I own nothing from Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney or Pixar
Chapter 18: Toy Box Part II
The off-worlders and the toys arrived at the place where Terra sensed more darkness; a giant toy store called 'Galaxy Toys'.
"Galaxy Toys?" Aqua asked.
Everyone walked inside, gasping in awe at how big the place was.
"You know...everything seems a lot cooler when you're small," said Kairi.
"So, you came after all," A voice taunted them.
A dark portal appeared on top of the big 'Space Capsule' dispenser machine in the middle of the store, and the one that came through it was a young man with mildly tanned skin, golden eyes, and silver hair which both slightly spiked and fell past his shoulders in the back.
Young Xehanort.
"Xehanort!" Terra yelled.
"Ah...Terra," Young Xehanort said. "We were a little surprised to hear that you had somehow managed to escape our hold."
"You're the Xehanort that came after me in the Dream World!" Sora yelled.
"Ah...so you remember," Young Xehanort grinned. "Good."
"What the hell are you doing here?!" asked Riku. "What do you want?!"
"There's a darkness missing, and we must reclaim it," Young Xehanort answered. "The way hearts connect in this world can provide us with a clue. So we made a copy of the world, and pulled those hearts apart. I wonder how you'll handle the strain."
He then snapped his fingers, making more Toy Troopers appear. One of them got inside the cockpit of a toy mech on a nearby shelf!
"Uh...should we be worried?" asked Axel, only for the mech to start shooting at him and the others. "YEP!"
"Watch out!" Riku yelled as he pushed Yuffie down to the floor.
"Two can play that game!" Sora yelled before he ran to another toy mech and hopped into the cockpit, bringing it to life! "Sweet! I feel like a Gundam pilot!"
Hamm, Slink and Rex ran for cover, but the Dino stopped and looked back, with a determined look on his face.
"Rex, what're you doing?"! Hamm questioned.
"I feel like I can help," Rex responded. "Time to play the dominant predator!"
He started glowing green, and his size increased to taller than the mechs and the shelves! The now giant Rex released a roar that sounded like a combination of an elephant's squeal, an alligator's gurgling, and a tiger's snarl! (Those are the actual sounds used for the T-Rex roar in Jurassic Park!)
"Holy Spielberg!" Axel exclaimed.
"He just pulled a Humongousaur!" Kairi gasped.
Sora made his Gigas charge forward, firing energy blasts at the other ones, then punched the one closest to him! Rex swung his tail, knocking back two of the other mechs, while Buzz flew around, firing his laser at the last one.
"Yeah! All right, guys!" Riku cheered.
"Way to go!" Yuffie shouted.
The mechs were dealt with fairly quickly, thanks to Sora and Giant Rex!
"We did it!" Sora exclaimed as he and Giant Rex did a high-five - Sora using the mech, of course.
Soon, though, Rex shrunk back down to regular size. And Sora jumped out of the mech.
"Great job guys!" Hamm cheered.
"That guy in the black coat, he said that he made a copy of the real world," Woody reminded them. "What does that mean?"
Riku helped Yuffie to her feet before he explained, "It probably means they split this world in two; your friends in the real world, us in this one which is fake, but very convincing."
"Like the fake Twilight Town Roxas was put in," Rex gave an example.
"Exactly!" said Sora. "...Still feels kinda weird that we're a video game franchise."
"Not as weird as you think," Axel muttered.
"That's ridiculous," Buzz argued. "It may be possible where you come from, but this is the real world."
"It IS a little far-fetched," Woody agreed. "But so was "Star Command" and "Evil Emperor Zurg", right Buzz?"
Buzz chuckled sheepishly.
"So, you said that you sensed darkness coming from here," Slink said to Terra. "Can you pinpoint exactly where it is, or will this be like a needle in a haystack?"
"It's up there," Terra pointed up to the third floor. "In what looks like the video game store."
"Then that's where we're going," Kairi said. "So...how exactly are we gonna get up there?"
"I think I see a way," Riku said as he pointed at some rails.
They were on top of the giant dispenser.
"But which one leads to where?" asked Yuffie.
"Only one way to find out," Axel said. "Last one up is a rotten egg!"
"Hey, you didn't even say 'On your mark'!" Rex complained as they chased after him.
Once they got up, they saw that the railings had numbers on them, and were colored differently. The one they needed was blue, with the number 2. Soon, they all jumped up and grinded up the rail (with Sora and Riku showing off and pulling tricks on the way up). Once they got to the top, they immediately saw the game store.
There were cutouts for Kingdom Hearts, something called "Final Fantasy", and something called "Verum Rex". There was even a commercial for the second game playing. There was a boy with white hair, and he had one blue and one red eye, and he was running up a skyscraper in the darkness of night. The city looked like Tokyo, as the boy and his companion ran over to a girl engulfed in a purplish-pink aura, which created a beam of light that was making a whirlwind in the sky.
Another boy with red hair, wearing a black fedora, held off some Gigas with Blizzard and Thunder magic. As the boy ran, the girl looked increasingly stressed out as more Gigas mechs began to surround her...and suddenly, a bright light flashed and began to expand, swallowing the girl and the mechs up. Meanwhile, the boy was savagely fighting off the robots with his two comrades, but there seemed to be no end in sight.
Eventually, a large black hole began to form where the girl was, and the boy and his friends stood on top of a building, watching as everything was swallowed up by the vortex. The trio jumped into the vortex, fighting off more Gigas, then the silver haired boy flew forward, reaching for the girl. She opened her eyes and reached for him as well, but another Gigas broke the vortex and grabbed her! Soon, an even larger mech appeared, easily towering over the group...but the hero was not undeterred. He grabbed his sword and his laser crossbow and pointed it at the robot...just as the camera zoomed into his right eye.
Soon, it showed a picture of the boy, leaning against a fountain with his weapons at his sides.
VERUM REX
VIDEO GAME AVAILABLE NOW
Then it showed an image of the Gigas action figures
GIGAS ACTION FIGURES
AVAILABLE NOW
Soon, the commercial was over.
"...That...was...SO COOL!" Sora exclaimed.
"That guy almost looks like me," Riku said.
"The character's name is 'Yozura'," Rex told them.
"Hey, this figure looks like Leon!" Kairi pointed at some of the other figures.
"There's Cloud, Tifa, even...Sephiroth!" Goofy gasped.
"You know...this is almost creepy," Yuffie said as she looked at a figure of a young man with black hair and wearing a leather vest and black clothes. On the box, it said "FINAL FANTASY XV- NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM".
"Let's just find that darkness and fix this," Aqua urged everyone.
"Right," Terra agreed.
"That would be inconvenient," An unpleasantly familiar voice interrupted.
Everyone turned around, and sure enough, there was Young Xehanort, again!
"We're still observing, so we'd appreciate it very much if you stuck around," A voice identical to Riku's spoke out next.
Riku's blood ran cold as he turned and saw the Nobody that Yuffie, Aqua and Terra had told him about; his own, Ruxik.
"Oh my God...!" Kairi gasped.
"He...looks...just..." Sora stammered.
"...Like...me...!" Riku whispered, completely and utterly mortified.
"What in the devil is going around here?!" asked Buzz.
"AAAH!" Rex screamed in panic. "Riku has a Nobody!"
"It's like looking in a mirror," Ruxik said, but then rubbed his hand through his hair. "Well, not quite."
"What do you want?!" Terra demanded.
"I told you; I'm testing the strength of their bonds," Xehanort answered. "In this world, toys have hearts, and those hearts come from a powerful bond. But, what happens when those bonds are stretched to their limit? Or, what happens when a toy is so desperate to keep the bond, that it resorts to knocking another toy out a window?"
Woody clenched his teeth at that, while Buzz clenched his fist. Kairi side-eyed the two before she glared at Xehanort.
"Whatever happened between these two," she started, "It's probably in the past, now! It doesn't matter, anymore!"
"Past, present, future, the darkness is still there," he taunted. "And it grows, especially when you're so far away from your friends, and the boy who cares about you."
"Wrong!" Sora shouted. "Distance doesn't matter! Andy and their friends are part of their hearts, just like my friends are a part of mine! You can never tear that bond apart!"
"So you say," Ruxik said. "Ah, but wait...you were pushed into the darkness, too...weren't you, Sora?"
"I sacrificed myself to save Kairi, then she saved me," he shot back, making the redhead smile.
"Yes, "Your friends are your power"," Xehanort repeated what Sora had said in the Dream World. "But if the light of friendship is a form of power, the darkness of being alone is an even greater power. Darkness is the heart's true nature."
"NOT TRUE!" Rex bellowed. "Like Mickey always says..."
"Even in the deepest darkness, there is always a little bit of light," Mickey continued. "And that little light will get stronger, once one finds it."
"Put this world back together and give our friends back!" Buzz demanded.
"Or what, toy?" Ruxik taunted.
"Yeah, we are toys," Woody said. "And we're friends. My guess is no one's ever loved you before, because you know nothing about hearts and love."
"Woody's right," Buzz went to stand next to him, along with Rex, Slinky and Hamm. "Your loneliness only makes our 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," Slink added.
"You can't keep us from Andy," Hamm said. "We're going home, no matter what!"
The whole place began to flicker, like a glitching screen, before the rest of the toy store faded away, leaving only the game store they were in.
Riku got over his shock, then glared at Xehanort, "You're so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them."
A glowing portal appeared behind Xehanort!
"That must be the way home!" Buzz surmised.
Terra charged at Xehanort, who disappeared and reappeared next to Ruxik.
"Forget them, let's go!" Aqua ordered, then everyone ran into the portal.
"Fine, go home," Xehanort taunted, creating a dark orb in his hand.
"But you'll have some more hoops to jump through," Ruxik continued, gathering some dark fire in his hand.
The two of them then launched their dark attacks into the portal, tainting it with darkness as it closed.
"Now we just stand back and watch the fun," Xehanort grinned.
The scenery was now like a desert of the old west. Mickey, Riku, Woody and Slinky were standing on the roof of one of the cars of a train.
"Wait, where is this?" Riku asked. "And where are the others?"
"I don't know," Woody replied.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted from one of the cars behind them, then some bags filled with gold coins were tossed up. Two familiar faces jumped up next; Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, but they had some new accessories. Mr. Potato Head had a cowboy hat and a black eyepatch over his left eye, and Mrs. Potato Head had a green bandana and an eyepatch over her left eye.
"One-Eyed Bart and One-Eyed Betty?!" Slink exclaimed.
"They're being controlled," Mickey said.
"Uh...Woody?" Riku asked as he looked ahead. "There's something else you should know!"
"WOODY~!"
Woody gasped. That was Jessie's voice!
"Jessie!" he cried as he also looked...and saw her, tied up on the tracks, along with Bullseye!
And the one who just tied them up was Stinky Pete, the Old Prospector!
"So, we meet again, Woody," said Stinky Pete. "And where's that kid of yours?"
"You still don't know what it's like to be loved, do you Stinky Pete?" Woody shot back.
"If having your face painted over and over again is your idea of being loved by a kid, count me out!" Prospector shouted.
Riku summoned his Keyblade, "Woody and I will take him, you and Slink deal with those two."
"Gotcha," Mickey replied.
"Move, people!" Woody yelled as they sprung into action.
As he and Riku ran toward Prospector, a red-orange mass burst from Riku's back and floated behind him.
Riku turned his head, and saw the Guardian, but not Xehanort's Guardian. This one was the color of dawn, a bright red-orange. On its chest was the same emblem as Riku's keychain, colored violet. The bandages weren't there, and its eyes were glowing violet. Its expression was a bit different, too. It wasn't leering wickedly, but bore a more serious expression than its dark counterpart.
Despite Riku's surprise, the Guardian nodded at him and flew ahead of him and Woody. Prospector swung his pick at it, but it caught his arm and easily tossed him over to Woody and Riku, then it proceeded to free Jessie and Bullseye.
"YEEHAW~!" Jessie cheered while Bullseye whinnied as he reared up on his hind legs.
Prospector struck the ground with his pick, forming a big crack that sped toward Woody and Riku. Even worse, it was on fire!
The two heroes jumped out of the way, then Woody used his lasso to pull Prospector into the air, where Riku incinerated him with Dawn flame!
"That was almost TOO easy," Woody commented.
"I agree," Riku said. "I've got a feeling there's more to come."
AN: (Sorry if that was too short. I honestly had no idea how to make that fight long.)
Mickey and Slinky came over, along with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, and they were back to normal.
Axel, Terra and Buzz arrived in the city from Verum Rex.
"Okay, so what happens here?" asked Terra.
"This looks like the city from that 'Verum Rex' game," Axel said.
"But why are we here, and where are the others?" Buzz asked.
"You should worry about yourself, Lightyear," A familiar deep voice spoke out.
The three heroes turned to see Emperor Zurg, along with a small army of Gigas.
"Zurg!" Buzz shouted.
"This time, Buzz Lightyear, you will join me!" Zurg shouted. "Or else I'll obliterate you!" He then motioned to his Gigas mechs. "Get them!"
"You get the robots, Zurg is mine!" Buzz exclaimed.
"Roger!" Axel replied, spinning his Keyblade, creating flames.
Soon, Buzz charged at Zurg while Axel and Terra dealt with the Gigas mechs.
"OUTTA THE WAY!" Axel yelled as he cut down one of their legs.
Buzz put on his helmet as Zurg began to float into the air, from some jets where his feet should be. Then, Buzz started to shoot his laser at Zurg, who deftly dodged the shots before firing several energy blasts, one of which nearly hit Buzz had he not ducked down in time. He then activated his wings and flew up, he and Zurg began to float around, firing and dodging each other.
Meanwhile, Axel and Terra were still dealing with the Gigas mechs...only now, they were piloting two of them!
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Axel. "Yeah, baby~!"
"Let's see if we can make these things better," Terra suggested, channeling some magic into his mech. Axel did the same.
Terra's mech changed colors, going from blue to golden brown, and Axel's red mech got some magic fire in its hands.
"Okay, I've got my flames, what about you?"
Terra made his mech pound the ground, creating an earth shockwave!
"NICE!" Axel exclaimed.
"So...shall we?" Terra asked.
"Oh, we shall," Axel smirked before he began to use his dual flamethrowers, melting down some of the Gigas mechs! Terra punched the ground again, making some of the mechs sink into the ground, where he proceeded to use boulders to smash their heads!
"Ha! I got 12! Beat that, Axel!" Terra yelled.
"NO YA DON'T!" Axel shouted, creating a giant pillar of fire around him, blowing away ten Gigas mechs!
Then, he gathered flames above his head, forming them into a giant sphere, then threw it at a group of fifteen mechs! The sphere exploded on impact, completely obliterating all the mechs!
"YES!" Axel shouted. "YEAH! TOP THAT!"
"Buzz!" Terra yelled.
"Wait, what?" Axel asked.
"BUZZ!" Terra yelled as he pointed up...and saw Buzz hurtling toward them!
"OH, CRAP!" Axel cursed as he jumped out of his mech and caught him!
Buzz groaned a bit, "Thanks."
"Give it up, Lightyear," Zurg taunted. "I win!"
"Evil never wins," Buzz responded.
Zurg turned the dial on his gun to '9', the maximum power level, then aimed at the heroes. Axel gathered some fire into his Keyblade, while Buzz charged his laser. Terra jumped at Zurg, still in his mech, but the Evil Emperor blasted it to pieces. What he didn't expect, was that Terra had jumped out of it and over his head! He knocked Zurg out of the sky, sending him hurtling towards Axel and Buzz!
The spiky red-head and space ranger fired their attacks at the Emperor, who could do nothing to protect himself as the combined blasts turned him into dust!
"WHOO-HOO!" Axel cheered before he and Buzz high-fived!
"Now what?" Terra asked.
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