I do not own Wicked. Sorry it's been so long, got distracted, but I'm seeing this to the end.

The emerald City had, in the couple of days since Byra had left it, changed.

Byra could make a list of all the obvious things that had changed in her head, which she could see through a hole she was peering through in the crate that the Lion was using to smuggle her in. She could see that shops were boarded up and empty, or that people- all humans- walked more quickly and didn't speak to each other, but none of them seemed to get to the root source of Byra's feeling that something was different, almost as if it were part of the air itself.

Nearby, Lana shifted where she was sitting, accidentally nudging her. Byra flinched, and glanced over. Her face was covered in shadows, but she thought she saw some sort of apology on it anyway. Neither of them dared speak. Byra tried to give a look that conveyed that she didn't mind, that she was just overly jumpy, but she wasn't sure how much of it carried over.

The Lion and The Tin Man- Boq- wheeled them into a hotel.

"You can come out now.

Byra's relief at the prospect of leaving the cramped space she shared with Lana outweighed her fear of exposure, and she climbed out eagerly. As the others climbed out as well, she caught sight of Boq, a strange expression on his face. She followed his gaze to- The Wicked Witch of the West? Lana's mother? Elphaba Thropp? Just Elphaba? Byra had no idea how to think of her.

She returned her gaze, a fierce expression on her face, and Byra realized she was being rude. This is ridiculous. She trusted Lana and believed Tyron. She certainly didn't need to be convinced that the Wizard was a liar. But, despite all reason, she couldn't quite shake the feeling of distrust she had regarding- her.

"I need a time when important people in the palace are publicly outside of it." Elphaba said, looking at Boq and the Lion. "That would require a lot of guards to be out. When's the next one?"

"Amira's coronation, but it's tomorrow." Said a voice from the doorway. Byra glanced over and saw that Tyron had just entered the room. "You shouldn't have come back."

Lana glanced over. "Who's he?"

"This is Tyron, he helped me escape." Byra said. "And this is-"

"I know who everyone here is." Tyron interrupted irritably. "Just because none of you think I'm worth noticing, doesn't mean I think the same about you."

"Is he always like this?" Lana asked. Byra shrugged.

"They're planning some sort of trap around people who might come to rescue Glinda."

"We've figured that out already, actually." Lana snapped. Byra frowned. It wasn't like Lana to be so irritable. Then again, it had been a long day.

"Did Amira give you any details?" Byra asked.

"I haven't spoken to her since Ortibonitatem." He said curtly.

Byra frowned. The conversation that they had had earlier had caused Byra to assume that Amira and Tyron kept in touch regularly. "What? Why?"

"Because it's dangerous." He said. "She's dangerous. It was reckless of me to approach her to begin with."

Byra hesitated. Should she suggest he spy on Amira? How would he respond if she did. Did she have the right to try to pressure him into risking his life like that? But then, he already was risking his life by helping them…

"They're here to help rescue Glinda." Boq said tersely, his eyes darting between the witch- Elphaba- and Tyron. "Can you get us in?"

"Us?"

"Just because we're working together doesn't mean I trust you." He growled. "As long as you're in my city, you're not leaving my sight. Understand?"

"You're city?"

"If she wanted to destroy the city, she you wouldn't be able to stop her." Lana said fiercely.

"I'm at your disposal, but my lunch break's almost over." Tyron cut in. "I can only stay for a few more minutes. If there's something you need me for-"

Elphaba hesitated. "When can you come back?"

"My shift ends in a couple of hours. I'll come back then." With that, he left. Elphaba watched him go, biting her lip.

Lana turned towards her. "You're letting him go? He's not that much older than us!"

"I know. I know. I still haven't decided whether or not to involve him or not."

"He already is involved." Said Boq. "He's a good person." He didn't say, 'And you're not', but everyone in the room heard it anyway.

"Enough." This wasn't helping. Byra tried to think of what to say that would convince her, remembering what Tyron had told her earlier. "We've already been through this. Everyone is here because we choose to be. Everyone has a stake in this. You don't have to go at it alone."

"I'm more than capable of doing so."

"You're Elphaba." Elphias cut in. "What are you so afraid of?"

"That I'll lead you all to your death!" She snapped.

No one said anything for a moment.

"Mom-"

"You don't remember what it was like under the wizard. Do you think that- that it was glory or something? You're aunt was murdered to lure me into a trap. Your father almost tortured to death. And little of anything I did made any difference in the end."

Fiyero spoke. "Look around, Elphaba. Everyone here believes in you. We know you're not evil." Boq started to say something, but Fiyero silenced him with a look, surprisingly effective considering that he was a scarecrow. "This isn't like last time. I know you don't want to bring the kids-"

"I'm not a 'kid'." Said Lana irritably. It occured to Byra that Lana was the youngest person in the room, but she didn't say anything.

"I know you don't want to take the new generation, but at least take me-"

"Because that worked out so well last time."

"It worked out wonderfully. I got to marry a smart, brave, beautiful woman and retire to a warm climate where it never rained."

Elphaba gave a grudging smile. Byra watched, startled. No one had told her that the Wicked Witch of the West could smile.

"Take me, Shartine, the Lion, and Boq with you." He said.

"And Tyron." Said Boq. "You can't get into the palace without him anyway."

"How old is he?" Elphaba asked

"23."

"That's older than you were when you first defied the wizard." Fiyero pointed out.

"How old were you?" Byra asked.

"21."

Byra started to say that she was also that age, but Lana spoke over her. "Fine. Elphias, Byra and I will just stay here then."

Elphaba looked suspicious, but she nodded. "Alright. We'll talk about this more when Tyron comes back."

"Wait a minute-" Elphias started to say.

"We don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, and we don't want our parents to have to worry about protecting us on top of everything else." Lana argued.

Elphias flinched. "Of course. I understand."

Lana watched him. "You're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Elphias-"

"No, I understand. You and your mother and Byra are brilliant with magic, Boq and your father are invincible, the Lion and my father are brave and skilled fighters, and Tyron can get them into the castle, and I'm worthless." He spoke quickly, something in his voice oddly matter-of-fact, then turned and left the room.

Lana followed, calling after him, "What? It doesn't matter if you're good at magic, me and Byra aren't going either."

Byra hesitated, and then decided to follow the duo. They ended up in the room that Elphias had recuperated from when he had been there earlier.

"It's fine. You don't have to explain yourself to me-"

Lana closed the door. "Listen. I didn't mean what I said back there, we are all going to help rescue your mother."

Elphias blinked. "What?"

"They'll never let us come with them. They still see us as kids. The only way we can come is if we follow without them realizing." She hesitated. "That is, if both of you still want to help…"

Byra smiled. "What's the plan?"