Chapter 6 - Complicated

6

At the first sound of tires screeching into the driveway, twelve-year-old Tootie began emergency maneuvers. She shoved a majority of her things into her closet and under her bed, then threw open the door to her bedroom to keep it from getting kicked open. Hurrying downstairs, she unlocked and opened the front door, then raced for the kitchen. There, she tied on an apron, murmured a wish for one of the 'good days' that had long since ceased to be granted, then began washing dishes.

"Of all the lousy, rotten days to get tangled in this mess...!" Tootie could hear her older sister fume and rant as she stomped through the door, "Tootie! You better be doing dishes, ditz!" She made a noisy clatter as a signal and waited until the grumbling and stomping began to ascend into the second story of the house.

"Romi, please be safe." she whispered.

It took a bit but Vicky made it downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the refrigerator. Plopping into a chair, she began drinking it down, pausing once to glare at Tootie. The younger girl was used to it and continued her work without a word.

"There's a kid snoozing in your room." Vicky finally growled, "Don't mess with him." She took another hit of soda and gave her a second, more evil glare. "Lemme know when he wakes up, 'cause I plan on beating some answers outta him!" Tootie froze and stared at her sister in shock. There was someone in her room?! She yelped and raced out of the kitchen. "Do what I said, ya footstool!" Vicky yelled after her.

Tootie rushed upstairs and into her bedroom, eyes widening at the sight of a boy a little older than her lying asleep on her bed. She looked around, then quickly shut her door before turning back.

"Romi? Are you okay?" she called out softly, glancing into her mirror to be sure she looked all right. Black hair tied in pigtails that brushed the tops of her shoulders, check; cat's-eyes glasses straight and not detracting attention from her lavender eyes, check; black t-top, white shirt and dark violet skirt still clean, check; no runs in her black stockings, check; black shoes still shiny, check; she threw off the apron and double-checked her face, praying that no sudden breakout of acne decided to ruin it. Clear, good. She bared her teeth for a quick check, happy for the millionth time since her braces were removed that she didn't have to worry about them blinding somebody when she smiled. "Romi?" she repeated.

"Down here. I rolled off the bed when I heard the signal." a timid voice replied and Tootie turned with a smile as her fairy godmother crawled out from under the bed. Andromeda, Romi for short, was cute for a fairy, with black and silver hair tied in fluffy pigtails, large eyes the color of the evening sky and a dress of rich blue silk. She had been assigned to Tootie shortly after Timmy's death to help her cope, and things were a bit rocky at first. At the time, all of Tootie's wishes centered on the boy, whether it was a plea to bring him back to life or be sent in time to stop the fall or something in between, and Romi couldn't grant a single one. Da Rules forbade it. When she got her Fairy-versary muffin for a rule-free wish, Tootie had put it away for safekeeping, unwilling to attempt the one wish she wanted for fear of it failing and completely breaking her spirit.

Eventually, the wishes turned to normal ones that Romi could grant and things were okay. Then something happened, something that she couldn't explain or figure out, and her power was halted. No more wishes. By then, Tootie was more glad for a friend than for magic and they made do with just playing together and talking about 'girl stuff'. They soon found some parts of the city were able to allow magic, and Tootie would make trips to the 'safe zones' with Romi in her backpack to make a few wishes for the sake of keeping her healthy. Life, so far, was pretty nice.

Tootie turned her attention to the dozing boy, carefully moving closer to him to study him better. The first thing that caught her eyes was his jewelry. What boy wore jewelry? A weird ring and weirder necklace, both of which glittered against the dark color of his clothes, looked as though they would fit more with the décor of her room, what with the Goth streak she picked up on to deal with her grief. Romi flew up beside her, clutching her wand in both hands as she looked down at the boy in shock.

"Vicky brought him in." Tootie remarked softly, "I guess he knows something she wants to know too." She heard the fairy gasp and looked over at her in concern. "Romi? Are you sure you're okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine!" Romi squeaked, face paler than usual, "Just fine!" Tootie sighed in exasperation; Romi was a horrible liar. Instead of pressing on, she only pulled up a chair and sat by the boy, watching him. He seemed cute enough, with messy brown hair in a familiar style and a slightly athletic build. Why Vicky seemed bent on getting this guy to talk was beyond her; Tootie could only assume that her sister had finally lost it.

"Unngh...." the boy suddenly groaned and shifted. Romi squeaked in a panic and dove for her bed in a nearby dresser drawer. Tootie looked at her in alarm, then turned back as the boy lifted a hand to his head and opened his eyes, a dazed expression on his face. "Wha-? Where am I?" he mumbled.

"You're in my room." Tootie replied lamely, captivated by the blue eyes full of confusion. Such pretty blue eyes, and so familiar too. The boy blinked at her, then sat up and looked around himself.

"Ooh-kay. This is a weird jump. I hate those." he muttered and put a hand to his chest before panicking suddenly. He looked himself over, then gasped in horror. "They're gone! No!" He pat himself down, then shot a desperate look at Tootie, "Have you seen my iPod and watch?! I've got a green iPod and a pink watch; they're very important to me! Where are they?!"

"You didn't have them when you were put here." Tootie replied and pointed at the door, "You can ask Vicky about them. She said she wanted to talk to you."

"Vicky?" he echoed, confused, and she nodded.

"Yeah. She's my older sister." she explained.

"Your sis-?" the boy murmured as though trying to recall something, "So you're...." His eyes suddenly went wide, face paling as he scrambled back away from her. "Aagh!" Tootie jumped up in alarm.

"Watch out! You're gonna-!" she blurted out as he backpedalled right off the bed with a thud. "Fall." she finished with a sigh and blush, a faint smile on her face, "Um, you okay?" The boy scrambled to his feet and pressed his back to the far wall, staring at her in shock.

"You! But, you're... and you're not...!" he stammered brokenly and looked around wildly, taking in the sight of her black walls, the heavy curtains, antique furniture stained so dark they looked burnt, and dozens of lit candles that illuminated shelves of books bought from local Goth shops. He froze, furrowed his brows in confusion, then lit up in realization. "Oh! That's right!" he murmured, then looked crestfallen, "That's right. You wouldn't." Tootie gave him a wary look, eyes narrowing in equal confusion.

"I wouldn't what? What're you talking about?" she asked as Vicky kicked open the door.

"I heard screaming! And I didn't cause it!" she declared and shot the boy a glare, "It's about time you woke up! I have questions; you have answers! Get the idea?"

"Where are my iPod and watch?!" the boy shot back.

"What's the deal?! You can buy more!" Vicky snapped, "Now I dragged your sorry self here to get some things straightened out! Tell me what the hell's really goin' on here!" The boy closed his hands into fists, growling dangerously. A light seemed to flicker near him, then faded. Startled, he looked down at his feet, then up at them.

"Oh, no, not here." he murmured and something just exploded through Tootie's bedroom wall. Tootie screamed in alarm as the strange thing started running after the boy. It looked somewhat like a large Aibo robo-puppy, only with huge metallic jaws and not-so-friendly spikes protruding from its forehead. The boy jumped onto her bed and gestured at the gaping hole in her wall. "The nullifier! Over there! Shut it off!" he yelled.

"There's one of those things in our house?!" Vicky shrieked in alarm and ran out of Tootie's room for her own. The younger girl only stared at the robotic mutt that ripped her black comforter to shreds in its attempts to climb onto the mattress. After another moment of shock, she snapped out of it and grabbed one of her old dolls from inside the closet, hurling it at the dog.

"Get away from him! Stupid thing!" she yelled angrily and yelped as the boy kicked at her bedpost, snapping the wood off and snatching it as it fell. He spun around and slammed that against the dog, sending it skidding against the wall it emerged from and into the magic nullifier, crushing it into scrap.

"It's an anti-magic trap!" he yelled at her, "What the heck is it doing here?!"

"I don't know! I didn't order it or anything!" Tootie yelled back and looked towards the dresser drawer where Romi hid, "Anti-magic? Is that what was blocking your powers?"

"Probably. I felt a dark presence here and I couldn't use magic because of it. Good thing, too; that thing would have come after me if I tried!" Romi whispered loud enough for only Tootie to hear, then fell silent as Vicky ran back into the room with an axe in hand.

"Away from the twerp!" she raged and began smashing the blade onto the robotic dog. Sparks flew while the machine twisted under the force of the blows, still trying to get to the boy standing by in shock. His expression remained stunned as Vicky finished pummeling the trap into bits and pieces. "Stupid piece of crap. How'd this thing get in our house?!" she grumbled, axe still in her grip as she kicked at the rubble, then turned on the boy, "What's going on here?!"

"I already told you! This proves that kids are the target!" he shot back and glanced past her out the bedroom window. A look of relief came over him and he held up two fingers in mock salute, tossing aside the broken bedpost. "Thanks for smashing that device for me, though. Without my staff and gear, it's hard to destroy them. I have to get going, but I promise that this city will be free again!" he declared and ran out of the room. Vicky snarled and raced after him, leaving behind a huge mess in Tootie's room.

"Get back here! I'm not done with you!" she raged. Tootie blinked after them, then looked at her room, now in shambles. Romi flew up to join her, a smile on her face.

"My power is free now." the fairy said cheerfully, "Go ahead! Make a wish!" Tootie nodded and looked out at the room again.

"I wish all this 'anti' junk was at the dump!" she began and Romi waved her wand to grant it, "I wish my room was back to normal and didn't have that hole in the wall!" Dark blue puffs of magic filled her room. Tootie pumped her fist into the air with a cheer and looked up at her fairy godmother excitedly. "Now, I wish I knew that boy's name!" she blurted and Romi winced, her wand drooping with a strange noise. Tootie tilted her head, puzzled. "What's wrong?" Another wave and a copy of Da Rules appeared, opening up to let the fairy read through it.

"I'm sorry, Tootie, but that boy is immune to fairy magic." she apologized and turned a few pages, "It's a rule that was written four years ago."

"He's not affected by fairy magic? Why?" Tootie asked in disappointment. Romi fidgeted, twirling her wand in her hands as the book vanished on its own.

"It's complicated." she mumbled.

"I wish you could tell me in the easiest way possible why your magic doesn't work on him." Tootie finally declared and Romi sighed in resignation.

"Because, Tootie... he's dead." she replied bluntly. The dark-haired girl stared up at her in disbelief and Romi repeated her sigh, "I told you it was complicated!"

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