She looked normal, which of course made her sick with relief and dizzy with joy...although she would miss the toys from the repair room. Jessica climbed onto the bed and jumped up and down, trying to keep her laughter quiet as Mary and Mary's father were right in the next room. He had been invited to her place for lunch after dropping off Jessica. He was still in the dark about her secret, but even if he found out Jessica could not care. So many people knew already, it wasn't going to be a secret much longer; and anyway, Jessica would be delighted to get a chance to thank him personally.
Giggling breathlessly, Jessica fell back on the blankets and heard something crunch beneath her. Instantly concerned she jumped up and patted herself, but felt no fractures. She knelt and lifted back the fold of the blanket, sighing in relief when she saw a hard thing covered in buttons. Recognizing it as a 'contact panel' like the one the toys had watched, Jessica began to channel surf; stopping when she came across something that peaked her interest, even though the broadcast quality was absurd.
Behind her the closet door eventually creaked open, and Mike came walking in, with Sulley behind him.
Mike's voice scared her. "What are you watching?"
"I don't know. It's about a toy whose nose becomes longer if it lies." Jessica muted the television. "I'm glad mine doesn't do that...It must feel very strange."
Mike stared at her. "It's not real!"
Jessica just looked at him, not sure what to believe. On the one hand, Woody had seemed like a trustworthy toy. On the other, Mike seemed logical. The trouble was that everybody knew more than she did. For all she knew they were both trying to mislead her - and had probably been successful. Feeling very stupid and alone, Jessica returned her eyes to the low quality images on the screen.
With their backs turned to the door, none of them were aware of the beaten and battered Buzz Lightyear toy peering into the room. Able to only see the familiar silhouette of the cowgirl, he was smiling as he took two steps into the room. And then, as he spotted the huge, furry beast on the bed beside her, he stepped quickly behind the mostly shut bedroom door and remained very still, keeping his eyes trained on Jessie. She appeared in no immediate danger; in fact with the monster hidden behind the door, it was very easy to believe she was alone.
Buzz's eyes narrowed in anger, and he pushed the door open and strode into the room. "Jessie! What on earth are you doing?"
Jessica had spun at the familiarity of his voice, and she crawled to the edge of the bed to peer down at him. At the sight of her perfect face, his anger hedged. "Wait...who are you?"
She looked at his twisted arm and broken wing; then dropped down to the floor. "We met in a waiting room," she murmured.
"Alright. Now that that's settled...what's going on here!" he demanded. "Is that creature holding you hostage?"
"What? Don't be silly."
"I'm not being silly! That is a legitimate concern among toys."
Jessica's eyes narrowed. "Not in my house."
Buzz looked up at the huge, terrifying monster. His eyes swung back to Jessica. "So he caught you moving around?"
Jessica lifted her shoulders. "I wasn't trying to hide."
"I see."
Jessica didn't like his expression or his tone, and she made sure she met his anger with her own. "Is there some problem?"
"Jessie, you can't just trust everyone you meet."
"I don't!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Jeez, Buzz. I lived in a box for half a century and still, you know less than I do. Our secret's out, Buzz. The whole world knows about us."
"What? N-no, that's not possible."
A flash in her peripheral vision made her looked up at the television screen, on which suddenly appeared the words, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND. She shrugged again and jabbed a thumb in its direction. "Guess again."
Buzz turned his head to look at the TV, and slowly he walked toward it. "That's me!" he exclaimed, and then seconds later added, "And that's Zurg!"
The toys and monsters watched the broadcast in silence for several seconds.
"Blast," Buzz finally muttered, turning away in disgust. "Jessie, did you make this happen?"
"What?"
"You say you weren't trying to hide." Buzz turned back to face her. "Is this your fault?"
Jessica considered the security camera that had recorded her, and she bit her lip. "Well, I don't know, maybe," she muttered. At Buzz's reaction she hastily explained, "It was an accident, Buzz. The humans are the ones who caught me moving."
"So I can walk right out of this room and go talk to those humans?" Buzz demanded.
"Yeah."
"This is an outrage! Do you not know what you have done? You have betrayed every t..." His words ran out and he mulled it over. "Maybe it's a good thing. If Zurg is unaware he's a toy, he might actually be designing a weapon to annihilate the planet. If the humans knew, he could easily be stopped."
"Easily?" Mike asked. "Have you not considered there being more than one?"
Buzz paused.
"I don't see what all this fuss is about," Sulley broke in. "Who's afraid of a dude in a dress?"
Buzz looked at him. "You may be bigger than I am, but I am not interested in your opinion on the matter." He began walking to the door.
"Uh, should I be worried about this?" Jessica asked.
"You should be worried about everything," he responded without even looking over his shoulder. He strode from the room.
Sulley looked at Mike and raised his brows. "What a little jerk!"
Jessica looked up at him, then walked out of the room after Buzz. "Hey, wait a second," she called, and he stopped. "Maybe I can help, too. But I need to know more about this Zurg guy."
"Then use the computer," he said, without looking at her. "I'm mad at you."
"I thought you said this could be a good thing."
"Not entirely good," he answered cryptically. "Think it through, Jessie! We're little, easily taken apart, easily broken. Humans will not hesitate to manipulate us. Thanks to you, every toy on the planet is a potential target of slavery!"
He kept walking, and Jessica turned her back to him and returned to the bedroom. Looking up at the monsters, she asked, "Do either of you know how to use the computer?"
"I do," Mike answered, proudly raising a hand.
"I never could. They're too small," Sulley added.
Mike plopped down in the chair, swiveling to face her. "What do you need?"
"I need more information on Zurg."
"Coming right up." Mike turned to the computer and began tapping on the keyboard. Soon he began reading a result. "'Zurg is a villain in the animated cartoon Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command, in which the title character - '"
"Wait, why's the show name a different color?" Jessica cut in.
"It has its own page."
"Go there!" Jessica insisted.
Mike clicked on the link to Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command. "Okay. Laser, spaceship, robots..."
"Look, there's my name!" Jessica gasped.
"Yep, you're on the Internet too. But you don't have a part on the show."
"Then what does it say?"
Mike obediently clicked the link and cited what he saw. "'Jessie Pride is a cowgirl doll, featured in a show called Woody's Roundup, in which she stars alongside the title character. Woody and Jessie were manufactured, and are viewed, as siblings.'"
Jessica closed her eyes, trembling all over. "Does it...say anything about a toy called 'Pete the Prospector'?"
"Yeah, he was on the show, too."
"I know he was. Does it say anything else?" she asked, and held her breath.
"Uh..." Mike kept reading. "Yeah. It says he's viewed as your father."
Jessica's big, wide eyes shot up to meet Sulley's.
"What's wrong?" Sulley asked, causing Mike to turn in the chair to look down at her.
"I have to go," Jessica answered, in a strange voice. "I...See you later." She turned and walked slowly from the room.
Family...she had family. Or at least, as much family a toy could have.
She had to find him. She had to tell him...Her steps became quicker as her confidence grew, and she followed the voices to the kitchen. Buzz was hiding behind the wastebasket, and when both humans had their backs turned to him he ran to hide behind a bottle of liquid dish soap.
Jessica rolled her eyes and walked closer. "Mary?"
Mary and her father both turned. She was already looking at Jessie, and Mr. Gibbs jumped when he caught sight of her.
"Hey, Jess." Mary spared her father a quick glance before kneeling down. "What's up?"
"I...I have to go."
"Where?"
"Uh, Michigan." Jessica ducked her head, afraid to look at Mary. "I'm sorry."
Mary did not respond. Finally Jessica turned and walked away, not stopping, not looking back. She lifted the doggy door and slipped through to the other side. Buzz, seeing that both humans had seen her anyway, abandoned the dish soap and ran after her; his plastic boots clinking on the hardwood. As he stepped over the doggy door he heard Mr. Gibbs addressing Mary in a shocked voice. "What the devil is going on? You know I pulled out that toy's eyeballs..." His words faded as Buzz closed the doggy door and snapped his helmet shut before following Jessica out into a light rain.
"You know you won't make it."
"No, you wouldn't make it." Jessica whirled on him, her eyes green fire. "Do yourself a favor and let that old-timer fix you. But I'll make it just fine."
He withdrew at the quiet intensity of her cold voice, and she turned and walked boldly down the sidewalk, until a sudden thought struck her. She turned and looked back at Buzz, who hadn't moved and was still watching her. She approached him. "How did you get to Mary's house?"
"I broke into the doctor's car when he was at work."
"Why?" she asked flatly.
"Because I wanted to see you."
The toys stood in the rain, looking at each other and not knowing what to do next. Finally Buzz spoke again. "Well. You have your mission and I have mine."
"What's your mission?"
"Well, thanks to you...I have to recruit an army against Zurg. Toys, humans, anyone willing to listen."
"This again. Buzz, you know he's just a toy."
"But he might not!" Buzz thundered. "I didn't at first. I was convinced I was the real superhero, protecting the members of the Galactic Alliance. And Zurg might believe it's an actual organization that needs to be destroyed. Do you understand?"
"No."
"Zurg do not listen to other toys. If they meet, it is an entire army of toys whose only aspiration in life is to annihilate the entire planet. And I am not fighting a potential battle by myself. If there is a threat, I will not be unprepared. I will not be caught just because I was negligent like you were."
Jessie's wide, perfectly matching eyes narrowed angrily. "You'd be wise to remember, Mr. Lightyear, that it is because of my 'negligence' that you can even go on this mission."
That shut him up. Jessica, on the other hand, had one last thing to say.
"And you should be wise enough to already know that you'll need to place trust in the humans you want to draft. If you cannot trust them, then you WILL be unprepared."
Still, Buzz said nothing. Jessica turned and started walking into the oncoming storm. This time she was stopped from the external voice of someone calling out to her. "Jess!" Mary called, walking toward her. She had grabbed an umbrella and it bobbed above her, much too big for her little head. "We're only on the outskirts of Michigan, I can take you right now; I have to go that direction anyway."
"It's close?"
"Uh-huh. It's a one-time offer; I can't always be there for you. Life's not that easy."
Jessica spoke to Mary, but she was looking at Buzz.
"No it isn't."
Mary snatched Jessica up and walked toward the car; leaving Buzz to stand broken and alone in the rain.