Sorry if this is completely dull, but I've had a hard time writing it; I've had exams all week and this was written over a few days...if it's bit confusing, you'll catchup. Thanks to my first reviewer!

If life had sucked before, then I had to make up a new word to describe what my life was now. I had made a life for myself before, I know, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I couldn't now. Maybe it was the pain of grief and the ever existent thought of suicide.

I couldn't go back to the abandoned corn exchange, I knew I would break down again if I did and found the blood…And so I lived on the streets. I knew it probably wasn't the best place to live -when is it?- seeing as the Gale Force could come snatch me up at just about anytime they wanted to, but I'm beyond the point of caring now.

As another day came to a close, I watched the Emerald City's pedestrians dissipate. The sky darkened to a deep purple and I watched the stars as they popped out of wherever they had been hiding. The Emerald City was enchantingly beautiful at night, as strange as it sounds; the gleaming, happy stars seemed to make the green buildings sparkle.

I was alone. All of the other homeless people who had been by me that day, begging, were gone. It seemed that everyone had someone to go to except for me. Though I'd rather be alone than in a cult any day. Wouldn't I?

I leaned my head back onto a brick wall and sighed. I was so tired..I had been sick a lot lately, vomiting, being dizzy, and all sorts of good stuff…All I needed now was a nice deep sleep…..

I ran, I didn't know where to, but I had to run. Someone was trying to kill me, I didn't know who, and frankly, I didn't care. I didn't know where I was, I realized, as I looked around me and saw that nothing looked familiar. Where in Oz was I? But that didn't matter either, because I heard steadily falling footsteps getting closer to me. I put my head down to my chest and ran all out. My lungs were on fire, my back and legs and body hurt, I could feel my energy slowly but surely draining away, but I felt numb even though I could feel all of this.

I tripped on a tree root and fell to the left of the 'trail' I had been running on. Luckily, I landed behind a bunch of bushes and laid low until I heard every last one of them pass by me. I took a long, shaky breath as I sat up. I wiped my sweaty forehead with my hands, then I vomited all over the grass, "Oh man.."

After a few minutes of lying on the ground until I could breath again, I stood up. Now to find out where I was. I knew I wasn't in the Emerald City anymore, if I was I would be able to sense Elphie. I didn't. The last thing I could remember was a painful blow to my head, darkness, and then this.

I felt a cool drop of water on my forehead. I looked up to the sky, it had turned dark, and rain started to fall fast. Thunder cracked loudly and lightning brightened the sky. It was probably a dumb idea to stand under a tree with the lightning and all, but the rain felt wonderful on my sweaty skin.

"Hey!"

I turned around; I hoped it wasn't the same people who had just been chasing me.

"What're you doing? You're getting soaked." The speaker was a pretty girl of about twenty; she stared at me with more fear than concern, unlike her voice.

"Hi." I had real no answer, so why not?

"Hello. I'm Sahlah. And you are?"

"Faris." I sensed that using my real name was probably not the best idea.

"So now that we know each other, what are you doing?"

I shrugged, "I like the rain. It feels good."

Sahlah gave me an odd look.

"What? It does. Especially when you've been running for as long as I have."

"Running? From what?"

"Uh, nothing, just running."

She nodded suspiciously.

"Fine, don't believe me."

"Oh, I believe you. Sort of. Come with me, you look like you could use a meal and a place to stay."

Well, I sure felt that way, but I had to get to Elphaba, she needed me, that much I could tell. But what would one night hurt?

When I woke up later that night, my back and neck were sore from sleeping on the wall in an upright position. I stood and stretched and groaned. I ached in places I didn't know I had.

I walked down the streets of the city; I had never seen the city so deserted. There was absolutely no one around. I passed Glinda's house, I frowned, thinking of what I had done to her. But I passed on without pausing.

A heavy wind came and swept trash towards me, I ducked, barely dodging a cup but got smacked in the face with an old newspaper, "Damn it." I curse as I peeled the newspaper off my face, "Not even anything interesting."

I realized I probably looked kind of crazy. Walking down the street, talking to myself. Well, at least no one was around.

I heard a deep rumble up above me. Oh shit…it was going to rain. As the first few drops came down, I stood looking up at the sky, but then a raindrop hit me squarely on the cheek. I quickly wiped the acid from my face and ran to an old place that seemed to be abandoned.

It wasn't abandoned. How could I have been so stupid? Why hadn't I been to recognize the place where I lived for the last five years? I had to get out of the rain, though, and it was steadily beginning to come down harder. So I just sat at the bottom of the stairs, never looking up to Fiyero and Is former love nest, waiting for the rain to let up.

I sat until morning, the rain still hadn't stopped, and I hadn't been to sleep…You can imagine why. I felt trapped, suffocated. I had to leave the Emerald City, I knew that, but where could I go? Besides, I still had a grievance to repay with Wizard. I could wait until then, couldn't I?

I woke up the next morning with sun streaming in through an open window. I shook myself awake and asked myself where I was, again.

"Have a good sleep?"

I jumped and turned. It was only Sahlah, "Yea. I appreciated all of this, but I have somewhere to be. Now where are we?"

"Somewhere to be? You were dancing in the rain last night, if I recall correctly."

"You recall correctly. Now where in Oz are we?"

"Oz? You think you're still in Oz? You're not."

"Then where am I?" This girl was really beginning to frustrate me.

"You're on the Isle of Yew. In Plenia."

"Plenia?" I was a good five hundred -maybe more- miles away from the Emerald City.

"You don't remember coming here?"

"No."

"Okay then, Faris, where are you headed?"

"The Emerald City."

Sahlah snorted, "Good luck with that."

"I'm serious."

"You are? Well then, that's going to be a tough place to get to."

"Seriously?" I asked, my voice filled with sarcasm, "Well, are you going to help me or not? Because I don't have much time to waste."

"Yes, I'll help. On one condition."

"What?"

"I come with you."

"Why?"

"Because, first of all, you know nothing about the Nonestic Ocean, do you, city boy?"

"No…"

"Or Hiland or Loland or the Shifting Sands, do you? And after all that, you still have to pass through Munchkinland, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I do. And there's no chance you'll survive without someone's help. My help."

"How long will this take?"

"I don't know. A few months, at the most."

I sigh, "Ok. You can come with me. Only because I need to get to the city as soon as possible."

"What's the rush?"

"I don't know." I pull my shirt on and slip into my boots, "Come on, we'd better get started."

Sahlah packed food into a bag and she led the way out of her home, "Come quickly, if we're to get to the docks boat, we must get to the forest without being seen."

"This is illegal, isn't it?"

"Only partially." she smiled, "This way." she grabbed my hand and led me onto a dark path.

We walked a mile without speaking, "Where are we going?"

"Aurie. That's the closest state around that has docks. Don't ask why Plenia doesn't have any." She said when I opened my mouth.

"Now, Sahlah, tell me why you really wanted to leave Plenia. You don't know me, so it couldn't have been because you wanted to help me."

Sahlah shrugged, "It's just, I've lived there my whole life. It's boring, I want some fun."

"This isn't going to be fun. I'm going back to the Emerald City to find someone I left, when I'm gone, what'll you do?"

"Do I say I needed your help?"

"No. But Isle of Yew is quite different than Oz. You'll see that."

"How so?"

I shrugged, I seemed to not know a whole lot of stuff today, "I can't explain it. But it's different. It's like gold. Beautiful on the outside, but when you look closely, you can see that it's tarnished."

Sahlah nods, "So Faris, would you like to tell me your real name?"

"How did you know I lied?"

"I could see it in you eyes."

"My real name is Fiyero, from the Vinkus, in Oz."

She nodded, "That much I could've guessed. I have studied international culture in school, you know."

"Right. So have I. And I can tell that you're not from Plenia."

"No, I was born in Plenia, but I'm not pure Plenian. Most of my family is from Ev."

"Right."

"Now, my turn. Why are you going back to the Emerald City, and in such of a hurry?"

"I told you I didn't know. Something's wrong..back there."

"You said you left someone, who?"

"Is this a cross-examination?"

"No. I'm just curious."

I nodded, "Elphaba." That was enough to explain it, I thought.

"Who's Elphaba?"

"Aren't you nosy?"

"Yes. I've told you, I've lived in boring old Plenia my whole life.

"Elphaba is…." What was Elphaba? What were we? "My friend."

"Sure. That's not all she is."

"How long is this forest?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"A couple of miles. Four, I think."

We'd only gone two. And my feet hurt.

The rain stopped at about noon the next day, allowing me to finally get out of the stairway of the old corn exchange. When I stepped out, I balked at the bright sunlight. I blinked furiously, trying to get the green and purple dots out of my eyes.

Looking around, I saw that the street was dark and damp, but drying quickly. The buildings dripped water from their awnings, and I made a note to stay clear of those. I sniffed the air, and was greeted with the fresh, clean scent that only exists after a ferocious rainstorm.

I walked until I ended up at the palace. Was that just by coincidence? I asked myself, Or does it mean something?

I looked up at the palace, glaring angrily at the shiny green bricks. Was I the only person to notice that the palace of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the only part of the city that was actually kept up? You'll get your's, old man, I'll make sure of that.

Sahlah finally agreed to stop, "We're about a day away from Aurie now, just so you know."

"Dammit, I'll never get there."

"I was right when I said that Elphaba was more than just a friend, wasn't I?"

I sighed, "Yes. She is..well, was, my lover."

"Was?"

"Didn't put two and two together, huh? I was brought here against my will, someone tried to kill me."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing that it had something to do with being associated with Elphaba, though. I am such an idiot."

"And so now you think that something's wrong? That's why you're going back, right?"

"I'd be going back even if there wasn't something wrong."

She nodded in understanding.

"Is there anyway I can get an Ozian newspaper around here?"

"You might be able to in Aurie, though I'm not really sure."

I bury my head in my hands, "I am so screwed."

"No, you're not. You're just in a predicament."

"Right. Come on, I'm going to get to Aurie tonight, whether you come with me or not."

Sahlah shakes her head, "City boys."

"I am not from the city. I am from the Vinkus. I know how to survive on my own."

My ferociousness surprised her. "Sorry. But there is no way to get to Aurie tonight."

"There is. And I will find it."