I have to admit... Nelly, your predictive abilities in this story are kind of scary. You'll see.

I don't have much to say this time around, so let's just get on with it, shall we? Oh no, wait, one thing - I finally finished writing this fic yesterday and there will be 42 chapters, marking it as the second-longest fic I've ever written (after Shadows)! :)

32. Heroes

Fiyero didn't even realise anything was amiss until one of the waiters came running into the room, looking terrified. "Fire!" he cried, waving his arms wildly. "Fire! Everyone get out, there's a fire!"

The room erupted in panic. The band stopped playing and everyone dropped what they were doing to gape for a moment and then hurry off. Some of the guests and staff members were at the doors to the room, guiding the other people in the direction of the front door.

Fiyero's first reaction was to search the room very quickly, locate the twins, and run over to them. He gently placed a hand on each of their backs and propelled them in the direction of the exit. "Don't worry, guys," he tried to reassure them. "We'll get you out of here."

Xalo was looking anxious. "What about Mum?"

Fiyero swore under his breath, realising Elphaba had gone upstairs to change shoes. "I'll go get your mum," he promised them. "Don't worry. Oscar!" he called, spotting the Emerald City mayor. "Can you please take the kids outside? I have to go find Elphaba."

Oscar, looking worried, instantly agreed and took over the twins. Fiyero ran up the stairs and over to the room Elphaba had to be in, not bothering to knock. "Fae?"

He looked around. She wasn't there. There was no trace she'd been there, either; he even found her ballet flats still in her bag and his worry grew. Where had she gone?

"Bathroom," he muttered to himself and he ran back down the stairs, trying to find the bathroom closest to the ballroom, but she wasn't in there, either. There were some other women and he sent them outside as well.

Maybe she'd heard the calls, or smelt the smoke, and she'd gone outside already? He couldn't imagine she had, not without her children, but perhaps a staff member had found her and ushered her outside. Running again, Fiyero moved out the door. He found Oscar and the twins quickly, and all of the other guests were accounted for according to Mayor Samms and his wife, but Elphaba wasn't there.

Feeling increasingly sick, he turned to one of the policemen who had arrived. "Someone's still inside," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm going back in to find her."

"No, sir," the man said sternly. "We'll find her for you, don't worry."

"How did this happen?" Oscar asked, looking pale, and the policeman turned to him.

"We just received a tip from that man over there," he explained, pointing at someone, "that he saw another man sneak into the castle when security wasn't looking and that he probably lit the fire."

Fiyero followed the policeman's finger and stiffened when he saw the man in question.

Avaric.

He strode over to the older man, barking a command at a couple of the other security guards who'd accompanied them. They followed him, but when Avaric saw them coming, his eyes widened.

"Look, I know what you think, but it's not me!" he cried, holding up both hands. "It was that friend of Elphaba's – the one who looks a bit like me, what's his name…"

"Duran?" Fiyero asked, frowning, and Avaric nodded vehemently.

"He sneaked into the castle," he insisted. "I saw him."

Fiyero gave him a long look. "What are you doing here, then?"

Avaric faltered and Fiyero made a gesture that sent the other security guards straight at the brunette, restraining him.

"Fiyero!" Oscar bellowed, running at the younger man with both twins on his hands. "Fiyero, listen," he said urgently. "Fawn, Xalo, tell him."

"We dreamt about this," Xalo said, his lower lip quivering.

Fawn nodded, her green eyes wide and terrified. "The night we came into your room after we had a nightmare, we dreamt about this," she whispered. "About Avaric locking Mum in a small room, and of him setting fire to the building and threatening Mum, you, and Uncle Duran with a gun. We both dreamt the same thing, Fiyero, and now it's happening!"

Fiyero's face had gone deathly pale.

"Elphaba had the same dream," he said in disbelief. "The same night. She told me about it."

"It wasn't a dream, Fiyero," Oscar said, sounding as dumbstruck as Fiyero felt. "It was a vision. A vision of the future. Elphaba has had those before… she must not have realised what it meant."

Fiyero swore again, more vehemently this time, and pushed through the throng of people chattering nervously and excitedly about the fire. Before anyone could stop him, he dashed back into the castle to look for Elphaba.

The smoke was thick in some parts of the hallway now and he could hear the roaring of the fire. Frantically wondering where Elphaba could have gone – or what either Duran or Avaric could have done to her – he shouted her name, but he didn't get any response. He threw open every door he could find and kicked open a few more doors that were locked. She wasn't there. It felt like it had been hours already since the fire had started, even though he knew it had probably only been a couple of minutes at most. He didn't know where the fire had started or how fast it was spreading. He had to find Elphaba before she got caught in the flames or inhaled too much smoke.

He was almost starting to despair and he felt like screaming, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, however, he was struck by an idea and he stormed back outside and over to the twins.

"I don't know where she is," he said, out of breath from the running and the fear. He crouched down in front of Fawn and Xalo. "Can you help me find your mum?" he asked them desperately and they exchanged a hesitant look, but then nodded, their eyes determined.

"We can try the spell Mum uses sometimes," Xalo said quietly. "We've never done it before, but we know the words."

"Please," Fiyero pleaded and the twins exchanged another look, holding hands as they started chanting the words. They closed their eyes and Fiyero watched them anxiously for any sign.

Suddenly, Fawn gasped and both their eyes flew open.

"Down the hallway," Fawn said quickly, "around the corner, the second door to the right."

Xalo took over. "You'll get into another hallway and then it's the third door on the left. She's in there. Someone's inside the building with her, but not inside the same room."

"Duran," Fiyero breathed and, very briefly, he pressed both twins against him tightly. "Thank you so much, you two. You've been a great help," he said earnestly.

"Will you find her?" Fawn asked, her voice trembling. Xalo took her hand, but he looked scared, too.

Fiyero flashed them a brief smile he hoped would be reassuring. "Of course I will," he said before turning around and racing off once again.

It took a while for Elphaba's hysterical brain to register the sound of groaning coming from the other side of the door, but she only really noticed it when she heard Duran's voice hoarsely calling her name. "Elphaba?"

Even in her current state, she felt her heart leap a little. At least her friend was still alive. "Duran," she whimpered, pressing her forehead against the door and forcing herself to take slow breaths, which was becoming increasingly difficult. "Get me out of here. Please."

She heard thumping sounds. The doorknob turned, but the door didn't open. Duran's voice, commanding, "Step away from the door," and she obeyed. More thumps, louder, and she was pretty sure he was throwing himself against the door; but it still didn't open.

"I can't," he said, now sounding panicked as well. "I'm sorry, El… I can't get it to open. It's too heavy. The fire's not too close yet, but you won't be safe here forever – I don't think the firemen will be here in time to be able to put out the fire before it reaches you. I could try to find Mayor Samms, or someone else who might have a key…"

"No!" she cried. She knew she sounded like a terrified child, but she didn't care. "Don't leave me alone!"

"El, you might die if I don't get you out of here!"

She choked on a sob.

It was quiet for a moment on the other side of the door. Then Duran said, much more softly now, "I need to tell you something first. And Elphaba… I am so, so sorry. I never meant for all this to happen, you have to believe me."

She stilled, even her panic forgotten for a moment at the tone of his voice. "What?" she croaked. "What did you do?"

Duran took a deep breath. "I helped him," he confessed. "I helped Avaric."

She was too stunned to speak. It was like the smell of the smoke, her fear over being locked in such a small space, and her anxiousness about Avaric all disappeared to the background and she genuinely thought she was going to faint for a moment. Duran helped Avaric? What did that even mean?

She heard something on the other side of the door and when he spoke again, his voice sounded closer – she suspected he was the one resting his forehead against the door now. "I found out he was your stalker and I helped him. I'm so sorry, El."

She pressed her own cheek against the wood and closed her eyes for a moment. "Why?" she choked out. "Why would you do that?"

His answer was simple and instant. "Because I'm in love with you." She heard him take a deep, sharp breath. "I didn't know it at first. When Avaric beat me up the night you and I went out for a drink, I had no idea it was him. I remembered something later, though… a vague impression of his face. I didn't know what Avaric looked like, but when I talked to Galinda on the phone after the twins' birthday party, when you were all in Munchkinland, she told me about him – that he contacted you, that he was at the party… she described him and I realised that he must have been the guy who attacked me. It made perfect sense."

It did. Describing Avaric to their friends was something Galinda would do, especially since she'd been quite impressed by meeting the man who had essentially single-handedly changed her best friend's life; and if Duran had remembered something he hadn't before…

"I realised… I thought I could use the situation to my own advantage. If I could keep track of Avaric somehow and then expose him right when he was about to do something bad, pretending to catch him red-handed, I thought I'd be your hero. I thought… I thought maybe then you'd love me back."

Despite everything, her heart broke at that. She'd always known, deep down, that Duran wasn't a bad person; he was just desperate. "Oh, Duran…"

"When I heard about the attack in Munchkinland, I knew he must have been there, but I couldn't believe he'd drag the twins into it. I used some connections in the military to find out where he was staying and I pretended to want to work with him. I told him about your extra security measures at the Palace and pointed out to him that it'd be easier for him to do things inside your home if he let me do them, because none of you would suspect me. He made me a deal: if I helped him, I could have you if I let him have the twins."

Elphaba couldn't help the soft gasp that escaped her lips, even though she felt like she should have seen this coming.

"I agreed, but you have to believe me when I say I would never have tried to separate you from them, Elphaba," Duran said pleadingly. "I never intended to let him go through with his plans. Maybe he knew that, or maybe he just had an agenda of his own from the beginning as well and he didn't trust me as much as I thought he did, because he didn't intend for me to get you, either. I think he either wanted you for himself after all or he wanted to kill you, so he'd get the twins; and I didn't even realise that until tonight, when he locked you in here, punched my lights out, and set fire to the building." His voice broke.

"How did he know?" she asked, feeling strangely calm. It was like her whole body and mind had gone numb; as if she was there, but not really. "How did he know I was in Munchkinland, and all those things?"

"He was tapping your phone," Duran replied. "That's how he knew you were in Munchkinland, and that you would be at The Silver Swan with President Sevens – as soon as he heard that, he set things in motion with that gunman he threatened and bribed to try to shoot you. Avaric wasn't lying when he told you he was some high-up secret agent in the military. He had access to all kinds of technical stuff to help him. He was the one who sneaked into your bedroom on the night after the twins' party and he was the one who attacked Fiyero and the twins in Munchkinland, although he mainly wanted to scare you by killing Fiyero. He didn't intend for Fawn and Xalo to get hurt, but his detonator malfunctioned."

"What about the letter afterwards?" she wanted to know, her voice high-pitched and panicked. "He said he was sorry for dragging my children into it, but I didn't leave him much of a choice."

"Covering up his mistake," Duran answered shortly.

"And the other things he did?" Elphaba asked softly. "Everything up to and including Munchkinland was him, but after that? The cake at Cohvu and Galinda's party? The knife in my pillow?"

"That was me," Duran admitted in a pained tone of voice. "I had to win Avaric's trust somehow. That's how I did it. I tricked one of your employees into bringing a package inside the Palace, claiming it was a surprise present for you, and she took it without checking what it was, just like I hoped. That's how I sneaked the knife inside that I later planted into your pillow."

She nodded, even though he couldn't see that. Her eyes were still closed and she could feel her heart thumping, but at the same time it felt like all this was happening to someone else, not her. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing, even though it made sense. Duran had helped her stalker… because he loved her. Because he thought if he could be her hero, she'd magically fall in love with him as well.

"I believed you," she whispered. "You acted so angry and hurt after Fiyero arrested you, you kept asking me how I could believe you'd ever do such a thing… but you did do it. It was you all along."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm so, so sorry, El. I wanted to confess, I did, but… I couldn't. I thought I'd lose you for sure if I did, that I'd never have a chance with you again, and I couldn't stand that thought; so I lied. And I understand if you'll never be able to forgive me, or even never want to see me again. If I were you, I'd hate me, too." She heard him move away from the door. "I'm going to get help. Regardless of what you may think of me now, I'm not a murderer and I'm not going to let you die in here."

Just then, however, there was a different noise – skidding footsteps – and a voice exclaimed, "Duran?!"

"Fiyero!" Elphaba cried, recognising his voice, and she started pounding on the door again, her panic returning full-force.

"She's in there," she heard Duran say to Fiyero. "I can't break down the door."

"Together," Fiyero said grimly and then he called, "Fae, back away from the door!"

She did, again, and the two men tried to break down the door together. On their third try, they succeeded and the door flew open. Right that instant, Elphaba came flying out and Fiyero caught her around the waist with one arm. She struggled against him in blind panic, but he held her tightly and turned her around so she could look at him. "It's me," he reassured her, gently holding her by her upper arms. "You're okay."

A sob escaped her lips and she stopped resisting, allowing him to hold her.

"Shh, Fae, it's okay," he soothed her, stroking her hair. "We're going to get you out of here."

She clung to him, her hysteria only slowly fading, but he just held her until she was a bit calmer. Over his shoulder, she could see Duran standing just inside the room she'd been in, looking relieved at seeing her relatively all right, but he looked lost and sad at the same time. He was probably expecting her to tell Fiyero about his confession straight away.

She didn't. She would, later, but now they just all had to get out. Duran wasn't a danger to her anymore; he probably never really had been. She was confident he wouldn't hurt her.

"Can you walk?" Fiyero asked Elphaba and she nodded, forcing herself to get herself together. Fiyero slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned heavily against him, her legs shaking, as they made their way out of the small room and into the hallway. The fire was close now and she recoiled a little at the wall of flames rising to her left, but Fiyero guided her away from it, talking to her reassuringly all the while, although his words were lost on her muddled brain. Duran followed them.

Before they reached the door that would lead them to the main hallway, however, someone appeared in the doorway in question and they all halted, freezing in their tracks.

"Avaric," Elphaba breathed and, her temper suddenly getting the better of her, she spat, "You son of a bitch."

The expression on his face instantly changed and he snarled at her. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you?" His eyes flicked to Duran. "Did he say it was me? Because you shouldn't believe a word he says. It was him, not me! He's your stalker!"

"You jerk –" Duran began, stepping forward, but Elphaba held out a hand to stop him.

"No," she said, her voice trembling. "He may have helped you, but you'rethe one who attacked my friend. And Fiyero. And my children!"

She could tell Fiyero was confused, but he didn't ask questions, bless him. He just stayed right beside her and she knew he had his hand on his gun, just in case. Around them, the smoke was starting to get thicker and she knew they had to hurry.

"Our children!" Avaric corrected her hotly. "And that was a mistake! I would never hurt them!"

"You already did!" she shouted. "And they're not our children, Avaric. They're mine and I'd rather die than let you come anywhere near them ever again! Now let us pass before you kill us all!"

As if to punctuate her statement, the fire behind them roared. Behind Avaric, Elphaba could see the reddish glow of more fire and that claustrophobic fear was starting to creep up on her again. If they didn't get out of here soon, they'd be trapped… they'd all die of smoke inhalation or burn to death.

"We could be wonderful parents, you and I," Avaric said, quieter now, either oblivious to the threat or ignoring it for the moment. "Think about it, Elphaba. I could give you all you need, all three of you. Don't you think they need a father?"

She lifted her chin. "Fiyero's been fulfilling that role rather well, actually," she taunted him. Perhaps challenging him wasn't such a good idea, but she wanted nothing more than to launch herself at this horrible jerk and scratch his eyes out. She hated him with every fibre of her being and she couldn't control her temper any longer around him.

His eyes narrowed. "He is nothing," he sneered. "I am a much better husband for you and a much better father to Fawn and Xalo. Be with me and I promise we'll all be happy."

"I am happy," she declared. "I could never be with someone who threatens me, who attacks people I love, and especially not someone who attacks my children."

He cursed. "So that was my big mistake, huh? It was a mistake, Elphaba! I didn't want them to get hurt!"

"But they did," she hissed. "And it doesn't matter, anyway. I love Fiyero."

She'd never said it that outright before and it would have made Fiyero's heart flutter if the situation had been any different. Now, however, there was the very real threat of them getting trapped by the fire; and there was no time for him to contemplate Elphaba's words, anyway, because Avaric pulled out a gun, pointing it at Elphaba. Fiyero instantly drew his own gun, but knew he couldn't shoot until Avaric lowered his weapon. He couldn't risk Elphaba getting hurt.

"Well," Avaric said, gritting his teeth. He glanced at Fiyero contemptuously for a brief moment before looking back at Elphaba, smirking slightly. "We'll just have to do something about that, then."

He aimed the gun at Fiyero's chest and fired; but by then, Elphaba had already pushed the bodyguard aside and she cried out when the bullet hit herinstead. She crumpled to the floor, curling into herself, blood already pouring out from between her fingers.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero and Duran screamed at the same time, both of them falling down on their knees beside her. She was gasping for breath and Fiyero gently cradled her head in his lap.

"You monster!" Duran shouted at Avaric, scrambling to his feet.

Avaric, however, just snarled at him. "You know what? I don't care about her!" He gestured with the gun at Elphaba. "I'll be happier with just my children," he said, a devious smile slowly spreading across his face. "Much less hassle."

With that, he pointed the gun at the green woman lying helplessly on the floor, but this time it was Duran who stepped in. He threw himself at Avaric, bringing him off-balance and attempting to wrestle the gun from him.

"Get off me!" Avaric yelled as he struggled with the other man. "Get off me or I swear I'll blow you to pieces!"

Duran didn't budge and suddenly, Avaric fired, multiple times. Duran staggered backwards, patches of red blooming on his shirt. Elphaba screamed and Fiyero swore vehemently as Duran cast one last, pleading look at the young witch on the floor and then collapsed beside her, dead.

"You killed him!" Elphaba cried hysterically, tears streaming down her face – of pain over her injury or pain over losing her friend, she herself didn't even know. "You killed him!"

Without warning, Fiyero this time launched himself at the other man, who was taken completely by surprise. The gun clattered to the floor and the two men fought, throwing punches and pulling at each other's shirts and hair, hands closing around throats before one of them threw the other off again. It was when Avaric was straddling Fiyero, pinning him to the floor and attempting to strangle him with his bare hands, a crazy fire in his eyes as he watched Fiyero's struggles grow weaker, that Elphaba finally lost it. Her magic exploded.

It was a single blast, bright green and blinding, her desperate "No!" barely heard above the sound of it in combination with the roaring fire. It hit Avaric square in the chest and the look on his face was one of astonishment as he found himself flung backwards… straight into the wall of flames behind him.

Elphaba collapsed in a heap on the floor, exhausted after so much magic, the blood loss from the bullet wound between her ribs draining her strength further. Fiyero, recovering quickly, scrambled over to her. "Elphaba!"

But her eyes had fluttered shut and although her chest was still rising and falling, her breathing was irregular and shallow and her own blood was pooling around her. Stifling a sob of his own, Fiyero gently cradled her in his arms. Her skin felt cold, which did nothing to assuage his fears. "Hold on," he begged her, rising to his feet with her and casting a last, regretful look at Duran's body before steeling himself and taking a deep breath. He coughed, the smoke getting to him, but he forced himself to move. "Hold on, Fae. Stay with me."

She whimpered, but her eyes didn't open and her breaths only seemed to grow shallower.

"Don't you dare die on me now," he growled at her, a desperate fear rising within him as he all but ran down the burning hallway, knowing he had to get Elphaba out of it and find a way to save her life before it was too late. He skidded to a halt about halfway down the hall; and he looked around frantically. He was surrounded by fire now, high flames blocking his only way out of the castle. He'd have to jump through.

He looked down at Elphaba again. Was her face starting to look grey or was that just the firelight playing tricks on his eyes? She was completely unconscious in his arms, a dead weight; he couldn't even see or feel her chest move anymore, but she had to be still alive. She just had to be. She was probably in shock from the blood loss – he had to get her out of here.

He forced himself not to look at the trail of blood she'd left behind in the hallway and he took a deep breath, clutching her even tighter to him and steeling himself. Then he leapt through the wall of flames in front of him.