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 15: Get in the Damn Robot, Sora
After a long trek across the streets away from Andy's house, Sora and the other toys made it to the Galaxy Toys store.
"We made it!" Rex exclaimed, as everyone took in the sights of the entrance displays for the store.
"This is incredible!" Sora remarked as he looked around and saw a giant mecha toy. "Hey, why isn't that toy moving?"
"I guess it just hasn't figured out how to yet," Woody deduced.
"If you want to see it move that badly, then I can do it for you," the voice of Young Xehanort called out as he stepped out from a portal of darkness.
"The hooded stranger!" Buzz realized, springing into action.
"You're from the test, aren't you? The first of the Xehanorts?" Sora asked the young man.
"I'm honored that you still remember me," Young Xehanort answered, before he snapped his fingers and the Gigas toy sprung to life.
"Pull my drawstring, that toy can move!" Woody exclaimed in shock.
"Now that is cool," Hamm gushed, until the Gigas raised its fist to do a ground pound. "Yeep! Now it's a lot less cool!"
"Look out!" Donald and Goofy cried out, as Sora and the two Castle defenders leapt forward to block the punch with their weapons while Woody pushed Hamm away, a Toy Trooper Heartless popping the cockpit open momentarily to taunt the heroes before lowering it again to maintain the attack.
"Now you can see how one's bonds bring the other to life. Like Heartless and Nobodies, they live through a symbiosis," Young Xehanort continued.
"Enough! Why are you doing all of this?!" Sora demanded.
"I'll tell you why; there is a darkness in this world that we must reclaim. To that end, we created a copy of this world and separated those toys from their precious friends. I wonder how long they can handle the strain without succumbing to it." Young Xehanort finished explaining as he left through a portal of darkness once again.
"Sora! How about you try using one of those mechs?" Goofy suggested, as they held off the attack as best they could. "If the Heartless can do it, there's no reason you can't!"
"Good idea! It's time now to fight mecha with mecha!" Sora replied as he jumped into a Gunner type of the robot and prepared to fire explosive plasma balls all over at the Gigas robots. The all-out attack was then enough to clear the field of enemies. The Toy Trooper from before then popped out from the Gigas and disappeared in a puff of smoke as the Gigas then toppled over and flopped to the floor lifelessly.
"That toy was being controlled?" Buzz pondered in concern.
"Buzz, are you all right?" Goofy asked.
"I-it's nothing," Buzz assured.
"Wait, I'm confused," Woody spoke up. "What was the guy in the black coat going on about, with there being a copy of the world?"
"If I had to guess," Sora began, "Then this world was split into one that's just like this one, but only one of them is real, and the other is just a really convincing replica."
"You can't be serious!" Buzz scoffed. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you're from a video game. Maybe that's how things work in your fantasy world, but in real life, there's no such thing is mirror worlds. It just means that we've been at this toy store long enough. Right, Woody?"
"Well I admit, this does seem a bit far-fetched," Woody admitted. "But is it really any different than space rangers and evil emperors from outer space?" Buzz, then reminded of what he was like when he first met Woody and the others, softened his attitude.
"Point taken, but that just means these three are part of the illusion, and it's about time we part ways," Buzz told his friend.
"I thought we were friends, not strangers," Goofy said sadly, just before Sarge popped up to address Woody and Buzz.
"Sir, my mean have some bad news! Rex and the others have been toynapped! What's more, my corporal has disappeared as well!"
"Well, I guess we can't leave just yet," Woody decided.
"Please let us help!" Sora pleaded with the two toys. "We managed to get this far, after all."
"Sora's right," Goofy added. "Though Sora can be reckless, and Donald can be difficult to get along with, they're both still reliable."
"They suspect you too, you know!" Donald quacked.
"It's true," Sora added.
"Well, if you say so," Buzz told the heroes. "We'll just stick together for now until we get our friends back; then we're getting out of this place and back to Andy's. Deal?"
"It's a deal," Sora accepted, as they scanned the area finding a crank-operated capsule machine as an entryway, with colored railway paths leading to different parts of the store. "Now, let's get going."
Meanwhile, back at the Castle of Dreams, Riku and Mickey had reunited with Aqua as they met Jaq the mouse on his way to free Cinderella from her locked room.
"Aqua? How could you say you don't know us?" Mickey asked in shock.
"But I don't. Are you friends of Eraqus? He never spoke about either of you before," Aqua told the mouse.
"But we fought the Heartless together in the Realm of-" Mickey continued, before Riku pushed the king aside.
"Your Majesty, this may seem fishy, but I think this is like when me and Sora took the Mark of Mastery; it's back at the point a year before Cinderella was kidnapped, so it just seems like the world is putting Aqua back when she visited here, okay?" Riku whispered.
"Oh, I get it now," King Mickey replied as they went back over. "It's nice to meet you Aqua, my name's Mickey, Mickey Mouse."
"And I'm Riku. It's a pleasure to meet you." Riku added, shaking Aqua's hand.
"Guys? Some time today, zuk-zuk?" Jaq whined as he knew time was running out before the Duke was about to leave, so they had to hurry to free Cinderella.
Back downstairs however, the Grand Duke had arrived in the center room, where Anastasia and her sister and mother Drizella and Lady Tremaine, respectively, (both having been resurrected by the means of time being turned back) were waiting.
"Madame, the reason I am here today is by royal decree of-" the Duke began before Tremaine interrupted.
"With all due respect Your Grace, we are well aware of your purpose here, so we can do away with formalities and get on with it already," Tremaine remarked.
"Quite," the Duke replied flatly as he called for the first of the daughters to step forward for the fitting. Anastasia then sat down, before her face faltered and she remembered her oversized foot couldn't possibly fit. "Oh my," the Duke remarked in surprise as Drizella tried to supress a snort of laughter. He then struggled to fit the shoe on, until Tremaine waved the wand (Anastasia having informed her mother how the wand works when she got back to the point in time before the Duke's arrival, not knowing Xehanort had left her sight unseen).
"Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo," she whispered as her foot's size shrunk to fit the glass slipper just right.
"It fits," the Duke gasped in surprise, as Anastasia then whooped and shouted in joy at her newfound luck, even dancing with the family cat Lucifer, until her mother caught her in her tracks.
"Remember, my dear, grace and poise," Tremaine remarked.
"Yes, mother," Anastasia groaned as Lucifer grumpily was left sitting on the girl's face.
"Well then, I hereby declare we have found the Prince's- eh, bride-to-be," the Duke stammered partly in confusion. "We should return to the Palace at once."
"Of course! Lead the way!" Anastasia replied as she followed after with the dignity she could muster, Drizella and Tremaine not far behind.
"No! Please, Your Grace, wait!" Cinderella called out from the top of the staircase, with Riku and the others racing after her.
"My apologies, Your Grace, my house maid seems to have forgotten her place. Go on ahead while I have a word with her," Tremaine told the Duke, as he and the sisters went ahead to the carriage.
"How could the slipper have fit Anastasia?" Cinderella asked, as the two were alone. "I was the one who danced with the Prince. I even have the other slipper to prove it!"
"You may have danced with him, but the truth of the matter is the slipper fits Anastasia, and she is who the prince will marry. Whatever you thought happened last night is but a dream." Tremaine remarked as she caught the slipper with her cane and dangled it over the staircase, before letting it drop all the way down to the floor. At that moment as Riku, Aqua, Mickey and Jaq arrived by Cinderella's side, they could see a dark aura surrounding Tremaine. "Now, I have business to attend to; clean up this mess until I return."
"You won't get away with this," Cinderella grimaced.
"But I have," Lady Tremaine replied. "I don't care where you go or what you do, but I forbid you from going anywhere close to the palace and the Prince." After Tremaine left, Riku climbed up next to Cinderella, who scooped him, Aqua and the others up in her hands.
"There's something that's not right about her," Riku told Cinderella. "Somehow, she must've gotten your Godmother's wand and made the slipper fit your sister instead!"
"My Fairy Godmother's wand? How do you know about her?" Cinderella asked.
"They're friends of Ven!" Jaq answered. "Names are Riku, Mickey and Aqua!"
"Well, it's nice to meet the three of you," Cinderella addressed the three. "But you're right, if she has the wand, we need to get it back. Somehow, we need to sneak into the palace before the wedding can happen."
"Ha-ha, now we're talkin'!" Mickey said cheerfully.
"Well, it looks like things aren't finished here yet," Aqua murmured to herself as Cinderella set out with the friends in tow. "Terra, Ven, I hope you can wait a little longer for us to come together again."
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.