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Fic: Is the Pope Catholic?
Title: Is the Pope Catholic?
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters/Pairing: DG, Cain, Glitch, Raw and a not-so-OC (mentions of Azkadellia, Mo-Bats and two other not-so-OCs) *Oh, and the Pope. o.O
Rating: G
Summary: Glitch gets help with the Sun Seeder
Warning: post-series *Inspired by chibi_kaz
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The not-so-OC's belong to Universal, also.
Is the Pope Catholic? | Werewolves, Vampires and Monsters... Oh Boy! | Sometimes the History Books Get it Wrong
Glitch had his brain back.
Problem was, it still didn’t work. Well, not completely, anyway. The memories were there; the genius. But Ambrose would never return.
Glitch didn’t seem to mind - assuming, of course, that he remembered to care. DG told him she was fine with ‘Glitch.’ She couldn’t remember Ambrose anyway, and Cain was enough of a stuffed shirt for the both of them half the time.
While DG was being tutored in princess-ey things, Glitch returned to his labs and the Sun Seeder. He’d sent scouts throughout the O.Z. to find a test field - one that wouldn’t affect the O.Z. if the machine wasn’t successful.
Word came back that an odd little man - something of a tinkerer himself - had a field he wasn’t using and Glitch was welcome to it. All he asked in return was for some random bits of machinery; junk and spare parts.
“Well,” Glitch said happily to DG when the letter came. “If anyone’s got spare parts, it’s me.” DG just smiled. She was looking forward to visiting the O.Z., even if Cain didn’t like the idea.
“We’ll bring Raw along,” DG had argued. “What? It’s not like we’re gonna be attacked by Mo-Bats in the middle of a field while the sun is shining.”
Sun Seeder - and every spare part Glitch could find - packed, the group set out in a large truck. After three days, heading due East, they rounded a hill and saw a little shack. Beyond that, dark and ominous black mountains.
Raw and Cain both looked at the craggy peaks with discontent, which DG noticed. When she asked, they changed the subject. “What? Are they haunted?” she asked Glitch as they started pulling scraps from the truck.
“That’s where the Mo-Bats came from.” DG raised an eyebrow and understood why Cain didn’t find her comment funny, days before. Soon, a man came out of the shack and, boy, was he enthusiastic. Probably didn’t get much company this far out, DG assumed.
“Welcome. Make yourselves at home. Have you eaten? Do you need a rest? What is this for? Did you really fight a witch? Ever seen a painting move?” The questions were rattled off as they continued removing junk, clearing space around the Sun Seeder.
He also made comments as he sifted through the growing pile. “That would have been handy. How did this get here? If I turn that and add it to that-” DG was starting to wonder if his lack of visitors was really due to locale, or if it might just be him. As the Sun Seeder was unloaded, the little man and Glitch moved off to set it up and make adjustments.
While they talked ‘geek,’ DG noticed Cain looking back toward the mountains. “You ever been up there?” she asked slowly, hoping he wouldn’t shut down. Again. Silence was not something she enjoyed.
Cain sighed and faced her, his expression almost calm. “Once.” He picked up another piece of junk. “And I have no interest in going back.”
“Well, it’s not exactly ski vacation-material...” DG shrugged. Honestly, the view was just creepy. Like something from one of those old Dracula movies. “What’s up there?” Cain glared at her. “I mean, why did you have to go?” He nodded to the end of a large metal thing and, as DG grabbed the end closer to her and lifted, he stated:
“Just past the first ridge, that’s the border of the O.Z. The ruler of that... place,” he forced, nodding in that direction. “Well, he was about as human as the folks in Milltown.” He nodded again and DG set her end down.
Wiping her hands together, she looked up, wide-eyed. “He was a robot?”
“Hardly,” Cain said with a laugh. “He made your sister look more docile than Raw.” DG’s jaw dropped.
“What happened?” Cain shrugged.
“Don’t know. When we got there, the place was empty, and-” He threw another glance toward the horizon.
“You got the hell outta Dodge?” DG offered with a caring smile, knowing he probably would understand the reference, Other Side or not. Cain glanced at her a moment and smiled.
“Yeah,” he replied, moving a hand to her back and pushing her slightly, directing her to move. Joining Raw, they watched as the man stepped back from the machine. Glitch pushed a button, and then hopped back a few feet.
Nothing happened.
Glitch frowned and smacked the side of the contraption. “May I?” the man asked, waving to the Sun Seeder. Glitch held up a hand as the man pulled an odd-looking headset from his pocket. As he put it on, DG was reminded of the cranky old man, at the clock shop in town, who’d fixed Popsicle’s pocket watch.
Popping a panel off, he stuck a hand - then half his body - into the machine and they all heard a bang.
DG looked from Cain to Glitch as the man popped back out. “Here’s your problem,” he smiled, holding up a blackened coil. Glitch took it with a frown and stared at it. He looked up to see the man staring at his zipper, mouth open, then blinking.
“I may have something that will work. Come on!” Raw and Glitch followed him to the door as DG raised an eyebrow. ‘Inside’ didn’t look much larger than two outhouses strapped together. Cain pulled her along by the elbow and she stopped short, just inside the doorway.
There was a cape-looking overcoat hanging on a hook; some tools on the wall and countertop; a workbench beneath a window. And nothing else. Literally. No Glitch. No Raw. No little man. As she turned to him, Cain rolled his eyes and nodded to the floor. Looking down, DG found a large hole and ladder, much like the entrance to the Unwanted Realm.
Stepping off the ladder, DG inhaled sharply as she took in the expanse. The room was roughly the size of the entry hall at the palace on the Northern Island. There were tables everywhere, lined with bottles, devices and - was that a flame-thower?
Cain directed her to join Raw and Glitch, who were watching the man dig through a large, brown duffle bag. “Hold that,” he said, handing a large item to Raw. The Viewer took it and looked to Glitch, who simply shook his head. Another item was handed to Glitch and, as the last was presented, DG was closest. Only because Cain pushed her forward, with a smirk, as the man held out the object.
She glared at the former Tin Man as the man handed her a green... thing. “Careful with that,” he said with a nod, then dug back into the bag. DG turned it over in her hands. It looked like a snowglobe, but with green water. There was a coil on either side of the mouth, wrapped with wire. ‘In fact,’ she thought, it looked like-
“Is this a bomb?!” Three sets of eyes grew wide and Cain was suddenly so close, DG was sure a piece of paper couldn’t be slipped between them.
“In a manner of speaking,” the man said, as if nothing was wrong. DG looked at the device, then back to Cain, as the man returned to the bag. “Aha!” he called out, smiling as he pulled out a matching coil. “This should fix you right up.” He handed the new part to Glitch and noticed Raw reaching for something on the table behind him.
“Careful with that,” he said quickly, shooting around DG and Cain. Raw’s hand recoiled as the man picked up the long pipe. A moment later, he shook the thing and everyone jumped. The pipe had expanded in length, and they could all see a very sharp point on the end. “You see my point?” he asked dryly.
Raw beamed at the joke, while Cain rolled his eyes. Glitch looked around the room and asked, “Did you invent all these things?”
“Is the Pope Catholic?” the man asked, then winced. “Sorry. ”
“What?” DG asked, her expression frozen. Cain noticed the look and became concerned, as did Raw. The man waved a hand.
“Old habit, I’m afraid. Yes,” he nodded to Glitch. “Well, most of them. I gladly refuse credit for that thing,” he said forcefully, nodding to a suit in the corner. It looked like black leather with an attached gas mask. All DG could think of was a Shy Guy from Super Mario Brothers II.
“What do you know about the Pope?” she asked with a frown. The man looked at her for a moment, confusion all over his face. Only one other person had ever understood his references, but he hadn’t seen them in years. Many, many years.
“Well, I never actually met the man. But if he knew half the things that went on in that basement, well-” He looked up into the faces of three confused men, and one shocked girl. “What do you know of the Pope?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Who are you?” DG asked defensively, hands on her hips. He blinked, straightened and smiled.
“Terribly sorry. Name’s Carl.”
_______________________
Carl, with a little help from Weird Science
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters/Pairing: DG, Cain, Glitch, Raw and a not-so-OC (mentions of Azkadellia, Mo-Bats and two other not-so-OCs) *Oh, and the Pope. o.O
Rating: G
Summary: Glitch gets help with the Sun Seeder
Warning: post-series *Inspired by chibi_kaz
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The not-so-OC's belong to Universal, also.
Is the Pope Catholic? | Werewolves, Vampires and Monsters... Oh Boy! | Sometimes the History Books Get it Wrong
Glitch had his brain back.
Problem was, it still didn’t work. Well, not completely, anyway. The memories were there; the genius. But Ambrose would never return.
Glitch didn’t seem to mind - assuming, of course, that he remembered to care. DG told him she was fine with ‘Glitch.’ She couldn’t remember Ambrose anyway, and Cain was enough of a stuffed shirt for the both of them half the time.
While DG was being tutored in princess-ey things, Glitch returned to his labs and the Sun Seeder. He’d sent scouts throughout the O.Z. to find a test field - one that wouldn’t affect the O.Z. if the machine wasn’t successful.
Word came back that an odd little man - something of a tinkerer himself - had a field he wasn’t using and Glitch was welcome to it. All he asked in return was for some random bits of machinery; junk and spare parts.
“Well,” Glitch said happily to DG when the letter came. “If anyone’s got spare parts, it’s me.” DG just smiled. She was looking forward to visiting the O.Z., even if Cain didn’t like the idea.
“We’ll bring Raw along,” DG had argued. “What? It’s not like we’re gonna be attacked by Mo-Bats in the middle of a field while the sun is shining.”
Sun Seeder - and every spare part Glitch could find - packed, the group set out in a large truck. After three days, heading due East, they rounded a hill and saw a little shack. Beyond that, dark and ominous black mountains.
Raw and Cain both looked at the craggy peaks with discontent, which DG noticed. When she asked, they changed the subject. “What? Are they haunted?” she asked Glitch as they started pulling scraps from the truck.
“That’s where the Mo-Bats came from.” DG raised an eyebrow and understood why Cain didn’t find her comment funny, days before. Soon, a man came out of the shack and, boy, was he enthusiastic. Probably didn’t get much company this far out, DG assumed.
“Welcome. Make yourselves at home. Have you eaten? Do you need a rest? What is this for? Did you really fight a witch? Ever seen a painting move?” The questions were rattled off as they continued removing junk, clearing space around the Sun Seeder.
He also made comments as he sifted through the growing pile. “That would have been handy. How did this get here? If I turn that and add it to that-” DG was starting to wonder if his lack of visitors was really due to locale, or if it might just be him. As the Sun Seeder was unloaded, the little man and Glitch moved off to set it up and make adjustments.
While they talked ‘geek,’ DG noticed Cain looking back toward the mountains. “You ever been up there?” she asked slowly, hoping he wouldn’t shut down. Again. Silence was not something she enjoyed.
Cain sighed and faced her, his expression almost calm. “Once.” He picked up another piece of junk. “And I have no interest in going back.”
“Well, it’s not exactly ski vacation-material...” DG shrugged. Honestly, the view was just creepy. Like something from one of those old Dracula movies. “What’s up there?” Cain glared at her. “I mean, why did you have to go?” He nodded to the end of a large metal thing and, as DG grabbed the end closer to her and lifted, he stated:
“Just past the first ridge, that’s the border of the O.Z. The ruler of that... place,” he forced, nodding in that direction. “Well, he was about as human as the folks in Milltown.” He nodded again and DG set her end down.
Wiping her hands together, she looked up, wide-eyed. “He was a robot?”
“Hardly,” Cain said with a laugh. “He made your sister look more docile than Raw.” DG’s jaw dropped.
“What happened?” Cain shrugged.
“Don’t know. When we got there, the place was empty, and-” He threw another glance toward the horizon.
“You got the hell outta Dodge?” DG offered with a caring smile, knowing he probably would understand the reference, Other Side or not. Cain glanced at her a moment and smiled.
“Yeah,” he replied, moving a hand to her back and pushing her slightly, directing her to move. Joining Raw, they watched as the man stepped back from the machine. Glitch pushed a button, and then hopped back a few feet.
Nothing happened.
Glitch frowned and smacked the side of the contraption. “May I?” the man asked, waving to the Sun Seeder. Glitch held up a hand as the man pulled an odd-looking headset from his pocket. As he put it on, DG was reminded of the cranky old man, at the clock shop in town, who’d fixed Popsicle’s pocket watch.
Popping a panel off, he stuck a hand - then half his body - into the machine and they all heard a bang.
DG looked from Cain to Glitch as the man popped back out. “Here’s your problem,” he smiled, holding up a blackened coil. Glitch took it with a frown and stared at it. He looked up to see the man staring at his zipper, mouth open, then blinking.
“I may have something that will work. Come on!” Raw and Glitch followed him to the door as DG raised an eyebrow. ‘Inside’ didn’t look much larger than two outhouses strapped together. Cain pulled her along by the elbow and she stopped short, just inside the doorway.
There was a cape-looking overcoat hanging on a hook; some tools on the wall and countertop; a workbench beneath a window. And nothing else. Literally. No Glitch. No Raw. No little man. As she turned to him, Cain rolled his eyes and nodded to the floor. Looking down, DG found a large hole and ladder, much like the entrance to the Unwanted Realm.
Stepping off the ladder, DG inhaled sharply as she took in the expanse. The room was roughly the size of the entry hall at the palace on the Northern Island. There were tables everywhere, lined with bottles, devices and - was that a flame-thower?
Cain directed her to join Raw and Glitch, who were watching the man dig through a large, brown duffle bag. “Hold that,” he said, handing a large item to Raw. The Viewer took it and looked to Glitch, who simply shook his head. Another item was handed to Glitch and, as the last was presented, DG was closest. Only because Cain pushed her forward, with a smirk, as the man held out the object.
She glared at the former Tin Man as the man handed her a green... thing. “Careful with that,” he said with a nod, then dug back into the bag. DG turned it over in her hands. It looked like a snowglobe, but with green water. There was a coil on either side of the mouth, wrapped with wire. ‘In fact,’ she thought, it looked like-
“Is this a bomb?!” Three sets of eyes grew wide and Cain was suddenly so close, DG was sure a piece of paper couldn’t be slipped between them.
“In a manner of speaking,” the man said, as if nothing was wrong. DG looked at the device, then back to Cain, as the man returned to the bag. “Aha!” he called out, smiling as he pulled out a matching coil. “This should fix you right up.” He handed the new part to Glitch and noticed Raw reaching for something on the table behind him.
“Careful with that,” he said quickly, shooting around DG and Cain. Raw’s hand recoiled as the man picked up the long pipe. A moment later, he shook the thing and everyone jumped. The pipe had expanded in length, and they could all see a very sharp point on the end. “You see my point?” he asked dryly.
Raw beamed at the joke, while Cain rolled his eyes. Glitch looked around the room and asked, “Did you invent all these things?”
“Is the Pope Catholic?” the man asked, then winced. “Sorry. ”
“What?” DG asked, her expression frozen. Cain noticed the look and became concerned, as did Raw. The man waved a hand.
“Old habit, I’m afraid. Yes,” he nodded to Glitch. “Well, most of them. I gladly refuse credit for that thing,” he said forcefully, nodding to a suit in the corner. It looked like black leather with an attached gas mask. All DG could think of was a Shy Guy from Super Mario Brothers II.
“What do you know about the Pope?” she asked with a frown. The man looked at her for a moment, confusion all over his face. Only one other person had ever understood his references, but he hadn’t seen them in years. Many, many years.
“Well, I never actually met the man. But if he knew half the things that went on in that basement, well-” He looked up into the faces of three confused men, and one shocked girl. “What do you know of the Pope?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Who are you?” DG asked defensively, hands on her hips. He blinked, straightened and smiled.
“Terribly sorry. Name’s Carl.”
_______________________
Carl, with a little help from Weird Science