Who: real!Elphie, Gale Force members, Madame Morrible What: Elphie no longer has the cunning to hide from the Gale Force, and when they catch her, it's time for Madame Morrible to exact her revenge. But all they succeed in doing is making Elphie stronger. When: Right now Where: Elphie's Bizzaro World Warnings: Torture Status: Complete, narrative
It hadn't taken long for Elphaba to deduce she was back in Oz and on the run. Something had possessed her to go to Munchkinland, hoping Nessa was still alive and able to help her. Being on the run was something she wasn't used to anymore. Not in the physical sense, anyway. When she'd seen her sister, at first she was shocked at seeing her sister could walk, but ten seconds into the conversation she realized Nessa wasn't going to help her. In fact, she turned her away. And that's when everything had gone wrong. Their mother had decided to show up just then for a visit to Nessa, and at first Ephaba was awe-struck, unable to say anything. As she was going to attempt to hug her mother, Melena cried wicked witch, among other horrible, derogatory names, and ran to find the nearest faction of the Gale Force.
Elphaba fled, but she didn't cover her trail very well. There was enough evidence left behind for the guards to follow her. They tracked her to a forest and cornered her by an abandoned woodcutter's house. She tried to cast a spell, but the guards closed in and knocked her unconscious before she could complete it. It would have been far better for her had she never regained consciousness.
A low groan escaped her lips as she started coming around. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes cracked open. Her vision was blurred, seeing only blurred blobs crossing her vision at first. Slowly, her vision came into focus and her eyes focused on the blob closest to her. And the face she saw made her blood run cold. She recoiled, but the irons around her wrists kept her from moving too far.
"Ah, she's finally awake. Oh Miss Elphaba, I did have such high hopes for you, but it seems I've been let down once again. No matter, we will silence you and make an example out of you." Morrible mused, a slightly smug smirk on her face.
"You won't get away with this! Evil like yours can never win!" Elphaba shot back, trying her best to hide her fear of what was going to happen to her. No one was going to help her. She was alone in this world. No family, and why was her mother even alive? And how could Nessa be walking? It didn't make any sense, but she couldn't think about any of that now. She had to focus on getting herself out of this. Somehow.
"Oh Elphaba, but you are the real evil here." Morrible turned away, giving a nod to a man, then moving out of Elphaba's sight, presumably out of the room. Elphaba turned her head enough to see a cloth being pulled back from a table revealing various instruments of torture.
"No. Oh sweet Oz no," she gasped.
No matter how much she braced herself, Elphaba wasn't truly ready for what she was enduring. Cold steel cutting into her flesh. Ruby red mixing with emerald green. Her screams echoed in the hall, deafening herself to anything other than the pain. Then there was piercing hot steel scorching her skin, her body writhing in pain. Why exactly they were torturing her, she didn't know. It couldn't have been for information. Morrible had said they were going to make an example out of her, so perhaps the torture was just part of that. Regardless, Elphaba was starting to hope they'd just put her out of her misery. The pain was exruciating and they knew exactly what they were doing.
Once they decided to stop the torture, Elphaba was taken and put in a cell. Her wrists were chained to the wall to ensure she didn't go anywhere and a guard was placed right outside the cell door. Her head lolled forward, blood staining her clothes and body. She felt so weak and she hung from her wrists, unable to support her weight. Everything hurt. And this was only the beginning. All she could do was hang there, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. For the first time in her life, she wished for someone to save her, to swoop in and take her away from this. But there was no one in this world to do that. Her Galinda and Fiyero weren't here. Elena, Caroline and Damon weren't here. She was alone, and that cut deeper than any tool the Gale Force used on her.
Day in and day out, this process was repeated. Elphaba truly didn't know how much she could take. Her wound would only just stop bleeding before they were re-opened. The pain was excruciating, and her screams were the only soundtrack to be heard in that dungeon. She truly hoped death would claim her, or that she would somehow find herself back in Kansas. She'd even take her own Oz over this one. The witch just wanted the pain to stop one way or another.
I should've told her... Elphaba thought, trying to keep herself from feeling the pain being inflicted upon her. Now I probably never will have the chance. I'll die here alone and she won't know what happened to me. A scream laced with both physical and emotional pain erupted from her throat. But she wouldn't cry. Not in front of the Gale Force or Morrible when she made short appearances to check on her pet project. She only let the tears fall when she was left alone. She couldn't let them win. This may not be the Madame Morrible she knew, but she would refuse to let the bitch break her. It seemed Morrible wanted her to beg for death or plead for forgiveness or something else along those lines. Well, Elphaba would never give in. And the only thing that truly kept her from giving in were thoughts of her love.
There was still a large part of her that believed she didn't deserve the love, especially after what she'd done to Galinda, but she clung to the love in her heart. Elphaba's life and pride depended on it. She wouldn't give in to Morrible or the Wizard, and she wouldn't let herself be broken. So she kept herself focused on Galinda and hoping that she would some day find her again. Elphaba would scream, show her pain, but she refused to show anything else. She refused to let them win.
After a few days of this cycle and realizing the witch was stronger than originally believed to be, Morrible once again made an appearance. Unfortunately, this Morrible had no leverage on this Elphaba. In this world, she was alone, no friends, no family that cared. And for this one time, Elphaba was glad for that. Before she was moved from her cell, Morrible walked in, looking at the torn and broken witch hanging on the wall.
"I under-estimated you. I thought you would've broken by now. Where you got this strength from, I'm not sure. But it will break soon, of that I assure you." Morrible said with a little smirk. "I always win in the end."
Elphaba lifted her head and looked at Morrible, a smile on her face. "You can't break me. I won't let you. Torture me all you want, that's as far as this will go." There was still a fire in her dark eyes, a fire that was only there because of what was keeping her alive, keeping her from giving in. She knew her friends wouldn't want her to give in, so she wouldn't. And she refused to let Morrible win. She'd longed for a confrontation with her former teacher, but this was not her teacher, but it would do just as well. Elphaba would show Morrible just how strong she was. No one was going to get the better of her as far as she could help it.
"You say that as though you actually believe it. But don't worry my dear, we'll be sure not to mention how you broke when we let the people of Oz know that the wicked witch is dead." Morrible glanced over at one of the torturers and gave him a nod.
"If that's what you think, then go right ahead believing that. I'm not letting you win. Not now, not ever." Despite being the one held prisoner, Elphaba was going to be the victor. Indeed, the wicked witch was dead. This Elphaba wasn't wicked, not how these people viewed her. Good always won out in the end, and Elphaba would show them who was really the good one.
And with that, Elphaba was put through another round of torture. But she didn't break. She held herself together, and hoped with everything in her that she'd be taken back to Lawrence or her own Oz soon. As much as she refused to break, she couldn't take much more pain. She longed to be somewhere safe where she could heal and not be hunted or tormented. All she wanted to was to heal and be back with her friends. Perhaps the Unnamed God would hear her and help send her back where she wanted to be.