Takes place directly when the movie ends. It is VERY Short.

Word count before editing:  1,179

Song I listened to for this chapter: Waiting for the End by Linkin Park.

“That’s the O.Z. I remember.” Those were the last words DG said before she collapsed.

Luckily her Tin Man was there as always, Glitch a half step behind him.  He caught her; a groan was the only indication of his wound.  He picked her up bridal style and asked, “Where is a room I can put her into?”  It went unsaid that he would be there guarding her.  He will never leave DG; he will be there for her no matter what she chooses.  She would need a bodyguard right?

Her parents looked at each other trying to get what was going on clear in their heads, they are both having issues with DG no longer being seven, but they are working on it.  But the situation in front of them is a bit much to take in.  They didn’t have objections; how could they?  But…

When she saw her parents trying to wrap their minds around it all, Azkadellia stepped forward and asked him in a soft voice to follow her.  Glitch moved after them also determined to keep DG within his view at this time, and for all time.

The group moved down the hall.  Glitch came up to Cain and asked him, “May I carry her, you’re still wounded.”  He, along with Cain, acknowledged long ago what was happening and the two of them had come to a decision: to let her choose between them.  Plus there was Glitch’s surgery to come.  It may solve their problems itself; after all, even Glitch hates Ambrose.

Cain growled at him, his protectiveness over DG full out in the open.  He knows Glitch is more than capable of taking care of DG, but right now, he just cannot let her go.  He looked at Glitch and raised an eyebrow, greatly relieved when Glitch nodded in response.  While he cannot put her down, he also needed someone he trusted to remain with her, and to guard them both.  With this, there is no one he trusted more than Glitch to protect DG.

Cain glances around, checking where Azkadellia is taking them.   He will always be able to take care of DG.  To even suggest otherwise is blasphemous in his mind.  He stares down at the tiny princess in his arms and thought back to when she was saying goodbye to them all earlier.  When his time had come, he didn’t need the words.  He will fight to the death for her, and then some.  His fear was because he would not be there for her.  He would not be at her side and neither would Glitch or any of their friends.  She had to do this on her own.  Cain knew his princess could take care of herself, but she was his to guard as she is the one who guards his heart.

He had spent eight annuals saying goodbyes to his wife and son.  That is long enough for anyone to grieve.  Finding his son was a blessing, but there was no aging in the Tin Suits.  That is what makes them such horrendous prisons.  Aging literally stopped.  He remains the same 23 annuals.  His son was now barely a couple of annuals younger than him.

That is how one lived, if that could be considered living, within those things.  And oh yes, it fooled you, your hair grew, you would get hungry, you see time pass outside the windows of your prison.  You could never close your eyes, never do anything until you accept the reason you are in one. That was in the magic in the suits.  And as a former Tin Man he knew what was going on.  Cain still can’t figure out if that added to the torture or not. You see, once you have admitted your crime, you then atoned for it.  As soon as the magic of the suit agrees with your atonement, you are released.   But his suit had been forced to keep shut, it would not have stayed shut otherwise.  Then being forced to watch the murder of his wife and son, over and over again, it built within him a powerful need for revenge.  The only one that helped free him of that, is the same one who freed him from the Tin Suit.  DG had been his salvation, and become his reason. It did not happen overnight, but she had slowly crept into his tin heart, and started it; now it beats for her.

They made it to the rooms Azkadellia had put her sister in earlier.  She stopped and frowned, when she realized that it may not be a good thing for DG to wake in them.  She concentrated and had the room change its décor to one in blues.  She stumbled, but Raw caught her.  He moved her into the room and had her sit on the settee.

Cain carefully laid DG on the bed, removing her shoes as carefully as he could.  He went to remove her jacket and Glitch was there helping with her.  Cain nodded his thanks to him.  The two of them made her as comfortable as possible.

Cain grabbed a chair with his ankle and dragged it over to the bed and he sat there, his back to the wall and his eyes able to watch DG and to make sure nothing can get to her without first going through him.  The only vulnerable area had Glitch there guarding her. Their eyes meet, acknowledging the agreement made on the trail; they will both be here for her.  She will need all of them.

There they sat, letting their bodies rest for the first time in days, just waiting for DG to wake up. As they tried to think of a reason why DG had yet to wake up, there is a quiet knock on the door.  Raw moved to answer the door after Azkadellia and the rest nodded their readiness.

The door opened to show Jeb on the other side.  He rushed in and his eyes landed upon the princess on the bed, then how his father is seated next to her.  His eyes flicked up to his father’s and he could see the determination and love he had for the woman he was guarding.  This will make life interesting!

Then he turned and saw the same determination coming from Glitch and he realized life is going to be very interesting.

Cain can see his son gathering intelligence from how he was looking at everyone in the room.  But the look in his eyes when he came in indicated he had not only wanted to check on them.  “Jeb, what is it?”

Jeb jerked his mind out of the thoughts he was having, and he quickly told his father, “Whoever is healing the patients below, we appreciate it, but they can stop.  I cannot see how it’s not draining whoever it is.” He had rushed up here as soon as he had seen wounds magically healing themselves.  He knew it had to be one of the princesses, and it made sense to him it was DG.  He was unsure of Azkadellia, but he could picture DG trying to heal people.

Cain spun in his chair as Azkadellia rushed to her sister’s side, he almost growled at her as well as at Glitch who was hovering on DG’s other side.  Azkadellia snapped at both of them, “Stop, until she makes her choice, you both need to chill.  Right now, I need to stop her from draining herself.”  She then muttered softly, tears present, “Deej, why?  You, of all of us, need to rest.  There is no need to drive yourself to the end like this!”

Glitch is the one who asked the words in both of their heads, “What is she doing?” He was worried.  This woman in front of him has slowly taken over his life.  He had never even thought of fighting others until it became necessary for him to protect her.  He was sitting in the basket waiting for something to happen, and ho boy, did something happen!  DG fell into his life and she never put him down, and in fact listened to him.  He loved to make her laugh and once they had found out who she was, the pictures of a young princess, not Azkadellia, that he constantly saw made sense. He was remembering a younger DG.  And his feelings for her were not negative; they were of adoration for the Princess.  They came in fuzzily.

Downstairs in Ambrose’s brain, his memories are clear and showed a princess who would barge into his workshop whenever she wanted.  And he welcomed her into it, encouraging her to play with the inventions.  Many a time she would help him.  And in fact, he hopes she never realizes that his breakthrough on the Sun Seeder was from her.  Her at 7 annuals!  Ambrose had been hopeful that they would eventually be closer in the future, that he could get her to agree to him courting her.  Their ages are not that abnormal in a world where most lived to be 200 or more.

But then the Evil Witch took over Akzadellia and killed DG.  His heart had broken on that day, the day they had lowered her body into the ground and he became cold.  So cold to everyone else.  Duty was the only thing that drove him; and why would her sister, who adored her, kill her?  He was the one who had discovered what had happened.

Most of these thoughts are still hidden to him, Glitch just knew he had recognized DG and then he fell in love with the adult version.  All the while his subconscious remains happy.  But a lot of the back story flew through when Raw had connected the two of them.  Ambrose is downstairs and waiting to reunite his body and brain; and Glitch was scared of Ambrose taking away DG, of hating her.  He was scared of the coldness he had felt from Ambrose not realizing it was from before, when he thought that DG was dead.

Lavender rushed in and laid her fingers on the other side of DG’s head and worked with her daughter.  Ahamo came in and answered the question.  “She is trying to fix the O.Z.  She started thankfully with the troops and we realized what she was doing when the lands around the tower began to flower like they did in the past.  If they don’t make her stop, she will drain herself and will eventually kill herself.” His concern for his daughter was evident.

Just then DG’s body was physically levitated from the bed and everyone jumped in to hold her down.  Her body fought them all; eventually Cain, Glitch and Jeb were the only ones who could keep her on the bed.  Lavender and Azkadellia worked to stop her from pouring her very life out of her.

It seemed as though the fight lasted for hours, but in actuality it was only minutes. All at once DG’s eyes flew open and she screamed.  That scream tore through them all. It wasn’t until later they learned that everyone around the Tower had heard it.  They all described it the same, it was soul rending.

Cain hated to do it, but he did the only thing he could think of.  He slapped her.  Silence descended as she shut down again.  He gathered her to himself, murmuring how very sorry he was; he never wanted to hurt her.

Tutor came in and watched it all.  His face was caring, but inside, inside he was gleeful.  The one who should be suffering is.  All the sayings, all the mutterings are coming to fruition.  It seemed he would get his revenge on the one who started this whole thing.  The one who had not been able to stop their curiosity from destroying the O.Z.

Word count:  after editing. 2 ,014

Fairfarren~