The Wizard's head swam as he hurried down the staircase. Was it just his imagination or were there more steps going down then there had been coming up? All he wanted to do was make sure his girls were safe. Was that too much to ask? It had taken him far too long to accomplish his paltry part in their mission to get rid of Morrible, did another eternity have to pass before he found out if his actions were enough? Would he ever know if his daughters were dead or alive?

He quickly pushed the thought away. Breena and Elphaba were fine. They were two intelligent, resourceful girls and even if they couldn't count on him to do something as simple as keep a root safe, they could count on each other. He believed Yackle when she said there wasn't anything they couldn't accomplish together.

But they were taking on a very formidable woman in Morrible. He knew the instant he met her that she was willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. That's why he let her in on his plans. What better way was there to accomplish your goals than to surround yourself with like minded people? He had seen her tenacity first hand and the thought of her turning it on the girls made his blood run cold.

Or maybe it was seeing the shambles of the main hall that caused an involuntary shiver to run down his spine. It looked like a cyclone had blown through and, knowing Morrible, one probably had. He just hoped Elphaba or Breena were neither one on the receiving end of its wrath.

He realized he was still standing on the bottom step and told himself to get moving. But try as he might he couldn't bring himself to do it. What if he was too late? What if they were... What if Morrible... How would he handle it if something awful had happened while he was making small talk with the bohemian in Nevin's room?

He could stay right where he was and wait for someone to tell him what was going on. There were plenty of Gale Force guards running around. One of them was bound to know.

Or he could stop being such a coward and find out for himself. His girls might still need him. And if something did happen to one or both of them, he needed to be there. They might not be very close yet, but he owed them that much. And he was going to have to learn to take the good with the bad if he was going to succeed in being their father.

He tried to keep negative thoughts at bay as he half walked half ran toward the hallway leading to the throne room. After all, wasn't positive thought supposed to have a power all its own? If so maybe he could...

"Oh!"

The word slipped from his lips as something came hurling around the corner from the hallway, colliding with him. It wasn't until he heard a loud clang that he realized what it was.

"Boq, my boy." He looked down at the Tin Man. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He frowned when he saw the horrified look on Boq's face. "What? What is it? Did you just come from the throne room?"

He swallowed hard when he didn't get an answer. "Are Breena and Elphaba all right?" He barely gave him a chance to respond. "Things aren't going well, are they? Are the girls in trouble? Are they hurt?" He leaned over the downed woodsman, putting them almost nose to nose. "Well don't just sit there, answer me!"

Boq responded by pushing the older man away and clumsily scrambling to his feet. He might have made a clean getaway if the Wizard had fallen down, but he didn't. By some miracle he managed to windmill his arms and stay on his feet.

"Hey!" He grabbed a metal arm. "Where are you going?" Boq shot him a look and tried to pull free, but the Wizard wasn't having any of it. "Stop squirming and tell me if my girls are OK!"

Boq shook his head.

"They're not?"

He shook his head again, using her free hand to point at his throat.

"You can't talk?" The Wizard's frown deepened when the boy shook his head. "Why can't you talk? Did Morrible do something to you?"

Boq licked his lips, only hesitating a moment before nodding but the Wizard picked up on it.

"You're lying. It wasn't Morrible at all. It was one of the girls, wasn't it?" He pulled the boy closer. "What did you do to make them cast a spell on you?"

Boq shrugged and did his best to look innocent.

"Wait a minute," the Wizard narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here? You didn't know about our plan. As a matter of fact I haven't seen much of you lately. Where have you been hiding..." His voice trailed off as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "You came to Morrible, didn't you? You told her everything you know about the girls you traitor!"

Boq shook his head vehemently and tried to pull free again but it didn't do any good. The Wizard's hand was like a vice on his arm.

"Why? Why would you do such a thing!" The Wizard was dumbfounded. "I never should have let you near them. As soon as I heard you admit to stabbing Elphaba I should have let you walk out into that field to rust. But no. I just had to give you the benefit of the doubt. I let you come with me when you had nowhere else to go. And this is how you repay me? How you repay them for not sending you away?"

Boq made a face.

"Don't try that." The Wizard snapped. "You're no more a victim where they're concerned than I am." He pulled him even closer when Boq rolled his eyes. "I'm serious you little ingrate. From everything I've heard Elphaba saved your life after Nessa tried to cast a spell. You should be thanking her not cursing her name every chance you get!"

Boq frowned and clinched his jaw.

"That's my daughter you're thinking those thoughts about!" He used his free hand to punch Boq in the nose. The force of the blow and sudden shift in weight as Boq's knees buckled sent them both tumbling to the floor.

The Wizard was turning from his back to his side when he noticed something coming at him out of the corner of his eye. He managed to roll out of the way a split second before Breena landed in a heap where he had just been.

"Breena?" His voice was full of shock and concern.

"Damn it." She groaned as she sat up, frowning when she saw him. "What are you doing on the floor?" She gestured with her hand as he started to answer. "Never mind. I don't have time for that right now."

"Breena, wait!" He hurried to his feet as she stood and started back toward the throne room. "What's going on?"

"You…"

"Are you all right?"

"I'm…"

"Where's Elpahba?"

"Stop it!" Breena finally managed a complete answer. "I just said I don't have time for this right now."

"But…"

"I appreciate the concern, Dad. I really do. But I have to get back in there."

The Wizard's worry was tempered by the fact she had called him 'dad.' He looked up to reply but she was already halfway back to the throne room. "I'm coming with you."

"I can't let you do that." Breena shook her head. "Parietis."

"Wait!" He started after her only to hit some sort of invisible barrier at the head of the hallway. "Breena?" He called out as he stumbled backward.

"I'm sorry." Determination shone in her eyes as she turned around and ran back to the throne room.

"No!" The Wizard beat his fist against the wall. "Breena!"

"Problem?" Cade suddenly appeared beside him.

"I can't get through." His voice was full of disbelief as he stared in the direction his daughter had gone.

"There are other ways into the throne room you know."

"There are?" The Wizard turned toward the guard. "I mean of course there are! What are we waiting for?" He barely noticed Cade fall into step next to him. "Damn!" He shook his head as he stopped. "I forgot about Boq."

Cade raised an eyebrow. "Is that the guy you were whaling on a minute ago? The one who still hasn't gotten up?"

The Wizard glared at the metal man. "That's him."

"Just say the word and my friends over there will escort him to Southstairs. Unless you want to take another crack at him of course."

"No, I have better things to do." He involuntarily flexed his throbbing hand. "But how did you know..."

"I saw you hit him. Nice left hook by the way."

"And that means he should go to Southstairs?"

Cade grinned. "I figured anyone who pissed you off enough to get socked like that is trouble."

The Wizard smiled in spite of himself. "I like you."

"Good." The younger man signaled the guards by Boq before following the Wizard. "Keep that in mind when you assign a new captain of the guard."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The instant Elphaba felt her feet leave the ground she knew she was in trouble. She used her arms to protect her head and face as she crashed through the glass of the french doors but the sting from the cuts she received distracted her enough that she didn't brace herself for impact when she landed. Not that it really mattered. Nothing could have prepared her for the tidal wave of pain that shot through her senses as she rolled to a stop.

"Sweet Oz!"

"It's the Witch!"

She reluctantly opened her eyes when she heard the outburst to find herself surrounded by Ozians. "This isn't good."

"She mumbled something." One of the nearest men pointed at her. "She mumbled something!"

The woman next to him screeched, "She's cursing us all!"

Elphaba tried to say, "No I'm not," as she climbed to her feet but was drowned out by someone behind the two who wailed, "We're doomed!"

"We should get her before she gets us!"

A chorus of "Yeah" erupted from most of the group.

Before Elphaba could react a rock flew out of nowhere, hitting her just above her right eye. She was trying to wipe away the trickle of blood that instantly started flowing into her face when another rock hit her in the left side. She barely had a chance to flinch before another one hit her in the shoulder. But it was the one that hit her right temple that drove her to her knees.

"Get her!"

A few brave men came forward. One of them viciously shoved her down. Another kicked her in the stomach the instant she hit the ground.

Elphaba fought off the blackness closing in on her as she took another kick in the side. The idea of using her powers to knock them away ran through her mind but she quickly pushed it aside. They might be attacking her, but they were still misguided innocents. And she couldn't help but hold on to the hope that one day they would realize how wrong they were about her. That would never happen if she retaliated now.

Getting hit in the jaw had her reconsidering her decision when she heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"Elphie?"

Glinda's voice was like music to her ears.

"El…" The blonde's voice died in her throat when she saw the crowd of people surrounding something she couldn't quite make out. "Elphie!" She prayed it wasn't her lover as she started pushing her way through the oblivious throng. They were too busy yelling and cheering to even notice her. After what seemed like forever she finally managed to reach middle. "Move!" Her patience snapped as she shoved a burly man aside.

She put a hand over her mouth in shock when she caught sight of her lover. Elphaba was curled on her side, eyes shut as four men hit and kicked her. She was bloodied and bruised and showed no signs of fighting back.

"What do you think you're doing?" Glinda made a beeline for the green woman. "Stop it!" She grabbed one of the men's arms as he started to take another swing. "I said to stop!"

"And who are you to…" The man's eyes got big when he saw her. "Glinda?"

"Glinda?" Someone behind them repeated before bellowing, "It's Glinda!"

"We feared the worst when you went missing."

"Thank Oz you're all right."

"You are all right, aren't you?"

"Did she hurt you?"

Glinda barely heard the questions as she let go of the man to look down at Elphaba. How could people who seemed to care so much for her inflict that much damage in such a short time? She started to kneel next to her when someone caught her by the shoulders.

"Don't get too close, your Goodness."

"Yeah."

"We just got you back."

"We can't risk losing you again."

"Glinda?"

She had never been so glad to hear her sister's voice. "Dena." She tried to crane her neck to catch sight of her but the man holding her tightened his grip. "Let go of me."

"But…"

Glinda glared at him. "Let go!"

"I'd do as she says." Someone else moved the man's hands.

"She never snapped like that before she was kidnapped."

"The Witch probably cursed her."

"That's horrible!"

"Linny?" Addena's tone was frustrated.

"Let her through." Glinda growled. "She's my sister."

"Sister?" A woman looked amazed. "Didn't you hear? That's her sister. Move!" She shoved the same burly man Glinda had a few minutes before.

"Glinda." Addena took advantage of the break in the crowd to join her sister. Her face fell when she caught sight of Elphaba. "Oh no."

"How dare you curse Glinda the Good?" One of the men kicked the downed woman again.

"No!" Glinda tried to stop him but he was too strong. So she resorted to something else. "Agito!"

A collective gasp went through the crowd as the man stumbled backward as if he were shoved, eventually tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground.

Glinda glared at him. "The next person to touch her will be thrown in Southstairs!"

Everyone took a step back.

"She's defending the Witch!"

"And threatening us!"

"She did magic without her wand!"

"She really is cursed!"

"No I'm not!" Glinda looked at them like they were idiots. "And I'm not defending 'the Witch.' I'm defending Elphaba Thropp!"

"Elphaba Thropp?"

"Who's Elphaba Thropp?"

"Is she related to the Munchkinland Thropps?"

"That is Elphaba Thropp!" Glinda pointed at her lover, tears stinging her eyes. "And she's the love of my life!"

Another gasp went up as someone said, "It's worse than we thought!"

"Don't Addena."

Glinda looked down when she heard Elphaba's weak voice to find her slapping Addena's hands away from her. "What's going on?"

Addena shook her head as she tried to avoid the flailing green appendages. "She won't let me touch her."

"Elphie?"

"You can't be here. Neither one of you can be here. They'll…" Elphaba hissed in pain as she tried to sit up.

"That does it." Addena firmly but gently lowered her back down to the ground.

"Don't. Please." Elphaba continued to try to fight her. "They'll turn on you."

"No they won't." Glinda knelt next to her. "And even if they do, who cares."

"I care." Elphaba turned her head when her love tried to cup her cheek. "Glinda, you can't."

"I can and I will." She made good on her promise. "You don't have to worry about them."

"But…"

"I won't let them hurt you anymore."

Elphaba locked eyes with her. "It's not me I'm worried about."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm here to do it for you." Glinda moved her hand to run it through soft raven hair.

"Glinda, please."

"No, Elphie. I won't stand by and watch them hurt you. Not again." She leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now let Dena take care of you."

"Did you see that?"

"She kissed the Witch!"

"How disgusting!"

"All of you shut up!" Glinda spoke as she stood.

"She told us to…"

"Shut up!" She repeated herself as she looked out over the crowd. "What's gives you the right to play judge jury and executioner with someone else's life?"

"She brought it on herself."

"Yeah."

"She's wicked!"

"She's not wicked!" Glinda ground her teeth, knowing she couldn't get overly emotional if she wanted them to listen to her. "You all came here today because of Morrible, correct?"

"Morrible." Someone hissed the name.

"She's almost as bad as the Witch."

"But now that Glinda's back she won't be in power anymore!"

Glinda raised her hand to silence them. "What if I were to tell you you've all been mislead about Elphaba?"

"Who's Elphaba?"

The woman standing next to the man who spoke smacked him in the back of the head. "She's talking about the Witch."

"No, I'm talking about Elphaba." Glinda corrected her. "And Morrible has misled you about her from the very beginning."

"What?"

"That's impossible."

"How could she have done that?"

The crowd fell silent, waiting for Glinda to continue.

"Elphaba was tricked by…" she started to say 'the Wizard' but thought better of it, "…Morrible into casting the spell that gave those monkeys their wings."

A nearby woman frowned. "How do you know?"

"Because I was there." Glinda raised her voice to be heard over the smattering of shocked conversations that broke out. "Elphaba and I were roommates at Shiz. When she got a letter inviting her to meet the Wizard, she asked me to come along. I was with her in the throne room when Morrible showed her the spell to try."

"But she still cast it, right?"

"Yeah. She's the one that cursed those poor monkeys."

"Yes, she cast the spell." Glinda was quick to continue when everyone else started talking again. "But she had no idea what it would do. She would never hurt anyone or anything on purpose. As a matter of fact, Morrible labeled her as wicked when she refused to use more spells from the Grimmerie against the animals and people of Oz. That's why she stole the book and ran away."

"To protect us?" A man scoffed. "I hardly think so."

Glinda pursed her lips, resisting the urge to tell him where he could shove his comment. "Let me ask all of you something. Did Elphaba harm any of you? When you were going around being terrified of her, did she actually physically harm any of you?" She raised her eyebrows before anyone could respond. "And I'm not talking about what may or may not have happened to a friend of a friend or some distant relative. I'm asking if she hurt any of you."

Silence reigned as everyone looked at everyone else, hoping someone would speak up.

"That's what I thought." Glinda allowed herself a triumphant half grin. "Morrible spread those awful rumors about her so no one would believe her when she tried to tell you the truth. Morrible has wanted to rule Oz since the Wizard made her his press secretary and she saw Elphaba as the perfect tool to accomplish her goal."

"Then why was the Witc…" The woman stopped herself when Glinda shot her a look. "Why was she speaking out against the Wizard?"

"Because she thought they were working together." The answer came easily to Glinda. "Wouldn't you?"

"That doesn't explain why you didn't speak up."

"If she was your friend and you knew what was going on, why didn't you tell us the truth? Why did you let us believe the lies?"

"I…" Glinda swallowed hard.

"She didn't know what was going on any more than I did." Elphaba spoke as she motioned for Addena to help her stand. "And I told her not to try to clear my name."

A man behind her furrowed his brow. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you would have turned on her the moment she defended me." Elphaba went to stand next to Glinda. "I couldn't stand the thought of her being hated the way I was. Am." She corrected herself.

Glinda couldn't resist the urge to slip her hand into a green one. "Are you all right, Elphie?"

"I'll be..."

"Don't you dare say fine." Tears filled her eyes as her emotions finally got the better of her. "You're hurt and surrounded by people who don't care."

"Come here." Elphaba pulled her into her arms, ignoring the fact everyone was staring at them.

Glinda sniffled as she laid her head on Elphaba's chest. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you."

Elphaba held her close. "We take care of each other, remember?"

"Look how gentle she is with her."

"They make a really cute couple."

"It makes you wonder why she kidnaped her."

"She didn't kidnap me." Glinda snuggled closer to Elphaba. "She saved my life by having someone watch over me. Nevin and Morrible were going to send me to Southstairs."

"What!"

"Nevin was in cahoots with Morrible?"

"Of course he was. He made her his co-ruler didn't he?"

Addena shook her head. "Their relationship goes so far beyond that it's not even funny."

"What are you saying?"

"Were they... did they..."

"Ew! I don't even want to think about it!"

Addena wrinkled her nose as she looked at Elphaba. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Elphaba assured her. "They were bound to find out sometime."

"Find out what?"

"You mean there's more?"

"Tell us!"

"I'm not so sure I want to know."

"Go ahead." Elphaba prompted.

Addena shrugged. "Morrible is Nevin's mother."

"His mother!"

"She has a family?"

"Are there more of them out there too?"

"Who cares? I think the more important thing here is how wrong we've all been about Elphaba." One of the men who attacked her stepped forward. "I would say I'm sorry but it doesn't seem like enough. There's absolutely no excuse for what I did."

Elphaba couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Just knowing your opinion of me has changed is enough."

"It's a start." Glinda added her two cents worth as she finally pulled away from her love, leaving her arm around her slim waist.

"What can we do to make it up to you?"

"Both of you."

"Name it and it's yours."

"Let us help with Morrible."

"That's a great idea."

"We can take her!"

"Yeah, we outnumber her."

"And she's not so tough!"

"No." Elphaba shook her head. "The thought is appreciated but Breena and I can..." She suddenly stopped.

"What?" Glinda looked up at her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Elphaba frowned. "Where's Breena?"

Several people asked, "Who's Breena?" at the same time.

Addena ignored them as she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "She's right…" her heart skipped a beat when she turned but didn't see the woman. "I could have sworn she was with us." She frantically started searching the faces of the people around them. "Breena?"

Glinda tightened her grip on Elphaba. "You don't think she's inside fighting Morrible alone do you?"

"Someone's fighting Morrible?"

"Sweet Oz!"

"Of course someone's fighting Morrible." Addena frowned, speaking before any more Ozians could chime in. "How do you think Elphaba got out here?"

"Fell off her broom?"

The same man who got smacked before got smacked again by the woman on his other side. "She didn't mean for you to answer."

"She was risking her life to keep you all safe and look at how you repaid her. Damn it!" Addena ran her hand through her hair. "I should have known Bree wasn't here when she didn't threaten to beat the crap out of each and every one of you for hurting Elphaba."

"Dena, we'll…" Glinda's eyes got big as her sister started pushing her way through the crowd. "Addena Upland you get back here this instant!"

"I don't think that's going to work." Elphaba started to steer her in the direction the other blonde went.

"Wait!"

"We want to help!"

Elphaba sighed. "We can't risk any of you being hurt. Just stay here and…"

"Get ready to help us celebrate our victory over Morrible." Glinda finished her thought for her.

The crowd parted, giving them a clear shot to the palace. Elphaba wanted to hurry but her aching body wouldn't let her move very fast.

"She's tough." Glinda tried to soothe her. "I'm sure she's all right."

Breena chose that moment to come hurling out of the already destroyed french doors, landing in a heap mere inches in front of Addena.

Glinda mumbled, "Me and my big mouth," under her breath as they picked up their pace.

"Stop fussing, Addy. I'm fine. Sick of that woman, but fine."

Elphaba started to breathe a sigh of relief as they got closer and she heard her sister's voice but it quickly turned into a gasp.

"What?" Glinda looked at her anxiously. "What's wrong? Are you in pain? Do you need to sit down?"

"Bree?" Addena had a similar expression on her face.

"No." Elphaba shook her head.

"I told you I'm fine." Breena answered.

Both witches said, "I just came up with a power stripping spell," at the same time.

Breena smirked at her sister. "You too?"

Elphaba was awed. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

"Sure you will." Breena started to get up.

"I don't think you should…" Addena pursed her lips and gestured with her hand as Breena climbed to her feet. "What do I know? I'm only a doctor."

Breena ignored her, giving her sister a once over as she and Glinda finally reached them. "You look like hell."

"Gee thanks." Elphaba grinned. "Like you're looking much better."

"I've been trying to handle Morrible. What's your excuse?"

"Half of Oz ganged up on me."

"And here I thought you were just slacking off."

Glinda frowned. "How can the two of you joke at a time like this?"

"It's a talent." Breena quipped. "So they did that?" She indicated the crowd with a tilt of her head.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes. But they apologized."

"Well that makes it all better." Breena returned her sister's grin. "Are you ready to try the spell."

"If you are." Elphaba pulled away from Glinda.

It was Addena's turn to frown. "But you don't even know if it's the same spell."

"Did you wear her down?" Elphaba didn't even react to her comment.

"You could say that." Breena fell into step next to her as they walked back through the french doors. "I clipped her with a sleep spell."

"How do you clip someone with a sleep spell?"

"We cast at the same time. Her wind ball knocked my sleep spell off course, but some of it still managed to hit her."

Elphaba furrowed her brow. "So what happened?"

Breena's grin became a full fledged smile. "You'll see."

Glinda turned toward her sister. "Am I missing something?"

"I think they're in some kind of witch zone." Addena speculated. "And we better catch up before we miss something." She grabbed Glinda's hand, dragging her into the palace.