A/N: I honestly forgot the ending of this chapter is the start of me venting. TW:Betrayal and Abuse
I heard Max cheering as I was engulfed in something warm and soft. "Werewolf Max is back!"
"Nice going Max," Fay grumbled, "you even turned Lizzie's friends into monsters."
"Oops."
Whatever was wrapped around me moved. "What just happened?" I heard Harrison ask. Looking up I saw a large werewolf, with a clawed hand, rubbing its face. It sounded confused and looked at its hand in shock. "What happened to my hand?" He looked down at me, then at the rest of his body. "Why am I hairy?" He sounded completely shocked.
"I have a fish tail!" I heard Sofia shout. "Ah, monsters!"
I looked up to see Sofia sitting on the stairs of the church sporting a fish tail under her dress. Harrison the werewolf shook his head and stood up with me in his arms. His fur was soft, a dark gray, and his muzzle was more pronounced than Max's. The Wishbones were turned into their original monster forms. Max and Fay looked a bit different, probably due to puberty.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." Fay rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I look like a three thousand year old meatloaf, again." She looked at her arms. "And she gets the better deal again!" She gestured at me.
"But, I'm already a witch. What did the spell do to me?" I looked down at my body.
"You get to be in the arms of a hottie." She huffed.
"A hottie? That's a monster, you're a monster!" Sofia screeched. "Lizzie what did you do to-" Sofia got reintroduced to her tail. She tried to stand up, but instead landed on the sidewalk face first. "What happened to my legs?" She screamed.
Harrison finally put me down and went to pick up Sofia. "Sofia, you need to calm down."
"Monster, monster, monster-" Sofia was beating at Harrisons chest.
"Enough." Harrison growled. "It's me."
"Harrison?" She looked shocked.
"I told you not to play with Baba's amulet." Emma scowled at Max. "You're-"
"Absolutely impossible." Fay finished her sentence.
"Turn us back right now," They said in sync. They both looked bothered by it.
"I'm sorry, I can't" Max looked guilty.
Before anyone could say anything I butted in. "Don't you remember, the spell affects those that are unhappy and the spell can only be broken-"
"When we're happy again." Emma sighed in defeat.
"Great so we're going to be monsters forever." Fay huffed.
"I don't want to be a fish forever." Sofia wailed.
"I don't want a werewolf as a cousin." Luca whined.
"Man, this is wicked." Hans walked around Harrison.
Harrison huffed. "Honestly I don't want to be hairy forever, but I also doubt I'll be unhappy forever either."
Sofia gasped. "Really?" She batted her eyelashes.
"Match!" Frank held a crushed trash can over his head.
"What?" Emma barely dodged in time as he threw it. It bounced off a traffic light and onto a car before it landed into Frank's hands again. He laughed alongside the bats that thought it was funny. "Okay, now this family has gone down one responsible parent."
"Boys don't encourage him." I scowled at them. They drooped and flew into my arms for forgiveness. "Behave." I couldn't help but cuddle them, they purred in delight. It made me miss Spider, who would have kept scowling at them from my shoulder.
"That is so gross," Sofia gagged, "bats are just rats with wings."
The bats growled at her and she squeaked, hiding her face in Harrison's chest. He did not look amused.
"Look on the bright side." Max counseled. "Now that we're monsters, our odds in saving our friends have risen exponentially. Especially now that Lizzie's friends are monsters too."
"I hate it when you sound like a nerd." Fay moaned.
"Why should we help you?" Sofia growled. "You turned us into monsters!"
"Because Lizzie is our friend." Harrison really growled. Sofia shrunk in his arms.
"And friends stick together!" Hans wrapped his arms around my shoulder.
"Through thick and thin." Luca sighed, face planted into his brother's shoulder.
"Yeah, that's really nice of you all, but how can we save them if we don't know where they are." Fay informed us.
"We can do it with this." Max held up Baba's amulet.
"Sweetheart," Emma began, "no offense, but you haven't exactly got the hang of that thing. Let Lizzie do it." She looked up and saw Frank try to throw the trash can away. "Frank, no!"
Frank dropped it on his foot and whined. "Sorry!"
"Trust me, I can do it." Max looked at the amulet. "All I have to do is think about them." He waved his hand over the green orb. "By day, by night, bring me a second sight." Suddenly the image of the girl in a flying machine showed in the orb.
"You're supposed to be looking for Renfield or Baba, not your crush." Fay protested.
"She's not my crush." Max denied. "Besides, we're going to have to take her down in order to save them." He explained. "Because, if we don't, she might come after them again."
"Where is she headed?" Emma asked.
The image in the orb changed. "Scotland, Loch Ness."
"I doubt that girl is doing this by herself, there might be more people behind this." Harrison warned.
"And that girl is our only lead." Emma nodded.
"How are we going to get there?" Luca asked.
"It better not be magic, I had enough of that." Sofia grumbled.
"But we have a teleportation spell." Max lifted up the amulet.
I let go of the bats and walked out of Hans' arm. "And you just used a powerful spell to turn six people into monsters." I snatched the amulet from his hand.
"But then how are we going to get there?" Max argued.
"Matjet!" Frank started to flap his arms.
"Ok, is he always this stupid?" Sofia made a face of displeasure. Frank ran around flapping his arms.
"He's saying bat jet, Dracula usually keeps it in Cheyenne's barn." I explained.
"Of course Dracula has a jet." Luca grumbled. "What doesn't the guy have?"
"A vampire bride, or any sort of bride really." Fay giggled.
"Can anyone here fly it?" Harrison asked.
"How hard can it be?" Emma shrugged.
"Very," I shook my head, "luckily for us it had an autopilot."
"Autopilot is only used when the plane is in the sky." Hans reasoned.
"Not when it comes to the bat jet." I responded.
"Of course he has a jet that can fly itself!" Luca threw his arms up.
"Come on, we're wasting time!" Max exclaimed, pointing at the car. Frank let Fay in the car, but Emma grabbed her stomach. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Her eyes turned red. "I'm hungry." Frank grabbed his wife and tied her down in the passenger seat.
Everyone, new to Emma's reaction, stared in shock until the Wishbone's started to drive away.
"Let's hit the road!" Hans fist bumped the air.
"Ok, but, who's driving?" Luca pointed at Harrison and Sofia. "Because she can't and Harrison might rip-off the wheel. And the rest of us aren't experts at driving."
Sofia sighed at the sight of her tail. "I guess you're driving." She handed me her keys. "Try not to crash into anything."
"I make no promises but, I'll do my best." I finger saluted her.
The ride to Cheyenne's home was awkward and frightening. Hans and Luca were still getting used to their werewolf cousin. Sofia started to complain about being dry and everyone outside kept looking at Harrison's face. Thankfully it was almost Halloween, so hopefully they thought it was a costume.
And I only almost caused an accident once. But it wasn't my fault, people should just not park at the corners of the road. Or drive on the same road as Frank the monster. Truly a hazard for all parties.
We made it a few minutes later than the Wishbones. Frank was holding Emma who was calling for blood.
"She isn't going to drain us, is she?" Luca asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about it, Dracula keeps plasma pills in the jet." I assured him.
"Dracula eats pills?" Hans sounded confused.
"It's more filling and ethical." I confessed.
"As long as she doesn't touch me, I'll be fine." Sofia huffed in Harrison's arms.
Frank broke the lock on the barn and the kids opened the door to expose the jet.
"The batjet!" Max whooped happily.
"I knew it!" A voice called from behind."That's no lawnmower. You need a pilot's license for that." It was Cheyenne's nosy neighbor that pretends to be a farmer; just because he owns a barn. He wore clean overalls, what looked like a new flannel shirt, and a cheap looking cowboy hat.
"Ah, you must be Cheyenne's annoying neighbor." Fay proclaimed.
"He won't be annoying for long if I drained him of his blood." Emma sang while on Frank's shoulder.
The man looked disturbed. "That's it, I'm calling the police." He made himself look high and mighty.
Fay walked up to him. "Look deep into my eyes." She used her hypnotic voice.
"No mummy magic Fay." I called out. "Let him call them, it's not like they'll listen to him anyway."
"Why not?" Fay looked upset that I interrupted her.
"Renfield handled some papers, so the jet is actually here legally." I patted her shoulder. "Besides, I heard from Cheyenne that next time Mr. Brickle here calls them, they're going to give him a fine." I whispered the last part.
Fay laughed at that. "Talk about karma."
We got into the jet and everyone that hasn't been in it was in awe. "This looks like a fancy living room, not a jet." Hans looked at the couch, wine, and fire pit. "How does the wine stay in place, the pillows, the fire pit?"
"The rack closes the wine in place, when the plane moves. The pillows are sewn into the couch. And the fire is a hologram." I waved my arm inside the pit.
"I'm so dry!" Sofia whined.
"Hungry!" Emma shouted.
"There's a food locker in the space between the cockpit, go feed your mother." I guided the Wishbones to the hidden door that opened. "Oh, and the autopilot is voice activated."
"We're going to stay here." I walked to the other side of the fire pit, stepping on a button on the floor. The hologram fire disappeared and the pit started to fill with water. "The pit turns into a jacuzzi, so Sofia can stay hydrated in it." I twisted my foot so only half of the pit was full. Can't have water splashing everywhere.
Harrison lowered Sofia in the water and she sighed in relief.
The jet's engines started. I walked over to the couch and dug a belt out. "You three better buckle up." I warned them. "Sofia you better hold on."
The bats latched onto me, already knowing the drill. Hans, Luca, and Harrison dug up belts of their own as they sat down. Soon everything jolted, Sofia screeched and held onto the sides for dear life.
"Is it supposed to be this fast?" Harrison asked, struggling with the force.
"Since we're in a time crunch, yeah." I assured him. "It gets less bumpy once we're up."
As soon as I said that everything settled. The bats decided to roll around the floor and do their own thing.
"Wow," Hans looked around, "I can't believe we're in Dracula's jet."
"I still can't believe Dracula is real." Luca mumbled.
"Can you tell us about you being a witch now?" Sofia asked, pushing her now wet hair back.
"You don't have to tell us if you're not ready." Harrison assured me.
"No," I shook my head. "You all deserve to know now." I took my wand out of my bag. "I wasn't always a witch, I was turned into one almost two years ago. The same time the Wishbones were turned into monsters."
"Wait a minute." Hans interrupted me. "Didn't they say the spell can be broken when you're happy?"
"Lizzie," Luca placed a hand on my shoulder. "Have you been upset all this time?"
I smiled and laughed. "It's not that. It just has to be the type of happiness that lasts. I am happy, it's just that..."
"It can be hard to be happy and stay happy." Harrison added.
"Yeah." I agreed. "Anyway, we were turned into monsters by Baba-"
"Baba?" Everyone sounded confused.
"It was mostly an accident and being in the wrong place. She was forced by Dracula to turn Emma into a vampire."
"I knew he was evil." Luca whispered.
"So we had to chase Baba practically around the world. Emma and I were picked up by Dracula in Egypt. There he wanted to marry me because of my depression. A great quality in a future bride."
"So he does want to marry you." Sofia said behind her hand.
"Let me finish. It actually gets worse now that I think about it. So Cheyenne befriended Baba and Baba decided to be on our side. She rounded us all up in one room. Renfield, Dracula's servant, warned us about Dracula's plan to freeze the sun. So we tried taking him out with holy water. That didn't work. So I cursed him to be green, until he became my friend. Which took a while. I mean yeah sure, he has his outbursts, but he's getting better."
Everyone had a different look on their face. Hans had an excited, shocked face, Luca had a disproven look of surprise, Harrison had a thoughtful look, and Sofia a disappointed look.
"Did you seriously just defend Dracula like an abuser." Sofia sounded distressed. "No wonder you didn't tell us any of this. He probably told you not to tell."
"No he didn't." I defended him. "He wanted me to tell you. And if you didn't accept me, well I still had him."
"That kind of sounds like an isolation tactic." Hans accused.
"I mean, shit I guess!" I was exasperated. "But like, but like, listen. He's getting better. He hasn't threatened anyone in a while. Plus, you've all thought he was human this whole time. And I'm still out and about doing my own thing."
"Stockholm." Sofia countered.
"Sofia, no." I responded. "You know what, Dracula has been a better friend than you. Don't interrupt me. I've been getting emails from my clients saying that they would rather commission you. I've caught you hiding my projects and telling me I misplaced them. I've been finding my stuff in the wrong drawers and wrong packaging." I accused her.
She looked like a deer in headlights. Harrison and his cousins said nothing, but looked between us.
"If all of that was happening, why didn't you say anything?" Sofia nervously rubbed the fabric of her dress. "Why did you invite me to the wedding?"
"Because you always do things for a reason. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I've been wearing thin, Sofia. Haven't you noticed less and less of my stuff being in the studio?" I explained. "I was planning on leaving the studio. I already got my name off the lease for next year." I gave a dry laugh. "I invited you because I still see you as my friend."
"Fuck." She pushed her hair back. "Shit, I- fuck." She looked lost for words.
Harrison looked disappointed. "I thought she knew."
"Knew what?" I asked.
The twins gasped and looked between all three of us. It was probably like watching a soap opera unfold for them.
Sofia placed a fist on her forehead. "I didn't know where to start. My whole life was falling apart."
"And Lizzie's wasn't?" Harrison huffed, lip snarled. "You've been sabotaging her and god knows what else. Were you planning to ruin her career, or even tell her?"
The bats snarled from their place on the floor.
"Tell me what?" I threw my hands up.
"What is going on?" The twins asked in disbelief.
"I'm pregnant." Sofia finally said.
"What?!" Me and the twins shouted.
"That doesn't even explain why you've been treating Lizzie like trash." Hans slapped the couch.
"Or, why you haven't told her, or us. The future uncles." Luca pointed at himself.
"Because Harrison doesn't want to be in any of their lives." Sofia wrapped her arms around the middle. Her bump looked more noticeable now knowing what to look for.
"'Their lives'?" Harrison sounded surprised. "There's more than one?"
"Yeah," Sofia whispered, "they're twins."
"Holy shit." Hans punched his cousin. "And you don't want them? Why don't you- oh. Shit." Hans' eyes widened in realization.
"Oh, shit." Luca seemed to have the same conclusion.
"I still have no idea what's going on, or why I've been treated terribly." I rubbed my forehead in disbelief.
"I needed the money." Sofia finally explained. "Since it didn't seem like Harrison was going to take responsibility. Taking care of one baby is hard, but I'm going to have twins. I didn't want to tell you, because you tend to over splurge when it comes to babies."
"I do not."
"You bought your friend, in America, a 100 rocking horse." She shot back.
"It was 80 not 100." I defended myself.
"That's still the price of one of your commissions." Sofia pointed out.
"Commissions that she hasn't been having lately, because of you." Harrison looked at Sofia. She shrank under his glare.
My heart broke for Sofia, but what she did made my skin crawl. I trusted her and she broke that trust. She broke it and took away progress I made to make myself an independent artist. If I didn't catch on what she was doing, I could have lost it all.
"When this is over, I'll be gathering the rest of my stuff." I finally spoke. "I already gave the landlord my half of the rent for the next three months."
"But, I can't afford the studio by myself." Sofia cried.
"I can barely afford my apartment now." I snapped. "Since I haven't been able to work in the studio anymore, my client list has shrunk." Rubbed my arms. "I'll be lucky if I make it for the next three months."
Feeling my distress, the bats cuddled into my side.
Luca, who sat next to me, rubbed my back. "We'll help you out Lizzie, don't stress out about it."
"Yeah," Hans chimed in, "we're here for you. Don't sweat it."
I could hear Harrison giving a low growl, and Sofia sniffling.