"I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot."
"And what's so bad about being a monster?" Dracula says, cutting into their conversation. His voice edged near anger. He stands near Daphne's bedside, his arms folded across his chest, staring down at her.
"You can't even be bothered to let us have a little privacy," Daphne says, loudly and quite obnoxiously. Staring directly towards Dracula who takes another step forward. He holds her steady gaze, spearing the young woman with the rage of his piercing, red eyes." Why not mind your own business for once?" exhaling a frustrated breath as he maintains his silence, listens. and as if in response to Dracula's lingering gaze. Shaggy along with Vincent protectively stood in front of Daphne to better shield her from his scrutiny.
"Deflecting my question?" Dracula says, with a growl. "I only asked what was so bad about being a monster."
In a flourish of emotion Daphne turns her head away finally breaking eye contact. Hot stinging tears were pricking at her eyes once again. She was desperately fighting back those salty, hot blinding tears. "Whatever happened between you and Shaggy. I'd say it was a choice between two bad options," she mutters. "but I don't want to call it a bad choice or I was given no choices at all to avoid blaming my friend." She refused to blame him. "Shaggy could have chosen to do nothing but I am grateful for his help."
"Daphne the thing is-" Shaggy says, a bit hesitant.
"What was it? What happened?" Daphne says, and her eyes widened in surprise anticipating his response.
"He needed a werewolf…"
"...He needed? Shaggy how come he needed-"
"Dracula needed a werewolf and as it turns out I was next in line to become one."
"Shaggy, that's ridiculous. What does the moon and its phases have to do with you and what does it have to do with werewolves?"
"I don't know. That part isn't important."
"I'd say so."
"All I know is the moon chose me."
"And what's so fair about the moon choosing a werewolf?" Daphne says. "It's not fair. I'm sure the moon could have picked someone who would have wanted to be a werewolf more than anyone else and somehow it chose you."
"It could have." Shaggy says, sadly. "It could have chosen someone else but the moon chose me."
"But it still doesn't make it fair," Daphne says, simplifying an obvious answer. Her voice was a touch defiant. "Even if it's pointless arguing about it now. Objective forces were working against you."
Shaggy could sense Daphne's anger, smolder.
"But I'll take it all back now." Shaggy admitted. "I take back everything I done after I won Dracula's challenge if it meant keeping you safe. This time I made this decision to give up everything and I mean everything just to bring you back."
"I guess I take back what I said earlier," Daphne insisted. "You were only given bad choices." she paused a second, looking down at her blood stained hand. "Oh, Shaggy…" she would say beneath her breath.
"But aren't bad choices still a choice?" Dracula says, and his voice is an unwelcome, unexpected disruption that it takes a few moments until Vincent could come up with his own cohesive explanation.
"It can be rather useful to stress that the choices Shaggy was given were at least worth examining," Vincent says, embittered. "But it was also a defensible decision he made even if it was the worst choice that spared his beloved companion."
"So you agree?" Dracula says, with cautious amusement.
"Of course not," Vincent objects, much to Dracula's surprise. "It was Shaggy's choice alone but I won't begrudge him any longer. Making the best of the bad hand he was dealt is most admirable but it will never equal true happiness."
"It was a choice that may have driven a lesser man into an unkind end," Dracula says, informing the warlock of previous decades of men spent in bondage. "His determination-"
"That's another thing!" Vincent yells. "Shaggy nor Daphne should ever have to earn happiness after you stole it! You shouldn't have to change mortal men or women into their more baser, more primal, and instinctual counterparts. If you're so happy with what you have then why not leave them alone?"
"But you know I won't." Dracula tells him.
The two of them don't talk so much after that.