Woody and Buzz were safely back at home with Andy. Woody was surprised that he and Buzz were actually becoming, friends. He thought they were friends at least. He hoped so, after everything they had been through he needed someone who would understand. The others didn't, Mr Potato Head, Rex and even Bo Peep. They wanted everything to go back to normal, with the addition of one 'space station cowboy'. (Woody hated that phrase; he was the cowboy, not Buzz.) Buzz understood though. Buzz was the one who would comfort Woody when he woke up in the middle of the night with bad dreams. When he would hear the cries of the person who made me scream, when he would see the figures played out behind his eyes.
Buzz felt it too. He did spend most of the time in Sid's house going through an existential crisis but that didn't mean that he didn't see what was going on around him. Woody was convinced that was why none of the other toys had left, they knew. Woody had spent so many sleepless nights thinking about why none of the toys had ever left. They could have, they could have so many times but they didn't. Woody guess he knew why, he was a toy, he understood.
Toys were, are, supposed to look out for the child they are with. To be what they need them to be, a play friend, a companion, a reminder and a friend. A toy is whatever their owner needs until they move on to another child. That is what Sid's toys do, they are what he needs, his outlet. It's horrible but true.
They are not the monsters that Woody and Buzz thought they were, but neither was Sid. The more Woody thought about it, the more that he woke violently with Sid's screams and cries in his ears, the more he realised who the true monster was.
In the day during playtime, or when Andy went to school, Woody pretended everything was normal. He learnt not to let his lack of sleep manifest into anger. He flirted with Bo Peep and made plans with Slinky. He played Draw with Etch and helped Rex to be scarier. He tried to be normal, Buzz fit into that nicely. They could pretend that everything was fine; they were good at pretending. Woody would notice Buzz's looks though. Notice Buzz watch him closely, like he was scared to let him out of his sight. Woody understood, sometimes when he woke with the nightmares he would reach around for Buzz, to feel his clunky plastic against his hand. He needed to know he wasn't alone, that he wasn't back there with the sun and the crates and the rocket strapped to his back and the horrible screams and cries begging everything to stop.
One night many weeks later when everyone had moved on and not even Andy seemed to miss his old house anymore Woody broke down. He hadn't slept in days. Woody was exhausted and there was only so many times a day that Buzz could distract someone from talking to Woody with a trick or his lazer beam. Buzz had taken to doing that, if he saw Woody fading out of conversations Buzz would save him from awkward questions about why he was so distant. For that Woody was thankful, he knew he was slipping as sheriff.
Christmas had come and gone with the introduction of new toys that Woody had not properly introduced. They looked at him and wondered why he was Sheriff, he could tell. Molly's toys had also started, slowly but surly invading their play space. It was his job to stop it but he was just too tired. As Buzz held Woody he told him that it was okay, that he didn't have to be the boss all the time, that he could let go.
"I can't do this any more Buzz." Woody said through tears.
"I know. I'm here."
Buzz held Woody in his arms as the taller toy cried on his shoulder.
"I hear it all the time, every time I close my eyes to sleep it's there haunting me."
"I can hear it too." Buzz confessed.
Woody leaned back to look at Buzz and Buzz looked up at him.
"We shouldn't have done it."
"You saved me."
"We shouldn't have been mean the way we were."
"We didn't know, or understand. We had never seen it before."
Buzz's voice was soft but left no room for argument. When they had first got back Buzz had snuck down to the family computer, worked out how to turn it on, and searched what they had seen and what it meant. It made for some horrible reading. Reading that had just as much torment Woody's dreams as anything else, but Buzz had been the more logical of the two. He knew that they had not know the previous information and that had they have known that they would have acted differently.
It didn't ease Woody's guilt but he felt better knowing that Buzz was there to help him.
"I want to do something to help." Woody said, still looking at Buzz with Buzz's arms wrapped around him.
"How? They live all the way on the other side of town, it was hard enough getting from Sid's house back to Andy's when we lived next door."
"I don't know, but we have to. I can't live like this anymore, I can't live with this guilt that I should have done something. It's too much."
Woody looked at Buzz, pleading with him to agree, to take his side, to tell him that they could do it. Woody knew he couldn't do it alone.
"Okay. We'll work it out. We can do it."
Woody put his head back onto Buzz's shoulder and Buzz wrapped his arms around him tighter. That night Woody slept for longer than he had in weeks. The next day he almost felt rested.
The following nights Buzz and Woody stayed up planning how they were going to get back to Sid's house. Neither of them spoke of what they would do once they got there, and neither of them mentioned how they would get back. They were taking everything one step at a time.
They first realised they were going to need a map, but that would have to include Sketch. Woody was unsure about including anyone else in their plan. He didn't everyone to know. They already thought so badly of him because of what had happened with Buzz, he didn't want to lower their already tarnished opinion of him.
When he had confessed this to Buzz in the dead of night, after planning had finished ad Woody had still flat out refused to include anyone else, Buzz wrapped his arms around the cowboy and laughed softly.
"They hold you in such high regard. I was not blameless with what happened and they know that. They will not think less of you."
Woody ignored him as Buzz held him tighter and they drifted off to sleep together.
Since they had started the planning Woody had been sleeping much more and in turn so had Buzz. It meant as every day passed and Woody felt more relaxed planning progressed quicker. Woody knew he would never be able to completely relax until they had carried out their plan. At night, instead of the cries of Sid, Woody saw what they planned to do. It still wasn't pleasant, but it gave Woody hope that it would soon be over.
After over a week of planning Woody and Buzz were ready to go.
In the end they had to get everyone involved. Woody hadn't wanted to but it had just happened. One night while they were talking Slinky had overheard them and it seemed to have escalated from there. Woody had been nervous about it. He didn't want everyone to know, but Buzz had continuously reassured him.
Things had changed because of it. They other toys did look at him differently, but not with hate and disgust like he had thought, but with pain. Like they felt pain for Woody. He didn't understand that but Buzz explained that it was okay and that with time that too would fade. Woody didn't know when he started to rely on Buzz to explain what used to be easy for him but it had happened and Woody was thankful for that.
Bo had treated him differently too. Before she had grabbed him for random kisses throughout the day with big eyes that promised more. Woody would pretend to enjoy it and go along with it, then try and find a way to get out of it. Now she just avoided his gaze and spent more time talking to Rocky and feeling his muscles when she thought Woody wasn't around. Woody was okay with it though, it didn't hurt like he thought it should. He thought maybe there was something wrong with him. He should be sad, she was Bo Peep, but he wasn't. He was relived. He no longer had to lie and pretend he was okay when she was around when he wasn't.
That was a feeling he had all around. Now the other toys didn't come up to him when he was on his own. Buzz seemed to take over as Sheriff, what he was scared off all those moths ago; that Buzz had replaced him, became the thing he wanted. One day he would be better. One day he would take his role back at the head of the pack, but for now it was nice to let someone else take change.
Playtime was always hard. He was still Andy's favourite toy. He wanted to be Andy's favourite toy, he didn't think he could handle loosing that, but it was hard. The others helped. Mrs Potato head mothered him afterwards. Making sure he was warm enough and had everything he needed. Pork Chop would be almost aggressive when he saw toys try and talk to him when Buzz wasn't around. It was nice but Woody felt unnecessary. He wasn't the victim, he was just so tired, and although his sleep had gotten better it still didn't stop the nightmares.
The plan was simple, in a way. Etch made the map and with new walkie-talkies that Andy had got for Christmas Slink was going to communicate where they were on the map and control RC that they would ride to and from Sid's house. When they got there it was all them.
The drive there was tense. Buzz navigated but Woody just sat there, Buzz's arms wrapped around him to keep him steady. There was another fear that Woody had that he hadn't told Buzz, he was scared that he wouldn't be able to do what they had planned. Sid had called him wimpy and the other toys thought he was a coward. What if he was?
He didn't want to tell Buzz, the space man would worry. Woody didn't want him to worry. Woody had started to realise through everything that he cared about Buzz. Woody didn't want Buzz to worry about him because he didn't want Buzz to worry. Woody decided to analyse that later.
They pulled up to the house in the dead of the night. None of the lights were on. It looked like a nice normal house, full of nice normal people. They knew that wasn't true. Woody looked wistfully at his old house, but shook the feeling of home as they made their way to the back of the house to get through the dog flap.
They made their way through the house quietly; thankfully they didn't have any problems with shut doors or Scud. They had both shivered at the memories of Scud.
As they got to the landing they saw Sid's shut door and Woody didn't want to go back in there. They moved on down the corridor, passed Hannah's room to the open door of the double bed.
Woody and Buzz sneak into the room and made their way to the bedside table. Buzz climbed onto the bedside table, careful not to make any noise. Buzz pulled Woody up to stand next to him. They looked out over the bed. On the side furthest away from them was a thin and drawn woman with thin wispy hair. On the side closest to them was there target. He was a big, smelly man who was the cause of Woody's nightmares.
Woody pulled out the small blade that he had kept safe in his gun holster and climbed carefully onto the bed. The cowboy made his way across the bed to where the smelly man was. Wood stood over him and looked at his neck.
He could do this. He wasn't a wimp. He could do this.
Woody looked back and Buzz for reassurance and Buzz gave him a reassuring smile. He could do this. He brought down the blade against the part of the neck that the books they had found told him to. It was quick and suddenly blood was everywhere.
Woody scrambled back and with Buzz took of at a run as the man screamed and the woman screamed. They managed to get out of the room undetected when the got to the stairs and the doo to Sid's room opened. They stood their frozen, unsure what to do when a sleepy and slightly bruised Sid came out, after hearing the commotion.
"Y..y…you!" He gasped.
Woody smiled at him with sad eyes as Buzz pulled him down the stairs and out the door.
They were safe. They ran round the front of the house to RC and the walkie-talkie to tell Slinky that they were ready to go. However they didn't hear Sid follow them. He looked at them with fear and determination. Woody knew that look, it was the look he had worn when going to Sid's house tonight.
"You did that for me?"
Woody just nodded, he couldn't speak. He wouldn't know what to say.
"Thank you." Sid whispered.
With that he turned around and went back inside to the screaming house. The lights were all on when Woody went to Buzz and they sat on RC. Buzz coordinating with Slinky to get back home while Woody lay back against him.
Going home would be nice. Buzz wrapped a comforting arm around Woody as RC reared back into life. Woody started to drift to sleep in Buzz's arms and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.