Time to get some answers. For the record, Yes, I did use a phrase from the first movie in this chapter. It appears in italics. I don't own it. (Duh). Just in case it's not clear otherwise, I don't own anything related to the Addams Family or any other character I might include in my stories.
That said, Enjoy!
Please Review~
~TLD
Part Twenty-One: The Implements of War
She opened her eyes to pitch darkness. Fluttering her eyelashes in an attempt to blink away the blindness, a sudden terror overcame her. She struggled to sit up, but she found her wrists and ankles were bound, holding her on her back. A scream crawled its way up her throat, but before it escaped, the darkness thinned – as if her eyes were suddenly gaining focus. The change distracted her from her fear, momentarily. She watched as the pitch darkness blurred into a night sky, the starry pinpricks stabbing through a heavy cloud cover. A large shape loomed just out of her field of vision. She turned her head to get a better look, but was suddenly distracted by the low sounds of speaking. She strained to hear, but she couldn't make out the words or the voice. Suddenly a deep rumbling seemed to emanate from the ground beneath her body. The voices grew louder in her ears, chanting some long forgotten language. Fear bubbled inside of her as she desperately scanned the darkness for the source of the voices and the rumbling. Suddenly, a blaze of light came from above her body.
And with lightening quickness, the blade plunged into her.
She awoke with a start. Panting heavily, fat tears dripping from her eyes, and her bed covers strewn on the floor, she awoke after yet another disturbing, vivid dream. She'd had this same dream for the past three nights, each time waking just before the blade sliced into her body. She didn't know what it meant. Deep inside, a little voice whispered that she was seeing her death, but she refused to entertain such a ridiculous notion.
She shivered slightly, shaking away a chill that had settled in her bones.
Gomez found Pugsley and Pubert in the playroom, honing a series of metal and wooden weapons that lay scattered across the playroom floor.
"Dismal morning, boys," Gomez greeted them cheerfully, "how goes it in the forges?" He laughed heartily.
Pubert snapped to attention. "Excellent, Father," Pubert beamed. "Since Joel briefed us on the kind of weaponry best suited for dispatching our enemies, I have been honing our assorted broadswords and main gauche to expert sharpness, perfect for easy and fluid decapitations." Pubert beamed at his handiwork, and passed a sword to his father.
Testing its weight and balance, Gomez smiled hugely. "Excellent," he half-whispered to himself, anticipating how it would sing in his hands in the coming battle.
Noticing his father's absorption, Pubert cleared his throat discretely before continuing with his report. "Additionally, we've fashioned a wide array of wooden weapons, from stakes, to arrows, clubs, spears, etc..." Pubert spread his arms wide to draw his father's eyes to the corners of the packed playroom. Gomez's eyes lit up and he gazed about the room with the sheer joy and unabashed lust of a kid in a candy shop.
Pubert continued, "Wood through the heart, as Joel has informed us, is just as effective as legend states. Finally," Pubert finished with a flourish, "Pugsley, however, has been working on some new implements of destruction." With a grin, Pubert turned his attention to Pugsley, who was hovering over a large table in the corner of the room, with his chemical laboratory bubbling, sparking, and intermittently emitting small bursts of smoke, flames, and noxious gases.
The grin on Gomez's face was only a shadow of the gaping, joyful smile that lit up Pugsley's grime-stained face.
"They won't know what hit 'em," Pugsley laughed. And the three Addamses spent the afternoon immersed in their implements of war.
It was moments after dusk when Joel appeared on the Addams' doorstep. He'd been a near constant visitor at the Addams' residence over the past couple of days. He knew the intensity of Lilith's attacks on the Addams' family and himself would only increase as the days ticked away and Lilith's ritual loomed ever nearer.
He was taking upon himself to prepare the family for the battles to come.
Of course, not even he had all the answers. He'd been made aware of that fact the day before when Pubert had asked an interesting question.
"But what's so important about the coming full moon," he'd asked in his dignified voice.
"Well," Joel answered, "She has this ritual…the rising ritual, she called it." Joel's brow crumpled, realizing he didn't know much more about it. "I've never thought much about it, but she's been talking about it since she made us all…" his voice trailed off and he felt his answer was, all in all, thoroughly unsatisfying.
Apparently, the Addams' had agreed. Because tonight, they had said, they were going to get some real answers. Joel could only guess at what that meant.
He knocked on the door, smiling when Lurch answered and invited him in. He couldn't believe the difference he felt upon entering the house this night from what he'd felt that first time. Now it truly felt like home.
His smile widened as Gomez Addams came barreling into the living room to greet Joel as he entered.
"Joel, my boy, excellent to see you!" Gomez exclaimed. Joel noticed he was covered in a fine layer of soot.
He tried to hide his grin. "You too, Mr. Addams," he replied politely.
Gomez noticed his distraction. "Ah!" he said, looking down at his grime cover suit. "Excuse the mess, Old Chap," he said as he started brushing the ash from his coat. The room filled with a huge cloud of smoke, causing Joel and Gomez to start coughing.
Joel burst out into laughter. "What were you doing?"
Gomez laughed, "Oh, you'll love it. The boys have been concocting some truly excellent weapons for our dear undead friends," he smiled, the fog parting enough for Joel to see the evil glint in his eyes, "Present company excluded," he added playfully.
Joel laughed again. "Excellent," he replied, stealing Gomez's word.
As the dust cleared, Joel looked around the living room properly, noticing that Mrs. Addams and Wednesday were notably absent.
He didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't stop the question that rose to his lips, "Where are Wednesday and Mrs. Addams?" he blurted. And then blushed, wishing he'd taken the time to phrase the question a bit more tactfully.
Gomez was unperturbed by the question. But, to Joel's surprise, his expression betrayed a small amount of concern.
"Well, actually, my boy," Gomez hedged, "They've been in their respective rooms for most of the day." His brow crumpled. "Mrs. Addams slept particularly restlessly last night, so she's been enjoying the gloomy darkness of our room to make up for it." He smiled wistfully, envying her melancholy.
"Wednesday," he continued, "I'm not sure about. I did knock earlier, but," and here his voice dropped to a murmur, "well, you know Wednesday." He smiled, "I figured she'd surface when she'd felt like it."
Gomez smiled a wicked grin, a new thought coming to him.
"Of course, you're welcome to give it a go." He laughed, obviously imagining what hideous torture Wednesday would inflict on Joel if he disturbed her peace.
Joel smiled back. "No, I think you're right to give her space." He chuckled somewhat uncomfortably, "Any man would be insane to attempt to dissuade Wednesday from doing whatever it is she wanted to do."
To this Gomez clapped Joel on the back, and exclaimed, "Good man!" before adding in a slightly more serious tone, "Well, in that case, while we anxiously await her inevitable appearance, perhaps you'd like to see what the boys have been working on?"
The look on his face was too joyful to deny, so, despite the fact that Joel desperately wanted to see Wednesday, he smiled back at Gomez and followed him to the playroom.
About an hour later, Wednesday's thin black form appeared in silhouette in the open door, crushing black against the thin grey smoke that filled the small playroom.
Joel saw her first, his keen eyes and superior senses hearing, smelling, and feeling her long before the others' eyes had adjusted to the thinning fog. So when she stepped through the mist, Wednesday found Joel's eyes were already locked on her face.
She noticed his eyes were practically glowing with love and desire. Immediately, she felt her bones melting and a warmth growing in her belly.
Not fair, she thought, cringing internally at the power he had over her. Then, another thought struck, Well, two can play that game.
She smiled a small, seductive smile and leaned her weight onto one hip.
Her small smile soon spread into a openly wicked grin as she noticed Joel's body tense in response to her attention.
She rolled her eyes playfully, breaking the spell, and Joel's expression melted into a sweet smile. He nodded slightly as if to say, You win.
Men, she thought, laughing to herself.
But her silent dialogue with Joel was cut short as her father and brothers emerged, coughing and sputtering, out of the thickest part of the smoke, pushing Joel and Wednesday into the hallway with them.
"Ah, Wednesday, how nice to see you," Gomez managed between coughing and laughing.
Wednesday raised an eyebrow and cracked a tiny smirk at her father and brothers' disheveled appearance before answering in a detached monotone, "Mother asked me to inform you that she and Grandmama are ready."
Gomez smiled hugely, and answered, "Excellent! The boys and I will be right up." Wednesday turned to leave and Gomez moved to follow her before he paused, looked down at his soot-covered appearance and the grime-covered faces of his sons and said, "Um, Wednesday, dear?"
Wednesday paused and looked back at her father.
"Tell your mother we'll be just a moment," he added, sheepishly. "You know how she loathes when sulfurous soot mixes with the cobwebs and dust in the parlor."
Wednesday nodded and left the boys to clean themselves off.
After she'd disappeared down the hall, Joel asked, "What's in the parlor?"
Gomez's eyes lit up, "Oh my good man, didn't I tell you? That's where we hold the séances."
Joel's face betrayed his confusion, but he couldn't help but smile at the look of anticipation on Gomez's face. And the boys hurriedly dusted themselves off and rushed to the parlor.
Waiting for Joel in the parlor was a sight unlike any he'd ever seen.
The tiny room, adorned in dust-covered fabrics, lit in flickering glow by dozens of black candles, housed a single, ovular table, overhung by a low, cobweb-adorned crystal chandelier. Eight high-backed chairs surrounded the table and a filmy crystal ball on a three-footed stand perched in the center.
As Joel entered the room, his eyes locked on Wednesday, who stood, chin high, draped in black fabric, the candles throwing ghastly flickering shadows across her stoic face.
As he looked, someone spoke. Tearing his eyes away from Wednesday, he listened intently.
"Welcome, dear family," Morticia's seductive voice rang out over the silence. "Please, take your seats as we prepare to reach beyond the grave and call upon our dearly departed sister of the craft, Great Aunt Calpurnia." Morticia gestured and led each person to his respective seat.
Wednesday remained at one end of the table with Joel seated to her right. On the other end of the table sat Mama, the crystal ball now clutched in her grasp. To Mama's left and right sat Morticia and Gomez. Pubert sat to the left of Wednesday, and Puglesy sat between him and their father.
After they were seated, Morticia reached out and took Joel's hand, saying, "And now, we clasp hands, anchoring ourselves to this mortal plane and combining our auric power as we reach into Hell to pull Aunt Calpurnia out."
Joel shuddered slightly. Whether it was due to the startling cold of Morticia's hand or to the prospect of rooting around in Hell, he wasn't sure.
Morticia nodded subtly to Mama, and she began the ritual. Bowing her head and closing her eyes, Mama began to chant. Joel couldn't understand the words, but the cadence of her speech chilled him to the bone. He looked up through half-closed eyes, curious as to what might happen next. Suddenly, Mama's voice stopped, and the room was filled with silence.
Joel opened his eyes outright. Pugsley was staring at him as if to say, Here comes the interesting part. Joel swallowed. Pugsley's eyes flicked to Wednesday with a look that was both excited and greedy. Joel's brow crumpled. I wonder… he thought, before Mama's voice rent the air again.
"Into death, we fall to thee. Out of death, we set you free!" Mama chanted.
After Mama's screeching voice fell silent, another, softer voice spoke.
"Let us ransom you from the power of the grave. Oh death! Let us be your plague," Wednesday's voice chilled the air and Joel held his breath, sure that no one, dead or alive, could have the power to refuse such a voice.
The silence stretched on, until finally, Mama screamed again.
"Calpurnia! Scourge of Salem! Daughter of Hecate! Come to us! Answer our call!" Mama's cries rang out.
Joel held his breath.
Suddenly the candles flickered and a strange breeze sent shivers down his spine. He felt a pressing against his temples and a heaviness on his chest. He fought for air, tucking his chin into his chest and pressing his fists against the table in an attempt to remain in his seat and not be sucked into the vacuum of Hell. After a long moment, the pressure eased and Joel heaved a sigh of relief.
He opened his eyes, luxuriating in the feel of breathing freely, and then gasped.
Wednesday's hand clamped down on his with inhuman strength. He looked over at her to find her shaking as with seizures. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her head lolled over onto her shoulder. Joel turned panicked eyes on Gomez and her brothers, but they all watched her with excited, but calm, interest. Joel noticed that Pugsley, especially, looked positively elated.
Joel tried to release Wednesday's hand so that he could get up and help her, but he found he couldn't. He couldn't release her hand, nor could he get up from his seat. It was as if he was welded into place.
Just as he was about to erupt into a full-scale panic attack, her convulsions stopped.
Joel looked intently at Wednesday's face, waiting for her eyes to focus. When she finally lifted her head off of her shoulder, her eyes were completely white.
Joel opened his mouth to speak, but Morticia beat him to it.
"Welcome, Calpurnia."
"Why have you summoned me?" Wednesday's voice hissed out of her, oddly distorted. It sent shivers down Joel's spine.
Morticia spoke again, "We need your help. We need some information about the vampire called Lilith."
At the sound of Lilith's name, the candles flickered wildly. The ghost within Wednesday grew agitated.
"You would be wise not to speak her name. Not now when the barrier is so thin," Calpurnia's voice hissed out of Wednesday.
"What do you mean?" Morticia asked.
Wednesday took a deep breath and then said, "The Daughter of Clay and Blood is no stranger to the Dark Realm. The Lord below pines for her, strengthens her, empowers her, but never shall she return to him until he returns to her that which was stolen from her…" Wednesday's voice hissed endlessly, it seemed.
"But what, what was stolen?" Joel asked before he could stop himself.
Wednesday turned white eyes on Joel's face, her movements stilted and unnatural. She cocked her head in a very Wednesday-ish way that made Joel slightly nauseous, before answering.
"I dare not speak his name," Wednesday whispered. "The Prince of Fire and Blood," Wednesday recited his title with admiration, and then added in a whisper, "her son."
The Addams' family sat in stunned silence.
"The rising ritual?" Joel murmured, afraid to ask.
Wednesday nodded, confirming his fears. "The Dark Lord rejoices for his son will soon walk the earth." Wednesday smiled a sick smile, "And in his wake, the waters of the earth will run red with blood, and all will fall before him. He will feast on the flesh of the sons and daughters of Adam and reclaim his place as Lord over all the earth." Wednesday cackled, a sound like glass shattering.
"But," Joel interrupted, "she must have done this rising ritual a million times before. Why now? How is it that it finally works now?" He tried to keep his panic out of his voice, unsuccessfully.
Wednesday raised an eyebrow. "Her Highness, Queen of Blood has performed the rising ritual 665 times. She did not know that she was missing a key element." Wednesday smiled a sinister, knowing smile, "She knows it now."
"What?" Joel shouted, "What is it?"
But Wednesday simply cackled a stream of maniacal laughter so loud that Joel felt as though his skin was being flayed off. After what felt like an eternity, Calpurnia's laughter faded into a long hiss as her spirit fell back into Hell. As Calpurnia dissipated, Wednesday's head slumped down against her chest and her body fell forward onto the table.
With a sudden lurch, Joel found he could move again and he quickly began running his hands through Wednesday's hair and over her face, lifting her off the table.
"Wednesday?" he whispered. "Wednesday? Are you in there?" He held her head in his hands, so when she fluttered her eyes open, his own were only inches away. Her black eyes were weary, but they were clear, and Joel couldn't help the smile that grew on his face when he saw her.
Wednesday smiled back for a moment before rolling her eyes and sitting up. She brought a hand to her head, massaging her forehead, where a killer headache had started to form.
She looked up into the faces of her family members and groaned, "I hate séances."
Joel wholeheartedly agreed.