He felt so... numb. Like, he was just floating in space.
Slowly, he started trying to move. He could still move his fingers, his toes. He moved his hand slightly, gave a small kick with his leg. He could move just fine, but he still felt so disconnected from everything.
What was happening to him?
'Well, only one way to find out.' Cautious but still curious, he opened his eyes.
All he could see was darkness. He wasn't touching the floor, he was pretty sure there wasn't even a floor! Every once in a while, there was a small wave of light, a streak of color like a paintbrush moving across the dark space, but it usually faded away.
'Where am I?' he thought. He couldn't really remember anything. Where he was or why he was there, it was all a blur.
"H-Hello?" he said, almost not recognizing his own voice. It echoed, with no reply in return. "Hello!" he tried again, but it looked like it was just him.
'I don't get it,' he asked himself, 'it's almost like I'm...' His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat.
He couldn't be dead, could he? He was perfectly healthy. Sure he ate a little more fast food than the average person, but that's what happens when you're constantly traveling. Luckily, mountain climbing and going on hikes with Mavis kept him in good shape-
Suddenly, it all came flooding back to him.
"I know I said I thought we were ready, but are you sure you want to do this? There's no going back, Johnny?"
"Why would I want to go back to being a boring old human when I can be an awesome vampire like you and Drac? Besides, I don't ever want to have to say goodbye to you. I love you, Mavis."
"I love you too..."
They had went up to her bedroom for some privacy. He remembered his heart pounding against his chest, almost ready to burst. Of course he was nervous, but excited too. He was ready take the next step in his life, the step that was necessary if he wanted to be with Mavis forever. He knew she would understand if he backed out. She would love him even if he became old and fat and grew hair in his ears. But he would hate making his zing watch him grow old and wither away. He would hate saying goodbye.
No, he was going to do this.
Besides, he had always wanted to fly.
Her fangs were even sharper than he imagined. A shiver went down his spine when she bit him, and started the process. Things were fine at first. It wasn't painless by any means, but he wasn't in agony or anything.
A few minutes passed, and he started feeling drowsy. He could barely keep his eyes open. His heart had started to slow, and he felt goosebumps on his entire body. It was like someone had dumped a bucket of snow on him. A gag escaped from his throat. His hands grabbed whatever was nearby, not even knowing what it was. His vision was going in and out, and his breathing was getting shallow.
"M- Mav... I-"
"Johnny? What's wrong? Johnny!"
He remembered letting go of whatever his hands were holding, letting go of everything. He barely felt the hard floor when he fell of her bed.
"Dad! Dad please hurry! Johnny needs help!"
"Johnny! Jonathan can you hear me?"
The last thing he remembered was hearing Mavis' voice. She called him by his full name. She never called him by his full name. She sounded so worried, and heartbroken. And now...
The young man ran his hands through his bright orange hair. "Oh my god," he said, "Oh my god. Oh my god."
This couldn't be happening to him. There was nothing wrong with him, Drac said he was strong enough to take the transformation.
So... why?
"Is anyone here?" he called out again as he stood up, his voice sounding more upset, "Please! I-I can't die! I mean, I'm not even twenty five yet! I can't just-! Please, you have to send me back! Mavis, she-!"
No one was listening. The echoes were the only replies. Not bothering to question how he was even standing on thin air, he sat down and cradled his head in his hands. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."
So, he sat there, waiting. Waiting to be sent where ever he was supposed to go, or to fade away, or just something to happen. A slight breeze blew past his ears, and then another. Slowly looking up, he saw the dark emptiness he was in getting lighter. It was a greyish blue now, like the morning sky before the sun started to rise. Streaks of purple and dark blue appeared and then faded. Somehow, all of this was sort of calming.
"Don't worry, you won't be here much longer," a voice stated, surprising him.
He quickly stood up, looking around. The voice was feminine sounding. It was mature, but caring.
"Where is this place?" Johnny asked.
"You will only be here temporary," the voice replied. She sounded so reassuring, it instantly made him calm. "The process of turning a human into a vampire is a risky one. The reaction to the transformation is different for everyone, and sometimes, the process is fatal. For you, it simply put your mind in a deep sleep while your body adjusted to the new changes. I promise you, Jonathan, you'll wake up soon."
Johnny let out a sigh of relief. "Good," he said, smiling slightly.
"The choice to become a vampire isn't a light one. It isn't chosen just because of immortality and eternal youth or 'cool' powers. It is often chosen out of love for another rather than for a personal gain. But you know all about that, right?"
Johnny gave a slight chuckle. "If I was only in it for the powers, I probably would've chickened out at the last minute. But..." His thoughts instantly turned to Mavis. His girlfriend, his zing. He would do anything if it meant being able to stay with her.
"It makes me happy to see how much you care about her," she told him, "I can already see a long and happy future for you two."
"Thanks," Johnny said, "But, I have to ask. Who are you?" Even though he had never heard this woman's voice before, there was a sense of familiarity to it.
There was no reply, but a figure began to appear. Ribbons of light wrapped around the bottom half of the figure as she faded into view, and Johnny was quickly able to recognize her.
She wore an elegant black dress complete with a choker, a bright pink jewel resting on the center of it. Her hair was brown and slightly wavy, flowing past her shoulders and almost to her waist.
Her eyes were a bright blue like Mavis', and there was a kind smile on her face. It was the same woman he had seen at the castle ruins, and again in Dracula's bedroom.
Lady Martha Lubode, the elegant vampiress.
"Whoa," he said, almost not being able to believe it. Martha gave a slight giggle.
"I have to say, I'm glad I was able to meet you," Martha said as she walked towards the stunned man, "I've watched you for a while now. I've seen how much you've done for my family." There was a nostalgic smile on her face. "My daughter and my husband, you've brought so much joy into their lives, making them laugh and helping them experience new and wonderful things. You make them happy, and I'm sure the feeling's mutual."
Johnny smiled back at her. "Yeah, it is."
"Well then, I'd say you'll make a great vampire." Johnny remembered hearing the same words from Drac, but that didn't make them any less meaningful. In fact, they had even more meaning now.
The vampiress placed a hand on Johnny's hair, stroking his hair for a moment like a mother with her child, just for a moment. When she took her hand of him, her face was serious. "Do you think you could promise me something, Jonathan?"
"Yeah, sure," Johnny replied, "anything."
A small smile returned to her face as her eyes became glassy. "Tell them I said hello, and that I send my love, alright?"
"I will," Johnny said, nodding, "Promise. But, I think they already know that last part."
The lady let out a small laugh, a tear escaping from the corner of her eye. "Thank you."
Before anything else could be said, the area surrounding them was slowly fading into darkness once again. Even part of Martha was starting to fade away. There was a sort of buzzing sensation in the back of his head. Johnny knew he was waking up.
Before he closed his eyes, the last thing he saw was Martha giving him a small wave goodbye.
()()()()()()
"Jon - than... Jonat - n... Johnny, can you hear me?"
Johnny let out a moan. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, and the rest of his body felt like it weighed a ton. But he was alive, and at the moment, that was all that mattered to him.
Opening his eyes, his vision was fuzzy, but quickly started to clear up. Dracula was on one side of him, examining him and making sure he was alright. On the other side was Mavis, who had streaks of tears on her cheeks but was smiling nevertheless.
"Hey..." Johnny said with a smile, his voice weak, "Did it work?"
"Well, you were out for nearly ten minutes, and gave us a bit of a scare," Dracula told him, "but, it worked."
Johnny moved his tongue around in his mouth, and felt two new - and extremely sharp - teeth. He smiled. "Awesome."
Mavis laughed, a couple more tears falling. She then pulled the upper half of his body off the floor and hugged him tightly, with Johnny doing his best to hug back. After nearly a minute, Mavis let go of her boyfriend and moved him towards the front of her bed, letting him lean against it.
"So, how do you feel?" Mavis asked.
"Pretty good," Johnny replied, "kinda thirsty, and pretty tired, but pretty good."
"You'll have to start drinking blood beaters right away," Dracula told him. Since Johnny was awake and talking, he decided now would be a good time to get them. The count stood up, and started to walk out of the room when Johnny stopped him.
"Wait!" he shouted, about as loudly as he could. Dracula turned back around, and Johnny looked at Mavis.
"I almost forgot to tell you," Johnny said with a small smile, "your mom says hi."
Mavis blinked. "W-what?"
"I saw her," Johnny said, "and she wanted me to tell you that. She also says she sends her love-" He looked back up at Dracula. "To both of you."
Blinking away the water that was starting to form in his eyes, Dracula smiled at the young man while Mavis gave Johnny another hug.
When Dracula left to get the blood beaters, walking down the hall and passing the open balcony, he couldn't help but look up at the stars. He gave a content sigh. He knew she was watching, and she always would be.
With Johnny a vampire now, their family had grown bigger, and it almost felt like the beginning of a new era. A new era, but blessed by an old love that would never die.
And none of them could be happier.
Just a random idea that popped into my head, and I'm writing this right before bedtime so I hope that doesn't effect the quality. I just thought about what would happen if Johnny actually met Martha's spirit, and I came up with this. It isn't really apart of the 'Blood Lines' canon, it's really just a stand alone oneshot I really wanted to try writing.
So, I hope you like it, and please review. Also, I am working on the new chapter of Blood Lines, and I'll try to have it up soon (stupid writer's block). Anyway, thanks for reading!