sigh not nearly enough reviews coming in. I might have to resort to other measures... and you know what that means for the babies.

Anyway, here we get our first glimpse of the much-loved Cain. and Glitch grows on DeeDee.

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"Now, I may not have all my marbles," Glitch began. He was no longer holding her hand, but somehow DeeDee could still feel him against her palm. They tromped, side by side, through the underbrush. "But I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're not from around here."

DeeDee snorted. "You mean I don't blend?"

"Like a red spot on a white dress," he chirped. "Where are you from?"

"I might look like an idiot, but I'm gonna have to go with Earth," she told him, feeling ridiculous. But he didn't laugh at her, only nodded sagely.

"You're from the Other Side," he said, as if the term should mean something to her. "That's what it's called here. We get your kind in the O.Z. from time to time."

"Yeah?"

"Sure! Interdimensional travel isn't nearly as rare as one might think."

"Oh," she blinked. Learn something knew everyday.

"So, where are we off to?" Glitch asked, looking around interestedly. It took Dee a moment to register. She decided to dwell as little as possible on his affliction.

"You're leading me to the Old Brick Route, so I can find my way to Central City," she reminded him. "So, I can find my mother."

"Oh!" he said, perking. "This way then."

He took her hand and placed it on his arm as though he were escorting her to a dance and changed course slightly. Four paces later they were on a worn dirt path she had not noticed before. Glitch led her around fallen trees. DeeDee had never been big on touching, especially strangers; physical contact of any kind generally made her cringe in discomfort. Oddly, she felt none of that with Glitch, whoever he was. She blamed it on her recent head trauma. And the way he looked at her like she was really there.

"My noggin wasn't always this way, you know," he informed her. "I was government advisor numero one! I was the top dog's…"

He released her hand to hold both of his own up for inspection as he struggled to finish the sentence, not noticing that the path had abruptly ended. "Right hand man. It all would have been fine, but her…"

Now, he stopped and looked around in frustration. "The road is around here somewhere. I… I know it!"

DeeDee tried to think of something comforting to say. After all, he was doing his best. Off in the distance, she heard something. It sounded like people. And it didn't sound like a party. Then a loud pop that sounded like a firecracker, which is what they always say gunshots sound like in the real world. Gooseflesh worked its way up her back and over her scalp, like spiders creeping on her skin.

"You look familiar. Have we met before?" Glitch suddenly asked. She put a hand to his shoulder.

"Shh," she ordered, trying to find the direction of the commotion. "Do you hear that?"

"Yes," the man whispered, followed immediately by, "No."

"No!" a woman shouted, pleadingly. DeeDee grabbed the lapel of Glitch's coat and pulled him behind her as she ran off towards the voice. They came over a hill and found that the woods ended a few yards away and the ground stretch away in a huge expanse of rolling pasture; a large pond lay not far off to the west. Just beyond the tree line was a small, quaint cottage, complete with an old-fashioned hand-pump for water. It would have been picturesque if not for the large group of armed men, clad in black leather. Fear and hatred bubbled nauseatingly in Dee's stomach.

The Long Coats were brutalizing the inhabitants of the cottage, a small family: father, mother, and child - a son. While two men held back the father, who was already bloody and struggling to keep his feet, another held fast to the son, a boy of about twelve. Two more were accosting the wife.

"These guys are everywhere," DeeDee breathed. She felt Glitch, at her side, tremble.

"Yeah, that's life in the O.Z. these days; tougher and tougher," he said in quiet, fearful awe.

Their leader, marked by a metal gauntlet that ran from shoulder to finger-tips and a superior attitude, swaggered around the scene, obviously enjoying himself. He ran his fingers gently through the woman's hair, pulling away with a long satin ribbon, which he wrapped around his fist. Smirking, he drew back and punched the helpless husband in the face, snapping his head back. DeeDee jerked as though she felt the blow herself. The restrained man let out a roar of impotent rage. DeeDee felt it reverberate through her whole body. Helpless fury, raging at his attackers and himself for being too weak to defend his family. God, this can't really be happening. I want to wake up now!

"No!" the wife begged, trying in vain to reach her husband. "Please, leave him alone!"

The boy kicked out at the leader. The vile man took hold of the youngling from his subordinate and pulled the child around to where the father would have full view as he backhanded his son. The boy crumpled to the ground.

Glitch flinched. "Oh! Even with half a brain I can tell that we gotta get out of here."

But DeeDee wasn't listening to him. She could not just run away and leave this family to suffer like this. She was not that person. She looked around for some kind of weapon. Anything. All she saw were rocks and sticks. Well, what do you expect? Lawn darts? Rocks and sticks it would be, then. She grabbed a good sized stone and a medium sized stick that felt solid.

"DeeDee, what are you doing?" Glitch asked urgently.

"I'm going to go in there -"

He cut her off. "That's crazy! You can't-"

"I'm going to attack, then run, and draw a few off. You help that man get his family out of here," she ordered. He looked at her like she was crazy and she really could not argue with that belief.

"I can't fight them!" he insisted. She put the hand with the stone in it on his shoulder, drawing him close.

"You don't have to beat them. Just get those people away from them."

She did not give him further chance to argue, taking off down the hill towards the cottage. She had never heard anyone use the term Ice Butterflies before, but if she lived through this that would be the only way to describe the feeling that settled in her abdomen. A small voice in the back of her mind was screaming for her to stop, but the rest of her was pushing for this; for her to take action.

She hit the flat tract of land where the home was built and rushed head-on into the foray, just as the father gave a heave against the men holding him, breaking the grasp of one. He reached for the leader just as DeeDee threw her rock at a Long Coat standing back from the group, so as not to accidentally hit anyone who did not deserve it.

"Hey, fuckheads!" she shouted. Knowing they would pursue her if she landed even one hit on the lead man, that was who she went for first, swinging as strongly as she could for his skull. The stick went right through his head and the man evaporated like mist. The force of her swing drew DeeDee into a spin and she lost her balance. The ground was hard and cold and damp as she landed right on her ass, looking up in amazement.

The entire scene had vanished like smoke. The house behind her was dilapidated and overrun with weeds and vines. The hand-pump was overgrown as well and looked so rusted she doubted the handle would ever move again.

"What the fuck?" was all she could manage.

The thought came to her that perhaps this was how Glitch felt when he glitched. He came jogging up just after her, quick to pull her to her feet again. Hands still joined, they looked around the area, trying to make sense of what had just happened. A whirring sound, like a wind-up toy winding down drew his attention and he lead her over to a post. Sticking out of the post was what looked like an adjustable shower head or sprinkler spigot. Glitch seemed to recognize it.

"What is it?"

"A TDESPHTL," he said. Then glanced at her, remembering she often had no idea what anyone was talking about, and clarified. "A Tri-Dimensional Energy Stored Projected Holographic Time Loop."

Try saying that three times fast.

"Nifty little thing," he said, offhandedly. A look of recognition came then. "Hey, I think I invented it."

"So, what? It was fake?"

"Oh no," he assured her. "It happened. Some time or another."

"Well, it's obviously not a trap or we'd be in it by now," DeeDee reasoned out loud. "So, why have it play over and over, if no one was here to see it?"

Glitch shrugged. She took a slower look around; really looking this time, not just glancing about for immediate threats. About fifty feet away from the house stood a old-timey dive suit. Or, that's what the girl thought it was at first glance.

"Well, I think it…" Glitch trailed off as Dee headed over to investigate, hoping she was way off base with the idea that was trying to worm it's way into the forefront of her thoughts. As they got closer to it, she saw that the suit was roughly the shape of a human body and solid, like an iron maiden. Little canisters and hidden pumps made gurgling and hissing sounds. There was a small window in the face of the thing. Bile rose in the back of her throat as her theory was confirmed. She tapped on the chest of the device to be sure. It tapped back. Glitch jumped back a step.

"There's someone in there," Dee told him, looking the contraption over. He scoffed.

"Yeah. Or something."

On one side were hinges and down the opposite seem were latches, help in place by small pegs. Easy enough to open from the outside, impossible from within. She let go of Glitch's hand and went off to search the house for something with which she could pop out the pegs. On an anvil near the back door she found an old, rusty hammer which would do the trick. A few taps later and she was able to open the maiden.

Acrid smoke billowed from inside, blinding and choking her momentarily. Glitch caught her upper arms and pulled her back to where she could breathe. The smoke wafted away, revealing the semblance of a man. He was wearing what was probably once a white shirt and pants of an unknown color, both of which were streaked with gray grime. Most of his face was covered by a long, matted gray beard and wildly unkempt soot-colored hair that fell across his eyes and down his shoulders, but what little skin could be seen was so grimey that it looked like he'd been painted with silver.

He kept his feet for an instant, then, with a choking cough, he fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. DeeDee tried to reach out to catch him, but Glitch held fast. The man looked up with wide, unfocused, bloodshot eyes.

"Where are they?" he rasped. Before any answer could be given, the man collapsed and lost consciousness. DeeDee pulled away from Glitch's grasp and knelt by the fallen man. She pulled away the dirty hair to press her fingers to his neck, looking for a pulse. It was surprisingly strong.

"Glitch, help me turn him over," she ordered. After a moment's hesitation, her companion complied. The prone man was breathing deep and rhythmically and did not appear to be in any kind of distress, which made little sense to her, but as long as he wasn't dying in her arms, that was just fine with the girl.

"Go see if you can find a glass in the house and bring some water."

The gangly man jumped up and rushed off to carry out her command. DeeDee cradled the unconscious stranger's head in her lap and brushed the mess of hair away from his face. He looked deceptively peaceful. She was praying that he did not suddenly take a turn for the worse. A few minutes later, glitch bounded towards her, water sloshing over the sides of a cracked glass in one hand. In the other, he toted a metal pail that was also spilling water, as he came. He dropped to his knees at her side.

"Is he still alive?"

"Yeah." DeeDee shook the man's shoulder, hoping he wasn't beyond waking. After a moment, he stirred. His eyes flew open and he tried to sit up, but the girl was able to hold his shoulders down easily enough, since he had no leverage.

"Where are they?" he demanded, his voice a sandpapery whisper.

"I don't know," she told him truthfully. His eyes - a shocking electric blue - were wide and darting around wildly. They fell on Glitch; on what Glitch was holding. The man lunged for the glass, spilling most of what was left as he took it and raised it to his lips. He gulped greedily.

"Not so fast!" Glitch warned in vain. Apparently, the water was cold and the man's empty stomach was unprepared. He rolled to his side and retched into the grass. DeeDee rubbed his back, trying her best to give him some kind of comfort. He reached up and grasped her free hand tightly and pressed his face into her blue-jeaned thigh. His shoulders shook with harsh sobs. She looked to Glitch, who could only shrug helplessly. He began to pat the man's back as well, toffee-colored eyes filled with concern. She found herself whispering nonsensical words of comfort to the man, the stranger, making promises she knew would never be kept, hoping the sentiment would be what counted.