Author's note: Hello, dreamers! This chapter will focus on Lily's first meeting with two main Pixar characters that you probably know and love, and their day of work at Monsters Incorporated! I also will be revealing the full version of Lily's name, which is Lilisandra! So, anyway, on to the story!

Characters introduced (Or mentioned)

James P. Sullivan (Monsters Inc)

Mike Wazowski (Monsters Inc)

Ted (Monsters Inc)

Ricky Plesuski (Monsters Inc)

Celia Mae (Monsters Inc)

Roz (Monsters Inc)

Jerry (Monsters Inc)

Disclaimer! Any of the characters, ideas, locations, or stories that aren't my OCs or part of my personal ideas aren't mine and I do not claim to own them.

July 2012

The group had arrived at Mike and Sully's house, and Lily was at first excited to greet their new friends, but she was feeling nervous. "What if they don't like us, or what if their villains? Aurora's told me horrible stories about things that villains had done in the past, and I don't want to take any chances." Lily said. Ever since she had heard stories about Dio Brando, she was very wary about what the two of them would be like, since monsters had a pretty bad track record with being mean and evil. Boy, would Lily get a shock meeting these two! "What if they're mean, like the monsters in the fantasy books Lucas and I liked to read together? We loved all types of books, but one of them scared me real bad. I remember a few years ago, he had a book series called The Lord of the Rings, which he wouldn't let me read because he knew it was a little too mature for a 6-year-old. When Lucas was at a friend's house for the night one night, I snuck into his room, and read the book. I knew I should've followed the rules because I have always had an overactive imagination, which I know now comes from my mother, and I imagined all too real versions of orcs, goblins, trolls, and don't even get me started on Sauron." Lily shuttered when she said Sauron's name, which, she was right feel that way, because he was a big named villain, one that Lily and her group would have to fight somewhere in the future.

"Lily, you don't need to be scared, because these guys are special, they are Disney heroes, which have protected us for many years, and are very kind, true, and caring. The Disney heroes are some of the most legendary characters who ever lived, so you have nothing to fear!" Corrin had the most caring voice when he said this because he wanted to help Lily through her fear. "Ok, I believe what you say about Disney heroes, because I was raised alongside a few, so I'm excited to see what the others are like!" Corrin rivaled the enthusiasm in her voice because since arriving at the mansion of lucidity, he had been filled with anxiety over the dire odds that they all had to face. "Ok, here goes nothing, I'm gonna knock!" After she said that, Lily knocked on the door, expecting to hear normal footsteps, but what she heard was a little wild. "THERE HERE! Sully, get the door!" A high-pitched voice screamed, followed by pounding footsteps that made the porch rattle. "WOAAHH!" A deep scream was heard, followed by a loud crashing sound, Then, the door opened, revealing a small green, one-eyed round monster. "Sorry for the inconvenience, your highness, but that racket was partially my fault because I let the hallway get cluttered." Cadenza recognized this monster as Mike Wazowski, from the description Aurora gave them in their mission booklet. "Hey, you're Mike Wazowski! I recognize you from the description! I've been half nervous and half excited to meet you guys, but I think there's nothing to worry about because you guys look really nice!" Lily's nervousness melted away all together when she saw Mike, and how nice he was.

"Ugh, well, that hurt. Mike, I thought I told you it was your turn to clean the hallway! I could've broken something other than the vase that broke when I fell!" Lily had to hold in a laugh at what was happening in front of her. "Wait, that was my favorite vase! You'd better hope I can glue it back together!" Mike stormed off in a huff to try and fix his prized vase. "Sorry about that, guys. Mike's pretty protective of his antiques. Now, let's get to work on introductions! You already know who I am, I'm James P. Sullivan, but since we're in this together, you can call me Sully." Lily listened to Sully with respect, for she had never met a friendly monster. "Now, Lily can you please tell me about yourself?" Lily felt excited when Sully asked her that. "Well, I'm very creative, and I love daydreaming and writing stories, but I never knew about the maladaptive daydreaming powers until Aurora told everything about my mother and the other Etherians, and I think that's better because I never understood why I daydreamed so much, and always thought I didn't belong. My brother Lucas told me I did belong, and he helped me with some of my stories! A hero defeated him a few years back, but I remember him, so that makes it a little better. I also like helping people and making new friends, " Lily felt tears in her eyes while talking about Lucas.

Wow, I'm sorry that happened! Hey, Lucas was right about you, because it's true that everyone is somebody." Lily saw her brother in Sully and felt moved by his words. "Alright, I guess it's my turn, my name is Prince Corrin of Hoshido, and I am here with my sister, Princess Cad-" Corrin didn't even have time to save his sister's name before she interrupted him! "I am Princess Cadenza Esperanza, Queen of Nohr and former empress of the great empire of Esperanza! Everyone calls me the most powerful ray of light in the darkest kingdom of them all!" As Cad made that statement, you could see, "nobody calls you that, but okay..." in Corrin's eyes. "Well, with everyone else out of the way, I guess it's my turn. My name is Lilith, and I am the princess of the astral dragons, and the last surviving of my kind, who lived on a world parallel to our own called the astral realm, which can only be accessed using the power of Moro, one of the first dragons. He granted me the power to use my human form for everyday life, and my dragon form for battle, which I will use in our long journey." Lilith had such a calm voice when she said this. "Alright, now that everyone's introduced themselves, let's go inside and get settled in! I'm excited to see what the mission will be about!" Sully was nicer than Lily had expected, but her unsureness was quickly melting away.

Meanwhile, Dio and Megan were plotting with Waternoose and Randall on how to take down Lily's group. "Waternoose, it's not like we're taking on an elite group of warriors! What's an 8-year-old, 2 royal brats, and a puny dragon going to do to the king of vampires?" Dio was in over his head, and in the coming battles, he was going to get a pretty rude awakening! "These aren't just 'brats' as you call them! Princess Lilisandra is far too powerful to be trifled with, but she won't be as difficult, because she doesn't even know the full extent of her power yet! Lilith isn't just, 'a dragon,' she is the princess of the astral dragons and has great power in her battle form. Corrin is even more powerful because he possesses the Yato, an ancient fictional weapon, but is far less powerful than his twin sister., Cadenza... " Waternoose spoke about Cadenza strangely, almost like he was scared of her. "What's so special about her, Waternoose? Why does the mention of that insufferable princess's name make you so uncomfortable? Isn't Lily supposed to be the REAL deity here, not Cadenza?" Dio spoke with his signature confidence, but he could never be ready for who the princess of Nohr truly was...

"Look, Dio. Randall and I have heard rumors about that girl being an extremely powerful being, tying into the origins of the multiverse, so we want to be as cautious as can be when dealing with her!" Dio knew Waternoose had a point, because Cadenza had a strange, otherworldly presence, and even though he tried to act fearless, Dio knew they were in for some trouble. "Now, the first and foremost challenge on your list is to start work at the factory tomorrow, and compete against Lily and her group in scaring. Whoever scares the most children and gets the most points gets the first pieces of the essence. The second and third challenges will give you more." Waternoose had done his research on the mission before giving it to the two groups. "Oh, scaring will be easy for me! I'm one of the most terrifying fictionalvillains ever made, so I've got that essence in the bag!" Dio was getting a little too overconfident for Megan's taste. "Dio, are we doing this together, or is this gonna be just another 'Dio does everything and leaves Megan in the dust' missions?" Megan was angry with her brother and wasn't afraid to show it

"Well, since it's finally time for you to inherit your mother's powers, I suppose I'll let you lead this one, Meg. Sorry I always take the credit." Even though Dio was evil, he still loved Megan as a real brother should. That's just the thing about villains that Morgana finds unfair. Even though they're evil, some of them are still human, and have feelings like the rest of us, and need love. That is where Morgan's is right in her ways, because villains have been shunned and defeated by heroes for generations, and while Morgana wanted fairness for her people, her people weren't innocent either. The villains hurt the heroes, so the heroes hurt the villains, and the cycle continues. Lily was determined to stop this war and bring peace to the multiverse forever, no matter how hard it was and how long it took...

'Memories' from the Sailor Moon soundtrack would go good with this scene

Meanwhile, Lily and Sully were bonding with each other while unpacking the group's things. "Sully, I would like to talk to you about something that's been on my mind since Aurora told me about my powers. Is it true that Morgana is evil just because she wants to protect her people? I mean, if I were a queen, I would want what's best for everybody and would protect the ones I love from harm, even if they're villains, like Lucas." Lily had a point, but she was still too young to understand that there is never a good side to a conflict or war. "Well, indeed, you always want to look after your people, but Morgana's intentions might be been good, but what she does is not good at all. This is difficult to talk about because neither the heroes nor the villains are technically 'good guys' in this war because they hurt each other, and can't seem to come to any agreement. You're right because while Lucas might have been a great person, and there are probably more villains out there like him, there are also many extremely evil villains out there. The same goes for heroes, because this entire war wouldn't be a thing if both sides could stop fighting, and if we could just have peace." Sully had practically explained to Lily her entire mission! She would eventually have to come between both sides and try to establish peace.

"That's just what I want to do is establish peace, but I just don't know how to do it! How will I get the two sides to stop fighting long enough for me to try?" Lily felt that the situation was hopeless because ancient wars aren't always the easiest to end! "The answer is what's happening right now! Meeting and bonding with new characters and friends are just what you need to do to succeed in ending the war. It's also essential to recruit as many reformed villains as you can because that will raise your chances of establishing peace through the roof!" Sully was so enthusiastic about the coming mission, and he was determined to help Lily through and through. "Sully, I understand more about my mission now, but there is one more thing I'm scared of." The thing Lily was scared of the most wasn't her enemies or the dangers in her path, but losing the ones she loved. "What is it? You can tell us anything." Sully was trying his best to be a supportive friend. "I'm scared of losing people, like what happened to Lucas, because heroes most of the time end up defeating villains, so if I make friends with villains, will the same happen to them?" Lily was right to be scared because many villains have fallen the same way as her brother did. "Well, these multiverse missions won't always be about following the story of a movie perfectly, it will also involve changing things, like saving some people who do die but sometimes losing people along the way." Sully also had a solemn look on his face now, because he wasn't looking forward to losing anyone, either.

"Wait, if I gain the full power of daydreams and open Paragon Etheria, won't I be able to use it to bring anyone I lost on the mission back? If so, I'll be looking forward to seeing all of my friends again, which is one more reason to get the essence!" Now Lily had renewed hope for the future. "Yes, and that's also another reason for us to keep it from the nightdreamers. I know you're gonna go far, Lily, and be the savior of the multiverse, along with your growing group of friends." Sully was right, for Lily's group was surely going to flourish and bring peace to the multiverse! "Thank you for talking to me, Sully, I really appreciate you guys helping me through our mission. Now I'm gonna get some sleep because we have a big day tomorrow." Lily felt excited about what the next day would bring...

The next day, Lily was awoken by a soft but beautiful ray of sunlight beaming through the window. She opened her eyes and felt a calm, peaceful feeling, which she would never forget. Lily felt tranquil and at peace until a loud shout was heard from downstairs. "GET UP, SULLY!" Mike shouted from downstairs, followed by a loud air horn blast, and Sully screaming. Well, I guess that's our wake-up call. Lily thought as she got up and began to get ready for the day. After she had finished getting showered, dressed, and brushed her hair, Lily headed downstairs to join the others for breakfast. "Mmm, something smells good!" Lily just loved home-cooked breakfast, because Aurora, Rosie, and Lucas would always cook for her when she was young, so it felt so much like she was home, like she was still at the mansion of lucidity's dining hall, eating with her closest character friends and family. This reminds me so much of Aurora's amazing cooking, and when Lucas used to rearrange my fruit plates into faces! Rosie was always over by the fruit area squeezing juice, and Alice and I always laughed and talked at the table! Lily missed her home and was eager to get back after the mission, but was even more excited about working on the scare floor.

After everyone finished breakfast, they set out on the walk to Monsters Incorporated. As the group was walking out of the door, Mike tried opening his car door, but Sully had other plans. "Mike, there's a scream shortage. We're walking." Sully was firm when he said this, but Mike was quick to object by grabbing the side of the car and holding on for dear life. "No, no my baby, she needs to be driven! My baby, I'll call you!" Lily could tell that Mike wasn't happy. After that crazy (but pretty hilarious) ordeal, Lily began to soak in the sights of the town. "Wow, this is amazing! Even though I live in haventown with many other characters, I've never seen a morning commute with only monsters walking to work! And friendly ones, at that!" Lily was feeling a little bit of culture shock because she had always believed all monsters were bad. "Well, I believe you'll be seeing a lot more places like this, and a lot of even weirder ones, also!" Sully said before he heard a loud footstep, and an intense tremor to go with it. "HEY TED! GOOD MORNING!" Sully had to yell to get Ted, a giant Godzilla-like monster's attention. Ted made a chicken noise in response, which was strange to Lily because she thought he would've roared instead. "YEA, GOOD MORNING, TED, MY FRIENDS AND I ARE NEW HERE!" At that point, Lily knew that ALL of her fears had melted away if she was brave enough to introduce herself to a giant.

After the walk, the group had reached their destination—Monsters Incorporated. When Lily saw the massive building in the distance, she knew she would never, ever forget the sight, or feeling of staring at a part of her future. "This is it... MI is pretty cool, isn't it?" While Mike was true about the building being cool, but Lily thought just 'cool,' was an understatement. As the group walked through the parking lot, Lily felt a mix of feelings, ranging from amazed to scared, because she was nervous to see what lied behind the big, glass doors that towered before her. Sully opened the doors, and everyone was blown away at what awaited them. Monsters of all shapes and sizes hustled and bustled around the building, working, talking, and doing several different jobs. "Morning, Ricky!" Sully said, addressing a green monster with eight feet, and many, many sharp teeth. This place is kinda like the Multiverse Hotel! Lily thought, remembering her hometown.

"Alrighty, Lily, I have someone REALLY specialto Introduce you to!" Cadenza could tell Mike was in love by the way he said that. "Oooooh, sound like YOU have a secret lover! Does this special someone of yours have a name? Caddie said, teasing Mike good-naturedly. "Her name is Celia, and she is the most beautiful monster in all of Monstropolis!" Mike said dreamily. "I heard that, Googley bear!" Celia said from behind her receptionist's desk. "Oh, Schmoopsie-Poo, happy birthday! I have some special guests to introduce you to! This is Lily, Lilith, Corrin, and his twin sister, Cadenza. "Princess Lilisandra, is it really you? The girl we've been waiting for all these years?" Celia said, with a twinkle in her eyes. "Really? What do you mean?" Lily said, wondering about her higher calling. "Well, Aurora told you all about the prophecy of the mind and heart, right? Well, you have to get the heroes and villains of the multiverse to stop fighting, but it will be a little bit harder than you think. Imagine two villains who are siblings, who protect, love, and care for each other, but one sibling is killed by a hero. The other sibling naturally and understandably retaliates on the heroes to avenge the death of their sibling. The villain's mind tells them not to retaliate because it knows not only will it not be the right thing to do, it will also make them even more irredeemable in the hero's eyes. The heart usually overrules the mind, telling the villain to have their vengeance for their sibling's death. The heroes have the same problem, but the head usually overrules the heart. The hero's head tells them to defeat the villain because naturally, villains are irredeemable, but the heart tells them to be more understanding, and open their eyes to the fact that what the good side did was wrong. The true root of the Multiverse's conflicts stems from vengeance, retaliation, and the love of family. Even though it's not the right thing to do, both heroes and villains alike would be willing to do anything to protect the ones they hold dear. The prophecy says your group will finally unite the heart and mind, uniting villains and heroes in the process." Celia explained the harsh truth about the prophecy and the two groups' conflicting morals.

"I know that feeling exactly. It's just like when Lucas was killed by Scott Pilgrim when I was young. It seems there are more people I have something in common with. And one other thing, I'm still not used to this whole 'princess' thing, so I would like it better if you just called me Lily, please." Lily said. "Oh, I forgot to tell you all that I am taking my Schmoopsie-Poo out to eat at Harryhausen's, which is the best restaurant in the town!" Mike said, with nothing but love in his voice. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Celi, but we have to get ready for work now," Lilith said. "Alright, I'll see you later! I hope you like the scare floor!" Celia said. The group then made their way over to the lockers to get ready for work.

At the lockers... "You know, pal, she's the one!" Mike said, referring to Celia. "I like Celia! I think she's really nice and is a good match for you, Mike!" Lily said, happy for Mike. "By the way, thanks for hooking me up with those reservations, Sul!" Mike said. "Oh, no problem. They're under the name 'Googely-Bear!" Sully said, teasing Mike. "Tha- you know, that wasn't very funny," Mike said, disappointed. Just then, Mike's locker door mysteriously slammed shut. He tried to re-open it, but some force kept shutting it. Unexpectedly, a clear figure began to materialize before Mike's very eyes, before purple scales appeared on its body. "WAZOWSKI!" It was Randall, of course, who screamed, startling Mike off his feet. "Whaddaya know, it scares little kids AND little monsters!" Randall said. "Who are YOU?" Cadenza asked, startled by Randall. "You must be Cadenza, the insufferable princess of Nohr!" Randall said. His mission plan must've had more info than Caddie had previously thought... "And you must be Randall, the main jerk of this mission!" Cad said, with disgust in her voice. Lily didn't want a full-blown argument to break out, so she stepped in. "Yes, that's Cadenza, her twin brother Corrin, and their friend Lilith. It's nice to meet you, I'm Lily, the leader of the group." Lily said, trying her best to be kind to the villain standing before her. "Hey, Randall, it's these folks' first day of work, so play fair, and don't intimidate them too much!" Sully said, trying to make things easier for everyone.

"Do you really think a bunch of newbies like you could beat me? You don't know the first thing about scaring!" What Randall said was true, because Lily had never scared a kid in her life. "Well, it'll be more humiliating when OUR team not only breaks the record but also helps the daydreamers get their first piece of paragon essence!" Mike said. After that confrontation, everyone headed out to the main workroom to start work but had to stop at an office desk with Mike. "Wazowski, you didn't file your paperwork last night." Roz, a giant garden snail-like monster said. "Oh, that darn paperwork! Wouldn't it be easy if it all just, blew awayyyy~ "Mike said. "Don't. let. it. happen. again. I'm watching you, Wazowski, always watching... always..." Roz said, as Lily and the others shuddered and walked away to join the other scarers in preparation for their job.

"All scare floors are now active. Assistants, please report to your stations." Celia said, talking over the P.A. Lily watched assistants hustling and bustling all around the scare floor, loading scream canisters, setting up doors, and preparing work for all of the scarers. "OK, EASTERN SEABOARD COMING ONLINE! WE'VE GOT SCARERS COMING OUT!" Jerry, the floor manager shouted. This is it, they're calling on us... Lily thought, feeling nervousness in the pit of her stomach. As the scarers began to walk out, Lily held her head high, despite her nervousness, while Lilith, in her astral dragon form, floated along. Corrin and Cadenza's dragon forms stomped ferociously, being by far the most fearsome of the group, even Sully. As the group walked across the scare floor to their door stations, Lily saw a terrifying sight. Megan was standing at her door station, which was, of course, right next to Randall Boggs. But the worst part was that Megan had already begun to hone her nightdreamers powers because she was no longer the long brown-haired girl Lily knew from when she was young. Megan was in a monster form, nearly identical to Lily's, but a dark version. Instead of pink fur with beautiful hearts, Megan's fur was purple, with cracked hearts, and an overall dark look. Both girls shot each other a look, saying, you won't win, I will get that essence. "May the best monster win," Sully said, just trying to be fair, but was immediately brought down by Randall. "I plan to," Randall said. So much for fair. The horn blared as everyone readied themselves. "WE ARE ON IN

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2..." Jerry said before the horn BLARED...

Author's Note: So, that was probably the first real cliffhanger I have ever written, so I hope the next chapter is worth the suspense! Cadenza will first use her powers in the next chapter, so stay tuned! The prophecy of the mind and heart part of the chapter is actually foreshadowing for later books... I have to tell you, I love foreshadowing, if it's used in the right way, because in my first version of this story back in 2018, I didn't even know what I was doing, and my foreshadowing was so in your face, it had no meaning, and I think anyone would've been able to figure that out...