OZ (The Outer Zone)

Five days prior to the Double Eclipse

DG thought she had already learned that things were not always what they seemed in the OZ but even she was stunned when their canine guide transformed into a human right before her eyes.

Toto hadn't seen his young student in fifteen years. She'd grown up to be a very beautiful young lady and also would be a very powerful one with his guidance and she had an interesting set of travelling companions, two he knew well. One was Ambrose Benu, Lavinia's advisor and the second was Wyatt Cain, the now Grand Master of the Talons of the Dragon, also her bondmate. He only knew Raw from the wanted poster he carried in his coat. As he faced the small group, he felt Wyatt Cain's dragon spirit clash with his canine one as Wyatt pulled DG back.

Harm her and you will face my wrath, it warned.

"It's okay. I'm a friend of your mother's. She sent me to help. We'd better go. We have an emerald to find."

"Well we're not going anywhere til we get rid of these coats, pooch or unless I say so," Wyatt snapped, clearly acting like someone was invading his territory. DG glared at him.

Oh for God's sake you're acting like a dog in front of a fire hydrant. Are we going to have to hold a pissing contest now?

"What?" Wyatt asked her when he noticed the angry frown.

"You planning on marking your territory next Tin Man?" she demanded while the others watched them, Glitch grinning from ear to ear. Oddly enough their fighting was actually starting to strengthen their bond.

"What does that mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what it means."

"Well if we're gonna hash this out, we're doing it in private!" Wyatt growled as he grabbed DG's arm and led her away from the others.

Toto glanced over at Glitch. "Shouldn't we...?"

"Nah, this is normal."

"Okay kiddo, you want to explain to me what that was all about?" Wyatt inquired, hands on his hips. DG, not in the least bit afraid of him while he was in Tin Man mode, crossed her arms over her breasts and gave him a look that was as cold as his was to her.

"You!" she yelled. "That guy just helped us escape hell and you're acting like a dog that is jealous that someone is invading his territory. What's next? A pissing contest?"

"The things that come out of your mouth..." he muttered.

"Well this alpha male shit you have going on is annoying me. Should just put you in a cave wearing just a loincloth and a big club."

Now where have you heard that one before, Wyatt? Oh, now you remember. Didn't Adora get pissed at you for acting like that with her?

One incident in particular stuck out. They were sixteen and Adora got asked to go to the school dance. Wyatt's feelings for her had changed that year but he couldn't work up the courage to finally tell her and when she told him another boy was taking her to the dance, he made it look and sound like he was happy for her. Deep down what he really wanted to do was knock the other boy into next week. He finally decided to ask another girl to go to the dance with him but they were both miserable. When he caught the boy trying to kiss Adora, his temper got the best of him and he walked over to them ready to fight. Adora was furious with him and took him outside.

"What the hell was that about?" she snapped.

"He's no good for you!" Wyatt shot back.

"I'll decide who's good for me or not, Wyatt Cain. You do this with every guy who tries to court me. If you want me for yourself, why don't you just come right out and say it!" she challenged.

Wyatt had always been a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words but the women in his life seemed to have a hard time understanding that.

"Look, kiddo, we don't know who this guy is. He says he's a friend of your mother's but I'm not going to take that at face value, nor should you," he said calmly.

"Well I'm willing to go on a little faith here," she said as she walked away leaving him shaking his head.

"She's going to be the death of me," he muttered.

"Everything okay?" Glitch asked her.

"For now," she said.

Wyatt and Glitch tossed the leather coats into the bushes. "You ready kid?" he asked DG when he saw her staring up at the tower.

"Yeah," she said wistfully. "That machine that we escaped through, the Mystic Man said that she was going to use it to destroy the OZ."

"Wait a second...you saw the Mystic Man?"

DG looked up at him and took his hand. "He's dead...she killed him."

Wyatt turned his head away. Damn you, old man! Why didn't you leave with us like I wanted you to?

"He said that she needs the emerald to make the machine work," DG was saying.

"That's interesting. How?" Glitch asked, curious.

"Folks, I suggest we keep moving," Toto spoke up.

What did I just say, dog breath? Wyatt thought angrily. "Sorry pooch, but this is where we part company," he said firmly. He didn't trust this thing and he wanted to get it the hell away from them.

"Part?"

"With the Longcoats on our tail and the mobats in the sky, I don't have time to figure out what your angle is in all this."

"My angle is her mother sent me to help."

"And you did. I'd even thank you for what you did back there if I knew who you were. Or what!"

Oooohhh dammit Tin Man! Didn't we just have a discussion about this? DG wanted to strangle him.

Glitch, fearing the two men would soon come to blows, stepped between them. He knew as an apprentice he should be showing respect to his master and he could feel Cain calling on his dragon's spirit and getting ready to attack but he also knew that the fighting was hurting DG. He had to calm the dragon's wrath before it spiraled out of contol.

"Whoa, Mr. Suspicious! This is the man...dog...who helped us escape!" he pointed out.

"Shapeshifter," Raw spoke up. He too could feel the dragon's rage building and realized Glitch would not be able to calm him alone.

"Yes!" Glitch confirmed.

"Yes Mr. Raw," Sidney said softly.

"He knew your name," Glitch said worriedly.

Maybe Cain has a point after all! "How did you know his name?"

The master and the apprentice, now sharing the same fears focused their icy stares on the shapeshifter. "You're all quite famous in the OZ and in high demand...dead or alive." He took out the wanted poster. "Now look, I'm sorry if I scared any of you back there but there's never really a great time for the whole beast into man moment. I just...whoom...and hope for the best."

"I don't know," DG said softly as she looked at Wyatt.

I'm sorry I doubted you.

"You're still a stranger."

"Am I?" Toto reached into his pocket. Wyatt reached for his pistol, relaxing his grip when he saw the small doll the other man held in his hand. "Let's just see about that."

"Hey, that's mine!" DG cried.

"It was yours when you were a child," he confirmed.

DG held out her hand and the doll began to spin in the air, moving toward her. The others watched, astounded. "Am I really doing this?"

"Indeed you are. Magic is in your blood. Let it shine a light on your past so that you may better face your future."

And as you rediscover yourself, he will do the same as you are his light as he is yours.

"Now concentrate DG..concentrate!" he instructed.

DG closed her eyes, a memory appearing. She was trying to make her doll fly but it wouldn't Finally Azkadellia stood up and approached her, taking her hand. A bright light glowed and the doll began to spin.

"Toto. You were our tutor."

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

"So I've been told," she muttered.

"She sent me to help you reawaken them and what you're going to need to find the Grey Gale and the emerald of the eclipse."

"Wait, how did you see her if she's in Azkadellia's prison?"

Wyatt gave him a cold stare. Toto was nervous and found it difficult to hide. "She came to me...in a dream but she's growing weaker and weaker. There's no time to waste."

Raw and Glitch looked at Wyatt. He looked at DG. The poor kid actually trusted the guy but he still suspected the dog man was lying through his teeth. He would have to keep a close eye on him.

"Mystic Man said to head south."

"Then that's exactly what we should do. Don't you think Cain, south?" Glitch asked as he licked his thumb and tested the direction of the wind. He started walking but in the wrong direction. Wyatt pulled him back and pointed in the correct direction.

"Unfortunately the only route to the South leads through the Fields of the Papay," he grumbled.

"Papay..." Raw panicked and followed the others. Once they were out of sight Toto tossed a viewing disk onto the ground and started after them.

The Northern Island

Archie awoke early the following morning expecting to be alone as he often was but he could feel his wife's breath on his shoulder while she slept.

Lurline, I beg you, let her still be in control, he prayed and reached out to caress her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled up at him.

"Dellia?" he inquired hesitantly. She raised her head and kissed him.

"Give me a little more time with you," she pleaded.

"Oh Dellia," he whispered and kissed her back, more than willing to give her all the time, all of him that she wanted.

Elmer awoke shivering. He crawled out of bed and was shocked to see broken glass on the floor of the bedroom he now occupied and glanced up to see that all the windows had been broken. He threw on his clothes and raced down the hall to the bedroom Archie now occupied only to find it locked. He drew his gun and started shooting at it.

"Elmer, for Lurline's sake will you please STOP SHOOTING!" Archie yelled and jumped out of bed. Az was giggling as she sat on the edge of the bed, the blankets wrapped around her while she watched him struggling to put his pants back on. "This isn't funny!" he cried.

"What the hell happened? All the windows in here are broken!"

Archie opened the door a crack. "I don't know how they got broken but mine are fine."

"I heard something...are you okay?"

Az laughed again.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not." Elmer kicked the door open and his mouth dropped open to find Azkadellia on the bed with only the blankets covering her. "Holy crow! What's SHE doing here!" He raised the gun.

"Elmer Gulch, you fire that gun and I'll blast you into the lake!" Archie snarled.

"It's the Sorceress!"

"No, it's Azkadellia! She's in control but won't be for long!"

"Elmer, would you please wait out in the hall until we finish getting dressed?" Az asked calmly.

"Umm...yeah...Jiminy Crickets..." he muttered.

"Watch it!" Archie snapped. "You know I hate that expression!"

Elmer shook his head and ran out of the bedroom like his feet were on fire. Az lay back on the bed and burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face? Oh Archie..." she giggled.

"Dellia! He almost walked in on us..."

"If he's smart...he'll stay where he is until we come for him." She got out of bed with the blanket still wrapped around her and walked over to the door and let the blanket fall to the floor as wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Now, where we we?"

He swung her up in his arms and carried her back to bed.

Elmer amused himself by playing fetch with Pongo and Perika in the Dalmatian forms in the sitting room, once in a while glancing up the clock. It was almost noon and Archie hadn't come downstairs yet.

Then again, if I had a beautiful woman waitin in my bed, I wouldn't either, he thought with a grin. That 'said' woman was the possessed Princess Azkadellia was still hard to fathom but Commander Ozopov had always been a level headed man and he wouldn't fall for the witch's tricks like everyone else. DG certainly had her work cut out for her.

"We're going to have to use that broken down truck to get out of here," Archie said from the doorway, Azkadellia at his side. She was blushing.

"I ahhh...sorry I busted in on you," Elmer said sheepishly. "I didn't know there are times when you...ahhh, never mind."

"Archie is the only one who knows the difference," Az said. "But I don't have much time. It'll take too long to repair the truck if you do it yourselves."

"You're thinking, Dellia. What is it?"

She gestured and teleported them outside then repaired the truck her magic. "DG is safe in Mr. Cain's hands. Archie, head straight for the Tower. When you get there no one will see you because your presence will be cloaked."

"Dellia, you know how much energy a cloaking spell takes!" Archie protested.

"I do...but you can't use yours to cast it. I need you at full strength when we face her. Reserve every bit of it you can. I have to go before she breaks through." She cupped Archie's face in her hands and kissed him. "I love you...and I'll wait for you."

"I love you, Dellia."

She clapped her hands and vanished.

"Man, that has to be hell."

"You have no idea. Come on. We've gotta get moving." Inside the truck he took off his coat and unbuttoned his shirt as Pongo and Perika took their demon forms and disappeared onto his chest as a tattoo.

The Tower

Zero was pissed. He stormed through the Tower halls wanting to kill anything and everything in his path. Just once he wanted to have the upper hand with Wyatt Cain but somehow the man always bested him. He seized the witch's advisor Vy-Sor.

"I should kill you!"

"Shhhh, she's in conference!"

"My men just told me Wyatt Cain is alive and was here. If she finds out..."

"Finds out what? That you're utterly incapble of putting one man in his grave?" the witch said icily as she faced her destroyer.

"I shot him out a window into a freezing lake. The man's got nine lives."

"He's not the only one," she threatened. The mobat demon Zora flew onto the balcony, handing the witch the viewing disk she'd picked up from where Toto dropped it. "Zora, that's my girl," she said affectionately. She placed the disk in the machine and watched as the travelers started heading south.

"She's heading south."

"My men will blitz the area immediately."

"No, they won't."

"You have them dead to rights and you don't want to take her?"

"No. I want her to lead me straight to the emerald."

Zero watched the tutor drop the disk through the viewing tank. "You planted a spy." The Sorceress never failed to impress him.

"Just keeping an eye on her as any concerned big sister would. I want you to shadow her...don't get too close. Think you can handle a little restraint, Zero?"

Dammit! He wanted to take them and when he did, he would force Cain to watch while he had his way with the girl and then he would kill him and her. He would restrain himself...for now...but sooner there would come a time when not even the Sorceress would be able to stop him from having his revenge.

Resistance Headquarters

The Lowlands

Dagon was waiting for Jeb and Xenia when they returned to the camp but Dagon noticed that his commander was not in a talking mood. The younger man retreated to his tent.

"I am Xenia Benu, Jeb Cain's guardian," she said to him.

"What's wrong?"

"We went back to his childhood home and found the suit his father had been locked in..opened."

"Sweet Ozma, he's alive?"

"We lost the trail in the North," Xenia said sadly. "Jeb believes his father is dead but I am not so sure. He won't be ready to talk for a while but I'd like you to bring me up to speed on what is going on here so that I may serve you effectively."

"You're joining...?"

"She is," Jeb said from behind them. "The Benu are the strongest of the warriors from Lurline's temple. What reports do you have?"

"Not many since you left, sir, however there is something we just learned from one of our spies in the tower. It appears the Sorceress is having a little trouble keeping her prisoners again. There was another breakout."

"Who?" Jeb asked, his curiousity aroused.

"The viewer Raw, the princess Dorothia and Toto. Two men posed as Longcoats got them out but they weren't from our resistance cell."

"What did they look like?" Jeb demanded.

Was it possible...?

"One of them was wearing a hat, we know that for sure and the other was a headcase."

"Oh Jeb! It was my brother and your father!" Xenia cried.

"Did your source find out which direction they were headed?" Jeb asked Dagon.

"South."

"We need to send an alert out to all the safe houses there to put the horse out to pasture. If my father is heading in that direction he'll need to find a safe house. The blue smoke was the original resistance signal and it'll be the only one he'll remember. The oldest fighters still use it. He should also remember the old code words too, I hope."

"What does 'put the horse out to pasture' mean?" Xenia asked him. Jeb led them into his tent where she noticed several toy horse carvings on a table.

"This is my signal to him. He should still have the toy horse he made for me. I've left them at every safe house my mother and I have stopped at across the OZ. If he gets to one of them and sees the horse he'll know I'm looking for him."

"I'll see to it right away," Dagon said as he hurried off.

"I told you Jeb. What do you want to do? Should we try to go after them again?"

He shook his head. "I can't get my hopes again Xenia. The only thing we can do now is pray to Lurline that he'll find us. I know you want to find your brother too but we're not the only ones looking for them."

"Which is exactly why we should go after them!" Xenia insisted. "A troop of Longcoats can outnumber them easily. Your father and my brother are good fighters but they won't be able to take them alone." She mounted her horse.

"You're insane! You can't take out a whole troop of Longcoats by yourself either!" Jeb growled. "Now you get down off that horse or I'll drag you off."

"I'd like to see you try it," she challenged. He grabbed her by her hips and pulled her off the horse. She screamed and kicked at him, the noise alerting the rest of his soldiers. They stood and watched the show, amused. No one else dared to oppose Jeb Cain's authority before but the red haired Temple of Lurline guardian wasn't in the least bit afraid of him.

"Put me down, you son of a bitch or I'll slice off something you'll miss a lot!" Xenia threatened.

"Like watchin' his mom and dad, ain't it?" one of the older troops asked his female counterpart.

She grinned. "I'm just waitin for them to end up in bed. That's what his mom and dad always did after they fought," she reminded him and they laughed.

Jeb set Xenia down on her feet and glared at his troops. "Don't you assholes have better things to do than stand there? Move it!" he barked. The crowd quickly disbanded. Xenia was still furious with him but if she left on her own, she was violating her own oath to protect him and her parents would never forgive her for it. She glared at him one last time before she headed off to the womens' tent. All she could do now was hope Jeb's father found his son's signal and led them all back to where she and Jeb were waiting.

The Fields of the Papay

"Hunter parties are around. Stay sharp!" Wyatt warned as they once again found themselves in the desolate fields the Papay called their home. Raw was holding a sharpened stick for protection.

"Did it always look so...dead?" DG asked Wyatt.

"No. This used to be some of the most fertile land in the OZ. Orchards, nurseries," he answered.

"Gotta love a good orchard. Full of succulent fruit for all the people to eat. Free too if you're a good fence climber. Mind you those scarecrows kinda freak me out!" Glitch rambled.

"So what happened?" DG was curious to learn everything Wyatt knew about the place they all feared so much.

"About fifteen annuals ago all the crops died which then caused a great famine."

"I bet I can guess who was responsible," DG said bitterly.

"Yeah."

"You'd think someone would've helped them with their crops," Glitch said and stopped. A vision of him sitting at a table sketching a machine appeared in his mind. "Maybe engineered a do hickey with a couple of thingys..." Then the image vanished as his synapses misfired again. "Gotta love a good orchard." He ran to keep up with the group.

"Papay once peaceful," Raw said softly.

"Yeah well the only piece they're interested in is a piece of us!"

"Were farmers, now hunters."

"No wonder they're desperate. They don't have any food." DG suddenly felt sympathetic to the creatures even though they'd bitten Wyatt and scared them half to death the first time they saw them.

Wyatt heard a screech. "Shhh...runner scouts. They're signaling to the others."

A pack of runners started toward them. "Run!" DG screamed only they found the pack waiting for them. Wyatt raised his gun and when he heard the click of an empty chamber he was now terrified. He laughed nervously.

You ass! Why the hell didn't you load it before you came through here! Looks like you're going to be the main course for their banquet.

"Good boys..."

Like that's gonna do any good. They see you, they see fresh meat.

The runners moved closer. He could already see them salivating. "Good boys..."

"It's almost dinnertime," Glitch said shakily. He, Raw, Sidney and DG were backed against the tree. Wyatt stood in front of them. He could try to reload the pistol but the runners would have him torn apart before he got the chance.

"DG...use your gift!" Toto instructed.

"To do what!" she cried.

"Focus, DG. You've got it in you! C'mon."

"I don't know how!"

"Just focus!"

The cool blue waters of a lake were always the first thing she saw now when she tried to call on her light. She could feel her marked palm glowing but when she opened her eyes the runners were still approaching.

"It isn't working," she moaned as she pressed up against a tree, a golden hue appearing on the bark and traveling up to the dead branches. Suddenly the runners bowed as a show of respect.

"Why are they bowing?" Glitch asked.

Is this normal for them to salute their supper?

"Thanking us," Raw explained.

Wyatt looked up and to his amazement he could see flowers and fruit blooming on the trees. "That is one heck of a defense kid," he said proudly. "Let's get out of here. Easy...thank you," he said as he took his hat of to the runners, giving them equal respect for not harming them. He had a feeling the kid had just earned herself some allies if she ever got in a pinch there again.

DG followed close behind him, feeling as if she were floating on air. For the first time on this trip together he seemed to be pleased with something she'd done and it felt wonderful.

I wasn't trying to impress him...I was trying to save our asses.

Oh, but seeing the look on his face certainly brightened your day, didn't it? Especially since when you hugged him in the tower he was trying to back away from you like you had a disease.

He wasn't the first person she met who was like that. Some people just didn't feel comfortable being touched and in her experience it was because of some sort of trauma they'd suffered in the past. She had been like that for months after prom night. Being locked up in the suit was enough trauma to cause him to be leery of physical contact but she suspected there were some scars that ran deeper than the years in the tin suit. It wasn't going to stop her from trying to reach out to him.

The Tower

Azkadellia's dreams took her back to the day when her possession began. She could see DG running out of the cave and back to the gazebo where her mother sat reading a book. The queen gathered the sobbing child into her arms and comforted her.

"DG my darling, you're shaking like a leaf. What's wrong?"

"A..Az...she fell and I let go..." the child sobbed.

"What are you talking about. There's Az right there."

But the young girl coming toward them was not Azkadellia. Now bearing a mobat tattoo on her shoulder, they were now in the presence in the most powerful force of evil in all the OZ.

Azkadellia awakened with a gasp. She walked slowly toward the mirror and studied her own reflection, no longer recognizing the woman looking back at her.

Part of me died that day. Why can't I go back and make it right?

You never will. You belong to me!

The witch's face appeared in the mirror. Azkadellia screamed. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Archie," she moaned, rubbing her cheek against against it. "You're here..."

"I don't know what you did to that truck but it got us here faster than I expected. Elmer's out in the hall keeping watch. No one knows we're here."

"Stay with me tonight...help me keep her away a little while longer..."

He lifted her out of her chair and carried her back to her bed. She waved her hand and cast a locking spell on the doors to her chamber. No one would dare intrude on her time with the man she loved.

"Dellia, darling, you should stop using so much magic," he advised. "We'll all need to be at full strength during the eclipse. The cloaking spell you have on me is already draining you!"

"I won't let her find you!" she cried fiercely. "You are the only person keeping my heart alive and I will NOT let her take you from me again!"

"She'd have to kill me first," he vowed.

They prayed with all their hearts it would never come to that.

The Forest

While the others carried on their own conversations, Wyatt kept watch over his young charge while she slept on his coat. She sat up, the expression her face a mix of terror and confusion.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly.

"You look like you were having a nightmare," Glitch said. "A bad one."

"DG dream of Azkadellia?" Raw inquired.

"Yeah," DG confirmed. "She told me once that we were friends when we were little and I didn't believe her but now I'm not so sure."

"Maybe your dream's trying to tell you something," Toto spoke up.

DG stood up. She could feel Wyatt's eyes on her and the fears she'd had when she first woke up began to fade and she started to recall more about her dream.

"In the dream I'm scared and my mother is rocking me on a swing in a special place. A beautiful place by a lake."

"Well there's about a hundred lakes just south of here," he said.

"DG know which lake," Raw said to her as he stood up.

"No I don't."

Now it was Glitch's turn to stand. "You do DG. because you were there before as a little girl. Try. What was it like?"

"It was..." She could see several images in her mind...skipping stones across blue waters, running through tall hedges. "Magical." She looked at Wyatt. With waters as blue as your eyes.

Wyatt got to his feet and put on his duster. "To get to Lake Country we'll have to cut across the crack in the OZ. This ain't gonna be easy," he warned.

Nothing ever is, she thought.

What's wrong with me? I'm supposed to be remembering my past and when I do, he sometimes pops into my mind one way or another. Lake waters have nothing to do with his eye color.

More bizarre was the feeling she had the moment her head was resting on his coat. It was as if she could feel him beside her, his arms wrapped around her protectively although he was a few feet away from her, his gaze never leaving her.

They started walking again, Wyatt in the lead as always with her right beside him while the others trailed them, Glitch and Raw feeling that something was happening between their friends.

DG remembering love for Tin Man. Making memories come back and magic stronger. Tin Man feel protective of DG.

It's his dragon's spirit trying to help him remember she's his mate but there's a lock on his heart's memories just like there's a lock on hers.

How you able to talk to me in head? Raw thought back to Glitch.

It's a skill every Talon of the Dragon learns. Cain should be able to do it too but he doesn't remember how.

Can Tin Man and DG hear us?

No. They will only be able to hear us if we want them too. Same with Toto. We have to keep an eye on him Raw. Cain's right. Something's off about him.

Dragon apprentice and Raw protect DG and Tin Man together?

We have to, Raw now that we both know who they are.

Azkadellia let us out of Tower to find and protect. She trying to fight witch but not strong enough.

Yes but we need to help DG get her magic back so she can free Azkadellia from the witch.

Azkadellia needs sister and lover to make her strong again.

Jiminy...but..but he's dead?

Azkadellia lover still lives. Came back to her. Azkadellia using magic to hide him from witch.

"I think that's the longest the zipperhead's been quiet," they heard Wyatt quip and DG swatted at him.

"Be nice," she scolded as she walked over to the others. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Deege," he assured. Then his synapses began to misfire again. "Can't we rest?" he asked.

"No time. We've got to get to Finaqua," Toto said.

Glitch spotted something on the ground and kneeled down to see a rotten apple. He picked it up, gasped from the smell of decay. "I'd give my last synapse for a juicy apple," he said softly and threw it away.

DG picked it up. "Apples!" Wyatt turned around, his eyes on hers again.

"What is it?" Toto asked which Glitch and Raw watched intently.

"Something Azkadellia said..."

We'd explore the woods...gather apples.

She saw herself as a child again in the woods collecting apples just as Azkadellia said they did back at the Tower. DG had tricked one of the trees to throw fruit at them just the scarecrow, her ancestress's protector had done centuries before. A large bear came running toward them. Azkadellia gripped her sister's hand in hers and held it tight.

"Just hold my hand Deege. Nothing can hurt us if we stay together!" she instructed as the light pulsed through them, forcing the bear to retreat.

"Azkadellia, what happened to you?" DG pondered aloud. How had the sister who loved and protected her so fiercely once turned into a cold blooded, ruthless killer?

"Hey kiddo? Are you coming?" Wyatt called out.

"Yeah." she said as she hurried after him, dropping the apple onto the ground.

When the dragon calls to his mate, she will always answer, Glitch thought.

They found themselves standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a river while a group of Longcoats stood on a bridge.

"We're not getting past them in broad daylight." Wyatt said.

"The eclipse is almost upon us, we don't have time to waste," Toto reminded him.

"Look quick and dead might be okay with you, dog man but I'll take slow and breathin' any time. Even then, we're gonna need some help."

"Cabin!" Raw pointed out.

A resistance safe house! Wyatt thought with relief as he saw the blue smoke rising from the chimney. He began to remember something from his days as the resistance's leader.

He, Adora and Boiling Belle were in her kitchen as she was preparing another of her lethal stews. "We gotta find someplace to hole up til we move on those Longcoats," he was saying.

"Problem is we don't know who's with us and who's with them," Annabelle spoke up.

"Maybe if we had some kind of signal..." Adora suggested.

"Good idea!" Wyatt cried excitedly.

"Ahhh, dammit, how'd that get in there!" Annabelle growled as the smoke from her pot turned blue. "I thought I told Sarah Jane not to be messin with my pots."

"How'd you end up with that blue smoke, Belle?"

"My granddaughter must've left her drawing sticks in there again and the heat melted 'em."

"Ozma's ghost, that's it!" Wyatt exclaimed.

"What?" the women asked in unison.

"We'll use blue smoke as our signal. You think Sarah Jane'll let us borrow more of her drawing sticks?" Wyatt asked Belle.

"She ain't gonna get much of a say in it," Belle replied with a smirk.

"Adora, I want you to put the word out: no one is to go near a house that isn't blowin' out blue smoke," Wyatt commanded and then stopped her. "That may not be enough though. We'll need some kind of code to go along with to make sure no one walks into a trap." He looked down at the liquid boiling in Belle's pot over the fireplace. "Something to do with heat...May your hearth be warm and your smoke be blue..." he murmured.

"That's perfect, honey." Adora said. "Should I go now?"

"Yes. That's the signal. Blue smoke and those words...in that order."

The travelers headed toward the house and were immediately confronted with a couple bearing shotguns. "State your business," the man demanded.

"We mean you no harm," Wyatt began calmly. "We're travelers of the realms seeking 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 peace. May your hearth be warm..."

"And your smoke be blue. Come in, quickly."

"Thank you for your help." Wyatt said once they were inside.

"I'm Ralph. That's my wife, Lorraine."

"Put your gun on the table," Lorraine ordered.

"They're friends, Lorraine," Ralph advised his wife.

"No such thing anymore." she muttered.

Wyatt had to agree with her. He'd seen enough friends betray each other to last a lifetime. "It's okay. We just need shelter til it's safe to cross." He placed the silver pistol on the table.

"it's never safe but the cover of night will help. Until then sit, rest." Ralph said gently.

Lorraine seized the pistol, horrified when she saw a door open in the wall. "Get back in there!" she hissed, slamming the door shut.

"Let us show some trust," Ralph pleaded. "It's all right children," he said as he opened the door. "Come out." A boy and a girl emerged from their hiding place.

Just like me and Adora used to do, Wyatt thought as he remembered the many times he and Adora concealed their son behind walls and under the floors of the many safehouses they'd been smuggled into across the OZ.

DG's heart went out to the frightened children. She smiled. "Hey there." The boy seemed to relax a bit.

She'll make a good mother one of these days although the man who marries her is gonna have his hands full.

Everyone was more at ease after dinner. "What news from the resistance in the east?" Ralph asked them.

"I was hoping you would tell us," Wyatt said while he was pacing near the windows keeping watch while the others were gathered at the table.

"Do you know anything about a machine Azkadellia is building?" DG inquired.

"Only rumors. We helped a captain from the Lowlands. All he said was that Azkadellia was pushing the miners and metalworkers til they dropped."

"What mine?" Wyatt stopped his pacing.

"A mine in the Black Mountains."

"Moratanium," Glitch piped up. "Big M, little. Number 216 in the Ozian Periodic Table. Ha ha...school days. I remember a lovely lass named Leona..."

"Moaritanium, what's it for?" DG placed her hand on Glitch's arm to keep him focused.

"Besides its strength moraritanium is known for its ability to conduct magical energy."

"So if she gets a hold of the emerald she can focus the power however she wants."

"Not unless we get to it first," Toto said.

"So it's a weapon?" Wyatt asked.

"No, it's a sun seeder," Glitch said.

"What's a sun seeder?" DG demanded.

"I don't know but it sounds cool." Glitch misfired again. "Wait...I invented it."

"Well what's it used for?"

"I can't remember...I can't remember."

Frustrated, she stood up. "I'm sorry. We don't have time for this. We have to know. Raw, we need you to read him."

"Cain?" Glitch pleaded.

"Do it," he ordered the viewer.

They moved into the living room and made Glitch sit in a chair by the fireplace while Raw stood over him. Above the mantel a small mirror hung.

"Glitch, if Azkadellia is building a machine you designed you may be the key to stopping her." DG said softly as she kneeled beside him.

Raw placed his hand on the mirror and they all watched in horror as Azkadellia and her troops seized him and the queen, strapping him to a table and removing his brain to extract the powerful knowledge it held.

When Raw released him he looked up at DG and saw that she was close to tears.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes Glitch, I'm fine."

"What? Is my machine so bad?" he asked.

"No, but whatever it is you sure sacrificed a lot to stop Azkadellia," Wyatt said softly having deeper respect now for his apprentice. As they were getting ready to leave, Wyatt spotted DG standing off by herself, her head bowed. He didn't have to look to know she was crying and there was nothing he couldn't stand to see more than a woman crying.

"You okay?"

"I'm disappointed in myself. My mother gave up her power to bring me back to life and that's how Azkadellia was able to take over," she sobbed.

"You know kiddo there are some things in life that are just out of our control. And we need you." He turned her around and they were now facing each other, her eyes meeting his, his hands on her shoulders. "You gotta let it go. C'mon."

You need me. I need you too but you don't let me get close, only when you feel you have to, she thought as she walked away.

Wyatt felt his heart jump into his throat when he spotted a small toy horse on the table in front of him. "Where did you get this?" he demanded of Ralph as he held the horse up.

"We should go," Ralph insisted.

"Where did you get this?" Wyatt pursued as he took his own out of his breast pocket with the silver bullet still in it and held them side by side.

"A resistance fighter made it for my son. He came through here a couple months back with his mother. Their names were..."

"Jeb...and Adora. My family. They really are alive." he said his voice filled with hope while on the other side of the room a heart feeling the first flames of a love renewed burning again shattered into cold, icy pieces.

He'll never need me again. He has her and once he finds her, I won't even be a memory.

Why do I even care? He's just a friend and he deserves to be happy with his family again.

Is he, DG?

I'll be fine without him.

Will you? When he finds her can you do it, DG? Can you let him go or will you fight to keep him?

Why the hell does it matter?

It does. A real woman fights for what she loves.

What the hell does love have to do with it? He's my friend. I don't love him...that way!

Don't you?

We barely know each other and he's a lot older than me. It wouldn't work. Let's just forget about it! He'll be gone soon anyway and it won't matter anymore.

"Deege, are you okay?" Glitch asked her as he walked beside her.

"Yeah."

"You sure."

"Ummm hmmm," she murmured.

Glitch sensed she was hiding something and went in search of Raw.

What happened?

DG find out Tin Man wife and son may be alive.

WHAT? His wife? Are you sure?

Heard Ralph say they come by here.

But...I heard rumors Adora Cain was executed in Central City square months ago.

Longcoats probably lie to weaken resistance.

If Adora Cain is alive he'll go back to her and...

DG heart will die. DG will die...

And so will the rest of us unless Adora Cain releases her hold on him. It doesn't matter if we find the emerald, or free Az. The OZ won't survive with a broken circle.