Love and Woe: Wednesday Addams

Chapter 13:Seeking justice to jail time to more investigations? What fun!

Later, Anax walked to where other families were hanging out in the woods, where he saw Pugsley sitting by himself on a small dock. He would have walked over, but he saw Wednesday walk up to her brother with some fishing gear. Pugsley noticed his sister walking over, "Go away." "You forgot your fishing gear," she stated as she placed a bag down and sat on the docks. "Stop trying to be nice. It doesn't suit you. Having a boyfriend is already surprising enough." Wednesday just sat silent as she looked out to the lake. "Father packed your favorite bait." She said as Pugsley opened the bag to reveal... a grenade. He held it showing a smile, but it turns to a frown. "What'll happen to him now?"

"Well, he's confessed, so there won't be a trial. After he's sentenced, he will be sent to a state penitentiary, where he'll lose his mind being separated from Mother. Did you know they haven't spent a single night apart since they tied the knot?" She said as she looked at her younger brother. "I always thought I'd be the first one in the family behind bars." "Lurch and I had a bet going," she looked at her brother, "Come on. Let's see if the fish are biting." Pugsley pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it in the water, which soon exploded.

Anax was a little away from the siblings seeing them interact with one another. He may not have seen the Addams family a bunch, but he could see how the family interacts with one another despite their ways. He didn't know how long he was there before he saw Wednesday walk up to him from her chat with Pugsley. "I'm going to have a talk with mother." "I assume you don't want my help?" "You don't need my answer when you know it." Anax chuckled a bit before he followed silently behind Wednesday.

***

Their next destination was the Nightshade society room, where Morticia was found standing in the middle. "Hello, Mother." Morticia turned around and saw her daughter and Anax, who were still on the staircase. "Hello Wednesday, and Anax." She said as both teens walked down the steps. "So your both Nightshades. That didn't take long." "Actually, we both rejected them." "Why? Because I was a member?" "I will never live up to your legacy here, so why try?" Wednesday said as Anax was silent for a moment. "I won the Poe Cup, you won it four times. I join the fencing team, you captioned it. Why would you send me somewhere I could only exist in your shadow?" Anax walked up to stand behind Wednesday as a sort of support. "It's not a competition, Wednesday." "Everything is a competition, Mother."

"We also rejected them because they're a trivial group, not something you'll find me in," Anax said as he laid a hand on Wednesday's shoulder. "We used to be so much more. Our mission was to protect outcasts from harm and bigotry. In fact, the group was started by an ancestor of your father's from Mexico. The name was actually inspired by your ancestor Anax, as the two were close in arms." Morticia said. "Goody/ Sebastian," the teens said in unison as Morticia looked in slight confusion. "We saw their painting in Pilgrim world." Morticia looked in understanding. "Oh, how ironic since she was the one who killed Joseph Crackstone, his partner in crime died a year before him." That's news to both Wednesday and Anax as they didn't realize Goody did that. "The Nightshades were her secret, but deadly, answer to his oppression. I know why you're here, you two. So go on. Ask."

This was it.

"He didn't kill Garrett Gates, did he?"Anax asked. "No. By the time I made it up there, I saw your father fighting for his life, it was terrifying. I'll never forget the way he looked at me. He was even foaming at the mouth, it was like I was staring at the eyes of a rabid beast." Morticia was explaining as the two were listening. "It was when I heard the scream that I realized what I'd done. Your father was so... calm and brave." Anax was silent throughout the story, as he realized what had happened. "Your father took the blame in order to protect me, Wednesday." The story was tragic that Morticia had a tear running down her cheek. "I was so grateful when they cleared him of any wrongdoing. But I knew, someday this would come back to haunt us."