Disclaimer: I don't won Numb3rs or Wicked, just the story line.

A/N: Hey all, sorry it's been like a week sense I've updated, marching band is finally over, we got second in the state, behind Monte Vista. Oi oh well, here I am. On with nine! I think…

(Italics are sections from the book and Charlie's breaks into reality later)

Don was getting worried. Charlie hadn't spoken for another two days, about anything. He hadn't given them any clues as to where he was now or where he was headed in that mind of his. He and Alan had decided to go ahead with the procedure, but the surgeon said to wait a few more days to see if the professor would give them any clue as to his current mental state. He hadn't, and Don, Alan and Larry were now holding their usual lunch vigil with him, and discussed Charlie's latest outburst of the last day.

"Well, now what Elphie? What is Avric going to do?"

" I have now clue as to what that means Don, and I've read the book as much as you have, and I still don't have a clue to where Charles is, but I think that he is still in this Elphaba's company, and is now friends with her."

"Friends Larry, how can you be friends with some imaginary character from some book that he hasn't even read the whole way through yet?" Alan turned to the other professor, but then Charlie finally muttered something that would change their opinions for a while, and that maybe they wouldn't have to go through with the procedure after all.

"I guess that the plan is set Elphie, we're going to kill the Wizard…"

"I guess we are Charles." Elphaba set down the map that she had been studying the map of the Emerald City, and looked at Charlie with eyes that almost matched hers. "It might take a while though, you know that there is more to this plan than you and me, we just get the honor of killing the not so wonderful Wizard; there are others that must be taken out first in order for our assignation to commence." Elphaba took the map and rolled it up, and Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"So when is Avric going to take off and make sure that Madame is not going to that party tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow afternoon I think, but it's hard to tell with Avric and his brain. I think that I would have an easier time getting Glinda into peasant clothing." A smile lit on her face briefly, and Charlie nodded in agreement, she had shared stories of her old friend with fondness, if he had a second sister and not a normal little brother that she no longer kept track of. Charlie knew that he had changed the course of the story by simply being there, and that it was going to be a lot sooner than five years when Madame Morrible was going to be killed, and there was nothing to stand in their way. But he suddenly realized that he didn't know why the book had a five-year span between Gillikin and The Emerald City. However, once it was there, it stuck.

"Elphie, how long have you been gone from Shiz?" he asked suddenly, he wanted to know how deep he was into this unknown section of Ozian history.

"About three years. Why?"

"No reason, lets just get our rest so we'll be ready to help Avric in the morning."

"Agreed." Elphie reached for the oil lamp and went to her section of the apartment, calling a good night to Charlie.

But Charlie didn't get any sleep that night; he kept having the strangest dreams…

He was in a hospital bed, but he didn't know exactly why. Don, his dad and Larry were there, having lunch and a discussion about him, he tried to reach out ha hand, but it felt like lead. He tried to call Don's name.

"Donnie…" Don whipped his head around to see his brother.

"Charlie! Buddy can you hear me?"

"Barely, Donnie, I'm stuck in Oz, I shouldn't be long…"

"Ok buddy we'll e right here waiting for you…" and that was all he could say before Charlie woke up again in the morning light of Oz.

"Donnie? Did he just come back to us for a minute?" Alan stared at his youngest son in amazement as Charlie went back to sleep and his hand lost grip on Don's.

"Yeah I think so, I think that he's final going to come back to us soon dad, I think that he just wants to help Elphaba kill the Wizard and then he'll be able to get out of there."

"Maybe we'll be able to get him out of there sooner." The doctor walked in, a husky and professional female surgeon walked in him, her dark brown wavy hair tied up in a messy bun.

"Eppes, this is Doctor Recanni. She'll be the one to perform the operation on Charlie. Has he made any progress sense we last spoke?"

"Yeah, yeah he just broke through to us a few minutes ago," Larry started, "He's started to break back into reality."

"Oh, well, then, I think that we need to get him into the OR as soon as possible, and help him get out, his brain is fighting to wake him up, and now we have a better success rate if we get him in there now. Do we have permission to do so?" Dr. Recanni looked to the Eppes, who both nodded.

"Ok then, we'll call you when he's ready to go, and then you can say good bye, and I'll then call you when we're done."

The three men left, hoping that the doctor would be right.

Mak: There you go guys, I'll start updating everything else tomorrow, or actually tonight, but I don't think that I'll get all of them done sorry. But his the button on your way out of LA!