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 20: Get Your Game On
Down by the entrance to the Galaxy Toys store, all the toys, along with Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood present and accounted for.
"All right then, just a quick roll call," Buzz told the group as he passed by each individual. "Jessie and Bullseye?"
"Here," Jessie replied, while Bullseye whinnied in approval.
"Hamm?"
"That's the name, don't wear it out," Hamm answered with a smile.
"Sarge and the Army Men?"
"Affirmative, sir. All my mean are at the ready!" Sarge told the space ranger.
"Aliens, are you here?" Buzz then looked up to find them embracing Sora by his legs.
"You have saved our lives; we are eternally grateful!" the three said at once.
"They're here," Sora replied in embarrassment.
"Wheezy?"
"I'm here, Mr. Buzz Lightyear," Wheezy huffed.
"And lastly, Rex..." Buzz spoke, looking up to see Rex was missing. "Wait, where's Rex?"
"He took off," Hamm piped up. "He said he was looking for something to prove that you could trust Sora."
"I think we know where he might be," Woody answered.
"So this is about us? Rex isn't safe with the Heartless still roaming about," Sora mentioned.
"Sora, will you guys help us out one last time?"
"Sure!" the three replied.
"I knew I could count on you three. Now let's go," Woody replied as the five toys plus Jessie and Bullseye set out to find their friend. Eventually, the group ended up at the video game section, where they found Rex rummaging through the Verum Rex display, amongst other games such as Space Cats, Wall Street Ninja, Legacy of Kain and Puzzle Bobble.
"Rex, what are you doing?" Woody asked.
"A-ha, I found it! Look, Sora, doesn't he look exactly like you?" Rex remarked, showing Sora the game's box art, which had an image of Yozora lounging on a throne, holding his sword close by.
"Eh-heh, well, I can't say I ever looked that good," Sora answered, trying to keep humble towards the dinosaur, as Woody and Buzz observed the stand-up display that had the same cover.
"You see, Buzz? They are toys, just like us!" Woody convinced Buzz.
"Fair enough, I guess I owe you three an apology for doubting you," Buzz said as he began to turn towards Sora and address him and his friends.
"Donald, you said your magic decides what we look like in the worlds. Care to explain this?" Sora whispered to his duck friend.
"That's an easy one," Donald replied. "That's not really you."
"Now come to think of it, Riku would make for a great action figure!" Goofy added.
"What? That's totally me! We've both got the black clothes, and..." Sora blurted out, blushing in embarrassment as his argument began to crumble down on him.
"Well, now that everyone is accounted for, it's time we finally leave this place behind and go home," Buzz told the others.
"Aw, so soon? But I want to check the strategy guide to see if it says anything about Bahamut!" Rex remarked as he paged through the book until Woody stopped him.
"Maybe next time. For now, we should think about getting home," Sora told Rex as they started walking towards the exit, when Young Xehanort appeared behind them from a dark corridor.
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave just yet. My experiment has only just begun," he told the others.
"Give us a break already! Why can't you just let us go home?" Sora groaned angrily as the others got into a battle position, unaware of a marionette Heartless sneaking up behind Buzz.
"You really intend on defying my warnings? Have it your way then; I'm just going to have to skip to the end of it all," Xehanort replied, as the Heartless leapt inside Buzz and possessed him.
"Buzz? Are you alright?" Rex asked, before Buzz sprung awake and silently started to fire his laser and Woody and the others.
"Hey, what's going on?" Goofy cried out as he jumped forward with his shield to block the bolts from incinerating Woody.
"What did you do?" Sora shouted angrily as he charged at Young Xehanort before he vanished.
"I told you before. In this world toys have hearts in part with the special bond between them and their owners. So, what do you think would happen if they are left realms apart? Will their hearts survive, or will they fall into becoming empty husks of cloth and plastic? All I needed some kind of catalyst; someone to sow seeds of distrust in their hearts, and you fit the bill."
"Sora! Help us!" Rex cried out, as he and Donald struggled to restrain Buzz from his continued attack.
"I'm coming!" Sora called as he began to rush over until Young Xehanort stopped him.
"Not this time," he spoke before knocking Sora straight through a demo kiosk for Verum Rex.
When Sora finally came to, he found that he was now inside a cityscape where several Gigas lay waiting in a central spot.
"Now, you may remember that in this world, you come from a video game. So I found it only fitting that you can watch from within it as I bring my experiment to a close. Or, you could watch if you can even find a moment of reprieve."
Sora sighed until he noticed that he woke up next to his own Gigas armor and boarded it.
"Hey, Yozora! Can you read me?" a radio comm voice called out as Sora familiarized himself with the variant's controls.
"Uh... yeah, I can hear you," Sora replied.
"That's good to hear," the voice continued. "It's Magia calling right now; Aegis and I managed to get as much people out from the power plant you're in right now so you can take out that army of Gigas. I don't know if you're familiar with how to control one of them, so-"
"Actually, I managed to learn how to work one of these things in battle," Sora answered.
"Really? That's great!" Magia replied cheerfully. "But just as a refresher, there's three types: the Power armor, the Gunner armor, and the Speed armor. Each of them have their own style of weaponry, but they all basically control the same way. All you need to do is just clear all of them out of the arena and then you can make your escape. Just be careful of the Elite armors that can pop up at any time! Anyway, good luck!"
"Thanks!" Sora told his partner as he then paused in reflection. "Buzz, Woody, just hang in there." Sora then began his fight by blasting at energy cores dotted around the field to take the Gigas out with fiery explosions. He also managed to take out a large group by breaking the glass floor they were standing on when Sora arrived. Eventually, Sora suceeded in defeating all of the other foes when the last armored enemy crashed out from the sky to square off.
"Yozora! This is Aegis right now. Looks like you caught the attention of the Gigas General. He's the strongest out of all of them, so you're in for a tough battle. Just hang in there!" another radio voice told Sora as he got ready for one final encounter. Sora deftly dodged the General's energy blasts and punches as he fired back with pulsing cannon charges. However, the opponent's power became too much and Sora was forced to retreat and find a new armor. Once Sora boarded the new Gigas, he went in for the kill and defeated the General with a quick one-two shot barrage. Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he heard a message telling him that the game was over and he made his way out back to the others, stopping for a second to pick up a new Heartbinder, activating it while lost in thought. In a flash of pixels and light, an arcade screen fizzled to life for a game called "Fix-It Felix Jr., as Sora saw a red-suspender clad man with shaggy brown hair being thrown off a building before the screen vanished, sending the character landing on the ground.
"Ah geez, that was one rough game. At least the players are happy with how... it... turned out..." he said to himself before taking in the view around him. "Oh no! I'm out from my game! If I don't find a way back, who knows what'll happen? Poor Felix must be worried sick, and the kid... oh, I don't think she could take it."
"Uh, can I help you?" Sora asked.
"Hey, who are you? And more importantly, where am I? This doesn't look anything like Hero's Duty!" the man asked.
"Oh, uh, my name's Sora, and I got thrown in here by someone who wanted to separate me from my friends. I was just about to go back to them now," told the newcomer.
"Oh, good. For a second, I thought you were just another creep trying to go Turbo or something. My name's Ralph, and if you'd like, I can help you out of here."
"Really?" Sora asked.
"You betcha! Now, just clench your teeth, this might sting for a moment," he answered as he wound up a punch.
"Huh?" Sora asked again, as he was sent flying by a haymaker punch through the screen, back out into Galaxy Toys.
"You're welcome! I'll be around whenever you need me!" Ralph called out as he began to disappear and return back to his own world. After all, he'd have a very interesting story to tell Vanellope down at Tapper's tonight about a new friend...
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. P.S. Hope everyone is enjoying both the release of Endgame and the most recent Critical Mode KH3 update!