Kingdom Hearts III: The Streamlined Edition

Chapter 6: The Toy Box

The ballroom of Stone Manor had one hue of grey, which turned white when lit with three enormous crystal and brass chandeliers that provided an explosion of light to the room on even the darkest day or even the darkest of nights. It was massive—about thirty feet wide and twice that in length. The floor was parquet, colored pewter, and the walls were cut velvet, made from abalone colored fabric. Along the right-hand side wall, were tall French windows covered in rhino-colored silk draperies. The only furnishings were a total of thirteen upholstered chairs set around the walls and a massive grand Steinway piano that was as black as a black widow spider. If you were interested to know what style this room was decorated in, it was the Georgian style.

Master Xehanort was holding a concert, allowing anyone to come and go as they pleased. The music he had selected for the morning, Salieri's Piano Concerto in B flat major, was echoing melodiously throughout the room. The door was open, so the echoes made their way out. This caught the attention of Young Xehanort, who had been wandering around the halls and trying to think of what he could even say to Sora the next time they crossed paths.

He walked into the room and sat down on the open topped chair.

"Any world you have in store for me?"

Master Xehanort stopped playing. He turned to face the younger self.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Tell me, do you remember when I taught you how a split a world in two?"

"I think so."

"Well, I know the perfect world for you. It might help us in our research with the replicas."

"I'm listening..."

"Vexen found in his notes that a No.i existed. But for some reason, it evaded our memories. The world in question contains toys that come to life when their owners aren't around...."

The bedroom of one Andy Davis featured walls that were painted sky blue, with gold stars and puffy clouds that matched the same shape and texture. The floor was constructed of oak wood, preserved in it's natural color. The dressers that lay next to the Buzz Lightyear blanketed bedsheet were as white as a picket fence. On one side was a poster promoting ABC Round Up, while the wall next to it had four navy blue shelves of five or six books. Under the selves, was another shelf, in a wooden color that looked pale compared to the floor, featuring board games from the likes of Candy Land, LIFE and Battleship. Next to it was a black TV, with a commercial advertising the latest Square Enix intellectual property Verum Rex, a video game that told a story of a brave young prince who fought against the impending darkness with his allies.

Rex, a green tyrannosaurus rex from Mattel (or so he thought at first), was having so much fun watching the commercial that he didn't notice Hamm, the pink piggy bank who obviously resembled a pig changing the channel to a game show via remote control.

"Excuse me! I was watching that!"

"Big deal!" the pig argued. "I wanna see what else is on."

Woody, the chocolate haired cowboy who saw himself as his owner's favorite toy, would have preferred watching a rerun of Woody's Roundup, the sound of voices—foreign voices—were drawing his attention.

The voices came from under the bed. A corridor of light had brought Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald and Goofy into the new world. Sora knew in an instant that they had been shrunk given the way the room looked a lot larger than usual, but Riku found it hard to understand. He was even more "weirded out" when he saw that his companions looked like something suitably blocky and toyetic, if not plastic.

"How are we going to find the Key to Return Hearts at this size?" he looked at his body all over. "And why do we look like action figures?"

"Don't ask me," said Sora, who thought his joints felt stiff. "Ask Donald, he's the one who makes us blend in so that we can abide by the world order."