Chapter Twenty-two: The Trouble With One Android in Particular

The lights in the android's eyes began to glow red and hummed as they began to charge up power.

Dorothy quickly broke into a run and shoved Aras to the floor as Effigy raised her hand at her.

"EFFIGY, DEACTIVATE!" Dorothy screamed as a laser shot over her head, hitting the wall behind her.

The android lowered its hand and stilled. "Deactivating." Her head tilted down as the lights in her eyes turned off. The hum of the charging laser died down.

Aras shoved Dorothy off of her, trying to stand up.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That!?!?" Aras seethed, brushing dust off her clothes before rubbing her kneecaps with her hands.

A few of the Munchkins moved towards the android and began to examine her, opening the panel in her head.

"I don't know!" Dorothy said quickly. "She's supposed to be a caretaker-- she's not supposed to be programmed to kill! Or " She paused to catch her breath.

"There better be a good explanation for what just happened, Dorothy Gale!" Aras shouted, her face becoming red with anger.

Dorothy looked down at the floor her eyes wide. "I let them take her to have her connected to the database networks. They must have tinkered with her parts and her programming then... I had no idea that something like that would happen." She looked up at Aras. "I'm so sorry."

"Check the dog, too," Aras hissed to the others. Then she glared at Dorothy. "The Wizard knows we're here now. Or he's going to. He's probably heard everything we've been talking about since you stepped through that door. You've ruined everything."

Dorothy's eyes welled up with tears, and she was about to apologize again as Aras slammed her fist into her eye. It quickly began to throb.
She hit the floor, wincing in pain.

Aras grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her up. She yanked her other arm back, ready to punch Dorothy again.

"Did he send you here?" Aras demanded, her face screwed up in anger and hatred. "DID THE WIZARD SEND YOU HERE, DOROTHY GALE?"

Dorothy shook her head profusely. "No, no, I promise, he didn't! Bo and I were on our way before we were even caught here, I promise!" She closed her eyes and leaned her face away from Aras quickly, expecting the Munchkin woman to punch her again.

Instead, the Munchkin woman just dropped her to the floor.

Dorothy winced a bit and opened her eyes.
Aras glared down at her.

"If you want to fix this mess you've made, you'll go back to the Emerald City and bring Bo back if he isn't dead," Aras told her in a low his, shaking her blonde hair over her shoulder. "And, if possible to do so without blowing everything, you will kill the Wizard. You're good at killing people."

Dorothy nodded, her eyes wide as she pushed herself up off the floor slowly.

"Get going," Aras snapped.

Dorothy nodded quickly and grabbed her bag quickly and pulled the door open.

She made a mad dash outside, slinging the bag onto her shoulders as she ran out, half afraid that Aras would go on a rampage and kill her for what had happened. She barely noticed as the little black earpiece for the flying monkeys fell out of her ear and dropped onto the shabby front porch of the cottage.

A familiar silvery bubble floated down from the sky, blocking the sun, and Dorothy skidded to a halt.

The bubble made a touchdown to the ground, and the door opened and Glinda climbed out quickly. Her red hair was frazzled, her short pink skirt was wrinkled, and the black and white striped shirt she wore was half tucked into it.

"I left as soon as I heard!" Glinda shouted. She spotted Dorothy. "Oh, Dorothy!"

She ran over and pulled the girl into a hug that nearly made her eyes pop out. Dorothy shoved Glinda off of her.

"I need your help to get to the Emerald City-- quickly!" Dorothy said quickly. "It's a matter of life or death and I can't waste any time!"

Glinda smoothed her hair out a bit. "Well, no need to be in such a rush about it! I know as a matter of fact that your friend-- Bo, is it? Is alive, right now, and the Wizard won't do anything to him-- yet."

"But--" Dorothy began to protest, but the Good Witch cut her off.

"Dorothy, dear, I'll help you get there. But is everyone here alright?"

"Yes," Dorothy said through clenched teeth. "Everyone's alright--"

"Oh dear! What happened to your eye?" Glinda squealed worriedly, pointing at Dorothy's right eye, which was beginning to swell shut.

"Aras happened," Dorothy replied dryly.

"Oh dear! Here, let me help!" Glinda quickly pulled out her star-tipped wall and gave it a flick in the direction of Dorothy's hurt eye.
Seconds later, the swelling began to go down and Dorothy was able to open it fully.

"Thanks." She rubbed it a bit, the skin no longer sensitive from bruising.

"You are most welcome," Glinda said warmly. "Well, I need to get back to the area surrounding the Emerald City-- Aras has given me the job to rally the people." She gave a small giggle and smiled, her dazzling white smile spreading up to her eyes.

Dorothy glowered slightly at the Good Witch. "That sounds great. I really need to get going."

"Alright, my dear!" Glinda said cheerfully. "Be careful!"

"I will be," Dorothy said with a shrug, trudging forward. Glinda climbed back into her vehicle as Dorothy started to walk, then drifted back up into the sky in it.

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