Queendom Hearts chapter 47

Oz led the small group into a large throne room. Sora covered her mouth in surprise at such splendor. She quickly snapped a picture with her cell phone.
"Hello, my dear miss." said a voice. Looking straight ahead to the throne, she saw a strange little toad with Gallahad. Ozma was at the OZ circus's side. "You are one of the very people I've been wanting to see."
"Qui êtes-vous?" Sora asked the toad.
"Permit me and Frostbite." whispered Ozma to Sora, as she and Frostbite pulled her aside, "That is one of our houseguests, J. Thaddeus Toad. He lost his friends and home to the Heartless, so we're letting him stay here until someone defeats the monster that caused his home's destruction."
"Oh dear." said Sora sympathetically, "That must have been quite an ordeal."
"Indeed it was," cut in the one called J. Thaddeus Toad, "Especially since I didn't have my motorcar to run over them."
"Motorcar?"
"The latest fad!"
"Forgive him, Miss Sora. He's a little...eccentric," added Frostbite, "always crazy for the latest thing."
"Frostbite, did you say her name is Sora?" asked J. Thaddeus Toad.
"What the young earl says is true." Sora answered as she turned to him and bowed. "I'm Sora the Heroine of Time."
Then turning to Frostbite she added, "I forgot to ask. Aren't you a little young to be an earl?"
Frostbite nonchalantly waved his gloved hand. "Yes, yes I am."
"You're not the first to observe this." replied Gallahad, "He inherited the title quite young."
"I'm expecting my best assassins, twin brothers, to be here soon." Frostbite said, looking at his pocket watch.
"Gads! Where did you get those shoes?" J.Thaddeus Toad asked.
"Oh no! Don't answer him, or he'll go into another fad," sighed Sebastian as he restrained J. Thaddeus Toad.
Pulling a note out of his breast pocket and handing it to Frostbite he added, "This note was delivered this morning from Rebecca. Your assassins will meet Sora and company at the foot of the mountain to Mordred's castle in Winkie Country in the West. No time for delays, and P.S. The one nicknamed Heat Miser wants popcorn."
Frostbite just did a facepalm and groaned.
"And to your question, Mr. Toad," cut in Erik who walked over to him and Sebastian, "my great granddaughter is wearing the silver slippers. They literally slipped onto her feet."
"Is that so? Well then. It's a good thing you didn't take them off my dear." J. Thaddeus Toad said, turning to Sora.
"Doushite?" she asked him.
"Hmm...apparently Gallahad forgot to tell you a particular detail about them." said Dr. Garland, looking at Gallahad.
"Whoops!" Gallahad replied sheepishly, as Ozma just snickered at her dad's embarrassed face.
"Dr. Garland's right." interjected Dr. Thorn, "The silver shoes are only meant for the pure and noble of heart."
"And of course," added Dr. Garland, "they can't be removed by anyone of ill intent."
"Like Mordred and Theodora?" asked Sora.
"Yes. Naturally they were planning to use your silver shoes to take over all of OZ, after all they were Evanora's. But Mordred, as you've heard from Oz, has another scheme in mind."
Turning to Gallahad, Sora asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were the King of Gillikin Country?"
"First of all," replied Gallahad, "you never asked. And second, if Theodora or Ruggedo knew, they would've hurt my daughter."
"Dad," interrupted Ozma, "I'm 12 already. I can take care of myself."
"Nonetheless, Ozma--"
"Um, how did you become the Warlock of the North?" asked Dumbo, changing the subject.
"Oh, well...." began Gallahad. He then cleared his throat and continued, "I was a prince of Gillikin Country. Not only am I a friend of the royal family of OZ, whom Glinda the Witch of the South was the princess in, but I'm also a friend of the Wizard of OZ as well. During her reign, Glinda saw in the future that she was to die, so she had me and Glinda Elfman taken under her wing to be trained. Over time, I fell in love with Glinda Elfman, who was to be the new Witch of the South after Princess Glinda's death."
A small blush formed on his face as Gallahad said that. He then shook it away as Ozma teased, "Isn't that sweet?"
Gallahad continued his story, "I was going to confess my feelings for her. But on that day, a war raged. Dorothy Gale and her friends were to fight Theodora the Witch of the West under orders from my mother the Witch of the North. Glinda also fought alongside them."
"Unfortunately," continued Ozma, "they lost the battle because Theodora allied herself with Ruggedo the Skeleton King, who crowned himself Skeleton Nome King some time ago before they came, Mordred the Warlock of the West who's my dad's rival from school days, Evanora her sister, and Josephine another Wicked Witch of the East."
"In order for the fighting to stop," interjected Oz, "I gave myself up, as did my best knights in OZ. Three of them agreed and left everyone in each of their countries and the Emerald City alone. On that day, we mourned our brave allies as I let myself be imprisoned, and my knights were stripped of their Escudo and forced to work in Ruggedo's kingdom, lest their friends in the Emerald City die. When I heard whispers about someone landing here someday, I never lost hope. I contacted Finley to go undercover as one of the lackeys to Mordred and Theodora, and even asked someone to rule the Emerald City for me while I was gone."
"Time passed." continued Gallahad, "Some didn't suspect a thing, and after my mother died, I was crowned king of Gillikin Country and the new Warlock of the North. I hoped and prayed one day that someone could help us. Even though I had the magic to do it, it was Theodora I feared."
"And then we came down here quite by chance by the tornado." Erik finished. Gallahad nodded.
"And Ozma? How'd she become your daughter?" Sora asked him while straightening her glasses.
"Um, another day perhaps. Right now, we need to focus on getting Glinda…I mean all of OZ back."
Turning to them, Gallahad sighed, "Glinda Elfman, the new Witch of the South and ruler of Quadling Country, had disappeared. No one knows where she's gone, but I take what little spare time I have to search for her. She'd gone missing after giving Ozma a recent lesson."
"Gomen--" Sora began.
"No, you don't need to apologize."
"I can understand how it feels to lose someone you love, Gallahad. I too was in love once. Long before I met everyone here. I found out that he told me so many lies just to have me, and that he did the same to a guy once. I broke up with him before he went too far, and my chastity is still safe."
"That's good," replied Gallahad.
José looked at Gallahad as the conversation went on and thought, Hmmm, he reminds me of a certain superhero Donald likes.
"We can't worry about Glinda Elfman now." replied José, "I'm sure the OZ circus has a performance to do, something to celebrate in lieu of our wheeler victory."
"José's right," called out two familiar voices.
"Python, Apolla, where have you two been?" asked Frostbite as the two of them swung down the curtain rope and landed gracefully onto their feet.
"Acrobatics practice," answered Apolla.
"We've heard quite enough." answered Python. Then noticing Sora and Ozma had disappeared while everyone was distracted by his and Apolla's entrance he added, "And apparently so have Miss Sora and the princess."
"Oh no!" cried Gallahad, "I fear the worst!"
"I saw them leave." Dumbo replied as he came over to Gallahad. "They headed off to Winkie Country."
"We have to go after them." replied José.
"No." replied Oz, stopping him, "If we do, Theodora will suspect the circus' neutral stance in the war of OZ."
"I thought the fighting was over?" asked Brook.
"There may not be battles going on, but it won't truly be over until Theodora and Mordred are vanquished." replied Dr. Garland.
"Ugh! Sometimes, I wish things could be as simple as that." groaned Jack Pumpkinhead in Betsey's arms, "There will be plenty of casualties and dislocated civilians and-"
"Which my lord Frostbite can deal with when we come to those issues." cut in Sebastian. Frostbite nodded.

Sora stomped onward through the woods near Gallahad's kingdom, her fear of being alone long past.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing," she said to herself, "I hope Louis Frank, Alan, and Dr. Dillamond are okay. Especially Dr. Dillamond."
"You like Dr. Dillamond, don't you?" asked Ozma who caught up with her.
"It's not what you think--" Sora began, but before she could finish, Ozma started teasing her in singsong.
"You like him, you like him. You really, really like him!"
"Do me a favor, Ozma. And shut up! We're just friends, Dr. Dillamond and I..."
"That's not what Erik told me. Dr. Dillamond really likes you."
"I find that hard to believe." Sora turned away after she said that.
"It's because of your broken heart and I understand." replied Ozma, sympathetically placing a hand on Sora's shoulder, "But you have to give love a second chance."
"Sora!" called out José. He came over to where the two girls were, and caught his breath.
"José! It's you! You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous." replied Sora.
"I was going to say the same for Ozma." José replied.
"Hey, I'm 12, buster. I'm old enough to fight!" cut in Ozma.
"That aside...I hear it's very dangerous in the West. Please be careful, Miss Sora." said José.
"I'll try." replied Sora bravely.
"And to make sure..." José then leaned towards Sora's face and kissed her forehead. "That's for protection." he said to her.
"T...Thanks," Sora blushed. She then waved goodbye to José who quickly returned back to Gallahad's palace, so that no one would notice he'd gone for a brief moment.
Just then, Ozma snapped Sora out of her daze by screaming, "YOW!"
"Ozma, are you okay?" Sora asked her.
"Something bit me," said Ozma.
"I never knew the land of OZ had mosquitos." And no sooner did those words leave Sora's lips than--"ITAI!" something bit her too (Now they didn't know it yet, but this bug that bit them was the Jitterbug! Said to be extinct but can be summoned by witches and warlocks alike, the jitterbug's sting causes everyone to dance to exhaustion.).
Sora heard something. Was it music? "Ozma," she asked the princess, "Did you just hear what I just heard?"
Ozma nodded. "That noise don't come from an ordinary bird."
"It may be just a cricket or a critter in the trees."
"It's giving me the jitters in the joints around my knees."
"I think I see a shadow, and it's fuzzy and it's furry."
"Louis Frank has no brain, but he'd think we oughta worry."
"Alan doesn't have a heart but he'd feel a palpatation."
"As monarch of the forest, I don't like the situation."
"Are we gonna stand around and let them fill us full of horror?"
"I'd like to roar 'em down, but I think I lost my roarer."
Suddenly, Heartless and Nightmare Dream Eaters all dressed in jazz costumes (some flappers, some mafia) appeared around them. Then appearing right in front of them, was a human sized orange and green winged flea all dressed in a red mafia gangster suit snapping his fingers to the beat as some of the Heartless began to play instruments.
"It's a whosits!" said Ozma.
"It's a whosits?" asked Sora.
"It's a whatsits!"
"It's a whatsits?"
"Who's that?"
"Who's there?"
"Who's where?"
"BEWARE!" they both ended up crying out. The two girls quickly split up, trying to flee, only to end up trapped among the dancing Heartless.
Sora was pulled straight into the flea's arms, as he led her into the dance.
"Who's that hiding in the treetops?" she sang, trying to break free from the rhythm after escaping from the flea's arms by punching it in the face, "It's that rascal--the jitterbug. Should you catch him, buzzing round you, keep away from the jitterbug!"
"No kidding," agreed Ozma, pushing her way through the Heartless. She added in song, "Oh the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees have a terrible, horrible buzz. But the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees couldn't do what the jitter bug does. So be careful of that rascal, keep away from the jitterbug! The Jitterbug!"
Throughout the song and dance they tried to escape from, Ozma and Sora fought the Heartless and the Nightmare Dream Eaters to the beat, "Oh the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees have a terrible, horrible buzz. But the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees couldn't do what the jitter bug does. So just be careful of that rascal, keep away from the jitterbug! The Jitterbug! The Jitterbug! The jitterbug! Oh! The Jitter! Oh! The Bug! Oh! The Jitterbug, doo wop doo wop doo wop doot doot doo. I'm a-twitter, in the throes. Oh the critter's got me dancing on a thousand toes! Thar' she blows!"
"We've got to fight our way through them." Sora said, destroying one of the Heartless while scatting along.
It was no good; they were trapped in the dance, all the while singing with them while the jitterbug conducted them like an orchestra!
"Who's that hiding in the tree tops? It's that rascal The Jitterbug. Should you catch him buzzing round you, keep away from The jitterbug. Oh the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees have a terrible, horrible buzz. But the bees in the breeze and the bats in the trees couldn't do what the jitterbug does! Do what the jitterbug does! So be careful of that rascal, keep away from the jitterbug! The Jitterbug! The jitterbug! The jitterbug! The jitterbug....Look out for that buuuuug!"
The two girls were near exhaustion by the time they were done and the jitterbug signaled them to attack the two girls.
Sora quickly blocked them with her Master Keyblade and Guardian of Hope as Ozma threw a stink bomb to distract them.
"Hey, Sora," called out Ozma as they hid behind a tree, "Ever heard of the saying fight fire with fire? Rest a bit, I'll distract them."
She then pulled out more sulfur bombs and tossed them to the Heartless and Nightmare Dream Eaters, where it exploded on them.
As she caught her breath and relaxed, Sora brushed her hand over the Senshi charm, summoning another Sailor Guardian. This one was in a sera fuku that was orange and blue, had blonde hair, and had a red bow in her hair.
"Hey, you two look like you could use some help," she said to them. They turned to her.
"Sailor Venus?!?!" they gasped in surprise.
Sailor Venus smiled and nodded. "Yup. I'll help you two out. What you said about fighting fire with fire is true, Ozma. I know just how we'll do it."
"Dance?" asked Ozma.
"No way, I'm tired from that jitterbug." sighed Sora.
"Do we want to stop them or not?" asked Sailor Venus.

"This is terrible," Gallahad fretted, as he paced about, "If my little girl is killed out there, I'll never forgive myself."
"Calm down, Gallahad," Oz reassured him, "I have the eye of Ruggedo that Miss Sora gave to me. She has the other eye. Together, the eyes don't do much. Do you know what happens if they're separated?"
Oz then tossed the eye up and down for a moment, then rose it up to the ceiling of the throne room and said, "Show us Sora and Ozma."
The eye glowed and then it showed Sora, Ozma, and Sailor Venus. Sora was playing a slow hypnotic tune on her Ocarina of Understanding as Sailor Venus danced. The Heartless faded away as did the Nightmare Dream Eaters. As for the jitterbug? It collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.
Everyone watched as Sora played the last notes on her ocarina, and finished the song. Gallahad sighed with relief until he noticed the sleeping jitterbug in the picture.
"So, Theodora and Mordred summoned the jitterbug, eh?" he said to himself, "I'm surprised they handled Mordred and Theodora's work themselves."
"Sebastian, I want you to go clean up the mess of the jitterbug," said Frostbite. "In the meantime, all we can do now is watch and see their adventure."
"Yes, my lord." said Sebastian, bowing to him.

"Thanks for helping us, Sailor Venus. Is there anything we can do to repay you?" asked Sora.
Before anything else was said, they all heard screeches and an evil laugh! Turning to the sound, the 3 girls saw winged baboons led by a winged baboon dressed as a general, and a strange silhouette all in black riding a black horse.
"I've got this! Go, head for the west!" said Sailor Venus, prepping her belt to fight.
While Sailor Venus distracted the winged baboons, Sora and Ozma fought through the woods and ran into the silhouette all in black! Boy were they surprised; for the stranger was headless and he carried his severed orange head underneath his arm. They quickly dodged each of his sword swipes as he cackled maliciously at them, and ran as fast as they could.
But as they started running, the headless stranger galloped after them on his horse. The two girls noticed a bridge up ahead that led to Winkie Country.
They quickly crossed over it and Sora glanced back, remembering that the Headless Horseman disappeared after one crossed a bridge. The Headless Horseman was instead seen in the act of hurtling his head at them.
He threw it straight towards the two girls, but Sora stood brave; she brought out Guardian of Hope, and used it to block the head. The Guardian of Hope shone brighter than the head when it made its impact on the Keyblade....only for a shattered pumpkin to fall onto the ground and Sora and Ozma, unscathed.
The Headless Horseman then disappeared right before their eyes.
"Wow, no more reading ghost stories before bed." Sora thought to herself as she and Ozma turned and continued onward to Mordred and Theodora's castle.

"How odd," muttered Theodora, watching everything that happened through her crystal ball, "I never sent the Headless Horseman after them. Come to think of it, he wasn't even in my army. No matter, they'll come. And when the time is right, those silver slippers and the land of OZ will be mine and mine alone."
She cackled with devilish glee and snapped her fingers. Two Speed Demons appeared and kneeled before her.
"Listen well, you two." snapped Theodora to them, "I want those silver slippers myself. I will tell you a plan I've concocted to rule OZ for my own. And screw Mordred, he can die alone for all I care."
She then whispered her plan to them, and turned back to her crystal ball after they left. Theodora suddenly noticed Sora holding a familiar music box in her hands and showing it to Ozma.
"It can't be," thought Theodora, "the wizard of OZ escaped?"
Then noticing Ruggedo's eye in the music box she gasped, "And Ruggedo along with Dr. Bumby's been killed?!?!?" Boy did she get mad, so mad she shot a fireball straight towards a just-coming-into-the-room Mordred's hat.
Mordred quickly ducked. "Geez, what happened?" he asked, "Did you burn your brownies again?"
Theodora turned to Mordred and glared daggers at him and hissed, "GO AWAY!" as another fireball formed in her hands.
Mordred just pointed to his open mouth, pretending to gag after saying, "Oh please!" before stomping off.
Theodora sighed, "No matter. Mordred will be gone soon enough."