Fiyero made his way out of the castle quickly, taking care to replace the stone entrance to his secret passageway once more as he exited. Walking back around to the front, he found a very anxious Boq and a terrified Cowardly Lion searching the front of the castle for a way in. Upon spotting him, Boq looked immensely relieved.

"Oh there you are," he said, walking over toward Fiyero, "We lost sight of you after you ran ahead. We were worried the Witch might have captured you too. Where were you anyway?"

"I was…looking for a way in," he said quickly, trying to come up with a suitable lie. He realized just how much lying he'd been doing lately. "The palace is heavily guarded, I don't see any way in."

Of course this was another lie, but he couldn't very well show them the route he'd taken into the castle. After all, how would the brainless Scarecrow have found such a well hidden passageway? He and Elphaba were so close to escaping now; it wouldn't due to blow his cover at the last moment. The three of them would just have to find some other more obvious way into the castle.

"Uh fellas…" came the Lion's voice, sounding near hysterics. When neither Boq nor Fiyero acknowledged him, he tried again, "F-fellas…"

Fiyero turned to tell the Lion to quiet down, and it was a good thing he turned around when he did. Three Winkie guards had snuck up on them, and their weapons were poised for attack. Fiyero recognized the three of them, though they obviously did not recognize him. He'd sent word to his guards to tell them to obey Elphaba's orders and, being extremely loyal, that's what they were doing. However, it wouldn't do for the three of them to be caught, so he dodged a blow from one of the soldiers and prepared for the fight that was inevitably going to take place.

While the guard was still recovering from his unsuccessful attack, Fiyero pounced on him and Boq followed suit, taking out the second guard. The Lion watched the battle nervously for a few moments before, in a stunning display of courage, he too joined the brawl. The guards were well trained, but they were no match for the combined strength of Boq in the Lion. Fiyero regretted to admit that he wasn't much help. His straw body did not exactly make for any powerful blows.

The attack turned out to be a blessing, for once the guards were unconscious Fiyero suddenly got an idea. Quickly he stripped the guards of their vests and helmets, and passed a set to both Boq and the Lion. The three of them dressed quickly, and once they had the uniforms on Fiyero doubted that he'd ever seen a more comical sight in his life. However, the disguises seemed to work well enough, for they were not stopped as they joined a line of guards that was marching in to the castle.

They broke away from the line as soon as they were inside, and the three immediately took off to look for Dorothy. It took a good deal of searching to find her, and Fiyero was frustrated that he hadn't asked Elphaba where Dorothy was being kept when he'd spoken to her earlier. However, they eventually found the cell in which she was being kept, having heard her loud sobs from down the hallway. Conveniently, it was located right off of the foyer, which would make Fiyero's plan all the easier to complete.

Boq drew near to the door and knocked on it and the three could hear Dorothy's breath hitch as she tried to choke back the rest of her sobs. She was obviously terrified, which made Fiyero wonder exactly what Elphaba had said to her.

"Dorothy, it's us," Boq said, obviously concerned for the girl's well being. Upon hearing Boq's voice, Dorothy laughed with glee.

"Oh, you came for me! I knew you wouldn't leave me here!" she cried, and Fiyero could tell that she'd moved closer to the door, though she was still blocked from view.

"Stand back Dorothy," Boq said, raising his axe high above his head and swinging it at the door. The wood splintered in half and he swung the axe down upon it two more times. Finally the door fell away, revealing a shaken but ecstatic Dorothy.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you," she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Fiyero and then hugging Boq and the Lion in turn. Her eyes wear red and puffy, but her face was lit by a bright smile.

After checking to make sure the girl was okay, Boq turned to Fiyero and the Lion, "Forget the broomstick, we have to get out of here. Come on, we haven't got much time!"

Boq didn't know how right he was, for as soon as they entered the foyer Elphaba appeared at the top of a tall staircase. She looked rather menacing, her best 'Wicked Witch' persona in place. She met Fiyero's eyes briefly, and he urged her on. She took a deep breath before she finally pulled her eyes away and turned back to the others.

"Going somewhere," she cackled, her voice shrill and malicious. Fiyero felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. Elphaba was a good actress.

Boq, who had been trying to put on a show of bravado up until this point, turned tail and bolted down the hallway, the Lion and Dorothy not far behind. Fiyero followed suit, trying to appear convincingly scared. Several Winkie guards pursued them, but the four were able to evade them for a few minutes. However, Boq didn't have any clue where he was going, and it appeared that they were just running in circles.

For a few moments Fiyero feared that they would not make it back into the foyer to complete his plan, but eventually the guards caught up and seized the four of them from behind. The others tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered this time, and the guards managed to subdue them easily. The four were dragged back into the Foyer, where Elphaba now stood waiting for them in the center of the room.

Elphaba looked extremely nervous as the four of them were carried in. She was wringing her hands together, and trying to calm herself by taking deep, shaky breaths. However, Fiyero was sure he was the only one who noticed, because in a matter of moments Elphaba was back in character. Fiyero could feel his heart pounding. It was now or never.

"It's time to finished this," Elphaba said, her voice still unnaturally cold as she took a step toward them, "The last to die will see the first three go before her." She sent Dorothy a piercing glare as she continued to advance toward them. Fiyero watched as she stopped directly over the trap door.

One of the guards brought Elphaba her broomstick, and she pointed it at Fiyero, sending a glare in his direction. He realized that Elphaba's hands were shaking as she lifted the tip of the handle into the flames of a nearby torch until it caught fire.

Elphaba hesitated for a moment as she held the flaming broom mere inches from Fiyero's face. She seemed unsure, and so Fiyero sent her a look that clearly told her to get on with it. He pretended to struggle in the grasp of the guard that was holding him as she pushed the tip closer to him. Elphaba closed her eyes and looked away as the flames took to Fiyero's sleeve, obviously pained by what she'd just done.

Nervously, Fiyero eyed the bucket of water that was sitting a few feet away, praying with all of his might that one of them would catch on. Thankfully, Dorothy's eyes traveled to the bucket as well, and in her hysteria she managed to free herself from the grasp of the guard holding her. In one swift motion she grabbed the bucket and tossed its contents toward Fiyero. The water flew through the air in a high arch before splashing over Fiyero's arm and dousing the flame. The other half hit Elphaba square in the face, and she sputtered for a moment before she let out a tortured shriek.

"I'm melting!" she cried, rather convincingly, as she began to lower herself down through the trap door. Fiyero was surprised by how realistic it looked. Her form actually appeared to be shrinking into nothingness as she continued her tortured shouting. She had actually stepped out of her cloak as she'd gone down, so that the trap door was not visible. Her hat was left behind as well, and her now singed broomstick rolled aside and came to a stop on the other side of the room Fiyero heard an audible click as Elphaba's screams grew more distant, and he knew she was safe.

Then suddenly the scene was over, leaving only a few stunned bystanders still staring at the place where Elphaba had stood only moments ago. The foyer was now eerily quiet, though Fiyero's ears were still wringing with the sound of Elphaba's shrieks.

Dorothy seemed the first one to snap out of her trance, "Is she…"

"I think so," said Boq, moving closer to examine the cloak and hat. It looked like he couldn't believe his eyes. Fiyero assumed that Boq had been expecting more of a showdown than that.

The guards holding onto them released them suddenly, and Fiyero stumbled forward as the force that had been holding him up disappeared. One of the guards turned to address them, and the four companions tensed. However, they relaxed as the Winkie's face broke out into a warm smile. "We'd like to thank you for freeing us from the rule of the Wicked Witch of the West."

Fiyero flinched as he heard the guard use that horrid nickname for Elphaba. He supposed she must have gotten a bit…bossy when dealing with the guards. He assumed she was not too friendly when she was in an unstable state of mind. There were a few moments of rejoicing before the four of them were granted permission to take Elphaba's broomstick back to the Wizard. Fiyero moved to retrieve it from the other side of the room. He smiled as he spared a glance to Elphaba's hat and the trap door he knew it was sitting on top of. A smile played at his lips. She was down there waiting for him. This nightmare would be over very soon.

They turned to leave, and Fiyero spared one last glance behind him. 'I'll be back for you soon Elphaba,' he thought, 'Just stay strong until then'. With that he turned and followed his three companions out into the darkness of the forest. After a few moments the guards left as well, no longer finding any interesting reason to stick around. No one was around to see a petite blond move from behind a curtain on the far side of the room and kneel down before the pointed black hat. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she sat there, mourning the death of her best friend.

Thanks for reading.

S.P.