Emerald swirled in the darkness that flooded DG's world. It glittered prettily in the black, giving soft light to the shadows that masked her thoughts and kept her in a perceptive ignorance. Where her mind was open and aware even as her eyes remained shut.

She didn't mind it; she didn't need her eyes open. She could feel the wind rushing past her; she could hear it's inconstant roar in her ringing ears; and she could sense the impending peril well enough. Sight would only manage to solidify her panic and make her mounting fear a reality.

So she stayed there, in the black, where she didn't have to accept the inevitable. She could disguise it all as a dream and pretend that soon, so very hopefully soon, she would wake up and find herself home, in Kansas, safe. With Momsters and Popsicles faces looming over her, worried etched into their wrinkles, projecting that "home sweet home" sentiment.

Oh. But wait. They weren't her parents anymore. They were just machines, built and designed to love and cherish her exactly the way they had. But hey, considering circumstances, it wasn't like she deserved real love anyhow. So it was befitting that the only people who had actually loved DG were programmed to.

No one else would bother, after all the damage she had cause, who would want to? Well maybe, perhaps, the witch would one-day thank her. After all, it was DG's doing that got the tyrant free. And as if that weren't enough to make the whole of the OuterZone hate her, she'd gone and supplied the future dictator with just the perfect little power source.

Her sister.

An explosion of stomach turning green overwhelmed DG's psyche and all the horrors and pain of just moments ago came storming back; visions of Az, cold and trembling on the cold, concrete floor were the first to invade. She'd been dieing, her body so used to the witch's presence, that the sudden lack of her dark magic was too much for Az's body to adapt too. She was weak and tired and barely breathing.

The witch had watched them then, her eyes as cold as steel and her smile as cruel as death. She cackled horribly, her face alit with an evil delight even as she had melted away into nothing. Her life ended, but her deeds far from so. Though she hadn't completed her original plot, the witch had still managed to destroy the future of the royal family, and ultimately, the OZ.

Because even if Az did survive, the horror of so many years trapped in the witch's warped psyche would have changed her into something else. Something darker. Something so lost and alone that even Az wouldn't recognize herself. She would be able live again, yes, but not as the little, innocent girl she used to be. Az would be broken. And DG, well, she was even less fit to be Queen then Az ever was or will be. DG knew her faults. And she knew her limits. And she knew her future. The OuterZone would be a tragic place with her in the throne. Good thing she'll never have the chance. Thanks to the witch-long-gone, DG wouldn't have the chance to be anything but a small splatter-spot in one of the OuterZone's forests.

DG was FALLING . And by any luck to her death.

It had been a final act of ill bravado, the dieing demon had summoned what was left of her quickly fading magic and had aimed to end the one thing that had followed her all those long years. DG, the long-forgotten princess. She sent her crashing down.

For you see, the witch, as dark and vindictive as evil can come, had deeply desired to end the Gale's reign. More then anything else, even the darkness she swore to unleash, she wanted the family who had so easily diminished her promise to suffer. They needed to know the truth of life; the reality of it all. No matter how bright or strong a light, there will always be shadows brewing; waiting for their chance to slip in, and extinguish that very light.

And so, the witch did away with her.

In a flash of emerald and black, DG was thrown backwards. Her body a mere ragdoll as she slammed into the concrete rail and then flew over it and into the sky. She had soared a moment, the wind hard and fast against her as she stared into the dark forests below, her eyes catching a glimpse of war as she watched the last of the resistance fighters seize the land of OZ and claim rightful victory. DG's heart heavied a great sigh as she witnessed all the terrible wrongs she'd done turn right. And then as the bearest of smiles had stretched across her face, the witch's magic had ceased.

DG descended. And in a few moments, she would die.

She tumbled and tumbled through the sky, her breath caught deep in her throat. She watched her world fly past her; every last instance of her life escaping into the clouds as memory after memory bombarded her. Things both precious and forgotten swelled her mind in chaos but then a single, happy moment seemed to escape the raging river of the life called DG and snared the falling princess's attention.

She was in Finaqua. Inside the beautiful summer-castle. She sat beside a fire, knee-deep in a book her father brought from the Other Side. She read it aloud, wanting her family to experience the beautiful story as she had. Az sat beside her, her arm wrapped tight around DG's waist. She leaned against her younger sister, her eyes unfocused as she tried to imagine the world of which the author spoke. Their mother, as beautiful as the sun, sat on the floor just an arms length away, her own arms crossed neatly atop her lap as she smiled at her daughters, listening intently to the story. Beside the queen sat her beloved consort, Ahamo. He was flopped on the floor, his arms and legs splayed in every which way as he inched closer to his wife, his hand resting comfortably atop hers. They all sat there, content and happy and together. Not a power or darkness in the world to harm them.

DG smiled against the wind as she thought longingly of Finaqua. In that moment, her mind revamped and the gray landscapes of Kansas changed from Home to a place she had once lived. Now, after everything that had happened, with everything she knew, Finaqua was her home. Her haven. Her solace... The place she would always belong.

So as ground grew closer and the wind grew harder and everything began to fade to black, DG said what she knew to be the last words ever to pass her lips.

"There's no place like home."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- Stacey K.

Tin Man belongs to SCI FI. Not me.

Thanks for all the reviews, they really get me going.

Btw, the more reviews, the more likely I am to post quicker.