By now it was as much instinct as experience. The moment she woke up she knew immediately that she was in an unfamiliar place.
When Wednesday Addams regained consciousness, her eyes were closed, her heartbeat calm and her breathing regular. All this while she was trying to sharpen her other senses to determine her position, her surroundings and whether there was anyone nearby. In the eyes of anyone else she still appeared to be asleep.
But she wasn't in front of the eyes of just anyone else, as she could immediately tell.
“Weds?”
Wednesday Addams opened her dark eyes and the first thing she saw were her wife's blue orbs.
“Mia lupa,“ she whispered, attempting to raise herself up.
“Careful,” said Enid, helping her to sit up, “You probably feel like you've been trampled by a herd of elephants. That's how the rest of us feel.”
“Was I the last to wake up?” asked Wednesday, slightly irritated by the situation.
Enid nodded, “Yes. Needler has a theory that your psychic abilities may have been a factor. The way we got here was... unusual.”
And where was “here”? Wednesday wondered as she looked around. She and Enid were sitting on a simple but comfortable bed in a room that could well have been a hotel room, plain but clean and well furnished. Pristine really. And white. Very white. She noticed that both the floor and the walls seemed to be made of or covered in marble. The source of light was a bright white orb floating in the center of the room. There were no windows.
“This place...”
“Yeah, it gives me the creeps too,” said Enid, rubbing the back of her neck, “It's a bit too similar to the palace of...”
“Are we prisoners?” asked Wednesday.
“Officially we are guests, but ...” Enid raised her wrist showing the bracelet in which the multidimensional travel device manufactured by Needler years ago was camouflaged, “Our exit tickets have been overloaded and according to Needler they are going to take a while to reboot.”
“Wonderful,” said Wednesday, “Only those of us who were in the living room are here, right? The girls...”
“The children are at home with Varadi as far as we know,” Enid replied, with a worried growl in her voice, “The problem is that we don't know much else.”
Wednesday nodded, getting out of bed and standing up. Enid was right, she felt as if her whole body was suffering from sore muscles. Her legs were trembling as if she had just finished running a marathon. The she-wolf immediately stood by her side, offering her support.
“Come on, the others are already in... uh, well, I guess we can call it the common room. Or the control room,” said Enid.
“Control room?”
“You'll understand when you see it.”
They left the room without any issues. At least it's not a cell, thought Wednesday.
Outside, a long, wide corridor awaited them, once again of a marble white, with multiple doors on both sides and a large metal door at one end that opened silently and automatically when Wednesday and Enid arrived at it.
The room they had entered was spacious and circular in layout. Multiple sofas, tables and shelves of books filled the space surrounding what appeared to be a large round table in the center. On the table was something that could only be described as a column of TVs and monitors of multiple sizes and models that seemed to be affixed to each other, descending from the ceiling attached to a central support, and with abundant wiring cascading from multiple openings.
Everyone else was there.
Woe and Saint-Clair were sitting on one of the sofas. Woe had her gaze fixed on Amanda Buckman, vigilant, while absentmindedly caressing the hair of Saint-Clair, who rested her head in her lap.
Amanda Buckman, still dressed in her astronaut suit, seemed to be receiving a barrage of questions from Needler.
Parker was sitting next to Taylor, Pup, Friday and Eamon, observing the scene and chatting quietly among themselves although with an evident aura of restlessness. Meanwhile, Eneit and Wod seemed to have engaged in a light sparring exercise with Shark and Monday Jones as a way of dealing with their own worries.
It was Monday who was the first to notice that Enid and Wednesday had entered the room.
“They're already here,” she said. She didn't raise her voice but even so it sounded firm and clear in the room, interrupting all conversation.
“Wednesday!” exclaimed Friday, getting up to run to meet her, as did her other variants and companions moments later.
“I'm fine, there's no need for alarm,” replied Wednesday, “I don't even have a headache... but the possibility of a possible future one persists, depending on what we're going to learn in the next few minutes,” she said, glancing at Amanda, “We need answers, Buckman.”
“Wow, straight to using the surname,” said Amanda, with a nervous laugh, “Please, call me Amanda. If you use my surname you remind me too much of her...” she pointed at Woe, “Especially you, you're identical.”
“Better not beat about the bush,” said Monday, slapping the astronaut on the shoulder and standing behind her like a silent bodyguard. The rest of those present returned to the sofas and couches near the large central table.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say: What the κόλαση is going on?” said Saint-Clair.
“Well, to be honest...erm, I have no idea,” replied Amanda. “It's the first time my Jumping device has activated automatically. Although I think it could be...well, because of you,” she said, pointing at Wednesday, “Or any of you. The Wednesdays, I mean.”
“Perhaps it's best to start from the beginning,” Friday said in a firm but conciliatory tone. “Amanda?”
“Okay, well... yes... First of all, this place? I call it The Base. I have no idea if it has an official name, I've only been here a handful of times and it's always changed appearance. On my first visit it was like a huge, almost empty, industrial warehouse. Afterwards it was more like a laboratory.”
“When I arrived,” said Monday, “it looked more like military barracks. Much more gray than white.”
“The only thing that has never changed is that,” said Amanda, pointing to the central pillar full of monitors and televisions, ”Apart from that, I guess my... erm... benefactor has been improving the place.”
“Your benefactor?” asked Wednesday.
“Oh, I'd better really start at the beginning... well, one of you technically already knows me.”
“Camp Chippewa,” said Woe, “I assume that your experience as a variant of my reality must have been similar to what I experienced with the Amanda of mine.”
“If by that you mean a rivalry born of my prejudices and your particular sense of justice and desire to see young pre-teens tied up to be burned at the stake with an apple in their mouths, then yes.”
The others could not completely hide their surprise upon hearing this. Not because of the event described, but because of the tone of almost exasperated nostalgia in Amanda's voice.
“After that I didn't see you again... sorry, I didn't see her again until college,” continued Amanda, “I still remember it. My first day on campus, completely excited about immersing myself in political sciences and there she was, like a spectre dressed in black and surrounded by storm clouds.”
“Let me guess... and a whole bunch of empty seats around where she sat?” asked Enid.
“Indeed!” replied Amanda, “Well, my first reaction was... panic? I mean, you don't forget the first girl who tries to burn you alive, right?”
“Oh, that brings back memories...” said Pup, “Although I later discovered that most of my classmates kept their distance because Taylor had threatened to kill them.”
“I just told them that if they looked at you funny or laughed at you and your scorpions, I'd strangle them with their own entrails,” clarified the Hyde with a shrug, “It's not my fault they were such wimps.”
“Awww... Willa, you've never set me on fire!” lamented Saint-Clair.
“You've never asked for it, but if you'd like to...”
“Can we get on with the story, please?” interrupted Wednesday.
“Er... yes, that would be best,” replied Amanda. “Well, as I said, my first reaction was panic. Keeping my distance and all that. The truth is that I was living in a state of constant paranoia about the whole thing. And it didn't help my stress level either that college was a bit of a wake-up call.”
“How so?” asked Shark.
“Well, in middle school and high school everything went smoothly. It wasn't until I got to college that I realized that many of my grades weren't just the result of my work but also of the influence of my parents as local community leaders and all that. I lived in a bubble that made me believe I was more than I was, but in truth I was just a medium-sized fish in a small pond and college… that was the whole fucking ocean.”
“Oh, like spending your whole life training in the courtyard and in jousts but having zero experience on the real battlefield,” said Wod.
“Yes, dear, although I think there are fewer severed arms in her case,” said Eneit.
“The thing is that everything blew up towards the end of the first semester...” continued Amanda, “One of the teachers was... well, he wasn't a good person. And he tried to make me a proposal to improve my grades in exchange for doing something very despicable with him. And I didn't take it well.”
A wave of disgust and sympathy for the young woman, mixed with abhorrence towards that anonymous teacher, swept through the group.
“You said it all blew up,” said Wednesday, “I assume not in a literal sense.”
Amanda shrugged, “Almost. I... I don't know, something broke inside me and when I came back to my senses the guy was on the floor with a broken nose, two teeth missing and crying while he was holding his genitals. Other students and teachers had come into the office when they heard the screams and they were holding me. I was sure that this was the end, but... well, it wasn't. That bastard didn't press charges and the campus administration basically kept my record clean and they apologized to me publicly. I knew it couldn't have been my parents, they had no influence there, and I didn't think the university would admit guilt so publicly out of integrity. I mean, the whole thing was a bit of a scandal...”
“It was her, wasn't it?” asked Enid, “Wednesday.”
Amanda nodded, “Yes. I started investigating on my own and discovered that someone had visited the professor in the hospital and that he had resigned and left the city the very next day. One of the nurses told me it had been a pale young woman, dressed in black, who looked like she'd stepped out of a German expressionist film. I knew immediately that it had been you... well, her... you know what I mean.”
Everyone present nodded. Amanda continued with her story.
“It took me a while to confront her... I think almost a week. I didn't know what to expect. When I did and asked her if she was the one who had covered my back, she didn't deny it. She didn't gloat either, nor did she try to use it as a bargaining chip or to ask me for favors or to demand something... she simply... she saw an injustice and decided to take action. And that the victim was an enemy of hers was inconsequential. The only suffering of yours that I will enjoy will be that which I inflict myself, she told me. But she also never tried anything violent against me during all that time, so I didn't know what to expect.”
“It's something that's difficult for many people to perceive, especially if they don't take the time to really get to know her,” said Enid, ”But many Wednesdays... maybe not all of them, but a large majority of those I've met have a strong sense of justice. That sense of justice may not conform to what are considered proper laws and morals, but it's there.”
“Yes, that sounds like her,” Amanda continued, ”The thing is, there were rumors and it was practically public knowledge that there was an association between me and Addams. At first I didn't know how to take it, but over time... I don't know, it was kind of strange. We were never friends, at least not in the usual sense. My fear was still there, but tempered by the knowledge that I had nothing to be afraid of if I didn't provoke her. And now there was also curiosity and gratitude mixed in, further complicating my feelings. And our rivalry... it resurfaced like a phoenix. And now it was a proper rivalry. We were always competing in grades, in extracurricular activities, in fieldwork... we spent more hours together engaged in debates and discussions about the most inane topics than with anyone else.”
Amanda paused for a moment, the shadow of a nostalgic smile forming on her face, “And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she invited me to spend the Easter holidays with her family. What surprised me most was that I accepted without thinking too much about it.”
The smile turned into an expression of sadness. The sparkle that had been rekindling in Amanda's eyes as she spoke faded again.
“That's when everything went to hell.”
“What happened?” asked Wednesday... although she imagined she already knew some detail of the answer.
“The visit... well, it was a real gala. Members of the Addams family and friends gathered in massive numbers. I soon learned that this was common for many of their annual festivities. The family always sought to be together, the more of them in the same place, the merrier. To my younger self it would have seemed horrible, a collection of carnival freaks, but after that first year at college, after getting to know Wednesday better... I think it was the first time in my life that I was able to enjoy myself without having to live up to anyone's expectations, because no one expected or demanded anything from me.”
Amanda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if gathering her strength.
“It was just as the first dance of the evening was about to begin, her parents were going to lead it,” continued Amanda, “I was standing next to Wednesday, when suddenly something... it was as if a tear had been torn in the air and a figure cloaked in red with puritan clothes underneath appeared out of nowhere, holding a long silver staff or scepter, pointing the end of it towards Wednesday. There was a flash of light and she... she...”
Monday placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder again in a show of support. The blonde responded by giving her a few gentle pats before continuing.
“Wednesday... she disintegrated. I can't think of another way to describe it. It happened in seconds. But the worst thing is that it didn't stop there. At the same point where she had been erased, that effect began to spread, to extend... a Nothing devouring everything, erasing reality itself.”
Amanda got up, “I didn't have time to scream. I felt pain and something pulling me back with great force before I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in this place and wearing this suit. It's not really an astronaut suit, it's...”, she said, as she partially opened the front of her outfit. Wednesday, Enid and the others could not hide their surprise at the sight of the huge part of Amanda's torso missing, as if her left side had been devoured. But there was no blood, no signs of wounds or scars. It was impossible because part of her torso was gone and clearly her organs could not be there either, and yet Amanda was still alive.
Like it was erased.
“This suit keeps me... whole, so to speak,” said the young woman. ”A part of my body was consumed by the Nothing but I can continue functioning because... I don't know how to explain it, it's very complicated quantic mumbo jumbo.”
“But... What is the Nothing?”, asked Needler, ”From the way you describe it, it seems like some kind of entropy, but it's not so much a destruction of matter as an absence of it...”
“It's the effect they're looking for, the same one that destroyed my world and Amanda's,” Monday explained. “When one of them kills a Wednesday using one of those silver objects, it starts a chain reaction that consumes all reality around that Wednesday Addams. Until that entire universe ceases to exist.”
“And who are they?” inquired Wednesday, asking the million-dollar question.
“We don't know much... they call themselves the Normalcy Nine. And their goal is to eradicate weirdness from the multiverse. Something they believe is personified by the Addams Family in general and Wednesday Addams in particular,” Amanda explained.
“That's...”
“The most idiotic thing I've heard in a long time,” interrupted Parker, “As the most normal-adjacent person present, at least as normal as an Addams by marriage can be, going around the multiverse erasing realities doesn't sound very normal to me!”
“Oh, we're fully aware of the hypocrisy,” replied Monday.
“The thing is that they are... well, they are responsible for all of this. There are nine individuals and their variants, like an army,” Amanda continued. “At least that's what little my benefactor knew when he brought me here, saved me and gave me the means to start jumping between realities to try to save a Wednesday Addams.”
“And failing attempt after attempt,” Monday continued, “Either she was late, or far away, or the Wednesday in question was hostile, or she confused her with her cousin...”
“I'm going to be apologizing for that until the end of time,” Amanda muttered.
“The point is that we had to... well, not really save, but find a Wednesday Addams. One in particular. He told us we'd know who it was right away,” Monday said.
“And obviously, I would say it's you,” said Amanda, pointing to Wednesday. “No other multiversal counterpart of you saw the danger coming like you did. No other Wednesday could stop one of the Nine.”
“And that benefactor of yours... who is he?” asked Enid.
THAT WOULD BE ME, MRS. ADDAMS.
Silence. For a moment.
“Okay, tell me I'm not the only one who has heard a voice resonating from everywhere and nowhere...” muttered Pup.
The monitors in the center of the room lit up with a loud screech of static. The same image appeared on all the screens: a silhouette almost made of white light, masculine in shape but with no other visible features, against a background of black static.
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. I HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY AND DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL THIS PRECISE MINUTE THAT MISS BUCKMAN'S MISSION HAD FINALLY BEEN FULFILLED.
“Who, or what, are you?” asked Wednesday, “And why were you looking for me?”
YOU CAN CALL ME MR. MORNINGSTAR.
“Oh, that name inspires a lot of trust…” whispered Enid.
AND LET ME FINALLY EXPRESS THE GREAT HONOR IT IS FOR ME TO FINALLY MEET THE RAVEN AND HER VOLVAUGR.
Wednesday narrowed her eyes, fixing her gaze on the monitors. If Morningstar could see her, the message was clear.
I don't trust you. Not even close.
NOTES
Anyway, a chapter with some answers and many other questions. I've left a lot of Amanda's story up in the air. It's one of those things that I don't rule out returning to someday like I did with Woe and Saint-Clair. The idea here was to try to write what is clearly a budding romance in which neither party is fully aware that they like each other romantically. I don't know if I got that across at all 😅
Some translations!:
κόλαση (greek): hell (hells ¿?)
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