Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

charges. That's all over now.
    We drove the bad toys out, and then searched the town for survivors, but there
    were none. The bad toys had been very thorough. So we gathered up the bodies, and buried them here, in the town. We gave them the best funeral services we could, but there were no books, so we had to make most of it up ourselves. We all cried when the last human was laid to rest, and then we set about cleaning up the town. We washed away the blood and repaired all the damage we could. And we all swore an oath that we would die to the last toy before we would ever let a human come to harm here again, or let the bad toys have this town again. Since then we have defended Toystown and kept it alive, all in the hope that some day the humans would come back. And you have. This is your town, my friends, every brick and stone of it. What do you think of it?"
    The humans looked at the brightly colored houses, and the huge station, with its flags and bunting, and then looked at each other.
    "Well," said Evangeline. "It's… very…"
    "Yes," said Finlay. "It is. Very."
    "I've never seen anything like it," said Toby.
    "It's very pretty," Flynn said firmly. "Quite charming."
    Bruin Bear frowned. "You don't like it. What's wrong with it? You built it. I mean, people like you built it, and came to live in it."
    "This is a place where people came to be children again," said Julian. "To be innocent and free from all troubles, in a place that would remind them only of their younger days, when things were bright and colorful and uncomplicated. But I fear my friends and I have lost the ability to be children again. We gave it up, or had it taken from us, long ago. We had to be adults, to do what was necessary, and there's no room in us for children anymore."
    "I'm so sorry," said Bruin Bear. "It must have been awful for you."

    "Yes," said Julian. "It was."
    "Perhaps here you can rediscover the child within you," said the Sea Goat.
    "You'll be safe here. We'll protect you."
    They left the last of the barbed wire behind, and Edwin the train chuffed importantly down the tracks toward the great oversize platform, decorated with so many flags, streamers, ribbons, and bunting that it was a wonder the station didn't collapse under the weight of it all. A large sign had the name of the station, Care's End. There were crowds of toys on the platform, packed shoulder to shoulder, and they all raised a loud cheer as the train pulled into the station. Two brass bands began playing different tunes of welcome, got confused, got lost, started again, and each made a determined effort to sound louder than its rival. They quickly got tired of that, threw down their instruments, and began to pummel each other. They rolled back and forth in little struggling groups, squeezing each other's noses and pulling ears. Other toys picked up the discarded instruments and began an altogether different tune of welcome, but were quickly drowned out by the wild cheering of the crowds as the humans drew near.
    All the humans had some kind of smile by now, even Giles. Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat had stood up in their seats, and were waving triumphantly back at the crowds. There was every kind of toy on the platform, from old standards to the latest fads, all intended for young children. No war toys, no educational toys; nothing dangerous or complicated. They jostled each other for a better view, and laughed and waved and cheered, and the humans began to laugh and wave back. They couldn't help themselves.
    There were fat furry animals of all shapes and sizes. Some based on real species, some that could never have existed in any real world. There were dolls
    in costumes, all kinds, with painted faces and bright smiles. Cowboys and Indians standing happily together. Cartoony characters, bouncing up and down with excitement. All of them so happy to see humans again that they could hardly stand it. Finlay smiled and waved, but kept his other hand near his gun. It was toys like these that had risen up and slaughtered their human masters in one dark night of blood and vengeance. He couldn't help wondering if these bright smiles had been the last thing some humans saw just before they died. And if such suspicions meant he didn't have a child within anymore, well, he could live with that. Finlay Campbell had learned the hard way not to trust anyone anymore.
    The train finally came to a halt in a cloud of steam. The raucous welcome died away as the steam slowly dispersed,