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Author's Chapter Notes:
Another major development here! So I'm really going to want to know your thoughts on this one. Happy reading!!!
Wickus took his attention off suffering Scarecrow and was now eyeing Beatrice with extreme disbelief.

She was suddenly free and lunging straight at him. She tackled him and pinned him directly on his back. “I SAID LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!” Beatrice could still feel the warm energy radiating out of her palms but when she placed her hands on Wickus’ face it wasn’t enough to harm him.

Wickus grabbed her wrists and rolled them over until he hovered over her. “You still can’t keep your hands off of me, can you?”

She struggled against him but he was unfortunately much stronger than her.

“Face it, Beatrice! Scarecrow has met his fate. You’re mine, not his!” he yelled at her then held on to both her wrists with one hand as he summoned a black beam of light with his other. “I think I’ve finally grown tired of your mutiny. Time for you to cooperate.”

Before he could aim the dark light at her, Wickus was knocked clean off of her by a hard tackle from a large gold and brownish figure.

Beatrice quickly rose to her knees to get a better view of the scene that was suddenly playing out. “Lion!!!” she called out.

Lion and Wickus were in a tumble a few feet away. Lion growled as he tried to keep the warlock underneath him but the foe was putting up one heck of a fight.

“Beatrice!” Tin Man’s voice called out to her with worry.

Beatrice turned around to the sound of her name and saw him kneeling beside Scarecrow. So much relief had filled her heart at the sight of their two most loyal friends coming to their aid but her happiness was short lived when she took in the sight of Scarecrow. He was still hunched over his knees with his forehead touching the ground. He was now quiet and motionless.

So much dread came over her as she hurriedly crawled towards him. Please still be alive, she prayed. “Scarecrow!” She touched his shoulder but he didn’t react. With the help of Tin Man, she was able to reposition him to lay on his back. He may have been dead weight but luckily he wasn’t dead yet.

Scarecrow’s eyes were open but he didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular as he stared of miserably into the distance. He didn’t even seem to have notice Beatrice and Tin Man sitting on either side of him.

“Aw man, this isn’t good,” cried Tin Man with panic inched all over his metal face. “He’s wounded very badly.”

Beatrice quickly scanned his body from head to toe. “I don’t see any visible wounds though.”

“Emotional wounds are a lot more severe than physical wounds, my dear.” Tin Man looked at her helplessly. “His heart is broken almost beyond repair.”

Beatrice leaned in closer to Scarecrow’s face in an attempt to get in his line of vision but he still paid her no attention. “Scarecrow, it’s me, Beatrice. Can you hear me?”

Scarecrow was still motionless and sporting a hopeless expression.

A loud roar of agony from Lion had Beatrice and Tin Man abruptly looking over at him. Wickus had Lion trapped on his stomach by some invisible force as he violently gripped the giant feline’s tail with evil purpose. He was trying to rip it off. Lion howled in more pain.

“Hang on, brother! I got you!” Tin Man was on his feet and running to his friend’s aid with his axe in hand.

Beatrice needed to hurry up and find a way to help Scarecrow so that they both could help their friends. The two of them were the only ones who could permanently stop Wickus.

Looking back down at the one she loved, she tenderly placed a hand on his chest and over his heart. So much melancholy was in her voice when she said, “I was supposed to take care of this, wasn’t I?” A tear fell from her right eye and ran down her cheek. She knew it wouldn’t be long before more would start to appear.

If it weren’t for his eyes still being open Beatrice would have thought he was lifeless. But Scarecrow was still in there somewhere. She just needed to reach him somehow. “Scarecrow, what Wickus told you wasn’t true. I do love you.”

She waited for him to react. He blinked once but after that nothing else happened.

Sure enough more tears were strolling down her cheek now. “This is all my fault. If I’d only agreed to stay in Oz with you then you would have never had reason to doubt my love for you.” She sniffed and shook his arm. “Scarecrow, please get up. We need to defeat Wickus, remember?”

Tin Man was suddenly screaming.

When she looked back over towards their friends, Tin Man was on the ground having what seemed to be a seizure as white and blue streams of electric static danced all over his head. His eyes and mouth were open wide as he yelled.

No doubt Wickus was responsible for that. The dark warlock had his attention back on Lion who was still held prisoned to the floor.

Beatrice gasped with a new found fear.

Wickus was just about to blast Lion’s tail with a black and red ball of light when another person ran to the scene in the nick of time hollering as they lunged themselves straight at Wickus, knocking both of them to the ground.

Although this was Beatrice’s first time laying eyes on this man, she had a good idea of who he was. He wore a pair of worn out pajamas with a long robe full of red, blue, and gray designs all over it. His appearance was that of a normal African American man in his thirties with no abnormal Oz-like appearance to him. His distinct features were a thick afro and an equally thick mustache.

As he rolled and wrestled around with Wickus he kept a tight grip on the warlock’s right wrist. Wickus’ right hand was the one that was summoning that creepy light so the strange man was trying his best to keep it away from him. “Beatrice!” He called out as he struggled with the warlock. His eyes were wide with fear. “I think we all would very much appreciate it if you could hurry up and help Scarecrow!”

“YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A WIZARD!!!” Wickus roared they continued to roll around the room.

Tin Man was still hollering in agony while Lion grunted as he tried to free himself from the unseen force that was pressing him into the ground.

Beatrice didn’t have time to figure out how the man learned her name. She quickly looked back at Scarecrow and said, “Scarecrow out friends need you. I need you.”

A teardrop fell from her chin and landed on the back of her hand that was resting over his broken heart. Scarecrow blinked again. Was she finally reaching him?

She leaned in closer until they were practically nose to nose. “I don’t care what anyone says. We belong together. Your mine and I’m yours.” She moved even closer. Her lips brushed over his as she said, “Which is why I’m going to stay here with you” and kissed him sweetly.

Then something finally happened. Beatrice could hear the sound of something reconnecting inside of Scarecrow. His lips had then begun to move against hers the same time she felt underneath her hand his heart pumping boldly and healthy inside his chest.

She gasped and opened her eyes but didn’t break away from the kiss.

Scarecrow was looking directly into her gaze with those big, beautiful doe brown eyes of his. Unlike before, he was actually seeing her now. His stare no longer possessed heartbreak and anguish but only an abundance of love and determination.

Beatrice felt his right hand cup the left side of her face before he deepened the kiss. She was soon closing her eyes again.

Through that one kiss Scarecrow and Beatrice share everything. No beautiful feeling or emotion was left unperceived after that.

It felt like a gorgeous eternity before their lips parted but in reality it was only a few precious moments. Both of them were wearing the biggest smiles they could muster.

They were soon brought back to the present by the sounds of their suffering friends and Wickus’ angry slurs as he hovered over the strange man with his left hand gripped tightly around his neck.

The man looked up at Wickus with frightened eyes as he made gagging noises. He tried to pry away the warlock’s long eerie fingers but to no avail.

“My loyalties may have failed miserably in trying to destroy you but I will not be so insufficient in my task.”

Scarecrow and Beatrice rose to their feet.

“Ready?” she asked him. Her heart was pounding aggressively in her chest as she mentally prepared herself for what they were getting ready to do.

He gave her a big loving smile. Not an ounce of doubt was dancing in his stare as he determinedly took her hand in his.

Already Beatrice could feel their love morphing into something fierce and lethal between their palms.

“I’m in Oz. I need to be ready for everything.” The smile he gave her almost made her go weak in the knees.

Simultaneously, they shot their gaze over to Wickus.

Beatrice was no longer afraid. She believed that what she and Scarecrow had was enough to defeat Wickus. Before she knew it, a ball of blue and silver light was growing rapidly between them.

When it was twice as big as their heads it was burning hot like lava. It even had a special glow to it than the previous times they produced it. They grabbed it on either side. She and Scarecrow made eye contact one more time before they released it in Wickus’ direction.

Before Wickus could use his black and red light on the man he was choking with his free hand, he was met in the chest by Scarecrow and Beatrice’s creation. The giant ball of radiance went through his body and was out of sight. Wickus instantly froze with his mouth ajar. He looked as if he was just stabbed in the gut.

The black and red light he was summoning had suddenly vanish and he released his choke hold on the human man.

The electric static engulfing Tin Man’s head was suddenly gone, as was the invisible force holding down Lion. The two of them slowly got to their feet as they took in the sight of Wickus.

Wickus grunted loudly and fell on his back. “What’s happening?” he gasped breathlessly and clenched at his chest.

Beatrice and Scarecrow walked up to him and stood over him. They were holding hands again just in case Wickus needed a double tap.

“Looks like you’ve just been attacked with pure love, Wickus.” Scarecrow told him with a strong-minded gaze. “Something that you never knew anything about.”

Beatrice bend down a little bit to get closer to the suffering warlock. “You tried to break us but you didn’t. Our love is unshakable.”

Wickus grunted loudly and clutched his chest even harder. “It feels like…”

“Like fire?” Beatrice suggested. His second grunt told her that she was correct. “Keep in mind Wickus that we do not wish to kill you if there’s a chance at redeeming you.”

Wickus gathered enough strength to shoot them a glare full of hatred. “I refuse to be like you all! Weakened by love and tenderness.” Soon his entire body was glowing with blue and silver.

Scarecrow pulled Beatrice back some.

“If I must die today then so be it!” he hollered weakly. His face tightened with more pain. “But I’m dying while still being wicked.”

“You’re wrong,” Beatrice said softly and stepped closer to him again. Sympathy was in her voice when she said. “You’re not dying wicked. You’re dying alone.”

And with that, Wickus the Wicked cried out in pain as the silver and blue radiance consumed him until Beatrice couldn’t see him anymore. His wails began to fade the same time the light started to diminish.

Once the light was gone, so was he.
Chapter End Notes:
I had so much fun writing this chapter so I hope you all really enjoyed it. Please tell me your thoughts on it. More to come very soon.
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