Author's note: Before we start this chapter, I'd like to wish a merry Christmas to AvalorianJaquin, Guest (the one who created Double D) and Princess Peacock. I would've done so on the day of Christmas, but I cannot PM guests.
Blu pushed groans and exclamations as he jumped and flipped around to avoid the combined attacks of Aline and Amity. He managed to block a fireball from the young witch before losing a few feathers from Aline, who cut him with her cat claws. "Hey! Those a very hard to take care of! Aerora!" the Spix's macaw exclaimed, pushing his opponents back with a little explosion of wind.
"It's always fun to play cat and mouse... Or in this case, cat and parrot!" Aline mused. The feline charged forward and kept attacking with her claws that Blu deviated with his Wing of Love Keyblade. "Unfortunately for you, it's always the cat that wins in this game!"
"Then how about we replace the cat by a mouse?" Blu suggested. "Mini!" He rose his Keyblade and cast a spell that turned Aline into a tiny, little cat.
"Hey! What have you done to me?!" Aline bellowed with a comically high-pitched voice.
"Mini's a spell that shrinks my enemies and greatly reduce their attack strength. Don't worry; you should be back to normal soon, but I'll have you out by then," Blu explained as he got ready to attack Aline.
"Barrier Cage!" Before he could do so, however, Amity created a tall, circular cage around him. Blu attempted to break out by hitting the cage with his Keyblade, but felt mild pain upon doing so.
Seeing that simply hitting the cage wasn't getting him anywhere, the Spix's macaw decided to turn to magic once again. "Aeroga!" He summoned a wind barrier around himself and pressed it against the cage until it snapped, setting him free once more. As soon as he was out, Blu engaged Amity in combat, striking her Abomination with his Keyblade. Once the monster was done, he got close enough to Amity to cast another spell. "Poison!"
Blu created an explosion of purple bubbles that knocked Amity back, the young witch falling on one knee as she realized this spell would slowly drain her energy away. Thankfully, the Mini spell on Aline ended at the same time, allowing her to return to her normal size and knock Blu away with Fire Glyph. "Amity, you're alright?"
"My strength are leaving me; I can feel it," Amity replied with a frown.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know any medical magic that can help you with that. Guess we'll just have to hurry and take Blu out as fast as we can," Aline explained and started launching glyphs at the Spix's macaw once again.
Jameson, meanwhile, was still locked in his struggle against Roman. Even with backup from his Dream Eaters, this fight was more than the little vigilante could handle. Cera Terror tried again and again to charge into the wolf, who dodged all the charges with ease.
"You know what the definition of madness is?" Roman asked. "It's when you do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome." Kooma Panda attempted to body slam the wolf, forcing him to roll out of the way and open himself to Cera Terror's Spike Spin attack. Before the attack could connect, Roman grabbed his survival knives and blocked the spikes, following with a series of strokes and kicks to the Dream Eater's unprotected underbelly. The sustained damage forced the Dream Eater to fade away and return to the Dream Realm.
Enraged by his friend's defeat, Kooma Panda used his Panda Punch ability, rapidly spinning his arms to hit Roman. This last one simply jumped back to keep his distance until the Dream Eater ran out of juice, and then delivered a lethal hit with his knives to send him back to the Dream Realm with Cera Terror. Seeing his two companions taken out, Jameson jumped in the air and raised his baseball bat. "Balloonga!" Summoning colorful balls, he smacked them away so they could bounce toward Roman.
Just before the magic balloons could hit him, Roman's instincts kicked in, allowing him to avoid them with flips and evading maneuvers. Once they were all gone, he swiftly grabbed his crossbow and shot a laser bolt into Jameson's should, the young owl groaning in pain as he fell to the ground. "Sorry, kid, but I did warn you that I wasn't going to hold back."
The wolf approached the injured owlet, but received a dive kick across the face before being able to do anything. Jameson's rescuer turned out to be none other than the Mystical Dancer, Almyra. "Wanna take it out on a kid? How about you dance with me first?"
"What are you doing, Almyra? You're not supposed to help me; it's everyone for themselves!" Jameson exclaimed whilst clutching his shoulder, embarrassed that he got rescued by his peahen friend.
"My apologies, Jameson, but I cannot let a child getting hurt like this by adults; you shouldn't even be here in the first place," Almyra replied, not looking away from Roman. "I may not be able to stop you from entering the competition now, but I can at least keep a close eye on you."
"But-"
"This is not up for debate, Jameson! You may have strong magic, but you're far from being able to face the other participants here, so I'm gonna keep doing what I can to keep you safe, understood?!"
Understanding he wouldn't be changing his friend's mind, Jameson simply looked at the ground. "... But how will my uncle and auntie se me as a hero if I'm the one who gets protected...?"
As Almyra engaged Roman in combat, the countdown ran its course, announcing the next entrance.
('What Else Can I Do?' by Diane Guerrero and Stephanie Beatriz)
I just made something unexpected
Something sharp, something new
It's not symmetrical or perfect
But it's beautiful and it's mine
What else can I do?
The arena was suddenly bathed in many colorful lights as plants and flowers of every possible and imaginable color decorated the outside of the fighting zone. A figure ascended from the top of the arena on vines that were also decorated with flowers. Everybody quickly recognized this figure: Isabela Madrigal.
Bring it in, bring it in
Good talk, bring it in, bring it in (what else can I do?)
Let's walk, bring it in, bring it in
Free hugs, bring it in, bring it in
I grow rows and rows of roses
Flor de mayo, by the mile
I make perfect, practiced poses
So much hides behind my smile
Swinging around on the tip of her vine, the Golden Child of the Madrigal Family blew kisses at everyone in he audience. Silver and Staghart were practically yelling like little girls whilst Abuela was nodding in approval with a smile. She gracefully stepped down into the fighting zone before pulling her vine away. She arrived just in time to see Logan and Rachel coming to a break from the duel they started in their Limit Form and Wind Princess Gear respectively.
"Are you tired yet, Logan?" Rachel asked, her breath heavy and her skin covered in sweat.
From behind his beetle mask, Logan gave confident grin. "Are you kidding? I'm barely getting warmed up!" After this statement, however, he frowned and took deep breaths. "I may be saying this, but I'm actually close to the roll's end; my arms and legs are burning! Not only that, but my magic energy is starting to get short, too. I need to manage my strength from now on or I will be out cold before the last participant enters..."
"Rachel!" Isabela beamed as she approached the duo. "It's so nice to see you again! Bruno's been missing you lately...?! Wait a minute, I recognize you! You're that disgusting, drunk man who kissed Mirabel back in Epcot!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Logan.
"Great, just what I needed, another mad Madrigal to make my life miserable...," Logan groaned.
"He also eliminated Luisa earlier, Isabela! Make him pay!" Abuela yelled from the audience.
She did not had to ask twice as Isabela, fueled by her anger, pulled gigantic vines from the ground and immediately sent them straight at Logan. The young man began frantically swinging his Bug's Justice Keyblade to cut the vines as they came. With his fatigue holding him back, he was only able to defend himself thanks to the speed granted to him by his Limit Form. But even then, the task was not easy for more.
Deciding he needed to put some distance, Logan opened his beetle wings and took off to the air, narrowly avoiding the incoming vines. Isabela, however, did not intend to let him escape so easily and managed to grab him with more vines, slamming him repeatedly on the ground, Hulk style.
"Cheese...and...crackers!" Logan groaned in pain as he rested on his knees, clutching his torso. "Would you freakin' Madrigals leave me alone already? I apologized for kissing Mirabel and made a deal with Luisa earlier in the match!"
"And you expect me to accept it so easily?" Isabela asked, approaching Logan with a glare. "I just know the type of guy you are - the kind who thinks he's so irresistible he can kiss all the girls he want! And don't go thinking I'm not aware of everything you've done in Epcot! It's clear that you've allowed your position as a Dream Defender to get to your head and believe you can cause all the trouble you want with no consequences! People think you're a hero in the same vein as the Dream Keepers, but my family knows that you're nothing but an horrible person and a fraud!"
At this moment, Logan's eyes snapped wide open, these words causing something to just snap inside of him. In a split-second, he appeared next to Isabela and grabbed her arm with his hand, holding it hard. "... Take back...what you said...!" he ordered in a low, threatening voice. His eyes were giving a piercing glare from behind his mask as he tightened his grip, hurting Isabel's arm. "TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID RIGHT NOW, DRAKE!"
"Let go! You're hurting me!" Isabel demanded with tears in her eyes. "And why are you calling me 'Drake'? I'm Isabela!"
Rachel interfered by kicking Logan away. "Logan, calm down! There's no need to react so harshly to simple insults!"
In a matter of seconds, Logan's glare melted away, the young man rubbing the side of his head with a shocked expression. "My gosh. I-I'm so sorry, Rachel... I don't know what came over me-"Isabela smacked the young man away with a trunk before he could finish his sentence.
"Isabela!" Rachel scolded.
Sprig hopped across the battlefield with Adam flying behind him, the frog avoiding electric blasts whilst fighting back with his bills. "You won't catch me!" Sprig taunted, shooting a bill that exploded and released a web that Adam cut off with a circular buzz saw from his arm.
"It's true that catching a frog bouncing everywhere is difficult. Looks like I'll need some help." Pulling a metallic package from an hidden compartment in his arm, Adam pressed a button and turned it into a little robot. "Mind lending me a hand, GO-4? I need help catching that pink frog over there."
GO-4 gave a few positive beeps before going after Sprig, shooting lasers and giving swings in close range. "Oh, no, you don't!" Sprig declared, shooting an explosive bill that directly connected with the robot, pulling it out of commission. "Yeah! Nothing's gonna stop the champion of Wartwood!" Lost in his joy, the amphibian realized too late that Adam was standing next to him, pointing his robotic arm that charged energy at his face. "... And I regret saying that..." Adam released his charged energy blast that sent the little frog out of the fighting zone.
"Sprig Plantar has been eliminated!"
"Alright! My first elimination of the match!" Adam beamed and went to fight someone else until the countdown reached zero.
('Heart of Courage' by Two Steps From Hell)
Hercules crashed through the entrance gate and made a run for the fighting zone while every Greek God, Goddess and other important figure cheered for their young mortal hero. "Finally! You got this, son!" Zeus beamed from his seat, only to blush and sit down when everybody in he arena stared at him, reminding the God of Olympus he had to stay neutral in this event.
Entering the fighting zone, the son of Zeus kept running and made his first victim by charging into Roman like a train, sending him to fly many feet away. "Alright, who wanna go at it first?" he asked and cracked his neck.
"I do!" Destiny announced as she approached the God with a grin.
"Oh, hey, Destiny! Been a while!" Hercules crossed his arms. "Young Percy told me you've become his student after our little fight with Cerberus, is that true?"
"You bet it is! Wanna see everything he taught me?" the whale asked with a confident grin as she made water float around her.
"It would be my pleasure! Just don't expect me to go easy on you, okay?"
With a swing of her hands, Destiny sent water jets toward Hercules, who activated his Aura Guard ability to summon a golden aura around his body that blocked the attacks. He then took out his sword and began spinning like a spinning top with the intention to cut his opponent. Destiny took a note from this move and made a jet of water flow around her at tremendous speed to create a water tornado, clashing it against the God's sword. The struggle lasted a few seconds before both opponents were pushed backwards.
Not wanting to give Hercules a chance to recover, Destiny created a pillar of ice that she smacked with her tail to send ice shards at him. However, the son of Zeus avoided them all and charged into her with a headbutt, ramming his head into her stomach, which knocked the wind out of her and sent her to the ground.
"Not bad at all, Destiny, but you still got a long way to go if you wanna defeat a God like me!" Hercules boasted and jumped up to go for a ground slam on the lying whale.
In spite of her size, Destiny managed to roll out of the dangerous attacks' way in time and counterattacked with a swing of her tail that actually managed to break through Hercules' protection and smacked him away. "Ice Trail!" Just like she did with Ahsoka earlier in the match, Destiny used the water on the ground to send a trail of ice that reached Hercules and kept him on the spot. "Now, get ready to feel the full weight of a whale shark!"
Hopping up into the air, Destiny turned back into her normal whale form, the force of gravity bringing her down upon the immobilized God with a solid crash. Everybody in the arena gasped, thinking the hero of Olympus had been crushed down. However, Destiny suddenly felt something pushing against her and slowly lift her up in the air. Hercules had actually survived the hit and was now holding the aquatic creature above his head as everyone cheered for him. Pulling one of his arm back, he slammed his hand into Destiny's underbelly to send her flying not only high in the air but all the way outside the fighting zone.
"Destiny has been eliminated!"
"No! Destiny!" Logan exclaimed, shocked to see his girlfriend taken out of the competition.
Aline came to put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Logan, but if you truly want to win, then she would have had to be eliminated at one point or another. There can only be one winner, remember?"
As he watched Destiny being escorted out of the arena, Logan pushed a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right...," he replied, still feeling demoralized.
Meanwhile, RDJ was still locked in a struggle against the gun-hating gargoyle that was Broadway. "I'd like to say fighting you is a pleasure, but you're honestly quite annoying with that aggressive attitude of yours!" the bounty hunter commented as he tried to keep his distances whilst shooting with his AK-D1.
"I will destroy your evil weapons!" Broadway bellowed as he attempted to punch RDJ down, only for him to roll out of the way, letting his fist hit the ground instead.
RDJ switched to cryo ammos and shot at the gargoyle, trapping him into a block of ice. "There, that should keep you calm for a while. Who wanna face me now?"
The one to answer that challenge was none other than Sora, who grinned. "I sure do; it was getting pretty exhausting to fight against Toren and Aline all the time!"
"A Keyblade Wielder, huh? Looks like it's the perfect time to switch my weapons. Primary Weapon: Double-barreled rifle!" RDJ switched his assault rifle for a more ancient-looking one.
Sora tilted his head with a curious expression as he looked at the gun. "I feel like I've seen this weapon somewhere before..."
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY GUN?!" Clayton, the antagonist of the classic Tarzan movie yelled from the audience.
"I had to visit Tarzan's island once, during one of my missions. During this time, I had the fortune of locating all the pieces of your broken weapon, so I decided to take them with me and rebuild it," RDJ explained. "I've always wanted to know what it's like to be a British hunter from the old days; looks like it's the perfect time to find out!"
The bounty hunter began shooting at the incoming Keyblade Hero, who easily blocked the shots thanks to his Parrying ability. In response, he sent elemental spells that RDJ avoided by constantly remaining on the move and attacking from afar. Understanding he needed to change tactics, Sora jumped up in the air. "Shotlock: Infinity Circle!" Focusing his energy, the Keyblade Hero created a massive, circular explosion that touched RDJ and actually sent him flying outside the fighting zone.
"RDJ has been eliminated!"
"Alright! My first elimination!" Sora beamed with throwing a fist in the air.
Outside the fighting zone, RDJ sighed as he retrieved his cowboy hat and pulled his gun away. "Three eliminations and quite a long time in the match. Guess I did okay; it will be good for my business." Taking his defeat with grace, the bounty hunter walked out of the arena just as the countdown reached zero again.
('Circle of Life' by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.)
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
Sithi uhm ingonyama
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama
Ingonyama
Siyo Nqoba
Ingonyama
The titantron showed the sun slowly rising over an African landscape, the watchers getting excited as they recognized the iconic cinema opening. The song went on until it reached the part where the participant would make his entrance.
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the circle of life!
Then, it happened: the fierce figure of a lion stepped through the entrance gate - but not any lion. No, it was the Lion King himself, Simba! Every animal in the arena cheered at the top of their lungs for the King of Pride Lands and one of the most important figures in all of Animal Kingdom.
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Simba simply gave a grateful smile to everybody cheering for him and even gave a respectful bow to Zeus on his way to the fighting zone. Upon entering the battlefield, he expected to be met with tens of opponents, but not to be reunited with an old friend. "Simba!" Sora beamed, a bright smile on his face.
"Do I know you...?! Wait, it's Sora!" the Lion King exclaimed. "Forgive me; I'm still not used seeing you as a human instead of a lion. How are you doing, my friend?"
"Pretty good! I've been busy lately, y'know, having to get ready for my fourth game, getting captured, and all. But except that, I'm tops! If you don't like my current looks, how about we change it?" Sora held his Keyblade above his head and transformed into his lion form from Kingdom Hearts 2, with his grayish brown fur and white underbelly while retaining his brown hair and necklace. He also traded the ultima Weapon Keyblade for the Circle of Life one, holding it in his mouth. "Ready for a little lion brawl?"
The two friends began a little duel in which they dashed on all four across the battlefield. It took Sora a moment to get used to his lion form once again, but once it was done, he was able to run at an impressive speed while striking with his Keyblade. For the fist moments, this fight consisted of the lions running after each other with Simba clashing his claws against Sora's Keyblade, sending sparks flying in the air.
At one point, Sora launched a Thunder spell that Simba avoided and replied with a roar that knocked the Keyblade Hero on his back. "That was a solid roar you did there, Simba!" he praised.
"Thank you, Sora. My roar may not be as powerful as Kion's or Vitani's, but it is still helpful nonetheless," the King of Pride Lands explained with a nod.
Sora charged forward, ready to attack again, when he received an electric discharge that stunned him followed by a punch from an unknown source that knocked him to he ground. Then, Roman appeared from thin air with a grin. "Should've been more careful, kid; you stepped right into one of my traps!"
"Who may you be?" Simba asked, receiving a smirk from the wolf.
"Me? I'm a hunter who's chased a lot of animals through his life... But never a lion. And I must admit that I've always wondered what it'd be like to hunt one of the fiercest animals in the world and also the king of the savannah." Roman brandished his two survival knives. "Let the hunt begin!"
With a cry of rage and excitation, the wolf ran to engage the lion in close combat, clashing his survival knives against his claws. Simba went for a sweep that Roman ducked and delivered a knee strike to his ribs followed by a punch. However, the Lion King managed to grab his arm in his jaw and slammed him hard on the ground. He raised hi paw to claw him down, but the wolf blocked with his knife and hit a kick to the lion's face, making him stumble back.
Getting back on his two feet, Roman began delivering a barrage of strikes, elbows, knees and kicks to the stunned Lion King. "Come on, is that all a lion can do?!" He got ready to deliver a violent strikes, but the King of Pride Lands suddenly flipped on his back and used his strong legs to push him far and high into the air, just like he did to defeat Scar on top of Pride Rock. The wolf landed on the round with a loud thud. "... That's more like it!"
In another spot of the fighting zone, Amity was locked in a magical duel with Almyra, the Mystical Dancer using her Dance of the Mystical Veils to fight while the young witch defended herself with her glyphs. "Are you still mad at me for ruining that girl's dress?"
"No... Well, a little, but that's not the main reason! It's because I have to take you out if I want a chance at winning this event and catch Gazelle's attention!" Almyra explained. She performed belly dance moves to send jets of magic at Amity.
"This is not good," Amity thought to herself and she protected herself with her Plant Magic. "That girl's magic dancing is pretty strong. Not only that, but I can still feel the effects of that blue bird's poison spell; my energy's getting drained by the seconds. I don't know how much longer I can hold on..."
With desperation setting in, the young witch used her Thorn Vault spell to send vines covered in thorns toward her enemy. The Mystical Dancer responded by creating a magic brick wall that blocked the vines at the last second. "Hypnotic Dance!" The Indian peafowl reached her hands above her head and began moving her body like a snake, performing VERY alluring moves.
Amity found herself unable to look away from Almyra. Somehow, her dance moves had a hypnotic effect on her mind, nullifying any resistance she had before. Not stopping to move, the peahen approached Amity and took her chin in her hand. "Would you be a nice little girl and have the kindness to walk out of here, sweetie?"
"With...pleasure...," Amity replied with a sleepy voice as she turned around and began walking toward the fighting zone's limit. By the time she snapped out of her trance, it was too late and she had already walked out. "Oh, no!"
"Amity blight has been eliminated!"
Almyra stopped dancing and gave a satisfied nod. "That'll teach you to ruin pieces of art like Vicky's wonderful dress, young one." Following this statement, the Mystical Dancer looked around and realized that everybody in the audience looked at her with their eyes wide open and their jaw hanging. She giggled and blushed a bit. "Looks like I've been putting on a show again." The peahen went to fight someone else until the countdown reached zero again.
('Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' by Set It Off)
Hahaha, this is about you
Beware, beware, be skeptical
Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold
Deceit so natural
But a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning
The arena's lighting turned dark blue with a spotlight shining near the entrance to reveal...nothing? Everybody in the audience began chatting in confusion, seeing as nobody was coming out, the spotlight frantically moving everywhere in search of the 34th participant.
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any soul?
No sir, by the way, what the heck are morals?
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jill's a little liar, and her alibis are dirty tricks
At last, the spotlight managed to find its target standing on the edge delimiting the audience and the arena. An anthropomorphic wolf with gray and white fur and brown eyes. His attire consisted of a sheep-themed hoodie with detached sleeves, short shorts, wool-covered boots, and faux sheep horns headphones.
"Who's that guy?" someone in the audience asked.
"And when did he get there? I didn't see him!" someone else said.
With a confident smirk, the mysterious wolf jumped from his spot and performed a series of athletic flips all the way into the fighting zone. Once inside, he struck another pose just before Adam approached him. "I don't remember meeting you before. Are you new to the Magical World?" the cyborg asked.
"Kinda," the wolf replied, pulling his paws into his hoodie's pockets. "The name's Benjamin Burton, but you may call me 'Ben', Dream Defender."
"Oh? So you know about my group?"
"Only by reputation; how you guys were created by this generation's Dream Keeper and how you saved the Magical World countless times. I was honestly hoping that some of you would be there as taking you out would be good for my name." Ben grinned. "You're that cyborg guy part of the S.E.A., aren't you?"
"Exactly. If it's a challenge that you want, I'd be more than happy to deliver," Adam declared, charging his robotic arm with energy and getting ready to shoot some electricity.
Far rom looking intimidated, Ben simply stayed in place and kept looking at the cyborg with a grin. Everybody excepted the adventurer to take the wolf out with a powerful blast...but he didn't shoot. In fact, his fierce expression died down as he slowly lowered his robotic arm. This did not go unnoticed by Rachel. "Adam, what are you doing?! Shoot!"
"I... I...," Adam stuttered, looking unsurely at the ground. "... I don't know why, but... I don't feel the need to do it..."
"What do you mean, you don't feel the need to do it?!" Rachel asked in confusion.
Ben chuckled at this. "Good, now, just move on and go fight someone else, would ya?" Adam surprisingly obeyed this demand and turned around as the wolf reached for something in his hoodie. It looked like a shepherd's crook, the handle of which he extended to get a better reach. He used the hook of this staff to sweep Adam off his feet and then smack him away.
Shaking her confusion aside, Rachel lifted Maleficent's Bane and charged at Ben...only to halt herself and stop her attack at the last second, just like Adam did. "What's wrong? Why did I lose my desire to attack him?" she thought to herself.
Using his shepherd's crook, Ben knocked Maleficent's Bane out of Rachel's hands before getting on his back and kicking her away with his powerful legs. "I gotta feeling this whole thing's gonna be a lot of fun!" the wolf boasted with a smirk.
Logan rested on his Owl Buster sword, taking deep breaths to recharge his energy. He had managed to escape Isabela's fury and now tried to get a little rest. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as Broadway suddenly landed close to him, his face indicating a clear intention to fight.
"Brooklyn told me that you're a master in the art of pro wrestling!" the gargoyle said. "What do you say you and I have a little hand-to-hand combat here and now?"
Pushing a sigh, Logan made Owl Buster disappear and grinned. "Alright, I wanted to rest a bit, but the idea is too promising to pass on!"
The young man kicked things off by delivering a chop to Broadway's chest, the attack having little to no effect. In response, he slammed his bigger hand on Logan's chest, causing him to wince and step back. Nonetheless, he kept pressing on his chops, the two combatants exchanging chops and slaps to each other's chest until Broadway got the upper hand, then grabbed Logan and tossed him many feet away.
"No offense, kid, but your attacks tickled me!" the gargoyle mused.
In response, Logan slipped behind Broadway and hit him on the ground with a German Suplex. "I'm not a kid! And I strongly doubt that tickled!"
Groaning in aggression, Broadway began swinging his fists and arms in a series of failed attempts to hit Logan. The Owl responded by delivering multiple roundhouse kicks to his chest, ending by locking hands with the gargoyle and engaging a strength contest. Thanks to Anubis' Khopesh, Logan was actually able to stand his grounds and push Broadway back. Realizing his situation, the gargoyle free one of his hands and smacked Logan across the face, making him stumble back. He clutched his face for a moment before jumping and delivering a knee strike to the gargoyle's jaw.
Taking advantage of his stunned condition, Logan began delivering a series of strikes and elbows to Broadway's face, ending with an exploder suplex that slammed him hard on the ground. Logan then jumped on Broadway's back and applied a sleeper hold from which he quickly escaped by flipping the young man over his shoulder and then caught him off guard with a clothesline. The countdown came to an end soon after.
('You're Welcome' by Dwayne Johnson)
What can I say except, "You're welcome"
For the tides, the sun, the sky
Hey, it's okay, it's okay
You're welcome
I'm just an ordinary demi-guy
As soon as the song began playing, everybody instantly knew who was coming. Maui the demigod of South Pacific legend burst through the entrance and performed a Manu Siva Tau (a Samoan war dance designed to strike fear into the opponents' heart). He then brandished his Fish Hook and turned into a hawk to fly around, perform a few aerial acrobatics, and then land in the fighting zone.
"Watch out, everyone! Maui's in the place!" he boasted, turning back into his human form. "Man, I've been waiting forever to get in here! It's almost like the gods are still mad at me and purposefully gave me a late number just to get on my nerves. Anyway, who wanna get at it first?"
At this question, Mini Maui, the little tattoo in Maui's skin, began hopping to get his attention and pointed at another god that happened to come his way. "Hey, Maui! How you doing?" Hercules asked with a smile. "It's been a while since I've seen you; still sailing the sea of the Pacific Ocean?"
"You bet!" Maui beamed. "I sometimes pay a little visit to Moana's village and help her when she decides to go discover new territories, but except that, I'm free as the wind. Hey, wanna wrestle it out here and now?"
"With pleasure!" Hercules replied, cracking his knuckles.
The crowd cheered loudly at the prospect of seeing two famous deities fighting each other. Said deities walked around in circle for a moment before stepping forward and starting the brawl by trading rapid blows. After delivering at least 30 blows, they both backed up before charging for simultaneous shoulder tackles that caused them to stumble back. Refusing to give his opponents any ground, Hercules immediately returned on the offensive by going for a clothesline that Maui ducked, catching the Greek hero with his giant hook, and throwing him away with a good swing.
"That's gonna be one victory for Maui!" the Polynesian God boasted, striking a pose by flexing his muscles, which excited the ladies in the audience. He then jumped and attempted to squash Hercules down, but this last one brought back his golden aura and created a golden energy explosion that knocked Maui back.
By this point, the crowd was divided in two categories: the Moana fans and the Hercules fans. Hercules waited for Maui to get back up before hitting him with a devastating clothesline and then grabbed him by the legs, throwing him toward the limit of the fighting zone like a rock. Summoning the power of his Fish Hook, Maui turned into a hawk to save himself. He dove down toward Hercules, changing back into his human form at the last second to slam with all of his weight into him.
"Let's go Maui/Hercules!" the crowd chanted as the beloved gods clashed into yet another battle of fists. Hercules hit a bullet punch across Maui's face before charging twice into him with his charging headbutt. As he attempted a third one, Maui lifted Hercules on his shoulders for a Samoan Drop that hit him hard on the ground. He then eagerly waited for his opponent to get back on his feet before slipping his arm over his shoulder, lifting him up, and then slamming him down with force on the ground.
"Alright! Do you smell what Maui's cooking?" Logan beamed for some reason.
Toren gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about, dude? Maui's not cooking anything-"
"That was a pro wrestling reference!"
Sora, back in his human form, swung his Ultima Weapon Keyblade to destroy the shadows surrounding him. No matter how many ones Poe sent at him, the Keyblade Hero had no problem turning them into smoke once again. "You have quite impressive skills, Sora. It is no surprise that Lady Rachel and young Logan hold you in high esteem," Poe complimented his opponent.
"When you've been on so many adventures like I did, you end up learning a thing or two," Sora replied with a chuckle. He launched a Thunder spell that Poe blocked by taking cover behind a shadow shield. When the Shadow Magicians summoned shadow balls and sent them his way, Sora used his Waterga spell that create a water barrier around himself, blocking the attacks and sending water pellets at Poe. "Now, time to use some summoning. Link: Wonder Balloon!"
The Keyblade Hero's body shone with light as he summoned his Meow Wow Dream Eater, the adorable creature happily hopping into his arm before allowing him to sit on his back. Meow Wow bounced around, creating tornadoes that defeated Poe's shadows whilst sometimes blowing steam to knock them away.
This scene did not go unnoticed by Jameson. "You can summon Dream Eaters, too?!"
"Sure can; I've been to the Dream Realm, too, in one of my adventures!" Sora responded as Meow Wow stopped bouncing.
"That's so cool!" Jameson beamed. "In that case, let's have a little Dream Eater duel. Come to me, Jestabocky!" The little black owl held his baseball bat forward, summoning the jester-like Dream Eater. Sora got off his own Dream Eater's back so he could properly duel.
The two Dream Eaters engaged in their fight (though it looked more like they were playing a game of 'catch me!' - the audience let out charmed 'awws!' at the adorable scene). In the end, Sora's Meow Wow pinned Jameson's Jestabocky under all of his weight, forcing him to disappear in defeat. The cat-like creature let out a happy noise of victory.
"Maybe I should've sent Drill Sye instead," Jameson remarked as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway, I don't need my Dream Eaters to win! Balloonga!" He rose his baseball bat and smacked his colorful balloons toward the Keyblade Hero.
"Balloonga!" Sora exclaimed, also sending colorful balloons that collided with Jameson's, all of them popping upon contact.
"Hey, no fair! That's MY technique!" the little black owl protested, crossing his wings and giving a pouting look.
Poe chuckled in amusement, patting Jameson on the head. "No matter how rare the spell, there will always be people who can use it, young one. Esteem yourself lucky to know rare spells like this one at your age." He stepped forward and kept fighting Sora with his shadow attacks.
"Alright, if it's a fight of darkness you want, then a fight of darkness you'll get! Rage Form!" Tapping into his inner rage, Sora covered his body with dark energy, his skin, hair, and Keyblade becoming pitch-black and his eyes a glowing red, an aura of darkness surrounding him.
Not wasting anytime, Sora unleashed a barrage of aggressive attacks, using his Keyblade and free hand as he teleported all around Poe at tremendous speed. Regardless of his efforts, the Shadow Magician just could not keep up and soon found himself knocked to the ground after Sora broke through his defense and landed many vicious attacks. He reached his Keyblade forward and sent a jet of darkness toward the defenseless duck.
"NO!" Jameson exclaimed, rushing at his uncle's side and blocking the attack with his baseball bat. Yet, regardless of his determination, there was just no way he would be able to stop it entirely. "MOVE, SIR! QUICK!" he yelled over his shoulder. Poe did just that rolling aside before Jameson lost his footing and got knocked out of the fighting zone by the darkness attack,
"Jameson has been eliminated!"
To say that Poe was shocked by what the kid did would be an understanding. "Why did you do that, kid? Why sacrificing your chances of winning for me?" he asked.
Getting back on his two feet, Jameson stared at the magician duck, his beak opening and closing multiple times, as if he wanted to say something, but the words just couldn't come out. Then, as his beak trembled and tears formed in his eyes, the little black owl opened his wings and flew out of the arena in a hurry.
"Kid! Wait!" Poe called, but Jameson was already gone. "I don't understand, what are you hiding, Jameson...?"
Author's note: With only five participants left to enter, we're approaching the end of the competition, my friends! How do you think it's gonna end? Who do you think will win?
Benjamin "Ben" Burton, our new OC, was created by author b-wolf95, who actually submitted this character many months go, when I announced the Hero's Rumble. Thanks for your patience and I hope you're happy with the way I'm using your OC so far!
I don't really know what else to say for this AN, so let's just move on with the statistics, shall we?
New entrants:
-31: Isabela Madrigal
-32: Hercules (the animated Disney movie version)
-33: Simba
-34: Benjamin "Ben" Burton
-35: Maui
New eliminations:
-Sprig Plantar: eliminated by Adam
-Destiny: eliminated by Hercules
-RDJ: eliminated by Sora
-Amity Blight: eliminated by Almyra
-Jameson: eliminated by Sora
