"Luke, you must go to the Big Comfy Couch of Denial system. There you will find Trixie21, who will train you in the ways of eternal optimism and happy endings …"

(…) means twin's telepathy and ((…)) means Cosmo and Wanda telepathy.

No, I don't own FOP or any reference to its varied characters mentioned herein, and unless the new episodes that follow 'School's Out' begin showing the love again, I wouldn't want to. So, for now, Butch Hartman can keep his name tacked on…even if it is for nothing more than the royalties at this point.

Oh…and I don't own The Big Comfy Couch either. That belongs to some broadcasting company in Tennessee I think. : )

Fairly OddParents : The Next Generation

Chapter 9. The Gangs Not All Here

"It's official sir," said the little bald fairy from beside Jorgen. "We're not getting any more wish reports at all from earth now. Its like there's not a single fairy doing their job down on there. You…you don't suppose they've all gone on some kind of secret strike, do you?"

Hugely terrifying, Jorgen whirled to face the nameless little peon who had replaced the last one he had fired not even twenty minutes ago.

"You idiot! They would not dare strike with me in charge. Something has obviously gone wrong. It's time to call an emergency Fairy World Council meeting. Implement procedure 47893-56G!"

"The new alert system sir? But it hasn't been fully tested in emergency situations yet."

"What do you think this is you puny idiot! A picnic in the park with a frilly pink blanket, tiny teacups with chamomile tea, finger size cucumber sandwiches and little woodland creatures dancing about?" asked Jorgen as he acted out every piece of the hypothetical picnic with dainty finger pantomimes.

With a slightly slack jaw and one raised eyebrow, the fairy stared silently at his commander in a combination of confusion, fear and disbelief.

Jorgen sighed in defeat as his head and shoulders sagged. Sarcasm was such a lost art anymore.

"Just call the fairies in for the meeting," he said in dull annoyance.

xxxxxxxxx

It had winked out like a light switch suddenly being flicked. One moment it was there, the next it was gone. The comforting warmth of Cosmo's life energy, the energy which had been her constant companion for almost 10,000 years, was suddenly just gone.

Tammy and Wanda were barely half a block away from home when it happened…when it disappeared from her consciousness. She had been sitting in Tammy's hair as a hair clip when the abrupt disappearance of Cosmo's presence had left her feeling as if a vise was squeezing her very soul into nothingness. It had caught her so off guard she had let go of the girl's hair and fallen to the ground with a plastic sounding clatter.

Tammy stopped and picked up a very disconcerted, disoriented Wanda who could only lay in the girl's hand and blink rapidly.

"Wanda? Are you okay? What happened?"

The pink hair clip blinked unearthly wide eyes.

"I…I don't…don't know."

Wanda felt within for Cosmo's presence but there was nothing. She was empty. He simply wasn't there anymore.

"We have to get home, now," the godmother suddenly said before poofing into a hummingbird and flying off swiftly, leaving Tammy to run behind her quickly.

"Wait, Wanda! What's wrong? What is it?"

Her heart in her throat, her eyes large in fear, Wanda managed to squeak out, "Cosmo…"

"What! What did he do?"

"He's…he's…"

Technically, Wanda didn't know what it was that was going on with him. But the fact that she could no longer feel his presence was not a good thing in the least. It was almost as if he was gone. Gone…as in…

Wanda cried out in her heart. No. She would not believe that. Not now, not ever.

But…to explain the coldness that gripped her so fully…the emptiness…

"Wanda? Wanda!"

She would not, could not, answer Tammy. She had to be sure of what was going on first.

As they raced up the drive, the front door opened and the Vic-Bot floated out quickly as Tammy's father stood in the doorway and watched. When he saw his daughter running up, he smiled warmly. Wanda flew up and away towards Tammy's window where she poofed into the house unseen.

"Hey kiddo! How was your day?" asked Tim of his daughter.

"Great Daddy," she replied in a harried voice as she rushed past him. "I'm going to my room."

Tim was left standing in the doorway as he watched his daughter dash up the stairs.

"Okay," was all he could say in confused response.

Tammy raced into her room to see Tommy standing by the fishbowl.

(Where is she?)

Tommy indicated the bowl with his hand.

(She poofed in here asking where Cosmo was. When I said I didn't know, she went in there. Tammy, what's going on?)

(I don't know. She just got all weird all of a sudden.)

Wanda poofed out just then, a deeply etched look of concern on her face.

"He's not in there," she said quickly as she floated past the kids, then back to them, then towards the window, then the bedroom door…

Tammy and Tommy watched Wanda's erratic flight pattern and were instantly even more worried then they were before. They had never seen her so highly agitated and for the calm and normally composed Wanda to act like this…it was a clear sign that something was definitely not right in the world.

Suddenly she flew back to Tommy with wide pink eyes.

"Tommy, what were you two doing ten minutes ago?"

"We were playing 'Hide and Seek From The Vic-Bot'. He had just poofed off to find a new hiding place when Daddy came home. I came out and said hi to Daddy before I came up here and called for him, but he didn't appear."

"Is he still hiding?" asked Tammy.

"No. That wasn't part of the game. We hid together. He'd find a good place to hide, make sure Vic-Bot hadn't found me, and then poof us into the new place."

"((Cosmo!))" called Wanda both aloud as well as mentally. She waited, but there was no response. No physical appearance or mental reply occurred.

"Wanda? What's happened to Cosmo? Where is he and why won't he answer?" asked Tommy.

"I'm not sure Tommy."

Tammy looked at Tommy before they looked back to Wanda.

"You don't think that something happened to him, do you?"

Wanda could again not answer. Had not really even heard the question. She was too distracted to hear anything but her own thoughts just then.

Why had getting home not helped? It had always been so simple. Get there and fix the mistake he made and all would be well again. But not this time. Not now…

A little put off by Wanda's lack of response, Tammy moved before her godmother to catch her eye as she suggested, "Maybe we should go looking around for him. Maybe he got knocked out somehow or he got stuck someplace without his wand."

To confused to argue, Wanda let the kids go ahead and search the house as she poofed outside under the pretense of checking the backyard. She didn't believe they would find Cosmo in either instance. First off, even if Cosmo had been knocked out and unconscious, she still would have felt his life energy. Secondly, getting stuck someplace without his wand wouldn't matter to him. He could easily have used his natural destructive capabilities to get out of anything. He probably could have even managed to poof himself free without his wand. She'd never guessed how he could sometimes do magic without his wand in hand. There were times in fact when he could actually do magic better that way.

((Cosmo?))

Wanda called for him again, softly, almost tentatively, somehow knowing that there would be no answer this time either and yet at the same time…hoping.

She waited…listening intently. But there was nothing save for a gentle wind through the trees.

Wanda creased her brows in a momentary flash of mild anger.

How could he do this? How could he just go off and how could he just not answer? How dare he not respond when she called! How dare he make her worry like this!

((COSMO!)) she cried out mentally as hard as she could. It was a call that usually would have had Cosmo poofed up beside her in a fraction of a second, even if in a little worry over her possible wrath. But there was nothing. No familiar pale green smoke, no messy spring green hair, no smiling face, no joyous cry of "Wanda!"…nothing.

The false sense of anger at his unresponsiveness, composed only to mask the unwelcome dread that had made its way to her mind, dissolved instantly, and Wanda began to tremble as an overwhelming panic seized her and she could not help but fall out of the air to sit in the midst of a small flower bed. She put her hands to her head tightly and forced herself to take long, deep breaths, tears forming even as she tried to deny them.

'No. I can't do this. Not now. I can't…panic. I have two godchildren that are my responsibility no matter what and they're just as concerned as I am. I have to stay focused. For them…for Cosmo… He's not gone. He's not hurt. He can't be. He just…he just can't be…'

She pushed her panic back as best as she could, but it was a thinly held line that kept it back and she wasn't sure how long it would hold.

This not knowing was by far harder than knowing any other possibility. The terror of the 'what if's', the fear of the 'could it be's' was the only thing that Wanda had never been able to get a good handle on. How could you find answers when you didn't know what the problem was? How could you fight what you couldn't see? Even though butterfly nets terrified her no end, she could accept them if that was what was present. At least she knew that they were the absolute. This however…what could she do when there was nothing to which to turn her fear and anger? Something…anything!...would have been better!

The twins called for her then and Wanda took a last deep breath as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She had to be strong for them. She just had to.

With that, she poofed back to Tammy's room.

"Any luck?" she managed to ask in a weak attempt at sounding hopeful.

The twins shook their heads.

"What do we do now?" asked Tammy as she flopped onto her bed.

"Hey! I know! We could wish for him to come back!" said Tommy excitedly.

Tammy looked at Wanda.

"I wish Cosmo was here!" she asked quickly.

Wanda lifted her wand hopefully but there was a half hearted poof of pale lavender smoke right before the wand gave a raspberry sound and immediately bent over limply.

Wanda couldn't help but give a little moan of despair as her arm dropped. She'd really wanted that wish to work.

Tammy looked at her fairy godmother.

"What was that?" she asked.

Wanda looked at her tightly gripped wand dejectedly.

"It means that my magic won't work for this. I can't grant this wish."

"What? Why not?"

Wanda sighed heavily.

"I'm not sure. Either I don't have enough power, or this is something that just won't be affected by magic at all."

"But I thought you and Cosmo could do anything" cried Tommy in exasperation as he joined Tammy's side on the bed.

The pink haired fairy shook her head.

"Remember the rules Tommy. There are just some things that can't be done and our wands are made so that we can't."

"Maybe we should try thinking that this is just a power issue. Wanda, if there was another fairy here with you, do you think you might be able to grant it?" suggested Tammy.

Wanda shivered at the empty coldness that filled her from head to toe. She'd never felt like this in all her life. It was a horrible lonely iciness that pervaded her every sense and set her on edge in a way she'd never experienced. Cosmo was so much a part of who she was, who she had become over the years, that to be without him now was like being without life. He'd been that "another fairy" for so long…

"Its worth a try, right?" pushed Tammy, trying to break Wanda's despondence.

"I…honestly don't know."

Tommy asked, "Are there any other fairies around here you could ask for help?"

Wanda looked up at the boy.

"Of course. There's quite a few in Dimmsdale."

"Well, go talk to them and see what they can do to help," said Tammy firmly.

Wanda blinked at the girl in surprise. Tammy stood with her arms folded and a strong look on her face. She had made the suggestion barely a step down from an order and for a nine year old to be stronger that a fairy over 10,000 years old seemed more than a little odd, but a leader was needed just then. Someone with a clearer head was doing the thinking. Was it fair that the child had to?

Wanda took a deep breath and steeled herself as best she could with a nod before poofing up a cell phone. A phone number was pressed and Wanda waited as the other side rang repetitively with no answer. After the 10th time, she grimaced.

"He must be busy. I'll try someone else."

Another set of numbers was punched in and as before, there was ringing, but no answer.

She tried another, then another, then yet another.

There were no answers.

"Why isn't anyone answering?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah. They can't all be that busy, can they?" agreed Tammy.

Wanda looked at the phone for a long moment before she had the thought that maybe she was trying to make calls in the wrong world.

"I don't know why no one is answering. But maybe I could try…"

Tammy and Tommy waited for clarification.

"Who?" they asked in unison after nearly a minute.

Wanda sighed. God how she did not look forward to doing this.

"My mother-in-law," she grumbled softly.

"She doesn't sound like someone you want to call," said Tammy.

Wanda shook her head.

"Cosmo's mother and I have never been on particularly nice terms with each other."

"Ohhh," replied the twins slowly.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" asked Tammy.

Wanda rolled her eyes dramatically towards the girl.

"Worse. But she's the only other alternative I can think of right now, so I guess I have no choice."

The kids nodded.

Wanda pressed the numbers for Mama Cosma in Fairy World but instead of the familiar and detested ringing she had expected, she was shocked to hear in it's placea prerecorded message come on to say, "We're sorry, but we are unable to send your request through at this time. All lines to Fairy World have been disconnected. Please try your call again at a later time." Immediately afterward, a soft, slightly samba style elevator music began to play.

Wanda's heart practically seized at the familiarity of the tune and nerveless fingers instantly dropped the phone to the floor.

Oh, poor Wanda!

Can you imagine what that would be like to lose the only person you've ever shared your life with…especially after being so well connected to him for so long?

Scary.

Much thankies this week go to…

Faye Lunacorn - LOL. Gosh I love your reviews! You know what it means now that you've told me you're writing a fic too, right? YES! I'm going to have to read it! And review it! And no, I don't mind if you're using my story as inspiration. Its very flattering and only serves to make me concentrate on making this as good as I possibly can. Cosmo will have another few chapters all to himself so you'll be seeing more from 'his side of the fence' very soon. He he! Spewing soda all over the screen… That's good! I was laughing my rear off when I first typed the park bit up. It just seemed so like something he would do even if unintentionally. I mean really. How was he to know she'd just be getting out the shower! And the thoughts of her blushing…well, he's still a guy. Why shouldn't he be allowed to enjoy the picture of something only he gets to see? Lol.

Commander - Looks like I hurt Wanda too with Cosmo's disappearance, eh? It's a two for one deal. Hurt one and you hurt the other. But that's how it goes in the really great relationships. And at least you're honest about being worried. Don't be too anxious. All will be revealed! In time. He he. Glad you enjoyed the park as much as I did.

Aerinsoul - I swear I didn't tell him! Here, you can hide out at my place. Its been blasted so many times by Cosmo's crazy magic it won't matter if it gets blasted by Jorgen! Normally, I would tend to agree with you about Cosmo's ability at play hide and seek, but this time he got a little sloppy since it wasn't Jorgen he was hiding from. Eek! A world with no fairies? Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Wanda Wish - So glad you liked! And don't worry about not reviewing for one chapter. We all have things to do after all. Just don't let it happen again! LOL. Just kidding. I'll have to see about working more of their past into this. It may get a little hard what with the difficult stuff now beginning, but I will definitely keep it in mind. And I totally agree with you. The more C&W love, the better!

Love ya's!

Trixie21