The Key (2/3) for kseda
Title: The Key
Author: Amedia
Characters: DG, Cain, Glitch, Queen, Tutor, and Princess Mombi
Pairing: Cain/Glitch
Rating: PG
For: kseda
Word count: 4687
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Imagiquest. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: DG finds a key to a secret room in the Sorceress's Tower. Crossover with Return to Oz.
Author's notes: Response to the following portions of kseda's request: "Characters/pairings: Glimbrose/Cain […] I also love DG in all her unimpressed, snarky glory.
Prompts: Magic Gone Wrong, aka 'DG goofs a spell with hilarious/terrifying consequences.' ...I'd actually love something with a Return to Oz infusion, because Princess Mombi freaks me out and I love her."
Beta'd by TODS.
Part One may be found here.
They spent the next few hours going systematically through the rooms of the Tower. It was almost noon when they reached the 13th floor. DG stopped in front of the first door and looked at her clipboard. "It's a storage closet," she reported.
"Anything in there?"
"Spare Longcoat gear, it looks like," said DG, running her finger across the page. "Overcoats. Truncheons. Jackboots. That sort of thing."
She took out the ruby key, and tried it in the lock. "Hey!"
Cain and Glitch came closer. "It fits!" said Glitch excitedly.
"Careful," said Cain. She glared at him and turned the key.
Jolts of emerald lightning stabbed outward from the lock in all directions. DG gasped as the starburst of energy went around her, as if she were standing in a protective bubble.
Cain and Glitch stared at her. "DG?" said Cain, sounding worried.
"What?" she asked, irritated.
"You're in a bubble," said Glitch, pointing.
"I don't feel any different," said DG, puzzled. "Hey, look at the door."
The door that she had unlocked was slowly swinging open. No dark, dusty storage closet lay within; the door led to a large room, brightly lit and lined in white cabinets with glass fronts. "I've seen that," DG said in astonishment. "I had a dream about it last night."
"You what?" said Glitch.
Almost simultaneously, Cain said, "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
"I had forgotten about it until just now," DG said, staring into the room as if mesmerized.
A cold, echoing voice sounded from within the room, though no speaker was visible. "Only the girl may enter."
"Then no one's coming in, because there's no girl out here," said DG, irritated.
The voice chuckled. "Very well, then. Only the woman may enter."
"That's the spirit, DG!" said Glitch.
DG waved him to silence. "What about my friends?" she asked.
The voice no longer sounded amused. "Try not my patience, Princess. You, or no one."
"Sorry, guys," said DG, and walked straight through the door before they could stop her. The bubble of green light that had formed around her flattened out as she passed through the doorway to form a barrier at the entrance.
Cain and Glitch looked at each other. "The Queen is going to kill us," said Cain, and Glitch nodded. They both tried to go through after DG, but the barrier of light crackled and sparked, throwing them back violently into the wall across the corridor.
Cain got to his feet and stared in frustration at the barrier. "Okay, Glitch, got any bright ideas?" He looked around the corridor. "Glitch?"
He felt something brush his leg and jumped back, startled. Looking down, he felt foolish; it was only a cat. It rubbed against his leg again and he reached down to scratch behind its ears. It was the kind of long-haired cat that usually lounged around wealthy homes as a useless fluffy ornament, except that this one looked scruffy and streetwise. It purred loudly as Cain scratched it. "Nice kitty," he said, then straightened up and looked around. "Don't suppose you've seen Glitch anywhere."
The cat meowed loudly and bonked its head against Cain's shins. "Hey, I petted you enough already," Cain said. It meowed again. Cain sighed and bent down to scratch its head again. It moved under his fingertips as if to guide him, and to his surprise he felt a hint of metal within the fur. He squatted down beside the creature and inspected its head closely, a terrible suspicion arising in his mind.
Sure enough, a tiny zipper ran between the cat's ears and down part of its forehead, ending shortly before its eyes. "Glitch?" Cain asked, feeling impossibly foolish. The cat meowed. "Ozma's pantaloons!" said Cain.
******
As DG entered the room, she noticed that it was not exactly the same as it had appeared in her dream. All the cabinets were empty, while a single head rested on a stand in the center of the room. It was the first head she had seen in her dream, and it was looking at her. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" the head demanded.
"I'm not a witch at all," said DG, startled.
"Don't be coy, Princess," the head said sharply. "I could feel your power from the corridor."
"Oh," said DG. "Well, I prefer the term "magic user.'"
The head sniffed. "I suppose it isn't your fault you were raised on the Otherside. Oh, wait. It was!" The head laughed in a mean sort of way.
"You seem to know a lot about me," said DG.
"Oh, yes, my dear, I know quite a lot about most things. I am Princess Mombi."
"I see," said DG. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
Mombi appeared amused. "Oh, most definitely bad," she said. "You must realize that this dimension, to say nothing of my current state, is an exile for me. But I'm not crazy. If I'd gotten my way, I would certainly have ruled all of Oz--what you call the O.Z.--in accord with my whims, but I would never have tried to plunge it into eternal darkness. What would be the point? There's no fun in being a despotic ruler unless you've got something to rule over!"
DG smiled weakly in response. Mombi's head eyed her sharply. "I'm going to give you something now, and I'm going to ask for something." She paused. "A prediction. Your sister will recover fully," she said. DG felt, despite the strange circumstances, a certainty that Mombi knew what she was talking about. "Now, the demand. I want to get out of here. I've served far more than my original sentence. I will accept reasonable restrictions, but as I'm sure you can tell, I am going to need certain accommodations."
"You think I'm just going to--" DG started, but Mombi cut her off.
"I don't expect you to set me free, Princess. I want you to speak to the Queen on my behalf. I know you'll want to. Just as I know you will seek my aid, even though you may think you don't need it." DG started to protest, but Mombi said, "This audience is at an end. Farewell, Princess. See you soon."
DG walked out into the corridor. "That was just insane," she said. "Cain, did you overhear any of that? That woman is crazy!"
"DG, we've got a more immediate problem," Cain said. The serious undertone of his voice caught and held her attention.
"What is it?" she asked, more quietly.
Cain pointed to the cat. "Awwww," said DG, kneeling down to pet it. "What a cute kitty. I didn't know you had Himalayans here. Hey, what's this on his head?" She looked up at Cain. "And where's…? Hey!" It didn't take long to put two and two together. "Is that Glitch?"
Cain nodded. "I'm pretty sure," he said. "Personality is remarkably similar."
"That green lightning stuff," DG mused aloud." Do you think it was a spell?" She smacked herself on the forehead. "Duh! Of course it was. This must be what Mombi meant when she said I'd be seeking her aid. Well, she's underestimating who she's talking to!"
"Did you say Mombi?" Cain asked. Glitch hissed at the name.
"Why, have you heard of her?"
"Anyone who took elementary history here has heard of Mombi," Cain said. "She was exiled centuries ago."
"Well, apparently she was exiled here," said DG. "And she's put a curse on Glitch. Let me fix it and then we can figure out what to do next." She stepped back and closed her eyes.
"Uh, DG," said Cain, "do you think that's a good idea? I mean, maybe we should consult your mother, your tutor…"
She opened her eyes, irritated. "I've had three weeks of lessons now. They keep telling me that I'm the most powerful magic-user in the O.Z. I think I can handle a simple transformation reversal, thank you very much."
"Sorry, Princess," said Cain.
She closed her eyes again and concentrated. A soft light gathered around her, and she put out her hands toward the cat, directing the light of magical energy toward it. She opened her eyes in time to see the light shimmer around the cat's body and then radiate toward Cain. That's not supposed to happen, she thought, puzzled.
A moment later, however, the cat seemed to grow and morph from feline to human, and soon Glitch was standing next to Cain. The two looked at each other, and then at DG. "Whew! Thanks, DG," said Glitch.
She was about to answer when Cain abruptly shrank and morphed, turning almost instantly into a large dog that DG recognized as a German shepherd. "Holy crap," she muttered. "Round one to Mombi."
"Mombi?" Glitch asked. "Princess Mombi did this?"
Mombi's cold, mocking laughter echoed all around them.
DG sighed. " Sorry, guys. I guess I'll have to do what I should have done in the first place."
"Talk to Princess Mombi?" Glitch asked.
"Worse," DG said. "I'll have to talk to my mother."
Part Three
Author: Amedia
Characters: DG, Cain, Glitch, Queen, Tutor, and Princess Mombi
Pairing: Cain/Glitch
Rating: PG
For: kseda
Word count: 4687
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Imagiquest. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: DG finds a key to a secret room in the Sorceress's Tower. Crossover with Return to Oz.
Author's notes: Response to the following portions of kseda's request: "Characters/pairings: Glimbrose/Cain […] I also love DG in all her unimpressed, snarky glory.
Prompts: Magic Gone Wrong, aka 'DG goofs a spell with hilarious/terrifying consequences.' ...I'd actually love something with a Return to Oz infusion, because Princess Mombi freaks me out and I love her."
Beta'd by TODS.
Part One may be found here.
They spent the next few hours going systematically through the rooms of the Tower. It was almost noon when they reached the 13th floor. DG stopped in front of the first door and looked at her clipboard. "It's a storage closet," she reported.
"Anything in there?"
"Spare Longcoat gear, it looks like," said DG, running her finger across the page. "Overcoats. Truncheons. Jackboots. That sort of thing."
She took out the ruby key, and tried it in the lock. "Hey!"
Cain and Glitch came closer. "It fits!" said Glitch excitedly.
"Careful," said Cain. She glared at him and turned the key.
Jolts of emerald lightning stabbed outward from the lock in all directions. DG gasped as the starburst of energy went around her, as if she were standing in a protective bubble.
Cain and Glitch stared at her. "DG?" said Cain, sounding worried.
"What?" she asked, irritated.
"You're in a bubble," said Glitch, pointing.
"I don't feel any different," said DG, puzzled. "Hey, look at the door."
The door that she had unlocked was slowly swinging open. No dark, dusty storage closet lay within; the door led to a large room, brightly lit and lined in white cabinets with glass fronts. "I've seen that," DG said in astonishment. "I had a dream about it last night."
"You what?" said Glitch.
Almost simultaneously, Cain said, "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
"I had forgotten about it until just now," DG said, staring into the room as if mesmerized.
A cold, echoing voice sounded from within the room, though no speaker was visible. "Only the girl may enter."
"Then no one's coming in, because there's no girl out here," said DG, irritated.
The voice chuckled. "Very well, then. Only the woman may enter."
"That's the spirit, DG!" said Glitch.
DG waved him to silence. "What about my friends?" she asked.
The voice no longer sounded amused. "Try not my patience, Princess. You, or no one."
"Sorry, guys," said DG, and walked straight through the door before they could stop her. The bubble of green light that had formed around her flattened out as she passed through the doorway to form a barrier at the entrance.
Cain and Glitch looked at each other. "The Queen is going to kill us," said Cain, and Glitch nodded. They both tried to go through after DG, but the barrier of light crackled and sparked, throwing them back violently into the wall across the corridor.
Cain got to his feet and stared in frustration at the barrier. "Okay, Glitch, got any bright ideas?" He looked around the corridor. "Glitch?"
He felt something brush his leg and jumped back, startled. Looking down, he felt foolish; it was only a cat. It rubbed against his leg again and he reached down to scratch behind its ears. It was the kind of long-haired cat that usually lounged around wealthy homes as a useless fluffy ornament, except that this one looked scruffy and streetwise. It purred loudly as Cain scratched it. "Nice kitty," he said, then straightened up and looked around. "Don't suppose you've seen Glitch anywhere."
The cat meowed loudly and bonked its head against Cain's shins. "Hey, I petted you enough already," Cain said. It meowed again. Cain sighed and bent down to scratch its head again. It moved under his fingertips as if to guide him, and to his surprise he felt a hint of metal within the fur. He squatted down beside the creature and inspected its head closely, a terrible suspicion arising in his mind.
Sure enough, a tiny zipper ran between the cat's ears and down part of its forehead, ending shortly before its eyes. "Glitch?" Cain asked, feeling impossibly foolish. The cat meowed. "Ozma's pantaloons!" said Cain.
******
As DG entered the room, she noticed that it was not exactly the same as it had appeared in her dream. All the cabinets were empty, while a single head rested on a stand in the center of the room. It was the first head she had seen in her dream, and it was looking at her. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" the head demanded.
"I'm not a witch at all," said DG, startled.
"Don't be coy, Princess," the head said sharply. "I could feel your power from the corridor."
"Oh," said DG. "Well, I prefer the term "magic user.'"
The head sniffed. "I suppose it isn't your fault you were raised on the Otherside. Oh, wait. It was!" The head laughed in a mean sort of way.
"You seem to know a lot about me," said DG.
"Oh, yes, my dear, I know quite a lot about most things. I am Princess Mombi."
"I see," said DG. "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
Mombi appeared amused. "Oh, most definitely bad," she said. "You must realize that this dimension, to say nothing of my current state, is an exile for me. But I'm not crazy. If I'd gotten my way, I would certainly have ruled all of Oz--what you call the O.Z.--in accord with my whims, but I would never have tried to plunge it into eternal darkness. What would be the point? There's no fun in being a despotic ruler unless you've got something to rule over!"
DG smiled weakly in response. Mombi's head eyed her sharply. "I'm going to give you something now, and I'm going to ask for something." She paused. "A prediction. Your sister will recover fully," she said. DG felt, despite the strange circumstances, a certainty that Mombi knew what she was talking about. "Now, the demand. I want to get out of here. I've served far more than my original sentence. I will accept reasonable restrictions, but as I'm sure you can tell, I am going to need certain accommodations."
"You think I'm just going to--" DG started, but Mombi cut her off.
"I don't expect you to set me free, Princess. I want you to speak to the Queen on my behalf. I know you'll want to. Just as I know you will seek my aid, even though you may think you don't need it." DG started to protest, but Mombi said, "This audience is at an end. Farewell, Princess. See you soon."
DG walked out into the corridor. "That was just insane," she said. "Cain, did you overhear any of that? That woman is crazy!"
"DG, we've got a more immediate problem," Cain said. The serious undertone of his voice caught and held her attention.
"What is it?" she asked, more quietly.
Cain pointed to the cat. "Awwww," said DG, kneeling down to pet it. "What a cute kitty. I didn't know you had Himalayans here. Hey, what's this on his head?" She looked up at Cain. "And where's…? Hey!" It didn't take long to put two and two together. "Is that Glitch?"
Cain nodded. "I'm pretty sure," he said. "Personality is remarkably similar."
"That green lightning stuff," DG mused aloud." Do you think it was a spell?" She smacked herself on the forehead. "Duh! Of course it was. This must be what Mombi meant when she said I'd be seeking her aid. Well, she's underestimating who she's talking to!"
"Did you say Mombi?" Cain asked. Glitch hissed at the name.
"Why, have you heard of her?"
"Anyone who took elementary history here has heard of Mombi," Cain said. "She was exiled centuries ago."
"Well, apparently she was exiled here," said DG. "And she's put a curse on Glitch. Let me fix it and then we can figure out what to do next." She stepped back and closed her eyes.
"Uh, DG," said Cain, "do you think that's a good idea? I mean, maybe we should consult your mother, your tutor…"
She opened her eyes, irritated. "I've had three weeks of lessons now. They keep telling me that I'm the most powerful magic-user in the O.Z. I think I can handle a simple transformation reversal, thank you very much."
"Sorry, Princess," said Cain.
She closed her eyes again and concentrated. A soft light gathered around her, and she put out her hands toward the cat, directing the light of magical energy toward it. She opened her eyes in time to see the light shimmer around the cat's body and then radiate toward Cain. That's not supposed to happen, she thought, puzzled.
A moment later, however, the cat seemed to grow and morph from feline to human, and soon Glitch was standing next to Cain. The two looked at each other, and then at DG. "Whew! Thanks, DG," said Glitch.
She was about to answer when Cain abruptly shrank and morphed, turning almost instantly into a large dog that DG recognized as a German shepherd. "Holy crap," she muttered. "Round one to Mombi."
"Mombi?" Glitch asked. "Princess Mombi did this?"
Mombi's cold, mocking laughter echoed all around them.
DG sighed. " Sorry, guys. I guess I'll have to do what I should have done in the first place."
"Talk to Princess Mombi?" Glitch asked.
"Worse," DG said. "I'll have to talk to my mother."
Part Three