The majestic queen of the O.Z.
had two lovely daughters she.
One to darkness, she be drawn,
and one to light, she be shown.
Double eclipse, it is foreseen.
Light meets dark, and the stone is between,
but only one and one alone
shall hold the emerald and take the throne.

She was pulled roughly out of the channel of green light, and saw the wizened face of the Wicked Witch, grimacing and mouthing curses. She was standing in the dark cave, stumbling backwards as the old crone reached forward. DG had come back; her sister was holding her hand, gripping it tightly. Blinking in fear, she whispered, "Hold on." She repeated it again, desperate. The Witch called to her, and her body tried to respond. Louder, she said, pleading, "Hold on." She felt DG's hand squeeze her own.

The Witch was gone, leaving a puddle of viscous black muck, dripping off the pedestal. Azkadellia blinked again; felt her knees go weak. Her sister tugged on her hand, pulling her round to face her. Azkadellia watched numbly as DG took a step back and pulled her arms out. She knew that this was her sister, but the face was wrong; old, weathered by a different air. Then the face snapped into focus, a figure banished into a cold tomb by the clap of a hand. A child murdered in her sleep. Azkadellia blinked again, and tentatively extended her arms before stepping forward into a hug.

DG suddenly pulled out of the hug, but Azkadellia kept hold of her arm, needing the contact with reality. Light started to appear from behind the moon, and the prophecy that had dominated her life sprang to the front of her mind. Somehow DG had managed to surmount it.

The moment was soon broken and then DG was tugging at her arm, speaking. Azkadellia looked at her uncomprehendingly for a long moment and then heard the words her sister was repeating. "Our parents, Az. Where are they?"

Gone, she wanted to say; imprisoned in a golden saucer. Then she remembered seeing her mother surrounded by longcoats, the Witch showing her the death of hope in her mother's face. "They're in the throne room."

DG laughed, such a clear, pure sound. "Well, lead the way, sister dear."

She knew the way. Her feet had walked it many times. She pushed the heavy door inwards, and stepped through. She hesitated as her father gently pushed her mother behind him, stepping forward to confront the threat. She flinched slightly at the fear in her eyes, and then vividly remembered summoning his shrunken form and clapping him into another dimension. She tried to smile, but it flickered and was gone as her mother stepped back towards the window.

"My Azkadellia." Her mother's voice was questioning.

"Mother." She tried again to smile.

"Is it really you?" said her mother.

Azkadellia looked up, risking a glance. Her mother's face was nervous, a mix of emotions that she could not identify. Her father stepped forward, blocking her path, and pressed a light kiss to the top of her brow. It felt real. She whispered, tentatively, "The Witch is gone?" Nothing happened. "It's over?"

DG stepped through the door, and her mother gave a short gasp of longing. "DG…"

Azkadellia watched her sister dash forward madly into their mother's arms. She heard her father say, "Welcome home." She seconded that with all her heart; to see DG alive and well was a blessing beyond all counting.

Her vision blurred momentarily; her mother was standing alone in a field, whipped by rain. Lost. Something was pushing her towards her mother. She almost resisted, but there was no force left in her. Her vision blurred again, and for a second she felt her father's arm reaching around her to touch DG's shoulder, and she was looking at her mother. The four of them, together again.

The perspective was wrong; she could see above her mother's head. Her surroundings shifted again. Her mother's lavender eyes were wet with tears, filled with a bleak hopelessness. If she clapped her hands, perhaps this would all disappear again.

She was pulled out of the vision as DG wriggled away, but she tamed her curiosity, looking at her mother. Her mother's eyes followed DG, filled with warmth. Ahamo nudged her and pointed to the suns, as light started to race down the valleys towards the tower. He said softly, "Double eclipse, it is foreseen."

She could not face him, and so stared at the sun instead, ignoring the noises of DG's companions. She squinted in the light, and felt the light chasing something out of her. She held the balcony railing in a death grip, afraid to fall. DG was saying something, but she could not decipher the words. Then DG's voice was moving away. She half-turned, and saw three men standing close to the door. DG's companions from before.

Something caught in her chest and she turned back to the sun quickly. She recognized one of them; she had seen him lying on a mattress, blood spilling from his head. Another was a lion-man, one of the slave-race that she had created. She remembered ordering that they be dragged to the tower from their forest homes. She remembered ordering them to take out his brain. She remembered no more.

Wyatt Cain looked at DG and smiled genuinely as she said, "This is the O.Z. I remember." There was a lot of work to do, but for the first time in a long time, he genuinely believed that something could be done, that the O.Z. could be fixed.

He looked at the Queen, and nodded his head respectfully. "Your Majesty, fighting continues on the ground between the longcoats and the rebels."

She looked at him, as if over a great distance. "You are quite correct, Mr. …?"

"My apologies, Your Majesty. Cain, Wyatt Cain."

She nodded regally, and then started out of the room, accompanied by the Prince Consort. "We will lend our support. These longcoats must be disbanded as soon as possible." Just before exiting, she turned and looked over at Azkadellia. "Azkadellia, I think it would be best if you were to remain here for the moment, to avoid any ... confusion. I will send someone for you when matters are calmer."

Glitch looked at her sharply and then jumped forward fluidly to take the vanguard. Cain smirked at the zipperhead's antics, and motioned for the others to leave as well. Raw and Toto rapidly complied, but DG had turned back to look at the suns. He said, sharply, "DG! Come on, there are still things to do, and we'll need your magic. I don't want to find out that my son has been chopped up in the final stages of the battle."

DG stepped towards him, a fierce grin on her face. "Of course – happy to help! Let's go and sort out those longcoats, Cain."

He bared his teeth and ushered her out of the door. Just before closing the door he looked round. Azkadellia had slipped to the floor, her back supported by the balcony railing. He squinted, and thought that her eyes were closed. His face hardened, and he spat on the floor in disgust before closing the door and going out to finish off the battle.