A/N: "The more that you have, the more that they take…"
Again written to "Lilith" on loop. Yeah, I think Chloe won't be in this one. That's all right. She wasn't in the original either.
Timmy lunged, stepping in between Cosmo and Wanda. At the last moment, Wanda pulled the strike, clearly afraid of hurting her godson. Timmy shuddered, shaking. He'd never seen his godmother like this before. True, she'd been furious in the past, but not like this. Not at them, or at least, not violently enraged at them. For the first time in a while, he was genuinely afraid of Wanda. His teeth chattered.
"Wow, that was close," Cosmo said. He poked his head out from behind Timmy's shoulder. "Maybe we should talk first-"
"No," Wanda growled. She raised the scythe again, aiming behind Timmy, and Timmy flung himself at her. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer. Unfortunately for him, Wanda saw him coming and dodged, floating out of the way and leaving Timmy to crash into the floor.
"Wanda, don't!" Timmy said, not sure what he was pleading for. "I don't know what's going on, but don't hurt him!"
Wanda hesitated and, for a few seconds, he saw her normal brilliant pink eyes. She clasped a hand to her temple and groaned, wings fluttering. The locket tightened around her neck and became more like a choker. She crashed to the bed, and, for a few minutes, lay there in what looked like agony. Black magic swirled around her, and she had her teeth clenched to fight back a scream.
Equally hesitant, Timmy and Cosmo approached her. She glanced from one to the other. The color had drained from her face, and her lips trembled. Whatever this was, she was actively fighting it. She reached out to them, and, even though Timmy was terrified, he clasped her hand. It was icy cold to the touch.
With only the moonlight through the window illuminating the scene, it was rather dark. Cosmo shakily turned on a light and then dropped it. He was rattled too. Waving his wand, he repaired the damage and restored the lamp back to its place on Timmy's dresser.
Wanda squeezed Timmy's hand back. After a moment, she rolled over onto her side and panted, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
"Baby?" Cosmo said, floating at her side. "What's going on?"
His lower lip quivered again. "You're scaring me and Timmy."
"Good," she spat and then shook her head. "No. I don't mean it. I don't know what I mean. You have to get that locket off."
Uneasy, Timmy exchanged a glance at Cosmo. "We tried. You almost killed Cosmo."
Wanda nodded faintly as if that was to be expected. "I can't control it."
"Control what?" Timmy said, at a complete loss. He tried to pull away from Wanda's grip, but she had him too tight. "And what did you mean that I'm lucky I'm your godson?"
He glanced at the door warily. Hopefully, his parents hadn't heard the commotion or intended to investigate. There wouldn't be enough time to talk Wanda out of whatever was going on if they did. His heart thumped. He bit his lower lip hard, almost forgetting about his buck teeth.
Wanda didn't answer. It seemed to be taking all of her power to keep from lunging at them again. Cautiously, Timmy leaned forward and reached for the necklace's clasp. No matter what he tried, his fingers slipped off. It was like the necklace repelled him. It had to be magic; it was also terrifying him. His stomach had dropped somewhere by his feet.
"Talk to us," Cosmo said and stroked Wanda's face with the back of his hand. Timmy blinked, realizing it'd been a while since he'd seen any romantic gestures between the two of them. When he'd first gotten them, they'd been lovey-dovey with each other. Now, all they seemed to do was argue and insult each other. Timmy couldn't remember who had started it. Wanda had always called Cosmo an idiot, but she'd done it in a loving sort of way. Now, it didn't feel like that.
Timmy heard footsteps and held his breath. "Guys-"
They vanished into the fishbowl just in time for his mother to open the door. She frowned at the tousled sheets. Timmy was still shaking, and she rushed into the room.
"Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?" she asked, hugging him.
"You have no idea," he said. He had a feeling the nightmare wasn't over, either.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, guiding him back to his bed. Timmy glanced over at the fishbowl, but Cosmo and Wanda had vanished. That struck him as ominous. He had a difficult time wrenching his attention back to his mother; it felt like a million thoughts were racing through his mind. Wanda hadn't wanted to hurt Timmy, but she had wanted to hurt Cosmo. And now there was no one to stop her.
"Honey?" his mother called, noticing Timmy's lack of a response. "What's wrong?"
Timmy shook his head. Even if he'd wanted to tell his mother, he couldn't have. He wouldn't risk losing his faeries, regardless of what had just happened. Or what might now be happening.
"Could you stay for a while?" he blurted.
"Of course," she said, ignoring the fact she had work at seven-thirty. She curled up into bed with Timmy, though the bed was a twin and not built for two people. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but sleep proved elusive.
He couldn't erase the earlier scene from his mind, and he worried about what Wanda really wanted with Cosmo. In the back of his mind, he feared he'd never see his godfather again. And if he saw Wanda again, it'd be as an executioner.
By the time his mother rose to make breakfast, Timmy hadn't slept a wink.
Fury threatened to sear her from the inside out. Just looking at Cosmo was enough to make her want to incinerate him. She tried to reject the feelings he provoked, especially because she knew that while she resented her husband for mistreating her, this rage wasn't hers. The creature within the necklace wanted to destroy Cosmo because he represented an obstacle to its ultimate goal. What that goal was, Wanda had no idea. While it'd been easy for the creature to ransack her mind and memories, attempting to reciprocate it was impossible. She encountered the mental equivalent of an iron wall.
"Can we talk about this?" he asked. She'd brought him to Big Daddy's house since the creature within was dead-set on killing Cosmo. If she failed in her objective, perhaps Big Daddy would finish the job. All she'd need to do was tell him how badly Cosmo had behaved in the last six months.
"No," she snapped. She raised the scythe again, and Cosmo blocked it with a green shield. In the back of her mind, beyond the creature's control, she felt Cosmo's anxiety skittering around. It made her falter. She loved Cosmo, despite what he'd done. She could never bring herself to seriously hurt him, much less kill him.
Weakling, the voice in her head said derisively. She was too slow and choreographed her movements. Cosmo would counter her. She needed to seize the upper hand. She absolutely did not want to attack him, but the creature was relentless.
"I know you don't want to do this," Cosmo said. He touched her cheek, and her heart ached. The creature couldn't resist such close range.
It seized upon her resentment and frustration from the last six months. Moreover, it turned her depression, which was really anger inward, and focused it on Cosmo. The creature told her that Cosmo was the sum of all of her problems, and the world would be better off without him. Wanda lunged, emotions overwhelming her common sense and true feelings, and speared him through the heart.
The weapon had to be dark magic to work, otherwise, it would've been harmless. Cosmo's green soul floated away, too fast for the creature to track. Wanda, stunned, sagged to her knees. Her throat constricted, and she gasped back a sob.
Cosmo's body crumpled. Blood spread on the street around him. Like all faerie blood, it sparkled. It coated her hands and yellow shirt. If she didn't leave now, she'd be caught red-handed, literally. The creature seized control, taking advantage of her shock, and propelled her out of Fairy World.
((Cosmo!)) Wanda gasped in telepathy. All true loves had it, and, up until recently, they'd been able to feel each other's emotions and speak to each other mind to mind. That had receded during their numerous arguments to the point where Wanda had doubted they still had it.
((Wanda!))
Cosmo. He'd answered her somehow. Despite herself, her hopes rose slightly. Wherever he was, he hadn't vanished from the universe. That didn't narrow it down, but it meant she might be able to restore him. If the creature within the necklace allowed her to, that was. Wanda's hopes sank thinking about that. The chances of that happening seemed remote.
Wanda collapsed back onto the slab in the room where she'd received the necklace. The same figure that had loomed over her earlier scrutinized her, shook his head, and clucked his tongue. Dizzy, Wanda shook her head back, and the necklace tightened, squeezing her throat. Wanda gasped, hands flying to her throat as she tried to remove the dark artifact. However, like Timmy before her, she discovered she couldn't get a grip on it. Its links slipped through her fingers.
"Every time you fail me, you will be punished," the figure intoned. "You were supposed to kill Cosmo. You left him a loophole. You were supposed to kill Timothy. You spared him too."
"I won't-" she said between clenched teeth-"won't kill Timmy and Cosmo."
Pain shot through her body again like she was being electrocuted again. It felt like her whole body was aflame and she smelled burning flesh. Screaming, she tried to flee, but her arms and legs were bound again. The flames licked up and down her body.
Wanda had been through flames before. She'd endured a lot that would kill a human. It'd hurt, but it'd been brief, and she'd healed herself immediately. Now, there was no chance of healing and, perhaps because the pain would be minor otherwise, the figure ensured it hurt as much as possible. This time, she knew she was weeping tears of blood.
"I won't…" she whimpered.
"Interesting," the figure said. He pushed his hood back to scrutinize her. He had brown hair, but blue skin. An anti-faerie, maybe? He certainly had the pointed ears of one, but other than the skin tone and the elfin ears, none of it matched. Granted, the hood could conceal his wings.
"I thought for sure that would break her," the male faerie said. "Suggestions?"
A woman stepped forward. Though she remained bundled in a cloak, it was figure-hugging, and the voice was unmistakably female.
"Let's let her family convince her," the woman said after a pause. "We'll bring Big Daddy and Blonda to our side. If that doesn't work, we'll seize Timothy."
"No," she growled. She didn't know how she could keep resisting despite the agony coursing through her veins. It felt like her blood had been heated and was bubbling. She wanted to curl into a ball, scream, and sob hysterically. That wasn't an option. And she'd sooner die than let Timmy and Cosmo come to harm.
Even if Cosmo had already come to harm at her hands.
"That's it…" the male said. "Feed the guilt. You love Cosmo so much, and yet all he did was hurt you. You only gave him justice. You know you did. And you know the way to make this stop is to simply give in. Give us what we want."
Wanda spat weakly, and blood trickled out of her mouth. The spit didn't land anywhere near her antagonists.
"What if she doesn't capitulate to our demands?" the male faerie asked curiously.
"We have our targets," she said. "She will work with us, willingly or not. The creature within the necklace will corrupt her or it will consume her. Either way, we win. She can't fight this forever."
Wanda squared her jaw. She was stronger than they gave her credit for. She had to be, to be a mafia don's daughter. And something told her that if Big Daddy found out what these faeries were doing to her, he wouldn't let anything on Earth or Fairy World (or any other world) stand in his way.
"Wanna bet?" she whispered.
Cosmo's soul flew far and wide, seeking out assistance. Daniela, a former faerie godmother and wife to Calente, a faerie healer, caught his soul before it ran into their enemies. She, Calente, and Magdalene formed the resistance, which was pathetically small at the moment until they could convince Jorgen of what was happening. This might be the first step. There was only so long before he noticed the havoc the dark faeries were wreaking between Fairy World and Earth.
All three faeries had a link to Tootie Griffin. In another universe, Cal and Daniela had been her godparents. In all universes, Magdalene was distantly Tootie's ancestor. That wasn't what united them, however. It was just a similar trait.
What united them was that they were all on the fringes of faerie society. Magdalene had been exiled for a hundred years and returned to discover Fairy World had changed in her absence. Cal and Daniela had discovered that their counterparts had died in this universe and, to avoid a similar fate had assumed their roles.
The Shadows weren't limited to one universe. They had devoured Cal and Daniela's original world. They sought to destroy everything in their path. Whatever they couldn't control outright, they killed. They knew Cosmo was too dangerous to remain alive. If any part of him survived, then he posed a threat, especially with Wanda resisting.
But, really, what had they expected? Wanda was fundamentally a good faerie. They would have a hard time completely controlling her.
Sealing Cosmo's soul away in a vial, Daniela returned to the others. They had a new companion, a white dragon. The white dragon, however, was comatose. It required another soul to revive because its soul had been damaged in a battle with the Shadows. This might just be the opportunity they'd been waiting for.
If the white dragon took to Cosmo, which seemed like a pretty big "if" right now.
"Any luck?" Magdalene asked. They sat around an island counter in an abandoned model house. They were in the kitchen; Cal was poring over a medical text of some sort. Magdalene set aside the book she'd been reading; the TV was above their heads and on in the background showing a soap opera.
The kitchen had empty cupboards except for what they'd conjured up as the bare necessities. It had a screened-in porch attached, where Cal sometimes brought in stray faerie animals. Sparky was there, now rendered mute and dumb. (This, anyone who had known him, would've said was an improvement).
"Yes and no," Daniela said. She brushed her long brown hair back over her shoulder, and Magdalene rolled her eyes. Magdalene was a petite faerie with curly dark purple locks. She had permanent shadows under her eyes, perhaps from dealing with Cal's rescue projects. She wore blue jeans and a t-shirt with a black unicorn rearing.
"What does that mean?" Magdalene said.
"We might if things work out. If they don't, well, we're back to square one," Daniela explained. Sometimes, she couldn't help but feel Magdalene was flaunting her thin frame, but then again, Daniela was just naturally chubby. Moreover, Magdalene had never recovered entirely from her exile on Earth. She startled at sudden sounds, and the way she moved told Daniela she'd been trapped in a form that had endured a lot of abuse.
"Maybe further back," Cal said, frowning as he scrutinized the vial Daniela carried. Cosmo's essence swirled about.
Cal was an older faerie with graying hair that looked distinguished on him. He wore a white lab coat and black pants. Currently, he floated above the seat next to the island counter.
"She really did it, then," Cal said.
"I don't think she wanted to," Daniela pointed out.
"'Want' is immaterial to the discussion," Cal said. "We'd better get to Earth and protect the others."
"Wanda won't let Timmy go without a fight," Daniela warned. "And that would bring us to the Shadows' attention too soon."
Cal winced. "We may have to…"
"Let Wanda have him?" Daniela said, wincing too. "Yeah. What do we do in the meantime?"
"We're going back to Dimmsdale," Cal announced. "With the white dragon transformed into something more inconspicuous."
"If we're not going back for Timmy, then why are we going?" Magdalene asked, frowning.
"For your many times over granddaughter, Tootie Griffin. The only faerie/human child to show magic in generations," Cal said.