Chapter 4 - All Becomes Clear
Schmoopsie-Poo…
Googley Bear…
Do you want to know something, my love?
Why? It's not something bad, is it?
Of course not! Er, I mean, no, no way, darling…
Well, if it isn't bad, then tell me…
OK, OK, Schmoopsie, here it is, the whole truth…every minute of every day I only want to be with one person…and she's sitting right next to me…
Oh, Googley, I feel just the same! I want to get out from behind this desk and go into a meadow with you and look at the blue sky…
Then let's do just that, Schmoopsie! Come on!
Oh, I love you, Googley…kiss
"Schmoopsie…Schmoopsie? Where'd you go…?"
All of Mike's unconscious visions disappeared in a sudden flash and was replaced with a surge of pain. Clutching his 'head' and groaning in agony, he staggered to his feet to be greeted by the sight of crackling flames and twisted piles of debris. The corridor back to the lobby was blocked off by the fallen debris. Judging by the devastation, Mike concluded that a large amount of the floor above had caved in due to the impact of the blast.
Moving over to the wall and leaning against it, rubbing his wound, he could only think of one person.
"Where are you…my love…" Mike thought out loud, his eye filling with tears, before he buried his blackened face in his blood-stained hands. It was then that he heard a groan, which sounded like it was coming from the debris. He rushed over to the source and looked in horror as he saw a familiar yellow and red hand.
"Needleman! Are you OK?"
Needleman's reply was weak. "I dunno, man…how about…you…?"
For once his life, Mike's attention wasn't fixated on himself. It was funny what different situations could do to someone's personality.
"Never mind about me…I'm getting you and Smitty out of here."
The tone of Needleman's reply was now very edgy. "I dunno about Smitty, man…he's in a bad way…"
I'm not having anyone die on me, Mike told himself as he started to clear away some debris. He winced as sharp chunks of metal and cracked bricks, tiles and cement scraped against his bare hands. Eventually he managed to clear enough debris to be able to pull Needleman out from his trap.
"Thanks, man…" commended the janitor, his body blackened, along with a few cuts and bruises, "but what about…"
"Getting to that right now," replied Mike, already pulling away more debris, "gimme a hand here…"
Needleman immediately joined Mike at his side, helping to clear away more wreckage. Unfortunately, as they pulled away a girder, it dislodged some more wreckage.
"Look out!" yelled Mike as it crashed down, almost burying the duo. However as the dust cleared, it revealed the familiar shape of a worm-like monster, covered in dust and cuts. Only problem was, he was laid down on his back and was coughing weakly.
"Oh man…" said Needleman in dismay, rushing over to his friend's side, "Smitty, you gotta be OK…"
The brace-toothed worm monster looked up at his buddy and gave a weak grin. "Don't worry…I'm OK…no killer's gonna get rid of us that easily…"
As soon as he uttered those words, Smitty's eye closed as he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Needleman went into hysterics. "Smitty! Wake up, man!!! Come on, this ain't a joke!!!"
Mike took a closer look. "Calm down, Needleman…he's only unconscious…"
"But he could still die, man!" cried Needleman, tears welling up in his eyes, "he's my best friend! I don't wanna lose him…help me out here, man!"
Mike just stared at Needleman, then at Smitty, trying to think of an idea. Only one logical idea came to him.
"This'll be tough, but if you can dig through the rest of that debris, you can get outta here, get Smitty to Monstropolis General and alert the authorities…" suggested Mike in desperation.
"It's the only way," replied Needleman firmly, "thanks, man…"
"One thing, Needleman…" spoke Mike, "when you alert the authorities…don't expect me or any of the others to come out of here alive…"
"Don't talk like that!" snapped Needleman, clearly hurt by the comment, "you and everyone else will get outta here alive! That killer will get his just desserts! Promise me!"
Mike just deeply sighed and turned away. "Sorry, Needleman…I can't…now hurry…go…"
"But I don't want you to die…" protested Needleman.
"Just go!" replied Mike urgently, "your best buddy's life is on the line…let me take care of things here…"
With that, Mike turned and walked down the corridor, his body lit up in a red shade by the flames from the wreckage. Needleman watched in sadness, and then, hoisting the heavy body of the unconscious Smitty onto his shoulders, and gritting his teeth, he rushed into the debris and frantically started clearing a path…
Krak-boom…
The sound of the blast woke Sulley with a start. He had just played the moment over again in his mind. Blinking his eyes, he saw that he was in some kind of chamber. Looking above, he saw long stretches of pipes. Some of these pipes had holes in them, from which steam was emitting. Guessing that they were carrying scream power, Sulley tried to get up, but felt that his legs and arms were stuck. He quickly realised that he was bound to a stool.
Then he remembered that Randall had been with him when they were blasted through the floor. He looked round, and found the purple chameleon monster to his left, also bound to a stool, except he was slumped over, his eyes shut, clearly unconscious.
"Randall…" called Sulley weakly, "Randall, wake up…"
Sulley's calls were acknowledged by Randall, slowly opening his eyes and turning groggily to Sulley.
"Uh…Sullivan?" he groaned, straining to get up, but struggling as Sulley did, realising he was also bound. "Grrr…looks like we've been invited to somebody's little party…"
Sulley nodded. "I guess that explosion was the invitation…" he quipped, "where are we?"
"Seems like we're in the no-go area," replied Randall, his eyes scanning the area, "call it Monsters, Inc's underbelly…I've heard about it from various peeps…"
Only a dim blue light lit up the two captives from above the chamber. Everywhere else in the chamber was somewhat dark with dim, dingy yellow lighting. A very grim place indeed.
"How did we get down here…?" questioned Sulley, still groggy, "was it the blast?"
"I don't think so," replied Randall, still trying to break out of his bonds, "there ain't any explosion damage as far as I can see…but I know what I do think…"
Before Sulley could reply, the echo of a set of footsteps could be heard, from the small open entrance to the chamber. Sulley and Randall froze, their eyes widening with fear, realising that it must be the killer.
A shadow appeared on the wall close to the entrance, it looked big enough to be a crazed killer, but as the footsteps grew louder and closer, the shadow seems to get smaller. The sound of someone whistling could then be heard.
Sulley and Randall closed their eyes as the killer entered the room, shaking with fear both inside and outside. Neither of them dared re-open their eyes for fear that they would be struck down if they did. All thoughts of that were interrupted by a voice.
"Hello…how did you like my pyrotechnics?"
That voice…thought Randall, I know it…it can't be…
Opening his eyes like a shot, followed by Sulley, their mouths immediately dropped open in a mix of fear and bewilderment.
Standing a few feet away from them was a very well-known small ball-shaped red monster, with a fin on his back, double-jointed legs, three eyes, three-lensed glasses and sporting a blue hard hat.
"Fungus…"
The normally nervous scare assistant slowly walked up to the duo, keeping his stare fixed on them. His eyes had a wicked glint in them, never seen before. His steps were slow and menacing.
"How does it feel…boss?"
Randall just stared, shell-shocked, unable to believe the whole situation.
"Speechless…for once in your rotten life," taunted Fungus, his normally timid voice now sporting a sinister undertone, "I'll tell you exactly how it feels. How it feels to be oppressed day in day out."
He turned away from Sulley and Randall and paced around the room.
"Scarers and their assistants are supposed to be a team, right?" he uttered, both to himself and to the duo, "supposed to stick together, supposed to help each other…but to every rule there just has to be an exception, doesn't there…"
Pausing, and then turning to Randall, his voice grew more and more emotional as he continued.
"Every day, I come into work. Oh, everyone else is just fine, they get along, they have a fantastic day…but me? I'm the nervous wreck. The nerd. The nobody. The court jester. I walk onto that scare floor and everyone looks at me like I'm just a speck. And I'm shaking and wishing that the floor would cave in and eat me…would you like to know why, Randall?"
"Fungus…" interrupted Sulley, "stop…"
"Quiet!" snapped Fungus, "I'm talking to my partner…my good old partner. Always striving to be the best of the bunch. No matter what…"
Randall just shook his head. "Snap out of it, Fungus! You know the drill. Scaring ain't an easy job. You have to be ruthless. You think it should just be a cakewalk? You think I should have to take a back seat to the other scarers?"
"You think it's OK to treat others like dirt?" interrupted Fungus, his voice growing louder, "you think it's OK to get everything you want in life at the expense of someone else?!"
His face then fell, and he turned to Sulley.
"I'm very sorry I had to drag you into this, Sullivan…" he said, his voice now choking up with sadness, "and your buddies…but I hate this place…I have to get rid of everything and everyone that reminds me of it…I have to get her too…"
Instantly Sulley knew who 'her' was. Glancing over in a darkened area of the chamber, he saw the familiar snake-haired figure of Celia, also bound and sitting on the floor. She was shaking and sobbing with genuine fear.
"Fungus," pleaded a shocked Sulley, "stop this madness. Let Celia go, she hasn't done anything wrong…you can get help…"
Fungus gave Sulley a stare, which seemed like an evil, vacant stare, yet at the same time it was also one of despair. "I can't…"
He then walked over to a small control panel at the far side of the chamber, and pressed some buttons on it, activating something.
"It's time," announced Fungus quietly.
"Time?" questioned Randall, a hint of worry in his voice, "for what?"
The disturbed scare assistant narrowed his eyes and glared at Randall. "You'll see."
Suddenly, a quiet hissing sound was heard, and a few seconds after, steam suddenly poured into the chamber and red lights started flashing. The steam emitted the familiar shrill sounds of children's screams. Instantly, Celia, Randall and Sulley realised what it was.
Fungus gave an evil grin. "You're always trying to get the most screams on the Scare Floor," he drawled, "so you shouldn't complain about getting all the screams you want…and then some!"
"What do you mean?" yelled Randall through the noise, but Fungus just gave an evil laugh.
"Time to go," chirped the scare assistant, waving at his three captives, "it was a pleasure working with you…"
"Answer me!" yelled Randall as Fungus ran out of the chamber, "Fungus!!!" Celia just gave frightened whimper.
"Leave it…" interrupted Sulley, "we have to get out of here, right now…"
Struggling at the bonds tying him to the stool, Sulley suddenly started coughing and gasping abnormally. Almost immediately the same symptoms took effect on Randall, then on Celia.
"The scream…" wheezed Randall, furiously tugging at his bonds, "too much…exposure…"
"I know…" replied Sulley, sweat pouring down his face, trying to think desperately of a way to free himself and Randall. However, his energy was fading fast.
As the scream power poured into the chamber, the three captives struggled frantically at their traps, but their movements were becoming slower as their breaths got shorter.
The normally positive minded Sulley was losing hope of a way out.
Where are you, buddy…
Fires raged along the maze of the Monsters, Inc. factory's wreckage-strewn corridors as the little green eyeball Mike Wazowski raced along, his face a picture of desperation and anger. His hands were still pouring with blood, drops splashing on the floor as he ran, but he didn't care. His feet were also aching, sore and blackened, but he didn't care.
All he wanted was to find his best buddy, his precious Schmoopsie-Poo, and that psycho murderer.
Mike just kept on running where his feet and heart were taking him, desperately combing every room for any chance sighting of his friends. Suddenly, he tripped over something and hit the floor with a crunch. Moaning in anger and pain, he picked himself up, only to stare in horror at what - or rather who- he'd tripped over.
Poor George… Mike thought as he looked at the orange and yellow fuzzball, whose fur was blackened and splashed with blood, and his body twisted sickeningly due to the fall he took from two floors above.
His anger now almost at boiling point, Mike started running along the corridor again, avoiding some falling debris.
Next thing Mike knew, he felt a blow to his body and was face down on the floor. Groaning, he pulled himself up from the floor, and then turned around to see Fungus standing behind him. The glow from the flames made Fungus look very dark and menacing.
"Fungus…?" questioned Mike wearily, "what are you…"
Before Mike was finished, Fungus suddenly grabbed him by the arms and almost twisted them round, causing Mike to yell in pain. Fungus spoke in a growling, crazy voice.
"Don't bother looking, Wazowski…they're suffocating in the maintenance level right now as I speak…"
Mike's eye widened with realisation. "Y…you…you? You did this?"
Fungus just gave a slow blink of his eyes to acknowledge his admission. Mike immediately tussled with the murdering monster to try and break free, but Fungus was displaying uncharacteristic strength to prevent him from doing so.
"Now, Wazowski…" he cooed, "I'd let you go…but you've seen way too much now, so by my analysis, you will have to die too…it's a shame you couldn't die in your girlfriend's tentacles…"
Mentioning Celia was the last straw. Mike exploded with rage, and with a loud yell he slammed one of his heels into Fungus' legs, knocking him over. Fungus hit back by punching Mike in the face, knocking him down, but Mike then kicked Fungus again, sending him sprawling across the corridor.
Mike got back up and faced Fungus as he picked himself up. Fungus now looked increasingly deranged, his teeth gritted in rage. With a growl, he lunged at Mike, but the growl changed from one of rage to one of terror as a whole chunk of ceiling and concrete from the floor suddenly crashed down on him.
Jumping back, Mike covered his eye, and then gingerly looked at the fallen debris, which was now topped off with small flames. He couldn't see his fallen nemesis' body.
His emotions a mix of sadness and relief, Mike suddenly remembered what Fungus said.
The maintenance level…
Straight away, Mike headed frantically along the corridor, knowing that he was short on time. He had to make it.
All around was now blurred beyond recognition, and their breaths were becoming more shallow. The scream power now had a deadly hold on the condemned trio, and their struggles to break free had now more or less stopped as they gasped for air.
Celia was now too devoid of energy to be able to scream for help. Randall was lying lifeless upon the stool. Sulley was preparing for the worst, breathing in vain, all out of options. Closing his eyes, he got ready to breathe his last.
So, this is it…this is how I die…
All of a sudden, the steam stopped pouring, and the sounds of screams died away. The breaths suddenly returned to the trio, and their hands and feet were suddenly freed from their shackles.
Sulley squinted, his vision still blurred, but he was still able to make out a distinctive green ball standing in front of him.
"M…Mike?" he drawled wearily, "is…is that…you?"
"It's me alright, buddy," replied his eyeball friend, "are you OK?"
"That scream power half-killed me…" replied Sulley, staggering to his feet, "and Randall and Celia…thank heavens you got here…"
"Celia!" exclaimed Mike, suddenly rushing over to his girlfriend, untying her and hugging her tightly in his arms.
"Oh…Michael…" sobbed Celia, "I thought I was going to die…I was so scared…"
"It's OK, it's OK," soothed Mike, tears forming in his eye, "I'm here now…I won't leave you again…ever…you mean everything to me…"
Celia looked at Mike with her glassed eyes. "Fungus…Fungus of all people…why…why would he do this?"
"It's beyond me…" sighed Mike, "but it's OK…he's dead now…we had a run-in…"
Sulley quickly interrupted. "Sorry, but we need to get out of here. Right now…this factory is badly damaged and unstable."
"Needleman and Smitty went to alert the authorities," explained Mike, "they should be on their way now."
"OK," acknowleged Sulley, "we'd better move in that case. Come on."
At once, Sulley, Mike and Celia hurried out of the chamber. Randall, however, remained on his stool, frozen in thought. For once in his life, he knew he was at fault. He'd caused his scare assistant to go off the rails and the deaths of four monsters.
His thoughts were interrupted by Sulley's calls.
"Randall! What are you doing? Come on!"
"I can't!" came Randall's edgy reply, "I caused all this…I should stay here and die…"
Sulley ran back into the chamber. "Don't talk like that…sure, you were mean to him…and the rest of us, to be honest…but you couldn't have known Fungus would end up going to these extremes…"
"Exactly," retorted Randall, not exactly comfortable with his rival giving him advice, "the authorities should arrest me for all this…or maybe I should just go and burn myself on the flames…"
At this, Sulley looked hard at Randall, his rival, now admitting his faults. "Snap out of it! Fungus did this, not you! You may have driven him to it, but you didn't kill anyone!"
Randall shot an angry look at Sulley. "Say what you like, Sullivan! You believe what your truth, I'll believe mine!"
He stared up at the chamber ceiling, closing his eyes. "Just leave me here…"
All of a sudden, Sulley punched Randall, not out of hate, but just to knock him out so he could get him out of there. It wasn't normally Sulley's way of doing things, but this was an exception. Hoisting the out-cold Randall onto his shoulders, he swiftly exited the chamber, just as a whole pile of debris crashed down onto the stools from the floor above.
Flames lit up the wrecked corridors in red glows as Mike and Celia sprinted along, searching for a way to the lobby. The fact that a lot of the floors above had crashed down onto the corridor had made locating the correct path more difficult.
Mike hadn't forgotten about the huge wreckage in the passage just before the lobby, but he was sure that he and Celia would be able to get through it.
"Oh, where is it?" fretted Celia in panic, "where is the exit?"
"It's OK Schmoopsie," reassured Mike, "we'll find it. And even if we don't, the authorities will come and rescue us. We'll be OK no matter what…"
Mike was interrupted by the sound of more footsteps. Almost jumping out of his skin, he was relieved to see that the footsteps belonged to his furry buddy Sulley. He was a little vexed to see that Sulley was carrying Randall, but didn't show it.
"You OK, Sulley?" he asked.
"Yeah…Randall took a little persuading to get out of here though…" observed Sulley.
"I figured," said Mike, suddenly interrupted by a loud scream from Celia, along with frightened hisses from her snake hair. Mike whirled round, and he and Sulley looked in horror as they saw that Celia had been grabbed by none other than Fungus...
"Celia!!!" Mike screamed, running over to help his girlfriend, but Fungus picked up a chunk of cracked concrete and hurled it at Mike, striking him in the face and drawing blood.
"I told you…" yelled Fungus, his body blackened and covered with cuts, "I can't let any of you leave here alive…"
With that, he limped off down the corridor, dragging Celia with him, dodging fallen debris as he went.
"Quick! After them!" yelled Sulley, and at once he and Mike sprinted off after the deranged scare assistant.
Panting with exhaustion and pain, Fungus made his way along the corridor until he came to a long stretch. He knew instantly that this stretch led to the lobby. Hearing Sulley and Mike's footsteps as well as Celia's cries for help, he limped as fast as he could towards the pile of debris obstructing the exit. Seeing the clear path that Needleman had created previously, he clambered his way through it, deliberately knocking down some wreckage to try and prevent Sulley and Mike from getting through. Unfortunately, he succeeded.
"No!!!" yelled Mike, "Celia!!!"
Fungus gave an insane laugh, running across the lobby and crashing through the exit doors and stopping outside the front of the factory. I've done it…
Suddenly he was blinded by a giant light, and saw yellow warning lights flashing wildly. Covering his eyes, he tried to see what was going on.
"Fungus! Release the hostage and put your hands where we can see them!"
Instantly Fungus realised that he was more or less surrounded by the CDA, the policing organisation of Monstropolis. A short distance in front of him were armoured cars, a helicopter hovering in the air above, and CDA officers clad in yellow protection suits and brandishing what appeared to be guns, all trained on him.
Sweating in both panic and dementia, Fungus clutched the frightened Celia tighter still, scowling in defiance.
"If you fail to comply, we will have no choice but to take you down! We have our orders!"
Fungus closed his eyes. His crazed mind was all over the place. Did I do the right thing?
Wrestling with his conscience, he felt himself compelled to break for it with his hostage, but he also wanted to give it all up. Either way, he would lose. He would either die by the CDA's gunfire, or would be locked up for the rest of his life and forever branded a murderer.
You asked for it…
Releasing Celia from his clutches, Fungus broke into a wild sprint to the right of the factory car park. Immediately the CDA opened fire on him. A single bullet slammed into Fungus' back, and, yelling with the pain, he crashed to the ground, his eyes closing and his movement ceasing gradually. Three CDA officers immediately apprehended him, putting his body onto a stretcher and shutting it inside of one of their armoured cars.
Suddenly, one of the CDA officers , who was scanning the area, detected something on his scanner.
"This is Number 81," he spoke into his walkie talkie, "I've picked up life signs within the factory building. Request search immediately."