AN: Wow this had a great turnout for submissions this time! Unfortunately, I could only pick 8 teams to compete in this tournament, and that means I had to pick who got in carefully. I considered team compositions, unique powers, skill sets, and teammates and ultimately made my choices. For everyone else that didn't get in… well, just read on to see
Gabriel looked at Logan and Rachel with surprise. "Wait, you two aren't going to compete in the tournament?" the raven said in shock.
"Well, I was going to compete, but then a friend of mine told me he wanted a chance to be in the Sorcerer's Tournament, so I gave up my spot to him," Logan explained.
"As for me, I want our rematch to be grander than just a prize for a tournament," Rachel replied. "You, Logan, and I are the three most powerful guests here in the Magical World, so I think it would only be fair that we all sit this one out, don't you think?"
"True… it would be more exciting to see some of our other friends get the spotlight…" Gabriel nodded in thought.
"Hey, what if we raise the stakes a bit?" Logan suggested. "The first place team can fight Gabriel, but then second place can fight me, and third place can fight Rachel!"
"I think you meant to say that second place fights me," Rachel corrected. "After all, even if you won the Hero's Rumble, I still kick your butt whenever we spar. What are what at now, 25-0 in my favor?"
"…It's actually 52-0 in your favor," Logan sighed. "Still, it's a good idea, right?"
"I think it's excellent," Gabriel nodded. "Now then, Yen Sid said he would be sending over the contestants soon to the arena. They should be arriving now, actually." The raven motioned over to the window, which rolled down to reveal that the trio were standing in the observatory tower overlooking the main Sorcerer's Arena stadium. A magic hologram appeared beside Gabriel with profiles on the contestants as they entered the arena.
[***]
"The first entry is Team Dream Walkers, led by our friend Jameson the Owl." Jameson walked into the arena, the little guy holding his magic baseball bat over his shoulder. "He's teamed up with Violet Saberwing from Ducktales and Venom from Marvel."
"Well, we know which team Lena will be cheering for," Logan joked. "But I'm excited to see Jameson here. He's really strong for how small he is, and that Balloonga spell of his is OP."
"Does Venom count as a bad guy? I thought he was more of an anti-hero?" Rachel questioned.
"Well, Venom is in the unique position of having multiple different versions of himself, so this one is a villainous variant of Venom," Gabriel explained. "Right out of the gate I think this team has good synergy, with Jameson and Violet being friends and Venom being a more agreeable villain. I'll be interested to see how far they get."
"The second entry is Team Forest Fighters, led by Tomada the Falcon. He's one of your friends, right Logan?" The anthro peregrine falcon was wearing a black shirt and blue shorted and currently was showing off by flipping a tomahawk in his hand. "He's teamed up with Bambi and Shere Khan- the Jungle Book one, not the Tailspin one."
"Tomada is the one I gave up my spot to," Logan explained. "He really wanted to get to meet you, Gabriel, and I figured what better way to meet than on the battlefield!"
"Let's hope that Shere Khan can focus enough on the fight to not try and eat Bambi," Rachel said. "Tomada has his work cut out for him there."
"As per the rules of the tournament, those without powers will be getting assistance from Mirrorverse technology, within reason, of course," Gabriel said. "Looks like Bambi will be using nature magic like his father, as well as a "seismic sense" that lets him detect danger on the ground. Shere Khan on the other hand has an roar that can cause earthquakes, so they'll be dominating on the ground if their opponents aren't careful."
The third entry is Team Ladies of Victory, led our friend Almyra." The Indian Peafowl was currently practicing her steps alongside her teammates. "She's paired up with Angel from Lilo & Stitch and Mirage from Aladdin."
"Ah, I see what she's going for," Rachel said. "Almyra's paired up her dancing skills with Angel's siren powers and Mirage's magic. They have great synergy for sure, though Mirage could be a wild card."
"Almyra's magic is strong, but she doesn't have a lot of physical strength. She'll have to play it safe and wear down her opponents before going in for the finishing move," Logan noted.
"The fourth entry is Team Animal Instincts, led by Seth." Seth was a human with blue dreads, brown eyes, glasses, and currently wearing a hoodie with ripped jeans. "He's a newcomer to the Magical World and teamed up with Reptil from Marvel and a Carnotaurus from Dinosaur."
"Wait, he brought a whole dinosaur to this tournament!?" Logan said in shock.
"Sure, why not?" Gabriel shrugged. "There's nothing against it, though we will need to work out a way to fit the Carnotaurus into a car for the racing segment… Anyways, Seth has the power to shapeshift into animals, kind of like Beast Boy from Teen Titans. He also has a Keyblade, with his in particular letting him channel animal spirits."
"And what can Reptil and the Carnotaurus do?" Rachel asked.
"Reptil can shapeshift into prehistoric wildlife thanks to his fossil amulet, and the Carnotaurus has wind powers… for some reason," Gabriel shrugged.
"Well, Seth is pretty stacked, that's for sure," Logan nodded. "He seems to have a fairly close combat-style team, besides maybe some Keyblade spells."
"Yes, he has power, but his team lacks diversity in skill sets," Rachel mused. "Either way, I'll be interested to see how he fares."
"The fifth entry is Team King of Beasts, led by Ben Burton." Ben was an anthro Grey Wolf currently sitting off to the side, a Shepard's crook laid across his lap. "He's teamed up with Rocket Raccoon and Nuka from The Lion King."
"Hey, he's one of my students!" Logan exclaimed. "Ben's got this really cool ability called Shepard's Wool that allows him to make himself seem unimportant. It was really tricky trying to fight him during the Hero's Rumble because he kept making himself a less desirable target. He's been working on using wind magic as well, but he's yet to master it. Half the time he just blows himself flying instead of his opponents."
"Looks like Rocket didn't want to be left out of the action," Rachel mused. "His gun skills will be handy, as well as any gadgets he brings. What does Nuka bring to the table, though?"
"Hm… Looks like he got similar powers to Mirrorverse Scar where he can turn his body into smoke and shadow," Gabriel noted. "I'm interested to see where this team goes. I'm not seeing any straightforward combos with their powers, but you never know when they might surprise us."
"The sixth entry is Team Chaotic, led by Roman Volk." Roman was another anthro wolf, but he had black hair that was pulled into a swept-back style, with amber eyes and a tall build. He was wearing a green camo vest and pants, and strapped up with a lot of different survival tools. "He's teamed up with Wreck-It Ralph and Asajj Ventress from Star Wars."
"Roman is another one of my friends," Logan said. "He uses both survival tools and his Trap Magic to capture and take out his targets. He also works as a security guard over at Hollywood Studios."
"I know Ventress. She's a good duelist and a surprising team player if you can believe it for a Sith," Rachel said. "Ralph is a good choice as well. Ventress is the speed, Ralph is the power, and Roman himself is the technical fighter."
"Yeah, he definitely has a good setup on paper, but we should wait and see if he can bring it all together for the win," Gabriel said. "I do have high hopes for him, though."
"The seventh entry is Team Incredible 3, led by Melody Mars." Melody was an anthro hyena purple-silver fur, black hair held in a bob cut with grey eyes, and currently dressed up in Goth fashion. "She's teamed up with Max Goof and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast."
"Huh, another hyena, and Guest at that," Rachel said.
"I think Jasiri has mentioned meeting her before," Gabriel said. "According to her profile she spends most of her time either at Animal Kingdom or the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. She worked with Big Hero 6 to create her own superhero armor which has a focus on suppression and defense."
"Gaston has range with his gun, but he's also kinda stupid and a vain, which could lead to his downfall," Logan said.
"Max is actually training as knight just like his father, though he uses his shield as a mix between a boomerang and a skateboard," Rachel added. "I can see this team working as a very defense-focused group, but since Melody is a an unknown, I can't really say much."
"Finally, the eighth entry is Team Brian's Team, led by Brian, Beth's brother."
"Wait, they're called Brian's Team?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. It says here they couldn't come up with a name is they got the default one," Gabriel read. "Anyways, he's teamed up with Hunter from The Owl House and Lord Dominator from Wander Over Yonder."
"I've been helping to mentor Brian, so he should be much more improved when it comes to controlling his shadow magic," Rachel stated. "I've also taught him how to use a sword as well."
"Hunter can teleport, making him hard to hit, and I've heard that Lord Dominator has the power to control lava and ice, so they definitely have a range advantage," Logan added. "Wow, I'm really excited to see how this tournament plays out! A shame that the other Dream Defenders are being left out, though…"
"Well, not entirely," Gabriel said. "We can have Silver design everyone their team outfits, while Toren and Adam create the puzzle rooms. Everyone else can help out with mapping the race track and getting the event set up."
"Sounds like a plan," Rachel nodded. "Don't you have your own team to train, Gabriel?"
The raven nodded. "Yep, and if you'll excuse me, I have a training montage to get to with Randall and Figment!"
[***]
"We're doing what now?" Randall questioned.
"A training montage! It's the fastest way to get stronger without wasting a bunch of time!" Figment explained.
"We need to be sure we can work as team before the tournament, so that's what we're going to do," Gabriel said. "And don't worry, I'm only using Fantasia to start the montage; it's Dragon Power from here on out. Purple Dragons, let's fly!"
"I'm not a dragon!" Randall shouted as Gabriel and Figment raced off. The monster sighed and jogged after them.
Breaking through the shining cloud
I'm gonna fly away… (Fly away)
Spreading through my body
Feel the power through my soul…
Team Purple Dragon were seen jogging through various locations in the Magical World, silhouetted by a sunset as they trained hard.
Kicked in the face
This earth is mad as a fire brigade… (Fire brigade)
Can't you feel it building up for her to blow?
Next we see the team training in a gym against some punching bags. Randall tries to do a big punch on one of the bags, but it just ends up swinging backwards and hitting him in the face.
If there ever was a dinosaur
In a mound of icicles
I would want to train it to ride a ball…
The team are seen sitting under a waterfall in a meditative state. Figment is comically shivering from the cold water, his body turning blue as icicles form on his snout.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
No matter if ever anything could happen
Nothing can stop me now!
We see Gabriel practicing summoning his Dragon Claw, Dragon Wings, and Dragon Cannon attacks.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
Oh, my heart just keeps sparking up like a ball of flame
Oh, yes, it makes me fired up
Sparking!
We see Randall running an obstacle course while Figment creates a massive load of fireworks that go off wildly, one of which starts chasing Randall around as Gabriel sighs and shakes his head.
I feel it; freedom in the sky
My roller coaster… (Coaster)
Coming down to panic
Chaos that spread over the ground…
The trio next go around and ride on various roller coasters, testing their endurance. All of them seem to take it well… before their faces turn green and they head to the nearest bathroom to hurl.
Take the scenic route down and upside down
I'm like a melting star… (Melting star)
And the world seems faster as she's turning around…
We see Figment sticking his head out of a car window like a dog while Randall and Gabriel argue over which direction they need to turn, with Gabriel pointing at his GPS while Randall wrestles with an oversized paper map.
There's no time for me to mope and cry
I got to get started now
Adventures are so much the meaning to life…
The trio are seen resting under a starry sky, taking a break from their training as Gabriel brought out food and drinks for them to share.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
Got so much space in my burning heart now
I'll take it up with all the world!
We see the trio forming a stack with Randall on the bottom, Gabriel in the middle, and Figment on top. They wobble a bit, but Figment uses his wings to help stabilize them out.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
Smiling away - away today
I'm ultra Z
Ai, Ai, Ai, Ai-
The trio next are seen jumping down a snowy hillside. Figment creates a sled for them to ride on while Gabriel uses Dragon Claws to steer and Randall keeps point, looking out for obstacles.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
No matter if ever anything could happen
Nothing can stop me now!
Gabriel is seen using his Dragon Cannon Finisher, Figment creates a shower of sparks that burst into multiple mini-fireworks, and Randall turns invisible before popping out in another place for a jumps care.
CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA!
Oh, my heart just keeps sparking up like a ball of flame
Oh, yes, it makes me fired up
Sparking!
As the song ends, Gabriel puts his hand out to his teammates. Figment eagerly puts his in, while Randall just rolls his eyes. Figment laughs and grabs Randall's hand, putting it on the pile. The three are far from perfect, but they're getting there to be ready for the tournament.
Author's Note
Yep, you read that right, none of the main Dream Defenders are going to be participating in the tournament. I really wanted to shake things up for this one, and I made the decision that I wanted to show off some of the newer characters in the Magical World to show what they can do. The OG Dream Defenders will get more to do during the tournament, though, so don't worry about that.
Now then, let's credit where all these wonderful contestants are from: Jameson is from Jameson the Phoenix Owl, Tomada is from Tomada the Falcon, Alymra is from Princess Peacock, Seth is from Sethelephant, Ben is from b-wolf95, Roman is from Dominic, Melody is from magichyena5061, and Brian is from Spyrorock389.
The song from the training montage is "Cha-La-Head-Cha-La" from Dragon Ball Z. It's a fun tune and let's be real, you gotta get in one Dragon Ball reference with your tournament arc!
Next Time: The teams get their formal introductions are made as the Power of Three Tournament begins!