A/N: Here's that second half I promised. Hope to hear from you guys soon. Enjoy! And as always, thanks for the reviews. They brighten my day.

Chapter VIII: Wake Up

Glitch limped through the hallways of the palace, still healing from a severely broken leg. Raw had healed it half way, but told him that it would take a few different healing sessions for it to be completely back to normal. Until then he would have a limp and be careful not to over do it on the one leg. Raw has tried to tell him to completely stay off of it, but the advisor had work to do.

He had just checked in on Lavender who had tired herself out from worry once again. Her worries about DG and Ahamo were overwhelming her and distracting her from anything else she had planned. She had lost them both for fifteen annuals, and this time she may lose them forever. Now, she was back in bed again and in a deep sleep. Emily and Hank were tending to her needs and kept a close watch on her health.

He rounded the far corner of the hallway and went down the stairs into the medical wing of the palace. Royal guards filled many of the beds with healers over each one of them, saving those they could from the battle. Glitch peeked through an open door toward the middle of the hall and saw Raw on the far side of the room trying to put together some kind of herbal remedy. He kept putting the tubes he was using up to the light coming through the curtains in the room and then he added another leaf or liquid to the mix in a bowl off to the side. In a way he kind of reminded Glitch of himself when he worked in his lab.

Glitch turned his head to the left where Azkadellia was sitting comfortably in a chair holding a new, cold cloth in her hand. She gently placed it over the forehead of the patient in the bed in front of her. He smiled and came up behind her, gently rubbing her sore shoulders. She sighed and leaned back toward him.

"How's mother doing?" Azkadellia let out a deep breath and looked up at her husband.

"Still in total distraught. Her husband and youngest daughter have been kidnapped to who knows where. She wouldn't even get out of bed this morning. She just fell back to sleep from tossing and turning for the past hour," Glitch said quietly and looked over the patient in the bed, "So how's our Tin Man?"

Azkadellia looked down at the face of her sister's fiancé with a heavy sigh, "He still hasn't awoken. It's been a dozen hours since we found him. The hit to the head must have been a heavy one."

Cain's face held an expression as if he was fighting. For all they knew he still was. The young boy who had delivered their letters had hid when Soren and his soldiers had attacked the small group on the road. The boy dragged Cain from the road and hid him behind some bushes after bandaging him the best he could. After he made sure that no one was going to disturb the injured Cain, he rode his horse hard back to the palace. They set out a rescue party and found Cain covered mostly by a large bush. The boy had saved Cain's life.

"Cain need rest," Raw came over to the other side of the bed with a small bowl in his hands for Cain, "Fever down. Won't get worse, only better now."

"How did the bullet wound heal?" Glitch asked and looked pointedly at the white bandage that was around Cain's torso.

"Leave scar, but no more injury," Raw grunted and tried to lift Cain's head enough to drain the remedy down his throat.

Then without even a hint of doing so, Cain launched himself into a sitting position and knocked Raw back, effectively breaking the bowl and made a new need to make more remedy.

"Ahamo! DG!" Cain yelled into the room and looked around his immediate area.

"Cain, calm down," Glitch put both hands out to settle the man down, "You're back at Finaqua. You need to take it easy. You were injured pretty badly."

"I don-" Cain started but then grabbed his side. The adrenaline had run down and he started to feel the pain settle in. He lowered himself back into the bed and the soft pillows behind him.

"Cain rest," Raw sighed and put the broken bowl to the side table, "Bullet out, but soreness remains. Must rest before you walk."

"How did I get here?" Cain looked at Glitch and Azkadellia.

"The messenger rode back here after the attack. He said that it was his thanks to DG for treating him as a person," Azkadellia began, "What was left of the royal guard rode out to retrieve you and the bodies of the guards who accompanied you."

"Strange enough you were only a matter of yards from the town that we stumbled upon our last journey," Glitch added and Cain understood why the road seemed so familiar, "They must have seen the abandoned town as a great opportunity to ambush you."

"Who survived?" Cain asked.

"You and the messenger were the only two who made it back alive," Azkadellia said sadly, "The other guards were executed by Soren's men."

Cain cursed to himself, "And Ahamo? Did you find him?"

"It seems as his majesty was taken with DG," Glitch added, "He has them both, Cain."

Cain closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the news. For a moment or two Glitch could see the Tin Man fighting with himself on whether or not to scream in frustration. Honor and service was life to Cain right under being with DG and his son. He had promised to take care of Ahamo and he had failed when Ahamo needed him the most. Knowing the way Cain thought and processed the situations, Glitch was sure that he was going to beat himself up about it. And after he starts on a cycle like that only DG could bring him out of it.

"I'm going to get them," Cain said in a rough voice.

"What?" Azkadellia looked down at him.

"I'm going to go get DG and Ahamo," he grunted and lifted himself higher on the pillows, "I'm going to get my fiancée and her father and bring them home. Right after I return the favor and give that guy a hole in his body- right in an area where no healer could help him."

"You're in no condition to fight," Azkadellia frowned and looked at the injured man, "He'll kill you before you even reach her."

"Raw?" Cain turned his head to his viewer friend who was trying to make the same remedy that was spilled all over the ground.

Raw sighed and turned to Cain and Azkadellia, "Cain leave in two days. Enough rest to heal."

"Then I'm going in one and a half," Cain sat completely straight up in bed, "I am not giving that guy a chance to do anything with either one of them. Especially DG."

"Then Raw go with you. Tin Man too stubborn to stay. Raw heal on road," Raw said and handed him the bowl, "Drink. It help muscles."

Cain quickly downed the remedy and then handed the bowl back, "That tastes like DG's health bars from the other side."

Glitch scrunched on his face and sneered at the remedy, "Like her granola bars?"

"Worse," Cain stuck out his tongue in an effort to get the taste away from his tongue.

"Well, I suppose if you and Raw are going, I should go too," Glitch smiled and looked at Cain and Raw, "I can't leave DG and his majesty to Lord Soren. He could kill either one of them. And besides that, I want to see him when you get to him, Cain."

"What about the queen and Az?" Cain asked him, "Do we leave them unprotected?"

"We will be fine," Azkadellia smiled softly and put a hand over one of Glitch's that was still on her shoulder, "Mother and I have shared magic before. We can strengthen the bond once again. We have plenty of royal guards and healers here. If we have to resort to magic we will."

"How did he get through the guard here?" Cain asked.

"He used trickery," Azkadellia frowned, "He kept most of the royal guard in the front where he was. Then a legion of his forces went unnoticed around the back side of the grounds. The rules of raising colors are simple. If you wish to attack against the royal palace, then you attack in a straight line at the front. Soren and his troops instead slipped into the hallways and made it to DG's door. He ignored the rules of battle engagement and as such, we weren't even prepared to use our magic."

"I felt something off and ran toward the royal chambers and got myself caught," Glitch kicked himself mentally, "He pushed the rest of the guard back using me as a human shield. He then told DG to give herself up if she wanted me to survive. At first she didn't submit and I was happy for it. Then the… he broke my leg and that was the last straw for DG. She bolted through the door and right into his arms. She tried to use the Ages, but he sliced her arm with a black blade. I believe it has some magic abilities."

"Why's that?"

"Her magic stopped glowing and she fainted," Glitch finished, "And just like that they were gone."

"Down the road to pick up Ahamo," Cain took a deep breath and Glitch almost caught the growl rumbling deep in his chest, "We need to get packed."

"And where do you hope to go?" Azkadellia asked, "We don't know where in Winkie Country Soren is. Mother knows where his parent's castle was, but for that specific reason, he won't use it. So with his people backing him he could hide anywhere in that country."

"Is there anyway that you could possibly track DG through your magic?" Cain asked.

"Usually I could and I tried as soon as he took off with her," Azkadellia looked out the far window, "But I think that blade took most if not all her magic. I can't even connect to her on the most basic levels. If she was awake she could start to rebuild them, but I don't know how long that blade will keep her asleep. I only pray that it is not an eternal sleep."

There was an uneasy silence that surrounded the small group. Glitch took a deep sigh and looked at Azkadellia, "I think we should let him rest. That was a lot of information for him to handle in one setting. We'll be back later tonight, Cain. I'll bring you some dinner."

"Take care of her, zipper-head," Cain looked at Glitch and then focused his eyes where Azkadellia had a hand over her swollen stomach, "Both of them."

"Don't worry, Cain," Azkadellia put a hand over one of his, "We'll bring her back home."

"I know," he nodded. Glitch and Azkadellia walked from the room and toward their room. They had much to discuss and Glitch had to get ready for the rescue ahead.

"Sleep good for Cain," Raw came up and put a hand on Cain's shoulder, "Remedy help. Will heal again once awake."

"I can't sleep," Cain shook his head, "It was bad enough on the road without her. Now to know that some man has her… and could be doing anything-"

"DG strong," Raw reminded Cain, "DG fight. He not touch her heart like Cain. No one ever like Cain."

Cain stared up at the ceiling and swallowed hard. Raw sighed and put a hand on Cain's forehead, "Try sleep, Cain. Big journey ahead."

This time blackness didn't cover his vision. Cain closed his eyes and saw DG right in front of him. She was smiling at him and holding her sketch book in her lap. She turned her head to the side and yelled out to someone in the long grass at the edge of Finaqua's shores. Cain's eyes followed where she was looking and saw two pairs of bright blue eyes peer out from the grass. That was soon followed by a patch of blonde and then black hair. Two children were playing in the waters and DG laughed at their antics.

This would have been one of the many dreams that kept him going through the days at the palace. The long, repetitive days with lessons and meetings and royal etiquette. To know that one day it would be him and DG living the rest of their lives together. But now, he had wished that the blackness would come back and cover the scene in front of him. Because it was this dream he was losing every moment that Soren had DG….

…And it was breaking his heart all over again. As if he was back in that iron maiden and unable to turn away.

Meanwhile in the Eastern lands of Winkie Country, DG was laying in a bed tucked to the side of a small room. She felt herself coming back to consciousness and the stinging sensation in her arm from the blade Soren was carrying. She groaned and pulled the arm toward her, cradling it against her chest. She could feel a bandage was around it, but it didn't help the pain any. It felt like a cut and once she had her head back together she would try to heal it herself and then blow a hole in the wall and out of whatever place she's been thrown in.

She opened her eyes and looked around the small room. It was a simple room, much like her room was back in Kansas. The bed took up the most space in the area and a small dresser was next to the large door. A very large door with what she suspected was an even larger lock. She frowned and placed her feet on the ground to feel if she could support herself. Whatever that blade was laced with did a job on her and she didn't want to hit the floor hard and knock herself out again. She put pressure on both feet and was able to stand, even if she was a bit unstable. She walked to the window- the barred window- and tried to find any landmarks she knew of.

'No such luck for DG,' she thought sarcastically to herself.

Outside the window was a vast desert and she couldn't see anything for miles. The room she was in must be at the border of the desert because she still smelt the pine trees and some kind of flowers from nearby. She leaned back and then haphazardly jumped on the window seal to look straight down the side. She must have been at least on the eighth floor. Down below in the sand was what looked like bodies laid out in different positions. She would have thought to help them if it wasn't for the fact that they looked like they were made of sand. She thought to herself for a moment and back to Tutor's lessons of the geography of the O.Z.

"Mother said he and his family are from Winkie Country," she closed her eyes and tried to picture the map in front of her, "The Eastern realms of Winkie Country are all bordered by… oh crap."

She opened her eyes and looked out the window again, sitting on the window seal in semi-defeat, "Well, there goes the idea of blasting a hole through the wall and making a run for it. I doubt I'd want to take the chance of walking through the Deadly Desert- chosen heir to the throne or not. I don't think that this portion of the O.Z. is all that picky on who gets turned into a sandy sculpture."

She sighed and tilted her head to the side to check if she was clear headed yet. Her vision didn't swirl or spin so she shrugged and took her left hand and placed it over her right arm where the bandage covered the cut to her arm.

"Damn bastard," she cursed Soren. A small spark came from her fingertips and covered the cut and bandage. Her magic was weak and at the best she could probably speed the healing process, but the cut was going to stay for a little while. She sighed and pulled her hand away, "That will have to do for now."

The door looked like it was heavy duty, even if it was only made out of wood. If she had her power over the elements working than she could burn it down in no time with some fire. But that would also lead to the problem of everything else catching on fire and not enough time to get out. There was the idea of just blowing a hole anywhere in the room, but that still had the problem of her powers not being back up and running once again. She blew some of her bangs away from her face. The only window didn't have much of a view or room to escape and the door was a no go. She couldn't do her impressive blasting abilities either.

She quickly sat on the floor and closed her eyes to concentrate. With what little magic she did have at the time she would have to focus hard to reach her sister or mother through their magic connection. Hopefully they were open to receive her.

'Az… come on, Az,' she thought in her mind and tried to reach out for her, 'Pick up. Pick me up and answer me…'

Her eyebrows knitted together and her mind ran straight into a blank wall. She was almost thrown back by the force of it, but stayed sitting upright on the floor. She grabbed a small pillow from the nearby bed and screamed into it from frustration. It would take more time to build up her magic to make a full call to Azkadellia. Something that she was probably running very low on.

"Getting aggravated, princess?" a voice called from her doorway and she glared over the pillow to her captor.

"You're blocking my powers," she frowned, "How?"

"I have a little magic of my own," he smiled and patted the blade at his hip, "I needed to level the playing field a little more to my advantage. I don't have any magic to battle against yours in a fair fight, so I took yours away. At least most of it."

"Ah, so I'm dealing with a coward," she smirked up at him.

"Not so much a coward as much as a planner," he frowned. Apparently DG hit a nerve. But the victory only lasted a moment or two. He smiled down at her again and she went on the defense and got off the floor, "I've got a visitor for you."

"Cain?" DG's heart raced. If he had Cain he wasn't going to keep him alive for long.

"Guess again," Soren reached to the side of the door and pulled Ahamo into view.

"Father," DG gasped and Ahamo raced forward and wrapped DG in a hug.

He pulled her back and looked her over, "Are you okay?"

"Just a cut on the arm," she lifted her right arm a little, "You?"

"A good bump on the noggin," he shifted his eyes to look straight up.

"Where's Cain?" she asked and his eyes dropped to the floor, "Father… where's Wyatt?"

"I don't know, they knocked me out," Ahamo looked back at Soren and two of his guards.

"Where is he?" DG asked.

"I am not sure, princess," he said slowly and sighed, "The last I saw of Wyatt Cain, he was laying on the ground with a bullet in his side… calling out your name."