A/N: I promised you guys this story over six months ago. This first chapter is kinda a teaser/filler (sorry!) so I can see what people's reactions are. If they're good reactions (i.e. reviews) then I will continue. If not, well, I won't. You have been warned.
Cyber-dollars to MyB-wayBohoRENTlife, Ryella8, OhShizNit, Sing-my-heart-out, InsaneAquaChic, Leah, and Diva Actress for guessing who Mimi's companion is!
THIMBLES! And on with the fic…
Saran VD
The Keys to My Soul
Teaser/Filler Chapter
Mimi was moping. She had been moping quite a lot over the past seven days, and for good reason. Mimi Marquez was seven days dead. To cap it all off, she was a ghost. She would stay a ghost until she got her revenge against April Ericcson. That was impossible, however, for there was no way that she could get to April in the first place.
The only good thing about Mimi's situation was that she was not alone. There was one other ghost stuck with her: Elphaba Thropp, known to most people as the Wicked Witch of the West, and someone who Mimi had believed to be a fictional character. She was very real, and very pissed at her murderer.
The two women had both been moping together when a familiar, and very much alive, person walked into the room.
"Hey, Meems," said a very forlorn Maureen. "What've you been up to? Any luck killing April?"
"April's dead, Mo," was Mimi's reply. "I can't kill her if she's already dead."
"Whatever. I just came from your funeral," Maureen said sadly. "Roger didn't show up."
Mimi tried to ignore the fact that transparent tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
"He forgot who you were. So we said that he didn't have to come. Otherwise, he would've acted like a shithead the whole time."
"I believe it," snorted Elphaba.
"Excuse me?" asked Maureen coolly.
"Nothing."
"Mimi, who's she?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Mimi replied.
"Try me."
"Elphaba Thropp."
"Who?"
"The Wicked Witch of the West?"
"She doesn't really exist! Nice try."
"I'm serious."
"You can't be."
"I am."
"You aren't."
"I am."
"You aren't."
"I am."
"You aren't."
"I am."
"You aren't."
"I am."
"You aren't."
"Shut up, you two!" Elphaba hissed. "I hear something."
A girl came into the room. Her strawberry-blond hair was long and wavy, and she wore a pair of denim overalls with a pink tee-shirt underneath. The girl looked like she was about eight years old. She smiled shyly at Mimi. "Mimi, right?"
Mimi turned to Maureen so quickly that, if she were solid, she would've knocked Elphaba over. "Who is that?"
"That's Aly."
"Her?!" Mimi didn't see how the tiny, immature five-year-old could've changed into this poised eight-year-old.
"It was impossible to buy this girl clothes," said Maureen as Alyssa joined her. "She's been growing so fast."
"So this is what she'd look like if she never died," clarified Mimi.
"That's right."
Alyssa kept her eyes to the floor. "Roger may have forgotten what happened a week ago…"
"That's the understatement of the millennium," Mimi sneered.
"But I remember. And I don't like it at all."
"Sure you don't. You get to live again. Do you know how many of us would kill for that?" asked Elphaba.
"I do. It's not my fault! I don't want to live again, though. Mommy's the one who wanted it, because Mommy needed to save me and get rid of you before she could move on."
"She could time-travel, then. Why kill me?"
"She got both things done at the same time. I don't want to stay with Daddy now, though! He scares me!"
"Why?" asked Maureen. This was news to her.
"Daddy killed me, remember? I can't forget that! He's scary!" She buried her face in Maureen's leg.
Maureen absent-mindedly ran her fingers through Aly's hair.
"She has a point," noted Mimi. "You do not want to get Roger pissed… I mean, mad. Sorry, Aly."
"Bad word alert! Twenty-five cents!" the little girl squeaked, holding out her hand palm-up.
"I don't have twenty-five cents. Sorry."
"Oh, right. Sorry!" She turned to Maureen. "Gimme a quarter!"
"No way!"
"No fair," pouted Aly. "Mommy would've given me a quarter. I'll ask her to later."
"Wait, wait, wait. How can you talk to April? She can talk to April?" Mimi's interest was grabbed. She turned between Aly and Maureen, searching for answers.
"Well, she might not hear me, but I can talk to her," was Aly's cheeky reply.
"How?????"
"I go to her grave. The same way you used to talk to Angel."
"You can do that?"
"I could talk to the chair, but it wouldn't talk back," Alyssa noted.
"Whatever." This was as close to a breakthrough as Mimi was going to get. "Could I talk to them, then?"
"Why not?"
"Aly, we need to go. Your Daddy will wonder where you are." Maureen took Aly's hand.
"I don't wanna gooooo!!!!!!!!" she whined.
"See you 'round, Mimi. Same time, same place?"
"Where else would I be?" Mimi asked.
"Good point." With a final wave, Maureen and Aly left.
Mimi whirled to Elphaba. "If I could talk to April… I could find her!"
"Go, and hunt her, and find her, and kill her…" Elphaba sang sourly.
"Shut up. While we're at the cemetery, we'll find you a map of Kansas. Or a phone book. Something."
"You are very full of ideas, aren't you?"
"I'm improvising. Come on! Let's go!"
