K, I know Wanda has been sitting around for like three chapters now, but she's about to go Wanda-fy again finally. Yeh! *Fist pump*
TriceTokushu: He sure was, bruh. Lmao, that meme is 100% me. Literally when I was reading the angstiest moments in your story.
DoggyPocky: No, there are no ulterior motives for Sage. Lol. It's just a friend helping a friend. :)
Guest: Hahaha, VERY CLOSE. We'll be getting there though :D
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Wanda had very low expectations. As long as Cosmo was still missing, she didn't see how a record shop would come to much of her aid. Nor why a record shop was the place to set up some kind of secret service at all. Maybe things had to be more secluded than what Wanda already knew, but by the looks of the complete emptiness of the shop, she wondered if Sage just decided to pull a fast one on her for the heck of it.
Venturing forward, she looked along the assortment of vinyl records as a musty smell occupied her nose. The dim space seemed deserted with the only indication for any activity at all being the open sign upfront in the door. As Wanda turned to do a full scan of the shop, she finally came to the front of the counter and placed her hands atop of it. Glancing around for any sign of anyone. She shot a look to the entryway guarded by a curtain behind the counter and peered over even to see if someone just chose to hide from her. Not a peep.
"Um, hello?" She tried.
The curtain tore open almost violently as two fairies emerged in a frenzied argument. Babbling nonsense on and on as Wanda looked on startingly from their anger directed towards one another after emerging from silence only moments before. Wanda looked in between the lilac and cyan fairy as the guy of the two put down a heavy briefcase on the same counter Wanda leaned against.
The pink fairy attempted to interrupt. "Excuse me-"
"For the last time, it's a dumb idea!" The lilac fairy exclaimed.
"Well, it's either dumb idea or no idea at all!"
"Save the ideas for the brains of the group."
"Brains? We all run the same job here!"
Wanda cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, but-"
"Okay, fine." Flo snapped. "Desperate times call for slightly stupid measures I suppose."
"Yeah, yeah. Pull the stupid card on me." Laz huffed as he turned towards the waiting customer. He looked startled as if he hadn't noticed her presence at all. "Oh, hey."
Wanda shrugged her brows. About time. "Hey."
"You here for a record, or on apart of a case-"
Laz yelped from Flo's bat at his arm.
"Well, it's one of those two reasons!" He defended. "Geez.."
"This is why I handle the clients." Flo huffed, pushing him out of the way to come face Wanda. "Sorry, what can we help you with?"
Wanda had barely been here a while, but it all screamed suspicion. The emptiness of the record shop wasn't too much to suspect, but the two didn't look like any typical characters that would run one. At least not with the trenchcoats. Wanda figured if they were to be undercover they'd at least do a better job at it.
Guess there was nothing else to do but ask.
"Is there a Calico Cosma, here?"
Flo's eyes flicked towards Laz in a side glance, initiating a sudden hope for Wanda from the knowledge in their looks. The cyan coworker stood with his arms crossed as he looked fed-up in return for Flo's stare. The lilac fairy rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sighed loudly much to Wanda's surprise.
"Look, I'm sorry. He's not taking anyone now." Flo said.
"Oh, I'm not a client, I-"
"If you're in a personal knot with someone you'll have to see our co-operatives about it, we could give you their office number. Our team here is too backed up on trying to secure everything with the war break out."
Wanda felt a bulb go off in her head. So he did work against Pixies. It was starting to make sense of everything.
"I'm not in trouble." Wanda cleared. "I-"
"Please." Flo continued. "We're doing everything we can, but if all of you keep asking it's not gonna make us work any faster. All of our work goes into the benefit of peace and nothing more. We've dedicated all of this to make sure of that."
"I understand, but-"
"Did you make the call?" Laz asked Flo.
Wanda frowned in annoyance. She couldn't get a word in with either of these two.
"The guys at the headquarters aren't sure about our plans." Flo explained to the cyan fairy. "They won't put a stop to it, but they'll support the main representatives in going forth with it."
"Who're the main representatives?"
"Us, Laz."
Laz gave a slight tremble, before disappearing. Flo looked towards Wanda.
"Look, I feel bad letting you walk out of here empty-handed." She said, giving a quick glance around the shop. "I actually do own the records in here. At least my father did if you wanna grab something."
"No, I'm okay thank you."
"Hold on, I've got some recent additions in the back." Flo floated over to where Laz had disappeared to only moments before. Leaving Wanda in the front as she stared off in bafflement. Her eyes fell upon the briefcase Laz had pulled out moments before, sitting still on the glass of the counter. It was then that she noticed the obvious C.C. markings engraved into the black leather and she bit her lip.
Cosmo was still gone and it was putting her more on edge. Giving another quick glance to the hallway, Wanda popped open the locks.
She opened the top and began to sort through the assortment of documents within, unaware as to what in the right mind she was doing. What would she find in here but stuff that didn't concern anything into actually getting something on Calico? Sure, it was his briefcase by the obvious initials, but what was inside really wasn't much more than what looked to be written works with clientele.
Almost like striking gold, Wanda carefully removed her hand from underneath the pile with a particular paper in hand and shut the case closed with the other. The beige orange of the paper is what caught her eye, but she didn't give it any particular thought until her eyes actually fell upon the scribbled writing.
System: /.34r6y./
Passcode: 782308
TCI program
C.C.'s eyes only. Open at the worst cause of my disappearance at the downfall under H.P.'s reign.
Holding the paper close for observation, Wanda felt as if she hit just about the biggest bombshell so far. Open at his disappearance? For all she knew, she could be holding the contents to a will or some sort of Calico's. As odd as that would be for an immortal creature. Maybe it would reveal a great deal about him, maybe about anything he may leave for Cosmo. And even if the audacity of holding something private didn't come to thought, Wanda didn't have time to change her mind anyhow as Flo quickly reentered and Wanda hid the paper behind her back.
"Sometimes even I forget that we have very little in the back. After all, that space is dedicated for.." Flo hung back, knowing better than to reveal their work. "Well, everything else that goes on around here."
Wanda nodded, clutching the folded piece in worry. "Thank you for your time," she said. "I can see you're busy with business, so I'll just get out of your heir."
Flo leaned one arm against the counter. "Thanks, you're probably the first to give us that."
In order to avoid any further suspicion, Wanda disappeared in a cloud of pink.
Sage was a Fairy Resources Specialist for a company known as Twinkle Brightly, a fairy computer company. While studying at the Fairy Academy after receiving her high school diploma, she originally started off in a program for human-related research and development, hoping to work at the Fairy Military for communicative research that is sent off towards the godparenting branch in aiding the human race. But like many, her aspirations changed when she realized she had a knack for dealing with people in the program courses, and switched programs for a Fairyties degree so that she may become a specialist for a local corporation.
An official part of the interview and hire committee millenniums later, Sage sat in her homey office. Sitting on a higher floor where most of the communications-related part of the company was situated. The back wall of her office was brick-based as a part of the company's typically hip look. Her desk situated near that wall in between two windows and facing the door on the other end. A white coastal rug occupied her wide-planked wooden floor spreading across the majority of the white-painted room, with pipe lights hanging above brightly. Sage sat at her desk crowded with her usual assortment of things, looking down at documents concerning summer internships for interested fairies.
A knock came from the frosted glass door across the way and Sage looked up.
"It's open," she called.
A colleague entered with a take-out bag in hand. "Delivery."
"Yes, finally." Sage oozed with happiness as she stood up. "I haven't had these many hunger pains in forever."
Her colleague smiled, pulling out a Chinese take-out box and placing it on her desk. She began to unpack it as she looked up at him in return.
"Not gonna stay?"
"I got some filing to work on. I'll be eating simultaneously today."
She gave a small smirk, poking at her spicy noodles.
"By the look of it, I assume you will too?" Her colleague said, taking notice of the assorted documents on her desk.
"Yeah, I'm also a little behind," Sage said. "You wouldn't believe the night I had. Had to get the police at my door."
"Oh god, for what?"
Sage's expression drifted a bit more in sadness of the reminder. "A friend of mine is missing."
Her colleague's face widened in startlement. "Sage, I'm so sorry. For how long?"
"'Bout a day, now." She said. "My other friend, his wife, came over and I tried dealing with it best I can but...I don't know." The blue fairy lifted a fork-full of noodles to eat.
"Did you try calling him?"
"No, but she did. Like a hundred-million times. No luck."
Her colleague frowned before looking at the time. "Sage, I'm really sorry. I wanna stay and help, but I've really gotta-"
"Go ahead, I'm not expecting you to do anything. " The blue fairy waved off. "I've gotta lot to round-up here, anyway."
He nodded. "I'll see you soon."
"See ya."
With that, the other fairy poofed away to get back to his work. Sage looked down at her take-out as she pondered over the situation at hand. It really did scare her last night in finding out. And it worried Sage to know Cosmo was off god-knows-where. The amount of trouble the guy could get into for simply opening his mouth.
She knew the chances were thin, but she had to try for the sake of both him and Wanda. Putting down her fork, Sage slipped out her fairy phone and scrolled for Cosmo's contact. Maybe he wouldn't answer in knowing he wouldn't answer Wanda, but she had to try. She had to try for both her friends.
"Hey, buddy?"
Cosmo stirred from the poking at his arm in the booth seat where he laid curled in a fetus position. His mouth gaped in his own river of drool as the midday sun radiated against his face from the table window. Blinking his eyes open lazily, he looked to the diner worker from where he laid. The fellow fairy could only look back cautiously at the customer who looked almost dead.
Sitting up, Cosmo discovered that his drool pond had smeared over his cheek completely. He used a hand to wipe it away as the diner owner backed up with his mop in hand.
"Maybe you have a family to get home to or something?"
Cosmo rubbed a hand over his face and brought it up through his grimy locks. He could feel how much of a mess he was without having to look in the mirror. If he could continue to sleep in the confines of this booth all day, he would. It was a twenty-four-hour place anyway. But he'd clearly overspent his stay enough already.
"What time is it...?" Was all Cosmo could ask.
"Noon."
Figures. After nearly crossing paths with his father last night, all Cosmo wanted to do was fall into his own world of despair. Maybe he'd hoped when he went to sleep he'd wake up in a normal reality again. In his own bed with Wanda where none of this nonsense had been confronted. Heck, he'd rather be back with Maryann than deal with this.
"Sorry.." Cosmo said, tiredly slipping out of the booth. He looked down at his disheveled dress shirt and tie to confirm the mess he was and ran his fingers over the bridge of his nose as his eyes pinched closed.
"Can I fix you a coffee?"
"No, I'm just gonna go.." Cosmo said, already making his way past the diner worker.
The guy turned and watched him go. "Hope you find what you're looking for."
"Yeah, so do I..." Cosmo said, pushing at the diner's exit and slipping out. The diner owner turned and proceeded to clean up the area of the poor sucker.
Cosmo used a hand to block out the brightness of the sun blinding him. He levitated carefully down the sidewalk with much less fear as he felt last night, but no more hope than he had before he ran into trouble.
It was all so stupid. He was stupid...
As if he needed the reminder, the buzzing in his back pocket proceeded to go off again. He almost didn't even want to look, knowing it was Wanda on the other end. A part of him was annoyed in why she couldn't just take a hint at this point. He clearly didn't want to talk right now, nor the other billion more times she called. Wanting to confirm his guess, Cosmo dug for his phone and fished it out. He looked at the contact name with mild confusion.
What was Sage doing calling him? His best guess was Wanda had grown tired, but he didn't really expect Sage to have called anyhow. Cosmo was deprived of both sleep and energy to think and in curiosity actually found himself pressing answer and holding it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Oh my god, Cosmo?" By her shock, she clearly didn't expect him to pick up either.
"That's me.." he said in an unusual tone of his.
"Dude, you have us worried sick! You have Wanda worried sick! Where the heck are you!?"
"..don't even know, don't really care.." Cosmo muttered.
"Geez, Cozzie. You don't even sound like yourself." Sage wasn't even going to question why he picked up on her, and not on his own wife. Moreso that it sounded like she wasn't even speaking to the Cosmo she knew.
Cosmo shoved one hand into his pants' pocket. "Then it's working..."
"What the heck is that suppose to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Oh for goodness sake, Cosmo. I don't know what idea is going through your head this time, but you've gotta go home."
A fearful nerve deep within Cosmo struck again, and he shook his head. "No-No. I can't do that..."
"Can't do that-? What're you afraid of? Your wife who is dying to make sure you're okay?"
Cosmo licked his dry lips. "How is she..?"
There was a huff of disbelief on Sage's end. "CLEARLY, not good!"
Her anger was starting to tick him off, and Cosmo was wondering if all she planned to do was yell at him. He might as well hang up now and never pick up any call again.
"She spent ten hours looking for you yesterday until she showed up at my door," Sage said, deepening the pain Cosmo already felt. "She crashed at my place, and now she's out again trying to find you probably."
Cosmo's disheartened gaze fell to the ground below him.
"Cosmo, I know this isn't my place, but whatever happened at your mom's, you can't just run away from everything like this."
"What would you know about what mama did to me!? What would Wanda, too!?" Cosmo exploded.
"Hey! I never said I understood," Sage defended, startled by the usually go-lucky fairy's sensitive anger. "And Wanda may not get it exactly, but may I remind you she's been at your side since forever. I'm not the one you should be talking to right now."
"I don't have to go to her for all my problems."
"But disappearing like this is okay?" Sage said. "We're worried about you, and avoiding her calls isn't helping! It wouldn't kill you to at least let her know you're okay."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because-!" The faint image of Wanda in his dream crossed his mind and he pinched his face together in frustration. "You wouldn't get it!"
Sage sighed. "You're right Coz, I don't get it. I don't get how going home to the one person who cares about you more than anyone else in the world could not help you in a time like this. I get it's your problem and not her's, but you know it's not something you can keep from her."
"I-I can't go to her, it could make it worse."
"You mean worse than it already is?" Sage argued. "If you're not gonna even bother to try and admit to yourself that you can't do this alone, I don't see why I even called. I might as well go tell Wanda because she's no less a mess than you are."
"You can't tell her I picked up..please. I-I can't do this, Sage. I can't...please don't tell her..."
"I can't just do that. She needs to know."
Cosmo again couldn't hold his frustration. "Alright, fine! Go be a friend to her and not to me!"
A halt in the conversation lugged between the two, putting Sage in a rut of her own.
On one hand, she was loyal to Wanda. She'd been her best friend since elementary and therefore her eldest friend. Sage never would have become friends with Cosmo had he not met Wanda. But, Cosmo and Wanda have been inseparably in love since the day they met. And while Cosmo may have started off for Sage as simply her friend's love, they'd become the fastest of buddies anyhow. So now, maybe betraying Cosmo would be as bad as betraying Wanda.
"Okay Cosmo, fine." Sage spoke vacantly.
"Fine?"
"Yeah," she said. "But running away is the most cowardly thing you could do right now."
She hung up on him, and Cosmo's anger didn't withhold. The green fairy continued to storm off in his path to nowhere amongst the public streets of his home town.
Flo was in antics as she tossed papers over her shoulder one by one. The designated documents falling to the floor of an office at headquarters away from the record shop as she desperately searched through the briefcase like the building was on fire. Her thrashes did not subdue in the slightest and certainly didn't stop When Calico and Laz entered. The green fairy was the first to pick up on her panic.
"Flo? What's the matter?"
She looked up like she'd seen death. "Cal, the system log-in."
"...what about the system log-in."
"Its' gon-"
"Nope." Laz shook his head, lifting two hands to cover his ears. "Nope, I refuse to believe that today."
"Believe it! It's gone!" Flo yelled, taking hold of the briefcase and dumping out the rest of its items all over the desk. Calico came and sorted through, in a much milder fashion although just as panicked. When he did not stumble upon the designated paper he looked to Flo with angst. Flo was taken by his fret and reflected the same look as Calico removed his spectacles to run a hand over his face.
"What do you mean it's gone!?" Laz exploded.
"Laz," Calico started. "Was it in here when you had it?"
"Yes, I checked it several times!"
Calico let out a deep sigh in response. The panic evident in the green fairy though he did not want to bring it to a broader level as he chose to suppress it deep down. In light of Laz's words, he did not want to believe this today.
"Tell me then," Calico started lowly. "How it could get out of sight."
"Um," Flo ran both her hands through her hair and held her short bob back. "Laz, when was the last you checked?"
"Before I handed it off to you."
Flo held her arms out. "All you did was bring it to the shop, how could it have just disappeared?"
Laz tried to put the pieces together quickly until he remembered. The cyan fairy's look of worry quickly changing to one of anger.
"That little minx!" He spat.
"What?" Calico asked.
"Who else is to blame but the one single fairy who came in today?" He said.
"Pinky?" Flo referred to. "She looked like she came fresh from suburbia"
"So what? We've never assumed the worst or best in people. She stole from us, it's obvious! I bet if we check the security footage it'll prove it."
"Okay, okay," Calico said. "Is there any rational explanation why a fairy resident would steal incredibly secret information no one else knows about?"
"She could be an employee of H.P.'s!" Laz feared.
"C'mon, what fairy in their right mind would work with him?" Flo argued. "She's probably just another measly client who thinks she could do better work than trained professionals like us. All because we can't reveal top-secret information to them, they think we're not doing anything!"
"No, that's not it." Calico disagreed. "It can't be. No person would know to take that paper."
"It had your initials on it, Cal. She could easily be out to spite you." Laz reminded.
"Well, who is she?"
"How should we know? We only saw her today."
"A description," Calico reached for a pen and drew open a cabinet door for a wad of paper. "A face, please? We're on a desperate clock."
Flo held a hand over her eyes. "Uh, pink hair, pinned in a pinup." She sighed. "Same color eyes, yellow blouse. Kind of a pitchy voice now that I think about it."
Calico remained with the pen flat on the paper as he looked blankly at Flo. No sign of recognition crossed over his empty stare. "That's not..anyone I know."
Laz arched his head back with a groan. "This sucks..we're done..."
The green fairy slammed down his pen. "We could complain about it, or do our jobs! There are lives on the line, Laz!"
The other two cowered from their leader's upheaval. It was never a good sign if he rose to that level of anger in anything. In frustration, Calico ran his hands up his face as Flo and Laz stood by in worry.
Where were they supposed to go from here? Even if Calico didn't want to admit it, that log-in information was probably the last they had to depend on. And he certainly didn't have the passcode memorized to help him anyhow. No, now some fairy he didn't even know had it in their hands instead.
Calico breathed a long exhale into his hands until there was no breath left. Removing his grip away from his face, he did what he only knew was best in a crisis during all the years of his job. He stayed calm.
"I have at least some of what I read memorized." He spoke in a low voice. "Let me write this down before I forget. Give me five."
He kept one hand to his face, rubbing it tenderly.
"You feeling good, Cal?" Laz implored.
"Lack of sleep.." Calico muttered. "Weird dreams again."
To be continued...
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See what I did with the 'Fairyties' thing...like humanities? But, fairy-
*sigh*
And yes, Wanda did steal from an agency without knowing. Oop-
But, yeah. Hope you're still enjoying it!
~McSgwizzle