Betrayal

by SciFiDVM

Summary:

I see it in his eyes. He does honestly believe that I have betrayed him at some point. I wonder how truly delusional he has become. Is he too far gone already? “I like to believe that I would remember an instance where I outwitted and deceived you in our previous encounters. Such a memory would have truly brought me solace in the many days I stewed over how I fell for your actual deceptions. As I have no such joyous recollection, please, do tell me how you believe I betrayed you.”

Set in Season 2 Part 2, based loosely on the trailer and comments in Hunter's recent interview. Spoilers for Season 2 Part 1.

Notes:

Like probably everyone else, I have feelings after Season 2 Part 1. Here's the fallout of that.
I've got a few other one shots dribbling out of my brain at varying speeds, so keep an eye out for those, and the soon to be posted final chapters of Counting Woes.

Chapter 1: You ran.

The smell of these sewers makes me wish for the sweet sensationless void of my coma once again. I regained consciousness only three weeks ago, and it has taken most of that time for me to regain my memories of what transpired in the moments immediately preceding my high velocity impact with Willowhill’s front driveway. It’s the recently remembered vision that occurred during my scant few seconds of freefall that have driven me into this warren of tubular cesspools.

At first I was ecstatic that my ability had returned, but I quickly found that my visions still seem to be glitching in every other circumstance. Of course the only trigger that manages to break through my psychic impotence is the one that I should have recognized sooner last year. Even just a frantic shove from Tyler in his Hyde form apparently remains enough physical contact to unlock my precognitive capability.

The vision doesn’t even have the decency to be about the topic I find to be of highest importance. Instead of gleaning insights into how to save Enid from her impending demise, I get to watch a gaunt and malnourished Tyler huddled in a sewer passage failing to stave off a gradually worsening insanity as his deranged and unleashed Hyde attempts to take over. I cannot guarantee that a mentally unstable imploding Hyde is not the cause of Enid’s previously predicted death, so, I decide to address the only conundrum my second sight has determined I should bear witness to in the past month.

I am regretting my decision as I attempt to avoid the most conspicuous puddles of sewage on the walkways I am utilizing to search the putrid labyrinth beneath Jericho. I have just decided that I will abort this rancid endeavor if I do not find Tyler within the next few minutes, when I spot what looks to be a large pile of detritus up ahead. The form occasionally shudders with what appear to be ragged breaths and suppressed growls. I approach the huddled figure draped in a dark green cloak and can confirm it is my former nemesis from a half dozen paces away. He makes no attempt to rise or evade me. Only when I stand directly in front of him, glaring down at him, does he make the effort to lift his head and look at me.

His hair is dirty and matted, hanging down even further into his eyes than when I saw him chained at Willowhill. His skin has an unhealthy pallor that is only accentuated by the dark circles under his eyes. The only thing more hollow than his stare are his cheeks, suggesting he’s dropped a significant amount of weight. The one positive aspect I can note about his appearance is the fact that he is in his human form. From what I saw in my vision and the significant time lapse since he killed his master and the uncontrolled descent into madness began, this is becoming an extremely rare occurrence.

“Of course it’s you.” He snorts out as he rocks himself back and forth sitting on the small concrete outcropping. “You come to finish me off, or are you just here to enjoy the view?”

I take a deep breath and summon all of the very limited patience I am capable of. “I think I’m supposed to help you.”

He stills his rocking, looks up at me, and squints in my direction as if he has suddenly become very confused by what he is seeing. Then he doubles over from manic laughter. He laughs so hard it devolves into a fit of wet rasping coughs.

I take a concerned step back from the huddled mass in front of me writhing with bronchospasms and lunacy. I fear I have recovered my memory of the vision too late, and that Tyler and the Hyde have already deteriorated beyond the point of no return.

Once he manages to regain some control of his breathing, he looks up at me with pure malice in his eyes. “You should go.”

His words are clipped and intentional. His hateful stare, direct and unwavering. I recognize the subtle difference from the calculating devious looks that came from the imprisoned Hyde and his words that had all been impeccably selected to induce specific reactions. There is no cunning manipulation in the face before me. This isn’t the Hyde. This is actually Tyler.

I am temporarily taken aback by the depth of the resentment he clearly harbors for me. The Hyde’s vitriolic hatred I can understand. That monster is a sociopath that rightfully blames me for its incarceration and for causing it to fail its previous master, however fraught that relationship may have been. But this is Tyler. The Tyler that existed before the monster and the murders. The kid with the borderline neglectful father and a suboptimal part time job he suffered through to pay for that abominable red jalopy he optimistically considered a functional motor vehicle, whose wit was always just a little too sharp and whose humor trended a bit too dark to ever truly fit in with his normie peers. While I am certain that much of our interactions last year involved the Hyde using him like an elaborate costume to deceive and ensnare me, I have come to believe that Tyler is who I met that first day in the Weathervane, and is who commiserated with me over facetime about wanting to escape Jericho. Beyond that, attempting to determine which, if any, interactions were genuine is merely speculation and conjecture. Not to mention pointless, since the Hyde within him had been unlocked before we even met. No Hyde has ever been unlocked because the master wanted to keep the monster suppressed. They want the beast for their nefarious purposes and the human is merely a byproduct that they would rather discard. And they generally do. I’ve found no indication that the human personality is permitted to persist in any form that can outwardly be detected for long after the Hyde is unlocked. But here he is. Tyler is sitting before me and he apparently despises me as much as the Hyde. I cannot fathom why.

“Logic agrees with you.” I stare down at him.

“Wouldn’t expect you to do something illogical.” He glares at me, trying to stop the shivering that wracks his malnourished body.

I roll my eyes. “Illogical would be declining assistance from the only person willing and capable of providing you with aid when you are so obviously in desperate need of such.”

He snorts. “Like I’m going to trust you.”

I scoff. “You act as if I’m the one that lied and betrayed you.”

He glowers at me.

I see it in his eyes. He does honestly believe that I have betrayed him at some point. I wonder how truly delusional he has become. Is he too far gone already? “I like to believe that I would remember an instance where I outwitted and deceived you in our previous encounters. Such a memory would have truly brought me solace in the many days I stewed over how I fell for your actual deceptions. As I have no such joyous recollection, please, do tell me how you believe I betrayed you.”

After a long moment of hatefully glaring straight into my eyes, he growls, “You ran.”

The confusion at his statement must show on my face.

“You kissed me. You saw what I was. And you ran.”

“Was I supposed to remain and let you maul me as you had a slew of others already?”

“You were supposed to know I wouldn’t have actually hurt you.” The words sound as if they are being ripped out of him.

I scoff. “The way you assisted your master in attempting to kill me a few nights later suggests otherwise.”

“That wasn’t… That only happened because you left me.” The frustration radiates off him like heat shimmering the air over hot coals.

“The only thing that betrayed you that night was your own true nature revealing itself.”

He snorts air through his nose and looks up at me through red rimmed eyes. “Yeah. Pretty stupid of me to think that you might have been able to look past the obvious monster in front of you and care what was actually going on beneath.”

I snap back at him, “As you have reminded me, with as much smug satisfaction as I have ever witnessed from another living being, I did actually care about you.” That feels horrifying and yet somehow cathartic to admit out loud.

“Just not enough to stay when you found out the truth.”

“Excuse me? You’re bitter that after I had a high definition first person view of you ripping our therapist’s throat out with your teeth, I woke to find you hovering over me in a similar position and wanted to put some physical space between us?”

“You didn’t just put physical space between us, Wednesday. You abandoned me.”

I’m not following his twisted logic, and it shows again.

He turns almost manic and scrambles to his knees and then barely onto his feet. He clings to the grating on the wall for support as he rants, “I’d just started to understand what was happening to me when we met. I was terrified. Terrified of what I was, what I’d done, and mostly of what was happening to me. I could feel it. It was taking over more and more and I knew that before long there would be nothing left of me. Then you show up and nothing scares you. Not Lucas, not the monster in the woods that gutted a kid right in front of you. Shit Wednesday, it looked like if I’d hung around a few more seconds you were going to try and pet me.”

I divert my eyes. He’s not exactly wrong.

“It took you no time at all to become obsessed with the monster, and you had no hesitation telling me all about it. Sure, to everyone else it looked like you just tolerated me a little more than anyone else, but I knew what that meant. Some part of you actually cared about me. Not as much as you cared about the monster, obviously, but…” He scrubs a boney hand through his knotted hair. “I wanted to tell you it was me so fucking bad. But I couldn’t. Because how could you have been anything other than thrilled to find out that the monster you were nuts over and the guy you kinda liked were one and the same.” He leans back against the wall, having trouble supporting his own weight. “Believing that you would still care when you found out the truth gave me hope as Laurel got more and more deranged, made me do things that were…” He shakes his head as if attempting to physically dislodge an uncomfortable memory. “That hope was the only thing that kept the monster at bay, kept some part of me alive.” He takes in a deep breath and another coughing fit accompanies its exhalation. When he recovers, he continues, “I knew… I thought I knew that when you found out it was me, that you’d understand. That you’d help me.” He scoffs in a very self-deprecating manner. “Instead, when it finally happened, you gave up on me without a second’s hesitation. You didn’t even question that maybe there was a reason the monster never hurt you, that it didn’t kill Eugene, that I was trying to help you figure it out, that maybe there was a reason you were starting to trust me. You turned on me like that trust meant nothing. You left me at the mercy of the monster and Laurel Gates.” The emotion he’s forced through his words leaves him panting as he finishes his damning soliloquy. He stares at me for a long second before turning away in disgust. “So you’ll excuse me if I don’t want your help now.”

I digest his words for a moment. I sense the desperation in his story that I should have sensed in him back then. His feelings of betrayal make sense to me now, and it sends a pang of sensation I suspect is regret down my spine. I choose my next words very deliberately, as their admission will likely pain me as much as they will Tyler. “In that moment, I was faced with two possibilities as to your true nature and your motivations behind pursuing a relationship with me. I had a split second to decide if I believed that your intentions had been true and that despite the monumental obstacles you had actually developed feelings for me, or if it was more likely that the manipulative monster inside you had played me at the behest of your psychotic master from the beginning. The fact that I instinctually suspected the latter realistically exemplifies more about how I view myself than about how I interpreted your behavior.”

He turns back to look at me again. His eyes are full of questions and his mouth hangs open slightly as if he intends to start voicing them.

I preempt them. “They say that past experiences are one of the best predictors of future behavior. As I once told you, most people choose to cross the street when I approach. The likelihood that someone not only developed some kind of fondness for my notoriously abrasive personality, but did so in the face of significant physical and psychological retribution for such affection seemed a substantially less likely possibility. It is unfortunate for both of us that I allowed statistical probability to override the anecdotal evidence you mentioned when I made my choice.” It’s as close to an apology as I will let myself give. “And at the time, I did not have the same understanding of Hydes or the Hyde and master dynamic that I now possess. Perhaps if I had known then what you had been subject to…” Perhaps I would have gutted Laurel myself. That goes unsaid in the awkward tension that now sparks between us.

Thing’s get well present during my convalescence from my too limited brush with death had been a pilfered copy of Fairburn’s file on Tyler and the one she had just started on Laurel Gates. The list of depravities Laurel casually described perpetrating on Tyler in her efforts to subjugate him show Faulkner’s description of the process as “unlocking via chemical inducements” as so wholly inadequate as to be beyond laughable. That assumes anyone were predisposed to laugh at concepts such as grooming a child, physical torture, and inflicting enough psychological distress to induce suicidal ideations.

He seems to read some truth in my eyes, and the last traces of malevolence in his gaze fade. It is as if the bitter resentment he had held against me for my perceived injustice was the only thing still fueling him. As he accepts my almost apology, it’s like all the life drains out of him. He slumps against the wall, barely remaining on his feet. He sounds hollow and broken as he mutters, “So what are you really doing here, Wednesday?”

“I know what’s happening to you.”

He lifts an eyebrow at me as if he just can’t wait to hear me Hydesplain his predicament to him.

“Fairburn’s records. I have them.”

He looks exhausted as he only shrugs at me. The motion causing a violent shudder to course through him.

“You killed your master. Fairburn’s records cite resources,” I’ll not tell him that the resource is said dead master, “that claim that any Hyde that loses its master, let alone kills them themselves, is destined to descend into complete and terminal madness as the unfettered Hyde and whatever remains of the human host clash. The results are not just devastating to the Hyde, but usually involve significant collateral damage as the deranged monster spirals toward a mental oblivion and destroys everything it encounters.”

“Sounds delightful.” Tyler wheezes.

“As I have a vested interest in ensuring the safety of my family and some other select individuals, I am here to ensure you don’t go completely insane and kill them all.”

He looks uninterested.

I sigh in exasperation. “And I suppose I do owe you for saving me from that rampaging zombie at Willowhill. Even though your attempt at altruism did almost kill me on its own.”

This brings a small amount of light to his eyes. “So you finally remembered what actually happened that night.” He even gives a little smirk. “Imagine my surprise to learn that everyone thought I had been trying to kill you with that little stunt.”

“Despite my temporary short term amnesia surrounding those events, I was also surprised to awaken from my coma and find that people had assumed that you would ever try to kill me with anything but your claws.”

“You really are the only one that gets me.” He struggles to cough out around some facial twitching I’m worried indicates the Hyde trying to wrest control from Tyler.

“To that effect,” I take a deep breath, “Let me help you now the way I should have realized you needed me to help you before.”

He looks at me with suspicion for a moment before pushing off the wall and taking a stilted step toward me. He reads something in my eyes and nods. With this tenuous truce, we start walking side by side through the sewer tunnels. His pace is slow and occasionally falters.

“So do you have an idea of how we’re going to stop me from going full homicidal psycho, or are you making this up as you go along, like usual?” He smirks down at me.

“I have a few ideas.” I give nothing away.

He gives me a look that is both derisive and condescending. “I hope your brilliant ideas don’t involve forcing some new master on me.”

I say nothing.

He grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop, facing him. “I’m serious Wednesday. I’m not going through that sick twisted shit again, and the monster’s not gonna allow it. So if you’re thinking of trying to find some way to make you be my new master, you need to tell me so we don’t waste our time and I can just go feral and eat you right here and now.”

His grip on my arm doesn’t touch bare skin, and I suspect that is why, rather than triggering a full vision, my compromised ability grants me only small flashes of emotion that seem to nudge at the veil of my subconscious. I feel mostly his anxiety mixed with the multitude of unpleasant sensations he associates with his previous master. Something else is also lurking there. Some sort of instinctual response I get the impression he only associates with me. And always has. I suddenly find the wording of his threat suspiciously duplicitous. Not sensing any deceit in the maelstrom of emotions assailing Tyler, this time I elect to believe his previous assertions that he does not actually mean me any serious harm. So I raise an intrigued eyebrow at him, let my gaze trace pointedly down the strip of bare flesh along his chest and chiseled abdominal muscles that are now exposed by his cloak hanging slightly open, then return my gaze to the emotion wrought eyes hiding behind the unkempt curls. “Don’t make promises you have no intention of keeping.” Then I pull my arm from his grip and continue walking back toward Nevermore.

He stands shocked in place for a few seconds as if he has just encountered a gorgon. Then I hear his footsteps splashing through the puddles of sewage as he jogs to catch up. I don’t miss him muttering under his breath, “’Generic looks’ my ass.”

No psychic abilities are necessary to detect the shift in him. It’s like that small amount of hope that had once sustained him through Gates’s abuse of his forced obedience has returned. I’m no longer attempting to outwit the manipulative sociopath. I’m just sharing space with the real Tyler. Despite his narcissistic alter ego’s assertion, I am self-aware enough to realize what actually drew me to Tyler, and it was not the cruel homicidal monster. Well at least not primarily.

Tyler seems entirely too pleased with himself as we spelunk through sewage, and I can’t help but take advantage of the situation. “How apposed are you to this new master concept? Because I’ve read that there are numerous methods for a master to unlock a Hyde that are… deeply sexual in nature.”

He chokes on air at my side. Once he regains the ability to speak, he stammers, “Are you serious right now?”

“No.” I glare and roll my eyes at him like the gullible and easily manipulated beast he is. “Of course not.”

“Right. Of course not.” He confirms. “But you would tell me if that was true, right? Because that might change some things.”

“I should have just let you rot down here, as you’ve clearly already lost whatever fragment of sanity you once possessed.” I grumble as we turn into one of the main tunnels that will take us back to Nevermore.

“Hey, you’re the one that admitted you have feelings for me.”

“Had. Past tense.” I snarl at him.

He rolls his eyes at me now. “Yeah. That’s definitely what it looks like.”

“Can you just turn into the monster so I don’t have to listen to you talk anymore?”

“Is that what you’re into now?”

The banter continues the entire way through the sewer system and up the ladder leading to the surface access hatch behind the east wall of the main building near the lupine cages. I tentatively exit the hatch first and ensure the small clearing is unoccupied. Once I determine that I can see no one nearby, I usher Tyler out behind me.

“All joking aside, you do have a plan, right?” He asks as he stands and pulls the hood of his shabby cloak up over his head. “Because I’m not going to be able to stay like this for long. And I don’t know if or when I’ll be able to take back control.” 

“You’ve seemed remarkably lucid since I found you.” I lament. “I had expected much worse.”

He stands to his full height and looks down at me from far too close. He takes a deep breath. “I think what we talked about… it helped. Probably not for long. But it took a lot of effort to hate you. If that makes sense. Being able to let go of that anger is the first thing that has felt good in a long time.”

“That’s unfortunate.” I feel myself having to look away from him. “Because I do have a plan. You’re just probably going to hate me for it.”

He barely has time to register my words before a syringe materializes out of thin air. Medical glove covered hands become visible just as the needle puncture’s Tyler’s jugular vein. The thumb on the plunger depresses, and the milky swirling liquid in the syringe goes straight into Tyler’s circulatory system and makes it to his brain before he knows what has happened. He collapses to the floor as Agnes takes full form beside his crumpled body.

She looks down and appraises her victim’s haggard condition. “He was much prettier before all the crazy set in.”

I shrug. She’s not wrong. In his current state, he looks like something from a fundraising commercial set to Sarah McLaughlin music.

“Shall I call Willowhill, like we planned?” She pulls out her phone.

The word “yes” should be coming out of my mouth, but I find myself hesitating. Something itches under my skin as I stare down at Tyler. My nemesis is outwitted, defeated, and at my mercy exactly as I had planned. I force my mind to conjure up images of his face as he threatened to kill Enid while chained in the asylum, the look in his eyes when he’d taunted me at the police station. Despite my usually vivid imagination, all I see is the sleep slackened face of a boy that has known nothing but abandonment and betrayal from everyone around him in his short life. Myself included. The monster inside him hardly compares to those that have taken advantage of him.

“Wednesday?” Agnes’s voice pulls me from my reverie. “Should I make the call?”

With a heavy sigh, I say, “No.”

“Oh goody!” Her eyes bulge with excitement. “We’re improvising.” Her face turns serious. “Do you need me to fetch your interrogation supplies? I heard all about what you did to him before. Perhaps a stronger taser this time?”

Something curdles in my gut. “That won’t be necessary.”

Chapter 2: I'm Sorry

Notes:

Yeah.. total fail at what was supposed to be a quick little oneshot. There's at least one more chapter.

Tyler wakes chained in one of the lupine cages. He can’t hide the bereft look of disappointment that consumes his features as he takes in the totality of his circumstances. Then he sees me sitting just outside the cage bars. The resignation in his gaze quickly morphs to hurt, then anger as he stares at me. Only when his eyes begin to bulge in their orbits do I stand, unlock the barred metal door, and enter the cage with him.

“Put that away.” I groan at him as I start to unlock the manacles shackling him to the wall.

The rage visible in his features quickly abates and turns to confusion as I finish releasing his bindings.

“Don’t make me regret this.” I warn.

“First I’d have to know what ‘this’ is.” He rubs at the reddened flesh around his wrists.

I consider my words for a moment. “Let’s just say that I’m satisfying a bit of morbid curiosity.”

He scoffs. “That doesn’t sound like something that’s going to end well for me.” He looks around the cage on edge. “Especially when it involves chains.”

“I apologize for that. But precautions seemed necessary, given that we had no idea which version of you would emerge from the period of sedation.”

“We?” Tyler asks.

Agnes materializes at the cage door.

“Woah.” Tyler jumps back, startled. Then he really looks at the other girl. “Who’s your technicolor mini me?

“This is Agnes. She’s my intern.”

“You have an intern?” He looks even more confused than before.

“I was her stalker first.” Agnes smiles.

“Ok. That tracks.” Tyler rolls his eyes at me.

I turn to Agnes. “Clearly I’m not in any danger. You are dismissed.”

“But…”

“Go.” I command.

She pouts but obeys and leaves.

Tyler snorts a laugh and I can see the subtle change in his eyes before I hear it in his voice. “I see you’ve been practicing.”

“Practicing for what?” I pull my chair into the cage and sit. I’m addressing the Hyde now.

“For this. For becoming my master.” He waves a hand to indicate the cage. “That’s what all this is about, right?”

“Originally I had planned to subdue you and return you to Willowhill.”

He looks momentarily taken aback by my blunt honesty.

“I’ll not lie to you.” I straighten myself. “You pose a danger to those I currently care about. You can’t fault me for plotting the most expedient way to remove such a threat.”

“But something changed your mind.” His stare has turned calculating.

I keep my demeanor calm, but don’t look away from him for a second. I know better than to take my eyes off a captive predator. “You deserve nothing less than to spend the rest of your days chained in that titanium and plexiglass terrarium, kept in solitude, shocked into submission, and studied like the sad parasitic specimen you are. Preferable in a manner that includes vivisection.”

He chuckles and smirks at me.

“But Tyler deserves better.”

His smirk turns to a disappointed sneer. “Wow, Wednesday. Didn’t expect you to go soft on me. And certainly not for… how did you put it… ‘A feeble minded schoolyard bully with nothing to offer to the world except for subpar barista skills’. How… disappointing.”

I continue, ignoring his taunt. “Every piece of evidence I can find on the topic confirms that a Hyde without a master will eventually succumb to their catastrophic madness. That means you and Tyler both die. Terribly.”

His lip curls into a snarl. “Just because you’ve heard rumors about what might happen…”

“You don’t even notice that you can’t hide that tremor in your hand anymore.” I interrupt his impending rant.

He looks down at the trembling appendage and immediately slaps it against his side with the other hand, then treats me to an angry growl.

“Let’s stop pretending you’re still in control here.” I level at him. “You’re dying and there’s nothing you can do about it on your own. I’m prepared to offer you two options.”

He steps up to where I am sitting and looms over me. “You’re taking a big risk.” His voice is menacing as he reaches for one of my braids but aborts the movement just before making physical contact. “I could turn and snap your neck before your new little pet could make it in here to try and stop me.” He leans down and holds his face less than an inch from my hair. He inhales deeply and almost shudders. “I know she and the mutt are just outside that door.”

I stand and he instantly moves back so as not to actually touch me. “But I don’t think you will.”

His bluff called, he relents. “So what is this choice you’re offering me?”

“If you choose to do nothing, your grisly death is assured. I will arrange a secure but humane containment to ensure you will not injure others as your condition progresses. Sedatives can even be provided to spare you having to experience the worst of the deterioration. You will die free of a master, but you will die. Soon. Likely within the month.”

He swallows hard. “Or?”

“Or we find a way to install a new master of your choosing in the least traumatic manner we can discover. For example, I have found reference to hypnosis being effective when the Hyde is a more willing participant.”

“So let me get this straight.” He stalks into my personal space so menacingly that I take a step back. “I get my choice of being locked up until my brain destroys itself in the next few weeks, or I get to be some new sadist’s puppet for the rest of my slightly longer life?”

He gets so close to me again that it drives me backwards until my back is pinned against the hard cold stone that makes up the back wall of the cage. He puts his hands against the wall on each side of my head and leans in so that his face is only inches from mine. He says nothing, just looks at my face as if he’s attempting to decipher some ancient hieroglyphics.

“The goal would be to find a potential master that would not sadistically use you.” I refuse to give in to his attempts at intimidation.

 “Guess that rules you out.” He says after running his lower lip through his teeth and raising his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

“You’re the only one that keeps bringing that suggestion up. Rather bold of you to assume I’d even want the position.” I attempt to induce some intimidation of my own by closing half of the already minute gap between our faces.

He licks his lips and we are close enough that I can feel the air his tongue displaces ghost across my mouth. “C’mon, Wednesday. We both know you would only ever allow it to be you.”

“I have no desire to control your every action, and I would get no enjoyment from forcing you into some unwilling submission.” I grimace at the thought and attempt to pull back away from him, only to be met by the unyielding stone at my back before I am able to put three inches of space between us.

His expression is dark, predatory. “Maybe not.” He smirks as he leans in to fill the small amount of breathing room I had tried to place between us. “But could you imagine having to sit back and watch as someone else does it to me? To Tyler?”

A white hot flame of something bitter ignites in my chest at his words. I have only read about what Gates did to Tyler, and even the mere thought of it makes me want to desecrate her corpse. I can’t imagine maintaining my sanity if I had to watch another master control him, touch him.

Some unconscious micro-expression on my face must give me away because he leans in until his lips just graze the shell of my ear and whispers, “There it is.”

“There’s what?” I fight back a nervous swallow. He is entirely too close.

He pulls back so that he can look me straight in the eyes as he raises one eyebrow in a dark grin that is far too knowing.  “That little voice inside your blood, that every time you look at me, screams ‘mine’.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re projecting.” I duck out from under his arm and put a few paces between us.

“Or maybe you and I aren’t as different as you want to believe.” He cocks his head at me. The taunt is clearly meant to elicit a reaction.

I don’t give him the satisfaction. “So have you made your choice then?”

He starts pacing the small space like a caged animal. “There’s a third choice you know.” He pacing brings him right back into my face again. “I could gut you right here and walk out that door. Those two brats on the other side couldn’t stop me. Maybe I could even come up with some way to handle this on my own.” He starts circling around me as he has to grab his tremoring hand again to still it as the nails start to show traces of elongating against his will. He leans in when he is standing just behind my right shoulder, “I’d be free and you’d spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, knowing that any day I could come for you, and you’d have no way to stop me.”

I refuse to dignify his threat by turning as he lurks behind me. “Oh, that’s an option. But despite your baseless assertion that you think you could somehow overcome the mental deterioration you’re already succumbing to, I think we both know you can’t.”

He stalks around in front of me again and tries to look intimidating.

“And the other thing I know about you, is that you want to live.” I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t care about some noble death. All you care about is bloodshed and vengeance on everyone you perceive as having slighted you. You can’t do that if you’re in the ground. So I think you’re going to take my deal. The only question left is who you want your new master to be.”

He smirks at me. “Clever.” Then he trespasses far too much into my personal space again. “But if you’re really that clever, you already know the answer.”

“Noted.” I glare back at him. “However, you should be aware that this is not just your choice.”

He scoffs back. “Like you’re going to decline.”

“I’m not talking about me.” I take a small amount of pleasure at seeing him startle in confusion. “You want me to be your master, I need to talk to Tyler first.”

He draws back as if I have struck him. “This bargain is entirely between you and me. No reason to bring him into it.”

“I think he has every right to have a say in this.”

“But he’s so whiny.” The Hyde lets his head roll back in annoyance. “And before this little… set back… after what happened with Laurel, I’d had him almost completely suppressed. Once this master issue is settled and things stabilize up here,” he traces a finger along his temple, “he’ll be gone for good.”

This is not exactly news to me, but I still find myself having to work to quash any external reaction to his words. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. I told you to let me talk to him. Consider this practice in taking orders from me.”

He scoffs at me. “As you command.”

The snarl on his lips quickly fades, the harshness in his eyes erodes, and his whole face softens. He looks around frantically, confused, like someone who has just awoken from unconsciousness and is unsure  about where they are and how they got there.

“Wednesday?” His voice is soft and scared.

“Tyler.” I remain emotionless in the face of his display.

“What happened?” He looks around the unfamiliar cage and approaches me as if expecting me to help. “Why am I here?”

I step back when he reaches for me. “I’m giving you a say in what happens to you.”

“The… the choice. Right.” He stammers. He looks terrified as he little more than mumbles, “I don’t want to die Wednesday. Just… just do what he wants.”

I roll my eyes and growl, “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Instantly the sneer returns to his lip and his stare goes cold. “What? Too much?”

I had known from a mile away that wasn’t Tyler. “You underestimate him. And how much he despises you.”

He gives a long suffering groan. “The feeling is more than mutual.”

He glares at me for a long moment. When I neither back down nor even blink, he eventually relents and rolls his eyes. He throws his head back, scrubs his hands through his hair, and takes a seat on the small cot in the cage.

When he lifts his face to meet my eyes, the ones I see looking back at me are not sad or confused. They are taking my measure. His whole expression is wary, like a predator that scents a trap before it springs.

This is Tyler.

“I assume you heard what we’ve been discussing?”

He shrugs. “I’m a little surprised you’re giving me a say in this.”

“Yours is perhaps the only opinion I will be taking into account when I make this decision.”  I inform him.

He flinches as his head ticks briefly to the side, then he laughs to me, “Someone’s jealous.”

The corner of my mouth quirks up a bit at that.

He holds my stare just a little too long and with a little too much intensity. “You were going to send me back to Willowhill.”

“I was going to send the Hyde back to Willowhill.” I correct.

“Why didn’t you?” He’s still sitting feet away from me, but the look in his eyes makes it feel like he’s invaded even deeper into my personal space than when the Hyde had me pinned against the wall moments earlier.

“I had been operating under the impression that you and the Hyde had become one and the same long ago. Upon realizing that a distinction remained, I reevaluated the propriety of my tactics.”

“You’re taking a big risk. For me.”

“Yes, well, in the exceedingly rare instance that I do make a mistake, I strive to learn from it, not repeat it.”

“And I’m that mistake?” His expression is unreadable.

“The mistake was not trusting my instincts.”

He snorts a small breath through his nose and looks away.

“My instincts regarding you.”

His head snaps back around to regain the eye contact that seems to tether us like some physical thing strung taught in the empty space between us. Neither of us appear able to withstand its pull and I find myself taking a step in his direction as he involuntarily rises to his feet.

“Ask me how much of it was real.” A fine tremor is coursing through his shoulders and down his arms as he takes a step toward me, which I suspect has nothing to do with fighting back his body’s cohabitant.

I take a final step toward him. Our eyes stay locked as the space between us closes to a fraction of an inch. “I suspect I already know the answer to that question.”

He doesn’t lean in, he doesn’t reach out. We both know he’ll respect my personal space until I give him permission not to. It’s one of the reasons why his next words strike with such deadly accuracy. “Everything that happened between you and me was between you and me. And it was all real.”

I have to swallow before I can speak again. “What I want to know is when you learned that I was the subject of your master’s plot. How long did you pursue me, harbor feelings for me, in spite of knowing what was to come?”

He doesn’t shrink back, shows no sign of shame as he admits, “The night of the Harvest Festival.”

“That’s why the Hyde killed Rowan. To keep me alive for…”

“After.” He interrupts me, then takes a deep breath and licks his lips. “I found out later that night. After I killed that kid.”

I suck in half a breath through my teeth. It is as if my lungs have forgotten how to function.

“I killed someone to protect you without a second’s hesitation. Then before the blood on my hands even had a chance to dry, I found out that I was going to be forced to eventually help kill you. Can you even imagine…”

Absolutely, soul-crushingly tragic is the only type of romantic fantasies I have ever entertained. And this ironic devastation perhaps exceeds even my wildest imaginings. I grab the lapels of his tattered cloak while he’s still mid-sentence and pull him down to me. He’s startled at first, but catches on quickly as I take his mouth with mine. He moans as my tongue parts his lips, and the sensation tears at my insides. There’s something more desperate in the kiss this time compared to the time this happened before. He’s not holding my face now, he’s clinging to it. My hand is not gently on his chest, they’re both gripping his shoulders, pulling him against me and digging my nails into the ratty cloak and indenting into the flesh beneath. The burning need engulfing my every thought, every movement isn’t some banal man-made concoction of a match and gasoline. It’s something more primal, a force of nature - a lightning strike to dry brush that becomes a raging wild fire. It feels as if it will consume me and I intend to let it.

Then, as quickly as it began, Tyler pulls back and the moment is broken. He staggers back a step and the cold harsh reality of our surroundings return to me.

He looks utterly broken as he brings shaking fingertips to his lips.

I can do nothing but pant in gulps of air and stare in confusion as Tyler seems to be internally going to war with himself. He flinches as if experiencing significant distress and, for a moment, even has to brace trembling hands on his thighs for support. Clearly the Hyde is once again expressing his jealousy, but Tyler’s anguished expression suggests more than just pain is assaulting him. I keep my distance until he reaches some kind of equilibrium and manages to look at me again.

“Is the Hyde attempting to seize control?” I ask cautiously.

“He’s not ‘attempting’.” Tyler admits in a tone that suggests defeat. “Wednesday, he’s going to take control of this body. Completely. And soon. He wasn’t lying when he said that stuff before. That’s what happens to people like me. Once the Hyde is unlocked, it’s just a matter of time for the person, and my expiration date is already past due.”

“What are you saying?” I fail to understand how he has gone from what was just happening to where we are now in such short order.

“I’m saying that I’m sorry for what just happened. It isn’t fair to you to tell you all that and to…” His stare drops to my mouth. “That was a real dick move given what I’m about to ask you to do. But I just couldn’t go through with it without letting you know the truth.”

His words and their tone have put me instantly on edge. “What are you about to ask me to do?”

He takes a fraction of a step back towards me. “You can’t be the Hyde’s new master.”

“Please elaborate.”

“If you think being his new master will somehow save me, you’re wrong. The only reason he’s weak enough that I can be here at all is because Laurel’s dead. The minute you remove that instability, nothing will stop him. I will be an impotent prisoner in my own body, watching him do all the awful things I know he has planned, and I won’t be able to do a damn thing to stop him. And I’ve seen his plans. He wants me to suffer for all the times I fought back before, and he’ll do things to hurt you purely to drive me insane before I fade away entirely. He killed our last master. Don’t think for a second that the master’s control is iron clad in his case. You can’t let him live.”

“So you want to be allowed to run out the clock on your impending psychologic demise?” I don’t like this option, but I did give my word to honor his wishes in this regard.

“No.” He takes another step toward me. We’re not as close as before, but we are within arm’s reach. “I want you to take the option you didn’t bring up, but I know you must have considered.”

“And that is?”

His hand shoots toward the spot where he rightfully assumes I have a dagger strapped on my hip. My hand makes it there before his, but this is apparently what he wants. He takes my whole hand in his grip and forces me to pull the dagger from its sheath. Even in his weakened and malnourished state, he easily overpowers me. He pulls my hand up until the dagger in it is resting against his throat.

“You end this now. For good.”

I do nothing to stop my absolute revulsion at the idea from showing.

His voice turns pleading as he applies enough pressure to my hand that the blade is starting to indent the skin just below his Adams apple. “Please, Wednesday. I’m… I’m dead either way. Lock him up and he’ll get loose or some ass hat at the facility that wants a pet Hyde will intervene and try to become his master. He will not stay locked up again, and what he’ll do to you and everyone you care about when he’s loose…” He shudders, causing the dagger’s edge to draw a small drop of crimson, “The only way to stop him is to kill us both right now. This is probably the last chance. I’m not going to be able to hold him back again after this.”

“I can’t.” My voice is shaky.

“You have to.” He brings the hand not holding my hand and the deadly blade against his carotid up to cup my face. “If you can’t do it for me, do it for Enid. She’s dead if he gets loose.”

His words strike one of my greatest fears. What if the Hyde is what kills Enid? This may be my only chance to save her. I shift my grip on the dagger’s handle.

He can feel the change in my intentions and slowly releases my hand. I continue to hold the knife at his throat as he drops his hand to gently cling to me at my hip. He leans his neck into the dagger, and I can feel the pressure transfer through the blade into the hilt. A flick of my wrist and it’s over. The threat to Enid is eliminated. Tyler’s torment will come to an end. My attempted murder last year will be avenged. It is the truly logical solution.

“Do it because we both know that you were always the one that was meant to end this.” The look he gives me isn’t scared or accusatory, it’s relieved. He is at peace with his fate.

“I’m sorry.” It’s all I can choke out as I prepare to do the only thing I can do in this situation.

He bares his neck as fully to me as he can, and I feel his grip on my hip tighten just slightly in anticipation of the blade’s sting as he closes his eyes.

In a flash, I pull the blade away from his neck and slam the butt of the hilt into his temple.

He drops to the ground, stunned but not knocked unconscious. After a second of thrashing and clutching at the side of his head, he seems to collect himself. From his knees, he flips his hair back out of his eyes and glares up at me with a spiteful look that promises pain and retribution. The Hyde is back in control, just as I had hoped.

“You have a deal.” I spit down at him. “I’ll be your new master.”

The twisted grin that mars his face is nothing short of diabolical.

I turn and march toward the door of the cage. I have betrayed Tyler again. The difference being that this time it is because I refuse to abandon him. I can only hope that I will be able to find some way to circumvent the fate he believes is inevitable, and that he will forgive me when I do.

Chapter 3: Delusions

Notes:

Split this last chapter because it started getting long
The remainder should come along fairly soon.

I start to lock the door of thick metal bars behind me while exiting the cage as quickly as I can without giving the appearance that I am fleeing. Which I am. I need to get away from that body and both the personalities inhabiting it before I am subjected to any further unwelcome emotions.

“You know those bars won’t stop me.” The Hyde reminds me. “If I really want to get out of here, that is.”

“I am aware.” I force myself to look him in the eyes. “I’m not locking you in. I am locking everyone else out. I believe you are intelligent enough to know not to sabotage this one chance I am giving you to save yourself. I’ll not grant such a compliment to the others at this facility. A faculty member here already unlocked you once, and the student body have proven themselves willing to perform even more moronic stunts that trying to take a selfie with a Hyde in hopes of gaining notoriety on social media. You will attract all manner of moronic or nefarious attention should others find out that I am harboring you here.”

“So you’re just going to leave me here?” He pouts.

“For the time being, yes.” I glare at him. “I need to gather supplies and do further research into the unlocking process. Unless you would prefer being chained and tortured for an extended period of time. Time which I’m not sure you have.” I look pointedly at his trembling hand.

“Fine.” He growls. “But I suggest you hurry. Who knows what I might do as things… progress.”

I nod and leave the small antechamber between the cage and the front of the enclosed room. Once I exit the room into the fresh air outside, I slam the heavy steel door shut behind me and lean back against it. I just need a moment of calm and silence to catch my breath.

“OMG Wednesday! What just happened in there?” Enid screeches at me from about six inches away from my face.

I really should have known better.  

“Did we just hear you agree to be the Hyde’s new master?” Agnes shoves herself between me and Enid, jockeying for my attention. “How enviable. I’ve always wanted a pet.”

Enid not so gently maneuvers the smaller girl back out if the way. “And we heard you talking to Tyler. I mean Tyler Tyler. Then there was a distinct lack of talking for, like, a whole two minutes.” Her eyes narrow pointedly at me. “Do we need to have a discussion about what a bad idea it is to get involved with an ex?”

“Especially when he asks you to kill him five seconds later.” Agnes butts in again. “Even though that is incredibly romantic.”

This time Enid just plain shoves Agnes out of the way. “Wednesday, you heard what Tyler said. You can’t believe the Hyde will…”

“Enough!” I snap at the pair yapping in front of me like hungry little hyena pups.              

They both shrink back with an appropriate amount of deference for my outburst.

I take a deep breath to center myself, and keep my voice low, as I have no idea if the Hyde is listening or if he can hear through the steel door and concrete wall as well as a werewolf apparently can. “I do not trust the Hyde as far as I could throw him.” Which is, admittedly, a lot less than the distance he was able to unintentionally fling me back at Willowhill. “But as long as Tyler remains a separate entity within their shared body, I will not abandon him to the unfortunate fate he fears is inevitable.”

“I know you probably did way more research on Hydes than I did after last year. But what you’re talking about… Trying to keep a Hyde from taking over after being unlocked… I don’t think that’s a thing that can happen.” Enid tries to get me to see reason. “You may have to face the fact that the Tyler you… got close to… may be gone for good. And I agree with what he said. You can’t trust this Hyde, even if you are his master.”

“You’re right.” I admit. “You haven’t done as much research as I have.” Nothing in my research has suggested that there is any way to do what I am hoping to accomplish, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“So you have a plan?” Agnes chimes in optimistically. “Should I get the tasers?”

Enid and I both look at her with our heads canted to the side in concern and confusion.

“No.” I snap and shake my head. What is with her and the tasers? I make a mental note to be more consistent in locking up my interrogation instrument kit with her around.

Agnes’s face drops in disappointment, but rebounds quickly. “What are we going to do?”

I sigh. “We need to do some more research.”

Enid manages to read between the lines and shoots me a look that clearly says “I told you so.”

 

…..

 

Enid slams the cover shut on another dusty tome pulled from the shelves of the Nightshade library. The noise startles Agnes awake from where she had passed out with her face in a book.

“This is getting us nowhere.” Enid whines. “I’m going to bed.”

I can’t disagree with her. Nothing in this collection had yielded any useful information last year when I was attempting to determine the identity of the monster in the woods. I had hoped that knowing the name of the creature would have caused a few new resources with relevant information to emerge, but we’ve still found nothing useful.

“I suppose we can reconvene our search in the morning.” I concede.

Agnes yawns, then follows Enid out of the “secret” library. As the stone raven’s wings rise and the statue slides back into place once we have entered the exterior corridor, Agnes asks, “Did anyone remember to feed it?”

I groan internally. This is why I don’t have pets. The cages all have a sink with potable water, a cot, and sanitation facilities. They do not, however, have any food. “I will go take him something.” I don’t want to see his face again tonight, but he does actually look like malnutrition could be a legitimate concern. He probably shouldn’t be skipping any more meals if he is to stay fit enough to fight back against his impending mental deterioration.

Proving that the saying that I wouldn’t even subject my worst enemy to the cafeteria’s leftover mystery meat sandwiches is not just hyperbole, I collect a sampling of the other items left in the dining hall after the dinner hour for night time snacking. I trudge back out to the lupine cages and into the containment unit where I had stashed the Hyde earlier. When I enter, he’s sitting on the cot and glaring at me as I walk through the door.

“Here.” I extend an arm with the bag of fruit, chips, and cookies between the bars into the cage portion of the enclosure.

He saunters up and tries to act casual and disinterested as he takes the offered meal. However, the hunger in his eyes is unmistakable. “And here I thought you were intentionally starving me.” He pulls out an apple and takes a bite. As soon as he swallows it, he adds, “Deprivation of food was one of the first methods of torture Laurel implemented on poor Tyler.” He takes another bite, savoring the flavor before swallowing it and continuing. “Wasn’t nearly as effective as the whipping and the injections. Though I suppose that if you were looking for somewhere to start in your plan to begin forcing my submission to you as my new master, starvation is as good a place as any.”

“I have read what Laurel claims she did to unlock and master you.” I take a seat in the space outside the cage. “She said Tyler resisted for over two weeks.”

The Hyde sneers as he finishes off the last bite of the apple, tosses the core to the floor, and rummages in the bag trying to decide what to eat next. “I was as surprised as you are.” He unwraps the cellophane from a large chocolate chip cookie and takes a bite. “Didn’t think he had it in him.” He speaks around the mouth full of baked goods.

“I don’t suppose you have any suggestions regarding how to expedite the procedure this time.” I honestly don’t even know what procedure to perform. No source I’ve had access to gives any information on mastering a Hyde that has already been unlocked. I’m starting to question if the act has even been attempted before, let alone achieved.

His gaze turns darkly suggestive. “You want me submissive and kneeling before you?” He brings the pad of his thumb to his lips and very deliberately licks off a small amount of melted chocolate from the digit. “I can think of a few things we can try.” He turns his head slightly and his stare lands on the cot before returning to me.

“Not even in your wildest dreams.” I mutter.

“Oh you have no idea…” He almost moans.

I stand from my chair and turn toward the door. This is going nowhere and I don’t need to listen to his depraved ramblings.

“In all seriousness,” The Hyde’s voice is bitter, but holds a trace of something I suspect is fear, “You need to figure something out soon.”

I turn and look back at him. Tension radiates through his shoulders and neck, and he can’t suppress the fine tremor in his hands.

“It’s getting worse already.” I’m astonished and horrified by how quickly he appears to be decompensating. “Your deterioration appears to be worsening at an exponential rate.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” He growls as he barely manages to get control over himself. “They said that things would go bad quickly if I didn’t have a master, but this is ridiculous.” He sits on the edge of the cot and practices some sort of conscious breathing exercise. The tremors subside ad he looks over to me. “Laurel’s blood hadn’t even started to dry under my nails, and I was already having delusions.” He sneers at me. “Which were ultimately rather lucky for you, I suppose.”

“You weren’t delusional. There really was a zombie at Willowhill that tried to attack me.” I correct him. “Why you elected to save me from it rather than feed me to it, remains unclear.”

He grins, “Oh, I was going to let it eat that overgrown self-important brain of yours.” Then he rolls his eye. “You can thank your boyfriend for stepping up and coming to your rescue. Though he couldn’t even do that right.”

I’m shocked. “How did Tyler…”

“That delusion I mentioned.” He seems to debate whether or not to explain, but ultimately relents. “When I turned down that corridor and saw you standing there… for a moment I actually thought I saw my dead mother standing there with you. It made me… hesitate. Gave him an opportunity to… influence things.”

My heart stutters in my chest. Flashes of memories assault me just as overwhelmingly as a vision.

A dark haired teenager in the back row of a fencing team photo.

Myself shoving a medical case file describing inpatient hospitalization at Willowhill and stamped with the notification that the patient was deceased, into a chained up Tyler’s face.

Myself and Thing in a cabin in the woods looking at the back of a mirror covered in obituaries as I notice out loud, “Some of these go back fifteen years.”

One door in the LOIS facility that was heavier duty than the others and bore warnings about the danger of the occupant which were similar to those on the door of the cell I know housed a Hyde one level up.

A traumatized dark haired woman that resisted leaving her cage.

Said woman showing more shock than fear, and hesitating to leave my side, as a fully transformed Hyde barreled toward us.

How did I not realize it sooner? Donovan Galpin hadn’t been investigating LOIS because he feared for Tyler’s fate. He rightly suspected it was the fate that had befallen his wife.

“I need to go.” I turn and leave the chamber without a backwards glance even as the Hyde yells after me.

Chapter 4: Stonehurst's Machine

Notes:

Just barely sneaking this final chapter in as part 2 drops.
Haven't watched any of it yet.
Wanted to get this posted first.

 

Barely an hour later I am shoving police tape out of my way as I step through a graffiti defiled doorway that was already slightly ajar. Broken glass crunches under the soles of my boots as I step into the Galpins’ living room. Despite the noise of my entrance, I hear a faint scuffling sound come from upstairs. I release a breath I did not realize that I had been holding. At least some of my assumptions have proven accurate tonight. I must hope the trend continues.

“Francoise?” I call out in a tone I intend to come across as non-threatening, but the concept is foreign enough to me that I’m not sure how successful I am. All noise in the house ceases. “It’s Wednesday Addams. From Willowhill.” I continue announcing as I start up the stairs. “My Uncle Fester and I were the ones that released you.”

I crest the stairs and find the first door in the hallway open. In the dark, I can barely make out the form of a gaunt woman sitting on a bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs rocking slightly. She has discarded the outdated floral dress I found her in and is now wearing a pair of jeans, and an oversized sweater likely scavenged from Galpin men’s closets. The image is similar enough to the state in which I had found Tyler in the sewers earlier today that it causes my breath to catch in my throat. “Mrs. Galpin?” I approach slowly with my hands out in a manner I hope clearly indicates that I mean no harm.

She turns to look at me, and something like recognition flashes in her eyes. “My Angel! You’re here.”

“Yes, I…”

“You were already here.” Her voice is confused and her eyes unfocused.

Perhaps I overestimated her mental stability. Was the former Sheriff really the sanest one in this family? That’s a terrifying prospect.

Detecting my confusion, she points at something across the room.

As my eyes follow the trail she is directing them on, I take in my surroundings for the first time. Despite never having been in here before, I can instantly tell this is Tyler’s room… was Tyler’s room. The bedroom has obviously remained untouched since its occupant’s apprehension and incarceration months ago. I suspect simple neglect is the motivation behind the room remaining unchanged rather than some sort of sentimental nostalgia on the deceased former Sheriff’s part. My eyes trace from the unmade bed, past the laundry on the floor, to the cluttered desk. There, amongst the abandoned textbooks, unfinished homework assignments, and bags of half eaten junk food, are a few photographs taped to the back of the hutch sitting atop the desk. One shows a group of children dressed in baseball uniforms and lined up for a team picture. Another shows a small brindle puppy that is all jowls and floppy ears chasing its tail. Next to that is a picture of an old German Shepherd with a grey muzzle, whom I can only assume was Elvis’s predecessor. Then there’s a picture of a very young Tyler posing with a birthday cake sporting 5 candles and both his parents smiling behind him. The way the edges are frayed, especially on the side of the image where his mother stands suggests this photograph was handled frequently, and therefore a treasured possession. Something lodges in my throat as I see what is next to it. I know the image. It shows Tyler, myself, Enid, and Lucas standing in front of a clichéd tinsel backdrop at the Rave’n. Lucas looks oddly nervous with his arm draped around my roommate, who is all smiles. I stand to her right, staring daggers at the photographer and looking thoroughly unimpressed by the forced photo shoot, as Tyler is on my other side looking down at me with an expression somewhere between adoration and amusement at my discomfort. Despite the photographer attempting to give all four of us a copy, I refused to accept mine, I had assumed they had all been destroyed in the subsequent faux blood deluge. I certainly had not expected Tyler’s copy to survive the Hyde transformation and nearly fatal attack on Eugene that had followed in the chaos. Despite his master’s orders and the urgency in the command, he had obviously expended considerable effort to ensure the keepsake survived. I don’t know how to feel about that.

“Yes.” I admit. “I have been here before.”

“You know my boy, Tyler. Are you his angel too?” She whispers.

I barely suppress a snort. “That’s not exactly what I would call it.”

My sardonic response seems to trigger something in the dark haired woman. Some sort of cognition begins to crystalize in the depths of her eyes, and the dazed expression fades like someone has flipped a switch. “What did you say your name was?” She releases the death grip around her legs and takes up a more natural sitting position.

“Wednesday. Wednesday Addams.”

“Addams…” She repeats the name and I can see it rattle around in her mind until it suddenly sticks to something in there, the way an unsuspecting bug sticks to the windshield of a quickly moving vehicle. “Don’t tell me, Gomez Addams is your father?”

I nod and suppress a substantial sense of déjà vu at her choice of phrasing.

“And look at you.” She scoots over to the edge of the bed and starts to stand. “If you’re not Morticia Frump’s daughter…” She walks a circle around me, inspecting me. Though it doesn’t feel predatory. “I always knew Tish and Gomez were the real thing.” She stops in front of me and gives me a genuine smile. “You have no idea how happy I am to meet you, Wednesday.”

“You might want to hold that thought until you hear why I came to find you.” I shrug.

“This is about Tyler, isn’t it?” The woman before me has turned completely lucid and composed. The mentation change is astonishing, but not unprecedented. It’s not unlike the shift between Tyler and the Hyde. Which is not entirely surprising since Francoise Galpin is also a Hyde.  

I nod. “Yes.”

“That was him, at Willowhill, wasn’t it?”

Again, I merely nod in the affirmative.

“He’s been unlocked.” Her voice bares substantial pain at the statement. Then a hint of optimism tints her next words, “But he came to you that night. Does that mean you are his…”

I cut her off, “He came after me that night because he had just killed his master.”

She sucks in a breath and stiffens. “An unlocked Hyde can’t survive without a master.”

“I am aware.” I attempt to stay neutral in the face of my excitement over the fact that I have found someone with at least some basic knowledge about Hydes to potentially help me. “We are attempting to address the issue. But I could use your help.”

She looks at me thoughtfully. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. But first I need to know what happened to Tyler, to my family.” She seems to fully take in the state of the derelict and vandalized building that was once her home.

“You might want to sit down for this.” I warn her. She sits on the edge of the bed, and I pull out the desk chair to sit facing her. Then I tell her everything I know and have been able to piece together about the fall of the house of Galpin. I leave out some details purely for the sake of brevity. Others I omit because even I am not heartless enough to force a mother to listen to all the gory minutiae of how her child was violated by a psychopath or how her husband’s eyes were pecked out by possessed corvids.

Francoise Galpin stoically takes in the story of her bereft husband turning to a bottle for comfort instead of providing any to their grieving son after her supposed death, and the growing estrangement between father and son that led to behavioral issues and leaving Tyler easy prey for the machinations of a vengeful Gates descendant. Her dark eyes seem to read through mine in an oddly familiar way as I gloss over the fact that I met her son, there was a mutual respect of a sort, and then he and his master attempted to sacrifice me. I think she can tell that I've substantially downplayed the romantic component. I tell her how her husband was murdered for investigating LOIS, but this is another subject where I also skimp on the particulars. I do, however, go into significant detail describing the current predicament of Tyler’s faint residual remnant in the body being controlled by the deteriorating Hyde.

She processes the story quietly and without tears. Rather than becoming lost to despair, I see something I can recognize as a vengeful rage starting to simmer behind her far too familiar hazel eyes.

“I am sorry about your husband.” I admit. “While we did not always see eye to eye, I believe he did the best he could for Tyler.” I am sure of no such thing, but it feels appropriate to say in this circumstance. I need her focused and willing to help me. “While there is nothing we can do to bring him back, we can still save Tyler. He needs a new master if he is to have any hope of surviving. I have found no sources that provide any information regarding how one goes about instituting a new master for a Hyde that has been unlocked by another.”

“That’s because you can’t.” Her tone is almost clinically detached, but intrigued at the same time. “Cases of a Hyde outliving a master are rare enough. The thought of one intentionally killing their own master… that’s akin to a bedtime story used to scare naughty Hyde children into behaving. It’s just not something that happens.”

“Well, in your son’s case, it did.” I shrug.

“Not what most mothers have in mind when they hope to raise an overachiever.” She mutters sarcastically to herself.

I raise an eyebrow at her.

“Wednesday, I need to see my son.” She stands and looks ready to hike to Nevermore this very moment.

“I agree. But seeing you is going to elicit an extreme emotional reaction in Tyler and the Hyde. That is a card we can only play once, so I had been hoping to time your reintroduction such that it best suits our ultimate agenda.” I start to explain.

“Our agenda?” Now she raises an eyebrow at me.

“Am I wrong in assuming you are willing to help me in attempting to forestall Tyler’s inevitable demise?” I question her.

She grins. “No. I just wanted to hear you admit out loud that you care enough about him to want to save him.”

I gape at her. That was a cheap trick and… and it absolutely feels like something Tyler, the real Tyler, would have done. There’s no doubt these two are related.

I stand and start toward the door. “We should get going. It is a bit of a walk back to Nevermore.”

She hesitates slightly, and I can tell she’s fighting back some internal demons at the mention of returning to her Alma Matter. Which makes me suddenly wonder if that is all she is fighting back. Given her unimposing stature and demeanor, it is easy to forget that she is also a Hyde.

“I have been told that Hydes were banned from Nevermore approximately thirty years ago. If I am not mistaken, that time frame roughly corresponds to your enrollment there. Am I to believe this is merely a coincidence?”

“It is no coincidence.” She starts walking with me and her voice takes on a bitter quality. “I am the reason Hydes were banned form Nevermore. More accurately, Doctor Stonehurst was the true reason we were banned.”

“What happened?” I am not trying to pry into her personal affairs. I am hoping to glean some insight into how a Hyde with no apparent master is walking beside me, coherent and in complete control of her faculties decades beyond what I have been lead to believe is possible.

She lets out a derisive snort. “I suspect you must have done your homework to have found his daughter’s secret lair at Willowhill.”

“I followed where the clues led me.” I don’t bring up the fact that most of the clues had been amassed by her now dead husband. We are passing through the living room and I can’t stop myself from glancing at the chair where I had discovered his corpse. I’m surprised to feel a stab of something like sorrow tear through my gut. Had Donovan Galpin only managed to survive another few weeks, he would have been reunited with the love he believed he had lost to death’s cold embrace. Then again, if not for his death, I might not have gone down the rabbit hole that ultimately led to my unintentional liberation of all the LOIS outcasts. What is it about this family that lends itself so strongly to devastatingly ironic tragedy?

Thankfully the widowed Mrs. Galpin does not pick up on my unstated potentially sentimental reference, or more likely chooses to ignore it in order to remain focused on our task. My respect for this woman is begrudgingly growing with each minute I spend in her acquaintance.

“Then you know that Augustus Stonehurst was a normie allowed to teach at Nevermore.” She continues her story as we leave the house and step out into the night. “Everyone said he was brilliant, but like with so many, brilliance often breeds obsession.”

That is something I obviously know nothing about.

“He was obsessed with outcast abilities. He said his work was meant to understand them, but I saw through that. You don’t grow up as a Hyde without learning what it looks like when someone wants to take and control something you have.” She swallows down obvious resentment. “I knew he couldn’t be trusted, but his research was the only one of its kind, and the only thing that appeared to hold promise for revealing enough information about Hyde traits to begin developing a way for us to live without a master.” She sighs deeply. “As you have obviously now become aware, no one with honorable intentions ever unlocks a Hyde. And yet, something in our nature drives us to destruction if we don’t allow it to happen. That was my entire goal at Nevermore. To find a way to overcome a Hyde’s nature and find a way to exist without ever having to accept a master.”

Alright. I am definitely starting to like her.

“Stonehurst wanted to be a Da Vinci. Thought it would make him smarter, better, if he could be like them. Even had some underclassman one that followed him around as his research assistant. I can’t remember his name. Together they built a machine that he claimed was meant to harness and replicate outcast powers.”

“But it didn’t replicate abilities, it stole them.” I interject as my mind replays bits and pieces of the conversation Fester and I had with Judi in the LOIS chamber.

She nods at me as if she is proud of me for putting it all together.

“I suspected as much when an Avian girl from the class below mine inexplicably left the school the same week Stonehurst’s daughter was suddenly forced to remain hidden away in her aviary.” She shakes her head. “That’s when I made my critical mistake. I went to him. I told him that I knew what his machine really did. And that I wanted him to use it on me.”

“You were going to have it strip the Hyde from you?”

“I was.” She says it with no shame. “It seemed like the answer to all my problems. Stonehurst claimed to understand and said he was willing to help. I should have known better.” Her voice turns dark. “He sent his assistant to summon me to Iago Tower in the middle of the night. I knew that was where his device was, so I went. I thought I was finally going to be able to prevent myself from falling into the same trap of being unlocked and used that had happened to my mother and her father before her, to all Hydes throughout our history. I was going to be able to avoid the choice between being subjugated and abused or going insane. Instead, I arrived in the tower to find the machine dormant and inactive, and Stonehurst and his assistant waiting with restraints and syringes straight out of that sadist Faulkner’s playbook. The good doctor wasn’t going to free me from needing a master, he was going to become my master himself.”

“But that didn’t happen?” I have never needed to hear the conclusion to a story so strongly in my life.

“Absolutely not.” She says proudly. “I wasn’t on your mother’s national championship fencing team for no reason. I grabbed a piece of metal pipe from a stack of spare materials and used it to hold them back. Stonehurst shoved his assistant kid at me and the pipe went straight through his chest. It should have killed him, except instead of tearing through a flesh and blood heart, the metal struck metal. Apparently I was the only one that didn’t understand what was happening, that the blow to the boy’s mechanical heart was fatal, just not instantaneously so. Seeing his assistant gradually dying in front of him presented Stonehurst with an opportunity. He wasn’t about to let the abilities of the school’s most talented Da Vinci go to waste. Instead of trying to save the boy, he abandoned any designs he had on me and started powering up his machine. Why become a master to an outcast when he could become the outcast he always dreamed of himself?” A vindictive sneer pulls at the side of her mouth. “He was so focused on preparing the equipment to transfer his assistant’s abilities into himself, he didn’t notice me rip a few coolant lines from the back of the machine as I fled the tower. I was barely at the base of the stairs when the explosion happened.”

Forget Tyler. I think I might be in love with his mother.

“The assistant was killed. Stonehurst suffered catastrophic injuries that left him in a nearly vegetative state, landing him at Willowhill. Nevermore attempted to blame the accident on me. There was no way the esteemed Doctor Stonehurst would have ever done something as reprehensible as stealing outcast powers and trying to unlock an unwilling student’s Hyde.” Her words drip with sarcasm. “They knew the truth, but could never admit it and lose face for allowing a depraved normie to terrorize their students.”

“A mistake they were doomed to repeat.” I mutter.

“They even went so far as to get the authorities involved. No one believed me except for one young detective. If he hadn’t been good friends with Sheriff Walker, I might have ended up arrested instead of being released and allowed to finish out my last month at Nevermore and graduate as planned. The day I left, they enacted the Hyde ban. Not because they thought we were the dangerous threat to the students, but because they realized how dangerous the people who would want to master a Hyde could be.”

“If you never submitted to a master, how are you standing here speaking with me now? I’ve been lead to believe that unmastered Hydes succumb to mental deterioration well before they become… your age.”

“’My age?’ Ouch.” She actually laughs. “But you are right. Under normal circumstances, I would not have survived long beyond when I was admitted to Willowhhill.”

“Medical records claimed you suffered from postpartum depression.” I admit.

She laughs again, but there’s no humor in it this time. “Quite the opposite, actually. The typical complications associated with being a Hyde with no master began to manifest while I was pregnant. My love for my family was what allowed me to resist the Hyde’s baser impulses as long as I did.” She takes a deep breath as if collecting her strength to finish the story. “I knew what was happening to me, even though Don refused to accept the inevitability of it.”

Don. The Sheriff had a nickname. I find that unsettling for some reason I choose not to evaluate.

“For their safety, I had myself committed just before Tyler’s ninth birthday. I wasn’t there long before Judi found me. She had been young at the time of ‘the accident’, and believed the narrative that Nevermore had tried to put forth, blaming the dangerous Hyde for their esteemed faculty member’s tragedy.” Francoise’s stare goes distant. “I was transferred to LOIS almost immediately, and the vengeful little girl that had grown up into a spiteful sociopath quickly set to work extracting the pound of flesh and then some that she believed she deserved for what I had supposedly done to her beloved father.”

It’s hard not to draw parallels with the Gates family and Laurel’s vendetta against me in this scenario.

“She had rebuilt her father’s machine to the best of her abilities in her new hidden facility. It didn’t work quite right at first, but she had plenty of us guinea pigs to test it on as she tried to fix it.” She rubs absent mindedly at her arms under the oversized sleeves of her sweater. “The treatments were tortuous. But even in it’s not fully functional state, the effect of the trials kept my Hyde at bay. Though I would not wish what I endured on any other living soul.” She turns her focus to the ground. “In the beginning I was sure that Don would come to see me and realize that something was wrong when they wouldn’t allow it. I held out hope that he would refuse to accept the lies he was undoubtedly being fed, that he would investigate what was really going on, and expose the whole scam. I had to believe that he would save me. But he never came. Eventually it hurt less to give up hope than to be continually disappointed.”

“Willowhill officially reported you as deceased three months after you entered the facility. They told your family that you killed yourself while in their custody.” For some reason I feel the need to defend Donovan Galpin. “At some point, he did appear to suspect that something not above board was happening at Willowhill. The evidence he gathered got him killed, but it is what ultimately led me to you. Knowing that he was investigating is likely also what kept Tyler from being transferred into the LOIS program. ”

She nods while still staring at the ground as she incorporates this new information into her reality. “It took a few years, but Stonehurst’s daughter eventually got the machine to work properly, in part. She could fully extract an outcast’s abilities, but as far as I know, she never managed to transfer those abilities into a normie.”

“In the case of a Hyde’s abilities, that is probably the most desirable outcome.” I assess.

“You’re not wrong.” She agrees.

We walk in silence for a few moments as we both process all this new information. Her story has given me an idea of one potential way to deal with Tyler’s current predicament, but I have questions before I’m willing to commit to this course of action. “What exactly did Stonehurst’s machine do to you? Does it remove the Hyde entirely or merely effect the ability to transform?”

She smiles at me. “I know what you’re thinking. And yes. It did exactly what you are hoping. It removed all traces of the Hyde, both the personality and the monster.”

“Excellent.” I can’t believe I have gotten this lucky. “It’s unlikely we’d be able to sneak Tyler back into Willowhill to use the machine there. Perhaps some remnants of the machine in Iago Tower remain.”

“Slow down there.” Francoise cautions me. “There might be a problem with this plan.”

So far, this is the only potential option with any chance of helping Tyler. I don’t want to hear that I’ve overlooked an important detail.

“I was never unlocked. The Hyde festering inside me was killing me, but it was contained. Its extraction was simple enough, if not horrifically painful. The procedure left an empty space where the Hyde had been, a place I could mentally retreat into when the stress of the experimentation became too overwhelming.”

That explains the catatonic and child-like state I’d found her in. It also illuminates the source of her concern about attempting the procedure on Tyler. “Tyler’s Hyde has been unlocked. It is not contained, as yours was.”

“Not only is it no longer contained, but from what you describe, it has taken over as the dominant personality. There is a real chance that the machine may recognize the Hyde as the native personality and extract the other as the anomaly.” She explains.

Her words hit like a well-placed blow to my solar plexus. “It could kill Tyler and leave the Hyde.”

She nods. “He’d no longer be able to transform into the monster, but he’d be in full control without any use for a master. From your description and knowing that he actually managed to kill his master on his own, this may not be an acceptable outcome.”

“Truth be told,” I admit, “the monster form is not the one I fear. When in control of Tyler’s body, the Hyde is capable of inflicting far more damage. He is the embodiment of cunning remorseless manipulation wrapped in charisma and presented as an unassuming boy next door with an… above average… physical appearance. Essentially, the most classically effective serial killer package dialed up to eleven.”

“Guess that explains how he ended up as your date to the Rave’n.” She smirks at me.

Instinct expects a biting retort to be on my tongue and ready to launch in retaliation for that remark. Instead, I find myself mumbling, “That was actually just Tyler.”

She looks at me with deadly seriousness. “I know what my instincts as a mother are telling me, but I also know how long I have been absent from Tyler’s life and how much has happened to him in that time. You likely know him and the Hyde better than I do at this point. Knowing the risks, do you still think this plan is worth pursuing?”

We’ve come to the Nevermore property gate closest to our intended destination. This is clearly the time to make a decision. I summarize the difficult choice, as if hearing myself say the words out loud will bring some level of clarity, “If we can find and repair Stonehurst’s original machine there is a chance we could completely remove the Hyde from Tyler. But it is also equally possible that we may destroy the remaining shred of humanity in him and be left with a remorseless serial killer no longer constrained by a master’s bond.”

She nods gravely at me, then shrugs a shoulder. “The machine may also kill him outright. Far more Willowhill patients entered the LOIS program over the years than you freed that night. Catastrophic complications were hard to predict.”

Vocalizing the situation brings no immediate clarity. “I have no viable alternative to offer.” I admit, somewhat defeated. “If it kills him, we are no worse off than if we pursue the only other option currently available, which is doing nothing.” It sounds cold, even to my ears, but it is the truth. “If it spares the Hyde personality instead of Tyler, we will have created an entirely new threat with the potential to kill everyone I care about.”

She looks at me with no judgement when she asks, “So I guess what it really comes down to is, what are you willing to risk to have a chance at getting Tyler back?”

That is the question, isn’t it? It is the exact form of introspection I have been attempting to avoid throughout this entire endeavor. But that is what it all boils down to. Do I care as much about Tyler as the people whose lives I would be risking in trying to save him? Or put even more simply, do I care about Tyler? I expect an immediate reflexive “no” to echo from my psyche, but no such response comes. Instead I hear his voice echo in the empty space in my head where denial used to reign, “Everything that happened between you and me was between you and me. And it was all real.”

I meet Francoise Galpin’s steady gaze and give the only answer that is not a lie. “Everything.”

 

…..

 

I deposit Francoise into the shocked but ultimately elated care of my mother at Rotwood Cottage. The former fencing team co-captains fall into animated conversation, allowing me to escape to attend to the next phase of my plan.

“Enid.” I stand over her sleeping form and hope she won’t be too difficult to rouse.

As Enid blinks and sits up in her bed, Agnes materializes sitting on the edge of my bed. Enid and I both startle at the intruder’s appearance, Enid much more visibly than I. Of course.

“What are you doing in here?” Enid squawks as she pulls her comforter protectively up to her chest, which is ridiculous, as she is fully clothed.

“Given how off the rails everything else has gone today, I suspected the night’s festivities were far from over.” Agnes preens. “And it appears I was right.”

Enid looks to me with an indignant glare of rage and expectation that I will do something about our invisible intruder.

“While we will need to address this violation in the near future, at this moment your stalker tendencies are actually beneficial to me. Had you not appeared, my next task was going to be summoning you.” I admit with a sigh.

Agnes gloats without shame.

Enid scowls at the red head as she climbs out of bed. “What’s going on? Did Tyler escape?”

“He remains contained at the lupine cages.” I inform my nervous roommate.

“Then where have you been all night?” Enid notices the time on my desk clock. “You were just supposed to drop him off some food hours ago.”

“While doing so, he inadvertently revealed an important detail from that night at Willowhill that I had overlooked.” I admit.

“What could have possibly been so important that you’re just now sneaking back in at four in the morning?” Enid sounds dubious.

I take a deep breath before quickly summarizing, “The night we freed the outcasts from Willowhill, there was one captive from the LOIS program that I had not identified. I personally led her to safety before Pugsley’s zombie attempted to set upon me.”

“And then the Hyde nearly killed you.” Agnes chimes in.

I cringe. “Accidentally.”

Agnes shrugs like the details aren’t of any real importance.

I give a small grimace of concern at my intern’s morbid excitement about my brush with death, but continue. “It just so happens that the subject in question is Tyler’s mother.”

Both members of my audience gasp. Enid in horror, Agnes in shocked delight.

Agnes’s eyes alight with excitement. “So now there are two Hydes? Should I get the…”

“No tasers!” I cut her off.

She pouts.

“So she was trapped in that creepy mad scientist’s basement dungeon for…” Enid does some quick math in her head. “…almost nine years?”

I nod. “Judi, Doctor Stonehurst’s daughter, experimented on her that entire time.”

Enid’s hand goes to her mouth. “That’s terrible!” Then she seems to consider something. “That is terrible, right? She didn’t, like, go evil and kill a ton of people like Tyler did before getting committed, did she?”

Ignoring the allusion that Tyler is some kind of irredeemable evil killer, worthy of being subjected to inhumane experimentation, I put Enid’s mind to rest. “Francoise Galpin was a loving mother whose Hyde was never even unlocked. She was subject to persecution here at Nevermore when her efforts to circumvent Hyde nature and find a way to maintain her sanity without having to be enslaved to a master resulted in her garnering the unwanted attention of an obsessive faculty member. Then, when she had herself committed to protect her family, the deranged daughter of said faculty member falsified records of her death and secretly ushered her into her experimentation program so she could entertain her vendetta against the woman she incorrectly believed caused her father’s downfall.

“Ok. Yeah. Definitely terrible.” Enid confirms.

“But also extremely convenient for us.” I add. Then I go on to explain how Stonehurst’s machine works, what it can do to a Hyde, and the risks of using it on Tyler as planned.

I address Agnes and ask, “When you were setting up your Prank Day trap in Iago Tower…”

“The one that nearly killed me!” Enid interjects.

I ignore the interruption and continue, “Did you see any mechanical equipment that could have been the remnants of Stonehurst’s machine?”

She only ponders on the question for a second before delighting, “Yes. I had no idea what it was for and it didn’t appear to be anything that had performed any kind of function in the last few decades, so I had the Da Vincis I blackmailed into helping me clear it out.” She shrugs, “I needed the space.”

“What did they do with it?” I ask, excitement starting to make its way into my voice unbidden.

“I don’t know.” She admits. “One of them seemed pretty intrigued by it though, so I suspect she squirrelled it away somewhere. You know how those Da Vincis love to tinker.”

“Well we need it put back. Now.” I snap at her. “Go find the girl that has it, get it returned to Iago Tower, and see if the Da Vincis can make any progress in repairing it.” Then I turn to my roommate. “Enid, go with her. We need that machine back in Iago Tower and up and running ASAP. Use you claws if you have to, but make sure those Da Vincis make it happen.”

“What are you going to do?” Enid puts a hand on her hip and narrows her eyes at me.

I look to the dismembered hand peeking out of his luggage apartment and pretending not to be listening in on our conversation. “Thing and I are going to break into Willowhill. Again.”

“Do I need to remind you how very not well that went last time?” Enid whines.

I roll my eyes. “The facility remains nearly empty after the events of my last visit there. At most I will need to evade a few of Jericho’s finest rent-a-cops. It will be completely different.”

 

…..

 

“This is not exactly the same as last time!” I yell at the disembodied appendage clinging to the fabric of the shoulder of my jacket as we run from the front entrance to Willowhill being pursued by an extremely agile and not nearly as decomposed as I remember version of Pugsley’s zombie. “Last time Tyler fought off the zombie before it could attack.”

Thing flexes and relaxes his wrist in a manner I know is his equivalent of an eye roll.

“That is mine.” The zombie growls as it chases after us.

I can only assume he is referring to the stack of files Thing and I retrieved from Judi’s secret LOIS lair, which are shoved under my arm as we sprint for the woods surrounding the defunct sanatorium. We had raided the hidden bunker for any information on how to make Stonehurst’s machine back at Nevermore work and how to perform the Hyde extraction process on Tyler. Upon finding a few of Stonehurst’s old notes mixed in with some of Judi’s, I quickly deduced Slurp’s true identity. More shocking than the fact that this undead menace was once Stonehurst’s lab assistant that helped attempt to master Francoise, was the fact that he appeared to be lying in wait for me and Thing and we exited the false storage closet that as the entrance to the LOIS bunker. It also doesn’t help that the many cerebral meals he has enjoyed since last we met seem to have advanced his reanimation process. Besides the grey pallor to his skin and a slightly stunted vocabulary, he seems to be functioning at fully human levels of awareness and coordination.

This gives me an idea.

Much to Thing’s horror, I stop running and turn to face the undead outcast that is rapidly closing the distance between us. Then I hold out the pilfered papers. “Is this what you want?”

The zombie comes to a less than graceful halt and stares malevolently at me.

“I know you were once Stonehurst’s assistant. You worked with him on the machine that took outcasts’ abilities. He used it on you when you were injured instead of trying to help you.” I attempt to engage him.

He becomes agitated and snaps his teeth at the air between us.

“I’m rebuilding the machine. I want to use it to help outcasts, like you originally sought to do.”

He stills and cocks his head to the side. “Help?” He moans out in question.

I nod. “I have a… friend whose outcast abilities will kill him if they are allowed to remain. I want to use the machine to extract his powers so that he will become a normie. It is the only way he will survive.” I have no intention of telling him that the boy in question is a Hyde, and not just any Hyde, but the son of the woman that was responsible for his death. “But I need help making the machine work. Can you help me?”

“Stonehurst said we would help people. Said we would change the world.” The zombie slowly articulates. “He lied. He wanted power for him.”

“I have no such grand designs.” I attempt to reassure one of the only two people currently walking this planet that actually know how to make Stonehurst’s power stealing machine work. Since Judi has been in the wind since the events of my previous visit to Willowhill and is highly unlikely to assist me after what happened, gaining the trust and assistance of a zombie has somehow become my best option. “I merely want to save my friend. Once we do that, you are welcome to have the machine and all the research your former mentor and his daughter documented. You can then use it however you wish.”

Slurp seems to consider this for a moment, then nods his head and says, “Agreed.”

 

…..

 

The zombie and I walk toward Nevermore in a silence that could best be described as tense.

Ironically enough, the zombie is the first one to break under the strain and attempt to start a conversation. “This friend you want to help… You must care about him a lot.”

Excuse me? Is the zombie inquiring after my relationship status? I don’t even know what to say to this. Perhaps he has heard that Wednesday Addams has a type, and being the only one in this town currently sporting a body count higher than Tyler/the Hyde, he has decided that this is an appropriate time to shoot his shot, as Enid would say. I give the only response I could imagine my roommate suggesting in this situation. “It’s complicated.”

“So it is the Hyde.” He makes a dry choking sound I realize is a laugh.

“How do you know that?” I snap at him.

He gives a distorted grin that looks more terror inducing than comforting. “In the hallway that night. It fought to protect you. You said ‘stop’. It did not. You are not its master. But it cares about you. That is complicated. Very complicated.”

“I thought zombies were supposed to be brainless.” I give Slurp a very irritated side eye.

“And I thought Pugsley’s sister hates everyone.” He tries grinning at me again. It’s not any less awful. “Looks like we are both wrong.”

 

…..

 

We eventually make it back to Nevermore amidst far more small talk than I would have ever expected from a zombie. The important talking points include the fact that he does remember how Stonehurst’s machine worked and all the proper settings, and that he has apparently progressed far enough in the reanimation process that he no longer feels a driving need to eat any brain he comes across. There is a hunger there, but it is one he can suppress. Ultimately, he’s currently no more dangerous than any of the dozen or so vampires walking around Nevermore. Is it wrong that I find this somewhat disappointing?

The sun has been up for a while and the campus is starting to show signs of life. Thankfully it is a Sunday morning and most of the student body has elected to sleep in.

“I need to check on the progress my associates have made in reassembling most of the machine.” Mostly, I need to find somewhere to stash the zombie until I am ready for his assistance. I briefly consider using another lupine cage, but there’s some small chance the Hyde might try to communicate with him in the cages. If he finds out what I’m hoping to attempt, our one chance is ruined. “I will need to keep you out of sight in the meantime.”

“I know a place.” He points in the direction of the Hummer’s shed.

It’s as good a location as any to remain hidden. I will send Pugsley to keep an eye on him as soon as I can locate my brother.

With Slurp settled back in the Hummer’s shed, I head to Iago Tower. I arrive to find an absolute chaos of metal structures and cables being telepathically moved, adjusted, and repositioned under Enid’s micromanaging wrath.

“No! I said over there!” Enid barks at the Da Vinci underclassman moving the large bulbous antennae that looks almost like a tesla coil. The giant and likely irreplaceable contraption halts its flight toward the left hand side of the room and immediately redirects in midair to move toward the right side of the developing machine.

“Wednesday, you’re back!” Enid turns her attention to me. “Please tell me you found something at Willowhill that will help us. Because this thing is a mess and I’m not sure any of these Da Vinci’s have even the slightest idea what they’re doing.”

A Da Vinci girl standing nearby clearly overhears Enid’s comment and turns to glare at her with a facial expression suggesting that if Enid thinks she can do better, she is welcome to try herself.

“Not only did I find documentation,” I inform Enid, then I drop my voice. “I found someone with actual experience using the machine to help us.”

“That’s great. But why are we whispering about it?” She replies in an equally hushed tone.

I let out a deep sigh. “You’ll understand when you see who it is.”

Enid looks at me with concern. “You’ve already dragged Tyler Galpin, confessed serial killer and total psycho back here. How much worse could it be?”

 

…..

 

“This is so much worse.” Enid mumbles an hour later as Pugsley leads Slurp into Iago Tower.

We cleared out the Da Vincis once they reached the limit of their knowledge in reassembling the machine. We wanted fewer witnesses and fewer potential snacks should Slurp suddenly be overcome by his supposedly suppressed hunger.

“Just to recap…” Agnes looks at Pugsley and Slurp like something left washed up and decomposing on a beach. “In the past twenty-four hours, you have brought to this school a mentally unstable Hyde on the brink of death, a reformed Hyde that was thought to be dead, and a ravenous zombie that was actually dead until your brother intervened a few weeks ago.”

“Correct.” I mutter. It appears that I have become some sort of pied piper for wayward dangerous outcasts.

“Being your intern is surpassing even my wildest fantasies.” Agnes virtually glows with excitement.

Slurp quickly gets to work evaluating the machine and rearranging pieces. “This is in better shape than expected.” He grumbles.

“How long until it is ready?” I ask.

He shrugs. “A few hours. Longer if you want to test first. For safety.”

Thoroughly testing a machine that has not been powered up in three decades and killed the last test subject it was used on would be the most prudent course of action. However, it is unlikely that we have the time and if something goes wrong, it could alert the Hyde in the Lupine cages that we are up to something.

“Let me know when it is operational. Testing will not be possible prior to its utilization. We can’t risk tipping off the Hyde.” I inform the team

“So we risk killing him?” Pugsley asks.

“The Hyde will not submit to this procedure willingly if he develops even a hint of suspicion about the true purpose of the machine. There is a one hundred percent chance Tyler dies if we do not use this machine on him. By definition, the odds of a fatal malfunction have to be less.” I try to sound more confident than I feel.

“No pressure.” Slurp moans.

“Where are you going?” Enid questions me as I head for the door. She is likely looking for an excuse to escape the Tower and its myriad of awkward inhabitants.

“Someone needs to take him breakfast.” I have given up on any hope of sleep this day.

“I guess I’ll just stay here and… oversee things.” Enid sulks. Then she notices Slurp watching her with interest and grimaces. “Hurry back.”

 

…..

 

I caught the tail end of the breakfast meal service in the dining hall and was able to take my captive an actual meal this morning.

“You ran out of here last night in a hurry.” The Hyde tests me.

“I had a theory that I needed to investigate.” I hope the fact that I simultaneously slide a tray laden with hot food through the gap in the bars will distract him.

It works at first. He tries to feign paying attention to me, but his interest is clearly on the stack of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit before him. I sit and start eating a blueberry muffin. At first I don’t understand his hesitancy to eat the food he so clearly wants to devour.

“You must be kidding.” I groan as I realize the problem. “Why would I poison you after going through rather extraordinary lengths all night to attempt to save you?”

“It’s what I would do.” He glares at the food.

“Good to know.” I am not impressed. “But I have no such intentions and thus the food is unadulterated. Though I take no responsibility for the quality of the food. The cafeteria is not exactly Michelin rated.”

He breaks down and starts to eat the food before him. He’s too preoccupied shoveling the hot meal into his mouth to even bother keeping up our usual banter until he’s almost finished. “If this is what I can expect on a daily basis with you as my master, perhaps I’ll keep you around a bit longer than the last one. They do say the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“I’ve always found the space between the fourth and fifth ribs just left of center to be the most expedient route.” I glare at him.

He laughs. “Do you have any idea how big a turn on it is that you know that?”

“You’re disgusting.” I finish my muffin and stand to leave.

“And you’re wasting your time on Tyler.” He steps toward the bars near where I am standing. “Don’t you see what we could be? The destruction we could cause together? Imagine what we could do.”

“The only thing I’m imagining is the day when I tell you to shut up and you’re forced to obey.” I refuse to let him get under my skin.

“You’re no fun.” He whines.

“I’ll be back in a few hours. We’ve made progress on finding a method to install me as your new master. If you can behave yourself until then, I might even have a surprise for you.”

“You know, when you say it like that, I’m just going to imagine that surprise is something absolutely filthy.” He leers at me.

I leave without another glance in his direction.

 

…..

 

Four hours later Slurp has the machine in a state he claims is functional. It’s time to get Tyler up here. That may prove harder to accomplish than I had considered. Not only do I need to trick the Hyde into ascending Iago Tower, I need to do it without his mother accompanying us. I don’t want any of the inevitable drama that will come when Slurp is forced to confront the person that caused his death. Additionally, after all the threats he made while still chained up at Willowhill, I don’t trust the Hyde around Enid. And while I know she will outwardly deny it, I don’t think Enid is particularly eager to face the Hyde again either.

With the team in Iago Tower as ready as they can be, I go and retrieve Francoise Galpin from Rotwood Cottage. My mother wishes us well and agrees to stay out of our way. Her willingness to let me handle this situation myself indicates that either she has miraculously learned to trust my judgement, or she has had a vision that suggests this endeavor will have a favorable outcome. I'm not sure which would be more comforting.

On our way to the lupine cages I tell Tyler’s mother the details of our plan. I elect to be completely honest with her and inform her exactly who has helped us rebuild Stonehurst’s machine. She agrees that it is best if she stay out of the tower. I continue to admire her pragmatism as she commends me for thinking outside the box to find a way to get the machine fixed. We arrive at the cages and I go in first by myself.

“You really can’t stay away from me, can you?” The Hyde smirks at me.

“I told you I would be back.” I answer dryly.

He eyes me up and down. “You didn’t bring any food. Does that mean you intend for me to eat…”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” I interrupt him. “Your typical lude retorts will prove far too awkward this visit.”

He looks at me suspiciously. “Why are you here?”

“I told you we have made progress figuring out how to master an already unlocked Hyde, but we are not ready to attempt it yet. The full moon is in two days, and these cages will no longer be vacant. I’ve found somewhere else to hide you, and this is likely our best opportunity to move you about campus without being caught.”

He looks unimpressed with my lie, though he gives no indication that he sees through it. “You’re taking quite a risk letting me out of my cage.”

“That’s why I brought along someone I think will help convince you to behave like a good little Hyde.” I taunt him right back. “You never did find out where I went last night when I left here so suddenly. It ties in to why I was at Willowhill the night you escaped.”

“I assumed you were there for me, of course.” He grins malevolently.

“I was there because of the trail of clues I followed, which had been left by your father.” I ignore the way he visibly flinches at the mention of his father. “He had been investigating a LOIS at Willowhill. I had initially believed this to be a person responsible for faking the deaths of dozens of hospitalized outcasts over the last fifteen years. Instead, LOIS was not a who, but a what. My Uncle Fester and I discovered that LOIS was an acronym for the Long-term Outcast Integration Study, a project being conducted in secret in the bowels of Willowhill experimenting on outcasts they believed no one would miss. The woman running the project was the one that killed your father and his partner to protect her secret. Little did she realize that her attempted cover up would eventually lead me straight to her. The power outage that allowed you to escape that night was intended to incapacitate her and free the subjects of her experiments. The subjects which included one outcast I could not identify. That is, until you told me who she was last night.”

“What are you saying?” There are more emotions warring for dominance amongst the Hyde’s features than I can attempt to distinguish.

“I’m saying that you mother is alive. She is here. And if you will let Tyler out, you can see her right now.”

It takes the Hyde no more than three seconds to internally debate what I have offered and surrender his body back to its rightful owner. I yell for Francoise to come in at the same time I unlock the cage door between myself and Tyler. It’s the first time since we’ve met that his stare focuses entirely on something besides me when I am in the room.

“Mom?”

“Tyler!”

They both rush toward each other and embrace. There’s crying, and far more emotions on display than I’m comfortable with. I just stand back and let them enjoy their reunion. It’s all sobbing and apologies, “Look how big you’ve gotten”, and “They told us you were dead.” I’m sure it is all very touching if one were inclined to feel such sentiments. I have no idea how long Tyler will be allowed to maintain control of his body, and I’d prefer that they hurry this up so that we can get to the part where we take our one shot to actually save him. But since there is a decent chance that the attempt will end up killing him, I let mother and son share their moment.

Eventually they recover from the initial shock of the reunion and start talking earnestly. Francoise knows not to tell him too many details about what happened during her time at Willowhill so that the Hyde, who is assuredly listening to every word, will not become wise to what we are about to attempt.

“Tyler, I need to go.”

“But I just got you back.”

“I’m not going far, and I will see you again very soon. But Wednesday’s right. You need to go with her now.” She spares a look toward me before turning her full attention back to her son. “I like this one Tye.”

He gives me an embarrassed smile before admitting, “Yeah. I do too.”

“Then you need to fight for her.” She pulls him into another hug. “I know what you’re going through with the thing inside you. The things you care about are the only things that give you power over the hate it brings out in you. Focus on that.”

And they’re crying again.

“I hate to break this up, but we have to go now.” I interject.

Francoise pulls away and nods at me. “I’ll see you again before you know it.” She tells her son and kisses him on the cheek.

“Thanks, Mom.” He smiles through teary eyes and tears himself away from her to follow me out into the daylight.

“Here, put this on.” I hand him a bag containing a typical Nevermore purple and black striped jacket. If he just acts casual, no one should give him a second glance and we should be able to simply stroll through campus.

He obediently pulls on the jacket and silently walks alongside me as we enter the school building.

I think Tyler is still in control, but I don’t want to risk tipping the precarious hold he has on his psyche by trying to engage him in conversation to be sure.

“Where are we going?” He eventually asks.

“I found these secret tunnels leading from different locations in the school to a hidden area within the old clock tower. It should provide you with a safe place to hide, no pun intended, until we can move forward with the next step of my plan.” I usher him into the passage that empties in the music classroom.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Wednesday.” He gives me a disappointed look. “Because if you don’t, I’m not the only one that’s going to pay for it.”

“I am aware.” I respond gravely. “Now listen to your mother and trust me.”

He lets out a small noise that sounds like it is part chuckle and part sob. “I can’t believe you actually… You found my mother. Alive. And you rescued her.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “You have no idea what that means to me.”

I lead him into the room at the top of Iago Tower and shut the door behind us. “Just do me a favor and hold onto that thought when you realize what happens next.”

He looks around and I can see him fighting back more than just panic at the sight of the humming equipment in the derelict space.

Once again, a syringe materializes out of thin air level with Tyler’s jugular vein. Except this time, his hand darts up and grasps the invisible hand holding the hypodermic in a crushing grip that likely cracks a few phalanges. Agnes takes form and the Hyde uses his hold on her wrist to fling her across the room. Her body slides along the floor to collide with the edge of the machine. She instantly starts attempting to sit up, showing that she’s dazed, but not knocked out. Pugsley darts over to her and starts trying to help her to her feet.

“I’d have to be pretty stupid to fall for that twice.” The Hyde snarls as he takes a step toward me.

“But I bet I can make you fall a second time.” Enid growls right back as she storms into the room and puts herself between me and the angry Hyde.

While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s not yet a full moon. Human Enid is physically no match for the Hyde in either of his forms. I’m not the only one that realizes this, as evidenced by the way the Hyde pulls off the Nevermore uniform jacket and starts predatorily circling Enid and myself. We turn together to keep him from getting behind us. He, however, doesn’t think to watch his back. As he passes between us and the table portion of the machine, Slurp jumps out from behind the contraption. Using the element of surprise, he is able to slap one of the restraining cuffs around the Hyde’s wrist, tethering him to the machine.

The Hyde roars as Enid dives in to help Slurp try to force the malnourished murderer into a position on or near the table where they can get his other wrist into the paired restraint.

“Now would be an excellent time for those tasers!” I yell at Agnes as I try to find a way to get into the fray without merely being in the way of the two entities already trying to wrangle the Hyde.

Enid has jumped onto Tyler’s back like a deranged howler monkey as Slurp is about to lose an limb to the strain of pulling the Hyde’s free arm in one hand toward the manacle he is gripping in the other. In a lightning fast move, the Hyde shakes Enid loose and rips his arm free of Slurp’s grip.

Agnes looks around for a second. Realizing she does not, in fact, have any tasers, she uses the next best thing. She grabs Pugsley’s arms and points them straight at the Hyde as she yells something into his ear that I can’t hear over all the other cacophonous noises echoing through the tower. He obviously gets what Agnes has intended, and bolts of lightning that even Uncle Fester would be proud of shoot from his hands and hit the Hyde center mass. The force of the electric current knocks him back onto the machine’s flat table. Slurp wastes no time clamping the restraint onto the Hyde’s untethered wrist and throwing the extra strap across his chest to attempt to hold him down.

“Now!” Slurp bellows and steps back from the machine.

I am the closest to the control panel so I step up to the obnoxiously clichéd big red button. As I lift my hand toward the device’s trigger, I look at Tyler’s body strapped down to the machine that is more likely to kill him than save him. It is clearly the Hyde in control, spitting mad and full of enough rage that I can see his eyes beginning to bulge. They lock onto mine, and for a moment the inevitable transformation ceases. Something softens in those entirely human eyes. Tyler is back in control.

The chamber at the top of Iago Tower is in absolute chaos. People are screaming. The machine is whirring and hissing. Equipment is clattering against the ground. But I hear and see none of it. The only thing that exists is the nearly tangible thing between me and Tyler.

He mouths the words, “It was all real.” Then he nods, telling me to activate the machine.

I hit the button.

Electricity crackles and flies between the lobes of the multiple antennae, then starts arcing toward a central focal point. After a few seconds of coalescing, there is a blast of blue-white light that temporarily blinds me and leaves everyone in the space disoriented. When my faculties return to me, I find the room eerily quiet. The only sounds are air whistling through the broken tower windows, some sizzling of burnt out conduits, and a few circuits popping and sputtering. A thin trail of smoke is wafting from the primary power generator, but the machine appears intact. I’m not sure the same can be said for the subject strapped to the device.

Tyler’s body is splayed on the table entirely unmoving. Lifeless.

I stumble toward him and start unbuckling the strap holding his unnaturally still chest to the table. Once I nearly rip it off him, I put my ear down against his thorax and listen for a heartbeat. I hear nothing. I start fumbling with the arm restraints. Enid appears and puts a hand over mine before I can unclasp the first padded manacle.

“If he is somehow still alive, we don’t know which him will be left.” She says with as much sympathy as she is capable of.

Slurp has also approached and is feeling for a carotid pulse. He shakes his head side to side and lets his hand drop from Tyler’s neck.

Something cold rises from the pit of my stomach and lodges in my chest. Air refuses to move in my lungs as my intercostal muscles reflexively spasm, causing a clenching sensation in my ribcage. I start tearing at the arm restraints until he is freed. I look at Tyler’s dull glassy eyes, then up at the piteous stares of everyone else in the room. I drape myself over his chest again, listening and hoping against hope that I will hear some trace of a pulse that is not there.

Then someone yells, “Clear!” and before I can register the word or its meaning, Slurp wraps his undead arms around my torso and physically rips me away from Tyler’s body.

Only then do I realize that it was my brother who had spoken. He has stepped up to the table and as soon as I am no longer in contact with the body or the machine, Pugsley places his hands on Tyler’s chest and sends enough electrical current into him that it causes his muscles to convulse and rise his body slightly up off the table. When there is no visible response, he does it again.

“Does anybody know actual CPR?” Enid asks as Pugsley shocks Tyler a third time.

I step up to the side of the table nearest his face and am preparing myself to attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, when I notice movement. It’s not like in the movies. He doesn’t take a big gasping breath, sit up, and start talking about how he didn’t go toward the light. Instead, it starts with a flutter barely visible between some of his ribs as his cardiac muscle starts to contract and regain its normal rhythmic pumping action. Then a few seconds later, the ribs themselves move as his re-oxygenated brainstem tells his diaphragm to start pulling air into his lungs. His breathing becomes regular. His eyes slide shut. Then he starts to writhe as his skeletal muscles receive blood and nerve signals once again. He brings a hand up to his chest to rub the spots where a few hundred volts of electricity passed through the skin. This signals an actual return of consciousness, and a few seconds later, his eyes blink back open. Now his eyes are wide, the pupils fully dilated. They lock onto me and his hand makes a few failed attempts at being lifted from the table before he manages to raise it enough to grab my forearm.

There are a few quiet murmurs from the assembled crowd as he sits up without releasing me. He’s still disoriented enough that no one can tell whether we’ve saved Tyler or released the Hyde. As soon as he is able to focus again, his eyes turn hungry as he stares at me. The rest of them may not realize which variation of Tyler this is, but I do. He yanks my arm so that I am pulled against his chest and his other hand comes up to snake around the back of my head.

His voice is harsh and cracked as he barely manages to whisper, “Swore to myself this is the first thing I’d do if I made it through this.” Then the corner of his mouth ticks up and an eyebrow quirks in an apologetic expression.

I don’t stop him as Tyler pulls my face to his and kisses me. It lacks finesse, given that his fine motor control is one of the faculties still in the process of returning to him, but he makes up for it with enthusiasm. Likely much more enthusiasm than the assemblage of my family, friend, intern, and a zombie would care to witness, but I disregard any discomfort they may be experiencing and kiss him back. His endurance is understandably subpar at the moment and he’s forced to break the embrace far too soon to gasp in a few lungfuls of air. His lips pull into a full smile against mine, and I find my mouth returning the gesture.

He rests his forehead against mine and brings a hand up to tenderly yet possessively cup my cheek. “You really did it. You found a way to save me.”

“I take it that means my plan worked?” I school my features. “The Hyde is gone?”

“Yeah.” He nods, that ridiculous lopsided grin still plastered on his face. “It’s so quiet in my head for once.”

“Not too quiet I hope.” I keep my facial expression very concerned. “It would be a shame if you were to go mad after all my efforts.”

“Oh come on now.” He smirks, “Don’t pretend you don’t like the idea of me going slightly feral for you.”

I glare at him for a moment then relent. “You’re not wrong.” Then I pull him into another kiss.

This time we are interrupted by the door bursting open and the angry voice of Principal Dort entering the chamber. “What… What is all this?” He looks around and finds me and Tyler still embracing. He visibly startles and takes a step back. “And what is HE doing here?” Next he must catch sight of Slurp lurking in the background. “And that… thing?” Then he turns an angry stare at me. “Why are half of the escapees from Willowhill now in my school?”

“Because this is where they should have been all along.” My mother’s voice precedes her into the space.

She enters arm in arm with Francoise Galpin, followed by my father, and with Grandmama rounding out the processional.

“Perhaps if your predecessors had taken responsibility for their error in judgement in allowing a self-serving Normie sociopath to teach here not once, but twice, Hydes would never have been banned in the first place and my son wouldn’t have been subject to indescribable cruelty and trauma at the hands of one of your former employees.” Francoise snaps at Dort.

My father steps up, “As Mrs. Galpin’s newly established legal counsel, I can attest to the fact that the legal justice system tends to hold a very low regard for institutions that permit and then cover up abuse of their students by faculty members. The financial entitlements that courts tend to award in such cases are often substantial.”

Principal Dort looks so panic stricken, I’m concerned he may have a cardiac infarction at any moment.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Barry.” My grandmother speaks up. “You may not have been the one in charge when Francoise was targeted and unjustly blamed for what happened with Stonehurst, nor when Tyler here was groomed and abused by that Gates woman, but you are the one here now and left holding the bag. The only question that remains is if are you going to make it right, or am I going to have to take the sizable charitable donation I had intended to bequeath this school and spend it elsewhere?”

“What do I need to do to make this right for you, Mrs. Frump?” Dort forces a smile.

“The Hyde ban at Nevermore ceases immediately. And my granddaughter’s little…” She looks questioningly at the way Tyler still has me pulled against his chest and the way I am tolerating the contact, “…companion will be accepted here without prejudice as soon as his disturbing legal matters are settled. Something that should be no issue now that he has obtained…” She looks at my father and rolls her eyes, “…adequate legal representation.”

“But I can’t ignore the risk to the student body that Tyler here poses.” Dort attempts to circumvent my grandmother’s wishes. Big mistake.

Francoise steps up and approaches Tyler and myself. She seems to be speaking more to me than to Dort. “We saw the machine activate. Tyler is still alive and you’re…” She gives our relative positions a head to toe visual inspection then raises an eyebrow, “…clearly not attempting to restrain or subdue him.”

Tyler’s grip on my arm releases and we both guiltily put a small amount of space between us.

“So is it safe to assume that the machine worked?” Tyler’s mother finishes.

I nod.

Tyler gives a nervous grin. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck, but yeah. It worked. The Hyde, the personality and the monster, it’s gone.”

Francoise steps into the space I have vacated and pulls her son into a hug. He reciprocates it fiercely.

I’m slightly concerned that this mother/son moment has put Francoise in too close of a proximity to Slurp for safety, but a quick glance at the zombie shows him to be cowering more than showing any inclination toward vengeance. Odd.

Once Tyler and his mother release each other, he starts making an unsteady attempt to get down from the metal gurney and stand. I step in when he reaches out and allow him to use my shoulder for support. He then drapes his arm over my shoulders and pulls me in tight against him. The move is equal parts sentiment and physical assistance, as I don’t think he is capable of ambulating on his own.

While I am occupied with Tyler, Slurp approaches Francoise.

“I am sorry for that night.” He chokes out in his hoarse raspy voice. “I worked with Stonehurst to help outcasts. I knew what he wanted to do to you was wrong, but I could not say no to him.”

Francoise’s anxious expression softens. “I understand that feeling more than you know.” She extends a hand to the young undead man as a peace offering. “Sorry I stabbed you in the chest.”

He takes her hand and shakes it.

“Seriously dear, who did your burial rites?” Grandmama tuts at Slurp as she approaches and inspects the skin of his outstretched arm. “Such shoddy spellwork is a shame on our entire industry. I know a witch doctor, just in town for the weekend from Baton Rouge. He’ll get you sorted in no time. Come with me.” She extends a hand and curls a finger beckoning the zombie to follow her.

Slurp looks at me, shrugs, and follows my grandmother.

Before they can leave, Grandmama turns to Dort and decrees, “And there will be a spot waiting for this one as well. Nevermore allowed a Normie to take advantage of this young man when he was a student, as well as this poor woman. They are owed some level of recompense for this institution’s negligence, and I’ll not allow one cent of my money to go towards frivolities at this Academy while there is red in your ledger toward these individuals.”

“Yes. Fine.” Dort waves a hand dismissively. “Scholarship positions will be made available for the former Hyde and the zombie.” He’s wise enough to know when he is defeated.

 

…..

 

That night we all dine at Rotwood Cottage in celebration. Tyler sits between me and his mother, hesitant to let either of us out of his sight. And oddly enough, that doesn’t bother me the way I had always assumed such affection would. On my other side is Enid, who appears to have made peace with Tyler now that the Hyde is gone. Neither miss the opportunity to point out to me that Agnes appears entirely too preoccupied with Pugsley ever since his electric exhibition earlier today. Given her proclivities, it comes as no real surprise she’d gravitate toward someone that is essentially a human taser. Slurp sits on Pugsley’s other side, happily gorging a special meal of Indian lamb brain curry and completely unconcerned about the rest of us. Grandmama seems to have taken a special interest in the resurrected Da Vinci for some reason and is attempting to instill more proper table manners in the zombie. Perhaps it is a professional interest, given the fact that the clientele of her occupation are rarely able to give feedback on their burial conditions. Lastly around the table, my parents and Tyler’s mother are sharing stories and laughing like old classmates brought together for a reason no more sinister than a class reunion.

Talk around the table eventually turns to the topic of questioning where Judi has disappeared to and if she will pose any kind of threat we need to be concerned about. Amidst the conversation, my mother makes a comment about how my psychic visions still have not returned. Under the table Tyler puts a hand delicately on my thigh. I move to swat him away, but instead of removing the offending appendage, he grabs my hand and holds it tenderly. I’m not about to let such an affront be permitted, and honestly I’m shocked that he would even try. I make eye contact to berate him, only to find him looking at me expectantly. It’s in that instant that I feel my spine go rigid and my eyes start to roll back into my head. As my first vision since my coma overtakes me, I realize three things in the split second before I lose consciousness. First, my visions are back! Second, Tyler absolutely knew this would happen and did this on purpose. I’ll punish or reward him for that later. I’m not sure which yet. And third, I had been wrong in my final thought as I prepared to impact the pavement in front of Willowhill. Somehow, my meddling didn’t make everything worse. It, in fact, apparently made everything much better.

Notes:

Now off to watch part two of season two and see if my ship gets sunk or survives the last four episodes. I know hoping for it to become canon this season is probably out of the question, so I'm just hoping they don't do something to totally ruin it. Here we go... my last few moments of naive optimism for Weyler. See you all on the other side.

Notes:

To anyone wondering, I will get Counting Woes finished very soon even though I did not make my self-imposed deadline of August 5. It's so close though. I just broke down and had to watch Season 2 on Wednesday.
Yeah. So...
Season 2 Part 1...
I have... feelings...
Though the interviews that Hunter and the producers gave a couple days ago have renewed my faith.
My thoughts are below. You wanna discuss, please hit me up in the comments, DM, or email (it's my Ao3 username at the g mail).
- Spoilers -

They did my boy Donovan dirty. And they keep rubbing it in my face 20 times an episode.

The way Wednesday is flung out the window then Tyler follows shortly after makes me think we very intentionally are not getting the full story of what happened there. My theories are:
1.) Tyler really hates her and thought throwing her out the window would kill her. Full evil bad guy. End of story.
2.) The Hyde kinda hates her, the Tyler part of him doesn't. There was inner turmoil. Severely injuring her was a compromise to gutting her on the Hyde's part.
3.) Tyler wasn't really trying to hurt her - just shove her out of the way of the zombie or some other threat
4.) Tyler wasn't even the one who yeeted her out the window. Something else attacked/exploded sending them both flying. Tyler dove out the window after her to try and help and bolted due to the cops shooting at him.
I hope it's #4, but I think it's realistically gonna be #2. I'm concerned because #2 skirts perilously close to crossing that line of irredeemable for most people unless they make a very clear delineation between the two warring personalities and something happens to fully suppress the Hyde. And if Tyler doesn't get his redemption arc, I'm out.

And even those abs can't fully distract me from the fact that Tyler didn't get nearly enough screen time. But they are welcome to keep trying with the abs... just sayin'.

I feel super dirty to admit how happy I was to hear Laurel explicitly say she groomed Tyler. Like, that's super fucking awful as a concept, but proves that my interpretation was right. Pretty much everyone I tried talking to about how dark and fucked up I think they were implying the relationship between Tyler and Gates was, made me feel like I was reading way too much into it and that maybe I should be worried that that was the direction my mind went... So... feeling vindicated by a character admitting they SA'ed a kid. My brain needs a hot bleach shower.

I'm immensely thankful that, as dark as it is, they've done nothing to contradict the vast majority of my head canon surrounding Tyler's past and the Galpin family Hyde history (See Counting Woes Chapter 4). It's had 3 years to live and fester in my head. Losing my head canon to a very different real canon might actually break me. The only difference being one I suspected from Ep 8 - that Francoise Sylvane-Galpin is still alive and that is who Wednesday rescued from the last cell in LOIS. Don't agree with me? Think it's really Ophelia? I'll fight you and I'll bring receipts.

I'm gonna pour one out for all the Wednesday x Xavier shippers out there (did you guys even get a ship name before real life events imploded your ship like the Titan submersible? If not, don't feel bad... I don't think we've even decided after 3 years if our ship name has 1 or 2 e's in it). I didn't agree with you, but you went down with a fair amount of dignity given the situation. RIP Xavier's story line.

So we're just gonna ignore the fact that Nevermore got nearly burned down in October-ish in Season one, and now they're all just returning for the start of "the new school year" in implied August/September. They keep talking about summer break like it was normal. It was almost 10 months long! And we are quickly going to be back at the same time of year that Season 1 happened during. I don't want to waste our 4 short episodes seeing a rehash of the Harvest Festival, the Poe Cup, Outreach Day, the Rave'n, Parent's weekend, and Wednesday's birthday, but if they don't show these annual events happening at their normally scheduled time, or at least refer to why they aren't happening, it's going to be a huge break in continuity.

Just going to point out that I NAILED IT predicting that Enid's hair color would go from pastel to nearly fluorescent as her attitude went from meek to confident when they all come back to school (See Counting Woes Chapter 1... which was published before they even announced there would be a second season of Wednesday). And I'm not going to take credit for the whole crows featuring prominently in Season 2 theme... but I like to believe great minds think alike. Ditto on Wednesday's driving ability (See Woe Trip chapter 1).

OK... I think that's most of my main points/rants/concerns. Tell me what you're thinking in the comments.