Written by Buck Tick
By now, the other toys have gathered in the lawn, all stricken with curiousity and awe. Slinky makes his way over to Jessie and Bullseye, his metal spring twisted, but he tail wagging slowly. "Where's Woody headed off to?" he asks, trying not to sound worried.
Jessie clutches Bulleye, sniffing. "He..." she looks at Slinky, unable to speak. "He's..." She looks over at the other toys, left outside time after time from the forgetful little girl, all crusted over with mud and rust. She looks over to Bonnie's bedroom window, where a large and smiling Totoro gazes down at her. This makes her feel a little better.
"This is the second time that wimpy cowboy doll has walked out on us!" says Mr. Potato head darkly as he wanders around the grass, gathering his pieces.
"Walked out on us?!" yelps Slinky, alarmed.
"Way to go..." growls Jessie, giving the plastic vegetable a dirty look.
"What?" snaps Mr. Potato head. "It's about time he got out of our hairs. He's been a problem-causer ever since Andy got Buzz one year for his birthday. A complete egotistical jerk! Good ridance..."
Jessie inhails sharply, her face blushing. "How could you say that about Woody?!" she cries. And so on...making it awkward for all the new toys to watch and listen to.
In silence, the other toys turn their attention elsewhere and watch as Woody squeazes between the planks of the white fence, and vanishes behind some shrubbery next to the neighbor's mailbox as he continues his way down the sidewalk.
"Goodbye, Woody..." whimpers Slinky.
The spaceman sighs, lowering his helmet to wipe the dew from his eyes. "Woody!" calls Buzz, jogging over.
"...Goodbye, Buzz..." whispers Slinky, heartbroken.
._._._.
"Woody!"
The cowboy stops and looks behind him at the fence, and notices Buzz Lightyear, of Star Comand being held by the evil forces of- a fence. Woody scowls darkly and doesn't move to help him.
"C-can you give me a hand, soldier?" pleads Buzz, trying his very best to fit the round block in the square hole.
"I'm going to Andy." Woody says, and turns his back to him. He crosses his arms defiantly. "I know you don't care about him anymore, but this is imporant to me."
Buzz struggles once more, then stops. He observes the other toy quietly, making a note how he hasn't left him yet, then says, "What are you really searching for, cowboy?"
Woody flinches, and curls his hands around himself, giving himself a hug. He keeps his back to the spaceman.
"You've been roaming for too long. You're looking for some sort of happiness with that boy, but...That boy is a man now. Andy let us go." says Buzz gently. "I think you need to recoginze what you have now, before looking for something that doesn't exist."
"Buzz," Woody turns around, his face cursed with agony. "he needs me-"
"I said 'let go,' Woody." explains Buzz. "Not left behind. He put you here for a reason; to be for that little girl, Bonnie. We belong to her, now... And I'm going to stick around for her."
Woody looks down.
"Do you know why?" asks Buzz, a little loudly. Woody looks back up at him. "Because Andy asked us to." answers the spaceman. "Thanks to him, our family is bigger than ever. You say Andy still needs you."
"He's my owner..." says Woody quietly, a bit defensively. He grabs his boot and looks at it. He moans softly, seeing Andy's name crossed out. He sets his foot back down, not daring to check the other, remembering that Bonnie's name is on the bottom of his other boot. "He didn't want to give me up, don't you remember?" says Woody helplessly. "He said he didn't want me to give up on him... He said that because he wanted me to come back...To be there for him- no matter what!"
"No, Woody, you're looking at this the wrong way-" Buzz struggles against the fence. "Woody!"
Woody turns away and starts marching off. "I'm sorry, Buzz." he says angrily, not really sounding sorry at all.
"No!" Buzz pulls out from the fence and attempts to climb it, but can't. "Stop!" He runs over to the gate, ignoring the stares and cries of protest from the other toys. He jumps and tries to reach the latch, but cannot quite make it.
Jessie joins his side and takes his arm. "Buzz, please...!"
"I can't let him do this!" says Buzz. "He'll never make it alone."
"And you wouldn't be able to make it back here on your own." replies Jessie softly. She hugs onto him arm. "Please..."
Buzz stares at the cowgirl, then looks back between the fence at the cowboy who walks in plain sight in the middle of the sidewalk. Across the neighborhood in various yards, adults and children mill about, talking or playing with eachother. Buzz shouts out, "Woody, they can see you!"
Jessie pokes half her body through the fence to look.
Buzz frowns and grabs her arm and pulls her back in. "Jessie, I need to stop him."
Jessie frowns back, pulling her arm away. "Yeah, just like Woody needs to find Andy?" Jessie sighs and looks at the other toys. "Let him go... Mr. Potato Head is right..."
"What did Mr. Potato Head say?" asks Buzz, alarmed.
But Jessie sighs and walks off, laying an arm across Bullseye as he trots over in silence.
Inside, Bonnie shouts, "I gotta get my toys!" followed by her mother's voice, "All right, sweetheart. But make it snappy."
Buzz turns back to the fence and the gate, not sure if he should keep trying to escape, or try to let Woody go on his own adventure.
._._._.
(To Rammstein: Have a good time...)