A Wicked Comeback: The Return to Oz

Disclaimer: I do not in ANY way own/make profit from Wicked or its characters. I wish I did. I simply like manipulating them to my every whim and will. Mauhahahhaa.

Authors Note: Hello all! Welcome to my newest fanfiction. I've come to the conclusion that I would much rather Elphaba had lived at the end of Wicked, Wicked the Musical and The Wizard of Oz

Oh… and while reading Wicked and watching the musical, I couldn't help but feel as if Elphaba and Glinda were… more than friends. It just struck me that way. Thanks to some imaginative Gelphie music videos and even better fics, I've decided that I'm a Gelphie shipper all the way. So… beware, brave reader, this is a f/f fiction. Meaning, female/female, romantically. If this bothers you or makes you squeamish or simply just makes you feel weird in ANY part of your body (unless it's the good kind lol) , please do not read. And no, smut-readers, I will not put any sex ever so soon into the story. That just makes it unfair. Where's the anticipation in that? You realize, anticipation makes certain things better ;)

-Slacker05

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"She was caught, twisting, trying, full of will, but towards what? A fragment of the brush of the broom fluttered off, and lit on her skirt, and there was a run of flames in her lap, eating up the driest tinder in the Vinkus. "Oh, will this nightmare never end," screamed Dorothy, and she grabbed at a bucket of collecting rainwater that, in the sudden flare up of light, had come into view. She said, "I will save you!" and he hurled the water at the Witch."

Wicked, Pg. 402

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Chapter 1: A Disappearing Act

Elphaba felt the water splash onto her green skin and howled as the water instantly ate away at her flesh, slowly melting her, vaporizing her into the numb imaginative abyss where mama, Nessarose, papa, Shell, Doctor Dillamond, Ama Clutch and Ama Vimp waited happily, their eyes twinkling with laughter and calm bliss.

As the darkness slowly overtook the lonely, thought-to-be-soulless, vaporizing body, Elphaba felt warm, safe arms float around her waist, pulling her, cradling her to theirs. Though she dimly realized that this was not possible as her waist was currently a vapor in the winds, she settled back and closed her eyes; for the first time in more than a decade, she felt safe. There was a pulling sensation in the back of her mind. She resisted the pull at first, fearful of the nonexistence of eternity, but a warm, bubbly voice from the past swelled into her awareness.

"Let go, dear. It's safe where I bring you, you mean green thing."

Elphaba opened her eyes and looked down. Where legs and torso should be non-existent stood her form, clad in her frumpy black attire. As she wiggled her toes and extended her arm to examine her lengthy, green fingers in wonder, she realized with a distant shock that she was not actually… living. A moment's hysterics overwhelmed Elphaba and her breathing caught in her throat. She looked around sharply and realized she was standing nowhere. She swung her gaze from side to side frantically but only took in blankness, void of sound and distinct lighting. Not in the parapet that she had chased Dorothy into, not in midair… simply nowhere. No color or distinction of anything could be made. All the Witch was aware of was the invisible set of arms that were weaved around her waist and pulling her into a secure embrace. The sweet voice filled her senses again, soothing her suddenly frayed nerves.

"Hush your thoughts, sweetling. It will be smooth, I promise. Just relax and come with me?"

After a few moments, she felt herself growing weaker. Her physical body, now invisible to herself, was obviously disappearing from corporeal existence. She shuddered slightly and let go; She slipped in what she imagined a warm bath would feel like: a sensation of serene calmness overtook her once more. With a sigh, she turned in the embrace and took an invisible hand into her own. The abyss waited.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Dorothy looked on in horror as the Wicked Witch slowly disappeared from her sight, seemingly melting into the cold stone of the floor. As she withered away and her howls subsided, her head leaned back and her pointed hat lifted enough for Dorothy to see into her dark, sad eyes. Her eyes seemed slightly distant and misty, as if she were in a trance or brought back to a fond memory as she lived her last moments. As her eyes slid closed, a small sigh escaped her emerald lips; she was fully decom-ized in the wispy hiss of vapors. The Wicked Witch of the West was dead.

-o-o-o-o-o-

There was a distant but echoic rushing sound that filled Elphaba's ears as the invisible hand in her own increased the strength of its grasp. Her eyes were still closed gently and she savored the serene calm that she so rarely experienced during her time in Oz. As she became lost in the sensations flooding her 'body', she barely registered that the hand was tugging her through the empty space around her. The pressure in Elphaba's ears changed and they popped loudly, startling her out of her stupor.

As she forced her eyes open to look around the still empty space of wherever she was, Elphaba let her gaze linger on her hand. It almost looks amusing, she thought to herself, how her arm was extended out and her hand grasping what seemed to be air. Her thoughts did not linger for long on the absence of the body pulling her, for the calm came over her once again and she groaned softly as she relaxed her tired, tense muscles. Her head lolled onto her chest for a moment and she noticed dimly that her feet were hovering, not actually touching the nothingness underneath her. She raised her head again and noticed that where the invisible being was, a small shimmering, heat wave like cloud was appearing. It did not grow into distinction and in fact, the more Elphaba tried to focus her mind on the silhouette guiding her, the less detailed it became. Elphaba tried relaxing her mind after a moment and allowed her senses to govern her body. As she did so, the emptiness around her slowly filled, shapes and shades morphed into sharper relief; The invisible being slowly turned into a person, a shape, a figure of her past that Elphaba struggled to recognize through the fog of her mind.

"You always tried to think too much, you with your nose always in a book. Relax your mind and accept It." chuckled the bubbly voice inside Elphaba's mind

As her thoughts finally melted away completely, a room formed around them, swirling delicately in and out of focus, almost blinking out of existence until it finally became firm and reliable. The room was large enough; two beds, a desk and chair, a fireplace, two wardrobes, drapes that seemed to cover a window, and two other doors that lead into separate rooms.

"My old room in Shiz" murmured Elphaba, her eyes wandering over the pink pillows and blankets that adorned one of the beds. She looked around the room closer as the semi-invisible being let go of her hand and sat down at the desk daintily. Her eyes ran over books with familiar titles from the past, small knick-knacks that adorned the top of tables, handsome shoes placed neatly into a shelf, her old, bare bed that was neatly made. She took a few cautious, wobbly steps around the room, running her thin fingers over surfaces as she let memories from the happier years of her life flood her already muddled brain.

A polite cough roused Elphaba from her long forgotten memories. She turned her gaze to the… form… that rested against the desk that she was so familiarized with in her youth.

Bright blue eyes were staring at her from a slightly transparent face; youthful, bouncy blonde curls framed the kind smiling features. Her torso and legs were, as always, clad in a lovely gown of pink (though still going through the transformation between heat-waves and solidity). Elphaba's face formed a slight frown as she tried to recall this being. So very familiar to her, she knew, but in her muddled state she could not pinpoint her identity. Frustrated and aware that her senses were dulled beyond all comprehension, Elphaba opened her mouth slightly, intent on shooting a dry insult towards the petite female form. Her eyes widened slightly when only a breathy wheeze rushed past her lips. She shot a hand to her throat and stared in horror at the stunning creature before her. Her hand held a silvery wand-like apparatus before her, pointing it delicately at Elphaba's throat. Her eyes sparkled with mirth before schooling her features into a polite calmness.

"You really did talk a little sourly when you didn't understand something, Elphie. It is time for you to listen and to understand, not to shoot nasty mean words at the only 'other' that might exist for you here." Smirked the glowing, quickly solidifying woman

Elphaba narrowed her eyes slightly and pursed her lips before letting her arm drop away slightly from her throat. She instead crossed her arms, walked over to her old bed and dropped unceremoniously to the mattress. She glared up at the being and sulked a little before indicated with a small twitch of her head that she was indeed ready to listen.

"My, you're a tad grumpy for someone who just entered the Other World, Elphie. One would expect you to feel a little relief that eternity isn't just a large gaping nothingness." The bubbly woman chatted brightly

All Elphaba did was snort distastefully and furrow her brows further, which made her look quite like a cross frog.

The glowy woman standing in front of Elphaba giggled lightly to herself at this thought, covering her mouth in a womanly fashion. The Witch simply grunted in frustration and made an impatient movement with the arms, catching her companion's attention again.

"Oh dear, you poor sour thing. You must be horribly exhausted, what with you dying and whatnot-"

Elphaba's eyes hardened at this and she harrumphed quietly to herself.

"Here, some tea!" the woman waved her metal apparatus and a small pink tea set appeared beside her on the table. She poured two cups and added an unhealthy amount of sugar to one of the cups. She quietly handed Elphaba the plain tea before taking her own cup into her hands and inhaled the sweet aroma. Elphaba looked down into the steaming, murky drink.

The woman began to idly chat to what seemed to be herself while she looked around the room. "…Don't know where that bucket of water came from but she indeed saw it quickly. There was-"

The bubbly, energetic voice rambled on quite rudely and insensitively about the unfortunate details of Elphaba's death.

Elphaba ignored her as she inhaled lightly and felt her mind de-fog itself and thoughts formed again. She tried to concentrate on the woman in front of her. She winced automatically, feeling a phantom sting as the steam formed small drops on her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, looked back up at the woman so very familiar to her, so blonde and bubbl-

And it hit her. It all came back to the Witch very suddenly, much like the tornado that stole Nessarose away from Munchkin land, her family, and her sister. She sucked in a quick breath and closed her eyes tightly as she felt her chest constrict in emotional pain. Glinda ('Or Galinda, seeing as we seem to be back in Shiz,' thought Elphaba crossly)

The Glinda that stood before Elphaba watched the emotions play across the Wicked Witch's face, looked on as the hand that wasn't clasping the cup pulled closer to her bosom and its fist clenched and unclenched. The green woman's back hunched slightly and her head bowed as numerous depressing memories passed through conscious thought. Glinda took a dainty sip from her cup before placing it back onto the tray and leaned over slightly to take the teacup from the distraught woman in front of her, her eyes losing a few sparkling moments. As the cup was removed from Elphaba's hand, the arm curled up her face, clutching the forehead that was surely pounding with thought.

"Elphaba, dear… please, you simply must relax. You've got an awfully long way to go, you understand? We must take this time seriously. It is significantly significant that we talk about what has transpired." Glinda voice shook slightly, worried by her green companion's shaking shoulders and quivering bottom lip.

Elphaba allowed herself a moment to calm her thoughts down before she shot her head back up to stare with wide eyes at the woman she thought she would never see again, a woman she had missed while she was in hiding, traveling or otherwise away.

Satisfied that Elphaba was calmed down enough for her to proceed, Glinda placed her hand on her throat and cleared it as quietly as possible. When her hand dropped back to her side, she smiled slightly down at the doe-eyed Witch in front of her.

"You simply must be wondering why, of all places the Other World could be, it has come to you as your old dorm room in Shiz and why-" Elphaba's mouth opened to interrupt Glinda but slowly shut when the glare from the blonde's blue eyes stared her down.

"Why, of all people to come to you, I have appeared in this form. The form of Glinda the Good, or as you would interpret it from our surroundings, Galinda, your greatest friend at Shiz. The funny thing about the Other World is, it doesn't appear in the same fashion to everyone. And they are not all greeted with the same people either. Your mind brought you back to Shiz, where you spent the most of your happier years in Oz. Your mind also subconsciously chose me, in this form, to greet you here. S-surprise?" the doppelganger of Glinda stuttered nervously at the still wide stare of Elphaba.

Elphaba blinked a few times at Glinda before lowering her head into her hands, her bony elbows resting on her knees. Glinda, for the first time during the exchange, felt slightly nervous and shifted her feet distractedly.

"No soul." Elphaba's slightly muffled voice rang out mournfully

"Pardon me?"

"No soul. I do not have one. Simple. I do not have a soul."

Glinda blinked down at the distressed Witch with a surprised raise of her eyebrows. A moment passed where all that could be heard was the slightly louder breathing from Elphaba's hunched-over form. Glinda pushed herself away from the desk with grace before getting onto her knees before Elphaba. She took the green hands softly into her own, forcing Elphaba to look into her icy blue eyes. Her own murky eyes were swimming with sad, confused emotions. Glinda released her right hand and lifted Elphaba's chin slightly to get a better look into the now pale green face of her companion.

"Of course you do, you silly green thing. Come now… hush, sweetling. No need to be so distressed in something you have no control over." Smiled Glinda sweetly

"I have good news for you, Elphie" murmured Glinda quietly, fixatedly staring into Elphaba's brown eyes

The hand at Elphaba's chin moved to cup the woman's green cheek tenderly, both happy to star at each other for a few moments. Glinda broke the spell shyly before standing up to her full height. She offered both hands down to Elphaba, who stared at the pink, fleshy hands for a moment before placing her own green ones into the grasp.

'Pink goes good with green' distractedly recalled Elphaba in her mind

She grabbed onto to them and allowed herself to be pulled up from her spot on the bed to stand in front of Glinda, who then moved away to perch back onto her spot on the table. Elphaba studied Glinda's expression with a closed stare.

"Well… the good news is this is not a permanent state, Miss Elphaba Thopp. The Unnamed God has deemed it… necessary… to send you back to Oz."

Elphaba simply stared at Glinda. And then promptly fainted uncharacteristically back onto the bed.

"…Oh dear… Elphie?"

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Author Blabber:

Hey all! I intend to make this a lovely long story about our dear Elphaba's return to Oz :D seeing as I was unhappy with the end of Wicked, The Wizard of Oz and the musical of Wicked. I really rather like Elphaba… and I like Glinda. So… Woo. A new story. Stay tuned for the next chapter of "A Wicked Comeback: The Return to Oz"

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