"Well, this feels awkward," said Dora.
Wednesday, Enid, Dora and Theo were seated in the spacious confines of the Addams family car, accompanied by Thing (who was sleeping peacefully inside Wednesday's bandolier). The vehicle, driven by Lurch, was moving at a good speed heading for the Addams Mansion where they expected to arrive in a few hours.
After the whole disaster brought on by the Shadow Hyde attack at the graduation ceremony, a quick impromptu diploma delivery was held in one of the classrooms inside the Academy. After contacting Grandmama and updating her on the situation, Wednesday, Enid and the Addamses had opted for a course of action: Wednesday and Enid would head as soon as possible to the Addams Mansion accompanied by Dora and Theo to begin their investigation quickly. Gomez and Morticia opted to stay an extra night at Nevermore along with Pugsley. Not only would it expedite the return of the girls and their visitors home, but it would also allow Gomez and Morticia to continue doing damage control with the Nevermore staff and the other parents. There were a lot of people who wanted to know exactly what had happened and the fact that it was a problem specific to the Addams Family could lead to complications.
The goodbyes with the rest of their classmates were emotionally charged, at least on Enid's part. The tearful lycanthrope nearly broke some ribs with the force of her hugs on more than one occasion, especially when she had to say goodbye to Yoko.
"Don't be a stranger, wolfie," the vampire had said, "You have all our contact numbers."
"And if you need help with anything don't hesitate to ask," Bianca added, shooting a glance at Wednesday, "I emphasize that, Miss I-can-do-it-all-by-myself."
Wednesday didn't even deign to raise an eyebrow, merely returning an expressionless glare at her rival, "One abhors the sentiment, Barclay."
"You're getting emotional over the years, Addams," Xavier added.
"And you more mentally obtuse."
"I can't believe I'm going to say it, but I'm going to miss your verbal assaults," the psychic replied, laughing.
If Divina and Kent whispered a cough-camouflaged "Masochist!" no one made any indication of having heard them.
Eugene approached, accompanied by Lenore. In his hands he carried a jar of honey, "Last one this year. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but under the circumstances..." he said, offering the vessel with a nervous smile.
Wednesday took the jar gently, giving a small but sincere smile to the boy who had basically become a second brother to her, "Thank you so much Eugene."
"Hey, come on!" suddenly interjected Ajax, noting how Enid still wouldn't let go of Yoko, "Let's not get solemn. Like Bianca said, you guys can call us anytime."
"That's right," Eugene said, "When you solve the new mystery and Wednesday has the head of the person responsible nailed to a pike we need to get together to celebrate the party that couldn't happen today."
"That's a promise!" said Enid, finally releasing the vampire. Despite not needing to breathe, Yoko took a big gulp of air out of pure réflex.
There were more exchanges of goodbyes and promises to meet again. And finally, after several minutes that bordered on being sentimentally unbearable for the Addams, Wednesday, Enid and the children of their dimensional variants departed in the vehicle driven by Lurch, where a certain awkward silence reigned as Dora rightly noted with her aforementioned comment.
Wednesday remained expressionless, though keeping her gaze firmly on the two youths. She decided it would be best to let Enid take the reins of the conversation at least at first. Her she-wolf was, after all, a brightly sociable beast.
"Erm, yes... I guess we're coming to grips with the situation at last," said Enid.
"True, we haven't had much time since our arrival to have a proper conversation," admitted Theo.
"The initial shock and finding out what happened to your mother and then the attack by that Shadow Hyde creature...," Enid continued, "Yeah, I think it's about time we had a good talk."
"What did mom look like?", Dora asked suddenly.
"Pink," Wednesday replied.
"Wednesday!" chided Enid, though holding back a slight chuckle, "Though in all fairness... yes, pink is a good adjective for when we met her. Eleven years old, short for her age and extremely affable and friendly to everyone, though it didn't bear underestimating her."
"Yeah, that sounds like her," said Theo, "She's always been a loving mother, sometimes to somewhat asphyxiating levels, but she knew how to hold us firm with a look if needed."
"She never told us. About her travel between dimensions, I mean," Dora added, "Although she always told me my middle name was after a very good friend she knew as a child."
"Pandora Enid Addams," Enid pronounced the name with an almost musical softness, "It's an honor to have you bear my name."
The young lycanthrope blushed slightly, crossing her muscular arms, "Yeah, well. Thanks, I guess."
"How did it happen and why? Our mother's presence in this dimension, I mean," asked Theo.
"Friday was one of five dimensional variants of mine who visited this universe temporarily as a result of a malfunction in a spell originally designed to erase me from existence," Wednesday explained.
"They tried to erase you from existence and brought five more of you instead?" asked Dora, letting out a laugh.
"And Friday... I assume you call her by her middle name to avoid confusions," said Theo.
Enid nodded, "Yes. We used different nicknames to distinguish between the Wednesdays and as part of our initial failed cover of passing them off as visiting cousins. Friday was the second to arrive, the first was Woe..."
"About five years younger than me, two years older than your mother at the time, extremely aggressive," Wednesday explained.
"The third was Needler..."
"A science madwoman genius with a cadaverous pallor that would make Uncle Fester look tan..."
"Then came Pup..."
"The youngest, about six years old, very similar to your mother although somewhat more serious and introverted in temperament..."
"And finally, Shark."
"Extremely prone to physical assault and aggression."
"Fascinating," Theo whispered, "Absolutely fascinating."
"And now you're sounding like Needler," observed Wednesday.
"Oh, one other thing I'd like to know, uh...," Dora began, turning to Enid, "I don't know how to ask..."
"Is it about my transformation today?" the she-wolf asked.
"Yes! How the hell did you...!? You mentioned something in Latin..."
"Custos lupus," said Wednesday.
"That! What does that mean? Because I’m sure dad can't do anything like that..."
"Your father was never a late bloomer with his transformations, was he?" asked Enid, with a certain hint of melancholy in her voice. It was absurd, but even so a tiny part of her couldn't help but feel a certain envy towards a counterpart of herself who surely dodged many of her childhood hardships.
"No. First wolf out at ten," said Dora, " So you..."
"Enid's first transformation was at sixteen," replied Wednesday.
Theo raised his eyebrows in amazement, "That's unusually late."
"You're telling me...," Enid growled, then promptly let out a sigh. Now was not the time to let old sorrows surface, "It's something that complicated my life quite a bit, going so far as to made me think there was something wrong with me, but I just turn out to be one of those things that only happens once every few generations."
"The custos lupus is a type of lycanthrope that is not subject to lunar cycles. They can transform at will at any time and with great speed. The trigger for their first transformation is the urge to protect someone important to them," Wednesday said, taking Enid's hand, "My she-wolf saved my life on a night with a blood moon two years ago, fighting a Hyde."
Silence fell again inside the vehicle for a moment, with Enid and Wednesday staring at each other with soft smiles gracing their lips.
"Damn," muttered Dora, "It sounds like something out of a movie..."
Theo, for his part, had adopted a more thoughtful demeanor, "For you to transform so late... having trouble for so many years... I'm assuming Granny Bitch didn't take it well.”
Enid turned her neck so quickly to look at Theo that Wednesday feared she would damage her spine. The lycanthrope nearly choked on her own saliva from sheer surprise, "Gra... Granny Bitch?" she asked.
"Esther," Dora growled.
"She never quite approved of the marriage of father with mother," Theo explained, "And when of the two of us only Dora inherited the lupine genes..."
"She made some very nasty remarks about Theo that almost caused our father to rip her head off with his bare hands," Dora explained.
Wednesday nodded approvingly out of pure admiration at the mental image summoned by those words. It seemed that this Eamon Sinclair was as deserving of respect as her Enid when the situation called for it.
"In the end he didn't because mother got diplomatic... Well, I don't know if that's the right word," continued Theo, "To this day we still don't know what she said to grandmother in the talk they had in private, but Esther ran out of the house in fear and pale as a corpse. Since then our contacts with our paternal family have been limited to occasional visits from Grandpa Murray and some of our younger uncles."
"Ha, good for Friday," said Enid.
"Querida, it is imperative that from now on we refer to your mother as Granny Bitch," Wednesday added.
"Technically she's not a grandmother yet, but what the hell...let's do it," Enid said.
This time it was Wednesday who decided to continue the conversation, taking it in another direction, "What's your father like?"
"Weds?" inquired Enid.
"It's mere curiosity, mia lupa," the Addams explained, "Since I've known you you've always been a totally self-assured expression of colorful femininity. It intrigues me to think what a male-born counterpart of yours must be like."
"Oh, give me a moment," Theo said as he began to rummage through the multiple pockets on the inside of his trench coat, many of them clearly sewn with pieces of fabric from other clothes and added to the ones the garment already carried.
"What are you looking for?" asked Enid.
Dora let out a giggle, "Photos. Theo always carries multiple family photos with him. He boasts of seriousness and formality, but he's a sentimental softie."
"Say that about me one more time and I'll rip your liver out again," Theo growled in a tone of voice that made Enid think of Woe.
"Promises, promises," Dora retorted, baring her fangs in a wolfish grin.
"Children, behave," said Wednesday. The twins froze for a moment, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Okay, that sounded like...," Theo muttered.
"Yeah, that was...," Dora mumbled.
"Yes."
"Better finish looking for that picture..."
After a few more seconds examining pockets and dropping a couple of pocketknives, daggers, something that looked like an old Spanish doubloon and a shrunken mummified head, Theo pulled out a tattered-looking wallet. Opening it and rummaging inside he extracted an old folded Polaroid photograph and offered it to Wednesday and Enid.
"This is from when father was in college, he would have been in his early twenties. To this day he hasn't changed much, he just has a little more beard."
Wednesday took the photo, unfolding it. Enid leaned over to look at it as well. The lycanthrope's eyebrows rose in surprise. Wednesday for her part emitted an unclassifiable sound halfway between a grunt and a cough.
The photograph showed a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and an attractive face smiling from ear to ear, standing with his arms crossed on a rocky platform in what appeared to be some kind of mountainous landscape, perhaps a natural park. It could be seen that he was quite tall and built like a tank. Although he was wearing a sweater that would have been extremely baggy on others, the fabric was stretched and barely contained the musculature of his torso and arms.
"Holy shit," Enid said, "I'm a hunk."
"Hrm," muttered Wednesday. Enid looked at her, with a raised eyebrow and a curious smile.
"Do you like what you see, Weds?" the werewolf asked, "Should I be jealous of myself?"
"It's...," the Addams started to utter only to cough a bit. Regaining her composure again, she continued, "I can only say that since you are the most physically perfect creature I know, it makes sense that a male counterpart of yours would also be an excellent example of virility, mia cara lupa."
"And none of this is weird at all," Theo muttered sarcastically as he watched the scene.
"Well, she didn't lie, Dad's a hunk," replied Dora.
"You're just saying that because you're a daddy's girl."
"I'm not a daddy's girl, you prick!" retorted the young lycanthrope, "I have an Electra complex! Call things what they're meant to be called."
The rest of the trip was a succession of anecdotes and stories of the twins, exchanges of impressions, comparisons of what things were different and what things had hardly changed between their respective universes... the tone of the conversation was increasingly relaxed and familiar. A welcome distraction for their minds, putting aside for a moment the tensions of past hours and the worry about the immediate future and the challenges that awaited them.
But soon they would have to get ready again. In the distance, silhouetted against the reddish evening sky, the Addams Mansion could already be discerned.
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