A/N: Double parenthesis equals telepathy.

Disclaimer: I don't own FOP, which you should know by now.

Chapter 4: Descent into Madness

Timmy jerked forward as he regained control. His body shrank back to normal and gazed up at Cosmo and Wanda, mouth agape.

"Guys, what just happened?"

Wanda and Cosmo separated and each gave him a searching look.

"You don't know?" They responded in unison.

Jorgen appeared, in all his muscular glory. "You three, Fairy Court, now!"

The three materialized in Fairy Court, amidst much controversy. Even despite Timmy's singed clothing and dazed look, the room was thick with rumors, threatening to suffocate them all. Most of said heresy involved Cosmo and Wanda and their previous failures (too numerous to go into detail over) and a few fairies shot daggers at them with their eyes, damning them for something (they didn't know what yet) Cosmo and Wanda had surely done wrong. The rest of the rumors concerned Timmy, a child notorious in Fairy World, and now it didn't even look, much like the foundation of the rumors, as though he had a leg to stand on.

All three took their seats, Timmy in the chair and his godparents situated on either side. Every eye was on them and Cosmo waved at the jury and audience, perhaps subconsciously trying to relieve the tension.

Jorgen took his place to the left of the judge.

"QUIET, PUNY FAIRIES!" He waved his wand, and Cosmo became gagged and bound.

"To prevent any more stupidity which will both delay the trial and further aggravate me, Cosmo will be silenced. Let the proceedings commence!"

"Proceedings?" Timmy murmured, who felt as though he was drowning.

"Yes, they're-" Wanda started but stopped as Timmy's head hit the table.

There was a collective gasp, but his head slowly rose back up, his eyes glowing eerily.

"Are you all right?" Wanda whispered urgently.

"I am fine," The Other replied, careful only to take over Timmy's consciousness and not his entire body, which would give himself up. He couldn't afford to make a mistake now.

"Okay," Wanda whispered, lying through her teeth. Did he really think she could be so easily fooled?

The rest was rather uneventful, what with Timmy's mind in a fog and The Other taking careful mental notes. He remembered everything occuring, but he needed some backup from Timmy's memories, what he was currently shuffling through. That way, he wouldn't say anything that was completely out of character for Timmy, just in case he had to speak on his own behalf.

He needn't have worried, anyway, since Wanda would not have let him speak, as their custody depended on what transpired.

The judge ruled in their favor, rendering custody unto them, despite the misgivings of the jury. Many of the jury had heard of various problems concerning previous godchildren and were deadlocked until Wanda showed them footage from the Zappys (The Other moved to speak but Wanda moved quicker). And the problems, once examined, weren't entirely their fault, which cleared up enough to give a fair ruling.

They all poofed home, where The Other glowered at Cosmo and Wanda.

"Fools! How dare you-" He spun around to glare at Wanda "—refuse to let me speak. As far as I'm concerned (and I act for Timmy's well-being as well), you're my pawns. You do and act as I command, if you ever wish to see your godchild again. (Although, if you believe that, you are incredibly gullible and all the easier to manipulate). You have no free will and, if you even think of rebelling (this goes for you both), I'll kill you."

Cosmo grabbed his wife's arm, eyes wide and shaking like a leaf.

Wanda said, with a courage and conviction she did not feel, "I only work for Timmy."

Cosmo simply stared at her, mouth agape. ((What are you doing! He's dangerous!))

((Maybe he'll back down)) , but her mind voice was weak and shaky.

"Aren't we a little hell raiser?" The Other smirked and pulled out a gun. He aimed, first at Wanda, who gulped, then at the picture of Timmy's parents, and fired two bullets, striking the likenesses both in the forehead. "I hate insubordination."

"Now," he grinned maliciously and switched to Timmy's voice, "let's get wishing."

In his body, The Other cocked the gun at the two. Cosmo and Wanda clung to each other now, in a frantic terror hug, as The Other continued.

"I wish for three things: one, that you two would act as aunt and uncle, as not to arise suspicion; two, a book of dark magic; (after you've accomplished the first two) three, a week without your powers, which will be transferred to me. These will not be returned to you (obviously). Get to work!"

---

Several exhaustive hours later…

Cosmo and Wanda finally finished making the funeral arrangements. It had taken them all that time to figure out how to plan it, since neither of them had any experience. Fairies rarely died (considering they lived tens of thousands of years) and they had not attended a funeral for many years (the ones they had attended had been for siblings or family of the godchildren they had).

With this completed, Wanda climbed the stairs, occasionally leaning on Cosmo. In addition to no experience with funeral arrangements, they lacked it with climbing stairs, which also showed now. They were fervently hoping that The Other had left (even more so that the whole situation was an illusion or a test from Jorgen) and they could maybe talk to their godchild. Unfortunately, this new method of reaching places was proving to be quite cumbersome, and they continued to fumble up the stairs, Cosmo nearly tripping Wanda up.

She glared at him, but her gaze softened as his eyes filled with tears and he began to sob.

"What's going on here?" The Other snapped, shoving Timmy's door open, the thickly bound musty black magic book held in his left hand.

"We wanted…we wanted…" Wanda, precariously balanced, faltered on both her request and the last step, leaning heavily on a still blubbering Cosmo.

"Wanted what?" The Other spat, stepping out into the hallway a few paces, so that he was directly in front of them, and Wanda, faced with the unpleasant prospect of having to look up at this repugnant being, hesitated.

He grinned spitefully, his eyes twinkling cruelly.

"Well? Oh, wait, let me guess. You wanted to talk to Timmy." He threw the book at Wanda's chest.

"Well, too damn bad!"

Wanda fell backwards, her head hitting every step until the momentum ceased and she was unconscious. She was about half way down and Cosmo rushed to cradle her head, bleeding in the back.

He turned to glare at The Other, only to discover he was no longer there. The door slammed, sounding very much like a coffin closing, and Cosmo cried in earnest. They were alone, so very, very, alone.

---

Telepathy:

In this world, people/fairies with true love can communicate mind to mind. I got the idea watching FOP (naturally), as Cosmo and Wanda seem to act together without verbally expressing any concerns. So, I figured they must work them out somehow, and here it is. This theory does seem to hold true, except for "Pipe Down", but bare in mind I came up with the story over the summer (and just decided to pen it now) and that episode hadn't aired yet.