So many people who complained about my evil cliffhangers… Somehow, that just makes me smile. Thanks again for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you find this one to be satisfying and worth the wait. Let's just say there is a very good reason why genies are locked away in lamps and are limited to three wishes…
Anti-Cosmo couldn't help smiling. Everything was going perfectly to plan. Turner and the random human child were being slowly sent to their doom. Meanwhile, his fairies could only watch in horror with the knowledge that they soon would share the boy's fate. There was no possible way to lose this time. Victory was completely assured. As he, the other anti-fairies, and the pixies watched the golden birdcage lower, Anti-Cosmo felt the urge to indulge in an evil laugh. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Then, a thunderous and reverberating sound filled the air as reality shifted around them.
GONG!
The anti-fairy clamped his hands over his ears, but it wasn't just the noise that overwhelmed him. It was the force of the magic, foreign and furious, that washed over him. There was so much of it. It was like being in the middle of a hurricane, but without the wind and water. This was just a chaotic and wild force, barely restrained by the one who released it. It wasn't the work of fairies or anti-fairies. Anti-Cosmo knew the sensation of that magic. And pixies were the opposite of chaos. There was only one person who could be responsible, but he didn't know how or why.
Then the anti-fairy realized he couldn't move.
As the noise faded away, Timmy opened his eyes to find his surroundings were far less life-threatening than before. The cage was gone. The pit of lava was also missing. The crowds of pixies and anti-fairies no longer occupied the bleachers. The boy couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
"Timmy!" a trio of voices shouted right before he was nearly knocked over by impact.
The brown-haired boy found himself engulfed in a group hug. His fairies, apparently freed from the butterfly net, had instantly flown over to him. For several seconds, the family was more interested in reassuring themselves that their loved ones were safe rather than worrying about how. Timmy managed to wiggle his head out of the group hug enough to glance towards Amanda, not wanting to forget her presence a second time. The girl had apparently started running as soon as the cage and lava vanished since she was now in the corner of the room, holding onto her backpack as if terrified to let it slip away from her grasp again.
"Inconceivable," said Anti-Cosmo, yanking the boy's attention back to the fact that they weren't entirely alone.
While the crowds of watchers were gone, there were four observers left in the room. Anti-Cosmo, Anti-Wanda, the Head Pixie, and Sanderson remained (though Timmy was only guessing on the identity of the pixie since he could never tell most of them apart anyway). But all the former captors were in trouble. Butterfly nets now held them trapped; the nets far smaller than the ones used previously to capture Timmy's fairies. The mesh of the butterfly nets were tighter, restraining the magical creatures in place as effectively as cocooning Vicky in metal chains would. Arms, legs, and wings were pinned against their bodies, preventing any type of movement. Furthermore, Anti-Wanda and Sanderson were gagged.
"Anyone know what happened?" Timmy asked finally, staring at his former captors. "Where did all the others go? Why are they trapped now? And why aren't we? I'm not complaining, but this is sort of weird."
In a bored monotone, the Head Pixie replied, "There seemed to be a slight miscalculation in our plans."
"And what would that be?" asked Wanda, glaring at the now-trapped entities.
"Me," answered a voice that sent a shiver down Timmy's spine before he could even recognize the speaker.
He'd noticed the balconies earlier. What Timmy didn't notice during his near-dunking in the molten lava was that one of them had apparently been occupied. He was certainly aware of that fact now since a figure was floating down from the shadowy balcony. And if he'd been nervous about the genie before…
Norm was mad. Not annoyed, sarcastic, or frustrated. In fact, he was furious. The boy could feel himself cringing slightly. It wasn't that the genie was screaming and shouting at everyone while waving an ax. No, it was more subtle than that. He almost would have preferred an over-the-top reaction.
There was a stiffness to the genie's posture that reminded the boy of pulling back a slingshot or a bow string, as if the magical being was preparing to strike out at any moment. His facial expression was blank. There wasn't a hint of a smirk or a frown. And while Timmy knew better now, he once would have made jokes about the genie not having an ounce of humanity in him. Right now, however, the boy seriously wondered if the genie had discarded all hints of empathy, humanity, or mercy because Timmy couldn't seem to find it when he looked at Norm. The only place he could see anything close to a real emotion was in the genie's eyes. The sunglasses were gone. This meant the boy could see the fury burning below the surface. Timmy wouldn't have been surprised if the genie's eyes started glowing.
But the most unnerving thing wasn't anything that Timmy could see. It was what he could feel. Power. Magical power was practically radiating from the genie to the point where even the most oblivious observer without any knowledge or experience with such things would be able to identify the sensation. It hummed and fluxed, like a wild animal waiting to be released against the helpless prey. The boy remembered standing near the Big Wand before, the power source for all the wands fairies used and thus the source of their magical potential. He remembered an odd and pleasant feeling of something radiated and pulsing from the giant structure, like how standing near a giant speaker playing extremely low notes could be felt more than heard. The sheer amount of magic coming from the genie now reminded Timmy of the Big Wand, but that seemed impossible to imagine. There was no way a single magical entity could be producing as much magic as an object that powered an entire species. And yet the boy knew what he was feeling practically fighting to be unleashed.
The only relief Timmy felt as he looked at the furious figure approaching them was that the enraged gaze of the genie wasn't focused on him or his family. Instead, all of Norm's attention seemed to be on the four magical beings currently trapped in the butterfly nets.
He stopped a short distance away, closing his eyes briefly and his hands clenched into fists for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, the genie adopted a small grin that reminded Timmy of a shark and did little to hide Norm's real emotions. Then, the genie began to clap slowly.
"Bravo, Baron British," he said with false cheerfulness. "What a lovely little show. I certainly thought it was an entertaining way to spend the evening. I can't tell you how many times I've daydreamed of shoving Turner into a volcano."
"You," snarled Anti-Cosmo.
"But of course," he continued to grin. "All good stories need a fun plot twist near the end. It makes for a much more exciting finale. Besides, you only have yourselves to blame for this. How did the gray-suited dork put it? 'If it has wings and flies, a butterfly net can catch it'? Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm the only magical being here who doesn't have wings." He paused briefly before muttering, "Well, anymore at least. Stupid staple gun."
"We had a contract," said HP, his monotone voice gaining the faintest hint of confusion.
Floating around the room with his arms behind his back, the genie remarked, "Yes, we did. A nice little piece of legal work, I'll admit. The deal was I get to watch you torment Turner a little and I don't cause you any trouble. Well, as much of a pain in the neck Mister Overbite over there might be, I have to admit that I'm not quite as eager for his demise as I used to be." He grimaced slightly, "Though I'm not the happiest about admitting it…"
"And the polygraph?" the pixie continued.
"Hey, if you check carefully, you'll notice I never actually lied. Every word out of my mouth was true. You just should have paid closer attention to what I actually said rather than what you assumed I meant."
"You shouldn't have been able to do this, Norman," the anti-fairy remarked as Timmy started to realize why the genie was here. "The contract should have stopped you. That was the only reason we allowed you to attend."
"Funny thing about contracts, AC. They have fine print and loopholes. And if there is one thing a genie is great at, it's finding loopholes to exploit. Our whole wish-granting strategy is based on twisting what the words say to our advantage. Your contract is null and void now."
"The only way that you could have nullified the contract would be if there was a threat to your health or freedom caused by our actions," stated the Head Pixie. "I should know. I was very thorough."
Somehow the false grin on the genie's face became even more predatory as he moved around the room like a tiger circling its prey. The lack of shades meant Timmy could see how his gaze never left the trapped group.
"I know. Now, I'd already had in mind some nice and convoluted ways that harming the brat could theoretically be considered problematic to my well-being. I'd have to wait until he was actually in danger, but I could talk my way through that mess of legalese if necessary. We could have all parted ways mildly annoyed with each other, but more or less in the same condition as when we met. That would have been a fun way to spend my holiday, honestly. But you apparently decided you wanted to knock off Turner for good and do some collateral damage while you were at it."
The false cheerfulness was quickly pouring out of his voice, leaving a dangerous edge behind. Timmy felt his fairy god-family float a little closer together at the shift in tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the trapped figures wiggling slightly in an attempt to escape.
"And that stupid decision is exactly why your little contract is worthless, morons."
Having reached the corner of the room where Amanda was curled around her backpack, then genie's expression briefly softened as he scooped her up. It was a very familiar move to Timmy, though he'd never seen the genie perform such an act. The boy merely remembered his mom or dad doing the same thing when he was much younger and had a nightmare. The girl instantly wrapped one arm around the genie's neck and buried her face into his shoulder. For a moment, he seemed to mutter something in her ear before she nodded twice in response. Half-holding her and half-hugging her, Norm glared at the anti-fairies and pixies with enough force that Timmy wouldn't have been surprised if they spontaneously combusted.
"Congratulations. You nearly tossed my current master in your pathetic pit of lava. And since that would have resulted in me being forcibly returned to my lamp, that's a direct threat to my current freedom. Thus, no more contract and any level of pity I might have had for you just went up in flames."
Abruptly, the anti-fairies and pixies looked a little paler. And considering the fact that the normal skin tone of an anti-fairy was dark blue, it was odd seeing Anti-Cosmo looking more like a murky gray.
The monocle-wearing magical creature chuckled nervously, "I see. Terribly sorry, old chap. This was merely a misunderstanding. Perhaps we can talk this out and come to some sort of arrangement?"
All attempts at pretending to be in a good mood were gone. Furious and merciless Norm was on full display as he slowly floated back towards the center of the room. His voice was at a conversational volume, but the sensation of building magical power intensified. It felt like a lightning storm was building with Norm at the center of it. And all of them were within striking range.
"Genies aren't known for their generous and forgiving natures. We're not known as the best people to anger. I'm not one of those goody-goody, nice guys who go around saving cats in trees or defending the brainless from evil. I'm not ignorant or innocent of the whole 'collateral damage' thing. But you crossed a line, Snaggletooth. You and Major Monotone. You see, it isn't just the fact Amanda is my master and your little stunt would have left me stuck in a lamp again. I'd get over that in a century or two. But you tried to hurt someone I like. And that means me and you have a bit of a problem."
The fact he was holding a child should have made him less intimidating, but it didn't. The fact his anger was directed at someone other than Timmy should have made him less frightening, but it didn't. The fact that he technically saved the boy and those he cared about from a horrible fate should have made Timmy feel safer, but it didn't. Somehow, all those facts only made Norm scarier.
"I believe we may have made a grave miscalculation this time," stated HP, the previous hint of fear even easier for Timmy to notice in the usual monotone.
Norm nodded, "That's an understatement. Maybe you and your buddies are starting to think your little magic tricks make you invincible. Maybe you think you're actually powerful enough to withstand any obstacle. I think you're just a bunch of idiots who've forgotten exactly who you're dealing with. There is a reason why genies spend most of the time locked up. And yes, we're famous for being tricky to deal with, but that because you don't want to deal with us when we're done playing around."
If Norm had been in a theatrical mood, Timmy suspected there would be a bolt of lightning and a crash of thunder at that moment. Or perhaps some pillars of flames in the background. A fairy or anti-fairy would certainly have taken advantage of such a moment. Even a pixie might have used a little magic to create a slide show. Instead, Norm merely kept speaking with a tone that contained barely-contained fury. It was enough for the boy to take an involuntary step back.
"We have no rules or real limitations on what wish we can grant. Do you have any idea what that means? Anything we want to do is possible as long as someone wishes for it. Da Rules, bad luck, and trying to achieve perfect order limits what you can do. Not a genie. And we have the raw magic power to back up that sort of limitless potential. I want you to imagine for a moment exactly what that means about the kind of wishes I've dealt with in the past. Not every master I've had was a saint. I've dealt with thieves, warriors, spies, murderers, psychopaths, and politicians. I've heard every warped idea they've ever considered to the point where I find any wish practically predictable. Even with the amount of twisting I can do to a wish, I have to grant some rather distasteful desires at times. I can honestly say that I've granted some wishes that would give you nightmares. Me and morality parted ways a long time ago. I need you to consider what this all means for you. I need you to consider exactly what it truly means when you've manage to make a genie, someone with enough magic to make you look like a second-rate stage magician and a history of granting wishes regardless of how unthinkable they might be ethically, completely furious with you."
Timmy felt himself considering the possibilities against his will. There were no rules. And Norm was beyond mad with the anti-fairies and pixies. Anything was a possibility for him. He could kill them, regardless of how hard it was to actually kill a magical creature. He could rewrite the timeline so none of them ever existed. He could turn them into chunks of charcoal and trap them in the center of the Earth for a trillion years. The boy was instantly thankful he'd never managed to make the genie this mad at him.
"The good news is that I won't be the one deciding the fate of your entire species," Norm stated, the false cheerfulness returning to his voice. "No, that would limit how much magic I can use against you. Instead, I'm going to let the kid make a suggestion. Anything she asks for me to do to you. Which means every anti-fairy and every pixie is about to have their punishment for this little stunt decided by the girl you decided to shove in a giant birdcage earlier. You better hope she's feeling merciful after that because I'm definitely not."
With far more gentleness than anyone would expect after the sharpness of his previous words, the genie sat the girl down and turned her around to face the small group. Amanda glanced nervously between the trapped individuals, Norm, and Timmy as she carefully hugged her backpack tightly. After a moment, the genie placed his hand on her head and she relaxed slightly.
"Amanda, was it?" began Anti-Cosmo cautiously. "So dreadfully sorry about this. Maybe we can forget about this entire misadventure?"
"Poof poof," scolded the infant fairy, startling Timmy since he'd almost forgotten how many were actually present to witness the moment.
"You are far less articulate than my own son," muttered the anti-fairy before returning his attention back to the child deciding his punishment. "You seem like a reasonable, albeit quiet girl. Surely you do not intend to have two entire species of magical creatures suffer for one little mix-up."
"Wait, 'mix-up?" Timmy interrupted. "You tried to kill me, my fairies, and even Amanda just because she was at my house at the time. And the only reason you're sorry now is because you're afraid Norm plans to… vaporize you or something."
"Well, vaporizing does sound interesting…" muttered the genie.
The Head Pixie stared at the anti-fairy, "I would appreciate it if you would remain silent and not give him further ideas of what to do to us."
"I don't want to vaporize anyone," Amanda interrupted. The girl then pulled the lava lamp out of her backpack and stared into the squishy pink center, "But I don't want you to go back to trying to attack Timmy. Or take over the world. Or destroy the world. I just want to make it stop."
"Then make the wish, kid," said Norm quietly. "You're smart. What do you truly and honestly want to happen?"
"I wish that the pixies and anti-fairies won't be able to try something like this again," she answered.
With a rather evil-looking grin spreading across his face, Norm stated, "Hey, that's just vague enough that I can totally twist it to my own purposes. Let's see what I can do about the world's pest problem."
The four trapped figures barely had time to look terrified (or bored in the case of the pixies) before Norm snapped his fingers. All the magical power that had been barely restrained before was unleashed with a gong. Timmy closed his eyes as the wave of magic washed over and past him. The sound seemed to echo long after the noise should have faded, but the boy didn't know if he even wanted to open his eyes.
"Uh, what happened? Everything looks the same," remarked Cosmo abruptly.
Timmy opened his eyes at his godfather's words to find that nothing was obviously different. Anti-Cosmo, Anti-Wanda, HP, and Sanderson were all still under the butterfly nets and confused. Timmy and his fairies were still perfectly fine. Amanda was looking at Norm expectantly while the genie looked smug.
"There was way too much magic for nothing to happen. What exactly did you just do?" asked Wanda, staring at the genie's suspiciously.
"Rewrote several defining laws of the universe," he replied casually, pulling his sunglasses out of his vest and perching them back on his face. "Why else would I need an actual wish rather than just handling things myself?"
"What did you do?" she repeated.
"Exactly what Amanda asked for. The anti-fairies and pixies aren't going to be able to do this again. Ever. Because none of them will ever be able to get out of their homes without help."
"What?"
Timmy wasn't certain where the shout came from. It could have been him, Anti-Cosmo, HP, his fairies, or a combination of several people. All he knew was that Norm met their shock with a very smug grin.
"I just moved Anti-Fairy World and Pixie Inc to their own separate pocket dimensions, along with every single anti-fairy and pixie except for these four. I'll send them there later. Furthermore, none of them can escape unless someone else takes them back to the main universe. Even then, they'll pop back to their new home after a few hours unless someone other than another anti-fairy or pixie uses magic to keep them there. We can get in and out anytime we want, but they're trapped. Earth, Fairy World, and any other location are off-limits to them and their magic."
Anti-Cosmo stared in silence for a moment before remarking, "And I thought we were evil, but you have just exceeded anything I might have dreamed of."
"What can I say? I know exactly how unpleasant it is being stuck somewhere you don't want to be," Norm shrugged. "Plus, I doubt Amanda would be happy if I gave all of you a horrifyingly painful death. What can I say? She brings out the best in me. But while she's a nice and merciful person, I'm not always so forgiving and I have a long memory. So here's the deal. Stay on your best behavior, HP and AC. And someday I might come asking a favor. I don't know what yet, but we have plenty of time for me to come up with some ideas. You're going to fulfill that favor when I ask it, no matter what. Otherwise, I might decide to add some even more alterations to your punishment. Maybe even some fatal ones. Got it?"
"I should have known involving a genie would be nothing but trouble," the anti-fairy muttered.
"Merry Christmas to you too," smirked Norm before snapping his fingers again.
With a gong, the dark and shadowy castle vanished around them and Timmy found himself back in his room once more. A quick glance at the clock revealed the time to be 11:58 PM, but he doubted his parents had ever noticed his absence. Especially if the robot replacement Anti-Cosmo created was even halfway believable. Instead, the boy focused completely on the genie.
"Wait, does this mean you actually tried to join them earlier so you could watch them dunk me in lava?" he asked.
"Whoa, relax there a moment, Turner. I bumped into that Anti-Wanda person when I was in a bad mood one day. She offered to let me watch you be tormented a little. Tormented, not killed. I figured they'd enact an ill-conceived revenge plot, you'd be annoyed for five minutes, and then you'd win. It isn't like you're that easy to defeat, Captain Overbite. No one mentioned murder attempts when they made the offer. I do have lines I prefer not to cross, brat. There aren't many lines and I don't always get much choice in crossing them, but they do exist. And killing helpless, though annoying, kids is something I prefer not to do. Granted, the whole 'send Turner to Mars' thing would be pushing it, but I would have sent you back to Earth before your head completely exploded. …At least, I probably would have. I don't know, you really did get on my nerves back then and you're not exactly helpless most of the time. But I'm getting distracted. I'm not that murderous towards you now, at least," stated the genie. "Besides, if I didn't take the offer, then who would have saved your life? It isn't like turning down the offer would have stopped their plan. You should be thanking me for wanting to watch your suffering."
As much as it annoyed the boy to admit it, Norm was right. They'd been trapped. The anti-fairies and pixies managed to out-think him and there was nothing Timmy could have done. All of them would have died. And the only reason they didn't was because of the genie that once tried to ruin his life.
"You're right. Thank you," said the boy slowly.
Norm opened his mouth to respond, but froze before he could start. There was a look of surprise as he apparently realized what Timmy actually said.
"Thank you for saving me and my god-family," he continued. "You could have just saved Amanda. But you didn't. Thank you, Norm."
Pushing the shades further up to hide his eyes, the genie muttered, "Well, you tried to bargain for her freedom. Even if it didn't work, thanks for at least trying to save her." He paused a moment, apparently glancing towards where the girl was standing with a small smile on her face, before adding firmly, "But don't think this means I like you, Turner. You're just less annoying than I originally thought."
"Hey, I'm not ready to start declaring us best friends either," Timmy replied, understanding their semi-friendly moment had passed. "I just think that this truce isn't the worst idea in the world anymore." Considering how terrifying the genie was earlier at the height of his temper, he added, "And I definitely think that not being on your bad side is safer."
Grinning smugly, he peered over his sunglasses, "You better remember that, Turner."
Midnight was drawing near and Jorgen Von Strangle, the toughest fairy in the universe, was trying to figure out what could have been causing all the magical chaos recently. Something major just happened, but he couldn't truly investigate until Christmas was over. He didn't know if it involved someone breaking Da Rules, but he had his suspicions. It was Christmas after all and chaotic events on the holiday were growing to be a familiar problem for him. And of course, there was one child who was in the center of nearly any magical event of any real magnitude, which gave Jorgen a place to start looking.
Turner.
He was responsible for past Christmas trouble and magical trouble in general. It was like the boy lived to make the fairy's life difficult. So if something large-scaled, chaotic, and magical happened, Jorgen could almost guarantee that Turner would somehow be right in the middle of it.
All right, Amanda has used her second wish. And thus the entire anti-fairy species and the entire pixie species are trapped in their own worlds, barred from Earth, Fairy World, and anywhere else they might want to go. Remember, this is Norm being merciful for Amanda's sake. A furious, extremely-powerful entity with no limits and thousands of years of experience at imagining the worst case scenarios for any wish is not someone you want as your enemy. It could have been far worse. Of course, rewriting the laws of the universe on a wide scale, especially during a time period where the fairies aren't using any magic at all, is bound to catch someone's attention. And that someone is Jorgen Von Strangle. Even better, thanks to all his experience with the boy's past wishes, he knows Turner must be involved somehow.
Yeah, I have no idea when the next update will be. But at least no one is about to be dropped into molten lava this time. Right?