4
Ten minutes passed and Timmy sighed morosely as he sat on a crate in an alley. For as dank and dirty as those places were, they were his favorite places to hide out in. They were dark and secluded, perfect for talking and working with his fairy godparents, and save for the occasional embarrassing moment where Timmy ran into a pair of lovebirds and raced out of the alley, red-faced and flapping his arms in a panic, alleys were a comfortably safe area to be.
He just hoped there wasn't anything else to worry about in there.
"Geez, only ten or twelve minutes and already I'm back to being miserable without them." Timmy sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. He tried thinking of a good side to losing them both for what seemed like the third or fourth time in his life. "Without them around, there won't be any of Cosmo's DNA triggering anti-magic units by accident." he murmured and winced, "Oh, crud. That house is gonna be killer just being there by myself."
"Hey? Hello? Anyone coming in? I'm totally being ignored on all frequencies." Danny's voice muttered and Timmy tapped the Fenton Phones.
"Hey, Cousin. Private channel?" he asked.
"Like I'm dumb enough to let you call me that on a public channel. What's up, Timmy? The tower foundation is rubble now, so no new Spire anytime soon."
"I think I made a stupid move, but I'm not sure." Timmy sighed.
"Oh, not good. I don't like the sound of that. Wanna spill?"
The brunet explained his situation, cracking at points and marring a few of his words with tears as the phantom listened silently. By the time all was said and done, the young immortal was curled up and hugging his knees on the crate, whimpering softly. His cousin tried to comfort him, murmuring words that ran along the lines of another Hero speech. What Timmy had done was a form of sacrifice, something that was a defining trait of a Hero; to give up the fairies like that was akin to giving up a large amount of his power, power that he used -in all honesty- for his own personal reasons rather than the benefit of others. To sacrifice personal pleasures so that another could be happy, it was Heroic.
"So then why does it hurt?" Timmy cried, face buried in his arms, "They're all I had left! I don't have anyone else; I can't live in that stupid mansion all by myself!" He lifted his head, rubbing at his eyes. "And don't offer to stay with me 'cause you can't and we both know it! You have to deal with Amity Park and your family, and I have to be here alone!"
"Tim-Tim, I have the robot doubles Caleb built covering for me. I could stay as long as you need me around..." Danny went on in concern.
"Can they recreate the Ghostly Wail? Phantom Ray? Phantom Lance?" Timmy demanded, "Can they mimic the ectomana you have that gives you the edge over all those ghosts you fight? What about your Ice Mode? Can they convert to that in a flash?"
"Ugh...! You can be so stubborn!" the halfa complained, "Caleb's buzzing me already, so I'd better land and see what's up with him. You can either come join us so we can figure out what to do about the next Spire, or stay where you are until you've gotten a hold of yourself again. I'll cover for you where I can, okay?"
"Thanks." Timmy sighed and clicked off the Phones, resting his cheek on one fist as he studied the wall before him. He was going to be on his own. Would this make his solo missions to destroy the anti-magic units harder? Probably, as he relied on the fairies for companionship and a sense of security when tense moments arose.
Rubbing the back of his neck with a second sigh, he wondered over what his next plan of action should be, then paused in surprise as he felt the cord still hanging there. Cord? The brunet's eyes widened as he remembered the necklace Anti-Cosmo had given him. Pulling it out and looping it over his head to hold the black star in his hand, he studied it carefully and with some thought. To use it now would summon the anti-fairy immediately, but what then? Was he so desperate to avoid being alone that he would turn to a former enemy for help?
"What's the worst that can happen?" Timmy sighed and shut his eyes, hurling the star against the wall and shattering it to pieces, breaking the small mirror within it. A burst of pale blue smoke erupted over the fallen remnants of the charm and Timmy got to his feet, grabbing the Thunder Scepter from where it leaned against the building beside him.
"Finally thought of something, dearest Timothy?" Anti-Cosmo remarked coolly, a grin spread over his face that revealed the strange sharp teeth sparkling in the darkness of the alley, "So what misery would you like me to bestow upon some wretched soul? Do tell, dear boy; I'm not much for guessing games."
It seemed like a bad idea now, but then Timmy was prone to thinking that of things after they were out of his hands and his control. He rubbed his head and looked a bit embarrassed, cheeks burning at the thought of what he was about to say. Anti-Cosmo floated there before him, tapping his wand against his arm as he waited, eyebrow lifted expectantly.
"Um, well. Actually..." Timmy began and sighed, "Can you hear me out on this? It sounds kinda stupid to me, but it's also kinda serious." He began another telling of what had happened to him, Cosmo and Wanda, watching with some curiosity as Anti-Cosmo took on a startled expression, then looked seriously thoughtful as he listened to the story. He tilted his head, but said nothing as Timmy finished and rubbed his head again. "...So, I guess what I'm trying to say is," the brunet went on, "would it be all right if the favor I'm calling in is for you to just kinda keep me company until Cosmo and Wanda come back?"
The anti-fairy looked at him askance, an uncertain expression on his face. Timmy expected that reaction at the least. It was, after all, kind of a crazy request to make of him. This was Anti-Cosmo; Cosmo's mirror image and opposite. Anti-fairies caused bad luck and misery for others, and delighted at the idea of causing someone else pain. And Anti-Cosmo was doubly dangerous in that respect; for as much as Cosmo loved having fun and bringing others into that fun, Anti-Cosmo loved bringing pain, fear and misery to anyone and everyone he came across; for as much as Cosmo just couldn't get a clue at times, Anti-Cosmo crafted brilliant plots and schemes that elevated him to leadership over the anti-fairies of Anti-Fairy World, giving him manipulative power that more than matched the influence of the ruling fairies of Fairy World.
"Let me ask you this, dear boy. What on earth possessed you to just give this little rugrat Cosmo and Wanda?" Anti-Cosmo finally asked, "They are bound to you and you alone, and granting wishes for anyone other than you is a serious breach of their sentence."
"It's a Hero thing." Timmy sighed, "I think. And I wished them to her until she got her own fairy. So, it shouldn't be breaking any rules, right?"
"And you want me to accompany you until they return?" the anti-fairy went on carefully, "Despite knowing who and what I am, you want me around for some indeterminable amount of time?" Timmy nodded slowly and he sighed, a strangely helpless sound mingling with it. "Timothy, this was an absolute waste of that charm I gave you..."
"Please? If not for me, then for Wanda? You kinda know something she knows, right?" the brunet interrupted and Anti-Cosmo flicked his wand up at him, eyes narrowing in warning.
"I have no love for that woman, if that's what you were attempting to imply." he growled, "I am a married man, and Anti-Wanda is as dear to me as your Wanda is to that idiot doppelganger of mine. Contrary to what people around us think, your fairies are deeply loyal to each other and I am the same with Anti-Wanda. The knowledge we share is privy to us simply for the fact that she and Cosmo knew of it for quite some time now and I learned of it only from watching them and you."
"And that is?"
"Something you are not to know of. You are human; you don't need to know of it, and that is that. Leave it as it lies and no harm will be done." Anti-Cosmo berated and conjured up a cup of tea, sipping at it as he watched the brunet look baffled and embarrassed at once, "Appalling." Timmy squirmed and huffed in annoyance, then touched fingers to the Fenton Phones as they beeped softly.
"Yeah? What's up?" he demanded.
"Oh, whoa! Caught you in a bad mood, Dude? Hey, listen, Sophia's safe and sound at home and the fairies wanted me to let you know that everything's gonna be okay. The gang and I are gonna head home for some shut-eye, so you should probably do the same." Chester's voice called out in mild surprise, "We'll catch you in school tomorrow and start making some plans about the next Spire."
"Fine. See ya." the brunet sighed and pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead, "Ugh. Spire planning is gonna have to wait a while; I need to deal with this new babysitter working for Remy. How the heck am I gonna fight someone who's backed by that brat, has no magic, and knows about fairies and their abilities?" He looked up at the anti-fairy, then sighed and shook his head. "Okay, you know what? Forget it. It was a stupid idea when I thought of it and it still is. I wasted the charm for nothing." he muttered with a wave of his hand.
"I never gave you an answer." Anti-Cosmo returned sharply, "Don't think you can dismiss me as easily as those little airheads that usually tag along with you without hearing my words." He finished the cup of tea, then looked into the cup with a solemn expression. "I've decided that I shall stay with you. For the time being, mind you." he finally remarked and looked up sternly at the teen's cheerful whoop, "Settle down, for heaven's sake! You'll make me regret the decision."
"Man, this is gonna be a relief! I can't stand being in that mansion even with Cosmo and Wanda!" Timmy declared with a smile, "So having someone along to talk to will be great! Just don't use too many big words; I'm not all that crazy about looking things up, y'know." Anti-Cosmo rolled his eyes, sighed, and shook his head in exasperation.
"I'll see if I have an English-to-Idiot dictionary somewhere." he remarked and looked down at him, "Now, a few ground rules are necessary, if only to keep us both somewhat sane and in one piece. What do you know of anti-fairies?"
"You cause bad luck, duh. You really like Friday the Thirteenth. You're the opposites of fairies and you don't usually come to Earth 'cause you're all locked up in Anti-Fairy World. You enjoy making people miserable... that's about it." Timmy counted off on his fingers, "Which reminds me. Yeah, you're gonna have to knock that off if you're gonna be with me."
"No, I'm not." Anti-Cosmo returned and held up the wand warningly as the brunet opened his mouth to protest, "You only have partial information, Timothy; there's more to me and my kind than you think." He twirled his wand and pointed it out of the alley at the people walking about on the sidewalks, resuming their daily routine as the 'alien' scare finally ebbed away. "Fairies and anti-fairies are connected together in a strange way. We balance each other, so to speak." he began, "Just as fairy godparents grant wishes to prevent magical backup and remain healthy, so do anti-fairies cause bad luck to keep ourselves in good condition. It's more than just our favorite thing to do; it's how we survive, how we live, how we continue to function."
Timmy tilted his head thoughtfully, turning it over in his mind. That was a bit of a surprise to him. He knew about fairy godparents and how they had to grant wishes on a somewhat regular basis. To know that anti-fairies had a similar problem and a similar way of dealing with it was kind of shocking. If a fairy went too long without granting wishes, they built up too much magic in their bodies and exploded into piles of dust or string, rendering them incapable of doing anything until someone came and returned them to normalcy. Anti-fairies had the ability to share that fate if they didn't cause bad luck for someone now and then?
"What happens if you do too much?" he asked the blue-toned fairy.
"Same thing that happens if you wish a lot. Pretty much nothing." Anti-Cosmo returned.
"Then why do you keep trying to take over the world and make it Friday the Thirteenth forever and stuff? Bad luck over and over isn't really doing you any good, is it? Not if lots of wishes don't do anything good for fairies." Timmy questioned in confusion, "If it has no benefits, why keep trying to pull it off?"
"Personal pleasure." Anti-Cosmo answered and smiled toothily, "I'm a glutton for the personal satisfaction of watching someone's hopes be dashed and know that they're going to keep experiencing it constantly."
"That's cold."
"That's life." The anti-fairy shrugged. "We're going off topic. Now, if fairies create happiness for people, then anti-fairies create misery. Our roles, as despicable as they may be to you and fairies, are vital for fairies to function." he went on and folded his arms behind his back, "Do you know why?" Timmy shook his head. "Most of the people who believe in bad luck and the triggers for it, thus giving us our power, are the youthful mortals of this world. In other words, it's mainly children and some adults who believe in bad luck, experience it when we unleash it on them and lash out at each other in their misery to create more pain."
"How is that helping anyone?" Timmy grumbled.
"Miserable children get fairy godparents, don't they?" Anti-Cosmo asked rhetorically and smiled as the light of realization dawned in the brunet's eyes.
"Oh, I get it! You cause bad luck and misery for people to stay healthy and the kids get fairy godparents to deal with misery, and then they grant wishes to make the kids happy and keep the fairies healthy!" the brunet exclaimed and the anti-fairy nodded.
"Happiness and joy, that's the key to fairy magic and Fairy World's existence. If people are too happy, however, then it's overpowering and fairies must pull away to survive." Anti-Cosmo added, "That's why we keep causing bad luck and misery, to balance out the joys with sorrows in a yin and yang."
"So you're actually important to keep everything going?" Timmy asked and the anti-fairy nodded again. "Then I guess you have to cause some bad luck to people while you're here. I don't like it, though."
"I'll pick between meals, then." Anti-Cosmo murmured, "I'm sure I know of some dimwits around here who could stand to have a little bad luck to keep them humble." He fluttered closer to the brunet, warily gazing at the Thunder Scepter in his hands. "That's not for me, is it?" Timmy shook his head and the anti-fairy looked relieved. "Right. Well, then. I suppose a disguise is in order. Hmm." he remarked and studied the teen before nodding once and popping into the form of a blue star pendant similar to the one he'd given him earlier, resting comfortably over the brunet's heart.
"This is gonna be a strange experience for both of us, huh?" Timmy asked with a grin, "So, what made you decide to hang out with me, if not for Wanda?"
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Timothy." Anti-Cosmo returned dryly, "It's very rude and it invites bad luck."
Shortly after the pickup in the downtown district, the Ivory Tower had only a few essential members of the teams gathered there. Team Phantom, Caleb, and Timmy stood around a lab table, gazing down at magitech armor lined up on the stark white and metal surface. The brunet had told them of what he learned about the new babysitter and her role in Remy's plots to steal fairies, but none of them had much idea of what to do to counter the new threat.
The current issue before them were the magitech suits. Though they worked wonderfully the previous night in protecting the other teenagers, they had one major flaw; Remy had the ability to wish the suits away. It had come into vivid play when he wished away the armor that protected Chester McBadbat, then hurled a fairy sword into the boy's chest, triggering the Revive spell that spared him from true death. Timmy had nearly lost his mind again, spilling a vast amount of his personal mana into an explosion that scared the other blonde witless.
The Dark Spires that remained in Dimmsdale all had the same weakness; the Spire Server System at the top of each tower was responsible for running all the machinery in their respective region and were always in danger of overloading. By exploiting that weakness with dozens of kids racing around and forcing constant data dumps into the server system, the control servers would explode and force a shutdown of all anti-magic equipment under the Spire's control. The magitech suits were vital in that plan; they physically protected the teens, they held strands of Cosmo's hair to bait the traps, and they carried various items and weapons to keep the group safe. If Remy could just wish them away at any time, then the suits were just too unreliable to use.
"So what do we do?" Danny Fenton asked in confusion, scratching his head as he looked down at the suits. Relieved to be out of Phantom form among friends and family, he began with rubbing his arms to regain the feeling of solidity and warmth, then grabbed something to eat from the Tower's kitchen. He now stood with the remnants of a sandwich in one hand, studying the armors.
"I don't think I have the technology to create armors that are immune to Buxaplenty's wishes." Caleb sighed, perplexed, "The only way to stop something like that, as far as I know, is to attach a mini-nullifier to each set of armor."
"Like a fairy version of the Specter Deflector?" Sam Manson pointed out questioningly and both the angelic android and the halfa nodded in unison. "That could work if it didn't do it so well. The Specter Deflector hurt Danny as much as it hurt other ghosts. A nullifier hurts Timmy and the fairies on his side as much as it cancels magic from the enemy." she added in resignation, "Can't you fine-tune it so that it can make Timmy immune like you adjusted the Fenton equipment for Danny?"
"I've been trying whenever I had the chance for it. Tweaking the anti-nullifier is also taking up a large amount of time. I've got several assistants working on as many as ten or twelve projects concerning Timmy's quest alone." the angel replied and shook his head, "There are too many unknowns and variables in the manufacture and software of the anti-magic units for me to be able to isolate the frequency for fairy magic alone, much less adjust it to ignore Timmy's particular usage of mana."
"Can't you ask whoever makes the rules about wishes to make the suits immune to fairy magic too?" Tucker asked the brunet and Timmy shook his head.
"Jorgen doesn't do anything about Da Rules unless there's a really, really good reason for it. Changing them isn't something he does for any old reason." he returned, "He made it so that I was immune by saying it was a Fairy World-wide decision to disavow my continued life by not affecting me directly with their magic. I think he actually wanted to protect me for some reason. He's not gonna admit to anything though. So, there's not much chance of altering Da Rules to help us unless he can see it as a way of 'punishing' us."
The star on his necklace started dancing about excitedly and all eyes went straight to it in confusion. Caleb peered at it, eyes glowing as he scanned the charm. Danny immediately went back to Phantom form, the blue-white rings flashing over him as he leaped up into the air, glaring at the necklace with narrowed eyes. Timmy stepped back, startled as he looked down at the charm.
"I don't recognize the signature of that creature. It's touching off various markers for fairy magic, but it's too erratic to be completely fairy-like." Caleb finally deduced, "Timmy, what the hell is that and why are you carrying it around?"
"I beg your pardon?" Anti-Cosmo snapped, bursting out of the guise and flying up into the angel's face indignantly, "How dare you refer to me in that manner! I'll have you know...!" Caleb made one swift motion, knocking the anti-fairy to the table with the back of his hand. His face remained perfectly neutral the entire time. Danny, Sam and Tucker peered down at the blue-toned fairy in surprise as the angel folded his arms over his chest.
"I would appreciate it if you did not fly in my face like that." Caleb remarked evenly, "It's highly annoying and greatly interferes with my sensors."
"What is it?" Danny asked, puzzled as he poked at the dazed anti-fairy, "Is it sick? Is that color normal? It looks kinda like Cosmo if he fell into the prop box for an English play." Sam squealed in an unusually girlish fashion, folding her arms on the table as she took a closer look.
"He's so cute! I love those bat wings! Refined Goth... I'm so suggesting this look for the next Gothapalooza!" she purred. Timmy reached out and picked up the anti-fairy, face twisting slightly in annoyance.
"Guys, can you not do that to him, please?" he asked and helped the anti-fairy straighten out his hat and monocle. When he was in recovered condition and floating by the brunet, Timmy sighed and shrugged. "This is Anti-Cosmo, Cosmo's anti-fairy double. He's staying with me for as long as Cosmo and Wanda are staying with Sophia." he explained, "He's kind of a friend of mine." The others still looked confused so he gave a quick explanation of what an anti-fairy was and how he knew Anti-Cosmo. When he was done, he blinked and looked over at the floating anti-fairy. "Hey, why were you jumping around to begin with, Anti-Cosmo?" Timmy asked him.
"Hmm? Why?" Anti-Cosmo echoed blankly, "Um, well. I... can't remember." He furrowed his brows thoughtfully, then frowned, then huffed in sudden aggravation. "Blast it! It's happened to me again, and I blame that knock on the head!" he declared irritably, "I had a thought, but a lousy moment of sheer stupidity must have wiped it away!" He shook his head, tapping his wand against his arm. "Never mind me. Continue with your little problems. Perhaps it will return to me in time." he added. Caleb pointed at him.
"I want to run tests on him. He might have the missing piece we need to fully negate the nullifiers." the angel remarked and incited another yell of indignation from the anti-fairy.
"Not now." Timmy muttered, glaring down at the black armor on the table, "We can't use the magitech armor until we make them wish-proof, and without them we can't lay siege on another Spire." He waved a hand at them. "It can be dealt with at another time. I have another problem to deal with; this new babysitter. I have to find a way to get her out of people's homes or, better yet, out of Dimmsdale. There's no way I'm going to let her run off with some kid's fairy godparent to take to Remy just because he wants more fairy magic working for him!"
"Um, we're out." Danny remarked sheepishly, rubbing his head as he landed and returned to Fenton form, "We have no idea how to deal with evil babysitters." Timmy blinked, then smiled almost maliciously, the corners of his mouth nearly curling up to touch his partially closed eyes. "Oh crap. What are you thinking?"
"Actually, I rather like that expression. It gives the boy some charm." Anti-Cosmo put in cheerfully, twirling his wand in place behind his back. "So, dearest Timothy, what wickedly sinful thoughts are running through your mind? Do share, do share! The suspense is murder to me!" He seemed to dance in the air excitedly, clapping his hands.
"What better way to combat an evil babysitter," the brunet purred darkly, "than with a former evil babysitter?" The others looked at him in confusion but Timmy was already dashing for the door. "If I hurry, I can catch her on her way home from work! Caleb! Get your checkbook ready! Or just send Genis after me!" The android rummaged through his travel bag and pulled out another of various items he often stuffed in there for no obvious reason.
"I'll send Genis; I have tests to run." Caleb returned and whisked the butterfly net over the fluttering Anti-Cosmo, sealing the lip shut with a frying pan.
"What in blazes-?" the anti-fairy exclaimed in shock, clawing at the netting, "Treason!"
"Don't worry! He's harmless!" Timmy yelled back as he vanished out the door, "Bye, guys! Thanks for the help!"
Romi's return to Fairy World was not as harrowing as before, but it was almost nerve-wracking for Apollo. Between worrying over being connected to Cosmo and Wanda, and worrying over having been exposed to non-godchildren, the poor fairy swordsman didn't know whether to break into a sweat and nervous tic, or go straight into shock. Romi grabbed him by the arm and hurried down the street towards the Fairy Godparent Assignment Agency, a large building not too far from the Fairy Academy.
The Fairy Godparent Assignment Agency was simply that; a place to go to become a fairy godparent and pick up assignments to various children. The Fairy Academy served two major functions; train the godparents-to-be and license them, and train the soldiers in the Fairy Army for the defense of Fairy World. Working together, the thousands of fairies in both the military and fairy godparent roles kept the world healthy and running smoothly. The building for the assignment agency was large and a semi-gaudy pink with golden-shingled roofs, trying very hard to look homey and business-like at the same time and completely failing at it.
"Jorgen's gonna see us and we're gonna be dead. So dead. I'm never gonna see Trixie again and I'm going to fail my very first godchild assignment. This is a disaster!" Apollo whimpered softly as he was led into the building. Romi shushed him quietly and floated up to the reception desk, touching her wand to the bell. A receptionist poofed into view, hair piled up on her head and fingers twitching as though they still believed they were tapping at a keyboard.
"Mm-yes? How may I help you?" the woman asked as a greeting.
"Um, I'd like to know about a little girl in Dimmsdale by the name of Sophia." Romi began and the receptionist lifted an eyebrow, hands hovering over a newly conjured computer.
"Is that her given name or her nickname? And may I have a last name?" she returned dryly.
"Given name. Last name is..." Romi fidgeted a moment, then told the receptionist. The other woman's eyebrows both shot up in surprise, then nodded and went to typing.
"Let's see. Ah, here we are. Our records show that Miss Sophia was a Level Three child until just recently. She's dropped to Level Two and is continuing to fall out of the danger zone." the receptionist remarked, "She had been getting close to being a Level Four child; it's nice to see her falling to Level One."
"Yeah, well, there's a reason for that." Apollo put in nervously and took a deep breath to try calming himself as the receptionist looked to him in confusion. "You see, Sophia sort of hijacked Cosmo and Wanda from Timmy Turner."
"What?"the receptionist shrieked and slammed her fist onto a conspicuously large red button by the computer, "Fairy Godparents! Fall in!" Romi and Apollo jumped in surprise as the vast entrance to the assignment agency was suddenly filled with hundreds of fairies of all colors, shapes and sizes, explosions of smoke and color bursting in a myriad of magical fireworks as still more squeezed into the area. Among them was a huge explosion, a blast of destructive power that revealed Jorgen Von Strangle, the toughest fairy in the universe. Apollo fainted from shock as Romi held up her hands to spare her eyes from the bright light of the incoming explosion.
"What is going on here?" Jorgen bellowed in a fury. The receptionist poofed her wand into a microphone, raising it to her mouth.
"Fairy Godparents! We have an emergency situation!" she declared, "A near-Level Four child in Dimmsdale, California has absconded with the Banished Fairies, Cosmo Cosma and Wanda Cosma!" Jorgen immediately lifted his own wand, preparing to blast somebody for the offense. "Now is the time to see which of you has the ability to become a Dimmsdale Fairy!" the receptionist went on, looking over the hundreds of serious little faces, "Reports from Earth state that the city is regaining magical balance, but there is still a long way to go in fully regaining the link to Dimmsdale. Our target child is a young girl just over three years old, prone to associating herself to the colors pink, red and white. Fairies with those hues are highly recommended!"
Romi pulled Apollo up, smacking him awake as a majority of the fairy godparents vanished, leaving behind those that matched the colorings called out. Jorgen stood over them, looking annoyed by the sight of the two Dimmsdale Fairies. The receptionist gazed up at the remaining fairy godparents, then continued.
"Those of you still here, your training will intensify for the trials of becoming Dimmsdale Fairies. Please select a physical weapon for the training. One or more of you will be selected to become the fairy godparent or godparents to this Dimmsdale child so the Banished Fairies will be free to return to Timmy Turner." the woman remarked, "Remember, you all knew this might have happened when you enrolled to become fairy godparents, so no blubbering about it and do your very best. The training will begin tomorrow morning at the usual time." The fairies floating before them nodded and poofed out of sight. The receptionist leaned over the desk and looked down at Romi and Apollo. "The soonest we can get a replacement for Cosmo and Wanda is a week from now. You two are Dimmsdale Fairies. Can you get a message to Turner? He should lay low for the time being but he shouldn't worry about wishes concerning him. All fairies are still bound by Da Rules, so he should be safe until those two return."
"You two! What happened down there? Tell me now!" Jorgen demanded of the two fairies staring up at him in shock.
"Ah, well, Cosmo got lost and then he got found by Sophia and then..." Apollo stammered out as Romi nodded frantically. They jumped at the wand suddenly thrust into their faces.
"No babbling! Just talk!" Jorgen barked at them.
"Timmy reunited with Cosmo and Wanda, but Sophia had grown attached to Cosmo and refused to give him up." Romi went on fearfully, "So rather than take Cosmo back and leave Sophia in misery with her babysitter, Timmy wished both Wanda and Cosmo to her until a replacement appeared to take their places." The muscle-bound fairy peered at her, waiting to see if there was anything more, then sniffed and straightened. He seemed satisfied enough, if not still a little puzzled.
"Nothing else happened?" he asked, scowling down at them. Apollo and Romi glanced at each other, worried. Should they admit that they had been revealed to non-godchildren? What about Apollo, whose sword had been used to 'kill' Chester, a human? Jorgen's fists tightened around the solid steel handle of his wand, eyes narrowing at them warningly. "Nothing else happened?" he repeated with a strange emphasis. Both fairies looked up at him, puzzled, then Romi's eyes widened in understanding. She shook her head, jabbing at Apollo to do the same.
"Oh, no, sir! Things are pretty much going smoothly for us. We've only come to make the inquiry because our godchildren made the separate wishes to reunite Cosmo and Wanda with Timothy Neogene." she explained hurriedly, "Tootie couldn't stand to see him so lonely, so she made a one-degree separation wish of asking if a fairy godparent could be assigned to Sophia."
"And Trixie felt bad that Sophia didn't have a fairy of her own, so she wished for one to be found for her. That's why I'm here. Romi and I just kinda met on our way here and decided to kill two birds with one stone." Apollo added eagerly. They both smiled brightly, innocently, and Jorgen seemed to relax the tiniest bit.
"As long as that is all that happened. Carry on." the fairy instructor agreed and turned to leave. Romi put a finger to her lower lip in thought, then called out to him.
"Um, sir? Has the Tooth Fairy ever found Chip Skylark? He was one of Timothy's friends, wasn't he? I heard rumors on Earth that he had thrown himself into Dimmsdale's sewer system." she pointed out and Jorgen looked back at her sternly.
"The fate of that puny little human is not of your concern. You are Tootie's fairy. Chip Skylark is under the jurisdiction of the Tooth Fairy." he returned, "I have work to do, so beat it already!" With that, he headed out of the agency. Romi and Apollo stood and grinned at each other.
"We got off easy. I thought for sure he was gonna find out what happened to us." Apollo remarked with a breath of relief as the two of them fluttered out of the building themselves.
"Yes. Now we must return to Dimmsdale and deliver the message to Timothy." the dark-haired fairy added, "He might not be pleased to know that he will have to wait a week before Cosmo and Wanda are able to return, but it is the best that can be done." Both fairies paused in surprise as they came across a plain brown package sitting on the sidewalk. "Oh, dear. Another one." Romi whispered and picked it up, gazing at the elegant writing on the top of the box, "I found one of these when I was recharging their wands. It even has the same initials on it. 'C' and 'W'."
"What is it?" Apollo asked, looking around nervously but no one was even paying attention to them.
"I don't know, but the initials mean that it's for Cosmo and Wanda only." Romi returned softly, "Should we give it to them directly or give it to Timothy for him to deliver to them?"
"Let's give it to them first. It's fairy business, right? Timmy doesn't need to know everything about us. Just enough to keep us safe, right?" Apollo remarked and the two fairies lifted their wands, poofing back to Earth below to make the trek into Dimmsdale.
Victoria snarled in a fury as traffic held her up on her way home. She loved the mansion she was now living in, the upgrade from looking like normal middle-class people to near upper-class status suited her just fine. She still had her job at the collections agency, her favorite part being where she would go and 'collect'. But whatever good mood she had been in after another successful day was quickly swept away by the traffic jam.
Some moron set off a frenzy somewhere about aliens or some junk and caused a huge tie-up.
She pounded on her car horn a few more times, growled irritably, then turned to snap at whoever was knocking on her window. A wide grin on his face, blue eyes twinkling cheerfully, she recognized that face and didn't know whether to brighten up at seeing him or scowl more that he had the gall to be smiling while she was having this wretched day. Victoria decided on rolling her eyes and unlocking the passenger door, grumbling under her breath as Timmy Turner popped open the door and plunked himself into the seat.
"Hey, Vicky!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Yeah, yeah. How's about using some of that fancy magic to clear a path for me?" she returned bitingly, "And for the last time, call me Victoria!"
"I dunno. I'm more destructive than constructive right now. I'll end up making the traffic stall longer." the brunet replied thoughtfully, pulling his backpack around and opening it up. He brought out a pair of sodas, handing one off to the young woman beside him, then tossing her a sandwich. "How willing are you to do something for the Heart of Dimmsdale?" Timmy asked lightly, twisting open his own bottle of soda. Victoria eyed him warily, opening the sandwich bag and soda bottle.
"You're a bit young for a blow job, kid." she returned and grinned at his wide-eyed look of shock, "That's more like it. Don't get cocky, twerp; it'll cost ya."
"I'll remember that." the brunet murmured in a more reserved tone. He shook himself off, sipped at his soda through a straw, then tilted his head in thought. "Victoria, how do you feel about starting up a babysitting service again?" he remarked. The woman wolfed down her sandwich, then held up a finger as she chugged down half of the soda in one sitting.
"Babysitting? Go back to that kiddie job of watching twerps like you?" she finally asked incredulously, "What for?" Timmy twirled the straw slowly between his fingers, a frown on his face.
"There's a babysitter that took over your old spot in Dimmsdale, and she's causing a lot of damage to those special kids I told you about." he began, "I don't think she's from here, or else she probably wouldn't be so mean to that Sophia girl I met today."
"Sophia?" Victoria suddenly exclaimed in shock, grabbing his shoulder and startling the teen, "This little witch was doing something to Sophia?"
"Um...?" Timmy stammered in surprise. Very rarely did Vicky respond to a name like that unless it was his own, and that had been before she learned Timothy Neogene was actually Timmy Turner. "Well, from what I was able to learn, this 'Meanie Jeanie' girl is paid by Remy to go around and force kids into being miserable until they gain that magical quality to them, then she takes it away to give to Remy for more money." he went on carefully.
"How the hell does that work?" Victoria growled, eyeing him suspiciously.
"It's kind of complicated, but it's doable." Timmy returned and sighed, "The quality I had... I gave it to Sophia to keep her safe from the babysitter..." Victoria stared at him in disbelief, then reached out and put her hand onto his head, studying him intently. He blinked, puzzled. What was she doing?
"Huh." the woman murmured and held out both hands, framing his face as she peered at him closely, "Huh."
"Victoria? This is kinda weird. Stop it." the brunet muttered warily.
"You do feel a little off." Victoria remarked quietly, quizzically, "You feel a little... weaker?" Timmy jerked back, alarmed. The young woman sniffed, sat back and folded her arms over her chest, huffing once to blow her bangs aside. "So this little freak of nature stole my spot as city-wide babysitter, is harassing our little Sophia, and got you to lose the magic feeling that made you so bubbly and the rest of us happy?" she summed up.
"Yup." Timmy agreed, straightening his hair back out as he took another sip of soda.
"That bitch." the woman growled, startling the boy again, "How dare that Remy punk bring in some idiot from outside Dimmsdale to screw with our kids' heads and hearts and make more of this stupid misery that could ruin us all!" She shot the brunet a fiery glare. "Okay, Timmy! You got me in this, twerp, now hand me a sword and point out where you want me to run it through!" He grinned at her.
"Finding your car was pretty easy; I just listened for the one with the angriest-sounding car horn. Now, getting you out of this jam is gonna be trickier." he returned and settled back in the chair. "I've got a friend up ahead of us who's working with people to get these cars moving out of here. When he's done, I'll point him out to you so you can pick him up and we can steer you to a place for a meeting with my benefactor."
"The guy who hid you from the world for those four years since you up and died on us?" Victoria asked dryly.
"The same. Just don't try hitting on him. He's way older than you and not all that interested in picking up girls." Timmy answered and closed his eyes, "Now, I'm kinda tired out from some stuff I did last night, so wake me when you see a kid with wild white hair waving at you." Victoria huffed again, but she managed a grin. Well, maybe the day was looking up again. After all, it's not every day an immortal kid asked someone to give them a hand in helping save the city.
