Toy Box pt3
Toy Box pt3
By using the ball railings at the center of the store again, they managed to reach the third floor, landing near a place called High Score. When they entered the store, they could see Rex walking around a large central display set near the entrance of the store. When the dinosaur saw his friends and the three wielders, his eyes lit up, running towards them with a game case in hand.
“Look, look, I found it!” he exclaimed as he shoved the game case towards Riku, nearly making the teen fall over in shock. He grabbed the case and looked it over in awe, Aqua and Lea taking a peek as well. While they looked over the box art, Woody and Buzz had walked on ahead to look at the standing display curiously.
The game cover said ‘Verum Rex’ and depicted a young man in dark clothes and short silver hair sitting casually on a seat, a glowing red sword in one hand and a crossbow like weapon in the other. Riku had to agree with Rex on one thing: the young man looked frighteningly similar to him, the only real differences being that he appeared slightly older than him and he had two different eye colors, one bright sky blue and the other blood red.
“Huh, would you look at that,” Lea said with a smirk as he took the case, flipping it to look on the back. He skipped reading the game description and only looked over the art where they could see the different Gigas, a girl in a white dress, and two more fighters next to the ‘Yazora’ guy, one with red hair and a fedora, and another with glasses. “This guy kinda looks like me,” he stated as he pointed out the redhead, Aqua rubbing her chin in thought.
“This could explain why we changed the way we did,” she muttered. “In this world, these game characters already existed, so the magic changed us to match with them rather than just changing us into random toys. At least, that’s what I assume happened.” Riku nodded in agreement. It made sense to him, at least.
“So, they are video game characters,” Woody said with a smile as he looked over at Buzz. “I told you they’re toys, just like us!” Buzz looked up at the standing display featuring Yazora for a moment longer before he nodded, a small smile on his face.
“I suppose so,” he finally said, the three wielders relaxing slightly now that they’ve gained his trust, to a degree. “But we should head back to the exit now. The others are waiting.”
“We’re leaving already?” Rex questioned the spaceman toy as he ran over to another shelf, picking up the Verum Rex strategy guide. “At least let me look through the guides! I want to know how to beat Bahamut!”
“Maybe next time,” Buzz said with a tired smile as he patted Rex on his back. “We need to head home.” Rex gave a sad sigh as he put the guide back, giving his friend a small nod before he followed them. Riku, Aqua and Lea gave him small smiles as well after they put the game back on the shelf, joining the other toys as they headed for the exit.
“Leaving so soon?”
The three wielders gasped when they heard the voice, spinning around to see the young Xehanort from earlier approaching them with a smirk. Woody and Buzz also stopped to turn to him, glares on their faces as they readied for a fight, Rex hiding behind Buzz with a gasp.
“I can’t let you leave yet,” the dark skinned teen said. “There is still so much I need to observe.”
“We’re the ones you’re after, Xehanort!” Riku shouted at him as he summoned his keyblade, Aqua and Lea doing the same. “Leave Woody and his friends out of this!”
“You would say that, wouldn’t you,” Xehanort said with an arched brow. “Reminds me of another fallen guardian, he told me the same thing earlier.”
“Sora?” Riku gasped, lowering his blade for a moment. Sora was here?
“Why don’t we move on to the final stage, then?” Xehanort stated as he raised a hand. Riku dropped down into a fighting stance along with Aqua and Lea at the other’s action, ready for whatever he sent their way.
“Buzz? What’s the matter?”
When Aqua heard Rex’s question, she looked over her shoulder at the toys curiously. Rex was looking over at Buzz, who appeared to be slightly slumped over, his shoulders trembling slightly. He then raised his laser and aimed it at Woody, who looked up at his friend in confusion.
“Buzz, would you knock it off,” the cowboy said with a raised brow, not realizing the danger as a small red dot aimed at his forehead. Aqua gasped at the action and ran towards him, just as Riku and Lea turned around to see.
“Look out!” she shouted as she quickly deflected the laser with her keyblade, the beam of light ricocheting off Master Keeper and hitting a nearby shelf, leaving behind a sizzling scorch mark. Woody jumped at the action, at a loss for words as Buzz continued to shoot at Aqua with a cold hard look in his eyes, Rex shouting in shock. Aqua concentrated and saw small dark tendrils floating off of Buzz. “That’s not Buzz right now! He’s being controlled!”
“He’s been possessed?” Woody questioned in fear as he watched Rex and Lea hold Buzz back, still trying to shoot at him. “Just like the other toys?”
“What did you do to him?” Riku shouted at Xehanort with a harsh glare as he ran towards the teen, bringing down Braveheart only for the other to vanish at the last second.
“I told you before,” Xehanort said as he reappeared behind Riku, watching the toys hold back Buzz with an amused look in his eyes. “I need to test the strength of their bonds.” Riku let out a growl as he turned to attack the teen, only for him to teleport again, this time to the top of a shelf.
“In this world, toys have hearts, and those hearts come from a powerful bond.” Riku jumped the shelves to reach Xehanort and attack him again, missing again as he reappeared a foot ahead.
“So, what happens when those bonds are stretched to their limit? When they are worlds apart, can cloth and plastic hold on to their hearts?” Another attack, another miss.
“All I needed was a wedge to widen the divide— someone like you to fill them with distrust and doubt.” And again, and again, Riku got more and more frustrated as Xehanort teleported, this time reappearing back on the ground.
“And that chasm you created can be filled with a vast darkness. Witness it for yourself.” Riku let out a battle cry as he jumped off the shelf to do a dive attack, only to miss again when the other disappeared. The teen cursed when he looked around and saw that Xehanort was nowhere in sight.
“Buzz, get a hold of yourself!” Lea shouted as he tried to hold back the spaceman toy, but was nearly knocked over when Buzz pushed him aside and shot at Woody, his attack once again blocked by Aqua. When he heard Lea’s cry, Riku remembered that Buzz was being controlled by the darkness. He turned and ran to his friends. He needed to help them—
“And where are you going?”
Riku shouted when Xehanort appeared beside him and swung his keyblade - No Name - at the wielder, forcing him to jump away and back into a shelf. He looked up and saw Xehanort getting up close and personal, with a smirk on his face, dark energy swirling around his hand…
“XEHANORT!”
Riku gasped in shock when he heard Sora’s voice, then, a cloaked figure came down from above, swinging down a familiar silver and gold keyblade at the dark skinned teen. The young Xehanort jumped back to avoid the attack, glaring at the new attacker. Their hood fell back as they stood up straight, and Riku saw a familiar mop of messy brown spikes, strands of silver here and there.
“Sora?” Riku gasped as he looked down at his friend. Sora looked over his shoulder slightly, his still blue eye narrowed slightly before he turned and charged at Xehanort, swinging his keyblade hard at him. Xehanort now had his full attention focused on Sora as he blocked his attacks before he teleported to the store exit, Sora giving chase. “Wait, Sora!” Riku shouted as he ran after the teens. As he reached them just outside the store, those humanoid Heartless that attacked him and Lea back in Twilight Town appeared from pools of darkness in the floor, cackling as they blocked his path.
“Out of my way!” Riku growled as he raised his keyblade at the Heartless, seeing Sora disappear in the distance. “I need to get to Sora!”
“Ri...ku…”
Riku froze when he heard the Heartless say his name again. One of the Heartless just swayed in place as it looked up at him, the other two twitching eerily as they continued to cackle.
“S-save… Sora...”
“Hearts… lost…”
“What are you talking about?” Riku questioned the Heartless, slowly lowering his keyblade but not relaxing just yet. It appeared that the Heartless would not be attacking him. Then all three went still as they looked up at him.
“P-please… Set… us… f-free…”
Riku stared at the Heartless in confusion as they continued to cackle, disappearing into a dark corridor that appeared behind them. Within seconds the Heartless were gone, and to his dismay Sora and Xehanort were also long gone.
“Riku?”
Riku turned around when he heard someone call his name, and saw Hamm and the other toys approaching him. They must have gotten worried at how long they were taking and came to investigate.
“What’s going on?” Hamm asked him as they met at the High Score store entrance.
“Nothing…” Riku mumbled as he dismissed his keyblade, no longer able to sense any darkness. But if that was true, then… “Wait! Buzz!” Riku ran back into the store upon remembering the possessed toy, the others following close behind. The teen saw Aqua, Lea, Woody and Rex huddled together, but noticed the lack of a particular spaceman. Aqua looked when she heard Riku approaching them.
“Riku, where were you?” she asked him, voice full of worry. The other toys looked up when they heard her call him out.
“I was… chasing after Xehanort,” Riku partially lied with a frown. “What happened? Where’s Buzz?” The toys all frowned sadly before Lea spoke up.
“You just missed him,” the redhead said. “Right after you ran off, he disappeared into a dark corridor. He could be anywhere.”
“Sorry…” Riku mumbled as he looked down at the floor, hands clenched tightly. He felt like it was his fault that Buzz ran off, that if he had stayed he could have prevented the toy from running away. But Sora…
“What do we do now?” Woody asked the three wielders, eyes full of worry. Riku, Aqua, and Lea looked to each other in silence. What could they do?
“Sir, did I hear you say ‘dark corridor’?” Sarge asked as he hopped forward, all the toys looking down at him curiously. “I received word not long ago that a shadowy portal was sighted in the Kid Korral. It might be a long shot, but it could lead you to Buzz.”
“Sarge, you’re a lifesaver!” Woody exclaimed, eyes full of hope. “You guys in?” he asked the three wielders.
“Yeah,” they said in union, smiling with determination.
===
With the other toys back at the exit aside from Sarge, Riku and the others headed for the Kid Korral, which turned out to be the indoor play area from earlier. From an alternate entrance just above the barn-like doors to the play area, Sarge pointed out the black tendrils of darkness leading to a corridor coming out of a vent on the other side of the Korral. However, the entire play area was being patrolled by dozens of Heartless and multiple powerful Gigas. With Buzz on the line, they needed to find another way to the vent that didn’t involve going through the Heartless. They ended up getting there through the vents in Babies and Toddlers next door, where they only had to deal with the smaller more manageable Heartless. The gang soon found themselves in the vents within the Kid Korral, and now stood in front of a dark corridor.
“Are you guys ready for this?” Riku asked Aqua, Lea, and Woody, who all nodded in agreement. With their approval, the silver haired teen led them into the dark portal.
Everyone shivered as the cold darkness swept over them, but they continued to move forward until they found themselves in some dark dimension in the betwixt between. And just ahead, unconscious and suspended in a column of darkness, was Buzz.
“Buzz!” Woody shouted as he ran ahead, the three wielders following him. But they were stopped short when Xehanort appeared before them from a dark corridor. Woody glared when the dark skinned teen blocked his path, smirking at him. “What do you want with my friend?”
“Look at this tremendous darkness,” Xehanort said as he looked up at Buzz, dark tendrils wrapping around him. “All because he was separated from the boy he cared for most. Soon, he too will fall to darkness, just like another weak minded boy…” At those words, Xehanort turned to smirk at Riku, who only glared at the other teen. He knew what he was implying, but he also knew that it was only to get under his skin. However, his words seemed to reach Woody, who now had a look of fear on his face.
“Does that mean…” he began to question, his determination faltering slightly as the darkness began to swirl around him, playing into his fear. “We’ll end up like Buzz… if we don’t find Andy…?”
“You’re wrong,” Riku declared as he stepped forward, Aqua and Lea at his side as they all glared at Xehanort. “It doesn’t matter how close or far away he is, Andy will always be a part of their hearts, just as we will be a part of Sora’s. Nothing you say or imply will take that away.” Aqua and Lea nodded in agreement, Woody watching them in awe.
“Ah, yes, you lights are all about your ‘friends being your power’,” Xehanort said. “But if light is the power of friendship, then darkness is the much stronger power of being alone. After all, darkness is the heart's true nature, having been born from it and from where it will return eventually.”
“Whatever you’re talking about, I don’t care,” Woody said as he approached Xehanort, his eyes narrowed in anger. “Put Buzz back to the way he was, then get lost!”
“Or else what, toy?” Xehanort questioned him, eyebrow cocked in amusement.
“Yeah, I am a toy,” Woody said as he looked up at Buzz with a small smile. “And a friend.” This time when he took a step towards Xehanort, the darkness seemed to retreat from him, almost scared of his light and determination. “My guess is that no one’s ever loved you before. Because you know nothing about hearts and love.” Riku and the others again joined Woody’s side, the darkness receding even more. Xehanort frowned when he noticed this.
“There are hearts all around, trying to connect,” Aqua said as she took a step forward, the darkness pulling back even as it tried to reach for her. “Your attempt to separate them, to make Buzz feel lost and lonely, only made his connection to his friends stronger. The heart’s ‘true nature’ is to never let go of the ones you love.”
“No matter where Andy is, or how far away the other toys are, they will never let go,” Lea said as he smirked at Xehanort, flames dancing around him slightly as the darkness retreated from him, more afraid of his light than being attracted to his darkness. “They will never let their connection break, and you can’t keep them apart forever.”
“You seemed to forget something, Xehanort,” Riku said as the darkness started to swirl around him. “No matter where it is, no matter how strong the shadows might be, the light that casts them will always prevail.”
Together, their combined light forced the darkness back and reached Buzz, the column of darkness that trapped him completely gone.
“No!” Xehanort growled when he saw the darkness retreat, summoning No Name. But before he could do anything Riku charged him, Braveheart already in hand. Xehanort was forced to use his keyblade to block his attack, and didn’t realize until it was too late that it was all a diversion.
“Woody, now!” Riku shouted to the cowboy toy, who ran past them and used the string on his back to lasso Buzz, pulling him down. They ended up crashing into each other and landing in a pile nearby. After a moment, Buzz let out a groan as he blinked a few times, looking up to see Woody above him.
“Woody…” he mumbled as he sat up, Woody leaning back with a smile on his face. “What happened? How did I get here?”
“I dunno,” Woody said with a shrug. “Guess someone flipped you into ‘dark and stormy’ mode.”
“But I don’t have a—“ Buzz began to argue, but stopped short when he realized it was a joke. Woody got to his feet and held a hand out to his friend. Buzz smiled as he took it, standing next to him. “Thank you, Woody.”
“Good to have ya back, Buzz!” Woody said brightly, patting his friend on the shoulder.
Xehanort clicked his tongue when he saw that Buzz had control of himself again, then jumped back and away from the wielders. Riku raised his keyblade to the teen, Aqua and Lea at his sides with their own weapons in hand. Woody and Buzz turned to glare at the enemy, ready to charge when needed. It was obvious he was surrounded, but he wasn’t at all concerned as a dark grin crossed his lips.
“So, even empty puppets can be given strong hearts,” he remarked as he looked back at Woody and Buzz, all signs of darkness absent from the toy.
“Our hearts will always be connected to Andy, no matter what!” Buzz declared, fists clenched tightly as he readied his laser.
“You will never understand our connection, since you’re hollower than any toy!” Woody said with a confident smile.
“But now I know a heart can be placed in the vessel of our choosing,” Xehanort said as he turned back towards Riku and the others, darkness dancing around his hands. “For that, let me give you a parting gift to play with.” Then he raised his hand and a strong wave of darkness swept over them, and everyone - even Woody and Buzz - sensed that something was summoned in the darkness.
“Xehanort!” Riku shouted as he charged through the dark wave at the other teen with the intent to strike him down. However, Xehanort blocked his attack with No Name as he began to disappear into the darkness, golden amber eyes staring back at him.
“Time’s almost up,” he said cryptically. “Find your replacements soon, or else you will lose.”
“What?”
But before Riku got his answer, the young Xehanort disappeared along with the darkness. Now, everyone found themselves in a large play area filled with bright colors and toy buildings. Up above, there was a massive toy themed Heartless that resembled a UFO, colored dark purple, blue, gray and black. It had something resembling a face on the front with big yellow eyes and a mouth, but as it moved the wielders noticed a smaller moving head on top. Its weak point.
“Let’s take it out, together!” Riku shouted as he prepared for battle. Everyone nodded in agreement and charged ahead, just as the Heartless attacked.
===
And together, Riku, Aqua, Lea, and the toys managed to take out the toy Heartless, making it disappear into a dark mass. It appeared that Xehanort’s corridor had led them to a back room in the toy store, so once they managed to reach the vents again they found themselves back on the ground floor, the other toys waiting for them at the exit. Riku couldn’t sense any more darkness, so he assumed that Xehanort had left the world along with the Heartless.
“We’re sorry for all the trouble we caused you,” Riku said to the toys, all of them looking back at the wielders in confusion. “We had hoped that we could help you find a way back home, but in the end, you’re still here.”
“We also ended up putting your friends in danger,” Aqua said with a frown, hands clasped together. Together, all three of them bowed their heads, hoping the toys would forgive them. Because their gazes were focused on the ground, they missed the knowing smiles Woody and Buzz shared.
“It does seem we are trapped here,” Buzz said, making the three wielders flinch slightly.
“We’ll never get home,” Rex said dramatically.
“Yup, stuck like pigs,” Hamm added.
“Our position appears fixed,” Sarge also added.
“Ooooh nooooooo,” the three aliens said in union.
The three wielders could feel themselves wilt slightly from the comments. They finally looked up when Buzz approached them.
“A shame we’ll have to stay here a bit longer… with our new friends,” the spaceman said as he smiled at them.
“Huh?” Riku said, eyes going wide at the statement. Woody came up next to the teen and patted him on the shoulder.
“After all the adventures we’ve had, we’re not ready to say goodbye yet,” he said with a bright smile. Upon realizing that the toys had forgiven them - or at least, never blamed them for what happened - the wielders all smiled in return.
“I’m sorry I was so stubborn,” Buzz said with a frown as he held a hand out to Riku. “Please forgive me.” Riku smirked at the toy before he took his hand, giving it a shake.
“I understand,” he said after he let go. “You care very much for your friends, and you just wanted to keep them safe. So, water under the bridge, okay?” Buzz smiled as he nodded.
“So, I guess we won’t be dealing with those intruders anymore,” Woody stated as he looked around the store, seeing the lack of Heartless. “Are you going after those guys in the black coats, then?”
“‘Guys’?” Lea repeated in confusion. “Do you mean Xehanort?”
“Yeah, and the other one,” Woody said with a nod. “I saw Riku go after them earlier. They had a weapon similar to yours.” At the mention of a second black coat, Aqua and Lea turned to Riku in confusion, who was frowning down at the floor.
“Sorry I didn’t mention it sooner,” he said. “When I was fighting Xehanort earlier, Sora appeared.”
“Sora was here?” Aqua gasped, Lea crossing his arms as he frowned. “You should have told us! We could have helped you!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Riku said with a shake of his head. “He got away before I could catch up. I’ll explain the rest later.” Eventually, Aqua and Lea nodded, sensing that this was something to discuss in private.
“This seems like that’s a mission we can’t join you on,” Buzz stated as the wielders turned to the toys.
“This is a mission we started a while ago, together,” Riku said as they started heading towards the exit. “We’re the only ones capable to do it.”
“Hm, that’s okay,” Woody said with a shrug as he approached them, Riku turning to look at him. “But just so you know, you’re a part of our hearts.” The cowboy then pointed at Riku’s chest with a bright smile. “So let us be a part of yours.” Buzz and the other toys all smiled brightly along with Woody. Riku couldn’t help but smile back, along with Aqua and Lea as they let out small chuckles.
“Thank you,” the silver haired teen said as the three of them bowed to them.
“Now, off you go,” Buzz said as he pointed to the sky, past the store doors. “To infinity and beyond!”
===
After a while, the three wielders were back on their ship and entering the lanes between, relaxing with heavy sighs into their seats. After leaving the world, their bodies had changed back to normal, now made of clothes and flesh and bone, and not hard plastic and ball joints.
“So, tell us about Sora,” Lea said as he leaned forward in his chair, Riku turning to look back at them. “What happened?”
“All I can really say is that Sora appeared out of nowhere, protecting me from Xehanort when Buzz got possessed and attacked Woody,” Riku said as he remembered what happened. “He then chased Xehanort out of the store, and when I tried to follow them, I was stopped by those talking Heartless again…”
“Them again!” Lea exclaimed as he gave a full body shudder. “Geez, those things creep me out!”
“Talking Heartless?” Aqua repeated, rubbing her arm slightly. “I’ve never heard of a sentient Heartless before.”
“The only one I knew of before was Xehanort’s Heartless, Ansem,” Riku stated as he looked at Aqua. “You met him before in the Realm of Darkness.” Aqua nodded slightly when she remembered the Xehanort clone.
“But, what are they exactly?” Lea asked them as Riku pulled out his gummiphone, typing away as he searched his contacts.
“I think I know who to ask,” the teen said as the phone rang. After a few rings, a silver haired scientist appeared on the screen.
“Oh, hello, Riku,” Ienzo said with a raised brow. “Did you need something?”
“If you can help us,” Riku said with a smile as Aqua and Lea stood next to his seat to get in on the call. “I should have mentioned this before, but there are these unusual Heartless I’ve encountered twice now, and we wanted to see if there was anything about them in Ansem’s notes.”
“Ansem the Wise does have a large database on various Heartless,” Ienzo remarked as he typed something on the computer. “Give me as many details on them as you can, and I’ll search Ansem’s data for anything similar.”