Elphaba turned from Galinda's prone form and sprinted at the Grimmerie. As she got closer to the raised pedestal it became harder and harder to move. Still, Elphaba fought the magic enough to knock her foe to the ground. The Grimmerie, not giving up, slammed itself shut.
Elphaba kneeled and fastened her thin, boney hands onto the cover. She pulled with all her might, fingers gouging lines in the ancient leather, but the book hardly budged. "Let me in," the green girl demanded. She could feel the Grimmerie trying to invade her thoughts. It spat awful images in Elphaba's subconscious.
She saw Nessarose rolled into a pit of fire. She saw Galinda's mind torn apart until the blonde could do nothing but scream and claw at her own face. She saw Fiyero sneer at her skin as if it were the most vile of poisons.
Elphaba screamed and fought back violently. She channeled all her vicious anger into the Grimmerie's invasive mind, but every hateful thought simply bounced right back. He green girl gritted her teeth and added more fuel to the fire. She drew on her memories of Frexspar's insufferable words and Madame Morrible's sickly grin. Nothing worked. The Grimmerie seemed immune to her hate.
After five minutes of painful, mental abuse Elphaba released the Grimmerie's cover. She collapsed to the floor, gasping. Tears ran down the witch's face. Foolish girl, the ancient book chuckled. Do you really think your puny eighteen years worth of hate and anger could ever outdo me? I've witnessed decades of mankind's most hateful emotions.
Elphaba's eyes narrowed with determination. Again she pounced atop the Grimmerie and attempted to wrench it open. Just like last time the old book tried to violate her thoughts with a tidal wave of pain and hate. Elphaba took a deep breath, resisting the instinct to respond with similar negativity. Instead she slowly began to summon her happiest memories.
At first they came slowly, but then the stream of bright, hopefully thoughts moved faster and faster. Elphaba let all the love she felt for Fiyero, Nessarose, and Galinda build up inside her gut and then released it. The Grimmerie was floored by this barrage of unadulterated magic. Its cover was blasted open and suddenly Elphaba's head was awash with bits of memory.
Nessarose learned to move her wheelchair by herself for the first time. Her small fingers pulled the brake triumphantly and he grinned at her proud sister. "I did it Fabala! I did it!"
Fiyero pulled Elphaba into his arms and pressed his lips against hers. "I love you," he whispered tenderly.
Galinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba in a gesture the green girl had only ever seen done to others. "That may be your secret Elphaba, but that doesn't make it true."
Gradually the whirl of memories faded and Elphaba's watery eyes focused on the Grimmerie. It lay prone and open before her, turned to a random spell. Hesitantly the green girl turned a page, expecting a backlash.
Nothing happened.
Encouraged, Elphaba began to flip through the book. The strange, swirling language of magic spiraled in front of her, until she stumbled upon a spell meant to repair damaged minds. Elphaba lifted the heavy volume and moved quickly to Galinda's limp body. Her stomach was doing anxious flip flops; have excited, half nervous. She took a deep breath and started chanting. A hot, searing sensation, like her previous experiences with magic amplified a thousand times, filled the witch's body. Her hands began to twist and weave over Galinda's unconscious face of their own accord.
Then, as the last magical words fell from Elphaba's lips, the fire building in her stomach reached a peak. It came shuddering out and green light flashed beneath Galinda's eyelids. The green girl slumped, sucking in deep breaths.
Beside her Galinda stirred slightly. She gasped, eyelids fluttering. Elphaba bent over her. "Glin?"
"Elphie?" the blonde mumbled. Her forehead scrunched.
"I'm here," Elphaba replied softly. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah." Galinda still hadn't opened her eyes, but she sounded more awake. "I've got a wicked headache though."
"Can you open your eyes?" The blonde responded by finally looking up at her friend with muddled, blue orbs. She took in Elphaba's breathless face and unruly hair, which was coming out of its braid, with confusion.
"What happened?" She sat up abruptly. "Where's Morrible?"
"Locked up."
"What? How? The last thing I remember…" Galinda's eyes glazed over, the way they had before when her memories were coming back. "Oh," she squeaked, swaying. Elphaba braced a steadying hand against her friend's back.
When Galinda's bewildered eyes finally came back into focus they we shining with tears. She turned to the green girl with a smile that needed no translation. Elphaba returned Galinda's tearful grin and pulled the blonde into a fierce hug. "I missed you," she whispered.
"Oh Elphie," Galinda whimpered, squeezing the thin witch tighter.
The happy reunion was interrupted by a low, growling sound. Elphaba tensed as she felt a familiar presence prickling at the edges of her consciousness. Galinda's head jerked up. The movement was followed by a barely contained shriek.
Apparently the Grimmerie, or whatever magical presence it had been endowed with upon creation, had condensed in a cloud of dark, emerald magic. It hovered a few inches off the floor and vaguely resembled an unsubstantial lion or jaguar. Horrible, unearthly snarls were ripping from the beast's wispy throat.
Did you really think such a powerful being would die upon being forced from its physical manifestation?