The Emerald City

[Secondary Characters]

***From the Witch's Keep***

A burst of emerald light illuminated the already wonderfully green walls of the city. Just outside the gate, the party had arrived, seeing as teleporting inside would have run the risk of occupying the same space as another person. Dorothy was quite eager to run up to the gates, the Witch's broom held high over her head. They had to let her go home now! The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion were all hot on her heels, running and cheering to see the Emerald City so soon!

Wall-E, however, would watch, then look up to Oeilvert. The whirr of his gears sounded inquisitive, though he couldn't really speak. He "drove" around the man once, then a little ahead of him, looking between Dorothy's group who were being allowed in already, and the wizard. When Oeilvert finally felt compelled to follow, Wall-E would be the eager frontman of his group, trying to span the gap between them and the others.

This would prove fruitless, however. Ozians would swarm around them, cutting the little robot off from the larger group! All he could do was return to Oeilvert's side just as Dorothy and her friends disappeared behind the doors leading to the Wizard of Oz's chambers. When the crowd finally dispersed, the little robot tried to go up to the doors (again, having difficulty with the steps up to the little platform before them). He reached up and tapped the metal, making a loud clanging sound with his own steel hand.

A man would poke his head out, seeming agitated. He wore a large fur hat and gloves, and an official looking green uniform. He looked around before glancing down. "Oh... more people wanting to see the Wizard, I'm sure! Well not today! He's talking to the heroes who dealt with the Witch and doesn't have time for tinkertoys! Begone, and come back tomorrow!" he barked, then shot back inside with a slam of the little door he had opened to look out.

Wall-E let out a disappointed sounding whir of gears before looking to Oeilvert, wondering what to do at this point. Apparently, this robot had tied himself to the wizard, and hung on his decisions.

[Oeilvert]

Masheck Octavian, feeling very disoriented upon their arrival in the great Emerald City, watched with melancholy as the girl whose presence captivated him instantly disappeared into the palace of Oz, the former seat of Ozma. He frowned, watching Wall-E treated with disrespect by a once-polite greeter.

He clenched a fist and moved forward, picking up his golem this time and carrying him up the steps until he met the door; he didn't approve of letting the small robot struggling to reach the top a second time, so he helped it out. Then, with a look of disgust he turned his gaze upon the magnificent doors. He retrieved his wand from the sleeve in his robes and raised it above his head.

Letting out a tiny bit of power, he didn't cast an invocation; instead his burst of energy stopped at the breaking down process and exploded, letting out a loud, thunderous boom as a herald to his arrival. The greeter would recognize this as the signature appearance of the 'Prince' of Oz.

"Caretaker!" he called out; Locke, sitting on his shoulder, hunched its shoulders with mild discomfort as the sorcerer's voice matched that of his herald. "Oeilvert returns, and demands that you open your gates to the true masters of this land! You stand behind the rule of a false king, and now owe your loyalties once more to Queen Ozma!"

[Secondary Characters]

The doorman would pop out again, though seeming quite worried now. He looked from the robot (who waved to him, as was Wall-E's way), to Oeilvert. He gulped, trying to think how to explain. "Y-y-you see... Ozma LEFT, didn't she? I mean... clearly she didn't really care that much about us, and besides, I can't just let you barge in while the Wizard's having an audience with that group! I don't want to be fireballed!"

He would consent to open the door for the man and his... erm... escort. The little Robot wouldn't even wait to really be ushered in, but zip along the floor and look at everything before going up to the man. His "voice" wind-up key had not been turned, so when he lifted a hand to shake, he pointed with the other to the label which marked him as "Wall-E".

The Doorman would again look at the robot, then to Oeilvert. "Please don't go barging in?" he asked, though he had already let the man inside...

[Oeilvert]

"No, Her Majesty did NOT leave in the hopes of abandoning our great land; you know very well it was for the safety of Oz!"

He threw his hand up and scrunched his nose at the man in disgust as he and his companions crossed the threshold into the palace; when the man asked him not to barge in, he turned fast on the sleepy, grumpy man.

"I will not have you order me around in my own home, you simpleton! That Wizard is nothing but a sham; what do you fear?" Again he turned, utterly disgusted with this man and continued on with Wall-E, making his way down the corridors to meet with Dorothy and face "The Great and Powerful" Wizard of Oz.

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E followed Oeilvert down the hall as quickly as he could, while sparing a goodbye wave to the doorman. He looked again to the spellcaster with those oddly expressive eyes of his. Unable to speak (or reach the key for speech), he couldn't speak his mind just yet, but at least this person was-

Wall-E stopped in his tracks. He fell completely still, not moving at all. He was silent as well, unable to say what the problem was. The only indication of any problem was the power panel on his torso which read out the amount of time each key had remaining. The movement and speech keys both read 0, while the think key was still at roughly 2.5-3.

Down the hall, voices could be heard.

"Oh, you humbug!"
"Yes, yes, that's quite right, I'm-I'm a humbug..."
"Oh, you're a bad man!"
"N-no, my dear, I'm a very good man, just a really awful wizard..."

Apparently, the wizard had been exposed! By Dorothy, no less!

[Oeilvert]

Oeilvert proceeded down the lonely halls, the machine's buzzing sound echoing off the walls until...suddenly, the whirring stopped; he soon ceased walking and turned, seeing the tiny robot immobile.

Oh yes, that's right... he thought, moving forward and crouched down; he wound each key to full wind, even the speaking function, and snapped his fingers before the thing's eyes, just to make sure it was conscious. When he was sure that was the case, he smiled, and patted Wall-E's head and stood back up.

"Come, come, little one! It seems that Dorothy has unmasked the Tyrant of Oz!" He chuckled and sighed in reliefe before pressing on, making sure his companions were in tow.

[Secondary Characters]

"Whoah!" Wall-E exclaimed upon regaining consciousness. He looked up to Oeilvert and nodded his thanks. Quickly, he got back up to speed and followed the man down the halls. By the time they got there, the Wizard was explaining how he had gotten to Oz, and how he would return Dorothy to Kansas as well.

Wall-E peeked in the door, seeing the man sweep the girl into his arm and leading her toward the back, to an exit that lead out into the square directly. The little construct would look up to Oeilvert again, wondering what they were up to. "Woo..." he sounded off, a tone of curiosity in his voice. He'd then roll into the room, looking around before finding the infamous curtain.

He rolled behind it, and curiously examined all the buttons and levers. "Wooooo...." he whistled, then reached and pulled one of them. Immediately, flames would shoot up around the "Oz head". Wall-E jumped, then rolled away from the Curtain to hide behind Oeilvert's legs. "Whoah..."

[Oeilvert]

When they reached the Great Chamber of Oz Masheck scanned his surroundings with a frown; his hands on his hips, wand in hand, he moved up to the large podium where above floated the hologram image of the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

He turned to watch Wall-E's curiosity get the better of it and shrugged, rolling his eyes when the golem came rolling back to his side and cowering between his legs.

"Come along, then," the sorcerer said as he followed Dorothy, her friends and the fraud. Clearing his throat he flicked his wand upward and dropped his torso down into a regal bow, announcing his presence.

"Masheck Octavian, Prince of Oz...and you must be the "Great and Powerful". Dorothy, where are you going with this man? And you three?" He spoke to the girl's friends, his eyebrows raised in questioning.

[Secondary Characters]

The small entourage of adventurers would turn to face Oeilvert when he called out. The wizard would of course hide a little behind the much more capable lion or tinman while Dorothy smiled brightly and stepped forward. "Oh, isn't it wonderful? The Wizard's going to take me home!" she said cheerfully, her cheeks bright and her eyes glittering.

"Y-yeah! He done good by all us!" the lion added, seeming pleased while wearing a proudly displayed medal which read "courage". Closer inspection would show that the Tinman now had a heart-shaped watch and the scarecrow was holding in his hand a diploma (Doctor of Thinkology!).

Wall-E would whistle slightly, then roll up to the girl, holding a hand out to her. "Waaalll-E!" he introduced himself formerly, just as Dorothy shook it politely with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm Dorothy!"

The robot whistled happily, then rove around the group a bit while Dorothy looked to Oeilvert with that sweetly innocent look on her face. "I'm terribly sorry to seem so rude, Mr. Octavian, but I'm really anxious to get home right away!"

[Oeilvert]

Oeilvert watched the exchange between Wall-E and Dorothy and let out a mild chuckle; he took a closer look at Dorothy by kneeling at the robot's side a moment after, patting its head and smiling.

She was beautiful, no doubt about it, but he realized that he knew not a thing about her other than she was from a place called Kansas, and that she was dangerously polite and innocent. He simply chuckled, and stood back up.

"Many pardons, then," he said, bowing once more with a frown. "It is unfortunate that we could not become more acquainted, Miss Dorothy; it seems like only yesterday you arrived here in Oz...and I've known you for less than a few moments, but I'm afraid I was enamoured instantly...but how, pray tell, is this 'Wizard' going to assist you in the act of teleportation or transportation?"

He gave a sneering look over to the bumbling man and then glanced over to the airship-like contraption nearby. "I truly hope you don't expect to traverse the worlds in a heap like that, 'Wizard of Oz'...that will not come close to breaking the great barriers here, and even if you do manage it, you'll die from lack of oxygen."

[Secondary Characters]

The "wizard" now felt the urge to step up, holding up a finger at the stranger. "Now listen here, young man! That's how I got HERE in the first place, and that's how I intend to get back! I mean..." he shot a look over to Dorothy, who seemed confused at this back and forth. "WE intend to get back..."

Dorothy looked over to Masheck, blinking a bit. "Sir... I'm afraid I don't understand... we barely know each other and you're making wild accusations! Now, I admit myself flattered that you think so highly of me, but I really need to get home, and if Mr. Wizard is going in his balloon the way he came, then I'd like to go too. My Aunt Em needs me..."

Wall-E would look between the two, then reach up to tug a little at Oeilvert's coat. He let out a sad little whistle, asking the wizard to let her go. Clearly it means a lot to her, and besides, Wall-E was the type to believe if you don't think one way will work, find another way to make things work out! Maybe Oeilvert knew someone that could help?

[Oeilvert]

Again the Prince of Oz bowed and turned to glance terribly over to the Wizard.

"Very well...Come, Wall-E...we shall set our sights on seeking out Her Imperial Majesty, then...Dorothy? Farewell, my love..." he then turned and walked away, looking back over his shoulder only once. He was not the kind to continue explaining things once fools had chosen their path. The Wizard would fail Dorothy. Let Glinda help her now. He could feel her coming, and knew she'd been watching this exchange.

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E rolled along at Oeilvert's side. He looked up and noticed the sadness in the man. He let out a little sad-sounding "ooohh..." before perking up suddenly. He roved quickly ahead of the wizard, turning in place to wave for him to follow. He would lead the man outside the gates of Oz, and around to the back, out near the woods. The little robot was fast, due to his little treads going a mile a minute.

He would lead Oeilvert to a small clearing, the center of which was a large crater. In the crater was a small spacecraft, still beeping slightly inside. Wall-E drove over to it and jumped inside. Sounds of rustling could be heard before he returned with a small plant in a boot, which he held up to Oeilvert.

"Eeevaahhh!" Wall-E exclaimed, then sat the boot down and touched his "chestplate" of sorts. "Directive..." he said, trying to communicate that even though his special someone was away from him, he still held her close to his heart. Oeilvert should do the same...

[Oeilvert]

As Masheck made his way out of Ozma's palace he noticed a sudden spring in Wall-E's ride, and raised an eyebrow; the creature wished for the sorcerer to follow, and with this little bit of hell he'd been through, there were no objections.

They passed through the great Emerald City and through the massive gates leading back out onto one of the many Yellow Brick Road branches, fell off the path and through a secluded path of woods until they reached a squat clearing.

Oeilvert's eyes were suddenly drawn to the queer contraption laying before him in the crater, and as he watched Wall-E disappear into the contraption he raised an arm out in protest, but his lips were sealed; a moment later and the golem returned, carrying a boot filled in with a plant. The sorcerer knelt down and stared at it for a long time, and was brought back by Wall-E's sudden whirring voice.

Masheck Octavian understood the meaning of all of this now, and he smiled faintly, patting down the cold metal of the robot's head and giving thanks. Once that was over he moved to the ledge of the crater and eased himself down a bit, so he could take a better look at the craft what seemed to crash land here.

"Wall-E,", he began, running a hand over the polished--albeit dusted and broken--metal and staring wide-eyed at the thing in fascination. "Wall-E, is this yours? My, I daresay this is beautiful....what is it?"

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E whistled happily at Oeilvert's interest in the spacecraft. He rolled over and jumped inside, rustling around once more to retreive an owner's manual. He set it down and opened up it up, pointing at a single wire on the schematic which carried the current from the internal battery to power everything in the ship. He then roved over to the access panel, showing that he had opened it to try and fix the thing, but the wire was not only heavily damaged, but way too short to repair.

Wall-E let out a disappointed sound, indicating that he had tried to fix his ship before. He then began to mime out somewhat that he had crash-landed a while ago, and when he found the book was when he attempted the repairs. However, he was in the middle of a forest, and there's nothing that fixes it (demonstrated by holding up a stick, then a bug, then a old yellow brick against the connections). He showed that he had worked himself to the point of shut-down, at which time the witch found him, took him to the castle, and put the wind-up tech inside him, which eliminated his storage space in his torso, where he kept a great deal of his tools.

He sighed, looking to Oeilvert, then shrugged. He didn't know what to do, but hey, he had an impressive junk pile!