Chapter 10: Light in the Darkness

As the suns returned behind the moon and their rays flooded the former beauty of the land surrounding the tower, D.G. knew that they would be able to restore it to its old glory again. More than that the soft touch of her sisters hand reassured her that they had banished the darkness forever and that hard work and a lot of trust might help them to lead a normal life again.

Not only she was happy about the returning suns, though. The smile on her sister's face was faint but her eyes were sparkling and the guilt she was feeling vanished for a moment. They would need a long time to convince Azkadellia that she had been another victim of the witch and that it wasn't her who did the bad things.

She was distracted from her own thoughts when she felt the soft hand of her mother touching her shoulder. As she turned around to face the Queen she saw tears glistening on her pale face, but like her sister's, they were also sparkling from relief and joy. Her father was steadying his wife and with determined steps they slowly made their way inside the tower again.

The darkness of the place was disappearing like the darkness outside revealing the satisfied look on her friend's faces.

"And these are the faces of the heroes of the O.Z., I assume. It is nice to see you alive, my dear Cain," her mother exclaimed and slowly walked to Cain only to fall into his arms and give him a very long hug.

"You knew I would do anything to save the life of my friend. For me that meant staying alive all these years no matter the cost," Cain answered with a voice that was so thick with sadness that D.G. thought he would be the next one shedding new tears. Reassuringly he patted Ozma's back before the Queen broke the embrace and looked at Cain with a smile.

"Much thanks to you too, although I have no idea who you are." The Queen guided towards the other two companions which visibly touched the two creatures.

"It's my fault that you don't recognize the Scarecrow," Azkadellia suddenly whispered behind the Queen's back before she slowly approached her mother who was looking at her with a frown.

"It's because of what I've done in order to save him from the witch. It's Ambrose, mother," she said and the guilt she was feeling forced her to look to the floor rather than into her mother's eyes.

A silent gasp left the woman's lips and she had to cover her mouth with her hand. It was a reflex that helped her to cover her shock. She didn't want to make her daughter feel even guiltier because it wasn't her fault, but the realization that her brother was supposed to be this man of straw hit her hard and she hadn't been prepared.

"Why? What happened to you?" She asked after the first shock had ebbed away. The Scarecrow shifted uneasily on his feet before he brought a hand up to its bald head and scratched it with the gloved fingers.

"Well, it's a long story and I only remember half of it. It doesn't matter after all, I suppose. You shouldn't worry, I'm fine." This wasn't really true, but he didn't mean to hurt his sister. She had just been reunited with her husband and lost children and when he came straight to it there was no need to worry her.

He didn't regain his old body with the destruction of the witch. However, he was alive and they had succeeded so he really couldn't complain yet. They would find a way to fix things. Too many tears had been shed already.

"He did everything he could to protect the plans for his machines. You surely remember that he destroyed them in a fire and that the witch came after him for that. She had planned to torture him and after that. She took out half his brain. When I, deeply trapped in my own body, saw that he was close to death I decided to use a spell I had found in one of the ancient books. It said that it could save someone from eternal pain so I fought for control and used the witch's powers," Azkadellia answered instead of Glitch, and the straw man wished that his niece wouldn't blame herself for the deed that someone else had brought her to.

"So you stubbornly refused to surrender even though she threatened to kill you?" Ozma asked curiously. She would talk to her daughter when they were alone and when they had enough time to talk about the past.

There was no need for her daughter to stand for the things that the witch had done to them, but she would tell her that in private. There was a lot of mother and daughter talk they needed to share, for she could see the shards that were left of the person that used to be her little Azkadellia .

"I think so," the queen's brother answered sheepishly, an innocent unsure grin on his face.

"You stupid straw headed fool! You should have surrendered." She knew that he wouldn't feel it but she slapped him nevertheless.

Ambrose touched the spot where her hand had hit his face, confusingly rubbing over the surface as if he was hurt after all.

"What was that for now?" He asked as the surprise was gone again.

"Just a reminder that I care for you, no matter what. You knew that things were lost. You shouldn't have risked your life for something like 're too selfless," she answered, the tears coming back as she now hugged her brother and wrapped him into a longing embrace. He reluctantly returned the gesture by placing his hands on her back.

When she released him again she looked up into the buttons that reassembled his eyes and a weak smile crawled on her face.

"After settling things in our country we will find a way to fix you, Ambrose," she said and finally let go of his hands as well.

"Is that a deal?" he asked, returning the smile.

"It's a promise," she said and hoped that she was able to keep it.

With his mouth he formed a silent "Thank you," before he approached Azkadellia and cupped her chin with his hands.

"You saved me and I will be forever grateful for that! It doesn't matter what state I'm in now. You fought the witch to save my life. You were so strong at that moment and I couldn't be prouder of you." Lifting her head and looking at her genuinely he hoped that he could bring that same smile on her face.

For a moment she hesitated but when she could see that he was honest about his words, she allowed herself to smile back for a second.

"I will try to not let it affect myself too much," she whispered and he nodded. She was glad that he understood her. Witch or not, she had been part of this and she simply needed some time to heal.

"Just don't think that I hate you, it's not your fault and there is nothing I would blame you for," he answered before he placed a kiss on her forehead that felt unexpectedly soft.

Without being able to help herself, silent tears suddenly left her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

O.O.O.O.o.O.O.O.O.

The others had been watching them all the time, never interrupting because they knew that the three needed to say the things that had been on their mind.

After the mystery of Ambrose had been solved and explained to everyone, and after the Queen had shared some reuniting moments with her brother, the family had made their way to the public and announced the death of the witch before they had left to the Central City palace, where they talked to each other for the rest of the night.

Many tears hadn't been shed yet and there was a lot of catching up to do. The new day would include a lot of organization since the whole land needed to be informed of the return of their Queen. Neighboring countries, as same as the remaining administration needed to be called for a conference as soon as possible. Besides that Ozma and Ambrose were hoping to find their sisters, Thea and Amelia, who according to Ozma, were still alive and hiding in Ev.

The night though, was dedicated to the family in addition to Cain, his son Jeb, and Raw. They had some busy weeks ahead of them, but they had learned that time was precious so they didn't waste it with things that could wait until the next day.

O.O.O.O.o.o.O.O.O.O.o

It was long after midnight when he heard someone walking into his old room. As the Duke of the North he had preferred to live at the Northern Palace because it was closer to the lands that were under his caring, but whenever he could he had used to come back and stayed at the Central City palace.

The bed sheets were dusty from lack of use (the witch hadn't used the palace very often) but since he didn't need to sleep he didn't care. All he needed was a silent place to spend the night and his room had proven to be the perfect hiding place.

He didn't need to turn on the lights to know that it was Cain who was visiting him. The situation reminding him very much of a night where Cain had shown him the confirmation letter for his Tin Man training.

It was odd, he only had been connected to Ambrose for a short time but remembering seemed to be much easier. So was feeling certain emotions, especially when the Tin Man was near. They were similar to the odd feelings he had had before. Now, however, they were even stronger and he exactly knew why.

"Shouldn't you be much too tired to be still awake, Tin Man?" he asked into the darkness of the room. He couldn't see Cain but he assumed that the man was just making a face.

All of a sudden someone turned on the light and now Glitch could see the blond man who was making his way to the bed and sitting down on the edge.

"There is too much on my mind to be sleepy," Cain returned with this unsaying expression on his face. Why had he come to his room then, when his face showed nothing but more riddles.

"What for example?" Glitch therefore asked curiously.

"You," Cain said as a matter of fact.

It didn't surprise Glitch, since Cain was one of the major things that was on his mind too. However, he was asking himself in what way Cain was thinking of him and why he had come so late at night to tell him.

"I see, because we used to be friends. Because I'm Ambrose?" He continued their conversation.

Cain didn't seem to the like the word 'used' and therefore flinched.

"We're still friends, you should know that," he responded.

"I know, I'm sorry... it's just that everything is a bit...,"Glitch started

"Strange, I know," and Cain finished for him.

Strange was the right word. They hadn't seen each other in years, they had won against the witch and were reunited again, yet there were no hugs or emotional moments of telling the other how much they had missed each other.

Just an awkward moment of silence that was desperately trying to be filled.

"You think I'm going to be human again?" So Glitch said the first thing that came to his mind. Cain seemed to consider the question for a moment before he answered.

"I'm sure that Ozma will find a way," he said but he didn't sound very confident about his own words.

Glitch just nodded because he himself wasn't too confident either, but he was glad that Cain was trying to lift him up.

"Where will you go from here? Will you stay at the palace or will you leave for your cabin and fix things there?" He hoped that reminding Cain of his old home, the place where he had spent his life with Adora, wouldn't make him sad but the Tin Man only shook his head.

"First things need to be fixed in Central City. Jeb and I can go back to the cabin after that. Besides...I suppose that there are still some things at the palace that keep me here," he answered slowly.

"So we're back talking about Ambrose then? About our relationship?" Glitch asked, not being sure of how Cain would answer.

The Tin Man stared into the emptiness of the room and took a long pause before he answered.

"I came here to tell you… I came here to tell you that..." Nervously he started to fidget with his fingers. Cautiously, he looked up to Glitch who curiously was awaiting an answer from him but Cain was scared.

Over the days spent with Glitch and through the remembering of his old friend he had noticed that his feelings had changed. Friendship had vanished long ago and was slowly being replaced by affection and love.

The fear of losing his best friend had opened his eyes for something new, that might have been inside of him all the time. He loved every single bit about Ambrose, but could he allow himself to ask the same thing from his friend?

There were going through a rough time and bringing back the O.Z. to its old glory would be time consuming and tiring for all of them. Adora was dead and she wouldn't come back but did that allow him to forget the pain and start a new life? She would want him to be happy, but he couldn't just throw away the thought that only days ago he had hoped to find both Adora and his son alive.

It was too fresh and although she might approve of his decisions, it needed time to heal and time for this feelings to get a proper chance to blossom. Love wasn't born within a day and Cain didn't want to destroy the affection that was already there.

But would Glitch understand?

Of course he hadn't even managed to bring his thoughts into words but once he did, would Glitch give him the time he needed? More importantly would he confess that he secretly felt the same way?

The Tin Man's head was twirling and he started to feel dizzy. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to pay the Scarecrow a visit after all. He wasn't ready yet, but he had wanted to see his friend.

"You know what? This was a mistake! Please don't get me wrong, I came here to see you and yes I wanted to talk about old times and our friendship. But there are those thoughts that really confuse me and I don't know… I need time to sort things out on my own. Maybe I should go now," he rambled out of the blue, not paying attention if Glitch was as confused as him or if the Scarecrow was able to make sense out of it.

Jumping up from the bed and turning a last time to Glitch he wanted to make clear that he was about to leave-running away from the situation that had developed much too clumsily and hasty.

"Cain," was the only way that Glitch responded. The blond was not sure if his voice sounded sad or not.

"If you meant to tell me that you might have developed feelings for me, I want to inform you that I feel the same way... well, I suppose Ambrose does. I know everything happened very fast, thankfully, and now it's going to be very busy but still I wanted you to know that you shouldn't be afraid of what you feel... at least not because I might have completely different feelings. I think we both need some time to settle down again. I really want my body back and you shouldn't torture yourself with twisted thoughts about Adora's death. It's all right. We have so much ahead of us, there is no need to rush into something. I can wait, I always will," Glitch answered softly, showing as much sympathy and understanding on his face as he could.

Cain stood there as if frozen in time, only able to stare with his mouth lightly open. He couldn't believe what Glitch had just said to him, and his heart couldn't feel warmer and lighter.

To know that he had a chance and that one day everything could be easier and less difficult, made him feel more like a lightweight. It was no surprise then that he couldn't stop himself from smiling genuinely for the first time after the eclipse had disappeared and light had flooded the land.

"You mean that…," he started carefully.

"I want to talk to you about the status of our relationship again when we both feel that it's the right time, yes," Glitch answered and the stitches of his mouth almost touched the buttons he had for eyes. He almost looked spooky when he smiled liked that but Cain had always loved his smile so he didn't care that the crinkly burlap made it look different.

"That sounds like a good plan to me," he returned. "Thank you." With that he bowed in front of his friend as if he wanted to introduce him to his old title as a duke again, but actually he only wanted to hear Glitch laugh and he didn't get disappointed.

The lovely clear sound filled the room even before he was able to raise his head again and in an instant he knew how much he had missed that sound.

"I'll leave you alone then. Business will start pretty early tomorrow morning," Cain said and Glitch nodded in agreement.

"Farewell then, old friend," the Scarecrow replied mockingly and in an almost theatrical fashion.

Cain walked to the door, used the switch close to it to turn off the lights and silently he left Glitch alone to the darkness.

"Goodnight Sweetheart," he said to himself and with a silent tune on his lips he walked along the barely lit corridor to his own apartment.

May time heal their wounds and the future bring them new light.

A.N: Again the dialogue between Cain and Glitch may come off as sloppy..I hope not but I'm not fully satisfied with that last part so I might edit it some time. This was the last Chapter of Part 2. Next week we will take a look at the time post eclipse. Five more chapters and my story is finished though . I hope you enjoyed it . Thanks for reading .