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Apples and pumpkins and spice (oh my!) permeated the cool, crisp, autumn air, the wind dancing with the rays of the dying, setting sun. It bathed the emerald and alabaster of Shiz campus in gold-leaf and aurora-pink. And as the sky darkened, the light of the sun was replaced by the light of torches whose fiery fingers stretched up to the moon and stars.
"Woo! Yeah!" The student body cheered, racing from quad to quad for tricks and treats. Apple cider—alcoholic and non—overflowed from glasses and goblets as costumed companions laughed and screamed. At the heart of campus, there was a massive bonfire, the flames ever-flickering and changing based on the audience's mood and song. Seated side by side around that fire, there were two roommates.
"See, Elphie? Isn't this fun?" Galinda teased, resting her gold curls on the green girl's bony shoulder. It was only tolerable because, to protect herself from the autumn chill, Elphaba was wearing a thick, black cloak.
"What? Shivering in the cold? Feeling my lips dry up and peel in the heat of these flames? Listening to the entire student body dance around us like the hedonistic heathens and hooligans they are?" the green girl deadpanned, smirking. Although, I suppose it beats Galinda trying to suggest we do a couples costume. Or that she dress up as me, and I her. Honestly! What goes on in that little, blonde brain of hers sometimes?
"Elphie!" Galinda nudged her shoulder, and Elphaba chuckled. Galinda forgot her next witty insult in that moment. My! She has such a nice laugh! A low, mellow tone… Ugh! So much better than that stupid, wretched cackle she does when she's trying to play up the witchy thing!
Galinda almost rolled her eyes until she remembered she wasn't mad at Elphaba then, and her fond smile returned. She studied Elphaba's every micro-expression, trying to glean the green girl's true feelings. In the light of the ever-changing fire, even though Elphaba's skin remained evergreen, Galinda could see the other colors dance and cast shadows upon her sharp, angular features. Mmm, fire suits her…
"NOOOOO!" A mournful, chilling wail rattled the campus, nearly extinguishing the bonfire. Students shrieked and dove for cover, their cries harmonizing with the agonized howl that swept back and forth through the air.
"Get behind me, Galinda!" Elphaba murmured, throwing a protective arm in front of the other girl.
"Wait, what? No!" For a moment, Galinda looked ready to protest, clinging to Elphaba's arm, her blue eyes fierce. Then a pale, twisted face emerged from the smoke of the dying bonfire. "Ok!" Galinda instantly cowered behind Elphaba. Elphaba couldn't help but scoff. "Don't worry, though, Elphie, I'm here for support!" Galinda offered sheepishly. I WILL jump back up and help her fight if I have to! I just… Now that I think about it, I would HATE to have all that ash and soot and cinderdust in my hair! Her heart pounded in her chest.
Elphaba, meanwhile, scowled up at the twisted, wretched face. What in Oz is this?! Some kind of prank?! But as her dark eyes swept around the quad, all she saw were frightened, cowering students. No one came forward to claim the joke, or end the façade.
"Stay away from the students!" she warned, then without thinking, she thrust an arm toward the bonfire. The smoke billowed and the flames flickered again as she attempted to
"NOOOOO!" the face warped, slowly collapsing back into the black and white smoke.
"Woo hoo!" Some of the students cheered, rising slowly but hopefully from the ground. But then another sobbing cry pierced the air. Bodies hit the floor again as hands covered heads. Even though the smoke and fire were gone, the ghostly presence remained. It was wounded, haunted, haunting, sending a chill down every spine that was far colder than the natural, autumn breeze.
"Is it some sort of banshee?!" someone muttered. The screaming came and went in random intervals. None of the students were harmed or attacked, but all of them were wracked by fear. Every cry was debilitating, temporarily inducing nausea, dizziness, dread, and despair.
"Nonsense!" Elphaba scoffed to herself, shivering. "It's more likely some sort of eletromagnetical frequency or sonic phenomenon!"
Galinda considered the more supernatural suggestion. "W-w-wait, Elphie, remember, it's Halloween night! If there was ever a time for spooks and spirits of Shiz to strike…" Her blue eyes widened fearfully in the dark.
"Don't tell me you believe all that unscientific mumbo jumbo!" Elphaba sighed, swallowing hard. Th-those ghost stories they told during orientation! That's all that they were! Right…?
"Well… I remember our Shiz tour guide told us the spirits can be soothed with music! Though it takes more than just a musical song and dance number. If I recall correctly—" Galinda rubbed her chin, trying in vain to distract herself from her fear.
Do you? Elphaba couldn't help but smirk, but she wisely kept her insult to herself.
"—the guide said the Shiz clocktower bell chimes can do the trick!" The clocktower was built in honor of the Time Dragon, so students were extra certain it held magical properties.
"What?" For just a moment, Elphaba was skeptical. By all intents and purposes, the Shiz clocktower was only that. A clocktower. The allure surrounding the Time Dragon lore was merely that: an alluring lure. But folklore wasn't scientific.
"NOOOOOO!" Another wailing moan, and the fire began to flicker again.
"Woah!" Elphaba was quick to hop up and sweep an arm forward again, smothering and stifling the flames back into smoke and ash. The students closest to the fire jumped away, resting hands over hearts. "W-well, if it is some kind of audio-anomaly, maybe the waves created by the bell toll will help disrupt and reset things!"
Is that how that works? Galinda managed a coherent thought as she trembled, shaken by the latest mournful wail. "T-t-to the—!" She cleared her throat embarrassedly. "To the bell tower!" She took Elphaba's hand as they began their race across campus. Without her guarding the fire, they knew it would only be a matter of time before the ghastly face returned, but Galinda hoped that by then, they would be inside the belltower.
ooo
"HEY! UGLY! OVER HERE!" Galinda shouted just as she and Elphaba reached the base of the Shiz clocktower.
"Galinda—" Elphaba sighed. Not only was the spirit pursuing them, but they hadn't reached the bells or chimes yet. And here Galinda was, taunting the enemy—
"Ok, gogogogogo!" Galinda impatiently shoved Elphaba inside the clocktower, slamming the door shut behind them both.
"Galinda…" Elphaba repeated, sighing again and rolling her eyes. But now Galinda was suddenly in front of her, pulling her along.
"Gogogogogo!" To her credit, she managed to run up two and a half flights of stairs before tiring.
"Heh. Gotta hand it to you, Galinda, I would've thought heels like those would've made you give up two and a half flights ago," Elphaba deadpanned, smirking as she passed Galinda on her left.
"Oh, shut up!" Galinda wheezed, resting her hands on her knees as she bent over, panting. "W-wait a minute! Wait for me!" A second later, she took after Elphaba once more.
BANG!
"Oh, Shiz!" Galinda shrieked.
"Sweet Oz!" Elphaba jumped at the same time. Now three and a half flights below, the door to the clocktower shot in, blasted clean off its hinges, smashing into the wall opposite it.
"Ok! Gogogo! Runrunrun!" Galinda found a second burst of energy as she and Elphaba went sprinting upstairs once more. "Jeez! If only I knew a levitation spell!" she lamented to herself, then she turned to Elphaba abruptly. "Elphie! Do you know any levitation spells?"
"None that I would trust myself enough with to not drop us right into the jaws of… whatever is pursuing us—" She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, the ghostly blob chasing after them. We're lucky it's following the staircase too, and not just flying directly up at us!
"NOOOOOOOO!" It gave another heartbreaking, bone-chilling wail.
"Oh. My. Oz. We're going to die here, aren't we?" Galinda clutched Elphaba's arm in a death grip. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE—!"
"Galinda!" Elphaba snapped, wincing and leaning away as Galinda shattered her eardrums. "If we're going to die either way, we might as well die trying!" Then it was her turn to grab Galinda's hand and keep pulling her forward. Come on, you little idiot, don't give up on me now! This was YOUR stupid idea, after all.
Elphaba still wasn't sure how much she believed that this was some sort of lost soul haunting them, but they were running out of options and time, so she was willing to test Galinda's theory about the soundwaves and frequencies disrupting and distorting the ghosts enough to send them away. They raced up the spiral staircase until their lungs and legs were on fire.
"Go on… Without me…!" Galinda gasped, panting dramatically. Elphaba dropped her hand. "No, wait, not really!"
Elphaba ignored her, striding forward with a grim expression on her face. Here they were. The heart and the head of the clocktower. She could see campus through the round, glass face, although it was distorted and obscured by the gut and color. But she wasn't there to admire the view, or even just the clock face. No, all she cared about were the bells and chimes within. It was not yet the hour, but it wouldn't take much to get the old bell tolling. The green girl even raised her arms, inhaling deeply, silently calling upon her magical powers.
Don't fail me now…
"Oh, so NOW you're willing to try a spell?" Galinda was still doubled over at the threshold, watching Elphaba move as if she was barely winded. How is a girl THAT bony and library-bound THIS athletic? Little did Galinda know, it came from Elphaba's years of experience as her family's caretaker.
Ding, dong, ding, doonnnggg. Ding, dong, ding, donnnggg!
"Oh my Oz, Elphie, I think it's working!" Galinda muttered, excitement rising in her chest despite herself as she glanced over her shoulder, peering back down the clocktower. The spirit was still in pursuit, but with every toll of the bell, its cloud-like form wavered, like static distorting. "Ha, ha! Yes! Take that!" Galinda laughed, then she heard Elphaba gasp behind her. When she looked back toward the bells and chimes within the clocktower face, she nearly shrieked as she watched another spirit coming out of one of the bells.
"Oh my Oz, Elphie! Turn it off! Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off!" Galinda panicked. But for a moment, Elphaba remained transfixed, staring upward at the spiraling, swirling, ever-growing mass. "ELPHIE! What are you doing?! Have you been possessified, or something?!" Oh, Lurline, I TOLD her not to be so skeptical about spooks! ESPECIALLY on Halloween night! Ugh, great… Now we have TWO ghosts!
"No, wait, Galinda…" Elphaba lowered her hands, still staring up at the spirit, transfixed.
"Wait?! Wait for WHAT?!" Surely this was the ghost speaking through Elphaba! Wasn't it Elphaba who hurried her along in the first place?
"I think… Maybe you were right about the music after all…" The chiming cycle restarted, and Galinda watched as the ghost from the bell glided past her as if she wasn't even there.
Rude… She shivered as part of the ghost passed directly through her body, leaving her feeling as if she'd been dipped in ice water. Then she remembered the second ghost. Alarm returned until she realized the ghost from the bell was going to meet the one still on the staircase. A team up?!
No. "A waltz…" Elphaba murmured, and although it sounded ludicrous—especially from someone like Elphaba, who usually disdained notions such as romance—as Galinda took a closer look, she realized the green girl was correct.
The two spirits were orbiting one another. A dance. It was not at all in time with the chimes, and Galinda could hear no discernible melody either way. It was just the steady, repetitive, monotonous tolling of the clocktower bell. But the ghosts were dancing as if gliding through a ballroom. Their shapes became sharper, one resembling a storm cloud and the other a rainbow. Then, when the clock chimed for the final time, they turned to Elphaba and Galinda. For just a second, the two living figures inhaled sharply. With the music over, would battle resume?
But no, the two spirits only bowed their heads, the rainbow one shimmering and the storm cloud flickering with lightning, then they departed quietly, vanishing into nothingness.
"What. In. Oz?"
ooo
"Woot, woot! Three cheers for the Saviors and Spirit Slayers of Shiz!" The student body roared their appreciation as a stoic Elphaba and a breathless, laughing Galinda returned triumphantly from the clocktower.
Wow! This is gonna do wonders for my popularity points! No tricks and all treats for me tonight! Galinda thought, starry eyed as she happily accepted the praise and congratulations from the crowd.
"Wow! That braverism!" Pfanee and Shenshen were applauding wildly to the side, trying to slide closer to her.
But while Galinda basked in and soaked in all the positive attention, Elphaba's mind seemed elsewhere, somewhere over the rainbow, still with the spirits, even though the spirits were no longer with them.
"Hey, Elphie, are you all right…?" Galinda slid over to her. The party and bonfire were back in full swing, although some of the hype around Galinda and Elphaba's heroic deeds had worn off enough that they had a chance to speak in private.
"Hmm? Oh. Fine."
"Oh, come on, Elphie." Galinda's face went deadpan. "Obvious lie is obviously a lie, obviously."
Elphaba sighed impatiently and rolled her eyes, but after a moment of thought, she conceded. "I guess… I don't know. There's something… bittersweet about what we saw back there."
"What? Two angry ghosts dancing with each other? Well I guess only one of them was really angry." Galinda tapped her chin.
"No! I mean, well, think about why that is!" Elphaba insisted, quiet but forceful. "It's just sad to think that two people could love each other so much in life that it lasts even unto death, and yet…" She waved her hands frustratedly. It felt childish, but… "Why were they apart? We were able to reunite them for a dance, but it only lasted 12 chimes!"
"Elphie… Did that ghost in the bell tell you anything?" Galinda asked quietly.
"No. Well, no, not really. It wasn't a conversation. I could just… feel that the ghost had been waiting—searching—for a very long time. I could feel relief radiating off of it when it floated to the staircase…" And then 12 chimes later, it and its partner were gone.
"Oh, Elphie…" Galinda rested a hand on the green girl's bony shoulder. I didn't know you could be such a softie and a romantic!
"They called us "Spirit Slayers", but that's not what we are. At least, that's not what I want to be." It was as if Elphaba was silently hoping the cosmos would reassure her that the spirits she and Galinda soothed had not been "slain", even though they were already dead.
"You know? It reminds me of a myth I think I remember hearing about in school…" Galinda murmured. "Before Shiz…"
Now it was Elphaba's turn to come back to the present, just a little bit. No really? Thanks for clarifying. I know you probably haven't read real or classic literature since you were forced to in high school.
"There was a story about a man, a musician. On the day of his wedding, his wife died. He was so distraught that he went to the Underworld and used his music to charm and appease the God of the Dead."
Elphaba waited. Surely there had to be more to this story. "I'm guessing they didn't get a happily ever after?"
"No," Galinda admitted, wincing. Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up after all… "He was tasked with leading her out, but only the condition he not look back while she was still in the Underworld. It is said that in his excitement, the second he stepped out of the Underworld, he looked back. But she was still on the staircase."
Literal ages had passed since that legend, so although Galinda was sure that man had been devastated the day he lost his wife a second time, he would've long since gone to the Underworld himself. Some iterations of the tale confirmed they reunited in the fields of eternity, but others left the final fate of the lovers up to speculation.
"Could we pretend that the two spirits we brought back were… them? That even if only for a moment, we got confirmation that they got to dance in one another's arms again?"
"Jeez, Galinda, I know you're a romantic, but…" Elphaba swallowed hard.
"You brought it up!" Galinda looked away self-consciously. Silence settled between them.
After a moment, Elphaba leaned against Galinda. "Well, for whatever it's worth, I'm glad you were able to adventure with me tonight. And that you survived to tell the tale," she smirked.
"Yeah." Galinda smiled at her weakly, appreciatively. "Maybe that's another thing we can do for them. We don't have to make their same mistakes. Let's keep adventuring for all of our lives…" She reached out to squeeze Elphaba's emerald hand.
"And all of our deaths," Elphaba agreed, squeezing Galinda's hand back.
chuckled, eyes drifting shut. The warmth of the bonfire danced on her face, her skin flickering with every color of the rainbow. "Morbid joke, but… Sounds nice…"
"Happy Halloween, Galinda," Elphaba whispered.
"Heh. Happy Halloween, Elphie…"