"Come on, I really want you to do it!"

"No."

"You know you want to!"

"No…"

"Will you at least think about it?"

"No!…"

"Pretty please?"

"No!"

It was the following day and the Wizard had spent the better part of the morning trekking to Mombi's hut and then surprised her with a visit. They were now sitting around her kitchen table, which was reminiscent of the times they had spent together previously.

Since the Wizard had returned to the Emerald City following his trial, he had secretly sent Mombi gold from his pay to help her make repairs on her otherwise decrepit and dilapidated cabin. He also sent Tinkers to install several of his latest inventions, including what he dubbed a "washing machine". He was now trying to convince her to come back to the Emerald City and take a position in his soon-to-be revamped administration, should he prevail against the city in the coming days. He was now trying to convince her to become the Justice Minister.

"I told you. I don't want to go back to that forsaken city…"

"But I think you would be good in this position. You were treated unfairly when you resided there. You weren't given justice and I think you would do a fine job to make certain what happened to you would never happen to anyone again!"

Mombi considered his offer as her small brown eyes locked with his, but otherwise did not speak.

"I've known you for a long time. And I just want…there's a lot of things I want to change around here. But I can't do it all by myself. I am only one man and what good can only one man do? I need your help and who better help me than those who understand what the Emerald City did to them. I…"

The Wizard paused before continuing. "I just want to make sure you are taken care of. That's all. Do you really want to be out here all by your lonesome?"

"I value my privacy."

The Wizard extended his hands and placed them on Mombi's own, which were resting on the wooden table. "Come back…"

"But I like it here…"

"It's not healthy to be all secluded like this…"

"You visit me."

"Come on! I don't do it all the time…"

"It's enough."

"Mombi…please, you have more to show than this. You can do good there…"

"I doubt it. I've been branded as 'Wicked' by all those fine and goold ol' people of Oz, remember?" The witch huffed bitterly at the indignation of it all. "Everyone will only see that now. It follows me around everywhere I go, so nowhere do I go. I stay put here…"

"But you can prove them wrong!"

Her hands gently moved away from his own. "Wizard, I was kicked out of the city. I think they have their minds made up about me…"

"I can pardon you! I told you many times that I can do it, but you always refused my offerings…"

The witch sharply shook her head. "You're suspended now as the Wizard, remember? And if that's the price you paid for trying to bring Theodora back, then what do you think they would do to you if they found out you wanted to bring me into this mess?"

"But my suspension is going to change in the next two days…"

"So, what makes you think you are going to win this time?"

The Wizard was about to speak, but his words never left his tongue. Mombi was right. He had no clue if he was going to prevail. The Magistrate was appointed by King Pastoria of all people, the same king whose magic made Singra go insane and ruined Mombi's own life. The same king who neglected his own daughter. Even their Mombi's mother, Gayalette, never fully recovered from the king's betrayal. She was a broken woman, who took her rage and anger out on her Winkie subjects. Everything had changed the night a young Pastoria visited their castle and attended a dance. Everything changed when he asked a young Lurline to dance with her, just like everything changed for Theodora when the Wizard asked her to dance. Everything changed when Pastoria then asked Lurline to marry him. And everything changed when he asked Gayalette to be his advisor and to surrender control of the Winkie Guards over to him, ultimately betraying her after the downfall of both her daughters.

As the Wizard thought about all this, he couldn't help but notice that the late Pastoria was a lot like him. He was venerated by his people, but it was built on a total and complete lie. Like the late king, he had skeletons in the closet, too. Pastoria held himself out as a purveyor of Goodness, but he was in fact extremely Wicked. He was not who he claimed to be, and because of his deceit, his actions reverberated across the entire kingdom and so many suffered as a result, especially those closest to him.

When the Wizard did not respond to her query, the witch pressed her point. "Well, what guarantees do you have that you are even going to win?"

"There are no guarantees…", he conceded.

"This is what I mean. It was foolish enough for you to pick Theodora, but there's no way I'm going to let you have the two of us."

"It doesn't matter!", the Wizard barked at her. The room then fell quiet before he spoke again. "Mombi, I need history to know that I took a stand. That I was right. That this ostracism is wrong. I've been down this road before. The council tried to ruin me last time for defending myself and Theodora and they didn't succeed."

"Why? Why put yourself in this situation again…"

"Mombi! I want this!"

"Why? Why do you want this? This pain! This betrayal! Why do you even try?"

"Because…I want to make this right!"

"Why!", the witch loudly demanded.

The Wizard gestured with his hands as he tried to think of the right words to say, but he felt they remained elusive. "Because…" Frustration was evident on his face and in his voice.

"I'm not a good person!", he finally admitted.

Mombi stared at him with a barely concealed look of incredulity on her face. But he continued uninterrupted.

"I'm not a good person! I don't have any magical ability whatsoever! I'm even weaker than you! How pathetic is that? I'm just a selfish man who only thinks of himself. And when I fail spectacularly in two days in this hopeless endeavor like you say, at least I know that I fought. That I tried. Because what can one selfish, pathetic, weak, egotistical, good-for-nothing mortal man like me really do? I work on these useless inventions, but even with them, I still fail miserably. What can my useless inventions do to really change anything in a land where raw power can crush me like a tiny little bug? What can one useless mortal man do?"

The witch sighed as she slowly shook her head. "Oh, Wizard…"

"What?"

"You're wrong…"

"About what!?"

"About everything." The witch lowered her head and stared at the table as she tried to muster what she wanted to say. She then stared at him straight in the eyes again, her own eyes twinkling.

"What words can I even say to try and explain to you what you've done for us all? You say that you are weak, a small, insignificant man, a mere mortal. Selfish. You've confided this in me so many times. You are anything but. Look at what you've already done. You created so many gadgets that have made our lives better. You've openly challenged a system that even the most powerful of witches do not dare oppose. A system of ignoble corruption that has taken away the voice of so many. That has given misery to so many. It might sound silly, but what can one ordinary man do? In your eyes, you think you've done nothing, but you've done everything. You call your inventions 'useless' and your journey of trying to help my cousin a 'hopeless endeavor'. I don't believe this to be true at all. It is truly so much more. What you have done is a beautiful work of magic and that's really the closest thing I can articulate about your actions here. I'm sorry. I really am. My words simply fall short. I can tell you are giving it your all, and whether you succeed or fail, you have already won. Let me speak for so many when I say how much we appreciate it, and your enormous effort to challenge and change this toxic society is not wasted on us. Ignore the naysayers and the self-righteous zealots. You have an entire population with you. You might think you are insignificant and small, but your impact on Ozian society and our lives is omniscient. I can only wish to articulate more clearly how much you have done for us all. Your legacy will live forever. It is eternal. We will see to it. I speak for many when I say: from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. I truly mean it."

As Mombi spoke, the Wizard was almost brought to the brink of tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hie eyes became watery as he wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. "Thank you", he finally said when she finished her monologue. He could tell that she meant it with great sincerity. "You are one of the best friends I have ever had. You and Finley and…"

"Annie", the witch said, completing his sentence. "I know that she meant a lot to you."

"She did."

He then flashed the witch a cold stare as his lips subtly betrayed his seriousness and quirked in amusement with a veil of uncertainty in his voice. "Minister of the Interior?"

"No!"

"Minister of Forestry?"

"No!"

"Ministry of Agriculture!"

"No! No! No! No!"

"Come on, Mombi! You are so freaking stubborn! At least become the labor minister so you can work these Emerald City heathens to death!"

The witch then flashed him a smirk. "Now I know you are joking, Wizard…"

"Who says I'm laughing."

After some more moments of silence, the Wizard chimed in again with a mischievous grin. "At least be the Ministry of Wickedness!"

As the pair continued to argue like brother and sister, there was then a knock heard outside on Mombi's front wooden door, which caused the Wizard to rise from his chair. "Just think about it. You still have two days to decide." He then turned away from the witch as he started to walk towards the front entrance.

"Who's there?", Mombi demanded. "And who is knocking on my door!?"

"It's okay", the Wizard replied. "I am expecting someone…"

The door swung open, and the Wizard saw a tall and slender young man with a young woman no more than 22 or 23 years of age.

"Are you the Wizard", she asked uncertainly.

"I am."

"Oh, good. A lady we've met and become quite fond of recently, Morra is her name. She told us that you are looking for someone to fill a position at the Emerald City. Is this true? Oh, my fiancé here would absolutely be interested! His name is Nick…"

"Yes, Morra even saved my life against that dastardly Wicked West of the East!"

At first, the Wizard was confused at what they were talking about. Who was Morra? But then it dawned on him. Morra was Dorothy, the alias she took as the Mayor of Raghbad.

"You heard right", the Wizard beamed. "Let's talk."

"I never wanted to do this, but he gives me no choice…"

The council leader was in a dark and secluded cabin. A small orange hue from the gas lamp sat on the table, illuminating only her and the person she was speaking with.

She had been humiliated the prior day when the Wizard threw piles of paper in her face and stormed off like a little impetuous child. She could barely contain her rage as he slammed the door to his bed chambers. This traitor, this interloper, did not even deserve to be at the palace. In fact, this man, this monster, did not even deserve to be in Oz at all!

"Glinda, you must stop him!", the council leader decried in her chambers as she angrily turned through the papers that the Wizard had given her. "He must be stopped!"

"But there's nothing I can do", Glinda softly retorted. "He's allowed to do this. He's following the rules…"

"How did he learn about this!", she snarled at southern witch herself. "He was supposed to be kept in the dark and only do what we told him to do! What we wanted him to do! To be used as a tool for our aims! How did he learn about this, Glinda!?"

Like Agatha, the relationship between the council leader and the Wizard himself was a fraught one from the very beginning. And while he did not know her name (instead always referring to her as "counselor" with much discontentment in his voice), she did have one.

Margalotte was born to a working-class family on the outskirts of the Sapphire City, the capital of the Munchkin lands. While its size and splendor paled in comparison to that of the Emerald City, its people were industrious, driven, and hardworking. This differed from the culture of the Emerald City, where its citizens carried an aura of regality and sophistication in their appearance and in their diction. They also often spent considerable amounts of time at leisure and at rest.

However, her parents told their only daughter that if she worked hard and applied herself that she could accomplish whatever she wished.

Despite big dreams, she struggled considerably. First rejected from Wogglebug's College of Art and Athletic Perfectionary school, she then moved to the Emerald City in search of better job opportunities.

Growing up, her parents taught her the value of hard work and that anyone could succeed in Ozian society. However, the future council leader had one problem. Like many places in oz, there was a hidden social hierarchy that determined someone's success and social mobility: its populace valued beauty, especially in women and those who had pale complexions. She did not. And as she got rejected from one job after another, she blamed her social exclusions and snubs on societal discrimination. While she dreamed big, these considerable setbacks caused her to become increasingly bitter at the world and with Ozian society.

Not destined to be struggling farmers like her parents, she applied to be a servant at the palace. She finally got her big break, and it was Pastoria who gave it to her. Over the years, she rose through the ranks, moving from lowly servant girl to one of Pastoria's most trusted advisors.

Her rise to power was abruptly curtailed when Evanora dethroned and murdered him. But Margalotte kept the dream alive and worked with Agatha to achieve power once more. And when Glinda chose a mysterious newcomer to topple Evanora and return to power once again, division developed among Glinda's lieutenants and the late king's advisors. While Agatha was incredibly envious that she would choose the Wizard over her, Margalotte believed he was simply an uneducated misogynist, someone who hated and despised women and especially women of color like she was. What she saw in the Wizard was present in all Ozian society. How dare Glinda choose *him*. She was the only council member to vote for the Wizard's conviction, even after Ozian residents voted to "clear him" of wrongdoing. In her mind, the Wizard was guilty and nothing he could do or say would ever change or convince her otherwise. The Wizard was a symbol. He represented an existential threat to her, who could one day topple her from power. Ultimately, Glinda assured her after Evanora was banished and the Wizard was fully propagandized by Ozian society and did what she told him to do. But now that he had a mind of his own? This was too much to bear.

It was here where the council leader had a commonality with the eastern witch: they both despised the Wizard.

Now, she was sitting across the table from one of her sworn enemies. To her, desperate times called for desperate measures. This meeting was a secret one, one she knew could never be made public. But she had a proposal for her archenemy.

"I know you don't like me that much, and I do you", Margalotte explained as she stared at Evanora's shriveled body and her hideous face. While the eastern witch could have chosen to wear her ruby red slippers that day, she chose not to. The eastern witch did this as a measure of defiance, since it was also King Pastoria's old advisors that led to her downfall. She decided to show her true self to Margalotte out of spite.

The council leader continued. "But I come to parlay with you. The Wizard plans to head to the Winkie Country in another two days. He wants to set up a new government. And if he does, I am finished. He will cast me out…"

"Ohhh poor little baby", Evanora seethed at her bitterly. "And you think I am going to—"

"You haven't heard my offer yet", the council leader interrupted. "You can 'influence' the Magistrate to side with the Emerald City, if you get my drift. And if the Wizard receives an unfavorable decision, and even better he gets outcasted from Oz forever, I will fully pardon you for all your misdeeds. Every one of them. And you can come back to the Emerald City and rule it again. Along with me, of course."

As the council leader spoke, the eastern witch's eyes became wide, and her eyebrows arched. "That was the dream, wasn't it, Evanora? That you rule the Emerald City and all of Oz? That glory, power and vast amounts of wealth were yours? Well, you can have it again. You can have it all. All you need to do is foil this vile Wizard's schemes. Foil him in another two days and I will take care of the rest." The council leader then sank back into her chair as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Glinda is weak, and you can do whatever it is you want with her when you return triumphantly to the Emerald City." She then shook her head in vexation. "I never wanted to do this, but he gives me no choice…"

"An enticing offer", the eastern witch replied. Her lips turned into a malevolent grin. "You have a deal."