June 2015
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The anti-fairies are loose! This can't be a good thing . . .
FOP doesn't belong to me.
When Anti-Wanda's cell door suddenly swung open, allowing Anti-Cosmo to zip forward and pull his wife into a tight embrace, Wanda wasn't worried. Cosmo WAS in the control room after all, perhaps he had brought the camera overlooking Anti-Wanda's cell back to life long enough to see their progress—or lack thereof—and managed to activate the door control.
It was possible. Admittedly, not overly likely, but possible.
What DID worry Wanda was the loud alarm that had begun to sound right before the cell door had swung open. Loud, braying prison alarms that go off suddenly usually didn't bring good news.
"Guys, I think we need to get out of here," she called to the two anti-fairies as they kissed happily. "NOW!"
The anti-fairies exchanged one more quick kiss before turning toward Wanda, their hands clasped tightly together and happy smiles on their lips. They seemed totally and completely oblivious to the loud alarm echoing throughout the building.
"Of course, Wanda," Anti-Cosmo said as they began to walk forward. "We were simply—"
He stopped dead, his eyes growing almost as wide as his wife's.
"Oh no," the pink haired fairy muttered as the alarm continued to bleat. "We've been caught, haven't we?"
A throaty chuckle sounded in her ear just then, making the hair on the nape of her neck prickle.
"Yes," a low voice replied, and an icy shiver tip-toed up Wanda's spine. "You have."
Anti-Cosmo suddenly jerked forward and grabbed Wanda's wrist, yanking her away from the owner of the voice. In one swift motion, he shoved her and his wife into the empty cell, before slamming the door closed and leaning heavily against it.
With no power, the door could not be locked, or remain closed. He was all that stood between a prison full of angry anti-fairies, and two defenseless women.
-X-X-X-
"WANDA!" Cosmo cried as he stared at the monitor. "We've got to get her out of there!"
"We CAN'T get her out!" Jorgen bellowed, running a hand over his flat top. "She's trapped with every anti-fairy in existence!"
"I'M SORRY!" Tabby cried, large tears rolling down her face. "I didn't know that button would let 'em all out! I just wanted to help! I'M SORRY!"
"Sir, the Fail Safe is kicking into effect!" Binky announced as a new light blinked on.
"I wish Wanda was here!" Tabby cried suddenly, giving Cosmo's tie a quick yank. "I WISH WANDA WAS HERE!"
Cosmo lifted his wand, which glowed for a split second before falling limp with a soft 'Pbbbt' sound.
"What happened?" he cried, giving his wand a fierce shake. "Why isn't my magic working?"
"It's the Fail Safe," Jorgen said, as he slammed a button on the control panel, killing the alarm in mid-wail.
"Huh?"
"It's a security measure," Binky explained, wringing his hands worriedly. "If all the cells were ever opened all at once, an enchantment goes into effect that prevents any magic from being performed inside the prison."
"You mean all the anti-fairies are free, Wanda's stuck with them and we have NO MAGIC to stop them?" Cosmo asked, clutching his useless wand.
Binky nodded. "I'm afraid so." He offered the green haired fairy a shaky smile. "But it could be worse."
Cosmo gaped at him. "HOW?"
"We could ALL be trapped down there, surrounded by angry anti-fairies."
As if on cue, the door to the control room burst open, and a dozen angry anti-fairies pushed their way in.
-X-X-X-
"So, the wayward son has finally returned," Anti-Binky sneered, offering Anti-Cosmo a toothy grin. "I'm surprised you aren't hiding in there with the women, all things considered. Stand aside, traitor."
"Now why would I do a silly thing like that?" Anti-Cosmo answered, his voice surprisingly steady. "Besides, why would you want to bother with them? Aren't I the one you truly want?"
Anti-Binky uttered a soft chuckle. "Such a high opinion of himself, this one," the small anti-fairy said to the group of dark fairies behind him as he hooked a thumb toward Anti-Cosmo. "And so short sighted."
He was answered with a group snicker, as is customary procedure for large mobs.
"Short sighted?" Anti-Cosmo asked, drawing the attention of the newly assumed leader of the anti-fairies back. "My dear Anti-Binky, I'm afraid you're going to have to explain this hilariously insane claim of yours."
The mob chuckled again, much to Anti-Binky's annoyance. He turned and cast a look over them that promised swift vengeance to anyone who dared respond in such a way again. A sea of red eyes stared back at him, and the room suddenly went silent as the alarm died. It seemed as though even the prison itself feared Anti-Binky's retribution.
"You think you're clever, don't you?" Anti-Binky asked as he turned back to face Anti-Cosmo. His voice was low and dangerous and he stepped forward until he was almost nose-to-nose with his rival. "You thought you had everything planned out nice and neat, didn't you? Thought everything would work exactly as it was supposed to, when it was supposed to, right?"
"That's generally the whole idea behind a 'plan', yes," Anti-Cosmo replied, pushing his back harder against the see-through cell door. He wasn't afraid of Anti-Binky exactly, but the other dark fairy was uncomfortably close. At this distance, and with his back against the cell door, Anti-Cosmo had no maneuvering room if Anti-Binky were to attack. Not to mention the fact that Anti-Cosmo's view of the rest of the anti-fairies was almost completely blocked, which he guessed probably wasn't an accident. "What, pray tell, is your point?"
"Then tell me, Mr. Smart-Guy-With-The-Plan," Anti-Binky said, his voice almost a whisper. "Did this oh-so-obviously-well-thought-out-plan of yours include releasing the rest of us, or just her?" He practically spat the pronoun out, and flicked his red eyes over Anti-Cosmo's shoulder to peg Anti-Wanda with a dark look. The female anti-fairy trembled under his gaze and took a few steps backward.
"He knows," Anti-Wanda whispered as she continued to move backwards until her back hit the wall. "He knows and he's just playing with AC. He's a mean one, and he's been telling the rest of the anti-fairies things about me and AC, and now they're all mad at us. We're in so much trouble! They'll never let us out of here—"
"Calm down," Wanda soothed as she moved in front of her dark double and took her gently by the arms. "AC's a smart guy, he'll think of something. Besides, we're not done yet! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that, because the alarm went off, Jorgen knows what's going on down here. I'll bet he's on his way and is gonna kick some anti-fairy bootie!"
Anti-Wanda offered her colorful counterpart a small smile, which quickly died as she glanced over Wanda's shoulder.
"I don't think he's gonna do much bootie kicking," she said quietly with a slight shake of her head.
Wanda frowned. "What are you . . ." she began as she turned and followed her duplicate's gaze. "Oh, no."
Jorgen, Cosmo, Binky and Tabby were being lead toward Anti-Binky, each with an anti-fairy on either arm, with the exception of Tabby, who was wriggling furiously in the tight clutches of The-Anti-Tooth-Fairy. Anti-Cosmo, who had been doing a fabulous job of holding his poker face until that moment, broke eye contact with Anti-Binky to glance to his left at the new arrivals.
His face pulled into a very pronounced frown. "Oh crumpets," he muttered, right before he was roughly yanked away from the door by another of Anti-Binky's toadies. A split second later, the cell door was open and his wife began calling for him worriedly.
"Get them out here," Anti-Binky ordered as four anti-fairies hurried into the now open cell. "I want 'em all where I can see 'em."
"WANDA!" Cosmo and Tabby cried as the women were dragged from the cell.
The pink haired fairy managed a quick glance at her husband before she and her double were roughly twisted around to face Anti-Binky.
"Well, well," he said as he was handed the confiscated wands of Wanda, Cosmo, Binky and Anti-Cosmo. "Looks like the tables have turned." He tucked all the wands into the black belt of his red anti-magic jumpsuit, before looking at Jorgen. "Where's his?"
"It was too bulky to handle, so we left it in the control room," Anti-Jorgen said, his voice almost too soft to hear. His fairy counterpart rolled his eyes with a curled lip.
"How embarrassing to have YOU as my anti-fairy," he muttered, shaking his head. "I am most ashamed."
Anti-Jorgen blushed and cast his eyes downward, rubbing the back of his neck with a shaky hand. "Sorry."
"Enough!" Anti-Binky snapped, waving a dismissive hand in their direction. "I have more important things to deal with." He walked almost casually towards Anti-Wanda, and stopped right in front of her. "Hmmm . . . She certainly doesn't look like much, does she? It's almost hard to believe that someone would turn his back on his entire race just for YOU."
Anti-Binky reached toward her, and her husband's heart skipped.
"NO!" Anti-Cosmo screamed, struggling in the iron grip of his captor. "Don't hurt her!"
His rival turned and offered him a smile that was more of a smirk.
"Why Anti-Cosmo," he said as he ran a hand down Anti-Wanda's cheek, ignoring the shudder it produced. "What would make you think I'd hurt your pwecious wittle wifey? It's almost like you think I'm evil or something!" Anti-Binky laughed, and a chill actually ran up Anti-Cosmo's spine.
"If you harm even a single hair on her head," Anti-Cosmo growled through gritted teeth, "I'll—"
"You're not exactly in any position to threaten me, 'old chap'," Anti-Binky snapped as he quickly closed the distance between them. "In case you hadn't noticed, YOU'RE not in charge anymore. You made it very clear where your loyalties were the second you chose HER over US!"
"Oh blah, blah, blah," Jorgen suddenly cried, easily shaking the anti-fairies off his arms. "Betrayal, backstabbing and evil twins—BAH! This is just like that soap opera All My Biceps, which I don't watch, but if I did I'd be missing it because it's coming on soon, so I'd better get busy KICKING ALL OF YOUR ANTI-FAIRY BUTTS!"
The anti-fairies around him moved away quickly, fully aware of Jorgen's famous temper. Even Anti-Jorgen—a perfect match for the Head Fairy's size and strength—decided a quiet retreat was in order. Of course, the fact that Anti-Jorgen was about as tough as a dust bunny didn't help matters much, either.
Anti-Binky, on the other hand, was more annoyed than anything. While not as smart as Anti-Cosmo, the new 'leader' of the anti-fairies could have technically been classified as an evil criminal mastermind, mostly because what he lacked in brains he more than made up for in downright mean-ness.
As Jorgen cracked his knuckles and generally got himself set for a good old fashioned head bashing, Anti-Binky's mind was frantically working, turning over ideas, dirty tricks and underhanded moves. Although the anti-fairies had sheer number on their side, they, in all honesty, were still no match for an enraged Jorgen Von Strangle.
What Anti-Binky needed was an angle.
"I wouldn't recommend getting too physical, muscle-head," he said as he quickly moved near Wanda. "Or else we'll start having some 'fun' with your little fairies." Anti-Binky twisted his hand into Wanda's hair and gave it a sharp tug, making her cry out.
"Wanda!" Tabby called as she wriggled in The-Anti-Tooth-Fairy's grip.
"STOP IT!" Cosmo shouted, struggling against the two anti-fairies holding his arms. "Don't touch her!"
Jorgen was less moved. "Oh big deal," he said with a bored wave of his hand. "I blast those two all the time. Go ahead."
Anti-Binky wasn't expecting that answer. With an annoyed grunt, he released his handful of Wanda's hair and quickly glanced over the crowd. His eyes fell on The-Anti-Tooth-Fairy, and a grin spread slowly across his lips.
"Well then how about the kid?" he asked, yanking Tabby towards him. "I'm assuming she's a godkid. I'm willing to wager that your Rules would frown on a precious little godchild getting hurt in a situation like this. Right?"
Jorgen growled. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "There'd be an aggravating amount of paperwork for that."
Anti-Binky smiled. "I thought so," he said, curling an arm tightly around a struggling Tabby. "So you just be a good flat head and behave yourself. Wouldn't want the kid getting hurt, would we?"
He pulled his arm into a tighter curl, and Tabby jerked, her face twisted into a grimace of pain. Anti-Binky was holding her so that her back was against his chest, his arm crossed over her right shoulder, and his hand clutched tightly onto her left arm. Very tightly.
"OWW!" she whined, trying to twist herself into a more comfortable position. "That HURTS!"
"Let her go!" Wanda cried, whipping her body this way and that in order to loosen the hold on her arms.
Cosmo was mimicking his wife's movements, his face turning red in with his efforts.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled, a split second before one of his captors planted a knee in his midsection, sending him to his knees coughing and gasping for air.
"NO!" Tabby cried, reaching for her godfather. Anti-Binky yanked her backwards a little harder than he anticipated, making her cry out in pain.
"Shut up you brat," he muttered. "We're not playing around here you kno—"
That was as far as he got, because at precisely that moment, a foot connected quite solidly with his lower back. He flew forward with a startled "Ugh!", losing most of his grip on Tabby, but not entirely letting go.
"What the . . ."
Anti-Binky regained his footing and turned quickly, coming face to face with a very angry Anti-Wanda.
"You're a coward," she almost growled, her pink eyes narrowed to thin slits.
Anti-Binky uttered a short laugh, scarcely believing he had heard correctly.
"What did you just say to me?" He suddenly became aware of how quiet the room had gotten.
"I may be simple, but I'm not deaf," she said, losing some of her accent in her anger. "I was in here for a lot of years before my husband broke me out, and in that time, I heard the rumors. I heard what you were telling everyone. That it was somehow MY fault that Anti-Cosmo was changing. That he wasn't a fit leader for the anti-fairies anymore. Well maybe, maybe not, but you know what? Anti-Cosmo is a heck of a lot smarter than you'll ever be. HE never had to bully the other anti-fairies into carrying out his plans. HE never threatened ANYONE, especially not a child, to get his plans to work. HE is a genius. YOU are just a mean bully."
Silence permeated the room as everyone stared at Anti-Wanda. The usually meek anti-fairy had cut straight to the heart of the matter with a few simple words. Anti-Cosmo smiled at his wife, his heart swelling with pride. He had truly never heard her speak so plainly and intelligently, and with such confidence. It seemed as though he wasn't the only anti-fairy having some personality changes.
And the thought that made the whole scene that much more satisfying, was the fact that she was absolutely right.
Anti-Binky was less impressed with Anti-Wanda's sudden grasp of psychological insight. Shocked and slightly confused would be a more appropriate description for his current state of mind. He stared at her, mouth hanging slightly agape, trying to decide if he had actually heard what he thought he did, or if he had somehow imagined it. Although, why he would imagine her—or anyone for that matter—saying something like that never really occurred to him, either.
"What did you . . ."
"Actually, I was wrong," Anti-Wanda continued, her face pulled into a slight grimace of distaste. "You're not just a mean bully. You're a coward too. A coward who hides behind a little girl when things start going south."
The silence that had settled in the room trembled as a soft sigh traveled through the group of anti-fairies, and it was this sound that suddenly snapped Anti-Binky out of his state of shock. Anti-Wanda's words were sinking in, making them think. If left to think about it for too long, they might decide she was right and turn their backs on him, sending him back to the life of obscurity he endured when Anti-Cosmo was still in charge.
He'd be a nobody again, all because of a sudden burst of intelligence from this usually brainless anti-fairy.
And that just wouldn't do.
"SHUT UP!" he bellowed, and slapped her across the face. Hard. Really hard. Hard enough to make her head roll on her neck and buckle her knees. Had two other anti-fairies not still been holding her arms, she would have fallen to the floor.
It was about this time that, quite frankly, all hell broke loose. That slap was like a starting pistol, and everyone acted on it.