Wicked Comet part 9
It had all turned out to be an utter disaster, just after Morrible (to the utter amazement of Elphaba, Rich and Glinda) had brought out the book of spells which turned out to be the famous Grimmerie; Elphaba cast a levitation spell on the Wizard's monkey servant Chistery after a suggestion from Morrible.
Elphaba cast the spell, using strange language that Rich and Glinda had never heard before!
"What is she saying?" Glinda whispered to Rich.
"No idea, my specialty is inventions not spells" Rich replied.
As Elphaba finished the spell, Chistery leapt from the bookshelf he was resting on and began writhing on the floor scratching at his back and crying out in pain!
"SWEET OZ!" Rich yelled out as he raced over to Chistery with Elphaba already there.
Just as Rich moved over to Chistery, he sprouted wings! This action caused Rich to leap back in surprise.
"How do I reverse it?" Elphaba asked in alarm.
"You can't!" Morrible replied.
"What?!" Elphaba and Rich both exclaimed.
"You can't! Spells are irreversible!" Morrible replied and to the Wizard she said "I knew she had the power, I told you!"
"You planned all this?!" Elphaba exclaimed, she was on surprised and borderline furious and Rich was close behind.
"Well you benefit too Dearie, you too" Morrible said to Elphaba.
"And this is only the beginning. Look!" The Wizard said in glee as he raced to one of the sides of the Metal head and pulled a lever. A mechanism whirred to reveal dozens upon dozens of cages all filled with monkeys that had grown wings!
"Oh OZ!" Rich gasped.
"Won't they make perfect spies?" Morrible said to the Wizard.
"Spies?!" Elphaba said in surprise and borderline anger.
"You're right, that's a harsh word... how about scouts? That's what they'll be really. They'll fly around Oz! Report any subversive Animal activity." The Wizard added calmly, appearing to correct Morrible.
Rich took a moment to look at the still open Grimmerie and back to the Wizard, but Rich couldn't read the mysterious magical text.
"You can't read this at all. Can you?" Elphaba accused the Wizard.
"Exactly... that's why I need you. Don't you see? The world is your oyster, now! You have so many...opportunities. You three all do." The Wizard replied, still trying to convince Elphaba and Rich to join him.
Elphaba and Rich both stared at the Wizard in disgust and then glanced at each other for a long moment. A silent communication passed between them.
Without warning, Elphaba and Rich both sprinted off in different directions, Rich back towards the Airfield and Elphaba running deeper into the castle all the while shouting "NO!"
Rich burst of the palace gates and sprinted as fast as he could through the streets of the Emerald City, some of the citizens staring at him in confusion, but their confusion was quickly dashed by the sight of a whole contingent of Gale Forcers charging after Rich, all of them armed to the teeth!
One of them fired a rifle at Rich in an attempt to wound him but that shot went wide and shattered a nearby window, just missing Rich by millimetres! Undeterred by this, Rich kept on running and finally arrived at the airfield. The Comet was still there, from the looks of it, the plane hadn't been sabotaged. Rich couldn't afford to wait to find out so when he reached the Comet, he leapt up the boarding ladders, retracted the ladders and closed the door.
He quickly dashed to the cockpit, strapped himself into his seat and began the rapid start procedure; Rich had devised this in case of emergencies that required the Comet be airborne ASAP. Rich had never actually gotten to use this practice much as it often required he service the engines whenever he used it.
As he pressed the ignition switches for Engines 1 and 4 he saw a small black shape on top of the Wizard's palace which wasn't far from the airfield.
"That must be Elphaba" Rich thought aloud as he continued the engine start. With surprising speed, numbers 1 and 4 engines howled into life, quickly followed by 2 and 3. Releasing the brakes, Rich forced the throttles open as he turned the Comet quite sharply around to face the runway.
He quickly deployed the flaps for take-off and gave the engines full power. The Comet's four Ghost Jet Engines screeched as they forced the plane forwards faster and faster down the runway. Gale Force guards, some with horses towing carts, moved to block the runway but Rich kept his cool and continued the take-off. Several Guards fired their rifles in an attempt to damage the Comet whilst others fired crossbows and others even threw spears! But the Comet was going too fast for the Gale Force troops to get an accurate hit on the aircraft.
Slowly the nose rose and the Comet roared into the air, retracting the gear and flaps within moments as Rich forced the Comet into a sharp turn back towards the Palace. Rich saw the black shape get closer and closer as the Comet climbed and gained speed. It was definitely Elphaba and she seemed to be flying on…. Was that a broom? Elphaba turned to see the Comet pass by and she forced the broom to move, climbing and accelerating with the Comet.
Together, Elphaba and Rich flew side by side in their respective aircraft, soaring high above the Emerald City and off towards the west.
Rich slowed the Comet down so Elphaba could keep up with the plane. She pulled alongside the Cockpit and that was how they flew for a while before both were forced to land due to exhaustion. Rich then lit a campfire a little distance from the Comet while Elphaba found some Roots and Vegetables nearby.
As they ate, Rich couldn't help but feel vulnerable, he didn't like going anywhere and doing anything without a solid plan in place.
"So Elphie, what are we going to do now?" Rich sounded both tired and concerned.
Elphaba looked at Rich and saw the worried expression on his face and the bags under his eyes. She sighed before saying,
"Honestly, I don't know Rich. I just don't know. What I do know is that the Wizard's days in power are numbered"
Rich couldn't help but agree with that.