A/N: just as a sort of warning, I'm literally just making this bit up as I go. I haven't written this in my notebook and gone over it or anything. So it might not be as good or that clear. I'm hoping it will be though. Also, it might take me longer than usual to post it.
"What do you mean something is wrong with the O.Z. your majesty?" Glitch asked. "I was hoping you could find out and tell me Ambrose," the Queen sighed wearily. "Could you perhaps tell me what has been going on that told you this? Maybe I can go from there," the advisor sat attentively, listening and remembering.
"It began shortly after you all left. I received news from all over the kingdom of odd weather patterns. In the span of one week, there was a drought, a flood, and an unnatural windstorm. Nearly a tornado. Not only that, the creatures are behaving most oddly, migrating and attacking for no reason. And," she paused, worried. "And?" Glitch asked. "And…it feels as though the O.Z. is fading." "Fading? As in disappearing?" "Yes."
Glitch stood, pacing around the room, thinking. "I'm sure I can figure out the problem your majesty. Unfortunately, I'll have to spend most of my time in my lab," he muttered, aware Wyatt wouldn't like that. "I don't suppose you want your partners, do you?" the Queen smiled softly. "I don't think they're keen to work with me much anymore," he chuckled.
Not too long ago, Glitch had been reintroduced to the inventors and advisors who he had worked with as Ambrose. What he hadn't known was they had been jealous of him being the top advisor and inventor. They mocked him for not remembering much, and for allowing himself to have half his brain removed. To which he'd responded that he at least had stayed with the Queen, not run off with his tail between his legs. There'd been some comments made about how he had changed not for the better, and that no self-respecting advisor would consort with a 'lowly Tin Man with anger issues'. And though it hadn't been said out loud about him, and Wyatt, and Wes, the word freaks had hung in the air like a poisonous haze.
Glitch had walked out 10 minutes later, breathing heavy, and told the Queen he would prefer to work without a team. Wyatt had peeked into their meeting room later, and seen the advisors and inventors limping out, moaning in pain.
"I should go tell Wyatt that I'll be busy," Glitch sighed, knowing he wasn't going to like it. "I'm sorry to take you away from Mr. Cain Ambrose. I wouldn't ask unless it was an emergency such as this." "Don't worry about it. I'm sure once I explain it to him, he'll understand," Glitch left the room, scuffling his feet.
He was swept into a tight hug, a familiar holster digging into his chest. "Wyatt?" "Glitch, I'm a grandpa," Cain said happily, practically spinning down the hall with Glitch still trapped in his arms. "Jeb's wife had a daughter. Marie Adora Cain. We're going to see her," Cain let Glitch down. "We?" Glitch felt guilt bubbling in his stomach. "Yeah. We. You, me, Wes. It'll be fun. What did the Queen want?"
Glitch leaned against the wall, inhaling deeply. "I can't go with you and Wes." "Why?" Cain's face fell. "Something has gone wrong with the O.Z. and the Queen needs me to find out. Now. I need to research this, spend time in my lab," Glitch explained quietly. "What do you mean by 'wrong'?" "I mean that I think that windstorm was just the beginning. And the Queen says she can feel the O.Z. fading. This could get really bad Wyatt."
Cain sighed, feeling let down. "Alright sweetheart. This is important so I'm not too disappointed. Wes and me will go though. A father son type thing. I'll teach him about camping and everything," Cain said thoughtfully. "Oh gods," Glitch groaned. He had an image of Wes coming back with Wyatt dressed just like him, even with a matching fedora. And going on about being outdoorsy. "However, don't think I'm leaving you with something to remember me by," Cain smirked at Glitch, who grinned in return. "I wouldn't let you Wyatt. You can count on that."
"So, does this make me a step grandfather type thing?" Glitch asked as he walked down the hall with Wyatt. "Something like that. I wish you could come with us. It won't be that much fun without you. I'll have to keep telling myself it's for the good of the O.Z. But we'll be gone about…two to two and a half weeks." "Yes well, go easy on Wes while you're out in the 'great outdoors'. Remember, he takes after me, he's a thinker not a hiker," Glitch said gently. Cain snorted, like his son would learn to appreciate the outdoors whether he wanted to or not.
The next few days kept Glitch and Wyatt apart except for mealtimes and when they collapsed into bed, exhausted and asleep within seconds. Glitch was in his lab, going over notes and trying to find a cause for the strange occurrences in the O.Z. Cain was overseeing preparations for his trip, making sure the horses were ready and they were both packed. The night before they left, he and Wes had a shouting match because Wes tried to pack three bags worth of books and his chemistry set.
"You'll be back soon?" Glitch asked softly. "Of course. And don't worry, I'll be nice to Wes," Cain pulled Glitch too him, planting a warm kiss on his lips. "I'll see you soon," he swung into the saddle and lead Wes down the path to the woods. Glitch watched them go sadly, already missing Wyatt.
"You ok Glitch?" DG asked quietly. "Yeah. I'll deal with it. I mean, we've been apart before. It's ok," he sighed, "I have to go to my lab."
DG, seeing Glitch was going to stave of his loneliness without Cain by staying in his lab, took it upon herself to ensure he ate. She cut a hole in his lab door, and installed a little flap, like a doggy door, so she could push a plate of food in at mealtimes. Which he appreciated, as he, for all intents and purposes, stayed in his lab every day.
Meanwhile, things were going fairly well for Cain and his younger son. Wes had eventually gotten over his anger at his father, and talked to him. In fact, he learned a lot about survival from him. He was a quick study in learning to fish, tack and catch food, and general camping, which resulted in an incredibly proud Wyatt Cain.
"Dad!" Jeb rushed out of his house to greet his father. "Jeb! Great to see you son," Cain embraced his son, who was now his height. When had his son grown up? He used to be so little, playing with his toy guns and horses.
"Hey Wes, how's things going?" Jeb ruffled his little brother's hair. "Good, dad taught me to catch a fish," Wes grinned. "Oh really? He did? Great, I remember when he taught me. He fell in the river," Jeb chuckled. "That damn fish jerked my line out of my hands," Cain protested.
"So where's Glitch?" Jeb asked. "Dad couldn't come. The Queen asked him to research something really important. I don't know what. But he really wanted to come," Wes said, proud of his advisor father. Jeb gave his father a look, questioning. Cain nodded, saying silently that he'd elaborate later. They hadn't quite told Wes yet, not wanting him to worry.
"So, would you like to see your granddaughter?" Jeb looked at his father. "Of course, lead the way," Cain followed his eldest son into the house, his younger son bouncing about at his heels. Jeb lead them up the stairs, to the bedroom where his wife lay on the bed, holding his daughter.
"Jeb, she's adorable," Cain said softly. Holly, Jeb's wife, smiled at her father-in-law. "Would you like to hold her?" "Can I?" Holly lifted the infant into Cain's arms. "Hey there Marie," he said, smiling down at her. She had the typical Cain blonde hair, but her eyes were a rich, warm brown, like her mother's.
"Hi Marie," Wes stood up on tiptoe to see her. "I'm your uncle Wes." He tickled under her chin, and she grabbed his finger, sucking on it. Jeb snorted at his younger brother, "Just be glad she doesn't have teeth," he said. "Yet," Wes rolled his eyes. He didn't like the thought of becoming his niece's teething ring.
Life was not going nearly as well for Glitch.
The inventor and advisor worked at all hours, falling asleep whenever he crashed, managing to drag himself to the sofa in the corner, cuddling into a blanket Wyatt often used when he slept there. It made him miss Wyatt more, it was warm, and soft, and smelled like Wyatt; the sharp smell of pine trees, the smoky smell of something cooking over a fire, and something warm and unidentifiable but that was still unmistakably Wyatt.
Glitch lost all sense of time as he did his research and experiments. None of the results were good. They in fact filled the former head case with a dawning sense of horror. Because he'd been right, and if it wasn't fixed soon, it meant doom for the O.Z.
Two and a half weeks passed quickly for Wyatt. He continued teaching Wes, instructing him on chopping firewood, and how to read the weather. He kept his son interested by telling him girls, and most especially princesses, loved a guy who could handle the wilderness and survive. By the end of their stay, Wes had added some muscles to his skinny frame, and actually tanned somewhat. He carried himself taller, almost swaggering. He couldn't wait to show off his new 'brain and brawn' look to Wren.
The Palace was in their sights, and it was difficult to say who was more excited to be back, Wyatt or Wes. They nearly raced their horses back to the stables, Spot and Rex in a full out gallop. Father and son reached the stables and gathered their bags. "I'm going to see Wren, I'm sure she missed me, and wants to complain to me about how I never should have left," Wes said, trying to have some dignity befitting his sixteen years and not seem like an eager little kid in puppy love. "Sure son," Cain chuckled. "I'm going to find your father. Hopefully he didn't work himself too hard."
Cain crept up the stairs to Glitch's lab, wanting to surprise him. He had sorely missed his zipper head, and couldn't wait to have him back in his arms. "Glitch? I'm home sweetheart," he stood in the doorway. And was greeted with Glitch lying slumped on the desk, head buried in his arms.
"Glitch! Glitch what happened?" Cain rushed forward. Glitch sat up, looking blearily at Cain. "Wyatt? When did you get back?" he mumbled. "Just now. Are you ok?" "I'm…no, I'm not. It's terrible Wyatt. Worse that I thought," Glitch rubbed his eyes, which had deep purple circles around them. He was paler than normal, and his eyes looked hollow, and his hair was frizzy and snarled.
Cain led Glitch to sit on the sofa, and Glitch slumped boneless against him. "What did you find out?" Cain asked quietly, after Glitch had settled somewhat. "Do you remember my discovery, about how the Other Side, and the O.Z. are inversely related? Are inversely related?" "Yeah…" Cain said slowly, catching the glitch, and hoping it was just stress. "It's true. Very true. Something has gone wrong on the Other Side, and it's affecting this side. And it's causing the O.Z. to fade."
Glitch let his words sink in for Wyatt, expecting some sort of comfort, or reassurance. What he got was denial.
"That can't be Glitch. It just can't," Wyatt said emphatically. "Wyatt it is. I've gone over it and over it. I know it's terrible but…" "No. It just isn't possible. I mean, you've been wrong before, you must be now." "Thanks so much for the support Wyatt," Glitch snapped, standing up. "You know, I expecting some sort of denial, but not this. You think I like this?" Wyatt, instead of thinking things through reacted rashly. "I don't know! Maybe you do! You're always saying how things could go wrong, maybe this is just an excuse to say you're right!" Glitch yelled in frustration, "Get out of my lab Cain! Out, now! I've got to find out what caused this," he shoved Cain out the door and slammed it in his face.
Cain slumped against the wall outside the just slammed lab door. Guilt instantly washed over him. Glitch had called him Cain, which was a bad sign. But, he just couldn't be right. There was no way the O.Z. could be fading. Though he shouldn't have yelled, Glitch was exhausted to the point of a glitch, in a really fragile state from over working himself. He felt rather like he deserved what he got.
Glitch slid down the door he'd just slammed in his love's face. Sobs wracked through his frail body, making him shake. He sniffled and rubbed the tears from his face. Wyatt hadn't believed him, had yelled at him. But he was right, he knew he was. And it scared him, scared him so much. He wanted Wyatt's arms around him now, telling him softly that it was all right, they would fix it. Instead he got disbelief and yelling. He curled up on the floor, without his blanket and cried himself into a fitful sleep.
That night, Cain lay awake alone in the big bed he shared with Glitch. His sweetheart was ignoring him, sleeping in his lab. He hadn't even been at dinner.
He'd gotten a somewhat frosty reception from DG and Raw, who had heard about the argument and didn't appreciate how he'd upset Glitch. They believed him. Even Wes did, but then again, he did take after Glitch mostly, and was inclined to believe such things if he had the research to back it up. Cain was almost tempted to say Wes worshipped his inventor father, and strived to be like him. But even so, Wes was too busy regaling Wren with harrowing tales of survival to be angry.
He sighed, and rolled over, looking longingly at the spot where Glitch slept, and wished Glitch wasn't so stubborn, that he wasn't so stubborn, that they could just make up. But he didn't want to believe that something so awful as what Glitch had discovered could be true. The implications of such were too terrible to fathom.
Glitch tossed in his sleep, mumbling and whimpering. His nightmares had returned, brought on by fatigue. Only these were worse than ever. Wyatt flitted in and out of them, but he was mean, and yelled at him a lot. In one he even locked Glitch in the tin suit, and stood laughing at him, with Zero. Where Zero fit in, he had no idea, but Cain threw his head back, laughing and said 'As if I'd ever been seen with a lowly club dancer.' And the ground dissolved under the tin suit, and sent Glitch spiraling into space, his screams echoing back at him from the metal suit.
He woke up with a start, breaking out in a cold sweat, trying to catch his breath. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he wiped at them impatiently. He shook his head, and swung off the couch. He couldn't get back to sleep, but he was far too tired to continue his research. He figured a stroll around the gardens would help ease his mind, hopefully.
Wyatt leaned on his balcony, watching the moons move about the sky. They lit up the gardens down below, and a slim, pale figure wandering about the flowers. It was Glitch, munching on a cookie. He watched him scuffle about tiredly, sniffling and yawning. Cain debated calling out to him. He wasn't angry any more, but still upset. He shook his head, was he a Tin Man or wasn't he? Ok, yes, an ex-Tin Man, but still, he could handle making up with Glitch.
"Hey, sweetheart," he called down. Glitch startled and looked up. "Wyatt," he said stiffly, even though his heart was pounding at the sight of Wyatt. "Couldn't sleep?" "I could ask you the same thing Tin Man," Glitch gave him a ghost of a grin. "Maybe I was just looking out for convicts. It seems like it's my lucky night."
Unfortunately, Glitch wasn't up for teasing. "Please Wyatt. Not now, I'm only out here to clear my head and go back to my research. I…I had another nightmare," he said so softly Cain almost didn't hear. Before Glitch went back inside, Cain called to him to stop. "I'm sorry Glitch. I mean it. I didn't mean to yell. I just didn't want to believe it. But, if you're sure, and everyone else will believe you, then I will. Looking back, I guess you were right more often than you were wrong, even without half your brain. Come up here, come to bed, your bed, with me," he said sincerely.
Glitch bit his lip. That was tempting, really tempting. It would be nice to have those strong arms around him while he slept, to keep the nightmares at bay. "Can I bring my cookie?" he asked. "Darlin', you can bring a whole plate of cookies and a three tier cake if it gets you back in bed next to me where you belong," Cain grinned. "I'll be up in a minute," Glitch answered.
Cain was sprawled out on the bed when Glitch peeked his head around the door, smiling softly at him. Glitch tentatively returned the grin, stepping into the room. "Hey sweetheart," Cain murmured. "Wyatt," Glitch ran to him on shaky legs, and tumbled onto the mattress. Cain wrapped his arms protectively around him, worried at the fit of trembling that took him. "Glitch? What's wrong?" "I don't like this at all. I was terribly lonely in my lab, and then finding out what I did about the O.Z., and then we fought, and…this is nothing like what we've dealt with before. This isn't just eternal darkness, this is our world being erased from existence," Glitch pressed himself as close as he could to Wyatt.
Cain held Glitch, stroking his curls, murmuring soft words of comfort. "Don't worry about it darlin'. You've always come up with something. Just relax and let it come to you. Trust me, I won't let anything bad happen. The O.Z. isn't going to be erased from existence on this Tin Man's watch, and don't even say I'm an ex-Tin Man. Ok? Now try to get some sleep, you look like something a mobat hacked up." "Thanks Wyatt. You always know just how to compliment my appearance," Glitch yawned and snuggled closer to Wyatt. Wyatt snorted at that, pulling a blanket over them.
Glitch tried to sleep, but something Wyatt said tugged at his brain. Mobat. The Witch's little pets. The Witch. What if…it was possible he supposed. And she was, had been, no still was powerful and paranoid enough to pull it off. "I've got it!" "Got what?" Wyatt startled. "I think I know what's causing this!" Glitch said excitedly, "You gave me the idea Wyatt!" "I did?" "Yes. You're a genius!" "That's terrific sweetheart. You can work on it in the morning. You need some sleep now," Cain tightened his grip around Glitch just enough that he couldn't squirm out and dash off to his lab.
"You're so mean," Glitch muttered. "I'm doing this for your own good. You'll thank me in the morning when you don't have to take a bath in coffee just to be moderately human." "Unlike you Mr. Cain, every other day, who is a right beast until you have the usual vat and a half of blacker than black sludge you call coffee." "Just because I don't have a little coffee with my sugar…" "I have refined tastes." "From all the refined sugar in your coffee." "I thought I was supposed to be sleeping." "You are." "So I suggest we both do that Wyatt." "Good idea. G'night Glitch." "Good night Wyatt, and thanks, for finally believing me, and bringing me back where I belong." "Always sweetheart."
It only took Glitch half the next day to prove the idea he had. "So what exactly did I say that prompted this?" Cain asked, lounging on the sofa. "Mobats. The Witch. I think, no, I know now, that the Witch was afraid all the time of losing her power, so much so she sent part of herself, her essence if you will, to the other side, safely contained, but alive. All this time, it's been gaining power, lying dormant, waiting for the opportunity to arise once more. It has now, and that's what caused the O.Z. the start fading, because the Other Side and this side are related. I believe it's even worse on the Other Side, though it's not fading because that's where she's made her base. But it's become corrupted."
"What's kiddo going to say about this? It's where she was raised," Cain sat up, worried. "I don't know. But we have to tell the Queen. Come with me?" Glitch stood, dropping his goggles on the desk. "Sure," Cain got up, and followed him out to the throne room. Az, Raw, DG, and Blake were there, as well as Wes, Wren, Kalm, and Victoria.
"Ambrose, what have you found out?" the Queen sat forward, hardly betraying her worry. "Well, unfortunately, your Majesty, it's not good. The Witch, paranoid about losing her powers, sent a bit of her essence to the Other Side, where it lay dormant all this time. And has now arisen, and corrupted the Other Side. Which is causing this side to fade."
"Wait, the Other Side is corrupted?" DG asked, eyes wide. "I'm sorry DG but yes. It's a bad place to be right now. Very bad," Glitch nodded sadly.
"Well then, there's only one thing for it, as far as I can see," Lord Ahamo said suddenly. "What is it dad?" DG asked. "You lot will have to go over there and tech her a lesson once again, that when she's down, she should stay down."
A/N: another sort of cliffhanger there. Sorry, but I do like them. Oh, and sorry it took so long updating this. My computer is in the nasty habit right now of crashing at inopportune moments. I hope all this made sense and whatnot. Could you maybe review? Please? I love reviews like Glitch loves apples and that blue eyed hunk of tight pants wearing man-candy know as Wyatt Cain.