Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Alright, so HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Here's a chapter for you guys! Enjoy! See you all in this brand new year of 2011! Also, warning, there is some swearingin this chapter.

Part 2 chapter 9

Liir did not sleep particularly well that night. For once it was not dreams that were the enemy of his rest, it was the hard wooden bench numbing his backside and the even harder wooden table that he just couldn't get comfortable on. His arms weren't a very good pillow either and the cafeteria was cold. He could have gone to bed, but hadn't been able to sleep there so he had wandered…and gotten lost.

Eventually Liir Wizantier had found himself here in the lousy cafeteria. He swore it was modeled after that thing masquerading as an eatery at the Academy. He had spent hours flicking a pen of some kind down the length of the slightly angled table and watching it roll back towards him with a clattering sound only to repeat the motion as he mulled over the conversations he'd had with his sister, both telepathically and in person. He thought about what he knew about Candle and the Rebellion and what had happened in the past eventful years.

His sister had been in love. He was sure of it. But something had happened. She had gotten hurt, in more than one way. Liir had felt it all too vividly and loudly. The story had been put out that he had been struck with some kind of brain fever at the time, but he knew exactly what it was, especially after the incident in the clearing. Rhonaraye had been trapped in that fire and had been rescued, but not by the Rebellion. She had been tortured. Liir could remember that pain all too well. From that point on Liir had increased his efforts to figure out a way to escape and find her again. But on reflection….he had been struggling to find her, yes. But also to find himself ever since she left. He had been questioning a great deal; His Grandfather's policies, Morrible's motives, his relationship with Annette and even his sexuality. The jury was still out on that last one. He'd had an intense crush on a dashing young man named Trism the previous year, but now he felt feelings for Candle developing. Was it possible to like boys and girls?

It was on these thoughts that his head had slumped down onto his arms and he had eventually drifted off.

The next thing he was aware of was someone saying his name

"Liir? Liir?" someone hissed tentatively.

"What?" he moaned, opening his eyes blearily, he still wasn't accustomed to waking up early. He was more of a night owl. He would take graveyard shifts and sleep past noon. Blinking several times he saw that it was Candle standing nervously on the otherside of the cafeteria table.

"Candle!" he exclaimed, sitting up. She recoiled, "No! No wait, I'm sorry!" He always felt so light-headed and nervous when he was around her, and didn't like that she was still so scared of him. Since he had arrived, he had made sure to dress in strictly civilian clothes and even stayed away from the colours of Gale Force, hoping that by distancing himself from the organization, she would lose her anxiousness of him. Not much luck yet.

"Rhonaraye is planning on an excursion. I have a feeling it is one that…will drain her. She will need help even if she won't admit it. You want to go with her, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes! How did you— of course. You read the present." He said, adding "You're amazing Candle." Everyone liked a compliment and she really seemed to still need confidence boosters. To his delight she seemed pleased and then said,

"She and Killyjoy are leaving within the half-hour. You might wish to hurry." She told him. Liir groaned. It was way too early and his injuries, while by no means crippling or as bad as they had been a few days ago, were still stiff and a bit achy. Candle kept several meters of space between them but lead him to where he needed to be.

He arrived just in time to see Killyjoy strapped to Rhonaraye's back in a sort of sling. Candle slipped away as soon as she saw that her work was done and that they had caught the mage before she left.

Rhonaraye was wearing brown gloves, a dark green-and brown dress, a long black cloak and a black scarf which she was adjusting over the bottom half of her face and around her neck. Her deep red hair was swept up in a bun at the back of her head. As he walked out further onto the platform he realized why. It was freezing cold! The air was thin too.

"You're up early." She said pulling up her hood, "Don't you usually refuse to get up until about ten-o-dragonclock?"

"Candle said you were heading out and I'm curious about where you're going, about why you're sneaking off." He said.

"I 'sneak off' -as you call it- so that I don't have to argue with certain people for an hour about bringing all sorts with me! I take Killyjoy because he pines about being left alone and makes a fuss. Not only that but he is a great help." She said, pulling her gloves on a little more snugly.

"What about Zach?"

"Doctor Dillamond is watching him."

"Alright, but let me come with you this time." Liir suggested, expecting an argument. However, to his surprise she merely shrugged and flicked her hand outwards. A cloak materialized in midair and flew at him. He caught it and started wrapping it around himself quickly, wondering at his sister's annoying unpredictability.

"You've really mastered that summoning charm." He commented.

"Practice makes perfect. You can come if you want, but you won't like where we're going."

"Don't care." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. Try getting yourself that scarf Akota gave you. Go on, try it." She encouraged. Liir pulled a face

"I was never very good at these."

"Well hurry up or I'm leaving without you."

"Fine." He grumbled. His attempt was less impressive. He only ended up with half a scarf but still managed to get it around once and tie it clumsily.

"Come on then." Raye said as she straddled the long staff. He followed suit. The two of them somehow managed to fit without being too crowded with enough space between them that Liir could grip the wood like she did. They actually looked like they were on some sort of weird tandem-bicycle with Killyjoy sandwiched between them.

"Hold on." She muttered to him before leaning forward and kicking off.

The flight on the mage staff was infinitely better than it had been on the stupid Rug. For one thing, he was fully conscious and for another there was minimal jostling. This was much smoother. They seemed to glide rather then fly, floating through the clouds and getting wet as they did so. Even when they sped up it was pleasant. His sister was an excellent flyer. Now he couldn't wait to try a broom—or maybe a staff— of his own.

They finally dove down out of the cloud cover to glide as silently as an owl over an all too familiar patch of forest. Without an explanation to him Raye reached behind her back and undid a clip on the strap that held the large dog to her back. When they were about 5 feet from the ground Killyjoy leapt gracefully off and landed in the grass.

They continued deeper into the woods, twisting and turning on a path that didn't seem to lead anywhere. He could see that something was bothering her and that it was getting worse. Every once in a while she craned her neck to the side and roll her shoulders as though hearing a loud and painful sound, or she would jerk as though trying to shake something off, as though her skin were crawling.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "What's happening?" She could clearly still feel whatever was bothering her.

"We're close…" she murmured as she pulled the scarf off her face, stopping suddenly and turning to face him, her silver eyes connecting with his brown ones.

"Remember how I said you weren't going to like where we're going?" she said. He nodded cautiously. She sighed and combed her long fingers through her long crimson hair. "Well this is why." Turning back around she swept her palm in front of her in a commanding gesture. The trees and shrubs obliged her by turning themselves, twisting ever so slightly to create a clear, if narrow, pathway that lead to an all-too familiar clearing. As the pair of them walked through it, the young man noticed that the plant life eased back into their regular positions.

"What are we doing in here?" Liir asked as they stepped into said clearing, watching her push her staff into a tree. It seemed to melt into the wood, literally becoming one with the plant. The sight made his eyes bulge and he knuckled them to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or something.

"I'm here to try and repair some of the damage that was done to this forest a couple months ago. I don't know how much of it you remember, but I had to fight a battle with another mage when I rescued you. It left a wound here that was greater than I thought and it's festered. I have to heal it. I have to set things right." Rhonaraye said.

"Why?"

"That's part of what being a Mage is. It comes with responsibility."

"Doesn't everything?" Liir muttered sardonically. The redhead pointedly ignored this statement and walked around the clearing.

"What are you going to do?" Liir asked a little worriedly.

"I'm going to meditate." She told him distractedly as she took off her gloves, the scar on her four-fingered hand catching his eye again, as did the scar along her cheek as she paced around absently. "Then I'm going to perform a Mage working. It's complicated and would take too long to explain. You stay here, out of sight with Killyjoy and keep an eye out for anyone coming our way. Make as little sound as possible. When I'm done I'll take you home."

With that she sat down gracefully with her cloak and skirts flaring around her. Her silver eyes closed and she took several deep, calming breaths. Her hands rested on her knees, index fingers touching her thumbs. After a few seconds her skin started to glow, or parts of it did. Points of emerald light flashed across her features to form glittering swirling markings on the skin of her cheeks, forehead, neck and hands. At least, that was the flesh that he could see. Loose strands of crimson hair blew around her face as the ground beneath her also started to glow. It too spread in intricate patters, this time from where she was sitting outwards.

Unconsciously Liir took a step back as the glowing marks approached him, nevertheless he was enchanted by them.

"Whoa." He breathed. Killyjoy huffed in what he could have sworn was a long-suffering manner as he laid his head on his paws. Suddenly the dog perked and leapt to his feet, sniffing the air. He growled and whipped around, tearing off into the forest.

"Killyjoy!" Liir hissed tearing after the canine, "Killyjoy!" he tried to follow the dog for several minutes, managing to get himself well and truly turned around in the process.

"Oh. This is great." He muttered "Where's that stupid dog? I swore I had a better sense of direction than this."

"You do." Liir whipped around in a fighting position at the sound of a new voice from behind him. He was poised for an attack but instead saw a young man about his own age lounging against a tree a few feet away. He was kind of good looking actually. Tall and trim, he had slightly wavy shoulder length light brown hair framing a face with chiseled features and a strong jaw. His eyes were the most captivating though. They were a most unusual, bright, hypnotic gold. He was wearing a long-sleeved tunic under a leather vest, black breeches and boots. In short, he looked, well, cool. His voice was even a smooth tenor as he continued to talk

"Sorry about that. I might have shifted the forest around a bit, but I wanted to talk to you alone and this was the only opportunity I've had. Oh, here. Found this." The stranger said as he tossed something to Liir. The young man caught it on reflex and looked down at what he was holding. It was his father's sword in its ornately marked scabbard.

"Who are you?" Liir demanded.

"You don't know me? Rhonaraye didn't tell you anything?" the man asked carefully.

"She doesn't tend to, no." Liir replied guardedly as he slowly lowered his hands and therefore the sword, unsure of what to make of this man. To try and gauge this, he changed the subject. "You didn't by any chance see a rather large dog come charging through here, did you?"

"You mean Killyjoy?" The man asked. "No. I didn't. But then, that was intentional. I wanted you all to myself for a conversation, remember?"

"Alright…I'm listening." Liir said slowly. "Who are you?"

"My name is…" he paused as though considering something, which made Liir suspicious "…Tristan. I'm, well I suppose even she would admit that I'm a colleague of your sister's."

"A colleague?"

"Yes, a colleague. But at the same time, so much more." Tristan said as he pushed off from the tree and began to circle around the other young man slowly "You see, I love her. But she's angry at me, and you of all people know how she can hold a grudge."

"Huh. That's true." Liir muttered with a roll of his eyes as he started to clip the sword scabbard back into its rightful place. The act made something click in his mind however, much more quickly than it might have in the past.

"Hang on," he said "How did you get my sword? There's no way you just found it in that clearing, not if everything left of Glinda's caravan is gone." Tristan looked up, startled. Clearly he hadn't expected this so quickly. The sight of those golden eyes jogged something from Liir's pain-hazed memories of his 'interrogation'…

...flashback...

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" a smooth male voice inquired. This voice was one that Liir felt he might know, but couldn't place it. Well, why should he? He'd only heard it in dreams. His sister on the other hand, knew it all to well. She recognized even the outline of the tall man wearing robes of a hard, unyielding grey approaching Liir/Raye in a slow, confident stroll.

"And who…are you supposed…unnh…to be?" Liir/Raye coughed.

"Well. A strong one. Shame. Makes the whole thing longer and far more painful for you my friend." The newcomer said with a sigh

"I'm no 'friend' of yours."

The newcomer suddenly moved in closer so that his features were more visible to Liir's blurring vision. What might otherwise have been rather handsome features were drawn and pale like harshly carved stone. Eyes that were a startling, almost unnaturally golden colour bored into Liir's…

...end of flashback...

"You…" Liir breathed, eyes wide. He pulled his father's sword from the scabbard and held it in an aggressively defensive stance. "You!"

"Now, I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this. Please Liir, no one's looking to hurt you—"

"Don't patronize me! You and your flunkies tortured me and attacked my sister! You're gonna pay for that!" Liir snarled as he charged the other man. Tristan sighed and snapped his fingers. Suddenly the young Oracle cried out and was forced to drop the sword when the handle suddenly burned in his hands. However, while it had been uncomfortable, his palms were undamaged

"I didn't attack your sister, she attacked me. I would never cause her pain!" The mysterious Warlock stated harshly before softening "Not on purpose…I mean, accidents have happened, yes, but I really, really regret those—"

"Shut up." Liir said as he made a throwing motion with his hand and yelled out a spell. He may not have been the most gifted student in his family, but with relatives like his that didn't mean he didn't possess skills with the arcane arts. He had been studying privately with the Emerald Vizier after all. The hex was strong enough to knock Tristan off his feet, but not enough to knock him out like it should have. The golden-eyed young man sat up quickly and wiped at the corner of his mouth where he bled, as though someone had decked him. At that moment more people burst from the bushes and Liir recognized the Bounty Hunters.

He scrambled backwards. One of them raised a club like weapon when suddenly vines shot out of nowhere to seize said club and yank it out of the thugs grip at the same moment that roots erupted from the ground wrap around Liir's legs and pin his arms to his sides, toppling him so that he lay on his side on the ground.

"He is not to be harmed!" 'Tristan' yelled in a commanding tone. Bind him, capture him, contain him. That is all."

"Well that's a change from last time!" Liir growled, struggling against his bonds on the ground.

"Last time I didn't know who you were, and I'm sorry about that, I truly am."

"Yeah, right." The other young man drawled

"Yes, I am. A blow to you is a blow to her. And I won't have that. I can't. I'd never hurt her."

"You already have. Several times." Rhonaraye's voice sounded coldly through the thicket, creating an eerie echo. There was a rumbling sound and the ground shook as what looked to be a large bud emerged through the ground. The roots entangling Liir suddenly yanked themselves back gleefully, allowing him to unsheathe his sword again.

The pod exploded open to reveal Rhonaraye inside, her deep red hair blowing in the twister that was quickly forming around her to lift her off the ground. Her eyes were open, but weren't their usual silver, instead they were pools of near-blinding light with wisps of colour floating across the glow. The markings on her face and hands were not only radiating power and light themselves but they were moving. In short, Raye was terrifying. However, the object of her stare, this man calling himself 'Tristan' simply stared back.

"You go too far, Xorthion!" Raye said in a voice that was not her own. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Hers was the core vocal pattern but others seemed to be layered over it to create a strange and intimidating effect of several people speaking as one.

"Ah." Tristan—Xorthion—whoever the man was stood and dusted himself off said. As he did so it was like he was dusting off the illusion he had placed on himself and it fell away, leaving a man who, while similar to 'Tristan' was much paler, his light brown hair darkened to a shade nearly as black as Liir's and sheared much closer to his head. His forester clothes were replaced with long iron-coloured robes. Only his eyes remained the same, strange gold.

"I was hoping to have a little more time with your brother first." He said.

Raye dropped down the few feet in the air she had been hanging, the wind leaving her hair and her eyes were returning to (her) normal. She reached her hand into the nearest tree (quite literally with the flesh seeming to melt into the wood) and yanked out her staff.

"And I told you to stay away from him."

"Raye, Please. I didn't know he was your brother!" Xorthion pleaded

"And that's supposed to make it okay?" The redhead demanded in cold disbelief. "You tortured him!"

"I had no choice! I was ordered to get information!" he shouted, one of the nearby bushes spontaneously igniting.

"There's always a choice!" She bellowed back, a sharp gust of wind blowing out the fire.

"Oh and you wouldn't follow your precious Rebellion like a lamb to the slaughter if they bade you!" he shot back. "That's what started all this, remember?"
"Don't you dare pin all this on me!" Raye yelled. Her lip curled in apparent disgust and she gave him a look that made even the trio of remaining bounty hunters pale before saying darkly "And you wonder why I hate you."

Xorthion looked taken aback and hurt.

"You don't mean that." He said quietly. The look she was still giving him rather contradicted that statement. Even the other mage seemed to get that message for he made a snatching motion with his hand and an uncompromising white staff materialized in his fist.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it!" He growled,

"Well I'm glad you're finally getting the message!" She retorted snidely. With that they both shot into the air.

"HEY!" Liir yelled up to the air, "What about me?" they had left him to face three of the bounty hunters to face armed with only his father's sword.

"Okay," he muttered to himself under his breath as he held the blade in front of him, trying to watch all three at once "I can totally do this. I've got a sword, right. I'm the man with a sword. Never mind that they have…" he swallowed "Guns. Right. Ditching me is totally cool, thanks sis."

"Aww, is lil' Wizantier all on his own?" the big one asked. "Well, there's no little girl with a gun to help you this time, is there?"

"Yeah, that's right. A little girl and I took a bunch of you guys out, remember? Yeah, big tough guys, huh?" the young man taunted. He dove into a roll to avoid the rain of bullets sent in his direction. He finished his tumble in a crouch, still grasping his sword. Suddenly there was a growling sound followed by a human cry of alarm and a thud. Killyjoy had apparently found them again. The dog bounded off the back of the man he had toppled and positioned himself at Liir's side, his ears flattened and his hackles raised as he growled menacingly at their assailants.

"Damnit! It's the demondog!" one of the tree bounty hunters hissed

"I say we get him first!" Another said

"Not on your life!" Liir snarled as he hissed a spell. Their attackers all cried out as boils appeared on their hands and they dropped their guns. The young man looked down at the dog and raised an eyebrow "Now these odds I like." Killyjoy barked in agreement and then pounced on one as his human partner whirled around, his gale force training starting to finally pay off. Between him and the dog they soon had one knocked out completely and the other two down was well, both of them their eyes bulging with terror; one because Killyjoy was standing on his chest and stomach and snarling at him viciously, drool dripping from the canine's mouth and onto his face and one with Liir's boot on his chest and the sword at his throat.

"This time I'm asking the questions." He said darkly "Why are you here. That Xorthion guy, he lured us here somehow, I'm pretty sure of that. But why?"

"He's obsessed with that redheaded bitch—" the thug was cut off by the blade cutting into his throat enough to draw blood.

"Watch it pal! That's my sister! Now, continue." His captive shifted uncomfortably.

"Here on a mission from the Goblin King. We were supposed to start a war and kill someone."
"Who were you supposed to kill? The Wizard? That how you want to start the war?"

"No, that's Xorthion's job, the war-starting. We were just supposed to slit some witch's throat."

"The Vizier?"

"What do we look? Crazy?" The thug wheezed "The only thing nuttier than trying to take out the flying red cyclone up there is trying anything on the radioactive artichoke! Okay okay!" the thug wheezed out as Liir pressed his foot into his neck at the insults to his family members "We were supposed to hit the Fishy one."

"Morrible?"

"Yeah, okay? It was our chance at redeeming ourselves. We were supposed to just be the back up but Sir Mage-o-Lot got distracted. He wanted a chat Lady Hot-Tempered and to snatch you for insurance before he went off and did the deed."

"I see." Liir murmured, looking skyward where the fight between his sister and the other mage was all too evident

(8)(8)(8)(8)(8)(8)(8)(8)

Xorthion soared into the air, closely followed by Raye, slowing to a hover about 30 feet from the ground and several meters apart. The moment they reached that 30 feet the grey-clad mage sent a torrent of fire hurtling at the young woman opposite with a thrust of his staff. Holding her staff with one hand, she made a sweeping motion with the other arm, bringing it round and then behind her head to push it forward towards her opponent, transforming the fire into a great wave of water that crystallized into daggers of ice. As the deadly shards hurtled towards him Xorthion opened his mouth and chanted a spell which not only turned the knives of ice back towards Rhonaraye, but transformed them into metal daggers with jeweled hilts. She, however, simply flew higher and avoided them, sending a blast of wind his way. He froze it in a twister's shape and snapped it in two, allowing the pieces to fall to the ground. It was Rhonaraye's turn now to chant. This spell caused his staff to disappear from his hand and into her free one.

Having lost his source of flight, the male mage began to fall back to earth, no longer able to defy the laws of physics, or at least he was momentarily, for with a shouted spell and movements with his hands he slowed his fall with a cushion of air. She threw down his staff and sped back to earth in a break-neck dive, pulling up sharply 7 feet from the ground in a spectacular demonstration of flight as she pulled upwards alongside her opponent. She grabbed his long sleeve twisting it up and behind his back, grabbing the material at his back as well, thereby breaking his concentration and essentially putting him at her mercy as she continued to speed up into the air again before diving down once again. This time she landed hard and threw her captive to the ground so that she could bring her staff to his throat threateningly.

"Yield." She demanded in a dangerous tone.

"Impressive," the man panted, "So, it seems we're at a tie now. Two draws, two for me, and now two for you. Our score seems to be even for the moment."

"Not even close. You still owe me both your blood and the lives of two close friends. I saved your life once, remember? And I have regretted it every moment since." She replied acidly, a terrible, burning hate in her eyes that made even Liir quail the tiniest bit. He had no idea how the man managed to take it without even a shudder.

"Not every moment." Xorthion panted with a raised eyebrow.

"I do now." she replied. Xorthion's expression hardened.

"Fine. If that's how it's going to be." He said coldly. And with that, he literally disappeared in a puff of smoke. Rhonaraye's eyes widened with fury. Her brother expected a show of temper but all she did was tighten her grip on her staff and grind her teeth.

"Raye?" He said hesitantly. She looked around at him and he continued. "I know what they came here for." He moved to where he had conjured up ropes to bind the three hired guns and kicked one, who repeated what they had told Liir earlier. The redhead closed her eyes and sighed.

"Instant travel." She muttered. "Its the only way. Wonderful. I don't suppose you ever mastered it."

"Somewhat, but not really, certainly not for that distance." He admitted sheepishly. Rhonaraye had a tired look on her face as she grabbed his elbow and turned on the spot, pulling her cloak across both of them as she did so. Then there was a strange blackness and a crushing sensation on his chest and then suddenly they were there. The two-or rather, three including Killyjoy (Who had known what to do and rushed under the cloak just in time) stumbled. At the dog's worried bark Liir turned to see his sister slumped to her knees, strands of disheveled crimson hair framing her bowed face as it worked to escape the bun (having largely succeeded by this point) and blowing back and forth with her short, breathy panting.

"I'm fine." She told him, batting away his concern and his assisting hand dismissively as she used her staff to help her rise "We should worry about them." She was pointing over his shoulder. They were in Munchkinland and a group was approaching them, including Morrible, Grommetick and a large amount of Gale Force Soldiers. Looking back at his sister he saw that she had risen to her feet and was clutching her staff.

The fat little woman was at the head of her little squadron, which included a rather shiny man of tin.

"Why, Mr. Wizantier," she said in a falsely kind and warm voice, "We have been so worried about you!"

"Cut the crap Morrible." Raye snapped, meeting the other woman's eyes. She was in rather a hurry and had no patience for this kind of nonsense, "You know that we would never hurt him and I know that you have been using his disappearance as much to your own advantage as possible."

"My! Such words! Goodness, is that— no that can't possibly be Ms Throular!" she simpered with a note of genuine surprise in her grating voice. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye Raye saw a flash of silver. She whipped around, wielding her staff expertly and knocking the feet of the TinMan out from under him. He toppled to the ground and his axe, which had been raised over his head ready to chop, was sent flying into the air. Pointing at it, the mage yelled a few words of magic and the thing turned to dust in mid air. Liir in the meantime tried out a spell from his own Grimmerie (the only one he could ever remember actually) which was aimed at Grommetick, causing the whirring of his internal mechanisms to slow to a halt, effectively shutting the tic tock down. In the meantime, the red-head was standing over the Silver tin man with her staff at his throat,

"Give me one good reason why you shouldn't go the same way as your axe, murderer." She demanded in a hiss. She had a deep, long-harbored grudge against this creature.

"Raye, don't!" Liir cried, fearing she would actually make good on this threat, "He's not worth it!" Morrible seemed to share his concern, the Tin Man being one of her most useful agents. Seeing the young Witch distracted she seized the opportunity to call forth a crackling bolt of lightening from the already darkening skies and made a throwing motion down towards the young woman. Liir yelled out in alarm, and Killyjoy barked loudly, but they needn't have worried. Both he and Morrible seemed to have forgotten where her strength lay, for she merely held out her free hand towards it, and the markings on her skin lighting up again and the same markings flared momentarily on both the surface of the pond nearby and the ground and trees. The electricity forked when it reached her hand, strands going into her fingers and palm, lending a yellow tinge to the markings on her body. She closed her eyes a moment before throwing aside her staff (which Killyjoy rushed to catch) and throwing back her head to release a roar of pure lightening, sending it back to the clouds in an unnaturally upward soar. The marks on the trees and water now throbbed with an almost oppressive force as they sent power flowing into their Guardian.

With another swift, jerking motion of her hands a set of roots burst through the ground and manacled the Man of Tin to the earth. The Sorceress rounded on Morrible, her eyes loosing color as the symbols began to appear in the centers

"You are a fool Morrible! An arrogant fool! I am the younger, the stronger and, it seems, the wiser! You are out of your element. I am not. Now you will stop and you will listen to us!" her voice had taken on an echoing quality to it that made it sound twice as loud and imposing as it actually was. She motioned for Liir to continue.

"I was attacked by hired thugs, not Animals. Said thugs are agents of the Goblin King." He said. He noticed the change in Morrible's face at mention of the goblin king; She froze and her mask of pleasantry slipped inch by slow inch. Raye took over at this point.

"The Goblin King, as the Vizier has been warning you for years, is about to declare War upon Oz, something that I think you rather should have known by now with you're your spies."

"Well, at least you would if you weren't too busy trying to find my sister and keep my mother 'in line'." Liir said, picking up the dialogue seamlessly. It was uncanny to see the pair truly acting as twins. Raye picked it up from here.

"Today they had a slightly different mission. And that was your death, that and instigating a war. Lucky for you, your assassin now needs some time to lick his wounds but that doesn't change the fact that you have an impending war on your hands and are not in the least prepared for it. The Emerald City will hear this one way or another. Either tell them yourself or stay here in the pond with the other Carps, I don't particularly care and I have no more patience left today!" She boomed, the wind picking up with every word she said and the thunder rolling overhead.

"Do it, Morrible." Liir suggested, "If you don't, I will, and you will simply be in the lake. I'd even throw you in myself after all you've done to my mother and sister! You're lucky that we're saving you." he informed her. Morrible was clearly dumbstruck.

"The Goblin King ordered my assassination?" She asked in a whisper, more to herself than to them. Both twins brows furrowed in a weirdly identical mannerism as they watched the Press Secretary's reaction. They exchanged frowns and then decided to let it go. A mystery for another time. The twins both shrugged and turned away from Morrible, walking past the Tin Man.

"You can't leave me here like this!" Boq growled, trying to lift his head to look at them, fighting against the root that held his head where it was

"I don't see why not." Raye said with a shrug, "Rot there for all I care. The moment you try to cut that away, it'll get angry, so I don't particularly recommend it. Enjoy"

The markings on the trees and water were fading, and Liir couldn't help but notice that his sister's strength seemed to be echoing that sentiment. However, she still took hold of one of his elbows and pulled her cape around in a twirling motion accompanied by that same strange feeling…except that this time something had gone wrong. They came out in mid-air several feet above the ground and hit the floor hard, landing several feet away from one another. He heard Killyjoy yelp with fright as they hit the floor of the Headquarters with a dull thud.

Liir heard Rhonaraye groan at about the same time he did as she rolled onto her front to try and push herself up. She looked terrible at this point. Her hair had almost completely escaped its bun, leaving only a tangled little knot at the back of her head and the rest was forming a curtain over her face, which was drawn, pale and clammy. Just then she looked up and saw a shimmer of light dance only a few feet away from her. With a small grunt of exertion she managed to push herself up and reached out, pulling back the thing that was materializing. She looked down at her four-fingered fist and slowly opened it, knowing what she was holding but having to do so anyway.

Liir didn't see it at first, he just saw a petal the same shade of deep red as her hair flit down to land on her mottled green and brown dress. Her hand went to cover her face and she allowed what she was holding to fall to the floor.

It was a single rose.

Please review, as usual.

lizziemagic: Thankyou. I think I answered your question in a PM, anyways, thanks for your review once again:D. Don't worry, you'll find out why Raye has such trust issues next chapter, it'll be a 'thing' in it. I think I can probably arrange some more Fiyeraba goodness, though at the moment I'm still puzzling on following through on my promise for more Ijiri/Glinda...hmm. As usual, love to hear from you! Happy new year!

FriFro: Thank you! For both the Merry Christmas and the compliment! I feel flattered that you think of my story when seeing the commercial for Wicked, are you going to be able to see it? Happy New Year!

SunRise19: Oh really? lol, I guess you'll really be able to feel for Liir, huh? Thank you so much for your wonderful review and enjoy the New Year!

gagakid: Why thank you so much!:)