"Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie..."
"You're a creature of the night, you can withstand the itch of disinfectant."
After Wednesday and Woe arrived on the scene, the fight between Enid and Saint-Clair went on for another additional five minutes until finally their respective girlfriends decided to put an end to it. Reluctantly, it should be noted, as they were enjoying the show as much, if not more, than the two beastly participants. But years of hard-wired pragmatism cannot be ignored just like that and the need to resume their mission prevailed.
Which led to the curious scene of two Wednesday Addams interrupting the fight and separating their two respective girlfriends from each other, tugging at their ears as if they were spoiled children. With the two still transformed.
A few minutes later, the main hall of the Addams Mansion had become a makeshift first aid room, with Woe and Wednesday serving as nurses to their respective partners, taking care of the few wounds that didn't quite regenerate when they returned to their human forms.
And so Enid couldn't help but let out little whimpers as the disinfectant-soaked absorbent cotton held by Wednesday caressed the scratches still present on her arms.
Aside from the two couples, the only other two people present in the room were Pup and Taylor. Enid couldn't help but arch a curious eyebrow, though it meant feeling the itch of a future new scar forming.
"Where did Dora and Theo go?" asked the lycanthrope.
"Dora is disappointed that the fight ended in a draw," Pup explained, "And Theo, very sensibly, suggested to distract her that perhaps they should wait at the manor gate as lookouts. The longer we spend here the more the risk of a Shadow Hyde making an appearance increases."
"And out of respect for your privacy," Wednesday added, "At least until we get the new change of clothes ready."
"Oops," muttered the she-wolf.
"Honestly, I don't know why Dora is disappointed," said Taylor, "It wasn't that big of a deal either, if I had participated it would have been much more interesting..."
"Ha!" laughed Saint-Clair, ignoring the stitches Woe was applying to her exposed abdomen.
"Taylor, may I remind you that in my first transformation I defeated a version of you," Enid said, shooting a sidelong glance at the Hyde.
Taylor merely shrugged, not offended at all, "Bah, from what you've told me it was a version of me whose transformation was induced. A Hyde like that will always be more demented but also a wimp," she said, as she rested a hand on her chest with a satisfied expression, "Not like me, I'm a 100% natural Hyde and in my prime, not a dime-store Hyde like that Tyler. I'm sure I could give you both trouble at the same time."
"Oh, it is on!" exclaimed Saint-Clair making a pretense of getting up only to be stopped in her tracks by Woe grabbing her by the shoulder.
"Quiet, you," said Woe.
"Uh, I should say something, but just for calling Tyler a dime-store Hyde I'll let you have a pass," said Enid.
"I'm sure you'd make a formidable sparring partner, Tay," said Pup softly patting the Hyde's shoulder as she offered her a gentle smile.
Immediately, all the air of smugness that had surrounded Taylor moments ago vanished, replaced by a rush of shyness that fell over the Hyde as she began to fiddle with her fingertips. Her gaze suddenly found her shoes very interesting.
"Ah... yes... I mean, thank you."
Saint-Clair emitted a teasing chuckle. Enid couldn't hold back an "Aaawww." Wednesday and Woe let out a sigh in stereo.
"Children, behave," Wednesday said, applying a final bandage over Enid's arm, "Ready, mia lupa. With your healing speed it should be good as new after a night's rest."
"Thank you so much, ma petite calamité," Enid said, planting a surprise kiss on Wednesday's cheek. The Addams frowned slightly, but it was impossible to ignore the slight blush that appeared on her pale cheeks and the almost invisible curve to her lips.
Woe watched the scene with narrowed eyes, "Please tell me I've never had that horrifying expression on my face."
As her only response, Saint-Clair laughed before taking Woe's face in her hands and planting a noisy smooch on her cheek followed by a lick, causing the young Addams girl's eyes to widen wildly and her entire face to turn a deep crimson color.
"Horrifyingly delicious, το κοράκι μου," Saint-Clair said, with a toothy grin. Woe merely looked away with a huff, but the blush did not disappear from her cheeks.
"Ugh, get a room the four of you," muttered Taylor.
"Tay, no," Pup interjected, "You're going to give them ideas."
Suddenly, a thunderous sound seemed to emerge from the depths of the house, followed by an intense tremor that rocked the entire mansion from its foundations. When it ceased, it was followed by another noise, like the distant laughter of a small child.
"What the...?!" exclaimed Taylor.
"Hum, Grandmama must have given Pubert access to the explosives in the basement," observed Woe, "I think he's found the C-4."
"Oh, what a lucky little vermin," sighed Pup, "I had to play with dynamite until I was ten. Father and Mother thought plastic explosives were going to be too much for my stomach."
"That...that last sentence raises a lot of other questions," Enid said, though there was a tone of amusement in her voice. This time, Wednesday didn't even bother to disguise the small smile on her lips.
Finally, Woe finished with Saint-Clair's final bandages as well.
"Well, we're done," she said, "I think it's time for you both to get dressed and get ready for that jump to another universe... I'm curious to test a theory that's been lurking in my head."
"Which one?" asked Wednesday, intrigued.
"This all started with Friday's children jumping into your universe. After that, your first interdimensional journey took you next to Pup, and the next to me..."
Enid's eyes glittered with anticipation, "Oh, you think the next jump we'll meet up with one of the others! With Needler, or Shark!"
Wednesday put a hand to her chin, thoughtfully, "It's... a possibility. It's true that for the moment fate seems to be smiling on us, making the randomness of the jumps lead to realities with friendly faces."
"But fate can have a twisted humor, so we can't rest on our laurels either," finished Pup, "The mere fact that you proposed that theory has increased the chances that the Rule of Drama will apply, remember?"
"Oh, Hells, that idea of Needler's based on a purported narrative causality of the multiverse," Woe snorted, "Don't remind me of it."
"Originally theorized by Ajax," laughed Enid.
Saint-Clair fixed her gaze on the she-wolf, "Do you have an Ajax in your dimension too?" she asked, "Did he also smoke the crayons in preschool?"
§§§
Outside the Mansion, Theo let out an appreciative whistle as the shaking of the house ceased, leaving only the creaking of old wood in the air.
"Wow, looks like the family's stockpile of explosives here is as big as the one we have back home," the young Addams said, turning to his sister, "Do you think their Uncle Fester here has stolen those old experimental missiles too?"
Dora, sitting on the floor, her gaze fixed on an indeterminate point on the floor and her back leaning against the mansion door, merely emitted a wolfish growl. Theo shook his head.
"Are you still pissed about the fight?"
"There were bets on the line, Theo! Bets!" the lycanthrope exclaimed, "And they go and end in a draw? What a waste of a show."
"Come on, it wasn't so bad... At least it allowed us to distract our minds a bit from... Well, everything."
Dora sighed, looking at her brother out of the corner of her eye "I miss her too," she said.
"She would have loved this, I'm sure. The reunions, especially. Though seeing two furry beasts exchanging swipes would have pleased her, too."
"She always cheered me on at sparring practice with Dad on full moon nights," Dora recalled, "We were never that brutish, though. You can still smell the blood in the air."
"Yeah, I think Dad would gouge his eye out before he'd even scratch you by accident," laughed Theo.
"Oh, shit, I hope not," replied Dora, also laughing, "Can you imagine? I bet he'd put on an eye patch and start doing pirate noises."
A comfortable silence fell over the two siblings, but the atmosphere became slightly melancholic.
"Do you think he's all right?" asked Dora.
"Dad? I'm sure he is," affirmed Theo, "He's probably found our grandparents by now and I wouldn't be surprised if he's started his own rescue mission."
"What about Mom?" asked Dora, in a quiet voice.
Theo didn't look at his sister, his gaze lost in the distance, "I hope she is too," he said, with a faint tremor in his voice, "I have to believe she'll be all right."
"Theo, we...," Dora began, but she cut herself off abruptly, opening her eyes wildly and standing up with her whole body tensing. A deep growl rose from her throat.
"Pandora?" asked Theo, looking at his sister.
"We need to warn the others and leave now," the young she-wolf said, "I smell it. It's coming."
§§§
The dimensional leap moved it farther away than expected. It happened sometimes, even on some of its previous hunts. One of its "brothers" on one occasion ended up on the wrong continent and it took it an entire year to find the fresh trail of the local Wednesday Addams.
Fortunately for it, that had not been the case. The Shadow Hyde had only materialized a couple of states away and locating the local Wednesday had been a labor of only a few weeks, traversing forests, streams and roads. The living shadow walked tirelessly, disregarding any other creature that crossed its path unless hunger made an appearance.
A couple of hikers were unaware of how fortunate they were that deer were a hearty meal the day before.
But at last its journey was going to end. It would hunt its prey, take her to its Master and after the satisfaction of the job done, it would be sent to another dimension to repeat the process. Wondrous! It lived to serve.
It was already close, it could feel it, it could smell it, the unmistakable scent of...
Wait a moment.
Why did it smell three?
That wasn't normal, it had never happened before. Siblings? No, no... almost every Wednesday had siblings in almost every dimension, but their scents were never... They were never identical.
It had started to run without realizing it, leaving the trees behind and jumping over the fence that surrounded the outside of the Addams Mansiom. And then it saw them.
Three Wednesday Addams, side by side. And surrounded by other individuals. They were all looking at it with a look of the utmost contempt, although the Wednesday in the center of the group was sending it a smile. A sneer, really, as the scarred young blonde woman next to her raised her hand, a glowing ring visible on her middle finger which she presented to the Shadow Hyde in a very rude gesture.
The glow of the ring was intensifying, it was beginning to be blinding. There was something in the air that would have ruffled the creature's hair if it had had any.
The Wednesday in the center spoke.
"Tell your Master we'll be coming for them soon."
And the blonde woman's ring exploded in a blinding burst of white light. By the time the Shadow Hyde regained control over its senses, its prey and its companions had vanished.
With a frustrated roar, it folded in on itself, becoming a sphere of darkness before leaving that dimension. Right at the end, if listened closely, one would notice how the frustration in the Shadow Hyde's roar turned into a pathetic whimper.
Punishment was now the only thing that awaited it.
§§§
With a flash of white light they left Woe's reality and, in a split second, found themselves in a new one.
The first thing they noticed was the heat. The air was stifling and warm, humid as the heart of a tropical jungle. But there were no trees in sight. The ground beneath their feet was rock, gravel, broken asphalt debris and rubble. All around them, the ruins of dilapidated buildings and half-ruined walls. Remains of rusted and wrecked cars were covered with vines and abnormally large mushrooms, which emitted a luminescence of a mysterious color unlike any seen on Earth, that could not be described in words.
The color of the sky was easily describable, however. Red. A deep, intense, sanguine red. There wasn't a cloud, but neither could the sun be seen. Just an endless redness as if the firmament had been covered by a transparent crimson casing.
And to the left of the group, in the distance, something unimaginable. Taylor was the first to see it and the outburst that escaped her lips attracted the attention of the others.
On the horizon, the remains of a ruined city inundated by a sea whose levels had risen dramatically. Remnants of titanic skyscrapers emerged from the waters that reflected the red of the sky, giving it the appearance of blood. And walking among those old towers of concrete, metal and glass, a gigantic creature almost the same size. A column of flesh, like a centipede or an upright maggot with whitish, rubbery skin. Hundreds, no, millions of tentacles and tendrils emerged from its torso, with the larger ones sprouting from the top where presumably there was a mouth.
"What...what is that?" asked Enid in a trembling voice. A fear in her tone that Wednesday hadn't heard since a distant night at the Gates mansion two years earlier. On pure instinct, she embraced the she-wolf, holding her in her arms but not taking her eyes off the impossible creature walking among the ruins of a dead world.
"Woe," Pup said, in a quiet voice, "I'm so sorry, I think fate has decided to seriously mess up your theory."
"So it would seem," growled the homicidal Addams.
Suddenly, a series of light distortions materialized around the group. As if the air trembled or folded, and suddenly they were surrounded by a dozen armed individuals, outfitted in tactical armor befitting some military operative, all of them a deep black color that seemed to absorb light almost as much as the Shadow Hyde's skin. It was as if they had appeared out of thin air, or teleported.
"Everyone freeze!" one of the new arrivals exclaimed, pointing his rifle. A growl began to rise from Taylor's throat, but Pup stopped her by grabbing her arm.
The individual who had spoken did not seem to flinch at a sound few would expect to hear from a young woman's throat. He lowered his weapon and approached Wednesday and the others, who were still tense and alert surrounded by what were obviously soldiers. Enid could tell the soldiers were also nervous and terrified, but it seemed to be more from having to be outside.
They feel exposed, she thought, It's not a safe place.
The obvious leader pulled a device from his belt. It looked like a smartphone, but a pair of small antennae extended from one end and audio signals similar to those of a geiger counter began to resonate as he seemed to inspect the interdimensional visitors with the device.
Casually, he gestured with a nod of his head to the giant creature in the distance, "That's Kstuoggah," he said, " You are fortunate to have appeared next to him. He's relatively docile compared to some of the others."
No one in the group spoke, they just exchanged glances. The soldier seemed to laugh quietly. His eyes, visible through the protective lenses of the helmet covering his face, looked amused as he lowered the device and brought a hand to his wrist. A faint crackle of static signaled some kind of communicator.
"Central," he spoke, "This is Commander Ottinger, we have confirmed contact with the dimensional anomaly. Eight invididuals, seven females and one male. At least two are a Code S. We also have one Code N, one Code H and... multiple Code A's, with three being of subclass W."
As the soldier spoke, Wednesday and Enid exchanged silent glances.
Ottinger? Eugene??
Before they could make a decision (for the idea of having to collaborate with what was obviously local authorities was not appealing no matter how much one of them might be the variant of a good friend) or anyone else in their group try anything, a new figure appeared in the same light distortion next to the Commander.
She wore the stereotypical two-piece suit you might expect from a government agent, a MIB, except for the detail that even the shirt was black. The only discordant color was the deep gray of her tie. The newcomer took off her dark glasses, leaving her pale, mature, regal face surrounded by long, dark, wavy hair more visible.
Morticia?, thought Enid at first. But when the woman arched an eyebrow with a familiar gesture of curiosity as she pinned her gaze on Wednesday, Pup and Woe, the she-wolf knew immediately that this was not the Addams matriarch.
"Hum," said the newcomer, "Interesting. I stopped wearing those braided pigtails at fourteen."
NOTES:
Oh, look. Cosmic horror :3
And some translations!
ma petite calamité: (french) my little calamity.
το κοράκι μου: (greek) my raven.
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