Review Responses:

smoreyofhyrule - Thanks for the review, and about the whole alternate versions of themselves thing, they've already met an alternate version of Ricky, and another could be on the way too! You also touched on an idea that I came up with an interesting explanation for with the whole other Salvation thing, though I don't plan on bringing it up just yet.

Pt35 - If you thought that last chapter was absurd, then just you wait for this one! In all honesty though, this and the next one or two chapters will be the last truly ridiculous ones, after this the story will get a lot more serious as it winds up to the finale. The Tower of Doom is really a way to have some fun putting the characters in crazy situations they'd never get into in the rest of the story. Too bad Darkstalker's being such a buzz kill though...


Chapter 36: Debut


The Tower of Doom

Level 3

The elevator doors slid open, and Darkstalker lunged out of the cramped chamber, gasping for air as he shook off the translucent slime that covered most of his body. The others were no better off, their talons squelching as they trudged out of the slimy elevator.

"Moons, who knew ghost dragons could be so gross…." Reggie said, the mecha's movements stilted as ectoplasm gummed up its joints.

"Honestly, I figured we were gonna get even more slimed up." Hidden stated, picking some of the translucent slime out of his frills. "Gotta admit though, suckin' 'em up with those giant vac-packs was pretty cool."

Darkstalker lightly chuckled, slowly getting to his feet as ghost slime dripped from the cables draped across his body. "You're insane." he said, turning to Hidden.

"Only a little."

"That moonsforesaken challenge was not fun." Darkstalker growled, taking a step towards Hidden as he wiped some slime off of his snout before it could reach his mouth.

"Yeah...not as fun as watching you run around throwing out your lightning like a headless chicken." Hidden slyly replied, smirking. Darkstalker heard muffled snickering coming from the Reggie-tron, and quickly shot it a glare.

"Come on Dark, we're in the Tower of Doom! Lighten up a little, would ya?" Hidden said, gesturing with slimy talons to the room the elevator had taken them to. "Speaking of which, what is this place?"

The room had a smooth, grey concrete floor, with red brick walls and a vibrant red carpet near its center. Shiny black, grey, and white seats were positioned about, bright white light beaming down from ceiling hung lamps. The most prominent item in the room was a large white tapestry depicting a dragon talon holding a microphone while making a peace sign.

"Looks like some kinda' lounge." Ricky stated as he observed one of the seats, hesitant to touch it with his slimy talons.

Darkstalker looked around skeptically. The chamber was a nice change of pace, compared to the noisy arcade and disgusting haunted manor of the prior two challenges; but knowing this tower, something could be waiting just around the corner to ruin his day even more than it already had been.

"Oh, good. You've arrived." a familiar voice stated, rather unenthusiastically. The group turned to see Winnifred entering through a pair of double doors, a look of disgust emerging on his face as he noticed their slimy state.

"Right, we should probably get...that all sorted out." Winnifred stated, snapping his talons. Darkstalker felt a light gust of wind blow across him, the ectoplasm gradually freeing from his scales and disappearing into thin air. He looked himself over, any trace of the translucent goop having vanished, even from the harder to reach areas.

"Oh, uh...thanks Winnie!" Hidden said.

Winnifred cast Hidden a quick unamused glance, before smiling as he turned to the group as a whole. "Well, we couldn't have you all gummed up for your big debut, now could we?" The group stared at the bow-tied NightWing in silence, not fully understanding what exactly he was talking about.

"Now then." Winnifred continued, "Which one of you is the best singer."

Darkstalker froze, for the briefest moment feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over him. He quickly shook it off, an amused grin spreading across his face. First we're nearly killed by a giant pinball machine, then we have to fight a horde of slimy ghosts, and now this? he thought. He felt almost ready to laugh at the sheer ludicracy of it, when he noticed the other four pointing their talons at him.

"Wha...n-no! Absolutely not!" Darkstalker stuttered, backing away from the group.

"We've all heard you dude, your voice is incredible! Own it man!" Reggie replied encouragingly. Darkstalker was having none of it.

"If you think that I'm going to sing for you, then you'd have to be..."

"Insane? I thought we'd already established that." Hidden interrupted. "How about a vote! All in favor of Darkstalker doing whatever this singing challenge is…."

Hidden, Ricky and Reggie quickly raised their talons, Xavier hesitantly raising his under Darkstalker's imposing glare.

"This is ridiculous!" Darkstalker shouted defensively, his mechanical implants pulsating as embarrassment and frustration swept through him, "You're the ones who want this...this prize, whatever it is! Leave me out of…."

Before Darkstalker could finish, he realized that he was no longer standing inside of the lounge, instead finding himself in a dark hallway, a blindingly bright stage just ahead. Winnifred stood before him, impatiently watching the NightWing take in his new surroundings.

"Wait...no no no...this isn't…?" Darkstalker began, a slight wave of fear bubbling up inside of him. He tried his best to suppress the feeling, it was beneath him, yet the rapidly pulsating nodes on his body betrayed his emotions.

"I could tell that that argument was going nowhere." Winnifred stated bluntly, "Now if you would so kindly step up to the stage and…."

"Hold on, didn't you hear me back there?" Darkstalker interrupted, "I don't have to do this!"

Winnifred grinned. "Well, your friends seemed to think otherwise."

Darkstalker growled. This pompous NightWing was getting on his nerves. "They are not my friends, and do you really think I care what they say?"

"No, but it was rather clear that you were outnumbered and outspoken in that situation, and I do have a job to do."

"Oh, right. The job ordained by your high and mighty tower?"

"The Tower of Doom does as it pleases, and is not privy to the laws of your multiverse, and especially not to your personal wishes. And right now, it seems quite excited to hear you sing, though I personally can't see why. You don't strike me as the vocal type."

Darkstalker scoffed. Who does this guy think they are, talking about this tower as if it were alive? He looked about the hallway, the noise of a sweeping crowd of onlookers echoing in from the bright stage beyond. Then again, there are weirder things out there. he thought, remembering some of his trips to the furthest reaches of the known multiverse.

He turned, noticing Winnifred walking back to a set of double doors at the other end of the hall. "You'll want to get four chair turns, so give it your all." he explained as he left.

"What am I even supposed to sing?!" Darkstalker shouted as the NightWing opened one of the doors.

"Whatever you want! The Tower will figure out the rest!" he shouted back, before disappearing behind the doorway.

Darkstalker shifted uncomfortably, peering out at the stage as he debated following Winnifred through the doors. He took a hesitant step forward, and then another, his eyes slowly adjusting to the blinding light of the main stage.

The chamber was massive, its true size masked by the glare of the spotlights beaming down upon him. The stage was a large checkerboard square, flanked by two massive statues of the same peace-signed talon holding a microphone as was on the tapestry in the lounge. Four chairs lined up in front of the stage, facing away from him, digital screens displaying the names of their occupants.

Queen Thorn, Queen Ruby, Queen Coral, and Queen Glacier. Darkstalker read in his head, Certainly an interesting lineup. He wasn't sure why they were all Queens, and was pretty sure Glacier died of a certain plague in most timelines. Either way, it was slightly unnerving to be in the same room as her, as large as it was.

Darkstalker stood at center stage, staring out at the darkened crowd spread about before him, hushed murmurs passing about as they waited to see what he would do next. The nodes on his body were pulsating faster than ever, sparks of electricity seeping out of them from time to time.

I could just throw the challenge. he thought, I could fail this, have us sent back out of the Tower, and be done with it. He sighed. Even if he did, he'd still wind up back in the frozen wasteland of the Ice Kingdom.

He took a deep breath, the pulsating of the nodes diminishing, and….

"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep."

"Dreaming about the things that we could be."

"But, baby, I've been, I've been praying hard."

"Said no more counting scales, we'll be counting stars."

"Yeah, we'll be counting...stars…."

Music erupted to life as the Tower of Doom caught on to Darkstalker's lyrics and began playing the background medley for the song. Darkstalker wasn't phased in the slightest, though. He'd already tuned out the outside world, just as he had back on the Salvation when he'd been introduced to this very song, and so many others, by the SkyWing's PDA.

Darkstalker continued into the next verse, his voice gliding along each note as he strung words together into medley, his mind at ease for the first time since he'd entered this dreadful tower.

The sudden burst of light from Coral's chair turning briefly took him out of the moment, the SeaWing queen's beaming face eagerly turning to face him before her seat had even finished turning, but he quickly shrugged her off. He'd become quite good at ignoring loud noises from the bashing and banging that often came from the Salvation's hangar.

"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep."

"Dreaming about the things that we could be."

"But, Baby, I've been, I've been praying hard."

"Said no more counting scales, we'll be counting stars."

Darkstalker had to imagine that Hidden and co. were watching him right then, though he quickly cast those thoughts away. It wasn't like there was anything to hide from them.

At least, nothing to do with this.

The next chair turned, Ruby, this time. She stared at Darkstalker, looking somewhat surprised at his appearance, but bobbing her head along to the music nonetheless.

"And I, feel something so wrong, when doing the right thing."

"I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie."

"Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly."

The crowd appeared to be clapping their talons along with the beat of the music now, and another chair turned, Thorn. That just left one more.

Of course she's the last one. IceWings are always hard to please…. Darkstalker thought deep down inside, as his body continued to sing beyond his volition. He heard the sound of talonsteps running up behind him onto the stage, and had a sinking feeling he knew who it was, though he didn't bother to turn his head.

If they wanted to share in his embarrassment, then so be it.

"Oh, take that money and watch it burn."

"Sink in the river, the lessons I've learned."

"Take that money and watch it burn."

"Sink in the river the lessons I've learned."

Darkstalker wasn't sure how Hidden and the others had weaseled their way into singing backup for him, but deep down, it almost felt nice to have them back there.

Yeah, sure it does. he thought, wondering if some of the ghost slime had seeped into his brain and hadn't been cleaned out.

"Everything that kills me...makes me feel alive."

With the swift upbeat, the final chair turned, Glacier staring at Darkstalker with a disapproving frown on her face, as if she'd only pressed her button because the other three queens had.

Regardless, it meant they'd won, and Darkstalker couldn't stop the faint bubbles of elation from peeking through.

His voice swept out over the entire chamber, vigor coursing through him as the nodes along his body let out electrical bolts of triumph. He hated to admit it, but he was having just a tiny bit of fun.

He'd make sure Hidden paid for this.

The song finished, and the crowd roared, Coral, Ruby and Thorn giving him a standing ovation. Even Glacier had donned a half smile, which frankly looked more unsettling than it did reassuring.

Darkstalker felt a force of talons come down on his shoulders as Hidden jumped up behind him, wrapping a foreleg around his back.

"See! We told you you were good! That was awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure…." Darkstalker grumbled, pushing Hidden off of him. He stepped over to the side, Hidden eyeing him with a knowing smirk.

"Come on! Admit it! You had fun!"

Darkstalker didn't respond, silently watching as a NightWing wearing a red bowtie and spectacles stepped up onto the stage.

"Well, I'll admit, you had me quite surprised." Winnifred said to Darkstalker, "Though, I guess I should have known better than to doubt the Tower's judgement."

He turned to address the group as a whole, a relieved grin on his face. "This next challenge will be your final one, and a good deal harder than the previous three at that." he explained, seemingly holding back his glee at the prospect of bidding farewell to their group. "I won't be able to guide you on this one, so the best I can do is wish you good luck!"

The stage lurched, and slowly began to rise into the air, Winnifred stepping off to watch them ascend into the pitch black ceiling. The darkened stands of spectators spread out below them, before disappearing completely as they rose into the darkness.

"Alright guys, get ready!" Hidden said eagerly, clapping his foretalons together and rubbing them in anticipation. "We're in the endgame now!"


AN:

I've had this chapter in mind for a long time, it was the first of the challenges I came up with, and I've been trying to seed setup for it into previous chapters. Honestly though, I just like the idea that I can say that Darkstalker sings Counting Stars on The Voice in my story, and it kind of makes sense in the context of it.

I had a bit of a crisis while writing this chapter, wondering if I should just rewrite everything all over again, better fleshing out the characters, improving the dialogue, and adding more details that I missed, though I also have some doubts about the finale and want to get feedback on it before I do so. I do plan on rewriting this story, though not for a while, after it's finished and I've had a bit more experience writing. Who knows? Maybe I could even send Tui some fan mail once it's finished to see what she thinks?

The final challenge approaches! Will Darkstalker and the others be able to beat it? Stay tuned!