Memories.
Authors note: Thank you so much for the reviews they really mean a lot! Please continue to tell me how you like the story. :) Hope you enjoy... This chapter was a little hard to write, so please give me feedback.
Roxy's POV.
Lotso is unusually quiet tonight, so I take the time to rant to him about how much I absolutely despise Ken and how utterly retarded his actions have been recently.
"And he's so incompetent; he's such a child. I swear, he has the survival skills of a gold fish and the attention span of a Barbie doll... " I ramble on, kick at a few leaves that had fallen onto pavement we were presently walking on, to take out my anger. Lotso eyes me from his place beside me.
"Ain't you..."
"A Bratz doll. Yes, there is a difference. A huge difference."
Lotso smiles a little, letting out a small laugh, yet it doesn't reach his eyes.
"I was goin' ta say ain't ya taking this whole Ken thing a bit too seriously for your taste?"
He asks kindly. He is taking my constant ranting in strife, like always. We are walking unusually slow because I'm pretty sure Lotso's limp has been bothering him lately. I can tell by how he has recently started to cling to my arm, undoubtedly to help him balance. Of course he always comes up with some sort of lame excuse, but I never believe any of them.
"I...no...I'm just mad. Ken's an idiot. You'd be angry too if ya got..." I quickly clamp a hand over my mouth before anymore words can spill out. The bear stops immediately, giving me just enough time to mentally kick myself. What are you thinking Roxy? Of course he knows what it's like, you moron...
"Replaced?" Lotso mutters quietly, reading my mind. Too quietly... Right about this moment I feel like throwing myself in the box before he can even grasp the chance.
"I didn't...I wasn't... I didn't mean...Lotso, I'm so sorry! Really..." I begin to panic, terrified I had hurt his feelings, and fearing the outcome will be even worse than the box.
But Lotso doesn't speak. He seems to be lost in some sort of trance.
"Lotso?" I scan the area to see if any of the lookout toys have noticed. Luckily, the many trucks are still patrolling as always, seemingly taking no notice of us, or Lotso's current...eh, state, I guess you could say. I honestly have no idea what to call it, but it succeeds in making me feel like resorting to freaking out... Instead, I draw in a deep breath and force myself to remain calm, analyze the situation logically. "Episodes" such as this have happened before...but never like this. Never where any of the guards could possibly take notice.
"No..Daisy...don't leave..." Startled, I quickly turn around to face Lotso in enough time to watch him fall to the ground, rap his arms around himself, and begin to rock back and forth. In a chilling sort of way, he reminded me of some of the mental patients I've seen on different television shows.
I rush over to him and kneel down to his level so I can look into his eyes, only to find they are closed. of course it's not the first time I've seen him like this, and though I've pretty much gotten used to it, the event still manages to rupture an ache in my heart that I've tried to buy for years. I guess in the long run, Lotso was right... Time really doesn't heal all wounds.
"Lotso... Please snap out of it. Someone could be watching and you wouldn't want anyone to see you like this, right?"
I try to reason with him, knowing the task at hand is most likely hopeless at this point. After all, it's nearly impossible to reason with an insane person...eh, toy, in this case. Still.. I tell myself that I have to try something. If any of these toys ever see him... Well, who knows what would happen. I'm not sure, but I really don't want to find out. Sure, they are absolutely terrified of him when he's lucid...but they've never seen him like this.
"I'm sorry..." is the only thing I can mange to understand as Lotso continues to mumble to himself lost words of the past. Words that do not belong here anymore... He is apologizing to Daisy, apologizing for not being good enough for her.
"Hey, doll face... Is there a problem?" I quickly whip around only to come face to face with one of Lotso's main goons, and the source of my constant urge to punch someone.
"No, everything is under control Twitch." I snap. I want him to know that I am not to be messed with. Despite his large size and intimidating stare, I'm not afraid of him. I never have been. There were little emotions I felt for this guy, and they were a mixture of hatred and a hint of bitterness.
"Really, because it doesn't look that way to me, Roxy...or should I call you Daisy?" He smirks, glancing over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of a shivering Lotso. I step in front of him to block his view while a sinister grin begins to dance across Twitch's hideous face.
"My name is Roxy. I gave up the Daisy title a long time ago."
"Huh huh...and who's decision was that?"
A fire burns within my eyes.
" It was a mutual agreement, not that it's any of your business. Besides, shouldn't you be with Ken and the others by now? Your always complaining when Ken is late..."
"And listen to him gush on and on about that Barbie doll of his? Speaking of which...I don't recall him ever gushing over you like that." He says with a taunting chuckle. My eyes bear into his skin as if willing it to burst into flames. If only. I swear, if only I had lazer eyes, he would think twice about taunting me.
"Ya know...I've always wanted to get you alone, ya know..."
"Well too bad, we both know that, that's never going to happen." I spit in his face.
"Or will it?" He reaches to grab my arm right as the heel of my black combat boots slams down on his foot, hard.
"I've told you before, Twitch... Leave. Me. Alone." I say the words slowly, carefully. Before I even have the time to realize it, a crowd of Twitch's idiotic friends are surrounding me on all sides. I roll my eyes and ready myself for the attack. Vary poor choice of evil minions, Lotso... I have a pretty good idea as to why they want to get me alone. For one, they want to get back at me for taking on the role of Lotso's head assistant, alongside ken, among other unpleasant reasons.
"Look, guys...you really don't want to do this." I warn only to receive more taunting laughter as the more than expected response.
Ugh, I absolutely despise it when they don't take me seriously. They think just because I'm the only girl besides Stretch, who is high up on the pyramid herself, that gives them every right to give me crap about everything known to toy-kind.
"Yes, you really don't." I suddenly look up only to see Lotso standing directly behind Twitch, looking furious. Over these strange and weary years, he has become freakishly overprotective of me. I still think it has something to do with the fact that somehow in a warped, twisted sort of way I remind him of our former owner. Pretty creepy in a way...
I shake my head, tired of always being treated like a child. I'm nothing like Ken, after all...
"Lotso, I had it under control...seriously." I begin to protest, but he simply rolls his eyes.
"Let me handle this, Roxy." He turns to Twitch, whose demeanor has changed quit a bit.
"Lo-Lotso... We were just havin' a little fun with our friend here...right guys?" Twitch stammers nervously as he tries to weasel his way out of it, as always.
"I understand." Lotso says calmly, and for a few short moments Twitch and his retarded friends think they have won. They high five each other and shoot me prideful looks. I simply cross my arms and glare cautiously in response. Somehow, something doesn't feel right...
"Big baby... Take him to the box."
Suddenly all the laughter ceases instantly and I eye them carefully, keeping my eyes mainly focused on Twitch.
"Big Baby isn't here right now, now is he?"
An evil smile lights up his face. He knows as well as I do that Big Baby had stayed inside Sunnyside. Was this what I had been afraid of all along...? Nothing like this has ever happened before, but I have always feared the day when it finally did. The day when Twitch and his posse got wind of Lotso's..issues, and decided to take advantage of them, (not that it would be an easy task even still,) After all, he did seem to keep a close relationship with Shortie once upon a time...
It wasn't easy, but somehow Chuckles and I had just made it passed the guards and out of the Butterfly Room. We were presently hiding behind a coriander, planning our next move. Well.. I was planning, Chuckles was desperately trying not to have a hear attack.
"Okay, we're almost in the clear, so try not to make your heart explode."
The clown nodded frantically, and I tried my best to control my own breathing.
"Where do you think your going?" A chilling voice asked from behind us. Chuckles let out another whimper. I whipped around quickly and the kicked the stranger's legs as hard as I possibly could. It succeeded in knocking him down for a moment, but the instant I grabbed the clown's hand and began to bolt, the stranger had leaped up and caught a hold of a handful of my hear. At this point, apart of me was terrified, and the other furious.
"Chuckles, just go! I'll be fine...just run!"
I screamed out to him, but Chuckles stopped immediately and despite his fear, he stood his ground.
"No, Daisy...I'm-I'm not leaving you!"
I rolled my eyes, frustrated at how stubborn he could be at times.
"Chuckles, darn it, I said RUN!"
"No, Daisy...I wo-won't do it. I..I refuse." He was terrified, I could read it all over his face. Fear coursed through his every seam, and yet he was brave enough not to leave me. That's something that I will always remember.
"Both of you are going to regret breaking the rules."
I looked back at the stranger currently restraining me. It was none other than a green grasshopper type plastic action figure that had greeted us along with Shortie when we had first entered the doors of the daycare. Of course, it was none other than Twitch. As if his voice wasn't creepy enough, he had a face as well as a body to mach it. He quickly whistled for a huge rock-like toy he liked to call "Chunk," to come and restrain Chuckles.
"Let go of him you filthy monsters!"
I screamed in fury as Chunk brought out a rope and began binding the shaking clowns hands. Chuckles must have been too afraid to struggle, because much to my utter disgust, the task itself seemed almost effortless. Not that Chuckles had ever been extremely strong, but I was hoping against hope that some sort of adrenaline might kick in.
"Take him away, and be quit about it... Shortie is trying to sleep." Twitch ordered to his fellow henchmen before turning his attention back to me. He still held a tight grip on my hair despite my many attempts to escape.
"I'll take care of the girl... Now listen up doll face, I'm going to show you exactly what happens to toys who cross Shortie. And just to warn you...it's not pretty." Slowly, he let go of my hair and quickly grabbed my wrists before I could grasp a chance to escape.
"Don't touch me you disgusting creep! Where have you done with Chuckles? You better not hurt him you pig!"
I tried my best to fight my way out of his hands. I struggled with all of my might, biting, kicking, slapping, anything I could think of that might inflict more pain upon him to force him to release me. Though In the end, much to my frustration, his strength won himself the advantage. He snickered a little, but otherwise ignored my frantic protests. He dragged me, kicking and screaming my entire non-existent lungs out, down the hall and finally into the Caterpillar Room. Once we were inside, Twitch harshly threw me down on the floor. It took me a moment or so before I came to the horrifying realization that the white fluffy stuff surrounding me on the hard cold floor was actually stuffing.
I swallowed hard, trying my best to keep my composure. You see, stuffing is the equivalent to blood for a toy. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words refused to come.. I was frozen in utter terror. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of struggled coughing mixed in with Chunk and Twitch's evil laughter. It sounded eerily familiar and I tried to pretend this wasn't happening.
I closed my eyes tightly, an attempt to make believe I was somewhere else, though despite the desperate effort, apart of me knew I was in reality..there was no escape. The image of the stuffing was somehow burnt into my brain even long after my eyes were snapped shut.
"Sweet dreams..." An icy voice taunted. Shortly after, I heard a door slam a few feet away.
"Dai-Daisy?" I heard a weak voice question. I finally grasped the courage to open my eyes. I looked down at my palms, and it was only then that I realized how hard I was shaking.
"Pl-Please don't hurt me..." I whispered, rapping my arms around myself; at first, unsure of who the voice belonged too. I was too exhausted to put up another fight and soon I found myself longing to just disappear.
"Daisy...it's me...Lo..Lotso."
My face lit up at once as I turned around to face him. Simply overly relieved to hear such a familiar voice, I was this close to tackling the pink bear, that is until I realized the gaping hole in the side of his leg and stopped short. I clasped a hand over my mouth to prevent myself from letting lose a horrified scream. It was in this moment that I realized, to my horror, the source of the stuffing surrounding me on the floor.
"What... di-did they do to you?" I stammered in terror, feeling every none-existent bone in my body tense up. I wanted to run.. I wanted to scream until my voice box gave out, I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. Instead, I simply waited for Lotso's reply, fearing whatever information he would poor into my ears.
"That's...not really important no more...is-is it?" He looked down at me with glazed eyes. Somehow in the darkness, they looked even more distant than before. His pain seemed to be contagious, because I had to look away to keep myself from falling apart at the seams.
"Well, it is to me... What happened?" I pressed nonetheless, scooting a little closer to where Lotso sat on the floor with his paws loosely clutching at his open side. I needed to know, even if apart of me didn't want too.
"Shortie... Happened." Came the bitter reply. Taking a seat directly in front of him, I listened patiently for Lotso to continue. When he never did, I forced myself to stare at him expectantly until he finally gave an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes.
"You ain't gonna give up until I tell ya...now, are ya?"
When I only continued to stare in response, he took that as a no.
"Fine... Shortie didn't like what I had ta say, so she brought out a darn pair of scissors and..."
He looked at the large tear in his leg that ran halfway up his side and let out a groan. Despite myself, I leaned over and placed a hand on the wound in a place where his large paws couldn't quit reach, to help stop the flow. He cringed in pain at the touch, but hesitantly thanked me anyways.
"On a scale of one to ten... How bad is the pain?" I asked nervously, unsure of whether or not that was the right choice of words.
He responded by giving me a look that screamed, 'Seriously?'
"Okay, okay! Stupid question, I get it... Sorry. Okay... Do you think there's anything in here we can use to fix this?" I asked quickly, scanning the room for any materials that could be useful.
"What's the point... Daisy...she's gone. She don't love me no more..."
I stopped abruptly, now this was truly something I had never expected. I could feel apart of me beginning to panic; I had no idea how to react.
"Wha-What are you talking about?"
"Daisy... my best friend. She was my everything...and she's gone... She keeps tellin' me that she loves me...but I know the truth. She never did...so what's the point in goin' on?"
I bit my lip, something I had gotten in the habit of doing whenever I was nervous, scared, or lying. I resisted the urge to spout off something completely insensitive simply because I wasn't sure what to say, because I hated the feeling of guilt that was eating me away inside.
"There's always a point, always some sort of a reason to press forward and move on..." I had spend several minutes choosing the words carefully, trying not to upset him any farther. Trying to pretend I believed them myself.
"Move on? How can you expect me to move on... I'll never move on." Lotso replied, sounding as if he were on the verge of loosing it.
The words themselves were chilling enough then, but the impact they would have on me in the future would make me realize the tragic truth, the depth they truly held.
"Why, that's just silly... Of course you'll move on! After all, you can't just sit there for the rest of your life."
A bubbly voice chirped. I looked over to see a bright pink My Little Pony smiling joyously despite the horrid situation we collectively found ourselves in. I envied her pure childish ignorance.
"Uh... Hey, kid-" But I never got the chance to warn her, before Lotso went in for the kill.
"Leave me alone! You don't know nothin' 'bout me or how I'm feelin'... Get away from us!" He snarled angrily, causing the young child to start crying. Not actual tears of course...but you get the picture.
"Lotso, calm down... She's just a kid. Look, you made her cry..."
I looked over at the pony, who looked at Lotso and yelled, "Your a meanie!" before quickly running off and disappearing into the darkness. I didn't know why at the time, but somehow my heart went out to her more so than it normally would, especially for someone I had just met.
Lotso merely huffed.
"Well she made me cry..." I knew then that he was no longer talking about the poor little pony.
Lotso's eyes softened a bit. I hated to see him in so much pain. He was absolutely miserable... That part was obvious. What I didn't know, what I never wanted to believe, was the fact that he would always be miserable.
"I know...I'm..I mean...I'm sorry." I whispered, stumbling over the words, unsure of what else to say.
"She lied to me...she said she would always love me...but she never did..." Lotso released his side, giving up. He hugged himself tightly and began to rock back and forth while I immediately covered the other half with my free hand.
I could feel the emotions already battling and raging inside of me. It was a mixture of anger and guilt.. I was angry at myself for ever thinking I could play a role that did not belong to me...angry for letting myself believe that somehow, it would bring Lotso back. Angry for being so stupid... Guilty for letting him believe a lie.
"Let's just...try and get some sleep I guess... hey..where's Big Baby?" I asked, noticing his absence for the first time since I'd been thrown in the room.
"Sleeping... He cried himself to sleep."
Lotso whispered; he continued to rock, and I began to feel him drift even farther away from reality, slowly walking that fragile line between sanity and insanity... The thing is, I was terrified he might leap off at any second. The site itself was heart wrenching... Lotso was my closest friend besides Chuckles. What had happened? I never wanted to lose him like this. I wanted someone to blame... Shortie. I decided she was the easiest target, since she was the one who tossed us in the Caterpillar Room from the vary moment we arrived at the daycare itself.
Finally, I glanced over at a far corner where Big Baby was indeed curled up in a ball, fast asleep. I felt like ripping something apart for ripping everything away... Namely, Shortie. Suddenly, she seemed to become the source of all of my problems, even ones where there was no possible way the blame could have even touched her.
"Oooh, that stupid Shortie makes me so freakin' mad!"
I resisted the urge ball up my fists, practically shaking from how much anger had built up.
"She ruined our lives... I hope she realizes that she has no freakin' idea just exactly who she is dealing with."
My eyes were lit with a fury that took even Lotso by surprise.
"She's going to be sorry when morning comes, just you wait and see..."
"What're ya plannin' on doin' to her?"
"Something sinister...something devious...but for now let, let's get some... oh! How could I forget...your wound. Hold on, I'll be right back."
I gently took his paws and placed them over the wound to fill in the gap to prevent anymore stuffing from falling out. Lotso then watched me leap up and give him a touch on the shoulder for reassurance. He let out a soft moan; he looked much weaker now, though he didn't protest, simply kept his paws where I had placed them.
"Hurry...please..."
"Eye-eye Captain." I saluted, simply relieved that at least now he seemed to want to be helped. I turned to leave, but he gently grabbed my hand with a single paw, his grip much more looser than before.
"Wait...you will come back...won't ya Da..Daisy?"
I looked into his eyes, saw the raw desperation and let loose a small smile.
"Of course. I wouldn't leave you here..I promise. Now hold tight... and I mean that literally, don't let go of your side." And with that, I bolted off, returning several minutes later with a needle and threat in hand. By this time, Lotso was moaning even louder.
"I'm so sorry it took so long, here..." Quickly, I threaded the needle, tied a small knot, and carefully stabbed the long metal tool into Lotso's wound.
"It's probably going to hurt, but I'll try to be as gentle as possible."
I said softly, hoping he wouldn't ask where I had gotten the tools simply because I did not feel like explaining, unsure of what he would think of me after I had finished. I should have known this was a silly fear, especially considering his seemingly unfazed response to my earlier comments about Shortie, but so much of me longed to believe I hadn't lost the true Lotso. The one who had once told me that violence was never the answer.
"Wh..Where did you find...?"
I swallowed hard.
"Is it really important to know where I got it from?"
"I'm really not in the mood, Daisy...just tell me, darn it."
I signed, trying my best to focus on not stabbing my own fingers with the needle by accident. I had never actually attempted at sewing anyone up before, but Lotso needed me nonetheless and I couldn't let him down.
"Fine...I stole it from the repair shop." I replied finally, reluctantly.
"And...?"
He could always tell when I was hiding something. Suddenly, the door swung wide open and Shortie marched in with a bunch of her minions following close behind. She looked furious, and Twitch was nowhere to be found.
Lotso let out a small gasp only when he saw my own eyes had lit up with fear. It was the first time that night that I had looked anyone in the eye, and actually slipped through emotion. I hated myself for letting slide the terrible mistake. The burden of being strong had fallen solely on my shoulders, since the others couldn't, and that simple gesture had practically blown it.
"Don't panic..."
I instructed, trying with everything I had to try and regain my posture as I quickly finished up sewing in the gap. I tied one last knot in the thread to make it stay before breaking it off. My mind flashed to earlier the same night when the tear had only been a small opening, and shuddered. Was this the kind of horrible things these monsters were capable of? What else? What other horrors awaited us next? No... we were escaping that night, I was making sure of that. Or at least, this is what I had told myself over and over until I began to believe it.
"You!"
Shortie pointed an angry finger my way. Immediately the fear vanished, replaced only by heat.
"How dare you threaten my lover! Apologize at once for your betrayal against Twitch." She folded her arms the way I would imagine a Queen would. An evil Queen who cared about nothing but power. Even though she were currently screaming at me, there was still a chilling hint of silk to her voice.
"He was asking for it, and I'm not apologizing for doing what's right."
Lotso shot me a questioning look, but before he could address the subject, I quickly ceased the opportunity to change it.
"It's not right what your doing here, Shortie. Where's Chuckles? What have you done with him?" I clutched the needle firmly in my grip, prepared to use it as a weapon if necessary.
"Oh, Daisy...sweet innocent Daisy... If I told you...where would the surprise me?"
"Funny...I've always hated surprises."
I stepped directly in front of Lotso and began to take a few unwavering steps forward, wielding the needle like a dangerous weapon. What I had failed to realize was the growing rage in the bears eyes.
"If you don't tell us where he is..." Lotso snarled, although we both leaped back when Shortie whipped out a knife she had kept hidden beneath her dress until this vary moment.
"You've got to be kidding me... There is no way in history this is happening."
"You know Daisy...not all people like flowers." Shortie snickered. I longed so badly to simple take the needle I held in my hand and slice her lips off.
"And not all flowers are what they appear..."
The memory is still burned into my brain like a tender scar; I can still hear the shrill screams of Shortie's once defiant voice echo in my ears. It was like listening to nails scraping against a chalkboard. A sound no one in their right mind ever wants to hear.
"Watch yourself, Twitch." I growl, reminding myself where I am and who I'm dealing with. I'm not going to show any fear, or any emotion for that matter. He needs to know that I'm not afraid of him.
"I wouldn't imagine you would want a repeat of last time, would you?" I challenge, causing him to take a few steps back, suddenly remembering his place.
"Oh baby doll, I wouldn't dream of hurting you.."
Twitch's eyes flicker several times from Lotso to myself. I never take my eyes off him. The guy can not be trusted even for a split second. Lotso walks to stand beside me, a silent gesture that he is back.
"Go inside Twitch, now." Lotso orders firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. This time, Twitch does as he says and turns to walk back towards Sunnyside,
Authors note: I know it's a bit of a twist with Twitch, but I wanted to explore his character a little, a sort of what if, type thing. If you have any questions, feel free to message me. Lotso's episodes were just an interesting idea that I wanted to explore a little, of how Daisy's ghost still haunts him.