Author's note: Before this chapter begins, I'd like to ask a question to AvalorianJaquin. I've discussed with alexc1209, and we both think it'd be cool if every member of the Shifter Trio had a god or goddess teacher, in the same vein as Logan and Anubis. So, my question is: which god or goddess would you like Toren to have, and where would you like him to have his god/goddess tattoo? I'd ask you more privately, but since you're a guest, I can't really PM you.
"Catch me if you can!" taunted Toren.
The little Jaquin laughed as he flew above the fighting zone with Logan's headband in his paws. The young man in question, in his little snowy owl form, flew after him, his face fuming red. "Come back here, Toren! Give me back my headband!"
"Say 'please', and maybe I'll do it!"
"... Please?"
"Hmm... Nope!" Toren pulled out his tongue and kept flying away.
Whilst chasing his companion, Logan couldn't help but look down at the fighting zone to see how things were going down. Sunny was currently engaged in a duel with Ahsoka, the wolfess at a serious disadvantage from the fact she could not clash her longsword against her opponent's lightsabers, since they would cut it down. Instead, she launched fire spells that the Togruta deviated with ease. Rachel was still fighting with Eight, the two warriors launching all sorts of spells at each other. Finally, Luisa and Drax were having a wrestling fight, with the Rock of the Madrigal Familia having the clear advantage.
Back to the things at hand, Logan could not catch Toren, no matter how hard he flapped his wings. It was tempting for him to use everything he had learned before coming here and just take him out... Only, they had merely reached 1/4 of the competition, with 30 participants still to come. He could not allow himself to reveal all of his tricks and risk becoming predictable. Plus, going all-out so soon would no doubt get him tired. He had to find another solution.
"Hey, Toren! If you come back and give me my headband, I promise I'll show you something really fun in return!"
Hearing this, the little Jaquin stopped fleeing to rub his chin and think about it. "Okay, but it better not be a trick." He carefully approached Logan. "What's your fun thing?"
"Remember last year's summer? When we spent a whole day playing Toy Story Mania in Toy Story Land?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, why?"
With a grin, Logan returned to the ground with his friend and assumed his human form once more so that he could take out his Magical Sketchbook and draw something. With a flick of magic, he made a ride made of magic appear around the fighting zone. It was Toy Story Mania! "Wanna go play a little, for nostalgia's sake?"
Toren's tail started happily shaking. "Yes! Absolutely yes!" He darted into the tram, taking place next to Logan after giving him his headband back. "You'll see; this time, I'm gonna win the game!"
Logan scoffed in response as he wrapped his headband back around his forehead. "Don't count on it!"
The magic ride turned on, the tram moving all around the fighting zone as Logan and Toren used their spring-action shooters to send magic blasts at the other participants. Rachel and Sunny parried them with their swords, Eight took refuge behind his Dragovian Shield, Ahsoka deviated the shots with her lightsabers, and Luisa and Drax could not actually protect themselves and had to endure the shots.
Before long, the ride came to a stop with the scores in. "Ha! I win again!" Logan beamed, stepping out of the tram before it disappeared.
"Show off," Toren mumbled before flying off.
Unfortunately, Logan did not get the chance to celebrate for long, as Luisa charged into him with a shoulder tackle from the side that felt more like getting hit by a train. He rolled on the floor for many feet before coming to a stop and clutching his side in pain. "Cheese and crackers! Would you stop your fix over me? There are other participants in this match, y'know!"
"None of them have kissed my little sister like you did!" Luisa declared with a glare.
Sighing in annoyance, Logan gave her a serious look. "Listen, I'm really sorry for what I did, Luisa! But I didn't do it on purpose; I drank alcohol for the first time and wasn't thinking straight. I'd never do something like that voluntarily, ask any of my friends!"
Luisa raised an eyebrow. "You kissed Mirabel because you were drunk? That's your excuse?"
Logan remained still for a few seconds...before approaching Luisa...and getting down on his knees, bowing before her. "I'm truly sorry for kissing your sister! How can I make amends for it? I'll do anything, just ask!"
The Rock of the Madrigal Familia looked down at him with a surprised expression. She had not expected the man who kissed her sister without permission to act in such a humble way. Staring alternately at her grandmother and down at Logan, she finally came up with an answer. "You sound genuinely serious about it... Fine, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself. You probably know it, but my super strength and place as the oldest sister of the family both come with a lot of pressure. I could use a break. Your own strength is pretty impressive, so here's the deal: if you can come to my home village and take on my duties for a whole month, then I'll consider forgiving you."
"I accept this deal; it would be my pleasure to make amends... I just have one last thing to say... Golden fireball!" Logan said whilst still bowing down on his knees. Before Luisa could ask what that was supposed to mean, the young man suddenly jumped up with his Quackpot Keyblade, which he used to shoot a golden fireball at Luisa, turning her into a golden coin. "Sorry about this, Luisa," Logan said as he picked up the coin. "But having to deal with your super strength was getting tiresome." He tossed the coin out of the fighting zone.
"Luisa Madrigal has been eliminated!"
"YOU MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER?!" Abuela Madrigal yelled from the audience.
"Calm down, Miss!" Logan yelled back. Still using Quackpot, he shot a silver fireball at the coin, turning it back into Luisa. "I wasn't going to give my words to someone and then stab this person in the back; I'm not a villain."
"Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!" the audience chanted as the counter once again came to an end.
('LoveFuryPassionEnergy' (with modified lyrics) by Boys Hit Car)
As the song began playing, the titantron flashed a white light with every drum hit, briefly showing the glaring face of a wolfess until the song kicked in, showing 'Liquorice Wolf' in a flamboyant, burning purple.
Forget your rules man!
Forget your rules man!
Forget your rules man!
Forget your rules man!
Forget your rules man!
You step up, you'll go down fast!
I've got to release all the
Pain that has made up my past!
Walking out to this hard rock song was a teen anthropomorphic wolfess with dark fur, glowing golden eyes, and purple eyelids. She wore a punk rock chick attire consisting of a black off-shoulders top that left her stomach exposed, ripped jeans pants with a hole for her fluffy tail, and gothic bands on her wrists. Grinning at everyone, she rocked her head hard to the beat, clearly enjoying the song.
So go let your soul dance baby
Time to free yourself at last
Unshackle your life's spirit
Pry away from the past
"Liquorice!" Logan and Sunny beamed at the same time.
Rachel stared alternately at Logan and Liquorice. "You know that wolf teen, too, Logan?"
"Yeah; she, too, helped me rescue Sora from the Virtual World, last summer," Logan confirmed.
"Wait, so there's Sunny, and now, her?" Toren asked. "How many wolves did you befriend during your summer vacation, dude?"
"Including those two, there's a big total of three... Well, four, if you count a guy who has werewolf blood," Logan explained. "I agree that it's kind of a strange coincidence..."
Once she enjoyed her entrance song long enough, Liquorice finally entered the fighting zone, the first participant she met being Drax. "What's that supposed to mean? They really invited a teenager in a battlefield? I thought there was an age limit to be here."
In response, Liquorice crossed her arms and grinned. "So what? They did invite a talking stone, didn't they?"
Drax gave a confused look. "What are you talking about? When did a talking stone get here? First, it was my wrestling partner, Logan, then it was the Sword Mage, then-"
"I was talking about you, you idiot!"
"Huh? But I'm not a talking stone; I'm a Kylosian. You're talking nonsense."
Annoyed by her opponent taking everything word for word, Liquorice tapped into the Force to lift Drax into the air, slam him a few times on the ground, and then toss him away. "I hope the others won't be as dumb and annoying as him." Reaching to her belt, she grabbed her lightsaber, the purple blade of which she turned on and assumed her fighting stance.
"She's Force-sensitive?" Ahsoka asked. "That stance... And the color of that lightsaber...?!" She approached the teenage wolf. "You're the student of Master Windu, right?"
"M-Master Ahsoka Tano?" Liquorice said, widening her eyes in surprise. "The ancient student of Anakin Skywalker in person... I knew there were going to be a lot of strong guys in that place, but I wasn't expecting to meet Jedi legends like you."
"Thanks. But I'm a Jedi no more," Ahsoka politely said. "This place is a place of trial; are you ready to be tested, young one?"
"I'm always ready for everything," Liquorice declared with a confidence that reminded Ahsoka of that of her former master.
The two Force users kicked their duel off by engaging a Force lock that Ahsoka easily won, knocking the young wolfess many feet away, and landing on her back. As soon as she kicked back to her feet, Ahsoka was all over Liquorice, swinging her two lightsabers that the wolfess blocked with hers. She defended herself with her much more aggressive fighting style, whereas Ahsoka jumped everywhere to attack from every possible angle. For all her superior experience, the former Jedi Knight had not expected her new opponent to blast her away with a jet of Force Lightning.
"D-Did she just used Force Lightning?!" Rachel exclaimed in surprise. "I thought only Sith could do that!"
"Not exactly, Rachel. See, Liquorice uses an ancient form of lightsaber combat that requires her to channel Dark Force energy to power up her moves," Logan explained. "It may seem rather dangerous and against everything the Jedi stand for, but it's thanks to this combat form that Mace Windu managed to defeat Chancellor Palpatine in ROTS."
Not wanting to give the Togruta a chance to recover, Liquorice pulled her two hands back and concentrated a lot of Force between them, which she then released into a strong Force push. Ahsoka leaped over it and brought one of her lightsabers down for a vertical slash that Liquorice parried. This didn't last long, however, as Ahsoka then broke through the wolfess' defense, delivering a series of hits and kicks that ended with her on the ground. Growling in anger, Liquorice responded with a ferocious counterattack, though she failed to land a single blow on the more experienced duelist.
"You have a solid mastery on lightsaber combat, young one," Ahsoka complimented. "However, you seem to have forgotten a crucial part of your training: Jedi must not be controlled by anger."
"I'm afraid you're wrong there, Master Tano," Liquorice replied with a somewhat malicious smirk. "My way of dueling isn't led by anger, but by my desire to enjoy the fight and win at any cost! Such is the way I'm supposed to use Vaapad!" She charged Force Lightning into her lightsaber before taking swings at her opponent, once again catching her off-guard. For every strike she blocked, Force Lightning would travel through Ahsoka's lightsabers and right to her body, making her feel the shocking pain of the Dark Side. Once she was stunned, Liquorice crossed her arms around her chest and unleashed a Force explosion (similar to that used by a certain Star Wars video game character) that knocked her far away.
"That girl... She's pushing Ahsoka back... That's pretty impressive...," Rachel analyzed. So amazed by the lightsaber duel, she almost failed to see Eight coming from above and rolled out of the way to avoid a vertical sword slash. "Attacking someone when they're not looking? Not very cool!"
"We're in the middle of an all-out brawl; you must not let your guard down, even for a second!" Eight responded. "Flame Slash!" He went for his fire-elemental attack that Rachel avoided with a graceful moonsault, the two swordsmen exchanging sword strikes. Eventually, Rachel broke through Eight's defense and delivered a strike so powerful that he was sent flying full-speed toward the limit of the fighting zone. An elimination for sure. "Zoom!" Or so they thought. Stopping near the limits, Eight suddenly bounced up in the air and safely landed back in the fighting zone.
"How'd you do that?! I had you eliminated for sure!" Rachel exclaimed in shock.
"Thanks to Zoom, he can stop himself when being shot away and be safely taken back to the zone where the fight is taking place," Logan explained.
"What? So he basically got a free ticket to avoid elimination? That's cheating!" Toren exclaimed in protest.
"Yeah, even in SSBU, it's kind of a broken ability," Logan agreed with rubbing the back of his head. At the same time, the countdown came to its end, announcing the arrival of the 12th participant.
('Who Let the Dogs out?' by Baha Men)
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
This song matched perfectly with the new entrant: a golden retriever wearing a basketball jersey shirt, shoes on his paws, and five rings around his neck, each having a different color. Yup, this dog was none other than Buddy Framm, also known as Air Bud, the wonder dog and master of many different sports.
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who?
Who let the dogs out?
"Buddy!" Toren exclaimed, glad to see his friend and Animilitia partner. This last one happily barked a few times before looking at Logan and running in his direction.
"Aww, the little puppy wants a hug! Come here, pal," Logan cooed, kneeling down to receive the little dog. Buddy's blue ring glowed just before he charged into Logan, knocking him many feet away. "Ouch! What the cheese?! That hit as hard as Drax!"
Toren approached Buddy and analyzed the rings around his neck. "Hey, those are the Rings of Inspiron, from Super Buddies!" he recognized them. "You took them from your kids before the competition? Good idea." Buddy affectionately nuzzled the side of the Jaquin's face in response.
"Those two seem to have special powers, too. Even then, they are still kids, so I should go easy on them," Sunny mumbled to herself. Suddenly, she received a baseball ball in the back of the head, making her comically growl. "Hey!"
"Kids?! We're not kids; I entered adolescence, and this guy's got five kids!" Toren exclaimed, his head growing in a funny way. "Come on, Buddy; let's show those guys if we are kids or not!"
Having changed her mind, Sunny charged a fireball with her paw and tossed it at the two four-legged animals. Buddy made his orange ring glow to stop the fireball midair and then send it back to its owner. With the wolfess knocked away, Liquorice took the tag by jumping up and swinging her lightsaber at the two animals, forcing them to escape. Toren pulled an anvil out of nowhere and tried to drop it on her. She rolled out of the way and used the Force to bring the little Jaquin to her, catching him by the head.
"Let me go!" Toren yelled, futilely swinging his paws to try and reach the wolfess.
Liquorice just stared at the little Jaquin before looking away and blushing. "Why did I have to end up facing such an adorable opponent?" Before she could do anything, a pink dash passed by and hit her, making her lose her grip on Toren. As she shook her head, that pink dash re-passed multiple times, hitting her over and over again, before stopping next to Toren, and turning into Buddy. "What?! He has super speed, too?!"
"Yup, this super dog not only is an expert in all sorts of sports, but he's also a five-in-one package!" Toren boasted. Liquorice rose her paws and launched Force Lightning at the two friends, but Buddy stretched his body like plastic to block the attack. "Sorry, but looks like Force or not, lightning just cannot pierce through plastic!"
"Okay, is it me, or is this dog super OP?" Logan asked.
Drax tried to charge into the two animal friends, only for Buddy to wrap his plastic body around Drax's, immobilizing him. He took control of his fist, and forced him to punch himself in the face. "Dude, what are you doing? Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" Toren mocked. Many laughs were rising up in the arena.
Whilst nobody was paying attention to her, Rachel took out Broken Sword and grinned. "There's enough people in the fighting zone; I think this is a great opportunity to try my very first summon!" She held Broken Sword forward, making little glowing balls of different colors come to her as she conjured a summon. "Anger of the Land! Come to me, Titan!"
The ground shook, and a huge bump slowly rose from underneath before bursting and revealing what looked like a giant caveman with white hair and eyes. This giant roared at all the other participants, most of them looking shocked...whereas Logan simply looked confused. "... Rachel, what the cheese is that?"
"Well, you said that the Broken Sword could be equipped with Materia that would allow me to use summons. I always wondered what it was like, so I went to buy myself a Summon Materia for the Rumble!" Rachel explained with a smile.
"And, of all the summons you could've picked, you chose Titan?"
"Yes, why?"
"Rachel, Titan's like the weakest of all the summons from Final Fantasy VII!" Logan exclaimed, Eight nodding in agreement. "His attacks can easily be outclassed and can't touch flying enemies! You should've gone for another summon, like Shiva or Bahamut!"
Rachel curiously blinked her eyes, staring alternately at her summon and Logan. "How did you want me to know? I'm not familiar with summons like you are! Anyway, squash them all, Titan!"
Pushing a loud roar, Titan planted his hands in the ground and pulled up a piece of it that he flipped around like a wood board, forcing the other participants to either run, jump or fly out of the way. Not intimated by this impressive feat of strength, Logan stepped forward with a glare.
"The best way to beat a spirit is to use another spirit, from what I learned playing Final Fantasy X!" Logan mumbled to himself. He pressed his fists together, his Anubis Khopesh and tattoo starting to glow. With a flash of golden light, Logan turned into an anthropomorphic jackal with tan fur and golden eyes, his clothes remaining the same. Green fire emanated from his body. "Power of the Jackal, Underdog X!"
Titan attempted to smack Logan, now in his Underdog X form, down with his hand, only for the jackal to avoid it with tremendous speed. Pulling his two paws back, Logan charged and slammed his green fire-charged fists into Titan's abdomen, knocking him to the ground, and making him disappear.
"I-I didn't know you could still use that form," Rachel stated in surprise, looking impressed.
"Yes, thanks to becoming Anubis' official student, I now have access to many techniques exclusive to Anubis himself. This includes the very same form that allowed Destiny and I to defeat Baymax and Stitch when under Hex's control," Logan confirmed, looking at his jackal body. "Only, I've been training with him for just a few months, so I can't use his power as much as I want. Wanna go at it while I can maintain this form?"
Rachel smirked and brought Maleficent's Bane back. "It would be my pleasure!" As the two friends engaged in combat once more, the timer came to an end, announcing the arrival of the next entrant.
('Try Everything' by Shakira/Gazelle)
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hopping through the entrance gate with energy was none other than the very first bunny officer of the Zootopia Police Department, Judy Hopps herself! She received a warm welcome from the audience as she kindly waved to everyone. "That's my partner in crime and also my girlfriend!" Nick beamed from the stands. "Break a leg, Carrots!"
I messed up tonight
I lost another fight
Lost to myself, but I'll just start again
I keep falling down
I keep on hitting the ground
But I always get up now to see what's next
Once she felt hot enough, Judy hopped into the fighting zone, the first participant to come across her being Drax. "Hmm, you look like some animals that we liked to cook on my planet. I wonder if you taste as good."
This remark caused Judy to frown in disgust. "Sorry, but as a police officer of Zootopia, I can't stand for any form of animal consuming!" With Drax trying to catch her, Judy swiftly escaped his grip and mostly delivered kicks to the Guardian of the Galaxy's legs, trying to make him stumble over. Eventually, the alien managed to land a knee strike into her stomach, halting her momentum, and lifting him up on his shoulder to carry her over to the fighting zone's limit.
However, the bunny wasn't about to get eliminated so easily and managed to break free, bouncing off Drax's shoulder. As he ran at her once more, Judy dropkicked his leg to make him fall down on his knees and then delivered another dropkick to his face with her powerful legs, making his jaw crack a bit.
"Boom!" the officer beamed. She kept dropkicking the Destroyer, trying to get him over the fighting zone's limit. As she was about to succeed, Drax caught her with a Spinebuster, easily slamming her down on the ground. With the wind knocked out of her body, Drax grabbed Judy and attempted to toss her out once more, but she held onto his arm and bounced everywhere on him.
Once she got back on the ground, Drax began swinging his arms at the bunny officer, who ducked and bounced over his attacks, eventually remembering her training at the Zootopia Police Academy by dropkicking Drax's arm to send his own fist right into his face. She concluded this combo by taking out her taser and stunning the Destroyer with it.
"Sorry, but you're not gonna eat anybunny today!" Judy declared with confidence as she pulled her taser back to her belt and grinned.
At this moment, Buddy noticed Judy and happily barked, wanting to catch the bunny. He charged and leaped for his prey, who saw him coming and ducked just at the right time. Assuming back control, she placed one foot behind Buddy's heel and then took control of his waist for a waistlock takedown. The canine athlete squirmed a lot, but it wasn't easy to take off a police officer who had been trained to restrain animals bigger than him (and anthropomorphic ones at that!). Instead of fighting her off, he decided to activate his pink ring and turn into a pink dash running across the fighting zone. Even then, Judy did not let go of him.
Judy decided to change tactics and waited for Buddy to stop running before spreading her legs for stability, and encircling her opponent's head with one arm whilst holding the other arm close to her chest, effectively turning it into a scarf hold. Deciding not to be too cruel and slowly choke Buddy out, Judy took her taser once more and got ready to stun him. "Sorry; it will be quick." She planted her defense tool into Buddy...but nothing happened. Why's that? And why was his gray collar ring glowing?
"I'm the one who's sorry, but plastic is immune to electricity!" Toren called with a grin.
Indeed, Buddy turned his body into plastic and used it to slip out of Judy's grip. He then activated his blue ring and kicked Judy away with his back paws, his super strength knocking her many feet away. Recovering from the hit, she spat off before getting up and glaring at the barking dog. This little canine had a whole package of superpowers, huh? For most police officers of Zootopia, this would have been the red flag they had picked the wrong fight.
For Judy Hopps, there was no such thing as a bad fight...
Rachel hit the ground with a violent impact. Groaning in pain whilst clutching her burning shoulder, she looked up at Logan approaching her, still in his Underdog X form. "... You know, I think this is the first time you've been mishandling me like this, Logan," she remarked with a chuckle.
"It sure does help to have the powers of a god." Logan's body flashed with a golden light, and he found himself back in his human form once again. "Unfortunately, I can't stay like this for long, as I said. But that doesn't mean we can't keep testing my other Anubis powers!" He grabbed his Anubis Khopesh and got ready to keep the duel going on.
Before they resumed their fight, Rachel noticed Ahsoka still locked in a lightsaber duel with Liquorice. "Say, where exactly did you meet this young Padawan, Logan?"
"Believe it or not, but Ezra and I rescued her from a CIS outpost by going full commando with the Chuck Norris of the Star Wars universe, Kyle Katarn."
"Kyle Katarn? Who's that?"
"A character from the video games, you probably don't know him. But to give you an idea of how awesome he is, in the games, he was the second-in-command to Luke Skywalker and his New Jedi Order, just like you are to Gabriel and the Dream Defenders."
"Really? Sounds like a cool guy; I should meet him one of these days!"
Whilst the two Dream Defenders were having fun with each other, the arena's timer reached zero, announcing the arrival of the next participant.
('Phenomenal' by CFO$)
As the song began playing, a wall of brick was shown on the titantron. This wall exploded at the same time the song arrived at the explosion sound, the bricks scattering everywhere. Then, all these bricks transformed into dark blue, yellow and green lights that came together to form the name: 'RDJ'.
No, they don't want none
No, they don't want none
They looking scared no they don't really want none...
We some southern boys
With the farmer strength
Ain't nobody man enough to feel the pain
The entrance gates opened to release a middle-aged man with dark brown skin wearing an orange cowboy hat that had the Brazilian flag on the front and a set of ropes to prevent it from falling off. He stood near the entrance with his cowboy hat hiding his face as the song kept playing.
And you could be next
You better give respect
Cause ain't nobody breaking this redneck
Just as the best part came in, he rose his cowboy hat to reveal his face and reached into the pocket of his cargo pants to grab a lollipop that he pulled into his mouth and then advanced toward the fighting zone with a serious look.
No, they don't want none
No, they don't want none
No, they don't want none
No, they don't want none
"Who's this cowboy?" someone in the audience asked.
"He's pretty handsome!" a woman in the audience remarked. In fact, pretty much every girl and woman in the audience found the new entrant to be quite handsome.
Force pushing Eight away, Ahsoka turned her head to see who was arriving. "It's RDJ, the Brazilian Bomber."
"You know him, Ahsoka?" Rachel interrogated.
"Not personally; only by reputation. He's known as one of the most efficient bounty hunters in Hollywood Studios," Ahsoka explained.
"They actually invited a bounty hunter to take part in this competition?" Rachel said with a scoff.
Logan nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Hum, Rachel? Remember that I said I was in debt to my friend because she had to pay 20,000$ for a bounty hunter to help us rescue Sora? Well... It's him."
"... What?!" Rachel exclaimed in surprise. "It's this guy? Well, I hope he's good for such a price."
RDJ arrived into the fighting zone and looked all around. "Things look spicy in here..." He twirled the lollipop in his mouth. "So? Who wants to break the ice first?"
"I do!" Eight declared as he approached the bounty hunter with his sword and shield raised. "Hope you fight with something other than swords; we're beginning to have too many of them around here!"
"Don't worry, kid; my domain of expertise lays somewhere else. Backup Weapon: Dual Vipers!" Reaching his hands to both side, RDJ summoned sigils of green magic from where two guns dropped. A pair of dual pistols that were brown, black and gold in color. He wasted no time in engaging the fight by running whilst shooting a high rate of magic blasts at Eight with his two pistols.
The young hero blocked the shots with his shield whilst running after the bounty hunter, swinging his sword at him when he got close enough. Understanding he wasn't gonna win like this, RDJ rolled away and then pulled his two pistols together to form a new, bigger pistol that he had to hold with both hands. With this new weapon, he shot slower, but more powerful magic blasts that actually knocked Eight off balance and hit him hard enough to send him to the ground.
"H-How'd you do that?!" Eight asked whilst on the ground.
RDJ took out his lollipop whilst showing his pistol. "A good bounty hunter must always have a good trick up his sleeve."
Eight groaned with a glare. "I'm not gonna lose against you and your ridiculous hat!"
"You think MY hat looks ridiculous? Have you seen the weird diaper wrapped around your head, kid?" RDJ mocked, causing some laughs to rise in the audience.
"HEY! THIS BANDANA IS PART OF WHO I AM! SNOOZE!" Eight bellowed, shooting his spell at the insulting cowboy. This last one avoided the spell with ease and delivered a combo of kicks and punches to the young hero before taking him down with a roundhouse kick.
"Watch and learn how the adults do it, kid," RDJ advised with a grin.
"What magic powers does this guy have, Logan?" Rachel asked her friend. "I have a feeling it has something to do with these pistols he summoned."
"Yeah, he has something called 'Gun Magic'. Basically, he can stock up firearms in an alternate dimension only he can access and use these weapons with his magic energy," Logan explained.
Drax approached the two friends and said: "This young man reminds me of Quill; he, too, fights with two identical pistols and carries himself with an overconfident demeanor. I just hope he doesn't dance as well."
RDJ turned his head in their direction with a slightly annoyed expression. "I heard that, pumpkin. I don't mind you comparing me to the legendary Star-Lord, but please, only the positive aspects; no insults." Pulling the Dual Vipers back into the green sigil, he took the lollipop out of his mouth and twirled it between his fingers. "For your comment, I must tell you that I know my way around a lot more than just dual pistols. Wanna see it?"
"Yes! Show me your worth as a warrior, bounty hunter!" Drax declared, brandishing his two knives, and charging at RDJ.
"Drax, wait!"
Far from looking intimidated, RDJ seemed ready to welcome his opponent. "Primary Weapon: AK-D1!" Out of his magic sigil came a fully automatic assault rifle modelled after the AK-47 Kalashnikov Rifle. He wasted no time in unleashing a barrage of magic blasts that Drax ran straight into. They didn't pierce his skin or anything, but they were painful and pulling him back. Unfortunately, for its high fire rate and good firepower, RDJ's weapon had the drawback and emptying itself very quickly, forcing him to reload often. With Drax drawing closer, he understood it was time to change tactics.
"Primary Weapon: D-3 Trilogy!" After pulling away his assault riffle, the Brazilian Bomber summoned a dark blue and white shotgun with 'D-3 Elite' written in orange on both sides. Drax attempted to pounce on him, only for RDJ to expertly duck and aim at him with his weapon. "You're strong and resilient, but no intelligent enough! Otherwise, you'd have seen that we are near the edge of the zone!" Before Drax could react, RDJ blasted him outside the fighting zone with his shotgun.
"Drax The Destroyer has been eliminated!"
"I think I may have cracked the stone, here," RDJ mused to himself.
"There goes my wrestling partner," Logan sadly remarked.
Rachel stepped forward. "Hey, bounty hunter! My friend, here, claims that you've helped him to rescue Sora, this summer! Is it true?"
RDJ turned to look at them. "Hey, it's young Logan I see here. Long time no see, partner!" he exclaimed, to which Logan waved at him with a smile. "You're a friend of his? Strange; Logan never told me he was friends with pretty ladies carrying swords around."
This compliment caused Rachel to blush slightly. "Is it me, or is this guy kinda like Irvine from the Weapon Wonderland shop?" she asked Logan, who nodded in agreement. She crossed her arms at RDJ. "I didn't know bounty hunters accepted to behave in such an altruistic manner now."
RDJ shrugged at this, playing around with his shotgun. "We, bounty hunters, can be heroic, too, when we want... Of course, I didn't accept to help for free. Have you paid that young princess back already, Logan?"
"... Not exactly," Logan admitted, blushing nervously. "True to be told, I've been accumulating many debts lately..."
"You do know there's no money to be won here, right?" Rachel remarked. "The only things you stand to win are a title belt and bragging rights."
"I know, but there's not just money that interests me. Respect and renown are also elements to take into consideration in the middle where I work," RDJ explained. "It's a sure thing that I will receive more contracts and job offers if I make a good impression here. Things have already gone better than before for my business since your friend has made me an honorary Dream Defender."
"He did what?!" Rachel exclaimed in shock, looking at a nervous Logan.
"Oh? Didn't he tell you? As a reward for helping him rescue his friend, he gave all of those who were part of his team the title of honorary Dream Defender," RDJ said, showing the card that Logan gave him as proof. Sunny and Liquorice also showed theirs to back him up.
"You recruited new guys into our group without asking us first, Logan?!" Toren asked as he flew close to his friends.
"I didn't recruit anybody; I simply gave them the honorary title so that they could help us on our missions when need be. They did prove their worth to me when we saved Sora, but I knew I needed to wait for Gabriel's return so that the whole team could decide whether they deserve to be fully-fledged members or not," Logan explained.
"Hmm... Sounds right to me," Rachel agreed. She turned to RDJ and brandished Maleficent's Bane. "Very well, this competition is now also a test for you and all your former partners, RDJ! Are you ready to have a little sword vs gun duel to prove your worth as a Dream Defender?"
"Heh, it's your funeral," the Brazilian Bomber replied with charging his D-3 Trilogy shotgun.
Time for talking was over, and Rachel charged at RDJ, deviating his magic blasts with her sword as she did so. If this guy's specialty was long range combat, then all Rachel had to do was to get close enough to strike him down with her sword and take him out. This should be relatively easy as there was nowhere for the bounty hunter to take cover.
At least, that's what she thought. "Gadget: Jetpack!" Summoning the flying device out of his magic sigil, RDJ took off to the air Boba Fett style, shooting at Rachel from a safe distance.
"Hey! No fair! Stop cheating and fight by the rules!" Toren protested from the sidelines.
"Everybody has their own rule, pal! In my middle, you don't survive by playing fair, but by playing smart!" RDJ responded before resuming shooting at the Sword Mage, whilst she fought back by sending elemental spells that he dodged. Logan watched their duel unfold before turning his head and seeing the countdown reaching its end.
('Sora' from Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX)
Having played Kingdom Hearts 2 for god knows how many times, Logan froze on the spot and turned his attention to the entrance gate. The song played on and on...but nobody came out. "HEY! OVER HERE!" Everybody in the arena looked up to see a figure standing on top of the arena's wall. Bathing in the sunlight, this figure grinned with confidence. "HERE I COME!"
The figure jumped from the top of the arena and glided all the way down into the fighting zone, landing with style. A young man with spiky brown hair coat in black, gray, white and red clothes. The whole place instantly recognized him. "S-Sora?!" Eight exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, It's Eight!" Sora beamed, looking at the young fantasy hero with a smile. "We haven't met for a long time, did we? Are you still competing in smash battles? I hope Mario and the others are doing great!" He then noticed a detail. "Wait, you don't look at the top of your game. Have you been here for a long time?"
"Yeah; I entered in sixth position, so I've been here for almost half an hour now," Eight explained with rubbing the back of his head. "But don't worry; I still got plenty of energy left in the tank!"
"Glad to hear it!" Sora beamed. His attention then turned to the student of his best friend. "Logan, you're here! So you did choose to participate after all!"
"Yeah... I did...," Logan confirmed, his stare still focused on the Keyblade Hero.
"That's awesome; I'm really impressed that you're still in the competition even after entering first!" Sora praised. "I was hoping we'd get to meet before any of us could get eliminated. Now, let's see..." He analyzed the fighting zone. "Is that Ahsoka Tano? And there's also Rachel The Sword Mage! I can even see some of your friends who helped rescue me!" He slammed a fist in his hand. "Wanna team up to show them what us Keyblade Wielders can do, Logan?"
The young man did not respond right away, instead remaining silent with a serious look. "... I'm sorry, Sora, but I can't accept. There's something you need to know; before coming here, I've made up my mind on something very important."
"Really? What is it?" Sora asked.
Logan gave him an almost piercing glare. "I've come here with the intention not to make a good impression nor to reach the final moments of this competition...but to win it entirely! In order to do that, I have to go through every single participant in this match, including you!" Not looking away from Sora, he pointed at the entrance gate. "I don't care who's gonna come through this entrance next - I don't care if it's Thanos, I don't care if it's Luke Skywalker, I don't even care if it's Mickey Mouse or Master Yen Sid; I will defeat each and every one of them to leave this place as the winner!"
"YAAAAY!" Della cheered from the audience.
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Rachel thought with a grin.
RDJ took the lollipop out of his mouth and twirled it. "That's quite the statement you make here, partner."
"His eyes... They are burning with such an intense flame... There's not a single inch of doubt behind his claims," Sunny analyzed almost with admiration.
Sora stared at Logan for many seconds...before grinning and throwing a fist in the air. "Alright, now you're talking! It's true; in this competition, it's every man for himself. So let's just face up and hope that one of us wins, okay?" He reached his hand forward and summoned the Ultima Weapon Keyblade (from Kingdom Hearts 3).
"T-The Ultima Weapon?!" Logan exclaimed in shock.
"Yes. The best heroes of the Magical World are all here, so I decided to not hold back on anything and take my best equipment with me," the Keyblade Hero confirmed with a grin.
"Okay, if it's a Keyblade duel that you want, then you'll get it!" Logan summoned his Fenrir Keyblade and assumed his fighting stance. "Here I come!"
Logan charged at full speed and swung Fenrir straight into the blade of Ultima Weapon, a loud CLANG! echoing across the arena. Not stopping, the owl unleashed a blazing storm of swings that Sora blocked by using his Guard ability. Once it came to an end, the two of them smacked their weapons against one another at the same time, a shockwave created from the collision of both Keyblade Wielders' will.
They both jumped back and pushed the same exclamation simultaneously: "FIRE!" They each launched a fire spell that collided and created a small fire explosion. This time, Sora was the one to get on the offensive, pushing Logan back with precise and powerful strikes that testified his many years of experience as a Keyblade Wielder. However, Logan also had a few tricks of his own: he ducked a swing and caught Sora with the Rock Bottom wrestling move, slamming his teacher's friend hard on the ground.
"And that's the bottom line, because the Owl says so!" Logan declared, chuckling a bit at his not-so-subtle pro wrestling reference.
Sora suddenly kicked to his feet and kicked Logan away with an impressive moonkick. "You didn't actually think that would be enough to keep me down, did ya?"
Logan launched a blizzard spell that Sora easily parried before launching another series of Keyblade strikes. This time, Sora used his Counter Impact ability to first guard Logan's attack before knocking him back with a circular swing. The two opponents exchanged swings and strikes, their Keyblades clashing again and again. But Sora was the most experienced of the two, quickly gaining the upper hand and pulling Logan away with his famous three strikes combo.
"I can recognize Riku's style there, Logan. You've made a lot of progress and I praise you for it! But it looks like I'm still on top here," Sora boasted as he rested his Keyblade on his shoulder. "You're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna out-Keyblade me!"
Rather than going back on the offensive, Logan stared at his mentor of sorts. "... Sora, I have a request. Can you still use your Drive Forms?"
"Huh, yes. Why?" Sora asked, confused by his friend's question.
"I'd like you to activate your Limit Form here and now. You'll see why."
Sora blinked his eyes before saying: "Hum, okay, if you want." He held his Keyblade forward and started glowing with light. "Limit Form!" The young Keyblade Hero exploded with light that temporarily blinded everyone before it faded away, revealing his new form. His outfit changed to that of Kingdom Hearts 1 and Chain of Memories. He also made Ultima Weapon disappear in exchange for Oathkeeper. "Here it is, my Limit Form! So? Why did you want me to use it?"
A grin formed on Logan's face. "So that we can see who's got the best. LIMIT FORM!" He held his Fenrir Keyblade forward as his body started emanating a black energy with a red outline, disappearing behind it. Once he re-appeared, not only was his outfit now dark blue and black in color, but he also had protections on his lower legs, feet, forearms and feet that looked like parts of a dark blue exoskeleton. A dark blue, oval-shaped item was stuck to his back and a round, dark blue beetle mask covered all of his face, safe for his eyes that could see through two small holes. This mask had a little arrow-shaped horn on the upper part and what looked like a purple tribal mark on the right side of it. Through the holes, one could see that the white of his eyes became golden-yellow and his brown irises were now completely black. Just like Sora, he pulled away Fenrir and replaced it by a new one, whose handle and blade looked like those of a katana, the former of which was covered in a green wrap, with the tip floating in the wind. The guard of metal took the form of a half-moon that covered only one side of the handle whilst leaving the other unprotected. The curved blade was pale as milk, the key wards at the tip looking like the mandibles of a bug.
"What is this form?!" Rachel exclaimed in surprise at her friend's new power.
Sora looked quite shocked, too. "Y-You can use Drive Forms now?!"
"Sure can! The fairy godmothers accepted to make me an outfit just like yours to help me in my future endeavors!" Logan confirmed.
Quickly, Sora's shocked expression got replaced by one of excitation. "Awesome!"
Author's note: Once again, the complexity of the match has changed with every new entrant. I sure hope you guys are having as much fun as I have! What do you think of the event so far?
Logan acquired yet another debt, this time to the Madrigal Family. Poor man. Liquorice faced possibly one of her most important Padawan trials by taking on Ahsoka herself! Before you start yelling that a Padawan cannot use Dark Side abilities like Lightning Force, I'll stop you right there: Vaapad is a lightsaber combat form that requires the user to channel Dark Side energy whilst remaining on the Light Side. It's the reason why it's such a unique form of lightsaber combat amongst Jedi and why it allowed Windu to defeat Palpatine in combat despite him being, like, one of the best Dark Side users of all time.
In a review, AvalorianJaquin suggested Buddy using the Rings of Inspiron from Super Buddies so that he could stand a chance amongst the other super-powered participants. I actually watched the Super Buddies movie to get this element correctly... And, no disrespect to you, AvalorianJaquin, but I didn't really enjoy it.
RDJ has brought his arsenal and will get to face Rachel in a sword vs gun fight which promises to be epic! Also, both Logan and Sora have activated their Limit Form and are about to clash into a blast from the past! Who's gonna come out on top?
New entrants:
-11: Liquorice Loup
-12: Buddy Framm
-13: Judy Hopps
-14: RDJ
-15: Sora
New eliminations:
-Luisa Madrigal: eliminated by Logan
-Drax The Destroyer: eliminated by RDJ
