Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked or any characters or materials taken from the musical or book. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: This is musicalverse. I haven't actually seen the musical, just a few videos on YouTube, so please bear with me. I haven't read the book either and I don't ever want to. Anyway, here's my own story of what happened after the musical.

Chapter 1: The Badlands.

Elphaba and Fiyero the scarecrow made their way out of Oz to the Badlands. They reached them in about a week's time. Standing on the edge of the Border Mountains, they looked out at the tortured landscape before them. The Badlands were a desert of gray sand mostly. Very little grew here and even fewer people came here. This was where the banished and the desperate came. To eke out an existence here was hard to say the least and Elphaba felt dread sink its icy talons into the pit of her stomach.

Fiyero wrapped his straw arm around her, comforting her as he said, "Don't be afraid, Fae. We'll make it."

"Easy for you to say. You're a scarecrow. You don't need food, water, or even shelter. I however, do," said Elphaba, wracking her brain for all her survival knowledge.

"I'll help you, Elphaba. I may be brainless, but I am not a fool." Fiyero assured her.

Elphaba chuckled. "I know, Fiyero, I know. We'd best get going. We don't want to get caught by the Gale Force Border Guards." Putting on a brave face she descended into the Badlands.

Fiyero walked beside her and they struck out into the desert as soon as they reached the bottom. They just kept going straight; it was as good as any other direction. They walked in silence, Elphaba walking resolutely, tightly clutching the staff she had found in the forest they had passed though. It was just an old branch, but it was strong and Elphaba had even imbued it with her magic, much like she had her broom, which Dorothy had taken to the Wizard to prove Elphaba was dead. Fiyero would have broken the silence, but he didn't really have anything useful or interesting to say, so he said nothing.

It was past midday, but the desert heat was still there. Elphaba, after about an hour of walking in the sun, was starting to feel not so good. Her head was starting to ache and her throat was dry. She looked for any signs of water. Fiyero could see Elphaba was beginning to feel dehydrated, so he added his black button eyes to the search for water. He soon spotted a hollow with a small clump of trees growing in it. Elphaba saw it too and headed in that direction.

There was a pool of dark, murky water at the base of the hollow and Elphaba's heart sank. There was no way she could drink this stuff. It was foul.

Fiyero laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I said I'd help and I will."

"How?" was all Elphaba said.

Fiyero smiled and took off one of his hands. Elphaba was about to say something, when he filled the glove-hand with water. "Take it and squeeze the water through my hand. It should filter out most of the dirt and junk, if not all of it. You should be able to drink this," he directed.

Elphaba understood at once and did as Fiyero instructed. The filtered water was bitter to the taste, but pure enough and she needed to stay hydrated. Once she had her fill she handed Fiyero back his hand.

"Thank you, Fiyero," she said, making ready to move on again.

Fiyero smiled, putting his hand back on and walking beside her again. "You're welcome, Fae."

They walked on, both keeping a lookout for any place they could shelter for the night. They both knew they needed to find a campsite before dark. Elphaba was also on the lookout for something to eat. She wasn't hungry at the moment, but she knew she would be soon enough. However, her attention was soon caught by something under a scrubby tree. Curious, Elphaba moved closer to investigate. As she drew near she gasped!

It was a skeleton. A human skeleton. The bones had been bleached white by the sun, but there still remained some tattered clothing on what had once been a living man and around his waist was a leather belt with a good sized hunting knife on it. Elphaba, despite being a little disturbed by what she was doing, unfastened the belt, which was in surprisingly good condition, and fastened it about her own waist. She examined the knife and it was bright and sharp, untouched by the elements. Elphaba also spied a leather pack leaning against the tree beside the skeleton. She took it and looked inside.

There was a thick wool blanket, a water skin, a filter sack, a flint and steel, some rope, a small shovel and pick-axe, and some string and fish hooks. Elphaba knew this find could mean the difference between life and death, so she slung the pack over her shoulder and stood. With Fiyero's help, she dug a grave and buried the skeleton, laying the poor man's bones to rest.

Before continuing on she looked down at the grave. "I'm sorry, but your gear could keep me alive. I hope you understand, I'm just trying to survive and mean no disrespect. I hope you're at peace."

Fiyero wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Come. We must move on."

Elphaba straightened her shoulders and turned, walking on and leaving the grave behind.

That night, they managed to find shelter in a small cave. Unfortunately, Elphaba hadn't found anything edible and now she was hungry. At least it was easily bearable, just a minor annoyance, but she knew it would only get worse. Fiyero insisted she lie on top of him, so she might be off the ground. At first Elphaba had refused, saying she'd crush him, but he somehow managed to persuade her. She was surprised to find how tough Fiyero really was. He was also quite comfortable to lay on and she fell asleep with his surprisingly strong straw-filled arms wrapped around her.

Elphaba woke in the pre-dawn light. She didn't know what woke her until it came again, the grumbling of her uncomfortably empty stomach. She groaned in frustration as she rolled off of Fiyero (who promptly stood up and beat himself back into shape) and pushed herself to her knees. A little gray lizard skittered across the floor. Elphaba's hand shot out and seized the unfortunate reptile. It wasn't much, but she needed to eat, so Elphaba steeled herself against the grossness of the situation and quickly bit off the lizard's head, killing it instantly. She quickly swallowed the rest, trying not to gag.

There were two kinds of animals, the Talking Animals and the true beasts. Talking Animals were humanoid in shape and were usually about the same size as a human. Also, obviously, they could speak as well as any human. Not only were the physical differences obvious, but there was also something about the eyes that set them apart from the true beasts, which were merely ordinary dumb witless beasts.

The lizard Elphaba caught was a true beast. She moved to the back of the cave to see if there might possibly be any more gray lizards about. She needed the food, even if it was rather gross. Her belly grumbled that it was still unsatisfied, pushing her into action to ease the hunger pangs that gnawed her innards. Fortune was with her today. Twelve little gray lizards had the misfortune to wind up as Elphaba's breakfast, but the rest that had sought shelter in the cave escaped. Elphaba didn't really care, her hunger had been sufficiently appeased if not entirely satisfied. She also made a much more welcome discovery at the back of the cave.

A pure fresh water spring was back there! Elphaba knew that this was a veritable gold mine out here, for springs like this were all too rare. She drank her fill and filled her water skin, then joined Fiyero at the mouth of the cave.

"Feel better?" Fiyero smiled.

Elphaba nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."

The early morning hours were the most comfortable to travel in, for the sun was not yet risen and the desert heat was still minimal. However, once the sun rose over the horizon, the temperature quickly rose. Elphaba drank very sparingly of her precious water supply, really just wetting her throat from time to time. She soon found that she needed some way to shield her eyes from the desert glare or it'd cook her retinas. She tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her dress and cut two small slits in it that she could just see out of. She tied it around her eyes and the glare was practically gone, but now she couldn't see very well to hunt or forage.

Fiyero became her sharp eyes, since the glare didn't bother him, and was constantly on the lookout for anything that could help keep her alive or that might do her harm. He actually was quite good at it, for sometime after midday, Fiyero spotted a cactus-pear patch. Elphaba was quite glad of the news and at once set to work carefully harvesting the spiny, prickly fruit. She used a other strip of cloth as a glove and cut the pears off the cacti plants. She then scraped them with her knife to remove the prickers, especially the tiny ones that would easily lodge in her skin and irritate her. Then and only then, could Elphaba cut open and enjoy the fruit.

Fiyero kept a lookout for danger while Elphaba ate, thought she kept her ears open as well. Soon they were on their way again, Elphaba refreshed, energized, and alert. Her head was held high, her steps were sure and strong, and she looked like she could tackle anything the Badlands threw at her. Suddenly, she looked up at the sky. Fiyero saw her stiffen. Apparently she didn't like what she sensed.

"What is it?" Fiyero asked.

"A storm is coming. A big one. We need to find shelter," said Elphaba, striking off in a northwestern direction.

Fiyero kept pace with her as she strode quickly over the sand. Soon the sky went dark as storm clouds blocked out the sun. Fiyero spotted a cave and the pair quickly sought shelter there. The storm hit with a furry! The cave provided adequate shelter for the moment, so Elphaba and Fiyero settled in to wait out the storm. It lasted several hours and Elphaba was glad she'd had the foresight to load herself down with as much of the ripe cactus-pear fruit as she could carry. At least she didn't go hungry this night.

The next morning the storm vanished as suddenly as it appeared and they moved on. Elphaba and Fiyero both spotted a mountain in the distance. This gave them hope, for if they could but reach that mountain, food and water would be easier to come by and they could find a suitable location for a home. It took many days and nights of travel to reach the base of the mountain and they had been hard on Elphaba. Food was scarce and water even scarcer. In just a few weeks time, she'd lost a considerable amount of weight. Her bones stuck out and she'd grown used to a certain gnawing feeling in her belly. Her constant hunger made her ever vigilant for any sort of relief.

Now, she stared up the steep rocky face of the mountain. Despite its barren appearance, Elphaba knew she'd find new and better food and cleaner, more plentiful water. She rallied her strength and started to climb. Fiyero watched and followed her, concerned for her health. He knew she was ravenous and a little dehydrated, though she'd never admit it. He feared she would push herself too far and that he wouldn't be able to save her. However, Elphaba knew her limits.

They managed to reach a little oasis nestled in a cleft in the rock. Elphaba gladly drank from the pure spring that flowed there. However, once her thirst was satisfied, her hunger became much more prominent. She clutched her belly in pain as her body reminded her it was starving. Fiyero wanted to hold her in his arms and comfort her. Just as he moved to do so, Elphaba spotted movement in the bushes and lunged forward.

She pulled her hand out of the bush. A large brown lizard was clutched in her bony hand. Elphaba cackled, her eyes shining with a rather unhealthy light as she killed the lizard by cutting its spinal cord with her knife. She didn't bother to cook or even skin it. She simply devoured it, sinking hungry, ravenous teeth into her prey. It was awful to watch her eat like this, like a wild animal, but she was starving and her body desperately needed food. Still, Fiyero's heart broke to see his love reduced to this condition.

Soon she had consumed the lizard, but it only seemed to make things worse. Elphaba looked around for more, her eyes burning with an unhealthy light.

"More. Need more. Food. Must feed." she muttered, scrounging around on all fours like a beast.

As Fiyero watched, a horrible realization hit him. Elphaba was mad. Stark raving mad. The hunger was too much for her mind and body to handle, so she snapped. She had essentially become like a beast to survive, acting on instinct, driven by hunger. The fit however wore off after a few minutes and Elphaba was disturbed by her actions.

"Hunger madness. I thought it was only a myth, but apparently I was wrong," she said holding onto Fiyero.

"Shh. Shh. It's ok. You're starving. You're in desperate need and your body is just trying to survive," he said gently rocking her back and forth.

"I'm so tired. And hungry. Fiyero, I must have a substantial meal soon or I am going to permanently lose my mind! Gah!" Elphaba doubled over in pain as her starving frame was wracked by hunger pangs.

"I can help," said a deep and growly voice.

Elphaba and Fiyero looked up to see a figure that was covered from head to toe in black fur. It looked like a beast-like human. The face was human with large sharp fangs, the ears were large and pointed, the posture was hunched and like a cross between an ape and a human, and a bushy tail sprouted from the backside.

"Come, quickly. She must be fed and warmed or the hunger madness will destroy what is left of her sanity." The figure, urgently motioned for Fiyero to follow.

Elphaba had slipped back into a state of madness and was muttering about needing food. Fiyero, desperate to save his love, quickly followed the strange creature. Despite her crouching, hunching posture, the creature moved very fast through the rocky terrain. She led Fiyero to a cave and ushered him inside.