Return to Oz

[McGee's Jabberwock]

Yay! Another Return to Oz fan!

You've got a good opening here, and kept everything in-character with Foster's, as opposed to RtO's uber-creepiness.

I always thought Ivan would make a good Jack Pumpkinead for some reason. And Uncle Pockets for Professor HM Wogglebug TE (from the books). I'm not ordering you to put them in; it's just my opinion.

[InsaneFan]

Woooah...*freaked out* I never read the Return to Oz! THIS IS CREEPY. I should go rent and read that book sometime...

["C" the Dragon]

Originally Posted by InsaneFan

Woooah...*freaked out* I never read the Return to Oz! THIS IS CREEPY. I should go rent and read that book sometime...

I never *knew* there was "Return to Oz"!

[CG]

Technically 'Return to Oz' wasn't written by Baum, it was based on two of his stories. Ozma of Oz, and another one I can't recall. But the movie itself is very good indeed. Now, on with the show!

~*~

Chapter 3: Rescuing Tik-Tok

Having learnt of the new threat, even if they didn't know what they were exactly, Mac and Billina continued along the now ghost city of Emeralds. Everywhere they looked there were statues of people, some random Beanielanders, and animals. Their faces were all the same, they were afraid, attacking or begging for something. Mercy, probably. Disturbed by these sights Mac set his eyes to the ground to avoid the statues. He was about to speak when he heard something pierce the silence, and send jolts of alarm up his spine.

Squeeeeeeaaaaaak went the noise, and both froze. It sounded like a wheel on a rusty trolley in a super market. The noise filled the air again, but this time four times as powerful. Mac hurried his pace, carrying Billina in his arms as he continued towards the large tower where the Wizard had once taken up residence.

But just as he turned a corner, something wheeled out in front of him and stood it's ground. It was yellow in colour, with black stripes visible where its fur was. Over its fur was clothing, black and ripped. But what was most startling was the creature was hunched over, its legs and arms longer then usual and instead of hands and feet, wheels took their place. It had spiked hair/fur atop its head, and wild eyes that latched with Macs, before grinning maliciously.

"Heh heh heheehh.. ya know.." it started, before slowly rolling forward causing Mac to back up. "Somethin' tells me ya better hand over the chicken." he paused a few moments before screaming, "NOW!"

"What? Why?!" Mac asked, taking another step back, hoping the uprooted trees and uneven bricks would cause the wheeled monster to fall over. It didn't. He seemed adapt to the terrain.

"Aw don't ask why. Just do it." he added, giggling at the end of his sentence as if he had been gassed with laughing gas.

"No!" Mac shot back, before turning and run off.

The Wheeler, since that was what he was, sighed and shook his head before releasing a high pitched noise which was not unlike a scream or a call either. It echoed around the destroyed city, and it was answered back by what felt like hundreds of calls. The call to arms had been alerted, there was an intruder in the Princesses city! Out from behind pillars, out of the shadows, came more and more Wheelers and launched their chase against the young boy and more importantly, the chicken in his arms.

Who at this point, was clucking in terror. "Mac I don't know about you but I want to go home right now!" she cried, looking behind her to see not one, not two, but five various Wheelers of different size and colour after them.

Mac kept quiet, focusing on maundering around the statues and pavement. He passed quite a few young children statues; the girls were all missing their heads. But he could barely take that in, since he suddenly saw another heard of the creatures coming right at him. Now surrounded both behind and in front, he turned and ran down a narrow passage way in hopes it would lead somewhere.

It didn't.

He skidded to a halt and stared up at the high wall in front of him. Hearing the squeaking wheels and laughter echoing behind him he began searching, desperately, for something that would help him and Billina.

"Mac, Mac! There!" Billina was pecking at a piece of the rock, "Look!" she sqwarked. Mac looked, and sure enough there was a key hole. Fumbling in a pocket whilst still holding Billina in one arm, he found what he was looking for. The key he'd found on Old Man Rivers front lawn. He managed to push the key into the lock,

"C'mon please work please work..." he begged out loud and some higher being must have heard him, for a 'CLICK' filled the air. The large door swung open, and Mac vanished inside and slammed it shut behind him, just as the Wheelers had caught up. The larger ones couldn't fit down the narrow pathway, and the smaller ones ended up crashing against the door, which had become a wall again.

In the darkness Mac and Billina gave out a sigh of relief.

"Ya can't stay in there forever!" shouted the Wheelers Mac had met from outside. "When you come out we'll have you! And your CHICKEN!" the laughter bounced off the walls outside. "Oohh Princess is going to be so furious with you!"

"Princess?" Mac asked out loud, peeking through the keyhole. "What Princess, where's the Scarecrow? What did you do to him?"

He got no answer other then more shrill cries of laughter, and the sound of squeaking wheels filled the air as they wheeled away giggling some words like 'Scarecrow', 'Chicken' and 'Princess'. Soon they were gone, and Mac had a wave of both relief yet concern wash over him. The Wheelers had a point, they couldn't stay in here forever.

Lucky for them there was a broken window high in the ceiling, casting some light upon a dark situation. But what they didn't expect, was company. Sat in the middle of the spider web covered room, was a large square. Well, it looked like a square at first. Mac walked slowly towards it, before he realised it wasn't just a square. It was someone, something. He had a face, two large eyes that were shut and a gaping mouth which was also open as if he had been shouting. Arms stuck out on either side of his square body, but he wasn't flesh and blood. He looked similar to the Tin Bird, made of metal. But whilst she had been tin, he was copper.

[CG]

"What is it? A cube?" Billina asked as she examined him with her beady eyes. Once upon a time he probably would have shown her reflection, but now he was dust covered and well worn.

"A... mechanical thing." Mac said after long enough, before spotting a coat of arms just above his right arm. "The Royal Army of Oz." he read, before staring back at the creature.

"Pretty small army." the hen said.

Mac made his way around the mechanical marvel, before he spotted instructions on its back. "Presenting Oz's Patented Army of Oz. Does everything but live. To turn on thoughts, wind up key in back. To turn on voice, wind key on left side. To turn on actions, wind key on right side."

"Seems simple enough." Billina said, "Go on. Turn him on."

"Might as well, if he's the Army of Oz then he'd be on our side." Mac replied, and wound the key that was on his back as tight as it could go. Once that was done, it very slowly began to rotate back, ticking like a clock as it did. "...wonder what he's thinking." Mac said, as he heard some gears within the square's body begin to turn on.

"Turn on his speech so he can tell us, lets just hope it isn't anything naughty." Billina hurried around to left side of the square, and Mac did just as he had done with the back key.

It took a few moments before the creature seemed to realise it could talk again. His eyes snapped open and his eyes, also made of copper, looked around the room until Mac and Billina walked around to his front so he could see them. The grin on his face grew, showing some badly made teeth. But they weren't the problem at hand. "Hel-lo litt-le boy!" he spoke finally, his voice sounding metallic but very deep. "Me Tik-Tok, Roy-al Ar-my of Oz."

"Uh.. hi, Tik-Tok. I'm Mac, and this is Billina." Mac motioned to the hen, who clucked a greeting.

"Chic-ken!" Tik-Tok declared, proud of himself for saying the word apparently. Maybe the springs in his brain wasn't as tight as they once was.

"Tik-Tok, what are you doing in here?" Mac asked.

Tik-Tok looked back to Mac for a moment, looking in deep thought. "Wait. Mac?" he asked, if he could he probably would have tilted his head to the side. But given he couldn't move yet, or have possession of a neck, his huge copper mono brow rose against his forehead making a squeak as it did. Mac suddenly wished he had picked up the Tin Bird's oil can. But he nodded. "MAC!" Tik-Tok shouted in joy, "Oh me knew you come, me knew it! Scare-crow put me in here when all bad stuff was happ-en-ing! Shout-ing, yell-ing. Scare-crow told Tik-Tok, to wait here un-til Mac would come. So Tik-Tok wait, me wait-ed until yell-ing stop. Then I call for help un-til me voice run out. Then I pace un-til act-ion run out. Then Tik-Tok thought and thought. Tik-Tok no re-mem-ber an-y-thing un-til you wound me up."

It took Mac a few moments to grow used to just how this odd, Tik-Tok spoke. Obviously being man made he wasn't alive like the Tin Bird had been. He had problems saying long words, and maybe he had suffered some damage to his thought mechanisms since he could hear them squeaking from here. "The Scarecrow... I knew it!" Mac said.

It had been an awful day. At first, the sun had been shining as normal and the citizens of the great Emerald City had been living their lives as they had every day. No worries, no nothing. But then the ground began to shake, something that had never happened before in the land of Oz. It was a square flat piece of land, without fault lines. So how could there be an earthquake? The Scarecrow had rushed to a window, and watched as some of the buildings began to fade from the shining green he knew to regular stone, but what he saw next chilled him to his non-existent bones. Creatures were erupting from the ground itself, it took him a moment but he realised what they were. Gnomes.

He ran as fast as he could through the hallways until he found two of the flying monkeys that had taken up home in the Emerald City since their freedom from the Witch. He begged them, pleaded, never one to give orders was the Scarecrow, to go to the West and the North to get the Lion and Tin Bird. He needed their help, and the monkeys flew away as fast as they could. The attacks were still happening when the Lion and Tin Bird arrived. Both with their own armies, of both animals and Winkies. The Scarecrow didn't know what else to do, and in a panic he grabbed the Royal Army of Oz, Tik-Tok, and managed to get their way through all the fighting to the room. "I'm sorry but please, wait! Mac will come, I know he will! You have to wait, he'll save us, he will!" the door had slammed shut and that was all Tik-Tok had witnessed.

Realised they were being over powered by the animals and Winkies, the Gnomes had asked their King for help. Using powers he had never had at his disposal before, he cast everyone to stone. All but the Scarecrow. Everyone having been turned to stone didn't witness the Gnomes grabbing their ruler, and pulling him right down into the Earth never to be seen again.

[CG]

Now, all what was left 'living' of the Emerald City was a copper, square Army who didn't even know half the story that had happened whilst he had been locked up. Mac soon wound up his actions, and explained to the Army what was going on outside. How Wheelers had taken over, the city in ruins, and talk of a Princess. Tik-Tok didn't know a lick of any of this, but given Mac was renown throughout Oz and good friends with the Scarecrow, agreed to come with him and protect him as an Army should. Unlocking the door, Tik-Tok peered down the narrow pathway. No Wheelers in sight.

"They is hid-ing to make us think they is gone." the Army said quietly as he could. "But we get to cast-le, see Prin-cess, and find out where Scare-crow go."

"Right." Mac replied, nodding his head and holding Billina close.

The trio set off down the hallway, it seemed instead of walking like regular people Tik-Tok actually bounced along like a huge, square kangaroo. He clanged as he walked, and Mac wished he had been made with legs since the noise would surely attract the attention of the Wheelers. And it certainly did, just as they were finally seeing the gates that lead to the Wizard's Palace, a whole herd of Wheelers suddenly attacked.

But what Mac didn't anticipate was Tik-Tok's reaction. He suddenly all but transformed, his whole body opening up, legs erupting from the bottom of his body and more arms from his sides. He hollered loudly, "TIK-TOK SMASH WHEEL-ERS!!!" and he did just that. He grabbed them by the wheels before throwing them away, smacked two together at a time with his new arms, and pretty much gave the Wheelers a run for their money. The first Wheeler Mac had met, the yellow one, had been caught by the scruff of the neck by Tik-Tok (who now had quickly turned back into the copper cube). He was screaming and wheezing in shock and pain, having now recieved a black eye by Tik-Tok.

"Talk for Mac!" Tik-Tok shouted, shaking the Wheeler in front of Mac.

Mac, still surprised by Tik-Tok's show of strength and power to transform, took a moment to find his voice. "W-what happened to the Scarecrow?" he finally asked.

The Wheeler growled, refusing to talk until Tik-Tok shown him his fist again. He blurted, "The Gnome King took him! The Gnome King! Only he knows where the Scarecrow is now!"

"Gnome King? Who is he?" Mac asked, having never heard of him.

"He's the ruler of Oz now! No more straw men in charge but a man of rock! And the Princess is in charge of the City! It is HERS now!"

Tik-Tok, Mac and Billina glanced at the other with some concern. So the Scarecrow was kidnapped, Emerald City in ruins, a Gnome King in charge and a Princess owns the city. Well obviously the two worked in cahoots with each other, so maybe the Princess knows. "We'll have to see the Princess then." Mac said finally. After some more 'talk' with the Wheeler, he agreed to show them to where the Princess was. He didn't like to, of course, but it was better then being beaten up by the copper square again. He'll have nightmares for weeks.

To be continued

[antgirl1]

Poor W- I mean, the Scarecrow.

Yay Re- I mean, Tik-Tok! XD

[One Radical Dude]

Attaboy, Tik-Tok!! Show these Wheelers who's boss.

[Cassini90125]

Great to see Red in action! Go Tik-Tok!

[InsaneFan]

Tik-Tok is AWESOME! But OMGSCARECROW!! Is he okay? They'll find him, right? He'd better be all right, or I'ma be mad....I KNEW gnomes were evil!!! *quivers with distress* They have taunted me for years...Staring, always staring...*eye twitch*

But yes, AWESOME. MOREMOREMORE!