This continues Engineer Jess' Saga of Andy's Room. Miss Dashwood and Miss Bennett are my fanfic characters but are created by Jane Austen. Toy Story characters are the property of Disney/Pixar.

The Cellar

Zurg and Marianne's story


(The Saga of Andy's Room #9)

One morning Miss Dashwood was missing. At first no one paid attention to it for she had the habit of sleeping late; but when it was time for the day's meeting and she still wasn't present, Zurg brought his concern up:

"Has anyone seen Miss Dashwood today? I have been looking for her a long time already and I really cannot find her."

"But isn't she up there on Andy's pillow as she always is?", asked Jessie quite maliciously, "You always pretend that you don't know where she is so that we others would not suspect of you being interested in her!"

"Bah, don't be stupid! I happen to have a serious matter to discuss with her. She namely borrowed my gun for a tennis tournament against the green Barbie yesterday and she hasn't returned it yet."

Katie joined the conversation:

"It'z true that she has been uncommonly long outta sight todda. She promizd da criticize me latest drawin' at ten but she didn't appear. But I just thought she wuz with Zurg, which now revealed to have been a false assumption. I think we should try da seek'er. She muzbe som'where here upstairz."

Woody agreed because the meeting would be for nothing without Miss Dashwood; the subject was namely Annabelle's visit the next day. He made a decision:

"We shall continue our meeting in half an hour. I will search her with Bo. Rest of you, disperse and look everywhere!"

And so they scattered all over upstairs. But nobody could find a clue of Miss Dashwood.

Miss Dashwood really wasn't upstairs. She was not even downstairs. She was in a dark and cold cellar. But what on earth was she doing down there? Actually it had been Buster that had taken her there the night before. It had been one o'clock a.m. when Marianne had heard the dog coming in Andy's room. She had always hated dogs but this time she had thought that it might find Zurg for her. She had namely had nightmares again and Zurg happened to be a great comforter. So she had left her place under the bedspread and called Buster's name. The dog had indeed come, but when Miss Dashwood had whispered the name "Zurg" in its ear, it had nabbed her between its teeth and taken her out of the room. Apparently the dog was either deaf or stupid for it had probably understood the word "Zurg" as "murk" and sprung straight down to the cellar.

And there Miss Dashwood now was, sitting on the cold stone floor. The fragile and fine lady Dashwood, in her clean snow white dress, was a pitiful sight in the dark. Or she would've been such, but no one could see her. Even she herself couldn't see an inch in front of her. Her copper brown hair had fastened on her forehead because of the humidity that surrounded her. She bathed in cold sweat; she was horrified. Why? Mostly because of the chilly air that seemed to come trough the floor; it made her run mad. She experienced the coldness as the hands of death that were chasing her, reaching her all the time. She sat shivering in a corner and looked eyes wide open in the somberness. She had been there nine hours now.

Upstairs the toys were perplexed; not a single sign of Miss Dashwood! Zurg was seemingly worried and was the first one to suggest a trip downstairs. Buzz teased him:

"Why, 'daddy', you seem to be quite lost right now. What's the matter? I never thought that you liked her that much!"

"Be quiet! I already…"

"…told that she has got your gun. Yeah right, and that's the only reason you want to risk yourself and go downstairs!"

Zurg didn't hear him. He started to descend the stairs by sliding the handrail.
"So is anyone coming with me?"

 "I am!"

Katie shouted somewhere behind some taller toys. Matt looked angrily at her:

"No, you are not. It is too dangerous for a little lass like you."

"Oh, juz because I happen da be a gal ya tell me not da go? Well, I am goin', no matta what ya say! It'z me friend missin'!"

Matt had no other choice but to agree. Had it been some really dangerous situation, he wouldn't have let her go – but this was Andy's house! What dangerous could happen here? Also he himself decided to join them, after a short consideration; mostly for curiosity but of course also for Miss Dashwood's sake.

"Well I guess I am coming, too. Just in case I could be of some help…"

Buzz was also eager to go; he namely loved adventures.

"Jess, honey, you know that I have to go…don't you?"

"I know it –and I am so proud of you! But make sure that you won't hurt yourself. My own hear-breaker…"

And she gave him a kiss which however turned so passionate that Matt had to ripe them apart by force and drag Buzz down the stairs. Woody didn't come along. He explained that someone had to stay upstairs in case Marianne would appear meanwhile the others were on their trip. The true reason, however, was that Bo needed some help with her sheep… or with some other as incomprehensible thing as that. The four-headed group of brave men and one brave woman directed to the entrance-hall.