June 2015
Hello readers! I'm very glad you're all still enjoying my little brain droppings. I've updated my profile with the latest on my fanfic writing, and some new links to my other nooks around the 'Net. Please check it out and thanks for reading!
Things are ramping up . . .
FOP doesn't belong to me.
"NOO! Anti-Cosmo screamed, freeing himself with one forceful lunge of his body. He went straight for Anti-Binky, who raised his arm again, presumably for another attack. But before he could even pick a target for his new blow, Tabby provided an adequately attention grabbing distraction.
"NO HITTING YOU BIG JERK!" she yelled before clamping her teeth onto his arm. Her jaw would remain sore for the following three days from the force of her bite, but she decided that his scream alone was more than worth the pain.
And scream Anti-Binky did. The little girl's teeth felt like a bear trap on his arm, and he turned slightly in order to bring his raised arm down on her head in the hopes of getting her off. Before he had a chance to do more than think about it, however, Anti-Cosmo was there, his hand an iron shackle on the wrist of Anti-Binky's still raised arm.
"Thank you, Tabitha," he said almost pleasantly to the little girl, his eyes boring into Anti-Binky's. "That was most helpful."
The bear trap suddenly let go as the little girl moved nearer Anti-Cosmo, a wide smile on her face.
"You're welcome Uncle Acie!" she chirped as she hurried toward the two anti-fairies holding Anti-Wanda. "Punch him in the head for hurting Auntie!"
Anti-Cosmo chuckled as he leaned closer to Anti-Binky, offering his rival a toothy grin.
"Sounds like a marvelous place to start."
As Anti-Binky began to rethink his position as anti-fairy leader, Cosmo took advantage of the mounting chaos to display remarkable ingenuity in breaking free of his captors.
He was still doubled over from the blow to his belly, and suddenly shifted his weight to collide with the anti-fairy on his right. The move caught the dark fairy off guard, and he fell over, releasing Cosmo's arm in the process. The sudden movement yanked the anti-fairy on his left arm practically on top of him, but Cosmo was ready and caught the startled guard with a stiff punch to the chest. A second later, he wriggled out from beneath the coughing anti-fairy and headed towards his wife.
Wanda, meanwhile, was vainly whipping her body in quick jerks to shake herself loose from her own anti-fairy guards. Unfortunately, for each twist, turn, and jerk, her captors' grips became ever tighter. Just as the pressure on her arms became painful, her body jerked violently to the right when Cosmo, moving at a full run, slammed into one of the anti-fairies holding her. The guard released her arm as he and Cosmo tumbled to the ground, legs and arms flailing. Wanda took the opportunity to hook her foot behind the remaining anti-fairy's leg and send him sprawling to the ground with a startled "Oh!"
Two anti-fairies went flying past—head over heels—and she turned quickly to see Jorgen walking toward her at a leisurely pace.
"We will need to talk about what you two thought you were doing later," the Head Fairy said, massaging his mighty fists. Binky cowered behind him, keeping watch as the rest of the anti-fairies decided between running, surrendering, and fighting. Some stood stock still, watching the fight between Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Binky with mounting interest, while others timidly moved toward the fairies.
"Where's Tabby?" Wanda called over the building noise, and was answered by a high-pitched scream.
"Get 'er off, GET 'ER OFF!" one of Anti-Wanda's guards hollered as he hopped around, waving his arms wildly. He turned around and Wanda saw the reason for his dance—Tabby had her arms and legs wrapped tightly around his leg, her teeth clamped onto his shin.
Anti-Wanda used the distraction to her advantage and shoved her shoulder into her remaining guard's chest, knocking him hard onto his back. She then pried Tabby off the hopping anti-fairy's leg and half dragged, half carried her over to the group of fairies.
"Well this sure turned into a big ol' mess," she said as she gently placed Tabby on her feet in front of Wanda. "Whadda we do now?"
"We must recapture all the anti-fairies," Jorgen answered as he backhanded an approaching anti-fairy. "They must not be allowed to escape."
"But we don't have any magic, or our wands!" Cosmo cried, throwing his arms wide. "The prison has a spell on it that blocks it!"
Wanda frowned. "No magic? But . . ." she started as she glanced around the prison.
A soft reflection caught her eye and she turned, ducking as an anti-fairy lunged for her. Jorgen flicked him away as though he were swatting a fly.
One of the cell doors caught the light from a high window and threw a reflection onto the floor. A blue reflection. Wanda gasped.
The blue full moon had risen. They had access to magic after all.
"I have an idea!" she cried as she grabbed Tabby's hand and ran toward the moonlight. The others exchanged a questioning glance before following her. "If we can get Tabby to the—OOF!"
They were halfway to the pool of light when an anti-fairy broadsided Wanda, knocking the wind out of her and rolling her to the ground. Tabby went down too, and rolled out of the heart of the mob that quickly swarmed over the group.
"Wanda!" the little girl cried and tried to quickly crawl back to her godmother.
"Tabby, stay away!" the pink haired fairy called as her attacker landed heavily on top of her.
"What have you done to my darling boy?" Anti-Mama-Cosma sneered as she wrapped her hands around Wanda's neck. "He used to be so evil, but now he's turned his back on all of us!"
". . . I . . . did-didn't . . ." Wanda managed to squeak out as her windpipe closed.
Her attacker laughed. "No, of course you didn't!" she said merrily, her hands curling ever tighter. "It was that twit of a wife of his! You were both in this together—AAHHHHH!"
Air suddenly streamed down Wanda's throat as the hands vanished, and she looked up in time to see Anti-Wanda yanking her mother-in-law back by the hair.
"I never liked you," Anti-Wanda said as she gave the older woman a strong shove. Anti-Mama-Cosma landed hard on her side and uttered a sharp cry before turning and hissing at her daughter-in-law.
"You stole my precious son from me!" she cried, suddenly launching herself at Anti-Wanda. The movement caught the younger anti-fairy off guard, and they both tumbled to the floor with a heavy 'thump'.
"Your fault!" Anti-Mama-Cosma screamed as the two fought. "It's YOUR fault my evil little boy is so different!"
"SHADDAP!" Anti-Wanda screamed back, rolling back and forth to try and gain an advantage on her heavier mother-in-law.
Wanda moved forward to try and help her dark counterpart, but was tackled from behind by Anti-Juandissimo.
"Oh, you brightly colored counterpart of my beloved dark princess Anti-Wanda!" he wailed, his arms wrapped tightly around Wanda's middle. "Tell me I am pretty! And sexy! Please! I am nothing without my darling Anti-Wanda!"
"Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder," the pink haired fairy muttered as she struggled in his grip. "GET OFF!"
"Wanda!" Tabby called again, moving toward her godmother. Wanda arched her body and rolled with all her strength in order to face her goddaughter.
"Tabby, get to the light!" she cried as loud as her constricted lungs would allow her. The anti version of her ex-boyfriend clung tightly to her midsection, his pleas for attention almost drowning out her own voice. "Get to the light!"
"Light?" Tabby asked, crawling closer. "What light?"
Wanda rolled one more time and bucked her anti-ex-boyfriend off before sucking in a lungful of air.
"The moonlight, Tabby," she cried as she pointed toward the reflection on the floor before Anti-Juandissimo grabbed her again. "GO STAND IN THE MOONLIGHT!" A second later, Wanda was practically dragged into the writhing mob of angry anti-fairies.
Tabby stood stock still for a second longer, torn between running in after Wanda and simply sitting on the floor and crying. She was extremely confused, and couldn't understand why her godmother seemed so insistent about standing in some patch of moonlight. What on earth would that do?
A sudden, pain-filled cry erupted from the dogpile of anti-fairies, and Tabby instantly recognized it as her godfather. Her paralysis broke and she sprinted toward the moonlight Wanda had pointed her towards.
"Oh no you don't!" Anti-Cupid said as he assumed a defensive stance in front of the reflection on the floor.
Tabby frowned and lowered her head, hitting the anti-love-god full force in the belly. He uttered a surprised "GAH!" before they both went sprawling, with Tabby's momentum making them slide for a good five feet.
Once untangled from her would-be goalie, the little girl scrambled into a fast-paced crawl, finally throwing herself into the puddle of moonlight on the floor.
A bright flash suddenly erupted at that moment, bringing all movement inside the prison to a startled stop. Tabby shakily got to her feet, and looked around at the staring faces surrounding her. A soft blue light illuminated everything around her, and she looked down at herself, uttering a soft gasp at what she found.
She was glowing. The blue light came from her.
"Mama?" she called in a small voice, not quite sure whether she should be scared or not. It was a little unsettling—humans weren't generally supposed to glow, after all—but not exactly scary. "What do I do now?"
"Make a wish, sweetie," Wanda said as she maneuvered her way out of the crowd.
Her goddaughter shook her head. "But magic doesn't work in here," she said, pointing toward Jorgen. "He said so."
Wanda shook her head as she moved closer to the little girl. "This is special magic, sweetie. You can make a wish now. Anything you want."
"Yes, anything you want," Jorgen said as he pushed his way to the edge of the crowd. "As long as that means you'll wish the anti-fairies back into their cells. DO IT NOW!"
"NO!" Anti-Binky shouted as he hurried toward the other anti-fairies and away from Anti-Cosmo—who had been a tougher opponent than Anti-Binky originally thought. "Wish us free! You wouldn't want Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda put back into the jail, would you?"
"It doesn't matter," Anti-Cosmo said as his wife hurried to his side. They immediately clasped hands and stood close together, small smiles on each of their faces. "We'll be okay, Tabitha. Wish us all back into the cells before any more trouble starts."
Anti-Binky growled. "NO! WISH US FREE!"
"PUT THEM BACK!" Jorgen boomed, shoving anti-fairies out of the way as he moved closer to Tabby.
"FREEDOM!"
The prison walls reverberated with the cry, and suddenly everyone shouted suggestions, orders, insults, and arguments. The noise escalated into a great ear-ringing din. Tabby clapped her hands over her ears and screamed at the top of her voice:
"SHUT UUUUP!"
Amazingly, the noise did taper off, as all eyes turned back to the glowing little girl in the moonlight.
"Boy you're all so noisy!" she sighed as she lowered her hands. "Sheesh!" The little girl turned to Wanda as a sudden thought occurred to her. "Cosmo! Where's Cosmo?"
A low moan answered her, muffled by the group of anti-fairies.
"Let him out!" she ordered, pointing towards the group at the edge of the mob. A few flinched from her extended finger, as though expecting some sort of lightning bolt or some other such powerful expression of mystical magic to shoot out from it.
"NOW!"
If the pointing finger didn't goose the anti-fairies into movement, the sharp tone of an angry little girl in possession of what could very well be a very powerful magic did. The crowd parted straight down the middle, revealing a crumpled and moaning green haired fairy.
"Cosmo!" Wanda gasped and rushed to her husband's side. She knelt beside him, gently taking his hand into hers. "Are you all right, sweetie?"
Cosmo smiled, blinking at her through a slowly healing black eye.
"Aw, you worry too much, babe," he said with a laugh that ended in a soft moan. "I'll be fine in a few minutes. You know that."
"That remains to be seen," Anti-Binky snickered as he motioned for his underlings to surround the reunited fairies. The little anti-fairy knew opportunity when he saw it. And he had found his new angle.
"Let them out!" Tabby yelled, her hands curled into tight fists. "LET 'EM GO!"
Anti-Binky offered her a sly smile.
"But darling little . . . Tabby, is it? That's all I want. I want you to let all the anti-fairies go."
Tabby shook her head, frowning deeply. "NO! You're all BAD!"
"What about those two?" Anti-Binky asked, pointing behind the little girl at Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda. "They're anti-fairies. Are THEY bad?"
"No, they're different," came the immediate answer.
Anti-Binky nodded and smiled again in a manner that even the little girl identified as unnerving.
"Of course they are," he muttered before flashing the biggest, widest smile possible at her. "But so am I! If you let us all out, I promise that we won't do anything wrong. Scout's honor!" He crossed his chest with a big 'x' and held up his right hand, the first two fingers extended.
Tabby frowned, her brow furrowing deeply. She, of course, didn't believe him, mostly because she knew there was something about these anti-fairies that just screamed 'bad'. It could have been their red eyes—which, in truth, were darn creepy in their own right—or it could have been the way they seemed to smile when they shouldn't, like when they lied or did something mean. Her Uncle and Auntie hadn't acted like that—that she could remember anyway, it had been a pretty emotional and confusing couple of days—and their eyes were the same colors as her godparents'. Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda just felt different from the rest of these dark fairies. There really was no better way to explain it.
"Ya gonna make a decision some time tonight, kid?" Anti-Binky snapped, his previous 'good mood' suddenly gone. "'Cause your godparents might not be too happy if you take much longer." A few anti-fairies behind him began cracking their knuckles as if to drive the point home.
Tabby swallowed hard. They needed to go back into their prison cells. They were all bad, and couldn't be allowed out where they might hurt someone. But she didn't want her Auntie and Uncle to be locked up too. Jorgen didn't seem to like ANY anti-fairies, so it was doubtful he'd let two go just because Tabby would ask. For that matter, the rest of the anti-fairies didn't seem to like Anti-Wanda or Anti-Cosmo, so what would happen if they somehow got hold of those two?
The moon slowly moved higher in the sky, making the reflection Tabby stood in shrink by the second. Time was running out.
"I don't know what to do," she whispered before turning to face her godparents' counterparts. "I don't know what to do, Uncle Acie!"
"Wish all the anti-fairies back into the cells, little one," he said softly as he and his wife moved closer to the little girl. "It's the only way for this to end."
Tabby shook her head. "But you'll be trapped too!" she cried, grabbing their hands. "I don't want you to get hurt!"
Anti-Wanda shook her head as she laid a gentle hand on Tabby's cheek.
"We'll be fine, sugar," she said, offering a small smile. "You don't want your godparents or anyone else to get hurt, do you?" Tabby shook her head. "Then that settles it! Make the wish, darlin'."
"But—"
"Make the wish, Tabitha," Anti-Cosmo said sternly as he pulled his wife back. "Time is passing quickly. Hurry!"
"C'mon kid!" Anti-Binky called, his voice edged with annoyance. "The clock's tickin'!"
Tabby turned back to face the self-proclaimed new leader of the anti-fairies, her face set, her hands curled into tight fists. She regarded him with narrowed eyes, and her lips pulled into a thin line.
Wanda peeked through the forest of anti-fairy legs from her vantage point on the floor, and rolled her eyes.
"Oh lord," she sighed, helping a now almost fully healed Cosmo into a sitting position.
"What?"
"She's got that stubborn look again."
Cosmo rolled his own eyes.
"Oh lord. What do you think she'll do?"
"I don't know," Wanda replied as they both stood. "But I hope it's nothing too—"
"I WISH WE WERE ALL OUTSIDE!" Tabby bellowed, the glow around her intensifying until it filled the room.
A split second later, every fairy and anti-fairy was standing outside the prison, much to the shock and surprise of the two fairy prison guards.
" . . . rash," Wanda finished with a sigh.