Dusk fell and twilight began over the O.Z. By this time rumors about the attacks started to spread from city to city and village to village.

Zero and Lieutenant Lundgren's men had made a simple camp outside of a small village for a few hours of rest. Even with the arrangements of having fresh horses ready twice a day it was still going to take them three more days to reach Calvert. Then the ride from Calvert to Central City would be a few more hours on top of that.

The men had been talking about the attacks but their chatter grew silent as Zero walked past them. His reputation was legendary and it left them in both awe and fear.

Zero paid them no attention and entered Lundgren's tent. Lundgren was sitting on a small upturned log, using it as a stool. He was looking down at a map, one that showed Central City and the other large cities in the O.Z. It was Zero's and he had drawn circles around the cities that were to be attacked. Without looking up he said to Zero, "The Father only told me about Central City's attack. He never said anything about the other ones."

Zero looked down at him, "There was no reason to tell you about the other cities. It wasn't your mission." He then reached inside his coat and pulled out an envelope. "Go read this to your men. It's a message from the Father if the attacks on the cities were successful."

Lundgren stood up and took the envelope from Zero. He opened and read it. With a sarcastic smirk, he asked Zero, "You're not going to come out and celebrate with me and my men?"

Zero's eyes just narrowed. Lundgren snorted and left the tent, leaving Zero alone in silence. "The little boy might grow a set of balls yet," he said to himself.

Zero opened his pack and took out a flask. He took a long swig out of it. Then he sat down on the log and began to eat his supper. He lifted up a metal spoon, stared at it, and then twirled it between his fingers. To no one in particular he quietly said, "Soon you little fucking bastard."

Evening came and the Queen had not yet summoned him for their meeting. Cain did not expect her to; not after learning that there were more attacks in the other larger cities.

He continued to stare out in to the distance. He was near the visitor's chambers, standing out on one of the balconies. The fires from the explosion lit up the night sky and the occasional siren broke the silence. The rest of the city was unusually quiet, as though it was in mourning.

He heard footsteps behind him and he instinctively reached for his gun.

"It's just me Cain," DG said.

He dropped his hand back down and let it rest on the railing.

"Hey there princess." It was a line that he had not said in a very long time.

She walked up beside him and looked out over the distance. "I never thought that this would ever happen here."

Cain turned and looked at her. She was dressed in dark green flannel pajamas and had a large blanket wrapped around her. Cain replied, "Yeah, I know what you mean," and he turned back to look out over the city. It had never been attacked, even under the Witch's reign.

"I stopped by to see how Jill was doing and Elsie, the chambermaid, wouldn't let me in," she tried to smile as she said it. "You know how motherly Elsie can be sometimes." She paused, "I was on my way back to my room when I saw you standing out here."

Cain continued to look out in the distance, and said softly, "Jill doesn't want to see anyone right now."

"She's probably just tired, that's all." DG said. Even though she had not talked to him in over a year, she still could tell when something was troubling him. That was the easy part. Getting him to talk about it had always been a different story.

There was a long silence between them. Sirens sounding off in the distance broke it. She asked him, "Cain, what happened back there?"

DG saw him grip the railing a little harder. She added, "Cain, we all saw the blood on Jill's jacket."

Without turning to look at her he finally replied, "She did a mercy killing."

DG gasped. "A what?"

He continued to look at the city skyline, refusing to look at her. "I left her alone and she ran off to help some victims. There was a lieutenant who was burnt badly and his legs were blown off." He heard DG take in another sharp breath. "But he was still alive. He begged her to end his life and she did." He stopped and then added, "That was the gunshot that you heard."

"Jesus Christ," She muttered under her breath. During the past year she had defended and protected Az; but she never had to kill to do it. Then she involuntarily shivered; the winter chill was starting to seep through her blanket.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her draw her blanket around her closer. "You had better get back inside where it's warmer. Otherwise you'll catch a cold."

She looked at him, and reached out her hand. She laid it on top of his. He did not pull his hand away, but he did not turn to look at her either. "Cain, I'm sure that she's okay. Elsie will make sure that she gets some sleep." She hesitated, "Then you can try talking to her again tomorrow morning. Besides we all could do with some rest." She left her hand linger a moment longer on his and then pulled it away.

He said nothing and they both continued to stare out over the city. She turned to walk away and it was Cain's turn to ask, "DG….. why is Az's face scarred?"

She stopped and drew the blanket even closer around her. He was still looking out over the city. I guess it's my turn.

She took a step back closer to him. "After you left," her voice broke unexpectedly and she caught herself. She recalled the memory of the day that Cain walked out of her life. She swallowed and started over again, "After you left, Az broke down. She couldn't handle what was going on." She paused as she thought back to those terrible days. "Everywhere, people hated her, even from within the palace." With a sigh she went on, "There were riots and assassination attempts. Mother and Father had to forbid her from going outside the palace." She stopped as another siren sounded; then she continued. "Then she started having the nightmares that the Witch was still inside her. It became real to her." She stopped again and Cain turned to look at her. His blue eyes reflected the moonlight. She had to bite her lip in order to keep her composure. "One day I found her on her knees in the main throne room. She was raking her nails down her face, screaming for the Witch to get out of her." DG's voice started to tremble, "Cain, I had to use my magic against her. I had to stop her from hurting herself any more." Tears started to stream down her face because she could not hold them back any longer. "I sent her flying across the room and she landed against the far wall." He looked down at her compassionately and she shook her head, "I used too much magic. She hit the wall so hard she ended up with a concussion and she broke her wrist and some of her ribs." The tears continued to stream down her face and she took another step closer to him. Cain hesitated and then put his hands on her shoulders. He did not want to come any closer to him. No, you can't, it's her and Glitch now. "DG, you had to do what you had to do. Az was destroying herself."

DG simply nodded her head yes. She knew that Cain was holding back. She couldn't blame him.

She took an edge of her blanket and wiped some of the tears away. "That's when Dr. Addison came. Mother and Father had to do something and he just showed up from the Royal Academy."

Cain's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by he just showed up?"

"I don't know. He just did the one day. He went through the normal channels and asked for an audience with both Mother and Father." She took the edge of the blanket and finished wiping away a few stray tears. "The next thing I know Mother and Father told me that he would be giving psych help to Az."

She read his face and saw that same suspicious expression he always had around strangers. She suddenly felt defensive. "Look Cain, he has helped Az a lot. She still has her good days and bad days; but each day she gets more like her old self." She paused and then thought to hell with it, "Besides, it wasn't like you were around to give your seal of approval."

Instead of seeing anger she saw a look of hurt pass over Cain's face. All he said was, "I'm sorry DG. I didn't mean to second-guess you……I'm glad to hear that Az is doing better." His gut told him that he was lying to himself; that Dr. Addison's appearance was too coincidental. He ignored it, at least for now.

She involuntarily shivered again. She had forgotten how cold she had been getting earlier. Her shivering was evident and he told her once again, "You better get inside."

"Yeah I guess you're right." She instinctively knew with that change of subject he wouldn't be talking the rest of the night. She took one last look at the city and then turned and walked away. She paused in the doorway and looked back at him. He had been watching her. Seeing him standing there in his hat and long winter duster made her think back to the old days.

"Cain?"

A moment passed before he answered, "Yeah, DG?"

"I'm glad that you're back."

He continued to look at her. She hoped that he would say something, anything, but he did not. All he did was nod. She sighed and went back inside.

Cain heard her footsteps go away and then turned to look back over the city. DG, I don't know if I am or not.

Morning finally came and the twin suns began to illuminate Central City.

Dr. Addison was already in his private office, looking out over the city, when his mark began to tingle and then burn. He staggered over to his desk and sat down with his head in his hands. The Father's voice entered his mind, "As I read your thoughts Xavier I see that the princess was in danger. Why did you let her go?"

The mark burned harder and Dr. Addison silently responded back, "Father, I did not know that they were shopping in the downtown district. She told me that they were going to go to the east side."

"FOOL!," roared the Father. Dr. Addison tumbled onto the floor and curled up. Tears came to his eyes and he brought his arm up to his mouth to try to stifle his cries of pain.

The Father continued, "Out of your ignorance she could have been killed." There was a long pause and in Dr. Addison's mind flashed images of him meeting Jill. The images flashed by faster and faster; so fast it started to make him nauseous. "So that is my Daughter, my precious, precious Daughter," said the Father. "At least you have done something to please me." The only thing that Dr. Addison could do was to mumble in acknowledgment. The pain was too great to do much of anything else.

There was a long pause and the pain from the mark subsided slightly. "You will need to get my Daughter out of the palace; out of the reach of the Tin Man." The Father's voice lingered a bit. "Lieutenant Lundgren and his men are on their way. Once they arrive they will escort you, the princess, and my Daughter."

Dr. Addison sat up against his desk. The mark still throbbed but at least he could move. "What about the Tin Man's son?" he asked.

There was a short pause, "You will not have to worry about him. General Zero will take care of it."

"General Zero?" gasped Dr. Addison. "He's coming here?"

"Yes, Xavier. General Zero is accompanying Lieutenant Lundgren. Think of it as an insurance policy."

Dr. Addison hastily replied, "Of course my Father. How soon do you believe that the lieutenant will arrive?"

"In three or four days time," responded the Father. "And Xavier, do not disappoint me again." The mark flared and Dr. Addison cried out in pain. And then it was over. He breathed heavily and he reached in his vest pocket for a handkerchief to mop the sweat from his forehead.

There was a knock on the door. "Just a moment," cried out Dr. Addison. He quickly mopped the rest of the sweat from his face and threw the handkerchief in to the waste basket. "Come in!"

The door opened, and Petey Staggart stood before him. "Mornin' Dr. Addison. I didn't know if you would be in yet or not."

"Come in Petey. Today is an early day for me," Dr. Addison replied.

"I don't have time to stay considering what happened downtown. But I needed to give you this." Petey handed a large envelope to Dr. Addison.

Dr. Addison smiled. The thoughts of the Father torturing left his mind. "Why thank you, Petey. You just made my day."

Jill had been invited to breakfast with DG and Glitch. Elsie had laid out some clothes for her the night before. They consisted of a simple long dark blue dress, with matching dark hosiery, and an ivory wool shawl. She took it as a not-so-subtle hint that her current attire was not suitable for the palace.

As she was getting dressed, Elsie reappeared, practically flying through the door. She was an older lady with her gray hair pulled up tightly into a bun. She wore a proper black and white maid's outfit. "Come, come, my dear. Hurry up. Princess Dorothy and Ambrose are waiting for you."

Elsie gasped and stopped dead in her tracks. She saw the remnants of the broken mirror, and the bedside lamp knocked onto the floor. The contents of the dresser shelf were heaped up on a little pile on the floor and the smell of perfume remained in the air. "By the gods my dear! What happened here?!" Elsie asked incredulously.

Jill's miserable look said it all, "I'm sorry for creating the mess Elsie. I lost my temper last night."

"Oh." Elsie looked a little confused and little frightened all at the same time. She swallowed hard and then regained her composure. "I'll summon some of the other chambermaids to finish cleaning up the mess. Come, I'll take you downstairs. They're waiting for you."

Jill followed Elsie out the door and stayed a step behind her. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before. Cain had stopped by to talk to her and she blew him off. She was angry at her world, his world, and everything that had happened to her these past five days. After Elsie left she tried to leave her room but the guard stopped her. It was then that she took her anger out on the contents of her chamber. By now though, the anger was gone and replaced by sadness and shame. Her thoughts drifted to Craig. He would have been appalled by her current behavior.

By this time they arrived at a small, private dining hall. DG and Glitch were seated at a far table. When they entered the room, Glitch smiled broadly and waved them over.

As Glitch greeted Jill, Elsie pulled DG aside and whispered in her ear. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Elsie excused herself, and DG said, "Good morning Jill." Then she cautiously asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"

Elsie reappeared as they were finishing breakfast. She handed a small envelope to Glitch. He opened it up and smiled in his typical fashion. DG finished off her coffee and asked, "What is it?"

"It's a note from Cain." He started to summarize what he wrote. "He wants me to escort Jill for most of the day since he has to go to work." He continued reading and then his smile faded away. He put the note down on the table and then smiled again. He looked over at Jill, "Well, it looks like it's me and you for the day. Cain wants me to show you the palace and the grounds. There's all sorts of stuff I can show you." He stood up from the table and asked Jill, "Are you ready?"

Jill took a deep breath and then stood up. She resigned herself to being sightseer for the day, "Lead away Glitch."

Glitch went over, placed his hand gently on DG's shoulder, and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You don't mind doll, do you?"

"Oh. Of course not Glitch. I was going to go see how Az was doing anyway. I'll meet up with you two at lunch." She replied as her hand touched his.

After she watched them leave the dining area, she picked up the note that Glitch left behind. She unfolded it and began to read.

Glitch,

I need to return to work and take care of some business. I'll try to be back to the palace by evening. Please escort Jill and show her around the palace. If you do go out on the grounds, get a guard. And don't go any farther than the stables. If anything happens, whatever you do, don't leave the palace. I'll get there as soon as I can.

-- Cain

DG read the paragraph a few more times. No matter how many times she read it, the message did not change. "Oh Cain," DG muttered to herself. What do you think is going on?