(no subject)

[soulfulsin]

Fandom: Fairly Oddparents
Canon or AU: AU
Fic: Dark Ocean

A/N: I ran into difficulties further along the line. You’ll probably see what I mean in the last scene.

Writing and reading have been problematic since Mom died. I’m trying, though.

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Wanda raked her nails along the sleeve gloves; she’d neglected to remove them, and now she was too uneasy. Unable to stomach leaving Adolphus and Diana in Magdalene’s house, especially since it was her fault they were there, Wanda had reluctantly brought them along to Jorgen’s office. Jorgen was busy, which might give her time to sort through her emotions. Tootie had stoked her fears, but they’d been present earlier, too.

Diana might be under a compulsion to serve Adolphus. Wanda couldn’t assume Adolphus was being honest, regardless of what he’d said about the Council administering a truth serum. After all, it was only his word against hers. That had counted for nothing in the Unseelie Court. Her throat tightened painfully.

Wanda was unsurprised when Magdalene and Tootie materialized beside them. Timmy groaned, facepalming.

“Wanda?” Tootie said, and the pink-haired fairy glanced at her.

“What is it, hon?” Wanda asked gently.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tootie said. “We can’t trust Adolphus as far as we can throw him, and anyway, he’s freaking you out.”

To put it mildly. Though Cosmo wasn’t holding her, Wanda felt his concern in their link. Being in Adolphus’s proximity put her on edge. It was impossible for her to imagine him being anything other than a monster. She couldn’t make eye contact without shuddering and thinking of his brother assaulting her.

“I don’t mean to upset you,” Adolphus said. “Simply because I resemble him doesn’t mean I’m identical in other ways. You have an identical twin, too, so you would know.”

Wanda growled. Her heart pounded with fear that Blonda might be targeted; she caught herself before pointing the wand at his chest. If Adolphus went near her sister, she’d kill him. There was no way Wanda would let Blonda endure what she had. Wanda was the older sister. It was her job to protect Blonda, which she’d taken perhaps a little too seriously as a child.

“Don’t you dare bring up my sister,” Wanda snarled. Her fists balled. “She has nothing to do with this, and I intend to keep it that way.”

Never mind that Juandissimo had discussed her situation with Blonda behind her back. She felt betrayed, though she knew neither had meant anything treacherous by it. Then again, those doubts Asmodeus had seeded threatened to resurface. Her stomach knotted. Juandissimo had nothing to do with her marriage to Cosmo, nor did Blonda. Yet it wasn’t hard for her to imagine them conniving to backstab her, thanks to the insidious brainwashing Asmodeus had done.

If you hear something often enough, you’ll start to think it’s true.

“That’s not what I meant,” Adolphus said. “I am extending a peace offering.”

“I’m not interested,” Wanda said flatly. “It’s meaningless.”

“He isn’t like his brother, goddamn you!” Diana exploded. “I’m sorry you were abused and mistreated by Asmodeus, but you can’t hold Adolphus responsible for someone else knocking you around.”

Wanda choked back rage. Everyone else faded into the din, and her heart pounded in her head. A vein throbbed on her forehead. Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

“You have no right,” Wanda snarled, thrusting her face into Diana’s and glowering at her, “to minimize my pain and trauma by acting like I was in a schoolyard brawl.”

“Diana…” Adolphus said in a warning tone, but she ignored him. “Diana, back off.”

“No,” Diana said. “You are a decent man, and I won’t have you maligned by someone whose continued screw-ups are why Da Rules has so many damn footnotes. Maybe if Wanda was more stable, none of this would’ve happened.”

Wanda wanted to thrash her. It was taking an extreme amount of willpower not to blast her in the face and damn the consequences. She knew Cosmo and Timmy feared her when she was this furious, and rightfully so. Diana had fucked around, and now it was time for her to find out.

“What would you know about Da Rules?” Wanda said dangerously. “You’ve been out of commission since Magdalene left. Why should I trust your word that Adolphus is a ‘good man’ when I’ve seen no proof? Or should I just be grateful that he hasn’t kidnapped and tortured me yet?”

Diana slapped her. What little self-control Wanda possessed flew out the window. She snarled, fire burning in her eyes, and blasted the other woman. Wanda had aimed for Diana’s stomach to disable her and give herself time to prepare for a counterattack.

“Bitch,” Diana spat once she’d recovered sufficiently. She shook herself off like a wet dog. “It’s not my fault you can’t handle the truth.”

“There was nothing truthful in what you just said,” Wanda retorted. “I resent your insinuation that I brought this upon myself.”

Wanda’s throat burned with hatred. “I’ve heard it enough times, thank you.”

“If you can’t accept that Adolphus is nothing like his twin brother, then maybe--” Diana started, but she couldn’t finish. Magdalene thrust herself between the two feuding fairies. Tootie was shaking, covering her face with her hands, and Wanda felt briefly ashamed of herself for frightening the children. The twins were glaring at Diana, and Leander stared, probably too young to make sense of the situation. He knew Mama was upset, but not why.

Timmy and Cosmo looked uneasy; both were clearly concerned about her. She looked away from them; she hadn’t meant to unnerve them.

((Wanda?)) Cosmo ventured, and she jerked her head slightly to indicate “no.”. Naturally, he ignored it.

((Not now, hon,)) she said.

((You’re scaring me…)) he whimpered.

“You do not blame the victim for their trauma,” Magdalene snapped at Diana and balled her fists. “I’ve heard it often enough, too, and I hate it every time. You weren’t there either, with all due respect. You didn’t see the Unseelie fairies attack her in the forest and then set the geas to force her to the hotel for Asmodeus to abuse.

“You didn’t try to circumvent the geas to no avail, nor did you witness any of her nightmares. That was before she was trapped with Asmodeus and his ilk for six months. One incident like that is traumatic enough, never mind six months of torture. It’s a miracle that Wanda’s sane.”

“That’s debatable,” Diana muttered, and Wanda raised her wand to strike again. She discovered her wand arm paralyzed, and she swiveled her head. Jorgen stood before them, and his eyes narrowed at Diana and Adolphus. Jorgen’s outrage made Wanda feel vindicated. She wished Jorgen would let her blast Diana in retribution, regardless of how immature it was.

“The Council sent you two to resolve the Unseelie Court situation, not to agitate Wanda further. If you cannot hold your tongue, then there is no reason for you to be here,” Jorgen snapped at Diana. “As Magdalene has said, you have no right to invalidate Wanda’s trauma simply because you find it distasteful that Wanda fears your husband.”

Diana glared, though her gaze softened when she looked at everyone glaring back. “I’m sorry. I know Wanda’s been through the wringer. It’s just that I’ve heard enough misinformation about Adolphus that it angers me that someone could compare him to his twin.”

Jorgen glowered at Diana. “You are here on the Council’s and my sufferance. Do not test my patience.”

Jorgen released Wanda’s wand arm, and she forced herself to lower it. She wanted to tear the other woman’s head off. How many people in Fairy World believed Wanda was the instigator? Or that she’d “brought it on herself”? It was infuriating; her mother-in-law had probably “helped” foster public opinion.

“I assume there was a reason you came, aside from this,” Jorgen said. Wanda’s mind blanked. She was trying not to lose her temper again and attack the former fairy godmother and her husband. There’d been a point to them visiting, and it didn’t involve lashing out and hurting someone, no matter how satisfying that sounded.

“Yes,” Timmy said, startling Wanda. “There was.”

“What is it, puny Timmy Turner?” Jorgen growled.

“I wished Cosmo and Wanda were my real parents,” Timmy said, balling his fists. “They told me they needed approval for the wish.”

Timmy glared at Diana and Adolphus. “And, oh, yeah, we needed a way to talk this out with those two assholes without shit hitting the fan. Looks like it’s too late for that.”

“Language!” Wanda snapped, though she privately agreed with the sentiment and vernacular. She was clawing her left arm through the sleeve; Adolphus watched her with intense interest that sent chills down her spine. It was the same considering look his brother used to give her right before announcing a new, depraved way to use her.

Only magic pushed away the flashbacks this time. She was trembling, fear rapidly replacing the fury. The nightmare she’d experienced earlier was at the forefront of her mind. Since she’d neglected to block Cosmo out, he remembered it, too. He whimpered and gazed at her worriedly. She had no sagacious words to impart, nothing to mollify him and Timmy.

“Perhaps a mediator is necessary,” Jorgen said. The sleeve glove was obstructing her attempts to maul herself; she couldn’t feel her skin beneath the silk. Frustrated, she poofed the sleeve away and attacked her arm. The first scratch didn’t produce blood, and she raised her hand to try again.

“Wanda!” Cosmo cried. Tears shone in his eyes, and she glanced at her arm. Blood welled on the surface. Perhaps it’d been a delayed reaction. She had the peculiar feeling that everyone was staring at her, and her throat constricted.

Jorgen groaned. “How is therapy going, Wanda?”

She flushed and looked askance. “Not well.”

“I could tell,” Jorgen said. He cleared his throat, healed her, and then restored the gloves. This time, she sensed poofing them away would be impossible.

Wanda swallowed a lump in her throat and told herself that she was okay. Unfortunately, she couldn’t lie well, especially not to herself, and she clawed at the glove to no avail. Her heart pounded, and she felt shaky. Squeezing her wand, she willed herself to calm down.

“I will discuss this matter with the Council,” Jorgen said and then amended his statement. “Both matters. When was the last time you attended therapy?”

Wanda grimaced. “I don’t remember.”

“I would suggest reaching out to your therapist,” Jorgen snapped, and she nodded, throat tight. Cosmo poofed to her side, and she shook her head again. She didn’t want to be touched. Somehow, she’d almost forgotten Adolphus’s presence, but when she shook her head, she saw him from the corner of her eye. The self-soothing spells weren’t working as well as she’d hoped; either that, or they’d lost their efficacy. Perhaps overusing them had rendered them ineffective.

“Therapy is a good idea,” Diana muttered, and Wanda shot her a withering look. She still wanted to shake her like a dog would shake a small animal to snap its neck.

“I shall return,” Jorgen said. He glanced between Wanda and Diana. “Might I suggest, in the meanwhile, that you attempt to be civil to each other?”

“She started it!” Timmy snapped, pointing at Diana. Although it was childish, Wanda agreed with him again. Diana had exacerbated the issue.

Cosmo inched closer, and Wanda poofed away. The urge to scratch at her left arm was rising. Tears pricked her eyes. Frustrated, she tried to feed her fury and hatred rather than her despair. Diana seemed to be cut from the same cloth as Adolphus, which might mean they were similar to Asmodeus.

She gripped her wand so tightly that she lost feeling in her right hand.

Jorgen disappeared, and Wanda glanced at Tootie. The young half-fairy was trembling, tears streaming down her face, and Wanda grimaced.

“I’m sorry, hon,” she said, floating to Tootie’s side and hugging her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Tootie hugged her tightly. “I hate that you went through this. I love you.”

Timmy growled, and Wanda groaned.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Timmy,” she snapped at her godson. “Tootie is allowed to have feelings for me too.”

“You’re my godmother,” he said, surly. “Tootie has her own godparents.”

“Is that jealousy I hear, Timmy Turner?” Magdalene teased. “Afraid someone might appreciate Wanda more than you and steal her away?”

“No!” Timmy snapped. He balled his fists. “I’m just saying that she belongs to me.”

Wanda shivered. “Be careful how you phrase that, sweetie. I don’t need reminders of being someone’s property.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Timmy said, exasperated. “You’re my fairy godmother, not Tootie’s. She has her own. She doesn’t have to take you from me.”

Wanda and Magdalene facepalmed.

“Feeling guilty about something?” Magdalene teased.

“No, I’m not!” Timmy snapped, folding his arms across his chest. “It’s not my fault that she wound up trapped at the hotel for six months.”

Wanda could tell he didn’t believe what he said. She considered offering him a hug, too, to comfort him, but Tootie was gripping her so tightly that Wanda could barely breathe. Wanda didn’t have the heart to tell Timmy that Tootie might, despite not having Wanda as her godmother, be more attached to her than Timmy was. Then again, it felt like a lot of other people valued others above her. She still felt like she was playing second fiddle to Cosmo.

“I don’t blame you; I’ve told you that,” Wanda said gently. “I don’t blame you or Cosmo.”

“I do,” Tootie grumbled. “So does Juandissimo.”

Wanda grimaced. Juandissimo probably wouldn’t have prevented her from succumbing to the geas, but Tootie would have taken her at her word. Tootie would’ve understood the urgency and done whatever she could to help Wanda. Wanda had never mentioned it to Cosmo because she didn’t know how he’d take it, but she wondered what life would’ve been like if they’d been Tootie’s godparents instead of Timmy’s.

Timmy glowered. “She said she doesn’t blame me or Cosmo. Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Because you only cared about her when you felt guilty about it!” Tootie retorted. Wanda’s heart lurched. She eased out of Tootie’s arms and glanced between the two children. The twins and Leander looked at Wanda uncertainly.

“That’s bullshit! She’s my fairy godmother--of course, I care about her! You’re crazy!” Timmy snapped.

“Oh, is that why you and Cosmo rip on her all the time? Because you care so much?” Tootie countered.

“Tootie,” Magdalene said, “now isn’t the time.”

Tootie balled her fists. Wanda noticed that Tootie’s wand was in her right fist, and it sparked warningly. Wanda’s heart flew into her throat. Tootie wouldn’t intentionally hurt Timmy; Wanda knew Tootie better than that. The problem was that emotions were running high, and Wanda wondered whether Tootie’s feelings might veer more toward her than Timmy.

“When was the last time Cosmo and I ripped on her?” Timmy growled.

“Magdalene is right,” Wanda said, her voice choked by her tight throat. “We’ll discuss this later.”

((You’re not still mad at me for before, are you?)) Cosmo asked frantically. ((I’m sorry I hit on those other women! I’m sorry I--))

((Not. Now.))

“When was the last time you appreciated her without knowing you screwed her over for half a year?” Tootie snarled. “If you and Cosmo actually cared, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I care about her!” Timmy snapped. “She isn’t your fairy godmother.”

He glowered at Tootie. “I thought you were in love with me, not her.”

Wanda’s stomach churned. Cosmo was giving her an anxious, concerned look. Wanda hadn’t told him that Tootie had a crush on her. Though Wanda would never admit it, and she’d certainly never encouraged it, it’d made her feel better that at least someone cared without putting her second. Asmodeus’s doubts crowded into her mind.

“He’s glad you’re gone. They both are. No nag, and no Negative Nancy. No one to stop them from making stupid wishes or doing stupid things. They don’t even miss you.

“Why should they? You never mattered. If they’d cared, they would’ve rescued you by now, wouldn’t they? Hell, they wouldn’t have let you wind up here in the first place. They wanted you gone. They only appeared afterward to assuage their guilt. Once they realized they might have to fight, they gave up. You weren’t worth the effort.

Asmodeus leaned in closer, and her chest tightened. “They never loved you.”

Her lower lip quivered, and she bit it hard enough to draw blood. She couldn’t remember whether she’d placed the mental block in time to prevent Cosmo from seeing her memories. Worse, she was lost in a fog. Reality became unmoored, and she ceased to see her surroundings.

Asmodeus scoffed, running his index finger along her tally marks. “Why should they? You’re nothing but a cheap whore. Oh, sure, you weren’t that before, but you are now. They took advantage of you and your magic, but that was all they wanted out of you.

“So, really, nothing has changed. Except I’m using you for a different purpose. Timmy and Cosmo, once they had what they wanted, tossed you aside. Just like everyone else who ever cared about you. Why else do you think Fairy World created that barrier? They cut their losses.

“Can you blame them? Your life is worthless. You are worthless.”

Wanda’s heart thudded painfully. She wanted to deafen herself, especially because his words made an insidious kind of sense. She wanted to refute him, too, but she felt weak and clammy. He had all the power in the relationship, and they both knew it. Might makes right.

Asmodeus patted her on the cheek patronizingly. “Don’t worry your pretty little pink head about it. I’ll get them back for you. I’ll get them all back for you.”

His eyes flashed. “Including that unnatural brat, Poof, and your ‘godson’, Timmy.”

He grinned. “I’ll leave Cosmo for last. It’ll be more fun that way. Maybe once he’s at death’s door, he’ll pretend he cares about you again. Won’t that be great? You can pretend, too. You can pretend that anyone ever gave a damn about you.”

Wanda’s breath caught in her throat. She tried to gather herself and what little remained of her pride. “You’re wrong. I know you’re wrong. They care about me. You’ll see.”

Her words felt hollow. If they’d cared so much about her, they would have made their concerns known by now. Asmodeus was right, but she didn’t want him to be.

“I have seen their ‘caring,’” Asmodeus said. “Don’t bother lying. We both know the truth.”

He backhanded her onto the bed.

“I have important work to do, so I’ll see you again later,” Asmodeus said and smirked. He waved her wand, and Cosmo and Timmy appeared on the TV opposite her bed. They were laughing and mocking her, and tears pricked her eyes. She scrambled into a sitting position; he hadn’t abused her today, and she was intact for now. Movement was easy, though that wouldn’t last. It never did.

“You’re wrong!” she snarled.

“Am I?” Asmodeus said, carelessly tossing the wand back to her. “Or are you just desperate to believe it?”

Asmodeus walked out, and her chest ached. She blasted the TV, but nothing happened. Asmodeus had cast a magical barrier around it to prevent her from shutting it off. Heart in her throat, she hugged her knees.

In a weak, tremulous voice, she said, “You’re wrong.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks. “You have to be.”

She couldn’t be alone. When the door closed, she burst into desperate sobs.

She wasn’t sure what brought her back. Suddenly, reality reasserted itself, and everyone was gawking. Unable to stand the attention, she poofed away. She didn’t know where she was going, but anywhere had to be better than here.

The house wouldn’t do; neither hers with Cosmo’s nor her old bedroom. What she wanted was the fish bowl and their castle, which was bigger on the inside than the outside, but she couldn’t return to Earth. There were many places in Fairy World where she could go, but they all had history. She couldn’t think of a single place where she didn’t share memories with Cosmo.

She wound up in the middle of the street, and from there, she had nowhere to go. Tears streaked her cheeks, and she hugged herself.

“Wanda?” Cosmo said. He and Timmy appeared beside her, and she sighed. Her lower lip quivered, and she couldn’t restrain her sobs.

“I’m okay,” she said, which was a blatant lie. Her breath hitched with sobs, and Cosmo and Timmy hugged her. Tootie and Magdalene appeared, too. Thankfully, Adolphus and Diana were nowhere in sight.

“I’m sorry…” Wanda whispered though she didn’t know what she was apologizing for. She gulped. “You didn’t see my memory, did you?”

“Yeah, we did,” Timmy said, looking uncomfortable. She stared, and he added defensively, “I’m sorry! I had to know what was freaking Cosmo out!”

Wanda’s shoulders slumped. “I see.”

“How many times did Asmodeus tell you that bullshit?” Timmy demanded.

“Enough,” she said. She lacked the emotional energy to object to Timmy’s cursing. “I don’t want to discuss it, sport. It was bad enough as it was.”

She paused. “When you say ‘we,’ do you mean just you and Cosmo? Or…”

Uneasy, she glanced at Tootie and Magdalene. They nodded, and Wanda groaned, covering her face. She felt sick. She hadn’t wanted Tootie to see more of her misery. She wanted to be angry at Timmy for what was obviously a wish gone awry, but she was too ill.

“I wish you’d had someone to talk to while you were trapped there,” Tootie said. “Someone who could’ve denied what Asmodeus said and made you believe the truth.”

Wanda smiled bitterly. “That’s partly why it was so effective. I had no one on my side. Anyone else I spoke to repeated Asmodeus’s lies ad nauseum.

“The best lies have truth sprinkled inside. Asmodeus was preying on my insecurities. After Fairy World created the barrier, it was easier to believe him, too. Why wouldn’t I? I had no proof to the contrary.”

“You couldn’t take it on faith?” Cosmo said, squeezing her. “You know I’m not like that!”

Wanda pulled away. “See, that’s the thing, hon. You did enough that Asmodeus wasn’t too far off. Between the constant fear and his using my magic to exploit my doubts…it was fertile ground.”

Cosmo glared. “You know me better than that!”

Her stomach twisted, and she forced herself to make eye contact. “Brainwashing is much more effective when you’re isolated and vulnerable.”

“The way you’re talking, you still believe it,” Timmy snapped. “You believe every rotten thing Asmodeus said about us!”

“And yourself,” Tootie added quietly.

“You know we love you. You know it,” Timmy snapped. His eyes shone with tears. “If we could’ve figured out a way around the barrier earlier, we would have. I swear. We tried to get to you. Wanda, I--”

He shook his head, and she swallowed past a lump in her throat.

“I know, hon,” she said gently. She swooped down and hugged Timmy. “It’s not that, sweetie. I know you and Cosmo care about me--now. I didn’t have that kind of faith back then.

“As for the rest, well…Tootie’s right.”

It gutted her to admit it out loud.

“No, she isn’t!” Timmy snapped, horrified. “Asmodeus was lying about you to break you! None of that was true! Why would you believe it?”

Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Because…”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that after hearing it repeatedly and being degraded constantly, she had no strength left. Instead, her shoulders sank. Her chest ached, and Timmy wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry,” Tootie said, sounding thoroughly miserable. “I didn’t mean to trigger you.”

“I know you didn’t,” Wanda said. “I wish you didn’t feel the need to compete with Timmy over me.”

Tootie huffed; tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes. “I wanted you as a fairy godmother so badly, and Timmy didn’t appreciate you. He took you for granted.”

Wanda expected Timmy to become belligerent, but he didn’t. When she turned her head, she saw shame on his face. She drifted back, and Timmy sighed.

“Tootie’s right. I took you for granted,” he admitted. “I just kinda assumed you’d always be there…until you weren’t.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cosmo nod. He was sobbing, too, and she caved. He threw himself at her and Timmy. When she turned her head, their lips met.

((I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!)) he sobbed into her mind.

“We can’t go back in time to fix what Asmodeus did,” Tootie said, stroking Wanda’s hair. “But we’re gonna fight against the demons he left. I love you too.”

Wanda swallowed. She still needed to get herself back under control to deal with Adolphus and Diana. She trembled, and Cosmo brushed his lips against hers again. She kissed him back and thought of all the lies Asmodeus had spread about him and Timmy.

Maybe, one day, they wouldn’t have any power over her. She looked forward to that. She drew a deep, shaky breath.

Clenching her eyes shut, Wanda murmured, “I love you all. Thank you.”

She dissolved into weeping. “Thank you…”

Adolphus and Diana ought to still be in the waiting chambers near the Council. She was grateful they hadn’t pursued them. Wanda didn’t know how she would’ve handled Adolphus and Diana seeing her at her most vulnerable, but she doubted it’d go well.

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

Once Wanda had composed herself, they returned to the Council’s chambers. This would’ve been more reassuring if Wanda hadn’t firmly placed the barrier between them. After slipping up once, she wasn’t repeating her mistakes. Cosmo fretted. He didn’t understand why Asmodeus’s lies were so powerful. With her mind cut off from his, she felt remote and untouchable. That worried him, too. He didn’t like it when she blocked him out, which she’d done with alarming frequency since Jorgen had rescued her from the hotel.

Diana seemed genuinely remorseful for her behavior, but Cosmo paid little attention to her or Adolphus. Instead, he watched Wanda intently to see if there were any clues to her true feelings. Living in the Unseelie Court had taught her how to mask her emotions better so she could present a convincing facade. His stomach churned. They were usually in sync emotionally and magically. Now, she was forbidding and distant.

The conversation was stilted between Adolphus, Wanda, and Diana. Cosmo had long since lost interest and attention in their discussion. Instead, he nudged at Wanda’s mental barrier. She hissed, waving him off. The only way she could be herself again after that flashback was to feign normalcy; he wished she would stop lying. That it was effective disturbed him; Wanda being a bad liar was something expected, a normal part of their relationship. For her to have changed so much in captivity thoroughly unnerved him.

For others to believe her facade was likewise disturbing. He glanced at Timmy.

“Yeah, I’m not buying it either,” Timmy said softly in response to Cosmo’s unasked question. He folded his arms across his chest. “There’s no way.”

“No way what?” Tootie asked quietly. Magdalene, Wanda, Adolphus, and Diana were too engaged to notice the splintered discussion.

“There’s no way Wanda’s totally fine after reliving that,” Timmy said. “I mean, look at her. She’s completely closed off.”

“I know,” Cosmo said mournfully. “She blocked her emotions from me, too.”

“That’s definitely someone who’s ‘fine,’” Timmy scoffed. “I bet if I snuck up behind her right now, she’d blast me into the wall.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tootie warned, who seemed to be taking Wanda’s place as the voice of reason.

“Cosmo, I wish I could teleport!” Timmy said, and Tootie groaned, facepalming.

“It’s too late to tell you this is a bad idea, isn’t it?” Tootie said; her voice was muffled as she buried her face in her hands.

She lifted her head and said despondently, “Timmy, Wanda’s on edge. You know she’s on edge. Don’t do this. You don’t have to prove a point that we already got.”

Nonetheless, oblivious to the good advice thrown his way, Timmy teleported directly behind Wanda and poked her in the back. Wanda snarled, whirling around, and Timmy found himself confronted with her wand in his face. She sighed, exasperated, when she realized who it was, and then facepalmed.

“Don’t do that!” she snapped.

Timmy had disrupted her facade enough that his godmother was visibly shaken. She was trembling, and although she was clearly irritated, she had also blanched. Her lips quivered, and she rubbed her left arm self-consciously. Timmy had done more than he’d thought--he’d thrown her off completely.

“See? You’re not fine!” Cosmo said. Wanda growled, glaring at him and her godson.

“I was all right until some idiot granted a wish to teleport,” Wanda snapped. Agitation showed in every line of her body. Cosmo’s throat tightened. When Adolphus stepped closer, she gasped, retreating in midair and pointing her wand at his chest.

Tootie’s face was buried in her hands again. Therefore, her voice was muffled when she said, “It was then that Timmy Turner knew that he had fucked up.”

Magdalene snorted. Wanda, however, looked far less amused. Her eyes blazed, and she glowered.

“We will discuss this later,” she snapped at Timmy.

“What do I have to do to prove I’m nothing like Asmodeus?” Adolphus said, pleading now. “I’ve offered you an olive branch. I’ve taken the truth serum. I’ve done everything within my power to--”

He stopped, and for a second, Cosmo thought it might’ve been because he’d forgotten what he intended to say. Baffled, he looked at Wanda, whose knuckles were white on the wand handle.

Then Adolphus groaned, falling to his knees. Diana yelped, floating down to his level.

“What’s going on?” Timmy said, baffled. Cosmo felt the same way.

“When was the last time you took your potion?” Diana asked sharply. Adolphus shook his head; he gripped his stomach tightly and then vomited. Dark blood was in the mix, and Adolphus collapsed onto the floor in a heap. His teeth chattered, and he whimpered, curling into a tight ball. The color drained from his face, and a cold sweat broke out on his face.

“When was the last time you took it?” Diana repeated, panic edging into her voice. “Adolphus, answer me!”

He gulped. “When…when we were in the cafeteria…and Hazel came up to me…”

“That was two days ago!” Diana cried; her hand flew to her mouth. “You have to take it every day! You didn’t tell the Council?!”

Adolphus shook his head and then crashed onto the floor with his head lolling against the tiles. His breathing was erratic and quick, with disturbing gaps in between. Hesitantly, Wanda floated closer to him. Fear and curiosity warred on her face. At least she’d abandoned trying to suppress her emotions.

“What’s going on?” Timmy repeated.

“I couldn’t cure Adolphus’s poisoning,” Diana said, dismayed. “I created a potion that staves off the effects and prevents it from progressing any further. Without the potion, there’s every possibility that the poison will run its course.”

“It isn’t like Asmodeus to leave things up to chance,” Wanda murmured. She squeezed her wand and vanished; Cosmo’s heart lurched into his throat. Then, to his profound relief, she grabbed him by the tie and hauled him and Timmy with her.

Cosmo had thought they might’ve been headed for the Council’s meeting chambers, but Wanda had brought them directly to Nathaniel and the Fairy World hospital. Nathaniel, scanning his notes, looked up at her arrival. He was at a nurses’ station, and behind him, Cosmo heard those calls for assistance beeping like mad. Perhaps after a while, the doctors and nurses tuned out the noise. Cosmo wasn’t great at sorting sounds out, probably because of his ADHD.

“What’s wrong?” Nathaniel said, taking one look at Wanda’s face.

“Diana told us that Asmodeus had poisoned his brother,” Wanda said tightly. “What she neglected to tell us was that she hadn’t cured the poisoning--she was only treating it. Adolphus hasn’t taken his treatment in two days, and it’s a daily potion.”

Nathaniel snapped the folder closed and laid it on the counter. “The poison has had time to progress.”

She nodded gravely.

“Diana’s been cut off from Fairy World for as long as Magdalene was,” Nathaniel said. “That means her magic isn’t as effective as it would’ve been if she’d remained in contact. That also means she didn’t have the resources to cure him--and I’d be willing to bet those potions have lost their efficacy, even before Adolphus ran out.”

“He coughed up blood,” Cosmo said, disturbed.

Nathaniel sighed. “I’m not surprised. Asmodeus doesn’t strike me as someone who delivers slow-acting poisons. While I’m sure he wanted Adolphus to suffer, he wouldn’t have wanted him to linger in case someone saved him in the nick of time.”

Wanda nodded; she was pale. Cosmo wanted to hold her, but she still felt inaccessible. He was far more concerned about her than he was about Adolphus. If anything, Adolphus’s collapse had prompted her to tighten the barrier and reinforce it. Something about his reaction had triggered her again, and she kept squeezing her wand to keep herself in the present. Cosmo glanced at Timmy.

“I’m sorry I snuck up on you before,” Timmy blurted. “I was trying to prove a point, but Tootie told me not to, and I didn’t listen.”

Nathaniel glanced at Timmy curiously, but Wanda shook her head.

“We’ll probably have to sedate Adolphus and see if we can treat the damage,” Nathaniel said. He brought them back to the Council waiting chambers; Adolphus had passed out. Diana prodded him with her wand and tried to heal him to no avail. Tears streaked her cheeks, and though she could barely see, she desperately pushed one spell after another at her husband. Nathaniel cleared his throat to break her focus, and she whirled around. Her shoulders sagged when she realized what was happening.

“You have to save him,” Diana pleaded. “I don’t know why the Council didn’t immediately heal him, but…”

She trailed off, anxiously wringing her wand in her hands.

“We’ll do what we can,” Nathaniel assured her. “Someone should fetch Jorgen and possibly a Council member.”

“Assuming we can get through the Council’s magical wards,” Magdalene reminded him.

“The Council can’t be ignorant of what’s going on,” Tootie said. She had her wand out too, though it was pointed at the floor. “I mean, we’re right under their noses.”

“Yes, you are,” Jorgen said, appearing with the head Councillor. Wanda recoiled, poofing closer to Cosmo. He touched her arm, and she yelped, poofing away again. The Councillor raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

“I cannot help but feel you have withheld crucial information,” Jorgen snapped at Diana, who shook her head. Tears flew off her cheeks, and Cosmo pitied her.

“You have to help!” Diana pleaded. “I couldn’t cure him; he’s been living on those treatments for years. I didn’t know--I couldn’t imagine that he’d stopped.”

She fought back sobs.

“We’ll do what we can,” the Councillor said. “If he died, it’d be inconvenient to our plans.”

Diana burst into hysterical laughter. “‘Inconvenient.’ You bastards never change.”

The Councillor vanished, taking Nathaniel, Diana, and Adolphus along. Cosmo glanced at Wanda, whose lips had turned white.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Cosmo pressed.

“I said I was sorry!” Timmy burst out. “I didn’t mean to spook you! I just wanted to prove that you were pretending to be okay when you weren’t!”

Wanda sighed. She looked exhausted. “To what end, hon? What was the point? You already knew I wasn’t well. That facade is all I have.”

“You have us,” Tootie pointed out, not unkindly. “We’ll protect you.”

Wanda smiled bitterly. “You shouldn’t have to, sweetie.”

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” Timmy pressed, and she shook her head.

“I’m just exhausted,” she said. She yawned for emphasis, and Cosmo saw how drained she was. It wasn’t that late in the afternoon, either, but she’d been through a lot in a short amount of time.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” Tootie suggested, and Wanda nodded. Without another word, she vanished, and Cosmo whined.

“What?” Cosmo said when Tootie and Timmy stared at him.

“If you’re that upset, follow her,” Timmy said, rolling his eyes.

Cosmo didn’t need further encouragement. He poofed off, leaving Timmy, Tootie, and Magdalene in the Council chambers.

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

Diana was frantic with worry about Adolphus. However, Jorgen didn’t allow her to pursue her husband’s treatment. Instead, he isolated and unarmed her. Diana’s chest tightened. Whatever Fairy World had in mind, it wouldn’t be pleasant. This felt like overkill.

“Are you this upset because I antagonized Wanda?” Diana said. She meant to sound indignant, but her voice came out shrill from panic. “I know she went through hell, but this is ridiculous.”

Jorgen glowered. They were in his office, and a large screen materialized out of thin air. Da Rules’ Enforcer snarled.

“I had hoped it would not come to this,” he snapped. “I had hoped we would not need to show you the same videos that the Council had subjected Adolphus to. However, you are adamant that Wanda’s mistreatment was exaggerated.”

He slammed his wand onto the floor, and the room shook.

“I didn’t say that,” Diana protested weakly. “I just think that she’s overreacting to Adolphus.”

Jorgen didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze raked her from head to toe and found her wanting. Another slam of his wand brought a video on screen; Asmodeus (whom she’d never seen but who looked identical to Adolphus) strutted around a hotel room. He was naked and stroking himself while the geas pinned Wanda in place. Terror shone brightly in her eyes, and her lips trembled.

Asmodeus twirled her wand between his fingers. For a minute, he said nothing. Instead, he built up tension, leaving Wanda wondering what he intended to do to her. She was frozen on the bed and naked; new marks on her left arm bled and trickled down to the comforter. From this angle, Diana glimpsed blood likewise oozing down Wanda’s back. Only Asmodeus compelling her to sit upright kept her in that prone position--everything below her waist was awash in blood.

There was so much of it. Diana choked.

“Two-bit whore,” Asmodeus said conversationally. He smiled, cocking his head. “Just how damaging would it be to your psyche if I adopted Cosmo’s body? That might be fun, for a change. He can’t compete with me physically, but, oh, the mental scars that would imbue.”

Diana’s stomach churned.

“It doesn’t matter what I say,” Wanda said quietly. She gulped. “You’ll do whatever the hell you want anyway.”

“You’re no fun,” Asmodeus scoffed. He waved the wand, but, for a minute, Diana didn’t see any difference. The room chilled, and goosebumps broke out on her arms. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the screen.

Diana was sucked in and found her consciousness merging with Wanda’s past self.

Trapped behind a magical barrier, Wanda watched helplessly as Cosmo and Blonda fornicated. They were laughing about it, too, and making crude jokes about Wanda’s inferiority. Wanda’s fists balled; everything, down to the smell of sex on the bed, felt horribly real. Wanda was choking back sobs. It seemed like Cosmo was putting more effort into pleasing Blonda than he had ever with Wanda. Moreover, Blonda was much more accomplished than Wanda at achieving the same.

This wasn’t real. Cosmo wouldn’t cheat on her. He couldn’t cheat on her.

Ah, but the Bond wasn’t present while Cosmo remained cut off from her. For all she knew, Cosmo could very well be off with her sister. Or the bevy of beautiful girls waiting their turns in the castle. Wanda’s stomach flipped. They were all so much more attractive than her.

Fat old nag.

Unable to handle it, she squeezed her wand to distract herself. Timmy was telling Poof about how Wanda had always been a pain in the ass and that Poof should be glad his mother was never coming back. Poof agreed readily, and the two discussed how much better life would be since Wanda was trapped in the hotel.

She knew it was wrong; Timmy and Poof would never say anything like that. However, her denial was drowned out by Cosmo and Blonda moaning. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her sister and her husband twined together, skin to skin, and, in all the ways that mattered, becoming one and excluding Wanda.

Wanda’s stubbornness didn’t extend to Cosmo cheating on her. Asmodeus had hammered this lesson home too many times for her to be able to pick apart the argument.

Gasping, she curled into a ball. Cosmo, Blonda, Timmy, and Poof vanished to be replaced by Asmodeus as he loomed over her. Her throat was tight, and she could barely breathe as he flipped her onto her stomach. He slapped her ass appreciatively and chuckled at her dismay.

“He doesn’t love you,” Asmodeus breathed in her ear. “He never loved you. None of them did. You should be grateful for the attention. At least someone knows how to use you in all the right ways.”

Again, using her wand against her, he prepped her enough so that he could take her from behind without hurting himself. As for her, well…

Wanda clamped her jaw shut on the agonizing screams that threatened to erupt. Asmodeus produced the iron dagger and sliced it into her left arm as he rode her. For extra flair, he produced a different dagger to create a mockery of the wings she used to have. He carved until she screamed; she was bleeding profusely.

“Shut up,” Asmodeus sneered. “You know you love it, bitch.”

Diana came back to herself abruptly. She was chilled from the inside, and even after the image was gone, she could still see Asmodeus raping Wanda. Her teeth chattered. Jorgen had disappeared sometime during the video, but he reappeared once it faded to black. Again, he said nothing, but his glare left no doubt of his true feelings.

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

She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she was exhausted. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she passed out. When she came to, it was to discover Cosmo watching her. Misery was etched in every line of his features. She shifted into an upright position to study him.

“Sweetie?” she said softly. “What’s wrong?”

Cosmo shook his head. Tears flew off his cheeks, and she thumbed them away. His emotions felt muted, which was odd. Normally, she was the one blocking him out, not vice versa. Without a word, he swept her into his arms and sobbed. He pressed her against the bed. His whole body shook with suppressed sobs.

“Cosmo?” Wanda murmured. She ran her fingers through his hair.

Memories of earlier slowly filtered back to her. Cosmo was inconsolable, weeping uncontrollably and clinging to her for dear life. When she turned her head to kiss him, he lowered his head and cried like a lost child. Alarm bells rang in her head.

“Cosmo?” she prompted again. “What is it, hon?”

In response, he squeezed his wand. The color drained from her face; through his mind, she saw her latest nightmare. It’d felt so real, and if Cosmo had experienced it too, then he would’ve had a similar impression. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, and she wept.

“Never…” Cosmo gasped when he could attempt speech. “I would never do that to you. I swear.”

“I know,” she said, but the words rang hollow. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice. “I believe you.”

“No, you don’t!” he said, outraged. He sobbed into her neck, and his fingers entwined in her curls. “Never…never…”

She wished she knew what, in particular, he was reacting to. The nightmare had run the gamut of Cosmo cheating on her with various different women to badmouthing her to Timmy and Poof and then convincing her father that she wasn’t worth saving. Any or all of those could’ve upset him. Or maybe it was something else entirely. She didn’t know because he wasn’t telling her anything.

“Never…” he whimpered. Squeezing his wand, he produced a still image of himself joining Asmodeus to hurt her. She froze; she was almost sorry she knew now.

“I know you wouldn’t, sweetie,” she soothed; she felt like she was back on solid footing. “Sssh. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Pressing her into the bed, he clasped her to his chest. There had to be something else behind that reaction. It was odd--she hadn’t thought Cosmo capable of concealing anything, much less something that upset him.

Unlike her, Cosmo wasn’t good at concealing thoughts. When he had them, he couldn’t shove them aside or hide them to prevent her from ferreting them out.

It wasn’t her nightmare he was afraid of. It was his.

Cosmo seldom had nightmares. When she’d passed out on the bed, he’d fallen asleep waiting for her. Before she’d awoken just now, he had bolted upright from a nightmare in which he watched as Asmodeus and his pals attacked her. It wasn’t that he couldn’t help her; he hadn’t wanted to. Instead, he watched for the sheer entertainment value.

Wanda’s stomach twisted. She understood now why it’d disturbed him so much. It freaked her out, too.

“Never…” he gasped. “I lost you once. I can’t lose you again.”

“Sssh, you won’t lose me again,” she soothed. “I promise, hon. I love you.”

Cosmo didn’t respond. Perplexed, she stared at him. He intertwined their fingers.

“But I could…” he whispered. “I’d never forgive myself.”

“You said it yourself--I’m safe in Fairy World,” she murmured. “We’ll be okay.”

Cosmo glanced at her, and his eyes brimmed with tears.

“Okay,” he said. “I believe you.”

It was her turn to be shocked.

Cosmo was lying, too. Whatever had him in its grasp wasn’t releasing him any time soon. Wanda was reminded of the dog shaking its victim violently before snapping its neck.