A/N: as promised, this chapter will be longer than the last. I mean, I did get positive reviews for the last chapter, which was cool, but I wasn't entirely happy with it. I just couldn't make it work. But I'm gonna take more time on this one, make it good. Nothing's mine either, it's all owned by some big company that won't sell to me unfortunately.
An hour past midnight at the Palace in the OZ: "C'mon, hurry up!" Wes hissed, beckoning for Kalm and Victoria. "Oh shut it! We're coming," Kalm dashed out of his room, shouldering his small bag. 'Toria followed, pulling the door closed silently.
The group of four almost grown-ups tiptoed down the hall, not speaking, sticking to the thick shadows along the stony walls. Wes took the lead, Wren behind him, Kalm and Victoria bringing up the rear. They slipped down the stairs into the courtyard. The flowers and small fountains were awash in light from the two moons, painted silver and white, almost glowing.
"It's so pretty," Wren sighed softly. "Yea, beautiful," Wes murmured distractedly. He was busy making sure no one was coming, that the courtyard was really empty. "Do you think it's this pretty on the Other Side?" she asked. "I doubt it. You heard Glitch, it's all corrupted," Kalm said sadly. He hated to dash her hopes like that, but it would be better than them being torn up when they reached their destination.
"Ok, the coast is clear. Princess, would you care to do the honors?" Wes looked to Wren, who was gazing at the roses longingly. She didn't answer him. "Wrennie?" Still no response. Wes sighed and pulled his pocketknife from his pocket. Jeb had given it to him for his tenth birthday. He cut one of the violet tipped white roses from the bush and snipped the thorns off of the stem. "Here, take one with you," he handed it to Wren. She took it, staring at him. And with a happy squeal threw her arms around his neck. "Wren! You're welcome but seriously, before we get caught, summon the travel storm!" Kalm and Victoria snickered at the pair.
"Of course, right. Sorry," Wren tucked the flower behind her ear and centered herself, letting her magic gather. The travel storm slowly began to form.
The Other Side, DG's farmhouse (side note, because the Other Side and the OZ are inversely related here, when it's night time in the OZ, its daytime in the Other Side): Glitch woke laying face down on his bed, his face turned to the window. Sunlight assaulted his eyes, seeming to amplify the almost nauseating pounding of his head. He moaned in pain, his stomach roiling. He sat up slowly, fighting the urge to throw up. The throbbing pain in his head was worse than when his half a brain was shutting down and he'd been glitching more frequently.
Speaking of glitching, Glitch couldn't recall any of the past night's events. All he knew was he was still in his club wear, the leather sticking to his legs. He sleepily rubbed his eyes, and stared blearily around the room. Chocolate brown eyes widened almost comically when he saw trouble at the foot of the bed. Wyatt glared down at him, arms crossed over his chest.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Glitch opened his mouth to answer, but he had none. "I…I don't know. It's all a blur," he mumbled. "You were there last night when I went to sleep. But you weren't there when I woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And you're here now. So where were you?" Cain asked again, trying very hard not to get angry and frighten Glitch. But he'd been worried when Glitch hadn't been there. He'd stayed awake for hours it seemed, until he'd fallen asleep on the couch.
It didn't work. Glitch was already freaked about not remembering, and then Wyatt being angry with him. Tears shone in his eyes, and his lower lip started to tremble. "I can't remember! I don't even remember thinking of leaving!" Glitch's voice rose higher as he panicked more. It scared him. He hadn't glitched this bad in years.
Cain softened, more worried now than angry. He pulled Glitch, who was curled into a quivering, sniffling ball into his lap. Sobs wracked Glitch's thin frame as he cried, tears leaving little spots on his shirt and Cain's. "Ssshh, sweetheart. Don't worry, we'll figure this out," Cain rubbed soothing circles on Glitch's back. Glitch pulled back to look at Cain, and had streaks of eyeliner trailing down his cheeks. "But Wyatt, I've never forgotten this much in years. What if something really bad happened? It's not like we're in the OZ, where there's familiar stuff around to jog my memory. I don't know anything here!"
Glitch clung to Cain like a lifeline while the ex-Tin Man thought of how to help him. The answer, when it came to him, was so simple, he was amazed it took so long to think of it. "We'll just ask Raw to help. With the mirror," he suggested. "But what if it's really, really bad?" Glitch asked, sounding like a scared little kid. "Do you want to know why you can't remember or not?" Cain retorted gently. "I want to know. I do. I'm just scared. But I'll be alright," Glitch said, trying to be brave. Cain rolled his eyes, and shoved him off his lap. "C'mon, lets go." "Now?" Glitch squeaked. "Yes head case. Now."
Glitch followed timidly behind Cain, eyes wide like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler with a pack of starved foxes lurking at its back. He clutched Wyatt's sleeve in his hand, which was sweating slightly. "Hey Raw, can we ask a favor?" Cain asked. The viewer looked over. "What do you need?" "Can you look through Glitch's memory and find out what happened to him last night?" DG snorted, almost spewing her milk across the kitchen table. "You want to see what?" she gasped. Cain gave her a withering look, "It's not like what you're thinking kiddo. Something happened and we want to know what."
Raw said he could help, and had Glitch sit in a kitchen chair by a large decorative mirror hanging on the living room wall. Glitch sat nervously, biting his lip and twining a lock of hair around his finger. "Ready?" Raw asked, his gruff voice soft. "I suppose so," the inventor mumbled. Raw laid his right hand on top of Glitch's head, and his left one on the mirror. The glass fogged over, showing no reflection until the fog swirled and faded away, revealing Glitch's memories.
Glitch ran across the lawn, glancing back every now and then at the farmhouse, which was growing smaller the farther he ran. He wanted to turn back once or twice, but his curiosity and determination to prove himself outweighed his desire to turn back each time. As the farmhouse behind him grew smaller, so the town, such as it was, loomed larger in front of him.
"Glitch, what are you doing sneaking out?" DG asked softly, not really expecting him to answer. He was caught up in his memory, eyes closed, twitching slightly. Cain watched silently, growing more worried and guilty. If he hadn't said anything about Glitch not being able to handle going to the club…
Eyes shining in anticipation, Glitch stood in line to enter The Realm. The music thrilled through him, sweeping him off his feet nearly. And he wasn't even inside yet. He was jostled aside as he threaded his way through the crowds of sweating, gyrating dancing people. As before, he dove readily into the music, letting it carry him away to that place where he had no troubles.
It was becoming increasingly clear to those watching the memory that something wasn't right. Glitch's normally bright and curious gaze was glazing over somewhat as he danced. Even so, Cain couldn't help the little twinge of jealousy as he saw Glitch dancing with someone else, a tall, dark haired, tan guy wearing low slung jeans and a black vest. So wrapped up was he in his jealousy, he didn't see the somewhat evil glint in the man's eye.
Glitch followed Tony, for that was his new friend's name, to the bar. Tony smiled at him, and ordered them drinks. And they talked. And drank. And Glitch felt himself getting a little dozy, and the world seemed to kind of tilt and get fuzzy around the edges. He no longer knew what he was saying, or what they were talking about. Everything slowly blackened until Glitch woke up and saw Wyatt glaring at him.
Slowly, very slowly, Glitch came out of his memory. The room was deathly silent. "Did…did I do something bad?" he asked tremulously. "You mean beside sneaking out, dancing with some stranger and revealing our whereabouts to him?" DG snapped viciously. Glitch flinched like she'd struck him. "But I wouldn't…why would I do that?" he stammered. "How the hell should I know? Point is, you did it." "Deege, wait a minute. He didn't do it on purpose. He wouldn't," Blake said gently. "I didn't! I wouldn't!" Glitch added earnestly.
DG turned to Cain, who had yet to say anything. "What d'you think?" she demanded. "I don't think he did it on purpose. But he still shouldn't have snuck out. Though that may be partially my fault, with the argument and all," he said. Glitch ducked his head, ashamed even more for making Wyatt feel guilty. "The thing is, he wouldn't tell some stranger on purpose. Something happened to make him do that. Think Glitch, what happened," Cain crouched in front of Glitch to be eye to eye with him.
"I'll try," Glitch closed his eyes, his brow furrowing as he thought. "It's hard to remember. All I can recall is the dancing, and music and the drinks," he said after a while, slumping in the chair. "It's like it blocks out everything else. I'm sorry." He looked very small and pale and scared as he pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Cain patted him on the head, knowing he'd tried very hard. "What if that's it?" DG stopped her pacing in front of them. "What if what's it?" Blake asked, confused. "The music! What if…what if it's got a spell, like Azkadellia's vapors in it? And Glitch, who as we know is rather fond of music, was more susceptible to it because he wanted to really enjoy it? I mean, we all felt a little odd after it, but not like him. Isn't it possible?" None of them mentioned that just seconds ago she'd been yelling at Glitch something awful, and now was ready to defend him. And came up with a logical explanation.
"I think that's possible," Cain agreed. Raw and Blake agreed as well. "It makes sense. But that doesn't make it less scary," Glitch wiped his eyes and unfolded from the chair. "And what's going to happen now? They know where we are now," he wrapped his arms around one of Cain's, taking comfort in that he didn't seem mad at him. "We're just going to have to prepare for when they get here and defend ourselves. 'Cause they are most definitely going to come after us. You didn't completely screw up Glitch. I'd rather we face them sooner rather than later," DG said. It was about the closest she was going to give for an apology, considering she was still a tad miffed at Glitch.
DG took over yet again, with Blake backing her up. She wanted the house protected and everyone on guard. They didn't know when the enemy would attack, how, what weapons they would have or anything. So she insisted they be prepared against anything. And very soon, they were prepared for anything. Except a blinding flash of light, a powerful gust of wind, and their kids to appear at the door. "Wren?" "Wesley?" "Ummm…. hey mom." "Hi dad."
Four pairs of eyes stared guiltily at the five semi grown-ups. "Wren, what are you doing here?" Blake demanded. "It was Wes's idea!" she pointed at him. "Wesley," Cain said sternly. "I just thought we really could help. We're not kids, we can fight," he mumbled. It had sounded better before they got caught. "So you snuck out, summoned a travel storm and dumped yourselves here?" DG asked. "Well, yeah mom. I summoned the storm all by myself," Wren said a trace proudly. "Can you go back?" Glitch asked. "I'm not too sure. It took a lot to get here Uncle Glitch," she said truthfully. "All right, we've got bigger things to worry about than you four being here," DG waved them off., amazing them that they didn't appear to be in any trouble. "So we can stay?" Victoria asked eagerly. "For now." "Ok then. Dad, can I ask you something?" Wes asked Glitch, who was still in his leather pants and fishnet shirt. "Sure son." "What exactly are you wearing?"
Wes, Wren, Kalm and Victoria were told of all that had happened in the time they'd been in the Other Side. They, in return, filled their parents in on the happenings of the OZ. And DG alerted her mother, via the small mirror, of the kids being there.
"So, we're basically sitting here, waiting to be attacked," Wren said, sitting on the couch. "Something like that. It's the best plan we've got," Blake shrugged. "And you guys saved the OZ…" Wren muttered. "Watch it Wren," DG warned. "Sorry momma."
Dinner was a tense affair. The slightest creak of the house set them all whipping their heads up, ready to defend themselves. Watches were set so they could all get some sleep and be safe at the same time. DG and Blake took the first watch until 1 am. "Hey, sweetheart, time to get up. It's our watch," Cain gently shook Glitch's arm. "Don't wanna," Glitch moaned. Cain, instead of fighting with him, picked him up by the front of his shirt and slung him onto his back, his thin arms draped over his broad shoulders. "Wyatt you've got a head case on your back," DG giggled sleepily as she and Blake walked up the stairs to their room. "I know. He doesn't want to go down for our watch." "Too bad." "That's what I said. But d'you think he'll listen?" "Of course not."
"There's only one moon out there," Glitch mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he leaned against Cain. "I know. Odd isn't it?" Glitch nodded. "I didn't really mess up that bad did I?" "Not too bad. Would have been better if we'd been able to find out more, but maybe we can ask around once this dies down," Cain stretched. "How can you be so awake at this unholy hour?" Glitch asked. "I had to be up at this 'unholy' hour for training back when I was a Tin Man. You get used to it after awhile." "I never woke at this hour. Its not natural." "Well, you were a pampered little advisor. The lap dog of the royalty." "I was no one's lap dog!" Glitch snapped, more awake suddenly. He heard muffled laughter and realized Cain was teasing him. "Not funny Wyatt." "Very funny Glitch." "Not." "Yes." "Uncle Glitch, Uncle Wyatt, please, we're trying to sleep," Wren growled from the couch where she, Wes, Kalm and Victoria were sleeping. "Sorry princess."
The night passed uneventfully. Breakfast the next morning…less so.
The sky darkened rapidly, giving no time for the sun to make an appearance and burn the clouds away. The air was tinged with lightning, which ran across the skin like an electric kiss, raising the hair on everyone's arms. Only the sound of toaster waffles being sliced and the crinkle of silvery pop tarts wrapper being torn open filled the kitchen. The silence spread out, enhancing every miniscule sound; a leave rustling outside, the windows groaning against the wind, the sudden gunshot from the field, Wren's scream as the shot echoed and faded.
"We've got company. Lots of company," DG crouched down and peered out the window. A dozen people, muscle bound men mostly, skulked up to the house, some armed with various shotguns, pistols, and knives, others clearly armed with magic. One of them, a tall tan man with dark hair aimed his outspread hand toward the house. The ground a few yards from the porch exploded in a spray of dirt and rocks, making DG yelp and scramble back into the living room. "That's Tony!" Glitch exclaimed. "Tony?" Cain asked suspiciously. "From the club. The guy I…umm…danced with. Just once that's all," Glitch flushed and looked down. "Really? Well I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you," Cain grumbled. "Wyatt I don't think now is the time to be senselessly jealous!" Glitch clung to the sofa as another explosion rocked the house. "Senseless?! It's senseless that I have a problem with you dancing and having a few drinks with someone who's attacking us?" "Guys! Not now!" DG yelled. "We've got to make a stand or they're going to destroy the house." "Out there?!" Wren gasped. "No, you'll be staying in here," DG told her daughter. "But mom!" "Wren, listen to your mother. It's not a good time to argue," Blake ordered. "That goes double for you Wes," Cain said, strapping on his holster and making sure his gun was loaded.
"Do we have anything extra for me to fight with?" Glitch asked nervously. "Can you wield a sword?" Blake offered him the hilt of one of his blades. Glitch took it, testing the balance and swishing it about expertly. "I'll take that as a yes," the prince grinned. "Just be careful with that one. It's my second favorite." "I assume that's your favorite right?" Glitch indicated the larger, brighter sword in Blake's grip. Blake nodded, admiring it. "Yes, yes, we can compare weapons later. Let's go," DG ushered them out to meet their attackers.
There was no small talk, no hero-villain banter that is often in movies. The door to the house swung shot and the air was filled with gunshots, the clang of metal on metal as swords clashed, the rushing sound of magic and yelling from both sides, as well as Raw roaring. Glitch pushed his sweat dampened curls out of his eyes, his arm straining as he swung his borrowed sword, knocking down yet another bad guy. He couldn't quite believe it, but the five of them were gaining ground on the would-be villains. But then again, it wasn't the first time they'd pull off something like that.
"Glitch, duck!" DG yelled. Without asking why, he dropped to the ground. A bolt of light crackled over his head, hitting a huge, muscled bald man with an axe square in the chest. The man dropped like a stone, shaking the earth beneath him and sending shockwaves outward, jolting Glitch. "Thanks DG," he called, leaping up and looking for his next opponent.
But none came. Instead, he heard a pain filled yell that was all too familiar. Dropping his sword to the trampled dirt, he watched, horror struck as Cain, clutching his arm, fell to his knees and slowly slumped down. Tony met his gaze, smirking, and tucked his pistol away. "Be seeing you," he mouthed and seemed to gather shadows about him and disappear.
Cain awoke sometime later; unaware of what had happened after he'd been shot. His arm seemed to burn under the bandages that were wrapped thickly around his bicep. "You're awake, finally," DG sighed in relief. He looked over at her. "What the hell happened?" "You got shot in the arm, not bad but it left a deep cut. Me, Wren and Raw patched you up nicely enough," she answered. "Thanks. And, not that I don't appreciate the company and all, but, where's Glitch?" DG frowned. "I think he's hiding. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say he feels responsible for you getting hurt." "But he's not the one who aimed the gun and shot me," Cain sat up, realizing his shirt wasn't on him; it was folded neatly at the foot of the bed. "Yes, but Wyatt, do you know who shot you?" "No, why should I?" "It was Tony." "Oh," Cain lay back down, understanding now.
"Let me guess, you're gonna go storming out and find him and force him to see that he doesn't have to feel guilty even if I say you should stay in and heal up, right?" DG grinned. "You'd guess right then," Cain struggled into his shirt, which he noticed, had been patched. "Do I know you or what?" "You do, and sometimes that worries me," Cain chuckled. "Fair enough. You need any help or are you going to be macho and insist on getting out yourself even if it hurts?" "I could use a hand if it's not too much trouble," Cain admitted. DG snickered and helped him to his feet. "Thanks kid."
As Cain suspected, Glitch was hiding in the same tree out front as before, on the same branch, his legs dangling down. "Hey head case." "Wyatt! What're you doing out here? DG said you were supposed to stay in bed," Glitch looked down. Even from the ground, Cain could see Glitch had been trying not to cry…again. Sometimes he was too emotional for his own good. "Well, did you ever know of a bed that could hold me…if you're not in it that is?" Cain swung up into the tree with his good arm and sidled down the branch to sit next to Glitch. "No, I guess not," Glitch mumbled.
"So…what's a head case like you doing up a tree like this?" Cain glanced at him. He laughed, "Been watching DG's old movies have you?" "Maybe. Answer the question though." "It's my fault you got shot. I told Tony and he was the one who shot you. I thought it was worse than it is actually," Glitch admitted. "Glitch, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. It wasn't your fault. You may have accidentally told him where we are, but you didn't tell him to shoot me. Alright?" Cain said sternly. "I don't suppose I have any choice but to listen to you, do I?" Glitch gave a small smile. "Not at all zipper head."
Glitch accepted that, and leaned against Cain's chest, Cain's good arm around his shoulders. They stayed like that while dusk approached, and the shadows lengthened and gathered about them. Stars started to appear around the one moon, which was a tiny off white sliver in the sky, giving just enough light for them to see by, and for Cain to gently press his lips to Glitch's forehead, and for Glitch to smile in his sleep and nuzzle closer to him until DG called them in to eat.
A/N: totally fluffy there at the end. But I can't resist the fluff. You don't have to review if you don't want to. It's cool. I'd like it if you would, but it's not a necessity.