Chea and Micky were getting impatient with their actors.
"Come on!" Micky yelled through a big movie director megaphone. "Action!"
"We don't want to!" Karen said.
"Why not?" Chea asked.
"Cause this here is a strike." Mike said. "We don't wanna be in this stupid movie no more."
"Stupid?" Karen asked.
"You know what I mean." Mike said. "Theres a differance between liking Gone with the wind but its another thing when you are forced to do an on command performance for Orson Welles over there."
Karen and Mike had lost a recent "Beach Bash Volleyball Tourney" to Chea and Micky. Rather than lose money to the duo Karen and Mike had naively agreed to play a scene or two from the movie Karen liked. First Chea and Micky wanted to go into the movie with the time device to act out the scene but Karen convinced them they could do a pretty good performance in their time. After all the time traveling they had done, it would be good to do something without going to the actual time.
Micky and Chea chose today, Saturday and it just so happened to be Cheas birthday, to make their command perfomance of their prisoner thesbians. Peter and Brianna and Davy had even found their pals vintage clothing from the One Stop Slop Shop Thrift barrage. They had gone back to look for more junk.
"Come on," Chea begged. "We haven't had any gigs. Its a weekend. We're bored!"
"We could find a whole lot of things to do if we really tried." Mike protested.
"Yeah?" Micky asked. He and Chea got together for a quick pow wow. They broke up and looked at the two.
"Okay guys. Last scene. If you guys do this, then we can go off and have some real fun." Chea promised.
"Great." Karen said. "Remind me never to make a bet with you again."
"I'll betcha a dollar you won't." Micky said.
Karen moved to say "You're on!" And Mike stopped her mid-step.
"Whats the last scene?" Mike asked.
"Check the script Mike." Micky said.
"I know where we are." Karen said. She cleared her throat. They went over by the door. "Ohh Rhett what should I do? Where should I go?" She said in a bad southern accent. She knew she had the script switched but they were promised it was the last scene!
"Frankly my dear I don't give a damn." Mike said with his texas accent. He walked through the glass door and closed it. He came back in.
"Rhett doesnt come back!" Micky objected through his megaphone.
"In this version he does!" He said with a wink at Karen. He then pulled her to him. "I forgive ya lady, even if you did like that Ashley guy."
"Ohh Rhett!" Karen laughed. "Let's go to Charlestown." She said trying not to laugh.
"I'm with you." He said and then picked her up in a bridal carry. He went to the door again. "Call cut Mick!"
"Cut!" Micky said.
"Mick!" Chea added.
"We'll be in our dressing room." Mike said as he carried Karen out the door.
Davy and Brianna came through the door with a box. It was overflowing with junk. Mike came back through the door put Karen down on the floor.
"Look what we got!" Brianna said as they foursome joined them. Peter came in with another box with some clothes in it. "Discount movie stuff at the thrift store."
"And this!" Davy said pulling out a script. He handed it to Karen.
"If this is another corset drama, then I'm moving out." She threatened Chea who had a wicked look on her face. "The Wizard Of Oz."
"Peters fave movie." Davy said.
"Yeah." Peter said. "Since we have nothing better to do, why dont we do a few scenes?"
"I dunno." Mike said.
"What else have we go to do?" Brianna asked.
"She's right." Micky said.
"I can cast people." Davy volunteered.
"Yeah, why not Mike?" Karen asked, finally reconsidering.
"Hmm," Mike said. "Okay but no more stupid roles for me."
"Great." Brianna said. "I was once in drama club. The most fun we ever had was when we cast the roles as they appeared in the script. Where should we start?"
"With Dorothy." Chea said. She looked at Karen.
"Oh nooo, not again." Karen said pointing at her.
"Chea will be Dorothy." Davy said. Karen sighed in relief.
"Oh man!" Chea said. "But I don't know that song she sings. What is it? The Rainbow Connection? No wait thats the Muppet Movie, never mind."
"Don't worry, we'll just start after the tornado. After all who sticks around for the black and white part anyway?" Davy looked at Peter. "Sorry."
"It's true." Peter said. "Even I have to admit I skip it sometimes to get to the fun part!"
"Okay, lets do it." Chea said.
"Why dont we use the time gadget?" Micky whined.
"Yeah." Chea said. "We don't have a yellow brick road around here."
"We oughta vote." Mike said. "After all I thought we were gonna use it for good."
"We are!" Micky said.
"What do you guys think?" Karen asked.
"It could be fun, right luv?" Davy asked Brianna. She nodded.
"And plus Micky knows how to program it now." Chea said. "We wouldnt be screwing up anything."
"I'd like to try it." Peter said.
"Okay, looks like we got a majority." Mike said. "It looks like we're off to see the wizard." They grouped together in a circle. Karen toted the script under one arm. Micky got the device and set it for what they wanted and for seven people. Since the last adventure, the surprisingly tech adept Micky had done a lot of upgrading. They could now time how long they were in each period and could now set it to a time when they wanted to come back.
"Oz here we come." Micky said and pushed the button.
In an instant they were gone.
OZ
Chea, as Dorothy emerged from the house that she came to OZ in. She looked around. She was in Dorothys trademark blue checkered dress. Other than the dress, which looked like a table cloth, they came through the time trip fine and dandy.
"Wait a minute." She looked around. "Mick wheres my dog?" She looked off to the side. Micky sat there with his megaphone.
"Don't need him babe, you got me." Micky cracked.
"Ahhh." Chea said. "I'm allergic anyway." She sat for a second. "What now?"
"You meet the munchins." Micky said consulting the script he stole from Karen.
"Munchins? Now that be right." Chea said walking over to Micky. "It's spelled wrong, Munchkins."
"Okay, but whats the actual name?"He smiled.
"Oh you." Micky returned to her spot.
"Cue munchins." Micky yelled.
"Munch-kins!" Davy and Brianna said as they came from behind a large gingerbread house.
"You guys are so cute!" Chea said. "I could just eat you up. Along with that house but it'd go straight to my thighs."
"Why are we the munchkins?" Davy asked. "It's cause we're short isnt it?"
"I dunno. I kinda like you like this." Brianna said looking at him.
"Really?" He asked. Brianna nodded. "Okay." He smiled goofily. "We are here to congradulate you for killing the evil bad witch."
"Thanks." Chea said. "She looks like the wife of my landlord!"
"But I bet you wanna go home now." Brianna said.
"Yes, definately." Chea said. "I feel like I'm in the toy village at Kay-Bee toys."
"Follow the yellow brick road..." Davy started to sing.
"Knock it off." Micky said.
"Well I'm sorry! I thought someone should sing!" Davy protested.
"If we wanted a song, we'd find Christina Aguilera." Micky said. "Action!"
"Where does the red road lead?" Chea asked.
"Concession cart." Davy said. "And you better hurry if you want something before you leave, Peters digging into the cake mix. Peter!" Davy called leaving Brianna. "You bake the cake FIRST!"
"Just follow the road." Brianna said. "If you need directions, well I'm sure there is a citgo somewhere."
"Cool." Chea said. "Well I'm off."
"Good luck!" Brianna said as Chea bounced off. "And remember if you see the wicked witch of the west tell her she owes me twenty bucks!"
"What?" Chea stopped in the middle of the road.
"Nothing." Brianna smiled.
"Uh ok." Chea said. "Coming Orson?"
"You're really not supposed to see me you know." Micky said with the megaphone.
"Yeah, but nothings stopping me from that is there?" Chea laughed. "If I start seeing dead people I'm in trouble."
"Wheres the next stop?" Micky said as the other scrambled for the next scene in the script.
"Uh scarecrow, and hes ready." Peter said with his cake mix box.
"Got milk?" Micky asked.
"I'm covered." Peter said holding a bottle up. He tipped it the wrong way and splashed himself. "Ok now I am."
Cross roads
Chea skipped down the road, by herself now, and found a large cornfield at the four corners. There was a forelorn looking scarecrow hanging up there. Chea squinted. She laughed.
"Mike?" She asked.
"Yeah?" Mike looked up. He was the scarecrow.
"How did they get you up there?" Chea asked.
"Don't ask, don't tell, don't remember." He said.
"Want to come down now?" Chea asked searching for a nail in back. One was holding him up, it was nailed to the stick with a harness like thing.
"If you would, please." He said. She pulled the release in back and he slunk to the ground. "I make a terrible scarecrow. I can't even scare the crows away. I sing, but more just keep coming." He said as Chea helped him up.
"How do I get to Oz?" Chea asked. "Rumor has it the wizard can get me home.
"Well you can go that way or that way." He said pointing both ways. "But if I were you..."
"...and you aren't."
"True." Mike said. "This would be the best way."
"How do you know, you been playing Hay Guy On A Stick, for the past half hour." Chea challenged him.
"I know." Mike said. "But people do pass, give me the weirdest look, then go that way." He said pointing to the east.
"Are you sure?" Chea asked. Mike nodded. "Then what would be that way?"
"Frank Zappa concert." He said.
"Ah." Chea said. "I can always use a weird friend to talk to, would you like to come with?"
"The wizard can get me a brain?" Mike said. "Cause I think I need that."
"I think he can help." Chea nodded.
"Sure, I think I need to go to the little boys room first." Mike confessed.
"Mike!" Micky said from the side between two large corn stalks. He had a beret on now, looking very french. "The scarecrow doesnt go number one or two in this movie!"
"Well this one does. If you were hanging up there as long as I was, you know how I feel. I think I got a killer wedgie too." He said shifting. "Damn Karen and her delicious coffee." He moaned as he vanished into the corn field.
"Okay." Chea said uncertainedly. "Orson!"
"What?" Orson, of Mork and Mindy called, his voice coming from the sky. Chea looked up.
"Go back to bed." Chea said to the scary voice. "I mean Micky!"
"What?" Micky asked.
"Where to now? I can't remember if we meet Tin man or the lion next." She asked.
"The tin man." Micky said. "Davy didn't cast him, I'll be right back."
"Uh ok." Chea said.
"You'all ready?" Mike asked.
"Yeah." Chea said and laced her arm through his. They started to sing as they skipped down the road. "Ohh we're gonna ease on down, ease on down the road now..."
Tin Man Alley...
Chea and Mike walked into a forest while following the yellow brick road.
"I love how the roads and the woods are almost completely clean." Chea mused.
"Oh yeah," Mike said. "Its nice."
"Nice like a L.L. Bean outlet store, but its nice." Chea said.
"How much farther? I need a break." Mike said.
"Okay." Chea said. "Man, I dunno how Judy Garland could have worn these shoes during the whole movie." She rubbed her feet.
"Easy." Mike said. "Get paid enough money and you can stand anything." He leaned on something in the middle of the road. It moved. "Hey!"
"Thats what I was gonna say to you. Hay!" Micky said turning around, he was all decked out in the tin man gear.
"Oh arigato Mr Roboto." Chea said and bowed.
"What?" They both said.
"Nothing." Chea said. "We're looking for the wizard."
"I need a heart." Micky said. "Is that my line?"
"Yes." Mike said. "And the wizard is supposed to give me a brain."
"I could say a lot of things about that comment right now but...hey...why dont we ditch the walking hay bale and go sailing?" Micky said to Chea.
"Micky!" Chea laughed.
"The tin man does not hit on Dorothy!" Mike said.
"Well in this version he does!" Micky laughed. "Do you think the wizard will help me get a heart?"
"Sure." Chea said. "He helps everyone."
"And sound financial help too?" Micky smiled.
"All his munchkins get 401ks." Chea nodded.
"Sounds good to me." Micky said. "Let's go."
"Wait there a second there, shotgun, how are you gonna direct us and be the tin man?" Mike asked.
"What, you don't think I can do both?" Micky asked, a little offended. "I can out act and out direct whoever did this movie in the first place." He paused. "Who was that honey?"
"Ask Peter he's the expert." Chea shrugged.
"I will!"
"Can we do this later?" Mike asked scratching his arm. "I've got a few new friends here I don't really like."
"Mike I doubt in the movie they used real hay." Chea said.
"They didn't?" Mike asked Chea, she shook her head. "Great." He took the hay outfit that he obviously made himself and tossed it in the cornfield. The set was extremely small, the cornfield was five feet away."I'm ready."
"What was that song you were singing?" Micky asked.
"Ease on down the road?" Chea said.
"Yeah thats it." He said. They linked arms. Micky had Chea between him and Mike.
"Oh we're gonna ease on down, ease on down the road now." They sang as they strolled toward the next scene.
"Okay I'm officially sick of that song now." Chea said as they turned a corner.
The Lion In The Sand
"So by my call either Peter or Davy is the cowardly lion." Chea said as they walked into the darkest part of the forest.
"This is getting scary." Mike said.
"This isnt so bad." Micky said.
"Well thats you, and I'm a nice straw texan guy." Mike mused. "An easy target for muggers and telemarketers, though sometimes you cant tell the differance."
"This part of the woods has to end somewhere." Chea reassured her friend.
"I'll be right behind you. Way behind you." Mike said turning to run.
"Are you sure you are the scarecrow and not the lion?" Micky asked.
"I dunno. Would he be able to be more frightened than me?" Mike asked.
"Me makes a good point, though that could be his head." Micky chuckled.
"It'll be over soon." Chea reassured. "Okay?"
"Okay." Mike said.
A big scary lion jumped from a tree and roared. The trio screamed.
"I'll be over here." Mike said taking off again.
"Are you gonna hurt us Mr Lion?" Chea asked.
"No." The lion said.
"Should we believe you?" Micky asked.
"If I did, I would be lion." He said, laughing at his own joke.
"Who are you?" Chea asked.
The lion got up. "Its me Karen." She said.
"I thought you were a Peter or Davy." Mike said.
"I'm so obviously not." Karen said. "I love this mane."
"Technically girl lions dont have manes." Micky reminded her.
"Well I do so blech." She said sticking her tongue out at her. "Don't rain on my parade!"
"You had us pretty convinced. Even the author of this story thought you were a guy." Chea said.
"I was in!" The authors voice broke through the sky. "I was just building suspense!"
"Sure sure." They all nodded.
"Watch it, or I'm throwing you in Earthquake next time, and in sense-surround!" The author threatened.
"We'll behave." Micky said. The author disapeared.
"Okay now what?" Mike said.
"It's my line." Karen said. "I need some courage. I can't even ask for the key to the citgo bathroom without pepping myself up for five minutes. By then, though there was no point."
"The wizard can help you." Chea said. "And hes got a george foreman cooker too!"
"Cool, let's go." Chea said. "What song do we sing?"
"Uh, 100 bottles of beer on the wall...." Micky sang. He skipped down the road. The others shook their heads, but soon followed.
The Darker Deeper Danker Dry Dusty (ok i'm sure you get it) woods.
"It's getting creepier." Karen said as she walked hand and hand with Mike. Chea and Micky held hands as well.
"Check the script Micky, are we going the right way?" Chea asked.
"I dunno." He said. "We didn't lose part of this on the way did we?"
"No."
"No."
"I would have noticed." Mike said.
"I only just joined." Karen said.
"Cause the script...it leads up to here..." He said. He opened up the script. "The rest of the pages are blank!"
"Oh man." Chea said.
"What do we do?" Karen asked.
"We need to regroup." Micky said taking out his megaphone again. "Davy! Brianna! Peter!" He called. They waited for a minute. Dead silence. He called their names again.
"How can they not hear that?" Mike asked Karen.
"I dunno. Is it working?" Micky asked.
"Let's see." Chea said taking it. She turned it to him. "MICK!!!!" She yelled. Her sudden outburst almost knocked him flat.
"Okay, I think we have an answer." Micky said sticking his fingers in his ears.
There was a sudden screech. Chea looked around.
"What was that?" Karen asked.
"Is Mariah Carey here?" Chea asked.
"Oh no, her screeching actually sounds better than this." Karen said. The noise was heard again but it was closer this time.
The foursome looked up. A whole fleet of monkey men were flying towards them.
"Friends of yours?" Mike asked.
"I was gonna ask you that." Karen said.
Suddenly three of them swooped down and took Chea up.
"HELPPPPP!!!!" She cried. Micky grabbed onto a leg.
"Let me help you darling!" He said as monkeys flew about him, trying to pick him off like a tick on a dog.
The monkeys gave up and flew away with Chea, with Micky still attached to her leg.
"Oh man!" Mike said. "Is this in the script?"
"It is, but I don't think Brianna, Davy and Peter were cast as the monkeys. Unless they bent space or time as well cause there were a heck of a lot of them.
"They left the megaphone." Mike said picking it up.
"Good. I almost wanna to shove that thing where Micky couldnt use it anymore if he used it again." Karen said.
Mike raised it to his lips. "Davy!" He yelled. "Peter!" He paused again. "BRI-AN-NA!"
"All right!" Davy said. "We're here already. Whats up?"
"Chea and Micky were taken by monkeys, flying ones." Karen said.
"Ah ok." Peter said. "Where did they really go?"
"They were kidnapped by flying monkeys!" Mike and Karen said frustrated.
"Are you sure?" Brianna asked.
"Either that or they went hangliding on the ugliest looking gliders I have EVER seen!" Karen said.
"Oh no." Brianna said.
"The monkey part, doest happen until after they first to emerald city!" Peter said.
Karen looked at Peter. "He's right. We have to go save them!"
"But how? They took our script, basically our only directions here." Mike said.
"I guess our fantasy ends, and the real adventure begins!" Brianna cried happily.
