AN: the Dream Defenders return next chapter for a Hawaii special! Leave in a review who you'd like to see interact with Azrael, Ray, and their teammates!
Showdown at Castaway Cay
Music was thriving on the private island of the Magical World, Castaway Cay. The dimensional cruise was coming to an end, and this was to be their last major stop before heading to Hawaii, where the Dream Defenders were planning a big luau for Gabriel and friends. For now, though, the raven wanted to have some fun with his friends, so he was currently leading them in a big musical number out on the beach.
As the song began, the birds and crabs of the beach hummed along with the music as Azrael and Porsha danced together, with Chomper happily following along behind the two. Azrael then cleared his throat as he began to sing.
Oh Chomper…
Make way, make way!
Yes Chomper, it's time you knew
The island of Castaway is all you need…
As the wolf sang, the trio passed by Lop and Morgana, the two practicing some Japanese street dancing on the beach together.
The dancers are practicing
They dance to an ancient song
"Who needs a new song? This old one's all we need!" Lop and Morgana sang out together before doing a high-five.
Azrael laughed as he continued on down the beach, passing by a tree where Ray was currently lounging.
This tradition is our mission
And Chomper, there's so much to do (Make way!)
Don't trip on the taro root, that's all you need
The trio then saw that Mei Ling was sitting near Ray, the golden cat weaving together a basket to collect fruit on the island.
We share everything we make
We joke and we weave our baskets (Aha!)
The fishermen come back from the sea…
"I wanna see…" Chomper sang, running out to the water to watch some boats pass by.
Azrael shook his head as he guided the little T-Rex away from the sea.
Don't walk away
Oh Chomper, stay on the ground now
Our people will need a chief
And there you are…
Porsha then jumped in to sing in harmony with Azrael as they spun around each other.
There comes a day
When you're gonna look around
And realize happiness is where you are!
Meanwhile, out in the water, Gabriel, Jasiri, and Sisu were all swimming around, using some magic to let them breathe underwater. As they did so, Jasiri started to sing, jumping out of the water to dance in the shoals.
The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
The hyena laughed as Sisu started splashing around like a dolphin.
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things around you!
"What more is you looking for?" Gabriel sang before taking Jasiri's hand and leading her in a Polynesian dance.
Under the sea (Under the sea!)
Under the sea (Under the sea!)
Darling, it's better down where it's wetter
Take it from me! (Take it from me-e-e!)
As the two danced, Sisu jumped out of the water, leading some of the ocean fish as backup singers.
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devoting, full-time to floating
Under the sea!
As the duo finished their first chorus, they waved to Azrael and Porsha, their songs converging as they sang out together.
Under the sea (We make our nets from the fibers)
Under the sea (The water is sweet inside)
Nobody beat us, fry us, and eat us (We use the leaves to build fires)
In fricassee! (We cook up the meat inside)
Sisu picked up Chomper and tossed him into the shallows, the T-Rex laughing as the fish tickled his toes.
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea, we off the hook!
We got no troubles, life is the bubbles!
Under the sea!
The dragoness splashed some water as Azrael, making him stumble a bit and crash into a tree, making a coconut fall into his hands. The wolf shook his head and held the fruit high in the air.
Consider the coconut (Consider the coconut)
The trunks and the leaves (Ha!)
The island gives us what we need
"And no one leaves…" Chomper sang out.
That's right, we stay (Oh Chomper…)
We're safe and we're well provided
And when we look to the future
There you are…
Porsha leaned down and took Chomper by the hands as the two danced together, with Gabriel and Jasiri providing backup in the song.
You'll be okay (Oh Chomper…)
In time you'll learn just as I did
You must find happiness right
Where you are!
As the song slowed in pace a bit, Mineru came down the shoreline with Ray, the Zonai princess swaying with the music as the danced with her partner.
I like to dance with the water
The undertow and the waves
The water is mischievous, ha!
I like how it misbehaves
Mineru giggled as Ray sputtered from getting water splashed in his face.
The village may think I'm crazy
Or say that I drift too far
But once you know what you like, well
There you are…
As the song started to pick up again, Mym appeared in her dragon form, singing against Sisu as the two played of each other, throwing around steam on the beach as their water and fire magic mixed together.
The newt play the flute (We make our nets from the fibers)
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass (The water is sweet inside)
And they sounding sharp
The bass play the brass (We use the leaves to build fires)
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul (We cook up the meat inside)
Gabriel grinned as he danced with Jasiri to the beat, Fantasia building around them and creating water platforms to walk back over to the beach with everyone else.
The ray, he can play (The village believes in us)
The lings on the strings
The trout rocking out (The village believes…)
The blackfish, she sings
The smelt and the sprat (The island gives us what we need…!)
They know where it's at
And oh, that blowfish blow!
"And no one leaves!" Azrael and Porsha sang out as the song started to come to its end.
So here you'll stay (So here you'll stay!)
Your home, your people beside you
And when we think of tomorrow
There we are…
Azrael, Porsha, Chomper, and Mei Ling all came together to sing out their part of the song.
You'll lead the way (You'll lead the way!)
You'll have your people to guide you
We'll build our future together…
Ray, Mineru, Mym, and Morgana then joined in with their own part.
Cause every path leads you back to
Where you are
Finally, Gabriel, Jasiri, Lop, and Sisu all added in their voices for the grand finale, everyone singing together as the song came to an end.
You can find happiness right
Where you are
Where you are….!
Everyone then laughed as they went to their spot on the beach, where a picnic table of food was prepared as well as some umbrellas and towels to lounge under. "That was a lot of fun," Ray said. "We don't get to do a lot of musical numbers in the Gamesphere, unless you're in a music-based world like Rhythm Heaven or Parappa the Rapper."
"You guys are so missing out then," Porsha said. "I mean, we don't get a lot of them either, but ever since I got my shooting star powers, I can rope Azrael into doing one."
"Puss in Boots being around tends to bring some music as well," Azrael added.
"I just find it refreshing to finally get to hang out in the water," Sisu said. "We've been on a boat the entire time, and while the pool is nice, I just wanted to stretch my sea legs and get some real swimming in."
"Not a big fan of the stuff myself, but it is nice to just relax on a beach," Morgana nodded.
"I'm just happy I finally got to wear my swimsuit again," Mym giggled, showing off her purple and black one-piece swimsuit that left little to the imagination but was somehow still tasteful in design.
"I'm more surprised your swimsuit fits both your human and dragon forms," Ray shook his head.
"If I want my clothes to carry over to my true form, I can make it so," Mym replied.
"Still… it feels maybe a bit too quiet here," Azrael mused.
"What do you mean? And you better not be jinxing it!" Mei Ling said.
"I mean, we did some underwater diving, had a romantic night on the beach, and even got to sing and entire musical number just now before lunch," Azrael recalled. "I feel like our luck isn't that good for something not to happen while we're here at Castaway Cay."
"True… our luck does seem to lean towards random events happening whenever more than one version of Gabriel is around," Jasiri mused.
"Yeah, normally there's more slice-of-life things when it's just me and the gang," Gabriel said.
As if the universe was taunting them, the skies above began to darken as the wind picked up and lightning stuck out at sea. A whirlpool formed just offshore, and an evil laugh rang out as a giant half-octopus woman arose from the depths, cackling as she held up a golden trident in the air. "Yes! At last I've regained Triton's trident! Now I can rule over the oceans once more!" Ursula laughed.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear…" Ray muttered.
"Huh, does Ursula look a bit different than normal?" Sisu asked.
"I think she's taking on her live-action movie appearance right now," Gabriel said. "Well, a villain is here to ruin our day now, so I guess we better-"
"Uh, Gabriel? The others already ran off to fight Ursula," Jasiri said, pointing down the beach where everyone was running.
"Wow, I need to get back on the ball of jumping into the action," Gabriel said before calling on his Keyblade and rushing to join them.
"Zorro, show your might!" Morgana called, summoning his Persona to create a wind gust to launch everyone up into the air. The phantom thief then pulled out his slingshot and fired some pellets at the sea witch, making her turn to face the heroes.
"Oh, not the Dream Keeper and his friends!" Ursula groaned. "This was supposed to be my big moment! I was going to take over Castaway Cay, and then some heroes would show up to try and stop me!"
"Sorry, but our vacation is coming to an end soon, so we can't afford to let you," Mineru stated, before calling on her construct to fire lasers at Ursula.
"Shooting Stardust!" Porsha shouted, blasting out sparks of light to blind the sea witch.
"Lop, with me!" Mei Ling called, using her chi to create a solid cloud to stand on.
"I'm with you!" Lop replied, hopping on the cloud with Mei Ling as the two flew towards Ursula. The sea witch tried to strike them with swings from her trident, but Lop blocked the attacks with her lightsaber and the Force, before they finally got close enough for Mei Ling to deliver a massive blast of mist as their foe.
"We'll show you the power of a dragon!" Mym and Sisu shouted together, transforming into their dragon forms and flying around Ursula to pelt her with fire and water breathes (one of the new powers Sisu had learned to do with her dragon gem).
"I'll help out too!" Chomper called, before rearing back his head and letting out a roar that stunned Ursula.
"Enough of this!" the sea witch shouted, calling down lightning to scatter the group. "This is my moment and you're all ruining it!"
"That's just what heroes do," Jasiri shrugged. "Get in the way of villain's evil schemes!" The hyena then called on her magic to create an illusionary giant squid that started wrestling with Ursula for the trident. "I've got her distracted now! Boys, do your thing!"
"Dragon Cannon!" Gabriel shouted, pointing his Keyblade forward as it fired off a spiraling blast of dragon energy.
"Azrael! How about we try out a Fusion attack to finish this?" Ray offered.
"I thought you'd never ask," Azrael grinned. The two linked powers before rushing at Ursula, both slashing at the sea witch with energy claws before jumping back and holding out a hand to her, glowing with green and red energy.
"Raining Finale!" they shouted, throwing their hands into the sky before slamming them into the ground, calling down a massive sky laser that knocked Ursula out of her giant state and letting Jasiri finally get the trident away from her.
"Got it!" The hyena called, holding up the trident in victory. "No we just need to get this back to King Triton…"
"I'm… not finished yet!" Ursula shouted, suddenly popping out of the water to try and jump Jasiri.
"Oh no you don't!" Azrael exclaimed, rushing at the sea witch and delivering a powerful punch to the gut. The wolf then proceeded to give Ursula a beatdown, everyone else wincing at the attacks before Azrael finished, turning his back to her and crossing his arms as Ursula was laid out on the ground in a strangely familiar pose.
"I feel like I've seen that pose on TV before…" Ray muttered.
"That's what you get for almost ruining Ghostbusters, lady!" Azrael said before picking up Ursula by the tentacle and tossing her back into the sea.
"What does Ghostbusters have to do with anything?" Porsha asked.
"Oh, I get it! It's because in the live-action version, Ursula is played by one of the actresses that was in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot," Gabriel explained.
"Thankfully Ghostbusters Afterlife was a much better continuation of the franchise," Azrael said. "Now then, let's get back to our picnic, shall we?"
As the skies cleared and everyone went back to their spot on the beach, Ray and Mineru hung back for a moment. "You know, sometimes I forget that Azrael is the Scion of Death, but then he delivers a villain beatdown like that and I remember how scary he can get when he's fully serious," Ray shuttered.
"Yes, but remember that he is still a hero, another you that just took a different path," Mineru said.
"True," Ray nodded. "Now then, let's get some food. I have to show you how good dragon fruits are!"
[***]
Long's Own Wish
Gabriel was starting to feel like Long wasn't telling him something. Sure the wish dragon was probably just waiting for him to make his last wish, but the raven was sure that Long was hiding something else. One thing about the wish dragon was that only Gabriel could see him, which meant that only Gabriel had picked up on whenever Long looked off into the distance or seemed to get distracted by something else. It came to a head when not even offering Long some shrimp chips, the dragon's favorite food, that Gabriel just flat-out asked him what was going on.
"Okay Long, you've been really distracted all week," Gabriel said. "Is something going on? Is there some threat that's trying to come after your teapot that I should be aware of or something?"
"What? Oh, uh, it's nothing," Long said, turning his attention back to Gabriel. "Hey, are those shrimp chips? Gimme!"
Gabriel pulled the bag out of the dragon's reach. "I'll let you have them only if you tell me what's been on your mind."
Long sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you." The dragon lifted Gabriel up as they peered around the corner of the deck, looking out to a crowd of guests playing games on the main deck. "You see that woman over there?"
"You're going to have to be more specific," Gabriel said.
"That one, with the frizzy white hair doing limbo," Long clarified.
Gabriel looked in that direction and saw Sisu in her human form showing off her flexibility by expertly going under the limbo pole. "Sisu? She's one of my friends, actually?"
"Really? I haven't seen her all cruise," Long said.
"I'm pretty sure you have," Gabriel shook his head. "She's the water dragon that's always hanging out with me. She can shape-change into a human body if she wants to… Then again, ever since I found your teapot, she hasn't used her human form, so maybe it is possible you wouldn't know that."
"Sisu…" Long let the name roll off his tongue, before shaking his head. "Gah, what am I doing!? My heart's beating all out of time, and…" He ran a hand over his brow. "Am I getting hot or is the sun finally getting to me?"
Gabriel smirked at the dragon. "Oh, I see what's going on. The great and powerful wish dragon Longzhu as fallen in love with Sisu."
"Love? No way," Long shook his head. "Need I remind you of my backstory? Despot emperor, had many wives and children, lost what it meant to be human and love and stuff, cursed to be a wish dragon after I died… cursed twice, need I remind you, even if the second time was my own choice… What I'm saying is, how can I be falling in love?"
"I mean, you did go through a whole character arc in your movie about changing for the better," Gabriel pointed out. "So trying to find love again sounds natural to me. Though I will admit I did not see you having a crush on Sisu."
"It's not a crush! Just an… interest," Long said quickly. "And you've never met any of my ex-wives, so how do you know I wouldn't be into extroverted girls?"
"Because you come from a period of ancient China where most women didn't have a say in the household," Gabriel said bluntly.
"…You know what, fair point," Long sighed. "Still, there's just something about her that makes me want to get to know here… but we're not even from the same dimension, so even if she did accept going on date with me, how would that even work in the long run, huh?"
"Yeah, that could be a problem, huh?" Gabriel said, "Still, this is the dimensional cruise, so even if you can only have one night to hang out with Sisu, you might as well take it, right?"
"But only my master can see me," Long said, pointing at the raven. "And you better not waste your last wish on letting other people see me!"
"I wasn't going to," Gabriel shook his head. The raven thought about a solution to this problem. "Hm… Wait, I know what we gotta do! There's a dance tonight being hosted by some friends of mine. I'll make sure Sisu shows up, and you can use that human disguise you had that one time in your movie to show up."
"Technically that was part of a wish," Long said, shifting into his human form. "Sure, I can still take this form, but only you can still see me."
Gabriel put a hand to his chin, before snapping his fingers and pulling out a whistle from his pocket. Blowing into it, a cloudy portal opened up next to him, revealing the head of a Ryu Dragon Dream Eater. "Hey Pitaya! Can you go ask Toren for one of Mateo's potions? I'm sure he'll know the one I'm talking about."
Pitaya nodded before hopping back through the portal. "Who was that?" Long asked.
"That's Pitaya, by Dream Eater companion," Gabriel explained. "Normally I just let him wander the dream realm, but I can call on him to deliver messages and transport items if I'm too busy to do so myself. Normally I'd need to be in the Magical World proper to call on him, but since the Disney Wish cruise liner is technically still a part of my world, I can still call on Pitaya for help."
The Ryu Dragon soon returned, dropping a potion into Gabriel's hands and giving the raven a lick to the face before closing up the portal. Gabriel tossed the potion up to Long. "And this will help me have a dance with Sisu?" Long asked.
"it's a shape-shifting potion one of Toren's friends made," Gabriel explained. "Recently he's been expanding from just making Jaquin potions. That one should let you become human for a night."
Long shrugged. "Well, I guess you just have to take a chance sometimes," he said before uncorking the bottle and drinking it down in one go.
[***]
"Welcome, gentleman and madames, to the dance night of amore!" a voice with a thick French accent said. Tonight's party was to be the last one of the cruise right before the big stop in Hawaii. Its host was the sometimes infamous, always a ladies' man Pepe le Pew alongside his paramour Penelope Pussycat. The two had stopped by for a special date night dance party, and all of Gabriel's friends were there to either dance to cheer on their friends.
The raven himself was dressed in a nice midnight purple suit with a blue starry bowtie, while Jasiri wore a wine-red dress with African patterns embroidered into it. Azrael had a traditional black and white tux with a red bowtie while Porsha went for a dazzling golden dress with silver jewelry and makeup. Ray had a light blue suit with a black tie, while Mineru wore a green dress with golden accessories.
"So you've actually met Pepe and Penelope before you ever met me?" Azrael asked.
Gabriel nodded. "Yep, they showed up in the Magical World to get away from it all for Valentine's Day."
"But neither of them were in Who Framed Rodger Rabbit," Ray pointed out.
"I told them that too when we first met," Gabriel shrugged.
"Now then, if you have your lover with you, I want you to look them in the eyes and communicate your love," Pepe said, twirling his microphone around and giving a wink. "And if you don't have a lover, then find someone for yourself! It's only fair that everyone has a chance at romance. But for now, I'll let my amore Penelope serenade you all with her dulcet tones."
As the music began to play, Gabriel looked over to where Long was, the wish dragon fidgeting with his tie as he looked nervous to just be there. The raven shook his head and went over to make sure everything was all right. "Long, you can't just sit here all night doing nothing. Come on, go ask Sisu for a dance!" Gabriel encouraged.
"Actually, I'm having second thoughts about this," Long said, pulling at the collar of his suit. "I mean, what if the potion wears off and I make a fool of myself?"
"Trust me, Long, it's pretty hard to make a fool of yourself in front of Sisu. If anything, being a bit goofy at times will endear her to you," Gabriel assured him. The raven then patted Long on the back and pushed him towards the dance floor. "Now go and get your dance on, wish dragon!"
Long muttered to himself as he half-heartedly moved to the music, not really paying attention to where he was going. The wish dragon suddenly bumped into someone, almost falling on top of them before catching himself as the person he bumped into. Long gasped as he saw that it was Sisu, the water dragon wearing an aquamarine Asian party dress.
"Woah! Nice moves there," Sisu said, pulling herself up with Long's arm as leverage. "Hm, I don't think I've seen you here before. I like your goatee."
"Oh, uh, thanks," Long said, unconsciously stroking his facial hair. "It's Long, by the way. My name, that is! Not my facial hair, obviously."
Sisu giggled. "Nice to meet ya, Long. I'm Sisu."
"Likewise," Long said, giving a nervous smile. "…So…"
"So…?" Sisu repeated.
"Would you… liketohaveadancewithme?" Long spoke quickly, before blushing and turning away.
"Sure, why not?" Sisu shrugged.
"Wait, really?" Long asked.
"I mean, you seem like a chill guy. Maybe a bit nervous, but who isn't whenever you're at one of these kinds of parties?" Sisu replied. "I mean, you would not believe how my girl Raya was like when she had to go to her first princess ball. She was a totally trainwreck."
"I didn't always used to be like this... Though normally I'd be the one hosting the party…" Long muttered.
"Ah, a bit of royal, are ya?" Sisu asked.
"Former royal, really. I live a more nomadic life now, you could say," Long said.
"So former royalty with a sense of adventure? You're checking off some boxes on my besties list, you know?" Sisu laughed. She grabbed Long's hand as a new song started up. "Oh, I love this song! One of my friends Silver took me to see the movie it's from, so we gotta dance to it!"
"B-But I don't really know how to- ah!" Long exclaimed as Sisu dragged him to the middle of the dance floor, the lights on the floor turning pink as Penelope started to sing a song on-stage.
Baby, you can find me under the lights
Diamonds under my eyes
Turn the rhythm up, don't you wanna just
Come along for the ride?
As the song began, Sisu started grooving along to the beat, with Long awkwardly following her lead. Nearby, Gabriel was dancing with Jasiri and gave Long a thumb's up, the wish dragon nervously smiling and returning the gesture.
Oh, my outfit so tight
You can see my heartbeat tonight
I can take the heat, baby, best believe
That's the moment I shine
Sisu noticed Long was struggling to dance properly and took his hand, guiding him through some of her own dance moves. Long blushed at her touch.
Cause every romance shakes and it bends
Don't give up man…
When the night's here, I don't do tears
Baby, no chance…
Up on stage, Penelope sang out as Pepe held a hand out to her, the cat happily taking it as the two started to dance together.
I could dance, I could dance, I could dance…
"Wow, who's that dancing with Sisu?" Jasiri asked.
"Oh, just a friend of mine…" Gabriel said knowingly.
Watch me dance, dance the night away
My heart could be burning, but you won't see it on my face
As disco lights started shining down over the floor, Sisu suddenly pulled out some disco-style moves. "Oh, I know this one!" Long exclaimed. "One of my former masters- I mean, co-workers was all into disco back in the day."
Watch me dance, dance the night away (uh-huh)
I'll still keep the party running, not one hair out of place (place…)
The two disguised dragons were soon on the same wavelength in terms of dancing, finally getting into a groove as the second verse started.
Lately, I've been moving close to the edge
Still be looking my best
I stay on the beat, you can count on me
I ain't missing' no steps
Over with Porsha and Azrael, the two were in-step as they glided across the dance floor, with Azrael even lifting Porsha up at one point like in the movie "Dirty Dancing."
Cause every romance shakes and it bends
Don't give up man…
When the night's here, I don't do tears
Baby, no chance…
With Ray and Mineru, the former found himself flustered as Mineru showed off more of her Arabian-style dance moves, even using a flowy ribbon to pull Ray closer to herself.
I could dance, I could dance, I could dance…
"Nice moves, Ray," Jasiri giggled as they passed the two by.
Watch me dance, dance the night away
My heart could be burning, but you won't see it on my face
Doing a little slide, Gabriel gave Jasiri a spin, the hyena laughing as she was brought into a dip before Gabriel pulled her close, the two sharing a quick kiss as they danced.
Watch me dance, dance the night away (uh-huh)
I'll still keep the party running, not one hair out of place
Back with Sisu and Long, the two were still finding their groove with each other, the water dragon even feeling some butterflies in her stomach as Long gained enough confidence to give her a flirty smile.
When my heart breaks (they never see it, never see it)
When my world shakes (I feel alive, I feel alive)
I don't play it safe (ooh)
Don't you know about me? (Uh-huh)
I could dance, I could dance, I could dance…
The lights soon dimed a bit, only illuminating the silhouettes of everyone as they danced. Sisu was outlined in blue and Long was outlined in pink as they grooved, their shadows revealing their true dragon selves as they danced.
Even when the tears are flowing like diamonds on my face
I'll still keep the party going, not one hair out of place (yes, I can)
Gabriel and Jasiri were outlined in purple as they danced, with Azrael having red, Porsha green, Mineru yellow, and Ray orange.
Even when the tears are flowing like diamonds on my face (yes, I can, yes, I can)
I'll still keep the party going, not one hair out of place
With a smile Sisu suddenly transformed into her dragon form, practically wrapping around Long as they continued to dance together, much to his shock. 'Huh, so this must be what my previous masters felt like whenever I dragged them around,' he thought.
Watch me dance, dance the night away (uh-huh)
My heart could be burning, but you won't see it on my face
Watch me dance, dance the night away (uh-huh)
I'll still keep the party running, not one hair out of place
"Sorry about the suddenly transformation, I just couldn't hold it in," Sisu said.
"No, it's fine… You're still beautiful like this," Long blushed.
"Heh, aren't you trying to be a charmer, "Sisu laughed.
When my heart breaks (they never see it, never see it)
When my world shakes (I feel alive, I feel alive)
I don't play it safe (ooh)
Don't you know about me? (Uh-huh)
Sisu then turned back into her human from as the song came to an end, with Pepe giving Penelope a big kiss as the music stopped.
I could dance, I could dance, I could dance…
Dance the night!
"That was… something…" Long breathed, catching his breath after the dance.
"That was fun is what I think you're saying," Sisu giggled. "I'll be honest, I didn't think you'd take me turning out to be a dragon very well, but you surprised me, Long."
"I mean, it's not that weird from where I'm from…" Long said. He then suddenly felt a gurgle in his stomach, making him clutch it in confusion.
"Woah, that sounds like some serious indigestion," Sisu said.
"No it's… something else…" Long said, wincing a bit as he coughed up some pink smoke. "Oh no, not now…"
"Long, what's up? I can go get you some water if you need it," Sisu said.
"No… that won't help… I gotta… gotta go!" Long exclaimed before running off as he continued to spew up pink smoke from his mouth. As Sisu called after him, Long made a break for an empty room before ducking inside, letting out a huge burp as he was covered in pink smoke. The wish dragon soon found that the effects of the potion had worn off, and he was back in his dragon body once more.
"Long? I saw you duck in here. You okay, buddy?" Sisu called as she entered the room, only to find that no one else was there.
"Sisu…" Long said sadly, watching as she checked every part of the room but couldn't find him. Since he was back to just being a wish dragon, that meant only Gabriel could see him once more. As Sisu left the room, Long floated out behind her and returned to his teapot in Gabriel's pocket. "Well Long, you had once dance of fun with a girl, and now you're back to being a wish dragon again. Guess you just have to wait for Gabriel to make his last wish now…"
As the party started winding down, Gabriel took a moment for himself and went over to look out at the ocean, pulling out Long's teapot and summoning the wish dragon to his side. "So, how was your dance with Sisu?" he asked.
"It was… all I could wish for…" Long sighed, crossing his arms. "So, now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself by leaving a girl on the dance floor, how about you make your last wish so I can return to the heavens and… forget all of this..."
"…I wish there was a way for Long to see Sisu again," Gabriel said.
"What?" Long questioned. "Can you say that again? I thought you just said-"
"I promised that I'd let you have my last wish," Gabriel reminded him. "And I saw how much fun you were having with Sisu. Sure you two might be a bit opposites in terms of personalities, but I could sense a spark starting to form between you. So I'm making my final wish this: I wish that Longzhu had a way of seeing the water dragon Sisu once more!"
Long looked at Gabriel in shock, before giving a warm smile and raising his tail. "Your wish… is my command, master." With snap of his tail Long was enveloped in pink smoke… only to reappear as himself with no changes. "Huh? Wasn't I supposed to return to the heavens after my last wish?"
A gust of wind suddenly blew a piece of paper in Gabriel's face, the raven peeling it off as he noticed that it was a scroll. Opening it up, Gabriel read it aloud, "To Longzhu: we recognize that you have completed your task of granting wishes to ten masters, thus meaning your services as a wish dragon are now finished. However, due to the nature of your last master's wish, we are offering you a choice: you may either return to the heavens to live out your afterlife, or you may stay in the living realm as a wish dragon."
"How would that work?" Long questioned. "The gods are just going to let me stay a wish dragon and live my life out on Earth? I know me, and letting me have all this cosmic, mystical power to myself a bad idea."
"There's a bit more here," Gabriel said. "If you agree to staying as a wish dragon, there will be two new rules you must follow: firstly, you are only allowed to grant one wish per day, and none may be used on yourself unless someone else wishes it so."
"Fair enough," Long shrugged.
"And secondly, you will now be visible to all mortals in your dragon form," Gabriel finished. He looked to Long. "So, what choice will you make? It's your wish, so it's all up to what you want to be happy."
Long thought about all of his previous masters, all the wishes he had granted, even if it took him a long time to realize what his time as a wish dragon had truly been about. He then thought of his time as a human emperor, and all the horrible and selfish things he'd done when he shut his heart closed for so many years. 'I miss my beloved daughter and family in the heavens but…' he thought. '…They would also want me to take this new chance to live a good life, wouldn't they?'
Looking at the scroll, Long took it and said aloud, "I accept the offer to remain on Earth as a mortal wish dragon." The scroll poofed away, and Long's teapot suddenly started spinning before transforming into a glowing jade orb, which the wish dragon carefully took into his hands. "Woah, it's a jade orb now instead of a teapot."
"Looks kinda like Sisu's dragon orb," Gabriel pointed out. "Hey, do you think that you can use it to shape-change like she can?"
Long gave a hum before concentrating, thinking of his human form. In a puff of pink smoke he had done it, his human from looking mostly the same except for his hair now being more purple like his dragon self rather than being grey. "Guess this means I'm permanently a wish dragon now," he mused.
"Hey, being a dragon is way cooler than being a regular human," Gabriel laughed. He then looked over to see Sisu still sitting glumly by herself. "And now that you can interact with all mortals, I think a certain dragoness deserves your attention."
Long nodded. "Thank you, Gabriel, for everything," he smiled before going over to Sisu. "Hey, sorry I had to run out on you. I just had to… get properly adjusted to my new life."
"Long!" Sisu gasped, jumping up and giving him a big hug. "I am so, so glad you're back! Seriously, I thought I scared you away or something. I know you said you were cool with me being a dragon, but I thought you were just saying that to be nice and then you had to throw up or something."
"Trust me, Sisu, being a dragon is no problem," Long said, before touching his jade orb and transforming in his dragon self. "I think I'd be a hypocrite if it was anyways."
"No. Freaking. Way!" Sisu cheered, happily transforming into her own dragon body and twisting around Long. "You were a dragon the whole time!?"
"A wish dragon to be more specific," Long said. "It's a long story, no pun intended." The wish dragon soon recounted his story to Sisu, right up to the point of Gabriel becoming his new master and Long making the decision to stay on Earth as a mortal wish dragon. "…and that sums up everything."
"Wow, that's a lot," Sisu said. "Still, it was nice getting to meet another dragon. I don't have a lot of dragon friends back in the Magical World, or at least not ones I hang out with."
"Sucks that we won't be able to see each other after this cruise though," Long sighed.
"About that…" Gabriel said, coming up to the two. The raven produced a mechanical bracelet and handed it over to Long. "Did you forget my wish was so that you two could see each other again? After I made my wish that device appeared in my pocket. It's a dimensional wristwatch like what the Spiderverse characters use to hop dimensions."
"Oh yeah, you're from a Sony movie, right?" Sisu realized. "So you guys make those animated Spider-Man movies, and we have all the spider-people in the Magical World."
"Meaning I can use their tech to come and visit whenever I want," Long finished. He put the dimensional wristwatch on and gave a smile, before scooping up Gabriel in a hug. "Thanks again, Gabriel. Now I can come see you again, and check out what the rest of my world is like."
"Which world are you from anyways?" Gabriel asked.
"I'm pretty sure it's the Netflix one, since that's where my movie is hosted," Long said.
"Well then, feel free to find your dimension's Gabriel and befriend him. I'm sure having a wish dragon at his side will help a lot," Gabriel suggested. "Just look for a guy that likes to help others and had an angel-based name. Can't miss 'em."
"Will do, former master," Long said before turning to Sisu and smirking. "Now then, how about we finish that dance?"
"Gladly," Sisu said, giving Long a nuzzle before the two flew off into the sky to dance once more. Gabriel watched on as the two dragons intertwined with each other, happy that Long finally got his happy ending.
Author's Note
To start this chapter, we get our heroes singing a mashup of "Where You Are/ Under the Sea", as performed by the artists Scott & Ryceejo, which is a mashup I've been enjoying this summer. Ursula from the live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid" then tried to crash the party, only for the heroes to show her why you don't mess with them. Azrael in particular brought the smackdown on her, even doing a Raging Demon attack from "Steet Fighter" on her, complete with the Family Guy death pose. Azrael is actually a big Ghostbusters fan, so that's why he has beef with Ursula, since her actress Melissa McCarthy was in the 2016 reboot (which is not a good movie or reboot in my opinion). While Ghostbusters isn't a Universal movie it did have a stage show at the parks and has had a haunted house during Halloween events, so it counts in the same way as Harry Potter or Marvel does for the Epic Universe.
In the second half, Gabriel finds out Long has a crush on Sisu and helps the wish dragon get a dance with her. Gabriel's Dream Eater makes a cameo, and we get a mention of things going on with Toren in Elena's kingdom of the Magical World (I haven't seen Elena of Avalor, but I do know there's an episode where Elena uses a potion to turn into a Jaquin, so I had her magician friend expand his potions to make a human one). Pepe and Penelope make a cameo as well, performing the song "Dance the Night" from the Barbie movie. While I haven't seen the movie myself, I do enjoy this song that was used in a lot of the trailers for it.
Finally we get Gabriel's last wish, which not only lets Long stay on Earth as a Wish Dragon but also gives him one of the dimensional wristwatches from the Spiderverse movies so he can travel between dimensions to see Sisu whenever he wants. This also confirms that Long is from the Netflix dimension, though I don't have a set Gabriel for that world at the time of me writing it.
If you were wondering where the idea to pair Long and Sisu up came from, it's two things: first is that both of them are Eastern dragons from 2021 movies that have complementary color schemes, and I just think that their personalities could actually work well together. The second is the Deviant Art user Serpanade-Toons, who's done a lot of Long X Sisu art that I think is adorable. Noodle dragons in love, what can I say?
Next Time: The dimensional cruise comes to an end with a big Hawaiian luau where the Dream Defenders meet Azrael and Ray!