I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my followers, reviewers and beta reader wallaceb.

Another thanks to wallaceb for inspiring me to write this chapter.

Chapter 22 - The mother I never wanted to have

"You don't know who I am!" Eunice said, angrily.

"Madame, I know who you are, but I'm sorry to insist. I have strict orders not to let anyone pass!"

"But what happened? We want to know how she is." Another voice said more calm and peaceful; it was Frank.

"No, I don't want to know, I want to see her! I want to hold her in my arms!" Eunice did not want to calm down.

"Madam Eunice, please do not insist. I've received the order directly from Sir Dracula himself. I absolutely cannot refuse his command."

"But can we at least talk to her? We all worry about her. Dracula has been coy about that and we want to have news." Said a third voice, it was Wanda.

The vampiress tried to figure out whom else was out of her door, but Zoe, curiously, tried to ask:

"Mavis? Everything ok? What's going on?"

Mavis had forgotten she was on the phone with her and since she did not know how the woman felt or saw too, she preferred to greet her.

"Zezé, thanks for your phone call, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I have to go now that it's late!"

"It's true, you're right, when I talk time flies... I also have guests for lunch and I have not prepared anything... I will order something for takeout from a restaurant and I'll pretend I cooked it myself! See you! And say hello to my ungrateful son!"

"Yes, I will, as soon as he comes back. Bye bye!"

Having said this, she hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, the situation out of the door seemed to have degenerated, like every other time the monsters have differing opinions...

There was an incomprehensible shouting mixed with iron beaten noises; it was probably sparking a fight between the monsters and the security service.

Mavis stood for a moment to listen to the confusion that came from the corridor. There were often quarrels in the hotel, but the last time that happened was one ahead of her room where Dracula became so angry that after even the fly-men did not have the courage to go buzzing too close to room 178.

The girl sat down on the floor, hugged her legs and rested her head on her knees. She was thoughtful.

"If my father were here he would know how to calm the guests, by hook or by crook... but now he's gone and I can't do anything without him... I'm alone now..."

Mavis closed her eyes and... chuckled.

"After all the monsters think fights are fun, especially because they break the climate of perfection, calm and monotony that characterize Hotel Transylvania, or at least characterized it, before Jonny arrived.

Monsters and good manners... An often impossible combination... But how many are there? Generally the day after the end of the party most of the monsters return home.

Why are they still here even knowing that Van Hellsing is on the trail of this place?"

But the thoughts of the vampiress got an early answer, in fact in the midst of that noise she could make out the crackling voice of a gremlin, which was probably close to the door:

"My family and I were already back home when an extraordinary crow handed me the Transylvania Times with the news! You have no idea how we risked to come back here to stay close to the little Mavis!"

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

"Mavis, are you in here? How are you? Tell us that you're okay! We are so sorry for ... Ouch! Put me down tin-head!"

Mavis looked up at the door of her room. She wanted to calm the spirits of those quarrelsome monsters, but she could not get out from the magic circle.

"Guys stop it!" Mavis said aloud, but with the turmoil nobody heard her.

"Stop quarreling I said!" She repeated, but even this time her words were lost between the walls of her room.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Mavis roared while a shock wave generated by her rattled the walls and broke the windows of her room and of those around her, including that of Jonathan's, just as two zombie handyman had almost completed repairing it and who held only crumbs of glass in their hands looked into her eyes and commenting on the event with a:

"Ehrrrrr..." Sadly.

A deathly silence surrounded the hotel; guests froze and only after a moment the thud of metal prices of armor falling from the hands of monsters on the stone floor were heard.

After this first moment of silence, the monsters began to mutter surprised and frightened, but all in all they were happy Mavis was fine.

"Mavis! Ho... How do you feel? Are you okay? Please come out, we were so worried about you!" Eunice said with a calm tone, so that her voice was almost not crackling as usual.

"We knew what happened to you in the woods, it's terrible..." Wayne continued.

"Have you heard about Jonny? Please tell me he will recover soon!" Exclaimed Frank worried as he leaned against the door to be sure to be heard.

Mavis lay on the floor to look at the complexity of the magical seal that her father had drawn on the ceiling. She was fascinated by it.

"How do I feel? I feel... human... it's strange, but I like it... I can't use my powers and the cold of the floor and hand pain bothers me. I feel so vulnerable I don't want to be alone, but I know I can be a danger to others. Jonny... how I wish you were here..."

"I'm fine and even Jonny will recover soon, do not worry ... But now I want to be alone for a while..." Mavis' voice was cold, even if the warmth of her monsters friends had lifted her mood; she was too worried about what was happening to herself for stay calm.

"Mavis, I know what has happened has troubled you, but if you shelter yourself in you'll get worse. Let us help you!" Wanda said with a soft and maternal voice.

Mavis turned to her side and curled up in a fetal position.

"I would not have to stand alone, but I cannot do otherwise. My dad said I can't see anyone until his return, and I think he's right. Stay close to me, please, but I can't meet you for now..."

"Mavis..." Frank sighed sadly. Then Wanda walked to the door and placed a hand.

"I just wanted to apologize for not being able to see you, if I were able to..." But she was interrupted by her niece:

"It's not your fault; it's not the fault of any of you."

The vampiress closed her eyes, hoping to calm down, then she took a deep breath, but a voice beside her made her eyes pop open wide.

"Hello little demon."

The girl looked around, there was no one around her, but she immediately knew who it was.

"How many times have I told you I don't want to hear you?" Mavis said, annoyed and angry. "I already told you I'm not afraid of you and I have shown it."

"Yeah, I did not believe love could change a person so much to the point of committing a folly like the one you did, but given the power which this feeling gives to a human soul I'm not surprised..."

"You created that illusion; I knew it was not a true vision of the future."

"The future is predictable, but it is subjectable to the choices that people make. You can expect a possible future, but it was not necessarily that what you saw really will come true and you're the living proof of it."

"I've only done you a pleasure, you should be grateful. If I had not done it Jonathan would have died, that's for sure. There's only one thing I don't understand, how did you fall in love with him? After all he's only a human."

"He is more than only a human!" Mavis objected furiously. "And you are only a tiny voice in my head!"

"A tiny voice you say? Can a tiny voice do this?"

Mavis felt a touch on her shoulder, so she spun around. In front of her was the woman who she had seen in the nightmare of a few days before. The girl crawled backwards surprised and scared, then said:

"Mom?"

"Mom? Yes, it is true; I'm your mother, as I am the mother of all magical creatures."

"No, you look like her, but you are not her."

"I am pure energy, I do not have a fixed shape, but I assume one similar to mine. If I have the look of your real mother is because you are like her."

"So who are you?"

"They call me The Great Mother, The Souce, Devil... They gave me different names during various eras, both humans and monsters, but I like to be called Lilith."

"You are not real!" Mavis screamed, who was still sitting on the ground and unable to get up as her legs were trembling with fear.

"I am as real as you can be real." Lilith said, approaching her, and then knelt down until she came face to face with the vampire ever more terrified.

"Do you feel real, little demon?" The woman continued with that calm tone which annoyed Mavis.

Meanwhile, above them the magic seal had became bright red and sometimes it was crossed by several bursts of energy similar to lightning. The Lilith's spirit was overloading it, but the two did not pay much attention to it.

"Why do you keep calling me 'demon'?" Mavis asked.

"Because that's what you are. Have you noticed changes in your body and in your powers? Your body cannot contain all the energy that you have taken away from the human, and so it changes so as to not explode..." But she was interrupted by the girl's cry:

"Make it stop!"

"Why should I? If you don't like what you are becoming let go of your soul, sacrifice it to me and you will become a perfect creature. But if you prefer to keep sharp teeth, pointy ears and black kitty nose, it is your decision, I cannot force you."

"What black nose?" Mavis repeated turning toward the mirror.

It was true, even if partially covered in bandages, her nose had widened and the tip had turned black, just like that of a cat.

"I warn you it will get worse and slowly even your self-control will falter."

"No, no! It cannot be true..." murmured Mavis, worried.

"And instead it is. Deal with it. Have you ever seen a vampire demon?"

"Go away." Mavis said in a voice calm but menacing, but Lilith did not move.

"Go away!" The girl repeated, growling and showing her teeth, but her fury had become uncontrollable and even before Lilith had time to react Mavis jumped on her with her unsheathed claws.

The door of bedroom 174 opened slowly and this attracted the attention of all the monsters in the corridor that were waiting for some news from the girl.

All guests at the entrance approached and timidly peeked inside. The sunlight was shining in the room while the curtains fluttered in the wind, pointing out the wide open window.

"Mavis?" The uncles and close friends asked in unison, but received no answer that was not the hiss of the breeze.

"She cannot have flown out the window; it would be suicidal with all this light!" Murray exclaimed, worried, but Griffin objected:

"It would not be the first time."

All others gave him a dirty look, even if no one knew where to look. The monsters did not want to remember the big fight between Mavis and her father.

"What is it? What did I say?" The Invisible Man tried to justify himself, but no one gave him attention, the concern of everyone was elsewhere.

Clickclickclickclick

A strange metallic noise pushed through the feet, legs or fins of the crowd to stop in front of them. It was carried by the armor helmet glove that crawled like a spider.

"Lance of Lancelot! This seems to be a big problem!" That said the guard, or at least the little that was left of it, made a jump to turn around and ran away at its full speed.

"But because she escaped in this way?" Wanda asked, "She had said she's okay..."

"Maybe she wants to get to Drac." Frank said.

"You know where he went?" Asked Wayne.

"No, I do not know, but wherever he went he left his daughter alone in a desperate moment. What can be so important to him?"

The other monsters remained a moment to reflect, and then widened their eyes.

"Van Helsing!" They shouted together.

This name startled the other monsters who were behind.

"Frank, I do not think you were so clever. Without your suggestion I would never have thought of that!" Murray complimented the giant.

"Just because I'm a good-natured monster it doesn't mean I am stupid, you know?"

"Guys!" Said Griffin to attract the attention of others, "If I were you I would chat less and I would act more. Mavis is injured and if instead of finding her father she found someone else?" He concluded with a tone too calm for the situation.

Everyone else looked at each other worried and then said in unison:

"We need to find her before she gets hurt and before Dracula hears about this!"

Then they ran to look for the armor and the Gargoyles who had already gathered in the lobby, prepared to leave.

"Wanda, you stay here with the puppywolf." Said Wayne, the werewolfess nodded. Also Frank had the same concern:

"Eunice, stay here, too. I do not want you get hurt."

"Try to come back soon. Frank, wait for me, I'll take your wool sweater!"

Eunice walked towards the stairs, but the entire group left before the return of Ms. Stein.

Last filler chapter, from next begins the real story.
Now I'm on holiday at the sea for a week, but this weekend I should be able to publish the Chapter 23 - Old grudges :-D
Greetings to all, see you at the next chapter!
Remember to review!