Everyone in the stands was cheering as the last match of the Power of Three Tournament was about to begin. On one side of the stadium, people held up banners of a wolf's head with ram horns; on the other, the banners depicted a black owl head superimposed over the Dream Eater symbol.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the moment you've all been waiting for!" Gabriel announced. "The final battle of the tournament, Team Dream Walkers versus Team King of Beasts! So then, let's get started! Coming out first: he's the little owl that carries a big baseball bat, the defender of the dream realm- it's Jameson!"
Jameson waved happily as he entered the stadium, renewed in confidence after the heart-to-heart with his team. "On his team is the hummingbird with a big brain, Violet!" Violet gave a solute as she walked out, giving Jameson a hug. "And the alien symbiote that loves brains as much as he hates Spider-Man, Venom!" Venom laughed as he walked out, showing off his large teeth and long tongue before picking up Jameson and Violet an putting the two on his shoulders.
"From the other side of the stadium…" Gabriel paused as Figment handed him a notecard. "Wait, I'm getting a report that King of Beasts want to do their own introduction. Okay then, guys, you're up!"
Perfect…" Ben smirked, before, shouting, "From the three kingdoms, a team of warriors is formed!
"Mind as bright as the stars! Tech King Rocket!" The raccoon jumped out, taking a pose with his blaster at the ready.
"Striking from the shadows! Darkness King Nuka!" The lion came out of Rocket's shadow, doing his own pose.
"Shepherding the winds themselves! Tornado King Ben!" The wolf dropped from the sky with his wind powers, holding out his staff.
"We are the Kings of Beasts, so bow down!" The three shouted together, posing as a team before a colorful explosion happened behind them.
"How did they find the time to set up those explosions in advance?" Violet asked in confusion.
"Meh, magic. Plus it was super cool," Jameson shrugged.
"Great entrance, you guys! Now then, onto the arena!" the ground shifted underneath them, turning into a floating stain glass platform that seemed to be in the middle of space. One half of the field depicted a howling wolf, and the other half depicted an owl in flight. "This arena is called: Duel of the Hearts! Logan and Rachel helped me make this one. Now then, let's get this started!"
Ben and Jameson looked at each other. "Battle song?" Jameson asked.
"Battle song," Ben nodded, music picking up around them as the final battle started.
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me…
Remember me for centuries
"Two students of Logan, facing off against each other to see who's the best," Jameson mused.
"Quite poetic, actually," Violet said.
"Yes," Venom nodded.
And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history…
Remember me for centuries!
"It's all or nothing now," Rocket said.
"But ever after all of this… I'm glad that we're friends again, Ben," Nuka said.
The wolf smiled, before adopting a serious face. "Even still… I'm not about to lose, not when we've come this far!"
(Hey yeah, oh hey…)
(Hey yeah)
Remember me for centuries!
With that the two teams faced off, with Jameson against Ben, Violet against Rocket, and Venom against Nuka.
Mummified my teenage dreams
No, it's nothing wrong with me
Violet pulled out a potion and drank it, her body shuttering a bit before she smirked, jumping off the ground before bouncing around like a spring. "And they said replicating Gummy Berry Juice would be impossible," she laughed as Rocket tried to get a shot off on the bouncing hummingbird.
The kids are all wrong
The stories are off
Heavy metal broke my- heart!
"Come here, little kitty!" Venom laughed as he tried to claw at Nuka, the lion using the shadows to dodge around the symbiote's attacks.
Come on, come on and let me in
The bruises on your thighs like my fingerprints
Jameson and Ben clashed weapons, the two being equally matched in the physical department despite Jameson's age. "Come on, give me more of what you have, Jameson!" Ben taunted.
And this is supposed to match
The darkness that you felt
I never meant for you to fix yourself…!
Jameson grunted, closing his eyes as the voice of Magica rang in the back of his mind. "Give into me, to your mother!" the voice said.
"No… I'm taking my own path!" Jameson exclaimed, his body shining with power as a sudden transformation happened.
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me…
Remember me for centuries
When the light faded, Jameson's feathers where now cloud white, with the Dream Eater symbol on his front and his wings shimmering with color. "Interesting. It seems that accepting his own power has allowed Jameson to merge with his Dream Eaters, making him one of them," Violet said in awe.
Jameson swung his bat around, before grinning and jumping backwards, his wings flaring out with dream energy. "I'll call it Linked Form, then!"
And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history…
Remember me for centuries!
"Great to see you rising up, little guy. But I'm not going to back down just because you got a pallet swap," Ben said.
(Hey yeah, oh hey…)
(Hey yeah)
Remember me for centuries!
Round two of the fight began, with neither side showing signs of fatigue.
And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name
'Cause I was only born inside my dreams
"Time to mix things up a bit," Rocket said. When Violet jumped down to attack him with a potion, the raccoon dodged to the side and swapped weapons, tossing a small silver device to Nuka. "You know what to do, Nuka!" Rocket called, just as Violet landed a freezing potion on him, knocking the raccoon out of the competition.
Until you die for me, as long as there's a light
My shadow's over you 'cause I-
I am the opposite of amnesia…
The lion nodded to his fallen alley, catching the device in his mouth. "Time to try this out…" Nuka said, before suddenly dividing up his shadow into multiple clones of himself and surrounding Venom. "Shadow Reverb!" Nuka shouted, biting down on the device, creating a blast of sonic energy that quickly overwhelmed Venom as he was hit from all sides, knocking the symbiote out.
And you're a cherry blossom
You're about to bloom
You look so pretty, but you're gone so soon!
"Looks like you guys were prepared as well," Violet said, landing in front of Nuka.
"Yeah, and so were you," the lion replied. He unsheathed his claws. "Let's do this, to the end!" The hummingbird nodded as the two ran at each other, clashing with shadows and potions.
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me…
Remember me for centuries
As that was going on, Ben panted as he used up the last of his Shepard's Wool ability to dodge Jameson's attacks. His new Linked Form made his magic into more powerful Tier Four magic, meaning his normally chaotic Balloonga spell was now an even more destructive Balloonza.
And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history…
Remember me for centuries!
"I can tell that you've used up the last of Shepard's Wool, Ben," Jameson said. "We don't have to go on, you know. This new form… I'm sure that you can't beat it." He looked over to see Violet and Nuka hit each other with a powerful attack, causing an explosion that hit both of them off the side of the platform, knocking them out.
The wolf shook his head. "No, I'm not backing down. I've had to live in the shadows my whole life, just like you did. But now… it's my turn to step out and shine as bright as I can!"
(Hey yeah, oh hey…)
(Hey yeah)
Remember me for centuries!
Slamming his staff into the ground, Ben shouted as wind ripped around his form, a wolf's howl being heard as his armor changed. Instead of the bulky light green armor, Ben's new outfit was a sleeky form-fitting black suit with a green star-like pattern going over it, his head covered in a helmet that had his signature ram horns on it. "This is the result of my resolve to fight! The Warrior of Canis Major, Hurricane God Ben!"
We've been here forever…
And here's the frozen proof…
"Looks like we have a showdown of super forms," Gabriel mused as the two sides faced each other, dream energy radiating off of Jameson was the wind roared behind Ben.
I could scream forever…
We are the poisoned youth…
After just a moment of silence, the two were at each other in a flash, staff clashing against bat as the two friends gave it their all in one final match.
Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me…
Remember me for centuries
The two were on the same level at this point, with Ben moving like the wind as the power of the stars coursed through his body, while Jameson was glowing with positivity as the power of dreams fueled him to press onwards.
And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history…
Remember me for centuries!
"Final… Phoenix… Dream… Overdrive!" Jameson shouted, his body gaining a fiery aura as he fired it off in a massive beam of energy.
"Ultimate… Wolf… Whirlwind… Finisher!" Ben shouted, spinning his staff over his head as he created an aura of a wolf around his body before it too was shot out like a beam, slamming into Jameson's.
The two struggled, putting all of their power into their last attacks. "I'm… going… to… WIN!" They shouted at the same time, before a bright flash overtook the arena.
(Hey yeah, oh hey…)
We'll go down in history… (hey yeah)
Remember me for centuries!
Everyone looked away as the attacks canceled each other out, a large smoke cloud covering the battlefield. Gabriel opened his eyes and rushed down to the field, calling on Fantasia to quickly blow the smoke away. When it cleared, the last attack had done so much damage that the arena had been forced to transform back into its default state. Both Ben and Jameson were laid out on the ground, back in their normal forms and not moving.
"Holy Jalapenos… They knocked each other out…" Logan gaped in shock.
Rachel looked closer, before shaking her head. "No… They're both still awake, but just barely."
Indeed, both Ben and Jameson opened their eyes and gasped, with Ben reaching for his staff while Jameson rolled onto his front. Both of them put great effort into trying to stand up, with Ben using his staff to slowly pull his body upwards, Jameson using his wings.
"Guys, you don't have to…" Gabriel tried to say.
Ben shook his head, as did Jameson. The wolf finally managed to get to his feet, but leaned on his staff heavily to remain standing upright. Looking over at his opponent, Ben watched as Jameson pushed himself to his feet… only for the owl to let out a groan, falling to his side as the last attack drained his physical stamina and magical one.
"It's over, then… The winner of the Power of Three Tournament is… King of Beasts," Gabriel said.
"Can you… say that… again?" Ben asked.
The raven said, in a louder tone this time, "The winner of the Sorcerer's Arena, and your newest champion, is Benjamin Burton, leader of Team King of Beasts!"
The crowd started to cheer, with Ben looking around in awe as everyone started cheering his name. The wolf brought a hand up to his mouth, tears coming to his eyes as his dream of standing out and rising to the top finally came true. "I did it… I did it…" he said with a smile, before closing his eyes. "And I'm so… so tired…"
Gabriel caught Ben before he could fall, giving a tiny smirk. "Okay, big guy, let's let you rest up. You do have one more fight before it's all said and done, after all."
[***]
Hours later, both Ben and Jameson were brought out onto the stage, alongside Almyra and Tomada, to be given their awards for being the top competitors in the tournament. "In third place, Team Forest Fighters and Team Ladies of Victory," Gabriel said, giving both teams a bronze medal with Goofy's symbol on it.
"Great job, ladies," Almyra said, posing with her team.
"And we did pretty good as well, guys," Tomada said to his team.
"In second place, Team Dream Walkers," Gabriel said, giving Jameson's team a silver medal with Donald's symbol on it.
"We did it!" Jameson cheered, giving a peace sign to the audience as Venom and Violet rolled their eyes.
"And for first place, we have Team King of Beasts," Gabriel finished, giving Ben's team a gold medal with Mickey's symbol on it.
"It feels good to be up here. We really worked to get to the top as well, so it feels even more sweet," Ben said with a grin, his team striking their poses once more as explosions went off behind them.
"Seriously, where is that coming from…?" Logan muttered to himself.
"As you may all recall, part of your prize for winning this tournament is that you get to fight Logan, Rachel, and I in a quick exhibition match," Gabriel said, getting everyone's attention. "These matches aren't anything serious, nor will they be elimination based. Your only goal is to survive five minutes in the ring, got it?"
Tomada raised his hand. "How is the third place fight going to work, since there's two of us up here?"
"Oh, well, um…" Logan put a hand to his chin. "Wait, I know! Just do Rock-Paper-Scissors for it!"
"And that's where I'll pass," Almyra said, stepping of the podium. "I have horrible luck with Rock-Paper-Scissors."
"It's true," Angel nodded.
"She loses every time without fail," Mirage added.
"Well then, it looks like you and me will be squaring off first, Falcon Buddy," Logan said with a grin.
"I'm ready for ya, Owl Buddy," Tomada said, returning the smile as the two grasped hands.
The other teams all cleared out as Forest Fighters moved to one end of the stadium, with Logan going to the other. "Okay then! It's time you meet the new Team Underdog X!" he exclaimed, tossing down a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared, Logan had two people at his side, one being a duck in a blue shirt, while the other was a cockatoo wearing a black coat.
"Oh yeah, it's time to Dew it!" Dewey Duck cheered, throwing a few punches in the air before ending in a kick.
"You better keep my son safe, Logan!" Della Duck called from the stands.
"I will! I promise…" Logan chuckled nervously.
"Wait, is that Nigel, from the Rio movies?" Tomada asked in surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, you were there when I went on that whole adventure to fight him when we became one with the Darkness," Logan said. "Which you can find out more about in my own story, "Adventures of Logan" over at-"
"There will be no shilling or fourth wall breaking here," Nigel groaned. He held out a wing, smirking as he summoned a particular sword, Soul Eater, into them. "And this is from the training that Riku fellow has been giving me to tame my inner darkness."
"Well then, if both sides are good. Ready… GO!"
As Gabriel made the call, Nigel dashed forward in a shadow attack, clashing his blade against Shere Khan's claws as the two quickly became rivals. Dewey had to jump out of the way of Bambi's horns as the deer came rushing in, but the duck was ready for his own attack as he reached behind his back and pulled out…. A basketball.
"Wait, is Dewey seriously going to fight with a basketball?"
"You bet I am!" the duck exclaimed, bouncing it around a bit. "I've been training with all the best players all week, so I'm so down to throw down!"
"Okay then. Have fun with that!"
Meanwhile, Logan and Tomada were already clashing themselves, the falcon using his tomahawk with Logan used one of his Keyblades, Radiant Black. "It's been a while since we really got to fight like this!" Tomada said.
"Yeah, I'm totally pumped that we finally get to face off, just like in the old days!" Logan laughed, doing a backflip before pointing his weapon forward and using a fire spell. Tomada called on Sobek and countered the attack with a water shield, before calling on Coyote to boost his speed and keep Logan on his toes.
"Dark Firaga!" Nigel shouted, firing homing shots of shadow fire at Shere Khan. The tiger hissed as the flames licked his fur.
"You know I hate fire, Nigel!" Shere Khan growled.
The cockatoo smirked evilly. "Why do you think I used it?"
"Take this!" Shere Khan shouted, slamming his paws into the ground to shake the floor of the arena. Nigel squawked as he jumped to avoid the attack, while everyone else tried to keep their footing from the attack.
"Watch out for friendly fire, Shere Khan!" Tomada exclaimed, grunting as he took a hit from Logan.
Over with Bambi and Dewey, the two were playing an odd game of Deadman's Volley, passing the basketball between them as it rapidly started glowing the more they did so. "Oh yeah, I knew this enchanted basketball would come it handy. Your antlers can't even pop it, so that's a bonus," Dewey said. Once the ball glowed a pure white, the duck grabbed it and jumped up high into the air, his eyes also glowing white as power surged around him. "Super Dewey Dunk!" Dewey shouted, before rapidly coming down on Bambi.
The deer has the look of being caught in the middle of the road before Dewey came slamming down on top of him, the attack sending out a burst of light that made everyone wince, while also causing Nigel's dark aura to suddenly dissipate. "Oh, bollocks…" the cockatoo cursed as Shere Khan suddenly pinned him, Nigel being unable to do anything else as he was tapped out.
"Oh yeah! That was awesome!" Dewey cheered.
"Uh, Dewey? While that attack was cool and all, that blast of Light magic made Nigel's powers turn off, meaning you caused him to get knocked out," Logan pointed out.
Dewey looked at his team leader sheepishly. "Well, I did take out Bambi, so it's even, right?"
"Eyes over here!" Tomada shouted, making Logan whip around as the falcon got a hit in on his friend. "Come on, man, I've trained with you for forever! You've gotta bring out the big stuff for me to see."
"Two minutes remaining in the match!" Gabriel warned.
"Well then, time to stop holding back," Logan said. He smirked as an icy wind swirled around him, transforming the human into his snowy owl form. "I'll show you the new level of power I have. You have your spirits, Tomada, so let me show the bond I've made with mine!" Logan pulled out his khopesh, the Egyptian sword erupting in green flames that coated his body. Once that was over with, his form had changed again, remaining as a snowy owl but now wearing Egyptian armor with an Anubis head amulet around his neck, his muscles also being about double what they usually were in his human form.
"Woah, talk about a power boost," Tomada said in shock. "What do you call that form?"
"Let's go with… Underdog Owl," Logan said, before pausing "Wow, my voice is like, even deeper than normal. Oh I am so teasing Destiny with this later…"
"The battle is still going on!" Shere Khan growled, jumping at Logan, only to be immediately knocked out by a flaming sword strike.
"Yeah, so part of this form's ability is that I can instantly take out any soul that aligns with evil," Logan explained. He then grunted as one of the eyes on his amulet stopped glowing. "I only get three attacks with this form, however, so I have to make each of them count."
"You got this, Logan!" Dewey cheered, electing to stay off to the side for this one.
"Tomada, if I may?" Coyote said, suddenly appearing at his side. "There is a spirit you could call on that's been dying to meet you."
"Really?" Tomada said in surprise. His tomahawk glowed, suddenly turning into a more fancy version of itself, the blade part curving like an eagle's head as feathers appeared on the back of the weapon. Tomada gasped as the image of an eagle flowing with electricity appeared behind him. "Th-Th-Th-Thunderbird!?" he shouted.
Thunderbird gave an eagle's cry, before disappearing into Tomada's weapon. The falcon grinned before facing Logan. "Okay then, let's rock this place! My strongest attack against yours."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Logan chuckled, before summoning his Keyblade in his free hand, building up ice magic on one side of his body and green fire on the other. Tomada did the same, charging up lightning around his body, the energy pouring from his eyes like a certain God of Thunder. The two friends looked at each other before exclaiming.
"Underworld Freeze-Flame!"
"Thunderbird Dash!"
Time seemed to stop as their weapons connected, Tomada and Logan appearing on opposite sides of the arena in an instant. Logan's body shuttered as lightning danced over his body, his Underdog Owl form falling away as he reverted to his human body. Tomada, on the other hand, shivered as his body was covered in ice and green fire, the falcon holding on as long as possible before falling to one knee, his tomahawk landing on the ground next to him.
"Yeah… Okay… That hurt…" Tomada grunted, holding his side as he stood back up.
"And that's time!" Gabriel called, signaling the end of the match.
"That was so awesome!" Dewey cheered, jumping into Logan's arms and pumping a fist into the air.
"I'll admit, you've grown a lot since our last sparring match," Logan nodded. "Normally I have to fight Rachel to get that sort of challenge."
Tomada nodded, before reaching down and grabbing his tomahawk. The weapon glowed as it turned back to normal, Thunderbird giving another cry before flying off into the sky. "Hey, where's it going?" Dewey asked.
"I think Thunderbird came to me in my time of need, but I still have a long way to go before I can truly master its power," Tomada explained. He gave a confident smile. "Still, it's my dream to meet Thunderbird in person, so having it come to me now is a good sign that we're fated to meet!"
Logan nodded, giving a fist bump to his friend as the crowd cheered for both of them.
[***]
"Are you ready for this, Jameson?" Violet asked her team leader.
The owl nodded. "Yeah. And after this, I'm going tell Rachel, Poe, and Lena everything."
"We'll be there to support you as well," Venom said.
"You're surprising nice for a villain, Venom," Violet chuckled.
"We are not evil, simply morally ambiguous," Venom shrugged.
"So, you're finally here," Rachel said, holding Maleficent's Bane over her shoulder. She was wearing new dragon scale boots, gloves, and cape, along with her hair being tied up in a bun. "Meet Team Switch Hitters, Dream Walkers." Appearing by her side was a particular hunchback man and a red Egyptian Cobra.
"We're ready to help out, Rachel," Quasimodo said.
"let's get this over with," Ushari rolled his eyes.
"Woah, Ushari being here in a big deal," Jasiri said from the crowd. "He's part of the reason for Scar's rise to villainy, so Jameson better be careful."
"Unfortunately, I didn't have time to prepare a strategy for this fight," Violet sighed. "Let's just do our best, team."
"If both sides are ready. The next fight of this tournament… begins!"
Ushari started the fight by spitting up globs of poison, scattering them around the arena and creating hazard areas. "Thanks to the Mirroverse, my venom can do more than just corrupt others."
"He's like a Pokémon now," Jameson mused. He summoned Aura Lion, letting Violet hop on it. "You take on Ushari, while Venom, you stay with me! I bet Quasi has some sonic-type attacks thanks to his bell-ringing."
"We hate church bells…" Venom grumbled, hopping onto Jameson as they fused together. The duo launched into battle with Rachel, Venom enhancing Jameson's bat into a symbiote sword.
"I've seen you grow so much, Jameson," Rachel complimented. She spun around and did an overhead slash. "Just know that I'm not going to hold back here at all. I've even got a new sword I could show you if you last long enough."
"You're on!" Jameson shouted, using Red Phoenix Blast to push Rachel away.
"I'll protect you!" Quasimodo said, holding out his hands and catching the sword mage in a blanket of light.
"Cool, Quasimodo has light powers from the Mirrorverse," Hunter said. He then chuckled. "I bet Judge Frollo would be jealous."
Back in the battle, Ushari was getting the runaround from Violet and Aura Lion, the two making it hard for the snake to fight back, even with his new poison spitting attack. "Of course lions have to always be in my way…" the snake hissed.
"Dual Slash!" Rachel called, briefly summoning her Keyblade to do a double strike on Jameson, making the owl drop his baseball back.
"Bells of Notre Dame!" Quasi shouted, summoning spectral bells to start ringing around in the area.
"The noise!" Venom screamed, fleeing from the sound by detaching from Jameson.
"Man, Rachel really has all her bases covered," Violet said. The hummingbird heard a hissing noise and leaned back as Ushari tried to jump at her. Violet quickly grabbed the snake by his tail, holding him away from her body as he tried to bite her. "Oh no you don't. Let's send this snake out of there, Aura Lion."
The Dream Eater gave a roar, opening up one of its teleporting portals that Violet then tossed Ushari into. The snake then popped out above Rachel, the sword mage holding up her arms on instinct. This move turned out to be a mistake, however, as Ushari's fangs sunk into Rachel's arm, injecting her with his venom.
"Oh no…" Gabriel said with worry. "Everyone, we need to call of his match now, before-"
Rachel's eyes widened, before narrowing into draconic slits as she felt the venom course through her system. With a demonic shout she exploded into green fire, the explosion so great that it managed to knock out everyone except Jameson, the owl putting up a Reflect spell in panic. When the fire faded, Rachel was now transformed, taking the form of an anthropomorphic dragon, looking almost identical to Maleficent's dragon from but with the black and purple scales swapped.
"R-Rachel…?" Jameson said in fear. Dragon Rachel simply roared, Maleficent's Bane burning with the fires of hell itself. "No… Ushari's bite must have brought out your inner darkness! I didn't think this would happen, but… I will save your, Rachel!" Jameson flared out his wings, turning into his Linked Form and reclaiming his bat from the floor.
The little owl soared up to Dragon Rachel, their weapons clashing once more with hellfire burning against dream energy. Jameson grunted at he was pushed back by Dragon Rachel's raw strength, but persisted as he closed his eyes and focused. 'Logan, Gabriel, Violet, Venom, Rachel, Poe, Lena… all my friends, give me your strength!'
Giving a shout of power, Jameson once again gained his phoenix aura, this time shining with the white power of light. Giving Dragon Rachel a kick to the gut, the sudden hit winding her long enough for Jameson to jump back and press and hand into her chest. "Nightmare Cleanse!" As he did this, spirit versions of his friends appeared behind Jameson, before merging into his palm and filling Dragon Rachel's body with light.
She gave a roar of pain before exploding, falling back to the ground in her normal human form. Jameson landed by her side, looking nervous before Rachel sat up, looking at him with gratitude. "Thank you, Jameson," Rachel said. "I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare by the darkness Ushari's venom brought out of me. Your light… is so bright, little owl."
"Heh, thanks… auntie," Jameson said, blushing a bit.
"Auntie?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.
The owl chuckled nervously. "Well, you're dating Uncle Poe, so that kinda makes your my aunt… Surprise?"
"Rachel!" Poe called, flying down to the arena. "Are you hurt!?"
"I'm fine, Poe," Rachel said. She held her arm, frowning a bit as hellfire crawled across her fingers briefly. "Jameson managed to purge the venom from my system, but it looks like I'll have to learn to control this new darkness that's awakened inside of me."
Poe smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be there with you, Rachel. I'm sure Jameson would like to help out too, since he finally decided to confess to his parentage."
"You knew!?" Jameson exclaimed.
"It wasn't that hard to find out, after that time to came into my dream," Poe explained. "You have the same magical aura of my sister, but more like when she was younger and not completely lost to the darkness."
"Oh well… I guess now I just have to tell Lena," Jameson sighed.
"I'm sure she'll love having a cousin to mess with," Rachel chuckled. "You can join Hunter with our training. Seems like we all have a lot to learn now, especially since I'll have to master that new dragon form now."
"I'm excited to see you use it again," Poe said. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him, making the sorcerer blush. "What? I'm a dark sorcerer and finding out my girlfriend can turn into a fierce- and might I say sexy- looking dragon is a big plus on my side."
"Uncle Poe, no!" Jameson exclaimed, covering his face. "This is pushing the limits of what this story is rated…"
The three then laughed, a new beginning in their story ready to unfold as a new chapter of life.
[***]
"You ready, Ben?" Gabriel called, standing alongside Figment and Randall on one side of the arena. "We're Team Purple Dragons, and this is the last match of the Power of Three Tournament!"
"Dragon of Imagination! Figment!" Figment shouted, doing a pose.
"Dragon of Nightmares! Randall!" Randall called, doing his own pose.
"Dragon of Fantasia! Gabriel!" Gabriel finished, striking a pose as an explosion went off behind them.
"Seriously? Now it's happening to us as well…" Randall.
"You bet I am, Dream Keeper! Especially after that role call you just did!" Ben grinned, posing alongside Nuka and Rocket on their side of the field.
"Just so you know, I won't be using Fantasia at all during this match," Gabriel said, summoning his dragon claws. "But that doesn't mean we can't have a fight song playing while we battle. I apricate someone that like to rock out while they battle."
"Then let's rock," Ben said, putting on his horn-shaped headphones as Gabriel did the same with his sorcerer's headphones. The raven and wolf squared off… before racing in to clash as the beat dropped.
Don't stop, don't stop!
We're in luck now
Don't stop
There's so much to be found
Gabriel blocked a strike from Ben's staff with his dragon claws, quickly switching to dragon cannon to blast the wolf backwards.
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go-go!
Free your soul…
Nuka rushed in to catch his friend with shadow power, the lion then splitting into multiple copies of himself before running into the fight.
Mysteries abound, made of a deep energy (energy)
Foes all around, but I will go fearless and free!
"Time to try out this new gadget…" Randall said to himself, pulling out a device that quickly covered his arms and attached to the scream canister on his back. The monster dodged around Nuka's attack, the device siphoning off some shadow energy from the clones as he did so.
I'll give you strength, you give me love
That's how we'll live (That's how we'll live)
"Don't think you'll be able to be slick with me, Gabriel!" Rocket taunted, firing off shots at the raven. "I know all of your tricks."
"But do you know mine?" Figment asked, popping in front of the raccoon. The dragon booped Rocket on the nose, causing him to sneeze before Figment used some imagination power to create a burst of fireworks, sending the racoon skidding backwards. "I may not be able to use all of my powers here, but I'll keep you on your toes, Rocket!"
Courage won't fade
If you're with me, my enemies will never win!
Randall grinned as his fear canister filled up all the way, the monster activating it as his body turned intangible, making Nuka's attacks useless. "What's going on?" the lion questioned.
"I made this device to feed of negative energy, like your shadow magic. Once the device is full, I can make myself temporarily intangible to all attacks," Randall explained, before delivering a sucker punch to Nuka's face. "Of course, I can still hit you if I want, so you better run!"
We will fight for love and glory
We will live to tell the story!
"Looks like your team was prepared for this," Ben complimented.
"We are, but you guys are resourceful, so we aren't going to get cocky about it either," Gabriel said. "Now then, less talking, and more fighting!"
There is nothing we can't live through
Nothing ever dies
We will rise again!
Ben nodded and started firing off bursts of wind, with Gabriel using dragon wings to fly around them and switching to dragon cannon to fire back with his own magic bolts when he could.
Don't stop, don't stop!
We're in luck now
Don't stop
Keep your spirit proud
"Wow, Ben's actually keeping up pretty well," Sisu said.
"Well, Gabriel is holding back from using Fantasia, so he doesn't have his usual trump card to instantly win," Lena pointed out.
Jasiri gave a hum. "I feel like there's a bit more, actually. Almost as if… Gabriel is testing Ben for something…"
And ride upon the wind
All we have to do is go!
"Take this!" Randall shouted, delivering a double-handed slam to Nuka. The lion held up a paw to try and block it, and was surprised when he actually caught the monster's attack.
Nuka grinned savagely. "Looks like your timer just ran out!" he stated before the two began clashing on more equal footing.
Don't stop, don't stop!
We're in luck now
Don't stop
There's so much to be found
Over with Rocket and Figment, the two were matching firework blasts with laser shots, neither of them giving up. "Do you ever slow down?" Rocket questioned.
"Nope! I'm running on pure imagination, baby!" Figment laughed.
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go-go
Free your soul…
Dragon soul!
Gabriel suddenly landed on the ground in front of Ben, pulling out Cosmic White to block a staff swing. "How about we stop messing around and go straight to the finishers?" Gabriel suggested. "You haven't shown me your team attack yet, after all."
"Aw, but was having fun here," Ben said with a grin.
"This fight won't last forever, so let's end this tournament with a bang!" Gabriel shouted. "Figment, Randall! It's time!" The three of them jumped back and gathered together, with Gabriel holding out his Keyblade, Figment and Randall placing a hand on it as purple magic gathered around them.
Don't stop, don't stop!
We're in luck now
Don't stop
Keep your spirit proud
"Oh boy, I know what that is," Rocket groaned.
"You got a plan, Ben?" Nuka asked nervously.
The wolf looked down, before staring at Gabriel with a grin of determination. "Canis Major Power!" Ben shouted, taking on his new form. He held out a hand to Nuka and Rocket, surrounding them in wind energy as their powers started to swirl together. Rocket grinned and hopped onto Ben's back, activating the strongest setting on his blaster, while Nuka got in front of the two, covering his body in shadows to become a pure avatar of the element.
And ride upon the wind
All we have to do is go!
"Dragon Trinity Limit!" the Purple Dragons shouted, firing out a beam that transformed into a spectral dragon.
"Ultimate Royal Beast Finisher!" Team King of Beasts exclaimed, sending out their own beam that took on the form of a wolf.
Don't stop, don't stop!
We're in luck now
Don't stop
There's so much to be found
The two energy beings clashed with each other, neither one giving up ground. At the last minute, both Ben and Gabriel rush in, weapons drawn as they met in the middle of the arena, clashing just as their finishers ended.
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go-go
Free your soul…
Dragon soul!
With the song coming to an end, the stadium was silent as both teams looked on, waiting to see which leader would fall first. Ben and Gabriel both panted, back-to-back as they let the weight of the final attack weight on them. They both took one step forward…
"Ack!" Ben grunted, falling backwards. Gabriel reached out and caught his hand before he could hit the ground, though, pulling Ben back to his feet and raising the wolf's fist into the sky, the crowd cheering for both teams.
"Great job, King of Beasts," Gabriel said with a grin. "That was pretty fun, don't you think?"
"Yeah… it was…" Ben nodded, still winded from the last attack.
"You know, there is one final prize for winning the tournament," Gabriel said.
"Oh, and what is that?" Ben asked.
Gabriel cleared his throat before speaking to the entire stadium. "After today's tournament, I think we can all agree that everyone that participated has done a great job showing their strength. However, there is one thing that Yen Sid and I discussed before this event… and that is opening up a new position in the Dream Defenders."
The crowd started muttering at that. "Woah, wait, slow down there!" Ben said in shock. "You mean… you want me to join your super elite team of Magical World heroes!?"
"I mean, we're not that elite," Gabriel shrugged. "Really, it's made up of the first friends that I made when coming here. However, in the past… what has it been, two or three years now at this point? Anyway, in that time I've met so many other people that are willing to help out with my Dream Keeper duties. Heck, some of them are Co-Dream Keepers that I trained."
"Represent!" Aline shouted, waving alongside Double D, Beth, Brian, Logan, and Toren.
"But some of us also want to start moving onto other things," Gabriel continued. "I know Adam wants to spend more time on his adventures and doesn't have as much time to help out, same with Toren and being a prince of the Jaquins. And Silver has been talking about returning to his duties helping the princesses, as well as just getting to hang out with Staghart more."
The raven smiled, holding out a hand to Ben. "Plus Logan, Rachel, and I aren't going anywhere, so we'll be able to show you and the others the ropes od dream defending. So, what do you say, Benjamin Burton? Want to be the first in the next generation of Dream Defenders?"
Ben looked at Gabriel's hand, before nodding and accepting the shake. "I accept, Gabriel Aquila, and I promise that I won't let you down either!"
The crowd cheered as the first of the new Dream Defenders was found, with others to join in the future as well.
Author's Note
Man this was a long one, huh? A lot of fights going on, with just as much heart to boot!
First off, Jameson and Ben had their final showdown, set to Fall Out Boys' "Centuries" an epic song to fight to. Both of them even got new forms to battle with: Jameson got Linked Form to show his connection to the Dream Eaters, and Ben got his Canis Major form, which is a reference to Super Sentai/Power Rangers, which is also where the King of Beasts roll call comes from (complete with random explosions after the team poses). In the end Ben took the victory, rising up as the literally underdog.
Next up, the victors battles! Logan and Tomada got to have a friendly battle, with Tomada even getting to have a taste of his dream and wielding the power of the legendary Thunderbird! Logan also got to show off a new form, that being combing his owl and jackal powers into Underdog Owl form. I'm sure the ladies in the audience also apricated the form, especially Destiny. Tomada might not have bested Logan, but he did show that he's still growing.
Rachel and Jameson had an emotional battle, with the sword mage being temporarily corrupted by darkness and turning into a dragon form. Jameson was able to call on the power of his friends to purge that darkness, though, and now Rachel has a new goal to learn to control her inner beast. Also, Jameson's secret is now known to both Rachel and Poe, with both of them being accepting of his past. Good vibes all around.
Finally, Gabriel and Ben have their match set to "Dragon Soul" the opening song of "Dragon Ball Z Kai". Both teams were equally matched, with Randall even showing off a new invention of his that he created to enhance his camouflage technique. The match ended with a final attack clash, and Gabriel coming out on top ultimately, though it was all in good fun as the raven let Ben still keep the spotlight.
And yes, you heard that right: Ben is the first in the new line of Dream Defenders. Now, this does not mean that Adam, Silver, and Toren won't be around anymore, just that when it comes to fighting, they'll be letting the new guys take center stage. It's like how in Power Rangers, a new team steps up each season to fight evil. Gabriel just wants to open the doors of the Dream Defenders up to more of his friends, both new and old.
Next Time: We'll start a brand-new arc, with Gabriel and Jasiri taking a much-needed vacation. Their destination: a cruise out on the open sea! But unknown to them, a certain Scion of Death is looking to make his surprise return!
Tune in next time for "Dream Keeper Chronicles: Gabriel and the Dimensional Cruise Vacation!"