Outside the train station on Main Street USA, two figures eagerly ran down the street towards Disney Castle at the end. The one leading the way was a young adult hyena with purple highlights in her mane, a beaded necklace that shone with various animal carvings, and a blue butterfly that perched behind her ear. "Come Gabriel! Your friends are waiting!" Jasiri called.
"I'm coming, Jasiri!" Gabriel laughed, chasing after his girlfriend. Gabriel, aka The Dream Keeper, was a Pied Raven with black and white feathers, wearing a floral grey Hawaiian shirt over a white T-shirt, tan cargo shorts, a purple dragon necklace, and a pair of blue headphones styled like the Sorcerer's Hat.
Gabriel and Jasiri have been on many adventures together, from hosting at the House of Mouse, fighting in the Sorcerer's Arena, battling the villainous Hex, and racing in the Magical World Grand Prix. Recently, Gabriel finished training some of his friends, who were called the Dream Defenders, out in the far-off Mirrorverse. For the raven, it was great to finally be back home in the Magical World after being away for so long.
"Look who it is!" called a voice, sweeping Gabriel off his feet. Looking up, the raven smiled to see a familiar eastern dragon carrying him through the air. "What's my favorite bird with a passion for music doing?"
"Great to see you too, Sisu," Gabriel said.
"Hey, put the kid down so we can all greet him!" a voice from the ground called.
Sisu did as she was told, and soon Gabriel and Jasiri were all surrounded by their group, Team Dream Keepers. Besides Sisu, the other members were: Lena de Spell Or Saberwing, if you preferred), niece of Magica de Spell and "daughter" of Poe de Spell; Brooklyn, the fierce gargoyle warrior and Second of Wyvern Clan; Kairi, a Princess of Heart and wielder of the Keyblade; Rocket Raccoon (though he's technically not a raccoon!), Guardian of the Galaxy and a fan of blowing stuff up; and Lop, a Lepi (space rabbit) girl from the Galaxy Far, Far Away who fights against the Empire with the power of the Force.
Team Dream Keepers all started talking excitedly at once, making Gabriel laugh before holding up his hands. "Woah, woah, woah! Slow down, guys! I can only take so much at once. Why don't you each tell me what's been going on since I was gone?"
"Me first," Rocket said. "I'm gearing up for a Christmas vacation with the Guardians, whatever that means. It was Quill's idea, okay? After that we've got our third movie to prepare for, so it might be awhile before you see me again."
"I'll miss you very much, Rocket-san," Lop said, giving a bow. "As for me, I've been seeking out other Jedi to train with. There's a lot more than I thought there were, so it's been hard to decide when one I want as my master."
"Eh, I've been keeping the Magical World safe alongside Rachel," Lena said with a shrug. "No big deal."
"I'm going to get back to training to become a Keyblade Master," Kairi said. "So you might not see a lot of me either. I'll be sure to stay in touch though! And Gabriel, Merlin said he has a surprise for you, so be sure to stop by his house sometime, okay?"
"Can do," Gabriel nodded. He looked over at Brooklyn and noticed that the gargoyle was wearing his battle armor. "Huh, is there a reason you're all armored up, Brooklyn."
The gargoyle grinned. "If you didn't hear, Gargoyles is coming back as a new comic series. I thought that if my counterpart is going to be getting new adventures, I should train myself up as well."
"Wait, there's two versions of yourself?" Sisu questioned. "Is this like all the spider people running around? I've met at least three Peters by now."
"I can explain!" Gabriel said. "You see, Gargoyles has two distinct timelines: one that goes into the third season titled "The Goliath Chronicles", which was without he original series creator, and one that ignores Season 3 and follows the comics instead, which was done by the original creator. The Brooklyn that we know is from the Goliath Chronicles timeline."
"The other me went on a big time travelling adventure and came back stronger, wiser, and with a wife and kids," Brooklyn explained. "He's pretty cool, but he likes to stay in the comic book world alongside his clan rather than live here in the Magical World, so that's why you don't see two of me running around."
"Isn't Staghart from the comics though?" Jasiri asked. "We've met him before, back during all the Hex stuff."
"That Staghart is from my timeline," Brooklyn clarified. "That's why he can date Silver, while in the comics him and Lexington are an item."
"Man, all this talk of timelines is going to make my head spin," Kairi said.
"We should all watch "Loki" and "What If" sometime, that'll explain how timelines and alternate universes work pretty well," Gabriel said. The raven looked around at his friends, then brought a hand to his chin with a hum. "You know, now that we're all together, I don't know what I want to do. Rocket, Kairi, and Lop all have their own things going on, and with the Co-Dream Keepers helping to keep the peace around the Magical World, there's nothing that comes to mind!"
"Didn't you make a promise to someone in the past that you'd hang out with them?" Jasiri asked. "I remember you saying something about that."
Gabriel gasped. "Of course! I told Bluey that I would have a playdate with her back during the Magical World Grand Prix! I almost forgot about that."
"Sounds like there is something for us to do then," Lena said. "You, me, Jasiri, Brooklyn, and Sisu can all have fun with Bluey and her sister, while Rocket, Kairi, and Lop go on their own journeys."
Gabriel gave a sad smile to his three friends that would be departing. "I'm going to miss you guys!" he said, pulling the three of them into a hug.
"I'll make sure to stay in touch," Kairi said.
"You'll always have me in your heart, Gabriel-san," Lop added.
"I'm not much for affection… But yeah, I'll miss you to, kid," Rocket admitted.
The raven let go of the three, watching them leave before turning to his other friends. "So, the five of us, huh? That's a good size for a team. Well then, Team Dream Keepers, we're off to the Outback for a new adventure!"
"Yeah!" the Dream Keepers cheered.
"Hooray!" Bluey and Bingo cheered as well.
Gabriel did a double take, looking down to see the two Heeler girls standing there. "Wait, Bluey and Bingo!? What are you two doing here?"
"We're on an adventure!" Bluey said.
"Do your mom and dad know that you're out here alone?" Jasiri asked.
"We're over here, mate!" Bandit called from a nearby bench, Chili sitting next to him.
"We were so excited to play with you that we came to the Magical World to find you," Bluey explained.
"You're a really good hider," Bingo said. "We looked all over for you."
"I was kinda… out of the country, so to speak," Gabriel said with a laugh. "Anyway, if we're going to play, do have a game in mind?"
Bluey turned to her sister with a grin. "Bingo, we should play Dance Mode! Gabriel can do magic for real life that makes the game even more fun."
"You're a wizard?" Bingo asked the raven.
Gabriel nodded, holding out a hand to let some Fantasia flow out. "Yep. My magic is called Fantasia, which basically lets me control music itself to do almost anything." The spell soon faded quickly in a flicker. "Well, that's how it worked before. When I was away, my powers got all mixed up, so I'm not as strong as I used to be. I'm still the most skilled outside of combat, but when it comes to fighting, I think Rachel and even Logan have me beat there."
"You can still play Dance Mode though, right?" Bluey asked.
"Of course he can," Jasiri replied.
"As long as he's got us by his side, there's nothing he can't do," Sisu nodded.
"Just don't let that power get to his head," Lena said.
"That's why we're here: to humble him," Brooklyn added with a grin.
"If we're going to do Dance Mode, however, I think we need to make it something bigger," Gabriel said. With a snap of his fingers, Fantasia flew out, surrounding his friends and the Heeler girls and lifting them off the ground. The two dogs giggled as they floated around like butterflies. "Let's not just play a game; let's turn this place into a dance party!"
Music soon started to play, with Fantasia filling all of Main Street and calling out for people to come outside and see what was going on. The magic created five floats: a jungle float for Jasiri, a city float for Brooklyn, a magic float for Lena, a river float for Sisu, and a fantasy float for Bluey and Bingo.
"Do you want to join in, Mr. and Mrs. Heeler?" Gabriel asked.
"Ah, you kids can have fun," Bandit said.
Gabriel smiled, landing in the middle of the floats and conducting the music as his friends started to sing.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Time to Party Up!
The citizens of the Magic Kingdom gathered around the floats, watching with interest as to what this celebration was to be.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Yeah let's Party Up!
"Hey everybody!" Gabriel called out. "The Dream Keeper proudly presents: our Move It, Shake It, Dance, and Play It Street Party! So, let's Party Up!" With a spin, the raven let Fantasia move to the floats, his friends feeling the music as they started to dance along.
Let's get loud
And dance through the crowd
We'll throw it all down
Get up, get up
Party people
Jasiri did some African style moves, smiling as she went around her float.
Fists are bumping
Music is pumping
We're gonna jump
Feel it, feel it
Come together
Brooklyn did some rock star moves, the gargoyle not much of a dancer but still finding his own groove to entertain the crowd.
We're going, you're coming
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Get ready
it's coming, we're going
Cause it's time to
Lena did contemporary dance moves, adding in some of her magic to float in the air and do more elaborate steps.
Go crazy, so crazy
And you know
That there's no party without you…
Sisu transformed into her human disguise to dance, doing traditional East Asian moves mixed with Kung Fu poses she learned from her friend Raya.
So Party Up! Let's Party Up!
Celebrate with us!
We'll raise it up
To the endless sky!
As the chorus picked up, Gabriel held out a hand to Jasiri and Brooklyn. The hyena queen used her magic necklace to create spectral animals that pranced through the air, while Brooklyn used his kinetic gauntlets to turn his dance into a fiery spectacle.
So Party Up! Let's Party Up!
Celebrate it all!
Turn it up
Raise your hands so high!
Gabriel then held a hand out to Lena and Sisu. The teen duck transformed into her Super Sorceress form and created illusions to float through the crowd, while Sisu used her Dragon Gem that mixed with the magic to create a colorful rainfall as they all danced.
And we say:
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Time to Party Up!
Gabriel smiled, Fantasia shining brightly as ribbons of blue, pink, and green swirled around him, before they all converged into a purple ribbon that burst into sparkled above him.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Yeah let's Party Up!
"Gabriel!" four voices shouted, and soon the raven was tackled by four humans. The first was a girl with a sword strapped to her side, the second was a young man with a red baseball cap, the third was a boy in fancy clothes, and the last was a young man with cybernetic parts.
"Rachel, Logan, Silver, Adam!" Gabriel greeted.
"Why didn't you tell us you were back!?" Silver asked.
"Melanie and I just heard about it because we ran into Toren during our trip through Pandora," Adam said. "You made him a Co-Dream Keeper or something?"
"I'm so glad you're here. The Magical World's not the same without someone to spar against," Rachel said.
"I've been doing fine!" Logan said proudly. "In fact, I've been doing so well that you could give me a whole spin-off story to cover it!" He was then playfully wacked on the back of the head by Rachel. "Right, I'll stop boasting now."
"Sorry for not saying anything. I just wanted to get back in the groove of things, and a surprise street party is just what I needed," Gabriel said. "Come on, why don't you guys join in?"
The four nodded, spreading out through the crowd to join in the party.
This place rocks
It's out of the box
The rhythm is hot
Shake it, shake it
When you hear it
Adam did some robot dance moves, before being suddenly surprised by his partner, Melanie Ravenswood aka the ghost bride of Phantom Manor.
Feel those beats
The groove is so sweet
We'll turn up the heat
Dancing, dancing
On forever
Silver did traditional ballroom dancing, leading others to follow his steps as he smiled widely. The Disney Princesses soon arrived at the party and joined in with him.
We're going, you're coming
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Get ready
it's coming, we're going
Cause it's time to
Logan did a mix of fighting moves and contemporary dance, with his partner, Destiny the whale shark, using her magic to take a human form and dance with him.
Go crazy, so crazy
And you know
That there's no party without you…
Rachel felt a hand tap her shoulder and turned around to see Poe de Spell holding out a hand to her. She gave a nod before the two started to waltz together.
So Party Up! (Woah!) Let's Party Up! (Yeah!)
Celebrate with us!
We'll raise it up (Oh-Oh!)
To the endless sky! (Woah!)
As more people joined in, the music rose in volume. Characters from all walks of life, from Disney to Pixar, Marvel to Star Wars, Muppets to Simpsons; everyone was having a ball.
So Party Up! (Woah!) Let's Party Up! (Yeah!)
Celebrate it all!
Turn it up (Oh-Oh!)
Raise your hands so high!
Gabriel used some magic to leap up to Bluey and Bingo's float, landing between the two as he conducted the music around them. The two sisters also did their own dance moves, which the raven followed along with.
And we say:
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Time to Party Up!
The Dream Defenders were all enjoying their time at the party, and soon the Co-Dream Keepers arrived as well: Toren the Jaquin, Double D the crow, Aline with her cat companions, and Beth alongside her twin brother Brian.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh
High-Oh, High-Oh
Yeah let's Party Up!
"Let's show them what you can do!" Gabriel exclaimed, letting Bluey and Bingo take the lead of their dance as all eyes were on them.
Now we're here and loud! (Now we're hear and loud!)
Hardest all around! (Hardest all around!)
Yeah we've hit the spot! (Yeah we've hit the spot!)
Give it all we've got!
So Party Up!
With a flourish Gabriel conjured up a trumpet, playing ut masterfully as Bluey and Bingo danced around him. "Whoo!" Bluey cheered.
Ready to move through all the beats!
Ready to dance out in the streets!
Ready taste the words to sweet!
Come on along!
Come on along!
Everyone made room as Mickey and his friends finally arrived, waving to the crowd as they joined in on the party.
Ready to jump with everyone!
Ready to live and have some fun!
Ready to feel what's just begun!
I've got it, you've got it
We've got it, oh yeah!
Mickey and Gabriel shared a nod, and soon the two of them were conducting the music together, Fantasia combining into pure Harmony.
So Party Up! (Woah!) Let's Party Up! (Oh!)
Celebrate with us!
We'll raise it up (Oh-Oh!)
To the endless sky!
Gabriel levitated his friends from their floats, bringing them all together so they could dance together.
So Party Up! (Ah-Ah!) Let's Party Up! (Whoo!)
Celebrate it all!
Turn it up (Oh-Oh!)
Raise your hands so high!
Everyone put their hands up, joining in singing as Gabriel and Team Dream Keepers did their own routine together.
And we say:
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh (So Party Up!)
High-Oh, High-Oh
Time to Party Up! (So Party Up!)
"This is amazing!" Bingo cheered.
"Definitely for real life!" Bluey added.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Oh (So Party Up!)
High-Oh, High-Oh
Yeah let's Party Up! (So Party Up!)
With the song reaching its end, Gabriel did a spin, feeling his new power coming out as his necklace shone, letting Fantasia transform into a magic dragon that soared along the ribbons of light above the crowd.
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Woah! (So Party Up!)
High-Oh, High-Oh, Oh-Woah!
So Party Up!
With a final flourish the song ended, Gabriel posing with his arms out like a conductor as Jasiri stood smiling next to him, Brooklyn gave a fierce battle pose, Lena crossed her arms and grinned, while Sisu transformed back into her true form and curled around the group. The Dream Keeper was back in the Magical World, and it was just the start of a new chapter for his adventures.
Author's Note
And we're back! This was just an introduction chapter for Gabriel and his friends for those that haven't read any of my previous Magical World stories or just wanted a refresher on the cast of characters. This story will be more like the original "Living in the Magical World" in the sense that it's more episodic, rather than one overarching narrative. If you have any ideas for adventures the Dream Keeper can go on with his friends, feel free to give your suggestions in a review. I won't promise that I'll get to all of them as I have my own ideas as well, but I will take all of them into consideration for where the story will go next.
Also, a major update on this story: since I don't want to risk getting burnout on this story, there will be times that I take a week off from posting so I can work on other projects. I will let you all know when those happen in the Author's Note, so you will get a head's up about it. On the other hand, I do have a few events planned where you'll be getting more than one chapter a week, so get excited for when I announce those as well! (Hint: this Christmas might bring a few surprises…)
The song that Gabriel and everyone sings is "Party Up!", the main them of the Move It, Shake It, Dance, and Play It Street Party. This was the parade that I went to back in 2017 during my trip to Disney World, and it was so fun! I even got to get up-close pictures with Nick Wilde!
Next Time: Gabriel visits Merlin and finds a very special book...