He wandered slowly, amazed at the intricate beauty of the child's bedroom. Although it was a decidedly smaller space, the delicate design of even the fancy headboard brought back his first glimpse of the acclaimed crown jewel of MU. It was almost ostentatious.
The pale glow of a night light caught his eye, and he turned to see what appeared to be a toy of himself. But it was not identical - it was even smaller than he was. He felt drawn by concept of being bigger than something, and he found himself walking toward the toy. Bending over, he lifted it and turned it over in his hands. His eye widened in shock when he stared at the toy's bizarre face. Like himself, it had green skin and a number of eyes that was unusual for this planet.
Not one.
Not two.
It had three eyes. Slowly, Mike covered the eye on each side with his thumbs, leaving only the middle eye exposed. He stared at it a moment, until the door opened, bathing the room in the light from the hallway. Still gripping the toy in his hand, Mike dove beneath the bed -
...And a colorful cowgirl doll looked up at him in shock.
She watched him, trembling in fear but refusing to speak as he crept quietly closer. Then, as their eyes were drawn upward when the human sat noisily atop the bed, Mike sat a few feet from the cowgirl. His eyes were soon drawn from her to the motionless toy in his hand. Suddenly the cowgirl stood and, moving rather quickly, yanked the little alien toy from Mike's grip. When he silently mouthed his confusion she moved as if to strike him. He cowered and she retreated to the opposite end of the underside of the bed. Sitting there she set the toy down, glaring at Mike.
The pair sat there, trapped together under the bed. Finally soft snores came from above, and Mike stood slowly, creeping toward the blanket. Pushing it aside he cast a furtive glance at the human, who lay motionless, a lump of blankets and short, soft brown hair.
Mike slowly began to creep toward the closet, freezing in shock when something soft squeaked under his foot. Wracking his brain for the best joke he knew, he spun to face the child. But she still slept. The cowgirl peered at him from under the blanket.
Mike looked down at the toy, stepping off of him and realizing he had probably hurt a living thing. He bent. "Sorry," he whispered. The toy was nonresponsive, but Mike knew its secret. Realizing he could not leave this room without kidnapping a possessed toy that resembled him, Mike snatched up the alien and ran into the colorful, bustling world on the other side.
Jessie chased him, jumping up and grabbing the long sleeve of the sweater that hung on the closet knob. She hoisted herself up and pulled open the door.
But the interior was dark, filled only with clothes.
Jessie dropped to the carpet and tried not to panic.
A squeak from behind realized she was not the only witness. She turned and watched him hurry from the room and into the hall. The Potato Heads quickly arrived, looking dumbfounded. With nothing else within their capabilities, they lined up under the bed and stared at the door, waiting with Jessie for the mysterious creature to appear.
Time passed. Then, more time. Minutes became hours. The night sky began to pale. Still, the kidnapper did not emerge to rectify his misdeed. Unwilling to risk being seen by humans, the toys slowly trickled out from under the bed. Linked arm in arm with his other half, Mr. Potato Head guided his grief-stricken wife toward the playroom. After Buzz pushed the door shut, Mrs. Potato Head collapsed in hysterics.
"Sorry for your loss," Buzz said.
"He ain't dead, he was kidnapped," Mr. Potato Head quickly snapped.
"What did the thief look like?" Woody asked Jessie.
She looked at him with wide eyes, which went quickly to Buzz. Resolutely her eyes sought Woody's again. "I...I'm not sure you'll believe me..."
-0-0-0-0-
"Sulley!" Mike's temperamental bark sobered Sulley, who was just about to pitch the tennis ball. Looking at Mike he frowned at the tense expression on his buddy's face. "Take five, Beastback."
The equally big and more frightening monster backed off with a fur-raising growl of response. Mike skittered to a stop. "I think we have a problem. I found this in the human world." He held up the small, three-eyed version of himself.
"Hey, that kinda looks like you."
"Really? I didn't notice," Mike said sarcastically.
"Then why'd'ja take it?"
Mike stared at him, mentally counting to five to calm himself. "I think we need to talk to Boo."
"Why?"
"Because I think she based this toy off me!"
"I'm hearing a lot of 'I think's, Mikey."
"Ah, you're useless. I'll go see her myself." He walked away, still clutching the alien toy, to whom he suddenly found himself speaking. "I used to have a teddy bear with horns and six feet. For all I know you came from this side of the door. It'd make more sense."
The toy moved in his hand, which he raised to find the alien blinking at him. "I come from Earth."
"You don't look like it," Mike pointed out. "How old is your first memory?"
"Twenty-two years."
Older than Boo. Mike stopped walking. "Well, if you're not a monster toy, what are you?"
"I am an alien."
"So I just stole you for nothing?"
"It would appear so. I hope it was worth it for you, because you took me from my family."
"Okay, okay. Jeez, no need to guilt trip me. I'll just find your door and put you back." Mike wandered down the hallway with good intentions, but soon realized that all the doors looked alike. He pulled a door open and peered from the closet into a bedroom. "Is this part of your house?"
"No."
Mike closed the door and tried another. "This one?"
"No."
And on it went, until they had tried every door, at which point there was nothing left to do but give up. "Sorry, fella."
"Just pick one! I'll get there myself."
"Uh, it could be a very long trip," Mike began.
"There's nothing I wouldn't do to return," the alien answered calmly, and Mike gave in, opening the nearest door. He set the alien toy on the carpet and apologized once more. Then he watched the alien toy move farther into the bedroom. He waited with the door open, in case it changed its mind, but he never came back. He backed up and closed the door, feeling smaller than ever.
Down the hall, the alien toy stopped at the precipice of the first stair. "Curses," he uttered, and jumped off the step. He landed on the one below with a squeak, alerting a human. She appeared expecting to see her child, but instead she saw a toy she had never seen before. She picked it up and looked it over with a confused expression on her face, then shrugged off its mysterious appearance. She retraced her steps down the stairs.
"What's that thing?" her husband asked.
"I don't know, but Riley might like it." She opened a drawer at the computer desk and tossed him inside, then pushed the door shut, trapping him inside. He thawed and bumped blindly around the very small room, hoping he was having a very vivid nightmare...