Chapter 16 - Truths?

16


Tootie ran for the bench to have lunch with her friends, heart soaring as she knew that today would be the day Timmy would be at school. Maybe he would be there with Chester and A.J. and the others! They'd all get together and it'd be just like old times! Elmer wouldn't be so nervous now; Timmy would get the hat back and everything would be back to normal!

Or not.

She slowed to a stop, watching in confusion as Timmy walked to the popular kids' table with Trixie Tang smiling brightly beside him. Oh, that's right. Timothy Neogene was rich and popular; he'd never sit with the 'Others' like Timmy Turner was forced to do. And now he even had Trixie, that pretty and super popular girl, hanging onto his arm like a chimp on a limb.

She didn't stand a chance.

"Tootie? Are you okay?" Romi asked softly from her disguise as a crescent moon earring dangling from one ear. The young Goth watched her childhood crush sit at the regally decorated table and strike up a conversation with the Populars, blending in so perfectly she could have sworn that she wasn't looking at Timmy Turner.

"I'm fine." she sighed. Too young, maybe? Trixie was sixteen, she could have any boy she wanted. Heck, she could even drive to another part of the city and grab a guy from another district. But she went and snatched up Timmy, and of course he wouldn't have a reason not to go along. Not pretty enough? Tootie looked herself over quickly. So she might not be the first choice to be in the next Junior Miss Dimmsdale pageant, big deal. Romi told her that her real beauty was inside of her and that was what really mattered. Could inner beauty really compete with outer beauty?

"Hey, Toots!" Chester called out to her, waving as the other boys settled onto the bench and clustered around A.J.'s laptop in their usual routine. She smiled and waved back, running to join them. She'd talk to Timmy later, ask him what was going on. Maybe he was doing it to get close to Remy; maybe Trixie didn't mean anything to him anymore; maybe she had a chance at capturing him herself.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

"So what's been going on since yesterday?" Tootie asked as she plunked herself down and pulled out her sandwich from her lunch bag. Chester pointed at the screen of the computer, chewing through his own sandwich. Both of them peered at the monitor, watching the program A.J. had written run yet another simulation.

"Well, I've added in five new variables based on the deterioration of the jungle gym's support bars, the speed of the wind, the direction of the wind and the amount of strength Francis used in that push." A.J. remarked scientifically, tapping at the keys as the tiny model representing Timmy Turner repeatedly fell from the top of the dome of bars. Each fall was followed by a series of test results marked by target points circled on the simulation itself, each being led off by a line to a short note on what the program calculated. "The worst case scenario I found so far is that Timmy would catch his arm on a joint in the dome and break the bone." he deduced and shook his head, "I still can't put together the right variables that would justify his death."

Tootie watched the tiny figure fall again and winced. Even though it was just a model, even though the only passing resemblance it had to the real Timmy was the color of the shirt and hat the figure wore, it still was a pain to see. It just brought up the memory of watching him hit the bar, then collapse into the grass; and that was the only vivid thing she could remember. Everything else was a blur of sorrow, grief, anger and fog.

"Maybe he came out of the Timmy Tuck somewhere? Maybe a little?" Sanjay asked in that slow, accented tone as he continued trying to be sure he was speaking proper English. A.J. lifted a finger and eyebrow simultaneously, then went to typing again. The simulation ran again and Tootie forced herself to swallow her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Did Timmy unfold from that instinctive little ball he would roll into when taking a fall? Could that have been the true cause of his death?

"Doesn't look like it. Just another catch on the bar. What did that do?" Chester asked with a disappointed sigh.

"Broken leg. He'd have been back in school within the month." A.J. muttered and shook his head, "This is tough. If I just had some more clues and variables to work with, I could set this thing up to show me exactly what should have happened to make Timmy die from the fall." He waved a hand at the screen in frustration. "I'm a super-genius, for God's sake! I should have figured this out long ago! The simulation of the day four years ago, I ran it with the exact conditions that were present that day... Timmy should never have died from that fall!"

"I really hope we solve this soon. I can't keep wearing this hat. People are staring at me like they wanna lynch me!" Elmer complained miserably, hugging his knees as the pink hat drooped on his head. Chester jumped from the bench to stand behind him, pulling his mouth open to form a wide smile.

"Elmer! Dammit, you know we all made that promise to Timmy! If he can't continue his duties as Timmy Turner, and we all know a dead kid can't do that, then you have to wear the hat and be the new Timmy!" he yelled in exasperation, "Now smile, dammit! Smile! Be Timmy!"

"Buh Ah dun hwannah beh Thimmeh!" Elmer managed to slur out despite the disfiguring of his mouth and rubbed his cheeks once Chester released it with a disdainful pout, "He's the Heart of Dimmsdale! How do you expect me to fill those shoes?" Sanjay turned and poked at his nose accusingly.

"You are not feeling his shoes! You are wearing his hat! It is an honor! Honor! Do it for honor!" he declared, glasses flashing in the light of the noon time sun, "You made a promise! We all made a promise! We keep it until Shangri-la burns to ashes!"

"It's not even a real place!" Elmer whined, hanging his head in resignation.

"Timmy shouldn't have died. But he did." Tootie whispered to herself as she watched the model fall again and again, "He thinks it was an accident. He doesn't even remember Francis pushed him off." She pushed her glasses up and let them slide slowly down her nose. "If I told him that A.J. found out that he shouldn't have died that day, could he use that to find a loophole and wish himself alive again?"

"Something on your mind, Tootie?" A.J. asked, hearing her mumbling to herself. The Goth lifted her head and smiled at him.

"Nah. Just wondering what else we could put in to test out." she replied and thought back to Timmy, "Hey, you know what? I met a new friend yesterday. Maybe he can help us with this. He moved here recently to help other kids at the elementary school with their problems."

"We're high-schoolers, Toots, not babies." Chester remarked dryly, pulling Elmer's mouth open in another forced smile, "We don't need counseling. We're coping just fine." He shot a glare down at the boil-less kid as he struggled to free his face from the blonde's relentless grip. "Dammit, Elmer, I told you to smile! Now smile and be happy! Like Timmy!" Tootie stared at him, then looked back at the Populars' table.

Timmy had jerked back at the name and was looking towards them, but it was hard to see what expression he had on. A moment later, one of the other Populars grabbed his shoulder and shook him, and his attention was pulled away.

"You think he can help us solve the mystery of Timmy's death?" A.J. asked curiously, "He's not gonna tell us to leave it to the police, is he? 'Cause the cops gave up on it looong ago." Tootie shook her head, a secretive smile on her face and a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"No, he'll help us. He has a special interest in finding out what happened to Timmy Turner. They used to be good friends." she added.

"We're his best friends, Toots. Wouldn't he have told us about this other friend of his?" Chester asked in confusion, stretching Elmer's mouth out to an even wider smile before releasing it to fold his arms on the back of the bench, "What, is he a pen pal or something?" Tootie shrugged.

"I guess. He doesn't talk about himself that much, but he...." she went on and yelped as the sounds of shouting and whooping stirred up the school yard.


"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the voices of hundreds of teens chanted the call as the group watched a mass of bodies form a large circle. Tootie instinctively sought out the popular kids' table, hoping to see Timmy safely sitting there. No, he wasn't. He was gone, and chances were good that he was in the center of that pit of bloodthirsty, hormone-ravaged teenagers.

"No!" she squeaked and raced for the mass, followed quickly by her friends as they gave chase to keep her safe and see what was happening themselves.

It was hard, pushing her way through the bodies, but she murmured wishes when she could to have people suddenly step aside for no reason but to obey a sudden impulse to do so. Chester managed to slip through with her as the other boys were scattered in the depths of the pit. Both of them stood in awe at the sight before them.

The kids had formed a sizable arena of open grass, surrounding Remy Buxaplenty in his spotless white suit and Timmy Turner in his darkly colored outfit with the necklace that shimmered in the light. Remy stood confidently, straightening his little bow tie with a smug smile as a strange ball of shining silver floated nearby him, a wickedly curved blade lining the top of the sphere. Timmy stood in a semi-crouched position, arms poised for some kind of attack or defense. Tootie recognized it as being kind of like the poses she saw on the cover of a martial arts book in one of the Goth shops. He was also glaring up at the ball more than he was glaring at Remy. Was the ball more important to him?

"Now, where was I? Oh yes. You were about to tell me who you really are, Neogene. I was quite thorough in my investigations. Until a few years ago, you didn't even exist." Remy remarked haughtily, "I doubt even Hounder knows who you really are!" Timmy didn't answer, just made an audible huff and shifted in preparation. "Oh, come now. I'm sure it's not that bad. What are you? An orphan? A ragamuffin? A lying piece of trailer trash?" the young millionaire sneered.

"I have no future, and I sacrificed my past. I am a virtual ghost to the present." Timmy replied coldly, "Who am I? Why should I tell you? Some days, I don't even know myself. Maybe when I finish what I came here to do, I'll know for sure. Till then, just call me the pain in your neck."

Tootie clasped her hands together, mind racing for a wish she could make in secret that could help Timmy without getting them all into more trouble. Chester gave a low whistle and she looked up at him in surprise.

"I don't know who that guy is, but he's got a lotta guts to stand up to Remy like that! Does he even know the kind of stuff he can do? I saw him snap his fingers once and a whole bunch of kids turned into mimes on the spot!" he remarked excitedly, "Wonder what the guy's gonna do to stay in one piece?" Tootie sighed and returned to watching the two boys, noticing with a touch of alarm that Trixie Tang stood on the opposite side of the circle, also watching them, her eyes locked on Timmy.

"Not fair! I saw him first! I know who he really is! Back off!" Tootie hissed jealously under her breath and bit a knuckle to keep from screaming in frustration.

"Fancy talk coming from someone who was right about not having a future." Remy remarked with an icy smile, "I'll definitely make sure you never will!" He threw out a hand, and the sphere raced right at Timmy! Tootie covered her eyes with a cry, unable to watch what was happening. The crowd roared in a mix of approval, disapproval and shock, and it was incentive enough to warrant a peek from the young Goth. Timmy had dodged the ball, clutching one arm in pain as it spun away into the air, gathering distance and speed for another pass. He was glaring up at it, but why wasn't he using his magic? Tootie looked around for his fairies. Where were they? Why weren't they helping?!

There! On the branch of a nearby tree, a pair of squirrels, pink and green, were perched together, tiny wands in their hands and aimed at the sphere. They stood back to back, arms outstretched as they traced the flight of the bladed silver ball. She looked back at Timmy, who was mouthing words out, keeping his head low so he wasn't easily seen. Was he giving orders to the fairies in the tree? No, it looked like arguing, his face was twisting in frustration and anger, and the sphere came down again. The squirrels lowered their wands out of range, both looking distressed at their inaction. Did Timmy tell them not to do anything? Why?

She blinked as she thought back to his words from yesterday. If anything forced Cosmo and Wanda into being exposed, Fairy World would have no choice but to call back all the other fairy godparents simply because those two were bound to Timmy and could not be brought home as punishment. He was trying to protect the other godchildren, but it was costing him, and dearly too!

He dodged the sphere, lashing out with his leg to kick it into the air, but he yelled in pain as he fell back onto the grass, a long slice cut into the jeans. Tootie winced and felt the bitter taste of helplessness rise into her mouth. Oh, if only she could use magic like him too! Or at least could wish him to a safe place!

"I wish...." she murmured and her earring tinkled to signal that Romi was listening, waiting for the rest of her words, "I wish...!"

Remy sauntered up to the fallen brunet, smiling smugly all the while. He stood over him, bent just enough to grin at Timmy. He said something, Tootie couldn't hear what it was, but then he was reaching out to the young immortal and she panicked.

"I wish that stupid ball thing would just blow up!" she cried and the kids closest to her looked down at her in confusion. Romi tinkled, hidden safely by her godchild's ebony hair, and the whole crowd of students looked up to see the silver sphere suddenly explode into so many twisted bits of metal. Remy shot his gaze up in utter disbelief, giving Timmy the opportunity to roll aside and scramble to his feet, limping away quickly into the mob of panicking teens as they scattered to avoid being hit by debris. Tootie felt herself get picked up and carried off, yelling in alarm until she realized it was Chester.

"Whatever the heck happened, it sure saved that guy's bacon! Come on, Toots! Let's get outta here!" he exclaimed and they fled the school yard as the bells suddenly screamed in a frenzy, blasting their drills into what had once been a peaceful afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What a blast!" Chester remarked sometime later as Tootie walked with the boys to the cemetery. He insisted that they all visit 'Timmy' and let 'him' know about what had happened. "Weirdest school yard fight I ever saw, but man, that was awesome! Too bad we don't know who actually won."

"I'd say the Goth kid. Remy's mechanical aide was destroyed and since his opponent was using only his body for defense and offense, then it's quite obvious who won." A.J. remarked, carrying the laptop under his arm as he rubbed a soft cloth over his bald head. Tootie had asked him once why he did that. His explanation, 'Girls don't like shiny heads', still baffled her.

"I hope he's okay." she murmured worriedly as they passed through the wrought-iron gate and made their way up the path to the grave where Timmy was supposedly buried. She frowned slightly. That was a confusing thing. The day he was buried, she remembered seeing his little body dressed up in a black suit and sans hat inside the coffin, and it was closed up just before it was lowered into the grave. So if Timmy was alive and never got buried, who was it that was lying six feet under?

"We can ask him if he's all right. Isn't that the guy right over there?" Elmer pointed out and the group followed his outstretched hand to see the teen from the school yard fight slumped against a bench not far from the grave. Tootie gave a little yelp and raced ahead of the group to meet with him, hoping that he was all right, that the cuts were healed with magic already.

"Hey, you!" Chester called out and Timmy turned his head to watch them in surprise. Tootie slid into the bench beside him and hugged him, only to yelp again when he shoved her aside and leaped from the bench.

"Who are you?!" he snapped at the group of boys, taking on a defensive stance as he clenched his fists tightly. Tootie looked up at him in confusion, taking in the sight of him favoring one leg, the slit in his sleeve still stained a dark color. She glanced around, spotted pink and green birds perched in a nearby oak, then looked back at the brunet. "Why are you here?!" he added angrily.

"Hey, Dude. We could ask you the same question." Chester grumbled, "We're here to visit our best friend. What's your excuse?"

"T-Timothy? Are you okay?" Tootie stammered out, nearly forgetting not to call him by his nickname. The group of boys stared at her and she blushed.

"You know this very rude person? Is he not one of the popular kids? Did you not see the chart?" Sanjay asked her in irritation, "We know popular people care nothing about us!"

"You should see a doctor about those cuts. They could get infected." A.J. pointed out as Timmy stepped back from them.

"I don't care." he muttered, pulling out of his stance and averting his eyes from the young Goth, "This is a public place, and it's quiet. I needed a place to go and remind myself of who I am." Tootie sighed, remembering his little speech from earlier. She supposed it could get confusing, going by one name among close friends and in private, and going by another in public. Maybe, sometimes, he got the two confused, or wondered which of the two was really him?

"Guys, this is Timothy Neogene, the friend I told you about. I didn't really think he was one of the popular teens." she explained to the boys, "But he's the one who would be interested in your program, A.J." Timmy looked at them warily. "Timothy, did you walk the whole way here? While you were hurt?" she asked worriedly. He shrugged uncaringly.

"The simulation? What makes you think he'd want to see that?"A.J. remarked in confusion, looking towards the twelve-year-old, "If he doesn't care enough to get himself to a doctor, why would he care about our research on Timmy's death?"


"What?!"


Tootie flinched at the explosion from the brunet standing before them. That was not good; an angry Timmy could use magic to chase them out of the cemetery, or worse. The birds puffed themselves up, eyes burning into them with all the fury their tiny bodies could muster.

"What does it matter to you what we do? You are not from Dimmsdale!" Sanjay pointed out contempt, "We are searching for the reason why our friend Timmy died!"

"He fell from the jungle gym, broke his neck, and died. His stupidity cost him his life. There's nothing to search for." Timmy answered coldly, "Stop wasting your time on things that can't be changed." He pointed at the grave with its small mountain of gifts and flowers. "Go ahead and show him your little program. See if it makes him jump out of his coffin." The group of boys gave a collective snort of disdain at him and marched off to visit the grave, leaving Tootie behind to stare up at him and wonder why he said those things about himself. She reached out to him and he stepped back again. "Don't touch me, okay? I'm not feeling well." the boy rasped and continued moving until he collapsed against the tree, his godparents hopping excitedly around on the branches above him.

"Did you have to be so cold?" Tootie demanded softly and stepped closer to examine his injured arm, "Now let's see about this cut. Why didn't you heal them when you got away from school?" Her earring tinkled nervously.

"There is a dark presence here, and many more where we were walking. Anti-magic; I don't think he could have used magic." Romi whispered to her, "That's probably why Cosmo and Wanda haven't done anything to help him. They must have changed to birds at the school to follow him, but now they're trapped like that until they find a safe place." She tinkled again. "I'm not feeling so good either. We shouldn't stay for too long." Tootie blinked, then looked up at the fairy couple. They were still hopping about, but they took a lot of breaks between hops, wings drooping tiredly. And Timmy....

Timmy looked as though he were going to lose his lunch.

She took a handkerchief from her bag and began tying it around his arm, gently scolding him for letting himself get cut up so badly. He was supposed to be the hero, right? Heroes didn't let themselves get beat up over nothing. He gave a little huff and she smiled as she dug around for another handkerchief. Kneeling to tie that around the boy's leg, she continued berating him lightly, then went on to explain exactly what it was A.J. was doing with the laptop.

"And he's just trying to figure out what it was that caused your death. They want answers, Timmy, and since everyone else has given up on you, they're going to keep working at it until they know why you died." she remarked, "So why not give them a hand? If we can prove to Fairy World that you weren't meant to die, maybe they'll let you have a wish to fix it so you're alive, really alive, again."

"Doesn't matter. I fell, I died, I'm stuck beyond Death's reach." Timmy sighed, "Let them play with the program. Let them think they can make a difference. What are they hoping it will do? It was all an accident."

"Timmy, Francis pushed you off the jungle gym. You didn't just slip and fall." Tootie told him quietly, tying off the knot on the makeshift bandage around his lower leg.

"So? Arresting him won't fix me, won't fix the order of my life." He waved it off erratically. "I'm heading home. I have a mission to go through later tonight and some sleep would be really nice about now." She watched him push away from the tree and begin a slow walk out of the cemetery, the pink and green birds fluttering down to perch on his shoulders.

"Can I come?" she called out to him and he paused, turning to look back at her in confusion.

"I don't have everything I need for you yet." he answered carefully, motioning to the group of boys at his grave with one hand, "Maybe next time." With that, he left and Tootie stood there with a sigh of disappointment. Next time. Next time, she would have magic on her side, and she'd be able to help him if he got in trouble.

Turning back to the rest of her friends, she made her way up the hill to sit at Timmy's grave and murmur a prayer for his safety.

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