Chapter Text
Wednesday perfectly remembered the day she'd last seen him.
Three days before she opened an envelope with two seals from Tegminalis University and New York City Court. A clerical text invited her to appear in court as a witness. Witness for his case. Wednesday could have ignored the letter, thrown it away and forgotten about it. Maybe then her life would have taken a completely different path. But she didn't do that.
When Wednesday returned from Nevermore for the holidays, her parents didn't ask too many questions. Of course, Morticia and Gomez knew about the situation with Tyler, Laurel and Crackstone but they did touch upon this painful topic. For that Wednesday was grateful. Only once had Morticia put her arm around her shoulders and said: "If you want to talk, I'm always at your service." But Wednesday didn't want to talk, she wanted to forget. How out of all the people in awful Jericho, the one she had opened up her soul and confided in, just so happened to be the most inappropriate one? The one who humiliated and almost killed her.
This could have been tragically romantic, like in a dark gothic novel, if it weren't so painful. A new type of pain that Wednesday had never experienced before. And she didn't like it . It was like a festering wound, which had opened in her chest - not fatal, but always raw and unwilling to heal.
"What is Tegminalis?" Wednesday asked, showing Morticia the letter.
"One of the best universities of higher education for outcasts. They have branches in New York and London. A lot of students continue their studies there after Nevermore. It is also a huge research center. If I'm not mistaken, all complex cases, like Hydes, are under their jurisdiction. As well as a colony and hospital, where they keep out of control outcasts.”
"Sounds pretty bleak. It must be an interesting place," Wednesday said casually.
"What do you think about the other letter, dark cloud? You don't have to go if you don't want to," Morticia said softly as she returned Wednesday's envelope.
"I know," Wednesday snapped. Similar letters had been sent to Enid and Eugene. An indignant Edin had immediately called Wednesday, declaring that she would not be plunged into this nightmare again for anything.
"But I'll go" Wednesday lifted her chin and looked into Morticia's eyes. "I'm an important witness. Nearly all the rest are killed or refused. I need to tell my version so that no one escapes responsibility."
Morticia nodded softly, but asked her to be careful and take Thing with her. Wednesday went to collect her bag.
***
On the day of the trial, Wednesday arrived a few hours early to visit the temporary isolation ward for especially dangerous outcasts. She wasn't sure she was doing right, but the desire to see him in a cage - broken and lost- had taken over.
Or was it a desire to understand? To get answers to questions that had tormented her since the night of the blood moon. She wouldn't have said for sure.
The place where he was kept was too bright and clean for a prison. Long white corridors with identical cells behind transparent windows. The amount of light blinded her eyes, and Wednesday looked especially alien here. Her boots clomped against the tiles, each step echoing down the corridor.
When Wednesday saw him, Tyler was sitting in a cell with his back to her, dressed in a light blue prison suit. Her curly hair had grown out a little, which made them even more curled. Under the harsh lights his brown locks shone with a coppery tint.
No chains, no bars - that surprised Wednesday. Only a pair of bracelets circled his arms and a thin, clear sheet of glass separated him from her . It certainly was impenetrable, but did not instill a sense of security at all.
Wednesday's heart was beating too fast. The mixture of hatred and longing for something forever lost was confusing.
"How does it feel like to lose?" She wanted to ask him. To prick him painfully. When Wednesday was on her way there, she imagined that she would spit those words, his words, in his face like a mockery.
She was almost there when Tyler turned around at the sound of footsteps. His eyes lit up with a strange glint that Wednesday couldn't understand. He looked intently at her. His gaze dragged her into the whirlpool of painful memories. For a moment, she forgot everything she was about to say. The pain of his betrayal flared in her chest, and Wednesday pursed her lips to keep from betraying her dismay.
His voice cut through the silence.
“I didn't expect you to come.”
Inhaling sharply, Wednesday tried to muster the last of her composure. Her cheeks felt warm. Through the rush of blood in her ears, his voice sounded muffled like he was speaking to her under water.
“I didn't expect to,” said Wednesday, almost indifferently. At least she tried to make it sound like that. “But I am one of the few people who saw you as a Hyde and survived. So I decided to help justice”.
"Wednesday, I…" Tyler muttered, swallowing and lowering his eyes. "I didn't want any of this.” He finished so quietly that she could barely hear.
"You're a good actor, Tyler. I’ll give you that . Bravo! ” Wednesday spoke in a feigned calm voice with a touch of wicked amusement. "Your performance as a cute barista and your "I want to be more than friends" charade was quite convincing. But I won't buy it anymore.”
"I wasn’t playing , Wednesday! Don't think like that," He implored.
Abruptly standing, he approached her, pressing his palms to the glass that separated them, with his hands on both sides of her.
Wednesday chuckled.
"It won't work, Tyler. I do not believe you anymore and I'll tell the court everything I know. I hope the verdict matches what you did."
Tyler looked confused and offended by her words. He threw up his hands with a huff.
"I'm not saying that because of the court. And I’m ready for any verdict. I just wanted you to know that I didn't want any of this. From the moment Laurel had awakened Hyde , I've been out of control. If she called him, or if I got angry, I was no longer me. But the rest of the time I was myself! I swear !”
By the end, he was almost screaming. What restraint he had on his emotions was slipping.
Wednesday shuddered, not allowing herself to believe a single word. She had already trusted him once, and she would not repeat that mistake again.
"You cruelly murdered six people, Tyler," Wednesday said in an icy tone, as if she had already been to his trial and judgment had been passed . “ That’s too much even for me. And my limits are far from normal, you know. You also harmed people I care about. Wounding Eugene and Enid and assisting in the attack on the Thing. The last thing I'm interested in is how you felt at the moment.”
Tyler staggered back from the glass. Anger and confusion clouded his face. His eyes welled up, unshed tears swirling within like he was about to cry .
"It wasn’t me, Wednesday! Laurel controlled me. I couldn't disobey orders! This is how Hyde works... And when you tried to threaten me in that shed , Hyde broke free and I completely lost control. Everything from that moment on is a blur in my mind. I wasn’t myself. I haven’t been myself until I woke up here. I don’t even remember exactly what happened. ”
He was still trying to make excuses. Pretty pathetic and unconvincing, thought Wednesday. Anger rose in her chest at the fact that he was still pretending to be that unfortunate boy. As if he was the victim here, not a maniac and a murderer who even tried to drag her into the game with guilt.
"Is this your line of defense? To blame the nature of the Hyde, Laurel Gates and even me? But not yourself.” Wednesday clenched her hands into fists, trying hard not to start waving them. Barely able to keep her voice at an acceptable volume, she spoke through gritted teeth : "Let's imagine that I went crazy and believed you. It turns out that poor unfortunate Tyler had known about the murders for months. You knew about Laurel's plan, about my role in it and you didn't do anything. Didn’t even try to stop it! Because it was scary, because you don't want to take responsibility". The words flew from Wednesday's mouth like poison she could taste as she looked into Tyler's eyes. She took a sharp breath before delivering her final blow : "So you're either a liar or a coward and a weak. I don't even know which is worse."
Wednesday refused to break their eye contact even for a second. She watched as that pitiful, almost tear-stained face morphed into one of poorly controlled rage with tightly compressed lips and an unnatural composure. Quick as it came, anger gave way to cold, smoothing out his features into a blank mask. As if all emotion was sucked out, leaving only a shell. And there was that look that she remembered so well because of the sheer horror it evoked. Growing as the wound in her chest started to gape and bleed.
Tyler had looked at her like that at the police station.
"It's a pity I didn't kill you in that forest." His voice also became different. Lower, deeper, carrying steel notes with each word .
“So you showed your true face,” Wednesday retorted, despite the change in him unsettling her. For a moment, she doubted the veracity of her words. And him too. Suddenly, a feeling of unreality of what was happening, as if it was a bad dream, seized her. One of those that can inspire the creation of novels. But this one wasn't inspiring at all.
"I hate you and all your kind!" Tyler spat venomously. His eyes shone maniacally and his dilated pupils made them look almost completely black. Tears from before lingered , close to spilling over . He came closer to the glass again, and she could see it clouding slightly with his breath.
"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Wednesday replied confidently , almost cheerfully, as if it were a mere exchange of pleasantries. The bracelets on Tyler's wrists glowed red. Wednesday took a step back. Her face, as usual, remained impenetrable, but her heart sank into her heels. Breaking their eye contact, she turned to leave.
That was when he spoke up again.
Wednesday didn't see his face, but the change in voice was evident. It was quite impressive. She couldn't deny that.
"No no! I didn't mean to say that ! Don't go, not like this, please!" Tyler shouted. His tone of voice bordered on panicked hysteria. She turned around and saw that he was standing with his hands clutching the glass so hard that the pads of his fingers turned white. His eyes were shining.
In ten minutes she had seen two different people. It was like a bucket of cold water on your head - sharp and sobering. Perhaps for the first time in her life, Wednesday didn't know what to say. And yet , she couldn't help obeying some strange impulse within her. Taking a step towards the glass, she put her hand to one of his . They stood like that for several seconds, and the panic gradually left his face, replaced by a viscous and palpable longing that hung in the air.
Wednesday's chest tightened uncomfortably. It became hard to breathe.
"Goodbye, Tyler," she muttered. Spinning on her heels, Wednesday walked away from him, never allowing herself to look back. Her blood hummed in her ears. The questions she longed to ask, the ones that would plague her through time sat uncomfortably in her throat.
They did not see each other in court. Wednesday told them everything she knew, as impartial as possible. But the atmosphere, the memories, people pressing so hard that as soon as her speech ended, she fled the premises without waiting for the verdict. Then she wandered for a long time through the streets of an unfamiliar city, trying to figure out what was given to her so hard - her feelings.
Two days later, already at home, Wednesday learned the verdict. The court had taken into account that Tyler was under the influence, as well as the unexplored nature of the Hyde. As a result, his punishment was quite lenient for what he did - forced healing with the possibility of release if Hyde's nature can be brought under control. Tyler was supposed to serve his term with the hospital colony of the University of Tegminalis. The only place capable of keeping him. And maybe the only place that could help him.
Laurel, who miraculously survived anaphylactic shock and a concussion, was sentenced to life in a maximum security prison.
Wednesday read about that in the newspaper. Throwing it on the desk, and with a deliberately indifferent look, she went about her business. She was determined to turn over this page of her life and forget Tyler Galpin forever.
Of course, this task would turn out to be impossible.
Because, even though it would be years before they saw each other again, try as she might, she would never be able to exorcize him completely from her mind .