Scares, Trails, and Romantic Monster Tales

The Wager

"Oh, I'm so nervous!" I said as I fixed a flyaway hair on my bangs.

Tonight was the night of nights. Not only was it Halloween, the best night of the entire year -second to Christmas, obviously- but this was the night I was finally going to see Randall again after so long! I mean, I've been in Disney for a year now, and after two months of taking on my role as Guardian, I've finally found some time for myself. And this time couldn't be spent in any way better!

You see, after my latest letter to Randall, he asked me if I wanted to meet up for Halloween just to hang out, and I suggested that we could just take a walk through Monstropolis so I could see the sights. Randall agreed because he's been busting his tail off trying to prove that he's the greatest scarer there ever was, and this was just the thing he needed to take some time to just relax and not worry about being number one for a change.

But there was one teensy, weensy, but ever so crucial, little, tiny, problem with all of this...

"Relax, it's just a date." Pain said as he and Panic sat on my bed to give me moral support.

"It's not a date!" I argued back. "He just invited me for sightseeing. In his world. Without anyone else bothering us."

Panic arched a brow. "Sounds like a date to us, kid."

"Okay, maybe it is!" I gave in before defending myself. "But this is the first time Randall and I have seen each other in over a year! I wanna make sure I don't screw this up."

"So, does that mean you're not gonna tell him?" Panic asked me.

Pain gave a confused look. "Tell him what?"

"Her secret, dummy!" Panic rolled his eyes at his brother. "Y'know, that she's really a human?"

"Of course, I'm not gonna tell him my secret!" I answered him. "If Randy found out I was human, he'd hate my guts for it. It's better he doesn't find out."

"Here's hoping this doesn't bite ya in the tail, sister." Pain gave a smirk.

"You're a good source of confidence, Pain." I rolled my eyes at him before turning into my monster form. "Okay. How do I look?"

"Fluffy." Panic said. "Why is this your base form for a monster again?"

"I don't know." I shrugged before looking at myself in the mirror. "But some monsters in Randy's world can do intimidating things despite how they look. Maybe I just need to find out how to do it."

"Uh-huh." he went on. "And are ya sure you can stay in that form in your world?"

"I gave myself angel wings to fight off villains in my world without problems, didn't I?" I reminded him.

"Hey, you better get going." Pain pointed out. "You don't wanna be late."

"Right. Okay, I'll be back by 10:30, at best." I told them as I started leaving my room. "Watch the house while I'm gone, and do not cause any chaos."

"Gotcha!" Pain gave me a thumbs up.

"Say 'hi' to Randall for us!" Panic told me.

"Will do!" I told them with an excited smile.

I closed my door behind me, and I used the Beacon of Hope to open up a portal to Randall's world. Knowing exactly where to go. Oh, this was going to be the best Halloween ever! I could just feel it!

Five Minutes Later

After the usual swirling rainbow vortex of terror that is to be expected when traveling via portals, I finally arrived in an alley within Monstropolis. But I was dead-set on a mission and set foot for my destination. You see, when Randall and I first started writing to each other when I was still in recovery, we wrote about where we would meet should we ever decide to visit. Obviously, I didn't want Randall to come to me because of the whole human thing, so we made a deal to meet just outside Harryhausen's so we could go see nearby sights and maybe eat somewhere that wasn't next to impossible to get a reservation for.