Elphaba took a deep breath and nodded, allowing the guard to lead her and Galinda to the throne room. She had to consciously remember to breathe. She didn't want to pass out in the Wizard's presence. They were led through the doors, which closed behind them, separating them from the guard.

"Come forward!" a booming male voice shouted.

"Elphie," Galinda whispered as they slowly walked forward.

As they did, a large, green floating head appeared above the grand, emerald throne in front of a velvet, green curtain. Fire shot out of its sides and both girls involuntarily screamed.

"I am Oz!" the head boomed. "The great and powerful!"

"I change my mind! I wanna go home!" the blonde whimpered. She turned to leave, but Elphaba grabbed her hand, stilling her.

"Who are you? And why do you seek me?"

"Elphie, say something! Say something!" Galinda begged, clutching her friend's arm, very close to passing out. She pushed her towards the giant head while remaining behind her.

"I… uh… I am… um…" Elphaba stammered.

"Speak up!" the head boomed.

"I am Elphaba Thropp, Your Powerfulness," she finally managed to force out with a deep curtsy. "And this is my –"

"Oh, is that you, Elphaba? I didn't realize," the head said, but had lost its booming volume. Slowly, the head vanished and a middle-aged man with greying hair, a grey vest, and matching waistcoat stepped out from behind the curtain. He took his goggles off and replaced them with eyeglasses. "I'm sorry if I startled you. It's so hard to make out people's faces when I'm back there."

Both girls were still in shock, their mouths agape. They couldn't believe what they just saw.

"Are you alright?" the Wizard asked, clearly concerned.

"Well, when my heart stops trying to jump into my throat, I'll ask it," Galinda said, then remembered herself and who she was in front of.

Surprisingly, the Wizard laughed. "I know it's a bit much, isn't it? But that's what people expect. And you have to give the people what they want, right?" He chucked again. "Now, let's see. Which is which?" His gaze rested on Elphaba and the smile slowly melted from his face. Not in a bad way, just a way that made it clear that a connection was being made in his mind. "Elphaba?" he asked, extending his hand.

"Y-Yes, Your Ozness," she said, stepping forward and shaking his hand. "I'm… I'm so happy to meet you."

"Well, that's good. Because that's what I love doing the most; making people happy." He turned to Galinda. "And you are?"

"Galinda Upland, Your Great-And-Powerfulness," Galinda said, pinching the ends of her skirt as she curtsied.

The Wizard grinned. "From the Upper Uplands?"

The blonde beamed. "Yes!"

"She's my best friend," Elphaba offered. "I hope it's alright that she came with me. The invitation included two round trip train tickets."

"Of course it is," the Wizard smiled. "But, if you don't mind, Elphaba, I would like to speak with you in private for a moment."

The green girl's smiled faded slightly. "Alright."

"You're not in any trouble. Don't worry," the Wizard said, then turned to Galinda. "We'll be back shortly, Miss Galinda. Please make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you, Your Ozness," Galinda smiled, then sat down in a comfortable-looking armchair. She gave her friend an encouraging smile and watched as they disappeared into the adjacent room.

As Galinda sat quietly, she looked around the throne room. The roof was tall and everything was made of emeralds. She took off the glasses for a quick peek, squinting to protect her eyes. The room was even more magnificent without the protective shades.

It wasn't long before she heard yelling from the room. She blinked, confused as to why there would be yelling. Was there supposed to be yelling? She couldn't make out what they were saying, but before she had the chance to process it further, Elphaba hurried out of the room, looking upset and furious.

"Galinda, we're leaving," was all Elphaba said before hurrying out of the throne room.

The blonde was able to notice the stain on her friend's dress before she sped past her. She stood as the Wizard hurried out after the green girl.

"Elphaba, wait!" the Wizard called, then looked helplessly at Galinda.

"Oh! Don't worry, Your Ozness, I'll fetch her back. Elphie!" Galinda called, running after her best friend.

A few guards came into the room. "Shall we get them back, Your Ozness?"

"No," the Wizard said, taking a breath and pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, don't."

"Elphie, wait! Slow down!" the blonde called. If she knew her friend planned on running, she wouldn't have worn heels. "Where are you going? Why are you running? Stop!"

"I have to get out of here," Elphaba breathed, not slowing her pace.

Galinda finally managed to catch up and pulled her back. "Elphaba, listen to me. What happened in there? What did the Wizard say to you? I heard yelling."

"I don't want to talk about it. I just… have to get out of here. I can't stay here."

"Elphaba, you have to go back! You can't just run out on the Wizard like that! He could send the guards after us!"

"He won't," Elphaba said as she pulled away and ran out of the palace, giving the blonde no choice but to run out after her.

"Why do you have that stain on your dress?" the blonde asked, but was ignored.

Once they were back in their hotel, Galinda demanded an explanation, especially when she saw Elphaba packing her suitcase.

"I'm going back to Shiz," was all Elphaba said. "I can't stay in the city until tomorrow. I'll exchange tomorrow's tickets for a train back today. I have to leave now! We have to leave now!"

"But… but what about 'Wiz-O-Mania'?"

"I don't want to see that stupid play about the Wizard! I never did!" Elphaba snapped.

Silence echoed in the room. She slowly turned around to see her roommate staring at her with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Glin…" she whispered, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down. "Glin, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

She stepped towards her friend, but Galinda stepped back, the tears streaming down her cheek. "Elphie… what happened in there?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. I can't talk about it right now. Just… please try to understand."

"Okay, Elphaba." There was little-to-no emotion in the blonde's voice as she wiped her eyes. She moved to her own side and began packing her things. Looking at the tickets, she frowned before carelessly ripping them up and throwing them in the wastebasket.

"Glin…" Elphaba tried.

"Are you ready?" the blonde interrupted, grabbing her suitcase without looking at her friend.

The green girl bit her lip, but nodded and the two left the hotel. They walked back to the terminal and Elphaba exchanged the train tickets. They were ten minutes early for the next train and boarded it.

The two friends rode in silence back to Shiz. Elphaba was trying to process everything, while Galinda was just mad that Elphaba had snapped at her and that their weekend in the Emerald City had been cut short. But she was mostly upset that her bestest friend wouldn't even tell her what had happened to make her want to end their special trip early.

Once they were back in their room, Galinda practically threw her suitcase into her closet without unpacking it, then flopped onto her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest.

Elphaba watched as she calmly began to unpack, then stood behind the blonde. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I… I didn't know what to do. The Wizard… he… and I had to get out of there. It was all too much."

The blonde was silent.

"I understand if you never want to speak to me again. I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore."

"I'm not that angry with you," Galinda muttered, but still didn't turn to face her roommate. "But unless you're going to tell me what in Oz's great name happened when you spoke to the Wizard, I don't want to talk to you for the rest of the day."

Elphaba looked down. "I can't do that."

"Then I don't believe we have anything further to say to each other at the moment." The blonde huffed and pulled a magazine from her nightstand. Elphaba realized that all attempts to get her friend to talk to her were hopeless. She went into the bathroom. When she came out, Galinda had taken her hair out and was busy removing the emerald nail polish from her fingers and toes.

She wanted to get food, but she didn't want to risk running into Nessa or Fiyero, who would immediately hound her as to why she was home a day early. So, instead, she simply sat on her bed and pulled out a novel.

It was Monday when the girls decided to reveal themselves to the campus once again. The first one to spot them was Fiyero, who immediately smiled at the girls and asked about their trip. Elphaba simply frowned and hurried away, leaving the ex-couple to face each other.

"What happened?" Fiyero asked the blonde.

"I don't know," Galinda scowled. "The Wizard talked to her privately, and she refuses to tell me what he said. We came back Saturday afternoon."

"You were supposed to come back Sunday."

"I know. We didn't even get to see 'Wiz-O-Mania'. And she's been distant and modified. It's really worrying me."

"Maybe I could talk to her?"

"You can try. But I don't think you'll get very far."

Elphaba didn't see her sister until after her final class. Upon seeing the green girl, Nessa immediately demanded to know details of the city. Elphaba refused to say anything until they were back in the privacy of her room.

"Alright, now tell me everything," Nessa said, wheeling over to sit across from her sister. "How many shops did Galinda drag you into? Did you go to the statue garden or a museum? Did you see 'Wiz-O-Mania'? How did your meeting with the Wizard go? What did he want? Is he offering you a job after graduation?"

"He offered me something, but it wasn't a job," Elphaba sighed, then started from the beginning. She told her sister about the shops and the makeover and the food and the green glasses. The brunette seemed to cling onto her sister's every word.

"And the meeting? What happened then?"

"Galinda and I were ushered into the throne room. The Wizard greeted us there. He's a… middle-aged man with greying hair. Not quite the pictured I originally had of him."

"Fabala, what did he say? What did you say? What did he say when you said what you said? Tell me the dialogue!"

"He told me the real reason he summoned me. And then… I ran away."

Nessa's jaw dropped. "You what?"

"I ran away. I didn't have a choice. I panicked. I had to –"

"I can't believe you," Nessa hissed, narrowing her eyes at her sister with a frown. "How could you have done something this stupid?"

"Nessa –"

"I can't believe you embarrassed yourself like that! I can't believe you embarrassed this family like that! And Madame Morrible! She wrote to the Wizard on your behalf, and this is how you repay her?"

"Nessarose, you don't understand!"

"I understand completely! You're ungrateful! You have always been ungrateful! You were given this wonderful opportunity and you waste it!"

"It wasn't like that!"

"I'm pretty sure it was! And to make matters worse, you were given an extra ticket and you don't take me! You didn't even ask me if I wanted to go to the Emerald City before you go and ask Galinda! You've only known her for two months and already you're attached at the hip."

"But Nessa –"

"And furthermore –"

"The Wizard is my father!" Elphaba blurted out, unable to take her sister's ranting anymore.

Nessa stopped and gaped at her sister. "Wh-What?"

"The Wizard," she repeated more calmly. "He's… he's my biological father."