OWP: Very glad you loved it! I just love inserting Star Wars whenever it’s convenient and would make a great connection between characters, events, and the like. The MU thing was actually a piece of trivia written on the Pixar Wikia, mentioning how Hardscrabble comment explains Boo’s crying at Sulley’s roar; she was never afraid of him, because she’s afraid of reptilian/snake-like monsters, and that’s what makes her scream.
Whew! After a while, Chapter Ten has arrived!!! And this one is going to blow you away with some shocking revelations; one of which you will need to remember for a future chapter (I will mention what it is in the end notes after this chapter.
Chapter Ten: Snowbound
“It’s so…cold…”
Michael opened his visible eye slowly, only to realize that he was laying on snow, and was one foot deep in it. He also realized that James was piled right on top of him. The smaller man put his hand to the larger one’s chest, trying to push him off gently.
“Sulley, wake up!” Michael exclaimed.
James managed to stand up on his feet, and helped his friend to get up from the snow as well. The two found themselves dressed in winter clothing with fur boots and mittens, and their bodies were enrobed by velour cloaks in green and purple-spotted blue, respectively, with silver crescent clasps at the neck. They put their hoods on as they took their suitcases, and found the metal doorframe. James opened it, but there was nothing; it was just a door in the middle of nowhere.
“We have to save her,” James told himself, “We just have to.”
“Well, we can’t, can we?” Michael remarked, “Look what we got ourselves into! And I’ve got this deep gash in my leg; and no first aid to treat it.”
At that moment, a shadowy figure appeared, larger and more imposing than even James himself in his beast form. The figure revealed itself to be an immense beast covered in white, fleecy fur, greeting with, “Welcome to the Himalayas!”
“Huh?” Michael and James were confused.
“It’s me, the Abominable Snowman, don’t you remember?” the beast asked.
Michael and James looked at each other confused, until something clicked in their minds and they exclaimed, “Yes! We were in the mailroom together, and—weren’t you murdered?”
“Murdered?” the Abominable Snowman was baffled as he morphed into a human form, “Oh no.”
“Yeah, because I remember you were our dispatch manager once,” Michael commented, “Before Mrs. Paperwork took over.”
“I was,” the Abominable Snowman answered, " Come, I’ll tell you what really happened."
Michael and James followed the white-haired man into a cave filled with hanging lanterns.
“You see, I had intercepted these strange blueprints, and then attempted to mail them to the CDA under a pseudonym,” the Abominable Snowman explained as he wrapped a bandage cloth over Michael’s right shin, “Unfortunately, Waternoose caught me, and apparently arranged for my secret banishment on charges of tampering with the mail system, and left a realistic dummy of me filled with strawberry syrup in the administrative office for Energy Floor F. He faked my death, and honestly, I don’t know if there was anyone else involved with the plot.”
“Whoa,” James was surprised by the revelation.
“I just wish it could be a little warmer in here,” Michael commented as he held out his mitten-covered hands to the light of a lantern.
“I know what could make this better!” the Abominable Snowman got up from the box he was seated on and picked up a tray.
“What are those?” asked James.
“Snow cones!” the Abominable Snowman answered excitedly, “Anyone want one? They’re lemon-flavored.”
“Why would anyone want snow cones in the freezing cold?!!” Michael was bewildered, “And this doesn’t look like a place where lemons grow—yeah, I’m totally passing.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” the Abominable Snowman started off, “I could always make some warm and piping hot chocolate muffins fresh from the oven—”
“Okay, now I just lost my appetite,” Michael scowled.
“Boo-chan must be in torment,” James whispered to himself, tears burning on his cheeks as he buried his face in the palms of his hands, Oh, child, I have failed you.
Back at M. Energy Incorporated, Mr. Waternoose walked swiftly down the hallways, with Randall following right behind and carrying Mariko in his arms. As they made their way through where the garbage disposal was located, Randall suddenly looked down at the girl, re-adjusting her wig.
“Mariko,” Randall whispered softly, “I promise you, you will not be hurt. I don’t know why Waternoose decided that you of all children would be the one to test out this project, but I can assure you, I will take you home as soon as we’re done. I scare because I care.”
Mariko looked up at him. Although this man was comforting her, she felt a slight sense of intimidation, especially when she caught sight of his shimmering emerald eyes and got a whiff of an intoxicating aroma; a lavender-moonflower-vanilla musk. Something about that seemed familiar in a scary way, yet at the same time she could not sense it too well, for she had not the slightest inkling that the man carrying and soothing her was also her closet monster.
“Here,” Randall reached into his pocket, “have something to munch on.”
Randall gave Mariko a packet of fruit twists, which she nibbled on contently.
“Just be a good girl for my boss,” Randall whispered, patting her wig as a tear rolled down his soft, velvety cheek, “I know you can, my child.”
Night fell upon the Himalayan snow-covered terrain as a light snowstorm blew outside the lantern-illuminated cave. James was hammering together pieces of wood, fashioning them into a sled. Michael stood there, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the icy wall of the cave.
“I really miss Celia,” began Michael, “She just broke up with me over what happened, but if she were here with me, right now, she would have healed the gash on my leg; I wouldn’t need to bandage it.”
“She has healing abilities?” James asked, still hammering the wood.
"Yes, Michael answered, “and she’s one of the few to have advanced healing abilities that allow her to revive someone within 12 hours of their death.”
“That’s nice to know,” James sighed.
“It sure is,” Michael sighed again, “and Sulley, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to look for a village,” James answered.
“There’s a snowstorm out there,” Michael reminded him, “Do you want to get yourself killed?”
“There’s no other way,” James started off, “I’m really worried, and I want to go save Boo-chan.”
“Well, you go on your own,” Michael responded, lacking enthusiasm, “I’m not gonna risk it; besides, I never really cared about her anyway.”
James paused for a moment, secretly in shock at his friend’s apathetic words. “I will do what I must,” he finally spoke.
James mounted on the sled, and thrusting his right foot back, set the sled in motion down the hill. In no time, he was speeding down the snowy hill, until a strong gust of wind blew by, knocking him off his course, and sending him tumbling into the snow; destroying the sled in the process. It seemed now, as if all hope was lost. James stood up, gently dusting off the snowflakes off his cloak, and gazing at the remains of the sled.
“I have truly failed you, Boo-chan,” James muttered to himself.
The gust began to slow down, which in turn led to the snow slowing down as it fell, making the view appear clearer. James looked up at the sky; an expansive dome filled with a confetti of stars, and even the nebula appeared in color, although faintly. The full moon shown down on the snow; its silver beams reflected on the crescent clasp on James’ cloak. That’s when something amazing happened. As James noticed the moon reflecting on his cloak clasp, that beam of moonlight was then redirected as he turned his head down from the sky and behold, a village was illuminated by the reflected light from his brooch.
“Boo-chan,” James told himself, “I’m coming to get you.”
James morphed into his beast form, got down on all fours, and with the force and speed of a cheetah, scampered down the snowy hill and roared in the process, just until he reached the village limits, when he morphed back into his human facade.
The village was brightly lit, as people in colorful coats wandered about, buying artisan beads and strange-looking wheels, idols, and talismans decorated some houses. James needed not care if he could not read the Tibetan scripts that adorned so many shops and street signs; he just needed to find a home where children lived. After scouting around a while, he saw a room where a mother was putting her son to bed, blowing out a candle as she left the room. As James looked on, his cloak clasp was illuminated by the moonlight again, and he sensed a wormhole link establishing within the premises. He closed his eyes, and an image of Charlie activating a portal for George formed in the back of his mind.
“Now’s my chance!” James whispered excitedly as he morphed again, slowly opening the window.
Over at M. Energy Incorporated, George returned from a Tibetan village home door, but as Charlie was about to send the portal up, James busted through the door, involuntarily flinging a sock at George’s bare back.
“2319! 2319!” Charlie cried out, until George grabbed him by his neck; his powerful monster hand crushing his Portal Summoner as he forcefully stuffed the sock in his mouth before finally flinging him through the door.
“Hey George!” James called out, “Nice to see you!”
“Oh, hey, Sullivan,” George greeted back as he sent the door up the zipline.
James sprinted right out the entrance to the Energy Floor, then took a right down the main hall.
Mr. Waternoose, Randall, and Mariko found themselves seated in the car of the Incan Empire-themed roller coaster again, with the voice announcing, “Please remain seated, and keep your arms, hands, legs, and feet inside the ride at all times,” as Randall slicked back his cowlicks. Once again, the ride shot fast on its twisting tracks through its Peruvian-influenced animal decor, with Mr. Waternoose putting his hands in the air, screaming “Yeaaahhh!!! Woooooo!!!”, Mariko clapping, and Randall keeping a stern expression on his face as he gripped the safety bar. The path culminated by swirling down the final vortex track, and launching them off to the floor, dressing them in lab coats in glasses. The pair ran past the ventilation pipes to where the Vocal Extract-O-Matic 2001 was located, with Jeffrey wearing a paper bag on his head now while seated at the control panel.
“You’re back, Masters!” Jeffrey greeted anxiously, “And you managed to capture the Avatar!”
Randall placed Mariko in the seat, clamping her hands down as he lowered the safety bar on her. He turned back to look at his boss, who was staring him down with a very unsettling glare.
“I hope that this machine works the way that I have envisioned it to do so,” Mr. Waternoose began, hanging his lab coat and goggles on the control panel, “I worry that since this is a prototype, any bugs in it may have the potential to kill her.”
“Oh no, Master,” Randall started off, letting his lab coat cascade off his back and to the floor as he cast off his goggles to the control panel, “You tasked me to create this device to harvest energy. For this machine to kill would defeat its very purpose, since the power source must remain alive and well to work properly. Plus, we have agreed to send her back home safely, right?”
“You are correct, Randall, my apprentice,” Mr. Waternoose grinned sinisterly, “It is such a shame, that to keep my energy-saving plan safe, I have had to banish my Top Energy Harvester.”
“Don’t worry,” Randall began, “With this machine, we have no need for Sullivan.”
“Bear in mind, however,” Mr. Waternoose looked at Randall, “Sullivan was twice the Energy Harvester you would ever be.”
Those words struck Randall in his ears as a knife would have stabbed his back. He turned his gaze back to Waternoose; his eyes widened in surfacing rage.
“Let me show you what an Energy Harvester really looks like,” Randall started off calm yet tense, “Fungus, join me!”
Randall and Jeffrey took each other’s hands, and raised their free arms to the ceiling, shouting “The Winds of Change sweep us in Dual Metamorphosis!”. In an instant, the background turned black, with searchlights waving and colorful purple and red polka dots orbiting around Randall and Jeffrey, whose bodies were now but glowing silhouettes.
“Yessssss…” Mr. Waternoose’s grin grew more disturbing, “I can feel your anger. Let the hate flow through youuuuuuu…”
Jeffrey shook nervously as his glowing red form spun around, and a spectrum of light rings swooped the length of his body. Randall, on the other hand, appeared as if he were doing a dance that looked like he was hula-hooping on his tip-toes as he repeatedly swept his cowlicks and ponytail. A light ring spectrum also swooped down the length of his form. At that moment, Jeffrey shrunk into an oversized red jelly bean, his legs turned into those like a chicken, fingers grew long and orange, the fin on the back of his head extended down his back, and his eyes multiplied into three. Randall was stretched out once more, with his limbs multiplying, tail appearing, and cowlicks becoming fronds as his brilliant scales covered him, all while dancing and making frequent usage of his hand movements.
Once the transformations finished, a scream almost escaped Mariko’s fragile little mouth at the sight of Randall, before he rushed up to her, raising a finger to her lips and saying “Shhh…”. He then swirled away from her, this time climbing back onto the machine, and posing on it. After his repetitive slithering and reclining on the machine, Randall got off, and hissed in Mariko’s ear; her heart racing with fear. He then wandered over to the control panel, and adjusted the knobs to lower settings.
“This should be safe enough for the testing,” Randall told himself, stirring a cup of tea with his lower hands and eating biscotti with his upper hands.
As the machine activated its extendable nozzle, Mr. Waternoose clasped his handed together as a sinister grin appeared on his face. Finally, he told himself, you may not be able to tell us in words what gift of light you bring us, Chosen One, but with this innovation, I shall have possession of it and save the factory. Lux Nova shall be mine!
Just as the nozzle was about to reach Mariko’s soft, pale lips, a giant polka-dotted fur beast jumped from the overhead railing, roaring loudly as he tightened his fists, landing on the machine and crushing it with all his strength in the process. The beast then morphed into James, who stood on top of the remains of the device, punching it once more before leaping off and releasing Mariko from the seat. The other two monsters reverted back to their humanoid form as well.
“Neko-chan!” Mariko exclaimed delightedly.
“Come on, Boo-chan!” James told her, “We have to go now!”
James ran off from the scene, with the toddler girl clinging on to him tightly. Mr. Waternoose grew angered as he put on a hooded black cloak, yet Randall remained surprisingly calm; his hands placed on his hips.
“Wipe them out,” Mr. Waternoose ordered, lightning crackling in his hands, “All of them. Except the girl; we need her alive.”
[i]Whoa! Talk about a rescue! James sure is powerful and strong.
Now, before I end this installment, if you read the part where Michael mentions Celia’s healing and revival abilities, DO NOT forget that at all! 
Hang onto it tightly; this will be important to Chapter Thirteen (which I have not even written yet, but I know what going to happen in Chapter Twelve that will lead to it NOT GONNA SPOIL IT NOW)
Other than that, hope you enjoyed it, and some battle action will begin in the next chapter![/i] 
Can’t wait for the next chapter!
Also, there’ going to be several NON-Pixar references to keep your eyes out for (some of which you may or may not get depending on if you have any knowledge of Humongous Entertainment’s games).