"Someone's here to see you," the guard shouted, banging on the door, before bowing his head respectfully to Elphaba and letting her in. The cell was not as cold and austere as it could have been; it was more of a plain little room with bare walls and a tiny window right below the ceiling. A man was sitting on the small bed in the corner, and when he saw his visitor, he stood up and took a step towards her with a wide smile on his face.
"Elphaba! Oh, my dear child, I'm so happy to see you—"
"Not a step closer," she warned, glaring at him so coldly that he immediately raised his hands in a defensive gesture and plopped back down onto the bed.
"I can see you're quite shaken," he said, "and I can hardly blame you. I was beyond surprised by the news myself, and I know that you—"
"You don't know the first thing about me!" Elphaba hissed. "Now, tell me. Who are you?"
"Well, since you're here, you've no doubt been told that I am your—"
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" she snapped. "I want the facts. Start with your name. Your actual name."
"Oscar."
Elphaba raised her eyebrows.
"That's it? Oscar?"
"Well, no. My full name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, but you can call me—"
"There are plenty of things I can call you," she interjected, "and I assure you, not one of them would be suitable for cultured society. What cursed hole did you crawl from?"
The Wizard scratched his head with a sheepish smile.
"America."
She stared at him, unsure if he was making this up.
"What in Oz's name is America?!"
"You see, it's a land far, far away. In a different world." Seeing the disbelief on her face, he raised his arms again. "I swear, this is the truth! Elphaba, haven't you ever wondered why you had such incredible power? That is why. You are a child of both worlds."
She processed his words for a moment, then reached into her pocket and took out the little green bottle.
"What is this?"
"Oh, this?" the Wizard chuckled uneasily. "You see, when I first arrived here, I landed in Quad, and I came upon an old man who delt in amulets and potions. He noticed a few trinkets I had from the other world, and apparently believed them to have incredible magical properties, because he asked me for one, and in exchange offered me an enormous supply of what he called his miracle potion. He said it had incredible properties; that it could dull pain, calm the nerves and put one into a state of lighthearted joy. Since the object he asked for was of little value to me, I agreed; and thus began my days as a travelling salesman. I realized I could sell folks almost anything if I could just find the right words. And whenever I hit a rough patch, I would take a little sip of the magical green elixir."
For a moment, he looked extremely pleased with himself, and had Elphaba regained all of her usual strength, she would probably not have been able to resist clawing the little smile right off his face.
"And my mother?" she asked quietly instead. "You seduced her. Lied to her. Manipulated her. And then you left her."
"Elphaba… I am not proud of what I have done. But I was a young man, a foolish man; and your mother was a beautiful woman. She made her own choices, and I made mine. She wasn't truthful with me, I wasn't truthful with her—"
"She's the one who was left alone, in a horrible marriage, with a freak child!" Elphaba yelled, and her suddenly shrill voice made the Wizard jump in shock. "You promised you'd help her escape, and then you just left her."
He was quiet for a moment.
"I did," he said finally. "That was a mistake and I have no justification for it. But that was a lifetime ago! Don't you think you could give me a second chance?"
Elphaba stared at him in disbelief, shocked by the very audacity that allowed this man to make such a suggestion.
"I know you're upset," he continued, clearly misreading her silence, "but I honestly don't know what I've done to you that was so horrible—"
"You're right, you don't know," she scoffed. "And you never will. But I know. And that's more than enough for me to never want anything to do with you."
She turned to the door, but stopped when the Wizard called after her.
"Elphaba! I'm sure you don't really mean that. Otherwise why would you come to see me in the first place?"
She hesitated, taking a long look at him; at this man who had caused her and countless others unearned and unjust suffering, who had hurt her in more ways than he could even begin to fathom. She remembered the words he'd said to her once: Aren't you tired of being the strong one? Wouldn't you like someone to take care of you? She had been, then, and she was now. But he'd made one false assumption: he'd assumed she needed that person to be him.
"Because I deserved answers. I deserved closure," she said, looking him right in the eyes. "I deserved to see you one last time, see you for who you really are: a pathetic, cowardly little man. I don't need you. I never did, and I never will. And I deserved the right to say that to your face."
She knocked on the cell door, alerting the guard.
"We're done here," she said, before exiting the cell without ever looking back.