As they stepped inside they were met by a long stone corridor, lit only by torchlight. Fiyero, who had been down these halls many time before, felt no apprehension, but Dorothy and Boq were trembling a bit (Fiyero could hear Boq's joint rattling) and the Lion looked as if he was about to wet himself. The only reason Fiyero felt nervous was because he already knew exactly what was going to happen. The Wizard was not going to be able to help any of them and after their long journey they'd be sent away empty handed. Oh Oz, what if Dorothy started crying again?

The hallway ended with a large door that appeared to be cut entirely out of emerald. Fiyero knew this place well; the last time he'd seen it he'd threatened the Wizard and run off with Elphaba, leaving a devastated Glinda behind. Maybe he had more than one reason to be grateful for his new straw body, at least it meant no one would recognize him.

With a grunt of effort Boq and Fiyero managed to push the heavy door open, and they found themselves in rather large, dimly lit room. There was a rather large mechanical head directly across the room from them, one that Fiyero recognized all too well, and it became animated as soon as they entered the chamber.

It addressed them in a booming voice, smoke and flashing lights only adding to the effect, "I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Why do you seek me?"

Fiyero just rolled his eyes as the others cowered in fear before the large mechanical contraption. The little show was so overdone, and it was all just smoke and mirrors. However he had to keep in character, and so he put on a show of being just as terrified as the other three. He supposed it was a good thing he'd always been a pretty decent actor,

Dorothy seemed to find her voice first, "W-well you see sir-" she stammered, but the booming voice cut her off.

"Silence, the Great and Powerful Oz knows why you have come," the Wizard said. He proceeded to call Boq forward, and Fiyero could hear the man's joints rattling from some distance away.

"So you seek a heart? Why should I grant you your request you shivering junk yard?" he yelled, and Boq scrambled backwards, looking more terrified that he'd ever been in his entire life.

Fiyero was getting rather annoyed with this little performance. The Wizard was more cowardly than the Lion was, and all he did was bully others while hiding behind his little light show. Fiyero knew the man had no real power; that was why he relied on fear and lies to keep his grip on Oz. Fiyero was sorely tempted to march behind the head and expose the Wizard for what he was, but he knew that would blow his cover, so instead he just said, rather pathetically, "Hey, that wasn't very nice!"

"And you Lion, you come to ask me for courage," he said, ignoring Fiyero's last comment. Fiyero looked around for the Lion, but was surprised to find that the large Cat was no where in sight. Glancing down, he found that the Lion had passed out at his feet. Yes, this little meeting was going well.

"Hey! You should be ashamed of yourself!" shouted Dorothy, forgetting her earlier fear as she tried to help the Lion to his feet, "Scaring him when he only came to you for help."

Fiyero raised an eyebrow, wondering how the Wizard would take to Dorothy's little comment. Surprisingly, he didn't seem angry, "Silence! The Great and Powerful Oz will grant your request," he said hastily. Fiyero briefly found himself wondering why the Wizard always referred to himself in the third person.

Upon hearing the Wizard's decree the Lion shot up into a sitting position, "What'd he say?" he asked hopefully, his earlier show of cowardice forgotten.

Fiyero looked up at the Wizard doubtfully, wondering how on earth the man planned to pull this one off. Fiyero knew there was no way he was capable of granting even one of their requests.

Fiyero's question was answered as the Wizard spoke again, "But first, you must prove yourself with a test." Of course, there was always a catch. He watched the Wizard for a moment, waiting to hear what this "test" would consist of. This ought to be good.

The Wizard was silent for a moment, and Fiyero could almost hear the gears turning in the Wizard's real head as he tried to come up with something suitable. Finally, after a few moments, he spoke again, "You must bring me the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West."

Fiyero's eyes grew wide at this. There was no way they'd be able to get Elphaba's broomstick; she guarded the ratty old thing with her life. He was pretty sure she was not going to relinquish it to some ten year old farm girl who'd killed her sister and stolen her shoes. In order to get that broomstick…

"Why, we'd have to kill her to get it!" he exclaimed, finishing his thought out loud. The others seemed to think the note of panic in his voice meant that he was afraid of Elphaba, instead of afraid for her.

"Silence, I will speak to you no more unless you find a way to bring me that broomstick!" the Wizard replied, and Fiyero could already see the lights on the sides of the mechanical head shutting down, "Be gone."

"But…" Dorothy started unsurely.

"I said be gone!" shouted the Wizard, the lights flaring up to full power once more. Dorothy jumped backwards, but her reaction was nothing compared to the Lion. With a high pitched cry Fiyero hadn't even known the Lion was capable of emitting, the large Cat turned and raced down the hallway, shrieking all the way. When he reached the end he stopped and looked around for an exit, but the hallway he'd taken lead to a dead end. For a moment he looked trapped, before he suddenly leapt and went crashing through the window to the ground below.

Dorothy looked concerned, but Fiyero couldn't help but roll his eyes. He'd though the Wizard was overly dramatic. Besides, it was only a first floor window; the Lion couldn't have injured himself too badly. The remaining three of them found a much more normal way of exiting the building: through the front door.

Once they had ventured back out into the courtyard and collected the Cowardly Lion (they'd found him cowering under a rose bush) the group began trying to decide on a course of action. Fiyero grew more and more worried as the conversation progressed, for it seemed that all three of his companions were adamant about fulfilling the Wizard's request. Dorothy didn't seem to want to hurt anyone, but Boq was all for tracking Elphaba down and killing her. The Lion was on Boq's side, as long as he didn't actually have to help of course. Fiyero tried to make small comments here and there throughout the conversation so it would appear as though he was interested, but it was no use. It didn't really seem to matter though, for the others seemed to assume he wasn't participating simply because he didn't have a brain.

However, the truth was that Fiyero was thinking, and rather hard at that. He knew he had to find some way to get to Kiamo Ko and warn Elphaba as soon as possible. If Boq and the other's got there before he did, then there was no telling what would happen to her. Fiyero wasn't sure exactly what Boq was capable of (he seemed the only one up for the actual act of killing Elphaba) but Fiyero knew that Boq's new tin body could probably do some real damage. Fiyero knew that if any harm came to Elphaba he would never forgive himself for it.

The four of them eventually reached a verdict (well three of them, since Fiyero wasn't technically a part of the conversation) and decided that there was no choice but to kill the Witch and steal the broomstick. Boq claimed to know where the Witch's castle was, and Fiyero was shocked to learn that Boq's information was actually accurate. The group set out straight away, headed for the forest where the castle of Kiamo Ko was hidden. Fiyero followed behind reluctantly, growing more and more worried by the minute.

It was then that Fiyero hatched his own little plan. Tonight, once Dorothy and the Lion were asleep, he would find some way to lure Boq away from their camp, and then he would slip away unnoticed. After all, Kiamo Ko wasn't too far into the forest, and it was still fairly light out at this point. Surely by the time they stopped for the night they'd be rather close to the castle. With any luck he'd be able to speak with Elphaba and return to camp before anyone even noticed he was gone. It was a risky plan, but it had to work; there was nothing else Fiyero could do.

As he went over his course of action in his mind, he half listened as the others planned theirs. Apparently all they had come up with so far was that they would somehow slip past the Witch's guards and into the castle. Then they would somehow sneak up behind the Witch, unnoticed, and Boq would attack her while her back was turned. While Fiyero listened to their rather pathetic plot he couldn't help but think that he could have come up with something better even if he really didn't have a brain. Still, the three seemed satisfied with it, though Dorothy still looked a bit reluctant. Fiyero decided that the worse their plan was, the better that was for him.

With that, the group set off from the Emerald City, heading west toward the forest that would bring them to Kiamo Ko. As they departed, crowds of Ozians surrounded them, cheering and showing their support. They called the four 'witch hunters' and wished them luck on their travels. Fiyero wondered briefly how news traveled so quickly around these parts. Fighting their way through the sea of admirers was difficult at first, but the crowd began to thin as the group moved further away from the city. By the time the four of them reached the forest, there was not a single Ozian in sight.

Thanks for reading.

S.P.