Are You Still Here?

"Elphaba! Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once?!" Glinda cried, voice full of anger and fear. "I hope you're happy!"

"I hope you're happy!" Elphaba shot back. "I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission to feed your own selfish ambition!" and the two went back and forth, arguing and bickering until the seriousness of their situation finally sank in. They were, presently, being hunted down by the Gale Force for treason against the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Now really wasn't a good time to just be standing around, fighting.

"Alright, we need to calm down at least long enough to figure out how to get out of here," Elphaba said, finally taking the lead.

"You don't say?" Glinda scoffed, but she agreed to let their spat wait until later. Eventually, the two managed to enchant a broom to fly. That would be their way of escaping this predicament. Neither the Wizard nor any of his men would ever see it coming!

"Glinda? Come with me!" Elphaba pleaded as she mounted her broom, extending an arm to Glinda. Glinda looked like she was about to say yes, but the fear of what such an agreement would mean in the long run ultimately kept her back. Instead, she only shook her head.

"I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this," she whispered and Elphaba, though clearly hurt by Glinda's rejection, did not push the issue further. Instead, she only returned Glinda's sad farewell and got ready to fly...

"There she is! Don't let her get away!" the Gale Force soldiers managed to break in right as Elphaba took off. Two of them lunged at Glinda, grabbing her and attempting to drag her away.

"Leave me alone, you hear?! Let go of me!" she spat, fighting against them with all her might. Then Elphaba suddenly came swooping back in.

"It's not her! She had nothing to do with it! I'm the one you want! It's me!" she screamed frantically, slamming her broom into the guards holding onto Glinda's arms, and then shielding Glinda with her own body.

"Elphie!" Glinda panicked as she felt Elphaba trying to shield her from the Gale Force.

"IT'S ME!" Elphaba screamed, still trying to fend off the soldiers as they closed in on her and Glinda once again.

Elphaba then shoved Glinda backward, hiding her in a corner while she took the initiative, distracting the Gale Force before flying away again. This was a very brave and noble thing of Elphaba to do, but when she tried to shove Glinda to safety, she ended up slamming the poor girl's head against the stone wall of the castle in which they were trapped in. The blow hit hard enough for Glinda to begin to lose consciousness. She sank to her knees, the world spinning and coming in and out of focus. In the distance, she could still hear Elphaba screaming, trying to lure the guards away from Glinda. Glinda wanted to thank her, or cry out to her again, but her body refused to respond to her. Instead, she only lowered her head to the ground in defeat and blacked out.

Glinda shot awake with an agonized cry. The first thing she saw was her clock. It was midnight.

"Glinda! What's wrong?" a familiar voice called out. Glinda turned to see her roommate sitting up in her own bed a few feet away from Glinda's.

"Elphie? But how? Are you still here?" Glinda sputtered in confusion as she tried to understand what the heck was happening.

"Yes I'm here, you little idiot," Elphaba chuckled gently. "Because we're friends forever. I'll always be here for you, especially when you're scared. Now tell me what's wrong," the green girl encouraged gently as she got up from her bed to join Glinda in hers.

For a moment, Glinda could still only sit there in silence and reel. What? Was she in her dorm room? It seemed so. But how? Hadn't she just been at the Emerald City? Surely that hadn't all been a dream, right? But why else would Elphaba be looking at her like she was crazy right now? Maybe it really had all been some dream. A prediction of the future perhaps? Glinda could hardly fathom it herself! Finally, then, Glinda burst into tears, because she didn't know what else to do, and she clung to Elphaba like she was a lifeline.

"Oh Elphie! I had a nightmare that we became enemies of the Wizard and you tried to escape only to be caught and killed before you could get away!" Glinda sobbed at the memory while Elphaba continued to kiss and caress her gently.

"At least you were ok," Elphaba said finally.

"What do you mean?" Glinda snapped through her tears. "I had to watch my best friend die! How would I be ok!?"

"Shhh," Elphaba hushed Glinda. "Now calm down, I meant no disrespect. I only meant that some things are beyond our control and we simply must learn to accept them and move on. And I also meant you were lucky to be alive," she added. "If what you said is true, that dream sounds pretty scary, and you should consider yourself lucky you weren't killed too." Glinda nodded, but her eyes were still wet with tears.

"I know, and I'm sorry. It was just so horrible!" Glinda sobbed. "I'm sorry I'm such a coward! I wish I could've saved you!"

"No Glinda, you're so brave to be able to fight so hard, and I couldn't be more proud," Elphaba whispered into Glinda's ear. "You are no coward, Glinda Upland. You are my best friend, and I love you. Now come on, it's time for you to rest..." then Elphaba carefully lowered Glinda back into her bed, curling up beside her and humming her a lullaby until she fell asleep again.

Glinda woke up groggily the next morning. Her clock read 7:00. Because the curtains were closed, the room still looked very dark.

"Elphie!" Glinda asked tiredly, but she received no reply. Suddenly feeling as though something was very wrong, Glinda sat up and tried to see her roommate's outline through the darkness of the room.

"Elphie?" she called out again. Still no reply. As Glinda's eyes continued to search Elphaba's half of the room in attempt to make sense of what all was going on, Glinda realized suddenly that there was nothing on that side of the room. Except for the black bed sheets, everything on Elphaba's half of the room was gone. No books or cloaks or hats or wands. Nothing. The room was eerily quiet. No steady breathing. Nothing. Just emptiness.

Glinda began to panic and, as she did, she felt a throbbing pain shoot through her head. She reached up to feel a swath of gauze right over the place where it hurt the most. Had she been hit in the head? Had it all been real after all? Had it not just been a nightmare? Glinda's heart raced faster and faster and she began to call out for Elphaba again. No reply. Tears began to fill Glinda's blue eyes as the panic increased.

"Where are you!?" Glinda finally shouted in despair, but this time, she knew she would not get an answer.

"Where are you, Elphie?! You said we were friends forever and you'd always be here for me!" the silence was deafening and the emptiness of that half of the room was terrifying. Glinda's voice was suddenly very small and insignificant in the room that suddenly felt far too big for just one person. "Are you still here?" Glinda felt very scared and very alone. "Are you still here?"

AN: This may have been a bit confusing but, in essence, it's Defying Gravity, but Elphaba dies at the end. Glinda is sent back to Shiz and, on her first night back, hallucinates that Elphaba is there with her again to comfort her. When she wakes up for real, however, she realizes that she is very much alone.