It didn't storm like Bo had suspected it would, but rather, it drizzled lightly throughout the day. Luckily, they group didn't become drenched.

They traveled for only four more days before they got to towns. All throughout the towns were houses of various colors, plenty of vehicles that were both for land and air, and plenty of people.

Word had reached these towns that Dorothy had indeed killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and there were whispers and rumors that she was on her way to the West to kill Maridina, the Wicked Witch of the West and Malideena's sister.

Dorothy and Bo did their best to ignore these rumors and avoid the staring gazes of the townspeople and people who wanted to meet Dorothy. Luav, however, was loving the amount of attention the group was receiving, and was quite disappointed by Bo and Dorothy's avoidance of their little "paparazzi."
The closer they got to the Emerald City, the more road signs and billboards they saw for it, despite the fact that everyone in Oz knew that the yellow brick road did, indeed, lead the way to the Emerald City and that there was no need for any signs or other directions.

Dorothy had grown almost giddy and nervous in anticipation, nearly shaking as she spotted the signs that stated how far away the Emerald City was in exact miles.

Bo was as stoic and serious as ever, however. Dorothy sometimes wondered if he had any emotions at all, but she knew that wasn't possible. He definitely had them, or else he wouldn't have looked so worry when she had been ill from the poison. He just didn't show them very often, she decided. Maybe Bo only displayed his emotions when they were strong, or maybe he only showed certain ones, and she shouldn't be kidding herself like this.

It wasn't any of her business, after all.

They started a new day just like any other-- with breakfast, packing, and walking down the yellow brick road. Except today was the day they would finally, finally reach the Emerald City.

Dorothy would try to get in to see the Wizard, he would reward her for her accidental killing of the Wicked Witch of the East, and she would finally see if she could get back home to Earth.
Back home with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, where she would... She would have, what exactly? Maybe, if she got into contact with them, she would be able to find out. It frustrated Dorothy to no end that she couldn't remember anything about her life before she had woke up from cryosleep on the spaceship.
Dorothy didn't share this fact with anyone. Not Bo, not Luav, not even Toto and Effigy. They wouldn't be able to help her remember her past life, anyway. She would have to unlock those memories on her own. Maybe the Wizard could help her with that. That is, if he was such a miracle worker that all the Munchkins and Glinda had claimed he would be.

"One mile, Gale," Bo told her, pointing out one of the billboards.

She looked up quickly. She had been so lost in thought that she had been staring at her silver boots and the yellow bricks as she had walked. She grinned at Bo.

"Finally," she sighed happily.

Bo nodded as he adjusted his backpack a little. "Hopefully, we can find a decent place to stay while we're there. My back is killing me from sleeping on the ground all the time."

She nodded, looking up at their surroundings. It was all clear field here, no houses, no people. But, just in the distance, she could see green skyscrapers peeking out from the horizon. She blinked through the bright sunlight at them and smiled.

Luav purred in excitement. "Hopefully, I can get a decent grooming for my mane. It's full of leaves, and it probably has bugs in it, too."

"I thought you wanted to go to Oz for your own self-improvement, not vanity," Bo commented dryly.

"I do!" he protested.

Dorothy rolled her eyes a little, but still smiled.

About an hour later, they reached the outskirts of the Emerald City. There was a tall wall around it and the yellow brick road right to the entryway, where they would be checked for weapons and anything that could be considered dangerous.

There were a few people being checked in just as they reached the gateway.

One of the officials looked up at the group. "Hello, welcome to the Emerald City. We need to check your bags, and ah... make sure the Lion is completely vaccinated before any of you can go any further. Also, we have a gift for all of you, courtesy of the Wizard for the protection of you vision and your brains."

"What. The. Hell," Bo said. "Why?"

"The Emerald City is... I don't know, man. Just follow the law," one of the guards said. "The Wizard says that the power of the city is just too great for our small minds and too powerful for our weak eyes The Lion needs it, too."

"I have a name, you know," Luav said with a slight growl. "It is Luav, if anyone is interested."

"To hell with what the Wizard says," Bo spat, completely ignoring Luav.

Dorothy glared at him. "Do you want to get in and get a new heart, or not?"

He shifted back some with a sigh. "Sorry, Gale." He turned to the guards again. "We allow you tamper with our eyes and our brains as freely as you wish."

"Your robots need tampering, too, just so you know," the first guard said.

Effigy raised a hand and stepped back as if she were displaying a mimicry of nervousness. "I am fully functional and I do not need tampering. Miss Dorothy, please don't let them tamper with me."

Dorothy glanced over at the android, only feeling slightly sorry for her. "Sorry, I have to, or you have to stay out here."

Effigy's head shook a little.

Dorothy glanced back over to the guards. "Let's get this over with. I really need to see the Wizard."

The first guard stiffened. "Nobody sees the Wizard. Why do you think he'd want to see you?"

Bo pointed down at Dorothy's feet. Both of the guards looked down at them. The first guard's eyes became wide, but his expression was otherwise the same, and the second guard's jaw had completely dropped.

"Are those really... Are those really the silver boots of the Wicked Witch of the East?" the first guard asked.

Dorothy nodded.

"So you're the famed Dorothy Gale, the killer of the Wicked Witch of the East?" he asked. "You dropped an entire spaceship on her!"

Dorothy nodded again, rubbing her arm a bit nervously.

"I'll see if I can get in touch with the Wizard's secretary to see if she can tell him that you're here," the guard said quickly, "But let's get this done first."

The second guard had pulled out a tray of contact containers-- two small and one big-- then he pulled out a screwdriver and a small device that had a cord sticking out of it.

"Now, remember, this is for your own protection," the first guard said, "As well as the protection of your property. These contacts will be absorbed by your eyes, for their protection from the power of the Emerald City, and they will be removed by a solvent we have when you leave the city."

The guard handed Dorothy and Bo the small contact containers, then he pulled some gloves on and opened up the big contact container to help Luav with his contacts.

Dorothy popped it the container open. Inside where two tiny contact lenses that were both tinted green.

"Put them in," the guard told Dorothy. He went back to what he was trying to do for the Lion. "Keep still and don't blink," he told him with a quiet huff.

Luav squirmed a little, swishing his tail against the ground. "I'm trying," he whined.

Dorothy looked back to the contact lenses and picked one up with her finger tip. She stuck it to her eye and blinked, the contact lense burning into her cornea. Her eye watered slightly, and she blinked the tears out. Then, she picked up the other lense and stuck it in her eye to the same effect.

Bo had done the same, and he pressed his hands to his eyes as he clamped his teeth down on his bottom lip.

Dorothy rubbed her eyes a bit just as Luav let out a loud yowl. "Alright, Bo?"

He nodded as he turned his body towards her a bit, his hands still over his eyes. He dragged them down his face just as the guards plugged the small machines to the hard drive compartments of both Effigy and Toto.

After a few minutes, the small machines they were hooked up to beeped, and the guards pulled them out and shut the compartments.

"All set," the first guard said as he and the other guard walked over to the gate to open it.

"Enjoy your visit to the Emerald City. May the Wizard live as long as the planet of Oz does."