Chapter 5: Nightmare
—Wanda's POV—
She kept stealing worried glances at Timmy. He was propped up by pillows and was cuddling with Poof, who was worriedly looking up at his brother's face. She mournfully gazed at the clouded eyes. Poof did not know what they meant, but she did not have the bliss of such ignorance.
Hollow, dead eyes. The fogged over, dilated eyes of a corpse. Seeing his pretty blue eyes reduced to such a state was heart-rending. More so, it was what it signified. Jorgen had merely told Timmy that his natural vitality was low, and that they'd need to strengthen it with magic until it restored, but that wasn't just it. Until his natural life force rekindled, he was in a state where he was closer to death than he was life.
Her poor godson was doing his best to smile, but she could tell how sad he was. Cosmo seemed to try hard to reassure him, but…in the state he was in now, he was basically on magical life support. He was literally being kept alive by the revival magic swirling inside of him, since his own body could not strengthen its own life force enough.
"I know you're worried." Jorgen, who had pulled her aside, sympathized. "But this is not an unknown complication. We know how to treat it. Turner's human vitality is not loss. If it were, his eyes would have been like that from the start. His natural human life force will restore it's self given enough time. Until then, we'll just have to keep him alive with magic."
"Yes, please explain how this magic-filter-cycle works." She took in a deep breath. The only thing she could do now was make sure that Timmy got the care he needed so that he could go back to being how he used to be as quickly as possible.
"You will need to be very careful with it." Jorgen took a glance at Timmy and Cosmo. "I'll go into the details with you in a private lesson held in fairy world so I'll just go into the bare bones for now."
"Is it bad if Timmy overhears?"
"It would probablyt scare him." Jorgen admitted. "But I'm more concerned about Cosmo trying to attempt it. The slightest mistake can cause irreversible damage."
'No pressure then.' She thought sarcastically, as a shudder ran through her. "It's that complicated, then?"
"It's not so much complicated as it is necessary to have precise magical control and precision." Jorgen explained with a serious face. Control and precision were definitely neither of Cosmo's strengths.
"So, what will I be doing?"
"What you are going to do is make seven small injections of magic in specific points of his body. You do this one hour after he takes his medicine, no sooner, no later."
She nodded. So far, it did not sound too difficult.
"You will need to be very precise. Injecting magic into the wrong spot will be dangerous for him. Also, you must make sure that the amount of magic your injecting is very minute. Too much, and the consequences could be both dire and irreversible."
Ok, maybe it was a little more difficult than she had just thought. It was scary to think that a minor slip up on her part could end up causing Timmy severe harm.
"How weak will Timmy be?" She asked, looking back over at Timmy. Her little son was waving his hand in front of his brother's eyes, not understanding why they looked that way.
"It's hard to give an exact estimate, but until his eyes return to normal, I recommend he stay in bed. After that, it will depend on how well his natural life force is recovering."
She nodded; she hoped for his sake that Jorgen's predictions of a year or more were an overestimation. It was in the habit of the large fairy to always give the worst potential outcome, to stave off any disappointment or crushed hope.
"And this magic-filter-cycle…is it really safe? Magic staying too long in a non magical body, even if it's not stagnated—"
"Wanda, we'll go into all the nitty, gritty later." Jorgen cut her off. "When we can talk freely, besides, my throat is hurting from all the whispering."
"Oh, of course. Um, when should I come to fairy world for the explanation?"
"I have a few things to clear with the council first and some preparations. It will be before dinner, as he will need to take his third dose of medicine so that we can show you how to perform the injections."
"And what about his lunch dosage? Should I skip it?"
"No." Jorgen was very resolute in this. "Absolutely not."
"But, he's so weak…."
"I understand it's tempting to want to skip it, but if magic stagnates in him, it will be treacherous in the state he's in. When a human body has no vitality…" Jorgen leaned in and lowered his voice so low that she could barely hear him, despite him being right next to her ear. "The souls inside have no defense, and if stagnated magic affects the soul…"
Jorgen let his voice trail off. He did not need to continue. Soul Alteration was the direst of crimes, even back in the Dark Days of fairy world, when kidnapping human children and using them as playthings were the norm.
"He will probably fall into a coma after he takes his lunch dosage." Jorgen admitted. "So don't panic over it. He'll snap out of it once we perform the first magic-filter-cycle tonight."
"O-ok…" Her chest tightened at the thought of putting her boy into a coma, but…Jorgen had both seen and done this before. He knew far more than she did about what to do in a situation like this. She could not afford any mistakes with her boy's wellbeing hanging in the balance.
"Don't worry Wanda." Jorgen smiled now, no longer whispering. "You were top of your class in all your subjects, and you've always been the smart and reliable one. You'll have no trouble with Turner's treatment."
His confidence did make her feel better. "Is there anything you recommend we do or not do in the meantime?"
"No overexerting him or body-modification magic that will dramatically change his body's chemistry." Jorgen reminded, probably wanting to press the importance of the latter point. "Besides that, I have no extra rules to put in place. You may keep Turner here at your home until his eyes recover; during that time I'll poof up a Timmy clone to take his place on earth."
"Thank you Jorgen."
"I'll see you tonight Wanda, oh and…." Jorgen leaned in to whisper again. "I suggest using your magic to erase Turner's reflection for a while. It would not be good for his mental health if he saw what his eyes look like."
Wanda shuddered. "I can imagine it wouldn't be."
"I'll be back to get you when it's time." Jorgen now spoke loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Turner, I know it'll be difficult, but keeping your spirits up is one of the most vital parts to your recovery."
Timmy nodded, doing his very best to put on a brave face. "I'll try…."
"Don't worry, Sport. Everything will be OK. I'll think up a bunch of fun things we can do while you recover." She reassured, going over to his side now, and taking Jorgen's advice, discreetly used her wand to vanish his reflection. Cosmo raised a brow at her quizzically, not knowing what she just did, but at least had the sense not to draw Timmy's attention to her actions by asking about it. She caught his eye, telling him telepathically that she'd tell him later.
"It'll be fun to stay here with you guys."
"Yeah, we won't hire evil babysitters or make you eat vegetables!" Cosmo added with a goofy grin, sounding like his old self. It would have relieved her, but something about it just felt hollow. From the way he was keeping his eyes on Jorgen rather than on Timmy when he spoke, suggested that he was only trying to act like himself in front of the tough fairy. Well, who knows how Jorgen would rip on him if he had witnessed Cosmo's recent behaviour.
"He still has to eat vegetables." She added, playing along with the act. Jorgen was definitely not a bad guy, but he'd likely have very little sympathy for Cosmo's newfound inferiority complex. "He can't afford to run down his health."
"I can wish that carrots tasted like chocolate, and that bristle sprouts had the flavor of bubblegum, though, right?" Timmy still looked depressed, but that he was trying to be playful and look on the bright side was reassuring.
"Only if you make sure that it's only your tastebuds affected by that wish." She thought a moment. "Well, I wouldn't mind some of that carrots to chocolates wish…"
"You'll turn orange within two days."
"I'll have you know, fairies are not affected by too much beta-carotene. You're the one that'll end up resembling a pumpkin in two days, if you make that wish."
"Well, I can see that you won't have too much trouble in staying positive." Jorgen seemed reassured by their playful banter just now. "I'll see you both tonight."
When Jorgen poofed away, Cosmo immediately lost his goofy smile and pulled on her arm anxiously. "So, what did he say?"
"Nothing he did not already say, really." She answered him and then turned her gaze to Timmy to address him. It might have been Cosmo asking the questions, but it was better to talk directly to the child about such things. "You and I will go to fairy world tonight to begin your treatment. They tell me it's not difficult, but that it requires excellent precision and control."
"So it should be easy for you, right Wanda?"
"You got that right, sport! They were two of my best subjects in fairy school, so there's no need to worry."
"Is it…going to hurt?" Timmy asked, a little nervously.
"I don't know, sweetie." She answered honestly. "I'm not exactly sure what a magic injection is, but I will have to do it seven times each time, one hour after you take your medicine."
"Injection makes it sound like a needle…seven times three times a day…that's like…twenty-one needles?" The poor boy seemed squeamish.
"Poof, poof!" His son squeezed Timmy's arm, his eyes watering. Needles he knew were painful, and getting seven of them at once was something he did not even want to fathom, let alone twenty-one of them.
"Just because it's called an injection does not mean it has to be a needle." She comforted him. "Don't fret about it until we know. Jorgen will give you and I the full details when it's time."
"Shouldn't we both be going with Timmy?" Cosmo had his arms crossed, looking a little offended. "I want to know what this magic-filter-cycle is too."
She hesitated a moment, not sure how to answer. Cosmo's face fell, and he became pouty. "Or do you think I can't do it?"
That was exactly it, to be honest, but it felt terrible to say it. "Cosmo…."
Her voice trailed off as she thought about the best way to sugarcoat her response. Her husband sighed now, drooping his shoulders, depressed, taking her silence as the worst answer.
"Sweetie, don't feel that way." She reassured her husband, patting his shoulder. "Your good at a lot, but it's just this is a very delicate procedure. Even a slight mistake could really hurt Timmy and to be fair, control isn't your strong suit."
"You mean, for instance…like the time I crushed his house with a giant cookie?"
She froze for an uncertain moment. Had he mentioned that example by coincidence or last night in the story-time room, when Timmy and she had been talking, had he….?
She stole a glance at Timmy to gauge his reaction. The boy looked uncomfortable and snuck a glance over at her to see if she was thinking the same as he was.
Had Cosmo been eavesdropping again?
"It-it's not that you don't have control, Cosmo, it's just—you don't know your own strength, haha…" Timmy laughed, nervously, flashing her a pleading look. He was not happy about Cosmo possibly eavesdropping, but she knew he hated it when they fought.
She wouldn't say anything for now, but she was definitely mentioning it the next time she and Cosmo were alone.
"What do you mean by that, Timmy? What do you mean, I don't know my own strength?" Cosmo had forgotten his previous concern and was now looking tense, as if he had just been told something insulting.
"I…uh…. I just meant that your magic is powerful, Cosmo. A-after all, they banned fairy babies after you were born just because you were so powerful, r-right?" Timmy was taken aback by his godfather's reaction, looking over at her for help.
She frankly did not see what Cosmo had gotten so miffed over. There had been nothing rude about what Timmy had said, and even if it had been, Cosmo wasn't normally the type to take offense.
"Dada, Tim-me fighting, poof….?" Poof's bottom lip trembled.
"No. No fighting. I was just wondering what he meant."
"Cosmo, I meant nothing insulting…sorry if you took it that way." Timmy looked put out. "I just meant that you're very strong. It was supposed to be a compliment.
"Cosmo, what's gotten into you?" She demanded, irritated. Timmy had just been given devastating news and was trying his hardest to stay cheerful and then Cosmo starts whatever this was?
"Oh, I'm sorry." Her husband had the decency to look away, shame faced. "But, Timmy, if you go around telling people, that I 'don't know my own strength." At this, Cosmo mimicked Timmy's voice. "Lots of them might think that I was the one who hurt you."
"Cosmo, no one would think that!" She protested, shocked.
"Of course they would!" Cosmo cried, looking more stressed than a college student with five deadlines to meet. "Everyone knows I'm a clumsy idiot! They won't believe all of that happened just by falling downstairs. They'll all think that I—! I mean, what normal babysitter brings chainsaws!?"
"Chainsaw!?" Timmy gasped, a hand flying to his chest. "Is that the 'sharp object' at the bottom of the stairs? I…did not…die…did I?"
It was hard to look into his clouded over eyes and lie to him. "No, you did not die, sweetie. Only, almost."
"…The chainsaw cut you really badly." Cosmo added. "There was lots of blood. You lost an arm and a foot…but you did not die."
Timmy reached for his sick bag, looking ill. She shot Cosmo a sour look, wondering if he was really that much of a moron.
"A-anyway…" Cosmo seemed to realize his misspoke when Timmy began dry heaving into the bag. "I…uh…I'm just worried…. y'know, you, Wanda, and Jorgen know Vicky caused the accident, but…. others…. they might think that it was because I did something stupid. I'm always doing something stupid. What if everyone says I shouldn't be a godfather anymore? So…. say nothing that might make people misunderstand, ok, Timmy?"
"Um…ok. I won't," Timmy agreed, his head still in the bag as Poof patted his head consolingly.
"Cosmo, really—!" She felt equal parts sympathy and irritability. "Since when did you care so much about what others thought?"
"Since I almost let our godchild die…."
"Look, I know it's been hard and you've seen something horrible. I know you feel responsible. Some might even accuse you of not reacting in time, but…" She held Cosmo's hand and made him look her in the eye. "No one, absolutely no one, would ever think that you'd harm your own godchild. Everyone may think you're stupid, but they don't think you're bad."
"Yeah, you're one of the nicest fairies around." Timmy added in between dry heaves. Cosmo laughed, rubbing the boy between the shoulders.
"Yeah, you're right. I—I don't know what came over me. I just…I'm just so scared everyone is going to look at me as…as if I'm some kind of monster…letting something like this happen to my godchild. Being right there and not doing anything to stop it, it makes me feel as if I really was the one who hurt you." Cosmo's expression turned sad again. "She's just a normal, albeit evil teenage human, and I'm the super powerful magical fairy, and yet…she did this to you under my watch and I was powerless to stop her."
"Power, ability and intelligence don't matter if someone isn't paying attention, disasters can happen to anyone." Wanda pointed out, conflicted. She hated Cosmo feeling so down on himself but—!
Timmy was the one who should be devastated right now, but he wasn't even able to voice his feelings, let alone express any unhappiness. The poor boy had just been told he might spend a year bedridden, and instead of being comforted, he was the one comforting his godfather's guilty conscience.
"Yeah, you're right Wanda…I did not pay attention while Vicky was in the house and Timmy got hurt because of it." Cosmo gave Timmy another pat on the back. "Say, can I borrow some of your brain medication? It helps with that, right?"
"Cosmo!" She wanted to cry with frustration at this point. Fortunately Timmy merely cracked a smile, having built up a thick-skin over the years due to Cosmo often speaking without a filter.
"It's called methylphenidate, and I don't think it helps fairies…"
"I'm not sure it helps much with humans, either. After all, it sometimes makes you act like a zombie…"
"Cosmo, can you just—!" She felt tempted to throw him out of the room right now.
"It's ok Wanda, I like Cosmo best when he's being his normal silly self." Timmy's smile was just too cute for her to stay mad. He uttered a small yawn and nestled down into his blanket. "I'm feeling really tired. Can I go back to sleep for a little while?"
"Of course." She tucked him in. "There you go, all nice and snug."
"Poof, poof!" Poof was wide awake, yet he declared he wanted to have nap-time with his big brother and instantly curled up next to Timmy and pretended to sleep. She instantly poofed up a camera and snapped a picture, then grabbed Cosmo by the ear, pulling him out of the room.
"Come on, let our boys have their rest."
"Y-yeah, but Wanda…..!"
"Now." She wanted to get him out of there before he said anything else stupid. She did not know what kind of treatment Timmy would be enduring tonight. She hoped it was neither scary nor painful. Whatever it was like, was bound to be tough on him. It would be best faced with him well rested and in good spirits, neither of which seemed possible with Cosmo around.
—Timmy POV —
I'm dreaming. Timmy realized this right away. He was in his own bedroom, watching himself be tormented by Vicky. It was not him, though. It was the Timmy-clone that Jorgen had poofed up to take his place. Over the years, he had become able to spot clones made from magic. If you looked close enough, their eyes were empty, doll-like things. Their personalities were flat and one dimensional. Usually consisting only of two of three of their strongest traits, which were then flanderized
He felt like a ghost, not being seen by anyone, and anything he tried to touch just passed through him. It would be cool if he hadn't been told how close he had recently come to dying.
He watched as Vicky dragged the clone out of the room by the back of his shirt, saying something about making him do chores in a dress. He eyed her back resentfully. Her memory was erased, just like his, but that she could carry on like normal after nearly killing him was infuriating. Because of her, he was going to be weak and unable to have fun for a long time. He wanted to wish for something really terrible to happen to her. A face full of permanent zits, all her hair to fall out, to only speak in pig Latin; he was going to hit her with all he had—unless Wanda told him to stop. He did not want to disappoint her by being too bad, but—at least until he got better, Vicky deserved to be just as miserable as he was. If he could not have any fun, then she shouldn't be allowed a social life.
Still, this was a weird dream; was it even a dream? It must be, but it felt way too real. It really just like he was standing in his bedroom; most of his dreams were vivid if not a little surreal. This was…. kinda mundane.
"Aww, man, I'm going to be bored enough with being weak and stuck in bed. I should at least be allowed fun dreams." He complained to himself.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Ah, here we go." He was relieved as something unusual broke up the boring scene of his usual bedroom. He looked around for the source of the tapping noise and spotted it coming from the mirror in his room. There was a large black stain on it, as if it had been burned; maybe Vicky had torched it while she was chasing him around with her flamethrower.
The tapping noise was coming from behind the burn mark. He wandered over, curious, peeking into the marred section of mirror.
He wasn't having a dream. He was having a nightmare.
He was looking at himself; neck twisted at an odd angle, his right arm from the elbow down, missing, horrible lacerations and blood gushing from his chest.
His reflection shown inside of the scorched portion of mirror stared at him with hollow eyes. Those eyes minded Timmy of the eyes of his dead gerbil Eddie. The reflection's expression of mild surprise changed into a relieved smile. He extended both arms; or rather, an arm and a half towards him. Timmy took a step backwards, intimidated by this frightening version of himself. That intimidation turned quickly into terror however when the him in the mirror escaped from the glass.
"Aaa!" He cried out, stumbling backwards, as mirror-Timmy escaped, toppling onto the floor. With no right foot attached, he crawled along the floor. His lacerated body, riddled with broken bones, moved in disjointed, shuddering movements that were so unnatural that it made his skin crawl.
He ran around his mirror self and attempted to escape into the hallway, but his hands only passed through the doorknob.
"If I can't touch anything, then maybe—" He attempted to just run through the door, but that was unfortunately still solid. "Stupid dream logic!" He cursed his luck and looked back at the thing wearing his face to see where it was.
It had moved quickly despite its broken state and was now right on top of him, gripping his pants leg. Timmy tried his best to shake it off, but the grip was like a vise, and it pulled its self up his body with its one hand, as if determined to be eye to eye with him. Petrified, he slumped against the door, his legs shaking too much to hold him, and unfortunately this gave Mirror-Timmy exactly what he wanted.
But it wasn't to look into his eyes. No, Mirror-Timmy did not care about his eyes at all.
It was his chest. The smile on Mirror-Timmy turned so wide that it looked demented as he pressed his one hand to his chest, as if savoring the feeling of his beating heart. They stayed liked that for several long moments before it happened.
Like a shark in the middle of a feeding frenzy, Mirror-Timmy tore into his flesh with impossibly powerful fingers. When that did not work, he resorted to using his teeth. Whatever it took, his double seemed determined to rip out his beating heart.
He kicked, punched, failed, thrashed, but he could not fight his attacker off; all he could do was scream. He screamed and cried until it felt as if his throat were raw and he had no water left in his body, and then…
It felt as if for a moment everything in the universe had disappeared. The pain stopped. His surroundings vanished. All five senses disappeared. Even his thoughts ceased and then….
"It's ok, Timmy, it's ok, shhh…your ok now." Cosmo was holding him, rocking him in his arms as he rubbed his back consolingly. He peered around in a daze, feeling so weak that he could barely move his head.
He was inside the bedroom Wanda had made for him in their castle. He was in the comfortable bed he had fallen asleep in. That terrifying mirror and its inhabitant were nowhere to be seen.
Wanda, sporting a few bruises, her hair messed and tears budding in her eyes, stared at him almost pleadingly. Poof was pale and shaking as he latched onto his mother, looking afraid.
"Sweetie, are you ok? Can you hear me?" She asked him, coming close enough to pat his cheek worriedly. "Timmy?"
"I…uh…what…?" His eyes were still a little unfocused, but he could tell she had been hit several times. "…Uh no…what happened…? Are you ok…?"
She wiped some tears from her eyes and kissed his forehead. "You don't worry about this, sweetie, you poor little thing."
"You had another seizure, Timmy." Cosmo told him, letting him go, but still keep his arms around him as if afraid of releasing him entirely. He, too, looked as if he had just been in a fight.
Timmy put a hand to his mouth in remorse as he realized they must've gotten hurt while trying to restrain him. He had been punching, kicking, clawing and doing whatever he could to escape the thing attacking him in his dream. In reality, he had been attacking his godparents.
"I—! I—!" He couldn't even form the words as tears spilled down his cheeks.
"Now, now, don't do that." Wanda hugged him tight. "You were having a seizure, sweetie. You couldn't help it. That you could come to without hurting yourself is the important thing."
"But…! I hurt you guys—! I…!" He couldn't stop crying. A horrible feeling of guilt welled up inside of him. Hurting them, hitting them, even if he hadn't been in control, was the last thing he had ever wanted to do.
Why would he do that? What kind of horrible person was he? His parents kept saying there was something 'wrong' with him, and this proved it right? Why else would he just suddenly attack two of the people he loved most?
Or…was it worst then that…?
"Poof…I did not hurt you too, did I….?" He looked at him, scared looking god brother, feeling that he would die of shame if he saw a bruise on him.
"Poof came and got us when he saw you in pain. He did not get hurt." Wanda reassured him.
"Timmy, don't feel this way." Cosmo begged him sympathetically. "I know. You did not mean any of it. You did not know what you were even doing."
"Tim-me, why? Poof?" Poof asked in a small voice, not understanding what had happened. From his view, his big brother was having a nightmare, and then when his parents tried to wake him up, he suddenly started screaming and hitting at them.
His big brother was a kind person who loved all of them, so why would he do that? Timmy stared at his little brother, reading all of this in his expression and felt heart broken by it.
"Timmy had a seizure, Poof." Wanda explained. "You know how sometimes you lose control of your magic? Well, it's a little like that. If a human gets really hurt or sick, sometimes they lose control over their bodies. They can't control anything they're doing. They can't even think straight."
"A…a monster…. it came out of the mirror…it tried ripping my chest open…it hurt…and it was scary. I was trying to get away from it…I hit and thrashed and…but in reality, I was…. I'm so sorry guys…." He broke back down into tears.
"Tim-me, don't cry." Poof came up to him down and hugged him. "Poof, poof."
He gave his god brother a grateful smile through his tears, glad that he had forgiven him for scaring him and hurting his parents.
"What…kind of Monster was it, Timmy?" Cosmo asked, whilst Wanda used a handkerchief to wipe his tears.
"…. It looked like me, but…all broken up…and bleeding…."
"It's no wonder you're having nightmares about what happened. Next time you go to sleep, I'll make sure to poof you into a happy dream, or we'll just poof into your dream and keep your safe and sound from any scary mirror-monsters."
Cosmo put a hand over his mouth, looking sick. "…Y-you've been watching too many horror movies. It sounds like that one movie, y'know, the one with the cursed video? Except the monster crawls out of a mirror instead of a TV."
"Hearing you almost died, and that you got so badly hurt, must've combined itself with that horror movie inside your head, and that's why you had a scary dream." Wanda put the hanky to his nose and instructed him to blow. "We'll get your head checked tonight by the fairy doctor. He should be able to give you something to stop you from having another seizure."
"T-thank you…" He sniffled, and she tapped his nose affectionately.
"Now stop that. There's no need to feel so bad. See, our bruises are already gone. Fairies heal quickly, remember?"
"Still…. I can't help but feel terrible about it…"
"Don't feel bad, Timmy. If anything, you should be happy that you're developing such a strong left-hook." Cosmo pointed to his still blackened eye.
"I really am sorry you guys…."
"In your dream, you were fighting hard to protect yourself." Wanda reminded, turning his face so that he'd have to look her in the eye. "That is not something you should feel sorry about. Your life is precious and valuable, and it's something you should defend with everything you have. That you fought so hard to keep yourself safe from that scary dream monster makes me very proud of you."
"But…you got hurt…"
"I would be more hurt if you hadn't stood up for yourself against that scary monster. Now no more feeling guilty, ok, sweetie?"
He nodded, wiping at his eyes and managing a smile. If he had done this to his actual parents, would they have been as understanding as Cosmo and Wanda? Probably not, but he wanted to think they'd at least try to comfort him.
Wanda gave him another hug, and Poof clung tighter to his waist. This time, Cosmo joined in, putting one arm around him and the other around Wanda. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth of his fairy family's love dry his tears and soothe his aching heart, which seemed to burn dimly inside his chest.