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On to Chapter 5!

True to his words, Jonathan got up the next morning to buy all the necessary things Mavis was missing. However, when he arrived at the airport, he learned that this evening's flight departure was canceled due to bad weather. Grumbling, he had no other choice than to take the one leaving the next day.

That meant they would be staying at the Hotel for one more night.

Johnny took the rest of the morning to walk around the Hotel for the last time. It was quiet, since most monsters slept during the day. The very few that were awake, he said goodbye to, even though he didn't really know them. It just seemed polite.

He ended up going to bed at noon, waking up around 8 pm. Hearing a ruckus outside his door, he quickly dressed up and got out, only to find monsters happily running in the corridor, all in the same direction.

"Uh guys, what's going on?"

"Dracula has organized a last minute party so that all of us can say goodbye to you and Mavis, sweetheart," replied Wanda, who was passing his door at that very moment. "After all, we don't know when you'll be back, and he wanted you to have a good memory of this place, after… What happened last time. Most monsters didn't even know you were leaving until his announcement."

"Oh. That's… Pretty cool!" he said, his face lighting up. Closing his bedroom door, he followed the monsters to the now familiar ballroom. The skeletons in charge of welcoming people in the Hotel's entrance occupied the stage, playing some lively tune. A very small buffet was also there. Johnny spotted Mavis sitting in a chair, chatting happily with a gremlin lady.

No one noticed the bat hanging from the ceiling.

Dracula looked at his daughter with fond eyes. The gathering had really been a last moment thing, but he hoped it would make his guests relax a bit. He saw Jonathan arrive, and felt the bloodlust, ever present but easily ignorable due to the amount of Blood Beaters he had forced himself to swallow. He fully intended to spend the evening watching things from above, intervening only if something went really wrong.

Johnny and Mavis went from monster to monster, talking, dancing and saying their goodbyes, both enjoying the night as much as they could. Murray, Frank, Wayne and Griffin were keeping an eye on the human, but as time passed they started to relax as well. The mummy spotted a female of his kind and went to hit on her, Frank wanted to get some food, Wayne set out to stop one of his pups from chewing on the bones of the female skeleton and Griffin decided to dance because damn it, he had some sick dance moves, even if nobody could see them.

All was well.

–***–

"Sir! Sir Jonathan!" yelled a voice. One of the armors in charge of guarding the castle was running towards him. The redhead looked at Mavis questioningly, but she shrugged and continued eating her bagel with scream cheese.

"Sir, is it true you are leaving this place?" the guard inquired.

"Uuh, yeah. But we will come back! We're just going to see the world for a while. "

"That does sound "cool", as you would say. However, I thought you would be staying longer, Sir, but since you are not, I am going to ask this now."

The suit of armor pointed its spear towards Jonathan.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

Mavis choked on her food.

"W-what?" Johnny stammered.

"Aye, lad, do not be scared! I just thought it would be funny to challenge a human! It's not like your kind comes here often. I've been wanting to duel you ever since you stumbled upon this place!"

"He cannot fight you!" argued Mavis. "He's just flesh and you're metal! And what would he fight with? These spears are way too dangerous!"

"I have planned everything!" The armor waved its arm and suddenly two other guards joined him. One was holding thread as well as two small cushions, and the other seemed to be carrying pieces of metal with difficulty. He was also holding a spear. "You see? I have protection for the spears so that they cannot hurt him, and I found an unoccupied armor Sir Jonathan can put on to protect himself."

"I'm still not sure…"

"It will be fun!"

And who was Jonathan to say no to a bit of fun?

–***–

Dracula, lost in thoughts, didn't notice anything was amiss until he heard spears clashing together.

"What is the meaning of THIS?!"

"Oh, hi Dad," greeted Mavis, not showing any surprise at his sudden appearance. She must have seen him earlier on the ceiling. "Well, the armor has challenged Johnny to a duel because it's his last night here."

The Count opened and closed his mouth, bewildered, but no sound came out. He had a very bad feeling about this.

I should go to my room.

At this point, the monsters had formed a circle around the two opponents, cheering them on.

Dracula didn't move.

Jonathan soon realized that having for adversary an empty armor may not have been one of his brightest ideas. While the suit moved quickly and accurately, he was sweating buckets inside his armor. The helmet kept falling on his face, obscuring his view, and his spear was way too heavy. He had never been a very strong guy to begin with, but this was pushing it. Every muscle in his body was soon protesting the violent efforts, and while he did manage to block a few of the armor's attacks, he wasn't even remotely close to striking back, much less winning. Finally, the guard took pity on him, and delivered one blow to his chest. It didn't hurt him, as the end of the spear was cushioned, but the force was enough to make him stumble and fall, landing on his back on the floor.

The crowd exploded with laughter, pointing at Johnny. The redhead tried to stand, but the weight of the metal was just too much, so he stayed there until he felt hands help him up.

"It seems I have won, Sir Jonathan. Good fight."

"Oh, please," the young man huffed. "That was a disaster. I demand a revenge! But on my terms this time, meaning I am not wearing that stuff, it makes me suffocate."

As he said so, he took off the helmet as well as the rest of the armor covering his arms, chest, and legs. A witch cast a spell on his spear, making it weight no more than a stick, and thus round two began.

Jonathan felt much more at ease than before. This time, instead of enduring, he could actually move around, jump, run, dodge and attack back. Both opponents were now trying to think of a way to bring the other down.

No one noticed how the thread holding the cushion on the armor's spear was slowly fraying before it snapped.

Jonathan put all his weight into his strike. The two spears clashed, the sound echoing in the room, and a cushion was sent flying into the air. Taking advantage of the guard's confusion, the human let go of his weapon and ran, intent on attacking the guard judoka style to throw him off balance. Taken by surprise, his rival did the only thing he had in mind: raising its spear as protection, he leveled it with the boy's side and struck.

But instead of feeling the cushion's resistance, he felt the end of the weapon tenderly entering flesh. Instead of hearing laughs, he heard cries. Horrified, he immediately removed the spear and looked at it in shock, stupidly wondering why its protection had disappeared.

Jonathan fell on the floor, curling up into a fetal position, gasping. A small pool of blood was forming under him. Mavis screamed and ran to him, begging a nurse to come. Monsters started to panic, wondering what to do, since none of them were familiar with humans and how they reacted to injuries. In the forming turmoil, one voice could be heard above all.

"Where is Dracula?" Frank was roaring. "WHERE DID HE GO?!"

–***–

As soon as he smelt the blood, Dracula fled the scene. His instincts were rising again, stronger than ever since a hundred years, and he could only try to run away as every cell in his body screamed at him to go back and finally KILL.

He didn't go far. Wobbling in an empty corridor, he began to sweat and feel his fangs and claws grow longer and sharper, while he was fighting an internal battle he knew he had already lost.

KILL HIM!

I can't! He's Mavis' Zing! She would hate me!

HE'S A HUMAN. HE IS PREY. KILL HIM!

I…

KILL HIM!

Kill…

He threw up.

His body was rejecting every drop of Blood Beater he had drank. Trembling and coughing, the Count wiped his mouth off –fake, so disgustingly fake- blood.

He was in control.

He stood up straight again. Quickly running to his chambers, he washed his face, changed his clothes and tried to make himself look presentable. The whole thing lasted no longer than five minutes. Taking deep breaths, he willed himself to go back to his normal appearance, and slowly his fangs and claws returned to their normal size. When he was sure that his eyes didn't glow red anymore, he flew back to the ballroom.

Inside, the screaming had subsided. He could hear the armor apologize profusely, and the human give a shaky laugh. The scent of blood hit him so strongly he had to stop and focus himself again. He entered the room a few minutes later.

If he wanted to get to Jonathan, he had to play this right.

Silence fell, as monsters turned their heads towards him and slowly parted, letting him pass. He stopped when Frank stood in front of him, and noticed the werewolf, the invisible man and the mummy all surrounding the man.

As if that will help him.

"Let me pass," he ordered flatly. "I can heal him completely."

"Drac, are you feeling alright?" asked Frank. His friend's eyes weren't red, and he seemed calm, if a bit cold in his demeanor.

"I am fine," the vampire sighed. "I had Blood Beaters. This... just took me by surprise, which is why I had to leave so quickly. Now let me through."

Frank looked behind him, unsure. Mavis hesitated, but finally nodded her agreement. Her Dad seemed fine, why would he lie? Moreover, he knew how much she cared about Johnny, so he wouldn't hurt him.

Dracula moved closer, all the while breathing through his mouth to stay calm. The scent of blood was so intoxicating that it nearly made his head spin. But he couldn't lose control.

Not yet.

He knelt beside Johnny. The human was pressing what looked like a scrap of tissue over his stomach.

"Take that off. I have to see the wound in order to heal it completely," he informed Jonathan, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. He had no idea if he was succeeding. He could hear Johnny's heart thumping loudly, as if sensing the danger, and it was torture. Sweet, delightful torture.

The human removed the piece of cloth. The injury was deep and swollen, but it had miraculously stopped bleeding, probably the work of a healing spell. Concentrating, the vampire waved his hand. Jonathan looked in amazement as the skin mended itself back together and the wound closed, leaving only a faint pink scar behind.

"Holy shit, Drac! That was so cool! Thank you!" he exclaimed, raising his head to look at the Count.

His heart skipped a beat.

He noticed two things at once: one, everything around him was way too quiet. The monsters were all still, their faces and bodies frozen in different positions, not even blinking.

Oh hell no.

He scrambled to get away quickly, terror filling his heart as he looked at Dracula. The vampire was standing up slowly, and Jonathan could see his fingernails growing longer.

Fucking fucking shit-

He bolted towards the door, screeching when the Count suddenly appeared in front of him. He turned around and ran again, only to feel a hand grab him by his hair and yank him hard, sending him to the floor.

"No, STOP!"

He tried to get up but Dracula was upon him in an instant, holding him down with a vice-like grip. Jonathan could do nothing to shake him off. Desperate, he tried to kick, scratch and bite, but that only earned him a chuckle. Tears formed in his eyes as he felt the vampire's breath on his neck.

He screamed.

–***–

... Jonathan has had better days.

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