Gabriel woke up that morning with a big yawn, the raven getting out of bed and making sure not to disturb the still-sleeping Jasiri as he went to take a shower. Once he was done with that, Gabriel stepped out of the bedroom and got to making breakfast: a BEC (Bacon-Egg-Cheese) Sandwich and a glass of milk for himself, a plate of exotic sausage meats for Jasiri, and a bowl of mixed fruits and nuts with a honey drizzle for Kessie. Gabriel had grown use to the three of them all sharing his apartment and- barring one of the other members of Team Dream Keeper crashing on the couch- he was content with that.
Soon enough Jasiri and Kessie came into the kitchen, happily eating their breakfasts while Gabriel turned on the TV to check out the latest news. Roxanne, Max Goof's girlfriend, was the current news anchor on the Magical World's most popular news channel, MWNN (Magical World New Network).
"…And in today's news, the top story is the announcement of a new Sorcerer's Tournament by Yen Sid himself," Roxanne said.
"What's a Sorcerer's Tournament?" Kessie asked.
"It's an event where people, or teams of people, battle it out to see who is best," Gabriel explained. "Team Dream Keeper and I won the first Sorcerer's Tournament, though it was almost ruined by a crazy shapeshifter. The prize was a Wishing Star from the Blue Fairy, and we used that wish to return Poe de Spell back to his true form. Then there was the Hero's Rumble, which is a similar fighting event where forty contestants duke it out until only one remains."
"Oh yeah, I remember that. We didn't compete in that one, but Logan managed to take the victory after facing that guy with the really long sword," Jasiri recalled.
"I wonder what the format will be this time?" Gabriel wondered.
"We cut over now to Yen Sid as he makes his announcement," Roxanne said, the TV switching to show Yen Sid sitting at his desk in the Mysterious Tower.
"Greetings, citizens of the Magical World. I am Yen Sid, and this is a formal announcement of the next Sorcerer's Tournament," the wizard stated. "While the last tournament was a battle to see who was the strongest, this year I would like to test other skills as well. As you may have heard, three is the magic number, so the theme of this year's Sorcerer's Tournament is the Power of Three."
As he said that, three pillars of light came up on his desk, each revealing a symbol: a Hidden Mickey, Maleficent's silhouette, and a Keyblade. "Each team will be made up of three people, and those teams will compete in three different challenges. However, just winning the challenge isn't enough to win the tournament: points will be given out based on how well each team works as a team as well."
"Well, that's an interesting way of going about it," Jasiri said.
"At the very least, it gives the other teams a fighting chance at winning," Gabriel said. "I mean, if it was just another fighting tournament, Logan and Rachel would totally crush everyone else. I mean, we just barely defeated Rachel when we fought her in a five-on-five match!"
"I wonder what the other challenges will be?" Kessie wondered aloud.
"And here are your challenges," Yen Sid said, waving his hand to create a small viewing portal. "First, the teams must race to a given destination. Second, the teams will have to complete a puzzle room to advance to the third challenge. And finally, based on the positions from the first two rounds, a battle challenge will be held to determine the final scores for each team."
"So it's a triathlon of sorts, with racing from the Magical World Grand Prix, an escape room challenge, and then a classic tournament bracket," Gabriel summarized.
"The qualifications for the tournament will be posted out by the bulletin board on Main Street later today," Yen Sid stated. "Oh, and one last thing: the winner of the tournament will have the honor of battling the Dream Keeper himself, Gabriel Aquila."
"WAIT, WHAT!?" Everyone in the apartment exclaimed.
[***]
Soon all of Team Dream Keeper were gathered at Main Street, reading off the bulletin board to see what all the details about this new Sorcerer's Tournament was all about.
"I can't believe Yen Sid just dropped that on me…" Gabriel sighed, hanging up his phone. "Apparently he meant to tell me beforehand, but that time I spent in the Epic Universe messed up the scheduling of the mail."
"I mean, at least that means you don't have to compete this time," Rocket said.
"Yeah, that just means you don't get to beat everyone else again," Lena said. "You can beat them after they win."
"Huh, I guess we have one every tournament we've competed in," Jasiri thought aloud. "So, what are all the rules that the others are going to have to follow this time?"
Brooklyn tore off one of the flyers and read it to the group. "So, the first qualifier is each team has to consist of three specific members: a Guest, a Hero, and a Villain."
"Well, most of the time these events are for guests anyways, so that one's not a big deal. Expect to see a lot of familiar faces," Gabriel nodded.
"But having a hero and a villain on the team? That could make teamwork tricky," Kairi said with worry.
"Then that just means that each team will have to work harder to balance the dark and the light," Lop stated. "Only when you find that balance will you truly be a team."
"It also says that the Villain role has to be filled out by a current villain, and not a reformed one," Brooklyn added. "So you couldn't pick, say, Hunter for the Villain role since he became a good guy."
"I wonder how that works for Kylo Ren. I mean, he was redeemed at the end of Rise of Skywalker, but he still shows up as a villain here in the Magical World," Gabriel wondered.
"I think that has to do with Kylo still being a villain at Galaxy's Edge," Jasiri guessed.
Lena looked at the flyer to continue reading it. "It also says that everyone is going to be put on the same level of power to make things fairer this time around. So anyone with god-tier powers will be required to hold back on their abilities, while those with little to no powers will be provided with equipment to even the odds."
"Oh yeah, I heard that they've been working on making connections with the Mirrorverse to get more of their guardian tech here to the main Magical World," Sisu said.
"At the very least, it'll make things more interesting than what happened to certain teams last time around," Brooklyn said. "I still don't know why Adam decided to bring Charles Muntz on his team when the old man kept being the first person knocked out…"
"To be fair, Muntz does have some sword skills, but his age made him an easy target for everyone else," Lena said.
"Ah, and it says here that I'll have to be playing by these rules as well," Gabriel said. "I guess I'll have to go recruit a villain to help out, then decide which of you I want to compete with."
"Well, I can help with one of those problems," a voice said. Appearing out of thin air was Randall, the chameleon-like monster crawling on top of the bulletin board.
"Oh, hey Randall," Kessie waved.
"You know this guy?" Sisu asked.
"I think Sora fought him once on one of his adventures," Kairi said.
"Correction: he didn't fight me; he fought my Unversed. Very different," Randall said. He crawled down to the ground, putting his lower hands on his hips. "Anyways, if you need a villain on your team, then you should just pick me. Besides… I do owe you one after you cleared my name from stealing the moonstone."
"I knew you'd have a change of heart," Gabriel smiled.
Randall rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just making sure you don't have anything to hold over my head. I'm still bad to the bone, got it?"
"Sure, sure," Gabriel said. "Well then, that solves my first problem. So, which of you guys wants to round out my team?"
"Wait! There's one more rule on here I forgot to read," Brooklyn said suddenly. "It says here that for the purposes of this tournament, no romantic couples are allowed to pair up."
"Well, I guess that means I'm out," Jasiri sighed. "I'll still be cheering you on, Gabriel!"
The raven nodded, before humming to himself. "You know, this could be a good time for me to try something new with my fighting style. I usually rely on Fantasia to do the heavy lifting, but being in the Epic Universe made me realize I was neglecting my new Harmony dragon powers. Would you guys be okay with me making a new trio for this tournament?"
Team Dream Keeper all looked at each other, before giving a nod. "Sure dude. We'll be backing you up the whole way," Lena said.
"And we'll make sure your trio is all trained up for the tournament as well," Lop added.
"Ugh, all this friendship is making me sick," Randall said.
"You'll get used to it," Kessie giggled. "So then, who are you going to pick as your Hero teammate, Gabriel?"
The raven just smiled before looking around. "Oh, you know, I think you just have to use a bit of imagination to know who I'll pick…"
"Did someone say imagination!?" In a burst of confetti Figment appeared, Randall looking annoyed as most of it flew right into his face. "How ya doing, Dream Keeper? It's been a while since we last met."
"Glad to see you too, Figment. I've been doing well, but what about you?" Gabriel asked.
Figment shrugged, doing a flip as his outfit changed into a racing suit. "Well, I recently got into the racing scene, and it's a whole lot of fun! So, you want me to join your team, right? I saw the tournament announcement on the news this morning."
"Yep! You, me, and Randall here are going to make the Purple Dragon Trio," Gabriel said, summoning his dragon claws.
"I'm a lizard monster, not a dragon," Randall rolled his eyes.
"Just go with it," Gabriel said.
"Oh boy, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Figment said. "I'll be sure to pack my favorite imagined things for the event!"
"And we'll make sure you three work well as a team," Jasiri said. "Now we just have to wait and see which teams are going to compete in the tournament. We have until June before the tournament starts, and I'm excited to see which ones will work together to face you guys at the end!"
Author's Notes
That's right, it's time for the next Sorcerer's Tournament, this time taking the form of the Power of Three Triathlon! Down below are the rules that each team will have to follow in order to enter, to make sure you read them carefully! Eight teams will be selected to enter, and the winning team will get to face Gabriel's Purple Dragon Trio in an epic battle!
[***]
Team Name (Optional)
Team Leader/ Guest (Your original character):
Name
Gender and Species
Personality
Powers
Weapons
Battle Outfit (everyone will have a special team uniform for this tournament)
Hero Team Member:
Name
Series (Where they come from)
Version (If your character has multiple versions of themselves, please specify)
Powers (if any)
Weapons (if any)
Villain Team Member:
Name
Series (Where they come from)
Version (If your character has multiple versions of themselves, please specify)
Powers (if any)
Weapons (if any)
Team Member Restrictions:
-They must be from a Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, or Fox property. Basically, if that character is from a movie/show that's on either Disney Plus, Disney Channel, or Disney XD, you should be good.
-Each character must be a named character and not a background character.
-The Villain Team Member must be an actual villain in their story. If a villain has had a redemption or joined the hero's side (like Nebula from Marvel or Lilith from The Owl House) then they do not count as a villain.
-If a character is in a relationship, then you cannot have both sides of the relationship on the team. For example, Gabriel and Jasiri can't be on a team together, nor can Logan and Destiny.
-If a character has god-tier powers (like the Collector or Bill Cipher) then that character will be restricted in what they can do. On the other side, if a character has little to no powers (like Elisa Maza from Gargoyles or Cruella De Vil) then they will be given tech and/or powers to compensate.
-Finally, if you have any further questions, just send me a PM so we can discuss. The tournament will officially begin in June and will be the big arc for this summer.
Next Time: Gabriel trains with Randall and Figment as the other teams gather for the Sorcerer's Tournament!