Welcome to Oz

Chapter Four

 Recruiting all of the former Oz figureheads was not, in fact, that easy.

"Please, Lion, come down," Scarecrow begged, staring up into the branches of a tall tree.

"You want me to start another war?" the Lion cried desperately. "I barely recovered from the last one!"

"I don't understand," I murmured quietly to Kipper as the Scarecrow continued to cajole his friend. "I thought the Lion gained courage from the war."

"I did, too," Kipper replied grimly, which didn't exactly boost my confidence in our success.

"Lion, don't you remember all the fun we had?" Scarecrow called. "We could go see the Tin Man - have grand adventures - "

"I'm happy right here, in my forest!" the Lion yelled stubbornly.

I groaned. We didn't have time for this. I wanted to get home ASAP and this big furball was hindering my progress. "Let me try," I whispered to the Scarecrow and Kipper, before stepping forward, placing my hands on my hips, and staring angrily up into the tree.

"You listen to me!" I demanded, shoving down whatever guilt I felt at seeing the Lion cower away from my tone. "I was not dragged through a closet just to walk around Oz for an hour and be told by a Cowardly Lion that I had come here for nothing! I don't give a crap if you're nervous or if you're downright terrified - you're going to get down from that tree and help us recruit the Tin Man, and you're going to find your courage along the way. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a long moment of silence. Finally, the animal sniffled pathetically. "Crystal." He began climbing down the tree,, muttering to himself all the while.

I turned back to the Scarecrow and Kipper triumphantly. They stared at me with wide eyes, and I shrugged defensively. "What was I supposed to do? Being good cop wasn't working."

"Good cop?" Kipper asked, but just then, the Lion reached the bottom of the tree and padded dejectedly over to us.

"To the Tin Man!" the scarecrow cried excitedly, and I grinned at his enthusiasm. I was looking forward to seeing the metal man and his copper wife.

*

"You could have told me there would be a lot of walking in this process," I grouched to Kipper as we walked along the yellow brick road.

"We've only been walking for an hour," Kipper replied dryly.

"And before that we had to walk to the Scarecrow's cornfield...and then the Lion's forest..."

"Stop whining. We're here!" Kipper gestured over a slight rise in the path. We crested the small hill and I gasped at the sight before us.

The path led into a basin, within which was nestled a dazzling town. Each building was carved from some priceless gem, and were sparkling in the noonday sun. It was almost too beautiful to comprehend.

"Wow," I breathed, raising a hand to my mouth.

"If you think this is gorgeous, you should try visiting the Emerald City," the Scarecrow remarked, slight amusement in his tone at my reaction. I glanced at him, shocked that he was implying anything existed more beautiful than this village.

As we drew deeper into the basin, the figures milling about the streets became clearer. All of them were made out of metal. They stopped to watch us as we passed, Kipper confidently leading the way. I heard murmured terms that I didn't recognize, such as "furbeast" and "fleshlings." The villagers didn't seem hostile or rude, however, instead watching us with innocently curious expressions.