by Joy
NOTE: To reply to Sean's question. . .This story's actually sort of a crossover of SPYkids (1 & 2). I've sort of changed my mind on doing the Treasure Planet crossover, but I did use it to inspire my recreation of Bruton. ~_^ Makes him a more formidable foe to have him become part-cyborg like John Silver, I think. Now, on to chapter one, where - like in DS - I decided to start you off slowly and get you situated with their lives. And chapter one is also where you can meet the twins and find out a bit about them and their relationship with their parents. Enjoy! ^_^
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Chapter One - The Next Generation
"Cody. . .Wake up!"
Eight-year-old Cody Boggs groaned and opened one eye to see his twin sister staring down at him. She was a cute, green-eyed girl lizard-monster. Her two arms were folded impatiently. Cody just closed his eyes again and stuffed the pillow over his curly-haired head. A muffled 'leave me alone' could be heard from underneath the pillow. The boy lizard-monster was the sort of kid who just liked to sleep in once and awhile - especially on Fridays. Too bad his sister had to be such an early bird. . .
Cody felt the pillow lift off of his head. He frowned up at his sister, trying to pull it back on his head. "What Hayley?"
"Don't you even know what today is??" she asked, playing tug-of-war with him and the pillow.
Cody paused to think for a moment, then looked at her puzzledly. "Uh. No. What?"
"It's 'Bring Your Little Monster to Work Day' at Monsters Inc!" she replied excitedly. "Don't you remember?"
Cody's face lit up with realization and he let go of the pillow. "Oh yeah!"
"That's right. And Dad says if you don't get your tail out of bed, he might leave without us," Hayley replied matter-of-factly.
Cody gave her a smirk, one that was clearly the trademark of his father. "You know he wouldn't do that. . ."
"Well, I know I'M not taking any chances," she replied, throwing the pillow at him.
Cody caught it and shrugged, putting it back at the head of his bed. He and his twin sister shared the room. It was big enough that they could split it in half. Frankly, it made snooping into his sister's stuff just that much easier - and she wasn't allowed to kick him out of their room for it either. He chuckled to himself remembering the scene just yesterday, when she caught him reading her diary. Their parents ended up grounding them both for the rest of the day.
As Hayley walked out of the room, he went into their bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His dirty-blonde hair looked like a wind-blown haystack and his fronds drooped to one side. His green eyes reflected just how much he really looked like his father. The purple scales and good looks were also a striking indication of their relation.
He'd occasionally find someone he had never met before who could tell exactly who his parents were - just by his looks. Sometimes he wished it wasn't so obvious. A few of the kids at school teased him for being related to a guy who had been labelled as a criminal. Sure, he had heard the whole story numerous times. But why didn't they get it that his dad wasn't like that anymore? He finished getting ready and ran down the stairs.
Leia was standing in the kitchen, helping Hayley to a glass of orange slime and pouring another for Cody. Hayley took the glass and skipped briskly over to a chair next to the island, which they often used as the dining table. Randall and Leia had bought the new home after the birth of their baby.
They, actually, had been expecting only one, but they ended up with twins! It was very unexpected for the parents so, when they were born, they knew they'd need something bigger than Randall's old apartment. So, they bought a brick red, two-story home in the rural part of Monstropolis - not too far from Monsters Inc. It turned out to be just right for their needs. Sulley had been kind enough to give Randall a raise, so they could buy the home.
"Morning Mom," Cody said, jumping the last two steps of the stairway and landing on his feet.
Leia smiled. "Morning Cody," she said, handing him the glass of slime. "Did your sister wake you up nicely this time?"
"No. She hit me with the pillow," Cody blabbed.
Hayley stuck out her tongue at him and went back to reading a book she had borrowed from the library. Hayley loved reading anytime she got the chance, now that she knew how. She would become engrossed in one all day, if she got the chance.
Leia sighed and shook her head. "Your cereal is setting on the table," she said simply, glancing her daughter's way. "And Hayley, be nice to your brother - for once." Hayley smiled innocently.
"Where's Dad?" Cody asked curiously, taking a drink from his slime.
"Outside. He should be back in a minute," she replied.
Hayley giggled. "Was it Midnight again?"
"Yes," Leia replied, a smile playing on her lips. "It seems he stole our fifth newspaper this week. . ."
"And Dad's chasing after him to get it back??" Cody blurted out, laughing.
Leia nodded, laughing too. "I'm going to call Caylin later and tell him to keep his fluppy inside."
Hayley stirred the remainder of her cereal in the bowl, smiling thoughtfully. "I wonder what he does with all of those newspapers. . ."
"I bet he buries them in Caylin's backyard!" Cody said, taking a seat next to his sister.
Just then, the door opened and Randall walked in. He had an exasperated look on his face. "You know," he said. "Caylin really should tie that dog up or something."
"Were you able to save it?" Leia asked.
"What? The dog? He doesn't need saving, believe me. . ." he replied.
Leia laughed. "No. The newspaper."
Randall held up the waterlogged, torn-up, basically 'useless-to-even-line-your-birdcage-with' newspaper. All the letters were runny and you couldn't read a thing except the headlines. He smirked, tossing it in the garbage. "That answer your question?"
Cody hopped down from his seat and ran up to his father eagerly. "Dad, I'm ready to leave! I can't wait to see where you work!" he said excitedly. "Do we get to go now, huh? Huh? I've been waiting all WEEK for this day!"
Randall chuckled, ruffling up his son's fronds and hair. "Yeah, but have you eaten breakfast yet?"
Cody nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Sure did."
"Well then, we should be going," he said. "I just know I'm gonna be late already. . .Hayley? You comin'?"
Hayley tossed her book on the couch and ran over to join him. "You kidding, Dad? I'd take this over school anyday!"
Leia brushed a strand of golden hair out of her face and gave both of the twins hugs and kisses goodbye. She stood upright and placed her arms around her husband's neck, kissing him on the lips. "Bye Randy," she said, cocking an eyebrow playfully. "You sure you can take care of them on your own for the whole day?"
Randall embraced the kiss before gently pulling away from her, smirking. "Yeah, I think I can deal," he replied. "I AM their father, am I not?"
Leia smiled. "That you are," she replied, stepping back by the door as they made their way out. "Have fun!"
Cody followed his father and sister as they got onto the sidewalk. He had dreamt of becoming a Scarer ever since he heard that his father was one. He had even coaxed Randall into teaching him a few things, which Randall willingly obliged. It seemed that he was very proud to know that his son wanted to follow in his footsteps. He even sent his children to the same school he had gone to when he was their age. Now, finally, Cody would be able to see the Scarefloors for himself and watch his father work. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to him!
Soon, they reached the large Monsters Inc building. Randall was always reminded of that unforgettable night just nine years ago when he and Leia had helped save Monstropolis. The top floor had since been rebuilt and so had Sulley's office, but it always served as a reminder of his old job as an SSO agent. He kind of missed those days.
Scaring was all good and fun and he had a passion for it. But there was still a part of him that missed the missions he, his parents, and Leia had done together for about a year after their marrage. Caylin and Siarra were still working for them, though they had just married no more than a couple months ago. All the stories they were able to tell over the phone made him long for a break from the normal routine. Every day it was basically the same thing, but he didn't complain. Not in the least. Things were going great as far as he was concerned and otherwise, he wouldn't change a thing.
Soon, they reached the entrance and Cody pushed the doors open, running inside - ahead of Randall and Hayley. Ceila was at the receptionist's desk, doing her normal routine of answering calls, taking notes, and filing paperwork. Cody approached the desk and stood on his tiptoes to see over the counter.
"Hi Ceila!" he greeted her, his head barely peeking over the desk top.
Ceila smiled at him, putting her calls on hold momentarily. "Hello Cody," she replied cheerfully, noticing Randall and Hayley as they caught up with him. ". . .and Randall and Hayley. You're a bit late."
Randall took Cody's hand and pulled him away from the desk as Cody began to reach to press a button on her answering machine. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "Let's just say I had a few technical difficulties this morning."
Hayley smiled. "The newspaper ran away."
"Actually, Midnight took off with it," Randall explained, keeping an eye on Cody, who seemed to be interested in the papers setting on the desk top.
Ceila giggled. "I see," she replied, picking up the phone as it began to ring. "Go on in. Scarefloor F should be activating soon."
Randall nodded. "Yeah, thanks. C'mon kids," he said, walking off in that direction with Cody and Hayley.
"Sure is a big place," Cody said. "So, did you really get banished to the human world like everyone says you did?"
"Yeah," Randall replied. "It was somewhere in Louisiana, I believe. Not a fun trip."
Hayley looked fully interested in the story. "Did you do anything else cool?"
Randall chuckled, following the directions pointing them towards the Scarefloors. "Define 'cool'. . ."
"Like, adventurous or anything?" Hayley added. "Like Uncle Caylin and Aunt Siarra. They get to travel all around the world for their travel agency thing." But what she didn't know was that they never ran a travel agency in the first place. They just made it up one day to cover up the fact that they were really spies.
"Well. . .not really," he said, feeling awkward at having to lie to his children like that. "I've been a Scarer ever since I was twenty."
"And someday I'll be a great Scarer just like you!" Cody said, looking up at him with admiration. "Right Dad?"
Randall smiled. "Of course."
They soon reached Scarefloor F. Inside, monsters ran in and out of doors and screams echoed throughout the floor. Cody and Hayley watched with interest as they made their way onto the floor. Other monsters' children seemed to be there too, watching their own parents at work - for some, like the twins, it was their first time. Randall made his way over to his station where Fungus stood, waiting for him to arrive. Since Caylin went into the SSO full-time, he had to quit his job as scare assistant and Fungus got his job back. Though, Randall went easier on him nowadays than in past times.
"Your station is ready to go, Randall," Fungus said. "What happened? You're late." He knew for a fact that - if he could help it - Randall was almost never late for work.
"Nevermind that," Randall replied, getting in scaring mode. "Just get ready to fill up some scream canisters. I've got my kids here waiting for a show and I'm not about to disappoint them."
Fungus glanced at the delighted twins, then back at Randall, giving him a nod to reassure him that he'd do his best. Randall took a quick glance up at the scareboard. He was in first place with 100,000 scares - and that was only for the month. He'd been refining his scaring techniques over the years and now no one could rival him. He was, by far, the veteran of all the Scarers and was proud of that privilege. Now, newcomers turned to him for advice when they went into training. So, he was more than happy to give out tips and techniques.
Randall quickly slithered over to his first door and crawled onto the frame, glancing inside to access the situation before making the scare. He knew he'd have to work hard to make the day's quota. The city had been in an energy slump lately, since Sulley gave the Laughfloor comedians their yearly vacation. He was one of the monsters assigned to work overtime. It was, basically, to help keep the city's scream energy at normal levels. Randall silently slipped inside the human's room and scared the child. The scare marathon had only begun. . .
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An hour later, the quitting bell rang and scare assistants began sending doors back to the vault while the Scarers headed into the locker rooms. Their eager kids followed behind them, hoping to ask some questions and help in any way they could. Randall finished up his last scare of the day and walked out of the door, closing it behind him with his tail. Perspiration beaded on his forehead as he began to catch his breath. He was - simply put - tired out.
Cody skipped over to his father and held up a glass of slime to him. "That was great, Dad!" he gushed. "You got more than all those other guys - and you started last!"
Randall gave his son an exhausted smile and took the glass of slime out of his hands gratefully. "Thanks Cody," he replied. "It comes from years of experience."
"Yes. Very well done, Randall!" Fungus commended him, handing his boss a towel. "I did the math and I think we finished the floors daily quota. No overtime for us today."
Hayley nodded, a smile on her face. Just then, someone entering onto the Scarefloor caught her eye. It was none other than Monsters Inc's CEO, James P. Sullivan. She eagerly ran over to greet him - along with Cody. Randall used the towel to wipe the perspiration from his forehead as he watched his kids jump on Sulley. He smirked and shook his head. Who would have known he would become friends with that big, blue throw rug? Not even he foresaw that.
Fungus grinned, watching Sulley try to peel the kids off of him. "I think I'll get to work on your scaring records," he said, glancing back at Randall. "That's going to take me awhile to finish. See you later."
"Yeah, catch ya later, Fungus," Randall replied, draping the towel over his top two shoulders and heading over to help Sulley get his kids off of him.
Sulley waved. "Hi Randall," he said. "I see you brang Cody and Hayley to work today."
"Well, they've been wanting to come for years, believe me," Randall replied casually. "And do you really think I'd pass up the chance to show them how much better I am than you?" He winked, to show him it wasn't meant as a direct offense.
The CEO smirked. "Very funny, Randall," he said. "You know I could still kick your tail even now."
"May the best monster win," Randall paraphrased. "And I did."
"In your dreams, Lizard Boy," Mike's voice came from behind them. "We're still the best."
Randall turned to see the round, green comedian approach. "Aw, c'mon Mike," he teased. "My kids are here. I'm trying to make a good impression on 'em."
Cody folded his arms. "Hey, my Dad's the best Scarer there is!"
"And you've even brainwashed the poor things. . ." Mike commented, smiling at him afterwards with a shrug. "Just kiddin' Randall."
"So, uh, what brings you guys here?" Randall asked, picking Cody off of Sulley's leg. "The usual rounds?"
Sulley nodded. "Just checking on things," he said, glancing at the scoreboard. "Wow! Looks like we won't need to give anyone overtime tonight." He marked a few things down on his clipboard, occasionally referring back to the scareboard.
"Dad," Hayley began, tugging on her father's tail to get his attention. "Can we look around?"
Randall nodded, letting go of Cody's hand. "Just don't touch or move anything, okay?"
The twins nodded enthusiastically and ran off to look at the scare stations and everything that set on them. Sulley looked up from his clipboard at Randall as he watched his kids pretend to be Scarers. To him, the lizard-monster looked quite worn out. Upon looking at his numbers for the day, Sulley really didn't blame him. He remembered some days when he voluntarily put one-hundred-and-fifty percent into his job to help with the energy crisis. It was those days that he wished he had a break.
"Are you feeling okay?" Sulley asked him.
Randall glanced back at him. "What do you mean?"
"You look beat," he said simply.
Randall just shrugged his top two shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. . . I just got in late, is all. I was trying to make up for the loss in time," he explained.
"Randall, I think you've been overworking yourself," Sulley said, looking over some past records on his clipboard. "Between the kids, your wife, and you doing overtime every other day, I think it's catching up with you."
"Well, this IS my job, Sullivan. I'm just trying to earn my paycheck," Randall replied nonchalantly.
Sulley nodded. "I think you've over-earned it," he said. "Listen. I have a proposition for you. The Comedians should be returning from vacation tomorrow. Then I'll give YOU a week off for vacation." He glanced at the two Boggs kids. "I'm sure you and your family would appreciate a little R&R. You certainly need it."
"But what about-?"
"Your weekly paycheck?" Sulley anticipated. "Done. I'll give you next week's pay before you leave today. I don't want to make the same mistake with my best Scarer as Waternoose did with me. Why don't you use the money to take a vacation? Just a week to relax and enjoy your family."
Randall was overwhelmed by this show of friendship towards him. He never thought Sulley had it in him before they became friends, but now he felt indebted to him somewhat. He finally nodded. "I'll take it," he replied. "I can't believe this, though. You're not just pulling my leg are you?"
Sulley shook his head. "The offer's yours if you want it."
Randall patted the CEO's arm (since he couldn't reach his shoulder) and grinned, gratitude written all over his face. "Thanks a bunch, Sulley," he said. "I'm sure the kids'll love it."
Sulley smiled back. "Alright then," he replied, handing him a check. "Enjoy your vacation, Randall."
Randall nodded, thanking him once more and taking the check, before gathering his kids together. He took one of each twin's hand and walked off of the Scarefloor.
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Later that night, after the kids had gotten dressed for bed, they began to converse about their day at Monsters Inc. It seemed that it was the only thing Cody could think about for the rest of that day. Even as they sat in bed, Cody began to thumb through his Scarer trading cards. He could practically recite the information written on the back of every one by heart.
He was even just beginning to get the hang of disappearing. His father tried to show him again before bed, but it seemed that he could only control a few of his scales. He ended up looking like swiss cheese. His friends laughed and teased him about it often. So much so that he was shy of trying to do it in public. The only one he knew wouldn't make fun of him was his mom and dad. He would always be able to trust them.
Cody looked up from his cards, sitting in the bed directly across the room from Hayley's, and glanced at her. "Hayley?"
"Yeah?" she replied, looking up from the book she had been reading, titled "The Lost Ark".
Hayley loved fiction books. She would often daydream of being in such a story. Whether it was a fairy tale or an adventure story, she loved to imagine herself in all of them. It gave her a break from the monotonous, everyday routine. It was always go to school, come home, do homework - all of that was becoming boring to her. She often dreamed of her life being something more than the daily routine. Though - it seemed - right now it was the only life she knew. And, at times, she wished her parents were different too. Maybe something exciting, like explorers or volcanologists. . .
It wasn't that she hated her life. She just always thought that there was something more. Something beyond their little house in uptown Monstropolis. Hayley was the kind of girl who thought big and, much like her father, she was inventive and intelligent - always striving for something more.
"Do you think Mom will tell us the story of the two spies again tonight?" he asked. "It's my favorite!"
Hayley shrugged, her arc of golden bangs covering one of her eyes as she looked at him. "I dunno," she said. "Maybe Dad will tell us that one. I love those spy stories. . .Oh. Hey! Remember the one when the two spies nabbed a bad guy who was hiding out in Egypt?"
"Yeah! You mean the one in the pyramids? That was cool too. You know, I wonder how Mom and Dad make up such good stories. . ." Cody wondered to himself aloud, hopping out of bed to put his cards away. The room was lit by only two lamps, one by each twin's bed, casting a soft glow throughout the room.
"I dunno," she said. "Maybe they got some ideas from Caylin and Siarra's trips to Africa!"
Cody nodded. "Yeah," he said, jumping on the bed. "If I don't get to be a Scarer, I wanna be a spy - and do fun stuff just like in the stories!"
Just then, the door creaked open and Randall and Leia came into the room. "Come on guys," Randall said. "Time to go to sleep."
"And please stop jumping on the bed, Cody," Leia added, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.
"Aww. . ." Cody sighed, calming down enough to giving his mother a hug.
Randall sat on the edge of his daughter's bed and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. She embraced her dad with a smile. "Oh nice, wonderful father. . ."
Randall smirked, looking at her. "Okay. What do you want?"
"Shoot. Busted," Hayley giggled.
Randall laughed and nuzzled her cheek with his. "Do you really think you can suck up to your father without him knowing something's up?"
"Uh, well, I was gonna try," Hayley replied, giggling a bit more. "But, could you pleeeease tell us the story of the two spies again, Dad? You know it's our favorite."
"Yeah!" Cody piped up, snuggling up in his mother's warm embrace.
Leia sighed, brushing a strand of curly hair out of Cody's face. "I'm sorry Hayley, but that'll have to wait until another night," she replied regretfully. "Your father needs his sleep and. . so do I for that matter. Maybe tomorrow, hm?"
Hayley sighed and nodded understandingly. "O-kay. . ." she said, disappointment showing up in her voice.
Randall ran his hand though her hair and grinned. "Maybe we'll have a surprise for you later," he said. "Sulley just gave me next week off, so perhaps we can go on a vacation of some sort."
Leia nodded. "Yep, so you'd better get some sleep," she added. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, most likely."
"Cool! We actually get to go somewhere other than Grandpa and Grandma's house?" Cody asked.
Leia laughed, and kissed him on the head. "That's right," she replied, getting out of bed. "Good night."
Cody grinned widely. "Okay! So, you're going to tell us where we're going tomorrow?"
Her mother nodded. Hayley immediately crawled under the covers of her bed. "Okay," she said, giving her father a peck on the cheek. "Night!"
Randall chuckled and stood by her bedside. They all exchanged good-nights before both parents shut off the lamps and headed out the door.
