This story is kicking my butt. After I'm done with this and "Sacrifice," I'm sticking with one-shots. *dies*

Toy Story 3 on Tuesday! Yay!

Please Please Please review, criticize, anything (except flames)!


To Take Risks

"Please! You havta help me!"

"I don't have to do anything!"

"I'll do it all! You jus' have to tell me how to stop all of this!"

"Stop what? I am his lordship's servant; I go along with whatever he wants."

"Even though you don't agree?"

The Brain Pod sighed, shutting the refilled cabinet somewhat forcefully. For five minutes, he had argued with his dismayed patient. Right after he announced Buzz Lightyear's death warrant, she had flipped out with terror, practically begging him for advice on how to prevent the Space Ranger's death. He honestly didn't know any better than she, but he also knew they were being watched. If he gave away any information Zurg deemed secretive, he would face certain death as well.

He had to give the cowgirl credit, though. She could tell his personal beliefs did not favor the evil emperor's, especially when it came to the inhumane acts of killings and tortures. He was a doctor, meant to heal and relieve someone of pain, not cause more. His whole species unanimously felt the same as he did, whether they were doctors or not. For years, the Brain Pods had tried to break away from Zurg's empire, but the emperor always managed to "convince" them otherwise.

"There's too much at risk." He confessed quietly, turning to her.

Jessie's pleading expression turned reproachful.

"You're not gonna even try to fight for what you believe in?" She cried.

The Brain Pod's eyes narrowed as well as they could.

"Not when it risks the lives of my people, the prisoners, and my patients, including yours!" He retorted just above a whisper. "Don't think I haven't tried to fight, either, but I've faced the consequences several times, too many times."

The cowgirl's tight features softened and she sighed heavily. She dropped her gaze to the floor and hunched her shoulders in defeat. An awkward, silent pause lasted for several more minutes before the Brain Pod heard a stifled sob.

"Th-then, what do I do?" Jessie whispered. "I can't let Buzz die; I wouldn't be able to stand it."

Her doctor raised a brow.

"What do you mean by that?"

Slowly, Jessie brought her head up and averted her emerald stare onto him. After a long moment of observing the shimmering emotions in her eyes, he suddenly made the connection.

"Oh, I see." He commented sadly. "But, surely, you must've known the risks involved, especially in Lightyear's case–"

"I don't care about the risks!" Jessie shouted in frustration. "I never did! I can't stop how I feel because of that, what would be the point? Life's not worth livin' if you never take any risks! And I'm not giving up on Buzz because of them, especially not now."

She hopped off the bed as best as she could, wincing slightly when her feet land on the ground. She straightened her posture to its full height and clenched her hands into fists.

"I'm willin' to do whatever it takes to save him." The cowgirl announced. "And I'm gonna try, whether you help me or not."

The Brain Pod stared at her incredulously for a moment, unsure about how to react. At first, he disapproved of her pride and her thoughtless conclusion, but her unwavering, determined expression modified his opinion. No one had ever stood up to the emperor before, at least, not a prisoner. Yet, the cowgirl before him looked like she was ready to take on his whole army herself. Foolish, but brave, he assumed. There was one thing the doctor was quite sure about, though.

He had never met such a strong, persistent woman quite like her before.

"There's one thing you can do." The doctor advised finally. "But you're going to have to be very careful about how you go about doing it."

Jessie's eyes lit up for a moment before seriousness darkened them once again.

"What is it?"

"Talk to Zurg."


Steam billowed out of the cracks in the floors, the walls, the ceiling. The metal hallway resembled and felt like a dark sauna, the heat from the vapor stifling and uncomfortable. Red lights illuminated the path, causing someone unused to the intense color of the lighting to feel quite disoriented and dizzy. The hallway's industrial appearance served its purpose in making any guest feel intimidated and unwelcome.

Jessie could not deny that fact as she was led down the hallway. Her wrists were bound in front of her by energy restraints with an energy chain attached, so a Hornet robot could pull her along like a dog on a leash. It was difficult to keep up with the robot's quick pace, earning her several impatient tugs to urge her to walk faster, but the cowgirl assumed this treatment was decent compared to some others.

She had requested to see Zurg, after all.

It had been an hour or two since she took the Brain Pod's advice. They both were taken by surprise when the emperor actually agreed to see her right away, sending a Hornet to bring her to his "throne room." The doctor felt quite uncomfortable about his lord's eagerness, but Jessie tried to make the opportunity seem positive.

Though, as she drew closer to the doors to the throne room, she began to feel unsure.

'But I can't afford that, now.'

The Hornet easily opened the metal doors with one hand, waiting a moment before dragging the cowgirl inside his master's throne room. It looked no different to the hallways that led to it, steam rising out of every crack, red lights lining the walls. Yet, there was one distinct difference.

A seat sat erected in the middle of the room, its backrest decorated with several protruding spikes aiming for the ceiling. Two small pyres of fire danced on either side of the throne and a murky, green chemical sat in a long basin behind it, giving off an eerie glow.

None of this truly caught Jessie's attention, though. She only focused on the figure sitting on the throne.

Emperor Zurg loomed over the cowgirl, even though he remained sitting. His sleek, dark purple armor enlarged his form. His silver breastplate emphasized the build he supposedly had underneath his heavy attire, maximizing the amount of strength he emitted. His elongated, purple, titanium mail skirt covered his armored, muscle-toned legs, one of which bobbed impatiently as his metal gloves tapped the throne's armrest in a similar fashion.

Jessie could not see any part of the face behind his sharp-horned, scowling helmet, but nevertheless glanced nervously at the blood red, narrow eyes glaring indifferently upon her. As the Hornet pulled her forward to stand directly in front of the villain, however, she found herself unable to stare any longer at that soulless gaze.

She waited an agonizing moment for him to speak, listening to the redundant taps of his gloves. When he did finally address her in his deep and resounding voice, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Kneel."

The cowgirl glanced up, her expression bewildered. Zurg merely gave her an unsympathetic look, waiting for her to comply. Any other time, Jessie would have retorted and refused to listen to such a degrading command, but she had to consider her options. The Brain Pod told her to be careful and she knew he was right. She would have to swallow her pride for now.

Slowly, the deputy descended onto her knees, feeling the cold, metal floor grind against them uncomfortably. She bowed her head slightly, indicating she obeyed his wishes.

"What is your name?"

Wincing, Jessie cleared her dry throat before forcing out her answer.

"Jessica Pride."

He continued to tap his fingers. The monotonous action nearly made the cowgirl go mad.

"And what did you want to ask me?" Zurg asked eventually, almost sounding bored.

Jessie thought for a moment, trying to sort the words correctly in her head. It was the best time to make her thoughts count.

"I want to compromise Buzz Lightyear's death sentence."

When there was no response, the cowgirl wondered whether or not she had only thought of the phrase instead of saying it aloud. Just as she was about to repeat herself, a loud chuckle interrupted her. She looked up to see the villain shaking with laughter.

"That's why you came?" He inquired in between his rumbling, amused chuckles. "You want stop Lightyear's death? Miss Pride, you wish for something unattainable. I will not compromise that."

"But, s-sir, he's extremely valuable to Star Command, to the Galactic Alliance; you could manipulate them so much by keeping him alive!" Jessie refuted pleadingly, hoping to change his mind.

The emperor suddenly thrust himself upon his feet, causing the cowgirl to cower slightly.

"I am not going to compromise with an Earthling peasant!" He shouted, all traces of mirth gone from his daunting tone.

Cringing, Jessie closed her eyes and expected some sort of physical assault. However, Zurg grabbed the energy chain attached to her wrist restraints and swiftly pulled her toward him, her face stopping mere inches from his. His pointed, gloved fingers wrapped around her chin.

"I know you're motivation, Jessie." He hissed in a whisper. "I know all about your affections for Lightyear. I saw the video of you two getting intimate."

Swallowing hard, Jessie stared at her adversary in shock. She still did not truly understand what a video was, but that didn't matter in comparison to the fact that Zurg knew about the kiss she and Buzz shared. He knew about them.

She knew he could take advantage of that.

He held her face for a little bit longer, observing her features carefully before roughly letting her go, turning toward his throne. The cowgirl fell back slightly, but she regained her posture albeit painfully due to her injury. She settled herself onto her knees again as her mind began to race, trying desperately to think of any last ideas.

Jessie knew she was running out of time to come up with something, anything. All of her initial plans to save Buzz had been thrown out the window. She knew that if she tried to convince Zurg any further on the matter, she would end up regretting it terribly.

In the end, she knew there was only one, last thing she could ask for.

"Can I at least see him before he dies?" She questioned quietly, still a bit shaken.

The emperor stopped short, his back facing the cowgirl. He remained silent, as if contemplating her request. Hope started to inflate in Jessie's heart as she awaited his response. She silently begged, pleaded for a favorable answer.

"She can't."

A new voice had interjected.

Startled, Jessie twisted around to face the source of the voice, panic and irritation erupting onto her features. She did not recognize the blue armored alien that had entered the throne room, but, just by looking at his smug face, she knew she would not fancy him at all.

"And why is that, Agent Z?" Zurg inquired, facing the newcomer as well.

Warp Darkmatter strode toward his master, holding on to his explanation. He passed around Jessie casually, giving her a mysterious grin as he eyed her, not looking away until he finally reached the awaiting emperor. He bowed slightly before standing up straight again.

"Because I just told Lightyear she was dead."

The cowgirl furrowed her brow and widened her eyes in angry shock. Zurg apparently felt similarly since he wasted no time in responding.

"You did what?" He reprimanded his second-in-command harshly. "Why did you think this was beneficial?"

"I just wanted to mess with him." Warp shrugged, clearly unaffected by his master's anger. "It's payback for all the times he's imprisoned me."

"You imbecile!" Zurg shouted again, shoving the blue alien aside. "That's only going to give him hope! He'll want to die if he thinks she's dead! It's motivation! I don't want him to feel anything but pain and suffering before I kill him!"

Darkmatter regained his composure, but did not argue with the enraged emperor. An uncomfortable silence ensued and the onlooking cowgirl watched as a tight frown replaced the alien's everlasting grin as he stared crossly at the pyres lining the throne. Zurg took a moment to calm his anger before he whipped around to the Hornet still floating in the room, awaiting orders.

"Take the peasant to Lightyear." He demanded, pointing a finger at Jessie. "I want him to know she's alive."

Without another word, the Hornet took a hold of the energy chain and forced Jessie onto her feet, tugging her in the direction of the throne room doors. As she was being pulled out of the room, the cowgirl, out of curiosity, stole a glance behind her.

She found Darkmatter watching her with a dark gaze until the doors finally closed behind her.


I made Zurg a bit more darker and serious than the TV show's because I feel like, if he's the most feared emperor in the galaxy, than why the heck is he so darn funny? XD His comical version fits the show perfectly, but not so much for the mood I'm aiming for in this story. Don't worry though, he's not going to be extremely dark. ;)