With the keys all gathered, the team regrouped near the Chinese Theater, where the barrier to the core of the world was. "You know, does Hollywood Studios even have an iconic location?" Logan asked.
Silver shrugged. "I think the water tower with Mickey ears is it, but yeah, there's not really a ride attached to it like the others, is there?"
"Hello, everyone," Melanie greeted, getting a warm reply from the others.
"Glad to see that you saved someone else that we know," Rachel smiled.
"And that's one less person Hex can use against us!" Soren added.
Melanie smiled. "I'm ready to help however I can."
Adam frowned at that. "Melanie, you're still sleepy from being put in that chamber. Just make sure you don't overdo it."
With the greetings out of the way, Gabriel took the keys and combined them together, opening a portal in front of them. "We better go in on our own this time," he said. "Better that Hex doesn't get the jump on us."
The group agreed and jumped right in, landing in a dark room that vaguely looked like a soundstage. Suddenly lights came on, and the roars of a cheering crowd revealed that they were all standing in the middle of a wrestling ring!
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Hex announced, floating down. "Welcome to another round of Hollywood Studios Showdown, where your favorite characters duke it out in the ring for supremacy and control over the core of this world!"
"Wrestling? I'm in!" Logan cheered.
"Wait, Logan, this could be a trap," Gabriel warned.
"And we have a volunteer!" Hex said, using his powers to kick everyone else into the stands besides Logan. "So son, what's your name?"
"Logan," Logan replied.
Hex rolled his eyes. "No, I mean your wrestler name."
The young man blinked before smiled. "You can call me Underdog X!"
Rachel buried her hands in her face. "We're going to die," she groaned.
"Well then, Underdog X, tonight is a very special event: the Battle for the Belt!" Hex announced. "All you have to do is defeat my champions, and you can have the world core. But if you lose… Well, this isn't a 'to the death' match, but I might make an exception."
Poe cringed at that. "Indeed, Rachel, there is a high chance that young Logan might not make it out of this."
"It depends on his opponent," Sliver said. "If we're lucky, Hex couldn't get any good wrestlers."
"Yeah guys, we gotta stay positive!" Sisu exclaimed. "Come on, Underdog X! Kick some booty out there!"
Logan waved to his friends and blushed sheepishly. "I'll do my best!"
"Now then, here come the champions!" Hex announced, pointing to an entrance ramp. "From the SFIT Campus and genius of the Hamada brothers! He's got a rocket fist and battle chip! Introducing BAYMAX!"
Down the ramp came Baymax (his opening song being "Immortals" by Fall Out Boy), wearing an upgraded version of the training armor Hiro made him when they were training with the battle chip. The robot moved slowly, methodically pulling himself over the ropes and into the ring. "Hello, I am Baymax," Baymax greeted.
"See? Logan will be fine," Silver said.
"Let the round begin!" Hex shouted, ringing an invisible bell to start the match.
"Okay Baymax, I think you're really cool, so I'll go easy on you," Logan said, getting into a fighting stance and punching the air a bit. "Besides, you're more of a lover than a fight, so this should be-"
Logan didn't get a chance to finish as Baymax grabbed one of the young man's arms and tossed him to the floor, before flipping him over and doing it again. This happened a few more times before Baymax spung Logan over his head and tossed him into the ropes, tying him up in a comical fashion.
"… Easy. Ow," Logan winced, his eye twitching a bit.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asked, posing for the crowd as they cheered on their champion.
Gabriel and Destiny helped to untie Logan from the ropes, the raven using his magic to cancel out the ringing in the young man's ears. "I think we can safely assume now that Hex reprogramed Baymax to only be a fighter," Gabriel.
"Are you okay, Logan?" Destiny asked.
"I'll be fine," he said. "A bit more strength would help, though." Logan looked at Gabriel and asked, "Hey, you know more Disney stuff, so how does this amulet work?"
"To access the full power of it, you'd need the papyrus that went with it," the raven explained.
"How's a skeleton that likes spaghetti going to help?" Logan asked.
Adam rolled his eyes. "He means an Egyptian scroll, Logan! Undertale isn't even Disney!"
"Hey losers, the fight is still on til one of you is knocked out- or dead, preferably," Hex said.
"Logan, you tough it out until we get you that scroll," Rachel said. "Poe can cast a locator spell, so he and Sisu will go find that somewhere in here."
"Got it," Logan gave a thumb's up before jumping back in the ring. His amulet shined as he posed for the fans. "Gabriel, give me a beat!"
The raven nodded, using his magic to add music to the battle as the bell rang once more.
Your opponent is as big as an ape,
So if you wanna avoid being mangled!
Baymax went in for another grab, but Logan met him in the middle, holding the robot's hands back.
Just like him you've got to get into shape,
And by shape, I don't mean a triangle!
Logan ducked a punch before launching into a spinning uppercut, pushing Baymax back a bit.
He's big; he's dumb, he's got the I.Q. of gum,
He's got the brain about the size of a sourdough crumb,
The robot stumbled into the ropes but used the momentum to clothesline Logan, making his friends wince at the hit.
But he'll beat on your head like a big bass drum,
His behavior is truly unruly,
Baymax picked him up again and threw him into the floor.
HE'S A BULLY! (he's a bully!)
Yeah, he's a bully! (he's a bully!)
Logan used his power to do a push-up and spring back to his feet, comin up behind Baymax and doing a nelson hold.
Well, he's a bully! (he's a bully!)
Yeah, he's a bully! (he's a bully!)
"Take this!" Logan shouted, using his strength to bend backwards and slam Baymax's head into the floor.
(He's a bully) He's not easy to reason with,
(He's a bully) He's no rocket scientist,
(He's a bully) He's slow and illogical,
"He's got this!" Destiny cheered as Logan pinned Baymax to the floor.
He's a bully!
Yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah-yeah!
The bell soon rang, signaling the end of the round. Logan jumped to the ring's side and cheered for the crowd, doing a few wrestling poses as well. However, Baymax got back up and pointed at Logan, giving a 'bring it on' hand gesture as well.
"Hey, Logan had him pinned and everything!" Soren called out.
"This is clearly cheating," Marian added.
Hex just laughed. "I said it was to the knockout, not to the pin! But this is getting boring, seeing you win. So how about we turn this into a tag team battle!" A spotlight came onto the stage as funky surfer music came from the speakers. "Introducing the master of mayhem, the little alien that can't be stopped, STITCH!"
"Oh shoot," the heroes all said at the same time, hearing the iconic laugh as Stitch in a wrestling outfit dropped into the ring next to Baymax.
Logan chuckled nervously, sweat dripping down his face as he saw the newcomer. "Okay guys, I may be strong, but even I'm not dumb enough to wrestle with Stitch!"
"Then let me help!" Destiny said, hopping into the ring. "I've seen you practice, so I know some of your moves!" She pointed at Stitch, waved a hand in front of her face, then stood there doing nothing.
Everyone looked at the whale in confusion, with Baymax and Stitch just shrugging and piling onto top of Logan, creating a smoke cloud of comical violence around them. "Destiny, help me!" Logan called, his head poking out of the cloud.
"Don't worry Logan, this is part of the plan," Destiny explained. "It's like the one green-skinned guy you train with. As long as I stand still, they can't see me!"
"Drax doesn't actually have invisibility!" Logan shouted, getting thrown out of the dust cloud and right into Destiny, knocking both of them over as he landed on her chest.
"Good thing catching you is a specialty of mine," Destiny said, picking them both back up.
"If only I could stop falling for you… I mean on you!" Logan blushed, pushing away from the whale quickly.
"Just kiss already!" Silver called.
"Says the guy that still hasn't done so with his SO," Adam smirked.
"Poe and Sisu better be back with that scroll soon," Gabriel said, watching Logan and Destiny avoid getting squashed. "I don't know how long they'll be able to hold out."
"Fear not everyone, for we have found it!" Poe said, flying towards the group in raven form.
"It was in a pile of wrestling props in a backroom," Sisu said, holding a pile of junk. "There were so many folding chairs back there that I was like "Why are there so many folding chairs? Do they get that many people here each night?"" The dragon casually tossed one of said chairs away, sending it flying into the ring and hitting Stitch on the head, freeing Logan from the fight for a second.
"Okay Logan, all you have to do is read the scroll," Gabriel said, handing the papyrus off to him.
Logan nodded, opening the scroll and looking at the words. "So all I have to do is say 'Anubis, Protector of the Tomb, Your Time is Now, The Time of Doom'?" With a flash of golden light, Logan's body started shifting, changing into something more animal-like. While his clothes remained the same, his form was now that of an anthropomorphic jackal with tan fur and golden eyes. "I LIVE AGAIN! Again."
"Logan!?" Destiny gasped.
"I am Underdog X, now with the power of Anubis, God of Death!" Logan called, picking up Baymax and pulling him off of Destiny.
"God of Embalmment, not Death!" Adam corrected. When Melanie stared at him he shrugged. "What, if he's going to be making statements like that he needs to be factually correct. Do you know how many people think Anubis is just another Grim Reaper type because of misrepresentation in the media?"
"And that's why you do your own research, or read any of Rick Riordan's books," Gabriel added.
"Yeah, go Underdog X!" Sisu cheered, pulling an airhorn out of her pile of junk and setting it off.
"What? No fair!" Hex said in shock.
"The only thing that isn't fair is how badly I'm going to kick your butts now!" Logan laughed, using his newly awakened powers to coat his hand in flame. "Woah, I have flame fists now? Sweet!"
Gabriel sighed, mumbled something about "Kim Possible getting Anubis' powers wrong," then started up his music again, making a rousing song start as Destiny and Logan took the advantage.
"Isn't this that song that played at the end of Thor Ragnarok?" Soren asked.
Jake nodded. "I believe it's called "Immigrant Song," mate."
With his Anubis powers activated, Logan launched a flaming fist at Baymax, pushing the robot into the ropes and bouncing into a clothesline move from Destiny. Stitch jumped in onto Logan's back, but the jackal man flipped into the air and did a back slam.
"Okay, that still kind of hurt," Logan winced. He was then picked up by Stitch and tossed aside, but Destiny caught him and used herself as a springboard to launch Logan back at the alien, readying another flaming fist that connected and sent Stitch pinballing right into Baymax. The two opponents were now in the center of the arena, with the heroes ready to finish the match.
"Time for the Underdog X special!" Logan announced. He picked up Destiny and then jumped onto the ropes, springing high into the air before doing a triple spin and hoisting Destiny above his head. "Finishing Move: Egyptian Spashdown!"
With a mighty throw Destiny turned into her Whale form and was launched at Mach speeds into the arena, sending up a ton of debris that Gabriel and Poe had to shield everyone from. Once the dust settled, it was clear who the winner was: Logan and Destiny stood over their opponents, who were clearly knocked out (or powered down in Baymax's case). The crowd cheered at their victory, with Logan raising their hands into the air and giving a peck on the cheek to Destiny.
"Oh? Where'd this confidence come from?" Destiny asked.
"It's this power… It's incredible!" Logan said, picking up Destiny bridal-style and smirking. "And with you, babe, we'll use this power to rule the world!"
"You mean save the world, right?" she asked.
"I mean, I'm feeling kind of world-conquering right now," Logan admitted. "The power of the God of Death will make us unstoppable!"
"And I'm going to stop you there," said a voice. Logan's body suddenly seized up, and the amulet's glow faded as its energy fell away into the shape of the true Anubis. "As much fun as you probably had out there, I'd rather people use my power for actually useful things and not this 'wrestling' sport you're so fond of."
"Lord Anubis!" Adam gasped, falling to the floor. "Are you here about that one time I went treasure hunting? I swear I didn't mean to break that statue!"
"That wasn't one of my statues, Adam Jackson," Anubis said. He then gave a cheeky grin. "That was my wife's, and she's not as kind as myself." Adam whimpered comedically as Melanie comforted him. "Anyway, congratulations and all that, but I'll be taking the amulet now so that it's not abused anymore. First it was that Pack guy, then that Jackie guy, and now him. We should try to keep more of a tab on dangerous Egyptian artifacts. Perhaps the Kane siblings are up to the task?"
"Aw, no more cool Death God powers," Logan sighed.
"God of Embalmment!" Gabriel, Adam, and Anubis all corrected.
The jackal god rolled his eyes and held out a hand. "Here, young mortal. A gift from my half-brother, which will let you use parts of our powers combined."
Logan gasped as a golden khopesh appeared in a flash of green fire. "Da-da-da-da! I got a sword, finally!" he sang, raising the weapon high.
As Anubis nodded, Gabriel caught his attention. "So, Anubis, you just referenced a few of your appearances. What's that all about?"
"I'm not one particular Anubis, but an amalgam of the idea of Anubis here in the Magical World," Anubis explained. "Some ideas are so powerful that we can seamlessly switch between our various forms instead of existing as Variants like the Marvel heroes do."
Gabriel nodded at the answer, then looked to Hex as the hacker was still in shock at his defeat. "That's another win for the Dream Keepers, Hex. And we're still only getting started!"
"I'll just make sure the next challenge is even harder for all of you!" Hex exclaimed. "Good luck, losers!"
Hex then left, letting the heroes have time to make a portal of their own back to Oswald's room. The wrestling ring soon faded behind them, the magic of Hollywood Studios returning as everything was reset to how it should be, including a very confused Stitch and Baymax.
"Huh? How did Stitch end up here?" Stitch asked aloud.
"Hairy baby," Baymax laughed, his power still low as he held Stitch like a cat.
Author's Notes
And Logan's time to shine is here! He got to do his wrestling thing, get cool Anubis powers, and properly express his feelings to Destiny! Although it seems that the God of Embalmment got a bit tired of people trying to use his powers for evil, but Logan finally got that sword he always wanted! (By the way, the sword gives Logan all the powers he had in his jackal form, just minus the transformation).
Baymax and Stitch were used by Hex as they're both formidable fighters. While it's obvious for Stitch, people tend to forget just how dangerous Baymax can be. He was downright terrifying when Hiro removed his care chip in the movie!
Anubis is one of my favorite mythological figures, and it just so happens that he's appeared in a few Disney properties as well. Those include Gargoyles, the Hercules TV show (though onto mentioned, not seen), Kim Possible (where the amulet comes from), Marvel comics, and the Rick Riordan books (specifically in the Kane Chronicles, which is set in the same world as Percy Jackson). His explanation of being every version of himself at once is a Riordan reference as well, since in those books the Greek and Roman gods are aspects of the same person, so for instance Zeus and Jupiter are just different personalities of the same being.
The songs this time were "He's a Bully" from Phineas and Ferb (the wrestling episode, obviously), and "Immigrant Song" which was in Thor Ragnarok.
Next time will be another slow chapter so that the team can get ready for the next mission!