Chapter 14: Trust Yourself that is not Yourself

"And therefore it is postulated that the cat lives and dies simultaneously after some time due to a quantum superposition paradox."

"Wow... I didn't understand half of what you just said, but the cosmic zombie cat thing is mind-blowing."

Needler sighed. Ajax Petropolus was a good listener, devoid of prejudice, and apparently open to new ideas. Though that seemed to be mostly due to ample empty space waiting to be filled with ideas to begin with. It was clear that if she were to proceed with her explanation of the transcendental phenomenon she had been involved in, she would have to simplify things even further for the gorgon.

They were a curious sight on the quad, which had attracted quite a few stares from some curious onlookers who were still hanging around the area even after breakfast time. Ajax, sitting on the bench at the foot of the table with his legs crossed, listening intently. Needler, standing on the table, gesturing as she tried to explain the mysteries of the universe.

Fortunately, no other students stayed to listen. They didn't know who the pale preteen was, but if her looks meant anything it was obvious who she was related to, and after two years much of the Nevermore student body had learned to embrace common sense. Yes, a large majority of them may have seen Wednesday as the "Savior of Nevermore," but they were also very aware that it was best not to get mixed up in Addams-related matters.

Individuals like Sterling Teague were more the exception than the norm, to be clear.

"The brief introduction to quantum physics seemed necessary for me to begin to explain to you the intricate subtleties of the multiverse," said Needler, before standing thoughtfully with a hand on her chin, "Of course, the magical nature of the present crisis may cast serious doubt on the viability of fundamental forces outside the realm of the supernatural."

"Ah, okay," Ajax said, "Though the multiverse thing I think I got it right. I mean... you're a Wednesday aren't you? You all are."

"Indeed. We are the same person, but also fundamentally different, which is the most interesting aspect because it raises questions about the nature of divergences..."

"I think I'm getting lost again..."

Needler looked at Ajax with a manic gleam in her eye, "Think young gorgon, think! Anything can be a point of divergence between one reality and the nearest adjacent reality. Something as innocent as... in one universe you're picking your nose right now while you're not in this one."

“Wow… It's not a very big difference."

"Exactly! By a pure matter of statistics an encounter between two or more Wednesday Addams from different realities should give rise to multiple near-identical Wednesdays in 99.9%. But that's not the case! While we are the same people on a transcendental cosmic level, we are also very different, with marked peculiarities, almost as if..."

"Ah, it's the Rule of Drama," Ajax said, striking the palm of his hand with his fist.

"The what?" asked Needler, perplexed.

"You know, like in the comics."

Needler continued to stare at him without a word. One eyebrow rose questioningly.

"Uh... You know what a comic book is, don't you?" asked Ajax.

"I'm aware of their existence, but I don't understand what they have to do with..."

"In superhero comics the multiverse is... well, they use it a lot. And since it's fiction it has to be dramatic. You can't have a parallel universe that's pretty much the same in everything except that one day someone scratched the wrong body part. No, it has to be over the top stuff like... uh... a universe where the morals are reversed and everybody has evil mustaches. Or one where a major war was won by another side. Or one where they're still living in the past and everyone is a medieval version of themselves.”

"That's an... insightful observation, my serpentine-haired friend."

Ajax smiled, giving a thumbs-up "Ah, glad to help!"

"But this opens up the terrible metaphysical possibility that we find ourselves in an existential paradox. If we are the fruit of a whimsical drama we may be the work of a sick mind's imagination typing the words escaping my lips right now."

"Wow, you are getting a little too meta now... I mean, I think it's going to be just magic in the end," Ajax said, concerned that the young girl in front of him seemed to be falling into a trance.

"Elaborate."

"Well, you said you're here because of a spell, didn't you?"

"That was the conclusion of my counterpart from this reality, yes."

"Well, I have no idea what spell it might be, but those things always carry some kind of thaumaturgical emotional response and tend toward chaos. That's where the drama comes from, surely."

"So our divergent variety may be merely a side effect of using arcane arts," Needler replied as she plopped down on the table, rubbing her forehead. She turned to Ajax, frowning quizzically, "You seem surprisingly well versed in magic."

"Ah, no, not at all," the gorgon replied, "But Basic Theoretical Applications of Magic is a fairly easy elective. I took it last year."

"Academics. They can turn the most fascinating thing into a bore," said Needler, holding back a sigh. Her expression became monotone again, though there seemed to be an odd gleam in her eyes. It wasn't the scientific mania this time but something more somber.

Oof, she seems to be getting the blues..., Ajax thought, worried.

"There is no need to worry. I'm not getting the blues," replied Needler. Ajax flinched.

"Did I say that out loud?" he asked.

"No, but you project your thoughts very clearly," Needler replied.

"Can you read minds? That's freaking awesome, little sis!"

"Don't call me little sis. And yes, I can read minds," Needler said sitting up again, "What's more, you're thinking of asking me to discern what your favorite color is, your favorite food and your favorite movie."

"Wow, that's..."

Needler rolled her eyes.

"Purple, but you always answer blue when asked. Spinach lasagna and Pineapple Express."

"Wow."

"You also say 'Wow' with disturbing frequency."

Suddenly, a voice called to them through the quad, "NEEDLER! AJAX!"

Enid Sinclair had entered the quad in a hurry, startling some of the students. One of the sleeves of the she-wolf's sweater had rips in it. Her pants had almost disappeared from the knee down, leaving only flaps of fabric. Her sneakers were completely gone, and the lycanthrope was running toward them in her bare feet.

Ajax recognized the signs instantly, "Wow, did you just have a partial wolfing out? What happened?"

Enid finally arrived next to the table, leaning forward and leaning against it, trying to catch her breath.

"I had to...deal...with an... idiot...," she said, "Uh... Everything okay over here?"

"Oh, yeah. Little sis and I were having science talks," said Ajax.

"I told you not to call me little sis," Needler said before turning to Enid with a smirk, "Let me guess. The moment you remembered you'd left us alone you went running off fearing you'd find me in the midst of vivisecting Ajax."

"Ouch. That would be bad," said the gorgon.

"Indeed. As I said before I would never do such a thing without your permission."

"I'm... sorry Needler," Enid interrupted, bringing a hand to her forehead, "I think my head is still starting to take in all the stress of the situation."

The scientific Addams nodded, "Perfectly understandable," she said, with a slight hint of softness in her monotone voice, "And given precedent and my reputation I can't blame you for having reasonable fears either. But tell me... A partial wolfing out? From what little I've ascertained of your species in this reality that's somewhat unusual."

"I'm weird and unusual, by werewolf standards," Enid said, before frowning, "Wait… In this reality?" she asked as her gaze jumped from Needler to Ajax, "You haven't..."

"I've told him everything."

"Oh, Needler."

"Hey, it's okay," Ajax interjected, "I mean, it's not the weirdest thing we've seen the last two years. Compared to that possession stuff...," the gorgon began to say before interrupting himself by suppressing a shudder, "Yeah, that was a doozy."

Enid grimaced as she remembered the incident Ajax was alluding to. Needler merely watched their reactions before deciding that perhaps it would be best to distract Sinclair's mind from unpleasant past events...

"I notice that in your race here you seem to have lost Woe again, and also Thing."

... and make her focus on unpleasant present events.

Enid let out a soft grunt, "I realized mid-run and stopped for a second to take a sniff," she said, "Their scents are getting clearer and stronger, which means they're getting closer and coming back this way."

"Your nose has always been amazeballs, Enid," Ajax said, "Well, maybe not as much as little sis' telepathy here, but..."

"Wait, what?" 

"I can read minds," said Needler, "I gave Ajax a demonstration just before you arrived. And don't call me little sis."

"You know what we think all the time??", asked Enid.

"Actually, no. Getting into the deepest thoughts of a mind takes some effort. But many times you project things outward without realizing it, or if you are interacting with a person or feeling a strong emotional response," Needler explained, "For example, the constant longing for carnal desires between you and..."

Enid slammed Needler's mouth shut with the palm of her hand as her face blushed like the red light on a stoplight.

"Wow, too much information, dudette," Ajax said trying to hold back a laugh, "That's a little more intense than my thing with colors and foods."

Under Enid's hand palm, Needler mumbled something that could be translated as "Don't call me dudette."

When the lycanthrope released her, the young Addams merely looked at her, "My apologies. I have been told on occasion that I should try to be more considerate of other people's feelings and privacy, and it is something I thought I had gotten better at. But I also find myself in a certain unbalanced position in our present circumstances."

"Yes, you were having the blues earlier," Ajax said worriedly, "I was going to ask you what that was about before Enid arrived."

"I wasn't having the blues, gorgon," Needler replied, "Just reflecting on the current crisis."

Now, Enid Sinclair wasn't a telepath. But she had learned to 'read' Wednesday Addams better than anyone else in the world (except maybe Gomez and Morticia). Needler may not have been her Wednesday and there may have been marked differences, but Enid could recognize many of the cues nonetheless.

Beneath the mask of monotonous self-control, the young Addams mad doctor appeared to be... frightened?

"Needler?" asked Enid gently, this time resting her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Needler tensed for a moment... and then sighed woefully.

"I find myself... unnerved by the situation, increasingly so with each passing hour," the young Addams girl began to explain in an unusually quiet voice, "Under other circumstances, finding myself in a parallel reality would seem to me the most exciting thing. And it is! But my initial enthusiasm has been dampened by my own analytical abilities. I am a woman of science and the magical nature of the act that has brought me here along with the others worries me. If the cause were scientific I could contribute to the solution, but I am forced to relinquish control of the situation to third parties. And as much as one of those people is a version of myself, I find such loss of control extremely unpleasant."

"I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner, Needler," Enid whispered.

"It's not your fault," muttered the young girl, breathing a sigh, "I don't question the capabilities of the Wednesday of this reality. But a growing part of me finds it increasingly difficult to reject the notion that this situation may be irreversible. After all, an Addams always expects the worst. What I don't understand is why something like this makes me feel..."

Some thought crossed the Addams' mind like a flash of lightning as she looked at Enid. The expression of bewilderment, pain and longing that marked the usually expressionless girl's face surprised the she-wolf as she watched.

"Of course... so blind...," Needler whispered.

"Little sis?" asked a concerned Ajax. It said a lot about the situation that Needler didn't correct him this time.

"My family... my family would be fine," the Addams continued, "They would mourn my loss but it would end up being a new celebration, a new legend for the next generation. A story for Pugsley to scare my future nieces and nephews. They would feel the pain but they would endure. The Addamses endure."

Needler bowed her head, staring at her hands.

"I lied about my nickname."

"What do you mean?" asked Enid softly.

"You assumed I chose Needler because of my fondness for needles. But in reality... I didn't understand what my real emotional response was until I've fully processed the one between my local counterpart and you."

Needler took a breath. Her voice had started to crack toward the end...

Enid understood the situation immediately.

"What's their name?"

"Parker. Parker Needler. I even took her last name without thinking about it. It's... I've left so many things unsaid. The thought of not being able to go back..."

Needler put a hand to her chest, right over her heart.

"This hurts. And not in a pleasant way."

Enid had started to move closer to Needler, fully intending to hug the girl, when Ajax's unusually serious voice stopped her.

"You have to trust yourself that is not yourself.”

Both Needler and Enid looked at the gorgon as if he had grown a second head after saying that nonsense. At least Needler's expression of increasing distress had given way again to an expression of monotonous puzzlement, "I beg your pardon?"

"Ajax, what..." began the she-wolf, but the gorgon silenced her by raising his hand.

"Just... let me say something...," Ajax said staring at Needler, "You're Wednesday Addams."

"Yes?"

"Well, I happen to know a Wednesday Addams. And she's stubborn, obsessive and never gives up. And you're a Wednesday Addams. And I assume you're also stubborn, and obsessive, and you don't give up either."

The two girls continued to listen to him in silence.

"So what I mean is..." he continued, "Well, you're two Wednesdays. No, you're four Wednesdays! Different, but the same. So trust Wednesday to fix things, because if anyone can it's her. Any of them. So trust her that's you that's not you."

"Well said, gorgon," spoke a new voice.

Ajax and Enid jumped in surprise as they turned toward the newcomers: Bianca, with an expression of worried surprise on her face, and in front of her Woe holding Thing in her hands.

The living dismembered limb jumped onto the table and walked to stand next to Needler, offering comfort. The girl took the hand, not taking her eyes off Woe, "How much have you heard?"

"Enough," said Woe.

And if her voice sounded gentler than it had ever done before, no one said anything about it.

NOTES

One issue I try to touch on subtly as early as the first talk alone between Friday and Woe in Chapter 4, is that although the girls may find their situation interesting and/or exciting, there is in all of them a subconscious thought of homesickness and a fear of perhaps not being able to return to their homes. Needler has simply been the first in which this has manifested itself in a more overt way, by constantly overanalyzing the situation.