WickedlyAsh
Kaylee and Holli had barely enough time to lower their hands from their high-five when Elphaba entered the room, looking rather stern.
"I'm calling a meeting," she said shortly, and turned to walk out the doorway.
"Do you want all of us to come, or is this one of those optional meetings?" Mikayla asked, who clearly wanted to stay behind and gossip about Glinda and JT.
"Where's the meeting?" Ellen asked with sincere interest in attending.
"And do we have time to get something to eat first? I'm starving…" Kaylee raised her hand as she asked the question.
Elphaba turned, and the redness of frustration in her face could be seen over the green hue of her skin. "Everyone. Dining room. Now." And with that, she turned and walked out of the room.
"What's the matter with her?" Allen asked quietly.
Holli smiled and cleared her throat, "Now did she say 'Everyone, dining room, now'? Or did she mean Professor Plum in the conservatory with the candlestick?"
The group laughed at this as Holli and Kaylee shared another high five. However, everyone knew that Elphaba was serious about something, so everyone stood up and walked towards the dining room. They could see Elphaba running around the castle, gathering everyone else, and Ellen saw Elphaba walk towards the room where she had last seen Glinda and JT.
"Um, Elphaba," Ellen started, "you might not want to go in their right now, Glinda and-"
It was too late, Elphaba had already opened the door. Everyone could see the look of shock and surprise on Elphaba's face as she saw Glinda and JT. "Uh," Elphaba stammered, staring at her feet, "we're going to have a meeting now…sorry…" She quickly closed the door behind her, and shook her head as if trying to get the image out of her mind.
"Aww, don't be like that Elphaba!" Carley smiled, "if this works out, you and Glinda will be sisters!"
Elphaba clearly didn't see the humor in the conversation, and only frowned as she passed by the group, heading to the dining room. When the group entered, they found that all the actresses were seated and waiting for the meeting to start. The WoO members quickly found their places and looked towards Elphaba.
"Now, I have called you all her-"
Elphaba was interrupted by a shuffling noise behind her. She turned around to see Glinda and JT rushing into the room, Glinda straightening her blouse as she entered. Smirks and giggles were shared in the room, but everyone went back to being silent when they saw the look on Elphaba's face.
"As I was saying, I've called you all here because we obviously have a problem, and it needs addressing." Elphaba started.
"Are you kidding?" Tiana spoke up. "Morrible is dead, we've managed to scare off the guards, and we have the Grimmerie!"
"And Idina and Taye are back together!" Nicole smiled at the couple as they held hands.
"And you and Fiyero and the baby are okay!" Allen smiled.
"And now we've got Glinda and JT getting together!" Mikayla yelled, which was met with some cheers and applause. Glinda looked embarrassed and surprised that the news had traveled so quickly, but leaned in closer to JT with a smile.
"They're right Elphaba," Stephanie smiled thoughtfully, "everything seems right with the world, doesn't it?"
"Well you're not going to have a world to go home to unless we think of something! The Wizard is still planning on blowing up your world!" Elphaba yelled.
"Oh yeah, that…" Carley said with disappointment.
"Yeah, that!" Elphaba said with a bit of sarcasm and disdain. "Listen, we've been playing around for far too long, this cat-and-mouse chase game. It's time we end this."
"Elphaba, think of the baby," Fiyero whispered, putting a hand on Elphaba's stomach. "We can't have you running around, getting yourself killed."
"So what, we're supposed to wait another six months for me to have a baby and recover? I don't think so."
"Why not?" Megan asked. "I mean, the Wizard doesn't have any real powers, right? Without Morrible helping him, what's the rush?"
"Well, unless somebody bothered to ship her head separate from her body, I'd say you can't say she's gone for sure," Glinda sighed, knowing first-hand what Morrible was capable of.
"And my mother wasn't the Wizard's only powerful ally. He's always training new protégés," JT chimed in.
"And the Wizard is a very smart man, he won't give up easily," Pfanee knew from working for the Wizard all these years.
"Exactly," Elphaba sighed, glad that the group now realized the gravity of the situation. "The Wizard has just lost his most powerful weapon, and we need to strike while the iron is hot, before he can recoup his losses."
When no one argued, Elphaba nodded and continued, "Now, we have some key advantages right now. First, there's a lot of us, we have more manpower than ever before. Also, Pfanee and JT used to work for the Wizard, and they may have some information that we can use to our advantage," she looked her brother in the eye as she said this, and paused for a moment before continuing. "And finally, we have magic on our side. Not only can Glinda and I do magic, but apparently some of you can too. We need to teach you to channel your powers, to use them on command."
Elphaba made eye contact with as many people as she could as she looked around the room. "We need to focus. We need to come together. We need to finish this."
WickedlyDefyingGravity
Allen sat quietly against the cold coble stone wall. This was all too confusing to him. He kept thinking whether or not this was a dream. It obviously wasn't, because his head still hurt from when Nicole hit him. He's always wanted this sort of adventure, except it was getting too much for him to handle. He pulled out his camcorder which he had the whole time with him, turned it on, and began to record again, this time, facing himself:
"Well..."allen said with a sigh, "This is one weird adventure. I wish that i could do something heroic. It stinks being the only teen guy here, although it's kinda nice, since there's no need for competition for all these beautiful WoO girls...and Eden of course dazes off um...uh, anyways, yeah, i wish i can do something heroic and cool...something with action...sigh, i'm willing to help and all, but i want something cool to happen to me. I mean, thank god i don't have monkey wings, but i wish something cool would happened to me...hey, hey Teal! TEAL! Come over here!"
Teal, who had barely done anything in this, came over and said hi to the camera.
TheLilyLaid
The sight around Kiamo Ko was now becoming familiar to the winged-monkeys, the clan of Monkeys known to Oz as the Flying Ace, a breed to be feared and dreaded, if only for their unencumbered allegiance to the Wicked Witch of the West. Of course, all of Oz believed a lie. These Monkeys were not worthy of fear or dread. In fact, if any Ozian were to stop and speak to one of these Monkeys that Ozian would find that these Monkeys were probably the sweetest most kind Animals one could ever meet. These Monkeys, under the charge of the great Chistery and now the newly appointed Elise, were quite the charmers and took their duties very seriously. It was due to this that they decided to drift away from the castle while Elphaba and the others worked diligently to solve their Wizard problem. They spread out into a classic flight formation and hid themselves high in the darkening clouds just beyond the castle. They flew to the Emerald City, and hid themselves among the various shadows, taking extra care to remain unseen. Their mission: to discover the latest gossip among the Ozians and see if any of it was worthy of report. What they found surprised them.
"Is it possible that the Witch isn't really all that Wicked?"
"I think maybe Glinda's show had something of a point."
"What did Animals ever really do to any of us anyway?"
"I hear Gale Force showed up at that freebie at the Theatre and stopped it before it could go on."
"His Ozness is in an uproar about something. I hear he launched a ton of Gale Force into the West. Ya think he might be tryin to start up another Witch Hunt? If he is, I'm not sure he'll have many volunteers."
The Ozians were whispering in dark corners about what they had seen transpire, about what they had witnessed their Wonderful Wizard doing, and it seemed that their opinion of him was beginning to change. The Monkeys quickly regrouped and headed back to Kiamo Ko with speed beneath their wings, an eager attitude spreading between them. Finally, after years of waiting, it seemed that hope once again reigned in Oz.
o0o0o0o0o
Meanwhile, at Kiamo Ko…
"Glinda, can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure."
Shuffling footsteps echoed in the dark corridor.
"Is it done?"
"Everything is going according to plan."
"Do you think they suspect anything yet?"
"No, I don't think they realize it yet."
"Good. We must keep it that way as long as we can."
Two bodies intertwined in the darkness and soft sobs could be heard.
"Don't ever scare me like that. I almost lost you. Again."
"I am fine. My healing abilities are strong enough at the moment. One thing that darn elixir gave me, besides this color, is an exceptional healing ability."
"Well, I would prefer it if you never had to use it."
"So would a lot of people."
The two bodies separated. As they moved a loud thud crashed their silence and they heard shuffling feet spring into action. The moved as one, both going opposite directions.
"It was that kid with the camera."
"Allen. He headed outside."
"Glinda, I have to stop him."
"I know, go."
And so the chase was on.
o0o0o0o0o
Allen ran as fast as he could, his camera held tightly in his hand, his mind racing.
They couldn't. We trusted them, they just cant betray us like this. he thought as he ran. Something within him said there was more to what he had seen, more to what met his inexperienced eye. Yet, he could not hold back the feeling that something was very wrong with the situation he had just witnessed.
He found himself outside in the grounds of Kiamo Ko, the dark cloud above him pouring torrents of rain. Unable to find his bearings in the unfamiliar place he headed for what he believed to be a thicket of tall trees.
Wonder if they're quoxwoods… he thought briefly as he flew towards their shelter. He heard steps racing behind him, and he spun, his camera completely forgotten. The person running toward him held up their hands in surrender and slowed.
"Allen. You shouldn't be out here."
"And you shouldn't be planning conspiracies either. So here we are, now what?"
"Allen, you don't understand."
"I think I understand perfectly."
"You really don't. Come on inside so we can talk." Before Allen could reply, he heard a noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder and the next thing he knew was complete darkness.
Back inside the castle…
"Hey! Where's Allen?" The voice belonged to Teal Wicks.
"Yeah. He's not staring at me as per the usual." That came from Eden, who had on more than one occasion caught the boy eying her, a dreamy expression upon his face.
"Anybody seen Allen?" Idina's voice hovered above them all. All around everyone looked slightly confused and no one spoke up. She looked past them all and locked eyes with Elphaba, who only nodded. Just as she stood to leave to search for the boy, Glinda came running through the door.
"Elphaba, we have a problem." Elphaba stood, waving Idina and Teal over, and the three walked over to Glinda.
"Does this happen to have anything to do with Allen suddenly disappearing?" At the sound of the boy's name, Glinda visibly paled. "Glinda, what's going on?"
"He walked in on Jae and I talking, and well, the conversation was about…well, I can't tell you that part. Anyway, he ran off before we could stop him to explain."
"Where did he go?" Elphaba demanded, her impatience beginning to show.
"He was headed outside, towards the woods. Jae followed him, and I came here to get you." Elphaba looked to Idina, the look on her face more than explaining what she needed. Idina turned.
"Taye, Yero? Can you two come here a minute?" The two men walked over. "Jae and Allen are outside alone. We've got to get them back in here, but we don't know how far into the woods they've gotten."
"I'll get Elise and Chistery out there immediately." Fiyero said, and he walked off, calling for the two Monkeys.
"What do you need me to do?" Taye asked.
"We need you and Teal to stay here with the kids and keep them occupied." Elphaba said. Taye nodded but Teal looked confused.
"Wait, you guys want me to stay here?"
"Yes Teal. We need someone here to keep track of all of their explosive ideas. Since neither one of us will be here, we're leaving that up to you."
"Wait, where are you two going?" Taye asked, but from his expression it was clear his question was meant more for Idina than Elphaba.
"We're going out with Chistery and Elise. Those two aren't going to be able to hold off anything that might be out there and carry those boys back. We've got to go get them." Idina answered.
"You two can't carry them anymore than Chistery and Elise can. How're you gonna get them?" Idina smiled and pulled Taye into a fierce embrace.
"We're going to fly. I still have the broom we enchanted during the show, and Elphaba's got hers, so we can pick them up on the brooms. They should hold the weight pretty well." Elphaba only nodded and a small smirk found its way onto her face at their interaction.
"Oh." He looked down at his feet. It was obvious to them that he wanted to protest, but he didn't want to upset his very independent wife. Elphaba, Teal, and Glinda saw this and together they slipped a few feet away. As soon as they were far enough away, Idina gently lifted Taye's face so their eyes met. Worry glimmered in his dark eyes.
"What's bothering you?" She whispered. He tried to look away, but she refused to allow him that luxury. "What is it?"
"Well, for the first time, I feel…wicked." He whispered. The words were meant to get a smile out of his wife, but her silence told him it wasn't working. He sighed. "I don't know, Dee. I just have a bad feeling about this." She couldn't say anything against that because it was all too real a possibility that something could go very wrong. So, in response to his words, she pulled him closer and lightly touched her lips to his.
"I'm scared too, but I can't just leave Allen and Jae out there alone. Allen is so young and he doesn't really know his way around here, none of us do actually, and Jae is still recovering from a severe injury. He's not going to be able to protect himself and Allen. I have to do this."
"I know." As they fell silent, Fiyero came back through the doors, holding a small object in his hand. Elphaba, Teal, and Glinda walked back over to them as Fiyero came forward. When they were all together, he revealed the object in his hand.
It was Allen's camera.
They looked at it in awe for a moment, and then Idina reached forward and rewound the tape about ten minutes, and hit the playback button. The scene that greeted them was of Glinda and Jae standing in the darkened corridor hiding. The phrase, "Everything's going according to plan." Was heard, Glinda's voice speaking. They watched in horror as the two seemed to talk about some plan that none of them seemed to know about, and as the conversation progressed, Glinda began to grow more and more visibly pale. Then suddenly, the conversation was cut off as the sound of Allen's movement was heard and from the sudden shift of the camera angle, it was obvious the boy had begun to run. The scene raced before as the boy exited the safety of the castle and tore into the surrounding woods. The camera remained pointed at the grass but the voice of Jae could be heard attempting to calm the boy down. Then suddenly, the camera shifted in a wide dizzying arc, and a flash of color glanced across the screen. They saw the hem of Jae's highly recognizable uniform pants, saw Allen's sneakers, and then the camera fell to the ground. For a moment they saw or heard nothing, and then they saw Allen's sneakers drag across the screen. Then the tape cut out.
They looked at each other a moment, then turned to Glinda, who began to back away.
"We have to find them first, then I can explain." She said timidly, her eyes pleading with them.
"No I think you should get started explaining now." Fiyero said, a hint of anger entering his voice.
"Yero, you don't understand…" She began, but her voice trailed off at the look in his eyes. She looked to Elphaba, who at a loss for words, looked to Taye and Idina.
"Glinda, do you know where they took him?" Idina asked softly. She didn't want to believe that Glinda had betrayed them, but she could not deny that the evidence before them made the young blonde very suspicious.
"No. I don't. We only knew they were there because we sent them here in the first place. They aren't here to harm you. They're here to help." Confused silence met her words. "Remember the message Jae sent off just after…well you know what happened." She looked idly between Elphaba and Taye.
"Yeah we know." Idina said, her tone edgy.
"Well, he sent it to his most loyal fighters, all of whom are sympathetic to you, Elphaba. He had them come here to protect the castle so that you could focus on the Wizard. But now he's gone and they've got Allen with them. I don't know where they are in the woods, but I know its not safe for Allen to be out there with them."
"And why not?" Elphaba asked.
"Because the Wizard thinks those soldiers are here to help him and so he's got one of his own in the ranks with them. Jae and I have been trying to get him out of there, but so far we've been unsuccessful. If that soldier finds out that Allen is within the Forces, even Jae won't be able to help him."