AU: Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews! :)

- EvilLoveTriangle: yes, I'm purposefully using song lyrics for most of my chapter titles ^^. I'm not good at coming up with fitting titles, so I just look at what happens in the chapter and then whatever title first pops into my head, I use. Usually Wicked song lyrics because I'm just addicted to the songs. (Most of the titles that aren't named after Wicked lyrics, are actually named after other song lyrics :3.)

I noticed I forgot to put up a disclaimer last time, but seriously - we all know I don't own Wicked.

'But Elphie,' Glinda protested, for what must have been the twentieth time. 'Those rocks were flying.'

'I can't believe that's what you're getting yourself all worked up about after everything that's happened,' Elphaba retorted. 'You've seen my powers in action before. What's different now?'

'Elphaba, moving wheelchairs around and enchanting broomsticks to fly is something entirely different than what you just did! You sent those rocks flying without even using a spell!'

'Glinda…'

'And then you crushed them like it was nothing, while some of that rocks were nearly half as big as you!'

Maráni, who was sitting in a corner with her cubs, snorted. 'You should have seen her back when she used to live here. When she first moved here, a few weeks after she left you at the Emerald City, she didn't have any control over her powers at all – she blew up one of our caves in a fit of rage.'

The blonde's eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. 'She blew up an entire cave?!'

Elphaba was looking a bit sheepishly. 'Well… yes. It was an accident,' she quickly defended herself. 'I have much more control over my powers now. Only sometimes, when I get really angry…' She let her voice trail away and shrugged.

Glinda shook her head incredulously. 'You nearly gave me a heart attack, Elphie.'

The green girl smirked. 'Again?'

Glinda shot her a look. Then her face softened and she asked quietly, 'What are you going to do now? With the Wizard, I mean?'

'Do I look like I have even the slightest clue?'

Glinda sighed. 'No, I suppose you don't. It's just… well… I need to know.'

Elphaba sensed the tension in her voice and vigilantly looked her friend up and down. 'Why?'

The blonde girl sighed again. 'Elphie… I hate having to do this, but… well… I can't stay here.'

Elphaba smiled a bit sadly as she realised what her friend meant. 'I know,' she said. 'You have to get back to the Emerald City. There are lots of things you need to take care of, Glin. I understand.'

Glinda nodded. 'And… well… I need to know if I have to take him back with me to send him off in his balloon, or if you'd prefer him to stay here.'

The witch thought about that for a moment. 'I'm not sure… how about you just leave him here? I think he's perfectly fine, staying in that dungeon, and that way, I'll have some more time to think about it. You can always take him back with you after your next visit – you will visit again, won't you?'

'Of course!' Glinda said, sounding offended. 'I would never leave you here without checking up on you every now and then – you'd get yourself in trouble within no time at all.'

'You checking up on me won't prevent me from doing that,' Elphaba grinned, and the blonde laughed. 'Well, yes, you have a point there.'

Looking into her friends' eyes, Elphaba became serious again. 'When will you be leaving?'

'Within a few days,' replied Glinda. 'I'll take my bubble – that way the journey will be much shorter, not to mention more pleasant. And I'm going to do what I promised you I would do, Elphie. I'm going to try my best to make Oz a better place, starting by eliminating the Animal bans.'

Elphaba hugged her friend. 'Thank you, Glinda.'

The blonde smiled, then frowned as she took a close look at her friend. 'Now wait just a clock-tick. How long have you been up, exactly?'

'Glinda!' the green girl protested, but Glinda didn't give in. 'You look like a walking dead body, Elphie – no offense. Now either you let me take you back to your room…'

'I'm fine!'

'…or I'm going to call Fiyero so he can carry you again.'

Elphaba glared at her friend, who was looking very pleased with herself. The blonde merely smirked. 'It's your pick.'

'Are you sure you want to do this?'

Elphaba looked at Maráni rather nervously. 'Why? Do you think it's a bad idea?'

The Wolf shook her head. 'Not at all, little one. I just want to make sure you're not rushing into things.'

'Now is as good a time as any, I suppose,' replied Elphaba. She limped towards the door and reached for the keys.

'Do you want me to stay with you?' Maráni asked. Elphaba hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. 'No, thank you. I think I'd prefer to talk to him alone.'

'Does that mean I can't stay either?' asked Nuki, who was sitting on Maráni's back, a little disappointed. 'Someone has to be there to make sure you don't murder him, right?'

Elphaba rolled her eyes good-naturedly at that and laughed. 'I'm not planning on murdering him, Nuki.'

'You weren't last time,' Maráni pointed out. 'And yet you almost did. I think it might be a good idea for Nuki to stay with you.'

Elphaba sighed and nodded. 'Sure, Nuki. If that's what you really want.'

'Yay!' Nuki exulted. She jumped off Maráni's back and went to stand next to Elphaba. The green girl opened the door and entered the room, with Nuki close behind her.

The Wizard looked up when she entered the room. The expression on his face was one of utter surprise. 'Elphaba…' Suddenly, he looked very nervous and fearful. 'Have you come to murder me?'

'Why does everyone seem to think I want to murder you?!' Elphaba sputtered in protest. 'Do I look that murderous to you?'

'Well… no.' The Wizard lowered his eyes. 'But I figured… well… I don't think I could blame you if you did want to murder me. I've certainly given you enough reason.'

Elphaba cautiously closed the door behind her and went to take a seat across from him at a reasonable distance. She wasn't sure if she could trust this change of heart, and so she wanted to be prepared for anything.

'True,' she agreed quietly. Nuki jumped on her lap and sat down, eyeing the Wizard suspiciously, tail twitching from left to right.

The man looked up again, curiosity in his eyes. 'But if you didn't come to murder me… what did you come to do?'

She shrugged. 'I'm not sure, really. Talk, I suppose.' She fell silent for a moment. 'What's your real name?'

He looked up in surprise. 'What?'

'You came from another world – I don't assume you've been called 'the Wizard' your entire life,' Elphaba pointed out. 'And I certainly am not going to keep on calling you 'your Ozness'. So what is it? Your name?'

He sighed. 'Oscar.'

'Oscar.' She tilted her head a little to the right. 'Not a common name, is it? I haven't heard it before in my life.'

'It is common where I come from,' he told her a bit miserably. 'Elphaba… I just want you to know that I'm really, really sor-'

'Why did you do it?' she interrupted. He looked down at his feet. 'You knew too much. You would be dangerous if you wouldn't work with me, so Madam Morrible had this plan to fool all of Oz into believing you to be wicked…'

She shook her head. 'Not that. Why did you treat the Animals the way you did? Why did you blame them for everything when they had never done anything to hurt you?'

'I told you the truth before.' The Wizard – Oscar – seemed lost in thought for a moment. 'The people needed a scapegoat and the Animals seemed to be the perfect fit – no pun intended. I just… I guess I was so overwhelmed by all this new power I suddenly had over people, that I didn't… think clearly.'

'You could say that,' Elphaba muttered. Nuki rubbed her head against the green girl's arm and Elphaba smiled and petted the small Cat. Then she looked up again, right into Oscar's eyes. 'Do you even realise what you've done to them?'

Oscar hung his head, but didn't say anything. Elphaba went on. 'You forced them into hiding. You hurt them. You had them murdered. You incited the people of Oz to do the same – I've seen Animals being hunt down to serve as food! Not animals, but Animals! Some of the Animals who came here were crippled, mutilated – your guards having cut off their paws or tails or ears!' She felt her temper flare up again and she tried to calm herself down before she sent any other rocks – or certain people – flying. She went on in a quiet tone of voice. 'Nuki here has lost her parents and siblings because of you. Your men murdered them – he murdered young Kittens of barely a day old. Nuki only survived because she was the smallest and she was underneath her siblings – they didn't see her.'

The man looked at the small tortoiseshell Cat on Elphaba's lap and said, 'I'm sorry.' He sounded sincere, but Elphaba didn't trust him at all.

Nuki, however, apparently did, because she left Elphaba's lap and looked up at the former Wizard. 'Don't be,' she said a bit bluntly. 'You can't change what happened, after all. You can't miss what you didn't have, right?'

He looked like he was about to cry. 'But…'

'And if it hadn't happened,' Nuki went on as if he hadn't spoken at all, 'I would have never met the best person in the world – the only human any of us could ever trust.' She looked at Elphaba with a fond look in her orange eyes, and the green girl smiled at the small Cat. She picked her up and hugged her. 'Thank you, Nuki.'

'It's true,' the little Cat told her. The turned her orange gaze back to Oscar. 'I do accept your apologies,' she told him. 'I can see that you really mean it. You have a lot more apologising to do, though.'

Oscar actually had tears in his eyes. 'I know. But… thank you. It means a lot to me.'

Elphaba was eyeing him up and down, not sure what to think. Nuki, because of her background, had never been very trusting – especially not towards humans. But she, as did most Animals, could more or less sense how a person truly felt, and if she felt like the Wizard was telling the truth…

Her face softened a bit. 'All right. If it's good enough for Nuki, I suppose it's good enough for me,' she finally conceded. 'But you still have a long, long way to go before you actually earn my trust.'

He looked utterly relieved. 'Thank you, Elphaba.'

She nodded and got up, suddenly feeling very tired. 'I'm going to go now. I'll… I'll be back later.'

He smiled faintly. 'I'd like that.'

She nodded again and left the room, locking the door behind her. She wasn't sure where this was going to lead, but she felt like they had just taken an important first step.

Glinda left shortly thereafter.

It was a painful goodbye to both Glinda and Elphaba, but they both knew it was also a necessary one, and it wouldn't be forever. They embraced each other.

'Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone,' Glinda warned, her voice thick with tears. Elphaba smiled with her face buried in the shorter girl's hair. 'Look who's talking. I'm not the one about to start ruling a country.'

'I wish you were,' Glinda told her truthfully. 'You would be a much better ruler than I can ever be.'

Elphaba shook her head. 'You'll be the best, Glinda. I said that to you before and I meant it. You can do so much good – you can do all I couldn't do.'

Glinda's blue eyes were filling up with tears once again. 'I wish you could be there with me.'

'I know,' Elphaba said with a rather sad smile. 'But I can't. You can do this, Glinda. I have faith in you. Just don't do anything stupid.'

'Like what?' Glinda asked, a bit offended. Elphaba chuckled. 'Like painting the Emerald City pink, for example.'

Glinda giggled. 'Perhaps I could paint half of the Emerald City pink and leave the other half green. Remember? Pink goes good with green!'

Elphaba smiled, squeezing the blonde's hand. 'It certainly does,' she agreed quietly.

They embraced each other again and then Glinda created her trademark bubble around herself. 'Goodbye, Elphie.'

'Only for now,' Elphaba said, fighting back the gathering tears. Glinda smiled and nodded. 'Only for now.'

Then she flew away. Within minutes, she was nothing more but a small dot in the distance.

Doctor Dillamond looked pleased when he was done examining her. 'Everything's looking good,' he told her. 'Your fever is down and your wounds are healing. You can start trying to put some weight on that fractured ankle – not too much, but just a little. That one is going to take some more time, as are those cracked ribs, but I'm very pleased. You heal very quickly, Miss Elphaba.'

'Does that mean I can leave?' she asked. Fiyero, who was standing not too far away, immediately spun around and asked, sounding alarmed, 'Leave? What do you mean, leave?'

'There are a few things that need to be settled,' she explained. 'I have to go see Master Gold. The sooner, the better.'

'Well, it's not going to be soon,' Doctor Dillamond told her sternly. 'I said you were healing – not that you are actually healed. You still need rest and there is absolutely no way that you are leaving here, young lady.'

Elphaba sighed. 'Well, when do you suppose I can leave?'

'In about a week, I think. Maybe more.'

She sighed again. 'Just perfect.'

The Goat smiled at her. 'Master Gold is still going to be there in a week, Miss Elphaba. Don't fret. Why don't you rest for a while? I myself am going to be very busy the next few days, but I'll ask Doctor Quork to check up on you every now and then.'

Elphaba nodded and Doctor Dillamond left the room. Fiyero was instantly at her side. 'You can't be serious about leaving.'

'Fiyero…' she tried, but he would have none of it. 'You almost died, for Oz's sake! Why don't you just take care of yourself for just a clock-tick and let the world worry about itself for a while?'

'Because I can't!' she snapped. 'I can't just sit around here and do nothing while I know there are people, not to mention Animals, out there who need my help! The Wizard and Morrible may be gone – sort of, anyway – and I know Glinda will be trying her best to make things right again, but that doesn't mean all of our problems are gone and it certainly doesn't mean we can just go around sitting on our bu-,' she quickly interrupted and corrected herself, 'behinds and doing nothing!'

'Fae.' He grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. 'Stop it. Please. I understand – I know that you can't stand having to stand back when you know you can help.'

'Then why are you making me?' she demanded. He looked her in the eye. 'Because you have to help yourself before you can help others,' he answered. 'I'm not going to let you fly off as long as you're not fully healed.'

She glared at him, but finally gave in. 'Fine, then. But as soon as Doctor Dillamond says I can go, I will go. And I'll bear no contradiction.'

'Fine, then,' he mimicked her, earning him another glare. 'But I'll be coming with you. And I'll bear no contradiction.'

'Are you laughing at me?' she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. He laughed and traced a finger down her bare arm. 'What if I am?'

'Hmm.' She snaked her arms around his neck and tilted her head a little, lips pursed as if seriously thinking about his question. 'I suppose I'd have to punish you.'

He grinned at her. 'In that case, I plead guilty.'

While Glinda the Good was floating towards the palace, the people below her on the streets stopped and cheered. 'It's Glinda! Glinda is back!' they rejoycified. Glinda smiled and waved at them as she continued to make her way towards the palace. Her bubble disappeared the instance her feet touched the front steps of the palace and she entered the large building on foot.

Everyone was smiling as they saw her, welcoming her, asking how her trip had been, and when she finally reached the peace and quiet of her room, a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. She wished that she could just put on some pyjamas and go to sleep, but unfortunately, she knew this day not to be over yet – in fact, it was only midmorning. She changed clothes, fixed her hair, planted her tiara on her blonde curls and took her wand in her left hand, and then she left her rooms again with a bubbly smile glued to her face.

She had some extremely dreary meetings with some extremely dreary people – the members of the Council among them – but by the time she went down for dinner, she was quite content with what she had achieved that day. The Council had agreed, after some persuasion on her side, to lift the Animal bans, and she had been filled in on what had happened in Oz during her absence. Fortunately, Oz seemed to fare quite well without their Wizard and there weren't too much problems going on – except for Munchkinland, which had just fallen apart into complete chaos. She had summoned another meeting with some of her advisors and the Ambassadors of the different parts of Oz and she had presented them her plans to deal with the trouble going on in Munchkinland. They were all enthusiastic about her ideas and they promised to help her carry out the plans, something that lifted another sorrow from her shoulders. All in all, it had been a tiring, but satisfying day.

After dinner, she went back to her rooms, planning on going to sleep right away. Someone up above there, however, didn't seem to want her to go to sleep at all today, because again something came up; she had almost reached her chambers when the Captain of the Guard came rushing towards her.

She suppressed a sigh. She really didn't feel like discussing anything with him right now – she just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. She forced herself to smile, however, as she asked, 'Captain. How can I help you?'

He was slightly out of breath, and panting, he said, 'Lady Glinda… I'm very sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I only just learned of your return and there are very pressing matters I need to discuss with you.'

She suppressed another sigh as she said apologetically, 'I'm really sorry, Captain, but you see, I'm very tired, and…'

'But Lady Glinda,' he interrupted, 'this is very, very important. This morning, one of my men was doing his round down at the dungeons, checking up on the prisoners, when he noticed something… out of the ordinary.'

'Oh, really? And what was that?' she asked, trying not to show her impatience and disinterest. Her thoughts had already travelled to what she would do once the Captain would leave her alone – a nice, hot bath sounded appealing.

'One of the prisoners has escaped, Lady Glinda.'

That caught her attention. 'What? How?' she asked, genuinely shocked. The palace dungeons were heavily guarded – how could someone possibly escape from them?

'We're not sure, Lady Glinda. It happened two days ago, at night. I sent my men out immediately, but they haven't found any sign of her yet.' He lowered his voice. 'It appears she has used magic, Lady Glinda.'

Glinda had frozen at the mention of the escaped prisoner being a woman, but when he started talking about the prisoner using magic, her face paled visibly and for a clock-tick, she thought she was about to faint. She didn't have any doubt now about the identity of the escaped prisoner, but she asked anyway.

'Captain… who was it?'

He looked troubled – about as troubled as she herself must look, she imagined. 'Lady Glinda…'

'Yes?'

'The name of the escaped prisoner is Morgana Morrible.'

Dum dum dummm... Well I guess you kinda saw that coming, didn't you? So... The next chapter is ready, waiting for me to post it... But when will that be? ^^ Just wait and see...