(AN: Original title was 'Not Exactly Home', but decided to change that.)

(I don't own LotR. That's just a reference to "Another Journey", in case you haven't read that: you should, I love it and you might too)

Last of the Giants

Three days had passed since the Ozians dropped in the middle of Quadling. They found themselves in a rather solid area of ground, where there were few bogs. Though they had never been here in their entire lives, they knew that the land of the Quadlings was mostly marsh-land, and were surprised to find themselves on solid ground for the majority of their journey. Mountains rose before them, covered in green trees. These were unlike the mountains in the Vinkus, which were bare of all trees. The Ozians thought that these weren't "true" mountains, just smaller hills.

The nights were damp and very cold, and they put the rest of their clothes on to keep warmth. They lit no fires because they dared not make anything that could alert any unfriendly eyes. Granted, this was Quadling and greatly detached from the rest of greater Oz. But that did not exclude the possibility of Gilikinese ruby prospectors winging an alert to whoever was ruling the Emerald City in Glinda's absence. They could not afford to take any chances.

About a few hours from mid-day of the fourth day, the Ozians were halted in the shadow of the mountains before them. Nessa grazed off the grass, while the three Ozians were resting. Fiyero sat cross-legged, with Elphaba leaning on his shoulder. Glinda lay on her stomach, kicking her shoe-less legs idly: the white boots of the Elves deposited nearby.

"We can't wait here for too long," Elphaba said. "We'll be at least half-way up those hills by night-time, if there's a safe path up the mountains."

"We don't even know if there's a way up there." Fiyero stated. "I mean, we've never been this far south before. We know nothing about this place."

"What about the Road?" Glinda asked.

Fiyero and Elphaba turned to the little blond.

"Huh?" they both asked.

"I thought the Yellow Brick Road went as far south as the northern marshes of Quadling." the wee blond Gilikin girl stated. "We should have run into it by now."

"Oz isn't exactly a small place, Glinda," Elphaba returned. "The Road might end at a different place in Quadling. We could be miles away."

"We've been following the setting sun," Fiyero said. "We should be going in a general north-west direction."

"Once we clear these mountains," Elphaba said. "We'll have a clear view of the lights of the Emerald City. We'll know which way we're going."

"Why do we have to go into the mountains?" Glinda asked.

"Why not?" Fiyero asked.

"Well," she said, a little sheepishly. "It's just that, well, there are these rumors of wild Hammerheads in the mountains of Quadling."

"Hammerheads?" Fiyero asked.

"You remember, Elphie." Glinda turned to the green girl. "Those thingies with the big heads we saw in the Wizomania."

"Wizo-what?" Fiyero looked a little weirded out by what Glinda was talking about.

"It's said they eat people alive." Glinda said. "And they hit people with their heads on their long necks."

"I think that's just propaganda," Elphaba returned. "Just an excuse for the Wizard to take them out of their natural habitat and enslave them for public amusement."

"First Animals, now Hammerheads?"

"No people should be forced out of their homes just for some other people who think they're more important." Elphaba nigh snapped.

An eerie silence followed. Not even the chirping of the marsh-creatures could be heard. Nessa neighed from where she was grazing, completely oblivious to what was going on with her human companions.

"I say we go climb those hills," Elphaba said at last. "None of us have been to Quadling before and we need to get our bearings first and foremost."

"I agree." Fiyero said. "But I think we should split up. I'll go up into the hills and you two stay with Nessa until I get back."

"Wait, what? No!"

"Fae, please..."

"I won't let you risk your life up there! You could fall!"

"And what about you in your condition?"

"What condition?" Glinda asked curiously.

"I'm pregnant, Glinda." Elphaba replied.

The blond threw her hands over her mouth to stifle a squeal of delight.

"Sweet Oz, is it for realsies?"

"Of course," Elphaba asked, looking at Glinda strangely. "You were told about it, you know."

"I was?" Glinda squealed.

"Yeah," she said. "Back in Minas Tirith it was..." She looked at Fiyero, who started making calculations on his fingers. Elphaba's eyes then lit up, as they often did when she found the right answer after a little bit of thinking. "Three months ago, I think. Oz, has it been that long?"

"You don't remember?" Fiyero asked, suddenly getting why Elphaba was looking at her friend so suspiciously.

"Well," Glinda returned. "It's been a long time, and a lot's happened since then. It must have slipped my mind, but..." She paused, before exploding into the biggest smile and squeezing Elphaba's shoulders in a very warm hug, biting her lower lip to keep from squealing in joy and throwing both of them into the grass.

"Okay, Glinda, take it easy there." Elphaba smiled.

"I can't, Elphie!" Glinda squealed, pulling herself back up. "It's just so amazifying! Oh, Elphie, can I be the god-mother? Please, please, pleasies!"

"You sound like the little girl from Shiz, Glinda." Elphaba said.

"I can't help it!" The little blond threw her white arms around Elphaba's shoulders.

They did not get anywhere for the next hour. Glinda was too busy regaling Elphaba with every minute detail. But they weren't even pertinent ones, just her ideas for names for the baby, and if it were a girl if Elphaba would allow her to give her make-overs and such. Elphaba just rolled her eyes and tried to endure the heat, while up above them the sun continued on its way across the sky.

"And what if it's twins, Elphie?" Glinda continued. "What will you name them? Oh, it's all so..." Glinda tried to think of a good word to describe how it felt, but something happened.

The sound of growling, and laughter echoed from the hills above them. Glinda gasped, casting fearful eyes above them, while Fiyero walked over to Nessa.

"What good will fighting do?" Elphaba asked. "We're unarmed."

"What about this?" Fiyero asked, pulling a large, musty tome out from the saddle-pack.

"The Grimmerie!" Elphaba exclaimed. She got up to her feet and ran back to Fiyero and Nessa, taking the Grimmerie out. Immediately she knelt down, placed the book in front of her...and stopped.

"Come on!" Fiyero urged. "We've got to try something!"

The sound of loose stones falling could be heard above them, followed by grunts, howls, laughter and roars as well. The trees upon the mountains kept them out of sight, and increased anxiety among the Ozians. Nessa started to pace nervously.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I can't do it!" Elphaba cried.

"What do you mean?"

"I was never any good at it," she excused. "I-I was only lucky. But what if that's not enough? What about the baby? What if magic has some kind of disastrous affect..."

"Fine time to mention your hang-ups, Fae."

Elphaba hit Fiyero's leg with the Grimmerie, which made it bend and a cry of slight pain to escape his lips. The book, after all, was heavy, and Elphaba could hit hard.

"This is serious!" she shouted.

"You didn't have to hit me like that!" Fiyero commented.

"Uh, guys?" Glinda asked.

"You know, you could at least try to be a bit more considerate of what I'm going through, Fiyero Tiggular!" Elphaba shouted, rising to her feet.

"Alright, I'm sorry I said that!"

"You don't have any idea what it's like, do you?" Elphaba asked, tears now crawling down her face. "Of course you don't, you're a man."

"Guys?"

"Please, Fae..."

"Don't 'Please Fae' me! I'm still angry at you!"

"Please, I want to help!"

"Then be useful for a change!"

"Will you two shut up?"

Two pairs of eyes turned towards the little blond, who was now standing on her feet and angrily turned in their direction.

"We're about to be attacked and you two are arguing?" Glinda cried. "Get a grip, for Oz's sake!"

It was the first time in their lives together that Elphaba had been more hysterical than Glinda.

But they had no more time to 'get a grip.' Above them, coming down the slopes of the hill, came the source of all the noise. Three large Hammerheads, grinning stupidly and looking very menacing behind their slack-jawed smiling faces, were now running, or waddling very fast, down the side of the mountain to meet them.

Suddenly, a large figure in green ran out from the trees, a sword in hand, and stood between the three Ozians and the charging Hammerheads. They continued charging but the giant swordsman brought his weapon up, ready for them. The first of the Hammerheads stopped, then shot out his long neck toward the swordsman. But if the creature thought that this new-comer was foolish, it was sorely mistaken. The giant swordsman stepped aside and brought his sword down upon the out-stretched neck. A still smiling Hammerhead's head fell to the ground, the body following it after swaying about for a few moments.

The other two ran for their lives, not ready to fight someone ready and able to fight back.

The Ozians marveled at the giant, who was at least ten feet tall. He wore robes of green, the color of Oz, gilded with gold thread. A pair of heavy black boots were upon his feet, black gloves upon his hands, and the sword was at least as long as they were tall. He had a head of long, brown hair that fell down to the middle of his back in a tied braid, and a great beard was upon his face.

"Uh," Fiyero began. "Thank you, whoever you are, for saving us."

"You should be grateful," the giant said, in a deep, booming voice. "You have just been saved by the High Chancellor of Shiz, servant of the Ozma."

"Wait," Glinda suddenly interjected. "The Ozma has returned?"

"'Returned?'" the giant repeated. "She's never left us. Now if you please, I am on urgent business for Her Majesty and must not be delayed."

The giant wiped the blade of his sword on his gloved hands, then returned it to its sheath. Taking a look here and there, he went off at a running pace, making heavy foot-falls as he ran through the marshy woods.

Glinda was the first one to speak.

"Was that a giant?" she asked. "I only heard rumors about them! I thought they were supposed to have been all gone from Oz."

"Chancellor of Shiz?" Fiyero asked.

"Ozma's returned?" Glinda queried again.

Elphaba was musing silently upon this. She knew the stories, and didn't believe in any of them. She thought that any 'messiah' figures were just charlatans, so she knew that the new Ozma would find her a threat at best and an enemy at worst. But it was the presence of this giant that bothered her. Giants were supposed to have been rooted out of Oz long before Pastorius, the Regent who ruled Oz around the time that she, Elphaba, was born, before the beginnings of the rule of the Wizard, was even born.

This was starting to get suspicious.

(AN: I know this might be feeling a little slow, but I'm coming up with this stuff off the top of my head, and having to rewrite Oz from scratch with the only ideas coming directly from me! Will try to get a new chapter up a.s.a.p.)

(Btw, Pastorius is the 'king' of Oz who ruled after the last Ozma died and her heir was too young. He was later killed off by the Wizard in order to facilitate his rise to power. See L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz and my The Great War of Oz for information about that. I know that this is musical-verse, but I pull from the book version[s] to help flesh out the stories)