Part 1

"Why don't I just kill him, your Highness?"

"Zero, must you be so mundane?" Azkadellia sighed. "He survived six months in the suit, only to somehow get free and lead an attack on me. Killing him would be much too merciful." Azkadellia walked over to the tall blond man who was chained to the wall. "Summon a storm." she told Zero as she ran the back of her hand gently over the man's cheek. "Too bad though." she said softly. "You have such amazing eyes."


Emily was going to be late for her shift. While the sky seemed clear, everyone in these parts knew to be just a bit more alert after a twister. Twisters had a way of leaving oddities in its wake.

Emily pulled into the staff parking lot and got out of the car. The local hospital wasn't that large, just two floors, but, after last night, Emily knew that there would plenty to do.

Six hours later she and the other nurses had finally gotten everything under control and were sitting down to enjoy a nice cup of coffee.

"Some broken windows is all." "We were fine, didn't even hear a thing." "...perfectly fine, just moved to the other side of the driveway."

Emily listened with half an ear to the other women talk about the storm. The fear Emily and her husband had felt when they had heard the first warning was so different from what anyone else in the county could even begin to imagine.

The service band radio on the desk crackled and Emily reached for the mic. "This is Emily, go ahead."

"Hey, Emily. Gluch here. I'm headed your way. Found a man by the side of the road. He looks fine but he keeps saying that he was in the twister."

Emily froze, the fear from last night coming back to her.

"ETA is ten minutes." The sound of the radio brought Emily back to the here and now.

"We'll be ready for you. Holy Heart out." With a shaking hand, Emily put the mic back on its hook.


Wyatt sat in the bed and just looked at the tray of food. This was his life now.

Oh, not the whole hospital part; that would be ending soon. It had been six days and he was about ready to climb the walls.

No, this place, Kansas, this was his life now.

Ever since Azkadellia had given the order Wyatt had been trying to come up with a plan; a way to get back to the O.Z., back to the bastard that killed his family.

He thought he could throw himself back into the storm after he got through, but the landing had knocked him out. When he came to there was a Tin Man... No, there was a sheriff's officer checking him over.

How was it that he had forgotten all his years of training? The officer asked him if he could remember his name and where he was from and he had just opened his mouth and started talking about the O.Z. and being a part of the resistance. The next thing Wyatt knew he was in the back of a car being taken for medical evaluation. Because when someone starts talking about traveling in a tornado and being from a world ruled by a witch, well, they're crazy.

"And how's the oatmeal today?"

Wyatt looked up and felt a lightening inside. The first day, when he realized that there was no way back, he had shut down; he wouldn't eat, didn't answer the doctors. Then Nurse Roberts came into the room, chatting away about the weather, her husband, how her daughter was doing in school and, amid all that chatter, she grabbed his dinner tray and shoved a bite into his mouth. Keeping up the chatter she had almost force-fed him. Then, despite his vocal protests, took off his gown and gave him a sponge bath.

She had made him feel like a damn baby. The next morning when breakfast was brought in he sat up quickly and ate it all before she had a chance to repeat her actions. As he was finishing off the last of the oatmeal Nurse Roberts had walked into his room, she looked over his tray, nodded her head, then simply turned around and left. The feeling that he had been tricked washed over him and for the first time in over six months he had smiled.

"Oatmeal's fine." he answered her. "Just like it's been for the last week."

Nurse Roberts walked over and started to check his pulse and blood pressure. "Well it's the last day you have to eat it." Wyatt gave a humpf. "Any thought of what you're going to do once you get out?"

The doctors said the reason he couldn't remember what had happened before the tornado was due to some form of amnesia. The doctors told him that his memories should return and in the mean time he should find something to do that felt comfortable.

"I don't know. It's like I've been dropped into a whole different world."

The doctors were idiots.

"Well, maybe I could help." Nurse Roberts said.

Wyatt felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "That's mighty nice of you, but..."

"Oh stop." Nurse Roberts interrupted. "Nice has got nothing to do with it. My husband hurt his back a few months ago and just can't work the way he used to. And there is no way DG can take over the work, even though she insists she can." Wyatt gave up the fight and let the smile out.

"So really, it's plain selfishness that has you offering me this job." Wyatt said.

Nurse Roberts looked at him for a minute, then winked. "I'll drive you out to the farm on my lunch break so Hank can show you around before dark."


Wyatt walked into the kitchen and poured a mug of coffee from the pot that had been set to brew at 3:45.

Nearly a year on this side and Wyatt was still amazed by some of the things over here. Wyatt dumped the used grounds and measured out the ingredients for the next pot which would brew at 7:00 for Hank and Emily.

Taking his mug outside, Wyatt stood on the porch and, in the pre-dawn gloom, looked over the field he would be working today. His musings were interrupted by the sound of a vehicle at the end of the driveway. Whoever it was only pulled in halfway, then backed out again. Wyatt set his mug down and listened.

There. Someone was walking toward the house. Wyatt crouched down and waited. He could make out the shape of a person coming closer, but instead of coming up to the porch whoever it was had climbed onto the rain water barrel and was now reaching for the edge of the roof. Wyatt straightened up when he heard a muffled "Shit" come from the intruder. He knew that voice.

"Need some help there, DG?"

There was a "Crap!" and a thud. Wyatt walked down the stairs and stood over the teen girl. "How was the party that your parents said you couldn't go to?"

"What the hell, Cain?" DG said as she sat up "Are you some kind of freaking robot? Don't you ever sleep?"

"Got lots to do, can't waste the sunlight." Wyatt held out a hand to the girl and hulled her up "And you didn't answer my question."

Even though her face was shielded by the darkness Wyatt had seen her pissed-off expression enough times to know exactly how she looked right now: eyebrows down and lips tightened.

"Don't give me that look, kid." Wyatt sighed and walked back to the porch to grab his coffee. "Use the stairs. If your parents wake up you can say I dropped something and that woke you up." Wyatt started off to the barn.

"You're letting me off?"

Wyatt turned around, "I know this might be hard for you to picture, but I was young once."

The sun rose to the sound of DG's laughter.