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When Goody Addams appeared before Wednesday, she had to wonder whether or not she was hallucinating. However, the apparition was too similar to the visions Wednesday had seen and her voice was similar to the one she had heard before so… probably not a hallucination. Perhaps Goody had appeared before her to welcome her into the land of the dead early, considering she was lying on the ground, bleeding out with no hope of anyone finding her anytime soon.
But Wednesday was constantly surprised by the kindness some people had within them, though she wasn’t sure how much of Goody’s help was kindness and how much was desperation to rid the world of Joseph Crackstone. Her power had helped Wednesday recuperate as much as she could, and she was fairly sure that the bleeding had stopped, if only for a short while.
She forced herself to stand up, using the wall as support, before she was upright on her own two, albeit wobbly, legs. It took a couple of moments for Wednesday to catch her breath, time she could not afford to lose, but she used the opportunity to try and figure out what her plan of action should be.
For the first time, Wednesday wished there were other people around her, people who could see things outside of Wednesday’s self-admitted tunnel vision. Enid, Xavier, even Ajax or Bianca… any one of them would have been helpful to have by her side. At one point she would’ve included Tyler on this list, but now that she knew his true nature… she was disgusted with herself for ever liking him, even if he did a good job of hiding who he truly was.
Still, there was no time to dally on what-ifs, she had to hurry if she was to stop Crackstone before he killed everyone at the school. There was the sound of hurried footsteps nearby, which at least meant that the students had figured out what was going on and had chosen to flee. That would make her job a bit easier, she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting underfoot.
Wednesday headed out of the cavern, and made her way to the school grounds, running as fast as she dared. Goody had said she’d heal all her wounds, but there was a part of Wednesday that still felt injured, so she wasn’t taking any chances before facing the enemy. She spots Crackstone cackling in the middle of the courtyard, Thornhill a safe distance away, watching with gleeful eyes.
Ignoring whatever nonsense Crackstone was spouting, she spotted a familiar sword lying to the side, and made her way to it. She lifted it up, moving it around to get a feel for its weight; it had been a long time since she’d used an actual sword, but she supposed it was like riding a bike. Once you learn how to use a sword, it never leaves your mind.
Finally, she confronted Crackstone, sword in hand and smirk in place. In her mind, she knew that she could not be the one to bring ruin to this school, and this was her chance to save everything. Not once would she have called herself a hero, though she supposed that was the optimal outcome for tonight.
Behind Crackstone, Wednesday can spot the crowd of students rushing towards the exit (and why there was only one main exit, Wednesday had to wonder), though she spotted no one familiar. Her heart wrenched in a way she didn’t know it could, worry rising in her heart, but she pushed it down for now. There would be time for that sort of nonsense after the battle.
Crackstone spotted her as her footsteps fell heavily on the stone ground, and turned to face her fully, anger covering his deformed face. “What demonic sorcery is this?” he bellows, furious that his ancestral enemy had now returned from the grave seemingly twice to fight him.
She wrapped her hands around the sword’s hilt more firmly, and lunged toward him, not willing to waste any time. However, for a very old and supposedly dead man, Crackstone wasn’t going down without a fight. There were a few precious moments where she thought that she had done it, that she had defeated him, but it was all for nought when her sword fell apart in her hands.
Now she was carefully edging back, trying to mentally think of another plan for herself; maybe she should’ve read Goody’s book of shadows before coming here, or had some sort of plan in general, but she had just rushed in headfirst and was now feeling incredibly stupid because of this decision. She wasn’t the sort of person to do this, she was meticulous and thorough to an annoyance, but Wednesday figured her judgment must’ve been clouded by… emotions.
Just as Wednesday was about to make a run for it, she heard the familiar twang of a bow being drawn back. A few moments later, an arrow came whizzing past her to head towards Crackstone, and she recognized it as one of Xavier’s archery club arrows. She turned her head towards him to see where he was, before seeing horror dawn on his face. Turning back, the arrow was now spinning back towards her, towards Xavier. And she did the only thing she could think of, and forced her body to move, to put herself in front of the arrow.
And being pierced by an arrow hurt much more than Wednesday assumed it would, though why she was expecting there not to be pain she was not sure. There were a few moments where she couldn’t feel anything, but then she was knocked back on the ground with a gasp. Wednesday heard Xavier’s worried shout, saw Crackstone approaching, and did one of the most ridiculous things that she’s ever done since coming to this damned school.
Wednesday pushed herself off the ground, wrenched the arrow from her side, and ran it directly through Crackstone’s miserable, black heart. There were a few horrid seconds where nothing happened, and Wednesday thought that perhaps she missed or Goody had lied to her—hadn’t her mother warned her of Goody’s powers?—and she wanted to just collapse to the ground and succumb.
But then, in a terrifying swirl of black mist, Crackstone’s decaying body howled and there was a scream (where from, Wednesday didn’t know) and then… he was just gone. The monster terrorizing outcasts for so long had been vanquished.
Somehow, because she couldn’t catch a break, it didn't end there. Wednesday barely managed to keep herself upright and turned around to see where Xavier had gone, when she heard the tell-tale sound of a gun being cocked. There was a moment of petrified fear because Wednesday wasn’t sure she had dealing with a gun in her, but then there was buzzing, and bees, and Eugene somehow was there, and Wednesday had never been more thrilled to see his face.
Wednesday wasn’t quite sure what happened after this point, but Xavier walked up to her and told her that all the students were clamoring around the entrance. “I suppose I should go tell them it’s over,” she said, even though moving sounded excruciatingly hard at this point. But more than she wanted to lie down on her bed and not move for the next few days, she had wanted to see where everyone had ended up.
So Wednesday followed Xavier and Bianca—Wednesday wasn’t entirely sure when she had shown up but she noticed the pendant missing on her neck and wondered if she also had a part with tonight’s misadventures. She made a mental note to ask at a later point, when things weren’t so chaotic.
Soon, they were making their way to the courtyard entrance and Wednesday spotted a very familiar pink shearling coat, one that she had come to associate with warmth and friendship, and didn’t even stop herself from walking directly to Enid.
Enid, who was covered in blood and whose jacket is just barely wrapped around her, but it was Enid.
For the first time, she allowed Enid’s warm arms to wrap around her, and she pulled herself into the hug. After a moment, she hesitated, wondering if she should let go, but she needed this.
Wednesday let herself fall.
She heard Enid’s worried cry as she caught Wednesday in her arms, and there were a myriad of voices surrounding her as everyone clamored over one another to see what was happening.
“An arrow Xavier? Are you serious?”
“I did my best, okay! Half an hour ago, I was in the back of a police car, give me a break.”
“Guys I think there’s blood here, help me stop the bleeding.’
“God where is a teacher when you need one?”
After that, everything became dark to Wednesday.
___
Wednesday didn’t awake right away, though there were many moments where she would join the waking world before leaving once again.
It was in those moments that Wednesday would catch snippets of conversation happening around her, though she couldn’t always place the voices.
One memorable instance was hearing Enid talking with Ajax as the two presumably sat by her, though it wasn’t until later she would realize why.
“The doctor said it’s infected, that the kn-knife wound didn’t heal properly the first time around or something,” and Wednesday was able to hear Enid’s soft whimpers, the ones she did when she was unsuccessfully trying to hide her fear.
Then there was Ajax’s voice, whispering soft, soothing words that were too quiet for Wednesday’s dazed mind to pick up. A little louder, he said, “She’s strong. She’ll get through this, and you know she’ll judge us for crying here by her bed.” Though his words sound strong, his voice is unsure. Wednesday wonders why.
Before she was able to hear anymore, her mind had gone dark once again.
The next time she could hear anything, it was the soft beeping of a heart monitor. Wednesday was well acquainted with the sound, for reasons she didn’t generally share.
She tried to will herself to open her eyes once more, but they were adamant to remind shut for the time being. Well, that suited Wednesday, she liked to be in the dark.
A small part of her wondered where Enid had gone to, but didn't linger on the thought as she heard the sound of a door opening.
“Only an hour Mr. Thorpe. Ms. Addams doesn’t need this many disturbances.”
Soon, there was a light thud as someone sat down besides her. Xavier. There was silence for some long moments, and the pull of sleep is stronger than Wednesday wanted it to be, but eventually, Xavier spoke up.
“It’s fucking weird to talk to you like this, but I suppose you don’t really care if something’s weird, do you?” There was a strained chuckle as Xavier cleared his throat. “I wonder what it’s like to be in a coma… I mean yours is medically induced but still. Can you hear me? Or are you just lying there, with no thoughts?”
Wednesday wished that Xavier would cut this useless chatter, but she also knew that this was how he processed his emotions. By cycling through them as he came about them, working through them like they were puzzles to be understood.
“You know, everyone wanted to come in here to see you, and eventually they had to kick people out because the waiting room had no space for the actual patients. It’s frankly ridiculous to see how much people like you, especially when you can be so vicious, but I suppose you have a way of worming your way into people’s hearts.”
Xavier is quiet again for a few moments, and Wednesday barely caught his last words as she drifted back to the realm of dreams.
“I miss you, Wednesday.”
___
The next time she awoke, her eyes actually opened. She blinked harshly at the bright light, but couldn’t avoid the small groan that escaped her lips. Everything ached, the way they do after a long day of walking or like the time she fell down the stairs chasing after Thing as a child.
“I think she’s waking up,” she heard a tired voice, Enid’s, exclaim.
“I’ll go get someone,” Ajax said, as she heard him stumble over something before opening the door.
Wednesday heard quiet footsteps as a warm hand clutched hers. “Wednesday?” Enid asked tentatively, unsure if Wednesday was truly there.
A reply formed on Wednesday’s lips, but before she could say anything, a harsh cough escaped her throat. It made everything hurt, a stronger pain than before, and she squeezed her eyes shut, letting out another groan.
But then, the door opened once again and someone walked towards the other side of the bed. “And you said she woke up?” she heard someone’s voice ask.
“Yes!” came Enid’s excited reply. “She opened her eyes but I think something must be hurting or her throat is dry or something, because she sounded like she was in pain.”
The nurse hummed and a few moments passed before she addressed Wednesday herself. “Alright Wednesday, I’ve dimmed the lights, could you open your eyes for me?”
So once again, with much more effort than it was honestly worth, Wednesday forced her eyes open and looked at the nurse standing by her. She blinked a couple of times before her vision properly focused, and now she could see Enid and Ajax on the other side of the bed, Enid clutching Ajax’s hand tightly.
“Here, let’s get you some water, shall we?” And the nurse helped Wednesday sip carefully from a straw before setting the cup down and helping her lay back down.
“Could you just give us a few minutes?” The nurse addressed the two by the bed, and though Enid looked frustrated at the request, the two quietly exited the room.
“Alright, Wednesday, just a few questions for you and then I can answer your questions alright?”
The nurse ran through a few rudimentary questions, asking Wednesday about her full name, age, her parents, and a few random questions that made little sense to Wednesday before she was done.
“Good to see you have no lasting head trauma, at least nothing from the preliminary tests,” the nurse smiled brightly. Wednesday wasn’t sure what was so cheery about head trauma, at least to someone who was supposedly supposed to dislike those sorts of things.
“What happened?” Wednesday asked, voice quiet. She hoped the nurse would give her more water soon, her throat was killing her.
“Honestly, your friends have more details than I do, but essentially you lost quite a bit of blood and passed out after meeting with your friends. You had a small head wound, which wasn’t bleeding but that’s why I had to ask you those questions. There also was a stab wound on your side, which got infected after a few hours, as well as an arrow wound that was small but was dangerously positioned so we had to be careful to make sure it didn’t damage anything else.”
The nurse paused now, as if waiting for Wednesday to speak up, but took her silence as a sign to continue. “The doctor chose to put you in a medically induced coma to help you recover from the blood loss, so it’s been… nearly six days since all of that.”
“My friends?” Wednesday asked. The nurse looked confused at the question before realizing.
“Oh, well they’re all fine for the most part. I can’t say too much, but your friend Enid had turned into a werewolf during all this and had gotten a few minor injuries. Otherwise, your friends had no other health issues, everyone else was fine.”
Wednesday didn’t say anything else, just gave the nurse a small nod as she processed the information. That meant that no one else had gotten hurt in the fight, and she’d have to congratulate Enid on finally wolfing out after so long.
“Your parents were here earlier, though not entirely sure where they went off to. Your friends can fill you in on everything else.”
The nurse quickly checks a few more cursory things on Wednesday before offering her another drink of water and letting her know the doctor would be by soon to check on her.
Right after the nurse left the room, Enid and Ajax quickly came back inside. Enid took the seat directly next to Wednesday’s bed, while Ajax hung back a little. Wednesday was glad to see that Enid looked like her normal self now.
“I’m so glad you’re awake, I was like, terrified when they said they put you in a coma,” Enid said the moment she sat down. Perhaps without even realizing it, she had grabbed ahold of Wednesday’s hand once again.
Wednesday wanted to scoff, but she also was trying to be better about other people’s feelings. “I’m… sorry?” she said, unsure if it was the correct answer. She was made even more confused when she saw Ajax let out a chuckle at her reply.
“Never thought I’d see Wednesday Addams apologizing,” Ajax said, but he smiled at her warmly so Wednesday was fairly sure that he was joking. She hoped he was, at least.
“You don’t need to be sorry Wednesday, I’m just happy you’re okay,” Enid said.
“Well, she’s not entirely okay, I mean she literally has a stab wound in her side still,” Ajax commented.
“Okay, Ajax, you’re amazing but you’re officially not helping. Why don’t you tell Xavier that Wednesday’s awake?” Enid said, and Ajax pulled his phone out of his pocket without another word.
Enid turned her attention back to Wednesday, but by this point Wednesday was beginning to feel tired once again. And so she missed Enid’s next question as her eyes drifted close again.
It was alright, she knew that Enid would still be there the next time she awoke. Wednesday liked the warm feeling that gave her.
___
Soon enough, Wednesday was beginning to get back to a regular schedule. Day by day, she’d be able to stay awake longer and talk with whoever was visiting her for extended periods of time.
Her parents had come by twice, asking concerned questions and supposedly keeping her company while they stared into each other's eyes, but eventually Wednesday told them that she was fine, and they could go back home. Her mother told her to check-in with the crystal ball once she was allowed to go back to her rooms, and for once, she didn’t frown as she promised to do so.
Enid and Ajax were also frequent visitors, though sometimes they came by themselves. Ajax was generally fairly quiet when he came to see her, offering her random commentary about what was happening with The Nightshades or how the reconstruction of the school was going. There was apparently a new interim principal already put into place, a teacher that Wednesday didn’t know very well.
Whenever Enid would visit, she’d bring something to do with Wednesday, usually some ridiculous online quiz or a random puzzle she had found, but Wednesday found herself enjoying them more than she thought she would. Though perhaps it was the act of doing them with Enid that Wednesday enjoyed more than the actual activities.
Xavier had also visited frequently, and at first Wednesday was unsure of what to say; they hadn’t exactly ended things on the best foot. But Xavier told her to stop worrying about ridiculous things like that, that he wasn’t able to be upset when Wednesday had literally taken an arrow for him. Wednesday liked when Xavier visited because he would often draw in his sketchbook and show her the random things he had seen throughout the day, or he would tell random stories about Nevermore that had happened before Wednesday had arrived. Unlike Enid, Xavier never minded that she didn’t talk much, which was nice; keeping up an entire conversation was tiresome work.
On one memorable visit, Xavier had brought Bianca with him, and Wednesday could finally see herself and Bianca standing on some sort of mutual ground. Bianca explained how she had helped evacuate all the students, and Wednesday thanked her for making her job easier. They still poked jabs at each other, and Wednesday promised her a fair fencing match once she was able to properly fence again.
It was honestly very frustrating being confined to a bed, though as her infection went away, she was allowed to walk (with assistance only) for little distances. Usually one of the nurses would help her up to go to the bathroom, or otherwise just do small walks around her room. Occasionally, Ajax or Xavier would lend her a shoulder as she needed it, though the nurse had said she wasn’t supposed to do that right away.
But when did Wednesday ever listen to authority figures telling her what not to do?
Eventually, after too many days spent cooped up in a bed surrounded by the same four walls, the doctor had said she could be discharged late one afternoon. Xavier had been visiting then, and he helped her pack up the random assortment of items that had accumulated around the room, then helped her hobble to the bathroom so she could get changed, before the two made their way to her dorm room.
Wednesday protested at first, declaring that she didn’t need any help, but after she practically fell into Xavier’s arms as they left the room, she took the help without any more comments. As they made their way back to her room, they were stopped more than once by students who wanted to thank Wednesday for… well Wednesday couldn’t keep track. Some thanked her for “protecting Nevermore”, for “saving all the students”, for “making peace with the normies”, or for “saving them from the bees.” That one really stood out, though Wednesday couldn’t really remember what that student had been talking about. Wednesday met all the accolades the same way she did everything else, with a cold glare until the person got embarrassed and walked away.
“You know, they’re just happy things are back to normal, they’re not trying to mess with you or something,” Xavier commented as he carefully helped her up the stairs. Wednesday wondered why Nevermore didn’t have an elevator, it really would have been helpful.
“I… am not really used to this sort of attention,” Wednesday admitted quietly. “Most people just think I’m crazy or did something wrong.”
Xavier was quiet for a second as he helped open the door to her room, gesturing to its occupants, Enid and Ajax.
“Well, now you have all of us. You don’t need to go through it alone.”