A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in writing this, but, hey, with NaNoWriMo, I'm trying to write three things in one month. Not necessarily finish them, XD, but write them. And they're all FOP, so yay!

I'm even wearing a FOP t-shirt right now. 3

Big Wanda reappeared and, with her, all of Timmy's and Cosmo's memories. Timmy jumped forward, immediately on the defensive.

"That wasn't fair," he protested. "She was already dead set against us. Give us another chance!"

Big Wanda scowled, studying Cosmo and Timmy. Cosmo was bereft, rocking back and forth with tears in his eyes. Timmy wasn't much better, although he had the presence of mind not to lash out at her further. Something in her expression chilled him to the bone. Timmy gritted his teeth; he refused to let her intimidate him further. This was a life or death situation. She couldn't keep calling the shots or they'd never recover the other soul aspects.

"Please?" Timmy added, forgetting that his earlier attempt at manners had failed too. He offered her a weak smile and Big Wanda merely glowered at him. Timmy was at the end of his rope. He didn't know what he'd do if she kept refusing him. He wasn't sure what he could do. For one thing, he and Cosmo had no magic and they were trapped in a hostile alternate universe. For another, he'd never successfully outsmarted Wanda. It wasn't a thing he was capable of, so far as he knew. But he'd never had to pit himself against his faerie godmother before, either.

"All right," Big Wanda said after a moment's tense silence. "One more chance. If you fail again, I will send you on your way."

"Our way to where?" Cosmo asked and Big Wanda's throat tightened. She swallowed hard and Timmy saw the weakness in her eyes. Cosmo was always going to be her weakness, but it wasn't something he could exploit right now. That would require Cosmo being on Timmy's side in a scheme and Cosmo wasn't capable of scheming against Wanda. No, if they failed this next test, he wasn't sure what they'd do.

He was surprised Big Wanda was even willing to give them another shot. He doubted it'd be the exact same set-up, though. The stakes were higher; he couldn't afford to lose. Wherever she intended to send them, he knew he might not be able to return here unless she willed it.

"If you're sending us 'on our way'," Timmy asked, his throat hoarse, "then what about Wanda?"

"She stays here," Big Wanda said. "She will remain in my custody while you gather the two other soul aspects, if you can. If you can't, I will keep her until she perishes."

"How can you be so cold to a part of yourself?" Timmy demanded. "She could've been you."

"Could have been, wasn't," Wanda said. "I learned to shut down my compassion long ago, sport."

Timmy shuddered. Her emotionless response sent chills down his spine. He just wanted to get out of this place, but he wasn't leaving without Wanda. Then again, Big Wanda wasn't exactly giving him that option.

"The scene will be different," Big Wanda said. "Your first test was easy. Your second test will be that much more difficult."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Timmy said and Big Wanda shook her head. Instead, she waved her wand and brilliant yellow light flashed across his eyes before they disappeared from the spot and reappeared elsewhere.

Cosmo remembered this place. It was Mark's wedding to Man Die and he'd been hitting on Man Die. Beside him, Wanda had muttered something about his objecting and threatening him if he did. Beside that knowledge, however, was the knowledge of what had happened when he'd lost Wanda. Everything he'd come to that alternate universe knowing, he still retained. In a way, Mama Wanda had made their task easier. In another, however, she'd made it that much harder, as he discovered.

"I object!" Cosmo said. "I could always use a second wife! What do you think, Wanda?"

Wanda turned a withering look upon him and then yanked him out of the chapel. Her pink eyes simmered in fury and he desperately wanted to recant. Yet his tongue and his mind were out of sync. He couldn't control himself.

Timmy joined them a few seconds later and Wanda blinked, temporarily taken aback.

"I didn't bring you here with me," she said, nonplussed.

"This is part of the test and you're flunking it!" Timmy snapped at Cosmo.

"I thought that was your job," Cosmo said blithely. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he say what he was thinking instead of acting like nothing was wrong? He could tell now, as he couldn't before, that he was actively hurting Wanda. He could feel it thrumming through their mental link, whereas before, he'd ignored it. Now, the pain echoed through them both and he would've given anything to erase it.

"What test, sport?" Wanda said tersely.

"You're supposed to keep her from leaving!" Timmy hissed at Cosmo. "Not convince her to go!"

"She's not going to leave," Cosmo said and cursed the disconnect between his mouth and his thoughts. "Wanda would never leave me. She loves me too much."

"Don't be so sure about that, hon," Wanda said darkly. "Your so-called 'marriage jokes' aren't funny. They never were, even if Timmy laughed at them."

"Yeah, about that…" Timmy said and hung his head.

"Not funny—they were hilarious!" Cosmo said and Timmy snarled, rounding on him. His blue eyes flashed.

"I wish you'd shut up for five seconds!" Timmy snapped and Wanda granted the wish. Cosmo realized he didn't possess his wand here, either. Big Wanda must still have it. If he'd had his wand, he could've broken the spell she'd cast on him.

"Wanda," Timmy said and his lower lip quivered. His gaze was pleading, as was her name. "I know Cosmo's being a complete idiot—"

"What else is new?" Wanda snorted humorlessly.

"But he doesn't mean it, right?" Timmy said and shot Cosmo a hard look. Cosmo, who still had power over his body, shook his head.

"We miss you when you're gone. We're sorry for the way we've been treating you. Don't go," Timmy begged.

"I wasn't planning on it, although…" Wanda lapsed into a thoughtful silence. "Somehow, I doubt you two would miss me very much. After all, all I do is 'nag' and ruin your fun. Didn't you two once say I nagged you to sleep? Jorgen even created a story to that effect."

"Okay, yeah, you nag a little," Timmy said and then winced. Wanda was glowering and her hair had turned to fire. "But that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. You're doing it out of love. You love us and we love you. Please don't go. If you do, the whole world will fall apart."

"You're exaggerating," Wanda said, scowling. "Nothing would happen if I left. Who knows? Maybe the world would be better off without me."

Cosmo stared in dull horror at her words. She was suicidal and she'd never told him. How could she have neglected to tell him? Was he doing such an awful job as his husband that he'd never noticed? What was wrong with him?

He almost wished he could escape his own mind rather than feel the sheer agony in hers. It made him want to scream and sob hysterically, clinging to her tightly. He'd never felt so powerless before. Moreover, he'd never been so terrified before. He could lose her, had lost her, and he could lose her again. It wasn't fair.

He could lose the best thing in his life by being such a prat. And he'd have no one to blame but himself.

Alarm bells rang in Timmy's head. He'd never heard her talk like that before, but he'd heard echoes from other people, including his mother. It scared him badly and he reached out for her to take her hands. She huffed, but allowed it. Timmy, for a minute, only held her hands. He was so grateful to hold onto her when she was both present and warm instead of the dull, cold shell she'd become.

"You don't mean that," Timmy said, fervently hoping that was true. "You can't mean that."

Wanda said nothing but slowly pulled her hands out of Timmy's.

"You wouldn't abandon us, not for good," Timmy said and he was back to pleading. "You love us too much. And…we love you. Isn't that good enough?"

"It doesn't feel like you two love me," Wanda replied. "It feels like Cosmo's lusting after other women who have things I don't and even if I changed myself to fit them, he'd still look at them and not me."

She turned to Timmy. "And you would rather have the fun faerie, the one who encourages you to increasingly reckless behavior without consequences. I'm just crimping your style."

Timmy had no idea how deep her misery ran.

"Ha, she has your number," Cosmo said and Timmy glared at him.

"Why are you being so stupid? I mean, stupider than usual. It's like you can't control yourself," Timmy said and then paused. "Can't control yourself…"

He was on the brink of figuring something out.

"Mama Wanda said this test would be harder than the last one," Timmy said slowly. "But I didn't think of how until…Cosmo, say something nice about Wanda. Tell her that she's prettier than Man Die or better than her identical yet somehow hotter sister."

"Don't you start!" Wanda snapped at Timmy. She hugged herself and Timmy saw the lost look in her eyes. The idea that his mother figures, both his biological mother and his real mother, might want to die was earth-shattering. It made him want to shake them both and sob, as well as hide in a corner and never come out. They were the pillars of his world and for them to shake and shatter destroyed him. They didn't see that, but he did. Evidently, just telling Wanda that he and Cosmo loved her wasn't enough.

She had to believe it for herself.

Cosmo made an unhappy noise.

"You can't, can you? That's the other part of the test!" Timmy said triumphantly. "Self-sabotage!"

"Wait," Wanda said and frowned, studying the two of them. "You said 'Mama Wanda' set a test. That makes no sense."

"There's another version of you, a mafia Dona who…oh, it'll take too long to explain," Timmy said. He could feel time ticking away, even if he couldn't see the clock. "But we can't lose you again. I don't know how to make you understand how I feel. I just know that without you, everything turns to black and white and gray. And it feels like nothing is right and nothing will ever be right again. The world just loops like a cartoon and no one ever changes. Nothing ever gets better or worse. It's just…blank. And stays that way."

Tears pricked his eyes again. "Without you, maybe the world doesn't end right away. Maybe it doesn't end at all. But it feels like it. Without you, Cosmo's not right. He's losing his mind. I know you can't see it because Mama Wanda did something to him, but it's true. And without you, I don't even want to play video games or screw around on my phone because it's not the same. If there aren't any rules or my parents or godparents caring about me, then there's no point to anything because no one cares enough about me to stop me from doing something stupid. Or puts my welfare first and saves me from myself."

Timmy knew he was rambling, but he was getting desperate. His internal clock was telling him time was almost up.

"Is that so?" Wanda said and frowned, studying him and Cosmo in turn. She faltered and Timmy saw a chink in her armor.

"I can't promise I'll be the best godson you've ever had," Timmy said hurriedly. "I can't even promise I'll be good when you want me to be. But I'll do the best I can and when I'm bad, I'll still try to change. Because I love you."

Wanda was still hesitating. "I love you too, sport."

She glanced at Cosmo. "Self-sabotage?"

Cosmo nodded mutely. He didn't trust himself to speak, not that Timmy could blame him. In his condition, he didn't think he'd trust him to speak either.

"I'll think about what you said, hon," Wanda said to Timmy. "But I can't make any promises either."

"Well?" Timmy called out to Big Wanda, knowing she had to be waiting and listening. "Did we win? Did we keep Wanda from leaving?"

The chapel and its surroundings vanished. Big Wanda stood there, impassive, in front of him with her arms folded across her chest.

"That depends," she said. "Did you mean what you said?"

"Of course I did," he protested. "I'm sorry I hurt her. I wish I could just apologize and bring her back and tell her to her face."

"You can tell her to her face," Big Wanda said. "Though it won't avail you much."

"Did we win?" Timmy repeated.

"I'll think about it," Big Wanda said and waved her wand. "In the meanwhile…have some dinner. I also need to scout ahead and see where the other two soul aspects are."

Big Wanda vanished and Timmy hissed.

"That's not fair," he exclaimed. "She didn't tell us either way!"

"She did," Cosmo said and Timmy turned. Seated in a chair at the dining room table that had materialized with hot, fresh Earth food on it was Wanda, whose color was better. Her pants were gray instead of white and her shirt was the palest yellow. Her skin and eyes were faintly pink.

"Cosmo, you idiot," Wanda said softly, almost inaudible as it was so quiet. "What have you done?"

With half of her soul, Wanda was more aware of her surroundings than she'd been with only one fourth. However, the world still felt odd and out of sync with her, as if everyone else was moving too fast and she was mired in place. She could hear and respond to Timmy and Cosmo, although it took her mind far too long to process things. It frustrated her, because she knew she wasn't operating at 100% efficiency. She also didn't know how long she was going to be able to remain conscious-already, fatigue tugged at her and threatened to pull her under.

"Wanda!" Cosmo cried joyously. "You're okay!"

Wanda glanced down at herself and then back up at her husband. "Do I look okay?"

"Did you hear all of what we said, about loving you and never wanting you to leave and all of that? Cosmo would've said it too if he hadn't been under a spell," Timmy said.

"No," Wanda said and grimaced. A headache was looming and she massaged her temples. "I didn't."

She sighed, ready to ream them out, but she was exhausted all of a sudden. The fatigue swept over her again and she crashed, wondering if Timmy really had said all of that stuff and, if he had, whether he meant it.

Big Wanda returned an hour later with Timmy's transistor, a working wand for Cosmo, and spared a glance for Wanda, fast asleep in the corner. Her color was slightly better, but she still looked like a wash-out. Big Wanda pitied her.

Timmy and Cosmo hadn't touched most of their food, which didn't surprise Big Wanda. Guilt was a powerful appetite suppressant. She had no doubt that the males felt awful over their neglecting Wanda, as well they should. This was partially their fault, although she hadn't been able to get much more out of Wanda than that. The rest of the story, they would have to wait and see for themselves.

"It's time for you two to go," Big Wanda said. "The other two soul aspects belong to people who will give you far less of a chance than I did."

"They're not versions of you, are they?" Timmy asked, rolling his eyes, and Big Wanda glowered at him. Cosmo, she might've had a weakness for, but for Timmy, she had no sympathy at all. He had a smart mouth and that was bound to get him into trouble one of these days, if it hadn't already.

"One of them is an old enemy of yours," Big Wanda said. "The other…"

She faltered.

"The other what?" Timmy demanded.

"I don't care what happens to you, but your Wanda does. And if she knew who that other person was, she'd warn you to be exceedingly careful. The other person with the soul aspect is bad news, worse in their own way than me. Remember, Timmy Turner, there are worse fates than death."

"Oh, really?" Timmy countered. "Like what?"

Big Wanda's expression became shuttered. "I hope, for your sake, that you never find out."

She waved her wand and then sent the trio on their way; she frowned pensively as they departed. Azalea possessed the last soul sliver, but it wasn't her Timmy needed to be wary of. It was her partner, who would stop at nothing to possess Timmy. Even though Big Wanda had said she didn't care one way or another what befell Timmy, that was a lie.

Wanda was worried about him and Big Wanda agreed. Pedophiles were the lowest of the low. Big Wanda hoped Timmy kept his wits about him, but if they were depending on his wits alone, they were in big trouble. Big Wanda sighed and reminded herself this wasn't her problem.

Then she thought of her forlorn doppelganger and sighed.

Maybe she'd be better off keeping a discreet eye on them from afar, just in case things went bad, as they were wont to do with Cosmo.

"Don't screw this up," Big Wanda muttered, wondering if they already had.

Timmy could feel the strain missing half of her soul was putting on his godmother. He was worried about her, not to mention saving his universe from annihilation. What worried him right now, however, was that he was back in Dimmsdale Elementary and on the walls were mounted crowns and wings. He knew only one person with such gruesome trophies and he took an inadvertent step back. Wanda was vulnerable enough without adding that despicable faerie hunter to the mix.

"Doombringer," Timmy said and shuddered at the name. She was dangerously competent, especially compared to Crocker.

"You rang?" Doombringer called sweetly from further down the hall. "Oh, Timmy Turner. I hope you brought your faeries."

She laughed cruelly. "We're going to have such a good time, you and I."

"She has your soul sliver?" Timmy said, aghast, to Wanda.

"It would appear that way, sport," Wanda said faintly. Her breathing was rapid and her pupils were dilated, but whether that was fear or a reaction to missing half of her soul, he didn't know. He hugged her to him and stood in a defensive posture. Doombringer wasn't getting Cosmo and Wanda without a fight.

"Your wand works again, right?" Timmy said in hushed tones to Cosmo. Cosmo nodded and Wanda produced a wand of her own. Timmy eyed it dubiously. He wasn't sure how well she'd be able to cast spells of her own, considering her current predicament. Still, at least they were born armed. Things could've been worse—and he probably shouldn't think that, because they invariably would get worse.

"It won't help if the whole place is surrounded by a giant butterfly net," Timmy muttered, remembering Doombringer's last ploy. His heart skipped a beat and he reached for his faeries, who grabbed his hands back. Wanda's hand was still cold and her eyes moved too slowly. If he had to depend on her in a fight, they were probably screwed. Her reactions seemed like she'd been put in slow motion.

Timmy looked out the window and didn't see a butterfly net, but that didn't mean it wasn't there.

He was getting nervous. Doombringer was taking a while to show up. For all he knew, she'd show up with the big guns. He had to be ready for anything and he tensed up, wishing he had a wand of his own and magic too. He was afraid to make any wishes, though, not in Doombringer's hearing. She'd probably find a way to warp it.

Anticipation dried his mouth out and he shuddered, searching desperately for either a weapon of his own or at least a hint of what Doombringer was bringing. Then Wanda's hand vanished from his and his godmother was gone, perhaps tugging Wanda toward her soul sliver. Timmy didn't know and the uncertainty was driving him nuts.

"Wanda?" Cosmo called tentatively. "Wanda, where are you?"

Doombringer still hadn't shown up, but Timmy knew she had to be coming. It was only a matter of time.

While they waited for her arrival, Timmy yanked on the teacher's desk drawer to no avail. If there was anything in there he could use, it was locked up tight. In an undertone, he said to Cosmo, "I wish the drawer was open!"

It sprang open and, with it, Doombringer laughed. She glided into the classroom; her feet were a good six inches off the floor. That wasn't what disturbed Timmy, though. It was the leash around Wanda's neck, which was choker style and too tight. The spikes were digging into Wanda's neck. Doombringer snickered at Timmy's reaction and Timmy realized the drawer was full of old wands. Unnerved, he looked up to spy the same mounted crowns and wings he'd glimpsed earlier. His heart hammered in his chest.

"Let her go!"

"It didn't take you very long to wish for something," Doombringer said and rolled her eyes. "Godchildren are always so lazy. They look for the easiest way to get something done. If you hadn't made your wish, I would've waited a few more minutes. But magic to me is like a clarion call. I'm powerless to resist."

She smirked and then yanked on Wanda's leash. Wanda yelped; despite the pinpricks of blood on her neck, Wanda's glare was pure defiance. She was afraid, yes, as any faerie would be, but she also hated Doombringer for treating her like an ill-behaved animal.

"I have a better idea. Give me Cosmo and I'll let you live," Doombringer said and Timmy froze. She knew his name. The same rules might not apply here, though, as they did in his home universe. Just because she knew their names didn't mean they'd have to go away forever; he crossed his fingers. Wanda's gaze met his and Doombringer smirked, twirling Wanda's wand in her free hand.

"Never," Timmy snapped, his lower lip curling in disdain. He rounded on his godfather. "Do something!"

Despite not losing Cosmo and Wanda (yet), he was wary about saying their names aloud. It would make it more concrete, which he wasn't keen to do. Moreover, he was genuinely worried about the way Doombringer was treating Wanda. She tightened the leash and the bloody pinpricks deepened, revealing sparkling faerie blood.

"Leave her alone!"

Timmy whirled, surprised to see Cosmo wielding his wand and standing in front of Timmy. If Timmy's heart was racing, it was nothing compared to Cosmo's, which had to be going a mile a minute. It took a lot for Cosmo to overcome his cowardice, but Wanda was a good exception.

"Get your hands off my wife!"

"Isn't that cute?" Doombringer said idly, twirling Wanda's wand still. "They think they're capable of love. They're just glorified tools, Turner, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner this will be over."

"They're not tools!" Timmy snapped, incensed. "They're living, breathing creatures with feelings that you can't understand because you're—"

He faltered. His mother had taught him never to swear and he was tempted to call Doombringer a bitch. She was, though. Her eyes gleamed with malice and she tightened her grip on the leash until Wanda's skin reddened, not from the contact with her spirit sliver, but because she was having a hard time breathing. Timmy had had enough.

"Because I'm what?" Doombringer taunted.

Timmy didn't answer. He grabbed one of the spare wands and held it out offensively. "Let her go or I'll make you."

"Did you know you need to have some magic in your blood to make that work?" Doombringer asked idly, as if they were doing nothing more taxing than playing a game of checkers. "And the more magic you have, the easier the wand is to control. The only magic you have is from being around Cosmo and Wanda for so long."

She snorted. "You don't stand a chance of hurting me."

She dodged Cosmo's blast and Timmy shot at her too, but the spell went wide, hitting the open classroom door and turning it into a duck. Cosmo raised his eyebrows at Timmy, who grimaced, chagrined. He'd meant to do something else, but his mind had veered into territory that rhymed with duck and boo.

If Timmy's memory served him correctly, it'd only been a near miss from Crocker that had saved him last time. They couldn't count on that this time, assuming Crocker was anywhere near here. Timmy's heart hammered between his ribs. Think, think, think. Oh, he'd kill right now to have Jimmy Neutron's brain power.

A shot in his stomach bowled him over and he groaned, reaching for that brown rod the alternate Tootie had given him. A barrier formed around him and he realized that even if the wand didn't work, this thing, the transistor as she'd called it, did. Doombringer's gaze had shifted from mocking to appraising, though he wasn't sure he liked being looked at like a particularly appetizing steak.

"Interesting," she said and yanked harder on Wanda's leash. Timmy and Cosmo growled. Doombringer whipped her wand about to attack Cosmo's back, but the male faerie dodged at the same time as Timmy aimed at the transistor at Doombringer's front. Doombringer staggered back a step, caught off guard but not hurt. Cosmo had jumped up and an entire row of windows blew out. Doombringer was not messing around.

From her neck swung a diadem, presumably with Wanda's soul sliver in it. It was this Timmy felt must be propelling Doombringer's skills with the wand. Doombringer noticed his attention and popped open the locket to reveal a small vial with pink liquid swirling inside.

"You know what would make me even more powerful, Turner?" Doombringer asked, her gaze lingering on his. "If I swallowed this."

"You can't," Timmy objected. To his surprise, Wanda choked out the same thing.

"And why not, little faerie?" Doombringer asked, loosening the choker so Wanda could breathe.

"Faerie essence is toxic to humans," Wanda said and Timmy opened his mouth to counter. That wasn't true. All of that lemonade made with Cosmo's sweaty socks proved otherwise. Then he realized what she was doing. Wanda was daring Doombringer to call her bluff. Plus, Timmy wasn't entirely sure Wanda was lying. Faerie sweat and maybe even blood had magic properties, but part of a soul sliver? He had no idea what might happen if she swallowed it.

Doombringer hesitated for a minute, hefting the vial and looking back at Wanda. Time seemed to stand still and Timmy's breath caught in his throat. He caught himself crossing his fingers and straining, every muscle yearning to jump Doombringer, but afraid of the consequences. Everything seemed to balance upon whether Doombringer would call Wanda's bluff.

Doombringer faltered a minute longer and then used her wand to yank Timmy unwillingly to her side.

"Is it really poisonous, little faerie? Then why don't we have your precious godson take the first sip?"

Timmy gulped and caught Wanda's eye. She wouldn't put him in harm's way and Wanda was an awful liar. It wouldn't take much to catch her out if she was lying to save them.

"Don't!" Wanda choked out and the strain on her made her eyes bulge briefly. Then she gasped and collapsed, unconscious.

"I suppose you really can't trust a faerie with only half of their soul," Doombringer said, shrugging, and knelt down. She grabbed Wanda's wings and yanked them out of her back. Timmy and Cosmo screamed and, to Timmy's shock, Cosmo was trembling in rage.

"Are you going to hurt me?" Doombringer taunted Cosmo.

She moved aside from one blast and then ducked another one. "You have such poor aim."

The necklace around Doombringer's neck hung off the chain and Doombringer turned toward Wanda. "It's a shame you're unconscious."

She grabbed Timmy by the throat and Timmy kicked, catching her in the chin. To his horror, Doombringer only held on tighter, squeezing until spots appeared before his eyes.

"Because if this is toxic," Doombringer said, gloating now, "I'd love for you to see how your soul poisoned your godson. Don't you claim to love him, faerie?"

She said the last word like a prejorative.

Doombringer sneered at Timmy and then reached to open up the vial. But it wasn't there. Timmy turned his head with difficulty and saw Wanda was holding it. She'd only faked being unconscious.

"You'll hurt Timmy and Cosmo over my dead body," Wanda snapped, her words faint but audible.

She popped open the vial and Doombringer slammed her foot down on Wanda's hand to smash both the vial and Wanda's hand.

"Game over," Doombringer sneered. "You lose."