One of the biggest problems with being among the most well-known people in the magical multiverse was that everyone had an opinion on you. This was doubly true for HP. Or rather, the former HP. He scowled in distaste, knowing he'd have to return to his old name before too long. Pixies were organized, if nothing else. They'd find a new Head Pixie soon, and then what would he be? Alois. How unimposing.

In the split second he had to think, the ex-Head Pixie grabbed his assistant's wrist and "pinged" them both to the only political no-man's-land he knew. They would be found easily if they went to Kansas or Antarctica, and London and the North Pole were just as bad. The fairies would rat them our for sure, and the antifairies, while acceptable in times of need, were untrustworthy at best. There was nobody left in the Pixies Inc corporate empire to turn to. So where?

A cloud of grey-blue pixels filled the messy bedroom of a certain unassuming child and his equally unassuming fairies. It was the last place Sanderson or his boss (ex-boss?) wanted to be, but there was nowhere else to go.

Luckily, the owner of the bedroom was away at school for the time being, and his fairies with him. Unluckily, this left the pixies with few options. They settled for hiding in the closet. After all, there were enough magically-summoned toys and games in there to shield their own magical signatures, at least for a while. They sat in the dark for several hours before the creak of the floorboards and the chatter of Timmy Turner, Cosmo, and Wanda echoed through the crack under the closet door.

"Of course not," said Cosmo matter-of-factly.

Timmy made a noise and chimed in, "Why would a beetle do that? I mean, if it was a-"

"Shh!" It had to be Wanda.

"What is it?"

"My wand is picking up on something unusual. Just hold on..."

There were a few moments of near-silence, the only indication that anyone remained in the room being the steady beeping of Wanda's wand. It grew louder, faster, closer, until a blinding burst of light washed over the inside of the closet. Sanderson squinted in spite of his sunglasses, while the former Head Pixie shielded his eyes. A collective gasp could be heard from the room's other three occupants.

"Pixies!" Timmy shouted. The intruders' eyes gradually adjusted to the light streaming in through the windows and they hovered forward cautiously. Sanderson kept a few paces behind his ex-boss, who slowly reached into a pocket. Cosmo and Wanda pointed their wands dangerously at the pixies (though Cosmo's was backwards). Alois, once ruler of the pixies, froze at the silent threat, then continued, moving as slowly as he could. Behind the usual stony apathy, there was a glint in his eyes not unlike that of a cornered animal. Sanderson held his breath.

A small flip-phone was produced from the pixie's inner jacket pocket, and Wanda shouted, "Freeze! Don't make me use this!" There was a pause as everyone present seemed to follow Sanderson's lead before Alois dropped his phone on the floor. He hovered down until he was just a few centimeters above the ground, then kicked the phone away. A clear sign of peace. The fairies lowered their wands hesitantly, glancing between themselves, then back at the intruders.

"Check the news." Alois's voice was surprisingly steady, given the situation. Wanda did as he said, though there was no small amount of wariness in her gaze. She held her wand out so the others could see the sleek surface of its star topper. The gold of the star seemed to ripple as it changed from solid color to a view of one of fairyland's news stations. The image flickered from Fairy Hart, the station's lead reporter, to various images of the Pixies Inc cloud – the heart of the Pixies Inc corporate empire.

"... and it is quite a scene in downtown, as pixies from around the magical universe place their ballots for the new Head Pixie!" The small screen flickered to a photograph. "After the sudden disappearance of the previous Head Pixie, pictured here, along with his longtime assistant and confidant-" the picture switched to one of Sanderson- "the Pixies Inc corporate empire has been left leaderless. They clearly won't let that stop them, though." The image returned to Fairy Hart's face. "Stay posted for updates on-"

Wanda switched the news station off, and her wand returned to its usual golden sheen. She glared at Alois and Sanderson in turn. "How do we know this isn't a trap? And why would you come here, of all places?"

"Yeah!" Timmy jibed. "What makes you think we'd help you, huh?"

"Because we can double your magic."

Wanda made a face, but something flickered in Timmy's eyes, and it was clear that he was hooked. "What do you mean, double the magic? What's the catch?"

Alois grabbed Sanderson's wrist, and he took the hint, passing his own phone to the former ruler, who tossed it to Timmy. "The catch is that it's set to pull energy from us directly, instead of reaching for phone stations back in pixie territory. It's virtually untraceable, and the only people in the magical universe who know we're here are in this room." He paused for effect. "As long as you leave the settings in the phone alone and don't tell anyone, we can stay here safely, and as long as you have our phones, we can't cause any trouble." Alois extended his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Timmy..." Wanda muttered warningly. "I've got a bad feeling about this. And you still didn't answer my question," she shot at Alois. "Why did you come here? Don't you have a hideout or something?"

The pixie frowned. "Not one that wouldn't be found eventually. As much as the three of you are... involved in magical affairs, you aren't all that taken up by the political struggles. That makes you secure. I'm not saying I trust you," he said pointedly, "because I don't, and I don't think you trust us either. But we can help each other. With the phones, Turner will be able to make twice the wishes at half the cost to you two. Everyone wins. In the meantime, we'll wait for the storm to blow over so we can find a more optimal base."

There was static in the air as Wanda mulled over her enemy's words. Cosmo, for his part, couldn't help noticing the tension in Sanderson's expression, and his own eyes had gone into puppy dog mode. "Aw, Wanda, I'm sure it'll be okay!"

"Well..." and she looked at the pixies, finally looked at them instead of glaring or seething, and found the same thing her husband had found: fear. Barely-concealed fear and, for Alois, desperation, and something in Wanda caved just a little bit. After all, they were giving up their phones, and as far as she knew, the only magical beings that could use magic without a conduit were genies. What was the harm?

She sighed dramatically and crossed her arms. "Ohhh, all right. But I'll be keeping an eye on you two."

Alois nodded in genuine understanding (after all, he'd be just as wary if the tables were turned) and extended his hand once again. Timmy grinned and shook it. And so the pact was made.