Chapter 21: The cruel Gunter Von Strangle

— Gunter Von Strangle —

"I do trust you will check the matter out, won't you? Deep down, I've always known that Candy Sweet would eventually crack and do something utterly preposterous. She is the Pied Piper after all." Queen Mab reclined leisurely on her opulent throne, her delicate, bare legs dangling over the armrest. Her exquisite green dress, adorned with intricate lace, was hitched up to her thighs, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of skin. As her vibrant red locks tumbled gracefully to the ground, they created a flowing pool of fiery beauty. With a gaze as clear and serene as a placid lake, her deep blue eyes locked onto his. A faint smile played upon her rose-red lips, accentuating the mole adorning her left cheek.

He had gazed upon her countless times, but her beauty never ceased to captivate him. Nearly the entire Von Strangle family was dedicated to her, proud to be her private army, but he considered himself the most devoted of them all. He had worked to be her most loyal of all soldiers, a stalwart protector to stand by her and carry out her rule. His record of service had zero blemishes, though it would be a lie to say that there was nothing he was ashamed of. The greatest humiliation was that his mother, Hidegarde and his own son, Jorgen, were amongst the three Von Strangles who had chosen to separate from their other halves and become lowly fairies, effectively forsaking their duties towards Queen Mab. As if that weren't already bad enough, now Jorgen had apparently smuggled a living soul into Ailena Leanbhanna Draiochta. Their Circle had prohibited child experimentation and all soul alteration under Queen Mab's rule, and to go against that ruling was an insult to her principals.

"I will make sure they receive prompt and severe punishment for their wrongdoings."

"Now, now…" She wagged a finger at him, the polish on her long nails glistening as brightly as the diamond ring she wore. "You can't just jump to conclusions. I do know you like to think the worst of your son, but do a proper investigation. There may be a reasonable explanation."

"Yes, Queen Mab." He replied with obedience, but he intended to be a harsh judge no matter what explanation he was given. The corners of his mouth curled into a vindictive smirk, a silent proclamation of his dominance and superiority. He took a dark satisfaction in the prospect of exerting his power, of making life difficult for Jorgen and for any pathetic god child under his watch. To him, the idea of fairies indenturing themselves to human children was shameful and each one of those fairy god children were nothing but spoiled pampered brats.

He left the castle with one last bow to his queen, and left for the village of Ailena Leanbhanna Draiochta vowing to unleash the full extent of his judgement and hostility.

— Jorgen POV—

"Honey, are you alright? I know going to Fey world is difficult for you…and having to do so, so often…" Tannfe, his wife, more commonly known by her work title as the Tooth Fairy walked alongside of him concerned.

They were both disguised as humans, because according to a letter Wanda had sent him, to comfort the displaced Heart-Soul of Timmy Turner, they needed some items, ones not made from magic. He'd leave the crafting of such things to Cosmo and Wanda, but he'd at least pick up the materials. He had left getting the supplies to Cosmo but he had a feeling that the green idiot would somehow find a way to mess it up. Anyway, shopping in the human world, like a normal mortal, as tedious as it was, did help him gain some insight into what godchildren might wish up and any new rules or notifications that might need to be made. He did not want another ' Hot Chocolate Bomb' fiasco again, where godparents, not knowing it was a new type of hot chocolate mix, had poofed up literal bombs made of chocolate which left molten hot liquid chocolate everywhere when they exploded.

Come to think of it, Turner was the first casualty of that miscommunication, and had to be magically treated for several 2nd and 3rd degree hot chocolate burns after trying to wish up a dozen hot chocolate bombs only for Cosmo to make the aforementioned mistake.

…It was a surprise that Timmy hadn't needed revival magic sooner with that clumsy oaf around. Thinking back on it, Wanda had been furious about his carelessness then too, but apparently it hadn't been enough for Cosmo to learn his lesson. Hopefully this time, when a simple wave of the wand couldn't fix the results of his mistake, he'd finally learn to take more care. He wouldn't pin too much hope on it, though.

Tannfe, taking her one day off a week, an indulgence she allowed herself after they had married, accompanied him. It was not often she was in the human world when it wasn't tooth related, so she was looking about herself in curiosity at even the most mundane things. Dimsdale was a place he was pretty bored with seeing, but he enjoyed seeing his wife relax and have fun.

"Things involving Turner always have a way of being difficult."

"Hm." She gazed sadly at her wedding ring that bore the baby teeth of the boy in question. "But, poor Timmy, getting hurt like that and now having to endure this. I hope he'll be ok."

"Turner is like a pebble in the bottom of your shoe; it's small but it hard, painful, annoying and extremely difficult to remove—whenever you think you got it out, it's ready to dig back into your foot."

"Jorgen honey, if you're trying to make an analogy, you're not very good at it."

"I'm saying Turner might be small, but he's tough, he can endure a lot, and he's not one to quit."

She smiled. "That's certainly true! I don't think any godchild has ever had as great an impact on Fairy World then he has, or has kept his godparents for so long. Kids rarely make it to a year, him…over fifty."

He rolled his eyes as she chuckled. That secret wish had become a joke amongst the fairies rather than the scandal it ought to have been. It wasn't just because the reasons Turner had committed the act had tugged at the heartstrings, rather; it had actually done lots of kids good.

As his wife had stated, kids rarely made it to a year, most hardly made it a week—with an additional fifty years added to a frozen timeline that meant a lot more kids loosing and gaining fairies, which meant many kids who wouldn't of gotten the opportunity to experience the magic of having fairy godparents had gotten the chance. The happy memories and belief in magic also gave the Big Wand stronger magic which helped Fairy world as a whole.

Obviously that did not justify Timmy's wish, but since so much good had come out of it, there weren't any fairies whom regarded the incident with any hard feelings and it had become something laughed about. Turner, who was mischievous but kindhearted, was viewed among most of the fairies as something akin to a naughty puppy, adorable and fun to watch.

In his opinion making light of bad behavior only encouraged it, but perhaps Turner had gotten spooked by getting aged up to 60 in an instant, and of Poof being erased and he had been a lot more behaved with his wishes since then…which admittedly made things a little boring for him. Perhaps children, like puppies, were more fun when they were a little mischievous. The idea of a boy like Timmy being transformed into an obedient and subservient Kinder nauseated him. If he lost Turner to the Fey, it would be his greatest failure and mortification yet. Worse would be that when the day came that he had to return there, they would make sure to flaunt their victory by making him see Timmy transformed into a Kinder, the same way they had ensured his last failure, Rachael Drover was at the feast they had tried to lure Timmy to. They loved to rub his failures in his face…

The Fey liked to laugh at him. He was an amusement to them, just like Timmy's mischievous antics were an amusement to fairy world, except the Fey got their entertainment from watching him fail, not because they thought he was cute, but because they begrudged him for refusing to be in the service of Queen Mab, an insult they would not forgive him for.

— Nova's POV—

The moment he stepped into the village he was accosted by several of the villagers living there. He was still in a bad mood, and not ready for such a confrontation but he knew he had to have a talk with his fellow villagers before the arrival of Queen Mab's guard.

"Nooovvvaaa, why are you ruining our fun?" Glimmer whined, an obnoxious member of the village who acted like a spoiled teenager despite being almost a million years old. Her Kinder, Michael, acted more mature then she did half the time. "It's so rare we get a little human guess and your not letting us watch! Unfair!"

"What's going on? All the Kinders were having so much fun watching the infamous Timmy Turner from the stories your wife sent. You made my little one all sad." Bliss, another Fey asked, hugging her Kinder Rachel close to her. Little Rachel pouted to show her displeasure at the room being blocked, kicking the sand with her colorful hoof.

"I assure you, I will restore viewing into the room. I just need to talk to you about an unexpected occurrence."

"You mean like, why Jorgen brought a living soul here? I'm guessing it must belong to that little boy, but I can't imagine what you said to talk him into that." Aelar had his arms crossed, looking confused.

"I can't imagine why you'd want that." Siofra scoffed, giving him a critical look. "Your a good guy Nova, but we all know Piper can get a little…well, you know…I hope you haven't forgotten that your suppose to keep her in check."

"Yeah, last we knew, the magic filter cycle does not require a soul…and why is his soul not in his body in the first place?" Finch, like his wife Siofra, always had a critical and accusatory tone when he spoke. Both had been fairies who had joined with their Anti-Selves, and unfortunately their Anti personalities had taken dominance.

"Please allow me a moment to explain; it has always been my intention to fill all of you in on what is happening." He placated them. "You see, things have taken a little…unexpected twist with our tiny patient…" He clicked his tongue, it would be like Piper to leave this to him. She had no patience for this kind of thing.

"And I am very interested in hearing what this unexpected twist is."

He cringed and the Fey in front of him all took five simultaneous steps back. He slowly looked over his shoulder to see Gunter at his back. Of course they'd send him….

It seemed he had came to the village too late to explain to his fellows. This was going to be a pain.

"Ah, Gunter Von Strangle…I won't lie and say it's a pleasure, but good day to you." He eyed the enormous Fey that stood four heads taller than even Jorgen, and was easily double his size. His steel-grey eyes had zero warmth and his white hair was like the untamed mane of a lion. He always wore ancient Gaelic battle armor and his battle horn was an accessory that never left his side, along with his sword.

"Save the false pleasantries and go on with your explanation."

"If you'd like to go elsewhere more private…"

"No, here is fine." He sat down, cross-legged in the grass, becoming as unmovable as a boulder. "Just think of it as being saved from being given the same explanation twice."

In other words, Gunter Von Strangle had decided that if he was going to try to lie, he'd have to lie to his fellow villagers. Trust among Fey who lived within a village together was a big deal and they could hold a grudge over even a white lie for decades.

"How thoughtful of you, Gunter." He quipped with a smile he knew looked forced. "Well then, I will give the same explanation to all of you as I gave to the Godmother and her godchild…our little guest, Timmy Turner, had unfortunately an unknown heart condition, so when the revival magic got used, it ended up pushing his Heart-Soul, right out of his body. Fortunately, Jorgen was able to retrieve it and bring it here for observation. We've confirmed it has no soul damage, but it cannot be placed back into the boy's heart until the magic-filter cycle is over and we can drain the active magic out of his heart."

"That doesn't add up." Gunter spoke up, cross. "You wouldn't of had to block the room from being viewed over that. Also, if that were the case, it makes no sense for Jorgen to leave the soul behind here."

"I'm getting to that part. The boy's soul is…very special. What we have here is…" He paused for effect. "A newborn soul living its very first life."

He waited for the squeals from his fellow villages to subside before continuing. He explained what had happened, how the Heart-Soul had managed to interact with its Mind-Soul despite being in separate worlds and how damage of the Mind-Soul had occurred because of it, and that was why the Heart-Soul was being kept near its host in order to prevent a reoccurrence.

He sighed. "And the reason I blocked the room was as all you can imagine…a new born soul will attract lots of unwanted attention from Fey who do not follow our Circle's principals. To block the room from being viewed by those outside of our own village is a bit of magic that can only be used with authorization from our Queen."

Several of the Fey of his village nodded in understanding, but some seemed more anxious than ever to see into the room again, wanting to see the newborn soul with their own eyes. Gunter nodded slowly as he closed his eyes, processing the information, or maybe just trying to think of a way to punish them despite there being nothing to punish them for.

"Well, I will need to see this soul to verify if what you say is true." Gunter stood up, arms crossed. Several of the Fey shouted about wanting to see too, but one snarl from Gunter made them close their mouths, though surely once he left, they'd be begging him for a look.

'Always leaving me with the messy tasks, aren't you Piper?' He thought exasperated as he headed back to the clinic in a very uncomfortable silence with Gunter. He paused in his steps just once, as they passed the grove of The Tree Mothers. His eyes almost turn into slits as even from this distance his eyes spotted a fresh offering left inside the the knothole of one of the trees.

"Jorgen visited here again." His gruff statement was not a question and he could see his the veins on Gunter's neck pop.

"As he is accustomed to doing whenever business brings him to our abode." He kept it brief. He had his own opinions on the matter, but the only opinions Gunter wanted were ones that echoed his own, and saying anything otherwise would do one little good.

'No point in poking the bee hive when there is no honey inside.' He thought, he'd be willing to argue with any of the Von Strangles, but not unless there was some good to come of it, and he frankly did not care enough about Jorgen to reason with Gunter to not resent his son's visits to that grove.

His only concerns right now involved a loving Godmother, an innocent child and his idiot son.

— Poof's POV—

"Poof, poof?" He asked as he went looking for his father, carrying the bag of art supplies Jorgen had dropped off. There were popsicle sticks, glue, fabric, colored paper, glitter, etc. He seemed tired and in a hurry, so he hadn't waited around for Cosmo, leaving only the instructions to make some things with this stuff without the use of magic. His grandmother had agreed to help him look around for where his father was; their castle was huge, so it was sometimes hard to find each other.

"Well, when I told him he could stop looking for Anti-Cosmo, he was in the library. He said he was going to explore the castle and visit some rooms he hadn't been in for a while." His grandmother winked and put a finger to her lips. "But I really think he's just trying to find places in the castle that Timmy might enjoy, places Wanda may have forgotten about. She's really been monopolizing their godchild's affections lately, hasn't she?"

"Poof, poof."

"Well, I do understand the Cosmo isn't the most empathetic or quick to understand…but she's not giving him much of a chance. Timmy and him used to be so close…"

"Poof..." Poof agreed that his daddy and Timmy had been acting awkwardly around each other lately. Timmy used to be playful, quick to forget bad things, and always up for adventures. However, recently Timmy's parents and even his friends had started bullying him. It seemed to be connected to an illness Timmy had, although Poof wasn't sure what it was. Ever since Timmy started taking pills for it, everyone had become mean to his poor big brother. As his mommy had explained when he asked about Timmy's changed behavior, even the strongest pebble would crack if stepped on enough. While his daddy was great with fun and games, he struggled to handle tears and offer comfort. On the other hand, his mommy excelled at it, so it was natural that Timmy spent most of his time with her lately. Poof was confident that once Timmy cheered up, he would play with daddy like they used to.

"DA-DA! DA-DA!" He started calling out, bored of just wandering around aimlessly. It took several tries but his daddy must of finally heard them as he poofed in front of them with a puzzled expression.

"What is it? Something wrong—Yay! Popsicles!" His father scooped one of the popsicle sticks out of the bag and stuck it in his mouth. "Hmm! Wood flavored!"

"Poof!"

"Art supplies?" His father blinked. "Oooh, is this for your show and tell project? You want to work hard so that Foop doesn't show you up?"

"Poof…" He rolled his eyes. He was not worried about being shown up by Foop. The project was not due for some time anyway and he was sure that when Timmy got back, his big brother could help him figure out a great project.

"Actually, Cosmo, these are to make items for Timmy's Heart-soul to use. We can't use magic to craft them because of the soul's aversion, but we can make it by hand with these non-magical supplies Jorgen brought." His grandmother explained.

"Oh! Fun!" His father's eyes danced. "I used to be a professional popsicle stick construction worker! Only problem is I had to spend all my profits on buying popsicles to get my wood; which left me broke and with a constant brain freeze. I'm still paying off my tab at the ice cream store, but at least I don't think the constant brain freezes left me with any lasting damage!"

"….Poof."

— Piper's POV —

"Ok, so…Gunter Von Strangle is on his way because they felt the arrival of a living soul back at Mab's castle, and they're coming to just take a peek to see if we're breaking any rules." She explained to Wanda and Timmy. She had came up to their room to give them a heads up. The last time Gunter came to inspect one of the children being treated, the child had laughed at the name Mab, and the Godparent of said child was instantly reduced to Fairy dust. If hurting children wasn't against Queen Mab's policies the kid too would have been reduced to ashes.

Not that she was worried about the weepy hypocrites' safety, but she was necessary for her prized specimen to finish his magic filter cycle successfully. She was sure he'd make for a remarkable angel, which would make him a even higher valued research subject.

"Is he as scary as Jorgen can be?" Timmy asked and she snorted.

"Please, Jorgen? Comparing him to Gunter is like comparing a Pomeranian to a Pit Bull. You might think Jorgen is this big scary fairy enforcer, and the strongest of all fairies…but here in Fey World, he's a joke." She ridiculed. "Be very careful not to mention Jorgen to Gunter. Just hearing his son's name puts a stick up his ass, trust me."

"Jorgen's father…" Wanda mused with an uncomfortable expression. "I've heard rumors…."

"Well, assume every bad thing you heard is true. Not only assume it's true, assume it's 10x worse than what you heard. Don't speak unless spoken to. Answer precisely, and most importantly of all, show Queen Mab nothing but the greatest respect."

"Queen Mab…? Oh, she appears as a character in the…Heckboy comic books."

"Ok, right there, no, no, no." She wagged her finger at him. "I know she's popular in human folklore and has likely appeared in all kinds of human pop culture media, but DO. NOT. DARE. mention any of them—EVER. Fey are very loyal to their queen and can be insulted very easily, luckily I'm not exactly the loyal, subservient, respectful type so I don't care, but avoid it—don't even say it to Nova, because he really idolizes Mab. He won't begrudge as quickly or as violently as others, but…insulting Mab can be a straight up death sentence. No joke, your god mother will get reduced to fairy dust, and you'll be hit with so many curses the moment you turn 18, you'll wish for death, trust me."

Timmy squeaked and huddled up closer to his godmother. Whom worriedly checked his wrist and shot her a glare to see that the Stigmata had darkened slightly.

"Hey, it's better to be forewarned than not." She defended; in fact…having that stigmata a little brighter would help their case in convincing Gunter that the living soul had to remain in Fey world for as long as the boy was here. Soul Damage was serious after all, and something Queen Mab, an admirer of children, would want to prevent.

"So, what precisely should we do?" Wanda questioned, putting an arm around the boy.

"Answer truthfully. Don't lie or hide things. He'll want to see the soul too, no doubt. Just be honest and precise, and if she comes up in topic, act as if Queen Mab is the most important being in the universe. Oh, and don't mention Jorgen. Do that and you may survive this encounter without too much damage."

"Got it." Timmy nodded, gulping a little. He really did look like a little rodent, with those big timid eyes and those buck teeth. She had never desired to own a Kinder. Playing house and pampering pets wasn't an interest to her, but she would very much want to keep this boy around—something like him would be endless hours of fascinating study. All the care and coddling aspects she'd leave to Nova, whom she was sure would happily accept. After all, if he failed to get his family to come over to Fey world, then Timmy was the next best thing. She did wonder what Cosmo did that had angered Nova so much. It was a known fact he was an idiot and that it had been his inattention that had allowed the accident to take place, but had it been worse than that?

Oh well, no point in wondering about things that would have the solution given to her later. She'd much rather focus her energy on things she had to find the solution to—such as getting through the encounter with Gunter Von Strangle without losing her adorable little guinea pig.

— Timmy POV —

He felt just as scared of meeting Gunter Von Strangle as he was of his treatments. Just the idea that a slip of the tongue could result in Wanda being blasted into fairy dust was terrifying. When the knock came on the door, he nearly leapt out of his skin.

"Remember what I said." Piper warned as she went to answer it. Wanda gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as she huddled close to him on the bed.

"Don't worry, deep breaths, just imagine he's just another bully, and don't be afraid. I'm here. You'll be ok."

An enormous man entered the room. He looked a lot like Jorgen, but covered in scars and wearing battle armor. Nova followed timidly after the man and met his eyes, putting a finger to his lips to warn him to stay quiet. He did not need to tell him. This man just had a vibe about him that warned you that the less you interacted with him, the better.

"So, this is the child?" Gunter looked down at him as if he was looking down at vermin. "Aren't you too old to still be in fairy care?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but clammed it up again. This guy looked like a single wrong word would have him draw his sword.

"Gunter, these days children are counted as such until eighteen. Twelve is indeed still a child."

"Allowing humans to have fairies beyond the age of eleven is just Jorgen being weak. By eleven, they ought to be able to handle life without being coddled. If they can't, it means their fairies failed them."

Timmy had several thoughts on what was said, all of which he was too afraid to state, but there was one thing he just could not let slide…

"W-Wanda did not fail me…she's the best…I probably…without her…I…probably wouldn't still…I….."

"My Timmy is a sweet boy." Wanda saw how difficult of a time he was having and held him closer, smoothing back his hair. "But he's in a very…toxic situation, one most adults probably wouldn't be able to take, so him still being in fairy care isn't an indulgence, it's necessary…"

"That's a boy?" Gunter snorted, not moved one bit. His words stung. It almost felt like he was at school. Being mocked for his size, how he liked the color pink, for his interests all of which did not make him 'boy' enough to his junior high classmates. "I don't need to waste my time listening to sentimental nonsense. First, I need an accurate statement of what happened to you that brought you here to Fey world. Lie and I'll curse you to have your tongue rot the moment you turn 18."

He shuddered, his wrist began to ache and he rubbed it with a whimper.

"P-please don't scare him. It will make his Stigmata worse…." Wanda held his hand, stroking his aching wrist.

"Hurry up. I'm an important man."

"W-well…I…I was being babysat at home…um…"

"Babysat…at twelve?" Gunter jeered. "If you're going to lie, think it through."

"I-I'm n-not lying…my…my parents don't…umm…because I…umm…" His face felt hot and he couldn't stop himself from shaking. If this guy wanted him to hurry up so much, then he should just stop interpreting him with his insults and putdowns.

"He has a minor condition, it's just ADHD but his parents are blowing it out of proportion and don't think he can be left alone." Wanda helped him out.

"You'd probably know it better as sensibility of the nerves." Piper's tone did not completely hide the fact that she was scorning Gunter's lack of up to date medical knowledge, and Nova quickly made a sign for her to cut it out.

"Oh. So he's brain damaged. I see, I'll have the god mother answer my questions."

It felt like he had ice water dumped on him and his wrist took a sharp pain that made him flinch. Wanda held him tighter, her eyes blazing with fury.

"I don't care how strong you are, you have no right to talk about my godson like that—-!"

"Don't…" He hugged her tight, hoping his body would act as a shield in case Gunter tried to blast her into fairy dust. "It's fine…it's the truth….everyone says it…my parents…my friends…so don't get yourself hurt trying to deny it."

"Don't listen to bullies, Timmy." Wanda hugged him back. He could sense that she was glaring at Gunter from over his shoulder.

"Gunter please…! The poor boy is suffering from soul-shock, don't you see the Stigmata on his wrist? Having it this red before his next treatment could have bad effects on him." Nova tried to reason. "And that was uncalled for, his condition hardly constitutes brain damage. It's merely a neurobehavioral disorder."

"…I am sure Queen Mab would not be pleased that your harassments furthered inflicted soul damage onto a child." Piper's tone was threatening.

"I will relent, if the boy finds the truth so unbearable to hear, but only because Queen Mab loves all children, even the defective ones."

With one last barbed comment, Gunter demanded Wanda continue with her explanation of how the accident occurred. He could feel Wanda's body shaking in fury as she spoke through clenched teeth.

"….The babysitter brought a chainsaw?" Gunter gave them a skeptical look.

"It's true." Nova sighed, a exasperated expression crossing his face. "I took the boy's ability to dream as payment and dreamt of the accident…there was definitely a chainsaw and a bear trap…and mace…a cat o' nine tails…"

"I see. Your parents must hire an obviously abusive crazy woman to care for you in hopes that she'd dispose of you, leaving their own hands and reputations clean. In the days when Fey were free to walk the earth, unwanted children were often just left in the woods for us Fey to claim. I suppose with us gone, it's gotten much more difficult to get rid of unwanted children."

"….!" He shuddered and his wrist began to throb with intense pain and he heard Wanda utter a small cry as she began to desperately try to clean his wrist that had a few drops of blood willing up through the bright red bruise.

"That is truly too much!" Nova practically begged, placing himself in between Gunter and them, trying to shield them from any actions the elder Von Strangle could take. Too bad he wasn't able to block his words. "Do not worsen his Stigmata any more, for the sake of his treatment."

"I needed to see if the Stigmata was indeed real and not just a rope burn made to look like a Stigmata. Thank the villagers of A aldea das xeadas de azucre for my need to resort to such measures. They tried to claim a Kinder was suffering from soul damage as an excuse to remove its Heart-Soul."

"You did not need to go so far as to make it start bleeding…!" Wanda snarled, and Nova put out both of his arms, making it clear that if Gunter attacked, he was going to defend.

"I always make 101% sure. Now, onto the medical investigation, if you could give me your findings, Candy Sweet?" Gunter, like the bullies at school did not care even a little about the pain he had caused. Timmy burrowed his face against Wanda, his head felt bad—he knew the mark on his wrist somehow affected his mind, and right now it felt terrible. He felt sweaty, chilly, anxious, nervous, and his thoughts kept circling on only bad things. Wanda began to rock him, trying her best to sooth him, but he couldn't relax…everything in the room felt so distant right now, even the sound of Piper angrily correcting Gunter about her name.

"It's Piper Pied. Call me Candy Sweet again and I will get very sour."

"That ashamed of being your mother's daughter?"

"…Grr! You are such a A-hole…!"

"Piper, please, let's not stretch this out any further then necessary, for the poor boy's sake."

"Fine. Let's get this over with. To be clear, so I don't repeat things. Nova, what did you tell Gunter?"

"I told him exactly what we told Wanda and Jorgen. As a vet, I could only repeat your findings as you had told them to me. If you have anything else to add, please go ahead."

"Ah, well, not much more to add. Because of his unique condition, Timmy undergoes much more pain than usual during the magic filter cycle. He even stopped breathing during his last treatment. Until the pain subsides, we want for him to stay in Fey world to avoid any tragedy. Even after his body gets used to the treatment, we will need to have him come to Fey world every few days…as his heart requires a different sort of treatment…."

Piper put a finger to her chin uncomfortably, raising her eyes to the ceiling, as if afraid to look Gunter in the face, tapping her foot nervously as she went into full details about everything. Meanwhile, Wanda continued to rock him in her arms, trying to comfort him, and Nova reached out to gently pat the back of his head.

"Poor thing…" Nova whispered softly, or maybe he spoke directly into his mind. "Don't listen to him, he may serve Queen Mab who loves children…but Gunter despises non Kinders. He's just being hard on you because he loaths the idea of god children. He says what he knows will hurt, pay no mind."

'It hurts so much though…' He answered in his thoughts, unsure if they'd be unheard of not. 'Because…it feels like it might be true….with the way I'm being treated lately….my parents might hate me…if they could trade me for….Sophia….they'd….do it….they hate I lived…' He tried never to think of that, to speak of it, he hadn't even told Wanda about it, but the thoughts about it had come to the surface of his mind….the memories of the night his parents had…blamed him for…the thing he tried not to think about…it was in his head and wouldn't go away…

'Shh…' Nova's voice came again, it was indeed in his mind. 'With your Stigmata damaged to this extent bad memories and intrusive thoughts will force their way in and will dominate your mind, but don't keep your feelings bottled up, it will make it worst. Talk—your godmother loves you, and I will I care too…you can have either or both of us listen.'

'…..It's bad….'

'Tell me who is Sophia?'

'….My twin sister….she was the daughter they wanted…but…I lived…instead of her…'

'Poor child. Tell you what, as soon as Gunter leaves, I'll take you and your godmother somewhere very special. A place that will bring solace to you and dispel all those bad thoughts.' Nova stroked his hair, before withdrawing his hand, his voice leaving his mind once he did. Wanda, unaware of the conversation he just had with Nova continued her best to sooth him, meanwhile it looked like Piper had finished speaking to Gunter.

"Ok. So that's the explanation you're giving. Very well, let's see the soul now." Gunter clapped his hands in an impatient gesture. "Bring it out now."

"We have it in its own room. If you would come in, we would really rather not bring it into contact with it's host body while the Stigmata is in such a state, it could have repercussions." Nova explained, his tone civil despite the anger in his eyes.

Wanda looked conflicted as Piper opened the room door. She looked like she wanted to rush in there, not wanting to leave his soul alone in their company, but she also wasn't willing to let him go and leave him on his own.

"I'll keep watch." Nova promised, giving him a reassuring smile and a pat on the arm before chasing after the pair who went into the room where his soul was kept. Wanda quickly reached for the baby monitor only to find that the one inside the room had just been switched off.

"M-mom….do you think its…true? Maybe my parents aren't oblivious…maybe they really do keep hiring Vicky because they know she hurts me….maybe they really do want…"

"Shhh…." Wanda kissed his forehead while stroking his hurting wrist. "I admit that I don't think well of your parents, and that I feel like they don't deserve a boy as wonderful as you for a son, but I know they most certainly would never want you hurt or dead."

"….Yeah…medical bills and funeral costs are both expensive…"

"Don't entertain such morose thoughts, sweetie, you're only hurting yourself. You know deep down that's not true."

"….But it is true that they'd be happier if I was never born…" He sniffled. Memories of the time Jorgen had showed him how wonderful the world was without him….his parents had the daughter they always wanted, smart, talented…a child worthy of being loved by them. A child that would have been here if he hadn't existed.

"Timmy I understand why you'd feel that way…but you have no way of knowing that….so you shouldn't make yourself feel bad based on speculations."

"…..My…parents mentioned it to me….you know…one night….that night…" He mumbled, knowing that Wanda would know the night he was alluding too without him having to be specific. "…They told me….about how I was supposed to be a twin….that's why they thought they were going to have a girl."

He hadn't told her this before, but Wanda did not interrupt him, she just continued holding him.

"…Because ultrasounds are expensive…they only had the one, and I guess I was behind my sister…or maybe just out of sight…but I did not show up on it, so they did not even know about me. They were so excited for my sister…but…she was stillborn and they got me instead. I must have hogged all the nutrients or something…. Yeah…I was selfish, thoughtless and bad even in the womb…taking everything away from my sister…if I hadn't existed…she'd have lived and she'd have been everything they wanted…but instead they ended up with me…and because of complications giving birth to me…mom and dad couldn't even try a second time to have the daughter they wanted…because of me…..they got a defective kid….one not worth being loved."

"Timmy, Timmy, shhh-shhh." Wanda just held him. She did not speak, but he could tell by how warm her hug was, that she did not fault him or think less of him for his sister's death.

"It was…as if my birth…was a curse….the baby they wanted died…and they got stuck with something like me…a selfish monster who survived instead of his sister…"

"You know Timmy….I heard some terms before that humans used to describe babies born right before or after the loss of another baby…do you know what they are?"

"No…."

"An Angel baby, or a sunrise baby…a gift to ease the pain of loss…a symbol of hope…not a selfish monster."

"My parents don't think that way about me."

"But I do. You're my little blue-eyed angel, whose smile is like a ray of sunshine." Wanda hugged him. He clung to her, like a lifeline, if he did not have her….he really did not think he'd be able to go on.

Authors note.

A aldea das xeadas de azucre; Gaelic for village of the Sugar Frost

* When Timmy says Heckboy comic, it's really Hellboy, but Wanda is very strict about him using even minor swear words.