“So, how did you get here in Oz?” I asked Haruto-san after Hiroki and I explained to everybody who he is.
“I was fighting a new Phantom that I had never seen before,” explained Haruto, “when that lunatic Rider, Hiro, decided to interfere. He killed the Phantom, leading me to believe that he was a friend. That was a mistake. He opened a portal, threw me inside while saying that I’m one less interference. Somehow, it ended in a town of little people, about half my height. I was met with a woman in a gown similar to yours, but in lightish pink, a tall silver crown, and a staff with a silver star on the end of it.”
“Must have been Glinda,” mused Emily. “In the books, she’s the Good Witch of the south while in the 1939 movie, the one that this dimension is set in, she rules the north.”
“I didn’t get her name at first,” continued Haruto, “because once I introduced myself so I could ask her questions, one has to be polite in a new land, a bunch of black boxes with red eyes and clawed fingers on tendrils started attacking.”
“That description sounds a lot like the Micro-managers from my dimension,” said Wyldstyle, “but Lord Business had taken them apart for Master Builders to use as they see fit. Heck, one of his robots in a saloon girl disguise became a Master Builder!”
“In any case,” continued Haruto, “I turned into Wizard and fought them off, helping the Munchkins rebuild their town and part of the yellow brick road, as well as their red one. Glinda helped out as well and finally introduced herself to me, calling me a good wizard. She offered to help me since I helped the Munchkins. I told her that I needed to go home and she told me of the Emerald City, the Wizard of Oz, and how to get there. That’s when the Munchkins started singing Follow the Yellow Brick Road. And now, I’ve put it back in my head!”
“Americans call it an earworm,” muttered Hiroki.
“Appropriate name for it,” murmured Haruto.
“I can think of worse earworms,” I countered. “There’s Frozen’s…” My horse then started whinnying nervously. The same was with the other horses, even Shadowfax.
“My lady,” called Gandalf, “we’re near the Haunted Woods Dame Emily spoke of. I recommend we continue on foot. The horses are too restless.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. “Dismount!” We all got off our horses and reassured them that we’ll be back. Batman got out of the Batmobile, locked it, and Wyldstyle, Hongo, and Haruto dismounted their bikes. We had to crawl under a fallen tree to enter the woods.
“I believe the castle that witch spoke of lies beyond these woods,” mused Gandalf. We traveled farther near a tree with an apple and encountered more flying monkeys. “Oh dear, more of these repulsive creatures?” We fought them off, but a monkey I sent flying knocked the apple off the tree. The tree started moving as it revealed a face and arms!
“What do you think you’re doing!” snapped the tree. “Oh, you!” He started hurling things at us! Gandalf cast a barrier to protect us.
“I’ve never heard of an Ent that acted and spoke in such terrible ways!” he cried.
“That thing is no Ent, it’s a menace!” countered Emily. “We need to get it out of here!” It was then I heard someone’s stomach growl. I turned to Lukas.
“That wasn’t mine!” he argued. “Herr Haruto used a donut ring, remember? I already had food!”
“That’s right,” confirmed Hiroki. “You were the only one to refuse a plain sugar donut! It’s your stomach that growled!”
“Not true!” I protested. A louder growl came through. We all realized it was everyone’s stomachs. “Oh, for God’s sakes!” I shouted to my stomach. “We’re on a journey to save the multiverse! What do you want?!” My stomach growled louder. “Oh, complain, complain, complain! That’s all you do!”
“Your highness,” called Emily, “I have an idea.” Her voice got louder. “We’ll just find another, more respectable tree, without apples like his!”
“Are you hinting my apples aren’t what they ought to be?!” shouted the tree.
“Oh no!” countered Emily. “We just don’t want little green worms!” That got the tree mad as he started plucking the apples off of his branches and started throwing them instead of the debris in the forest. I then got the idea.
“You call that a throwing arm?!” I shouted. “Come on! My grandma throws harder than that!” That wasn’t an empty taunt. My adopted grandmother’s throwing arm is scary strong! That made the tree madder and he started throwing twice as fast. It went from taunt to throw to taunt to throw that even Batman started joining it. Soon the tree went back to throwing debris. “Haruto-san, do you have a spell that can get rid of the tree?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, I do!” he cheered. He then put a ring on with an axe design and waved it over the hand shaped belt buckle, the Hand Author.
“Chop, please!” announced the Hand Author’s voice as it summoned a giant axe, scaring the tree into running away.
“Okay, you can…” my request came too little, too late as the axe chopped down the other trees, blocking our path, “…get rid of the axe.” I finished lamely.
“Gomen’nasai!” (I’m sorry!) gulped Haruto.
“Can’t be helped,” replied Gandalf. “In any case, I believe we have something to tide us over.”
“Apple break, everyone,” I announced. “We’ll clear the debris later.” Us dress wearers held our topmost skirts for the apples to rest while the rest gathered them up. Once all apples were retrieved, we put them in a pile and started munching. We had a 10-minute break and finished them off in that time frame. We tossed the cores into the bushes and approached the debris. Haruto used a levitation spell ring to clear it.
“My Lady, the way is clear,” he called.
“Haruto-san, you are too kind,” I replied as I curtsied. We proceeded to another clearing which had another roadblock of rocks.
“Your Highness,” requested Emmanuel, “permettez-moi.” He then started hurling the rocks out of the way. Say what you want about him and his clothing preferences, but Emmanuel is very strong.
“Merci!” I thanked. The others were impressed.
“Ah, yeah!” cheered Wyldstyle. “Now that was cool!”
“Maybe,” replied Emmanuel, “but the bridge to the castle is out on the other end.”
“Drat,” I hissed. “Is there any indication of a grappling hook?”
“I’m afraid not,” reported Emmanuel.
“What about the debris?” asked Gandalf. “We could use it to repair the bridge.”
“That would take too long,” I countered.
“Not as long as you have magic,” replied Haruto. I turned to him.
“You think you guys can build a bridge?” I asked.
“If we have at least three more magic using folk,” replied Gandalf.
“All right,” I cheered. “Richard, use Gandalf Steel and help Haruto and Gandalf lift the debris to form the new bridge part. Hiroki, Wizard Steel with me. We’ll go into flame style and solidify the debris so it can support our weight. Haruto, what ring would accomplish that?”
“A ring called meld works best,” explained Haruto. “Before you ask to borrow that ring, I’d like to point out that during our fight on the yellow brick road, your ‘Wizard Steel’ had the same ring loops as mine. The meld ring was on there. It has a design of metal shards forming a river.”
“Thank you,” I replied. That makes the job a lot easier. Hiroki, Richard, and I struck our henshin poses.
“HENSHIN!” we announced. Our armor formed and almost immediately, we swapped out our i.d tags for the magic ones.
“Gandalf Steel!” called Richard’s belt. While the wardrobe dissolved, Hiroki and I chose the flame style.
“Wizard Flame Steel!” announced our belts. “Flame, please! Hi! Hi! Hi, hi, HI!” Our flame style armor appeared and we got our rings on.
“Everyone in position?” I asked. Everyone confirmed. “Let’s do it!”
“Levitate, please!” called Haruto’s Hand Author as he, Gandalf, and Richard brought the debris to the destroyed section of bridge and formed the shape. Hiroki and I mimed flipping the levers on a WizarDriver and heard the chant of “Lupachi magic, touch to go!” We scanned the meld ring.
“Meld, please!” announced our belts as a wave of heat washed over the debris to make a solid patch for the bridge. Batman looked at the castle.
“A gigantic castle for just one person?” he mused. A grin formed on his face. “I’m beginning to like this witch!”
“You’re not gonna try and upgrade your base into a castle, are you?” asked Xiomara.
“Hmm,” pondered Batman. “The Bat-Castle has a nice ring to it.”
“And when the people of Gotham mistake you for a vampire?” asked Xiomara. I never thought anything of the “spooky” persuasion would make the Dark Knight shudder, but apparently, vampires do.
“Don’t remind me!” he shuddered. “I’ve met some guys that dressed like vampires wanting to suck my blood with special syphons around the canines! Forget it, no Bat-Castle!”
“Oh boy,” gulped Emily as Richard, Hiroki, and I cancelled our transformations.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“We’ve got Winkies patrolling the castle!” reported Emily. The Winkies in this dimension were green-skinned like the Witch and wore gray outfits with orange designs, signifying rank, most likely, and black boots. They all carried halberds and chanted “Oh-Ee-Yah, Ee-Yo-Ah!” to keep the rhythm of their march. A patrol was marching into the castle.
“Crud,” I swore. “With the Witch in possession of a gateway piece of unknown power, she probably doubled the guard!”
“Then why don’t we walk in there?” asked Haruto.
“Are you out of your tiny little mind?!” I yelped.
“Well, there is a disguise ring,” explained Haruto.
“That’s right,” exclaimed Hiroki, “the Dress-Up ring!”
“The what?!” asked Wyldstyle.
“Haruto can go in disguise if a mission against a Phantom needs stealth,” I explained. “But, the question is, can it work on all of us?”
“I don’t know,” mused Haruto as he put on a ring with the design looking like a dragon with a bow tie on. “Let’s find out.” He then waved it over the Hand Author.
“Dress-Up, please!” announced the Hand Author. Haruto then stuck his arm out and runic circles passed over us, putting us in Winkie outfits. It also gave us the skin color of the Winkies. Batman blinked at the outfit.
“I look ridiculous!” he hissed.
“Just go along with it!” I whispered back. “Emily, since your our resident expert on all things Oz, you lead us in.”
“Follow my lead, everyone!” called Emily. We got into two lines, with Emily leading in between. She set the marching rhythm and started chanting “Oh-Ee-Yah, Ee-Yo-Ah!” We soon followed suit and marched right up to the drawbridge with the portcullis already lowered. The Captain of the Guard stopped us.
“I don’t recall a patrol in that formation!” he barked. He turned to Emily. “What sector were you patrolling?”
“Sector 21, sir!” answered Emily.
“The Western Border, I see,” mused the Captain. “Anything to report?”
“A cantankerous apple tree started hurling objects at us,” reported Emily. “We got rid of it.”
“How did an Eastern Talking Tree wander in here?” asked the Captain to himself. He shook his head. “In any case, anything else to report?”
“No, sir,” replied Emily. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Right,” finished the Captain, “Off you…” he was interrupted by another group of Winkies coming up the path. “Wait your turn!” barked the Captain. “I need to clear the patrol for Sector 21 here!”
“That’s us, sir,” said the head of that patrol. Uh oh! The Captain arched an eyebrow.
“That’s impossible,” he snapped “These soldiers are the patrol for Sector 21!”
“No, sir, we are!” argued the Patrol Commander.
“Sir,” called one of the Guard Captain’s immediate subordinates, “permission to point out some observations?”
“Permission granted,” replied the Captain.
“First, sir, you will recall that our women are being admitted into the army?” asked the subordinate.
“Right,” confirmed the Captain.
“Well, sir,” elaborated the subordinate, “didn’t our master say that they will be part of the army next week?” Uh oh times two!
“Hey,” realized the Captain, “yeah, you’re right!”
“Second, sir,” continued the subordinate, “article 9, section 2, paragraph 3 states that all soldiers must be well groomed, subsection 4 states that beards are not allowed!” He pointed to Gandalf, Mikhail, and Richard. Uh oh times three! “Third, sir,” continued the subordinate, “that bridge wasn’t repaired until a few minutes before they arrived! My conclusion…”
“YOU LOT ARE THE IMPOSTERS!” roared the Captain. The disguise was cancelled. “SOUND THE ALARM! RAISE THE DRAWBRIDGE! GET THESE INTRUDERS IN CHAINS!” ordered the Captain.
“Well, time to go in Marine style!” called Richard.
“Marine style?” asked Hongo and Haruto.
“We’re fighting our way through!” I translated as I got my i.d tag.
“Now THAT I can get behind,” cheered Tonje.
“Driver on, please!” announced the Hand Author as it turned into the WizarDriver. Haruto then flipped the levers and the familiar chant of “Shabadoobie, touch to henshin!” started playing.
“Rider…” began Hongo. Haruto took out the flame style ring.
“HENSHIN!” we all shouted.
“Flame, please! Hi! Hi! Hi, hi, HI!” sang the WizarDriver. Soon, all riders were in their suits and we started fighting off the Winkies. Arch tossed one into the moat. Insert Wilhelm scream here. Our weapons knocked down a bunch and Ichigō used his own fighting style to get rid of them. “Excite, please!” announced the WizarDriver. Wizard then grew to gigantic proportions to kick the Winkies away. The enemy was gone, but the problem of the drawbridge remained.
“There should be some outdoor controls,” called Batman.
“I see them in that guard house,” replied Kämpfer. “Batman, help me out. The rest of you, clear off. Let the techs work.”
“I hope the Wicked Witch isn’t expecting house guests,” gulped Wyldstyle.
“Considering we did raise a ruckus and knock over all the soldiers,” countered Tanisha, “the possibility of a ‘warm’ reception is very high.” The sound of chains snapping made a red light go off in my head.
“Back away!” I shouted. Everyone was clear when the drawbridge went down. The portcullis was still down, but there was a mechanism that a batarang could spin. Batman tossed one and the portcullis went up. We charged inside to see the Witch above us.
“So, you made it inside, did you?” she screeched. “Well, I hope you like it here, because I’m going to make sure you never leave!” She cackled as she fled to her tower room. The door with a flying monkey design closed behind her.
“Uh oh,” gulped Wyldstyle, “I thought things were going a little too well.” We fought off some more Winkies and headed to the wooden stairs with a candelabra on top. A flying monkey flew in and knocked it over, setting it on fire. It revealed part of a wall jump panel and a box hidden underneath. “Time to think outside the box,” chuckled Wyldstyle as her relic detector found a grappling hook. Kamen Riders Clash and Swing, Livia and Tonje respectively, activated Batman Steel and together with Batman, they pulled the box apart. The box contained panels to complete wall jumping. Once they were set up, Kamen Rider Zhànshì, Haitao, and Kamen Rider Battle, Michael, activated Wyldstyle steel and wall jumped up to the top level. A couple of Winkies swung their halberds but were no match for two of my 15 best friends. Once they were finished with the guards, Battle and Zhànshì let down a rope to let the rest of us up. When he got up, Gandalf magically picked the lock on the door to open it up. Once opened, we went up the stairs to the Witch’s tower, opened the door, and poked our heads inside. We then cautiously stepped inside to see the gateway piece.
“Maybe she’s not here,” whispered Wizard.
“That, or she’s hiding,” countered Batman. Sadly, the Dark Knight was right.
“So,” screeched the Witch, “you’ve come to steal my treasure, have you?” She then held the piece in her hands. It started glowing and made three portals in the air. One was cyan, one was magenta, and one was yellow. “Shift! Witch! Yellow!” said the Witch. Another yellow portal opened beneath her and she was sucked in. She ended up coming out of the yellow portal in the air. “And you think you’ll escape with it, do you?” she said to us. “You won’t even escape with your lives!” She cackled as usual.
“Why can’t you two do that kind of magic?” Batman asked Gandalf and Wizard. Gandalf harrumphed at that comment.
“That kind of magic is beyond what I’m capable of,” argued Wizard. “Besides, what she’s doing is not really magic.”
“Exactly!” supported Gandalf. “All she’s doing is moving faster than the eye can follow!”
“Then let’s find a way to stop her!” exclaimed Wyldstyle.
“Go ahead and try!” shrieked the Witch. “You can’t steal my new toy from me! I’m the only one who knows how to use it! It’s of no use to you! What are you people, anyway?”
“Steal?” asked Ichigō.
“We are no mere burglars,” argued Gandalf. “Although, I do happen to know a rather good one.”
“As for who we are,” began Outback, “Kamen Rider Outback! Better watch your back, mate!”
“Kamen Rider Claw! My weapons shall turn you into ribbons!”
“Kamen Rider Swing! I’ll be taking your legs!”
“Kamen Rider Hunt! I shall always get my prey!”
“Kamen Rider Clash! A duel with me shall end in your defeat!”
“Kamen Rider Climb! Mountains are a warrior’s best friend!”
“Kamen Rider Gallop! My riding skills are unmatched!”
“Kamen Rider Sengoku! You shall get a taste of Feudal Japan!”
“Kamen Rider Royal! Evil will ultimately bow to me!”
“Kamen Rider Guard! None shall harm my friends, family, and lady!”
“Kamen Rider Touché! En Garde, thing of evil!”
“Kamen Rider Zhànshì! Try and stop my quest!”
“Kamen Rider Arch! My skills outdo Robin Hood!”
“Kamen Rider Kämpfer! Your defeat will be certain at my hands!”
“Kamen Rider Seeker! It’s not gold I seek, but your end!”
“Kamen Rider Battle! For friends and family, I shall be victorious!”
“Kamen Rider Wizard! Saa, showtime da!”
“Erm, I am Gandalf the Gray!” stammered Gandalf, as he was unused to saying a catchphrase, “I shall weave a spell of defeat over you!”
“…I’m Wyldstyle! And I am not a DJ!” Wyldstyle figured she’d get that out of the way, not that the Witch would know what a DJ is.
“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!” Really? Going with a movie title? Not that you’d know about that.
“Time to go the Heisei route,” muttered Ichigō. “I am the start of a group of warriors! I am Kamen Rider!” He then struck his starting Henshin pose, his red scarf flapping in the breeze.
“You’ll be called corpses when I’m through with you!” shrieked the Witch.
“Guys,” called Sengoku, “I have a plan.” We huddled up so she couldn’t hear us. “Emily, old Greenie over there hates water, right?”
“Right,” confirmed Touché, “in the book, she was so wicked, all the liquid in her body had dried up.”
“Well, first, we need to find a way to close those portals,” planned Sengoku. “I’m going to need some cages and chains to hold them in the air.”
“They’re all over the room,” observed Batman.
“My bind ring should hold them,” supplied Wizard.
“Excellent!” cheered Sengoku. “All we need to do is taunt her so she gets down. When that’s done, I want a Master Build of a hydro cannon connected to Wizard’s WizarSwordGun in gun mode. For the Finale, I’ll need a water shooting strike with Batman and Gandalf aiming the cannon’s barrel at the Witch.”
“What do you want the rest of us to do?” asked Arch.
“The Witch will make her soldiers fight us,” explained Sengoku. “We’ll hold them off.”
“I’ll be taunting her,” cheered Touché.
“Then we have a plan!” I exclaimed. “Minna, ikōyo!” (Everyone, let’s go!) Touché, Wizard, and Guard started hurling insults while Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf gathered bars for cages and the rest of us kept the monkeys and Winkies at bay.
“Stay in the red mist, that’s just fine!” began the Witch. “Your thoughts, your moves, your…”
“RIDER KICK!” shouted Ichigō as he leapt up into the air, pulled his left leg up, stuck his right leg straight out, and kicked her off her broom.
“All right, mister!” snarled the Witch. “You’ll pay for that! The form I see shall seal your fate! Let the man’s armor be my new shape!” Green fire surrounded her and formed some sort of suit. Once the flames died down, the suit turned out to be like Ichigō’s, but it was black with a point on the helmet, green eyes, and a green mouth cover. She then started delivering punches with the same power as Ichigō.
“Bind, please!” announced the WizarDriver as the cages were finished. One of them had a Flying Monkey, but we got rid of it. The cages were raised.
“Sheesh!” I taunted. “You’re too slow, Witchy-poo!”
“I’ll show you slow!” snapped the Witch. “Shift! Witch! Cyan!” She found herself in a cage. “What the? Shift! Witch! Magenta!” Another cage. “Shift! Witch! Yellow!” Another cage. “Shift! Witch! Magenta!” Back in the cage. She started shaking it until it dropped on the crystal ball. “Curses! CURSES! My crystal ball! My new powers are…gone! GONE!!”
“I think I’ve got an idea to keep her preoccupied,” called Wyldstyle. “Seeker, Battle, time to get building!”
“Arch, Guard!” I ordered. “With me!” The three of us leapt into the air with both feet in front of us. “RIDER ROYAL KICK!” I shouted.
“RIDER GUARD KICK!” announced Guard.
“RIDER ARCH KICK!” called Arch. Our kicks threw her for a loop while Wyldstyle, Seeker, and Battle finished the pump. I grabbed her shoulder and got her i.d tag.
“Time to change styles!” exclaimed Wizard. He flipped the levers on his belt, making it chant again. This time, he scanned a ring that had the visor of the flame style ring, but it had a diamond shaped sapphire instead of a ruby.
“Water, please!” announced the WizarDriver. “Sui-Sui, Sui-Sui!” The chant almost sounded like Beach Boys music. A blue runic circle came down over his head to his boots, changing the outfit from red to blue, even changing the jewel shapes on his coat and giving his helmet a point at the top of the eyes. He tossed Wyldstyle, Seeker, and Battle his WizarSwordGun and helped them complete the Hydro Cannon. The Witch was still dazed from three simultaneous flying kicks, so Batman and Gandalf adjusted the cannon while Wizard pulled the thumb on the hand to open it. It started chanting “Come on and shoot! Shake hands! Come on and shoot! Shake hands!”
“The finale!” called Wizard as he scanned the water style ring.
“Water, shooting strike!” announced the fancy gun/sword hybrid. “Sui, sui, sui! Sui, sui, sui!” He pulled the trigger and unleashed a torrent of water on the Witch. Once over, she gave us a mad look as she shrieked in fear.
“YOU CURSED BRAT!” she shouted.
“Bat,” countered Batman. I think you guys know who said this part.
“I’m melting! MELTING! Oh, what a world, what a world! Make sure to cancel my newspaper delivery!” I will admit, asking to cancel your newspaper delivery as your final words shows remarkable foresight on your part, but it’s still a weird choice of last words. The Wicked Witch of the West had melted away and all that was left of her existence were her clothes, hat, and broomstick. Arch poked the remains with his foot to check if she was alive. After confirming her death, we cancelled our transformations. Haruto released a sigh of relief.
“I’ve never been in my suit that long,” he panted.
“Starts to smell after a while,” I agree.
“Speaking of smell,” quizzed Gandalf, “how do you suppose she ever took a bath?” Wyldstyle sniffed the air.
“Maybe that isn’t monkeys we can smell?” she guessed.
“Phew!” exclaimed Michael as he sniffed. “And I thought the French smell bad!”
“Pardon?!” hissed Emmanuel. Thankfully, a bubble floated in before there was another British and French war. It dissolved to reveal Glinda in all her pink and silver wearing glory.
“Well!” she called. “I see that there are quite a few good witches and wizards here!”
“Lady Glinda!” yelped Emily as she got on one knee. We all did the same.
“No need for that,” assured Glinda. “You’re all heroes. It is I who should be kneeling to you.” That was when Winkies and Flying monkeys burst into the tower and saw the remains of their former master.
“She’s…she’s dead!” exclaimed the Winkie leader. “You killed her!”
“Who are you?” asked the Monkey Chieftain. I realized that we don’t have a group name…until now.
“We’re called the Vortex Riders and…” I was about to apologize, for all the good it’ll do, when the Winkie leader knelt down.
“Hail to the Vortex Riders! The Wicked Witch is dead!” he announced. The rest of the Winkies and Monkeys genuflected and repeated the Winkie leader’s words. Well, most did, but those that got down didn’t see.
“Erm, thank you,” I stammered. I wasn’t sure how to respond to this situation. When one of the F.N.S kneels, he or she is playing the role of a reigning monarch’s subject. It’s just an act for us that we enjoy to the point of hamming it up. These are people that live such a life 24/7. I’m not an actual princess, but they don’t know that.
“Please, let us help you!” pleaded the Winkie leader. “What do you wish?” Great, a reward.
“Er, if it’s all right,” I said, “I would like to know your history with the Witch, as well as other past political dealings. In exchange, we shall give you the history of our native dimensions.”
“Hold on!” yelped Hongo. “What are you trying to do?!”
“Megumi, we can’t just open political discussion with people from other dimensions!” shouted Hiroki.
“I have to agree with your brother, my lady!” affirmed Emmanuel.
“But Dorothy didn’t complete her journey!” argued Glinda. “She was kidnapped before she reached the Emerald City! This whole journey was to show how her actions and decisions affect everyone! You must help us get her back!”
+THIS IS INTERFERENCE WITH A DIMENSION’S NATURAL FLOW+ replied my belt, arguing with Glinda. +SUCH AN ACTION IS A…+
“Do we really have a choice at this point?” I asked. My question was directed to everyone. There was silence for a moment. I knew they were trying to figure out a good counterargument before I made my decision final. Time to act now. “Look, I get that there’s a non-interference clause in the multiverse somewhere, but in this time of crisis, we need all the help we can get. With people helping us in their native dimension, we can at least stabilize the mess. Imagine what all dimensions could do if we all assisted each other in a time of crisis.”
“She’s right,” mused Emily.
“Are you out of your tiny little mind, Em?” exclaimed Richard.
“Damage to this dimension has already been done,” said Emily. “We weren’t supposed to kill the Witch, Dorothy was. Even then, it’s by an accident when she puts out the Scarecrow.”
“Good thing I got her i.d tag,” I mused. “We can use her power to our advantage.”
“That power is best in your hands,” agreed the Winkie leader as he rubbed his face. Many more did the same. Apparently, the green skin tone was nothing more than makeup as human skin tones appeared on most of the faces. “Once we have established treaties with the Gillikins, the Munchkins, and the Quadlings, we shall aid you in your cause!” said the leader.
“Munchkins, I’ve heard of,” muttered Richard, “but Gillikins and Quadlings?”
“The Quadlings are my people,” explained Glinda. “My friend, Locasta Tattypoo, is the real Good Witch of the North and rules the native Gillikins.”
“Then why did you rule the North as well?” asked Emily.
“Because Locasta had to deal with her Wicked predecessor, Mombi, again,” Glinda explained. “She asked me to rule the North in her stead while she dealt with Mombi permanently. She’s back in the North while I must return to the South.” She turned to the Winkie leader. “Good Sir Nardo,” she said, calling him by his name, “I would be delighted to help you rebuild the Western Country. It shall shine yellow once again!”
“My thanks, Glinda!” cheered Nardo. “And Vortex Riders, when next we meet, the Western Country shall be in its former glory!”
“I look forward to it,” I affirmed. Then a certain oddity I became used to happened.
“Another rift!” called Wyldstyle.
“Before you go,” announced Glinda, “take these as a reward.” She handed us some small discs of different colors, gold, silver, blue, and purple. “The total should be 125,000 studs.”
“Er, thank you?” I stammered, uncertain of their use.
+EXPLANATIONS WILL BE OFFERED WHEN WE RETURN TO OUR BASE OF OPERATIONS+ explained my belt.
“Batman!” called Gandalf as he pointed to the gateway piece. It was being sucked in!
“On it!” exclaimed Batman. He used his grapple gun to snag the gateway piece and pull it towards us. The portal’s size started fluctuating.
“I believe the rift is becoming unstable!” observed Gandalf. “Shall we take our leave through it?”
“I’m coming with you guys until I find a way home!” called Haruto.
“Where do you think this one leads?” asked Wyldstyle.
“Wherever it is, it’s gotta be better than this garish nightmare!” muttered Batman. “Come on!” We all jumped into the portal and found our vehicles floating there as well. We tumbled towards our new destination.