It was barren, frozen wasteland. The bare earth was dry and as the wind blew, small spirals, like miniature twisters, blew the dust across the ground. Nothing grew here. There was no light. The unnatural cold was barely tolerable and Cain could feel it piercing his coat, then his skin, and slowly working its way in to his heart.

Situated in a deep well of rock at least ten spans across, they found the Suket where LaRue told them they would. The fortress was a hulking monster carved from the very mountain upon which it sat. Sinister and sharp turrets clawed at the gray heavens. At its center, thick, foreboding towers stretched to the dark clouds.

Below them, around the base of the castle, there was plain of open territory where they saw people moving from beneath the mountain, pushing large carts of rock. Cain felt his anger rising as he looked down on them. Many were staggering with exhaustion others had wrapped rags around their hands to keep out the frigid chill that the Suket existed in.

All around, they stood. Staring icily down at their charges were pale guards dressed in crisp white uniforms. The black side-arms they wore strapped to their hips stood out sharply against the cloth.

This was going to be impossible. He rubbed his throbbing head and tried to ignore the screaming protests of his limbs. Azkadellia had been right. It was like a poison moving through his veins, inviting him to stop fighting, to succumb and be done with the whole sorry business.

Nothing matters anymore, Cain. You won't save the princess. You'll just die. And then she'll die. You failed again.

Fighting back the wave of hopelessness, he tried to tune in to what was going on. He couldn't give in to this thing, not yet. He had a job to do. His friends needed him.

He held on to that thought with every iota of resistance he could muster.

Cain glanced at Glitch. The man had rode like he was possessed to get here and for once, Cain had found himself hard-pressed to keep pace. And now, perched on their overhang of rock, Glitch's face was pale and taut as he studied the scene below them.

For Glitch's sake, for Azkadellia's sake, he had to keep it together.

He focused hard on the scene below. Cain took in everything, the pattern of the guards as they patrolled, the lay of the land. Darkness was falling now, and the only hope they had of getting into the place was sneaking in without being seen. "This isn't going to be easy."

"That's where I need to get to." Glitch pointed to the middle tower. It was a thick, nasty looking structure jutting up from the center of the fortress. "That tower is what they'll use to conduct the energy and spread the cold. The power generator is going to beneath it."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me." Glitch replied grimly.

With a smile, Cain remembered a time not long ago where he wouldn't have trusted Glitch to find his way out of a paper bag. Times had changed.

"It's starting to get dark." The other man observed.

"They're probably expecting something like this, you know." Cain said.

"I know." Resignation was set in Glitch's tone as he turned to smile humorlessly to Cain. "But it's not like we've got a lot of choices, is it?"

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Glitch replied before following Cain.

There was nothing left.

After tethering the horses, Jeb, Raw, and DG had walked to the gray ruins of the City of Emeralds. The light that had drawn them had faded when the remains had come into view, sitting unobtrusively on a slight rise. DG's heart sank as Raw and Jeb pushed the old, weathered door open. It protested, creaking on its hinges as it swung in. DG crossed the threshold taking it all in.

Vines and other plants had rooted themselves in crack in the bare stone floor. The walls, which DG assumed had once been encrusted with emeralds, were gray and crumbling. The wind blew mournfully through the large, broken windows.

"I'm sorry, DG." Jeb said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

She barely heard him.. Jeb and Raw were still beside her, but in her mind's eye, she was alone. And a desolate, cold wind was blowing.

She let herself go back into the memory which was faded like an old black-and-white movie. The yellow brick road that had traversed the countryside had been uprooted. The City of Emeralds was reduced to an empty, gray shell.

Trees stood dead in their orchards and the meadow bore brown, rustling grass. The skies were laden with clouds so dense that no light from the twin suns could pierce it.

A voice rode the wind, mournful. I shouldn't have left. They asked me to stay.

Her heart ached and she sank to the ground, feeling as though she had lost a friend. It felt as though a part of her had been torn away. She could feel the land dying, begging for her to help it, to mend it, to make it whole again.

"Winter threatens the O.Z. again." A voice called, louder. "It is in your power to stop it."

"DG?" Jeb was kneeling beside her where she sat on the cold marble. "Are you all right?"

"Look!"

At Raw's bidding, the pair looked around them. A gentle glow spread from where DG sat, turning the gray floor into the most beautiful shade of jade marble. When it reached the walls, it climbed them, turning what was old and broken into warm, deep green. The wind ceased toying with her hair as the ceilings completed themselves, almost too high above her for DG to see. Emeralds flashed everywhere. The doors behind them were wrought in green and gold. It shone so brightly, that DG had to squint to take in the highest arches of the splendid castle.

As they watched in wonder, souls forever tied to this place materialized before them. There was man with a thick moustache in a green uniform and furry hat that guarded the gate. A stout little man tipped his hat from the seat of his coach before clucking to an animated pony that was the most remarkable shade of orange. Men and women, couples, children, the elderly, hundreds of bright souls paraded past DG, Jeb and Raw.

Her companions were staring about them in shock, but DG felt a familiar feeling of hope and home here. This had been a wonderful place. But after its destruction, nothing would have ever been able to replace it. As beautiful as it was, its magic belonged to the past and its splendor served only as a memory of things that were gone and of things that could yet be saved. Its loss was a reason to fight now.

DG moved along, smiling as the spirits she passed nodded their respectful salutations, welcoming her as a visitor, even if she did not belong to their era. Before her stood a low, wide dais with the largest doors she had ever seen.

As she watched, they opened and four figures emerged, side by side.

To the far left was a beautiful lion, his muscles rippling beneath the sleek fur as he moved. To the far right was a scarecrow, wobbly on his legs, but determined to keep pace with his companions. Beside him was the Tin Man they had discovered in the apple orchard, shiny and polished. And in between them was a girl no more than fifteen, her hair in pigtails, and a smile upon her face.

She was aware that Jeb and Raw had each taken a knee behind her, but DG just smiled at her great-great-grandmother. "We meet again."

Dorothy's blue eyes studied her, a spark of wisdom in them that belied her youthful appearance. Her voice was ethereal when she spoke. "What have your journeys taught you?"

DG thought for a second. How could she possibly convey all that she had learned? But the more she thought, the easier it became. There was a common thread. "For all of its weirdness, the O.Z. is a wonderful place. And I may not understand every part of it or everyone who inhabits it, but it's all worth saving. It's my home."

"Very good." Dorothy nodded with a small, approving smile.

"That's it?" Jeb asked as he stood up behind DG. "All this way to find that out?"

"Raw could tell DG that." The Viewer said.

DG shook her head, her eyes never leaving Dorothy and her friends. "I think I had to figure that one out for myself."

Dorothy's smile became more of a smirk. "There may be hope for the House of Gayle, yet."

DG jumped when she felt her feet growing warm, when she looked, the beautiful Silver Slippers had appeared on her feet. In disbelief, she stared at them.

"These Slippers," Dorothy said, "will take you where you need to go. But that is the extent of their power."

DG smiled at her own enlightenment. To think, she had trekked all this way to find these things, hoping to restore her magic. All along she had had the power to do that and all she was getting out of these shoes was a free ride. "Will they take Jeb and Raw, too?"

"I'm not wearing them." Jeb stated flatly.

"Yes," Dorothy laughed aloud at him before she sobered. "And you must hurry. Already, dark plans have been set in motion. It is up to you to stop the darkness."

DG bowed her head. "This is the second time you've helped me."

The girl exchanged a look with her friends before commenting. "I doubt it will be the last, either."