Bastian Bux has returned to the literary world, this time gathering characters from several different books, guiding them across the literary universe to keep AURYN out of the hands of the new Wicked Witch of Oz. When we last left our heroes, an amnesic Bastian and his friends Huck Finn, Tiny Tim, Nibs the Lost Boy, Mike Teavee, and Terrance the Fairy had been knocked out by one of the Witch's winged monkeys, who proceeded to take both AURYN and Tiny Tim back to Oz! * "Come on, wake up!" Terrance shouted as he tugged at Mike's collar. "Wake up! Tiny Tim's been taken, along with AURYN and I'm not fast enough to catch up! Guys, wake up!" As Bastian slept, having been knocked unconscious by the winged monkey, he started having dreams about his past. Everything was coming back to him, and he could see it all. And not just his own past, but the past of the warrior Atreyu. He was seeing both lives unfold before him as he remembered, even with AURYN there to guide his sleeping mind. Shortly, Bastian bolted up and screamed. "Would you cut the noise down, I have a headache somethin' fierce!" Huck said as he started to wake up, followed by the others. "Huck? Mike?" Bastian as he remembered his friends clearly. "Nibs?" "You remember us?" Mike asked. "That's great! Now we can get out of here!" "No, he can't," Terrance said as he flew in front of them. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! AURYN's been stolen!" * Tiny Tim opened his eyes, seeing his was slung over the shoulder of the giant winged monkey that had taken both him and AURYN. It looked they were flying through the same portal that had taken him out of his home world of old London into Neverland. Soon, the winged monkey arrived at the other end of the portal, arriving in the land of Oz. a bright and colorful land. "What is this place?" Tiny Tim asked as he saw AURYN dangling from the monkey's hand. "AURYN. I have to get it away from this monster and back to Bastian., but I lost my crutch." * "That winged monkey has two of our friends, and AURYN," Bastian told them. "But now we can't follow him." "Maybe we can," Terrance said as he flew over Bastian, sprinkling him in fairy dust. "We'll just have to take the long route." "The long route to where?" Huck asked. "We don't know where-" "Oz," Bastian realized as he smacked his forehead. "It's been right in front of me the whole damn time! Winged monkeys? Only one book has winged monkeys. The Wizard of Oz. We have to go to Oz, that's where Tiny Tim, and Huck, and AURYN are!" "Then start thinkin' happy thoughts, 'cause we're goin' there!" Huck told him. "We're gettin' my best friend back, and ain't no one gonna stand in our way!" "I love it when you get tough," Nibs said as Huck blushed. "You should see me in my own world," Huck told him. "Seriously? You guys are flirting right now? Why are you flirting, period?" Bastian asked as he thought about it. His eyes widened as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Dude... seriously? I don't remember that being in the books." "Hey, the story doesn't end just because you reach the end of the book," Huck reminded him. "You got a problem with us likin' each other?" "What? No!" Bastian said. "It's just... I feel like I'm screwing everything up just by being here. You guys are out of your worlds, AURYN's on its way to a witch, and who knows what kind of damage is being done to your books by Tom, Huck, Tiny Tim and Mike being gone from their worlds." "You're thinkin' too hard 'bout this," Huck said as he slapped Bastian on the back. "Ain't the first time me and Tom have gone missin' for days on end. We'll go home and it'll be like we weren't even gone." "All I'm missing is a stupid chocolate factory tour," Mike said. "I don't even like chocolate. The other kids can have the dumb prize, I don't care. It's not like me being gone's going to ruin anything, right?" "I guess not," Bastian said as he shook his head. "Okay, let's go get our friends back. Happy thought, happy thought," Bastian said as he started thinking about the first time he read the Neverending Story. He slowly started lifting off the ground. "Okay, this is kind of weird." "Just roll with it," Huck said as the group started flying into the sky. * As the winged monkey flew toward the Witch's castle, Tiny Tim took the opportunity to grab a loose tree branch as they flew through the forest. "Alright, this is where I get off!" Tiny Tim shouted as he smacked the monkey in the face with the branch. The boy fell out of the creature's grip, grabbing AURYN out of the monkey's hand as he fell, realizing just how high up he was. "Maybe this wasn't the best plan," Tiny Tim's leg caught between two branches, leaving him hanging from a tree as he held AURYN in his hands. "Well, this could be worse." Which was when a lion, a tiger, and bear came out of the bushes and looked up at the dangling food, which was just out of their reach. "Well.. damn," Tiny Tim said under his breath. * "We don't have AURYN to guide us, how will we know what world to go to?" Mike asked as the group headed toward the stars. "AURYN will lead us to it," Bastian said as he closed his eyes. "Huck's love for his friend will lead us, too. Everything we need to find is in Oz, so just focus on AURYN, and Tom, and Tiny Tim, just like how you guys found me." "Yeah, after a dozen or so side trips to other worlds," Huck told him. "We just about never found you." "Bastian, what happens if we're too late and the Witch gets AURYN?" Nibs asked. "Then she'll have the power to conquer any world she wants," Bastian replied. "So we have to stop her, no matter what. The fate of the literary universe is on us, boys. We're all that stands between her and the destruction of everything." "But no pressure, or anything," Mike said jokingly. * "Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh crap!" Tiny Tim shouted as he continued hanging from the tree, where several forest creatures were trying to get to him. The bear got up on its hind legs and started shaking the tree. "What, do I look like a honeycomb? Stop that!" Tiny Tim saw his leg was being shaken loose as he looked at AURYN. "Don't just sit there, do something!" As his leg came unstuck, the boy fell toward the ground, just as lion jumped out of the brush and grabbed him, landing safely on the ground. The lion put the boy down and roared loudly for all to hear, as the other animals started running away. "You're going to eat me, aren't you?" Tiny Tim asked. "You're way too scrawny for my tastes, child," the former Cowardly Lion said. "How did you come to be stuck in a tree like that?" "It's a long story," Tiny Tim said as he held up AURYN. "But my friends will be hopefully be coming for me anytime now. We have to keep this safe." "I'll take you to the Emerald City," the Lion said. "Get on my back and I'll take you there!" * "Fantasia?" Bastian asked as the group crashed, landing on top of one another in the Childlike Empress's palace. "We were supposed to be in Oz. The Witch has AURYN!" "The Witch has yet to get ahold of AURYN, it is in good hands for the moment," the Childlike Empress told the group. "Oz will be your next journey after you have obtained one more member of your group." "Another member?" Bastian asked as he looked around. "I don't understand. I thought I was just randomly pulling people into this chaos." "No, Bastian," the Childlike Empress told him. "Everything that has been happening has been for a reason. Everyone who has joined your quest each brings something unique which will be of vital importance in bringing peace between worlds." "Yeah, right, what am I supposed to bring? I was a violence loving kid who just wanted to own a real pistol before I came here," Mike told her. "And now that I'm here, I never want to see another gun again." "You will soon discover your real strength, Mike Teavee," the Childlike Empress promised him. "As will you all." "So, who else do we need?" Bastian asked. "You need a powerful sorcerer," the Childlike Empress said. "Even if he doesn't realize what he possesses. While AURYN can not lead you to this world, the love in your hearts can. Let your love guide you, all of you, and you will always get to where you need to be." "Empress, what about Atreyu? Can he not join us yet?" Bastian asked. "Soon, Bastian, but first you must get AURYN before it is too late, and only your new friend's magic will be strong enough to stand up against the Witch's dark power. You must hurry, and good luck," the Childlike Empress told him. * Oz The Lion led Tiny Tim behind him as the boy limped into the throne room, where Queen Dorothy was sitting on her throne. Tom Sawyer had been given new clothes to wear, as well as a bo staff that he was training with. If we going to be stuck in Oz, he'd have to learn to fight if the Wicked Witch attacked. "Dorothy, this is Tiny Tim, he brings news from outside of Oz,' the Lion told her as Dorothy stood up to meet him, as Tom recognized AURYN in Tiny Tim's hand. "That's Bastian's fancy necklace!" Tom shouted. "What are you doing with that?" "You know of Bastian?" Tiny Tim asked. "We got knocked out on another world, and when I came to, this giant winged monkey had me and AURYN. The others are still stuck on that world with that child-eating clown!" "Tiny Tim, you must tell us all that you know," Dorothy told him as she looked at Tom. "Perhaps you can fill in the blanks that Tom can't." "Was Huck with you? Is he alright?" Tom asked. "Is he alive?" "Yeah, he's alive," Tiny Tim told him. "But without AURYN, I don't know how they're going to find their way here." "The Witch mustn't get her hands on this," Dorothy said. "Tin Man? Safeguard this amulet." "Yes, Dorothy," the Tin Man said as he opened his chest and placed AURYN inside for safe keeping. "Now, Tiny Tim, tell us what you know so that we may better know how to stop the Wicked Witch before she strikes again," Dorothy said. * Bastian, Huck, Nibs, Mike, and Terrance arrived in the next world, once again landing right on top of one another. "We have really got to work on those landings," Bastian said from the bottom of the pile. "Anyone have any clue where we are?" "Judging from the weather, it's summertime," Huck said as he looked up. "It looks like we're out in the country," Mike said as he looked at the open fields. "This can't be the 20th century, but I thought the Childlike Empress said we were looking for someone magical." "Pretty sure magic's existed long before the 20th century," Terrance told him. "Yeah, like voodoo magic," Huck told him. "Don't mess around with that kind of dark power, or the devil himself will drag you down to the bowels of Hell." "Maybe we should knock on that cottage door," Bastian said as he looked at his friends, who were all dressed in fancy fighting gear and costumes, while Bastian still had his normal clothes. "Uh, maybe I should knock. Don't want to frighten the locals." "We'll just hang out over there," Huck said as Bastian walked off. "Yell if you need us." "You guys are going somewhere to make out, aren't you?" Mike asked dryly as he looked at Huck and Nibs. "Boy's got a right sharp mind on him," Huck smirked. "Come on, Terrance, I see a water well and I'm thirsty," Mike said as the fairy followed him. They arrived at the well as Mike started pulling up the bucket to get a drink of water. As Terrance sat down on a nearby bale of hay, a large shadow loomed over him. He looked over his shoulder and saw an owl hungrily looking down on him. "Two minutes into this world, and I already hate this book," Terrance squeaked. As Bastian knocked on the door of the cottage, it opened as he saw someone who looked very familiar, at least to the image he'd created in his mind of the character. "You have got to be kidding me," Bastian said. Next: The Oz War Begins!
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By Tobias ChristopherAuthor, luckdragon trainer Archives
November 2019
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