DGG: Thank-you to my lovely reviewers. Reviews are fun. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. And here we are with the next chapter. There are three, count 'em, three chapters left! OH MY! Crazy. Hopefully I will post the next chapter by next weekend...or next weekend. Stupid school has me all flustered. School should not allowed to be so time consuming. Read, review, enjoy!
Wanda staggered as she tried to find her ground. Anti-Cosmo had managed to hit her with three more attacks and the female was now stumbling around in a daze. The fairies in the street could hardly bear to watch anymore. The impending feeling that Wanda would soon be the next victim of The Mark made all their hearts ache with pain.
"Do you still think challenging me was a good idea?" the anti-fairy raised his left eyebrow while cockily spinning his wand around between the fingers of his right hand.
"St-stop!" cried Big Daddy.
The dueling fairies turned their attention to the male in the street a few feet away.
"I…I can't…l-let…my little g-girl…g-go thr-through with…th-this…anymore."
"Big Daddy…"
"N-no, Wanda," he interrupted sternly. "Th-this has…g-gone…far…enough."
"Not yet it hasn't," smirked Anti-Cosmo.
The garbage dealing fairy sent a death glare toward the evil anti-fairy.
"D-don't…thr-threaten my…f-family!"
"A few days ago I would have been petrified of you, Big Daddy, but now I'm the one with the upper hand."
"Y-you…j-just wait," Big Daddy roared the best he could.
As the two men bickered, Wanda saw this as her chance. Her opponent's attention was diverted, after all. She took out her wand and aimed it at the navy-blue male. However, Wanda had forgotten all about the young anti-fairy still sitting on the mailbox, who was watching the scene intently. He switched his gaze from the angered female to his distracted father many times. As soon as Wanda fired an attack, Foop reacted.
"Father, look out!"
Anti-Cosmo looked up just in time. Without any hesitation, he used his wand to deflect his adversary's attack…towards her father. Wanda cried out in shock as her attack hit Big Daddy full-force.
"Daddy!"
"Nice try, Wanda," Foop played with his mustache.
"Daddy, are you all right?" Wanda rushed to his side.
"He seems all right…for now," Anti-Cosmo taunted.
"Good job, Wanda. You just succeeded in attacking your own father," Foop cackled.
The demented laughter from the baby anti-fairy rang through Wanda's mind like echoes in an empty alley. Before she knew it, the baby's father's laughter swarmed into her ears as well. She covered her ears; she couldn't take it anymore. Something just seemed to snap inside her. Rage took over as she poofed in a large, wooden, butterfly net and swooped up the baby anti-fairy, trapping him within.
"Father!" he cried.
Anti-Cosmo's laughter stopped abruptly. "Let him go!" he hissed.
"No. You took away my baby, so I think it's only fair if I take away yours!" she yelled.
Anti-Cosmo blinked before looking around hastily then grabbing her father from the crowd and pointing his wand in his face.
"Let my son go, or say good-bye to your dear father."
"If you so much as make one move on my daddy then say good-bye to your son."
"What could you possibly do to my son?" Anti-Cosmo chuckled. "I know you're bluffing. You couldn't harm a child, Wanda."
The female remained silent, keeping her glare on the man before her.
"Are you really going to risk the life of your father? Would you really allow me to just kill him right before your eyes? Don't think I wouldn't do it; you know what I'm capable of."
Wanda's glare intensified as she tightened her grip on the handle of the net.
"Father," Foop pleaded, "do something."
The anti-fairy held his glare on the pink-haired fairy for a few more moments. He tightened the grip on his black wand, getting ready for an attack, before suddenly releasing his grip on the garbage-dealing fairy, letting him fall with a thud back to the pavement, and folding his arms across his chest nonchalantly.
"No," he smirked.
The baby gasped as everyone else stared in disbelief.
"You're…you're not going to save your own son?" Wanda blinked in surprise.
"I don't have to."
"Unhand my baby you brightly-colored shrew!" cried Anti-Wanda. She slammed into Wanda's side, causing her to drop the net, releasing the baby from its confines.
"Did she hurt you, precious?" Anti-Wanda rushed over and scooped up her son.
"Mother, why must you insist upon using little 'cutesy' names?" ranted the boy.
As the mother nestled her son in her arms, Wanda regained her composure. She looked up at the sight of the two, instantly reminded of when she held Poof in her arms. Granted the sight before her was slightly different. Anti-Wanda was filled with nothing but love and adoration for her little baby while he steamed with a sour look on his face, trying to get free of his mother's grasp. But nonetheless it reminded her of the times spent with her own son. Suddenly her thoughts were taken back to when she found Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda both in her home, holding her ailing son. That's when the fire in her eyes grew to an enormous blaze. Determined, she fired a yellow stream of magic from her own wand, hitting her anti-fairy in the face, causing her to let go of her baby and fall to the ground with a yelp.
"How dare you strike my mother!" exclaimed Foop, who was helping her up.
"What's the big idea?" blinked Anti-Wanda in confusion.
"Payback. My baby's dead and it's partly your fault. And I promise I'll make you pay."
The pink-haired fairy lunged forward and pounced on the navy-blue female. The two rolled down the sidewalk a few feet ending up with Wanda pinning her counterpart to the ground.
"Ooh. How unexpected," smiled Anti-Cosmo. "A girl fight."
Anti-Wanda squirmed within Wanda's tight grip but couldn't seem to muster up the strength to break free.
"Any last words?" seethed Wanda.
"Nope," Anti-Wanda smiled as she used her feet to kick her counterpart into the air. As Wanda went soaring upwards, the anti-fairy whipped out her wand and sent a red stream of magic hurling towards her. "That's fer tryin' to hurt my baby!"
The attack zoomed towards Wanda like a cheetah trying to catch its lunch, but just as it was about to collide with her, she regained her composure and used her wand to create a force field, negating the attack. The hillbilly-like female gasped.
"You'll have to try harder than that," smiled Wanda raising an eyebrow cockily.
With that challenge, the two females began to battle like nothing any of the creatures on the streets had ever seen. The two used their wands to fire powerful blows at one another. Red and yellow streaks of light flew everywhere, hitting buildings and street lamps, sending debris everywhere just narrowly missing the ailing fairies in the streets. The females battled with the ferocity of two lionesses in the wild after the same piece of meat. If the two were close enough to one another, they would pounce, pull hair, scratch, bite, and punch. After about a half an hour, the two were a complete mess. Their outfits were torn and dirty, they had scratches all over, and their hair stuck out in various directions. The two stood a few feet away from one another panting heavily, exhausted.
Anti-Cosmo smiled fiendishly. This distraction was exactly what he needed. One more fatal blow and Wanda would be out of his hair for the rest of eternity. The male pointed his own wand towards his nemesis, a purple haze signaling The Mark appearing around the tip.
The ailing fairies surrounding him gasped, and without warning Anti-Cosmo fired the deadly disease at Wanda.
"W-Wanda…w-watch…out!" cried Big Daddy.
Wanda looked up, gasping when she saw the purple mass flying towards her. She was about to jump out of the way when something suddenly distracted her.
"Poof, poof!"
She stopped dead, shock and confusion keeping her frozen like a deer in headlights.
"Poof?" she spoke, casting her eyes towards the ground.
"W-Wanda! Move!" yelled her father.
His voice snapped her out of her daze. Unfortunately she looked up just in time to see the attack hit her full-force in the chest. She went soaring backwards across the sidewalk into a building, ricocheted off, and fell to the ground where she laid still. Everyone bowed their heads in anguish as Anti-Cosmo laughed triumphantly. This was it. It was all over.
Timmy Turner tossed and turned in his hospital bed in discomfort. He was still alone in the room due to his most recent wish; however, he'd grown quite tired of having absolutely no company. No doubt his parents and doctors were trying to rush back to him as quickly as they possibly could, but he wasn't really too keen on the idea of having those adults around. So why not be in the presence of two people he truly needed at the moment? They were the only ones who understood what was happening to him and what he was going through, after all.
"Cosmo! Wanda!" cried Timmy out into the room.
In response, Cosmo poofed into the room, clutching his wand anxiously.
"Yeah, Timmy?" he asked nervously.
The boy opened his sickly blue eyes slightly, "B-boy…am I… g-glad t-to see…y-you…g-guys," Timmy smiled, but his smile was soon replaced with a look confusion.
"What's wrong, Timmy?"
"Where's…Wanda?"
"Um…she's…um…she found some chocolate in the fridge," Cosmo lied. "Yeah, that's what she's doing. Eating chocolate to dull all her pain."
Timmy looked his godfather over. He was fidgeting with his wand and sweating profusely. Something was up.
"Cosmo…I'm…s-sick, not…st-stupid."
"Really? Because the grades you get on all your report cards kinda says differently."
"W-why i-isn't…Wanda…h-here?"
"I told you already. She's visiting Fairy World!" exclaimed the male fairy.
"That's…n-not what…you…s-said before."
"Huh?" Cosmo blinked, cursing his short memory.
"You s-said she…w-was…eating ch-chocolate."
"She…is. In Fairy World! Yeah, she found some chocolate while visiting Fairy World," Cosmo smiled nervously.
"Y-you're lying."
"Um…no, I'm not?"
Timmy gave his godfather a skeptical look.
"Wh-where is sh-she r-really?"
"Eating chocolate in Fairy World! I sent her there to get her mind off things!"
"C-Cosmo!"
Cosmo averted his attention over his left shoulder, "Hm? What's that? You need me to come in for dinner?" Cosmo looked back at his godson. "Sorry, Timmy. Mama's calling me."
"Sh-she's n-not…even…here! Wh-why won't…y-you…tell…m-me…the…tr-truth? Is s-something wrong…w-with…her?"
"With my mama?"
"With…Wanda!"
"N-no…at least I hope not," answered Cosmo quietly.
"Y-you…hope not?" Timmy raised an eyebrow weakly. "What's…g-going on?"
"Nothing! I just hope that she's okay while eating her chocolate. I don't want her to get too messy while she eats."
"C-Cosmo, it…h-hasn't…b-been that…l-long since I…m-made that…last…w-wish. W-what…h-happened?"
"I…I can't tell you," Cosmo lowered his head.
"Is it..ab-bout P-Poof?"
The fairy looked at his godchild in confusion.
"Why would it be about Poof?" he asked, forgetting that Timmy was unaware of what happened.
Timmy looked offended.
"C-Cosmo, h-he's s-sick…too. D-did s-something… happen… t-to him?"
The male closed his eyes. The brunette watched in alarm as a pained expression came over his godfather's face; Timmy instantly realized what was going on.
"W-Wanda…l-lied earlier…d-didn't…sh-she?" Timmy's countenance fell. "P-Poof…d-died. D-didn't h-he?"
Cosmo nodded through teary eyes. Timmy sighed. Somehow he'd had a feeling that that had happened. Why else would Wanda come out to see him and leave her ailing son out of her sight? He realized she hadn't told him what really happened because she didn't want to upset him, but he was still slightly disappointed she hadn't told him the truth in the first place. After all, she had given him false hope by saying Poof had gotten better. However, his original question resurfaced in his mind. If Wanda wasn't with Poof then where was she?
"C-Cosmo…a-are y-you…going…to t-tell me…wh-where…W-Wanda is?"
He shook his head, closing his eyes again in an attempt to stop his tears from falling.
"Why?"
"Because Wanda told me not to say," the fairy's voice was thick with tears.
Timmy was getting frustrated and more determined than ever to find out about his godmother.
"I…w-wish you…would…t-tell me…w-where…Wanda is."
Cosmo hated that loophole.
"She went to Fairy World to fight Anti-Cosmo!" Cosmo exclaimed, unable to control himself any longer. "I told her not to, Timmy, but she wouldn't listen!"
Large tears poured from Cosmo's eyes like a waterfall.
"What?" cried Timmy in horror. "Wh-what for?"
Cosmo couldn't answer. All that came from his lips were anguished sobs.
"C-Cosmo…are y-you…g-going…to b-be…all…right?" asked Timmy, worried.
"Timmy, I can't lose Wanda!" the green-haired male sniffled. "I love her too much."
"I…l-love her…t-too, Cosmo. That's…w-why I…protected…h-her."
"I've n-never felt so h-horrible bef-fore, T-Timmy!" the fairy continued to sob. "My b-baby's gone, y-you're dying, and now W-Wanda's fighting a b-battle she knows she can't w-win! I'm gonna be a-all alone, Timmy!"
"Maybe..n-not, Cosmo."
The fairy looked his godson in the eye.
"I…I wish that W-Wanda could…f-find a w-way…to…b-beat…Anti-Cosmo."
Cosmo's crying fell silent as his expression turned to one of happiness and hope. He quickly held up his wand. Unfortunately, his wand went limp, signaling that the wish didn't work. Instantly, Cosmo became hysterical again.
"W-what…h-happened?" asked Timmy.
"I d-don't know!" sobbed Cosmo. "The o-only thing I can th-think of is th-that it m-means we're t-too late!"
"N-no, C-Cosmo! D-don't…th-think like…th-that. A-Anti…Cosmo…m-must h-have…had…s-something to…d-do…w-with the…sp-spell…n-not…w-working."
"Yeah, he probably had s-something to do with it! She's probably…" Cosmo cut off, unable to say it.
Timmy didn't want to say it either. He didn't even want to think of it. But no matter what, he refused to believe that his godmother could be dead. There was just no possible way. She would never let an anti-fairy outsmart her. Then again, Anti-Cosmo did have the advantage. No, that didn't matter. He knew that Wanda wouldn't let that evil anti-fairy get the best of her.
Timmy looked up at his grieving godfather with pained eyes.
"C-Cosmo, i-if…y-you're…th-that w-worried…g-go. I-I'll…b-be…okay."
"She told me to stay here w-with you no matter what. Plus…I'm afraid of w-what I'll s-see if I do go."
"C-Cosmo…sh-sh-she's…y-y-y-you're…w-w-w-w…" Timmy sputtered, catching Cosmo's attention.
"Are you okay, Timmy?" he asked, his voice still thick with tears.
"C-Cosmo…I…I n-n-need…m-my…p-p-parents!" the boy cried in alarm
"What's going on?"
The boy could feel his heart rate quicken and he suddenly had a difficult time breathing. He stared up at his fairy godparent pleadingly. He could feel the end of his life growing nearer and nearer.
"I…I w-w-w-wish…m-my p-parents…a-a-and…d-d-doctors…w-w-were…b-b-back!"
Cosmo obliged. He held up his wand and soon everyone was back in the room as though nothing had even happened, and Cosmo disguised himself as Timmy's blanket.
"Whoa, what just happened?" blinked Mrs. Turner while looking around.
"I don't know. How'd we get here so fast?"asked Mr. Turner.
Doctor Baxter and his nurses were as equally confused; however, they didn't have time to voice it.
"Timmy!" cried the doctor.
This snapped the parents out of their wonderment and sent their attention towards their deteriorating son.
"What's…what's happening? What's going on?" demanded his mother.
"He's going into respiratory distress! Someone, get a breathing tube and a ventilator in here now!"
The nurses rushed out of the room.
"Timmy. Timmy, stay with me. You're going to be all right," Doctor Baxter spoke calmly.
A few fearful tears seeped from the ten-year-old's eyes. It was no use. There was nothing anyone could do to help him, despite their best efforts. The nurses returned with the equipment they needed and began to stick the tube down his throat. The boy closed his eyes as more tears seeped out. This was it. This was the end.