On the Fast Train to Prophecy and Peril

by WhiteRabbit626

Sequel to "Pitstop at the Hilltop Cafe." There's no such thing as living happily ever after for this Princess and her Tin Man, and just when the pair think they can relax, old enemies rear their heads. Wyatt and DG find that their roles in the OZ's revival will change yet again, as they get drawn into a search for magical artifacts and dangerous foes. (Hint of X with Warehouse 13)

16. Chapter 16

Author's Note

As usual, I have to remind anyone that may read this creation, that I do not own "Tin Man" nor any of its characters. Any similarity that you may find between this story and that of the SyFy miniseries, previously mentioned therein, are completely intentional. That said, I have not been paid, nor will I be, for my likenesses. If you happen to get any enjoyment out of my stories, that is the only payment I actually receive. If you're reading this, then I count you among my small band of loyal readers, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your moral support. I hope that you have a safe and healthy end to your year, and a brighter 2021.

White Rabbit

Chapter Sixteen

There'd been a scream. She just knew it, but when DG sat upright in bed, she saw nothing beyond her bedroom to indicate that anything had been amiss. It was still dark outside her window, with no light showing through either the slit in the curtains, nor under the door that connected her bedroom with the common area of her quarters. Raw seemed to have disappeared sometime during DG's slumber as well, she realized after she switched on the lamp beside her, and she scanned the room frantically for any sign of the man that had held her hand until she'd passed into a dreamless sleep. He wasn't in the armchair facing her bed either, and as DG's heart thrummed in her ears and the sweat covering her created a chill, she wished she knew where he'd gone. It wasn't Raw's scream that had awoken her, but Wyatt's, and since her husband stood no chance of being nearby enough to be audible in the conventional sense, she worried that something had happened. At least if Raw was here, he could assuage her fears, and possibly confirm that she'd just been dreaming. She hoped she had been dreaming.

The princess rubbed her shoulders furiously while she considered getting out of bed to find her friend, and she'd just started to inch towards the edge of the bed with the door swung open, and Raw swooped in noiselessly. DG realized that he was panting as he drew near, and when he sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her hand, he was still fighting to control the pace of her breathing, causing him to sound winded when he spoke.

"DG dream of Cain?" Raw questioned her gently, and DG could see the look of concern in his warm eyes, even in the pale light of the lamp.

DG chewed on her lip and she searched Raw's eyes, her own anxious and afraid, and her voice waivered when she finally answered in a jittery stream, "Was it a dream, Raw? It seemed so real. I mean, is Wyatt is okay? Can you tell?"

Raw placed is free hand on top of hers and fixed her with a sad, sympathetic smile, and he nodded slowly as he replied, "Raw see. Raw tell Princess." He closed his eyes and reached out through DG, stretching his second sight into the far reaches of her connection with her husband.

When Raw pierced the veil of DG's soul to search out Cain, DG could feel a kind of crack open wide within her, exposing her innermost feelings like a fresh wound. Her fears and worries intermingled with the deep love and joy she felt for her husband, and they bubbled up furiously like a strange concoction that threatened to overwhelm her. DG gasped at the sensation and was helpless to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes as Raw continued to probe the thin line of what was DG's physic connection to the man that he'd heard calling out in her dreams. When he released his grip on her hand and met her eyes, there was a reluctant sadness that purveyed in his posture.

His shoulders were hunched, and his head bowed slightly while he rumbled uneasily, "Raw cannot see. Only feel. Cain alive, but scared. Thoughts confused, messy."

DG's eyes widened and her lip trembled as she asked in a cracked voice, "Do you know where he is, Raw?"

Raw shook his head slowly, and answered only, "No," before DG jumped from the bed and began to pace. Raw wrung his hands unhappily while DG walked back and forth at the foot of the bed, her eyes downcast and thoughtful while she considered what, if anything, she could do.

When the Princess finally stopped, it was only to swing around to the dressing room, and she dashed inside the dark confines for only a moment. She emerged seconds later, with her slippers on and a robe being tightened hastily around her rounded middle, and she reached out for Raw, and pulled him along as she commanded firmly, "Come on Raw, we've got to go see Jennifer."

Raw allowed himself to be yanked away from the bed, and he hurried after the princess as if trying not to be dragged. She stopped just outside the outer doors of her quarters, and Raw had to stop short to keep from plowing into her backside as she addressed Gates on the other side.

"Gates, what time is it?" DG asked her guard, who looked more than somewhat startled to be so addressed by the woman who was usually unconscious at such an hour.

"Milady," Gates exclaimed in a surprised hush, "It's not quite midnight, ma'am. Is something wrong?"

DG shook her head impatiently and replied quickly, "There's no time, Gates. Where is General Jinjur?"

"She should be in her quarters, ma'am. She usually goes to bed after nightshift roll call." Gates blustered, his alarm growing with every question uttered by the Princess, and he worked up the courage and asked in a near whisper, his eyes looking past her and Raw to the room beyond, "Did something happen, Milady? Is there someone in your room?"

DG shook her head and stepped through the door, allowing Raw to emerge and shut the door behind himself. When she'd heard the door click behind them, she moved past Gates and motioned for him to follow, muttering quietly as she went, "Come on Gates, you'll hear about it soon enough. At least this way I don't have to be a broken record."

Gates wasn't sure what DG meant, and given her harried state, he didn't think it wise to ask. Instead, he hurried after the Princess and her silent viewer, hoping that the General wouldn't skewer him for allowing the Princess to walk the halls at such a late hour.

The hall in which the General's office and private quarters resided was silent at this hour, with nary a soul traversing its plush expanse. The moon shone brightly through the windows that lined the outer wall that looked out on the private courtyard below. That lush space was guarded only by the buffets that surrounded it and cut it off from the greater world beyond the palace, and the trees within blew gently in the breeze that whipped around the stone walls, whispering cautiously in the night. The sound of the whispering wind was enough to rattle DG, and she trembled as she quietly plodded down the hallway, rubbing her arms protectively and glancing out the windows as she went. When she reached the General's door, she had to actively stop herself from turning the handle of what used to be Wyatt's office, and she chastised herself with an annoyed 'tsk,' before she removed her hand from the knob and instead knocked hurriedly.

There was a muffled shuffling from behind the door, and it swung open so swiftly that DG was taken aback and took a step backwards when the General was revealed. The woman was wide eyed, and her blazing hair was loose around her shoulders, and whipped around her when the force of the door's swing created a gust of wind. Her face was pale, which made the blush that formed all the more evident when she was met by the Princess and her companions the other side, and she hastily pulled her robe more tightly around her before she spoke.

"DG," she gasped, averting her eyes from Gates, who was still staring at the General, seemingly mesmerized by her casual state. She cleared her throat suggestively while straightening her spine, causing Gates to shake himself out of his trance, and she opened the door wide to admit the party, continuing with more formality, "Please, come inside."

DG and her larger shadows stepped carefully inside, and waited, just inside the threshold for the General to set the pace of the meeting. The woman paused behind them only long enough to lock the door, after which she stepped around the small group, and indicated to a set of armchairs with a wave of her hand.

The woman waited until DG had seated herself in a chair before seating herself, to be followed only by Raw, who crawled into a cross-legged position on the carpet nearest to the fire, where he purred quietly and was otherwise silent. Gates positioned himself at the door, where he eyed the party expectantly, all while maintaining a rigid stance that blocked anyone entering from being able to clearly view the individuals seated at the fire.

"Alright, DG, I think it's safe enough now to talk," the General proclaimed with a tired sigh, and she removed her slippers so she could pull her feet up into the seat with her, mirroring DG's pose in a deliberate attempt to set the woman at ease.

DG's eyes flickered from Raw to the General, and she waited for Gates to clear his throat suggestively before she let out a burdened huff, and she explained, "Something's wrong. I can't explain it, but I know Wyatt is in trouble."

Jennifer's eyes narrowed, and she only seemed to study DG for a moment before her eyes became unfocused and she seemed to stare off into space. While the General sat in relative silence, the sound of the fire crackling in the grate seemed louder than usual, and its periodic popping made the skittish princess flinch and stare at it like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, Jennifer cleared her throat, and when she spoke, it was with a quiet, non-threatening tone, as if she were a dear friend or sister, "DG, are you sure about this? Could it just be nerves? I know you've been under a lot of strain."

Raw growled, and he spoke before DG could answer, sounding protective and oddly authoritative, "DG not wrong. Raw feel it. Tin Man scared. Tin Man never scared except when family not safe."

The General's eyes darted from DG to Raw, and she considered his comments with an air of sudden clarity. She hadn't had much experience with viewers, but between the tales she'd heard, and the frequency with which the Sorceress's imprisoned viewers had unearthed various cells of the Resistance, she'd learned to be considerate of Raw's kind. So, when her eyes met DG's once more, finding the Princess blinking back unwaveringly, she knew she shouldn't have questioned her.

"I must apologize, Princess," she said, and she then asked, "do you know where he is?"

DG shook her head sadly, and replied quietly, "all I know is that Wyatt was planning to bring Vizor back in the next day or two. He said that I should be ready."

The General didn't waste any more precious time, and she rose from her seat and glided swiftly over to her desk, where she motioned for Gates to approach while she began scribbling a note. "Captain," she addressed the man in a firm, commanding voice, "these are orders for the night watch. I want you to take them to the gate house straight away and double time it back here. I'll guard the Princess until you're back."

Gates nodded, and he saluted his commanding officer after taking the note, only relaxing his position when she returned the gesture. "Yes ma'am." He answered formally and turned on his heel to exit at a rapid pace.

When Gates slipped quietly outside, the General re-locked the door and returned to her place by the fire. Once there, she sighed and rubbed her arms, explaining softly, "DG, General Andrus sent an extraction team to the Realm of the Unwanted two days ago." She paused and met the Princess's eyes and continued, "I just sent a detachment to scout for the truck. With any luck, if the first team made contact and stayed on schedule, they'll already be on their way back. If not, we'll know soon." She rose slowly then and strolled over to the fire, where she carefully hung a heavy copper tea kettle on an iron rod and stood watching the flames licking the gleaming surface of the metal for a time before she turned away once more.

DG and Raw watched the woman in silence for a time, and Raw noted her intentional quietude. He could sense that her emotions bubbled wildly under the surface, and yet she maintained such a cool exterior. Apart from this, Jennifer Jinjur was in many ways DG's match, and the viewer found the similarities in the women intriguing. DG seemed less enamored with their similarities and seemed lost in thought while her eyes maintained their study of the woman, who was currently gathering cups and saucers from a sideboard and was arranging them at the coffee table between the two chairs, clearly setting the groundwork for the three of them to share in a cup of tea. With how pacifying the woman was, it was easy to forget that she was, in fact, a General, and not one to be trifled with. It was only when she spoke, with so much authority and confidence, that both DG and Raw could understand how she might rattle the men in her command.

This evening was no exception, and when she next spoke to DG, in the midst of passing out steaming cups of tea like a good hostess, that she surprised even the princess. "DG, you're not going to like the orders I just gave out, but I have to be honest with you, because its important." Her eyes leveled with DG's and they held each other's gaze in earnest silence for a moment before the General continued, "I put the palace on high alert, and have given orders to double yours and your sister's guard until further notice. I'm telling you this now, because I need you to stay where we put you and do what we ask until we can ascertain the threat. Do you understand?"

A switch seemed to flick within DG, and Raw noted a slight shift in her eyes when the General broke the news. Although Raw suspected that there were a certain number of gears turning within DG's mind, she nodded solemnly all the same, and she replied in a calculated voice, "What about Vizor? I need to know that if something has happened to my husband, that you will agree to let me or Az interrogate him. No one else will be able to get anything out of him."

Jennifer shook her head and replied quickly, "Absolutely not, I will not make that pact. I will promise not to let anything happen to him until we find out what happened to General Cain, but I cannot allow either you or the Crown Princess to be put at risk. I'm certain that we'll be able to get the information out of him we need without either of you getting involved. Besides, there's no guarantee that anything has happened to him." When DG's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms before her chest in protest, Jennifer added with an edge of conciliation, "DG, this was Cain's order to me before he left. Please don't make this harder for me than it already is. If I can't get Vizor to talk, you have my word that I'll let you have a crack at it. In the meantime, we have to play it safe. You have to let me do my job."

DG chewed on the inside of her cheek and continued to survey the woman sitting across from her, whose brilliant green eyes seemed to pierce through DG when she requested DG's compliance. She might have sounded conciliatory, and as inviting as any good hostess, but the edge in her voice told her that General Jinjur would do what was necessary with or without DG's assistance. The only aspect of the plans that DG was being given any command over was herself, and she suspected that the less she complied, the less she would be invited to participate should anything go amiss. The General was still giving her that expression now while DG looked on coolly. The tension had grown considerably in those short, quiet moments, and Raw shifted in discomfort while the women silently stared the other down. DG's disdain for protocol aside, she understood the General's request, she just had difficulty quieting her usual impulsiveness. Her better judgement won out in the end though, and DG finally sighed and nodded her agreement, which allowed Jennifer to relax somewhat, and the women both took a sip of their tea in response to the silent standoff expiring between them.

DG emptied her cup quickly, unable to maintain the rouse of patience in that department, and when she finished it, she set the cup down on the table and sighed. "What do we do now, General?" She asked with a practiced meter in her tone, and Raw wondered if she'd been taking lessons from her mother in how she maintained her composure while, behind her eyes, frustration with their apparent complacency burned like a forest fire.

Jennifer set her own cup down, and Raw saw a similar intensity within her eyes when she met DG's stare and replied patiently, "We wait."

It seemed that there was nothing more to do except do as the General had suggested, and when the General poured out more tea, the viewer and the Princess accepted graciously, not knowing what else to do while they counted down the minutes until news finally came. Time seemed to drag on at a torturously slow pace, and none of the three individuals sitting at the General's fireside showed any intention of breaking the nervous tension that had been the hallmark of their visit. Every sound seemed heightened, from the flap and crack of the orange flames in the grate, to the soft tick of the clock on the woman's desk. Despite the apprehension that hung thickly in the air, or maybe because of it, the General continued to refill the teacups while they passed the time. Even Raw was eager to partake in a beverage, happy to have something to distract him from the thoughts of the two women, who both sat in silence while they plotted their next individual moves. It was maddening for all, and by the time a runner was finally admitted by Gates, the tension had reached such a peak that were it a tangible thing, it might have finally snapped. The young man passed a slip of folded paper to the General, after which he hastily saluted and skittered away, being silently shooed by the woman as she stared at the sheet in her hand. She flipped the page open and read quickly, while DG paced behind her chair, chewing on the edge of her thumbnail and watching apprehensively.

The General looked up after only a few moments, and the look in her eyes was an unreadable mixture of nerves and uncertainty, and she explained, "The truck will be here within the hour."

"And Wyatt?" DG asked expectantly when she paused behind her chair, clutching the back with white knuckles as she spoke.

Jennifer shook her head and replied cautiously, "No way to know yet, Princess. We'll have to wait until it gets here to know for sure." She didn't wait for DG to respond, and instead glided to the door, where she poked her head out to bring Gates inside. When the door had shut again, she addressed them all once more, her voice louder, and formal. "If you'll excuse me Princess, I have to be ready for our prisoner's arrival. Captain, if you would, please take the Princess and her companion to her quarters and keep them there until I give new orders. Is that understood?"

Gates straightened considerably to this order, responding rigidly, "Yes ma'am."

Satisfied that the captain would do as ordered, the General turned back to DG, who had maintained her position behind the armchair, but now stood by it with arms folded in defiance. The hardened expression of a commanding officer melted from the General's face, leaving only the fiery, warm young woman before DG, and she offered in a soft, yet firm voice, "You have my word, DG. As soon as the truck gets here, I'll let you know. I won't keep you in the dark."

DG accepted this olive branch reluctantly, murmuring a soft "thank you," before she walked slowly past her, and into the open threshold where Gates and their extra detail waited, Raw tagging quietly along, like a silent shadow.

DG spoke very little as they traversed the cavernous paths of the palace, with Gates in the lead and Raw and the other guards continuing to trail behind. It was as if a clock was ticking menacingly within her mind, with its constant beat counting down to the appointed hour that she and Azkadellia had been planning so meticulously for. Wyatt's possible absence threw her plans into doubt, however, and she wondered if this was the moment that Ozma had spoken of, when Wyatt would need her and the aide of her enchanted slippers. It felt as if she was being pulled in two directions, with her sister on one end and Wyatt on the other, and her gut twisted painfully at the notion that she might have to choose between them.

A furry hand landed softly on her arm as she grappled with this particular thought, and she turned to spy Raw falling into step with her. His warm eyes were serious, and although he returned her weak smile, it faded quickly when he spoke. "DG not need to choose. Just wait. You see."

Raw's insight was always welcome, and in that moment, it provided DG the courage she needed to see her task through. "Thanks, Raw," DG returned quietly, averting her eyes momentarily to acknowledge Gates, who had opened the door for the Princess, and stood aside while she and Raw stepped through. Satisfied, at least, that she would not have to give up one to save the other yet, it made it easier to make her next move, and she stopped at Gates' shoulder and softly commanded, "I need my sister, Gates. Please see that she is allowed in when she arrives."

The towering man knew better than to argue with the Princess in her current frame of mind, and he nodded his agreement silently, and poked his head out to eye the other guards. When he addressed them, there was a certain formality and gravity in his voice that DG had never heard, and she was silently thankful for his complicity.

"No one enters this room unless cleared by me or General Jinjur, is that clear?" Gate commanded gravely, adding per the Princess' quiet edict, "The Princess Royale will be arriving shortly. Please admit her and her consort without question."

The others nodded curtly to their commanding officer, straightening considerably in their posts as they answered, "Yes sir."

Satisfied with their reply, Gates shut the door on them, and sealed the three of them inside the room. "Princess, I need you and Master Raw to stay here until I can sweep the residence." Gates announced firmly. His voice was still deadly serious when he spoke, and his eyes fixed her with a steady gaze when he demanded her full compliance.

DG nodded silently and remained utterly still, while the man stalked past, intent on sweeping the premise room by room. DG, meanwhile, had set about her own task, and she allowed her eyes to become unfocused as she reached out through her mind to contact her sister. In the past cycle, she'd only ever spoken to her sister in this fashion while they'd been in the same room, never having had the opportunity to test their connection across greater distances. Although their timing could not be worse for cementing this particular aspect of their plan into place, DG knew it would be her only chance before Vizor arrived and they were completely out of time. DG took a long, steadying breath, fighting the apprehension that was rising incrementally within her, and hopeful that she'd be able to reach her sister.

"Az!" DG called out, mentally, causing Raw to wince as if she'd yelled in his ear. "It's time. Please come find me. I'm in my room."

DG's eyes had shut on their own while she'd been focusing on her connection with Azkadellia, and having finished, they opened once more as the Princess took a sharp intake of air. She waited for what felt like an eternity for her sister to respond, uncertain that it had worked, and nervously chewing on her lip while the minutes ticked by.

"I'm coming," she finally heard, faint and muffled as if her sister was speaking through her pillow; a sure indication that she'd just woken up and was still clearing away the cobwebs of the remaining dreams that had blanketed her consciousness.

DG breathed a sigh of relief, and her shoulders collapsed from the sudden lack of tension. A smile flickered on her face when she realized that she'd been successful, and it widened when she completed a mental inventory of her physical state. Her mother had been right, it seemed, and reaching out to her sister had done very little to her overall. Despite this, she knew that the next few hours would be a test of her strength, and she crossed over to the couch with Raw at her side and seated herself there to finally give in to the request that so many had made of her in the past hour. She waited.

Patience was definitely not one of DG's strongest traits. Although she knew she had nowhere to go, and nothing to accomplish for the time being, it did little to stop her from needlessly fidgeting. In the hour that it took for the truck to arrive, the Princess had been joined by her brother and sister, and the pair looked on in silent acceptance of the woman who paced relentlessly before the fireplace. DG had done everything possible to keep her mind occupied; she'd changed into a dress, of all things, and the deep blue cotton hung down to her calves, hugging her small mound in its soft fabric. She'd even taken the time to affix Wyatt's pendant around her neck, and the gleaming silver heart was framed perfectly in the v of her dress, sparkling like a talisman around her neck. Changing her attire had done very little to settle the thoughts running rampant in her mind, and DG had resumed pacing soon after, focusing only on the path she wore in the rug as she moved. Raw, meanwhile, sat in a corner away from the others, desperately trying to ignore the turbulent thoughts of his friend and retain some sense of balance in that unsettled time.

When news finally arrived, DG found it difficult to restrain herself, and fought the urge to sprint to the door the moment the guards knocked from the other side. Instead, she stood expectantly by the fireside, her eyes wide with urgency while Gates strode over to confer with the others, still waiting beyond the threshold. He slipped through the door and shut it noiselessly behind him, leaving DG and others to watch the space where he'd disappeared in nervous anticipation.

When he reappeared, moments later, his face was ashen, and he didn't speak until he'd shut the door once more. "Princess," he addressed DG as he stepped into her personal circle, his unnaturally soft voice increasing the level of apprehension in DG to a fevered pitch and causing her breath to become shaky. "The Consort and Captain Cain have arrived with Vizor."

"And Wyatt?" DG asked in a wavering voice.

Gates shook his head solemnly, and he replied, "No ma'am, but the Captain asked that Master Raw join him downstairs. When Jeb found out the General wasn't here, he was a might upset. Seemed to believe he'd be here already. He wants Master Raw to find out where we can find the other one, and hopefully General Cain."

Raw had already stood, and was already creeping up to DG's side, and when Gates swallowed down the last of his explanation, he laid a comforting hand on DG's shoulder and turned her to face him. "DG have courage. Tin Man be back soon. You wait. You see."

DG's lip trembled, and she nodded faintly before she fell into the viewer's arms, sniffling as she spoke, "Okay Raw. Thank you."

Raw pulled back from the Princess and offered her a sympathetic smile before they parted, leaving DG to stand in the middle of the room, looking lost and alone while he exited the room hastily. Time seemed to pass even more slowly without Raw's calming presence, and the knowledge that Wyatt was indeed missing only served to create more anxiety for those left waiting in the Princess's quarters. Azkadellia soon left her post at the couch and joined DG in standing. The elder princess was visibly nervous, being that she would most likely being playing the part of the victim before too long, but mostly she worried for DG and her missing spouse. DG seemed frozen in the space where she'd stopped before and was still staring at the long-since closed door when Azkadellia wrapped her arms around her. Her chin rested on her little sister's shoulder as she added her own eyes to the vigil on the door, and they stood there, locked together in both body and spirit, holding their breath for something to happen.

It was a sluggish wait for that door to open once more, and when it did, it swung wildly at the hands of a Cain. Jeb to be precise, and he was so flustered and frustrated when he charged through that he surprised both Gale women, the elder of which threw up a protection spell the moment the door swung open. This caused Jeb to bounce harmlessly backward, and he grunted in frustration as he fought to regain his balance.

"Sorry Jeb," Azkadellia muttered at the red-faced man, and she let down the shield immediately, looking sheepish and apologetic as she did so.

"Well, it's you I came to find anyway, Your Highness," Jeb explained, and he ran his hands through his hair in a clear sign of discomfort while he attempted to avert his gaze from DG. When DG took a step forward, with a questioning look apparent in her eyes, he added apologetically, "I'm sorry, Deeg. He wouldn't tell us where dad is, and he just about laughed in my face when I brought Raw in. He's still in there with him, but I don't think it's going to work."

"It won't," Azkadellia replied firmly, and edge of bitterness in her voice as she continued to explain, "The Sorceress put a protection spell over Vizor and all of her Longcoat generals to stop any attempt to read them. I might be able to lift it though."

That was DG's cue, and she whipped around, her eyes blazing and her voice firm when she retorted, "No, Az. No chance."

"DG, you know this will probably be our only opportunity to help Wyatt." Azkadellia replied to her sister before she turned back to Jeb and inquired seriously, "Jeb, please."

DG and Azkadellia both hated playing the young man, essentially using him to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, he'd bought it though, and nodded his approval before he answered apologetically, "I'm sorry Deeg, but she's right, and General Jinjur has already approved of the measure." Then to Azkadellia, he continued, "If you're ready, Your Highness, I'll escort you to the holding cells."

Azkadellia turned to her sister, and hugged her tightly, and she whispered internally while their embrace lit the room with their shared light, "When I call, don't hesitate. I love you little sister."

"I love you too Az." DG whispered back, and she stepped away from the elder Gale to allow Ambrose to take his place, grasping her hand as they departed quickly.