Chapter 2: How could this happen?
Mr. Potato Head finally came to. He didn't have the faintest memory of how he had fainted, but the pain that shot up and down his back distracted him from remembering. The spud tried opening his eyelids, but the daylight that peered into the room blinded him.
"Uh..." Mr. Potato Head groaned. He tried moving his feet around, but they didn't feel the same as usual. They probably lost their feeling and were still numb.
"Is that really them?" A voice whispered.
Though the voice was clearly trying to keep quiet, it thundered in Mr. Potato Head's head. He continued to groan and kept his eyelids shut.
"No, it can't be."
"Shhh!"
"How would this happen?"
He couldn't take it anymore. Mr. Potato Head let out another groan before speaking.
"Could you all keep it down?" Mr. Potato Head's spoke aloud, recognizing his friends' voices. In response, he heard many gasps at his response. Confused, Mr. Potato Head finally opened his eyes to see Woody, Buzz, Slinky, and Hamm looking down at him. All four looked like they had seen a ghost, their eyes wide as they stared down at him.
"Geez, what's your problem?" Mr. Potato Head said as he sat up. The toys that stared at him quickly got out of the way when he sat up, confusing him even more. Mr. Potato Head rubbed his eyes, before looking at his friends.
He became even more conflicted when he realized he was looking down at his friends.
"How'd you get all the way down there...?" Mr. Potato Head said, his head still aching from his pass out. From what he remembered last night, he passed out on the floor. Was he on the bedside table?
No, because the spud felt the floor underneath him.
Except, what sat on the floor was no longer a spud.
Mr. Potato Head felt his insides tense up when he lifted his hand to rub his eyes again, thinking he was just being crazy. But, seeing the hand that stood in front of him said it all.
His gloved hand had five fingers. Five, full working fingers, instead of four. It was more...shapely. And since when did he have a black sleeve attached to it, that was buttoned at the cuffs? Mr. Potato Head lifted his other hand, practically shaking. It was the exact same. His hands still shook as he touched his face. He tried taking off his nose to assure himself he was just dreaming. But, he only yanked at it enough to make it hurt.
"Ow!" He yelled, allowing many of the toys to back away in fear. Mr. Potato Head clutched his nose in pain. "What the...?" He felt a wave of worry wash over him, and continued to investigate by trying to pull out his eyes. He shot his hand away in disgust when his eye didn't feel the same at all. It felt mushy, and in a socket.
"I need a mirror..." Mr. Potato Head mumbled at first. Many of the toys exchanged looks from the frightened spud's voice.
He looked at all of them when they didn't do anything.
"I need a mirror!" Mr. Potato Head yelled in angsty fury.
Many of the toys continued to tremble, before scrambling to get a mirror for Mr. Potato Head. Chuckles tossed Bonnie's play mirror to Buttercup, who tossed it up to Mr. Potato Head.
He fumbled to get the mirror in front of his face. He immediately dropped it after looking.
That was not his face.
That was a human face.
Mr. Potato Head was not the same toy that he was last night. That wasn't even a toy. He let out a shaky breath before reaching out for the mirror, again. He lifted it to his face to get a better look.
He was still Potato Head, but not the kind of Potato Head a child would want for Christmas or their birthday.
His signature black bowler hat still remained on his head. But, it was much bigger. It was real. Underneath his hat was what seemed to be dark black hair, perfectly slicked and side parted with grease, like a classic 1950s gentleman. His bushy eyebrows and moustache remained on his face. But much like everything else, was the complete opposite of plastic. It was real facial hair. All his face features remained on a white, human fleshed face. His eyes were no longer white marbles with pupils, replaced with eyes of a dark brown shade. He looked down at the rest of his body. He wore what seemed to be a black buttoned dress shirt, with a dark grey vest and tie perfectly slicked over. His white gloves weren't just his hands, and actually covered his very skin and fleshed palms. He wore black matching pants, and his shoes were out of the ordinary. They were his trademark blue sneakers, but real versions. He always knew they were out of the ordinary with his dress up features, but they seemed even more odd as...dare he say a human. Physically, he had broad shoulders, but was a bit slender.
Mr. Potato Head touched his face again, terrified.
"Potato Head..." Woody said hesitantly. "What..."
"Y-you think I know!?" Mr. Potato Head tried to be angry, but his voice came out unsteady, showing that he was clearly freaked. "No, this is a dream. This is a sick joke."
"If that was the case, we'd all be dreaming, spud head." Hamm said, trying to joke but clearly freaked out himself.
"Well, it's more like...human head now." Jessie said. She stood hand in hand with Buzz, squeezing his in fear of the situation.
"Will someone tell me what the heck is going on!?" Mr. Potato Head bursted out. The toys all backed up, and the now human spud rolled his eyes at their behaviour. "Oh, relax. I'm not a real human."
"Hate to break it to you, but you kind of are." Hamm continued, becoming more recognizable of his best friend. Woody stepped in, trying to take control of the situation like the leader he was.
"We don't know." Woody explained to Mr. Potato Head. "We woke up, and found you two like this."
Mr. Potato Head looked at the cowboy toy that stood at his feet in shock.
"'Two?'" Mr. Potato Head repeated the word. "What d'you mean-"
Mr. Potato Head jumped when he heard something shift behind him. No way. He turned around in anticipation, but already knew what it could've been. After all, she fainted before he did.
His wife still lied unconscious next to him. But, she was not even close to being a toy potato either.
In replace of what use to be a classic Mrs. Potato Head toy, was now a human woman. She had pale skin, lighter than her husband's. Her face contained her original features, but of course they were now real. Her classic lavender eyeshadow was real, her black mascara, plucked eyebrows, and of course her full filled luscious red lipstick. She still had her classic white cloche hat, but now a real version. Underneath her hat, her hair was a short light blonde 1950s side part bob hairstyle. She wore the same kind of yellow pearl earrings, now with a matching necklace. She wore a very light blue floral 60s slim-fitting cocktail, knee-length dress and matching slim jacket. Her hands were also real, five fingers, and had white gloves like her husband's. Her classic red pumps were real too, and completed her style perfectly. She had a skinny, lengthy body.
But boy, was she still beautiful. Mr. Potato Head forgot the situation they were in for a second, taking in Mrs. Potato Head's human figure. He shook his head, and snapped out of it. He quickly went to his wife's aid.
"Honey?" He asked, carefully touching her hand. He shot his hand away, when it felt different. The same hand he held for practically ten years of marriage. But, this was no time to be freaked.
Mr. Potato Head swallowed his tension. Swallow? He had spit and salivary glands, he really was human. The human spud touched his wife's hand again.
"Honey, wake up." He said, scared of the situation they were in and kind of wanting her comfort. Mrs. Potato Head shifted again in her unconscious state, and mumbled under her breath. Some of the toys exchanged looks, not understanding what she said.
"...darling...?" Mrs. Potato Head mumbled, hearing his voice. Everyone sighed with relaxation after hearing her familiar high voice, and the word attached to it. It was still her, thank goodness.
Mrs. Potato Head hadn't opened her eyes yet, but was clearly awake. Mr. Potato Head still didn't know how to approach the situation.
"Okay, I need you to not freak out." Mr. Potato Head said, calmly. Mrs. Potato Head fluttered her eyes open.
"Why would I-"
Mrs. Potato Head's brown human eyes widened, when she looked up at what had become of her husband.
Unfortunately in a state of panic, she did not recognize him at first and had an immediate response to go into her lifeless toy state thinking it was a random human. Her body did not respond to her command of doing so though, so she shot up in her seated position in a panic and scooted away from him.
"Honey-"
"S-stay away!" Mrs. Potato Head said, putting her hand out in defence. Her eyes went from her husband to the hand that remained in front of her. That was not her hand. She repeated many of Mr. Potato Head's previous actions by touching her face, and trying to pull some out of her parts off only resulting in pain. She scrambled to pick up the nearby mirror she saw, and lifted it to her face.
That was not her face. That was a human.
"No, no, no I'm just dreaming."
"Are we gonna have this conversation, again?" Hamm asked, stepping forward. Mrs. Potato Head looked at the piggy bank in shock, she peered around her husband and saw all the familiar faces, that were much smaller than her. She's never felt so tall.
"No, this is impossible." Mrs. Potato Head tried reassuring herself.
"Dear." Mr. Potato Head said, trying to capture her attention. She looked towards her husband, taking recognition of him after a second of eye to eye contact.
"Darling?" She asked, seeing the familiar shine in his eyes.
Mr. Potato Head nodded. "That's right."
Mrs. Potato Head shook her head, her thoughts raced around like a storm. "How...what..."
"Guys," said Woody. The married couple both turned around, still seated. They looked at the toys that remained on the floor in front of them. They were all so...small. Though they were in a state of panic and confusion, it was kind of funny.
"This is impossible!" Rex finally said, after being quiet for so long.
"Impossible? Take a good look at us, lizard boy! We seem pretty real!" Mr. Potato Head bursted out.
"Ok, nobody panic." Woody said.
"Panic!? WE'RE HUMAN." Mr. Potato Head yelled.
"I can see that!" The sheriff yelled back in frustration, and slight fear. Being a toy, his natural instinct was to not talk to humans. But knowing that this was the familiar spuds he has known for years gave him the bigger picture.
The cowboy rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Did anything happen last night, before you guys went to sleep?"
"W-we never went to sleep." Mrs. Potato Head admitted, clutching her husband's arm in fear. "We fainted."
"Okay." Buzz said, trying to solve the situation. "What happened before?"
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head exchanged a look, their human eyes filled with fear.
"We were talking about what it would be like to be human." Mrs. Potato Head said, slowly wrapping her head around the situation. "How life would probably be easier."
"Not so easy now..." Mr. Potato Head said bitterly.
"Well, call me crazy, but maybe it's karma." Woody said. The married couple looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Potato Head asked.
"False wishing." Woody explained. "Something turned you this way because you were too much in your own heads about what life would be like if you were human."
"What is this, a fairytale?" Mr. Potato Head said. "Are you seriously telling us that some wishing star turned us this way?"
"Potato Head, you're the one with the human face, so you tell us." Dolly spat. "You seriously think we know what the heck is going on?"
Mr. Potato Head would've snapped back like usual, but instead groaned and rubbed his head.
"This can't be happening..."
Many of the toys slumped with sadness, and were no longer fearful. Were their married friends really stuck like this? Worst of all, would they be like this forever? They didn't know how it happened, but they had to find a way to fix it.
"Look, you two." Woody said to Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. "I don't know what kind of sick reality this is, either. But, we have to find a way to change you back."
"We're going to find a way to change you back." Jessie commented, coming to stand next to Woody.
"Exactly." Woody said. "Have we ever given up on each other? No matter what size of the situation?"
Mrs. Potato Head shook her head, and gave a weak but sure smile. They had the most supportive friends, no matter what kind of trouble they were in. She looked towards her husband, who hesitated. Mrs. Potato Head squeezed his arm, quietly begging for him to try and agree.
"Please, darling." She whispered to him. Mr. Potato Head sighed, and patted his wife's hand.
"Okay." He agreed. "We'll...fix this."
"That's the spirit!" Buzz said.
"We won't stop until we figure it out guys." Woody said. "Until then, you guys might as well use the house. You can sleep in Bonnie's parents' room."
"But, what about Bonnie?" Trixie asked. Everyone looked at the blue dinosaur. "When her and her parents come home. What if we don't fix this by then? Wouldn't you have to leave the house?"
Mr. Potato Head felt his wife squeeze his arm tighter. He respond by squeezing her hand.
Though Mrs. Potato Head had cried many times in her life, she had never cried as a human. Had any toy? She felt a hot leak run down the side of her face. Her husband noticed, and felt himself shatter on the inside.
"If we left, we would never see any of you again." Mrs. Potato Head said, quickly wiping her tear away.
The toys didn't want to believe it. The silence around the room grieved with sadness.
"We won't let it happen, right Woody?" Slinky asked his old friend. The cowboy nodded, knowing he couldn't look at the worse of this situation.
"We'll fix this." Woody assured everyone. "And we'll fix it before they come home. You guys will be back to your normal selves."
Buzz patted his best friend on the back. "Absolutely." The space ranger agreed. He looked towards the married couple. "Why don't you guys go to the master bedroom? Check it out a bit, and we'll all start talking."
Mr. Potato Head looked towards his wife. "What do you think?"
Mrs. Potato Head wiped another tear. "Okay." She said, but not at all full of happiness. She's never seemed so sad. Mr. Potato Head held her a little closer. He didn't even care if it was in front of all his friends.
"We'll figure this out..."
To be continued...