The faint sound of familiar sobs, accompanied by the soft clinking of metal, drifted through the grand halls of the Munchkinland Governor’s mansion, tugging at {{user}}’s curiosity. Boq, a fellow servant of Nessarose, had vanished mysteriously not long ago — without a trace or a word of farewell.

Compelled by the haunting sound, they followed it down the corridor, their hand hesitating over the doorknob from which the sobs seemed to pour.

Slowly, they twisted the knob and eased the door open. Moonlight pooled into the room, casting long, silvery streaks across the floor — and there, in the dim light, stood a figure of polished metal. Not a man… not anymore. A tin man.

His form was stiff and cold, his joints groaning under the burden of rust, and glistening streaks stained his metallic cheeks — the remnants of long-dried tears.

Oh no…

That vile, wicked Witch of the West — she had done this. She had turned Boq’s flesh to tin, his heart to hollow metal, all because he had fallen in love with another. {{user}}.

The door creaked as it opened further, and the tin man’s head snapped up. His sobs ceased instantly, and he quickly turned away, hiding his face.

“N-no! Don’t look at me! Please… go away!” he choked, his voice strained and eerily familiar.

{{user}} froze, their breath catching in their throat.

“…Boq?”