Another Wicked series! I just can't seem to help myself… anyway, hope you all enjoy it!

So, a note about the setting: everything is about the same, except that there is no Shiz.

A warning to the people

The good and the evil

This is war

It was Friday night, and like most girls her age, Galinda Upland wanted to have a good time. She and her friends frequently populated the bars and dance clubs in the area, and sometimes even out of the area. And now, Galinda was starting to grow tired of the same old hangouts, the same jerks that tried to get her drunk enough to take her dress off. It had all become so mundane, and she wanted something new.

"Galinda, are you coming out with us tonight or not?" her friends asked when their carriage arrived to pick her up.

The blonde sighed and climbed in. "Can't we ever go somewhere different?" she asked, leaning into the waiting arm of her boyfriend, Fiyero.

"Well, I do know about this place. One of my buddies, Avaric, works there. He says there's some… excitement there," Fiyero said.

"What kind of excitement?" Galinda asked.

Fiyero grinned. "The kind that can get you arrested."

"Sounds risky," Milla said.

"Let's do it," Galinda said. She was ready to finally have some real excitement in her life.

The roar of the crowd was almost deafening in the small underground space, and Galinda wasn't prepared for how dirty everything would be. The floor was littered with paper cups and slips of paper, and the cement itself was sticky from all the spilled beverages. The crowd itself was gathered in an oval, looking down at something. People were cheering and booing, clenching their papers and money, and waving vehemently as if trying to prove a point to a stubborn person.

"What is this?" Galinda asked over the noise.

"Get closer and you'll see."

Galinda and Fiyero squeezed their way through the people, and soon reached a metal railing. Galinda grabbed the rail and looked over the edge. It looked like a ten-foot drop, and she finally saw what everyone was looking at.

"Underground fighting? This is your idea of excitement?" she said, looking back at the prince.

"Of course. Watching two people beat the shit out of each other for survival. And of course, all the money you can win if you know how to play your cards right."

"What do you mean, for survival?"

"This isn't just fighting for our entertainment. In here, the only way to win is to kill your opponent. After twenty-one kills, the fighter wins their freedom."

"That's illegal!"

"This whole thing is illegal, but as long as we're not the ones getting hurt, enjoy it."

Galinda turned back to watch the fight. Two shirtless guys were fighting, and both had already taken a lot of damage. White pants guy had a black eye, and his lip was bleeding. Red pants guy had bruises on his chest, and scars up and down his arms. They continued to fight, and red pants guy seemed to only be on the defensive. Finally, when white pants guy paused for a split second, red pants struck with a left uppercut that caught white pants under his chin. He fell to the ground, and a knife dropped into the arena. Red pants picked it up, and approached the fallen fighter. One swift strike, and blood was pooling around his feet.

The crowd roared louder, and Galinda turned away, feeling sick. "How can you watch this? I want to leave."

"You said you wanted some excitement. You can't tell me that you don't like watching people fight."

"The fighting isn't bad, but the killing…"

"All right, you fight fans. We're approaching our last fight for the night," Avaric announced over the microphone. "Coming from the east tunnel, we have Trei, who is at twenty kills!"

Red pants guy raised his arms, and the crowd cheered. There was the sound of a metal gate opening, and the crowd's attention shifted.

"And coming from the west gate, we have Fae!"

There was a mixture of cheers and booing as a woman with dark, raven hair stepped out into the arena. At first, Galinda thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but when she looked again, she saw that this was not the case.

The woman had skin the color of emeralds.

"Who is that?" Galinda hissed at Fiyero as the two fighters took their positions.

"That's Fae. She's one of the newer fighters. I'm not sure where she comes from, only that she showed up one day, like most of the fighters here."

"Why is there a woman in here? She'll be slaughtered for sure!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge."

Elphaba looked at Trei, who smirked back. "Looks like this will be your last fight, Fae."

"I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions. We still have a fight ahead of us," Elphaba replied.

"Well, I intend to gain my freedom tonight, and I won't let a woman stand in my way."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the crowd chanted.

"Better give the people what they want," Elphaba said.

"Ladies first."

Elphaba went into her fighting position, bending her knees slightly and raising her arms up, keeping her fists just below her chin.

"I agree," she said with a slight smile. That was meant as a taunt, which Trei immediately feel for. He lunged at her, throwing a punch, and Elphaba side stepped to avoid it. He threw another one, and Elphaba repeated the action. He swung his leg to trip her and Elphaba jumped, backing up as she did.

"Why don't you actually fight instead of dancing around?" Trei growled.

"I don't want to embarrass you."

Trei threw a hard punch angrily, and it made contact with the side of Elphaba's face. The green woman stumbled to side, and spat out a mouthful of blood, which hit the cement, mixing with the thousand of other bloodstains that no one ever, or would ever, bother to clean up. The crowd cheered.

"Nice shot, but now you've drawn blood, and you know how I hate blood," Elphaba said, looking back at Trei.

"Don't worry, Fae. There will be a lot more where that came from."

"Yes. There will be."

Trei came at her again, and this time, Elphaba dodged the blow and landed one of her own on the back of Trei's neck. As he started to fall, Elphaba brought her knee up, catching him under the chin. Trei fell backwards, and stood up quickly, his teeth stained red with blood. He started to come at Elphaba again, but the green woman jumped up and kicked him the chest, forcing him back. Trei stumbled back against the arena wall as the crowd cheered again.

"You will not get in my way!" he shouted, gesturing for the knife. It was dropped down to him, and the crowd cheered louder. An early knife drop meant more blood, and bigger risks.

"Don't test me further, Trei," the green woman warned, but it fell on deaf ears as he came at her. He swung the knife as Elphaba side stepped, and the result was a gash in her left arm. Elphaba put a hand to the wound as blood seeped out between her verdant fingers. She lowered her hand, a cold look in her eyes. "I tried to warn you."

"Just die!" Trei said, coming at her. In one swift move, Elphaba had grabbed the hand that held the knife and forced it back, the blade sinking into Trei's chest. A silence fell over the crowd as the fighter stumbled back, blood running down his torso. A few moments passed, with Elphaba looking into the fallen fighter's eyes, then he collapsed, his blood starting to form a puddle around his body. The green woman stepped back a few paces as the crowd burst into cheers, relishing the ironic bloodshed.

"And the victory goes to Fae!" Avaric announced. The green woman looked at the blood on her hands, then up at the cheering crowd. She continued to step back, then turned and fled through the tunnel she had entered through.

Galinda watched the green fighter flee. She had been expecting Fae to bask in her victory, not to run back into the tunnel.

"Ready to go?" Fiyero asked, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yes. I'm ready," Galinda replied as the two turned away from the arena.

"Good thing I bet on Fae. Her odds were twenty to one," Fiyero said with a laugh. "Always bet on the woman."

Elphaba finished bandaging the wound, and sighed. She hadn't wanted to kill Trei, or anyone else for that matter, but she was already up to her fifth kill. She hated this life, and wished she had never been dragged in. Every day was a fight for survival, while throngs of people watched.

If they like bloodshed so much, they should be the ones down here.

"Listen up, slaves!"

Elphaba looked up at the harsh voice of Avaric. She rolled her eyes and remained seated while the other fighters stood and looked at where Avaric was standing, which was on the other side of the red line painted on the cement.

"Tonight was weak! Boring! I saw people leaving during the fights!" Avaric shouted. "Now tomorrow night, I want to see some excitement! I want to see blood gushing, and actual fighting!"

"Why don't you step inside the ring with us, and show us how it's done?" Elphaba said.

Avaric looked at her. "I especially want to see more out of you."

"Fighting isn't really my forte."

"Listen you! You'd better step it up or—"

"Or what? You'll teach me a lesson? You don't have the balls to step over the protection of that red line."

"I hear your sister is doing well."

Elphaba froze. She rose to her feet and approached Avaric, stopping inches before the line. "The minute this bracelet comes off, you'll be sorry."

"It won't be coming off, though. Not while you're alive, anyway. Step it up, Fae, or your sister suffers."

Elphaba made to grab his throat, but the minute her arm crossed the red line, an electric shock ran through her body, forcing her to cry out in pain and step back. She glared at Avaric, holding her injured arm.

"Shit. That thing pays for itself, doesn't it?" Avaric said with a grin as he left.

Elphaba watched him go, anger welling up inside of her. She looked down at the red line; the only thing that stood between her and freedom. The green fighter became aware that everyone was staring at her, so she turned and stalked back to her cell, settling herself in the corner.

"Don't worry, Fae. Nessa will be perfectly safe," Boq, a Munchkin who was Elphaba's cellmate, said. Boq was a fairly new fighter as well, and he had yet to compete in his first duel.

"She won't be safe until I find a way to get out of here," Elphaba replied.

"Well, only sixteen more kills to go."

"Right…"

Elphaba knew the Munchkin didn't understand, and she wasn't going to try and explain it to him. It didn't matter how many kills you had; the only way out was a wooden box.

"What's bothering you?"

Galinda looked at the prince lying beside her. She considered telling him what was on her mind, but she decided that now was not the best time, so she just shook her head.

"Nothing," she lied, but her thoughts kept returning to that green fighter, and the way she had looked after killing Trei. "Fiyero?"

"Hmm?"

"Will there be fights tomorrow?"

"There are fights every night. Why? I thought you hated them."

"No reason."

Fiyero rolled onto his side and looked at the blonde. Galinda looked at the ceiling.

"I know what this is about. It's that green fighter. You want to see her again," he said.

"That's ridiculous. I was just curious so that if you disappeared, I would know where you went."

It sounded ridiculous, even to the blonde, so she turned onto her side, facing her back to Fiyero.

She heard him laugh. "Don't worry. She'll be there tomorrow, and you can stare at her all you want. Hell, even I like staring at her." He laughed again, and there was silence.