Ok, ok I know I've been updating very quickly lately. Why? Cause I've been trying so darn hard to break my writer's block and I needed to destressify myself. Now, I think I got something.

Yes, this is the story where the events from "Reunited" occur. I finally sucked it up and started writing it. I think I've got some good ideas for it and I hope it goes well. "Sacrifice" was actually a trial run and an inspiration piece to help me write this story, so I probably won't get to that one again for a while.

So, I hope you guys like this.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Pixar, Disney, or any affiliated characters.

To Give Chase

Hooves thundered against the dry desert terrain, kicking up dusty sand in their midst. The horses' quick gallops reverberated cleanly off the surrounding canyon walls, bouncing into the voids of night. To the two riders who scaled the thin valley hurriedly, the air was bitter freezing. As much as they wrapped their heavy dusters and fur-covered chaps about themselves, it could not repel the bite of a desert's night.

However uncomfortable they were, the riders pressed onward. They had a mission they needed to fulfill and planned to succeed despite the obstacles. That was what made Sheriff Woody Pride and his deputy, Jessie Pride, famous. The siblings shared a profound sense of purpose in protecting their turf and its people. One did not mess with their authority.

They pursued two outlaws who had crossed the line one too many times in the past, One-Eyed Bart and One-Eyed Betty Rickles. Time and time again, the husband and wife would commit a crime and somehow execute a successful escape plan, avoiding the sheriff's handcuffs and their date with justice. Yet, Woody was determined to guarantee their capture, a promise that led him and Jessie on a two day chase across the southern Californian deserts.

The moon illuminated a path through the sharp dips and turns of the rocks' weathered formations. The landscape grew harsher and thicker. Extra care had to be taken seriously. The outlaws' trail eventually became invisible, even to Jessie's keen eyesight, but Woody knew the area well and reassured himself there was only one way through.

Soon enough, the canyon began to sink back into the earth. Just a few hundred feet ahead, the land would spread into a large expanse of dried sand. With the ground evening out, Jessie took the opportunity to glance at the sky, speckled as usual with stars. Yet, for the umpteenth time that night, she did not find what she looked for. She sighed heavily and her shoulders slumped.

"Jess, he's obviously not coming." Woody huffed, noticing her disheartened body language. His horse suddenly slipped on some loose rocks. "Easy, Bullseye. We're almost out."

The cowgirl did not answer. She hated to admit it, but Woody's statement began to sound more and more accurate as time passed. She let out another dismal sigh, kicking her horse's sides with her spurs a little too roughly. Muttering an apology, she continued to follow her sheriff.

Guess they were on their own for this fight.

When the desert floor finally flattened, they could see a consistent dust cloud littering the landscape naught three miles ahead of them. They were catching up fast.

"Wait, Woody." Jessie called, before they began to gallop at full speed. "Isn't Nevada twenty-five miles from here?"

The sheriff glanced at her, frustrated by her interruption. Not a second later, his eyes widened immensely.

"They're trying to cross into Nevada!" He cried, immediately urging Bullseye into a gallop again. "They know I can only arrest them in California! Argh, that stupid law! Come on!"

They hurled themselves forward, willing every ounce of speed and strength into the legs of their horses. Digging their spurs into the steeds' sides, they risked standing on their stirrups, lifting their dead weight off the horse's backs to give them a lighter load to haul. Along the dry, desolate plains they glided, riding like the wind that so beautifully and so harshly carved the rocks among them. Every minute, their swiftness inched them closer to the outlaws. Soon enough, yells pierced the whistles of the wind.

"They're…closer…faster!"

Woody knew the chase was nearing its end. Despite being only a few miles from their safety zone, the Rickles would never escape him now.

"Jess, you take them on the left flank, I got their right!" He called to his sister who replied by aiming her horse away from his.

Only a few feet separated them from the outlaws. The cowgirl reached blindly to her belt, unbuckling the band that held her lasso against her hip. As she neared the Rickles horse's hindquarters, she sat back in her saddle and uncoiled the rope before skillfully tossing its end in the air. She immediately whipped her hand above her head, giving the end of the rope momentum to spin. Her eyes settled on One-Eyed Bart, preparing to pull him off his horse as she had done so many times before with runaways.

But she certaintly didn't expect a gun to make an appearance.

One-Eyed Betty turned to her with the hidden weapon, aimed in her direction, and fired. The bullet never hit the deputy. Jessie's horse immediately began to buck as it hoisted itself onto its hind legs, kicking wildly. Jessie assumed the gunfire had spooked him, but while standing in mid-air, the creature went limp and began to fall on its side. The cowgirl swiftly removed her boots from the saddle's stirrups and landed roughly onto the ground, her hat flying off her head. Although a rarity, she ignored the missing accessory and quickly pulled herself up.

Her horse lay motionless on the hardened sand. For a moment, Jessie just stared, her mouth agape and her eyes filled with disbelief. She rushed over to the fallen critter, placing a gentle hand on its shoulder. A small hole marred the horse's neck as trickles of blood dripped from it into a puddle on the desert floor.

Jessie bit her lip, her face twisting quickly with anguish. Curling her hands into fists, she snapped her head up and looked for the runaway murderers. However, they weren't running anymore.

Woody had managed to halt the Rickles by succeeding in what Jessie tried to do. Betty lied unarmed on her back on the ground with a lasso secured tightly around her waist. Bart, refusing to leave his wife, halted their horse and rushed over to her, another gun at the ready. The sheriff quickly reached for his holster to whip out his own pistol when several shots loudly enlivened the silent night air.

One-Eyed Bart's gun flew as a bullet collided with his hand. He cried aloud, grasping his wrist before falling heavily to his knees in agonizing pain. A bit startled, Woody glanced to his left. There, Jessie stood rigidly beside her dead horse with a smoking pistol in hand and her emerald eyes shimmering with rage. The sheriff quickly understood the cause of the cowgirl's ire. Anyone who killed her horse would have the favor returned.

However, Bart's gun conveniently landed beside One-Eyed Betty's hand. Fully conscious and completely furious about her husband's pain, she hastily whipped around and aimed the killing machine right at Jessie's chest. The deputy stiffened instinctively, knowing she had no time to avoid the bullet.

The shot never fired.

From the skies, a thin beam of red light struck Betty in the back. With the trigger half pulled, the outlaw dropped the gun and slumped forward and lied limply on the ground. Frozen from shock, Woody and Jessie stared at her, unsure about what occurred.

Jessie soon realized she could breathe since a bullet did not lodge itself into her heart. She placed a hand to her chest, breathing heavily with relief. Seeing her reaction, Woody ran to his sister worriedly.

"Are you alright?" He questioned, searching her for any injuries.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She replied, still startled. "What the heck happened? Did you do that?"

"No." The sheriff admitted. "I don't know who…wait."

"What?"

He didn't answer as One-Eyed Bart began to pitch a fit a few feet away.

"You killed her!" He fumed. "You killed my wife!"

"Actually, she is just stunned."

A new voice from above impelled all three to look up to the brightening sky of early morning. Their gaze fell upon a bulky figure floating in mid-air, flames raging from a winged device on his back. They kept him suspended until he pushed a button on his breast that caused him to descend toward the ground. He managed to land perfectly on his feet.

Jessie's stunned demeanor shifted to excitement as she beamed at the new arrival. It did not matter that he could barely be seen in the dim shine of twilight; she would recognize that voice and suit anywhere.

"I could never kill a woman." The man stated. "But I can't let a woman kill another, either. Now, I think it's time you receive your due payment, criminal."

As the suited figured moved toward One-Eyed Bart, Woody made his way over to Betty. Once the two outlaws were cuffed securely, the new arrival threw Bart over his shoulder and Woody placed Betty on the outlaws' horse before mounting Bullseye once again. Jessie pulled their horse by its reigns, beginning to lead the way to the closest town to their location, Nipton, California.

Bart struggled for a few moments, but the suited man held him firmly, as if he had done this many times before.

"Who the heck are you?" The outlaw asked, still quite annoyed about his perdicament.

The suited man chuckled lightly as he walked alongside Jessie, giving the cowgirl a quick grin.

"I guess you wouldn't recognize me." He responded amusedly. "The name's Buzz Lightyear, Captain Buzz Lightyear."