A/N: You guys...your imaginations are crazy. Seriously - crazy. Thanks for all your extremely creative reviews. :)

Chapter 12

The hand of grief grips my chest and squeezes it so tightly that I am certain my body will crumble into nothing. My blood is on fire and my mind is in a blurry haze as I try to comprehend the news.

I can feel the air rapidly heating up around me and blowing into a fast wind, scattering objects from their rightful places on shelves and desks and tossing them around in a whirlwind. Things smash against walls, the ceiling, the floor, and Morrible staggers around, yelping when she is whacked by her own personal possessions.

A torrent of thoughts floods my mind, and with them come outbursts of chaos.

I will never see Doctor Dillamond again.

The walls crack and start to crumble. My feet rise from the floor and into the air, and I soar through a hole in the ceiling and into the sky. Below me, I hear screams and cries as more and more of Crage Hall starts to come down.

He was my first friend, my only friend.

My hands reach into the air, seizing my surroundings with magic and tugging them upwards. They will pay, all of them, for all the injustice they have ever caused, for being so unlawful to those who are different. Their ignorant attitudes allowed the Wizard to carry out his plans and force the Animals into segregation. They don't deserve it, none of them do; Doctor Dillamond certainly didn't. He was more intelligent than most humans and should have been recognised for it, not –

I can scarcely think the word 'murdered'. I am certain that that is what it is. He must have come close to proving his research, and someone decided that he had to be silenced. Morrible, the bitch. I bet it was her. She certainly loves to bully those who are different. She spent all term refusing to acknowledge me, even when I desperately needed her help.

Just because I am blind, just because I am green!

I let out a long, loud screech and throw my hands down. The magic bullets into the floor with a humongous boom, splitting the ground and throwing up a haze of gravel and sand. I land back on the floor, my shoes sinking into rubble. I'm quickly losing sense of my orientation but it doesn't matter: I step forward through the rubble, blood still boiling, and tears spilling from my eyelids and down my cheeks.

Students are crying, screaming, wailing - I ignore them; they deserve it for the way they've treated me. From the minute I stepped into the university – rather, from the minute I was born into my disaster of a life – I was cast aside for my mere existence.

Not one chance! Not one!

I wipe my eyes but the tears won't stop coming. Long, fluid streams of magic wrap me in a nest and jet outwards, shielding me from the cruel outside world. No one can touch me now. They can cry and scream, but they cannot lay a finger on me.

'Miss Elphaba, what in Oz are you doing?!'

The voice is Galinda's. I shake my head and keep walking, hearing her start to move behind me, knowing that my magic safeguard will keep her away. Her presence reminds me of Meddik and what he did to her, and I speed up, knowing that I have to find him and make him pay for his actions. I tune into the surrounding noises, trying to find his voice, but the university is massive and he could be anywhere in any of the buildings. Well then, I'll just make my way through all of them, one by one, until I find him. I stretch my arms out and let magic charge through them and outwards in a circle. It rockets through everything in its path, tearing through buildings, eliciting screams and shrieks from the people.

Galinda, for some unknown reason, is still following me. She keeps calling my name and whining, and I wish she would shut up and go anywhere that isn't here. I have no idea why in Oz she wants to be anywhere near me. She hates me as much as the rest of them – more, even.

'Miss Elphaba, you have to stop this, it isn't the way…'

But she doesn't understand. It is the only way.

I cast the magic backwards and wince as I hear her shriek and stumble over. The shard of pity I feel for her is overshadowed by the notion that she has acted no better than any of the others. The deceitful, shallow brat, using unfair methods to get what she wanted. The stupid girl had already been given everything her entire life, and yet as small a thing as not getting into the sorcery seminar was the end of the world.

Try putting in the effort and yielding nothing in return! I think viciously, remembering how desperately I worked in the effort to get Morrible to teach me. I have no sight and yet I still managed to get straight A's and top the year, but of course that didn't matter because Horrible Morrible took one look at me and couldn't see past my skin or my disability. But never mind, because she will see me now, they all will!

The floor rumbles beneath my feet, pulsing as it is blasted with waves of power. Everyone will suffer the consequences; everyone except me. Inside of my magical bubble, I am invincible. They cannot bring me down anymore, only watch as I rise and prove myself better. My veins are ablaze with the rush of freedom of not holding back. No more restraint. No more worry. No more people trying to stamp me down. Now it is my turn to stamp on them.

Inside of my shield I begin to float over the destroyed ground.

'Miss Elphaba!'

Why is the brat still here, I wonder? She ought to be out of the way by now, but somehow, in those ridiculous heels of hers, she has managed to keep up with me.

'Are you completely insane? Get down here at once you stupid, green bean!'

'No!' I yell, and send some more magic in her direction, feeling satisfied when I hear a piercing shriek from down below. 'He's dead, Galinda! Dead!'

'Well yes, but – you can't tear down buildings just because you feel like it!'

'You don't get to tell me what I can and cannot do! I can no longer abide the injustice within this place! It's horrendible! HORRENDIBLE!'

My voice gets lost in a cold, turbulent wind which tunnels through the air, whipping my loose hair around my face. I can feel myself flying forward. It is as though the magic has become my eyes, guiding me to where I need to go. I quickly lose sight of Galinda, and instead focus on the sound of flying debris. Then – finally – I hear it, the sound of Professor Meddik, barking orders at students, telling them to run.

'You!' I shriek, hurtling towards him. 'You hurt her, you bastard! You deserve to die!'

'Miss Elphaba!' he exclaims.

'I HATE YOU!'

I crash onto the ground and slam my hands downwards. There is a sickening crack as the floor fissures and moves apart. Meddik screams and staggers around, trying to remain upright, but loses his balance and falls through the opening with a loud shriek. As his voice dies away, I cackle loudly in triumph.

Then, I feel a light pitter patter, and halt in my tracks, confused. This wasn't done by me. What in Oz is going on? The pitter patter turns into a horrendous downpour, drenching me from head to toe. I don't understand. Why isn't my shield protecting me from this?

The answer hits me in a wave of horror. Morrible. Oh shit. I turn in a random direction and run. If there's one thing I cannot best it is Morrible's magic.

As quickly as the downpour started, something zaps my body, and suddenly I am on fire, and I scream in agony. My back arches and my hands fall, limp, against my sides. My body is paralysed and I can do nothing but howl in agony until the power finally dies away and I collapse onto the floor.