Her mind could not understand what had just happened. Again.
Years. No, centuries. She had lost count long ago, but she was sure that at least a couple of centuries had passed.
Centuries amassing power, preparing her citadel, spawning her monsters, working out her plan. Decades followed those centuries. Decades of finalizing preparations, processing her captures, purifying the essence of all the Wednesdays seized. There were a few exceptional cases here and there, some that met with resistance and required her personal intervention. But in the end everything was as it should be, and with each passing hour of each passing day her conviction grew that her path was the right one. That she would bring back her beloved and everything would be perfect, just as she was.
But everything had gone awry.
At first, it seemed like a curiosity to her. Something new after so long. Something interesting... a Wednesday out there prancing through the multiverse. More than that, a Wednesday and her companions actively hindering her operations.
Dealing with it seemed like a good way to combat the tedium. And the Wednesday who seemed to be leading that group... oh, hell, she certainly looked an awful lot like her own. More than any other. She was sure it was a sign, that this capture would mark the beginning of the final phase and the end of her long wait.
Well, it was an end, certainly, but not the one The Bright One would have wanted.
Her citadel, overrun.
Her prisoners, freed.
Her beautiful form, discarded.
You really don't realize you've already lost yet, do you?
The words of that Wednesday echoed in her head again, as if they were one of those irritating advertising jingles that get stuck in your brain.
And then there was that version of herself...that glorified dog who just had the gall to call herself Enid Addams, amassing more power than she should have. It was insulting! If there was anyone worthy of the name, it was herself! She would put them in their place, all of them. She would show them that she alone was worthy. She would make it all end!
And that was the moment when something struck her transformed face with such force that it knocked her backwards. And as she regained some control over her senses, once again she could not believe what was before her eyes.
"A shOveL...?"
The Bright One froze for a few moments, staring at the object. It was indeed a shovel. An ordinary shovel. She finally looked up when a voice echoed in the area.
"You can keep it! I've got plenty to spare!"
A few feet in front of The Bright One, Enid and Wednesday Addams turned, looking back. Enid Addams said nothing but her smile infected the atmosphere with pure elation despite being in her lupine form. Wednesday for her part merely curved her lips slightly and raised an appreciative eyebrow at the newcomers.
"Looks like we have a good gathering before us, mia lupa," she said.
Shark was there, in the center, already with another shovel resting on her shoulders and grinning with maniacal glee. To her right, Woe with her crossbow in hand and aiming at The Bright One while a transformed Saint-Clair at her side contracted and extended her claws in anticipation. Next to the werecat, Pup stood with her arms crossed staring at The Bright One with a stern expression. Just behind her, wrapping her massive arms around her, Taylor Galpin had her Hyde stare locked on the same target. To Shark's left, Friday was surrounded by her family, with Theo and Dora in front and the lupine form of Eamon behind her, his head resting on her shoulder. At the rear of the group, the also lupine form of Eneit Synklar was visible, with the dark armored figure of Wod standing on her back.
"Damn," said Dora after letting out a hiss, observing the monstrosity before them, "What is that thing?"
"It's The Bright One," Enid replied, turning her gaze back to the enemy.
"Ah, it certainly differs from the description you had given us," Wod observed, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Eneit let out a growl in agreement.
"Yeah, that was a bit of an nasty surprise," the she-wolf added, "By the way, Woe! We won the bet!"
"As it should be," replied the younger Addams, holding her crossbow at the ready.
"Σκατά!" exclaimed Enid Saint-Clair, "So she's a version of us? And here I was convinced it was a Morticia suffering from a psychotic break."
The Bright One stood up, ignoring the chatter and the pain and pushing the fallen shovel away from her feet with a frustrated kick.
A continuous, deep growl began to form in her throat as her entire mutated, shifting form seemed to tremble. Then, suddenly, she went very still and silent. Her eyes focused on Friday's figure and the twins. And once again, Wednesday's voice echoed in her head.
You lost and ruined your plan the day your vermin captured a kind and cheerful Wednesday Friday Addams, mother and wife, prone to the use of the color pink, leaving behind her desperate twin children.
It was as if something clicked. The Bright One may have tried to utter a word, but when she opened her jaws the only sound emitted was an animalistic thunderous bellow as the beast extended her arms. A discharge of power and shadows spewed from her body. There seemed to be nothing left of the luminous magic and white solar purity she had displayed until then. Only the shadows and darkness born of a rotten soul.
The power emerged as a shockwave, throwing Wednesday and Enid backwards and forcing the rest of the group to take cover or grab the ground to avoid being thrown off.
Taking advantage of their enemies' loss of concentration, the monster charged at them.
Wednesday stood up, as if propelled by a spring and noticing the tingling in her muscles that denoted the physical empowerment derived from Agent A's partial possession. With resolute expression and saber in hand, the Addams rushed to meet the monster, positioning herself in front of The Bright One in a mere matter of seconds.
"Wednesday!" exclaimed Enid as she saw The Bright One's gigantic, misshapen, Hyde-like right arm, now covered with bony spikes that seemed to emerge outwardly tearing flesh, lunge straight for her mate. But Wednesday dodged the blow, leaping over the arm and even using it as a springboard to propel herself directly into the beast's bony face.
As on other occasions, the young Addams dispensed with the sword and attacked with the fist of her free hand. She had a hunch.
Agent A!, she thought.
READY!
Wednesday Addams struck straight at The Bright One's bony, deer skull-like face. But this time, it wasn't just Agent A's ghostly, invisible fist residing in her body that made an impact. The flesh-and-blood fist of Wednesday Addams struck with resounding solidity against the skeletal visage.
Following the blow, The Addams dropped, slipping between the legs of the stunned monstrosity as she let out a warning, "Enid!"
"I saw it!" the werewolf exclaimed, before turning to everyone else, "Listen to me! She's lost her invulnerability! No need for surprise attacks! GO ALL OUT!"
"As the lady commands!" exclaimed Wodnesdæg, riding on Eneit's back, "Cara mia! You know what to do!"
The werewolf princess took her husband in her claws and, spinning around, threw him as if he were a human missile. Wodnesdæg laughed as he flew through the air, his sword in front of him. It impacted squarely against The Bright One's right shoulder, skewering it with his sword and then, still using the force of the momentum that had launched him, he somersaulted over the monster's shoulder while continuing to slash at it.
The Adamo’s sword did not completely sever the creature's arm when Wod finally jumped to the ground, narrowly dodging the tentacles on the left arm, but it came close.
Howling in pain, The Bright One turned to try to grapple with the Adamo prince, but her attempt was halted when a bolt of pure electricity struck her squarely in the chest, causing reddened root-shaped burns on her skin.
"Ah, you don't know how much I was looking forward to being able to do that!" exclaimed Theo, his arms still outstretched and his hands still smoking and releasing tiny sparks.
"I get the idea!" retorted Dora. The young lycanthrope took out a vial, the tonic created by Grandmama and Needler to cause moonless transformations, and injected it into her neck. Her eyes began to glow golden, "You know what? If she's no longer invulnerable I'm not going to bother using weapons...", she exclaimed, as golden fur began to cover her skin while her clothes ripped accompanied by the sound of muscles, tendons and bones shifting. Fully transformed, Pandora Addams was only slightly smaller than her father. Something that came in handy, for at that moment The Bright One struck back, extending the tentacles of her left arm towards Theo.
Her attempt to catch the young man was interrupted by Dora, grabbing the tentacles and giving a tug. She didn't rip them off, but lifted The Bright One into the air, throwing the beast off balance. This left her vulnerable and disoriented, and Eamon and Eneit leapt upon her, digging their claws and teeth into her mutable flesh. Blackish blood, thick as tar, began to splatter the ground around them.
Suddenly, Eneit fell backward emitting a groan of pain. A shadow blade had stabbed into her shoulder forcing the barbarian werewolf to recoil and slow her assault for an instant. Soon, more weapons of solid darkness began to emerge from The Bright One's own body and float around her. Eamon managed to dodge one, two attacks, but soon blood spurted from his side as a shadow axe managed to graze him.
With the momentary respite, The Bright One extended her arms, throwing a telekinetic discharge that knocked the two lycanthropes away from her. But focusing her attention on her lupine opponents caused her to miss the smaller figure that slithered underneath Eamon to stand between The Bright One's legs.
"Don't you dare touch my husband!" exclaimed Friday, who proceeded to slash at the monster's legs with her knives. These were not random cuts, but incisions of almost surgical precision, intended to sever the tendons. She succeeded and The Bright One staggered, falling to her knees, allowing Friday to leap onto her back and plunge her daggers into the gap between the creature's fleshless wings.
The beast arched her back with a howl of pain. Her tail, with a sting like a scorpion's, tried to strike Friday and would have pierced her had it not been for Enid grabbing the limb and ripping it off with a tug. The Bright One scrambled, trying to strike the she-wolf with her tentacles as Friday jumped off her back. The monstrosity turned once more, focusing her attention on The Addams in pink and attempted to charge at her.
Only to be intercepted by Pup.
Pup, who stepped aside and grabbed the beast's outstretched arm with unusual finesse, using her own strength and speed against her to hurl The Bright One into the air with an Addams-style judo throw.
An ascent to the heights by The Bright One that was intercepted by the descent of a Taylor Galpin who had leapt a few moments earlier. The Hyde's claws dug into The Bright One's torso and, spinning as she fell, threw the hated monstrosity to the ground where she was intercepted by Saint-Clair leaping into a double kick that impacted squarely. The Bright One flew again, now horizontally, taking a volley of bolts courtesy of Woe's crossbow before receiving another shovel blow delivered by Shark, finally falling back to the ground and going seemingly limp.
Wednesday and Enid cautiously approached the fallen enemy, keeping their distance. Behind them, the rest of the group gathered. They were all unharmed save for Eneit and Eamon's light wounds, though the werewolves' healing abilities seemed to already be working and healing the damage.
"Is it over?" asked Theo.
As if by way of reply, The Bright One's body jerked as the creature emitted a gasp.
"Of course not," Enid growled.
The Bright One began to rise, panting. She turned her head, and in her eyes of fatuous fires seemed to have returned the lost wits.
"YOu...I'm gOiNg tO..." she tried to speak, only to start coughing and expel a mass of black bile.
Wednesday raised her sword, "Let's get it over with."
The Bright One looked at Wednesday and began to laugh, though her laughter sounded more like the death rattles of a moribund creature. But it didn't slow down, gaining in intensity as the entire citadel tower began to shake as if a surprise earthquake had been unleashed, making it difficult to stand.
"What the fuck is going on!?" exclaimed Saint-Clair.
She received no response, at least not immediately. The Bright One's laughter intensified as she rose to her feet.
Meanwhile, outside, on the battlefield where thousands of Enids and Wednesdays from different universes were still fighting, the Shadow and Fused Hydes began to tremble and squirm, interrupting the course of the battle.
And then, they immediately exploded into pieces and masses of ectoplasm. Ectoplasm, shadows and smoking ashes that began to float in the air and ascend, flying directly towards the great half-ruined tower of the citadel, leaving behind thousands of perplexed and surprised Addams and Sinclair variants.
Flying towards The Bright One.
A mass of shadows, grayish ectoplasm and dismembered parts crashed into the form of The Bright One. The sickly, halting laughter turned into a triumphant scream as the figure rose into the air, shrouded in living, pulsating darkness. An invisible force formed around her, as if the gravity of the whole place suddenly increased. The mass of darkness began to surround The Bright One, almost like a cocoon. A whitish glow began to form through cracks that emerged in the mutant body.
"Seriously, what the fuck!?" shouted Saint-Clair again.
The cry of triumph intensified almost as if it were a hundred voices booming in harmony. The blackness of the shadows again gave way to a radiant white light that Wednesday had learned to despise.
The power emitted by The Bright One in this latest new transformation process seemed to thwart any attempt to stop her. Wednesday realized that she could not walk forward, as if prevented by an invisible wall. The same could be said for the others, with some of them, such as Pup, Friday and Theo even being pushed backwards.
The only one who seemed to be moving forward was Enid.
The she-wolf walked step by step, slowly but decisively. Wednesday could see that with each stride her beloved seemed to gain more speed, more fluidity of movement, as if she was adapting to it all. But even with that she would not make it in time, she could not stop the process that had begun.
It was not necessary.
A metallic noise was heard, something hitting the ground.
It fell from above, a metal sphere crashing right in front of The Bright One. The sphere split open in half.
And The Bright One's cry of triumph turned back into a howl of incredulous pain.
Wednesday didn't quite know what her eyes were seeing, but she was pretty sure it was some kind of physical impossibility. The small metal sphere, as it opened, seemed to have exploded into some sort of small singularity. A swirl of pure emptiness floating in the air and absorbing the mass of intermingled darkness and light that enveloped The Bright One. Wednesday could see the figure of her enemy emerging from the mass. Human again, though with a much more aged appearance and part of her face distorted, with extra eyes glowing with blue flames of fire on the right side.
The singularity suddenly shut down, with a small implosion and a dull sound, like that of air being abruptly sucked in.
The Bright One fell to the ground, naked but covered with a crust of ash and a sort of whitish-colored, deformed chitinous exoskeleton only half-formed on the left side of her body, as if her organism had tried to generate a new armor from her own flesh.
"How?" she muttered, barely holding herself upright, "What was that? Who?"
"That was a concentrated singularity grenade," said a voice from up high. They all looked up and could see someone descending from above, flying. It was Needler, making use of what appeared to be a small jet pack attached to her back and holding something resembling a geiger counter in her hands, "Certainly, a particular Deus Ex Machina on my part, but given the monstrously huge energy readings you were generating I deemed it appropriate to carry out an intervention that would put a stop to your purposes, whatever they might be."
The Addams scientist touched down, next to Wednesday and Enid. She put the device away with a flourish of her hands and then glanced at the rest of the group, "I must apologize, I seem to have the misfortune of always being absent when these confrontations occur."
"It's a habit you have," Woe said.
"But you make up for it with great entrances on stage," added Pup.
"Needler?" asked Wednesday.
"I've managed," replied the scientist, consulting her wristwatch, "Approximately in five...four..."
"Wait," interrupted The Bright One, "What are you talking about, where have you been?"
"...three, two..."
"What has she done!?"
"...one. And zero."
There was a flash of light followed by a thunderous sound and a shockwave. The gigantic crystal sphere that topped The Bright One's equally huge pyramid, where the last phase of her plan was being carried out and where she had prepared all the alchemical and magical elements for it, exploded into pieces. It burst into millions of crystal shards so small that they were indistinguishable from grains of sand. The tremor shook the pyramid and all the hundreds of thousands of cylinders that made it up from top to bottom.
"No!" cried The Bright One, rising to her feet and walking to the edge of the platform they were on, watching the destruction with disbelieving eyes and her arms outstretched, as if wanting to pick up the pieces, "NOOOOOOOO!"
She stood like that for a few moments, in stunned silence, as if unable to assimilate what she was witnessing. Finally, she turned to the group, her still fully human left eye bloodshot.
"You... YOU BASTARDS!" she shouted, "Are you aware of what you have done!?"
Wod raised his hand, with mocking politeness, "Truth be told, I have no idea what the purpose of that crystal sphere was but I assume from your virulent reaction that it was something of great importance to you, hag."
The rage was palpable in The Bright One. Enid felt some discomfort at seeing the now aged face contorted into such a horrible grimace for she could still sense the familiarity. She knew that expression of pain, frustration and watery eyes. She had had it herself in the past.
"How...," The Bright One began to ask, "How could you? Who do you think you are to do such a thing? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"
There was a few seconds of silence after that outburst. It was as if something rearranged itself in the atmosphere.
Enid exchanged a glance with Wednesday, who nodded in response. The she-wolf looked at the rest of the group. Friday, Woe, Pup, Shark, Needler, the twins… and all of the rest of them now with their attention focused on her. Enid sighed, catching her breath before looking back at The Bright One with serene sternness and giving her answer.
"Who are we? Right now and right here, we are the Addams family."
It would be impossible to describe the expression, or rather, the train of expressions that crossed The Bright One's face at that assertion. We can tell you however that the shriek she emitted no longer sounded like that of a beast or a monster imbued with power. It sounded like the hysterical and pitiful cry of a person who had lost everything and could only embrace hatred and madness.
Thus, screaming, she lunged at Enid Addams.
How strange, thought the she-wolf, How slow she has become. How small.
And without another word, she struck The Bright One in the face, then in the belly, and finally in the face again with a left hook that didn't knock her down but sent her back several steps with a bloody nose.
"Damn it," Enid growled, with a pitiful snarl as she looked down at her disgraced foe, "I can't, Weds. I can't kill her. I guess I'm not ruthless enough yet."
Wednesday rested a hand on the half-transformed werewolf's shoulder, "This is not due to a shortcoming of yours, wife. In single combat you would have torn her to pieces, but now she has become too pathetic a prey and the hunter in you does not enjoy a mere cold-blooded execution of an opponent who is no longer worthy."
Enid was about to say something else when something whistled through the air between the two of them. It was followed by a thud and a quiet grunt of pain.
In front of the two of them, The Bright One stood with a dagger plunged into her chest up to the hilt.
Enid and Wednesday turned, shocked to see who had perpetrated the act. They were not the only ones, for expressions of surprise were present on everyone's faces. Except for Woe, who watched in admiration.
Friday, with a serious and sad expression, her arm still outstretched after the throwing of the dagger, returned everyone's gaze without blinking before finally nodding, "It is done," she said, quietly.
The Bright One let out a small laugh, as a trickle of blood, this time perfectly red and natural, spilled from the corner of her lips. She brought her hands to her chest, as if wanting to grab the dagger, but stopped herself before doing so. It was almost as if she looked with admiring reverence at the weapon.
"Heh. Look at that," she said, "It seems there was still a heart in here after all."
And with those last words, The Bright One collapsed to the ground, falling forward.
Dead at last.
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