only this and nothing more

12

The next day, Wednesday finds her brother down at a fishing hole by himself. The rest of the Addams family is visually upset about Gomez's arrest. Wednesday shows it in a different way.

"Go away," Pugsley says.

"You forgot your fishing gear," Wednesday informs him. She carries a pole and a satchel. She sits down next to him. He glares at her.

"Stop trying to be nice," he replies, "it doesn't suit you."

"Father packed your favorite bait," she ignores him. She feels the slightest bit of guilt, but in reality, this is Principal Weems' fault. She was the one who suggested family therapy and if the Addams family hadn't gone into Jericho, Sheriff Galpin might not have known he was here.

Pugsley peeks into the satchel, smiling down at the grenades inside of it. He pulls one out but ultimately lowers his hands to his lap, not wanting to fish. Wednesday watches subtly at her brother's behavior. She loves tormenting him, but this kind of torment isn't fun.

"What'll happen to him now?" her brother asks.

"Well, he's confessed, so there won't be a trial," she explains, "After he's sentenced, he'll be sent to a state penitentiary, where he'll lose his mind being separated from Mother. Did you know they haven't spent a night apart since they tied the knot?"

"I always thought I'd be the first one in the family behind bars," Pugsley comments.

"Lurch and I had a bet going," she replies. She looks over at him, "Come on. Let's see if the fish are biting."

He looks at the grenade in his hands. He then pulls the pin and launches it into the fishing hole. The water bursts from the explosion and soon, plenty of fish float to the surface, dead.

"That's quite a catch," she comments, trying to cheer her brother up.

"I'm gonna miss him, Wednesday," Pugsley exclaims, getting emotional.

"It's not over yet," she assures him, "He's innocent."

"Well, if anyone can figure out who really committed the crime... it's you," he says, "You have to find out the truth and free Dad."

"Well, until that happens, we both know Mother will be falling apart," Wednesday comments, "Which means we have to be strong. And by 'we', I mean you. Now, give me one of those."

He reaches into the satchel and gives her a grenade. She pulls the pin and throws it out into the water. Again, water bursts into the air and the siblings are unfazed by the explosion.

"Where is Mother anyway?" Wednesday asks.

"She said she wanted to be alone," her brother answers, "somewhere where no one would find her."

Morticia stands in the Nightshades' Library, eyes full of sorrow and sadness. She thinks she will be alone in the old library, but Wednesday knows this is where she would find her. Reliving her days at Nevermore.

"Hello, Mother," she greets from the top of the stairs.

"Hello, Wednesday," she breathlessly says as her daughter comes down the stairs, "so you're a Nightshade. That didn't take long."

"Actually, I rejected them," her daughter admits.

"Why? Because I was a member?"

"I'll never live up to your legacy here," she says, "so why try? I win the Poe Cup, you claimed it four times. I join the fencing team, you captained it. Why would you send me somewhere I could only ever exist in your shadow?"

"It's not a competition, Wednesday," Morticia says.

"Everything is a competition, Mother," she counters, "but mostly I rejected them because they're a trivial social club."