Broken Child

by Metala Kahame

After a tragic accident befalls Timmy when left in Cosmo's care, he starts to doubt his abilities as a god father. As Timmy's condition worsens he resolves to do all he can to make his godchild better. Meanwhile Wanda's growing attachment to Timmy is starting to raise some suspicions that she has forgotten the number one rule of godparenting; don't get too attached!

43. Chapter 43 Closing Festivities

Chapter 43; Closing Festivities

— Anti-Cosmo—

"Crumpet…. hang in there," he pleaded, his fingers trembling as he tightly clutched her small, translucent hand. He had found her in his dimly lit study, a place she rarely ventured unless she was in search of him. She must've sought him out for help, but...he hadn't been there. The weight of his absence pressed heavily on his conscience, like a suffocating fog. He had known she was afraid; yet he hadn't been where she could find him in her time of need. Not that he had wanted to be absent; but with circumstances as they were, it couldn't be helped. Of course, he wanted nothing more than to be there for his wife; but it was just as important to him to help his wife, and unfortunately, he couldn't do the latter if he did the former. It just wasn't possible for him to be in two places at once.

"I am truly sorry for all of this," he said apologetically, his voice laden with remorse. The only reply was the echo of his words reverberating in the silent room. "I should have realized sooner the threatening closeness between Wanda and Timmy. I should have acted sooner to prevent this situation…." He paused, stroking her cheek; it almost felt as if his hand could pass right through her. "Truly, I never thought they would become close enough to cause..." His voice trailed off, lost in the heavy silence.

He doubted Wanda had yet broken any huge taboos; if she had done something of that caliber, then Anti-Wanda would already be gone. Breaking smaller taboos had to be done repeatedly over a significant duration to cause Fairy and Anti-Fairy to unwillingly reunite. Alas, even if this was only temporary, it did not change the fact that his wife was suffering.

She lay motionless on the gothic-styled couch, her countenance devoid of expression. The pale light outside filtering through the dusty windows cast a haunting glow on her face. He inhaled deeply, the musty scent of old books filling his nostrils, as he willed his hand to steady itself. His grip on her hand tightened, his fingers trembling with determination to anchor her presence. He needed to feel her warmth, to confirm that she remained by his side, for she looked as if she could crumble away into Anti-dust at any moment.

There'd be even less than dust left of her if she were forced to merge with her counterpart.

"What? Father! You finally show up; where have you been!? Mother is—! Foop poofed into the room, along with Poof and the Tooth Fairy. The sound of their sudden arrival echoed through the room, a soft poofing sound accompanied by the fluttering of wings.

He scowled, casting an irritated look at the boy. "Why would you rush for their help?"

Foop looked at him, taken aback, and then returned his scowl with one of his own. "Because you weren't around, obviously, they weren't my first choice, but what else was I—"

"An Anti-Fairy shouldn't be running off to their counterpart for help!" He told him bitingly, disdain dripping from every word.

"I wasn't asking for help, I was demanding assistance!" Foop defended with a defiant crossing of his arms. He rolled his eyes in return, scoffing.

"You still have tears in your eyes."

Foop was quick to wipe at his eyes, his face turning as red as a beet. "I was not crying! They—-they had ordered fast food, and it was—er, full of onions! Yes, it was the onion stink that made my eyes water—!"

"Enough of your senseless babbling! Does it look like the time or place for it?" With an irritated click of his tongue, he looked back down at his wife; it was not hard to imagine what she was going through right now; the poor girl; she wasn't very smart, and she got anxious easily; in a situation like this, she'd feeling both terrified and helpless.

"Your son was scared, and you weren't around when he needed help!" The Tooth Fairy proclaimed, full of moral superiority, stepping up closer to him with an expression one would use when scolding a small child.

"I was not scared! I was mildly perturbed!" Foop defended. "And for the last time, I did not ask for help!

"Poof, Poof….." Poof smirked, and using the memory-chip in his rattle, he replayed the memory of Foop arriving in the dining room; more specifically… 'Quick, come here, I need help and I can't find my father anywhere!'

"I demand you delete that recording this instant!" Foop, even redder in the face, attempted to grab the rattle from Poof. Irritated by their unruly behavior, he sent a blast of magic between the two squabbling children, taking care to target the space between them to ensure neither was harmed. They leapt apart, their gazes fixed on the enormous gap in the wall behind them, and a hush fell over them. For a moment, he was simultaneously shocked and impressed by the precision of his aim. His skills had remained sharp, and the realization of this fact dawned on him, further souring his already dour mood. "I guess all that practicing for the Big TBT accomplished nothing.' He muttered in disgust, receiving questioning looks from the two boys.

"If our counterpart improves a skill, then in return, our skills diminish," he explained with ire. "My skills are just as sharp as they always were…which means that your god brother was sacrificed to a practice that gave your father zero improvement in his skills."

"P-Poof…." The boy looked hurt, but that was the blunt truth of it, and he could see by the look on his face that the child realized it as well. "Dada…not mean to….no pay attention."

"What happened to Turner, anyway?" Foop frowned; and Poof, likely figuring most of the cat was out of the bag, sighed drearily.

"Dada watching Tim-me, got mad and practiced for the big TBT instead. Vicky threw him downstairs."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad, given what he's used to endure—"

"He fell on top of a powered on chainsaw." He finished, Foop's expression froze and took a few moments to speak.

"…W-well, that's…uh…well, he somehow survived, so there's that." Foop frowned. "Turner must be part cockroach…"

"No, he did not survive. He was resurrected with a powerful revival magic fairies can use in an emergency, but—unsurprisingly, the biggest idiot in the universe messed it up!"

"How do you know all that?" The Tooth Fairy demanded.

"I spy." He muttered, darkly. This whole mess all because of a foolish lack of attention and dimwitted carelessness practicing for some meaningless festival tournament!

"And what are you plotting now? I swear if you do anything—"

"I do not need others meddling in my personal affairs, especially the likes of some overly made-up and underdressed tooth-obsessed bimbo!" he spat. Both Poof and Foop were left in shock, their jaws dropping audibly, while the Tooth Fairy was so offended that she was rendered momentarily speechless. Gnashing her teeth and clenching her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, she was looking sorely tempted to blast him with her wand, but refrained, likely only because of his proximity to his suffering wife.

"Look, buster, you can say what you want, but don't expect me to be affected by the words of some overly pompous and underwhelming fiend!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with defiance even though he thought that her pitiful attempt to return his insult fell rather flat.

"Try saying that without the red face and the trembling; it might be more believable," he sneered. "Now, would you kindly leave me to tend to my wife in peace?"

"Do you even know what to do?" The Tooth Fairy challenged. He wished that he could wipe the smugness off of her face, but he had no choice but to concede that he did not have a clue. With a haughty tilt of her chin, she displayed her superiority.

"Well, after your attitude, Mr., I'm not sure if I ought to tell you, but I will—only because what affects Anti-Wanda, affects Wanda,"

Her attitude was fuel to his growing annoyance. "It's Wanda's fault that Anti-Wanda is like this in the first place!" he snarled. "No, correction, it's the fault of that pathetic buck-tooth crybaby who can't stop latching onto his godmother like a parasitic attention-leech!"

"Poof, Poof!" The boy protested, trying to defend his godbrother, but he paid it no mind.

"Oh, cram it—are you really too blind to see that your 'Big Bro' is nothing but a weepy, useless waste of space? Even his own parents would rather he had never been born! Frankly, everyone in the world would be better off if he hadn't!"

"Whoa, Father, isn't that going a little too far...? Not that I disagree, but—saying it aloud lacks tact..." Foop murmured, his voice tinged with hesitation.

"I will NOT lose the woman I love to HIM!" he bellowed, his voice echoing with a tumultuous mix of anger and desperation. Voicing his frustration offered a strange comfort, a brief respite from the overwhelming and absurd situation he found himself in, even if it didn't fully convey his true feelings.

"Okay, okay, let's dial things back; no one is losing anyone," said the Tooth Fairy, still perched on her moral high horse, as she tried her hand at diplomacy in an attempt to deescalate a situation for which she was partly responsible. "Wanda has definitely not broken any of the Taboos, so this is just temporary; a side effect from being in Fey World for an extended duration. Sometimes, Linking episodes can happen, but there is no danger to a sudden and unwanted unification." Her words filled the room, trying to bring a sense of reassurance amidst the chaos.

"Unification?" Foop quirked his brow, while Poof just looked confused, and he groaned; last thing he needed now was to explain this concept. Poof's reaction would probably be normal, but Foop? Ugh—that was an incoming headache.

"Sometimes a Linking episode can vary in strength; but even with really strong ones, we can snap them out of it with a sudden jolt to their senses—something that triggers their consciousness." The Tooth Fairy took the opportunity to explain; fortunately, cutting Foop's question short. "For instance, Wanda is well known to be crazy about chocolate, which means Anti-Wanda would detest it—if we give their senses a shock, then that ought to snap them out of it."

"She's not only unconscious, she's transparent! How am I supposed to engage with her senses if she's barely a wisp!?" He proclaimed, frustrated.

"In a case of Linking this bad, most of Anti-Wanda would probably be with her other half….so it's Wanda's senses that we need to shock if we want to end the Linking episode as quickly as possible."

"And to do that?" He looked down at his wife; she was still and expressionless, but he could feel that she was suffering and it tormented him. He did not care whose help he had to take, not if it meant bringing his poor wife out of this undeserved torment.

"Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch—what would appeal to Anti-Wanda most?"

"She loves thunderstorms, her favorite music is EDM, her go to perfume is Wild country, her favorite food is pickled vegetables, and she loves the feeling of soft, squishy things." He rattled off without even needing to stop to think about it, and the Tooth Fairy, he noted, looked begrudgingly impressed, if not a little jealous. It would not surprise him; after all, Anti-Jorgen was well known throughout Anti-Fairy world to know every single aspect of his wife's likes and dislikes, so he'd imagine that the normal Jorgen was quite forgetful.

He furrowed his brows, clicking his tongue; since he knew everything Anti-Wanda liked then, then that would mean that…

He looked over at Poof, messing with his monocle. "Would you know what your mother likes?"

"Yeah, because your moron of a father wouldn't have the observational skills required to notice her preferences; even if she held up a sign proclaiming them!" Foop announced, making Poof turn red in the face.

"Poof, poof!" The boy claimed that his dad could name those things even quicker than he had.

"Foop, please, don't provoke him. The last thing we need is for my foolish counterpart to meddle in this matter. Besides, determining Wanda's preferences is straightforward—we simply consider the opposite of your mother's likes. It's hardly a complex issue." He frowned thoughtfully. "The real obstacle is that Wanda is in Fey world, so we can't reach her to shock her senses."

"I can go." The Tooth Fairy responded quickly; making him raise his brow in surprise.

"Not Jorgen?"

"He's had enough of the Fey for the day." She crossed her arms resolutely. "As his partner, I'm allowed to help with his duties, so the Fairy council will surely let me go in his place."

"Is Jorgen going to allow you to go in his place? I hardly think he'd be very approving to the idea." He teased, making her cross her arms defiantly.

"He isn't my boss; I don't need his permission."

"Oh Jorgen, how do you expect to keep the rule in Fairy world when you can't even have your own wife obey you?" He spoke aloud, mockingly, not out of a genuine belief that a wife must obey her husband—his views were not that archaic—but because anger served as one of the best distractions in the world, and there were certain things he preferred she not to take any notice of.

She took the bait, and refusing to speak to him any further, turned to Poof and asked about Wanda's preferences. He made an irritated noise as the boy proclaimed he'd go 'ask dad', still intent on showing off to Foop and poofed away.

"We'll be right back; if you would make yourselves useful and gather up some things Anti-Wanda likes." The Tooth Fairy still did not deign to look at him as she poofed away, following Poof.

"Father, now that the peanut gallery is gone, explain now what is going on? What is wrong with mother? What are Fey? Whatever is this Linking thing? I must know!"

"If anything, you must be quiet! Here, just hold your mother's hand for a moment while I gather up some papers…." He rushed over to his desk where he had several plans written up and began stashing them inside of the desk, and locking the drawer with an oversized padlock, thankful they had gone unseen. He would need to be more careful not to leave such things laying about in the future; especially the likes of plan C!

"Well, if anything, at least tell me where you were! You know mother is unwell and yet you keep vanishing with no notice or notes as to your whereabouts; not that I need your assistance in an emergency, but it would still be useful to know—just on the unlikely chance I can't handle it myself."

He sighed, dropping in the chair of his desk and looking miserably over at his wife; glad to see that his son had actual did as he had requested and was holding his mother's hand.

"Believe me, I truly wish I could stay by her side to reassure her; but…there are things I need to take care of in order to help her."

He had to work slowly and methodically. If he took any risks at indiscretion or acted rashly, he'd quickly be discovered and the plan would fail. That was why he would not inform his son of too many details, otherwise he could ruin everything. He was a nosy boy, though, so he had to give him at least a little to chew on if he wanted to keep him out of the way.

With things how they were, he had to work behind the scenes carefully—maximizing the chances Plan A-1 succeeding and if it did not, that Plan A-2, could be pulled off successfully at a moment's notice. Plan A-1 was, of course, the desired outcome; but if Plan A-2 had to be resorted to; then that was not all bad either. Actually, to be perfectly honest with himself, he would probably vastly prefer Plan A-2's outcome...though he was unsure how his wife would react to it.

"What kinds of things? Is it anything that I can do?" Foop questioned, looking curiously at the giant pad locks.

"….I'll leave you in charge of Plan B." He told him and the boy did not look pleased.

"You are leaving the Harbinger of Doom with the backup plan?"

"Oh, foolish boy, Plan B doesn't mean 'Backup'; it signifies 'Break'. Wanda is Linking because the bond she has with her godson is overwhelmingly strong. We must sever that bond—it's a strategy that demands extreme effort and the utmost discretion and sophistication. To ensure the success of Plan A-2, implementing elements of Plan B is essential, albeit to a certain extent. Thus, you are entrusted with a task of great significance."

Foop now appeared content. He had no faith whatsoever in Foop's ability to be discreet or subtle; however, the disorder he would likely instigate in his attempt to be so would provide the perfect cover needed for him to execute discretion and subtlety.

"I must say, father, I am impressed that you have two Plan A's."

"I also have a Plan C and a Plan D."

"Oooh, does the C stand for CRUSH and the D for DEATH?"

"…" He went back to his wife's side, seeing her so quiet and still was so disconcerting. With a sigh, he sat on the edge of the couch and held her other hand; he hoped the feeling of having her hands held by him and her son gave her some comfort. "Well…the D does indeed stand for death, but it is the absolutely last resort."

"So, we really are going to kill the Turner boy?" Foop's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "Or RE-kill him, as the case would be."

"….Only if it's the absolute only way to save your mother."

"Why wait for a last resort? It seems like it would solve everything immediately."

"Don't do anything stupid!" He snapped at him; last thing he needed to worry about was to unintentionally send Foop on an assassination mission. "Look…. Fairies are bound by a few Taboos; killing their godchild would be one so bad that to do so would have them Link and Unify in a few hours. Anti Fairies are not bound by the Taboos, however, that does not mean that we are free from repercussions. Say if you were to kill Turner, as punishment you would lose much of your magic which would instead be transferred to your Counterpart."

"What!?" Foop looked indignant. "So, not only would I get weaker, my goody-goody counterpart would get stronger?"

"Yes; so you see…if it comes to it, I will remove Turner's life. As a pure-blood fairy, a power-cut won't do me all that much harm."

"Yes, and uncle idiot, even with increased power, would be too daft to use it in any meaningful way." Foop nodded his head. "I get it; last resort it is then—but, can I at least only half-way kill him, you know, to pay him back for all the suffering mother is going through?"

"No." He intoned flatly. "Trust me, it will cause him more suffering if you break his relationship with Wanda, so just focus on that."

Foop reluctantly agreed with a few complaints and mumbles, but turned quite, looking at his mother's empty expression and her form that had just as much substance as fog.

"…Father, what is Linking and unifying?"

He sighed. "Yes, I suppose I ought to tell you….a tale of the unfairest of the unfair; how our very existence is decided by the whims and actions of our counterparts."

—Tooth Fairy POV—

"DADA!, Dada!" Poof called out; they had come to the dining room, expecting to see the Cosma family seated to a meal, but the room was empty. The air was heavy with the scent of greasy fried food and cheese; all of which still remained untouched in their containers, just as she had left it on the table.

She frowned; she really thought that Cosmo would have shown up at Anti-Cosmo's castle after finishing informing his mother of their whereabouts. Given his history; she wouldn't be surprised if he had gotten sidetracked and had stopped to have a 'quick bite' to eat first, but that obviously was not the case.

"It's strange they're not eating…" She trailed her fingers over the lid of the Bravo Buffalo Wings; the formerly scorching hot container had cooled down to a faint warmth; if they waited any longer, the food would need to be reheated.

"Dada, Grandma, big fight with Uncle." Poof informed, his shoulders drooping.

"Oh." She nodded; Cosmo had likely ordered such a big meal as a way of trying to regain some family unity, but hadn't succeeded in getting the family to the table. "Is Schnozmo up to something again?"

That guy was always up to something. He was constantly in and out of Fairy World prison; and over half the time when he was out, he really ought to have been in. He was smart at covering up his crimes or getting them pinned on someone else; it was only because he was more focused on the quantity of his schemes than on the quality that he got caught at all.

Schnozmo Cosma was always juggling at least ten scams, twenty schemes, thirty frauds, forty heists, fifty swindles, sixty cons, seventy rackets, eighty grifts, ninety hustles, and a hundred lies simultaneously.

Jorgen was constantly keeping an eye out on him out of fear that one day he might turn such 'skills' to following in Nova's footsteps. That time he stole objects from godchildren's homes and tricked Cosmo into selling them door to door had really put him on her husband's radar.

Schnozmo was not a bleeding heart like his father was; but he was a selfish individual with little to no scruples, whose primary goal in living was to see to his own self satisfaction. The Fey, with their near unlimited magic, could offer some very tempting payments. That was why Schnozmo was not allowed into the homes of godchildren, not without setting off an alarm in Jorgen's office, which immediately informed him of his whereabouts.

"Do you know what the fight was about?" She questioned Poof, who sadly shook his head. Her frown deepened, not liking the sound of this at all.

"I hope Schnozmo isn't planning any of his usual schemes. I better let Jorgen know about this." She mused aloud. Hearing that Timmy was currently in Fey world just might have planted a rotten idea inside of that unsavory head.

"There isn't a need for that!" Mama Cosma announced, dragging a really rather dismayed looking Cosmo behind her by his ear, his confiscated wand in her other hand. He had a cloudy, grumpy expression that really did not suit him and looked entirely foreign on his face.

"Poof?" The child tilted his head, his voice quivering slightly as he questioned his grandmother's ire and the stormy expression his father was making.

"Oh...well.." Mama Cosma hesitated awkwardly, her voice trailing off as she nervously chewed on her lower lip. Cosmo seized this moment of distraction, his emerald eyes gleaming with determination, as he swiftly snatched back his wand, earning a startled shout from his mother as he escaped from her clutches. Her expression contorted with a mixture of tension and dismay as Cosmo positioned himself just out of her reach.

"I've had all I can take of this!" he declared in a voice tinged with exasperation, his words punctuated by a frustrated sigh. His mother's gaze shifted, her eyes darting between Poof, and then back at her son.

"Oh, don't say a word!" she pleaded, her voice tinged with desperation.

"I'm not lying for you or even for my brother." Cosmo, his nose twitching with defiance, crossed his arms stubbornly, his stance conveying a resolute determination not to do as he normally would and cave in to his mother's wishes.

Mama Cosma lunged forward in a last desperate bid to keep him quite, but Cosmo vanished, his body transforming into a poof of dust. He reappeared next to his son, wrapping a protective arm around him.

"Look, I'll just be frank about this—which is hard because I'm Cosmo, not Frank, but the truth is Mama, my brother and I have been having a HUGE argument about our father."

"Poof?"

"We never knew about him since Mama never said much, but we learned he was a literal criminal that stole children. Now that we know about him, Mama wants us to write him. I'm fine to wait and see how he treats Wanda and our Godchild, and if they come back safe, well, and happy, then I can see myself forming a relationship with him." Cosmo stated, which would explain the way he had reacted to seeing his father in the video.

She had to admit, it was a reasonable decision and it would likely put Jorgen at ease to know that Cosmo wouldn't attempt a relationship with his father until Wanda and Timmy returned safe and sound. It would be far too easy for someone as crafty as Nova to manipulate someone as naïve, trusting and…well, stupid as Cosmo was.

"W-well, I…" Mama Cosma looked unsure of what to say; obviously the exchange between her and Schnozmo had been so heated that Cosmo must not have been able to get a word in, until now, and he seemed intent on getting all his grievances off his chest.

—But now really wasn't the best time for it. Shouldn't he be more concerned about his wife than any disagreement with his mother and brother? She wanted to speak up, but Cosmo was already shouting again.

"But if Schnozmo wants nothing to do with him, you can't force the issue! I don't remember dad, so it doesn't affect me, but Schnozmo does, and if he feels like dad chose 'saving'—Cosmo made air quotes, though his tone was dripping with enough sarcasm to make them unnecessary—'those kids' over staying with us, and wants nothing to do with him, then you should respect that!"

Mama Cosma faltered, unsure of how to respond, her earlier fury having evaporated into shock. Poof trembled, looking terribly upset, and in a shocked whisper, he uttered the word, "Criminal?"

Her face grew hot as the awkwardness of the situation enveloped her. She had walked right into the aftermath of an intimate Cosma family dispute. Mama Cosma, likely furious when Cosmo took his brother's side, now appeared apologetic that Poof had witnessed it. Her attempts to silence her furious son had failed and ended up exposing her grandson not only to an uncomfortable argument, but a hard to live with truth about his grandfather.

Cosmo, usually a cheerful fool, must have been stressed to lash out like this... yet, he should have been more cautious with his words around Poof, although it wasn't the first time he had carelessly said too much; such as telling poor Timmy that when he got older he'd lose all his memories of his time with his godparents, or how he had blurted out to a crowd of people about being Crocker's fairy, essentially ruining that boy's life?

It was too bad idiots did not come with gags; she thought to herself, seeing the tears well up in Poof's eyes.

"I...w-well, maybe I was a bit too pushy." Mama conceded surprisingly easily, likely cowed by Cosmo's uncharacteristic hostility and subdued by Poof's crying. "...How about I take Poof and explain the matter to him? Poor thing is terribly confused and frightened. "

"Yeah...sorry about that. Mama...just so you know, this...I'm not gonna do something like this again..." His voice came out weak and guilty. At least, she noted, that he was aware that he had done something he should not have done in front of his son and she really hoped that he really meant it when he said that he wouldn't do something like this again.

Mama Cosma sighed but nodded in acceptance. "...I understand. It's a...very complicated and horrible business and you're right...it wasn't right of me to push your brother into doing something he's uncomfortable with..." She paused, but true to herself, tacked on her true thoughts at the end. "Even if it is for the good of the family."

Cosmo just sighed, likely having learned in childhood that there was no fully winning any argument had against Mama Cosma. With an utterly defeated expression on his face and a heavy sigh, he poofed up a hanky and handed it to Poof to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"You should talk to your grandmother about things. I have a terrible headache," Cosmo said, nudging his son gently towards his mother. He attempted to poof away but yelped when she seized the same ear Mama Cosma had clutched earlier. Despite her desire to reprimand him for his behavior and parenting, she knew she had to remain focused on business to avoid getting sidetracked and entangled in the family chaos.

"Hold it; I need you to tell me some things about your wife." She told him sternly.

"Allow me!" Mama Cosma volunteered as she swooped in to take a reluctant Poof into her arms. "She is bad tempered, stubborn, dowdy, nagging, could stand to lose 10 pounds..."

"Make that twenty!" Cosmo added and yelped as she twisted his ear harder. Both Anti Cosmo and Cosmo were equally horrible, she thought, but at least the formers concern about his wife had actually been rather touching.

"I meant if you could tell me her favorite things, like what music she likes, things she likes to look at…" She explained; hoping for Poof's sake that Cosmo could name at least some things.

"Oh, well, I know her favorite perfume is Wing it!" Cosmo chirped. "Its really expensive! Even a partially used bottle goes for $200! What do you expect of Big Daddy's girl? Frankly, the scent suits her sister Blonda so much better."

"Speaking of being Big Daddy's girl; when Cosmo first met Wanda, he took Schnozmo and I to a bar ran by her father to meet her. She used to perform there as a rather talentless country music singer."

"Yeah, I heard of love being blind but not deft!" Cosmo burst into laughter, that owing to his previous fury was honestly unnerving.

"Oh yes, but Cosmo, don't you remember you insisted back then that she had the voice of an angel?" Mama Cosma reminded with a 'I told you so,' smugness that was nothing short of petty, especially given the situation.

"Yes, well..." Cosmo tugged at his collar. "That impression passed after being woken one too many mornings by her singing in the shower."

Wanda was not part of her friend group, yet she felt a deep sense of pity for her. Anti-Cosmo, despite his dreadful nature, was right now holding his wife's hand and showering her with a romantic amount of affection. In contrast, Cosmo was merely cracking jokes at his wife's expense rather than showing genuine concern for her.

"Let's collect some of her belongings to jolt her senses," she said, having reached her breaking point. Anti-Cosmo's insults were bad enough, but enduring Cosmo and his mother's antics was truly insufferable.

"Ok, but I'm bringing a snack!' Sulking, Cosmo grabbed the carton of fried pickles with a sour face. She waited, but he did not bother to ask what she meant by 'shocking' her senses, nor did he question her as to Anti-Wanda's state. How could he show such a lack of concern….?

Then again, according to what Jorgen had told her about Timmy's accident, it was exactly his lack of concern that had him not pay attention when Vicky, that known child abuser, was alone with his godchild.

She was almost eager to flee to the Fey world, if only to evade further encounters with Cosmo and the Anti-Cosmo, and to avoid the Cosma family's drama. However, she paused in order to cast a last glance at Poof, who was visibly distressed; the barbs hurled at his mother by both his grandmother and father had hurt his already injured feelings.

"Hey, it's going to be alright," she comforted the child. "Families fight sometimes, but at the end of the day, they're still family, and a few disagreements or arguments-or really bad jokes- don't change that."

Poof offered a feeble smile and a nod; her words might not have soothed his heart completely, but they provided at least some solace—hopefully, his family would take care of the rest.

—Timmy's Pov—

"Doooooo Whaaaatchaaaa Waaaannaaaa! Oooh, Dooo Whaaatchaaa WaaannDaaaaa! Ahaaha! Did ya get it? I said my name 'stead of Wanna, hahaha!" He watched as Wanda burst into laughter, tossing back the last few mouthfuls of her latest cocktail, a 'Pisco Sour', as she laughed at her own pun. She continued to sing along to the song 'Do whatcha Wanna' as a Wild West themed float pulled up in front of them. Their little VIP lounge remained a cozy, food laden nook in a comfortable corner of the garden, as they watched the holographic festivities burst to life around them.

'Maybe I should have just come out and told her she was getting drunk back when she was still tipsy'. He thought guilty as he watched as Wanda swayed in her chair, her movements unsteady. He had to repeatedly prop her back up to prevent her from losing her balance completely. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she had nearly fallen over, continuing to sing, drink, and eat as she danced in her seated position. The sound of her voice, slurred and off-key, echoed through the garden as she tried to sing over the already loud music coming from the floats.

She had gotten overly excited when the Wild West float had pulled up in front of them; a float that had brought the rugged, rustic look of cowboys, horses, and saloons to life. Riders dressed as cowboys in wide-brimmed hats, fringed vests, and chaps rode horses or sat atop barrels. Saloon girls in ruffled skirts and feathered headbands danced and waved, while prospectors with pickaxes and gold pans panned for gold. The float evoked the spirit of frontier life with its dusty trails and wooden facades and had reminded Wanda of her love for country music; making her want to dance again.

She had pulled him to his feet despite his protests and had spun around with him zealously, only realizing her mistake after his energy gave out and he had collapsed onto the ground. She was now repenting by staying seated and checking with him every few minutes, ensuring he was alright and keeping an arm tucked around him protectively—even though in her state, that meant often pulling him down with her whenever she nearly toppled over.

"Mmm! What should I have next, hmmm?" She tried pointing out a drink from Manuel's menu, but her finger kept missing it entirely. He wouldn't be surprised if she was seeing triple at this point.

"…Mom, I have an idea…let me choose one for you; close your eyes so it'll be a surprise!" He tried.

"Oooh, we're playin' a game! Oookay, my boy picks my drink for me this time…." Wanda laughed and went along with it. Quickly, he made a selection for a 'Virgin Hurricane' from Beatrix, who had much less work than Manuel had this evening; and then selected a 'Hurricane' from Manuel's menu, only to be rebuked by the record player to choose from his own menu. "Mom, I'm going to have to use your finger, but keep your eyes closed, ok?"

"Oookaaay, haha, you got a scoldin' from the record again, hehehe!"

Luckily, he was allowed to choose the drink with Wanda's hand and swiftly exchanged it with his own before she could see. His hunch was right; the Hurricane and its non-alcoholic twin were nearly identical. Both drinks sat in the same type of glass, adorned with orange slices and cherries, sharing a similar shade of bright red. Given Wanda's state, he figured she wouldn't spot the minor difference in color.

"Ooh, this is a pretty one it is!"

"Look, I chose the mocktail version for myself." He smiled innocently and she just laughed, and insisted they do another 'cheers.' He held his breath as she took a sip, and then released it as she grinned, and gushed about how nice and sweet it was, not realizing the exchange made.

"Whew…" He sighed and at her prompting took a hesitant sip of the real Hurricane which transformed into regular water as it touched his lips; thankfully the record did not reveal his deceit.

"This is nice an' fun, ain't it? I always avoided Mardi Gras 'cause I thought it was fulla booze an' sex stuff—but it ain't fulla that at all; or maybe it is, this ain't a real one, but it's like a real one; let's go to a real one, someday, but we won't bring Cosmo, no, no, if he were to come, he'd be makin' all kinda Fat Tuesday puns—like…" She cleared her voice and mimicked his voice. "I thought another name for Mardi Gras was Fat Tuesday, not Fat Wanday!"

"Yeah, his jokes might be funny, but they're not really 'funny.'" He nodded in sympathy, his mind searching for what else he could say as Wanda seemed to be waiting for him to continue. He remembered from his lessons to help with his ADHD that a good way to show empathy was to sympathize and that you could sympathize by relating to the person. So he mentioned one of the times that Cosmo's bad jokes had hurt his feelings.

"I used to love to snack on those giant pretzel sticks they sell at the stadium, but he kept laughing about how I looked like a beaver gnawing on wood whenever I'd get them, so I switched to nachos."

"Aw…" She hugged him closer, her voice full of empathy. "Your teeth don't make you a beaver…but anyway, beavers are cute, so are squirrels, and rabbits, hamsters, groundhogs…"

As she began to ramble off a list of buck-toothed animals, he questioned his approach. Had he interrupted her, turning the conversation about her own problems into something about himself by trying to sympathize? He felt a pang of doubt, wondering if his attempt to connect had backfired. If he had done wrong, Wanda gave no sign of it.

Grandpa Nova had said he studied psychology, hadn't he? In the video he had watched in the room, it had said to knock on a wooden surface three times with one's left hand to request a private counseling session with him. Maybe he could ask Nova if his approach had been okay or if he should have done something else.

Back when he was ten, he hadn't thought too deeply about his actions; but learning that he had a 'mental condition,' as his father had insensitively put it, and being told by everybody around him that he had been a horrible son, friend, and general person, he found himself questioning everything he did and said these days.

He had known he had been a little self-centered, but he had not realized he was such a terrible person. Wanda kept telling him that he hadn't been all that bad at all, that he was just a normal ten-year-old boy…but, if that was the case, everyone wouldn't have turned against him so easily, would they have?

He was scared, really scared, that if he continued to unknowingly be a bad person, maybe even his fairy family would grow resentful—heck, Cosmo was already starting to turn against him.

He wouldn't be able to take it if he ever detected signs of resentment coming from Poof, and it would literally kill him if it ever came from Wanda.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, Wanda was still playfully naming off bucktoothed animals.

"—-Porcupines, Capybaras, Chinchillas, Pikas, Gerbils—umm…."

"Rats?" He suggested as he saw her struggle to think of another animal that had buck teeth and she scrunched up her face and shook her head.

"No, no, I'm namin' only cute ones." She waved off the suggestion. "Umm…let's see, aha! Naked mole rat!"

"That's cute?"

"That one on that cartoon you used to watch…never actually saw a real one…" She douched his Virgin Hurricane and reached a hand out towards Manuel. "Gimme 'nother, my good sir! Huh…hey, where'd he go…?" True enough, the hologram of her server had vanished.

"Ahem..." Nova's voice came this time not from the record player, but from the sky though he did not see him. As your server is a manifestation of my magical powers, I possess the capability to perceive the drinks he is producing. And I must inform you, my dear, that you have been rather extravagant in your consumption. Although I am pleased that you have enjoyed the beverages, we kindly request that you refrain from consuming cocktails for the well-being of both yourself and the child under your supervision."

"Awww..." Wanda pouted as a glass of water appeared in front of her, to his relief. "Don't rightly know what I'm more disappointed in, darlin'—no more cocktails or that my tasty little piece of eye candy done disappeared."

"Well, I don't know what you can do about the eye candy, but I'm sure you can go out for some cocktails some other time." He reassured even as he gave a silent thanks to Nova for his intervention.

"I s'pose I really did have a lot, didn't I? I never had a cocktail night b'fore, guess I might've gotten a lil' carried away by it."

"Why haven't you? Do you not enjoy the bar scene? Not that I know what that is, but I know my parents say they don't like bars because mom says they're too rowdy and dad says too many men ask for mom's number."

"Oh no, that's not it! Actually, I useta sing at a bar Big Daddy owned!"

"Wow, really?"

"Yup, I still got a few of my albums, I'll let ya have a listen sometime, honey."

"So, why did you never have a night out before?" He asked curiously. He always liked to learn new things about his godmother, but then wondered if he really ought to be questioning her when she wasn't in her right state of mind. The question, however, was already out, and she was giving her response to it.

"It wasn't that I didn't wanna, but ya see... I had just reached the legal drinkin' age in Fairy World when I married Cosmo, and... well, Cosmo detests alcohol. Even if he didn't, can ya imagine the consequences if he were to get drunk? I'm quite certain the universe might implode! So, bar-hoppin' nights were off the table after marriage. Basically, I only indulge in a glass of wine durin' fancy meals or when visitin' Big Daddy."

He considered defending Cosmo, sensing she hadn't been given a fair shot. Yet, as he was about to speak, visions of the chaos a tipsy Cosmo might cause flashed through his mind, prompting him to steer the conversation in a completely different direction with a question. "You could have gone out for a 'night on the town' with some friends, couldn't you?"

"Oh, ya know how needy Cosmo can get! He'd cry and feel all dejected if I mentioned goin' out for the evenin' without him, and I couldn't really invite him to come along even as a non-drinker since none of my friends really liked Cosmo or thought my marryin' him was a good idea..." She frowned, putting a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "It's been so long since I've seen any of them, I can't really remember what their names were..." She hunched her shoulders and laughed it off; it was a very hollow sound, unlike her laughter earlier. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter that much. I'd choose Cosmo over any number of friends any day. He has his faults, yeah, but he's still the man I love for better or worse."

He forced himself to return her smile, but to be honest, he thought that sounded really sad. Wanda's smile changed, her eyes turning even softer and wordlessly, she tucked an arm around him, letting him snuggle with her. Neither of them spoken any further words; but unlike before, he did not find himself questioning his response; because he could just feel that this was the correct one and maybe sometimes the best way to show empathy was maybe just not to say anything at all.

The festivity wound to a close as beautiful fireworks lit up the sky. All of the leftover sweets on the coffee table disappeared and was replaced by a single beautifully adorned cake. The cake was a masterpiece of swirling purple, green, and gold, with sugary glaze and a sprinkle of festive colored sugars; and two champagne glasses, filled with lemonade appeared next to two empty plates. Beatrix, who up to now only served up mocktails, cut into the soft pillowy layers of the cake; releasing the scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

"As our festivity ends for now, we hoped you have both enjoyed every moment; as one final indulgence, enjoy a slice of festive King Cake; and as per tradition, you will find a little surprise inside your slices. Eat, rest and be well." Nova's voice came from the record, soft and gentle, as one by one the holograms disappeared, to be replaced instead by one lovely lone singing hologram, of a slender, elegantly dressed woman, wearing a Mardi-Gras mask.

This song was different from the other more upbeat songs that had played. It had this gentle, almost soothing melody that seemed to wrap around him like a cozy blanket. The trumpet's soft notes and the singer's calm voice made him feel like he was in a place where everything was just right.

"Oh, the first time I came to New Orleans They gave me a big parade Oh, I said it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I've been to New Orleans before, But it never seemed so nice. When the drums and the horns Hit your ears with a beat Oh, it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans." The singer's voice was deep, and, he thought, was probably what people would refer to as a 'velvety voice'.

"This is nice," Wanda murmured, bringing a forkful of cake to his mouth, trying to feed him as if he were a little baby, as she drew him closer with her other hand as they observed the vibrant explosions of light in the sky. The patterns formed intricate images beyond what any earthly firework could replicate. Visions of the party's finest moments illuminated the heavens: the gladiator battle of Ancient Rome, the minstrels at their medieval feast, relaxing in the serene Chinese garden—laughing, conversing, playing, and simply reveling in each other's company. These splendid memories set the sky ablaze with a kaleidoscope of colors.

He took a bite of the cake. The cinnamon was a warm spice that danced on his taste buds, complementing the sweet, buttery dough; both the song playing and the taste of the cake reminded him of Wanda—of how she made him feel warm and safe.

When he was with her, he didn't have to worry about anything. It was like a little slice of happiness, where everything was calm and peaceful.

"What's my boy thinkin' 'bout, with that sweet little grin on his precious face?" Wanda questioned, wiping some frosting from the corner of his mouth with the back of her hand.

"How lucky I am to have you."

"Huh, well ain't that somethin'. I was just thinkin' the exact same thing."

With a sense of contentment he hadn't felt in a very long time, his eyes began to grow heavy as his body began to relax. His last memory before a peaceful slumber over took him, was of a little trinket of a rose-gold colored plastic baby being found within his slice of King Cake, the bright image in the sky of Wanda and him dancing amongst the stars, and the soothing melody of a song….

"Oh, the music's hot And the band is swingin' Oh, the big parade Is comin' your way Oh, it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans….."