Chapter Text
Wednesday stood with her back to the wall in the old chapel, her hand clutching the syringe concealed in her pocket. The moonlight filtered through the broken roof as she listened to the next room.
“Where’s Wednesday?”
Of course he had shown up. He wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to see her again.
The muffled conversation continued as Wednesday stalked out from behind the wall.
Her steps were taken with precision and silence. The Nightshades were making Tyler agitated.
Good. She needed him in monster form. Her arm raised, syringe ready to plunge through the Hyde’s leathery skin.
Pain shot across her shoulder. Winded, Wednesdays back hit the hard stone with sickening force. He’d thrown her. She’d expected something like this to happen, it would have been too easy otherwise.
Tyler’s monstrous form was bearing down over Enid, claws prepared to tear her innards out. Wednesday snapped into action. She may have used Enid to lure Tyler in, but she certainly wasn’t about to let any harm come her way.
“Tyler.”
Wednesday pulled herself to her feet, drawing his attention off her best friend.
Predictably, his head snapped around, immediately focusing on her. The low growl he let out was felt through the bones of all present, but it didn’t even make Wednesday blink.
She stood in the middle of the moonlit ruin.
“Enough,”
She locked eyes with the monster. He began close the distance between them with a few short steps. Wednesday could see every razor-sharp fang bared in front of her.
“We both know I’m who you really want.”
With his interest secured, she slowly, steadily stalked towards the monster. She knew exactly how to force him into submission. She knew the words to say, as though she had been waiting for months to say them.
“What if I lied about my feelings? You were right. I was attracted to you,”
The space between them was so close she could feel the heat radiating off him. Her intense stare never wavered from Tyler’s ghoulish eyes, as she stood, nearly directly beneath his bent head.
Now for the part it could all go wrong. Wednesdays calculations were almost always correct. Almost. Most of them were not shadowed by the haze of her complex emotions.
“But you do know there is only one way we can truly be together.”
Something flickered behind his eyes. She raised the syringe.
“Say hello to your new master.”
Her voice rang out with authority as she pushed the needle into Tyler’s muscled shoulder. She heard a noise emerge from deep within his throat, a cross between a whimper and a growl.
Wednesdays heartbeat pounded through her ears. She realised with inward shock that he could probably hear it too.
His back legs bent first. He lowered himself slowly, coming to rest with his monstrous arms stretching across the floor either side of Wednesdays figure.
Success.
Wednesday watched the Hyde kneel before her, triumph glimmering in her eyes. She let the empty syringe drop to the floor with a quiet clatter. Tyler was hers.
Unfortunately the moment was short lived.
The window shattered with a deafening sprinkle of glass. Wednesday caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Enid and the Nightshades were making a stealthy exit, all while keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
In a flash, Tyler stood and was by Wednesdays side. A second Hyde, solidly three feet taller than Tyler, albeit a lot skinnier, was framed against the night outside.
Long, thin locks of hair framed the Hyde’s face. She screamed a harsh, guttural growl as she leapt directly in front of Wednesday, knocking her backwards onto the floor.
Tyler roared, taking up a threatening stance to keep the monster away from Wednesday.
The second Hyde didn’t seem afraid, but didn’t move to hurt Tyler either. Instead, her eyes flickered to Wednesday, filled with a burning hatred.
“Françoise!”
Wednesday looked sharply over her shoulder at the sound of her mother’s voice. Morticia stood in the doorway, still decorated with her Dia de Los Muertos garb.
“We had a deal.” She implored, eyes shining.
Realisation dawned upon Wednesday. She looked back at the pair of Hydes in front of her, locked in a tense stalemate.
“That’s Tyler’s mother.” She whispered, climbing to her feet.
Morticia was on her in a second, ignoring the beasts circling each other and shaking the ruins with their low snarls.
“We need to go. Françoise will take Tyler away, and leave Jericho. We needn’t worry about them any longer,” the older woman tried to pull Wednesday away from the creatures.
Wednesday, however, was going absolutely nowhere. Giving her mother a death stare, she called upon the boy newly bound to her.
“Tyler. Stand down.”
He backed away from his mother, the energy between them still dangerously taut.
Morticia looked between her daughter and the monster, her heart torn. Wednesday’s ill advised plan had already come to fruition, she was certain.
Wednesday heard the cracking and shifting of Tyler’s bones as his monstrous form contorted back into human. For the first time, it occurred to her that unleashing one’s Hyde was likely very painful.
He stood, shivering, still quite physically weak. His eyes gleamed as he stared at his mother from under his shag of curly hair. Wednesday watched Françoise’s eyes soften as she took in the sight of her vulnerable teenage son.
The Hyde assessed Tyler, curled in on himself, beside Wednesday, who stood ramrod straight. The empty syringe lay discarded on the floor nearby.
Seeming to come to a conclusion, she began the same process of detransformation.
Françoise’s eyes flickered between Tyler and Wednesday for a brief moment, before rushing forward to embrace her long-lost child.
Tyler’s eyes still glinted with mistrust as he cautiously hugged her back, slowly relaxing into it. The chemical solution pumped through his system, clouding his judgement in favour of Wednesday.
The girl turned to her mother, giving the Hydes some privacy.
“Wednesday. How could you?” Morticia whispered.
How could she, indeed? Wednesday knew she had saved Tyler’s life from degenerating into madness and decay, but not out of altruism. She had formed an unbreakable bond with a homicidal creature who had previously hurt her loved ones and showed no remorse.
Yet, a dark part of her relished that connection. Her usual methods of ignoring and moving on were of no help to her complex feelings when it came to Tyler. At least now she had him under her control.
Now, they had to stay close together. Otherwise, a clawing panic would arise in both of them, desperate to remain united. The master and her monster.
“I did what I had to do,” Wednesday replied coolly.
“I had this sorted. They were going to LEAVE.” Her mother’s voice started to rise in anger.
“Oh, yes, because you can always believe the words of a Hyde.” Wednesdays stinging sarcasm betrayed the passion she felt about her choice.
“I believe the word of a mother.”
She blinked.
“He can’t go without you now. Foolish child.” Morticia muttered, lashing out at her daughter.
Wednesday chose to ignore this outburst. She returned her attention to the other parent-child duo in the room.
“Françoise. Is this true? Would you have taken Tyler, and left Jericho for good?” Her sharp intonation echoed in the empty space. Oh, Wednesday did love an interrogation. Even if it was brief.
The two Hydes looked at Wednesday. She was unprepared for the resentment flashing in the woman’s expression. Françoise was clearly unhappy about her son gaining a new master.
“Yes,” she seethed. “And I still am. We’re leaving. Tonight. I appreciate everything you’ve done, freeing me from Willow Hill, but Tyler doesn’t need a new master in his life.”
At this, Wednesday made eye contact with the boy. They both knew this was impossible.
It was Tyler who spoke up first.
“I… I can’t.” He admitted, guiltily. His mother held his arm in an iron grip.
“You will.” She didn’t leave it up for debate.
“I can’t go anywhere without Wednesday.” He said more firmly. “She’s my master now. We have to stay in relatively close proximity. I’m sorry.”
Françoise opened her mouth to object when Morticia cut across her.
“I think the best thing to do is at least stay the night in Jericho. We can figure out how to escape this mess in the morning. I trust you have a place to stay.”
Her cool exterior exuded authority. Her argument was logical, a good compromise. Wednesday hoped the others would agree.
For a moment, Tyler’s mother appeared ready to fight further. Finally, she conceded with a heavy sigh.
“Fine. On the condition that Tyler stays with me overnight.”
Wednesday disliked this idea. On the night after the first injection, the pair felt a particular need to be near each other. However, she could see this was the best they’d get, remaining in the same town. She silently commanded Tyler to feel the same.
He nodded, looking back and forth between Wednesday and his mother.
“Okay. But I want to see her first thing tomorrow.”
Françoise smiled with the coldness of making empty promises. Tyler still seemed unsure, like he wanted to return to Wednesdays side.
She guided him towards the long collapsed doorframe, one hand on the small of his back, making sure he followed.
He turned one last time to catch a glimpse of Wednesday. She stood rock solid as she spied bitterness and desperation in his gaze.
The older Hyde pushed him forwards more firmly. The last view Wednesday got of them was Françoise’s turned head, eyes burning Wednesday with a look of pure fury in them.
They disappeared from sight.
Wednesday felt chills creep down her spine at the intensity of the woman’s hatred. Normally, she enjoyed being disliked. Now though, she knew it came with the danger of an unstable beast attached.
“Wednesday, what were you thinking?” Morticia demanded.
Wednesday looked at her with irritated disbelief.
“I had it under control.” She insisted.
“No, you’ve inextricably tied yourself to a beast. You had no idea what could have happened, Françoise proved that.” She looked for a moment as though she was about to boil over.
“Get back to Nevermore.”
Wednesday could tell arguing was pointless. Her mother stood with her arm raised, pointing towards the exit. Reluctantly, she followed her instructions, Nightshades silently falling into step behind her.
Despite everything, the walk back was simple and quiet. She allowed herself the tiniest of smirks. She had done it, became Tyler’s master. Most importantly, Wednesday had saved Enid from his threats.
She’d proven Weems and her mother wrong. Her emotions had not clouded her plan. It had unfolded with clinical precision, securing the bond between monster and master.
Now the difficult part was proceeding with a second Hyde in the picture. Tyler would be easy to force back into a cage, or even better, used as a tool to serve her own ends.
Navigating these waters, however, with his mother present with her own agenda. That would prove trickier.
Luckily, Wednesday never backed down from a challenge.