A few days later...
The Count woke up from his coffin in his room feeling sorrow. That's because it was the day of his special occasion with the love of his life, it's the day of his wedding anniversary with his late-wife, Martha Lubov-Dracula. As Dracula tiredly dresses himself up, he heard a knock on his door.
"Who is it?" Dracula asked. A familiar female voice answered his question.
"It's me, dad. Can I come in?" Mavis said behind the door.
"Of course, honey bat. You can come in. The door's open." Dracula quickly answered as Mavis entered his room while holding a tray.
"Rise and shine, daddy! I've brought breakfast for you to eat. Hope you like it." Mavis cheerfully said as she puts the tray on the table and removed the cover revealing the monster's traditional wormcake.
"Oh thank you so much my little poison berry!" Dracula cooed truly appreciating the breakfast Mavis brought for him. It always made him happy that his daughter would always cheered him up.
Dracula ate his breakfast but he wasn't really in the mood for excitement. That's the moment when Mavis noticed her father was looking all depressed and knew that something was bothering him.
"Are you alright, dad?" Mavis asked.
"Yes, dear. I'm quite alright." Dracula said while making a fake smile but Mavis knew better.
"Come on, dad. I know that something is bothering you. Now please tell me." Mavis calmly said as she gently puts her hand on Dracula's shoulder worriedly. It made Dracula smiled at how much Mavis really cared and loved him, it reminded him of Martha. Dracula sigh before he started to talk.
"Honey bat." Dracula softly said as he held both Mavis' hands. "You probably know that today is the anniversary of me and your mother's wedding. Usually we visit our old home every year to pay respect for your mother. It's also the times that how much I miss your mother and wishing she was with us right now." Dracula frowned.
"Aww, daddy." Mavis said hugging Dracula. "I miss mom too. I'm sure she doesn't want to see you all depressed in your wedding anniversary." Hearing Mavis' words, it made Dracula feel better again.
"You're right, Mavy. I shouldn't be all depressed and I would rather be happy to spend my time with my family." Dracula smiled at Mavis hugging her back.
"I also talked to Johnny earlier. He said they'll be coming along with us at our old house." Mavis explained.
"How very thoughtful of them!" Dracula exclaimed. He truly appreciated that Johnny and his family would be there for Dracula in times like this.
Later that night...
The passengers of the two hearses quietly sat on their respective seats waiting to arrive at their destination, the Castle Lubov. Everyone could only feel sadness remembering that tragic night that Martha died. The humans didn't get to know Martha that much but all they knew is that she was a kind and wonderful mother and they felt sorry for Dracula and Mavis' loss.
A couple of minutes later, Dracula, Mavis, Frank, Eunice, Hank, Murray, Pedro, Wayne, Wanda, Wendy, Griffin, Johnny, Brett, Kent, Melly, and Alfred arrived at the ruins of Castle Lubov.
"The castle of Lady Lubov." Johnny whispered looking at the ruins of the castle. This was his second time being here at the castle.
"Have you been here before, Johnny?" Mavis asked surprisingly.
"Yeah right before I arrived at the hotel I got the chance to visit this place. I didn't knew she was your mother at that time." Johnny explained.
Just then, Brett, Kent, and Melly went closer to Mavis for comfort. The Loughrans can all relate to Mavis' pain because they also lost their parents before.
"We're terribly sorry about your mother, Mavis." Melly said hugging Mavis.
"We're all here for you." Kent said trying to comfort her.
"Thanks, guys. It really means a lot to me and dad." Mavis manages to give her future in-laws a weak smile.
"Of course. We're all going to be family soon." Kent said smiling at her future sister-in-law.
Somehow, Mavis and Johnny realized that the hearing of the Vampire Council is only a few days away now. The young couple both got struck by fear about their decision but now is not the time to worry about that. Mavis and Johnny just held hands for the time being. Dracula brought a photo frame of him and Martha and gently placed it in front of the castle. After he did his task, everyone placed their own flowers and candles near the photo and began to pay their respects for Martha. Everyone bowed their heads quietly and some shed in tears, especially Dracula and Mavis.
"I love you my zing." Dracula whispered sadly shedding some tears from his eyes.
"It's alright. Martha will always be with you and Mavis." Wanda gently puts her hand on Dracula's shoulder to comfort him just in time for Frank, Eunice, Wayne, Murray, and Griffin to join.
"Thank you, guys. It really means a lot to me that you're all here with me today." Dracula smiled feeling surrounded by love and comfort with his closest friends.
"Of course, Drac. We all loved Martha." Frank reassured to his oldest friend.
As time passed by, everyone was getting ready to get back to the hotel but Johnny came up to Dracula and Mavis.
"Hey, Drac." Johnny sorrowfully said. "I'm terribly sorry for what the humans did to Martha back then. She didn't deserve to meet her fate like that, non of you do."
"Thank you, Johnathan. We appreciate your condolences." Dracula smiled while nodded at Johnny.
"Thanks, babe." Mavis smiled at her fiancé while Johnny just nodded as well.
"You should all get back to the hotel. I wanted this time to be just me and Mavy-wavy." Dracula said.
"Of course. Anything you need, Drac." Johnny said being supported at Dracula's decision.
"I'll see you soon later." Mavis hugged Johnny and gave a quick kiss on the cheek.
Before getting back inside the hearse with his monster-human family, Johnny looked one last time at the Castle Lubov.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Dracula. I promise that I will always protect Mavis and I won't let anything bad ever happen to her." Johnny said thought in his mind making a promise to the late Martha Lubov-Dracula. "Thank you for leading me right to her."
"I can't believe what the two have been through. Especially for Mavis, to loosing her mother at a young age. No one has to suffer like that." Alfred whispered feeling bad for Dracula and Mavis.
"Mavis never got the chance to really meet her mom." Johnny sadly said.
The monster-human family entered the hearse making their way back to the hotel while leaving Dracula and Mavis behind at the ruins of the Castle Lubov to have their father-daughter moment.
"So this is where I could've grown up?" Mavis whispered to Dracula while starring at her old home.
"Yes. We could've lived here together as a happy family if that tragedy didn't happened. The tragedy that I failed to stopped." Dracula replied quietly while tears coming out from his eyes.
"Dad. It's not your fault that mom died. Don't blame yourself for what happened that night." Mavis stated trying to stop Dracula from beating himself up emotionally.
"But it shouldn't have happened. As a father, it is my job to do everything to protect my family from the angry mob but I failed to save your mother that night." Dracula started to cry heavily as more tears were coming out.
Mavis was now tearing up as well seeing her dad beating himself up emotionally even more and heartbroken. Those angry human really wounded her father in the inside when they took Martha away from them. Mavis gently held both Dracula's hand.
"Dad, look at me." Mavis sternly said while Dracula made eye contact with his daughter. "Don't say stuff like that, alright. Mom knew that you did everything you could to protect me and her that night and she wouldn't want to put you in that position. All mom ever wanted is for us to be together and be happy and if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here with you right now."
Dracula calmed himself down again and from Mavis' kind and gentle words. Mavis always had Martha's kind and caring nature. Mavis was right. Even though he wasn't able to save Martha, he was able to save Mavis from that faithful night. Him and Martha only wanted is for their daughter to be safe and happy, especially finding her zing. Dracula knew that Martha will always be with him in his heart no matter how much he misses her. Dracula smiled one more time at Mavis making sure he was now alright.
"You're right, my devil chops. I'm so sorry." Dracula sobbed in tears as he gave Mavis an overprotective hug.
"It's alright, daddy. I know you miss mom, we both do." Mavis softly said hugging Dracula back to cheer him up.
After their emotional talk, they walked around inside the ruins of the Castle Lubov with Dracula keeping an eye closely on Mavis making sure they wouldn't encounter any harm. In their spare time, Mavis and Dracula read the book that Martha about finding a zing.
"So did you and mom really met the same way in the book?" Mavis asked after reading the book.
"Yes we did, Mavy." Dracula replied by smiling at Mavis. "I was in Hawaii having a vacation then I accidentally bumped into your mother. We zinged at that moment."
"Just like me and Johnny!" Mavis gasped in shock.
"Yes. As the years passed, we began to date and soon we got married. We took our honeymoon in Hawaii then one night, we were flying through the beautiful night sky until I noticed your mother was not feeling well so I checked up on her and all I knew is the best thing that ever happened for the both of us." Dracula stopped for a minute as he continued to smile at Mavis.
"What's the best that happened to you and mom?" Mavis asked again even though she kind of guessed what Dracula's answer will be.
"You." Dracula smiled exposing his fangs at Mavis while he puts some of her hair behind her ear. "Your mother was pregnant that night and it was the best night of my life. Me going to be a father of the child of our dreams." Mavis smiled and warmed hearted knowing how much her parents loved her. "When you were still a baby, I would always watch you sleep every night and I would wake you up sometimes just to see your big blue beautiful eyes."
"And I bet mom really gets annoyed about you waking me up every single night." Mavis chuckled thinking that she always cried every night waking both her parents up when was an infant.
"Well she did." Dracula smiled shrugging his shoulder while him and Mavis burst into laughter.
Both of them were having a wonderful time. Mavis hugged Dracula thanking for this tender moment.
"Thanks for telling me this, dad. I feel like we needed this, just the two of us." Mavis joyfully said giving Dracula a big warm hug.
"Me too, Mavis." Dracula smiled hugging Mavis back as tears of joy coming out from his eyes. This is one of the best moments Dracula got to spend time with Mavis just father and daughter.
It was now day before the Vampire Council comes to the hotel about the faith of Mavis and Johnny. They young couple had never been more afraid than before. Johnny was in his room preparing another gadget for Batman and also prepared a suit and tie for him to wear tomorrow.
"New high-tech contact lens, check. Prototype disruptor active, another check. Better be ready in case for an emergency." Johnny said as he puts the contact lens on his eyes.
Johnny's new high-tech contact lens could identify items of interest and enhance his vision. They could also detect electronic sources and allowing Johnny to monitor areas and perform investigations without the Batsuit.
After Johnny puts his contact lens on, he grabbed his disruptor from the table examining it.
The Prototype Disruptor is a small detonator gadget used by Batman/Johnny and could easily override normal Weapons, especially guns.
Johnny suddenly heard a knock on the door that startled him.
"Just a sec! I'm coming!" Johnny shouted as he quickly hid disruptor inside the pocket of his suit then opened the door only to find Brett, Kent, Melly, and Alfred. "Oh hey guys." Johnny said as he lets them enter his room.
"Hey, little brother." Kent said smiling at Johnny.
"What are you guys doing?" Johnny asked curiously.
"We wanted to check up on you. Especially the big night coming tomorrow." Melly explained.
"How are you holding up, little bro." Kent asked worriedly. Johnny just sighed.
"To be honest, I'm crazily scared right now." Johnny frowned lowering his pain. "We already lost mom and dad and now I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose Mavy as well."
The Loughrans feel Johnny's pain. They didn't want to see Johnny suffer more after witnessing their parents death and the possible chance of losing Mavis.
"Don't worry, Johnny. You and Mavis will get through this. I know you will." Melly walked over to Johnny and hugged him tightly for comfort.
"Yeah. You two will get married and start your own family in the future." Brett said. Both him and Kent joined the hug.
"Thanks guys." Johnny smiled at his family for being there for him. This somehow made Johnny a little more comfortable now. Later the Loughrans left the room only leaving Johnny and Alfred. "I'm worried, Al. I'm truly am."
"I know you are, Johnny." Alfred said sadly. "If the Vampire Council did decided to wipe off your memories about Mavis and the other monsters, I fear they may also wipe away Batman. Especially with the Joker still at large." Alfred said.
"You're right!" Johnny gasped in shock while widening his eyes. "After witnessing the Joker's toxin in action, there's no telling how or when he'll attack."
"How do you think he would release his so-called Joker Venom." Alfred asked.
"I doubt he would just run around town and spray his toxin at the people around him." Johnny said while crossing his arms.
"Indeed, Johnathan. I suspect that the Joker is planning something more sinister to release his toxin. Do be careful." Alfred said as he and Johnny left his room to find Mavis. Johnny forgot that he still had the disruptor in the pocket of his suit.
Meanwhile at the cafeteria, Mavis was accompanied by her friends, Hank, Pedro, and Wendy. Mavis was looking tired and weakly eating her food. She was also nervous about tomorrow night's event.
"Worried about tomorrow huh, Mavis?" Hank asked.
"Guys, of course I'm worried." Mavis stated with her frowny face. "This might be the last I get to see Johnny again."
"Don't worry, Mavis. We're your friends and we'll make sure that won't happen." Wendy positively said as she hugged Mavis.
"Yeah. Besides, your dad got this. I'm sure he can talk it out with the Vampire Council that you and Johnny should be together." Hank explained.
"And humans loves us now! I'm sure everything is going to end a Okay!" Pedro said.
Mavis calmed herself down a little and appreciating her closest friends' support. She then saw her father coming right towards them.
"Hey dad, what brings you here?" Mavis ask.
"Hello, my little Mavy-wavy. You have visitors waiting for you." Dracula said smiling at Mavis.
"Visitors? Who is it?" Mavis asked. Dracula was about to answer her questions but was cut off from a scream.
"MAVIS!" The two werewolf girls screamed in excitement. They looked the same age as Mavis and one of them had brown hair with green eyes and the other had a blonde hair and blue eyes.
"HOLY RABIES! SOPHIE! CHARLOTTE!" Mavis screamed in excitement as she hugged her friends from Ghoul Guides reunited again while jumping around."What are you guys doing here?"
"We came to see you, silly. You're dad also invited us to come visit you." Sophie explained
"He also told us that you're engaged to a human!" Charlotte squealed in excitement.
"Congratulations!" Both Sophie and Charlotte hugged Mavis tightly again for the wonderful news, despite of tomorrow's events.
"Oh, girls! I'm so glad you came all the way here just for me." Mavis teared up as she hugged her werewolf friends back.
Dracula left the cafeteria leaving his daughter and her friends to bond. Mavis and her friends spend the next minute talking and laughing until Johnny spotted them.
"Oh Johnny! You're here!" Mavis said.
"Hey Mavy." Johnny hugged Mavis tightly then kissing her on the cheek. Johnny saw Hank, Pedro, and Wendy with her and two of Mavis' new friends that he is unfamiliar with. "Who are the werewolf girls?"
"Oh right I almost forgot." Mavis exclaimed as she instantly held Johnny's hand. "Johnny, this are my friends from Ghoul Guides, Sophie and Charlotte." Mavis then turns to the werewolf twins. "Sophie and Charlotte, this my fiancé, Johnny Loughran."
"Well pleasure to meet the two of you." Johnny shook hands with Sophie and Charlotte in a friendly way.
"I gotta say, Mavis. You're fiancé is kinda cute." Sophie whispered on Mavis' ears.
"Yeah. You're so lucky." Charlotte whispered.
"Thanks, girls. Johnny is my adorable goofball." Mavis giggled while blushing as she held Johnny's arm.
Later that night, Mavis suggested a sleepover/creepover with Johnny and her friends in her room. They all sat on the floor in a circle while playing truth or dare.
"Alright, I'll go first! Mavis, truth or dare?" Wendy excitedly asked Mavis.
"I'll go with truth." Mavis answered.
"Who's your very best friend in the whole underworld?" Wendy said.
"Uh, Wendy. We all know who Mavis' best friend is." Sophie and Charlotte snickered while Wendy glared at werewolf girls.
"And the rivalry begins... again." Hank whispered in annoyance.
"I'm sorry, what rivalry are we talking about here?" Johnny asked not knowing what Hank was talking about.
"Wendy and the werewolf twins have this rivalry between them about who's Mavis' best friend is." Hank explained whispering to Johnny's ear.
"One time when Mavis was sick, they all compete about who knew Mavis the most. That's the time we caught Mavis' sickness!" Pedro exclaimed remembering those events years ago when Dracula left for the Vampire Council.
After Wendy, Sophie and Charlotte's little argument, Mavis answered that both of them are her best friends in the underworld to end the feud.
"My turn! I choose Johnny!" Hank exclaimed.
"I'll go with truth." Johnny answered.
"Tell us your deepest secret that you have never told to anyone." Hank revealed.
Everyone, including Mavis, got really excited on what Johnny is about to answer. Johnny just widened his eyes in shock from Hank requested him to do. The one answer that kept running around Johnny's thoughts is he's Batman but of course he wouldn't reveal that.
"Ok my deepest secret." Johnny took a deep breath before he answers. "I never had one.' Johnny said with a smile and shrugged it off.
Everyone frowned in disappointment thinking that Johnny's secret was going to a little intense.
"I'll go next. Mavis, truth or dare?" Charlotte asked.
"I already did truth so I'll stick with dare." Mavis answered.
"Okay. I dare you to tell Johnny who was your crush before." Charlotte requested. Mavis was in total shock and blushed that her friend dared her to do in front of Johnny. Mavis felt a little uncomfortable and embarrassed about doing the dare until Johnny spoke up.
"Let me guess, it's this famous vampire singer. What's his name again... Jett Black right?" Johnny just simply raised an eye brow while smirking.
Mavis and her friends were astonished that Johnny was able to figure it out easily.
"How did you know that?!" Mavis yelled out in embarrassment.
"Mavy, I can be a detective time to time." Johnny just simply smiled at Mavis and kissed her on the cheek then drank his soda.
"Yeah. First it was Jett Black and now the Batman." Pedro added before Johnny spitted out his beverage in surprise.
"Eww! Gross!" Both Sophie and Charlotte cringed in disgust from Johnny's sudden reaction.
"You have a crush on that Bat dude!?" Johnny yelled in surprise while whipping off the drink from his mouth. He couldn't believe that Mavis has a crush on Johnny's alter ego.
"No! Johnny, I don't I promise! He's just kinda cool but I don't have a crush on him. I only have my eyes on you, sweetie." Mavis warmly smiled at Johnny and rested her head on his shoulder. This calmed him down and loved it when Mavis said that Batman/Johnny is cool.
"Yeah! The Batman is totally cool!" Charlotte added.
"You heard about the Batman?" Hank asked.
"Of course we do!" Sophie exclaimed. "We wanna see who's under that mask of his." Sophie and Charlotte squealed fangirling about the Batman.
This made Johnny uncomfortable and annoyed at the same time. Batman is not a celebrity attraction, his a servant of justice.
After their game, everyone decided to fall back to sleep preparing for tomorrow. Hank, Pedro, Wendy, Sophie, and Charlotte slept on the floor with their sleeping bags while Mavis and Johnny slept together on the bed.
Both Mavis and Johnny had difficulty sleeping worried about what would happen tomorrow. They would just cuddle for the rest of the night spending the possibly last precious time they have left together until they fell asleep.
To be continued...