(no subject)

[soulfulsin]

Fandom: Fairly Oddparents
Canon or AU: ???
Fic: Back to Black/The Nameless
A/N: Wow, it’s been so long since I updated this fic that I almost forgot the title. ^^;

I’ve been working on edits, another one-shot I will post shortly, and otherwise been eaten by life.

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Wanda wouldn’t pretend that she was comfortable alone with Chloe. She had a baby monitor connected to her wand to keep an eye on the twins, who were sleeping, but she was ambivalent about bringing them here. They were probably safer at her side than alone in Timmy’s house, but she didn’t trust Chloe. That phoenix also unnerved Wanda. Although she’d never encountered a dark phoenix, she knew they existed. They were rare because phoenixes tended to embrace light and goodness. This phoenix must’ve been warped into darkness and conscripted to watch over Chloe.

In the living room, the phoenix hurled invectives only Wanda could hear. Scowling, Wanda silenced him. His opinion was abundantly clear. She created a soundproof barrier since a gag didn’t work on a fire creature.

Wanda weighed her options and then grimaced. She’d warned Timmy that he couldn’t be left home alone, and Timmy was considerably older than the twins. Her feelings about Timmy remained ambivalent, though they tended toward fondness. She probably wouldn’t remain irritated with him for much longer; he was their son, after all.

The same could not be said about the twins. While Wanda tried to maintain that the twins were a positive thing, it was hard sometimes to think about their conception and what their father had put Wanda through.

For the first time, she had to relay that to a possibly not-so-innocent bystander. For Timmy’s sake, Wanda needed to keep a cooler head than she had in the park. She also needed to remind herself that she had control as long as she had her wand. Chloe wouldn’t dare try to disarm her; the towheaded girl was obviously petrified.

Squeezing her wand, albeit with misgivings, Wanda summoned the twins. They floated in midair within their bassinets. Cosmo had accepted them as their children, just as he had Poof, which meant Wanda should try to forget Asmodeus. At the moment, that was impossible.

“You know nothing about the Unseelie Court beyond what the phoenix and your guardian told you, right? Nothing of its current dealings,  hon?” Wanda said. She fingered the scar on her left wrist.

“I know what a concubine is,” Chloe said.

“That’s more than Timmy and Poof,” Wanda muttered. Louder, she said, “Why don’t we start with their power structures, and I’ll compare Fairy World to the Unseelie Court.”

Wanda waved her wand, and two separate boards materialized. The left board was marked “Fairy World.” The right board read, “The Unseelie Court.”

“At the top of the chain in Fairy World, we have the Fairy World Council.”

She scowled. “They’ve been throwing their weight around lately. Usually, they have the final say in anything relating to godchildren or events within Fairy World. Their decisions can be appealed, but it often takes time unless all of Fairy World revolts over a bad decision.”

Her scowl lifted, and she smirked. “That might’ve happened recently.”

Chloe hugged herself. The babies weren’t awake yet, but they were stirring. Wanda dreaded Chloe’s reaction. From everything Wanda had witnessed around Timmy, Chloe seemed decent. Perhaps too nice of a person, almost cloyingly so. Nonetheless, it was hard not to have misgivings. Wanda wanted nothing to push the twins closer to Asmodeus, including potential darksiders.

“On the right, we have the Unseelie Court,” Wanda said. Asmodeus’s picture appeared above the caption, and Wanda shuddered. She didn’t want to look at him longer than necessary, so she drew an x over his face. “Asmodeus used to be the king and supreme ruler over the Court, but he was deposed.”

Chloe frowned. “He captured you as a 'prize.’. I don’t understand. I thought the two courts didn’t interact much.”

“They’re not supposed to,” Wanda said. “They formed a peace treaty thousands of years ago to prevent war. Asmodeus overreached.”

Wanda balled her fists and wished she could use her magic to self-soothe. Timmy hadn’t reversed his wish. With her mounting stress, it was only a matter of time before the twins awoke and screamed their little heads off. They were easier than Poof in some ways, but their level of emotional bonding with Wanda meant her distress became theirs.

“It turns out that the Unseelie Court has been attacking fairy godparents, especially godmothers, for hundreds of years. I wasn’t the first, but I was the first Fairy World knew about.”

One of the bassinets rocked, and Wanda held her breath. Drifting over to the twins, she saw pink and purple eyes gazing back. Their lips trembled, tears formed in their eyes, and they burst into loud wails. Wanda sighed.

“Give me a minute, hon,” she said. “I’m not sure if they’re hungry, need a change, or they’re reacting to my mood.”

Chloe rose from her chair and walked to the bassinet. “Maybe I can help.”

Wanda gave her a level look. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. You’re unfamiliar with fairy children; these children are unusually linked to me.”

Chloe ignored her. “Babies are perceptive to their parents’ moods, but you don’t seem that upset. How could they possibly be responding to you?”

“It’s part of the magic and trauma I endured carrying them, not to mention birthing them. But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

Wanda sniffed, determining that the babies needed changing. Unlike Poof, they didn’t float away and attempt to evade her. Reluctantly, realizing it’d be faster if she permitted Chloe to help, she handed Matilda over. Chloe cradled Matilda, and Matilda smacked her in the face. Chloe stared, and Wanda snorted.

“Don’t feel bad, hon. Her sister did that to Timmy. They’re suspicious of strangers or people who might have caused me problems earlier.”

Wanda conjured diapers, baby powder, sanitary wipes, and a new onesie for Lily, who had soiled hers.

“As I was saying,” Wanda said. Gazing at Lily was oddly calming. “Asmodeus’s goons pursued me.”

She gulped, remembering. “We were supposed to apprehend a few Unseelie fairies for the Fairy World Council when they attacked us. They…”

She clenched her eyes shut, and tears slipped down her cheeks. “I don’t want to get into the details, sweetie, but suffice it to say, things went south quickly.”

Lily patted Wanda on the cheek. ((Feel better.))

As if it were that simple.

“Cosmo ended up attacking--no, I should tell this right--killing one of the Unseelie fairies for hurting me,” she said. Lily was still patting her on the cheek, which was soothing. Once Wanda finished changing her, she held Lily against her chest. Lily cooed.

“Asmodeus had plans for me,” she said and shivered. “Timmy had stopped Asmodeus’s children from fighting to the death, and Asmodeus wanted me as a ‘pet.’ He sent his son, Ansel, to school to kidnap me.”

Wanda pushed against the flood of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. Lily’s patting grew more insistent, as if she were determined to make Wanda feel better by any means necessary.

“The Unseelie Court is not kind to Seelie fairies,” Wanda said. That was an understatement. “The Unseelie queen drove a former fairy godmother’s husband to increasingly brutal attacks for kicks.”

“Did she provoke her somehow?” Chloe said. Matilda blew Chloe a raspberry, pushed against Chloe once the changing was complete, and floated back to Wanda. Wanda’s smile was strained.

“No,” Wanda said flatly. “It may be hard to hear, hon, but the Unseelie Court are almost always the aggressors. They may convince themselves that they’re in the right, but they’re usually not.”

“What happened to the Unseelie queen? You didn’t mention her in your hierarchy,” Chloe said. Wanda glanced at the chart.

“That’s because the fairy godmother in question drove the queen insane, and Ansel put her out of her misery,” Wanda said sadly. “There’s only so much a person can take.”

Chloe frowned, looking down. “I see.”

“I certainly hope not,” Wanda said sharply. “But let’s continue.”

((Wanda!)) Cosmo whined, and Wanda groaned, facepalming with her wand hand. ((Where are you? You never answered Timmy!))

((I’m in the middle of something,)) she said tersely. ((I’ll be fine--))

Cosmo and Timmy appeared, and Wanda groaned, facepalming again.

“Thanks for taking my word on that,” Wanda said sharply to Cosmo. “I told you I was in the middle of something.”

“Bad things happen when we’re separated,” Cosmo said emphatically. “I’m not going to take the chance again.”

She sighed, shoulders drooping. As little as Wanda wanted to admit it, Cosmo was right. Even in her nightmares, things turned for the worse when either of them was caught alone.

“Chloe?” Timmy said, surprised. “What are you doing with her?”

Grimacing, Wanda tried to control her temper, which was always frayed these days. Cosmo and Timmy’s appearance had complicated matters, as it inevitably did.

“You might as well pull up a seat, sport,” Wanda said. “This is going to take a while.”

She wanted to scream but it would accomplish nothing. It also might set the twins off again, which Wanda wanted to avoid.

“What’s going to take a while?” Cosmo said. He hadn’t noticed the blackboards or, if he had, he hadn’t realized what they meant. Timmy groaned.

“Not more school!” he complained.

“Not quite, hon,” Wanda said with a tight smile. “I’m trying to condense an incredibly long history lesson into a short lecture. I’m explaining the differences between the Seelie and Unseelie Court because someone gave her the wrong impression.”

“What’s there to say?” Timmy said, shrugging. “The Unseelie Court is full of liars, rapists, cheats, bullies, and jerks.”

“It is not!” Chloe said. “You take that back!”

“Now, do you see why I’m here?” Wanda said, sighing. “Chloe’s a little mixed up.”

“The Seelie Court started it!” Chloe said. “They’re the bad guys! That’s what Davros and Daphne told me!”

“The Unseelie Court raped--” Timmy started hotly, and Wanda silenced him with a dirty look. He scowled.

“Let me finish telling the story before you confuse her further,” she warned. “I want to avoid triggering myself, so I will give vague descriptions when possible.”

Timmy’s scowl vanished, and he nodded. He squeezed her hand, and she smiled back. Cosmo latched onto her from behind, which was less welcome.

“Must you cling like a monkey, sweetie?” Wanda said, sighing.

“You’re not going anywhere without me!” Cosmo said, leaning his chin on her shoulder. “Never again!”

“He has abandonment issues,” Wanda explained to a non-plussed Chloe. “After I’ve told you everything, you’ll understand.”

“Never!” Cosmo vowed, and she groaned.

“Can I please continue?” she said, willing back exasperation.

“Sorry,” Timmy and Cosmo mumbled. Matilda poked Cosmo in the upper arm, and he released Wanda to cradle Matilda. Wanda’s smile broadened.

“She likes you,” Wanda said.

“Doesn’t everybody?” Cosmo said.

“That’s the problem,” Wanda grumbled.

“Huh?” Cosmo said.

“Never mind. I might as well conjure refreshments, too,” Wanda said. “Especially with you two interrupting and offering commentary; this may take longer than anticipated.”

Waving her wand, she produced drinks and food for the group. Since she knew Chloe was an eco-vegetarian, she provided food Chloe would like, although Timmy gagged at the sight. Wanda snorted.

“We begin again,” Wanda intoned.

-----------------------------

Jorgen knew that the human authorities wanted Vicky, which meant he needed to erase her memories and restore her to Earth. It was trickier than normal since Vicky needed to recall Tootie without remembering anything fairy-related. It required close revision; modifying human memories could be bothersome, especially when they were so heavily entwined in their long-term recall. Once Jorgen had finished, he was exhausted.

Thankfully, modifying Crocker’s memories was easier. Jorgen wasn’t looking to eliminate everything about fairies, which would’ve rendered Crocker an imbecile by deleting huge chunks of long and short-term memories. Instead, he erased Crocker’s recollections of Cosmo, Wanda, Nathaniel, and Magdalene. Crocker hadn’t discovered Tootie’s true nature, and he’d never suspected it.

What troubled Jorgen was Chloe Carmichael. In alternate universes, she was a mere human child. Unfortunately, things weren’t so simple here. The Fairy World Council hadn’t discovered Chloe’s existence, but it was only a matter of time. Jorgen needed to speak with the child personally; she might be a spy from the Unseelie Court or an innocent bystander. It was up to him to discover which and then deliver his report to the Council.

After dumping Vicky and Crocker in Dimmsdale, where the authorities could apprehend them, Jorgen opted to eat his lunch before setting out for Earth. He was hungry, and whatever happened with Chloe didn’t require immediate attention.

A quick glance told him Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy were already on it.

The Council had other concerns. They intended to try Asmodeus for his crimes against Fairy World in general and Wanda in particular. They wanted Wanda to serve as a key witness, though they hadn’t broached the subject yet. Jorgen was apprehensive. Even recording her statements instead of having them delivered live would mean reliving the attacks, and if her last hospital visit was anything to go by, she was unstable. He feared anything that might further compromise her.

After he’d taken an hour's lunch break, he’d revisit the matter. Until then, he was off the clock.

----------------------------

Cosmo watched as Wanda relayed what had happened by Asmodeus’s hand. She struggled to push through without being able to calm herself down via magic. They’d barely gone five minutes when Wanda stopped, shaking and pale. Cosmo reached out, and she flinched, recoiling into herself. Her breathing was shallow; she was trying to tell Chloe about Asmodeus attacking her while Ansel fought to free her.

“Sport, you have to unwish that wish,” Wanda said.

“What wish?” Chloe said.

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell Chloe everything that happened,” Timmy said. “At least, not the details. I’m sure she’s gotten the picture.”

He shot Chloe a warning look. “Right?”

Chloe hesitated and glanced at Wanda. “Are you going to be okay?”

Wanda shook her head. Her eyes shone with tears, and she’d blocked Cosmo out. When he floated closer, she drifted away. She was also rubbing her left wrist hard enough to chafe. Cosmo could see the tally marks superimposed in her mind.

“The Unseelie Court aren’t the heroes you think they are,” Timmy said hotly. “Look what they did to my fairy godmother. They hurt her for kicks. She couldn’t fight back because Asmodeus either stole her wand or removed her free will. Or both. He enslaved her in the hotel. I don’t know what BS they fed you, but it’s all lies. Asmodeus forced Wanda to carry his ‘heirs’ and warped time, so she had to deliver them. Then he tried to compel her to join him again.”

Wanda took big, gulping breaths. Timmy glanced at her and blanched.

“Okay, okay,” he said, clearly worried. “You can use the wand to calm down. You’re freaking me out.”

“You have to unwish it,” Wanda said, her expression and voice pained. Cosmo brushed his fingertips along her arm; he’d intended to pull her into his arms, but she flinched and drifted away again. Timmy watched the byplay between his godparents, and his eyebrows rose. He looked worried.

“I wish you could use your wand to calm down,” he said. She nodded, granting the wish, and collapsed onto the table. Her breathing remained shallow; she seemed reluctant to use magic, perhaps because she knew it was a crutch. Cosmo wished she’d let him comfort her. She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

Timmy took over the story since it was obvious that Wanda was in no condition to do it.

“Asmodeus sicced his goons on Wanda,” Timmy said. “A lot of Unseelie fairies attacked her because they could. Stop acting like they’re innocent or the Seelie Court started shit because they didn’t.”

It was a sign of how poorly Wanda felt that she didn’t reprimand him for cursing. Cosmo drifted closer, and although she didn’t move away, she also didn’t move closer. Cosmo’s lower lip quivered.

Chloe hugged herself. “It’s hard to accept that everything I was told was a lie.”

Wanda bit her lower lip and drew blood. Cosmo hugged her without thinking, and she hugged him back. She seemed slightly better, but he didn’t like how she’d wanted the wand to calm down.

Timmy softened. “I know it’s not easy. But look at the toll the Unseelie Court took on Wanda, and tell me they’re still the good guys.”

Chloe’s eyes filled with sympathetic tears. “I’m sorry.”

Wanda didn’t speak. She pressed against Cosmo and tried to slow her breathing using an exercise they’d learned in the academy. (Cosmo had forgotten about it and almost everything he’d learned there.)

“I don’t know what to think,” Chloe admitted. “They clearly hurt your godmother…and I know you’re not lying about what they did. But--”

“But?” Timmy snapped.

“I feel like everything’s topsy-turvy,” she said. “Maybe you guys should go. I’ll talk to you later.”

Timmy faltered, looking distressed, and then hugged Chloe. She hugged him back, squeezed, and then released him. He glanced at his godparents and the twins.

“I wish we were at home!” he announced.

Cosmo and Wanda granted the wish, and they reappeared in his bedroom. Timmy frowned at his godmother.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked Wanda.

The twins hadn’t started crying, but Cosmo could feel their keen focus on Wanda.

“I don’t know, hon,” she said. Her lower lip quivered, and Cosmo wrapped an arm around her waist. Timmy held his arms out to her, and the three embraced.

“At least that’ll be the only time you’ll have to retell that story,” Cosmo said brightly.

“It is not,” Jorgen’s disembodied voice called. Timmy groaned, facepalming.

“Don’t you ever have any good news? Jeez,” Timmy groused.

“I will tend to you later, tiny Timmy Turner,” Jorgen snapped. “I have other business to handle first.”

Wanda groaned.

“I’m sure it doesn’t have to do with the Council,” Cosmo added. Timmy and Wanda shot him withering looks. “What?”

“I’m not going to bother,” Wanda said. “What’s the point?”

“The point in what?” Cosmo said.

“Exactly,” she said, facepalming. At least she’d stopped shaking, and she’d lowered the wall between them. She seemed calmer, even if she wasn’t back to her normal self. Cosmo kissed her on the cheek.

“I love you, too, hon,” she said. She smiled at Timmy. “Thanks for sticking up for me back there, sport.”

“Like I was gonna sit there and let someone tell me how great the Unseelie Court was after they almost destroyed you,” Timmy said, rolling his eyes. He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Now what?” Cosmo said.

“Now, we should probably see what the Council and Jorgen want,” she said, grimacing. “And hope things aren’t about to hit the fan again.”

-------------------------------

Chloe paced the living room. Her parents were due to arrive any minute, and she had no idea how to tell them what had happened to the kitchen, never mind processing what Wanda had said. Davros watched her closely; he hadn’t said a word, but then again, neither had she. It looked like his beak was glued shut. Panic squeezed her chest. Wanda must’ve done something that she’d forgotten to reverse.

She didn’t want to beg for Timmy’s help, but she needed to discuss the Unseelie Court with Davros before her parents came home. Davros scowled, and a loud crack filled the air.

“I hate Seelie fairies,” he snapped. “They’re so full of themselves.”

“How did you do that?” Chloe said, amazed. “I thought Wanda sealed your beak.”

“She did,” Davros said. His red eyes blazed with hatred. “She must’ve just remembered to fix it.”

Chloe wrung her hands. “What do I do? I can’t explain the kitchen, and I know Timmy and Wanda were telling the truth, but it’s not what I’ve been told since I was a toddler.”

Davros glowered. “What did she say? Seelie fairies always over-embellish and exaggerate.”

Chloe clenched her fists. “Timmy and Wanda said that the Unseelie fairies attacked her. That they hurt her because they could.”

“They put her in her place,” Davros corrected.

She stiffened; she felt Timmy would’ve tried to attack Davros for saying that. It was offensive, and she barely knew Wanda. The misery in Wanda's eyes spoke volumes, and Chloe's stomach clenched. After everything she'd been told, how could the Unseelie Court be the good guys? She couldn’t reconcile Timmy and Wanda’s story with what she knew.

“Chloe, you have to understand something. The Unseelie Court has nowhere else to go but Earth. We’re not allowed in their precious Fairy World or even Anti-Fairy World. We’ve been exiled.

“Meanwhile, the Seelie fairies act like they own the earth, moon, and sky. They’re condescending, self-aggrandizing thorns in our side. They only serve as godparents because it’s another way to lord over us. They take pity on humans and pretend to like them. They claim that they’re helping children.

“They’re not. It’s a ploy to make them sound sympathetic.”

Davros sounded embittered. It vexed her that he wasn’t listening. No one deserved what Wanda had endured. That was basic humanity 101. Then again, Chloe wasn’t human; she only pretended to be. Still, the morals her foster parents had instilled in her were screaming that Davros was wrong.

Chloe stomped her foot. “You’re not listening. Wanda didn’t deserve to be attacked.”

“Didn’t she?” Davros countered. “Did Timmy interfere in their Court proceedings? Did she, perhaps, stick her nose where it didn’t belong?”

“Timmy wished that the heirs would stop fighting…” Chloe said uncertainly. “And Wanda said that another fairy godmother drove the queen insane. It’s not like Wanda set out deliberately to get attacked, though. She has to grant Timmy’s wishes.

“I don’t know about the other fairy godmother. The way Wanda put it, she’d been abused too and was retaliating.”

“See? They’re not paragons of virtue.”

Chloe frowned; it sounded more like retribution versus an unwarranted attack.

She rubbed her goose-pimpled arms. “Wanda said…she said that Cosmo killed an Unseelie fairy for hurting her.”

“My point exactly,” Davros scoffed. “They’re no better than the Unseelie fairies. They put on airs.”

“That doesn’t mean she deserved to be raped!” Chloe protested, tears springing to her eyes. She stared at Davros in shock and horror. “Why would you condone that?”

“I don’t condone the method,” Davros said. “I’m merely suggesting that the Unseelie attack may not have been unprovoked.”

“But…Asmodeus…and Wanda…” Chloe faltered. Davros was twisting things in her mind. She shook her head as if she could shake off the doubts, too.

“She didn’t--she didn’t set out to be hurt. She didn’t ask for that kind of attention. You can’t tell me that she wanted it.”

Or could he? She didn’t know. Davros had introduced doubts and threatened to poke holes in Wanda’s story. Chloe rubbed her arms. The fairies and Timmy were genuinely distraught. How could that be a ploy or manipulation?

“Her friend destroyed the Unseelie queen, you said. Asmodeus no longer had a queen to provide future heirs,” Davros said. “I have it on good authority that Ansel and Amalia defected. Wanda has already shown a penchant for interfering in Unseelie affairs.”

“She did it because Timmy wished for it!” Chloe protested. “It’s not like she acted on her own!”

“I’m not saying that she did,” Davros said gently, not reacting to Chloe’s growing outrage. “I’m saying that the Unseelie fairies’ retaliation wasn’t unprovoked. The Seelie fairies stole from the Unseelie Court, once by destroying their queen and again when Cosmo murdered one of their own.”

“I know, but…Wanda didn’t deserve to be raped. Asmodeus didn’t make her his queen. He turned her into a concubine for his own amusement,” she said. She thought Davros might be using false equivalence; she’d learned about theoretical fallacies in one of her optional summer classes. Whatever he was doing left her more uncomfortable than she’d been.

“I’m not saying she deserved what happened,” Davros said gently. “I’m merely saying that pointing fingers gets us nowhere. The Unseelie and Seelie Court have a complicated history. For all we know, the Seelie Court attacked someone unprovoked, too.”

“Wanda said they’re the good guys…” she protested. “Timmy said the Unseelie Court is full of liars, cheats, rapists, and the like. Timmy and Wanda aren't lying. I know they’re not.”

Davros scoffed. “The Unseelie Court is full of the Seelie Court rejects, the ones who weren’t deemed ‘acceptable’ by Fairy World. Timmy is painting the Unseelie Court with a broad brush, which isn’t fair.”

“That doesn’t explain why Asmodeus enslaved Wanda, took away her only means of defending herself, and forced her to stay in the hotel,” Chloe said. “He kidnapped her and kept her from her family.”

“Her unnatural family,” Davros corrected. “Timmy is a human child, not their son. Cosmo and Wanda seem to forget they’ll have to leave him eventually. They can’t keep him.”

Davros scoffed. “As though anyone would want to keep a human child.

“Poof is an abomination based on a wish Timmy made. At least the twins were brought into the world naturally.”

“They’re still her family!” Chloe said. “Asmodeus cut her off from everyone she loves!”

“One of whom shouldn’t exist, and the other she should realize she’s too close to,” he said. “As for Cosmo, he’s almost destroyed Fairy World multiple times. Their separation is no great loss.”

“Asmodeus didn’t have the right to do what he did,” she said. She clung to that one point, which Davros kept maneuvering around.

“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Davros said. “How else would he get an heir with such potential? She wouldn’t give in to him willingly. There hasn’t been an Unseelie/Seelie fairy in thousands of years. He saw an opportunity, and he seized it.”

“She didn’t consent!” Chloe was aghast. “She was under duress. That’s what Timmy and Wanda said. How can you see that and tell me Wanda was wrong?”

“She’s the reason Ansel and Amalia defected,” Davros said. “Timmy’s wish stopped their fighting, a prerequisite to declaring an official heir. Amalia showed mercy, which she wouldn’t have done if Cosmo and Wanda hadn’t stopped her. She was disowned. Ansel tried to protect Wanda when Asmodeus was putting her in her place. Asmodeus was teaching Ansel a valuable lesson about how to treat fairies who put on airs.”

Davros scoffed. “He had no right to interfere.”

“That doesn’t give them carte blanche to treat her like a sex object!” Chloe said. She burned with resentment. He was twisting her words. Arguing with Davros was slippery, like trying to catch an eel in her bare hands. He wasn’t directly addressing her questions but switching the subject slightly.

Davros shook his head as if Chloe was being obtuse on purpose. “You only have her word for that.”

“And Timmy’s!” Chloe said. “I trust Timmy!”

“He’s been brainwashed. You can’t trust him,” Davros said dismissively. “Cosmo and Wanda deluded him into thinking that they love him.”

“They’re not like that!”

“How do you know? Wanda snapped at you in the park. That was her true personality; the rest was a facade. I’m not justifying what Asmodeus did, but I’m telling you that she isn’t innocent, either. At least in the Unseelie Court, we don’t hide behind pretensions or delusions of grandeur like Fairy World does.”

They heard a car pull into the driveway, and Davros shook his head.

“One thing at a time,” he said. “Stay away from Timmy and his fairies. Fairy World is bad news. They’ll twist you around their little finger and get you to do their bidding, proclaiming they’re ‘helping people.’ They’re condescending and egotistical.”

“Timmy’s a good person!” she said.

“He may have been once before Cosmo and Wanda got to him.”

“No! That’s not true!” she said, her lower lip quivering. Davros had twisted everything around in her mind to the point where she didn’t know who was right or wrong. They seemed so sincere, genuinely loving, and caring about each other.

“They’re good…they have to be…they said…”

“You only have their word. How much can you really trust a Seelie fairy?”

The front door opened, putting a temporary end to their discussion. Chloe felt off-kilter; every time she’d argued something she thought was right, Davros warped it into something grotesque and unrecognizable. She should talk to Timmy again, but she knew Davros would disapprove. Everything Timmy and Wanda had told her contradicted what she’d learned from Daphne and Davros. Her head hurt.

“Nothing is as it seems,” Davros whispered.

Chloe hunched in on herself. She would have enough difficulty explaining the kitchen without worrying about Fairy World. Fairy World had nothing to do with her, anyway. If she avoided Timmy and his fairies, she ought to be okay.

Maybe. She didn’t like how Davros had presented his case. Wanda and Timmy had made things sound so clear-cut and dry. Asmodeus and the Unseelie Court were the villains; Fairy World fairies were the heroes.

If she hadn’t had to stay and explain herself, she would’ve run into her room to be alone. She’d never felt more alone than she did right now.

--------------------------

Timmy had seen enough of the Fairy World Council to last a lifetime. Jorgen brought them instead to his office. While Timmy knew this was a big deal, he couldn’t focus on his godparents. Instead, he was reliving the last few minutes of his parents’ lives. He never should’ve wished to know whether they’d found out about Vicky. Ignorance was bliss.

Despite what Wanda had told him about his parents’ last thoughts being about him, he had a hard time accepting it. They loved him so much that they abandoned him on a regular basis. Cosmo and Wanda hadn’t intended to be separated from Timmy on and off; they had an excuse. His parents had none.

Wanda had told him they were beyond his reach, but that couldn’t be true. Though he couldn’t resurrect his parents or speak to their shades, maybe there was another way to confront them. Cosmo and Wanda had claimed that his parents’ deaths were a fixed moment in time. Fine. He wouldn’t try to stop their deaths; he knew it was futile.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t speak to them while they were in the hotel or wherever they’d been before driving off. A large part of him blamed them for their deaths. They wouldn't have been on the highway if they’d been home and cared about him instead of pretending to. They would’ve been safe.

The fairies’ conversation was meaningless background noise. Asmodeus didn’t affect him like he did the fairies. He wished they would’ve left him alone in his room regardless of whether it was smart or legal. Everything swirled around in his head, and it felt like poison coursing through his veins.

His parents had died needlessly on a trip they shouldn’t have taken. If they’d spent more time with him, they would’ve been home instead of out, and he would never have needed to see that foster home. He would never have briefly lost Cosmo and Wanda, and he never would’ve gotten attached to Grace only to be rejected. Tears burned in his eyes, and he hugged himself.

There was nothing he could do about his parents or godparents. He didn’t know why his godparents had brought him along. Maybe he should wish to be alone. The situation had changed since they became his legal guardians, but since it’d only happened recently, it was hard to tell by how much. It might be a plausible wish.

“Timmy?”

Wanda’s voice intruded on his thoughts. To his knowledge, it was the first time anyone had acknowledged him. His godparents looked concerned; the babies wore identical frowns. Looking at them reminded him of what Asmodeus had done to Wanda. They were innocent fairies, but he wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

“Are you okay, sport?” she said gently. “You’ve been quiet the entire time we’ve been here.”

Timmy shrugged. “I wish I could be left home alone.”

“I do not think that is wise,” Jorgen said.

Timmy glared at Jorgen before glancing at Cosmo and Wanda. He didn't appreciate his opinion.

“No choice, you’re my godparents,” Timmy said. They conjured a copy of Da Rules and scanned it. Timmy growled, petulant.

“Don’t tell me I can’t wish for that either,” he snapped. He folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t bring my parents back. I can’t talk to them. I can’t wish that Asmodeus had never touched Wanda. I’m sick of being told what I can’t do.”

“I’m sorry, hon,” Wanda said. “This is a difficult situation for everyone.”

Timmy cast a withering glance upon the twins. “They’re the only ones who aren’t suffering, and that’s because they’re too stupid to understand. They’re only babies.”

The twins shot him a sharp look that he ignored. He wanted to pick a fight, and anyone would suffice.

“Timmy,” Wanda said in a warning tone that, as usual, he ignored.

“Can you grant the wish or not?” Timmy snapped. He remembered how angry he’d been with them the night he’d wished them away. That dark mood threatened to descend upon him again, which boded ill.

“We can,” Wanda said reluctantly. “But it’s dangerous for you to be home alone.”

“I don’t care,” Timmy said waspishly. Exchanging troubled looks, his godparents raised their wands and returned him to his bedroom. Although it was an identical replica of his old room, it felt off. The whole house felt wrong because it wasn’t his house. It was a copy.

Throat tight, he flung himself onto the bed. He wanted his parents back; he wanted them to care about someone other than themselves. He wanted them to have known they were in trouble and taken steps to prevent it. Clutching a pillow to his chest, he sobbed.

Everything he craved was out of reach. His life would never return to how it’d been. Wanda was scarred and traumatized. Despite Cosmo’s blase attitude, his mental state was fragile and prone to sudden bouts of insanity. His godparents were not right, and those stupid fucking twins weren’t helping. They were a constant reminder and nothing like Poof, who’d been born from love. Thinking about them sickened him.

No wonder Mama Cosma wanted nothing to do with them. Timmy couldn’t wish them away, no matter how badly he wanted to.

Nothing would ever be all right again.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. For a minute, he stopped crying and stared blankly at his bedpost. He’d forgotten that he’d wished for another phone. He had no idea who might be calling. It’d better not be Tootie. He was in no mood to deal with her, either.

Without looking at the caller ID, he accepted the call. Perhaps he could vent his spleen on whatever idiot had decided to bug him.

“Timmy, can we talk?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he snapped. Recognition dawned a second later. “Chloe? Wait, I didn’t mean that.”

He dragged a hand along his face. “I’m sorry.”

“What did you mean?”

Before he had a chance to attempt to explain, she pushed on.

“I was talking to Davros, and he kept twisting the subject around and making it sound like maybe the Unseelie Court wasn’t entirely wrong,” she said anxiously.

Timmy didn’t understand. The line went quiet.

“Davros is my phoenix,” she explained. “Wanda gagged him earlier.”

“Okay…”

“Can I come over?” she burst out. “We need to talk in person. Are your fairy godparents home?”

“No,” he said. “They’re in Fairy World.”

“They left you home alone?”

“You’re home alone all the time,” he pointed out.

“I’m more mature than you are.”

“I’m in a bad mood as it is. Could you not?” he snapped.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything,” he huffed. “My parents are gone, my godparents are stuck in a mess that was not their fault, and everything’s shot to Hell.”

“I’ll be right over,” she promised, then hung up. Timmy couldn’t bring himself to move. Instead, he let his arm dangle over the side of the bed. The phone dropped to the floor. As far as he knew, the front door was open. Cosmo and Wanda could be too trusting at times.

Wanda wouldn’t be quite as trusting anymore. His stomach churned; she was easily startled and wary of an attack. The babies didn’t help. They were a constant reminder of what she’d lost.

Timmy swallowed a hard lump in his throat. He’d wished to be alone, which was what he’d wanted. It wasn’t his fault that these thoughts kept spiraling further down.

He didn’t know why he’d agreed to have Chloe come over. He didn’t want to see her or anyone else. The only people he wanted to see had decided their pleasure was more important than him. They might have loved him, might, but they had loved themselves more.

His heart ached like it’d been ripped out of his chest. Pressing his face back into the pillow, he screamed. Cosmo and Wanda weren’t here to comfort him because they were in Fairy World dealing with the Unseelie Court fallout. They were all the family he had. They’d always been more like his parents than his biological ones, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss his birth parents. His real parents.

Or were Cosmo and Wanda his real parents? They took care of him more than his birth parents had.

He didn’t know. If the front door was unlocked, Chloe could find him. If it wasn’t, then she’d be stuck outside. He wasn’t budging. Maybe she could magick the door open if she didn’t accidentally hurt herself or an innocent bystander with her uncontrollable magic.

He couldn’t bring himself to care about that either.

He almost wished he had no emotions, but that’d been a disaster. Plus, his embarrassment back then felt paltry compared to his current heartache. He wanted to scoff at his past self for acting like being afraid to jump off the high dive was nearly as bad as his parents dying.

A line from a cartoon he shouldn’t have been watching looped in his mind. “Did you forget that Hell is forever?”

Timmy felt like he was trapped there now. Or perhaps in limbo. He caught himself before calling out to his godparents. Sighing, he reminded himself what had happened the last time he’d lashed out at them for being unable to grant his every wish. He couldn’t afford to lose them again.

The doorbell rang, and Timmy groaned. Chloe might be ringing it to be polite. He hoped that was true because he had no intention of leaving his bedroom.

She rang the doorbell incessantly. If she was doing it to announce her presence, he got the picture already. Nothing could compel him to leave this bed. His heart was a heavy stone in his chest. Cosmo and Wanda had always listened to him more than his parents had. They were there for him when no one else was.

Even when he’d wished for his parents to have superpowers with “Timmy senses,” they’d ignored his distress. He balled his fists and stood up, flinging the pillow onto the floor. Kicking it, he stomped into the hallway and shoved open his parents’ room. Cosmo and Wanda must not have been thinking when they duplicated the room.

Eyes burning with tears, his chest tight, Timmy snarled and threw the framed picture of them at the door. It was a lie. All of it was a lie. They hadn’t loved or cared about him. It had been lip service.

Timmy ripped the blankets and sheets off the bed and tossed them onto the floor. Breathing hard, he yanked open the drawers and chucked everything on the bedding. For what felt like an eternity, he threw, smashed, and destroyed everything he could get his hands on.

It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.

Timmy sank to the floor and sobbed. This wasn’t fair. How could they care so much about themselves and so little for him? How could they have left him like this? They’d seemed genuinely loving, if a bit distant at times. Then they abandoned him for their selfish pleasure every time. He’d seen more of Vicky in the last few months than he had of his parents, and they didn’t live together.

He pounded his fist on the floor until he lost feeling. When he lifted his hand to examine it, he realized he’d broken the skin and bruised his knuckles, which were also bleeding. His parents were never coming back. They’d valued themselves over him, and it didn’t matter about Vicky because they were never coming back.

Unbeknownst to Timmy, Chloe was resourceful, even without accidental magic. Something heavy and metal struck the siding beneath the window. Anger coupled with depression prompted him to run toward the window; he wanted to tell the intruder off and then mope. The glass had shattered from a keepsake he’d hurled onto the ground below. He didn’t remember doing that.

His hand started to throb and reminded him of what he’d done, consciously or unconsciously. When he glanced at the siding, he saw Chloe staring back. He groaned, facepalming.

“Timmy! You’re bleeding!” she said. She climbed another couple of rungs and frowned. “What the heck happened here? It looks like a tornado hit.”

His throat was tight, and he shook his head. He looked for a safe spot to put his hands to open the window, but glass littered the floor, and broken edges sliced into his palm. Hissing, he wiped his bloody hands on his pants.

“Are you okay?” she pressed. A creature flew up behind her, and he pointed at it. Chloe turned and yelped, nearly falling off the ladder in shock. The phoenix Wanda had mentioned was at Chloe’s back.

“I told you not to talk to them!” Davros snapped. “Here you are, going behind my back!”

“Some things you said don’t make sense,” Chloe protested. “I wanted to talk it over with Timmy.”

Davros looked at Timmy coolly. “The brainwashed human child who’s deluded himself into thinking his godparents love him and vice versa?”

“I’m not brainwashed!” Timmy snapped. “They do love me.”

Davros would’ve raised an eyebrow if he could have. He scoffed. “Said human child clearly had a temper tantrum. Was it because your godparents stopped pretending they cared? They’re not here now, I see.”

The rage he thought he’d gotten over tightened his chest. He remembered how badly he’d wanted to lash out at someone, and here was a convenient target who was also talking shit about his fairies. It was a good thing Timmy had no innate magic, or he would’ve destroyed the phoenix in midair.

“I told you staying home alone was a bad idea!” Wanda snapped as she, Cosmo, and the twins floated at his back. Fairy dust rained down upon Timmy's shoulders. She glared at Davros and then looked back at Timmy and the room in shambles.

“Sport…what happened?” she said in a softer tone.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Timmy said. “Especially not in front of him.”

He pointed accusingly at the phoenix. Cosmo and Wanda frowned and raised their wands to heal their godson. They also restored the window and everything else to its proper location.

“Chloe, you're an Unseelie fairy,” Davros said. “You don’t need to waste time with these degenerates.”

Wanda bristled. Timmy and Cosmo gawked; that was another word Timmy didn’t recognize. He sensed Davros was insulting them but wasn’t quite sure what the insult meant. His fairy godmother floated closer to the window and snarled.

“I want to know the truth,” Chloe said.

“You won’t hear it from them,” Davros scoffed.

“You won’t hear it from him,” Wanda snapped back. “All the Unseelie creatures do is lie and hurt people.”

She gulped back a sob. “I ought to know.”

“You have only her word that the Unseelie Court is bad,” Davros said. “How can you believe our historical enemies?”

“I’ll show you a historical enemy!” Wanda snapped, blasting through the window as a pink phoenix. She threw herself at Davros and buffeted the other phoenix out of the air. Timmy stared; he wasn’t sure where this anger was coming from and was both impressed and scared.

“What lies have you been filling her head with?” Wanda snapped.

“Me?” Davros said. “You never should’ve interfered in an Unseelie Court heir challenge. You should have known better than to stick your nose where it didn’t belong!”

“Timmy wished for it!” she countered. “I didn’t have a choice!”

“Ah, yes, bound by your disgusting Rules to serve inferior creatures,” Davros said. “You won’t catch the Unseelie Court falling so low.”

“No, you’d rather debase, humiliate, defile, and destroy any Seelie fairy you could get your hands on,” Wanda said. Her feathers ruffled in outrage. “You call us degenerates? Fairy World would never have put anyone through what your precious king did to me.”

Wanda dove at Davros, who dodged her direct attack at his chest. Cosmo had been insane when he’d reacted with homicidal rage. The magic had forced him into it. Wanda might not be too far behind. Timmy could feel her rage as a tangible thing. If he’d been furious before, she was burning with it and intended to punish someone.

“You should have been honored,” Davros said. “Women would have killed to be in your shoes.”

“They’re welcome to him!” she snarled. Chloe was clinging to the ladder for dear life.

“I wish the window was open,” Timmy said in an undertone to Cosmo. Wanda wasn’t paying attention. She had eyes only for her opponent.

Cosmo granted the wish, and Timmy dragged Chloe into the room before she fell and hurt herself. She glanced at the two phoenixes when she stood safe and steady on the floor.

“Every once in a while, I forget whose daughter she is,” Cosmo said in a subdued voice. “Then she acts like Big Daddy.”

Chloe glanced quizzically at Timmy, who shook his head.

“I’ll explain later.”

“You knew you’d never rise above an incubator, Seelie slut,” Davros scoffed. Cosmo was bristling now, too. Timmy and Chloe exchanged worried looks.

“I didn’t want this! I didn’t want any of it!” she snapped. “How dare you pin this on me! How dare you fill Chloe’s mind with garbage and act like the Unseelie Court has the moral high ground!”

Behind them, the twins started wailing, and Timmy groaned. He should’ve realized Wanda’s incandescent rage would set them off. They floated out of their bassinets and shifted into baby phoenixes to flank their mother.

“Shit…” Timmy breathed. “Can this get any worse?”

“What is going on here?!” Jorgen von Strangle bellowed, standing behind the two children in the bedroom. They turned, and the color drained from their faces. Everyone else froze.

“I should’ve known better,” Timmy grumbled. “It can always get worse.”

Davros and Wanda were shooting each other death glares, and Cosmo had joined his wife in midair outside the window. He wasn’t furious; he looked troubled, possibly for the twins. Then again, out of everyone here, the twins and Chloe were the safest people around. Davros wouldn’t dare attack the Unseelie Court heirs or his own charge.

Everyone else was fair game.

The stalemate wouldn’t last long. Jorgen’s surprise appearance only delayed the inevitable. Wanda was out for blood, and she would have it. His earlier tantrum felt pathetic in comparison.

Timmy noticed that her left leg bore a white scar. Another way in which Asmodeus had left his mark.

“What kind of filth defends them?” Timmy burst out and glared at Davros. “What is wrong with you?”

Everyone unfroze; Wanda feinted toward Davros’s left and tackled him in midair. They crashed into the siding, and Timmy and Chloe ran to the window. Wanda was pecking fiercely at the phoenix despite the fire and heat. She didn’t care if she burned herself or that the phoenix could probably heal himself. She was unaware of anything but her loathing for the Unseelie Court.

“Enough!” Jorgen snapped, slamming his wand down and freezing everyone. Davros was bleeding from a chest wound. He’d raked his talons across Wanda’s face and nearly gouged out an eye. Cosmo was growling, and Timmy’s heart skipped a beat. Unconsciously, he reached for Chloe’s hand, and she held it out for him to take.

“You are not welcome here,” Jorgen said to Davros.

“Chloe is my charge,” Davros countered. “I’m merely reminding her whose side she ought to be on.”

Wanda was straining against the paralysis spell to no avail. If anything, this was further fueling her rage. She looked homicidal. Timmy and Chloe retreated a few steps.

“Mama!” the twins cried.

“You are fortunate that I was observing the situation earlier,” Jorgen snapped. He brought everyone back into the room and their normal forms. Davros, of course, remained a phoenix. Once the spell was lifted, he scoffed haughtily and perched on Timmy’s parents’ bed frame.

Wanda growled, pointing her wand at Davros and blasting him off. She’d gone from homicidal to deranged. Timmy and Chloe put distance between themselves and her.

“Seelie whore!” Davros snarled, rushing at her beak first.

“Don’t you talk to my wife like that!” Cosmo snapped.

Jorgen sighed, looking more exasperated than surprised by this turn of events. He disarmed Cosmo, Wanda, and the twins. Wanda was shaking in anger; her hair blazed with fire, as did her eyes.

“I do not believe a civil conversation is possible,” Jorgen snapped. “However, as Chloe is a changeling concealed in a prominent community with fairy godparents, we must talk.”

“Don’t believe a word he says,” Davros warned in a low tone. “All the Seelie fairies lie.”

“I’ll show you lying!” Cosmo snapped, throwing a punch at Davros’s face. He burned his hand before it connected and howled in pain.

“This is worse than I thought,” Jorgen said. He glared at Davros. “We are taking your ‘charge’ to Fairy World whether you like it or not. You are not invited.”

He slammed his wand down, bringing the four fairies and two children to Fairy World. At least it wasn’t the Council chamber again. That was the only bright side in this shit show.