2DRIFTERS, OUTCASTS AND WANDERERS
Legal crap: This is an unofficial work, and I do not obviously own the Toy Story franchise, nor do I have the funds or legal muscle to buy them off Disney and/or Pixar. But whatever.
Set five years after the events of Toy Story 4, Bo, Woody and the others muse about what had happened to them since striking out on their own, away from children. And they meet a familiar friend along the way.
It's been quite a while since they last had a child to call them their own. Something drove them into a bigger adventure than their owners could even imagine, much less witness first-hand. Bo Peep was one of those who deviated from the usual role of a toy, choosing to go out and take her chances. She didn't mind having chipped, scratched or snapped broken on one of her appendages; as long as she isn't just sitting ducks with her sheep it's all fine and dandy for a free spirit like her.
"I guess we were lucky," Bo Peep sighed, "Twenty or so years and still kicking it for me,"
"Sixty in my case," Woody added.
"Oh Woodrow, you still don't look a day older," the shepherdess complimented. Woody blushed, having not being referred to by his full name in a while.
"So, uh, what are we going to get ourselves into then?" asked Duke Caboom. "Rescuing dolls? Or the likes of Ducky getting stuck up a tree?"
"Hey, snap out of it man," Ducky retorted, not being pleased by the idea of him and his comrade being stuck in a precarious place.
"Nothing that our friendly neighborhood Canadian can't do," Giggle McDimples praised, giving Duke a high-five.
"Well, I guess we all gotta help each other and enjoy all what this place has to offer," mused Woody, "Though to be honest I still couldn't grasp the fact that we are in fact a ragtag band of misfits,"
"Wanderers," added Giggle.
"Outcasts," ditto Duke.
"And adventurers!" Ducky and Bunny chorused.
"But hey, if it worked for humans, I don't see how it won't work for us, right?" assured Bo. The gang had been moving from place to place over the course of five years ever since Woody joined the fray. It's been quite a while since Woodrow Pride, a pullstring cowboy and the leader of a band of toys who had been through thick and thin since Andy's childhood, went on from being Bonnie's plaything and bid farewell to his old gang.
"That being said, children need us. We weren't just made for nothing," lamented Woody. "We're playthings to begin with. We exist to entertain, to give them comfort. For them to learn,"
"I guess you were right," said Bo. "But would it hurt to do more than just that? Or to give ourselves a much-needed break from it all? One where we can all have the time to ourselves after we get past our prime? Sure is a better sentence than be in a landfill or worse,"
"And I do miss Buzz," Woody exclaimed, "He's like a brother to me. Always,"
"I know Woody, I know," assured Bo as she gave the cowboy a pat on his shoulder. Duke, Giggle and the two plush toys followed suit.
As they wandered along during the break of dawn, they noticed a familiar figure along an alleyway. Walking around in a rather stilted gait which rang a bell on Woody's mind. "Could it be Gabby?" Woody wondered. He couldn't believe that the redheaded doll they initially had a chagrined relationship with wandered on her own after all those years.
"Why it isn't my dear old Gabrielle!" Woody exclaimed.
"W-Woody?" the doll asked, astonished at what she heard.
"Gabby?" Woody asked as well.
"Oh, Woody! I'm so glad to see you again!" Gabby rushed her way towards the gang and gave her old friends a bear hug, having missed them in such a long time. "What brings you here?"
"Well, I should ask you the same question," replied Bo. "Like, did Amy give up on you or something?"
"No, it's not that," said Gabby, "And it's not like I have any sort of bitterness towards her either. I mean, we're bound to be given up by our owners after they outgrow us and move on,"
"Pretty much so," said Duke, "And it still pains me that I didn't live up to Réjean's expectations either,"
"But you made us all proud," Gabby complimented.
"Merci beaucoup," thanked Duke tearfully, "You made a proud Canadian even more proud!"
"So, what brought you here Gab?" asked Giggle.
"Long story short, Amy moved on and went to middle school," recalled Gabby, "Not that she'd betray me like Harmony or anything, she just went over the phase and boxed us away,"
"I see,"
"I didn't want to leave her other playthings behind, but I wanted to go out on my own and see what it's like outside like you guys," Gabby added. "I feel bad for Benson too,"
"Oh you mean those creeps," joked Bo.
"Shut it, you," Gabby chirped, though not offended. "Seriously though, I felt as if I betrayed them by using them all along and leaving them all behind,"
"Aww, it's OK dear, don't blame yourself," assured Bo. "I'm sure we'll meet with them again soon,"
"Thanks guys,"
"No problem, Gab," replied the gang.
"I know there are other kids who would want to play with me, but I felt I need to return the favor to you guys for saving me from sixty years of misery,"
"It's nothing Gab, we only did our best," Woody assured. "As long as you could help us care for fellow toys like us, we'd vouch for you,"
"Which reminds me..." Gabby recalled, "Do you guys ever wish we were more than just toys? More than just mere playthings for kids to enjoy?"
"I dunno, Gabby, we're pretty content as to who we are right now," sighed Bo.
"I mean, do you ever wish you were, like, human?"
"Well, we look like humans, only much much smaller," yapped Bunny. "Oh, wait..."
Gabby laughed at the ridiculousness of a stuffed animal like Bunny saying he looks like a human, even though it's very much the contrary. The other toys chuckled in unison.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Bunny asked.
"It's the fact that you two plushie boys are quite a comic relief with us," Duke remarked, "Even the very sight of you two would give us quite a laugh,"
"So... Where was I? Oh yeah," Gabby continued, "I just wonder what it would be like to be just like them,"
"Me too, to be honest, but I'm certain it won't be easy," Bo replied, "It ain't easy being a toy but it sure as hell is just as carefree as you could imagine,"
"Amen to that," the plushies agreed.
"And don't worry about the Bensons either," Bo assured, "We'll look after those guys for you. And maybe they could join our team,"
"Wouldn't they be a burden to you?" Gabby wondered, "After all we did to you guys before and all..."
"No worries," Woody replied, "Though to be honest this skunk-mobile's too cramped to fit all of us,"
"Heh," Gabby smiled, "I guess Woody's right, there's more to life than just Harmony. And Amy for that matter,"
A/N: This is my first Toy Story fic, and my first fanfic in quite a while since writing a one-shot for Annie. I dunno if I'd be able to follow this up with a sequel, but I couldn't resist doing a short epilogue with Bo's gang of nomadic toys meeting an old friend of theirs from the antique store. Gabby sure seems rather underappreciated and all-even some Toy Story villains do get a lot of merch yet stuff inspired by the doll only comes up infrequently.
