The doorbell rang through the house on the 10th anniversary of Buzz Lightyear's death. Nana turned off her audio book with a press of a button as the noise echoed through the house. She got up to her feet then slipped on her slippers and heaved a heavy sigh. She took slow quiet steps out of the room, the door slid open, taking along her walking stick. Age weighed upon the old woman more than it had five years ago. Her time was showing, all of the people that had been part of the golden years were scattered about either five feet under or in graves or a few still alive somewhere. She set down on to the elevator chair, pressed a button, then was carried down the steps. The chair paused then she slid off and approached the steps. She slid the door open with a certain heaviness on her shoulders and her heart.
"This charity from Space Scouts is wholly unnecessary, please," she waved her hand. "go away."
Nana turned away then closed the door then paused, turned around, slightly opened the door, then stared at the figure standing at her doorway.
"Buzz?"
She peeked out the door then slowly slid it open and stepped forward.
"Nana."
His voice, back from the dead, her Buzz Lightyear.
"You look tired." Nana noted.
It was the most notable feature besides looking old. The weight of lack of sleep, the lack of breaks, his eyes were baggy, the lack of personal time, there were laughter lines that were prominent. She reached her hands out, cupping the sides of his face, bearing an aged smile.
"Nana. . ." he smiled, the way his baggy eyes crinkled, the way his eyes twinkled, the way his smile etched from ear to ear, like a soldier that had came back home after a long time out at war. "I. . I. . I. . . know it's going to sound really strange. . ."
She lowered her hands then took his larger hand, he was scared, the trembling prominent, his space suit covered in muck, and dirty. Words were failing him to explain, his face white, like he had seen the ten year anniversary since his demise reflected on Capital Planet.
"Zurg snatched you from an alternate universe." Nana said then had a bittersweet smile and softly, stroking with care the side of his face. "Not that strange."
He lowered his gaze then cleared his throat, his voice uneven, briefly closing his eyes, in mountains of pain.
"A-a-a-ah-ah-firmative." No illusion in the form of a variant speaking with his face but not the same voice. He lifted his gaze up toward her and smiled.
She guided him inside then closed the door behind him.
"You must be hungry, take off the space suit, leave it right here, and sit in the dining room." She set him alongside the doorway to the living room. "I'll whip up some dinner for you."
She turned away then went down the hallway on a rush as the Space Ranger began to peel off his uniform piece by piece. He moved, slowly, into the living room, the lights flipping on above his head, falling with a slump in to a chair. His uniform was discarded in pieces behind him; the globes, the elbow armor, the shoulder armor, the chassis, the leg armor, the foot armor, the gloves, and the arm armor. He was down to the black armored suit that went beneath it all and the only thing left was his purple hood. The black protective suit had protected him from many things in the last ten years but not where it mattered.
He slid off the torn purple hood, dropping it to the table, his eyes feeling heavy, tired. His eyes were heavy as his form lowered on to the table, feeling no need to fight against falling asleep, feeling safe and sound, even as he raised his head up in alarm at the sound of footsteps then put his hand on his arm and aimed toward the source of it. He relaxed, observing Nana, sliding a plate of doughnuts in front of him. They were notably store bought like she had made a mad dash outside of the house and came back with the box. He wouldn't question what happened. She was kind as need be and she was willing to get things done even when it seemed quite unconventional, it's what made her a excellent person who charted deep space for everyone else to use for their maps.
His stomach growled. He had been snatched in the middle of battling evil, which wasn't Zurg at the time, someone else for that matter who was as great as a foe. Star Command was a underground organization reeling after the Galactic Alliance had been invaded and subsequently overpowered, it was taking time to rebuild, to regather forces, and this battle had been the climax of all that sorrow and despair and defiance. The target was someone great enough to prop up Zurg's army against the Galactic Alliance, the key to utter defeat, the key to restore balance, the key to right a wrong, and begin a new normal.
He picked up the doughnut, tired, as Nana retreated then took a bite out of it, eying at it, scrutinizing it, then pried it open and stared into it. If anything, his experience in his world taught him to be weary of everything handed to him, including the whereabouts of notable figures from within Star Command and in the Galactic Alliance. Once certain there was nothing to scrutinize, he ate the piece that he had taken out then ate the whole doughnut. His head fell first on the table, holding on to another doughnut, drooling.
He awoke, tired, lethargic, lifting up, spotting a large plate full of mashed potatoes with light brown gravy, steaming carrots, and chunks of meat laying below him. It had been ten years since he had last seen a meal like that then looked toward his nana who was eating breakfast, looking visibly younger, bright.
"Do you kick his ass often over there?"
He stared at his grandmother, vulgar, a contradiction.
"Not since ten years ago . . . since. . " he looked aside then shuddered. "It's been quite difficult."
She pouted, disappointed, much to his surprise.
"Zurg deserves his ass whooped." Nana said. "He's a strange dish, but, that strangeness needs to be punished every once in a awhile!"
"Nana, why are you swearing?" Buzz was quite concerned as he lowered his fork. "Are you alright?" he reached a hand hand placing it on to her hand. "Is there an illness weighing on you?"
"He's been a terror." Was her laugh in return at the painful reminder of her grandson's variant who was like him. "Five years ago, he returned to his Friday schedule, once a week of terror!" she threw her hands up in the air. "Sometimes, seeing a hornet or a grub appear on the news is a day that is the most hated thing in the entire world, he interrupted filming for your show by stealing props and using them for a evil scheme! He even appeared on my favorite soap and nearly got my favorites killed, ruined an entire arch, the actual villain of the arc was going to be sent to jail but noo this forced the writers to fake Vasualaians death!" she shook her first in the air. "That fiend, that bastard, that wrecker!" she smacked her fist on the table. "Got himself incorporated into that arch, wasn't De'jaccia,"
She pointed at the window and opened her palm.
"it was all over the news with his sudden appearance during filming for that, too!"
Buzz was silenced by her retelling.
"It was a fun arc to watch but it disrupted my routine by TWO WEEKS! TWO WEEKS! That fiend!"
Buzz didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at how kind this world was.
"Zurg is evil on Fridays?" Buzz asked.
"Don't you remember?" She grew qute concerned.
"It was never Friday where I'm from." Buzz said, softly. "Ten years ago, he made his plots start happening Mondays when terrorizing with a defeated Galactic Alliance."
"Whew." she leaned back wiping her sweat off. "Mondays."
"And Tuesdays, he randomly kills one hundred people, their age doesn't matter," he stopped himself. "The really little ones, the ones below sixteen, he never targets them, per his 'I want to have a challenge'. When he finds out he killed pregnant people, by accident, he makes an example out of the person who brought him those two or three or four or eight or-" he shook his hands in front of himself. "You get the picture."
He was still for a silent moment looking down at his meal that he felt he didn't quite deserve for himself, several faces came to mind, all those broken kids who grew up into adults picking up weapons and attacking the Evil Emperor's supply chain with Buzz Lightyear's sole approval.
"Vengeful mother? Vengeful father? Vengeful parent? Vengeful child?" he cleared his head, even after all these years, it still pained him to think about what the Evil Emperor was doing. "A means to the end? Does he see me as a not as worthy foe?"
It broke her heart seeing him that way, the drive was still there, it was in the heart and the energy where it mattered that Zurg had finally cracked. Defeating the Galactic Alliance. Zurg had likely realized this and enjoyed every minute seeing him miserable trying to rebuild Star Command from scratch. Nana hated that.
Does he see me as trash that's not relevant? Something used? Something lacking that old spice? Thoughts that had been weighing upon his mind. Should I have discarded the suit last year? And retired on some pre-lightspeed planet?
"That. . . I'm too old to beat him? An old face that's too predictable? A face that wouldn't give him a worthwhile end that is just deserved?" he was visibly torn, heartbroken, and dismayed to think about that. "He hasn't been exactly targeting the new Star Command as everyone expected over there." he shook his head. "He's terrifying and unpredictable and irritating." he threw his hands up in the air then set them on the table, lowering his gaze, getting it off his chest. "I don't know Zurg." he cupped his hands together then held them below his chin. "Old information. . ."
It was still between them in the dining room as the Space Ranger reflected.
"Guess that's why Star Command hasn't grown big as it should have. Ten years ago, I should have realized that, and just dealt the very important parts, overseeing, training the new kids, staying out of the field, letting them learn, watching them learn, and throwing out the kids who don't have what it takes, recommending different occupations, like medicine, smuggling, scavenging for parts, etc, because this old dog only relies on outdated data."
"What happened ten years ago?" Nana asked.
"I was betrayed by my partner and he is still around. Betrayed everyone. Handing over the weakness of Star Command. The attack was awful. Really awful. Still see him, and now, the resistance, they don't have a leader, all they have is Warp Darkmatter against them easily taking them out in the field."
"They have one thing on their side, Buzz."
"What do they have?" Buzz asked as he looked toward nana.
"Warp thinks you're still around." Was her reply, quite gently, quite aged. "Expecting you." she pointed back at him. "Nothing else."
"Making him blind to what's really going on around him." Buzz leaned back with a smirk.
"Give them a tactical advantage in the battle against Zurg." Nana replied. "Doing things when they're on their own."
"Could work in their favor." Buzz emphasized, he was handed a cup of coffee with a small weary smile. "So. . ." he lifted a graying brow. "Zurg is just evil for fun here?"
"He is." Nana confirmed, nodding.
"And my house?" Buzz asked.
"It's a historical landmark." Nana said.
"AAaaaannnnd of course it is." The Space Ranger sighed then lowered his head, exasperated. "Good thing." he lifted his head up with a big grin. "I'll be going to Star Command first thing after eating."
"Turning a negative into a positive, how Lightyear of you." was said with affection.
The Space Ranger ate the meal then started to get up but fell down to his knees and collapsed with a thud.
"Oh, Buzz," Nana chuckled, fondly. "you're too exhausted to go to Star Command in this state."
The Space Ranger passed out then nana summoned the machines and had him move up the stairs. He was tucked into the bed then he turned over on his side. Nana was quiet staring at her grandson in the bed. She could enjoy him being back, if only for a short while, something as precious and as delicate and fragile, something like a miracle, it didn't last long. She moved down the stairs then returned to the armor that was scattered all over the place. The armor was gathered by the machines then carefully cleaned with care inluding the layered armor wiping it all away. She rubbed his plague, Lightyear, with her thumb feeling all emotional.
