Chapter 3: Questions are answers unspoken
Their little company had grown. D.G. still wasn't sure what exactly the silent furry creature was representing, but Raw was radiating a serenity and silence that their odd little group needed, especially since Cain and Glitch couldn't stop fighting and having arguments. Moreover, they had solved one of the first mysteries on her seemingly endless list. Her parents weren't what they seemed to be but this fact alone wasn't gnawing on her.
They were robots, that was frightening and strange, unusual and weird, but what had hit her more than that: They weren't her real parents. Her real mother had to give her away and send her to the 'Otherside' as the people here called it, and there was no reason at all why she should have done it. Maybe there was one, but she couldn't know that right now, maybe she would find out eventually, but all those questions and unsolved mysteries were poison for her already strained nerves.
After their departure from Milltown and their encounter with Father Vue, they had been on the run again in the search of a guy called Mystic Man and D.G had to leave behind her beloved parents – robots or not. Cain had guided them through the woods and over fields right to the walls of Central City.
There they had faced frightening realizations which still made D.G.'s tummy spin. The whole O.Z. was at their heels and wanted posters with her face on it were hanging all over the place. Without cover they would have never gotten into the city as free people.
Luckily enough they had encountered an old 'friend' of Cain's who 'voluntarily' offered to bring them into the city by smuggling them inside his wagon of filth. DeMilo was a dirty and disgusting Chauvin, but in the end it was him who brought them to the Mystic Man safe and sound.
Even though she had been secretly against it, he had even provided them with disguises so that they could visit the Mystic Man's show without being recognized.
To her horror and despair Cain had decided to part with them there which left her alone with Glitch and Raw, not the most inconspicuous company and not the most protective either. She didn't mean any offense by that but deep inside she doubted that the two creatures could put up a fight against the Longcoats .
She had hoped that she was able to convince the former Tin Man to stay, by telling him that revenge wasn't the right solution but the man was stubborn.
Now they were standing in a tiny dressing room, Glitch and Raw being cloaked, she in a filthy, much too short dress, and the Mystic Man full of Azkadellia's drugs.
They had seen his show and it hadn't reuired a genius to tell that something was wrong. This wasn't the man that was supposed to help them; this was only a whimpering lousy shell of the man that should have been their key.
The Mystic Man was shivering like a leaf and babbling nonsense and D.G. was slowly but surely running out of ideas.
Besides that they were running out of time which gnawed on her nerves even more. They could hear the ruckus outside before they could see it and suddenly a Longcoat was pointing a gun at her and as she had feared there was neither Glitch nor Raw who could help her and her heart felt like it would burst from her chest. The man ordered his colleague to inform Zero of their hiding spot, however, they were all surprised when the man was knocked to the floor by a fist and they saw a familiar gun threatening the other attacker before Glitch knocked him down with an empty bottle of wine. The gun was accompanied by a much familiar voice and everyone was surprised when the Tin Man suddenly came walking in.
"Thought you weren't a Tin Man anymore," D.G. scolded him, but actually she was glad as she saw the man in the familiar green coat and significant fedora.
"We gotta go!" Was the short reply, which indicated that D.G.'s words didn't affect Cain in the least. The Longcoats now knew where they were and Cain was a practical man who obviously would do anything to protect her. Nonetheless, they couldn't leave without any answers.
"We can't…he is not well," she said and shrugged her shoulders in the process, it was a helpless gesture that underlined their desperate situation.
"Who's not well?" Cain asked in curiosity, and he finally entered the tiny dressing room. She seemed to have caught his attention and she was glad that he seemed to care for her wishes after all.
With a move of her head she pointed at the man sitting in an armchair behind her, since she had covered his body with her own, Cain wasn't able to see the crouched Mystic Man in the background. Now however he saw him for the first time and D.G. could see the evident shock on his face. This was a man who knew the Mystic Man before he became this crumbling mess. What he now seemed to feel was even more anger but also sadness.
"Oh my! That's not the Mystic Man I remember," he exclaimed calmly and walked even closer into the room where the Mystic Man was clutching at the armchair and silently crying.
"Azkadellia has really messed him up. She's got him on the vapors." Although it was evident on his face, Cain's voice stayed surprisingly unaffected when he talked about his old friend which confused D.G. a little bit. Wyatt Cain was a real enigma. One time he would show the most strongest emotions on his face and in his voice and other times he would be flat like he was made out of Tin himself and as if he didn't have a heart at all.
"Hey, look until this wears off you're gonna hurt for a while, okay?" Cain was now crouching in front of the Mystic Man and talking to him slowly and kindly, in the hope that the man would show a reaction or come to his senses. She was grateful that he tried to help her but she also knew that they couldn't wait until the influence of the drugs was gone.
"I need answers now," she said commandingly and placed a hand on Cain's shoulder.
"Would be the vapors talking not him," Cain answered before he faced the crying Mystic Man again.
"Do you think Zero's gonna wait." She knew she had a point there and although his back was facing her she could see that he sighed because he was agreeing to her argument. He seemed to struggle with himself for a second before he sighed again and raised himself up to make space for D.G., while she kneeled down he made his way to the door in order to keep watch for new intruders. Glitch followed him shortly afterwards and together they would give her some time to ask her questions.
On her knees and with her hands on the Mystic Man's legs she tried her best to get the information they needed...she needed.
"Sir, sir...you have some answers
"Answers?"
"Yes."
"Sure," even though he sounded unsure she seemed to have his attention now so she gave it a try.
"Many years ago you helped a woman smuggle a child out of the O.Z.," she started carefully.
"Out of the O.Z.," he repeated in order to keep track with her, she was happy that he was listening but then he started to repeat it more often and more forcefully.
"Out of the O.Z,, Yes...yes."
"Yes. I was that child," she now raised her voice in order to be louder than him.
"Right," he nodded approvingly,although his movement was hectic and she could tell that the drugs were still clouding his mind. She wouldn't give up too fast though.
"So you have to help me find out where my mother is, who my mother is." These were the final questions she wanted to deliver and hoped he could help her.
"Uhm... a woman ...uh...uh...uhm...women are great." The old man shifted uneasily on his seat before he started to laugh uncontrollably about his own joke.
"I remember who...I remember who...who." He was mad.
"My mother." She was helpless.
"Who?" Completely out of his mind.
"My mother." Desperate for answers.
"Whose mother?" A lunatic.
"My mother!" And angry.
"Whose mother?" A mess.
Later she wouldn't be able to recall why she had gotten so angry at this moment but when he started to laugh in her face she slapped him pretty hard. At that moment it was the only solution that came to her mind.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry," she tried to defend herself and apologize with her hands stretched into the air, her open palms showing into the direction of the mad man.
The slap had hit him hard but it seemed to have worked. When he saw the shining little cyclone on her hand he suddenly grabbed it and looked like he had finally gotten to his senses.
He smiled for the first time and relief showed on his face. It almost seemed like he was glad that she had slapped and therefore saved him. He wasn't more than another victim of Azkadellia.
"You have most brilliant beautiful blue eyes but your mother, your mother had lavender," he said and everyone turned around, surprised by his first clear sentence that in addition made sense as well.
"You do remember," she said completely flabbergasted, her hope starting to come back.
O.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Cain couldn't believe what he was hearing! The old man could remember this cold and dark night many annuals ago in which Lavender and Ambrose had come to them to talk about the changes in Azkadellia and the death of D.G..
There was no doubt anymore, the girl, the young woman was the lost princess D.G., their only hope. This realization hit him hard because now it would be even harder to protect her. Once everyone else would find out they were doomed.
"Okay, kiddo, we gotta get out of here right now!"
"Not yet, Mr. Cain! He hasn't told us where to find my mother," she said strictly and blocked his way with her hand. At the mentioning of his name he could see that realization hit the Mystic Man and that he now knew who was standing in front of him.
The old man lifted himself up with much more ease than before and grabbed Cain's arms with both his hands.
"Cain! Cain you were one of mine, weren't you? A Tin Man!" The old man breathed hard, but with determination in his voice. There was sadness and despair in his eyes which could both come from his inner struggle against the drugs but also because of the realization that Azkadellia was using him for her own good and that his past was now getting back at him.
This sadness was a reflection of his own feelings and although he hated to admit it, it was also evident on his face. To see his old boss so desperate and helples , a puppet in Azkadellia's game, caused his crumbled heart to sink.
"A long time ago," he answered and hoped that helping the Mystic Man to remember his past would soothe some of the pain.
Their silent moment of reconciliation and their own private moment of reunion was soon interrupted by Glitch, who tried to catch Cain's attention. The Scarecrow was standing in the door way and gesturing widely, telling Cain that new Longcoats were on the way.
He left his old friend behind so that he could tell D.G. about her mother, while he walked to Glitch.
"Please," he could hear the girl pleading.
"The Northern Island." This time the old man didn't disappoint any of them.
"The Northern Island," D.G. repeated, mesmerized.
"The journey for her to find who you are, starts there," the Mystic Man answered.
They were finally getting their answers but now there was no going back and no way to escape, for Cain could see Zero talking to the guy who managed the backstage area. Now they had to find another way out and he already had a plan what that would be.
He left the doorway and sprinted to the window that was directed to the backside of the theatre.
"Let this guide you," he heard the Mystic Man say before he turned around to inform D.G. and the rest that it was time to escape.
"Okay you two, get those two out of her. Let's go, let's go," he instructed Glitch and Raw. He would stay behind and protect their backs but the Mystic Man seemed to have other plans.
"No, no no! You stay with her at all costs!" He yelled at Cain and stopped him from going after the Longcoats by blocking the way and keeping Cain at a distance with his hand.
Cain wanted to protest but he could see the urging and determination in the eyes of his former boss.
"She can take care of her own!" He mumbled.
"You know who she is now. She is the key!" the old man replied and they both knew that he was right.
D.G. was the daughter of Queen Ozma Lavender and she would be able to save the whole O.Z. As a former Tin Man and friend of the Royal family it was his duty to protect this woman but his doubts haunted his mind and he knew that the Mystic Man might die in the process of earning them enough time to escape.
"Promise me! I want your word as a Tin Man. You will not leave her side at any cost" He heard the Mystic Man say and he hated him for asking something like this from him.
In the end it was his sanity and reason that caused him to make the right decision.
"You have my word," he heard himself say and with a last suffering glance he observed how the Mystic Man grabbed his cane and made his way out of the dressing room and in the direction of unknown dangers.
A.N: This one particular line of the Mystic Man , where he tells Cain that he knows who D.G is has always confused me . Surely there are some good reasons why Cain might know more things about her …maybe the Mystic Man only meant to say that Cain knows that D.G is the key but whatever it is , I used it to my advantage. I hope you liked the little focus on Cain. More to come on Saturday ;) Thanks for reading!