Chapter Five

Mizera strode confidently along the drenched stone path. Rain fell steadily, showering her with welcome droplets. Hanging lightly by her hip was the oversized purse she'd kept hidden within her usual bag. She breathed deeply, relishing the fresh scent that rain always brought with it. Cold wind rushed through her orange pelt, making her shiver. She bared her fangs in a gleeful smile. Ah, life was truly fantastic! The stinging cold of this winter season was just the thing to make a person feel alive! Her ear flicked away a bit of heavy moisture as the hotel came into view. Thunder growled gently overhead.

She pushed her way through heavy glass doors, not exactly careful with her package. Soft mumbling caught her attention, syllables not fully formed. She spared her massive purse a glance and quickened her pace. She pressed the up arrow on the elevator, awaiting her ride with impatient fidgeting.

Stealing the room's key card had been a simple task, and since monsters weren't an uncommon sight around these parts, all she had to do was act like she belonged. Easy! The door opened and she stepped inside, along with a human guest. They each lit a numbered button and watched the metal slide across their only exit.

"Um…"

"Yes?"

"Your bag, ma'am. It's moving."

Her eyes darted downward, then back up at the confused human. "Uh, that's right! It is! Doesn't your luggage move?"

"Um, no. I-"

"Well, that's just absurd! Whose luggage isn't also a sentient being?"

The doors began to open. She shoved herself through the growing gap, dragging her "sentient luggage" out roughly and yelling, "I'm not suspicious; you're suspicious!"

At last she closed and locked the room's door. She announced her grand victory whilst ambling over to a fancy sofa. She tipped her bag over, and out dropped her favorite skeleton. She tossed both purses aside, damp tail swishing. She put her hands on her hips, giving a proud smile at the sluggish creature on the deep red cushions. She heard Oro's heavy steps behind her as Sans dragged a green throw pillow to his face, expression blank.

"You got him! Cool."

"Yep! And all it took was our entire stash of macaroni!"

She turned to see the bulky monster blinking at her. "All of it?"

"Yeah, why? And what are you wearing?"

Oro grabbed his tail, twirling the fur around his fingers. He wore a bright orange t-shirt that Mizera was sure aliens a million miles away could see. His sky blue gaze flickered between her and the impaired skeleton she'd arrived with.

"Why did you- all of it?"

"Yeah! What's the big deal?"

"Oh crap." Both pairs of eyes turned to Sans, who stared with horror at Oro. "The citrus!"

"What?"

"He probably thinks you're a giant orange."

"I don't look like that!" He shifted, as though preparing to flail his arms about, knocking over a lamp with the stone jutting out from his elbow. It landed with a loud clink.

A red and white raccoon monster wandered in, carrying herself with an air of regal daintiness. A pair of flightless red wings hung lightly to her upper back, and feathers were woven seamlessly throughout her thick coat of fur. Juni examined them with a ruby gaze before asking a simple question.

"What's going on in here?"

"Mizera drugged Sans with our entire macaroni supply and then called me an orange."

She took a long look at his attire. "Well, you do sorta look like one."

A hysterical laugh erupted from their friend. Sans fell backward, thudding against the plush furniture. He continued in this state for all of five seconds before he stilled completely, face blank as he stared up at the ceiling. Mizera sighed with relief that she'd managed to get him here before he reached that stage of their favorite substance. He blinked a few times, then turned to them with a pleading look.

"Unicorns are real, right?"

"Oh, Mizera." Juni massaged her temples.

She gave him an authoritative nod. "Yes, Sans. Unicorns are real."

"Okay. I was worried there wouldn't be anyone to run the black market."

"Yep, he's gone."

"Oh, shut up Orange!" She faced him, stomping her foot on the cream rug and soiling it with mud.

More laughter.

Juni rolled her eyes, stepping closer and gesturing at Sans. "Look at what you've done to him!"

"Oh, lighten up! He's loopy and happy! And I got him here, didn't I?"

The other two each uttered sounds of annoyance. Oro stormed from the room, ranting about the fact that he was not a fruit and that her fur was naturally orange. She looked to Juni, silently daring her to argue further. Juni simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, I can't very well leave him alone with you."

Mizera clasped her hands together, hopping in place. "Yay!"

"Ooh, we landed on the cotton candy planet," said Sans, as he began to chew on the pillow.

Juni stepped closer, gently prying the green fabric from his jaws. "No, dear. That-um, that cotton candy's gone bad."

He stared at her with childlike innocence. "Like the popcorn trees?"

"Yes," she told him. "So don't eat it, oka-"

Hysterical laughter.

Mizera asked, "why's he keep talking about food?"

"Maybe he's hungry," Juni said with a shrug. "Can you go get him some pancakes or something?"

She saluted and sprinted out of the room, nearly forgetting her regular purse.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Juni flipped through the various available channels in search of some colorful cartoon to keep her old friend occupied. She stood in front of the sofa, wiggling her toes to feel the plushness of the rug. Thunder growled far above the world, and a quiet moment unraveled into the harsh pounding of rain. It slammed against the windows, carried by wind. Juni found herself thankful that she was safe and warm within these walls. A hand found her tail. She let it be for the time being, having nearly reached a channel decision.

"A mongoose!"

"That's my tail, but okay."

"Mongoose!"

A knock at the door caught her attention, though it was more of a punch. She carefully pulled herself free and left the remote on an end table. Another few rattling thuds assaulted her ears before she'd taken five steps. She opened the door whilst announcing to Daezl that it was unlocked. He pushed past her without a word, soaking wet, expression dour. Juni merely closed the door with a sigh.

"He's here." He leaned over Sans a moment, before waving a hand in front of his skull. "Hey! On a scale of one to ten, how high are you right now?"

Sans gazed up at him with an equally venomous look. "You're not a shiny pikachu."

Daezl blinked, then turned to her with a questioning stare.

"Mizera."

"Yeah, I get that, but how?"

"Mizera. She slipped him all of our macaroni."

"All of it," he repeated, tail twitching.

"Yep."

Giggling, then, "I wanna cheese muffin!"

"I'm gonna kill her… But I gotta get dried off first."

Juni's light, airy giggle trickled through the room. "Well, of course. Can't murder when you're all wet and cold."

He gave an ireful, "gah," and a dismissive hand wave as he left the room.

Juni finished up her cartoon search, wondering to herself just why they had trusted the canine with both such an important mission as well as their only key card to this fancy suite.

Something hit the floor behind her. Abandoning the remote, she rushed over to her fallen friend before he could snuggle with one of her shoes. She guided him back to the sofa and directed his attention to the television. She sighed, and curled up at the other end of the seat. Sans began to sing some unfamiliar lyrics, which she tuned out. Rain ticked against glass. Thunder filled the sky. The TV droned on. All sound grew distorted until fading. The warm air and the thick cushions cradled her, and pleasant scents filled her nose. All would gradually fade to nothingness, as the raccoon monster fell slowly into a peaceful sleep.