Written for the first ever Tin Man Grand Prix Challenge; a 10-week fanfiction writing challenge at tmchallenge on Livejournal. Authors were given secret codes in order to post their stories anonymously. The intent was to level the playing field between popular and less popular authors. Stories were to rated on a scale of 1 to 5. At the end of the 10 weeks, the scores were totaled and your's truly won 3rd Place! (I never expected that in a million years). So in the end, participating in the tmchallenge helps to explain why I haven't worked on my WIP, Let Loose The Dogs Of War.

Title: The Bachelor Pad
Original Author Code: RU01AC004
Round/Week: 05
Rating: T
Summary: Glitch starts over
Warnings: None

Original Challenge Statement: General fiction, Glitch-centric

A bead of sweat started from his forehead and trickled down to the end of his nose. With a soft ker-plop it landed on the top of the wooden crate he was fighting to open. "Stupid crate…" As if on cue, another bead of sweat dropped and landed on the back on his hand. That was the final straw.

Glitch stood up and leaned back, trying to stretch out the kinks from being bent over for so long. Then he raised his hand to shield his eyes as he looked up at the sky. The mid-summer suns were at their peak. Wow, it's going on noon time already. Time flies when you're having fun! His stomach let out a slight growl as both an acknowledgment and a reminder. I know, just a minute. He gazed at a few white puffy clouds and sighed with contentment as he watched them shift, roll, and dance. As he watched them take shape, he cocked his head and started to hum a favorite ballroom tune. To his astonishment, the clouds rolled together to form a rather angry looking Papay.

"Oh dear! I wonder what that means?" he mumbled to no one in particular as he abruptly stopped staring at them. "I wish that Airofday was around to ask… She was after all the answer lady," he continued to mutter, "Even if she did betray us." Rumble… rumble I know, I know! He rested his hand on his stomach. As soon as I find a plate!

He turned his attention back to one of the many wooden crates that had been dropped near the entrance to his new home. He referred to it as his new home, but if truth be told, it had been a small recreation building occupied by the former Longcoats. At the end of the day though, Glitch did not care what purpose it had served them. As soon as he had seen it during a walk of the royal grounds, he knew that it was the perfect place to start over.

After the Queen reluctantly gave her consent, the building was hastily given a fresh coat of paint and a new roof. Even though anyone else would have considered it shoddily repaired, for Glitch it was home. It was the first home he had had in over fifteen annuals. His former self, Ambrose, would have considered such work as opening crates degrading. Glitch, his frustration aside, actually relished it. It meant that he was one step closer to starting over.

"How's it going?"

Hearing the recognizable voice, Glitch spun around. His face lit up as he saw his new but old friend standing on the walkway. It's my newolfrie! That was the word he began to use for anyone who was a new acquaintance but somehow seemed familiar.

"Cain!" He yelled as he took a few quick strides towards him. All thoughts of his rumbling stomach left. He held out his arms to give him a hug but then he stopped. He let one arm fall to his side and the other reached around awkwardly to the back of his head. He gave a nervous laugh and then stuck out his hand. He left his voice drop lower, "Cain."

Cain could not help but smile as he took Glitch's hand and gave him a warm but gentle handshake. Glitch was his opposite. He was warm and fuzzy; and well, he was not warm and fuzzy. "I heard that you were moving out of the palace. Need any help?" He looked around at Glitch's efforts at opening the wooden crates. It was a sorry sight. Bits of wood were littered about and of the dozen or so crates, only a few had been successfully opened. Their lids had been haphazardly tossed aside, and sawdust and paper crinkles were strewn amongst the grass.

Glitch caught his gaze and quickly looked around his tiny yard. He glanced back up and expected to see a very disapproving expression on Cain's face. To his relief there was none. Instead the expression was one of genuine sincerity. With a lightened heart, he replied, "Sure." He quickly looked around the yard and around the crates. "As soon as I find that crowbar…"

"It's over there on top of that crate," Cain interrupted as his threw his leather vest on top of another nearby crate. He rolled up his sleeves as he watched Glitch pick up the crowbar. "I heard that the Queen wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of you living on your own."

Glitch handed the crowbar over to Cain. He stood up a little straighter and carried his head a little higher. "The Queen's new advisors weren't sure if they wanted an unsupervised headcase running about."

Cain inserted the end of the crowbar into a slight opening underneath the lid of the crate. "Ummmppphhh…" With a satisfying crack the lid of the crate gave way. "Are you really that surprised that people would think that?" Cain asked as he walked around to the other side.

Glitch shrugged his shoulders. "Guess not." He plopped himself down on a crate and watched as Cain inserted the end of the crowbar underneath the lid. "That's what it's been like for the past fifteen annuals."

"DG stuck up for you, didn't she?" With another crack the lid finally broke free from the sides of the crate. Cain stuck his fingers underneath the lid and with a good heave, lifted the lid up and away. "There you go," he muttered.

Glitch walked over and stuck his hands deep in to the sawdust and crinkles. "You should've seen her." He looked back up at Cain and smiled. "I don't think they'll ever be the same." He pulled out a plate. "Ooh… I can use one of these." His stomach rumbled in silent agreement. Just wait! We have a guest and you will be nice until he leaves.

Cain wiped his sweaty brow with the sleeve of his shirt. "Yeah, I can imagine that," smirking as he said it. DG did not let the fact that she was a member of the royal house interfere with letting her true thoughts known; but what set her apart was that she still did it intelligently.

Glitch's smile became even broader. That's right! Cain's my guest in my new home. I should offer him something! "Inside I got some lemons to make lemonade. I'll go make you up a glass." He tossed the plate aside in to the grass and practically ran in to his house. His voice faded but Cain could still hear him, "As soon as I remember where I unpacked them!"

Cain shook his head and reluctantly followed him. He was always concerned when he saw that certain glint in Glitch's eyes. It usually meant that he had a new idea that was always well intentioned but the end result would be a little messed up.

Glitch's new home was small and consisted of only three rooms. The repairs to the inside had been done as shoddily as the repairs to the outside. The one large room was multifunctional and contained all of the kitchen and living room elements. From the sink Glitch yelled over his shoulder, "Have a look around!... DG helped me paint the walls!" Cain raised one eyebrow as he took a quick glance. The walls were painted a cheery yellow but what furnishings Glitch had were sparse and had seen better days. A small table and a few chairs were at one end of the room and just one chair and a coffee table were at the other end. As Glitch continued to pump the water from the tap and wash the glasses he asked, "Ice or no ice?"

Cain looked over at his direction and unbeknownst to Glitch, got a very bemused look on his face. He saw no refrigerator or ice box. If he did have some ice, he did not believe that he wanted to know where it was stored. "Uh… no ice is fine Glitch."

"Okay, suit yourself! Have you seen the bedroom?" Cain started to walk towards the second room and replied, "No, I haven't gotten that far yet." He heard the pumping of more water and the sounds of a metal spoon hitting the sides of a container. He left out a sigh of resignation to his fate.

To his left he saw the small water closet. Out of unconscious habit learned from Adora, he gently pulled the door shut. He walked in to Glitch's bedroom and saw nothing more than a pile of blankets and a few bizarre looking contraptions on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something hanging in the closet. Amongst a few shirts and pants was Glitch's tattered brown coat with the gold braid trim.

Cain was wondering why Glitch kept his coat when a gentle tap from the back of Glitch's hand brought him back to reality. "Here," he said as he offered him a glass of lemonade. Cain nodded his thanks and held the glass up to his face for a better view. There were large hunks of lemon and lemon rind. But he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and chugged it down. "Thanks Glitch," he managed to squeak out when he was finished. His body let out an uncontrollable shudder.

Glitch could not help but grin again. Then he realized that Cain was staring at his old tattered coat. His mood, once overjoyed at seeing Cain drink his concoction, turned somber. "I'm keeping it as a memory."

Cain thought for a moment and then asked, "Of where you've been?"

"Yeah."

Cain put his hand on the back of Glitch's shoulder and gently pushed him towards the door. "Come on. Let's try to get the rest of those crates opened." Here standing before him was not a headcase. He was nothing more than just another man trying to put his life back together.

For a moment, Glitch refused to move. He looked in to Cain's eyes and once again saw nothing but genuine sincerity. He swallowed hard. "Did you know that they wanted to try to rebrain me?"

"Who do you mean by they?" Cain did not release him and his brow furled a bit.

Cain's sudden sense of protectiveness took Glitch by surprise. "Of course the Queen's new royal advisors."

"Did you want it?" Cain had never known a headcase who had had his brain replaced once it was taken out. Seeing Glitch standing before him brought to light a moral dilemma he had never considered before. Rebraining would mean the sacrifice of one living entity for another.

Glitch looked up at Cain proudly, "Believe it or not I gave it a lot of thought," he paused and then continued, "I don't know that other man. What memories I have… from my other self… are about as real to me as my dreams." He walked out of his bedroom and out in to the other room, towards the sink.

Cain followed him. "What did the Queen say?"

Glitch pumped some water out of the tap and began to rinse Cain's glass. "She respected my decision." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Even though secretly I think she was disappointed."

He put down the rinsed glass on the counter and then raised his own glass to Cain. "To me staying Glitch! Cheers!" He took a long swallow and for a moment stared at Cain. Then his body shuddered and his face contorted as one eye involuntarily closed. "That's good lemonade!" he managed to spit out as his lips puckered together. "Did I forget the sugar again?"

Cain nodded, but then added, "Are you sure you're all right?"

Glitch looked at him and put his glass down on the counter. He whispered, "Yeah, I'm all right." Then his voice grew louder. "When I was homeless I used to dream that someday I would find out who I was. And that I could go back… would go back." From the counter he picked up a device that had buttons and a vicious looking wheel. "I know that I won't ever remember everything but I think that I'm okay with that." He smiled and placed the device back down on the counter. He looked past Cain towards his few furnishings. "I've been given another chance to start over. Most people don't have that."

Cain nodded in understanding. They all had been given another chance to start over. If even someone like Glitch could recognize that, then the future of the O.Z. looked bright indeed.