Although Elphaba had told him to stay where he was, he couldn't. He was worried about her safety. She didn't know what all of Oz planned to do to her once she was caught.
God, he loved her. He couldn't live without her. He would gladly die for her. Nothing mattered more to him than her safety.
So, he followed her, arriving at the site of Nessa's death shortly after Elphaba. He stayed out of sight as his ex-financée and his lover fought over him, circling each other before pouncing.
And then…it happened. The guards arrived and successfully captured her, his Elphaba.
He didn't waste any time. Without a thought for himself, he swung into the clearing and demanded that they let Elphaba go. When he saw that they wouldn't, he relunctently drew his gun on Glinda.
He heard Elphaba's sharp intake of breath and Glinda's soft gasp.
His desparate act worked. The guards holding Elphaba released her.
"Elphaba, go," he commanded urgently. He knew she hated taking orders, but he HAD to get her to obey him. Her safety depended on it.
"No, not without you," she said.
Of course she would resist. She could see what his intentions were.
He had an unlikely assist from Glinda, who told Elphaba to do it and then threw Elphaba's hat at her.
Still keeping his gun trained on Glinda, who now took a step forward to play along, he watched Elphaba watch him, before mouthing "I love you" and flying off into the sky.
He monitored the guards, giving Elphaba as much time as possible to get away.
When there was no more to do, he dropped his gun.
The guards were instantly on him, forcing him to his knees.
They were about to take him away when he heard Glinda shriek,"STOP! In the name of goodness, stop."
She took his hand. "He was never going to hurt me. He just…he loves her."
Glinda's acceptance cut him deep, "Glinda, I'm so sorry," was all he could get out before the guards hoisted him up on some poles.
He could hear Glinda's shrieks and figured that one of the guard's was holding her back.
The guards began to beat him, striking every inch of him that they could.
"Where is she?" they asked every so often. "Where did she go?"
His only response was, "I'll never tell."
They finally tired of beating him and left him up on the poles, his blood staining the ground red.
As he began to lose consciousness from loss of blood, he had a vision of Elphaba in the tower of Kiamo Ko, waving her arms over the Grimmerie and chanting.
"It's no use, Elphaba," he thought. "I'm done for. There's no hope for me."
"Elphaba, I love you," was his last conscious thought.