First Night Out

Mavis had grown up so much since the hotel was first built. She was now an attractive, teenage Gothic beauty of a vampire. She was up in her room looking in a mirror to practice a talk she expects to have with her father, even though being a vampire means she has no reflection to talk to while she does it.

"Dad, you said that when I turned 118, I could go out into the world like every other adult that gets to come and go from this hotel." She then mimicked her father's voice and accent. "But Mavey-Wavey, it's not safe, bleh, bleh-bleh." She then went back to her normal voice and walked up the wall towards the ceiling. "Dad, thirty years ago, you promised. I remember, we were both eating mice and you specifically said that you gave me your word."

As Mavis worked on that, her father finally exited the elevator and calmly made his way to her room, walking past other rooms with shrunken heads on the doors that said "Do not disturb." and just ignoring them.

Drac then walked past a witch maid that happily greeted the Count. "Good morning, Your Eminence."

"Maid, clean up this room!" a shrunken head demanded, much to the maid's annoyance.

Dracula soon made it to Mavis' room, numbered 174, with the shrunken head noticing his presence. "Oh, it's you. Glad you could make it." she said sarcastically.

"Is she up yet." the Count asked.

"Oh, she's up." the head replied. "She's ready to go. And by 'go', I mean 'go'. As in go check the world out. What you gonna do? What you gonna say?"

"I got it covered." Drac brushed off. "Please relax. Just do your job." He then opened the door and came into the room with much fatherly enthusiasm in his voice as he looked for his little girl. "Good morning, Mavey-Wavey! Happy birthday, my little mouse!"

Mavis popped out floating upside-down. "Thank you, Dad. I know it's my birthday." she said in a bored tone.

"I have so much fun planned. Whoo-hoo!" Dracula cheered. "But first, we go catch some scorpions together. Just the two of us, yes Deadums?" he asked while playfully pinching Mavis' cheek.

Mavis got down on the floor and stopped her dad's playful teasing. "Dad, please let me speak. There's something we have to talk about."

"You want to go out into the world. You can."

"Aha! I knew you were gonna say that." Mavis swung around and pointed at her father with a smug smile. "But Dad, you gave me your word. You know that I know that a Dracula's word is sacred, that our trust is the core of our..." She froze when she realized what her dad just said. "Wait, what?"

"I said you can go." Dracula calmly told her.

Mavis still felt skeptical. "You're just playing with me."

"No, no, no, no." Dracula defended. "You're old enough to drive a hearse now, you're old enough to make your own choices. You can go."

Mavis' skepticism was instantly replaced with excitement after hearing her father's words. "Holy rabies! HOLY RABIES!" She embraced him in a loving hug and dashed to her closet, coming out with a suitcase in her hand while wearing a Hawaiian shirt like a jacket and putting on a straw hat. She then dashed past her dad and to the window where she turned into a bat and got ready to fly away, only for Dracula to stop her before she could leave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. Wait a second, Sweetfangs. Where are you going?" he asked coming over to the window.

"Oh, well, I'm going to Paradise." Mavis explained. "And this is some stuff that I thought I would need."

"Paradise?"

"Yeah, you know." Mavis said changing back and pulling out a postcard that depicted said place. "It's that place out there where you and Mom met. Auntie Wanda says that you two were just like 'zing'."

"I don't know from 'zing'." Dracula said unsure. "W-where did you find card?"

"In one of your drawers." Mavis admitted. "Why won't you ever tell me about how you met?" she then asked.

"Well, it's a little complicated to explain." Dracula told her. "And Paradise is a bit of a nickname for that place. It's actually Hawaii."

"Ha-what-what?" Mavis asked confused.

Dracula's eyes widened from that for a brief moment, but he then changed the subject back to Mavis' birthday. "Look, honey, I know you're excited, but everyone has gone to great lengths to come see you on your birthday."

A feeling of sadness came over Mavis. "I know, they always do." she said and turned around and changed into a bat to slump on her suitcase. "Aren't I getting a little old for these parties? I love them, but I really wanna see new things, maybe meet somebody my age."

Dracula saw this moment to try and comfort his daughter. "Come on." He then noticed her eyes getting big and her lower lip quivering, a look that he recognized all too well. "No, don't do that. Don't give me the pouty bat face." he pleaded, but quickly gave in. "Okay, there is a human village just a little ways past the cemetery. You can go there and be back in like thirty minutes or so. I-it should be plenty for your first time."

Mavis gave a little sigh as she thought about it. "Well, it's not Ha-wee-wee, but I guess it's still technically out there!" she then said excitedly. "Okay, okay, okay!" She quickly grabbed her suitcase and flew back to the closet. She came back out in her vampire form and looked at her dad with a heartwarming smile and gave him a loving hug.

"Thanks for trusting me."

"Of course, my little one. I gave you my word." Dracula said as he hugged her back, though he had a look on his face like his words weren't entirely true. But Mavis didn't seem to notice. Their hug ended when all of Dracula's friends and their kids entered the room to greet the birthday girl.

"Hey honey. Look at this." They all said together.

"Hey guys." Mavis greeted.

"Happy birthday!" Wendy, Hank and Pedro said together.

"Thanks, you guys." Mavis said. "I'm glad you made it."

"Us too." Wendy said before getting all excited. "I can't believe you're soon gonna be old enough to make your own choices!"

"Yeah, like sitting on the couch and gorging on junk food all you want." Pedro said pulling out a grilled-cheese sandwich and wolfing it down, much to Mavis and Wendy's slight disgust.

"Though I still think it's better to still be treated like a kid." Hank then said. His idea was supported with Frank and Eunice making goo-goo faces at him, much to his enjoyment. He then looked at Mavis and saw her looking at him with a disapproving frown. "But you can be entitled to your opinion too." he said defensively, which Mavis then smiled.

Frank then came over and bent down to talk to her. "You excited about tomorrow?"

"Not as excited as I am right now." Mavis replied. "You're not gonna believe this, but Dad is letting me go out on my own to see a human village!"

"WHAT?!" everyone gasped in shock, before being pushed aside by Eunice. "Excuse me. Drac! Have you lost it?!" she asked the Count before grabbing his daughter and hugging her in a protective manner. "Letting your own daughter out there with those horrible humans you always tell us about?! That's why you built this place! They hate us! They're vicious! AND THEY'RE VERY LOUD!" she then told Mavis while screaming at the top of her lungs.

"She's pretty loud herself." Pedro whispered to Hank, the young golem quietly nodding in agreement due to being her son and living with her. Even Dracula felt just as irritated with Eunice's loud ranting.

"Auntie Eunice, maybe they've changed." Mavis tried to reassure. "I'm just gonna fly down the street and see how it goes." she explained to everyone.

All the adults and the kids still felt unsure about this. They all love Mavis like she was family and didn't want to see her get hurt, or worse, killed. But she is practically an adult herself now and should be allowed to make her own choices. This made them agree a long time ago that when that time came they should start treating her like one. So the least they could do was try to support her decision.

"Well, if your dad says it's okay, then I see no reason to stop you." Hank said with a shrug.

"Okay, honey, be safe." Wanda said. "Bring warm clothes and a sword."

"And look out for pitchforks." Griffin added.

"Don't you let anybody scoop your brains out either." Murray warned.

"You should also stay away from garlic patches too." Pedro advised.

Blobby gargled a warning that Wendy translated. "My dad says if things don't work out, you should use your powers to escape. I think you should start with your hypno-eyes to freeze everyone, then change into a bat and fly away."

"Maybe stay in the shadows." Wayne suggested. "It's more fun to just observe, from under a house."

Frank frowned at everyone's caution words and calmly told them off. "Guys, guys, she can handle it. She's a Dracula for Pete sake." Of course, this didn't stop him from turning to his honorary niece and whispering his own advice. "But seriously, watch out for fire. Fire bad." he said gazing out into space with the thought.

Mavis just rolled her eyes with a smile at all her honorary aunts and uncles' caution words. "It's okay, guys. I'll be careful. I promise." she reassured. Mavis then turned and walked to the window, turning back around to see everyone giving encouraging smiles, showing that they truly trust her. She couldn't help but smile at this.

"Bye everyone." she said before jumping backwards out the window. "Whoo-hoo!" Mavis bore a smile on her face while she was in freefall. And the moment she was near the ground she changed into her bat form and flew off in the direction her father told her. She flew over the moat and slid the tip of her wing against the surface of the water as she did so, embracing the freedom she finally has.

Frank looked out the window to watch her go, feeling proud of her. But what he was also proud of was how his friend Dracula was taking it so well. "Drac, I can't believe how calm you are about her leaving. I-I'm proud of you." he told his buddy, only to realize he wasn't there anymore, much to his confusion. "Drac? Drac? Where di-where did Drac go?" he asked the others.