In Jake's room, there were many action figures from the various films he was into. Some he had inherited from his two older brothers (Mike and Bill). He cared for them greatly like any child would, playing with them and putting them on great adventures. But what he did not know, was how they truly alive they were when he wasn't around.
They were a community headed up by the toy he had had the longest, and always slept with: a large plushie of Crush the Turtle from "Finding Nemo." He was a good leader of this little community and everyone trusted him, whenever there was a quarrel, he was always an excellent negotiator.
Their were a few toys based off of villains, naturally, but a treaty had been made to make sure that they never got into mischief, and fortunately, the heroes always made sure to keep the villains in line as necessary.
Now, two toys that I would like to first bring into picture in order to bring up our story were an action figure of Sonic and a plushie of his best friend Tails. Now, Tails looked more or less like his videogame counterpart, but Sonic (who had been a hand-me-down) was a little different. He had some kind of medallion hung around his neck that looked like a tiny guitar. But, nobody questioned it; they were all good friends and didn't just question each other's make.
In addition to being best friends with Tails, Sonic was also best friends with an action figure of Admiral Ackbar from "Star Wars" that Jake's mother had bought him on his 6th birthday, shortly after he got into "Star Wars". Their friendship started when Ackbar once got stuck under the floorboards and might have been destroyed by a rat had Sonic not intervened by pouncing on the rat and giving it a good kick in the rear before helping Ackbar out of the tight situation. Ackbar often stated that someday, he'd like to return the favor, but hoped he wouldn't have to.
Another action figure that should be brought up at this time would likely be Sirius Black from "Harry Potter." Jake had bought Sirius at a rummage sale for only 3 of the $15.00 his parents had given him to go crazy that day. Sirius didn't really have kids of his own, and Jake at this time didn't have figures of the younger characters from "Harry Potter," so Sirius had taken it upon himself to be something of a father figure to Sonic and Tails, and they did look up to him.
I will try to talk about a few other toys that will be important to this story as time goes on as they become mentioned. One day in early summer, Mr. Potato Head and Spider Spud found a brochure for a summer camp on Jake's desk. What was interesting about those two was that Mr. Potato Head was another relatively old toy that had once belonged to one Bill. Spider Spud, who basically looked like Mr. Potato Head covered with a Spiderman costume, was a Christmas gift from Jake's grandparents one year. Considering that had it not been for Mr. Potato Head, Hasbro might never had created Spider Spud, "Spuddie" (as everyone called him) had great respect for the "Old Guy" as he called him, and Mr. Potato Head acted as a father figure to the newcomer the moment they met.
It read that Jake was going to be away for a week and be able to do outdoor things such as swimming in a lake, hiking, sitting around a campfire and many other cool activities that the toys understood he probably did not have opportunities to do at home.
"He's going to have a really great time hanging out with his friends out in the wilderness," said Sonic.
"Y'know, I'm a little jealous of that dude, breathing in the fresh air and swimming in real lake water," agreed Crush.
"Yeah, but you want to know a secret, considering you're his oldest friend Crush, he might take you with him," answered 6. His compatriot, 7 chuckled in agreement. 6 and 7 were relatively new toys in this gathering. They were Christmas presents the year their film "9" came out. After seeing it in theatres with his oldest brother, Mike, Jake talked about how cool he thought the characters were for almost a month, even getting help from his Mom to make a Halloween costume. So, that Christmas, Mike had found a two-pack containing 6 and 7 which he gave to Jake.
"Oh, I dunno dude, normally when he travels, he tends to take Tigger with him," answered Crush. It was true, Tigger, a stuffed animal designed from a character from Winnie the Pooh dressed in safari clothing was a souvenir/gift from a trip to Disney World when Jake was only four. Ever since then, Tigger had become something of a travel buddy for Jake.
"Don't you worry, Crush old buddy, old palaroo, I'll make sure Jake's alright," answered Tigger.
"We know you will Tigger, you're Mr. Adventure through and through!" quipped Tails.
"Well, I don't think any heffalumps or woozles will be at this camp, but I'm sure you'll be there for him on the stormy nights," added 7. It was right about then that they heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. The toys scuttled to a place where they could freeze without being in the way. In rushed Jake, the first thing he did was run to his closet and pull out an army green backpack and a suitcase. He proceeded to pack up some clothes, an extra hat, a pillow, a sleeping bag and then, leaving the door open, he rushed to the bathroom to grab some basic toiletries, which he proceeded to put in his backpack. In this backpack he also placed two water bottles, a flashlight, a notebook and some pens. Finally he stuffed in his backpack, Tigger. He then made sure that the rest of his toys were on shelves or drawers or smartly placed on his desk or bed. Slinging his backpack on his shoulders and grabbing his suitcase, he left the room and quietly closed the door. The toys started to become conscious and managed to hear Jake say: "I'm ready to leave whenever you are Dad! But can we stop for a camera on the way to Doug's house?" Doug was Jake's best friend, and the toys quickly figured that he was probably spending the night there before heading off to camp.
"Well, I guess that about concludes it, that's a lad off to a new adventure," said Gimli the Dwarf from one of the shelves. Gimli, from the Lord of the Rings action figure line up was a find at a convention that Jake's uncle had brought him to once. In addition to meeting actors from movies both of them enjoyed, they also decided to try their hand at the costume contest. Jake had won best entry for kid's ages 7 through 12, and the prize was a coupon for a free action figure at one of the vendor's. Gimli had such cool accessories and looked so tough that Jake picked him.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!" called a Squirtle bank from Jake's desk. Squirtle was made of rubber, so Jake was able to play with him like any of his toys. Jake found him in the basement of his house, and brought it to the attention of his brother's. Bill told him that when he was a kid, a phenomenon known as "Pokémon" was all the rage, and that their parents had given him that bank. He told Jake that if he liked it, he could have it for his loose change. So Jake did exactly that.
"What did that turtle say?" asked Gimli in bewilderment.
"He said, "and fun, don't forget fun," answered Pongo who was sitting right next to Squirtle. A Beanie Baby sized Dalmatian from the Disney movie "101 Dalmatians," Pongo, like Tigger, was another souvenir from Walt Disney World that Jake received on another trip there. The moment he arrived in the room, Pongo and Squirtle formed a fast relationship. Partly because for reasons nobody could understand, Pongo seemed able to understand what Squirtle was saying, so they were always around each other.
"Yes well, it would seem that we now have the room to ourselves, so let's just make the most out of it, get a little vacation time in," suggested Sirius. Everyone jumped right into the notion. Some of the toys began playing poker. Tails and Admiral Ackbar logged onto an online adventure game and with their shared character, began "travelling" around. A few of the toys even took some time to explore the area under Jake's bed, to them; it was the equivalent of spelunking. Crush and 6 in the meanwhile, chose to pick up on their reading.