Xavier's art shed was deserted, but Xavier was pacing outside it. He was on the phone, and Ember was concealed behind the shed, listening. Fester and Wednesday were waiting behind a tree. The plan was to track him. Wherever he was going.

"Hey- uh- I need to talk to you," Xavier said hesitantly, pacing fast. There was a response on the other side and then he said. "No, like- right now."

Another response.

"Uh... yeah, I know where that is. I can meet you there in, like... twenty minutes. Okay- okay- bye."

"Who are you talking to?" Ember was in as fast as lightning (well, as fast as you could get with a crutch, which she still had) as he put his phone down, appearing in front of him as he turned around.

Xavier just looked at her, rendered speechless for a second. "Do you, like, make everything your goddamn business?"

"No. The only things I'm concerned about making my business are your potentially homicidal secrets," Ember retorted.

"You say 'potentially' as if you've got other people on the list," Xavier scoffed.

"I may have," was all Ember let slip.

"Great, well, in the mean time, can you just stay the hell away from me?" Xavier snapped, walking straight past her and into his shed.

Ember shrugged.

Five minutes later, Ember now hid with her cousin and uncle, her bad leg stretched out, the three of them watched Xavier speed away from his shed on his bike.

"Did you place the tracker?" Ember asked Wednesday, for she had been in charge of that department.

However, it was Uncle Fester that handed her the little electronic device that was hooked into the tracker attached to her suspect. "Don't worry. Uncle Fester's got ya covered."

She looked at it and saw the green screen with a view of the road that Xavier was biking along. As he turned a corner, the red dot that signified him turned too.

Ember was satisfied. "Okay. Let's hit the road."

However, their vehicle wasn't quite what she had imagined.

It was a motor bike with an extra seat on the back and a little sidecar. But there was more. PENNY'S POOCH PATROL! was plastered onto the front of it, and the whole bike was white with black dalmatian spots.

Ember and Wednesday just stared at Uncle Fester, absolutely speechless. But not in the good way.

"What?" Their uncle smiled. "I picked it up on my way out of town. You know me, I like to travel incognito!"

Ember and her cousin were even more disgusted when their uncle handed them the helmets. They had the same dalmatian spots, but also had added black ears.

"Come on, let's roll!" Uncle Fester smiled.

Ember looked down disgustedly at her helmet.

However, she did end up wearing it. Both she and Wednesday both did.

Whilst Ember rode in the sidecar, with a chance to rest her leg, Wednesday sat behind Uncle Fester on the actual bike. All three had goggles and helmets on.

As Xavier's dot turned on the tracking device, Ember signalled for Uncle Fester to do the same.

Until, finally, they heard the grinding sound of gravel under bike tyres, and, Uncle Fester stopping the bike, they got off. They were in the woods, about ten metres away from the lake that the Poe Cup was held on.

Watching from behind trees (Ember had a telescope) they saw Xavier stop, rest his bike against a tree, and walk towards a car.

"Hey, what's so urgent?"

It was only then that Ember noticed Dr Valerie Kinbott, her therapist, standing at the door of the car. Xavier quickly explained to her what was wrong, and they both got into the car. Ember watched, her dog helmet still on her head, as they talked.

She didn't know what she was going to do about this one.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Ember knew barging into Weems' office wasn't the best way to go, but she was out of options.

"Principal Weems, it is imperative that I speak with you about Dr Kinbott," she demanded, hobbling into the office on her crutch and good leg, and seeing the principal at her laptop.

"Ember," Weems said with a sort of smirk. "We were just talking about you."

"Speak of the devil."

Ember would've had to have about a hundred guesses before she got to Kinbott for who was standing in Weems' office. But there she was. Her wide-set eyes sparkling ominously; her half-moon necklace shining on her neck.

She was holding a tray of two coffees, something that made Ember think she had been here a while.

After her secret session with Xavier, of course.

"And there she is," Ember said, trying not to look surprised.

"Dr Kinbott was just discussing your assessment," Weems put in from her desk, as Kinbott walked over. "I need to sign off on it before she hands it into the court."

"So what's the verdict, doctor?" Ember asked of the therapist sarcastically, her crutch banging on the wooden office floor as she walked over. "I haven't been eating my apples but I do hope you can stay away from now on."

Kinbott just put the tea tray down and turned to Ember with (for one of the first times ever) a hard stare. "I'm glad you find it amusing, because the judge assigned to your case won't."

"I've explained to Dr Kinbott that you've recently been taking small but meaningful steps to embracing your new Nevermore family," Weems, meanwhile, was smiling at both of the people in her office.

Ember just stared on with wide eyes. "Yes. You know, I think I've actually reached the half-hug stage by now."

Whilst Weems smiled up at Kinbott, the latter gave Ember a smirk. Kinbott's certainly bursting out of her shell, Ember thought inquisitively. Combined with the secret sessions with Xavier and the cold, hard look she'd been fixing Ember with, the girl wouldn't be surprised if Kinbott was becoming a whole new person.

"I've been reading about hypnotherapy," so she decided to take a new approach. She was almost certain Xavier was the Hyde, and with Kinbott seeing him secretly... she could be the master. "I think it might be a good technique to unlock my inner Ember. Are you a devotee?"

Kinbott was either playing dumb, or had no idea what was happening. "Yes, very much so," she said with a smile. A genuine one. "I applaud your new willingness to delve deep into yourself. Well, I'm seeing you on Monday, why don't we start then?" She took a sip of tea.

"I can hardly wait." Was Ember's biting reply.

"What did you so urgently need to discuss, Ember?" Oh, great. Weems drawing the attention back to Ember's opening line was irritating. She wasn't discussing her suspects when the second top on the list was in the room.

"It can wait as well," Ember said calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some homework to finish."

Well that didn't go the best, was the only thought in Ember's head as she left the office. I suppose it could've gone worse.

I just don't know how.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"Kinbott has to be Xavier's master," Ember voiced her thoughts finally, as she flipped through Faulkner's diary.

She was sitting beside Wednesday, and opposite Uncle Fester, in the Weathervane. They had decided that that was the best place to go to get a private conversation.

"The Hyde lays dormant until until unleashed by a traumatic event, or unlocked through chemical inducement or hypnosis," Wednesday agreed with her cousin, looking at the diary too.

"Hmm," Uncle Fester smiled, picking up the ketchup bottle on the table and squirting a whole lot of it into his mouth. Neither Ember nor Wednesday bothered to correct him in doing it properly.

"Are you listening?" Ember finally asked him. "She must've figured out he was a Hyde and used hypnotherapy to unlock him. That would explain their secret sessions."

"I think the kid behind the counter has clocked me!" Uncle Fester exclaimed. Ember and Wednesday looked up to see Tyler, looking confusedly at them and their Uncle. He then put two quads on a tray and walked over.

"Yeah, he's walking over, I'm gonna put him in a Romanian sleeper hold!" Uncle Fester started. "Cover me-"

"Relax," Ember said monotonously.

"He's not interested in you," Wednesday added, as Tyler came closed.

"Erm- I brought you both a quad," he said unsurely, laying the two drinks down on the table. "On the house."

"Hey! Thanks kid!" Uncle Fester grinned, taking both cups and slurping them both up. "Need a refill on this puppy too," he added, handing Tyler the ketchup bottle.

"Er- okay..." Tyler unsurely took the bottle.

"Tyler, this is out Uncle Fester," Wednesday finally said, before the boy could walk away.

"Oh, uh..." Tyler seemed very scared and affronted. Then he extended his hand. "Hi, it's nice to-"

He yelped and jumped back as Uncle Fester gave him a big electric shock from the handshake.

Uncle Fester giggled and Tyler gave a very nervous and scared chuckle, before looking down at Faulkner's diary, open on the table.

"Is that...?" He asked, squeezing onto the seat with Ember and Wednesday. Wednesday was on the aisle, so he was closer to her.

Nevertheless, Ember said. "It's called a Hyde."

Tyler looked at it. "Whoa, that's it. From that night."

Wednesday, meanwhile, was looking the boy up and down. "Your father gave you explicit instructions not to be near either of us."

"Yeah, well, my dad's not here right now and I'm on a break," Tyler said, looking deeply into her eyes. It reminded Ember forcibly of Xavier at the Rave'N, and it was torture. Not the good kind.

"Well, apparently a Hyde needs to be unlocked by someone. Its master," Ember said, trying to force her head out of the moment. She turned to the relevant page.

"Holy shit," Tyler uttered, as Ember pointed to the picture that showed the monster and its master.

"Tyler! What'd I say?"

Before anything else could be said, Sheriff Galpin entered the coffee shop.

Tyler got up off the seat and stood up immediately, facing his father. Wednesday was too, suddenly standing. Ember, meanwhile, who preferred not to stand, was snapping her head back round from Sheriff Galpin to the bench opposite them, where her uncle was no longer sitting.

Meanwhile, the sheriff was advancing towards Wednesday and Tyler.

"Uh..." Tyler began. "For the record, Wednesday was trying to keep her distance. I was the one that sat down with her."

Ember felt a burning feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was just about the fact that Tyler had completely forgotten her being there... or that Wednesday hadn't corrected him. But whatever it was it was taking over her being.

Sheriff Galpin, meanwhile, was looking between the two teens. "Alright," he shrugged, turning his attention to a stack of papers in his hand. "Puttin' these up around town," he said, handing one to Tyler. "It's a bank robbery suspect, and he's a real creep."

When Ember caught a glimpse of the bit of paper in Tyler's hands, she wasn't surprised to see a man in a black cloak with a top hat of the same colour covering his face. Her uncle, in other words.

"You haven't seen him, have you?" Sheriff Galpin asked.

"No," Wednesday said quickly.

Tyler gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, he'd be- pretty hard to miss. You know, I'll... pin it on the bulletin board."

He looked from Wednesday to Tyler, then walked away.

"Ah, why waste my breath..."

Wednesday sighed, turning round to speak to Ember and go back to Nevermore-

But the booth in which she, Ember, and their uncle had been sitting in, was empty.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Ember had just gone out to get away from Wednesday and Tyler being nauseating, and to try and catch Sheriff Galpin up. But she had been unsuccessful, as walking with a cut leg and a crutch wasn't very fast. However, she had received good news; she could get rid of the crutch in a couple of days and just go with bandages.

However, today was not that day. So, defeated, she was planning to just go back to the coffee shop, catch Wednesday up and go back to Nevermore.

But that wasn't how things played out.

Wednesday and Tyler were talking when she got back to the cafe; Ember could see them through the window.

As she reached the door, still hidden from Wednesday and Tyler, she caught bits of their conversation. Bits that made her not so keen to hang around.

"So, about rescheduling our date..." that was Tyler. Of course, Ember thought, hopping slightly on her good leg. They had a date the night we nearly got him killed.

"Well, between the monster and my uncle-" Ember heard Wednesday stutter.

"Hey, no excuses. Figure after what happened last time, you owe me."

"Well, I can't sneak off campus. Ember almost got expelled last time," Wednesday said.

"You won't have to," she could hear Tyler smiling. "I'll come to you. Nine pm, Crackstone's Crypt."

Ember sighed, turning away from the door, not even bothering to wait for Wednesday, or hear her response, suddenly feeling a bit resentful towards her cousin

But she didn't know why.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Whilst walking around her dorm that night (not even on the typewriter) Ember was thinking of many things. Wednesday and Tyler were one. It was a little past nine now... they would be on their date. Wednesday had told Ember about it earlier, craving some sort of advice that her cousin couldn't give.

Xavier was another. He had been distant in class today... either angry at or confused about her...

Enid was the last. She hadn't said a word to Ember since the night in the dorm when they had each listed the other's faults, but she had given Ember some pretty dirty looks that day. She wasn't hopeful.

It was then that she noticed a little bottle of silver nail polish, rolled under her beside table. She picked it up, and saw Silver Moon written on the label.

Thing, of course, was suddenly there, signing something to her. She caught onto it immediately.

"I don't miss her," she snapped, looking as he signed something again . "And I didn't push her away like I did with Xavier!"

She rolled her eyes, slamming the bottle of nail polish on Enid's old table and saying to the hand. "I'm going for a walk. You guard the diary whilst I'm gone."

Thing nodded, then shrugged. Since when do you go for walks?

"Since never. I don't know what's come over me."

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Nevertheless, Ember did go for a walk. Well, she mainly just hobbled randomly about the school campus on her crutch, even daring to go slightly into the woods, just aimlessly walking-

"Argh!"

She felt the pain in her leg before it was in her head. She had bashed headlong into someone before falling to the ground, her crutch banging with her.

"Oh my- Ember- I'm so-"

Ajax was above her, beanie on, looking very affronted with what he had just done. He reached a hand down to help Ember, and the girl, who was looking about on the floor, wincing from the pain in her leg, saw no reason not to take it.

"Sorry," Ajax sighed, helping her get up and dust herself of. "I legit couldn't've bashed into anyone worse, and with your leg-"

"If you mean 'legitimately' then say it," Ember said, referring to his slang use of 'legit'. "And my leg's fine, if you were asking."

"Yeah..." Ajax sighed, picking up her crutch, too, and holding it in his hands. "It seems a lot of you is 'fine' these days."

Ember fixed him with a cold (one of her most frigid) gaze. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Ajax looked down, then back up at her. "Erm- I know I shouldn't really be saying this, but, er- Enid... she kinda misses you. And I'm pretty sure you miss her."

Ember just watched on. "You could be surer."

Ajax sighed, chuckling. "Listen, Ember... I know you and I aren't exactly friends, but when someone's pally with Enid and Xavier, I should at least be getting to know them."

"I have no idea what 'pally' means, but Enid is refusing to speak to me and whatever you think is 'going on' between Xavier and I is fiction," Ember retorted.

Ajax smiled. "I just mean... don't be a stranger, Ember. Whatever goes on with you guys."

Ember surveyed him, a warmth somehow spreading across her chest. She had never hated the idea of being alone, but now she was, and someone was offering to help her not be, she maybe, kind of... was thankful.

She ended up saying. "I am... somewhat grateful for your affirmation of my not-being-alone. Enid really likes you. She talks about you so much I threaten to stitch her mouth shut. Well, she did. Goodnight."

She took her crutch from him and hopped away, leaving a somewhat confused, somewhat amused Ajax behind.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Ember knew something was wrong as soon as she reached the top step, her crutch banging on it. The door to her dorm was open.

And when she got in, it was clear that something was very wrong.

Her novel pages littered the floor. None were ripped, but they had been scattered, clearly. The damage was the records. She had a few in her room (since she didn't have a phone, she needed something else to play music) and now, they were all on the floor, some smashed into pieces.

Her violin had been taken out of its case and dumped on the floor, the music stand tipped on top of it. Some of Enid's cuddly toys, too, had been touched.

Her desk chair and lamp had been knocked over, and all her drawers opened-

"The diary..." She said urgently under her breath, walking forwards. She had only been out for a walk for ten or fifteen minutes leaving a guard-

"Thing?" She changed her tune the next second, suddenly thinking of the guard, and not what was being guarded. "Thing?!"

Then she heard a dripping sound.

She knew her drips. And this one was thick. It wasn't water... it was...

Ember's eyes widened tenfold as she turned, her eyes even becoming glassy as she saw Thing. He was pinned to the wooden beam in her dorm. Pinned by a knife in the palm. Blood dripped down from his gash, his fingers fluttering tiredly.

"Thing..." Ember breathed, running right to the hand and ripping the knife out, letting him fall into her arms. He didn't move after that-

Ember didn't know what happened next. All she knew was that soon, Thing was wrapped in a bit of cloth from her bathroom, and that she had ditched her crutch to run to Eugene's bee shed. Her leg was surprisingly easy to run on, even if it did twinge a bit.

"Fester? Fester help!" She bellowed, running into the Hummers shed and waking her uncle with her urgent calls. "Help, help, help! Thing! He's not moving! He was stabbed!"

Uncle Fester was used to rude awakenings as he jumped up. He had been sleeping, fully dressed, on the floor of the shed, so it was easy.

"Get him on the table!" He shouted, and Ember knocked over two empty jars to make room for Thing, who was still not moving, the bloody knife wound still causing a gaping hole in his palm.

Ember felt a warm rear slide out of her eye and down her face as she saw her uncle rub his hands together to generate friction, then put his two index fingers on either side of Thing's wound, giving him a blast of electricity.

The hand shook for a second, but after the electricity surge ended, he went still. Ember bent down, resting her chin on the table so Thing was at eyes level. She felt another tear slip-

Fester shook his head and rubbed his hands together once more, trying again to resuscitate the hand with his fingers as he placed his two index ones on each side of the wound again.

"Oh, come on, Thing," he said desperately, as, rubbing his hands together again, the hand still remained stationary.

Ember bit her lip as the third electrification didn't work, trying to stop more tears from coming. The hand lay on the blood-soaked cloth, with no hope.

Even Fester, after one last attempt, shook his head, tears spilling from his eyes as well. "He's gone, Ember-" he started hopelessly.

Ember cut him off before he could finish. "No he's not! Thing!" She yelled sharply, dragging the cloth towards her. "If you can hear me..."

She looked down upon him. "If you die, I will kill you," she said sharply, shoving the cloth back to her uncle. "Go again."

Uncle Fester sighed. "Now! Again! Please!" Ember begged.

Fester looked upon the girl hopelessly, then began rubbing his hands together again, giving Thing another blast. And another. And another.

Ember watched on. She needed Thing to be okay. She really needed it.

Then, suddenly, after a ninth or tenth blast of electricity, his fingers started to move. Ember gave a shuddery gasp, closing her eyes and letting the tears mingle on her lashes before opening them to see the weak hand before her.

Weak, but alive.

"For a minute, we thought you picked your last lock, buddy!" Uncle Fester said, tears still in his eyes, as Thing slowly turned over and got onto all-fives (five fingers). Then he collapsed onto the cloth, signing incoherently to Ember.

"Who did this to you?" She demanded.

More weak singing.

"A knife from behind the back," Ember cursed. "Cowards.

"I promise that whoever did this to you will suffer," she vowed, looking upon the withered hand, more tears coming. "And it will be slow, long... and excruciatingly painful."

Slowly, Thing raised a pinky.

Ember gave the closest thing she could get to a smile, and linked hers with his.

Then, wiping the tears from her eyes and face, she said to her uncle. "I'll stitch him back up."

She wiped her tears away. And, before she could say anything, Uncle Fester pulled her into a hug.

"What was that display of affection for?" Ember asked, drawing away from him, rigid as a board.

"I just- might not see you for a while, kiddo," he said. "I er- I went to try and find my motor bike earlier and-"

"They found it," Ember realised. She sighed. "You need to go. Next time, steal something less conspicuous and you can maybe stick around."

Uncle Fester smiled. "You're, uh- you're a good girl, Ember."

Ember didn't know where this was coming from.

"Say goodbye to Wednesday for me?" Fester checked.

Ember nodded. "I'm sure we'll see you at the next torture which is an Addams family reunion."

Fester gave her a smile as she left the shed with Thing, wrapped in the cloth. She wouldn't normally return it.

But this time, she managed a slight twitch of the lips.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Weems wasn't where she wanted to go, but after her room had been torn apart, Ember knew she had to go somewhere, so, going back up to the school, she went straight to the principal.

She found it surprising how easy it was to walk. After she had been supported by a crutch for about a week, she had kind of forgotten how it was to walk freely. Her leg was only a minor setback now. Just a twinge.

Either way, when she got to Weems' office, she found Ms Thornhill already there. Seeing no reason why she couldn't explain in front of both of them, Ember told her story.

She spoke of how she had gone for a walk, and come back to find her room in a mess and Nathaniel Faulkner's diary. She left out Thing, making sure to hide her hands, that had some blood on them, by crossing her arms.

Finally, after she had finished, Weems got up and started pacing in front of the fire. "I'm guessing it's not some kind of random prank."

"Whoever ransacked my room also stole Nathaniel Faulkner's diary," Ember said, trying to dig.

Weems pivoted round, facing her. "That diary is supposed to be locked away in the Nightshades library."

"So you do know about that diary," Ember didn't miss a beat. "Which means you also know that the monster we're after is called a Hyde."

Weems didn't move, do anything or say anything. Thornhill, meanwhile, gasped audibly.

Weems then took a step forward. "Thank you, Ms Thornhill. I'll take it from here," she said, smiling warmly at the botany teacher. Ember, meanwhile, saw the cold behind the smile. The calm before the storm.

Ms Thornhill left with an, "of course," then walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

Weems waited, smile still on her face, until the door closed.

And as soon as it did, her expression changed. She walked over to the fire and rested her hand on the mantle, looking, not at Ember, but into the burning flames.

"Faulkner spent years studying Hydes," she began, in a tone Ember couldn't place. "He wanted to determine if they were just mindless killers or conscious of their actions."

"What was his conclusion?" Ember asked, not moving a muscle except her mouth.

"He was killed by a Hyde before he could reach one," Weems answered, still staring into the fire. "Others tried to carry on his research, but the Hydes were too unpredictable and violent."

She finally looked at Ember, her eyes slightly blurred from the smoke. "They were officially banned from Nevermore thirty years ago."

Ember suddenly realised... "All of this time, you've known the monster was a Hyde. Why didn't you tell the sheriff?"

Weems removed her hand from the mantle and stalked over to Ember, leering over her. "Because then Nevermore is done. Over. Shut for good. And that's not happening on my watch.

"But I'm not the only one withholding," her tone changed to an accusatory one. "If you suspect someone, you need to tell me."

"Why?" Ember retorted, taking a step forwards, suddenly unafraid. "All you've ever done is gaslight and obstruct me. You don't care how many people die as long as your reputation is safe."

Weems also stepped forward. "I am protecting our Nevermore family, which also includes you, Miss Addams."

Ember held her gaze.

She did suspect Xavier. And she did think he was the Hyde... but at the same time... the Rave'N... saving her life... teasing her... getting to know her...

No! Don't let your stupid feelings get in the way-

But Xavier couldn't be the Hyde-

But he has to be.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"Come with me."

Ember had no idea why Bianca was stopping her in the quad, but she did raise her eyebrows to inquire more. "I have information about Mayor Walker's murder," she added.

That got Ember interested.

Bianca led her down to the Poe statue, where she snapped twice, then lead her into the Nightshades library.

Ember was half tempted to actually pull out her mini-axe when she saw Lucas Walker, the mayor's son, in the library.

"If you're here to cause trouble-" Ember began.

"No, Ember, I promise, I'm not going to- you don't have to assault me or anything," Lucas immediately said. "I printed these off my dad's computer," he told her, putting a stack of papers into her hands. "Seems he was trying to track down someone. Laurel Gates? Looks like he started right after Outreach Day."

"Must have recognised her there," Ember said plainly turning the stack of papers over.

"Well, according to the British police report, Laurel was presumed drowned, but no body was ever discovered," Lucas continued.

Ember read the death certificate in front of her; Laurel Gates'. There were also more information there, which she read eagerly. "The Gates mansion was purchased a year ago by a ninety year old candy heiress. She then mysteriously died and gave all of her belongings to her caregiver..."

"Teresa L Glau," Ember read the name of the 'caregiver'. "That's an anagram for Laurel Gates."

"Laurel secretly buys her old house and then comes back to Jericho as someone else?" Bianca asked confusedly, but she had the complete measure of the case. "Why?"

Ember folded up the papers that Lucas had given her and put them in her pocket. "Revenge on all the people she blames for her family's misfortunes. Your father," she nodded to Lucas. "The coroner. My parents. And most of all, Nevermore."

"Well... how exactly does the monster fit into all of this?" Bianca asked.

Ember was ready for this question.

"The monster is called a Hyde. It's been doing Laurel's bidding," she answered. "She controls it."

Lucas just frowned. "You know who Laurel is... don't you?"

Ember only had one suspect on that list.