A/N: Thank you for the wonderful response, shout outs to Woodland59, Galinda of Canada, LuciferOfTheSouthPole, and Ultimate Queen of Cliffies. You scare me Maddy. Personal note, if thou shall manage to piss thee off, remind thou to run for thy life. LuciferOfTheSouthPole: Thank you so much, I'd recently gone back to DaG and realized how poorly written it was.

Special shout out to a group of people I've gotten to know pretty well, my friends, Mad-Idina-Fan98, TheHappyObsessedWickedFan3611, Fae the Queen, ExoticPeachBlossom, and Queen Failey. These are all great authors that I encourage you check their stories :)

Hayley belongs to Fae the Queen, who gave me the permission to use this wonderful OC :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked, however, I do own Willemijn Verkaik….

Nope, not even.

Long chapter to make up for a short prologue :)

Chapter 1

All is Lost Again

"Your Wizardship!" Madame Morrible called, waddling back to the throne room as fast as her legs would allow her. Once she had gotten there it took her a few minutes to overcome her panting and gasping breaths to actually be able to talk. The Wizard sat up in his chair, alert. Glinda was on the ground beside him, hope flickering in her eyes when Morrible approached.

Despite most people's assumptions of the Madame having no caring soul, she did, at least somewhat, did have one. It pained her as she watched the young blonde sit up, a small smile almost spreading on her lips.

"Elphie?" Glinda called out, walking to behind Madame Morrible, waiting for Elphaba to come out and laugh what had happened off. "Where is she?" Glinda tilted her head? Turning back around to the Wizard and Madame Morrible.

"She's gone, dearie." She said coldly, she went up to the Wizard and continued in his ear a hoarse whisper so that Glinda couldn't hear. "A Shadow came, though in human form I could identify him through the type of magic... He someone convinced Ms. Thropp to go with him." She said urgently and quietly, eyes darting around the room as if the walls themselves had ears.

The Wizard's eyes widened, knowing of the danger the Shadow's brought, and the siege that was once forced upon Oz due to them. "They... They're trying to return?" He replied, fear laced in his voice. The Shadows were before the Wizard's time, many years ago they brought war to Oz, wanting to claim its lands for their own. Lurline descended from her throne where everyone thought she preside to banish them. They vowed to return one day, that they would find someone who would serve them and bring darkness to Oz and the lands beyond.

Madame Morrible had brought Elphaba to him to see if she had the power to save Oz from this chaos, and she had, but it had all gone wrong. The Wizard stood and walked over to where Glinda was on the ground, in tears. She didn't know the full extent of what had happened, but she knew that her friend had left.

"Glinda?" He said carefully, looking at Morrible before he continued to speak. "I have a proposition for you." Glinda was their last hope, they both knew it.

Elphaba and Kal'esi arrived in the far corners of Oz. As soon as the plume of smoke cleared Elphaba erupted into a fit of coughs. Kal rolled his eyes. "You get used to it." Elphaba nodded, confusion sparking in her eyes once she had adjusted to the dim lighting. "I'm still not completely sure... But who are you? And what makes you think that you can help me?" She challenged, now actually thinking straight. She was out of danger and able to do so- for now.

"Have you ever heard of the Shadows?" He asked, carefully. One wrong move and he could lose them the most powerful asset he's ever seen.

"No." Elphaba said almost questioningly. Kal let out a breath of relief, this would make things easier on him, and it would make it easier to sway her.

"We…" He put emphasis on that one word, "are a race of Ozians, powerful. We were banished for standing up for what we believe by the oppressors, the people who don't believe in our freedom. We have been looking for someone to take their place with us and bring us back to glory… back where we were at the beginning of time." He whispered, drawing the Grimmerie from Elphaba's bad with a wave of his hand.

He took the book and settled it into Elphaba's hands. She nodded in understanding, all her life she had been like these people, oppressed for what she believed in. She looked at the words dancing across the pages.

"I'll help you." She finally said after a moment of silence.

"Good." A smirk pulled at his lips, but he shook his head, there was no time to waste on training her. "The King will want to meet you, if you really are our Chosen One." He said, and Elphaba moved forward at this, towards the door of the room.

"Wait!" Kal rushed in front of her. "Not yet, you need to be… more presentable." He knocked on a wall and a girl swung open the door Elphaba had almost left through. She had light blue eyes and chestnut hair that went just below her shoulders, leading off in small curls. Shyness shone in her eyes, but she stepped forward with confidence after closing the door behind her.

"Elphaba, his is Hayley, she and I will teach you some advanced magic and see how quickly you can advance." He said, attempting to catch Elphaba off-guard he hurled an orb of magic at her.

Elphaba reacted faster than he expected, sidestepping is gracefully before retaliating with a spell from the Grimmerie.

A smirk pulled at Kal's lips, the Grimmerie was practically all dark magic, and the more she used it, the more she would fall to the Shadows and she didn't even know. The spell hit him and pain burst across his chest but he bit back a gasp of surprise.

Hayley stood by, not wanting to go through another initiation, tired of seeing the innocent die or become a Shadow like herself. Last time Kal asked her the boy had died. But this girl was different, there was something about her that separated her from all the others besides her unique skin color.

"Yes- use the spells from the Grimmerie- let them come to you, don't try too hard." Kal'esi interrupted Hayley's thoughts.

Elphaba was smiling, enjoying what she was doing to him without even realizing it.

"You're ready." Kal'esi said, shakily standing to the ground, the scrimmage had clearly taken a toll on him.

Never before had Hayley seen anyone go through the transformation of become a Shadow so quickly, taking merely hours. It scared her thinking about what Kal was planning to do with this girl; she was clearly capable enough on her own.

"The King will see you now."

Elphaba walked into the throne room after being pushed in by Kal who was followed reluctantly by Hayley. Darkness greeted her eyes until a dim light flooded the hall. At the end of the room the King sat on a throne. His dark hair was similar to Kal's, messy but too much so. Hollow eyes greeted her as he stepped down from his throne and sized her up.

"You're it?" He asked, laughing madly he pounded his ebony staff on the ground. "Oh, Kal will get it… the Chosen One? Hah." He was mocking her.

Rage boiled in Elphaba, the King of the Shadows amplified her emotions with the darkness surrounding him.

"I am." She clenched her teeth. Why had she bothered, actually thinking she was wanted and needed by somebody when she was abandoned by all.

"Fight me, then." He ordered, snarling. "If you can beat me…" He swept one hand behind him towards the throne.

Elphaba nodded and advanced. She shot out a bolt of energy at the king, but surprised herself when the magic came out a mix of emerald and black. She wavered for a moment, her magic was pure green- what was happening to her? Her surprise fled when the King retaliated in rage, shocked the bolt had actually hurt him. He shot back.

They continued fighting for what seemed an eternity; Elphaba beat down the huge man blow by blow. He finally knelt, both hands on his staff, head bowed. "Don't kill me." He attempted to take the coward's way out, sidestepping death. "I believe you, you are the Chosen One of the Shadows."

Elphaba hissed and knelt down so she could be eye level to him. Her anger was at a climax, her normal temper combined with the temper of being a Shadow was not in favor of the King. "No, I see you're not right to rule these people. I gladly take the honor." She snarled, kicking the staff from beneath him, causing him to fall back.

Elphaba walked forward in no rush she placed a splayed hand on his chest. "W-What are you doing?" He hissed, "This magic is too advanced for you- there's no way you could've possibly already mastered it!" He realized what she was doing as he became weaker and she became stronger. Elphaba took his magic, a Wicked smile spread across her lips as the King fell lifeless to her feet. She stood regally and brushed off her dress before leaving the throne room.

Hayley's eyes widened as her eyes fell upon Elphaba, her gaze turned to Kal'esi to see his reaction. He was looking at her with pure admiration, an evil smile across his lips. Elphaba had exited the King of the Shadow's throne room. Her magic was now so much it was visible in a haze around her, the very air crackled in her presence. It had increased since she had gone in, Hayley wasn't sure if she wanted to know why. The Darkness had grown in her, casting the innocence of the old Elphaba that she had realized only after an hour of knowing her, into a bottomless abyss. Hayley shook, slightly fearful of her, "What happened?" She whispered. Insanity, greed, and rage flashed in the Witch's eyes, taking a permanent place there. The Shadows had overtaken Elphaba's mind completely, and she allowed it, relishing the power and granting it access to her it made her all the more controlling and intimidating. Almost none allowed the Shadows to actually take them, making them mindless drones. The few who did became the leaders of the Shadows, losing themselves to the darkness. There were few who strong enough to fight the complete pull of them, but they kept control over themselves. Hayley was one of them, enslaved since the age of two.

Elphaba was one of the newest Shadows, and if she had already grown so adept in her magic after a day or so there would be no telling what would happen after even a month with them.

"The King and I... Were unable to come to an agreement on a small issue." Elphaba growled, giving her half the truth. Elphaba had walked down the steps from the throne room and stepped next to Kal and Hayley. The Darkness pulsing from the Emerald Witch was suffocating, even to another Shadow such as herself. She had to step away slightly, only in panic of choking on the fury emanating from her.

That strength was only known to come from one being- the King, and his power didn't even hold a candle to hers. Suddenly she knew what had happened. She stepped back again, this time in pure fear. She knelt down and bowed her head as was required by them, Kal also realized what had happened a second after Hayley, only he was too shocked to move. Elphaba snarled, taking his thought of insolence as an insult she stuck out a hand in front of her she forced him into a kneeling position with her magic. "BOW BEFORE YOUR NEW RULER." She roared, her voice carried through the halls with the force of all the Shadows before her. This Darkness was stronger than any of them had ever experienced, he never thought this is what it would do.

Kal looked at Hayley in fear.

"What have I done?"