Disclaimer, the disclaimer is back…I kinda started to miss it…sappy, I know.
Having met with no real success in the library, and tired of reading, Alex, Eliza, and The Beast found themselves back in the city by dinner time. This was basically the routine for the next three days, but they were still making no real headway. Aislynn and Her Imp were still working on some calculations that even Aislynn admitted she didn't really understand, which to everyone came as a bit of a shock. Eventually, Dorothy, Alex, the Beast, Annabella, and Ozma and Polly found themselves just seated quietly in the throne room, the scepter floating idly and surprisingly quiet in the corner. Annabella was curled up quietly on Alex's lap while he and The Beast sat in quiet conference with each other. Every now and again a smirk of an idea would cross their faces. Ozma was sat on her throne with her wand out. Appearing to be in a state of meditation, she was reaching out to other fairies. Many did not want to go near the idea of dealing with Mother Nature's children, and this was understandable, considering the stories surrounding them. She had now reached out to find if there was a way to Release Dorothy and Madeline from their condition. Dorothy was sitting on her own throne, but in the body of a kitten, the constant changing did keep everyone amused.
"Anything?" Polly eventually asked to break the silence which had fallen
"Nothing yet." Ozma said, sighing disappointedly, "I Had hoped for more answers, but I don't know if it's because of the imps or because of mother nature but the other fairies really don't want to get involved." She added
"If we had to hazard a guess." Alex and the Beast said in unison, "it's probably due to mother nature."
"I've heard she's quite nice, unless you get on her bad side." Ozma said shrugging, "I guess since the imps are Her children no one really wants to test the water, can't say I blame them, though I personally think they aren't playing their game at all fairly."
"It is their game though…" Alex said trailing off a bit
"They play it as they see fit, we're lucky they haven't returned and done anything worse." The beast added on.
"fair point." Ozma said nodding
Dorothy suddenly found herself back in her normal shape, sighing, she slumped back on her throne. This entire ordeal was becoming extremely exhausting, even with constantly ducking into the dreamscape for a quick power nap. Everyone could see how it was affecting both Dorothy and Madeline. They were becoming more irritable, easily annoyed. The same way most people do when they are rather deprived of sleep. However, of the two, Madeline was the better of them.
In her room Madeline, in kitten form, was still flipping through her notebooks with help from Wendell. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she was hoping that somewhere in her studies that she had something that might be useful. She had considered going against her better judgement and reaching out to Lady Cassandra and Lady Angela. She had hoped, the last time the Professor had turned up, that he might be of some help. However, the concern that Alex and the Beast had brought up seemed to be in full effect. So, she took to her own notes again hoping she had come up with something. If she could lift the condition on herself and Dorothy, they protection would quite literally be as simple as putting on a piece of jewelry.
"Mads?" Asked Jack rather slowly, tiredly, in his shape of a sloth.
"yes jack?" she replied, not looking up from her notes.
"What exactly, do you expect to find?" he asked curiously
"anything that may be of use." Madeline replied firmly.
"Do you have ANY notes on this subject though?" He asked
"I hope so, I mean, I'm a decent hand at transformation spells, you've seen what I can do with my hats." She said as she motioned for Wendell to flip the page, "What I'm looking for is a remedy, for our bizarre transformation."
"What does that help though?" Morris asked curiously from his chair.
"Having any of us in a normal state would help a great deal, but to be perfectly frank about it, I just really want to get some proper sleep." Madeline said beginning to sound very annoyed.
"So, at this point…" Wendell started curiously, "Its more personal if nothing else? "
"at this point, yes." Madeline said scanning the pages again before motioning for him to turn it.
in Glinda's room, However, Ellie, Elphaba, and Nessa had now taken to reorganizing all of Glinda's things that had been taken out during the intervening days. Having found nothing in Glinda's possessions that were here in the palace, Ellie debated on a return home to check around their castle.
"Ellie, I don't disagree that we would have better luck searching through all of Glinda's artefacts that are there, but it seems like a really bad idea to leave the city, just at this moment." Elphaba said as she placed some books back on the shelf.
"And besides, Glinda has never been one for transformations, going on the record saying that she hates them." Nessarose added.
"oh, she very much disapproves of them, and never performs transformations herself, I think only going on the record of allowing Roquat turn Dorothy into a kitten once…an act that she very much regretted later." Ellie said sighing, "it almost cost us our lives, and literally nearly cost Dorothy her own."
"Really?" Both Elphaba and Nessarose asked, turning to look at the pink swan in the corner of the room,
She was trying very hard not to meet their gaze.
"It was during the time where your brother was causing all the trouble, Dorothy had run off again, I can't really remember the reason for that particular incident but she ended up with Lady Angela." Ellie said sighing, "I think the stress of the situation had gotten to all of us, apparently Roquat popped in and suggested the transformation as a temporary punishment, Glinda agreed to it."
"well, it was a very rash decision, and as you said, had quite a few consequences to it." Nessarose said sighing.
"The biggest being the fact that Glinda got captured again not long after, Dorothy got herself captured somehow, and during a fit of anger I accidentally got myself capture, and the Jester gave Dorothy an impossible choice." Ellie said sighing, "Either she left, abandoning Glinda and I, or she traded her life for ours."
"And no doubt she chose the latter." Elphaba said nodding,
"yes, but her sacrifice protected her, kept her conscious while still in the puppet body…able to move, talk and think of her own accord if she chose." Ellie said sighing, "but she chose to keep the charade up with the jester…I don't think any of us have ever brought it up to her since the events." She added.
"how many transformations has Dorothy suffered anyways?" Nessarose asked curiously, "Alex mentioned that this is something that seems to happen on a regular basis with her."
"Yes, the first time was I think your brother turning her into a statue." Ellie said, "you two in spirit remedied that though."
"Yes, yes we did." Elphaba said with a slight grin.
"then there was the first time she was turned into a kitten by your brother." Ellie said, "it left her unable to walk for a time when she transformed back, then there was the puppet transformation, a partial rabbit transformation from one of Madeline's spells ricocheting off a silver buckle, and full rabbit transformation, then the collar." She said counting them off on her fingers.
"And those are all the ones you are consciously aware of?" Nessarose asked.
"yes, up to now, I think Dorothy has spent quite a lot of time transforming into a kitten, I don't know why but she says she finds it relaxing." Ellie said with a shrug, "and I doubt this experience is going to put her off the idea."
"Why?" Elphaba asked curiously.
"Because, being in the shape of a kitten comes with its own advantages, and besides with Alex and his other half now able to transform, they have a common ground again." Ellie replied.
"I know I shouldn't say this in the presence of your sister, or your colleagues," Elphaba said turning away from her work to look at Ellie "but theoretically, she could learn to change to that form at will."
"Well she's certainly got the energy built up for it." Ellie said with a giggle, "But you're right, you really shouldn't have said that in her presence."
Glinda let out a rather odd sounding noise that made Elphaba turn away, and turn a slightly darker shade of green.
"okay you two, let's not have this conversation now." Nessarose said firmly.
"What did she say?" Ellie asked curiously.
"You can't understand her?" Elphaba asked curiously, sounding a little bit relieved.
"No, I unfortunately was not gifted that ability like ace is currently." Ellie said, sounding a little bit miffed.
Glinda let out another honk type sound, and Ellie's comrades let out a singular chirp noise then fell silent.
"and I assume, that this is another secret that's going to be kept from me?" Ellie asked irritated.
"No, not kept from you, you'll understand better when your older." Elphaba said assuredly.
"honestly, I am glad Dorothy isn't here, her mood is rather slipping recently." Nessa said sighing.
"She and Madeline are completely exhausted." Ellie said, "The Imp can't stabilize them for very long, and even the dreamscape is no longer helping."
"The dreamscape isn't meant for that either, its putting strain on her." Elphaba said sighing, "understandably, she's exhausted and a bit tetchy."
"it's putting strain on both of them." Ellie said picking a book up off the floor and placing it in a spot that she assumed it fit.
"Honestly, Madeline doesn't get much sleep as it is, everyone knows that, her being caught in her own sleep alongside Dorothy was sheer bad luck." Came the voice of the stuffed bear that was the scarecrow, as he waddled into the room.
"dumb luck for the imps at the least." Nessa replied.
"I wonder…" Elphaba said trailing off before shaking her head, "No, never mind."
"what?" Ellie asked curiously.
"Well, I had thought of a conjuring circle, or a magic circle as its probably spelt out in that pocket compendium you all seem to have a copy of." Elphaba said sighing, "but you need at least 12, rather powerful magic users for that, and I would prefer to keep the majority of the tribunal out of this for their own safety." She added.
"Me, you, Nessa, Ozma, possibly Polly, Cassandra, Angela, Theodora, Wendell, and maybe the professor." Ellie said going through her social calendar, "but at best that's only 10 of us." She added
"what about Alex and the beast?" Scarecrow asked curiously.
"no real training, Polly barely counts on the list as she doesn't really have her memories, just a vague idea of what she can do." Ellie said with a long sigh.
"if Alex and the beast entered into the circle, and tried to help, it either wouldn't work, or they'd both wind up unconscious." Elphaba replied, "even with aid of the scepter." She added
"What about your brother?" The scarecrow suggested, "And the imp would bring it up to 12 if we could prepare Polly for it."
"Wouldn't work." Came Madeline's voice as she slunk into the room
She jumped up onto the desk and sat down on it.
"Why not?" Ellie asked curiously
"well for one this is built on the assumption that all 12 people are actual people." Madeline said sorrowfully.
Ellie looked at the kitten curiously for a moment before it dawned on her.
"And Wendell isn't a person, he's a white rabbit assuming our shape." Ellie said sighing.
"Right, secondly, there is no point in trying to prepare Polly for this kind of thing, it would just put unnecessary pressure on her." Madeline added.
"but her mind is in a good place, even without her memories being intact." Ellie said trying to be reassuring.
"doesn't make a difference, she can't perform basic magic at this moment without a little guidance, it would be a great risk." Madeline said as she suddenly found herself sitting on the desk in her normal shape.
"there's a sort of sense one has once they are well versed in magic, Ellie." Elphaba said turning to look her in the eyes, "you feel it, just the same as Nessa and I." she added.
"cut off from it, even because you can't remember it, have you read any of the documented cases of magic practitioners who found themselves with amnesia?" Madeline asked curiously.
"Well, what about rose? Lily, and Violet?" Ellie suggested.
"Violet is not a practitioner." Elphaba said shaking her head, "as for lily, since Dorothy doesn't quite trust her, she wouldn't make a good addition to the circle."
"Well, the only other thing I can think of…" Ellie said turning to Madeline and staring her plainly in the face, "Is you came up with your own solution, something in your studies." She said quite plainly.
Madeline tapped the side of her nose and smiled
"indeed, its simplistic, should work on my and Dorothy's condition, because it's so simplistic, however we should be prepared for the remaining two imps to retaliate in the event that this does work." Madeline said starting to grin
Ellie and Glinda, as well as everyone else in the room save for Elphaba and Nessarose, knew that grin all too well. It was one that generally made them want to run in the opposite direction. Because it meant Madeline had a plan, one that, if it worked, would reliably have some consequence to it.
"but if it's a simple solution…" Scarecrow started, "how do you know it will work?"
"because, it's a very potent method, the only real requirement being Ozma." Madeline said, her grin still plastered on her face.
"well?" Ellie asked sounding a bit impatient.
"Well what?" Madeline replied teasingly.
"What is it that Ozma can do, that we either A. haven't already thought of or B. haven't already tried?" Ellie added now getting annoyed.
"I'll raise a question to match yours" Madeline said smiling, "how does your sister give people protection?"
"You mean, apart from how she tried to protect me…" Ellie asked, her eyes suddenly going wide with realization, "oh come on it cant be that simple?" she added skeptically.
"I'll run it passed ace and impetuous but otherwise, yea it should really be that simple." She replied.
