Buzz slept in for the first four days. Nana largely believed it was him catching up on sleep that he hadn't had in ten years, his sleeping schedule taking time to adjust. But, she couldn't help be concerned the way that he looked at everything. Like he were seeing the past, a ghost of the past, still standing, still appearing the way it had, admiring his old car, the laugh that she heard from him when he came across it was a joy to hear, fond, nostalgic. Driving it out, then the vehicle breaking down, abruptly. She remembered how it was for the younger man coming back with a tow truck, scowling, like a child who had their play thing taken away. She remembered when he didn't get what he wanted that one Christmas, when he was nine, and subsequently, stopped believing in Santa Clause. Naturally, she believed that he would get over it: he never did get over it. Some days, during his day, he complained about how his torso ached, all of it, his stomach ached, like it hadn't had hearty food in a long time, curled up in a ball waiting for the pain to pass, dismissing it as getting over mashed potato, baked ants, wild rice, and grasshopper diet. He wasn't getting over that, either.
She went into his room searching for laundry. The only laundry that she did find was the light gray onesie that went underneath the suit. She picked up the uniform with her walking stick. She looked around the room scanning for laundry until her eyes landed on a fallen figure peeking out of the bed by one hand. She dragged the form out with her walking stick then used it to pick it up sliding the stick beneath it. She slightly gasped, picking up the toy, then looked toward the Space Ranger then back toward the toy. Was it Quark's Woody or did Buzz take his Woody with him wherever he went in his suit? She hadn't seen him often around the suit that he reassembled in the closet and kept it there. The toy looked identical to the one that had been given to the boy when he was very young, and his wish list, according to Warp, was identical to Buzz's at his age.
Something happened to her home in his world, and the only thing left of his childhood was Woody.
Nana gently set the toy alongside the Space Ranger then walked away.
She wept downstairs into her hands.
It was two days later, when Nana noticed how her grandson was limping.
"Buzz, dear, your leg."
Buzz stopped what he was doing.
"Oh, this thing. . ." Buzz laughed as he looked down toward his leg.
"What happened to it?" Nana asked.
"I fell." Buzz said. "Old wound from a decade ago."
"Did . . ." she began to clear her throat. "he . . ." she did her best to restrain her anger. "do that?"
"Warp had nothing to do with it." Buzz assured.
"Zurg." Nana said. "That sleazy fiend. Someone ought to rotate him into a volcano and abandon him recklessly."
"Wouldn't work, a hot headed cadet, Raptor Chill and his partner Milky Weight, did that." Nana's eyes widened as the Space Ranger retold. "Zurg treated it like he had been at a spa."
"Oh my Gods." Nana covered her mouth.
"That was after I learned my first lesson not to go without the protective suit anywhere." Buzz admitted.
"At least, it was only the leg." Nana said, assured, laughing.
The Space Ranger winced at her comment as he washed his dish.
"Nana. . ." Buzz breathed a big sigh. "I need to see a doctor."
Nana looked toward him as she sliced the bread.
"You never went to a doctor in the last decade?" Nana asked, bewildered.
"Ten years, patch ups, short term, temporary, things to hold, putting it off, ignoring things, it's not great over there." Buzz reminded her. "Seeing a doctor on a conquered planet, it's, it's ripe for Zurg to invade medical privacy." he became quiet for a very long moment. "I learned that the hard way, too."
It was quiet between them as the Space Ranger was wiping off his dish.
"And you need to return in great condition." Nana changed the subject.
Buzz looked toward Nana with a small smile that paled in comparison to his ones before being absorbed into the Space Ranger Corps.
"Tactically, this may be exactly what I need." That familiar laugh, but so bittersweet, hiding layers of pain, of heartache, of what was so desperately wrong. It wasn't the one that she knew thirty years ago. "A second wind."
"I know a doctor who won't ask any questions." Nana said as she set her hand on the side of his shoulder. "I'll make an appointment."
"Make it under Max Sportstar." Buzz said.
Nana gazed toward her grandson in amusement then nodded and walked away.
The next day, Buzz was set to go to the appointment. It was a fast turn around process, not that he was complaining. He didn't recall the appointments being that soon, perhaps it was due to lacking the Galactic Alliance for so long with a resilient and healthy and well equipped hospital system. He walked with the walking stick that his nana had supplied to help him with the limp. He went with his black suit on, the black hood section of it had been activated, with white pants and a green shirt that had white as a primary theme. He walked, slowly. The pain in his leg riled up when it rained, it riled up in his head when it rained where he was in the other world, it riled up in every joint within him. He entered the hospital, took the elevator, tired, in the mind, in the soul, and was quite impatient. It was quite a drag.
This entire activity was a delay to get to Star Command and get back home. He arrived at the waiting area, sat down into the blue chair, then watched as a child ran around playing with a Buzz Lightyear action figure and an Evil Emperor Zurg. He looked on in fondness as he clenched the walking stick between his walking stick, remembering the good old days, coming out on top, being young, being glowing, drenched in youth, and being happy overall. He coughed into his fist then sat up erect as the child stared back at his direction then he waved his hand apologetically. The child resumed playing with the two then set the Evil Emperor aside and put the Space Ranger onto the nearest counter upon being called for by their guardian. Buzz picked up the Space Ranger looking down upon him with certain sorrow. Where had he gone? He walked over, picked up the Evil Emperor, then put them both into the chest and withdrew. He rubbed his long and big chin as he gazed up toward the television set observing a soap playing featuring vampires.
"Mr Sportstar."
Buzz got up to his feet then followed the nurse in.
"Wait right here."
Buzz entered the wide room, slick, white, and pristine.
"Doctor Van Burans will be right here."
He waited there for the doctor for a short while doing nothing.
"By the way, she'll be examining you physically. She's got x-ray vision so no need to take your clothing off."
The nurse vanished behind the door then Buzz peeled off the civilian uniform, folded it then set it on the chair beside him. The door opened, and another individual, who wore the exact same uniform as the nurse, came in.
"Doctor Van Burans."
"Turn around."
"Okay."
"Oh, that's a lot of metal plating and scar tissue."
"Is it bad, Doc?" He turned toward her.
"I can't see your organs." Van Burans admitted to the Space Ranger. "That's a kind of layered x-ray vision that I can't see through. I can only see people stripped."
"Oh. . ." Buzz said.
"Please go into this tube." she pointed toward the tube, laid sideways, installed into the wall, with a rotating glass fixture around the entrance. "It's the best in depth scanner around."
Buzz did as he was requested, laying down, then slid forward into the machine. For all the fanciness and high tech, it felt very odd being scanned and a piece of a ancient past still being relevant to this day. He heard loud noises from within that sounded like a train were passing by him and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting, for it all to be over. He was terrified, thrust back, remembering the early days of the resistance, explosions ricocheting behind him, tense, hornets hunting him down. He clenched his hands as he grew tense, his heart racing, terrified in the enclosed space. The noise came to a stop once and he passed out. Eventually, he were withdrawn. When Buzz opened his eyes gazing toward his side spotting the very calm doctor looming over him.
"Mr Sportstar, we're going to need to operate on you to fix a number of things in thirty-five minutes."
Buzz slid himself up from the table.
"Why?" Buzz asked.
"Your organs are on their last leg," was her reply. "it's a miracle that you're talking." she twirled her finger as she motioned toward the Space Ranger. "Your back, it's awful, terrible condition."
"What about my brain?" Buzz asked. "Is my head in tip top shape?"
"Your brain is fine." Van Burans leaned forward, laughing, patting on his hand. "Just some aphrasia that we can treat compared to our ancestors from thousands of years ago in the Alpha Quadrant in a very simple procedure instead of therapy. We're going to need to put in new organs. Your heart isn't that well but with some medication, it'll be as good as new. Your intestines are barely working. You're staying overnight, Mr Sportstar."
The doctor got up then walked out of the room leaving the Space Ranger behind. He wasn't in the same room as before, odd. How long had he been out? Quite a while to be sent here. He started to giggle, then began to cackle, then began to laugh, until he got it all off his chest and began sobbing. He relaxed, lifting himself up, then relaxed. He chuckled, here and there, finding it amusing. He hadn't shown the slightest of signs of something going wrong. He was directed out of the office by a nurse then he rested there on the bed. It was amusing, did everyone know back where he were from? That he weren't talking right? Is that why Zurg lost interest in him? No, the Evil Emperor would have pointed out the nonsense straight away. With care, resting on the edge of the bed, he peeled out of the protective suit. He moved it alongside the window staring on without an occupant inside then slid the curtain blocking view of it from below. He stepped back, peeling off his old socks that had holes in them then his old briefs and put on new briefs that were left on the counter for him, free of charge.
He wandered to himself, facing off with the Evil Emperor, after ten years, speaking in a word salad, and kicking his ass, if things had finally gone his way. The Space Ranger's laughter carried through the walls then through the hallway as he fell asleep. He was under the blankets, feeling well, in contrast to how he was by the inside. His body, his mind, protecting himself. He could have died at any moment, and yet, he lived. His eyes fell heavy, his head falling aside, then he passed out. When he opened his eyes, there were surgeons above him, a bright light looming over him, feeling something flicking his foot. A mask was set on his face then he started counting backwards, and he fell into the abyss of sleep once more as darkness claimed him once more. And he began to dream of the most funniest thing on his mind; Zurg facing him in world salad mode. He slept with a small content smile on his face.
Four days passed after Springer heard laughter that sounded a lot like Buzz Lightyear. It was odd, being discharged after getting his appendix being removed, and hearing that laughter sent chills down the actor's spine. He wasn't over it, and never was going to be over it. It felt too; stiff Space Ranger kicking back and laughing. The duo went to a buffet between filming one day.
"I know I heard his voice. I know I did. Zurg brought him back, I know he did!"
"Sound alike, again." Coil said, dismissively.
"It was different." Springer turned toward his bemused companion.
"Like hearing Zurg's laughter in a crowded theater?" Coil asked.
"It's distinctive!" Springer emphasized.
"You never MET the guy." Coil reminded his friend that a tall blue alien with green spots ran by between them and flipped their plates on to each other. "Wo-"
"PURSE THIEF!" Nana charged after the fleeing thief, with an empty metal plate, running between them. "Come back and be punished like a thief!"
"Craters." Springer grimaced.
"Reeelaaaax, pal, it's just some spaghetti." Coil took out a large college of napkins then wiped off the red tint from the large costume.
"Oh Gods, now it looks hideous!" Springer freaked out. "Like water color!"
Buzz looked on from his spot toward where nana had once been spotting the two young men in their thirties. It was like looking at the old days, young fresh faced, just made captains, before Warp betrayed him. Before Warp broke his heart. It was amusing observing the men whose voices were different compared to Warp's and his very own interacting. Like looking at the past from a different perspective. He picked up his thick hamburger then took a bite out out of it as the young men were handed a wash cloth then proceeded to clean off the shades from their uniforms and hand it back to a worker at the buffer after making sure the red shade was gone.
He took several bites out of it, chewing, happily, enjoying the meal. He set the hamburger down then took a bite out of the fat chicken leg. He had been ordered to eat meat, it was going to benefit his recovery, they claimed that he was skin and bone when it came to the torso, he needed a lot of body fat regained. So that's what he has been doing at a moderate pace, per the doctor's request, he was supposed to eat meat for a couple weeks then return to a healthy diet. He had time on his side, planning, considering, contemplating how to best make 'in-the-field' retirement permanent. He remembered how gleeful that Ty was with the opportunity to be in the field as Buzz dealt with putting Star Command together, assembling cadets, instructors, education material, equipment, providers of space suits, and small ships that served their purpose as replacements for Star Cruisers. His suit was a promise of what had once been returning, it was durable, and it lasted him for ten years.
After a few bites, he set the chicken leg down. He picked up the hamburger then began finishing it. He looked toward the men, coming back, this time. They reminded him of themselves, a version of Buzz Lightyear without blue hair but with brown hair, the baggy eyes not prominent, the blue eyes full of youth, and a version of Darkmatter lacking the afro and had the chin hair growing. Those two young men, optimistic, friendly, and being inseparable off duty, they were gone. It still hurt all these years knowing that Darkmatter really hated him and his mantra. All in it for the money. All in it for giving Zurg the upper hand. All in for it to defeat Star Command. All in for the dissolution of the Space Ranger Corps. His heart was full of immense sorrow that lingered, growing heavier by the passing year, some days he wanted to cry about it, he kept it bottled up for later, because every moment he wanted to; it was emotionally and socially unacceptable. He looked away then resumed eating his hamburger.
"Hey, uh, don't mean to be rude," the young man, Springer, in his mid thirties slid into the chair sliding his plate on the table. "but you look like the kind of person who once served as a Space Ranger."
"I get that a lot." Buzz shook his hand. "And it's fine. Was a Space Ranger myself for a few years."
"What's it like?" Springer asked, as Coil sat down alongside him.
"Challenging, frightening, and lonely." Buzz admitted.
"Lonely?" Springer asked, surprised.
"But. . . but. . . but. . . don't Space Rangers have friends?" Coil asked, concerned.
"There's an image that has to be maintained; to appear strong, not vulnerable." Buzz explained.
"Did you know Buzz Lightyear?" Coil slid forth a black device, for Springer, turning it on.
"Back in the day before he died, affirmative." Buzz replied. "We were once friends." his hand clenched into a fist. "Close friends." he lowered his voice looking down at the plate. " Ten years ago, we stopped being friends."
"So you know how he died." Springer said.
"Who doesn't." Buzz said as he lifted his gaze up toward the two young men. "Exploding lair. Trapped. Flightless. Destruction all around him. Partner no where in sight."
"Sucky thing there." Springer grimaced.
"It is." Buzz said.
"If his partner was with him, right in the way, what would he have done?" Springer asked.
"Shoved him out of the way." Buzz said. "Naturally."
"And stood there?" Springer asked, surprised.
"He wouldn't be thinking about himself." Buzz said. "All wrapped up in saving lives."
"What if his partner said he was a spy?" Coil asked, curiously.
Buzz looked afar, looking back, distantly, at the person that he had been before. Before being abandoned time and time and time and time again to a mess of the mercenary's making. Jerk. Buzz was conflicted, did he have a conscience or did he not? Some days, he couldn't be sure of himself after saving his life then stomping that hope down. And the yearning, it had grown, and it had grown, and it had grown, for the mercenary, when it shouldn't have. He wanted his partner back, his friend, his confidant, the person that he could count on, the person to love freely without feeling nastiness about loving a member of the enemy.
"I-He would have saved him. Anyway." Buzz came to the admission, lowering his gaze, ashamed. "Buzz wouldn't have let him stay." He swallowed the shame replacing it with what was left of his dignity. "He would have argued and tried to save him."
"Would he be conflicted about it?" Springer asked.
"There would be no question or conflict about it." Buzz said.
"What if he were actually Zurg and he was an android?" Coil rubbed his hands together. "Androids are easily rebuilt."
"Androids are still people inside those personality matrixs and explosions can destroy those." Buzz waved his index finger.
"Ah." Coil said with a slight gasp then chuckled.
"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-uzz Lightyear saving Zurg." Springer began to chuckle. "Ooooh, ha haha ha hahaha hAHA HAHA!"
"That would have been funny as the air of Venus." Coil said.
"Buzz Lightyear would have smacked his emergency jet pack." Buzz continued his answer as the two young men laughed. "Sent him out." he looked toward his hand, once had prevented Darkmatter from falling to his death when he ran out of propellant, was it worth it saving him? And losing the Galactic Alliance. The Buzz Lightyear that had been known five years ago would have argued it were, but in hindsight, reflecting, it were not. "And died."
The Buzz Lightyear that fought for ten years was suited for the golden years not the years of darkness and misery and a little flame of hope that marked the age of resistance. He had made several errors in having faith in the mercenary, giving him information, trusting him with some part of a mission, scavenging some good out of the twisted failures, losing Space Rangers because of him. He remembered, vividly, recommending when it came to Darkmatter, five years in, not to ask him for help.
"Thanks." Coil turned off the device then withdrew it.
He remembered making sure the new Space Rangers understood, if he went 'missing' to never to ask for Darkmatter's help, never to mention it to Zurg, carry it on their own searching for him on their spare time and investigate his mysterious disappearance.
"We've been needing that kind of advice, Mr Sportstar." Springer agreed with a chime and grinned. "Because we've been debating about it."
He assured them that he would find a way back to them and he wasn't intending to break those kinds of promises.
"More like bickering." Coil corrected with a smirk. Identical smirk. Arrogant, smug. Just like him.
"You're welcome." Buzz said with a smile of his own.
The two walked off then he went about eating the hamburger and he were joined by his nana sometime after with her purse and a new plate.
"Did I miss anything important, dear?" Nana asked.
Buzz had a chuckle to himself, two curious captains, not that important.
"Negative." Buzz assured then raise the chicken leg. "Only me going to dine on this chicken leg!"
