Just a simple battery change, Woody thought from his vantage point slumped on the floor, gazing up at the bed upside down, just a simple battery change, that's all…
It was something of a mantra he'd adopted over the past couple days, ever since Buzz quietly informed him his batteries were running low. Truthfully, he didn't need to be told. They'd been friends for over a decade—he knew the signs. Lethargy, quietness, brain fog. The faintness of the red lights on his open wings and laser bulb. Tripping over nothing and delayed reflexes, a very un-Buzz-like sense of clumsiness. The unfortunate drawback of being an electronic toy.
Thankfully, getting new batteries had never been a problem, not even when Andy stopped playing with them and they had to hunt some down themselves; batteries were always lying around the Davis household. Replacing the batteries was simple too, just a few quick twists of a paperclip and he was good to go. Though Woody kept mental tabs on the time between battery changes, honestly, there had never really been an issue here. It was just one more thing to keep in mind concerning the configuration and specific needs of the toys under his watch—which Buzz very much was, even as he was also his close friend.
Yes, there had never been any issue… until quite recently.
Sunnyside had changed things. In general for all of them, but for Buzz quite specifically. The discovery not just of his "DEMO" switch but of how exactly that discovery came about had wounded his friend more than Woody knew he liked to let on. He hardly blamed him. He understood why Buzz had been so reluctant to discuss the details of the reset. Being restrained, having your back ripped open, all your memories erased with the flick of a switch? Falling prey to old delusions and turned against your friends? Nightmare scenarios a rag doll didn't have to worry about, that was for sure.
How they never discovered this switch, Woody couldn't say. Andy had never flipped it, but then he'd always been so hasty switching his batteries, eager to have his cool space toy back in full working order. But he had no such excuse—often it was him replacing those batteries during Andy's adolescence. Its existence should have been noted years ago. He didn't know what could be done to protect such a vulnerable spot, but Woody couldn't help feeling he was partly to blame for what had pained him, his friend's skittishness around toys too close to his back, subtly turning his body to always face others head on.
But what was done was done. What mattered now was helping Buzz. His nerves had been clear as day when they discussed his low charge days ago. Soon Bonnie would become aware of it when the voice lines she adored began to falter. It would be the first time in years a human would be changing his batteries; the first time, in fact, his battery compartment would be opened after Sunnyside at all. Aside from the new fear associated with the once mundane, now they also had to worry about Bonnie flicking the "DEMO" switch herself.
"Do you remember what happened after it was flipped?" Woody had asked. "Were you conscious, did you—"
"No," Buzz had replied tersely. "I don't remember. It was… blurry. But I don't remember."
Sadly, he couldn't make any foolproof plans to work around this. There was always the possibility of a human flicking that switch and what would happen when they did, no one knew. Woody hoped that, by already being in toy mode around a human, Buzz would remain there even if it were switched, locked in place by something like instinct. He tried to assure him as such, but even Buzz could see his doubts.
Besides: it wasn't just humans his friend was worried about regarding his "DEMO" mode.
Not long after they settled in their new home, Jessie filled Woody in on what he had missed at Sunnyside. It seemed Buzz was reset not long after he'd left, when he went to talk to Lotso about switching rooms (something Woody no doubt would have led were he there, but his guilt didn't matter right now). From there Buzz played the prison guard, convinced he was a space ranger and his friends were minions of Zurg.
"I tell ya," Jessie marvelled to him, "the way he took all of us down just himself was somethin' else. He caught us off-guard, sure, but we didn't stand a chance."
Such comments were made well out of Buzz's hearing range, knowing how badly the whole thing affected him. Though he didn't say it directly, Woody could tell: Buzz was, to some degree, afraid of himself now, of what he could do to the ones he cared about. Plus, just the thought of losing your sense of self from a simple switch must be terrifying. It didn't seem he'd actually injured any of them at Sunnyside, but the capability was still there, and that's all that mattered to Buzz.
"What if I still see you all as prisoners? What if I attack you, what if I hurt you, what if I–"
Woody had set a hand on his shoulder. "That's a lot of 'what-ifs', partner. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what's gonna happen. But have some faith in us, huh?" A teasing shake. "We stopped your space nut self before, we can do it again. Besides, there's a good chance nothing will happen and it'll just be a simple battery change, just like Andy used to do."
"Right," Buzz muttered. "Just like Andy…"
Just a simple battery change, Woody thought again, watching the little girl on her bed, just a simple battery change… His eyes darted across the floor to meet Jessie's nearby and he easily read her matching anxiety. In fact, he spotted several of Andy's old toys staring back at him nervously. They all knew what opening up Buzz's back could entail now.
And Bonnie was, unwittingly, drawing out the shared tension with her childish lack of dexterity. From what Woody overheard downstairs earlier, it seemed Mrs. Anderson had unscrewed Buzz's screws for her daughter most of the way and supplied her with the batteries. Really, Woody had been hoping she would just do it herself, it would be so quick, but Bonnie was insistent. So, denied access to a screwdriver, she was sitting on her bed unwinding the screws with her fingers instead.
She'd get there. But the wait was painful. Woody wondered how his friend was holding up.
Finally, finally, both screws spiralled out. Bonnie gently opened his wing pack and removed the old batteries one-by-one. As far as Buzz had told him, he would be unconscious now.
"Don't worry, Buzz," Bonnie murmured, picking up a new battery, "this'll make you feel better."
In went the first with a plastic click. So far so good. At least so far, Bonnie either hadn't noticed or didn't care about the "DEMO" switch.
Just a simple battery change. Just a simple—
"Bonnie! Come on down, sweetie! Grandma's here!"
Bonnie perked up at her mother's voice. "Grandma," she whispered excitedly. She set Buzz down and hopped off her bed. "Be right back!"
No! Woody thought. No no no, put the other in, put the other—
But the little girl was already gone, pounding down the stairs.
The usual pause after a human left the room felt charged with tension. Okay, this is fine, he assured himself, this is okay. Bonnie will just say hello to Grandma and come back, just like always… We just need to wait…
With the door open, they could hear the entire conversation downstairs. Pretty standard fare: greetings, hugging, the usual. Everything that would indicate a quick hello before returning. Until he heard the two innocent nouns that spelled doom.
"... go to the park, then get some ice cream after?"
"Yay! Ice cream!"
Why? Why couldn't Grandma have come even ten seconds later? Was the universe laughing at them?
As soon as he heard the front door shut Woody was scurrying to the bed, Jessie right behind him. They were probably panicking for nothing. Heck, Buzz might even still be knocked out. Or maybe he was up there feeling a bit sleepy but otherwise okay. But this was uncharted territory. They knew how nervous Buzz was about all this; a random deviation was the last thing he needed.
"Woody?" Slinky called as the toys gathered below the bed, Bonnie's first and rather confused ones included. Of course they wouldn't understand the big deal. Their rendition of the events at Sunnyside notably omitted Buzz's being turned against his friends, as they all decided he didn't deserve to have their first impression of him soured by things beyond his control. "Think you're gonna need help? Y'all want us to come up too?"
"Thanks Slink," Woody called back, scaling the side, "but it's probably best we just scope it out first. Be on stand-by."
"Roger that."
Jessie reached the surface of the end of the bed first. Had Woody not followed a second later and grabbed her arm, she would have raced ahead. "Woody, let me go!" she cried, straining against him.
"Jessie, I want to check on him just as much as you do," he explained tersely, struggling to keep her in place, "but if you rush in you might freak him out, so cool it!"
Immediately, Jessie stopped resisting. "You're right," she sighed. "Sorry."
Woody released his grip. "Don't worry about it." He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "We'll go together, okay? Slowly."
She nodded. The lack of typical Jessie-style enthusiasm said enough. With great trepidation, they walked as one.
Buzz was in the centre of the bed on his hands and knees, meaning he was awake. His battery compartment hung open, the singular battery on display. He had his back to them, obscuring his face, which only heightened their anxiety. Woody had really been hoping he would remain unaware until Bonnie returned. They approached his hunched figure cautiously, stopping roughly a foot behind him. They shared an uncertain look. Woody took the lead to speak first.
"Hey, Buzz," he said casually. Just treat this as normally as possible. "It's me, me and Jessie. You all right there, partner?"
Nothing. Woody frowned. Jessie dared a step forward. "Buzz, it's us," she intoned. Receiving no reply, she too frowned. "Buzz, I'm gonna come over, okay? So don't be scared. It's me. Jessie."
"Jessie," Woody warned.
She shot him a look. "I'll be gentle," she whispered. Not awaiting his reply, she inched closer. With exceeding caution, she touched his shoulder. "Buzz—"
Body jerking, he swung his arm back to smack her hand away.
Jessie jumped, staggered back, and Woody stepped closer to steady her, face mirroring her shock. Buzz's arm remained in the air for several seconds before he attempted to get up. He pushed at the ground, trembling with the effort, managing to get one shaky foot under him. Stumbling to the other, he nearly lost his balance entirely. He stood hunched, hands on his knees to support himself.
In all, a very uncoordinated, ungraceful series of motions, and therefore a very concerning display, for one Buzz Lightyear.
"... Buzz?" Woody ventured, keeping a hand on Jessie's shoulder.
Starting, Buzz spun around to face them. He over-widened his stance, nearly face-planting as he struggled to right himself. Far too forcefully he flung up his right arm and over-corrected flinging it back down before shakily raising it to aim. His other hand came to rest upon his forearm, fingers over the red laser button. However, there was no laser reticle projected at them.
"Halt," Buzz commanded, or well, tried to command, but his voice sounded too weak to convey any proper sense of authority. His glare, likewise, seemed more a squint, like he was having difficulty focusing. "Stay back…"
This wasn't good. If Buzz was using his laser against them, that meant he thought it was a real weapon—meaning he also thought he was a real space ranger. Again. Woody could groan at the absurdity of it all, if not for…
Jessie stepped towards him, no fear for a fake laser. "Buzz, wait, it's just us, your friends—"
"Stop!" he snarled. Arm snapping to face her, Buzz slammed his hand down on the button—but nothing happened. No light, no sound, nothing. Confusion flitted across his face. He smacked the button again, then again, again and again frantically. Jessie reached towards him. He nearly tripped stumbling away from her.
"No," Buzz mumbled to himself, "no, no…"
Yes, Woody could groan at the absurdity of it all… if not for the blatant fear in his friend's eyes. It was not an emotion he was used to seeing on his face. Even when he was afraid it was usually more restrained and far more dignified than Woody could begrudgingly admit he himself behaved. He rarely lost his head during a crisis. There was a reason he never had an issue putting Buzz in charge when he was away.
But this wasn't the Buzz he knew. This Buzz was shaky, off-kilter, masquerading fear behind authority and failing miserably. This Buzz was not composed, not controlled, he was panicking. This Buzz wasn't afraid: he was terrified.
Seeing that level of raw fear in his eyes towards them, towards him, hurt.
While Buzz continued to frantically jab at his controls, Woody and Jessie shared a look of anxious concern. This was one of the worse ways this could've gone; he prayed Bonnie wouldn't be back before they could get control of the situation. If only Grandma had arrived just seconds later…!
"Woody," Jessie whispered, her big eyes even bigger, "what should we do?"
The million-dollar question. Pursing his lips, Woody studied his friend, who was now muttering fervently to Star Command in his wrist panel. This was not like past encounters with Buzz's deluded persona. While that had been pride and purpose and before, this time was fear, genuine fear, and the thought of adding to that rattled him. Honestly, he was more prepared for his "Spanish mode" than this: shortly after they'd arrived at their new home, he'd sneaked onto the computer to learn some basic sentences, just in case. But there was no simple translator this time. They would have to decipher this on their own.
There could be no yelling or brute force; no, they had to tread carefully here, to earn his trust. How to go about that exactly was the question. He just had to be friendly with his Spanish side, but that wouldn't cut it this time. Maybe, since he hadn't heard the telltale click of his "DEMO" switch being flicked, Buzz could possibly still recognize them, if they could jog his memory somehow. It was worth a shot at least.
"I'm gonna try something," Woody whispered back. Jessie furrowed her brow when he gave no further details, but nodded.
Okay, time to make himself less… intimidating, he guessed, something he'd done before for the particularly skittish or tiny. Woody knew he was fairly tall for a toy, least in this room, so he sought to cut his height, bending slightly at the knees and standing in a slouched posture, even dipping his chin to give the impression of meekness. He narrowed his stance to look more off-kilter, kept his hands open at his sides—no concealed intentions. He smiled, close-mouthed and gentle.
A leader needed to appear just as much a lamb as a lion, depending on the moment.
"Howdy there," Woody greeted.
Buzz's head shot up. His eyes narrowed. He reached back clumsily to click his battery compartment shut. He didn't raise his arm again, evidently concluding his "laser" was busted, but he did raise his fists. It appeared that if he didn't have weapons, his last defence was his own fighting ability. "Stay back," he hissed.
Having those familiar blue eyes look at him so icily and that familiar warm voice practically spat his way hurt, even as he understood Buzz was not himself. Woody pressed down his feelings and pressed ahead, unflinching. He held up his hands. "Okay, I'll stay right here. I don't mean you any harm—neither of us do." Jessie nodded timidly, but didn't speak. "You're safe here. I promise, Buzz."
"... you know my name…" Buzz shook his head, like shaking off a bad dream. "How?"
Woody chuckled. "Well that's because we're friends, pal."
He scowled. "You're no friend of mine…"
Woody hoped he wasn't blowing this by being too overly familiar. "You weren't at first," he said. "I'm sure you could have been, but I was uh, well frankly kind of a jerk at the time. I felt… threatened by you, even though I shouldn't have been." A bit awkward to talk about this so openly with Jessie there. Of course they'd told her all about that years ago, but he didn't care much to discuss his former animosity towards Buzz. "Remember, buddy? We ended up at a gas station, then this arcade called 'Pizza Planet'—I'm sure you can guess what they served there—and then the house of horrors that was Sid's house."
Buzz continued to stare at him blankly, suspiciously. Woody fought the urge to tug his bandana. He decided to stay the course of his own idea and continued on. "Somehow, we got out of there in the end, and then we had to chase the moving truck. Remember? Swerving around cars like that, had to have taken at least five years off my life." His nervous chuckle died when he got nothing, absolutely nothing from that icy stare. Shoot…
"But then we ended up using that rocket," he babbled on, "and that alone must've taken another ten years. It was terrifying, but it was also exhilarating to actually be flying. Well, not flying exactly, it was more like falling—"
"—with style," Buzz breathed, eyes widening. Slowly, slowly, he dropped his fighting stance. "... Woody?"
There he is.
While Woody wanted nothing more than to cheer and rush over and express his relief, he wagered sudden movements still wouldn't be well-received. Besides, just because he recalled his name didn't imply Buzz was completely back to his normal self. Thankfully, Jessie seemed to get that too, as she made no move to tackle him in one of her signature bear hugs. He smiled. "Yeah, it's me. And Jessie." Moving slowly, he gestured to her.
"Jessie," Buzz mumbled.
"Yep, that's me," Jessie said with a small smile. She gave a hesitant wave. "Howdy, Buzz."
He didn't respond, but he didn't freak out either, so that was progress at least. But his eyes were darting between them and he looked ready to flee at a moment's notice—they still needed to step carefully here. Simple sentences, repeating information, were the ways to go.
"All right, so you know it's just us now," Woody stated, "your friends, Woody and Jessie. You trust us, right?"
Buzz cocked his head. He nodded slowly.
He smiled. "Okay, good, that's good. So since you trust us, you know that when we tell you we're all perfectly safe that it must be true. We're in Bonnie's room and we're safe." Woody hesitated. "You remember Bonnie, right? Our kid?"
"Our owner," Buzz mumbled, staring down at the mattress, "because we're toys…"
It took everything in him not to burst with giddy assent and startle his friend. Instead, Woody simply flashed him a thumbs-up. "You got it, pal. We're toys. You're an action figure who takes batteries. They needed changing today. That's why your back compartment was open."
Buzz didn't react; he didn't even look up. It made him antsy. "Okay?" Woody prompted. "Does any of that ring a bell, buddy?"
"Bonnie opened me," he said. "That's why it's…"
It was disconcerting to hear his normally articulate friend echo basic sentences back at them, nearly slurring his words. They had calmed him down, to a degree, but his mood could change any second. They needed to get that other battery into his back.
"Right," Woody nodded. "Bonnie did that. She was halfway through replacing both batteries when she got called away. You've only got one in you, which is probably why you feel a little off, yeah?"
Another slow nod.
Okay, they almost had him… "So here's what we're gonna do," Woody continued. "We're just gonna open your battery compartment again, and then—"
"No!"
The word exploded into the lull, making them jump. All their hard-earned peace vanished in a second: Buzz looked absolutely wild, eyes wide and darting, hands raised in self-defence, boots stumbling back in a panicked scramble. The distrustful glare he levelled at him, a far cry from the warm, friendly blue eyes he normally received, was a pinprick in his cotton chest. "You're not going to touch me," Buzz growled, low and raspy and nothing like himself, "no one's going to touch me again."
Jessie looked on the verge of impossible tears. None of this was right. Woody swallowed. He raised his hands, slowly, no sudden movements. "Easy, pal," he tried to soothe. "Just take it easy. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have worded it like that. I shouldn't assume things without your input. No one's gonna force you to do anything you don't want to, okay?"
The glare continued to pierce into him. Shoot he hoped he hadn't just destroyed his trust completely. "He means it," Jessie spoke up, to his surprise. "Ain't no one gonna force you to do anything and if they try, we'll give them what they got comin'."
Jessie's typical brand of support raised his spirits. Woody smiled. "See? You know that if Jessie means business, then you've got nothing to worry about."
Buzz squinted at them. He didn't look entirely convinced, but he did lower his fists. Progress was progress. "… you're not… going to force me," he murmured. It wasn't the doubt in his tone that pained Woody deep in his voice box—it was the hint of hope. The sincere need to trust despite his reservations, the desire to believe another even as his past experiences had given him no foundation to do so. The fact he was only barely extending his closest friends the grace of his trust.
I hope that bear is still strapped to the front of that truck, Woody seethed.
"No," he said softly. "We're not." He hesitated. "But I am going to make a suggestion you can take or leave. It's completely up to you."
He didn't want to continue pushing this so quickly, but the truth was they were on a timer of an unknown countdown. Bonnie would be back eventually, expecting her space toy right where she left him, exactly how she left him. And Buzz was unstable; the longer he remained this way, the higher the chances he would do something rash like run off. He needed to get through to him again, just as he had before.
Still suspicious, Buzz bluntly asked, "What?"
"I know you're confused," Woody spoke, hushed with sympathy, "and I know your head probably feels all messed up right now. I know you don't want to feel that way anymore, do you?"
"… no."
"Exactly. Who would?" he chuckled. "The thing is, there's a way to fix that. Now, you don't have to accept it—no one's gonna force you here. The choice is entirely yours. But I promise you that if you do give it a go, you're gonna feel a lot better guaranteed."
Buzz swallowed. "… the battery," he muttered. "You want to… Y-You'll make me—"
"No," Woody emphasized, staring into his eyes with burning conviction. "Neither of us will ever make you do this. This is your decision all the way." He softened. "I'd just like you to hear my idea out before you decide. Could you do that for me, Buzz?"
Blue eyes bored into him, dissected him, tried to pick him apart. Maybe Woody was just seeing what he wanted, but he swore he saw the steel of his gaze temper with trust. At last he nodded.
"Okay, it's simple," he said. "All we gotta do is get that battery—" He pointed just beyond his friend to the power cell, the unassuming answer to their problem. "Into your battery pack. That's it." Buzz was already tensing up again, so he rushed to reassure him. "But, it's up to you whether we do or not. We're not gonna force you, we promise."
He could see the faint tremors along his hitched shoulders, the indecisive clenching of his fingers. Shoot, he was really afraid, wasn't he? "You don't have to agree to this," Woody repeated, just to make sure he absolutely got it. "But if you do, you won't have to do it alone. We'll help you; I don't think you can reach around to put the battery in by yourself." Maybe if he were himself, but when he was so shaky on his feet… "Either me or Jessie can do it. It'll only take a couple seconds and that's it, you'll be good to go again."
"... just you and Jessie?" Buzz inquired in a painfully uncharacteristic, timorous voice. "No one else…?"
He shared another glance of concern with Jessie, then looked back at his friend and nodded. "No one else. Just us, your friends. We'll make sure no one interferes."
The following silence felt so tense Woody desperately wished to break it, but he held his tongue. They couldn't rush this—they needed to give Buzz time to think. And thinking he appeared to be, staring intensely at the floor, at Jessie, at himself, eyes never resting on one for long, biting his lip, drumming his fingers on the sides of his legs. He wondered just what was going through his friend's head right now. Usually he could hazard a guess, but in this frazzled mental state who knew what he was thinking. All he knew was that Buzz was suddenly apprehensive about them. He didn't like it.
After what felt like an eternity, Buzz spoke. "... okay. Just—just you two." Quiet, uncertain, but agreement all the same.
Jessie made a brief squeak of excitement next to him she promptly stifled, but Woody couldn't really blame her. Relief warmed every cotton thread in his body. He grinned. "You got it, pal. Leave everything to us. Now, who do you want to do the task?"
Another long pause. "Jessie," he mumbled.
Jessie perked right back up from her stifled elation, bouncing in place. "I'm on it!" She dashed forward, then stumbled to a slower walk when Buzz startled. "Eheh… sorry 'bout that."
Woody almost slapped his forehead. The situation was precarious enough without the theatrics. Though he understood her enthusiasm well…
More gingerly, Jessie walked forward. Despite allowing them to help, Buzz still backed up as she approached, making sure to keep his front side to her; Woody could see the poorly concealed hurt on her face. She bent to retrieve the lone battery. As she stood up and turned towards him, Buzz tensed again. His head snapped in Woody's direction, giving him such a lost, frightened look that he was spurred into action before he realized he'd started walking at all.
"Hey hey, there's no need to worry, pal," he soothed, coming to stand by his side. Out of habit he raised a hand to place on his shoulder, but stopped himself. Who knew how he would react? It felt strange to have to treat his friend with such caution. "We're practically done here. You just gotta turn around, and Jessie will have this battery in ya in no time."
Buzz looked up at him, wide-eyed. Woody gave him his warmest smile. "It's okay. Take your time."
For several long, agonizing seconds, Buzz simply stood there glancing between them holding his breath, boots twitching as if to flee. It reminded Woody of a skittish deer in waiting, an unnerving comparison to make when the one being compared was his best friend. Finally, Buzz turned towards him fully, exposing his back to Jessie.
"All right," Woody intoned, daring a step closer. "You ready?"
Eyes clenched shut like he was expecting a strike, Buzz nodded rapidly.
Woody looked at Jessie and jerked his head to indicate she approach. "Okay, Jessie is behind you now. She's going to open your battery compartment. Just relax…"
When Buzz made no indication of further distress, Woody nodded her on. She raised her free hand and grasped a top corner of his wing pack. And that's when the fragile peace shattered.
Eyes shooting open, Buzz started forward into his chest. His hand shot out to grab Woody's arm in a shaking vice grip, catching him off-guard. His breathing syncopated into gasping staccatos. "Lotso…?" he whispered.
The two Western toys froze. Looking down at his friend, Woody's eyes widened. If he had a heart, he was sure it would be pounding in his chest at the same time it was breaking. He'd never heard such fear in Buzz's voice—the fact he could even sound so afraid was frightening in itself. This wasn't right, none of this was right. Jessie stared at him with equally large eyes.
Dang it Woody, get a grip, your friend needs you right now!
Swallowing down his own emotions, Woody gently rested his hand on the back of Buzz's head. He could feel the tremors running up and down his body. Taking a deep breath, he chose his words very carefully. "No," he intoned, "no, not Lotso. I promise he's not here, all right? It's okay. That was just Jessie, our friend. Remember? We're helping you put a battery in. Everything's fine."
Breaths slowing, Buzz mumbled, "Woody…?"
Woody smiled, though he felt like doing anything but. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here, Buzz." He held his head closer to his chest, trying to ground him with the pressure. "Just close your eyes. Jessie will be done in a couple seconds. I'm right here with you." He met eyes with her again and nodded urgently. Now, when he had him slightly calmed down. Biting her lip, Jessie once again grasped his wing pack.
The second she touched him, Buzz started breathing faster again, body rigid, hand squeezing his arm so hard it was starting to hurt, but Woody didn't care. "Easy, easy," he hushed, "almost done, you're almost done…"
"Scared," he whispered.
Woody swallowed thickly. "You don't have to be," he assured him. "You know me and Jessie wouldn't let anything happen to you while we're around, right?"
He nodded; at least there was that. Then he pressed his face harder into his cotton and said something. Woody ducked his head closer. "What was that, buddy?"
"Soft," Buzz murmured.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He saw Jessie's lips twitch. "Am I?" he asked with a twinge of that than fear, he supposed.
"Mm."
With a soft click, Jessie snapped the battery in, sending a faint rattle though his plastic frame, and closed his back compartment. Woody heard Buzz inhale sharply, but resisted the desire to check on him right away, figuring he'd need a second. Jessie took a step back. They shared another understanding look. Sometimes they could read each other so quickly he wondered if they had some weird link from their shared toy line, but that was absurd.
The first change Woody noticed was the loosening grip around his forearm. Then came the gradual relaxing of his tense posture. He could feel the slowing of his breaths tickling his chest. Still he waited, giving him all the time he needed to reorient himself—hoping that's what he was doing, anyway. If he didn't return to his normal state of mind, Woody didn't know what they'd do. Help him, of course, that went without saying. He was grateful none of the toys down below had yet to call up and shatter this fragile peace. He kept his hand on the back of his head.
At last, movement. Hand loosely grasping his arm, Buzz raised his head, blinking hard. He still looked dazed, but Woody absolutely saw an improvement; this seemed more the disorientation of one coming from a deep sleep than someone lost in total confusion. His eyes moved back and forth several times, left-right-left, reminding him of a rebooting automaton.
Now that his friend seemed less volatile, Woody decided to try his luck. "Buzz?" he prompted.
The eyes stopped their waking REM cycle to trail upwards. The blue hues that looked at him were still a bit hazy, but finally Woody could see his friend again in them. "... Woody?"
And in that voice he could hear his friend again. Immensely relieved, Woody beamed. "Hey, pal."
He squinted. He seemed to have finally realized the odd position they were in—so close together they were practically hugging—as did Woody. He removed the hand still resting against the back of his head. "What…?" Buzz mumbled.
"Buzz?"
At Jessie's voice he spun around. Woody noted how much steadier he looked on his feet. Jessie stared at her friend with wide, worried eyes. "Jessie?" Buzz questioned.
"Buzz?" she repeated, nervously wringing her hands. "Is it really you now?"
"I… think so?" he stammered. "What's the matter, Jessie?"
"Oh, Buzz!" Springing forward, Jessie threw her arms around him and nearly knocked him off his feet. "Thank goodness! You scared the daylights outta us!"
Buzz floundered, arms wavering in the air. "Eh? Huh? Scared?"
Woody laid a hand on his shoulder. "What do you remember, Buzz?"
He furrowed his brow. "Remember…?" There was a hint of panic in his eyes; anything having to do with memory loss seemed to set him on edge. "What do you mean? What happened? What did I—"
"Buzz!" Jessie exclaimed, squeezing him so tight she lifted him off his feet. "Calm down! You didn't do anything!"
"But—"
"Honest, partner," Woody cut in, "you didn't do anything, you didn't hurt anyone." Of course he knew his friend's biggest concern. "We promise. You—Jessie, could ya put him down already?"
Jessie harrumphed maturely but obliged. Buzz turned to face him with a tense expression. "Tell me what happened," he said tersely. Not a question—a command.
"All right," he acquiesced. "Your batteries were low and needed to be replaced. Bonnie decided she wanted to change them herself."
"Right," Buzz nodded. "I remember that. Then what happened?"
"Well, Bonnie was doing it," he continued, irritation leaking into his tone. Honestly, it had been just their luck. "—until she got called away in the middle of it, leaving you with only one new battery in your back. Jessie and I climbed up here to come check on you, and then…"
He faltered at Buzz's sudden look of contemplation. "And then," he muttered to himself, closing his eyes, "then…" His eyes shot open, the moment of realization unfolding in his mortified gaze. "Oh no."
Woody tried to do some damage control in advance. He held his hands up. "Now Buzz, there's no need to freak out or anything—"
"No need?" Buzz snapped. That glare hit a lot harder knowing he was back in his right mind. "I'm missing one battery and I just totally lose my head, think I'm some space ranger—" He practically spat the words. "Panic because my battery compartment is open, threaten you both, and just—make a complete fool of myself, and—" Grimacing, he jerked his head away.
It wasn't often they heard Buzz Lightyear disparaging himself. Woody didn't care for it. "Buzz," he said, reaching out but not touching him.
Shoulders slumping, Buzz sighed, staring at the ground. "Thanks for your assistance," he mumbled, "but you two have had to deal with enough of my nonsense for one day. So go back down to the others. I'll wait up here until Bonnie returns."
There was disbelieving silence for a moment. Jessie set her hands on her hips. "Now Buzz Lightyear, you listen here," she huffed. "Ain't no way you actually believe we're gonna head off and leave you all on your lonesome."
"But there's no need to—"
Now Woody did touch him when he reached out, clasping his shoulder. "Come on, Buzz, you know we don't stick with you because we need to." He shook him. "It's because we want to. We're your friends. Of course we're gonna be there for you."
"That's right!" Jessie chirped. "Besides, you've helped me with my 'nonsense' plenty 'a times. Why wouldn't I help you with yours?"
"But yours isn't nonsense," Buzz said, frowning slightly. "You were stuck in storage for decades, of course you'd have a phobia!"
Jessie pointed at him. "And you got ambushed, restrained, and turned against your friends. Of course you've got some issues around your battery area now!"
Buzz winced. Blunt but accurate, in typical Jessie fashion. "But I at least should be able to recognize you both right away," he sighed. "Instead I attacked you."
"Buzz, you only 'attacked' us with your blinker!" Woody protested.
"That doesn't matter!" Buzz growled. "I thought it was real! What if it had been an actual weapon?"
"But it wasn't," he insisted, leaning closer. "It wasn't." He softened, looking down at his friend with compassionate eyes."Buzz, you can't keep being afraid of yourself. You're not a threat; no one here sees you as one."
Buzz averted his gaze to the floor. "... well maybe they should," he muttered.
"Well we're not," Jessie said heatedly, a catch in her voice. The glare she mustered quickly faltered, and she threw her arms around him once again. "And we're not ever gonna—not now, not ever. We'll keep knockin' some sense into ya as many times as we have to."
"But you shouldn't have to."
Woody squeezed his shoulder. "It's like I said: 'having to' has got nothing to do with it. We help because we want to. Because we care about you."
"Woody…"
"Come on, Buzz," he grinned. "You didn't think all that to infinity and beyond stuff was just for show, did you?"
Buzz swallowed. "You two…"
"Bring 'er here, partner." He added his own long arms to the hug.
A moment later, Buzz wrapped an arm around each of them and made it a proper group hug. He bowed his head, seemingly overcome with emotion, before he spoke again, soft and sincerely. "... thank you both. For everything." He bit his lip. "But Bonnie will be back soon. She'll be expecting... I'll have to..."
Woody nodded. "Right. We'll have to help you remove the battery again when she does."
He took a shaky breath. "Yeah..."
Jessie squeezed him tighter between them. "But we're gonna stay right here until we hear that door," she promised. "You ain't got nothin' to worry about, Buzz."
He chuckled weakly. "I do. But so long as I've got you two around, I know I can worry a little less."