zorya's headquarters, the sullen black-haired girl entered a strange room, filled with scientific equipment, gadgets, and other such things.

Zorya continued walking further into the corridor of the room before stopping at a large capsule, gently placing her hand on the glass, her expression being that of pity.

"I'm surprised Dorothy didn't kill you. It's such a shame you'll have to live without your brother.." Zorya spoke softly to the person in the capsule, the person being Tweedledum.

The sounds of painful groaning could be heard as the large man was being experimented on, his body still suffering the effects of the apple as Zorya watched with pitiful eyes.

After a few seconds, Zorya left the room, walking across the pitch-black area.

"The pain of losing a loved one, a sibling..whatever it's my own hands or someone else's.." Zorya whispered to herself before letting out a creepy grin on her face.

"…Could make someone go crazy." Zorya continued to whisper, letting out a chuckle as she continued to walk back to her room.

With everyone on the move, who shall get the Sword of Oz first?!