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There was a loud clang and Sabrina turned. Oz had been hiding nearby and knocked over a rack of bicycles in his effort to escape. He raced to the escalators and the entire family took off after him. As soon as the Wizard reached the top of one escalator, he hurried to the next until he had quickly reached the top floor of the store. When the Grimms and Puck finally got there, he was nowhere in sight.
"Oz, we know you're up here," Gra
"Yeah, you can't hide from us or from the beating you're going to get when we find you," Puck said.
"Shut up! You're not helping," Sabrina said.
"Don't tell me to shut up. I'm a king," Puck said.
"You're an idiot."
Just then, an enormous glowing head materialized out of thin air. It seemed to be made of emerald-green fire and had horrible black eyes. When its mouth opened, Oz's voice came bellowing out. "I have never had luck with children. I have to admit I've always underestimated them and they have been my undoing."
Puck snatched a giant candy cane decoration off a wall nearby and swung it at the head. "Aw, shut up." The cane passed right through the head, breaking up the image only temporarily.
"Look at Dorothy," the head continued. "That little girl was a moron, I tell you. I mean, dumber than a box of rocks. She comes to me asking for a way back to Kansas. I mean, if you could have a wizard grant a wish, would you waste it on going to Kansas? And her friends! 'Give me a heart!' 'Give me a brain!' 'Give me courage!' What they needed was a clue. So, I sent them to see the Wicked Witch of the West. Who would have thought they'd ever come back? They ruined everything for me. Well, I won't let it happen, again. It's time the Wizard got a wish of his own."
Sabrina motioned for everyone to follow her. Oz had to be hiding somewhere nearby.
"You're not going to get away with this," she muttered.
"Oh, but I am," Oz cried as the head followed her. "After all, I'm the great and terrible Wizard. I can do magic, child, and I've got a lot of tricks up my sleeve."
They turned a corner and found the man standing in plain view. He was busy working the buttons on his silver remote control, pounding them frantically and causing the little device to squeal and honk. When he finally noticed the family, he groaned. "Don't look behind the curtain," he said with an uncomfortable laugh.
"Oz, give me the book," Sabrina said.
"I can't, child," he said. The Wizard shook his head as he pushed a button on his remote, then backed away from the group.
Suddenly there was an incredible rumbling beneath them. The building shifted as a fissure opened up, snaking across the entire floor. Puck and the Grimms were knocked to their knees. The floor was splitting in two to make way for something big, round, and green. It rose higher and higher, and got bigger and bigger, until it nearly filled the entire store. With nowhere else to go, it pushed through the ceiling, causing concrete and wood to crash down around everyone.
"Is this another one of his robots?" Puck shouted as he clung to Sabrina.
"No! It's something else," she said as a large woven basket rose up from below. It was attached to the giant green orb by ropes and had a silver furnace inside it. The Wizard climbed into the basket and then it too lifted upward. Suddenly, Sabrina knew exactly what the thing was. "It's a hot-air balloon."
The basket rose through the hole in the ceiling and the balloon was aloft.
"Give me the journal, Oz!" Sabrina cried.
"Is that the wish you want the mighty Oz to grant?" he cried as he rose higher and higher. "Then you will have to do something for me first."
"Stop playing games!" Gra
"You know the story, people. You can have your heart's desire but you have to do something for me. You have to kill the Wicked Witch of the West!" Sabrina saw Oz push another button on his controller just as the balloon disappeared from sight.
"I don't think he's my favorite anymore," Daphne said.
"I'll get him," Puck cried, begi
"Uh, what was that?" Sabrina said.
Gra
The old woman grabbed Daphne and Sabrina by the hands and hurried them over to the emergency exit. Puck flew after them. Together, the group raced down nine flights of stairs.
They finally reached the ground floor of the department store and found it a disaster. Racks of clothing and broken bottles of perfume were scattered over the floor, and hosiery was draped everywhere. Worst of all, an enormous canyon had opened up in the floor.
"Find an exit, children," Gra
"This can't be good," Puck said.
Soon the enormous cone was completely revealed, but beneath it came another object. This one was also made of metal, though it had a sickly green tint to it. It rose higher and higher, revealing a pair of eyes, one covered in a black patch. Then came a long, pointy, wart-covered nose. Then a mouth with jagged steel fangs. Sabrina knew what was erupting from below. The cone was a hat, and the face was one she'd seen in a book. She grabbed her sister and her grandmother, shook them until they took their eyes off the growing horror, and together with Puck ran for the closest door.
"What is that thing?" Puck shouted.
"It's the Wicked Witch of the West!" Sabrina shouted back. She pushed hard on the door, but it was locked tight. She had forgotten the store was closed. She pounded on the glass, hoping that it would shatter, but she wasn't strong enough. Thankfully, Puck understood the situation. He morphed his arm into that of a gorilla's and punched the door with all his might. Not only did the glass break, but the door flew off its hinges and the family raced out into the snow.
Unfortunately, they were not alone. The streets were packed with people. Taxis, trucks, and cars were everywhere. It was then that Sabrina realized how much easier it was to handle these types of disasters in Ferryport Landing, where the downtown area was usually barren. But here, in New York City, the city that never slept, every corner was as crowded as a parade.
"Run!" Gra
"Get off the streets!" Sabrina shouted to the crowd. "There's a monster!"
People ignored her and went about their business, but she still tried to get their attention. "There's a giant robot coming! Run for your lives!"
The family dashed in and out of the crowd and quickly reached the corner of the street. The traffic was intense so they couldn't just run out into it. They were forced to wait for the light, which gave Sabrina a chance to look back at the store. She did so just in time to see the entire front of the building collapse and a huge leg step through. That got the New Yorkers' attention. Cars drove into trucks. A taxi crashed into a newspaper stand.
When the light changed, the family raced across the street, continuing to shout warnings at everyone they saw. Sabrina heard a huge pounding noise and looked back again. The robot was completely free of the store now. It stood nearly six stories tall. It sca