15
Remy straightened his tie with a smug grin as he preened before his bedroom window. So many victories were in the bag for him, he was certain of it! His mastery over the aionis scepter holding Timothy's magic was growing steadily, Dimmsdale's fear over the falling Spires was priming them for running towards a new Heart, Timothy himself was out of the picture and Timmy Turner would be a thing of the past. He chuckled softly to himself, gazing into the swirling mana trapped within the glass sphere.
"Very soon now, I'll be the Heart of Dimmsdale." he purred and the smile grew wider, "And when the nullification field is completed and the National Spires are built, I'll become the Heart of the World!" The blonde spun around then, grinning up at his fairy godfather, "That's it, Juandissimo! My ultimate wish! I've finally discovered it!"
"Que?" the Latino fairy questioned hollowly, staring at him as though the boy had gone mad, though he was pretty sure that he was borderline insane already. All anyone needed to do to push him over the edge was tell him that Timothy Neogene, the immortal mana manipulator, was really Timmy Turner, and Remy would be reduced to a frothing mass of shot nerves and nonsensical babbling. Juandissimo glanced down at the orb still in Remy's hands. Perhaps the blonde hadn't noticed in all his uses and maybe he was being a little bit more paranoid than usual, but didn't that thing look a little smaller than it did before?
"My ultimate wish, Juandissimo! Pay attention!" Remy growled and the fairy snapped his gaze back, "If I become the Heart of the World, everyone would live to adore and worship me! I would be the only one to bring light and life to their miserable existence" He hurried to the balcony and Juandissimo rushed after him worriedly, but all the boy did was spread his arms to encompass the city. "For all the times I was ignored, for all the power that Turner brat held in life and in death, I will reap the greatest revenge!" The fairy gave him a warning glare.
"If you say that you'll become like a god to these people, mi amigo, then you'll just set yourself up for a very nasty failure later." Juandissimo pointed out bluntly, poofing in a sheet of paper with some typing on it, "Villain rule number thirty-six." Remy threw up a hand in dismissal.
"Whatever. Like those things even apply to me." he retorted and headed back into his room, "Come, Juandissimo! Let's go out and see how this town, my town, is faring in having me elected the new Heart of Dimmsdale."
Apparently, not that well. Remy gripped his scepter tightly in a fury as he watched televisions in an electronics store show a commercial for the Timmy Turner Foundation. Lo and behold, there was Timothy Neogene again, looking as though he didn't get buried under tons of junk and scrap metal.
"It's getting to be that time of the year, everyone! Let's take our minds off all this misery and do something fun and exciting in memory of the Heart of Dimmsdale!" Timothy exclaimed brightly in the commercial, waving a hand towards the Dimmsdale Park where several members of the Others stood and waved their own arms excitedly, putting on smiles so big you'd swear their teeth were about to fall out. "The Timmy Turner Foundation will be hosting an open Halloween Blast Party right here in Dimmsdale Park! Admission is free and anyone can join in the fun! Rides, shows, games, a haunted house with spooky ghosts, and a special show that can only be brought to you by the supporters of the one true Heart!"
Remy wanted to just smash those TVs right then and there. His fingers twitched over the mana orb.
"Join us on Halloween night for a celebration of a lifetime! And remember..." Timothy gave the camera a smile that just dripped sweetness and goodwill, "It's up to us to keep going on each day. Live life with hope and joy no matter what. It's what Timmy would have wanted for us."
And the storefront display exploded in Remy's fury, gold-colored flames flickering madly as they burned the multiple sets. He stalked away, grumbling under his breath as Juandissimo flinched at the wreckage, trotting beside him in the guise of a purple ferret.
"Remy, mi amigo, I don't think that will be earning you any points in your attempts to take the title." he pointed out cautiously. The blonde ground his teeth together, gripping the scepter tightly.
"How dare he pull some wretched stunt like this! Trying to buy up the votes with a stupid Halloween party... who does he think he is?" he hissed, "Like that's even going to work!" A group of pretty cheerleaders walked past him as he continued storming along down the sidewalk, their voices a mess of chatter and gossip and giggles.
"So, are you, like, going to that Halloween Party in the park?" one asked the rest of the clique.
"Oh, totally! For sure!" the gaggle of girls replied in empty-headed glee, "That kid was right; we sooo need something to cheer us up and, like, didn't Timmy Turner just totally like Halloween and stuff?"
"We should totally check it out, for sure. Anything for the Heart of Dimmsdale!" another of the girls agreed and they headed off with even more giggles, practically floating in eagerness and excitement.
Juandissimo watched them leave, then turned a worried look up at his godchild. Remy had stopped at the sound of the gossip and was currently gnawing on the scepter, one eye twitching in fury as his teeth scraped the metal. Oh, that wretched, wretched undead mongrel! He was cheating! And after all his hard work convincing the public to consider him the new Heart!
"Fine!" Remy finally spat out, pulling the scepter away as the orb flared in response to his anger, "If that's the way he wants to play this little game, then I'll play too! I'll throw a party the likes of which the Turner Foundation can never hope to match!" He spun around and pointed at his fairy godfather, causing Juandissimo to jump reflexively, half-expecting some portion of the orb's magic to lash out at him from the motion. "I wish we were home! I have to plan the greatest Halloween party ever!"
The 'greatest Halloween party ever' was looking to be a costly affair. Remy had butlers and servants racing all over the manor, hugging pages of party ideas, sample party favors, costumes, pamphlets and brochures. With each smattering of ideas that he rejected, Remy had some random piece of furniture explode as an example to try again and try better. Juandissimo had long given up on waiting for the servants to leave before poofing in a new sofa or chair or anything. They were far too busy prostrating and begging for their lives from Remy and his smoking scepter to bother looking at the disguised Juandissimo and his little wand.
"I wonder how long that commercial has been playing." the blonde mused aloud at one point, holding out a sheet of party ideas for a leisurely look-over. His fairy lifted his head in ferret form, looking up at him with a confused expression. "They must have planned this ever since my address to the city. Whoever this Hounder person is backing them, he must be a quick thinker to concoct such schemes so quickly."
"He does have that ability, si. But you will find a much better idea. You are young; Hounder is not." Juandissimo pointed out carefully. Remy snorted; in his mind, youth was second to power and power was something that Hounder seemed to have in spades. Too bad wishes won't work against the man. He'd learned that from many failed attempts and a few searches through Da Rules.
"It doesn't matter. Once the National Spires are in place, I will have all the power in the world. And with this," the boy remarked, idly shaking the scepter while still perusing the list, "I need not fear anything anymore. Let Neogene try to keep that dead brat on his pedestal. It will all come crashing down on him soon enough. You'll see." He went silent as he went on reading, then sat up with wide eyes, staring at the paper in his hand like it had suddenly grown a mouth and was whispering the secrets of life to him. "That's it! That's it, that's it, that's it!" Remy cried exultantly, leaping from his chair. Juandissimo gave him another wary expression and the boy shook the page at him. "This is how I'll beat those ragamuffins at their game!" he declared, "Come! We've got work to do!"
"You mean I have work to do because you've got more wishes in mind." the fairy sighed, leaping down from the table and following Remy out the door.
Ivory Tower~
Timantha sat in her chair with a pout and a half-glare, all aimed at Anti-Cosmo as he continued his peal of laughter at yet another appearance of the now female mana manipulator. She was beginning to get a little tired of this reaction to her, and even worse was the fact that this kind of thing could possibly blow her cover to everyone.
"Are you done yet?" she growled after a minute. Anti-Cosmo seemed to wind down, wiping away a tear as he held up one finger towards her. Another bit of mad cackling and laughter, during which Timantha vowed to conjure a butterfly net when he least expected it and hand him off to Caleb for tormenting, and the anti-fairy finally calmed himself down.
"Ahhh, what a pleasant way to start the day. A visit from the dear little immortal in a skirt, ha ha!" he remarked brightly and gave Timantha a devilish smile, "I expect you're here for additional information, yes?"
"About the Spires, yeah." the brunette confirmed with a nod, "You said that tearing them down reveals a truth, but it won't matter if I know who I am. Why would that matter? Do the Spires have something to do with me or something?" Anti-Cosmo frowned then, mirroring Timantha's off-put pout as he sat back in bed, folding his arms over his chest. Anti-Wanda was out with the other anti-fairies, gathering up negative energy to help him fully regain his strength. The stream of anti-fairies had grown speedier with the infusion of chaos in the streets due to Remy's speech, so it was suspected that he was actually the reason why Anti-Cosmo's recovery was sped up. At the rate they were going, Timantha was sure their leader would be up and causing misery again in no time.
"You are such a stubborn boy... girl." Anti-Cosmo muttered, correcting himself just as quickly, "I've already told you; as long as you are who you say you are, the Spires have nothing to do with you. Don't try to change yourself, lest the fall of the next Spire be a greater event than it should be." Timantha blinked, a blank expression of incomprehension on her face. He groaned softly, pulling a hand over his face. "Never mind it, Timothy! Just know that you are perfectly free to demolish the blasted things as long as you are certain of your identity as it stands now!" he griped, "Now, no more talk of their secret! It no longer pertains to you! Speak of other things, like this wretched festivity you're planning to use as a distraction."
"The Halloween party?" Timantha questioned and rolled her eyes upward in thought, "Well, we've got the commercials for it airing already, and Michael's gonna be hosting it as me with Cosmo and Wanda covering the fact that he's not really me. That should be enough to get Remy to open up his mansion to throw a counter-party." She smiled and pointed at herself with a smug grin. "Then I'll be able to get in like this and Remy won't know who I am at all. I'll be on the rescue team to get Tootie and Romi out of his mansion." she finished proudly.
Anti-Cosmo gave the young immortal another glare which spoke volumes for what he thought of her plan. Timantha withered a little in her seat. Why the heck was he glaring at her like that for? It was a good plan! Wasn't it?
"Timothy, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Remial's mansion come fully equipped with anti-magic devices?" the anti-fairy growled. The brunette blinked wide blue eyes at him, looking as innocent as she could possibly be. "And you've been around Cosmo and Wanda this entire time; it stands to reason that you are now adapted to fairy-like qualities." Timantha managed a smile, wide and as sincere in its innocence as any politician's. "The moment you attempt to breach his defenses to rescue the girls, you'll be lambasted with anti-magic waves. You'll lose all power, crumple to a weakened little ball and reveal to all around you that you are not simply a little girl from out of state, but their ignoble leader in female form." Anti-Cosmo pointed out dryly. Timantha blinked again, scratching her head.
"Oh... I hadn't thought of that." she remarked honestly and the anti-fairy face-palmed in irritation.
"Of course you wouldn't." he groused under his breath before gazing up at Timantha with a stern expression, "For this to truly work, you'll need immunity to the anti-magic devices housed within the Buxaplenty residence. And immunity for you means acquiring anti-fairy traits." The brunette groaned softly.
"Ah, man. You mean I'm gonna be stuck with having you around again." she complained half-heartedly before grinning at Anti-Cosmo, "Well, at least you saved me the trouble of having to deal with this later!" The anti-fairy snorted at her words, failing to hide his own pleased smirk as he stood up from the bed, waving his wand and clothing himself in his smart little English suit and derby hat once more. "Whoa, hey! Are you sure you're up to getting out of bed already?" Timantha blurted out worriedly, rising from her seat at his actions. Anti-Cosmo waved her back in dismissal.
"I'm perfectly fine! All the others have been doing is simply recharging my energy and magical reserves but I can easily do it myself if I travel amongst the humans in a proper guise." he declared haughtily and poofed into a black earring that rested in place on one of her ears, replacing one of her usual pink studs. "I've already dismissed that horribly cheerful nurse of yours, so we are free to be on our way." Anti-Cosmo added while Timantha studied her reflection in the ICU window, "The remainder of my anti-fairy forces shall stay here in the Tower and rest, awaiting the next Friday the Thirteenth to celebrate with our usual mayhem and miseries."
"Well, if you really feel alright, then I guess it's okay." Timantha sighed, "I just wish I could go out and see how things are doing, if Remy's taken the bait and set up his own party or something." She fingered the pink stud remaining and frowned, "Hm, I don't like how they mismatch. Anti-Wanda!" The brunette conjured up a small mirror and smashed it against the bedside table, grinning at the burst of pale blue smoke that cleared to reveal Anti-Cosmo's wife cheerfully floating upside down.
"Hi, Sugarsnack! Hi, Sweet'ums!" she greeted in joy, "I'm gettin' a new pers-pers... whatever that word is! See?" Anti-Cosmo muffled a groan from his place.
"That's perspective, my dim-witted darling, and you're doing it wrong." he explained in that tone of suffering, "Come, come, Anti-Wanda, dear. Timothy... er, Timantha, rather, is in need of acquiring our anti traits once again! Poof yourself into an earring like myself and let's be on our way!" Timantha blinked as his godmother's anti-self eagerly laughed and poofed into the matching stud, replacing the second pink earring.
"On our way? To where? I can't leave the Ivory Tower!" she exclaimed.
"Silly child, of course you can!" Anti-Cosmo declared haughtily, "Just don't advertise to the world that you have connections to the S-List children and no one will think twice at some pink-frilled girl skipping along during tea time!"
Rolling her eyes at the idea of 'skipping along', Timantha snatched up her purse and headed out of the ICU. Maybe it would work out, just strolling around and seeing first-hand if anything was being set up properly.
Juandissimo stared first at the little model that his godchild had wished for, then at said godchild, then back at the model. This was what Remy's brilliant plan was? This was how he was going to outclass the Others and their party and endear himself to the city and become the new Heart of Dimmsdale? He cleared his throat, raised an eyebrow, then looked to his godchild once more.
"Mi amigo, this thing is neither sexy nor easily understood." the Latino fairy finally spoke, "So... what is it?"
Remy stood before the model, grinning broadly as he rubbed his hands together, the aionis scepter strapped to a wished up harness that kept it across his back. He chuckled now and then, a strange rapid-fire giggling that Juandissimo heard most often from Veronica and found alarming to hear coming out of his godchild.
The model itself was a scale of a park, one that did not yet exist, filled with trees and fountains and looking rather beautiful for a park. Its crowning piece, however, was at the entrance, a small toy doll of Timmy Turner smiling brightly... and shaking hands with a tiny bronze statue, one of Remy himself. Everything had been wished into the room, save for the doll. Remy had to get someone to run out and purchase the thing to stand in place of a statue model. And it was this very thing that had puzzled Juandissimo, more than the actual park model itself. Parks, that whole 'nature' thing, wasn't really in Remy's style, but this incredibly obvious attempt to imply friendship between the two boys was even more out of place with him.
"It's absolutely perfect!" Remy declared excitedly, "With this, the entire city will believe that their precious Heart had intended for me to replace him in the event of his... passing... ha ha!" He gestured towards the model. "I shall have this made right here in the city as a goodwill gift, and I'll announce its creation at my own Halloween party!" The blonde strode back and forth, eyes bright with the idea. "A truly fantastic ball! One that the whole city will speak of for years! And I'll hold it... here! Yes!" he went on, waving his arms around the foyer, laughing, "Here, in my mansion! Where everyone can only dream of ever seeing, for that one night... I'll invite the world to view my master plan!"
Juandissimo made note to not mention that such an idea was probably what the Others were hoping for, given what Remy had done with Tootie and Andromeda. He only sighed, rolled his eyes, and prepared to grant a great many wishes concerning the Halloween party.
"Quickly! Before the day ends!" Remy suddenly exclaimed seriously, "We must get to a television station and air my announcement! A Halloween ball will be held in this manor on Halloween night! All are invited to behold the coming of the Buxaplenty Park!" With that, he spun and ran for the door, straightening his tie as Juandissimo poofed into his ferret guise and chased after the boy.
It was broadcast within the hour, all over the city; Remy Buxaplenty was going to unveil a special surprise at his Halloween ball, to be held at his manor on Halloween night. This surprise was something that was endorsed by the Heart of Dimmsdale himself before his death, so this was going to be a rare and welcome treat. The city gave a lukewarm reception to that, eager to know what the fallen Heart had left behind, but not so warm to the idea that they would have to go to Remy's party to find out. The division between those that continued to stand on the idea of Timmy Turner remaining undisputed as the Heart and those that were considering selecting a new Heart to survive remained in place, and feuds in the streets amped up over who was going to which party.
Remy watched from his vantage in Juandissimo's latest guise, a purple helicopter, grinning at the ensuing skirmishes between the citizens. Once his park model was unveiled, the majority of the city would surely side with him and then it would only be a matter of time before the rest succumbed and he was declared the new Heart. Then, the immunity against wishes made by other children would become his own and his Spires would be untouchable by those blasted urchins and the little mongrel.
What a truly delicious day!
He laughed, deliriously happy with himself for the first time in ages.
As the evening fell, Remy returned to his manor and surveyed the rooms, reciting things he would need to wish up to Juandissimo as the fairy dutifully wrote them down with a less than enthusiastic expression. The blonde seemed more alive than he had been before, but Juandissimo wondered about his mental stability, as Remy still kept a tight grip on his scepter, using it to point around the various rooms and even the ballroom while still chatting on about decorations and butlers. He seemed unaware of the slight warping of matter that formed at the points and the Latino fairy decided not to make mention of it, simply waving his wand to poof the distorted objects back to normal.
Power like that, it didn't belong in the hands of someone who wasn't meant to use it the way Remy did. It didn't belong to humans. So, how in the world did the boy get his hands on it? Juandissimo found himself growing more and more unsettled with things as they stood with each passing day. Something was wrong, very wrong, and he knew it for the longest time now. But what could he do about it, really? He was Remy's fairy godparent, sworn to use his magic to help the boy until the day they were separated by either Remy aging into adulthood naturally, or Jorgen forcibly recalling him due to the nullification of Dimmsdale's magic. The fairy's thoughts turned to the contract sealed in the desk upstairs.
Perhaps... there was a loophole he could use?
While Remy was busily fawning over his park model, Juandissimo poofed up El Rules and began reading through it more carefully.
Timantha headed home from her outing, sighing in relief as she kicked off her heels and flopped back onto her bed. While browsing the shops and boutiques for a dress to wear to the predicted Halloween party, she'd passed by an electronics store that looked like it'd been blown up but miraculously still had several televisions working. It was while debating whether or not to rebuild the storefront with her own magic that she spotted the commercials that Remy paid for, advertising his Halloween Ball to be held at his manor the same night as the Halloween Blast Party the Timmy Turner Foundation was holding at the city park. She beamed at the thought that her plan was working out so well and didn't even notice that she finished her day out by skipping to the nearest bus stop to head home.
Anti-Cosmo pointed it out to her on the ride home and she turned the appropriate color red about it.
"Welcome home, Timantha." Michael remarked, knocking on the door to the brunette's room as a courtesy, "It seems as if your plan is off to a good start." Timantha sat back up, grinning at the android.
"See? Told ya it'd work!" she returned smugly and looked around eagerly, "Where are Cosmo and Wanda?" Michael gestured to one side and the fairy couple poofed into the air, smiling cheerfully before rushing forward to hug their true godchild.
"It's working! We'll be able to rescue Tootie and Romi in no time!" Wanda exclaimed, "Oh, Sport, I'm so proud of you for coming up with this all on your own!" Timantha chuckled in their embrace, petting them both on the head before looking up at the android.
"Remy is holding a Halloween Ball at his manor on the night of our party. I want everyone to show up at the Ivory Tower tomorrow to start planning out who will be supervising the party in the park and who will be going with me on the rescue mission in Remy's manor." she told him, getting back to business. The fairies fluttered back, Cosmo cheerfully floating around in circles, giggling most when he turned upside down, while Wanda took on a worried expression.
"But if Remy's got them in the manor, won't he be holding them in that room surrounded by nullifiers?" she asked, "You'll get sick if you're exposed to that many of them again!"
Apparently that was the cue that Anti-Cosmo was looking for, as he and his wife poofed into the air just as Timantha was opening her mouth to answer.
"That's why she's going to have us with her on this rescue mission!" he declared haughtily, "By adapting to our anti-fairy tendencies and black magic, she'll be rendered immune to that cur's anti-magic defenses!"
"And make purdy black balls of fire too!" Anti-Wanda laughed, matching Cosmo's slow spinning but in the opposite direction, "Purdy, so purdy!" The surprise on Wanda and Michael's faces made Timantha laugh, though all Cosmo did was continue his spinning with a blank face, staring vacantly through everything. Finding no one else was laughing with her, the brunette trailed off into an awkward bit of chuckling, then coughed into a fist.
"Um... yeah. What he said." she echoed lamely, pointing at Anti-Cosmo.
"I don't like it." Wanda growled, glaring at her husband's anti-self. Her hands tightened into fists, subconsciously moving into place as though she were gripping the Heartache Hammer at that moment. "I don't like it one bit."
"The logic is sound and the data from Caleb's experiments with Anti-Cosmo, Timothy and one of the captured nullifier units supports the idea of having Timantha re-adapt to anti-fairy qualities by proxy of the anti-fairies' presence." Michael reported, eyes closed in consideration as he nodded slowly, "I have no objections to this adjustment to the plan. It almost guarantees the rescue will succeed." Timantha held her hands out to the robot.
"See? Michael agrees with me on this! C'mon, Wanda! Just until we get Tootie and Romi back!" she pleaded, "I'm telling you, they're not as bad as we thought! Well, they are but bad as in being evil little buggers, but not bad as in bad to be friends with! Well... you know what I mean!"
Wanda only sighed harshly, pulling a hand down over her face as she grumbled to herself before finally giving the three of them her motherly glare again.
"Fine. You win for now. But as soon as we get the girls back, you two are to stay away from Timmy!" she pointed out hotly and Anti-Cosmo only smiled wider.
"Actually, isn't Danny Phantom still in that coma of his? Little something I heard through the grapevine while being tended to by that sickeningly bright nurse in ICU." he purred and seated himself daintily on Timantha's shoulder, "So, you're going to need me in future Spire battles anyway. I think I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, don't you agree, my dear Anti-Wanda?"
"Wheeeee!" his wife exclaimed, now spinning the other way.
"I agree to that as well." Michael acknowledged, then took on a distant look, as though listening to something just out of Timantha's range of hearing. After a minute, he sighed and shrugged in a facsimile of resignation, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have the servants prepare dinner for you all. I've just been summoned back to New York to pick up Cosmo's replacement weapon so I won't be joining you for dinner tonight." He gave the girl a steady glare as well, "And I'll also be taking those records with me to update Caleb on your little change in death status." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Timantha to laugh nervously and wonder yet again if the angelic android would hit a girl.
"Oh, I'm gonna be in soooo much trouble." she whimpered softly and gave the four magical creatures a weak smile, "Can't we just get along for a few days?" Her only response was a growl from Wanda, and she hung her head in mock despair, "I guess not..."
Chester leaned back against the side of the pillar that held a large brass bowl bearing a small flame. It flickered and danced in the light of the setting sun, and sometimes it was the only bit of light and life in the city at night, before the people began coming out little by little as the Spires fell. The pyre was another of those memorials Dimmsdale set up in honor of Timmy, an everlasting flame that took up a bit of the city's funding to keep burning. On occasion, the mayor would make a rather weak attempt at putting it out to recover the funds for some city project or another and Timmy's parents would catch wind of it, set up a massive protest and fund-raising effort that spilled more money into the Heart's Flame account and the pyre would be 'saved' yet again.
The blonde turned over the large manila folder in his hands. Along with the papers and photos and the drawing copy was a small disc that had the results of A.J.'s simulator, displaying first the exact conditions of the day Timmy died and how he should have survived the fall, then the new conditions that showed how the jungle gym had moved. A second disc was included that showed the trap built by Crocker for his usual crazy scheme had not been the one to cause the move; as much as it rubbed wrong with the majority of the Others, it was put in so Crocker wouldn't be caught up in the investigation as a prime suspect.
"Ah, how long have you been there?" a voice remarked in surprise and Chester looked up to grin at the puzzled face of the Chief of Police, the older man a stout fellow but good at his duties.
"Heyas, Chief! I was just doin' some thinkin' so I really dunno know how long I've been here." he replied and pushed himself from the pillar, resting the folder against his chest, "How's Candice? She doin' good?" The Chief shook a finger at him in mock reproach, giving him playfully scolding glare.
"Now, now! What have I told you about referring to my daughter by her name like that? 'Specially since she's much older than you!" he lectured, then relaxed, "Doing better, in part thanks to you, young man. If it weren't for you hooliganin' around in those alleys that day..." Chester waved the rest of the remark away.
"Dimmsdale folks gotta look out for each other, y'know? Timmy wouldn't be happy if we all fell to pieces just cuz he died on us." he returned and frowned, "Actually, that's the reason why I called in that favor, Chief. It's about Timmy's death." The man in uniform sighed heavily, a faint sound of resignation in the tone.
"Ah, boy, are you still insisting that he shouldn't have died that day? It was a terrible tragedy, for sure, but it's happened and it's past and there's nothing more we can do but mourn the loss and see about trying to save the city ourselves." he murmured and Chester shook his head fiercely.
"If you mean that bull-crap about Remy's little plan to become the new Heart of Dimmsdale, then screw him! Timmy's the Heart and he'll stay the Heart until we learn to move on!" he declared and held out the folder, "And here is the proof that Timmy shouldn't have died at all! Check it out, Chief Hanna! We gathered up evidence that he didn't die by accident!"
The Chief of Police gaped at the boy, mouth open and eyes wide as they locked onto the large folder. Another few moments and his wits, what little was there for being a Dimmsdale native, returned to him.
"P-proof? That little Timmy Turner was supposed to live?" he stammered in shock, "Y-you don't mean to say he was... made dead... on purpose... do ya?"
"Murdered, Chief Hanna. And yeah, tha's what I'm sayin'." Chester returned grimly, "This is the evidence me and the Others and some friends from New York gathered up that shows how Timmy died for real." He handed the folder over, watching the Chief of Police take it into his shaking hands. "We've got a suspect too, but we just can't figure out his motive." the blonde added quietly, "That's why I was hoping you could reopen the case with this, and find out the things that we still don't understand." He looked up at the man seriously, hands clenching into fists at his sides while Chief Hanna opened the folder and read over part of the Black Hound files, his ruddy face turning gray at the information. "Please. We need your help." Chester finished, "To get justice. For all of us. For Timmy. For our future."
The Chief said nothing for the longest time, only continued reading the files with that same aghast expression. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily, sliding the papers back into the folder.
"Chester, do you know how hard it will be to conduct an investigation into this right now? With the whole city tearing itself up over the Heart and that Remy kid trying to become the new Heart?" he returned sternly, "I want to help, really I do. You have enough evidence here to get the whole station up in arms and running to find answers."
"But you can't because Remy's little speech has everyone chompin' at the bits over who's gonna be the Heart of Dimmsdale, him or Timmy." Chester finished dryly, folding his arms over his chest. The two of them stood in silence before the flickering of the Heart's Flame pyre, gazing up at it somberly. The city was quiet, everyone that knew better was already indoors due to the curfew, and the stars that were beginning to emerge overhead twinkled sadly down on Dimmsdale.
Neither of them spoke, but the conversation of silences was deep. Timmy's death, long since pronounced a tragic accident and closed with no real comfort to anyone, would be reopened if Chester had his way, unleashing a new wave of agony upon the city in the search for truth and justice. But could such lofty ideals really justify doing all that to Dimmsdale? Would they rather stay miserable like this, keeping their innocence by believing wholly that Timmy died in an accident? Or would they investigate the case, find the truth, and realize that Dimmsdale was just as easy prey to the evils of humanity as any other city in the world? Was that fair? To let Timmy's death remain as is just so Dimmsdale can boast that no serious crime ever touched them?
Chester supposed that was what Dimmsdale wanted deep down within themselves, if only to spare themselves more pain and the loss of pride. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Well, I'm leavin' it in your hands, Chief." he finally said dully, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets as he began walking away, "We'll keep looking for answers ourselves, if ya don't mind. I'll see ya some other time, then. Got a Halloween party to set up in the park." Chief Hanna turned abruptly, holding a hand out to stop the teen as he headed down the sidewalk.
"Ah, wait, Chester! I never said I wouldn't reopen the case!" he called out. Chester paused, tilting his head enough to show he was listening. "I'll get the boys to look into it once the whole Buxaplenty Tower thing blows over, all right? After Halloween."
The blonde nodded shortly, then continued into the shadows of the city.