KINGDOM HEARTS III: Final Mix
Disclaimer: I do not own the story or characters featured in this story. They are the sole creation of the Walt Disney Co., PIXAR, Marvel Comics, Tetsuya Nomura, and Square Enix. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy.
WARNING! Contains story spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III, so read with caution if you haven't played the game yet.
Chapter 13: Toys That Play Together, Stick Together
As Woody walked past the two toys, the piggy bank- whose name was Hamm- turned over towards Rex and weighed in on his thoughts about the commercial.
"I've gotta say though, those Gigas were pretty impressive. No wonder they're so popular!"
"You really think so?" Rex asked his friend. "Well, I think Yozora was more of a highlight-" he told Hamm before Woody knocked the two toys down in a tackle onto the bed.
"Hey, what gives, Woody?" Hamm questioned.
"Shush! Those masked intruders are back," Woody whispered as another toy, a space ranger action figure named Buzz Lightyear bounded over and the four of them peered over the bedside to see tiny toy soldier Heartless patrolling the floor beneath them.
"All right, everyone. Today's the day we teach those masked intruders who's boss. Is everybody in position?"
"Affirmative, Woody," Buzz told his friend, before they both looked over to Hamm and Rex. "Are you both ready?"
"Hold on, I don't think I'm emotionally prepared for this!" Rex whimpered.
"Get a hold of yourself, Godzilla!" Hamm groaned, before mellowing up and adding with a smile. "Only messing with ya; I've got you covered." Woody then looked over to check on the two other groups in the room- a team of army soldiers and three squeaky toy aliens who waved to Woody to signal their position.
"It's go time," Buzz spoke up, the toys unaware of a third party arriving on the scene under the bed, as Sora and his friends walked from out of the shadows into the light of the room.
"Whuh- where are we?" Sora pondered as they looked around the gigantic room, before he stared down at his now articulated hands and outfit. "Oh my gosh; have we been shrunk?! Donald, what did you do?"
Donald, who now shared a similar action figure form grinned as he reminded Sora about his magic. "I can change our look to blend in, remember? We need to protect the world order."
"World border? What do walls have anything to do with this?" Sora questioned.
"Not to interrupt guys, but I think there's a Heartless infestation at 9 o' clock," Goofy pointed out as he addressed the group's attention to fight the Heartless.
"On my mark, we get ready to fight, okay?" Woody instructed as the toys clenched up ready to jump in and attack until Buzz took notice of a new group of toys come in.
"Hold on!" Buzz warned as he popped his wings out to stop the others from jumping down.
"Buzz, have you lost your batteries?" Woody questioned until he saw the newcomers fighting and eventually defeating the intruders. "Who in the world are those three?"
"Are they new?" Hamm asked as they jumped down to meet their guests in Andy's room. Rex's eyes widened in jubilation as he rushed forward towards Sora.
"You look familiar! I can't believe I'm meeting a real-life hero in the flesh!" Rex gushed as he hugged Sora with his stubby arms.
"Uh, I'm no hero, but my name is..." Sora began to introduce himself before Hamm cut in.
"You're Yozora! That online order Andy's mom made must've finally come in." Everyone then turned around to see Buzz aim his laser at Sora cautiously.
"Stay right where you are; for all we know, the intruders probably sent you here," Buzz remarked.
"But these guys are the number one selling heroes in the country! They might be here to help us figure out where our friends disappeared to, and why your laser starting 'lasering'," Rex suggested.
"We need to be smart about this, Woody. I'll follow your lead," Buzz whispered to Woody.
"So, you're Andy's new toys, huh? You certainly did a number on those masked intruders," Woody told Sora.
"Those are the Heartless," Goofy corrected the cowboy.
"They're the bad guys!" Donald added.
"And we've been fighting against those 'intruders' for a long time now," Sora added onto his friends' words.
"I knew it!" Rex beamed.
"In that case, you're all right in my book," Woody replied, much to Buzz's shock and disbelief. "My name is Woody."
From downstairs, everyone could hear the sound of barking and the pitter-patter of paws racing up a staircase, as the other toys flinched. A voice called after it as another pair of footsteps went up the stairs.
"Buster, slow down! I'm coming," the voice told the other figure coming upstairs.
"Andy's mom is coming! Everyone get back in your places, quick!" Woody exclaimed as they pushed Sora and the others into a corner and froze in place. Soon after, a lanky dachshund scampered into the room, panting excitedly thinking his master Andy had finally come home. Andy's mom, Mrs. Davis followed after, hoping to see Andy kneeling on the floor, playing with his toys only to find the room empty except for his toys scattered in a corner.
"Still no sign of him," she sadly muttered, noticing Sora, Donald and Goofy amidst the pile of toys, but was too distraught to pay them any further mind. "Both Andy and Molly are nowhere to be found. Where on Earth could you have gone to?" She then proceeded to walk out of the room, with Buster sauntering after giving a saddened whimper, sitting by the door after Mrs. Davis closed it.
"Aw, this is terrible that Andy's mom is worried sick, and we can't do a thing about it," Woody lamented as Sora paused and thought deeply about the way his family felt when he finally returned from his previous adventure, long before he and Riku got King Mickey's letter. His mother was absolutely livid that her own son didn't even give any notice on where he was all this time, but once Sora explained to her about his adventure, she became a little more understanding about the whole affair, but nevertheless grounded Sora for a couple days as a result.
"Anyway, my name is Sora," Sora introduced himself. "And these are my friends, Donald and Goofy."
"And I'm- Buzz Lightyear," Buzz replied as he shook Sora's hand as a figurative olive branch between the two to mend fences.
"You can call me Hamm. It's a real honor," Hamm added.
"And I'm Rex. I'm a huge fan of your game. I just leveled my character up to lv. 42, but that Bahamut boss is really giving me and Slinky a hard time. Oh, if only Slink and the others were here; they'd love to meet you!"
"So, you fought against those intruders before, you said. Can you tell us where they came from?" Buzz questioned.
"Well, uh-" Sora tried to tell the space ranger, only to catch Donald glaring at him from the corner of his eye. "I can't really say, but have those intruders been a problem around here for long?"
"No, they only showed up a little while ago, when our friends just disappeared completely," Woody explained. "One day we woke up and it was just only us toys, Buster, and Andy's mom at the house, and there's been no word on where Andy or Molly are off at." Woody and Buzz then proceeded to look at the inscription of Andy's name printed on the bottom of their boots.
"Andy really is the best friend toys like us could hope to have. That's why every day just feels harder to just keep waiting."
"Well, I think we better start looking for him then! Are there any clues we have to go off of?" Sora asked, ready and willing to help the toys find their owner.
"Well, there is one huge thing," Woody mentioned.
"When those intruders first appeared, and nearly everybody went MIA, they didn't come alone. They were led by somebody dressed in black, just like you," Buzz added.
"That must mean..." Sora thought out loud, as Donald and Goofy shared his line of thought. "The Organization!"
"So, you're familiar with him?" Woody asked. "Because if you're going after him, we can't let you go alone." Woody asked.
"We all made a promise that one way or another, we would always be there for Andy. We can't just stand aside now." Buzz told Sora. "We may not be on the best terms yet, but we need to work together if we have any hope of finding our friends."
"Okay!" Sora decided, as he then asked where the Organization member could be at now, as Woody turned his attention towards the Army sergeant.
"Sarge, is there any word from the recon team?" Woody questioned.
"Our records point to him being holed down in the new Galaxy Toys establishment, sir!"
"Then that's where we're going," Woody decided as the company began their trek to the toy store, and the start of solving the mystery of the mysterious disappearances. Woody then looked over at Buster, scratching the top of the dog's head assuredly to comfort the pet. "Don't worry, Buster. We'll be back before too long, and we promise we won't come back empty-handed. Keep an eye on Mom for us, okay?"
"Now, to the Toy Store, and beyond!" Donald cheerfully quacked, as Buzz stared at the duck toy in confusion.
"That's what I was going to say," Buzz deadpanned.
And that finishes this another chapter. I hope you enjoyed this little update, and please remember to leave a review! See you all next time, and may your heart be your guiding key.