Chapter 7: Changes & Choices
At the edge of the forest, another lively birthday party took place for a litter of six werewolf pups. Charlotte and Sophie, having matured out of their Ghoul Guide uniforms, attended the party for their cousins. The area was lit up with colorful lanterns and luau fire torches, tied balloons gave a colorful fling to the party, while a large banner read 'Happy Birthday' in brightly colorful bold letters. A zombie clown made balloon animals for a group of kids, and the hotel's Day of the Dead Mariachi band played their ever lively music while the rest of the monster children played in an inflated bouncing castle, around musical chairs, a monster version of 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey' or a small group of Gillman children caught fireflies with their tongues and ate them. While a few of the children playfully chased them, a little gargoyle got mistakenly caught on a little Gillman's tongue and caught him in his large mouth.
Wanda lovingly cooed, "Aww."
At that moment Dracula saw his wife and daughter arrive and his face lit up at he was by their side in a flash as he scooped up Luna , who still wore her fuchsia bow but now she wore a violet short sleeve shirt underneath a dark blue overall upcycled dress and white socks and light blue strap-on shoes on her feet, and placed an arm around Ericka , greeting them happily, "Luna, my little princess, I'm so happy you could come! Ericka , darling, I'm so glad you made it!"
"We wouldn't miss this for the world, sweetheart," Ericka smiled. "After all they're family, too."
Dracula and Ericka began to kiss passionately. This scene was grossing out Luna so much that she slipped out of her daddy's arms and rushed off to play at the bouncy castle. As she got in line behind a yeti kid, she didn't pay attention to where she was going until she crashed into someone.
"Whoops! Sorry." Came a young voice.
"Sorry, I didn't see you..." Luna's voice trailed off when she came face to face with a familiar six-year old dark haired boy. He had grayish-blue skin and yellow eyes. His clothing consisted of a white t-shirt with grey strips with an electric blue vest and black tie, electric blue pants with a silver metal belt, and black sneakers. "Evan!" She smiled shyly at him. To be honest, she thought he was super cute.
The golem child, Evan Stein, the son of Frank and Eunice and the younger brother of Pixel,Frankie,Alivia,Alex,Hank,Arianna,Fran,Grundgetta,Jammay, Faye, smiled at her and greeted, "Hi,Luna ! Gee, it's great to see you."
"Hi, Evan!" Luna greeted, until she gazed at the long line before them. "It's gonna take forever to get in the bouncy house."
"Hey, I know a faster way to get inside the bouncy house without waiting." Evan smirked.
With a wave of his hand in electrifying blue sparks, Evan mischievously zapped the behind of a yeti children , which caused a chain of reactions when the electric shock traveled from one monster kid to the next. The kids freaked out and started running in random directions, the long line of eager kids having vanished.
"Awesome!" Luna cheered in awe.
Before either of them could climb inside, a tall shadow suddenly came over and the children looked up to see a menacingly glaring Count Dracula above the young golem child.
Evan smiled nervously and pretended that nothing happened. "Hi, Count, thanks for having me over at the wolf pups' birthday."
"You're welcome, but don't play innocent with me, young golem," he growled, warning the little boy dangerously. "I saw what you did to those other kids! And I don't want you encouraging my daughter to do these kind of pranks, nor do I want you hanging around with her!"
"Stop threatening my kid, Drac! What is wrong with you?!" Eunice scolded, smacking Dracula on the back of his head. "I didn't see him do anything wrong here. He was behaving himself like I told him."
"Eunice, you had your back turned when it happened..." Dracula sourly tried to explain to Evan's mother, but the golem mother didn't seem to care.
Their bickering gave Luna and Evan gave them a chance to try sneak inside the bouncy house. But before they could go back into the bounce Evan's mother told him to wait a minute.
"Oh so you're saying that my son Evan use his electricity to shock some of the kids is that correct Dracula". asked Eunice
"Yes that is what I was telling you but you didn't let me speak". said Dracula
" Ok Evan before you go back in the big Bounce House with your friend Luna can we talk about something please sweetie." said Eunice
"Yes mom, what is that you want to talk about"said Evan
" Your Uncle Drac said that you shock some kids when you were trying to get into the bounce house.
" What did we talk about manners at a birthday party"said Eunice
"We should wait our turn to go into the bouncy house" said Evan
" That's right now go apologize to those kids that you shocked in line ok son." said Eunice
"Ok mom",Mom
"I'm sorry Dracula for not listening to what you had to say about my youngest son not taking turns."said Eunice
"That's ok Eunice"said as he spotted the rest of his family arriving and his face lit up.
Dennis, Martha approached the six birthday werewolf pups, saying, "Happy birthday, Wally, Wilson, Whoopi, Wade, Weepy, and Wanye!"
The last wolf pup blew a party flute with an 'I don't care' look.
Dennis, Martha was immediately scooped up by his vampire grandpa with such enthusiasm, as Dracula greeted happily as he spun him around, "Denisovich, Martha my big twins ! You made it!" Dennis, Martha giggled in his arms.
"I thought about what you said, Dad," explained Mavis. "Maybe I was being a little over protective."
"Thank you, Coffin Cake," Dracula smiled gratefully, but suddenly Winnie,Willie grabbed Dennis, Martha out of Dracula's arms, surprising them with how fast it happened.
"Dennis, Martha We love you, zing!" yelled Winnie, Willie now six years old themselves, as they playfully pounced on Dennis, Martha .
"Hi, Winnie,Willie" Dennis, Martha greeted them happily.
"I just love your yummy strawberry locks and I love your raven black hair ! Zing, zing!" they playfully climbed into their hair and then flipped them judo style, and then vigorously licked their faces making them giggle.
Wanda came over and spritzed her daughter,son as she gentle scolded, "Winnie, Willie give them their space,dears. I'm sorry, Mavis."
"It's okay, Aunt Wanda," Mavis assured her. "They're just playing." She then noticed a party game she remembered well. "Holy rabies, limbo!" she exclaimed excitedly, as she saw a classic kids' limbo game, save the pole was on fire, "I used to love that game."
"So did I," Ericka said, but then mumbled nervously, "Except we didn't light the pole on fire."
"Get in there, Mavy," Dracula encouraged his eldest daughter.
"Really? But I'm a parent now," Mavis replied, looking unsure.
"Show 'em how it's done," Dracula encouraged her once more.
"Okay. Okay, okay!" Mavis excitedly rushed up to the limbo pole. She easily levitated herself beneath the pole and all of the kids, even her baby sister and son,daughter, cheered and applauded at her success. Then she spotted something else that made her even more excited. "No way! A piñata?!" she shouted, changing into a bat and flew towards it, while grabbing a stick on the way.
Wanda tried to stop her. "Oh, Mavis, honey, that's for later."
But Mavis didn't listen as she wacked the piñata vigorously, laughing, "Whoo-Hoo!"
"We don't want the pups to have too much..." Wanda continued to no avail, and the piñata split open and candy flew everywhere, exciting all of the were pups.
"CANDY!" The were pups cheered, devouring the pile of candy in a matter of seconds.
"Sugar." Wanda frowned, slumping.
Chaos ensued when the pups' hyperactive sugar fueled frenzy began to destroy everything as they became a whirlwind of sugar powered fur, claws, and teeth as they stampeded towards the bouncy house, popping it and deflating it before running off.
Feeling guilty, Mavis changed back to her normal form. "I'm sorry. Did I start all that?"
"Don't worry. There's a reason they call it a litter," Wayne assured her.
Monsters started running for their lives. The were pups were so wild that they destroying all of the party decorations in their path like the Tasmanian Devil. They destroyed the limbo pole, unknowingly catching Dennis, Martha as he was suddenly caught up in the mini tornado of were pups. Luna had also got caught up in the frenzy when she had been watching a magic show. The were pups even ate away at an adult yeti's lower half shaving his fur clean off to expose red underwear, which he tried to cover. The musical chairs were demolished, and in the process, Luna was suddenly careening through the air. She crashed into the large birthday cake before the pups gobbled it up, only to become more hyperactive. Dennis, Martha was sent careening through the air before he met a crash landing, face first on the ground.
Ericka and Dracula rushed over to their daughter, strongly concerned she might've gotten hurt. They quickly looked Luna over. Except for a knocked out tooth she was okay, if slightly disoriented and dirtied. Whirling her head around, Ericka glared at the whirlwind of wolf pups before taking out a remote control and pressed the button. Suddenly, the wolf pups ceased their mini tornado when they each felt a electrifying jolt from their collars.
"Luna , honey, are you alright?" Dracula asked in genuine concern, when he was at his youngest daughter's side.
"Are you hurt?" Ericka worriedly knelt down to check her for injuries.
"Dennis, Martha !" cried Mavis, deeply concerned for her child. "Are you two okay?"
"We got candy!" Dennis, Martha sat up, happily showing their mommy a green and pink wrapped candy. They smile wide enough to reveal they lost their tooths.
"That was so cool!" Luna cheered, having enjoyed the roughhousing from the wolf pups. "And I got a lollypop!" She raised her hand to reveal she was holding a purple lollypop.
"Look, your tooths came out!" Johnny said proudly to his son, daughter .
"Are you kidding me?!" Mavis began freaking out, and grabbed Dennis's and Martha's face. "They got his tooths knocked out?!" When she noticed her sister's missing tooth, Mavis grew horrified. "And you got your tooth knocked out too, sis?!"
"Calm down, honey," Ericka tried to reassure her stepdaughter. "They were only baby teeth. It happens all the time with kids this age so their adult teeth can grow in."
Misinterpreting this, Dracula swiftly scooped up both kids as he yelled with over excitement, "Oh, yes, indeed! Here come the fangs!"
"Dad, their baby teeth weren't fangs, why would these ones be?" she questioned in doubt as she took them from his grasp, not noticing his face dropping in disappointment. "They're not monsters."
The three children went up to their friends, Winnie,Willie and Evan, to show them their newly lost teeth. Winnie,Willie showed off her sharp teeth to Dennis, Martha as he looked at them in awe. Evan reached into his pocket and pulled a gold coin for Luna , as if he was the tooth fairy giving a kid a coin for losing her baby tooth.
Ericka began to check on everyone else to make sure they were alright and not seriously hurt. "Is everybody alright?"
"Ericka, did you really have to use the shock collars?" Wanda questioned, almost upset.
"I'm sorry, Wanda, but your pups had enough sugar for one night," Ericka responded, sternly. "They need a little discipline."
"She's got a point," agreed Eunice.
Mavis sighed, regretting her decision to come to the party. "The sun's gonna come up soon and we have to get to their classes." She began putting on a thick layer of sunscreen, which made her face pure white.
"What's wrong with the classes we have here, like the kids' yoga?" Dracula asked, failing to recognize the worry in Mavis's eyes that yoga class is more like a torture chamber. "This is Luna's and Denisovich's,Martha's home."
"I don't know, Dad," she replied, still doubtful.
"What don't you know?" he asked with a curious smile.
"Well, we've been talking about moving," Mavis confessed, "somewhere safer for Dennis, Martha . Maybe where Johnny grew up in California." She put on a giant pink sunhat and sunglasses as she said sadly, "I'm sorry, but you can't just make somebody something they're not."
This piece of news wretched Dracula's heart. It filled him with a cold fear of the thought of being alone, which he hadn't been in centuries. He remembered Nick's plan to get Ericka's brother to force her and Luna to leave the hotel, and he didn't know which news was the worst.
As she went to get Dennis, Martha and Luna, Mavis mumbled guiltily, "I should never have brought Dennis, Martha here."
"Sweetie, it was accident," Ericka tried to reassure her, "except for a few knocked out teeth, they're fine."
But Mavis didn't seem very reassured. "That may be all the more reason to think about moving." She took Dennis,Martha's hands , as they were about to touch Winnie, Willie's fangs, saying, "C'mon, honey, we have to go." She then took her baby sister's hand, causing Luna to to drop the coin Evan had given her. "C'mon,Luna." She glanced over at her mother. "I'll take Luna to her classes for you, Mom. You should think about what's best for my sister too." Those last words seemed to sting her mother on the inside.
"Zing, zing?" Winnie, Willie called sadly.
"Wait, your leaving?" Evan watched Luna leave with a saddened expression.
Dracula watched them go as he pleaded to his eldest daughter, "Mavy, wait!" Johnny had been watching a clown zombie make a balloon hat for him until he heard Dracula's pleas. "You can't mean that!" Poor Dracula watched Mavis and the children leave, and then quickly turned angrily to Johnny, demanding, "You're in on this, the leaving?"
"Uh, it's not definite at all," Johnny stammered fearfully. "It's just something she's definitely talking, but until we do it, it's not... definitized."
Dracula shot him a cold vampire glare as he covered half his face with his cape and his eyes glowing a menacing red.
Johnny momentarily had a blank stare, like he had been frozen, and then moaned in unenthusiasm, "Did he just cover me with bird see?" He was covered head to toe in bird seed. "Yeah, he covered me."
It was a cruel prank. Dozens of crows suddenly flew upon him and started eating at the bird seed.
As the sun began to rise over the hotel, the two Draculas began a heated argument of their own in their chambers. Dracula's bedchamber now looked completely different since Ericka moved in after becoming his wife. A new four poster king sized bed, which faced the door at the far wall, had elegant dark fuchsia curtains and red silk covering blanket with white bed sheets underneath and plush pillows. All around the room were Ericka's personal belongings which included a bed side table with a lamp and the hotel's telephone and a clock, an antique wardrobe she said belonged to her mother and her grandmother before her, a tall shelf with some books, an old stereo, a large flat TV screen, and a table with a round mirror attached to it with a chair. A couple of picture frames and photos hung on the wall pictured her and her family (mostly as a child during family celebrations, special moments, or holidays), and a couple more of Ericka graduating high school, Ericka as a baby, a girl scout in her childhood, and there is a large portrait of Dracula and Ericka in their wedding garb.
"What is wrong with you?" Ericka yelled accusingly. She wore a white bathrobe after coming out of the shower.
"Ericka , it was just a prank," Dracula groaned, acting like he did nothing wrong. He was dressed in nothing but a white undershirt and batty underpants. "He said he and Mavy wanted to move away."
"Johnny said it's not definite!" Ericka argued back. "And I know he doesn't want to move, he told me so but he doesn't know how to tell Mavis because she's been so stubborn and protective of little Dennis, Martha just like you, but she's trying to do what's best for him. Maybe I should try and think of doing what's best for Luna ..."
"What's best for Luna and Denisovich, Martha is for them to grow their fangs... Oomph!" Dracula retorted when he rudely cut her off, earning him a thrown pillow right in his face from his wife.
"Don't change the subject!" She yelled at him. "If you want this family to stay together, you need to start letting them make their own choices!"
Suddenly, a suit of armor had burst through the door, speaking loudly as it stood at attention, "Sir! Madam! There's an emergency!"
Dracula made his way to the door, but a scowling Ericka halted him with a hand on his chest. "I'll handle the emergency."
"But, Honeyfang..." Dracula protested, but the door slammed in his face when Ericka left to take care of the emergency.
Dracula walked over to his closet, slumping. In irritation, he made his closet door appear and started grumbling to himself about the whole situation. None of it was fair. First, that nuisance brother -in-law of his was coming and he wants to take his away darling Ericka and precious Luna. Second, his little Mavy-Wavy wants to do the same with Denisovich, Martha all for their so-called safety. None of them really understood. They are a family and they had to stay together. He knew what the problem was, the kids just needed to find their inner vampires.
As he struggled putting on a bright pink pajama pants, he began imitating his version of Ericka's brother , "Hey look, I'm Ericka's brother ! I want Ericka to come back to New York, this isn't the right place for Luna. She has to discipline her. She made a mistake in marrying a vampire. I don't like monsters. I think they're freaks. This James jerk is a better son-in-law to me, whoever he is." Walking around his chambers Dracula continued to mock Ericka's brother , hunched down and pretended to hold a beer mug in one hand, or make faces, and then straightened up as he waved his long hands in the air like jazz hands as he got to the last mocking sentence. "Look at me, I own a big fancy restaurant, it's a great place to raise a kid."
When he finally got his pants on, he started putting on comfortable bright pink pajama top with the hotel logo on it as he mumbled his version of Mavis, "Dad, it's not a fang. Dad, I don't know if it's the right place for Dennis, Martha right Johnny?" He then did his version of Johnny, "Oh hey, dudeman, it's not me, it's Mavy. Hey, dudeman, I'm afraid to say anything." With a wave of his hand he then made a sink appear from behind a wall. While mocking Johnny, he crossed his arms under his armpits and then did a funny dance while pointing his fingers and shaking his arms at his sides, "Hey, dudeman, I'm a dudeman."
"Uh, Drac?" Frank,Eunice poked their heads when he opened the door. "Who're you talking to?"
"Do not disturb!" the Shrunken Head shouted. "The Count's wigging out in here!"
Dracula squirted toothpaste on his brush and began brushing his teeth, while Frank,Eunice asked, "What're you wigging out about, Drac?"
"The kids! Mavy-Wavy's saying she wants to leave. Ericka's brothers and sisters are coming and they want to take away my beloved Ericka and my little Luna," he replied in frustration.
"Mavis wants to leave?" Frank, Eunice repeated in surprise, while Dracula gargled red mouthwash and then set to flossing. "What about Johnny and Ericka ? They don't want to go. They're making the hotel more humany, for Dennis, Martha and Luna. You know, how seeing they aren't monsters."
Dracula winced at the very thought as the web he used for flossing snapped and he turned to yell in Frank, Eunice's faces , "They are monsters! They're just late-fangers." He crossed his arms.
"Mm-hmm, and I could be a hand model," the Shrunken Head said sarcastically.
"Shut up!" Dracula yelled, and he went to his bathroom that appeared behind another wall. "It's all that humany stuff that's confusing my poor Luna and Denisovich, Martha."
Frank leaned against a wall that suddenly revealed Dracula's walk-in closet. "So maybe you gotta get the kids around more monstery things!" His face lit up when he eyed those fancy black capes. "Oh, I get a cape."
"I can't! She's always around checking up on me!" Dracula yelled from behind the bathroom wall.
"If you can just get some alone time..." Frank suggested as he came out with Dracula's clothes on, clearly many sizes too tight on him as his gut protruded and it was hard for him to move as he played with Dracula's cape, trying to be sinister.
"Wait a minute," Dracula said in realization. "That's what Johnny wants, too; alone time with Mavis."
" I vant to love your stitches pretty please". Said Frank to Eunice as he was mocking Dracula.
"Oh yes you may love my stitches oh great Count Dracula" said Eunice fall in love with Vampire Frank.
Frank started to choke from the shirt collar and heard Dracula was almost done with his business and so Eunice tried to quickly take off the clothes that were on her husband as he said in a strained voice, "H-have they even had a vacation since before they were married?" Frank struggled so hard to get out of the clothes, until he threw the clothes off, but not without his own shirt leaving him bare chested with an awkward smile.
At that moment, Dracula came out of the bathroom grinning. "They're going to now, and so are we! Frank, Eunice you're geniuses !"
But then Dracula noticed Frank was missing his shirt, and the gentle giant tried to awkwardly pretend nothing was wrong and play it off, as he mumbled a little, cleared his throat, or rocked on the balls of his feet as he held his hands together.
Dracula dismissed it when a seemingly simple plan came to him as his eyes seemed to glowed and he smiled manically. "We'll take the kids to all our old haunts." In his imagination, the children were by his side behind bushes in a dark forest, as a little white mouse squeaked and came into view. "Teach them all our skills. Teach them how to be monsters." The image of Dracula pounced on the little mouse like a wild cat and started shaking it wildly, while the silhouettes of Dennis, Martha and
Luna looked on with smiles and this inspiration caused fangs to grow in their mouths. "And they'll be fanging it up in no time!" Dracula continued, just as his imagination plan faded.
"Kids turn five next week," the Shrunken Head reminded him. "If they're not vampires by their birthday, it ain't happening."
"Oh, it ain't ain't happening, baby," Dracula replied determinedly as he crossed his arms proudly. "All she needs is time with her daddy and he needs time with his vampa."
"Vampa?" Frank, Eunice repeated, confused.
"Vampire Grandpa," Dracula explained, shrugging. "C'mon,guys , that's obvious."
But in order for the plan to work, Dracula needed help, so he went to Johnny's and Mavis's bedroom and knocked on the door a few times as he quietly called, "Johnny, come outside."
"What? Who is it?" Johnny called from behind the door.
"It's your father-in-law, I need to talk to you."
Johnny opened the door and he was still covered in black crows, but he greeted casually, "What's up?"
Remember the other reason for seeing Johnny, and an angry Ericka , Dracula said, "Oh, let me get rid of them. Sorry." He waved his hand to shoo the crows away.
"No problem-o, I was kind of digging the attention," Johnny said with a casual shrug, and two adorable black chicks popped up from his moppy ginger hair and started chirping. "Can they stay?" Johnny asked cutely. "I don't think they're ready to leave yet."
But a frowning Dracula waved them away too. "C'mon, go to your mother." Johnny slumped sadly as the chicks flew away, and Dracula got to the point, asking, "Look, you want to stay here, right?"
"Of course," Johnny replied enthusiastically as he hugged the wall. "This is the first place I can really be myself. I haven't felt this alive since they invented stuffed crust pizza!"
Dracula shook his head before he took Johnny's shoulders, whispering, "Well then, we've got some work to do. Okay, so here's the plan. It might be a good idea to take her to your hometown, but…"
A few minutes later, Dracula returned to his own chambers. He found Ericka in bed, wearing a blue, short-sleeved, silk nightgown with the hotel logo imprinted on her chest.
"Hello, my lovely Ericka, you look beautiful," the Count greeted with sincere love.
Not really in the mood for romance, Ericka asked with seriousness in her voice, "And where have you been?"
"I got rid of the crows for Johnny," Dracula explained. "But he didn't mind them, he enjoys my pranks and can take anything I throw at him." He chuckled, but Ericka wasn't amused and the vampire sighed in defeat.
Then Dracula crawled into bed with her, becoming more depressed. "Mavis isn't the only one who might leave me. Are you going to leave me, too? I overheard your brother talking about forcing you to leave. They're going to contact your family about taking you away from me." Hearing this, Ericka stared at him shocked. "I can't bear it if my whole family left me."
"I can't believe Nick would do this to me!" Ericka grumbled, scornfully. She slammed her book on the side table. "And I never told my father or the rest of my family that I got married!" she ranted angrily. Noticing how startled her husband is, Ericka took a deep breath and moved closer to him to reassure him, "Listen, that's never going to happen. I love it here, it's my home. Even if my brother will never understand it."
Dracula sighed, thinking about the word 'brother.' "I never told you before, but I do know what it's like to grow up with a strict brother. We didn't really get along, because he's always been about old school vampire tradition."
"Really?" This was new information for Ericka . "What about your sister?"
Dracula was silent for a few moments before he explained, "Like you, I lost my mother when I was just a child, but I do remember she was a wonderful mother."
Ericka smiled at him with deep affection, seeing in him not just her Zing and her soulmate, but a kindred spirit she never thought she could find. And she believed she had bonded with not only Mavis due to their controlling fathers and the loss of their mothers. "Oh, sweetheart. I know things are a little hard right for you with the kids and all, but I love you so much. I will never leave you, cause you're my zing. Even if Mavis does want to move, you'll always have me and Luna . And who knows, perhaps Mavis will realize Johnny doesn't want to leave either and remember this is their home and hers, too. There's an old saying that says home is where the heart is, and my heart is here." She placed a hand on Dracula's chest where his heat beat.
Dracula gazed at her with such deep adoration. He smiled and his blue eyes lit up as he whispered, "Oh, kiss me, Ericka ."
"As you wish, Dracky-Wacky." Ericka smiled romantically.
The two Draculas started to embrace and kiss passionately, and began to make out fiercely. They were ready to take it to the next level when…
"Whoo-hooo! Things are really getting hot in here now!" The Shrunken Head on the door said teasingly.
Giving the Shrunken Head an annoyed glare and with a telepathic wave of his hand, Dracula quickly moved her to the outside as he growled, "Shut your voodoo hole, and do your job!"
The Shrunken Head now hung outside the Count's and Countess's private chamber's locked door, smirking to itself.