(AN: So I ordered Eden Espinosa's new album five [or six, by the 21st] days ago, and still no confirmation email that it was sent, much less it in the mail. -sigh- I'm starting to fear that it will never be here.)

(Okay, no tumblr, and none of Eden's Maureen sassing me through the computer, I'm going to finish this story!)

A Witch in Time

It was nightfall when the small ragtag group reached the gates of the Emerald City. Before she left, the red-haired Glinda used a spell to get them past the Pine Barrens and well on their way down the ruin of the Yellow Brick Road. The rest was just keeping out of sight long enough to reach the Emerald City, which they eventually did. The Munchkin Mouse-Hole they found abandoned, as was the rest of the city as they made their way towards the Palace. Though they heard the roar of the mobs everywhere, there was no resistance until they came upon the Palace grounds.

Then they saw the mobs. More mock trials were being carried out and lynch executions, which caused even Boq to cringe in fear and shed a single tear down his metal face. Glinda wiped it away with her hand and told them to continue on.

"We can't be breaking down here and now," she said. "We still have to face you-know-who."

"Glinda!" Fiyero's head exclaimed. "I never knew you were so tough."

"Of course you did," she replied. "I walked into Mordor with you and dragged you up a cliff-side when you were wounded. I know what I have to do, and nothing's getting in my way, not this time."

"Why don't you shut up, you!" a voice grumbled.

They all turned about to what had previously looked like a pile of trash along the edge of the Palace fence. Sitting there was an old man who smelt sharply of whiskey.

"Who are you?" Glinda asked.

"Come here, pretty little thing," he held out his hands. "How 'bout a kiss?"

"Eww! Just answer my question!"

"I'm waiting for the daily payment," the old man said. "The new government's good, they throw money out like hay every night. I should be able to get enough for another pint or six."

"Why don't you buy some food or a proper house?" asked Boq.

"Why don't you go put that ax away, queer-bait?" growled the old man. "What I do is none of your business, unless you're running from Her Justness. Oh, but maybe you are? I'll get double rations at the breadline tomorrow if I turn in a..."

But while the old man was rising, Kloxolk struck him over the back of his head with his metallic hand.

"A rat," he said. "No offense meant to Rats, though."

"What was that they said about throwing out money?" Fiyero asked.

"The ginger Glinda told me about what went on here," Glinda said back. "She said Galinda was melting all the gold in Oz and giving it to the Nomes. I don't know, I've never seen a Nome before, but I wouldn't be prepared to believe one didn't exist. I've seen quite a lot since I've left Oz."

"But why would she just give them Oz's gold?" asked Fiyero.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "But I'm sure she would know. Come on, let's..."

"Wait, take his jacket and trousers!" Fiyero urged.

"What?" all of them queried in surprise.

"You didn't see?" he asked. "He's sitting on a pile of money! Just stuff his pants and jacket with it and pop my head on top and I'll be able to help."

"Well, this is awkward." Boq stated.

"Justice prevails!" the people of Oz shouted with one voice.

Upon the steps of the Emerald Palace stood Galinda. Before her were the latest victims, their pale bodies illuminated by the light of the torches carried by her mobs. Her mobs, she called them, for she was in total control of greater Oz. Soon the rest would be under her sway, and then she would move onward and outwards. She was the only one allowed to use magic, and she could make the Deadly Deserts passable. Perhaps she would invade Ev, Fliaan, Quox or Xixi: or perhaps she would leave Oz all-together and enter the other worlds. It was all for her taking.

But then she noticed something, a bit of magic she thought she had quite gotten rid of mere hours ago. She raised her hands up and the crowds quieted down to a murmur. She looked out among them, glaring them down with her dark eyes.

"There's a traitor among you," she announced. "One of you doesn't believe in freedom and justice, one of you still holds on to the old ways." Angry murmurs were echoing among the mob as they eyed each other suspiciously. What before had been unity was quickly turning back into anarchy.

"Ha!" she shouted, turning about with one hand raised. There they were, trapped and cornered at the walls of the Emerald Palace. There was Glinda, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Clockwork General, all of them trying to sneak into the Emerald Palace behind her back.

"You never learn, do you?" she asked the other Glinda. "I am the power in this land!"

"Fine, you got us," Glinda said determinedly. "Kill us, then. Or what, put us away in the Southstairs?"

"Glinda, what are you doing?" whispered Boq.

"Oh, you think you're tough, now, don't you, dearie?" Galinda asked her other half. "I've been waiting patiently for your return, when I can finally get my hands around your scrawny little neck and take you back into me." She smiled. "But why rush things along?" She turned back to the mob.

"Here are the traitors, the villains of justice and freedom!" she announced. "What is your sentence?"

"Kill them! Kill them!" the crowds chanted.

Galinda turned back to her duplicate. "The people have spoken." She smiled and stood aside as the mob started to close in, murder in their eyes. But suddenly, they all jumped or stumbled back in shock. A pillar of sulfurous red smoke had appeared in their midst, between them, Galinda and their prey. As the smoke dissipated, a familiar figure appeared, clad all in black with a tall-peaked, wide-brimmed hat.

"Elphie!"

"It's the Witch!" one of the mob shouted. "She's back from the dead!"

"Someone get some water!"

"Kill her, stupid! She's standing right the..."

But suddenly, fire leaped from the witch's hand and the mob gave away. A ring of fire now erupted in a semi-circle around the mob and the others. The witch then turned to Galinda and the others.

"But, what happened?" Glinda asked. "You said you'd kill me if we ever..." But her words faltered as she saw, in the light of the raging infernal ring, the bruises and blood all over Elphaba's face.

"The freak comes back to Oz," Galinda mocked. "And everyone knows you're here. My my, there'll be no peace for you now, it seems. Still, the b*tch has a point, why did you come back?"

"No one can threaten Glinda but me," Elphaba retorted, leveling a threatening finger in Galinda's direction.

"What are you gonna do, kill me?" mocked Galinda. "You know you can't defeat me." There was a flash of violet light, which flew off through the doors of the Emerald Palace.

"After her!" Elphaba shouted.

Without another word, the four now became five as they charged through the doors of the Emerald Palace and entered the long, dark, narrow corridor. Inside, they realized just how alone they were: not a sign of the Freedom squad or the laughter of Galinda. But the silence was even more unnerving and as they made their way through the dark corridor, their own footsteps scared them. Of course, out of them all, Elphaba had the worst of it: she, who was deathly afraid of the dark, was kept from running back through the door by the hand of Glinda on her shoulder. She had not the heart to shoo her away, for she knew that she was her only friend in the darkness.

"Don't be afraid, Elphie," Glinda said. "We've been down this particular corridor before, do you remember? When we first met the Wizard, there was fanfare and trumpets and everything was happy."

"Yes, I remember," the witch replied. "But now the Wizard isn't there."

"It was spooky when Boq and I came this way with D..." the Scarecrow was cut off.

"Don't mention her name," Glinda hissed.

They walked on in silence, as the corridor seemed to stretch on longer than they had imagined. But they were still within the Emerald Palace, or so it seemed. But the corridor was deathly silent and every move was so much louder and reverberated off the huge walls of the hall, until they knew that there could no longer be any stealth in their mission.

At last the doors at the farthest end of the corridor opened and a light spilled in from beyond. Carefully they passed through the arch and entered the Throne Room. But it was not as it had been before. The throne was gone and in its place was a giant tower, made of sand-blasted marble, with a single, narrow staircase winding around its outer edge. But what was the most amazing thing about this was that the tower was impossibly high, stretching off into the clouds above their heads. There were clouds at the roof of the Throne Room, but there was no sign that a hole had been broken in the roof: it looked as though there were a perfect hole into the sky here in the Throne Room of the Emerald Palace and into the midst of this had been thrown this colossal tower.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Elphaba.

"Maybe it's a mirage," Kloxolk suggested. "Some kind of reflected image, or a spell."

Elphaba threw a ball of fire out of her hand, conjured almost instantly by her thought rather than speech, and heaved it at the base of the tower. It broke against it, scorching the stones black with the fire. The stones were still there, though: just as substantial as ever. Slowly, Elphaba walked towards the tower and placed her hand on it. Her hand did not go through it, but rested upon hard, cold stone.

"But this can't be!" she said. "The top just disappears into the clouds!"

"Who knows what she can do!" Boq exclaimed frightfully.

"We have to try, though," Glinda reminded them. "We've revealed ourselves rather foolishly: if we run away now, she'll just hunt us down one by one and kill us. We have to stop her here and now."

"I'll go with you," Kloxolk said. "Boq as well."

"B-But-But-But..."

"But what?"

"My shiny tin body!" he exclaimed. "What if she damages it?"

"This is not the time to turn into a dandy again!" Kloxolk scolded. "You have an ax, for Lurline's sake! Use it!"

"I'll go, even if I don't know what good I can do," the Scarecrow stated.

"Well, shall we?" asked the witch as she made her way to the steps.

"Wait, Elphaba, wait!" Glinda stepped forward. "I've had it with you. One minute I tell you that I love you and you go with me, then something happens and you threaten to kill me. I want an answer, right and right now, dammit, or I swear that I'll do the worst thing possible to you."

"Like you're even capable of harming me..."

"Elphie, I'm serious! Tell me why you came back!"

There was silence as the witch noticed that she was being watched by all of them in the dimly-lit Throne Room. She hung her head, removing the hat from off it as she tried to speak the words. At last, she raised her head and spoke to Glinda.

"I almost died again," she said. "But I just barely survived, and I thought about what you said." She paused. "You walked through the darkness, through the land of the dead, to save me, and I was being pretty petty. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I forgive you, Elphie," Glinda shook her head vigorously, biting her lip as tears were welling up in her eyes.

"While I was thinking," Elphaba continued. "I came to the realization that I've put you through too much, and I'm sorry for that as well. We go well together, you and I." She made half an attempt at a smile. "Did you really think I'd let you run off to face your death alone?"

"Oh, Elphie..."

"There will be plenty of time for tears later," Elphaba said. "Fight or fall, we do this together, Glinda. Will you take me back as your friend?" She held out her emerald hand towards Glinda.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as everyone watched and dared not speak. Glinda did not speak or move for a long time either: she eyed the hand through tears, praying and hoping that Elphaba would be true this time. At last, however, her tiny hand seized the emerald one in the strongest grip she had ever given: so strong was it that it would have made her younger self quake, as well as any man whose hand had been in hers. Without another word, the two women turned towards the stairs and started running. Behind them came the men, hobbling, running and clanking as best they could. But none could catch the two witches: no one would ever catch them again.

(AN: So, one more listen to "Domino the Destitute" and I got them back together, if only for this adventure!)

(I felt that that last moment was a good one, when Elphaba and Glinda hold hands and run up the Tower, ready to face whatever is in their way. As one of them once said, "Together, we're unlimited. Together, we'll be the greatest team there's ever been." Consider this my nod to those lyrics and the indomitable and undefeatable team of Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.)

(Was that decent enough and not too cheesy? I felt that it was a good way to bring her back without compromising her character and getting her into the battle against Galinda [which is what is coming next].)