A/N: Woot…Woot! I am really getting into this now and boy is it fun!
My family took a short break from writing and being cooped up in the house to visit Hat Rock State Park. Absolutely beautiful and I can tell you about it because it does not give away my current place of residence at all! Privacy issues and all you understand…
Still, the drive made it possible for me to write two more chapters ready for submission when I get home…
Posting the last chapter without and author's note on the end kind of made me feel naked and incomplete. But I do not want to run out of A/N ideas anytime soon.
Disclaimer: Roses are red, Violets are Blue; I don't own Tin Man, and I sure don't know who do…
DG was confused. As far as she knew, there was only one sun in the Kansas sky and she had been pretty damn sure that Kansas did not have any trees.
For that matter, the familiar scraps of wood scattered into jagged pieces of kindling around the forest floor looked remarkably like they should have formed the cozy farmhouse that had been her lifelong home.
And where were her parents?
Where was She?
Just when she had gotten to a state of acceptance that she was no longer in Kansas anymore, crazy lawn gnomes dressed like garishly painted Thanksgiving turkeys began to accuse her of consorting with a Sorceress –whoever she was. They had the insane notion that she knew from which direction said Sorceress would be attacking. It might have made sense to DG if she had any sense of direction herself.
Even so, she might have been a little more inclined to civility if the feathered Blue Man wanna-be had not accused her repeatedly in poorly spoken, rhyming verse. Her resulting descent into belligerent threats probably served only to prove her supposed guilt and place her in her current position.
She did take perverse pleasure in yelling at the tiny-minded turkeys from her precarious perch in the wooden birdcage suspended several dizzying meters from the forest floor. If they were a little hairier, the creepy tree dwellers would have reminded her of Ewoks – just less adorable and not given to cuddling.
It was the lingering shock of the situation that allowed her to calmly take stock of the zipper-headed fellow – who reminded her of a nutcracker reject in tattered garb from a ballet she had seen in her childhood. She was sure that explanation would suffice when she got her head examined later – after she got out of her current predicament.
Shock was causing her to see impossible things.
This somewhat believable explanation also gave her rationale for accepting the man's assistance when he offered to guide her to Central City to search for her parents. A little nudging voice in the back of her head whispered something about taking candy from strangers but she ignored it. Besides, he had introduced himself. That meant he was not technically a stranger anymore – was a five minute acquaintance acceptable for disregarding the childhood rule?
When it became quite plain that he was not going to remember his own statements after two seconds, DG concluded that the marble-less man would more than likely not have the ability to follow through if he had planned to attack her.
Besides, he was rather entertaining even if they had been traveling in circles for the last several hours. Her glitching companion was amiable and sweet, not at all like a psychopathic serial killer all strangers were supposed to be. And she had already been lost anyway. What was a few more hours of wandering?
Oh well; all movement is progress right?
Glitch could not believe his luck. A cute little doll of a girl had finally freed him from the pesky ankle-biters whose sole form of amusement involved pelting him with rocks and anything else they could find. The brief captivity had been enjoyable and all, but he really could not stand heights.
Couldn't he?
The Longcoats offered a providential distraction while he led the girl who called herself DG (Hey that is an interesting name) away into the forest.
Conversation with the woman was rather pleasant – when he could remember what had been said. Which surprisingly was more than he usually remembered. DG had an interesting effect on his synapses. Though they seemed to fire more often with her around, there also was the sensation that the misfires were more purposeful. Strange, but it was almost as if he were starting to remember things that had once been long forgotten.
Where were they going again? Oh brick route to Central City. Got it. He tripped up on a familiar looking log and DG snarked that he had definitely done it before. He grimaced in embarrassment before a wayward thought took him again.
She was a cute little thing really despite his first impressions. He might have been interested if he was not already taken.
Now where did that thought come from?
DG shushed him as he tried to reconfigure his synapses once again.
DG observed in horror as the Longcoats beat the man senseless while his wife and child were forced to watch. It did not take a fool to realize that she would be vastly outnumbered in an attempt to free the helpless family, but she really could care less.
Ignoring Glitch's insistence that they stay out of someone else's fight, she picked up the first weapon she spotted and charged into the fray. As the scene faded the moment she took her first swing, a strange whirring sound filled the air.
Glitch's explanation for the machine sort of made sense, but she was still trying to figure out what she had just jumped into. Looking around for a reason to explain the need for the instant replay she froze in bewilderment when she spotted it.
What kind of sick, twisted world had she landed herself in that would force a man into an iron suit so he could watch over and over again while his family suffered?
DG watched him as he moved like a zombie through the wreckage of his home. His answers to their questions were short and straight to the point. He did not at first seem to be aware of much around him and his murderous words as he yanked the movie thingy out of the wooden post kind of scared her. At the same time something about his demeanor when he said it made her contemplate that as long as one were not his target, they would be in very safe, capable hands. This got her to thinking…
Glitch kept them to a respectful distance while the man – known as Wyatt Cain – bathed and found a surprising stash of clean clothes still folded in an old armoire. The usually peppy man was somber as he explained the reason for the silvery tint of Mr. Cain's skin. She could not really understand the explanation since not even Glitch could articulate it in an intelligible summary. It had something to do with the process of keeping the body in stasis and the minerals used – or something.
Observing him as a clean-shaven individual had a devastating effect on DG's senses. Although he looked older than her – due in large part to the lines of grief and exhaustion on his face – he was still young by her standards. His ice blue eyes caught every movement and detail that went on around him and he was not a weakly built man by any means – tin suit stasis or not. She inwardly scolded herself for thinking in terms of attractiveness, but it really could not be helped. Even the gold band prominently circling his left ring finger did not stop the sensitive thought process.
Of course, the hardness in his tone as he accused Glitch of being a criminal and mocked her offer of assistance - in exchange for a guide - definitely lowered his attraction score considerably. Even giving him the benefit of grief for his family and the lesser score on the desirability of a deep, base voice. Something about the way he said he would see them down the road tugged on her subconscious.
And he definitely did not win points by insinuating that she was still a kid with a tendency towards retreat.
Nothing personal? I will give you nothing personal. Saving your life was a waste of my time.
.
The change of heart was definitely a surprise though, no matter what he claimed.
A/N: Second part coming up…Wyatt Cain's inner thoughts introduction has not taken place yet. Hold your horses, the muse is frantically working to keep up…