Okay to be honest I have no idea if this will be a step up or down from the last chapter. I only read over half of this one, but I felt more engaged while doing it so it really could go either way XD and also sorry if its shorter, and sorry for the cliffhanger at the end :3 ill upload another chappy next i get the chance, R&R because i get those cute little notifications in my email and its so fun reading them :D especially when im at school and have nothing better to do.

Chapter Two

The building loomed menacingly as the medium-sized monster looked up at it. The sun just barely peaked over the roof, and shade would be covering the sidewalk for a good few more hours. Workers were in and out almost constantly at this time of day, as it was about a half an hour before the first shift. Everybody had very urgent and important business to attend to, and not a single soul asked Randall Boggs why he was standing so hesitantly and staring up at Monsters, Inc. as if he had never seen it before.

And if he was going to be honest, it wasn't the building that was scaring him at all. It was a single certain monster that was surely already within it. And scared wasn't the right word to describe Randall's feelings anyway. That would be demeaning.

Randall was anxious.

He hadn't slept a wink the night before, as his mind had been entirely preoccupied. The purple monster had loaded up on so much caffeine that morning that he could actually feel himself twitching all over. His shower had lasted longer than usual, and he didn't even notice until the water went cold out of nowhere and he had to get out.

To put in perspective Randall's problem: He had been caught crying by his worst enemy.

Now to the chameleon, who's mind was always scheming, Sullivan could do one of two things. He could either tell everyone and laugh as Randall suffered through the taunts of his coworkers, or he could use the secret as blackmail. Either way, the monster didn't want to enter the building at all.

But once he saw the clock read that he had ten minutes before he was late, Randall forced himself to swallow his worries and slinked inside.

A large, energetic array of monsters moved in all directions across the floor. The room was filled with light banter, and a few of the especially friendly workers waved at Randall. It was just an average day as far as he could tell. If Sullivan planned on spreading the news, he must not have done it already. Still, he kept his head and his guard way up.

Quickly stuffing a few things in his locker and leaving the locker room (which now felt foreboding to him), Randall scurried towards the scare floor. He watched from his peripheral vision for Sulley, but made sure to stick a normal face on. He knew he'd have to face the blue oaf sooner or later, but he would rather it not occur until their shift had started. Then at least he could focus completely on his work and ignore any potential confrontations from his rival.

Time had ticked down quickly and suddenly it was show time. The scarer's lined up as they always did and prepared to walk on. Randall caught a small glimpse of blue fur out of the corner or his eye and felt the coffee and toast that had sufficed as his breakfast rise in his throat. Just as long as he didn't make eye contact... He'd be fine.

The purple monster's assistant, Fungus, had called up a light pink door as his first scare. Randall positioned himself right in front of it, refusing to move his gaze away from the standard wood of the door. He knew that Sullivan was less than ten feet away from him, and he could practically feel him staring. The thought made his stomach clench in what he completely assured himself was rage.

And then, before he had even completed his thoughts, the alarm blared and it was time to move.

The first door was very easy, just a four year old girl sleeping with some dolls. All Randall really had to do was jump up and she screamed loud and clear. The sound sent adrenaline pumping through his body and he started feeling incredible. As the day went by, the purple monsters mind was deliberately off of his situation, and he felt himself growing almost high off of the sound of terrified children. And by the time it was time to break for lunch, Randall's heart was racing and he felt utterly sensational.

That is, until he saw Sullivan beelining straight towards him.

The purple monster all but scrambled to get out of there.

A good few workers were still on the scare floor, taking their time to get to lunch. They had an hour and a half, so there was never any huge rush. Which is why several confused monsters that had just been knocked to the floor realized with shock that the one that had shoved them was none other than Randall Boggs, and that he was being trailed by a determined but more polite James Sullivan.

Stopping after about ten minutes of scuttling through the halls, Randall finally checked behind his shoulder. He had taken as many random turns as he could without ending up lost himself, and felt out of breath. As to be expected, his pursuer was nowhere in sight. The purple monster let out a long relieved sigh as he sunk to the floor. Silence surrounded him and he closed his eyes for a few seconds. He was more tired than he had thought he was— no amount of caffeine could reduce the heaviness of his eyes.

He hadn't meant to, he really hadn't, but before Randall knew it, he was asleep. Whether he dreamed or not he didn't know, because the next thing that the purple chameleon remembered was being shaken gently, and a voice arousing him from his unconscious state.

Still half-asleep and dead tired, Randall hear himself mumble a plea for a few more minutes. The voice stopped and he slunk back asleep. A very distant feeling of being lifted by careful arms pinged into his senses, but it still felt like a dream so all he did was limply curl into the touch. And the very last thing be felt before he once again went deep into sleep was being out down and some kind of covering being placed over his body. Once everything was still, his mind shut down and all he heard was silence.

The feeling of waking up in a completely unfamiliar place is high on the list of unpleasant situations.

Randall sat perfectly erect as his eyes flashed around through the darkness, looking for any sign of where he was. He could tell from feel alone that he had slept on some kind of bench and was covered in what seemed to be a jacket.

Finally, directly in the line of sight behind him, Randall found a strip of brightness that was unmistakably the glow of light sneaking in under a door. The purple monster slid to his feet and slowly stepped over to it, wary of any objects that could potentially be in his way.

Finding the door unscathed, Randall pushed it open and let light flood into the room. He was in a store room in Monsters, Inc.

Suddenly the truth hit him like a ton of bricks. He had fallen asleep at work.

Before he had even finished properly flipping out, Randall was speeding down the halls to the scare floor. A clock caught his attention momentarily and he felt queasy. He was late. About fifteen minutes late.

Still though, Randall dashed the rest of the way to the floor. The lights in the room were all off and the doors were "guarded" by a random employee he had never even seen before.

"Out of my way!" Randall growled, hoping the mortification he was experiencing wasn't showing too much.

The small red guard spoke meekly, but his sentences sounded as if they had been drilled into his head word for word, "sorry Mr. Boggs! You can't go in while the Scare Floor is in operation! It might throw off scarer's concentration and could become potentially dangerous for the well-being of the company or— WHAAA!"

In a mixture of annoyance and impulse, Randall knocked the small monster out of the way and slunk through doors. Despite the guards warning, nobody really paid to the purple scarer as he slipped through the crowd. He quickly crawled over to his station and was furious to see Fungus talking shyly to Mike Wazowski, Sullivan's assistant!

"Fungus!" Randall snarled, making himself visible to his partner. The smaller monster's three eyes widened in fear as he saw the enraged look on Randall's face, "what the hell are you doing!?"

"I-I'm s-sorry sir..." Fungus stood up fast, stumbling on his words as he panicked internally, "M-Mr. S-Sullivan told m-me you w-weren't f-feeling well, a-and that you w-weren't coming for the s-second half of the d-day..."

From tail tip to his head, Randall's body flooded in ice. He struggled to process what exactly the weight of Fungus's statement was, but before he could even become sufficiently horrified by any realization Sullivan himself was emerging from a closet door. And as his blue eyes locked with Randall's green, everything was clear.

And the next thing he knew, the purple monster had punched Sullivan right in the jaw.

This time, the disruption had distracted a few scarer's. Terrified looks fell onto the two monsters, and Randall was panting as his mind caught up with the time. He looked down at his fist and up at Sullivan, who was cupping his face in confusion. Inwardly, Randall was screaming in horror of what he had just done. But outwardly, the purple monsters pride refused to let him show nothing but steadfast contempt.

"Why are you screwing with me, Sullivan!?" His words dripped out like poison, tired eyes almost completely covered up by fire. Before the blue monster even had a chance to develop a response, Randall continued, "do you really have to stoop so low as to knock me out to ensure your winning the scare record first!?" Even though he knew Sulley hadn't literally 'knocked him out', he didn't care. He was blinded by fury, and could hardly even control the words coming from his mouth.

His chest was beginning to hurt, but he didn't notice.

"You fell asleep..." Sullivan spoke quietly, but he looked more worried than scared. Randall didn't even register it.

"You may. Have something on me. Sullivan." His breathing was speeding up and his throat was tightening, and it was getting harder to get words out, "but that doesn't mean. You. Can. Control. Me."

Sullivan looked genuinely shocked. His mouth hung open for a few seconds before he gently said, "Randall... I'm not trying to control you. I want to help you."

And before a single more word was passed between the two, Randall felt a painful convulsion pass through his body and his vision went white.