Chapter Text
Tyler flinched as he startled awake instantly at the sound of Bianca's fingers snapping on either side of his head. There were heavy metal chains constricting his body that clashed together at his movement. The metal kept him firmly to the chair in the dimly lit room. Tyler tugged instinctively at the bonds before looking up from his chest and meeting Wednesday's cold gaze.
He furrowed his brows in confusion, looking around at frantic paintings of the Hyde. The paintings of the monster. Tyler surveyed the people before him, barely catching Ajax's eyes before he looked away. He watched the gorgan's eyes wander from Wednesday's figure standing in front of Tyler to Bianca's eyes, as if to share his anxiety about their current situation.
Tyler tensed up as Wednesday walked closer to his front to obscure his vision of the group surrounding him and focus on her.
"Welcome back." Wednesday's flat tone cut through the silence.
It was annoying how perceptive she was and how she could tell by Tyler's movement and the sudden tension in the room in a matter of seconds that the Hyde was awakening inside of him.
His mouth was dry and the air tasted like chalk as he frantically tried to pull oxygen into his lungs, but the heavy chains on his chest made it hard to breathe. Tyler began tugging on the thick metal bonds more aggressively than when he just woke, "Where the hell am I?!"
The words piled out of his mouth but felt foreign to hear, Tyler's voice was desperate, weak, pathetic. A question that came out as more of a plea to be freed than confusion.
"Somewhere where no one can hear your screams." she snapped back matter of factly.
"What's with the chains?" Tyler continued to question with an increasing pressure to his voice.
Wednesday refused to match his urgency, coldly replying, "Don't ask stupid questions."
He watched Divina bristle in her place, looking over at Yoko. It's hard to play stupid under these circumstances, but Tyler figured people like Ajax, Yoko, Kent, Divina, and Bianca wouldn't want to partake in anything too awful with Wednesday. Some people aren't cut out to handle how she does things, and he was grateful for that in this particular moment.
"Wednesday, this is crazy! I'm a normie." Tyler began planning out usual drilling that he always told himself before work. The words parroting in his mind, telling himself he was just a normie, nothing special. He doubted that his father would've told someone like Wednesday his heritage, so how could she know any different?
"That's only half true." Fuck. "Do you recognize her?" Wednesday proposed raising a greyscale photo to his eye level. What the fuck. "Perhaps if I hadn't been so distracted by my own mother hogging this photo," Tyler felt a burning heat in his chest. The hyde. He suppressed harshly, transforming would only make matters worse but his unstable emotions increased. "I would have noticed yours sooner. Your father fell in love and married an outcast." Wednesday lowered the photograph, narrowing her eyes. Tyler felt as if he was being studied, her gaze penetrating him.
Tyler took a sharp breath, trying to keep himself from crumbling under the scrutiny. "My mom was an outcast. That doesn't make me a monster."
"According to her personal medical records-" Wednesday began getting into the detailed information of the file. This wasn't good, the plan won't work out, Tyler will fail if she cracks him, this can't be happening.
Tyler stopped his racing thoughts and interrupted her, "You stole her medical records?"
"Technically, Thing did. He took them from your garage. Your father's quite the pack rat." Of course his father wouldn't tell her, so she got the fucking information herself. Tyler seethed silently in his seat, watching her eyes scan over the file before settling on what she was looking for, "Her postpartum depression triggered her condition."
Tyler felt hot tears glossing over his eyes, still not giving in to Wednesday's suspicions, "My mom had severe bipolar disorder."
"We both know that's a lie. She was a Hyde." He could tell Wednesday was getting agitated by his attempts to gaslight her. It was the truth though, she was diagnosed with the mood disorder, even if the hyde exacerbated it.
"And your father has been living his life in dread, never quite sure whether or not she passed her condition on to you." She continued.
Tyler wasn't going to let her press further, this was enough talk of his family. He needed to go after hers, her acquaintances, or maybe they were friends at this point? He doubted it, so maybe they'd listen to him despite being on her side, "Are you all gonna stand there and let her do this to me?"
He got caught in Ajax's gaze again before he quickly shook it off and held up his phone, "Uh, guys? Enid just texted. Thornhill's suspicious." Of course she fucking is, he'd rather die than have his master come save him though. "How long until he morphs into that... thing?"
"I'm not the monster." Tyler immediately responded, not wanting anyone to doubt his desperate words. The truth was that it wasn't long until he transformed, holding back was painful.
"You are. I saw it in a vision at the Weathervane." Wednesday cooly responded, her back now turned to Tyler as her fingers grazed the handle of a bone saw.
Tyler's anxiety skyrocketed, his chest tightening with every word. "Wait, you're basing all this off some vision you had after we kissed?" He swallowed harshly, trying to discount Wednesday's abilities. "I mean, is that something you can trust?"
Wednesday raised the saw up, making it more visible in the dim lighting.
"Wednesday, what are you doing?" Bianca spoke for the first time since forcing Tyler to be rendered unconscious a few short minutes ago from his estimation.
"Just some light torture. Don't worry, I won't leave a mark." Wednesday responded without turning around from her place. Tyler braced himself, pleading with his body not to betray him and transform. He rolled his head back at the agony, his pulse drumming into his skull. Things cannot end this way, he can't submit to Wednesday. No one can find out about Thornhill, not what she did to him, not what she made him do. No one can know. No matter how much anyone fucking wants to know Tyler would rather have that information die with him.
Luckily, he noticed that everyone's eyes were on each other. Cycling between nonverbal communications, primarily with Bianca. Guess she still is queen bee, at least to the Nightshades.
The tension in the air was sharp enough to saw with Wednesday's blade, Bianca trying to stand some ground, "Wednesday, hold on."
Ajax recognized the firmness of Bianca's voice, "Wait. Are you being serious?"
"There's only one thing that a Hyde understands." Tyler's eyes snapped open as the pressure in his chest mounted, watching Wednesday turn towards Ajax and then to him, "Pain."
She picked up a compact taser from the table and swiftly brought it to a tender crook in Tyler's neck, shocking him instantly as the others began getting disturbed. "Wait! No, Wednesday!" and "Wednesday!" were barely heard over the electricity ringing in his ear. He couldn't tell who was talking, he didn't care, he just had to grit his teeth and take it. Tyler couldn't move, couldn't speak, the only thing between him and Wednesday were the Nightshade's pleas.
"That's it. I'm out!" He heard Yoko exclaim as she left. Of course, they'd just leave when the risks were too high. Of course no one would help him.
"Us too." Divina and Kent, of course, decided their leave instantly after.
"No." Ajax firmly shook his head, reeling back and away from Bianca as she gave a slight protest, "Wait."
"No, I'm done." Ajax gave Tyler a glance and ran out after the other members.
Bianca swore quietly to herself and turned around to face Wednesday's direction, "Wednesday, I didn't sign up for this. Let's go to Weems, explain everything."
Bianca had a plan, which Tyler was appreciative of even though he knew Wednesday wouldn't take the offer.
"Weems won't help. And Tyler is always one step ahead of his father." Stiffly replied, she must've known the Nightshades wouldn't approve of her torturing someone in front of them.
"Then you're on your own." Bianca gave both Wednesday and Tyler a quick look-over and left the room, or was it a building? Tyler wasn't sure, but he hoped the last thing he saw wouldn't be paintings of his own horrifying monster.
Tyler leaned as far away from Wednesday as he could, hoping they could still hear him, "No, don't leave me here with her, please! I'm begging you, please!"
His eyes quickly made his way back to her as she sparked the taser again.