Hey everyone. Sorry that it took so long to finish this chapter; I'm just a notoriously slow writer, I'm afraid. :( But, I would like to thank everyone who left reviews on the story! I really appreciate your comments.

Hope you enjoy, and please RR. :P


The Ultimate Test

Chapter Four:

The afternoon was descending on the city of Shiz fast; the sky's colour was rapidly shifting from pale blue to light pink, clouds were emerging like black dots on an artist's canvas and Avaric had decided to go out and celebrate. It was an impromptu decision on his part. He had a free evening with no pre-organised parties to attend or hold at the last minute, and while the prospect of staying in and enjoying some alone time might've been fun to some, it was abhorrent to Avaric and the equivalent on his boredom spectrum to doing... homework. In his eyes, there was no word in any Ozian language or dialect as repellent, and so here he was, approaching Railway Square and wondering what nightclub or party-hall would be so lucky as to be blessed by his (lets face it) basically divine presence.

He wasn't even celebrating a particular event. The internal justification he'd given himsef was that he was celebrating his much anticipated and highly satisfactory break up with Pfannee, but to all intents and purposes he was just partying for the sake of it. In the hours following that history lecture he'd miraculously managed to spare a few moments to think, and in those moments he'd come to this carefully constructed and eloquently phrased mental conclusion: Pfannee was an high maintenance bitch. He was very glad to see the back of her. In fact, he had always been glad to see the back of her, as that was the reason he'd allowed her to be his girlfriend initially.

Railway Square itself connected to a great many streets and alleyways, all leading off to a separate part of Shiz respectively and indeed to a different venue of pleasure. As he walked across the cobblestoned ground, he noticed one could still see the brickwork of Briscoe and Crage Hall between a gap in a nearby builing. He'd vaguely chosen to head towards the east district of Shiz, as this was where the ever-provocative Philosophy Club, one of his personal preferences, was located. Avaric had, before he left campus, contemplated whether to invite a bunch of his usual cronies or a select minority of fit girls that were still virgins to his greatness. Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands was top of his new list concerning whom he would briefly court next, and although seducing her might take some time and effort considering she was currently accounted for by Fiyero, his irresistable brilliance would inevitably make her swoon and submit to all his whims... eventually. Fiyero could provide an obstacle, but not an insurmountable one.

Almost sub-consciously, Avaric found himself glancing at the numerous shops and restaurants in Railway Square. He was well aware that the cafe on his left was a designated hang out area for Shiz students, but he was more partial to an energised, high octane atmosphere than a soothing one, so rarely went. The windows were huge, allowing him a view of all the customers inside. There were several that he recognised from his lectures. He noticed a ginger haired Gilikin whom he'd once slept with, and though her name slipped his mind, he remembered her as agreeably slutty but amuzingly dim-witted in the same way that one laughed at a cat or pet when it had done something stupid. Pitifully funny, he thought, chuckling at his own internal witticism.

Then, behind a flash of brilliant red, he caught a sudden glimpse of emerald. Avaric stopped.

Of course. This cafe was where Fiyero enjoyed the company of his friends. The future margreave scowled. It frustrated him that this should-be minor vexation was metamorphising into a prominent one; then, he would get at annoyed at himself for getting annoyed about the "minor vexation", thus leading to a vicious and self-destructive cycle that usually ended with him hitting something. He knew that it stemmed from the laughable concept that someone of Fiyero's status would genuinely, seriously, prefer the company of that uptight, dogmatic, self-important piece of ugly vegetation, and indeed her pack of mindless followers that were so suggestible as to actually place value in her opinions. Only that it wasn't a concept. It had actually happened. Avaric, in a way, hadn't got his way, which basically wasn't acceptable in any place, time or situation.

Acting solely on the whim of his typically errant impulses, he turned on his heel and navigated through the thinning crowd in Railway Square until he reached the door of the cafe. Upon entry, he was instantly struck by the expected thick aroma of coffee, and that pleasant, almost musty smell that somehow managed to be old yet homely and soothing. The counter was located to the right, and a Munchkinland barista worked away on a cup of coffee for a nearby customer; the tables and chairs, adorned by soft green velvet headrests and cushions, curved around it. The colour was so similar to that of Elphaba's skin that, for a heartbeat, he had to squint to relocate her. Accompanying her in a booth some five metres away were Fiyero, Galinda, Boq and her sister, Nessarose, chatting away animatedly. Elphaba seemed to be dominating the conversation. No surprise there then, he thought, then groaned. Lurline, I haven't started talking to her and she's getting on my nerves.

Nonetheless, he paraded over to their table with a flourish of bravado, ignoring the less than subte glare shot his way by the ginger girl by the window. Elphaba, noticing him in his approach, somehow managed to exceed his ex girlfriend's efforts in terms of ferocity with little trouble. The table went silent.

'Well...' Avaric drawled, as if his appearance were complete coincidence. 'Here am I, hoping to indulge in a latte when I find my good friend Fiyero's new gang enjoying each other's company. How delightful!'

'My heart swells with joy,' Elphaba deadpanned.

'You must be a very advanced form of plant to have evolved organs.'

She scowled, and turned her head away. Avaric, smiling, considered continuing his onslaught before Fiyero interjected with a sigh.

'Hey Avaric,' the Vinkun said, with noticeably forced decorum. 'Was there anything you wanted?'

He felt like scoffing. Believe me, there is absolutely nothing I want with this group of spastics. Boq, the Munchkin, was sat beside beside Fiyero, and in time with his arrival appeared to have suddenly lost all urge to speak (though he had been in the middle of a sentence before). Nessarose, her wheelchair to one side of the booth, was staring straight at the table, looking awkward. Fiyero's lips had tightened. But it was arguably Galinda who looked the most annoyed, comparable even to Elphaba. She was wearing a tight fitting white dress that hugged her frame in all the right places, and allowed him a rather lovely view of her breasts and the cleavage she'd no doubt planned to reveal at least a portion of. Yet in her countenance, he thought he aso detected the slightest hint of... desperation? It quickly turned to a healthy dosage of exasperation when she noticed his eyes lingering a little too long on her chest.

'Though I'm sure you're all be devastated, I did in fact intend just to collect my coffee and head off to the Philosophy Club, but now that I'm here, I find myself inclined to uncover the mystery of the no doubt side-splitting banter your cronies have to offer, Fiyero.' He gestured to Galinda, who was closest to him. 'May I sit down?'

Fiyero's eyes contracted, but this time, it was his turn to be interrupted.

'Shove off Ava-prick,' Elphaba snarled.

The look of desperation on Galinda's face returned, though Fiyero and Nessa smiled, and Boq had to stiffle his giggle.

Avaric feigned surprise at the Munchkin's outburst. 'Oh, Boq! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you when I entered behind the size of the headrest.'

He blushed in embarassment and averted his gaze to his feet.

'Leave him alone,' Nessa said quietly.

Avaric, already inflamed by their laughter, quickly turned on her. 'And what are you going to do about it?'

'Avaric, in the Wizard's name, give it a rest!' Fiyero exclaimed. 'If all you're going to do is insult us, then just leave. No one's gonna stop you.'

The blonde took a moment to compose himself, remembering that it would be entirely counter-productive to leave without at least finding out a little of why this group was so entertaining to his friend. And in truth, it had probably been a tad unnecessary to insult Nessa, considering her... condition. He was born into an aristocratic family, and therefore not devoid of manners.

'My apologies, Nessarose,' he murmured. 'That was uncalled for.'

Fiyero's eyebrows rose in surprise. No one else's did.

'Now, please may I sit down?'

'For the last time,' Elphaba said, 'go awa-'

But before she could finish, Galinda abruptly shifted over, allowing him a seat. Boq groaned, and the Thropps gave Galinda a long, hard stare which screamed "What-in-Oz's-name-are-you-doing?!". She merely shrugged, and Avaric smirked as he took the seat. Maybe it will be easier to steal her from Fiyero than I thought.

'So,' he begun, the momentary lapse in his confidence evaporating, 'what were you discussing?'

Silence.

'Oh come now,' Galinda tried, attempting to cut through the awkwardness, 'there's no harm in making an effort, is there?' She turned to Avaric. 'Elphie here was just telling us about why everyone's in such an uproar about the Yellow Brick Road.'

'Yes Elphie,' Avaric said, making sure to emphasise the inappropriately perky nickname. 'Tell us more.'

And she did. A lot more. In hindsight, it had been fairly naive for Avaric to give the green girl an open invitation to speak about politics; it wasn't as if she'd ever required an invitation previously. Soon, the group had descended back into the discussion they'd be so engaged in before Avaric's arrival, and wow, was it totally, inexplicably, gut-wrenchingly boring.

'-and it brings bile to my throat how our good friend the tyrannical Wizard actually believes us so gullible and impressionable as to buy into his obvious propaganda. Namely, that the road is intended to divide Oz rather than connect or unite it.'

Boq shook his head. 'But how? Surely that is what the road is doing: allowing the people of Gilikin, Munchkinland and Quadling country safer and quicker access to the Emerald City!'

She rolled her eyes. 'Must I repeat myself again? The Yellow Brick Road is a mere idea. An attractive idea on paper, yes, but an idea as fatally flawed as nearly all of his policies. Like communism, it would be completely impractical and, in practice, achieve nothing. He is disguising his true intentions for the road behind a facade of fantastical and illusory promises- think of the man power and economic muscle such a construction project will require, two things that the Wizard himself can certainly not spare. No. The responsibility of the building itself will fall on the shoulders of the Quadlings, further damaging the already pitiful state of their economy and leaving their government with only one place to turn. The Wizard himself. And what will he charge them for his aid?'

'Further access to their ruby mines,' Fiyero said gravely.

'Exactly. It is another means for him to quash the uprisings the Gale Force have been dispatched to smooth over along the Quadling border. I'm surprised it took them so long to rebel, to be brutally frank; he has been exploiting their nation for decades. And any intelligent individual will not fall for the lies he paints over the newspapers which, of course, he has total control over.'

'I believed them,' Galinda muttered, sipping her coffee.

Elphaba smiled. 'Yes, but you, my sweet, are far from intelligent.'

'Hey!' she protested, lifting her head. 'Just because I'm not as knowledgified as you doesn't mean I'm stupid.'

'Yes,' Fiyero said, with mock seriousness. 'Gullible and impressionable, to quote Fae, but certainly not stupid.'

She shoved him warmly, then twisted around to face Avaric. 'So, what do you think about the Yellow Brick Road?'

Avaric, who hadn't really been listening and also wasn't informed enough to know if the road had been built on not, quickly sat up. 'That it's a road made of yellow bricks?'

'Very insightful,' Elphaba commented dryly.

He glared at her. 'Well, I'm sorry for not paying attention, but anyone would lose interest if someone as dull as you were spea-'

'Stop squabbling!' Galinda screeched, slamming her fist down on the table and shaking all the coffee mugs.

When everyone deservedly stared at her as if she'd gone insane, she blushed. 'I mean... can't you two at least try to get along? Would it really be so hard?'

'Yes!' Avaric and Elphaba retorted in unison, then glared at each other.

Galinda buried her head in her hands as they begun another argument. Fiyero tilted his head to one side- his eyes flooded with realisation at the reason for her outburst. Their little bet had completely slipped his mind.

'Hey Glin, listen,' he whispered, Avaric and Elphaba's raised voices conveniently concealing their's. 'You don't have to take that bet we made seriously, you know? We just got a little heated in the mo-'

She shushed him. 'Don't you dare, Mr Tigelaar. You're going to rue the day you doubted my amazifying matchmaking skills!'

Just after she'd finished, Avaric fired another road from his well oiled vegetable insult firearm (his store of ammunition was inexhaustible) and Fiyero couldn't help but scoff.

'Yeah. Good luck with that.'