AN: Thank you so much for the overwhelming amount of reviews... which now earned you two chapters in one day :). (Or, well, it's half past midnight here... so technically that counts as a new day... but, well, time difference, so it will be two updates in one day for most of you after all :P.)

Fae Tiggular: Who do I picture as the cast... I've been asked that before, and my answer is always the same: Fiyero, Elphaba, and Glinda are usually a mixture of several people combined with my imagination. I think Rachel Tucker would come close to the Elphaba in my head and Megan Hilty sort of is Glinda, only a little more naive and, well, blonde (in the figurative sense, not the literal); Fiyero remains a mystery, he's just too perfect to be represented by anyone :P. Morrible and the Wizard, in my head, are the people I saw performing them live on stage: Pamela Teves and Bill van Dijk, both of them Dutch. Nessa is the Dutch Nessa in my head, Christanne de Bruijn, only a little younger and more naive and innocent as well.

Lexie: I'd love to have you on Facebook :). If you want to be Facebook friends, just say so... unless you're a psycho killer. Then I'm backing away slowly now. (Oh, and to your review on Drabbles: No, I don't take bribes :P. I do, however, take prompts. I currently don't have much drabble inspiration, but if you know something I could write about, just say so and I'll try.)

PrincessKadenceOfMusic: Eat them... that made me laugh xD.

Caricature of a Witch: Yeah, well... I haven't really mentioned it after the ball, but I'm just thinking that Glinda took the necklace off after it. I mean, I guess she would have worn it at the ball, but for her to walk around all day with a glowing necklace... well, make something of it :P.

Musicgal: ... I want to say something right now, give you a hint about who is going to die, but I'm not going to do it. I'm just going to say that it will be one of the people you listed (which isn't that hard, since you listed everyone that's not a Shadow minus Elphaba, but we all know I would never permanently kill off Elphaba).

I want to dedicate this chapter to Elphaba'sGirl, for being incredibly observant and smart and being the only one who has figured out what's going on in its entirety. Like, seriously, girl, do you read minds?! Most of you at least guessed part of it, but none of you deduced it completely - the way Elphaba'sGirl did right now. Don't read her review yet - read it after the next chapter. All will be revealed then (including the death).

Chapter 36. King

'Using all three Objects together,' Elphaba echoed flatly.

The Wizard nodded, beaming at her. 'Yes!'

She jumped to her feet and backed away from him. 'Are you a Shadow?' she asked suspiciously, and the Wizard looked shocked. 'What?'

'Elphie!' cried Glinda. 'You're being rude! He's not a Shadow – hasn't he proven that over the past hour or so? And besides,' she added with a sniff, 'that's my line.'

Elphaba ignored the blonde and kept her eyes fixed on the Wizard instead. 'Are you?' she pressed on, and he looked at her. 'No.'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'I don't believe you.'

'Elphaba,' he said soothingly, tentatively approaching her. She didn't recoil, but she followed him with her eyes, suspicion written all over her face. 'You're my daughter,' he said. 'I wouldn't hurt you. Ever.'

'Then what do you want?' she asked him, her voice quiet, and he sighed and raked his fingers through his hair once again. Suddenly irritated, she snapped at him, 'Would you stop doing that?'

He looked genuinely surprised. 'Doing what?'

'The fingers-through-your-hair-thing. It's like I'm looking in a mirror and it's freaking me out. Stop it.'

He smiled a little. 'Sorry.'

She sighed. 'No, I am sorry.'

'All I want,' he said as he sat back down, while she did as well, 'is to help you. I want to work with you, Elphaba, not against you. I have no desire to hurt either you or your friends. I just think we could achieve a lot together.' His eyes bored in hers. 'If those three Objects of Power are as powerful as it seems they are, don't you think that combined, they may have the power to destroy the other Shadows?' His eyes were shining again. 'Think about it, Elphaba. You're my daughter. We could use those Objects to change things in Oz. We could rule, you and me together. We'd be… unlimited.'

Glinda gasped softly. Cohvu looked immensely impressed. In fact, Boq was the only one of Elphaba's friends looking just plain suspicious. 'Elphie, can I talk to you for a clock-tick?'

She nodded and they moved into a corner together.

'I don't trust him,' Boq whispered. 'I don't know why, but I don't.'

She sighed. 'I know what you mean,' she said quietly. 'For some reason, I have a very bad feeling about this, but… but I can't explain it. And it seems silly, really. I mean, he only wants to help us, right? He's my father. I don't believe he wants to hurt me.'

'That he doesn't want to, doesn't mean he won't do it when he feels he has to,' Boq pointed out, and she nodded slowly. 'You're right. So what do we do?'

'Play along for now,' he whispered. 'We have to find out his true motives first.'

They turned and went back to their seats. The Wizard asked them, 'Is everything alright?' and they both nodded. 'Fine,' said Elphaba. 'Can I see the Grimmerie?'

'Of course!' The Wizard rose to his feet and went back into the room next to the Throne Room. He came back out carrying a thick, leather-bound book. 'Here it is,' he said, handing it to her, and she took it from him gingerly. She held her breath when she felt the power surging through it the moment she touched it, and the Wizard laughed. 'It recognises you.'

She looked up, amazed. 'Is that possible?'

He nodded. 'Objects recognise Keepers. I don't know how, but it is possible. Objects recognise other Objects, too.'

To test that theory, she removed the locket from her wrist and dangled it above the book. The two things seemed to pull towards each other like magnets, and she shook her head. 'Wow. This is amazing.' She looked up. 'Nessa?'

The younger girl sat down on the floor opposite her sister, reaching out her hand, her ring around her finger. The book seemed to shudder for a moment, and Elphaba felt the locket getting warmer between her fingers; she took Nessa's hand and placed it on the book, and it was like the air in the room was suddenly crackling with electricity. Only it wasn't electricity. It was magic.

Cohvu, Fiyero, Glinda, and Boq were all watching this in pure awe, and the Wizard looked ready to do a little dance of joy. 'See now!' he exclaimed. 'See how much power there is! Girls, if we work together, we can have everything!'

Immediately, Elphaba's head snapped up. 'Have everything?' she echoed, and the Wizard backed off. 'Not for ourselves… for Oz!' he corrected himself. 'We can destroy the Shadows, make things better for everyone… imagine that, Elphaba. Work with me. I need your help to do this.'

'Do what?' she asked softly. 'What exactly is it you want from me? Because frankly, I don't think you want to destroy the Shadows and make Oz a better place. I think your reasons for wanting me to work with you are more selfish than that. I think you're hiding something from me.'

Glinda gasped again, indignant. 'Elphie!' she cried, but again, the green girl didn't pay attention. Fiyero and Cohvu, sensing the tension in the room, remained silent, and Nessa and Boq exchanged a look.

The Wizard sighed. 'Look, Elphaba…' he said, taking her hands. 'There are many sorts of evil in this world.'

She eyed him warily.

'We can rule, Elphaba,' he said. 'Together. I could make you one of the two most powerful people in Oz. I know no one could ever replace your mother and father, but I promise that I will try my best to be a father for you. You and your friends could all stay here, in the Palace. You'd have a family again.'

'In exchange for what?' she asked through clenched teeth. 'Why don't you just answer that question?'

He remained silent and she rose to her feet. 'I'm sorry,' she said quietly, 'but I can't trust you.'

He still didn't say anything, just looked at her with a strange look in his eyes, as she clutched the Grimmerie against her chest as if the book could protect her against him. 'Can I look into this book for a moment?' she asked, and he gestured faintly for her to go ahead. She took it to a corner of the room, sitting on the floor in front of it and starting to slowly flip through the pages.

It didn't take long before her friends joined her. She didn't look up from the book, so she didn't see them; but she could feel their presence near her.

'Elphie,' Glinda whispered harshly. 'What do you think you're doing?'

'Do you really think this is a good idea, Fabala?' asked Nessa quietly, and Elphaba shook her head. 'I don't know,' she replied truthfully, still never taking her eyes off the book. 'But I can't think of anything else of the moment.'

'What exactly are you doing?' asked Cohvu curiously, and her eyes flicked up at him for a moment before drifting towards the ancient pages of the Grimmerie once more. 'Trying to find a spell in here.'

'What kind of spell?'

'A spell that might help us,' was her only reply. Glinda curiously peered over her shoulder. 'Can you actually read that?'

Elphaba looked up in surprise. 'Can't you?'

Glinda shook her head. 'It's like the words are dancing on the pages,' she said, frowning. 'I can't even tell you which letters I see.'

'Me, neither,' said Fiyero, and Elphaba blinked. 'That's weird.' She looked back at the book. 'I don't know the language it's written in,' she acknowledged, 'but it's like… like when I read these spells, I just know what they will do. Like this one,' she said, pointing at one of the pages. 'This one makes objects fly.'

Cohvu whistled between his teeth. 'Impressive.'

'That's not what I'm looking for, though.' Elphaba flipped another page and her eyes darkened. 'There it is.'

The others were looking over her shoulder. 'What is that?' asked Glinda, and Elphaba looked up at her. 'It's the spell to reveal the identity of the King of Shadows,' she said, carefully keeping her face neutral. 'Only it's not exactly the same as the one I found before.'

Boq cast a glance in the direction of the Wizard for a moment, to assure himself that he wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation. He was still in his chair, however, waiting patiently for them to finish.

'Let me guess,' Boq whispered. 'You don't need three Keepers for this spell.'

Elphaba looked up at him, a ghost of a smile crossing her face. 'You always did know exactly how my mind works,' she said quietly. 'You're right. The things I read about the Grimmerie… it's different from the locket and the ring. It's not just magical; it actually contains spells. Powerful spells in a lost language. Spells that are much, much different than the ones you might find in a regular spell book. That's why I thought there might be a spell in here to help us.'

'A spell to reveal the identity of the King of the Shadows without needing all three Keepers,' whispered Nessa, and Elphaba added, 'Only one.'

'What about the Wizard?' Fiyero asked, slightly confused and concerned as well. Elphaba's eyes darted across the room for a moment, taking in the man who claimed to be her father, and she squinted. 'The Wizard,' she said in a low voice, rising to her feet, 'is exactly why I need to cast this spell.'

Glinda blinked. 'What?' she asked, utterly confused, but Elphaba had already started chanting, slowly, pronouncing the words carefully. The amount of electricity in the room spiked again and a small, white ball of light suddenly appeared in front of Elphaba. She finished the spell, the tension in the room went down again, and they all watched as the ball started moving.

'What's happening?' whispered Glinda, and Elphaba said, without taking her eyes of the small ball, 'It will lead us to the King now.'

'And if the King lives all across the country?' Cohvu asked drily, but Elphaba shook her head. 'He doesn't.' She locked eyes with the Wizard, who shrunk back a little under her gaze. She knew that she was right in her suspicions, then, but she felt oddly calm about it.

'What do you mean?' asked Nessa, brow furrowed in confusion.

Just then, the ball floated across the room, towards the Wizard, and it sank into his chest until it disappeared. They all watched it happen, most of them in complete and utter horror; the only ones that didn't seem surprised were the Wizard himself and Elphaba.

She slowly lifted her eyes from his chest, where the ball of light had disappeared, to his face. 'I knew it.'

He nodded calmly. 'So you did. You're very clever and very observant, Elphaba.'

'The Wizard… is the King of the Shadows?' Glinda squeaked. Boq muttered a curse under his breath.

'What do you want from me?' Elphaba asked in a steady voice, her eyes never leaving his. He rose to his feet and stepped forward. 'I meant what I said before,' he said. 'I want you to stay with me. To rule with me. We could accomplish so much together, Elphaba. We would be so powerful.'

She sneered. 'Rule with you… What did you have in mind? Suppressing the people of Oz? Letting the Shadows take over the world? I will never help you. Never. How can you even ask that of me?'

Silence settled across the room. The Wizard was still looking at Elphaba, with just the tiniest hint of sadness in his eyes; she was looking back defiantly, chin raised, looking much calmer than she felt. Then the Wizard sighed, sitting down once again. 'I'm sorry you feel that way.' He studied her. 'You really did know, didn't you?' he asked suddenly. 'Who I really am. Even before you started reading the Grimmerie.'

She nodded and he asked, 'What tipped you off?'

She shrugged. 'I'm not sure. A gut feeling,' she said. 'One that turned out to be right.' She cast him a sideway glance. 'You knew I would find that spell in the Grimmerie,' she stated. 'The one that would reveal the King. Why did you give it to me, then?'

'I want you to trust me,' came his simple reply. 'I mean no harm to you or your friends, Elphaba. All I want is your help. It was an attempt to earn your trust – a way to show you that I won't hide anything from you.' He extended his hand towards her, waiting for her to take it. 'I'm giving you the opportunity of a lifetime, Elphaba,' he said gravely. 'I strongly suggest you take it.'

She straightened her back. 'Or what?'

Now he really did look sad. 'You know too much now,' he said simply. 'And you're far too powerful to be left alive if you don't agree to fight with me instead of against me.'

Fiyero gasped, Nessa made a choked sound and a few colourful curses were uttered behind her back, but Elphaba didn't pull a muscle. 'I see. So right now I can choose between me ending up evil, and me ending up dead.'

'Try not to look at it as 'evil',' the Wizard said. She looked at him as if he were crazy. 'You're asking me to join the Shadows!' she cried indignantly. 'They tried to kill me!' Her eyes flashed. 'They murdered my parents!'

'And I'm sorry about that. I really am.' The Wizard slowly approached her again. 'But sometimes, sacrifices have to be made.'

Her eyes were burning now, her gaze more intense than her friends had ever seen it. 'You're right,' she said in a dangerously low voice. 'Sacrifices are required sometimes. Times like right now.' She clutched the Grimmerie against her chest with one arm and reached out for Nessa with her other hand. Without her even having to ask, Nessa understood her meaning and handed her the ring, which Elphaba took. Her locket was once again wrapped around her wrist and she raised her burning gaze back up to meet the Wizard's. 'Three Objects of Power,' she whispered. 'One Keeper. Some rituals. That's all it takes to permanently kill the King of the Shadows and wipe out the Shadows entirely.'

He had paled visibly. 'You wouldn't. You don't have the rituals.'

'I learned them by heart,' she said quietly. The tension in the room seemed to build as they took one another in, father and daughter, estimating their chances. Then, Elphaba started to chant.

Before she could even say three words, however, the Wizard's eyes flashed as well. 'Fine,' he hissed, suddenly sounding – and looking – far more dangerous than any of the friends had ever could have imagined him to be. 'I gave you your chance. You didn't take it. Now you're going to have to pay the price. Now!' he shouted, and for a clock-tick, the group of friends exchanged confused looks; then the door in the corner of the room opened and someone came out.

Elphaba gasped in surprise when the Grimmerie suddenly flew out of her hand, darting across the room and landing in the newly arrived person's hand. The person cackled, an awful, hollow, and eerily familiar sound that sent shivers down Elphaba's spine. Even though she hadn't taken a good look at the person yet, she already knew who it was.

The woman stepped out from the Shadows, an evil grin on her face. 'Hello there, dearies,' she hissed. 'You have no idea how much I have looked forward to seeing you again.'

Glinda squeaked in fear and Fiyero pulled Elphaba back behind him protectively, but her eyes were fixed on the Shadow at the other end of the room, goose flesh covering her skin all over.

'Morrible.'

I loved how almost all of you thought that the Wizard wasn't evil/a Shadow after the previous chapter. Frankly, that was my goal - since most of you already guessed that he was the King, I wanted to set you all on the wrong path for just one chapter, and judging by your reviews, I succeeded. Yay. Everything is not what it seems!

Oh, by the way, I'm going to see Sister Act once again! :D Last time I went with my Aunt, now I'm going with my best friend, who really wanted to see it, too, and I wanted to see it a second time, so... here we go! August 24, that's only ten days away! Yay!

Reviews are very much appreciated! :D