A/N: ... again, sorry about the slow moving plot... er... yeah. xoxo ~Mikayla

Nicole

Fae woke up.

The room was dark, the smell was icky, and she was pretty sure Liir was drooling on her shoulder.

Where am I?

Fae struggled the move her body, finding herself strangely detached from everything that was going on.

Opening her mouth, she struggled to say something - anything - feeling just a bit woozy.

"Whaaaaaa..."

"Good morning, starshine." The Wizard grinned at his two companions, propping his feet up on an empty box at his end of the cavern.

---

Eden paused in turning away from the door.

"Hey, Idina."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever considered that maybe Fae... I don't know."

"Fae what?"

"Has the same interest in otherworldly things that you do? Did?"

Idina frowned.

Taye walked back into the room at the tail end of the conversation, memories of his and Idina's time on Oz fluttering back to him.

"Idina, did the world to Oz ever fully close?"

Idina turned and looked at her husband - and with a gasp, fled into Fae's room.

ElphieTheGood

Stephanie J. Block could feel the exhaustion settling in as she slammed the door to the New York apartment she shared with her husband, Seb and threw her purse down on the table beside the door, kicking off her shoes. The apartment was silent, except for Seb's voice coming from the kitchen. Walking across the apartment in her bare feet, Stephanie walked into their small kitchen to find Seb on the phone, pacing the small space between the counter and the stove. She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll tell her," Seb said and pressed the 'off' button on the phone, setting it back in its cradle. He then turned to his wife, breaking free from her grip on him. His face was a picture of concern as he stared at her.

"What?" Stephanie demanded before Seb could get a word in and felt her smile turn to a frown. "What's wrong? Who was on the phone just now?" Stephanie searched her husband's face, trying to read his expression.

"Taye. Apparently Fae is missing. Idina thinks she might've gone to Oz."

Stephanie's frown deeponed as she tried to process this. "But she's done that before, hasn't she?" She tried to keep the worry out of her tone but found it difficult. Taye wouldn't have called if there wasn't something wrong. "We should go over there," she suggested and turned from the kitchen. But before she could take another step, Seb grabbed her arm.

"Maybe after you rest. You look like you're about to fall over."

Stephanie pulled her arm free from Seb's grip. "I'm fine. I play an irish pirate remember." she smiled, kissig ihs cheek, giving him a look of reassurance. She was exhausted but not enough to where she couldn't go help her friend. Idina and Taye needed her. "Besides I promised I'd show Idina pictures from the show." Pirate Queen had been revived, put back on the big white way and Stephanie had been doing the role for nearly six months and was loving every minute of it. "Besides, I only have three hours before I have to be back for the evening show." she pulled at her husband's arm. "Let's go...."

ClockWorkGirl21

Fae's lower lip trembled as she slowly rose to her feet. She tried her best to stop it, to appear brave. Liir had stirred, and was shaking as he wrapped himself around her legs. "Fae, who is that?"
The Wizard cackled as he rose to his full height, about three feet taller than Fae. He licked his lips, and snarled, "Get up, you ugly fat thing!" He kicked at Liir.
Fae felt her eyes narrow, and she spat out, "That's not nice! Liir may be a bit heavy, but at least he isn't weird looking. You look like Gorbachev! What's that thing on your head?"
The Wizard grabbed Fae's collar and lifted her up to his face. "You'd better watch it, you little brat. I'm not the weak ruler that musical depicted me as."

Elphaba, although she loved Liir dearly, knew he was too scared and boring to go wondering off alone. She whispered under her breath, "That Fae is responsible for this. I tell you, she doesn't get enough discipline." Elphaba sat before her green glowing crystal ball, and ordered, "Show me Liir!" It started out white and cloudy, and it dissipated to show a one-year-old Liir struggling to learn to walk on the uneven castle floor. Elphaba cursed, and shouted, "I meant show me Liir as he is now!" The crystal ball again showed a cloudy white color, then lost power completely. She slapped the side of it, whispering, "Piece of junk. I don't why I keep it, it just collects dust."

Back on earth, it was getting close to midnight. Idina and Taye had the phone between them, waiting for someone, anyone, to call. Idina had her head down on her arms, and said into the table, "At this point, I'd be relieved to hear just about anything, as long as she's alive and well."
Taye was fiddling with his cell phone, checking messages. "Steph and Seb haven't seen her. I told them to message me if they did, so they wouldn't tie up the phone."
Idina gasped, jumping up. "Why didn't we think of this before?"
"Think of what?"
"Taye, what if she's totally ignored our warnings and ventured into Oz again?"

ElphieTheGood

Stephanie was on pins and needles as she and Seb walked to Idina and Taye's apartment and when she finally caught sight of Idina she could tell right away something was really wrong.

"What happened?" Stephanie asked, pulling Idina into a hug. She kept her arm around Idina's shoulders as they walked into the apartment. "Seb said Fae might've gone to Oz.

Idina nodded, not bothering to hide the worry and panic she was now feeling. "Yeah. Remember how I told you we can go back and forth? Well normally she's good about coming home but she's been gone for hours." Idina motioned for Steph to sit and she sat down beside her.

ClockWorkGirl21

Stephanie placed a hand on Idina's shoulder. "Even if she has gone into Oz, how much trouble can she get into? She'll be in the Vinkus, and that's pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. Why don't we just ask Elphaba if she knows anything?"
Taye shuddered. "I'd rather not talk to Elphaba, if I can help it. She's so freaking mean."
Idina proposed, "You and Sebastian wait here, in case someone calls or you get another lead. Stephanie and I can go to Oz and ask Fiyero and Elphaba if they know anything."