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Wonderful Wizard of Nick - Chapter 10

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Chapter 10 - Wish Granting 101

The next couple of days, Otis, Cindy and the group started thinking about ways to grant the wishes, mostly by brainstorming and analyzing each problem one at a time. The third day, when Lila and company went to the workstation, Otis looked actually quite happy.

"I got it!" Otis received them. "I think I know how to start granting all the wishes."

"Really?" The group chorused at once.

"Yep. Okay, follow me here; what's our main problem to make your wishes come truth?" Otis paused. "Besides the fact I am not a real wizard, that is."

"That we're having no ideas at all." Cindy shrugged.

"Exactly. Meaning that the very first wish we need to grant is Jimmy's. If he gets a brain, he'll help us come up with ideas for the other wishes." Otis grinned before taking out a small bag. "Now… behold, the scarecrow's brain!"

"You have a BRAIN in there?" Lila gulped a bit, fearing to know how Otis got a brain for Jimmy.

"Yes, but not any brain. Jimmy is not human, so a human brain wouldn't work for him; he's filled up with straw. Therefore, his brain must be made of not-fleshy materials; I filled this sack with bran… heh, to give him some moral fiber… And I added needles and pins to give him a 'sharp' intellect."

"And to 'point' the obvious?" Chuckie rolled his eyes. "Great, I joined the joking."

"You think it will work?" Jimmy asked while looking at the sack.

"Well, we need to put it inside your head and see if it works as a brain; otherwise, it's just a sack containing some breakfast food with lots of iron." Otis shrugged. "Of course, this will make your head look a bit bigger."

"Hey, no problem with that." Jimmy smiled. "You can put it inside my head now."

"Okay; I'm no brain surgeon, but I'm no wizard either and I've done it right for a long time, so…" Otis grinned while gesturing Jimmy to sit on a nearby chair. The scarecrow did as said and Otis removed his hat; then, he untied the cords that kept Jimmy's head from losing its straw, and removed some of it to make space for the sack. Once Otis was fully sure that this procedure wasn't hurting Jimmy, he placed the sack inside and then put some straw back before closing the head again, this time sewing it with some very resistant cord plus a good piece of rope, since now Jimmy's head had to be much more securely closed to protect the brain.

"So… it's done?" Jenny asked Otis, as she and the others had stayed behind the bull while he worked.

"Yep. My best surgery so far." Otis chuckled. "Okay, Jimmy, stand up and tell me how you feel."

"Mmm… well, I'm no longer as light-headed as before." Jimmy said while standing up. "Heh… it feels weird to have something in my head besides straw."

"Okay, now, let's see if my little brainy stuff worked or if I just put a sack of cereal inside a scarecrow." Otis chuckled. "I want you to start thinking. Anything works; if you wanna think about your friends' wishes, and how to grant them, go ahead."

"Okay… time to think…" Jimmy looked at his friends, giving him encouraging faces. Jimmy closed his eyes and tightened his fists while concentrating. "Think… think… think…"

Almost instantly, and without even realizing it, Jimmy's head got filled up with images and conversations from his time with his friends, and then those images and sounds started forming thoughts.

Lila illuminated the cabin, and got a bit surprised when finding lots of metal, wires and cables, plus assorted tools.

"Sadly, she didn't finish with all my parts... You see, I have no heart."

"And remember, you can only use the cap another two times. You can order us to do almost anything, but, if I might make a suggestion, try to keep it simple if you can; we are better at carrying or destroying things than creating or repairing them."

"BRAIN BLAST! Whoa… I like how that sounds…" Jimmy exclaimed, quite excited. "I know how to get Jenny's heart!

"You do?" Everyone else chorused.

"Yes; Otis here might not have the knowledge to make a heart, but Jenny's mother was working on making her a heart-like device; if we can bring every piece of Mrs Wakeman's equipment and tools, Otis can use his expertise in mechanics and make the heart by using Jenny's mother's notes. And Lila still has two wishes left in the magical cap." Jimmy then looked at Lila. "So, you can call the anti-fairies and ask them to bring everything we need; maybe even the whole cabin."

"Yes… yes, that can help. At least it would give me something to work with. Whoa, what do you know? That brain I gave you really works!" Otis was very excited now. "Cindy, go tell the city's people that The Wizard is gonna perform a spell that will bring all the anti-fairies to Emerald City to discuss a truce; that way, they'll not get scared when a huge dark swarm appears out of nowhere… and also tell them that the anti-fairies, if accepting the truce, will return a second time to bring me some magical equipment as a gift."

Cindy nodded and left the room, giving Jimmy a 'well done' smile on her way out while the scarecrow's friends congratulated him. Otis told Lila to go to a specific terrace in another of the castle's towers, where she could make the summoning and the anti-fairies could land without problems; he also told her to wait at least 10 minutes before calling them so Cindy would have time to warn the population; it was fine for Lila, since she still had to walk down Otis' tower and then go to the other one, and this would take her more than just 10 minutes; Chuckie offered to carry her half of the way so they'd arrive faster and she wouldn't be so tired, with Jimmy, Jenny and Spunky following after them.

"Lila, I just had an idea myself… Why don't you ask the anti-fairies to take you home?" Chuckie asked the girl as they walked upstairs to the terrace.

"I thought about that myself, but Mrs Maria told me it's not easy for magical beings to get ever-so out of Nick… and maybe they can, but I didn't want to call them to find out they can't and therefore waste a wish." Lila told him.

"Still, since you're already calling them for this wish, you can ask them if they can grant the other." Jimmy pointed out. Lila turned back at him and nodded.

A few minutes later, Lila put on the cap and chanted the spell. The anti-fairies appeared in no time, obscuring the sky over the city, and making most of the citizens to get into their homes, while a few remained on the streets to see the Wizard's newest magical miracle.

"Ultra. Cool." Sheen looked up, visibly excited. "Calling a bunch of magical bad guys… that's so cool! Well done, Wizard! You're the Man!"

"This looks like a nightmare I had once, but I don't know how it ended because I woke up screaming!" Carl admitted, covering his face in fear and embarrassment. "And I had to change my underwear."

"Ugh, too much information, Carl." Libby rolled her eyes yet still looked up to watch the anti-fairies and hoping Cindy was right and this was just a peaceful visit.

Back with Lila, she was already talking with Anti-Cosmo.

"Calling us for the second wish so soon?" The anti-fairies' leader smirked. "Vicky took years to call us between wishes."

"Yes, well, I have this very important wish… in fact, two of them, but I want to ask if you can grant them before you even try." Lila told him.

"Oh, intriguing. Okay, Girl, shoot." Anti-Cosmo grinned while Anti-Wanda summoned a shield to hide behind it. "Not literally, my dear yet ignorant spouse."

Lila explained both wishes to Anti-Cosmo, who got a little grin at the first one but frowned a bit at the second.

"Well, bringing the metal girl's stuff is not hard. Just tell us where to find the house and we'll bring everything here in a few minutes." Anti-Cosmo rolled his eyes. "But the second wish…"

"It wouldn't be the third wish? I'm confused." Anti-Wanda rubbed her head in confusion.

"Mmm… it's the second wish in this 'call', while it would be third wish overall. Don't overthink it, Anti-Wanda… really, don't. You'll lose your few remaining brain cells." Anti-Cosmo then turned back at Lila. "As I was saying, no, we can't grant you the other wish; it would mean us getting out of Nick, and part of the cap's spell keeps us from invading other lands… so we can't escape and do our usual mischievous activities between calls. Well played, Tooth Fairy." Anti-Cosmo growled slightly at the last part.

"I see… Okay then, my second wish is for you to please bring all the equipment, notes and tools from Jenny's home; it's at the forest, not far from Miracle City, and aside the yellow brick road. You can't miss it; I think it's the only house in that area." Lila got interrupted by Jenny.

"Yes, it is. Also, please… can you bring my mother's pictures and other personal things? If I get a heart, I'd like to have those things to appreciate them even more." Jenny got closer to Lila and Anti-Cosmo.

"Sure, Jenny." Lila looked back at Anti-Cosmo. "Please, can you do that?"

"As I already said, it's not a problem." Anti-Cosmo grinned. "Just give us a few minutes."

"Thanks. We'll appreciate it." Lila gave him a courteous smile. Anti-Cosmo nodded and soon all the anti-fairies were gone, flying to the forest.

It didn't take a lot of time for Anti-Cosmo and company to get to the house, get everything, and return to Emerald City. The terrace was pretty big so they could leave their cargo there without problem.

"Now, remember, this is the second wish. One more call, and the cap will no longer work for you." Anti-Cosmo reminded Lila before all the anti-fairies left again, Lila and company thanking their assistance.

It took a while for Otis and the others to get all the equipment inside the castle and separate the equipment he'd need to make Jenny's heart from Mrs Wakeman's personal belongings and other things that wouldn't be needed yet Jenny wanted to conserve. Then, Otis, with Cindy and Jimmy's help, started checking all the notes, with Jenny helping them get familiar with the equipment.

"Well… the good news is that your mom had already started working on your 'feelings' circuit." Otis told Jenny. "So, we don't need to start from scratch; just finish her work. The bad news, of course, is that I'm not your mother, and that means that, even with my new assistants, it's gonna take me awhile to finish the work."

"It's fine." Jenny smiled. "I had been waiting for my heart for a long time; I can wait a bit more."

While Jenny's 'heart' was made, Otis often left Jimmy and Cindy to work on it without his assistance, so Otis could start working on solving Chuckie's issue and think about ways to solve Lila's. The bull realized that Jimmy was getting a knack for technology and manual work in general, and even made a few modifications in his own scarecrow hands, making them much more human-like and useful to manipulate small objects; Otis correctly assumed that, by letting Jimmy do a good part of the work by himself, the scarecrow would get more used to thinking, Otis' main idea behind the 'bran brain', since, obviously, he didn't know if it would work for real but it would still give Jimmy a confidence boost and make him to focus and study, exactly what Otis thought he needed on the first place.

Otis' progress with Chuckie, sadly, wasn't going that well. He considered hypnotizing him, something he had learned from his days as the circus magician's assistant, but the effect wasn't a lasting one, as he could corroborate by doing some scary stuff right after each attempt, and Chuckie jumping in fear every time. Not to mention that, for a whole day, the poor lion ended quacking like a duck whenever hearing a bell.

"This isn't working." Otis groaned as he and Lila continued checking some books while Chuckie was taking a break from his 'therapy' and helping the rest of his friends at the workstation. "I had too many jobs before coming here, but being a psychiatrist wasn't one of them… I already toyed enough with people minds. And curing Chuckie from his phobias would take a Doctor Freud, not a Doctor Fraud."

"I see what you mean." Lila sighed while putting a book aside and petting Spunky with her free hand. "The most frustrating thing is that he can be very brave, but most of the time he's just too ever-so scared to realize it."

"Yeah… Mmm… maybe I can give him a drink or two and that would make him brave…" Otis grinned a bit.

"You're not getting him drunk." Lila frowned a bit. "Besides, you really want to have a drunk lion running around the palace?"

"Good point." Otis sighed while rubbing his temples. "You know, I once worked as a bartender, and I learned to make a few drinks that could make people do the bravest things… but it was because they were too intoxicated to realize they were in danger, or just stopped caring and made no difference between kissing a girl or a rattlesnake."

Lila, obviously, didn't like either option, but Otis' comment reminded her of something that could work.

"Wait… there's this person at Hillwood, Madame Blanche, that makes potions… I once felt a bit sick and tried to buy one of her potions since it was cheaper than medicine, and she confessed that most of the potions she made were just placebo…"

"Translation, please." Otis arched an eyebrow.

"That they weren't magical potions, just stuff she made with fruit juice and other random things and told people they had some effect. I was a bit angry with her for tricking people, but apparently this works for her because people really thought the potions worked, and that made them to…"

"... react to the drink as if it was a real magical potion… Yes… I can work with that." Otis grinned. "That's a tricky idea, Lila."

"What can I say? I miss my friend Helga." Lila shrugged. "And as much as I dislike lying to Chuckie, it might be the best way to start healing him."

The rest of the day, Otis pretended to work on a 'alchemical concoction', after he told Chuckie he had found an ancient formula for a Courage Potion among his many books. In reality, he was just mixing some sauces and juice fruits, trying to come up with a liquid with a 'mysterious, magical look' without intoxicating the lion in the process.

That same day, a bit late at night, Jimmy and Cindy also finished with Jenny's heart. To Lila, it looked more like a very small engine, until the porcelain girl decided to paint it red and put it inside a heart-shaped little container, that wouldn't mess with its working and would also protect the 'heart' in case of Jenny's body suffering a serious damage. Otis and Jimmy finished installing it, and Otis made Jimmy to start it on.

"You did most of the work, Kid, so, go ahead." Otis grinned.

"On it." Jimmy grinned and activated the 'heart' inside Jenny before closing the metal girl's body. "And… how do you feel now, Jenny?"

"It feels… good…" Jenny then got a broad grin. "It feels good. I can feel… I can FEEL! AND… AND I LOVE THIS!"

The metal girl was so excited she immediately got all her friends in a very tight hug, stretching her arms to the max to get them all at once. She had to stop when Jimmy pointed out that he was the only one not feeling some pain from it.

"Heh… sorry… and… Uh… do I have a problem with my eyes? I'm losing fluids…" Jenny said when realizing some liquid was now coming out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"Those are 'tears', Jenny… oily ones, but tears, none the less." Cindy said while cleaning up Jenny's face. "This happens when you cry, and you cry when feeling an extremely strong emotion, either good or bad."

"She's right, Jenny… heh… right now I almost feel like crying too. I'm ever so happy for you!" Lila said while washing away a little tear of her own.

"Well, everybody stop crying and get ready to be amazed because we're gonna grant the third wish." Otis announced, getting everyone's attention.

"Y-you mean…" Chuckie got an excited and nervous look.

"Yes, the formula must be ready by now. I had to boil it for a while and it was very hot when I finished; it must be cold enough to drink now." Otis told the lion as he took everyone to a small secondary room, where the bull kept several liquids and substances he used to create some of his special effects and also assorted snacks to eat while working. He then presented them a large vial filled up with a green, bubbling liquid.

"Uh… is that thing… s-safe to drink?" Chuckie gulped a bit.

"I'm 100% sure." Otis grinned. "Well… more like, 50%... or 30%... Okay, either I made the formula right, and this makes you the most courageous cat alive, or I made a few mistakes and only came up with a laxative; either way, it's a win-win situation for you, getting either lots of bravery or a healthy colon."

Chuckie grabbed the vial and sniffed the liquid. His friends gave him encouraging looks but he still was a bit doubtful.

"So… this… is liquid courage…"

"It will be courage once you drink it; after all, courage's on the inside. Right now, it's just a very fancy cocktail." Otis shrugged. "Just drink it, and see if it works."

Chuckie got the vial closer to his mouth and stopped.

"Okay… I'm gonna drink it."

"Yes, go ahead." Jenny smiled at him.

Chuckie, again, made a drinking gesture but stopped, giving everyone a nervous grin.

"Heh… yes, I'm gonna drink it."

"We know. You already told us." Jimmy said.

Chuckie's lips almost touched the vial but stopped again.

"Yes, yes, I'm gonna drink it."

"You said it." Cindy gave him an unamused look. Everyone else was getting a similar expression.

Chuckie wide opened his mouth to drink… and stopped.

"I'm…"

"JUST DRINK IT ALREADY!"

The very loud general chorusing almost made Chuckie to drop the 'formula' but he managed to get a hold on it, and then, before getting doubtful again, he drank it all in a single gulp, to everyone's relief.

"And… how do you feel now?" Lila asked while approaching him.

"Well… my mouth tastes like lemon… and orange… This thing had cinnamon?" Chuckie asked Otis.

"It had many ingredients; I added some… flavorers, to cover up for the most awful tasting ones." The 'wizard' shrugged. "The important thing is, how do you feel now?"

"Not that different… except that I'm not afraid right now. Then again, I have nothing to fear in this place; unless I start looking around, of course." Chuckie admitted.

"Well, you'll see the difference when facing your fears. For example, you fear fire, right?" Otis said while grabbing a small torch from his many props, and setting it on fire. "Now, hold this, very carefully."

Chuckie hesitated a bit but he soon was holding the torch without much problem. Even if still having the reasonable precautions while holding a torch, it was just common sense now (mostly, keeping the fire away from Jimmy's highly flammable body), the lion no longer being afraid of the flames.

"I… I'm not afraid." Chuckie could hardly believe it himself. "I… I can't believe it… I'm holding a torch… without… shaking in fear.. or dropping it."

"Good thing you don't, because this place is filled up with burnable stuff." Otis grabbed the torch while Chuckie's friends congratulated him. "Now, remember, being courageous isn't the same as being reckless. Just because you are no longer afraid of your own shadow doesn't mean you're gonna throw yourself from a window because you no longer fear getting hurt."

"Got it; nothing wrong with being cautious yet no longer afraid of taking a risk if necessary. Thanks." Chuckie smiled at the bull before getting him in a very tight hug, almost as hard as Jenny's. Otis, despite the pain, hugged him back and traded a glance with Lila, who was also very happy about this trick working.

"Well… back to business.. right now I'm having my first 'mixed feelings' moment." Jenny said while touching her chest and looking at Lila. "I'm very happy Jimmy, Chuckie and myself got our wishes granted, but I also feel a bit sad since Lila has yet to get her own."

"Hey, three out of four isn't a bad score." Otis shrugged when Chuckie stopped hugging him. "Still, you're right. We must think about someway to get Lila and Spunky back to Hillwood."

"Now you mention it… well… while Jimmy and I were working on Jenny's heart, and you were working on Chuckie's potion…" Cindy talked now. "We discussed some possible ways to help Lila. And it seems there's only one solution."

"That's right. You see, Otis arrived here flying in a balloon, and Lila and Spunky did in a storehouse that got carried by a very powerful wind. Both incidents had two things in common; a powerful storm, and flying." Jimmy pointed out. "Now, I know we can't produce a storm, but we can make Lila fly if we make a balloon for her. And that might be enough, if the balloon can get past the desert that surrounds Nick and make it back to her country or at least to somewhere with people that can get her there."

"Yes… actually, now you mention it, I still have the balloon around here. Deflated, of course." Otis rubbed his chin in thought. "If we repair it, and make a good-sized basket… and use the equipment Jenny's mother invented to build a stove, a furnace or something like that to heat up the air… Yes, that can work."

"Hate to be the one coming with bad news, but… How is Lila gonna fly that thing without help?" Chuckie pointed out. "It's a very dangerous journey to do alone, and we already know most of us can't leave Nick. "

The group realized this was a valid point; even if Otis could teach Lila how to fly the balloon, she'd have a hard time flying it, and this was a very risky journey to do without assistance. Not to mention that anyone going with her, if still conserving humanlike mobility and thoughts (something Cindy and Jimmy would lose the moment they'd leave the lands of Nick) wasn't sure to return home him/herself.

"Mmm… well, I'm a technological being." Jenny pointed out. "I'm not magic-dependent, so I can go with Lila without getting affected."

"Yes, but you're a super advanced metal girl that's as alive as us, just with more gears and less body smell." Otis said. "And not everyone out there is as nice as Lila; I know from experience. If you get out of Nick, you can get sure many scientists will want to get their hands on you to check on your mechanisms, one piece at a time."

Before anyone else could come with some other idea, Otis cleared his throat and walked in front of the group.

"So, since Lila needs help to get back home, and I'm the one who knows how to fly a balloon, plus I'm the 'wizard' that promised to fulfill her wish, guess it's my duty to be the one going with her."

"But Otis, what if you can't return later?" Cindy said. The large bull sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Actually, Cindy… I… think I won't return. This is a one-way trip."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"I've loved being 'The Wizard'... and I don't wanna leave you, Cindy, I mean, you're the nicest porcelain dolly I've ever met. And I used to work at a china shop… didn't end well." Otis sighed. "But… I had been a prisoner of my own lie for several years now; and I have my own wish to fulfill… freedom. I want to move among people, have different jobs, use my talents to earn a living and have fun… and I doubt I can do that here; we all know it's not fair for the Emerald City's people to worship me as an almighty wizard when I'm far from it; and it's not safe for me if they get to know the truth, I mean, you guys wanted to beat me up after I tricked you once. Imagine how the people here would react if knowing I've tricked them countless times for several years."

"Yes… not nice at all." Cindy sighed. She knew she'd miss him a lot, but the porcelain girl also knew that Otis felt like a prisoner at times, and this was probably the best chance for him to get his freedom back while also helping Lila. "But… if you leave… who'd be in charge of the city? I mean, I do a lot of work around here, but I need your authority to back me up."

"I think I have a solution for that. Before leaving, I'll get sure the whole city knows I've made you my replacement as the city's ruler, and that you'll be assisted by someone with incredible smarts granted by my magic."

"Wait… you mean…" Jimmy, shocked, pointed at himself.

"Why not? You have the brains for the job, and Cindy has the experience. You both working together can rule this place without breaking a sweat, not that you two can sweat anyway; and I'd inherit you my workplace and library. All that plus your combined intelligence and hard working is more than enough to deal with whatever emergency you might face… heh, besides, the people need a ruler they can see at the face, not someone who hides behind a smokescreen."

Jimmy reasoned what Otis said, realizing he was right. Plus, Jimmy wanted to exercise his mind and use his brains for good; ruling over a city would provide lots of mental stimulation, and besides, he really enjoyed Cindy's company. The scarecrow's friends agreed with Otis as well, especially Jenny, who was already a ruler herself.

"Otis, you got yourself a co-ruler for your city." Jimmy, smiling, shook hands/hooves with the bull, and then shared a little grin with Cindy, the girl already liking the idea of co-ruling with him.

"It's decided then. Let's start working on this balloon. And once it's done, we're ready to leave this place, Lila. Next stop, Hillwood!" Otis said to the redhead, who hugged him in happiness, and a moment later, the whole group started working on the balloon, the journey's details, and, of course…

"If we make the balloon here, we need a way to get it outside…" Otis chuckled before grabbing a saw and a mallet. "Alright, who's helping me make a hole in the ceiling?"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(As many of you already noticed, this chapter has some references to the characters' original series, including, but not being limited to, Jimmy having a 'Brain Blast' when making a plan, Jenny getting human-like emotions and sensations, Chuckie trying to use hypnosis to overcome his fears, and Lila making a reference to Madame Blanche, from our series, 'Hey, Arnold!', a woman who makes apparently magical potions but work solely on self-suggestion. Also, Jimmy and Cindy's relationship is more than referred.)
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MightyMorphinPower4's avatar
Also forgot to mention that I like the scene where Lila mentions Helga in refence to hiding feelings