Wizard of Oz

[CG]

Dang man I'm on a roll today. X_X

Chapter 9: Capture

"Let me GO! Lemme go NOW!"

Mac's cries continued to fall on deaf ears as the flying monkeys flew straight back to the castle. The monkey carrying him did indeed want to drop him, but orders were orders. Not to harm the boy, and they were afraid to because of the shoes he wore. He was a witch killer, by accident or not. The blue blob was putting up a fight too, he had bitten quite a few fingers and tails that got too close to his mouth. But that did little to save the duo, for soon enough they were deposited into the castle of the Witch.

Poor Mac could only watch as the Lion, crying out of terror was dragged away by the bigger monkeys. He didn't know what kind of plans the Witch wanted with the Lion, he hoped she didn't want a brand new Lion rug anywhere. Luckily for both of them, he had been thrown into a locked off area and untied. Once free the Lion roared viciously at the gates, swiped it with his claws and when he realised neither of those actions were of much use, he began to prowl up and down the confines.

The two boys were dragged up to the tallest tower by the Hench monkey that the Witch had been sat with previously, the thin one with large ears and awfully crooked teeth. He easily held them both by an arm each but they continued to struggle. The Witch wasn't much of a hostess, which was to be expected since she didn't like the company she was keeping now. She had eyed the young boy, sneered at his clothes and ignored his shouts at her to let him go, him and his friends. She walked around the two, ignoring both glares until she reached down and grabbed Bloo's cheek and held it in her vice like grip.

"My. What a nice little blob you have." she sneered, before pulling Bloo from the flying monkey's grasp and throwing him into a basket just big enough for him to fit in.

"Hey what's the big-" Bloo was cut off as the lid slammed shut on his head. You could hear a faint "Ow." emerging from it.

"What-what're you doing with Bloo?! Let him go!" Mac screamed, but couldn't move an inch for the monkey now held him by two arms.

"Of course I will." she sneered venomously, "When you give me the shoes."

"B.. but the Good Witch told me not to..." Mac said, remembering the Good Witch saying how they must be very powerful, if the Witch wanted the shoes so badly. Already she was powerful, imagine her being all powerful! Shudder to think!

"Fine! Listen to that red haired skinny stick if you want!" the Witch snapped, before pulling Mac out from the grasp of the monkey, who looked confused, until she threw the basket containing Bloo at him. "Take this to the moat and drown the blob!" the basket by now was shaking, not out of fear but Bloo trying to get out.

"WHAT? NO NO!" Mac screamed. He couldn't let her kill Bloo, already her powers had pulled the Scarecrow to pieces and the poor Tin Bird was down a ditch, and who knows what had become of the poor Lion. He might not have been able to help them, but Bloo he could help. No. He MUST help, for he was his best friend in the whole world. "I'll give you your stupid shoes, just let Bloo go!"

The very idea of getting her shoes finally, the Witch released an evil laugh and lowered herself to the floor to pry the shoes off of Mac's shoes. But just as her hands drew close, electric charges jumped out from the shoes and stung her hands. She screamed and stood up so quickly it caused the monkey to drop the basket which went rolling near the door which had been foolishly left ajar by the monkey.

"S-sorry!" Mac squeaked, unsure what to say. "I didn't do that, c-can I still-"

"NO!" the Witch screamed, rubbing her poor hands. The manicure was ruined. "How could I forget? Those shoes will never come off... as long as you're alive." her eyes went from her hands to Mac, the grin on her face so powerful in it's evilness any niceness in the world seemed to shrivel up at the very thought of her face. "But the big question is how to do it, for you see these things? They have to be done delicately, or the spell in those shoes will be broken..."

Unknown to all gathered, Bloo had managed to pull himself from the basket. He sat up on the floor and he heard the tail end of this conversation and was about to gasp when Mac suddenly spotted him.

"RUN BLOO RUN!" he screamed. His cry alerted the Witch who spun on her heels and glared at the blue imaginary, as did the monkey.

"GET HIM!" she shrieked.

Bloo screamed as the monkey was suddenly after him, and even if leaving Mac was the last thing he wanted to do, he knew he had to. He had to find the Tin Bird and the Scarecrow. Get back to them quickly, and then save Mac and maybe the Lion if they had a chance. He ran as fast as he could, down the stairs and through the shadows and finally burst from the front gates. The bridge was beginning to raise, news of his escape leaking through the castle like ice on a hot day. But as he heard the Winkie guards on his heels, Bloo took a big leap and landed in the water of the moat. Spluttering he made it across, and ran as fast as his non-existent legs could carry him.

[CG]

Up in the tower Mac had rushed to a window, his face and hands up against the glass and he easily saw the blue shape of Bloo vanish into the thin undergrowth. Mac wasn't the type of boy who cried easily, but seeing that Bloo had at least escaped the Witch's grasp was enough to have at least a few tears of joy roll down his face. His best friend was safe, and he hoped against hope that for once, Bloo would think to go and get help. Oh how he hoped he would.

The Witch was blind with fury that such a pathetic blue creature could outwit not only her, but her servants. She screamed a good while longer, before letting Mac in on her plan. She had made an enchantment around a large hourglass she owned. Turning it over, she informed him that the time it took for the sand to fall into the lower orb, is as long as he had to live. It would be an hour at most. She wanted the shoes, and Mac's death is what would deliver them into her hands finally. And she wasn't about to wait a lifetime for them. She locked the doors of the tower, leaving Mac to the mercy of her magic and vanished into the belly of her castle.

Mac sat there at first, staring at the hour glass that was already beginning to spill the grains of sand, no only sand but his life. At first he had tried to pick it up, turn it over; but it was either too heavy for him, or there was a powerful spell making it unable to move. Either way he eventually slumped down against it, folded his arms around his knees and hugged them to his chest.

Then he just cried.

Bloo was running as fast as he could go, panting and wheezing as he could. He knew they hadn't been that far from the castle when the stupid monkeys had descended upon them; so by this knowledge he worked out just where the attack had been. That, and when he finally arrived he saw the straw everywhere. But what he didn't expect, was the Tin Bird. She had managed to pull herself out of the gulch using her beak, and was now collecting up the pieces of straw. When she saw him she cried out a 'COO!' which could only mean his name, and had hurried over and had explained in long great detail about how she was trying to put the Scarecrow back together.

"Yeah yeah come on let's hurry, that stupid old Witch is gonna kill Mac 'n get his shoes! Man, I know women can get creepy with buying shoes but this is ridiculous!"

Quickly the two gathered the straw and began restuffing the Scarecrow. Once they had his head fixed, he began blabbering on. "Oh guys I'm so so sorry I couldn't help you out at all and now poor Mac and Lion and Bloo-Bloo? BLOO! OH MY GOSH BLOO! I'd hug you if my arms were working!"

"Yeah well I'm glad they're not. Listen straw head we gotta get back to the Witches castle, she's gonna kill Mac!"

The Scarecrow sounded angry, if he could he would have narrowed his eyes but he couldn't. "Oh I'm sorry but that is NOT okay. On the scale of things that are not okay, that is DEFINATELY not okay. Put me together guys, quick!"

They knew they didn't have long, and it luckily didn't take long to restuff the Scarecrow. Once he was back on his feet, he managed to pull both Bloo and the Tin Bird into his arms and took off running towards the castle. It seemed knowing his friend was in danger had put an extra boost to the Scarecrow, for he was running much more sure of himself then he had been before. His strides were long and powerful and it didn't take long to reach the castle. They hid behind a tree and thought quickly about how they could get back in. It was then they heard the roaring of the Lion from within the castle, and judging by the sound they worked out just where he was.

Luckily for them it was here when a few Winkie Guards came past, and Bloo leapt into action. After a brief struggle the three reappeared wearing the solider uniforms. You couldn't see a stranger sight, for neither had the body shape to wear such clothes. But one could never say that Winkies were smart, for the three casually strolled into the castle undetected. Once inside they rushed to where the containment area was, and there was the Lion. He was curled up in the corner, growling to himself.

"Lion, Lion!" the Scarecrow whispered, and hearing his friends voice the Lion turned and stared in disbelief. Was he going crazy already? No! He wasn't! His grin was so wide it could have broken his face in two and he bounded over to them.

"Mi amigos!" he whispered, besides himself with joy. "You is no dead!"

"No, but Mac will be soon!" Bloo hissed as the Tin Bird began hacking at the lock on the door.

"Que? Senor Mac, be dead?" the Lion asked, aghast.

"Yeah, we gotta get to the top tower and get him outta here before that batty loon kills him!" Bloo said.

The Tin Bird hadn't even finished pecking away at the lock when the Lion snarled viciously, and actually pushed the door down. The three leapt out of the way in time, luckily. The Lion stalked out from the room, his eyes glaring and all of the fear and terror they had witnessed in him previously seemed to have vanished. He finally looked, and felt, like a real lion. A real King of beasts. He growled lowly again, "No one hurt senor Mac. No Witch, no Monkey, no nothing. NOTHING!" he roared the last part with such ferocity the castle shook. But he didn't care, nor did he care when a sudden multitude of Winkie guards descended upon him. The Lion put himself between his friends and the guards, roared once more and leapt at them with all the ferocity you would imagine from the King of beasts.

The battle to save Mac was on.

To be continued

[antgirl1]

Awww......

[Cassini90125]

Dang, this is good!

Originally Posted by CG

"Fine! Listen to that red haired skinny stick if you want!" the Witch snapped,

"Red haired skinny stick"? If the guys don't kill the witch, I will.

[One Radical Dude]

Originally Posted by Cassini90125

"Red haired skinny stick"? If the guys don't kill the witch, I will.

I'd love to see that.

["C" the Dragon]

Originally Posted by One Radical Dude

I'd love to see that.

Ditto.

[CG]

Chapter 10: Melting the Witch

He had ended up refusing to even look at the hour glass now, or even lean against it like he had been. Mac had repositioned himself against the window, staring out the glass too thick to break and even if he could break it, the fall was a deadly one. The night sky was full and black, the stars sparkling much louder and brighter then any he'd seen before. If he wasn't near death he'd probably enjoy the view.

Down in the belly of the castle, chaos was running amok like a chicken with its head chopped off. The guards knew there was someone loose in the castle, but any who were sent to find them were rarely seen again. Those who did return Word said the King of Beasts had been unleashed upon the castle, accompanied by a bird that blinded you with it's body before pecking away at you with a sharp beak. The other companion seemed more intent on keeping the blue blob that had escaped earlier safe. He was the easiest target, but the Lion was protecting them all.

"It's this way, this way!" Bloo finally recognised a tapestry on the wall which lead up the black concrete stairs. The group rushed up the stairs, the Lion pausing to check behind them to see if any of the guards were on his tail. Literally or physically. There were none, so he leapt after his friends to find them at a door.

"Mac? MAC??" Bloo shouted, pounding on the door.

Mac's eyes widened as he heard Bloo's shouts, and in a flash was up against the door. "Bloo?! BLOO! Get me outta here now!"

"Go on, go ON!" Bloo urged the Tin Bird, who wasted no time and began pecking as quickly and as harshly as she could at the wooden doors. Inside the room Mac stood back, and glanced at he hour glass. Less then a minute left, by his best guess. The banging on the door grew louder and stronger, and finally the beak of the Tin Bird smashed through the door. Then the Lion punched a hole clear through the wall with his arm, felt for Mac blindly for a second, grabbed him and pulled him out.

"Bloo you did it, I knew you'd all come I knew it I knew it!" Mac was besides himself, hugging the Lion quickly before doing the same for Bloo, the Tin Bird and the Scarecrow's legs.

"We have to hurry Mac, we gotta get you out of here!" the Scarecrow cried, and he quickly ushered the group back down the stairs. Lost in the excitement of saving Mac, they failed to realise how everyone seemed to have vanished. Once they met the foyer of the castle they rushed to the large doors, which suddenly slammed shut. They stood in shock, before the Tin Bird lifted her head back to begin pecking at the door again when a voice halted her actions.

"My, leaving so soon?" it was the Witch's voice, and upon hearing it they all turned. Atop another stairway stood the Witch, holding the now timed out hour glass and her Hench monkey by her side. "I would not hear of it, where were you all raised, in a barn?" she snapped her fingers and from seemingly everywhere, the guards appeared brandishing their swords. The Lion roared at them but even he knew there were far too many for him to take on. The guards teased, waving their swords at the group and grinning wildly at the prospect of destroying the group once and for all. "Now now darlings," the Witch cooed somehow, "Allow them a few moments to think about their lives. See if they accomplished anything."

Whilst all the talking was happening, the Scarecrow, what with his height, spotted something. Above the large group of guards was a large chandelier made of wood. It was suspended on a rope which hung down right by the door he was stood besides. Whilst his head didn't need to move, his once again one eye looked from the lights, to the rope, then to the Tin Bird. It seemed the Witch felt their thinking time was over, before she actually threw the hour glass. Once it hit the floor red smoke poured out of it, the order was given. As soon as the guards surged forward the Scarecrow, shouting a "SORRY!" grabbed the Tin Bird, swung her around as if he was a wood cutter and using her beak, sliced right through the rope. Gravity did it's job, pullling the heavy wooden chandelier down upon the guards.

As their cries filled the air, the group took to their feet again and rushed out of the only door not covered by guards. The Witch screamed in fury, and those guards capable of following her took to the heels of the group as well. The castle was a maze to those who didn't know which way to go, the five friends ran up stairs, down stairs, winded down corridors this way and that. Even if they had lost visual sight of the guards and the Witch they could hear the calls and hollars echoing through the castle. Finally they burst forth outside, but not at ground level. They were on the terrace, where guards would normally stand and watch for enemies. It curved the outer part of the castle, before vanishing back into the castle's furthest end.

[CG]

They had no choice but to continue going, hoping to find stairs that would lead down to the ground and an escape. They vanished into a room which had been set up for the guards to sleep, but alas there was no doorway anywhere but to continue going. But just as they were hurrying out, they were met head on by a large group of guards. They doubled back, only to meet another large group, this one with the Witch. They were cornered quickly as the guards drew in close, halting any chance of escape now. The Lion growled and roared at them whilst Mac and Bloo clung to each other in terror.

"Ah, you idiotic simpletons," the Witch smirked, waltzing in with her broom in one hand. "You thought you could outwit me in my own home? Foolish thoughts, like a fish drowning in air." she grinned evilly at the group. "And now you shall all pay dearly. The last to go will see the first three go before him. And his hideous blue blob too!" she added as an afterthought. Bloo just growled at her, as if he were a dog. But it didn't have the same effect as the Lion's.

She looked from party member, to party member. As if choosing who was going to perish first and how. Her oddly shape eyes landed on the Scarecrow, he stood out like a sore thumb being so tall and red after all. The wicked smile doubled in size and she lifted her hand, and flames erupted from her fingers. "Goodbye strawman." she hissed, and threw the flames at him.

Unlike before, when she had thrown them just to send a warning this time she meant business. The flames made a direct hit on his left arm, and the flames erupted and grew with the straw that was the poor Scarecrow's body. His clothes too fed the flames. And true, though he could not feel the burning, or his poor body being disintigrated before his very eye he still screamed. His screaming set off the Lion and Tin Bird, who screamed in shock and terror at seeing their friend suffering so much. Bloo also screamed, but Mac saw salvation. Already the fire had eaten half of the Scarecrow's arm as he was shaking it wildly, trying to put it out. Mac dashed to the side and grabbed a bucket of water, "SCARECROW!" he screamed.

It happened so fast. The Witch had began to scream something as the Scarecrow had turned at the sound of his name. Mac threw the contents of the bucket at the Scarecrow, dousing his arm and body. Not all the water hit him, some splashed right past him or bounced off his body and it struck the Witch. The second it hit, a scream erupted from her and it felt like a million terrible creatures screaming at once. She staggered back, dropping her broom and putting her hands to her face. "YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" she screamed, smoke beginning to raise up from her face and body. "JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME!!" at first it just looked like the repulsive makeup she wore was washing off. But not only that, her very face was beginning to melt as well.

The guards, the Hench monkey, and the group all stared in horror as the vile creature withered and screamed as she continued to melt before their very eyes. "WHO KNEW YOU'D FINISH ME, YOU DISGUSTING CHILD! AHH!! THE GOBLINS!! AHHHHhhhhhhhh....." her voice finally trailed off, and she vanished into her pile of clothes and was gone. All that remained was her black gown, the hat, and the broom.

You could honestly cut the silence with a knife and butter your bread with it. Very, very slowly the Hench monkey crept forward and poked the hat. It fell over, showing nothing. She really was gone. The flying monkey stared blankly for a few moments, before looking to Mac and the group. A grin took over it's face, "That was TOTALLY awesome!" he shouted, to the shock of all gathered. "I thought you were all totally gonna get creamed but WHAM! Right in the ugly kisser with the water! How'd you figure it out??"

"...h.. he was on fire...?" Mac asked, pointing to the poor Scarecrow who was nursing the remains of his poor left arm. Just like his eye that had been wrecked by the Monkeys, now his new arm was gone too.

"Hail to Mac, the Wicked Witch is dead!" cheered the guards, raising their swords in happiness. They had never wanted to become her guards, or her servants. She had taken over the castle once the old residents were away, some rumoured she killed them herself, and had taken a iron like grip over the poor Winkie's who had lived near by; making them her servants or face death. But at last, finally they were free from her tyranny just because of one little boy. Who would have thought? The cheering continued, and in fact even a celebration was held in honour of not only Mac, but the whole group. Without them Mac would have died, and the Witch's power would have been increased by the magic shoes. This was to be a story that was going to be passed around Oz for generations.

[CG]

The Winkies even came to the shining beacon that was the Tin Bird, asking her to rule over them. She seemed kind hearted to them, and she had a similarity to the God the Winkies had been known to hail every year for generations. After wanting to turn all kinds of colours at the idea of being offered a place to rule she told them she had to go back to the Emerald City first; to see Mac and Bloo safely returned home. She hadn't turned them down, but she hadn't accepted either.

And when the time came for the group to leave, knowing it was far too long a journey fore them the Hench monkey gathered up his now free kin, and they all carried Mac, Bloo, the Tin Bird, Lion and the Scarecrow back to the Emerald City where already, news was being delivered that the Wicked Witch of the West had been finally destroyed. Once the monkeys descended on the City, they set their quarry down before vanishing up into the skies, finally free. If the Winkie's were a show of how grateful Oz would be, what Emerald City was; it was like the Thanksgiving Day parade mixed with Christmas, New Years, every special event ever held in history. Streamers hung from windows, confetti seemed to dance in the sky in celebration and the cheers and singing of the citizens of the large city that welcomed Mac and his group made them feel either very humbled, or gave them a big ego. Guess which one received all the ego.

"They love me, they totally love me." Bloo smirked, waving to the crowd from the carriage that had been gathered to carry the victorious party members.

"Bloo..." Mac started.

"What? It was me who escaped, me who got the Scarecrow 'n Tin Bird, me who led em up to you! They love me more then before!"

Mac just rolled his eyes. A lady had even strung a ring of flowers around the Lion's mane whilst he had been passing by, and it looked quite lovely against his purple mane.

To be continued

[One Radical Dude]

Hooray!! The Wicked Witch is dead!! :bloogrin