Hope you've enjoyed the story so far! A lot will be revealed in the next
few chappys, so keep reading and reviewing. And, to be honest, I can't be
stuffed to write the disclaimer. Just read the top of the first page if you
are that desperate!
Chapter 20- The Machine
Waternoose opened the discreet door of the hideaway and walked down the steep corridor. The metal hallway led to a large room with high ceilings covered in a complex network of pipes that filled every corner in sight except for the only supply of light; the skylight. Birds twittered above, unaware that directly beneath them lay a machine that, as Waternoose had said many times before, would "revolutionize the Scaring Industry."
And he was right.
If the Board of Directors allowed this to become the main method of collecting screams Waternoose would make a lot of money, let alone creating a spectacular reputation for himself. Which was exactly what he wanted.
The machine stood proudly in the centre of the room and, next to it, modifying it and adjusting some nuts and bolts, was its creator. Waternoose tapped the lizard-monster lightly on the back. He jumped swiftly off the machine and gave Waternoose a quick, toothy smile.
"Hello Waternoose. So, what do ya think?" he questioned optimistically.
"Good. And I'll think even higher of it if it works."
"Don't worry, sir. It works. I can guarantee it."
Just then a fusion of sounds came from the corridor; some loud thumping footsteps mixed in with the recognisable cry of several children in distress. Waternoose's henchman came into the fading light of day.
"I've got them sir," he said, implying to the young monsters he held in his long, stiff arms.
"Good. Put them over there." Waternoose pointed to a couple of rusty cages that were situated in the corner of the room. The furry monster strode over to where Waternoose had pointed and stuffed them into the cages, ignoring the weak protests that they dared to give out. They were getting desperate.
Waternoose turned back round to face the lizard-monster called Cyrus.
"Is the machine absolutely ready?"
"Yes."
The crab was pleased with the firm answer and walked over to the cages, eyeing each of the captives that were unfortunate enough to be chosen for this experiment. Finally, Waternoose chose his prey.
"This one; the lizard-girl. Maybe if she and the escapee are really relatives it might knock some sense into him, and give him second thoughts about trying to escape from a member of the Waternoose family."
Cyrus looked up at the mention of the lizard-girl. The lone henchman took out his keys as Marie began to plead.
"Please, don't do this! I will do anything, just not this!" She yelped as the grip of Waternoose's employee overcame her already failing strength. He grabbed her by the neck and heaved her into the chair where she could see the machine properly for the first time.
It was massive and cast a long shadow. It seemed to be made out of things found around Monsters, Inc. but engineered wit expert hands. As she saw the machine in the light, she was thrust into the light herself and Cyrus, the inventor, saw her for the first time. He opened his mouth with a gasp and took off his sunglasses to reveal bright yellow eyes.
"Marie."
Chapter 21- Banishing the Bullying
"OK, that's IT."
"What is it THIS time, Wazowski?" Randall said, his annoyed voice perfectly fitting his expression. Mike carried on, ignoring the interruption but nevertheless answering the question.
"We've been crawling for half an hour in a pipe, and I, for one, am getting bored of it."
Randall growled.
Couldn't this loudmouth be content with the fact that they were about to be free? No. And did he even say "well done" or at least "thank you" at Randall's brilliant flawless plan? No. Randall was really getting sick and tired of him, and, with such a short temper, that wasn't a good thing. So, of course, Mike had to carry on.
"And do you even KNOW where we're going? Hmm?"
That was it.
Randall had been patient with the olive for long enough (or, so he thought) but now he couldn't hold his anger in for any longer. He swept round and did a 180* turn in the tunnel coming face to face with Mike.
"That is IT. I've had enough of your moaning. I've had enough of your complaining, and guess what? I've had enough of YOU. If you don't close that big trap of yours I will have no choice but to close it for you. Get the picture?" If Mike hadn't been surprised at Randall's outbursts before, this did it. Here they were, in the middle of a pipe, and the monster he had bullied and taken control of for so long was now standing up to him. And, as he backed away from the lizard-monster nervously, one thought was transmitted from Randall's mind to Mike's without Randall needing to say it.
Now you're getting a taste of what I've been having for years.
Randall turned around, looked fiercely at Sulley who had been watching the pair of them worriedly, and continued to slither his way. Mike carried on, his mouth firmly shut as the silence that had once ruled came back into power. But not for long.
"Hey, I've found something," said Sulley, stopping to look at what he had discovered. Randall peered over his shoulder with interest than sighed.
"It's called a vent Sullivan. Big whoop."
"No, look," Sulley said, knowing that Randall's judgement was too quick. He crawled forward a bit then lowered himself slightly, allowing Randall to get a better look while Mike stayed in the background.
They were directly above a machine of some sort. Randall looked at it with confusion, then with surprise at what it was pointing to.
"It's Marie! We've got to save her!"
Chapter 22- Mysteries Solved
"Cyrus?" Marie stared while he stepped forward into the light.
"Yes."
"But.I thought.what happened?" She questioned him apprehensively, not sure whether it was him or some sort of hallucination. But, once she had looked at him for a couple of seconds, her suspicions grew into happiness and relief, but also a thick confusion. She was now certain that it was him; no- one had such deep black scales as he did, nor did anyone have such florescent yellow eyes, so bright and powerful that he wore sunglasses to keep the weird looks that he received at bay. His tail and fronds were a dark blood-red, completing the bizarre package.
Although Marie was happy, she did not smile at Cyrus' presence. She awaited an answer for her question, but none came. Instead, Cyrus looked down at the ground showing slight signs of embarrassment.
"What happened?" Marie asked yet again. "We thought you were dead; it was all over the news about how your place was set on fire!" Even at these remarkable comments, Cyrus still looked intently at the ground. He sighed, not unlike Randall had many times before, and began to tell his tale.
"As you should know, I left school early at 17 to get out of the orphanage. I hated it there so it was a great relief to be free. The first thing I knew I needed to do was to find a job, earn some money and get a place to live. At first I thought it was going to be easy like on those TV shows, but it's a lot harder than it looks. But in the end I managed to find a job working in a.supermarket." Cyrus cringed slightly. "Even though the pay was rubbish, it WAS a job, so I looked for a place to live."
"After a while I found a little apartment in the centre of the city. It was small, but it was enough for me. The rent seemed reasonable, but when I got my first pay-check I began to get in debt. My one job wasn't enough. I looked for another job, but, as you know, there are a lot of downsides to being a reptile-monster, and not being able to get a decent job is one of them."
"In the end I had to come to terms with the fact that I was seriously in debt. And I'm not talking a couple of quid. I'm talking hundreds. And, unfortunately for me, my Landlord didn't take kindly to people who don't pay their rent. He started to come onto me about it, and even gave me a deadline. That was when I KNEW I was in big trouble."
Cyrus closed his eyes, took a breath deeper than the ocean, and looked back up at Marie.
"I was scared. I didn't have any ideas of what to do. I asked one of my mates and told him the story, and, as it happens, he had heard of my Landlord. Actually, everyone had except me. When you're cooped up in an orphanage for so long, you kinda miss the news. You should know; you've had the same experience. The problem was that my Landlord had been put up for some serious charges. Things like fraud, robbery, and even murder."
"I started to panic. There was no way out and nobody would help me."
Marie interrupted in a voice so unlike her own. She was coming to tears. "You could have asked us, Cy! I would have been there for you! I would have helped you!"
Cyrus shouted back at his sister, livid. "I couldn't let Randall see me like this! He would've gone about it for years after! No, I couldn't put up with such ridicule from him, of all monsters."
Marie was stunned. "Randy wouldn't do that! I know he wouldn't."
"Well," Cyrus continued, "it seems like I'm the only one who know his bad side."
A stillness followed in which the only sound that could be heard was Waternoose yawning. The CEO didn't expect this to happen, of all things! But he knew what it was like to have an untrustworthy brother, so, in respect for Cyrus, he let him carry on. He wouldn't have under usual circumstances but he had had the same excruciating experience.
Cyrus and Marie had both settled down after their emotions had got the better of them so the tale was continued. All the while this was happening, Randall, Mike and Sulley had all been eavesdropping in on the conversation. When the silence once again returned it was so quiet you could hear an ant dropping a pin on a piece of cotton.
Randall had so many thoughts revolving around in his head; so many, he honestly didn't know what to think. But he was saved the trouble of picking an issue from an array of problems by Cyrus' voice.
"I was desperate. I had gotten a little note before the deadline. It had said two simple words; "don't forget." The first thing I thought about this was "how can I forget?" Ever since my friend had told me about my Landlords rep, my week was filled with a lot of stress and sleepless nights so, no, I wasn't going to forget anytime soon. The following day I sat in my apartment waiting for the inevitable. I had tried everything and everybody, but nothing had worked. Before I knew it I heard a rap on the door and was about to open it.
"This is it," I thought. "The end."
"So, I opened the door expecting the worse. But it was just an old crab bloke who I didn't even know." Waternoose frowned at this description. "He told me that his name was Harold N. Waternoose and that he wanted to help me. Just after Waternoose had explained everything, my Landlord came in looking as mean and tough as ever. I was frightened witless but I knew he wouldn't hurt me with Waternoose there. Ya see, Harold had just found out that he would inherit the company of Monsters, Inc. from his father, much to his brother, Henry's dismay. Now was Harold's chance to prove that he could run the company as well as his father had done before him."
"Harold Waternoose decided to build a machine that would collect screams ten times as quickly as usual. Or rather, hire someone to do it for him. That's me."
Cyrus smiled proudly.
"To help me he paid off all my debts in exchange for my undying loyalty to him and the machine. But, at the time, the machine was illegal so we had to fake my death. I set fire to my place and left a trail of clues for the police to find and to prove my death. And, as revenge, all the trails of clues led to my old Landlord." Cyrus chuckled. "And, y'know, it was SO simple. The police and the CDA are very easy to manipulate. So, here we are."
Chapter 20- The Machine
Waternoose opened the discreet door of the hideaway and walked down the steep corridor. The metal hallway led to a large room with high ceilings covered in a complex network of pipes that filled every corner in sight except for the only supply of light; the skylight. Birds twittered above, unaware that directly beneath them lay a machine that, as Waternoose had said many times before, would "revolutionize the Scaring Industry."
And he was right.
If the Board of Directors allowed this to become the main method of collecting screams Waternoose would make a lot of money, let alone creating a spectacular reputation for himself. Which was exactly what he wanted.
The machine stood proudly in the centre of the room and, next to it, modifying it and adjusting some nuts and bolts, was its creator. Waternoose tapped the lizard-monster lightly on the back. He jumped swiftly off the machine and gave Waternoose a quick, toothy smile.
"Hello Waternoose. So, what do ya think?" he questioned optimistically.
"Good. And I'll think even higher of it if it works."
"Don't worry, sir. It works. I can guarantee it."
Just then a fusion of sounds came from the corridor; some loud thumping footsteps mixed in with the recognisable cry of several children in distress. Waternoose's henchman came into the fading light of day.
"I've got them sir," he said, implying to the young monsters he held in his long, stiff arms.
"Good. Put them over there." Waternoose pointed to a couple of rusty cages that were situated in the corner of the room. The furry monster strode over to where Waternoose had pointed and stuffed them into the cages, ignoring the weak protests that they dared to give out. They were getting desperate.
Waternoose turned back round to face the lizard-monster called Cyrus.
"Is the machine absolutely ready?"
"Yes."
The crab was pleased with the firm answer and walked over to the cages, eyeing each of the captives that were unfortunate enough to be chosen for this experiment. Finally, Waternoose chose his prey.
"This one; the lizard-girl. Maybe if she and the escapee are really relatives it might knock some sense into him, and give him second thoughts about trying to escape from a member of the Waternoose family."
Cyrus looked up at the mention of the lizard-girl. The lone henchman took out his keys as Marie began to plead.
"Please, don't do this! I will do anything, just not this!" She yelped as the grip of Waternoose's employee overcame her already failing strength. He grabbed her by the neck and heaved her into the chair where she could see the machine properly for the first time.
It was massive and cast a long shadow. It seemed to be made out of things found around Monsters, Inc. but engineered wit expert hands. As she saw the machine in the light, she was thrust into the light herself and Cyrus, the inventor, saw her for the first time. He opened his mouth with a gasp and took off his sunglasses to reveal bright yellow eyes.
"Marie."
Chapter 21- Banishing the Bullying
"OK, that's IT."
"What is it THIS time, Wazowski?" Randall said, his annoyed voice perfectly fitting his expression. Mike carried on, ignoring the interruption but nevertheless answering the question.
"We've been crawling for half an hour in a pipe, and I, for one, am getting bored of it."
Randall growled.
Couldn't this loudmouth be content with the fact that they were about to be free? No. And did he even say "well done" or at least "thank you" at Randall's brilliant flawless plan? No. Randall was really getting sick and tired of him, and, with such a short temper, that wasn't a good thing. So, of course, Mike had to carry on.
"And do you even KNOW where we're going? Hmm?"
That was it.
Randall had been patient with the olive for long enough (or, so he thought) but now he couldn't hold his anger in for any longer. He swept round and did a 180* turn in the tunnel coming face to face with Mike.
"That is IT. I've had enough of your moaning. I've had enough of your complaining, and guess what? I've had enough of YOU. If you don't close that big trap of yours I will have no choice but to close it for you. Get the picture?" If Mike hadn't been surprised at Randall's outbursts before, this did it. Here they were, in the middle of a pipe, and the monster he had bullied and taken control of for so long was now standing up to him. And, as he backed away from the lizard-monster nervously, one thought was transmitted from Randall's mind to Mike's without Randall needing to say it.
Now you're getting a taste of what I've been having for years.
Randall turned around, looked fiercely at Sulley who had been watching the pair of them worriedly, and continued to slither his way. Mike carried on, his mouth firmly shut as the silence that had once ruled came back into power. But not for long.
"Hey, I've found something," said Sulley, stopping to look at what he had discovered. Randall peered over his shoulder with interest than sighed.
"It's called a vent Sullivan. Big whoop."
"No, look," Sulley said, knowing that Randall's judgement was too quick. He crawled forward a bit then lowered himself slightly, allowing Randall to get a better look while Mike stayed in the background.
They were directly above a machine of some sort. Randall looked at it with confusion, then with surprise at what it was pointing to.
"It's Marie! We've got to save her!"
Chapter 22- Mysteries Solved
"Cyrus?" Marie stared while he stepped forward into the light.
"Yes."
"But.I thought.what happened?" She questioned him apprehensively, not sure whether it was him or some sort of hallucination. But, once she had looked at him for a couple of seconds, her suspicions grew into happiness and relief, but also a thick confusion. She was now certain that it was him; no- one had such deep black scales as he did, nor did anyone have such florescent yellow eyes, so bright and powerful that he wore sunglasses to keep the weird looks that he received at bay. His tail and fronds were a dark blood-red, completing the bizarre package.
Although Marie was happy, she did not smile at Cyrus' presence. She awaited an answer for her question, but none came. Instead, Cyrus looked down at the ground showing slight signs of embarrassment.
"What happened?" Marie asked yet again. "We thought you were dead; it was all over the news about how your place was set on fire!" Even at these remarkable comments, Cyrus still looked intently at the ground. He sighed, not unlike Randall had many times before, and began to tell his tale.
"As you should know, I left school early at 17 to get out of the orphanage. I hated it there so it was a great relief to be free. The first thing I knew I needed to do was to find a job, earn some money and get a place to live. At first I thought it was going to be easy like on those TV shows, but it's a lot harder than it looks. But in the end I managed to find a job working in a.supermarket." Cyrus cringed slightly. "Even though the pay was rubbish, it WAS a job, so I looked for a place to live."
"After a while I found a little apartment in the centre of the city. It was small, but it was enough for me. The rent seemed reasonable, but when I got my first pay-check I began to get in debt. My one job wasn't enough. I looked for another job, but, as you know, there are a lot of downsides to being a reptile-monster, and not being able to get a decent job is one of them."
"In the end I had to come to terms with the fact that I was seriously in debt. And I'm not talking a couple of quid. I'm talking hundreds. And, unfortunately for me, my Landlord didn't take kindly to people who don't pay their rent. He started to come onto me about it, and even gave me a deadline. That was when I KNEW I was in big trouble."
Cyrus closed his eyes, took a breath deeper than the ocean, and looked back up at Marie.
"I was scared. I didn't have any ideas of what to do. I asked one of my mates and told him the story, and, as it happens, he had heard of my Landlord. Actually, everyone had except me. When you're cooped up in an orphanage for so long, you kinda miss the news. You should know; you've had the same experience. The problem was that my Landlord had been put up for some serious charges. Things like fraud, robbery, and even murder."
"I started to panic. There was no way out and nobody would help me."
Marie interrupted in a voice so unlike her own. She was coming to tears. "You could have asked us, Cy! I would have been there for you! I would have helped you!"
Cyrus shouted back at his sister, livid. "I couldn't let Randall see me like this! He would've gone about it for years after! No, I couldn't put up with such ridicule from him, of all monsters."
Marie was stunned. "Randy wouldn't do that! I know he wouldn't."
"Well," Cyrus continued, "it seems like I'm the only one who know his bad side."
A stillness followed in which the only sound that could be heard was Waternoose yawning. The CEO didn't expect this to happen, of all things! But he knew what it was like to have an untrustworthy brother, so, in respect for Cyrus, he let him carry on. He wouldn't have under usual circumstances but he had had the same excruciating experience.
Cyrus and Marie had both settled down after their emotions had got the better of them so the tale was continued. All the while this was happening, Randall, Mike and Sulley had all been eavesdropping in on the conversation. When the silence once again returned it was so quiet you could hear an ant dropping a pin on a piece of cotton.
Randall had so many thoughts revolving around in his head; so many, he honestly didn't know what to think. But he was saved the trouble of picking an issue from an array of problems by Cyrus' voice.
"I was desperate. I had gotten a little note before the deadline. It had said two simple words; "don't forget." The first thing I thought about this was "how can I forget?" Ever since my friend had told me about my Landlords rep, my week was filled with a lot of stress and sleepless nights so, no, I wasn't going to forget anytime soon. The following day I sat in my apartment waiting for the inevitable. I had tried everything and everybody, but nothing had worked. Before I knew it I heard a rap on the door and was about to open it.
"This is it," I thought. "The end."
"So, I opened the door expecting the worse. But it was just an old crab bloke who I didn't even know." Waternoose frowned at this description. "He told me that his name was Harold N. Waternoose and that he wanted to help me. Just after Waternoose had explained everything, my Landlord came in looking as mean and tough as ever. I was frightened witless but I knew he wouldn't hurt me with Waternoose there. Ya see, Harold had just found out that he would inherit the company of Monsters, Inc. from his father, much to his brother, Henry's dismay. Now was Harold's chance to prove that he could run the company as well as his father had done before him."
"Harold Waternoose decided to build a machine that would collect screams ten times as quickly as usual. Or rather, hire someone to do it for him. That's me."
Cyrus smiled proudly.
"To help me he paid off all my debts in exchange for my undying loyalty to him and the machine. But, at the time, the machine was illegal so we had to fake my death. I set fire to my place and left a trail of clues for the police to find and to prove my death. And, as revenge, all the trails of clues led to my old Landlord." Cyrus chuckled. "And, y'know, it was SO simple. The police and the CDA are very easy to manipulate. So, here we are."
