Hola! Haha, yeah I updated quickly! Just saying, you`re not gonna like me very much after this chapter. Yeah, sorry. I just love reading Hope`s reaction. Oh, and no one bothered to guess, but the title of the last chapter is from the song 'Copacabana' from Barry Manilow.

Hope: No, but you`re getting closer...

thanks!

iamgoku: Im not sure if it counts as a plot twist, but thank you soooo much!

Disclaimer: Me own Wicked? Haha, that's funny!

"Your father?" Elphaba asked. "Why would your father shoot Arietta?"

Cierrah sighed. "Its sort of a long story." She answered. Fiyero sat down. "We`ve got time." He said.

"A-alright." Cierrah said shakily. "First of all, Ariettas an orphan. Sort of." A gasp escaped Galindas lips. "Wait, what do you mean by sort of?" Nessa asked.

"Her parents aren't dead, they just didn't want her." Cierrah explained. "So, my father brought a baby home. She was very weak, but powerful. You get what I mean? You could feel the energy surging off of her when she was angry. It was Arietta."

Elphaba sighed. "That still doesn't explain anything!" She said. "Im not done. When Arietta was around four or five, she ran away."

"Why?" Everyone asked. The small blonde shot daggers with her eyes. "Let. Me. Finish!" She demanded. "My parents weren't kind to her." She continued. "They treated her like a servant. I never even saw her until we were six."

Boq looked at her quizzically. "So how do you know all this?" He asked. Cierrah glowered at him making the Munchkin boy cower. "To answer your question." She said through gritted teeth, "Arietta herself told me when we were older."

"How could she remember when she was only a baby?" Elphaba asked.

"Stop interrupting! Arietta has an eidetic memory, she remembers everything."

"Even when she was a newborn?" Nessa asked skeptically. "Yes Nessarose, even when she was a newborn." Cierrah explained exasperatedly. "Now where was I? Oh! They werent kind and they punished her whenever she did even the slightest thing wrong." she said.

"What do you mean they punished her?" Fiyero asked. Cierrah looked at him. "What do you think I mean?" She asked rhetorically. Fiyero remained silent. "Anyways, when she was around four or five she ran away to an orphanage-"

"Who runs away to an orphanage?" Galinda asked.

Cierrah glared at her fiercely. "Ok, the next person to interrupt me, will be locked in a cold, dark room for a week with no food, eater, or means of escape." She said, daring anyone to speak. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Satisfied, Cierrah continued. "She was adopted many times, but was always returned because strange things seemed to happen around her. A year later, My parents found her an to make a long story short: They were not happy. They brought her back and that's when I met her. We became close. My father wanted her for her powers and he abused that power every chance he got. I know it he did it, I just don't know why he did it!"

Everyone remained silent, waiting to see if Cierrah would continue. When she didn't, Boq raised his hand up timidly.

"Yes?"

"So you`re saying your father shot her?" He asked. Cierrah sighed. "Yes Boq, that was the point of the story."

"But if he wanted her for her power, Why would he try to kill her?" Elphaba asked.

"I don't know." Cierrah admitted quietly. "Poor Ari!" Galinda squealed. Cierrah looked over to her best friends limp body. "Don't let her hear you say that. She hates people giving her sym-" She stopped, staring at Ariettas empty neck. Everyone turned to her when she stopped speaking.

"What is it?" Nessa asked.

"The locket."

"The what?"

"The locket. Her locket. Shes not wearing it." Cierrah said.

"Maybe she took it off?" Galinda offered. Cierrah shook her head. "No, I`ve never seen her without it. She`s never taken it off."

Elphaba tried to think back to a time when Arietta wasn't wearing the locket. She couldn't remember. Arietta always kept the locket itself under her clothes, never letting anyone see it, but the chain itself was always visible on the brunettes neck. "Shes right. I`ve never seen her without it.' Elphaba agreed.

"So why isn't she wearing it now?" Fiyero asked.

"He mustve taken it." Cierrah whispered to herself. She ran up to her friends unconscious body and checked the back of her neck. Sure enough, There was a red mark visible where the necklace must have been yanked off. The blonde closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She had never been good at these things. Arietta had always been the puzzle-solver. But now, her life depended on Cierrah. She had to do this. She had to.

A nurse came in a few moments later. She was clearly still a trainee and was barely older than the Shiz students. (counting out Arietta, of course.)

"So is she ok?"Fiyero asked. The nurse gave him a bored look. "I dunno." She said, while the nurse, Mahree as her nametag said, checked her nails. The Prince glared at her. "Gee, that was helpful." He said sarcastically. Elphaba slapped his arm. Another nurse came in, she was older and was frowning at a clipboard. She looked up, "Mahree, Your dismissed." The nurse, Ohlive, said. "Whatever." Mahree answered then left.

"These trainees can get really annoying." She said. "Now Master Tiggular, Your friend is, Oz how do I put this? Well, the good news is shes not dead." The kids gave her hopeful looks. "The bad news is shes not dead, yet."

"Huh?" Galinda asked confusedly.

Ohlive sighed. "Arietta is in a coma. Her statistics are critical, and honestly, we don't have high hopes." She said bluntly. Fiyero glared at her furiously. 'So that's it?! Youre just giving up?!" He asked angrily.

"Theres nothing we can do. There is a small chance she`ll cure herself, but other than that. Arietta Renaldi is dying.

Hey, don't say I didn't warn you. Please review!

I just noticed how much this chapter is like an episode of BELIEVE...