Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I only own this plot and the OC's.
BIG. FAT. WARNING: Violence. Death. That's all I'm going to say.
A/N: So... if you read the warning above, you can guess what's going to happen. Well, maybe not entirely, but you'll have an idea. Overall, I'm pretty proud of this chapter. Not only is it the longest chapter in my (short) repertoire, but I'm really happy at how it turned out. Thanks for the reviews!
By the middle of the third week since the incident at the palace, Elphaba had made a full recovery. She was now able to walk around as well as she had been able to before, but that didn't keep Leon from worrying about her. In the middle of the afternoon that Wednesday, as she was walking around and making small talk to the Animals as she always did, Leon came up to her for the third time that day.
"Hello, Miss Elphaba!" he said with an enthusiastic undertone to his voice. She groaned internally at the name. She was used to being called that by the other Animals, but that was usually just scattered here and there. Leon, however, was constantly talking to her, and he flat-out refused to call her anything but "Miss Elphaba". Hiding her slight irritation, she turned around and looked down slightly, meeting his eyes, which were just about level with her shoulders by now.
"Leon, I've told you several times before, and I'll tell you again," she chided him. "Please, stop calling me 'Miss Elphaba' all the time." He looked a bit shocked at her statement for a moment before looking confused.
"But, Miss El-" he began before seeing the mild glare sent his way by the young witch. "Elphaba," he started again, and the look in her face softened. "Why shouldn't I show you respect? After all, you are the one that rescued me," he reasoned. Elphaba sighed in exasperation.
"I just-" she started before stopping abruptly. She couldn't tell him the real reason, could she? She feared that if he knew, he wouldn't trust her anymore. Still, what other plausible excuse did she have? I don't like it. That may have been the easiest response to say, but she knew that saying that wouldn't make sense. If that were true, then why does she not complain about it any other time that it's said? Maybe I should tell him… She was just about to open her mouth when images flashed across her mind.
"Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you. You're beautiful." A particularly bubbly, partially drunk blonde handed her a mirror, smiling gently as she did so. The person that appeared in the frame was completely different from what she was used to. The green was still glaringly obvious, but there was just something… off. And now, studying the figure in the glass, she wasn't entirely sure that was a bad thing. Elphaba quickly made it a point to shake that memory out of her head, trying to keep from even more of it from attacking her. Even though she succeeded in doing so, the scene was quickly replaced by another.
"Hey, Miss Elphaba," a certain prince sitting next to her in the classroom whispered. She jolted at the sudden use of her name, considering almost everyone on campus seemed to prefer picking from a rather colorful palette of nicknames over actually treating her like a person. She looked over at Fiyero expectantly. "May I see your notes?" he asked, shocking her. Since when does Fiyero Tiggular ask for notes? On any other day, she would've perhaps looked more into this, but she was particularly tired at the moment and, as such, not really in the mood for such a discussion. Wordlessly, if not confusedly, she handed him her notebook, causing him to give her a radiant smile. "Thanks," he said. She nodded, turning away to hide the blush that she was sure was starting to creep onto her cheeks.
"Elphaba?" Leon asked worriedly, seeing the distant look in her eyes. She jostled, snapping her out of the trance that she had been in. Shaking her head dazedly, she looked at him.
"Oh, yes, sorry," she said, trying to rid herself of the memories that had crept into her mind. "I… well…" she began, trying to find the right words. "It just reminds me of something that I'd rather not be reminded of," she answered after a brief silence. It may not have been the entire truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie, either.
"Oh," the Lion stated simply. He didn't say any more after that, but Elphaba could tell that he wasn't entirely satisfied with her answer. The witch was about to move the conversation along to another, hopefully less personal topic when a group of Porcupines barreled through the entrance on the opposite end of the camp, causing everyone to look in their direction.
"Where's Miss Elphaba?" one of them asked loudly and frantically. The witch, seeing that this was urgent, turned back to Leon.
"I'll be right back," she said to him. He looked back at her and nodded, and she walked towards the newcomers.
"What seems to be the matter?" she asked when she got close to the group. The same Porcupine as before, who had been talking to another Animal, whipped around at the sudden voice.
"Oh, Miss Elphaba! I have important news to tell you. Well, it's more like showing you, but-"
"What is it, then?" she asked impatiently. Reaching into a burlap sack that the group had brought with them, the Porcupine pulled out a few sheets of paper.
"We overheard a few people talking about certain… things going on today while we were on the outskirts of the forest on the border of the Emerald City, and we were able to obtain a copy of the local newspaper," the Porcupine explained. Elphaba gaped at the last part of that.
"In broad daylight?" she asked incredulously. "How in Oz did you accomplish that?"
"We can be stealthy when we want to be," came the short reply. The prickly Animal handed Elphaba the newspaper tentatively, as if she was reluctant to inform Elphaba about this "important news". Somewhat warily, she looked down, stopping in shock when she read the headline.
Gale Force Closing in on Wicked Witch's Whereabouts
Her eyes immediately shot upward, looking at the Porcupine in a state somewhere in between panic and raw fear. Her jaw dropped, seeming to unhinge like that of a snake. The Porcupine looked back at her with a mixture of worry and sympathy on its face. Unable to form any words, the witch looked back at the paper.
Though much speculation as to where the Wicked Witch is hiding has been brought up since she was discovered, no one has, until now, had any solid evidence to back it up. Last night, the Captain of the Guard, Fiyero Tiggular, in an impromptu announcement, proclaimed that the Gale Force had reason to suspect that she may be closer than we think.
"Her cause is helping the rebellious Animals overthrow the Wizard, correct?" he began. "Therefore, it should follow that she resides in some form of Animal shelter or camp. Given the injuries inflicted on her in the palace before her escape, she could not have possibly traveled far. I do not think that she died from them, for she is much too powerful to be stopped by even the deadliest of weapons. She most likely used her accursed magic to heal herself, but our resident expert in that field, Madame Morrible, has informed us that it most likely wouldn't have been enough to heal herself completely. She probably went to the nearest Animal camp, and we believe we may know the general area in which she is based on that information."
The article continued on, but Elphaba couldn't bring herself to read any more. She could picture Fiyero saying that, his eyes steeled with resolve. Even though she knew he didn't know anything about her, she still found it hard to believe that he and, she assumed, Galinda, had fallen for the Wizard's lies. She could almost feel the propaganda instilled in the minds of the Ozians from these two short paragraphs, and it hurt her more than anything she had ever heard before that they could possibly think that she was something so… sub-human. She looked back up at the Porcupine, a strange combination of hurt and determination dancing in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said somewhat softly as she handed the paper back to the Animal.
"What are we going to do?" the Porcupine asked timidly.
"They're looking for me," Elphaba reasoned. "They're still out to get you, yes, but their main priority is capturing me. I'm going to have to leave," she said, earning a shocked look from the Animals in the vicinity. "If I stay here, they'll definitely find you. All of you. If I go away, maybe fly above the tree line so they can see me clearly, then-"
"Miss Elphaba!" a Cat interrupted. "You can't be serious! If you do that, then…" the Cat trailed off, searching for the right words. "They have arrows, Miss Elphaba. The higher-ups have guns. Doing something like that is practically a suicide mission!" The green woman turned to face the Cat, a look of sadness in her eyes.
"I know," she stated softly. "But when the alternative is them finding the camp, then…. Well, what other choice do I have?" No one had a decent response to that, and so she nodded, turned around, and walked away without saying another word.
A couple hours later, she was on her broomstick, saying a final goodbye to everyone. She turned and looked at Leon and his adoptive parents, who waved goodbye. Leon stepped forward.
"Elphaba, are you sure I can't go with you?" he asked dejectedly. Elphaba frowned at this. When she had explained the situation to him and his parents, he immediately wanted to go with her. Both her and his parents adamantly denied the cub, but he insisted and insisted. Eventually, Elphaba couldn't take his constant asking any more, and she snapped at him. It was only a brief loss of composure, but it was enough to hurt him. With tears brimming in his eyes, he had turned around and, slowly and melancholily, walked into his house, slamming the door behind him. She felt bad for making him upset, but she knew that he wouldn't do well in the wilderness, away from home. Add that to the fact that he was barely four months old, and he just couldn't be allowed to go.
"Leon," she began. "I know how much you would love to come with me, but trust me, it's better if you stay." Leon, obviously expecting this reply, merely nodded and fell back into the circle with his parents.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye, everyone. Thank you for having me." Elphaba had never really been one for giving long, drawn-out speeches—that was more Galinda's thing—so she just settled for that. With one final look around, she took to the skies, making sure to be well above the top of the forest for all of Oz to see her. She glanced back one last time, hoping that her plan would work, and set her course westward, towards the Vinkus. Goodbye, everyone, she thought gloomily. See you later. As she flew, she realized one last thing: she really was all alone, after all.
Her plan worked. The Gale Force did, in fact, see her flying through the sky. They were just about to head after her when their captain spoke up, silencing the minor riot that had started. Everyone looked at the man, eager to hear what he had to say.
"Men," he began. "I'm no Fiyero Tiggular, but I'm still in charge, so listen to me before going off on your own agenda." The Captain of the Guard was absent from this reconnaissance-esque mission due to him having a meeting with the Wizard and his various other advisors, leaving the second-in-command, Markus Findral, in charge of the small-medium-sized group. "I'm sure we all just saw that figure up there," he began, and the men nodded in assent. "And I'm sure we all want to go after her right now, correct?" At that, they started murmuring excitedly, not wanting to upset Markus. He was fairly strict, but he was rather personable when not in his "business persona". Physically, he had a resemblance to Fiyero to an extent: he was tall, strong, and the two sounded similar, though Markus' voice was a little bit higher, to name a few similarities. Mentally, however, the two were very different. "Well, I, for one, don't think that would be very prudent," he stated, earning shocked looks from everyone in front of him. "Let me explain before you protest," he demanded seriously. "The Witch came from that direction, correct?" he asked pointing in the direction from which she'd flown. "And she's been rumored to have been hiding in an Animal camp, right? Well, if you put two and two together…" He continued to explain what he was thinking, and by the end of his speech, everyone agreed with him. It was decided that his idea would be their course of action for now.
It happened late at night, when all of the Animals were in their homes in the camp, asleep. All except for one, that is. Leon was still upset with Elphaba for not taking him with her, and he was having trouble falling asleep. He looked out of his second-story window with great boredom, mindlessly tapping on the windowsill. Suddenly, there was a loud booming sound, followed by the sight of the flaming remnants of what was, just a moment ago, a house at the entrance of the camp flying in all directions. His eyes widening, he immediately tore himself away from the window, running down the stairs. His parents were already there, waiting for him. His mother picked him up, running outside with his father close behind. By that point, three more of those booms had sounded, and there were the definitive screams of various Animals coming from outside.
Outside of the house, there was now a mass hysteria. Animals were running everywhere, trying to find a way past the tall fence surrounding the area. Leon looked towards the entrance of the camp and was alarmed to see a group of men wearing all-too-familiar green uniforms. The light cast on them by the fires that had started to spread to the outer edges of the small clearing made them look even more imposing. Upon seeing them, the Animals closer to the entrance began running toward the soldiers, but they didn't make it far. Several gunshots rang out, clear and crisp even among the crackling of the infernos and the cacophony of noises coming from the Animals. Blood splattered everywhere as lifeless bodies crumpled to the ground.
The visuals and sounds coming to Leon all at once made him feel numb suddenly, and he was vaguely aware of that fact that he was still moving, still being carried by his mother. All too soon, he felt the sensation stop as he was lowered to the ground. His mother had found a rather large pile of hay, and had quickly made a small opening in its base. She pushed him inside of it, saying comforting words to him… not that he actually heard them. He could only continue to stare at the scene, completely and utterly detached from reality, as his parents ran towards the advancing Gale Forcers.
His eyes tracked his mother first. She ran up to one of the Gale Forcers while they were distracted and attacked him. He wrestled with her for a second, pushing her off of him. He pointed his gun at her, and she lunged at him, to no avail. He slammed the butt of his gun into her face, knocking her down onto the ground, momentarily stunned. Before she could have the chance to react, he fired his gun three times, and her body went completely limp, a pool of blood rapidly growing directly underneath her head. If Leon were able to feel anything right now, he would've been screaming his head off. Instead, however, he simply lied there underneath the stack of hay, neither saying nor doing anything. He switched his gaze to his father, who had been dealing with a small group of soldiers. He put up a valiant effort, but eventually, he fell as well. Exhausted from a combination of lack of sleep and the fighting, he wasn't able to fight back when one of the soldiers walked up to him and sent his bayonet through his heart. The Lion let out one final mighty roar as the blood spurted out of the wound before he, too, collapsed to the ground, dead.
Had Leon been paying attention to the spreading fire, he would've noticed that it had spread to the fence surrounding the camp by this point, catching its wooden frame on fire. He would've noticed that the fire had spread to the back of the camp, where he was tucked away in the haystack. If he hadn't been incapable of feeling at this point, he definitely would've noticed when one of the flaming beams broke off from the fence and fell on the haystack. The haystack cushioned the impact of the beams a little, which was good for Leon's sake. The bad thing, however, was that, being made out of hay, it happened to be highly flammable. The young cub felt a faint warm sensation, and it actually felt quite nice. His brain had shut off almost every one of his senses, aside from sight. That went away, as well, when he closed his eyes as the sensation grew warmer, blissfully unaware of the continuing chaos just outside of his shelter. And the fires raged on throughout the night.
I'm really curious as to whether or not you thought I was talking about Elphaba in the warning at the top. Can I have a show of hands, maybe? Thanks in advance for reviewing!