Chapter 18: A new problem on the horizon

~Wanda POV~

"Ok, ok…let's see…" Nova was clicking around on the televisions 'nature channel'. The same one Timmy had accessed earlier while she had been in the bath. He had got it in his head that some 'cuddle therapy' would do the poor boy some good. She had tried to disagree, but he just tsked and told her that he knew how to mend 'soul-shock'. As she had several times before, she got the sense that arguing would be a mistake and backed down. If circumstances were normal, she'd be more willing to push her opinion, having never been the type to timidly yield. However, with things how they were, it wasn't worth the risk that offending Nova could lead to trouble for Timmy, who was dependent on the fey's treatment to recover.

So instead of speaking her mind, she bit down on her lip as she sat next to Timmy in bed, hoping to prevent herself from saying anything she ought not to; but she really did not want her poor boy to be surrounded by those tragic children.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" She spoke to Timmy instead, stroking his arm to comfort him. The poor thing looked so frazzled and he had a jitteriness about him that was unnatural.

"It feels like my head's in a blender…like a thousand thoughts screaming at once and none of them making any sense." He murmured, trembling as he clung onto the hand she had been using to rub his arm. He looked tempted to cling to her, the way he did whenever he wanted to play the baby game with her. She'd want to take him into her arms right now and do just that, but she could not, not with Jorgen watching.

"I know it's hard, but try not to worry, everything is going to be ok. Just try to clear you mind, the best you can."

She put a reassuring hand on Timmy's shoulder and gave him a small smile. The boy wrapped his shaking hand around hers, relaxing a little at her touch. Seeing his soul up close and realizing that it was really just an infant and not some nightmarish terror had helped him, but he was still very rattled by everything. Who could blame him? So much happening so quickly, as soon as he calmed down from one thing, something else happened! Couldn't the world give the poor boy a break?

"Of course we'll have Ginnie come…hm, Boulanger? I thought her surname was Ledoux. I must confess that I struggle with last names, as they are more commonly used among adult individuals." Nova was still wrapped up in whatever idea he had to make Timmy feel better. He was using the remote to select an option on the screen called 'invite'. It seemed that not only were these former children turned animal, able to be watched on television, the Fey could summon them on a whim to play with.

Jorgen looked uncomfortable as he watched names being selected from a long list; each name a child's life destroyed.

"Is this necessary?" Jorgen demanded, clearly not liking the idea.

"Soul-Shock is like the most common soul injury. It's treatable, but can worsen quickly if not attended to right away. Some alone time and cuddle-snuggles will make him feel better. Trust me," Piper assured her eyes still glued to the cage where the heart-soul was trapped. "We've seen Soul-Shock before and have mended much worse cases. The Cuddle-Snuggle room never fails to at least lighten the bruise."

"I acknowledge that you might have doubts regarding its effectiveness. However, I can assure you that it is the fastest way to minimize some harm. During Soul-Shock, the soul is defenseless, making it susceptible to direct harm from negative emotions." Nova explained with an apologetic look on his face. "With his next treatment approaching, we seek to mitigate the severity of the stigmata as much as possible beforehand."

…That's right, through the curtains she could see the sun beginning to rise and, according to Jorgen outside their time-slowed room, it was already nearly nine in the morning. Timmy's next magic-filter-cycle would take place soon….

She felt the boy tremble in her arms and he gave her a distressed look that she wished she could wipe away, but there was no sugar coating things. It would hurt, just like last time, and there wasn't a thing she could do to lessen his suffering during it.

"But, would cuddling a bunch of a—-" She stopped herself just in time to prevent saying 'animals'. "Will it really help him?"

"Pets have the ability to provide an extreme sense of comfort to the soul. The companionship of an adorable gentle animal can provide great comfort to a troubled mind." Nova smiled in a way that made it clear he was speaking from his own perspective. Maybe it was calming for him to hug a 'pet,' but…

…Those 'pets' had been children. They were not animals…

"Oh, yes, little Freddie is good at hugs, let's add him too, and…viola." Nova snapped his fingers and a new door appeared in their room. "This new addition to your recovery room is covered by all the same rules. You will find it most calming, I assure you. You yourself may like to try it out later."

She would not be doing that.

She really did not like the idea of shoving Timmy into a room alone with a bunch of…what should she even call them…? Still, they had things they needed to talk about and Timmy was in no condition to hear any of it. She feared that if he did listen to the conversation they were going to have, that by the end of his treatment, the stigmata may have spread to his other limbs…

Timmy squeezed her hand and managed a frail smile. "It's ok Wanda; maybe their right…my head feels so spinny and foggy…maybe Nova's idea might help…it won't hurt to try…besides, I'd like to thank Ginnie for staying with me earlier."

"Ok…" She patted his hand. "If you'd like to try it, go ahead, but if you don't like it, you come right back out, understand?"

"Mm-mm."

"Oh, you'll love it, trust me." Nova was confidant gestured to the newly appeared door invitingly. "Go on in, now."

She helped Timmy out of bed, noticing that he limped on his right foot; the effect of the bath water that had soothed his muscle aches must've worn off.

…She recalled his broken little body from the mirror, his little foot torn right off…his tiny arm, gone…his neck looked so painful…

No wonder Cosmo was such a wreck, having seen his real body in such a state. Just seeing it in a dream was…too horrible.

Timmy paused at the door and turned around to give her another smile. "Don't worry, I'm going to be ok. I just need time for my head to clear a bit…" He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Sweetie, take as long as you need." She gave him a squeeze and whispered in his ear, "…We'll play our game later."

He looked relieved and nodded; she'd have to wait until Jorgen left, because she did not want to risk getting caught by him, but—she knew it would do him much more good than whatever Nova had in mind.

"…Um, Wanda…before I go in…can I ask you something?" Timmy blushed a little and glanced at the cage where his heart-soul was. "…Um…what do you think of it…?"

She followed his gaze to the decorative cage where his soul was trapped. Piper had created an addition to it, attaching an ornate magnifying glass to it, so that the butterfly's human portion, normally too small and obscured by light, could be viewed with ease at all times.

The tiny being appeared to be curious about all of the attention it was receiving. Unlike Nova, who the soul seemed timid of, Piper seemed to capture its interest. It was possible that the soul was drawn to her because of her bright hair or the colorful candy pattern on her clothing.

"To be honest, I think it's adorable, just like you." She tapped his nose playfully, and he looked happy with her response. He paused at the door one last time, looking like he wanted to thank her, and then went inside.

She stared at the door for a few moments longer, to see if he'd come out and then, when he didn't, tried to assure herself that whatever was inside was to his liking.

"He can't hear anything from in here, while in there." Nova informed, his demeanor turning serious. "We can speak freely."

"What if he comes out unexpectantly?" Jorgen asked, unsure.

Piper pointed to a little mushroom shaped lightbulb that had appeared on the wall over the door; it was lit up. "That light will blink several times once his hand is on the doorknob and the door chimes when it opens. He won't be able to hear anything in this room until the door closes behind him."

It seemed this was not their first time creating this sort of room; she noted and even though she wasn't going to ask, Nova volunteered the answer.

"On certain occasions, soul-shock can occur as a result of the excruciating pain caused by the magic-filter-cycle. A rough estimate suggests that about 30% of children receiving this treatment develop it."

"The kid's case is sorta strange, but his soul-shock isn't too severe. We've seen much worse, believe me. It should be an easy fix if we attend to it straight up."

"Timmy's entire case is 'sorta strange.' "Nova shot Piper a dry look, like he wanted to add something, something that may have been an insult judging from his expression, but he apparently decided not to. "I think it's imperative that we make it clear up front that treatment of this child will be unpredictable due to several factors."

She felt herself tense, not liking his tone or the dark look that clouded his eyes. She hated especially the word 'unpredictable.'

"I had a feeling about that, the moment you mentioned that his missing heart-soul has created a small void which is pulling in small amounts of magic…" Jorgen looked discomfited.

"Y-yes, from the food, we poof up for him, right? Then the pure magic of Fey world purifies the, as you call it 'muddy big wand' magic." She recounted what she knew; that they planned on doing a feed-purify cycle for his heart point—where he'd eat magic conjured food and then, whenever the heat in his chest could be physically felt through touch, or became too painful they'd bring him to Fey world and use the 'clean' magic of Fey world to purify it.

"I mean, no one's ever done this before... letting a kid draw in Fey magic like that. There's no telling what'll happen." Piper put a finger on her chin. "Fey magic has never been part of the filter cycle before…and the way it's being drawn is an abnormality we have not encountered before."

"I'm sure some such experiments must have taken place during the Dark Days, but the people of our village and our allied villages steer clear of such abdominal research. We don't know what effects feeding pure Fey magic into a void created by a missing soul will do to a child." Nova added, concerned.

"So…your saying that the Fey magic will affect him in unknown ways?" She felt her heart pounding, afraid as she thought of the Kinders she had passed in the village and the long list of children's names that were reduced to pets. She did not want Timmy to end up that way…

"The void left by his missing soul is pulling in magic, and while it's a good thing that the magic trapped in his heart is not going stale, it's not somethin' we've dealt with before so we don't really know what it'll do."

"Timmy is assimilating Fey magic from the natural environment of the world. We don't give even our Kinder such a large dose of undiluted Fey magic."

"As I told Jorgen, human souls leave a weak void. That's why you gotta keep giving him magic food so his heart can get enough magic inside it to renew its self. Don't worry, I've set a maximum limit on how much magic he can take in, so he won't explode or anything."

Yes, that was the plan—but now they were telling her that the Fey magic could have adverse effects; but…if they did not bring him to Fey world to purify the magic in him, then Timmy's body wouldn't be able to withstand it and…but…!

She was so confused; she did not know what to do.

"You said you cured Turner's heart condition, right? So, why is the magic still trapped inside of him?" Jorgen asked. "Can it be removed?"

"…."

"Piper, how about you answer this one?" Nova looked out the window.

"Yes, well, it's a little hard to explain." Piper admitted, shifting uncomfortably and then, after a moment or two, attempted her explanation. "It's trapped because his vitals are so low and it's using it to keep the heart beating; you see…when his body shut down—the moment his eyes went all foggy—it measured the amount of vital energy vs magic it needed to function and it's storing its vitals until they're strong enough but when the body did this automatic calculation it was including the magic trapped in the sick heart, and so…if we drain that magic now…well, he won't have enough vital energy to function."

It was a confusing explanation, and Piper almost looked apologetic. She did not understand this kind of thing and she frankly wasn't interested in knowing about the why's and how's, she just wanted to know what would happen to Timmy as a result, but it seemed that neither Nova nor Piper really knew.

"In any case, we just want to make it clear that if something unexpected happens it's not 'cause we went against the contract and did something sneaky. I don't want my reputation as a doctor to get soured because of a mishap I had nothing to do with." Piper put her hands up defensively. "This is the closest I've ever got to directly dealing with souls."

"Removing a soul and having the void created from the process pull in pure fey magic…." Nova shuddered, looking genuinely sick. "That is more sickening than the creation of a monster. Were it not for the circumstances, I would not be involved in something of this revolting nature."

"We're only messing with this 'cause it was done by accident, you know?" With her arms crossed, Piper looked unimpressed. "Sorry, Nova, but your son seems like a real idiot."

"…." Nova sighed and peeked at her sympathetically. "Wanda, my dear, I'm very sorry about this. I know how much your cherish the boy, and that things are in such an unpredictable state…I really do wish that this could be just an ordinary case where we could be sure of the results…."

"Hey, I promise I'm gonna do my best with this job, but I can't make any promises beyond that." Piper patting the cage looking at the soul in side with a hint of sympathy. "I'm going to do what I can to return him to as close to how he was before as possible…that's my end goal here."

She felt a sense of despair wash over her. Timmy was enduring all this fear and the pain of the treatment and it wasn't even a certainty that he was going to be ok….something unexpected could happen and he….could…

"I…don't want him to suffer…." She mumbled. "He's gone through so much already…"

"I know." Nova sat next to her and put an arm around her consolingly. "We acknowledge that this situation is unjust to you and your child. Regardless, we assure you that we will provide you with frequent updates and obtain your sanction prior to taking any measures."

Her child…that's right, Timmy was not just her godchild, but her child….

'Remember…' Nova's voice entered her head, so that Jorgen could not hear him. "If an unfavorable situation arises, it can be rectified through the use of a simple Fey fruit. You may rest easy knowing that the most negative outcome would be his becoming a Kinder. I must confess, though, that in my view, that is not a dreadful result."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. She did not want Timmy to become a Kinder, but…compared to all of the other possible disastrous outcomes that had been flooding her mind…having that be the worst case scenario wasn't even half as bad as some of those other things.

"So you're basically just saying that you don't want to be held responsible if anything goes wrong." Jorgen crossed his arms gruffly.

"We like our arrangement and we don't want you going off to find another Fey doctor, alright?" Piper stretched her limbs, uttering a big yawn. "I swear, the only time I get any excitement in my life is when you bring a kid over here for treatment. Curing the boo-boos of Kinders and pets does nothing to stimulate my brain."

"Boredom is a plague here." Nova smiled at her weakly. "But it's a small price to pay when you consider all the gains…"

"She does not need to hear about that." Jorgen cut him off, and Nova shot him an irritated look.

"You really are quite rude. Perhaps I should have a talk with Gunter about you…"

"Don't you dare bring my father into this, Nova!"

"Now Nova…" Piper scolded, without hiding the faint smile on her lips as she wagged her finger. "You know Jar-head has daddy issues, and mommy issues…speaking of which, you did go visit her, right?"

"Shut it!" Jorgen gripped his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. Wanda pulled on the collar of her shirt uncomfortably. She had heard things about the Von Strangle family…unsavory things. She had always thought that they had just been rumours, but judging from Jorgen's reaction just now…maybe…at least some of them contained some grains of truth.

"Yes, that is going too far. I apologize." Nova did not look very sincere. "Let's not lose focus. Jorgen, can you show us what took place when you captured the soul? We only seen up to when Timmy's memory ended."

"Ah, right…" Jorgen still had a sour expression but also seemed glad to change the topic away from his parents and turn the focus back onto Timmy. He activated the memory chip in his wand and began to play back what happened.

She put her hands over her mouth aghast as she saw the poor pitiful form of her boy in such a ghastly state; and seen the violence he had committed with his teeth and nails. Fortunately, she saw that Poof really had avoided any damage, but…

"Oh…Cosmo…." As mad as she was at her husband, her heart broke at the sight of him yielding to the attack by Timmy's confused heart-soul. He hadn't even tried to defend himself…instead he had just met his assault with a hug.

…That's right; Cosmo was clumsy and an idiot who had no sense of responsibility and never thought before he acted or spoke, but…he was someone with a lot of love and kindness. He was someone who cared deeply, even though his words and actions sometimes failed to convey what was in his heart. That was why she had fallen in love with him.

"…Well…" Nova smiled faintly, looking relieved. "I'm glad he has some good qualities."

"…Don't get the wrong impression of your son. He may do stupid, careless things and has a few bad habits, but I would not have married him if he were a bad person."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"This is curious. He did not start attacking until you started blasting the mirrors." Piper stated after watching the memory chip. "Normally befuddled souls attack right away."

"I'm just wondering how he pulled off all of this." Jorgen glanced at the heart soul, whom had begun crying, balling its tiny fists over its eyes, frightened by watching the replay of its own actions.

"Aww, shhh…." She went over to the cage and picked it up, rocking it in her arms. The infant soul stopped crying and peeked up at her, its bottom lips still trembling.

It was hard to believe something this cute had been able to make its self look so terrifying…

"It's a new soul. They are very adaptable since they haven't fully been locked into being human yet…they can pull off things that human souls otherwise would not be capable of. Add in the extraordinary circumstances and, well…. it's no surprise he got into mischief." Nova smiled at the cage, and the soul inside made a squeak and tried to hide behind his hands. "Oh dear, I do believe I know why he panicked the way he did…."

"Why is that?" She asked, rocking the cage, trying to calm the infant soul.

"You heard his soul asking, why? And hurt me? Correct? He wasn't saying he was scared of being hurt, or asking why they were trying to catch him. No, no….he was asking Cosmo…why did you hurt me?"

She froze, confused, not understanding what Nova meant by that. She wanted to ask, but her voice was caught in her throat. Piper's mouth dropped open in disbelief, looking just as shocked as she was.

"Nova—! Really…?"

"Nova, what are you saying?" Jorgen asked, tense. She gulped, shaking her head.

"C-Cosmo would never hurt Timmy….! It was his babysitter! He fell down the stairs…"

"Yes, but the heart-soul does not know that." Nova smiled lopsidedly as he looked at the cage. "From this little one's perspective, he was all snug and safe inside his heart until he was forced out by someone's magic. From his point of view, Cosmo 'hurt him' by filling his home with magic, leaving him homeless. Just as fairies have an instinctive mistrust of adult humans, human souls have it ingrained in them to fear any magical type that comes after their soul."

She breathed in relief, almost laughing. "Oh! That's what you meant!"

Even Jorgen failed to hide his relief. "Your going to give us heart attacks if you say it like that!"

"My apologies." Nova ran his fingers through his hair. "However, it is imperative for me to clarify that notwithstanding the profound affection of the mind-soul towards his godfather, the heart-soul currently perceives poor Cosmo as a foe, a peril to its well-being, and thus it is advisable to keep them apart. Fear may trigger aggressive behavior in this particular infant."

"If he hadn't used up all his energy, he'd probably be getting up to some real mischief right about now, since Nova looks so much like his son." Piper laughed. She, too, looked oddly relieved that Nova's shocking statement had not been as dramatic as it had sounded. Perhaps she really had been too quick to judge the woman; maybe she really did have caring side to her.

"We don't know too much about how to work with souls." Nova admitted. "We'd like permission to call on a friend of ours from another village. Her name is Aurilinde Auralista she is what we call a soul-soother. She is one who made it her self appointed mission to heal souls that were damaged during the experiments of the Dark Days."

"Is it necessary?" Jorgen asked suspiciously. "You said the heart-soul is undamaged and that the damage to his mind-soul is minor."

"Yes, but as we stated, new-born souls are very adaptable and the kids' condition is really unpredictable. It would not hurt to take the precaution of having an expert on hand."

"Besides, studying an infant soul might help Aur-Aur help other souls." Piper shrugged, Aur-Aur likely her nickname for the woman. "If nothing else, it'll be an experience for her to see a newborn soul with her own eyes."

"It is completely understandable if you are apprehensive about entrusting his soul to the care of others, so well will ensure your presence." Nova reassured her even as he tried to get the attention of the infant soul inside the cage. "Look, little one, my magic isn't the same…I'm not him, so don't fear me."

The heart-soul peeked at Nova as he conjured a little spark of magic on the end of his fingertip. It stared at it for a long hard moment before sitting down, crossed legged, sucking its thumb with a pouty look.

"Oh, so you can recognize the difference? What a smart baby you are," Nova cooed, his speech divulging into baby talk. "Yes, you are!"

"Do heart-souls usually act like this?" She asked, watching the infant soul. "I always thought—well, all the personality is supposed to be within the mind-soul so…I always thought the heart soul was just…I dodn't know…I thought it was just…a mass of energy."

"Nah. Every human has five fundamental traits right from the get-go. These traits are part of the heart-soul's core nature." Piper explained. "It's different for each of them, but something the traits have in common is that they can either be positive or negative. For instance, if courage is one of the five traits, then sometimes it can turn into true bravery or other times just recklessness."

"Oh…I see…so the heart-soul does have a personality…it's just independent of the mind-soul…" She mused, watching the baby and wondering what Timmy's five core points were.

….Well, she knew what one of them was—-obviously it was the need for love, lots and lots of love.

…Love that only a real mother like her could provide him with.

— Timmy POV —

The moment he walked into the room, all noise from outside of it disappeared. Even the door he had gone in through had ceased to be a door, but had become a large tree with a hollow the size of an entranceway.

He looked around himself, dazed; it felt like he was both indoors and outdoors at the same time. A thick grouping of vines and trees obscured where the walls were, and the ceiling colored like the sky and so high up he could barely make it out.

The floor comprised soft grass and moss, which tickled his bare feet. The very center of the room had a plush oversized flower shaped chair that could easily double as a bed. It was covered with cozy blankets and pillows, positioned directly underneath a graceful hawthorn tree blooming with pink flowers. There were other trees in the room, but this one felt…special, almost magical.

He was not alone in here, several….animals…were in here too. Ginnie was the first to welcome him, bouncing herself into his arms with a little chirp. Second was that ferret/rabbit like creature with leaves for wings that he had encountered in the forest. It crawled up his leg and onto his shoulder, nuzzling its head against his cheek.

As he walked deeper into the room, one of the many enchanting creatures gathered flew up directly into his face to peer at him. It looked like a delicate fusion of a kitten, human and a butterfly. It made a mewing sound, and almost looked like it grinned as it began fluttering around him and giving his back a gentle push towards the chair. Its fluffy coat was pastel-colored and shimmered in the soft sunlight of the room. As it fluttered about, its translucent wings adorned with iridescent patterns seemed to change color. Just looking at it made him imagine the bell fruit he had seen in the forest. Was this…the form those who stole that fruit would take…? This…could have been what he'd have ended up as if he had somehow gotten his hands on that fruit during the time Jorgen and Wanda had been escorting him to the village. If he had somehow been able to reach it, he knew he wouldn't have resisted biting into it. He still could not banish the image of the fruit away from his mind. Nova had said that the enchantment on some fruit called to some more than others, and that Ginnie was in the form she was meant to be in due to her longing for the giant pink apple….so…according to Nova's logic, this anthropomorphic kitten-butterfly thing would be a form well suited for him, but….frankly, he could not see himself that way at all.

A large animal that looked like a cross between a panda and a wolf trodded up to him, nudging him towards the chair as the butterfly kitten continued to push him. And a dog-goat thing, like the one Nova had been tending to when he had met him, also joined in nudging him towards the chair.

"Ok, ok…." He surrendered and plopped himself down. The moment he did, he seemed to sink into the cushions of the impossibly soft surface; the gentle breeze, the amounts of shade and sunlight were all perfect. He stretched out his sore body, releasing a whimper, not knowing what hurt more, his flesh, his head or his heart.

The moment they heard this noise, all the pets Nova had brought to the room closed in on the chair at once and he squeaked as the full attention of several fuzzy creatures was on him. He was being nuzzled, licked, and cuddled from a multitude of directions,

"Eeep! Ok, ok! I got it, I'm ok…!" He couldn't help but laugh at the excessiveness of it. "This is like something Cosmo would think up…! I guess Nova really is his father."

The animals who had tails wagged them at hearing his laughter, while the ones who didn't have tails cuddled up to him, looking pleased. He had to admit; it was hard to feel sad around them.

Still, not even a bunch of cute critters overly attentive to his emotions and desperate to cheer him up could change the fact that his body was in pain.

The soreness that the bath water and medicine had numbed was back, and the limbs damaged in his accident were stiff and aching. Still, the physical pain was not nearly as bad as the emotional strain he was under.

The confusion and stress of everything that had happened and was going to happen was the thing that was really eating away at him. That a fall down the stairs had ended his life….that he would have to endure a horrifically painful treatment…that he'd forever be changed by this treatment…that he was missing his soul and that soul just so happened to of attacked his beloved godfather and god brother.

Jorgen had said no one was hurt, but…they had also told him he had not died in order to protect his feelings.

After putting up a brave front, he finally received the news that he had feared. Wanda had confirmed his worst fears, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had wanted her to lie to him. In some strange way, he felt relieved that she had been honest with him, but the conflicting emotions were overwhelming. The whole situation was just too confusing for him to process.

He rubbed Ginnie behind the ear as she sat on his chest. "…Wanda and I play a game, you know…whenever I get really stressed out….it's relaxing and lets me just stop thinking about all the bad things…I don't have to worry or feel bad…while we play it, all I have to do is feel loved and safe…."

Ginnie made a chirping noise, and recalling the video he had seen of her and the brief background on her life, he wondered….was she free of all her fears and worries? Did she still remember the father who had beaten her for trying to sneak treats of baked apple?

If not…maybe becoming a creature like this was very similar to the Baby game he played with Wanda…

He nuzzled the ferret like creature, who had wrapped its self around his shoulders. Its warm, soft body made his aching neck feel better. Had it perched its self there because it had sensed his pain? What was the story behind this small creature? Who had it been before becoming this way? Were they free from their past fears and worries…?

The big bear-wolf thing that was bright blue and yellow with its fur in star-shaped patterns had laid down on his feet, the pressure of its body numbing the pain in his foot, whilst the dog-goat was licking his sore hand. The butterfly-kitten flew around overhead, letting the sun catch its wings, making an array of colorful patterns dance around the room.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he felt a warm sensation spread through him, prompted by the sight of each creature's efforts to cheer him up. He had been skeptical at first about Nova's cuddle-snuggle therapy, as he had called it, but as he basked in their comforting presence, he couldn't help but be touched by their empathy. They had all been children once, just like him, and had experienced their own share of pain and anguish. It was no wonder they were so attuned to the plight of another child.

He wrapped his arms around Ginnie, hugging her like a teddy bear, and she made a joyful noise in response. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The flowers of the impressive old tree emitted a sickly sweet aroma that was both alluring and slightly intoxicating. It made it a little hard to think, but that….was exactly what he wanted…

He did not want to worry; he did not want to be afraid…he did not want to feel bad….he….did not want…to think…anymore….

— Jorgen's POV —

"A infant…? It looked like that because it was a newborn?" Cosmo began to laugh and cry at the same time. "Do you hear that, Poof? Timmy is ok!"

"Poof! Poof!"

After discussing everything that needed to be said, Wanda had implored him to return to her castle and let Cosmo and Poof know Timmy was alright. Her letter had nearly given them all heart attacks, speaking about stigmata and how Timmy had taken a violent seizure. Piper had also given him some of the ointment she had used to heal his wounds, to give to Cosmo. Apparently, injuries inflicted by souls could take up to a month to heal otherwise. Fey never gave things for free so he double checked what price she wanted for the ointment, but in a rare act of generosity they had decided to include it as part of Timmy's treatment on the grounds that they were only healing their injuries to avoid inflicting emotional damage onto the child.

"Yes, the heart-soul was a newborn, that's why it has no color and is so small, and the soul damage suffered by Timmy's mind-soul is very minor and easily treated." He knew that neither Cosmo nor Poof could understand the more heavy or complex stuff, so he left it at that. "It could pull off all those horror movie stunts because of a variety of factors. It hasn't been contaminated by magic, it's fine."

"What a relief!" Cosmo put his hands over his heart. "I thought I had ruined him!"

Although he had been sorely tempted to inform Wanda that Cosmo had been aware of the magic that had leaked into Timmy's heart, he decided against it. He had been planning to tell her, but when he saw the relief and happiness on her face upon witnessing the care Cosmo had treated Timmy's soul with, even as it attacked him, he couldn't bring himself to ruin that moment for her. He knew that Wanda was going through just as much strain as Turner, and that she had another treatment to perform soon. Therefore, he believed that she deserved to have at least one comforting thing on her mind.

But Cosmo did not deserve to feel so much relief and comfort, being the one responsible for this entire mess through a series of careless mistakes.

"The heart-soul attacked because it was terrified of you. Because it was your magic that invaded his heart and pushed it out, it thinks you hurt it." He informed Cosmo of this devastating bit of news. He expected the green fairy to look hurt, or even cry, but instead the same icy cold look that Nova got whenever he felt offended briefly passed over Cosmo's features, before he turned his face.

"…I already knew that."

"Cosmo?" He felt taken aback as Cosmo's voice lowered to a pitch he did not know it could hit.

"Da-da?"

"…He asked me the same thing when I revived him…why did you hurt me?" Cosmo still did not look at them, his shoulder slumping. "….He was so panicked and confused when I revived him….but…I never expected him to ask me something like that."

Cosmo turned around now with tears in the corner of his eyes as he tried to smile. "But that was…just the heart-soul misunderstanding, right? It must've spoken through Timmy as it got pushed out…because…Timmy would never…look at me like that…."

He nodded slowly. "…Most probably; the connection between the heart-soul and mind-soul is very strong when it's a young soul, so…it is very possible it was the heart-soul that spoke then."

…He did not know if that was true, but….for Timmy, Wanda and Poof's sakes, he did not want to leave Cosmo this rattled. He did not know if it was the mind-soul befuddled and confused who had asked such a hurtful thing or if it had merely been Timmy in an erratic and confused state of mind, but in the end it really did not matter which one had asked the question.

"It's actually very common after being revived for a human child to be in a very confused and erratic state. The few minutes leading up to their deaths are muddled and incoherent and revival magic is actually incredibly painful, so panic attacks are very common. 90% of kids actually mistakingly think they were harmed by their godparent after first waking up from being brought back to life."

Cosmo looked stunned by this information and slowly broke out into a relieved smile, his tears falling more freely now. "R-really….? So…Timmy doesn't think I'm a m-monster…?"

"…Wait a moment, Cosmo, is that the real reason you erased his memories of the accident?" He crossed his arms, raising a brow skeptically at the fairy who blushed and looked away.

"M-maybe…"

"Good grief!"

"Da-da no monster, Tim-me know that!" Poof hugged his father. "Da-da made Tim-me better!"

No, Turner wouldn't of even been in that situation if—no, no, thinking about it would only make him angry. He was tired both physically and mentally and it wasn't even close to noon yet!

"Anyway, I have another tape for you to watch." He poofed up a television and had the recording play. Wanda was sitting on the balcony, having tea and a light breakfast. The cage containing Timmy's heart-soul was next to her. Nova had insisted on this pose as he claimed that seeing her at ease, carrying on with her day as natural, would do better to put Cosmo and Poof's minds at ease.

"Hello, Poof, Cosmo—you both did a great job at retrieving Timmy's soul." She smiled and looked towards the cage with a look that was just a tad too motherly. The magnifying glass attachment made the miniscule soul inside fully visible. He wondered if one of the five traits of Timmy's heart-soul was to crave attention because it had begun acting like a little show off the moment the camera got turned onto it.

Ok, he had to admit that he had ended up chuckling at the newborn soul's antics just as much as everyone else had; there was no denying that it was cute—and he probably would end up showing this video to his wife once he got home.

"As you can see—his heart-soul is fine…" Wanda was not able to keep a straight face as she watched in infant soul do a little dance in front of the camera. "It was just a little scared before, but it's calmed down…well…maybe calm isn't the best word, but… as you can see, it's doing well."

"Poof, poof?" Poof stared wide eyed and dazzled at the infant soul on the screen. He could imagine how confused the fairy baby was about all this, no doubt wondering how that tiny new born could somehow be his god brother.

"Wow, he is cute when he's not playing poltergeist." Cosmo was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. "Gonna have to stop Timmy from watching any horror movies for a while…don't want to give his heart-soul anymore ideas to work with."

"Yeah, no kidding." He would not forget that nightmarish ordeal any time soon.

"Everything is fine; but because it's soul a young heart-soul, it's connection to Timmy's mind-soul is very strong and poor Timmy ended up seeing everything that happened and got terrified and upset over the idea that you might be hurt. It caused a little soul-shock but…umm…" Wanda's smile tightened. "Your father Nova had an idea for a…a treatment…."

The video cut to inside the therapy room they had poofed up for Timmy. They had knocked but got no answer. Fortunately, Nova had designed the door without a lock, for safety reasons.

The video showed Timmy fast asleep on a big flower shaped bed, in the middle of a crowd of Fey-pets, cuddling with them, a stupid grin plastered across his sleeping face. The camera cut back to Wanda who was shaking her head with a smile still plastered on her face. "They….they call it cuddle-snuggle therapy…I was skeptical, but…as you can see, it's apparently very effective. We're letting him nap before it's time for his next treatment…" She leaned forward to whisper into the camera. "…I somehow get the feeling he's going to be in there a lot…."

"Poof-Poof!" The fairy baby puffed out his cheeks and pointed to himself.

"No Poof, you can't go to Fey world to play in the snuggle-cuddle room." He rolled his eyes; if baby Poof knew the truth about what those 'pets' were, he wouldn't be so keen to play with them.

"Poof…."

"Actually, I could go for a room like that right now too….except, instead of animals, I'd like a room full of giant marshmallows…that way I could cuddle and snack at the same time." Cosmo admitted. "But…I'm glad Timmy looks like he's feeling better…"

"Poof, poof!" The baby agreed, though he still seemed down about not being allowed into the room with Timmy to cuddle with all the pets. If Fey world wasn't so dangerous and the rules behind who came and went, so strict, he'd let the Cosma family be together during this difficult time but unfortunately he did not make the rules, well not all of them anyway, he just enforced them.

"I don't know when we'll be back, but hopefully we'll be able to attend the Fairy World festival this weekend." Wanda continued, doing a remarkable job of hiding all the strain she was under. "I'll keep in touch, sweeties, don't worry, Timmy and I am going to be just fine. You both take of yourselves, lots of love from both me and Timmy." She blew a kiss at the camera and waved goodbye. The tiny heart-soul watched her do this and mimicked her, making her laugh.

"Hey Jorgen, can we make a video to show them we're alright too? I don't want Timmy worrying that we're hurt." Cosmo requested. "That ointment has made me all better now."

"Are you kidding me? What am I, a camera man…?" He complained and ended up on the receiving end of two pairs of pleading eyes. "Ok, ok, stop with the puppy dog looks!"

The things he went through for Turner and his fairies. Why did he have to go and get attached to such a troublesome bunch? He just hoped that nothing else happened to cause him any further headaches….

— Anti-Wanda POV —

"Howdy there, Foop, darlin'! Y'all reckon you done seen your daddy 'round these parts lately? Ain't laid eyes on him since t'other day." Anti-Wanda asked as she patrolled her castle in search of her husband. It wasn't abnormal for him to go off some place quite to scheme up some plot or other bit of mischief, but he usually would at least pop in to check on her.

"He's probably gone off to his thinking spot to get away from your big loud mouth, mother." Foop quipped as he worked on some kinda gizmo.

"What in tarnation you fiddlin' with, sweetie? Seems mighty complicated, don't it?"

"If you must know, mother, this is my Transdimensional Quantum Harmonic Omnireactor Infundibulator. Not only will it completely annihilate my arch nemesis Poof, but it will also be the greatest show in tell project in the entire class, mawahaha!"

"Well, ain't that just peachy? I reckon yer little classmates gonna eat it right up. Now, I gotta go hunt down your daddy; it's our first date anniversary, and he done promised to take me out to see them locusts swarm." She poofed up a mirror to check her reflection. "I done dolled myself up real fancy-like. Don't y'all reckon your momma's lookin' purty as a peach?"

"If you mean a moldy peach infested with worms, then yes, you look charming."

"Aww, shucks, you sure got a way with words, just like your ol'daddy." She laughed, flattered, but as she did so, she felt a wave of dizziness and dropped her mirror, holding onto her head.

"Mother, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick or something?" Foop went over to her, helping her steady herself.

"Naw, I'm A-OK. Had me a tad bit of dizzyness for a spell. Oh, ain't that somethin'? Broke me a mirror, they say that's good ol'luck!"

"No, it's bad luck, mother."

"But it's good luck for an anti-fairy!" She giggled as her son poofed her up a chair to sit in and a glass of water. "Well, ain't you just the best darn son a momma could ask for? Takin' care of your ol'momma like this, bless your heart."

"Argh! Stop hugging me, I'm the harbinger of doom, I do not like hugs!" Foop struggled against her embrace as he always did whenever she hugged him. It did not bother her. She knew that despite what he said that he liked her hugs. Deep down, no matter how fussy they got about it, little boys liked their mother's hugs.

…..That little boy…really loved her hugs….a hug from her cheered him up so much…her blue-eyed angel….she was his real mother…only she could provide the love he needed…..

She groaned, rubbing her temples as a sharp pain entered her skull. "What in tarnation was that all about? Who in the world do I know with them blue peepers? Lordy, what in Sam Hill was I reckonin' just now? This here headache's got me feelin' plum bewildered."

"Mother, are you really alright?" Foop eyed her suspiciously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be alright. It's just not havin' your daddy 'round that's got me all in a tizzy. I reckon I better go hunt down where he's done skedaddled off to."

She got off the chair and set off towards the crypt in the cemetery out back. Since anti-fairies were immortal, no one was actually buried there, of course, but her husband liked how it looked. Sometimes when he wanted quiet, he'd sneak off into one of the cobweb covered mausoleums and shut himself up in a coffin.

She only just reached outside when her strength failed her and she collapsed.

"Mother!?" Foop did his best to lift her up. She put a hand to her head, feeling nauseous and faint.

"Foop, darlin'…" She wheezed; she did not know what was wrong with her, but she had never felt this way before and it was scaring her. "Could ya do me a favor and rustle up your daddy? I'm feelin' right poorly, sugar."

"Mother? Mother…!?"

She closed her eyes, her son's voice growing fainter as a tiredness overtook her.

'Cozie…where in tarnation did ya run off to, darlin'…? I'm gettin' a mite spooked here…..'

If her husband came, she did not know, for in the next moment her consciousness had receded.