AN: So here's the ending of this story:

"After that was said and done, BlueD ran into the story somehow and kicked Morrible's big fat butt. After that she stabbed her and Morrible died before she can get to any one in any shape or form. BlueD turned around to face a very shocked Elphaba, Cyara, Glinda, Fiyero, and Athul, smiled and waved, and flew off on a broomstick. THE END."

At least, that's the ending of this story according to BlueD. My own ending will be... slightly different :P. Sorry, BlueD.

I loved your reviews. You all hate Morrible with such passion... *wipes away proud tear*

And yes, Elphaba-WWW, that 'dance on her grave'-part was a small Frex Hunters reference :3. Dancing on graves...

But OMG. I feel so incredibly stupid right now. Would you believe me that I didn't do that on purpose - worse even, that I just realised I did it when I read your review? :O I got Cohvu from the Lion King II, of course, but I made up Cyara long before I did Cohvu, and it never even crossed my mind that I just used the names of both main characters from the Lion King II, only written Ozian style... *facepalm* *bangs head against wall*

Lily: Oh, yes, I do 3:).

So thank you all so much... here's an overdose of fluff, ending with a sort-of cliffie - because I can never resist.

Chapter 21. Together

When Glinda looked up and saw Cyara heading her way, with a certain green-skinned girl leaning on her, she let out an indignant squeal and leapt to her feet. 'What in Oz do you think you're doing?' she demanded.

Elphaba smirked at her friend. 'Gee, it's good to see you, too, Glin,' she said. Her voice was a bit hoarse from lack of use for the past days, but she already looked much better.

Glinda squealed again. 'You're talking!'

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

'But you shouldn't be up yet!' the blonde continued sternly. She glared at the responsible Vinkun princess, who held up a hand in self-proclaimed innocence. 'Hey… I saw that she was awake, and she asked me to take her to you guys.'

'I needed a change of scenery,' explained Elphaba. 'I mean, I've been stuck in that bed for ages – have you ever had the exact same view for days? No? I can assure you, it's not pleasant.'

Glinda giggled. 'I can imagine that.' She hugged her friend. 'I'm so glad you're back, Elphie!'

'Me, too,' said Elphaba with a content sigh. 'You have no idea how wonderful it is to actually be able to move again. Not to mention being pain free.' She smiled at Athul as he came in, and he returned her smile. 'Hey, Elphaba. Welcome back.'

'Thanks.' She pulled away from Glinda. 'Where is Fiyero?'

'I forced him to lie down and sleep,' the blonde said. 'He wanted to stay with you, but you were sleeping, too, and he really needed it – I'm sorry…'

'Oh, no, don't be,' Elphaba waved her away. 'You're right – he needed it. He looked awful.' She studied her friends for a moment. 'So do you, by the way.'

'Gee, thanks,' Cyara and Glinda both said sarcastically at the same time, and Elphaba snickered. 'I'm just kidding. Thank you… so much… for everything you did for me.'

Cyara squeezed her hand and Glinda kissed her cheek. 'You're welcome, silly. We all love you and we wanted to help you… and we'll continue to help you until that awful fish-lady is gone forever!' she declared hotly, making the others chuckle.

'Come on,' Cyara said to the green girl. 'I'll take you to Fiyero.'

The princess helped Elphaba to the bedroom where Fiyero was sleeping, easing her to sit down on the edge of the bed. 'You'll be okay, won't you?' Cyara asked, and Elphaba smiled at her. 'I'll be fine.'

'Good.' Cyara returned her smile before tiptoeing out of the room, and Elphaba laid down on the bed next to Fiyero, on her side, facing him. She studied him for a moment.

With a pang, she noticed that he seemed to have aged years in the past few weeks. He seemed older, more worn than he had been before, and she knew that was partially – or perhaps even completely – because of her and everything that had happened. Even though it hadn't been her fault, of course, she still felt guilty. He had been through so much for her… and yet he still loved her. She knew it was true, but sometimes it still amazed her.

She only hoped that from now on, things would get better again. But for that to happen, they'd have to eliminate Morrible first.

She gingerly raised her hand to his face. Gently, she traced his eyebrow with her fingertips and then his cheek, down to his jaw line. He stirred and muttered something in his sleep, but he didn't wake up. She didn't want him to, either; he needed his rest.

So instead of waking him, she cuddled closer to him, nestling her head under his chin as she closed her eyes with a content sigh. Even in his sleep, his arms subconsciously snaked around her to pull her closer.

When Fiyero awoke, a few hours later, he became aware of the rather unexpected, but somehow completely right, sensation of having someone sleeping in his arms. Without opening his eyes, he breathed in her scent, before realising whose scent that was, exactly, and his eyes snapped open.

Wordlessly, he took in the emerald witch sleeping beside him. He was convinced that he was dreaming, but that didn't matter; it was a pleasant dream. He curled a few strands of her silky hair around his fingers, caressing her cheek with his thumb. Even in her sleep, she leaned into his touch, and he kissed her temple, then trailed his lips down her cheek, pressing them briefly to the corner of her mouth. Oh, yes. This was a nice dream.

He lay still for a while, content just watching her, relishing in the feeling of having her in his arms. 'Fae?' he whispered, and she stirred. 'Mm?'

Her eyes fluttered open and met his, and a smile spread across her face. 'Yero.' It came out as a sigh, and he leaned towards her again, planting butterfly kisses on her throat. 'This is a nice dream,' he mumbled, and she chuckled softly and snuggled up to him. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too,' he said, smiling, and she pulled back a little to look at him. 'You do know that you're not really dreaming, don't you?'

He blinked at her for a moment before finally realising that she was right - he wasn't, in fact, dreaming, and his eyes widened as he suddenly remembered everything that had happened. 'But…' He stared at her in amazement. 'You…'

'I'm fine,' she assured him quietly, trailing her slender green fingers down his chest, making him shiver. 'I promise. I'm alive, awake, pain free, and moving, and altogether perfectly fine.'

He caught her hands, trapping them against his chest, gazing down into her eyes intently. She could see all these emotions swirling around inside his eyes – fear, relief, confusion, worry, pain, disbelief, but above all things, love.

'Really?' he asked rather breathlessly, and she wound her arms around his neck again and kissed him, fervently and hungrily, as if trying to convince herself that she could really feel again. And Oz, did she feel.

'I missed you,' she whispered, and suddenly there were a few stray tears leaking from her eyes. She buried her face in his neck and drank in his presence. 'I missed you so much…' she murmured again against the skin of his neck. 'I know that seems ridiculous, but you have no idea how awful it was – having you so near, but not being able to touch you, or hold you, or even directly talk to you…'

His grip around her tightened and his eyes closed as relief washed over him, the truth finally getting through to him. She was really here, and she was fine again. No more seizures, no more headaches, no more paralysis or pain… No more talk about Glinda having to kill her. Just her – wonderful, beautiful, passionate, loving, fierce, healthy her.

She felt his body starting to shake, and she knew he was crying. She held him tightly, planting kisses on his hair and his face and his neck, trying to comfort him. She let him cry his heart out, clinging to her like he would never let her go again, before pulling back to look at him. She leaned forward to kiss away his tears. 'I love you.'

'I was so scared,' he whispered, his voice breaking. 'When you stopped breathing…' His own breath caught in his throat, and she shushed him gently. 'Ssh, Yero. I know,' she cooed, allowing him to rest his head on her chest to listen to her steady heartbeat. 'But I'm here now. I promise you, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere.'

He lifted his head. 'But Morrible…'

She growled, an almost animalistic sound. 'Once I'll find her, I'll deal with her for once and for all.'

'But…'

'Will you stop protesting and kiss me already?' she demanded in exasperation, and he happily obliged.

They lay together for a while, foreheads pressed together, content just being in each other's arms. Fiyero was tracing patterns on her back. 'Are you really sure you're okay?'

'Would I tell you I were if I weren't?'

He gave her a pointed look, and she actually giggled. 'Okay, okay, I get your point. Don't answer that.'

He laughed and kissed her nose. 'Seriously, though?'

'I told you, Yero. I'm fine. Really.'

'Okay…' He didn't seem convinced. 'If you say so.'

She nuzzled his neck and heaved a content sigh. 'I wish Morrible would just be swallowed by the earth. It would save me the effort to deal with her,' she muttered, and Fiyero smoothed her hair away from her face. 'You'll deal with her,' he whispered. 'You can, and you will. And then we'll be free again.'

She pulled away from him. 'Will we?' she asked bitterly. 'Because I can't help but feel that somehow, something will just go wrong again. My life so far has been one giant chain of bad things happening. I can't even remember the last time I felt free, Yero. Really free, I mean – not the kind of freedom that comes with flying on a broom or… or being with you, but… the kind of freedom that comes with being happy. Without being chased, or tortured, or having to hide all the time.'

His heart broke, hearing her talk like this, and he wrapped her back into his arms. 'I'm sorry, Fae,' he whispered. 'I'm so sorry I haven't been able to give you that.'

She pulled away abruptly, horror written all over her face. 'No! Yero! That's not what I meant-'

'I know it's not,' he cut her off. 'But it's true, isn't it? Ever since I decided to come with you, that day in the Throne Room – no, ever since the day we saved that Lion Cub together… I wanted nothing more than to make you happy. Oz knows I would have protected you from everything that you've been through if I could… but I couldn't.' He hung his head. 'I couldn't prevent them from hunting you down, I couldn't save you from being tortured, I… I feel like I failed you,' he whispered, not looking up.

She cradled his head between her hands, forcing him to look at her. 'You didn't fail me, Yero,' she said, nearly crying when she saw the miserable look in his sapphire eyes. 'You could never fail me. No one has ever done so much for me as you have – you protected me, you sacrificed your life for me… you loved me. Please don't ever think that you let me down,' she begged, wiping the tears that were falling from his eyes away with her thumbs. 'There are many people that fail someone at some point in their lives. I let so many people down, and everyone in my life has in turn somehow let me down, one way or another. My father by resenting me, Nessa by growing to hate me, even Glinda, when she told Morrible to use Nessa to get to me… but never you, Yero. Never you. If anything, you saved me. You're Yero, my hero, and I love you so, so much.'

They were both crying now. She wrapped her arms around him and relaxed against his body as she felt him burying his face in her long hair. 'I love you, too,' he whispered into her hair.

She rested her forehead against his again and looked into his eyes. 'I love you more than you will ever know.'

He looked back at her, caressing her cheek with his fingers as she leaned into his touch. 'I think I do know,' he whispered back.

She looked into his eyes, and she believed him. She believed him because she could see the overwhelming love she felt for him reflected back at her in his azure blue eyes. She kissed him softly, and he passionately kissed her back, easing her back down onto the bed. His eyes took her in hungrily, reassuring himself that she was present and and physically alright. Concern sparked in his blue eyes as he saw the signs that still remained of her torture. 'Fae…'

'Don't,' she warned him. 'Don't say it. Don't even think it.'

He smiled inadvertently. 'I wasn't going to.'

'Good,' she said, smiling as well as she slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She sighed with pleasure as his lips found the soft skin of her neck, just below her ear. 'I feel like I've been gone for ages.'

'I know what you mean,' he murmured against her neck. 'But in reality, it was barely two weeks.'

'That was two weeks too long,' she sighed, and he mumbled something in agreement. He sighed heavily and rolled onto his side again. Elphaba rolled over on her stomach to look at him. 'What's wrong?'

'What if Morrible finds us?' he asked bluntly, and she rolled her eyes playfully. 'Well, you sure know how to kill a mood,' she teased him, but his expression remained serious. 'I mean it. What do we do when that happens?'

She brushed her lips against his bare chest, making him shudder. 'I don't know,' she said with a sigh of her own. 'I really don't. And I'm scared, too, Yero… but I really don't want to think about that right now.'

His arms tightened around her. 'You're right. I'm sorry.'

'No, it's okay.' She yawned, and he gazed down at her. 'So what do you want to do right now?'

She shrugged and snuggled up to him, relishing in his body warmth. 'Nothing,' she said softly. 'Anything. I don't care. As long as you're with me.'

He pressed his lips to her hair, smiling. 'Can't argue with that.'

Eventually, they fell asleep together, her in his arms, curled up against him. That's how Cyara found them a few hours later, and it was a picture so adorable that she immediately ran out of the room again, startling Glinda and Athul, who were still in the sitting room. 'Cyara?' the blonde called, rising to her feet, her voice anxious. 'Why are you so rushed? Is something wrong? Is Elphie okay?'

'She's fine!' Cyara called back from her room, emerging again within clock-ticks, carrying a canvas and her paint and paintbrushes. She flashed Glinda an apologetic grin. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. They just look so cute…'

Glinda laughed and sat back down as the younger girl hurried back to the couple's bedroom, where she sat herself in the window seat to sketch them.

She was just mixing some colours together when Fiyero yawned and cracked open one eye. 'Are you spying on us, little sis?'

She grinned at him, but then he moved a little, and Elphaba muttered something unintelligible in her sleep and stirred slightly. Cyara's eyes grew wide. 'Don't move!'

Fiyero froze in the middle of stretching. 'What? Why?'

'If you wake her, she'll never stay still long enough for me to finish this painting,' she explained in a whisper. 'And that means I would have to kill you.'

Fiyero rolled his eyes, but smiled, knowing his sister when she was working on one of her pieces of art. 'Fine. I won't move.'

'Thank you.'

'But the problem is that you're right. She'd never let you paint her while she was awake… which means you'll end up with a whole stock of paintings of Elphaba sleeping, and none of her being awake.'

Cyara chewed on the inside of her cheek. 'Well, I'll make sure to catch her awake sometime. That'll be my new challenge.' Her face brightened. 'And perhaps I could make a project out of it… a whole series of a sleeping Elphaba. Perhaps they'll be people who find it good enough to have them presented at an art exposition, somewhere here in the City… I could call it 'Sleeping Beauty'.'

Fiyero chuckled. 'She'd kill you… but I would love it.'

Cyara smirked. 'I'll try my best, then.' She quickly worked on the painting some more, adding some lines or colours here and there, critically looking back and forth between the painting and the real thing. Fiyero, meanwhile, stayed as still as possible, which really wasn't all too hard for him; he got so caught up in watching Elphaba sleep that he completely forgot his sister was even there.

Finally, Elphaba awoke, her eyes blinking open just in time to see Cyara beaming. 'Finished just in time!'

The green girl's eyes narrowed when she saw the canvas and realised what the younger girl must have been doing. 'Do you have a death wish, Cyara?'

The princess just grinned back at her and Elphaba turned around to find Fiyero gazing down at her. 'Good morning,' he smiled, and she scowled at him. 'It's more like 'good evening'. How long have I been sleeping?'

Fiyero shrugged. 'No idea. Does it matter? Apparently, you needed it, and so did I.'

She accepted that and nestled herself back into his arms. Cyara was still watching them, resting her chin on her fist, with a joyful expression on her face. 'You guys are such a cute couple,' she sighed. 'I wish I had a man that would look at me with even half as much love in his eyes as I can see in yours when you look at each other.'

Fiyero chuckled and Elphaba blushed, but smiled. 'You'll find him one day, kid,' she assured her. 'Glinda wanted that same thing, and she's on her way to having it, too. Athul adores her.'

'Yeah…' Cyara heaved a happy sigh. 'It's so adorable to watch. Though I must say it's annoying sometimes, too, being the only single person living in a house with two couples. Especially since Glinda and Athul seem to feel the need to tongue wrestle in my presence every now and then. No matter how adorable they are together, sometimes they make me want to gag,' she informed them seriously, and Elphaba sniggered. Fiyero looked horrified. 'But… but Fae and I aren't that bad, right?'

Cyara rolled her eyes. 'No, Yero. Thankfully, you two at least keep your tongues safely inside your own mouths whenever there is someone else around,' she said teasingly, and she and Elphaba both chuckled upon seeing Fiyero's face.

'Well…' he said seductively, winking at the emerald witch beside him. 'We could always change that, of course…' He half-closed his eyes and pursed his lips, making kissing noises and moving his face closer to Elphaba's as he slipped out his tongue and flickered it, as if he were a snake. Cyara immediately burst into a fit of giggles and Elphaba laughed as she pushed him away. 'Please don't ever do that again.'

'I second that,' chimed in Cyara, still chuckling. 'Gross, Yero. Really, really gross.'

He flashed her his most charming smile. 'Why, thank you.'

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker, then went out. They could all hear Glinda's frightened shriek and before long, the blonde burst through the door, Athul right behind her. 'What's happening? Is everyone alright?'

Elphaba, Fiyero, and Cyara had all shot up at the lights going off, and they were all looking around. 'I'm fine,' said Cyara in a quivering voice. 'That just scared the hell out of me.'

'You're not the only one,' muttered Fiyero, seeking Elphaba in the dark. 'Fae?'

No response came.

'Fae?' he called again, immediately growing frantic, but then he felt her slip her hand in his. 'I'm here. Ssh.'

Relief washed over him and he moved towards where he guessed she was sitting. He found her and wrapped his arms around her waist. 'Are you okay?'

Her whole body was tense, which worried him, and she didn't say anything, only shushed him again, which didn't really help matters, either. Glinda squeaked, 'Elphie? What's going on?'

Elphaba's voice was ominously low as she spoke again. 'Morrible.'

Glinda squeaked again in fear and Cyara asked, 'What? How do you know?'

'I just do. Ssh. I'm trying to concentrate.'

She felt Fiyero's grip around her tighten and she heard the others' laboured breathing in the silent night air, but she tried to focus on the sinister feeling that crept up on her, sending shivers down her spine. Since it was completely dark anyway, she closed her eyes, trying to block out everything but that feeling. Finally, she was able to sense where it came from, and without warning, she shot a bolt of bright crackling magic in the direction in which she perceived the threat to be, nearly giving everyone a heart attack in the process. Glinda shrieked, Fiyero and Athul jumped, and Cyara let out a colourful curse. 'What in Oz was that for?'

Suddenly, Morrible's creepy, hollow laugh filled the room, making everyone's neck hair stand on end. Red lights suddenly lit part of the room – the part where Elphaba just shot her magic at – and Morrible's giant head appeared, much like the mechanical head of the Wizard, only this one wasn't real. It was surrounded by smoke and mist and those strange red lights, but Elphaba could tell that it was a projection. The whole thing was a bit theatrical and over the top, in the green girl's opinion, but Morrible had always been a little eccentric. 'You missed, dearie.'

'I won't next time,' Elphaba snarled, at which Morrible only laughed again. 'Perhaps not. Only time will tell. But I won't miss either, dearie.'

'Elphaba!' Cyara hissed. 'Why don't you just kill her?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes, though no one could even see that in the scarce light. 'It's a projection, kid. A hologram. She's not real – she's projecting herself through her magic.'

Cyara blinked in confusion. 'So… where is the real her, then?'

'I think,' said Athul drily, 'that the whole point of this presentation is that we don't know where the real her is.'

'Oh my,' sneered Morrible. 'Our dearest Glinda found herself a man with brains!' Even in the projection, it was clear that her eyes were gleaming with pleasure. 'I'm already looking forward to using him, Glinda dear. Tell me – if I were to torture him to death before your eyes, would you consider handing the reign of Oz back into my hands?'

Glinda's eyes were flaming as she momentarily forgot her fear and stepped forward. 'I won't let you touch him!'

Morrible cackled. 'I could take all of you,' she hissed. 'I could make all of your lives a living hell. But I think we've had enough of those methods, don't you, Miss Elphaba? I think we should go about this less sneaky and more… straightforward.'

Elphaba glared at the old hag. 'What do you propose?'

'A fight,' stated Morrible simply, boring her gigantic projection eyes into Elphaba's. 'A fight on life and death that will end this once and for all. Just you and me, dearie. No others involved. Even though I'd love to take that charming Prince Fiyero from you to try and torture him again-'

'For Oz's sake, Morrible, just name me a time and a place!' snapped Elphaba, and Morrible made a disapproving sound. 'You still haven't gotten rid of that temper of yours, I see. Really, dearie, you should learn to control yourself.' Her face grew more serious as her projection eyes met Elphaba's. 'The Emerald Square in front of the former Palace, tomorrow at midnight. One way or another, Miss Elphaba, we're going to end this.'

She obviously tried to stare the green girl down, but Elphaba just kept her head high and crossed her arms defiantly. 'I'll be there.'

Morrible grinned maliciously. 'I know you will.' Then the entire projection vanished in a puff of red smoke.

The lights flickered, then went on again.