I'd say we're just past halfway through now. I'm close to catching up in writing the rest, so it's around 20 chapters in total. Woo!
Piperamitt: Totally read it whenever you have the chance! I get it with school and stuff, no rush at all. :) Yeah, pretty happy I got Calico to know the truth about Cosmo now so I could continue on with it for the rest of the story. I'm glad the record shop scene was enjoyed too, I had rewritten it a few times. And yeah, Sage's job will definitely be important in the future, so it's actually sweet you paid attention there!
DoggyPocky: I'm glad you like Laz! Both he and Flo are definite geniuses. I kinda made Laz have some ditzy moments too as a part of his character, such as the briefcase. I definitely think Calico and Mama Cosma's issues influenced part of her treatment towards Cosmo. As if she'd pushed Cosmo away but wanted to keep him all at the same time. But Cosmo was definitely unreasonable when talking to Sage.
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Wanda floated her way up the marble staircase of the local public library, paper in hand. Everything had happened so fast she didn't bother to consider the actual extent of what she stole. She had yet to understand what it all meant when she supposedly tracked down the right file this information held.
According to the context though, it could only be accessed through a TCI program. Also known as one of the oldest fairy computer software known to existence. There's no way she would be able to download that through her computer at home, as it was discontinued for downloading for years now. So, her best bet would be the library where they most likely still carried that program.
She needed to know exactly what she and Cosmo were getting involved in.
Pulling in on the large doors of the library's main entrance, Wanda made her way into the grand floor. A vast room with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and brown mahogany wood shelving arrangements that went up two to three stories high, consisting of balconies arranged with working tables for visitors, including ones of the main floor decked along to the other end. A red carpet led along the middle of the grand room to the librarian's tall desk bellow the large, narrow window before it. Wanda floated down in passing the quiet fairies occupied with their readings and came before the librarian's desk.
"Excuse me, Tink?" she started in a whisper.
The librarian looked up from her book, bellow to the familiar visitor before her. "Hi Wanda, how can I help you today?"
Wanda ran a thumb along the paper she held in both hands before her. "Do any of your computers here still hold a TCI program?"
Tink tapped a pencil against her open page. "Likely. None of our recently installed would, but we've kept many of our older softwares that may if you'd follow me."
Wanda met with the librarian as they both floated to the long left of the grand desk, making way to a corridor that led to another part of the library. Wanda eyed the glass panels that all held different sections of books and study areas in the modern concrete hall. The librarian floated by her in the lead with a book safely tucked under her arm.
"We don't get many who ask about a TCI program." Tink conversed. "Most of our computers wouldn't include it, but we keep the old ones in any chance that someone might hold information on one of them."
"What computer company are they?" Wanda asked.
"Twinkle Brightly."
"I have a friend who's an FR there." The pink fairy added. "Maybe I should have just gone to her."
"They may not have any old versions in stock, anyway." The librarian advised, reaching the glass door of a room that she held open for Wanda to enter through. "At least not since we last ordered our new set from them. When we asked about included programs, TCI was not one of them."
Entering another section of the library embedded with corridor bookcases, Tink led the pink fairy to an assortment of tables set up with computers. Wanda took a seat at one and double-pressed the space bar of the old keyboard to awaken it, the librarian watching from behind the chair. The screen came alive and Wanda clicked on the guest profile to access the home page and scrolled along the useful programs. The mouse fell against the blue logo of TCI.
"Gotcha." Wanda said.
"It's very old, so you might get a lot of buffering." Tink said. "Extra magic may help the process, but only by a bare minimum."
"I may be here for a while anyway," Wanda said. "Thank you though."
"How's Cosmo, he's well?"
Wanda turned to her and gave a fake smile. "Managing."
The librarian disappeared as Wanda stared at the screen. Considering her current actions for a second, she quickly decided to pull out her phone and go to her recent for any missed calls or texts from Cosmo. Nothing from him had appeared at all, and Wanda was starting to get frustrated.
If he wanted to play baby, she wouldn't bother.
She put her phone down and used the mouse to double click the program's icon. It opened up a loading doc on her screen that filled up the loading bar at a slow pace with a percentage number following it. Wanda sighed in knowing it was gonna take a lot of patience getting through this. As the bar slowly filled to 100%, she was then met with a home screen. Indicating whether she wanted to access a system or a doc file. Clicking system, the page switched to a system and password screen, to which Wanda pulled out the paper for reference.
/.34r6y./ as the system and 782308 as the following password making sure she did not miss a key as her eyes switched rapidly between the paper and the screen. She clicked enter and again was met with loading to which she carefully slipped the paper back into her pocket for reference later in case. The system loaded in a particularly longer wait than the first, and under the system's name, there was only one single file marked down that immediately twisted Wanda's insides.
Human Deception.
Without any other option available, She went forth and double-clicked on the file. Momentarily disappointed when the screen went blank, only to remember it's buffering tendencies before different files of documents began to pop up unevenly. In seeing just how much information this one database held, Wanda was overwhelmed in where to even begin. Although, the different titles that showed up indicated to Wanda that this couldn't be something so simple enough to belong to Calico. And when the computer stopped buffering, and she'd gotten a look at certain words aligned, an idea clicked in Wanda's mind.
This wasn't Calico's work.
It was H.P.'s.
There was no name to prove it, but she knew it immediately. There was so much information held on account of humans, and after all these protests that claimed H.P. was targeting them? AND she'd already found out Calico was conspiring against H.P.'s work? What else was there to explain.
Wanda retracted her hand somewhat fearfully from the mouse, the twisting in her stomach continuing as maybe it wouldn't be best for her to look at this if it was so private. And she would've closed it had a particular document name not caught her eye. The name Godparenting.
It rang another idea in Wanda's head. Pixies weren't in relation to humans at all. How was all this information held? How was it held under H.P.'s branch? Could it somehow, possibly, be through godparents?
Clicking on the document, it popped open. Wanda scrolled down in observing the pages in trying to collect what exactly they were. Names of fairy residents were put down as well as names of human godchildren. Dates were featured in the profiles as well, showing when certain information on children were received through these faires that made the twisting in Wanda's stomach turn into a boulder that dropped deep down.
Godparenting impersonation.
Fairies falsely posing as godparents in order to gain information on human-like tendencies through innocent godchildren. Though not all names were named, as some were put down as anonymous. Wanda's best guess was that they were likely caught and arrested, so H.P. needed to cut them off so he would not have to pay a price as well. Whether there was a name or not though, she'd been surprised just how many fairies were able to get away with falsely impersonating godparents. All were probably quickly sent to Abracatraz prison. What puzzled Wanda though was that all these corrupt fairies were held accountable but not this H.P. guy? How was that possible?
She didn't think fairies would be so agreeing to give information to H.P. and his horrible tasks. None of the names or anonymous profiles seemed to be real godparents, thank goodness. Or else no one in the godparenting community would be trusted. Still, even with crimes in Fairy World, humans were never the target for anything as it was uncommon for a fairy to direct brutality against them. Fairies were extremely gentle and nurturing to the human race, Wanda didn't think this was ever possible. These fairies had to have had come from some terrible place to be willing to do this. Maybe they were desperate for help. Maybe they were manipulated.
What was for sure though, Calico was holding pricey information. Enough that made Wanda think his work may be more dangerous than it was made out to be so far.
She took screenshots in preparation to print.
"He hasn't made any advances?" H.P. asked his henchman.
"No, sir." Sanderson replied.
The head pixie stood by his fellow pixie and observed the work that his computer operators were doing in the security operation. They supervised the contract proposals being made down on earth with pixies and humans, and H.P. and Sanderson watched from afar.
"Perhaps we've scared him for good," Sanderson suggested.
"Don't let Calico deceit you," H.P. warned. "He may very well be planning something big."
"Or he's got nothing."
"I'm tempted to believe that." H.P. agreed. "Very badly I want him to be stuck for the first time in history. But, it just seems too good to be true."
H.P. was a successful pixie, but he did undergo a lot of failures to get to where he was. Calico paying most of these failures to him anytime H.P. tried poking his nose in business that wasn't his. Calico worked in protecting relationships between magical races, and when H.P. unlawfully stepped out of line, Calico was usually the one sent there to put a stop to it. And when H.P. planned his attack on the human race, the most vulnerable of them all, Calico probably would have stopped him already had this war not started. The world war was a perfect initiation for H.P. to go forth on targeting humans with their contracts after all the time he spent gathering information on them. A part of H.P. was even glad that Calico stole it from them, or else maybe the fairy would have shown up by now with a plan in stopping the pixies.
They've come so far in this wartime for the humans, they couldn't be stopped now.
"Should we make any further prevention plans against him?" Sanderson asked.
"No, just keep an eye out." H.P. said. "He knows better than to show his face here, anyhow."
The back door of the security operation opened and Belinda approached the two.
"Sir, we've got a new report," Belinda said, looking down at the located data of her clipboard.
H.P.'s focus was pulled away from the monitors to the fellow pixie. "Yes?"
"The system Calico Cosma stole was opened on a new device."
"What?" H.P. demanded, reaching for the clipboard as Belinda passed it to him.
"How can that be?" Sanderson asked.
"A new database to avoid suspicion?" H.P. suggested.
"It was a public computer sir," Belinda said, dotting a finger on the board. "A Twinkle Brightly."
"A what now?"
"A technology brand amongst the fairies, sir." The brunette fairy explained. "They rarely use TCI programs anymore, perhaps they're only available on older computers."
"Calico has already opened this system, it couldn't be." H.P. handed back the clipboard. "Especially not on a public computer. He's smarter than that."
"Our data doesn't lie, sir."
H.P. gave an anxious stare towards the working progress being made down on earth. The way their success had been so far was miraculous, and if it was stopped now, maybe everything would fall from grace. Whatever this was, needed to be prevented.
"See what you can find out about it." H.P. said.
"Yes, sir."
Wanda pushed open the library door with a huff from the inside air as she left. Letting the heavy thing close behind her, she stayed floating on the top of the grand steps, documents in hand that hung loosely to her side. While she wasted almost the entire day away looking at all the imposter names. Now that it was done though, Wanda fell right back to where she started. Looking for a next stop, and Cosmo-less.
He hadn't called. Not a peep in his entire absence and Wanda wanted to be mad. She wanted to scold him for scaring her half to death and ask why he felt the need to completely ghost on her like this. After thousands of years together why should he? It was beyond Wanda, and yet, she knew she just couldn't be mad. She couldn't be angry with Cosmo when he was probably already sad enough. She watched the public streets and begged for an answer. Where he could be. Had he returned home during all this time she'd been out looking for him? Was he waiting for her back where it all started? She wanted to go find out for herself but she knew she'd be crushed if he wasn't there. But, Wanda had no place to be. She was lost in her own whirlpool of figuring out things for herself, she'd completely forgotten whether she was even looking for her husband or for a lost father of his.
Taking a float further, Wanda sat herself down on the steps in sorrow. She couldn't force Cosmo to come home, but she knew by now she'd probably never find him on her own. Not like this, not when it seemed like he was avoiding her on purpose. She knew her Cosmo, and sometimes she needed to come to terms over what situation she could and could not control. If he wasn't ready to come home yet, there was nothing she could do to force him along.
All she could do was wait with open arms, and assure him that home is where the heart is. And it will always be there when he decides he's ready again.
She pulled out her phone and pressed Cosmo's contact in calling. Waiting for the other end, she was unfazed by him ignoring her. She waited until the message gave her the audible beep and she let out a small breath.
"Hi, hon.." she spoke gently. Her soft gaze was narrowed to her feet as one hand kept the documents pressed against her lap, playing with one of the corners tentatively. Wanda refrained from rolling the paper in nervousness.
"Cosmo.." she closed her eyes. "..I love you...and, I'm so, so sorry that you have to deal with this. I wish there was something...anything I could do...but, judging by all these calls you don't want my help right now."
The pink fairy hugged one arm around herself, leaning against her lap.
"And I want you to know that's okay..." she said. "I know I can't solve everything...and I know that most of this isn't even in my knowledge..." she hesitated to look down at the papers, continuing on. "I'm not gonna try and act like I know what the heck is going on...all I can do is promise you that I'll be here when you're ready. You don't have to take this on alone...you won't ever have to take on anything alone. I promise. And when you're ready...I'll be there. Okay? I'll always be there."
Wanda saved her tears, tucking away her sorrow for now. "Stay safe, darling...please come home soon."
She didn't want to pull the phone away, knowing it was the one connection she had to Cosmo somewhere on the other end. She looked down at the small screen and ended the call before she could change her mind and start begging for him to pick up again. Tucking it away, she lifted from her seat on the steps and clutched the stack of papers to her chest tightly. Ready to go home.
Hours later, under the dark depths of the midnight sky, Cosmo sat on a street corner bench listening to the last of his wife's recent voicemail. For the third time, in fact. After she'd originally sent it he'd finally given himself a break to at least listen to what she had to say. He knew it would hit him harder, but he'd already spent the day floating aimlessly with nothing but bad thoughts. What was more?
Listening to her reason allowed Cosmo to finally go back and sort through the messages Wanda already sent. Analyzing how much her worry had lifted over the entire course of his absence and how she could not hide it even if she tried. That last one paid no difference, although she'd come to a much different conclusion. Not begging him to come back and work things out with her but giving him his own clock. Telling him it was okay? He knew she wasn't happy in saying that. He wasn't happy hearing it, it only made him feel more guilty. Cosmo had been hit with so much throughout all of this, he didn't even know what to feel anymore.
Maybe the only thing left was emptiness.
Leaning against the back of the bench, Cosmo arched his head high up to observe the night sky of the city. It didn't come by the same as it did from where his and Wanda's house lived a bit more far out. The city still was beautiful in the night though with its lights. And what little of the colorful stars Cosmo could make against the town's sky shined all the brighter.
The slight joy the sky brought made Cosmo angry. He'd been happy before this! He'd been so happy in having his time with Wanda after a terrible godparenting experience that he was ready to take a break from and recollect! And then all this had to happen and drive a wedge through his soul, making him more worthless of himself than he had in a very long time. He probably hadn't felt this pitiful since adolescence. And he'd had the ultimatum to go home this whole time, but he just refused. Not when the worry in the back of his mind from his vivid dream still haunted him. He just couldn't do it anymore. There was nothing he was gonna find out here, and going back may just be the one thing the universe was screaming at him to do.
Without breaking his staredown with the sky, Cosmo poofed away from the isolated bench. He reappeared on the familiar quietness of his and Wanda's street. He held his arms of his still unruly clothing and floated down in passing the houses of his known neighbors in a thoughtless state of mind. And not in the usual Cosmo manner he joked about. A surreal, blank mind with nothing left to feel.
He would have almost floated too far had he not been paid attention just in time to stop in front of his home lot. Looking upon the dark windows, and then the time, the green fairy had almost forgotten it was near two in the morning. If Wanda really had been looking for him all this time like Sage said, she was probably out like a light by now. Cosmo floated past their white gate to near the porch of their house, aware of keeping quiet for his wife's sake. Then again, crawling into bed next to her may just wake her up anyhow and she'd realize his return.
Lowering his head with a deep sigh, he pressed a finger to the house's doorbell. He drew his attention to the left window of the second floor, knowing the one of his and Wanda's bedroom, watching as the lights came alive behind the drapes. Less than a minute or so later, the lights of the bottom floor turned on. The lock clicked and Cosmo toughened.
The door opened only seconds later to reveal his wife hovering before him, draped in her robe with her hair let down in its tangles.
"Cosmo!"
Wanda's arms were instantly thrown around Cosmo's neck as she buried her face against him with a fearful sigh. By instinct, the green fairy could not help but ring his around her waist in return, although his guilty gaze was still cast forward. Wanda brought her hands to his head and peppered the side of his face in kisses repeatedly out of relief, kissing the near life into her husband as she gripped onto him. His hold tightened around her.
"Oh.." Wanda breathed, barely able to make out a word as she continued to kiss his soft skin with the most relief she'd felt for his entire absence. The repeated touch of his wife's lips took the better half of him, and Cosmo felt himself fall back into his need for her. Trailing his cheek away from her affection he interlocked his lips with hers. A wave of the world's relief running through his core at the mere touch. As they kissed, he urged them to go back inside. Closing the door behind them as Wanda held his face and Cosmo's hands did not let go of her in return.
Breaking their lips apart, their eyes met again. Wanda's fearful gaze paying no surprise for Cosmo but deepening his guilt.
"Oh, I was so worried.." she started. One of her hands still remained on his face as she drew her nose to his other cheek and closed her eyes. "Don't ever disappear on me like that, again. Are you hurt?"
One of his hands played with her curls, as his eyes directed down. "No.."
She again pulled away to look at him. His disheveled clothes told her otherwise. What worried her the most though, was that she still had absolutely no idea what could have drove him off at all only to return now.
Her fingers ran gently along his skin. "Cosmo, sweetie, what happened..?"
Her husband refused her stare, and she led him to the couch by his hands. Sitting him down gently, her soft grip found its way back to his face to get him to look at her without choice. She let go and clutched his limp hands between the two of them.
"Cosmo.." she begged. "Please tell me. I want to help.."
His face was far too vacant for her liking. Not even was there any sadness in Cosmo's face, it was just off in so many ways that Wanda couldn't describe. He no longer looked at her and guided his eyes down again for the millionth time in avoidance. Wanda hated when she could not get a read on him, and it worsened to know that he'd been out in the streets for two days all alone, refusing to turn to anyone by the looks of it. About whatever happened with his mother and whatever he was out there trying to find.
Cosmo didn't seem like Cosmo at all.
No, and he didn't feel like himself that much more than Wanda saw him as. Staring at their intertwined hands Cosmo could feel the need for his wife rise in him more by the second. But it wasn't the need to tell her of any of his transpired events, nor the need to feel her comfort. Nor the need to soothe her in return for scaring her half to death from disappearing.
It was a craving.
Pouncing above her, Wanda's back was met with the bottom of the couch as Cosmo's lips meshed against hers in a heated frenzy. His urgency was high as he sought for the sash of her robe with a hand and pulled it from its knot hastily, diving that same hand underneath the now open material. His head dove down to the hollow of her neck and Wanda's head arched back with a soft gasp.
With him being home again, she could not resist either.
To be continued...
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Not sure if I should've given a warning about mild intentions, but heyyy, shock value. :D
~McSgwizzle