Hi!
I have come to realize, my action scenes suck! Lol. Oh well! *Shrugs*
All quotes brought to you by the show "Once Upon a Time".
Musical Muses: "FUN!" - SILO x Martin Wave Remix, "Drum Go Dum" K/DA, and "You Really got Me" -League of Legends
"I suppose we should go out and see what's killing property values this time."
-Regina Mills
~/~
In Land of Departure-
The trial period is over.
Now for the test.
No more obstacle courses. No more off-world separate training.
Time to see what they got!
Villains: Maleficent, Captain Hook, Oogie Boogie, Hades, Jafar and Ursula.
The Princesses (+1): Kairi, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Alice, Belle and Ariel.
Due to an uneven number of them, Aqua is making two of the Villains go twice (for those the least roughed up, anyway).
It's the pairs vs Aqua or Sora.
(They took it outside to that open area at the entrance, the throne room would've been trashed otherwise…)
~/~
"Before we begin, I'd like to say something my Master once said at my own trials." Aqua started. Having their attention, she continued. "This is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy- not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you (she looked to each princess and villain) may prevail, or neither. Remember, there are no winners—only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. Let us begin."
Those not fighting sat on the stairs. The spectators were Luxu/Xigbar, Axel (still a Nobody), Ventus, Beast, Donald and Goofy, Riku and various family members of the respective princesses.
Riku had a stockpile of Potions, Elixirs and Ethers on hand for after each battle.
Aqua activated a barrier around the arena for every match.
~Match Start!~
"Two people with a common goal can accomplish many things.
Two people with a common enemy can accomplish even more."
Mr. Gold
Aqua vs Belle and Oogie Boogie, Lock, Shock and Barrel.
Belle held up a book with a grin and the Trick or Treaters smirked.
Aqua raised a brow, curious.
Then, the trio started tossing random things at Belle, who used the book to whack them towards Aqua.
Unimpressed, Aqua prepared to swat them-
Before one blew up in her face!
They were on the move. Scattering, they kept tossing things, and Belle kept trying to hit a stunned Aqua.
Oogie crept behind the distracted woman.
Aqua felt something crawling up her legs.
Bugs!?
Aqua shrieked, not expecting that and tried to shake them off.
Belle ran forward and tried to cast. But Aqua regained her bearings and leapt away, doing a few flips before slowing to a stop.
She grinned.
Whipping her Keyblade to her side, she raised her hand to a 'Bring it!' gesture.
Then, the trio cackled before whipping out random metal things from the Playroom.
Wary now, Aqua took the moment to do a Shotluck.
Belle just raised a brow.
Casting small barriers on the book she had and another she pulled out, she used the same method on the bombs and deflected the attack right back at Aqua.
As the smoke cleared, Belle appeared to have vanished.
Belle was standing behind a confused Aqua.
Oogie handed Belle a pair of shotguns.
Aqua looked back.
Belle smiled.
"Let's crank this up!" Oogie grinned.
Glowing red dice suddenly appeared. Was that a pair of chainsaws flying around?!
Startled, Aqua realized they had her surrounded.
Belle took the safety off the guns and took aim.
The next few minutes was Aqua dodging various types of explosives and Belle's surprisingly good aim.
Aqua was very disoriented by the end of the onslaught. She fell to the ground and Belle stood over her, shotgun to the face.
Aqua smiled.
"The match is over. Good job!"
~/~
Everyone cheered for the exhausted group. Aqua went over to Sora and the two started writing down their notes on the match, both grinning.
A good sign?!
When ready Aqua put up another Barrier.
~/~
~Match Start!~
"I don't run from monsters. They run from me."- Regina
Maleficent and Snow White vs Sora
The pair looked at each other warily. Sora smiled.
He waited patiently for them to make the first move.
Snow brought out various cauldrons and rolled them at random points around them (even Maleficent was curious where this was going) and a bag of gemstones and silently cast something on them and threw them in the air where they eventually just hovered in the air.
She tugged the witch near enough to rapidly whisper what she did and her idea.
Maleficent grinned, before smirking at Sora.
A caw above and Diaval flew to her staff. Maleficent spread her arms and thorns lit by green fire shot out towards Sora.
He grinned, let the fight begin!
Double jumping, he avoided the thorns but was surprised at a yellow gem hitting him and shocking him. He fell to the ground and landed with a Dodge Roll.
The cauldrons bubbled and spat out bubbling somethings that seemed magnetized to the gems. The gems then exploded random spells depending on the color they changed to. Fire, Ice, Lightning, Aero. They went completely random whenever he drew near.
Thorns shot out around him and had to continuously jump to dodge!
And then, apples started appearing among the thorns.
He stared confused at them.
Then two different colored mists started pouring out of them.
Poison?!
But… Why is he getting tired?
(It was Maleficent's Sleep mixed with the Evil Queen's poison).
He then noticed the apples everywhere, the cauldrons were still spitting out spells and he was getting overwhelmed.
"And match!" Aqua yelled.
Sora then passed out to sleep.
~/~
After fixing up Sora and clearing the field, Sora then purposely draped himself over a teasing Riku and started snoring obnoxiously to everyone else's amusement.
~/~
~Match Start!~
Emma: You're a crazy person or a liar or both.
Hook: I prefer dashing rapscallion. Scoundrel?
Captain Hook and Ariel vs Aqua
Hook casually tossed Ariel a pair of swords from his ship as he pulled out his Rapier.
Oh~! So a sword fight this time? Aqua grinned and took a stance.
Hook charged the wench before he pulled out his gun at the last second and fired.
In a flash she deflected while parrying his blows.
She should have paid attention to Ariel who seemed to have vanished.
Until lightning from above startled Aqua.
Looking up, Aqua noticed Ariel flying/swimming above her as Aqua continued dodging Hook.
With a spin, Ariel rapidly closed in on Aqua.
Aqua began leaping back to make some room. Hook then raised his arm as Ariel grabbed him, making them both now airborne.
Hook kept firing at Aqua from above and Ariel seamlessly switched between legs and a tail and Hook adjusted his attacks accordingly.
The two tag teamed Aqua between spells, actual sword fighting, and impressive aerial maneuvers.
The match eventually ended with Ariel's final move: Flying high like she was leaping out of the water, before diving back down with her dual swords in a spin attack where she faked out the obvious hit. Ariel landed early Dodge Rolled and slammed her two swords against Aqua's Guard. The move was so unexpected, Ariel actually managed to catch the Keyblade in her swords and whip it away from Aqua on the ground.
Behind her Hook placed a gun to her head. Metal hook across her throat.
"Match over!" Aqua declared with a proud grin.
~/~
After the match, Hook put his feathered hat on her head with a grin. He took it back before the next match though. Ariel wouldn't stop smiling.
~/~
~Match Start!~
Mr. Gold: Our collective frustrations are because of his will, not our missteps.
Cruella de Vil: I suppose that's better than blaming bad judgement and gin.
Jasmine and Hades vs Sora
Hades glared at Sora's grin. Sora knew most of his tricks after all!
Jasmine patted his arm to get his attention and whispered in his ear. Sora crossed his arms, curious.
Hades grinned.
"Get a load of this!"
Black smoke shot out. Sora just stood calmly.
Out of the smoke came-
Himself.
"As you have repeatedly kept telling us, you died Sora! Hello~! I'm the LORD OF THE DEAD!" Hades bellowed as he fired up like usual.
Unfortunately, the duo didn't think that earlier move through.
KH3 Sora vs KH3 Sora.
EVERYONE suddenly saw just how much Sora held back in their fights until Hades meekly recalled dead 'Sora'. Even Aqua's jaw became unhinged a little.
Huffing, Sora glared at Hades.
Hades now understood how the kid kept beating him in the future. "Can we fight Aqua instead!" He called out to the stands in desperation.
The match continued as Hades quickly recalled the doppelganger and settled for his usual attacks.
A little off kilter, Jasmine eventually got her second wind.
She broke off one of the black spikes made from Hades' smoke and made it an improv staff to start firing spells.
With a very lucky opening at the end, she had Sora briefly pinned with a spike to his throat with fire surrounding them.
He grinned and ended the match.
~/~
Jasmine and Hades sat on the stairs in shock from the Sora vs Sora match. The others tried to cheer them up.
~/~
~Match Start!~
"Much like a snowflake, each person's magic is unique."- Rumple
Alice and Jafar vs Aqua
Extremely wary now, the two eyed each other, without words telling the other to be careful.
Jafar started chanting before he fired his laser towards Aqua. Alice suddenly vanished with her smile the last to be seen.
Reappearing somewhere else, she drank a bottle and grew in size. Jafar turned into an orb and reappeared to stand on Alice's hand.
Since firing the laser meant he couldn't move, Alice solved that problem by holding him in hand and steadily moving him and random directions.
Whenever Aqua got near, Alice vanished and then randomly changed sizes.
At one point she became small enough to hide on Aqua before taking another sip of a bottle, leaping off Aqua's shoulder and grabbing her Keyblade!
Aqua just stared.
Jafar actually stopped to stare too, before shaking himself out of it and resumed.
"Match over." Aqua spoke, stumped. She shook her head and resummoned the Keyblade back into her hand.
~/~
The girls rushed to Alice's side excited for her.
Alice looked over to Sora and he held out a very familiar Keychain before pocketing it with a grin.
Kairi grinned while hugging the girl.
~/~
~Match Start!~
Hook: What the hell are you doing? You're depriving me of a dashing rescue.
Emma: Sorry. The only one who saves me is me.
Cinderella and Ursula vs Sora
Steeling themselves, they nodded to each other.
Like Ariel, Ursula took the aerial route. Cinderella used a sword her prince gave her to attack.
Suddenly, mirrors and giant bubbles.
The mirrors circled around Cinderella reflecting the spells Aqua cast back at her while the bubble acted like the gems Snow used earlier. The mirrors also parted whenever Cinderella was about to strike.
With a kick, Cinderella launched Aqua towards Ursula who grappled Aqua with her tentacles.
Ursula laughed as she raised them higher in the air until Aqua freed herself and landed gracefully on the ground.
Then, Ursula started firing off magic towards the mirrors, reflected towards the bubbles that bounced around each other towards a direct route to Aqua. Aqua realized that Ursula was using them to redirect her magic, keeping Aqua on guard.
Cinderella then used the back side of the mirrors as stepping stones to gain a height advantage.
Then, she whips out a glass shoe from her pocket.
(At the stairs, the Fairy Godmother rolls her eyes fondly at her goddaughter).
Quickly putting the shoe on, the glass spread up and around her in a swirl of blue sparkles forming strong looking armor that refracted in the light when she leapt in the air ready to strike Aqua.
Soon, Aqua became disoriented with the light shining everywhere from the mirrors, bubbles and Cinderella's new armor.
Dodging swords and spells, Aqua eventually called the match. (Once armored up, Aqua was unable to land a hit anymore).
~/~
Now standing still, everyone admired Cinderella's armor that looked to be a cross of the Armor the Wayfinder trio used made of the glass slipper with bits of Cinderella's ball gown, thrown in both for coverage and aesthetics.
Aqua asked Cinderella to find her later to redesign it for more practical use since it was literally designed on the spot. (Cinderella asked her godmother for the spell during her time home, knowing she'll be in more fights than balls. This was the first time she tried it. The prince fell even harder for her by the end of the fight, much to his fathers' teasing).
~/~
~Match Start!~
Emma: Well I don't pillage and plunder on the first date, just so you know.
Hook: Well that's because you haven't been out with me yet.
Kairi and Hades vs Sora
While in the stands, Kairi talked quietly with Sora about his fight with his counterpart. Not giving away her plan, she asked what she could to avoid that mistake again.
Nodding, she got ready for the fight and quickly whispered to Hades the new plan. Looking hesitantly at the kid, he reluctantly nodded.
Sora calmly summoned the Keyblade and stood at the ready.
Hades spread out his smoke at the edges of the barrier. Telltale signs of the Underworld taking form in his blue fire.
On Kairi's side, she summoned-
Herself and Riku (the KH3 versions) walking out to stand on either side of her .
(Riku looked in wonder back and forth between the three future-friends.)
(Aqua looked on with extreme concern, remembering the previous fight where Sora fought himself. She then looked at the younger kids, Riku and Kairi, and noted the differences a few years made.)
Hades was inwardly panicking about the upcoming fight, but played it cool. He just had to remain calm and remember the plan.
The dead duo whipped out their Keyblades and charged at Sora. Kairi stepped back to hide in the smoke and fire.
As the Keyblade trio fought, Kairi observed and waited for an opening. (No one could deny her taking a moment now and then to admire/take notes on her future fighting style).
Then the trio had their blades locked.
There!
Using the smoke, she kept low and stealthy as she raced to them and quickly snatched his Keyblade and quickly whirled around to kick him back a few steps.
With a nod, Future-Riku backed away back into the smoke, leaving the two girls to face him.
Sora grinned.
Kairi quickly switched out the Keychain for her lucky charm, forming Oathkeeper. (Her hunch was right!)
The girls charged at him.
What happened next was basically a game of keep away with the Keyblades, both trying to keep theirs out of Sora's grip as they overwhelmed him. Every time he summoned one to his grip, KH3 Kairi appeared the next second and summoned it back to hers, teleporting and having the blade appear and disappear (Like in her own fight against Xehanort in Melody of Memories).
The younger Kairi watched how the elder did it and quickly adapted until she could do it too. But there was also a very obvious gap in skill level.
While this happened, Hades wasn't idle. Using the smoke, he made various spikes and other things to injure Sora or provide more openings.
Eventually, predictably, he lit himself on fire and tried to torch everything.
"Match over!" Sora grinned at an exhausted Kairi.
~/~
Sora watched sadly as the elder Kairi calmly walked back into the smoke when the match ended.
He felt two pairs of arms hug him from both sides and dazedly recognized Riku and Kairi holding him tight.
Oh, he was crying.
~/~
~Match Start!~
Regina: I'm not in the mood for a hope speech, Emma.
Emma: You're mistaking me for my mother. Besides you don't need a speech, you need a drinking buddy. Shots?
Aurora and Maleficent vs Sora
The two looked at each other warily, awkwardly. With everything that happened, they took to avoiding each other.
Sora crossed his arms, watching them patiently.
Aurora took a breath and slowly let it out. She faced the Dark Fae head on, stepped close and whispered the plan.
Intrigued, the witch listened.
And then, Aqua just knew she was in for a fight this time.
The two separated enough for the witch to slam her staff to the ground to raise a small portion of the ground to hover in the air. Aurora standing close behind her.
Raising her staff, Maleficent smirked.
"Meteors of Heaven!"
("Uh oh!" Sora mumbled, remembering this spell).
Spreading her arms, the witch grinned. "Unleash thy fury!"
Behind the two girls, what looked like a portal to the ocean between, spread out behind them. And then, giant glowing meteors shot out towards Aqua, who dodged where she could.
What she didn't see was Aurora leaping on one to get her up close to Aqua.
As Aura leapt above the Master, Maleficent cackled and summoned more.
Aurora cast both Magnet and Aero to scatter the meteors.
Aqua slashed at them where she could to scatter the rubble behind her.
Then, Aurora cast Magnega to gather it all above her and cast Aeroga to spread it almost as fast as bullets while quickly throwing in a Bind.
Maleficent dropped the platform as Bind hit and Aqua fell to the ground.
"Match!"
~/~
Maleficent raised a brow, unspoken question if she used that spell on him.
Sora winced, but nodded.
She silently cackled at him.