AN: Got a reputation to uphold. Sorry, guys.

Chapter 5. The greatest team

When Fiyero opened his eyes the next morning, she was gone.

He immediately shot up straight, looking around, panicking. She hadn't taken off, had she? Had she left him alone again? Or had someone found her and taken her away?

He climbed out of the bed and moved into the cottage's small living room, where he caught sight of Elphaba. She was wearing her cloak and she was reaching for the front door's doorknob.

He jumped between her and the door. "Oh, no, you don't," he said, his heart pounding in his chest.

She just stared at him in bewilderment. "Don't what?" she asked, mystified.

He narrowed her eyes at her. "Don't play stupid with me," he chided her. "You were going to take off, weren't you?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said sarcastically. "I was going to take off."

"I knew it," Fiyero hissed.

"To pick some apples from the apple tree behind the cottage."

"I knew – what?"

She sighed again, deeply. "Really, Fiyero?" she asked him. "You're not going to be like this all the time, are you? Because I can tell you this much – it's annoying. Not to mention the fact that I feel kind of offended that you apparently don't trust me. I promised, didn't I? I always keep my word." She gave him a cold, fixed look. "Now could you please move out of my way so that I can collect breakfast?"

His mouth was hanging slightly open. He looked at her, then at the small, empty basket she was holding, then at the door, and then back at her. "You were…" His face flushed. "You weren't going to leave at all."

She shook her head.

"Oh." He suddenly felt very stupid. He sheepishly stepped back. "Sorry."

She shook her head again, but this time there was a small smile playing around her lips. 'You are such a brainless idiot," she said fondly.

He made a face.

She kissed his cheek. "I love you. Set the table, will you?" With that and a swish of her cloak, she disappeared outside.

His face still felt hot with embarrassment, so he quickly went to search the cupboards in the kitchen for some plates and utensils. By the time he was done, Elphaba was already back inside, setting the basket filled with apples on the table and taking off her cloak. "I should have some bread, too," she said, opening and closing some other cupboards before coming up again with half a loaf of bread and a bit of cheese. "There we go." She placed everything on the table, then sat down across from Fiyero.

He looked at her for a moment, then fixed his gaze on his plate again. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

She reached out to take his hand. "It's fine," she said. "I understand, Yero, I do. I'm sorry, too, for leaving you by yourself for so long."

"But you won't do it again?" he asked, just to make sure, and she shook her head.

"I promise," she said. "Not voluntarily, anyway."

That was good enough for him and he gave her a sheepish half-smile, which she returned with a roll of her eyes.

After they had eaten and cleaned up, he looked at her. "So… what are we going to do next?" he asked.

She pursed her lips and tilted her head a little to the side. "I've got this… thing… in the Emerald City," she said, and he nodded in understanding.

"A Resistance thing."

"Yeah." She looked at him. "You can just stay here," she said. "I think this will be safe enough – temporarily, anyway. I should be back again by tonight."

And what if you're not? The question was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't ask it. He knew how much she hated it when other people were making a fuss over her, and he would probably only annoy her to the point where she might break her promise after all and run away as fast as she could.

"I'll be here," he said instead.

She softened and walked over to him. "I know you hate just sitting here and doing nothing," she said. "But it's only temporarily, I promise. We'll figure something out later, okay?" She kissed him, then took her broom from the corner and walked over to the door. "I'll see you tonight."

"Good luck," he said, and with a final smile, she was gone.

That was how things were for them from then on, and it wasn't before long that Fiyero grew extremely irritated with that.

"Fae," he whined one day. "Can't I just come with you? Help you, or anything? I feel so useless just sitting here all day – not to mention that I'm bored out of my mind."

"It'll get better," she promised him. "I have one more important mission tomorrow and then we'll go someplace else, okay? To your parents, like you suggested when we first escaped the City."

He, foolishly believing her, agreed.

The next day, however, he found himself wandering through the forest, looking for clues. Not because he purposefully wanted to endanger himself; but because he suspected that she was purposefully endangering herself without telling him.

He hadn't liked the look in her eyes when she had left the cottage that morning. He knew that look. It was the same look she'd had right before she had defied the Wizard, and again when she had left him at the hospital. That look that told him that she knew something that he didn't, and she wasn't going to tell him what it was because she already knew he wouldn't like it.

He wasn't sure what he hoped to find when he ventured out into the woods. A trace of her, maybe. Something that would give him a clue as to where she had really gone and what she was really doing there. He didn't really expect to find anything; which was why he was very surprised when a Groundhog suddenly appeared in front of him and said, "You're looking for Miss Fae, aren't you?"

Fiyero blinked at the Animal for a moment.

"Long black hair, green skin…?" the Groundhog helped him. "I'm sure she has a real name, but Fae is her Resistance code name, in case you didn't know."

He hadn't known that, but he felt strangely touched that she had chosen his nickname for her as her Resistance code name.

"Are you a Resistance member?" he asked the Groundhog, who shrugged.

"I may be," he said. "I may not be. That's beside the point."

"What is the point, then?" Fiyero asked, and the Groundhog looked up at him, suddenly much more serious.

"She's in the Emerald City," he said. "You have to hurry – if you leave now, you might still make it in time."

Cold shivers went down Fiyero's spine – this didn't sound good. "In time for what?"

"To stop her," the Animal said.

"Stop her from doing what?" Fiyero almost growled, starting to grow extremely impatient with the Animal in front of him. "Look, she loves me, I know she does, but that doesn't mean she tells me everything. I have no idea what she set off to do today."

"I figured as much," the Groundhog muttered, "or I think you would have been on your way already. This is why I came to find you, Prince Fiyero. A friend of mine from the City, a Hawk, just came to tell me that he saw her flying through the sky on her broomstick, but he says that she isn't supposed to be on a mission for the Resistance today. He suspects that she is going on a mission of her own."

"Would you just get to the point already?" Fiyero almost shouted. "Why do I need to stop her? What is she going to do?"

The Groundhog sniffed. "Humans," he hissed, shaking his head. "Always so impatient."

Fiyero thought he was going to explode.

"Fine, then." The Animal looked up at the prince again. "She's going to kill Morrible."

Elphaba landed in a small alleyway near the large square, where the celebrations would take place.

She snorted. Celebrations. Today it was twenty-two years ago that the Wizard had taken the throne of Oz, and there were many activities planned for the occasion. There were feasts and balls all over the City, there were games to be played for the smaller children, there were free bites and drinks everywhere and the entire City was decorated with emerald green flags and balloons. And this afternoon, the Wizard's Press Secretary, Madame Morrible, would give a speech in the middle of the large square in front of the Emerald Palace.

And that was when Elphaba would strike.

She bit her bottom lip. She felt bad about lying to Fiyero. She really did. But she had been planning this mission for months already, and she just couldn't let the opportunity pass. She had studied and practised her magic for days on end, learning how to create magical energy balls and improving her aim. She taught herself different spells that could come in handy, she studied the Grimmerie, she tested her new-found knowledge on rocks and other inanimate objects. She could do this. She was ready. She would disguise herself with a spell, she would walk onto the square, kill Morrible with a well-aimed energy ball, and be gone before anyone would even realise that it was her.

She hoped she would succeed. She hoped she wouldn't get caught. She hoped she wouldn't be killed, because if she did, Fiyero would never forgive her.

But no. She was prepared. She was ready. She could do this.

She looked up at the clock that decorated the outside of the Emerald Palace. Only two more hours to go before Morrible's speech.

Fiyero found her just in time.

After the Groundhog had filled him in on Elphaba's plans, he had ran towards the nearest village and bought a horse, racing towards the Emerald City as quickly as he could. The Groundhog had told him about the speech Morrible would give later that day and Fiyero figured that would be when Elphaba would attack, which was why he had been lurking near the square ever since he got there, straining his eyes in an attempt to catch sight of a flash of green. And eventually, he got lucky.

An energy ball was dancing in the palm of her hand, a frown on her face and that look in her eyes that he recognised from Shiz, when she was really concentrating on something.

Then she saw him and she dropped the magical ball in surprise. "Fiyero?"

He grabbed her arm and yanked her around a corner, away from anyone that might see them. "Have you completely lost your mind?" he demanded in a high voice.

She blinked at him.

"Elphaba," he said, his voice dangerously low now. "Please tell me I came all this way for nothing and you weren't really planning on murdering Morrible all by yourself."

Her jaw actually dropped a little. Then she averted her eyes, shuffling around a little, not saying anything.

But then again, she didn't have to.

Fiyero grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "How could you do that?" he shouted at her. "Do you know what could have happened? What if anyone discovered you? What if Morrible would see through your plan and strike back? Do you know what kind of risk you took? You could have died, Elphaba!"

"I know!" she snapped, pulling away from him. "Don't you think I know? I just wanted to end it, that's all!"

"This is not the way to do that!" he protested. "Just flying off to kill Morrible? Are you out of your mind?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Fiyero," she said calmly, looking back at him. "This is something I have been working on for months already, and I'm not going to let anyone stop me from doing it. Not even you."

"Fae," he pleaded desperately, but she shook him off.

"I'll be fine, Yero."

She created another energy ball and moved back to the edge of the square, staring at Morrible intently as the woman stood on the stage as she gave her speech to the Ozians. Fiyero kept a close eye on her, worried sick, but not sure what he could do. He knew very well that if Elphaba got something in her head, there was no way of getting it out again, and so he could only sit and wait.

Elphaba moved her hand back, ready to throw the ball of magic electricity. Just then, Fiyero saw Morrible turning her head towards himself and the raven-haired witch, an evil glint in her eye and a hint of a smirk on her face.

Before Fiyero could shout a warning, Elphaba threw the energy ball.

With a simple hand movement, Morrible erected a magical protective shield. The energy ball ricocheted on it and came flying back at them.

It hit Elphaba in the side.

*hides from Maddy Hunters*