Toaster appeared to be dreaming of a simpler time when The Master was young and innocent, making faces in her face. Two slices of bread popped out of Toaster's slits and The Master took one slice and began to spread some jam on the bread while Toaster stood by and watched him with a small smile.
"Well, this is a pretty good time so far." Thor smiled.
"Yeah... so far..." Cherry remarked as this could get dark pretty fast if someone wasn't careful.
The Master then bit into the toast and stuck his tongue out playfully and then suddenly, a bunch of black smoke began to fill the room.
"There it is." Cherry then said.
As the Master looked around, the smoke formed into a large hand, and grabbed him. As he reached for Toaster, he was pulled out the door. Cherry began to look wide-eyed at what she was seeing.
The smoke cleared a bit and eventually, out came a huge, frightening, firefighting clown with a hose in one hand and a giant fork in the other. "Run..." he then whispered with a dark and sinister grin toward Toaster.
Toaster wasted no time and suddenly ran down the kitchen counter before the fire hose began to spew out a tidal wave of water right behind the toaster. The wave then splashed down and suddenly transformed into a giant pile of sharp forks, trying to stab Toaster as she ran away with the burning toast in her slot. Suddenly, Toaster was dangling above a bathtub filled with water as the clown's evil laughter echoed in the room before she was forced to let go after losing her grip and landed right into the water and was electrocuted, causing her to shoot awake back at the campground just as a thunderstorm was in effect.
Once the nightmare unexpectedly ended, the trio shot awake, jolted from The Dream Realm. The other appliances and the rest of Cherry's friends then suddenly woke up as they started to see a storm coming into the forest.
Lightning zapped and wind howled and then suddenly, Blanky was being blown away. "Aaah! Help me!" he then cried out to the others.
Toaster tried to hold onto him, but the wind was too strong and it started pulling them both and eventually Blanky flew high into the air.
"Tooooaaster!" Blanky cried out while flying toward the trees.
"BLANKY!" Toaster cried back in the same way.
The appliances, even Atticus and Mo along with Cherry, Lionel, and Thor came out into the storm and everyone soon tried to call out for Blanky.
"He's gone..." Cherry frowned, feeling bad about this.
Lampy tried to look for Blanky with his light, but then he started to lose his power, then tried to put his plug onto the battery outlets, but none work.
"The battery's gone dead!" Kirby shouted.
"We're trapped here like rats!" Radio panicked. "Small little rats with no hair and one leg!"
Lampy tried to pull, but nothing worked. Then he noticed the lightning bolts, then he looked over at Toaster, Kirby and Radio, who were looking for Blanky out in the forest. It was at that time Lampy had a, heh-heh, bright idea.
"Looks like Lampy has a... sharp idea." Atticus smirked.
"Really? Sharp idea and he's a lamp?" Cherry deadpanned. "You know you could've said-"
"Bright idea! It was right there!" Atticus groaned and face-palmed himself.
Lampy soon jumped onto the chair, plugged himself in, and stared straight at the lightning bolts. The dark clouds swarmed in the sky and soon a lightning bolt shot straight at Lampy's bulb until it shattered, but he started to glow.
"Lampy!" Toaster frowned in concern.
Lampy soon grew dizzy after being electrocuted and then fell flat on the ground, seeming dead, but was able to give them more power and battery in the chair. The group ran over, and saw that the battery was recharged... but the same couldn't be said for Lampy. That jolt had burned him out.
"Is he...?" Thor asked nervously.
"I'm not sure, but it looks like it." Atticus frowned in concern.
"I'm sure he's just fine, guys." Cherry said as she tried to remain calm for all of them.
Eventually, the storm cleared and everyone decided to continue their search for their missing friend before finishing their journey to find "The Master".
"Blanky! Blanky, where are ya?!" Toaster called out. "BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANKYYYYYYY!"
"C'mon, Blanky, speak up for Heaven's sake!" Lampy added, sounding a bit weary and woozy before he coughed and sparks began to fly out of his mouth.
"No, no, just relax," Toaster advised. "You've done enough."
"We'll look for him." Cherry added.
"I am feeling a little burned out." Lampy admitted before he laid down.
"Then we'll pick up the slack," said Lionel. "Keep your eyes open, he's gotta be tangled in something around here."
"Listen to this," Radio suddenly said and made a broadcast in Lampy's honor. "Lamp was awarded a Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty. Lamps across the nation were switched off for a moment of silence in respect for his bravery."
"America! Heck, yeah!" Thor added as he decided to salute Lampy who smiled at their approval.
"Heeeelp!" A tiny voice soon called out.
"Wait, listen to that, guys," Atticus advised. "I don't need my super-hearing to pick something like that up."
Everyone else then got quiet and heard the faint cries for help that indeed sounded familiar to all of them, but mostly to the appliance since they had known it longer than Cherry and her friends.
"Help me, please! Toaster, Kirby, I'm stuck!"
"I hear him!" Toaster realized.
"But I can't see him anywhere." Lampy said as he looked around for Blanky.
"Maybe he's calling from Blanket Heaven," Radio suggested, turning his antenna briefly into a halo shape. "He's a puffy yellow angel, with a knob nose."
"No, guys, look, he's just stuck up a tree!" Atticus said as he pointed at a certain tree as he saw Blanky up there.
"HEEEEELP!" Blanky cried out, holding onto a branch for dear life even if he wasn't a human child in danger.
"Okay, let's get up there and get him down," mused Lionel. "...somehow."
"Yeah, too bad we can't be our human selves, then I could fly up there and save him." Atticus suggested.
"Then we'd look a little crazy talking to a toaster, blanket, radio, lamp, and vacuum cleaner, wouldn't we?" Cherry smirked.
"Cherry!" Atticus frowned as she was razzing him yet again.
"I've got this." Kirby replied before he spun his cord like a lasso and soon tossed it high in the air to latch onto the tree above them.
Kirby's cord then went over the branch and plugged into the chair and he soon hoisted himself up like in a crane to go after Blanky.
"Hang on tight, Blanky!" Toaster called out.
"I am!" Blanky replied.
"Don't let the tremendous height scare you!" Radio advised.
"Just stay cool and you'll be down soon enough!" Lionel added.
"Hang in there, buddy, but not for much longer!" Mo said as she tried to help.
Kirby soon made it to the branch only for Blanky to jump over the vacuum cleaner and covered his face. "Hey! Watch out!" he then complained. "I can't see!"
"Oh, man. This doesn't look good." Atticus frowned as Kirby and Blanky were about to fall down from the tree.
"Watch out below!" Blanky cried out as he and Kirby crashed down on the ground, but luckily weren't horribly hurt and soon, Blanky giggled as they were safe and sound. "That was kind of fun."
"Now get off of my face!" Kirby demanded aggressively as Blanky hugged him before getting off.
"Thanks, Kirby." Toaster smiled.
"Great idea." Lampy added.
"You saved me." Blanky told Kirby.
"That was really nice of ya, Kirby." Thor agreed.
"I knight thee 'Sir Vac'." Radio said, using his antenna as a sword.
"Cut it out! I did it so we could go," Kirby scoffed and growled before he stormed off away from the others. "We're wasting time."
Lionel shrugged. "Yup... back to his jolly old self." he commented.
"Oh, yes. As jolly as a salad fork in the eye." Cherry added.
"Ouch." Thor winced as that sounded painful.
And after that, they continued their journey into the unknown. They left the forest and soon Kirby took a shortcut way from the road which led to the thundering noise of a waterfall.
"Wh-What the... what the... OH, DEAR! OH, DEAR! I did... I did, uh... I did... uh..." The vacuum cleaner began to mutter and babble strangely all of a sudden.
"Huh?" asked Atticus. "What's going on?"
"Is it just me... or does Kirby seem kinda jumpy?" asked Mo.
"What's going on with him?" Cherry wondered.
"Call me crazy, but it might be the waterfall." Thor said as he pointed it out to the others and they soon saw it as well.
Kirby then began to go stir crazy and gnawed on his cord.
"KIRBY, NO!" Toaster cried out.
"GET THE CORD OUT OF HIS MOUTH!" Lampy suggested. "DON'T LET HIM SWALLOW IT!"
"SWITCH HIM OFF!" Radio added.
Toaster then suddenly switched Kirby off, making the vacuum cleaner fall over suddenly.
"Is he okay?" Thor wondered.
"He's gotta be better than whatever the heck just happened." Cherry replied.
Toaster then helped Kirby stand back up and began to run him around.
"So, what exactly happened here?" Cherry wondered.
"Just shorted right out," Lampy explained. "It's an electronic appliance thing." he then added since Cherry and the others were action figures who didn't need plugs and electrical outlets.
"Ohhh..." Atticus said, now understanding along with everyone else.
"Cracked up, he snapped. Sold the farm. Poor chum." Radio remarked.
"So... like he had a panic attack?" asked Lionel.
"I guess you could call it that." Radio replied.
"It makes sense to us at least." Mo reassured him.
Toaster continued to push Kirby around for a little while longer before they could keep going.
"How's he look?" Lampy wondered.
"A little better than you actually," Radio told the lamp who looked deadpan in response to that. "Keep it up, Slots! Even carpet sweeping motion! He should come around sooner or later." he then coached Toaster.
"Hey, I think it's working!" Toaster agreed.
Everyone else then came around Kirby to surround him as he seemed to be quiet for a moment.
"Kirby? Kirby, can you hear me?" Toaster called.
"Wake up! Wake up!" Blanky added, waking Kirby up to see that his fellow appliances and action figures had surrounded him. "Kirby!"
"You're alright!" Toaster smiled.
Kirby growled at their cheerfulness before he zoomed away from them, back to his grouchy disposition as he faced them with a sneer. "LAY OFF! JUST LAY OFF!" he then demanded.
"What's the matter?" asked Toaster.
"We were concerned about you," added Thor.
"You gave us a real fright, pal," said Radio.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with me, pal!" boomed Kirby. "So just BACK OFF!!"
"Whoa, hey! Take it easy!" Cherry cried out in concern.
"You don't have to be angry." Thor added gently.
"Just keep your antennas, plastic doll hands, and knobs and wires and rivets off my chrome!" Kirby huffed. "Who needs you guys, anyhow? Gotta drag you around all the time bunch of dead weight. I'd be better off without you!"
"But Kirby..." Blanky pouted.
"Especially you, you little rag!" Kirby then told him sternly.
The others frowned firmly at that, but not one was as firm about it as Cherry since she had a special soft spot for Blanky even if he was very childish compared to the other appliances.
"Well, uh... how do we get across this thing anyway?" Kirby wondered as he looked back at the waterfall.
SHORTLY...
The group had formed into a chain of appliances that would stretch across to the other end of the gap.
"I think Houdini did this once," said Radio. "Why, if I remember right, he was out of the hospital in no time!"
"Well, that's reassuring." said Cherry.
"Is that before or after he got punched in the stomach?" Thor scoffed.
"You've heard about that?" Atticus asked.
"Yeah, Uncle likes to tell me a lot about magicians and witchgicians since he considers them to be hacks," Thor nodded and then rolled his eyes. "Don't get him started on Criss Angel."
"That guy's not even a 'real magician'." Cherry scoffed at that name herself as they were lowered further down.
"Okay, Kirby!" Toaster soon called out.
Soon Kirby swung the chain and Toaster grabbed onto the ledge of the cliff and climbed up. Toaster then pulled the others to the other side of the waterfall. Cherry, Atticus, Lionel, Mo, and Thor easily climbed onto the other cliff ledge while the appliances struggled until they made it over and began to pull the cord to help her friends out next.
"Hey! We're not dead!" Lampy said in relief.
"Yes, where's some wood to knock on?" Radio replied. "Toaster! Are you alright?" he then asked.
Toaster didn't say anything and just looked down, afraid of the water since it reminded her of her dream.
"Toaster...?" Cherry frowned.
"Oh, no. Toaster looks scared." Atticus said, concerned.
"Who knew toasters could feel fear?" Mo commented.
"Says you after we've befriended some toys and had adventures with them leading up to now." Lionel reminded them.
"Toaster!" Radio called out again to wake her up.
"Uh, y-yes. I, uh..." Toaster answered and stammered until she called out to the vacuum cleaner. "Give me some slack, Kirby!"
"You're gonna be okay, Toaster!" Cherry called out. "It won't be like your dream, I promise!"
Kirby swung the cord a few times, before he let it fly and got Toaster to the other end of the crevice. Blanky yelped before covering his eyes.
"Just relax, Blanky, you're almost to the other side." Cherry reassured the blanket.
Toaster began to look and feel nervous again before she yelped and slipped with the others, down from the ledge and they all dangled underneath Kirby's ledge.
"GUYS!" Cherry and the others cried out for their new appliance friends.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Kirby can pull them back up before-" Atticus reassured the others until they all suddenly heard screaming.
The action figure group looked over to see that the appliances had gone down the waterfall, except for Kirby of course.
"Oh... oh, no..." Cherry moaned. "Could be the first time I've failed in an adventure?"
Kirby glanced around, and for the first time in a long time, was quiet, apart from the roar of the waterfall. After a few seconds, he backed away from the edge.
"Hey! You can't leave!" Thor called out.
"Yeah, buddy! What about the others?" Mo added.
"Relax, he's probably just getting a running start." Atticus suggested to the others.
"Looks like someone read ahead in the script again." Cherry rolled her eyes.
"Cherry, is something bothering you?" Atticus asked. "You seem hostile today."
"It's nothing, forget I said anything." Cherry said with a small sniff.
Atticus just frowned in concern and fortunately for him, he was right as Kirby suddenly came back, practically flying like a traditional superhero to the rescue. The vacuum cleaner then splashed into the water and began to look around for his fellow appliances.
"HELP! HEEEELP!" Blanky cried out as the current began to wipe him away.
Kirby then brought out his cord for the blanket to latch onto. Blanky held on and climbed onto Kirby's bag and luckily Lampy wasn't too far away and soon he was helped next.
Radio wasn't too far behind as he swatted at Kirby with his antenna. "Damn thee! Thou cursed whale! From the depths of Hell, I stab at thee!" he then cursed with gusto.
"Climb on, you idiot!" Kirby scoffed at that.
"Oh, it's you." Radio replied.
"Come on, let's go meet them at the bottom," Atticus said to the others. "Maybe we can find Toaster for them too."
Everyone else decided to shuffle along to try and do that until they all suddenly skid to a halt. They panicked and tried to warn the appliances about the waterfall, but they seemed to be too far away to be heard.
"Where's Toaster?" Kirby asked the others.
"She sank!" Lampy explained.
The appliances then had more problems as they saw the incoming waterfall and they all screamed and went down it just as Cherry and the others made it over while trying to help their appliance friend in need.
"They're gone!" Cherry called out in concern. "Why did I think I could do this?" she then sulked and face-palmed herself.
"NOW CUT THAT OUT!" Lionel spat. "Don't go giving up so easily! See? Take a look!" he said as he pulled out some binoculars.
Upon glancing through, one could plainly see Toaster, beneath the waves, submerged, but still very much alive. She managed to snag a hold of Kirby's cord, and was pulled onto his back.
"Toaster..." Cherry said softly in relief.
"See? It's okay!" Lionel reassured her. "We've still got this!"
"Well, all right, it's just been a little hard on this adventure compared to some others." Cherry admitted.
"Just remember when we helped Woody and Buzz, Cherry," Thor reminded her. "Those guys were only toys and yet you felt the compassion to help them in their time of need."
And with that, the group reunited with the appliances once they were all together once more.
"Boy, are we glad to see you!" Radio beamed at Toaster.
"I really thought I turned in my warranty that time!" Lampy added.
"Yes, until Baggy here showed up!" Radio remarked.
"I just slipped and fell in, that's all." Kirby scoffed bitterly.
Everyone else soon laughed at that.
"You can't fool us, we love you!" Blanky smiled before hugging the vacuum cleaner.
"That's right, like Mrs. Roosevelt loved her husband. Yes, sir!" Radio added.
"Well, here's the shore, everybody off!" Kirby then suggested.
"Come on, let's help you out." Atticus smiled as they came to help the appliances onto the shore.
"Up we go, then." said Lionel as he and the others got the appliances to safety.
"Listen to this!" Radio piped up before he found a leaf and used his antenna to pin it onto Kirby like a prize. "This is President Roosevelt awarding the vacuum the Medal of Honor!"
Kirby then blew the leaf away while everyone else laughed except for Toaster.
"Hey, uh, you okay, Toaster?" Cherry asked in slight concern.
"I'm fine, really, it's just... where are we?" Toaster replied while looking weary.
"Looks like we're in the middle of a swamp." Mo said to Toaster.
"I can't believe this, I'm really sorry." Toaster said wearily before walking off deeper into the swamp.
"Aww, c'mon now, it's not your fault," Radio said, trying to cheer up Toaster. "Things could be worse, you know!"
"How?" Atticus asked.
"How what?" Radio replied.
"How could they be worse?" Atticus clarified.
"They couldn't, I lied." Radio admitted and drooped his antenna, causing Atticus to look deadpan.
Cherry rolled her eyes at that. "Maybe I should go talk to her." she then wondered.
"Go ahead," nodded Lionel. "I think she could use someone to chat with."
Cherry nodded as she went on ahead. Atticus was about to join her only for Thor to stop him.
"You should leave them both alone for right now, buddy," Thor said to Atticus. "Let Cherry handle this one. It could help her work on The Element of Empathy."
"Aye," nodded Lionel. "She needs this."
"Well, okay." Atticus said with a shrug.
Cherry soon went deep into the swamp and came to check up on Toaster. "Hey," she then said, making the appliance turn and face her. "You okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Toaster said before staring at her reflection into the water. "Nothing to get too concerned about."
"You can tell me," Cherry insisted. "You at least seem like you need a sympathetic plastic ear."
"Well, I guess I'm just kinda... scared." Toaster said.
"Of water?" Cherry guessed.
"Not just water, but... failure," Toaster admitted and explained since it was just the two of them right now. "I'd love to find The Master like the others, he was very important to all of us, but what if he's just ready to move on and doesn't need us anymore? We'll just be thrown in the trash or something."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with being afraid of a little failure when you feel unsure," Cherry admitted. "I sometimes have that feeling in the pit of my own stomach."
Toaster gave a curious glance. "Really?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, sometimes..." Cherry admitted. "Sometimes I'm worried about making a big mistake that'll make me lose all my friends and family, no matter how many times they say they're there for me and won't go anywhere. I've lost so many people and it sometimes hurts... especially when it's someone you think is your friend." she then added, staring down at the ground before looking back at Toaster.
"I didn't know toys had feelings like that." Toaster commented.
"Oh, it's quite an experience, just ask this one cowgirl I met," Cherry chuckled softly. "I didn't know appliances could have feelings like this either, so I guess we're quite a pair." she then added.
"Yeah... I guess that makes sense." responded Toaster.
"I guess even appliances have feelings if even toys have feelings." Cherry remarked.
The two then seemed to smile at each other briefly as before going to rejoin their friends.
"Is Toaster okay?" Atticus asked.
"It might take a little time, but I thinks she's at least feeling somewhat better," Cherry shrugged. "I'm not much of a miracle worker when it comes to my Element of Harmony like you guys are Elements of Bravery, Strength, and Comedy. Why would I, of all people, need the Element of Empathy?"
"Maybe it's because you weren't always that empathetic when we were young?" Atticus guessed as Radio tried to get a signal in the meantime. "You've really come a long way since we all first met you, Cherry. Lionel, help me out here." he then added before whispering since Lionel was currently the closest one to Cherry in this scenario.
"Well... okay," Lionel nodded. "You've gotten better at understanding how people feel, and you find it easier to sympathize with them.""I don't know, sometimes I'm just not sure." Cherry replied.
"It's really okay, Cherry," Mo reassured her. "You've grown a lot more as a person than you realize and helping these guys is just part of the steps of becoming a better person, especially in your world of adventures."
"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," said Lionel. "So it's fortunate that you don't have to do it alone."
"That's true," Cherry admitted as Radio kept going until she gave him a bit of an annoyed look as that noise started to get to her. "Find any signal yet, Radio?" she then asked him.
"I'm lucky my backup batteries work at all!" Radio replied.
"Great." Atticus groaned slightly.
"Well, I just hope we're not going in circles," Toaster said. "C'mon."
Everyone soon began to hike through the swamp as the appliance pulled on Kirby since they lost the swivel chair. Then suddenly, Kirby bumped into a root and suddenly fell into some mud that was like quicksand and the others suddenly had to stop once they saw what was going on.
"Oops." Thor said nervously.
"I knew I shouldn't have let you guys drive!" Kirby complained as he was sinking.
"C'mon! C'mon! PULL!" Toaster told the others.
"KIRBY!" Blanky cried out.
"Oh, this is great fun," Kirby rolled his eyes about his dilemma. "Let's make these outings a regular thing, okay?"
"Sheesh, he makes you seem nice in comparison when it comes to deadpan snarking." Mo commented to Cherry.
"Thanks, I guess." Cherry replied.
"Snarking in the face of death." mused Lionel.
"Kirby! Inflate your bag!" called Toaster.
"Help me...!" Kirby called as he sank further into the muck.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Blanky screamed.
"Now, now, don't panic!" Cherry said to the others. "Just keep on pulling!"
Everyone tried to help pull as strongly as they could which was a challenge for Atticus since he didn't have his usual strength due to them all being toys and it didn't look so good for all of them.
"Wow, the poor guy didn't have a chance," Lampy frowned. "Just sss. that's it."
"WELL, DON'T LOOK NOW, PAL, BUT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SSS YOURSELF!" Radio warned him.
"What?! Whoa!" Lampy yelped and he was next after Kirby.
"Blanky, can you let go?" Toaster asked the electric blanket.
"Yeah, just try to untie yourself?" Cherry added as a suggestion.
"I'm not scared." Blanky said before he sunk next.
"Blank...!" Toaster cried out only to have the same fate.
"I can't hold on much longer!" Atticus panicked. "Why, oh, why couldn't I have had my god-like strength in this form?!"
"Because I'm tired of you using your powers to cheat in every adventure!" Cherry cried out.
"WHAT?!" Atticus asked with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry, Atticus, I love you and all, but you're just so overpowered sometimes!" Cherry told him. "You get a lot of attention! You help out Twilight Sparkle more than me and I just feel like I'm only there to get you to Equestria, you even got to be a Wonderbolt and Canterlot Knight while I had to stay home and twiddle my thumbs and I was just sick of it!"
"...do you guys all feel this way?" Atticus asked, surprised.
Lionel shrugged and didn't say much else. Thor just whistled to himself. Mo couldn't look her boyfriend in the eye.
"...sheesh." Atticus mused.
"Eloquently put as always." Lionel responded dryly.
"I'm sorry..." Cherry said softly.
"It's okay, Cherry, maybe I have gone overboard lately." Atticus remarked.
"You've gone so overboard that Adam Sandler is embarrassed of the experience." Thor commented bluntly.
"Thanks, Thor." Atticus muttered at that as they soon began to sink next.
"Well, I guess this is it..." Cherry then said. "Goodbye, everyone."
And then...
Suddenly, a hand reached into the muck, and uprooted the radio by its antenna, along with some of the other appliances! The man hummed to himself as he collected the appliances and action figure group and loaded them in the back of his truck so that he could take them with him.
"Whoops-a-daisy!" he then said, Toaster, Blanky, Lampy, and Radio up in the trunk before throwing up Kirby since he was a lot heavier to hold onto. "WHOOP, there ya go! I'll have to be careful with you guys too." he then said to the action figures before putting them in a cigar box and placed them in the back with the appliances before he climbed up to the wheels of the truck which was a monster truck.
Cherry cracked the box lid open a bit and looked around curiously once they were all alone.
"Good boy, Quadruped. You remembered your seat belt." The man said, petting his dog on the head who sat next to him in the truck before he then drove off to a Parts & Service store.