Hello lovelies,

Broadway Girl 21 - same here. And you're right, of course.

Elphaba Lover 101 - Yeah, but we know he'll be fine.

Steph Wicked Girl - Yes, I LOVE Lindsey Mendez!

Wickedly Hope Pancake - I will!

By the way, what actors and actresses are you guys picturing when you read this fic? Just curious.

Story time!

Chapter 8

Elphaba

The next day went by pretty fast. We spent all morning slaving away in arts and crafts, making our set for the talent show. Sara's instructions were easy to follow: a thermometer to show how much money was raised, a sign to hang over the stage, and so on. I fashioned an assembly line out of all of us, except Glinda, who claimed she couldn't control her hands enough to do anything useful.

"And I'm not sure a-bout this, El-phie," she said. "This skit could hurt the vis-it-ors' feel-ings."

"Great!" I exclaimed. "That's just what Sara wants, I think."

Presently, a boy in some kind of powered wheelchair came up me. "Excuse me. Are you Sara Buchanan?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I have a message from Willie. He says he's sorry he can't come see you, but his counselor is making him clean his part of the cabin. He wants me to sing a love song to you. Now, the song that immediately came to my mind is the song I'm going to sing for the talent show, but I won't spoil that. So, I figured since you missed most of the movie last night, I'd do something from that."

"Okay." I was apprehensive, but I decided to wait and see.

"I could while away the hours, conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain. And my head I'd be scratchin' while my thoughts were busy hatchin' if I only had a brain."

Glinda and I exchanged a look; wasn't a brain the last thing Fiyero wanted?

"I would not be just a nothin', my head all full of stuffin', my heart all full of pain. Perhaps I'd deserve you, and be even worthy erv you if I only had a brain! So, Sara, did you like it?"'

"I-I don't know what to say!" I exclaimed. "You are a wonderful singer, first of all! Second, tell Fiy-, I mean, Willie, that he is too much, and I'm going to slap him for being such a sap. But tell him I adore him too, will you?"

"Of course, Sara."

As soon as the boy left, Glinda let out a wild shriek. "Oz, Glinda!" I exclaimed. "You're going to give me a heart attack! What was that for?"

"It's just so rom-an-tic!" she squealed. "E-ven though he can't be here, he sent you a l-l-love song! Eeee!"

"You got over him pretty fast."

"Be-cause he's with my best-est friend in whole en-tire uni-verse!"

"Right."

Following a lunch of chicken cooked in the worst way possible, it was rest hour. I could hardly believe that I was actually tired! But it's hard to secretly organize a reverse telethon, you know? So as soon as Carole covered me up, I was asleep. I dreamed that Fiyero and I were walking through the streets of the Emerald City, holding hands, looking into each other's eyes, moving closer together …

But then the dream changed. It was clearer now, almost as if it was real. I saw our history teacher, Dr. Dillamond, being shoved into a box with bars, a cage. I saw a green girl, whom I perceived to be Sara, flying on a broomstick with a boy holding onto her waist for dear life. Willie. I saw her trying to fight the Wizard and Morrible. At the same time, I saw Willie being tortured, and Sara doing a spell out of Morrible's book, the Grimmerie.

"Calm down, Sara!" Suddenly, Sue was at my side. "Are you alright?"

"N-no. W-what happened?"

"You were screaming in your sleep! Did you have a bad dream?"

"Uh-huh." That was the understatement of the year!

"Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head.

"Wanna get in your chair? Rest time's almost over."

"Sure, thanks."

Once I was in Sara's chair (I refused to think of it as my chair), Glinda asked, "El-phie? What was your bad dream a-bout? You're as w-white as a ghost, and I ne-ver thought I'd say that a-bout you."

"I don't think … I don't think it was a dream."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dreams … they're usually not so … real. It's hard to explain, but all I know is that Sara and Willie are in trouble, and … Morrible's evil."

"E-vil?"

"Evil. She and the Wizard … they're behind the Animal suppression. Glinda, in the movie last night, how did that farm girl return home?"

"El-phie, are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes! Tell me, for Oz's sake!"

"N-N-N-Nes-sa's shoes."

"Glinda, your mouth is extremely tight right now. I want to make sure I understood you exactly right. Did you say, 'Nessa's shoes'?"

"Yes, Nes-sa's shoes. That's what I said. El-phie-." A scream escaped my throat before I could stop it.

"Nessa … take me and Glinda to the lodge. And then … find Fiyero … pronto!"

"Why should I take orders from you?" Nessa asked impertinently.

"Because I'm older and wiser than you, and I'm your elder sister, so just do it!"

"You're going mad, Fabala. But fine!" Serve her right. I carted her everywhere when we were in Oz. Get a taste of her own medicine.

After Nessa left us at the lodge, we only had to wait a few clock ticks before Fiyero came running. I told him everything, practically breaking down into tears in the process. "And we're here, having fun, and doing a reverse telethon, while Willie and Sara are taking on the burden meant for us!" I concluded.

"Hey, we can find a way to get home, Fae! After all, you still have those wacky powers, don't you?" He put his twisted hand on my arm, which made me smile despite myself.

"But Sara has the Grimmerie. She's probably more powerful than I am at the moment."

Glinda spoke up. "El-phie, you made Nes-sa's chair move on its own on the first day of school. Be-li-eve me, you're pow-er-ful!" Our discussion ended there, as it was time for swimming.

I didn't swim. Apparently, Sara didn't like to swim either, because Sue said, "C'mon, Sara. You can't be afraid of the water!"

"I'm not," I said. "I just don't want to get used to the freedom, the weightlessness. I'm limited."

"Suit yourself. I'm gonna go in!" She happily jumped into the water. Meanwhile, I concentrated on Oz, on seeing Sara again. I prayed to nobody that this would work.

Suddenly, Sara appeared inside my mind, crouched on the floor of a castle. "Someone … do … reverse telethon. Elphaba. Lucky bitch. Yvonne … dead. Jean doesn't care. Jean's the Crosstown Cripple. Jean is Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Oh, Willie, Willie, Willie. See you soon. Ugliest guy in the two Carolinas, even the thirteen original states. So beautiful. Elphaba does the reverse telethon, I hope."

My real eyes opened again. Everyone was still in the pool. I now had a mission: to do that reverse telethon. It was the least I could do for Sara. And then, I would find a way to switch us back, even if it meant Nessa dying in the process. That's what really got to me. I had always looked after my sister, and now I had to kill her. I guess I really was a wicked witch after all.

After a dinner of awful Camp Courage stew (Fiyero had four bowls), it was time for the show. We suffered through many horrible acts where campers sang badly and forgot their lines, but then the good quad singer took the stage and blew everyone away. "People stop and stare. They don't bother me. For there's nowhere else I'd rather be …" Of course I hoped our reverse telethon would send a resonating message, but he better actually win the prize!

Finally, it was our turn. Sue and Carole put us in place, and then sat down. This was it. I cleared my throat. "Esteemed commandente, Philistines, counselors, comrades, it's the year 2030. Twenty years ago, we cripples took over the world in a violent revolution. In the first unstable days of our regime, our only thought was to punish those who had oppressed us for thousands of years. But now we have matured. We have compassion for those who are different. We raise money to help them. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome you to the Third Annual Telethon to Stamp out Normalcy! Applause, please!" Confused, the visitors and benefactors clapped. They had no idea what was about to hit them!

I introduced those who could not walk as our donators, and those who could as the people whom we were trying to help. "One day, I'll have a wheelchair!" Nessa shouted triumphantly, causing much shock among the visitors.

"YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE!" we sang loudly at the end of telethon. What had been a metaphor was now the literal truth: you'll never walk alone.

In a flash, we were off the stage. "Sara, that is the last straw!" Sue shrieked. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Sara! Are you listening to me?!" I didn't care how much trouble I was in; Sara was in worse trouble. I closed my eyes and scrunched up my nose, harnessing whatever power I had …

And suddenly I was standing in the castle where Sara was. Alright, Elphaba, time to make things right.

Long chapter, but a LOT happened. That's why it took so long. Sorry.

Cheers,

Elle Dottore