Hey readers : ) Here's another chapter. I can not tell you guys how excited I've been to post this one : D I've had lots of it written for months, I just needed one big push to get it all ready and at last, here it is : ) I'm sure you've guessed from the title that we're about to meet a familiar face, and I can't wait for you guys to read how I'm incorporating her into this universe I'm writing : )

Now, on a small side note - I wasn't sure whether or not to say anything but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. There is a small scene towards the end of this chapter that shows an animal being horribly abused/mistreated in what is quite an awful and cruel manner. I know this can be upsetting for some people so I wanted to give people a bit of forewarning. The scene is not too graphic, but I figured I should give you guys some warning anyway.

That aside, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to those of you that reviewed the last chapter and this story in general. I really appreciate your kind words and advice, so please keep them coming : )

Please remember that Once Upon A Time is not owned by me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

The Girl From Kansas

Zelena was still sitting at her vanity, gazing into her enchanted spy-glass when she was abruptly jarred out of her wicked musings of vengence and justice - or at least justice in accordance to the Wicked Witch of the West's standards - by a loud noise suddenly echoing into her emerald-patterned chamber from the corridor outside.

Looking up in surprise, Zelena's green-skinned face lit up with a wicked grin filled with malice. She immediately knew exactly what kind of creature was responsible for creating that sound after all. The sound was a horrible screeching noise that made her enemies' skin crawl in a wonderfully wicked way. A noise Zelena knew particularly well indeed.

It was the sound her beloved pets made.

Surprised, as Zelena hadn't expected any of her little pets to come bothering her any time soon, the Wicked Witch of the West turned towards the door leading into her chamber, hearing the unearthly shrieking drawing closer and closer.

The doors burst open, and in swooped one of her darling pets.

A flying monkey.

Getting a closer look at the airborne simian that had come to pay its mistress a visit, Zelena couldn't quite contain her astonishment, and allowed her jaw to drop wide open in stunned surprise.

Any other time, Zelena would have thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Surely the sight before her wasn't possible.

Dead was dead, and life lost couldn't be returned. That was an irrefutable fact of nature, magic and existence. But then again, so was the supposed impossibility of altering the past, and yet here Zelena was, proving that that particular law of magic could indeed be broken.

And if this wasn't confirmation that she had succeeded in her plot to traverse backwards through time, the emerald-skinned witch didn't know what else could be.

Because the flying monkey hovering in the air before her wasn't just any flying monkey.

No.

This flying monkey was her favourite one. It was the only flying monkey she'd actually felt a faint bit of sadness for after it had been killed - mostly because it was the first one she had ever created through her transformative magic. This monkey was the first man to become one of her beloved pets and ever faithful servants.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

That was who this particular flying monkey had once been. This flying monkey was Walsh. As in the same Walsh that Emma Swan had sent hurtling to his death by knocking him off the top of a tower block in New York City in the Land Without Magic.

Zelena's lips curled into a wicked grin.

No.

Emma Swan hadn't sent him hurtling to his death. Not yet at least. Oh, Zelena's plan had been simple. Have Walsh in his human form charm the Saviour into a life of marital bliss, a life she wouldn't give up to return to her former hectic life as being Storybrooke's Saviour, and then she wouldn't pose a threat to Zelena's plans.

Unfortunately, Walsh had messed that devious plan up, with a helping hook from a certain one-handed wonder.

Still, Walsh was alive again now.

No. He just wasn't dead yet... either way, this was very good news for Zelena.

After all, the Wicked Witch fully intended to change the former wizard's fate and allow him to prove himself useful to her once more. Her favourite pet's presence meant that Zelena had at least one faithful servant in the days to come now, and if she was going to pull off an improvised plan in a relatively short amount of time, she'd need as many useful resources as she could possibly get.

Walsh let out a loud, echoing shriek.

Zelena's wicked grin became even more pronounced.

"Hello to you too, my pretty" she cooed at the monkey that she had known to be dead years in the future, "To what do I owe this visit?"

Zelena had already mentally come to the decision not to reveal everything that had happened to her faithful pet. Not yet at least. It would just distract the flying monkey from his mission. Serving her every whim without question. No. Her voyage into the past was something Zelena planned to keep under wraps, for the time being at least.

The flying monkey squawked at her.

"Aw, how sweet" Zelena chuckled, "You simply missed me. It's nice to know that somebody likes being around me. I like that you're so devoted to your mistress".

The monkey shrieked and nodded his furry head.

"But I'm glad you're here" Zelena continued, grinning darkly, "Because we've got lots of work to do".

The monkey chattered, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Oh no my pretty" Zelena smirked wickedly, "It's not work for my time-travel spell. No - I'm past all that now. No, my pretty, I'm working on a new plan now. A plan to ensure my sister gets exactly what she deserves. A plan that will make Regina suffer for a very long time to come".

The flying monkey clapped his hands happily at the thought.

Zelena smirked and turned back to her reflection in the spy-glass, a wicked grin playing on her lips, as both the witch and her pet fell into a thoughtful silence. She had herself an ally now, and a month of time to make preparations to go with it. That was very good news for her, and utterly terrible news for Regina.

A new plan for revenge was coming together.

And it was going to be... oh so wonderfully wicked.

One Week Later - The Land of Oz – Three Weeks Before The Dark Curse Was Cast.

And wonderfully wicked it was.

Over the course of the last seven days, Zelena had easily adjusted to being back in the Emerald City where she ruled with an iron fist, as opposed to being stuck lurking in the shadows in Storybrooke thanks to Snow White's Dark Curse back in the future.

So far, nobody in Oz had twigged that anything was amiss with the Wicked Witch of the West. Zelena had honestly thought that someone would be smart enough to figure out what had happened. That at least one person would find it odd how she was suddenly no longer interested in pursuing a means to travel backwards in time, yet not a single person had.

Clearly she had given the people of Oz too much credit.

Not a single person had thought to question the reason behind why Zelena's plans had changed so abruptly, not even her beloved flying monkey Walsh, but the emerald-skinned witch was pleased that nobody had thought to question her sudden change of heart.

It made it much easier to plan for the future this way.

A future she planned to manipulate for twenty eight years to come.

Yes.

Zelena had decided that the best course of action she could take now would be to allow Regina's Dark Curse to take her along for the ride with everyone else. What better revenge was there to have other than wrecking havoc on her sister's so-called happy ending?

And if Zelena had lost her only chance to erase her sister from existence entirely, then she damn well was going to do the next best thing. She was going to make Regina's continued existence... nothing short of a living hell.

It was no more than the Evil Queen deserved after all.

Zelena was still working out some of the finer details for her new plan, but the biggest obstacle she had to overcome at this point was ensuring she had a method to be in present the Enchanted Forest when her sister enacted the Dark Curse so that the Wicked Witch of the West would be engulfed by it along with everyone else.

Once upon a time, Zelena had been powerful enough to banish Glinda across realms by her magic alone. Things were different now however. That had only been possible because Zelena's magic had been working in tandem with the other three witches' magic - it was an irony that wasn't lost on Zelena, that it was in part thanks to Glinda's own magic that had enable Zelena to banish her. The link between the four witches was shattered now however, which meant that Zelena's magic wasn't strong enough to punch through the realms and get her back to the Enchanted Forest. Not on its own at least. She had been trying for days and getting nowhere.

No.

Zelena needed a different means of transportation if she was going to travel to the Enchanted Forest on the day of the Dark Curse. Fortunately, Zelena remembered some rather valuable information from the events of the original timeline. Information that would prove to be of great aid in solving her current dilemma.

It was for that very reason that Zelena found herself outside the safety of the Emerald City, and out in the wilderness of Oz in the very last place she wanted to be right now.

Zelena was having to work extremely hard to ignore the unpleasant churning in her stomach as she approached one of the precious few places in Oz that she had avoided like the plague for a great many years, before and even after her sister's Dark Curse in the original timeline. The green-skinned witch couldn't quite refrain from biting her lip uncomfortably though, as she arrived at her destination.

That awful feeling was rearing its ugly head again as she glared at the sight before her, furiously blinking back the angry tears which she simply refused to let fall.

That overwhelming envy.

She could still feel it, still as intense as the day it had first taken hold.

A small piece of Zelena's bruised and damaged heart pleaded with her to merely summon a green fireball and obliterate the entire structure that lay in crumpling ruins before her, to wipe the place out of existence in a futile hope of erasing the overwhelming pain attached to the memories of this place for her as well.

Zelena quickly discarded the notion however.

Now was not the time to reflect on past heartbreaks and betrayals.

She needed to find a suitable relic from the broken home first, and it wouldn't do to waste her magic on simply blowing the place up. There were much more important matters that required her full attention at this critical moment.

The past was something she was currently changing, so there really wasn't much point in dwelling on it.

So stealing her nerves and squashing down the voice in her head that was pleading with her to just get away from this wretched place, Zelena bravely stepped up to the building, or to be more accurate, the ruins of a building.

The ruins of Dorothy Gale's farmhouse.

It was a place that Zelena cared not to think about, because in her mind, it was where the second chance that Glinda had gifted her with - and where the other witch's loyalty had begun to waver - had been stolen away from her.

Stolen like everything else she'd ever wanted.

A forlorn sigh of the utmost misery slipped Zelena's lips as her emerald eyes raked over the sight where one of the many tragedies that her entire life seemed to be composed of had occurred. Even after all these years, the place still had an awful effect on the Wicked Witch of the West.

It shouldn't have surprised her though.

After all, memories of when things started to go wrong for her yet again were bound to leave emotional scars, even if Zelena would deny such scars existed, even within her own wicked mind.

Shaking those dark and unwelcome thoughts away, Zelena got down to the business that had brought her there, and began scouring the ruins, looking for a suitable object she could use to enchant with a locator spell, in order to lead her right to her latest prey.

Her emerald eyes landed on something in particular, and a wicked grin lit up Zelena's face.

The object of her attention was nothing more than a plain and simple bicycle, but despite her brief time in the Land Without Magic after Snow White cast the second curse, Zelena still found these bizarre contraptions to be utterly barbaric.

She was confident however that the bicycle would serve her purpose wonderfully.

Zelena approached the bicycle that had been rusting away, abandoned in the mud for a great many years, and drew a potion out from the pocket of her cloak. Pouring the potion over the bicycle, Zelena watched as the contraption sprung upright, before it slowly began wheeling away, moving on its own accord in the direction of its one-time owner.

The Wicked Witch of the West grinned, her eyes shining with malice.

It was time to make that little bitch pay.

The bicycle led Zelena out of the western region of Oz entirely, taking her across the border and into the southern region of the land. It made a perverse sort of sense to Zelena that Dorothy would pick that area of the land to hide out in. Given how close that little farmyard reject had grown with Glinda during her short stay in Oz, it made sense that Dorothy would feel safest in the region of the land that Glinda was supposed to be the protector of.

A feral gleam shone in Zelena's eyes as she continued her quest.

There was nothing and no one that could protect Dorothy Gale now, and soon enough, Zelena was going to make that little bitch pay for all the misery she had bestowed on her wicked heart when that cyclone first brought her to Oz.

Twenty eight years of absolute misery seemed a fitting punishment.

Yes. Zelena had decided that when she let the Dark Curse consume her, she wouldn't be making that trip into the Land Without Magic alone. There were several special enemies in Zelena's life that had earned themselves a ticket to Storybrooke, and the Wicked Witch of the West fully intended on taking all of them with her. And Dorothy Gale was very high up on that list. Zelena honestly couldn't wait to see what type of suffering that little twit's new cursed life would bring.

The bitch from the barn deserved nothing less.

It was those wicked thoughts that were still spurring Zelena on several hours later, as the enchanted bicycle finally began to lead the green-skinned witch into territory that she recognised from having ventured into during the original timeline.

Grinning, Zelena waved her hand, ending the spell on the bicycle. It unceremoniously toppled to the ground with a clatter.

Zelena didn't want the ridiculous contraption to arouse her prey's suspicions by wheeling into her hiding place first after all. No, the Wicked Witch of the West wanted her entrance to be a complete surprise. She yearned to see the expression on that little brat's face, to see the horrified terror in her pretty eyes, when Dorothy Gale realised that her fate was completely and utterly doomed.

It was no more than she deserved for ruining Zelena's happiness after all.

Her lips curling into a triumphant smirk that practically oozed smugness, Zelena silently crept through the trees that surrounded the clearing in which she now remembered her nemesis' hideout to be located in.

Pausing, Zelena took a curious look around. Just as in the original timeline, the hideout was nothing to be impressed by. But then again, that was Dorothy Gale in a nutshell, and yet for some reason, she still had the love of the people of Oz. Zelena couldn't help but ponder why that was.

Shaking herself out of those irrelevant musings, Zelena slowly stepped out from the trees that were covering her from view, careful not to make even the slightest whisper. The element of surprise was only going to make this more fun for her after all.

The Wicked Witch began stalking towards her prey.

Dorothy's hideout was just a shabby little hut that had been haphazardly knocked together by Munchkin hands, in the middle of a clearing in the dense forest, surrounded by trees on every side. That was no doubt to provide Dorothy with as much cover as possible.

Zelena cackled wickedly.

It didn't matter where Dorothy ducked for cover now. Nothing that farm girl could do was going to derail Zelena's plan for revenge this time around.

The brunette bitch herself was sitting on a log in the enclosure, sadly poking at the crackling campfire with a decaying tree branch. Her faithful flea-bitten mutt - Toto, if Zelena correctly recalled - was curled up by her feet. It was more than a little obvious that the young woman had no inkling just how close the person she loathed the most in all the realms currently was to her, so wrapped up she was in her own misery.

Zelena's cruel smile only widened.

By the time the Wicked Witch of the West got through with her, Dorothy Gale was going to learn precisely what real misery looked like.

The emerald-skinned witch was momentarily startled when the sound of a heavy wooden door clunking open reached her ears, but Zelena merely smiled as she looked on to see the Scarecrow of all people emerge from the hut. The brain-dead haystack joined Dorothy by the fire, and Zelena noticed how he was keeping his distance, casting wary looks at the crackling flames.

The Wicked Witch of the West smirked.

If that pesky bag of filthy straw decided to grow a spine at long last, and attempted to halt the most wicked chain of events that Zelena was about to set in motion, then she promised herself there and then that she'd push him into the fire and turn him into a human candle.

She highly doubted he'd have the guts to try though.

Relishing in what promised to be her moment of triumph, Zelena decided that she couldn't wait anymore. With an air of smug confidence that she felt this situation warranted, Zelena marched into the clearing, a wicked smile on her face.

"Well, hello my pretties" she cheerfully announced her presence.

The effect of her words was immediate.

Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow jumped, caught off guard completely, as they both looked around their surroundings frantically, alarm etched into both their faces as they tried to locate the intruder to their hideout. Toto started barking, startled by his mistress' suddenly erratic behaviour.

Soon enough, Dorothy's shocked eyes locked with Zelena's vindictive own.

For a split second, no one said anything. Nobody moved. None of them even seemed to breathe.

Then the moment shattered.

The brunette's face contorted with barely suppressed outrage, whilst the Scarecrow cowered and whimpered with fear when faced with such wonderful wickedness. Toto's yelps became snarling growls as the small dog also sniffed out the nearby source of evil.

Zelena simply smiled, relishing in their reactions.

"Back off Witch!" Dorothy yelled as she leapt to her feet, quickly drawing her sword and levelling it towards Zelena, "You're not taking him from me!"

For a split second, Zelena was very confused.

What the hell was that Kansas brat babbling on about now?

But then the events of the original timeline all came flooding back to her, and Zelena soon remembered that it was on this very day in a time that no longer would come to be, this was the moment where she had effortlessly slaughtered that feeble imitation of life known as the Scarecrow by ripping his tiny brain out of his ugly head, for one of her precious ingredients.

Unfortunately, it had been a wasted action.

The first set of ingredients Zelena had attempted to use to open her magnificent time portal had failed to work, and all of them, including the Scarecrow's feeble brain had all burned up until nothing by ashes remained. It was only after her first disastrous attempt that Zelena had figured out that the ingredients needed to come from specific people.

Needless to say, the Scarecrow's death had been for nothing.

Zelena smirked darkly.

Well... just because those were the events that took place in the first timeline she'd lived through, it did not mean that those same events were about to take place in this one.

"Oh I haven't come here to take back the talking bird toilet dear" Zelena replied, earning herself an offended glare from the Scarecrow, "I'm afraid I've moved onto bigger and better schemes now my pretty".

Dorothy narrowed her eyes, loathing for the green-skinned witch burning away in them.

"Good for you" the woman from Kansas replied sarcastically, "Perhaps you can move onto someplace else too, since you're certainly not wanted here".

Zelena chuckled, a malevolent grin on her face.

"Tsk, tsk" the Wicked Witch of the West shook her head mockingly, "I would have hoped that Glinda and the others taught you better manners than that whilst they were all busy fawning over you and tossing me aside like a piece of green trash".

Dorothy tipped her head defiantly.

"Still bitter over that, are we?" Dorothy challenged, smirking a smirk that Zelena just couldn't wait to wipe off her face, "Perhaps it's time to ask youself why that happened, Zelena? Why did the Good Witches prefer me? Why does everyone in Oz love me, but despise you?"

Zelena's eyes flashed with barely suppressed fury.

Dorothy's smirk widened, since it was more than a little obvious that she'd hit a raw nerve with that snide remark.

"You'll learn" was all Zelena replied with.

Her eerie calmness was troubling to Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Even Toto seemed to pick up on the fact that something was amiss here.

"Learn what?" Dorothy demanded to know.

Zelena's lips quirked into a smile.

"That soon, it won't matter what anybody in the whole of Oz thinks about you, or about me for that matter" Zelena explained gleefully.

"And why not?" Dorothy challenged.

Zelena's smile only widened.

"Because soon enough, my pretty, you and I won't even be in Oz" Zelena relished the deeply concerned look that marred Dorothy's beautiful face with those words, "In fact, you and I, won't actually be... well, you and I, anymore".

Dorothy's face contorted in confusion.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the woman from Kansas demanded to know.

Zelena just grinned wickedly at her.

"Thing are about to get wicked Dorothy" Zelena told her cryptically.

Dorothy rolled her eyes, losing all patience with her most unwanted and unwelcome visitor now.

"Enough with the riddles, you deranged twisted witch" the brunette snapped angrily, "Either get lost or get your green ass handed to you. Your choice".

Zelena let out a wicked cackle.

"I think I prefer option number three" Zelena smirked nastily at her enemy, "And that's where I cause you an endless amount of suffering".

And with that, Zelena conjured a fireball.

Dorothy was quick to react. As Zelena hurled the emerald fire at her, the woman from Kansas used her blade to deflect the magic away from herself. The Scarecrow whimpered and cowered as the flames ricocheted away.

"You'll have to do better than that Witch" Dorothy challenged smugly.

"Oh... I intend too" Zelena retorted darkly.

Summoning more of her magic, Zelena conjured dozens of swords into existence around herself. They hovered through the air around the Wicked Witch of the West in a deadly green haze, before as one, they twisted in the air until they were all aimed at the farmyard reject.

Cackling wickedly, Zelena used her magic to hurl all the swords at Dorothy, and like a cloud of shiny silver metal, they stormed towards her.

Dorothy ducked and rolled out of the swords' oncoming path, before leaping to her feet and using her sword to knock a second wave of the lethal blades away. The swords all clattered harmlessly to the ground.

"Dorothy!" the Scarecrow cried, as he rushed over to help his friend.

Unfortunately he wouldn't make it to her. There was no way that the Wicked Witch of the West was going to allow him to run interference with her scheme this time around.

Waving her hands again, Zelena willed four of the fallen swords back into the air, and with frightening speed, sent them soaring towards the Scarecrow.

Yelping in surprise, the Scarecrow could only look on in horror as the swords pierced his arms and legs with a sickening ripping sound. Being made of straw, the swords didn't hurt the Scarecrow, but before he could react further, he found himself forcefully pinned into a tree trunk and trapped there.

The Scarecrow tugged and squirmed desperately, trying to free himself, but it was futile.

The swords were tightly embedded in the thick tree trunk, keeping the Scarecrow firmly in place, and preventing him from being of any help to Dorothy in the fight still currently raging on before him.

"No! Scarecrow!" Dorothy shrieked, worried for her friend.

Before she could get any ideas about trying to release him, Zelena summoned and hurled twin fireballs through the air, but again, Dorothy was able to slide out of their path and out of harm's way.

Toto snarled and trotted over to Zelena, who was so distracted by trying to hit Dorothy, that she didn't even notice him. Without any hesitation, the little dog sank his small teeth into the green flesh of her ankle.

Zelena shrieked in surprise and pain before glancing down.

Her pained expression morphed into a furious snarl, and without the smallest ounce of hesitation or remorse for what she was about to do, the Wicked Witch of the West picked the little dog up with her magic, and sent him sprawling backwards across the campsite. He was deposited into the fire.

Toto howled in undeniable agony as the flames immediately started consuming him.

"TOTO!" Dorothy screamed in absolute horror.

The young woman threw her sword to the ground, her battle with the Wicked Witch of the West now completely forgotten, as she hurried over to the campfire, trying desperately to reach through the crackling flames in an attempt to rescue her faithful pet, who was still howling and screaming and wimpering as the fire licked and snapped at him.

Zelena watched on gleefully as she relished in her enemy's utter despair.

Dorothy suddenly sprung to her feet and dashed back into the shelter that she'd been hiding out in. Moments later she emerged again, carrying a heavy metal bucket full of water. She skidded over to the fire and tossed the bucket of water over it, dosing the fire and putting her smouldering dog out. She began waving the smoke away, holding her nose because the stench of charred fur was truly sickening.

Zelena just watched, laughing wickedly.

"Oh... oh my..." the Scarecrow gasped as such horrendous wickedness, before glowering in the witch's direction, "Why did you do that?! How could you do something so cruel?!"

Zelena just regarded him in amusement.

"Not cruel dear" she informed him gleefully, her manic grin never wavering, "Wicked".

Dorothy let out a howl of white-hot outrage as she could finally properly analysis the damage that had been done to her poor dog. The sight sickened her to the very pit of her stomach.

Toto had angry burns all over his body, and patches of his fur were missing as they'd been burnt away. The burnt stench of him was disgusting and made Dorothy want to retch, but she was just so relieved that the poor thing was still even alive. She couldn't lost Toto. She just couldn't. But right now her beloved dog was quivering and whimpering in agony though, and that made Dorothy's blood boil.

"YOU BITCH!" she screamed at Zelena, "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Seizing her sword, Dorothy's emotional state at seeing her beloved dog abused in such a cruel way made all tactical thoughts fly out the window.

Dorothy charged at the witch, fully intending to use her blade to slice her in half for what she'd just done, but Zelena merely rolled her eyes impatiently and waved her hand through air, snapping Dorothy's sword in half - the force of which sent the brunette sprawling to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

"Oh please" Zelena drawled sarcastically, "It's going to take a lot more than a pointy piece of metal to hurt someone like me".

"We'll see about that!" Dorothy yelled angrily.

The woman from Kansas lifted up the hem of her skirt and revealed a small set of throwing knives strapped to her ankle. Dorothy quickly unstrapped them all, before hurling them as a collective group at the Wicked Witch of the West.

Any normal rational person would be alarmed and terrified by the storm of silver metal, but then, Zelena was anything but a normal rational person. Smiling calming, the emerald-skinned woman lifted her hand, and halted the knives' progress in thin air.

"And again Dorothy" she taunted, relishing in the stunned expression on her nemesis' face, "Always with the 'grab whatever's closest and throwing it' thing. When are you going to learn that it's not going to work, or are you just that much of a simple farm girl that it's too much for your tiny brain to understand?"

The outrage burning away in Dorothy's eyes was palpable.

"Taunt me all you like you bitch. You can do your worst, but I will never stop fighting you" Dorothy snarled back, never loathing Zelena quite as much as she did in that moment, "Not until the people of Oz are safe from your wickedness, and especially not after what you just did to Toto".

Zelena arched an elegant eyebrow at her.

Normally by now, her enemies were starting to realise just how hopeless it was to even think about going up against her. In fact, only Regina and Emma and their band of idiots were her only enemies up until this point in her life to be so overwhelmingly outmatched by her magic but still have the nerve to continue fighting against her wonderful wickedness.

Even the girl that Zelena had met all those years ago would have given up long before now. In fact, that doe-eyed fresh-faced whimpering twit would have begged for mercy the moment she threatened something she cared about, for example the mutt that had probably just caused Zelena to contract something nasty.

Yet here was the woman that girl had grown into, still as defiant as ever.

"You know, I'm not sure where all this back talk is coming from" Zelena mused as she regarded Dorothy, who glared up at her from her spot of the ground in pure loathing, "Because the Dorothy Gale that I met, all those years ago, would be grovelling at my feet, begging me not to hurt anyone else".

Dorothy couldn't quite hold back her scoff.

"Yeah, well that Dorothy is gone now" she declared angrily, "You know, she used to be so afraid of this world, but not now. I'm all that's left of her, and I am not afraid of you. I will never be afraid of you".

Zelena arched an eyebrow, mildly surprised.

"Well you've certainly changed" the emerald-skinned woman remarked in amusement, "What happened to you in Kansas?"

Dorothy glared at her, but refused to grant her an answer.

"Actually, I don't really care" Zelena shrugged her musings off when Dorothy failed to respond, "Because it's time for this little pantomime to draw to its close".

Dorothy refused to show even an ounce of fear on her face, when fear was all she was feeling inside. Not fear of Zelena, but fear of what was to come next. The afterlife. The unknown. At least maybe she would be able to see her beloved Auntie Em again. If Dorothy had to die, that would make her happy at least.

"Then get on with it!" Dorothy shouted in defiant anger, "Kill me. Do it! Get it over with!"

"Dorothy, no!" the Scarecrow cried in panic.

The Scarecrow frantically tried pulling against the swords pinning him to the tree again, desperate to get to her, as was Toto - although he weakly flopped to the ground in an ungraceful heap due to his injuries - but both the Scarecrow and the dog were immediately frozen in place by Zelena's wicked magic.

"Sorry dearies" Zelena smirked at the loathing looks on all their faces, "But I can't let you interfere with what comes next".

"And that's my death!" Dorothy yelled in anguish, "So just get on with it!"

But to Dorothy's utmost shock and downright alarm, the Wicked Witch of the West just smiled at the woman on the ground at her feet, before slowly shaking her head. A ghostly chill ran down Dorothy's spine at the malevolent look in her wild eyes.

"Oh no my pretty" Zelena smirked wickedly, "Death is far too easy. Easier than you deserve for what you did too me".

"I did nothing to you!" Dorothy protested heatedly.

"Liar!" Zelena snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously, "I lost my second chance because you came here to Oz! The other witches all turned on me because they chose you over me!"

"No!" Dorothy argued angrily, tired of being blamed for something that honestly wasn't her fault, "You ruined your own second chance in your petty jealousy! They only turned on you after you gave into your wickedness! What happened to you is not my fault, IT'S YOURS!"

The Wicked Witch of the West was tempted to choke the life out of Dorothy Gale there and then.

But with the utmost self-control and restraint, the emerald-skinned woman barely managed to get her boiling-hot anger under control again, and she forced a manic grin onto her face.

"Oh Dorothy, I would so enjoy killing you. I'd love to see the life drain out of those pretty eyes, but I'm afraid that doesn't factor into my plans" Zelena informed the woman at her feet gleefully, "You see, with what's coming, I don't need to kill you... and it won't be long now until you're wishing I had done".

Dorothy swallowed hard, wondering what she meant by that.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" the brunette questioned cautiously.

Zelena's deranged smile only widened.

"It means that you've failed. Failed Oz, failed it's people, failed yourself" Zelena gleefully informed her, relishing in delight as she saw some of the fight and hope finally drain out of Dorothy's eyes, "Soon Dorothy Gale will be nothing more than a legend of a hero who faced a villain and lost spectacularly. And then... then my pretty... you'll be nothing".

Cackling wickedly, Zelena waved her hand one final time.

In a plume of emerald smoke, both the Wicked Witch of the West and the girl from Kansas disappeared. Toto and the Scarecrow unfroze from the magic binding them in place, and the swords pinning the latter to the tree evaporated, freeing him. They could only look on in horror at the spot where the two women had once been.

A loyal dog's howls for his mistress echoed through the forest that night.

And there's another one : )

Kind of intense, huh? I know, I know - that was beyond cruel. I can honestly say that even as someone not particularly fond of animals, I truly don't believe that any animal should be mistreated, and you'd have to be a total sicko to even consider trying to burn a dog alive like that, but I really needed a way for Zelena to emotionally destabilize Dorothy enough to get the upper hand. I'd say she definitely managed to do that : (

On the brighter side, Yay! I've been itching to get Dorothy in this story, and since this chapter lets the cat out of the bag, yes, she will be accompanying Zelena - against her will that is - to Storybrooke when the Dark Curse hits. Dorothy and several other characters who will be showing up in the next few chapters will all be getting cursed personae, which I'm really looking forward to writing and sharing with you guys : )

Also, what do people think about Walsh being back? I figured since we're getting Dorothy and the West Witch of the West, why not the Wizard of Oz as well? Plus I think he'll provide a certain emotional impact on Emma when she meets him again. Between him, Graham and Neal all being alive in this story at this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see the strain start getting to the Saviour at some point.

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and please leave a review on your way out as I'm particularly interested to see what you guys thought about this chapter. It has revealed quite a few future plot points so I'm excited to hear feedback : )

Until the next time, keep on reading : )