Author's Note: The last scene was such a pain. Cosmo would not let me find a decent ending spot. It was ridiculous.
And yes, a couple of my evil OCs made an appearance here. They were also in the original.
Timmy, bored, studied his surroundings. Wanda's blood sparkled on the walls, which prompted him to hug his godmother tighter. His heart pounded. Part of him wondered how Wanda had doubted his love for her, but then again, he'd been closer to Cosmo for a while now. They were two of a kind, which probably made Wanda feel left out. He hadn't meant for that to happen.
Wanda started in his arms, which prompted Timmy to startle too. Wanda stared up at him; her face was pinched from the torture, and her breathing was shallow. He needed to ask what had befallen Cosmo. It was important, even if it might drive a wedge between himself and Wanda.
"Wanda…" Timmy faltered, his lower lip quivering. "What happened to Cosmo?"
Wanda sighed, turning her face away from him. For a moment, neither of them spoke. His heart pounded and ached in his chest. He stroked her curls and waited. He thought she wouldn't answer him; a few minutes passed until she spoke.
"I destroyed his body," she said, shuddering.
"He's dead?!" Timmy yelped, and Wanda shook her head.
"Not quite, sport," she said, still not looking at him. "Faeries can recreate their bodies, as long as their soul is intact. Cosmo's soul is intact-I didn't do what the Shadows wanted. I pulled my punch at the last second to spare him."
Timmy shuddered. Part of him wanted to release her and then crawl to another corner of the cell. Unfortunately, the cell wasn't big enough to allow him to do that.
"It was the only way I knew how to keep him safe," she continued. "I couldn't…I couldn't destroy him. No matter what happened between us."
Timmy froze; he was having a difficult time breathing. His chest was tight, and spots danced before his eyes.
She swallowed hard. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear, hon."
"The only way to protect him was to kill him?" His voice was higher-pitched than normal, and his heart raced. Wanda grimaced, stroking his cheek. He recoiled, and she winced, pushing away from him to sit on the floor. He could see the hurt look in her eyes, but he wasn't quite ready to comfort her.
"He isn't dead," she said. "He's in stasis until they can reunite him with another body or recreate his own body."
She frowned. "I could speak to his soul, right now, if the creature in my necklace hadn't blocked him out."
"So he is okay?" Timmy pressed, and Wanda nodded weakly.
"As all right as it's possible to be given the circumstances," she said. She sounded exhausted, and he felt guilty for freaking out over Cosmo and pushing her away. Cosmo was his godfather. On the other hand, though, Wanda hadn't meant to hurt him. Timmy hugged his knees. He didn't know how to feel right now.
"Why did they target you and Cosmo?" Timmy asked, and Wanda smiled bleakly. She hugged herself too, and Timmy relented. He scooped her up into his arms and cradled her.
"Isn't it obvious, sport?" she said. "We're the most prominent faeries in this realm. Attack us, and you threaten to bring down the whole establishment. You've saved the realm a few times, you know."
"I know," he said, somber. She was shaking, and he couldn't reconcile her current condition with his mental image of her attacking Cosmo. Despite what she'd said about Cosmo not being dead, it was hard to imagine losing your body as anything but permanent. Then again, faeries didn't play by the same rules as humans.
"Is that why they wanted me out of the way too?"
She nodded and clenched her eyes shut.
"When we get out of this," he said, and she barked a humorless laugh, "we're burning that necklace."
"It needs to be destroyed," she agreed. "Right now, it's embedded in my skin, which is all of its own type of torture."
"So, it takes over you?" he asked, trying to understand how this had happened.
She nodded. "I had to fight to keep it from hurting you just now. That's why they tortured me."
Timmy was awed and also alarmed. Wanda had endured torture for him. She must really love him. (What did that say about her relationship with Cosmo that she hadn't done the same for him? Or was it a case of a mother sacrificing for her child?)
He bolted upright, the last thought reminding him of someone else, someone rather important.
"What about Poof?" he asked. "He's the only faerie baby in existence."
"I know," she said and grimaced. "He seems to have flown beneath their radar so far, but we can't count on that lasting for long. After all, he's our son. He has Cosmo's powers and my intelligence. That's a potent combination."
Timmy nodded, his throat tight. If Poof were almost as strong as Cosmo, then the Shadows would be interested in him. Wanda was right. She couldn't count on their disinterest for long.
"Poof and Foop will be on their list," Timmy said, frowning.
"As will anyone else that we've known who has magic," Wanda said quietly.
"Who else do we know that has magic?" Timmy mused aloud and then stopped to think about it. "Juandissimo…Cupid…Jorgen definitely, Mama Cosma, Big Daddy, Blonda…anyone who's anyone in Fairy World."
"Right," she said. "And if they can't get my cooperation the way they've been doing, they'll go after my family next."
Timmy shuddered, closing his eyes. He was almost afraid to leave the cell and discover what hell the Shadows were wreaking outside of it. Almost. But Timmy Turner was no coward. He'd never back down from a fight, regardless of how contentious the situation might be.
"We need to get out of here and find Cosmo," he said.
"No!" she said. "That's the worst possible thing we can do. Right now, we need to pretend we're unaware of Cosmo's continued existence. That way, no one can track him."
She softened. "I know you want to see him, hon. And I know you want to make sure he's all right. But the only way to ensure he's okay is to stay away from him."
Timmy scowled. Damn, he hated when Wanda was right. Unfortunately, Wanda was right far more often than she was wrong. He sighed, scrambling to figure out their next plan of action.
The cell door opened, preempting his thoughts. A man with brown hair, the same shade as his, and a familiar bucktooth waited outside. Wanda snarled; Timmy didn't know why, but he was getting bad vibes from this guy. The man, if man he was, looked to be in his late thirties or early forties. He wore a black hoodie and jeans, and something about him sent chills down Timmy's spine.
"No," Wanda snapped. "Absolutely not. That's the exact opposite of what I want for Timmy."
She grabbed her godson and held her wand out threateningly. "Get out of here. Now. I'd rather be trapped in here longer than hand over my godson to this monster."
"I'm not a monster," the man said in a smooth, unctuous voice. "I'm Timmy's anti-faerie from another dimension."
"Oh, I know who you are," Wanda snapped, releasing Timmy to fly up into his face and brandish her wand threateningly. It glowed and left a burn mark on the man's face. "You're not just an anti-faerie. Oh, no. You're a pedophile who preys on little boys, Lorenzo DeMedici. Get. Out."
Timmy flinched. No wonder he was getting bad vibes from this guy. And no wonder Wanda was up in arms. If looks could kill, Wanda would've eviscerated him by now. Her eyes glowed hot, fire burning in their sockets.
"If you insist," Lorenzo said as if Wanda's fury meant little to him. "I'll be back later if you consider."
"Over my dead body," Wanda snapped.
"That can be arranged," Lorenzo said, and Wanda backhanded him with the wand. Timmy's jaw dropped. Wanda's wand had left a dark burn mark on his cheeks, but she wasn't done yet. Instead, conjuring up a giant boot, she knocked Lorenzo out of her sight. Her hair had turned briefly to flames, and she looked murderous. Timmy wondered if she'd looked that way before when she'd confronted Cosmo. He shuddered, pushing the idea away. He didn't want to think about it.
"Why they thought that was an acceptable alternative, I don't know," Wanda snapped. Timmy did a double take. The necklace was spreading spidery black lines along her skin. Black veins around her eyes made it look like she was weeping darkness. He shuddered.
"Your…your face…" he gasped, and Wanda cocked her head quizzically. She held up her wand and gasped, flinching.
"They won't control me," Wanda snapped, balling her fists. "No matter what they do to me, I won't give in."
Her eyes remained their vibrant pink, at least, which was a relief. Her hair, however, had dark streaks too. He latched onto her, and she hugged him fiercely back.
"I'll kill him before he hurts you," Wanda growled. Timmy believed her, and that terrified him.
For all that she swore the darkness wouldn't consume her, he feared it had already begun its work. She had always been fiercely protective over him, but it looked like this was verging on possessiveness. He wondered when he'd see his parents again.
Then a worse thought struck him. He wondered how long it'd take his parents to discover his disappearance.
"You wouldn't really kill him, right?" Timmy asked weakly.
"You don't know what he's done to other versions of you, as well as other little boys. His reputation precedes him," she said darkly.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?"
She shook her head. "You don't need to know, sweetie, and it'd only disturb you to find out."
She probably had a point there, although Timmy had a habit of sticking his nose where it didn't belong. He opened his mouth to question her further, and she shook her head sharply. That put an end to the conversation, at least for now.
"When do you think they'll let us out of here?" he asked.
"As soon as they want something from me," she said. "I wish I could give you more information than that, but they obviously want to keep me in the dark for as long as possible."
Heh. Dark. There was an ironic turn of phrase. He was almost too scared to be bored. At least he wasn't trapped here by himself, he guessed. He had Wanda to talk to. He was seldom truly alone lately.
"You can't talk to Cosmo, right?"
She shook her head. "I don't know where he is, either, hon. I know that the Shadows didn't capture his soul, which means someone else must've gotten to it first."
"Someone on our side, right?" Timmy pressed.
Wanda's smile was humorless. "I sure hope so. If not, we're in worse trouble than I thought."
The Shadows noticed Tootie's absence immediately. However, oblivious to why Tootie had magic, and her sister didn't, they set up a watch at the local high school. Vicky was vicious and ruthless, but mundane as far as magic went. Someone must have infused fresh faerie blood into the bloodline but had missed Vicky.
Still, if the Shadows could awaken the slumbering magic in Vicky's veins, perhaps she could provide a good counterpoint to Timmy Turner. Unfortunately, they ran the risk of further agitating Wanda. They were playing a dangerous game, especially since Wanda wasn't exactly cooperating. Any threat to her godson might send her over the edge.
However…they wanted Wanda to be dangerous too. This might be the best way to ensure it. Wanda had already sent away Lorenzo, but he was afraid of the faerie godmother anyway, so that didn't count. Vicky might not be, once she learned the truth about Timmy Turner and his faeries.
A man with short blood-red hair waited for Vicky as she headed for lunch. He had stubble on his cheeks and brown, almost black eyes. To blend in, he'd dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks, along with brown loafers. As soon as Vicky walked toward her locker, he shadowed her.
"I know how Timmy Turner keeps defeating you," he said in her ear. Vicky startled, snarling, and if she'd had magic, she would've lunged for him. Fyraka held up his wand and stopped time. No one was watching them anyway, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, clutching her books to her chest. "And what the hell are you talking about?"
Fyraka chuckled darkly. "I could be an ally if you want to take down Timmy Turner for good. All you have to do is agree to work with me."
"And what's in it for me?" Vicky said sourly. "You look like you need me more than I need you."
"More power than you could imagine," Fyraka said. "The ability to strike down Timmy's friends and allies and put them and, more importantly, him out of commission. Permanently."
"Kill Timmy Turner?" she said, and her pink eyes widened with malice and excitement. "That's possible?"
"Do you want him dead?"
It didn't take her long to think it over. "What about his parents?"
"They'll never know they had a son to lose," he said smoothly.
Vicky grinned wickedly. "I'm liking this so far. What do you get?"
"An ally in our fight against the light and 'do-goodies,'" he said and held out his hand. Vicky shook it, and Fryaka's grin matched hers.
"First off, Timmy Turner had, up until recently, two faerie godparents named Cosmo and Wanda…" Fyraka said, transporting them back to the Shadows headquarters. It was an old palace outside of time, in a pocket universe, where it'd be impossible for Jorgen to detect them. Operating right under his nose was one thing. Operating where he'd never discover them was quite another.
They appeared in a cozy sitting room with a warm fire burning. Plush furniture and carpets lined the room, along with a large-screen TV. Vicky wouldn't have been impressed with books, not that he'd blame her. She wasn't the type to derive pleasure from reading.
Vicky took the comfiest seat in the room, and Fyraka held it out for her before sitting at one across from her. A small table lay between them with the TV remote and settings for the magical fire at her back.
"Faeries are real?" Vicky said. "You're not grabbing my leg."
"Faeries are quite real," he replied. "They have their own world, too. But let's not bog this down with details, not yet. All you need to know is that Timmy Turner had two faeries who granted his every little wish. Well, save for a few specific wishes, but you can probably guess which ones they were."
Vicky seethed. The news didn't seem entirely new to her, but it was wholly unwelcome.
"Why do you keep saying it in the past tense?" Vicky asked.
"Ah, now that's the interesting part," Fyraka allowed. "Do you want anything to eat? Drink?"
"Can I have wine?" she asked, knowing she couldn't legally drink in the human realm.
"Of course," he said, conjuring up a wine glass for her. "As I was saying, one of those faeries has been dealt with. Unfortunately, we can't locate his soul, but that won't be a problem for too long. Meanwhile, his faerie godmother will be corrupted—"
"Not if she's as goody-goody as the twerp," Vicky spat.
"Yes, she is proving difficult," Fyraka agreed. "But we believe with the right incentive, she might change her tune. And that's where you come in."
"You want me to hurt her?" Vicky asked, rubbing her palms together. Fyraka knew Vicky relished torture.
"No, not yet," Fyraka said, leaning in. "We have something else in mind…"
They brought Tootie back to their hangout, where Tootie bounced all over the place like the hyperactive child she was. All that energy had to go somewhere, which was probably why she stalked Timmy. Daniela shook her head ruefully and went to check on the white dragon lying on its stomach in the backyard. Sparky yipped a welcome to her. Daniela rolled her eyes and gave him a quick pat on the head before approaching the dragon. She held Cosmo's essence in the vial in her right hand.
"Now, I know this is sudden," Daniela said. Her heart pounded. The yard extended as far as the eye could see; they'd needed somewhere remote to house all of the creatures Cal had taken pity on, including the white dragon, which was easily the size of the house.
"But we could really use your help," she continued. "I'm going to unstopper this vial, and you'll tell me whether you're compatible with Cosmo, okay?"
Her mouth dried out. They had only one shot at this. If the white dragon rejected Cosmo, for any reason, his essence would vanish into thin air. Then they'd have to track it down again before the Shadows did. Daniela didn't fancy their chances.
The white dragon stirred slightly, which Daniela took as a promising sign. It had yet to wake; transporting it here had been a devil of a time. Dragons couldn't be poofed up, not from other realms, and they'd needed to support it with magic until they could rest it safely in the backyard. Throughout it all, the dragon hadn't stirred one inch. As far as Daniela knew, it had yet to acknowledge any of them. Daniela knew its soul had been damaged by the Shadows in its attempt to protect its realm.
She didn't even know if the dragon was male or female. And checking was out of the question. No one wanted to disturb the dragon's dignity for such a stupid reason.
"Here goes nothing," she said, heart in her throat. She unstoppered the vial and watched Cosmo's green essence flit around the white dragon. The dragon opened its eyes, which were a deep crimson. It watched Cosmo's essence, like flower petals on the wind, and then huffed.
"No."
"No?" Daniela said, fighting disappointment. Her lower lip quivered. The white dragon had managed to defeat the Shadows in its realm, although the cost had been horrific.
"No, little one," the white dragon continued. Its voice was deep and sonorous. Male, then. His tail twitched, swishing back and forth and stirring up mud as he did so.
"Not yet."
To her surprise, Cosmo answered.
((Why not? I have to talk to her.))
"Not yet. She is not ready to hear you. She has her hands full."
((With what? How could she have killed me?)) Cosmo said and burst into tears. Or, rather, what would've been tears if he'd had a corporeal form.
"We can talk to her in her sleep, but there's no point in disturbing her now. It will solve nothing and only bring you to the dybbuk's attention that much sooner."
((Dy…what?))
"Dybbuk. It's the soul of a malicious spirit who has possessed a person to complete unfinished business. It's a Hebrew word. That's the creature in her amulet."
((I see,)) Cosmo said though it was apparent he didn't at all. The essence drifted closer to the dragon, and a white light enveloped both it and the dragon. Cosmo's green sank into the white dragon, and the dragon's eyes changed from red to Cosmo's shade. The tip of his tail turned emerald as well, and Daniela smiled. She was fighting the urge to whoop like a small child.
"Only in her sleep can we speak to her without the dybbuk being aware. You must wait, Cosmo Cosma."
Daniela let out a whoop now, embarrassing herself. Sparky barked, and she covered her face. Fortunately, neither the dragon nor Cosmo had noticed. She hastened through the screen door and back into the house.
"It worked! It worked, it worked, it worked!" Daniela hooted, grabbing Cal, who was in the middle of preparing soup for dinner. She spun him around while he looked bemused.
"What worked?" Tootie said, caught up in the excitement. "Is Timmy back?"
Cal and Daniela exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"No, but Cosmo is," Daniela said, grinning widely. "He's within the dragon now. That'll make his resurrection so much easier when the time comes."
"Oh," Tootie said flatly. "Cosmo. Wanda told me all about him."
Judging from her tone, it'd been nothing flattering, either. Daniela's smile wilted a little. Then it shot back up when the white dragon stirred out of the mud, shook itself off (splattering the house's sides in the process), and shifted into a faerie with white hair and glowing green eyes. It resembled Cosmo in facial features and hairstyle. Apparently, there wasn't enough left of the dragon to imprint on another form.
"So, what did I miss?" Cosmo asked. It was his voice coming out of the dragon too. Evidently, the dragon could only speak through telepathy.
"You!" Tootie snapped, glowering at him.
"Me? What did I do?" Cosmo said, baffled. "And where's Wanda?"
"You've done enough-" Tootie started, growing heated, and Cal put up a hand to stop her before she went off on a rant.
"We don't know where Wanda is," Cal said gently. "She's in the Netherworld, which is where the Shadows reside. Beyond that, we don't know.
"Timmy's there too."
"Is…is Timmy okay?" Cosmo asked, sobering.
"We don't know yet," Daniela said, grimacing. "It's all a bit of a mess right now."
"There are a few things you need to know, however, before we eat," Cal said, shooting Tootie another warning glance. "And then we can start planning."
"Planning what?" Cosmo asked, searching for his wand. The dragon had no need for such a device since its magic was innate.
"How to save Timmy?" Tootie said, her voice rising in excitement.
"And to save the realm from darkness before it's too late," Cal agreed, sighing. "If it isn't already."
"Wanda won't have fallen to the Shadows," Cosmo said, shaking his head. "Whoever they are."
"Don't be so sure," Cal warned. "You don't know what they're capable of. We do. Be very careful, Cosmo."
"'Careful' is my middle name!" Cosmo said and smacked himself in the face by accident. "I guess I need to get used to this new body."
"There are quite a few things you need to learn," Cal said. "So take a seat, and we'll get to it."
"Was that Sparky out there?" Cosmo asked. "I haven't seen him in ages."
"Not since he was retconned," Daniela muttered.
Cosmo tried to sit down and fell off the barstool. He picked himself up gingerly, clearly uneasy with his new limbs, and managed to sit still. For about thirty seconds before keeling over again. Tootie sighed, reluctantly helping him to stay seated.
"How come Tootie's here, anyway?" Cosmo said.
"If you'd stop asking questions," Cal said sharply, "then we could begin."
"Sorry," Cosmo said, sheepish. "It's just that usually, Wanda explains everything to me."
The others winced. No one seemed to want to be the first to break the bad news to him. The dragon had done so a little, but not to the full extent. And that was problematic. Then again, if Cosmo just stopped interrupting, maybe they could finally talk.
"I'll take Wanda's place for once," Cal said gently. "If you think you can stay on that stool for longer than a minute."
"I'll try," Cosmo said dubiously. Daniela didn't trust Cosmo's ADD to keep him from bouncing off the walls, but maybe the white dragon would temper him. With Cosmo's magic and the white dragon's power, they might have a fighting chance. She hoped.