YES! Yes! I AM BACK!

Now chapters may be slow, BUT…no more of a year wait. It is out of hiatus.

Now I…..have no excuse….I am a very horrible person. * hides in shame *

Disclaimer. I don't own Monsters, Inc or any of the characters in the movie.

A thanks to pitbulllady for help and betaing.

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Chapter 11

Liss sighed as she leaned back in the chair of the hairdresser she has been going to for almost five years now. She lay back and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander as Annabelle took Liss's long braids out. Liss had never bothered with extensions in her hair, but she did take the time and luxury to soften it while leaving the curls in.

As she lay there, letting Annabelle work on her hair, Liss's thoughts went to Danielle and Randall. The two….they were so amusing at times. Randall had started to bring out a beautiful girl in Danielle. True, the short stocky girl was far from ugly, but she was no super model beauty. But now, even while working, Danielle was starting to take just a little extra time for her own self. Before, Liss hadn't been able to get Danielle to wear makeup, but she was doing some little things now, like putting on eye liner or lipstick. But the girl was still very much like the little backwater Cajun that she so tried to hide sometimes. Why, just yesterday Danielle had taken the 'farm boy' fishing. While Liss had been sun bathing on the dock away from the two, she had heard the sounds Randall had made when he had reeled in the fish and it slipped from his hands. Both Danielle and Liss had cracked up laughing until Liss had gotten a cold wet and slimy fish dropped on her bare belly. While she wasn't squeamish, it hadn't been THAT funny to her.

And then there was Randall himself. That giant lizard had a mouth on him at times, definitely when Liss loved to yank his chain now and then. But there was something else…the guy was smart, very smart, but he was harboring some serious hurt still and an almost-overwhelming desire to be liked. He was clingy to Danielle, needing to hear her say 'I love you' and to stroke his fragile ego. He had even wanted to hear encouragement sometimes from Liss. And while Liss herself never liked clingy and very self-conscious men….something in Randall made her hold her silver-slicing tongue and try to be patient with him. Sometimes it was like he had two personalities, a snarky, sharp-tongued grumpy old man, and a funny, awkward, and geeky kid. He's still had a lot of kid behavior in him.

Liss then had let out a chuckle. It was never boring around Randall and Danielle and she was finding herself going out there more or even they talking Randall into going with Danielle to Liss's place in the city.

"What's so funny Liss?" Annabelle asked her as she worked on her hair.

"Oh, just thinking about one of my best friend's boyfriend, how crazy the two of them are together sometimes." She said as she stretched her long neck to get more comfortable in the salon chair.

"Really? Bet it's nothing to hearing about what happened to Mrs. Beveux." She rubbed the thick conditioner into Liss's long hair.

"That short black haired woman that comes in with her twin boys? What about her?"

"Well…..just a few nights ago, seems somehow some boar or bear or something, got into her and Jeff's house. Right in the boys' bedroom," Annabelle told her.

"Oh god….really? Are they all right?" Liss looked up at the woman as she worked on her hair.

"Yeah….her husband, Jeff, scared it off with a shotgun before it could attack. From what she said it bulldozed right through the wall and window and took off into the woods as Jeff shot at it," Annabelle said as she turned away to do other things as the cream set in Liss's hair.

"Damn…." Liss laid there thinking. "Wait….how in the hell did it get into the house?" she asked.

"Don't know. It's strange though….Fred and George's room is up on the second floor…"

"Well, if you think that's strange….it was in the papers today some man named Adam Mullins was driving down Manchac Road the other night when something HUGE jumped out in front of his truck" a woman from the other side of the parlor added.

Liss lifted her head. "My god….think all the trolls coming out of the swamp, or what?" she snickered, as did Annabelle.

The woman huffed and then folded her paper and then walked over and shoved it into Liss's hands. "There….read that…."

Liss smirked at her, but then looked down at the paper and began to read it out loud. "A Mr. Adam Mullins was driving down the Manchas Road late Thursday night about 10:45 p.m..He reported that as he was turning around a bend, a huge furry creature jumped out in front of his pickup. He told police, 'it was standing plum still like a stump right in front of me. It was dark gray, about seven foot high, and had these big ole' horns on its head. It stared at me through the windshield and even in my truck…I heard it growlin' at me! It then jumped a ditch and was gone into the swamp.' " Liss then looked up and felt a chill.

"Wow…..sounds like some Bigfootor something", Annabelle said as she turned back and had Liss lay back again with her hair in the sink.

"Bah! I am SO SICK about hearing about Bigfoot…." She held the paper up some to read over it as Annabelle worked on her hair some more. "Says here that some Sasquatch hunters are going to be raking the nearby swamp." Liss rolled her eyes, "Great…that's all we need, some fake-ass, no-clue collage kids out there in the swamps, getting lost and snake-bit and having to have the Fire and Rescue come in and look for them."

Annabelle snickered as she worked on Liss's hair, rinsing and now drying it. "And yet you're a collage kid?"

"Hey…I'm 25...not a kid and I will be getting my Masters in Business very soon. Besides….I'm not that stupid to go mucking around out where I don't belong….all that's going to happen is some idiot is going to get lost and shot or eaten by a gator, and then tie up our police and fire department looking for them while some old lady's house burns down."

"Why, Liss, you not getting all morbid and bitter on me, are you?" the other woman said as she got up and took the paper back.

"Not at all. You all know I'm right. How many times do we hear 'bout some fools going off into a swamp or the woods where they don't know their way and they get lost and then there's more fuss about finding them? Bigfoot my be-hind!" Liss rolled her eyes.

"And it's not like you go in there?" The older woman smirked.

"Hell no and damn right. I ain't stupid! Anyone around there that has brains knows that if you don't know the swamp….you don't go IN the swamp. It's plain common sense!"

Liss sighed as she walked out of her brother's trailer. A few months ago, he had moved from the city to the outskirts of Baton Rouge to a small trailer park. And then somehow, last week broke his leg. How she wasn't sure, he wasn't too much of the outdoor type. He had his girlfriend there to help, but the girl couldn't drive so that left it to Liss to run out and grab food for the two.

She stepped down off the cement blocks that served as steps and swatted a mosquito; those little blood-suckers were coming out in full force as the sun went down, the hot sunset a blood red, the air thick, hot and humid, almost stifling in the Louisiana summer dusk. Even Liss, who didn't have asthma like Danielle, found it hard to breathe. "This just isn't how I wanted to spend my day….", she mumbled as she walked to her silver Nissan Pathfinder SUV. It was a couple of years old, she having gotten it as a high school graduation gift. Despite making fun about Danielle's old green beat-up pickup, she understood Danielle's love for that little Toyota. She loved her Pathfinder just as much.

Sliding into the black leather seats she turned the AC on and sighed in relief. "Better….." Turning her radio on, she pulled out and started down the road, having to pass through a good 10 miles of dark back roads and swampland to reach the city limits of Baton Rouge.

As she drove. the music changed over to the DJ in an amused tone talking about recent claims of 'Bigfoot 'sightings in the area. The man laughed into the microphone, "And can you all believe this? Is it the summer heat, or what?" He said over the air.

"No." Liss answered right back to the radio. "Cause the Bigfoot would be smart and on the beach with a margarita in his hand to get away from weather!"

"Well for you folks that don't believe that it's a Bigfoot, there's also the old Cajun stories that claim that it's not a Bigfoot but a "Rou-garou, a sort of werewolf or hellhound.-that it's out hunting those that sinned and broken Lent…." the voice then sounded like he pulled away from his mike, "Are you guys reading this? Who the hell gives me this shit to read?! I told you to stop talking to those weirdos…"

Liss began to snicker then as she drove around a bend of road….

Growling and cursing, a dark form stepped out of the shadows and steam of the swamp. He sent a hateful and annoyed looked back to the much and briars and Spanish moss. It wasn't the swamp itself that he was angry at. It was himself, the power outage and the glitchy machines, the stupid, careless mistakes…the Laugh energy, ESPECIALLY the Laugh energy…growling again, he then pulled a bit of dangling moss from his horns and then ran a hand down his face groaning, exhausted and hungry, his face a mask of anger, pride, and something that might or might not have been fear blended into one on a monster that was lost in an unfamiliar, and yet oddly very familiar place.

Lifting his great head again, he looked toward the last rays of the summer sun. he had more or less been on the run since he had crashed through that house. Ever since then he's been looking for other houses with active closet doors to get back some how and someway. But….each time he's come close, he's been spotted. Dogs or humans, some times both. While he could easily take down both animals…the fear of the toxicity of the humans kept him back. Plus….the fire arms that they ALL seemed to carry was enough to make anyone back off….of course he should have known better. Louisiana…it was almost like he never left…expect all the damn humans.

He growled lowly again, feeling his anger boil up once more as he moved up out of the muddy, slimy ditch and onto the still-paved road, still hot from that day's sun.

The monster's mind was distracted; thirst, hunger, worry were all mashed into one muddled mess. It was this distraction that allowed him to miss the headlights and the sound of the car until they were upon him. His head snapped to the side and all he saw was the bright lights and then an exploding burst of pain in his side before the lights flared to a white hot intensity and then darkness.

The annoyed DJ on the radio had clearly had enough on talking about 'Bigfoot' and the 'Rou-garou' and had moved back to playing the 'Top Ten' list. She was gladly singing along to Nelly's "Hot in Here", she herself having gotten sick of hearing about the reports and sightings as well. Liss drove around the curve of the road and suddenly her light fell right on a VERY large shape in the road.

The only thing she really saw before her SUV plowed into it was its wide surprised violet eyes and heavy jaw, from which protruded a pair of very dangerous-looking tusks.

It was like hitting a brick wall at first and she couldn't do anything but began her fall forward into the space between herself and the steering wheel, her forehead and face connecting with the expanding air bag. Before she passed out in shock and pain, she heard the crunch of metal and the shattering of safety glass.

The dripping sounded like a hammer in a metal bucket against her ears. Something hot was rolling down her forehead and Liss let out a plaintive moan as she lifted her head, her neck sore and stiff. Bringing her hands up to a bent and crumbled air bag and pushed herself up the rest of the way. The car's dinging was low and broken and just sounded sick.

Liss's head was spinning and she slowly looked around and then in almost a daze, she unfastened her seatbelt and pushed the bent door open and climbed out on shaky legs. The moment she stood up, her stomach rolled over and she had to lean against the smashed heap of metal that was once her SUV and heave all that she had eaten and drunk that day up onto the road. When she was finished she leaned back some more as her head throbbed. She closed her eyes. "Fuck…." she mumbled.

After a moment she opened her eyes again and then began to look around. "What did I hit?" She slowly walked around her SUV, wincing at the crumpled mess of her beloved Pathfinder. One headlight was surprisingly still on, the other shattered. She walked a short ways in front, staggering some, still in a daze. She couldn't see too much and was staring to guess whatever she had hit had limped away when she heard a long low groan of pain.

Liss froze and swallowed. She wasn't a woman that was scared of many things, but it was a deep instinctual fear from the human's ancestors. The sound wasn't of any normal animal and the fear was a body's warning of self-preservation. She almost turned and went back to the car but she then pressed on and came up to the right side of the ditch and saw a very large furry lump.

Her almond snapped dark eyes went wide as she slowly made her way down into the ditch some, staying back. "What….a bear?" But as she shown her flashlight in it, the purple bloody and muddy matted fur stood out. And the long thick curved horns.

Not a bear.

Liss wasn't an expert on animals like Danielle, but even she wasn't stupid. And now….after Randall…she knew this was no animal….

She moved up closer and it took a deep shuddering breath.

And it was still alive.

She almost let out a giggle, wondering if this was how Danielle felt when she had found Randall, and the irony it was almost the same, only with Liss having hit him. When it moaned again and lifted his great head. Eyes opened some and stared at her almost in a daze before the violet eyes closed and the head dropped back down into the mud.

Liss didn't stand around anymore. She scrambled back up the bank and to the road. Her head pounding still, she ran as fast as she could to her crumbled vehicle and crawled through the side and looked for her phone, praying that it wasn't damaged she found it in the floor and punched in Danielle's phone number. It rang with a static undertone.

"Come on….come on D….pick up, pick up….."

Her prayers was answered when there was a click. "Hello?" Danielle said into the phone.

"Danielle?! Oh thank god you're home….I-I have a little…well…it's not really so much as 'little'…."

"Liss? What's wrong? what happened?" Danielle's voice became concerned, she could hear the shakiness in Liss's voice loud and clear.

"I….hit something Dannie….something BIG….it…..HE tore my car up pretty bad…."

"God Liss….have you called the police….?"

"No…..I-"

"Liss….why haven't you…?" it was clear that Danielle was confused. Liss knew the laws….after all before she had changed her major to Business Management, she had studied law, so her not calling confused her, unless Liss was too shaken up.

"Danielle! I can't! I-I think what I hit was….a monster…." She whispered into her phone.

Danielle was quiet for a few minutes. "Are you sure?"

"Purple…..with big assed horns on his head….yeah….a monster….like Randall….only this one's furry….Danielle…what do I do?" Liss pleaded.

Danielle sucked a breath in. "Cover him up with that brown tarp….you know…the one I made you get….if…any one comes by…don't bring attention to him….where are you?"

"About three miles from Highland Lakes…."

"Okay…it'd take me about twenty minutes to get there….and Liss….are YOU alright?" Danielle asked her, concerned.

Liss let out a shaky laugh, "I'll live Double D. but please hurry…oh…..and bring Randall and some rope or something….he's a HUGE bastard….."

Liss had just got done covering the strange monster up when she saw headlights. Her eyes widened and she hurried back to her busted car and pulled out her phone and made it look like she was talking on it, looking fine other than the fact that she had dried blood on her face and her clothes were muddy. She looked up as the car slowed but then didn't stop, it driving on past. When it was gone, Liss let out a sigh but then shook her head. "What is WRONG with people?" Glad they didn't stop, she also had to wonder at the heartlessness of them NOT stopping.

The young woman then groaned as she leaned against the car and felt her head spin again. Sitting down in the driver's seat, she rested her throbbing head against the steering wheel.

The next thing she knew was that she was being shaken some. She lifted her head and peered at Danielle's worried face. Liss then realized that she must have fallen asleep or lost consciousness.

"Oh God….Liss…." Danielle had a handkerchief and Randall was right behind her looking nervous and wary. She took a water bottle from him and poured some water on it and wiped her face with it. "Ouch…."

"Feeling like my head smashed the windshield…." Liss said as she took the water and took a drink.

"Yeah…well I don't think it's going to heal anytime soon." Danielle said.

"Her head or the windshield, Toots? Glad ya all right Liss….but hate to cut this sweet moment…where's this so called monster you hit?" Randall said, his hands on his hips.

Liss stood up then and holding the handkerchief to her throbbing head she led the two down the road and down into the ditch, and she pulled the tarp off showing the mountain of fur.

"Oh mon Dieu!" Danielle was already quick to want to help. She slid down the bank and had Liss to help her push the huge being over. Their hands buried in thick soft fur and pressed against rock hard muscles. Randall had moved in to help as well, feeling a strange knot in the pit of his stomach, a voice telling him that he knew that monster.

The three got the monster over on his back and Randall jumped back like he had been shot.

"Worthington?!" He hissed in a voice full of shock and fear and hate.

The tone in which Randall said the name and the look on his face made it clear that Randall knew him, and had the two girls stop what they were doing and turn to look at him.

"You know him, Randall?" Danielle asked though it was more of a statement as she looked back at him, shocked at seeing such a dark look on his face.

"I know him…" Randall growled with disgust as he crossed his arms and stepped back.

"Randall…..come on Beb….I really need your help here….we just can't leave him here…." Danielle pleaded, shocked to see how cold and even a bit hateful he had turned. It was VERY clear that Randall knew the monster….but she only knew the story with Mike and Sulley….he NEVER mentioned another one….other than Waternoose….but Waternoose was dead….

"I can't." Randall snarled and turned to walk away when Danielle snapped at him.

"Randall Boggs! I don't know what crawled up under your scales….and whatever he did to you…..think….not even a year ago…you was laying out in a ditch and even in worse shape….he's not an animal…he's a sapient being! I'm giving him the same courtesy as I gave you!" Danielle snapped before she stepped away from the 'Worthington' and over to Randall, his back turned to her, all four arms crossed. His fronds were pressed flat against his head and his tail lashing like an pissed-off cat's.

Danielle looked over at Liss and Liss was biting her lips. They didn't have time for this. So far they had been lucky not to be discovered…but that luck could run out very soon.

Danielle then walked over to Randall and wrapped her arms around the slim monster and pressed her cheek to the back of his head. "Randall, mon Chèr….mon râleur…mon petit monstre…." she cooed softly to him, "Come on Randall….I couldn't leave you there in road and still wouldn't had I knew then what you did….whatever he did….couldn't be so bad….and look at it this way Beb….you have the upper hand over him now…."

Randall was making soft annoyed growls as his tail continued to twitch like an angry cat's. "Yeah?" he said then. "You really think I have the upper hand over him finally?"

"Oh yeah." Danielle nodded. "Come on Randall…."

"Yeah," Liss chirped in, "You Randall, saving a guy that built bigger than a linebacker-that's some braggin' rights right there."

Randall huffed, "I guess I should still find it amusing that Liss is a football fan." He didn't like this…not at all….this was the LAST monster he wanted under the same roof as himself…..Randall grumbled again and turned and looked at Danielle, at her worried and pleading face. She'd do it anyway, he knew, but she wanted HIS help, respected him enough to ask him. "Alight…..alright….."

Ropes and bodies strained as they all worked together in pushing and pulling the huge mass up into Danielle's truck, using the long boards that Danielle thought to bring. The springs under the bed of the truck groaned and squealed as the heavy mass was pushed up into the bed.

They all were surprised that he was still out even with all the cursing, the pants, the fur pulling and the pushing and tugging, but, they were grateful for it. Nothing like several hundred pounds of angry, hurt and disoriented monster suddenly waking up to make things "interesting". They got him in the back and as Liss leaned against the truck bed, holding her head, and Randall handed her a bottle of water and then another to Danielle, who was wheezing. He then pulled a nasty look as he moved over the tuck and stretched the tarp over Worthington and then tied it down.

"Well…." Danielle looked at their load and then at Liss, "We better not stay here anymore then we have…..are you going to be all right?" She asked looking Liss over again, brushing Liss's damp and bloody hair back.

Liss then kissed Danielle's cheek. "I'll be fine Toots." She gave a half tired grin as Randall rolled his eyes.

"Danielle….we're going to have to get going….trust me…you don't want him waking up yet." Randall cautioned.

Danielle sighed and then climbed up into the truck as Randall then put a hand on Liss's shoulder.

"Take care…." he said a bit awkwardly.

"Thanks Randy…. You too….tell D I'll be out there as soon as I can." Liss said as she pulled the phone out of her pocket and began to dial the police, finally, before going back to her crushed car and sitting down.

Danielle looked back at Liss from the cab of the truck. "Think she'll be alright?" she asked him as she started the truck.

Randall looked back at Liss as they started to drive away. "I think she'll be fine…she's a tough human."

"Heh….yeah…..she's one of the toughest I've met….well….let's get this guy home and go from there and hope he don't wake up or die on us on the way." Danielle said as she drove the truck the long way back to the house so that no one could see the large lump in the back that good. The tarp covered him rather well, but it might not be enough and he could wake up any time….

Randall crossed his arms and sunk down into the seat some. "I still don't like it….and I still don't like how you talked me into this." He grumbled.

Danielle looked over at him and then back at the road. "Randall….really….what is the big deal? What did he do to you?" She asked very curious at this point.

"Later…." he only grumbled at her, making her sigh and shake her head at him.

"Oh yes….it is VERY familiar," Danielle said as she pulled the truck out into the yard and backed it into the barn, Randall opening the barn doors as well as the stall. He was actually a bit more eager now. But the reason was that it was the thought of Mr.-Big –Man-on-Campus Worthington having his ugly face in the dirt and sleeping in the barn cheered him up some.

Danielle backed the truck up and Randall finished laying the fresh bale of straw out on the dirt stall. He then picked up a smooth plank of wood and after Danielle lowered the tailgate of the truck. They placed the plank there and Danielle carefully climbed up into the back and untied the tarp covering the unconscious monster, and then tossed some ropes to Randall. They were tied around the huge curved horns, the short tail, the thick legs and around a chest that was almost three times wider then Danielle.

"Ready?" She asked Randall, and he only grumbled at her. "Ready?" She asked again.

"Ready!" He snarled at her and while Danielle didn't like the tone, she let him get away with it, knowing she was pushing him as it was.

"Alright….pull!" Randall began to pull as Danielle pushed and Worthington slid down the 'ramp' and into the straw.

As Danielle climbed down Randall was untying the great mass of purple fur. Danielle slid out of the trunk and put the plank up and then moved over to the new monster and looked him over. "He's….hard as a rock….I can't tell if anything's broken…it's like he's built like a tank…" She said as she moved arms and legs and pressed on ribs.

Randall huffed then, his arms crossed glaring at the mass of fur as Danielle looked him over. There was a nasty growl in his throat, but he didn't say anything. Finally Danielle finished and watched as she walked out of the stall and closed it and peered into the stall at Worthington.

"Yeah….this is very familiar," She said again, nodding" ….I'll start him on a LRS…" She then looked over at Randall when he snorted.

"Don't count on too much, Toots….this guy….was a rich kid preppy college jerk-jock." Randall's lip was curled up.

"Randall…I was in collage…I know the types…and it's what….been almost ten or eleven years? Maybe he's changed-"

"I don't think so. He-" He then looked down at Danielle's hand as it took one of his.

"Randall….I don't know how he was and what's the story….but YOU changed….give him a chance….you changed….maybe he did, too." Danielle said, gently staring into Randall's green eyes.

Randall sighed then and looked away and back at Worthington. "Okay Toots….I'll give him a chance…..I won't like it…..but I'll try…."

Danielle smiled then and leaned over and kissed his cheek, "That's my Mon râleur petit monstre."