Chapter Text
The pigtailed girl comfortably lay underneath her covers, with a small smile dawning her face as she peacefully dreamed of all things torturous she intended to do in the coming weeks. The girl did not manage to rest for long however, because her sleep was rudely interrupted by a loud knocking on the door that separated herself from the stoner in the other room. The knocking caused her to shoot awake, sit up straight with her usual x positioned arms like she had just been buried alive. She halted for a second, eyes widened, brows following suit, hair now a clotted mess. She didn't hear the knock again till a few seconds later when she realised it was from Ajax. She sighed before getting out of bed, straightening out her pyjamas slowly making her way over to the door that separated the rooms, ignoring the frantic knocking, with a yawn she finally opened the door. Seeing Ajax stood there in his underwear was a shock and a half, but that wasn't the most shocking thing. He held out his phone, shoving the bright light into her face causing her to back away as if she were a vampire shying away from light. Her eyes readjusted to the sight before her, locking in and staring at the text messages that were once again from Xavier. She took the phone from his hands, flicking on the lights causing her to rapidly blink at the adjustment, before sitting down at her desk, looking up at the Gorgon who was standing there with deep concern.
"Sorry to wake you, I don't wanna be a pain in the ass and keep showing up into this room when you don't want me here but he texted again, and it's serious. He needs us, you. Now," Ajax muttered, fiddling with his hands before realising he was in his underwear. He got embarrassed about himself when he saw her look him up and down. He quickly ran out of the room, flustered at his actions and how insensitive he was being. He threw on a shirt, carefully not letting his snakes be exposed. He came back into her room and she was blankly staring in the same place she was when he left. He offered her a small smile, before she shook her head, returning the small smirk back. Holding the phone up closer to her face, she began reading the text messages to herself, with a saddened smile beginning to form. The gorgon solemnly offered her a hand, a small smile when he stood close by seeing the girl read through the texts, eyes widening, brows following suit, before narrowing once again and repeat.
10:44PM- Xavier: Hey Wednesday, your vision came true. It was my Father in that truck, yeah, I know. I feel so stupid for not looking at these texts beforehand, maybe if I looked, I could have prevented it. I'm here at the hospital now, he's dead Wens, he's dead. Tyler killed him, and I'm going to figure out why.
10:47PM- Xavier: I don't want to burden you, so I'll do this myself. I've sent you the location to the cabin I was supposed to be staying in with Dad, I'm going back alone, Im going to connect the dots. I have a theory, Ive seen the news report, there are recognisable names on there, I think they're connected to my Father somehow. I'm going to figure things out, I'm going to make sure I get revenge, I will get revenge for him, for everyone. Thank you Wednesday, thank you for being so sincere with me. I care about you, and I do wonder how you're doing on the regular, there is a lot we need to speak about, so I'll talk to you in the morning about that, bring everyone over with you, I'll explain all I can. I'll sort this out myself, and when it's over, I'll help you and everyone else find Enid. I will.
10:50PM- Xavier: I'm sorry. I have to do this alone, I can fight, I've grown now. I'll be gone in the morning, so don't come by early. I'll keep you posted, but I'm going to sort this out tonight, Im getting the shuttle back now, I'll connect the dots, send you a photo of what I've found, or I'll leave it there for you to see. I'm going to leave the key, so you can get in. Make yourself at home, I'll be back soon enough. I hope you see this when you wake up, by that point I should have fixed things. I miss you Wens, I'll see you soon, take care of yourself. Ajax, let the others know what Im going to be doing if she doesn't already, take care okay man, I'll be back soon.
10:53PM- Xavier: I Love ya, see you soon.
The noirette gulped, her hands felt heavy, she felt nervous, her palms were sweaty and shaky like she was out in the chilling cold. The girls eyes felt dry, she'd been staring at the screen for far too long at this point, even Ajax was now getting concerned. She stood up quickly, making the boy slightly worried, she stormed over to her neatly arrayed clothes before quickly shooing the Gorgon out of the room. He stood there for a moment, confused as to what was going on, but he followed suit with her commands, going out of eyeshot, shutting the door too. She got changed hastily, struggling to put on her sweater she was in a frantic rush and didn't have much time to spare. Her long black jeans and her platformed boots were quickly placed upon her body, with a quick zip of her jeans she was ready finally. She was going to grab a coat assuming that the cold would sting tenfold, she decided against it feeling warm enough to take the gamble. To go out into the blistering rain she could hear crashing down on the roof of the building she was in. She gripped the boys phone in her hands, seeing that the location he pinged was a few kilometres away. She took a deep breath, memorising the path she should take, she opened the door separating the rooms, throwing the phone she had grown used to borrowing to the boy who stood there with a shocked face.
"Im going now. Don't follow me, and don't tell a soul. You can't get hurt too, Im not loosing all my friends within the span of one week, that's absurd. I will be back, I don't know when, but I will be. Meet us at that location in the morning, gather everyone before you set off," The raven muttered, slamming the door between the bewildered boy and herself before running out of the room without a second thought. She quickly exited the hotel, without an umbrella in hand she ran through the wet streets, kicking up mud and puddles with each step she made. Why was she doing this, she moved without a second thought. Not caring about catching a cold, not caring about her ruined clothing and freshly washed hair. She had no care for a thing, for nothing but him. The stinging feeling of rain bellowing on her once neatly warm clothing, and skin made a sensation she was not fond of. Like pins sticking into her skin she ran through the wind, causing her hair to swoop back almost letting her braids escape. Her breath was already shaky, she was nervous, she was actually worried. For her, for him. Her thoughts were negative, more negative than usual. Her brain ran laps as her body ran through streets. Goosebumps rose up the back of her neck, the small hairs on her arms she did her best to get rid of, standing with each feeling of breeze blowing back into her frail body. She was so worried about her friend that she ran through the streets like a psychopath chasing a victim. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe how her body moved on its own, she was acting on impulse, she just ran and ran and couldn't come to a stop. With each car that bellowed by, honking occasionally in concerns, or random people catcalling her much to her dismay. She ignored all things and kept running through the streets in the direction she recalled his cabin to be, before the streets turned into grassland, and grassland into forest.
She was close enough now, she stopped running at full pelt. She could faintly see lights in the distance, as her nerves began to double. The crunching sound of dry leaves beneath her feet mixed with wet mud and gravel caused her to nearly buckle under every uneven step. She looked around in horror when she mistook her own footsteps for others, it was always hers however. There was a cabin in the distance, it lay underneath a roof like abundance of trees as they swayed in the wind when it passed by with fury. The distance towards the cabin slowly closed in, with each damp footstep between her boot. With each stinging sensation of rain attacking her skin, she could feel the warmth suddenly surround her when she saw the door wide open, and him. He stood there, staring over a table, back turned to the door, it looked like was rummaging through papers, she smiled at the sight she saw. She felt the urge to run up to him, to hug him from behind, but when she arrived at the porch, noticing her presence was not known yet, she quietly observed for a moment, watching the boy move around in a frantic and nervous manner. He ran his fingers through his hair, he was damp too, like her. His shirt was damp enough for the girl to see all the shapes his body was made up of, as she stretched or stood up right, her heart wavered at every sudden movement. Her breath shook, she was nervous, but she wasn't too late. He hadn't left yet, that was her goal. Wasn't it? He occasionally mumbled things under his breath, that her exquisite hearing sometimes caught.
"Oh fuck." He moaned, leaning his head back, glancing up at the ceiling once more, before turning his attention back to the pages that were before him. She watched him shiver, turn on his heels, he was coming closer now, her stomach tied itself into a knot when his body turned to face her. His eyes finally landed upon her body. She could see the light in his slowly flash up once more, he looked so tired but so happy at what he had finally seen again. She just wanted to sing him a lullaby and tell him to rest gently. He gulped, she followed suit. His mouth was a gape as she took a step forward, his eyes meeting hers with the most lovingly painful touch. The hints of sadness seeped through, but she knew that wasn't all on his mind. His gaze trailed up her body, causing her to tingle in his view, she could see him panic, she could see him reach out for the right words as his eyes observed all details of her face which he hadn't seen for the longest of time. She did the same thing, looking him up and down in awe, his hair swept back, wet and dripping. His eyes so full of emotion she could stare deeply into those greenish shades for hours on end. His jawline she eagerly wanted to trace, lips swollen as if he'd bitten them before crying. His vascular hands all the way up to his elbows, she wished to trace every line, cut them out gently with a knife. She could feel him viewing her every detail, with grace and appreciation upon his gaze, her ears slightly tinged with rose, she was flustered, though she'd never say that. She'd blame it on the cold if he asked. He took another step forward coming into the warmer light, her brain ran wild, like a stampede through the desert.
"..W-Wednesday?" The artist cried. Reaching out towards the girl, taking another step forward, now they were merely inches away from one another, a step closer and they'd be embracing one another in their cold arms.
"Hello, Xavier," The raven replied. Taking one more step, suddenly softly embracing the boy who towered above her. She wrapped her arms around his midsection, gripping tightly against his clothes, she felt him gently return the hug, his breath shaking intently, his heart racing. Pounding underneath her ear. She could hear the quiet sobs begin, she did her best to soothe, she gripped the boy tighter, giving him an excuse to follow suit. She felt him rest his chin upon her head, feeling the boy clench his jaw, sobbing quietly into the wet hair below. He mumbled things, she couldn't hear through the cries he bellowed softly, she intended to pull away, to look him in the eyes, to talk to him in a soothing way and to make sure he was okay. He wouldn't let her go, he gripped onto the girls smaller frame, as she let her fate be ultimately determined and she stood there for a while, letting the boy ache his cries. She had to admit, though the circumstances weren't the best, she found herself not being opposed to the feeling of embracing the boy she longed for, for so long. If he had let go now, she may have even been disappointed. Though she normally loved the sounds of bellowing cries and screams, when it came from him, she had nothing but pain flutter around her heart, her stomach, her brain. She really cared deeply about the boy who still clung to her like a parasite, though they stood there for a moment, embracing one another, she finally felt him let go slightly, backing up to her dismay. He down looked at her, smiling softly before rubbing his eyes with his hands, then slicking his back his hair, she observed intently, her eyes trailing off elsewhere.
"What.. What are you doing here? I- I didn't want you to see me like this, I at least wanted to look better for you," He laughed, with a small smirk resting on his face, hiding the sadness from her even though he just balled his eyes out directly infront of her. She smiled softly, shaking her head at the boy who slightly giggled away, she missed that, she never heard it much but, part of her really missed and wanted to hear that laugh once more.
"Unfortunately we are both in a sorrowful state, the downpour was immense. You still- You don't look bad," The monochrome girl shyly said, looking down at her feet for a moment but immediately back up at the boy, meeting his gaze with softened brows. He smiled back at her, oh she longed for it, the urges she had when his smile showed up, her heart raced, her BPM was at an all time high, just looking at him caused her ears to tingle.
"You always look good, Nes. Even as windswept and as wet as you are now.. wait.. oh god," He tried to be flirty, be nice enough to make her smile again, but he cringed himself out and then ultimately embarrassed himself with that last sentence, which flew over the ravens head as she had no awareness as to what he meant. She was wet, thst was truthful, why was he acting all shy now.
"Never call me that again, it makes the cauldron bubble. Besides, there are bigger things to talk about in this instance, Xavier. We must cut past the small talk, get down to business." She said with a deadpan look on her face, watching the boy wriggle around like he was trapped in a cocoon of sorts at the sentences she was saying, did she say things wrong? He finally stopped for a moment, beckoning her to follow him over to the table that resided behind. Her small frame slowly appeared beside his much taller, larger one. She looked up at him, with her big brown doe eyes, staring at his shoulder, his soaking wet hair. She traced his jawline with her gaze, ending up close to his lips, the urges she had, were immense. He looked down at her, with a small smile on his face, before explaining the situation.
"So, my Father was killed by a Hyde. The Hyde from your vision, the whole crash scene you claimed you had. My Father was that victim. Tyler was the killer. According to this, the documents that I have laid out. Tyler and his Mother were supposed to be broken out of Willow Hill, by someone called, Isadora Capri," He muttered, rummaging through some of the papers on the desk before handing the raven a file on the ginger werewolf.
"Isadora Capri, worked at Nevermore. She was a music teacher there, she's a werewolf." The pigtailed girl explained, looking up at the boy with a soft gaze, to which he returned with a small smile and a cocked eyebrow.
"Okay so, that adds to things.. From what I've pieced together, Isadora was close.. with my Father, him and another group of psychics and other outcasts of sort had planned to break Tyler and his mother Françoise out of Willow Hill. To save them. It states here that Isadora's Father was a Hyde himself, and for some reason she really wants to free them, to save them. Therefore her plan was to work with the other outcasts to format a safe society of sorts before she could cure them," Xavier added, looking around at the other sheets, occasionally handing the girl a file or another sheet before explaining further, he would have said more but the girl had to add something..
"Unfortunately, I.. In attempts to utilise my detective skills may have freed Françoise from there, before knowing who she was of course. Then, Tyler, Françoise and an undead relative who turned out to be Things host body wanted to utilise a chamber underneath Willow Hill to expunge their powers. That did not work however, I and many an Addams stopped this from happening. Though now it may seem that, Isadora was the ultimate mastermind and Issac Night was simply an anomaly in the system of sorts," The girl confessed, looking down at her feet, tapping her heels together as if she were upon a yellow brick road.
"A zombie, who is actually.. Thing?? Woah, okay I guess I missed a lot more than I expected to have missed.. Actually, I don't know what I expected to be honest with you, that sounds typical of Nevermore," The artist mumbled, giving the girl rub on her lower back which she would have said she hated, if it were anyone else but it sort of made her feel gushy in a good way.
"Basically, my Father did not want to help out by freeing the guy who basically.. sort of, falsely imprisoned me. Though, that was you.. Anyway, he basically refused to help Isadora with her ideas, leading to multiple other outcasts siding with Vincent more so than Isadora. This essentially leads to Isadora weaponising Tyler to kill all innocent lives, the lives of the outcasts that sided with my Dad. Resulting in the many of deaths all over the news, including the sight I walked into the hospital to see," Xavier explained, still flicking through the pages and files that were scattered all over table, handing the pigtailed girl some sheets every now and then, before looking down at the girl with a small smile, but a silently upsetting gaze.
"Tyler.. He told me, there was nothing going to stop him now. Maybe the premise of Isadora saving, curing him and other Hydes has backfired? He might be acting in his own impulse, he didn't seem to be controlled or anything like he once was. Also.. I- I'm sorry," Wednesday added, before apologising briefly, making the boys eyes suddenly change, they widened, doubled in intensity. She looked up at him, suddenly it was as if their breaths could feel one another, they were close, way too close. She gazed deep into his light green, vine like eyes, seeing the solemn sadness that resided within them, she had urges, she couldn't control herself. Those big, beautiful brown eyes stared up at him, he could see the light, it was as if he had the power of the sun, in the palm of his hands. He had urges, he couldn't control them. He had to let her speak, he had to let her explain things however, he was eager to know.
"I am so sorry. I- I am so sorry for everything Xav- I didn't mean to hurt you, I believed Tyler and his tricks and I was wrong for that. I know we basically apologised to one another last semester but I made the mistake of destroying the gift you gave me.. I- I am sorry. The mistakes I have made over the past handful of months lead to your Father's passing, I feel entirely at fault for that. I- I am sorry, Xavier," The raven apologised, looking up at the artist with a subtle sheet of liquid appearing over her eyes, as if she were fighting back the tears that prickled in the corners. Her brows lifted, she attempted to smile, in usual Wednesday manner at least, it was to no avail, she looked constipated more so than anything. She felt like she wanted to cry, however the feeling only doubled once she felt arms wrap around her shaky small body once again. He hugged her, he held here there, carefully he draped his arms over her shoulders, pulling him in close. She slowly manoeuvred her arms around his waist once again, clinging to the wet clothing that was beginning to dry slowly. She pressed her face into his chest, the sound of his heartbeat, soothing her brain, before the tears began to prickle once again when he started to speak and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.
"I forgave you a long time ago, Wednesday. I may not forgive you about the phone, that was quite expensive, haha. I promise you however, I forgave you about the whole imprisonment the day you came for help. I don't blame you for what happened tonight, It isn't your fault that he's gone. What we can do, can make a difference. We could make a difference, we could sort things out. I want to sort things out," He spoke, softly resting his chin atop her head. He slowly stroked her pigtails, much to her confusion, she felt as if the sensation was enjoyable, she quite wanted him to continue. He stopped however, slowly pulling away from the hug, that annoyed her, it upset her that they were no longer so close. He looked down at her, seeing her glance up through her brows at him, it made him want to fall to his knees and give her everything there and then, she was thinking something fairly similar as well. They could not, they couldn't, not now not ever. They both overthought things too much, far too much for their own good. They separated properly again, slightly further apart this time. They didn't want to stop being this close with one another, but also didn't want to overstep. This was something that may take a while to overcome.
"I want to do this alone. I meant what I said, when I said it. I don't want you to get hurt," Xavier muttered, glancing over at the girl in attempts to figure out how she was feeling just by the way she was glaring back.
"I do not need your protection. I will not get hurt, besides, with the likes of me there, it may be easier to get ahold of the Hyde. I can distract him, you can kill him," The achromic girl responded, glaring up at the boy who now circled the table, collecting all the evidence he laid out a little under an hour ago.
"That's not a good idea Wen- Wednesday. I know you don't need me to protect you, but that's not the point.. I want to sort this out, I don't want you to get hurt, I stand by that," The artist explained, throwing his hands in the air, quickly whipping his hair back with his hands, his now dry T-shirt exposing himself slightly, causing the girl opposite him to subtly fluster in the format of her ears changing shade.
"Firstly, stop lifting your arms up. You're acting like a sassy child and your torso keeps getting exposed and it's making me.. queasy. Secondly, I am going to help you, no matter what you say or do, I will haunt you in every lifetime, Thorpe. I stand by that," The monochrome girl assured. Standing her ground, making sure the boy knew he was serious, she crossed her arms and as a result looked like a stroppy child, but he loved it. He smiled to himself, looking away from her for a mere moment, trying to keep composure before the television, news broadcast began to catch his attention. He looked over at it, moving closer to the box that sat above the fireplace, the raven followed suit standing next to him in the same place she found herself magnetised to. The broadcast explained, a break in had occurred at hydrogen plant just outside the border, maybe 15 miles away from where the duo resided. There was an attempted break in which set off alarms, before a beast like creature was captured on footage ravaging the halls, murdering the workers who were doing overtime. The found footage was awful to watch, for the painter at least, the pigtailed girl adored every second. That was until the footage showed, Isadora Capri, slowly following behind the Hyde as it ravaged its way through the building.
"We know where to go now, right? I think they must be using the hydrogen as a fuel, or a weapon perhaps. There was nothing in those files that could have pointed to hydrogen right? You would have noticed that, surely," The girl mumbled, moving away from his hip, going over to the abundance of papers, having another flick through to herself finding nothing of use, nothing she hadn't already seen due to his explanation just previously.
"If your theory is right, about Tyler being rouge, then she is in trouble, more trouble than anyone else. She wanted to do good, that's all I'm aware of, to me, that's worth saving," He mumbled, quickly spinning on his heels, making his way over towards the door, before he was pulled back by the pigtailed girl who held his shirt firmly, she looked up at him with sorrow, it caused him to waver.
"She doesn't look panicked, like she's in a hostage situation of sorts. I still think this is her plan, maybe he will utilise the hydrogen for his own deeds. I'm coming with you Xavier, you're not doing this alone," The raven glared up at her, with eyebrows as narrow as can be, she would not move on this. He sighed before taking her hand in his, she flushed a pale pink colour when feeling the warm sensation wrap around her cold grip, he looked down at her, catching the slight glimpse of blush on her face when they stormed out into the moonlight, into the rain.
"Okay. They're already there, so we do this now. I'll text Aj, the others that I can too. I want to make sure they know, just in case. We've got this, we're going to do it now. Okay? Are you ready?" Xavier echoed, as the rain made the sound of his voice even more dramatic, he leant close to her to speak to her properly, speaking close to her ear before asking the final question.
"Always.. If I'm with you Xavier, I'll do anything," The pigtailed girl now stood in the pouring rain, her face close to his, and her eyes as soft as they can be. He didn't catch the end of her sentence, the downpour caused his ears to sting, he mainly gathered the always. With that he nodded, letting go of her hand in the process, shutting the door behind them before leading the raven back the way she came, they were going to stop this, once and for all.
Elsewhere:
The wolf lay still, in the blistering cold. As the rain bellowed upon its blonde fur, it witnessed the power plant change in colour. It was her time, her instinct overtook her, she began to creep closer, her sight not wavering in the slightest. She sniffed the air before sniffing the ground, less than a mile away she resided now, she'd slowly get closer as the time came to. For now she waited, the sight of her friends would make her move, it was her time now. Shining bright is what she was good at, and there was no chance in hell she'd miss the opportunity to kill someone she too had a vendetta against. As the whirling sound of the power plant moved, the smell of hydrogen seeped into her sinuses, licking her teeth, she could smell them now. It was almost her time, almost their time, not long now, she'd be cured soon enough, she'd be free soon enough. Hopefully, he was there with them, she had faith he would be. If all went correctly, her apology would be forgiven, she'd clamber into his arms, she'd cling to his skin, he'd forgive her and they'd be happy again. Squirrels and rats, can work out.