Fiyero had found an unguarded horse and was just about to embark on his journey, hopefully arriving near sunrise when a voice caused him to whirl around. "Elphaba!" She was smiling, though he was not glad to see her. "What are you doing here? How did you get away from Mercus?"
Aloof and knowingly she smiled, "Did you really think he could keep me there if I decided to leave? I thought I told you I'm impossible to hold?"
"Don't I know it," he sighed heavily. "So there's no use in arguing? You're going to go get yourself killed and there's nothing I can do about it?"
She pulled him to her, kissing him deeply. "Oh, my love. Of course there's no use arguing." She had been obviously moved by his actions and words earlier, love rather than anger or fear in her eyes. Perhaps his somewhat noble stupidity had given her the courage she needed. Stroking his face sweetly, she added, "But you may come."
"Oh, well, thank you." Sarcasm etched the words in his frustration, but he supposed he should accept the reality of the situation. "Fine, hop on."
She laughed. "No offense dear, but why don't we take mine? It's a little faster." She brought out the broom, boarding it effortlessly. He shuddered to think of riding it a second time, but again he had to accept what he could not change.
The first ride was a picnic compared to this one, and the howling winds tossed them about in the frightening sky. Elphaba leaned low to the broom, and he molded himself over her to keep their speed up. They rocketed like a bullet through the storm, buffeted sickening by the wild currents in the air. The tempest raged at them, angry for their invasion until zooming toward the ground, they landed hard, pushed by the winds in retribution. He tumbled headfirst into the dirt, grateful they hadn't landed in a thorny or rocky area.
"Wait here." Fiyero commanded, though he knew she probably wouldn't listen. Heedless, she followed, and they approached the house cautiously. Inside, he found a familiar munchkin. "Boq! Nessa's in danger."
Boq had a grouchy look on his face. "Maybe then she'll learn a little consideration for other people's feelings."
Fiyero wanted to shake him. "Not if she's dead! We have to get her out of here. Right now!"
"Dead?" Boq was obviously upset with the crippled girl, but he did still care for her. "What do you mean? Nessa?! Where are you?" With Boq galvanized into action, the trio sought Nessa.
The girl was preparing for bed, unhappy at the rude interruption. "Boq, what do you want now?" She turned around. "Elphie! Fiyero! What are you doing here? You can't imagine how worried I've been…"
Fiyero interrupted her, "Later. We have to get out of here. You're in terrible danger."
Like her sister, this was not a girl to be ordered around, and she refused to rush into things. "What are you talking about? Explain things properly this instant!"
Elphaba was the one who saw the tornado racing through the sky. "Fiyero!" Clutching his sleeve, she pointed, eyes frightened.
Nessa could not see the window from where she sat, "What? What are you all staring at?"
Elphie turned and grabbed her sister. "We're leaving now, whether you like it or not!" Fiyero helped Elphaba lift the girl, taking her sister from her and racing downstairs though it was considerably more difficult now. Nessa had taken to whacking him in the shoulder for this disgraceful kidnapping with some haughty demands for her immediate release thrown in for good measure. Boq grabbed the chair, and Elphaba turned to the glass-beaded slippers that their father had given his favorite daughter.
Fiyero called back, wondering why on earth she would stop for something so unimportant at such a drastically crucial moment. "Elphaba! Come on!" The tornado was approaching rapidly, and he could see debris whirling in its black mass.
She came running up, slipping the shoes on Nessa's feet. "Set her down. Nessa run!" She had enchanted the shoes to hold her sisters weight, and with Fiyero and Elphaba's help balancing, they ran through the house and into the night air. Boq caught up, casting the chair aside when he saw Nessa's legs supporting her weight. They fled, racing the storm. Elphie's broom couldn't support all four, so they scanned frantically for a shelter nearby.
"Here!" Fiyero cried out, spying a root cellar that looked safe if very old. They raced below ground, barely securing the door before they heard the storm hit. Huddling in the corner, Boq and Nessa looked so terrified. Fiyero pulled Elphaba into his arms, protecting her from anything he could. Darkness fell with the slam of the cellar door, and all they could do was wait for the result of their rescue attempt.
It wasn't more than a minute before they heard a loud banging, and an explosion that rocked the ground above them. Dirt and debris from the ceiling showered them from the powerful impact, and Fiyero clutched Elphaba protectively to him, shielding her as best he could. It was followed by such darkness and silence, he was afraid they were all dead. Finally, certain the danger had passed, they crawled out of their hiding place. The scene of devastation above left little to the imagination of the odds of their survival had they been inside the house.
Elphaba met his eyes, fear and amazement in them. It seems they had arrived just in the nick of time.
Boq's eyes went wide and his voice was full of disbelief. "You almost got…got…tornado-ed! Oh, Nessa!" He held her closer, wrapping her protectively in his arms. It seems whatever quarrel they had been in the middle of when Fiyero found them, it had been resolved.
Another house lay crumpled on the site where the governor's manor had been moments previously, and a very dazed little girl was staggering out onto its dilapidated porch. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed, the little girl looked around in astonishment, then speaking to the little dog in her arms, she said, "Toto I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Her curious eyes looked around in wonder, and for a second they locked onto Elphaba's green skin with a confused look. Fiyero pulled her back into hiding, praying that the little girl would think she was imagining things. "We must be over the rainbow."
A giant bubble was growing from the distance. At Glinda's appearance, Elphaba pulled at his arm, hissing in his ear, "Fiyero! Glinda!" The necessary intervening words were too much for her in her anticipation. He worried that they should probably remain unseen, but he knew Elphie would have none of that. He convinced her to wait until he brought the famed sorceress to them.
Glinda approached the little girl, whose name was Dorothy, and Fiyero used his training at hunting to approach stealthily. A stone's throw away, he popped up enough that he hoped only she could see him. Glinda caught his eye, hers widening in response, and sent the girl down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to be dealt with later.
She followed his motions to go around the back where they could be unseen, and then, when she nodded that the coast was clear, he stood up and embraced his friend. "Oh Glinda. You can't imagine the night we've had. If you hadn't sent that warning…"
"Oh good! I was so afraid you wouldn't get it in time." She looked around, "Where's Elphie?"
He tried to fight his paranoia. Glinda would never be in on a plot against her best friend, but he just felt so irrationally protective of his love in the face of this development. "She's hiding nearby. I'll bring her to you later, but I'm afraid now may not be the time. Is the threat on her still real?" She nodded somberly. "Ok. Can you meet us somewhere safe?"
Glinda gave him directions to the safehouse she had arranged. "I'm just so glad you got the message. When I think of what might have happened…" she shuddered. He nodded understandingly. She smiled at him, her hand on his arm, "Oh Fiyero, we have to protect her." He and she, they had always been so much alike.