Victor, pulling Enid and Wednesday along, finally squeezed through to the best viewing spot on the upper deck, only to find Dracula and his old friends had already secured the prime position.
Frankenstein, or Frank, was tilting his stitched-together head back, admiring the view with heavily accented English praise:
"Ah! These fireworks are truly magnificent!"
Dracula nudged him discontentedly with an elbow.
"Hey, Frank! Have you forgotten how you dove under the table last time you saw the fireplace flames at my hotel?"
"When I suggested setting off fireworks for the hotel's anniversary, you were the first to jump up and object!"
"Oh, come on, Dracula!" Frank waved his thick arms. "This is on a luxury cruise ship! In the middle of the ocean! The atmosphere is completely different, OK?"
"Uncle Frank, Aunt Eudice, Uncle Murray, Uncle Wayne, Aunt Wanda..."
Victor grinned and sidled over, greeting them one by one, his eyes scanning the air.
"Uh... Is Uncle Griffin here? Oh, sorry!"
He felt his foot step on something soft and squishy.
A muffled voice came from the air:
"It's fine... I can't feel my toes anyway. But Victor, you could at least watch where you're going. I'm already invisible; I can't very well wear fluorescent shorts to remind everyone 'I'm here,' can I?"
"Aha! Victor!"
The monster elders, upon seeing Victor, immediately gathered around him enthusiastically.
Frankenstein Frank gave Victor a solid bear hug, his strength astonishing.
"Good lad! You've grown sturdy!"
Victor winced in his embrace, feeling as if he could hear his own bones groaning.
"Ow! Easy, Uncle Frank!"
Frank quickly let go, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry, kid. These arms aren't quite used to controlling their strength yet."
"Uncle Frank, did you get new arms? They feel even more terrifyingly strong than before."
Victor asked, rubbing his sore shoulder.
Frank's wife, also a Frankenstein creation named Eudice, rolled her eyes helplessly and answered for her husband:
"This guy lost his original pair of arms playing cards with someone last week!"
"This new pair I just scrounged up for him from an online 'antique parts' specialty store. Supposedly, they belonged to some Norse Viking berserker... There might still be some muscle memory lingering."
"Hey, are these two girls your girlfriends?"
In no time, several of the female monster elders—the werewolf Wanda, Frankenstein's Eudice, and others—had warmly surrounded Wednesday and Enid.
"Oh, look at these two adorable little ones!"
Wanda gently touched Enid's pink cheek with her fingertip.
"Is this our Victor's little girlfriend? So charming!"
Eudice also examined Wednesday, casting an appreciative glance at her signature gothic attire.
"Such poise, such taste. Quite a match for our Victor. If Victor ever dares to bully you, just come find us aunts. We'll have your back!"
"Thank you, aunties~"
Enid's face flushed slightly, feeling both shy and a little sweet inside.
"But Victor treats us very well."
She stole a glance at Victor. Was this... meeting the parents?
Wednesday gave a somewhat stiff nod in response to these overly enthusiastic elders.
Faced with such direct and noisy affection, she felt a bit at a loss, yet deep inside, a faint, almost imperceptible warmth quietly flowed.
Frank wrapped his massive new right arm around Victor's shoulder, his voice low and concerned.
"Kid, having two girlfriends at once—this playboy attitude isn't a good habit. Ever considered becoming a Frankenstein?"
"Uncle can give you a modification. That way, if one of your little girlfriends gets angry and chops your head off, you'd at least survive, get a new body, and keep on playing the field."
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