Chapter 115 - 116: The Addams Family’s Prank

Chapter 115: Chapter 116: The Addams Family’s Prank

Chapter 116: The Addams Family’s Prank

Once the brief conversation was over, Axel Vance headed straight into the kitchen. He filled several clean glass bottles with tap water, arranged them across the counter, and prepared to use his established Holy Water ability. After focusing his Psionic Power, a soft white glow gradually spread through the bottles as the ordinary water became charged with supernatural energy.

Within moments, the transformation was complete. Axel looked over the finished bottles without much excitement, because Holy Water no longer felt as indispensable as it once had. The monsters produced by the Church of Science were modified living organisms rather than conventional evil spirits, so splashing them with Holy Water did little more than inconvenience them.

Against weaker supernatural enemies, Axel rarely needed it anymore either. The Chainsaw Sword could already deal with most ordinary threats far more directly, leaving Holy Water stuck in an awkward middle ground between useful and unnecessary. As he considered that problem, another object suddenly came to mind.

Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out the Blood Jade.

Neither his Psionic Power nor Color of the Stars had managed to activate the strange artifact, while Lionel’s research had only revealed that it could conduct supernatural energy with unusual efficiency. The Addams family, however, had generations of experience with bizarre magical objects and macabre traditions, so they might recognize something he had missed. With that thought, Axel pocketed the jade and carried the bottles of Holy Water back into the living room.

He held the bottles up in front of Wednesday Addams. "Done. Since I owe your family a visit anyway, I’ll come back with you and talk to Gomez." Wednesday gave a satisfied nod and pointed silently toward the driveway.

Axel followed her gesture and saw a long black vintage hearse parked in front of the mansion. Its bodywork had an elaborate Gothic style, and a bat-shaped ornament decorated the roof, making the vehicle look exactly like something the Addams family would consider tasteful transportation. Lurch stood beside the door in complete silence, waiting for them with his usual cadaverous expression.

A short while later, Axel was back at the Addams mansion. Gomez Addams practically snatched the bottles of Holy Water from his hands and held them up as though Axel had brought him priceless antiques. "My dear Axel, you are an exceptionally generous neighbor. Morticia, darling, come see what he brought us!"

Morticia Addams descended the staircase in an elegant black dress and looked toward the bottles with a faint smile. "Your friend does have a talent for bringing interesting gifts." Gomez wrapped an arm around Axel’s shoulders as if they had been lifelong companions and suddenly remembered another subject he was eager to discuss.

"You know, I discovered the stock market this week," Gomez announced proudly. "An analyst told me it was an excellent way to make money, and I managed to lose several hundred thousand dollars almost immediately." Morticia’s eyes filled with affection as she replied, "My darling, you truly possess a remarkable business instinct. You always find the fastest possible route to losing money."

Gomez looked genuinely pleased by the compliment and kissed her hand. "It’s a gift, cara mia." Axel watched their exchange with a helpless twitch at the corner of his mouth, deciding that understanding Addams family finances was beyond him.

After a little more conversation, Gomez looked back toward Axel. "Now, my friend, surely you didn’t come all this way only to deliver Holy Water. Is there something the Addams family can help you with?" Axel nodded and removed the Blood Jade from his pocket.

"Actually, yes. I’ve had this for several days, and none of us has figured out what it really does." He placed the dark-red object in Gomez’s hand and added, "I was hoping somebody here might recognize it."

Gomez examined the Blood Jade from several angles, but his enthusiastic expression slowly became puzzled. Before he could admit defeat, Morticia’s attention settled on the object and her face changed more noticeably than Axel had ever seen. She gracefully took it from Gomez and studied it with quiet fascination.

Morticia brought the jade closer and examined it carefully before speaking. "Beautiful work. Whoever created this sealed the flesh, soul, power, and resentment of a very powerful witch inside a single object." Her admiration sounded almost artistic rather than horrified, which was entirely consistent with everything Axel knew about her family.

She turned the Blood Jade slowly in her hand. "The craftsmanship is exquisite. If I had known this technique years ago, several perfectly good relatives would not have been wasted in the family cemetery." Axel gave a strained laugh and decided there was no response capable of improving that sentence.

Morticia noticed his expression and returned the artifact with a small smile. "Pugsley may understand it better than Gomez or I do. He has always had a peculiar affinity for toys that carry resentment and the energy of death." Almost on cue, a chubby boy appeared from behind the staircase.

"Mother, did you call me?" Pugsley Addams asked as he hurried over. Morticia beckoned him closer and explained that Axel had brought an unusual object for him to examine. "Would you mind letting him try?" she asked Axel. "He has a natural touch with things like this."

"Go ahead," Axel said, bending down and handing Pugsley the Blood Jade. The artifact had been little more than an expensive-looking paperweight in his possession, and neither Axel nor Lionel had discovered a practical way to use it. Letting someone with Addams-level instincts examine it seemed better than leaving it untouched.

Pugsley’s eyes immediately lit up. He rolled the jade between his hands, examined every surface, and then unexpectedly touched it to his tongue. After considering the taste for a moment, he smacked his lips thoughtfully and said, "Salty. A little metallic too, with maybe a hint of despair."

Axel stared at him, briefly wondering whether the Addams family had developed an entirely separate concept of flavor. Before he could comment, Wednesday moved beside her brother without changing expression. She unscrewed one of the bottles of Holy Water Axel had brought and poured it directly over Pugsley’s head.

The water splashed across his hair and clothes, and Pugsley immediately jerked violently. "Aaaah!" he screamed as his entire body began twitching, his face twisting into exaggerated agony while faint wisps of white vapor seemed to rise around him.

Axel’s expression changed at once. For one alarming second, it looked as though Wednesday had accidentally confirmed that Holy Water genuinely harmed her brother, and Axel stepped forward to check him. He barely had time to reach out before Pugsley’s expression transformed.

The agony disappeared instantly.

Pugsley grinned.

Then he winked at Axel.

Axel’s outstretched hand stopped in midair as the realization hit him. There had never been anything wrong with Pugsley; the entire performance had been staged simply to see whether Axel would believe it. From Wednesday’s perfectly straight face to Pugsley’s dramatic screaming, the siblings had coordinated the prank without giving him the slightest warning.

Axel slowly withdrew his hand and broke into a laugh. He reached down, grabbed Pugsley’s wet cheeks, and rubbed his face hard enough to make the boy squirm. "All right, you little monsters. Nice acting—you almost had me fooled."

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