In the dark of the night, a cricket chirped, setting off others in the area. It was a balmy night, humid yet clear. A quick glance up at the night sky revealed thousands of stars and a sliver of a moon.

He had seen hundreds of moons in his stay. Full-moons, half-moons, sliver-moons. He was tired of moons. He wanted to go home.

When he first had been abandoned on this forsaken world, he had been mistaken for an alligator and clobbered many times over with a shovel. He had managed to escape just barely with his life, he had been bleeding from the many wounds that hard metal device had inflicted on him. He had been lucky to be alive. He escaped into the night, the same night which covered him now.

He no longer looked like his former glorious self, his fronds drooped and he had lost weight. His color had paled, from the rich purple he once sported to a pale lavender that he was now. At first, he had eaten whatever he could find, but most of it didn't sit well with him. Throwing up meals had become a commonplace occurrence.

He learned to stick to simple foods, when he could find them. When he couldn't he just didn't eat at all. That happened more times than he cared to count. He didn't think he could survive here much longer. Not in his current state anyway.

So his hunt had begun. At first he thought getting back would be easy. All he had to do was find a kid's door, wait until that child was to be scared, then walk back into Monster's Inc. Sullivan had done it, so could he. Right? Wrong.

In the first place, he had been banished to the swamps of Florida. There weren't many kids to be found, and those he did find were not scared of monsters or anything. He was pretty sure those kids had their doors shredded already.

In the second place, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get back to a city where there would be kids that could be scared. His isolation was complete. It would take many months to travel the required distance. Months in which he would have plenty of time to reflect on his situation.

His thirst for revenge on Sullivan and Wazowski was bright at the beginning. He would imagine torturing or isolating them when he got back. Putting them through some of the situations he now faced. Starving them, drawing blood from many wounds. Even that desire faded with time as he grew to accept his new surroundings. All he ever wanted now was to go home. To get out of this nightmare and back to the Monster world.

It took over five months for him to make his way to the first city. He would travel at night, where he could better blend into the darkness without having to change his form. Changing required energy that he didn't possess. He would hide out and sleep during the day, foraging for food and continuing his trek at night.

The city he found was small, yet it did house a number of small children. Yet after waiting and searching all this time, not a single one of them got scared for the week he stayed in this town. None of them feared bedtime, and most were happy to go to bed.

Sensing that he would not find his way back from this city, Randall moved on. Month after month, city after city. He couldn't find a way back. It seemed that Monsters Inc had ceased production of scream energy. He lost all hope of getting home.

Why had all the scaring stopped? Where was Monstropolis getting its energy from now? These were questions that would appear in Randall's mind from day to day. Kids were not scared. They no longer feared monsters in their closets.

Finally he began to notice a pattern. Laughter at night. Instead of screaming, the kids were laughing. With what strength he had left, he began to investigate.

His timing must have been off. No matter which child he picked, there never was anything coming out of the closet. He would sit, hiding under the window, praying for the door to his world to open.

It never did. Fresh despair filled him tonight. He had been waiting since the sun went down, but this house remained quiet. He was fairly weak today, food had been extremely scarce and he hadn't eaten much.

He wondered if anyone had noticed that he had gone missing. Did anyone even care? Did Sullivan and Wazowski realize the implications of what they had done? How had his absence been explained?

He sighed. It didn't matter. This alien world that tortured him would have to be his home now. He slithered down from his post under the window sill and made his way back to the makeshift shelter that he now occupied. An old hollow log that was abandoned in the nearby woods.

It was small and cramped, he was forced to live like an animal. He kept his food supplies in one end of it, and noticed tonight that he was once again running low. He would have to go foraging in a day or so. He longed so much for his bed, a warm shower and decent food. He had to wash in puddles now, and he probably smelled worse than he looked. He had long ago stopped noticing the little things like hygiene. He was about to turn in for the night, for lack of anything else to do, when he heard it.

Laughter. Very loud and very close by. He would have to move fast or lose his chance. He slipped from his hole and scampered to the nearest house. He slid up the wall to the child's bedroom and peeked in the window.

He caught the barest glimpse of someone entering the closet, a bright light behind them obscured their features. He turned his head to see the child laughing very loudly. Something clicked inside of him as the connection was made. Monsters Inc was using laughter for energy! Homesickness washed over him as the closet door closed.

He had missed his chance. He had seen the old scare floor for about a second or two, and he couldn't get to it. He slid back down the wall and went to the next house. Nothing. He passed another house. Still nothing.

Another house loomed in front of him and he decided to give this one a try as well. The child's window was cracked to let in a breeze. Randall removed the screen and slipped inside.

He had barely been inside for a minute when he heard the sound of the closet door opening. He spun around to find Fungus, the orange monster that had once been his assistant, entering the room with a pair of funny glasses covering his three eyes.

Randall felt his heart leap in joy. He had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. His exile was now over. He nearly wept with relief.

Fungus was about to start his routine by waking the sleeping child when he was knocked down. A familiar form materialized in front of his eyes. "Randall!" he gasped.

Randall managed a weak nod. "Take me back."

Fungus forgot all about what he was supposed to be doing, he half carried Randall through the closet door. The laugh floor he was on was empty, everyone had left already and Fungus was just finishing up.

Once back inside Monsters Inc, Randall bent down and kissed the floor.

"Randall!" Fungus said again as he cut the power to the door. "What are you doing?"

"I have never been so glad to see this place," Randall said as he slumped down at a nearby desk.

"You look terrible. What happened to you?" Fungus discarded the funny glasses in favor of his real ones. He had heard the rumors of Randall's banishment but like everyone else, he didn't believe it.

"It's a long, long story." Randall put his head down as dizziness overtook him.

"Can I get you something?" Fungus nervously asked. Finding Randall had not been on his list of things to do this night.

"Water," Randall whispered. His throat was growing dry now that he was out of the humidity he had grown accustomed to.

Fungus scampered off and returned with a glass of water which he handed to Randall.

Randall took it and gulped the cold sweet tasting liquid down. It had been so long since he had fresh water that he couldn't drink it fast enough. He instantly regretted his mistake and bent over the garbage pail near the desk. He threw up the water and what little food he had eaten that day. "UGH!" He coughed once, then heaved again.

"My goodness!" Fungus gasped. "Are you okay? Should I call for medics?"

Randall took a couple of deep breaths, then wiped one of his hands across his face. He willed his stomach to settle. "No, no. I'll be fine. I just need someplace to rest for a while."

"Well, I guess you could come back to my place for a bit, until we find out what happened to yours." Fungus offered.

Randall simply nodded. "Thanks."

Fungus slid his arm around Randall and they headed off the laugh floor. In less than an hour, Fungus was leading Randall inside his place. "It's kind of small..."

"It's fine." Randall said before he collapsed, weak from hunger, and exhausted from his ordeal.

Fungus dragged Randall to his bed. It took quite a bit of heaving to get the larger monster up, but he finally accomplished it. Now he didn't know what to do. He considered calling Sulley or Mike, to let them know, but decided to wait until he heard Randall's side of the story.

It didn't look like Randall would be talking any time soon. Fungus decided to prepare his place for an extended stay.

* * * * *

Randall opened his eyes to bright light. He couldn't remember where he was at first, and why was it so bright? Then his memory returned. He was back in the Monster world. He was staying with Fungus. He tried to sit up, but was slammed back into the bed from the pain of a fierce headache.

"FUNGUS!" Randall yelled even though doing so caused his head to throb.

Fungus ran in from the other room, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. "Yes Randall?"

"How long was I sleeping?" Randall felt like his throat was made out of sandpaper, and combined with his headache, he felt worse than he had in months.

"You've been out for three days now." Fungus told him.

"Shouldn't you be at work then?" Randall croaked hoarsely.

Fungus picked up a glass of water from the nightstand. He had brought it in for when Randall awoke. He also slid a trash pail closer just in case. "I called out," he explained as he handed over the glass.

"For three days?" Randall asked as he sipped the water slowly. He wasn't up for a repeat session any more than Fungus was.

The smaller monster shrugged. "I thought you might need me when you awoke." He took the empty glass back. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Randall turned on his side to better see Fungus. "Where have you been sleeping seeing how I've got your bed?"

"Um..." he paused, nervously looking around the room. He didn't know why Randall still made him nervous, but the feeling was definitely there. He pointed toward a small pile of blankets on the floor. "Over there."

"Oh." Randall made a noise that sounded between a cough and a grunt. "Sorry."

Fungus waved him off. "Don't concern yourself over it."

"Can you help me to the shower? It seems like forever since I took one." Randall pushed the covers off himself slowly.

"Sure." Fungus held out a hand to better steady Randall as the other monster slowly regained his footing. He escorted him to the bathroom and got the shower running. "If you need any help, I'll be right in the other room."

Randall climbed into the steamy spray and let it wash all over him. It felt so good on his scaly skin. He let out a whimper as it washed over his scars, it tingled and hurt at the same time.

"Randall?" Fungus called into the room, having heard the cry.

"I'm okay." Randall called back. "Just a little unused to the water."

Fungus returned to changing the sheets on the bed. Randall had been right, it had been a while since he had last washed. The odor that was on the sheets was even too much for a monster to bear.

Randall resumed his cleaning. The filth washed off his body and dirt swirled down the drain. He reached for the soap with one of his four hands and used the others to lather himself clean. He could spend hours in here, it felt so good.

He finally ran out of places to wash and turned off the water. When he stepped out, he found towels waiting for him. He had to admit, Fungus was thoughtful. He dried himself off then left the room.

Fungus was sitting nervously on the freshly made bed. He kept licking his lips and trembling slightly.

Randall sighed. "Will you stop shaking around me, I'm not going to hurt you."

"B-but..." Fungus stuttered.

"Do I look in any shape to harm anyone?" Randall asked again. He had taken a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror. He had scars crisscrossing his body in every place. Some were very light, but others were dark. Those had been the deepest ones, the ones that had bled the most.

"W-well you do look better than when I found you." Fungus stated, still shaking a bit.

Randall crossed the room and clasped Fungus by the arms. "I won't hurt you." He felt the other monster relax a bit. "I'm just happy to be back. I just want to get my life back."

Fungus waited until he was released from Randall's grip. "I don't know if you will still have a job at MI..."

"Why not?" Randall narrowed his eyes at Fungus.

"When you disappeared and Waternoose was arrested, we all thought the company was done for." Fungus started to explain.

"Waternoose was arrested?" Randall gasped. "On what grounds?" This bit of news surprised him. He had been counting on Waternoose being in charge.

"Child endangerment I think." Fungus tried to recall the exact details. "Without him the company was going to close, until the idea of using laughter instead of scream came about. In the transition, lots of positions changed around. Assistants now had a chance to go in the rooms too."

"Oh really?" Randall thought this over. "Who decided on these changes if Waternoose was no longer in charge?"

Fungus suddenly wished he was at work, or on another planet rather than sitting right in front of Randall. "Um, well... our new CEO," he managed to squeak out.

"And that would be?" Randall crossed all his arms and waited.

"Sullivan." Fungus said and quickly slid off the bed, trying to escape out the door.

This bit of news caused Randall more than shock. He almost felt faint from the surprise of it. The one person that had banished him now held all the cards. His old thirst for revenge that had once been quenched now burned bright again. Randall recovered from the news pretty fast. He took three steps and caught up to Fungus. "I'm going to need your help."

Now Fungus was shaking again. "W-with w-hat?"

Randall grinned evilly. "Just a bit of a payback that's long overdue." He stroked his chin slowly, his brain already thinking up a scheme.

* * * * *