Mosaic art by barblaz-arts/Barbara_Lazuli.
Vega and Sora are creations of barblaz-arts/Barbara_Lazuli.
The situation was a little surreal.
At least that's how it seemed to Vega, and if it seemed that way to Vega, poor Sora must have been going through a minor internal nervous breakdown. The young werewolf glanced sideways at her friend and sure enough, Sora Toriyama was biting her lips while nervously fidgeting with her hands.
Did she put on lipstick? They look really good... Wtf Vega, clean thoughts.
The strange woman whom her mom had knocked unconscious with a single blow had been tied up by one of her mami's replicas, the one who called herself Woe, in one of the chairs in Principal Barclay's office, and seemed to be examining her.
And she and her mom had to talk about all this!
Vega knew that as a werewolf, her mother was stronger than a normal person, something that also applied to herself. But her mother was a veterinarian and monitor at an animal sanctuary, the kindest and most loving person on Earth. Vega had seen the scars on her mom's face and knew her story, but she had never fully grasped that her mom was capable of violent acts (her mami, on the other hand... Yep). So seeing Enid “I-still-cry-when-I-see-videos-of-baby-animals” Addams knock someone down with a punch had been a bit of a shock.
The other aspect that made the whole scene surreal was that she and Sora were still there.
For some reason, none of the adults had insisted that the teenagers leave the room. This seemed almost miraculous to the young werewolf, given how overprotective her mothers could be at times. Although, to be fair, Vega wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
And at that moment, her mother decided to squeeze her in one of those hugs capable of breaking an adult man's ribs.
“My baby!”
Ah, yes, technically it was still Parents' Weekend, and Enid tended to become extra maternal after the separation of the first few months of the school year.
“Mom, I need to breathe,” mumbled Vega, conveniently ignoring the hint of a giggle that seemed to come from where Sora was standing in the room.
The sound of a throat clearing echoed in the momentary silence. Bianca Barclay was back seated at her office desk, putting her siren necklace back on while glancing at everyone present.
“I'm sorry for the interruption, but I'd really like to know what's going on, who that person who appeared out of nowhere is, and what that replica of Wednesday is doing to her...”
“Oh, Bianca, I'm so sorry,” said the Wednesday in a pink sweater (something the siren still had trouble accepting) offering her hand to shake in greeting. “I'm Wednesday Friday Addams. Well, all three of us are, but for simplicity's sake, you can just call me Friday, and my companion is Woe.”
“For self-explanatory reasons,” Woe muttered as she continued to examine the unconscious attacker and reinforce her bonds.
“You feel woeful?” asked Enid.
“I bring woe upon others.”
“Ah. Makes sense.”
“I confess that I share many of Barclay's concerns,” interjected the local Wednesday, Vega's mother. “My vision showed you and the exact location of my attacker so that my wife could neutralize her, but I lack much of the context.”
“Oh, yes, the context is... well, it's a bit complicated,” Friday began.
“They are variants of Mrs. Addams from other universes,” Sora interrupted. "They have come to protect our Wednesday Addams because a bunch of interdimensional lunatics want to kill her, and if they succeed, it will also mean the destruction of this entire universe.”
Everyone stared at the girl. Nervously, Sora shrugged and pointed at Woe, “Her words, not mine.”
“And they're not evil doppelgangers,” added Vega, “They don't have mustaches.”
“Okay. I always forget that it's easier to summarize than I expect,” Friday said, “But yes, broadly speaking, that's it.”
“But...” Enid began, still keeping her hands on her daughter's shoulders in a protective gesture, “How did you two meet? That must be quite a story.”
“Does the name Isadora Laslow ring a bell?” asked Woe, still busy examining the unconscious intruder.
“Vaguely,” said Enid.
“Not at all,” said the local Wednesday.
“Rowan's cousin?” Bianca asked, puzzled. “She died years ago, during Rowan's first year at Nevermore...”
“In another universe, Isadora didn't die before Rowan and became convinced that Wednesday was responsible for Rowan's death,” explained Friday. “She studied witchcraft and tried to erase the Wednesday from her universe from existence with some kind of dimensional exile.”
“But she messed up the spell and ended up transporting five of us from our respective universes into Wednesday’s, ” Woe continued. “We resolved that crisis and... another slightly more serious one a few years later, and after that we found a way to keep in regular contact with each other. We’re a kind of... sisterhood.”
“Fascinating,” said the local Wednesday, observing her counterparts with an analytical expression. “We could spend hours simply discussing similarities and differences.”
“Oh, we've done it many times,” said Friday, “and there are universes out there with versions of us that break all the rules.”
“The musical one,” muttered Woe, with a shudder.
Ignoring Woe's comment, Friday continued, “Although the truth is that you look a lot like Weds, the Wednesday from that dimension where we first met. The presence of Nevermore, married to an Enid... although you two are a little older than them and...” Friday glanced at Vega, “You don't have a twin sister, do you?”
Vega shook her head, “Nope, I'm an only child.”
“Despite their similarities, Vega is not a variant of Little Friday any more than your Pandora is, even though cosmologically they are equivalent to each other,” said Woe, standing up while holding several objects in her hands. “Continuing with the matter at hand... Some time ago, that Wednesday had a vision of an attack similar to this one and gathered us all together to help her neutralize it. The attacker was a member of a group we now know calls itself the Normalcy Nine."
“We stopped the attacker, but he died before we could question him,” Friday continued, “And after that, we were transported, along with a couple of other people, to someone who explained the situation to us and sent us at random to universes where the local Wednesdays were in danger, to stop the attacks and try to find out more about the reasons behind the Normalcy Nine and their quest to restore normality to the multiverse.”
“Eliminate me and with me this entire universe, right?” Wednesday said. “That doesn't sound very ‘normal’ to say the least.”
“It isn't, and we still have many gaps in our knowledge about it, but saving you was the imperative,” said Woe, placing the objects on the table. “Let's see... this silver band she had on her wrist is similar to our multiversal travel devices.”
“It looks more handmade, closer to something like Grandmama's rings rather than Needler's devices,” Friday pointed out.
“Needler?” asked Vega.
“Another variant of your mother,” replied Woe, “And yes, this instrument seems to rely more on magic than technology.”
Recalling the last magical enemy capable of multiversal travel they faced, Woe couldn't help but frown even deeper.
The woeful Addams placed another small object on the table, in this case something resembling an earpiece. “The attacker had this in her ear. I believe that the one who attacked us in Weds’ universe used something similar to communicate with their base and undoubtedly activate the possible suicide device or spell they have hidden in their bodies.”
“Oh God,” whispered Bianca.
“Yes, that man literally exploded in a flash of light,” Friday added, clearly uncomfortable remembering it, which caught the attention of the local Wednesday.
“And finally, this,” said Woe, placing the silver sphere on the table, “which I believe is the weapon they use.”
“A sphere?” asked Enid. “How do you kill someone with that?”
“Throw it hard at someone’s head?” suggested Vega. A simplistic suggestion, but the reality is that with werewolf strength, both she and Enid could kill someone by throwing a marble with all their might.
“Or maybe shove it down their throat so they choke and suffocate,” said Sora, drawing the attention of everyone present once again. Enid looked surprised, Vega looked affectionately amazed (were those stars in her eyes?), and Wednesday looked unexpectedly impressed. There even seemed to be a hint of an approving smile on her face for a split second, but Sora couldn't be sure it wasn't just an optical illusion.
And there was also a look of resignation from Bianca, followed by a slight sigh.
Oh well... my plans for Miss Toriyama to be a calming influence on Vega seem to be working out the opposite, she thought.
Woe took the sphere in her hand. A fleeting expression of concentration appeared on her pale face, and in an instant the sphere turned into a dagger, then a baton, a machete, an ice pick, an axe, and... a silver rubber duck.
“Metal that can be shaped according to the user’s thoughts, ” observed the local Wednesday, “Any person can use it comfortably by resorting to what they have the most experience with.”
“Indeed,” said Woe, letting the weapon turn back into a sphere before placing it down on the table again. “And in the case of this intruder, I would bet it was some kind of firearm,” she said, removing the hood to reveal the unconscious face of an elderly woman with a black eye that was becoming increasingly swollen.
“Oh my God, I just punched someone's grandmother,” said Enid.
“Don't feel bad,” said Woe, “I recognize this harpy.”
“Oooh, she's a variant from one of your universe, right?” said Friday, leaning in to get a closer look at the woman. “Abigail Craven, that was her name if I remember correctly.”
“Correct. Also known as Dr. Greta Pinderschloss, one of her many false identities,” added Woe, “The version I knew as a child was a thief and con artist who manipulated my amnesiac Uncle Fester to get her hands on the family fortune.”
“I assume that version you knew is dead and buried,” said the local Wednesday, with a hint of venom in her voice.
“Buried, yes. Dead... does it matter?”
“Well, what's the next step then?” asked Enid.
Friday slightly lifted the left sleeve of her sweater, revealing the watch-like device manufactured by Needler for jumping between universes. "Well, it seems that our travel instruments have stabilized, and this lady is still unconscious,“ she said, giving Abigail Craven's bound legs a gentle kick. “I'd say the best thing to do is to leave and take her with us to see if we can learn more from her group.”
“The question is... Where do we take her? Do we go back to Weds' universe or to the space where Morningstar gathered us?” asked Woe.
“I'd love to go back to Weds' universe and check on the kids while we're at it,” Friday admitted, “But I don't want to put any of them near these Normalcy people. No, maybe it's best to go back with Morningstar,” she added, resignedly.
“I gather that this Morningstar fellow is the one who explained the situation to you and sent you on this crazy hunt,” asked the local Wednesday. “Do you trust him?”
“Not even close, but we didn't have many other options,” said Woe.
“Then I'll go with you,” said Wednesday, causing a couple of loud “WHAT?!” from her wife and daughter.
Enid stepped forward, a worried expression on her face as she took her wife's hands in hers. Vega followed closely behind, a storm of emotions dancing in her eyes.
“Wednesday... babe... I understand you want to help, but...”
“This is not a decision I am taking lightly, querida,” replied the Addams, unnaturally soft, taking her wife's hands before placing another on her daughter's shoulder, fixing her gaze on the young girl before speaking aloud to the other two Wednesdays present, “Having neutralized this attacker... What guarantee is there that another will not come?”
Woe and Friday exchanged glances.
“None,” said the former.
“As we already said, we have a serious lack of knowledge about their organization, ” said Friday, “So if they notice the absence of…”
She stopped when a thought crossed her mind, “Woe, we have to go back to Weds’ universe first!”
Wednesday simply nodded, stroking the cheeks of the two most important women in her life in one of her rare but extraordinary displays of affection through physical contact. "You've heard them. If I stay here, those maniacs might come back for me, and we can't always rely on my visions being accurate or always giving us time to prepare. We got lucky this time. By staying, I'm putting this world in danger, and more importantly, I'm putting you two in danger, and I won't stand for that."
“Oh, Weds...” Enid said, stifling a sob. She could see it perfectly clearly: there would be no way to convince her wife to stay. And she couldn't go with her either, because that would mean leaving Vega alone and with no certainty that they would be able to return.
That potential danger was suddenly very present in the mind of the young teenage she-wolf, all expressed in a single word uttered between sobs as she hugged her mother.
“Mami…”
Wednesday returned the hug, “Shhh, calm down, mi criaturita. I can't promise you I'll be back, we both know I can't offer false comfort.”
“Yeah, that's not how you roll,” replied Vega, sniffling.
“But I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to get back, and woe betide anyone who tries to stop me.”
Friday approached the family, “We will bring her back, and that I can promise. Addams' word.”
“If we're going to leave, we'd better do it as soon as possible,” said Woe, carrying the unconscious Abigail on her shoulders. Friday and the local Wednesday stepped closer to her. “The multiversal jump of these devices has a spatial proximity area,” Friday explained, addressing Enid, Vega, Sora, and Bianca. “So it would be best for the rest of you to keep your distance, just in case.”
“One last thing,” Friday said, addressing the new recruit, “Technically, one of our group already uses Wednesday as her main name, and the rest of us use nicknames of various origins… What should we call you?”
Wednesday took one last look at her family before turning to Woe and Friday, her face set in a mask of determination as she cracked her knuckles like a boxer.
“Isn't it obvious?” she said. “I'm Mami.”
NOTES
Rhea Ripley is going to sue me. And I hope Barbara_Lazuli and the rest of Vega's fans can forgive me for the potential emotional damage 😱
Happy Holidays! 🎄 See you next year!
Some translations!
mi criaturita: (spanish) my little creature/my little one.
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