AN: Sorry that I haven't updated in a couple of days, but I really needed to rest - I've been neglecting sleep.
Anyway, here's the next chapter - Warning Character Death. - Yeah, this chapter is kinda sad.
Chapter 14:
The next twenty-four hours went by faster than Glinda would have liked, sure it was filled with fun but also worry.
As the daylight started to fade into the night before the potential showdown, Glinda and Elphaba were locked away in their room.
Lion Quinn couldn't hear what was being said this time; only whispers but she knew that it was sad and heart breaking.
She looked up at Rachel who was asleep on the bed, the Lion got up from her spot on the floor, yes, she chose to sleep on the floor, and went over to the brunette and jumped on to the bed with her, letting out a small rumble as she cozied up to the small girl, nuzzling into her as she draped one front leg over the her as Rachel placed her hand on the Lion's giant paw.
Lion Quinn let out a small smile, she knew Rachel wasn't going to stay here so she was going to cherish what time she had left and be happy.
She nudged the girl softly under her chin as she had to stop herself, again, from licking the girl, remembering that her tongue was like sand paper to the brunette, and softly rubbed her head against Rachel's who sighed in her sleep.
The Lion cuddled up more to her before she too began to fall asleep.
In the room next to them were Scarecrow Brittany and Tin Man Santana, the Scarecrow was currently just dozing as the Tin Man looked down at her, letting her Tin fingers run against the straw girl's arm.
She wanted to know what it felt like to feel again, to touch, to smell. While kissing the Scarecrow would trigger memories, it just wasn't the same and she knew the straw girl felt the same way as her, neither of them could feel human.
It was at that moment she envied the Lion and the girl, because they could feel, touch and smell. The Tin Man knew that she'd never be human again, her heart wasn't incredibly selfless. But she'd be damned if she didn't at least help the Scarecrow become human again.
Breakfast the next morning was held in silence, Glinda's eyes were red and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she had been crying.
Elphaba was just stoic.
When breakfast was done, Elphaba and Rachel went around and started to set things up, Glinda and Tina Doll went to find a proper hiding space where they could see all that would transpire.
Lion Quinn, Tin Man Santana and Scarecrow Brittany were all waiting in position to pretend that they were just bursting onto the scene when the witch hunters arrived.
They hated it, the waiting, the wondering.
Just as noon approached, they heard the witch hunters appear.
Time for the plan to get into action.
"Okay, so here's what we're gonna do," Tin Man Santana said loud enough that the witch hunters would hear her, "We will sneak into that castle, we'll save Rachel, AND, we will kill that witch, we have to,"
"Hey, are you guys after the witch too?" one hunter asked.
"Yes we are," Scarecrow Brittany said as Lion Quinn looked at them.
"Is that Lion of yours tame? Is he in league with the witch?"
"Firstly, he is a she, she just happens to have a mane, second of all, do you really think we'd be foolish enough to have someone who is league with the witch working for us?" Tin Man Santana said.
"We have to be careful, there are Animals everywhere, filthy creatures, the Wizard told us that they are part of our problem, they don't know that they should be subservient, seen and not heard,"
"Shut the heck up, you want our help or not?" Lion Quinn snapped, "Because without me, you'll never get near that witch, I guarantee it,"
The Witch Hunters all gaped as Scarecrow Brittany patted Lion Quinn's head.
The audacity of these hunters, hate what they're told to hate, no questions, no discussions, no looking at it for themselves, just blind faith - blind following that ends up damaging lives more than it ever could save.
"She's rather sensitive about such things, the Wizard sometimes has no idea how useful the Animals can be, but that's just my opinion," Scarecrow Brittany said, "Why don't you all stay behind us, we'll get the witch, we're not human like you so spells are unlikely to work on us,"
The Witch Hunters nodded their heads as they were weary of Lion Quinn, the Lion tried hard not to snap and bite at them because of their ignorance of beings like her.
Scarecrow Brittany, knowing that Lion Quinn was incredibly unhappy, patted her back in a comfort, the Lion looked up at her and stood on her hind legs so that the people could see how tall she really was.
She looked majestic, they couldn't deny that, and dangerous.
Lion Quinn just smirked at that as she kept walking on two legs before getting bored and started stalking on all fours again.
Meanwhile inside the castle, Glinda and Tina Doll hid quietly, Glinda was very nervous as she watched Rachel and Elphaba get into position.
A worrying scream nearly made it out of her mouth as she noticed something she hadn't before. Some water had spilled onto Elphaba's hand, making it steam and hiss, the poor green woman yelped in pain as Rachel tried to help her with confusion; but the green woman made her carry on with her task, they didn't have much time left.
The last minute change was that Tin Man Santana had to burst up the stairs and break the door down with her axe, they would start acting happy at saving Rachel and then Elphaba would appear cackling.
"I hope all goes well," Tina Doll said as she looked at Glinda.
"Yeah, me too," Glinda said.
"She'll be okay,"
"I hope so,"
Soon the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man arrived, the Witch Hunters behind them.
Rachel was pretending to cry in the tower room, behind the large locked doors.
"Rachel? Rachel can you hears us?" Scarecrow Brittany cried out.
"Oh girls you found me," Rachel could be heard yelling back at them, "Please get me out, the witch has locked me in here, please help me,"
Lion Quinn roared as she 'attacked' the door, "It won't open," she said in worry and annoyance.
"I'll cut it down, after all, I have the axe," Tin Man Santana said as she began chopping the door down.
"Hurry, she said that if I don't give her the shoes by the time the timer is done, she'll kill me, help me," Rachel yelled through the door.
Finally Tin Man Santana had the door chopped down and Rachel ran out hugging Scarecrow Brittany first before Lion Quinn pulled her into a hug.
"We have to go, now," Tin Man Santana said as everyone started running down the stairs.
They managed to get down a few flight of stairs until all of a sudden, the doors closed as a cackling was heard.
"Well, well, well," Elphaba cackled as she magically just appeared, "Leaving so soon? I wouldn't hear of it, why the party is only just beginning,"
"Oh god, we're trapped like rats," Lion Quinn said in fear.
Elphaba created an optical illusion of a party of green skinned guards appear to attack the crowd.
For people who acted fierce and tough, Rachel found them to be incredibly cowardly the moment trouble appeared.
The Witch Hunters were sniveling and screaming as the green guards approached them.
"Hey, don't hurt them right away, we'll let them think about what we're going to do to them," Elphaba cackled as Scarecrow Brittany followed the plan and pretended to look up at the candle chandelier that was up on the ceiling.
Since it was held by ropes, she figured, cut it and the wheel looking thing would fall and hit the guards, so she grabbed Tin Man Santana's axe and cut the rope causing the chandelier to fall on some of the guards.
"RUN," she screamed as everyone started running in the direction that she went, leading them to the next room.
"Seize them you fools, seize them, stop them," Elphaba was heard screeching and Glinda had seen a glimpse of the woman running down the stairs broom in hand, "Seize them, seize them,"
Now Elphaba for her part felt a little silly, after all, she was the only one that was chasing them with a broom. Although she supposed she reminded people of an old woman chasing kids off her lawn. She shuddered at the thought, she wasn't that old thank you very much.
Thank god for the illusion of the guards.
The group managed to double back and return to the chandelier room before running up the stairs again, they heard Elphaba give the guards instructions to split up.
Finally she caught up with them and had them surrounded.
"Well, ring a ring a rosy a pocket full of spears, thought you could be foxy huh?" Elphaba said to them menacingly, "Well, the last to go will see the first three go before her, and then I'll destroy some of those hunters and send the others back, wounded,"
One of the witch hunters finally found some courage, but she was foolish and just waved her arms like a silly child. Elphaba easily cast a spell on her to make her sleep; that caused a few more of the witch hunters to try and attack her.
Up in her hiding spot, Glinda hid nervously as she watched Elphaba fight off the Witch Hunters, as she attempted to corner Rachel.
When she managed to disarm at least three more, the witch hunters trembled again and huddled closer together.
"Give me those shoes," Elphaba cackled.
"I, I tried, I can't," Rachel said in fear.
"Give me those shoes or all these people die,"
At that the Witch Hunters shoved Rachel forward so that she'd fall to the ground, "Take her," they cried.
"COWARDS!" Lion Quinn roared, those pitiful humans, throwing an innocent child to cover their own hides, that disgusted her. She tried to lunge forward to protect Rachel but Elphaba cast a spell to throw her backwards.
'They're all acting really well,' Glinda thought to herself.
"Q," Tin Man Santana said as she looked after her friend, "You okay?"
The Lion nodded her head.
Brittany was seen trembling a bit and Elphaba caught on to the signal. She glanced up and lit the end of her broom with the fire that was burning above them on another candle chandelier and moved it towards the scarecrow.
"What's the matter Scarecrow? Feeling cold? Is that why you're trembling? Would you like a bit of fire?" Elphaba said as she set Brittany's straw arm on fire.
"B," Santana said as she tried to fan the flames out.
"Oh my god, I'm burning, I'm burning, help me, help me," Scarecrow Brittany shrieked.
"No, don't grab that water," Elphaba started as Rachel recognised her cue.
"Here, let me help," Rachel said as she grabbed the water bucket and threw it over Brittany, hitting Elphaba in the process.
"What have you done you cursed brat? Look what you've done," Elphaba shrieked, "Water, it's, pain, oh the pain, I'm melting, I'm melting, oh what a world, what a world, who thought a beautiful girl like you could destroy my wickedness,"
Elphaba's shrieks of pain ran through Glinda's mind, scaring her, and she wished she could come out, but couldn't.
What scared her the most was that everyone could literally see the water melt Elphaba's skin away, almost like it was acid that burnt through her skin to her bone and then melted it away before their very eyes.
Elphaba kept screaming and a part of Glinda started to get scared that what she was witnessing truly was the death of her…best friend? No, lover, Elphaba was her lover. And she couldn't bear it.
Eventually Elphaba was gone and all that remained was her hat, her broom and her cloak.
"You killed her," one of the guards said.
"I, I didn't mean to, honest," Rachel said as she looked at them.
"She killed the witch," one of the hunters yelled happily as Rachel went to pick up the witch's broom.
"We should go now and tell everyone, let's go to the carriages," another yelled as Rachel, Tin Man Santana, Lion Quinn and Scarecrow Brittany were seen being hoisted into the air and carried away.
As the crowd disappeared from view, the green guards slowly disappeared into a mist and were gone.
Glinda came down from her perch once she was sure everyone had left and ran to Elphaba's spot.
"Elphie?" she said sadly as she burst into tears and reached around the woman's cloak, taking the hat away.
Something wasn't right...where was the trap door? Where was it? How could Elphaba just disappear if there was no trap door?
Chisery came up to her and gave her the green bottle that had once belonged to Elphaba.
"Miss Glinda," he said as he gave it to her.
This was real, it was all too real.
"Elphie where are you?" Glinda asked as Tina Doll looked around too.
"I don't think she's here," Tina Doll said sadly.
"Where is she? Where's Elphie? This was not part of the plan she was supposed to come back, where is she?"
Chisery looked at her.
"Chisery, she wasn't really allergic to water was she?" Glinda asked through tears.
But the winged monkey didn't say anything and it was the silence that seemed to answer her question.
"Chisery, please, where is Elphaba? Where's the trap door? Where is it?" Glinda asked again but the Monkey flew away.
Sadly Glinda had no choice but to go, a celebration was coming throughout Oz and she had to be there to confirm people's suspicions.
The Wicked Witch of the West is dead.
And a part of Glinda wondered if this was her plan all along.
She sobbed in her bubble all the way to the Emerald City, Tina Doll there to comfort her to the best of her abilities.
But nothing worked. Glinda just could not stop crying.
AN 2: Yes, I'm mean and horrible and ending the chapter there, next chapter isn't too far away.