Art in the mosaic by @barblaz-arts
Minutes before Enid Addams sensed that something terrible was about to happen to her wife, new arrivals showed up at the gathering point in the dimension where Morningstar's base was located.
Friday and Woe were the first to arrive. Their device materialized them in the same central room where Wednesday, Eneit, Taylor and Cutting Wolf were standing making it clear that they were not coming alone.
“Ah, I see we're not the first to arrive,” Woe observed, carrying an unconscious woman wrapped in crimson robes on her shoulders.
“Is that one of...?” asked Taylor.
“One of the Nine, yes,” Friday replied, "We decided to bring her with us in case more information could be extracted from her. Her name is Abigail Craven."
“I see she's not the only person you've brought with you,” Wednesday said, approaching the other newcomer, “Wednesday Addams,” she introduced herself, “Although you surely figured that already.”
The new Wednesday, one of the most physically similar to her she had encountered so far but clearly a couple of decades older, responded with a half smile as she folded her arms, "Our two variants have brought me up to speed. Oh, and just to avoid confusion, call me Mami."
Something akin to a chuckle choked in Taylor's throat. Eneit raised an eyebrow, “Oh, that means mother, doesn't it?”
Cutting Wolf, for her part, like any self-respecting Enid despite her recent emotional blow, had no filter.
“Am I surrounded by MILFs?”
“Ignoring that question,” muttered Taylor.
Wednesday merely gave the shadow of a nostalgic smile. In her first year at Nevermore she wasn't very familiar with certain expressions of the contemporary vernacular and didn't know of the existence of the term MILF until she overheard some students making gratuitous comments about Morticia one Parent's Weekend.
When Enid explained the meaning of the term to her...well, no one could ever prove that it was her that caused their visits to the ICU.
As Wednesday and the newcomer Mami spoke, Eneit could not help but notice once again how Wednesday had taken the initiative in welcoming the new counterpart. How she had taken a leadership position naturally and without imposition.
Ever since she had met them she had always been struck by how that seemed to be the case, how even other such independent Wednesdays like Woe or Needler always took Weds into consideration or heeded her words.
In a conversation a couple of years ago, Friday had offered an explanation of sorts.
“She's our big sister,” the Addams in pink had said, "Yes, I know some of us, especially me, are older than her now because of the time desynchronization that existed between our universes, but at that first meeting in her reality Enid and she took us in, protected us and guided us, and she was the oldest of all of us then. And since Shark ruled that we were all sisters, Wednesday has been our big sister ever since."
While the others engaged in conversation, Woe inceremoniously dumped the unconscious Abigail Craven on one of the couches as if she were a sack of potatoes. Looking at Taylor and an Enid who looked more metal than flesh, she didn't hesitate to go for the jugular.
“I assume things didn't go well on your foray.”
“That's a fucking way of putting it,” Taylor replied, with a certain growl in her voice.
“You seem a bit... irritable,” Woe observed, her tone of voice deliberately neutral.
The Hyde tried to disguise a flinch, “I'm sorry, it's just... it's been so many hours without my Weds.”
“Well, you at least still have your Weds,” Cutting Wolf interrupted, "I've lost mine. And my whole world. It was a shitty world, but it was mine, you know?"
“I would offer my condolences but given the scale of your loss I think it would be perceived as insulting,” Woe said.
“Spare me the condolences,” replied Cutting Wolf, shooting a glance at the oblivious Abigail Craven, “Is this one of them?”
“Yes.”
“Can I slice her up?”
“Not yet.”
Cutting Wolf was about to say something else, but was interrupted when they heard the murmur of voices emerging from the hallway leading to the living quarters area.
“Looks like others have arrived,” Eneit said.
She had barely uttered those words when Shark, Parker and Eamon made their presence known in the room. Without another word, Eamon and Friday ran toward each other, charging into each other in an embrace that threw them to the floor.
“Wifey!”
“Wolfie!”
“Ugh, my sugar levels,” said Shark, though there was no real malice in her words.
“Who...?” Cutting Wolf began to ask, eyeing the effusive couple with a mixture of surprise, envy and longing.
“Us,” Eneit replied, “Eamon is a variant of Enid.”
“Uh... some kinda hunk,” muttered the cyber-lycanthrope. Some things were constant in the multiverse, it seems.
“What's pretty clear is that Morningstar's forced jump has put us all in some pretty ragtag groups,” Wednesday pointed out, “It's too bad he's not here so I could say a few choice words to him.”
“You're not the only one pissed off,” replied Parker, looking around, “My wife hasn't arrived yet?”
“I'm afraid we haven't heard from Needler yet,” Wednesday said, before adding something else, "Enid has gone to our residence to check on the children. I'm sure Varadi is fine."
Parker responded with a grateful smile.
“How did it go for you guys?” asked Friday, who was still being hugged by Eamon from behind as he nuzzled the back of her neck and the top of her head, something he always used to do when they were reunited after being involuntarily separated.
"The Wednesday from that universe is safe, and she and her Enid preferred not to come. They are standing guard over the intercepted member of the Nine and plan to interrogate her further," Shark explained
“A variant of my mother,” Parker said, grimacing.
“Oh, that's got to sting,” Taylor said.
“Our variants in that universe are homicide detectives,” Shark continued, "With ties to the mob. Yes, the Addams Family is the head of a criminal empire,“ her eyes twinkled for a moment, ”Perhaps I should discuss certain business opportunities with father when I return home,“ she murmured, ”It's been a long time since he's been involved in anything but blowing up his model trains, he could use a new project..."
“Better get to the point, Shark,” interrupted Eamon, “Tell them what the detectives found out.”
“Ah yes!” continued the particularly psychotic Addams, “Our enemy is a small army unto itself, each member of the Nine has about a hundred variants and they all work for...”
“The Unkindness,” interrupted a voice.
A newly arrived Pup, with Wod and two others beside her.
Taylor stood up as if propelled by a spring, most of her rational thoughts vanishing as she launched herself full on Pup, who greeted her Hyde with a smile and wide open arms despite being paler than usual and visibly nervous, or coming out of shock.
Similarly, Eneit and Wod gravitated towards each other, but the wolf princess could see that a weight had fallen on her normally jovial husband's shoulders. Their embrace was surprisingly delicate for a person of her size and extroverted nature, and all the spikes and sharp edges of Wod's armor did not seem to bother her in any way.
“Tell me, what has happened my prince?” asked the barbarian werewolf, “What black shadow corrodes your thoughts, my ph'nglui mglw’nafh?”
“Eneit,” said Wod, his eyes with pupils dilated like those of a cat that has seen the canary that will become his slaughtered lunch, “That is Old One speech.”
“Fhtagn.”
After casting a glance at the assembled couples, it was Wednesday who again took the initiative to greet the other two newcomers who had arrived with Wod and Pup.
“So...another variant of us and a variant of Agnes DeMille,” she said.
“You know a variant of me?” the young redhead asked.
“Yes, we had a fleeting contact at Nevermore...endearingly demented, in her own way.”
“I'm afraid we have no time for frivolities, Sparrow,” interrupted the new Wednesday abruptly. The attention of Weds and the others fell on the new variant. They could see that this Wednesday looked prematurely aged and was confined to a wheelchair, her body supported by what appeared to be a rudimentary exoskeleton, a metal corset and mechanical braces on her joints. Also obvious was the lack of her left hand.
“Oh, dear, what happened to you?” asked Friday.
"Teleport accident, I wouldn't recommend it. But that's beside the point now. The situation is potentially more critical than you think,“ replied the newcomer dryly, ”This is Sparrow, that's her code name. Mine is Moon Raven. I'd prefer you call us that if necessary."
“What exactly happened?” asked Weds, before turning back to Pup, who had already managed to calm Taylor down, “And who is this Unkindness you mentioned?”
"The leader of the Nine. The outside influence Morningstar warned us about," Pup began.
“She's a Wednesday,” Wod added.
A stony silence fell over the room, before being broken by Woe's voice oozing sarcasm.
“Oh, for the love of all redundancies...,” Woe muttered.
“Well... look on the bright side, it's not The Bright One,” Eamon interjected, “That's good, isn't it?” he asked, with some nervous insistence.
“That was the Evil Overlord version of me that you recruited us to fight her army years ago, wasn't it?”, asked Cutting Wolf.
"An evil Enid? Come on!" muttered Sparrow, incredulous.
“One day I have to tell you about UltraEnid,” replied Moon Raven quietly.
“Anything that doesn't mean the return of that monster is good, darling...” said Friday, answering Eamon's question, “But if the opponent is a variant of us... well, I think there's a chance she really is a fearsome and formidable foe,” Friday paused before frowning slightly, “Oh dear, that sounded awfully narcissistic, didn't it?”
“Well, if she's anything like us she surely has her fair share of narcissism,” laughed Shark, “Unkindness, Unkindnes...curious name. Isn't that the nomenclature for referring to a flock of ravens?”
“A bit on the nose, if you think about it,” Pup said.
“Pup,” Wednesday interrupted, “We need more details, please.”
"Well, Moon Raven and Sparrow's universe is like those superhero comics that Pugsley consumes like religious pamphlets. Their Enid variant is basically Supergirl."
“You should have seen her, my dear,” Wod added as he took Eneit's hand, “A version of you with the strength of a thousand armies and able to fly.”
“Well, long story short... we were told that the Wednesday of that universe was dead, but as you can see that wasn't the case.”
"I faked my death after my accident and a vision that showed one of the Nine attacking me at the very moment I met my variants along with Sparrow and another of my companions in my cave and base of operations. But it was not one of the Nine who appeared before us."
“It was The Unkindness,” Wednesday finished, deducing the divergence.
“We still don't know how she did it,” Wod explained, "She just appeared there. Without any of the signs that indicate a teleportation or dimensional jump. Before she wasn't there and suddenly she was. Like a blink of an eye."
“And she's strong... or at least uses some kind of magic or technology that allows her to withstand the blows of an Enid that could split a planet in two with one punch,” Moon Raven explained.
“And before we escaped I heard her voice in my head...I'm ashamed to say I was flooded with a sense of inexcusable terror,” said Wod, “I can't determine why, it's not my first experience with telepathy.”
“Perhaps some kind of psychic attack coupled with the communication...,” ventured Friday.
"And there's another thing... we can't kill her. But neither can she kill us,“ Wod continued, ”She hit me,“ he said, pointing to the indented part of the armor on his chest, ”Here, a blow that could have killed me with no difficulty. But seconds after feeling my ruptured ribcage I could feel it recover immediately."
“Oh, that's because she's an Addams,” Shark said.
“Yes... it seems that despite everything she has never stopped perceiving herself genuinely as an Addams and seems to have no problem recognizing that as her variants we are extended family in a way,” said Weds.
“But that doesn't make any sense,” Parker cut in, “Isn't her plan to go around killing Wednesdays throughout the multiverse and destroying their universes?”
“Yeah, something doesn't add up about all this...,” Pup admitted.
Wednesday's eyebrows rose in a rare show of expressiveness.
“She's lying.”
“What do you mean?” asked Mami.
"The Unkindness...is lying to the Nine. Whatever plan or creed she has sold them to gain their loyalty and control over them is not the true objective she is up to,“ she said, and then extracted the silver sphere she had snatched from the body of the Crackstone variant, ”And I'm beginning to believe that these particular weapons are the key."
“She said there were things worse than death,” said Wod, “If we accept that our variants that have been disintegrated by those things are not dead...”
“Then maybe they're in a worse situation,” Woe finished off, "It may not be exactly like The Bright One, but I reaffirm again my complaint about redundancies. We're back to having a maniac capturing Wednesdays."
“But destroying entire universes as an addendum,” said Moon Raven, “That cannot and should not be tolerated.”
Wednesday was about to speak when from the area of the quarters a cry of “AAAAAGH!” was heard angrily, sounding almost like a roar, followed by a list of swear words in Greek that we cannot reproduce here as it would hurt the sensibilities of readers even if they did not know the language.
Saint-Clair burst into the room, half-transformed into her werecat form and looking as if she wanted to commit a massacre. Her eyes scanned the chamber quickly, and despite her mental state she took note of the new faces.
But right now she wasn't worried about a bunch of new faces. She had other concerns on her mind.
Her refulgent green eyes bore into Parker.
“YOU!” she exclaimed.
Parker, surprised, pointed her finger at herself, “Me?”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR WIFE!?”
“Well, that's a whole loooong list of things and one of the many reasons I love her, but something tells me you're not asking that specifically...”
“OF COURSE NOT! I... AAAARGH!” cried Saint-Clair, clearly frustrated with the situation and with herself.
Woe walked over to her and rested one of her hands on her shoulder. The effect was immediate and the werecat began to breathe deeper and more slowly. Gradually her form returned to that of the human-looking, brown-haired Enid they were familiar with.
“I... I... I... uuugh, I’m sorry, I just...”
“My woeful feline,” said Woe, almost whispering the words into her ear as she stroked her back, "Calm down, breathe. Focus again and tell us what happened to come back to us so strangely upset."
“Needler shot Enid in the face!” the werecat exclaimed.
…
…
…
“What?” asked Eamon.
“Saint-Clair,” interrupted Wednesday, “Explain yourself.”
The werecat took another breath of air before she began, "We arrived.... ugh, we showed up at Nevermore and found teenage versions of you and me who were there as students but there was also a kid who claimed to be Enid's cousin and was creepy as hell who turned out to be some sort of cosmic shapeshifting entity who had slurped the brains out of that universe and had the local Wednesday and Enid as her particular Malibu Barbies, and then, I have no idea what went through her head, Needler pulled out that silver thing she took from the guy who attacked us at your house AND SHOOT THE LOCAL ENID DISINTEGRATING HER!"
There was a brief pause, interrupted by a chuckle from Parker.
“Oooh! That's her formulating a hypothesis in her head and starting on-site experimentation,” said Parker, “She does that sometimes without warning.”
“But why shoot the Enid of that universe?” asked Friday.
“Saint-Clair, what happened after that?” insisted Wednesday.
“Ah, well, I had to fight the girl-monster-cosmic-thing and the Enid disintegrated and the Nothing began to form and...”
“Wait, so the Nothing isn't tied to Wednesdays... it forms if anyone in a reality is wiped out?” said Pup.
“And as Weds said, surely the key has to be in those silver-like weapons,” said Shark.
“Sigh, knowing my wife she must have jumped into our universe and started experimenting with that thing,” Parker said with resignation, “I just hope she doesn't end up being the one to blow up our planet.”
“All right,” Wednesday said, "We know more than we did before but there are still unknowns. And from what Pup and Wod have told us about The Unkindness..."
“Who?” whispered Saint-Clair.
“Evil Wednesday responsible for all this,” replied Woe.
“Ah.”
"...I think we should consider moving. I'm not entirely sure that this hideout belonging to Morningstar is one hundred percent safe and truth be told I still don't have full confidence in him or his motivations."
“There seems to be no sign of him here since we arrived,” Taylor said, “Nor Amanda or Monday.”
“If we are to deal with the evil that stalks us I propose we jump into our universe,” Wod said, with Eneit nodding at his side, "The fortress of my realm is secure and has both magical and mundane defenses. Any unwelcome ultraterrestrial visitors can be repelled."
“Well, I don't know... I understand what you're saying, but I think it's better to stay,” said a new voice, “At least until Enid is back, right?”
A childish voice. Candid and reasonable.
The person who had spoken was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with black hair pulled back in familiar pigtails and eyes of two colors, one dark black like an abyss without light and the other a pale blue almost chalky.
Her smile was angelic but there was something about her that....
…
Everyone seemed to know her.
What she was saying... well, it made ş̷̢̙̉̈́͗ e̴̡̢̱̻̋̋͐̾̒ n̵̡̩̩̙̂́͌̓ ş̸̺͖̙̬̽ e̶̼̟̽̈́̑̚, you know? Yeah, it would be nice to wait for Enid. Better to wait there, all together. Maybe Morningstar would deign to come back and finally answer some questions.
Yes, waiting was the b̵̧̘̰̝́̕ é̴̛̟̘̤͇͎̜̘͂ ṣ̵̛̫̯̍͗̔̚ t̶̡̮̘̺̃̾̈́͆ͅ thing to do.
Saint-Clair, on the other hand, felt a familiar shiver. Looking at the girl... no, wait, she knew her. Like everyone else, she was...
The werecat smacked herself, taking a bloody swipe at her own face.
“Enid!!” exclaimed Woe, “What are you...?”
But Saint-Clair ignored her. All her instincts focused on the little girl in the middle of the room, sharing that space with all the others as if she had always been there.
“What... who the hell are you?” the werecat asked, feeling the blood trickle down from her scratched face.
That felt familiar. That felt safe. So did the pain.
Woe looked at her fiancée, perplexed and mystified, something uncharacteristic of her, "What kind of question is that, querida? Mary Sue Addams has been with us since the beginning of this whole affair."
Saint-Clair blanched at the name.
And Mary Sue merely s̵͑̈́͋͂̍͂͛͆̍͆̈̔͝ ̧̙̠̟̳̝̖͈̪̓̐͌m̶̹̉͠ i̴̭̼͇̝͎̅̄̐̽͊͝͠͝ ̡̡̧̫͇̺̮̮̟̺̥l̵̝͔̖̥̼̐̍͗̅̓̐̈́ͅ ̗̤̯̜̦͇̝͓ẻ̶̝̄ d̸͒̌́̒̒̈͑̏̒̍͊̆͛.͖͙̱͇̼̽̈̉̉
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