From their first meeting at the tender ages of two and one, Geraint Adamo and Friday Saturday Addams had been bitter rivals.
Their first exchange of glances ended with both of them jumping out of their respective mothers' arms, ready to tear each other's eyes out with their barely developed lupine claws. Only the quick reflexes of Enid and Eneit stopped them at that moment.
And the situation remained the same in the present.
Both Geraint and Day had pounced on each other in a leap that was prodigious for their young ages, ready to engage in an exchange of scratches and bites. Unfortunately for them, their mothers had literally caught them in the air.
“Stop right there!”
“Ah, ah, no duels before dinner!”
“Moooom!”
“Mother! She’s right there!”
The image of two small children trying to mutilate each other would normally be cause for alarm in many families. But we are talking about the Addams family here. Rivalries between family members, especially between siblings and cousins, were common and legendary. And since an Addams could not cause real harm to another Addams, the family tended to see them more as a chaotic expression of affection and brotherly love.
Wednesday still remembered many of the stories her father and uncle had told her about when they were children. How Gomez had impaled Fester with one of his first sabers, how Fester had used Gomez as a guinea pig in one of his first tests with explosives, the incident of the extracted teeth in a school play, or the alleged removal of Gomez's brain by Fester while he slept.
Alleged because Gomez clearly still has full neurological function (ok, debatable sometimes) and Wednesday still suspected that in that camp/correctional facility her uncle had probably removed someone's brains, but not Gomez's.
She herself had a long history of fierce confrontations with Pugsley. It is true that, more often than not, rather than a rivalry between siblings, it was more that Pugsley was the perfect test subject for knives and poisons. For his part, Pugsley had become an expert engineer whose deadly traps were an example of an almost artistic perfectionism.
Although he still had a childish predilection for blowing everything up with grenades.
Coming out of her thoughts, the matriarch of the new generation of Addamses could see how her wife and her variant had taken the two little monsters in their arms.
“Mother! I implore you to release me!” exclaimed Geraint, ”I must duel with my nemesis!”
“After dinner you can duel all you like, my little prince,” said Eneit, hugging her son in a way that mortified him as only a small child who wants to appear more mature than he is can be mortified.
Enid was doing the same with Day, more than anything to make sure that the little gremlin didn't try a new attack, although Day considered herself satisfied by sending Geraint a shit-eating grin.
After that, it was time for dinner. The dining room was set with a large table at which everyone present sat down in a rather anarchic fashion. There was no place of honor reserved, nor a separate area for the children. True, the couples tended to stay together, and Rissa and Day had sat on either side of Attie in a way that Enid found adorably protective.
For his part, the young visitor watched in wonder. His friends had told him the stories and he had met other members of the Addams Family before, but there was something fascinating about seeing so many variations of the Addams ladies together. The combination of similarities and marked differences was incredible.
And the food! There was something for everyone.
Attie had dishes prepared specifically for him for his safety, something that Day took very seriously, sniffing everything before he put it in his mouth. For the rest of the family, there were relatively conventional dishes such as multiple roast turkeys from which everyone took a portion and other more exotic offerings, such as a platter of tamales that Shark had seized upon and was devouring with gusto. At one end of the table, Eneit and Wod were tucking into what appeared to be a whole roast deer or elk. Woe and Nid were enjoying a bowl of something that looked like green goo that moved and squeaked every time a fork or knife was stuck in it. There were also salads that looked like they were made with poison ivy (Taylor and Pup seemed fond of those), a steaming pot of soup that was served by the purple tentacles that emerged from inside it (and with whom Needler tried to strike up a conversation, to the hilarity of her wife and daughter), black moldy-smelling sweets that seemed to move if you looked away from them for a momento, and many, many other curious stuff.
And the whole atmosphere was filled with a scent of...
“What's that almond smell?“ Attie asked Day.
“Oh. A lot of the drinks have extra cyanide in them. To give them a little buzz. But don't worry, yours are safe,” replied the werewolf girl.
Geraint snorted, “Bah, nothing would happen to him if he had a drop or two. And I'm sure your mothers have antidotes.”
“Attie's no Addams, Ger,” replied Day, “Even if it didn't kill him, I don't think he'd like the compulsive puking and choking.”
“I can't say I'm a fan, no,” murmured Atticus. Rissa placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
Geraint shrugged, putting one of the black moldy cakes in his mouth. The cake screamed in pain as it was bitten, “Hey, you never know, maybe he'll get a taste for it.”
The young Adamo prince signaled with a movement of his head and Day turned to see that Attie was now in the beginning of a conversation with Rissa. The Addams with the golden pigtails made little use of gestures and limited facial movements, but Attie seemed to understand her without too much trouble. To be honest, it was something he was improving at every day.
“You see?” said Geraint. “He's no Addams, but he's not entirely mundane either if he can converse with your sister.”
Day did not reply, merely breaking a bone to slurp the marrow from inside it, deep in thought.
§§§
At the edge of the forest, near the back garden of the residence of Wednesday and Enid Addams, reality was broken again. If we looked at it with our own eyes, it would seem as if a scratch had been made in the air, as if an invisible fabric had been torn.
It ceased as suddenly as it had begun. And after that, the hooded figure in the red cloak materialized again in the material plane.
He started to walk towards the house but stopped after just a few steps. Raising his left arm, a strangely technological device became visible on his wrist. To the naked eye it would have looked like a relatively normal watch, albeit of ostentatious design, if it weren't for the small floating holographic projection it was displaying.
The hooded man brought his other hand to the right side of his head, at ear level, as if he were listening to a message radiated through an earpiece.
“I have strange readings...”
He listened in silence to whatever response he received.
“Yes, she is there. This iteration is accompanied by a she-wolf... Yes, I am aware of that.”
A pause, listening.
“There are multiple readings, too similar to... Mmm, yes, it may be other family members, but I'm worried...”
Again, a pause. His body suddenly tensed, gripped by sudden anger.
“I'm not going to back down! It's not the first time I've done this! I...”
He fell silent, realizing that he was raising his voice too much. A few moments passed in which he limited himself to listening to the voice that was communicating with him while he tried to keep his breathing under control.
“Soon... soon... Yes, I will begin now. No, I can do it by myself, don’t call any of the others.”
He reached under his cloak and withdrew a silver object similar in shape to a gun, although with no visible mechanical parts. He regarded it with an almost religious reverence as his body began to turn transparent, before vanishing completely from view.
“Normalcy will reign.”
§§§
The rest of the evening proceeded with conversations, laughter and the occasional burst of song, which some of the Wednesdays received with effusiveness (Friday, Pup and Wod), others with painful grunts (Wednesday, Woe and Shark) and others with elegant indifference (Needler). Also, as every year, they took the opportunity to catch up on news. It wasn't that this date was the only time they would visit each other throughout the year, but it was one of the few occasions when they would all get together.
“Well, we have to know,” said Enid, addressing Woe and Nid, “When do you two plan to stop waiting and get married already?”
“We tend to avoid conventionalism,” said Woe, pouring salt on a poor slug that had snuck into her salad.
“And technically we're already married,” added Nid. She then proceeded to lean over to whisper to Enid in a low voice, “At least from what I've learned from my cat people, the custom is that if it's been consummated with a mate you're married, no ceremonies are necessary.”
“That said,” continued Woe, ”We hope to have a formal Addams-style celebration, but we wanted to finish our travels first.”
“I've been promoted in the department,” said Pup, “Do you remember what I told you about the larvae I found in the eyeballs of that victim? Well, it turns out that we were able to establish a link with a case from fifteen years ago and capture the perpetrators.”
“It's funny how a few years ago even I would have been sick to my stomach hearing that at dinner,” laughed Taylor.
“You get used to everything,” said Enid, “I used to faint at the sight of a drop of blood.”
“It's hard to believe, milady Volvaugr,” Wod interjected, “After all, we saw you strangle that Wendigo with his own intestines.”
“Well, he had it coming," growled the she-wolf.
“What about you, Shark?” asked Friday, “Did you break up with ...?”
“Gidh had to go back to his planet,” said the youngest of the Wednesdays, shrugging, “Political stuff and being the imperial heir, I guess.”
“Wait, the three-headed dragon was an alien?” asked Nid.
“Imperial heir??” asked many surprised voices at once.
After Shark explaining some details about her ex-boyfriend that she had forgotten to mention the previous year, the conversations continued in a relaxed manner until the desserts arrived. And finally, it was time for the little ones to retire.
“Okay, tadpoles,“ said Varadi as she got up, “I understand you're going to have a sleepover, so let's get on with it and leave this collection of living fossils to their own devices.”
“Aw, thanks, daughter,” said Needler.
“Uh? Are you coming with us, cousin Varadi?” asked Day.
“I've been naughty this Christmas so my punishment is to hang out with you, you little sugar-saturated monsters,” said the teenager. ”Come on, we'll have fun, we can compare the traps we've set for Santa this year.”
“Napalm!”, exclaimed Day.
Day took Attie by the hand and practically dragged him along as they ran upstairs, with Geraint running after them. Rissa followed more calmly and Varadi came last. Before leaving, Enid gently took her arm, “Sorry Var, thank you so much for taking care of this.”
“No problem, auntie,” replied the flesh golem, ”I'll keep that pack entertained and make sure that Day and Ger don't go up to the roof again for a dramatic duel in the moonlight.”
There was the sound of glass breaking upstairs, screams and laughter.
“Well, I think you'd better run, honey,” Parker added, holding back a laugh.
“Shit!”
Most of the other adults couldn't contain their laughter as they watched the teenager shoot up to the top floor of the house. Even Wednesday, Woe and Needler allowed themselves some relaxed smiles.
Finally, Wednesday also got up from the table, looking at everyone present. Her friends. Her family.
“Please join me in the living room. We can continue our conversations by the fireplace and more comfortably. The night is still young.”
The following hour continued in the same vein as dinner. Friday and Eamon shared some photos of the latest trips taken by their twins, Dora and Theo. Wod told how Eneit had managed to carry out a series of reforms to the northern clan system that would be beneficial both to the werewolves and to the kingdom of Nova Gersia. Wednesday discussed some details of her next book, with Woe, Nid and Needler making suggestions, while Parker and Enid chatted about where Varadi would go to continue her studies after taking a sabbatical year. And Pup seemed determined to play matchmaker for Shark, much to Taylor's puzzlement.
The atmosphere was relaxed. Casual. Warm and safe.
Everything was perfect.
And at that moment, many things happened.
The door to the living room that connected to the entrance hall opened suddenly and two figures entered almost running, putting everyone present on guard.
One was a person wearing what looked like an astronaut suit that had seen better days. The other was a young teenager dressed entirely in black and looking very similar to Wednesday except for her black hair down her back and the deep vertical scar that marked the left side of her face. She was armed with what looked like a crossbow although there was no bolt visibly attached.
“Wednesday Addams!” shouted the figure dressed as an astronaut, her voice distorted by the helmet and by panic.
And at that precise instant, behind Wednesday, Enid and all the others, at the other end of the room by one of the corners, another figure became visible. A hooded figure in a red cloak, raising a silver object similar in shape to a gun, pointing it directly at Wednesday Addams...
It was as if everything was moving in slow motion.
The new arrivals were the first to see him. The astronaut began to run, gesturing to Wednesday to throw herself to the ground.
Her companion began to raise the strange crossbow. A reddish glow began to form at its end.
Wednesday turned around and could see the other visitor. Under the hood, she caught a glimpse of a smile full of sadism and smugness as the stranger prepared to shoot.
Something he was unable to do.
Because a muscular arm break through the wall behind him and grabbed him by his neck, pulling back with force. The hooded man's head hit the wall and the unexpected movement and loss of balance caused his gun to fall from his hand.
“I've got you, you little shit!” shouted Cousin Intruder.
That was the last thing the hooded man heard for the moment, too stunned to react.
Because in the next millisecond a fist wrapped in golden fur hit him squarely, knocking him unconscious.
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