The Z Factor - Chap 1

[Ranger Parsec]

The Z Factor
by Joy

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters featured here. All characters, shows, movies, and every other thing I haven't thought of myself is copyright of Pixar/Disney. Occasional exerpts (should they pop up anywhere) from the BLofSC episodes "Wirewolf" and "Revenge of the Monsters" are entirely taken from the context of the show and are copyright of Pixar/Disney as well.

This story and ideas behind it, however, are entirely copyright of me. Do not redistribute, copy, or use in any way without my expressed consent.

Comments and reviews are always welcome. So are constructive critisisms, because they help me improve. So feel free to let me know what you think! My chapters are normally quite long, as most of you know, so I'll just make a new post for each chapter as I finish them and that'll leave a space after it dedicated to reviews and whatever.

(Oh yeah, and this is supposed to be an "alternate ending" to M.I. Something a little different and interesting, but with the same basic idea. I bet you'll see similarities.)

**************************************

Chapter One - A Whole New World

"And heeeeee's outta here!!" Mike Wazowski declared as his buddy tossed Randall out the door.

Those were the last words Randall Boggs ever heard from them before the door slammed shut behind him. He slowly got up from the cold, stone floor he found himself on and looked around. His fronds ached as well as his head and various other body parts from his previous ordeal, but he knew he needed to see where he had been sent.

His head throbbed as he surveyed the quiet hush of the room. It was large, ancient-looking even. One would be surprised to see any sort of closet in this place, but still, there he was. It sort of reminded Randall of an Aztec poster he'd seen on one kid's wall before. Through the window, he could see vines climbing up the outside of the complex and alot of swampland in the distance. It didn't look like anywhere he had been before.

"Where in the heck did Wazowski and Sullivan send me anyways??" Randall finally spat out, holding his head as the outburst jabbed his skull with pain.

He winced and slunk to the floor on all eights, mumbling to himself. Perhaps he'd try the door again. Yeah. That might work. After a few moments, he dragged himself to his feet once again and turned around to face the old, Aztec-ish door. He opened it and braced himself for what might be behind it.

Just as he thought. Nothing, but an empty storage vault.

His fronds drooped to the side at this realization - the horrible realization that he was stuck in the human world. Who knew where he was now? Then again, no one probably cared either. No one ever did.

Randall half-heartedly closed the door behind him and dropped to the floor again. No one would ever come looking for him; he knew that much. At least there are no humans here, he thought. But that seemed to be the only thing he had going for him. He lay on the ground for only a few short moments, when footsteps caught his ear. His fronds perked up and turned his head in the direction of the door.

Two large shadows, lit against torch light, played on the wall just down the hall.

Randall's eyes widened and he frantically looked around the room for a safe hiding place. There seemed to be nothing.

Unfortunately, the footsteps weren't getting any farther away. In fact, just the opposite. They were coming straight for him!

The reptillian monster's eyes widened. Thinking quickly, he slithered up the wall, onto the ceiling, and camouflaged himself with the old stone. It had been just in time, because two huge stone-men had just entered the room. They looked as though they had been made of stiff, carved stone, however appearances could be decieving. They were, in fact, quite limber creatures. . .Whatever they were. Sorta like big moving statues.

"I thought I heard something in here," one said in a booming voice that matched his size and stature.

"I thought I SAW something in here," another agreed.

Randall held his breath as they began to comb the room. These guys were HUGE, though he wasn't quite sure what to make of them. Were they humans, or monsters, or. . .something else? He had never seen such wierd beings. However, he just had a hunch that these creatures were not friendly. The purple lizard-monster figured it was best to keep his distance and hope they didn't find him.

If they did? Well then, they'd have quite a fight on their hands. He wasn't going down without, first, having a say in the matter.

For now, though, they didn't seem to have spotted him. He crawled onto another part of the ceiling, just so he could get a better look at the biggest one, but the stone suddenly gave way. Despite his best efforts to grab onto another one, he fell on top of the stone man with a loud crash.

The stone man's companion ran over to assist his friend.

Once the small cloud of dust settled, the stone man threw the block of stone off of himself and looked back to see Randall. He was sprawled out on the floor nearby, coughing on the dust and waving it out of his face. Once he got done coughing long enough to look up, he came face to face with the two angry stone men. He gulped back a feeling of uncertainty.

"There it is!" the tall one said, pointing.

"We must kill it!" the other said, wielding a club. "It must be one of those bad luck creatures from the legend!"

The first gasped. "You're right, Te'vark!" he said. "We must kill it!"

Randall darted between the two stone creatures and bolted for the door. He dashed on fours down the hallway as the stone men yelled and chased after him. Just as he turned the corner at the end of the hallway, he met up with five more stone men, already coming to aid their friends. Each one was armed with some sort of primative weapon.

The lizard-monster skidded to a stop in front of them and ran the other way. He was hoping against hope that he'd beat the other two before they found him. However, fate wasn't on his side. It seemed it never was. Instead, he came face-to-face, once again, with the first two stone men. The tallest grabbed him with a vice-like grip that reminded Randall too much of Sullivan's, and picked him up.

The monster struggled in their grip, growling fiercely and threatening to tear them limb-from-limb if they tried to pummel him with their clubs. It was a last-ditch effort to get free. He hoped it would work.

"Te'vark, would you like to do the honors?" the taller one offered, holding out the lizard-monster like a grand trophy.

He grinned. "Gladly."

********************

[Ranger Parsec]

In the richardpit of the sleek Star Cruiser 42, sat Buzz Lightyear and Ty Parsec. Both were members of the intergalactic military force, rightly named, the "Space Ranger Corps". And, as Space Rangers, they were assigned to protect the universe. On this particular assignment, they had been sent to investigate evil activities on a swamp-filled planet in the Delta Quadrant.

Ranger Ty Parsec was a tan-skinned - most likely Hispanic - ranger with smoothed-back reddish-brown hair. He was also characteristically, one of the shortest men on the force. Nonetheless, he appeared to be quite athletic and well-built for his size. His most prominent - and distinguishing - feature, however, were his unusually large eyes. In a full, green-and-white ranger enviro-suit, he sat at his consule, typing away at the keyboard.

"Now approaching the planet of the Krnozians," he announced unceremoniously, looking over the screen at his friend.

Captain Buzz Lightyear gave him the thumbs up from his position in the pilot's seat. He was a Causasian male, probably six feet tall, with a large chin, wide shoulders, and a ready smile. He also wore a similar green-and-white enviro-suit to Ty's.

"Roger that, Ranger," Buzz replied, a chipper tone to his voice as he steered the ship towards the green planet.

Ty glanced out to the looming planet below. "Careful with the landing there, Buzz," he warned. "Looks pretty dense."

Buzz flashed him a big grin and chuckled. "Aren't I always?" he inquired. "Relax, buddy. I've got everything under control."

The hispanic ranger did little, but roll his eyes. He liked his partner like a brother, but sometimes his ego could really get in the way of things. Just once, Ty thought it might be nice if Buzz would listen to his opinions instead of doing everything his own way. However, he pushed the annoyance aside and braced himself for the g-forces that would accompany their landing.

It would be a rough one, no doubt.

Star Cruiser 42 broke through the atmosphere and soared over the dense swampland. Gnarled trees stuck out of the muck everywhere you looked and clearings for landing such a large ship were nearly nonexistant. After a moment or two, Buzz had finally decided on a landing spot and brought the ship down.

"Hang on," Buzz warned. "This is gonna be rough."

"No kidding," Ty muttered, under his breath. He hung onto the consule as an added brace.

The ship came a little short of the muddy bank and went straight into the muck nearby. It got stuck fast, creaking as it toppled onto it's side, landing with a muffled "splat". Inside the richardpit, Ty and Buzz sat suspended from their chairs, which had now become the ceiling. Ty glanced at Buzz.

"Nice landing," he joked.

Buzz, oblivious to the underlying sarcasm, just grinned. "Thanks," he said, unbuckling himself. "Not one of my better landings, but it'll do. Now, let's get out and take a look around, shall we?"

Ty shrugged and unbuckled himself, strategically landing on his feet. He then proceeded to follow his commanding officer as they moved out of the ship. They hopped out onto the muddy bank.

Buzz rubbed his chin, scanning the terrain. "Hmm, now I just have to figure out where to start looking."

Already, Ty felt his boots sinking into the ground. He looked down and made a face. He was knee-deep in the mud. "Uh, well, I think it would be anywhere but here," he replied. "The mud in this spot is like quicksand. . .A highly undesirable outpost for evil, if you ask me."

Buzz looked down at his own legs and nodded. "Well, yes, I suppose we should try somewhere else," he agreed, struggling to wade through the sticky muck. "Just follow me. I think I remember where that Krnozian tribe's villiage is."

"Yeah, sure," Ty laughed, struggling with the mud himself. "If I ever get outta this mud. . .But what are we gonna do about 42?"

"I'll get inside later and use the grappling hook," Buzz replied, holding out a hand to help Ty to solid ground. "We'll just tow it out ourselves."

After awhile, the two had finally made it out of the thick swamp and onto some solid, moss-covered ground. Ty sat on a stump and shook as much mud off his ranger suit as he could as Buzz stood nearby, taking a look at his wrist com to check thair coordinates. Night was beginning to fall over the planet, so they wouldn't have long before it became hard to travel by foot.

"So?" Ty prompted after a long silence.

Buzz glanced at his partner. "Looks like it's due north, ten miles. . .and, well, it seems to be deserted right now," he said. "At least, that's what my tracking system tells me."

"Great. . .Well, we'll make better time using our jet packs," Ty declared, standing up. "What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, pressing the red button on the front of his suit to activate it. "Let's move."

Ty followed suit and took off after his friend.

*****************************************

Night had fallen by the time the two Space Rangers had reached the village. Strange bird calls echoed across the landscape like an eerie siren's song as they approached. Both detracted their wings and landed on the stony, overgrown foundation. The wind was starting to grow bitterly cold as it blew against their faces.

Ty scanned the village. Being that his eyes were naturally so large, he had much better night vision than any of his comerades. It made working in such limited visibility much easier.

Buzz gave his pal a sideways glance. "See anyone?" he asked.

The ranger shook his head. "Nope. Nothing."

"Hmm," the captain muttered, furrowing his brow. "Maybe Zurg has been doing some work here after all."

Ty simply sighed. "We don't know for sure," he argued. "Zurg isn't behind everything, you know."

The Evil Emperor Zurg, as he was commonly known throughout the galaxy, was the chief villian of all villians; arch nemesis of all that was good and decent in the universe. He also happened to be Buzz Lightyear's personal arch nemesis, being that the ranger was often the first to foil his evil plots. If there was something evil going on in the universe, more likely than not, Zurg had some involvement in it. At least, that's what Buzz thought. Then again, he thought every cat up a tree was Zurg's doing, so sometimes his suspicions were a little far-flung.

"Well, still, I say we should investigate further," Buzz said, treking into the midst of the village. "Ty, since you have great night vision, I want you to look inside the buildings. But, keep in touch, okay? I want to know if you spot anything suspicious."

Ty promptly saluted his captain and nodded. "Will do, Buzz."

"Okay, good," he replied. "I'll check the parameter and we'll meet back here once we're done."

Nodding once more, Ty cautiously headed inside the biggest building. As he moved on further into the overwhelming darkness of the first passageway, he became more aware of the sounds around him. It was hard to see - even for him - but he was concerned about using a flashlight here. If there was something evil around, he didn't want to alert it to his presence. Especially in such darkness. He was skilled in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, but how could he hit something he couldn't see?

That was the biggest obstacle and it made him quite nervous.

But, so far, all he could hear was the drip, drip, dripping of water from leaks in the ceiling and his own racing heartbeat. Nothing to worry about, he reassured himself. After all, wasn't he a Ranger? Trained to handle anything?

With that in mind, he moved on into a hallway that branched out onto the left. Then he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

There was another sound.

[Ranger Parsec]

Ty froze and tried to hone in on it. It sounded like a soft scuffling, like something dragging itself across the floor. And then there was the breathing - it wasn't his, he was sure of it. It sounded more like an animal or some similar creature. Was it dangerous? He wasn't about to take the chance. It wasn't wise to take chances with the unknown, as a ranger, he knew that well.

So, the ranger silently slipped his laser gun out of the holster and held it at ready as he inched his way into a room. The only light he had to see with were the little slivers of blue moonlight shining in through the cracks of stone. There were no windows. His eyes were drawn to a large figure in the corner of the room. It was low to the ground and very large. Tiny streams of light hit the creature's scales to reveal a purple and green coloration, yet he still couldn't make out the shape very clearly.

But it had big, sharp teeth - and lots of them.

Ty could have sworn he heard the creature growl, yet he wasn't sure whether to fire or relinquish his weapon. It hadn't moved much for quite some time. If it had wanted to attack, wouldn't it have done so already?

All things considered, he decided to move in for a closer look. Keeping his gun pointed at the creature - just in case - he slowly moved towards it. Only now could he see a better outline. It was, by far, one of the oddest reptiles he'd ever seen anywhere. Though, probably not one of the oddest creatures.

He had gotten as close as a few feet from the creature and it still wasn't moving much. He put his gun back in the holster and knelt down beside it. The lizard-monster's eyes were closed, so he guessed it hadn't actually been aware of his presence yet. But he couldn't help but marvel at the construction and design of the creature. It was certainly something unique.

Ty could see some bruises on the side of the creature's head, as though it had been hit by something - or someone. But it still wasn't moving. This thing couldn't be real, could it? He reached out to lightly touch the creature's scaly back, but as soon as it felt his touch, it opened its eyes. Startled, it growled ferociously, leaping onto Ty. The force of impact knocked the Ranger to the ground.

Frightened, Ty cried out in surprise and shielded his face from the reptilian creature. In the middle of opening its mouth to bite down on its "attacker", the lizard-monster stopped, blinked, and backed off. It seemed to realize that Ty wasn't one of his attackers - just some human - and slinked off into the corner to hide. Clearly, it wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

Ty slowly uncovered his face and saw the creature cowering in the corner. For fear that he'd provoke it again, he slowly sat up and looked at it for a moment or two. He couldn't help but feel pity for the reptile. It looked as though it had been badly abused, or something of the sort. He got down on his hands and knees, so as not to look too threatening, and held out a hand.

"Hey, it's alright," he said softly. "No need to hide."

"Leave me alone," the creature mumbled in plain English, trying to look as small as possible in that corner.

Ty arched his eyebrows, his eyes going wide. He certainly wasn't expecting it to speak! What the heck was this thing? He took a quick glance back at the door to make absolutely sure nobody was coming and then back at the lizard-creature.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help," Ty explained calmly. "You look like you're hurt."

The lizard-monster gave him a blank stare, as though debating on whether he could be trusted or not. "Why would you help me?" he finally asked, his voice flat.

"Because I'm a Space Ranger - that's why," Ty replied matter-of-factly. "It's my duty. I've sworn to serve and protect ALL sentient beings throughout the universe - no matter what species. That is, if you'll give me a chance." He paused, taking note of the creature's apparent mistrust. "Please. I can help you. I promise."

The lizard-monster hesitated, staring at the human's outstretched hand. He struggled with the idea of trusting a human to help him. It was simply unheard of. They weren't toxic, as every monster had previously thought, but still. . .a human? The thought of a human wanting to assist him seemed like a bit of an oxy-moron.

But, the tone of his voice. . .

It sounded like he truthfully DID wanted to help. Finally, he decided to take the chance and grasped Ty's hand.

The Ranger helped him to his feet. "My name's Ty Parsec," he offered, trying to ease the silent tension between them. "What's yours?"

"Randall," the lizard-monster replied, still keeping a wary eye on the human.

He stumbled as he tried to walk towards the door, but Ty caught him. The ranger slung one of Randall's upper arms over his shoulder for added support and helped him into the hallway.

"What happened to you?" Ty asked as they slowly made their way out of the room. "You look pretty beat-up - and that's just from what I could see."

Seeing as this human was keeping his word thus far, Randall decided to talk. "Those stony humans," he said. "They. . .called me some sort of 'bad luck creature' and tried to kill me."

Ty's eyebrows shot up. "Holy nova! They tried to kill you?!" he exclaimed. "How'd you escape?"

"I think I bit the one who was holding me; it's hard to remember," he replied, suddenly recalling something important. His fronds shot up. "Wait! Aren't they still around?"

"No, I haven't seen anyone since we came here," Ty reassured him. "It looks like they've all left or something."

Randall glanced at him quizzically. "We?"

Ty blinked. "Oh! Buzz! I almost forgot. . ." he said, slapping his forehead. "Uh, well, I have a friend here too. Hopefully he'll be okay with this. We need to get you to a doctor. . .or a vet. . .or. . .something." He paused to explain. "My friend has a 'no pets' policy."

The lizard-monster shot him an indignant look. "I'm not a 'pet'!"

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna have to try telling Buzz that," he replied. "But, either way, I'll work something out."

Soon, they made it far enough to get out into the night air and Ty let the lizard-monster lay on the ground. Only now were they able to see each other clearly. Ty couldn't help staring at Randall for a moment or two. He was definately an unique species, he thought. Somehow, he had a feeling Randall wasn't a native inhabitant of the planet. If so, then how'd he get there? All kinds of questions filled the Ranger's mind as he looked at the reptilian critter.

Nonetheless, all the questions would have to wait until a later time. This guy needed help with his injuries now.

Randall shivered as the cold air hit his body and curled up into a ball on the ground. Noticing this, Ty reached into his backpack and pulled out various things; a first aid kit, flashlight, military rations, and various other necessities. Finally, he found some thermal blankets and used a couple to cover the lizard-monster.

"There. Now I'm going to contact Buzz and get him involved. I have no choice, since he's in charge here," Ty explained. "You just hang tight. It should only take a minute or two."

As Ty opened the wrist com on his space suit and started to contact his friend, Randall wrapped the blankets tightly around himself. He closed his eyes, trying to warm up. His body ached and he felt almost like passing out, but the comfort and warmth of the blankets helped. Somehow, he had a feeling that he'd be okay. Maybe it was just instinct. He passively listened in as Ty talked with his friend.

"No, Buzz. He's not my pet," Ty groaned. "Just get over here, okay? Trust me, you have to see this to believe it. Personally, I've never seen anything like him."

"Alright, alright," Buzz replied. "I'll be over there in. . .oh. . .an hour maybe. I've been trying to track any evil activity by air, but so far I don't see anything."

"Okay, see you soon."

With a click, Ty closed his com and turned his attention back to Randall. "Now, let's get you fixed up a bit," he said, taking a seat next to him with the first aid kit. "I'm not a doctor, but I can probably patch up most of your injuries. Hopefully we can get you feeling better, until you can see some sort of physician."

Randall was silent as the human began to take out some gauze and medical supplies. He couldn't understand it, nonetheless put his feelings into words. Why would a human do this? It was still a shock that someone - nonetheless a HUMAN - would show him such kindness. Even his fellow monsters wouldn't do this much for him.

For lack of words - and a growing fatigue - he simply laid his head on the stony foundation underneath him and closed his eyes. Before he realized it, he had drifting off to sleep just as the human had begun his work.

[Ranger Parsec]

NOTE: The board censoring system seems to have mistaken one of the words for something bad and screwed it up. FYI, it's supposed to be c-o-c-k-p-i-t, where the pilots are in a ship. *laughs* Okay, just so you know. I don't intend to try to go back and correct everywhere, I've used the word. ;D

[RandallBoggs]

Great start Joy!
Honestly, you fused your story writing well in this. I can't help but wonder how Randall will react to everyone else. It's probably going to be a bit of a brawl or comedy when he and Buzz meet.

Great work!

[pitbulllady]

Great start, Joy, and you can't believe how wonderful it is to be reading a NEW fanfic by YOU! It's been a long time...

So, Buzz's ship is "Star Cruiser 42" huh? I can tell you haven't read "The Hitch-hiker's Guide To the Galaxy" and its sequels, or you'd know that this is homage to that series! In Adams' books, the number "42" has enormous significance, which I won't spoil by telling you since I have a feeling you'll be reading them just to see what all the fuss is about, heeheehheee!

I can hardly wait for the next installment, so don't keep us hanging on too long!

pitbulllady

[Mirage]

*applauds* Awesome story so far!!

[Ranger Parsec]

RandallBoggs said:

Great start Joy!
Honestly, you fused your story writing well in this. I can't help but wonder how Randall will react to everyone else. It's probably going to be a bit of a brawl or comedy when he and Buzz meet.

Great work!

Thanks! In the next chapter, Buzz and Randall will meet for the first time, so you'll see what happens. ^_^

[Ranger Parsec]

pitbulllady1 said:

Great start, Joy, and you can't believe how wonderful it is to be reading a NEW fanfic by YOU! It's been a long time...

Thanks pitbulllady! I know, it's been quite awhile. In fact, I've been wanting to do this one for awhile, but just never had an audience aside from Sean. Lol.

It's nice to be back in the Randall community again. ;D

pitbulllady1 said:

So, Buzz's ship is "Star Cruiser 42" huh? I can tell you haven't read "The Hitch-hiker's Guide To the Galaxy" and its sequels, or you'd know that this is homage to that series! In Adams' books, the number "42" has enormous significance, which I won't spoil by telling you since I have a feeling you'll be reading them just to see what all the fuss is about, heeheehheee!

Really? Awesome. Now I really should read it. Lol. I love space stuff. But I've also found that they've paid homage to another classic sci-fi book with their series as well. It's "A Legion of Space". I read it and found that they had an evil "purple empire" (you can guess why Zurg likes purple so much) and a legion of some sort of galactic cops who worked for the "green government" - and, strangely enough, all Ranger suits are mainly colored green. Hehe! I don't know if you've ever read that book, but it's a pretty good one also.

Anyhow, I'm gonna surf around Barnes & Noble or Amazon and see if I can find the "HGttG" series.

pitbulllady1 said:

I can hardly wait for the next installment, so don't keep us hanging on too long!

pitbulllady

I'm having alot of fun writing this one, so it's pretty easy for me to keep going. I'll have the next chapter up after I'm done checking up on things elsewhere on the board. ;D

[Ranger Parsec]

Mirage said:

*applauds* Awesome story so far!!

Thank you, Mirage! Next installment should be coming soon.

[RandallBoggs]

Your probably feeling the same thing I did when I did a chapter of that link story about Randall's great grandfather.

^_^
It's so nice to see your gifted writing Joy ^_^

[lizardgirl]

*does happy dance* WHOOO!!! NEW STORY FROM JOY!!! YAAAAY!!

...

Anyway, yeah, absolutely brilliant. Now I'm gonna go and read the next chapter...*runs off into different topic* ;D