Author's Note: School has been kicking my ass. Sorry for the late chapter.

Also, there are scraps of other chapters on my LJ, the link of which is in my profile. You can pm me and I'll send them to you if you're interested.

I've heard this site is having some problems? Hopefully, those have cleared up.

Chapter Nine: Anchors Away

But-" he protested and she shook her head. Inching off the toilet bowl, she collapsed onto the floor and he gasped, shocked. Her limps stricken with temporary palsy, she struggled over to him and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't care that they'd been fighting; she didn't care if their marriage was in trouble, or whether there was a jinx tearing at their telepathy and Bond. She didn't care about anything except having him near her. His warmth, his smell, and the feel of his body against her were familiar and comforting. She knew his body almost as well as her own and, through thick and thin, they'd been together for so long...

"Not now," she murmured. She shut her eyes and snuggled against him. Cosmo opened his mouth, she could tell without seeing it, and she put her finger to his lips. Cautiously, like he had when they started dating, he pulled his arm tighter around her and traced her face with his index finger. His breath was warm on her cheek and she smiled, wishing she could send telepathy but not questioning why at the moment.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I..." he hesitated and she rolled over, draping an arm over his waist. Fatigue overcame her and she felt safe for the first time all day. They might be stuck in a bathroom without their wands, she might have hell ahead of her, but, for the moment, she could handle it. Falling asleep next to Cosmo? Yeah, she thought she could handle that.

"I love you too..." he murmured.

"You've been a busy little bee," Doombringer said, popping her head into Juandissimo's suite before she went to bed. Juandissimo had conjured a changeling to supplant Wanda in the meanwhile; he'd had the idea from reading Doombringer's texts about olden magic. Her intrusion startled him and he dropped his wand, convinced she'd discovered the farce. He picked it up swiftly and she smirked.

"Now what would you have to be nervous about?" she said and raised her eyebrows. "No defections, I hope."

"Of course not," he said. She twisted the Dark Crystal on its chain around her neck and his gorge rose. Originally, he'd had the same reaction to it true fey used to have to iron. It used to prompt muscle cramps, vomiting, nausea, blood draining, etc. Now it only made him feel like he'd been stuck on a rocking ride for far too long. At least, when its power wasn't focused on him. He had to wonder what impact it'd have on Wanda. He'd never been entirely 'good' to begin with- not good, but not evil either. Neutral.

She scrutinized the room and stepped into the room. His heart clenched and she stared hard at the bed, then sniffed and turned.

"Bright and early tomorrow," she said. Shutting the door, he waited until her footsteps vanished before he relaxed and landed on the changeling. Only having assumed the form but essentially composed of dust, it collapsed beneath him and he grimaced, waving his wand to prevent the dust from landing in his hair and clothes.

He should go to sleep. The spell restoring Wanda to captivity would come into effect at around four a.m. Doombringer generally awoke at sunset, so that should allow plenty of time for her to return safely.

He should go to sleep, but he wasn't sure he could. Two creatures he loved were in danger and one had been bad enough.

He should go to sleep, but he wouldn't. He'd stay awake and hope he'd done the right thing, and wouldn't be discovered for it.

Cosmo carried Wanda back into the cell so he wouldn't be alone. Her words played over and over in his mind and he didn't feel worthy of holding her, but he couldn't let go. He was afraid as soon as he let her go, she'd vanish forever. Tears burned the corners of his eyes and he plopped down on the floor. For the moment, he ignored Timmy and Tootie and listened to Wanda's deep, untroubled breathing.

"Thank God," Timmy huffed and dashed for the bathroom. Tootie stared at the fairies.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

"She passed out from too much magic," Cosmo said. Her warmth was familiar and alleviated his worry, at least about this place. Now, their marriage was another story. He felt like an idiot, worse than usual, ignoring what was right in front of him. There was also a matter of that strange statue in a storage room in the castle, one with baleful red eyes, which came to mind for some odd reason. It'd been there almost as long as these incidents...and…thinking about it made his head hurt. He clutched Wanda closer.

"But she'll be okay, right?" Tootie said.

"I don't know..." he said. "This has never happened before."

Tootie scooted closer to examine her. Wanda rested on Cosmo's lap and his arms snaked around her waist. He didn't know why he'd called her fat. There was a little belly fat, sure, but it wasn't significant. He'd heard Vicky calling her that...jeez, there was a bad reason to call her something, if Vicky called her it. His heart clenched.

"How long have you two been married?" she said.

"Nine thousand, eight hundred and eighty six years," he said. Her eyes widened.

Her eyes widened. "You guys are immortal?"

"More or less," Cosmo said and shrugged. "It's been a really long time since any of us died."

They heard a toilet flush and Timmy returned, grinning at them. His smile wilted at the edges looking at Tootie and she huffed, shifting closer to Cosmo and Wanda. Timmy glared and she backed up. Cosmo grimaced. He didn't really want to be in the middle of this. It was their job to comfort miserable children and he couldn't side against Tootie in favor of Timmy knowing just how unhappy Tootie was.

"So, uh...when does this stop being awkward?" Timmy said and settled down beside his godfather.

"When we figure a way out?" Tootie said. She grinned at him and Timmy huffed; she swallowed back her next comment and instead stared at Cosmo, whose fingers ran through Wanda's hair. Other than being trapped with his godson and a girl who knew too much, this could be like any other scene in their history. They'd been married for almost ten thousand years. He had almost thrown it away. He could still throw it away. His heart clenched. He wished Wanda was awake and was glad she wasn't.

"You think maybe we'll wake up and this'll all be over?" Timmy said.

"No," Cosmo and Tootie answered.

Later, when they decided sleep was a worthwhile enterprise, Cosmo cuddled Wanda and curled up beside Timmy. Tootie had inched forward to a suitable place, six inches away from Timmy, which was the closest he'd allow her. Cosmo tried to ignore it. He wanted to fall asleep and see their castle when he woke up. He wanted everything to be normal again, or normal for them.

Cosmo could do magic if he tried, even without his wand. He'd used a small spell to put Timmy and Tootie to sleep without thinking about it. There were rumors he was distantly a Von Strangle and it might explain his vast magical powers... which seemed to be confined to only using wands. Except he'd done the sleeping spell, and made them food. So maybe...

He didn't know. Thinking too much hurt his brain. It was Wanda's job to think. He might be able to tunnel out of here, if he could shapeshift. Wanda had changed her form. Surely he could try. He'd disappoint her and Timmy if he didn't try to get out.

Unless he couldn't get out, because there wasn't anything he could tunnel. It was hard to tell where exactly they were besides 'underground' and 'wet'. It reminded him of the faeries who had seceded from Fairy World, who had refused to serve humans, and it sent a chill down his spine. The magical wars. He'd been alive for them, although he and Wanda had been far removed. They'd been taught about the wars, the faeries who lived underground, and then Fairy World spent the rest of its time pretending the faeries didn't exist.

Cosmo didn't even think they had magic, with or without wands. But he didn't know, not having met anyone from 'down under' in person. Or would that be 'in faerie'?

Maybe Doombringer would think it was a vast misunderstanding and let them go. He didn't think it was possible, but stranger things had happened.

At four in the morning, Wanda slipped out of Cosmo's arms and into Juandissimo's waiting embrace. She didn't stir, save a soft moan, and his heart wrenched. For the first time in thousands of years, he held a sleeping Wanda, but it felt vaguely wrong. Doombringer would promise Wanda to him if he fulfilled certain conditions- he could see the cogs working in her mind, but if he had Wanda on those conditions, then he didn't really have her, did he?

He hadn't slept at all and now, all too aware of this precious gift, he was afraid to sleep. But the magical toll, combined with stress, threatened to knock him out.

And where was Remy in all of this? Where had she stashed him? He twirled a curl around on his finger and listened to her breathing. It was calm, unencumbered, and he envied her. Tomorrow, she wouldn't be as innocent as she was right now, believing herself to be next to Cosmo. Tomorrow, or later today, all hell would break loose again.

Wanda's steady breathing was soothing and his eyelids drooped. Surely he wouldn't fall asleep if he merely relaxed for a while...

Doombringer didn't think she'd ever understand emotions, aside from the baser darker ones. Love, for instance, eluded her completely. She knew Juandissimo had counteracted her orders, although she couldn't prove it, and she knew he loved Wanda although she'd spurned him thousands of years ago. She also knew Cosmo, Timmy, and Wanda had a complicated relationship and that even though Timmy treated Tootie like crap, she was desperately in love with him. She didn't understand the desire to have people around her, or faeries, or anything, really. They were a distraction, a weakness to exploit.

She strolled over to the holding cell beside the kitchen. It had subtle netting on the door with iron residue, to prevent anyone from wandering in. She opened the door and Remy blinked, bleary eyed. Like Tootie, he sported a black eye, but, unlike Tootie, the first thing he did was whine.

"Where's 'dissimo?" he said.

"Nowhere you can reach him," she said. She grabbed his sleeve and rubbed the purple faerie dust, which had settled like layers upon him. "I wonder how long until it sinks in."

"Until what sinks in?" he said. "I'm a Buxaplenty, you know. Someone will eventually-"

"Save it," she said. "Your parents won't notice you're missing and the only creature who does care about you is fussing over Wanda. You'll always be second best, no matter how much money you have."

Remy's mouth dropped and she sighed. "You're nowhere near as saturated as Turner."

"Turner?" Remy repeated. "Turner's here too?"

"I want to run a few more experiments before I start with you two," she said, ignoring his comment but validating it nonetheless. "Until then, it looks like you're at my mercy."

Remy stared at his handcuffs and foot bindings. Being on the ground floor, Doombringer hadn't wanted to risk Remy bolting. And, being separated from Turner meant they couldn't collude, although their attitudes argued they wouldn't agree anyway.

"Experiments? What are you talking about?" he said.

"Do you always have to talk in a nasally voice?" she shot back. "Never mind. I'll let you see Juandissimo...soon."

"You know," he said. "I have-"

"I'm not interested in money," she said and ran her fingers down Remy's cheek, his chest, and stopped on his stomach. He swallowed hard and she removed her fingers. This was interesting. She might be able to exploit it at a later date. His face had lost all color and he jumped backward, shuddering. It was an effort he successfully squashed a moment later, but the damage was done. Children were all too transparent.

"I'm interested in power, magical power," she said. "And once I have it..."

She grinned from ear to ear. "Then the fun really starts."