"Oh for the love Oz." Morrible rolled her eyes as she watched Glinda throw herself at Elphaba just as her lightning was about to hit the green witch. Leave it to the irritating blonde to ruin things for her. If only Nevin had listened and let her kill the girl in the beginning things would be so different. But no, he had to insist throwing her in Southstairs would be enough of a punishment. Of course now she knew he did it in the hopes of bedding her Goodness to gain favor with the Ozians.

Not that her act of selflessness meant anything anyway. There was plenty of lightning where that first attempt came from. All she had to do was...

"...time for you to go."

She frowned when she heard the other witch's voice. Hadn't she already taken care of her?

"Amitto."

A strange sensation settled over her, causing her to shiver. She closed her eyes when she felt lightheaded, resisting the edge to give in to her suddenly jelly like knees and fall to the floor. Just when she thought she wouldn't be able to fight it any longer the feeling went away, leaving her disoriented. She knew she couldn't afford to just stand there, but it would be useless to try much of anything until her stomach stopped tying itself in knots.

She slowly became aware of the noise level around her and frowned. Either a marching band was making its way around Upland Manor or...

Her eyes flew open, revealing she was no longer in the same room. She wasn't even in the same Ozian province. The witch sent her back to the Emerald City. For there, looming in front of her almost as if it were mocking her, was the palace.

"No!" It came out as a growl.

"Miss?"

She spun when she heard the voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you all right?"

A Gale Force officer was staring at her with anxious eyes. She was shocked to find a group of others clustered together nearby doing the same thing.

"Where am I?" Morrible questioned.

"The practice field outside the palace." The middle aged man's voice was steady but he nervously clutched the rifle in his hands.

"Damn." She thought for a moment before turning to look at the group of men again. "How many of you are there?"

"Twenty ma'am." The man was quick to answer. "The standard squad size."

"And are you combat trained?"

The man nodded.

"And those weapons, they're real?"

"Of course." A man in the front of the group scoffed. "We're Gale Force officers, not children."

"Excellent." Morrible smiled, thunder rolling ominously across the sky.

The spokesman swallowed hard. "I'll just go get our commanding off..."

"That's not necessary." Her smile stayed in place. "He won't mind if I borrow you for a bit."

"But..."

"You're coming with me." Her voice left no room for argument as she spread her arms wide and the thunder became a full fledged storm. The shocked gasps she heard from the men when the wind picked up and started whipping around them amused her. "I've never tried this with so many people so you may want to hold onto one another. It could be a bit of a bumpy ride."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Dead?" Elphaba echoed her cousin's words. "She's not dead."

Breena's heart broke. "Elly…"

"Glinda's not dead!" Elphaba drowned her out, not wanting to hear what she had to say. "She can't be!" She looked down at the blond. "I'll prove it!" She held her in one arm, using the other to feel for a pulse. She moved her fingers several times, tears filling her eyes when she realized Breena was right. "No." She shook her head as she wrapped both arms around her lover again. "No!!"

"Let me see her." Addena started to kneel beside them.

"NO!" Elphaba raged. "Both of you get away from her."

"Elphaba." Breena reached for her cousin.

"I said get away!"

Much to her surprise Breena found herself sailing across the room. She hit the opposite wall hard.

"What are you doing?" Addena looked at Elphaba like she was crazy. "She was just trying to help."

"She can't have Glinda." Elphaba eyed her coldly. "And neither can you."

"I know you're upset. I am too. She's my little sister." Addena blinked back tears as she looked at Glinda's limp form. "But I might be able to help her." She slowly reached for them. "Please let me..."

"Stay back!"

"Obsido!"

She heard Elphaba and Breena's voices blend but was too busy flinching in anticipation of flying across the room to realize what was going on.

"Elly, your not thinking clearly right now."

"I'm just fine, thank you very much." Elphaba growled.

Addena cracked open an eye when she heard the exchange, shocked to see Breena was already on her feet and crossing the room.

"No, you're grieving. I should know." Breena grinned halfheartedly before looking at Addena. "Can you really help her?"

"I think so." She answered truthfully. "But we're running out of time."

Elphaba looked back and forth between them. "Just go away!"

"We can't do that." Breena tried to reason with her again. "Let her look at Glinda."

"No."

"She wants to help her."

"No one's touching her." Her voice softened when she glanced at Glinda again. "No one. Ever again."

"Elly, be reasonable."

"Screw reason! Is it reasonable that she's…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word. "You can't help her, Bree. And neither can she." Elphaba nodded toward Addena, her voice cracking. "She's gone."

Breena sighed as she looked at Addena again. "You really think you can help her?"

"I won't know until I try." Addena swallowed hard. "And even if I can't, it's not like I'll hurt her."

Breena nodded, carefully weighing her options. "I'm sorry Elly, but like she said… We have to try." She held out her right hand. "Cerno."

"Hey!" Elphaba tightened her grip on Glinda when she felt it loosening.

Addena frowned. "What are you doing?"

Breena ignored her question. "Cerno."

"No." Elphaba scrambled to stay with Glinda as she was forcibly separated from the blonde. "Stop it!"

"Cerno!"

"Agi..."

"Obsido." Breena grimaced as she used her left hand to block her cousin's spell. "Cerno!" She continued to concentrate on Glinda, casting a glance at Addena once Elphaba was a few feet away. "You might want to hurry."

Addena furrowed her brow as she looked at the fuming green witch. "Are you sure?"

Breena nodded. "I won't let her get to you."

"I can't believe you." Elphaba flew to her feet. "You..."

"I did what I had to do for Glinda." Breena finished for her. "You're in shock, Elly. And who can blame you? But you have to calm down and let Addena try to help her."

"She can't!" Elphaba glared at her when she stepped in her path. "Move."

"I can't do that. And don't try taking another pot shot at me. I'm ready for you this time."

"I didn't..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at her cousin. "By the Unnamed God, I threw you across the room."

"Without even a flick of your wrist. I was impressed."

"And then I tried to use magic on you again."

"I did use magic on you, so the way I see it we're even."

"Like hell we are!" Elphaba disagreed. "I came here to protect you and I ended up turning on you. I could have hurt you." She shook her head. "What's wrong with me?" Tears filled her eyes before her cousin could answer. "Glinda." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "What have I done?"

Breena mentally kicked herself for being so flip when she saw the anguish Elphaba was feeling. "Nothing." She softened her tone.

"But she was protecting me." Elphaba gave in to her emotions and started to cry. "She can't really be gone, Bree. She just can't."

Breena put her arms around her cousin. "I'm sorry, Elly."

"Come on, Linny."

They both turned when they heard Addena's voice, Elphaba wincing as the older blonde used her hands to pump her sister's chest. "What is she doing?"

"Helping." Breena hoped she sounded convincing as Addena stopped what she was doing and covered her sister's mouth with her own.

"It's a form of resuscitation." Addena spoke to her audience as she pulled away and started compressing Glinda's chest again. "Lightning carries a high electrical charge that can knock the body out of whack, including stopping the victim's heart." She glanced at them. "By sharing air and pressing on her chest, I might be able to get it started again."

"Might be." Elphaba swallowed hard.

Breena rubbed her cousin's back. "She's trying."

"If you..." Elphaba's voice faltered. "When you get her heart beating again, will she be all right?"

Addena met her troubled brown eyes. "We won't know what until she..."

As if on cue Glinda sucked in a breath, coughing as she opened her eyes. "Elphie?"

"Shh." Addena pushed her back down to the floor when she tried to sit up. "Just lay still for a little while."

"Glinda!" Elphaba was at her side in an instant. "Oh thank Oz." She buried her head against the blonde's chest and cried some more.

Glinda frowned at her actions. "What happened?"

"You..." Tears leaked from Addena's eyes as she tried to answer.

"Morrible hit you with lightning." Breena stepped in.

"I was protecting Elphie." Glinda but her hand on the back of Elphaba's head.

"Yes you were. And you did a hell of a job." Breena knew she needed to reassure her about Elphaba's health, especially considering her cousin wasn't in any shape to talk right now. Just like she knew she needed to tell her exactly what happened. "But you were hurt in the process."

"I was?" Glinda frowned. "I guess that would explain what I'm doing on the floor. Did you heal me?"

Breena shook her head. "No."

"You were dead." Elphaba's muffled words kept Breena from continuing.

The blonde frowned. "I could have sworn she said I was..."

"You were." Addena had regained enough composure not to want to her hear sister say the word. "Your heart stopped."

"What?!"

The elder Upland nodded. "I used a resuscitation method to bring you back."

"You mean I was... I..." Glinda ran her fingers through her lover's raven hair. "No wonder you're so upset."

Elphaba sniffled as she raised her head to look at her. "I thought I lost you."

She cupped a green cheek. "I'm right here."

"How very touching."

They all turned when they heard the distinct sound of Morrible's voice to see yet another whirlwind heading for the window. But this one was much bigger than the last. So big in fact that it blew the window and a good portion of the wall from each side of it into the room.

"Presidium." Breena quickly cast a protection spell as the debris flew toward them.

"I believe we have unfinished business." Morrible appeared, gesturing toward the Gale Force guards behind her. "And I brought some friends this time."

"I'm really starting to hate the guard." Breena growled. "Get the Grimmerie. I'll hold them off."

"Breena, wait!" Elphaba clinched her jaw in frustration as her cousin left the safety of their protected space. "Glinda, are you all right?"

She frowned at her love's question. "My shoulder is a little stiff but other than that I feel fine."

"You can stand?"

"I think so."

"Good. Take your sister and go find the Grimmerie."

Addena frowned. "She really shouldn't be..." She involuntarily ducked as Breena threw herself to the ground and a hale of bullets hit the invisible shield around them. "They're shooting at us!"

"Breena?" Elphaba called out to her cousin.

"I'm fine." The shorter haired Thropp growled as she cast a spell, knocking some of the Gale Force down. "Go get the book!"

"Glinda, I know you probably don't feel like moving around right now, but this spell isn't going to last forever and you're not going to want to be here when it's gone." Elphaba climbed to her feet, pulling her love with her. "Go."

"No." Glinda's tone was defiant. "I want to stay with..."

Elphaba silenced her with a kiss. "I need you to go." She touched her forehead to the blonde's. "Please. I'm not going to be able to concentrate if you're here."

"But..."

"Take her." Elphaba shoved her into Addena's arms, the woman's astonishment over their kiss lost on her. "And for the love of Oz be careful."

"Elphie?" Glinda tried to grab her hand as she moved to join Breena. "Elphie?!"

"Did she just... Did you two..." Addena stammered.

"Be shocked later. Absentis!" Breena knocked several of the guards back as they tried to make their way around Morrible. "Get out of here!"

Glinda looked longingly at Elphaba before gripping her sister's hand. "Come on." She glanced at her as she pulled her out of the room. "And wipe that look off your face. I thought you of all people would understand our relationship."

"Relationship? You two are in a relationship?" She chuckled. "You're kidding me right?" She caught the look on her sister's face. "You're not kidding."

"No, I'm not."

"But you were always so gaga over boys growing up."

"That's because I hadn't met the right woman yet."

Elphaba grinned when she heard Glinda's comment as the sisters left the room.

"Is there something amusing about this?"

She looked at Breena. "No, I..."

"Got your Glinda back." Breena grinned too. "What do you say we send them packing like we did at the cavern?"

"Sounds good to me." Elphaba reached for Breena's left hand, frowning when her cousin hissed at the contact. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"OK, it's nothing that can't wait until later, is that a better answer?"

"Not really." Elphaba's frown deepened. "Did I…"

"No. I can safely say you had nothing to do with it." Breena sighed. "Now can we please get on with this?"

Morrible watched them closely, surprised at their interaction. Thropp had always been such a private girl at Shiz. The only people she ever talked to were Glinda, Fiyero and that horrid goat professor, doctor what's his name. Yet she looked so comfortable with the other witch. The Tin Man told Nevin they were friends but the concern on the green woman's face went deeper than that. And the magic practically radiating from them both was absolutely incredible. Were they be related? Were they…

You could almost see the light bulb appear over the former press secretary's head. Of course. It all made perfect sense now. The Wizard didn't have just one daughter, he had two. And she was willing to bet they had no idea how powerful they truly were. Which was fine with her considering they were gearing up to cast a spell.

She quickly tucked her thoughts away for another time as she muttered the protection spell she had heard the witch say before, hoping it would shield her from whatever they were planning to use against the Gale Force. Much to her surprise it did. She stayed where she was as the officers around her disappeared.

Breena frowned. "How did she do that?"

"Your spell creates quite a shield." Morrible smiled. "And now if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of blondes to find." She gestured with her hand, hitting them with a mini whirlwind before either of them could react.

"Elphaba!" Breena reached for her cousin as their hands were torn apart.

Elphaba did the same thing. "Bree?!"

Morrible pursed her lips as Elphaba hit the wall hard enough to leave an indentation before sliding to the floor unconscious and the other witch flew through the hole where the window used to be.

"That worked out better than I could have hoped for." She smiled as she left the room, intent on finding Glinda and the Grimmerie.