At the sight of the closet door coming quietly open, Jessica shook Buzzard awake. Without speaking, they snuck past the monster that was slithering creepily into the room, and stepped into the bustling world on the other side of the closet door. Even the smallest monsters towered over them, and the sound of laughing children echoed through the halls. But it didn't take long for the sharper-eyed monsters to start noticing them, and pretty soon they had managed to draw a crowd.

"What are they?"

"They're so little!"

"I bet their defenses are weak."

"Please, just let us through," Buzzard said, making his voice carry. "We don't need any trouble."

"What are you?"

"Why are you here?"

"We're toys! We're harmless!" he thundered, steering Jessica forward. Breaking free of the crowd, they looked behind them at the following crowd.

"Go on with your lives, citizens," Jessica offered.

"Yep, we're just two wayfaring strangers." To Jessica, he spoke in a much quieter voice. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"Uh, we have to find a big blue guy named Sulley. He's the top Scarer."

"I can help," the voice came from behind them. Buzzard and Jessica turned. "His friend is my fiance."

Trying to remember the monster's name, Jessica thanked her and let the monster lead them forward. She led them far, through the spacious lobby to a door that donned a golden label that said CEO. She knocked.

"Come in!" Sulley's voice boomed from the other side.

Celia opened the door. "You've got visitors."

Seated at a large desk, in a chair almost as big as he was, Sulley leaned forward. "Oh. Thanks, Celia."

"Mm-hm," she said perkily, and left before Jessica could thank her, closing the door.

"Where's Mary?" was how he greeted Jessica.

"I don't know. I'm not here for her. Sulley, we need your help."

"My help?"

"Word has it you're the Top Scarer. Or you were. I'm guessing you know every door like the back of your hand."

"Right you are. So, what can I do for ya?"

"This is my friend, Buzz. He has to get to east Michigan."

"Not a problem." He swooped down and picked them up. "But you need to keep this place a secret."

The Anderson-Davis toys briefly flashed through her memory. "We will," she said, giving a look of remorse to her companion.

Sulley carried them with him as he went, walking to the farthest end of the Laugh Floor and pushing a button on a strange device. As Buzzard and Jessica watched in amazement, a door came swinging down from the ceiling and was placed inside the device. When he swiped the card, the button glowed.

"And there ya go, east Michigan." He opened the door. "I'll make sure no one touches this door so you can come on back."

"Thank you, Sulley."

"Anytime."

The toys stepped into a child's bedroom; and they snuck through the house; finally detecting an open window above the kitchen counters. Stepping onto the tap, they were able to jump into the front yard. Jessica smiled and looked around. "I know this place. Follow me."

-0-0-0-0-

Roughly twenty minutes later, Jessica gasped and grinned at the sight of the repair shop.

"Are we close?"

"Yeah, it's right there." Jessica pointed.

"That big colorful one?"

"Yeah, it says Toy Repair."

"I, uh, I never learned how to read."

She looked at him. "Really? What did you do in the dentists' waiting room?"

"I played with the building blocks."

They pushed the crosswalk button designed for toys, and crossed the road; running enthusiastically into the repair shop, where an unfamiliar man was working on a Pikachu with half an ear missing. The Pikachu was not moving; but it was blinking and looking around. Relieved that they wouldn't have to hide, they sat on size-appropriate chairs and waited his turn.

It took almost an hour, but finally the Pikachu dropped to the floor, with two perfectly matching ears. As it waddled and hopped from the room, the worker turned around and looked at Buzzard. "Ah, sorry, folks; I was already doing overtime. Think you can stay here 'til morning?"

Buzzard considered. "Yeah, I guess so. Jess?"

"Fine by me."

"Cool. Feel free to watch the tube." He motioned to the remote control as he shrugged into his jacket. "I'll see you in just a few hours."

The door closed to the sound of ringing bells.

"Watch the what?" Jessica asked immediately.

Buzzard looked strangely at her. "I would love to know what happened to you," he muttered, as he got up and quickly, nimbly climbed up onto the desk. Jessica joined him, crawling up with a groan of effort. As the TV came on, her eyes went wide and she crawled closer on all fours, sitting beside him. The program showed a fully grown man speaking to a toy.

"Was I hit on the head by a coconut?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. Now, to the matter at hand. You need to play with the transporter toy."

"But it's mint in box."

"Yes, and to open it would destroy its value. But remember, like me, you also have a human half."

"Well, I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

"Consider this. What is the purpose of a toy?"

"To be played with."

Buzzard and Jessica shared an astounded glance.

"Please tell me this isn't happening," Jessica finally said.

Buzzard stepped on the power button, shutting off the TV. "This is getting ridiculous! If you had just seen the camera..."

"I didn't know what a camera was then!"

Buzzard raised his eyes to hers.

Jessica withdrew slightly. "I still don't," she grumbled, as she walked to the edge of the desk. Sitting down, she dangled her legs toward the floor. As he sat next to her, she looked at him. "You really want to know? I was in a box for forty-three years with my feet pulled back behind my head. The Woody I knew was ripped apart by a dog, and my Bullseye was run over." She shrugged at his horrified expression. "Feel better?"

"No...no, I don't."

Jessica looked down, causing her loose wool hair to fall beautifully over her shoulder. Buzzard put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "They both died looking right at me," she said, her voice quiet. "There are just as many Jessie dolls in the world as there are toys who died looking at me. That is what happened."

He met her gaze, unable to come up with a decent answer. Unwilling to hear one, she looked away from him and stared out into the night.

-0-0-0-0-

Eight TV shows later, the worker let himself back into the shop looking refreshed. He walked up to the desk and began to efficiently start reparations. "Okay, soldier, let's see what we can do."

Buzzard smiled at the irony of his words and remained still. Alone, and not knowing what else to do, Jessica began to clean the store.

She had settled back down on the desk and was alternating between watching TV and watching Buzzard when suddenly, the worker withdrew his hands. "I'm at a loss," he grumbled. "I can mend fabric and replace stuffing, but I do not know how to fix plastic."

"You made us wait here overnight just for that?" he demanded, sitting up. "Your license should be revoked! I have a good mind to go to the Better Business Bureau."

"You know something, I may not be able to put you together, but it would be a piece of cake to destroy you."

"Come on, Buzz, let's just go," Jessica pleaded, pulling on his arm. He stood and followed her across the desk. "Thanks for looking at him, mister," Jessica offered.

Buzzard looked at the worker one more time before pushing the door open and stepping out into a light rain. "Why are you defending that man? It was a complete waste of our time."

"Time is all we've got, Buzz. It was a worthy investment to make you feel better."

"Which was a failed enterprise. Now not only am I in the same condition, but I'm angry!"

She stood on her tiptoes and pushed the button, and the vehicles braked to a stop. They crossed the road. "In any event, I'd like to express my gratitude for your assistance on this voyage. Without you I would have had to use a computer."

"I was happy to help. I really like you."

"I like you too," Buzzard answered, with just a slight stammer. She startled him by taking his hand, and they continued their long walk in compatible silence.

Finally, they reached the familiar house; ascending the trellis into the kitchen. Dropping into the sink, they peered out surreptitiously before running down the hall to the child's room. He was still asleep, so they hurried to the closet and Buzzard knocked on the door. It opened and they dashed into the monster world, breathing a sigh of relief as the closet door shut securely behind them.

"Back to south Michigan, right?" Sulley guessed.

"Yeah. Please."

Sulley turned and swiped a card in the device right beside him. "What took you so long?"

"Ah, things got complicated," Buzzard muttered. "Thanks for everything."

"No sweat."

This time Jessica was not the only one who looked confused. "Don't worry about it," Sulley muttered, and the door settled into the device, securing with a huge click. "Alright, you're home free."

"Thanks again. See you later."

Sulley looked down at her. "No you won't," were his parting words before he gently shut the door. Buzzard and Jessica stumbled backward to avoid it.

They were quiet again as they climbed out of the bedroom window. Jessica had just let go of the outside windowsill when the bedroom light flicked on, and Buzzard pulled her underneath the porch. "What's wrong, honey?" a female voice asked from above.

"I thought I saw something."

The toys exchanged a serious look before walking beneath the porch to the other side. It had been raining here as well. Unlike last night, the street was busy; and they walked along the crosswalk. Jessica pushed the button, and they waited their turn. As they stood there, Buzzard thought he heard a noise, and he looked around, trying to identify the location.

"I can't wait to be back in that daycare," Jessica was saying. "I only got one good playtime since the seventies."

The crosswalk light came on and the vehicles stopped, and unaware that Buzzard was walking away she stepped off the sidewalk, still talking. "Do you reckon there are other toys who were boxed up? I mean for that long. Everyone looked at me like I was a freak."

Still on the other side of the crosswalk, Buzzard located the strange noise; a baby bird that had fallen over and couldn't get up was screeching for its mother. He knelt to stand it up. "There you go, fella."

"Buzz! Come on!" Jessica shouted, waving an arm.

"Coming!" Buzzard stood up and walked back to the crosswalk, hitting the button. As the light changed, he assumed the oncoming traffic would stop, and prepared to step onto the street; jumping backwards when the car blew past, splashing him. Buzzard looked down at himself, then rolled his eyes at Jessica and started to cross.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but that guy really needs to take another driver's test." Buzzard's chuckle died in his throat when Jessica's expression dramatically changed to fear, and he looked down at himself to see electricity moving over his plastic body, collecting in the gaps between compartments. As it neared his head, he could hear the crackle and hiss. He raised his hands, watching the light play over him, rising closer to his back...and the realization hit him.

"Buzz? You okay? What's happening?"

"No, I'm not okay!" he yelled back. "I take batteries!"

"What's that?" she yelled back, but the staticky noise of the electricity was so loud he couldn't hear her. Remembering that two toys had already died looking at her, he squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head.

And then he exploded in flames and smoke.