Title:

Better or Worse

Disclaimer:

Again…Don't own! Borrowing the characters for my story, no harm intended.

General Info:

Rated T

Angst/Romance

Author's Note:

PLEASE read and review. I love to hear your opinions. As always, thank you for taking time to read my story.

To those who have reviewed:

Yes, this is most definitely a Cain/DG pairing. Cain will be making an appearance soon, I promise. I'm just having difficulty getting DG into a position to have him arrive. I have a clear picture of the reunion but I don't want it to be too over done or cliché, if you know what I mean.

As far as my own characters go…Three friends just felt right, and while I didn't plan on it being similar to the way she met Glitch, Cain, and Raw, I have to admit it kind of works that way, too. Probably a subconscious thing.

While the second chapter was not action packed I thought it would be nice to see DG having fun with friends and not whimpering in a corner. I wanted people to know about Fran, Del and Robbie and their friendships with DG before I took the story any further. Forgive me?!

Anyway, on with the show…

Chapter 3


"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." – Lois Wyse


The ground was cold under her body, a cold that was beginning to seep through to her core. A stitch in her side was making breathing difficult. Ignoring the pain wreaking havoc on her body she turned her head, taking in her surroundings, looking for her friends.

The four of them finished their ice creams, went to a late movie and Robbie took them home. DG's brain stuttered to a halt after that, not remembering anyone being dropped off. She saw the truck off to the right, or what was left of it anyway. It was a mangled heap of metal with a tree practically growing out of its center. There were so many trees around she swore she was in a forest which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Robbie would never have taken them to a forest considering the closest one was forty miles from town.

A shuffling noise had her head jolting to the left only to surge pain down her neck and spinal cord, eyes shutting tight against the onslaught. A hand placed on her forehead stilled the movement, effectively easing some of her discomfort. When she opened her eyes she found four of Robbie's brown ones staring down at her, intense worry in their depths. Ok, so she was seeing double. That meant head injury.

"Where's Fran and Del?" she asked, so quiet he had to strain to hear her words. Fear began to seep into her veins at the thought of those two being...

"Fran's looking after Del," Robbie said. "His arm is broken," he quickly added upon seeing the panic on her face. "She's making a splint and sling from what we can find in and around the truck."

"What happened?" she whispered, blinking a few times to try to make the Robbies blend back together.

Robbie averted his eyes and began trailing his hands down her arms, sides, stomach, legs. He was checking for injuries. There was no stopping the winces when his fingers prodded especially sensitive areas such as her right side and hip. She knew she was bad off. Lifting her hand to her head she ran it over her clumped hair only to feel a sticky liquid cover her fingers. Blood.

Her thoughts turned briefly to Glitch, wondering how she would cope if her head required a zipper and she had to stifle a snicker at the picture that popped into her mind. There was no way she could pull off the metal strip the way he did. She sobered suddenly when she remembered he no longer had the zipper.

"The twister came out of nowhere," Robbie said quietly, knocking through her thoughts. Focusing on his face, faces, he had a small cut near his hair line trailing blood down the side of his face. His fingers finally made it to her ankles, lifting each foot, taking time to flex them forward and backward checking their motion. "It seemed like it was hell bent on taking us out." Laying her right foot on the ground his eyes turned back to look at her face. "I couldn't escape it."

He was pleading with her to understand he had tried everything. And while she was well aware he would never put them in harms way, her thoughts were elsewhere.

Tornado. Tornado. Tornado. She practically chanted in her mind. Shit! They were back in the OZ. That's why there were so many trees, and trees that looked suspiciously like the one she accidentally brought back to life. Her thoughts shot back to her last day in the palace.


Two weeks after Cain high-tailed it, she stood in front of her parents, the Queen and Ahamo, with determination in her posture and a fierce need in her blood.

"I'm leaving," DG stated blandly. It was a decision she made moments after watching the retreating back of the love of her life, but allowed time to pass for appearance sake.

"Make sure you take the guards with you, Angel," the Queen replied without looking up. There was nothing in her voice indicating she understood what her youngest was implying, thinking she was going out for some air. It was only solidified by her next comment. "You know how dangerous the remaining longcoats can be so make sure you stay close to the palace."

Oh she knew alright. One of her guards had taken a bullet for her earlier in the week.

When the shots rang out Rin pounced on her back, slamming her to the ground hard enough to leave her ribs bruised. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. DG felt the bullet hit him, hearing him grunt in response. The blood from his side began to pool beneath her stomach and she tried to flip them over to attend to the wound. But even with a bullet in his side he wouldn't budge. There was no way to get out from under the man. He would rather die than allow her to be spotted by the sniper.

It seemed to take hours when in reality it was only a matter of minutes. They were some of the longest minutes of her life. Laying there knowing the man above her could die of blood loss if they did nothing to stop it. Once the sniper was taken out by the rest of the guard, Rin was carried back to palace where the bullet was removed, the wound bandaged. He would live, and for that she was eternally grateful.

It was only one more reason for her to leave. She couldn't stand the possibility of someone dying to save her. Her life was no more valuable than the life of another.

"No, you don't understand," the young lady stated with more fervor. "I'm leaving."

This time her parents raised their eyes from their breakfast, concern clouding their normally lively pools of color. They didn't respond, just looked at her curiously, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I'm returning to Kansas." Again it was neutral, no emotion evident in the words that were sure to cause her parents pain.

"I can not allow you to go back to the Other Side to retrieve your belongings." The Queen sighed, picking up a piece of toast from the plate in front of her. "We've been through this before, Sweetheart." She took a delicate bite of the buttered bread.

DG groaned. The first week in the OZ had her yearning for some of her belongings. Simple things, really. Her sketch books and charcoals, some comfortable clothing, and her CDs and player were among the items she missed. She was sure someone, probably Ambrose, could find a way to adapt the player to an Ozian power source.

Her parents had vehemently denied her request. Claiming it wasn't the appropriate time for such an excursion. In reality she thought they were just afraid she'd give her guards the slip and not return to the OZ. Since Cain was still around back then she would have returned no matter how much she longed to stay behind.

"You still aren't listening," DG barked, shaking her head ruefully. "I'm going back to Kansas to live, not to pick up my things." She paused at the stricken faces of her parents but pressed forward after two calming breaths. "I don't belong here. Hell, I probably don't belong there either, but I at least feel more comfortable in the farm house then in any of the palaces on this side."

Gracefully her mother stood to her full height. It was imposing, with her regal posture and stern facial features. "I will not have my daughter return to such a life. You're place is here. In the OZ. With your family!"

DG mimicked the stance her mother had taken, eyes flashing hotly. "It is not your decision to make. I'm leaving and nothing you can do will stop me."

Some of the energy in her body gave out causing her shoulders to slump and her head to droop. The commanding presence she was trying to evoke was not her strong suit and hard for her to maintain. As much as she wanted to go back to her old home she didn't want to hurt her parents in the process.

"Is this because of Mr. Cain?" her father finally chimed in causing her head to snap up. Her eyes were heated, brow knitted as she stared daggers at Ahamo. At times he was too observant for her liking.

DG figured honesty, or some form of it, would be the best course of action. "Yes and no," she ground out. "Its everything. Glitch is gone, Raw is gone, and…" she faltered. She couldn't say his name, her tongue refused to form the syllables.

"I'm not saying it will be forever," she added, eyeing the floor with renewed interest. It wasn't a total lie. She didn't know how long she would want to stay in Kansas, and forever seemed a bit much, but there was no time in the foreseeable future she would ever want to be back in this place.

"I just need some time to adjust to this," she waved her arm vaguely, "all of this."

It was a long time before she lifted her head but when she did she regretted it instantly. If the angry face of her mother had her stomach in knots before, the pity laced on their faces this time was more then she could bear.

"Very well, Angel," the Queen acquiesced. "I guess with the temperament of the people in the OZ right now it might be best if you left this behind for the time being. But I can not allow you to go on your own…"

Before she could finish her statement, DG abruptly cut her off.

"I figured that. Ambrose was able to restore the memory cells of Hank and Emily," she paused slightly then, she wanted to call them Mom and Dad but knew it would tear her biological parents in two. "I thought they could come with me."

The fact they agreed with her decision was hard to fathom.


She had to warn her companions. She had to tell them where they were, what to expect, even if they thought her to be insane in the process.

"Robbie, you have to listen to me," she spluttered, her head swimming causing two more Robbies to appear. "You can't call me DG here."

Confusion was written across his features. "What do you mean? I don't even know where here is."

"Well, I do," she stated back only to observe all of his eyes widen in surprise. "I know this will sound crazy but you have to believe me, in case…" DG couldn't say it, but she knew she might lose consciousness, and with her head injury who knew if she would wake up again. "We're in a place called the OZ. It's where I'm originally from and where I was for the month I was gone. I can't explain it all right now but this place has been through years of civil war." Now came the hardest part. "I'm a Princess on this side."

He reached out his hand and felt her forehead again. He didn't believe her tale. "I've never heard of the OZ."

"It isn't on Earth," she said. "I honestly don't know where it is exactly." It was the truth. In her limited time here she never asked, never thought about it. It just was. She just accepted it.

"Ok." Again, doubt.

"Look up," she commanded without force.

When he did lift his face to the sky she imagined his expression to be similar to the one she made after waking up from the first tornado ride. Robbie shook his head and blinked a few times in an effort to make the two suns meld back into one. Slowly, he lowered his eyes back to her.

"If you're a Princess, then why can't I use your name?"

Taking a few long breaths, she shook her head once more and managed to bring the count of Robbies back to two. DG continued her abbreviated life story. "I overthrew an evil witch when I was here and her supporters would love to get their hands on me. They've already tried." An involuntary shudder ran through her at how close she came to losing her life. "And before you go on about witches and magic, yes, I can do magic, too, but given my current condition," her eyes looked up and she pointed to her scalp, "I doubt I could do even the tiniest trick." DG looked at him imploringly. "Have I ever lied to you, Robbie?"

DG released a soft sigh when he shook his head no. "What should I call you?"

It was a valid question that she didn't have the faintest idea how to answer. Her given name, Dorothy or Gale, would still be a dead give away. But it had to be something they could remember. "Emily," her mother's name. It was the one legitimate name all of them knew well since the nurture unit hated formalities and chose instead for her daughter's friends to use her first name.

"Alright, Emily," Robbie smirked, "My you've changed."

"Oh, ha ha…" she spluttered.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about this place?"

He was trying to keep her awake, and boy did she want to sleep. But she forced her mouth to continue working. They had to be safe, and in a way knowledge was safety.

"You have to be careful."

"We," he corrected her.

"We have to be careful," she amended for his sake. "This place is beautiful but there are many dangers, and if I'm not mistaken we're in the fields of the papay."

"What are papay?"

"You don't want to find out," she said trying to sit up only to have Robbie push her back down. "We can't stay here!" she pleaded with him. "They'll kill us!"

Bending over her he placed one arm under her shoulders while his other hand took hold of her upper arm. Carefully he lifted her into a seated position and kept her there until her head stopped swimming. After a few moments he removed the arm from her back, grabbing hold of her other arm easing her to her feet.

The change in position made her slightly dizzy causing Robbie to latch an arm around her waist to keep her upright. DG gave a crooked smile up to him, and was thankful to observe there was only one of him. Slowly they made their way over to the others. Del was seated on a fallen log with Fran kneeling in front of him tying his right arm into a makeshift splint.

Fran's arms and legs were marred with bruises and small, surface cuts. She had one large bruise on the back of her calf that looked excruciating. As girly as she was, she was no sissy. DG knew she would walk through the pain.

Wiping the back of her hand over her brow, Fran sighed. In a swift motion she had her hair above her head, pulling the hair tie off her wrist securing it in position. The blonde locks were dusty and dirt filled in a very un-Fran-like fashion, but DG wasn't surprised that she still looked beautiful. DG envied her looks on occasion, and right then, when DG was a disheveled heap who was probably the worst looking of the three she longed for Fran's grace.

Turning her attention to the arm in the splint, DG almost retched at the sight. It was horribly swollen with a piece of bone sticking out about halfway between Del's wrist and elbow. She watched Fran take the long sleeved shirt she had worn over her current blouse in her hands. With more strength than DG thought she possessed the young lady tore the fabric to shreds. Tying some of the pieces together she tenderly laid the broken arm inside, securing the sling to his neck.

In that moment Fran reminded her of Raw. His gentle touch, the need to ease the pain of his companions was how her friend was treating Del at the moment. If only she had his full healing abilities so Del could have the use of his arm and her head would be back to pristine condition.

Subconsciously she scanned the area for one of those cocoons made by the papays. It was how they found Raw. Damn she missed the gentle viewer and his presence would certainly come in handy this time around.

Fran helped Del to his feet and the three of them looked at her. What a sight she must make. Fran moved quickly to her side, taking the remains of her shirt she wrapped them tightly around DG's head. DG winced at the pressure but once it was secure it actually made her dizziness lessen and the nausea that swept over her when she saw Del's mangled arm started to subside.

"DG can explain things on the way, but we have to leave this place." Robbie addressed the other two. "We're in danger here."

He squeezed her side gently, reassuring her he didn't think she was insane. Hell, he saw the two suns, too.

"Which way?" It was calm but there was a desperation in his eyes that led her to believe she was worse off than even she thought.

Their options were few. They had to head towards a place occupied by the royal family which left three choices. The Northern Palace, but that was still a frozen mountain the last time she was here, and she couldn't risk them walking through snow and cold to get there. Central City was option two. She remembered her parents talking about heading there for a time to show the renewed strength of the House of Gale. But it would leave them very exposed since it was such a large gathering place for all sorts of people. The final choice was Finaqua.

God, she wished Cain was there. He would know where to go, what to do. He always knew the best course of action. And his company left her feeling safe and secure no matter what dangers lurked around the bend. It was something the four of them needed at the moment. She would have to mimic his quiet strength, she would have to be brave for them because if she quailed they would follow suit.

Closing her eyes she listened to the area. There was the sound of running water behind her, the river she knew to be west of the fields. Having her bearings, she opened her eyes and pointed south. "That way."

She only hoped they could get out of the fields in one piece, with no unnecessary jumps off a cliff in the process.


AN: HIT ME!