Forever Bat (The final story to my Bat Trilogy)

Chapter 3: Monster Reunion

...

When the jumbo jet came to pick me up, I had all my stuff with me that I could fit in the largest duffel bag I had. My mom and sister hugged me goodbye.

"You'll be safe there. And you can say hi to your monster friends again! You haven't visited them ever since high school, right?" my mom asked. My stomach tied into thick knots. No. I haven't. Which made me feel very guilty. My sister hugged me one last time. "It'll be ok. Think of it like a slumber party."

I thought back to when I first arrived at the base, me and Susan had our own slumber party to make me feel comfortable. My stomach tightened even more.

I waved goodbye to my family and walked up the ramp. Immediately, I was homesick when I sat down in the jet. It still felt so surreal to me. Like a dream...but so familiar and normal. Did I even know what normal was anymore?

Monger walked up to me as the plane started to rise up from the street. I stared out the window and watched as my family got smaller and smaller. I wished I was getting smaller and smaller. What if the monsters didn't want me back after years of never catching up with them? What if they forgot about me?

"Bat?" Monger said again. I turned to him. "Oh. Sorry...I..." the words faded from my mouth as I continued staring out the window. I didn't want to look Monger in the face.

He sat down across from me and asked what happened that made me change my mind about going back to the base. I told him with tired eyes how the creature attacked me in my room and got away. Monger nodded his head. "I figured... Well, it's best to keep you at the place for now. Don't know when it'll strike again." He got up from the table. "Get some rest," he said, knocking on the surface of the table before walking away.

I laid my arms across the table, resting my head against them. I fell asleep after that. I was so tired.

...

I woke up from the sun blinding me through the window. I groaned, placing my sunglasses over my face. Even with sunglasses the sun was my enemy. The sun was just peeking out over the deep purple mountains off in the distance. I had no idea what time it was.

My ears flicked back when the speaker above me crackled to life: "Goooood morning passengers! It's 6:45 in the morning! Forecast of sunshine and a scattering of clouds. A beautiful day for flying!" I heard Monger say. I didn't know he was such a jokester.

The jumbo jet dipped low from the clouds, gradually descending from the sky. I was given the option of breakfast from one of the flight attendants but my stomach was too busy flip flopping around for me to enjoy early food at the moment.

Eventually the jet landed on the large platform. Once everything was set, the platform began to descend down, down, down into the darkness that we all called The Base. My ears were twitching nervously. I could feel my heart racing inside my ribcage. Monger looked down at me. "Something wrong?" he asked. I shook my head. "Just nervous," I said. He smirked. "Nothing to be nervous about. They all missed you," he assured me. When the platform stopped descending, we all walked off the platform and down a long dark hallway. The doors at the end of the hallway were closed. A fingerprint and code was required.

Monger pulled out a card. "The pad has been acting up lately." He slipped the card into the slot. A green light appeared, letting the doors open up. We walked inside. Another pad asked for fingerprints and Monger had to use the card again. We went down another elevator in silence. I didn't feel like talking. Monger tried to start up a conversation to fill the void, but I'd only give him short answers. The butterflies in my stomach were what bothered me.

The last door opened up and I was back. Everything, was almost still the same. Obviously technology has advanced far more than it did almost a decade ago. The scientists had decorated the place a little more so it wasn't so blank and full of endless white void.

Monger took my duffel bag. "I'll see that this gets put in your room. You go say hi to your friends. Catch up." with that, he walked away towards my room, which I found strange. Where was his jet pack?

I walked over to the main hangout spot. It was a huge dining table for Susan, and on the surface of that table was a regular dining table for us monsters. The place where we got our information from whenever there was another alien invasion, or a monster sighting, which were rare.

On the walls, there were pictures of the monsters, size 25x25, of them spending days together: At the beach, rides at Disneyland, visiting different places like Paris and Tokyo. Seeing them smiling and having fun made my heart beat heavily.

Wishing I had been there with them. I was so torn between worlds.

"Bat?"

I was so deep in my thoughts, I didn't hear them approach. I slowly turned around. My heart skipped a beat. Susan, Doc and B.O.B. stood 15 feet from me.

Susan was older. Her white hair had grown down to her back. Doctor Cockroach had grown a dark goatee and his eyebrows were longer. B.O.B. looked the same. I don't think he could age.

Doctor Cockroach, Susan and B.O.B. stared at me with wide eyes. Doc dropped whatever he had been working on. Some type of liquid in a beaker that kept changing colors. It exploded into a massive pink, blue and purple color. When the smoke finally cleared, everyone was covered in those mixed colors, but no one seemed to have noticed.

I took off my glasses, wiping off the pink layer of dust from them before putting them back on my face. Before I knew what was happening, I was being swept off my feet by B.O.B. and being spun around the large room. "Oh my God it's you! You're back! She's back! This is her right? It better be!" B.O.B. said excitedly as my body sank deeper into his blue gelatinous mass.

"Yes, B.O.B. it is her! don't suffocate her!" Susan shouted. B.O.B. quickly let go of me. I was soaking wet with blue gel like substance all over my body.

Before I could move or say anything, Susan gently squeezed her large hand around me as a hug. "Oh my gosh, Bat! You're here! You have grown up so fast!" Susan squeed. I stiffened in her gentle grasp, but eventually relaxed and let the giantess hug me.

She released me from her giant hand. I flapped my wings a little and smiled up at her. "Yeah. I'm 26 now," I told her. Susan gasped in shock and excitement. Mainly shock since it's been that long since I last saw them. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around. Doc appeared right in front of me, examining me like a curious doctor...insect.

"And you have glasses now! Was that because of the sun? I remember you saying your eyes were sensitive to the sun. Or have you been straining them against another factor?" Doc asked as he pulled out his notepad. I smiled as I gave him a hug. "I missed you too, Doc," I said. Doc stiffened for a moment, then he relaxed and hugged me back.

When we stopped hugging, I looked around, realizing someone was missing.

"Where's Link?" I finally asked. Susan, B.O.B., and Doc's smiles faltered a little as they exchanged glances. "He's in his room," B.O.B. said. I gave them a look of concern. "Is he ok?" Susan smiled a small smile. "He hasn't been the same ever since you left," she admitted. Doc cleared his throat. "Well, we all haven't been the same, ever since you left...but Link...he took it the hardest."

I blinked in surprise. I was not expecting that answer. I mean, sure, I figured he would miss me a little, but not to where he would miss me that much. I remembered when Insecto had been hit by the alien ray gun by Galaxar's ship back in 2009. He was so distraught over losing his best friend. Me? I'm just another monster to him, who didn't make a good first impression when I had first arrived here.

"He will be so happy to see you have come back." Susan smiled. I smiled back, but I questioned: was I really back? or was I just visiting? I thought Monger had told them what was going on. When they had seen me arrive, it looked like they were not informed that I was even coming. I was at least glad that they didn't seem upset that I had been gone for so long.

"I'll go surprise him," I said. The monsters nodded. "But get him to come back with you so we can all catch up!" Susan called. I nodded. With that, I spread open my wings and glided off the huge table, making my way to the rooms. I didn't need anyone to show me. I knew where everything was. It was so nostalgic, being back. I considered it home for a while. It really did feel nice walking the long hallways again. I missed it.

I followed the huge elongated hallway, counting the huge doors along the way.

I hesitated on Link's room, before walking past it towards my old room. I tapped on the button on the side of the wall. The huge door slid up and there I saw my room. Small bed, nightstand, lamp (still unplugged) and the shower with the towel with that weird orange and black symbol on it. It was all how I left it, except now my duffel bag was there on top of the bed. I closed the door and took a deep breath before exhaling. This was it. Time to reunite with The Missing Link.

I stood before his closed door. Hesitant. I knocked three times. My right ear twitched. A minute passed. Nothing. I knocked again. This time, 'shave and a haircut.' Nothing. Concerned, I knocked louder.

The huge door slid open.

"Alright, Alright I'm coming, I'm c-" Link froze where he stood at the threshold. His eyes widened when they saw me. His finned ears flicked forward.

I heard his heart skip a beat in his massive chest. I felt my heart flutter at the sight of him. He looked the same, maybe a little older. The circles around his eyes were darker, and he didn't carry himself as the confident cocky self I remembered him being.

"Bat..." Link managed to say.

I smiled a small nervous smile. "Hey, Fishstick...Long time no see..." Link continued to stare down at me, as if he was seeing a ghost.

He hesitated as his hand came up and touched one of my bat ears. It flicked instinctively from his touch. His eyes lingered on my ears, then back down to me. His mouth still hanging open in shock.

I fumbled with my fingerless gloved hands, still smiling nervously. I hesitated on saying "Catfish got your tongue?" But I didn't know if that would upset him or not. I wasn't even sure how he felt about suddenly seeing me there in front of his doorway.

That was until he scooped me up into his arms and spun me around.

I felt my face burn red as my right cheek pressed against his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

"It is you!" He said excitedly. I felt the side of my face squish further against his hairy chest. I could practically feel his heart. This was the closest I had ever been to the hybrid. My eyes widened in shock being this close to him. Even when he put me down I was feeling very light headed. He had one hand on my shoulder to steady me. The other gently pushed the glasses up to the bridge of my nose.

"Cute glasses. When did you get these?" he asked.

"Erm...Yes," I said, frazzled and feeling the heat radiate from my face. "I-I mean, S-senior year of High school," I quickly stuttered. I was so embarrassed. First time in so many years I'm reuniting with my crush and I'm stumbling over my words like a blushing school girl. Link smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. Seeing his sharp teeth again reminded me when I had first met him here at The Base. His teeth frightened me. Now, seeing him smile with them made my heart beat fast.

I was still in love with him.

"They make you look smart," he said. I smiled. He grinned wider. "Not make you smart." I narrowed my eyes, but had a smile on my face. "I don't need glasses to see how small your IQ is," I threw back. Link's jaw dropped. "Damn, that was cold." I felt my smile disappear quickly. Oh no, did I offend him? I was about to apologize, but he laughed. "I like this sassy Batsy," he flicked the tips of my ears. I sighed with relief. Link stopped making my ears twitch and smiled down at me, he lowered his head to my height.

"I'm glad you are back...I missed you," he said in a low voice.

Not we missed you...I missed you.

I turned my head to the side, feeling the heat on my face. I tucked a hair behind my bat ear but it fell back in front of my face. "I...I missed you too," I whispered. I felt Link gently grab the end of the strand in front of my face and tuck it successfully back behind my bat ear.

I jumped when I heard something come up from behind me.

"I missed you four, Bat!" B.O.B. said as he suddenly appeared and gave me a big gooey hug. Link chuckled where he stood before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the blue gelatinous mass. When he did, I flew out, thus smacking right into Link's chest, and being all sticky, I was stuck against him. Panicking, I tried pushing away. After a few failed attempts, I was able to pry myself away from the hybrid. B.O.B. looked at my face.

"Why is your face so red? did you eat something spicy? Was it chips? Can I have the chips?" asked B.O.B.

It's been so long since I blushed. I have forgotten that my pale white face turns very red easily. I turned away from the blue blob, covering my tomato red face.

Link smirked.

B.O.B. told us that Butterflyasaurous had woken up from her nap and wanted to see me after B.O.B. told her that I was here.

With that, B.O.B. lead the way back down the hallway while Link and I walked side by side. Link nudged me with his shoulder. I smirked and gave him a playful shove back.

Once we came back to the big table, everyone came over and gave me a group hug.

Butterflyasaurous was also happy to see me. She flapped her wings while looking through the large window. B made a few small roars to me.

Link translated for me:

"It's been so long. It's nice to have you back."

I smiled up at the 350 foot butterfly monster. "It's nice to be here again," I told her. Her smile faded and she hesitated. Then she screeched a small screech. Link's smile disappeared as well as he turned his head to me to tell me:

"John is here."

I felt my smile disappear.

John was here? Why was he here? Monger didn't tell me. Why didn't he tell me? Everyone stopped smiling, noticing my reaction, and looked at each other.

Doc placed his hand on my trembling shoulder. "He's in a heavily monitored room. You don't need to worry about him hurting you," he assured me.

"Also he's been brain dead for, what, ten years?" Link also pointed out. I nodded my head, but I had a bad feeling still.

Susan quickly steered the conversation away from John and asked about what I had been doing for the past nine years. Me and the monsters all sat down at their assigned tables and chairs.

The monsters listened eagerly to my stories about my life as a college cryptid.