This chapter would've been finished and updated yesterday, but the rain knocked out our power for 11 ½ hours.
SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR (MOST) DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Toy Box
With a flash of light, four figures were teleported in. Joining Sora, Donald, & Goofy for this op was the Maximal hero Cheetor, the Transmetal-2 Cybertronian ready to kick some skidplate. They found themselves in a bizarre locale, surrounded by a handful of giant toys, and a 'roof' over their heads that almost looked like the underside of a bed…
"What in the world…?" Sora murmured as they headed toward the light up ahead.
Stepping out from under the gigantic bed, they found themselves in a child's room, but with everything being absolutely enormous – furniture, window, toys & odd little things. Furthermore, the heroes looked to be made of interlocking parts, like they were living action figures.
"Have we been shrunk!? And… look at us!"
"This is… gonna take some getting used to" Cheetor remarked.
"You know what magic is for" Donald replied. "We have to protect the world order!"
"Gawrsh," Goofy pointed out, "who's gonna protect the order from them?"
A squad of Heartless were across the room, looking like toy soldiers in scuba gear – "Toy Troopers". Sora, Donald, & Goofy summoned their weapons while Cheetor drew his blaster rifle, and the quartet charged. As they drew closer, more Heartless spawned in – Shadows, as well as glowing red bell-shaped Heartless with halo-like runes of solid magic floating behind them.
The 'Vermillion Samba' Heartless started firing flame-bolts at the heroes, who scattered and returned fire, a Blizzara blast from Donald and an explosive shot from Cheetor destroyed one of them. The Maximal then shifted into Beast Mode (in a process that looked more toy-like than normal), a technorganic big cat dashing in and starting to slash with his claws and blade-tipped tail, killing Shadows and a couple Toy Troopers. Sora dodged Toy Troopers' speargun shots and got in close, Keyblade strikes beating Heartless down and destroying a few of them. A Shadow that tried to leap at him from behind was taken out by a shield-throw from Goofy, who was in turn protected from a pair of Toy Troopers by a Thundaga from Donald.
Sora froze a Vermillion Samba with a Blizzard blast and then shattered it with a Strike Raid. Cheetor transformed again and started using his blaster to cut down the remaining Shadows, while Donald & Goofy dealt with a Toy Trooper fireteam. A "Gold Beat", a Heartless of the same type as the Vermillion Samba but golden-yellow and crackling with electrical magic, tried to attack D&G from above with its lightning whip, but Cheetor blasted it out of the air, stunning it and letting Sora finish it off.
With the last Heartless destroyed, the main trio dispelled their weapons, while Cheetor holstered his gun.
"Are they new?" a voice asked.
The quartet turned to see four living toys approaching them – a cowboy sheriff, a spaceman soldier, a piggy-bank, and a cartoonish green t-rex.
"Wait, wait!" the t-rex hurried forward. "You look familiar! I know this. You're, uhh…"
"Yozora!" the piggy-bank explained.
"Huh? Who's that? My name's Sora."
Suddenly, he noticed a laser-sight on his chest from the spaceman's wrist-mounted blaster. In response, Cheetor drew his gun and pointed it back at the suspicious local, not firing yet.
"Stay back, you two" the spaceman said. "For all we know, the intruders sent them."
"Slow down there, Rex" the sheriff said, approaching the travelers. "We don't know them."
"Yeah," the piggy-bank said, "if they're who I think they are, Andy's mom musta bought 'em for him."
"Hamm's right!" Rex said. "Did you see how easily they took care of the intruders? I bet they're here to figure out why all our friends have gone missing, and why Buzz's laser started actually laser-ing, and all the other weird stuff that's been going on. I mean, that's what heroes do, right?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions" Buzz said, still cautious.
The cowboy pondered for a moment. "So, you're… Andy's new toys?"
"Toys?" the quartet said in unison.
"You sure did a number on those intruders."
"Those are the Heartless" Goofy said.
"The bad guys!" Donald added.
"We've been fighting those 'intruders' for quite a while" Sora said.
"I knew it!" Rex exclaimed.
"Hmm… Okay!" the sheriff said (to Buzz's surprise). "In that case, you're alright by me. My name's Woody."
"Now hold on" Buzz said as Sora & Woody shook hands.
"So, like I said, my name's Sora."
"And I'm Donald!"
"I'm Goofy; pleasure to meet ya."
"And I'm Cheetor. I'm actually part of a different 'hero team' than these guys, but since my group and their group are friends, I'm helping them out for this op."
"And I'm… Buzz Lightyear" the spaceman reluctantly introduced himself, trying to be civil.
"Call me Hamm" the piggybank said. "It's a real honor."
"And I'm Rex!" the excitable dino said with a grin. "And I'm your biggest fan! I've been playing your game for months! I've gotten you up to LV47, but that Bahamut boss is really tough. Slinky & I can't figure out how to beat him! Oh, I wish Slinky and the others were here. They'd be so happy to meet you!"
Sora sighed. "Rex, we're not… Y'know what, never mind."
"He'll get it eventually" Woody remarked.
Just then, a squad of little green army-men waddle-marched onto the scene in formation. "All troops at attention, sir!" the leader saluted Sora.
Then, a trio of little green men with three eyes rode in on a skateboard, almost running Donald over.
"Strangerrrrs…" one of them said as they gathered around the duck.
"From the outsiiiide…"
"Welllcooome…!"
"They're all toys?" Sora said to himself. "So that's why we look the way we do."
"Excuse me" Buzz came over to Sora. "You said that you've battled those intruders before. Tell us where and why."
"Um…" Sora tried to figure out how to protect the "World Order" and still explain. "Some of the details are… classified, but let's just say the Heartless are creatures of darkness that pop up all over the place, and we hunt them down and root them out. And people who wield Keyblades, like me, are big targets for them because they fear the Keyblade's power. We can't risk telling you more yet, sorry."
"You must have come from somewhere…"
"Take it easy, Buzz" Woody said. "What matters is that they got those 'Heartless' out of our way – for at least a little while. No need to interrogate 'em."
"Yeah, Buzz!" "Woody's right"
"Noted" Buzz sighed. "But still…"
"Hey…" Sora spoke up. "Have the Heartless been a problem around here for long?"
"No," Woody replied, "they just showed up a little while ago."
"In fact," Buzz added, "the Heartless materialized… right after all our friends up & vanished."
"Oof" Cheetor winced. "That doesn't bode well."
"You don't think…" Donald started.
"Well, gee," Goofy replied, "it can't be just a coincidence."
Woody turned to look at the open window. "It wasn't always this lonely. One day we woke up, and we were the only toys left here. Nobody's heard from Mom, Molly, or Andy…" He took a seat on a letter-block, lifting his foot up to look at Andy's name written on the bottom of his boot. "We keep waiting for Andy to come home."
"You really care about him" Sora said.
Woody gave a sad smile, coming back over to the others. "Yeah. He's the best friend that toys like us could ever hope to have."
Grinning, Sora clapped his hands. "All right! We'd better start looking! Have you got any clues we can go on – any other strange things that happened?"
"Well… Hmm… There is one thing."
"One big thing" Hamm said.
"Huge, sir" the army-man sergeant added.
"What thing?" Rex asked cluelessly.
"After everyone went M.I.A.," Buzz explained, "the intruders didn't come alone. They arrived with a guy wearing a hood, dressed in black, just like you. As a matter of fact, he's the only other toy we've seen, outside of you four."
"A black hood?" Sora gasped. "But that would mean…"
"The Organization!" Goofy & Donald said together.
"You know who it is?" Woody asked.
"Yeah" Sora nodded. "The 'Seekers of Darkness'. They're seriously bad news. They've taken control of the Heartless, along with other dark creatures, and are using them for their own ends. They're all crazy-strong, and they're devious."
"They've been around for a little while" Cheetor explained. "Their first incarnation, "Organization 13", was almost-totally wiped out, thanks in part to a few of them becoming good guys. But their leader is back, and he's built the group back up with new membership."
"Though he isn't the leader no more" Goofy added. "Turns out he was followin' the real Big Bad's plans, and now that other guy is back in the picture and at the head of things."
"Seems like you guys have some dangerous enemies" Buzz remarked.
"We may have a hunch what's causing all this weirdness. Since we've fought the Organization before, would you mind if we handle this?"
"I'm sorry," Woody replied, "but we're not just gonna leave this to you. If that guy & his cohorts have something to do with our friends vanishing, then he's our problem, too. We've got to work together."
Sora smiled. "Right!" he nodded, shaking Woody's hand. "So then, where can we find this guy?"
Woody turned to the army-men. "Sarge, any word from the recon team?"
"The latest reports place him in town, sir," the sergeant replied, "at Galaxy Toys!"
"Then Galaxy Toys is where we're going. Sora, follow me. It's out the window and down the roof."
"Not so fast, cowboy" Buzz spoke up. "You seem pretty gung-ho about going, but shouldn't we stay here and wait for Andy?"
"Well… You've got a point, but… we've tried waiting. Look, if we go with Sora's team, we might find a clue. Are you with me, Buzz?"
After a moment's thought, Buzz gave a little grin. "Of course. Okay, let's move out!"
Using the furniture to climb, the gang made it up to the open window and jumped through, landing on the garage roof. Sliding down the roof and landing down in the driveway, they were beset by a squad of Toy Troopers led by a pair of Large Bodies. Buzz and Cheetor opened fire, blaster bolts cutting a few Toy Troopers down, while Goofy and Woody got a Large Body's attention, dodging its swinging fists and leaving it open for Sora to slash apart from behind. The other Large Body was encased in ice from Donald's Blizzaga spell, and Cheetor then shattered the Heartless' frozen face with a thruster-enhanced kick.
Woody lassoed a Toy Trooper and then swung the hapless Heartless around like a flail, smashing a couple of its fellows. Sora blasted more of them with Fira blasts while Goofy shielded him from speargun shots, and Buzz flanked the distracted Heartless and gunned them down. A couple of Vermillion Sambas spawned in and started shooting, but a few Watera spells from Sora quenched their flames and destroyed them.
"Are they gonna give us trouble the whole way there?" Sora wondered aloud.
-SCENE BREAK-
"Yep, they did…" the young hero muttered.
"Whoa…" Cheeter looked around at the enormous, colorful giant toystore as they walked in the front doors. "This place is ultra gear…"
"Hey," Sora pointed to a huge red battle-mech atop a display case, "why doesn't that toy move?"
"I guess it hasn't figured it out" Woody replied.
"Figured what out?"
"I can make it move for you…"
Everyone looked up at where the new voice was coming from: a swirling black portal atop the globe-shaped thing in the center, through which stepped a black-robed figure. The figure lowered his hood, revealing a youthful face with golden-yellow eyes and silvery-white hair, gazing dispassionately down at the heroes.
"Young Xehanort!" Sora drew his Keyblade.
"It's been a while, Sora" Young Xehanort said. "I'm honored you remember me."
He snapped his gloved fingers, and a small team of Toy Troopers spawned in. Leaping down, they clambered atop the Gigas Mech toys, opening the head-hatches and hopping inside. The Heartless-controlled mech leapt down, forming a huge fist and striking at Hamm. Sora, Donald, & Goofy rushed in and caught the blow, letting Woody tackle Hamm out of the way.
"One Heart's shadows fill the emptiness of another" Young Xehanort said. "See how they bring him to life? Like Heartless and Nobodies, they fit together."
"Enough" Sora growled. "Why are you doing this?!"
"There's a darkness we are missing and must reclaim. The way Hearts connect in this world can provide us with a clue. So we made a copy of the world, and then pulled those Hearts apart. I wonder how you'll handle the strain…"
He then vanished through a Dark Corridor, just as the Gigas sent Team Sora flying.
"Woody!" Buzz shouted. "What is going on? Is this toy a friend or foe?"
"I think we've got our answer" the sheriff replied as the Gigas Mech pointed its cannon at them. The mech started rapid-firing energy blasts, forcing everyone to scatter and run for cover, Cheetor returning fire to force the mech to shield its faceplate and give the heroes a moment to get to safety.
"Sora, you're up!" Donald shouted.
"Yeah," Goofy added, "if the Heartless know how to do it, there's no reason you can't."
"Do what?" the youth asked.
In response, Donald & Goofy pointed to another Gigas Mech on display, cockpit open and ready. Grinning, Sora took off running for the mech, with Cheetor & Buzz providing cover-fire. Leaping high, he landed in the cockpit and closed up, the mech coming online.
Sora's Gigas Mech leapt down to the main showroom floor just as two more Heartless-controlled mechs joined the first one. The allied mech's right arm turned out to be a rapid-fire cannon that Sora started putting to use, chipping away at the nearest enemy mech's armor. He used the mech's thruster pack to dodge a lunging punch from the hostile, and leapt back while firing a barrage of high-explosive energy orbs that battered the Heartless mech around. One final wave of rapid-fire shots up-close to the faceplate, and he killed the Heartless inside.
Meanwhile, Donald blasted the second Gigas Mech with Thundaga, short-circuiting it enough to let Cheetor clamber up its body and start blasting the front hatch until he'd broken through. The Maximal then tossed the Toy Trooper out, letting Goofy crush its head with his shield. Woody and Buzz were struggling against the third one, but then Sora's Gigas charged in, blasting and hammering at the hostile's cockpit. Soon, the enemy Gigas went inert, its cockpit opening up to reveal a Toy Trooper feebly collapsing and disintegrating.
"So it was being controlled?" Buzz asked. "It wasn't just switched into battle mode by accident?"
"I'm confused" Woody said. "That guy in the black coat… Did he say he made a copy of the real world? What's that mean?"
Sora pondered. "It… probably means they split this world into two – your friends in one world, us in the other. Only one of the worlds is real, and the other is just really convincing."
"You can't be serious" Buzz said, scowling. "Oh! That's right, you're from a videogame. Well, maybe in your game, that's how things work… but here in reality, you can't 'split worlds'. This is ridiculous." He walked away, ignoring Sora's attempts to catch him. "Woody, let's go."
"…I admit" Woody said. "It does sound just a little far-fetched. But… say we have been taken to some kind of alternate world. That would explain why your laser's real. And is it really that crazy? Worse than 'evil emperors' and 'protecting the galaxy'? Any of that ring a bell?"
Buzz cleared his throat, trying to hide a light blush. "Point taken. But that just means these strangers are part of the delusion. And I say it's time we parted ways and went home."
"I thought we were friends," Goofy said, "not strangers…"
"Look," Sora replied, "I get that it seems weird, but we know something's wrong with this place. We should stick together."
"Sora's right" Woody said. "They helped with the intruders, so they might help find our friends. They have been there for us so far. You can't deny that. Come on, Buzz. Every toy deserves a fair shake."
"Tell it that toy over there" Buzz pointed to the empty Gigas Mech.
As Woody wondered what to do, what to say…
"Sheriff, sir!" Sarge called up from atop a nearby shelf. "Rex has just been dino-napped!"
"What's that!?" Everyone gathered around.
"My men saw him get hauled up to the second floor, sir! And Hamm & the Aliens are MIA."
"Come on, gang; we've got to find them!"
"Please, let us help!" Sora pleaded.
"Well, Buzz?" Woody ran up to his old partner. "Do you really think we can save our friends on our own? We didn't get very far before. We gotta take all the help we can get."
"Don't worry" Goofy said. "Sora can be reckless, and Donald grumbles a lot, but you can trust 'em!"
"Hey!" Donald shouted. "He suspects you, too!"
"I'll admit," Cheetor spoke up, "I used to be a hotheaded showoff. But stuff happened to me that forced me to grow up, in more ways than one. You can count on me to help however I can."
"See?" Woody said. "They don't seem bad. Am I right, Buzz?"
"…Okay, fine. We do need the extra help. But just so we're clear: I remain skeptical about this." He turned to Team Sora. "I'll work with you till we find our friends."
"Ohh…kay" Sora muttered as Buzz marched off.
"Thanks for the help, you guys" Woody said to them.
They headed over to the huge central globe-thing, which had three different brightly-colored tracks running up from it to the higher floors.
"This ascent is gonna be rather tricky…" Buzz remarked, deploying his wings.
"Too bad we're not strapped to a rocket, huh?" Woody replied.
"How about we use those rails?" Sora suggested.
"Perfect! Come on, fellas!"
Climbing up through the innards of the toy-dispenser machine, the gang reached a set of rails, taking one up to the second floor. They were beset by a squad of Toy Troopers with Gold Beat support as soon as they landed, and Buzz & Cheetor started shooting down the flying electric Heartless while Team Sora and Woody handled the ground-pounders. Woody ducked under a speargun shot and floored a Toy Trooper with a roundhouse kick, and Donald blasted the stunned Heartless with a Firaga shot to finish it off. Sora threw his Keyblade in a series of Strike Raids, cutting down a few more, while Goofy intercepted a Toy Trooper trying to flank Buzz and bashed its head in.
With the area soon cleared, the team entered a toy-shop nearby. As they looked around at the various action figures and toy monsters on the shelves, Woody suddenly caught a glimpse of a big plastic tail disappearing behind one of the displays.
"Rex!" he took off running. He rounded the corner… and no-one was there.
"Where'd he go?"
"You sure you saw him?" Buzz asked.
"Yes, he just-"
"Shh" Sora shushed them. "Do you guys hear something?"
(BOSS MUSIC: The Corrupted (KH3 Version))
As the team went quiet, they heard a soft whooshing hiss. Goofy looked up at something bizarre just barely visible poking up from behind the shelf next to them, a sort of spire or spine glowing with dark-purple energy.
"Something feels wrong…" Buzz said, readying his blaster.
Suddenly, the displayed toys were flung away as a massive figure swatted them aside with its huge claw. It appeared to be an enormous, bulky dinosaur-centaur figure with broad muscled shoulders, red scales, green armored scales forming a 'Y' on its chest, a head-crest of purple-tipped spines, and a set of rockets on its back… and a Heartless emblem on its upper chest. The 'Supreme Smasher' let out a hissing roar, baring its massive fangs & claws.
"Another toy's being controlled!"
Sora summoned his Keyblade, the others readying themselves also. After a moment, Buzz readied his blaster as well.
"Buzz," Sora asked, "you sure?"
"If it wanted to play nice," the spaceman replied, "then it should've stayed away from my friends."
The beast roared, stepping forward with jerky motions, as if being moved around by a child playing. Then, two more Supreme Smashers, wreathed in darkness, emerged from the other corners of the store. Thankfully, Sora soon spotted and sprinted for an unmanned red Gigas, climbing aboard and piloting the battle robot into the fray.
The nearest Supreme Smasher's back-mounted pylons gathered energy at their tips, and the Heartless-controlled toy then breathed out a sweeping beam of energy, cutting across the Gigas before Sora could react. Thankfully, the armor held strong, and Sora returned fire, energy blasts hammering away at the monster's chest. The beast reeled, letting Sora close in and pound it with his Gigas' fists, smashing the Supreme Smasher around. Finally, he picked it up with both hands and held it for a point-blank blast from his mech's shoulder cannons, destroying the Heartless inside it.
Meanwhile, Cheetor shifted into Beast Mode and charged another of the Supreme Smashers, dashing around its clumsy attempts to crush him with its claws and landing numerous slashing blows. While it was distracted, Woody gave Goofy a boost up for a Goofy Bombardier attack that knocked the monster back a few steps, and Donald conjured a floating amplifier rune that Buzz fired his arm-blaster through, the magic enhancing the power of his shots. As the blaster bolts hit its face, the Supreme Smasher blindly fired a sweeping laser beam that Woody ducked under, almost losing his hat. Donald zapped the monster with Thundaga, destabilizing its next charging shot and making the energies course through its body instead, weakening it significantly. Goofy & Woody ran up the Supreme Smasher's body, and an axe-kick and shield-bash to the head put it down for the count.
The team narrowly dodged a laser beam from the third Supreme Smasher as it stomped toward them. Sora's Gigas dashed in, catching it with a charging shoulder-tackle, and then he got into a supersized wrestling match with the beast. Cheetor shifted his gun's mode and fired a 'small' missile, the blast hitting the Supreme Smasher's back pylons and wrecking them. Sora slammed the monster back, and then he, Donald, Buzz, & Cheetor unloaded with a barrage of shots. Hissing weakly, the big Heartless tried to counterattack, but a hammer-fist blow from the Gigas finished it off.
(MUSIC END)
As Sora dismounted from the Gigas, a fourth Supreme Smasher suddenly leapt in, looming over them. However, there was a shout as Rex, riding atop a remote-control flying toy attached to a hook & string hanging from the ceiling, finally build up enough momentum to tear it free from its mount. The toy came hurtling in and slammed into the Supreme Smasher, knocking it over and also knocking out the Heartless controlling it: a little bluish-black orb of darkness with beady yellow eyes and a red jagged mouth, surrounded by a blue & yellow cog-like ring with strings attached to a little marionette hanging underneath. Rex then dropped down, landing on top of the Heartless.
"Oh, what's this!? Oh no, what did I do!?"
As Rex took off running, the angry Heartless tried to chase him, only for Sora to dash in and cut it down with a Sonic Blade.
"Nice moves, Rex" Woody said to the still-cowering dino.
"That was great!" Goofy added.
"Great? Really?" the green t-rex straightened up. "Would you say I was impressive?"
"Very impressive, Rex" Buzz replied with a smile. "We couldn't look away."
"Hurray! Oh, that makes me so happy!" He turned to Donald & Goofy. "Were you watching, too? Did you see what I did?"
"Yeah, good for you" Donald tried to fend off the excitable toy.
"You swooped in just in time" Cheetor added. "Very heroic, very dramatic!"
"So Rex," Sora walked up, "do you know where the others were taken?"
"What do you mean?" Rex asked. "Did something bad happen?"
"Back to square one…" Buzz groaned.
Suddenly, the green army-man sergeant hopped his way down the shutters of the partially-closed gate.
"Sarge!" Woody called out. "Have you got a status report?"
"Sir! One of my men just located Hamm forward of our position, in the 'Babies & Toddlers' sector. The corporal was debriefing him, but something must have gone wrong. All radio contact has been lost."
"Anything more specific we can go on?" Buzz asked.
"Right before I lost contact, I heard music with some sort of sonic interference."
"Music…?"
"Ya think it could be the Heartless?" Goofy wondered.
"What if it's another big monster?" Donald said.
"Let's find out" Sora replied.
"Agreed" Woody said, as he and the team started moving on. "We'll use the air vents to get there."
"Actually," Rex spoke up, "I think I'll head back and wait by the entrance. I'm sure those vents are gonna be much too narrow for my big dinosaur tail."
"Really?" Sora said. "I'm sure you'd fit."
Buzz put a hand on his shoulder. "Rex is right. Besides, we need a lookout at the entrance. It's an important mission. Can you do it?"
"Yes, sir!" Rex replied, trying and failing to salute with his tiny arms.
The team climbed up the shelves and entered the lower vents, passing through the piping and swatting a few Shadows that tried to get in their way. After using a fan to get some elevation, they entered a long, wider passageway, and several of a new species of Heartless spawned in, clinging to the walls & ceiling: "Pole Cannons", basically living blaster turrets. The Heartless extended their pole-bodies and started shooting red blaster bolts at the heroes, who scatted to dodge. Cheetor and Buzz returned fire, blasting at the living turrets and scrapping them quickly.
Passing through a deactivated ventilation fan, they slid down a sloping vent and then took another vertical fan-lift up to a higher level. The ducts led them to "Babies & Toddlers", a place with lots of pink and pastel colors, stuffed plush toys and princess dolls.
"Where do you guys think we should start?" Woody asked.
"Sarge," Goofy asked the green army-man, "didn't you mention music?"
"Affirmative, Goofy" the tiny sergeant replied.
"Why don't we look for things that make noise?" Sora suggested.
"That's good thinking for you" Donald quipped.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" he started chasing Donald around Goofy.
"I think they really are good guys…" Woody said to Buzz.
"Well," Buzz replied, "you wouldn't have trusted them otherwise. And I know that your trust is a hard-earned treasure. Well… for all our sakes, let's hope you're right, cowboy. I'm willing to give 'em a chance, at least for a little while longer. Especially if it means getting Andy and our friends back."
Woody smiled. "Agreed."
The gang made their way down to the floor, and a squadron of Gold Beats and Vermillion Sambas spawned in and started blasting them with fire and thunder magic. In addition, the Heartless had possessed a few of the stuffed toys, plush limbs flailing as they charged at the heroes. Goofy blocked the nearest one, letting Sora and Woody pound it until they forced the controlling Marionette out so that Cheetor could gun it down. Buzz and Donald fired blaster bolts and Blizzard spells at the flying Heartless, starting to cull their numbers.
Several Marionettes spawned in, and most of them flew over to a display and possessed a handful of bouncy-pet toys. Sora & Donald pulled off a combination attack that unleashed a hail of rockets that took out the few exposed Marionettes and remaining flyers, and then Sora was enveloped in red energy as he took his Valor Form, a second Keyblade appearing in his off hand. He rushed in, unleashing a withering barrage of super-strength blows that beat the possessed toys around, quickly overwhelming some of the controlling Heartless. Cheetor was knocked onto his back by one Heartless, but as one of the possessed bouncy-toys tried to leap high and squash him, he brought his legs up and hit it with a rising double-kick that made it almost reach the ceiling, and Buzz blasted it on its way down to force out and destroy the Marionette inside.
After Sora used his Valor Form to mop up the remaining Heartless, he dispelled his form-change, and the gang resumed searching. They soon came across a display in the corner of numerous cartoon frogs with instruments, a little orchestra. Beside them was an old-fashioned record player.
"Is this it?" Sora asked.
He started running on the record, making it play, and the little toy frogs began to 'play' their song. Woody climbed up and helped him, and as the band played on…
"Wait" Buzz said. "Does anything sound off to you?"
"I think it's the tuba" Cheetor pointed out, wincing at another sour note.
Woody kept the record going as Sora leapt off and headed over to investigate, joined by Donald & Goofy.
"Something seems to be stuck in the tuba" Goofy said, looking down inside the instrument.
Sora reached his arm in, quickly finding and yanking out the obstruction: one of the little green army-men!
"Corporal!" the sergeant hobbled over. "You all right, son?" he knelt down by his soldier.
"Y-Yes, sir" the army-man replied, a little weak.
"That's the soldier Sarge lost contact with" Buzz said. "Woody, you can stop now!"
"So," Sora looked to the corporal as the music wound down, "you found Hamm?"
"Yes. But… while I was radioing in, a giant hand grabbed me, and it stuffed me in there. They must have taken Hamm to another location. We have to hurry!"
"Wait, Corporal" Sarge spoke up as his man tried to limp onward. "You're not fit for action."
"But Sarge…"
"Your tour is over, son. And it's all right. Our trusted allies will take over." He looked up at Sora. "I will move the corporal to a safer location. Good luck, gentlemen."
As soon as Woody had caught his breath, the heroes started looking around. They noticed that a dollhouse near the window looking out into the main store hallway was rocking a little. Hurrying over, they worked together to pull it open, revealing their porcine pal.
"Talk about cabin fever" Hamm remarked as he came out. "Thanks for the save."
"You okay, Hamm?" Woody asked.
"Yeah; aside from being locked in, the accommodations were fine."
"Aww…" Donald entered the dollhouse. "What a tiny little house."
(BATTLE MUSIC: Tension Rising (KH3 Toy Box version))
Looking around, he happened to glance out the dollhouse's window… and was met by a pair of glowing golden eyes staring back at him. He came scrambling out, and their new adversary was revealed: a huge doll of a young woman, pale skin, a long, soft face with green eyes and red lipstick, and iron-straight blue hair, wearing a headband with white rabbit ears, one of which had a glowing Heartless emblem on it, along with a black Victorian-style dress with white lining, grey sleeves, and a black bow around the waist, plus black heels with frilly white socks.
"She's back!" Hamm cowered. "That's the doll that pig-penned me!"
"Hamm, take cover" Woody ordered as he and the others readied for battle.
"Uh, copy that! One stay in the dread-&-breakfast was enough for me!"
"Not another possessed toy…" Buzz lamented as Hamm scrambled for cover.
The possessed doll lunged at them with a spinning tackle, knocking everyone in different directions. Sora flashed blue as he took his Wisdom Form, starting to skate around while firing magic bolts. The 'Angelic Amber' moved in much the same way, floating just above the ground, seemingly not reacting to the hits she was starting to take from Sora & his friends.
As Goofy and Buzz moved in close, the Angelic Amber spun with a kick and projected whirling force-field, blasting them back. Donald used Cura to get them back up on their feet, while Cheetor and Sora kept blasting at the possessed doll. Woody lassoed around one of her legs, but then she took off flying, and he cried out as he was brought along for the ride. Still, when she made another pass, Goofy leapt up and grabbed Woody, and their combined weight brought the Angelic Amber down, letting Sora and Donald zap her with Thundaga strikes.
Some Marionettes spawned in to assist the bigger Heartless, and Woody, Buzz, & Donald worked to swat them before they could possess any toys. Sora, Goofy, & Cheetor kept up the attack against the Angelic Amber, Sora's Wisdom-boosted Waterga blasts beating the evil doll around. The doll flew up high and then came down hard, releasing a damaging shockwave that knocked Cheetor back. The Maximal recovered and went into Beast Mode, zipping around and making dashing slash-strikes with every pass. Goofy's magic-charged shield bash from behind caught the Angelic Amber off-guard and off-balance, and Sora expended what remained of his Wisdom Form energy in a massive "Firaza" blast, the massive explosion blowing the doll back.
As the others finished off the lesser Heartless, they regrouped with Sora's group as the Angelic Amber got back up, its black aura flaring. It zipped around in flying spinning tackles and slammed down with shockwave stomps, but the heroes kept whittling away at the possessed doll's stamina. Finally, Goofy launched Sora high, and the youth formed a Rasengan and slammed it right into the Heartless emblem on the doll's bunny-ear.
(MUSIC END)
The controlling Marionette was forced out and destroyed by the attack. Now cleansed, the doll – its eyes back to normal blue-green – fell to the floor, lying limply against the wall, still and empty. As the heroes made to leave, Buzz stopped and stared.
"Wait…" he said. "What if we end up just like her? Forgetting ourselves and… attacking each other?"
"No way, Buzz" Sora replied. "That won't happen."
"No way!" Donald added.
"You guys are too strong" Goofy said.
"You can't be sure!" the spaceman said angrily. "What if I get taken over, then attack you?"
"Buzz, you're overthinking it" Woody interjected.
"Yeah" Sora said. "The Heartless – the darkness – can only creep in when our hearts falter. Trust me. You'll be fine if you don't lose heart."
"Well, that's good" Woody said. "Because I know you, Buzz. You'll never lose heart when it comes to your friends."
Buzz smiled. "True enough, cowboy. Sorry to have worried you all."
"No problem. Now, let's go find the others."
"Hey! Look!"
Donald suddenly called out, pointing out the window and up as a U.F.O. toy with a claw hanging from the bottom hovered past.
"A flyin' saucer!" Goofy exclaimed.
"How retro" Cheetor remarked.
"I think I know who that might lead us to" Woody said. "C'mon, guys!"
"Hey Woody," Hamm walked over as the gang headed out the window, "I'd just slow you down, with all the loose change I'm carrying. I'll hang by the entrance."
"No problem" the sheriff replied. "Be safe, Hamm."
"Hey, thanks, buddy. You just take care of your old self. Now, let's follow that UFO!"
The heroes moved along the third-floor hallway, chasing the UFO into the little-kid play area. They watched as it used its claw to snatch up the little alien trio, and then started hovering away. Buzz and Cheetor started shooting at it, and a squad of Toy Troopers spawned in to protect the Heartless-controlled flying toy. As Goofy, Woody, & Cheetor started handling the small fry, Sora, Donald, & Buzz kept up the pursuit of their main target, blaster bolts and Firaga blasts chipping away at its hull. Sora ran up the side of some furniture and leapt high, slashing at the Heartless ship in midair, until it projected an electrical field around itself that shocked him and blasted him back.
As Donald healed Sora, the Heartless brought in a couple of Gigas mechs. Grinning as he saw an opportunity, Cheetor rushed at the nearest one, dodging its cannon shots and clambering up the machine's front. Holding on with his claws, he used his bladed tail to spear into the cockpit, forcing it open and letting him gun down the Toy Trooper inside. The Maximal then hopped in, turning the Gigas Mech's guns on the remaining smaller Heartless. He then started firing explosive blasts and missiles at the UFO, using his mech's thrusters to dodge laser blasts it tried to return fire with. The withering barrage soon proved too much for the Heartless flyer, the controlling dark entity being slain, leaving the flying saucer to crash to the ground and release its prisoners.
"We are baaack" the aliens chorused.
"Our ship is no more"
"Nirvana will not be reached…"
Sora turned to the nearest one. "Sorry we trashed your ride."
"Fear not" the alien replied. "We still have our new home."
"The Chamber of Andy" the trio chorused.
"They're right" Buzz said. "This isn't where we belong. We've been in this toy store long enough. It's time for us to go home to Andy's room."
"But…" Sora spoke up. "Xehanort told us that room isn't even his real room."
Buzz rounded on the boy. "Can you prove that any of that nonsense is true? And even if Andy's room is fake, it doesn't mean he's not somewhere in this world with us. I'm going home to wait for him. No more debate. …You with me, Woody?"
"Hmm…" the cowboy crossed his arms. "You're right, Buzz. Now that we're all accounted for, we should meet up at the entrance and go home."
"Okay" Sora replied. "We could've used friends like you for the final showdown…"
"But Organization XIII's our problem to solve" Goofy said.
"Yeah!" Donald leapt up. "I can take 'em!"
"I'm no so sure about that~" Sora replied. "Guys, can we see you off?"
"That would be great" Woody replied.
The team made their way back down to the first floor, heading back toward the entrance.
"Sarge, roll call" Woody ordered as they neared the doors.
"Yes, sir! Roll call! All toys, fall in!"
Hamm, the aliens, and the remaining army-men lined up… and it was clear that a member of the team was again missing.
"Where's Rex?" Buzz asked.
"Aw, he took off" Hamm replied. "Said he wanted to prove to you that you could trust Sora. He's up there in the videogame section."
The spaceman gave a weary sigh. "Well, here we go again…"
"This is about us?" Sora asked. "He's not safe. The Heartless are out there."
"You're right" Woody nodded. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cheetor… Any chance you could help us one last time?"
"Count on it" the Maximal gave a thumbs-up.
Back up the central rails they went, returning to the third floor. As they entered the game store, they saw Rex atop a display of numerous copies of Verum Rex, triumphantly holding up one of the cases.
"Look! Look!" he ran over, holding the game up. "I found it! See, Sora?"
Sora looked at the silver-haired, dark-clad figure lounging beside an energy sword. "Well, I never look this good. The clothes kinda match…"
They walked further into the store, passing a double-sided sign advertising Verum Rex.
"See?" Woody said. "I told ya, Buzz. They're toys, just like the rest of us."
Buzz looked at Team Sora with a bit of wariness. "Well, I suppose…"
"Donald," Sora whispered to his friend, "I thought your magic decided how I look. Explain."
"Simple" the Royal Mage replied. "That's not you. Rex is just confused."
"Say," Goofy spoke up, "Riku would make a great action figure!"
"Must be him!"
"No!" Sora said. "It's me. I've got the black clothes and, uh…"
"So what?"
"All right, everyone" Buzz called out. "Now that we're back together, it's time to return to Andy's room.
"Now?" Rex said. "But can't I at least check the strategy guides? I wanna know how to beat Bahamut!"
Buzz sighed as he walked over. "Next time. Right now, we need to go home."
As the dejected dino followed the spaceman back over to the group, a black-robed figure slowly floated in.
"Oh, but you needn't rush off" Young Xehanort said.
Growled, Sora drew his Keyblade, his fellows following suit.
"I have more to observe" the dark youth continued. "I can't let you leave yet."
"You're not stopping us" Woody said. "You've caused enough trouble for one toy, pal."
The hooded man chuckled. "Toy, you say? Like those new friends of yours?"
He waved his arm, releasing a bitter blasting wind of Darkness. Sora, Donald, Goofy, & Cheetor were blown back and off their feet… and Donald's disguise magic was shattered, falling away from them like broken glass to reveal their true appearances, leaving Woody and Buzz gaping in stunned shock.
"They're… people?" Woody muttered. "Like Andy?"
"There are many worlds in existence," Young Xehanort explained, "and among those who can travel between them, there is a 'World Order', a non-interference clause decreeing that isolated world locals not informed of the greater picture be kept ignorant of the existence of other worlds and travelers. But, well… The Seekers of Darkness don't particularly care, now do we?"
Sora snarled as he got to his feet. "The order's been in place for centuries, to keep the peace!"
"Peace is boring. Nothing ever changes or develops during peace."
"Just like the Space Ranger handbook…" Buzz murmured, within Woody's earshot. "To avoid confusing and panicking the locals of less-advanced or isolated planets…" Then, his expression firmed, and he pointed his arm cannon right at Young Xehanort. "They may not be toys," he said, "but they've proven themselves to be honest people, trying to do the right thing… and trying to stop the likes of you from causing havoc!"
"Right" Woody got ready to fight. "Just because they're not toys doesn't mean they're not friends. They're inter-world peacekeepers, like traveling sheriffs… and I don't think this town is big enough for you, Xehanort."
The young black-clad man pointed a palm at Woody & Buzz, only for Team Sora to get in his way.
"It's us that you really want" Sora said. "Leave the others out of this."
The young man smirked. "You would say that, champion of light. Very well. Let's skip to the final stage."
Suddenly, a Marionette that had snuck up behind everyone grabbed Buzz from behind. Everyone turned to look, just in time to see the Heartless phase into him. Buzz went limp for a moment, and then straightened up with glowing yellow eyes and pointed his gun right at Woody. Goofy immediately leapt in, his shield deflecting the blaster bolt just in time.
"I can't believe it…" Woody said with stunned horror. "Buzz has been taken over?"
"What have you done!?" Sora charged at Young Xehanort as Goofy tried to protect Woody. However, YX flash-stepped away to dodge the youth's swing, reappearing several meters away.
"I thought I made it clear" he said. "I am testing the strength of their bonds." He continued to speak as Sora made several lunging strikes at him, dodging and flash-stepping away from each one. "In this world, toys have Hearts. And those Hearts come from a powerful bond. So what happens when those bonds are stretched to their limit? When they are worlds apart, can cloth and plastic hold onto their Hearts?" He brought his Keyblade up to block Sora's one-handed. "All I needed was a wedge to widen the divide – someone like you to fill them with distrust and doubt. And that chasm you created can be filled with a vast darkness. Witness it for yourself…"
"Sora!" Donald called out from where he and Rex were trying to restrain the possessed Buzz.
As Sora tried to run to help, Young Xehanort suddenly grabbed him, holding him up with one arm and charging a dark blast the other.
"Not this time" he whispered maliciously, firing the blast and flinging Sora into the Verum Rex display screen… and into it, disappearing from view.
When Sora got back up, he found himself in a spacious industrial-looking area, with multiple Gigas mechs inactive all around.
"They believed that you came from a videogame in this world" Young Xehanort's voice echoed. "So now, I thought it fitting that you watch my experiment from inside that screen. That is… if you manage to find a moment's rest…"
The other Gigas mechs all came online, beginning to advance toward Sora's position.
"There's got to be a way out…" he muttered. "Buzz, Woody, hang on!"
Sora boarded the nearby empty Gigas Mech, and charged into the fray guns blazing. Over the next several minutes, he bashed and blasted his way through hordes of enemy mechs – not very durable, but vast in number and with perfectly functional weapons of their own. A trio of glowing "prime" units soon entered the fray, taking more hits to put down, but Sora was quickly getting the hang of piloting a giant battle-mech, so they didn't last too long.
Then, a shimmering golden Gigas flew in, one hand hefting a heavy blaster cannon and the other armed with piercing claws. The Super-Gigas took flight, hovering over Sora's mech and raining fire down on him. Sora dashed to the side while returning fire, chipping away at the enemy mech's shields & armor. As the Super-Gigas landed, it unleashed a hail of high-explosive blasts from its shoulder-mounted cannons, but Sora used a thrusted-aided leap to clear the blasts and come down on his opponent fist-first, knocking it onto its back.
Sora went for another big blow, but the Super-Gigas teleported away, reappearing off to the side and opening fire. Taking a few hits, Sora maneuvered his Gigas to dodge and shoot back, the two mechs plugging away at each other. Before long, both mechs were sparking and smoking. Finally, as Sora's Gigas rushed in, it took a fatal hit from the enemy Gigas' cannons, but then Sora launched himself free of the cockpit and slammed a Rasengan into the Super-Gigas' "face". The golden mech, now minus a good chunk of its head, toppled over and exploded, parts flying everywhere.
With a flash, Sora leapt out of the screen, to the relief of Donald, Goofy, Woody, Hamm, Rex, & the aliens.
"Sora!" Donald & Goofy ran over.
"You all right?" Woody asked.
"Yeah, I'm just fine" the youth replied. "And you? …Wait. Where's Buzz?"
Everyone else looked downcast at that.
"He disappeared into a Dark Corridor" Goofy said.
"Sora," Woody walked up, "how do we get him back?"
"I… don't know. My power won't open those."
Woody sighed, slumping over in defeat.
"Sir," the army-man sergeant hobbled over, "did I hear you say 'Dark Corridor'?"
"That's right, Sarge" Woody replied wearily. "Any ideas?"
"Well, it might be a long shot, but we've sighted a shadowy vortex in the Kid Korral. We can infiltrate from a window inside Babies & Toddlers. I'll head there and get it open."
As the sergeant gave his explanation, a look of relieved joy came to Woody's face. "Sarge, you're a lifesaver!" He turned to the others. "You guys in?"
"Definitely" Sora nodded.
"Let's go rescue our spaceman and kick some skidplate!" Cheetor pumped his fist.
As the other toys wished them well and saw them off, the team hurried out of the game store and over to the play-place, carving through a pack of Shadows & Toy Troopers that tried to get in their way. Reaching the play-place, they saw a small window up high that led into a large playroom. Climbing up the wall and passing through the open window, they entered a room full of bright colors, playful shapes, building blocks, slides – everything to keep a pack of young kids occupied while their parents shopped. The main doors into the area were blocked off by a huge mess of dark-green buildings blocks with an inactive Gigas nearby.
"The entrance was literally blocked?" Sora remarked.
Boarding the blue Gigas, Sora activated a button he hadn't pressed yet, channeling some magic in as well. In response, the mech's left claw opened up and projected an electro-field that enveloped the blocks, making them glow and levitate up, floating out of the way and allowing the doors to open.
"Look up there!"
Donald pointed to a vent close to the ceiling with shadowy wisps of darkness emanating from it.
"How we gonna reach that?" Sora wondered.
"Well, there are some more blocks here…" Woody pointed out another big stack of dark-green blocks.
Suddenly, a trio of Heartless-controlled Gigas mechs warped in. Sora quickly got back in his Gigas' cockpit and started shooting at the closest, red-model Gigas. The crimson mech tried to rush in with a shoulder tackle, but Sora dodged and blasted it point-blank with explosive rounds, putting it out of the fight. Goofy and Cheetor attacked the feet of the enemy blue Gigas, destabilizing it and throwing off its attempt to shoot explosive charges at Donald & Woody. Sora then moved in and pounded it until it stopped moving.
The purple Gigas' shoulder pylons swiveled forward and blasted a laser at the heroes, but Donald's Reflega protected them all. Cheetor went Beast Mode and dashed in, the Transmetal-2 sabretooth climbing up the enemy mech, biting and slashing. The purple Gigas seemed to have weaker armor than the other two models, and the Maximal managed to do some damage before Sora came in and finished the job.
With the area clear, Sora used his Gigas' electro-claw to levitate the green blocks up, reassembling them into a sort of Tetris-like shape. Unfortunately, it wasn't tall enough to reach the vent yet.
Advancing around a corner and into a smaller section, the heroes were beset by a pack of Toy Troopers with Pole Cannon fire-support. Leaping out of the Gigas since it couldn't fit, Sora unleashed a Watera spell that took out a few of them, while Woody used his lasso and his bare fists to put down a few more. Cheetor and Donald blasted the turret Heartless, and Goofy & Sora worked together to handle the rest of the foot-soldiers.
Retrieving his Gigas mech, Sora used it to clear the plush blocks out of his way, and then activated the magic claw-field to levitate the green blocks blocking the little area's main door. They flew out through the now-opened door and assembled atop the partial structure already by the vent, still not reaching it but considerably closer than before.
Leaving the Gigas again, Sora & company entered the network of tubes, slides, and nets inside the 'play-cubes' against the far wall, ascending up the inside and fighting through a few more minor Heartless ambushes. Finding another Gigas mech inside, Sora used its jump-jets to climb to the top, finding a stack of enchantable blocks blocking the big slide entrance. He channeled magic into the blocks, and they floated out and over to the structure under the vent. They combined with the blocks already present, completing a running cactus-man figure with a little crown. The cactus-thing tipped over sideways, its arm smashing the closed vent open.
The heroes exited the jungle-gym cube-thing area and made their way to the cactus-man, climbing up the huge green construction and reaching the open vent. Inside the vent, they found a roiling black & purple gateway.
"So this is what the bad guys use to traverse between worlds, huh?" Woody asked.
"Yep" Goofy nodded. "We've seen 'em plenty of times before."
"Here goes…" Sora said.
Steeling themselves, the five heroes stepped through the Dark Corridor. They found themselves in a dark and frightening place where there was no clean boundary between ground and 'sky', everything a mass of roiling, shifting dark-blue, black, and deep-purple. Random chunks of toy floated in the air, and a pillar of dark power shot up from the center of the area. Floating in it, unresponsive…
"Buzz!" Woody ran for his friend.
"Xehanort…" Sora growled, drawing his blade on the robed figure standing in their path.
"What do you want with my friend?" Woody asked angrily.
"Look…" Young Xehanort said. "Such tremendous darkness. All because he was ripped away from the boy who cares about him most."
Wavering shadows sprang up menacingly around Woody and Sora.
"Does that mean…" the sheriff wondered, rattled. "We'll all be like Buzz… if we don't find Andy?"
"Wrong!" Sora stepped toward Xehanort. "Distance doesn't matter. Andy's part of their hearts, just like my friends are part of mine. You can't rip that apart!"
Woody gasped softly, and then lifted his boot to look at his owner's name written on the sole. He then looked ahead at Buzz, floating in blackness, with the same name on the sole of his boot.
"What?" Xehanort said. "Your friends are your power? Ah… How very true." He extended his arm, and Buzz floated higher up in the dark pillar, while the shadows encroached on the heroes. "But if the light of friendship is a form of power… the darkness of being alone is a power even greater. Darkness is the Heart's true nature."
Sora stepped back, visibly rattled. However, Woody placed a steadying hand on the youth's shoulder, and stepped forward with a calm and steady glare.
"Whatever you're talking about," he said to Xehanort, "I don't care. Put Buzz back the way he was, then get lost!"
"Or else what, toy?" Young Xehanort said, smirking.
"Yeah, I am a toy. And a friend." He stepped forward, and the darkness recoiled beneath his boots. "My guess is that no one's ever loved you before. Because you know nothing about hearts and love." With every step, the darkness retreated further.
Sora stepped forward beside Woody, and as they advanced together, they slowly pushed the darkness back. "There are Hearts all around us," he said, "trying to connect. Your 'loneliness' only made Woody and Buzz's connection stronger. That's the Heart's true nature – to never, ever let go. Wherever they are, Andy and the other toys haven't let go either."
"Yeah! You can't keep us from Andy. We're going home no matter what. And taking Buzz!"
"Xehanort, you're so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them."
With that, the darkness was blown back and away, and a brilliant light burst forth around Buzz. Sora, Donald, & Goofy charged at Young Xehanort, who formed his Keyblade and struck, trying to push them back. Woody used them as a springboard to leap high, lassoing a floating block and swinging in to push Buzz free, the two of them collapsing to the ground together as Young Xehanort snarled. After a few seconds, Buzz came to.
"Woody… Wait, how did I get here?"
"Hmm, oh, I dunno! Maybe somebody switched you into 'dark and stormy' mode."
"But I don't have a… Hmph…"
Getting to his feet, Woody offered his old friend a hand, and with a smile the spaceman took it.
"Thank you, Woody."
"Good to have ya back, Buzz."
Suddenly, there was a crash as Young Xehanort flung the hero trio away, then used his Keyblade to deflect Cheetor's shots.
"So," he said, "even empty puppets can be given strong Hearts. I am going to have to remember that."
"Remember this" Buzz had his laser sight right on the dark youth's face. "Our hearts will always be connected with Andy's. No matter what you do!"
"And that's something you'll never understand," Woody added, "because you're hollower than any toy."
"But now I know a Heart can be placed in a vessel of our choosing" Young Xehanort flared with dark power. For that, let me give you a parting gift to play with."
(BOSS MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts III OST is not yet available – [Vs. King of Toys])
As Young Xehanort teleported out, the darkness overhead began to clear… revealing a massive shape hovering in the air. It looked like a huge purple UFO-like craft, with glowing blue ports and a folded energy cannon on the underside. The front had a glowing yellow face pattern on it, and on top of the huge Heartless was an armored helmeted head with antennae sticking up from its top.
"Jumping gyros, that thing's huge!" Cheetor exclaimed.
"We can take it together" Sora replied, Keyblade at the ready.
The massive "King of Toys" Heartless slowly floated over the big toy town the heroes found themselves in, a shimmering barrier of interlocking hexagons encircling its midsection. Then, it abruptly shot forward low over the ground while spinning, a devastating tackle that almost flattened the heroes right at the start of the fight. Dodging and recovering, they started firing shots at it, to little effect. Sora ran up the side of one of the battlefield's toy buildings, leaping off the top and landing on the King of Toys' upper section. He ran over and started bashing & slashing at the head, and a few hatches on the saucer-shaped Heartless' upper section opened up to release a handful of missiles that curved up and then came down at Sora, forcing him to leap off.
The King of Toys tilted on its side and flew/rolled around the perimeter of the battlefield, continuously launching missiles at the heroes. Sora, Woody, & Goofy rolled and leapt and dashed about to avoid the missiles, while Donald, Buzz, & Cheetor started trying to shoot them out of the air. After making a full revolution, the King of Toys shifted to its normal configuration, and a big cannon unfolded from its underside. A crackling orb of power charged up and fired, and the heroes took shelter behind a toy building that was blown in half by the resulting blast. The Heartless began charging another shot, but Donald zapped it with Thundaga, destabilizing the gathering energy and doing some more damage to the entity.
As the King of Toys hovered around, shooting missiles and laser blasts at the heroes, Buzz scaled a toy building and then glided down onto the top of the Heartless. He started blasting the Heartless' head, hanging on as the monster tried to shake him off. Sora joined him up top, hacking and slashing, until the King of Toys projected an electric field around itself that flung them both off of it.
As Donald used Cura on Sora & Buzz, the King of Toys floated higher in the center, several red & blue orbs floating out from it and floating in a circle around it, linked by tendrils of electrical energy. The sky darkened, and buildings & debris began floating all around it, slowly orbiting it. Lightning bolts began shooting down at the heroes, and floating debris tried to smash them. Sora began leaping his way up the debris, closing in on the enemy, and at the peak of his highest jump he fired a Ragnarok barrage, the magic bolts crashing against the Heartless' head and armored hull.
Then, the King of Toys began to spin rapidly, kicking up a deadly whirlwind full of high-velocity toy debris. It began zipping around the battlefield, the dark tornado flinging toys everywhere; Goofy was sent flying as well, but Buzz used his winds to catch the wind, glide up and save him. Donald and Sora blasted the Heartless whirlwind with Thundaga and Blizzaga shots, and eventually they did enough to force it out of its tornado attack. It then fired a high-explosive electro-ball blast bigger and stronger than before, and everyone got behind Goofy as he poured magical power into his shield and cast his strongest defensive spell, the shield seemingly tripling in size and glowing with Light power. The Knight Captain was shoved back by the force, but his shield held, weathering the storm. He was left out of breath, though, from the strain of casting such a high-level shield spell.
As the King of Toys hovered in place and opened vents to release built-up heat after so many high-level attacks in a row, Cheetor fired a missile right into the closest vent. An explosion coursed through the giant Heartless' body, flames spewing from some of its vents as it listed in the air. Donald, Buzz, & Cheetor poured fire on the stricken Heartless, racking up more damage, and Goofy gave Sora a boost up onto the saucer's top again. Charging in at its head, Sora poured magical power into his body and his Keyblade, unleashing a barrage of super-strength blows at lightning speed – Ars Arcanum.
Subjected to so much damage already, the King of Toys could not withstand Sora's final onslaught. The young hero leapt off as explosions cascaded through the monster, darkness particles leaking from holes in its hull. Finally, it crashed to the ground with an earthshaking thud, its body coming apart into wisps of darkness as an ethereal Heart floated up and away. A bright light then engulfed the battleground…
-X-
Back down on the first floor of Galaxy Toys, the whole gang walked together toward the exit.
"So, Xehanort got away again…" Goofy said.
"Yeah, he's a big chicken" Donald added.
Looking solemn, Sora bowed his head to Woody's team. "I'm sorry!" he said. "I wanted to get you back to the real world."
Woody & Buzz looked to each other, then smiled.
"It does seem that we're trapped here…" the spaceman said.
"We'll never get home…" Rex lamented.
"Yeah, stuck like pigs" Hamm added.
"Our position appears fixed" the sergeant chimed in.
"A shame we'll have to stay a little longer…" Buzz walked over to the travelers "with out new best friends."
"After all the adventures we've had," Woody joined him, "we're not quite ready to say 'So long'."
Sora laughed with relief. "Aw, you guys…"
"I'm sorry that I was being so stubborn" Buzz said to him. "Please forgive me."
Sora smiled and shook his head, then Buzz's offered hand. "Hey, you were just looking out for your friends. No biggie."
"Yeah, somebody's gotta be the sensible one," Hamm said, "especially since Woody's always getting' in trouble."
"Gawrsh, that sounds a little like Sora, don't it?" Goofy remarked.
Woody and Sora looked to each other.
"Yeah, and I'm the dependable one!" Donald added.
"Like Buzz!" Rex replied. "…Kinda."
Everyone shared a laugh at that.
"Besides," Woody continued, "if we do go back to our real world, we'll probably never see you again, right?"
"But… What about Andy?" Sora asked. "You care about him so much."
Buzz put a hand on his shoulder. "And he's still right here with us" he held a hand to his heart.
"If we follow our hearts," Woody said, "we'll find him again."
Sora couldn't help but grin. "Yeah!"
"So Sora, are you goin' after the guy in the black coat?"
"Something tells me we can't join you on that mission" Buzz said.
"And that's okay, because you've become part of our hearts." Standing with the other toys, he pointed to Sora's chest. "So let us become part of yours."
"Now, off you go, Ranger" Buzz said with a grin. "To infinity, and beyond!"
-CHAPTER END-
An explanation why I don't have Sora use his new form changes in this fic: those form changes are linked to different Keyblades, and I see Sora changing his Keyblade's base form like that as a gameplay-only thing, while in story canon he only ever wields the Kingdom Key (and, in this fic series, the Ultima Weapon form when tapping into major Light power).