Disclaimer, as this takes up a few pages of my drafting notebook, it is long, I will not be cutting it down into a two-parter like I usually would because it might lose its affect.

Everyone was led to the hall where the council pertaining to Alex had once been held. However, it was much different now, set up for a trial. Dorothy, Alex, Elphaba, and Ozma were led over to seats at the front of everything. The imp, once she had arrived, immediately went over to a small, square gated off area. Dorothy and Alex watched as their friends and family were escorted to and placed in a specific order. The imp watched this with something akin to curiosity as well, but at the same time, seemed to have a look on her face which told everyone in the room that something wasn't right.

The trial looked as though it would be led by Mother nature and Death. With the tribunal acting as jury. Aislynn had been allowed to keep within close proximity of her grandfather, though considering he was considered as both a witness in and evidence of the trial, this did feel kind of off to members of the tribunal, as well as to Ozma, Elphaba and Glinda. There was another strange feeling, just hanging on the air as everyone finally began to settle down. And once Zinnia had taken her place, Death stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Imp-Etuous, you are brought into our presence today, under the charge that you have violated a Law of nature, by calling someone back into the realm of the living." Death said, the words causing everyone to shiver, "is this charge true?"

"It is." The imp said, drawing herself up.

"And what, pray tell inspired this idea?" Death asked curiously.

"it was my own idea, inspired by a thought, or to be perfectly honest a memory." The imp said, "I didn't want to have to use it, it was to be a last resort."

"Is this, true?" Death asked turning her attentions to Elphaba who seemed to be drawing herself up.

"Your honor, I have every right to believe the imp really meant it as a last resort, because as you must know, we were trapped in a nowhere as part of her Sister`s half of the game." Elphaba said.

"we are aware of this." Mother Nature said

"Then I should hope that you are aware of where we, as in myself, Aislynn, the imp herself, and Dorothy wound up." Elphaba said firmly.

"Elphaba, what are you doing?" Alex asked in a stern whisper

"Witness testimony." Death said, "and I warn you not to lie or try to fool us."

"because it's not nice to fool mother nature." Mother nature said flinging her arms out.

This action was immediately followed by a crack of thunder.

"She wears the Pearl of Truth at the moment." The imp said, "if she lied, the entire necklace would turn black, not just the pearl in the center."

Mother Nature and Death looked at the imp for a moment, then to Elphaba.

"Indeed, she does appear to be wearing it." Death said, "Glinda Upland, I do believe that is one of your possessions?"

"She loaned it to her, said they would come in useful." Alex said raising a hand, "she was in the form of a swan at the time so I don't think it would have helped her much."

"anyways, with respect, your honors." Dorothy said getting to her feet, "wherever it was that we were trapped, it was meant to make us feel fear by showing us ours, we ended up dealing with hers and Elphaba's."

"and the Imp's fear took the form of wherever it is they go when the cycle restarts." Elphaba said sighing, "I enquired, and her fear was being stuck in the cycle forever."

"this is evidentially true." Death said, "would you please go back to being seated."

They nodded and did so.

"Now, Imp-Etuous, when you called this man back into existence from my domain." Death said pointedly as she gestured to the Wizard of Oz, "you were no doubt aware of the problems that with it."

"Yes ma'am." The imp replied.

"and you are aware that there is now a man living, who was not authorized to be?" Death asked curiously.

"yes Ma'am." She said, casting her head downwards.

"you know it is against the laws of nature to do what you did, but it is clear that you did it because you feared you had no choice." Death said.

"quite frankly yes, because you two consistently started limiting what I could do after the ice storm incident." Imp-Etuous said before raising her hands in defense, "Not that I hold either of you accountable for my actions."

"you played the game." Death said, "you were a crucial part in it, the lynch pin. " she continued.

"and what kind of a life is that?" The imp asked sounding a bit annoyed

"the life and path that was set out before you." Death said sharply, "I understand you actually managed to commit actions against your sisters, is that right?" she asked.

The imp nodded and pulled the two buttons from her pockets. This caused a sigh of relief from Mother nature and something of a scoff from Death.

"their souls, their essence, exist within the buttons, I wanted them to see the error in their ways." The imp said sighing, "but this was the first time I had ever managed to succeed in this, once they are ready to fully reform the buttons are meant to change in material." she added, closing her fist around them.

"Then, the cycle is broken." Mother nature said, her tone sounding a little bit relieved

"I understand that the magic you used to bring this man back, was stolen magic, where and when did you obtain the object needed to achieve such a task?" Death asked curiously.

"it was one of the first things I picked up, I cant remember where I got it, I only knew what it did and for such a small thing I knew it could cause quite the ruckus."

"But you indeed admit to stealing it?" Death asked curiously.

"Of course, I do, we may have magics of our own, but we are still rather limited at the end of the day in some things." The imp replied before gesturing to the audience box, "for example, we couldn't touch Polly over there, she was just untouchable."

"that's because of her origin, and what she is." Mother nature said looking at Polly and smiling, "and I'm sorry to say she is quite a bit far from home."

"actually, if I might interrupt?" Ozma asked raising a hand.

"you may, your majesty." Mother nature said.

"not to get too far off topic again, but I don't know if I'll ever get another chance to ask." Ozma said sighing, "who is Polly? Because she was sent to us rather suddenly…" she started asking before she was cut off.

"Via the slightly malfunctioning rainbow mover that was being serviced by the man's granddaughter, and the Scarecrow of Oz." Mother Nature said with a grin, "yes, we know all about it, she was sent to you to teach her a few lessons about people and responsibility."

"that doesn't explain why her memories would need modifying though." Ozma said

"To keep you from treating her any differently, I expect." Death said, looking at her fingernails.

"I personally don't see why she shouldn't know who she is." The imp said pocketing the buttons once more and taking a stand,

"Who knows?" Death said shrugging, "Very few of us have the skills, let alone the abilities to mess with people's memories, add on the fact that the girl is a sky fairy and you lower the options considerably."

"I knew it" Alex whispered sharply

"um…not to change the subject matter." Polly said, getting to her feet, "but this is a trial right? I mean, I want to know who I am worse than everyone else, but…" she said trailing off her gaze going to the tribunal.

Everyone turned and looked at zinnia. On her hand was a ring and it was glowing brightly.

"Seriously?" Fayth asked sounding reproachful, "usually I'm the one who forgets to take off the jewelry."

"Are you wearing a conversation starter?" The Imp asked curiously.

"have been since I brought Mr. Diggs to the pavilion that contained his granddaughter, but it didn't work properly." Zinnia said taking it off and dropping it behind her, "I wanted to see what would be talked about, but it was basically business as usual."

"That's because it influences the users to deflect from a subject, they find distressing." Madeline said appearing in front of her, causing everyone to jump.

"Wow…even my mother and aunt get jumpy from you." The imp said, "I am genuinely impressed."

"we had forgotten that the hatter was part of this bunch." Mother nature said squinting at her.

"If currency were still a thing in Oz, and I were a betting girl, id say you chose to forget." Madeline said conjuring up a cup of tea, "this is a most trying trial though, with a low-grade pacification spell having been used, but that's not the only thing that feels off."

"oh yes?" Death asked curiously.

"yes." Madeline said setting her cup down, removing her hat and walking over to Oscar Diggs, "where did you come out exactly?"

"Here in the sanctuary." Benton said, "When he appeared, a rather bizarre girl appeared to tell us who he was"

"where did he come out?" Madeline asked turning to them,

"Grove of mist, when we asked who he was a girl appeared." Fayth said, "and said, 'He is Oscar Diggs, the artist formerly known as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

"The girl you referred to as bizarre, I assume I know whom you are talking about, did she tell you anything other than that?" Madeline asked.

"only that we would have a trial to attend to." Benton said sighing.

"we are aware of that girl's origins." Fayth said, "but we know who she is just about as much as you do." She added sighing.

"then whatever happens..." Madeline said trailing off.

"is supposed to happen." Came the voice of the girl as she appeared

The scepter let out an amused sounding ping at this point.

"Okay, seriously, who are you?" Madeline asked curiously.

"You know who I am, Hatter, you just can't remember it." The Girl said grinning.

"But you cant be here." The imp said

"No." Death said looking the girl over, "she shouldn't be here, evidentially because she is here, she can be, now if she were a future version of you or one of your sisters, then I'd be concerned."

"So, who are you, and why don't I remember you?" Madeline asked searching her own memories, "We must have met in the rather far past." She added.

"indeed." The girl said smiling. "But I can't tell you anything because you might try to change it." She added, "none of you could even get history from me if you even wanted to, my memories of the future are mostly blocked off, I just play the messenger here." She added

"wait…" Alex said getting to his feet, "So you jumped back in time, while time is 'in flux' as you put it, just to be exposition on who Oscar Diggs is and/or was?" he asked curiously.

The girl smiled and tapped the tip of her nose.

"okay, this is turning out to be the most trying trial I've ever been a part of." The imp said, "and so far, it's the only trial I've ever been a part of." She added rolling her eyes.

"Well, it does keep getting driven off course." The girl said grinning, causing everyone to feel uneasy.

It wouldn't become apparent until much later as to why this was.

"so, what is it that has to happen here then?" Alex asked curiously.

"If I told you, then you might try to change it, what matters is that these three only know a few things about me and cant be influenced to change the results of the future, I just know what happens." She said taking out a compact and smoothing her hair down, "Besides, with a few exceptions, most of you wont remember my presence here in the first place, which is always fun." She added taking out her diary, flipping through it and scratching something out, "But feel free to carry on with the trial." She said as she put it back in her pocket then walked over to a corner that she leaned into.

"Right, Barring any further interruptions, magical or otherwise." Mother nature said clearing her throat, "You managed to lash out against your sisters, and it succeeded because of what you did." She said.

"so, you knew then?" The imp asked curiously, "Knew I would do something so immensely stupid? So immensely large, that it would cause the ripple effect full force?"

"well, what were your other plans at that point?" Mother nature asked curiously.

"I hadn't really developed anything fully concrete." The imp replied, "every move I made, made me fear what my sisters would do next, almost to the point where I worried they might do something to end the game themselves." The imp said

"Well, your sisters are well and truly taken out of the game, its over, the cycle is broken." Death said taking control of the room again, "Congratulation, you did the big one, and stole from me some time ago in order to pull it off."

"But…what's the point in this trial then?" The imp asked curiously, "I mean, it's obviously not to prove whether or not I've done something, we know it was me who did it because when someone is yanked involuntarily back into existence through the method I used, you immediately know who did it, you're keeping it in house and in the family to lessen the chance of Lurline finding out what had happened with her daughter I expect, and this man certainly can't die again, and those guys have no idea what I did in the first place to put us here. so, I ask again what's the point in the trial?" She said taking a deep breath after that.

"She does have a point, regardless of the guilty verdict, we cant undo what she's done, and you cant either." Zinnia chimed in, "But that still doesn't make up for the fact that there is a man alive who shouldn't be."

"Well, he's cursed to forever be alive, he can't die again, so he gets punished for her actions…not that anyone really enjoys being dead, I get that complaint." Death said picking up her clipboard and squinting at it, " A lot." She added squinting a bit harder.

"Something wrong?" Mother Nature asked, looking at her sister curiously.

"We can address it later." Death replied a little snippily.

"Can we just get to the sentencing?" Imp-Etuous asked curiously, "I'm sure this means…" was as far as she got before her mother cut her off.

"that a decently large punishment is in order." Mother Nature said, "the cycle has been broken, you are not going back."

"what?" the imp asked, sounding rather surprised,

"I knew eventually you would try something big." Mother Nature said, "Something too big for your own good."

"but there's no coming back from this, you've made that perfectly clear." The imp said, "what possible punishment could fit this?"

"Your Mother and I have discussed this." Death said as she tucked her clipboard back under her arm, "and we think the best punishment for you would be to allow you to start again."

"in exile, of course?" she asked in response.

"yes, your memories wiped, your identity changed." Death said, "you will become an entirely new person."

"Your honors, if I may interrupt." Alex said, getting to his feet.

"what is it?" Death asked.

"I must object to that punishment, because that is pointlessly cruel, not just to her sisters." Alex said looking over at the imp, "if she isn't part of the game, and correct me if I'm just jumping to conclusions here, neither of you are able to lift the enchantments over her sisters anymore." He said

"actually, in that you are correct." Mother nature said smiling, "well done."

"she seemed frightened by what she had done to them, surprised as well as she had never succeeded before in such actions." Alex said firmly,

"But making her forget." Aislynn said, getting to her feet now, "What if you just happen to need her assistance for something one day, and have to remind her of who she really is?" she asked curiously.

"there are a lot of things, that I'm sure all of us would like to forget." Madeline chimed in addressing the room

"But we live with it, learn from our experiences, through our mistakes, with our regrets" Dorothy said standing up and taking Alex's hand.

"None of us discount memory modifications." Ozma said getting to her feet now, "but they can cause more harm than help."

"case in point, me." Ellie said removing herself from the audience and walking over to where Dorothy and the others were situated, "Glinda once, allegedly for my own protection, wiped my memories of her being my sister, swore all of my friends and even our parents to secrecy to never to reveal the fact that I was her sister, and then planted a fake story in my head." She said, recounting the story.

"and when she found out about it" Dorothy said, looking over at her, "it absolutely crushed her, and hurt Glinda in the process."

"That isn't something you easily come back from, and neither Glinda or myself have completely gotten over the fact." Ellie said Squeezing her eyes shut.

"Even then, memory spells are not completely fool proof, you would have consistently monitor her, assure no one ever managed to remind her of who she was." Glinda said getting to her feet now, but not meeting the gaze of either Mother Nature or Death

"We regularly visit Mombi, to ensure she doesn't relapse into her old habits." Ozma added in, "I do worry, that one day we will have to modify her memories again because she could relapse, though as Alex has often observed, she's mellowed with time, but the fear of a relapse always looms."

"Do you two, really need that hanging over your heads?" Madeline asked curiously.

"Well, you guys are the ones trying to talk down arguably the most powerful of the immortals." The imp said.

"Eternals." Death corrected her.

"right, whatever." The imp said nodding, "quite frankly I should consider myself lucky to still be standing here in the area of the accused."

"Quite." Mother nature confirmed, "but personally, I think you have found yourself some pretty decent friends, they are right even if we did wipe your memories, it would be far from being the end."

"So, the easiest solution would be to commute the sentence." Madeline said smiling.

"Correct." Mother nature replied

"Err, well exile is still a punishment isn't it?" The imp asked curiously, "I mean, there are a decent number of places I could end up if you pick at random."

"Ix, Regos, Coregos, Rinkitink, Ev, Pingaree, Merryland." Madeline said starting to count them off, "Shall I continue?" she added winking.

"Considering you Mads, I think we're safe with the shortlist." Jack shouted from the audience.

"Elena, you wouldn't happen to have that map on you, would you?" Dorothy and Alex heard Zeb whisper curiously.

"Not in this outfit, no, it must still be in my office." She eventually replied.

"Anyways. I think I've interrupted enough." Madeline said bowing, "If the sentencing is going to continue, well you're already halfway there."

"The Exile shall follow through, your appearance will be changed, your ability to use any form of magic shall be taken from you." Mother Nature said, "you will be unable to change the forms of your sisters back, even if they have reformed. You will have to live with that fact, wherever you wind up."

The imp said nothing, she simply nodded. She wouldn't admit it aloud but she rather hoped she'd end up somewhere close to Oz, so there would be a good chance that she could eventually see her friends again.

"Do you wish to say goodbye to your friends before the sentencing is carried out?" Death asked curiously.

The imp nodded, and found herself outside of the area she had been in. she walked over to Aislynn and her grandfather. Aislynn immediately embraced her, the imp looked as though she was trying to repress the urge to cry.

"Take care of yourself." Aislynn said sighing, "Wherever you end up."

"Hopefully this won't be the last you see of me." The imp said, "Though, you certainly wont recognize me." She added with a stifled giggle.

"Do you have any basic survival skills?" The Wizard asked curiously

The imp looked at him, and simply nodded, before turning her attentions to the group in the witness box.

"Don't feel sorry for me, I brought this upon myself." She said looking at Dorothy and Ozma.

"Really, telling someone not to feel sorry for you doesn't exactly work." Alex said shaking his head, "yes you brought it on yourself, but no one asked you to."

"but who knows how long we would have been in the game if I didn't do it?" The imp asked.

"True as that may be." Ozma said sighing, "We would never ask anyone to stick their neck out like that."

"Which is one of the reasons why I did it, we could have gone on forever trying to think of something else." The imp said

"We could have eventually done it, no matter how long it took." Dorothy said getting to her feet now, "it's how we prefer to do things."

"you all regrouped and at the end of the day we were still hitting dead ends, but you guys didn't try to rush me, didn't try to force me to do anything, you just let me get on like I was always one of the herd." The imp said, "it's been a refreshing change."

"Dorothy has made it a habit of turning former enemies into good friends, you had a running start in that you really didn't want to be our enemy." Elphaba said smiling.

"And whatever happens to you, wherever it is you wind up." Ozma said getting to her feet, "you will still be our friend."

"we'll find a way to keep an eye on you." Aislynn said, walking over, "some way."

"good luck, my mother will have already made sure I'm untraceable, there's no point in an exile if you can be immediately lifted out of it." The imp said sighing, "but I'm glad I've left enough an impact that you're willing to put in the effort."

She then turned her attention to the group.

"not to repeat myself or anything, but you all were affected by my sisters' actions, but none of you took your aggression from it out on me like most people have over the years." The imp said with a weak smile, "I appreciate that"

"we don't immediately turn on someone, just because they were involved, you don't learn anything from being immediately aggressive." Scarecrow said with a grin.

"You were willing to help us, and to be completely fair, if you hadn't thought of something Madeline most certainly would have." Glinda said looking over at her.

"the hatter does have a reputation for winning bets against her and many others." The imp said with a weak chuckle, "that's carried along the wind."

"but what of that girl?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I can't tell you who she is, for the exact same reason she can't." The imp said

"but surely if she's constantly jumping through time…" Madeline said trailing off a bit.

"the future, isn't completely fixed until you know certain events are supposed to happen." Glinda said sighing, "But time is in flux, so some of the events CAN be changed thus diverting the course."

"You know just as well as anyone else, that we can't change the future." The imp said nodding to Glinda, "Despite what you've tried to forget in the past."

"the pink orb, yes we know all about that." Ellie said nodding.

"I don't know if I'll ever see any of you again after today, but at least ill always have the hope." The imp said.

"I don't think, personally anyways." Cassandra said getting to her feet and hobbling over, "that this will be your last time in Oz, I think we shall all meet again."

"Means a lot coming from you, Lady Cassandra." The imp said curtseying.

"Where do you think you'll end up?" Mr. teak asked curiously.

"No idea, hopefully some place that is geographically nice." The imp said with a shrug.

"Thank you for helping us." Mrs. teak said, "in the ways that you did."

"it was all I could do, though, word of advice in the event you ever wind up in a similar situation." The imp said, "silver bullets aren't going to do anything against creatures from fairy countries."

"look, I would be the last person to admit it usually, but I was genuinely scared for both of my children." Mr. teak said, looking over at his son

"the need to protect one's own is a natural feeling." The imp said smiling now, "I'm glad I was able to be of some kind of help to you guys." She added nodding to Annabella, then turning to Emma and Polly "you two were also a tremendous help." She added.

Emma curtsied whilst Polly simply nodded. The imp then sighed, sadness wasn't an emotion she was very accustom to, and she was feeling waves of it now. She sniffed, unsure where to go with this now. She didn't want to leave her friends, but she knew she had to face the music. She then slowly, painstakingly walked back over to her Mother and Aunt and drew herself up.

"Once again, your ability to use magic shall be taken from you until we see fit, and your appearance shall be changed as you begin your exile." Death said

"I accept my punishment, I am ready." The imp said, her voice breaking.

Mother nature nodded and waved a hand over her child, before anyone could even blink, she had vanished. The room fell silent, though had anyone been looking in the corner where the mysterious girl had been standing, they would have noticed something strange. Her eyes had changed from being mixed colors of blue and hazel, to just bright blue. There were three people in the room who had felt a noticeable shift from it. One was chuckling to themselves, one was sighing, and the third acting indifferent. She scratched something else from her diary and smiled. However she watched as the proceedings were not over, as Jon Foreman got to his feet and walked over.

"there is, of course, still a problem." Jon said looking over at his old friend.

"and that is the fact that I am alive." The wizard said nodding.

"Yes, you could never go back to your old life in Kansas." Death said, her tone changing back to being quite sharp.

"People can't and generally don't come back from the dead like this where we come from." Jon said sighing, "I speak mainly from my experience as a doctor."

"we have considered this and have briefly discussed it in light of the recent events." Zinnia said coming down from where she was, "You cannot die again, that has been made perfectly clear I hope."

"it has." The Wizard said as Aislynn returned to his embrace

"As a precaution, you will not be allowed to leave Oz or the Nonestic landmasses unchaperoned, either by Dorothy, Alex, Ozma, Glinda, Doctor Foreman, or Elphaba." Zinnia said turning to Mother Nature and Death, "I think those are fair enough terms."

"Well, it's not like he can do anything to go back to his old life, he essentially no longer exists." Jon said nodding.

"it sounds like he's being put on probation for something he had no control over." Aislynn said.

"essentially yes." Mother nature said, "but as sentencing has now been carried out, the court can now be adjourned."

"You twelve can take care of sending people back to where they belong, I believe." Death said squinting at her clipboard, "I have quite a bit to take care of." She added before vanishing.

"Unless anyone objects, we typically never have too many visitors." Zinnia said looking over to the group, "show of hands, is there anyone here who would rather wait for these guys to be finished with their business here before going back to where they should be?" She asked referring to Dorothy, Alex, Ozma, Aislynn, the wizard and Jon foreman.

At first, the only person to raise their hand was Zeb, but this was immediately followed by Elena and Annabella.

"Elena, why do you want to stay?" Ozma asked curiously.

"Curiosity mainly." Elena said getting up and walking over.

"Zeb is family to Ms. Gale, so we must take his wishes into account, Annabella has been here once before, unless their parents have any objections." Zinnia asked looking at them.

"so long as she comes back to us safe, and the form she belongs in." Mrs. teak said, "We have no arguments, but what further business could you all have?" she asked curiously.

"I do believe Dorothy has at least one or two questions for mother nature, and this will probably be the only time it will be able to be addressed." Fayth said smiling, "so, for those of you who aren't going to stay, I would suggest bracing yourselves."

There was a large rush of wind, and in moments everyone else who hadn't volunteered to stay had vanished. This had included, much to Dorothy's shock, Madeline. The mysterious girl had also disappeared.

"if you're going to ask about that girl." Mother nature said, "her memories are blocked off, even to us, in a way that implies my own hand helped in that affect."

"it probably did, have to cover the tracks so no one ever tries to change a thing." Zinnia said, "but how long has she been around?" She asked curiously.

"well, she apparently met Glinda sometime prior to us all meeting her." Alex said, "problem is, the meetings with her are always rather fuzzy."

"Yes, that is what is commonly referred to as temporal amnesia, time essentially skips a beat for a few moments, making your memory of the events hard to maintain." Benton said getting down from where he was.

"However, if you wish to know about your connection with the hatter, I'm afraid there isn't much more for me to explain that isn't already known to you." Mother nature said sighing.

"Actually, before we go any farther, can I be brought up to speed, please?" The Wizard asked curiously.

Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the Nonestic landmasses.

Laying, face up on a sandy beach. A girl suddenly found herself. Getting to her feet and dusting herself off. She found that she was in a different outfit to the one she had been accustom to. This one was brightly colored, made of a light blue material that she didn't really recognize. It had pockets on it, and in them she found two buttons. She clenched them in her fist and sighed. Running her hands over her hair, she found it still rather long, so she took a lock and held it up to her eyes. It was a sandy brown color that matched the sand she happened to be standing on. Looking properly at her hands, Her skin was now a pale tan instead of the greyish color it had been. As she pocketed the buttons, she began to search her pockets for anything useful. What she found was a small mirror. Looking at it, she found that her face hadn't changed very much, except her eyes, her eyes were now a chocolate brown color. She looked around for a moment and wondered where she was, as she knew of a few countries that had coast lines.

Okay yes, I know this chapter was long, maybe a tiny bit confusing, but hey everyone has their likes and dislikes.