Toys in the Hood
From Accct Wiki
Contents |
Workshop
Characters
Andy
- Keyblade:
- Mech: Sheriffstarr
Bonnie
- Keyblade:
- Mech: Stellaraigar (Buzz the Space Ranger Robo)
Konishi Arc
Chapter 8
- [Toy Story]x[Kingdom Hearts]x[Star Wars]x[Persona 4]
- Toys in the Hood (Chapter 8)
Daisy woozily opened her eyes to find herself on the inside of a Jet Liner, She then looked to the window to the sight of the ocean floor closing in on a collection of islands just over the horizon. "Whu-huh?"
"Isn't this exciting?" Jennifer's voice got her attention onto the adult as she cradled her sleeping toddler. "We get to explore a part of the world we rarely get to see and I'm sure the children will learn something about different cultures."
Daisy was dumbfounded in her drowsy stupor. "I was babysitting Molly and then this knight in armor turned up and cast some kinda spell."
"I found you sleeping on the job and was more than happy to take you and Molly along with us to Japan." 'Ty' glared to the sitter from behind the women. "I hope this doesn't do too much damage to your college education."
"If it's only for the week, I guess it won't." Daisy absent-mindedly assured to her senior.
On 'Tyler's side of the seating, Bonnie and Andy were sitting impatiently at the thought of going to Japan.
"Worry not." Yoda clarified from within Aqua's purse. "Only an indulgence on Aqua's part, this brief detour is."
"But what about my mommy?!" questioned Bonnie. "She's gonna be worried sick about me!"
"Calm down, Bon." Aqua hushed. "I called her up on the way up and she wants you back by Labor Day. If we end up sticking around any longer, we can dial her up and pull a mind trick on her."
"Oh, good." huffed Andy. "More mind control."
"You don't have to like it." Aqua facepalmed. "It's only to get around their worrying hearts and calm themselves back to normal."
"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah..." Andy slumped back into his seat. "Just tell me when we land, okay?"
Aqua glared back to the boy with relief.
-ILP-
Deep within Aqua's subspace pocket, Woody tapped his boots to the luggage case he laid upon, irritated that Aqua and Terra resorted to pocketing him and the rest of Andy's toys just so they could follow Andy and crew to Japan. Regardless, he still stood to pick up the microphone and make his speech.
"I am so sorry that you all had to be dragged into this mess." Woody spoke towards his colleagues, "But those who are aware of just how broken this tree of ours know that variants can and will happen, this is just one of those minor shake-ups."
"Minor shake-up?!" Mister Potato Head spat against the sheriff. "One year into the Loop and already we're being thrown off course by your kind going to cowboy camp with little miss 'My presence is impossible at this point in the Baseline'!"
"Calm down, alright." Woody hushed the spud. "At least there are elder Loopers on Andy's end to ease him in."
"Yeah, with overblown door-keys." Potato-Head Huffed.
"And Jedi mind tricks to get around the troubles he might end up facing." clarified Woody. "Come on, what's the modus opperandi around these parts."
"To be there for Andy when he needs us." The other toys sighed.
"Exactly!" Woody bounced to lower ground with a smile. "Just roll with the punches and we can figure out the Loop and what it's meant for."
-ILP-
The plane soon landed after a beautiful birds-eye view of the Japanese skyline and the group of foreigners arrived at the airport where they were met with a humble vallet willing to drive the group through Japan to seek out a proper place for the seven Americans.
"We are honored to have international guests such as yourselves here in the Inaba prefecture." Their escort smiled from the driver's seat. "While we were unable to secure the intended cargo of Woody's Roundup merchandise for the 50s Wing, our CEO showed interest in what he got in its stead so by all means, do pick out a place to stay for the duration of your visit to the country."
Jennifer glanced through the windows to see the houses that were available. "Do you think we can fit within a particular price range?"
'Ty' was also interested in house hunting though his method was different, sending pings to any Loopers that might have been fused in along with them. And sure enough, he got a ping back and promptly pointed the group in its direction. "Do you think we can room in an already preoccupied residence?"
"A resourceful idea, Tyler-san." the vallet complimented the man. "-- I cannot wait until the tour tommorrow."
"Same here." smiled 'Amy' as she recieved a ringing sound coming from a nearby home. "Because I think we've just found our new home."
-ILP-
Ryotaro was loving this Loop for the reason you'd expect him to, he woke up before the death of his wife, Yu and Yosuke look adorable as children and Izanami was far from active for the time being. Nothing could get in the way at this point in their lives... despite a recently Awakened Chie's best efforts to the contrary.
"Come on, Chie, I just wanted to gush about how hecking cute you are as a little girl..." squawked Yosuke.
"Oh, sure. Go ahead and coo at me, why doncha?" glared Chie with a raging fury of your typical Tsundere. "And while you're at it, why not compliment the dress my parents forced onto me for going here!?"
"Well, the pink's not beary complimentary to your attitude." the fun-sized Teddie pointed out in a matter-of-fact sort of speaking. "Maybe a warmer color could be best."
"Did I ask you for fashion advice!" Chie barked with rage before halting at the familiar sound of the ping. "Loopers? Here?"
"Would appear so..." sighed Yu as he stood up and sent a ping back before glancing to his caretaker for the timebeing: "Dojima-san."
"I heard." peeped Ryotaro from behind a creeked open door. "I'll go greet the newcomers." He then waltzed his way to the front door with a kiss for Chisato lying in wait only to find her opening the door for the guests.
"Hi, I heard there were like-minded people here." the American-looking figure smiled to her patron. "Do you have a place for us to stay for the foreseeable future?"
"We have a spare room for you." smiled Chisato. "The kids could room with Yu and Nanako if they like."
"We'd be honored, milady!" Bonnie smiled back as she marched to the japanese children. "I take it you are wide Awake, good sir."
Ping.
"I've been thrown for a Loop myself."
Ping.
"So if you're eager to go Loop-dee-Loop for the Loop in question,"
Ping. Ping. Ping.
"Alright, I'll let you into my room!" complained Yu as he opened the door.
"YAY!" Bonnie cheered as she dashed inside to Yu's reluctance.
-ILP-
The Inaba youngsters faced the little Americans with intrigue, and yet still discomfort. "I hear you're training in the Keyblade's power?"
"Not yet." Blushed Bonnie with a smile. "But so long as I practice my force power, I can have a chance at being a keyslinging kid alongside Terra and Aqua!"
"The Force?" Yu glared back. "As in a certain Galaxy Far, Far Away?"
"A loyal fan, are you? Hmm..." Yoda glanced to the white-haired boy, surprising him to no end. "Yes, the rumors are true. The Toy Story Loops, you and your Ilk now find yourselves in."
"I can see that, ya plush puppet!" glanced Yosuke.
"How are you even using the Force?" pondered Chie. "You'd have to be in Yoda's home branch to end up just as force-sensitive as you, Yoda."
"That's right..." added Yu. "...and as far as I can tell, that isn't the case this Loop."
"In a cloudy pattern, this Loop is." Yoda sighed as he walked with cane in hand. "The only Branches fused for the Loop, the ones we know might not be."
"So it's gonna be a Cluster Loop." sighed Yosuke. "Makes sense with the rumors brewing in the community recently."
"The one with the olympic championship?" Teddie added "Let's hope things don't get too big for us to bear down here."
"Let's hope so..." Yu leaned back with a finger to his chin before adding: "So how long have you been Loopin'..."
"I just started last year!" peeped Bonnie. "And Andy's not even Looping yet."
"Really?" Yosuke eyed to the child. "I guess that makes you Yggdrasil's new fuckboy."
"Watch your language, young man!" Jen butted in with a spark in her eyes.
"Okay, Okay, I'll keep my peeper shut..." mumbled Yosuke to Jennifer's ire, watching the boy interacting with her boy as she closed the door. "Yeesh, is she one of those single parents."
"...yeah." Andy sighed. "We don't talk much about him."
Yu just looks to his non-looping friend and sighed: "You're lucky."
Chapter 9
- [Toy Story]x[Kingdom Hearts]x[Star Wars]x[Persona 4]
- Toys in the Hood (Chapter 8)
That night, the children had tucked themselves in for tomorrow's tour.
"Yu, are you awake?" Andy said, restless from a burning question on his mind.
"And feeling Loopy." Yu answered. "You've got something to get off your chest?"
"What did you mean by me being lucky?" Andy glanced to the boy. "What's with your mom and dad?"
"Katchum Glitch." Yu leaned back up before looking to the boy with an LED lamp aimed at a book. "This is a comprehensive list of every branch that has activated in order."
"Number One, Ranma 1/2. Number Two, Harry Potter. Number Three, Naruto?" Andy raised an eye at this list, "These are anime..."
"Yeah... most of the original seven turned up as Anime." Yu replied to the boy, "Marvel and DC follow suit."
"Ten, Thomas the Tank Engine. Eleven, Mass Effect. Twelve, Mario. Fourteen, Star Wa-." Andy halted in his words and looked to Yu and asked. "Where's Thirteen? What happened?"
"Mega Man's Baseline-to-Variant ratio happened." Yu deadpanned before glancing to a Famicom cartridge. "Videogame Franchise, Branch 108 after a long wait and a tedious process of troubleshooting. One of the final desperate measures included Branch Thirteen, it did not end well."
"It got destroyed?" Andy's eyes widened. "Can that happen to any other-."
"Nah. Not in the way that branch fell..." Yu halted. "It was negated on a conceptual level, and the damage echoed through Yggdrasil. The Kachum Glitch being a major blow, distinctive features of any particular familial unit? Wiped out, Just ask Ash Kachum."
"The Pokemon Trainer?" Andy peeped.
Yu nodded back. "His mother couldn't recall the face and voice of her husband, that was the first reported instance of that glitch, hence the term 'Kachum Glitch' in the Looping Lexicon."
Andy winced, slumping back into his bed. "Did that happen to your parents?"
"Yep." Yu mumbled back. "Do you even remember yours?"
"Mom's still around." Andy smiled, "Dad left us a long while back."
"But can you remember any feature of him?" Yu asked, looking as Andy thought to himself and his face began to be wreathed in woe.
That was the day Andy realized the horror of the Kachum Glitch.
-ILP-
Everyone got up bright and early the subsequent morning for the tour through the Konishi Toy Museum to oggle away at the Toys they can never touch. From Barbie Dolls to GI Joes, Toa to Transformers, complete sets of Toy lines old and new adorned its thirteen floors.
"Wow!" Andy looked in awe at the display for a video game franchise's merch. "They have keyblades like you!"
Terra and Aqua glanced to the display to find a few familiar faces. "Well, I'll be fragged." Exclaimed Terra. "He did made it through after all!"
There was Sora with Riku, Kairi, Namine, Lea, Roxas and Xion as a Sentai-like line of action figures. Bonnie looked in awe, having heard stories of their adventures from Aqua during the airplane ride. "Think we should go and ping them?"
"I'm not sure..." eyed Aqua. "Depends on whether they're Awake or not."
"Isn't it kinda the point?" probed Bonnie.
"Well, knowing Sora, he'd likely ping first." Aqua pointed out to the children.
Ping.
"Case and Point."
Moving on from the toy Anchor from another world as it was much too crowded for him to directly communicate with them, the children walked towards their familiar-looking guide. "Good Morning, Younglings."
"Hey! I remember you!" Exclaimed Bonnie. "You're the guy that drove us around Inaba for house hunting!"
"You have a good eye." mentioned the fella in a tux. "My name is Yuteru Shigata, VP of International Relations. My job is to ensure that our reputation overseas are as ship-shape as it is back home, making it all the easier to reach out to all the Mattels and Hasbros of the world."
"So you're gonna be our guide for the whole day?" Andy tilted his head slightly by. "Well, it's nice t'meet ya, sheriff!"
"When do we meet the president, Shigata-Sama?" Bonnie eagerly asked, Shigata blushing at the term 'Shigata-sama'
"Erm, let's just focus on keeping this crowd of kids moving, okay?" Iwata dodged, pointing to the emotionless children among them.
"I don't think they even feel like movin'..." Bonnie glanced with concern.
"Come now, they all want the special surprise gift that the tour offers, don't they?" Shigata smiled as he hurried them to the next stop of the tour, Terra and Aqua staying up in the Lobby as Shigata glared with a wistful worry in his eyes. "Do stay safe."
-ILP-
Bonnie and Andy were relatively creeped out by the dark room they walked through and the creepy violin music conveying the ever-so bleak atmosphere of the real world at large.
"Easy." Bonnie's gaze focused onto Andy, leaning onto him with a smile. "I'll protect ya. I am, after all, a full Looper."
Andy smiled back as a sort of mist gassed up the room. A giant holographic projection of another suit-wearing gentleman smiling back at the children. "Konichiwa, Hola, Ni-hao and Hello, good little boys and girls. Welcome, one and all, to my museum of joy and imagination for all ages involved." Bonnie sensed something screwy in the air, broken dreams and negative thoughts condensing into a singular mass for each child that wasn't herself and Andy. "I do hope your stay within these halls are as inviting as they are inspiring. It is our mission to recapture the mystic power of the human spirit, one that surrounds and penitrates the young and young at heart. That is what we here at Konishi aim to restore this magic to the rest of the universe... no matter the cost."
Bonnie winced in shock of what she saw behind her, a black egg floated above every child with a white X in front of it, their flesh slowly turned into this inky tar-like sludge as their clothes re-arranged into a sort-of costume with the only unifying mark being a red outline of a heart with an X in front of it. Andy was next to turn around and could only watch as the eggs above the zombified children's heads exploded into that same ebony sludge before reshaping itself into a humanoid form familiar to those who fought this type of creature.
"Heartless, Here!?" Yoda's eyes widened with shock before refocusing on the children that remained human, leaping out with lightsaber in hand. "Go to Terra and Aqua! Hold off the dark creatures, I shall."
Bonnie nodded, then took Andy's hand as the two children ran off to get their Looping elders.
-ILP-
Terra and Aqua patiently sat by the balcony, waiting for the children to return when all of a sudden, the man spotted one of them zooming by towards a nearby car. "Heartless!"
"And they're causing chaos on the road!" Aqua added. "We need to help them!"
"Aqua, stop!" Terra halted before pointing to the car. "Jen and the Dojimas are in there!"
"Guess we need that armor a lot more than we thought." Aqua lamented as she pulled her elbowpads from her pocket and angled to activate the rest of the suit before-
"Holy Crown!" A golden cushion manifested to cushion the car as weightlessly as possible, Chisato pushing the brakes as hard as she could before impact with the warm, honey-like mass.
"What the-?" Jennifer looked to the substance that enveloped the car, touching it to realize that it felt lighter than the wind. "What even is this stuff, Some Japanese Jell-O?"
Twas there that a pink-haired girl of around Andy's age zoomed by on what appeared to be winged rollerskates to face off against the Heartless as it drove away from the group. "So it's a fused Loop, huh? That explains the early awakening."
'Amu-chan! It's gaining on us!' yelped the voice that rung in her head.
"Already on it, Ran." Amu shifted her wardrobe from a pink midriff to a green maid outfit, "Charanari: Amulet Clover!"
She slowed to a sprint before pulling out a whisk to lather the road with a sticky syrupy substance. "Remake Honey!"
The dark creature felt its wheels get coated with this magical maple pulp and slowed to a crawl as its sticky situation worsened ever-so bluntly.
"Now, let's wrap this up!" Amu turned to face the creature. "Negative Heart, Lock-On!"
Terra and Aqua looked onward with appreciation and gratitude before looking to each other with facination. "Let's get to the kids, She's got us covered for now."
"Right." Terra nodded as he made his way to the kids and their Jedi Teacher.
-ILP-
No matter how swift Yoda could cut down the Heartless hordes, they could always respawn somewhere else in the room and the children would have to hide away as swiftly as they could. "It's no use!" Cried Andy "You need a Keyblade!"
"Mind not my equipment." reassured Yoda. "Escape while it is still possible, you must!"
Bonnie slipped back with worry. "Please don't break, master."
Yoda narrowed his sight to the children with a slight smirk before turning to face the hordes of dark creatures head on when, out of the blue:
"Masterpiece Impact!" A forward thrust peirced the Air Soldier right through the breast before it twisted with a radiant glow with the words "OPEN HEART!" The Heartless glowed a shimmering golden shine before bursting into stardust, releasing the lost heart into the aether. Amu stepped towards the two children with her brown boots and blue striped stockings and glanced to Bonnie and Andy with a smile. "What's a couple Gaijin doing out here?"
"Hiding!" Andy rushed out the door to completely pass by Terra and Aqua who were rushing in with Keyblades in hand. "Bonnie, follow me!"
"Andy, don't ya wanna see if they can beat down the monsters together?!" Bonnie pleaded from behind the desk.
Terra glanced to Andy as he clung to the rails of the hallway. "Well?"
"I'll be fine watching from here if that's what you want..." Andy yelped from the echoing hallways. "If anything, I'd be concerned about the mist that's pouring in."
Amu looked down to find that the fog machines, sensing a strange aura from the mist before shifting into her last resort: "Character Transformation: Amulet Diamond!" Her intelligent Device was traded out from a blue shaft to a golden glave that transformed into a boomerang before Amu swung it about with a yell of: "Boomerang Sweep" Heartless were cut to ribbons and hearts were released as Terra and Aqua swooped in with their respective command styles!
"Say Goodbye!" Terra drew stone boulders from nothing to smash in Heartless Skulls and crush the dark ones flat into oblivion. "I think that's the last of them!"
"Really?" Panted Amu. "That's a... relief..." slowly she drifted into a sort of slumber, demorphing from her enhanced state in the process before falling from the sky.
"I've got ya!" Teddie rushes over to clutch onto the pinkette as she descends. "We hafta get outta here!"
The children scrambled in a rush to get out while the masters came following after, eager to escape the Museum and the mist as soon as they could.
Chapter 10
- [Toy Story]x[Kingdom Hearts]x[Star Wars]x[Persona 4]x[Shugo Chara]
- Toys in the Hood (Chapter 10)
"Hey. Can you hear me?"
Amu struggled to open her eyes as she focused onto the face that was looking upon her as he comforted her back into health. "ugh... wh-wha..."
"Don't try to move." Yu kneeled to calm down the Anchor of the Guardian Character Loops. "You took a spill after saving my aunt Chisato, sweeping out the Heartless in the Museum. After that, my friend Teddie came over to carry you into the car and... well, here we are."
Amu glanced to the fellow in the bear suit as he scratched the back of his head with a smile. "Glad I could help!"
"And my Charas?" Amu asked.
"There're right inside my pouch!" confirmed Teddie. "I'll admit, they're making me a bit sweaty or maybe it's just my human body kicking in for the Loop."
Amu could only cringe at the thought, having witnessed such a proverbial 'birth' once or twice in the Loops that she shared with Yu and his crew. Chie leaned to the pink-haired Joker that Anchored a Branch of Would-Be Selves and said: "So, you heard of a Cluster Loop?"
"A mass fused Loop?" Amu guessed "Like with Smash?"
"Yeah! We've just lived through a Loop like that." Chie recalled. "We crossed through not just Remnant, but the Hollow Night and Librarium Loops as well."
"The Loop crashed when we found the likes of Ragna and Ruby turning up in our freaking class." Yosuke complained. "I still can't get over how freaky it was that this was where I begged for Eiken! At least that branch was relatively slow compared to our branch."
"I'll admit, this variant does beat the pants off the Dancing Expansion." Yu remarked to his pack.
"Ugh... It's so hooooot. I gotta use the bathroom to change out of the suit!" yelped Teddie before he emitted the sound of four eight-year-old girls screaming in unison, prompting the Bear-Suited mascot to cover his mouth as he scrambled out of the room. "Excuse me!"
Watching as Teddie opened and slammed the living room door, Amu slowly considered what was going on within the Inaba Native's costume and realized a horrifyingly disgusting thing that was occurring inside: "No way!"
-ILP-
"WHAT! THE BARK! IS GOING ON HERE!" Jennifer confronted the two with blatantly justified rage. "I find myself cushioned by light, then I have to help Chisato pick up a pink-haired stranger, and now I hear all this talk about a computer-tree being broken?"
"Well, considering all the inexplicable things that are going on around here, you couldn't exactly chalk it up to Japan's cultural differences now, could you?" 'Amy' rightfully explained to the mother of two children. "There's a specific quirk in this particular Branch that's resulted in your branch being a bit more accessable to the Admins-"
"I don't care about quirks or keyboards." huffed Jennifer to the two masters. "All I want is for my children to come out of this disaster trip okay!"
"Erm... Excuse me?" peeped Teddie from just by the conversation. "I kinda need to change out of this stuffy old suit of mine." a different voice escaped Teddie's breath. "Speak for yourself, I'm sweating up a storm in here!" another voice soon followed. "Not to mention how cramped this shell's getting!" Teddie's fists curled up and pressed against his eyes as the next alternative voice cried: "WE CAN'T FLY~DESU!!"
"Calm down, I can help you out of this getup no problems attached." smiled Jennifer as she walked to Teddie's Zipper and began to tug.
Teddie showed concern as Jennifer unzipped the costume. "Uh, I don't think it's Bear-y wise since the lot of us are kinda like newborns at the moment."
"Oh, come on, now... there's nothing to feAAAAGHGHHHH!!!" Jennifer screeched at the naked eight-year-old girls that 'accompanied' Teddie. "You know what, just change into some actual clothes and maybe I can forget this mess ever happened, just don't ever let me see you pulling this stunt again!"
"Scout's honor!" chimed Teddie as he marched into the bathroom with the girls in tow. Jennifer could do little more than cringe at the two loopers with one question on her mind.
"I take it this is a common occurrence in your native branch?"
-ILP-
"Only in variants where it's feasibly possible." Amu mentioned to her fellow Loopers. "A wish that doesn't implant memories in loved ones, 'Dreams' that do. Or in this case, erm..."
"Midichlorians: microscopic organisms within all organic beings of our home branch." Yoda clarified. "Continually tell us the will of the Force, this powerful symbiote does to all attached."
"So does that explain how we ended up like this?" Ran complained as her newly-human blood was drawn for analysis.
"A powerful mist, Konishi has developed." Yoda remarked. "A count of 18,000 in your chara's Blood, I sense. Has the potential to rival my own and even trail our resident Anchor, your sensitivity to the Force does."
"But how is it even possible that the Force is even a thing down here!?" rebutted Ran as she pointed to down onto the floor and up through the window. "We're down here and the galaxy with the Jedi and the TiE Fighters are out there, Far Far Away as the movies put it."
"Clouded, the branch's composition is." Yoda glanced as he got up and walked towards the American children. "Within this fused Loop Yggdrasil has cast us into: Unknown factors at play, there are. It is as if Yggdrasil wants you Looping as soon as possible."
"Well, it's already got me." Bonnie smiled.
"Yes. That this is the case, your midichlorian count shows." Yoda remarked to the little girl. "Which leaves but one other:"
Andy meekly sighed "Me?"
Yoda merely nodded. "Destined by baseline to appear overseas, You were not. The Loops and their varients: caused such a shift, they have, through the Loopers caught within its cluster."
"Mom's had a fit with the older Loopers earlier today." Andy glumly stated. "She's pretty mad at them."
"Makes sense." Yu retorted from the sidelines. "Considering that this was her introduction to the multiverse, I'm not shocked that he'd take it pretty hard. Least she doesn't know about her home branch's... Quirk."
Andy glanced back to Yoda who was meditating on the logic of Yggdrasil. "They will reveal themselves to you in due time, when a suitable opportunity arises. Get some rest, you children must. For tomorrow is a new dawn."
Everyone nodded and made their way to the bed, leaving Bonnie's satchel on the floor for a group of seven action figures to scramble out of the bag to send out a Ping to the other toys in the room. One that would be answered by a plush onlooker and a more American-crafted action figure.
Chapter 11
- [Toy Story]x[Kingdom Hearts]x[Star Wars]x[Persona 4]x[Shugo Chara]
- Toys in the Hood (Chapter 11)
"Sora!" Woody exclaimed. "Didn't expect the expansion to hit so soon?"
"I don't think this is an expansion..." Sora shrugged. "I think I'm just a regular toy for a Sentai show this Loop."
"Hey, not to butt in or anything?" Lea Interrupted. "But did you notice that Yoda was there, too? Talking with the kids as a freakin' plushie?"
"I understand that it is a bit disorienting, and Andy doesn't exactly know the full context of how yet." Buzz silently reminded the keykids. "So it's business as usual, back to your places when human presence is imminent and stay still until all human contact has vacated the room."
"We should be safe with the kids being fast asleep." hushed Woody. "Just tell us the plan as quietly as you can and we'll see if you can execute the plan by the morning."
"The Midnight Channel's likely a thing with Yu and the others being active Loopers here." Kairi mentioned. "Maybe we could take a shortcut through there? We're pretty small enough to phase through most TV screens, so It's more than possible we could navigate our way to the Konishi Museum."
"You mean to tell me you're gonna shove us through solid glass?" Mr. Potato Head protested. "It's television, not telephone."
"If it's atomic scrambling's what you're worried about, we could always go in there." Roxas pointed to the vacant bear-suit Teddie had placed in the hamper earlier that night. "Question is, how do we animate this one."
Xion merely rolled up her plastic sleeves with a smile, "I've spent a Loop in place of one of the original seven, so I think I know enough levitation-locomotion spells to get us where we have to go."
-ILP-
Scuttling in a wobbly sprint, the mascot suit escorted the party of Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Etch, Rex and the Museum toys Sora, Riku, Kairi, Namine, Lea, Roxas and Xion over to the closed department storefront of Junes where they met their destination as they broadcasted the Midnight Channel for all to phase through via Teddie's soft and huggable costume. The head popped off as it hit the floor, allowing for the toys to exit the costume one by one.
"So this is the Midnight Channel." Woody glared with awe at the cameras. "Avoid the cameras and keep an eye on the clocks."
"Sounds like a good idea." Roxas remarked before tossing his keyblade into the air to manifest a human-scale Keyblade glider to the sheer awe of all natives to the Branch of Toys. "You getting on or what?"
"Sky-surfing!" exclaimed Rex as the others followed him on. "What a way to travel!"
Roxas and Xion clung to each side of the glider, tilting to and fro to turn it for navigational purposes all whilst watching the clocks roll on by. Within an hour or two, they found themselves at the TV display for 'Kokoro no ōkoku Pydain' The very anime and videogame franchise on which the toy line was based. "And here's our stop."
"Steamroll the cactus and cobble the coattails, we've made it to Tokyo again and it's only two twenty-two in the morn'!" exclaimed Jessie as the keykids made their way through the static of the screen. "How is it even possible?"
"Well, the structural pathways of the Midnight Channel seem to be similar to the real world we call home." Buzz Lightyear pondered. "We only have half an hour to navigate, then it's back to the Dojima resistance pronto!"
"Wait!" Sora stepped forward with a big pamphlet for tourists to give to the cowboy doll. "This contains a map of all thirteen floors of the Museum, even the IHOP next door to Konishi's penthouse office."
"Konishi has a penthouse office?" Woody reacted with surprise. "Guess that's where we need to go."
-ILP-
Staying behind in their little corner of the museum mirroring the Gigigas brand's presence, Sora and his friends wished Andy's toys well on their journey as they went into the airvents to find this Konishi fellow with a Star Shard from Sora's pocket made to channel them all back to Andy and the rest of the human Loopers.
"Good luck, you guys. We'll keep an eye out if any Heartless scale down to our level!" smiled Sora before glancing to Riku, watching with concern. "There something bothering you... about the Midnight Channel?"
"I saw a stone slab at the channel's side of the gate." Riku worried to his friend. "It had a little girl pushing out of it, as if it was trapped."
"Frozen Carbonite?" Sora guessed, to which Riku solumnly nodded. "If that's the case, then Konishi's probably up to no good."
Riku eyed Sora with an added resolve. "You think he's responsible for the Heartless swarms?"
"Can't say that he doesn't." sighed Sora with a hint of worry to his voice. "Either way, best to keep our eyes out, right?"
Riku merely assumed his usual pose from when they set him up with his friends, saying little more than the phrase: "Fair Enough."
-ILP-
Crawling through the ventways and riding on an elevator shaft, Woody led the way upwards towards the thirteenth floor where Konishi's office was perched. "Almost there..."
"The suspense is eating away at my temperament!" Rex fearfully stressed as they ascended to the vent leading to the thirteenth floor. "I can see the open vent!"
"Then jump for it!" Buzz led the initial charge against the opening with Woody and Jessie carrying Etch all the way in with a quick sprint before making the great leap into the port hole with a big crash. After a brief checkup to see if Etch was damaged, the toys marched onward through the vent to navigate their way to Konishi's office. "How much farther?" The space ranger asked.
"Just keep an ear out for voices." Woody exclaimed as they walked through the vents, navigating with an estimate based on the map Sora's given them until: "Hear that?"
The toys put an ear to the wall at the sound of a masculine voice detailing a master plan. "With the zombified brats under the thumb of Easter, they will more than likely have X-Eggs in their hearts that render them suspect to the corruption."
"No matter," Spoke Konishi to an investor, unaware of the Toys that were watching them. "We have sighted a few clean Character Eggs, one from a young girl's heart as our espers have told us."
The investor raised his eye. "Do you think they were effected?"
"Likely." Konishi pressed his curled fingers to his chin. "There were enough Midichlorians in that septic tank to impregnate an elephant. If anything, the Charas could mutate into full-blooded organic beings."
Another Investor leaned in his chair. "You think we can give biological analysis on the guests in their chosen home?"
"...Perhaps." Konishi let out a sigh as he adjusted his glasses. "Either way, we find ourselves in the presence of the Planet Earth's first Jedi Masters. Best to keep your eyes peeled, colleagues."
"Station." the gruff investor grunted to the cunning CEO of the conglomerate. Woody swallowed his breath and scurried away with the other toys in tow, causing the vents to rock a little bit and make a creeking sound that gained Konishi's attention. "Strange, we don't have any uninvited guests, do we?"
"Doubtful." Konishi rebutted. "It came from the vents so they wouldn't have fled far, it's quite difficult to fit inside one of them as you can probably tell..."
"I hope for your sake that those doubts are justified." glared the masked investor, pointing with a hand clothed in a golden gauntlet, before leaving his seat and exiting the office with the other investors. Konishi could do little more than take a sip of his wine as the fleeing toys made it to the vent hole to the elevator shaft.
"We've got to warn Andy and the rest of the Loopers." Woody worried. "Etch, write out a Map to Junes and show them everything we know once they get there."
Etch complied and completed the roadmap to the department store right as Woody and Buzz pulled out the Star Shard to get home again in a splash of light, zigging and zagging its way to the Dojima residence before the clock struck five.
Chapter 12
- [Toy Story]x[Kingdom Hearts]x[Star Wars]x[Persona 4]x[Shugo Chara]x[_a_e_ _i_e_]
- Toys in the Hood (Chapter 12)
Morning came and Yu snuck into the guest room to check in on Bonnie and Andy... only to find the bunk bed empty save for a lone Etch-A-Sketch. He rushed to the living room to find the kids eating their cereal as the TV showcased the very show that Sora and friends were archived into for the Loop. "Guys, Did you draw this?"
"Draw what?" eyed Andy.
"This map of the Midnight Channel!" Yu asserted. "Did any of you draw it?"
"What's a Midnight Channel?" Bonnie glared to the silver-haired boy.
"Ugh..." Yu then looked to Teddie "You can show them around the Midnight Channel at this time of dawn, right."
"I've got enough Loops in me to earn a strong-enough Soul to do that so, yeah." Teddie nodded.
"You sure?" questioned Yu.
Teddie smiled. "Leave it to me, boss!"
"Okay, then..." Yu sighed and slumped into his chair. "So, Andy. You wanted to see the big gimmick of our native Branch?"
-ILP-
Jennifer halted the car at the red light and looked both ways, a bit disoriented from the horizontal switch-up in the driver's seat but still more-or-less taking to the road just as easily as she did in the states. "And I ask if there's anything you feel the need to get from Junes."
"Imma touch some Spaghet!" Bonnie chimed with a blissful smile.
"I could take Andy for a stroll through the toy isle," Teddie grinned. "Does that sound like fun, Andy?"
"Yep-Yep-Yep!" Andy chimed.
Jennifer gave a warm smile to her son before focusing her scowl to Teddie. "Just don't ask to share changing rooms and be back at the TV Isle to talk about what we can afford as Souvenirs."
"Yes!" Andy pumped his fist with satisfaction.
"Can I pick out a video game for my souvenir?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, If you insist." Jennifer sighed before clarified: "Region-Free Consoles only, so no Gamecube."
Bonnie frowned her familiar grumpy face before Andy popped a question to change the subject. "Mom... what was dad like?"
Jennifer showed little emotion. "A man who thinks he's the smartest man in the room but the way he treated me and this household proves that every genius is an idiot."
"Genius?" Andy tilted his head. "Does he "
Once they arrived and everyone has picked out their souvenirs, everybody gathered around the wall of TVs where there was a news report of a group of masked heroes helping a tanned blonde muscular man pull a school bus out of a burning building that seemed to be covered in these light-blue flames that seemed to emit streaks of ones and zeroes interspersed with streams of Greek letters. "What are those?"
Jennifer was watching in shock and awe of what she was seeing with the screen when she heard a familiar voice. "Kamen Riders." She heard a voice, a voice familiar only to her and Andy. "The man they are helping is All Might, the greatest quirk-based superhero Japan." The mother glanced to the man who spoke it and saw a face that she never wanted to see again, a raven-haired gentleman with a distinguished white streak in the middle of his peppered goatee and a silver lining in his sideburns. "Hello, Jennifer. I take it you didn't come to see me."
"Of course not, Thomas." Jennifer bitterly spat to the scientist. "Two miscarriages and three Nobel Prizes before we had our first son."
"Jennifer, please!" The man stressed. "Not in front of poor Andrew, if he knew what came before him."
"What came before me?" Andy asked.
|At Junes, the Inaba investigators cue up the Midnight Channel for a party of Yu, Teddie, Bonnie and Andy to make their way through|
-ILP-
|The children venture through the dungeon-like realm to find the sealed carbonite slab standing in front of the passage to the Konishi Museum|
-ILP-
|Aqua and Terra drive Amu and her Charas to the Museum with Jennifer and the Dojimas staying behind.|
-ILP-
|The Shadow of the carbonite prisoner appears to thaw its alternate and taunts them with a slasher grin.|
