Disclaimer: Bet you thought I disappeared, didn't ya? Well, I'm back. Hope you all had a great Valentines/Presidents weekend. Reasons for my absence? Nov and Dec because of work during the holidays, the past two months due to being lazy and just watching movies all the time. I think you readers deserve better, so let's go to the next chapter where Sora and friends meet "He's gonna catch 'em all, cause he's Danny Phantom/" Enjoy!

Chapter eight: Phantoms of the Night

On the ship, Penny was pressing buttons on her computer book and writing in a notebook. No doubt adding to her journal. When she was done writing, she put the paper in her book and closed the page on it. Then she pushed a button, which activated a scan noise. Now the page was info in the archives. Penny smiled knowing she got her work done, but then heard a noise coming from the door.

Sora, Daffy and Porky were back, so she greeted them, "Welcome back, everyone."

Daffy sat in his chair and sighed, "Easy for you to say. You write, not fight."

Sora sat down and spoke up about a thought he had, "I feel kind of bad leaving without telling the Warner Brothers or the guards about what happened to Dot."

Porky reassured Sora, "D-d-don't worry about it. As far as they know, D-d-dot is still missing, which is true. Whenever we find her and bring her back here, it'll be like she n-n-n-h-hadn't left the world in the first place. Now, we have to p-p-press on."

With that put in perspective, Sora put his thoughts back on their mission, "Fair point. Let's head to the next world!"

Daffy looked on his navigation screen, "That won't be a problem, but first we have to make a pit stop back to Traverse Town," Sora was about to ask why, but Daffy quickly told him, "Just to stock up on extra supplies. Then it'll be a half hour to the next world," he pushed a few buttons and then pulled the lever for the ship to take off.

Sora slumped back in his chair with his arms crossed, "This could take longer than I wanted. You guys got anything to read?"

Penny asked, "Sora, would you like to see what I have so far in my journal?"

Sora smiled and held out his hands, "Sure, thanks."

Penny handed Sora the book and he read while they went on their way back to Traverse Town. After stopping there and stocking up more on potions and ethers (as well as more arrows), they headed back to the ship. Daffy and Porky also got new designs for their weapons. A metal bow with sharp edges good for melee and a staff with a hallow tube made of stronger material than ordinary wood. With that out of the way, they set course to the next world, but not without company.

Porky warned, "S-s-sir, Heartless ships at three o'clock."

Daffy pulled out a pocket watch (not thinking about the terms his cadet was using) "I think my watch stopped," when he looked back outside, he yelped at the sight of Heartless ships, "Oh! That three o'clock," he then pushed a button and a panel came up with labels on it indicating it was a weapon system, "Sora, handle the missile launchers."

Sora looked at his table to see several buttons with missile labels on them. At his window, he saw a Heartless ship go by, firing discs at the ship. While Daffy did evasive maneuvers, Sora tried to get a lock on the ship. He pushed a button three times, sending out three missiles at the ship, but couldn't get a proper lock in it. Once he finally got the ship on his lock, he fired another rocket. Boom! It blew the ship down, "Got him!" Sora said triumphant.

Daffy still had to deal with the other ships in front of him, trying to get a lock on, "It's like trying to swat flies," the ship rumbled and a blast noise echoed. Enemy fire hit it no doubt, "Why you!" he got in a little closer range and pushed the button to charge up the laser powered ray cannon to full blast. Once locked to all three of them, he shouted, "Fire!" and the cannon shot three projectile beams, one for each ship and blew them away. The foursome could calm down now and saw the next world come into view, "Cadet, what are the details on that one?"

Porky explained, "It's called Amity Park, a place that's said to be p-p-plagued by ghosts from another dimension."

Sora quirked an eyebrow at that, "First monsters, then talking animals. Now ghosts?"

Penny mentioned, "My Uncle Gadget would say there's no such thing."

Porky continued, "W-w-well it says they are in this world, as well as a t-t-tournament series happening at their sports arena."

Sora perked up when that gave him an idea, "Hey! If our friends are down there, maybe they'll be at the arena."

"Say no more, Sora," Daffy began landing the rocket, "If there's one thing Bugs can't miss up its good entertainment. Away we go!"

Welcome to Amity Park

Amity Park was much like any big city. Buildings, a park, stores, restaurants, it was a metropolis without the skyscrapers. Sora, Daffy and Porky came out into the streets and looked up in awe at the sports arena. Above the large monitor and entrance read the words "Amity Sports Palace."

"I hope it's not messy like a lot of sports complexes I've been to," Daffy shivered at the thought.

While many famous arenas around the globe were worth seeing shows in, no doubt they could feel like a dump to some people. Nonetheless, the trio went inside. While making their way in, they saw the food counters were locked and the place had no one practicing on the field or anyone in the seats. Smurfs were around however and Daffy scanned them back to the ship. They continued and finally got to a lower level room where someone was facing the wall. He was an African American teenage boy wearing glasses, a red hat backwards; a long sleeved pale yellow shirt, greenish kaki pants with a belt and brown boots. He was punching in keys on his PDA when Sora and company approached him.

"Um…" Sora was about to tap on the boys shoulder.

The boy overheard him however, "Hey, man. Didn't hear you come in," the boy kept his back turned and focused on his PDA, "Do me a favor," he pointed to something, "Go ghost and move that pedestal out of the way. I got to make sure this place looks good before the games start."

Sora had a look of confusion on his face. Looking to his friends to make some sense out of it, all Daffy and Porky could do was shrug, "What do you think he meant by go ghost?"

"How should I know?" Daffy scoffed. He put his hands against the pedestal to try pushing, "Come here and give me a hand."

Porky and Sora joined him and they all tried to push the pedestal together. As one can guess, it simply would not budge even with their combined efforts. Daffy and Porky panted and on their last breath let their tongues hang out until they touched the ground (yes, somehow they got that long).

"It's no use. It weighs a ton," Sora felt. He walked back up to the teen that was still looking at his PDA, "I couldn't move it. It's way too heavy!"

"Say what!" the teen asked startled. His PDA flipped out of his hands and he fumbled it around trying to catch it. Thankfully, he did so and felt relieved, "What do you mean it's too heavy?" he turned around, "With your power, you don't even have to lift…" the boy changed his tone when he saw Sora, "Oh. You're not the person I thought you were," Daffy rolled his eyes at the obvious, "No one is supposed to be here right now accept for personnel. Such as yours truly, Tucker Foley."

Porky asked, though thinking of the wrong person, "D-d-didn't you co-star in the movies with Jackie Chan?"

Tucker, looking annoyed a tad by such a question, walked closer to Daffy, making the duck back away, "I'm very busy right now getting things set up for the games later today. Now go on. You guys don't want security to find you."

Sora pouted, not liking the way Tucker was treating them, "We only came down here wondering what these games were. We thought someone we knew might have been here to watch," Sora put his hand to his chin, wondering if what he though earlier on the ship was a possibility, "Maybe even be apart of the games."

Instead of showing them the door, Tucker relaxed a bit and explained the event, "Alright. Here's the scoop. Due to the towns large problem with ghosts, it's to a point where the local ghost hunting family, who are personal friends of mine by the way…" he said the last part proudly, "…can't handle it by themselves right now, so the city decided to ask hunters and fighters from all around to come here and battle them inside the Palace in what they're calling the "Tournament of Heroes".

A sly smirk came across Daffy's face, looking at you, the readers to quirk his eyebrows up and down. He then put his hands on his hips in a heroic pose, "Look no further, my bespectacled adolescent. Standing before you are combatants that you've been seeking."

Porky grinned and put his hands on Sora's shoulders, "R-r-right. Sora here is a genuine swordsman chosen b-b-by the Keyblade itself."

Daffy added, "The cadet and I have battled evil doers in our own right."

Tucker felt that was quite absurd, especially with Sora, "A swordsman? That dude?" he began laughing hysterically, "That's a laugh!" he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes while laughing, "Thanks, this is really making my day," he pounded his fist against the wall, laughing even harder.

Sora took great offense to Tucker's behavior, "What are you laughing at? Even if I haven't faced any ghosts, I've taken on plenty of monsters!"

Tucker stopped his laughing and caught his breath, putting his glasses back on, "Yeah, right. If you can't even move this out of the way…" he pushed against the pedestal to prove his point, but it didn't move. He tried pushing harder, "Then how can you say…" Sora crossed his arms, looking at his friends amused by Tucker's own arrogance. Tucker tried pushing his back against the pedestal with his feet slipping, "…you're geniuine?" But he couldn't move it either. He panted, took his hat off and wiped his forehead; "I always was more brain over brawn anyway," he put his hat back on, "Since you're serious, I'll give you a trial run. Just to warn you, this isn't easy. Think you got it in you?"

Sora flipped out his Keyblade determined, "I'm ready to go!"

Tucker motioned to the arena floor, "Then get out there and show your stuff!" Sora went out. Daffy and Porky were about to follow, but Tucker stopped him, "Just him, guys. You can watch on the monitor."

Daffy and Porky looked at one another wondering why just Sora got to do this. They spotted the monitor on the wall and decided to check out the action. Outside, there were several props ready for practice.

Tucker instructed Sora, "See the time limit on the board? You got thirty seconds to break down the twenty ghost targets. Go!"

Several cardboard cut outs of green ghosts appeared out of the floor. Sora came up with a strategy, ran up and slashed three of them easy with a combo. Once they broke, several pieces flew toward and hit more targets and they fell back, counting as hits. He then ran through the rest of the ghosts slashing them and finishing with a bit of time to spare.

Sora looked at Tucker, "How was that?"

"Not bad, but I was just getting you warmed up. Let's see what you can really do," Tucker then signaled to the scoreboard. This time he had a minute to hit twenty-five ghosts, "Think you can beat it?"

Sora was a bit nervous at his chances this time, but decided it was best to take the challenge anyway and got into position. Once Tucker gave the signal, new ghost targets came up. This time they began moving, so this certainly was more challenging. Sora charged at the targets and hit at what he could on the ground. He made sure to hit any pieces he could into other targets to make it faster. Next he put his focus on the ones above him, which he had to jump to hit. He even used his fire and blizzard spells at a couple. With only five seconds left, he managed to make it through.

Tucker patted on his PDA to make sure the scoreboard was right, "Either my stats are off, or you actually broke a new record," he said impressed.

Sora certainly felt confident after that one. When they went back to Daffy and Porky, the two Looney Tunes patted Sora's back, congratulating them on a job well done. Sora smiled and scratched his head.

Tucker also gave his congrats, "I have to give you credit, Sora. You weren't half bad out there."

Sora chuckled while putting his hands behind his head, feeling pretty good about himself, "Looks like this means I'm headed straight for the games."

Tucker rolled his eyes after hearing that, "I suggest you look again."

Daffy was just as shocked as Sora was. Sora asked, "But why not?"

Tucker told him straight up, "All you did was break a bunch of cutouts. Read the sign, 'Tournament of Heroes'."

"Come on!" Sora whined.

Daffy glared at Tucker, "Oooh, you're despicable!" his spit ended up on Tucker's glasses, "Whoops," the duck took them off and cleaned them himself before handing them back.

Tucker took his glasses and put them back on, "I'll tell you what though," he went into the corner and brought something familiar to the trio, "I found these arrows laying around the other day."

Daffy quickly snatched them, "Thunder arrows! We'll take them," he snapped off an arrowhead and gave it to Sora, "Here you go, kid."

Sora put the arrow into his slot on the Keyblade. Now he was able to perform a thunder spell. Still wasn't what he wanted though, "Too bad I can't use this in the games."

Tucker mentioned, "Sorry, guys. According to the rules of our state athletic commission, you need a pass to get in the games. You can still stick around and watch if you want."

Porky began, "I s-s-suppose we could…"

But Daffy quickly squashed that idea, "Ah, we don't have time for this. We still got other places to go and people to see."

"Suit yourself," Tucker shrugged then went back to his PDA.

The trio left the Park Palace and decided to look for their friends elsewhere, though disappointed, Sora tried his best not to show it, "Who wants to be a hero anyway?" Daffy raised his hand, causing Sora to be sly, "I had a feeling you were putting on an act."

Porky chuckled, "Daffy n-n-never could resist the spotlight."

Daffy repeated Porky's sentence, but in a mocking tone. A voice from behind them spoke up, "For a techno whiz, that young man is rather naïve. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?" It was the same ghostly figure that was part of Green Goblin's group.

The three turned and became startled in a flash of fright, "A ghost!" Daffy shouted. Both he and Porky hid behind Sora, slowly coming back out to look. Daffy pointed his finger accusingly at the figure and demanded, "And who may I ask are you?"

The ghost approached them, "At ease, Mr. Duck. I wasn't trying to scare you. I couldn't help but overhear you three want to part of the upcoming game," he put his hand on Sora's shoulder and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, "This should make it possible."

Sora's eyes widened when he saw what it was, a pass to get in the games! "You're giving this pass to us?"

The figure nodded, "It was an extra I had left over, good enough for a team of three such as yourselves," the figure turned to leave, "Best of luck to you all."

"Thanks, Mr. Uh…" Sora never did catch his name

"Plasmius," the ghost figure introduced, "Oh and boys, keep this our little secret," he left.

Porky felt suspicious that they got this pass from a stranger, "I w-w-w-wonder why he gave this to us?"

Daffy slyly smirked again, "All I'm thinking of is the look on that techno geeks face when we show it to him."

Sora assured Porky, "I don't understand it either, Porky, but come on. Let's see if we can get in the games."

Porky, in the end, decided to put his suspicions on hold and followed his friends back into the Palace. Plasmius watched from above, floating in the air. A large, insidious grin grew on his face, laughing evilly.

Tucker was hanging up the rule board inside when he heard footsteps. It was Sora's group again, "Huh? Oh, it's you again."

Sora showed him the pass and Daffy gloated, "Friar Tuck, we got something for ya!"

Tucker took the pass and couldn't believe his eyes. He even lifted his glasses up in surprise, "Hey, how did you score this pass?"

Remembering what Plasmius said, Sora changed subjects quickly, "I think the bigger question is, can we be in the games now?"

Tucker observed the pass closely "Well, it is real. You're in," points to the rule board for them to see, "The games just have three rules. No summons, no fighting to the death, and have fun throughout," the trio all nodded in understanding, "Now that we got that out of the way, the preliminaries start in one hour. You guys ready?"

"You bet!" Sora said with pride. He held up his hands for his friends, "High fives!" Daffy and Porky slapped his hands happily.

"Then I should warn you. Some weirdoes that aren't even ghosts or human signed up earlier, so be careful," Tucker cleared up.

Sora's group wondered who that could be. For the next hour, citizens of Amity Park filled up the audience in the Park Palace. Everyone was very excited to finally see the games after much hype.

The announcer came out to make the announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen! It is time for the tournament preliminary rounds. In just a few moments, the first round participants will enter the arena floor. The object of each match is to duel until one side submits or can no longer continue. The winners will move on to the rounds until all but one team or participant remains and they will be parrt of the next set of tournaments. Introducing first to my left, Sora, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. The key team!" the trio came out from the left entrance until they got to the middle, "Their opponents to my left, Shadow Scout!"

Much to the unexpected trio, their opponents were comprised of Heartless. Four shadows and three new Heartless to them called Blue Rhapsody, which were like Red Nocturnes only they shot ice spells.

The trio got in position with Sora saying, "Even when I want to have some fun, you guys have to follow me here?" The announcer left and the bell rang for the first round to begin. Sora signaled to his friends, "Separate them!"

Daffy and Porky went after the Blue Rhapsody's so Sora could deal with the Soldiers. One Soldier tried clawing, him, to which Sora blocked with his Keyblade. He then jumped away and aimed his Keyblade right at all three of them, firing an ice spell. That took care of them and focused on helping his friends. Daffy jumped away from an ice spell from one Rhapsody, aimed a fire arrow and hit it dead on, though it wasn't a critical hit like the ice was to Red Nocturnes. Another Rhapsody hit an ice spell from behind, causing Daffy to shiver and his teeth to chatter. He held his beak to make it stop.

Porky swung his staff around at two Rhapsodies', but they kept flying away. One Rhapsody shot an ice spell, which Porky jumped above, and hit the other with his staff. However on the way down, it was now slippery where landed and he slipped, falling on his back. Sora jumped in to help and hit one Rhapsody with an air combo, slaying it. He got shot in the arm by an ice spell, causing him to jump.

"Ah! Cold!" he yelped, feeling the cold ice against his bare skin.

He glared and pointed his Keyblade at the same Rhapsody, hitting it with a fire spell. Critical hit that one was. Daffy jumped and hit one Rhapsody with the sharp edges of his new bow then jumped up and kicked the other. He loaded another arrow, and burned one Rhapsody to smithereens. Porky then popped in and spun around his staff, eliminating the final Rhapsody. The bell rang and the group all did a victory dance.

Sora twirled his Keyblade around, "Nothing to it but to do it!"

After the match, Tucker scouted them on their match, "Not quite "there", but so far, so good," he then smirked, "Of course, no surprise since I'm your coach."

Sora, Daffy and Porky gave a half smile and shook their heads, chuckling at Tucker. A man walked passed the four of them. The man and Sora's group stared at each other. He looked to be in his twenties, was very muscular, had blond hair that was spiked up like Sora's hair and wore a red cape that was torn on the end, a blue shirt with belts attached, brown gloves, a blue extension on his right arm, and several metal bracelets around his left arm as well as a metal shoulder pad, blue pants, brown shoes and a hoister for a sword. The man then continued his walk paying no attention.

Tucker told Sora and his friends the story behind that man, "I did a little research and according to my stats, he's a pretty tough one to beat. Call it a hunch, but maybe you'll end up facing him sooner or later."

Sora, Daffy and Porky kept their thoughts to themselves as they kept their eyes on the man. That was short lived when they were sent back to the arena floor for their next match. The team to beat was called Sinisters, a Heartless team of ten Shadows and three Blue Rhapsody's. The shadows all went into the ground and scattered.

Sora waited patiently for them to come up, and then pointed his Keyblade in the air, "Thunder!" several lighting bolts came out of the sky, hitting the shadows, destroying them. One Blue Rhapsody shot an ice spell, but Sora dodge rolled away only to be scratched by a shadow. He winced at the scratch, turned around and stabbed his Keyblade at the shadow.

Daffy shot three fire arrows in a row, two at the shadows, which burned them down and one at a Rhapsody. The Rhapsody charged up a spell, but Daffy saw this as an opening and hit with another fire arrow for the critical hit. A shadow snuck out of the ground and clawed Daffy at the tail feathers, making him yell. For that, it got a stab from Daffy's sharp edged bow returning the favor.

Porky blocked a scratch from a shadow, but it scratched his staff in one direction, making Porky hit himself with the other end by accident. Seeing a blue rhapsody behind him. He put one end of his staff on a shadows head and pole-vaulted over, hitting the blue rhapsody and head butting a shadow jumping at him. When he landed he stuck his staff in the creature, taking it out.

The trio finished the job and the bell rang, making them victorious. Daffy tossed his bow in the air and chanted, "Call me a lucky duck."

The next group they faced was called Heat & Freeze, which had Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsody's together on one team. They all flew around in different directions. Sora jumped in the air and slashed a bunch of them with an uppercut thrust and then a combo. He jumped from a fire shot; dodge rolled an ice blast, stuck the notch of the Keyblade on the ground, spun around to dodge another fireball, and slid on his feet with his Keyblade out to block an ice crystal. Sora then hit an ice spell at the red nocturnes, quickly taking care of them, then shot fire spells at the blue rhapsodies.

Daffy shot out an ice arrow and that was the last of the red nocturnes. Porky jumped up with his staff and hit several rhapsodies while Sora finished them off with fire spells.

They all cheered. Porky twirled his staff like a piton in a marching band, "P-p-piece of cake."

They saw Tucker again after their match and Tucker began to let Sora's skills grow on him, "Guess I judged a book by its cover. You're doing great. Wish my best pal was here to see this."

This perked Sora's interest, "What friend is that?"

"Danny," Tucker explained, "Better known as Danny Phantom, half ghost, half kid, deputized protector of Amity Park. It's too bad he's hunting ghosts with his family right now or he'd be here scouting the competition, including you."

Sora looked back at Daffy and Porky. All of them smiled hoping they'd get to meet this Danny Phantom. Putting their focus on the next match, they had to deal with Shadow Platoon, which included Shadows, Soldiers, Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies. Daffy shot out an ice arrow to get rid of the Shadows quickly. Then Sora used a thunder spell to shock the Soldiers. With them stunned, the group hit each of them with their respective weapons until they were eliminated. A red nocturne shot a fire spell from behind that hit Sora, who gasped from the burn. He turned around and gave it in air combo. Daffy got between a red nocturne and a blue rhapsody. As soon as they shot their spells, he leaped away and the two spells hit the opposite heartless, taking themselves out.

Daffy wiped his hands clean, "Gets them every time," but then got hit by a nocturne flying by. Porky ran around with his staff on a rhapsody until it disappeared back to the darkness. Sora slashed the last nocturne and the bell rang.

"Oh yeah!" Sora cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

For the next round, the group fought Blue Revenge, which was nothing but Blue Rhapsody's. They all flew forward and started shooting out ice spells. Sora, Daffy and Porky used their weapons to deflect each shot. Sora then did a dodge rolled between them and slashed at any in his way. It took a good horizontal slash to eliminate two of them. Daffy started to notice he was running out of arrows, so he focused on melee attacks with his bow, like it was a double edged sword, even twirling it fast like a buzz saw, slicing the Heartless to bits. Porky deflected more ice shots and spun his staff above him, knocking away any Heartless. Sora shot fire spells to finish the rhapsodies off and the bell rang. The group did another victory dance.

Porky jumped up and down, "Hurray! We d-d-did it!"

The crowd cheered loudly for them the more progress they made. They were beginning to like Team Key. However, not all were cheering. In the locker room, Plasmius and the blonde man who passed Sora's group earlier were watching the monitor.

Plasmius gave instructions to the man, "You see that young man with the animals? That Heartless slaying menace is your next opponent. Win if you can, lose if you must, but when the match is over, kill him."

The man leaned against the wall and did a bit of talk back at Plasmius, "The great millionaire Vlad Masters is afraid another kid? Don't mean to disappoint you, but remember that my contract says…"

Vlad quickly snapped at the man, interrupting him, "I'm fully aware of what your contract says! I wrote the whole thing myself!" Vlad cleared his throat and spoke calmly, "I remember the contract stipulates you face Danny Phantom in this tournament, then bring him and his family to me before killing his father, but the Keyblade boy is the only one standing in your way," on the monitor, they watched as Tucker was speaking to them, "It's like that Foley boy and the other kids would say, it's just a game, so try to have a little fun while you're here," Vlad gave a sinister smile, "What's a casualty or three along the way, after all?"

Cloud walked away, "Alright, fine, but remember our deal."

After the man left, Vlad spoke to an unseen someone in a dimly lit side of the room, "For a warrior, he's more stiff than most others in the Ghost Zone. You have to admit though, he's the perfect pawn," A small roar came from the shadows. Whatever it was, it could only be bad news.

The semi finals had Sora, Daffy and Porky against Big One, which were Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsody's and a Large Body. Sora and Daffy used their magic to get rid of the Nocturnes and Rhapsody's before focusing on the Large Body. The Large Body did its body slam attack, which the group all jumped away from. As it got back up, the boys all hacked and slashed it's back. Large Body stumbled, but then turned around and tried punching the trio. Porky ducked the first punch, but got clobbered by the second and sent into Sora, knocking him down. Daffy shot a thunder arrow, and shocked the Large Body.

Problem was, that last shot made the Large Body mad, and ran at Daffy with its gut out. Daffy did his hopped away in his routine, "Hoo hoo! Hoo, hoo, hoo! Hoo hoo hoo hoo! Hoo hoo! Hoo hoo!"

Sora got up and saw what Daffy was doing. Then he got an idea. He whistled to Daffy, motioning him to hop this way. Daffy did so and hopped over Sora at the opportune moment. Sora then deflected the Large Body with his blade. The Large Body stumbled back and Sora gave a fire spell to finish the job. The bell rang with the group victorious once again.

Sora cheered, "That's what you call the power of the Keyblade!"

Soon, it was time for the final round. The trio felt a bit worn out and each drank a point. Daffy sighed, "Boy, all this combat stuff sure makes a duck tired. I wonder who our final opponent is going to be?"

The announcer spoke into the microphone, "And their opponent to my right, he is an ex member of SOLDIER, Cloud Strife!" out walked the blonde man that passed by them earlier.

Daffy looked unimpressed, grabbed the microphone and called out to the audience, "Okay, how many here in Amity Park saw this coming? Be honest," when several hands got raised, the trio's eyes widened.

Once that was over, Sora held out his hand at Cloud, "Hey, may the best man win."

Cloud lifted his hand, but didn't bother shaking Sora's, instead just putting it on his sword handle, "I intend to."

He pulled out a large sword wrapped up in torn sheets. Daffy put his hands up to the sword and looked at his hands to see how big it was. He then shook Cloud's hand, "Weeeeell, goodbye!" he began to flee out of the arena, obviously not wanting to deal with a sword that big, but Porky went after him.

"C-c-come back here! We g-g-got to do this as a team!" Porky yelled as he chased.

When they ran by Sora, he quickly pulled both of them up by the shirt collars. The two kept moving their feet in the air, until they realized they weren't on the ground. Sora looked sternly at the two, making both animals give him nervous grins. He put them down and chuckled at Cloud sheepishly, "Looney," Cloud looked at them not amused, simply waiting for the match to start. Sora took out the Keyblade, "Now you guys going to both help me or what?"

Daffy groaned and reluctantly took out his bow, "Fine," Porky also readied his staff.

The bell rang and Sora's team walked one way in a circle while Cloud walked the other. Sora brought down his sword to start, and Cloud easily blocked it, knocked the Keyblade away, and tried to slash Sora. Sora quickly blocked it and got into a blade lock. This surprised Cloud incredibly. The two got into a duel, clashing back and forth. Sora felt great force each time Cloud's sword hit his Key weapon. Sora dodge rolled away and Daffy loaded an ice arrow at Cloud, which he blocked with his blade. Cloud brought his sword back about to thrust his sword at him. Daffy stepped away, but when Cloud thrust forward, he did it at lighting quick speed.

He looked to his friends with a bewildered look, "Did you two see how fast he was?"

Sora and Porky both had their mouths open and nodded at Daffy. Cloud came again with the same move and all of them got hit, knocking them back. The trio was a bit slow getting up. Cloud tried to get Sora with the same move, but he dodge rolled away again. He tried it to Daffy, but the duck leaped away. He tried to get Porky with his last sonic thrust, but Porky brought up his staff and blocked it, getting into a duel with Cloud that didn't last long. Cloud used his sword to push down one end of Porky's staff making the pig stumble. Then he slashed the pig away from him.

Daffy fired a thunder arrow, hitting Cloud with a lighting bolt. He got stunned for the moment, but when Daffy got close to him, he brought his sword up. Daffy slid on his back to dodge the sword, and Cloud missed. Daffy got up and swung his bow at Cloud, who jerked himself left, right, left, right, each swing missing. Daffy then hit the bow in Cloud's face, catching the young man off his guard. Cloud responded by kicking Daffy in the gut, then hit him out of the way with his sword. This left just he and Sora. Sora charged at Cloud and clashed against Cloud's sword. Cloud brought his sword up, and Sora fell on his rear from the force.

Cloud shook his head disappointed, "Is that the best you can do?"

Sora gritted his teeth and when Cloud got close to him, he swung the Keyblade, hitting Cloud in the shin. Cloud yelped and held his leg in pain. Sora then hit Cloud with a combo, the last slash sending him back a couple of feet and falling to one knee. Daffy and Porky managed to get to their feet and joined the Keyblade wielder. Cloud got up and charged at the group. He leaped into the air and stuck his sword downward. The group all ran forward as Cloud came down, stabbing his sword in the ground, even causing a dark aura around the tip. The group then charged at Cloud. When Cloud turned around, he was met with three jumping kicks to the face.

Cloud fell to the ground, but when he got up, Sora, Daffy and Porky ran and hit him with their shoulders, knocking him down again. Sora tried to shoot a spell, but he was out of magic again. He took out some ether and drank it. Daffy did the same just in case for his arrows. Cloud got back up, charged at the group and swung his sword at them. Sora deflected the shot and tried to slash Cloud. Cloud jumped over Sora to avoid it. Daffy ran up, causing Cloud to elbow him, and turn around with a swing of his sword. Before he could, Sora hit Cloud with an ice spell, stinging him. Cloud turned his attention to Sora and got in a blade lock with him. Porky used his staff to knock Cloud's sword away. Daffy used his bow to hold the sword down for Porky and Sora to strike.

This didn't stop Cloud however, for he kicked Sora in the gut, slid his sword out of Daffy's grasp and clash with Porky. The group all got into a back and forth duel with Cloud. Cloud thought to himself in great surprise, "These three are keeping up with me. Even few men by themselves couldn't stand up to me like this."

Cloud leaped away and thought of a way to get back on the offensive. Daffy charged at him, spinning his bow around. Cloud quickly brought his sword down and Daffy clashed with every spin. Cloud saw Porky coming next and tried a horizontal slash. Porky put his staff up vertically to block. Sora then charged, which Cloud caught and brought down his sword and they clashed. He went back and forth with dueling the three. Porky, Daffy and Sora defended themselves fine, but since they were clashing with the far end of Cloud's sword, they weren't able to get close enough to lay a blow on Cloud. They saw what he was doing, but before they could counter, Cloud got close enough and gave several horizontal slashes at the trio, causing them to duck several times as they backed away.

He then did his sonic thrust again, and hit them dead on. All three of them screamed at the pain that they received from the slash. Each of them clutched their chests and fell on their knees.

Daffy looked at Sora, "Got any bright ideas?"

Sora looked at him and Porky, "As a matter of fact, I noticed he keeps getting caught of guard by our teamwork. We need some kind of formation."

Porky thought of one and whispered to both his friends who nodded. Daffy said, "Uh huh. Uh huh," when finished, he loved the idea, "Oh that's good."

Sora got himself up, "Alright. Let's give it a try."

Cloud approached them wanting to continue the duel. He swung his sword and Sora blocked it with the Keyblade. The two got into a duel as they clashed back and forth. Sora tried a thrust, which Cloud sidestepped. Cloud then tried a vertical slash that Sora twirled away from. Sora then leaped up and came down with a vertical slash that Cloud leaped to dodge and then he tried the same to Sora, who slid under Cloud so he would miss. The two clashed back and forth once more. When Cloud tried another vertical slash, Sora stepped on the sword. Cloud then moved his sword up making Sora flip and land on his feet. Sora stepped on the sword again and leaped off with a kick. Cloud bent his body to the left and Sora was now three feet from him when he landed.

Cloud looked back and asked Sora, "Why are you fighting by yourself all of a sudden?"

Porky tapped Cloud on the shoulder, "I think he m-m-might want a second opinion on that."

The pig then tried hitting him with his staff, but Cloud blocked and then got into a duel with the pig. Porky spun the staff around to block Cloud's attempts. Sora joined Daffy who had an arrow ready in his bow, "Get ready."

Porky was in a sword/staff lock with Cloud when he heard Sora say, "Thunder!" he pointed his Keyblade in the air. Porky knew that was the signal and slipped out of the lock. Cloud got hit with the thunder spell and Daffy launched a fire arrow at Cloud hitting him making him hit the ground.

"Bull's-eye!" Daffy leaped in triumph.

Cloud got up and just about had it. He wasn't about to let himself get embarrassed like this. He brought his sword back, readying another sonic attack. First, Cloud slashed Daffy and then Porky. Both fell on their tails, seeing stars from the punishment. Sora gasped at what happened to his friends. He quickly snapped out of it when he saw Cloud dive down toward him with his sword in a stabbing position. Sora jumped away to avoid and got into a hard clashing duel with Cloud, even more quick and intense. Sora kept blocking against Clouds attacks, but when he tried the offensive, Cloud blocked every move. Sora swung the Keyblade horizontally, but Cloud ducked and tried a swing of his own at Sora's feet. Sora jumped over that and brought his sword down. Cloud brought his sword up and the two got in a blade lock.

The audience was kept on the edge of their seats as the match went on. Sora and Cloud struggled and pushed their respective weights against each other while in the lock. The two jumped away out of the lock, charged at each other and ended up in another lock with sparks coming from their blades when the clash happened. Sora jumped out of it and charged at Cloud. Cloud jumped over Sora and thus away from the attack. Then he charged at Sora to try the same, but Sora dodge rolled away. The two got into another duel going back and forth with their swords. Cloud bent down and went for a low kick, which Sora blocked with the Keyblade. Sora went for a front kick that Cloud blocked also with his sword.

The two went into another duel until they got into another blade lock. Sweat poured down Sora's face. This was becoming his most grueling battle yet. Cloud took advantage and pushed his sword up. Consequently, the Keyblade was knocked out of Sora's hands landing notch first in the ground. Sora made a sprint for the Keyblade. Cloud leaped in front of Sora before he could get the Keyblade, and smacked Sora in the face with the flat end of his sword. This knocked him over to where Daffy and Porky lay.

Cloud walked over to the group and taunted while also complimented, "I have to give you and your teammates credit for trying, but no kid is a better fighter than me," Cloud lifted Sora's head up with his sword under Sora's chin so that he'd see Cloud eye to eye, "Just give up and get it over with it."

Sora didn't feel he could keep going on any longer. He was tired, his friends were out of it and he was sword-less. That was before he heard clapping noises coming from the crowd. The audience was beginning to get attached to this new team. Sora shut his eyes and clenched his fist in a rush of adrenaline, "I won't…give up yet!" He then grabbed Cloud's sword with his other hand and pulled himself up.

Cloud was completely baffled. He didn't think Sora had anything left in him yet here he was using his last bit of energy. As soon as Sora got up, he punched Cloud right in the face, knocking him down. He then made a jump for the Keyblade, grabbed it, and charged at Cloud as he stood up. Sora gave a three hit combo to Cloud, then another and then another, slashing away. Cloud dropped to one knee when Sora finally stopped. The two sword fighters stared at each other, panting exhaustingly.

Tucker quickly ran in and threw in the towel for the match to stop. He whispered why to the announcer why. The announcer got up and addressed the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been informed that the Amity Park State Athletic Commission has ordered the match up to stop, rendering it no contest."

The crowd all groaned disappointed that the match stopped without a decisive winner. Sora, Daffy and Porky caught their breath and all sighed knowing they didn't win. This could have ruined any chance they had in continuing with the games.

One person didn't care if he won or lost, and cast his shadow over the trio. Sora and friends looked up to see Cloud standing over them with an expressionless face, sword gripped with both hands, "A finished match doesn't mean my job is finished yet. Plasmius and I had a deal."

The trio all exclaimed, "Plasmius?"

Behind Cloud was the ghost in question, watching from the sidelines, "That's right. One swipe of the blade…"

Cloud used any strength he had left to lift his sword in the air. Daffy and Porky put their hands over their eyes waiting for the inevitable while Sora turned his head away, putting his Keyblade in front of him. The crowd all gasped at this. Cloud just paused for a few seconds looking at this site. Suffice to say, second thoughts crossed the young mans mind "A battle like this that I have not had in a long time, and I'm just going to slay these three over a contract? Is this deal I made the only way to find what I'm looking for?" He finally lowered his sword and put it back in its holder, "It's not worth it. I won't kill you. You don't deserve it."

Sora, Daffy and Porky all opened their eyes. Another close call dodged…or was it? They all spotted something over Cloud's shoulder, "Look out!"

Cloud looked behind him only to be stomped on by a large blue dragon with red eyes, green horns and spiked fins on both sides of her face and all down across its back ending at her tail. She also had what looked like a gold necklace around the neck. Sora yelped and got to his feet, backing away from the monster.

Vlad chuckled evilly, "One other rule I forgot to tell you, blond man: there's always a risk involved," he took his leave out of the arena confident with his back up getting the job done.

The dragon leaned down to Sora, Daffy and Porky's level, "I want to go! I have to go!"

Daffy's legs shook back and forth in fear, "Then go ahead and leave us!"

Porky looked to you, the readers, "P-p-p-pardon me, but is there a dragon slayer in the house?"

The dragon ghost let out a deafening roar that made the whole arena shake. The crowd would have been worried if it weren't for the fact they thought this was part of the show. Daffy and Porky however screamed and ran away. When they got to the wall, Daffy pulled out a can and paint brush, then painted a portrait of a tunnel on the wall. Once finished, he and Porky surprisingly went right through it! Sora, ran after them, but instead slammed into the wall. He stood back and rubbed his nose, "Ouch!" he felt the wall to see it was solid. He could not understand how his friends did that. Unfortunately, he was alone with the dragon, and had his back up against the wall when he saw how close the dragon was.

Before the dragon could attack, the voice of another teenage boy called, "I haven't taken a look at the brackets yet, but I'm pretty sure this isn't your turn."

The dragon then felt a fist punch it right in the face, making her neck real back until her head hit the ground. The crowd cheered in thunderous applause. Sora noticed whom they were clapping for. It was a boy around his age with snow-white hair and glowing green eyes. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with an insignia on the chest that read DP, and a white collar. His gloves and boots were also white. Another ghost Sora assumed, only this one was on his side.

Tucker quickly recognized him, "Danny! About time you showed up," he grinned.

Danny smirk back at his best pal, "Hey, Tucker. When I'm done here, show me who said they could start the fun without me."

The ghost dragon ghost growled and breathed fire right at Danny. Danny retaliated by putting his hands out. A ray of ghost origin blasted out of his hands. When the ectoplasm blast met with the fire, it was in a stand still.

Over the speakers, the head of security announced to the audience, "Attention! I want everyone to clear the area right now!"

As Danny continued blasting, he shouted to the crowd, "You heard him, everybody outside!" security all escorted as much as the people as they could out of the arena, but some were pushing to stay. Danny grew annoyed by this, "Well, go on! This isn't a free show!"

Sora watched the whole scene in bewilderment until he heard a familiar duck, "Sora!" he turned to see Daffy motioning to him from backstage, "Come quick!" Sora made a run for it. When he got back, Sora crossed his arms at the two animals. Daffy quickly explained, "Sorry about having to leave you like that, bud. Didn't know you couldn't run through with us."

Tucker took off his hat and whipped his forehead, "Phew! That was a little too close for my comfort," he then put his hat back on and started pressing his PDA, "Now that you guys alright, you're probably wondering about that dragon you saw," Tucker turned around his PDA to show them the dragons picture, "Her name is princess Dora, one of the many that live in the ghost zone. Around her neck is the amulet of Aragon. If you get stressed out while wearing it, prepare to make a fashion statement by becoming a terrible thunder lizard," he put the PDA back in his pocket and grinned, "But Danny's no stranger to her. He can handle it," a nearby monitor showed Dora whipping her tail and she hit Danny, sending him back into the air. Tucker pulled down the brim of his hat over his eyes not wanting to look, "Of course, things can change."

Daffy was passing back and forth in frustration over this whole circumstance while Porky was trying to add everything up counting on his fingers, "C-c-cloud, D-d-dragon, P-p-plasmius," he clenched his fists with a glare for having his suspicions proven right about Vlad, "D-d-darn that old trickster."

Sora watched the monitor as Danny continued to thwart off Dora. Danny may be the local boy made good of this world, but Sora felt this time Danny shouldn't be the one battling the ghost, and that it should be him and his team, "Cloud!" he exclaimed, seeing his last opponent on the ground, and a stare on Dora's face ready to pound him. Danny quickly flew in and grabbed Cloud, putting him over his shoulder. Sora looked back and forth between both between the way he came and the monitor twice before finally deciding run back to the ring. Daffy and Porky saw this, looked to each other and nodded.

All three of them were just about to enter until Tucker spoke up, "Don't tell me you guys are going back out there. I can understand if you want to help, but this isn't a match up. That dragon can roast you, toast you and burn you to a crisp!"

Sora explained the actions he and his friends were about to take, "Tucker, we were set up. The match with Cloud was an ambush. That dragon was meant for us, and Danny shouldn't be the one in there. I'm not going to let some ghost scare me! You can let this decide if it makes us "Tournament of Heroes" material or not."

Tucker took one last glance at the monitor. He knew even Danny sometimes needed some help. He told Sora, Daffy and Porky to "Go for it! Just be careful."

Daffy chuckled, "Like you actually need to say it," he then looked to his friends with a different demeanor, "Let's get moving. No one double crosses this little black duck!"

On the arena floor, Danny, who was still holding the still unconscious Cloud over his shoulder, was now standing between the wall and Dora's face. She growled, but Danny tried reasoning with the princess he knew was beneath the dragon, doing what was against her will, "Easy, girl. You don't have to do this. Let me remove the amulet," Dora then heard footsteps behind her. Turning her head, she saw Daffy, Porky and Sora below taking fighting stances. Danny felt the trio was crazy, "What are you doing here? I said for everyone to leave!"

Porky smirked, "L-l-looks to us you have your hands full at the m-m-mo-mo-for the time being."

Danny shot a glance at Cloud knowing what the talking pig meant. He then did a double take, realizing a pig just talked to him!

Sora gave his orders, "You get Cloud to safety. We're the ones she wants."

Dora snarled at the three, "I must obey orders!"

Danny's eyes drooped a bit at the comment and retorted in wit, "In case I couldn't take that kids word for it, she seals it," then Danny ran out to the backstage area, "Don't turn your backs on her!"

After Danny passed Tucker, who wanted to watch this up close, he also threw his two cents in, "I only have one last word of advice: Attack!"

Dora let out a huge roar, stomping her large feet. The battle was on!

Sora told his friends, "Remember what Tucker said. Now spread out!"

The three all ran in different directions. Dora began by breathing out green fireballs individually at them. Porky put his staff in front of him and slid under it like a limbo stick, letting that fireball fly right over him. Sora dodge rolled away from the fireball toward him. Daffy bent back and slid on his back, spinning back up to avoid the last fireball. The team regrouped, but Dora lifted her front feet off the ground ready to stomp on them. Sora, Daffy and Porky backed away in time, but the shockwave caused by Dora's landing, knocked them off their feet and sent them back, their backs landing hard on the ground.

Sora groaned and opened his eyes to see Dora's tail coming straight down. He gasped, and rolled out of the way. After her tail slammed against the ground, Daffy saw this as an opportune moment. The duck got on Dora's tail and ran up across her back, stopping right as he got the amulet, "There you are," he talked as he waved around his fingers. Dora felt Daffy trying to remove the amulet. Swaying her head back and forth made Daffy hold on for dear life, only Dora's neck was so big that his wings couldn't get a grasp. She lifted her tail back up and attempted to swat Daffy. Daffy let go and leaped over, landing on the tip of the tail. The tail then went back up, with Daffy tripping backwards, but he grabbed the tailfin, which sent him back first to the floor. Sora and Porky checked on him as he got back up, he saw the imprint he left on the floor; "I never leave a place without making a good impression."

Sora rolled his eyes at the joke, "Funny, but not the right time."

Dora opened her mouth wide and tried biting at her targets like she was a snapping turtle. Daffy yelped as he leaped away from the large teeth. She snapped her teeth at Porky next, but he climbed on his staff while it stood vertical, so she missed him. Lastly then snapped her teeth at Sora. Sora readied the Keyblade, and took one hard swing that connected. Dora roared in pain at the Keys impact against her jaw. She took another snap, and bit down on the Keyblade. Sora got in a tug of war, but his feet were slipping against the much stronger dragon. Daffy and Porky held onto Sora, but it was no good. Dora then picked her head up and jerked it behind her, sending them flying to the stands. They would have landed hard on the seats if not for Sora sticking the notch of the Keyblade out, catching the edge of the wall. The three fell to the concrete a little safer.

Dora lifted her head up ready to breathe fire again. Daffy, Porky and Sora caught this and leaped over back to the arena floor. Dora's green fire burned all the seats that it touched. Her attention got back to the threesome, and attempted to fire again. Daffy set an ice arrow in his bow aimed right at the dragon. As soon as her mouth opened, Daffy released the arrow, which formed into ice crystals right in Dora's mouth. The sting stung her mouth bad, letting out a screeching scream. Sora pointed out his Keyblade while her mouth was still open.

Sora chanted, "Deep freeze!"

More ice got in Dora's mouth, her head jerking around at the pain. She glared both Sora and Daffy, lifting her tail up to attempt another whip. They moved away, but Porky wasn't so lucky and got slammed. Porky tried to get out of it, but her tail was too heavy. His hands slipped causing him to fall on his chest. The tail pressing against him was excruciating for him. He grabbed his staff and poked it against her tail. When it wouldn't budge, he stuck it under and set up her tail with the staff standing up. He crawled out and took his staff back. Dora lifted her tail up again and whip lashed at Porky. Porky blocked with his staff, she then lifted her tail and whip lashed at Sora, who jumped over her tail. Before she could whip Daffy, he shot a fire arrow at the tail and she screamed at the burn.

Dora lifted her left claws into the air and scratched at Sora, who clashed blade to claw. She then scratched at Daffy, who blocked with the sharp ends of his bow. She lifted her right claws up to scratch again, only this time, Daffy stuck the tips of his bow out and she stepped on it, once again roaring in pain. She gritted her teeth, and Sora's group could see fire building in her mouth again and she breathed the flames right at the arena floor, spreading into smaller flames. The boys all scattered as the flames started to burn. One flame hit Sora in the side of the arm and he screamed, rubbing his arm from the burn. He lifted his hand to see his left arm was red and swelling could happing if it got worse, so he took out a potion and poured it on his arm, but not without wincing.

After he threw the bottle down, he regrouped with Daffy and Porky, all three sweating from the heat even though the fire had flamed down. Daffy then thought of something, "Wait, I read in a book once on mythology that dragons are hard scaled, but they got soft underbellies."

Sora smirked, "Well, I know my next target," Dora lifted her head up ready to snap her teeth again, but Sora aimed his blade at the underbelly, "fire!" when the fire ball hit, Dora reeled her head back, giving Sora the chance to run under her. As he ran he scratched the notch of his Keyblade against the underbelly.

After Sora came out, Dora fell on her side with a loud thud, cracking parts of the arena floor when she landed. Porky quickly ran up and stuck his staff between Dora's neck and the necklace holding the amulet. Then he started to bend it to try and snap it off her neck. The amulet was on pretty tight to say the least. What he didn't realize was Dora hadn't passed out completely from the beating. Her eye quickly opened and caught out of its corner what Porky was trying to do. Daffy and Sora gasped when they saw this and quickly ran over. Dora stopped them by backhanding them with her left claw. The two got sent in the air and hit their backs against the wall, then landing chest first onto the floor. She then grabbed Porky with her claw and removed him and the staff. Standing on her legs, Dora looked down at the pig as he held him in her hand.

Porky tried to talk his way out of this, "I d-d-don't suppose I can interest you in another hob-hob-hob-activity?" She responded by roaring in his face. The force of her breath was blowing against him. Porky had to cover his ears from the loud noise.

Sora groaned as he slowly moved his hand and pushed himself up to his knees. Daffy also lifted his head up to shake it, trying to get his senses back. Their eyes both widened when they saw Porky was in trouble. Both of them struggled a bit to get on their feet, but they managed to stand. The scratches and dirt stains could tell a person they've taken a beating. Daffy took another arrow out of his supply, which this time was a thunder one, prepared it in his bow and aimed for the horns on Dora's head.

Sora gripped the handle of his blade with both hands and panted, lifted it into the air to let out a chant, "Thunder!"

As soon as he said that, Daffy shot the arrow. Several thunderbolts hit against Dora's neck and face making her flinch. Two manage to hit her horns like a lighting rod and she shook in electric shock from the attack. This made her let go of Porky. The pig yelled as he fell back to Earth. He quickly pointed the tip of his staff below him, and it stuck in the ground once he made it. He slid down his weapon like a poll. Seeing Dora in this state of shock, Porky quickly got off his rear and ran over to Sora and Daffy. The three tried to think of another strategy so they can finally end this.

Porky informed his two tired teammates, "I th-th-thought of something while she was holding me," Sora and Daffy looked at him all ears, "S-s-so far we've attacked the same body part at once. We can do this better if we spl-spl-separate and attack a different part of her body."

Sora liked the idea and ran with it, "Okay. You take the tail and Daffy will take her face. I'm going for the amulet."

Dora finally came to and turned her attention to Sora's team. She walked toward her, but even her movement was slower from such a long battle and taking a lot of hits. She swiped at the trio with her right claw, but they all ran in different directions. Porky got the to tail and stuck his staff right at the fin. Dora removed her tail and growled at Porky. She whipped her tail at him, to which he blocked with the staff. With her head turned, Daffy got under her and aimed twirled around his staff before stabbing it in the underbelly. Dora's neck straightened while she screeched from the anguish. Sora took this opening and ran toward her with the Keyblade ready. He hit her right in the face with a swing so hard that her head got slammed against several chairs in the stands. When she lifted her head, it moved around in a daze.

Sora called to Daffy and Porky, "I got her dizzy! Help me remove this jewel!"

Daffy and Porky ran up to help the boy. Sora jumped up and stuck his Keyblade above the part where the amulet was held and tried to pull it down. It was a little hard though, with him off his feet. Daffy leaped up and wrapped his arms around Sora, then Porky leaped up to grab Sora's feet. All three combined pushed down to try and pull the amulet off. The more the weight was pushed down, the looser was becoming. It finally snapped off with the boys landing on their feet and the amulet landing in Sora's hand.

Dora began to shrink down to size. Not only that, but she became a humanoid ghost. A girl with blonde hair wrapped in a long ponytail wearing a gown with a green belt, a hair band and slippers. This was her true form on her knees. She pleaded with Sora's group to no more fighting, "Please, spare me from this so I may go to the crystal ball. I wish to cause you no more pain."

Sora could feel Dora was now a different person without the amulet, so his demeanor changed as well as he spoke softly, "We're not going to hurt you, princess. It's over now. We'll let you go back to the ghost zone in peace."

Dora stood up and smiled at the young man, "Thank you," She tossed an inferno band accessory to the group that Porky caught, "Consider that my debt of gratitude," with that, she disappeared.

Sora, Daffy and Porky walked back to the exits now that it was all said and done. As they passed Tucker, Sora tossed him the amulet, "Put that somewhere safe."

Tucker caught and looked at the amulet, then glanced at Sora's group with a whistle, "Forget half bad. Those guys aren't bad at all."

Later that day, the press was in the lobby. Sora, Daffy and Porky stood before Tucker reading off an official "Heroes License" to boys. Danny was also present for the festivities while the cameras rolled or flashed.

Tucker read the statement on the paper out loud, "As a representative and coach for this event, the Amity State Athletic Commission has asked me to present to you a high honor. Thus, I, Tucker Foley, dub Sora the Key Wielder, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig "Junior Heroes" and grants the team all rights and privileges to be contestants in the upcoming games for the "Tournaments of Heroes"," he then handed three licenses to each of the boys, "Congratulations. You guys earned it."

Sora's group all smiled and shook Tuckers and Danny's hands as the cameras took their pictures. They felt Tuckers sentiments that they earned it and could be in the games.

Daffy all of a sudden snapped out of his moment of glory with an angry stare at Tucker, "Hey, just a minute, bub! Just a minute! Just where do you get off calling us "Junior Heroes" anyway?"

Tucker answered as he understood it, "Hey, you're just rookies to the commission. They probably think you don't know what a true hero is."

Porky tapped his chin in wonder, "I w-w-wonder what does make it true."

Danny crossed his arms with a grin on his face, "That's something everyone ends up finding out for themselves. I more than know you three will figure it out. I know I did."

Sora waved his hand in a 'no sweat' type motion, "Not a problem for us. We're going to start by going the distance in all the games," the boy was certainly excited for it.

Tucker had to remind them however, "Too bad there's not going to be any games for a bit. We got a lot to clean up first from the mess that last battle left behind," the janitors walked in with brooms and trash receptacles.

Sora felt a bit sheepish knowing the damage that happened, but he didn't have time to help clean it up. He had other priorities, "That's alright. We'll come back again later. Hey, nice meeting you, Danny."

Danny nodded in agreement, "It was nice meeting you."

The trio waved goodbye and took their leave. Daffy looked at the cameraman, "You can edit out that Junior Heroes remark."

Danny and Tucker waved goodbye as they left the lobby. Tucker then scratched his head a bit, "Man, what a team. I'm still having trouble adding up how those dudes beat a fire ghost dragon."

Danny put a hand to Tuckers ear and whispered, "Between just us guys, keep this under your hat. I had already worn Dora out a bit before Key boy and his pals decided to take her on."

Tucker chuckled at his friend, though he wasn't sure to believe it or not, "Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say."

Sora, Daffy and Porky exited the arena and took the long walk down the parking lot. Daffy spoke up, "Well, that does it for us right now. Let's look somewhere else."

Porky looked at him baffled, but Sora interjected, "We talked with security after the fight. They saw no one who bought a ticket that looked like a rabbit or Riku and Kairi. Time for us to head back to the ship," when they got to the end of the lot, they spotted a familiar face. It was Cloud sitting on a bench. Sora approached him, while Porky and Daffy stood cautious in case any fowl play happened again, "Hi there. You feeling okay?"

Cloud looked pretty upset over something. He lifted his head up to look at Sora, "I'm alright. Don't worry about me. I just have to know better next time who I make a deal with."

Now that he brought it up, Sora was curious, "Yeah, about that. Why did you go along with him anyhow?"

Cloud stood up and told him his story, "Long story short, I'm looking for somebody. Vlad Plasmius promised he would help me if I did something for him in return. He gave me the power of darkness to exploit during my fights in the preliminaries. Once I met you and your friends, they backfired," he looked down at his feet, "I feel into the dark and I saw no sign of any light."

Sora tried to cheer Cloud up, "If it makes you feel better, I feel you'll find it. Heck, I'm doing some searching, too."

This lightened Cloud's spirits a little bit and he asked Sora, "You mean for your light?" Sora nodded yes. After having a cold face for so long, he cracked a bit of a smile at Sora for being nice to him, even after he tried to kill the boy. Cloud reached into his pocket and gave Sora a blueprint for a new ability, "Here. Take this and don't lose sight of your light, no matter how dark it seems."

Sora grinned, "I will, Cloud. Thanks," Cloud walked away, but Sora called out one last time, "Since it ended in a draw, how about a rematch sometime? This time fair and square. No dark powers allowed."

Cloud stopped and arrogantly flicked his hair with his hand, "Right now I think I'll pass."

Cloud went back walking and Porky looked at the blueprint Sora was given, "Oh, it's a S-s-sonic Blade ability. You can make the same fast dashes with your s-s-sword that he did during our match."

Sora got a big grin out of that, "Totally cool!" he put it in his pocket for safe keeping.

On the ship after a few minutes passed, Penny welcomed the boys were back, "Well, you guys look like you had fun down there."

Sora took his seat and lay back, "Yeah, we kind of did."

Daffy got in the pilots chair and switched on a monitor, "Spaceship to engineers. Spaceship to engineers, copy please."

The monitor revealed Sylvester rubbing a knife against a fork ready to eat a pie and singing, "Mama's little baby loves Tweety, tweety/mama's little baby loves Tweety pie/" Daffy cleared his throat to get Sylvester's attention. Sylvester noticed finally he was being watched and laughed nervously, coming up with an alibi, "I was going to save you all a piece."

Tweety popped his head out of the pie and gave an angry look to Sylvester, "Bad ol' puddy tat!"

Daffy grew irritated at this and snapped, "Will you two stop this lunch business and listen!?" The two house pets stood like soldiers as Daffy instructed them, "Amity Park has given us their blessing to be in their tournament games. I want both of you to keep an eye on the world alert us when there's a new one for us to compete in. Understand?" Tweety and Sylvester saluted to acknowledge, "Dodgers out," he turned off the monitor and started the ship back up so they could head to the next world.

After the ship left Amity Park, Vlad could be seen watching Danny on television, "Daniel, you can walk through walls, disappear, fly. You're pure of heart, stick up for your friends and loved ones, and the girls think you're cute," his collected tone changed to a furious one when he blasted the monitor to smithereens, "About as cute as a cockroach!" he yelled while holding his hands out and blasting a ghost ray into the air, "That boy gives me such a headache!" the ghostly man lowered his hands trying to regain his composure, "Settle down, Vlad. No cause for alarm just yet. Things can still run according to plan. Here's what you'll do, let Daniel train the boy with the key. In the games, you'll kill two birds with one stone," he gave a wicked smirk, "So to speak."

A voice from behind him concurred, "Oh, I simply love that old saying."

Vlad turned to see the Green Goblin addressing him, but he wasn't too happy to see the leader of this operation involving the Heartless, "I don't remember you purchasing a ticket to the Amity Palace."

Goblin crossed his arms, "Just checking to see your progress. Time is money, after all, and both of us have lots of money."

"Hmph!" Vlad responded, "You don't need to look over my shoulder. Leave me be."

Goblin decided it was best to do just that, "If that is what you want. Go and fight to your hearts content," Vlad grinned in pride, but that was short lived with what the Goblin said next, "If you seep deeper in the dark powers and begin to sink, I'll happily look over your vast fortune and assets for you," Vlad gritted his teeth and was about ready to rip Goblin a new one. Goblin took his leave however, laughing maniacally. All Plasmius could do was stand there and contemplate his next steps like a game of chess…

Wow, to think I had this chapter planned for Halloween and got started on it, but then time got in the way and I almost forgot about it. Long wait aside; I hope you all enjoyed reading this. I know a lot of you became fans of Danny Phantom and were disappointed that the series ended, so here's a little something for you. Just reassure everyone, I haven't given up writing. In fact, I am going to continue this story until it is finished, I've done a bit of reworking to the storyline in my Silver Key Millennium story, and to you video game fans, I will post a new chapter (since they're mostly one shots) to my Captain N story every so often, so I'm not about to just leave. Until next time, see you guys later, and keep your fingers crossed. I'll try to post a new chapter this weekend.