Since some of you seem confused about Qhoyre let me explain; the small bit of yellow brick road that extends into Quadling Country leads to a town called Qhoyre (which is the most developed of all the Quadling cities) which is where Nessa has set up her new headquarters in order to begin taking over the southern quadrant of Oz…so Qhoyre is not an object it's a place (the Raven put a clue into the note so that Elphaba would know that Shay and Izo were being held in Qhoyre)

Once again I'd like to remind you readers about my friend and I's Hunger Games Fan fic 'Nobody in the Mist'…we co authored it but it's published under her name ('Tinted Windows')…please go check it out and review!

Now on with the adventure…

The Raven launched her knife forward and Glinda's eyes closed, waiting for the final pain. Instead she heard the sound of metal against metal and peeked out from behind her lids. The knife was buried, up to the hilt, in the keyhole. Feeling a surge of gratitude she yanked the broken lock to pieces and threw the door open. Elphaba was on the floor, writhing and Nessa was looking down on her with a sadistic expression. The blonde fell to the ground beside her friend. "Elphie!" The green witch didn't seem to hear, her eyes were clouded. "What did you do to her?"

"I dragged up all the most painful memories I could find!" the brunette snickered. "I drove her deep into the dark places of herself."

"How did you go from such a sweet little girl to this sick twisted monster?" Glinda shrieked, glaring accusations at Nessarose. "What happened?"

"Life happened," the witch of the east snapped back. "The cruel reality of life's unfair ways fell hard on my head. I can't even walk, I must rely on others for everything, so I let the world twist me into a creature that could survive it."

"Life doesn't happen to you!" Glinda snarled, wrapping her arms around Elphaba's prone form. "You happen to life. It was your choice to become this…this…thing that you are." Tears streamed down the blonde's face. "Elphie, Elphie wake up!" But the green woman was already horribly, excruciatingly awake. Vivid memories of all her failures, of all the times she had failed to protect those she loved, seared in front of her murky vision. Yet, at the same time, she was aware of Glinda's arms around her shoulders. She was also aware of Nessarose towering above, pulling her thoughts into darker and darker places. Elphaba struggled to her knees, hands clenched so hard that the nails drew blood.

Nessarose squeezed her morbid powers around the green witch's heart and she stumbled, clutching at her chest. Through sheer force of will she managed to retain control of her body. Glinda knew, through some deep rooted instinct, that there was nothing she could do. This was a battle only Elphaba could fight. "Find Shay and Izo," the witch managed to choke through her constricted windpipe. When the blonde hesitated her orders became more desperate. "Go, now!"

"Elphie…

"You can't help me now; just go." A tearful Glinda departed.

"I love you Elphie."

***

Curyn made short work of the locked cellar door and pushed her way inside. The blonde wasn't sure what she was expecting to find. Maybe a secret tunnel leading out of here or a good hidey hole where she could wait for help to come, if help was coming at all. What she did find was quite unexpected. "Who are you?" Shay demanded, crouching in front of her quivering brother.

"I'm…I'm Curyn." The frightened Liger relaxed her posture.

"You're Selky's friend," Izo realized before his sister could say anything more. "Did she call you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I had a dream that Selky was still alive," Shay explained, her voice cracking. "We came to find her."

"Someone left this on Selky's bed in my dorm," Curyn replied, extending her friend's sword.

"Maybe she's a ghost," Izo whimpered, hugging himself.

"I don't know," the blonde admitted, moving forward to wrap her arms around the two frightened Animals. They were nothing more than children really, and they were very scared. "But I'm sure the Gale Force is turning Oz upside down searching for you."

"They'd better not be." Shay's voice trembled with bravery not often displayed in someone so young. "We shouldn't be a priority; it's more important that they focus on driving out the Sand People." Even as she said this the Liger trembled. Curyn squeezed her harder. What could she say?

***

"Nessarose," Elphaba pleaded, her words coming out in a pant. "Please don't do this."

"Ah, my oh so powerful sister is begging poor little me for mercy?" the blonde taunted. "Now you know how it feels to rely on the pity of others. Now you know what it's like to be treated like dirt by those that should love you."

"Don't pretend I don't know what that's like," the green witch hissed, her words barely managing to get out as she struggled to keep from collapsing. "The whole world treated me like dirt." She gritted her teeth in pain. "Father hated me. You were always ashamed and embarrassed of my skin and my powers."

"But now you've got Glinda and Fiyero," Nessa snarled. "You've got people who love you."

"You could've too Nessa," Elphaba whimpered, feeling herself slipping away. "You could've pressed on with what you had. You could've striven to do what's right." Her limps were shaking with fatigue at fighting her sister's power. This never would have happened if she hadn't given in to that evil little grain of hope planted in her heart. The green girl's strength was waning, she couldn't hold out for much longer.

"Stop." The Raven's hollow voice came from behind her.

"Why would I do that?" Nessarose questioned.

"Because even I can't stomach this." The cloaked figure moved forward to stand between Elphaba and her sadistic tormentor. She subtly placed her hand on the knife hilt protruding from her belt.

"Fine then." Nessa was absurdly calm as she suddenly released Elphaba's mind. The green girl slumped to the floor in a messy heap. Her thoughts felt scrambled and unfocused. She couldn't get her body to cooperate. As the sense of profound relief cleared Elphaba's fear remained; none of her strength was returning. Meanwhile Nessarose had turned her attention to the disobedient Raven. "Perhaps you'd rather I toy with your thoughts."

The witch of the east hadn't ever exercised her power as much as she did on her green sister. Now it felt as if someone had energized her abilities, they felt a thousand times stronger. Perhaps she had stolen a little magic from the prone green witch on the floor. In a second she sent her power crashing through the Raven's mental walls and brought her personal spy to the floor. "Let's find out who you really are," Nessarose suggested, tearing her magic into the Raven's fragile mind. A keening wail rose from her mouth and the hood fell away.

Elphaba's vision, which had been flickering in and out, jumped into sharp focus as she stared at the Raven's unmasked face. Suddenly the green woman was on her feet and leaping to stand between Nessarose and the figure on the floor. The witch of the east diverted her power back to Elphaba's head, but it didn't diver the fire in her sister's eyes. "Get the hell out of my head," she roared as Nessa's wheelchair went flying backwards in an explosion of emerald fury.

With all the tenderness in the world Elphaba scooped the Raven into her arms. Tears trickled down her face and she made no effort to stop them. A green hand gently caressed the unconscious face of her daughter. "Mommy?" The whispered words trembled from Selky's lips as her eyelids fluttered. Elphaba's heart melted.

"Thank you," she whispered to no one in particular. "Thank you."

***

Selky awoke in a comfortable bed, pressed between her two parents. She knew there would be a lot of explaining to do in the future. She knew that, though Nessa was probably either dead or captured, the Sand People were still a threat. However, in that one moment, she also knew that, somehow, everything was going to be alright.

Of course I wouldn't kill Selky…she's my favorite OC ever…and I'm not morbid enough to kill Elphaba…hang on though..the story isn't over…