In the dead of night, a pillar of light opened up, blasting the dust on the ground away from the archaic energy. Out of this light walked three beings. Two men and a great beast scanned the rocky ruins and sandy floor. Ancient brickwork was beneath their feet.
"Why exactly are we here?" Vincent asked his master.
He walked forward, finding a series of half buried steps leading down to a tunnel.
"This is the first land. Here is where it began."
The dark tone in the Eldritch King's voice almost made them feel like they were being punished. They followed him into the eerie tunnel, though Bela struggled to fit. He growled as his arms scratched against the sharp mouth of the tunnel. Although dark, they could see well enough, them being creatures of the night and the King being… something else.
The further they travelled, the more the ancient sorcerer's expression changed into one of regret. They reached the tunnel's end. It opened up into a cavern. A single beam of moonlight penetrated the vines above them.
"This place smells almost as bad as you, Bela." Vincent couldn't resist an insult.
Bela would have retaliated in a more 'physical' nature had their creator not been in their presence. Their surroundings drew Vincent's attention. He had been a lover of fine art. Even now, that hobby lingered on.
"Extraordinary." He marveled at the worn yet still legible drawings on the wall of the chamber.
"This was once the most powerful centre of this world." The King told them.
There was very little of it left but Vincent could still see the remains of a throne in a central stairway between them.
"This is a waste of our time, creator. We should crush the Dracula scum before they can unite!" Bela had no such love for their trifles.
The King turned to him in a flash. His eyes almost burnt threw Bela's face with anger. Bela looked down immediately in shame. Vincent was rather amused. The King returned to the carvings around him. He found the first one. War, blood and hate, that was all there was. A small boy walked through the wreckage of the world alone. The boy grew in every painting, slowly becoming a man.
"I remember an age when I moulded the world into one united power. They saw what I could make the world into and that terrified them. With what the world was becoming, they feared for their share of control. I could no longer sit back and watch everything fall into anarchy."
He ran his fingers across the wall. He stopped at one drawing that showed a man in a bright light, almost like a hero. Kings surrounded him, all of them laid down their swords before each other.
"I took power from waring nations and brought it under one banner. I unlocked the fabric of nature. Magic is mine to command, it is a gift I will gracefully bestow on the loyal."
People cheered for the man, they gathered as he past. Then the drawings grew darker. Men with crowns joined together in their own corner. Armies marched again, carrying banners of rebellion. The man had an aura of sorcery around him. The most notable feature was another figure standing beside him. A woman.
In the last painting, five armed men in cloaks stood over the body of that fallen woman. The man lay on his throne, an arrow piercing his heart. The Eldritch King ran his finger over the face of the fallen woman. There was a single tear in his eye.
"Humanity has yet to see the future that was carved in their fate that day. The last night waits to fall."
Vincent paid little attention. Instead, he was more perplexed by paintings on the opposite wall. They contained Vampires. Their creation was depicted. Men and women grew fangs as a dark cloud was summoned around them by the crowned man. They were the first, the strongest and the most devious. They were a weapon, the weapon of a desperate leader. In the background of that painting was a woman lying on intricate stone. Her eyes were closed and in her hands was a bouquet. The man summoning the magical aura looked like he was crying, though it may have been the rotting wall.
"A strange thing indeed." Vincent said.
He had his suspicions as to why they were there now. Still, it was strange for the Eldritch King to do such a thing.
"This drives you?" Vincent whispered to his master, hoping that it will not enrage him.
"Something drives every creature."
The King slowly drew his sharp fingers down, carving five marks into the brittle wall.
"You let him escape…"
Vincent thought that it may well be the end of him, again.
"I had him! If it were not for that… thing!" Bela butted in.
"I don't care for excuses at this point. So it is your fault!?" Their creator shouted back without looking at them.
"It was Lebeau, he was the one that let him slip away!" Bela tried to save his own skin.
"Oh, very brave, you winged rat." Vincent snarled back.
"I refuse to work with this Lebeau scum!" Bela was very close to tearing the Vampire apart.
"Oh believe me, this isn't the greatest day for me either. I prefer to work in an environment that doesn't reek of wet dog."
"Silence!"
The cave rocked. Dust fell from the ceiling. It was the like the elements themselves were shaking at the sound of Eldritch King's voice.
"I want peace… while I'm here."
The final painting was the one that Vincent was most intrigued by. It was of five warriors. Each branded a sword with a single word written on each. Vincent did not understand them. Below them was a poem.
"Now what do these say…" He said to himself.
"Protector. Abomination. Ancient. Unitary, and Ultimate. They are titles." His master read them aloud.
Vincent puzzled over the notion.
"A strange painting to be here." He said.
"It was all defiled. My body was destroyed… along with everything I cared about." The Eldritch King still had a finger resting against the drawing of the slain man.
"There is no war against good and evil. It is a mere notion, a false threat. Evil beings fight for what there is. A hero fights until the day he joins them… until the day only one evil being stands. The spoils are theirs."
The Eldritch King reached out a hand towards Vincent. Words ran threw his mind. Without knowing, the ancient text that surrounded him was suddenly as clear as day. As was the poem.
"Cast to shadow, the king of deadly times lays low. His warriors of the knight skulk for eternity. No purpose, no goal drives them. The hate that poisoned his heart lives amongst them. Tainted blood brings with it a tainted love… a curse for all time. Let the half of their life meet their doom in due time. So it shall be for eternity." Vincent read out loud.
"What are these ridiculous time wasters!?" Bela roared.
Vincent was actually stunned. He had an idea of what it meant, but it changed everything he believed if it was true.
"This curse… does it still exist? 'Let the half of their life meet their doom'… what is this curse?"
The Eldritch King gazed at the fallen woman.
"An accidental temptation. It draws your kind to nothing but suffering that cannot be escaped. You have seen it for yourself, Lebeau. A union that leads to an inevitable demise….
Vlad…Adrien… Jeremiah… Dracula… The joined fate."
The Eldritch King left the painted chamber, walking at a heavy pace towards the exit.
Vincent thought over what he had just said.
"What fate!?" he shouted after him.
"… A Zing!"
…
Daylight shone through the few clouds that were above the world. The hearse had been pulled over. It was hidden under a tree, just off of a motorway. Inside. Dracula tried to focus. He had travelled as fast as he could to return to his home, but his mind would not let him think clearly on the move. Day by day his plight had grown worse. This was something he couldn't escape. The attempts on his family's lives by the first hybrid could be fought. He stood up against them and won. What could he really do now? Now he faced a God.
He felt selfish. He had threatened the Eldritch King, he had put the ones he loved in danger. Perhaps there was only one choice. Submission. He heard a faint ringing coming from a lining in his cloak. He was surprised to see that his phone was still intact, though the screen was cracked and the phone casing was bent. There were five missed calls from Mavis and three from Johnny. Now however, Mavis's shining grin adorned the broken screen. He slid his finger across it.
"Mavis… how are you?"
"Dad… I don't know what to do."
They was both of a similar mind.
"Where are you? Please tell me you're safe, Dad!"
"I am Mavey-Wavey. What is wrong? Is everyone alright?"
"They tried to take him."
"Dennisovich!" Dracula sat up straight.
"The Court of Skulls were here. Dad, I'm so scared of what they are going to do!"
"Mavey, listen to me. Lock the Hotel. Don't let anyone inside. Prepare security. Nobody moves until I get there, you understand?"
Dracula dropped the phone.
"Dad? Dad!"
He struggled to breath. He could hear a voice in his head. His vision was fading. It was just like last time.
"You wish to defy the one who created your bloodline!? You are mine!" The voice grew louder in his head.
Dracula lost control of his senses. He had felt this before, his mind being manipulated by someone else. His eyes were red.
"Resist if you will. All of you belong to me, including your grandson."
He tried with great force to resist. He had to fight it.
"I can give you everything, Son of Vlad. This world is ours to mould. I am the great Necromancer. The souls of your kind are at my whim! You could see her again. Live in this world with your Martha!"
He shook his head. It had to be lies… surely?
"There is no power on this Earth that can challenge me. There is no choice, only my will. Join me or watch your family die."
Dracula's eyes shot open with a bolt of light. They were bright blue.
"What!?" he heard the voice panic.
"This is my rule! How can you… resist?"
Dracula could feel control being restored.
"You are no sorcerer! How can you…"
The voice faded away. Dracula lent back in his chair suddenly. He was free. He had felt that power before, the same one that had freed Eustice Chaise's hybrids had saved him. Even from beyond the grave, Dmitri Constantin continued to help him. Dracula fired up the engine. His hotel needed him.
…
Uncertainty was the buzzword. The castle didn't know whether to continue living as they were, or prepare for something far worse. Armoured suits had been stationed at every part of the castle grounds. If anyone approached, they would know it.
"Everything is ship shape and clear of intruders!" One suit saluted Mavis.
She gave a worried nod. She hated every second that her dad wasn't by her side. She drew her strength from her husband and her son, but Dracula had always been there to protect her. She felt now was the time for her to fight the approaching battle.
"He's okay Mavis. You know ol' Drac! He's always fine!" Johnny did what he was best at, cheering her up when she needed it the most.
"I don't know what will happen now. I… was stupid." She looked ashamed of herself.
"No, you stood up and protected our Dennis. That's not stupid." Johnny put his hand on her shoulder.
"Have I? They won't stop."
"This is the safest place in the country. They won't get us here."
Mavis thought back. Others had got past its defences before.
"They can't take him Johnny… he's my boy."
He embraced her in a welcome hug.
"They won't. He's a Dracula."
Dennis was in the main lobby with his great uncle.
"Got your nose!" Frank pretended to pull Dennis's off.
"Uncle Frank, I'm fifteen now. Isn't that a bit childish?" he said innocently.
"Got your nose!" Winnie did the same thing to Frank.
"Ha-ha, see? Winnie still appreciates… hey!"
She'd actually pulled his nose clean off.
"Give me that!" He took it back off of her.
"Hey, Dennis, how does Frank smell?" She said before laughing.
Dennis joined in her amusement. Frank smelt under his armpit, right before choking.
"It isn't that bad. You try being made of dead guys."
Johnny and Mavis were happy to see them enjoying themselves. They didn't know how long it would last.
"Johnny. Do you think we are cursed?"
"Huh?" he grunted in confusion.
"Everything that keeps happening to us. It's like something keeps trying to ruin our lives. Maybe we aren't meant to be happy."
She couldn't remove the doubt and fear from her mind.
"Now that's garbage honey. I know we will get through this, we always do!"
"That's right! Draculas get through anything!" Frank had overheard them. "I've known Drac long enough to know that this family sticks together and beats any odds. Ain't that right Murray!"
"Sure thing! Anyone comes close and I'll blow them away!" He cast a small sandstorm between his fingers.
"I don't know what I'd be good at these days, not with my back." Wayne joined them.
"Maybe you could scare them with tales of being a father to hundreds?" Murray joked.
"Now that is scary!" Johnny sat in a spooky voice.
Dennis looked up at him with a brow raised.
"Not that you're too much trouble! You're my one and only Dennis! High five!"
Dennis flew up to the ceiling and then raised his arm.
"Now that's cheating."
Mavis giggled.
"Maybe we should get some ladders for you?" She said to Johnny.
"Or a climbing wall… a climbing wall! Guys, we're doing it! I can see it now, right there!" Johnny made a square with his hands at the exact spot he wanted it.
From the ceiling, Dennis could see Winnie making her way out of sight, down one of the many long corridors that made up the castle.
"Curious. What's she doing?" Dennis thought to himself.
He flew down and followed her. He could swear that he could see a shadow at the end of the hall, was she following it? He kept up the pace but tried not to startle her. It could be nothing after all. She continued upstairs to the upper bedrooms. Dennis grew more nervous by the second, it was very odd for her to just wander off. He wondered if anyone had noticed him do the same.
She reached the highest level of the castle. She fiddled with the door handle of one room before it opened. She walked inside and the door closed behind her. Now Dennis wasn't willing to wait. He rushed on ahead and entered the room himself. Inside was one of the guests.
"What was it you wanted to show me?"
The gremlin looked at the girl and then back to Dennis.
"I'm so sorry… but we have no choice."
A large bag went forcefully over Dennis' head. Winnie howled out for help. Two men burst out of the wardrobes, both were cloaked and bore the tattoo of the Court of Skulls.
"Ignore her, get the boy out."
Dennis' eyes went red. He transformed, letting his attacker's grip fail. He flew out of the bag and turned back with a kick to the ghoul's face. He felt strange as an aura of magic surrounded him. He pulled away with all his strength.
"He's resisting!"
"How!?"
He roared. It was ferocious and identical to Dracula's. He lunged forward. The sorcerer crashed through the window and into the darkness outside. Dennis was forced back by a bolt of electricity cast from the remaining man. The door broke in two as Dennis rolled across the corridor. Regardless, Winnie was all that was on his mind. He had to rescue her. He ran into the sorcerer and span him round, tossing him outside with his friend.
He found Winnie hiding under the bed.
"That… was so brave!" She admired him.
"Nothing to it."
A hand pushed down on his shoulder. The world span as he felt his body rip apart old brick. When he came to, he was lying in the corridor. Monsters surrounded him. Guests looked at him with a sense of fear and guilt.
"Hurry up. They would have heard that."
Dennis felt his arms be pinned to the ground. Ghouls, Vampires and skeletons had taken hold of him.
"Halt!"
Three armoured suits were at the end of the hallway.
"Put down the Master's grandson!"
Another sorcerer created a shield between them.
"Charge!" The three suits ran forward with their halberds at the ready. They hit the magic wall and crumbled apart.
"Damn! That fell to pieces!" The rolling helmet said to himself.
"Dennis!" Winnie howled out again.
"Help!" Dennis called out.
The Monsters were unimpeded. They carried the struggling boy back to the window.
"Keep hold of him." One Vampire said to another.
"Let go of my Son!" Mavis now stood in the doorway.
"Deal with her!"
She span forward at blinding speed and forced most of the Monsters away.
"Mum!"
She cuddled Dennis and Winnie.
"Don't ever walk off like that again!"
She tried to pull away but found herself frozen in place.
"Don't you understand!? We have to do this, or we all die! He's coming!"
The sorcerer felt a great jaw around his leg. He screamed in pain. Wayne and Wanda clawed at him.
"So much for his bad back." Dennis said.
"He exaggerates." Winnie answered him.
"This way!" Mavis took hold of them both.
She pulled them away to safety.
"We'll handle this Mavis!" Wayne shouted her way, though their resistance didn't last for long.
Mavis stopped when she reached the end of the corridor. She knelt down to her son and Winnie.
"Listen to me. No matter what happens, stay near me or your father, you understand?"
They both nodded. She and Dennis transformed into bats.
"Ever flown before Winnie?" He enticed her to hold onto his small hand.
"Nope, but I want to!" She took hold.
"Hold on!"
They swooped down a winding staircase. As they got closer to the ground floor, it became apparent that there was a loud ruckus downstairs as well.
"Mum… they're downstairs!"
Dennis was right. The place was in anarchy. Guests were revolting around them.
"We have to stick together! That cult wants you to be afraid!" Frank was holding off a horde of zombies.
News of the attack on the UN was blaring in the lobby monitors. Without Dracula, the place had no morale left.
"Mavis!" Johnny had hold of his trusty baseball bat.
He gave his Son a hug as soon as he could.
"What do we do? The place is being trashed!" he was desperate.
Mavis shoved her way through the crowd of angry Monsters.
"Please, everyone!"
No one was listening.
"No good… got to do something else!" Murray was trying to tie two of the guests up in his own wrapping.
With no choice left, Mavis roared at them, bearing her fangs. She rarely did such a thing. The Monsters began to pay attention. They slowed down and stared at her.
"This is chaos! This isn't what Drac… my father would want!"
"What does that matter? If we don't join the court then we are all going to join them!" The skeleton pointed to the screen above him.
"Not if we stand together." Frank let go of the two gremlins that had tried to bite onto him. He stood by his niece. "This place was built to bring us all together. Hotel Transylvania is our refuge. It's protected us through thick and thin. We've faced many hardships, but we got through it all and we will get through this!"
The crowd wasn't convinced.
"We've lost a lot every time too!"
Many of them could remember the battle that had taken place decades before in the nearby town.
"Frank is right." Johnny joined them and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. Dennis held on to his other wrist. "This place is the coolest place on Earth. Not only that, it's our home! Think about everything that Dracula has done for you! He's like a father to all of us. He wouldn't give up and I know we shouldn't either!"
"Then where is he?" One guest ended Johnny's speech.
The truth was, none of them knew. His phone had cut off and ever since Mavis couldn't get back in contact. Perhaps the truth was that they had got him…
To everyone's surprise, Vlad was now amongst them. They had not seen him for days. Mavis had assumed he had left after his fight with Dracula, yet here he was. He glared at the Monsters in front of him who all gladly moved aside. Now the great Vlad stood amongst his family.
"He's fighting this battle for us. Up until now he's stood alone. That's not how it should be. This fight isn't knew, it's been going on for centuries. This is about Humans and Monsters standing firm together. Our old wars were pointless. Now we have a chance to show the world that we belong together. Look at them, Human and Monster in perfect love. It's something… something I never thought possible." Vlad gestured to Johnny and Mavis. "They are our symbol. They are proof that after all these years, it does exist after all."
"What exists?" One Human guest asked.
Vlad smiled at his family.
"The bond between Human and Monster. Our species have united. It's a zing, and a zing never dies!"
The crowd started to cheer.
"Great speech, Grandpa." Mavis was proud of him.
"This is my family too. You all are."
"So heart-warming."
Everyone turned towards the cloaked man that had spoken. Slowly stepping down the stairs with him were four others of his kind. Wayne and Wanda were in their grasp.
"Bravery is admirable, but you couldn't be more wrong. Monster's aren't the abomination, they are."
The cultist pointed towards the crowd of Humans amongst them.
"It's disgusting, thinking that we can be amongst them."
The guests starting to approach them with clenched fists.
"Not one step, or these two die."
"Mum, Dad!" Winnie cried out.
The other pups were growing crazy.
"Get your hands off of them!" Mavis's eyes turned red.
"Perhaps an exchange is in order? These two, for the hybrid."
"You won't have my son!" She held onto Dennis tightly.
"Fair enough." He revealed a dagger.
"No don't!" Griffin called out all of a sudden.
"Griffin, you could have snuck up on them!" Murray suggested.
He thought for a moment.
"Oh, damn it!"
"Bad luck." The cultist sharpened the blade on a whetstone attached to his belt.
"Please! You don't have to follow this cult. We can stand together." Mavis made an attempt to persuade them.
"We have stood already for centuries, awaiting the day the creator rebuilds his empire."
Before he could continue, the six of them were suddenly engulfed in a gelatinous form. Blobby had been behind them the whole time. It had been a good time to be taking a nap in his room. Wayne and Wanda held their breath and together they pulled themselves out.
"You have a knack for this, Blobby!" Frank said.
He held a thumb up to them. In that short moment, they thought they were safe, until they received the news. A suit of armour barged through the revolving door, clattering as he sprinted awkwardly.
"Assailants! Front gate!"
It was the moment Mavis had dreaded.
