June 2015

Hello readers! I'm very glad you're all still enjoying my little brain droppings. I've updated my profile with the latest on my fanfic writing, and some new links to my other nooks around the 'Net. Please check it out and thanks for reading!

FOP doesn't belong to me.

"How long it's been," Anti-Cosmo said quietly as he looked around the dark house. "And yet it's still so familiar."

"It was the only place I could think of to go," Anti-Wanda replied softly as she gently laid Tabby on the tattered couch. She had cast a dual spell, almost automatically—one to transport them, and another to put the little girl to sleep. "You probably would have picked a better place—"

"No, this was very clever," her husband interrupted, smiling kindly. "I'm very proud of you, my darling."

He meant it, too. It never would have occurred to him to hide at their old house in the now deserted Anti-Fairy World, yet his wife had never so much as hesitated. She may not be one of the smartest beings he'd ever known, but her line of thinking was sometimes very clever. The female anti-fairy blushed.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said with a crooked smile, and giggled when her husband flew to her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "So . . . now what?" Anti-Cosmo sighed heavily.

"Now we wait until Tabitha awakes, and try to gain her trust," he said as he watched the little girl sleep. "She is the key to our future."

His wife said nothing as she turned to follow his gaze. Tabby had curled herself into the fetal position, and twitched slightly as she dreamed. The girl looked so small, so vulnerable. Anti-Wanda furrowed her brow as she watched the child, doubt gnawing incessantly at her mind.

"What is it, my dear?" Anti-Cosmo asked softly when he noticed his wife's thoughtful expression. "What troubles you?" Anti-Wanda didn't reply for a long moment, and when she finally did, her voice was soft and full of uncertainty.

"Are we doing the right thing?" she asked quietly, her eyes never leaving the girl on the couch. Her husband uttered a gentle chuckle as he curled his arms around her waist from behind.

"We're anti-fairies, my love," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver. "We never do the 'right thing'." Anti-Wanda shook her head, twisting her body within her husband's arms so she could face him.

"That's not what I mean," she said, resting her hands on his chest. "She's just a little girl. We shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to. Besides, she doesn't like us very much." Her husband shrugged.

"That can change. She will probably be calmer after her nap, so we can try again. We can use the fact that she's so close to our colorful counterparts to our advantage. We ARE all alike in more ways than we'd like to admit, after all."

"Maybe," Anti-Wanda said, glancing over her shoulder at the child. "I just don't know if this is such a good idea." Anti-Cosmo used a gentle hand to turn his wife's face back to him, and smiled lovingly at her.

"You just let me do the worrying, okay my darling?" he said softly, locking her large pink eyes with his green. "You just think about being the beautiful anti-fairy you are, and the child will come around soon. You'll see."

He kissed her gently on the lips, an action that was no small feat, taking her large crooked teeth into consideration. But they had been married for just as long as their fairy doubles, and this complication had been overcome a long, long time ago. Anti-Wanda hesitated for a few seconds before kissing him back, in that shy, gentle way that made the evil genius' black heart flutter madly.

"Things will be better for us, my lovely wife," Anti-Cosmo whispered once their kiss had ended. He gently caressed Anti-Wanda's hair as she laid her head against his shoulder. "Things will change soon."

His wife said nothing as she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. She knew she shouldn't worry—he was a genius, after all—but she simply couldn't silence the little nagging voice in the back of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

It felt like what they were doing was wrong, and not in the usual 'cause bad luck for everyone' type of wrong that anti-fairies excelled at. This type of wrong made her stomach uneasy. This was so different than anything any anti-fairy had done—EVER—that she couldn't even think of what kind of punishment she and Anti-Cosmo would suffer if (when?) caught. This type of wrong was . . . well, WRONG—in big capital letters, flashing neon orange. It was kind of hard to ignore that type of warning.

But she kept her fears and worries to herself, mostly because her husband was so sure things would work out. He was the smart one, and she trusted him completely. Anti-Cosmo was cold and calculating, always thinking about his next evil plot and already three steps ahead of those who might try to stop him—but he was also kind and gentle with the woman he loved, and would go to great lengths to keep her safe and happy.

"I'm going to go upstairs and see what's left of my den, darling," Anti-Cosmo said softly, jostling his wife from her thoughts. "Do keep an eye on the girl, hmm?" Anti-Wanda nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Good. Call for me if you need anything." The dark fairy placed a quick kiss on his wife's cheek as he released her, before floating quickly up the dilapidated stairway.

Anti-Wanda watched her husband disappear up the stairs before turning back towards Tabby. The little girl was still sleeping, and had stuck her thumb in her mouth at some point. As the dark fairy watched, the child curled into a tighter ball, her body shivering slightly. Thinking she might be cold, Anti-Wanda used her wand to create a thick blanket, and gently tucked it around the sleeping child.

"Please don't hate us, Tabby," she whispered, gently stroking the girl's soft hair. "We won't hurt you." As if to reply, Tabby shifted beneath the blanket, the thumb popping momentarily out of her mouth.

" . . . Mama . . ." she muttered as she rolled over, the thumb returning to her mouth. Anti-Wanda smiled as she sat on the floor next to the couch, positioning herself so that she could lean against it and continue stroking the little girl's hair.

"Maybe things WILL be better," the anti-fairy whispered, gazing at the sleeping child. "Maybe."

The dark fairy sat quietly, watching the girl sleep and absently stroking her brown hair. Tears streamed down her cheeks unnoticed, the gentle smile still on her lips.

~X~X~X~

Wanda sat against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chin. She curled her arms around her legs, hugging them tight. The events of the day had left her shaken and confused, and she struggled to understand all she had seen.

Jorgen had called an emergency meeting with the Fairy Council as soon as they had stepped off the elevator, and a meeting was currently taking place in the room on the other side of the wall Wanda was leaning against. The deafening silence of the hallway was periodically broken by loud shouting, followed by a small explosion as, presumably, Jorgen presented his counter-argument.

"At least she didn't look like she was hurt," Cosmo said quietly as he sat across the hall from her. He was still worried about punishment for losing Tabby earlier that day and wisely keeping his distance. "That's something, right? AC wouldn't hurt her, would he?"

Wanda said nothing. She was staring blankly into space, replaying the scene in the Records Vault over and over in her mind, searching for something, anything that might hold a clue as to where they took her goddaughter. She always came up empty of course, because she had never been to the Vault before that, so she had no idea what might have been considered 'out of place'. But a few things kept whispering to her, poking the back of her mind like an annoying moth, bouncing repeatedly against a windowpane.

"What for?" she muttered, completely unaware she had spoken aloud. Cosmo gave his wife a questioning glance.

"Huh?"

Wanda looked at him then, her face filled with confusion and fear.

"Right before they disappeared, Anti-Cosmo said that they 'needed' Tabby," she reminded him. "What do they need her FOR?" Cosmo shrugged.

"Maybe they just wanted a godchild of their own," he suggested softly. Wanda uttered a sharp laugh.

"Please, Cosmo," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Anti-fairies don't care about humans. All they care about is causing trouble. You know that." Her husband shrugged again.

"Back at the house, AC told me that he sometimes feels the urge to do good and help people since our operation," he said slowly, hoping not to remind Wanda that she was angry at him. "Maybe my fagiggly gland is making him not be so mean."

Wanda sat quietly as she considered this. Immediately after the operation, Anti-Cosmo had acted like Cosmo, if only for a brief instance. And a lot of years had passed since then, which might have allowed the transplanted gland to continue affecting AC in much the same way. Was it possible that the gland had started to change Anti-Cosmo, if only slightly? Make him, as her husband had so eloquently phrased it, 'not be so mean'?

After another moment's thought, Wanda slowly shook her head.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," she said with a sigh, resting her elbow on her knee and perching her chin in her hand. "What's so 'good and helpful' about kidnapping a child?" Cosmo could only offer her an apologetic shrug.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, Wanda fretting and worrying for Tabby's safety, and Cosmo mentally berating himself for allowing her to be taken in the first place. The meeting had suddenly quieted down, and the silence in the hallway pounded in their ears.

"I'm sorry, Wanda," Cosmo said softly, startling Wanda from her thoughts. "I should have just called for you when AC showed up." The pink haired fairy furrowed her brow.

"Yes, you should have," she said sternly, making him lower his head. "You know he's an evil genius, and he must have had some evil plan to even show up in the first place. Why on earth didn't you just grab Tabby and poof out of there?" Cosmo shrugged, his head still lowered.

"I don't know," he said in a shaky voice. "I . . . I just didn't think of it. I never expected him to take her."

Wanda sighed, rubbing her temples slowly. She supposed she should try and get past this anger at Cosmo, but every time she thought about Tabby being in the clutches of the most brilliantly evil anti-fairy in the universe, she couldn't help thinking about WHY she was there. Because of Cosmo. He had screwed up—AGAIN—and now her goddaughter was who knows where, with Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda, and they were doing who knows what to her. Anti-Cosmo's words still rang in her ears ("We NEED her!"), filling her with even more dread.

Need her for WHAT?

"Cosmo," Wanda started, picking her words carefully. He raised his head enough to look at her through his bangs. "You know I love you very much, don't you?"

He nodded slowly.

"You know that I would never intentionally hurt you or be mean to you for no reason, right?"

Another slow nod.

"And you know that I'll eventually stop being mad at you, right?"

He nodded for the third time.

"Okay, now keep all of that in mind when I say this, okay?"

Cosmo scrunched his face up as though he were expecting a punch to the jaw.

"This is, quite possibly, THE dumbest and most stupid thing that you have EVER done. EVER."

The green haired fairy jerked as if actually struck and lowered his head again. Wanda sat watching him, unsure how to feel—on the one hand, Cosmo WAS responsible for losing their goddaughter and should feel bad about it, but, on the other hand, was being mean to him doing anything constructive? Sure it helped Wanda blow off some steam and frustration, but what good did that do if it was just going to make her feel guilty later? Was it helping to find Tabby? Isn't that what mattered most of all?

With a heavy sigh, Wanda crawled across the hallway and sat next to her husband. He was trembling, and she guessed that he was probably crying. This did nothing to shrink the ball of guilt that was starting to form in her stomach, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Cosmo . . ." she said softly, and uttered a surprised gasp when he violently shook her hand off as he stood. It was then that Wanda realized he wasn't shaking because he was crying, he was shaking out of rage.

"That's not fair!" he hissed as he turned to her, his eyes brimming with anger and hurt. Tears of frustration were leaking steadily from his eyes. "I didn't do it on purpose! I had no idea he was going to take her and even tried to stop him!"

"Cosmo," Wanda soothed as she stood. She was surprised to discover that she was slightly scared—she had never seen him react like this. "I'm sorry I said what I did, just please calm down!" She took a step toward him, her arms outstretched, and he jerked backwards, staying out of her reach.

"I know I'm stupid," he was saying, his body still trembling and tears still falling. "I know I'm cowardly and immature and irresponsible. I'm easily confused, manipulated and fooled. But I love Tabby, and I never want anything bad to happen to her!"

"I know, sweetie," Wanda said, inching her way closer to him. "I know you don't. It was wrong of me to say that, very wrong. Honey, calm down—"

"YOU weren't there," he said, jabbing an accusatory finger at her. "You have no idea what happened. I DID try to stop him!"

"Okay sweetie," she said, holding her hands in front of her. She faintly wondered if it was a soothing gesture for him or a defensive gesture for her. He was becoming so upset she worried how he'd react. He suddenly plunged his hands into his hair and gave one hard tug before screaming:

"I'M STUPID, OKAY? I'M REALLY, REALLY STUPID AND TOTALLY UNFIT TO BE A GODPARENT! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR?"

Realizing Cosmo was getting dangerously hysterical, Wanda launched herself at him, hitting him in the middle and sending them both to the floor. He lay stunned for a few seconds, which was long enough for the pink haired fairy to scramble up, coming to rest straddling him, her knees pinning his arms to his sides.

"Cosmo, listen to me," she said gently, taking his face into her hands and locking eyes with him. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm very sorry I said that. It was unfair, you're right, because I don't know exactly everything that happened. I know you care about Tabby and would never just allow her to be taken. I was wrong, sweetie. I'm sorry!"

Cosmo was breathing hard, partly because of his outburst and partly because his wife was sitting on his chest. The grimace of hurt and anger that he had been wearing a moment ago now shattered, replaced by sorrow and guilt.

"I'm sorry," he whispered harshly, fresh tears falling from his eyes. "I'm sorry I lost her." Wanda shook her head, smiling gently.

"You tried to stop him," she whispered back, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "We'll find her and everything will be back to normal. You'll see."

"Ahem!"

Cosmo and Wanda froze, startled by the new voice in the hallway. They stared at each other with wide eyes before slowly turning in the direction the voice had come from.

"Are we interrupting anything?" Jorgen asked, an eyebrow raised. The entire Fairy Council was standing behind him, staring slack-jawed at the two fairies on the floor.

"NO!" Wanda cried as she jumped off of her husband and resumed floating. "No, we were . . . just worried about Tabby." Her cheeks burned bright red, making her feel warm. A quick glance at her husband showed a similar expression on his face as he got to his feet, quickly wiping his flushed cheeks dry.

Jorgen's eyebrow went even higher as he gave her a dubious look.

"Obviously," he said, rolling his eyes. Cosmo and Wanda turned even darker red.

"S-so what's the verdict?" Wanda asked, floating closer to her superior. "What did the Council decide?"

"Negotiations were tough," Jorgen said, puffing out his mighty, muscular chest. "But we finally reached a decision." He stood silently for a moment, as if building suspense.

"AND?" Cosmo and Wanda asked together.

"We've decided to put a new enchantment on the Records Vault," the Head Fairy said, looking proud as some of the Fairy Council members patted each other on the backs. Cosmo grabbed his wife and pushed her behind him as her hair went aflame. She looked ready to murder.

"What about Tabby?" he asked as calmly as he could while struggling to hold back his infuriated wife. "And that thing about the safety of Fairy World?" Jorgen waved a large hand.

"Yes, yes, we discussed that, too," he said, crossing his arms. "We must find her to ensure the safety of Fairy World. It all fits together so marvelously!"

Cosmo seriously considered tossing Wanda at the Head Fairy.

"Now then," Jorgen was saying as Wanda calmed. "We need to figure out just where an evil anti-fairy would hide out." The Fairy Council members behind him began to talk excitedly amongst themselves.

"Pixie World?" one suggested.

"Dairy World?" another offered.

"Cherry World?" a third chimed in. Jorgen shook his head at each suggestion.

"Not dark and dreary enough," he said, rubbing his chin. "Wherever he is, it must be someplace that an anti-fairy would feel comfortable."

Silence reigned for a minute as everyone in the hallway thought this through. Cosmo looked from one face to another before clearing his throat.

"Um, what about Anti-Fairy World?" he asked, giving a slight shrug. Wanda shook her head.

"Why would he go there?" she asked with her own small shrug. "Anti-Fairy World has been deserted for years." Cosmo furrowed his brow.

"Wouldn't that make it a really good hiding place, then?"

The hallway fell silent again as all eyes fell on Cosmo. He looked around nervously at the stares and felt himself blush again.

"What?"

"QUICKLY!" Jorgen bellowed, making everyone within earshot jump. "WE MUST SCRAMBLE THE FAIRIES!" The Head Fairy ran swiftly down the hall, followed closely by the Fairy Council members.

"Genius!" Wanda squealed happily as she planted a kiss on Cosmo's cheek. He offered her a crooked smile as she grabbed his arm and yanked him after the others.

~X~X~X~

Tabby awoke slowly, and smiled as she snuggled herself into the warm blanket around her. Someone was stroking her hair, and she could tell from the soft gentle touch it was her Mama-Wanda. She was home. All that scary stuff with the dark blue fairies must have been a bad dream.

She sensed someone to her right and turned her head, slowly opening her eyes. Just as she expected, two large pink eyes gazed back at her, and Wanda smiled, showing large crooked teeth. They were very white against her blue skin, and Tabby wondered why she had never noticed that before.

Wait a minute.

Tabby's eyes opened wide as she bolted into an upright position. Anti-Wanda jerked her hand back, her large smile wavering. She looked almost as scared as Tabby.

"Where am I?" the little girl cried, scooting herself back against the corner of the couch as far as possible. "Where's Wanda?" Without giving the anti-fairy a chance to answer, Tabby threw her head back and issued an almost ear piercing scream.

Anti-Wanda flew forward before she was even aware she was moving. She clamped a hand over the girl's mouth, giving her a pleading look.

"Please don't be scared, sweetie!" the dark fairy said, stroking Tabby's hair gently. "We're not going to hurt you, Tabby! I promise!" Tears had begun leaking from Anti-Wanda's eyes again, and Tabby's brown eyes flicked back and forth between her cheeks. The little girl reached up and pried the hand off her mouth.

"You're crying," she said in a tone that could have been more question than statement. Anti-Wanda blushed and hurriedly wiped at her cheeks.

"Oh," she said, her voice shaky. "It's nothing . . ."

"What's going on down here?" Anti-Cosmo called as he hurried down the stairway. "Why is she screaming?"

"It's okay, sweetie," Anti-Wanda was saying, offering her husband a weak smile. "She was just scared is all." Tabby looked at her 'Uncle Ace'.

"She's crying," she said quietly, pointing at the female anti-fairy's cheeks. "Why is she crying?" Anti-Cosmo placed a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Darling?" he said softly, leaning close to her. "What's wrong?" Anti-Wanda shook her head, wiping at the tears that stubbornly continued to fall.

"I'll be okay," she said, right before she began to sob. Anti-Cosmo, looking confused and worried, took her into his arms, gently caressing her dark hair.

"My love," he whispered, delicately wiping away her tears. "What upsets you so?"

Before Anti-Wanda could respond, bright lights flashed through the windows and the front door burst open. A dozen fairy soldiers sped in, wands at the ready and pointed at the anti-fairies. Anti-Cosmo, Anti-Wanda and Tabby stared at the invaders, wide-eyed.

Anti-Cosmo could have kicked himself for being caught in such a vulnerable position. AGAIN.

"DON'T MOVE!" the commander shouted as Jorgen stomped into the house, quickly followed by Cosmo and Wanda.

"We've come for the child," the Head Fairy said. "Hand her over and no one gets hurt."

"Tabby!" Wanda called worriedly. "Are you all right?" The little girl nodded slowly.

"She's crying," she said, pointing to Anti-Wanda. Her godmother gave her a confused look.

"Th-that's too bad," Wanda said, exchanging a quick glance with Cosmo. Jorgen grunted loudly.

"ENOUGH TALKING!" he bellowed, making everyone cringe. "Hand over the girl, NOW!" Anti-Cosmo released his wife and quickly flew forward, in front of his wife and Tabitha.

"You'll have to come over here and take her!" he called defiantly, raising his wand and pointing it at the Head Fairy. Jorgen narrowed his eyes at the dark fairy.

"Do not tempt me, puny little anti-fairy."

"Uh, Jorgen," Cosmo called nervously, casting a nervous glance between the large Head Fairy and his dark double. "Shouldn't we get Tabby out of here before you start blowing people up?" Jorgen shot a sideways glance at the little green haired fairy before directing his eyes back at Anti-Cosmo.

"WANDA!" the very muscular fairy ordered, making the little fairy jump. "Retrieve your godchild!"

What happened next took place so quickly that everyone involved could only stand in stunned silence for a full minute afterward in order to fully process the occurrences.

As soon as the order left Jorgen's mouth, Wanda had launched herself forward in an attempt to take back her goddaughter. Anti-Cosmo—obviously not willing to lose the child he had so painstakingly kidnapped—quickly flew back to his wife, his wand raised. As the dark star at the tip began to glow, Wanda had reached Tabby, latching onto the girl's arm and accidentally knocking Anti-Wanda onto her back in the process. Anti-Cosmo's wand flashed brightly, momentarily blinding everyone in the dark room.

Anti-Cosmo, Wanda and Tabby were gone. And they had left Anti-Wanda behind. Jorgen approached the frightened and stunned anti-fairy, his face hidden in shadows.

"We have a few questions for you," he said, his voice low and dangerous. Anti-Wanda cried out as she was seized by two fairy soldiers.

Cosmo watched as his wife's duplicate was dragged from the house, struggling and calling her husband's name, large tears streaming down her cheeks. The little green haired fairy followed the group in silence. He wasn't sure what his next move should be, but thought he should stay with Anti-Wanda.

At this particular moment, he knew exactly how she was feeling.