A/N: This is what gonna happen if the meeting didn't take place originally from Hamartia story by IchBinAufKurs. We are both appreciating it if you guys read Hamartia & this one too :) both of these stories are collaboration between me & IchBinAufKurs. And for this story, humongous thanks to IchBinAufKurs for suggested title & summary (and classic opening by him too xD), along with beta-read it ;)
Life goes on, no matter how you want it to.
"Listen very carefully to what I'm about to say, Hughes." Johnny whispered in a low tone, getting close to his assistant's face, "You are a scarer's assistant. Your job is to make sure your scarer does his scaring tirelessly. Instead of whining about some gibberish, why don't you put yourself to good use and get me another door? Hmmmm?!"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes! You're right! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I-I'll get another door right away!" The monster shouted in panic as he rushed to the door's machine.
Johnny sighed and whispered, "Oh, Big Blue.. what have you done?"
After working tirelessly and not fooling around anymore, Johnny was able to finish his scaring soon before closing.
As all the doors were being cleared and returned back to their vault, he saw his scaring assistant run away without saying goodbye to him.
'Huh! No wonder he's still an assistant.' Johnny thought. 'Even though he has potential, he'll never get promoted to scarer if he's still scared of me. What a loser.'
He goes to leave through Fear Co.'s main entrance when he had a second thought. 'But, an extra scarer to get scream energy is not all that bad. Maybe I should apologize to him tomorrow.' Johnny suddenly had a change of heart.
And just as he was having that thought, there was his best friend, Chet Alexander waiting patiently for him.
"Hi Johnny. You done already? What's the plan for tonight?" Chet asked.
"I think I want to have a chat with Javier tonight, along with dinner of course. It's been a while since I last saw him. You want to come?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah, sure. It's been a long time since I saw him too. What are you gonna talk about?" Chet asked, scuttling his way with Johnny as they went to the parking lot.
"About Monsters Inc.; You know that they're not into scaring anymore, right?" Johnny asked.
"Of course I knew. Something about making the kids laugh to get a new type of energy, right? I've heard their energy production is three times more efficient than ours. So…. What about it?" Chet responded.
"And you also know that Javier works at Monsters Inc., right? You get the picture?" Johnny reacted.
"Oh! I get it! Poor Javier… I wonder how he's doing right now… His scaring skills shouldn't be thrown away like that." Chet finally understood what Johnny implied.
"Good. I'm gonna call Javier now."
Both of them got in Johnny's sport car as he dialed Javier's number, waiting for him to pick up.
"Yo, Javier! It's been a while. You're free tonight?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah, I'm free man. What's up?"
"Me & Chet want to have dinner with you. Chet wanted to come along with me, he says it has been a long time since he saw you, and I just want to have a little chat with you. It's about Monsters Inc. Are you okay with that?"
"I don't want to talk about Monsters Inc., man. The dinner is ok though." Javier said with a frustrated voice.
"C'mon! I know what happened at Monsters Inc., and you're the only one I know who works there! Well, I know Big Blue, but he's a CEO now, and I want to talk to one of the workers to know what's really going on in there. Ok Jav? We're still fraternity brothers even though we already left college, right?"
"Fine… Where to for dinner?"
"At the usual place where we used to hang out."
"I'll be there."
"You know how to get a hold of Chip & Reggie? And….. Oh! What about Randall?."
There was a moment of silence on the phone before Javier spoke again. "Nope. I'm sorry to say this but, I lost contact with Chip & Reggie. And Randall… he's even worse."
"What kind of worse?"
"We'll talk later at the usual place, okay? I'm hanging up. See ya there, Johnny."
"That's weird. That's not like him at all." Johnny said.
"What? What happened?" Chet reacted.
"Nothing, Chet. Now lets go." Johnny said as he started his car's engine.
"Cool! I can't wait to see him again!" Chet said excitedly.
Later, they reached the place where they agreed to meet each other. Johnny & Chet entered the restaurant and saw Javier already waiting for them, along with the dining place fully reserved.
"Hey Javier, long time no see!" Chet dashed towards Javier and gave him a hug.
"Alright, alright. It's nice to see you, Chet. You're gonna crush me dude. How are you doing?" Javier said while felt pressured by Chet's hug.
"Oh, sorry. I'm doing great! As long as I'm with Johnny, nothing beats me!" Chet reacted.
"Still the same old Chet I knew. Your admiration towards Johnny will never die, eh?" Javier said.
"Yup, same old college Chet. How are you doing Javier?" Johnny said while he & Chet sat down.
"Not so good, man. But, not too bad either." Javier replied.
"You want to talk about it?" Johnny said.
"Yeah! I really want to hear your life's story after college, Javier!" Chet said excitedly.
"Well, I can't share all of my life story, but I can share some of it with you guys. You may want to order the foods & drinks first though." Javier responded.
"I want the usual thing." Johnny said.
"What about you, Chet?" Javier asked.
"I want something simple but something that can make my stomach full." Chet requested.
"Alright, I know what to order for you. I'm a regular customer here. Excuse me!" Javier shouted at one of the waiters and ordered their meal.
"So….. what did you say earlier about Chip & Reggie? You lost contact with them?" Johnny began the conversation.
"Yup. I hate it though. It is all because of that stupid new revolution in Monsters. Inc. I get even more busy with new work tasks, new working methods, new learning processes, new everything! Damn!" Javier hits on the top of the table and looks very frustrated.
"Hey, calm down, okay. It is not your fault. I don't want to say it's Big Blue's fault, but he did create something new for the better," Johnny said, trying to calm Javier down.
"Hmmmm… and what about you? You're our ex-President, after all. Don't you have their number kept in a locker or something?" Javier said, still feeling frustrated about losing his frat brothers.
"Well….. Since that new revolution you just mentioned happened, Fear Co. demanded more from his scarers and double the work than usual. They are also desperate to hire more scarers now. So….. I'm the same as you. Busy with all the new things happening." Johnny explained.
Then, both of them looked at Chet. "What? Is something on my face?" Chet asked.
"Nah, forget about it, Chet. I think I know what's it gonna be. 'Oh! I only have you, Johnny. Only you in my whole world!'." Javier reacted & made an assumption of what will Chet said.
"Well, that's Chet for you. I'm glad I still have him though." Johnny confessed.
"Do you mean it, Johnny? Thanks, ex-boss," Chet said as he hugged Johnny.
"Ok now. Enough with all that hugging. So, what about Randall? You said, he's even worse? Care to explain?" Johnny asked while Chet released his hug.
Again, there was a moment of silence for a few seconds before Javier spoke up.
"I can tell you, but I'm afraid.. You know… it is somewhat like a company's inner affair. You guys will not spread what I will say later, will you?" Javier asked for assurance.
"Since when did you become so skeptical of us? Actually, I don't care what happened to him. Even though he performed miserably during our last Scare Games & I ditched him out, he's still an ex-RΩR member during our time. I need to monitor him, so that he didn't do anything stupid again that will crushed down RΩR name. Simple as that." Johnny confessed.
"Yeah, I don't like him either! I agree with Johnny." Chet grinned.
"Fine. Here's the thing. About Randall, I heard he might've been banished to the human world. Don't know by whom, or for what reasons, I don't know. One thing for sure, he doesn't work at Monsters Inc. anymore. Someone said the new revolution in Monsters Inc. made him resign as the 2nd top scarer behind Sullivan, reasons were, laughing was not his expertise and he didn't want to work under Sullivan as the big boss. Then, I found out that there was a very high probability that he was banished instead. His best friends searched his apartment, contacted him, looked at every scaring company in Monstropolis, no luck. Even his scaring assistant, Fungus, seemed like he had been brainwashed or something. He didn't remember anything or say anything about Randall." Javier said slowly and quietly.
"Hmm. That's interesting. Oh well, I'm sure he can survive in the human world with his invisibility. If you meet him during your work in kid's bedroom Javier, tell him that I'm wishing him good luck. Hahaha!" Johnny laughed sarcastically.
"Not funny, Johnny." Javier groaned.
"Yeah! If you meet him, tell him that Chet says, 'Way to go, Boggs!'" Chet followed-up with Johnny.
"Chet…" Javier groaned again.
"Alright. That's enough about Randall. The most important thing here is 'us'. What's going on in Monsters Inc. now, Javier? You still like to work there?" Johnny asked.
"I'm not sure, man. Maybe I need to redefine back what 'passion' is. My scaring ability is not being put to good use. I need to ignore all of it and try to make kids laugh. Not even the slightest scaring is allowed now." Javier said.
"Okay… Are you happy there?" Johnny asked sarcastically.
"Enough with the sarcasm, Johnny. Do you think I'm happy when I need to spin 4 small plates with my 4 arms? My antennas are attached with color-friendly ribbons and my wings too are dyed with colorful colors, like those butterflies in the human world! I can't even open my mouth or grin because of my scary fangs, so I need to close my mouth all the time when I'm on duty to make the kids laugh." Javier sighed.
"You sounds happy to me!" Chet said absent mindedly.
"Here's your meal, gentlemen." the waiter said as he brought their meal & served it on the table.
"Thank you." Javier replied with a smile.
"You're welcome." The waiter smiled back at Javier.
"This is gonna be a long chat, Javier. Let's eat our dinner first, shall we?," Johnny requested.
"I agree. I'm hungry," Javier & Chet said in unison.
After three of them finish their meal and continued with their discussion about Monsters Inc.
"Say Javier… When I think of what you said earlier, that your wings were dyed, how did you wash it away? You're a bug, right? Aren't bugs sensitive to water?" Chet asked.
"You're right about that, Chet. However, they have a special item that can wash it away. When my laughing assistant uses it, it is not scaring assistant anymore mind you, the dye will go away without me getting soaked or wet. Pretty much high-tech stuff, I don't understand how it works. Even if I understand it, I cannot tell to you guys. It is confidential. Company's copyright, something like that." Javier explained.
"That's interesting. Surely those high-tech stuffs will cost more for Monsters Inc., though. Not to mention you need instruments, tools and some kind of apparatus to make the kids laugh. Isn't it a waste of money to buy or create those things, just to make the kids laugh?" Johnny asked.
"Well, I'm not a business-minded monster, but our production has been more productive than any other companies that are still reliant on scaring. I heard ours got a lot of high profit, with the revenue mostly comes from investment to invest for this new type of energy. Like I said, it is a new revolution. Monsters Inc. already has a new department, Research & Engineering department, to research & invent for new items, like those instruments & tools you suggested earlier. They even want to patent their technologies, I don't quite understand what that is, but generally, once they get partnered, if you want to use our technologies, you need to pay. If you illegally use it without proper paperwork, it becomes a legal matter." Javier said in a lecture-like kind of tone.
"So… now you work there for the love of money? Because of high profit? And maybe high salary too? What about your dignity as a monster? I hate to say this, but it is quite shameful that an ex-RΩR member is not scaring anymore." Johnny said cautiously, as he tried not to get Javier upset.
"Like I said man, I need to redefine what 'passion' is to me. If you enter Monsters Inc., you feel like you're in a funfair. There's very colorful scenery and floor tiles, they even put kiddy-like decorations all over it. Sigh….. I don't want to talk about it. Now, their next move is going to be hiring a lot of researchers, engineers, talented & creative artists, and even teachers or tutors to teach their employees on how to make the kids laugh. For now, their main teacher is only one. I think you guys know who it is." Javier said.
"Mike Wazowski, that beach ball." Johnny responded.
"And ironically, I have to learn from him. Not always. Just…. sometimes." Javier said, unsure whether he needed to reveal that to Johnny.
Johnny immediately punched Javier on the face, but not strong enough to make him bleed.
"Don't get me wrong. I think you are a good & fast learner for what had happened in your company, but I don't think you need to learn from that beach ball," Johnny said.
"Sorry Johnny. I can't help it. He's the lecturer at Monster University now, teaching a new degree in MU. 'Laughing Major'. Fully funded and supported by Monsters Inc. Eeeekkk!," Javier quickly shields himself before Johnny can punch him.
Unfortunately, Johnny's punch still land on his face.
Johnny sighed, "What in the Monstropolis world had happened here?" he asked as he shook his head.
"You know, Javier. Chet, and I love to do scaring instead of laughing. It is more honorable & prideful to be a monster that scares kids. It's not about money or productivity or anything like that. Besides, why do monsters who scare turn to laughing? Why don't they take monsters that don't have what it takes to do scaring instead? It would be much better, don't you think? I'm not a human resource monster, but that way everyone would have a job. Monsters that look scary do the scaring, and monsters that look funny do the laughing. It's really that simple. Right, Chet?" Johnny said.
"You're absolutely right, Boss! No doubt about it! I agree 100 percent." Chet said excitedly.
"You're right Johnny. I agree with you too, but who are we anyway? We're just workers! We're not CEOs! We just need to accept it. I just hope some monsters out there will have that same mentality as you, Johnny. Everything will be changed soon, but I just wish that they don't completely abolish scaring. You're a Worthington, Johnny. A remarkable lineage in scaring. I'm sure you can come up with something. Whatever I become, I still support you, Johnny." Javier said.
"Really? How about you resign from Monsters Inc. and join Fear Co.? There a lot of vacancies, by the way." Johnny said, trying to persuade Javier.
"That is an issue I can't support you in. It's my life. I will decide it on my own. Say what you want, but for now, I still want to work at Monsters Inc." Javier said firmly.
"Fine... Do whatever it is best for you. I'm not your parent anyway. We're just RΩR fraternity brothers." Johnny got up from his seat and shook Javier's hand, along with Chet.
"You want to leave now? It's still early, man." Javier said.
"I need to get a good rest before I go to work tomorrow. Double the work. Or maybe triple the work. Who knows….. Like you said, everything will be changed soon." Johnny reacted.
"Hey, I hope you're alright, Johnny. Don't force yourself. And… the meal is on me. My treat to all of you." Javier said.
"Oh, Javier! I love you so much!" Chet said while hugging him tightly. "Well, I love Johnny more, but I love you too!"
"Alright, Chet. Enough about me. We're leaving. And Javier…. Sorry about the two punches earlier." Johnny winks at Javier.
"Heh! It's okay, Johnny. In fact, I miss those punches since our college days." Javier admitted.
"Right on. That's the Javier I knew. Goodbye, Javier. See ya later if we have time." Johnny said.
"Same goes for me, Johnny. Goodbye." Javier replied.
"Bye bye Javier Rios!" Chet replied back to Javier.
"See you again, Chet Alexander. Don't stick to Johnny too much, okay?" Javier said.
"Will do!" Chet responded back while scuttling with Johnny and left the restaurant.
Johnny drives Chet to his home and Johnny goes back to his mansion. He feels very tired after a slave-like's work, and after a long chat with Javier for the night, he decides to shower to feel fresh & comfortable and immediately goes to sleep.
The next morning, he picks up Chet at his house and both of them go to work together like normal days. Once they're at Fear Co., both of them go their separate ways to their designated scare floor. Johnny meets Hughes again and thinks about whether or not he wants to apologize to him.
"Ummmm…. Hughes. About yesterday… I'm not good at this, but….. I just want to say sorry for what I told you." Johnny groaned.
"Nah, it's ok. I'm a bit upset about it, but I just want to forget about it, like it never happened. You're right. I'm not doing my job with passion, I'll try to do better than yesterday." Hughes confessed.
"That's the spirit! So, who's the lucky first kid for today?" Johhny said while getting warmed-up at his station.
"Here." Hughes said as he gave him the scare report.
"A 4 year old boy and scared of… animals with fangs? Alright! Let me at him, and this time, I'm not playing around!" Johnny was now fully ready to work.
"Go get him Johnny Worthington!" Hughes said.
And so, another busy day for Johnny began.