The Contest of Champions

by Alexpv22

Throughout the vast reaches of the multiverse, heroic champions are being summoned for an unknown purpose. Where will these champions arrive, who is calling out to them, what purpose do they have for them and most of all; will the champions work well together, upon meeting one another? All this and more will be answered, when the trials begin and the champions test their mettle

21. Chapter Twenty-One: The Champions Arise

The Champions Arise

For what felt like ages, friend and foe alike stared slack-jawed in awe at the lads standing them. While the invaders felt confused by what was happening; the people of Overon along with the friends, families and allies of our champions were unsure of what to think. On the surface, the figures before them looked like the lads they knew.

But at the same time, everyone could see clear changes in each of their overall appearances; once their earlier glow had faded. This combined with their collective stoic demeanors, the changes in their spiritual auras (which radiated with powerful mystical energy) and especially the changes in their height made them appear fundamentally different than before. First, there was Danny; who seemed to be dressed in his usual costume, at first glance.

But as they narrowed their eyes and looked at him more closely, Team Phantom and their allies soon noticed several differences and changes to it. Danny's gloves were now black and took up half his forearms, his suit was a mix of black and white (with the black part being formed in the shape of a "T,") the gloves were attached to the white parts of his sleeves and his boots were long, attached to the black area of his pant legs and had a triangle shape at the top. At first, everyone felt that Danny's new appearance made him look like his alternate future self.

But they saw no cape, his hair wasn't flowing like a flame and while Danny's eyes did give off a fierce glow, it was neither green nor red. Instead, the glow from his eyes was as blue as the sea after a storm had passed, clear and calm. To say the least, this new look caught the attention of both humans and ghosts.

"Whoa, Dan looks...good" Ember exclaimed with a flirtatious growl, "just look at the way that new suit of his hugs at his muscles in all the right ways and those eyes...oh, sweet Lord; the look he's giving is super sexy." Strangely enough; the likes of Desiree, Dora, Spectra and even Kitty (much to Johnny's chagrin) couldn't help but agree. Upon hearing all this, Sam (despite also feeling smitten by Danny's new look) suddenly grew possessive and pushed them back slightly.

"Back off, ladies" she growled softly, "Dan is off the market...no touchy!" Meanwhile, the others felt equally awestruck; when they looked over the rest of the boys' altered appearances. Beast Boy, upon inspection, still retained his usual traits; like his pointed ears, green skin, green eyes and green hair.

But his suit was now a red and white single piece uniform with the top half being sleeveless, thus allowing his arms to show. He sported a pair of red and black fingerless gloves; a pair of sneakers with a mix of black, red and white colors and his hair was now done in a quiff with side fades hairstyle. The look in his eyes was fierce (like that of a threatened predator,) which made even Robin quiver slightly with intimidation and Beast Boy's fangs now appeared much sharper than they were before.

Cyborg was in such shock by this, he presumed his bionic eye might have been malfunctioning. Starfire was borderline awestruck and Raven...the poor girl's face had a blush that glowed so brightly; she feared she might pass out. The next to appear was Luffy, whose form looked simply inhuman (least of all, to the eyes of those other than the Straw Hats.) Luffy's body appeared relatively unchanged but it appeared to be sparking with a sort of golden energy.

His hair had changed into a quaff of golden locks that seemed to radiate the glow of the very sun. His eyes were blazing with a mix of gold and a fiery orange and steam appeared to be flowing around his form like some sort of ghostly aura. To say the least, this sight left everyone feeling utterly dumbfounded; the Straw Hats chief among them.

"Luffy...He...He's gone into Fourth Gear, somehow...or whatever this form is" Zoro said painfully, "but how did this even happen?" Alas, no one could offer up a reply due to still feeling sore from their earlier battles. Yet, at the same time; they too felt eager to know what was going on.

Artha came next and to the eyes of the Penn Racing Team, the Dragon Eyes, Wyrd and all their dragons; he looked like the reincarnation of the original Dragon Booster from centuries ago. His build was much more tone, his armor glimmered like gold and the light in his eyes burned brighter than the sun itself. Next, the Hyperforce took a glance of Chiro; who (for the most part) still looked quite the same; in terms of his attire.

But in terms of appearance, his features were mixture of primate and human (making him appear like a sort of ape man.) Chiro hunched himself over on his knuckles slightly, his hair (though its style appeared unchanged) was shaggy, he had a tail wrapped around his waist and much like Beast Boy, everyone could see two pairs of small fangs showing from his mouth; one at the top and the other on the bottom. "Wow...Chiro looks like some sort of...space age Tarzan" Jazz murmured in awe, "I don't know if I should think this is cool...or if I should be weirded out."

The last champion to arrive was Steven, whose body was radiating a bright light-pink aura. He silently walked his way over to the Diamonds' gemstones and collected them in his hands. As he gazed down upon them, harsh realization suddenly washed over the lad like a raging torrent.

In the past; a small part of him believed that after everything White, Yellow and Blue had done...they deserved to suffer. Now, here he stood; holding the stones of the former leaders of Homeworld. Though he did yet not know how they were poofed; at the same time, he came to regret ever wanting such a fate to befall them.

"After everything that's happened, all they wanted to do was to better themselves" Steven thought sullenly, "to improve themselves for Homeworld's and my sake...but I never gave them the chance." As these thoughts poured into his mind, Steven closed his eyes and began to weep for his estranged "family members." "White, Yellow, Blue...please, come back" he whispered softly, "I'm sorry for how I acted, I need your help...please, come back to us."

Each time he pleaded for the Diamonds to return, four of Steven's tears fell upon the gems he held in his hands. Then, all of a sudden; both he and the gemstones started to glow brightly. This phenomenon came on so suddenly, it caused everyone to suddenly cease fighting and look over in Steven's direction.

"What the...What the hell is going on" Kaido demanded, "why is that boy glowing like that?!" No one knew the answer...except for the Gemfolk and their allies, who continued to stare in starry-eyed awe at what was happening. "It...It can't be, is this really happening" both Yellow and Blue Pearl both murmured in confusion, "Steven...is fusing with the Diamonds, somehow!"

As if on cue, the lad's glowing form suddenly began to grow tremendously in height; causing friend and foe alike to retreat to a much safer distance. The form grew taller and taller until it almost blocked out the sun in the sky. Finally, as the light faded; the figure's form was revealed to all.

It sported a stunning blazer for its top with a dressy sweater vest underneath it, the figure also wore a pair of long rainbow colored jeans (slightly resembling those of tie dye colors,) a pair of large rainbow-colored heeled sandals, long rainbow-colored gloves over its hands and forearms and had a stunning cloak with a high collar flowing behind it.

Said cloak was also rainbow colored on the surface and underneath it, everyone could see black and white stripes that glimmered in the sunlight. However, the most startling yet beautiful thing about the strange being was its hair. At the top; everyone see that it was adorably poofy and had a mix of white, yellow, blue and pink colors.

Hanging from the sides were long strands of the same rainbow hair and at the back, the hair flowed down until it stopped halfway down its back. Lastly, everyone could see the gemstones of the three other Diamonds upon the being's chest while Steven's remained fixed upon the belly. "Did...Did Steven just fuse with all three of those Diamond ladies at once" Lars whispered, "wow...I never knew he could do that with Gems, it's pretty awesome."

(Scene Change: Jump City – the Titans East Tower)

Back on the Titans Earth, in the northeast region of the United States; the team known as "Titans East" was in the midst of pursuing a group of thieves who had fled from the bank. "Quick, guys; get to the van" the lead robber ordered, "those teen freaks will be here soon!" As quickly as they were able, the robbers rushed into their getaway vehicle and stored their spoils in the back.

"We got the money, guys" the leader shouted, "now, let's get back to the hideout right quick!" The driver gave a nod, revved up the engine and the van soared off down the road with all speed. At first, it seemed as though they were in the clear; which was something the thieves were quite pleased with.

But then, a blinding light suddenly flashed in the sky; leaving the driver momentarily blinded. As a result, their getaway vehicle swerved side-to-side violently along the road until it crashed against a small hydrant. While the robbers inside were unharmed, albeit quite dazed; their van was left out of commission.

As the driver tried to come back to his senses, he wondered what it was that caused him to lose control so suddenly. "Was it some kinda solar flare...or a lightning bolt" he murmured, "nah, couldn't be; there ain't a cloud in the..." The driver took a quick glance at the sky and then, his voice soon fell silent; immediately forgetting his earlier train of thought.

Meanwhile, the gang leader (having recovered from the ordeal) glared daggers at her associate and grabbed the back of his collar. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING" she roared angrily, "where did you learn how to drive, you son of a..." Before the gang leader could finish, the driver gave a choked gasp and pointed towards the sky.

While still frustrated, the gang decided to "humor him" and took a glance upward. What they saw there was so shocking, they barely even noticed the arrival of the Titans. "Very sloppy there, everybody" chuckled the leader, Bumblebee; "you would've gotten away scot-free, if you'd only kept your eyes on the road."

After she pulled the robbers out from the damaged van; Mas and Menos, the twin brothers with super speed, swiftly collected the stolen money and brought it back to the bank. Meanwhile; Bumblebee, Aqualad and Speedy were in the midst of tying up the criminals. While this went on, the robbers hardly chose to put up a fight.

"Quépasa, ladrones" Mas and Menos asked in unison, "parece que has visto un fantasma?" Despite not understanding anything the boys said; the robbers, with quivering hands, pointed towards the sky while only giving out strained squeals of shock. With confused looks upon their faces, the Titans East decided to "play along" and looked up to where their quarry was gesturing to.

What they found was something so surprising, it almost made them faint. Up above them was what looked like some sort of...tear in the sky; as if the heavens themselves were being split apart. "What the...we didn't receive any reports on this" Aqualad stammered, "anybody know what's causing it?"

Sadly, no one knew the answer; not even the robbers.

(Line Break)

As we leave the Titans behind for the moment, we come to the town of Amity Park; where the townsfolk were seen lined up outside of City Hall. Among those present were the students and staff members of Casper High, Damon Grey (Valerie's father,) Tucker and Sam's families and legions of reporters. They came there to offer "peaceful inquiries" on the sudden disappearances of the mayor, Danny Phantom and their friends.

Of course, many among the crowd came to the hall armed either with picket signs or blunt objects like bats or clubs. When asked what the crowd planned on using the latter items for, these townspeople answered with two words; "self defense." Upon seeing the numbers of people and the hostility in their eyes, the deputy mayor tried to keep them all calm.

"How can you expect us to keep calm when my daughter and her friends are still missing" Damon prodded, "don't you have any idea where they could've gone?" With a heavy heart, the deputy mayor shook her head; reminding them that that neither Mayor Foley, the Fentons, "Miss Manson" or "Miss Grey" had been seen since they went off with Danny Phantom to investigate some odd happenings in the woods.

"AHA! I knew that boy would lead Samantha astray, one day" Mrs. Manson exclaimed, "I don't care if he's hero, he's still a bad influence on my daughter!" In response to this, the Foleys and Mr. Grey tried to sway her into thinking reasonably; saying that Danny would never put others in danger...least of all deliberately. "That may be true...but he and his friends still have to answer for bailing on their classes" Ms. Tesslaf roared, "how long can it take for somebody to bust a few ghosts?!"

Thinking quickly, Tucker's secretary attempted to remind everyone of just how powerful some of Danny's enemies usually are. As such, their battles could last for a long time with Danny being left heavily wounded in the end. "With this in mind, he could need time to recuperate" the secretary stated, "perhaps...perhaps that is what your children are doing with him, after their excursion in the woods."

At first, everyone became willing to believe the idea...until they found one glaring and fundamental flaw in it. "Even if what you say is true, my daughter would've brought her friend to the Fenton Works building" Mr. Manson stated, "but that place has been quiet for hours!" This came as quite a surprise to the City Hall staff, to say the least.

But they still preferred to give their mayor the benefit of the doubt and decided to call the Fentons' number. Thankfully, Tucker had their number listed on the auto-dial selection and pressed the button. The line rang over and over for several moments until, at last; the answering machine picked up.

"Hello and thank you for contacting Fenton Works (Trademark)" the message said, "if you are calling to report a ghost attack; please, state your name and the location of said attack now. If you're calling from the school...speak with my wife and if you're one of my children's friends calling...try their cellphones, next time. Thank you and good day." After the rather...long-winded message came to an end, there was a beeping sound; which signaled for the secretary to hang up. "No one's there...what's going on here" cried a student named Paulina, "what has become of my precious Danny Phantom?!"

As if Fate somehow, heard her cries; a fierce crackling sound echoed loudly from above. Startled, everyone turned their attention away from City Hall and gazed up to the skies. There, they could see several tears moving across the sky like it was shattering.

"THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, what is happening up there" cried a teacher named Mr. Lancer, "where did all those...things come from?!" Feeling equally startled by this, the townspeople turned to the City Hall staff for answers...only to find they had none. "This is just perfect" grumbled Paulina's father, "the one time this town actually calls to the ghost kid directly for help...and he's nowhere to be found!"

Just as everyone started to lose hope, some kids gazed up at the tears and gasped softly. "Danny's not gone, everybody" a little girl said excitedly while pointing to the sky, "he's right up there...see?" At first, the crowd of teens and adults were ready to dismiss the child's words; believing she was trying to distract them.

But when they looked up at the tears, their jaws fell to the floor and their eyes almost popped from their heads. Though his image appeared only for a few brief seconds, everyone could clearly see Danny inside the strange tears. "What the...where on Earth has he been" questioned Mr. Foley, "and when did he have time for a costume change?"

Alas, no one was able to offer up any kind of explanation; they were too distracted by Danny's change in wardrobe, the odd tears in the sky and most importantly...the group of strangers standing beside him. "Okay...I've seen a lot of strange things happen in this town, over the years" murmured the secretary, "but this...this is just too bizarre to describe."

(Line Break)

On another Earth, in another region of the Multiverse; the townspeople of Beach City also caught sight of these odd tears in the sky. Alas, neither the humans nor the Gemfolk who lived alongside them understood what was happening. But one thing was certain; whatever it was, Steven and his compatriots may have certainly been in the thick of it.

Among the concerned Gem citizens was Spinel; who, after seeing the gems on the fusion being's chest and stomach, started to fear the worst. "Steven, my Diamonds...my friends; please, be careful" she muttered fearfully to herself, "whatever's going on...please, come home safe." This same phenomenon began to occur in every one of our champions respective worlds.

Minute by minute, the very fabric of reality was slowly being torn asunder and no one (aside from our champions) understood the reason. However, this did not stop some of the folk within these worlds from coming to their own conclusions (however absurd they were.) In what looked like a naval headquarters in the Straw Hats' world, for example; one of its commanding officers (a fleet admiral named Sakazuki Akainu) glowered viciously up at the tears in the sky.

"I just know Straw Hat and his friends are behind this, somehow" Akainu grumbled, "and we best put a stop to this before anyone gets hurt!" With that, he immediately ordered his fellow marines to arm themselves and head for their ships. "One way or another, we will stop the pirate scum...for good" Akainu growled, "and then, we will put Roger's precious One Piece treasure to better use for the world!"

The troops saluted their leader obediently, armed themselves with their weapons and hurried off to their ships; ready to go into battle. But not everyone appeared quite so eager for bloodshed (or as Akainu would call it, "administering Absolute Justice.") One of these chaps, a fellow admiral known as Kizaru, adjusted his sunglasses slightly and approached Akainu from behind.

"Don't you think you're bein' a little to hasty here, Akainu" he asked coolly, "Straw Hat may be strong in his own right...but whatever's happening in the skies is far beyond the abilities of him or any member of his crew." Despite however logical Kizaru's words were, Akainu wouldn't hear of it; he was determined to destroy the "Straw Hat scourge" once and for all. "Ready my ship and make sure to have plenty of Sea Stone Chains stored inside of it" he ordered while walking off to the docking bay, "we sail immediately to the source of these...strange tears!"

As he watched Akainu marched his way over to his ship, Kizaru found himself...at a bit of a crossroads. "I mean...I know Sakazuki is in charge, that Straw Hat and his friends are pirates and we have to uphold the law" he thought with concern, "but we don't have the slightest damn clue as to what's going on!" Rather than decide on joining his colleague, Kizaru retreated to the barracks and called for an emergency meeting.

Meanwhile, at the docks; Akainu's ship was already out to sea, fully loaded and ready for battle. "You escaped me once before, Straw Hat" he growled under his breath, "but this time, I'll make sure to send you to Hell where you belong, right beside your brother!"

(Line Break)

With every passing moment, the tear between realities began to show itself all across the Multiverse; on Earth and the worlds beyond. Soon; all of Shuggazoom's allied planets, Draconis and even the Gem Homeworld took notice of these tears in the sky. At the same time, they also caught sight of their heroes' new forms but no one understood why all this was happening.

Meanwhile, back in Overon; the new Gem fusion had now become fully accustomed to its strange new form. However, it still couldn't help but feel in awe of itself; as evident by the way it gazed upon its newly formed limbs and face. "What the...What happened to me...I mean, us" the being said in confusion, "what's going on here?"

Upon hearing itself speak, the fusion clamped its hands over its mouth in shock; unsure if it should feel afraid or amazed by what was happening. As the fusion attempted to speak again, it couldn't help but feel slightly put off by their strange voice; one that sounded like a mesh of the Diamonds and Steven both speaking in unison. The moment this idea came into mind, realization suddenly struck the being like a blow to the head.

"We...We fused, we all fused with Steven" the being said in a sort of amazed tone, "I cannot believe it!" Upon hearing this statement, many of the Crystal Gems felt equally awestruck by this development. True; Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and even the likes of Connie or Greg had all fused with Steven once before...but they never imagined he would fuse with the Diamonds.

"She...She's beautiful" Rhodonite said in awe, "but what sort of fusion is she, I've never seen anything like her before?" As if sensing her inquiry, the fusion smiled down upon the onlookers and raised her hands to the sky; as if calling for everyone's attention. "Separately; we are known as White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond and Steven Universe, Son of Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz" the being said in its mixed voices, "but together, you may call us...Paragon!"

For a moment or two, everyone fell silent; it was as if the fusion's name alone was able to bring others to a standstill. But then, Big Mom laughed mockingly and proclaimed herself to be the only one who deserved to be called "big momma." "Mamamama! You think this frightens me" questioned Big Mom, "I've taken down giants before...and I will do it again!"

With that vow and with her weapon in hand, she charged towards Paragon and made a great leap; determined to vanquish her. But before she could get even two feet up into the air, Big Mom was suddenly slammed into the ground by one of Paragon's massive fists. When the fusion drew back her hand, it left behind a crater so deep that folk could barely see any sign of Big Mom inside.

Meanwhile, both Blackbeard and Kaido were at a loss for words after what they had just witnessed. "That...That's impossible" the Beast Pirates leader bellowed, "no one could strike down someone like Charlotte Linlin so..." Before he had a chance to finish; a large golden fist suddenly slammed into his chest, sending him flying straight through the arena wall.

After the attack, the fist retracted back to Luffy; who had a look of unrelenting fury upon his face. When the dust settled, all eyes turned back towards the heroes; who were in the midst of stretching out their bodies slightly. "What the hell's going on here" Blackbeard roared, "when did you get so strong, boy?"

This same inquiry was presented by the other invaders with some feeling rather nervous, after the swift defeats of both Big Mom and Kaido. But much to their annoyance, the champions only said one thing; "that's for us to know...and for you to find out!" "And find out we shall, fools" Skeleton King hissed in annoyance, "DESTROY THEM, MY MINIONS!"

The creatures roared loudly in obedience, drew out their weapons and charged towards the champions. Naturally, the sheer size of their numbers left everyone feeling quite nervous and they desperately tried to urge their champions into moving away...but the lads ignored them. "Listen, everyone; I have an idea" Danny said to the others telepathically, "Gar's 'Divide and Conquer' strategy may have failed against our dark doubles from before...but what about our enemies?"

The other four lads and Paragon considered the idea, for a moment or two. Then, after each of them took note on each of their enemies strengths and faults; they nodded in agreement. "Good idea, Danny" Chiro said with a few monkey hoots thrown in, "so...who gets to fight whom?"

As an immediate response, Beast Boy suggested that each of them should decide which enemy would be the "most fun" to fight. "I like the sound of that idea, Gar" Paragon said in Steven's tone of voice, "let's go for it!" With that, they each called out "BREAK" in unison and charged straight for the oncoming horde of invaders; much to the confusion of those within the stands.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING" Nami roared in fearful anger, "YOU CAN'T JUST RUN INTO A FIGHT WITHOUT A..." Before she had a chance to finish, the champions suddenly split up; just as the enemy came within range. First, Danny took his place before the Skeleton King; who didn't quite feel all that intimidated by his presence.

"Do you expect me to fear you, boy" the creature chuckled, "if the Hyperforce, all of their allies and even those giants couldn't withstand my power; what makes you think you will do any better?" Without saying a word; Danny smiled confidently, snapped his fingers and summoned over two-dozen ghostly clones of himself in an instant. This sight came as a shock for not only Skeleton King but also the other invaders, the people within the stands and all those watching them from across the Multiverse.

"Whoa! Since...Since when was he able to make that many clones at one time" Dani asked in surprised shock, "what's happened to him?" Truthfully, this exact question was on everyone else's minds as well. But for some (specifically the ladies,) it didn't quite matter; they were still rather impressive, in the end.

Meanwhile, back in the battle; Skeleton King, though mildly impressed by Danny's duplication abilities, remained undeterred. "Formless, strike down this freak of nature" he ordered, "perhaps, we can use what remains of him to strengthen our forces." The Formless Minions saluted their master obediently and resumed their charge with weapons held high.

As they charged, everyone fearfully urged for Danny to defend himself...but he did not move even the slightest inch. Instead, he waited for the creatures to draw close to him at just the right moment. When they did come within range, Danny's clone forces looked to the crowd and exclaimed "COVER YOUR EARS, EVERYONE!"

While confused by this request, at first; everyone still did as they were told and clasped their hands tightly 'round their collective ears. Then, just as the Formless was within an arm's reach of him; Danny and his clones took in a deep breath, opened their mouths and screamed. As a result, the Formless were suddenly assaulted by a powerful barrage of sonic blasts (which Danny called the Ghostly Wail;) one that seemed to reduce their numbers from hundreds to a paltry two-dozen in an instant.

To say that both Skeleton King and Mandarin were alarmed by this outcome would be a gross understatement. "HA! From all the stories I've heard about you, dude; I thought your minions would've put up a decent fight" Danny chuckled mockingly, "but in the end, it felt like I was fighting a bunch of Play-Doh figures." Though neither of them fully understood his semi-harsh jabs, it was his tone that truly vexed Skeleton King and Mandarin the most.

"I do not know who or what you are, boy" the orange monkey hissed, "but no hairless monkey can get the better of my master!" No sooner had Mandarin said this; Beast Boy, who was prepping to do battle with Wyrd Paynn, turned towards him and said "DUDE! Mind you're language, some of my best pals are hairless monkeys!" Upon hearing his words, the people of Overon suddenly burst out into a light cacophony of laughter; as if he made a jest.

Surprisingly enough, even the Titans (both inside the arena and back in Jump City) also started to laugh. "W-Well, what do ya know" Cyborg murmured between chuckles, "BB actually made a decently funny joke." As everyone chatted amongst themselves in agreement, Wyrd readied his dragon and charged straight for Beast Boy.

Surprisingly, the lad in question was undaunted by the beast's approach. Instead, he simply stood in place; yawning loudly as if he were becoming bored. "You expect me to be afraid of your little pet, dude" he groaned, "I've seen scarier stuff in my fridge after Starfire cooks for us!" Upon hearing this statement, the young lady in question giggled loudly; as if he had told another jest.

But then, when she realized that it was directed at her; she gave him a firm stare and crossed her arms in mild disapproval. Though he could somehow, sense this look from her; for the moment, Beast Boy chose to focus on his opponent. Finally, when the dragon drew in so closely that he could smell the odor of its breath; Beast Boy leapt into action.

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly changed into a form none of the Titans had seen in years. It was large beastly creature covered in thick green fur; it had strong hind legs, a broad chest, a flowing mane of green hair and a muzzle that seemed to be a mix between a wolf and...some other form of creature no one could describe. Though the beastie was something entirely new to everyone else; the Titans, meanwhile knew this creature all too well.

Once changed; Garfield, now in the form of the Werebeast (as the Titans called it,) made a great leap and slammed his fist beneath Abandonn's lower jaw in a powerful uppercut. Though the blow didn't instantly slay the beast, it was still powerful enough to send it flying five feet up into the air. At the same time; Wyrd had lost his balance in the saddle due to the blow and as a result, he fell unceremoniously into the dirt.

Once his blow was delivered, Garfield shifted back into his human form and shook his head in disappointment. "C'mon, Grandpa; is that all you've got" he called out in a playful manner, "or are ya too chicken to fight me?" To drive his point home, the lad assumed the form of a rooster and clucked softly while pecking at the ground.

While Wyrd growled in frustration at this display, everyone else simply found it amusing; especially Raven. "I don't know what happened to the boys back in the mindscape" she murmured, "but whatever it was...somehow, it actually made Beast Boy's jokes funny." Back at the battle, Garfield was still busily pecking at the sand; which made Wyrd become even more frustrated.

With a soft growl, he looked over his shoulder and saw that Abandonn had managed to get back on his feet...albeit barely. But regardless, this meant that he could now use his abilities against Garfield. With all the concentration he could muster, Wyrd began to channel the black draconium energies within himself and his dragon.

"Oh, no; Mr, Paynn's gonna use that...Mag-Claw technique thing again" Cain whimpered, "RUN, KID; RUN!" As if on cue, many others began calling out to Garfield as well; fearfully urging him to move away from the blast. But much to their surprise, he simply remained where he stood; as if waiting for it to happen.

"Garfield, I swear to the Monks of Azar" Raven muttered in frustration and terror, "if you die here...I'm never talking to you again!" Beast Boy only smiled, when this statement reached his ears. Then, at that moment; the energy blast suddenly struck the ground where he stood and created a powerful explosion.

When the sand and dust cleared, the other champions remained standing...but there was little sign of Garfield anywhere. For a moment, everyone began to fear the worst and presumed he had perished in the blast. Then, several elf children spotted something heading straight for Paynn.

Though it was difficult to see it at first, due to the sunlight; as the thing drew closer, everyone could see that it was a hawk...a green hawk. Everyone then watched as this bird proceeded to suddenly dive at Wyrd's head and slash its claws violently against his faceplate. But despite his fiercest efforts, Garfield's assault did little next to nothing to damage it; which Wyrd was so eager to remind him of.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you, old man" Beast Boy chuckled in his hawk form, "I just needed to distract you for a bit...NOW, DANNY!" With that signal, one of Danny's ghost clones unleashed a powerful cross-beam of ectoplasmic energy. This beam struck the side of Wyrd's dragon, causing it to skid speedily across the arena floor and ram through Blackbeard's crew.

As a result of this, many pirates were either scattered about or found themselves trapped underneath Abandonn's massive form. With their lot momentarily dealt with; only Slade, Skeleton King and Wyrd remained standing. "Hmm...it seems that our opponents have rather interesting abilities" Slade murmured, "best keep on your toes, gentlemen."

The latter two fiends only scoffed at his warning and simply urged him to be the cautious one, instead. Not wishing to stand about for much longer, Slade rushed into battle; making an immediate beeline for Beast Boy. But then, just like with Kaido, a red and black fist suddenly struck Slade in his side and sent him flying into the stands.

As he tried to recover from the blow, Starfire blasted his chest with her eye beams; leaving him mildly wounded. "This spot's already filled to capacity, Slade" Robin growled, "so...STEP OFF!" With that simple statement, the Boy Wonder gave a hard swing with his staff and sent Slade flying back down into the arena; landing face first into the sand.

"Thanks for the assist, guys" Beast Boy called out to the stands with a salute, "but I think we can handle the rest from here." After giving the signal, Artha blasted Slade with his version of the Mag-Claw technique; unleashing volley after volley of Gold Draconium energy orbs. Instinctively, Slade did his absolute best to dodge the oncoming projectiles; hoping that Artha would eventually tire out overtime.

But much to both his shock and dismay, not only did the blasts keep coming at him at a much faster rate; it didn't look as though Artha or Beau was losing momentum. In the end, it was Slade who suddenly felt his strength draining and his momentum slowing down instead. Upon taking notice of this, Danny signaled out for Artha to finish Slade off.

After giving a quick nod, the young dragon racer in question commanded Beau to help him Mag Jump into the air. He agreed and with a mighty roar, Beau sent Artha flying upward. While there, he channeled all the draconium energy he could muster and sent it flying towards Slade in a powerful blast.

While certainly not large enough to cause any massive structural damage, all those within the stands still retreated to the higher seats for safety. There, they watched in shock and awe as the energy orb struck Slade squarely in his torso. As a result of this; his body, which was already aching from his earlier evasive maneuvers, was sent flying out the back entrance of the arena.

He skidded and tumbled along the path for a few moments, until he came to a full stop about ten miles down. Along the way, everyone swore they saw bits and pieces of his mask scattering in the wind like broken bits of pottery. With him now dealt with, it looked as though only Skeleton King and Wyrd Paynn were left standing.

But then, without warning; a loud roar suddenly echoed and Abandonn was then blasted into the air by a powerful burst of dark energy. It didn't take long for everyone to realize what (or rather, who) the cause of it was. Once he was free of Abandonn's massive weight, Blackbeard growled angrily at the heroes before him.

But when he saw the state of most of his crew, his rage grew even higher. "Why you little brats" Blackbeard roared in frustration, "I won't let you get the best of me that easily!" With that statement, he began to summon up one of his strongest attacks; the Black Hole.

Within seconds, a dark energy began to course through Blackbeard's hands. This same energy slowly moved through the rest of his form until every inch of him was coated in a black aura. Finally, when he had harnessed just the right amount of his power; Blackbeard slammed his hands down upon the arena floor.

Upon doing so, the black energy began to swiftly spread forward until every inch of the battlefield was in shadow. Then, with a cruel smile on his face; Blackbeard muttered two simple words..."Black Hole." Mere seconds after he said this, the black substance suddenly started to move and everyone could also see the lads sinking down slightly

Naturally, this left everyone feeling quite afraid and they demanded to know what was going on. "It's all part of Teach's powers, I'm afraid" Gabriel said fearfully, "thanks to the Dark-Dark Fruit, he can summon what you humans call a black hole and suck anyone or anything within reach of that substance down into it." As expected, there were many scientific-minded folk who felt confused by this revelation.

"That...That shouldn't be possible, no matter how strong an individual is" Gibson said in alarm, "black hole energy is highly unstable and capable of destroying the entire universe!" Upon hearing this; King Thaylog explained that in the case of one Marshal D. Teach (Blackbeard's true moniker,) he controlled an entirely different form of such energy.

"With all due respect, Your Highness...YOU AREN'T MAKING SENSE" Peridot exclaimed, "how else could this human possibly...wait, is he...Oh!" Before the wee Gem maid could finish her sentence, realization suddenly swept over her like a gust of wind. As if sensing this; Thaylog gave a nod and said that much like with the earthquake that occurred earlier, the "black hole" forming on the arena floor was something shaped by one of one of Blackbeard's devil fruit powers.

"Well, whatever's going on; we've got to do something and quick" Maddie screamed, "I refuse to just sit by and let my baby boy get sucked down into...Lord only knows where!" While still trying to not come across as disrespectful, Otto looked down at the arena and claimed that the boys didn't appear that worried about their situation as they were. "I mean...look at them" he exclaimed, "Danny's not even the least bit scared, Gar's airborne, Luffy's literally bouncing off the walls and...whatever the giant lady is called, she probably won't fit in the hole."

Upon taking a glance over at Paragon, the crowd noticed that while the fusion was sinking (albeit more slowly;) its legs alone were much too big to go through the black hole. Furthermore, because of Paragon's height; it would take ages for her to sink through (depending on how long the fusion would last.) As for the others, the situation was just as Otto described.

Danny was hovering over the blackness slightly, Luffy was indeed bouncing about the walls of the arena like a ball, Artha and Beau had taken higher ground up in the stands and Garfield was not only airborne, he also held Chiro up by his newly formed tail with his claws. When he finally caught sight of all this, Blackbeard became infuriated and ordered his men to open fire.

But before any member of the crew had the chance to draw out their guns, Danny's ghost doubles appeared and gave them all a scare with his fiercest growl. Along with said growl, he also willed his eyes to glow a bright green and summoned a sliver of ecto energy into his hands; making them glow slightly. This sight proved to be so terrifying that Blackbeard's men threw down their weapons and immediately fled from the arena; all while screaming like frightened children.

"Why those spineless little...nevermind, I'll deal with them later" Blackbeard growled, "for now...it's time to send you freaks back to Hell where you belong!" With that, he intensified the power of his Dark-Dark Fruit energy; which gave the black hole he created a much stronger pull. Yet in spite of this, it did little to affect the other champions or Paragon's form.

"This little man is boring me" the fusion yawned in Yellow Diamond's unamused tone of voice, "I think it's time we put an end to this." Not long after she said this, all four of Paragon's gemstones started to glow brightly; which led everyone to wonder what, exactly they were planning to do. Then, the fusion touched each of its hands upon their stones and instantly summoned several weapons from them.

The first and most recognizable one was Steven/Rose's shield, which was the lad's preferred weapon of choice. However, the Crystal Gems and their allies quickly noticed that it had been given a new design. Originally, it bore the spiral design shaped by a collection of thorny vines and had a symbol at the center that was shaped like a rose.

But now, it showed of the symbol of a large star; each point bearing a different color of the rainbow. Many had unique interpretations on why the shield's emblem had been changed. The most unanimous one was that it represented finally Steven becoming his own Crystal Gem champion, after so many years of being in his mother's shadow.

To do this, Steven chose his iconic star to be his symbol; considering how important it became to him and the team over the years. As for the colors of each point; some, like Connie and Greg, believed it was Steven's way of showing that each member of the Crystal Gems was important; just like the points of a star. In any case, it was still an astonishing sight.

As for the other Diamonds' weapons, each of them ranged between elegant...to deadly. White's own for example, was a scepter; which seemed appropriate due to her former status as the head of the Diamond Authority. Yellow's was a majestic yet intimidating looking saber, resembling the kind wielded by soldiers of the 16th Century (in both Garfield and Danny's respective universes.)

Lastly, there was Blue's weapon; which took on the form of a large scythe with a long and pristine crystal blade. Unarmed, the mere sight of Paragon was intimidating on its own. But with all four sets of weapons now in hand, everyone instantly knew that the invaders were utterly outmatched.

But in spite of these circumstances, Blackbeard still remained defiant and vowed to bring Paragon down; one way or another. "Let's see how you if you can withstand this" he shouted, "KUROUZU!" Soon after he said this, several black arms appeared from the hole he created and they suddenly lashed out towards Paragon like a pack of vipers; intent on bringing the fusion to its knees (quite literally.)

But before the arms could so much as reach for one of their legs, Paragon swiped her blades down and split them asunder in an instant. At the same time, the power of the light from Steven's gem had given both weapons a sort of light-pink aura. Thus, when Blue swung her scythe and Yellow did her saber; it destroyed the black hole around them along with the Kurouzu attack.

Blackbeard stared aghast at what the being had done and questioned how anyone could withstand his power. "Your abilities may hinder people from your world, foolish man" Paragon exclaimed in her multiple voices, "but they are small compared to those of us Diamonds...observe." To prove their point further, Paragon drew back one of her hands (one that held the star shield,) willed it to shrink down to a much smaller size and threw it.

Once launched; it then proceeded to ricochet off the heads of several members of Big Mom, Blackbeard and Kaido's crews. This came on so quickly and painfully; as a result, these men and women were all knocked out in an instant. "Thanks for the assist, Paragon" Luffy said with a light smile, "but leave Beardie alone...he's mine!"

Upon hearing his words, all members of Blackbeard's crew who were still standing suddenly felt an icy chill up their spines and were prepared to flee. But then, the sounds of a gun firing echoed loudly and one of these retreating crewmates suddenly fell over dead. After they saw their comrade fall, the remaining crew members looked up nervously and saw Blackbeard glaring at them from afar; the barrel of his pistol still steaming from the shot he fired.

"Does anyone else wish to run away" he asked coldly, "no...well, then; GET YOUR ASSES BACK OVER HERE AND FIGHT, IF YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE!" For a moment or two, the crew did not know how to respond; as much as they feared the champions' might...they feared Blackbeard's temper even more. So, in the end; they reluctantly took weapons in hand and charged back into battle.

Paragon was utterly disgusted by this display, not just for the fact that people were being forced into a fight but because their leader was willing to go as far as kill any who dared to retreat. But just as they were prepared to duel the oncoming group of pirates, the ground beneath their feet suddenly became a sheet of ice; which led to them falling over themselves several times over.

"What the...HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN" exclaimed Jesus Burgess, "show yourself, if you're not a coward!" Several others also demanded to know who interfered in the attack, both among the invaders' and the heroes' side as well. In response to this, a soft voice suddenly chuckled and said "so sorry for interrupting...but the battle was going on much too long."

All eyes turned to the back of Blackbeard's group and soon, they spotted a man making his way to the front of the crew. "What the...Aokiji" Robin exclaimed, "what is he doing here...and with Blackbeard no less?" Understandably so, those around her began to give Robin rather confused stares and asked how she knew about the stranger.

"Long story short, Aokiji...or Kuzan, as he is also known, was one of the Marines' strongest admirals" Sanji explained, "but for some reason, he quit...I just never suspected he defected over to the side of piracy, afterwards." Robin also expressed her confusion towards the naval officer's sudden change of loyalties, while also keeping a close eye upon Aokiji himself. "Technically speaking, my friends...he isn't really part of the crew at all" Gabriel suddenly interjected, "in truth, he's been acting as what you would call a 'double agent' the entire time."

This revelation came as a surprise to not only the Straw Hats but the Blackbeard Pirates as well...saves for one. With a fierce glare in his eyes; a man called Shiryu, one of Blackbeard's captains, drew out his sword and pointed it threateningly towards Aokiji. "I always knew you were a Navy rat from the start" he growled, "now that the jig is up, I'll have free reign to kill you!"

With that said, Shiryu held his blade high and charged forward; intent on killing Aokiji where he stood. But then, Beast Boy gave Chiro a quick toss by his tail and sent him flying towards the fiend. Upon landing; the young human/monkey hybrid then proceeded to claw at, gnaw and bite into Shiryu's face.

As the former prison executioner tried to get Chiro off of him, he became distracted enough for several centaur guards to immediately apprehend him. These same guards proceeded to put the rest of Blackbeard's captains and crew in chains as well. "Make certain you use the enchanted cuffs, everyone" King Zaid ordered, "don't let any of this pirate scum get the best of you...no offense meant, Master Luffy."

With a hearty chuckle in his throat, the Straw Hat captain saluted him; a sign of assurance that he took no offense to the centaur king's words. "Now...only two baddies remain" he said while cracking his knuckles and neck slightly, "which one should it be, the bone bag...or the ugly old man?" Mere seconds after Luffy said this, he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a small dragon with black and purple scales.

These same beasties soon surrounded the other champions (save for Paragon) and growled fiercely. Soon after that, Armeggeddon slowly approached while clicking his tongue in disappointment. "Foolish children" he murmured, "you may have bested a low-level warrior like Master Paynn...but let us see how you fare against the likes of me!"

With that statement, he willed some of Skeleton King's Formless Minions to take their seats upon each of his dragons and they did. Once they had each mounted up, Armeggeddon reached into his armor and withdrew a collection of odd-looking items. While this did not appear too much of a concern to the other champions; for Artha and his fellow Dragon Racers, on the other hand...they were utterly shocked.

"The Black Draconium Bone-Marks...the ones belonging to the League of Eight" Moordryd gasped in alarm, "you...y-you found them, how?" Armeggeddon glared fiercely at his former pupil and revealed that he sought out to find them on his own, after his betrayal. "It took me weeks upon months to find them" he hissed with glee, "and now that I have them in my possession...the League of Eight shall RISE AGAIN!"

With that proclamation, Armeggeddon placed a bone-mark upon each of the eight dragons and a startling transformation began to occur. Soon, Black Draconium energy started to course violently through not only the dragons...but the Formless Minions as well. Within seconds, the minions were dressed in suits of Black Draconium armor and their eyes showed off the same red glow in Armeggeddon's own.

Once the transformation was complete, both dragons and their new riders roared loudly; as if to tell the champions they were now ready to fight. Upon seeing his minions be transformed by someone else's power, Skeleton King became infuriated with Armeggeddon and demanded that he change them back. "You should thank me, creature" Armeggeddon said bluntly, "with both of our powers coursing through your creatures, these fools will certainly submit to us."

While still feeling a touch apprehensive, Skeleton King decided to give his momentary ally the benefit of the doubt...for now. "Formless, charge" he shouted loudly, "use your newly gained mounts and powers to crush our enemies!" The Formless nodded slightly and with weapons held high, they charged towards the champions at full speed.

Everyone watched in fearful anticipation, as the dragons drew closer; wondering what the champions might do. Then, when the Formless came in close enough; Danny gave the signal to Artha. After giving out a mighty roar, Beau unleashed a jolt of pure Gold Draconium energy down towards the black dragons.

Like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, the jolt struck hard at the ground; scattering the eight dragons hither and yon. One by one, the League of Eight fell to Artha's power...but they were far from vanquished. As each dragon tried to get back onto its feet, Armeggeddon's warrior reserve began to chip away slightly; revealing a rather frustrated and desperate man.

"Rise, my warriors; RISE" he shouted impatiently, "I refuse to stand by and watch our empire crumble once again!" No sooner had he said all this, the other villains suddenly grew apprehensive; Skeleton King in particular. "I beg your pardon, human" he hissed in irritation, "the beasts may belong to you...but those that ride them are my minions and it is I alone who commands them!"

Upon hearing the Skeleton King's rant, Wyrd chuckled spitefully and addressed his minions as nothing more than collections of living bone and tar. "Oh...and do you presume that you are fairing better than we are, Paynn" Armeggeddon retorted, "as I recall, your dragon was bested earlier by the green child and the ghostly half-breed!" No sooner had he said this, both dragon riders were prepared to go into a rather vicious argument...until Beast Boy called for their attention.

"Even without Dan's help; fighting your pet wouldn't have been that hard of a challenge, Gramps" he mocked smugly, "I wouldn't even call that thing a real dragon." Before anyone could say a word, Garfield's eyes suddenly flashed white and his muscles began to tense up. Then, he hunched himself over slightly and everyone could suddenly hear the sounds of bones cracking.

This went on for almost a minute and a half until, at last; everyone saw Garfield undergoing a startling transformation. Soon; a pair of wings suddenly sprouted out of his back, a tail slipped out from the back of his pants, his fingernails slowly changed into claws and two rows of sharp teeth began to form within his mouth. At the same time, everyone could see Garfield growing much larger than before; until he stood up to Paragon's left knee (in terms of height.)

Once the change was completed, everyone stared out into the arena in astonishment. No longer did they see the familiar changeling standing before them. Instead, they saw a magnificent green-scaled dragon. It had a long mane of green hair, its wings stretched out slightly, covering one section of the stands in its shadow and they could see two large horns atop of its head.

But while this new "animal" form was something entirely new to everyone, especially the Titans; there was one thing that remained recognizable...the beast's eyes. "G-G-Garfield...is that really you" Raven murmured in both shock and awe, "please, tell me it's you in there." After a moment or two of waiting, Garfield turned his dragon head slowly towards his team...and gave them a rather familiar grin; which filled them with great joy.

Meanwhile, the dragon rider in question did his best to not appear intimidated by his opponent. "It doesn't matter what form you take, child" he hissed bitterly, "I will still defeat you...and all those other vermin in this wretched place!" With that, he charged up his energy for another Mag-Claw attack and fired a bolt of Black Draconium at Garfield.

While it did manage to hit him at the base of his neck, Garfield dismissed it as nothing more than an itch. After scratching away said "itch," he glared viciously down at Wyrd; as if to tell him "now, it's my turn." After that, he took in a deep inhale and unleashed a powerful blast of fire from his maw towards Wyrd and his dragon.

While the former chose to leap away from the oncoming flames, he could not save his dragon in time. Thus, he watched as the fire envelop around Abandonn; causing him to roar out in pain. While the attack proved successful, Garfield couldn't help but feel pity towards his opponent.

Thus, almost ten seconds later; he ceased his attack and bowed his dragon head in apology towards the fallen dragon. Seconds later, Garfield sent a vicious glare towards Wyrd and proceeded to go after him next. "You may have bested my dragon, child" he exclaimed, "but I refuse to surrender to the likes of you!"

With that statement, Wyrd Paynn made a desperate attempt to flee...but he soon found himself caught within one of Paragon's massive hands. "You're not going anywhere, Mr. Paynn" the fusion said in Steven's angry tone of voice, "it's time you faced justice for your crimes." After the fusion said all this, Paragon took hold of one of Wyrd's legs and presented him to King Zaid; who then proceeded to place a set of cuffs upon him.

After that, Paragon unceremoniously dropped Wyrd into the royal skybox; where three guards awaited to apprehend him. "And now, all that's left is to deal with the so-called kings" the fusion said in White's tone of voice, "this shouldn't be too difficult." While he shared in the being's confidence, Danny encouraged everyone to underestimate the other invaders; believing that they might prove to be tougher than the rest.

Meanwhile, Armeggeddon was desperately trying to get his dragons back onto their feet once again. "I refuse to let our forces be bested by the Dragon Booster a second time" he roared impatiently, "get back out there and destroy him now!" In spite of the fatigue that racked their bodies, the League of Eight knew better than to deny their master's wishes; even when his mind appeared on the brink of madness.

Thus, with all the strength they could muster; all eight dragons charged back into the fray. "I'll give these critters credit, they sure don't go down that easily" Luffy chuckled while still bouncing, "but I'm getting kinda bored with this fight, so..." As the dragons drew in closer, Luffy closed his eyes and began to position his body in a certain way; which seemed to confuse his crew a little.

But at the same time, Gabriel and his family seemed to instantly know what was about to happen and they suddenly urged the High Mystics to put up a shield spell around the stands immediately. "Already taken care of, Your Lord and Ladyships" Serafina assured, "I only hope it will be enough to protect us." Upon hearing the conversation, several people began to ask what they needed protection from. "To put it simply...my captain's abilities aren't limited to just those of his Gum-Gum powers" Robin explained, "he also possesses something else, something known in back in our world as Haki."

Upon hearing the term, everyone proceeded to ask when Luffy took up any form of sport; let alone hockey. "Not 'hockey,' Haki" Thaylog interjected, "it is a term used to describe the spiritual energies of all living things in Master Luffy's world...think of it as something similar to chi." With this explanation, Antauri asked what Haki had to do with the battle at hand.

"Watch my captain very closely, my silver friend" Nico Robin said with a light giggle, "you will get your answers very soon." Though mildly confused by her request, Antauri still did the respectable thing and looked back at the battle below. There, he saw the League of Eight dragons nearing closer and closer to Luffy.

Then, when Luffy finally opened his eyes; everyone could see his pupils giving off a strong red glow. At the same time, the entire arena was suddenly enveloped by a blue aura of some kind. But perhaps, the strangest thing of all was what happened next to the League of Eight.

Just as they were inches away from touching Luffy with their teeth and claws, the dragons' eyes suddenly turned white and they fell hard to the ground; one by one. "What the...Did you guys see that" Valerie exclaimed, "Luffy just...I dunno, glared at those dragons and then, they all fell over dead!" Upon hearing her words, Robin assured the teen that the League of Eight wasn't quite dead.

"If Luffy-kun used his Conqueror's Haki at full strength, however; that might've been the case" she stated, "but it seems that he has developed a great deal of control over it." Though no one fully understood what Robin was talking about, one thing was certain; even without his Devil Fruit abilities, Luffy still proved to be a mighty champion. Meanwhile, down in the arena; Armeggeddon did his best to stand firm in spite of his dragons' downfall.

But due to the power of Luffy's Conqueror's Haki, he soon felt the same sudden fatigue that his League of Eight suffered flow through his body. His muscles ached, his breathing had become shallow and his armor showed signs of severe damage. "It will take...more than that...to defeat me, boy" he grunted painfully, "let's finish this!"

With that said, Armeggeddon used whatever strength he had left to make one final charge at the young heroes. But just as he was within arms reach of them; something large, ferocious...and pink suddenly tackled him from behind. All others cheered loudly in victory, as Lion ripped the left horn off of Armeggeddon's helmet with his teeth.

While the tackle wasn't quite that strong; due to the dragon rider's current physical state, it felt like a rather heavy blow and left him helpless. "No...This...T-This cannot be" he groaned in both confusion and anger, "I am the lord of the Ancient Black Draconium Empire...you're all just children and freaks of nature!" While still feeling hostile towards his so-so ally, Skeleton King did share in his frustration; proclaiming that the "children" should not be on equal ground to them.

"That's your problem; even after all this time, you still see us as kids" Artha said stoically, "but you know what...we don't care." No sooner had he said this, the other champions and Paragon (in Steven's tone of voice sounded off in agreement.) "Unlike you, some of our friends and some of the people we all know back home; we like being who we are" Luffy declared with a proud grin, "because we've accomplished all the things people like you never thought we could!"

After this; each of the champions listed all the feats they have accomplished before, during and even after the trials they've recently faced. Powers or no; they've saved countless lives, inspired hope in the downtrodden, achieved great victories and more presently, they've brought their greatest enemies to their knees. "So, yeah; we may be kids, goofballs, stable brats, rubber brains or...whatever else people like you call us" the boys said firmly in unison, "but more than that...we are champions of the Multiverse!"

With that, every one of them assaulted the remaining invaders with one final assault. Chiro, with a little assistance from Garfield, tore down the Formless legions. Danny imprisoned Armeggeddon's dragons into a sort of prison box made from his own power (which he revealed was a trick Box Ghost had taught him.)

Luffy delivered a severe barrage of punches to Wyrd Paynn with the aide of his enhanced Gum-Gum Gatling. Artha and Beau used the power within them to purge Wyrd's influence from the mind of his dragon, Abandonn and lastly; Paragon used their combined power to perform a purging of their own. As the fusion placed all four sets of hands upon White's staff, the Skeleton King made one final attempt to save himself and flew up towards Paragon's head atop its wyvern.

"I am the Skeleton King, MASTER OF THE DEAD AND SCOURGE OF THE UNIVERSE" he shrieked defiantly, "I WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED BY YOU MORTAL..." Before he had the chance to finish his declaration; Paragon opened their eyes and soon, Skeleton King was blinded by a blinding flash of light. Once he was distracted, the fusion took aim and unleashed a multi-colored beam directly at the skeletal fiend.

As the auras of all four Diamonds pierced through him, Skeleton King bellowed out a scream of pain that was so loud; all of Overon and all the realms beyond could probably hear it (thanks to the tears in reality.) Paragon's light soon started coursing through every part of Skeleton King's form; causing him to scream much louder. This went on for what felt like an eternity and then...the light went dim.

Afterwards, everyone looked up and spotted a figure dressed in a robe plummeting towards the arena floor. But at the near last second, Paragon swiftly caught this figure safely in one of their massive hands. Afterwards, they eased their head down slightly; hoping to hear signs of life from the figure.

Much to the fusion's great relief, they finally heard it give off faint groans of discomfort; signalling that they were still very much alive. As Paragon placed the robed being safely upon the ground, they suddenly gave a soft grunt; which signaled that their power was on the verge of being fully spent. "It looks like our time is almost up" Paragon said with a light chuckle, "but before we take our leave...let us use our power for one final gesture of goodwill."

With that; they slowly rose to their feet, looked about the destruction caused by Blackbeard's Quake-Quake powers and then, cast a glance into one of the tears (specifically the one leading to Beach City.) Then, after taking in a deep breath; she, once again took hold of White Diamond's staff and raised it high into the air.

"So much destruction has been wrought by the hands of invading forces, within this realm and in that of the Crystal Gems" Paragon proclaimed, "now, with the last of our combined power...let all this desolation, this carnage, this destruction be cleansed!" After saying this, everyone could see beautiful orbs of color appear in each of Paragon's hands. As the peoples of the realm looked up at the fusion in silence, they could not help but wonder what she was planning.

It was here that Paragon slowly raised her hands up over her head, one of which was aimed directly at the tear leading into Steven's universe. "After eons of needless destruction and war; let this realm and all others be be reborn, once more and live" Paragon decreed in all three voices, "LET IT LIVE FOR ALL GOOD PEOPLES OF THE UNIVERSE!" With this decree, the last remnants of Paragon's power suddenly burst forth from their form and spread all around them.

As a portion of this light suddenly traveled across the farthest reaches of Steven's universe, a startling phenomenon began to occur. Soon, several planets were bathed in the glow of Paragon's rainbow light; which the Crystal Gems couldn't help but find incredibly beautiful. "This is lovely and everything but it still doesn't explain what's going on" Peridot murmured, "why would Paragon user her powers on all those barren..."

Before the wee Gem had the chance to finish speaking; within moments, every planet that had been drained of their resources was instantly restored to their original states (Earth among them.) At the same time, however; any and all dwellings where the Gemfolk made their homes remained in their place. However, they were still given new life and beauty as well; such as the Prime and Beta Kindergartens on Earth.

Amethyst and Peridot watched in awe as grass and new plant-life appeared in both locations, which filled the latter Gem with great joy. The rest of the Crystal Gems and their allies were just as awestruck by everything that was taking place, despite feeling somewhat confused by it all. "It...It's so beautiful" Connie murmured with tears in her eyes, "so many planets, so many worlds are being given new life...I hope it lasts."

Suddenly, the young lady's train of thought came to a sudden halt; as the ground beneath her feet suddenly started to quake. As everyone cast their gaze downwards, they could see all the cracks and broken land around them slowly return to normal. This was a welcomed sight for the centaurs of Zeru, who wasted no time singing Paragon's praises.

Once the last ounces of damaged landscape were fixed; Paragon fell to their knees, let out a tired grunt and suddenly unfused in an instant. Now, all that remained were the three Diamonds and Steven; who all appeared quite exhausted. Not long after this, the other lads also succumbed to their own exhaustion and fell to the floor; one by one.

Without delay, everyone rushed over to see if everyone was alright. When they arrived, they saw each of the boys and the Diamonds were lying unconscious upon the sand. At the same time, they also noticed some new changes in not only Steven's look but each of the Diamonds as well.

Instead of her former look; Yellow now sported a rather dapper looking suit vest/blazer, a striped tie showing off dark and light yellow colors, bright yellow stockings and a pair of bejeweled high-heel shoes. Her gloves had shrunken down slightly, ending at just below her wrists and while her hair remained unchanged, her stature appeared...much smaller than before.

Upon making several calculations, Peridot deduced that Yellow was now at Pink Diamonds height. "If this is true...could the same thing have happened to the others" Blue Pearl gasped softly, "where are Blue and White?" Upon spotting the forms of the aforementioned Diamonds, Blue Pearl followed the Crystal Gems over to her former leader's side.

When they saw her, she was surprised to see that not only was now at the near same height as Yellow but her form had become but her form had several key changes as well. Her hair was now long and flowing, her form was beautifully statuesque, her dress had changed from its original look to a sort of sequined strapless dress with a high thigh slit, which allowed her legs to be exposed at the side. Said dress had a low back, hugged at her hips and torso quite well, to Sanji's amorous eyes and with her hair now fully hanging behind her, it allowed for Blue's chest area to be partially exposed.

Blue also sported a pair of light-blue opera gloves, a pair of matching stiletto shoes for footwear, the front of her new dress showed off a sort of "sweetheart neckline;" showing off her gemstone and just the right amount of skin. But perhaps, Blue's most noticeable feature was her eyes. Almost immediately, everyone saw that her bags were no longer present.

Instead, they seemed to have inverted to just above her eyes; giving her a sort of heavy-lidded eyes, seductive eye-shadow look with thick lashes. In conclusion, Blue Diamond's new form made her look even more like a goddess than she did before. Lastly, there was White's new form; which seemed relatively the same (in some ways.)

She still possessed the same hairstyle, her eyes were still a sparkling light-grey and her style of dress. However; the dress itself now bore a light shade of pink, White's cloak had a sort of tye-dye/rainbow design to it and everyone swore they spotted a pair of rose red or pink cheeks upon her face. To say that everyone was surprised by this, especially the Gemfolk, would be a gross understatement.

"They...They look so...beautiful" Yellow Pearl gasped with tears of joy in her eyes, "I mean, My Diamond has always looked exquisite to me but...still." Before she had the chance to continue her statement, Bismuth politely shushed her while also gesturing at the Diamonds. "Let's back up a little, everybody" she instructed, "these three have been through a lot."

As everyone took a few steps back, they could hear the Diamonds grunting softly; which signaled that they were still alive (for a trio of Gems.) One by one; White, Yellow and Blue slowly opened their eyes and pushed themselves up from the dirt. Naturally, the trio's minds were quite cloudy and they barely recalled what happened to them mere moments ago.

"W-Wha...What happened" Blue murmured as she rubbed her head, "where is the...(gasp) OUR GEMS, WE WERE POOFED AND THEN STEVEN..." Instinctively; the moment this thought came into mind, she moved her hands about her chest area and hoped her gem was undamaged. The other two Diamonds did the same and were relieved to discover later that their stones were still in one piece.

Not long after that, they noticed each of their new forms and gasped softly in awe. But then, mere seconds later; each of them realized that someone was missing...Steven. "Where is he, did he fall somewhere...or did one of those fiends kill him" White asked worriedly, "if they did...by the stars, I WILL CRUSH THEM!"

Without delay, everyone searched about the arena floor for any sign of the lads. In time, both Lion and Beau managed to find them...but their physical state was rather alarming. Each of the lads' bodies showed several battle scars, which Connie deduced may have been from their earlier duel against their dark doppelgangers.

But aside from that, each of them appeared to be in one piece. Surprisingly, Danny and Garfield still retained their new uniform styles; whereas Chiro had slowly reverted back to human form, Luffy's "Bounce Man" appearance had disappeared and the golden aura around Artha had soon faded away. All that remained was Steven, who appeared to have had the most radical change out of all of them.

His body was now taller and much more muscular, like a fully formed Amethyst or Jasper. His hair had grown as long as Greg's own once was and still retained its original curly/poofy appearance. Lastly, instead of wearing his black t-shirt from earlier; it had now been turned blue and each point on his iconic star symbol was now a different color.

"What the...What the hell happened here" Zoro asked dumbfounded, "how did our friends change like that all of the sudden...and what was with the new clothes and haircuts?" Of course, this query was met with the same answer from many among the crowd; ask the boys for answers. Upon hearing this suggestion, Beau and Lion proceeded to nudge their snouts against their respective partners' heads three times over.

But after giving them a third nudge, neither Artha nor Steven moved the slightest inch. Without a moment's pause, everyone else made their way to the others and proceeded to nudge them as well. But just like with Danny and Steven, not one of them moved. "Oh, no...this isn't good, guys" Greg exclaimed worriedly, "you don't think they could be..."

Before he had the chance to finish his statement, Lion grunted fiercely at Mr. Universe; as if telling him not to say anything more. Of course, it didn't take long for everyone else to reach the same conclusion. At the same time, however; they desperately prayed that they were wrong.

But before they could think any further on that, a centaur guard suddenly arrived at the scene and immediately reported some news regarding the tears. "One of them has appeared not too far away from our harbor" she stated, "not long after that, my men and I spotted a legion of strange ships sailing out of it. While this news was indeed confusing to King Zaid and the other royals; at the same time, it came as a great inconvenience to the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Oh, for God's sake" groaned Zoro while drawing out his swords, "if it's another batch of villains, I'm gonna start chopping people's heads off!" Feeling equally frustrated by this sudden development, all other warriors who were able armed themselves accordingly and joined him in wanting to confront this sudden arrival of strangers.

"The Champions must be under observation, while we attend to this matter" Gabriel announced, "who here has expertise in medicine or healing practices?" Without delay; this call was immediately answered by Connie, Connor, Chopper, Cyborg, Gibson and Maddie. However, they swiftly realized a glaring flaw in the plan...a complete lack of medical tools.

"Don't worry, guys" Chopper assured with a warm smile, "I came prepared...could someone hand me my bag, please?" Almost immediately; Franky hurried up to the stands, obtained the aforementioned item and presented it to his comrade. Naturally, everyone was quite relieved to see how resourceful the wee reindeer was.

"Cute and resourceful, that's a wonderful combination" Maddie said sweetly while hugging Chopper's tiny form to her bosom, "I could just eat you up, you sweet little thing." While blushing from both the compliment and the embrace, Chopper laughed goofily and said something along the lines of "stop giving me compliments, you jerk." At first, everyone thought he was being rude...until Robin revealed that this was typical behavior for Chopper.

"Our little friend is a child and like any child, he is innocent and bashful" she explained, "thus, he returned every compliment with a sort of 'insult' to ensure he does not lose face in their presence." After taking these words to heart, Maddie thought it all made Chopper even cuter than he already was and kissed him lightly on his blue nose.

"Ahem! Forgive me for interrupting this charming scene, madam" Gibson interjected, "but we have some important business we must attend to." Upon hearing this reminder, Maddie and Chopper snapped out of their blissful stupor and immediately went to work. "You all go ahead and deal with whatever's coming our way next" Connor ordered, "we'll keep an eye on the boys here."

Not long after this, the Shadowmanes asked the High Mystics to do whatever they could to find a way to fix the tears in the veil. "We shall try, My Lords and Ladies" Edric stated, "but at the rate these tears keep appearing, it will take a great deal of magic to close them." With that revelation, both the Diamonds and Danny's ghost allies presented themselves and asked if they could lend a hand.

"However...my power may be able to mend these rips in reality to a certain degree" Yellow said in an uncertain tone, "I hope our combined efforts will be sufficient." Falcore smiled warmly at the Diamond maid, thanked her and her associates for their support and immediately went to work. "Go, everyone; find any other invaders that may be lurking out there and drive them back" he ordered the group, "we can handle things from here."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then, the latter groups hurried off with the centaur guard; feeling semi-prepared to ward off whatever threat would come next.

(First AN: Oh dear! First, our champions to be fall into unconsciousness and now; we have more uninvited guests coming into the realm?! Who are these new intruders, why are they here and what has happened to the lads after just surviving the mindscape?

Find out these answers and more, as we come to the final stretch of The Contest of Champions)

(Second AN: For those confused by the boys' transformation, understand this. If you recall from the previous chapter, their minds and spirits have been plagued by negative emotions for years. But after their trip into the mindscape; they've achieved the perfect balance of mind, body and spirit.

To symbolize this, I thought it would be cool to give each of the boys a sort of upgrade to their usual looks. For example, Beast Boy's is based off his time skip look from the animated series Young Justice: Outsiders. I thought the look would perfectly embody a mix of maturity with the right sprinkle of Gar's original self, as represented by his "some of my best friends are hairless monkeys" joke towards Mandarin.

For Danny, I got the idea from a DeviantArt image I found while searching for costume ideas for him. Some might see his new look here as something similar to Dan Phantom's costume...except he doesn't have a cape. I wish I could remember the artist that did the picture...but sadly, I can't.

As for Steven's, his new look took some research; as did the look for Paragon's appearance...but I'll talk about that later. For Steven, I felt his blue shirt represented that he still held onto his child-like innocence while doing his best to behave maturely. Thus, I chose that for his reformation look; along with the long poofy/curly hair and the star shield)

(Third AN: Speaking of new looks, in terms of Steven and the Diamonds; fans have long wanted to see/read about the Diamonds getting poofed, getting new forms and/or fusing with Steven. For this chapter, I've decided to give all three to my readers. For Yellow's look, I wanted to give her something near similar to what Sardonyx's form had while still making her look classy/professional.

With White, I decided to give her a tiny splash of color; both in her clothes and on her face. The blush she has is not like that which we saw on Change Your Mind, however. Rather, I wanted to give her the kind of rosy cheeks that some characters and figures had...like Pikachu or Santa.

Finally, there's Blue's look; which I took a great deal of time to think. Some feel her reformation look should be something similar to what her mural had. But seeing as how I couldn't quite think of a way to describe how that would look, I went with a different angle.

Personally speaking, I felt her having a sort of...Jessica Rabbit look seemed more akin to her new personality; calm, gentle and yet still quite elegant. I also went with the long speculated idea of inverting Blue's bags above her eyes and giving her a sort of eye shadow. I hope it will all make sense to you, when you all read this.

Finally, there's Paragon; the long-time fan speculated fusion of Steven and the Diamonds. This took the greatest amount of thought and care to do, to say the least. For their appearance, I got the inspiration for it from a DeviantArt picture made by someone named Theetis.

Meanwhile; for her speaking voice, I imagined Paragon sounding a bit like Obsidian *where they spoke in all four of the characters' voices at once.* Finally, while it's never been confirmed that any of the other Diamonds had weapons; many fans like me thought it would still be a possibility. White's scepter and Yellow's sword are both my own ideas, whereas I became inspired to give Blue a scythe from two sources; one being a DeviantArt pic made by SfCabanas15 and the other source is a pic from a sort of...SU/Ben 10 crossover wiki page.

I figured a scythe would be an appealing weapon for someone like Blue. But if you feel otherwise, let me know in your reviews or message me)

(Final AN: If any of you feel that the boys may have been a touch...OP/Over-Powered during their battle against their enemies. Understand that after they achieved true spiritual balance within the mindscape, the boys' also achieved an equal balance with their powers; thus making them a touch stronger than they were before. On top of that, each of them mixed things around and did battle with enemies who hadn't faced the likes of them before *such as Beast Boy Vs. Wyrd Paynn.*

As such, the outcomes would've come out a little differently than in their usual bouts. But I'll leave you to be the judge of that)