I know. A chapter just over a week after the last. Suprising. Also, just kidding. This chapter is not going to be about Finaqua. It's going to be about getting to Finaqua. At least part of the way. I forgot how much happened before they actually made it. Lol.

I have to tell ya'll, before I let you read this, that when I was watching the mini-series for writing a part of this scene, the whole group was standing around talking, and I – legitimately and out loud – asked, "Wait… Where's the Mystic Man?" Only to, seconds later, face palm and think, Oh, right. He dead. I'm losing my mind.

And, everyone always slams on Ahamo's mutton chops (which are bad, don't get me wrong), but seriously, go back and watch the scene where DG heals the Papay tree, when Toto is giving her advice. Now there is some creepy facial hair. Just sayin'.

Disclaimer: Don't own Tin Man. But I want one. Not necessarily Cain, but that'd be cool too.

Chapter 9: Journey to Finaqua

The black man raised his hands, "It's alright. I'm a friend of your mother's. She sent me to help. We have an Emerald to find."

Cain was the first to respond, "I don't think so."

Suddenly the sirens coming from the Tower suddenly got louder, and DG could faintly hear the tanks revving up, "Guys, we need to move further away. Come on."

The tension was momentarily broken, but no one moved. DG groaned, grabbed the Mystic Man's sleeve and tugged him along with her. That got them moving.

They made their way through the trees, Evan stepped a bit closer and whispered, "DG, are you really alright?"

She glanced over at him, "Yes, I'm fine. Actually better than I have been in a long tie, magically or otherwise."

Evan frowned slightly, "I thought you said your experience of magical exhaustion was a nasty one. That hardly was what you implied it to be."

"I don't know what that was, but it wasn't a drain. It kind of felt like it, but… I don't know…"

They made it to the tribute that would lead them to the Fields of the Papay and ultimately the Crack in the OZ. Cain seemed to be in his element again, because he was telling Glitch to remove his Longcoat gear in order to hide it in the brush. They covered them in leaves and sticks.

Cain turned away and glanced over at DG, "You ready, Kid?"

DG was staring off at the imposing figure of the Tower, and all the trouble it symbolized, "Yeah…"

DG turned to face the group, "That machine he was leading me through," DG indicated to her Tutor before continuing, "I found out that she is going to use that to destroy the OZ."

"Wait a second," Cain walked around Glitch to stand in front of the girl, "How do you know that?"

DG tried to stare unflinchingly into his ice blue eyes. She knew she was going to have to lie to him, and she didn't know if she was going to be able to do it, "I overheard a few Alchemists." She felt sick. She hated lying to him, like really lying. Saying she was fine when she wasn't and hiding innocent things from him were different. Now she felt like she was betraying him, despite this being a really small detail.

But she continued anyway, "They said that she needs the Emerald to make the machine work."

Glitch stepped forward, inventor's gleam in his eye, "That's interesting... How?"

But Tutor cut off any response DG may have come up with, "Folks, I suggest we keep moving."

Cain, who DG notice – and ignored – was studying her quite closely, spoke before actually looking at the man, "Sorry, pooch. But this is where we part company."

"Part?" Tutor said, slightly alarmed.

"With the Longcoats on our trail and the Mobats in the sky, I don't have time to figure out what's your angle in all of this," DG had to smirk. She had told him that he was supposed to 'wade out the shady characters' for her. Too bad she was going to have to rain on his parade. She could definitely see now why he thought she was being difficult. Oh well.

"My angle is her mother sent me to help," Toto tried to explain.

"And you did. I'd even thank you for what you did back there if I knew who you were. Or what," Cain added skeptically.

Glitch jumped up in front of him, ever the foil, "Whoa there, Mister Suspicious. This is the man… dog… thingy… that helped us escape."

"Shape Shifter," Raw threw in rather unhelpfully.

"Yes, Mister Raw," Tutor agreed, successfully losing Glitch's support.

"He knew your name…" He spun around to glower at the man, "How did you know his name?"

"I know all of your names," Tutor said calmly, "You're Mister Glitch, former advisor to the Queen herself. Mister Raw, a viewer of extraordinary skill," DG watched as her friend lit up at the praise before Tutor continued to Cain, with a bit of trepidation in his voice, "And you, Mister Cain, was a Tin Man on the Great and Terrible Mystic Man's protection detail," He motioned towards Evan, "You're all quite famous in the OZ… And quite in demand. Dead or alive"

He pulled out the new wanted poster. Instead of just DG's picture it had all four of theirs. How odd. No Mystic Man. Maybe she doesn't want the resistance to know that he 'broke' free. Would make sense…

"That's a terrible picture of me," Glitch threw out, while Evan came up behind DG, trying subtly to get her attention. She ignored him.

"Now, look," Tutor said plainly, in the way that told DG he was getting exasperated, "I'm sorry if I scared any of you back there, but there's never really a good time for the whole 'beast in to man' moment. You just WHAM, and hope for the best."

DG just sat idly listening to the conversation, when Cain turned back to look at her. They just stared at each other for a moment before Cain seemingly disregarded whatever silent argument they had been having – that DG completely missed, by the way – and regarded the man, "This little rag tag group is already big enough to have difficulties moving across the OZ effectively, and we still have no idea who you are."

Toto's brown eyes bore into hers, "But don't you?"

And he reached deep into his coat pocket and brought out her spinning doll that she had named, Marcy. She smiled at the toy, and held out her hand, "That's mine."

He nodded, "It was yours when you were a child."

DG smiled more and flattened her palm. Suddenly the doll went spinning, within Tutor's closed hand, and he released it with a jerk. It sailed effortlessly through the space between them, and gracefully landed in her hand, DG making it curtsy once it got there. Her smiled got even wider.

"Magic is in your blood," Toto said, with a bit of awe before continuing in a business like tone, "Let it shine light on your past so that you may better face your future."

DG cut him off before he could start harping on her to concentrate. She wasn't going to bother with struggling for her memories anymore, "Toto. You were our tutor."

"Before you were sent over to the Otherside, your mother put a spell on all of your memories, in case you were ever taken into the wrong hands."

"So I've been told," DG huffed, while she changed the training spell on the doll. The porcelain figure now fell seated on DG's hand, miming a huff of annoyance as her petty coats fluttered; much like DG wished she could do. Her magic was much more receptive to her commands now, the lilac colored magic much easier to control than the vapors had been.

"Well she sent me now to help you reawaken the memories you are going to need to find the Grey Gale and the Emerald of the Eclipse."

"Okay," DG said, attention still on the doll, trying to think of other things she could make it do.

"Hold on," Cain said, jumping on the fact that DG had given in on that very weak explanation far too easily, "How have you talked to the Queen if Azkadillia has her?"

The rest of the group turn its attention to this now glaring flaw, while Cain noticed that DG's attention was too fixated on the doll – which was doing cartwheels up the girl's arm – to be casual. Toto took a shaky breathe and said, "She came to me in a dream."

At Cain's narrowing stare, Tutor speed up his explanation, "But she is growing weaker and weaker. There is no time to waste."

Evan now gave up trying to warn the Princess and spoke up, "But the Queen told me to head south."

"Then that's exactly what we should do," Glitch perked up, "Don't you think Cain? South?" Then he began to try to figure out the direction, but DG beat him to it.

DG took a few steps the way she remembered them going, but didn't hear anyone following her. So she turned and headed back, "Come on, guys, let's go."

Again when no one moved, suspicion and tension running high, DG grabbed a hold of Glitch and Evan's coat sleeve and tugged them behind her. Raw followed promptly and eventually Cain was force to as well.

But he obviously felt that it was necessary to throw in a bit of pessimism, "Unfortunately, the only road to the south leads through the Fields of the Papay."

"Papay… Uggghhhh…." Raw rumbled.

The group finally happened upon the Brick Route and was on their way to the Field of the Papay before Evan finally was able to get DG far enough away from the group.

"Princess, did you feel the magic on the Master Tutor? As I'm sure you remember he does not have any substantial amounts of his own magic."

DG didn't look at him, focusing rather on Cain, who was straying a little too close for her to be comfortable to have this conversation. But he began moving faster again, tracking closer to Toto again, still not trusting him, "I know. I saw it. It's in his left jacket pocket."

"Saw it? Saw what?"

"Little recorder disks. About the size of a half dollar – err, platinum, whatever. Its Az's magic. Or part of it is. Some is the Witch's."

"Recorder disks?" Evan hissed, "You knew this, and yet you did protest his joining with us? He could be spying on us."

"Oh he's spying on us. Actually there is a Mobat following after us. And keep your voice down," DG said, still worried about everyone finding out far too soon.

Evan sputtered a little bit and DG just met his glare evenly, "Dorothigale! The Witch is going to be getting exact trackings on where we are. This can't – You don't – "

"Well, she would have done that anyway with your magic. What I don't understand is why she sent Toto also," DG mused.

"The spell she used on me, it would only work once. If he wasn't here, we'd be free to move to Finaqua and the Grey Gale."

"Well, either way, this is for the best. With those little pieces of information, the Sorceress is only following us, trying to get us to find the Emerald for her, instead of all out attacking us. We have time, and that's all we really need at this point," DG told him.

"But – " Evan tried to start up again, but DG saw Raw slowing down to meet them.

"I'm done talking about this," DG whispered quickly, before putting some distance between them.

But Raw followed. He seemed determined to talk to her, alone. So, she slowed up and allowed him to set a pace that would give them some space, "What's up, big guy?"

Raw grumbled warmly, giving her a small smile, "DG save brother and nephew. Raw must thank."

DG started, "Nephew?" She had practically corrupted the poor boy for three months and she had no idea that it was Raw's nephew. Well, now she felt bad.

"Yes. DG save brother and his son. Didn't have to. Thank you. Raw should have been there for family. Scared, ran," He looked down to his shuffling feet, seemingly very ashamed.

"Everyone gets scared, that's nothing to be ashamed of. And they are all right now. Everything worked out," DG told him, completely ignoring that fact that the advice was so much like what Wyatt had been telling her ever since she found out what she did to her sister.

But then DG realized something else. Raw shouldn't have known that she set them free. She didn't tell him, so he must have read it from her. And that was something she had been really worried about, she wasn't the best about masking her emotions. But so far, besides after they first 'met', everything had been fine.

"How did you know? That I got them out?" she asked, trying to down play her curiosity.

"Lilo sent me message. Telling about escape and forgiving Raw."

DG smiled, "See? It's all good."

"Lilo say because Raw sent help for them. Send Amolestatem Princess," brown eyes bore into hers and she tried not to squirm. She remembered the term from what the OZ had said. She wanted to ask, but something deep down stopped her.

"Raw doesn't know, Lilo great Seer. Raw trust DG. Will not ask, just thank."

"I… Um…," DG peered up at him, smiling sheepishly, "Thanks Raw."

He opened his arms wide, and DG was grateful for the hug.

They made their way as quickly as they could. Soon they were crossing into Papay territory, and no one was very happy about it. Cain got wearier as they reached the orchards, and increasingly frustrated with the Kid. Once they got to the trees, she started wandering a bit, weaving and bouncing off various trees. If he couldn't get her to start goin' in a straight line, he was going to go insane and they would be in these fields all night.

"Kid, if you don't get a move on, I am going to haul you over my shoulder and carry you out of these fields," he yelled over his shoulder, ignoring Glitch's snickers.

"I am moving, Cain. Don't get your holster in a twist and get off my case," DG shouted, reaching out to grab on to another tree.

He turned around to see her take off in another direction, starting a new diagonal. He clenched his jaw, "Can't you just walk in a straight line? There isn't anything to see out here for you to be wandering like that."

"I know…" DG said sadly, actually stopping for a second to take in her surroundings, "Everything is so dead."

"It didn't used to be like this," Glitch said, "I think…"

Cain took a deep breath as DG started moving again, straighter but still latching on to every tree she could reach. Damn Royalty and their quirks, "No, it wasn't. This used to be the some of the most fertile land in all of the OZ. Orchards, nurseries."

"Gotta love a good orchard," Glitch chimed in enthusiastically, "Full of succulent fruit for all the people to eat. Free too, if you're a good fence climber. Mind you, those scarecrows always kind of freaked me out."

"So what happened?" DG asked Cain, glad he wasn't yelling at her anymore and ignoring was she was doing.

"About fifteen annuals ago, all the crops died. Which then caused the Great Famine," Cain told her and she had to grimace. Ah, so history repeats itself.

Glitch started to slow down, going on about helping the people with doohickeys, and DG took the moment to grab a few more trees off the path Cain was setting, but had to hurry back.

"Papay once peaceful," Raw told DG.

"Yeah, well the only piece they want now is a piece of us," Glitch shouted from the back.

"Were farmers, now hunters," Raw continued, ignoring Glitch.

"No wonder. They're desperate, they don't have any food," DG said, feeling sorry for them. 'Animals' or not, they were her subjects and helped them out in a serious bind with the New Famine. She was hoping to help them out greatly this time around.

"Shhh…" Cain called over them, stopping the group, "Runner scouts… They are signaling to the others."

And suddenly a hunter party appeared a few yards in front of them. And they were off running. As they tried to get away, DG tried to at least brush her hand against anything they passed.

They were finally cornered and they were all cowering around a tree. DG watched as the hungry Papay drew closer and took a deep breath. She pushed away the fear and focus on the task at hand. She knelt down, placing one hand firmly on the dead tree next to her and dug her fingers down into dry soil.

Cain saw a blur of black go down out of the corner of his eye and felt the new presence next to his leg. He took risk, looking away from the predators, and down to the girl that he was fairly certain had mental issues. Her eyes were closed and her brow was furrowed in concentration. He was about to ask what she was doing when he saw a white light flare out from her and jet off the way they came.

He faintly heard Glitch ask why the Papay were bowing, as Cain turned to follow the light's progression and he was floored. The light DG had sent flared out and in the way that they had come a great number of the Bégar Navé Trees were restored, the Papay's fruit hanging plentiful and ripe from the branches.

Cain felt DG turn on her heels and slowly rise, appraising her handy work, and he hoped he wasn't the only one in awe, "That is one heck of a defense, Kid…"

The rest of the group praised her, but DG turned to Cain, smiling brightly at him, before he suggested that they removed themselves from between hungry Papay and their crops.

The Witch was now launching a near constant attack on Az's consciousness. That was probably because Az was fighting her again, taking her sister's words to heart, the first hope she's had in years. But either way, it was painful and exhausting. For everyone involved.

The only time that Azkadillia got any reprieve was when the Witch was too tired to continue and slept. Even then Az was too tired as well, and had to allow herself to sleep.

Az awoke into a dark room. It wasn't the dark room she had gotten used to at the tower. No, she recognized this one. It was her room at Finaqua. It was similar to how she left if as a child, some of her mementos strewn around, some missing.

The curtains were drawn – hiding the cheery sunlight trying to fight past them - and Az could feel that she hadn't left the bed she found herself in for quite some time. And she had no conviction to change that fact.

That is until the bedroom door was unceremoniously wretched open. The sudden light blinded Az momentarily, and a voice drifted in her ears, "I understand the need to wallow, and I deeply feel that you out of anyone deserve it, but two weeks is a bit much. And that's just how long you've been lying in bed."

Az got her sight back and watched in amazement as her sister – her glorious, beautiful baby sister, dressed in trousers oddly enough – marched over to the window, throwing open the curtains, blinding Az yet again.

DG must had spun around again and made her way to the edge of the bed, because her voice was much closer when she said, "Well, come on. Up-and-at'em!"

Az continued to lay there, blinking up at the young woman. She just rolled her eyes and pushed her hands under Az's shoulder blades and heaved her into a sitting position before dragging her out of bed. Az knew she was being navigated towards her ill-used vanity table and seated, but she was far too confused to do or say anything.

She watched through the mirror as her sister inspected her Papay's nest hair, gathering it all in one hand, then tossing some over her shoulder, then all of it, only to pulling back behind her.

DG let it drop, putting her hands on her hips, "Yeah, that's going to have to go."

As DG reached for a pair of scissors Azkadillia knew where not in her room prior to her sister's entry, she realized what DG meant. Only then did Az realize she was not in control of her body or speech – or lack thereof, as it would be. She was only a spectator to what was playing out in her dream.

Her hands gathered up her hair and held it away from the sharp object in DG's hand, looking at DG's reflection, slightly afraid.

But her baby sister just smiled sweetly at her, "Come on Az. I have been cutting hair forever. I worked in our town's salon when I was 14. I learned from the best…. In the Layson County area… On the East side of Terrin… On Main Street. Anyway," she quickly smiled at Az's confusion, before continuing, rubbing a hand soothingly on her back, "Trust me. I promise you will feel better if you let me do it. Please…"

Az stared at her long and hard for a moment, before giving in. DG's eyes lit up, and she bent to give Az a small peck on her temple, "You are going to love this. I'm thinking a bob… No? How about pixie? "

The dream swirled away, and Az found herself, still with DG, but out on the Garden Lawn, eating a light lunch. Her head felt much lighter, and as she turned her head to the side, she realized why. The hair that used to travel down past her bottom was sweeping lightly against her shoulders.

DG's voice broke through her thoughts, "I'm glad I got you outside. You were starting to get deathly pale. And trust me, I know about pale."

She just watched her sister munch on a sandwich and chatter on, glad that someone had finally pulled her out of there.

"You know, you really need to stop holding yourself up in your room. At least sometimes. I mean, who is going to help me understand all this magic stuff," DG told her with big flailing hand gestures, "because Tutor makes about as much sense as a hungry Papay. Or a grumbling Tin Man."

Az let out a small giggle at the comment about her sister's faithful companion, and DG seemed to glow. Getting her to laugh must be quite the accomplishment.

"Of course, Cain says that if you are going to start actually walking around, we'll need to get you an annoying bodyguard. Of course that wasn't how he worded it. That was complements of yours truly."

DG must of caught Az's face of slight terror, because her face softened and she reached out to lay a hand on Az's, the glow of light starting up immediately, "Don't worry, we'll get you someone good. Someone you'll get along with. Promise."

Az relaxed, but only just.

"Maybe I could get Cain to talk Jeb into doing it," DG threw out, "He's pretty cool, once you get past the whole war-hardened-shell thing. Must be a Cain family thing."

Az glanced around, and then peered shyly at her sister, "I would like… It would be nice to start to have a normal life…" she said quietly, voice scratchy from ill-use.

DG smiled even brighter.

She was awake two seconds before the Witch. It was enough for her to lock away the dream and force herself not to marvel at it and wonder what it meant.

The group continued on there way, making it through the Papay Fields and to the overgrown forests on the other side. DG was moderately steady on her feet, until they reached the tangled mess of roots, low vines and bushes. Then it was just all thrown out the window.

DG's foot caught on another root and her feet twisted out from under her, "Ahh!"

The Mystic Man was keeping close to her for this reason, and he caught her before her face could connect with the dirt and twigs. As Evan tried to maneuver her to her feet, Raw came up and lent a hand, "DG need rest. Cannot stand."

"I can too stand!" DG said indignantly, before grumbling, "It's the walking that is becoming an issue."

Raw just gave her a look, but kept his arm wrapped in hers to help her stay up right. Cain watched them as they worked to catch up, "The Furball is right, Kid. If you need to stop we can. We don't need you passing out again."

She just grimaced at him, but allowed herself to be seated on a log. She watched idly as everyone moved around, clearing away some debris, starting a fire, looking through DG's bag for food. Cain kept an eye on DG as he worked and noticed she was swaying slightly.

He sighed and walked over to her, shrugging out of his coat, "Stand up, Deeg."

She looked up at him curiously, "Didn't you just tell me to sit down?"

He tossed his duster out on the ground, "Yeah, well now I'm telling you to lay down."

DG raised her brows at him, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something.

He caught the look, and interpreted it as indignation, "You are going to fall over sitting up. If you're going to black out anyway, might as well start on the ground."

"Alright," DG watched him carefully as she lay down on his duster. He made sure she was going to stay before turning back to the set up. DG smiled a little bit, trying to burrow deeper into the warm and Tin Man scented garment without looking too weird.

Giving it up, she just watched her friends bustle around until her stomach rumbled painfully. She groaned and propped herself up on her elbows, "Is there anything that I can snack on?"

Glitch picked up her bag and dug around before pulling out an apple, "Oooohhh… It's been forever since I've had a nice juicy apple."

He trotted over to her, "You can have it if you want."

"Nah, we don't have much food left and I can hear your stomach from here. We should have grabbed some of the Papay fruit."

DG took the red fruit, "I don't think they would appreciate that. Seeing as they just got them back."

DG went back to lying there quietly, eating her snack, and watching as everyone else started to relax a bit. It didn't take long for her to devour the fruit, and she started to doze.

Images swirled in DG's mind. Dark, bitter images…

…"I believe that the Royal Family would like to know that The Grand Master Tutor was one of those who fought most valiantly"…

…they finally made it to the Royal Quarters to find their mother in her massive bed – completely still. DG quickly scrambled on top of the mattress and checked – no pulse...

…new tears tracked down the eldest sister's face, "Daddy! Daddy, please wake up! PLEASE!" …

…"Baby sister… What are we going to do?" …

…"Don't worry, Sweetheart, he'll catch up with us," Cain's reassurances were cut off by a deafening gun shot, "Glitch? GLITCH!"…

…the Royal Couple began to glow brighter, Jeb's pain filled shouts mixing with Az's screams…

…before DG could say anything, Raw took the knife to his own skin…

…"Run! DG, go!" Cain called to her…

Cain surveyed the people around him, looking away briefly from DG's sleeping form. Everyone was just generally relaxed, forgetting that they were running for their lives and trying to save the OZ from tyranny.

He returned to watching DG, glad that she was finally sleeping. He knew that she would just doze for an hour at night before lying awake trying not to disturb anyone. He knew but had absolutely no idea what to say or do about it. Or, if it was even his place. He was avoiding sleep, nearly at all costs, and he didn't favor himself a hypocrite.

He was the first to notice when her demeanor changed, when she drifted into the land of dreams. She started frowning, brow furrowing. She twitch in her sleep and started mumbling, catching the others attention.

"Is she okay?" Glitch asked, sitting up.

"Sleep. Nightmare?" Raw asked.

"Should we wake her?" Glitch asked concerned.

"No," Tutor said over them, earning Cain's glare, "As her memories resurface they may come back as dreams. She needs to access them uninterrupted."

The group fell silent and went back to watching he struggle against her demons, willing themselves no to do anything. Eventually she jolted out of its grips, sitting forward quickly. Cain saw the terrified faraway look in her eyes, her jaw clenched and muscles locked down, and Cain knew it was out of sheer force of will that she didn't react more.

"You okay?" the question slipped out without his bidding.

Her head whipped around and he could tell that she was coming back to reality, "Yeah…"

"Looked like you were having a nightmare. A bad one," Glitch said worriedly.

"DG dream of Azkadillia?" Raw asked.

DG swallowed hard against the bile that had risen up in her throat, "Yeah…" In a manner of speaking... But that wasn't important right now, "She told me once that we were friends when we were little, but now…"

"Maybe your dreams are trying to tell you something," Toto suggested.

DG hummed and tried to push herself off the forest floor. She rolled her shoulders and tried to loosen her muscles, still lost in her own head.

"Deeg..." Cain prompted when she continued just to stare off in space, "What did you dream about?"

"Hmmm… Just more about Finaqua…" she answered distractedly before turning to face the group, "I guess that means we should get a move on."

"We still need to know which lake," Evan said, standing.

"DG know which lake," Raw rumbled.

"Yes, because you've been there before, as a little girl," Glitch told her soothingly.

She nodded slowly, "I think I can lead us there…"

"Well," Cain grunted as he stood up, gathering and putting on his duster, "To get to Lake Country, we are going to have to cut across the Crack in the OZ…. This ain't going to be easy."

It was late afternoon or early evening when they made it to the hill overlooking the Crack and bridge. DG couldn't help but be amazed at the sight, and slightly afraid about how far she could fall.

"They won't be putting a zipper on that gaper," Glitch said half in awe, half in concern.

Like before, there were at least thirty Longcoats patrolling the area. And Raw pointed it out, "Longcoats everywhere."

"Yeah… We're not getting past them in broad daylight," Cain said.

'The Eclipse is almost upon us. We don't have any time to waste."

DG could practically hear the Tin Man rolling his eyes at the shape shifter, "Look, quick and dead might be okay with you, dog man, but I'll take slow and breathing any time. Even then… We are going to need some help."

Raw touched DG's shoulder and pointed out over the horizon, "Cabin."

"Probably full of Longcoats," Glitch said negatively.

"No, look at the smoke," Cain said, getting excited. Well, DG was probably the only one that could hear it in his voice.

"So? They lit a fire. Longcoats get could too."

"It's blue," Cain deadpanned, like they should have known what it meant – despite the fact that DG actually did (and time travel doesn't count in this case) – before continuing, "Come on."

It took them about an hour and a half to make it down the hill and all the way over to the homestead. They approached the home slowly, until they heard the cocking of a gun.

"State your business," the man called out as his wife followed suit and appeared from around the corner.

"We mean you no harm. We are travelers of the realms," Cain said in a smooth sure voice, "Searching for a warm meal and a cold cup of grog."

"Food is scarce this time of year and the grog has long since been seized."

"Then we will leave you in peace," Cain began to speak carefully now, "May your hearth be warm."

The man, Rolf if DG remembered correctly, watched Cain carefully, lowering his gun slightly, "And your smoke be blue... Come in. Quickly."

They were shuffled inside and the door slammed behind them.

"I'm Rolf, and this is my wife, Loraine."

"Put your gun on the table," The woman said harshly.

The room was still for a moment, before Rolf straightened up, "They're friends, Loraine."

"No such thing anymore."

"It's okay…" Cain said, taking control of the situation again, slowly taking out his pistol and lying it down, "We just need shelter, until it's safe to cross."

"It's never safe to cross. But the cover of night will help. Until then, sit, rest," Rolf offered them a tight smile as he went over to stand next to his still agitated wife, as they moved to sit.

The cabinet under the stairs suddenly creaked open and Loraine slammed it shut, "Get back in there!"

"Please…" Rolf said softly, "Let us show some trust…" DG realized she really like this man. They needed more people like him in the OZ, willing to help others out. If they did perhaps a lot of this mess could have been or will be avoided.

"It's alright children. Come on out," A little boy and his adolescent sister cautiously made their way into the room.

"Hey there," DG greeted them brightly, trying to put them at ease. But it didn't work.

An awkward silence settled over them. Glitch finally broke it, "Is anyone hungry but me?"

Rolf brightened slightly at the purpose laid before them, "Yes, we'll eat. Children, help your mother."

Loraine looked over at him, alarmed and slightly resistant. Rolf just stared back at her, "Please. My Love."

Finally she gave in, taking the children with her into the other room.

Rolf looked over at them, "Please forgive my wife. We have lived in fear for too long."

DG felt that that thought summed up the feeling for every person in the OZ.

They sat down to dinner and got right to business, "What news from the Resistance in the East?"

Cain moved away from the window he had been looking through to check on the visibility, "We were hoping you'd tell us."

"What do you know about the machine Azkadillia is building?" DG asked, sipping her cup of tea.

"Only rumors," Rolf told her regretfully, "We helped a captain from the Lowlands. All he said was that Azkadillia was pushing the miners and metalworkers, 'til they dropped."

"What mine?" Cain asked.

"Some mine in the Black Mountains."

"Moritatinum," Glitch called out, "Ugh… Big M, little T. Number 216 in the Ozian Periodic Table. Haha… School days. I remember this lovely lass name Leonna – "

"Moritatinum," DG called, refocusing him, "What's it for?"

Glitch went into a bit of a daze, "Besides its strength, Moritatinum is valued for its ability to conduct magical energy."

"So if she gets a hold of the Emerald, she can focus the power however she wants," Evan said, staring directly at DG.

"Not if we get to it first," Tutor said.

"So it's a weapon?" Cain asked, ever the military man.

"No, it's a Sun Seeder," Glitch called.

DG was ready with the punch, "What's a Sun Seeder?"

Glitch cocked his head, "I don't know. But it sounds cool."

You could see when the thought flitted across his scattered brain, "Oh wait… I think that I invented it…"

"What's it used for?" DG asked calmly.

"I… I can't remember… I can't remember," Glitch said, getting frustrated with himself.

"Can you get the memory out, like you did DG?" Cain asked the Mystic Man, but Raw cut him off.

"Raw feel memory. Lost in brain. Raw can find."

"Alright," DG said, "Let's do it."

As DG pushed away from the table, DG planted her hands firmly against the thick wood and did the only thing she could think of to thank this family that had helped them twice now. She fused her magic deep within the wood, blessing them.

Az had been completely astonished when she figured out what her sister was able to do. Apparently, Blessings had been thought be a magical art that long since passed from the Royals. Long ago, the reigning Queen and her magically matured daughters were able to form their magic to be long lasting and be able to change situations or cause things to happen. The Queen may bless a field and it would have plentiful yields for decades. A hospital would have a drastically decreased mortality rates. But they had to be done sparingly, because it took ridiculous amounts of magic and if the Queen wasn't careful the drain it would cause would kill her.

Over the years, the line of Queens seemed to wither not have enough power, or lost the knowledge of how to form a blessing. The rituals and speeches still took place at the opening of a new hospital or school, but it was more words of hope for good fortune than insurance.

Az had figure out what DG had done with they had gotten word of the Papay trees coming back to life on their own. As it turned out, DG hadn't just healed the one tree she had blessed the field and soil, allowing it to be restored. And she hadn't had any problem with a particularly awful drain. After they had figured that out, Cain and Az had made sure that it was DG who was sent out to heal the Fields.

But it as something the sister's felt they needed to hide. They only ever told Cain and Jeb. There worry was that if the people found out they would revolt to have DG on the throne and the Emerald had decided that Az was going to be the next Queen. They decided that DG would always stay close and keep with the blessings and they'd just hope that AZ's heir would also have the gift. Unfortunately as the magic of the OZ got weirder and weirder, DG's blessings seemed to get less effective.

But currently, it seemed to be working just fine. When having to make herself give a blessing – versus just doing it on the fly – DG had to envision herself building a box. She laid the framework for the spell, allowing for plentiful food, that whatever they had would fill them. She also laid a protection and peace intent, before allowing her magic to fill the 'box' she created.

She moved away from the table and back to the task at hand. With Loraine's help, they were able to find the candles and things that Raw need to get into his mediations. DG settled Glitch into one of the chairs by the fireplace.

But it was obvious that he was getting nervous, "Uuhhh… I'm not so sure about this…"

DG kneeled next to him, "Glitch, if Azkadillia is building a machine that you designed, you might be the key to stop it."

"I'm talking about Fluffy, diving into my cranium. Invasion of my privacy and all."

Raw just hummed, ignoring him, "Dark Day…"

He reached out and put a gloved hand on the mirror on the mantle and it came to life.

Glitch was running through a field, panicked and already zippered. The image rewound and they saw the Advisor walking though the gardens of Finaqua. He came upon the weakened Queen and knelt beside her.

"Your Majesty, I bring bad news. The Princess Azkadillia has seized Central City," he said, eyes shifting from the grass and is Queen.

"Have our men pull back, set up positions to the South."

The Advisor let out an anguished breathe, "What?"

"The Fourth Brigade has fallen. General Lonant had defected."

The Queen finally looked over at him, defeat and hopelessness flickering in her eyes for a moment, "He was our most loyal friend."

"I'm so sorry… There is no other law than Azkadillia's," Glitch smiled briefly before leaning in to whisper eagerly, "She tried to steal the plans for the Sun Seeder, but I was able to destroy the blueprints."

She reached out and grabbed on to his forearm, "She will come after you Ambrose."

He nodded, almost accepting his fate before asking, "Is there nothing you can do, Your Majesty?"

"It's too late… The darkness is too deeply rooted in her."

"But your light. You are the most powerful being in all of the OZ."

"Was, old friend. I gave my power and my light to save someone every special… My Angel…" The Queen barely whispered, before The Witch appeared in the memory.

Glitch stood and tried to chastise her, but his voice shook, "Show some respect!"

"The Queen's reign ends today," the cocky voice floated through.

The Queen stood and got directly in front of the Witch, "Do you have any idea what you are doing?"

The Witch tried to pull out a wide-eyed innocent look, "I do… You need a long rest mother. Take her away."

She moved in front of Ambrose, "If you won't tell me what you know… I guess that I will have to reach in and take it myself."

Suddenly he was strapped to a table with the Alchemist above him, "Remove the brain slowly…"

"No… Please… It won't work."

"Count back from one hundred…"

"Please…"

"99… 98… 97... 96… "

The image pulled away and Glitch and Raw were free. Glitch was breathing heavily, looking around trying to get his bearings, "The name's Glitch! Have we… Meet…"

He faded off as DG got closer and he recognized the faces. Solemn as they were.

"Are you okay?" He asked DG with a small smile.

"Yes, Glitch. I'm fine," she sounded incredulous as she tried to hold back her tears.

"What? Is my machine so bad?"

"No," Cain told him, still in shock at what the 'Headcase' had done, "But whatever it is, you sure sacrificed a lot to stop Azkadillia."

"That's why she had to go straight to the source," DG gave in and went to hold on tight to one of her best friends.

"Ohh… I guess it wasn't the biggest sacrifice I made for science."

DG laughed watery at the morbid joke, "Well, it sure is up there."

Tutor spoke up, "The time to go is now. Its full dark and the moons have yet to rise."

Everyone get moving and ready to go, but DG needed a minute as they headed out the door.

But of course Cain found her. She could almost hear him struggling with how to deal with her tears, "You okay?"

She started to nod her head, but ended up saying, "No… I've done so much wrong… It's all my fault…"

"How is any of this your fault?" DG had forgotten that he did know about the cave. Not yet.

"People gave up so much for me, mother her magic, Glitch his brain, and so much more... And yet I keep failing everybody…."

They were quiet for a second while DG tried to smother her sobs and Cain gathered his thoughts, "You know, Kid, sometimes in life there are just some things that are out of our control…." DG let out a sigh. She knew that he was just trying to help her, by telling her that she needed to let go of this guilt – like he had been for months – but considering her situation, it was not something she really wanted to hear. She was already beginning to seriously doubt what she was doing. She knew that she wanted to make everything better, but could she really change anything by herself? Yes, she saved the Mystic Man, but he hadn't been much help yet. They – or she – had still gotten captured and the Witch knows about the Grey Gale. So many things were staying too much the same that she wasn't sure she could win a fight against time.

"But we need you," the Tin Man just kept on talking, bring her back to the moment at hand. He turned her around and held on to her shoulders, "You've got to let it go."

DG tried not to laugh, when she had told him the same thing, repeatedly. They were quite the pair, weren't they?

Cain urged her to get a move on and when she walked around him she saw the Mystic Man watching them, eyebrow raised. She threw him a look that clearly said Shut it. She took a step forward only to realize Cain wasn't following. She gasped softly when she saw him inspecting a small wooden horse.

"Where did you get this?" He asked quietly.

"We should go," Rolf was barely paying any attention.

"Where did you get this?" Cain repeated in a hard voice, catching everyone's attention.

Rolf stood up straighter before speaking cautiously, "A resistance fighter made it for my son. He came through a few months ago with his mother… I think their names were…"

"Jeb and Adora. My family… They really are alive."

DG's eyes flew open. How did he know that? They hadn't seen Zero this time around, at least he hadn't. There was no way for him to have thought that his family might be alive. For the first time, DG seriously started to wonder what was going on in her life.

Wow… Long chapter and that's not even all I had wanted to get in here. I actually had to cut this in half. I had wanted to get them to Finaqua and maybe even include the events from that part. I had also thought that the DG/Cain confrontation everyone seems to be so eager for was going to be here. Turns out I had the order of events a bit mixed up. But it's coming. Probably in the next chapter, at most the chapter after that. This is going to fun. Hehehe…

But I've been outlining and trying to plan what is going to happen after we finished with the show, and I've gotta say that this may never end. I have so much stuff I want to do and need to get in there… And I have no destination. Oh well… I guess I'm just along for the ride.

I again want to thank all the people that have alerted, favorite and review. I love when you tell me what you guys want to see, what you think is going to happen or what you are worried about. It makes me have to think about what is coming and know that people actually likes this story. That makes me want to write more and get the next chapter out faster. So, I LOVE YOU ALL!

Don't forget to review and tell me what you liked, loved and could ahve done without! See ya'll next time

Next Chapter: Finaqua (I promise this time)