Toy Story 3 (3 page)

A
t that moment, Bonnie was sleeping peacefully in her bed. All her toys were tucked in beside her. Woody slipped out of bed and over to her backpack. Bonnie’s address was written on the name tag.

“Twelve Twenty-five Sycamore!” Woody murmured.

“Pssst!” Mr. Pricklepants called from the bed. “Woody! What’re you doing?”

“I gotta get out of here!” Woody replied.

The toys looked astonished. “Didn’t you have fun today?” Buttercup asked.

“Oh, of course I did! More than I’ve had in years. But, you see, I belong to someone else.” Woody showed them Andy’s name written on the bottom of his boot. “He’s my Bonnie, and he’s leaving soon. I’ve got to get home!”

“Where’s home?” asked one of the peas in a plush pea pod toy.

“Elm Street. Two Thirty-four Elm.” Woody thought for a moment. “You guys have a map?”

Meanwhile, back at Sunnyside, Buzz was tied to a chair. Ken, Big Baby, and the other toys had taken him to a utility closet.

“I demand to talk to Lotso,” Buzz boomed.

“Zip it, Buck Rogers!” Ken snapped. “You don’t talk to Lotso till we say you can.”

Just then, the door flew open. Lotso was standing there, clearly shocked. “Ken? Why is this toy tied up?”

“Uh . . . he—he—” Ken stammered. “He got out, Lotso!”

“Got out? Oh, no! This isn’t how we treat our guests!” Lotso closed the door. He walked over to Buzz and started untying him. “There you go. I’m so sorry.”

Buzz glared at Ken, then turned to the pink bear. “Lotso, there’s been a mistake. The children in the Caterpillar Room are not age-appropriate for me and my friends,” Buzz explained. “We respectfully request a transfer to the Butterfly Room.”

Lotso beamed. “Well, request granted!”

“But, Lotso—” Ken protested.

“Hush now, Kenneth!” Lotso said. “This toy’s shown initiative! Leadership! Why, I’d say we found ourselves a keeper! Hear that, everyone? We got a keeper!”

“Excellent!” Buzz grinned. “I’ll go get my friends.”

He started off, but Lotso stood in his way. “Whoa, whoa . . . Hold on there, boss! Those Caterpillar kids need
someone
to play with!”

Buzz’s face fell. “But my friends don’t belong there!”

“Oh, none of us do!” Lotso nodded. “I agree! Which is why—for the good of our community—we ask the newer toys, the stronger ones, to take on the hardships the rest of us can’t bear anymore.”

Buzz frowned, wondering what to do. “Well, I guess that makes sense. But I can’t accept.” If the others were stuck in the Caterpillar Room, he would not abandon them. “We’re a family—we stay together.”

Lotso’s smile faded. “Family man, eh? I understand.” His eyes narrowed. He nodded sharply to Big Baby. “Put him back in the time-out chair.”

The giant baby doll grabbed Buzz and pinned the space ranger to the chair.

“What?” Buzz struggled, but Big Baby was too strong. “Unhand me!”

Lotso turned to Ken. “Bring in the Bookworm.”

Ken let out a whistle. Everyone looked up, toward a rustling sound. The top shelves in the closet were cluttered with toy manuals. Suddenly, an ancient toy bookworm appeared between the booklets. The Bookworm tossed a Buzz Lightyear instruction manual to Lotso.

Lotso flipped it open. “Here we go! ‘Remove screws to access battery compartment,’” he read.

Big Baby and Twitch pushed Buzz to the floor. “What are you doing?” Buzz cried as Sparks the robot opened up his battery compartment.

“‘To return your Buzz Lightyear action figure to its original factory settings,’” Lotso read, “‘slide the switch from Play to Demo.’”

“Stop!” Buzz shouted. He struggled, but Big Baby held him tight. Twitch reached for the switch on Buzz’s back.

“Noooo!” Buzz’s shout echoed down the hall.

“What was that?” Jessie asked. She and her friends in the Caterpillar Room looked at one another. They’d all heard the noise.

“Sounds like it came from the hall!” Hamm said.

Mrs. Potato Head plucked out her eye. “I’ll see what it was!” Holding her eye in one hand, she put it under the door and moved it back and forth. The other toys gathered around her.

Mrs. Potato Head gasped. “I see Andy!”

“What?” Jessie cried.

Mr. Potato Head looked doubtful. “That’s impossible!”

“No, no,” his wife insisted, “I really see him! In his room!” She thought for a moment, wondering how it was possible. “My other eye!” she said. “The one I left behind.”

She squinted, concentrating on the scene in Andy’s room. “Andy’s out in the hall,” she told the toys. “He’s looking in the attic. Wait, why is he so upset?”

Mrs. Potato Head saw Andy talking to his mother. He pointed to the spot right below the attic ladder. It was the place where he’d left the toys. He picked up a trash bag and showed it to his mother.

“Oh, no!” Mrs. Potato Head cried. “Oh, this is terrible!”

She put her eye back in and turned to the other toys. “Andy’s looking for us! I think he
did
mean to put us in the attic!” she said.

“Woody was telling the truth!” Slinky said.

“Guys, we gotta go home!” Jessie declared.

But just then, the bathroom door creaked open. Lotso and his gang sauntered in.

“How are y’all doing this fine evening?” Lotso asked.

“Lotso!” Jessie rushed over to him. “Thank heavens! Have you seen Buzz?” The other toys joined her, crowding around.

“There’s been a mistake!” Mrs. Potato Head explained. “We have to go!”

“Go?” Lotso looked surprised. “Why, you just got here! In the nick of time, too! We were runnin’ low on volunteers for the little ones!” He smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile at all. “They just love new toys.”

“Love?” Mr. Potato Head said with a scowl. “We’ve been chewed! Kicked! Drooled on!”

“Just look at my pocketbook!” Mrs. Potato Head held it out. The purse was covered in tooth marks.

Lotso put his face close to hers. “Here’s the thing, Sweet Potato—you ain’t leavin’ Sunnyside.”

“Sweet Potato?” Mrs. Potato Head huffed. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I have over thirty accessories and I deserve more respec—” Lotso plucked off her mouth, silencing her.

“Hey! No one takes my wife’s mouth! Except me!” Mr. Potato Head exclaimed as he tried to grab the mouth back. “Give it back, you furry air freshener!”

“Come on, guys,” Jessie said angrily, “we’re going home.” She started for the door.

“Whoa there, missy!” Lotso called after her. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jessie snapped. “And who’s gonna stop us?” She turned to leave and ran smack into Buzz.

“Buzz!” Rex cheered. “You’re back!” He ran to give Buzz a hug.

But when Buzz saw Rex running toward him, he struck a ninja pose. He leaped up, spinning and kicking. He knocked all of Andy’s toys’ legs out from under them. “Prisoners disabled, Commander Lotso!” Buzz said, snapping a salute.

“Buzz, what are you doing?” Jessie demanded.

Buzz wheeled on her. “Silence, minions of Zurg! You’re in the custody of the Galactic Alliance!”

Andy’s toys exchanged worried looks.
Zurg? Galactic Alliance?
Something was wrong with Buzz. He thought he was really a space ranger!

“Good work, Lightyear.” Lotso patted Buzz on the back. “Now lock ’em up!”

“Yes, sir!” Buzz helped Lotso’s gang herd the toys to a set of wire-mesh cubbies. They shoved them inside.

“Buzz?” Jessie reached a hand through the wire mesh. She put it on his shoulder. “We’re your friends!”

“Spare me your lies, temptress!” Buzz said, shoving her hand away.

“Keep your paws off my wife!” Mr. Potato Head shouted as Big Baby stuffed Mrs. Potato Head into a cubby.

Big Baby grabbed Mr. Potato Head. “Hey, what are you doing? Let go of me, you drooling doofus!” cried the spud.

“I think this potato needs to learn himself some manners! Take him to the Box,” Lotso told Big Baby.

As Big Baby carried Mr. Potato Head out to the playground, Barbie stepped into the classroom. “Ken? What’s going on?” she asked. “What’re you doing to my friends?” She looked over at the cubbies. Twitch and Chunk were laughing as they shoved the Aliens inside. Barbie was shocked.

“We’re through!” she snapped at Ken. She stormed off toward the cubbies. Twitch locked her up with the others.

“Lightyear!” Lotso commanded. “Explain our overnight accommodations.”

“Sir! Yes, sir!” Buzz saluted. “Prisoners sleep in their cells! Any prisoner caught outside their cell spends the night in the Box! Roll call at dusk and dawn! Any prisoner misses roll call spends the night in the Box! Prisoners don’t speak unless spoken to! Any prisoner talks back spends the night—”

“. . . in the Box,” Jessie growled. “We get it.”

Buzz whipped around to face her.

Lotso put a hand on his shoulder. “At ease, soldier!” He climbed to the top of a pile of blocks. “Listen up, folks. We got a way of doing things here at Sunnyside! If you start at the bottom and pay your dues, life here can be a dream come true! But if you break our rules, step out of line, try to check out early, well . . .” He tossed something toward them. It skidded across the floor and came to a stop right outside Jessie’s cubby.

Andy’s toys gasped. It was Woody’s hat!

Jessie glared at Lotso. “What did you do to him?”

“Y’all get a good night’s rest!” Lotso said, smiling, as he settled into the back of his truck. “You got a full day of playtime tomorrow!”

He and his gang started to laugh as they drove away. Andy’s toys could hear Lotso laughing all the way back to the Butterfly Room.