"Take this toy and hang it by hooks."
"Yes, evil one."
"And set it up in Zurg's old chamber, that sight, ghastly appalling, ominous, too ominous."
"Anything else?"
"Deactivate the functions that were specifically for father dearest, they're off no use."
"Got it. What about the tunnel extraction system?"
"Hmm. . ." They looked toward the toy set in the electric bird cage. "Pick a random version of the planet that Zurg stole the doll from." he slid his long claw in then his finger trailed down the forehead of the battle armor Buzz Lightyear. "Searching for the one with the back ups is a lost cause."
"Your venting," the grub clarified. "evil one."
"Yes, venting hour." Nos-4-A2 had a sinister laugh, far more evil, demented, more than their father. "And why did Zurg have it called the tunnel extraction system?"
"He didn't," was the grub's reply. "we did."
". . . Why?" They leaned forward tilting their head then held out a hand. "It doesn't extract anything," They clenched their claw. "it requires people to get things and-oh, that's why it's called the extraction tunnel." he looked aside then shrugged. "Least it doesn't make the glitching problem like the Into The Spider-verse."
"Anything else, evil one?"
The energy vampire opened the electric door then tossed the Battle Scar Buzz Lightyear toward the grub that caught it.
"Ensure there is no vents, there is no additional toys, the room must lack the troll doll collection, will get to it after my venting." then they closed their hand beckoning the grub on turning their attention off the creature. "Now go. Prepare a ship, need to find that loose end. "
The grubs knew they were going to die, and it was going to be very painful. The skeleton crew moved the Space Ranger into the garden, turned off the noise maker aspects of the machines causing them to be silent. Vines were set upon his frame, large frames covered over top the figure who was being fed through the tubes. The grubs had the room organized, neatly, tables cluttered together with pounds of fertilizer set beneath the tables and beside them for that matter covering them up with the plants. Once certain that they had a very worthy investment, their work concluded. If the Evil Emperor was present, he would be able to admire their tenacity and determination in making a brilliant trick made on the idea of hope and faith. Even if he weren't there, he was all around them from the basic construct of the medical pod to every inch of the schematic in it's dark and broody theme followed by the gray floor panels beneath their feet.
The grubs were at attention when the Dreadnought came into view. Karrol looked toward the others then they exchanged a nod. The medical pod departed from the B-9 Asteroid fleeing it leaving it behind and the dreadnought chased after them with tenacity. Torpedo shots came from the ship striking the medical pod. They fled, jumping into lightspeed, joined by the dreadnought shortly there after. The ship was knocked off lightspeed with a simple blast during transit then the ship spun and the defense systems were knocked offline. The grubs screamed clinging to their posts as Karrol looked toward the distant area of the medical pod. He needed the energy vampire to be blinded with fury, and it had to be done, he pressed a button, the cargo bay emptied itself striking the dreadnought. He slammed a button ending the parade of material as the ship continued to free fall through space at a incredible speed. Clamps kept the resting Space Ranger in place as were the green house equipment.
The ship came to a halt trapped in the tractor beam. The grubs exchanged a glance, trembling, terrified, as the regained their bearings. The door to the medical pod swung open followed by the energy vampire's tranquil fury.
"Which one of you is Karrol?"
Karrol stepped forward.
"I am." Karrol said.
The energy vampire grabbed him then flew over toward where the Space Ranger was supposed to be.
"Watch the Space Ranger-WHERE IS HE?"
"He flew away." Karrol said.
"Lies!" the energy vampire accused.
"No, Evil One." Karrol shook his head.
"He is very gone." the energy vampire folded their arms.
"He recovered very quickly." Karrol admitted.
"Regrouping with his team as we speak." The energy vampire looked down upon the grub.
"Yes, evil one." Karrol said.
"Lies." The energy vampire clenched their claws. "Lies! Lovely little lies, but LIES!"
The energy vampire went into the green house room then tore apart the hydroponics piece by piece, their claws tearing apart sacks full of fertilizer, then roared in rage. Darkmatter's eyes opened beneath the greenery watching the being stretch their arms out in a moment of rage then tear apart Karrol quite graphically. His yellow eyes took in gruesome detail of green-blueish guts being scattered all over, over the screech belonging to the energy vampire. He was weak and unable to do a damn about the events that were transpiring around him as the energy vampire's rage reminded him of Zurg's.
The energy vampire dropped the last bits of the grub's remains then proceeded to murder the rest of the crew with their sharp claws. The energy vampire shifted their attention toward the final grub, decorated in guts and blood that were more similar to slime staining them.
"Say you're sorry." The energy vampire requested, politely, giving the grub a lone chance. "Say you'll be the one personally be executing the Space Ranger once my hands are on him. Say it!"
The lone grub saw their companions on the ground as they trembled then gazed up toward the energy vampire.
"I-i-i-i-i-i-. . ."
"SAY IT!" The energy vampire shouted. "I don't have all day."
"I . . ." The last grub summoned the strength. "serve Evil Emperor Zurg."
"He's dead." was the dead weight dropped. "He can't order you or rule over you," They loomed over the grub. "He can't stop me!"
"He can't right now." The last grub admitted then grew a smile. "But . . . When there is Star Command, there is always a Evil Emperor Zurg. Nothing keeps him down."
Darkmatter was wide awake as he heard the screams of the grub that was being ripped apart then silence rung out and the energy vampire departed. He fell asleep as the machines did their bidding keeping him sustained and took care of him as the hours waned by.
The grubs had the toy taken apart then departed the chamber once it were assembled and created. The evil one entered the chamber, two grubs remained posted, it was standard procedure for serving a evil one, it came with having a planet that reeked of the diabolical and sinister when it were not appearing to be a regular planet. It fell into disrepair from time to time but it were home, a eventful place to be, it never ceased to be amazing starting from it's lack of being peaceful on any given day. It came with participating in the action in the form of test subjects, it did help that they would never go extinct with a fast gestation period and population that grew with the passing year living among the machines and the Evil Emperor Zurg. His absence on the planet didn't quite feel real only that it were the middle of his downtime. He would arise again, and this time, he would be furious finding the entire tower redecorated from top to bottom 'Z' to 'N'. Ever since the Evil Emperor took to the throne all those years ago, those who took over didn't last long.
The energy vampire entered the chamber with their claws in fists then relaxed their grip and tapped them together with a laugh. The energy vampire picked up a torture tool then turned it on and applied it on to the toy's head over and over and over.
"Tell me the coordinates, Lightyear."
The grubs remained idle as the toy's expression remained unchanged.
"Silence? Is that how you wish to proceed?"
The grubs exchanged a glance.
"Then watch your body be dipped into acid, piece by piece, then, I'll have your body remade, those strange markings all added, and then you'll watch your body be destroyed, all over again."
The grubs turned back in the direction of the energy vampire who clawed into the small plastic arm leaving a fine long scar revealing the gray interior against the red theme.
"And then, once the information is extracted, be rid of."
The energy vampire bore a big smirk.
"The means don't matter now," They twirled their finger then clawed into the toy's chassis. "all that matters, is that you'll be gone, and you'll be wishing that freedom be in your grasps."
Several hours being on the throne and losing something that had value to it, the energy vampire's mind was cracking before their eyes and there was nothing that could be done. In a sharp contrast to Zurg who played with them and had the grubs repair the toys from time to time when he were unable to perform the action on Fridays. Compared to their father, Zurg took losing well albeit in fury and acceptance then moving on to the next scheme after sulking hour was over with. The Evil Emperor had long insisted they give him a schedule in a sharp contrast to those who ruled before him. He set up a system of evil with brainpods brought in to the tower after his arrival. Zurg didn't torture toys, unleashing his wrath upon them, he played with them, laughing in the process. The familiar laughter left it's marks in the chamber when it were empty and the toys were taken with him to a dreadnought, his play time replayed, as if on a holographic projector, his laughter echoing when the chamber door was left open and frightened grubs. The energy vampire departed after digging into the toy's parts with a yawn.
A simple order, "Prepare the acid vent" and the energy vampire departed to his coffin. It was quiet in the dark room with the head left intact dangling by mere hooks delicately wrapped around the neck. The Evil Emperor shined brighter then the energy vampire could have in all the glory that couldn't be surpassed. The removed piece by piece then set the head on the table, remaining grinning, then they made a small pile for the parts that had been damaged by the energy vampire. Something fell on one of the grubs then the grubs looked around until they found the culprit. It was a small toy that had been commissioned to be made by the Evil Emperor years ago after bringing back the cowboy and the Space Rangers. A grub looked in fondness toward the toy then picked it up and gazed toward the direction of the Space Ranger and back toward the toy. The grubs exchanged a glance then faced the direction of the toy on the table then nodded. It was a low move, and something incredibly foreseeable, the energy vampire would no doubt damage the toy in his delusion that it were alive in front of the head. And he was one of a kind toy.
"We donate him to that good orphanage that the others were sent to."
"Evil Emperor Zurg ordered me to do that, slipped my mind. . . entirely."
"When?"
"The hour before he went mad."
". . . Oh."
"He ordered me to find it and donate it."
"Aggressively?"
"Intimidatingly. Threateningly. Best to do it before he comes back and kills me after finding out it hadn't been carried out."
The two grubs departed the chamber with the toy in hand.
Warp slipped in and out of consciousness, his strength returning with each brief lucidness. It started out slow. He could feel gravity pinned against him like the ship itself was still in free fall and it was remarkable that it wasn't doing harm to his stomach. Falling, aware that the ship was flipping, the distinctive feeling of the bed moving from side to side, remaining fixed in place, it was very distinctive. After a few blinks, which was really coming in and out of consciousness, Warp was wide awake. He ripped his arm off the table taking the restraint with it then his arm stretched out and smacked the edge of the bed involuntary. Craters! He ripped his other arm out of the other restraint then fell landing on the ceiling then was sent sliding down as the ceiling became the floor. The Space Ranger grabbed hold on to the leg of a table with a scream. He was dressed
His grip loosened then he fell out of the hydroponic chamber crashing into the bridge being welcomed by the unkind sight of guts everywhere that were flying all over the place. With some noted difficulty, he made it to the front console then pressed a glowing button. The screen lit to life reading 'signal sent' featuring a smiley face. The smiley face vanished on the triangle screen. The Space Ranger clung to the console by grasping on to the nearest handle and held on to it for dear life as tightly as possible and as long as possible least being beaten up by the entire ship. The thought of being smacked around and ending up dying by accident was a completely uncomfortable thought that stung the Space Ranger in horror. Not Zurg, not a mission' just a old fashioned accident that was never meant to be unfolding. Just like Buzz Lightyear.
Craters. His grip was loosening-
"Warp!"
He looked over toward the source of the voice who looked surprised but otherwise happy to see him.
"Mira!"
She ghosted, phasing him into her armor, falling inside of him, then they flew out of the medical pod in the nick of time as it flung into a black hole shortly there after ripped apart to pieces and the duo flew back for the forty-two with bouts of laughter.
"Yuck, you stink!"
The energy vampire spent two weeks in total torturing the toy, the big grin on the toy's features were on their last nerves. They clenched their claws then turned around and proceeded to turn away filled with rage that was ready to be unleashed. They arrived to the chamber that held the tunnel extraction system then the grub on site activated it with a couple of clicks. The energy vampire was handed a device that could detect a Woody Pride toy, any version of the toy, for that matter. He arrived through the portal in the morning daylight hours in the forest. Unbeknownst to them, the brainpods quietly cut him off from their world and waited for the gate to reopen. They stared at one another, the lone grub trembling, before opting to perform a much needed task that had to be carried out that had a matter of great importance to it.
The energy vampire found a truck with a trailer attached then ripped off the door and slid in, bit his fangs into it, then twisted the keys until there was energy flowing through their fangs. The energy vampire withdrew when the car lacked any more gas to give then heard a loud noise that came from behind. They twirled, turning in the direction of the source, it was a young man with a shot gun that was aimed right at them. The energy vampire hissed then flew away as the shot gun was fired another time after him. The young man took decisive steps forward as the energy vampire fled on into the city. The energy vampire flew on and on and on taking the device out of their chassis then arose above the sounds of noise and above into the cloud cover. The device began to beep loudly then the energy vampire grew a smile and flew back down following the coordinates laid out.
The energy vampire lowered at a open window that was part of a apartment complex.
"You."
They picked up the cowboy.
"You. . . "
They squeezed the toy in a fit of incandescent rage.
"You meddling cotton filled toy is so easily torn and destroyed, oh, but the problem is, I know you're alive, Pride."
The energy vampire started to laugh then looked toward the direction of the Space Ranger toy.
"Even your friend, how loyal the battle scar version was, helping you get back to your earth, how noble, in exchange to watch himself be destroyed over and over and over after countless remakes, willing to delete your coordinates to put you back-where? A carnival? A stupid carnival?"
He set aside the hat.
"Evil Emperor Zurg had a Woody Pride, the grubs tell me, loved him very much, the opportunity to gain another, he couldn't pass that up, loved Woody no matter where he came from, and played with him, until he lost him and went mad after losing everything."
He had a sinister laugh.
"And then he put himself in your being, and then you removed it, guess what, Pride? You've lost."
"I gotta get Buzz!"
"There's no Space Rangers, there is no hornets controlled by Buzz Lightyear to your rescue," the door opened behind them. "There is no Evil Emperor Zurg to stop me!"
"HEY!"
The energy vampire turned around being greeted by a young girl with messy light brown hair and freckles.
"Nos-4-A2."
"Nosferatu."
"Nos-4-A2."
"Nosferatu."
"There is no u in Nos-4-A2."
"That's stupid, there is a u in that."
"Then how do you say your name?"
"Megan."
"Meghan."
"Megan."
"Meghan."
"Incredibly fortunate that I drink energy, not blood."
"Can you hand Buzz and Woody over? I'm going on a sleep over tonight!"
She were beaming, brightly, as the energy vampire gazed toward the grinning toy.
"My, my, what a young deputy you have there, Pride. . ." the Energy Vampire said as he gazed toward the toy with a sinister laugh. "would be a absolute shame that the child could never fix you."
"DADDY!"
Nos-4-A2 ripped the toy's head off then proceeded to rip apart the toy piece by piece over Meghan's shrill shriek. Meghan's father bolted in, then picked her up, withdrawing her out of the room as her painful shriek echoed through the apartment complex as several police officers stormed in (already were there serving a search warrant for a apartment nearby) and nearly tripped over one another seeing the giant alien space vampire free floating outside the window. They ripped what was left of his cloth to shreds then destroyed the voice box. A bold police officer took out her gun then fired repeatedly at the energy vampire causing them to drop the weapon and turn toward her with a hiss as there were several small tiny craters where the weapons had hit and had merely fallen instead of hitting the target. The other police officers followed her lead as the head was tossed aside thrown underneath the desk as the little girl's wail echoed.
Behind the energy vampire appeared a portal. Long green shackles emerged from it then wrapped around the energy vampire sucking in the energy as they were being dragged in. The energy vampire clung to the railing of the walk way with a scream. The Evil Emperor appeared beside them then withdrew a claw over the gasping police officers. Zurg withdrew the final one then watched the energy vampire vanish from his line of sight. He turned toward them then waved back at the police officers who took out their cameras then proceeded to take photos.
"Ta-ta."
Zurg departed through the portal on his rocket boots as Meghan's father reassured his heartbroken and traumatized daughter.
"Rhizome first, per Dr Animus's request."
"But, Commander." The Space Ranger protested.
"You've left hell last week, Darkmatter. That pen was the final straw. Zurg's gone, those grubs are free, you're losing it, Ranger." Was the reminder. "No Space Ranger has ever gone through THAT For now. I want to see what you really want, being a Space Ranger or not!"
"Alright, okay, I'll give the ghost up on that front if that turns out to be what was needed."
"Good, Nebula out."
Warp was emotionally tired from the experience that he had been through, he was on edge, he may appear in good spirits, but it was all a front. He understood why the Space Ranger had been utterly paranoid blaming him for almost everything that had happened in his career. He held the bucket above the mood garden and watched as the flowers didn't sprout. He lowered the bucket to the side then sighed, his shoulders loosening, he had been there for approximately four hours, and he wasn't feeling all the way better. He felt the desire to sleep for years at a time and awaken when he felt ready, renewed, emotionally. It was the weight of sorrow upon his eyes, upon his shoulders, upon his heart, even his legs. He was handed a drink by someone who could see the pain in his eyes and guided him over to a nearby tree. It was easy to fall asleep from there.
When his eyes opened, the tired feeling was gone and his heart felt whole like he had a unique spa message on his soul that smoothed out all the pain and the hardship leaving him bright eyed and bushy tailed. He laid there for some time admiring the sky with his eyes fixated on the sky. There was the sorrow that was left behind. He lifted up to his feet then made his way to the mood garden and tried it again in a far better mood letting himself be happy, the plants sprouted before his eyes, all happily. He was quite relaxed although his shoulders were full of tension that needed to be ironed out so he got that dealt with. They were big and thick knobs that were sore on his back that were aggressively attacked by the message. He slouched, relaxed, feeling already better, with a content sigh. He withdrew after that to the hot spring.
And then he saw a couple of hornets pass by him.
Surprising. Hmm. . . What was he up to now? Trying to destroy Star Command or having a vacation, probably something evil-wait, he's doing something evil!
It was a few days later, right after the destruction of the hyper death ray and Zurg's reappearance to the commander's shock and genuine surprise, that the Evil Emperor had returned from beyond the grave.
"I need to be moody at a old station." Zurg said.
"A space station, sir?" was the grub's clarification as the grub took out a padd.
"A fueling station." Then Zurg added. "No, wait, a recharge station."
"Recharge station." the grub jotted down.
"Preferably at or nearby a dinosaur park." Zurg added. "Very menacing, very gloomy."
"Evil vibes, check." the grub repeated.
"Also, no Galactic Alliance." he stretched his hand out then waved, dismissively. "Let it be the mere works of fiction."
"We'll get right on it, Evil Emperor Zurg." was the reply as the small padd was lowered. "The tunnel extraction system will be ready in one hour and forty-three minutes, it's having, some diagnostic problems, debugging it is very tedious."
"Feel so old." Zurg whined, his shoulders lowering, his gaze cast downwards to his lap. "And stale." then his optics flared as he leaned forward as his arm became a blaster. "Go before I kill you!"
The grub departed leaving the Evil Emperor behind. The Evil Emperor leaned back with a sigh as he slouched, tired, rubbing his helmet. He wasn't in the mood to perform some evil schemes, as if the energy had been sucked right out of him, he were tired, wanted to crawl up into a ball, surrounded by nice and evil pillows, until there was enough power inside to be back at normal. He slid a thick book from the chair then slid it open and gently slid the book open, leaning the side of his helmet against his hand, putting on reading glasses. Books were always a nice escape, the known environment melting around him becoming the mere artifacts of what the words created, transparent figures appearing then becoming solid as if they had been beamed in, voices heard when they weren't being said, life flourishing from the pages, as if magically transported into the epic.
A tale that comforted him in more ways escaping from the sad and sorrowful existence that plagued the Evil Emperor. It was a light weight in his chest that bore a bore the shape of a Space Ranger, it bore the shape of a beam in his processor, in his coding it bore the shape of glass, and it was a gentle sea around him that was not fatal. He got to see the heroes die intentionally, not by accident, as part of evil plans, the villain relishing in it and taunting the newly minted heroes. A team that became a family, a team that stuck together through thick and thin, a team that fought against the likes of evil fighting against it gaining aid from the victims of the villain, and the villain losing in the end in the most poetic way. He loved the small scenes between the heroes, the victims, the villains making victims out of people, he loved the environment described, he loved the animals, the insects, the weapons, all adorning the features of a land donned by fantasy. He read these types of stories, slowly, to savor it, how lovely they were. He closed the book, sensing the return of the grub. He put a book mark in the heart of the epic then set it underneath the base of base of the butt rest. Zurg followed the grub to room concealing the tunnel extraction system.
"Time limit, Evil Emperor?"
"Five minutes."
"Setting."
"No," Zurg changed his mind. "Thirty-five minutes."
"Time limit has been changed."
The door opened before his optics revealing a twirling white sign outlined in red with a sauropod and green text reading 'Dinoco'. The Evil Emperor entered through the portal, slowly, quietly, then hung out in the shadows near the florescent lights with his arms folded. The sky turned orange above his helmet as children proceeded to gather around him and pose, as he stewed, oblivious, waving their toy Buzz Lightyears, the mothers and the fathers who had arrived to the scene were cackling. The single fathers admired the Evil Emperor in awe as the women walked off back to their cars, taking the children with them, complimenting his appearance from top to bottom that drew him out of his sulking with lovely comments.
"Looks a lot like his toy." A blonde man admired the frame. "His toy may be the epitome of cool and drama, but, oh, the movie, the movie Zurg is so bad ass."
"Impressive, never thought they would free lance a prop at Dinoco." the bald man beside the blonde man said.
"Never seen anything this realistic before." The shorter man beside the blonde and bald man cooed, surveying him, in admiration. "No computer animated generation. Not even made of cardboard!"
"Sheer impressive, the cape is dramatic, black, and look, how fantastic it is." the blonde added
"My god, it even has the sharp claws." The Hispanic man poked at the claws that twitched. "IT EVEN WORKS!"
"Awww, it doesn't have the ion blaster." the blonde lowered the cape.
"There are better things to have than a ion blaster, Charlie."
"Like what, Jake?" Charlie, the blonde man, asked.
"HEAAAAT RAAYY VISSSSIIIOONN!" Jake, the bald man, played with his hands in front of the Evil Emperor's optics casting shadows. "The most baddest, evil, badass guys, Megatron and Darth Vader are second rate to him."
"Alright, alright, villain adorer guy." Charlie rolled his eyes. "And Megatron is technically better than him, Megs can be blown apart and be put back together."
"Zurg's better because he's a AI and AI's always find a way to survive." Jake countered.
"Then, wouldn't-"
"Megatron has a spark, Jake." Charlie replied.
"Jake, take a picture of us!" Jeff, the Hispanic member, plead.
"The Space Ranger pose!" Danny, the shorter man, proclaimed.
"No, the showing my muscle pose!" Charlie cried.
"Dorks." Jake said, with a grin. "Everyone, smile! And saaaay, EVIL RULES!"
"EVIL RULES!" the group cried out.
Zurg went along with it as he smiled. The group of four did Space Ranger poses, making silly faces, then parted after the white flash.
"Yo, which one of you has Al's Zurg?" Jake asked.
". . . So that's what Al's supposed to mean?" Jeff asked as he held up a miniature version of the Evil Emperor. "Not Al's toy barn?" he shook the toy as Jake started to get furious. "He doesn't belong to the barn?"
"HEY, YOU STOLE THAT TOY!" Al's dad, Jake, roared. "GIVE BACK ALEX WAYNE'S TOY!"
Zurg stood there, bewildered, at the parting crowd with a visible tremble as the two men went on a high speed chase over the laughter of their companions. Human shenanigans.
Zurg remained there, lingering, as it fell into the darkness, moody, alone, quiet. A van drove by him then revealed it were blue underneath the florescent lights. He unfolded his arms then admired the red rims of the decoration with the black cables clung to the side of the gray and green machines, elegant, simplistic, and old fashioned. He saw a small boy dressed in purple exit the car along with a tall woman carrying a smaller child as they went inside the building. A image flickered in his mind of a scene like that, featuring Nana and the little boy with a purple hood, beaming, replaced by a mental image of a old woman all alone. Zurg turned his attention off turning his attention away. He was trembling, the desire to release the sorrow building, in the best way that he could. Twenty-two seconds. Thirty-two seconds. Forty-two seconds. One minute. One minute and five seconds. One minute and ten seconds, one minute and twenty seconds. The family boarded the vehicle, then drove off. His arm became a blaster then shot down the sign that then fell over.
"Buzz Lightyear died making sure his partner Warp Darkmatter got to live!"
Zurg clenched claws as his shoulders raised.
"Because he had control and he was a good man."
Zurg started to laugh as he destroyed the gas station gear as a young man fled out of the building.
"That's why it is so bothersome!" Zurg shook his helmet.
Another section of gas station was destroyed and then another.
"HE DIDN'T DIE ON MY TERMS!" He stretched his arms out, clenching his hands, then opened his hands with the epiphany.
Zurg cackled, his shoulders shaking, wrapping his arms around his chassis, feeling like the old Evil Emperor Zurg and forgiving himself for his role in the unfortunate demise. Finally, the acknowledgement that it wasn't his fault hit him in full force in a nice tidal wave that took away the holes that the accident left behind in the various layers of himself leaving healed sections behind. It felt very nice. He lifted his gaze up then proceeded to destroy the roof of the gas station until a red light blinded him causing the Evil Emperor to stumble back. He turned on his heat ray vision in the direction of the subject then the red flash blinded him, stepping back, his heat ray vision neutralized, then looked around. Someone had a laser pointer. With no precise aim, he fired all around him, the sounds of the roof collapsing above him, aiming the blaster up, leaving a nice gaping hole for him to remain still in.
The roof collapsed, Zurg was left standing. Woody, from across, knocked the Space Ranger down, covering his hat, using all his strength to keep the Space Ranger down. The Evil Emperor scanned the environment searching for the foe that had performed the task at hand. He climbed above the top of the roof then was blinded briefly, by a laser, causing him to stumble back crashing to the ground landing to his knees. The Evil Emperor sped on after the source of the laser pointer then paused at the edge. Lo and behold a toy, that looked identical to the Space Ranger that had been lost down to the face. Down to the familiar mole on his chin. Zurg loomed over the Space Ranger in contempt that became etched in amusement.
"Ah . ." Zurg said. "A toy Buzz Lightyear!"
He picked up the toy then he smacked the toy against the ground repeatedly. The toy made squeaking sounds. The Evil Emperor cackled then flipped open the console.
"Made in Taiwan. . . Interesting. Realistic craftmanship, have to hand it to them, it's-" he pressed a button and the voice came forth. "Oh, it, sounds just like him!"
The Evil Emperor laughed, amused, feeling renewed, better, and the same being that was evil in the first place as he closed the console then looked aside spotting a familiar red hat and a head and loudly gasped covering his audio synthesizer. He lowered his hand reaching out for the cowboy. He admired the familiar form, the stitching, the hat, the natural paint job, the eyes, the boots, the hands, all of it was completely natural, he turned the doll over on to his chest then tugged the cord.
"Hands in the air!" Came the well iconic voice.
"A. . ." he sounded emotional. "Woody Pride toy. . ."
He tugged it again.
"You're my favorite deputy!" The string slipped back into the doll's back.
Zurg set the doll on to his back. He trembled, looking back, distantly, as his mind crossed over to a memory from his childhood. A warm memory with Woody the hero and him as the villain trading gun fire, with fake bullets, while his mother and father were doing tasks, much to their annoyance. He trembled looking upon the toy that still had the voice box. He clenched the Space Ranger toy staring upon the fond figure, paralyzed, quiet. He could have lived being without the Space Ranger toy, it wouldn't have been that emotional wrecking lost him, compared to a childhood toy that had some strong emotions tied to it and emotionally well and comforting. A strong resilient piece of the past that resurfaced and was still as fun as it had been before toying with him and his troll doll collection in the years following Buzz Lightyear's death. He regained his composure leaning over the small toy, this time, his mood changed to excitement.
"I found him! I found him! I found him!"
Zurg knelt down then picked the cowboy in glee while holding the Space Ranger in the other hand then tossed the Space Ranger over his shoulder and hugged the toy. He clenched the small toy, becoming quiet, looking back. Evil Emperor Zurg had came so far, gloomy, avoiding his grief, avoiding his fate with the cowboy, losing him, facing the sorrow, and finding him all over again. And he still loved the cowboy, outside of the grief, outside of the anger, outside of the sorrow, outside of the remorse.
"Should have never left you with Matt-hun Nebula," Zurg said, bitterly.
Zurg turned toward the fallen Space Ranger as he inwardly proceeded to grin.
"Ah, thank you, Buzz Lightyear for bringing attention to a very good toy." Zurg began to laugh, the vibrations providing much needed positivism that felt better than it had been in years.
Zurg set the Space Ranger to the ground as several officers disembarked from their vehicle, aiming their guns at him, and proceeded to fire as he turned away from them. He walked toward the portal, lowering the toy, this time, feeling whole again, and that he were Evil Emperor Zurg. He laughed, the wind carrying his cape in the air, stretching his arms out, facing the men and the women, his shoulders shaking with laughter, hands clenched. The bullets bounced off the Evil Emperor's figure leaving behind small dents. He fired at their vehicles then proceeded to make a strategic departure.
"Close the door!" Zurg ordered.
The cowboy watched the toy Buzz Lightyear running after the portal from behind the portal, desperately in a bid to fix his mistake, his purple finger tips stretched as the portal closed
"Woody!" And Buzz's voice echoed, distantly, lingering in the background that faded with time.
"We're going to have so much FUN! Oh, this is going to involve a lot of stealing, plenty of evil, to have a assortment of toys to be evil with between my evil schemes." He held the toy up, gleefully. "THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!"
A/N During the brainstorming process of this chapter, i initially had some idea of Nos-4-A2 arriving to a forest where Andy was camping with Woody and Buzz, his toys, before Nos-4-A2 can destroy the toy, a android Woody appears and proceeds to fire at him, and he has a android bullseye, and Zurg sent him. That was a little too crazy.
