Days like this were why Larissa Weems was glad she had the good sense to keep an extra bottle of brandy hidden in her office, because she was definitely going to need the alcohol.
Addams, she thought, There isn't a single member of that family who doesn't bring some kind of catastrophe with them.
Although deep down she knew she was being unfair, at least when it came to young Wednesday Addams... the girl certainly didn't seem pleased to find herself next to an adult version of her own self.
God, there are two of them, I need that brandy now.
“Okay, let's see if I understand...” she began, trying to focus.
She pointed at Wednesday, “You are an adult version of Miss Addams here, coming from another universe. Apart from that and the age difference, you are basically the same person with identical psychic abilities.”
“Correct. At least as far as we've been able to ascertain,” replied Wednesday.
“And you,” continued Weems, pointing to Enid, “are... Enid Addams.”
Enid smiled, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Weems had to suppress the urge to lean back and sink into his chair.
The woman standing before her had the exact same facial features (scars aside) as the teenager Enid Sinclair, who was casting nervous glances at her counterpart beside her, but the similarities might well end there. Enid Sinclair was a fit, athletic girl of average height and build for her age. Enid Addams was a muscular Amazon with deathly pale skin, unnaturally blue eyes surrounded by shadows, teeth like razors, and a constant aura of “Danger!” about her, even though there was no malevolence in it.
If between the two Addams there was a simple transition from teenager to adult, between the young Sinclair and her counterpart there was undoubtedly a long and surely complicated history from one extreme to the other.
“Enid Addams,” repeated Weems, “Well, I didn’t say it before, but I’ll say it now… so… Congratulations?”
And that was the other factor, that they were a couple. Not in a million years, when she put Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair in the same room, would she have thought that something like that could be one of the possibilities (in fact, she feared the whole thing would end in murder), but at least that had been the case in one universe, apparently.
And if the awkward and nervous exchanges of glances between her two students were indicative of anything, the possibilities were not non-existent in this universe either.
Oh, dear... I hope I don't have to give them The Talk.
The troubled train of thought was interrupted by the effusiveness of the adult Enid responding to the congratulations, “Ah, thank you so much, Principal Weems! It really is such a joy to see you again after all these years!” It was only for a moment, but for a few seconds the huge werewolf's sincere smile seemed to tremble nervously, as if being in Weems' presence caused something more than simple nostalgic joy.
She's leaving something out about me, Weems thought, And given the circumstances, I think I'd rather not know.
Better to stick with the matter at hand; it seemed the best option for her sanity at that moment.
Responding with only a slightly nervous smile to Enid's words, Weems refocused on the rest of the people in her office, staring intently at one of them.
“And I understand that my two students directly affected by this are here, but I would like to know the reason for your presence, Miss Barclay,” asked the principal, casting an inquiring glance at the siren.
Bianca shrugged slightly, suddenly nervous, though maintaining her composure. “To be honest, at first I felt morbid curiosity when I encountered them. Now I can't deny feeling a little concern about what they've told us.”
And that was the final kicker. “Yes, yes... the reason for your visit,” Weems continued, addressing Wednesday again, “Someone from another universe is planning to attack Miss Addams here, and your mission is to prevent that, correct?”
Wednesday simply lifted her chin. Enid nodded vigorously.
“Good, good... God, no. It's not good, it's all bloody crazy, but we've already tested that you're not shape-shifters and that there's no hypnosis involved, so I guess we'll just have to accept it... Although that doesn't explain the other cause of my future headaches,” concluded the director, looking at the unconscious form of Marilyn Thornhill, unceremoniously deposited on the office floor.
“Her real name is Laurel Gates,” Wednesday said.
“Laurel Gates has been dead for many years, now,” Weems replied.
“No, Laurel Gates has been plotting her revenge against the outcast community for years after faking her death. Marilyn Thornhill is a false identity she has been carefully cultivating for nearly two decades,” the Addams continued.
“Is she the one behind the murders? Does she have a connection to the creature?” asked Teen Wednesday.
“By proxy, and yes,” replied Wednesday.
“Her motives...”
“Will be explained at another time, or we'll be here all day.”
“Wait, wait... so it's true that there's a monster in the woods and it's not a bear?” Bianca asked, before casting an accusatory glance at the principal. “And what happened to Rowan too?”
“We are not here to discuss my... errors in judgment, Miss Barclay,” replied the principal, “In any case, given the situation, arrangements will have to be made. I imagine our visitors will want to stay as close as possible to Miss Addams to ensure her safety.”
“Indeed,” said Wednesday.
“Horrendous,” muttered Teen Wednesday simultaneously.
"Given the revelations about Thorn... Laurel Gates, I suppose that once the authorities have been alerted and she has been taken into custody, I could temporarily give you her current residence. It's adjacent to the academy and there's plenty of room,“ Weems continued, before sighing and bringing a hand to her forehead, “I suppose the sooner the better... Heavens, I wasn't in any hurry to talk to the sheriff again.”
“Regarding Donovan Galpin...” Wednesday began, only to stop herself abruptly and glance at her wife.
Enid was suddenly tense, an almost inaudible growl forming in her throat but clearly audible to her teenage counterpart. Teen Enid let out a nervous canine whimper, suddenly feeling the presence of a more formidable predator suddenly on alert.
“Enid... mi loba, what is it?”
Enid turned her head toward the window. “He's here,” she growled.
And at that moment, they began to hear the screams of panic.
Weems jumped to her feet as the others in the room crowded around one of the office windows. From there, they had a perfect view of one of the academy's courtyards. Students were running in all directions, terrified. A sickening roar cut through the air as a huge, misshapen figure appeared at a run, lashing out at the air as if in a state of frenzy.
“What the hell is that!?” exclaimed Teen Enid.
“The monster,” said Teen Wednesday, “and I presume he is Laurel Gates' instrument.”
“He's a Hyde,” Wednesday explained, “and yes, he's the one Gates has been using for the murders. It's Tyler Galpin... I can only infer that somehow he has sensed the danger she is in; he seems more erratic than usual.”
“The sheriff's son?” Bianca asked. “Isn't he a normie?”
“The cute barista from the Weathervane?” Teen Enid asked, surprised. “He always gave me weird vibes, but this is...”
Teen Wednesday simply opened her eyes wide in an expression of surprise unusual for her. To think that someone she had begun to consider... well, not an ally but a useful tool, was one of the parties behind what was happening...
“I'm sorry about your mystery,” Wednesday said.
“Mmm.”
“If it's any consolation, there will be more.”
“No matter who that creature is,” Weems snapped, “we need to evacuate the students, call the authorities, maybe the sirens can…”
“It seems like a miracle that he hasn't killed anyone,” interrupted Wednesday, “Yet. But everything is under control now.”
At her words, Enid opened the window wide.
“Thank goodness these clothes are enchanted,” she murmured, as she made a move to go outside.
“Miss Sinclair? I mean... Mrs. Addams? Enid?” asked Weems. “What are you going to...?”
“Don't worry, Principal Weems,” said Enid, “I'll try not to traumatize the students too much.”
And with that, she jumped.
§§§
Tyler Galpin's mind had reverted to a pit of pure instinct and chaos. The bond that tied him to Gates, a metaphysical chain that he both loved and hated in equal measure, seemed to be strangling him. At the same time, it was as if a shrill voice was screaming incessantly in the back of his mind that his Master was in danger, that he had to save her, serve her... and given Tyler's hatred for the woman and his desire to let her die, the uncontrolled and contradictory impulse was driving him mad.
He stormed into Nevermore by jumping over the walls after emerging from the woods, causing immediate panic among the students who were still in the late stages of the Poe Cup celebration.
Fortune smiled on them, and there were no fatalities. His claws never tore flesh or spilled blood, despite throwing blow after blow as if he were trying to strike at ghosts flying around him. As he ran inside the Academy, trying to get closer to where he could sense his Master's presence, he knocked over some students, causing bruises and the occasional broken bone, but nothing they couldn't recover from.
But it was only a matter of time before luck ran out. The moment Tyler entered the main building and walked through its hallways, still filled with students confused and unsure of what was happening, there would be no room to avoid his strikes.
Although something caught his attention at that moment. Despite the turmoil his mind had degenerated into, Tyler could still understand spoken language.
“YO! FUGLY!”
Especially if it was an insult directed at him and uttered by someone who seemed to be falling from above him...
The Hyde could barely lift his gaze when a fist wrapped in golden fur hit him squarely in the face, throwing him to the paved ground with such force that it cracked the surface on impact.
Some of the students who were still in the area, trying to escape or keep their distance, were paralyzed with sheer amazement at what was undoubtedly the largest werewolf any of them, including other furs, had ever seen.
In broad daylight.
And from the window of Weems' office, another pair of eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.
“But... she... but it's daytime, how?” Teen Enid muttered, watching her other self do something she considered nothing short of an impossible dream. She bitterly felt the unwanted aftertaste of jealousy despite herself.
“My Enid's condition is... unique,” Wednesday said, in an unusually soft tone of voice, “But we've met others like you, and believe me when I say that one day you too will howl at the moon like the worthy wolf you are.”
Enid Sinclair looked at Wednesday's adult counterpart, but her eyes lingered on the teenager, her roommate (her Wednesday), who returned her gaze with dark eyes containing oceans of meaning while simply nodding, as if agreeing with her adult self.
“A daytime transformation is... strange,” Bianca said, breaking the brief moment of silence. “But even if it were a full moon night, that's the most unusual werewolf I've ever seen.”
Wednesday simply nodded, without taking her eyes off her wife's glorious lupine form.
Over the years, as the Volvaugr, Enid Addams had gained control over her transformation that bordered on virtuous. Partial transformations, forms with human or lupine features at different levels, a transformation into a complete wolf form but whose size she could alter to be almost as large as a small bus... but her basic form, her standard werewolf transformation, had also changed over the years. Standing about fourteen feet tall on her hind legs and with a torso and arms much more burly and muscular than those of most known lycanthropes, Enid Addams was a more formidable beast than ever.
Needless to say, an ordinary Hyde like Tyler, no matter how berserk he was at that particular moment, didn't stand a chance.
Although he deserved credit for not losing consciousness after that first blow and managing to get back up, even if it was shakily and with his face bloodied from the impact, one of his eyes bloodshot and already showing signs of swelling on the eyelid.
Faced with this, Enid Addams was grappling with a small internal dilemma.
Should I kill him? I could rip his head off without much trouble, she thought.
But she wasn't standing before the Tyler from her universe, who had proven himself to be an unrepentant and persistent killer until, indeed, Enid had decapitated him in a very cathartic encounter. No, the Tyler standing before her right now was still a child. Enid knew that the chances were slim, but not nonexistent, that with the right therapy he might have the opportunity to lead a near-normal life.
Much of it would be spent in prison, but at least it would be a life.
But I'd really like to rip his head off, to be honest.
Tyler decided that was the moment to attack the beast that had stood in his way. Years ago, a strike like that would have seemed formidable and terrifying to the younger Enid (and it was; she still remembered that first fight under the blood moon), but for the Volvaugr...
Enid Addams simply stepped aside with a speed and grace that no one would have expected from a creature of her size. When Tyler stumbled forward, finding no resistance in front of him, Enid hit him in the back of the neck with her elbow, knocking him back to the ground.
Where she proceeded to stomp on the Hyde's disproportionate head until it was almost buried in the ground. The monster was still alive, but definitely unconscious, as evidenced by the beginning of the process of reverting to its human form.
“You'd better get some sleep. The people here will decide what to do with you,” Enid Addams murmured, still in her wolf form, causing even more incredulous reactions among the witnesses.
In Weems' office, at the window, Wednesday had made no effort whatsoever to hide the smile that had formed on her face at her wife's display of power. She had been so absorbed in watching the brief confrontation that she had almost failed to notice the sudden bristling of the hairs on the back of her neck and the awakening of the warning instinct she had developed over the years.
She spun around suddenly, surprising and alarming the others, pulling a dagger from one of her sleeves and pushing her teenage self to stand behind her.
She cursed at herself for allowing the distraction, ready to throw the piece of metal at the figure that was finishing materializing in the middle of the office, standing over the unconscious Laurel.
Wrapped in a red cloak that did little to conceal the Puritan hat on his head, Joseph Crackstone (or rather, a Joseph Crackstone) was wielding a silver scepter, the tip of which had begun to crackle with an unnatural discharge of energy, pointing toward the two Wednesdays. His face glowed with a smile full of insane glee on his lips.
Like a child who has gotten two pieces of candy for the price of one.
Wednesday realized that even if she threw the dagger and hit him squarely between the eyes, Crackstone would shoot the moment he saw her move her arm. And she couldn't risk counting on the mere hope that he would miss the first shot, not at that short distance.
But she had to do something, because he was going to shoot anyway.
NOTES
And yet another evil cliffhanger!
If the confrontation between Tyler and Volvaugr Enid seemed abrupt... well, that was the idea. Tyler is an early game boss, while Enid Addams is in the final stretch of her New Game +. Galpin didn't stand a chance.
And in case anyone's interested, Volvaugr Enid's basic werewolf form is starting to resemble the werewolves in the movie Van Helsing, if you want a more direct visual reference.
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