A/N: I just went and saw "Wicked" for the second time and I'm just all things OZ right now, so of course I added Tin Man to my obsessive-ness and thought I'd finally put this story up here. I'm working with a lot of material, and trying to get it edited and broken up into decent-sized chaps so be prepared for this to be obscenely long. Thanks in advance for anyone that sticks with me on it! Also, I'm letting this story go where it may, so my apologies if it seems AU or OOC but when I wrote this I was trying to reconcile the TM series with my sense of happy-ending-ness and this is what came out. Also, this is un-beta-ed so all mistakes are mine and my apologies if anything is wonky.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tin Man.

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Silence reigned for forty-five minutes after DG and Azkadelia were reunited with their parents. The battered family held each other, letting their closeness say things they weren't sure how to say with their mouths.

Before anyone's breath had even been caught, a cry came up from the grounds below.

"The Longcoats are coming! The Longcoats are coming!"

Wyatt Cain blasted into the room. "Your Majesty, a scout has spotted a large group of Longcoats headed this way. She estimates as many as three-hundred."

The Queen paled. "Are our people even able to gather a force at this moment?"

"My so- er, Jeb Cain is rallying a group as we speak, and another Captain...Evergreen I think – has a small force of unwounded that he has gathered. Although, they are tired Your Majesty and I'm not sure what kind of defense they can mount."

"Are they after Az?" DG whispered, wrapping her arms around her sister who sat frozen in horror.

"I would assume so," Cain replied. "Or more precisely they are after the sorceress, thinking she still possesses the princess Azkedelia."

Cain hesitated. DG could tell he wanted to ask her something. "Out with it Cain," she ordered taking a few steps toward him.

The tin man dropped his voice and moved near DG. "Kid, listen, I know you don't exactly know how to control your magic, but those boys down there could really use your help."

DG blanched. "I don't think - "

The Queen interrupted here. "No, DG!" she cried. "I know you want to help, but with all the energy you expended helping your sister, trying to use your magic now would only do you great harm!"

A loud cry sounded from below and the group ran to the balcony. The Longcoat army crested the hill. They were angry and shouting and causing a panic amongst the resistance forces at the base of the tower. The fear was palpable, even up toward the top of the tower. DG grabbed a fistful of Cain's duster and held on for dear life.

"No, really Kid," Cain whispered. "Anything you can do is better than letting all those people die."

"Maybe Az can help me," DG told Cain. She looked around for her sister, but the older princess wasn't anywhere to be found. "Az?" she asked, going back into the tower. "Azkadelia?" With a gasp, she ran back to the group watching the events unfold below them. "She's gone!"

"Where'd she go?" Ahamo asked, taking his youngest by the shoulders.

"I don't know!" DG cried with a panic.

"There she is!" Lavendar Eyes shouted and everyone turned to see the queen pointing down to the fracas below them. As a group, they pressed themselves to the railing on the balcony and watched Azkadelia as she ran from the tower out into the fray.

Clad in only a light-purple shift and with her dark hair flowing down her back, it would have been easy to pick out the princess against the dark-colored clothing of the resistance army – even if the people hadn't recoiled in fear of her, carving a path through the chaos to the front lines.

DG was practically hyperventilating out of fear for her sister. She scanned the crowd below and spotted Jeb Cain standing with another man near the front of the resistance army, both with horrified expressions as Azkadelia ran barefoot over the ground toward them.

"Jeb!" DG and Cain yelled at the same time. "Stop her!"

Both men moved to intercept the princess, but never got further than a few steps before they stopped.

"What are they doin'? What is she doin'?" Cain growled.

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Jeb Cain and Tannen Evergreen raced toward each other, a few ragged soldiers at their heels.

"How many you got Tannen?" Jeb asked.

"Forty, tops," the older captain replied. "You?"

"Twice that, if I'm lucky," Jeb replied. "Everybody else is either passed out or still bleeding."

"What do we do?" Tannen asked.

"I'm honestly not sure," the younger Cain replied. "My father went to the Queen. I think he's hoping DG, I mean the princess, can help us."

Suddenly, the commotion behind them changed. They turned to see what was happening and both gasped in shock. The resistance army fell back in waves as a scantily clad Azkadelia ran from the tower and flew through the opening the people created before her.

Jeb heard his father and DG yelling for him to stop Azkadelia and both he and Tannen came back to their senses and moved to intercept the princess.

"No, don't," she gasped at them. "I can help."

Her words halted the men in their tracks and Azkadelia skidded past them and the other soldiers making up the front lines of defense. No one moved, no one said anything – the terror of the witch still too real in their minds.

"Enough!" Azkadelia screamed into the coming onslaught of Longcoat soldiers.

They came to a stop and one of the men in the front of the pack yelled, "All hail the Sorceress!"

"We've been betrayed!" came the cry from somewhere near the back of the resistance crowd and a mad scamble began as people tried to flee or grab up a weapon. Only Jeb and Tannen stood still in the field, watching Azkadelia warily advancing on their enemies.

"What is she doing?" Jeb whispered.

"I – I don't know," Tannen replied.

Finally, the princess came to a halt about ten lengths from the Longcoat leader. "The witch is dead!" she cried.

The man's eyes narrowed and the resistance leaders saw looks of disbelief on the faces of the Longcoat's. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Azkadelia spat back at him and Jeb swore he could see her knees knocking together beneath her dress. "We have no more use for you. LONG LIVE THE HOUSE OF GALE!"

Features contorted, the Longcoat lunged toward the Princess. "I'll kill you stupid bitch!" he cried. Jeb and Tannen vaguely heard the cries from the Royal Family above them as they both rushed toward the princess. With a cry, Azkadelia brought her hands in front of her and – light blazing – she began to push back the horde of Longcoats. The resistance army again came to a stand-still behind her, watching in horrified awe as the princess worked her magic against the enemy.

After a moment, Tannen noticed the color drain from Azkadelia's face and he saw her shudder and stumble, her light flickering briefly. He figured she wouldn't hold out for forever and it was time to take control.

"It's now or never, let's go!" he shouted at Jeb and in a few lunging steps he reached the princess and helped her stand again. With a rallying cry, Jeb brought his soldiers back to their wits and they charged on the Longcoats.

With his hands on her shoulders, Tannen felt the force of the princess' strain to maintain the magic that aided the resistance army. She began to shake violently and when he saw that the soldiers had surrounded the group of Longcoats – most of whom were on the ground and groaning – he reached around and grabbed the princess' hands, effectively breaking her concentration and therefore the magic. With a gasp, Azkadelia fainted against Tannen. He panicked for a moment before Jeb appeared at their sides.

"Take her back to her family," he instructed. "We've got this under control down here."

Tannen nodded, and with heart pounding, he reached down and scooped Azkadelia into his arms. He was hyper-aware of everyone staring at him (some in gratitude, but most in horror) as he carried the princess through the crowd and back to the tower where her family awaited her. He kept his head up and his gait steady, attempting to portray his confidence in the woman that had just saved them all. His pride demanded that much at least.

Once inside the tower, away from the scrutiny of the people, Tannen couldn't get the princess out of his arms fast enough. Gingerly setting her down he turned his back to her and drew deep breaths, trying to get his panic under control.

After the eclipse, the rumors spread like wildfire – the sorceress was dead, she was just dormant; Azadelia was healed, Azkadelia was just faking – despite the Queen's firm announcement that the witch was gone from her daughter. Gossip flew about like a traveling storm. There hadn't been time to find out what was true and what was not before the next threat came upon them. The only truth Tannen knew at that moment was he had Azkadelia right across the room and she looked like the evil sorceress who'd tormented him, his family and the entire O.Z. for so long.

Tannen began pace in front of the princess, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He studied the passed out princess while he wore a hole through the floor and shook his fear and panic from his hands. He'd only ever seen the Sorceress from afar – but it had been close enough to sear a painful image into his brain. And here was that image – in the flesh. Except, Tannen noticed, the face was different, somehow. He stopped pacing to scrutinize it. It wasn't just that her hair and clothes were different, Tannen thought that her very face looked softer, vulnerable even. The witch had always been heavily made up and the princess' features were clean of any make up which allowed Tannen to see the dark smudges beneath her eyes and the ashen hue of her cheeks.

As he watched her, Azkadelia began to stir, whimpering pathetically. Her eyes blinked open and immediately flooded with tears.

"Are the Longcoats gone? Is everyone safe?" she whispered, tears streaming down her face. When he didn't answer she tried to sit up a little straighter. "Is it done?" she asked again, desperation tinging her voice.

"It is," he finally choked out.

"Thank the gods," she replied before passing out again.

Tannen tried to control his beating heart. The witch wouldn't have cared if the fighting ever ended, nor would she have thanked anyone if it did. And she certainly wouldn't have cared if everyone was safe. Perhaps the witch was gone. Tannen was old enough that he could remember meeting the young Princess Azkadelia at court functions – she'd been a happy young woman, if a little serious – which is why the O.Z. reeled when she'd spun out of control and overthrown the beloved Queen Lavendar Eyes. Tannen crept forward and knelt by the princess, carefully wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"If you really were a prisoner of the sorceress, Princess Azkedelia," he whispered feeling pity and sympathy enter his heart, "then I'm just as sorry for you as I am for the rest of us."

Before he could say anything else, DG burst down through the stairwell with Cain on her heels. The Queen and Prince Consort followed close after.

"Az! Az!" the younger princess cried.

Tannen stood up and let the woman fuss over her sister. "She passed out from the effort, I'm afraid," he told Azkadelia's concerned parents after bowing low.

"Thank you young man, for standing with her," the queen said, bending down to her daughter.

"Mother," DG sniffed, holding her sister to her. "We need to get Az to a bed."

"Of course my heart, of course," the queen looked around. Both her husband and the young man who'd helped her eldest looked drained and shaken. "Mr. Cain, would you be so kind?" she asked regally.

With a curt nod, Wyatt Cain bent down and scooped up Azkadelia, who lay limp in his arms, her dark hair swinging as lifelessly as her arms.

"Oh, look at her - what a horrible picture! It's just like the stupid movies!" DG cried and moved to hold her sister's hand. "Be careful with her Cain," she said. "She's been through so much."

Tannen thought Cain was going to protest all that Azkadelia had been through, but when the older man looked down into the face of the stricken princess in his arms, Tannen saw the same compassion he'd felt soften the Tin Man's features, and Cain merely nodded and started to walk toward the stairs, DG and the Queen in tow.

The Prince Consort clapped a hand on Tannen's shoulder. "Thank you again, son, for your help and your understanding."

Tannen could only nod his head and watch silently as the man followed after his family.

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