(AN: Here's a new chapter for you. Sorry to leave you hanging like that after the last one.)

Captured

Elphaba's heart leaped with joy as she saw her sister rise to her feet. At last, something good had finally happened. But in her heart, she feared something. She could sense that a change had come over her, as surely as those silver slippers now shone ruby red.

"Oh, Nessa!" she said.

I've done what long ago I should
And finally from these powers something...

Nessarose screamed out loud in pain, clutching her stomach.

"Nessa!" Elphaba cried. "Nessa, what's wrong?"

"What did you do?" she replied. "Elphaba, what have you done?"

To Elphaba's supreme horror, she saw her little sister's hands turn dark crimson where they held her body. She was bleeding. But it made no sense! The spell she had cast was meant to enchant the shoes to give life to Nessa's life-less legs. It wasn't supposed to hurt her.

Mmm, so young. Elphaba knew that voice. So beautiful.

"What did you do to her?" she asked. Nessa had now collapsed to the hard-wood floor, blood spewing out of her mouth.

"Elphaba, help!"

She'd only ever get in the way, it said. She must be removed.

"But she's my sister!" Elphaba cried, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

What has she ever done for you? She was your Father's favorite daughter because she was born pink instead of green. She never let you out-live the fact that she was his favorite and you weren't.

"Please! Don't let her die!" Elphaba cried, grasping in vain at Nessa's fallen body. "She's my sister! I love her!"

Love? Love is weakness! You cannot be weak, if you are going to complete our task.

"Our task?"

"What's all the commotion in here?" Elphaba turned about and saw Boq. He was clad in a silver uniform, and looked like he had back at Shiz. But the hopeful, love-sick puppy-dog boy was gone, replaced by a man bitter with resentment.

"Boq, just leave!" Elphaba cried.

"In the name of Oz!" he whispered in disbelief.

"Boq, it's not what it seems!"

"You killed her!" he shrieked.

"Boq, it wasn't me! It was the..."

"Go away! Get out of here, you monster! You freak! You murderer!"

Suddenly, Elphaba's vision became cloudy, as if she was suddenly drunk. Her neck twisted, though she had not done the act. With horror, she realized that she was not in control of her own body.

"Why, hello there!" the voice sneered at Boq. Yet it came from her own body. She felt her lips move, her throat vibrate, but she had not meant for those words to be spoken.

"You're a right pretty little thing, aren't you?" Yackle's voice cawed at Boq.

"Just stay back!" Boq shouted, reaching for something, anything that he could put between him and this creature. It didn't even look like the frightening Elphaba he knew, but like a hideous, red-eyed caricature of her. He took a step back, and, to his horror, found himself up against the wall.

"What do you want from me?" he cried. "I never hurt you, I never meant to harm you! I don't want any trouble."

It was like the worst nightmare Elphaba ever had: only she knew that she wasn't asleep. She saw her hands reach up and grab Boq by the throat. Blood poured out of unseen holes in his neck, covering her hands. He was drained dry, until he looked like a thing worse than dead.

With revulsion, she knew that the red that was on her hands wasn't just blood. It was every ounce of health, of youth, of vitality in Boq's poor body. In essence, it was his soul, broken and shattered, lying there in blood-red stains on her hands.

Like a leech, her body moved towards Nessarose, both hands held out over her body. They quivered and trembled as she tried to regain control over her body, but it was to no avail. Rivers of fire were pouring down her face as she saw her own body devour the soul and essence of her beloved sister Nessarose.

-~-|-O-|-~-

She was becoming more and more faint. It no longer felt as though she were drunk, but as though she were very tired, falling asleep. But somewhere deep inside, beyond her scholastic knowledge, beyond empirical reasoning, she knew that if she fell asleep, she would never wake up again.

Stay awake, was the one thought that she kept in her head over and over. Stay awake. For Glinda, for Fiyero, for the Animals...

She was back in the tunnels that Evian helped her make. Curse his name, that infernal busy-body and his ideals of honor and goodness. It made her stomach turn. Goodness was for weak people, ignorant people, cowardly people. Yackle was anything but weak.

That's not me!

"Is that you?" a voice asked. Her body rounded the corner and she could make out the forms of a Sheep and her family. One of the little lambs ran up to her knees, begging for someone.

"Where's daddy? Is he gonna be here soon?"

The mother pulled her wee ewe back, then looked up at the green woman.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We're all a little nervous. Has there been any word from my husband?"

What could she say? She was quickly losing control, she could feel that in...well, she couldn't feel anything anymore, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was losing control. It was slipping out of her grasp (if she could still grasp anything).

"Mrs. Frym," she uttered at last. "You have to leave. Right now."

"But, Miss Elphaba..."

"Go! Now!"

"I'm not leaving without my husband," Mrs. Frym stated. "We've been here for three days. Where is he?"

She felt tired, oh so tired. No! I can't give in. She needs me, her children need me, I have to reunite them with her hus...

"Where is my husband?"

The hideous green face turned about.

"You should really keep quiet, you know," Yackle said to the Sheep. "Animals should be seen and not heard."

It was with horror that Elphaba saw herself betray everything she had ever believed in and stood for. Her hands went out and grabbed the Ewe by her neck. The power was so great, the neck snapped off in her blood-stained green hands. The children either cried out in shock or were too stunned to make any movement.

Her body flew forward, fueled by Yackle's endless hunger for death, for pain; to destroy everything beautiful and lovely and living in the world until there was nothing left to remind her of how hideous she really was.

Suddenly she was struck on the head by a blunt object. Her vision cleared again. The nightmare was over, but the waking world wasn't much better. Five Gale Force guards stood about her, and one had struck her with his weapon. At her side knelt Glinda, under only one guard. Tears were streaming down her face.

Directly in front of her were the two people she never wanted to see as long as she lived.

"Elphaba," the Wizard said. "I'm glad you're awake. I apologize for the extreme means by which we had to bring you in, but you're not exactly the easiest person to catch, huh?" He chuckled uneasily.

"You may proceed, Madam." he said, turning to his Press Secretary.

"I am honored, Your Ozness!" she bowed. One hand waved to the guards, and then they followed after her into a separate room, carrying Elphaba between them.

"Elphie, no!" Glinda called out to the dark-clad figure. "Bring her back!"

"Glinda dear," the Wizard turned his attention to her. "I'm glad to see you as well. You know, Oz has been worried sick without its patron of Goodness."

"What did you do to Elphie?"

"Madam Morrible would like to have a private word with her," the Wizard said. "In the meanwhile, I think we need to get you cleaned up. You're due to make a public appearance, announcing your return as the ambassador of Goodness before the people!"

"Wait, just like that? Aren't you going to throw me into the Southstairs as Elphie's accomplice?" She didn't care if she was, just as long as she could share a cell with her.

"No, I think you're more use to us alive and in the public spotlight, eh?" He turned to the guards. "Take the Lady Glinda to a state apartment. Give her whatever she asks for, but have her ready within the hour."

The guards began carrying her away, and the Wizard turned his back, ready to walk into the room Madam Morrible had entered with the other guards and Elphaba. Suddenly Glinda espied something.

"That bottle!" she shouted. "The little green bottle!"

"Hold!" the Wizard called. They halted. "Leave us!" They bowed, then turned tail and left the Throne Room.

"Alright, young lady. Out with it." he said to Glinda. "How do you know about this?" He walked over to his cabinet and picked up the green bottle.

"Elphaba has one," she said. "She told me it belonged to her mother."

"Her...her mother?" the Wizard asked. A vacant expression passed over his face, as if he was remembering something from out of some great depth of time.

Suddenly, to her surprise, he laughed.

"What?"

"Don't you get it?" he beamed back at her. "It's perfect!"

I am a sentimental man
Who always longed to be a father!

He jumped up, he skipped, he danced, he looked so happy. It made Glinda's head spin a little.

"Ha ha!" he exclaimed. "I'm a father!"

Glinda gasped, throwing her hands over her face.

"Do you mean?" she breathed. "That, all this time, Elphaba was yours?"

"I always knew, deep down inside of me, that there was something about us," he said. "Like I actually knew how she was thinking and feeling." He turned back to Glinda, and saw a look of pure, utter, unadulterated loathing on her face.

"What?"

"You are a very bad man, Your Ozness!"

"What? What did I do?"

"What haven't you done? You've turned all of Oz against your own daughter!"

"Oh, that can easily be remedied! I'm the Wizard of Oz, after all. One proclamation from me and they'll be calling her 'Wonderful!'"

"Do you think she's going to forgive you for all that you've done? To the Animals? To her?"

The Wizard's face fell into sorrow, then suddenly it was filled with concern.

"Oh no!"

"What?"

"She's alone with Madam Morrible. She's interrogating her about..."

"Torturing her, more like."

"I told Madam to keep her alive."

"I don't think she'll be that understanding."

"Come with me." the Wizard said, waving Glinda along as he left the Throne Room.

(AN: Another twist thrown your way! But how will that change? The next chapter shall tell.)