"I've got it!"
The sudden sound of the voice almost made Drac jump. It had been silent inside the blimp for the past several minutes as the group tried to think of a way to help him. And now, it seemed that Murray was the first of them to come up with it. He grinned widely and began to eagerly tell.
"What if we performed a spell to bring Drac back to the time before he was even changed into a human at all!"
The monsters all stared at him in bewilderment.
"Whoa," Johnny said. "You can do that, Murray?"
"Does a mummy live in Egypt?" he laughed in response. "Of course I can! You up for it, Drac?"
Drac, in truth, was a bit uncertain about the idea. The last time he had witnessed Murray try to perform a spell had been when he had been showing Dennis out in the woods. And that hadn't even produced a spell. It had ended with Murray, splat on his side, with a measly little pile of sand next to him.
The sand, Drac thought. Always with the sand!
But, in contrast to his thoughts (and against his better judgement), Dracula found himself agreeing with a nod. It seemed like a stretch, but who knew what would happen. Maybe it really could make him his vampire self again!
"Okay," Drac said slowly. "Do it. Say your little spell, or whatever."
This pleased the mummy, and he eagerly rubbed his bandaged hands together. "All right, I got this! Everybody, stand back a bit. Frank, Wayne, Griffin, just try not to faint!"
The three gave him a look, but Murray did not notice. He was already planting his feet firmly on the blimp's floor and raising his arms up high in the air as he began chanting an Egyptian spell.
"Yad kabirat min alwaqti,
yueiduna 'iilaa mataa kan hadha
al'iinsan alhasha masas dima' qawi!"
The mummy clapped his hands together. It echoed like thunder inside the blimp, shaking the aircraft violently as a sudden sandy windstorm began to form inside.
Drac coughed and sputtered, shooting Murray a look as he attempted to find his footing. "Murray?!"
The sand then took form, swirling around himself and Dracula in a tall, tornado-like spiral. Murray's green eyes seemed to glow even brighter.
"It's working!" he cried.
Dracula wasn't so sure. He felt panicked and confined within the sand, even more so as he tried to look past the wall of sand to see the rest of his family but found that he couldn't. Things seemed to be happening on the other side, but he couldn't tell what until the sandy whirlwind around them finally fell away in the next moment. Now, as Drac rubbed his eyes to get the remainder of the sand grains out of them, he could see that they were not inside of the blimp anymore. Drac looked around in awe. "Wh... where are we?" he asked.
"We are back in time, my friend!" Murray said proudly. "To the time before you were even a human!"
Drac scrunched his nose. "Are you sure about that?" It sure didn't seem that way. For one, it didn't even look like they were at the hotel. Instead, they were outside in some jungle-like clearing, dozens upon dozens of trees with thick foliage surrounding them. The calls of various exotic birds echoed throughout the forest around them, their sounds blending together and creating a cacophony that could only be native to the wilderness. A wilderness, not unlike the one they had just been at. Drac shot Murray an angry look.
"You just took us right back to the Amazon!" he accused.
Murray grimaced. "Aw, man... and I really thought I had that spell down!"
Dracula groaned, holding himself back from punching the mummy right in the face for his mistake. He sighed. "Look, just take us back to the blimp."
Murray nodded. "All right." He looked around, thinking.
And thinking...
And thinking...
Drac noticed. "Well?"
Murray chuckled nervously. "I, uh... I'm just trying to remember the spell to get us back!"
Drac gaped. "You don't know it?"
"I do, I do!" Murray insisted. "Just give me a minute!"
"We don't have a minute, Murray!" Drac didn't want to spend another second in the nightmarish Amazon.
"Okay!" the mummy cried. "Look, we can't be that far in the past. Which means that the blimp is probably around here somewhere!"
Dracula was astonished. Murray really thought they were still in the past? Drac didn't buy it. Knowing that mummy, he probably confused the spell with a teleportation spell. That's what it looked like to him at least, given that there were no signs that they had traveled through time so far. But, regardless, he looked up into the sky in search for the blimp...
... and paled at the sight that met his eyes.
"Uhh... Murray?"
Murray sighed, not too thrilled to likely be berated by Drac again, but still answered. "Yes?"
"We should probably, eh heh heh... RUN."
"What?"
The mummy turned to look at where Drac's gaze was, and he yelped in fright. Because right there, standing only a mere hundred yards or so away in a towering display of power and rage, was a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
It glanced down at them with its beady black eyes, narrowed in suspicion, unmoving.
"M-maybe, it doesn't see us?" Murray asked.
As in on cue, the colossal beast threw back its massive head and let out an enormous, earth-shaking ROOOAAAARRR and began to charge at them!
"I say it did!" Drac cried, shoving the mummy to get his feet moving. "Run, run, RUN!"
The great beast roared again, finally triggering a reaction from the stunned mummy. He screamed as the pair fled through the dense jungle, dashing over plants and rocks and branches with surprising swiftness while the dinosaur angrily stomped behind them.
"I think I brought us a little too far back in time!" Murray yelled to Drac as they ran.
"You think?" the vampire-turned-human cried back at him. He was about to say more, when suddenly he tripped over a jutting log, the man crying out as he accidentally bumped into Murray and made him fall down onto the hard jungle ground below. The t-rex was right on top of them, his jaws about to clamp down on them. Drac closed his eyes and shielded his face, not wishing to see what happened next as he met his end, but Murray quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him inside the log they'd tripped on just as the snapping of teeth on empty air was heard. Displeased at losing its snack, the t-rex roared in anger again, and went for the log they were in, picking it up in its jaws and shaking it roughly in an attempt to get them out.
"Mu-Mu-Murray!" Drac managed between getting tossed about inside the log, his body knocking against the wooden walls. "Get us out of here NOW before we end up toast!"
"More like dino hors d'oeuvres, but yes! I'll get us out!" Murray cried. He rubbed his bandaged hands together again - a little bit of a harder task to do with the resilient t-rex still shaking them about - and began to chant out.
"Yad kabirat min alwaqti,
eaks altaewidhat,
'aeadna 'iilaa almustaqbal hayth nantami!"
Right then, the t-rex shook the log so hard that they could not maintain their grip within the walls. The two tumbled out into the air, the rex about to catch them in his awaiting, sharp-toothed mouth when...
WHOOSH!
The wild windy sand from before returned, engulfing the two in its powerful tornado gust and bringing them back into the awaiting blimp.
Drac and Murray stood up shakily, covered in sand and some stray leaves from the jungle, a wild look in their eyes. The rest of the monsters that were aboard gasped at them.
"Dad?" Mavis asked, her eyes widened with surprise. "What happened?"
"What happened is that I'm never trusting Murray with another spell EVER again!" He angrily kicked the mummy in the tush, and Murray scrambled away further into the blimp in embarrassment and shame.
"I said I was sorry!" he wailed over his shoulder in dismay.
Dracula shook his head, and went to sit down. His other friends came around him, Frank handing him a handkerchief to dab the sweat off of his forehead, and Griffin handing him a drink.
"Here, take this," the invisible man said. "It will make you feel better."
Not questioning it, Drac grabbed the bottle he was holding and downed the liquid. It was only afterwards when he smacked his lips and let out a refreshed sigh did he notice the interesting flavor there was to it. It was not plain like water, and it certainly didn't taste like any kind of juice, wine, or Blood Beater that he'd ever tasted before. He glanced down at the bottle, noting the last couple of droplets that remained at the bottom that were a strange sort of orangish-green in color.
Drac looked up at the floating glasses. "Uh, Griffin... what did I just drink?"
"Ahhh, you noticed, heh?" Griffin said, sounding a bit proud as he spoke. "You see, while you and Murray were away, I thought of a backup plan. In case his spell didn't work." He stepped aside (though it wasn't fully necessary due to his invisibility) to show Drac the worktable he'd set up a few paces away. All sorts of glasses and flasks were on there, bubbling with various colored chemicals. Dracula gulped when he realized what had happened even before Griffin said it.
"That special baby I gave you right there was an elixir I made, similar to the one I used that made me permanently invisible, but with some tweaks... tweaks that are gonna make you a monster again!"
Dracula moaned, feeling a strange sensation bubble up inside of him. His stomach made a sort of growling noise, the acids in them churning together and almost making him feel nauseous. But before he could voice the complaint, he suddenly let out a loud, foul-smelling toot.
The surrounding monsters backed away from him, covering their noses.
"Ugh, Drac!" Frank groaned, waving his large blue hand in front of his face and wrinkled nose. "That was a pretty bad one."
"Yeah," Griffin agreed, sounding nasal presumably from covering his nose with his hands. "I'm hoping it was because of something you had for lunch?"
Dracula gave the floating pair of glasses a look. "Yeah, right! It was your special little 'potion' you made." He sagged in a mix of disappointment and embarrassment.
Having recovered, Frank patted his friend on the back. "Hey, not to worry Drac! We all let one loose sometimes." Noting the mortification on the vampire-turned-human's face, he quickly went on. "BUT ah... I've got a solution of my own! Yeah! So uh, follow me!"
He grabbed Drac and brought him over to a deeper section in the blimp near a window. Set up there was a large table with various straps, electrical type hooks, wires, and gadgets of different kinds surrounding it in a particular manner. It was a makeshift lab that was set up, it would seem, and Drac was confused by the sight of it.
"Eunice?" Frank called. "You almost done setting up?"
The Stein woman's voice yelled back almost immediately in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, just keep your head on! It's not so easy to remember everything that doctor had in his lab!"
Doctor? Now Drac couldn't help himself and had to ask. "Frank, what is all this?"
"Glad you asked, Drac!" the Stein happily replied, guiding him to the table. "You see, I figured we could go with a little electrical stimulation next."
"Electrical stimulation?" Drac echoed.
Frank nodded. "Yep! Dr. Frankenstein used it on me and Eunice, and it brought us to life. To life, Drac! If it did that for us, imagine what it could do for you! You'll probably get your powers back in a snap!"
He pushed Drac down on the table and began to strap him down. Drac looked apprehensive.
"Eh, Frank... I don't know about this..."
Frank dismissed him with a wave. "Ah, Drac, Doc wasn't so sure either at first. But he still took the chance, and now I'm here!"
"AH, FOUND IT!" Eunice's voice cried out as the Stein woman rushed in. She had something in her stitched hands that she quickly attached to a section on the wall. It was a lever. She gave Frank a thumbs up. "All right, we're all set here!"
"Thanks honey!" Frank said, returning the thumbs up.
"Now, Frank," Euinice said, waving a finger, "you be careful playing Doc this time. Let's not forget what happened to that cat you tried to experiment on back home." She shook her head at the memory unbeknownst to Drac. "Thank goodness it was a stray!"
Dracula's eyes widened and he glanced at Frank. "Frank, what experiment is she talking about?"
Frank gulped. "Heh heh heh, nothing Drac! Trust me, everything is under control."
With that, the monolith slapped a pair of goggles over his eyes. He opened up the window next to them. Drac was unable to turn his head to get a good view, but he was able to feel the telltale wind blowing in of an approaching storm, and a distant rumble in the sky.
"Frank?" Drac asked.
"Shh!" Frank urged. "Quiet Drac, or I won't be able to concentrate."
"But - "
"HUSH!"
At the sound of Eunice's deafening yell, Drac shut his mouth. Frank took the opportunity to click a button on the table to raise his friend higher up. "Let there be LIFE!" he boomed.
He brought down the lever on the side wall, and instantly the machinery that had been set up there began to crackle with life. Gears whirred and clicked and whirled, and the distant storm outside began to pick up in its intensity in response. The clouds in the sky darkened, a clap of thunder sounding a lot more loudly than it did before. Drac squirmed in agitation. "FRANK!" he cried a little more urgently over the noise.
"I told ya, Drac, not to worry! I have got everything under control - "
BOOM!
The Stein had hardly gotten the last part of his sentence out when a massive flash of light engulfed the room. A bolt of lightning had struck right in through the window... and right at Drac!
"YOOOOAAHHHHWWWW!"
By the time the human had finished howling out, the lightning was gone. And where it had been lay Drac, half-fried and with his hair sticking up and out in all kinds of angles. It could have perhaps been found comical, had it not been for the fact that Drac was still all-human.
Frank removed his goggles with a sheepish grin, and said only one thing.
"Heh heh... Or not!"
By this point, the monsters were at a loss. Three plans had been attempted in an effort to get Drac back to his vampire self, and all three had failed. Murray, Griffin, and Frank all stood to the side hanging their heads as they watched Ericka and Mavis tend to Drac. Mavis dabbed on ointment for the lightning burns he'd obtained, while Ericka helped to flatten down the singing hair atop his head. The man flinched and whimpered a little as they handled him, each sound making the three friends want to disappear (and that was really saying something for Griffin in particular, given that he already was invisible!).
Mustering the courage, Frank finally spoke up first. "Gee, Drac, we're awfully sorry."
"We just really thought our ideas would work," Murray said, ripping off a piece of his bandages and giving it to Mavis so she could wrap it around a burn on Drac's arm.
"But they didn't," Griffin sighed, the disappointment clear in his voice.
Drac sighed as well. "It's okay, guys. I understa - OW!" He cried out as Mavis dabbed a particularly tender spot.
She cringed. "Sorry, Dad."
"It's all right, honeybat," he said. "I guess I'll just have to wait until we get back to the hotel to continue."
"Don't be so sure."
All eyes turned to Wayne, who padded up to them. When he saw the question in their eyes, he continued. "I think I might have an idea of my own... and before you say anything, it does NOT involve any gizmos, tonics, or time travel."
"Good," Drac huffed, placing an ice pack atop his head. "I think I just might like it already."
Wayne grinned. "All right, so get this: you know how a werewolf bite turns a human into a werewolf?"
The group nodded.
"But we're not trying to turn me into a werewolf, Wayne," Drac said. Not in a MILLION years, he silently added, shuddering at the sight of the rampaging wolf pups deeper inside the blimp, running wild and wetting on everything.
"I know that, Drac," Wayne said. "So what you need is a bite from a vampire to turn you back into a vampire."
"Right, okay," Drac said. "And where do you suppose we'll find another vampire right now?" Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked up, meeting his daughter's eyes.
"Uh, Dad?"
"Mavis!" he cried, as if seeing her for the first time. "Oh, right! How could I forget my sweet little Voodoo doll," he cooed, caressing her cheek. But then he realized what that meant. "Wait a minute... that means... you can turn me back!" He clutched onto her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Would you do it for me, Mavy-Wavy? Pleeeassse?" Without the ability to make his pouty bat face, Drac only resorted to putting on the best appealing expression he could muster, with large eyes and his bottom lip stuck out.
"Oh, Dad, I'm not sure... you're really okay with me just... biting you?" Mavis asked.
"Please, Mavy," he begged. "If it means I get to become a vampire again, then I trust you!"
Mavis still wasn't fully convinced though. "But, Dad," she said, "I don't want to hurt you."
Drac felt himself soften at his daughter's concern. He gently took her hands in his. "Sweetheart... you'll hurt me more if you don't try to help me. Please?"
Mavis exchanged a glance with Johnny. The redhead shrugged. "It's worth a shot!" he agreed.
The vampiress sighed. "Weelll... I guess we can try."
Drac smiled and scooped his daughter into a hug. "Thank you, Mavy-Wavy!"
Mavis giggled at her Dad's enthusiasm, and then the two prepared. Dracula tilted his head to the side, exposing the bare flesh of his neck to her. Mavis swallowed, gathering herself as she approached him, mentally preparing and hoping that it went well for both him and her.
"All right," she whispered. "Here goes nothing..."
And without another minute to dwell on the thought, Mavis pulled her lips back as far as they could go and plunged her fangs into her father's neck. The instant the teeth pierced his skin, Dracula let out a yelp, his body going slightly limp and his breath coming out in shallow gasps. He could feel himself fading out of the moment, a tingling sensation growing throughout his body, as if all of his nerves were being set ablaze. Something was happening... he could feel it! Then the pain hit... It was brief, and occurred right as Mavis yanked her fangs out from his throat, a trickle of blood leaking from the newly made puncture wounds. He cried out again, and darkness overcame him.
"Drac?"
"Honey, can you hear us?"
"Oh, this is all my fault!"
"Shh shh, chill Mavis, don't worry. He's waking up! See?"
Sure enough, Drac groaned as his eyes fluttered open. The voices around him were that of his friends, Mavis, Johnny, and Ericka.
"Oh, Dad!" Mavis exclaimed. She moved in with Ericka to help him get back to his feet, the man having been sprawled out on the floor.
"Ugh... what happened?" he asked.
"You totally passed out right after Mavis bit you," Johnny explained.
"I did?" he asked. Then his eyes lit up. "Wait... I'm a vampire again?!" He grinned and looked at the group. When their grim expressions didn't change, he already knew the answer. He looked down at himself. There was his pudgy belly. There was his rosy skin. There was his human self. "Ayy..." Drac moaned.
Mavis stepped up to him. "I'm so sorry, Dad," she apologized.
Dracula opened his arms out to her and held his daughter in a tight, forgiving hug.
"It's all right, my little Voodoo doll. It was a good idea, but it looks like Van Helsing will just have to deal with it... once we get back to Transylvania."
"Well then, you're in luck, Drac," Johnny said. "Because look!"
Drac followed the direction of his pointed finger toward the open window and, sure enough, he saw the familiar outline of the dark Carpathian Mountains just up ahead. The vampire-turned-human gasped in delight. "Oh... we're HOME!"
It was the happiest he had been since discovering his human dilemma. Ah, well, he thought, not wishing to think of his non-vampire body, at least the hotel would be -
He gasped. "DESTROYED!"