TheLilyLaid
They world around them cleared and they found themselves settled upon the familiar grounds of the Wizard's throne room. At least the grounds would have been familiar if anything in the room had looked the same. Gone was the great metal face with flamethrowers for nostrils. Gone was the great emerald throne. Gone was, strangely enough, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself. The only thing they knew in the room was the face of Madame Morrible, Press Secretary.
No one dared speak. No one dared move. Of course, due to Morrible's magic none of them felt any fear. Instead they felt in total control, as though they themselves had the power to rid the world of all its evil. They felt exactly as Morrible's spell had intended: wicked.
"Welcome. How do you all feel?" came Morrible's haunting voice. Kaylee and Shoshana answered together.
"Wonderful." They said. The others nodded in agreement. Morrible smiled and clapped her hands.
"Good! Then, we shall begin. Form yourselves in a circle following the perimeter of the room. If you look closely upon the ground, you will see a thick golden line marking where you should stand." They all moved together, each following the golden marking upon the floor. Kaylee, however, remained still.
"What are we going to be doing, Morrible?" She asked, her tone unusually subdued. Her confusion showed on her young face, but Morrible's calming smile killed the feeling.
"Why, a little bit of magic, my girl. What else?" she said sweetly. Turning to survey the others, she spoke again. "I will step out of the room for just a moment." When all affirmed her statement, she left the room. As the door shut behind her, a redheaded guard stepped from the shadows.
"Yes, Madame?" The guard said. She pulled a sparkling key from her pocket. The guard watched it with great interest.
"Captain, Go to the Oz prison chamber, this key will open it. Bring me the girl inside. With expediency." She handed the guard the key and the guard headed away. Morrible turned back into the Throne Room. Little did she know everything was not as it seemed.
o0o0o0o0o
The guard walked up to the cell and stared down at the girl who sat in the large magically protected cell alone. She didn't move as the guard approached. She remained still and silent.
"Get up, girl." Said the guard.
"Why should I? My friends are all going to die and Kaylee just betrayed me and I don't even know why. Why should I get up? So you can kill me too?" She said, softly. Her voice was hollow like an empty bottle, echoing without emotion.
"No, girl. I don't want to hurt you. I'm here to save your life." She looked up at this. "What's your name?"
"Holli." She didn't know why she trusted this guard, but something in his green eyes made her feel safe. She stood up and stepped towards the cell door. "What's your name, guard?"
"Jae. Jae Tryst. JT for short. Captain of the Emerald City Guard and the Gale Force." He smiled. Reaching into his pocket, Jae pulled out the sparkling key.
"Is that the key to my freedom?"
"It's the key that will get you out of this cell, but no, your freedom requires a little more work." He unlocked the door and Holli stepped out.
"What kind of work?"
"Well, it involves saving the world, your friends, and breaking the spell on Kaylee. Wanna help?" She smiled.
"Absolutely."
"Okay well here's the plan…"
Five minutes later…
The guard entered the Throne Room, holding a struggling Holli on his shoulder. Morrible looked up when he entered and smiled.
"Thank you, Captain. If you will lay the girl on this dais, please, that will be all." He walked up to where Morrible stood and laid the girl on the tall dais beside the vile woman. Taking a moment to survey the scene, he was surprised by what he found.
The actresses and Kaylee stood in a perfect circle, their gazes all locked on the giant cauldron in the middle of the room. Just beyond the cauldron was Morrible and the tall dais, on which Holli now lay. The room had a deep scarlet glow about it, and it seemed that the walls were almost covered in blood. It was just an illusion. The women all seemed in a daze, except Holli and Morrible. The cauldron was full of a boiling liquid, and Morrible had a spellbook opened in her hand, her finger marking the line of the spell she had been about to read.
The guard left the room, his eyes sweeping past the gazes of each actress as he did so. As he closed the door behind him, a glimmer sparked in Stephanie's eye.
Morrible watched him leave, then turned to Holli.
"Holli, you are going to help us undo the damage that Elphaba has done. Reverse a wrong, if you will. All we need from you, my dear, is just a little bit of blood." With that said Morrible pulled a long dagger from her clothes and moved towards Holli. Just as she was poised to strike the poor girl, Stephanie leaped across the dais and tackled Morrible to the ground with a yell.
The women struggled and struggled as each tried to gain control of the dagger. Morrible kept attempting to drive the blade into Stephanie, and Stephanie kept moving and twisting her body away from the dangerous dagger. In the midst of the fighting, Holli called out.
"JAE! NOW!" She pulled herself up off the dais, pulling the ropes away as she came up, just as Jae entered the room, brandishing a rifle. The report of the rifle firing echoed in the room and everything stilled. All eyes, turned toward the center of the room.
Morrible lay unconscious and Stephanie lay beside her, her body still, her open gaze blank and unmoving and blood slowly seeping from an unseen wound. Holli stood nearby, staring at the cauldron, into which they watched the bloody dagger drop, a break in the hilt. Jae stood just near the door, his rifle aimed at where Morrible's hand had been.
Around the room the women began to stir, moving as though shaking off a long stupor or awaking from a deep sleep. As they awoke from the spell's magic, Jae moved across the room to kneel by Stephanie's side. He looked her over and the look on his face told them all what they did not want to know. Somewhere, a single tear fell.
"What was the magic for?" Someone asked. Jae answered softly.
"It was killing magic to hit Elphaba where it will hurt her the most. It is a potion spell. Potion spells are an old magic. They were designed to be able to break open protection spells and to cause irreversible damage. That's why they require blood to complete. So who ever that spell was targeted for won't be waking up once they get hit. Ever." As Jae fell silent, a soft moan escaped from Stephanie's lips, and they all watched as she slowly began to move.
Back at Kiamo Ko, a splitting scream rang out, and FIYERO fell, unmoving to the cold stone floor.
Galindified
Two weeks had passed since that fatal night; the night that had destroyed everything. It was amazing, really, how so much could happen in such a short period of time. Though everyone had safely made it back to the castle with the help of JT, and though Stephanie had been saved with Idina's quick thinking and spell casting, Fiyero had not been so lucky. Idina and Carley had tried everything, staying up late into the night to find some sort of spell that could save him. All the while, Elphaba stayed locked in her tower, either sobbing her heart out or staring blankly at the cold, stone walls.
Of course the others felt bad for her, and those closer to Fiyero even shared in a fraction of her pain. But they also realized what this all meant; their planet would not be saved. Elphaba had gone into a state of mourning and depression so severe that she had neither eaten nor slept for the past two weeks, let alone thought up some new way to stop the Wizard.
It was another cold, dreary night at the castle of Kiamo Ko and a thick, gloomy fog hung in the air. An outsider would have assumed that the castle was abandoned, for there were no lights to be seen through the windows. However, the castle was, in fact, still occupied, although the inhabitants weren't exactly the liveliest bunch. The mood of the occupants very much reflected the weather; barely a word was said, and when they did speak, it was in quiet whispers. They lumbered through the halls of the castle as if bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. And they did, for they all knew what was going to happen, and they all knew that there was nothing that could be done. Their leader had given up, and without her, they had nothing.
Elphaba still sat on the icy, hard floor of the tower, her knees pressed up against her chest and her eyes concentrated on a single speck on the wall across from her. Her mind remained blank as she focused all of her attention on that tiny speck, trying to block out all of the pain that tirelessly tried to force its way in. She sat like this for hours on end, losing track of time and of reality.
Suddenly, Elphaba felt something prod at her stomach, and instantly was awakened from her trance. She jumped up and looked around the room for any signs of a disturbance. Feeling it once more, she grabbed at the closest object, a dirty old sneaker, and swung it wildly in front of her.
"Who's there!" she yelled, still trying to defend herself with a shoe. It took one more jab at her stomach to realize what was going on. She stood there in disbelief, jaw hanging open, as she slowly placed a hand on her stomach. There it was again, a kick from the life that was inside of her.
"The baby's kicking," she whispered to no one in particular. "The baby's kicking!" She immediately came alive and bolted out the door and down the spiral stairs, yelling as she went.
"Fiyero! The baby kicked! It kicked for the first time! Fiyero-" she stopped short as she came into the foyer where Fiyero had collapsed.
"Fiyero…" she weakly murmured one last time as she broke into another fit of sobs. She didn't bother to find a private room to let out her feelings, for she knew that everyone must have been asleep by now, and so she merely fell to her knees in a sorrowful heap.
"Elphaba?" someone called softly, then hurried over to her side. Elphaba quickly wiped away her remaining tears and tried to regain her composure as she looked up to see who was standing beside her.
"Oh! Taye…I-I didn't know anyone was up…" she trailed off, embarrassed by the obvious display of her emotions. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this…"
"Elphaba, it's ok to feel vulnerable sometimes. You shouldn't feel like you have to hide your emotions…especially around me. I'm your friend, and you can confide in me," Taye said soothingly, and wrapped a comforting arm around Elphaba's shoulders.
Elphaba couldn't help but lean into his warmth and closed her eyes. The pain slowly started to fade away and her mind wandered away from the subject. She took a deep breath and thought, He reminds me so much of Fiyero…
Taye still had a strong grip on Elphaba, who seemed to be drifting off for the first time in weeks. He rubbed her back gently and whispered a few more comforting words to help her along, but Elphaba lifted her head and looked him in the eye.
"Thank you…for being here for me," she said, then let a small smile appear for just a moment. And looking into his eyes, she once again was reminded of her late husband, but she did not feel any sadness. Instead, she was filled with a sudden warmth and a strange feeling that she couldn't quite place. However, when she returned to gazing into his eyes, she knew what it was and slowly leaned towards him. Taye found himself doing the same thing, and couldn't seem to look away from her deep brown eyes. As they inched closer and closer, footsteps could be heard from down the hall. However, this did not break the invisible bond that was pulling the two together, and as their lips finally met, a voice echoed from down the hall.
"Taye? Sweetie…did you get lost on your way to the bathroom again?" a slight giggle then, "Taye? Come on, this castle really isn't that-"
Idina stopped dead in her tracks upon entering the foyer as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.
Nicole
Idina stopped dead in her tracks upon entering the foyer as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.
Elphaba had frozen mid kiss, as had Taye. Both stared at each other for a second, eyes wide with panic now, before slowly leaning back.
"Honey, I-" The ice glare that Idina was giving him stopped his tongue in his tracks.
"What in the name of… of… cows flying over the moon is this?!"
Idina could feel her face flushing, her pulse quickening, her head reeling as she looked back and forth from Elphaba to Taye. How could he?! Yes, she was hurting, yes, they were alike. But… but…
"It's not his fault."
Her gaze landed on Elphaba. Elphaba, who was clinging to Taye's hand as if it was all she had left in the world. Elphaba, who she had trusted. Elphaba, whom everybody had trusted.
Elphaba. A… homewrecker.
"I have nothing to say to either of you." Whirling, the dress she had borrowed from Elphaba swirling around her feet, she literally flew down the stairs. From behind her, she could hear the scrambling of both of them to stand up, Taye calling for her, Elphaba pleading with Taye to forgive her, that she'd make it alright.
How long had that been going on?
Had she just been some toy to keep Taye occupied this whole time?
Was she just Elphaba's puppet?
Well, she'd show them.
She'd show them all.
--
"No, no, Eden totally pwned Kerry when it came to riffs."
"What is wrong with you? Eden rocked."
Nicole, Tiana, Mikayla, and Allen all sat in the center of the room,
The Witches of Oz members looked up as Idina came storming in, looking like a tornado ready to wreck havoc on anything in it's path. Which meant, of course, that all of the smart ones remained silent.
"What crawled up your butt and died?" Nicole's voice rang loud and clear.
"What?" Idina swiveled to face her, eyes fiery, hands clenched into fists. "Why don't you ask Taye and his precious little Elphaba?!"
"Woah." Tiana's jaw dropped. "This is just like this fanfiction I wrote one time…"
Something shattered across the room as she turned. "This isn't a story, you silly little girl. This is real. And he doesn't love me, he loves her! The girl with the broomstick, the green girl!" Throwing back her head, she screamed.
And you could just tell she wasn't only angry. She was lost, hurt, and sad.
And the combination was almost pitiful.
--
"Look, Elphaba, you stay up here. I'll just go talk to her and explain that-"
"That what? That we weren't kissing? We were, though, Taye." Elphaba pressed her back up against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, sliding to the floor. Somewhere in the room nearest thing, you could hear the sound of glass flying and hitting the floor. Taye jumped, and started towards the room.
"What are you going to tell her?" Elphaba's question was met with a silence. "Exactly."
"You two are so much alike, and you were hurting so much…" Taye's voice was quiet as he turned and walked back to the stairs, sitting on the bottom step in a position…
in a position just like 'Yero used to sit.
The realization hit Elphaba like a sledgehammer in the chest.
She had just done to Idina what the Wizard had done to her.
--
Idina's scream lasted a good two minutes. And by the time she was done, Nicole was standing in front of her, tapping her foot. "Are you done now?"
"Um, yes?" Idina stared at the shorter blonde, who seemed… just as angry as she was.
"Break up my super couple. Mikayla, quick." The girl jumped towards the Asian. "What would Lily do?"
"What would-"
"She'd make things worse for everybody because, whatever she did, it always ended up being fixed…" Tiana's voice came out in a shocked squeak.
"Right. So we do something horrible that only a certain green girl can fix." Nicole swiveled back to Idina. "You're boiling mad and hurt. I'm just madder than the pits of… you know. So do we do what I think we can do or-"
"What can we possibly do?" Idina threw her hands up in the air. "At this point, there's nothing we can do."
"Yes, there is. We all know where Elphaba keeps her funny little green bottle."
"Under her pillow." Mikayla's voice rang through the room. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I think it's time we introduced the Wizard to his daughter. His oldest, anyway…"
--
Taye looked up at Allen, who was standing in the door frame. "I'm not helping them." Walking over, he sat down next to Taye on the stairs. "You should really stick blue diamonds all over you. Add to the appearance and all that."
"Helping them…?"
"Neither am I." Tiana stomped into the room, frowning at the doorway. "You two are my favorite couple in any fanfic, so…"
"What in the name of Oz are you talking about!?" Elphaba looked up at Tiana, holding her hand to her stomach.
The baby was kicking again.
"We… we can't tell you. Idina made us promise."
"Made you promise what?" Taye leapt up from his spot on the stairs. "What did she say?"
The two stared back at him in stony silence.
--
"I can't believe we're doing this, I can't believe we're doing this…" Mikyala looked around, clutching onto the third broomstick Idina had whipped up in the past two minutes. Nicole was sitting on one, spinning in circles, and Idina looked like the Devil-gone-woman with her broomstick as a fiery steed.
"Oh, just shut up, Mikayla." Nicole pulled up to a stop next to her friend. "As a loyal Wicked member…"
"Tiana was a Wicked member and I don't see her about to fall off of a broom!" Mikayla squeaked her answer, looking down at the ground and lurching to the side. Again. Why couldn't she control this thing!?
"Well, la-dee-da." Nicole rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're smaller than I am and will fit in the window…"
"WHAT WINDOW!?" Mikayla turned to Nicole with frantic eyes, forgetting, for the moment, how high up she was. "You never said anything about a window! You can climb in the window yourself!" She poked Nicole – then leaned forward and clung to her broom. "I will not fall, I will not fall…"
"Haha. Black bedspread. Found it." Idina grinned triumphantly at the window that led into Elphaba's room. "I can't magic it out, I think she'd sense it or something… Mikayla?"
She shook her head frantically.
"Oh, geez. Hold my broom." And Nicole launched herself into the room.
--
"OW! I'm okay!" Okay, I hit my head on the bed… but it was soft. I can do this! Break up my super couple… Nicole began fishing around the bed for the bottle.
"Nope. Nu-uh.. may, no-here it is!" And she yanked out the bottle with a grin. "Gottttt ittttt!"
--
As Nicole clambered back onto her broom, Idina sighed. This was right and wrong. They were doing it for the wrong reasons… but… this would help. Somehow, this would help everybody. She just sensed it in her gut.
"Ready to go, my minions?"
"Now, if you and Cheno said that at the same time, my life would be complete." Nicole grinned at one of her idols. "I'm ready."
"I will not fall, I will not fall…"
"Oh, geez. Come on, let's go!"
And the three of them flew off to the Wizard's castle (Mikayla muttering under her breath the whole time.)
--
Elphaba gasped as the baby kicked again - and a pain jolted through her body.
"Elphie?" Tiana looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Stress-tense-" Elphaba gasped, clutching her stomach. "Muscles... and..." A contraction ripped through her body.
And blood started to seep onto her clothing.