Author's Note: I've been working on other stuff this week, which is why this is delayed. Also, the scene with Timmy and Cosmo turned out longer than the one with Wanda.
Chapter Five: From the Center
"But Doombringer thought Wanda could do more than that, or she wouldn't have captured her and taken her away from us, right?" Timmy said. Cosmo paused.
"I guess so...I don't really remember when Wanda shifted using dark powers..." Cosmo said and winced. "I was kinda...bleeding internally then."
"Wait, Wanda shifted using dark powers?" Timmy said. "I thought you could only conjure up food."
"Duh, if you're still using light powers," he said. "There's a whole ton of stuff you can do if you don't mind...being evil."
"We're stuck and at the mercy of someone who looks like she'd poison babies and then laugh at them," Timmy said. He grabbed Cosmo and shook him. "Do I look like I care whether it's evil?"
"Uh...I also don't know how to do it," he said. "And, uh...I'm kinda scared of it."
"You'd rather be stuck here than risk using dark magic?" Timmy said. He glared at his godfather and Cosmo shrugged in wolf form.
"Yeah..." Cosmo said and grinned sheepishly. "Besides, I'm sure Wanda's got it covered. She is smarter than us."
"And completely at Doombringer's mercy," he pointed out. "You can still do magic, without your wand. And whatever you're afraid of, it's not going to matter if Doombringer decides she wants to dissect you and go after everyone in Dimmsdale. You have to at least try."
"But...but...Timmy, I don't know how."
"Well, uh..." he frowned and paused to actually think about it. "If it's magic without your wands, then it has to come from some place, right?"
Cosmo only stared blankly at him. He deposited him back on the floor and he could see his godfather wasn't following his train of thought. Instead, he began cleaning his closing wounds and Timmy ignored him. He had caught the glimmer of an idea, and he wasn't going to let go of it.
"All magic comes from somewhere, even if it's not your wands or Fairy World, right? Otherwise, all the other magical creatures that don't rely on Fairy World couldn't have magic, right?" he said.
"I dunno..." Cosmo said and shrugged. "Maybe."
"I don't see why it has to be evil if other creatures are using magic that's not Fairy World's," he said and continued on the same point. "I don't see why you can't use that power too and let us escape."
"Elves don't have magic," he pointed out. "And all the other creatures you're thinking of don't actually live in Fairy World. Plus, I don't know that much about them."
Timmy suppressed a groan. "I bet you know a lot more than you think you. You have been married to Wanda for almost ten thousand years. You're bound to have soaked up something from her."
"Yeah..." Cosmo said and performed an uncanny imitation of Wanda's voice. "'Cosmo, wear clean underwear!' 'Cosmo, for the last time, we are not doing that in public!' 'Cosmo, godchildren are flammable!'"
"Um...that's not what I meant," Timmy said. "I meant you have to know something that you think you don't know. What about dragons?"
"What about them? They eat faeries and our magic doesn't work on them," he said.
"Did it always not work?" he said. He rose and then sat back down. There was no point in wandering around the cell. It wasn't going to get larger if he willed it and they weren't going to escape unless he worked Cosmo around to using the magic he was so afraid of.
"Yes..." Cosmo hesitated.
"Are you sure?" he said.
"Um...I dunno..." he answered."But if you're trying to get me to do that thing...I don't know how to do it. I told you, you have to ask Wanda."
"I'm not giving up," he said. "You're my only chance, and I'm sure you can do it."
And even if he couldn't, there was no point in further reminding him and ruining his only shot. Cosmo glowed in the darkness and he rubbed him on the head. Tilting his neck, he rested his chin on Timmy's hand and the heat on his hand suddenly shot through his whole body, making him feel like he'd been flash fried. Then the sensation disappeared, with only remnants in his stomach.
Cosmo was silent and Timmy stared at him.
"I tried," he said cheerfully. Timmy hissed and shook his head.
The bars returned and a figure flew through the air. Timmy jumped up on instinct and broke the person's fall. At least, he thought it'd been person shaped; it groaned like a person. For a few seconds, the two laid there, stunned, and Cosmo's green shimmer doubled before his eyes.
"Of all the places they could have dumped me," a familiar voice grumbled. "What the heck do they think I'm going to do here?"
He groaned and she straightened herself, pushing away from him. Timmy, meanwhile, concentrated on breathing again and not having a sixty pound weight on his chest. Then he froze, realizing whomever it was happened to be sharing a cell with Cosmo, whom he was encouraging to perform magic before her. True, Doombringer knew about Cosmo, Wanda, and Juandissimo, but she was the villain. This was someone who had no business knowing about them.
"Tootie?" he exclaimed. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and stared at him. Her eyes glowed, like Cosmo's did, in the darkness, and it sent chills down his spine.
"Hey, Timmy," she said. She had none of her usual vitality and he couldn't see her well enough to determine why. "Hey, Cosmo. Where's Wanda?"
The simple question, coming from her, sent Timmy into a coughing fit. Doubled over, his eyes watered and he didn't notice Tootie rub Cosmo's ears. What was going on today? Had the whole universe collapsed without his notice? How long had she known about his faeries? He shuddered and coughed.
Cosmo flinched and inched closer to his godson. Feeling protective, he picked Cosmo up and draped him over his legs. Despite the fever he radiated, he felt safer next to him than by Tootie. He pushed back on his palms and sat against the wall. Whining piteously, Cosmo moved and plopped his entire weight on Timmy's lap. He hissed and tried to relax. The small, vulnerable child in him, brought to new life thanks to Doombringer, insisted on hugging Cosmo's head to his chest. His heart pounded.
"How do you know their names?" he said warily.
She grimaced. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this...but..."
"What?" he snapped. His nerves were stretched taut and Cosmo panted against his arms. He might not have Wanda, but he at least had Cosmo.
"I've known about Cosmo and Wanda for almost a year now," she said.
"What?" he shrieked.
She didn't answer at first and his ire rose. Tootie stared ahead and Timmy clutched Cosmo tightly. He yelped.
"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly. In return, Cosmo licked Timmy's cheek and Timmy pulled a face. His godfather had bad breath; then again, he probably had it normally. Cosmo's heat made him sweat profusely and he'd rather be uncomfortable than leave his godfather near Tootie.
"You know how I have my Timmy detector?" Tootie said quietly.
"Yes?" Timmy said, aggrieved.
"I also have binoculars and..." she flushed bright red. "I've been spying on you. And one day, I saw you with two floating creatures. I didn't know what I was seeing at first, so I started following you around. Further back than usual, so you didn't notice me.
"Then I saw all the weird things you have, they're the same color as the faeries I saw that day. And they talk. Lately, I've heard them arguing and I got their names. And...that's kinda it."
In a small, confined cell, it was impossible to draw Cosmo away to ask him, so he muttered it into his ear. "I thought you had to go away forever if someone knows about you?"
"Crocker knows about us, and so does Doombringer," Cosmo whispered back. "And we're still here."
"Also..." Tootie said, sounding embarrassed. "Wanda's been wandering town a lot. It's usually when you're distracted. I keep an eye on you all the time, when Vicky isn't making me miserable."
"That's creepy," Timmy said. Tootie shrugged and he sensed the motion more than saw it.
"What can I say? You're the only good thing in my life," she said.
"Yeah, but you could be like a normal person and get a hobby that doesn't revolve around me," he retorted.
"Like you do with Trixie?" she scoffed.
"I didn't build a shrine to her in my room and I don't stalk her or spy on her," he said hotly.
"I don't have faeries like you!" she retorted. "I don't have anything else to take my mind off Vicky!"
"You could try," he said derisively. "Instead of being a creepy stalker."
Tootie fell silent and she sniffled. He felt vaguely guilty, but he was more irritated than remorseful. Cradling Cosmo closely, because he was his, he shuffled into the furthest corner from her he could. In their cell, she could still touch him if she leaned over, but it was the best he could do. Cosmo might be turning into a furnace, but he was his.
Doombringer and Wanda eyed each other. Juandissimo had healed her again before this last session and she could heal herself again, if she chose. The dark furious thoughts surged through her and she could easily envision tearing the woman's throat out. Except...this wasn't who she was. Wanda was not the cruel evil faerie who would leave destruction in her wake. She didn't want to hurt Doombringer; she wanted the woman to leave her alone, her and her family. However, she couldn't fight on her terms and Doombringer had no intention of letting her have her wand back.
"You hate me," she said.
"More like an intense dislike," Wanda replied. "This is going to backfire, you know."
"This Dark Crystal puts me in tune with every fairy in Dimmsdale," she replied. "Without your wand, you have to use dark magic, and thus be linked to me. There's no way this can fail."
"Then how did I hit you earlier?" she countered.
"That was...unplanned," she said. "It won't happen next time."
A vindictive smile curved Wanda's lips. "Really? Would you care to find out?"
The woman faltered and Wanda conjured the black ball again. For a moment, they eyed it and its angry energy pulsated against Wanda's fingertips.
"Where are they?" she snapped.
"You've had enough exercise today," she replied. The lab table produced a syringe and she had no doubts what was in it. Snarling, she hurled the dark energy at it and the glass cracked and shattered. Liquid dripped onto the floor, and, annoyed, Doombringer produced a syringe out of her pocket. She tried to remember how she'd shifted that night two hundred years ago. Cosmo's urgency had compelled her. Right now, she couldn't sense her husband or tell where he and Timmy were. This fueled an urgency all its own.
Like before, she reached and flung her consciousness out toward an energy source. It tapped into the Dark Crystal's source and Doombringer screeched in outrage. Wanda shot out of the confines, fully healed with the Crystal providing it automatically, and changed into a raven.
"Get back here, damn you!" she snarled and Wanda pelted for the doorways. Doombringer seized a large butterfly net and Wanda screeched defiance, terrified and hoping she could find her family and get the hell out of here. Doombringer swung the net, she ducked, and she rammed her head into the door. Of course. It was locked.
"There's no escape, little faerie," she said. "Surrender now or it'll be worse."
She dove at her and Wanda searched for a window. Of course, the window was locked too. Using her talons, she wriggled the latch back and forth. Doombringer advanced and urgency almost swallowed her. She had to get out of here. Had to find Cosmo and Timmy. Had to get out-
Doombringer slammed the butterfly net down on her and Wanda whimpered.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "Dark magick or light. If it floats and has wings, a butterfly net can catch it. And nullify its magick. But I commend your efforts, Wanda. You must really be concerned about Timmy and Cosmo. And Tootie."
Wanda blinked.
"Not that she matters much," Doombringer said, scoffing. "You deserve a good long rest for doing such an exemplary job demonstrating my core theories. I'll let you sleep with Juandissimo."
Doombringer's expression darkened. "It's a shame he's a gentleman."