Glinda stared at the little jar of flames in her hand.

"Are they darker than normal?" Boq asked.

"I think so." It was just a few shades deeper than her normal pink hue, barely even noticeable, but she was still a little concerned. She frowned a bit before lowering the jar.

"Is that…normal?"

"I have no idea. I don't even know why they're a certain color in the first place. It's probably tied to emotion, though. Most magic is."

Boq raised an eyebrow. "Seems…unpredictable."

"You don't know the half of it." Glinda handed him the jar. "Take this and I'll meet you there? If Morrible sees me with magic outside her classroom, she'll kill me."

Warily, he took the flames. "I wish you were joking," he said. Glinda gave him a sympathetic smile and they parted ways, Boq heading for the lake and Glinda heading for the café in the main square of campus.

It was still early, especially for a Saturday, and she only passed a couple of students. She bought a bag of apples and a thermos of hot chocolate.

"Could you make it with milk, please?" she asked, sliding an extra couple of gold pieces across the counter. There was no point to it, really, without Elphaba there. But for some reason it made her feel better, so she took the fruit and the hot chocolate and hurried off to find the boys.

Crope and Tibbett had already spread out blankets in their usual grove of trees, and Fiyero was unpacking the basket full of sandwiches he had brought.

"Ah, there you are," Crope said as she walked up. "We were worried when we heard that Boq ditched you."

"I didn't ditch her!"

Glinda smiled and set her stuff down near the basket. "He didn't ditch me. Pass me the fire, Boq? I'm freezing."

Boq handed the jar over. "It got smaller when you gave it to me. I don't know what I did."

"Don't worry about it." Glinda passed her hand over the top and the flames grew again.

"You just don't have the magic touch," Fiyero said, winking at Boq.

"Oh, and you do?"

"Who knows? I've never tried my hand at sorcery."

"Please, let's talk about something else," said Glinda. "I've got hours of work to do for Morrible tomorrow. I'd rather not focus on sorcery two days in a row."

"As you wish." Tibbett leaned against Crope and sighed happily. "What's everyone doing for Lurlinemas?"

"Staying here, of course," said Fiyero. "I'll work at the library again, if Boq doesn't take all the shifts."

"You're staying, aren't you Boq?" asked Crope.

"Oh, definitely. I'm spending as much time here as possible, while I still can."

Glinda frowned. "Don't talk like that. I don't know what we'd do if you left."

"Come kidnap me from Munchkinland, I hope."

Tibbett sat up. "Count me in! What an adventure that would be, saving dear old Boq from the farm."

"Our damsel in distress," Crope said, batting his lashes. Boq picked up an apple and threw it at him.

"What about the two of you?" Glinda asked. "Are you staying here or going back to the Emerald City?"

Tibbett shrugged. "We'll stay here. I spent most of last winter break at Crope's house anyway."

"And you, dear Glinda?" Crope asked. "Will you be gracing us with your presence over Lurlinemas?"

Glinda hadn't given it much thought yet, but she knew her answer. The only thing she could think of that would be worse than spending Lurlinemas in her empty room, missing Elphaba, was spending a month at home putting on a smile for her family. She might be able to fool her parents, but Ama Clutch would see right through her, and Glinda didn't think she could handle that.

"I'm staying," she said.

It took them an entire week to prepare. One whole week of scoping the bank out and gathering information. They studied the guards and their patrols. They memorized every window and door and which street it led out to. Peric spent the better part of a night flying over and around the building, looking for anything that could give them an aerial advantage. Malky had been given blueprints of the bank's interior, and together they carefully plotted out their every move.

It wasn't a complicated plan, and they were all skilled enough to pull it off. Elphaba's only concern was that they would have to split up to get into the building.

There were guards posted all across the ground, with no real gaps in their perimeter. The only one of them who had a chance to slip through was Malky, meaning Peric and Elphaba would have to find another way in.

"There are two guards on the roof," Peric had said. "Once we know Malky's in, Fae and I can fly up there and take them out, and then we'll make our way down to the ground floor."

"The vaults are underground and most likely guarded by multiple men," said Malky. "We need a distraction."

"I'll do it," Peric volunteered. "That way Fae can stay with you and unlock the vaults."

"Once they see him, they'll raise an alarm," Elphaba said. "We won't have much time to get in and out, and slipping past the guards outside won't be an option anymore."

"So one of us will carry Malky, and we'll fly out," Peric said. Malky humphed a little, but made no real objections.

Once or twice Elphaba and Peric snuck out of the city at night so she could practice flying, and she spent every afternoon casting magic. Malky went back and forth between the corn exchange and the underground, but when he was there he would sit quietly, watching curiously as she started fires and sent crates flying across the room.

They were all restless when the day finally came. Peric left in the afternoon to hunt, but Elphaba and Malky stayed at the corn exchange, going over the details of the vaults one last time. Elphaba lasted a couple of hours before her eyes started to burn, so she stood up and began pacing instead, and eventually she ended up on the rooftop, staring across the slums of the city.

After a while, Malky jumped up to the roof and padded quietly over to her. He sat nearby, not quite next to her, his tail curling around his front paws. The three of them had worked well together so far, but there was still some awkwardness between them. Elphaba kept her gaze on the skyline and waited for Malky to speak.

"I want to apologize for what I said the other day, about Dr. Dillamond," he said eventually. "I didn't mean to offend."

"You didn't," said Elphaba.

"You cared deeply for him?" Malky asked. She nodded. "I know he felt the same."

"Did you know he didn't want me to come here?" Elphaba regretted it as soon as she said it, but Malky simply smiled, following her gaze across the city.

"I did, actually. This life isn't easy. He wanted to spare you from it, if at all possible."

"But it wasn't possible, was it?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, no, I don't believe so. I don't think any of us realized how bad things had gotten at Shiz."

She curled up a little tighter. "At least it's better now that I'm gone." Malky gave no response, and she glanced down at him. "…Isn't it?"

"I'm sure the situation has improved," Malky said carefully. "But I'm afraid that campus will never really be safe. Not while Morrible is in charge." Elphaba tensed, and he looked up at her. "You have loved ones there."

She pressed her lips together and nodded once.

"Fae—"

"Let's just focus on the job. Peric should be back soon." With that, she walked to the roof's edge and stepped off, sliding onto her broom and gliding through the window, out of his sight.

It was well past midnight when they left the corn exchange that night. Elphaba pulled Ama Clutch's scarf up over her nose and tugged the brim of her hat down low. She pulled her bag over her head and tucked it safely beneath her cloak, then shouldered her broom and followed the other two out the door.

They moved soundlessly through the streets. They had practiced this over the past week, too. There was an alleyway that faced a corner of the bank, and that's where they stopped.

Emerald Gold Towers was, in all reality, a beautiful building. It stretched toward the sky, its shining metal walls reflecting the glittering city that surrounded it. The grounds were covered in well-trimmed bushes and neat little flower gardens. On every corner of the building a guard was posted, though by this time of night they had all slumped against the walls and were staring dazedly across the street.

Elphaba craned her neck to look up at the top of the building. "Did anyone actually earn the money that's in there, or was it all just stolen from the lower classes?"

"Stolen, definitely," muttered Peric. "Ready, Malky?"

"See you on the inside." With that, the Cat slipped forward, disappearing into the nearest row of bushes without so much as a rustle. Elphaba and Peric waited for another minute or two, just in case something went wrong, but the guards never moved.

Peric nudged her thigh. Wordlessly, they backed up until they were a block away. Elphaba mounted her broom and nodded at Peric, who unfurled his wings and jumped into the air. She kicked off the ground and followed, leaning low over the broom. It was almost too dark to keep track of him—a good thing, in Elphaba's mind—but she managed to keep on his tail.

They flew up and circled high above the tower. Elphaba peered down, but she could barely make out the guards on the rooftop. Peric, however, had no such trouble. He clicked his beak once and dove down without bothering to wait for her. Rolling her eyes, Elphaba leaned forward into a dive, hoping that the extra flying practice the last few days would pay off.

It did. She watched Peric tilt toward the guard on the left, so she turned slightly to aim for the other. The wind whistled in her ears as she sailed in closer. The guard turned at the last minute and saw her, but as he was raising his gun she yanked the broom sideways. It spun around, hitting him square in the head and sending him crumbling to the ground. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Peric swoop down and land on the other guard's shoulders, knocking him down before he could even react.

"Pretty smooth flying," Peric said as she dismounted. "Have you been practicing or something?"

"I'm just naturally talented." Elphaba checked to make sure the guard was breathing, then dragged him over to the other one and tied their wrists together with a quick spell. She and Peric made their way to the little metal door that led into the building.

"Do we really have to take the stairs?" Peric asked, peering out through the railing on the top floor.

Elphaba didn't answer, just started down the first flight. They had no idea how many guards were wandering around inside the bank. If they flew down, someone could see them and raise the alarm, and then the entire mission would be ruined.

As it turned out, they only ran into a handful of men, all of them alone, and it was all too easy to knock them out and move them out of sight. In no time at all they were on the first floor, looking around for Malky.

The Cat found them first. He seemed to materialize out of the shadows beside Peric.

"There were only three men on this floor," he told them. "They're all taken care of. Shall we head down?"

There was a separate staircase across the room, leading down to underground vaults. Elphaba stared at it.

"Peric, how much time can you give us?"

"As much as you need." He shifted his feet. "Uh, if you hurry."

"Make sure they see you and only you," Malky said. "They can't know someone else is here until it's too late."

"No problem. Should I go now, or do you want to stay and chat for a while?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Peric winked at her, then unfurled his wings and flew to the staircase. Elphaba made sure she was covered in shadows, then slowly followed him across the room. Malky stayed close beside her so that her cloak concealed most of his body.

It didn't take long for the first gunshot to ring out. Elphaba tensed, but a moment later Peric flew back into sight, and one glance at him told her he was fine. She caught a glimpse of his smirk as half a dozen men came running up the stairs after him. She and Malky hurried forward and slipped silently past the chaos, heading underground.

Two guards were on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, courtesy of Peric. Elphaba stepped carefully around them and continued on. The basement floor was a maze of hallways connecting dozens of steel vaults together. They were labeled only by number, but Malky had their targets memorized. He ran down one of the halls, Elphaba following close behind him.

"Vault number 743," he said, coming to a stop. "A Gillikin politician who signed the bill to ban Animals from holding high-paying jobs."

Elphaba all too gladly stepped forward and pressed her palms to the vault's door. "It's a deadbolt," she said, sliding her hand over. It was heavy, too, but after a moment's concentration there was a scraping sound, and the bolt slid open. "That was loud."

"It's fine," Malky said. "Let's just hurry. We have two more after this."

She couldn't help it. As she pushed the door open, Elphaba's jaw dropped. The vault was lined with stacks of gold and paper notes. Jewels glittered from ornate, overflowing vases. There were other treasures, too—beautiful portraits, ornamented weapons, family crests, sealed chests and safes with who knows what in them—but they focused on the money.

"I have no love for religion," Elphaba murmured, "But if people like this donated to the unionist charity boxes, then this city would have no lower districts."

"Corruption hurts everyone," said Malky. "We Animals were never the only ones suffering from the Wizard's rule."

She nodded grimly. Together, they scooped up stacks of notes—they were lighter than the gold and jewels—and scooped them into Elphaba's bag. They hardly made a dent in the man's fortune, but Elphaba's bag was filling quickly. Malky took to shredding a few of the portraits, and Elphaba swung her broom at a few of the vases, shattering them.

It didn't feel like enough, but there were still two vaults left. They slipped out, not bothering to lock the door again, and headed to the next two targets: a wealthy circus owner, and an innkeeper who hired Munchkinlanders so she could pay them next to nothing. Neither vault was as impressive as the first, but Elphaba still enjoyed pocketing their money.

They were leaving the last vault and running back to the staircase when Elphaba felt it. There was a faint hum of energy resonating from one of the vaults. She came to a stop outside it.

"Malky? Who owns this vault?"

He glanced up at the number, then let out a low hiss. "We should go."

"Whose is it?"

"…Madame Morrible."

Elphaba tensed. She reached for the vault, her hand hovering just above the door. What kind of valuables did Morrible keep in the Emerald City? What kind of horrors? How much damage could Elphaba do, if she only took another step forward and tried her luck with the lock?

But no. The door was protected by magic—she could feel that much. Morrible would find out, and she would know where Elphaba was, what she was doing. She would hunt her down.

No, she wouldn't even bother. She would just hurt Glinda instead.

Elphaba swallowed and stumbled back. "You're right. Let's go."

Malky let out a tiny huff—possibly in relief—and the two hurried up to the ground floor, where one look at Peric told Elphaba that things weren't going well.

She paused at the top of the stairs and dropped to a crouch, holding out her arm to stop Malky. Peric was flying high above the guards' heads, sticking to the shadows as much as he could so they wouldn't get a clear shot. There were too many men in the room for him to even land safely. Somewhere in the distance, a bell was tolling.

"They're about to have reinforcements," said Malky. He was crouched low to the ground, hackles raised, but he could only watch Peric fly above them.

Elphaba took a deep breath and gazed across the room at the men. She thought about Morrible's vault, humming with magic, then of Morrible herself, sitting smug and terrifying in her office at Shiz. Energy poured through her, and she thrust both arms out. The men were thrown off their feet, landing against the walls or in crumbled heaps across the floor.

Peric swooped down to them. "Took you guys long enough."

"We need to leave," said Malky. "More guards will be here any moment."

"And these ones aren't staying down long," Elphaba muttered. Already the first few guards were starting to climb to their feet.

"We're not getting out of here without being shot at, are we?" Peric tucked his head back into his neck and hopped back a little. Elphaba made a snap decision.

"Malky, take this," she said, tearing her bag off and handing it over. "Peric, take Malky. Fly out the nearest window and don't stop. I'll head to the roof on foot and try to draw their fire."

"But—"

"You saw what I just did. I'll be fine. Now get out of here."

Malky took the bag in his mouth. Peric glared at Elphaba, then leapt into the air. He grabbed Malky—who gave a muffled, indignant yowl—and flew off. One of the guards scrambled for his gun and aimed up, but Elphaba shifted her grip on her broom and threw it, knocking the weapon out of his hands.

"What the—"

She stuck her hand out again, summoning the broom back, and gave a quick, two-fingered salute to the guard. He shouted something at her, but she was already running up the stairs.

There was something wildly, inappropriately entertaining about sprinting up the stairs of the Emerald City's most elite bank with a dozen or so armed guards chasing after her. Elphaba couldn't help it. She let out a cackle as she twisted around and sent another gust of wind at the men, forcing them back again. Of course, she couldn't run all the way up to the roof, so she grabbed the railing and vaulted over, smirking as she heard the guards cry out in surprise. She swung the broom around and landed on it, instantly soaring for the ceiling. Gunshots sounded from below, but nothing hit her. In seconds Elphaba had reached the doors that led onto the roof. She landed in front of them and hurried through, spinning around to seal them with a quick spell. She had made it.

Except…

The back of her neck prickled, and she spun around, holding her broom defensively. The two guards from earlier were still passed out on the ground, but standing between them was…a short, balding man.

Elphaba shifted her grip on the broom. The man was middle-aged, dressed in a faded gray suit, and completely unimpressive. She was unnerved.

"Elphaba Thropp."

"Who are you?"

He just smiled. "It's quite an honor, you know."

"I asked, who are you?"

"You mean you don't know? I suppose that makes sense. Most people don't recognize me. You, however, are unmistakable, aren't you?" He folded his hands behind his back and studied her calmly. "I've heard quite a bit about you, actually. My source at Shiz was quite impressed with you."

Realization hit, cold and hard, and Elphaba repressed the urge to shudder. Instead she scowled at the Wizard. "Oh?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay even. "Is that why she tried to kill me?"

He sighed. "Regrettable, truly. But you were beginning to get out of hand."

"And now?"

"Now…" He seemed to think about it for a moment, his eyes casting up to the sky. "The situation is closer to me, now. It's a little different."

"So you're not going to kill me."

"No, I don't think so. I believe you are too valuable to waste."

Elphaba scowled. "You're assuming I would ever help you."

The Wizard tilted his head at her, and once again she was struck by how average he seemed.

"I do believe you can be persuaded, Miss Elphaba." She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off with another smile. "What about, for instance, your old roommate?"

Elphaba knew she should lie. She should roll her eyes or scoff or do something other than stand there, frozen with cold, sickening dread. But it was too late. The Wizard had seen her reaction.

"Interesting," he said softly. "Very interesting."

She raised her hand, summoning flames. If it was too late to bluff, then she'd have to try something else. "If you ever—"

"Let's be civil now, Miss Elphaba," he said, holding his arms up. "I'm only making conversation."

But why? Why was he, of all people, waiting for her on this rooftop?

"I'm intrigued, though. Madame Morrible had told me you have no interest in sorcery. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear you've since changed your mind."

"I should blast you off this roof," she growled.

"But you won't. Not if you want Miss Glinda to stay safe."

She glared, but the Wizard didn't seem to notice. "You know, I had been wondering when you would end up in my city," he said. "Have you heard the rumors about yourself? Some people have been calling you the green witch, did you know? I personally think you could do better."

There was a sudden pounding of footsteps in the stairwell behind her, accompanied by far more shouts than before. Elphaba's eyes widened. "You were stalling," she breathed.

If he heard, he didn't acknowledge it. "You're from Munchkinland, yes? What about, the witch of the west—no, wicked witch of the west. It has a nice sound to it, don't you think?"

Elphaba ignored him and swung a leg over her broom. She glanced at him, but he made no move to stop her. Instead he gave her one last smile and stepped back, gesturing toward the sky. "Go on, then, if you're so impatient to be off. Oh, but, Miss Elphaba? Do be careful. I will be most disappointed if we don't get the chance to meet again."

Elphaba wanted nothing more than to pick him up and drop him from a mile high, but his threat about Glinda stopped her. Instead, she pushed off the rooftop and flew over his head, resisting the urge to kick him as she passed. She heard the guards burst onto the rooftop, but she was already out of range, disappearing into the sky.

"Hell and Oz, Fae, what took you so long?"

Elphaba stumbled into the alleyway that was their rendezvous and all but collapsed against the wall. Peric hurried forward, but she waved him off.

"I'm fine. It's fine. Let's just keep moving."

"What happened back there?"

"Nothing," she said. "I'll tell you later. Let's go."

Malky peered at her. He stepped forward and dropped the bag at her feet. "That was…very brave of you."

Elphaba avoided his gaze as she shouldered the bag. "Let's get out of here."