A/N: Yes, after a seemingly long week in NY I am back with another chapter! Enjoy, my pretties!

No one in the castle was expecting what was to come. They all had their minds on something else. Elphaba was rushing around the castle looking for Fiyero, with Glinda trailing not far behind. Dorothy was simply thinking. None of them could have anticipated the events that were about to happen.

"YERO, where are you?" called Elphaba. "YERO?" Glinda ran behind Elphaba.

"Elphie, he's not here. Maybe he's just outside! That would be less confusifying than running around your castle aimlessly!" suggested Glinda.

Elphaba agreed. She was willing to do anything. Elphaba just hated it when Fiyero went missing. She pushed her silky black hair behind her green ear and swallowed nervously as she pulled the door open.

At the same time, Dorothy was sitting in the tiny room, thinking. She didn't have anything else to do, and she could go anywhere since the door was locked. But, she thought, it wasn't as bad as she had thought before now that she knew she was safe from any harm from the Witch- Elphaba, she meant. It was strange getting used to her name. In fact, it was strange getting used to all of it. Dorothy stood up and peeked out the tiny window. Same old sight she saw every time she looked out- there was some grass, a few dead plants and some weirdly shaped statue that barely even looked like one. She sighed and walked around the room, her fingers lightly touching the wall. She moved around unflappably until she heard a "clang!" She had discovered a trapdoor.

Dorothy moved quickly through the corridor that led from the trapdoor. It was dark and seemed to never end. Made of stone, the compressed tunnel seemed to go on forever, and her simple blue and white dress kept getting caught on hooks. Questions raced through her mind. Why was the tunnel here? Who built it and for what purpose? Where did it lead? Did Elphaba or any of the others know about it? The third question was answered as she stumbled out of the passageway and into the bright light of day. The tunnel came from the ground and was hidden by a bramble- one that scratched her arm. Silently, she crawled out of the thorny bush and hid behind it as she watched a shocking scene unfold before her.

The rush of air hit Elphaba and Glinda as the door opened to reveal a figure dragging Fiyero. Another minute and he would have been gone- him and the figure were already far enough away.

"Come on." whispered Elphaba. The girls ran up to them.

"WHAT IN OZ'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH HIM?" shouted Glinda. The body turned around to reveal his true identity. Elphaba gasped, and Dorothy, who was only a few feet away, stared in awe of this strange face.

"Red?" gasped Elphaba in shock. "What are you doing?" Red chuckled with a sinister expression. "Disposing of the evidence, of course." he replied.

"What evidence?" asked Elphaba.

"Look at him." Fiyero was unconscious. "If you want to commit a crime, make sure there are no witnesses!"

"What crime?" asked Elphaba, although she already knew.

"Simple." he replied, and called out: "Grab them both!" Two men came out of nowhere, each one holding Elphaba and Glinda back. Red pulled out a rifle and pointed it at the two girls. "Which one first?"

"I can't believe anyone would do this to a person!" snapped Elphaba.

"Oh, please. Did you really think I couldn't see past your stupid little disguise? Do you think I was just having a walk outside Little Miss Bubble's castle for no reason at all? Do you think I didn't send you to the worst hotel in the Emerald City for a reason? Do you think I didn't know immediately who you were… Elle?" His voice took on a whole new tone. He clearly wasn't the gruff hiker he seemed to be when they first met. His voice was much darker and sadistically sophisticated. He had been putting on a disguise, too.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Glinda as she struggled in vain to get free.

"Because you destroyed Oz. You took away our Wizard. You took away our individuality. And yet you just sit in your stupid little bubble like everything's all right!" accused Red.

"How in Oz did I take away your individuality?"

"I think you'll recall a certain festival- your engagement party, I believe. While the wealthy Ozians were blindly celebrating at your stupid party, the poor ones were in their excuses for homes. You blew all your money on your dumb gifts. You left the poor citizens of Oz stripped of everything. We couldn't do anything but be all the same. Blend in- no, not even that. Fade away! You were floating around spreading "wonderfulility" as you called it, but all we less fortunate Ozians were NOWHERE!" he hissed.

"Why didn't you complain?" wondered Glinda.

"Because you never listened! Now, it's time for a new figure to emerge. And as for you," he pointed the rifle at Elphaba, "We should get quite a reward for TRULY killing the Wicked Witch of the West."

Right then, something snapped inside Dorothy. She stood up out from behind the bush and dashed in front of both the girls- right as Red shot the bullet.