AN: All right, so this is like, really long. I thought about splitting it up, but decided against it. I'm sorry in advance for something that starts with a 'c' and ends with 'liffhanger' at the end of this chapter - and a really, really mean one, too :).

A few words to you:

EvilLoveTriangle: Why, thank you. I love annoying people ^^.

Silvine Graycine: Thank you for the tip! I'm going to take a look at her fanfics right away - 'cause yes, I do enjoy reading them almost as much as I do writing them.

Thanks everyone else, too, for your reviews! You made my day :).

Disclaimer: Whoops, forgot one last time - again. But I still don't own Wicked, so...

A disease of the mind, it can control you

It's too close for comfort...

Morrible was beside herself with anger and frustration. She had not planned for this to happen. The Wicked Witch had escaped her again – on a flying crutch, for Oz's sake! She was angry with herself, mostly, for underestimating Elphaba - again. That girl was far too powerful and far too resourceful for her own good. Morgana had to deal with her before that witch would ruin Morrible's plans – again.

She was flipping through the magic books in front of her, grunting with frustration. These books weren't even half as powerful as the Grimmerie, but they would just have to do, since there was no way she could get her hands on the Grimmerie – not yet, anyway. She smirked at that thought, flipping another page and eyeing the contents of the next spell with interest. A spell that will make a person experience their greatest fears. Apparently, it made people hallucinate, tricking them into believing what they were experiencing was real. Morrible mulled over the idea for a few minutes. Their greatest fears…

Any other person would have dismissed the idea with the logic that the Wicked Witch of the West did not have any fears. Morrible, however, knew better than that. The Wicked Witch might be fearless, but Elphaba most certainly was not.

She asked for a bowl of water and cast a spell on it – a tracking spell, so that the water would show her the whereabouts of the girl she despised so much. Apparently, Elphaba was at a castle with Fiyero. She made the image zoom out a bit and she saw that the King and Queen, as well as the two Princesses, of the Vinkus, were there as well. Adurin Iir, Morrible thought, smiling faintly. This was just… perfect.

She lifted her hands and fixed her gaze on the green girl she saw in the water. 'Linera Ado Nikun Cula, Amici Phobos Danika Sum.'

The water started whirling around in the bowl and turned black as ink for a few clock-ticks. Then it was restored to its former state, clear of any colour and clear of any visions. Morrible knew for sure the spell had worked, though – she could feel the magic flowing through her body. Carefully, she closed the book and leaned back in her chair. All she had to do now was let the spell do its work for her.

'All right,' Anwen stated, bouncing up and down on the couch across from Elphaba. 'So we really don't mean to be rude or anything, but Rayenna and I are kind of curious about, you know, which rumours were true, and which weren't. We already know about the eyes and the skin and the water, but there's so much more, so…'

Elphaba rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 'Go ahead. Ask me anything.'

The two sisters looked at each other before looking back at Elphaba and starting their interrogation.

'Are you really an old woman who casts spells to-'

'No, I'm not an old woman who casts spells on herself to keep herself young,' Elphaba sighed. The King, who was sitting at his desk behind the two girls, raised his eyebrows at Elphaba meaningfully and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Rayenna's turn. 'Do you know any spells that can make people love you?' she asked, a bit too hopefully.

'Do you think all of Oz would hate me if I did?' Elphaba retorted. Rayenna thought about that for a moment. 'That's actually a really good question – which leaves my question kind of stupid. Your turn again, An.'

Anwen pursed her lips. 'Can you make things fly when you lose your temper?'

Now Elphaba looked a bit guilty. 'Uhm… Yes.'

Rayenna gasped and Anwen started bouncing again. 'Oh my Oz, that is so cool! Can you show us?'

'That depends,' Elphaba said sarcastically. 'Can you make me lose my temper?'

Anwen giggled, all excited now. 'What do I have to do to make that happen?'

'Keep going,' Elphaba grunted, which made Fiyero, who was sitting by the fireplace with his mother, chuckle. 'Trust me, little sis – you don't want that to happen. You really don't.'

Elphaba suddenly felt a bit strange, dizzy, and she closed her eyes for a moment. Rayenna immediately asked, concerned, 'Are you feeling quite all right?'

Elphaba opened her eyes again and gave the younger girl a tired smile. 'Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess. It's been a long day.'

Fiyero nodded and got up to kiss his mother's cheek. 'She's right – I'm tired, too. I think we'll be off to bed now.'

The King looked a bit worried at that. 'The same bed?' he asked.

'Harold!' the Queen chided him, shocked. Fiyero grinned at his father. 'Yes, the same bed. Does that bother you in any way, Father?'

His father looked positively uncomfortable at that. 'Well, uhm… I just don't think it would be sensible to… I mean, you're a Prince after all, and you're… well…'

Fiyero quickly reassured him. 'Don't worry, Dad. We're not doing anything – just sleeping.'

'Oh,' the King said, trying – and failing – to hide his relief. 'Good. That's good. Good night, then.'

'Good night, everyone,' Fiyero waved, practically pushing Elphaba out of the room and sighing effusively once they were outside. 'I love my family, don't get me wrong, but sometimes they drive me insane.'

She smiled and kissed his cheek. 'I guess that runs in the family as well.'

He scowled mockingly. 'What exactly are you saying?'

'Nothing, love,' she said, innocently widening her eyes at him. 'What did you think I was saying?'

He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close for a long, deep kiss. 'Now what were you saying?'

'Hmm,' she murmured, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer. 'I don't think I can remember.' They kissed again, and Fiyero, without warning, scooped her up in his arms. She scowled at him. 'I have feet, you know.'

'I know,' he told her cheerfully, carrying her to his bedroom despite her protests. He gently set her down on the bed and kissed the top of her head. 'I'll go change for bed – I'll be right back so you can change, too. There are nightgowns for you in the closet.' With that, he disappeared in the bathroom.

It barely took him a minute to change. 'Your turn,' he called, but she didn't answer. He moved closer to the bed and a smile played around his lips. She was already asleep, hair spread out over the pillow like a raven curtain, curled up in foetal position. He slid under the blankets next to her and wrapped his arms around her, careful not to wake her. He kissed her neck once. 'Sweet dreams, Fae,' he whispered, before letting himself drift off to sleep as well.

Boq was pacing up and down the room, frowning, clearly thinking. Glinda, who had flopped onto her bed, was watching him a bit warily, prepared for nearly every way she imagined him to react to what she had just told him. He stopped pacing to look at her. 'You're telling the truth?'

'I wouldn't lie to you, Boq,' she said, shaking her head. She thought of their days at Shiz with a pang of regret. 'Not anymore, anyway.'

He nodded, slowly. 'I believe that. I just… I don't know what to say,' he confessed, looking a bit bewildered. 'I mean… You're trying to tell me that Elphaba wasn't wicked at all, that the two of you were best friends up until the end… That she turned me into tin for a reason?'

'Well,' Glinda said, carefully choosing her words. 'I don't know that last part for sure – but knowing her the way I did, I'm absolutely convinced that she would never do that to you unless she had a very good reason to.'

He shook his head. 'I don't know what to say.'

Glinda twirled one of her blonde curls around her finger. 'Do you believe me?'

Again, a slow nod. 'Yes. I think I do. You have no reason to lie to me, and… well, I did know Elphaba, back at Shiz. I mean, we weren't friends or anything, but I'd talk to her, and she'd talk to me – she even helped me pass a few of my classes, tutoring me…' He fell silent for a while when another realisation dawned at him. 'But… Glinda, if you are telling the truth, that means… That means I…' Horrified, he looked at the blonde girl. 'I killed your best friend.'

'Boq…'

'I know Dorothy killed her, technically speaking, but I was there. I encouraged her. Oz, I would have done it myself, with my bare hands, if she hadn't done it first – I'm at least as responsible as Dorothy is for Elphaba's death. I killed an innocent woman, Glinda!'

She could tell he really did feel bad about it. 'Uhm… Boq?' He looked up at her and at the guilt that was so clearly visible in his eyes, she decided that she could tell him the other part of the truth, as well. 'There's something else you need to know. Elphie isn't… She's not…' She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. 'She's not dead, Boq.'

He gaped at her. 'Excuse me?'

'She's not dead,' Glinda repeated patiently. 'She faked it. She and… You've been travelling with the Scarecrow, haven't you? Do you happen to know his real identity?'

Boq shook his head, struck speechless. Glinda started fidgeting, avoiding his eyes. 'Well, uhm… That was Fiyero.'

Boq's eyes widened even more. 'Are you telling me that both Fiyero and Elphaba are still alive? Even worse – I've been travelling with Fiyero for weeks without knowing it was him?'

Glinda nodded, eyeing him as his face flushed, before paling until it was almost green – the irony. 'I think I'm going to be sick,' he said, slumping down in a chair.

'I was telling you the truth before, Boq,' she told him quietly. 'She's not wicked – she never was. She was just misunderstood. She's not a threat to anyone.'

He looked at the blonde. 'I suppose I have to apologise to her then, don't I?'

Glinda smiled a bit uncertainly. 'Are you sure? I expected you to handle this… well… not as well as you are right now, quite frankly.'

He chortled at that, but quickly became serious again. 'Glinda… Like I said, I believe you. I was so angry with her before, for what she had done to me,' he gestured vaguely at his now human body. 'It blinded me. It made me see what everyone said she was, not what she really was. I should have known better, really – like I said, I knew her, back at Shiz. She was weird, outspoken, stubborn, touchy and hot-tempered, but she was never cruel. Or wicked.'

Before she knew what she was doing, Glinda jumped up to hug him. 'Oh, Boq, you have no idea how happy I am that you think about it this way! I was so afraid that you'd… well, I don't know, really. Collect another bunch of with hunter to track her down again, or something, I suppose.'

'You've convinced me,' he said solemnly, looking her in the eye. 'But there are witch hunters out there again, you know that, and you won't be able to convince them.'

Glinda's face fell and she nodded, looking defeated. 'Yes. I know.' She stared out of the window, not really seeing anything. 'I hope she'll stay hidden for the time being. I hope she will be careful.'

Elphaba woke up in the middle of the night.

She blinked a few times, trying to remember why she had woken up. Fiyero was still beside her, fast asleep, but she felt as if there was another presence in the room. She shivered and, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now, got up. Perhaps she could go and find herself some warm milk and honey to help put her back to sleep.

Barefoot, she snuck towards the door, but she froze in the middle of her movements when she suddenly heard a voice behind her. 'Well, well. If it isn't my dear sister.'

Slowly, she turned around, not quite believing her own ears, but there was no mistake possible. Behind her was Nessa, looking paler than she ever had, face twisted into a mask of pure loathing, eyes sparking with hatred. She looked a lot like she had when Elphaba had last seen her, hair tied in a wrong in her neck, wearing a black dress that made her look stern and older than her years. She was standing up, wearing the sparkling slippers Elphaba had enchanted for her. 'How are you, Elphaba? All happy and content now, with Fiyero by your side, hidden from the people? You know it won't last, don't you? Sooner or later, Fiyero will start to think about this and he'll leave you in a clock-tick. No one could ever love you, you know that.'

Elphaba merely stared at her younger sister, not able to process what was happening right in front of her. 'N-Nessa?'

The girl snorted. 'So you do remember me? I thought you'd forgotten all about me, even though it's technically your fault I'm dead.'

'Nessa, I'm so sor-'

'Don't you dare apologise to me,' Nessa hissed at her, eyes blazing. 'I hate you. I despise you. You leave a trail of destruction everywhere you go. Everyone who once knew you, ended up with their lives ruined – by you. Or did you forget about all that? Boq, trapped in the body of a tin man forever, because of you? Father, who died because of you? Me, your own sister, whose death you're also responsible for? Not to mention Glinda, who lost her love and her chance of happiness because of you, because you were so selfish? You took her fiancé away from her – what kind of friend would do such a thing?'

She felt unable to move. She could only stare, her mind raging as the words her sister was throwing at her slowly sunk in. All of it was true, of course, and there wasn't anything among the things Nessa said that Elphaba herself hadn't blamed herself for already. But to hear her own sister say it, in such a cold tone of voice, somehow made it ten times worse.

'You'll end up hurting Fiyero, too,' Nessa whispered, and Elphaba's gaze was involuntarily drawn to his sleeping form in the bed. 'You know that. You always end up hurting the people you care about.'

Suddenly, she was in her wheelchair again and she looked years younger, like the beautiful girl she had been when they had first started at Shiz, hair down, eyes wide and innocent. 'How could you, Elphaba?' she asked, a sad look in her eyes that nearly broke Elphaba's heart. 'How could you let them kill me? Why did you leave me? You were supposed to protect me…'

A single sob escaped from Elphaba's throat and she slowly sank down with her back against the wall. Nessa was still there, looking at her with those beautiful, doe-like eyes in such a sad, hurt way that she couldn't help herself. The single sob was followed by another one, and yet another, until she was crying and the tears were blurring her vision, thankfully erasing the innocent face of her little sister from her sight, but not from her mind. She knew her sister would stay there forever.

'Elphaba?' Suddenly Fiyero was beside her – she hadn't even known he was awake. He knelt down and softly rubbed her back in a soothing manner. 'Hey. Are you all right?'

She looked up, the tears still dripping from her eyes, and she blinked a few times. Nessa was gone; there was no trace whatsoever of her little sister, and she suddenly felt very silly. Of course Nessa hadn't been here – Nessa was dead. Had she dreamt it? That was probably it – she must have been dreaming.

'I'm sorry,' she sniffed, allowing Fiyero to help her up. 'I… I'm not sure what happened. I guess I must have had a bad dream – I think I have been sleepwalking or something…'

He smiled at her reassuringly. 'It's okay now, Fae. Go back to sleep.'

She nodded and snuggled against him, closing her eyes, convincing herself it had just been a bad dream.

Fiyero was jolted awake by a blood-curdling scream he immediately recognised as Elphaba's. He jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, where he found her, sobbing uncontrollably. 'She dead!' she cried, looking up at him, but he didn't think she could really see him – her eyes were glazed, which concerned him. 'She's dead! Morrible killed her!'

This sent chills down Fiyero's spine. 'Who's dead? Elphaba, look at me. Who did Morrible kill?'

'She killed Glinda!' the green girl wailed, clinging to him, still sobbing. 'She murdered her, right in front of my eyes! Only to get to me! She killed Glinda and now it's my fault she's dead!'

He didn't understand this at all. 'Fae, what are you talking about? Glinda isn't even here!'

She looked at him as if he were crazy. 'Can't you see her? She's right there!' She pointed to an empty spot on the bathroom floor before flinging herself to that spot, whimpering. 'Oh Glinda, I'm so sorry!'

'Elphaba!' He took her shoulders and shook her – a bit too harsh, but he was starting to panic. 'What's wrong? Glinda isn't here – she's at the Emerald City, and there's no way Morrible can get to her!'

She looked up at him again, but she appeared far from lucid. 'Mama?' she asked a bit hesitantly. He merely stared at her, but she seemed convinced. 'Mama, I'm so sorry about everything!'

She started to sob again. 'It's all my fault! If I hadn't been green, Nessa would have been normal and beautiful and perfect, and you would have lived, and no one would have had to be ashamed of me! I'm so, so sorry, Mama!' Her sobbing grew heavier, to the point where she didn't seem able to breathe properly anymore. Then she fainted.

He tried to calm himself – enough to think clearly, anyway. He thought about running downstairs to get a doctor for a moment, but then he'd have to explain to that doctor why he was hiding the Wicked Witch in his chambers – plus, he really didn't want to leave her alone at this point. He decided to wait for her to wake up first before deciding what to do next.

It didn't even take her one minute to wake up, blinking slowly, confused. 'Yero?'

'Fae? Are you all right?' he asked, clutching her hand and eyeing her worriedly. She sat up, groggily. 'I just… I don't know… What happened?'

'I'm not sure yet,' he said earnestly, helping her up. He carefully peered into her eyes. They were still a bit foggy, but at least she didn't seem as dazed as she was a few minutes ago. 'Don't you remember what happened?'

'I think I had a weird dream,' she said, still blinking in confusion. 'Something to do with Morrible killing Glinda, and… something about my mother?'

'You weren't dreaming, Elphaba,' he said, the concern not leaving his eyes. 'You were… hallucinating, I think. You really scared me.'

'I'm sorry,' she said softly, composing herself. She straightened her shoulders and headed back to the bedroom, where she walked towards the closet to pull out a dress for her to wear that day. 'It's probably nothing, Yero,' she said over her shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. 'I've been under a lot of stress lately – that has to come out somehow. I guess it's just a way for my body to deal with all that, or something. It probably won't happen again.' She breezed past him, closing the bathroom door behind her. 'I'll be out in a minute!'

He eyed the closed door wearily. He didn't like the way she had dismissed it as being nothing, but knowing her, he wouldn't be able to convince her to go and see a doctor – she'd probably just laugh at him. He decided to let it slip for now, but if something like this ever happened again, he would intervene.

After they'd both gotten dressed, they went downstairs to have breakfast with Fiyero's family. His parents had ordered the servants to not disturb them by any means, leaving it safe for Elphaba to take off her gloves and cloak, which she did. She was currently enveloped in a conversation with his mother about politics. His sisters both looked a bit bored, and although Rayenna was far too polite to say anything like that out loud, Anwen was far more blunt and interrupted the conversation between her mother and Elphaba shamelessly. 'Elphaba, what's Shiz University like?'

The Queen chided her for her rudeness and Fiyero bent over to whisper in Elphaba's ear, 'She'll be off towards Shiz herself within a year – she's been pestering me with questions ever since I've gone there myself.'

Elphaba smiled and told Anwen everything she wanted to know about Shiz, the students, the teachers, the classes. Fiyero couldn't help but notice how she managed to make all of it sound wonderful, while he knew she had had an awful time there herself – at first, anyway, before she had befriended Galinda. He knew why she was doing it – she didn't want to crush his little sister's fantasies about the amazing life as a college student – and he loved her for it. Despite everything she had been through herself, she was still trying to protect the people she cared about from experiencing the same thing.

And Anwen probably would have a good time at Shiz, he decided, looking at his younger sister. She was optimistic and cheerful, not really obsessed with clothes and fashion the way Glinda had been back then, but she was likable enough to become quite popular among the other students.

After breakfast, they each went their own way for the rest of the morning – the King had a meeting with a few members of the Arjiki tribe, his wife was going to read in the library, Anwen went off into town to go shopping with some friends, and Rayenna had to study for her exams. Fiyero took Elphaba on a tour throughout the castle, which she seemed to appreciate, before taking her to the sitting room attached to his bedroom. 'I need to go talk with my mother for a moment,' he said, reluctant to leave her alone, but reassured by the fact that she had seemed fine all morning. 'There's a bookcase in the corner, you can read a bit if you…' His voice trailed off when he realised he had lost her attention at the word 'bookcase'. She was already standing in front of it, eying the covers of the books eagerly. 'All right, then,' he said a bit dumbly. 'I guess you won't be bored while I'm gone.'

She waved one hand at him, not even taking her eyes off the books. 'I'll see you in a minute, then.'

'Sure,' he muttered, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He shook his head, smiling. He loved the way she would forget everything around her when books were involved. She was always so passionate about everything she did.

He went for a small chat with his mother – in fact, he told her what had happened with Elphaba that morning and asked her if she could help him, but she wasn't sure. 'Elphaba might have been right,' she said. 'She certainly has been under a lot of pressure lately, and that might just come out this way. I think it would be best for you to wait – if it happens again, please come and tell me instantly.'

He had agreed and left the library, going back to where he had left Elphaba, expecting to find her engrossed in a book. She wasn't, however. She was cowering in a corner, whimpering softly, hugging herself and rocking back and forth, softly moaning his name all the while. 'Yero… Fiyero… I'm so sorry…'

'Fae!' he called and he dashed towards her, but she looked up, her eyes full of cold hatred, and hissed at him. 'Don't touch me!'

He immediately froze, holding up his hands to prove that he wasn't going to hurt her. He approached her as if she were a timid animal. 'Fae? Please talk to me,' he pleaded. She started rocking again, mumbling to herself. 'It's your fault he's dead. Not mine. It your fault!' she suddenly yelled, jumping to her feet. 'You made me a Wicked Witch! You allowed Morrible to kill him! You're my father, you're supposed to protect me…' She sank back to the floor and hugged herself again, crying softly. 'Fiyero… I'm so sorry… It is my fault you are dead…'

She thought he was the Wizard of Oz, he realised. She thought he was dead. He approached her again, cautiously. 'Fae, it's me, Fiyero. I'm not dead, I'm right here.'

'You're not Fiyero!' she shrieked, jumping up again. 'Don't lie to me! Fiyero's dead, just like Frex and Nessa and Glinda and my mother… I killed them! I killed them all! I'm wicked!' At that, the books in the bookcase started to shudder, and a few of them flew off in his direction. He ducked just in time and he ran out of the room, locking the door behind him to make sure she couldn't get away before running off. Grown man or not, he needed his mother for this.

Elphaba was shaking violently as she looked at Fiyero, who had been stabbed in the chest multiple times by Morrible. Glinda was next to him, her throat slit; there was Nessa, crushed to death, and Frex, the man whom she had always thought of as her father…

There was her mother, suddenly, standing beside her, smiling reassuringly at her. 'Don't worry, dearie,' she said in the voice of Madam Morrible. 'Everything is going to be all right. Just do as I say.'

'You should die, too,' Fiyero whispered. He was on her other side, the knife still sticking out of his chest. 'It serves you right after everything you did.'

'Just do it, sister.' Nessa, obviously. 'End this. End all of this and I promise you'll be free.'

'You'll be safe, my darling,' said her mother, in her own voice this time, still smiling. 'It will be for the best.'

Glinda was standing at the window, holding out her hand invitingly. 'Do it, Elphie,' she said in a teary voice. 'We can finally be together!'

Elphaba stepped forward and the thick glass of the window shattered to pieces as she released her power. She walked towards Glinda, slowly, step by step. The blonde smiled at her, holding out both her hands now. 'Together we're unlimited.'

She heard footsteps downstairs – they had probably heard the glass breaking and they were coming for her. She had to hurry, before it was too late.

'Fae!' she heard someone call, but she ignored it. She knew they wouldn't reach her in time, anyway. She stepped onto the window-sill and looked down. She could see the gardens, far below. Her hair was flying around her face and she looked back once. Everyone was smiling at her now.

'Come to us, darling,' her mother said, spreading her arms. Nessa was beside her in the window-sill. 'Do it, sister. Free yourself.'

Elphaba took a deep breath. Close my eyes…

She squeezed her eyes shut and jumped. Behind her, the door burst open and someone shouted, 'Fae!' but she barely heard it because of the blood pounding in her ears. She didn't care, either. She was floating. Time seemed to slow down when she fell, leaving her life behind her, defying gravity for the final time – although perhaps it was gravity that was defying her this time.

…and leap.

Please don't hate me.

And keep this in mind: if you kill me, you'll never know what happens next. If you review, on the other hand, you'll find out soon enough *smirk* ^^.