The Test of Endurance
After being fed and refreshed, our heroes were ready to begin with the next trial of the contest. But while they were preparing, their friends and families took a few moments to congratulate them. "Holy jeez, guys; that was NUTS" Lars cried excitedly, "I haven't felt my heart pound that much since I last battled Emerald."
As if on cue, most of the Off Colors all murmured in agreement; while Padparadscha announced her "prediction" regarding the boys' victory...too little too late. "I'm especially amazed by your actions, Beast Boy" Robin said proudly, "you never told us you could sing...at least, not that well." After taking a moment to brush aside his leader's light jab at his singing skills, Beast Boy blushed shyly and thanked him for his praise.
"I've been kinda, sorta...practicing in my room; for the past few months" he confessed, "I do it whenever I'm left alone at the Tower." Upon hearing this, the team blinked confusedly and asked why he chose to be so secretive about such things. "Two reasons, the first one being I didn't want to hear you guys making fun of me or complaining that I was making too much noise" Beast Boy said bluntly, "second...Raven's not the only one who has personal secrets."
At first, the aforementioned heroine thought Beast Boy was mentioning her out of spite. But then, she remembered him mentioning his parents during the trial; something he seldom spoke about with her or the rest of the team. "I thought the Doom Patrol was his family, none of them looked like biologists" she thought to herself, "guess Beast Boy might be right about having his own personal secrets."
With this in mind, Raven couldn't help but wonder about the other things he kept hidden about his life. Meanwhile, some of the others felt that while the boys did well; they still believed that the gryphon should've been put down. "Do not think too harshly about the creature, everyone" Gabriel politely insisted, "Gryphon babes are only testy whenever they're in great pain."
Upon hearing the prince reveal that the gryphon was only a baby, everyone came close to fainting from shock. "LIES" Peridot exclaimed, "there is no way that creature could've possibly been a baby, it was huge!" Steven let out a light chuckle at his friend's outburst and reminded her that not all babies appeared as small as humans or ones belonging to housepets.
"Your friend speaks the truth, milady" said Prince Valerious, "when a Gryphon reaches adulthood, it can be as tall as a house!" With this declaration alone, nearly everyone's faces went white with fear; wondering just how dangerous a fully grown gryphon could've been compared to a baby. Meanwhile, the boys were in the midst of sampling some food the centaurs of Zeru provided for them.
Naturally, they welcomed such generosity with open arms; as did their families. At the same time, however; some of their friends did their best to hold their tongues while they ate. "Luffy, that's the fifth goblet of cider you've guzzled down" grumbled Franky, "haven't you had enough yet?"
In response to this, Luffy held up his index finger at his shipwright; as if telling him to wait for a moment. Upon finishing his beverage; he plucked up a wheel of cheese, tossed it into the air and caught it in his mouth. Afterwards, he proceeded to chew and savor every bit until it was swallowed straight down into his gullet.
"A-a-a-a-and now, I'm done" he decreed, "so...what's the next challenge, when do we get back into action?" After taking a moment to process the young pirate's bizarre eating habits, everyone came back to their senses and were ready to begin the next part of the contest. Then, without warning; the boys suddenly felt their bodies glowing a bright blue color (the same one Luffy saw on the apple Avery retrieved with his magic days ago."
Sadly, in spite of this knowledge; the lads felt their might have been something strange about the food they had just consumed. "Uh oh, was any of that food fresh" murmured Steven, "I feel like I'm hallucinating or something!" The other lads echoed the same idea, each of whom feeling both confused and alarmed by what was going on.
Then, all of a sudden; they quickly vanished in a blinding flash. When the light died down, no one could find any trace of the boys anywhere. "What the...THEY'RE GONE" cried Usopp, "please, tell me this is part of the contest or something?!" King Thaylog smiled slightly at the young pirate and assured him that the boys were perfectly safe.
"What happened to them, then" demanded Valerie while drawing out her Ecto Gun, "answer quickly before I decide to have a little target practice!" Unsurprisingly, the elf king wasn't the least bit intimidated by her threats. With a stoic look upon his face, he waved his hand and transformed Valerie's weapon into a wooden log; causing the young lass to fall over herself.
When she recovered, seconds later; she growled at the king and demanded that he played fair. "All she wants to know is what you did with our friend" Dani pleaded, "did you do something to their food?" The Shadowmanes shook their heads in reply and assured everyone that the boys were unharmed.
"They were transported to the next location for their second trial, thanks to the magic of their neck runes" Gabriel explained, "which is where we are all headed as well." After that, before anyone could speak a word of protest or confusion; everyone was suddenly teleported out of the Coliseum.
(Line Break)
Mere seconds later, our six heroes suddenly appeared in some kind of thick forest. Not long after; the Shadowmanes arrived as well with friends, family and allies in tow. "Okay...that was the single weirdest experience of my life" Danny murmured uneasily, "even weirder than the time I ended up in Poindexter's body."
Steven, upon recovering from the teleportation, chuckled softly and said he'd been through weirder stuff. "I once ended up in the mind of a Watermelon body double of me" he stated, "twice!" After the two lads had a bit of a chuckle at the statement, Thaylog clapped his hands together and called for their attention.
"Congratulations to all of you on your first victory" he said with a smile, "now...we bring you to your second trial, the Test of Endurance." When they asked what the objective was, the Elf King simply asked for them to "look up." Though mildly confused, the lads did as instructed and craned their heads upward; where they saw a sight that almost made them fall over backwards.
Standing before them was a massive mountain peak, one whose shadow seemed to envelop every inch of the forest they were in. "MAGNA DRACONIS" cried Parm, "that has to be one of the tallest mountains I have ever seen!" Everyone else couldn't help but agree, some even thinking it could almost be as big as Everest.
"What you see before you is Mount Talora, the tallest peak in the region" Gabriel stated, "it is also the object of your trial." From here, he explained that the champions would have to climb up to the summit; hoping they would have the strength of body, will and spirit to succeed. "I see...allow me to offer up an opinion on the idea, if I may" Kitt muttered with a fake smile, which quickly shifted into a scowl; "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS!?"
Not long after that, everyone else began ranting and raving about the "impossible" nature of the trial. "Do you not see how tall this thing is" Blue Diamond exclaimed, "powers or no, these boys wouldn't be able to survive!" Upon listening to the Gem's concerns, Gabriel smiled and proclaimed that one of them achieved such a feat; namely Luffy.
"As I recall, Talora stands as tall as one of the mountains within Drum Island; approximately five-thousand meters...or fifteen-thousand feet up" he proclaimed, "at which time, Luffy managed to ascend the peak successfully...in the blistering cold while carrying two of his comrades in tow with him as well." This announcement created many a surprised gasp from those present. Meanwhile, some naysayers turned towards the pirate in question and asked if Gabriel spoke the truth.
"Yup, it's all true" Luffy chuckled, "I carried Nami on my back and Sanji in one of my arms the whole time." This news completely surprised the likes of Franky and Brook, who were not yet part of the Straw Hats Crew during the event in question. But of them all, Nami was the most stunned.
"I've completely forgotten about that day" she thought in amazement, "I can't believe he managed to carry both of us up that mountain, even when his body was severely frostbitten." After taking a moment to let the realization wash over her, Nami slowly felt herself respecting her captain a bit more. Even when his own life was at risk, all that mattered to him was his friends' safety.
Yet, in spite of all this; she remembered that this was when Luffy had the use of his Devil Fruit powers. While he didn't stretch himself up the mountain, any normal human would've died from the cold. Now, he and the other heroes were expected to attempt the same thing...but without the use of any of their abilities.
"Out of the question" exclaimed Jazz, "my brother can barely make it up the rope climb in P.E., what makes you think he'll be able to get up the mountain?" While he didn't quite enjoy his sister mentioning his schoolyard inadequacies in public, Danny couldn't help but agree. "My dear girl, you misunderstood us" Queen Elbenor said calmly, "the lads won't be climbing Talora separately; they'll be doing so as a unit."
Not long after she said this, she snapped her fingers and a rope harness suddenly appeared around all six of the lads' waists and torsos. "This trial will not only test your overall strength of mind, spirit and will" declared Thaylog, "it will also test how well you will work as a team." In addition to this, Gabriel explained that they would need to rely on one another to reach the summit.
"So, it's a team-building trial; awesome" Steven said with a grin, "I've helped the Gems with this a few times back home." Beast Boy meanwhile, gave a light shrug; complaining about all the times Robin forced him and the rest of the Titans into such things. "Ah, so...you're all already familiar with the idea" giggled Queen Elbenor, "this shouldn't be much trouble for you, then."
In spite of this knowledge; those like Danny and Artha were still a bit nervous about going up the mountain. But there were two among them who were eager to get things going. "C'mon, guys" urged Steven lightly, "there's nothing to be nervous about; it's just a hop, skip and a jump to the top."
Not long after he said this, the young Human-Gem hybrid leapt two feet upward and clenched his hands tightly onto a part of the mountain. With a smile on his face, he then began to urge the others to follow his lead. To help them, he offered up a little ditty; hoping it would boost their confidence.
It's not very far
Just move your little rumps
We can make it; if we try with some hops, skips and jumps
The Crystal Gems, Connie and Greg smiled brightly; as Steven began to sing. Meanwhile, everyone else remained still as statues; both out of nervousness towards their eventual climb...and out of confusion towards Steven suddenly breaking into song. Somehow, the lad in question could sense their hesitation; which led him into singing off the next verse of his song.
Of course, he did this while climbing up just a foot or so up the mountain.
Some hops, skips, and jumps
Just move your little rumps
Some hops, skips, and jumps...Hops, skips, and jumps...Hops, skips, and jumps; HOPS, SKIPS AND JUMPS!
By the time he joyfully cried out the last three words of his song, Steven was almost ten feet up. Though this wasn't too high off the ground, this was still a wonderful yet terrifying achievement; in the eyes of Steven's friends. Meanwhile, the other boys were suddenly inspired by the lad's efforts and decided to join him.
The first of them to climb up next was Luffy, whose eyes blazed with a burning determination. "I'm not gonna let another mountain spook me" he growled, "YA HEAR ME, TALORA...I WILL CONQUER YOU!" With that said, he tugged at his harness and urged everyone to follow him.
After a while, the remaining four lads gulped nervously and proceeded to climb; all while softly humming Steven's tune in their heads. Meanwhile; back on the ground, several people complained that the trial would take forever to achieve. "For most normal people, such a climb would last up to ten days" Gibson surmised, "I doubt we all have the patience to wait that long."
Not long after the blue primate said this, a specter appeared behind the Fentons' and Co.; startling many people. This figure was a violet-cloaked ghost with a pale blue face and a scar across his left eye. Upon inspection, it also appeared as though there was a clock-like mechanism embedded into his chest.
In his left hand, he held a staff that had what looked like an hourglass of sorts at the top. In an instant, several elven guards surrounded this spirit; believing him to be a threat. "Stand down, everyone...please" Jazz insisted, "he's not an enemy...at least, I hope not."
While the guards inwardly wanted to believe the young lady, the fact that this spirit appeared so suddenly made them feel rather hesitant in doing so. It wasn't until Gabriel approached that they chose to stand down completely. "This fellow here is Clockwork, another one of Master Daniel's ghostly allies" the prince explained, "he is a master of time and an overseer in the flow of it."
The ghost in question couldn't help but smile at the prince, pleased that he himself didn't need to make the introduction. "Your prince speaks the truth" he assured, while suddenly changing into an elderly form; "I mean you no harm." Before anyone can protest, Clockwork suddenly began placing medallions around everyone's necks; while also placing a few over the seven champions' as well.
Next; he held his staff aloft, cried out the words "Time...Out" and then, the entire area was surrounded in a blue aura. At first, everyone felt like nothing happened to them. But as they looked around the area, they saw what really happened. All around them, everything that was caught within the aura either moved at a snail's pace or was frozen in place.
"There we are" Clockwork sighed with satisfaction, "now, the young gents here will be able to climb this mountain within a shorter time frame." Naturally, this declaration confused just about everybody present. But thanks to Jazz, who explained that Clockwork used a form of time powers on the area, everyone started to understand.
"One thing still confuses me here" Raven interjected, "how is it that we are all moving fluidly...but everything else beyond where we stand isn't?" In response, Clockwork gestured at the medallions around everyone's necks. "So long as you wear these, you will be unaffected by my powers" he replied stoically, "now...shall we continue?"
Satisfied with the information; everyone's attention returned back to the six lads above, who were now almost ten feet above the ground. Slowly but surely, they continued their trek upwards; in spite of the pain some of their limbs were feeling. "UGH! My arms are on fire" Danny cried, "how much higher do we need to go?"
After finding a safe hold for his right hand, Steven took a look up and saw clouds surrounding the peak of the mountain. Much to his dismay, this meant that they weren't even close to the midway point yet. At the same time, Artha suddenly felt himself shivering with anxiety.
"It'll be a miracle, if we manage to make it to the top" he thought fearfully, "I just hope our arms don't fall off before that point."
(Line Break)
Hours seemed to have passed, despite time being frozen still by Clockwork and it seemed that the boys had reached the middle of Mount Talora. By this point; they were tired, sore and looked so sweated up that their clothing looked like they were pulled out of a washing machine. Yet, in spite of all this; they weren't going to give in.
"I think we're almost there, guys" panted Beast Boy, "I think we can win this!" As much as they wanted to cheer in agreement, the other five lads felt too tired to do so. "I dunno if we should go any higher, guys" Artha murmured, "this feels dangerous enough from up here!"
While there was some truth in his words, the other boys weren't going to let it stop them. "C'mon, guys; don't give up yet" Luffy shouted, "we've come through much worse than some dumb mountain!" Not long after he said these words, the young pirate king proceeded to remind them of what the books in the palace archives said about each of them.
"Compared to saving the earth from an asteroid, battling demons, stopping a galactic empire...whatever that is, that Leap of Lorius thing and what I've done; this is cake" Luffy said boldly, "are we really gonna let some pile of rocks stop us?!" Despite their bodies feeling a smidgen sore still, something in Luffy's words managed to reignite the spark of determination within the others. "He's right, dudes" Beast Boy declared, "we can do this...it's just a few more miles up!"
With that, everyone stretched out their arms and legs for a few moments and resumed their climb up the mountain.
(Scene Change: The Base of the Mountain)
Back on the ground; everyone was either staring up towards the sky, pacing about or wringing their hands wildly with fear. Whatever the case, the general atmosphere was quite the same; they were worried about the boys' current progress. "Oh, I wish there was some way we could see how they're doing" murmured Peridot, "if I had one of my robonoids, I could send it up and have it show images of their location."
When everyone asked why she couldn't use the idea presently; the Gem regrettably, revealed that all her creations were back home. "If you wish to check on your friends' progress, look ahead of you" suggested a wood nymph, "the elf king is using the power of the Seeing Stone to project images for us to see." Curious, everyone took a look for themselves and saw that the creature was telling the truth.
In Thaylog's hands was another one of those Seeing Stones and it was, indeed showing images of the boys' progress up Mount Talora. Alas, they didn't seem to be that much higher up. "C'mon, you guys" shouted Moordryd, "GET THE LEAD OUT OF YOUR PANTS AND GET CLIMBING!" Much to both his confusion and irritation, the boys in the image didn't even flinch at his shouting.
"There is no use in trying, lad" said a black-bearded Dwarf, "the magic of the Seeing Stones are only capable of projecting images and nothing else." In hindsight, there were some amongst the champions' groups who already knew of this. But regardless, they were quite desperate to have them safe with them on the ground again.
Finally, the six lads had caught their breath and continued on with their climb. "How much longer will it take them to reach the top" fretted Pearl, "I feel it's only a matter of time before something really terrible happens!" As if on cue; the moment she made this remark, Artha's right foot slipped a little on the stonework of the mountain.
This in turn caused the poor lad to almost fall over. But at the near last second, Beast Boy swung to the side slightly and caught him by the forearm. "HANG ON, DUDE" he groaned while tightening his grip, "I've got ya...and I'm not gonna let you fall!" Afterwards, with the others assisting him; Beast Boy helped hoist Artha up to a safer spot.
Thinking quickly, he reached over and grabbed on tight to a long branch; which Artha then used to help himself regain a proper hold back onto the mountain. The other boys cheered heartily for his success and for Beast Boy's quick thinking as well. "We're a team, right" chuckled the young changeling, "and nobody leaves a teammate behind...even when they've had a spill!"
After that, the boys continued on with their climb. Meanwhile, down below; several people were sending fiery hot glares over in Pearl's direction. "You just had to say something, didn't you" Sam growled, "you're lucky they're still okay, you know!"
Still feeling rather awkward from her earlier statement, Pearl giggled nervously and only offered four simple words in reply; "uh...sorry, my bad?"
(Line Break)
As everyone on the ground continued watching them, the boys appeared to be on their last legs. In spite of Clockwork's time freeze, it felt as though they had been climbing for weeks on end. Thankfully; every so often, they would come across stable or flat areas of the mountain to sit upon.
During these times, they couldn't help but wonder how far they've gone up the mountain. "We must be getting close now" Steven murmured between breaths, "if we keep up this pace, we'll get to the top in no time." Luffy, in spite of his exhaustion, couldn't help but chuckle at Steven's enthusiasm; thinking he couldn't have said it better himself.
"Stevie's right, guys" Beast Boy said with a glimmer of confidence, "we've come this far...let's just keep moving and whatever you do, don't look down." With this in mind, everyone proceeded to continue on with their climb. For what felt like ages, they moved upward; in spite of the fatigue in their bodies.
The whole time they did so, they kept reciting Beast Boy's earlier words in their heads; "keep on moving up and don't look down." Then, just as Artha thought he got a good grip on a stone; his hand slipped off. This caused him to glance over his shoulder slightly.
When he caught a glimpse of how high up he was; in an instant, all the color seemed to drain out of his face. "GUYS, I'M LOOKING DOWN" he shrieked with fear, "I'M LOOKING DOWN, I'M LOOKING DOWN!" Just as the young racer was about to slip into a panic, Beast Boy picked up a stone and lightly threw it at Artha's head; snapping him back to his senses.
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE" he cried loudly, "let's just go back down, please?!" Luffy gasped with outrage at his behavior, doing his best to remind him how close they are to victory. "We're already halfway there, I think" he assumed, "we can't turn back now!"
While he knew that he spoke the truth, Artha shook his head and proclaimed that the lower half was the "safer half." "No matter how cool knighthood is, it's not worth killing ourselves over" he proclaimed, "we should call it quits now while we can!" Sensing that his comrade was slipping into a panic attack, Beast Boy made his way over towards Artha and lightly yet swiftly slapped him across the face; making sure not to knock him down.
"Keep it together, dude" he said firmly, "Luffy's right, we've overcome much worse to let some mountain hold us down!" Whether it was the Meta-Teen's words or the slap he delivered, Artha's mind was finally clear enough to continue on. "For what it's worth...I'm just as scared about this as you are" Chiro murmured, "I had a bad experience with heights, once...but it was on an elevator...long story."
Rather than question him on the elevator thing, the boys unanimously confessed to being just a little afraid of how high up they were. "You know, this may sound weird for me to say this" Steven muttered, "but Garnet once told me that the best way to not give in to fear...is by thinking of more pleasant thoughts." At first, everyone was prepared to deny the effectiveness of the idea; thinking that their situation was far too severe for it.
But then, realization hit each of them like a blow to the head. The main reason they've had difficulty with the trial, since the midway point was due to their fear of falling. So, if they could focus on something else; the rest of their climb might go more smoothly.
After taking in a few calming breaths, each of them began to think of more pleasant thoughts. These included their favorite meals, relaxing in the summer sun, goofing off, their favorite music and many other things. Then, all of a sudden; each of them thought of one unanimous thing...their loved ones.
Not long after that, the lads suddenly heard voices calling out to them. "Don't give up, boys" they whispered, "you can do this...we believe in you." At first, no one knew who...or what was speaking to them. But after hearing the voices once more, it all became clear; it was all their friends and families urging them on.
However, Steven revealed that it sounded as though the voices were calling from above them. "That's impossible" Danny proclaimed, "everyone else was hundreds of miles down on the ground." The others echoed the same response, even going as far as claiming that "mountain sickness" may be sinking in.
Just then, the supposed whispers called out again; only this time, these belonged to female voices. It was then that they realized that it was the voices of Raven, Sam, Nami, Connie, Jinmay and Kitt urging them to continue. "Don't give up, boys" the voices said in unison, "you can do it, we know you can."
Perhaps Steven's idea of thinking pleasant thoughts was actually starting to work. With all this in mind, they continued their way up Mount Talora. Higher and higher up they went, their arms aching with every pull.
But in spite of the pain, they still kept going; none more so than Luffy. With his teeth clenched tight and a fierce yet strained growl in his voice; the young pirate did whatever he could to move through the pain. The others, inspired by his astonishing willpower, did their best to follow his lead.
But alas, they could now feel the sting of fatigue coursing through them. "C'MON, GUYS" Luffy cried out, "I THINK I CAN SEE THE TOP...IT WON'T BE LONG NOW!" While still feeling quite tired, Steven and Beast Boy chose to continue on. But not before they took in a quick breath of air first.
Once everyone got their energy back (albeit partially,) our heroes resumed climbing up the rest of the mountain. Soon, they could feel themselves literally climbing through the clouds that passed by them; which caused a light yet still quite cold chill to flow through them. "This is crazy...y-y-you guys know that, right" Danny stammered both from the cloud's chilly touch and a sliver of fear, "back home, only experienced mountain men have climbed up this high!"
This only caused the other lads to chuckle lightly yet heartily before saying "well, there's always a first time for everything." For what felt like ages, they climbed higher and higher up Mount Talora; only occasionally having their hands slightly slip off a stone or two. But no matter what, they kept going and watched each other's backs while doing so.
At one time, Steven almost fell off while climbing; after a small goose flew by and bumped the back of his head. But Danny, with his legs wrapped tightly around the rope, bent over backwards and caught him by both wrists. Afterwards, he asked the others to help move Steven back up to his spot.
"Thanks for the save, Danny" the young half-gem chuckled, "I owe you one." Danny only smiled up at Steven in silence and gave him a thumb's up. "You can pay him back after we finish this, dude" Beast Boy said firmly, "that is...if we make it up the rest of the way."
After a while, the boys had gone up so high that they thought they would be heading into space soon. But then, Luffy could see the upper half of the mountain becoming narrower. "I think we're almost there, guys" he shouted hoarsely, "we're getting close to the top."
While feeling a touch skeptical, Beast Boy and Steven decided to take a look up; just to see if Luffy wasn't toying with them. But much to their delight and surprise, they could see faint glimpses of a pointed tip above them. "He's right" cried Beast Boy with a hearty laugh, "we're almost there, guys; c'mon!"
Below them, Chiro let out a deep sigh of relief; while Danny and Artha simply groaned from exhaustion. "This better be the last legs of the climb" the ghost boy said tiredly, "my...everything feels like they're screaming for me to stop!" Chiro couldn't help but agree a little, while also noting the fact that none of them succumbed to altitude sickness yet."
Meanwhile, Artha was doing everything he could to will himself into going further. "You can do this, Penn...I know you can" he thought to himself, "if you can beat this mountain, everything else from here on will feel like a cakewalk." After telling himself "you can do this" almost five times, Artha clenched his hands onto the mountain's stonework and continued upward.
Eventually, the path ahead became even narrower; which meant that they were inching ever closer to the peak. But as they continued climbing, they came to a sudden realization; where did they plan to stop. "If we don't find a spot at the top to rest at, my arms will break off" Danny complained, "I'M SERIOUS TOO...my shoulders are aching as we speak!"
Rather than respond to Danny's complaining, Luffy took a look about the top of the mountain; hoping to find a safe spot to sit upon. Eventually, he spotted a sort of cliff area near the tip and informed the others about it. "It won't be long now, fellas" Beast Boy murmured tiredly, "just...a couple more...feet and we're...home...free!"
With every ounce of strength they had left, the boys continued up the rest of the way; hoping to safely reach the cliff. The first to make it was Luffy, who proceeded to leap slightly in the air and cheer with joy. "WE DID IT, YOU GUYS" he shouted proudly, "WE'VE REACHED THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN!"
Not long after, Beast Boy and Steven arrived at the spot as well. Despite feeling more tired than they've ever been, the duo still found it in them to join in Luffy's celebration. The last ones to arrive were Danny, Chiro and Artha; who all appeared on the brink of collapse.
But in spite of themselves; they smiled weakly, pumped their fists into the air and murmured three simple words in celebration, "hip...hip (groan) hooray." Then, at that moment, the rune symbols on their necks suddenly started to glow. But the lads were far too exhausted to say anything about it.
Soon after, they've all vanished into thin air; only to reappear back on the ground where their friends and families were waiting for them. Upon seeing the grass beneath his feet, Danny chuckled madly with joy and proceeded to kiss it. "Oh! We're back on the ground" he cried, "the sweet, precious, beautiful ground!"
The others couldn't help but follow in his footsteps; as they started either kissing, nuzzling or rubbing their hands on the grass with joy. But before they could continue this escapade further, they were suddenly dog-piled on by some of their loved ones. "Oh, my baby boy" cried Maddie, "we were all so worried for all of you!"
At first, Danny felt libel to complain about his mother fussing over him in public. But alas, he was far too tired to make any kind of protest. He wasn't alone in these circumstances however; much to his delight and relief. Behind him, the friends and/or families of the other champions-to-be were doting upon them relentlessly.
"This is amazing" cried Lance, "I can't believe my big brother climbed up a mountain that big and survived!" Upon mentioning this, both Peridot and Gibson proceeded to question why none of the boys suffered mountain sickness at such a high altitude. As a response, Gabriel smiled slyly and gestured towards the symbols on each of the lads' necks.
"The magic of the runes helped keep them safe" he said simply, "while the lads are prohibited from using their own power, did you really think I would let them attempt this sort of trial without any form of protection?" At first, no one knew what to say; some thinking Gabriel was asking a trick question. But then, White Diamond started to put all the pieces together.
"The magic of those...runes helped keep the boys from running out of air" she said matter-of-factly, "why didn't you tell us about that before they started?" The Shadowmanes said nothing at first, choosing only to smile slyly at the Gem Matriarch. But then, they offered three short yet simple words in reply; "you never asked."
It didn't take long for White or anyone else to realize the truth...but they didn't care. All that mattered was that the boys were safe with them again. Speaking of whom; just as everyone prepared to congratulate our heroes, the area echoed with the loud sounds of guttural grumbling.
"Don't tell me...Don't tell me" Sanji chuckled dryly, "are you getting hungry again, Captain?" Despite feeling utterly exhausted, Luffy smiled weakly and offered a simple nod in reply. "But I'm not the only one, this time" he muttered, "from the sound of that noise...it feels like all six of us are starving."
Everyone laughed loudly at this revelation, while also gently helping the boys off the grass. "It's no surprise there" Nami said bluntly, "after that kind of a climb, one could work up a serious appetite." With that said, Luffy turned towards Thaylog and asked if they could take a quick lunch break before the next trial.
"Why of course, dear boy" the elf king replied, "let us return to the palace for a warm meal, everyone; then...the third trial will begin." In response, everyone cheered loudly in reply and were prepared to head off. "Hold on for one moment, everyone" Clockwork said suddenly, "I need to take care of something first."
With that said; he held up his staff, called out the words "TIME IN" and pressed the button on the hourglass' pommel. Afterwards, the blue aura that surrounded them instantly faded away and everything began to move at their more natural pace again. "Wait a sec...when did you freeze time, Clockwork" Danny murmured confusedly, "and why did you do it at all?"
Upon hearing him ask this; Sam and Valerie giggled softly, kissed him on the cheek and replied "we'll explain during lunch" before rushing off to join the others. After taking a few moments to process that he'd been kissed by his former crush and current girlfriend at the same time, Danny smiled goofily and went off after them.
Meanwhile, the others were being slightly swarmed by their friends; all of whom wishing to know what it was like to climb so high up. "For me, it was the single most painful experience in my life" Beast Boy replied, "am I right, fellas?" The other boys sounded off in agreement, while Luffy added that the climb only hurt a little bit.
"But how...how were you able to make it up that high without your powers" questioned Connie, "what helped keep you going?" For a minute or two, the six lads didn't know how to respond; mostly because they didn't quite understand it themselves. But in the end, they chose to give them their best and (perhaps) craziest answer.
"To be honest...it was you six ladies" Steven said matter-of-factly, "just as we reached the midway point, I thought of something Garnet told me." When asked what the gem's words were; Steven answered with "when your heart wants lifting, think of pleasant things." From here, he mentioned all the things that typically made the boys feel at peace.
But then, Beast Boy surprised everyone by adding that it was their lady friends who helped push them the hardest. "Somehow...we could hear your voices calling from higher up the mountain" he explained, "they kept saying...'you can do this, we believe in you.'" Not long after he said this, Beast Boy's green face suddenly glowed a light shade of red.
Mere seconds later, the same thing happened with the other boys. This in turn caused Raven, Sam, Nami, Connie, Jinmay and Kitt to do the same thing. This sight caused a few of their friends to giggle softly, mostly because of how adorable the whole thing was.
"How lovely" murmured Blue Diamond with a smile, "these boys must think very highly of you females." While the comment wasn't offensive in any way; the likes of Raven, Nami or Kitt still felt that no one should "read too deeply into what the boys said." "Alright, enough of this sappy stuff" Moordryd interjected, "let's go eat already."
With that said, everyone said farewell to Mount Talora and journeyed back to the Shadowmanes home.
(Scene Change: The Savage Lands on Shuggazoom)
Back on Chiro's home planet of Shuggazoom, the Skeleton King and his forces gathered in abundance in the Savage Lands. "You brought us all this way to show us a tree, Mandarin" hissed the demon, "you told us that the Hyperforce was here!" After letting out a few nervous squeaks, the orange primate clone assured his master he was telling the truth.
"I followed the Hyperforce into this very jungle" he insisted, "they were following four figures in hoods and both their allies and Shuggazoom's citizens were all with them." At first, Skeleton King was prepared to call his servant a liar. But then, he felt a sudden jolt pass through him; like he was being shot with something.
The Formless watched in shock, as their master fell onto his knees in pain. "My Lord, what is it" said one of his generals, "did those filthy primates hurt you somehow?" After taking a moment to catch his breath, Skeleton King shook his head and said that he merely sensed something.
"There's an aura of good magic lingering in this place" he muttered, "perhaps your story held some truth after all, Mandarin." This revelation caused the freakish monkey to heave out a sigh of relief. Afterwards, he led everyone to the very tree he claimed to have seen the Hyperforce walk into.
"Don't toy with us, you abomination" growled Sakko, "how could the humans or the Hyperforce possibly 'walk through a tree?'" This caused both primates to start hooting and hollering angrily at each other, which began to weigh heavily on the Skeleton King's nerves. "Cease your mindless chattering, fools" he growled, "if there is an aura of magic in the air...then, Mandarin's story may have some truth to it."
With that, he commanded the primate to immediately lead him to the tree from his story. Mandarin gave a small nod and then, hurried along the treetops towards their destination; the old, withered tree. At first glance, it seemed like nothing special; just a worthless tree inches away from death. But then; as Skeleton King touched his hand upon the bark, the tree shined and odd golden glow.
Not long after that, the surface his palm suddenly started burning violently; which caused him to recoil in pain. "GAH! I was right" he roared, "this tree was born from some form of magic I've never known before!" With this in mind, Skeleton King suddenly understood what Mandarin was trying to tell him.
Whoever led the Hyperforce and the others here must've came to Shuggazoom through some kind of portal. "If I can access it, we can follow our enemies to whatever world they slinked away to" he chuckled, "but how?" On his first attempt, Skeleton King placed the tip of his scepter upon the tree and tried to summon the portal for himself.
But the moment he summoned even the smallest spark of his power, the magic of the tree activated and knocked him several feet away. "GRR! I don't care how long it takes or what must be done to do it" Skeleton King growled, "we will find a way in...and the Hyperforce will be crushed!"
(First AN: HOLY CANNOLI! It's hard enough that our boys barely made it up Mount Talora. But now, Skeleton King and his forces are trying to break into Gabriel's world? What if other villains from each of the heroes' respective universes are attempting the same thing?
Will they find their way through, will everyone be prepared if they come and will our heroes be able to battle them, once their trials are over? Tune in next time for the next installment of The Contest of Champions!)
(Second AN: Sorry for taking too long in posting this chapter, folks. Not only have I been sick with a cold over the past week. But I've also been doing a bit of research on how tall certain known mountain peaks were, both in the real world and within our heroes' respective series'. In the end, I've decided to make Mount Talora's height either nearly or exactly even with that of the Drum Island mountains from One Piece.
The reason I went with this choice is because it's the most familiar thing to me. In the end, I hope the boys' trial and their success makes sense to you all.)
(Third AN: For those unaware, Clockwork is one of the many ghosts Danny has encountered in his series. He was first introduced in The Ultimate Enemy and made a few small appearances every now and again before the series ended. Clockwork is the master of all time, as well as being an overseer of the time stream; which is why he was able to freeze time during the boys' climb up the mountain.
In real life; it would take weeks are possibly, months to climb up a tall mountain. But thanks to Clockwork's Chronokinesis and the medallions he placed around everyone's necks, he froze time in place; which made the boys' climb feel like it only lasted for hours. I hope that makes sense to you, guys; science was never one of my strongest subjects.)
(Fourth AN: Steven's lil' ditty to help everyone start climbing was actually something known from MLP: Friendship is Magic, specifically from the episode Dragonshy. Ironically, the episode also featured the heroes climbing up a mountain; just not the same way our heroes did.)
(Final AN: Speaking of references; here are some of the other ones that were mentioned in this, for those who may not notice them. The "I'M LOOKIN' DOWN" quote Artha shouted was a light reference to Shrek 1, where Shrek and Donkey were walking over the bridge. Steven's quote of thinking about pleasant things was inspired by Gandalf's words from the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit.
Lastly, the "bad experience" Chiro had on an elevator is a reference to the SRMTHFG episode "Pit of Doom." After such an experience, I imagine he may have developed a mild fear of heights from it. What do you think, gang?)