Author's Note: It wasn't two years in story-time. I was making fun of myself for taking so long to update. Everything in this chapter and the preceding one happens with a matter of days, not years.
Also…I will introduce Chloe, probably in the next chapter, once I figure out how to do so better than the show did. If this story is canon with A Badly Broken Code, then I have to have her sharing Timmy's fairies at some point, yes? I just have to figure out how to put that into motion without it being such a stupid reason.
And, uh…I may kill off one of her parents. Because god are they annoying. It'd also give her better reason to deserve fairies.
Chapter Fifteen: I Lied to Me Too
If she would accede to their demands, they would deliver unto her more power than she could ever dream of possessing. If, however, she failed to heed them…she would suffer more than she could dream. Since Vicky had already seen the extent to the Unseelie Court's "mercy", she had no desire to trigger it again. She needed to eliminate the threat Cosmo and Wanda posed. Yes, she knew their names. Her sources had told her everything she needed to know, save how to get rid of the fairies. But she had a few tricks up her sleeve.
She was babysitting the twerp again tonight and this time, she'd arrived prepared. With a large butterfly net and a magnet, the former to render them powerless and the latter to extract their wands. Once she captured them, her target would be in sight. She'd just have to figure out what Cosmo and Wanda were disguising themselves as. They wouldn't see it coming.
Whistling to herself, she waited for the Turners to answer the doorbell. She rocked back and forth on her heels. The butterfly net, along with the magnet, was inside a backpack along with her textbooks to serve as camouflage. Damn, what was taking them so long? Usually they were at the door and ready to leave by now. It shouldn't take them more than five minutes to answer.
She squashed her impatience. The twerp would be hers; his parents had no idea what she did to him. They were so stupid it was amazing. All they did was fork over their money and let Vicky do whatever she wanted with their "precious gift from above". She snorted.
She tried to peek inside the curtains, but they were shut tight. Glaring at the doorbell, she rang it again. What was taking them so long?
"You can't leave me alone with her," Timmy pleaded. He'd flung himself in front of the door and wasn't allowing his parents anywhere near it. Heart pounding, he glanced up at his godparents, who had disguised themselves as pictures on the wall. While they could have argued his case, it'd mean explaining who they were, which opened its own can of worms. Besides, that was assuming anyone could penetrate his parents' stupidity when it came to Vicky.
"We'll only be gone for a few hours," Mrs. Turner said, nonplussed.
"She's the embodiment of evil!" he protested. "She tried to…tried to…"
His throat closed and he couldn't speak. Shaking his head, he glanced at his godparents again and sent them a silent plea for help. He wished for the first time they were more like Goddard, Jimmy's pet dog, and he could display them openly. However, it was madness for adults to believe in fairies. It wasn't madness to believe in technology.
"She tried to hurt me!" he gasped.
"Vicky?" Mrs. Turner said, skeptical. "Why, Vicky wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"In fact, I bet she'd nurture that fly right back to health if it were sick!" Mr. Turner said. His eyes narrowed. "We're going to be late for our dinner reservations if you don't move, Timmy."
"You can't leave me alone with her!" he protested. "I'm telling the truth!"
"Hmm…Vicky once said you were a bad seed…" Mrs. Turner mused. She turned to her husband. "What do you think? Do you think Vicky needs to sort him out again?"
"Please, please, please don't leave me with her," he begged. "I'm never polite, but this time, I'll be polite. Please don't leave me alone with her. Please, please, please."
Any sensible parent would have paused at this and seen the terrified look in their son's eyes. They would have reconsidered their plans and perhaps listened to their child. In the very least, they might have not reached past their son toward the door. Timmy jumped up, swatting their hands away. Vicky continued to ring the doorbell and his heart pounded.
"I'll do whatever you want. I'll clean the dishes and scrub the toilet and take out the trash and mow the lawn. Without complaining. Just don't go tonight. I promise I'll be good," he said and desperation edged into his voice. He fell to his knees and grabbed his mother around the legs.
"Now, now, son, don't be so overdramatic," Mr. Turner said and opened the door. Timmy gasped, scurrying backward and standing again. Though no lightning heralded Vicky's arrival, it might as well have. Timmy's heart thudded, the color draining from his face and cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Look how happy Vicky is to see you!" Mrs. Turner said.
"It's the highlight of my day!" Vicky crooned and stepped into the house. The moment she moved past the threshold, her evil aura permeated the room. The plastic flowers wilted and the milk curdled in the fridge. Cosmo and Wanda exchanged unreadable glances in their picture frames.
"In fact, I've been dying to see you, Timmy," Vicky said, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. He shuddered.
"And to think, Timmy here was begging you not to babysit," Mrs. Turner said, shaking her head. "I'm sure you two will be fine while we're away. Go to go before they give our reservation to someone else. Have fun, you two!"
His parents sauntered out and, with them, his last hopes of evading Vicky without a confrontation. Once they left, Vicky closed the door behind them and locked it. Her pink eyes honed in on him and he gulped, shifting backward. He didn't want to be alone with her. He didn't want to be alone with her. Goddamn it, why didn't his parents ever listen to him?
Before Timmy had a chance to bolt up the stairs, Vicky grabbed him by the wrist. Her grip was tight, leaving marks on his skin, and she threw him onto the couch. Timmy took the opportunity to bounce back up, but Vicky pinned him, her superior weight and height working to her advantage.
"Cosmo! Wanda!" he yelped.
"You think your fish are going to help you?" she snorted. "Or should I say, your fairies?"
Timmy thought he might be sick. Man, this was the world's worst kept secret, at this rate. Everyone knew about his godparents or so it seemed. Lurking behind Vicky were cold blue eyes that arrested him and Cosmo and Wanda became pillows on the couch. Wanda hissed.
"Unseelie."
"I thought I might get some warm-up, but oh well," Vicky said and unslung her backpack. She extracted a butterfly net and Cosmo and Wanda shifted into cats. Snarling, she jumped off Timmy and chased after them. With one hand, she manipulated a magnet and with the other, the nets. Timmy jumped onto her back, despite not wanting skin to skin contact, and threw her off balance.
"Oh, no, you don't!" they snapped in unison and Vicky ducked low, slamming Timmy to the floor and stunning him. Spots shone before his eyes and his back was killing him from where it had crashed into the tiles. Disoriented, he saw Cosmo and Wanda's wands fly toward Vicky, who pocketed them. He forced himself to stand, swaying.
Cosmo and Wanda raced around, desperate to avoid capture, and ran in opposite directions to split her focus. Vicky seemed to be assessing which fairy to seize first. She decided on Cosmo and Wanda tripped her. Infuriated, Vicky swiped at her with the butterfly net and to Timmy's dismay, caught the pink cat easily. Cosmo went into panic mode.
Stuck in a butterfly net, Wanda resorted to her normal form and the net closed around her to prevent her from climbing out.
"Go get help!" she cried to Cosmo.
Dropping Wanda on the floor, Vicky darted for her backpack to reveal another butterfly net. Timmy grabbed Cosmo. What was Wanda talking about, getting help? All fairies were susceptible to butterfly nets and they were the only things that could drain their magic naturally. Wanda struggled in her trap and her pink eyes were huge and terrified.
"You're not getting them both," Timmy snapped at Vicky. He could feel Cosmo's heart racing.
"I need them both," she retorted. She scooped up Wanda and then, on second thought, dropped her again. Wanda landed with an 'oof' and Vicky dug out one of their wands. She pointed it at Timmy and Cosmo. Cosmo struggled out of Timmy's arms—Timmy didn't know what he was thinking, maybe that he intended to bite Vicky—and Vicky blasted him into the wall.
"Huh, looks like I have some magic after all," she said, shrugging. "Who knew?"
"Cosmo, you idiot, get up! Get help!" Wanda pleaded. Vicky kicked her in the ribs and then, considering it, slammed a pot down on her head. The fairy fell unconscious, or perhaps semi-conscious. Vicky seemed to consider that too and brought the pot down repeatedly, until Timmy wasn't entirely sure she didn't intend to turn Wanda into a pancake.
"Stop!" he screamed and rushed to his godmother. Sparkling blood covered the net fibers. Timmy didn't know much about injuries, but head wounds were bad. And it took a lot to really hurt a fairy, unless losing their magic meant they were more vulnerable than usual.
Cosmo snarled and darted for the door. Vicky blasted him again and this time, Cosmo didn't stir. Timmy's heart was in his throat. He was cradling Wanda on his lap and his godfather was still next to the locked door. Vicky whistled, twirling the wands on her fingertips. Magic sparks flew from their tips.
"You love her, don't you, twerp?" Vicky said casually. Timmy's eyes were hot and he glared hatefully at his babysitter. "She and Cosmo must really love you, to risk getting hurt to protect you."
Their eyes locked and for the first time in a while, he felt powerless. Poof was at Spellementary School and the only other fairy in the neighborhood belonged to Tootie. Tootie was half-fairy too, so she could've done something, but would she respond if he called her name? Was he desperate to invoke her to fight her sister?
Vicky kicked Wanda out of Timmy's lap and then, appraising her with a cool look in her eyes, ripped the wings off her back. Although Timmy wasn't certain how much pain Wanda could feel right now, she whimpered and Vicky crushed the insect-like wings underfoot. Somehow, Wanda looked smaller and more vulnerable without them, more like a small child than a magical being. Timmy's heart thudded.
Vicky glanced up to spy Cosmo trying the lock. He worked it and slipped out just as Vicky blasted the door. Snarling, she rushed after him. She had much longer legs and Cosmo might be injured from Vicky's previous attacks. He didn't see a way for Cosmo to win this, but he was desperate to try anything that might give them an edge.
"Tootie?" he called. "Deborvak?"
Neither came. Something about the second name felt wrong, like he was missing part of it. Besides, he had no guarantee that Deborvak would come. He didn't even show up that often for Tootie and Tootie was his godchild. At least, from what he'd observed, Deb didn't appear as invested in Tootie's life as Cosmo and Wanda were in Timmy's.
Sitting Wanda up against the wall so at least she wasn't bleeding on the floor, Timmy ran out the side door. If Tootie wouldn't respond to his calling, he'd drag her out of the house. Tootie was his only hope now. Jorgen hadn't shown up and he had no idea if calling him would work or not. He'd never actually wanted Jorgen to show up before, but he was his wits' end.
Vicky was closing in on Cosmo and Timmy picked up a rock and threw it at her. It missed, because he had terrible aim, but it succeeded in distracting her long enough for Cosmo to get further away. Vicky growled, glaring at him. Timmy smiled sheepishly, realizing a second too late that the rock had blood on it, because his hands did. The dark blood sparkled on his hands and he yelped, wiping them on his pants, but that was worse somehow.
Vicky's eyes alighted with malice. She took vindictive pleasure in Timmy's uneasiness. Scooping up the rock, she spun it on her palm. Timmy felt like his chest was in a vice-grip. He was powerless to look away.
"You know, it's funny," Vicky said in a conversational tone. "Me with fairy blood on my hands. Fairies with my blood on their hands. It's like the circle of life, twerp."
"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.
It registered that Cosmo should have taken this opportunity to get far, far away from Vicky. He hoped he'd taken it and hadn't gotten distracted by something stupid. Unfortunately, knowing Cosmo, that was more likely the case.
"When I was five, my parents were late picking me up from the playground," she said. Though she continued in that blasé tone, the skin around her eyes tightened and her gaze glazed over. "There's more than two types of fairies in the world, twerp. Let's just say it wasn't kindly fairy godparents or anti-fairies who picked me up."
He wished he had Cosmo and Wanda to explain what she was talking about. He also wished he hadn't left Wanda prone on the kitchen floor, but there hadn't been much he could do for her.
"Still don't know what you're talking about," he replied, testy.
Vicky advanced and he held his ground. She scanned him and again, Timmy saw those strange eyes lurking behind her. His mouth dried out and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"I think you do," she challenged. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play innocent with me."
Maybe if he could stall her long enough, she wouldn't attack him and Cosmo could return with reinforcements. Of course, that meant he'd have to depend on Cosmo to rescue him, which was dicey. He also didn't know what reinforcements wouldn't be subject to the butterfly nets and the magnets.
"The only way to make things right and to keep them from haunting me is to make a sacrifice. I've chosen you as the sacrificial victim. You should be honored, twerp. It's not every day you get to be someone's first."
Deborvak was in the middle of reading another long, boring tome (this one dusty and insipid) when a rock hit Tootie's window. Tootie, who'd been in the middle of a school report, looked up. They moved toward the window to spy Cosmo waving his arms frantically and calling for her to open the window. At least, that was what it looked like. With the window shut, he probably could've been saying anything.
Magdalene also drifted closer. She looked pensive…and the next rock struck her in the face.
"For heaven's sake, Cosmo, the window is already open!" she snapped. "You don't need to keep throwing rocks!"
"Vicky's got Wanda and Timmy and I'm sure she's gonna do something horrible to Timmy and Vicky's got our wands," Cosmo said in a rush.
"Woah, woah, wait. What?" Magdalene said. Deborvak didn't wait for a response. Instead, he flung himself out the window and landed on his heels. Somehow, he'd stuck the landing despite jumping from two floors up. Tootie was both impressed and jealous.
"Never mind that. We'll get the details later," Deborvak told her and held up his wand. Tootie appeared beside him and a third wand wave brought them to Timmy's house.
It should have been where Timmy was. It might have been, for all Tootie knew, except a menacing figure with sapphire blue eyes, leathery skin, and blonde hair swept in a coif she could only describe as "douchebag supreme" stood in front of the door. His lower lip curled in derision as he took in Cosmo, Magdalene, and Tootie. Something changed in his expression when he beheld Deb, but it was a flash here and then gone.
The figure was human sized with elfin tipped ears. Self-consciously, Deborvak touched his own tipped ears. He wore motorcycle clothes and while being around Masha sometimes made Tootie feel like there was a slight pressure on her chest, this guy made her feel like she had a fifty-pound weight on it. It was hard to breathe. He smiled suddenly and spots appeared in Tootie's eyes.
"I'm impressed," Deborvak said. "It's not often you meet someone with as much darkness as my adopted mother. You and she should really have a chat sometime after I'm done kicking your ass from here to Australia."
"You think it'd be that easy?" the Unseelie retorted. Deborvak didn't use his wand. Instead, he muttered a few choice words, as did the Unseelie.
"Yeah, we did," Cosmo said. Deborvak inclined his head toward Magdalene and then toward the Unseelie.
"He's stalling us," Deborvak snarled. He cast a fireball in the Unseelie's direction and then, while the fairy was busy trying to fend that off, he blasted him in the stomach. It bounced harmlessly off his shield. Deborvak cursed.
Magdalene whirled, a dervish in miniature, shifting so rapidly that Tootie had difficulty discerning where one form ended and the other began. In response, the Unseelie transformed into a giant blue wolf and dove on her, but Magdalene squirmed away. Deborvak was muttering nonstop now, a spell in a language she didn't recognize. A barrier materialized around the house.
Tootie grabbed her wand, remembering belatedly that she had magic too, and attacked the barrier. The barrier absorbed the power and Deborvak shook his head at her.
((You can't destroy it that way,)) he said. ((The only way is to counter with Unseelie magic. Never mind the barrier. Get to Timmy and Vicky!))
"But if…" she started and he shook his head again.
((He can't keep people out and fight us simultaneously,)) he said. ((He can only focus on one at a time. Get in there! I know I said you needed to wait before you took on Vicky, but if you don't stop her now, the Unseelie will use the pain she generates from Timmy! Never mind for what right now. I don't know why he wants it but it's potent, sex magic combined with rape, especially considering Timmy's age.))
Tootie was alarmed, too surprised to move, and Deborvak took an energy bolt to the chest. He gasped and shot her a dirty look. Tootie disappeared and half expected to bounce back outside.
As it was, it was a very near thing. The magic snagged her when she entered and it was like squeezing through a narrow tunnel. She made it the other side, gasping, and needed a second to recover herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury.
Vicky must have drugged Timmy, because he was walking strangely, still trying to fend off Vicky's advances. Tootie snarled, bringing out her training wand and blasting Vicky back. Startled, the teenager looked up and then groaned.
"Not you too," she said. "Fuck, I thought for sure there was someone here who wasn't a freak."
"I'm not a freak," Tootie growled. "Stay away from him!"
Vicky twirled a wand and Tootie put two and two together. Humans with a modicum of magical ability, either from being around fairies or being related to them, could utilize wands. Vicky must have used Timmy's godparents' wands to subdue him. That pissed her off even more, because it was like Vicky was saying that Cosmo and Wanda were tacitly agreeing to this.
"Look, twerpette, we both want him," she said. "Don't deny it. I'll offer you a deal. You can have him after I'm done."
The lamp nearest Vicky exploded. Shit, shit, shit. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up hurting herself. Deborvak had taught her control, but it was impossible to hold her temper. And her godfather was trying to draw that Unseelie off before he made matters worse. She was on her own.
"I don't want him like that," she hissed. "I would never take advantage of him. I would never hurt him."
Vicky shrugged. "More for me. Don't interfere, then."
Tootie caught sight of herself in the mirror. A half-crown glimmered over her head and she saw wings at her back. Vicky returned her attention to Timmy and placed her back to Tootie. That was how little a threat she thought Tootie posed. Tootie growled.
A wave of the wand unclothed Timmy and Tootie averted her gaze (although she did really want to look). Timmy tried to cover himself up and Vicky snorted, pinning him to the wall with magic. Think, Tootie, think. Vicky had two wands, yes, but she had such a small amount of magic compared to her. Magdalene's blood had run thin by this point.
Tootie focused all her hatred and loathing for her sister into a single burst and then used it as a decoy to blind her. Vicky cried out, clutching the wands tighter, and whirled around. Tootie shifted position and, heart hammering, she flung a chair at Vicky. Somehow, she managed to avoid it, though not well. She stumbled and then snarled, using the wands to restore her eyesight.
"Anything you can do, I can do better," she sneered.
She was wrong. Deborvak had told her that anger was constructive, but only when you used it, not when it used you. Right now, she was riding on a wave of rage that was spinning her out of control. She needed to remedy that before Vicky gained the upper hand again.
She glanced into the kitchen where she saw Wanda in a butterfly net with sparkling blood near her. The split second distraction cost her. Vicky cackled and conjured up a butterfly net to slam down on Tootie. Tootie could feel her powers fizzing and dying. But she was half human—surely she could get out of here if the damn thing weren't stuck to the floor.
"That's the best you've got?"
The only fairy she knew impervious to butterfly nets was Deborvak. She could normally do magic without her wand, but the butterfly net neutralized it. Vicky snorted, stepping up to her and poking her in the chest.
"Timmy Turner is mine to do with whatever I want. You lost. Cosmo and Wanda failed. The Unseelie at the door will defeat your godfather and you'll watch me defile your precious Timmy. That's how this is going to end."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Timmy cried and a gag flew into his mouth. He was still trying to cover himself.
If only she could win free…no one in Deborvak's family was affected by butterfly nets, so far as she knew. Could she summon them here? Would the net nullify the summons? She didn't know. She thought of Vela freezing her room and called out to her.
She knew her full name. She knew Aurelia's full name. They had told her if she had need of them, to call them. She could defeat Vicky, she was sure of it, if the butterfly net was taken out of the picture.
Vela appeared, not poofing like she'd expected, but a pop in more like a witch teleporting. She glanced around, assessed the situation, and then glanced at Tootie. Shaking her head, she facepalmed.
"No wonder you called me," she said. "Man, the rules here are so archaic."
"Never mind that," Tootie hissed. Vicky was sliding her hands up Timmy's thighs and the sight made her gag.
"It's stuck to the floor," Vela protested.
"I know it's stuck! Unstick it!"
"I…I don't know how…" Vela protested. The strings glowed hot and created a hole large enough for Tootie to scramble through. She shook off the remnants of the net.
"You again?" Vicky huffed, leaving Timmy alone for the moment. She raised her wand and blasted Vela out of the way. Vela caught herself before she hit the floor and nearly tripped over Wanda in the kitchen. This was going from bad to worse.
Tootie created a cinderblock for Vicky's hands and the weight caused her to crash to the floor. The wands stuck out and Tootie held her breath, wondering if there was enough room inside her restraints for Vicky to exercise magic anyway. Vicky snarled, banging her hands against the floor in a desperate attempt to free herself.
Why the hell hadn't Vela defended herself? Oh, well, she had other things to worry about than Deb's daughter.
In order to prevent Vicky from winning her way free, she paralyzed her sister's arms. Vicky's roars transformed, to Tootie's distress, into half sobs. She wriggled madly, unable to excavate herself. Tootie stared, unnerved.
Something blue flashed in front of her face and the Unseelie was there, barreling through the front door and into the living room. He was appraising her and the look made her freeze, feeling sullied. After him Deborvak, Magdalene, and Cosmo barreled in. Cosmo yanked his wand out of the cinderblock and tossed the other to Wanda. It dawned on him a minute later that Wanda was still in the net and unable to use said wand.
"This was not supposed to happen," the Unseelie snarled. "I see I picked the wrong sister."
"You are not welcome here," Magdalene snapped, pointing her wand at his chest. "I revoke your claim to this house and to any house with my descendants in it. You will leave. Now."
The Unseelie chuckled. "Do you think it's so easy to get rid of me? Timmy has to revoke my right to be here and it doesn't look like he's up to the challenge, does it?"
Tootie growled. Deborvak narrowed his gaze at their adversary. Cosmo was tossing the net off his wife and rousing her. Vicky remained half-sobbing on the floor and unable to free herself. The Unseelie cast her an offhand glance before looking back at Tootie. He smiled and it sent chills down her spine. Yet she took a step forward, closer to him, seeing an outstretched hand in her mind's eye. She felt compelled to advance.
"If I cannot compel one sister to do it, then I will compel the other," he said and shook his head. "Pity, though, because she would have received untold power and might have made something out of her life. You, however…"
His eyes gleamed. "You have the faerie blood much stronger and more prominent. Your father was a faerie. You could cast aside the shackles of Fairy World and your 'godfather'— "he sneered— "and rose to untold heights within the Unseelie Court. All that you must do is repudiate your teachings and seize what is rightfully yours."
"You told me you'd leave me alone if I took the twerp…" Vicky moaned and pity stabbed Tootie. But…if Vicky hadn't fulfilled her part of the bargain, was it right to punish her for being weak?
"I lied," the Unseelie sneered. "It's something I do, as the bad guy."
Deb rolled his eyes. Why were he and Magdalene staring at her intently? Shouldn't they be attacking while the Unseelie implored her to join them? Or…were they waiting to see which side she was on? At first, she was offended and then she realized what this fairy was offering. She'd be free from Jorgen's tyranny. She'd never have to be looked down upon based on her heritage.
Then her gaze went to Timmy, stuck to the wall and spread-eagled. He was begging her with his eyes. Cosmo and Wanda, out of the corner of her eye, had their wands out and looked menacing. They, like the other fairies, were expectant.
Her thoughts were clouded and murky. Weight descended upon her chest and strangled her. It was hard to think between the Unseelie's astral weight and mental fingers poking and prodding. She gasped, rubbing her chest.
"It's okay if you don't like how you came into this world," Vela said softly and heads turned. Tootie had almost forgotten she was there. "It's okay if you feel maligned or that one of your parents doesn't love you like they should. But it's not okay to hurt innocents because you feel mistreated. And it's never okay to hurt someone you love for a temporary alliance. Because he will take the power and cast you aside. You're just a puppet to him."
The Unseelie snarled, rounding on her, and hit her with a fireball that she waved aside. It was more like it dissolved before it ever reached her, which Tootie thought bizarre.
"You know it's not okay," Vela continued. "And you know he's influencing you, the same way he influenced Vicky. Continuing the cycle doesn't make it right. It just makes it hurt that much more."
Tootie examined her feelings. Why would she have hesitated defending Timmy? She loved Timmy. Yes, he was sometimes a jerk and yes, sometimes he got on her nerves. Plus, he could be such as stupid pigheaded boy. But he stood up to Vicky. He cared about his godparents and his friends. She knew if she gave him the chance, he might turn out to be halfway decent. Plus, he'd defended her when she'd needed it. She had never forgotten that.
And anything that Vicky remotely considered acceptable had to be abhorrent. Panting, Tootie cast aside the mental shackles the Unseelie had bound her with and fought her way free to think clearly, think her own thoughts. It was still hard to breathe, but at least her mind was her own again.
This decision must've shone in her eyes, because the Unseelie spun, freeing Vicky from Tootie's spell. At the same time, Magdalene, Deborvak, Cosmo, and Wanda all blasted him from behind. The second that he'd taken to reconsider his allies had cost him. Though they couldn't take him down individually, combined with Tyrocka's power and Fairy World's, it was enough to subdue him.
Encased in ice, the Unseelie snarled, unable to fight his way free. Magdalene dropped him inside of a steel cage tipped with iron ("Nice touch!" from Deborvak), and then, in case that wasn't sufficient, she placed all manner of complicated locks along the bars.
Cosmo and Wanda rescued their godson and restored his clothing. He fell to the floor and they rushed to embrace him. Their gazes locked onto Vicky and they waved their wands once more.
"It's too dangerous for her to remember this," Wanda said. Vicky disappeared, probably back to their house.
"Don't be too hard on Tootie," Vela said and offered her a kindly smile. "She was being manipulated by that jerk."
"Just like Vicky…" Tootie said, hugging herself. "He was going to use me for my power."
"Tootie…" Deborvak said and his smile was brittle. "A lot of people are going to try that. Believe me, you do not want to wait until you are out of options and need rescuing before you break it off with them. Also, Jorgen's still kinda pissed at me for that."
He rubbed the back of his neck and his smile turned sheepish. "Back to you. I know it's hard, but you always have a choice to fight these guys."
He stepped closer to the cage and spat through the bars into the Unseelie's face. Wanda rolled her eyes and Deborvak retreated, raising his eyebrows at her. She shook her head and scoffed.
"He'll have to go to Jorgen," Magdalene said and then winced. "That means one of us is going to have to accompany him. I can't go back to Fairy World."
"Neither of us is high on his list right now," Deborvak agreed.
"I'll do it," Wanda volunteered and then looked at Tootie. "But I want you to accompany me. And Cosmo—don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Might as well ask the sun not to rise, Wanda," Deborvak opined, smirking. She sighed.
"Just try to keep the Earth from exploding before I get back, okay?"
Wanda was quiet when they appeared in Fairy World and waited for Jorgen to grant an audience. She couldn't get the image of Timmy on the wall out of her mind. They'd been there to protect him and they'd still failed. It had taken four fairies to take down that rogue fairy. If she had evaded the butterfly net, perhaps it might not have been necessary. She was ashamed. What kind of godmother was she if she couldn't even protect her godson?
Tootie looked down too and Wanda offered her an affectionate smile. She knew the girl was battling her own demons, not least of which was her hesitation to rescue Timmy. How could someone who loved him, she'd probably asked herself, have faltered at such a crucial juncture? On the plus side, it didn't look like they needed to wait for Jorgen before they upbraided themselves.
"It's not your fault, what happened," Wanda said, her first instinct to soothe the child before herself. "You've never come up against an Unseelie before. You don't know what powers they possess."
"Why didn't I jump at Timmy and save him? Why did I listen to that guy?" she moaned.
"You're still a child. Don't be so hard on yourself. When you've had more than 10,000 years behind you, you'll see what I mean."
"Will I live that long?" Tootie asked. Her lower lip quivered. "Would I outlive Timmy?"
She was sorry she'd brought this up. Yes, of course Tootie would outlive Timmy. She might even outlive her children as the blood diluted. Her only companions would be half-fairies and full blooded fairies like herself, Cosmo, and Magdalene. It was hard to watch your former godchildren grow up and move on, but it'd be doubly hard for Tootie, because she'd grown up with Timmy.
Wanda fought for something comforting to say, some balm for the poor beleaguered girl. If Tootie turned her lover into a fairy like Magdalene had to Nathaniel, Jorgen would come down hard on her. Cupid hadn't granted his blessing over their relationship the way he had belatedly over Magdalene and Nathaniel. Moreover, turning humans into fairies was strictly controlled and a lot of consideration and thought had to transpire before the wish could be granted. It was a bureaucratic nightmare.
She wasn't sure whether it was the traumatic experience they'd just endured or her mind drawing a blank, but she was unable to come up with anything. Her silence was answer enough. Tootie swallowed hard, blinking back tears, and hugged herself tighter.
Jorgen admitted them after another minute and took in the cage and the two females. He paced about the steel block without speaking, taking so long to observe the cage and its contents that it made Wanda nervous.
"This is the one who has been causing all of this trouble," he said after five minutes had passed. "We do not govern the Unseelie Court, but it is verboten for fairies to attack human children, especially in this manner. I will deal with this. I trust you have erased Vicky's memories."
Wanda nodded.
"Tell me what happened," he demanded.
Wanda had to defer to Tootie for about half of it, but they managed, between the two of them, to relay the story. As they did, Jorgen's face darkened and he slammed his fists on the desk. Both females jumped and Wanda brushed her hand against the wand in her pocket.
"And Turner is all right?"
They nodded. Tootie looked ill, swaying. Her face had acquired a green tint and again, Wanda pitied her. This wasn't her fault. It was Wanda's for letting things escalate like this and for letting Vicky gain the upper hand.
"I will speak with Tootie alone," he intoned and Wanda found herself back in the atrium. Fairies bustled past on business and she sat in midair to cool her heels. Cosmo nudged her mentally and she startled, surprised that his telepathy had reached her from Earth. Then she realized she was projecting and grimaced. He must've caught onto her self-blaming.
((We did what we could,)) he said. (('Sides, it's not like this is the first time we've been caught or tricked.))
((I know, but…Timmy…)) she protested.
((He's fine,)) he reassured her. ((He's playing video games with me and Deb. Magdalene's just kinda floating there and not doing much of anything.))
Magdalene was a problem she thought best left for another day. She was grateful to her for coming to Tootie and therefore Timmy's aid. Perhaps that would go toward exonerating her in Jorgen's eyes. But Wanda still wasn't sure how she felt about her. Many fairies still considered the age difference to be unforgiveable, regardless of Cupid's announcement.
She didn't want to be hidebound and she had been friends with Magdalene before Nathaniel. Magdalene could use all the friends she could get, especially if she intended to return to Fairy World at any point. That didn't mean Wanda agreed with her actions. Then again…Magdalene had been as helpless to resist Nathaniel's pull as Wanda had been to resist Cosmo's. It wasn't her fault.
Why did Wanda forgive everyone but herself? She held herself to such exacting standards and then punished herself when she failed to live up to them.
Cosmo had gotten distracted, probably by that videogame, which was just as well. Wanda's thoughts whirled and she had no desire to rein them in and explain them to him. It'd require more mental energy than she had to spare.
Propping her chin on her fist, she waited for Tootie to exit Jorgen's office. He wouldn't allay her fears about outlasting Timmy, but he might give her something else to consider. Besides, as much as Tootie wanted to believe Timmy was her true love…there were other contenders for his affection. The boy attracted girls like he was part of a harem. Honestly. Cosmo had once accused Timmy's pink hat of being an aphrodisiac. She wondered if there was any truth to that.
She let her thoughts drift into aimless directions and didn't attempt to control them. Defocusing her gaze, she stared at the door leading to Jorgen's office. Like most doors in Fairy World, it was painted on.
After another ten minutes, Tootie emerged, somber and twisting her pigtail. Wanda raised her eyebrows at her and Tootie shook her head. No, she didn't feel like talking. That was all right. Wanda didn't either, but if she had desired to, she would have let her.
Sometimes she wondered if she was permanently stuck in godparent mode.
They returned to Earth and Tootie set off for home. Deborvak abandoned his game without a second thought and he, Magdalene, and Tootie were gone in an instant. Timmy was pretending the world didn't exist, so she didn't bother him. He was entitled to a childhood.
They'd dealt with the Unseelie, but she had a feeling the repercussions might still reverberate for a while. They'd have to keep an eye on Vicky and ensure no one was influencing her. Also, they'd have to make sure her cruelty was just her regular self, not supernaturally influenced. Ugh, that meant spending more time around Vicky than Wanda liked. However, she'd do it for Timmy, even if he didn't always appreciate it.
Her eyes narrowed. Or ever appreciate it. One day, she should go on strike and see how he reacted. She might, if she weren't afraid Cosmo would destroy the world in the interim. It was hard being the voice of reason among raving lunatics.
What he was doing was technically stalking, but Nathaniel chose to look at it as an alternative way to get in contact with Tootie. Double-checking the address he'd printed out, he headed for her house. Somehow, he'd get a conversation with Magdalene. He just wasn't sure how he was going to manage it.
Did Jorgen's glamour still apply when he wasn't in school? He knew that Magdalene was supposed to know him without recognizing his appearance, but they would never interact normally. It wasn't like fairies were stupid and announced their presence to humans (save Cosmo, who was the exception that proved the rule).
The front door was open when he knocked and he frowned, disconcerted. He recalled the old requirement that fairies had to be granted permission to enter a house, though he knew it no longer applied. A lot of the older rules and prohibitions had fallen out of favor. The iron thing he was glad about, because he'd never have been able to tolerate a modern world otherwise.
Tootie darted down the steps and looked hassled. She sighed when she saw him.
"Oh, it's you," she said. "I mean, I'm sorry. It's just been a bad day. My parents aren't home."
"I came to speak with you, not with them," he said. Magdalene was disguised as a dog at Tootie's side and she cocked her head curiously at Nathaniel. The compulsion to be near her was subtler now, but he knew she had to feel it.
"What is it? Am I in trouble?"
Kneeling at the dog's level, Nathaniel smiled. "Hello, Magdalene."
You could've heard a pin drop. Tootie nudged Magdalene out of the way and shut the door. A second later, he heard the deadbolt click home. Shit, that really hadn't gone per plan. He sucked at thinking in advance. Most of his actions were spur of the moment decisions.
"You could do that without freaking everyone out, you know," Deborvak said. He appeared as a regular human, but the illusion was spoiled by his tipped ears.
"Who do you think I am?" he asked.
Deborvak snorted. "You're not Crocker, so there's a point in your favor. You've got glamour layered so thickly over you I'm surprised you're not sneezing. Jorgen must really not want anyone to divine your identity."
He contemplated him. "Ah, but someone has. Sucks to be you, mate."
"You don't know who I am?"
"Not on sight, no," he said. "I could read your mind, but that'd be unpleasant for you. And it's cheating. But try to not give my goddaughter heart attacks, please k thanks."
With that, he popped away and held his head in his hands. That could've gone better.