Author's Note: Timmy's an ass in this chapter. I felt it was unjustified, too, even though he had a reason for it. Then again, the justification I usually use for Timmy being a jerk wasn't present, since we have no Lorenzo here. Heh. Feel free to be annoyed at him. I was.
Also, Juandissimo is sympathetic. Yay! And also, this story is hard to write again. (grumble)
Chapter Six: Three's a Crowd
"You know, Timmy, this is the longest we've been in the same room ever," Tootie said.
"Don't rub it in," he muttered. He rubbed Cosmo's ears and Cosmo shifted his weight, tensing on his lap. Timmy suppressed the urge to say 'what is it, boy?' The faerie wolf sprang to his feet, sniffled decisively, and pawed the cell wall. He whined plaintively, butted his head against it, and spun around, chasing his tail. Once he'd caught it, he plopped back on Timmy's lap. Timmy blinked. Cosmo wasn't going to talk with Tootie around, no matter how much she knew, but that was pretty weird, even by Cosmo's standards.
"The longest I've been near one of them, too," she said. "He glows in the dark."
Timmy gritted his teeth. No matter how she prattled on, he decided to ignore her. He was getting on fine with Cosmo before she'd arrived, and now that she'd ruined everything, he wasn't going to pleasure her by speaking. Cosmo stood up and pawed Timmy's chest. Confused, Timmy lowered his head.
"I miss Wanda," he whined. "I know we've been fighting and I said things I didn't mean, but…I'm scared. And I'd rather be scared with her than not knowing what's going on without her."
"I miss her too," he muttered. Cosmo rested his paws on Timmy's shoulders and he hugged him. Tootie scooted closer and Timmy inched away. She huffed.
"You're going to have to talk to me eventually," she said. "Who knows how long we'll be stuck here. And I know he talks, so don't act innocent."
"It was a fluke," Timmy said derisively. "He's not going to talk to you."
Resentment balled in his chest and he cuddled Cosmo closer. Cosmo nuzzled his cheek and looked back at Timmy. A heavy silence blanketed the cell and felt oppressive, even though he was the reason behind it. A chill went down his back and he shivered, determined to ignore all that had gone horribly wrong with this day. Cosmo's breath was warm on his hair and he shuddered, backing off Timmy, raising his head, and howling. It echoed and he added to it, letting out a full throated wail and curling into a tight, miserable ball.
The wail sprang back to them, passed through empty corridor, and the sheer misery in it brought a hard lump to his throat. He wasn't sure if it was another trapped faerie, Wanda by a fluke, or just Cosmo crying. Since he was a wolf, he couldn't cry with tears, and so he continued howling. Timmy hugged himself and stared at his godfather. Tootie swallowed hard.
"Would it make you feel better if I howled with you?" Tootie said quietly.
"It won't bring Wanda back," Cosmo said fearfully. "And it won't get us out of here."
"You could try anyway, instead of giving up and howling at the walls," Timmy said.
"I told you," Cosmo said. "Only Wanda can do it. I can't focus long enough."
"Do what?" Tootie said curiously.
Cosmo opened his mouth and Timmy snarled, "She knows too much as it is. Don't tell her anymore."
Shutting his eyes, he ignored Cosmo's whimper and planned an escape. The problem was they were completely at Doombringer's mercy. They didn't know how far underground they were, and, if Cosmo was right, which Timmy didn't have a reason to doubt, they really did need Wanda to escape. Doombringer wasn't going to plop her in their laps, especially once she found out Wanda could work magic without her wand. Still, Cosmo was a faerie and Timmy was determined to use him if he could.
Something popped and he opened his eyes. Tootie was holding a sandwich and a soda can. Timmy glared at her and she smiled sheepishly.
"I said I was hungry and then I got this," she said.
"You can feed us but you can't get us out of here?" he snapped.
"It probably takes a lot more magic to tunnel out and escape Doombringer's security than to conjure up a sandwich," she said.
"Don't you start," he said. "This has nothing to do with you. It's me and Cosmo, and then you. It's not a 'we'. I don't want you here, you don't belong here, and you've done enough damage knowing about my godparents. Don't ask my godfather for stuff too."
Tootie huffed and looked down at her sandwich. "Maybe you should eat it, then. I'm not hungry, suddenly."
He glared at Cosmo and his ears went back.
"But, Timmy, she was hungry," he protested. "And we're supposed to take care of unhappy kids."
"I'm unhappy," he snapped. "Why don't you take care of me and help me get the heck out of here? Tootie's not your godchild. I am."
Cosmo whined and laid his head down. His ears were still back and he tucked his tail in between his legs. They sat in silence, Cosmo staring at the wall where the bars were on occasion and Timmy glaring at Tootie. Tootie lowered her head too.
"I didn't ask for this," she said. "I wasn't going to tell anyone your secret. I know you don't like me, but you could treat Cosmo a little better. It's not his fault we're stuck."
Timmy scoffed, disinclined to take her advice, and stared at Cosmo. Cosmo shivered, suppressing another howl, and Timmy folded his arms across his chest. Why should it matter how he treated him? According to Jorgen, his existence brought suffering upon everyone. He'd be better off if he were never born. He could treat them how he wanted, then, because it wasn't like behaving would change things.
"Whatever," he said flippantly.
Tootie ate her sandwich as quietly as she could and put it down on the cold cement floor. Shaking himself, Cosmo rose again and stone grated. It sounded like the walls were rearranging.
Tootie yelped, jumping to her feet in time for part of her corner to slide back and form another corridor. Cosmo trotted down it and Timmy rose too, along with Tootie. They followed Cosmo down the narrow hallway, which barely had enough room for one person to walk down, and Cosmo nudged open a door. Timmy scrambled over him and flicked a light switch, which provided the first real illumination in the cell.
The room at the end of the new hallway was a bathroom with a small sink, toilet, cubicle shower, and two towels. There was enough space in there to stand two abreast, but that was it. The tiles were linoleum and overhead, a single bulb showed the white walls and dull metal varnish. He turned around slowly and saw Tootie had a black eye. Her hair was also missing near her right ear and she had blood on her forehead. He stared at her. She didn't meet his gaze.
"What happened to you?" he said.
"What do you care?" she said. "You don't even care about your faeries and you love them."
Timmy opened his mouth to reply and couldn't think of anything. The only reply he could think of was too cruel, even for him. He thought about his wish again, and wondered why Tootie hadn't received Cosmo and Wanda in the alternate future. She was certainly more miserable than Chester, if she was ten times more miserable than he was. He ought to feel bad for snapping at both of them, and his conscience was bothering him a little. He returned to his corner and hugged his knees.
Tootie sat down in another corner, unfortunately closer to him, and stared at Cosmo, who wasn't venturing near his godson. Instead, resting his head on his paws, he clamped his eyes shut and whimpered. If he wanted to keep up the bad mood, he could snap at him. He didn't. Instead, he couldn't help but think he'd gotten them into this mess. He was to blame for existing.
"Wanda is independent," Juandissimo said. He floated in mid air before Doombringer as they discussed Dimmsdale's future in a meeting room near the experimentation room. The room consisted of an open doorway, with love beads dangling in it, a concession to her mock sweet façade, and a plastic circular table with two folding chairs. Behind the table were books, shelved in collapsible bookcases, and a TV set housed on a cheap stand. The stand was white, like the room's walls, and Juandissimo's eyes flicked to it before glancing at his master. It was longer than it was wide and was maybe seven feet across, fifteen lengthwise. It had two doorways, one on each end, and the one on his right went out into the bedroom he was expected to share with Wanda. The first was where they had come in.
"You cannot force her to do your will," he continued. "She will rebel. She has fire." He smiled at the thought.
"She can be controlled," Doombringer replied, sipping her coffee. "All faeries answer to a higher power."
"Because it is in Da Rules," he said. "And to do otherwise would be chaos."
"But you answer to me now," she said. "So Da Rules no longer apply. I'm sure she'll see things my way."
"I am not so sure," he said. "And she very much loves Cosmo and Timmy. It would be foolish to put them at risk and expect her to listen to you."
"I could control her," Doombringer said and twirled the Dark Crystal in between her fingers. "Like I control you."
"Yes, but-" he protested and grimaced. "You have something I want. You have nothing she wants."
"Unless Timmy's fate coincides with Remy's," she said and smiled, snapping the necklace chain off her neck. She dropped it onto the table and twisted the frayed edges. "I already have something she wants. But you're right. Not in the same way as I have Remy."
Juandissimo stiffened, glaring at Doombringer, who affected ignorance. It was a simple matter to repair the chain, less simple to discover where Remy had gone. Her eyes alighted with cruelty and malice, and he thought of Wanda, lying asleep in the bed. He could tell her what Doombringer had planned, but deviating would result in penalties. Plus, the Dark Crystal would ensure any defection would be painful at best.
"I've been keeping an eye on them," Doombringer said. "Do you think Cosmo could prove useful too?"
"Unlikely," Juandissimo said. "I speak not out of a dislike for Cosmo, which is true, but the truth of the matter is you cannot trust Cosmo to use magical correctly even with a wand."
"All that power and it's wasted," she said. Shaking her head, she sipped her coffee. Juandissimo yearned to check up on Wanda, and fought the urge to turn his head to gaze at the door. Aside from the vague sense every faerie had where another one was, he couldn't tell exactly her condition. Silence fell over the little room.
"Go ahead," she said. "Check up on her. She's yours now."
No matter the repercussions, he was determined to have the last word. "She will not be kept, not by me, and definitely not by you."
"Run along, Juandissimo," she said. "Play with your faerie lover."
Juandissimo gritted his teeth and watched her leave the room. Only until she had vacated and was out of sight did he poof to Wanda, to discover her in a tight ball with her arms wrapped her around her knees. He sighed.
"Tomorrow will be worse, Wandita," he said. He stroked her hair and she opened her eyes.
"Why are you here?" she said. "And what's really going on?"
"It is more than my life is worth to tell you," he said.
"Oh great," she said. "You took a vow of silence?"
"Not quite," he said. "But Timmy is not the only godchild here."
"Doombringer has-" he put a hand over her mouth.
"She does not want you to know," he said. "But yes, she does."
He removed his hand and she grimaced.
"I take it you're not going to help me break out of here any time soon, then," she said.
"No."
"Are there any other kids here?" she said.
"Only three I know of," he said. "She has no interest in the other children in Dimmsdale with godchildren."
"Timmy, Remy- who's the third?" she said.
"I cannot tell you too much," he said and bowed his head. He studied her. Like always, she gave off a tremendous bright glow, the kind that made people glad to be near her, and his heart raced in her presence. She was almost as attractive as him, in his eyes, and were he unscrupulous, he'd probably try to take advantage of their position. He had no idea why she'd chosen Cosmo and continued to prefer him, although maybe spending alone time with him would eventually change her mind.
"And you expect me to sit here and let her experiment on me?" she snapped.
"No," he said and smirked. "I do not. I expect her plan to backfire spectacularly and for her not to listen to my warnings."
Befuddled, she stared at him and he smiled.
"I will protect you as best I can," he said and paused, posing. "And look sexy while doing it."
She groaned. "It's all about the looks with you, isn't it?"
"Not all," he protested. "I do still love you, Wandita."
"But you love yourself more," she pointed out.
"How can I not, when I am so gorgeous?" he said and produced a mirror to admire himself. Wanda's eyes alighted on the wand and he jumped aside before she snagged it.
"You should rest," he said. "Tomorrow will be worse."