A/N I don't know anything about narcotics. All my knowledge about spy stuff comes from movies. There's a good chance that what's written about narcotics isn't possible. If it is possible, I know more than I thought.
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Glinda helps Boq to his feet and they both take a step back. They look nervously at the situation and desperately try to think of a way out.
"How did you take down the first guards?" Glinda whispers.
Boq looks surprised. He expected Glinda to scream in panic, but she seems to have the situation under control.
"I can take down a few more guards, but all of them would be too much. Besides, you and Elphie need to get out of here as quickly as possible." Glinda continues.
Boq tries to speak, but no sound comes out of his mouth. He shakes his head. "I used sedatives. I still have one left."
Glinda growls. That's far too little. She already feels defeated as Madame Morrible and the gale Force gets closer. Only Elphaba remains standing. Her hands are still shaking from the fight between her and Glinda. She doesn't know what to believe. Her heart tells her to believe Glinda, but her head tells her otherwise.
Glinda's only hope is Elphaba. "Elphie, do something to save us," she hisses.
Madame Morrible laughs. "Oh, you foolish girl, do you really think Elphaba is going to save you after what you did to her? Are you that naive?"
Boq looks surprised. "They're best friends. They can help each other and make each other better. Come on, Elphaba. Cast the spell," Boq encourages.
Madame Morrible only laughs harder. "You really don't get it, do you? You're just a useless Munchkin boy."
Glinda smiles as she sees Elphaba's hands curl into fists. She has an idea, which may be risky, but if she can get Elphaba angry and frustrated, she might be able to create a magical outburst. To do that, she must challenge Madame Morrible and make Elphaba angry.
It's an opportunity she must seize. "I don't know how you escaped but we're putting you back in jail. Go back in the cage."
Cages Glinda thinks almost happily. ''Why do you want to put us in cages, just like you do with the Animals? Do you want to silence everyone? Is that your master plan? What have the Animals done to deserve this? They are peaceful people, who deserve the same as we do.''
Madame Morrible growls. "Listen here, you little spoiled, foolish girl. Those animals don't deserve to be treated like this. They need to know where their place is."
Glinda sees that Elphaba's hands are shaking more. She sees that Elphaba is trying to control herself. With every word Madame Morrible says, she is causing more of her own downfall, but she doesn't realize it herself. Glinda decides to take it a step further. She knows that Elphaba hates it when people around her are belittled. She just has to press the right buttons with Madame Morrible.
Meanwhile, Boq looks around anxiously. The guards are getting closer and closer and are holding spears. If he had known what he was getting into, he would have handled it differently. He hopes that Glinda knows what she is doing.
''You are getting a bit monotonous. First we discover something, then you come with a bunch of helpers and throw us in jail. We want something different," Glinda interrupts Madame Morrible's speech as nonchalantly as possible.
''How dare you. You are disrespectful. You have no future. The only thing you can do is act like a spoiled princess, without your parents you are a nobody. A nobody with no talent, no courage, no brains and certainly no heart.''
Glinda swallows, she tries to ignore Madame Morrible's words. Her plan doesn't seem to be working. She has to take it one step further.''Wait, you were also behind Dr. Dillemond's dismissal, weren't you?''
Elphaba can hardly breathe. She looks at Madame Morrible who smiles. ''Maybe you have a brain after all, too bad it's too late. Guards, put them in jail.'' she calls out desperately.
Despite what Glinda has done, Elphaba still feels a spark of anger as Madame Morrible continues to belittle her. That contemptuous tone makes her blood boil. She can't believe what she hears all about the Animals, how is this possible? How did all this happen? She has to do something to help? Elphaba thinks desperately. She hears Boq groan in pain, Glinda gasp and a guard collapse. She feels her magic bubbling inside her.
Glinda swallows and looks desperately at Elphaba. She doesn't know what else to do. Elphaba doesn't seem to move to help.
"That's why you'll never amount to anything in your life. You'll all be locked in cages. You won't say anything until I say so. Until then, you'll remain silent." Madame Morrible walks menacingly towards Glinda. Glinda tries to break free, but the guards hold her too tightly.
"Elphie, do you hear that? They want to silence us just like they did with the Animals. Help!" Glinda says in her best Galinda voice. "They're going to hurt me." She closes her eyes and prepares herself for the blow that is about to come.
"STOP!" Elphaba screams. A wave of magic bursts out of her. She stands up, panting. "Please, stop," she screams again, falling to the ground.
Glinda opens her eyes carefully when she hears nothing. She sees Madame Morrible's hand close to hers. That's what I thought, Glinda thinks. She wants to hit me again. Always the same. She frees herself from the guards' grip and runs to Elphaba, who lies crying on the ground.
"ELPHIE?" Glinda sits down next to her.
"No, don't touch me," Elphaba says quickly, trying to crawl away.
"Elphie, I'm sorry," Glinda whispers softly. Her heart breaks again. She wants so badly to make things right for Elphaba, but everything seems to be going wrong.
"Go away. Go away and never come back," Elphaba repeats over and over as she rocks herself back and forth.
Glinda doesn't know what to do. Suddenly, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She jumps up and gets into a fighting stance.
Fiyero stands facing each other with his hands up and a small grin. "Come on, we have to go before everyone wakes up. Help me with Boq."
Glinda blinks a few times. She feels her heartbeat slow down. "Fiyero?!" she screams. ''Oz, how, when What?''
"Shh, Glinda, softly."
"But how do you know my name?"
Fiyero grins. "I'll explain later. I'm also curious about his story," he says, pointing to Boq who is still standing still with his hands in front of his face.
"I don't understand anymore."
"You don't need to. You take care of Boq. I'll take Elphaba."
Glinda swallows and nods. She's glad she can listen to orders for once. She's had her chance with Elphaba, now someone else has to try. She gives Elphaba one last glance before freeing Boq from the guard's grip. A hundred questions race through her mind. Why is Fiyero here? Why is everyone else under the spell except for them? She hears Elphaba scream again.
"Let me go! You're a liar too. You're all liars. Get away! I never want to see you again," Elphaba shouts, flailing her arms.
"We won't be able to take her like this," Fiyero says, filled with regret. He feels guilty for playing along with Elphaba, but now that he sees the consequences, the girl has become a wreck."We have to calm her down first, but I don't know how. We can't take her like this," he says.
"That's it. You're brilliant," Glinda says excitedly. She searches Boq's pockets and pulls out a syringe. "This has something calming in it. It's how Boq got inside. We can try it on her."
Fiyero checks their surroundings once more and nods. "We have to hurry; I don't trust this place."
Glinda nods. Fiyero holds Elphaba in a firm grip as she struggles to break free. But due to her magical outburst and everything that's happened, she's not strong enough. Glinda quickly injects the sedative. "I'm so sorry," Glinda whispers as she watches Elphaba fight against the drug. "You have to believe me, I had no bad intentions."
Fiyero decides to give the girls a moment alone while he checks on Boq. Glinda tries to lift Elphaba so they can leave as soon as possible, but she feels someone grab her arm. "I don't know what you're planning, but you won't get away with it," says Madame Morrible, who still seems confused. Her eyes look strange, and there's a foamy layer around her mouth. Startled, Glinda almost drops Elphaba. Fiyero grabs Glinda's wrist with his other hand and tries to pull her away. The unexpected movement causes Glinda to let go of Elphaba. She tries to break free, but Fiyero is too strong.
"You need to help me with Boq," he says sternly.
"But what about Elphie?"
"We have to make a choice, Glinda, and Madame Morrible will wake up. Boq can help us save Elphaba later.''
''But,'' Glinda tries, looking desperately at Elphaba.
''Your judgment is clouded by your relationship with Elphaba. This is our only way. We can't hurry with a man on our backs, because the Gale Force is after us. You don't know how far it is, to our hideout,'' he says firmly.
With a heavy heart, Glinda nods. She helps Fiyero carry Boq through the hallway, who is slowly waking up as well.
"What's going on?"
"Don't worry, my friend," Fiyero says reassuringly. "We're taking you to safety."
"We need to get to Nessa," Boq says before falling asleep again. In the background, they hear Madame Morrible shouting at the guards, calling them traitors.
"Oh Oz, what have we done?" Glinda asks worriedly. She wants nothing more than to go back and talk to Elphaba. But she has no choice but to move forward. How did it come to this?
"Glinda, everything will be fine," Fiyero says reassuringly when he sees Glinda's worried look. "We still have some cards up our sleeve. Things will work out between you and Elphaba. Just be honest from now on. I will be too."
"Is it hypocritical of me to be angry at you and Boq for your lies?"
Fiyero smiles. "Yes, but now you have a better understanding of what Elphaba is going through."
Glinda shakes her head. "I might be able to understand why you did it, but I don't think Elphaba will ever see that."
"Give her time."
"How much time will it take?"
To that, Fiyero has no answer. They hurry through the dungeons until they reach the secret exit.
"Thankfully, the Gale Force knows nothing about these tunnels," Fiyero says in relief as they step outside.
"It's a miracle Oz is still standing with these incompetent guards in charge."
Fiyero laughs. "I think we had something to do with that."
Slowly, Boq wakes up and can walk more on his own. They quickly fill him in on what happened, but they all promise to explain everything once they're safe.
Even though Boq knows he has to go to Nessa, his curiosity gets the better of him. Besides, he also has to think about his own safety—he doesn't know what Madame Morrible will do in the Emerald City. He doesn't want to be arrested, so he follows Fiyero.
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Madame Morrible wakes up in the infirmary. "What happened?" she asks, mumbling.
"I'm wondering the same," asks a deep, gruff voice.
"Boss?" asks Madame Morrible, startled. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you really think the secret organization knows nothing about your schemes?"
Madame Morrible swallows. She had hoped as much. "I wanted to prove myself."
"You wanted to take the credit. You've messed up too much. We're taking over."
"No," Madame Morrible yells, furious. "I've come so far. Thanks to me, we have more power than ever. The Gale Force will listen to me, Boris."
"Never say my name again," Boris says angrily, his face dangerously close to Madame Morrible's. "Your rash actions have brought you down just as quickly as you rose. There are three students out there who know the truth. The Wizard is gone? Kidnapped, I heard, by a student and the Animals?"
Madame Morrible tries not to look proud, but she doesn't understand why her boss is so angry. They want power, and they want the Animals gone from Oz. Why isn't he happy?
Boris sighs. "There are too many loose ends, Morrible," he says, as if speaking to a child. "If the Wizard sides with the Animals, we've got a problem. If the students find people who believe them, then we won't have the entire populace on our side. Not enough rumors about the Animals have spread to make the majority of the population hate them. And then there's the green girl lying next to you, who we need to talk about."
Madame Morrible looks surprised to her side, but she only sees a white wall.
"In the other room, idiot," he snaps.
"They're just three students. A little girl who looks like a spy, a brainless prince, and a Munchkin boy who has no backbone but a heart of gold. No one will believe them. With Elphaba's help, we can track down the Wizard, and we'll have the power back in our hands."
"You really think, after everything that's happened, that she's going to help you?"
Madame Morrible hesitates but quickly recovers. "Yes. I'm sure of it."
Boris shakes his head, exhausted. "You're far too naive." He heard the whole story from his other men. They said that Elphaba had everyone frozen. They suspect that they didn't freeze the spies and that's why they escaped. Why they left Elphaba behind is a mystery to him. He doesn't like it when he doesn't know the whole story. That's exactly what happened because of Morrible. He only knows half of the situation because of her. He finds himself having less and less patience with her.
"Trust me. The rumor that the Animals are behind the Wizard's kidnapping has already spread."
"No, it hasn't," Boris says darkly.
"What?" asks Madame Morrible, confused.
"As soon as I heard the rumor, I squashed it. You don't need to know how, but let's just say there are a few fewer soldiers."
"WHY?" Madame Morrible screams in frustration. She tries to get out of bed, but Boris stops her. He stands tall. Madame Morrible has always been impressed by his enormous stature.
"Don't take that tone with me. I'm still your boss," he says threateningly. "How do you think the people would react if they heard that their beloved Wizard had been kidnapped?"
"Angry at the culprit?"
"And at the palace. They would come here for orders or demand answers. Why would they trust someone who let their leader disappear?"
Madame Morrible bites her lip.
"That's exactly my point. You're far too naive. Your plan wasn't foolproof. There are too many mistakes. I'm taking over from now on. When you're better, you can report to the kitchen. I'll decide when you're ready to come back."
"No. I will...?" But one look from Boris silences Madame Morrible.
Defeated, Madame Morrible is left behind. Hundreds of thoughts race through her mind. But one thing she knows for sure: Boris is making a mistake now. She had everything under control.
XXX
Boris rubs his face. He knows he must keep a close eye on Morrible. She was very capable when she was just a school headmistress. But now, power has gone to her head. He needs to gather the rest of the group.
He opens the door and sees an unconscious Elphaba lying on a bed. If the girl is really as powerful as Morrible describes, they need to get her on their side. But she will also be just as stubborn. He locks the door again. He has to keep control, over her. He tries to remember what Morrible had written in her file. How can I control her, he asks himself.
He is also worried about those three students, because normal students don't act like that. He should check their names and gather more information about them. He will also have to write a secret arrest warrant for the three. This has to be done as much as possible under the radar. If people find out and start asking questions, he will have to tell a story. He doesn't want all the extra work. He has to get the people behind him. The reason the secret organization was able to get this far is because they did everything underground and under the radar. Now that Madame Morrible almost ruined everything to get publicity, he has to be more careful than ever. He looks around, he thought he saw someone in the corner of his eye. He quickly shakes his head, he can't get more paranoid than he already is.
"Sir, someone's asking about the green girl. She says—well, demands—that she see her. She's really upset but won't say why. I don't know how she knows the green one is here."
Boris rubs his chin. Maybe it's someone he can use, he thinks with satisfaction. "Let her in and put her in a room that can be locked. We need to make sure the story stays within these walls."
The man salutes and walks away.
Boris calls for someone else and asks for an update from his co-leaders. They need to take action quickly.
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"Okay, we're sitting now. Tell your stories," Glinda demands. The group has reached Fiyero's hideout. They've freshened up. Fiyero insisted that they make a proper meal first since it's already well past dinner time. Glinda wanted to start right away, but her stomach started growling.
Fiyero and Boq exchange looks. "You go first."
Glinda rolls her eyes. "Fine, I'm Glinda Upland. My parents run an office as a cover, but they're actually spies. My mission was to protect Elphaba. According to the wizard, she's going to become Wicked. You know how that ended."
Boq nods but Fiyero looks doubtful. "We want to hear more."
Glinda sighs "Like what?"
"How long have you been doing this job?"
"I've been doing this my whole life. But I didn't start doing the real fieldwork until after the summer break. This is my first real mission."
Fiyero nods. "Do you know what Madame Morrible wants with Elphaba?"
"I suspect it's because of her power, but I don't know. Stop asking these questions and we'll move on with you."
Fiyero nods."Boq?" Fiyero quickly asks.
Boq shrugs. "I was hired by Frex. I'm supposed to look after Nessa. That's why I want to get back as soon as possible."
Glinda raises an eyebrow. "Why Nessa?"
Boq shrugs. "He wanted someone to protect her from the world and the bad reputation Elphaba would bring upon her. That's why I became friends with Elphaba, to keep her in check. But it quickly turned out to be unnecessary."
Glinda nods. "How did you know Elphaba was in danger?"
Boq chuckles sheepishly. "I didn't. I'd been seeing several cameras pointed at your door for a while. I wanted to make sure no one would get to Nessa through Elphaba. I convinced Nessa to come to the Emerald City. She's waiting for me now; I told her I'd come back with a surprise."
Fiyero starts laughing. "That'll be some surprise when you return three hours later."
Boq blushes. "I'm in deep trouble."
Glinda looks at him with pity. "Hopefully, your love will overcome it."
Boq rubs his neck. "It's also a good way to break up."
Glinda puts her head in her hands. "Men."
Fiyero just laughs.
"Now it's your turn," Boq says.
Fiyero abruptly stops laughing. He looks seriously at Glinda. "You have to promise not to scream."
Glinda looks confused and nods slowly.
"I was sent by your parents." Fiyero watches as Glinda's face slowly shifts from surprise to disbelief to anger, to downright fury. "Don't scream," he quickly adds.
Glinda puts on her biggest fake smile. "I wouldn't know why. I'll just step outside." With the last bit of dignity she can muster, she walks outside. Once there, she starts screaming.
Boq looks fearfully at Fiyero. "That doesn't sound good."
Fiyero looks guilty. "I wouldn't feel good either if I found out my parents sent someone to spy on me behind my back. Especially when I didn't even figure it out myself. She needs to know her parents didn't mean any harm."
"You think she'll understand?"
"No," Fiyero says seriously.
The door opens again. "Alright, gentlemen. Now that we know each other's information, I think we should start making a plan."
Fiyero swallows hard. He doesn't like Glinda's cold, calm voice. She sits back down at the table and takes a bite of her food. "I'm not hearing any suggestions," Glinda says after a brief silence.
"I think we should, um," Boq looks helplessly at Fiyero.
"We need more information about Elphaba's condition. If she can walk, it will really help us."
Glinda nods. "We need to be careful; everyone will be looking for us now."
"I want to check on Nessa first. Maybe we can use her too," Boq adds.
"Maybe you should get more information on the situation," a voice says from behind them.
The trio turns around in shock.
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