Beautifullywicked
Elphaba's face looked confused momentarily, but then i turned into a face of horror. "This is not good. This is not good at all. Glinda why didn't you tell us!? We could've helped..." she said looking at her blonde friend, who was looking down at the floor.
"I'm sorry Elphie, I just thought, that you guys would all thing we're betraying you... and I... we, thought it would be better if we just let everything happen and we could explain." she shrugged looking around apologetically. "I'm so sorry. We never meant for this to happen!" she said pleading with them to believe her. "And now Allen, and Jae... and oh I don't know what to do! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"
"No! Glinda... no," Megan said shaking her head at the blonde. By that time, they had a rather large group of people who came over at the commotion. "It was not your fault!" Megan continued, "If we have to blame anybody it's the Wizard! If that stupid son of a bi - "
Eden cleared her throat, "Megan..." she said looking around the group, and especially the younger fans then back to Megan.
"Oh, I mean er..." she paused looking for a different word.
Mikayla looked around with a look as if saying"What is with you guys?", shaking her head, and just said, "Oh just say it Megan!" she said and rolling her eyes, "I mean he is a son of a bitc.h and he sure in hel.l better know that!"
Shoshana couldn't help but burst into laughter, "You go girl..." she said giving Mikayla a high five, who grinned in response. "Glinda," Shoshana said turning back to her, "It honestly isn't your fault. But right now it's our responsibility to get him back," she said looking around.
Idina nodded, "Exactly, so lets just focus on getting everyone back safely. Now Glinda, we do need your help. What were you and Jae planning on doing to get that guard to get out." she asked, "Or if anyone has any ideas..." she said trailing off at the end.
There was a minute of silence, but then Kaylee looked up, "Elise." she said suddenly. "Elise thinks that Jae is a traitor... we need to stop her." she said, "And we don't want our flying monkey to get hurt!"
"Oh crap," Kerry said looking around at Idina, "She's right, she's really right. Especially about the not getting hurt part!!" she said.
"Oh great..." Idina said shaking her head, "Uh, I can go get her..." she said turning to Elphaba, who nodded in response.
"Can I come too?" Kerry asked looking at Idina and Elphaba for permission.
"Uh sure, why not?" Idina said, and Elphaba, nodding, handed Idina her broomstick and Idina's to Kerry. "Just... be careful flying," Idina said glancing over at Mikayla shaking her head, letting out a short laugh a bit at the memory.
"Hmm..." Nicole started to open her mouth to say something, but closed it again, all with a very puzzled look on her face. But this time she did say something, "Well we can't just send him back you know..."
"Hmm?" Annaleigh said, "Uh... we can't?" she asked seriously confused
"No." Nicole said nodding, "we can't. Don't you think it would look a little suspicious to the Wizard say if the one guy he sends along just comes back alone?"
"You know she's got a point," Amanda said in a thick Australian accent slowly nodding, realization creeping onto her face. "That would look... well rather... bad." she said looking around, "Don't you think?"
And the brainstorming started.
"LET GO OF ME JAE!!" Allen yelled as loud as he could, thrashing at his kidnappers, trying to land a solid punch in one of their faces.
"Ow!!" one of the men exclaimed, while Allen smirked at himself. Looks like I did...
"Allen!" Jae said in a sharp whisper to Allen's ear, "You have got to trust me just for this moment okay?" he said, "Your life could depend on it! Trust me! I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to." he said, he leaned down to say one more thing, "Don't listen to another thing I say okay? I don't mean ANY of it." he said with such fierceness in his voice that Allen had to believe him.
"Okay! He's under control," Allen heard Jae say and then he heard a gun click and gulped.
"Hmmm..." he heard another voice say, "Maybe this guy will help us..."
Jae laughed, but still was holding on to Allen's shoulders in a firm grip. "You never know... but you know these rebels..." he said smirking back at the man. "I'm going to take him over here, to interogate him." Jae said, and looked at his loyal men and telling them with his eyes to keep an eye on the Wizard's man.
Jae roughly pushed Allen along and into the woods, "Just act like you don't want to be here, and that you're actually being held prisoner," he whispered to him.
"Well aren't I?" Allen asked in response bitterly, at the guy he once trusted. "Let go of me!" he growled trying to break free of his grip.
Finally Jae stopped and turned Allen around and took his blindfold off, "Now you listen to me. If we want to survive, and if we want all the others to be safe, we're going to have to work together, okay? Together." he said again putting emphasis on the word. "You have got to trust me," he said looking into his eyes. "These are all MY men! Loyal to me, and sympathizers of Elphaba okay? But the Wizard had one of his guys join our group at the last minute,"
"The guy you were talking to?" Allen asked, looking behind him, making sure no one was there.
"Yes," Jae said nodding, "And don't worry. My men won't let him get near us. Like I said, you've got to trust us. We can't just treat you like we normally would, or else he could report back to the Wizard and put everyone of those people back in Kiamo Ko in danger, and I don't think neither of us want that to happen."
"Fine." Allen finally said, taking in all of what Jae had said, "I trust you... but if you do one thing..." he started but he got cut off when he heard something drop down behind him. He turned ready to kick the thing, but saw it was Elise.
"Elise!" Jae said, "Thank Oz you're here. Just go back and tell them that we're alright and everything is under control." he said, but a confused look appeared on his face, when Elise didn't go. Plus how she was glaring at him, seemingly ready to pounce.
But she turned to Allen saying, "We found your camera." Then she turned back to glare at Jae again, and Chistery landed next to her, pointing up to the sky. "What is it Chistery?" Elise said looking up, and then she saw Kerry and Idina, "Oh." she said looking confused back at her fellow flying monkey.
Kerry and Idina landed lightly next to the two monkeys and looked back and fourth between Jae and Elise. "Is everything okay?" Idina asked slowly.
"Well, besides that he's a ..." Elise started saying very loudly but got cut off.
"Shhh, Elise, it's okay..." Kerry said nodding at her, "Jae's telling the truth. Trust me Elise," she said, but she had to stop because they heard footsteps coming.
"You guys better go," Jae said looking at the four of them, but before they could go someone stepped out of the trees.
"Jae?" they heard a voice say, and they saw the Wizard's guard step out from around the tree, "What is this all about?" he asked eyeing the six of them. They heard a click, and he pulled a gun out, pointing it at him, "Why don't you tell me what's really going on."
Galindafied
"Why don't you tell me what's really going on." Even as he stepped out from the shadows, the others were unable to take a good look at the guard's face for he wore a cap that obscured most of it.
Jae tried to quickly search his mind for a reason, but none could be found and he stood there sputtering out incoherent sentences.
"Well I-…I mean they just- Uh…" Jae tried. The guard stared him down, waiting for a response.
Suddenly, Idina's brain started working overtime, and the next thing she knew, she had grabbed Jae's gun from his belt and was aiming it at the guard. Elise followed suit by knocking Jae to the ground and withdrawing a small, sharp kitchen knife from a satchel that was slung across her shoulder.
"Drop your gun or explain to the Wizard how you allowed the Captain of the Guards to be slain before your eyes," Idina stated boldly. Kerry glanced at Elise and Jae in shock, but didn't dare say a word.
The guard didn't even blink and kept his gun pointing at Idina and Allen. However, when his target didn't flinch and Elise's knife only drew closer to Jae's neck, the guard had no choice but to back down. He dropped the gun and threw his hands in the air in defeat.
"Good. Now I don't trust you, so I'm taking this one here," she nodded towards Jae who was still lying at her feet, "back to the castle. If you follow, he dies. Got it?"
The guard nodded miserably as Idina pocketed his gun and took off with the others, leaving him there in the middle of the clearing all alone.
Once they were out of sight, he glanced around quickly, making sure none of the other guards had seen any of what had just played out. If the Wizard found out that the Witch's followers had eluded him AND taken the Captain of the Guards captive…he shivered at the thought. But what the Wizard didn't know wouldn't hurt him, so once making certain that no one had seen a thing, he turned back towards the camp and plastered a smug look on his face.
However, before he could reach the borders of the clearing, Elise's satchel, filled with dirt and small pebbles from the forest floor, dropped from the sky and knocked him out. Elise and Chistery peeked out from the branches of a tree to make sure he was, in fact, unconscious. Once reassured, they emerged from the tree and took hold of the guard before flying after the others.
Back at the castle, everyone sat around the entrance hall speaking in soft whispers. It had been a while since Kerry and Idina had left, and the excited chatter and brainstorming had since died down and was instead replaced by a worried silence. They had been in dangerous situations before, but for once it all seemed real to those who had traveled from Earth. It was like they had all awoken from a dream, only to find that it was, in fact, reality. The fatal risks that they took finally sunk in, and some of them were now doubting the situation and wanted nothing but to go home.
Suddenly, the doors burst open and in walked Jae, Kerry, Idina and Allen. The room was immediately filled with cheers and relieved sighs as some members rushed up to greet the group. They had just settled down again to hear about what had happened when the doors banged open again. Elise and Chistery flew in and deposited the unconscious guard at Elphaba's feet. Jae smiled in triumph.
"You got him! Nice work you two. But…what will we do with him?" he asked, looking over at his sister. Before Elphaba could answer, everyone crowded around the guard, gasping and murmuring in confusion as they did.
Elphaba pushed through the crowd to see what was causing the disturbance.
"Oh my Oz! Jae…he looks exactly like you!" Elphaba exclaimed. She looked back and forth between the two checking for some sort of feature that the other did not possess, but there was no denying it. It took only another second for Elphaba to realize what was going on. "Grab hold of him! It's another trick from the Wizard!"
Fiyero immediately obliged and held onto Jae tightly. Jae was slightly taken aback but didn't struggle.
"So which one of you is the copy?" Elphaba said sternly.
Jae stood there silent for a while, but then it dawned on him. "Oh, are you referring to the copies the Wizard made of you and Idina?"
Elphaba nodded and glared at him when he started laughing.
"Elphaba! This is my twin brother I was telling you about, Rajah…Well, I guess he's your brother too…But anyway, he's the one who made the Rajah cocktail that helped to save Fiyero."
And suddenly Elphaba realized it as well. "Oh my Oz! I can't believe I missed that detail…Yes, I remember you talking about it now. I guess I was just so stressed what with Fiyero's state, finding out about my relation to the Wizard AND finding out you were my brother."
Everyone started talking amongst themselves again as Elphaba examined her two brothers. The resemblance was truly uncanny. She had not found a single mark that the other did not have. And then it was as if a light bulb had gone off in her head.
"This is perfect! Jae, whenever the Wizard needs Rajah to report back to him, you just do it. And we can just keep Rajah locked up for now. It's so simple." Elphaba smiled at Jae and waited for a response. He thought for a minute but then shook his head.
"You have to remember that we BOTH have worked in the palace all our lives. He can tell us apart easily," he thought for a moment more before speaking again, "Why don't we just do what the Wizard did with Nessa and Idina? I know the spell. We'll just need a volunteer to take the form of Rajah whenever the Wizard sends for him. Anyone up for it?"
"I am." A confident voice sounded from the back of the room. Pfanee strode forward and stood next to Elphaba.
"You'll need someone who knows the castle inside and out. Fiyero and I are the only other ones. And I'm sure you'll need Fiyero by your side often as you get further along in your pregnancy," she slightly smiled at this.
"Yeah, sure. But do you, uh know how to…" Jae trailed off, blushing slightly.
"What? Act like a guy?" Pfanee smirked, "I think I'll manage. Now let's get started!"
Over the course of one day, the murmurs had grown to angry yells in the Emerald City. Citizens were dusting off the same pitchforks and torches that they had used back in the day to ward off the Witch. Only now, these tools would be used to confront the Wizard.
The Ozians marched through the streets, urging their neighbors to join the mob. And they did. Nearly every single chore had been abandoned. That evening's dinner was still on the stove and the clothes a woman had been hanging up to dry sat in a crumpled pile on the lawn.
As the mob reached the palace, the Wizard calmly ordered his guards to stop them. But to his surprise, they only turned on him and roughly grabbed him from his chair and threw him outside to face the angry citizens.
WickedlyAsh
"Fellow Ozians," the Wizard displayed a nervous smile as he addressed the crowd of angry citizens. He took notice of the sharp points of pitchforks gleaming against the torch lights the Ozians carried. He gulped silently from nerves, but knew that keeping his cool was the only way to win this battle.
"We want answers, Wizard!" one citizen yelled, displaying a tone of disgust as they said the last word.
"What in Oz name are you talking about?" the Wizard inquired, remaining as calm as possible.
"We're talking about you and the Wicked Wi-, Elphaba," another citizen called out, finally addressing the green woman by her real name. "We saw the show Glinda put on, and it looked like YOU were the one behind all this mess!"
"Citizens of Oz, I have been nothing but honest and kind towards you, why would you believe some sad story full of lies?" the Wizard tried to sound reasonable.
"Glinda the Good has no reason to lie to us!" one citizen yelled, and the others cried out in agreement.
"But did you realize that the Wicked Witch of the West was also involved with the show?" the Wizard asked loudly, and smiled when he was met with silence and confused looks. "Yes, the Wicked Witch was involved with the show. Who do you trust? The witch, whose green skin is but an outward manifestoriam of her twisted nature? Or me, the Wizard, who has been nothing but kind to you in my time here?"
The Wizard expected to get a round of cheers from this, but it was clear that the citizens were not entirely convinced, as they all exchanged looks of skepticism and confusion. At that moment, the Wizard noticed a figure standing at his side. "Oh Rajah, my most loyal guard, thank Oz your back! We have some work to do, it's time to finish this!"
"Yes your Ozness!" Pfanee tried to exude some form of male confidence as she impersonated Rajah. The Wizard seemed to pause for a moment at her response, but then continued into the palace, with Pfanee following close behind.
"I should have gone instead, I feel terrible about putting Pfanee at risk like this," Jae said regretfully, hanging his head.
"Pfanee is more than capable of taking care of herself," Glinda comforted Jae as she thought of her friend from school. "Besides, you said so yourself, the Wizard would probably be able to tell you and Rajah apart."
"Speaking of Rajah," Elphaba interrupted as she entered the room, "he's awake."
Jae stood up immediately, Glinda following close behind. Back in the main hallway, a large group of actresses and WoO members had gathered around a man chained to the wall, a man who looked identical to Jae.
"Hello brother," Jae smiled at Rajah, trying to be as civil as possible.
"Don't talk to me, you traitorous scum!" Rajah yelled, trying to break free from the chains.
"Hey, you can't talk to him like that!" Glinda yelled while running towards Rajah angrily, until Elphaba stopped her.
"Glinda, that won't do any good, we need to try to talk to him," Elphaba reasoned, moving towards Rajah. "Hello Rajah, my name is Elphaba, and I'm your half-sister. I know this may be difficult, but I hope we can become frie-"
Elphaba was cut off mid-sentence as Rajah spat in her face. Elphaba stood up slowly, wiping off the spit, then turned to Glinda. "Nevermind," she rolled her eyes," go ahead."
Glinda went to move forward when the group heard a loud noise coming from the next room. In a mass movement, everyone ran into the adjacent room to see what the commotion was.
"Oh, it's Elphaba's crystal ball again," Carley said, pointing at the glowing orb.
Elphaba pushed through the crowd to get a better look at the crystal ball. As soon as the sphere was in clear sight, the Wizard's face came into view.
"Hello Elphaba," he smiled, a terrible smirk on his face.
"Can he hear us?" Stephanie whispered.
"No, he can't see us either," Allen replied, remembering what Elphaba had said last time the Wizard had communicated through the crystal ball.
"Now Elphaba, you've certainly been on the offensive lately…stealing the Grimmerie, turning the citizens of Oz against me, and killing my most trusted advisor. I tip my hat to you Elphaba, well done."
"Yes! We win!" Kaylee yelled, giving Holli a high-five.
"Shhh!" Elphaba silenced the two girls as the Wizard continued speaking.
"But my dear Elphaba, you have faltered," the Wizard smirked as he pulled a second figure into view. "I don't know who this is, but this is not my guard, this is not Rajah. Now you will bring Rajah to me, or your spy dies." And with that the crystal ball went black.
"Well," Elphaba said with little hesitation, "I guess I'll go then."
"Elphaba, are you crazy?" Fiyero approached Elphaba quickly. "Pfanee knew what she was getting herself into, you need to think about the baby, our baby."
"He's right," Jae said to Elphaba, "this has to be a trap."
"We can't just leave her there," Elphaba said.
"Well then let us come with you," Glinda sighed.
"Yeah, we'll come too!" Mikayla offered.
"We're all coming to help!" Nicole smiled.
"Oh no, we're not putting everyone in danger!" Elphaba said sternly. "Jae, Fiyero, and Glinda can come to help, but that's it!"
"But-" Tiana started.
"No buts!" Elphaba stopped her. "Idina, I'm putting you and Taye in charge while I'm gone, got it?"
"Sure," Idina nodded, offering to take responsibility.
"Alright," Elphaba sighed, "let's grab our prisoner."
Before long, Glinda had managed to transport herself, Jae, Rajah, Elphaba, and Fiyero to the Wizard's palace via bubble, and prepared to meet with the enemy.
"Ah, Elphaba," the Wizard smiled as the group entered the main chamber of the palace. "I'm surprised you actually came."
"Look, you have a prisoner, we have a prisoner," she said, pointing to Rajah. "Let's just make the trade."
"As you wish," the Wizard smirked. The Wizard released Pfanee, still disguised as Rajah, and she started walking towards the group. Simultaneously, Fiyero released Rajah, who began to walk towards the Wizard. Pfanee and Rajah were about to cross paths in the middle of the room when Jae noticed a gleam near Rajah's hand. It only took him a moment to notice the needle in his hand, and the unmistakable color of the potion made Jae realize what it was: irreversible poison.
"No!" Jae yelled, running out to protect Pfanee. Elphaba, Fiyero, Glinda, and the Wizard watched as the three identical individuals began to scuffle in the middle of the room. Within moments, all the observers had lost track of each person's identity.
"Glinda, we need to get them out of here!" Elphaba yelled, then immediately murmured a spell under her breath, causing a deep red smoke to engulf most of the room. Elphaba could then hear Glinda conjuring a spell of her own, and suddenly felt herself floating away from the scene by bubble.
As they floated away by bubble, Elphaba could hear the Wizard screaming below, "What the-, NOOOO!"
"Everyone, you have to calm down!" Idina said as she tried to quiet the group of WoO members, who were all talking loudly and nervously. "Elphaba left me in charge, and I don't think she'd appreciate seeing you all like this!"
At just that moment, Elphaba and the others dropped into the foyer, and Idina looked at the group. Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero seemed relatively unhurt, but the other group of three startled her. All looking identical, once was seemingly conscious an unharmed, one was unconscious and bleeding from the head, and the third was absolutely motionless, a needle sticking out from their neck.