Childhood's End
an Aaaah! Real Monsters Fanfic
by Save Fearow
Author's Note: I always wondered what would happen when Bradley grew up and left New York City. I think he's the kind of boy who would be excited about the future, but still manage to keep one foot in the past.
Bradley Stephens ran his hands through his spiky brown hair. It was good to be home again and not have to wear that silly gown and mortarboard. He'd been so nervous during his graduation speech, because he knew the event was going to be televised. He'd had a bad experience with TV once. It helped that he knew he had the audience on his side this time. His parents, Harvey and Sabrina, had sat near the front (Dad was even trying to run that silly camcorder) and even his sister Tabitha stayed quiet for a change. He had other friends supporting him, too. Bradley was sure that Ickis had hidden somewhere nearby. He wouldn't risk surfacing during the ceremony, since Miss Verdoff and her news crew were always on the look out for an additional scoop, and the little monster had NO desire to ever get his picture flashed again. Heck, Ickis could probly have heard every word even if he sat way out in Shea Stadium, although Ickis only ever went there during inter-league play. Bradley grinned. The Yankees were his team, too. He'd already packed all his sports memorabilia into a box bound for college. Bradley might have been growing up, but he wasn't going to part with everything overnight.
He heard a tapping at his windowpane that sounded hauntingly familiar. "It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right, I hope you have the time of your life." sang Ickis.
"Hey Ickis. I been expecting you, so the lyrics aren't totally appropriate." Bradley commented as he opened up the window.
"I didn't feel like doing Kool And The Gang." Ickis admitted. "I don't care if they did play 'Celebration' at your school afterwards. The cover band wasn't even that great, they were half a step behind."
Bradley laughed. "You've come a long way since I first met you an' you didn't know whether music should sound like human performers or like the Gromble kept telling you it oughta be played." he recalled.
"He told me I had no talent." Ickis remembered. "Y'know he said that about my scares too, but it didn't confuse me so much, I could tell -they- were awful. Didn't even need a lecture from Oblina for that revelation. Human music made SENSE though. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it."
"There'll be lotsa music where I'm going." Bradley revealed. "California is like a mecca for bands. Of course, I'll be spending most of my time studying art in UC San Diego, but there's no rule that says I can't listen to music while I work, or go clubbing, purely for inspirational reasons, of course. I can even claim a trip to Comic Con as being part of my research! Yeah, I think I chose the perfect major. Remember all those old monster comics I used to read? They really inspired me to become an artist!"
"The drawings -were- great but those books were just as inaccurate as my Manual turned out to be regarding certain subjects. It claimed I should never, never, never, never, never, EVER ask a human for help or all monsters are doomed, but we proved them wrong!" Ickis professed. He looked around nervously before climbing inside Bradley's bedroom. "I mean, so far so good. I'm not expelled yet, an' I haven't run into any Monster Hunters today. Simon didn't even go to your graduation, I almost thought he might."
"He wanted to. Simon sent me a card that wished me luck, and told me how to set up a snare trap. He's just not allowed within 100 feet of that lady reporter, is all." explained Bradley.
"Oh. Maybe you should send HER a thank-you card." Ickis suggested. "Oblina always nags me to write more often."
"That's not such a bad idea. I can mostly decipher what you write nowadays." Bradley admitted. "The first time you showed me an essay of yours I thought it was in Elvish or something."
"Okay, now I don't feel bad that Krumm ate your copy of The Two Towers." Ickis angrily retorted.
"That's the pivotal book in the saga!" Bradley whined. "Without it, you don't know how the remaining Fellowship survive, or what role Gollum would have yet to play!"
Ickis' ears drooped. "I'm sorry. That was my fault, I told him human literature was an acquired taste an' well... he wanted to test out that theory." Ickis finished lamely.
Bradley sighed. "No, it's alright. I can get another copy after I move. There are plenty of libraries, and college bookstores always have a wide selection in stock." Bradley detailed.
"Do they have any stories about huge hairy monsters with big pointy fangs who leap out at unsuspecting prey?" asked Ickis.
"Maybe. I'll find out soon enough." Bradley declared.
"I don't want you to go." Ickis confessed. "I'm never gonna see you again, I don't know what I'd do without you!"
"Ickis, I have to go. College is real important. That's how humans get jobs, and wives, and families. It's a really big deal for me." Bradley insisted. "You have monster friends back in the Academy, don't you? They can look after you. Isn't that what Oblina's best at?"
Ickis sniffled. "It's in her top 3 skill-set, right alongside scaring and nagging." he allowed.
"There you go!" Bradley smiled gently. "Concentrate on your own schooling, Ickis, and everything will fall into place for you, you'll see."
"You sound like my father. He keeps telling me to keep working hard cause everythin' gets easier with experience." Ickis stated.
"He's right, you know. Slickis is pretty smart for a monster." Bradley agreed.
"Nuh-uh. Cause I- I'm always saying g'bye an' it's always h-hard." Ickis stammered.
"Ickis, don't be so glum. I bet you've gotten better at that even." assured Bradley.
"Well, you're alive for this g'bye. That puts you ahead of the last human I was f-friends with." Ickis sobbed. "You sh-should be real careful driving out west. Wear the seatbelt an' d-don't go over the speed limit."
"Sure, Ickis. I already promised -my- Dad I'd do that. It was the only way to get him to give me the car keys." Bradley admitted.
Ickis' lip quivered. "Y'know they have earthquakes out there!" he blurted out.
"They've even had quakes in New- nevermind." Bradley caught himself in time. "I'm not falling into that trap with you, Ickis. I know you're scared that I'm going to be in danger but I'll be FINE. It's not like you're some kind of walking jinx."
"I broke my collarbone 2 days ago, when I tripped during a loom." Ickis pointed out.
"I -was- wondering what the neck-brace was for. It looks good on you." Bradley professed.
"Yeah, as a fashion statement it just screams 'oh lucky monster'." Ickis quipped.
"I've seen you look worse. What about that time you got your ear pierced?" Bradley alluded.
"That was your fault! You told me I was drinking bug juice!" Ickis argued.
"I didn't know I was doing anything wrong!" protested Bradley. "If I thought giving you sugar would make you go crazy I wouldn't even have offered it! Trust me, Ickis. I would never do anything that would hurt you!"
"Yes you would." Ickis noted sourly. "You've already packed your bags."
Bradley lowered his gaze. "I can't help it, Ickis. This is what humans do when they get old enough, they move out of their parents' home and start their own lives. Sort of like when you started going to the Academy." Bradley claimed.
"That's not the same. I was used to being alone even then. But I don't WANNA go back to feeling like that! The city is -alot- nicer when you have someone you can visit whenever you want an' they don't call you gweebie or demand to know why you still haven't lived up to your father's legacy." Ickis insisted.
"Legacies CAN be annoying. I come from a long line of picked-upon campers." Bradley commiserated.
"See! You understood that! Oblina and Krumm DON'T." Ickis informed him.
"But they're still good friends, right? You can ask them about monster things, what garbage to eat, which humans to scare, how to avoid a Snorching. I can't do those things, I never could." Bradley countered.
"You don't hafta! We can just do what we always do! 'Member when I helped you show off in front of all'a the scouts at Camp Renan? Let's do that again!" suggested Ickis.
"That won't work anymore. I gave away that sleeping bag 3 years ago, it was too small for me, just like my scout uniform and most of my other old clothes. The only thing I kept was this ratty T-shirt... which reminds me of an important thing I need to do. Hold on a sec, Ickis." Bradley promised. He retreated into his closet and tore open one of few remaining boxes.
"Bradley?" Ickis called out. "What's going on? Are you trying to pull something over on me, it isn't funny if you are!"
"Relax, Ickis. You'll like this, I'm sure of it. See, my Dad once told me that a true friend would give you the shirt off his back. And this is the same striped T-shirt I used to wear back when I was a scared little kid. I want you to have it, so you've got something to remember me by, always." Bradley offered.
Ickis eyed the green-and-purple shirt with awe. "Bradley, I couldn't take that, it's too important." he decided.
"That's what makes it a gift." Bradley persisted.
"It even hides the neck-brace, thanks. But wouldn't you be cold without your clothes?" Ickis wondered, as he pulled the shirt on clumsily.
"I have other things I wear, Ickis. Even a stupid graduation gown if I'm really desperate and haven't done my laundry. 'Sides, California is ALOT warmer than New York." Bradley told him.
"That's one point in its favor." conceded Ickis. "But that's not the only thing that's gonna change! You won't have your family around anymore an' that'll hurt... it really will. Won't you be lonely in San Diego?" Ickis queried.
"Whiskers is coming with me." Bradley gestured to the sleeping ginger tomcat. "The vet give him a sedative along with his booster shot, so he'd be relaxed while we're traveling."
"So not fair! Your school allows pets!" Ickis huffed.
"It depends on the campus. I'm not actually in a dorm, I'm in an efficiency apartment. That's a tiny space humans rent when they're just starting out at college. Look, here's a map I downloaded earlier. I'll be living in La Jolla. The Visual Arts Facility is right there, at Lyman Avenue and Russell Drive. When I'm at class, I'll be somewhere in that building. Further west is the Price Center and Bookstore. That's where I'll go to relax and drink espresso. I might even apply to be a barista there, work my way towards a better-paying job. From that, go south along Myers Drive till you intersect with Gilman Drive and head east, you'll reach Archstone in La Jolla Village. I rented a room out there so if you ever need to find me, that's where you should go, Ickis." Bradley detailed.
Ickis' eyes widened. "You mean it? You'd let me come visit?" he exclaimed.
"Sure. Starting college is like stating a picture. Sometimes you don't want a completely blank canvas. You might even get a better effect if you have a couple layers underpinning the whole scene." Bradley theorized.
Ickis nodded. "Sounds good to me." Ickis professed.
"Everything's settled then. I've got Whiskers, and I've got my Yankees pennant, and if ever I need just that little swatch of color for a focal point, I'll have you." Bradley stated.
"That makes it a promise." Ickis vowed. "And monsters -never- break their word."
"I know. That's one of the things I like about you." Bradley replied. "So is this." He kicked Ickis' shin the way he used to as a child, but without quite as much force as he'd done when they were closer in height. Ickis didn't apply the same restraint, and Bradley noted that despite Ickis' reputation as a bumbler, the monster had added some muscle due to his frequent excursions above ground.
~~~The End.
Author's Note: Bradley was never given a full name in series. Here, he was given the last name "Stephens" as a double reference to Darrin Stevens (husband on Bewitched) and Stephen King, prolific horror writer. Bradley's younger sister (mentioned only as being someone who left her toys in Bradley's room during Monsters, Get Real) continues the family theme naming by being called Tabitha (Bewitched daughter, another King family author). The parents were called Harvey and Sabrina after the boyfriend and girlfriend on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. As for the kitty cat that appeared briefly in Into The Woods, Whiskers is also the name of a cartoon rabbit voiced by Charlie Adler. At least I didn't call him Buster (no relation). Small wonder then that at least one member would encounter something supernatural during their lifetime. Reviews are appreciated.