Chapter Text
There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there’s no place like home.
And with that Dorothy was whisked back home, to the slightly less magical land of Kansas. She would awake to a concerned Aunty Em and Uncle Henry, as well as the three farm handymen who bore a striking resemblance to the companions that Dorothy traveled with earlier. Oz would soon become but a blur of a dream to the girl as she recovered, but she never again forgot the importance of home and her family.
Back in Oz, many also thought that they were dreaming as Glinda the Good announced the death of the Wicked Witch of the West and the acceptance of animals back into society. From Munchkinland to the land of Gillikan there were celebrations and festivities galore but especially so in the Emerald city, where both the Wizard and Dorothy had departed from and Glinda had begun to rule over.
Out of the remaining members of the group who had defeated the witch, the Scarecrow had slipped out to go off on another adventure with some unknown companion and the Lion had gone back to the forest where he had resided before, no longer having to live in fear of humans who may harm him. This left the Tin Woodsman in the midst of the celebration, alone but for the ticking of his newly gifted heart. He wondered to himself as he went to sit on a secluded bench, what he ought to do now. He supposed that he could return to Munchkinland, his home when he had been Boq rather than the Tin Man, but no one would recognize who he was. Besides, his family had already made it known that they had not approved of any of his choices in life, from going to Shiz and then working for Nessa, although that was not his choosing. And besides, would they even recognize him with this new form? He hardly recognized himself when he looked in the mirror.
Lost in thought, he startled when a high voice asked, “You there, Tin Man? I have a question for you.”
He looked up to see Glinda the Good staring down at him, in all her pink and sparkly glory. He clambered to his feet quickly, wincing as his joints scraped together.
“Yes, Ms. Ga-Glinda?”
“I wanted to see if you would be interested in being the new Captain of the Gale Force?”
“Pardon me but why am I being considered for this? While I can wield an axe, I am certainly no soldier. I don’t know that I could even ride a horse!”
“I was impressed by your braverism defeating the Wicked Witch and your determination to help your companion Dorothy. And besides that, you seem to be a very kind and goodhearted man, despite your impassioned speech before hunting the Witch. What Oz needs right now is not brute strength but someone who can help it heal.”
If Boq had still had blood he would have blushed at that. His speech to the witchhunters had not been one of his finer moments. He had been so angry, at the witch, his life, what he had become. He just regretted that Dorothy had been there to see it, the poor girl had already been traumatized enough as it was.
“Very well, if it is what you wish I will accept your offer.”
Glinda seemed to perk up slightly at this, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and drop the serious tone that she had adopted for the whole of the discussion.
“Oh yay! I can’t tell you how relieved I am, that is just one more thing off my plate! The guards will show you to your new quarters” She said and waved to a pair of guards standing off to the side. She then glided away, apparently having to deal with one of the many duties that needed attending to. Ruling a city was really no joke.
As Boq followed the guards he thought a bit about Glinda. He remembered that as a student at Shiz he had a massive crush on her and her influence had gotten him to start a relationship with Nessarose. He had led her on for so long but breaking things off became harder and harder as she gained power and control over him and the rest of munchkinland. Now though, when he looked at Glinda he no longer felt the butterflies in his stomach that had accompanied her presence back at Shiz. He felt nothing really, he hadn’t for some time now. The only time that he had started to feel joy again was when he was with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.
“Here is your room,” One of the guards said, startling Boq out of his thoughts. “Glinda that Good will see you in her office at 19 hundred hours. Here is a map of the palace, do mind not to wander.” He shoved a paper at Boq and the two guards turned around and started to walk away in a synchronized motion.
Now left alone, Boq went into his new room, noting the bed that was useless to him since he didn’t sleep but he brightened up when he saw the new oil can sitting on the bedside table. He grabbed it and sat down on the bed, starting to tend to his joints which had stiffened up a lot with all of the activity of the past few days. He sighed softly. A magical body of tin that never tired, never needed food or water, couldn't be killed but could be frozen in place by a bit of rain or stiff joints. Tin didn’t even normally rust but apparently Elpha-The Witch cursed him to be made of some sort of magical tin that did rust. Oz he hated this body. He supposed that there was really nothing to do other than oil his joints until 7:00 when he would meet with Glinda.