Galinda was inconsolable. At first the blonde seemed to be trapped in silent horror. Then, when they returned and Alice relayed the entire thing to Fiyero and Boq, the crying started. It was like a torrential downpour of sobs. After three hours Galinda's eyes ran dry, but she didn't stop shaking. Boq had no idea how to deal with this other than holding the blonde and ceaselessly whispering that everything would be ok.

Fiyero became a whirlwind of activity until he was solemnly informed by Carlisle that there was nothing they could do. The Winkie proceeded to retreat into stony, contemplative silence after that. Sam told the Pack, who immediately began calling for revenge. When they learned that attacking the Volturi would be suicide devastation fell around La Push like an oppressive blanket. Jacob felt unshakable guilt at having requested that Elphaba go along to protect Bella. The pale human and her vampire guardians were likewise affected.

/

For what felt like the millionth time in a week Galinda woke screaming. It was other nightmare about Elphaba. They happened just about every night. "Shh," Boq consoled. "It's ok. It was just a dream." This was familiar ritual by now. The munchkin had started slipping into bed beside Galinda to ward off the horrors. Now the blonde awoke to warm arms around her.

"I can't believe Elphie's with them," Galinda whimpered.

"I know," Boq whispered, squeezing her gently. "I know." Eventually they both fell asleep. Around midnight Galinda woke again. Her entire body was possessed by an odd, tingly feeling; as if she was still dreaming. Half asleep the blonde wriggled free from Boq's embrace and walked downstairs. By the time Galinda was actually awake she found herself standing on the back porch.

"What in Oz's name…" The blonde muttered.

"Sorry I spelled you," came a smooth, familiar voice. Galinda whirled to find Elphaba perched on a railing.

"Elphie!" she cried, jerking towards her friend. Warily the green witch leapt backwards in an absurdly graceful, controlled manner.

"Stay back," she warned. "I'm still not totally in control of…" The vampire trailed off and swallowed pointedly. "Let's just say you smell really good."

"You haven't…well…you know…" Galinda flushed with embarrassment.

"Eaten anyone?" Elphaba supplied. "Oh Oz no. Unless you count deer. I made sure they weren't Deer before I killed them though."

"I'm so glad you're back," the blonde exclaimed. "Fiyero's hardly spoken to anyone since he heard and I've…well I haven't been myself."

"Glin I'm so sorry I disappeared," the green vampire apologized. "I had some important stuff to do." She tossed a notebook at Galinda's feet. "My brain works so much faster now; magic makes a lot more sense."

The blonde flipped her friend's book open to find a page labeled 'Reversal Spell'. "We didn't learn this with Morrible," Galinda observed.

"I made it up," Elphaba explained. "Vampire venom is really just another magical substance. It behaves like a potion, so there's a way to reverse it."

"Reverse it?"

"Yeah, but only within a year. After that the venom is ingrained."

"Well why haven't you used the spell yet?" Galinda demanded excitedly. Elphaba's face darkened.

"I can't," she responded. "It won't work if I try to spell myself. The venom has mixed with my magic now; only you can reverse it."

"Me?" Galinda paled. "Elphie you know my magic is really weak."

"It was strong enough to hotwire a car," the green girl pointed out.

"What if I screw up and hurt you?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Elphaba replied curtly. She moved slowly forward and stood before her friend. "Do it quickly. I'll hold my breath."

"Elphie…" The vampire sent her friend a glare that clearly said 'do it!'. Galinda took a deep breath and started reading. She could tell from the way the phrases flowed across her tongue that this wasn't a simple lock picking spell. Every word sounded extremely powerful.

After awhile Elphaba's entire body began to glow bright blue and she dropped limply to the ground. Galinda knew that stopping halfway through would probably cause more damage than finishing the spell. She kept reading even as her friend began to jerk painfully on the ground.

When Galinda finished the blue light dissipated, leaving a very human looking Elphaba. But she wasn't moving. Her eyes were closed and her chest wasn't rising with breath. The blonde pressed shaking fingers to Elphaba's neck. There was no pulse. "No!" Galinda shouted. She pressed both her hands to the green girl's chest and started chanting an emergency healing spell Morrible had taught them.

A shock rippled through Elphaba's body but there was no other change. "No!" the blonde screamed again. Tears rippled down her face. "Elphie no. Don't do this to me. Please!" This time Galinda didn't chant, she just pictured the spell and let every ounce of her magic flow into it. There was a near explosion of blue light and the blonde was knocked away.

Elphaba coughed and sputtered as Galinda crawled to her side. "Sweet Oz Elphie you scared the shiz out of me," the blonde exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"Thanks Glin," the green girl chuckled.

/

By morning the Ozians were gone. They left a note; We're all safe; please don't worry. We'll miss you. "I hope we've all learned a lesson about going into books," Elphaba exclaimed when they reappeared at Shiz.

"Don't look at me!" Fiyero cried. "I was totally innocent." They turned to cast teasing glares at Galinda only to find that she was currently occupied with Boq's lips. Elphaba shrugged and proceeded to follow suit with Fiyero.

I'm a sucker for cutsie endings!

I'm sorta tempted to do 'The Emerald Ribbon' and have the Twilight characters in Oz but that might not happen…thanks to everyone who read especially FantasticMysticalWonder who has a habit of getting me to work on this series again when I've given up…