Authors Note: Shout out to my friend BoneHatter over on tumblr who inspired me to write this little story. Thank you, my dear!
"Yeah keep the doors comin , I tell ya I m on a roll today!"
"Hey did you check out his new technique, I tell ya these new kids on the block,"
"I hear Wazowski's really climbing that new record,"
"Another day, another laugh track!"
"Oh man has any of you guys seen where we put those new funny glasses?"
The whole Laugh floor was a buzz of words, laughter, and music. It echoed in the large, echo friendly room and honestly James P. Sullivan could not feel any more proud or accomplished with himself with just how much had changed in only three short months. The darkness which had flooded and surrounded the scarers, while necessary in their roles as scarers, were now gone and replaced with bright sunlight streaming in through those giant windows that over looked their proceedings.
It was like a totally different company, with a whole new attitude and outlook. Those who worked here were happy to come to work, the monsters who were once known as scarers were now joy bringers and they couldn't be happier. "So, whaddya think? Huh? Huh?" He glanced down to see a (almost literally) glowing Mike standing before him.
"Hm? Think of what, Mike?" he asked as casually as he could, while glancing down at his clipboard which showed the reports that the new scare floor manager to replace Roz, named Stimes, had handed him that morning. Of course the chart was rapidly shooting upwards. He d be shocked if it was pointing anywhere but.
"Of the new all time laugh record of COURSE." Mike retorted.
"Of course that's what you were talkin about Mike. Not like you been talking about much else since, oh what. You became a joy bringer?" Sulley asked, somewhat sarcastically, as he looked down at his friend.
"Oh come on I ain't been talking about only that ya big lug."
"You know Mike, shocking as this may be to your little green invisible... ears (seriously where do you hide those things under your horns) I do have things to worry about outside of how high on the ladder you are with that thing! Besides, you know you got it in the bag. You re a natural at this." he reassured the other, "These other guys aren't even close to matching your numbers."
It wasn't like they had something like how he and Randall had been neck and neck at the scare record all that time ago. But oh man, that thought alone dropped that ugly anxiety stone into the pit of his stomach, and it must have shown since Mike suddenly looked worried.
"Oh hey yeah you got that meetin with the board of directors today don't ya?" he asked.
Normally, for any level headed monster, meeting with a group of distinguished monsters in power and having to answer any questions and put on a full presentation about how the company managing would be harrowing enough. On top of that lovely ice cream made of anxiety was the fact that Randall Boggs own father, the established Ozymandias Boggs was on the board of directors himself.
To say Sulley hadn't had the wind knocked out of him the day he was introduced to the monster would be the understatement of the century. Since, for one, Randall didn't look that similar to this father. The monster in question was fairly tall, but matched him in skin tone. He had four limbs, all long but matched the hands and feet that Randall was renown for, and he had similar eyes though his hid behind a pair of square glasses.
In fact, running into any of Randalls estranged family was a strange, gut churning experience for Sulley. Knowing the fate of your family member and being unable to tell them what happened to him was one of the most stressful feelings imaginable. Randalls father though, hadn't even brought up his missing son no matter how many times Sulley would see him in meetings. His nephew though, was another story.
Turns out Randall's sister-in-law worked in marketing and her four year old son, known as Rex, was taken care of at the creche during work hours. The little monster looked a lot like his uncle, save for the fact he had orange skin and only one prong above his head. When he had first run into the little kid, who immediately knew who he was, the little lizard had clung to his leg and asked him if he d seen his uncle Randy.
Sulley had never felt more messed up in his life but, as Mike reminded him, they had been instructed by head of the RDA to not disclose what had happened on that fateful day all those months ago.
Randall was simply gone. A missing monster. Monsters go missing every day in the world, Mike had said. Unsolved mysteries. Randall was just another statistic, and they had to move on from that. It was for the best, since what would his family say, or do, if they learned the truth behind his machine and how he d been plotting with Waternoose to kidnap children to extract their screams to help the shortage of power?
Yes, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few but there was a line that had been pole-vaulted over if that line meant hurting innocent human children that were no more toxic to them than a butterfly.
"I tell ya Mike. Every time I see him I just." Sulley made a series of awkward hand gestures at the air which, of course, Mike understood.
"Easy there." he reached out and patted the polka-dotted monsters leg. "I know. I know, it ain't easy."
"Understatement." muttered Sulley.
"I know I know but you gotta "
Mike's words of wisdom were interrupted when there came a distant ringing sound. Sulley stood up to his full height and looked around, as did the other workers on the laughter floor. That wasn't an alarm any of them were familiar with, at all.
"Uh what's that?" Sulley asked.
"I have no idea." Mike answered truthfully.
Stimes hurried out of his office up to Sulley, the striped purple monsters eyes wide as he held a new red book in his hand. "That's the internal alarm, sir"! he hissed to Sulley. "A doors been activated whilst in the hanger!" he added in urgency. It was a new feature installed after the 'incident', it seems, and was so new even Sulley hadn't been made full aware of its existence until now.
Sulleys eyes widened, and Mikes pupil dilated, at this bit of news. A door had been activated while being held in the storage system meant a monster was either trying to sneak into the human world, or sneak back into the monster world. Now, there were a few monsters who were known for being banished for legal reasons spreading from mail fraud to tax evasion, but they knew their crimes and their punishment.
The only monster that sprang to mind who was in the human world who may well try to fight their way back into theirs was "Randall." Sulley whispered to himself before shoving past Mike, and George, running towards the back lot of the factory where all of the doors were kept. Mike was in hot pursuit of course, ignoring any and all stares from their fellow monsters.
"You don't think!" Mike gasped to keep up with Sulleys long, powerful strides with his own shorter strides.
"Oh I think Mike. Think about it, we made it back!" Sulley shot back as they made their way down a hall way, passing steaming pipes as they did. "But it's been so long!" shouted back the smaller monster.
"You know Randall, Mike," Sulley said as he slammed through some double doors and stumbled over his own feet and looked up, and around, as if he could see just where the door in question was despite the building being so huge. "He is very stubborn."
"Man so wait, wait. Two human minutes equal what, two days for us?" Mike asked, counting on his fingers. "He's been gone like three months our time " he frowned. "Darn it I was good at maths once!" he lamented at the loss.
Sulley was no longer listening, instead he was hurrying to the closest worker who was on the phone with someone. It was a green monster wit long legs, and skin like scales. A recognizable monster. Betty! Sulley rushed over to her, and she immediately hung up the phone.
"Betty where's the door?"
"They're bringing it in. It could have been a malfunction, though!" she said back,
"Why didn't we think about that?" Mike asked Sulley. "A malfunction, those happen right?"
"Why're you two back here for something like this any way?" Betty asked, "You that invested, Sulley?" she laughed.
"Oh yeah he's got a meeting today. Gotta keep them board guys impressed, don't you know?" Mike spoke up, leaning around Sulleys form to grin up at Betty.
Betty made an understanding face and patted his shoulder in a comforting manner. Don't worry so much Sulley, your fur s gonna go silver early if you worry too much! Then what ll all the lady monsters think? she grinned, trying to help relieve some of the stress her friend was obviously under.
"Ha ha right now I m really not thinking about that sorta thing to be honest." Sulley replied dryly, before looking back upwards, trying to spot the door which was being brought in.
"Honestly he never is I mean what s the big deal with that," Mike could be heard just out side of Sulleys attention span, talking to Betty now about how his best friend had never been the type to go out on dates with anyone at least not since university when he was some kind of expert on the scene. Man, back then he was on a date every other night when he wasn't avoiding study. And another thing...
That's when he finally spotted it. A single door riding along the rails, the red circle above the door brightly lit as it made its merry way. There was no monster hanging from it. It was not open. It was just on, for some strange reason. Sulley grabbed the railing nearest him as he watched it zoom past on its way to the maintenance room and, despite Mike and Betty talking so close to him, he took off again following the door.
Sure, it probably was just a broken door turning itself on because of faulty wiring. But he, like majority of monsters, had very strong gut instincts when it came to things and when your gut was crunching in on itself in worry or fear you normally went with it which is what Sulley was doing. He ignored Mike's calls from behind as he approached the collection of monsters who were watching as the door was slowly being lowered after being collected from the rail.
They, like Betty, looked confused as to why Sulley was back here but didn't have time to question it since they had a job to do. They had to turn the door off before anything could slip through. Of course children were no longer a toxic threat but that still didn't mean they wanted one falling through into their world, or even a pet. Naturally the CDA would get involved only now they d work at returning the child, or pet, back where it would belong.
"All right lets have a look here," said a spiked monster going by the name of Bob, reaching up to tap the glowing light. "Everyone stand back," he said as a clawed hand grabbed the door and slowly turned the handle but when he tried to push it he found he couldn't. "What the..."
And then the monster who, up until that point, had been invisible suddenly materialized in front of him. The monster, long, lizard like, and purple, was clinging to the door so even if Bob had pushed forward all he would have run into was his stomach incapable of going any further.
The monsters all gasped and stepped back and Sulley swore he felt his jaw hit the ground.
"Randall." he mouthed as the lizard like monster clung to the door, those familiar squinting green eyes open wide mirroring the look of shock that his appearance had caused right back at everyone around him.
To be continued