Author's Note: Two days until the FOP movie. I wanted to post this before it. I'm still on the fence about it, mostly unhappy in general with its existence.

Editing this reminded me of A Boy and His Poof and I recommend you all read that. It's finished, so you won't have any pesky cliffhanger problems. :P

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Demon I Cling To

While avoiding thinking was a Cosmo specialty, running away from his wife was not. Blindly, he fled his wife with the carving clutched securely against him. The bust's sharp edges cut into his skin and he bled through his shirt and onto his tie. He didn't know why he was frightened. He had anticipated telling Wanda about the bust and what he thought it might do, but now that the time was nigh, it terrified him. He felt like he was about to be caught. What it was he about to be caught at, he had no idea.

He tasted blood in the back of his throat and screamed, flinging up the bust and then catching it before it could shatter. The hair stood up on the back of his neck and his stomach churned.

"Where…where am I?" he said. His voice echoed. It was pitch black, with red pinpricks staring back. Cosmo whimpered, hugging the bust tighter and cutting himself further.

"Don't you remember, Cosmo-lolo?" his mother said. "You were getting the milk and forgetting about your marriage to Wanda."

"I was doing something with Wanda," Cosmo replied. His head felt fuzzy, like someone had stuffed cotton in between his ears. "Mama, where are you?"

"I'm exactly where you need me to be, child," came the answer. Somehow, this was less than encouraging.

"Okay, but can you be exactly where I need you to be and closer?" he asked. A bat screeched, passing over his head, and he yelped. He trembled, frightened but seemingly immune to the pain he had caused himself by cradling the sculpture.

"The answer is inside you," she called. "Come closer."

Cosmo gulped. "I'd really rather stay here. Why can't you come to me? Mama? Mama!"

His mother sighed. "How can I help you when you insist on staying with that wretched Wanda girl?"

"But, I'm not with her," he said, confused. "I came by myself. See? All I have is this bust."

"That's not what I meant," she said. "You're still attached to her through a Bond."

She spat the word and he shuddered, looking down. Although it was pitch black, he could see himself and the mess he'd made out of his shirt. Without thinking, he conjured up a new one and placed a plastic bag around the bust. His heart pounded and he held up the bust in the hopes its glowing eyes would identify his disembodied mother's voice. He saw a stalactite and another bat.

Cosmo swallowed hard and licked his lips. "All faeries are Bonded. It's what happens when you meet your true love."

"I wasn't Bonded and I turned out fine," his mother retorted. He searched the darkness and held up his wand, which instantly went out. Where was he? Was there a dragon nearby or something else interfering with his magic?

"Wanda?" he called. "Wanda, I'm sorry for calling you fat. Wanda!"

"She can't hear you," his mother said in a singsong voice. "Why you ever decided to go out with that girl, I'll never know. But Mama will always be there for you. Mama knows best. Come to me, my Cosmo-lolo."

Cosmo backed up and held out his defunct wand. For the first time in a long time, he tried contacting Wanda via telepathy. It crackled in his mind, like a bad radio signal, and sweat trickled down his back. Again and again he sought out the connection they shared, the one only they shared and it crackled and died repeatedly. His lower lip trembled. He really was alone.

"Mama, what's going on?" he asked. "Why did you give me this?"

"To keep you with me," she replied. At last, she appeared, although there was something off about her appearance. She shimmered occasionally, sending off dark sparks. Cosmo bit down so hard he tasted blood. His mother didn't normally throw off sparks. And there was something slightly creepy about her, but he couldn't place it.

"But I wanna be with Wanda!" he said.

"Are you sure about that?" she whispered. She held up her wand, with the same weird dark sparks, and played back image after image. Wanda berating him, Wanda calling him a 'moron', Wanda acting like she ruled the roost, Wanda flirting with Juandissimo and other men and outright ignoring him…

"She doesn't want to be with you."

Cosmo's lower lip trembled and tears welled. ((WANDA!))

Again, the crackles started and died, but this time, there was a response. It was drowned out in static.

((…Cosmo…?))

"If she loved you, she would come when you called," his mother said. "If she loved you, she'd appreciate you. And she would let you be with me."

Cosmo wavered. While he was always susceptible to a strong, persuasive voice, he loved Wanda. He had spent almost his entire life with her. It was hard to grasp that she suddenly didn't want him and normally, with things Cosmo had a problem grasping, he gave up. After all, it didn't match what he knew about Wanda and it hurt his brain to conceive. Therefore, it had to be wrong.

Cosmo shut his eyes and then Wanda was there, beside him. Relieved, he flung his arms around her and she shoved him away.

"Why would I want you?" Wanda said. Her aura was tainted black with silver sparks. "I have better things to do than be saddled with an idiot."

"But you love me!" he said. "You'll always love me!"

Tears slid down his cheeks.

"Stop blubbering," she snapped. "You look disgusting."

The bust glowed in his arms and he looked at Wanda and then at his mother. They twisted strangely, like will o wisps, and returned to normal. Startled, he stared at the bust and then at them. Wary, he retreated again. Wanda didn't normally snap when he was crying and she definitely didn't have a dark aura. His heart pounded frantically.

"It's not me!" he cried. "It's the bust! I didn't mean to say those things! But they made Timmy laugh and-"

"I don't care," Wanda said harshly. "I'm done. I'm leaving you."

"What?" he choked. "Wanda? You can't! You're joking, right? You'd never leave me. You love me! I know you love me!"

"I never loved you," she hissed. "I just settled for you."

"No!" he cried. "You love me! You love me! Tell me you love me!"

"I. Hate. You," she whispered. "I hate you, Cosmo Cosma."

His breath caught and he threw herself at her. He felt like he'd ben electrocuted. Howling, he released her and she laughed. He had never heard her laugh like that, so maliciously, and directed at him. It went on for an eternity; she would start and then stop, glancing at him before continuing. The laughter cut through him like a knife. It hurt his ears and his eyes to behold and yet, he couldn't look away.

Tears coursed down his cheeks and he held out his arms, entreating her to change her mind. Her reaction was to laugh harder.

"I don't love you," she said. Her words lacerated the wounds her laughter had opened. "Marrying you was a mistake."

The bust dropped and shattered. Teal colored magic wrapped around him and for a second, he couldn't breathe. He almost cried out for Wanda, and then he remembered. It couldn't possibly be right, but it was too painful to refute. Great, shuddering sobs wracked him and he curled into a ball.

"Mama, I'm so alone!"

((Wanda! Wanda, answer me!))

Wanda vanished into thin air, her mocking laughter preceding her.

"Let Mama comfort you," his mother said and hugged him. Cosmo sobbed hysterically, barely able to breathe, and came perilously close to hyperventilating. It took his mother giving him an oxygen tank before he got his breathing under control and even then, it took another ten minutes for him to be able to speak.

"I told you she was no good," she said. "I warned you. Open yourself up to the darkness, Cosmo-lolo."

Perplexed, he looked at her. "What?"

"Come to your mother. I will make everything right," she said. She held him tightly. "Stay with me. Forever."

"I…" What choice did he have? Wanda didn't want him. There was nowhere else for him to turn. "Okay."

A sound reverberated, like a thunderclap, and it felt like his mind was being torn apart. He tasted tears and snot in the back of his throat and clutched his wand like a floatation device in a storm. Never before had turning to his mother been quite so frightening.

"Do you repudiate your Bond to Wanda?" his mother said. Her voice had changed. All of a sudden, it was deep and sonorous. It sent chills down his spine.

"If she doesn't…if she doesn't…want me…" Cosmo whimpered.

"She doesn't."

"Then-" Cosmo licked his dry lips and trembled. "I…I- what you said!"

"You have to repeat it," his mother said, rolling her eyes. Her image was more distorted now, comprised mostly of black specks with a few flickers of color.

"I repudiate my Bond to Wanda!" Cosmo said and the thunderclap moved from outside to inside his mind. Lights flashed and he collapsed onto the floor. He was drained from head to toe. He felt deflated like a balloon and he barely had enough energy to turn his head to view his reflection in a shallow pool of water.

His hair and eyes had gone entirely black and his pupils were gone.

"Mama?" he said cautiously.

"You foolish faerie," his mother said and reappeared, changing from her former shape to dark blob of flashing red energy. "I was never your mother and Wanda was never here."

"But, then…" his lower lip trembled. "Who are you? Where are Wanda and Mama?"

"I 'borrowed' your mother for a while," the demon replied. "I'm sure she didn't mind. As for Wanda, I took her likeliness from your memories and your former Bond. I'm sure you won't miss that."

"But…I…" he didn't know what to say and the demon laughed.

"And now, foolish faerie, you are mine," the demon said and launched itself at him.

Wanda had been in the middle of pursuing Cosmo when it felt like someone had slammed her into a brick wall. Through static, she heard Cosmo call her.

((…Cosmo…?)) she replied, but she sensed he hadn't gotten it. The shakes took over and she had to sit down in the middle of the sidewalk in Fairy World. Other faeries gave her a wide berth, probably because of Jorgen's recent debriefing. Their lightness and happiness put her teeth on edge. It was all she could do not to snap at them.

It took several minutes for her to get her bearings. In order to center herself, she reminded herself she was in Fairy World, which was almost untouchable and nearly impenetrable to humans. She was surrounded by her own kind who might mutter about her, but wouldn't attack her. Until she recovered herself, she'd be all right. The worst that could happen would be if Juandissimo popped up and offered him her 'services'. She inhaled, exhaled, and counted her breaths until she was under control again.

Getting to her feet, she figured out where, in all likelihood, he had gone. She held up her wand and reappeared at Mama Cosma's house. The front door was wide open.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone here?"

The inside looked deserted and she went through each room. Cosmo and his mother didn't answer her summons. Although nothing looked touched, the house had an abandoned air and left her feeling melancholy. The feeling persisted throughout the entire place, until she stopped in Mama Cosma's bedroom.

Sitting on Mama Cosma's bed stand was a duplicate sculpture with flashing red eyes. Her hands shook as she reached out for it.

"Wanda?"

She jumped back and looked on the floor. There, looking like death warmed over, was Mama Cosma. With an effort, the older woman pushed herself up onto her bed and clutched her wand. The feeling of foreboding was back.

Her skin was the color of sour milk and her whole body looked wilted, shrunken in on itself. Wanda didn't know how it was possible to appear and still malnourished, but Mama Cosma had managed it. Her hands and feet were claws, but her face retained a sickly bulbous quality. Her nightgown was drenched in sweat.

"You, you haven't seen Cosmo, have you?" she said. Her heart leapt into her throat.

"I thought…" she seemed to be having problems forming sentences. "I thought…he was…with you."

Every breath was labored and Wanda bit her lip.

"What is going on with this?" Wanda said, pointing her wand at the effigy. "Why does Cosmo have one?"

"Didn't mean to…demon came in…" She passed out and Wanda groaned. While she was tempted to smash the bust out of spite, she didn't. Instead, she contemplated it. Aside from different jewels, it was identical to the one in their storage room. Cautiously, she held out her hands again and energy flashed and died. In a few seconds, it seemed dormant, the eyes no longer emitting any signs of life.

"Demon?" she repeated. Holding up her wand, she used it to scan the bust. However, ever since her taint, using magic with her wand was getting harder and harder. She settled for turning Mama Cosma's likeness in her hands. There was a magic within that repulsed her. It felt like something had sunk its teeth into her private most self and she yelped, tossing back the carving and letting it land on its stand.

"What did you do?" she demanded, aware the woman couldn't answer her.

((Wanda! Wanda, answer me!))

She tried, but she felt someone blocking her. Shaking, she contemplated the bust and Mama Cosma, who was down for the count. She waved her wand in front of her face and the older woman didn't react. Briefly, she considered something more violent, but tossed it aside. She tasted copper in the back of her mouth.

Cosmo! But it was a thought, not thought speech. Her heart pounded and she glared at the bust, as if it had caused all of this. Cosmo!

Still not thought speech. She didn't remember the last time she had failed to send a message to Cosmo via telepathy. Of course, after their marriage difficulties, she hadn't wanted him to have access to her mind and be able to touch her private thoughts. Before then, anything was fair game and there were no secrets.

Cosmo! It was no use. Nothing would send.

Swallowing back panic, she held up her wand to instantly transport herself to Cosmo's location. Nothing happened. She concentrated on another location, Big Daddy's company. There she went instantly. Someone was keeping her away from Cosmo.

That was another problem. No one had ever cut her off from her significant other and, if they had, it was only temporary. She could always find Cosmo when she needed him and could always talk to him when she wanted to. Feeling stricken, she returned to Mama Cosma's place to assess her options. She had to figure out where Cosmo had gone and fast.

Unfortunately, without being able to pinpoint it, her wand was no use. She was starting to feel rather discouraged.

A thunderclap, or its equivalent, went off in her head. She couldn't even think to form the thought speech to communicate with Cosmo. A force struck her down onto the bed and she yelped, squeezing her wand. Lights flashed and she was temporarily blinded.

"I repudiate my Bond to Wanda!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she couldn't stop shaking. She tasted a coppery, metallic liquid she identified as her blood from biting the inside of her cheek. Struggling back to a sitting position, she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Cosmo?" she whispered and then, frantic now, "COSMO!"

Holding up her wand, she brought herself back to the person she thought would listen, even if he was usually too selfish to care.

"Timmy!" she cried, popping up in front of him. He looked annoyed for a second and then flung away his comic book.

"Wanda? What the heck happened to you? And where's Cosmo?"

It took several minutes for her to be able to tell him as hysterical as she was. Normally, Wanda didn't let herself get this worked up. After several bowls of chocolate and some hugs, she finally told him what had happened and what she suspected had happened.

"But that doesn't explain one thing," he said and held out a mirror.

Her hair was now threaded with pink and white and her eye color had changed to completely white. Touching her hair, she bit the inside of her lip again. Was the taint gone? Or did it mean something entirely different now that Cosmo had repudiated their Bond?

"What do we do now?" he asked.

Her lips trembled and her voice was not quite steady as she said, "Find Cosmo."

Tootie was sitting watching a movie with Cosmo and Wanda when they both suddenly shuddered and exchanged glances. Vicky wasn't due to return until tomorrow, before her parents came back, and she was enjoying the lack of parental supervision. Cosmo and Wanda never ordered her around; they were like friends who granted wishes. Better than that, they were companions when she was so lonely.

"Guys?" she said.

"Weird…" Wanda said. Her godparents were pale and they nestled, as cats, close to her. Tootie stroked them on the head and they hissed, not at her, but at some ephemeral shape she half saw.

"Guys?" she repeated.

"I don't know," Cosmo whimpered. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Wanda. They drew away from Tootie and curled around each other tightly, with limbs intertwined. Startled, she looked around to discover the source of their anxiety. Aside from her and an animated movie, she saw nothing.

Wanda gulped and Cosmo yelped, rubbing his head against hers hard enough to produce a 'crack'. Neither faerie noticed. They shifted back to their normal form and held each other tightly enough to whiten their knuckles.

"I wish you'd tell me what was going on!" Tootie exclaimed.

"A demon corrupted the other Cosmo's Bond with his Wanda and then destroyed it," Wanda said faintly. Her arms had to be cutting off Cosmo's circulation, but he wasn't complaining.

"A what?" Tootie said. "You're not making any sense. What demon?"

Wanda shook her head and conjured up a small shot glass. She drank it down, presumably to calm her nerves. Tootie's eyes widened. Her godparents had never referred to alcohol, not even in passing. Then again, they had never looked so spooked.

"Then I wish the Bond was back!" she said, chest tightening in reaction.

"Bonds can't be wished back…" Cosmo whispered. He and Wanda exchanged horrified glances.

"This has to do with Timmy's version of you, right?" Tootie said. Several minutes passed before one of them responded.

"Yes," Wanda said. The blood slowly returned to her face and they collapsed, hugging each other, onto the couch. Tootie stopped the movie; it was obvious they weren't going back to it tonight.

"It didn't do anything to you, did it?" she said. They looked like they'd been told they could never go home and were being sold into bondage.

"We heard the echoes," Wanda said. She touched her hair in unison with Cosmo and they conjured up a mirror. Through it, Tootie saw the other Cosmo and Wanda, whose appearances had been altered. The other Wanda was shaking Timmy and almost beyond comprehension. Tootie felt a stab of sympathy for him and another for the alternate versions of Cosmo and Wanda.

"Did I do this?" she said.

"What?" Wanda said, blindsided by the question.

"By keeping you guys, I let the paradox start and this happened," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but no," Wanda said. "This isn't your fault."

"Yeah, something this bad is usually ours," Cosmo said and they winced.

Tootie jumped to her feet. "But if I let this happen, then Timmy's versions of you will suffer. I have to let everything be reversed. But I don't want to let go of you."

"Sweetie, we don't remember being Timmy's godparents," Wanda said.

"As usual, I have no idea what anyone's talking about," Cosmo said cheerfully. Despite his demeanor, his face was still pale and his hands shook.

"Then I'm the only one who remembers," she said. She balled her fists and thought of the adage, 'if you love something, set it free.' However, she wasn't ready to free them just yet. There had to be something else she could do.

"I have to talk to Timmy again," she said.

"Can we stay here?" Cosmo said and they gulped in unison. "I don't feel so well."

"Of course," she said. "Do you guys want anything? Blankets? Antacids?"

"More whiskey," Wanda muttered and Tootie smirked.

"You shouldn't drink on the job," she reprimanded. Her heart clenched.

Wanda didn't answer. For a second, she stared blankly ahead and Cosmo's fingers dug into her arms. They looked like wax dolls.

"I repudiate my Bond to Wanda," they said in unison. Tootie didn't know what it meant, but it must have been serious, since they exchanged a look and shivered again.

Doombringer had forced Juandissimo to tell her everything he knew about the temporal rift. After he finished, she frowned and tapped her foot impatiently. She was tempted to rage and destroy everything in sight, but that would accomplish nothing. From three potential children, she only had one browbeaten, extremely whiny rich boy. Her half-breeds were gone. Juandissimo was the sole tainted faerie in her possession, but he had informed her Cosmo and Wanda carried the dark magic too. Unfortunately, they might as well be on the moon for the help that offered her.

She sat at her desk facing a white wall and thought. There had to be a way to salvage this situation. She wouldn't be able to abduct Timmy and Tootie again, but was there a way to recapture at least one of the corrupted faerie?

"Juandissimo!" she snapped. He appeared and she smirked. True names had such power. He hadn't given her his real name willingly.

"Yes?" he said, inclining his head. It might have been her imagination, but he seemed less servile than before. There was a defiant gleam in his eyes.

"Capture Cosmo," she said and then paused before adding, "again."

He winced. "There has been a complication."

"There have been an awful lot of complications lately," she said in a saccharine sweet voice. "What is it now?"

"I can not say exactly," he said. "Only that its power sent reverberations across all faeries."

"Will this prevent you from capturing him?" she said, longing to wring his neck.

"I am not sure," he answered slowly.

"Then do it!" she snapped. He bowed slightly and disappeared. Huffing, she glared at the wall. It was inconvenient to have them as her servants. There had to be a way to link into the power herself. Who did she have to kill around here to get some magic?

Rising from her chair, she vacated the abandoned warehouse. Maybe she could wring something out of Crocker. His obsession with faeries might mean he had possessed them at one time. If not, at least it'd improve her temper to throttle someone.