A/N: It's named after the Halsey song I had on loop while writing this. After a while, I stopped hearing it, which is a good thing. It means I'm in the zone.
Now, a few actual notes. This is a partial rewrite of The Absence of Light, a fanfic I wrote over ten years ago but never finished. I loved the general idea, but the execution was clumsy and confusing. (And if it was confusing for me, the author, I can only imagine how bad it was for my readers.)
This fic is meant to be dark. As dark as TOS, in its own way. Just FYI.
I kept a few elements-the necklace, for instance. I'm going to change up a few more, though. At the moment, I'm on the fence about including Chloe. I adore Chloe, but I'm not sure if she fits this universe. And this is based on an earlier season than her appearance, not that FOP has ever been good about continuity.
One more important note: Do you have any idea how hard it is to write a dialogue-less scene? The first scene is almost entirely without dialogue. It's hard, you guys.
I'm hoping with this, I can return with new updates for fics in addition to this one. XD
Wanda tossed and turned, riddled with nightmares. She curled up into a ball on her bed and whimpered. Cosmo might not hear her, or he might've gone out. Lately, they'd been having more spats, and she felt disconnected from her husband. The nightmares only exacerbated the issue. Unlike Timmy, her nightmares didn't lead to strange wishes, at least. Nothing manifested in the physical world.
She sighed, pushing aside the covers. There was no point in sleeping any further- she'd just be haunted by further nightmares. Shaking her head, she poofed outside of the fish bowl and glanced at her godson. Timmy was fast asleep, with nothing bothering him. The worst he'd dream about was probably Crocker stalking him or Vicky tormenting him. She sighed, shaking her head, and poofed out of his room.
Tootie was fast asleep, too, although she was whimpering in her sleep. She had curled into a ball, hugging her knees, and tears slipped down her cheeks. Her Timmy shrine was destroyed, presumably by Vicky. To Wanda's surprise, there was a dart board with Cindy Vortex's photo on it. Wanda hadn't been aware Tootie even knew about Cindy. Photos of Trixie Tang and Veronica were underneath that. Wanda shivered. She hoped Tootie never evinced Vicky's cruelty.
She considered, briefly, waking the girl to talk to her. It might ease the loneliness and heartache. On the other hand, Jorgen hadn't wanted her to consort with Tootie too often. It might set a dangerous precedent. Wanda sighed. It was better to let the child sleep. Besides, she shouldn't be burdening an eleven-year-old with her problems. She knew better.
Wanda didn't normally wander Dimmsdale by herself at night. It wasn't that Dimmsdale threatened her; it was just that she normally preferred staying where she knew it was safe. Just in case.
Meanwhile, Vicky was cackling in her sleep, and Wanda shuddered. She made a rude gesture at Vicky; the teenager deserved that and more, but Wanda restrained herself. In a cloud of faerie dust, Wanda disappeared from Vicky's bedroom.
Meanwhile, Crocker was fast asleep, too, probably dreaming of his insane plots to seize herself and Cosmo. Guilt stabbed her for what had happened to him. It was their fault that he'd been warped. While she didn't like who he was now, she had to accept responsibility for it. It had taken two Cosmos and a Timmy to screw Denzel over, but she still could've done something. Maybe.
She sighed. Sweet dreams, Denzel. Maybe he'd dream of pink and green parrots and not of his miserable life.
Casting invisibility over herself ensured she could travel the town in her normal guise without anyone catching a glimpse of her. Plus, she wasn't feeling very social. There were other faeries in Dimmsdale, of course, but she didn't feel like talking to them. Or anyone, for that matter. Even if Cosmo showed up here out of nowhere, she might not want to talk to him.
And Poof was in Spellementary School; she wouldn't have spoken to him about this either. Tootie was out; Poof wasn't even in the running. Maybe she needed a therapist. The depression weighed heavily on her. She knew better than to leave Cosmo and Timmy to their own devices, though. Because the thing you really want is a child with ADHD and poor impulse control to dictate to the most powerful faerie in the universe what he wants without a stabilizing influence.
She sighed. Would Timmy even notice if she was gone? Somehow, she doubted he'd realize it right away. He was so self-absorbed that it'd probably take a while for it to sink in.
Shaking her head, she ignored the heartache that induced. They'd never stayed with one godchild this long before. She shouldn't be jealous of Timmy's relationship with Cosmo. After all, Timmy loved her too. It just felt like it was less than he loved Cosmo.
Shoulders sinking, she tried to push away the thought she was worth less than Cosmo. Unfortunately, the thoughts she'd been having lately rose again, gaining prominence. She chewed on her lip as she descended onto a bench. The normal night sounds surrounded her, but there was an unseasonable chill in the air. Wanda shivered, conjuring up a cloak.
One by one, the sounds disappeared, and the air grew colder. Soon, she could see her breath; that made no sense. It was September, and Dimmsdale was in late summer's throes. The temperature had hit 90 earlier, but now it was below freezing.
Something grabbed her from behind, and she yelped, blasting wildly with her wand. She didn't understand how anyone had seen her, much less managed to get their hands on her. It had to be a supernatural creature. That was the only explanation.
Before she had a chance to connect, a butterfly net fell over her. Panic overrode common sense, and she yelped, struggling madly. Her heart hammered between her ribs, and she regretted her late-night excursion. Maybe she should've stuck to Timmy's house after all.
Her assailant was silent, scooping her up in the net and carrying her to a portal. Though the night was dark without a moon, the portal reminded her more of a black hole, sucking all the light out of the world. She struggled, wishing she hadn't lost her magic, and she wished desperately that telepathy worked with butterfly nets. But all magic, even passive magic, was suppressed.
Wanda screamed, hoping to draw attention to herself. Instead, the assailant, who wore a black hood and cloak, carried her through the portal.
She had a sense of time being displaced as the assailant walked through a darkened castle. The very air was oppressive, like it exuded cruelty and malice, and Wanda shuddered, cold now for an entirely different reason.
Though she tried to keep track of how many twists and turns her captor had taken, it was impossible to concentrate with panic pounding through her body. Well, she'd had her wish. Now she'd discover how Timmy and Cosmo would fare without her. Petrified, she screamed again, but her captor cared nothing for her terror. They carried her like a sack of potatoes over their shoulder.
The entire trip was eerily silent. Though her captor occasionally encountered someone they recognized, they inclined their head toward them instead of speaking aloud. Everyone moved quietly; even the guards' footfalls were muffled. Wanda didn't know what kind of magical realm she'd found herself in, but it was well-organized and secretive. That didn't bode well.
Was it a crime of opportunity? Or had they been watching her? The latter disturbed her more. She and Cosmo were high-profile faeries in Fairy World. Moreover, it was a little-known secret that Cosmo was immensely powerful, yet held at bay by Wanda and his own stupidity. Very few people knew that Cosmo was distantly a Von Strangle.
Someone flung her onto a table, and Wanda gasped as her back hit a hard slab. Before she had a chance to speak, someone stuffed a gag in her mouth. They then seized her wrists and ankles and bound her to the table. Wanda struggled, making muffled cries, but they were ignored.
A creature radiating darkness approached her. In front of them, they bore an obsidian necklace, which they unclasped. Wanda would hesitate to call a few things truly evil, beyond a cartoony evil they encountered a lot, but this qualified. She did not want that around her neck. It didn't matter what she wanted.
The figure draped it over her chest and clasped it around her neck. The instant it touched her skin, agony radiated outward. It felt like she'd been electrocuted and then run over for good measure. Writhing in pain, she arched her back and screamed. It felt like she screamed until blood vessels burst, but she couldn't be sure. Tears streamed down her face, and she tried to beg through the gag for mercy. Help. Anything. The figure watched her impassively, unmoved by her anguish.
If she'd been terrified earlier, that was nothing compared to now. Whatever this creature wanted from her, it wasn't anything good. This malevolent necklace seemed to have a mind of its own, and it whispered to her. It sent a black magical tendril into her mind and began flicking through her memories. It was searching for something.
Wanda had learned rudimentary ways to protect her mind from an invasion, but the being within the necklace shredded her defenses as if they were wet tissue paper.
She thought she might've been bleeding from her eyes but couldn't tell. Her world shrank to the agony the necklace produced, both along her body and in her mind. The being laughed cruelly in her mind as it sought more of her memories, particularly her memories of Timmy, Poof, and Cosmo.
She tried to tell it to stay away from them, but even forming thoughts was difficult. Besides, the being had no interest in her paltry attempts to protect them. What it wanted and what she wanted were diametrically opposed, and she could feel her will being subsumed by the creature.
Finally, the pain stopped. Her captor removed her gag, and she panted, doubled over. A cold hand stroked her hair, and she shivered, recoiling from it.
"Better," her captor said with a low chortle. "Much better, little faerie."
Cosmo awoke with a gasp, pain ricocheting all over his body. He poofed into Timmy's room without a thought and shook his godson awake. Timmy stared blearily at his godfather. Being awake at three a.m. was clearly not on his list of things to do today, especially on a school night.
"Cosmo?" Timmy said. He wasn't with it yet. Unlike Jimmy Neutron, his brain didn't kickstart in the wee hours of the morning after a rude awakening.
"Wanda's gone!" Cosmo exclaimed.
"Okay…maybe she went to the bathroom," Timmy said, rolling over to avoid his godfather. "Cosmo, it's three a.m.. Just go back to sleep."
"No!" Cosmo said. He shuddered. "Someone's torturing Wanda!"
"What?!" Timmy bolted upright, his heart pounding. "What are you talking about? Did you have a nightmare or…?"
"No, I didn't," Cosmo insisted. "I-"
"Hello, Cosmo, Timmy," Wanda said, appearing out of thin air. Cosmo rushed to hug her, although she was stiff in his arms.
"Wanda! You're okay! I felt like they were attacking you! I don't know who, but-" Wanda silenced him by pressing her wand to his lips. It burned and Cosmo cried out, releasing her and staring at her cautiously.
"Wanda?" Timmy said, unnerved.
"Oh, now you notice that I'm gone," Wanda scoffed. "You never appreciated me, either of you."
There was a strange sense of malevolence hanging about her, and it radiated outward from the strange pendant around her neck. Cosmo reached for it, and she blasted him with her wand. Cosmo flew backward, but he was determined. That necklace didn't belong, and he would remove it, come hell or high water.
"What are you talking about?" Timmy exclaimed. "And why did you attack Cosmo?"
When Wanda rounded on him, her eyes were black. No pupils, just entirely black. Cosmo shuddered, nonetheless reaching out for the necklace. He might not be too bright, but he was positive that this was the reason behind her strange behavior.
"You never appreciated me," she repeated. "But you will now."
She blasted Cosmo through the wall. Cosmo recovered quickly, reaching for his wand to generate a shield. He wouldn't attack his wife, no matter what had possessed her. Terrified, his eyes welling with tears, he reached out for her only to be blasted back again.
"Wanda, it's three in the morning," Timmy complained.
"You're lucky you're my godson," she said darkly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Timmy said. He hugged himself. "You're starting to scare me. Stop joking around."
"Who said I was joking?" she said, generating a scythe with her wand and raising it to slash Cosmo's throat.