Toy Fic

55. The Redeemer

Woody and Buzz were atop the mountain, where Christ the Redeemer, that majestic 130-foot statue, stood overlooking Rio. Woody and Buzz stood right at its feet, gazing up at it.

"Beautiful work of art, isn't he?" Woody said.

"And big," Buzz muttered.

The statue cricked its neck and looked straight down at them. They backed away in shock.

"Greetings, my sons," the statue said in a deep, rich voice. "What brings you to my mountain?"

Woody and Buzz exchanged surprised glances. "Um… how can you talk to us with so many people watching?" Woody demanded.

The statue chuckled, lowering its arms and stretching. "If I could only move and speak when none were watching, it would be a poor existence indeed."

Woody and Buzz looked around, and found that it was true. Though countless people were looking upon the majestic statue, none at all seemed to notice that it was moving. Somehow, the same magic that allowed toys to start moving every day was hiding the large statue's movement from view.

"But again… what brings you up here?" the Redeemer asked.

Woody sighed, sitting down at the statue's base. "We got lost," he said glumly. "We're lost toys."

"Stupid, little, insignificant toys," Buzz said.

Woody sighed. "We are… small. That's for sure."

"Look at all that, Woody…" Buzz muttered, waving a hand over the sprawling view of Rio. "It makes me feel so pathetic…" He looked up at the statue. "Hmph, you don't even know what we're talking about. You're one of the Seven Wonders of the World."

"Seven Wonders of the Modern World," the statue corrected. "Do you know why that is?"

"Why… what?" Woody muttered, looking up into its huge white eyes.

"Because," the statue said, "the first Seven Wonders, save the Great Pyramid, are all lost to the pages of books. Decayed… crumbled… gone. Just as I and the other current Seven Wonders shall one day be, because nothing lasts forever."

Buzz and Woody stared.

"How…" Buzz choked out. "How do you live with that?"

Christ the Redeemer took a deep breath in, eyes closed contentedly. "I must. I must find myself content with the time that I have. There is no other choice. Do you toys truly believe you have done all of the living that you could in the time that you have had? That there is no potential in the time you have remaining?"

Woody and Buzz stood in silence for a moment, no sound but the wind in their ears and the city far below.

"He's right, you know," Woody said. "It's exactly what I'm always talking about."

"You're always talking about that?" Buzz said, with a skeptical smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Woody stood up. "Come on, Buzz. We're going home. We're going home right now."

Buzz smiled. "Great."