A/N: I would like to think you would know by now I don't own Tin Man, or any of the characters. If I did, Cain and Glitch would be adorable cuddly together all the time and Glitch would always wear lots of leather pants. As it is, I make do with this, which works, I guess. And sorry about the lack of updating. Got a lot of other fics I'm working on, and school stuff, all while still trying to have something of a social life, which I just recently got. *sigh* it's hard.

"Glitch, come one out of your tent."

"No. You'll just laugh at me again."

"Will not dad, promise."

"Yes you will. I've been shorn. Sheared like a sheep for a sweater."

"That was a pretty good alliteration Glitch."

"Alliterations don't make my hair grow back."

"But you've been in there since yesterday."

"I don't care!"

DG sat back down in her chair, "Fine, he wants to stay in there and sulk, let him. I was only trying to help." "It's not as bad as he thinks," Blake said, trying to make both of them feel better. "Try telling him that. He's acting like he's completely bald, or that it'll never grow back." "Glitch just miss Cain. Won't be as mad when Tin Man come back," Raw said softly. "I know. I just wish Wyatt would find his way back sooner. I'm worried about him too."

Wes, Wren, Kalm, and Victoria wandered through the trees not too far from the clearing. They'd promised not to stray, and keep within earshot of the camp. Considering Kalm had hearing slightly above the other three, they were able to walk quite a distance.

"Your dad's really acting childish, isn't he?" Wren giggled. "Well, how would you feel if you got this sticky pink stuff stuck in your hair, and had to have it cut out?" Wes asked, tossing a small rock from hand to hand. "Good point, but he didn't have to lock himself in the tent." "Imagine if you got gum stuck on you," 'Toria said to Kalm, who shuddered. "I'd rather not. I don't fancy being shaved," he said drily, making the others laugh. Wes let his stone fall and swung up onto one of the lower branches of a tree. "Wesley, what are you doing?" Wren called, watching him climb. And, she was only watching to make sure he didn't accidentally kill himself, not to watch his bottom. Honest.

"Oh wow!" they could hear his soft exclamation from the top of the tree. "You guys! You can see forever up here!" "Wesley, you're going to get caught!" Wren sighed, "We should follow him, shouldn't we?" "Probably. Just so we can catch him if he falls," Victoria answered. They climbed up, the branches creaking under their weight. Wren gasped, clinging to the tree as it swayed in the breeze. Wes was right; it was like you could see forever. They saw the castle winking in the sun, trees in either direction, the road winding like some great black snake through it all. She shielded her eyes, scanning the area. It looked lifeless all around, nothing but their camp to speak of. "What's that?" Kalm pointed off in the direction they'd come. Something small was slowly making its way towards them. "It looks like-'' "Dad! He's made it!" Wes flung himself down the tree, not caring for the splinters and scrapes he got in his haste. "Wesley! Wait for us!" Wren climbed down after him, Victoria and Kalm close behind, as he took off to meet up with his dad. He sprinted out into the road, his feet pounding the pavement as his dad got closer.

Cain looked up, lowering the brim of his hat to shield from the sun. Something was coming at him, fast. "Dad!" Wes ran into him without stopping, and collapsed, holding the stitch in his side that felt like someone was twisting a knife in between his ribs. "Dad, you're ok, you're ok, and dad's gonna be so happy, everybody is!" Wes rambled, hugging Cain. "Wes, son, not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but being tossed off a cliff did nothing good for me, I'm still sore and you're making it worse," Cain patted Wes on the head, grinning despite the stiff way he held himself. "Sorry, sorry," Wes backed off, face breaking into a large smile reminiscent of Glitch. By then the others had caught up, and expressed their happiness at Cain at least being in one piece.

"How'd you find me?" Cain asked as they continued down the road. "Kalm saw you. We were climbing a giant tree, looking around," 'Toria explained. "Looking for Long Coats or just goofing off?" the Tin Man asked, grinning. "Following that one," Wren jerked her thumb at Wes. "I was looking for Long Coats, obviously," Wes retorted, puffing up with false pride. Wren flicked him in the back of the head, and he deflated. "Oh, y'know what we should do? We should be really quiet when we get back to camp, and surprise Uncle Glitch. This ought to get him out of the tent," she added gleefully. "Why is he in a tent?" "You'll see when we get there." Cain frowned, he didn't like the sound of that. "He's not hurt, don't worry dad. He's just…being a little…difficult." "That's one way of putting it."

Wes and Wren ran ahead to tell the others that they'd found Wyatt, but to be quiet so they could surprise Glitch. DG agreed, though she wasn't thrilled that they'd run off. She promised to stay behind and keep Glitch in the tent. Not a hard task, as he was still intent on his pouting. She just had to check on him every once in a while and make sure he was still alive. Almost like having a pet goldfish. Cain and the others entered the camp, and she flashed him a smile, though she was worried at how bruised he looked, and how he tried to hide his limp. He looked questioningly at her, and she shook her head, shrugging.

"Hey Glitch?"

"Go away doll."

"But we've got a surprise for you."

"Is it that you can make my hair grow back?"

"Nope."

"Well, then I'm staying right here."

DG sighed, and waved her hand so Wyatt could take over.

"Hey, head case, what's the matter?"

"Well, Wyatt, I had a little…"

"A little what?" Cain fought to keep the smirk off his face as the tent nearly flipped over as Glitch struggled with the zipper and flung himself into his arms. "I knew you'd be all right, you overgrown boy scout. Are you ok? He didn't hurt you too bad did he? I'll…I don't even know what I'll do," he babbled, nuzzling his head against Wyatt's neck. Wyatt didn't have the heart to tell him he wasn't in the best of shape. Besides, he was enjoying having Glitch twined around him. DG cleared her throat behind him, for which he was thankful. Being reunited after near death experiences tended to make them forget they were in mixed company. "I want you to remember exactly how you feel right now, and hang on to it until we save the OZ again and can go back home and be alone. Can you do that?" he whispered in Glitch's ear. Glitch saluted, "Aye aye Captain." "Ok, can you get off me now? My ribs hurt a lot," Cain cringed. Glitch slid down, and only then could Cain see what had caused his sweetheart to pout.

"Glitch…your hair," he touched the short dark curls. They hung in tiny corkscrew tendrils, so much shorter than when he'd last seen him, and stuck out more. It looked like a cross between how his hair had been when he was an advisor, and his usual curls. "What happened?" "I had a slight mishap trying to get some matches from the trunk. They were stuck to some gum, and I tripped and fell in the gum. DG had to butcher my hair." "I didn't butcher it. I just got the gum out." "You butchered his hair," Cain hung his head sadly. "Oh not you too. Look, it could have been worse. What if I'd set fire to Cain's pants, and he had to wear regular baggy ones. That'd be a tragedy," DG said defensively. "True, but Deeg, they were my curls," Glitch tried to twirl a lock of hair around his finger, only to find he couldn't. It was impossible. "Would it really be that big of a tragedy if I wore regular pants?" DG, Glitch, and surprisingly, Victoria, all answered in unison. "Yes!"

Cain lay down in his and Glitch's tent, thrilled that he could do so without much pain. DG and Raw had healed the worst of his bruises, and now he was just relaxing while he could, pleased to be back among friends. Glitch sat down by his head, idly playing with his hat. "Did any of my guns make it back?" "One did, it's in the car. But it's empty," Glitch mumbled. Cain lifted his head, looking curiously at him. "Glitch, what happened?" The former head case bit his lip, wondering how best to explain to him what he'd almost done. "Y-you know how you were thrown off the cliff?" "Yes, I was there for that bit," Cain grinned. "Well, it was T-Tony who threw you off. And I was so…angry, I couldn't even think straight. I saw your gun lying there, and then it was in my hand. I don't remember picking it up. It was like I glitched, but not," Glitch frowned, brows knitting together. Cain nodded, starting to worry. Glitch put Cain's hat on his head, pulling the brim down so his eyes were hidden in shadow. "I almost shot him Wyatt. In the back. Lucky for me, DG saw me, and stopped me. I don't think it was me though. I didn't feel anything. It was scary after, but I could have done it at the time. DG thinks maybe the Witch was going after me again." Something in how he said that made Cain sit up, and look at him.

"You don't think that's it?" "No. It didn't feel like her. But it didn't feel like me either. I'm so confused," he tucked his knees up and rested his head on them, wrapping his arms around himself in a protective ball. Gently, Cain pulled his hat off Glitch's head and ran his fingers through the short, fuzzy curls. "It's ok Glitch, really. The point of the matter is that you didn't do it." "But, only because DG stopped me." "You could have gone around her. You didn't. You stopped yourself. You can get revenge on Tony some other way. Or I could just push him off a cliff myself," Cain suggested, grinning. "No way Wyatt. I want to get him back myself. He's messed with me too many times in the short time we've been here. I've had enough. Tricking me is one thing, almost killing you is another." "Y'know, if I wasn't used to you getting stupidly heroic, I'd be touched right now. As it is…" Cain trailed off. "You don't appreciate the gesture?" "No, no, I appreciate it. I've known you so long by now, I'm used to it. But it doesn't get any less…" he searched for a word, "adorable each time you get protective." "Oh. Ok, that's fine then."

Night wrapped around the close knit camp site as they retired to their tents, leading to nothing but the whisper of nylon sleeping bags and hushed voices. DG propped herself on her elbows, looking up at Blake. "What d'you think?" "About what?" Blake ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it back from his face. "About the Witch. Where is she? Can we stop her? And why does she seem particularly interested in Glitch?" "Maybe because their names rhyme?" he grinned at her as he settled down. "Cute, but I doubt it. I mean, I know she doesn't like any of us, seeing as we're trying to stop her, but she won't leave him alone. It's worrying." "Cain's definitely worried." "Glitch is this close to panic," DG added, lying down. "If anything happened to him, I don't know what Wyatt would do. I mean, after he lost his wife, Glitch became his life. Now they have Wes…I don't want to see them, or any of us really, torn apart." "None of us will be Deege. I promise. We'll stop her, and go back to the OZ, and…" "Live happily ever after?" DG finished for him. "Why not?" Blake shrugged. DG didn't have the heart to tell him that the fairy tales never seemed to end happily. Someone always got burned in the end.

Kalm, Raw, Victoria, Wes, and Wren sat in a circle in their tent, talking together. "What's going to happen? We can't just go back to school after this," Wes insisted. "Why not?" Kalm asked. "Can you really just go on with your life after all we've been through?" Victoria glanced at him. "Hmm. I think so. Maybe not though," Kalm sighed. "Can go back, but it's hard," Raw said quietly, "Parents did." "I know our parents did. It's sort of how we got here. But that was so long ago. Like seventeen years now almost. The Witch is even more powerful, and some of us have never faced her. We've just read about her in our history books," Wren said fretfully."Yeah, and do you know how weird it is to read about your own parents in those books? Having everyone looking at you, 'cause they know you're the son of two of the OZ's greatest heroes?" Wes added. "Try being that and the princess." "Don't think you're dresses would fit me," he chuckled. "You'd look adorable in the tiara," Victoria added. "Not everyone can pull off a tiara. I'm one of the lucky ones," Wes sighed dramatically.

Cain was asleep behind Glitch, arm slung around his waist protectively. Glitch stared with wide eyes into the darkness; unable to sleep for fear that something would happen. They'd be attacked, or Wyatt would be taken from him, or worse of all, the Witch would try and take him once more. All this left him jumping at the shadows that slid across the side of the tent, the slightest crackle of twigs being blown about in the wind. Wyatt, as close as he was, and as attuned to Glitch as he was, sensed his disquiet, and woke up.

"Glitch? What's wrong?" "Nothing Wyatt," Glitch answered without turning around, "go back to sleep." Of course, Cain didn't believe that, and rolled over so he was braced above Glitch, looking down at him and they were nose to nose. "Oh hello. Y'know, you've got really pretty eyes," Glitch smiled lightly, trying to change the subject. "Yeah, I know. You tell me a lot. But don't change the subject," Cain answered. "Sorry. I just wanted to let you sleep. You of all people deserve it." "Head cases need sleep too sweetheart," Cain placed a light kiss on Glitch's lips. "Tell me what's bothering you."

Glitch rolled his eyes upward, but sighed. "I suppose…I'm just worried about this whole thing. This isn't like back when we were trying to stop Azka-D. This is so much bigger than that. And Wes is here, and Wren, and…what if something happens to us? I'm just…" "Scared?" Cain finished for him, "me too." "I thought big brave Tin Men didn't get scared," Glitch said, lips quirking up in a wry smile. "Oh we do, we're just really good at hiding it. And we never ever admit it, except to our zipper headed sweethearts." "Well, advisors can admit they're scared any time. Actually, some do quite frequently," Glitch murmured thoughtfully. "Don't I know it," Cain teased him. Glitch flicked him in the ear. "Ow!" "Teach you to pick on me when it's this late." Cain scowled, lying next to Glitch, "no respect, even though I just back from being tossed over a cliff." "I'm sorry Wyatt. I love you," Glitch cooed, batting his lashes. Cain shook his head, "I know you do." "Are you feeling any better?" "Still feeling like I've been hurled off a cliff into a fast moving river and dashed against some boulders." "Maybe DG can help you in the morning." "Be nice. I wish she could grow back your curls," Cain tugged lightly on a ragged looking ringlet. "You and me both Wyatt."

Dawn's light brought another shift in the land around them, this one far more drastic and obviously deliberate. The land had flattened to a desolate desert, the sky a roiling grey, wind stirring their hair and rustling the tents, creating miniature whirlwinds that blew dust into their eyes and down their throats, blinding and choking them. DG was forced to enlist the aid of Wren and Wes to create a bubble around the camp site so they could actually enjoy their breakfast, DG could heal the worst of Cain's wounds, and they could attempt to ignore the giant tower looming over them. But even through the bubble they could feel the bad energy coming off it in waves, making their skin crawl and the hair on the back of their necks stand at attention.

The tower was built of some unidentifiable stone, a slick, smooth black stone with lighter grey veins running through it. It was clearly not natural, and thrummed with energy that nearly bowled them over when DG made the bubble disappear with a wave of her hand. Raw and Kalm both bared their fangs, fighting the nausea that came from the feelings associated with such a place. It reared above them seeming to touch the sky, and no matter how they craned their necks, they couldn't see the top. No windows lined the walls, only one door, taller than any of the small group, was set into the stone facing them, made of heavy black wood and set with iron bands and locks, so it was hard to tell if it was to keep them out or someone in.

"I think she's doing this on purpose," DG murmured. "This isn't like the scrap castle of Long Coats. That was more to let us see what she could do, a flexing of power. This is serious. She's threatening us now." "Do we go in?" Cain asked. "Don't want to," Raw growled. "Me either," Kalm added. Victoria, Wren and Wes agreed. "She did bring the battle to us. I think we have to," DG said, though it was clear she was no more keen about going into the Tower than the rest of them.

The locks on the door slid aside with a loud 'thock' that made them all jump and glance at each other with wide, nervous eyes that showed too much white. While the reverberations of the locks were still echoing across the plain, the door swung outward. The darkness just inside was thick and complete, like it was waiting to swallow them up, where they'd never be seen again, and no one would hear them scream.

"I don't think we have a choice," Glitch whispered.

A/N: And so, I leave you with that cliff hanger. Sorry about the not updating thing. School is being mean to me, and I just got a tattoo, and had an allergic reaction to the ointment they gave me to help heal it, so I wasn't feeling like writing, more trying not to scratch my leg off. However, it's better now. So I shall continue with my writing. Hopefully longer chapters next time.