Logan stared at Ali, who was still waiting for her next opponent in the fighting zone. The Fire Magician had become much stronger since the day she participated in the Next Sorcerer's Apprentice show with Rachel and him, four years ago. "She's not to be taken lightly," he informed the remaining members of his team. "Is anyone feeling up for the challenge?"
"It should be my turn," Ben said. "Since she's got fire magic, then my wind magic should give me an advantage in this. Plus, I can easily break out of whatever trap she has set up, unlike Tom and Almyra."
"Good luck out there, Ben! You'll definitely do great!" Jameson excitedly said.
"We'll be cheering you on from here," Roman added.
"Make your class proud!" Logan finished, patting the wolf on the back as he hopped into the fighting zone.
Drake frowned at this and looked at his teammate. "Ali, do you wanna tag out and take a break? You've already fought two of them."
"Nah; I'm fine. You could even say that I'm on fire," the Fire Magician chuckled and turned her attention to her next opponent. "You know, I heard a lot about you. Is it true that the current Dream Keeper is considering you to be his successor?"
"You bet he is!" the wolf confirmed as he took a stance with his shepherd's crook. "Though I don't know if I'm gonna take him on this job yet..."
"My friends have mixed feelings on you," Ali said with a playful grin. "Some think you've done really great in the last competition, while others believe you are a scaredy wolf for barely doing anything in the Hero's Rumble."
"What?! I managed to take down one of the Dream Keepers!" Ben protested. He then gave a grin of his own. "In that case, I'll just show them what this wolf's bringing to the table!"
Done talking, Ben created five mini tornadoes that he sent at his opponent whilst staying back. Ali responded by shooting a series of fireballs that all destroyed the tornadoes on impact, the following ones aimed at Ben. The wolf deviated them all by spinning his crook with wind magic, though one of them managed to hit him in the shoulder. Growling in pain, he created pressurized air bullets with his crook. "Air Bullets!"
Grinning, Ali covered her fists in flames and punched the Air Bullets away. She then followed by summoning fireballs that seemed to be chasing Ben at will. He flipped all around and smacked some of them away with his crook, but two of them ended up striking him in the back, burning his clothes. "Are ya having fun? Cause I sure am!" the Fire Magician laughed.
"Crap, this won't be as easy as I thought," the wolf mumbled to himself.
"Jeez! Ali hasn't let herself go one bit," Toren whistled, turning to look at his captain. "Are you certain Ben can win against her?"
"Don't worry; he has won the Power of Three Tournament for a reason," Logan affirmed, a confident grin on his face.
Ben attempted to stay calm and come up with a plan. He needed one quick, as Ali came running his way with her flaming fists ready to demolish him! At the last second, his mind came up with a plan, just as Ali got ready to strike. "Shepherd's Wool!"
Almost instantly, Ali ceased her attack and allowed her flames to dissolve. "Ali! What are you doing?! Take him out!" Dante shouted.
"... I don't know... I just...don't feel the need to do it...," the Fire Magician hesitantly explained.
"What the heck are ya talking about?! Finish him off!" Genesis shouted in frustration.
Seeing his opportunity, Ben smacked Ali away with a powerful wind gust, knocking her many feet away. "Too bad for you, but my Shepherd's Wool spell allows me to look non-important to all my enemies! I, on the other hand, can attack at will!"
"So that's how he survived so long in the Hero's Rumble," N deduced. "Isn't that kind of a cheat move, though?"
Still under the protection of his spell, Ben hit Ali head-on with a tornado blast. She got knocked far away and struggled to get back up. "I need to break this spell... Anti-Spell!" Red and black energy gathered in her hand, which she shot at Ben, dissolving Shepherd's Wool's effects.
"An anti-spell? Really?" the wolf exclaimed in disbelief. "Bah, I don't need it to beat you! Bring it on!"
For many minutes, the audience watched the intense battle of wind and fire, both sides sustaining damage, until they decided to end it. Ali powered up her fire magic until she was covered in a fire armor in the shape of a phoenix. "It took me a lot of time to reach this level! Phoenix Armor!"
"So you have a super form? Great, so do I!" Ben made wind rip all around him, a wolf's howl being heard as he re-appeared with a sleekly form-fitting black suit with green star patterns over it, a helmet with ram horns on it over his head. "Allow me to present to you what I look like as the Warrior of Canis Major; my Hurricane God form!"
The two participants clashed all around the fighting zone, flames and gusts of wind exploding everywhere as they moved in a flash. Eventually, they both came to a stop, and Ali started charging a burning inferno whilst Ben channeled the power of the stars.
"CELESTIAL INFERNO!"
"ULTIMATE WOLF WHIRLWIND FINISHER!"
The two attacks collided, plunging the fighting zone into a storm of wind and fire. When the smoke and dust cleared up, the attacks had caused so much damage that the two participants had been knocked back and forced into their normal forms. Covered in wounds and panting, they glanced at each other in silence...until Ali sighed and collapsed on the ground, defeated.
"It's over; Alison of the Magical World's Elite has been defeated!" Goofy announced.
A loud wave of applause exploded in the arena. "That was fabulous, Ben! I'm SO giving you a special reward, when we get home after this," Nuka said with a naughty expression.
"Nuka! Not in public!" Rocket scolded the lion, elbowing him in the shoulder.
Team Fellowship of Dreamers also cheered their friend on for his success. "Congratulations, Ben! You scored a major victory for all of us!" Logan beamed, proud of his student. Though he couldn't help but stare at his wounds with a frown. "But I think you should tag out for the time being."
"Yeah; that fight drained a lot outta me," Ben admitted, feeling the weight of his wounds falling down on him.
"That's not good; Ali was one of the strongest members of our team," Dante observed, adjusting his glasses. "That being said, she did manage to take out two members of their team and left a third one very tired. The 8-on-7 disadvantage shouldn't be too much trouble."
Drake nodded in agreement and looked at the rest of his team. "Who wanna pick it up now?"
"Me," Jacob immediately said. "I wanna show Gabriel and all my old friends how much I've changed since we last met!" Receiving a nod of approval from his captain, Jacob entered the fighting zone. On the other side, Ben gave the tag to his wolf companion, Roman.
"Go wild, Roman!" The wolf turned his head to see none other than Sunny the Sun Knight cheering him on from the audience. She gave him a little wink, causing the hunter to look away with an adorable blush.
"So you finally started dating her, after all?" Logan asked with a little grin shared with Ben and Rachel, while Jameson's eyes turned into stars of excitation.
"Yeah... I ended up finding the courage to ask her out, and things have been going relatively well for us so far," Roman explained, rubbing the back of his head. He then assumed his fighting stance. "If she wants a wild show, then I'll give her the best!"
"It's cute that you fight to impress your girlfriend," Jacob commented. "However, I have no intention to lose here; Drake's counting on me."
Roman placed his hands on the ground, looking more feral, and charged at his opponent like an animal, going for a dive kick. Jacob grinned and blocked the attack with his forearm before replying with a spinning kick that Roman ducked and wrapped his arms around his head for a sleeper hold that Jacob swiftly escaped by flipping the wolf over his shoulder. The Hunter and W.A.L.T. agent began trading punches, jabs and kicks until they decided to jump back and catch their breath.
"You've got a pretty good technique. Do you also practice martial arts?" Jacob asked.
"I'm proficient in kickboxing, as you can see," Roman replied.
"Cool! Personally, I know boxing and MMA from my parents. Maybe you and I could spar a little when this competition's over."
The two participants engaged in close combat again. After dodging one attack, Roman aimed a punch at Jacob's head. Upon making contact, it was actually Roman who clutched his fist in pain and then got kicked back. "What the heck? Roman touched him!" Ben exclaimed in confusion.
"What happened?" Roman asked.
"Sorry, but it happens I also got a special power." Jacob grinned and showed his arm that turned a metallic black. "I've developed special nano-techs in my body that allow me to harden any part at will." To prove his point, Jacob punched a hole into the ground.
Roman narrowed his eyes. 'I see, he got a special power to back up his fighting style. This makes things harder for me; I didn't get the chance to set up any traps because we're in an open field. My Trap Magic won't be of much help here,' he thought. Changing tactics, he focused his energy and turned invisible.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Jacob asked, no longer feeling Roman's presence.
"Jacob! Look out!" Chris called.
He turned his head to see Roman had re-appeared behind him, his Predator Axe raised above his head, and blocked the attack by hardening his forearms, making sparks fly all around. Growling, Roman pressed on his attack with more swings that Jacob blocked with his arms until he kicked the wolf away. The Hunter repeated his strategy of turning invisible and surprise-attacking with his axe multiple times, each time to no result, as Jacob parried his attacks with his hardened body.
After his failed attempts, Roman stretched the handle of his Predator Axe and began spinning on himself. "Predator Cutting Spin!" As Jacob went for another punch, Roman intercepted him with his spinning technique. Even though he hardened his body out of reflex, the blade span so fast that it managed to leave deep cuts on Jacob's body and actually knock him back many feet away. Ceasing to spin, Roman stumbled a bit and held his head with his hand. "The problem with this move is that it leaves me dizzy, so I can't spam it at will..."
"Where'd that come from?!" Jacob asked, feeling the pain of his cuts. "No matter, you won't get me again!" He got back on the offensive, launching attacks that Roman either blocked or parried to the best of his ability. The W.A.L.T. agent ended up knocking the Predator Axe out of Roman's hands before delivering a hardened punch straight to his guts, knocking the air out of him, and then delivered an uppercut that sent him crashing away.
Jameson couldn't help but frown for his friend. "I don't understand; why isn't he simply using his Cursed Blade? That way, he could cut Jacob down with no problem."
"That's because the Cursed Blade can cut through magic energy; Jacob is using nano-techs, which is technology," Rachel explained. "Somehow, Roman's gonna have to cut through them with his usual arsenal."
Back to the fight, Roman groaned in pain as Jacob charged at him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. However, the wolf grinned and reached to his belt to grab what looked like brass knuckles and smacked them into his opponent, sending a powerful discharge of electricity through his body. Jacob groaned in pain and was left stunned, allowing Roman to grab a metal club from his belt and smack him across the face with it.
"I don't recall Roman using these gadgets before," Brooklyn remarked.
"That's because, as part of his training, Logan asked him to go buy more weapons and gadgets to expand his arsenal," Destiny informed him. "He thought it'd be a good way to make up for his lack of magic prowess."
Not wasting a second, Jacob recovered from the move and got back on the offensive, engaging Roman in close combat. During many seconds, the two participants traded blows, Roman receiving metallic-hard punches while Jacob was hit with electric discharges. In the end, Jacob went for what would have been a devastating jab that Roman ducked and jumped to deliver a charged superman punch on top of Jacob's head. The electricity coursed through his brain and spine, causing him to collapse on the ground, unconscious.
"The encounter is over: Roman Volk is the winner!" Donald announced.
"Aww, I was certain Jacob was gonna be one of the MVPs of this match!" Talise whined. "Looks like we have underestimated Logan's team, don't you think, Drake?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, they have done pretty good so far," Drake nodded. He then frowned and crossed his arms. "We'll just have to give it twice the effort to claim victory. Can I count on you?" The captain's teammates all nodded positively. Smiling, he then looked at Chris. "Are you down to go cause some Underworld chaos, Chris?"
"I was hoping you'd ask," the Demigod replied with a confident smile as he stepped into the fighting zone.
"This is the son of Hades Persephone told me about," Aline mumbled with a frown. "Roman, give me the tag; I think I'm the best-suited to face him."
"No." The Fellowship was surprised by this answer as the Hunter gave a sinister grin. "The adrenaline is coursing through my brain, I don't want it to stop right now. I wanna keep it going!"
Ben rolled his eyes with an amused smile. "That's Roman for ya; nothing can stop him when he's in the zone."
"Be prepared to face the wrath of the Underworld, wolf!" Chris declared, taking out his yo-yos and swinging them around.
Roman immediately charged, aiming to cut his opponent down with his survival knives. Chris expertly dodged the attacks and swung his yo-yos, sending the wolf flying back with fire strikes. Far from letting this stop him, Roman pressed on his attack, trying without success to touch his enemy. "Well of Souls!" Chris summoned blue fireballs that hit Roman head-on, knocking him to the ground. "Those special flames have been created by Hades himself and will keep burning you until I order them to do otherwise. That's why I recommend you to surrender now."
To the demigod's surprise, Roman actually laughed through the pain. "Surrendering? When things are getting fun?!" The wolf grabbed his Cursed Blade and used it to make the flames disappear. He then grabbed a needle from his tactical vest's pocket and pulled a good shot of adrenaline in his neck, causing his sinister smirk to grow and his bestial rage to get more intense. He poured energy into his weapon and charged forward with a roar, looking to finish it off in one go.
"Twist of Tartarus!" Chris shouted, charging Underworld Fire in his two hands. He waited at the very last second to duck Roman's attack and deliver his own to the wolf's chest, sending him flying all the way to the other side of the arena. The Hunter growled and tried to get up, only for the adrenaline to run out, and collapse on the ground.
"And, in an impressive display of power, Chris manages to triumph over Roman!" Donald announced.
"Congratulations, Chris!" Hades called from the audience, clapping his two hands. "I knew that you'd make your daddy proud!"
"Dad, you're embarrassing me," Chris replied, trying to hide a blush.
On the other side of the arena, Rachel shook her head. "I was hoping Roman's anti-magic would help get us far. But, even after fighting Jacob, Chris took him down like it was a joke."
Aline nodded in agreement. "He must've learned a lot from Hades - he's the King of the Underworld, after all. Which is why you must let me go now; I'm sure my own divine powers can match his!" Upon receiving positive encouragements from her friends, Aline jumped into the fighting zone and showed the pomegrenate tree tattoo on her shoulder. "Son of Hades! You see this tattoo? It is the proof that I have been chosen as a disciple by Persephone, the wife of your father!"
At this, Chris blinked his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about? My dad's not in a relationship that I know of."
Realization hitting her, Aline slapped her forehead. "Of course, I forgot that it's the Disney movie version of the character we're talking about!" She recomposed herself and affirmed a grin. "Regardless, I still intend on winning this divine encounter!"
Author's note: The fight is raging on, and both sides has sustained losses! While the Elite has seen Ali and Jacob fall, the Fellowship has lost possibly its fiercest fighter, Roman. There are 7 members in the Fellowship and 6 remaining in the Elite. Now, we're about to see what should be an intense clash between the Demigod of the Underworld and the divine disciple of Persephone. Who's gonna come out victorious? Stay stunned to find out!