Buzz and Sora both rocketed off, easily overtaking Woody, Jessie, Aqua, and Bullseye. Sora easily kept up with Buzz, following him into and through a shallow canyon and up onto a wide empty plain where they both landed behind some cover. Buzz peaked out from behind the rock they had landed behind and motioned for Sora to take a look.
"There it is, Zurg's Fortress itself." Buzz said as Sora peaked out from the side and saw a towering purple skyscraper with a large red circle in the center and the letter Z in yellow written on it. The tower also looked like it had a pair of backwards swept horns.
"Yep, that's Zurg's place alright." Sora muttered.
"No time to lose." Buzz said as he started leaping and rolling from cover to cover, moving closer and closer with each step towards the entrance. Sora followed close behind.
"I don't suppose you know where the door is?" Sora asked after a moment.
"Zurg has an entrance hidden around here somewhere. I've never been able to get in, it's always locked and Zurg has the key with him I'll bet." Buzz said as Sora spotted something. A purple painted object stuck in the ground that was shaped similarly to a parking meter but on it was a shape familiar to Sora, a keyhole. Sora smirked at the sight of it.
"Actually, I can crack it." Sora said, summoning his Keyblade.
"You've had training in intergalactic lock picking?" Buzz asked as Sora smirked.
"Better." He said as he aimed his Keyblade at the keyhole, causing the familiar blue circle to appear around the tip of it and a beam of blue light to shoot out towards the keyhole. When the light dissipated, the device promptly shrunk into the ground and the ground started to shake.
"Whoops." Sora said but Buzz grinned.
"It's not the ground that's shaking; it's the door that's opening!" Buzz exclaimed as a massive door in the ground started opening beneath their feet in the form of a large letter Z. The two quickly leapt down into the hole before the door overhead slammed shut, plunging them into darkness.
"Umm…so now what?" Sora asked. He then saw the green parts of Buzz's spacesuit suddenly illuminate with a bright yet soft green glow. Sora face palmed.
"Oh yeah, you glow in the dark, I forgot." Sora said sheepishly.
"Come on, Zurg's probably waiting for us." He said as he pointed his laser around the room carefully until he found an entrance, "This way."
Sora quickly followed after Buzz as he ran down a dark hallway. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they were being watched by a pair of sinister glowing red eyes in a control room nearby, watching a monitor showing the hallway, shaped in the form of a Z (Go figure) with two glowing yellow blips moving quickly through the hall. A metal hand reached through the gloom towards a lever.
"Come to me, my pray." A deep and sinister voice said as it pulled the lever. Back in the hallway, the lights suddenly flashed on, causing Buzz and Sora to slide to a halt.
"We've been made!" Sora exclaimed just as a door slammed shut behind them and proceeded to extend rows of razor sharp metal spikes. Buzz and Sora saw them and started running just the spikes began moving down the hall after them.
"They're gaining on us!" Sora yelped as he glanced over his shoulder at the rapidly approaching spikes. They looked ahead to see the door at the end of the hall slowly closing shut. They picked up speed as they ran for the door, praying that they make it before the spikes caught them.
Meanwhile…
Woody and Jessie dismounted Bullseye as Aqua dismissed her Keyblade Rider. They had stopped outside of an old mine shaft.
"Come on, Stinky Pete's probably inside." Woody said as they marched inside, leaving Bullseye outside. Aqua had her Keyblade summoned and was on the alert. The mine shaft twisted and turned but Woody seemed to know the way. Jessie however started acting strangely, tugging at her braid nervously and glancing at the walls. Aqua noticed this.
"Jessie, are you alright?" Aqua asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright." She said softly but Aqua wasn't convinced.
"You sure don't show it. You afraid of closed spaces?" Aqua asked as Jessie nodded slightly.
"Kinda." She said as she walked ahead of Woody who dropped back and fell in step with Aqua.
"Jessie doesn't like the mines. It reminds her of the thing she dreads most." Woody said earning a curious look from Aqua.
"What's that?" Aqua asked. Woody hesitated before answering.
"Storage." Woody said as Aqua looked concerned. Woody then continued. "For years, Jessie, Bullseye, Stinky Pete and I, we were the favorite toys of our kids. But, like all of kids, they grew up and we were forgotten. Then one day a man in a white coat, kinda like yours actually, comes in, picks us up, and puts each of us inside a box, and puts us into storage. We would occasionally get a glimpse of our kids, until finally we just…didn't anymore and ended up here. Jessie doesn't like the mines because it reminds her of that box we were put in."
"Couldn't you guys climb out of the box whenever you wanted to?" Aqua asked as Woody nodded.
"Yeah, and we did, frequently. But it just wasn't the same. To a toy, there's nothing more heartwarming than being played with. There's nothing that gives you that feeling of success when you see a child smile while they're playing with their favorite toy, or any toy for that matter. Making kids happy is what we do. They'll all grow up eventually, but every second they spend with you is…there's nothing to describe it. But how would you feel if something you loved, that person, place, or thing that gave you such joy, just disappeared?" Woody asked as Aqua looked at him with a somber expression.
"I know the feeling, like you wouldn't believe Woody. I've lost my best friend, my home, and my boyfriend. So I know the feeling." Aqua said, catching up to Jessie and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"And I know the feeling of being alone too. I've been alone for a long time, and if it wasn't for Sora, I'd still be alone." Aqua said as Jessie looked at her with a soft smile before they both hugged. Aqua then whispered something into Jessie's ear that made the cowgirl pause in silent disbelief before they pulled back, Jessie looking at her with the same expression. Aqua nodded, causing Jessie to smile warmly. Woody didn't know what had just happened but he knew it was good. However his thoughts were interrupted by a faint rattling noise coming from out of nowhere. Aqua and Jessie looked around curiously as they heard the noise too. The rattling was getting louder and louder. Then they saw a light approaching from the tunnel behind them. Woody's eyes widened in realization as he looked down at his feet and gasped. There were rail lines beneath their feet.
"IT'S THE MINE TRAIN! RUN!" Woody shouted as the two turned and started running through the tunnel down the tracks.
"IT'S GAINING ON US!" Jessie shouted as she saw the lantern dangling from the front of the empty mine cars barreling towards them. Aqua then saw a tall space in the tunnel with a low hanging beam. She summoned her Keyblade and flipped it around to where the tooth was facing towards the ground.
"HANG ON TIGHT TO ME, AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LET GO!" she shouted as Woody and Jessie quickly grabbed her just as she swung and hooked her Keyblade on the beam, swinging herself and the two toys forward slightly.
"LEGS UP!" Aqua shouted and the toys complied just in time for the mine train to run underneath them. Aqua let go of the Keyblade at just the right time and landed in the front most car.
"YEE-HAAAA! That was amazing!" Jessie exclaimed as the track leveled out.
"I think you're my new favorite deputy." Woody laughed.
"We're not out of the woods yet Sheriff. Where does this track lead?" Aqua asked.
"Straight to Stinky Pete's lair." Woody replied. They then heard a thud come from one of the mine cars behind them. They turned and saw what appeared to be one of your stereotypical toy soldiers, with the tall red hat and matching uniform but the face exposed its true nature. Its face was black with distinct yellow eyes and its hands were black claws.
"Heartless!" Aqua shouted as she summoned her Keyblade and fired a Firaga blast at the Heartless, vaporizing it. Soon more toy soldier heartless dropped in and onto the mine cars.
"What are these things?" Woody asked.
"Bad guys!" Aqua shouted back as she started peppering away with Firaga blasts until she finally entered Fire Blazer and the attacks made short work of the heartless. Jessie looked ahead and saw something.
"Woody!" Jessie exclaimed, turning the Sheriff towards a sign that read "Bridge out."
"Uh oh!" Woody said as they passed the sign.
"Aqua! We're about to run out of track real fast!" Jessie said to the Keyblade Master who turned and saw the bridge up ahead was indeed out and it led straight into the dark abyss below. She was about to convert her Keyblade into the Keyblade Rider form but she had to turn and cut through a toy soldier Heartless before she could and there were a lot on its tail.
"What are we going to do?" Jessie asked. Woody looked around frantically for some sort of escape but he couldn't find one. They both looked straight ahead, watching as the end of the line got closer and closer.
"It's like the last episode of Woody's Roundup, only this time, I think I know how it ends!" Jessie shouted fearfully. The Mine Train was quickly approaching the end of the tracks as Woody and Jessie held onto each other for dear life, Aqua still keeping the Heartless at bay.
"AAAH! THIS IS THE PART WHERE WE FALL OFF!" Woody shouted. Suddenly…
"NOT TODAY!" a voice shouted. Almost instantly and from out of nowhere a red laser beam vaporized the cars with the Heartless on them. Woody, Jessie, and Aqua found their mine car flying towards the other side in midair, surrounded by a large Reflega shield. They looked over the edge and saw Buzz pushing the mine car and Sora on the front, holding up the Reflega.
"HA-HA! NOW THAT'S TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!" Woody shouted with joy. He then noticed the car fly up and over the canyon wall.
"Uh, Buzz! You missed the tracks!" Aqua shouted.
"We're not aiming for the tracks!" Sora replied as Buzz lowered the mine car onto the ground and Sora banished the Reflega shield. Before them was a steam locomotive, smoke billowing upwards from its stack as it idled in place. One of the passenger coaches was definitely Zurg themed. One of the cars was a flatbed with a metal cage on its back with what appeared to be a three headed plastic sheep inside it. Standing on the roof of each car and coach were dozens of the Toy Soldier Heartless. Woody and Jessie spotted a portly looking man in a red shirt, blue denim overalls, boots, a worn old cowboy hat, a white plastic ring attached to a pull string on his back, and a white beard and moustache holding a pickaxe, loading one of the coaches with sacks of gold. The five approached the man quietly.
"Reach for the sky." Woody said slowly as the man jumped slightly and whirled around to face the toys and Keyblade wielders. Buzz had his laser trained on his forehead.
"Aah! Woody! Jessie! Why what brings you here?" Stinky Pete asked innocently.
"You know why we're here Stinky Pete! You stole Bo Peep's sheep, so we're here to get them back!" Woody said as Stinky Pete tried his best to look innocent.
"Oh now come, come, Woody. Why would I steal sheep? Do I look like a thief to you?" Stinky Pete asked as Aqua noticed something was amiss and kicked one of the gold sacks over.
"Where did you get the gold, Prospector? All throughout the Woody's Roundup series, you looked for gold yet never found any. So where did this come from? Who paid you off? Zurg?" Aqua asked as Stinky Pete looked her over curiously.
"You're a fan aren't you?" Stinky Pete asked.
"Yep, and until now, I was one of yours. Where did you get the gold Stinky?" Aqua asked aiming her Keyblade to his neck. Prospector stuttered and blabbered unintelligently. Buzz then noticed something and quickly pulled Aqua out of the way just in time for what looked like a bowling ball to hit the ground where she was standing and explode in a burst of dark magic.
"What the-?" Sora asked. Prospector smirked and quickly swung himself up onto the roof of the train car with his pickaxe where they saw the one person who, aside from Sora and Aqua, was completely out of place with the toy world.
"Hello kiddies! Enjoying your playtime?" Pete laughed with Stinky Pete standing next to him, the Prospector holding a stick of TNT in his hand and a match in the other. (A/N: To avoid confusion, Disney Pete will be simply Pete, while the Prospector will be either the latter or Stinky Pete).
"Pete! What are you doing here?" Sora asked as he and Aqua dropped into a battle stance.
"Oh I'm just here getting some new toys for the master! Oh and nice new coat." Pete said, noticing Aqua's haori.
"What have you done Pete?" Aqua asked angrily.
"Oh I'm just helping two fine Heartless villains get what they want so they'll join Master Xehanort's forces of Darkness. The Prospector wants gold, and wants to be rid of the space toys. My other friend wants one space toy in particular. (Ahem) Oh Zurg!" Pete called as a hatch on the top of the purple train car opened up and from it arose a fierce looking armored warrior in purple armor with a black with red lined chest plate, a long black cape with red interior and a tall collar swept away from the head. The head of the figure itself was in a hideous yellow frown and two glowing red angry eyes. Two backward swept horns were mounted on the side of its head. In its right hand was a massive tri-barreled gun with a dial on it with numbers going from one to eleven, and a hose running up from the back of the gun around to a backpack on the figure.
"So, we meet again Buzz Lightyear, for the last time!" the figure said with a deep voice, causing its teeth to light up in sync with its words. Buzz dropped into a fighting stance.
"Not today, Zurg!" Buzz said as Zurg aimed the weapon at Buzz.
"Dah! Lookout, he's got a Zurg-a-tronic Ion Blaster!" Sora exclaimed but Zurg didn't fire.
"I don't understand what's going on Prospector. What does all this have to do with Bo Peep's sheep?" Woody asked curiously. The Prospector simply chuckled and rested against the top of his pickaxe.
"Oh come on Woody, what would I do with a dumb animal?" Prospector asked. Jessie glared at him angrily.
"You take that back you crud munching-lousy-no good-critter napper!" Jessie snapped as Woody and Aqua restrained her.
"Oh Jessie, we've known each other for so long and been friends for the same amount of time. Let's not make our final farewells difficult by pointing fingers shall we? Truth is, we needed the sheep, because we knew it would draw out your friend, Buzz Lightweight!" Prospector said as Pete grinned and nodded.
"Yep, because Zurg here won't leave until he destroys the Space Ranger toy, so we needed to draw him out." Pete explained.
"You had to have known that Jessie and I would have come after you too, Prospector! You did after all steal from Bo Peep which drew me out, and kidnapped a critter which drew out Jessie! You knew we were going to come after you." Woody accused as Pete laughed again.
"That's what the mine cars were meant for." Pete replied.
"So what do you get out of all this, Prospector?" Woody asked angrily.
"I get the gold I've busted my stuffing for all my life, as well as get rid of the no good space toy, and get my revenge on the flea ridden, hand-me-down, cowboy doll who stabbed me in the back!" Prospector yelled angrily.
"You gave me no choice Prospector! You were trying to blow up Buzz!" Woody argued.
"I'm sure you think you are all so smart, but we've got a train to catch! So then…!" Pete exclaimed before putting his fingers to his mouth and making a shrill whistle. Instantly the Toy Soldier Heartless leapt down towards the five with their claws ready for the attack. The train whistle blew and the engine started moving, pulling the cars behind it down the track.
"See ya 'round!" Pete laughed as he and Prospector leapt down into the train coach beneath them. Zurg however started firing his gun at Buzz, but the Space Ranger rolled out of the way of the blasts and managed to grab a hold of the caboose and start to climb up as it rolled down the track. Sora and Aqua quickly cut down the Heartless in record time just as the train started picking up speed.
"It's moving too fast! We'll never catch it in time!" Jessie exclaimed. Sora and Aqua looked at each other and smirked.
"Oh yes we will!" Sora said as he and Aqua summoned their Keyblade Riders.
"Hop on!" Aqua shouted. Jessie leapt onto her back as Woody hopped on with Sora and they immediately took off to confront the villains before it was too late.
End Chapter 32.