Buzz nodded, but Rex just looked over at Hamm. “Wait. Hold on!” he sputtered. “I don’t think I’m emotionally prepared!!” “Would you calm down? Don’t worry, I got ya covered,” said the cowboy, glancing up at the green army men on standby on the shelves. He turned toward the desk and made sure the three-eyed little green men next to the globe were okay, too. “It’s go time,” said Buzz to Woody, who nodded. But then— “Wait!” “What are you doing?!” “Who are those guys?” Buzz and Woody looked on as strange toys they had never seen before emerged from beneath the bed. “What in the world? Where are we?” Sora took in the strange sights around him, wide-eyed, with Donald and Goofy. Then he noticed his hands. “Oh my gosh!” he yelped. “Have we been shrunk? And… And look at us!” He looked just like a toy, all the way down to his body, hair, clothes, and size. Donald and Goofy were no different. “You know what the magic is for. We have to protect the world order,” Donald reminded him. This certainly wasn’t the first time they’d transformed to fit in on a new world. “Gawrsh… Who’s gonna protect the order from them?” Goofy drawled as he pointed out the enemies. “Heartless!” Sora called his Keyblade to his hand and rushed in. Even the Heartless resembled toys here. After the battle was over and the three heroes were taking a breather, Hamm came over and called out to them. “Are you new?” For toys, the arrival of newcomers to the room was a major event. After all, their owner, Andy, had been known to favor his newer toys. Rex didn’t seem to mind, though, running up to Sora excitedly. “Wait! Ah— Ah— You look familiar! I know this. You’re, uh, you’re, uhhh…” The dinosaur’s excitement helped Hamm make the connection. “Yozora!” he cried. “Huh? My name’s Sora.” Sora seemed a bit nonplussed. The name was similar, sure, but it definitely wasn’t his. “Stay back!” Buzz called. He was keeping his distance, and his laser was pointed squarely at them. “For all we know, the intruders sent them.” “We can trust them! They’re the number-one-selling heroes in the country!” Rex gushed as he pulled Sora into a hug. Hamm seemed happy, too. “Yeah, Andy’s mom must’ve bought ’em for him.” “Hamm’s right. Did you see how easily they took care of the intruders? I bet they’re here to figure out why all our friends have gone missing, and why Buzz’s laser started actually laser-ing…and all the weird stuff that’s been going on. I mean that’s what heroes do, right?” While Rex chattered away, Woody and Buzz gave some thought to the situation. Sora was getting the impression that not everything was as it should be in this world. “So, you’re Andy’s new toys?” Woody asked. “Toys?” That briefly threw Sora and his friends for a loop, but the cowboy was right. They did look like toys at the moment—like action figures, to be precise. Woody was still talking. “You sure did a number on those intruders,” he said. “Those are Heartless,” Goofy explained about the intruders—their foes that dwelled in the darkness. “We’ve been fighting against those ‘intruders’ for a while,” Sora said on behalf of his team. “I knew it!” Rex called, elated. “Okay. In that case, you’re all right by me. My name’s Woody. Put ’er there.” “Hey.” Woody and Sora shook hands. “I’m Sora—” “Yozora!” Rex interjected before Sora could finish giving his name. “Actually, my name’s Sora…” “And I’m Donald.” “I’m Goofy.” Once the newcomers had introduced themselves, it was the toys’ turn to share their names. “I’m Rex! I’m your biggest fan. In fact, I’ve been playing your game for months now. And I’ve already gotten you all the way up to level forty-seven. But that Bahamut boss is really tough. Slinky and I can’t figure out how to beat him. Oh, I wish Slinky and the others were here. They’d be so happy to meet you!” Rex rambled on and on, delighted. Next, the green army men came down from the shelves and saluted Sora and his companions. “All troops at attention, sir!” Then, a trio of identical aliens came rolling up on a skateboard and gave what must have been their form of a greeting. “Strangers.” “From the outside.” “Welcome.” “They’re all toys? So that’s why we look the way we do.” Sora was finally beginning to understand, but one person was still having trouble accepting the situation—Buzz. “Excuse me,” he said. “You said that you’ve battled those intruders before. Tell us where and why.” “Oh… Well, uh… We are—” Donald cut Sora’s answer short. “Order!” Oh yeah, we aren’t supposed to tell anyone. How am I supposed to explain, then? “Well? You must have come from somewhere.” Buzz eyed the three outsiders with suspicion, and the army men started doing the same. Before the situation could get worse, Woody stepped in. “Take it easy, Buzz. What matters is that they got those intruders out of our way for at least a little while. No need to interrogate ’em.” Rex and Hamm were inclined to agree, but the space ranger still wasn’t convinced. “Hey… Have those ‘intruders’—the Heartless—been a problem around here?” Sora asked Woody. “No, they just showed up a little while ago.” “In fact, those ‘Heartless’ materialized right after all our friends up and vanished,” Buzz added. Sora and his friends shared a look. “It wasn’t always this lonely. One day we woke up, and we were the only toys left here. Nobody’s heard from Mom, or Molly, or Andy… We keep waiting for Andy to come home,” Woody said sadly as he looked at the name written on the bottom of his boot. This Andy must be close with all the toys here, Sora thought. “You really care about him.” Woody nodded. “Yeah… He’s the best friend that toys like us could ever hope to have.” “All right. We’d better start looking!” “Huh?” “Have you got any clues we can go on—any other strange things that happened?” Sora asked. Now it was the toys’ turn to share a glance. “Well… Hmm,” Woody said. “There’s one thing.” “After everyone went MIA, the intruders didn’t come alone,” Buzz explained. “They arrived with a guy wearing a hood, dressed in black, just like you. As a matter of fact, he’s the only other new toy we’ve seen outside of you three.” A black hood? But that means… “The Organization?” Goofy and Donald cried in unison. “You know who it is?” “Yeah. They’re bad news,” Sora told Woody gravely. Whatever was happening on this world, the Heartless and the Organization were part of it. “We may have a hunch what’s causing all the weirdness. Would you mind if we handle this?” “I’m sorry. But we’re not gonna leave this to you. If that guy has something to do with our friends vanishing, then he’s our problem, too. We’ve got to work together.” Woody’s answer was firm. He wasn’t about to leave his world’s problems to someone else. Sora and his friends could appreciate that. “The latest reports place the target in town, sir. At Galaxy Toys!” the green army men stated, as if they had been waiting to do so for some time. “Then Galaxy Toys is where we’re going. Sora, follow me.” Buzz stopped Woody before he could leave. “Not so fast, cowboy. You seem pretty gung ho about going, but shouldn’t we stay here and wait for Andy?” “Well… You’ve got a point, but…we’ve tried waiting. Look, if we go with Sora, we might find a clue. Are you with me, Buzz?” he asked, turning back to his friend. “Of course.” Buzz sighed and deflated a little. Sora smiled. He could tell they shared a strong bond of trust. In order to reach Galaxy Toys, the new toy store in town, they needed to go outside through the window. They had quite a large crew with them. Woody, Buzz, Hamm, Rex, the army men, and the little green men. Hopefully no one gets lost. “Okay, let’s move out!” Sora leaped down from the window to the roof, where more Heartless lay in wait. Woody drew the gun at his hip, while Buzz shot lasers from his arm. Not only were they good in a fight, but they were careful to keep their fellow toys out of harm’s way. The whole crew descended from the roof to the street and hurried ahead. At the end of the road, there was a big building that looked like a shopping mall. “Let’s go!” They went inside and found an enormous hall jam-packed with toys of all kinds, including an eye-catching display of toy robots. Rex and Hamm ran over to it. The Gigas robots were from the same video game as Yozora, the one they’d been playing. Something felt strange about all this to Sora. “Hey, why doesn’t that toy move?” he asked Buzz. “I guess it hasn’t figured it out,” the space ranger replied, looking up at the Gigas. “Hasn’t figured it out”? What does that mean? Sora wondered. Just then, someone spoke from on top of the big capsule machine in the center of the hall. “I can make it move for you.” A man in a black coat stepped out from the Corridor of Darkness and removed his hood to reveal his long silver hair and gold eyes. “You’re from the dream—the first of the Xehanorts!” Sora shouted. “I’m so honored you remember me.” The younger Xehanort snapped his fingers, summoning Heartless that jumped onboard the Gigas. “Oh no! He can move!” Buzz exclaimed in surprise just as a robot tried to bring one of its massive arms down on Hamm. Sora, Donald, and Goofy managed to stop the blow in just the nick of time. Young Xehanort didn’t seem particularly concerned as he offered his analysis of the situation. “Our heart’s shadows fill the emptiness of another. See how they bring him to life? Like Heartless and Nobodies, they fit together.” “Enough. Why are you doing this?!” “There’s a darkness we are missing and must reclaim. The way hearts connect in this world can provide us with a clue. So we made a copy of the world and then pulled those hearts apart. I wonder how you’ll handle the strain.” Instead of giving a real answer, young Xehanort quietly opened another Corridor of Darkness. “Wait! What does that mean?” Sora called for him to stop, but young Xehanort only paused for a moment. “Don’t let me down.” With those chilling parting words, he melted into the shadows. Sora, Goofy, and Donald were too busy keeping Gigas’s fists at bay to chase him. Before long, the robot’s strength won out and sent them all tumbling away. “Look out!” Woody caught Sora, while Buzz opened his wings and managed to rescue Donald and Goofy. “Woody! What is going on? Is this toy a friend…or foe?” Buzz yelled. The Gigas robot chose that moment to fire one of its powerful cannons. “I think we’ve got your answer!” the toy cowboy shouted back as he shielded Sora and his friends. They barely managed to get behind the cover of the other toys on display—the battle against the giant robot was starting to seem hopeless. Unless they tried something new. “Sora! You’re up!” Donald smiled up at Sora. “Yeah! If the Heartless know how to do it, there’s no reason you can’t,” Goofy agreed. Sora cocked his head to one side, unsure of what they were getting at. “Do what?” Donald pointed. “Over there!” Another Gigas without a Heartless at the helm stood tall and powerful, just waiting for him. “Brilliant! I’m on it!” Now that he knew what they meant, Sora dashed over to the Gigas’s feet and jumped inside the cockpit in its head. I’ve never operated a mech before, but I bet it’ll be fun. Plus, I’ve flown the Gummi Ship, right? Sora punched a random button. “Wawak!” Donald scrambled out of the way of the cannon fire. “Sorry!” Uh, maybe not. Sora targeted the hostile Gigas bearing down on him. Okay, now we have a fighting chance. Donald, Goofy, Woody, and Buzz cheered him on from below. Sora’s clever piloting beat back the enemy Gigas, and each one fell still after the Heartless vanished from its cockpit. After an intense battle, the last of the robots stood motionless, and Sora hopped down from the pilot seat. Seeing the immobile robots, Buzz fell into thought. “Buzz?” Sora asked with concern. “It’s nothing,” Buzz replied dismissively. “I’m confused. That guy in the black coat—did he say he made a copy of the real world? What’s that mean?” “It…probably means they split this world in two—your friends in one world, us in the other. Only one of the worlds is real, and the other is just really convincing.” “You can’t be serious. Oh! That’s right, you’re from a video game.” Buzz snorted at Sora’s theory. “Well, maybe in your game that’s how things work, but here in reality you can’t ‘split worlds.’” Well, Buzz’s reaction was understandable. Sora probably wouldn’t believe it either if someone tried to tell him his world was not only one of many, but one of two parallel versions of itself. “This is ridiculous. Woody, let’s go.” Buzz turned away and walked off. “I admit, it does sound just a little far-fetched. But say we have been taken to some kind of alternate world. That would explain why your laser’s real,” Woody admonished him gently. “And is it really that crazy? Worse than ‘evil emperors’ and ‘protecting the galaxy’? Any of that ring a bell?” he added. Buzz coughed nervously. Sora guessed that was part of Buzz’s original story. “Point taken. But that just means these strangers are part of the delusion. And I say it’s time we parted ways and went home.” Buzz’s insistence on doubting them was beginning wear down Sora, Goofy, and Donald. “Look, I get that it seems weird,” said Sora, “but we know something’s wrong with this place. We should stick together.” “Sora’s right,” Woody agreed, trying to persuade his stubborn friend. “They helped with the intruders, so they might help find our friends. They have been there for us so far. You can’t deny that. Come on. Every toy deserves a fair shake.” Buzz pointed at one of the lifeless Gigas. “Tell it to that toy over there,” he snapped. He was right; none of them wanted to fight their fellow toys. But still, what were they supposed to do about any of that? They had apparently reached an impasse—but that was when a sergeant of the green army men came hurrying over and said, “Sheriff, sir. Rex has just been dino-napped!” “What’s that?!” Woody asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “And Hamm and the aliens are MIA.” They must’ve run away during the battle—or maybe they got taken, too. “Come on. We have got to find them!” Woody said, ready to take off right then. “Please, let us help!” Sora implored, running beside him. Realizing Buzz hadn’t come with him, the cowboy stopped and went back to talk him out of his doubts. “Well, Buzz? Do you really think we can save our friends on our own? We didn’t get very far before. We gotta take all the help we can get.” “Don’t worry,” Goofy said. “Sora can be reckless, and Donald grumbles a lot…” It was unclear where Goofy was going with this, exactly, but Sora nodded along anyway. “Yeah!” Then Goofy reached his point. “But you can trust ’em!” It took a moment, but Donald soon picked up on what was wrong with this picture. “Hey! He suspects you, too!” he quacked sharply. Why would Buzz believe anything Goofy had to say? “It’s true,” agreed Sora, again nodding along. “Huh? He does?” Goofy seemed confused. Woody laughed. “See, they don’t seem bad. Am I right, Buzz?” At this point, the space ranger didn’t have much choice but to accept defeat and admit they were all right. “Okay, fine. We do need the extra help.” He still had his eyes on them, though. “Thanks for the help, Sora, Donald, Goofy,” Woody said with a shrug. “My troops will return to the field, sir!” announced the sergeant of the green army men, and the little soldiers scattered. “Guess we’ll have to check each department one by one,” Sora said, and then the search for the missing toys was underway. Galaxy Toys was divided into several sections, each dedicated to a different category of toys. I wonder if Woody and the others waited here to make some child’s dream come true, too? “They’ve got all kinds of toys here, huh,” Sora remarked with interest, still making sure to keep his eyes peeled for anything strange around them. “Including us!” drawled Goofy, who was raising an ear to check for sounds from time to time. One of the army men came running up. “We’ve found them! They’re in the dolls section!” “Got it! Let’s go!” Everyone nodded along with Woody and set off running. On the way there, they fought their way through quite a few toys that had come to life as Heartless—toys that had presumably once been just like Woody. “Watch out!” Buzz blasted a Heartless that almost got to Sora. “I owe ya one, Buzz! Are you okay with this, though?” “If it wanted to play nice, then it should’ve stayed away from my friends,” Buzz replied with determination, perhaps to convince himself as much as anyone else. We have to find a way to free these toys from the control of the Heartless. Sora fought on with his Keyblade, even though he didn’t necessarily want to. So far, Sora and his comrades had managed to save Rex and, once they reached the doll section, one of the army men, too. They were still searching among the dolls. “I don’t see him anywhere…,” said a confused Woody as his eyes swept over the area. The team crept forward cautiously, aware that any of these toys could be under Heartless control. “Wak!” Donald hid behind Sora when a big dollhouse in the very back of the section suddenly rattled. “Something isn’t right here,” said Buzz, heading straight for the fishy play set. It looked like someone was stuck inside. Sora and his friends pooled all their strength to pull open the doors of the dollhouse. “Talk about cabin fever. Thanks for the save,” said Hamm as he ambled out from inside. “You okay, Hamm?” “Yeah, aside from being locked in, the accommodations were fine,” the piggy bank replied easily, allaying the cowboy’s concerns. Donald took a curious peek into the house, which was full of tiny furniture in a pleasant enough living space—except… “Gwawak!” he cried. A female doll with pretty blue hair in a black dress was staring right at him through a window on the other side of the house. “She’s back! That’s the doll who pigpenned me!” Hamm yelped as the Angelic Amber doll that had been transformed into a Heartless loomed over them. Hamm and Rex ran to hide beside some other toys. “One stay in the dread-and-breakfast was enough for me!” “I’ve had enough of this!” Buzz made sure they got away, then trained his laser on Angelic Amber. “Not another possessed toy…,” he muttered softly as fired a beam. The doll’s hair stood on end, and her eyes flashed. “Y-yikes!” Sora squeaked as he joined the fray with his Keyblade in hand. Angelic Amber shuffled across the floor and flung herself at them. “Don’t take another step!” Buzz fired his laser, and Donald followed up with a barrage of magic while she was stunned. Meanwhile, Sora sprang off Goofy’s shield and slammed his Keyblade down onto the doll’s head. There was a short pause, and then Angelic Amber fell still. “…Did we get her?” Donald said as he edged warily up to the doll. Goofy was right behind him. “Looks like it, a-hyuck!” But suddenly, Angelic Amber sprang into motion again. “This has gone far enough!” Buzz shouted. He extended the wings on his backpack and flew into the air, firing off a volley of laser beams. Finally, Angelic Amber crumpled to the floor. He walked somberly over to the doll; she had to be down for the count now. “What if we end up just like her? Forgetting ourselves and…attacking each other?” Sora placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “No way, Buzz. That won’t happen.” “You can’t be sure! What if I get taken over, then attack you?” “Buzz, you’re overthinking it.” Woody tried to console his friend, but Buzz only shook his head. “Yeah,” Sora agreed. “The Heartless—the darkness—can only creep in when our hearts falter. Trust me. You’ll be fine if you don’t lose heart.” If he knows how the Heartless work, then a guy like Buzz has nothing to worry about, thought Sora. Woody knew Buzz better than anyone, and he felt the same way. “Well, that’s good. Because I know you, Buzz. You’ll never lose heart when it comes to your friends.” Woody’s reassurance finally sank in, and Buzz’s expression softened somewhat. “True enough, cowboy. Sorry to have worried you all.” “Now, let’s go find the others.” “It’s going to be dangerous, so you guys head back to the main hall,” Buzz said gently to Hamm. Rex was probably already there. With that, Sora and crew headed for the babies and toddlers section, where they saved the little green men from getting abducted by a UFO. “Fear not.” “We still have our new home.” “The Chamber of Andy.” With that, the aliens headed to the exit. “They’re right. This isn’t where we belong. We’ve been in this toy store long enough. It’s time for us to go home to Andy’s room,” Buzz agreed. It was a reasonable conclusion to make, in Sora’s opinion, considering everything this toy store had put them through. But it wasn’t enough. “But…Xehanort told us that isn’t even his real room,” Sora reminded Buzz. The space ranger turned his back and started trudging away. “Can you prove that any of that nonsense is true? And even if that Andy’s room is fake, it doesn’t mean he’s not somewhere in this world with us. I’m going home to wait for him. No more debate.” Woody shook his head slowly, and Buzz turned to him. If anyone could see where he was coming from, it was his friend. “You with me, Woody?” “Hmm…” The cowboy thought for a moment longer while Buzz headed back to the entrance. “You’re right, Buzz.” He smiled at Sora. “Now that we’re all accounted for, we should meet up at the entrance and go home.” Sora was disappointed at first, but he soon smiled back. “Okay. We could have used friends like you in the final showdown…” “But Organization XIII is our problem to solve,” Goofy added, tacitly letting them know he understood. Donald did the same with a characteristic boast. “Yeah, I can take ’em!” And of course, Sora had to add his own two cents. “I’m not so sure about that…” “I’ll show ya!” Donald shouted as he took the bait and chased after Sora. Even Woody and Buzz were getting used to the routine by this point. Once they were back at the entrance, they did a roll call to make sure everyone was accounted for. Hamm, the aliens, and the army men were all there, but… Woody paused to think. “Wait. Where’s Rex?” The dinosaur should have come back here earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. “Aw, he took off,” Hamm explained unhappily. “Said he wanted to prove to you he could trust Sora. He’s up there by the video games.” Buzz couldn’t believe it. “Well, here we go again.” “He’s not safe,” said Sora. “The Heartless are out there.” Rex had mistaken Sora and his friends as heroes from a video game, but he had still put himself in danger just to prove they were trustworthy to Woody and Buzz. The cowboy and space ranger looked at each other. “You’re right. Sora, Donald, Goofy… Any chance you could help us one last time?” Woody asked. “Sure!” Sora chirped. Woody’s face lit up. “Thanks, guys…” He was just as happy as Sora had been to have friends he could count on. Buzz likely felt the same way. “Let’s go!” Woody turned to Buzz, who responded with a nod and a wave. In the video game section on the third floor, they found Rex rummaging around for something, completely oblivious to the worry he had caused. “Look! Look! I found it!” He dropped down from a shelf in the Verum Rex display and shoved a copy in Sora’s face. “See, Sora?” The cover art portrayed a young man with silver hair. Sora noticed a giant Verum Rex standee on the sales floor, too. “Well, I never look this good. The clothes kinda match,” Sora commented as he inspected the hero on the box. They both had checkers, and maybe they slightly resembled each other—but if anything, this guy looked like… “See? I told ya, Buzz… They’re toys, just like the rest of us,” said Woody as he looked up at one of the displays. The space ranger crossed his arms and nodded. Meanwhile, Sora and Donald were whispering to each other. “Donald, I thought your magic decided how I look. Explain.” “Simple. That’s not you.” “Say, doesn’t he remind you of Riku?” Donald and Goofy said exactly what Sora had been thinking—the character on the box reminded him a little of Riku. Not just his hair color, but his whole vibe. “Must be him!” Donald cackled. Sora couldn’t let the taunt go unanswered. “No! I’ve got the black clothes and, uh…” “So what?” “All right, everyone. Now that we’re back together, it’s time to return to Andy’s room,” Buzz said wearily as he watched Sora and Donald arguing again out of the corner of his eye. “Now? But can’t I at least check the strategy guides? I want to know how to beat Bahamut!” Rex was engrossed in the magazines. “Next time. Right now, we need to go home.” Buzz patted the dinosaur on the snout before walking off. Disappointed, Rex returned the magazine to the shelf. But then a familiar voice brought everyone to a halt. “Oh, but you needn’t rush off.” It was young Xehanort. “I have more to observe. I can’t let you leave yet.” He chuckled. “If it’s us you really want, leave the others out of this.” Sora had his Keyblade out for a fight, but young Xehanort was still laughing. “You would say that, champion of light. Very well, let’s skip to the final stage.” A second later, a Heartless snuck up on Buzz from behind—a Heartless shaped like a marionette—and wrapped him in shadows. The strength drained from Buzz and left him lifeless and limp, just like a puppet. As his eyes reopened, he raised his right arm and aimed his laser right at Woody’s forehead. “C’mon, Buzz. Quit fooling around.” Buzz fired. “Look out!” Goofy shouted, just barely intercepting the blast with his shield. “I can’t believe it! Buzz has been taken over?” The cowboy stepped weakly toward his friend, but Buzz only fired again. Goofy deflected that blast, too. “What did you do to him?!” Sora yelled as he rushed at young Xehanort, his Keyblade ready to strike. “I thought I made it clear. I am testing the strength of their bonds.” He avoided Sora’s swift downward slash with a quick step back. “In this world, toys have hearts. And those hearts come from a powerful bond. 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?” Sora couldn’t land a hit; as soon as he swung, the silver-haired boy would blink away and reappear somewhere else. Meanwhile, the young Xehanort continued his monologue. “All I needed was a wedge to widen the divide—someone like you to fill them with distrust and doubt. And that chasm you created can be filled with a vast darkness. Witness it for yourself.” Sora held his Keyblade ready for anything, glaring furiously. “Sora!” Donald and Rex were trying their hardest to stop Buzz, while Goofy protected Woody from the laser blasts behind his shield. “On my way!” Sora was about to hurry over when young Xehanort seized him by the arm and lifted him into the air. “Not this time!” he snarled. He slammed a glowing red orb into Sora’s chest and sent him flying. Sora was launched all the way into a world like nothing he’d ever seen before. He was on something that resembled the roof of a factory, surrounded by a metal fence, and there were more buildings nearby. “Haven’t you heard? In this world, you come from a video game. So now, you can watch my experiment from inside that screen. That is…if you manage to find a moment’s rest.” With that, young Xehanort vanished. Sora was inside the game Verum Rex, and several Gigas mechs were coming his way. “Uh-oh!” I have to get out of here quick and help Buzz and Woody! Sora charged over to one of Gigas and hit it with his Keyblade until it stopped attacking. He climbed aboard, then used it to take down the others. He was starting to panic a little. C’mon— Can’t this go any faster?! Woody and Buzz trust each other. They have such a strong bond, just like me with all my friends. The Organization doesn’t get to do whatever they want to them, or any of the other toys here. I won’t let them. Just when Sora was losing track of how long he had been here and how many Gigas he had defeated, the last mech went down, and the game spit him out. “Sora!” Woody, Donald, and Goofy were there to greet him. “Wait… Where’s Buzz?” Sora asked. “He disappeared into a dark corridor.” …And of course, that dark corridor was already long gone. Sora didn’t have the ability to open his own, either. What do we do now? That was when a small green sergeant spoke up. “Well, it might be a long shot, but we saw a shadowy portal in the Kid Korral.” “Sarge, you’re a lifesaver!” Woody exclaimed. In light of the danger, they decided to send all the toys to the entrance except for Woody, who would accompany Sora and his team to the Kid Korral. Sure enough, they found an open dark portal inside of a vent. “Here goes.” At Sora’s signal, the four of them stepped through. Buzz was floating in the center of a murky black haze, and young Xehanort was standing directly in their way. “What do you want with my friend?” Woody asked. “Look… Such tremendous darkness. All because he was ripped away from the boy who cares about him most.” The young Xehanort looked back at the darkness rising up behind Buzz. “Does that mean…we’ll all be like Buzz…if we don’t…find Andy?” But before Woody could doubt any further, Sora stepped in. “Wrong! Distance doesn’t matter. Andy’s part of their hearts, just like my friends are part of mine.” “Yeah!” Donald and Goofy agreed fiercely. “You can’t rip that apart!” Sora got his Keyblade ready for action. Woody looked at the name on the bottom of his shoe, remembering what it meant. Sora was right. “What? Your friends are your power? Ah… How very true. But if the light of friendship is a form of power…the darkness of being alone is a power…even greater.” The darkness wove in on itself, layer upon layer like fabric, and at its center, young Xehanort stood. His eyes shone with conviction as he gazed up into the shadowy column. “Darkness is the heart’s true nature.” Sora faltered momentarily, but he soon felt an encouraging hand on his shoulder as Woody stepped forward, coolly confronting the darkness and its lies. “Whatever you’re talking about, I don’t care. Put Buzz back the way he was, then get lost!” “Or else what, toy?” “Yeah, I am a toy. And a friend. My guess is no one’s ever loved you before. Because you know nothing about hearts and love.” With each step Woody took toward young Xehanort, light spread from his feet. Sora came to stand beside him. “There are hearts all around us, trying to connect. Your loneliness only made Woody and Buzz’s 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.” “Yeah! You can’t keep us from Andy.” The darkness around them was rolling away. “We’re going home no matter what. And taking Buzz!” Woody continued. “Xehanort, you’re so caught up in finding the shadows, that you forgot about the light that cast them.” The words, their willpower, became a ring of pure light dispelling the darkness young Xehanort had summoned. Xehanort recoiled as the light took shape and flew to Buzz. “No!” Sora, Goofy, and Donald took advantage of the distraction to attack. Xehanort managed to block their blows, but he was now trapped in place. “Woody, now!” Sora shouted. Woody jumped into the air and threw the pull string attached to his back like a lasso at a piece of wood hovering behind Buzz. The ring hooked firmly on to the block, and Woody swung over to his friend. Once he had hold of Buzz, the two of them dropped to the ground together. A voice came from Woody’s back as the impromptu lasso wound itself back. “Giddy-up, partner! We gotta get this wagon train a-movin’!” It was one of his features as a toy. The voice brought Buzz back to his senses. “Woody… Wait, how did I get here?” “Oh, I don’t know! Maybe somebody switched you into ‘dark and stormy’ mode.” “But I don’t have a—” Buzz was about to rise to Woody’s little jab—then stopped and coughed instead. Woody offered a hand, and Buzz took it. “Thank you, Woody.” “Good to have you back, Buzz.” The two friends shared a smile. Meanwhile… “Hey, hurry up!” “We can’t hold him much longer!” “Don’t give up, guys!” Donald, Goofy, and Sora were struggling to hold back young Xehanort, and they were already getting tired. It wasn’t long before the silver-haired boy managed to fling them back away from him. “So, even empty puppets can be given strong hearts. I am going to have to remember that.” Young Xehanort turned to face Woody and Buzz. The two toys were unfazed by his condescending tone. “Remember this—our hearts will always be connected to Andy’s. No matter what you do!” “And that’s something you’ll never understand, because you’re hollower than a toy.” Young Xehanort laughed. “But now I know a heart can be placed in the vessel of our choosing. For that, let me give you a parting gift to play with.” With that, he melted away into the darkness. “Wait!” Sora chased him down and lashed out with his Keyblade, but young Xehanort was already no more than a vision. The momentum of Sora’s blow carried him right through his translucent foe. Just before he vanished entirely, Xehanort whispered something into Sora’s ear: Find the hearts joined to yours. “Huh?” Sora said instinctively. The darkness was rising up into the ceiling, revealing a miniature version of the town where Woody and the toys lived, except that there was a disc-shaped Heartless—King of Toys—smack-dab in the middle of it. We’re still in another dimension! Everyone got ready for a fight. “Here it comes!” Fierce winds caught the buildings and carried them upward into a great clear sky. Sora and his friends tried to fight it from the ground, but the great Heartless flew through the air beyond the reach of their attacks, and to make matters worse, the winds it created as it whirled around the battlefield made everything rise off the ground. “Sora! This way!” Woody called, and Sora jumped up onto some airborne blocks after him. “We’ll cover you from below!” Buzz shouted as he fired a succession of laser blasts to hamper the King of Toys, while Donald and Goofy held on to him so he didn’t blow away. Sora jumped higher and higher up the toy blocks until he finally arrived on the disc-shaped body of his opponent. You won’t get away now. Sora hammered the core of the Heartless with his Keyblade. With a thunderous crash, King of Toys fell still, then vanished in a burst of light. Once the battle was over, they found themselves back in the hall of Galaxy Toys. “Xehanort got away again.” “Yeah, he’s a big chicken.” Goofy and Donald were upset, but Sora appeared more dejected than anything. “I’m sorry! I wanted to get you back to the real world,” he said apologetically to Woody and the other toys, hanging his head. Donald and Goofy watched him in surprise. “It does seem that we’re trapped here,” said Buzz. “We’ll never get home,” added Rex. “Yeah, stuck like pigs,” Hamm quipped. “Our position appears fixed,” said the sarge. “Oh nooo,” the aliens cried. Still, there was a certain cheerfulness in their voices. Buzz walked up to the downcast boy. “A shame we’ll have to stay a little longer…with our new best friends.” “Huh?” Sora looked up and realized they were all smiling. “After all the adventures we’ve had, we’re not quite ready to say so long.” Woody rested an elbow on Sora’s shoulder and tipped up the brim of his cowboy hat. “I’m sorry that I was being so stubborn. Please forgive me.” Buzz held out his hand to Sora. “Hey, you were just looking out for your friends,” Sora said, shaking his head and grasping Buzz’s hand. “No biggie.” “Yeah, somebody’s gotta be the sensible one, especially since Woody’s always gettin’ in trouble,” Hamm agreed, helping out his friend with a bit of humor. “Gawrsh, that sounds a little like Sora, don’t it?” Sora and Woody glanced at each other as Donald immediately declared, “Yeah, and I’m the dependable one!” “Like Buzz! …Kinda,” Rex said uncertainly, which made everyone smile even more. “Besides, if we go back to the real world, we’ll never see you again, right?” Woody asked. “But…what about Andy?” Sora asked, starting to worry again. “You care about him so much.” It was Andy’s love that had given all the toys hearts, so of course they wanted to get back to the real world, where he was, as soon as they could. “And he’s still right here with us,” Buzz said with conviction. “If we follow our hearts, we’ll find him again,” Woody added. Sora could agree with that. Oh— It doesn’t matter who you are or where, as long as you’re connected. “So, Sora, are you goin’ after that guy in the black coat?” Organization XIII had caused so much trouble for Woody and the toys; their plans had to be stopped before they did something awful to more worlds and more people like his friends. “Something tells me we can’t join you on that mission,” said Buzz in an understanding tone. Woody stopped and turned back, pointing at Sora’s chest. “That’s okay…because you’ve become part of our hearts.” Buzz, Rex, Hamm, the army men, and the aliens all stopped and turned around, too, reluctant to say good-bye to Sora, Goofy, and Donald. Woody said what they were all thinking: “So let us become a part of yours.” “Thank you!” Sora replied, beaming. “Now, off you go. To infinity and beyond!” Buzz declared, lifting his face to the sky. Right now, the open hall of the toy store felt like infinite space, holding them all together. Back in the Ocean Between, onboard the Gummi Ship, Sora was thinking something over. “Sora, what about the power of waking?” Donald asked. “You had to remind me,” he answered with a groan. “Well, gawrsh, we just wanna help keep ya motivated,” Goofy pointed out. Of course they were worried. Sora sighed and told them what had been on his mind: “I was thinking about Roxas. He’s trapped here in my heart. But…he needs a body to be himself again.” We learned that toys can have a heart, but what can we do for someone who’s just a heart? “Aw, don’t worry. Ienzo’s workin’ on a way to get him free. I’ll betcha he’s got the perfect body all lined up,” said Goofy as Jiminy jumped out of Sora’s hood. “You’ve got the Gummiphone, Sora. Why don’t ya try givin’ him a call?” Sora followed Jiminy’s suggestion and pulled the Gummiphone out of his pocket. “Uhh, I guess so? Yeah, why not?” After Jiminy showed him what buttons to press, someone appeared on the screen. But it wasn’t Ienzo. “Oh! Hiya, Sora!” It was the king, Mickey. As soon as they heard his voice, Donald and Goofy pushed their way into view. “Your Majesty!” “Hey! Wha…? Wrong number?” Sora asked, confused. The camera moved to include Riku crouching beside him. “No, Riku and I are visiting Radiant Garden. Actually, we were just about to call you guys, but it looks like you beat us to the punch.” “Sora, is something wrong?” Riku asked in concern. Sora felt a little better seeing his friend’s face again, and he decided to run the question by him. “I wanted to pick your brain. In order for us to recomplete Roxas, he needs a body, right?” “Yeah, to put his heart in…” Riku paused in thought for a bit, then said, “Replicas…” “Huh?” Sora had never heard the word before. Or had he? He wasn’t sure. “Well, Replicas are basically human.” “Uh, what?” Sora asked again. “Oh yeah… You wouldn’t remember. The previous Organization XIII developed realistic vessels to place hearts in, called Replicas. They’re so real, in fact, that you’d actually mistake them for people. And with hearts, the Replicas will become people.” The look in Riku’s eyes grew distant for a second, but Sora couldn’t guess what he was thinking. “Cool, but if we get our hands on a Replica, will Roxas look like himself when he’s recompleted?” “Yup. The Replica takes the form of the heart inside it.” “That’s perfect!” Riku’s answer filled Sora with joy. All they had to do now was recover Roxas’s heart, and everything would work out. Mickey was willing to pitch in, too. “I’ll talk to Ienzo. He was in the Organization back then, so he might know more.” “Great. Thanks.” Sora had found hope. Now, if I can just get back the power of waking! Just then, all this talk of containers reminded him of something. “Wait… Do you guys think they’re after Replicas, too?” he asked Donald and Goofy. “No, they definitely said ‘a black box,’” Goofy replied straightaway. Now it was Riku’s turn to ask. “Who’s that?” “The Organization and Maleficent,” Sora replied, then immediately gasped as he remembered too late that they had decided to keep this information a secret. His two friends hurriedly pushed him out of the way. “I guess we forgot to mention it.” “Aw, it’s okay. But there’s something you should know about one of their members.” Mickey began to tell them of the newly made Organization XIII—the true Organization XIII. Xehanort was gathering thirteen seekers of darkness to counter the seven guardians of light, but some of the lights were missing. Even if they did find Aqua and Ventus, they still had no leads on Terra—except that his body was in Xehanort’s clutches as one of his vessels. “So, let the rest of us worry about Roxas and Naminé for now,” Mickey finished. “You journey on, and keep an eye out for Terra.” Once he was done, Donald and Goofy pushed Sora out of the way again. “Yes, Your Majesty!” “Stop that!” Sora snapped, shoving back and accidentally ending the call with a little blip. “A vessel, huh…” “Welp, at least it sounds like we’ll be able to do somethin’ for Roxas,” Goofy said quietly, his arms crossed. Sora still felt hopeful, though. “We gotta help out Terra, too!” “And don’t forget the power of waking!” his friends reminded him. “Enough already, I get it!” Sora groaned with resignation. I was so sure that just caring about other people and holding on to my friendships would be enough to get the power of waking back…but will it really? The place, known as the Keyblade Graveyard, was filled with countless Keyblades jutting up from the ground like headstones. Among them were thirteen stone pillars. Saïx stood on top of one of them, while a man in a black coat stood on another. “Humanity is a precious gift. And yet you wish to return to the Organization?” Saïx asked the man to his side. “Oh yes…of course,” replied the other man. His voice was higher than Saïx’s. “One eradication at Axel’s hands was enough to learn where not to place my trust.” “He gave you a second lease on life,” Saïx quietly disagreed. The man gestured dramatically as he spoke. “He ripped me away from the one thing I care about. I don’t require humanity. Give me my research. I must see it to fruition, no matter the cost.” “The Replicas,” Saïx practically whispered. The other man nodded and burst out into uncontrolled laughter. “Yes. Soon they will replace, not just replicate. Given a heart, they can become just as real as any human.” “What excellent tidings. I would hate to think we invited you back into our ranks only for you to fail to deliver our final vessel…Vexen.” The other man removed his hood, revealing that he was indeed Vexen—the man who had once been known as Even, the faithful student.
Chapter 12
39 min read