That could mean only one thing.
She had figured out how to put the hybrid weapon into the suit, and use it. If Benjamin was right about the suit driving her insane the longer she stayed in it, whether or not she could control the weapon was beside the point. She would be unable to control herself.
That made her the last person who should have it.
From his vantage point, above and behind the Tin Man, he could see the keyhole at the base of the neck.
He couldn’t hold the key in one hand and jump down on to the Tin Man from here. He fully expected a sudden and violent reaction and needed both hands to hold on once he was on the Tin Man’s back.
He went to place the key between his teeth to hold it while he jumped down when it plinked against his faceplate. His armored suit allowed him to move so freely, he forgot he was wearing it.
He couldn’t hold it between his teeth and he needed both hands free if he planned to stay on the back of the Tin Man.
He would have to trust the key to the pocket.
And he would have to trust he could fish it out of that pocket while holding on to a bucking Tin Man with one hand.
The most important thing was staying away from the hybrid weapon. The suit Benjamin gave him would protect him from everything, except a direct hit from that weapon. So no matter what he did, he had to stay behind the Tin Man.
Sounded easy enough.
He was committed to the jump, and had already leapt from the roof, when the Tin Man took a step forward.
Rather than landing on his back, Caleb hit the ground behind him.
He didn’t land quietly.
The Tin Man spun around, swatting at him with a claw. His suit absorbed the impact as he flew backward, and the key flew out of his pocket to land somewhere in the tall grass.
He rolled quickly back to his feet and crouched, ready for the Tin Man’s next move. A claw shot out at him on its extended chain, but he ducked low and rolled between the Tin Man’s feet.
The Tin Man was surprisingly nimble and was already facing him as he got back to his feet.
The single, unblinking amber eye stared at him while he stared at the symbol of an eye etched into the center of the Tin Man’s chest.
They faced off at the edge of the field, Caleb not taking his eye off the weapon pointed at him. With the key lost, his initial plan was out the window. The only way the Tin Man suit would open now was if she opened it. It was time to appeal to the girl inside.
He twisted off the face plate from his suit of armor and let it fall to the ground. If he was going to get through to her, he had to let her see his face. His eyes darted back and forth, searching for any way to see Dorothy inside the suit. All he could see was the Tin Man.
“Dorothy? Can you hear me?”
“Get out of my way Caleb.”
“I want to help you.”
“I have all the help I need.”
“Come out of the suit, Dorothy. Let’s talk about this.”
“Once my father’s out of OZ, I’ll be happy to sit down and talk about whatever you want, but I will not ask you to move again.”
Keeping his eye on the etched symbol on the front of the Tin Man suit, he watched for any sign that she was about to use it on him.
“I’ve spoken with your father. He’s waiting at the castle for you.”
“I know. That’s where I’m going.”
“Not like this, Dorothy. Come out of the suit. We can both get your father. Together.”
“I need the suit to rescue my father.”
“You’ve already rescued him. He’s packed and ready to leave. The Southern Marshal even offered her fastest airship so the two of you can go anywhere you want.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Well at least she said that, instead of killing him outright. He might be getting through to her. He stood up slowly and tried to look relaxed.
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“I’m not giving this suit to the Southern Marshal. Nobody deserves to have access to a weapon this powerful.”
“Right. And she doesn’t want it. The plan has always been to take the airship out of OZ, fly over the nearest volcano, and drop the suit, and the weapon, into it. After that, the airship is yours, to go anywhere you want.”
He gave that a moment to sink in. She hadn’t moved or tried to kill him for nearly a minute now. The silence stretched on as they faced each other. The fact that she hadn’t done anything was a good sign. He imagined the battle for control raging inside her mind. On the one side, the Dorothy he knew and loved, and on the other, the blackened soul formed by continued exposure to the suit. If he didn’t get her out soon, he would lose her to the Tin Man forever.
The only sound, the tall grass rustling in the light breeze, was shattered by a thundering boom from the city.
The cannonball hit the back of the Tin Man and exploded. Caleb dove to one side as the Tin Man was shoved face first to the ground, plowing a meters long trough in the dirt from the momentum caused by the impact.
He watched in horror as the Tin Man stood back up, faced the city, and triggered the ancient hybrid weapon.
Laying down in the tall grass, he couldn’t see what was happening to the city, but he could hear the screams.
He stayed low as he crawled through the grass, trying to stay out of sight and away from the eye of the weapon.
Content with the destruction she had brought down upon her aggressors, she turned her attention a little closer to home.
He could hear the grinding of gears as the Tin Man’s torso twisted, searching the field for him.
Caleb shuffled through the tall grass on his hands and knees, staying as low as he could so as not to be spotted. He thought of his ancestors in the African plains, crouching in the dry grass, stealthily sneaking up on their prey. Only he wasn’t the predator this time. He was the prey, struggling not to be discovered.
He stopped every time he heard the Tin Man’s gears stop. He could only move when the sound of the powered suit’s own machinery masked his escape through the tall grass.
His hand nudged a small rock and he looked down. Maybe he could throw it in another direction to draw the Tin Man’s attention and make a break for the temporary protection of the city. Temporary because that weapon could reduce the entire city to microscopic dust in a matter of hours.
He did a double take.
It wasn’t a rock.
It was the brass key.
He snatched it up and clutched it close to his chest, clinging to it as if it were his only hope.
Which it was.
Now that he had the key, he could separate Dorothy from the Tin Man. Another clap of thunder echoed out from another part of the city. After bits of dirt and rock stopped raining down on him, he hazarded a peek through the grass, his heart thudding loudly in his ears.
The Tin Man was facing away from him, and leveling another section of the city.
This might be his only chance. Best not let it slip by.
This time he was the hunter readying to pounce on his prey.
With the faceplate missing, he was able to grip the key in his teeth this time. He just had to make sure he didn’t swallow it.
He took three deep breaths, trying to slow his heartbeat, as the muscles of his back legs tightened.
He sprang out of the grass and landed squarely on the back of the Tin Man.
So, far so good.
He forced the key into the lock at the base of the neck and twisted. The Tin Man responded with a hiss of steam through cracks in the back of the suit. He clung on tightly as the Tin Man bucked around, trying to throw him off. The brass key snapped in half, leaving part of it in the lock. If what he’d already done did not open the suit, there was nothing else he could do now. The key was broken and the lock was jammed.
The muffled sound of Dorothy screaming echoed from inside the hollow Tin Man. It wasn’t a frightened scream or a scream of pain. It was a hostile scream.
The back of the Tin Man popped open, throwing Caleb off.
With the seal on the suit broken, it began the shutdown procedure and leaned forward slightly as every internal mechanism ground to a halt.
Dorothy clawed her way out the back of the Tin Man and spotted Caleb.
She hissed like a cornered animal and launched herself at him, tackling him back down to the ground. He saw the blade in her hand a moment too late as she brought it down to stab him in the heart.
His layered suit hardened from the impact and prevented the blade from piercing him. She jabbed down repeatedly, but each time, the suit protected him. He grabbed her wrist as she slashed at his face, the only part of him not protected by the suit.
“Dorothy stop!”
She struggled against his iron grip. “Let me go!”
“Calm down. I’m on your side.”
Her eyes bulged as she stared down at him, spittle foaming on the corners of her mouth. “My side!? You’re just a pawn. Nero’s pawn. He manipulated you just like he manipulated everyone else. I will not be a slave to him any longer. Not me! Not my father! Let me go!”
He tossed her off him as easily as tossing the covers off his bed each morning. She rolled to her feet as quickly as he sprang to his.
She held the blade in one hand, crouched, and growled like a wild animal.
He shook his head. “You want me to let you go?”
He stepped to the side and, with a flourish of his hand, motioned to the castle. “Fine! Go! But the suit, and the weapon, stays here.”
Her eyes darkened. “And let you have it? I don’t think so.”
She sprang forward and slashed at him with the blade. He deflected her arm each time with his own.
She was relentless in her attack and he backpedaled with each jab and thrust of the blade.
How could she have changed so much? She was not acting like the Dorothy he knew at all. Had the suit pushed her to this in only matter of days? Or had something happen to her during the months they were part?
The Southern Marshal had done something to Dorothy. That had to be it. They had kept her from him for months, not telling him whether she was alive or dead.
And Nero was involved. He had to be.
Nero had been working with the Southern Marshal for as long as he could remember, so it hadn’t surprised him when Nero showed up several days ago claiming to have found the hybrid weapon before losing it again.
It was never simple where Nero was concerned.
He had been so blinded by his reunion with Dorothy, he had forgotten about Nero’s relentless pursuit of power. How nobody, and nothing, would stand in his way until he achieved it.
Maybe she was right. They had all been manipulated by Nero and his quest for ultimate power.
If they had any hope of stopping him, they would have to work together.
But that wasn’t happening right now.
He ducked under her blade again and came up with a solid uppercut to her chin, stunning her and knocking her off her feet.
She hit the ground with a gasp as the blade disappeared into the thick grass.
She lay gasping on her back, trying to catch her breath when he stepped over her and held his hand out to help her up. “I am not your enemy. We will get your father. We will get both of you out of OZ. And we will destroy the weapon. But if we are going to do this, we have to do it together.”
The feral look in her eyes dissolved as she reached for his hand.
He pulled her up and hugged her tightly.
Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry Caleb.”
He stroked her hair. “You had some valid points. I think there’s something we can still do to keep this weapon from falling into the wrong hands.”
Caleb and Dorothy stood, arm in arm, patiently watching two airships descend on their position.
Before the airships touched the ground, ropes spilled from the gondolas and soldiers repelled down.
Caleb and Dorothy raised their hands in surrender as the soldiers surrounded them, guns at the ready.
Caleb did his best to put the soldiers at ease. “Relax fellas, we’re all on the same team.”
A swift kick to the back of their legs sent Dorothy and Caleb to their knees. Their arms were forced behind them and their hands bound.
“Whoa. That’s a little tight there guys.”
Once they were secured, one of the airships landed in the field and lowered its loading ramp.
The soldier behind Caleb grunted. “Alright, you two. Into the ship.”
As they were lifted to their feet, Caleb nodded to the ground. “Could one of you fine soldiers be a gent and bring along my helmet?”
The soldiers looked at it, none of them making a move to pick it up.
“It’s part of the special armor I’m wearing. The Southern Marshal will not be happy if it’s left behind.”
One of the soldiers nodded to another who bent down and retrieved his helmet.
As they headed up the ramp, he glanced behind and saw several soldiers tip the Tin Man on its side and begin the difficult task of hauling the heavy suit up the ramp into the other airship.
The trip back to the Southern Marshal’s castle was made in silence. He and Dorothy were forced to sit at opposite ends of the gondola and were discouraged from talking.
Once they landed at the castle, he and Dorothy were split up.
He found himself in the same room where he had been manhandled into the layered suit of armor. His wrists were untied and one of the soldiers tossed his helmet to him, which he caught now that his hands were free.
The soldiers backed out of the room and closed the door, leaving him alone in the room, presumably with guards outside the door.
There was nothing left for him to do but sit and wait.
If he hadn’t been paying attention to the incessant tick tock of the clock on the wall, he would’ve thought it had been longer than an hour before the door opened and the Southern Marshal stomped into the room, frothing at the mouth.
“Where is it?”
He let the look of confusion spread over his face. “I’m sorry?”
“You know full well what I’m talking about. Where is it?”
“Ummm… I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where is what?”