Oz: The Great and Powerful Junior Novel Disney Book Group (12 page)

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN

OWN ON THE STREETS,
the citizens of Oz looked up at the sky, their faces ashen. The Wizard had been killed. Now there was nothing to stop the two Wicked Witches from ruling the land. Even Glinda was not powerful enough to stop them without the Wizard’s help.

Standing amid the crowds, China Girl had watched as the balloon lifted up and then watched as it had exploded violently. She clutched the Good Witch’s wand tightly, unsure of what to do next.

Meanwhile, Finley stood in another part of the crowd. After everything they had been through, it was impossible to believe the fight was over. Although he hated to admit it, he had grown fond of Oz. Losing him was a crushing blow.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hello, monkey,” a familiar voice said.

Turning, Finley eyes lit up as he saw Oz standing before him. “Oz! I thought you were dead,” the flying monkey said with hushed excitement.

“You were crying pretty hard. Is that for me?” Oz said with his usual charm.

“Some smoke got in my eyes,” Finley retorted. But it was time for them to get back to business. “You fooled everybody,” the monkey said. “That was your greatest trick yet.”

“That was just the opening act,” Oz said. He glanced over his shoulder and Finley followed his gaze. He saw Knuck and the Master Tinker standing by the Projection Wagon. They were at the ready. “It’s showtime,” Oz said.

On their pedestal, Evanora and Theodora stood, addressing the crowds. They had dragged a weak and beaten Glinda out with them and had propped her up between the two of them. They needed the citizens to see there was no hope. No one could save them now.

“Let this be the final word then!” Evanora shouted. “Your prophecy is dead! Like the king that spoke it! And the Wizard who tried to fulfill it!”

Theodora then addressed the crowd. “And now they’ll be joined in death by dear Glinda the Good!” She turned and looked at the Witch. “Farewell, my pretty one!”

“Say hello to your daddy for me,” added Evanora.

A huge fireball formed in Theodora’s hands while blue electricity sparked between Evanora’s fingertips. The Wicked Witch sisters raised their hands and prepared to strike the final deathblow.

And then…the city went dark.

The three witches looked at each other, confused. This was not their doing. But then, who’s doing was it?

Down in the main square, there was an explosion. Bursts of flame shot into the air and then smoke began to billow out over the citizens. There were confused murmurs from the crowd.

Before the smoke cleared, a booming voice filled the square. “FEAR ME NOT, GOOD PEOPLE OF OZ! FEAR ME NOT!”

Then, as everyone watched in disbelief, Oz appeared in the smoke. His body seemed to float above the ground, almost transparent. The flames turned his skin a slightly red color and his features wavered in the smoke.

“IT IS I: THE GREAT OZ!” the Oz hologram said in his booming voice as more flames shot into the sky.

Up on the balcony, Glinda’s face lit up, her hope returning. He wasn’t dead! He hadn’t left them! And he clearly had some sort of plan. If she weren’t trapped on the balcony and he weren’t just an image right now, she would kiss him!

Evanora and Theodora were not nearly as pleased. They were angry, and rather confused. “More tricks?!” Evanora cried down. “After everything? How dare you defy us?” she yelled.

“DARE?” the Oz hologram boomed back. “HOW DARE
YOU
, WICKED SISTERS! NO ONE DEFIES OZ!”

“Guards! Destroy him!” Evanora ordered. Obeying the Witch, the Winkie Guards charged at the hologram with their pikes. They threw long spears at the hologram, but they sailed harmlessly through, doing absolutely no damage. Oz let out a mighty roar that terrified the guards and sent them running in the opposite direction.

“Guards! Come back here this instant!” Evanora ordered, but it was too late. They were already gone.

“YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD
KILL
ME? ME!” Oz said before letting out a hearty laugh. “THANKS TO YOU, I HAVE SHED MY MORTAL SHELL AND TAKEN MY TRUE AND ETHEREAL FORM!”

Using the Wizard’s appearance as a distraction, China Girl ran behind a cart, poised to return the wand to its rightful owner.

“I AM NOW MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER!” Oz continued. “I AM NOW INVINCIBLE!”

Theodora stared down at the image of the man who had caused her so much grief. Her eyes narrowed. She was sick of listening to him talk. No one was invincible, not even Oz. “I defy you!” she yelled. Then, conjuring up another fireball, she heaved it straight at the hologram. Instantly, Oz’s image was engulfed in flames and he screamed and writhed in pain. On the ground, the citizens pulled back from the intense heat. And when the fire died out, the image of Oz was gone.

Up on their balcony, Theodora and Evanora let out triumphant cackles. “Beautifully done, sister,” said Evanora.

Inside the Projection Wagon, Oz stood within a small circle. A curtain was pulled around it and he was surrounded by strange-looking cameras. The device allowed his image to be transposed out in the square. On the other side of the curtain, Finley stood in front of a switch that turned the contraption on and off. He anxiously waited for Oz to give him the signal. But Oz was playing up the suspense. This was all part of the act, and he knew just how to play to an audience.

“Oz, come on!” said Finley. “It’s taking too much time!”

“Hold…hold…” he said, but the suspense was too much for anyone to bear. Finley, Knuck, and the Master Tinker looked at one another until they couldn’t take it anymore.

“They think they’re winning!” Finley exclaimed.

Then Oz gave him the signal. Finley pulled a lever as the Master Tinker flipped a few switches, but nothing happened.

“Turn it on!” said Oz.

“Ohh, we’ve got a loose wire,” the Master Tinker said. “And the screw’s stuck!” This was not good. Thinking fast, Oz grabbed his all-purpose tool from his pocket and threw it toward the Master Tinker.

“Use this!” Oz exclaimed. The Master Tinker quickly tightened the screw and flipped some more switches.

Out in the square, there was another huge BOOM, and once more fire and smoke filled the air. When it cleared, just Oz’s head hovered above the ground, huge and transparent. As everyone watched, it began to grow, getting bigger and bigger, and then it began to float into the air.

“No, it cannot be…” Theodora said in disbelief.

“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME! I AM IMMOR
TAL! I AM THE GREAT OZ!” Oz cried, his voice sounding like rolling thunder.

The good people of Oz erupted in cheers for their Wizard, but Oz’s demonstration was far from over.

“WITNESS AND OBSERVE,” the Wizard said. “AS I UNLEASH THE STARS!” Everyone raised their heads and looked up as a single streak of light zipped across the sky like a meteor. Then another. And another. Then more and more, until the sky was full of lights crissing and crossing, slashing the sky with their light.

All at once, it stopped.

Theodora and Evanora exchanged looks, each wondering if that was it.

Oz saw their expressions and smiled to himself. “BEHOLD!” he roared to the crowd.

And then, the heavens exploded!

The night filled with light as hundreds upon hundreds of fireworks exploded in a dazzling display. There were orange ones and blue ones, yellow ones that twirled and green ones that branched out across the horizon. The citizens of Oz looked up, both terrified and awed at the same time. The guards, thinking the fireworks were some sort of deadly weapon, took off, abandoning their posts. Meanwhile, the Munchkins who were setting off the fireworks outside the Emerald City continued their barrage. It was a display unlike any the Emerald City had ever seen.

Back on the dais, Glinda looked up and smiled. “So those are fireworks,” she said to herself.

But Evanora watched the lights with a different reaction. “He
is
the Wizard,” she said. Frightened, she abandoned her sister and ran back into the palace.

Inside the Projection Wagon, Knuck called out to Oz and the Master Tinker. “We got Evanora! She’s on the run!” he exclaimed.

Upon seeing her sister retreat, Theodora screamed with rage. “Come back here, you coward!” she shouted.

China Girl used this time to make her move. She slipped past Theodora and ran up to Glinda, still clutching the Good Witch’s wand.

“It’s you!” Glinda exclaimed, surprised and overjoyed at seeing China Girl.

Enraged, Theodora formed two huge fireballs, one in each hand, and called out to the Wizard. “I may not be able to kill you,” she shouted, “but I can kill the one you love!”

Theodora turned to face Glinda, but to her shock, Glinda was gone. Now more furious than ever before, Theodora hurled the fireballs directly at the hologram. As they soared through the image, the hologram laughed at her…and then fireworks shot out of its mouth directly at the Wicked Witch.

A 3-D explosion of red, white, and blue erupted around Theodora, as Oz bellowed, “BEGONE,
WICKED WITCH! BEGONE, FOREVERMORE!”

Frightened beyond belief, the Wicked Witch grabbed her broom and flew away from the dais. But while Knuck and the Master Tinker celebrated, Oz knew that this wasn’t over yet.

“I know your wickedness is not your doing,” the Wizard called after her. “And should you ever again find the goodness within you, you are welcome to return,” he said, his voice full of sincerity and compassion.

“Never!” the Wicked Witch screamed. Then, with a bloodcurdling cackle, the Wicked Witch of the West disappeared into the night sky.