This is for the Animorphs branch of the Infinite Loops. The premise is that something has damaged the multi-dimensional super computer Yggdrasil which runs all of the Omni-Verse. In order to keep all of creation from failing, the Admins put the Omni-Verse into safe mode; that is time loops in order to keep the damage contained and attempt to repair it if possible.
Infinite Loops Basics (copied from Saphroneth):
One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.
There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one.
The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.
To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time this time.)
The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop.
Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.
Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B and B must be before A.)
Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.
Animorph Specifics:
Anchor is Tobias
Admin is Morrigan (Celtic goddess of shapeshifting, lust, magic, war, prophecy, and revenge)
The Elimist, Crayak, and various other all powerful beings of the Animorphs universe are Loop Aware (that is not able to loop, but aware that time is repeating itself).
I am afraid that I cannot apologize for how infuriating FF is and that I had to use line-breaks for every time there was a new loop OR a new scene...
1.1
«I guess this is me from now on.» Tobias told Jake. And then he Awoke. One moment he was on the bridge of The Rachel as Jake ordered the ship to ram the Blade Ship and then... Then he was telling Jake that he was a nothlit.
"Tobias? Are you okay?" Jake asked.
«Yeah, I'm fine.» He replied absently as he flew off to get some privacy. Something was definitely not right.
Tobias found himself flying toward his meadow that he had stayed in before the war had gone public and the entire area was torched. He needed to think and... and contact the Ellimist. Anger surged up in him as he thought about the being that used people as chess pawns. This had to be one of its games, the Ellimist was always playing with their lives. «Ellimist! Show yourself! I know you had something to do with this!»
Time stopped around him as the Ellimist appeared. "Interesting, you appear to be reliving events. This is not my doing, though I am curious as to how you know I exist."
Tobias froze at the Ellimist's words. «Then who? Why?»
"Tobias, you are a beginning. You are a point on which an entire time-lines may turn." The Ellimist said instead, dodging the question and paraphrasing something that it would later tell him. "The andalites gave you a gift and now I return it. I look forward to seeing how events progress."
Before Tobias could respond, the Ellimist was gone and time had resumed its flow. «This is what you do? Figure out something is wrong and treat it as a game?» Tobias half laughed half shouted.
He forced himself to calm down and think. If time had reset, then he had a chance to do everything over. End the war sooner with fewer lives lost. Save Rachel.
1.2
Tobias Awoke and immediately found himself assaulted by foreign sensations. He stumbled and quickly caught his balance as adjusted to being on four legs. He had two legs when he died... Time was definitely looping then. Tobias saw something out of one his eyestalks―wait. Eyestalk? Why was he an andalite?
«Are you alright, Tobiasir?»
«Yes father.» Tobias replied absently, before recognizing what he just said and focusing better on his father. Elfangor. Something was wrong and... He had two sets of memories. The first was the one he knew, where he had grown up on Earth and gone through the Animorph-Yeerk War twice. The second set of memories however was him growing up as Tobiasir-Shirinial-Jevirkcor. Tobias dug up more memories and found a surprising lack of details regarding where his mother had come from – unless they had used the Time Matrix? It was something to think about later. The andalite naming system was interesting, though similar as apparently the first name was unique, while the second name was taken from the ancestral plains of one of the parents and the third name was the grassland that one was born on.
«Are you ready for your first assignment?» his father questioned.
His andalite memories supplied that his father had pulled some strings so that they would ship out together on the Dome Ship Galaxy Tree in order to investigate rumors of a Yeerk presence on a relatively distant planet. Tobias recognized the name of the Dome Ship that he was to be stationed on as the one that Elfangor and Ax had been stationed on when they engaged the Yeerks over Earth. «I am, father.» Tobias had to fall back on the second set of memories to answer without arousing suspicion. The lack of experience of being an andalite, having parents, and the foreign culture was going to be a problem; hopefully he could just continue to take advantage of the new memories.
Tobias made a note to thoroughly go through his memories once he was alone. «Very good. Make sure to wish your mother and Aximili well.» Elfangor put in before trotting off.
A vague feeling of worry washed through him at Ax's name and he immediately tore through his memories to find the answer. Ax was to be the one stationed on the Galaxy Tree, but was suffering from an inflamed Tria gland which was only fixable through surgery. Since Ax would not be fit for duty in time for when the Galaxy Tree left, his father had managed to switch his and Ax's places.
Tobias immediately set off to find his Shorm. His thoughts were in a turmoil as he galloped; Tobias had always been able to trust that Ax had his back, and now that would not be the case. It would be difficult for him to get by without Ax, Tobias had already lost him once and... No. He was in a time loop, Ax would be there with him next time. It would certainly be interesting to take Ax's place though.
1.3
"Hey, everybody!" Jake said loudly. "Sorry we're late, but Erek has breaking news. Listen up!"
"As I told Jake," Erek started, "we know the Yeerks are ready to test the AMR. But they don't have a test subject," Erek continued.
Tobias flinched, though luckily nobody was paying attention to him. This was quite possibly the worse mission for him and... in some ways he still had not completely recovered from the torture. If only he knew exactly where the Anti-Morphing Ray was, then he could say he found it by following known controllers or something. Repressed memories flooded back of Taylor smiling as she pressed the buttons that controlled the torture device. Did he really have to do this? Time was repeating right? Could he not let it happen and... no, he had to. If the weapon actually worked and time was fixed, could he really live with himself if his friends were captured – or worse, turned into controllers?
"Anyways, I was thinking, maybe that's exactly what we should do: Let the Yeerks capture one of us. Provide them with their test subject. Me, for instance. I let them take me prisoner. The rest of you follow secretly. They'll lead us straight to the AMR. Exactly where we want to go. In a position to destroy the weapon."
Tobias watched vacantly as they discussed who should go. Rachel volunteered and was immediately shot down. Good, he did not want her to bear his pain. Ax volunteered next and Tobias knew that he had no choice. If he did not volunteer then Ax would be tortured... maybe even infested if the Anti-Morphing Ray worked. He had to do this, there was no way he would let someone go in his place and be tortured.
«I'll do it.» Tobias said, bracing himself for the worse pain he had ever experienced. Everyone turned to him and he could see the look in Jake's eyes. Jake knew it had to be him, but it pained him and... he knew nothing of pain! He was never tortured for hours. He never had to watch the love of his life die on a suicide mission. In fact he was the one who ordered Rachel go in the first place! But could he really blame Jake for making the decisions? Would he have done any better in his place? Tobias almost wished that everything would end, but he knew he had to keep himself going for Rachel and Ax. «Look, if they turn the ray on Ax in morph then they get an andalite and they get proof that it works.» Tobias began, forcibly squashing down his roiling emotions.
Just like the last time oh so many years ago, he could see the sad, but knowing looks on his friends' faces. «The Yeerks don't know that hawk is my true form. They'll capture me as a hawk and think its a morph and when they turn the ray on me, nothing will happen. I mean, they won't get an andalite or a human and they'll decide the ray doesn't work.» They halfheartedly discussed it, already knowing that he'd be the one going.
Panic welled up in him at the thought of being tortured for hours again, but Tobias forced it down. He had to be the one to do this! Tobias knew that he would rather die than let it happen to Rachel or Ax.
1.4 (Saphroneth)
Tobias sat on a branch. It was a nice branch, just the right width for his talons.
I completely hate this, he observed.
Four times. Four times in a row, he'd had a chance – to save Elfangor. To save his father! And every single damn time, it went completely wrong.
If he hadn't been in Hawk morph right now, he'd be crying.
Is this what you meant, Emillist? I'm some kind of chosen one because I'm the one chosen to watch everyone else die?
Because it completely sucked.
Tobias checked his mental clock. Nearly two hours.
It would be so easy to...
No.
Elfangor was dead. But his brother – Ax, of course – wasn't.
As Tobias contemplated that, an idea came to him.
He still knew where the morphing cube was, after all. Would it be so wrong for him to...
To lock himself as an andalite? Just this once.
Yeah.
If nothing else, it would remember a bit of Elfangor. And might be useful, misleading the Yeerks about 'andalite bandits'.
He'd just have to pass it off as an accident.
Mind made up, Tobias fluttered to the floor, and demorphed.
After so long as the hawk, demorphing from hawk to human still felt really weird.
1.5
Tobias Awoke to a scene that seemed so long ago now, but he remembered every detail vividly. He Awoke to the moment that Elfangor had offered them the morphing power.
«You will only need to touch a creature, to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to become that creature. It requires concentration and determination, but, if you are strong, you can do it. There are... limitations. Problems. Dangers, even. But there is no time to explain it all ... no time. You will have to learn for yourselves. But first, do you wish to receive this power?» Elfangor was explaining.
Tobias hit upon an epiphany as he listened to the debate about whether or not they should receive it. Even as he absently threw in encouragements to speed up the debate.
"What's that?" Rachel asked.
«Yeerks» Elfangor responded, his hatred shocking everyone except Tobias. «There is no more time. You must decide!»
"We have to do this!" Tobias said vehemently. He would need to get everything moving along much faster if his plan had any hope. "Whether you wish to or not, we need to act now! And I'm doing this to save humanity."
Everyone looked shock, but Jake agreed. "He's right. We have no choice."
«Then each of you, press your hand against one of the sides of the square.»
Tobias joined the others in doing so and just like last time, there was a pleasurable tingle running through them.
«Go now,» Elfangor began.
Tobias interrupted him. "Come with us! We don't know how to fight these Yeerks! You said morphing uses DNA right? Then it should heal you." If he had not looped in as an andalite, Tobias would have missed the emotions rolling across his father's face. Shock. Hope. Longing. "We can't do this without you. Please."
The others immediately joined in. "You're the first alien we've met, come on!"
"You can't just die! Not when you can live..."
«Very well.» The Yeerks were almost on top of them now.
Elfangor pushed the morphing cube toward him and Tobias snatched it up, knowing the importance of it. "We need to run!" He shouted at the others, darting away even as his father began to morph something small.
They hid behind the low, crumbled wall. It was just like the last time, though this time Tobias knew they would have to start running. Elfangor had finished morphing by then and he recognized the morph, kafit bird. «Get back to your houses! I will meet you later!» Elfangor broadcast to them.
Tobias used that to get everyone up and moving. "Come on, they'll find us here!" Marco got up first, and Cassie followed immediately after. Rachel then went after them, leaving just him and Jake. "We need to get moving." He said, pulling Jake up with him.
There was an explosion as they were leaving the construction site, and Tobias immediately knew that Elfangor had detonated his Tail-Fighter. «ARRGH!» The thought-speech broadcast followed, and Tobias rejoiced at knowing that Visser Three was mad.
1.6 (Bigou)
Tobias was still a very new looper at the time. He was so young as an anchor he only got a handful of loops, none of which were fused loops. As such, he didn't knew why time was looping. He did knew that sometimes, he could start from an oldest point in his life or a different version of said life, like that time he was an andalite.
So Waking Up at the moment he revealed to Jake that he was now was a nothlit couldn't be what surprised him.
The surprise was coming from this new set of memories looking almost like his true ones. But they got a huge difference: In it he was, (or used to be, at least) a girl named Tabitha. The most disturbing thing about that, was that apparently, his female self got a crush on Jake since that day he saved her from bullies.
"Tabitha? Are you okay?" Jake asked, somehow managing to sound even more worried than usual. Apparently, the (future) leader of the Animorphs might fancy her, too.
'Great…' Thought Tabitha, before responding «Ye… Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Thanks Jake.»
The teenager turned hawk flew toward her usual meadow, too disturbed by her present predicament to realize she naturally used her female voice when answering Jake.
1.7 (OracleMask)
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill stumbled. Disoriented, he looked around and saw nothing he could have tripped over. Not that the Dome contained any such things...
...but he had not been in the Dome for years. It was long gone, crushed by water pressure. Yet he lifted his eyestalks and saw one of Earth's oceans pressing down on the roof of the Dome. The grass under his hooves tasted exactly like the cultivated strains that thrived when on board ships.
Considering where he last remembered being, Aximili didn't see any reason to complain about being back in the Dome. Most likely, he'd suffered a mental break when that...thing had taken him.
He might as well relax and enjoy it while it lasted.
Tobias eyed his erstwhile uncle carefully. Just like usual, they'd rescued Ax from the Dome Ship's wreckage, but the andalite was acting off. He hadn't asked most of the usual questions and even after morphing human for the first time he barely played around with making sounds.
None of the other Animorphs had ever shown signs of being caught in this time loop thing Tobias was in before, but this change seemed promising. Tobias waited until he and Ax had some privacy before following up on his suspicions.
«Hey, Uncle Ax?»
«Yes?»
Tobias only had to wait a moment before all four of Ax's eyes were staring at him.
Well, that answered that.
«And none of the others remember how events went the first time?»
«Yeah,» Tobias replied, «I can usually steer things for the better, but it's hard to make progress. If I get too obvious about what I know, you especially don't take it well. Seerow's Kindness and all that.»
Aximili still hadn't completely given up the insanity theory, but Tobias's time loop explanation did explain things as well. Not to mention that Aximili could make sure he avoided that part of the galaxy from now on.
«Oh. I am sorry.»
Tobias finished preening one wing and moved to the other. Any discomfort Tobias had with his hawk body was long since gone, which proved the existence of the time loop for Aximili more than anything else his nephew had said. The fact that Tobias had managed to retain his andalite morph from a previous loop was another big factor.
He'd promised to show Aximili how to carry the DNA as well, which would save a great deal of time and energy from being spent acquiring animals in future loops.
«So, want to do something special for your first loop?» Tobias asked, «That thing with the rattlesnake in Visser Three's feeding ground is coming up. I had a plan I wanted to try, but it can wait.»
«Perhaps,» Aximili replied, «What was your plan?»
«You remember how Visser Three ditches his host after you bite him? Before he passes out, we'll convince Alloran to morph something small - maybe the kafit bird if he's got that already - and then we kidnap him to your scoop.»
«...I believe Marco would tell you that that plan is insane.»
«Yep. You in?»
Aximili thought about it a little more. Then he smiled with all four eyes.
«Yes.»
1.8 (zeusdemigod131)
"We'll just cut through the construction site, it'll be quicker anyway."
Tobias sighed as the boy who was most certainly NOT Jake led Marco, Cassie, and Rachel into the construction site where he knew Elfangor would crash in a few minutes.
Tobias knew this part was necessary, but he still hated having to go through this every time. Though this time something was different, Jake wasn't Jake this time, his name was-
"Tobias! You coming?" Marco called.
Tobias sighed and follows after them, deciding he'd try and solve the case of Jake's replacement later.
Beginning a mental count down, Tobias watched the skies and, once he spotted Elfangor's spaceship, he stopped. "Look."
The others stopped and followed to Tobias' gaze to the spaceship. "And any second now Cassie will say-"
"It's a spaceship," Jake's replacement stated. "Not a very big one though."
"What were you expecting?" Marco asked nervously. "The Enterprise?"
"It's coming this way," Cassie said.
"Should we run?" Marco asked. "Maybe run home and get a camera? Do you know how much money we could get for a video of a real UFO?"
"Bad idea," Jake's replacement said, shaking his head. "The tail on that thing looks like some kind of weapon. If we run, there's a chance they'll fire."
Everyone except Tobias gulped. "So we just... wait here?" Rachel asked.
"I guess so," Tobias said.
It took a few minutes for the ship to land, once it did Tobias intended to coax his father out of the ship, just as he always did.
"It's alright," Tobias stepped forward. "We're not going to hurt you."
«I know.»
Cassie, Marco, and Rachel froze.
Not Jake smiled. "Telepathy, cool... now can you come out?"
Elfangor didn't speak for a moment, probably surprised by the boys forwardness, but finally said. «Do not be frightened.» Slowly, the ship opened, and the almost centaurian shape of Elfangor appeared in the doorway.
"Hey," not Jake greeted nonchalantly, as if he did this every day.
«Hello.»
"Hi," everyone else said back.
One que, Elfangor staggered and fell to the ground, not Jake immediately rushed forward to his side.
"You're hurt," he said upon seeing the burn on the andalite's right side.
«I'm dying.» Elfangor said.
"Can we help you? We can call an ambulance or something," Marco volunteered.
"Cassie, help me bandage his wound," not Jake said. "Maybe we can-"
«No. I will die. This wound is fatal.»
"No way," said Tobias. "We are not letting you die." Just like every other time Tobias went through this scene, he meant it.
"Yeah, you're the first alien to come to Earth!" Marco added
Elfangor paused. «I am not the first.»
The andalite went on to explain the Yeerks to them, their conquests, their goals, Tobias did his best to act shocked or disgusted as he knew he should have, but Jake's replacement just watched the images Elfangor showed them, his gaze hardening whenever a Yeerk was shown.
Finally, Elfangor got to the part where he told one of them to go inside and retrieve the Morphing Cube. Jake's replacement went inside to get it, while Tobias tried to convince Elfangor that he didn't have to die here.
Once not Jake returned with the Cube, Elfangor explained to them what it would do, how it could give them the ability to transform into any animal they could touch and acquire.
As always, Tobias and Cassie were the first to accept the andalite's offer, with Jake's replacement saying he was in just before the Yeerks showed up.
"We have to do this," Tobias said. "Not like we have much of a choice anymore."
«Then each of you, press your hand against one side of the square.» Tobias smiled as Elfangor performed the ceremony and he felt his Morphing powers return to him. «Now quickly, you must leave,» Tobias felt fear wash over the andalite's mind. «Visser Three comes.»
"Who's Visser Three?" Marco asked
The Blade ship began to descend. «Go now! Run! Visser Three is here. He is the most deadly of your enemies. Of all Yeerks he alone has the power to morph. The same power you know have. Run!»
"No, we'll stay with you," Rachel said firmly. "Maybe we can help."
Elfangor seemed to smile at them with his eyes. «No. You must save yourselves. Save yourselves and save your planet! The Yeerks are here.»
The bug fighters and the blade ship began to descend. "But how are we suppose to fight these... these Controllers?"
«You must find a way. Now run!»
"No!" Tobias said. "We won't be able to do this on our own! We need your help! Can't you use this morphing thing to escape?"
«There is no time!» Elfangor said frantically. He placed his hand to Tobias' head and Tobias stumbled away as if he'd been shocked.
"I hate it when he does that!" Tobias was dragged away by Marco and Rachel and soon the three of them and Cassie were crouched behind a nearby wall... and one member short.
«What are you doing?!» Elfangor shouted. «If he sees you, he will kill you! Or worse, make a Controller out of you!»
Jake's replacement just smile and walked away from the andalite. "Wait here," he said calmly.
Cassie wanted to scream at him to hide, or run, or do something, but he just stood there, watching calmly as the Bug Fighters and the Blade ship landed in front of him, as the taxxon, human, and hork-bajir Controllers filed out of the ships, and as Visser Three descended the ramp.
«Well, well, well, what have we here?» The Visser said coldly.
"Can it Visser," not Jake said.
The Visser looked taken back, how dare a mere human speak to him in such a manner? «Insolent fool!» He snapped. «You know do not know to whom you speak.»
"You're a parasitic brain slug inside an andalite's head," he said. "And I'm the guy who's going to make you an offer."
The Visser glared at the boy, then smiled coldly with his eyes. «Well, color me intrigued,» he said with his steely laugh. «What could you possibly have that I would want?»
Not Jake laughed. "It's not that kind of offer, you see." He reached into his back pocket, and pulled it back out with a white and green white wrist watch. "You're going to call off your invasion, and vacate any unwilling hosts, and I'm not going to have to bring the smack down on your invasion force."
Visser Three glared at the boy. «Step out of the way,» he sneered. «I will kill the andalite, and then I will kill you.»
"You can try," he held his right hand over his watch.
«Who are you?!» Visser snapped.
The boy smiled. "I'm Ben, Ben Tennyson."
The Visser glared at Ben for a moment, then said. «Well, Ben Ben Tennyson... prepare to die. Fire!»
Dracon Beams fired, Cassie screamed "BEN!" Elfangor tried to rush forward to push the boy out of the way. And there was a flash of green light.
Everyones eyes widened as the light faded and a purple statue like being stood where Ben had. "Big mistake," the Dracon Beams hit and the... whatever it was, absorbed them.
«Impossible!» Visser shouted.
"Not for Chromastone!" The beams fired back at the ships, destroying both Bug Fighters and knocking the Blade Ship on its side. The Controllers scattered.
«Rahhh!» Visser rushed forward and sliced his tail blade across Chromastone's chest, Visser Three wailed in pain as the blade itself snapped against the Crystalsapien's skin.
"Well now, that wasn't very smart was it?" Chromastone grabbed Visser and held him above his head. "Now as I was saying. You're going to call off this invasion, and leave your hosts... NOW!"
Visser chuckled. «Or what? You'll kill this body?»
Chromastone thought about that for a moment, then dropped Visser. "No." There was another flash, and an orange crab-like creature with a huge head was standing in front of the andalite. "I have a much more, should we say, appropriate, idea in mind."
Brainstorm's head case opened and a thin arc of electricity shot from his mind to the Vissers. Neither of them moved for a moment, then the Visser gasped and fell over.
Cassie, Marco, Tobias, and Rachel, who had all been watching in awe, finally gathered the courage to speak up. "B... Ben?" Cassie asked. "Is that... you?"
The Cerebrocrustacean turned to the humans. "Oh um... yes, though not in the way you think."
"Dude... you're a giant crab!" Marco shouted. "How is that even possible?!"
«I too would like to know,» Elfangor said. «As I have never seen either of the species you became... nor do I know how you did it.»
Ben sighed. "Very well," there was a beeping sound and in another flash, Ben returned to normal. "I guess I have to explain now huh?"
There was a general air of agreement to that question, but Tobias was still confused at what was going on. Ben noticed and smiled. "It's called the Omnitrix," he said, holding up his wrist. "And it lets me turn into any alien species that it has in its databanks... like this, Omnitrix, wide range DNA scan."
Scanning surrounding area. The watch chirped. Four new DNA samples acquired. The watch shuffled through an image on an andalite, then a hork-bajir, then a taxxon, then a Yeerk.
"So... it's like morphing?" Rachel asked.
"Not exactly, see-"
"Did you kill him?" Cassie asked.
"Actually I just-"
«Where did you receive this Omnitrix?» Elfangor added.
Bene sighed then spoke. "No, it's more reliable, and more useful in my opinion." Ben pointed to the Visser, and the slug that was making it way from the unconscious andalite's ear. "He's unconscious and the slug's confused." He held up the Omnitrix. "I found it on vacation with my grandpa and cousin."
All eyes turned to Rachel. "Don't look at me, I didn't know about this."
Ben sighed and shook his head. "Look, I'd love to stay and explain, but I have to stop an Alien invasion," he slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix.
Once again, another being took his place, this time some kind of red and yellow... thing, with flying squirrel type flaps under its arms.
"I'm gonna track down the guys who ran off," said the Jetray. "Oh, and if any of you are currently in a time loop, or something like that, come and find me later."
Tobias was going to say something, but the Aerophibian flew off before he could.
"I... what?" Marco began. "Just... what the heck?!"
«Is this... normal, for your friend?» Elfangor asked.
"No," Tobias said flatly. "Not for my friend."
1.9 (Gamerex27)
My name is Langdon.
My name is Langdon Alder.
There's no point in trying to disguise my identity. The Yeerks will never get their hands on this and even if they did, it wouldn't matter beyond this Loop.
May as well get this out of the way. I am the Anchor for the Schwarzwelt portion of Amala-yes, that Amala, the Branch that seems like it's actively trying to ruin your day.
But, of course, that's not what most of you know me for, is it? I'm sure that the second you saw my name, you instantly thought of "the guy who found out first hand why putting living things in your Pocket is a horrible idea."
I've been dying to set the record straight. I am not some living textbook paragraph: I'm a human being. And after hearing apologies and pity for thousands of Loops, I've finally got the confidence to speak out about what the hell happened all those eons ago.
It happened shortly after the infamous...well, what we pulled sort of defies description. I don't even fully understand what we did, since the things we saw were literally beyond mortal comprehension. Whatever it was, though, it worked: no one Crashed (although we may have been cutting things dangerously close), and it all led to a karmic payback for all of us. The first Loop after all that, we all ended up together for the first time in a long while, where Skuld yelled at us and Izanagi congratulated us at the same time. Mixed messages there, Admins.
So, anyways, about a few hundred Loops after that, I found myself Awakening in an awkward position.
Namely, with an angry blue centaur-scorpion's bladed tail at my throat.
«You are not Prince Jake,» he hissed telepathically.
"Huh?" I was still too disoriented and confused from Waking Up to come up with a coherent response (not that I'm good with words anyways. Comes with the whole "military grunt" job).
«Where. Is. Prince. JAKE?!»
I twisted out of the way, and felt the blade slash at my neck, just barely missing being decapitated.
"Calm yourself!" I heard a feminine voice – Isabeau's – cry. "Must I remind you that a fleet of angry extraterrestrials is about to-"
«All this time,» the alien hissed, «They remained here. Tobias always convinced the others to investigate and rescue me from this sinking prison. And I cannot hear him. Where is he?! Where is Prince Jake?!»
Wait a second, I thought. Jake, Tobias… and he looks suspiciously like-
"Ax!" I blurted out, before I could stop myself. Childhood memories – and I mean from my Baseline – dragged themselves to the surface – memories of going to the bookstore, buying those books with teenagers turning into animals on the front, and reading about their daring adventures in saving the Earth from alien puppetmasters.
Of course, now that I know most fiction is actually a backup for real Branches, I realized that all those struggles were real. And, if he had just started Looping, as he had implied, and wait there goes my arm. Ow.
Grunting, I grabbed at my shoulder stump with my remaining hand, countless lifetimes of military training preventing me from breaking down and going catatonic from the pain. "Wait!" I yelled. "Has time been repeating endlessly for you?"
«The Groundhog Loop?» Instantly, Ax's tail was at my throat again. In the background, I could see Flynn and Superpixie in the same post-Waking haze I had been in, with Isabeau struggling to keep the doors closed and not-flooded. «What do you know of it?»
I was quiet for a moment, barely managing to use the Force to stem the blood pouring out of my side. Memories of a construction site, another andalite, and a blue box flooded my mind. Memories that had come to me out of the blue in this new Loop. "You can let me morph and heal so I can explain," I said, agony making my voice shaky, "or you could keep trying to kill us, and never get a solid answer."
I heard Ax growl in frustration in thought-speak, and he withdrew his blade. «Very well,» he said. «But when we get to land, you will tell me everything.»
"Can you not just cast a water-breathing spell to help us get out?" Flynn said, already at Isabeau's side, trying to hold the door closed.
"I have tried," she grumbled. "Many times. Something...Something is preventing me from utilizing my Subspace Pocket!"
"Wonderful," Pixie sighed. "Should we go with the fancy new shapeshifting stuff I've got Loop Memories of?"
Ignoring pain, I nodded, and concentrated on the image of a dolphin.
For those of you wondering, yes, the Escafil Device is just as uncomfortable to use as it sounds. The twisting of bones, growing and losing new limbs, losing and gaining organs. It should be fatal. It should hurt. It should be agonizing. Thankfully, it isn't, but you still have to listen to those horrible sounds of your bones twisting like pretzels and stuff.
«I was wondering when you guys would get here,» I heard a familiar voice say as we surfaced, weary from dodging sharks, an angry Visser Three, and the occasional amorous dolphin.
«Naoki?»
«I'd say "the one and only," but it's a common name in Japan. So, I can't.»
According to my Loop memories, Unawake Naoki had taken the role of Tobias, and just like his counterpart, had managed to get himself trapped in morph.
However, I'm pretty sure that Tobias was a red-tailed hawk, and not a hork-bajir.
«I get that you'd be the type to go in guns...er, blade...blazing,» I asked him, «but where'd you even get the DNA for that morph?»
«Elfangor put up a hell of a fight before the Pisser took him down,» he replied, glancing at one of the many blades on his arm. «I got some of the blood on me, and next thing I know, that's the first thing I morph. I wanted to use it as a battle morph, since some bastard is messing with our Pockets, but this ain't a bad body to be stuck in.»
He leaned back on his small sailboat. "You want a lift?" he asked aloud, his usually soft and distinct voice turned harsh by the alien's rough vocal cords.
One by one, he hauled us up as we de-morphed, the process healing the many, many injuries he accidentally (I hope) inflicted in the effort.
"Alright," I breathed as soon as my mouth appeared. "Bird morphs to get back. Ax, I'll explain on the way.
«Oh, sure!» Naoki said sarcastically. «You take the easy way home, and leave the multi-ton walking Swiss Army Knife to take the slow way back to the coast, run as fast as these sluggish legs can take me, and hide in the woods until I can finally come into the shitty barn. Real nice of you, soldier boy!»
«Just call us on the Che-» I stopped myself mid thought. Better to not creep Ax out even more with foreknowledge, and try to ease him into it. «Uh, we'll be back later. Isabeau, you're the best with this stuff.»
«Very well, then,» she said with a mental sigh. «I wish I had the aid of my Gauntlet to explain this, but as I don't, words will have to suffice. Let me begin: all the omniverse rests on the branches of a supercomputer known as Yggdrasil...»
Ax had listened to the explanation in total silence, and was still quiet by the time we got back to Cassie's (Isabeau's, I guess) barn.
"...Are you...well?" Flynn asked, a few seconds after he finished demorphing.
I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from joking about andalite pride stopping him from admitting that a more advanced race exists. I wasn't talking to a book, after all: Ax, and the rest of the Animorphs, were just as real as I was.
«It...is much to take in,» he finally replied. «As odd as it seems, your reasoning is sound, and matches with the trends Tobias and I have noted throughout the cycles-or Loops, as you say.»
"Don't worry, mister!" Pixie said, slapping him on the back. "As long as you're not cursed by some giant cosmic string, you'll be able to change stuff!"
"String?" Isabeau asked. "I do not recall seeing a string during the-"
«Is there anything else different in this iteration?» Ax suddenly asked. «I seem to recall a bizarre xeno-mythology lesson from school about near-godlike aliens, but I-»
"-Slept through it again?" I asked. "You have to start drinking coffee or something."
«Please stop doing that,» Ax said. «I understand that these "backups" allowed you to learn of my "Branch" many years ago, but the foreknowledge is...unnerving.»
"Alright," I said, holding up my hands defensively. "I'm sorry. So, what do you usually do at this point? Have you found some kind of shortcut to beat the Yeerks?"
«Before we do that, I would like to investigate this Variation. We have no way of knowing what had changed, from what I can tell, and I also wish to learn how to utilize the "Subspace Pocket."»
"Fair enough." I opened the barn doors. "We'll break for tonight, then meet up on the weekend, I guess. Been a while since I've been to school."
«Have I mentioned how cool it is to not have to go to school, but have a GED from another Loop anyways?» Naoki asked. «Because it-OW!»
"Stop being a jerk!" Pixie said, withdrawing her hand. "You've already made enough people mad with your rampage: being mean to everybody will make it worse!"
As the two began to argue, I looked at Flynn and Isabeau. Both of the shrugged, and left the barn with me.
-RING!- -RING!-
"Nrgh," I groaned. "F'k off, Tom," I said, going off Loop Memories. "Too early for school."
As I slowly got out of the bed, I realized that it wasn't an alarm clock going off, but a phone. One of those old-fashioned, wired ones: Animorphs really did turn out to be a period piece, didn't it?
"Hello?" I asked.
"Barn. Now!" Naoki's voice bellowed.
"Did Kashima blow up another planet?" I asked. "He kept doing that even before the thing with your Shadow."
Before Naoki could add anything else, Ax's voice came on the phone. "An alien has appeared in the city. Ci-teeeh."
That got my attention fast. "Is Crayak pulling something? Or was it that Diablous Ex Machina from the last bo-Uh, I mean the end of your Loop?"
"Neither," he replied. "According to Yeerk transmissions, it is called 'Dubhe.' And it is a giant ice cream cone."
"...what?"
"Ice cream. Iiiice creeeea-"
As the sound of another slap to the face interrupted him, I hung up the phone, and opened the window. "Just once," I growled, "I'd like a good vacation."
1.10 (readerboy7)
Rachel Awoke, surrounded by her pack – no, team. Yamada had insisted to her, when she had somehow joined the wards that one time, to use human terms when talking and thinking.
«Are you all right, Rachel? You're acting weird. Shouldn't you be screaming about attacking by now?»
Wait. What was that voice? What was it coming from? And most importantly of all, was it a danger to her and her pack? Now she looked around. Instead of her eyes passively observing and failing to register anything, she focused, eyes scanning every inch of the surroundings. The injured wolf in the cage, the three humans – two male, one female – five crippled rabbits and stoats, a blue horse in the corner of the barn, and the eagle on the rafters.
Her pack was missing. She knew nothing about what the blue horse could do, what powers the humans had. Time to initiate emergency protocols. She readied her power. The wolves weren't trained, but she knew wolves almost as well as she knew herself. She could make herself appear as an ally, so that the wolves would attack the enemies. Then she would be able to learn where she was, where her pack was, and if they were all right.
The wolves had barely grown an inch when the memories hit. Memories of parents that loved her, memories of sisters, memories of a team so similar to hers, but so different at the same time. Memories of a war against beings that could crawl into your brain and leave you unable to control your own body.
She replied to the voice she now knew to be her teammate, the formerly human hawk. "Yeah, I'm all right Tobias. I just... Woke Up from a daydream, that's all." That was the terminology that Taylor had taught her, wasn't it?
«Aaand you're a looper. Is this your first fused loop?» At this, Rachel shrugged. This was her second fused loop, but last time it had been people who visited her world, not the other way round. «Once this meeting is over, the two of us will have a proper conversation. Until then, just say what I tell you to say.»
Under most circumstances, Rachel would have refused to follow Tobias' instructions, but the words he told her to say were similar enough to what she would have said normally. Within minutes, the meeting – something about moles – was over, and Rachel walked outside.
«Now, morph into an eagle, and we'll talk on the way.»
Morph. From her new memories, she knew that she could turn into any animal she had acquired. Animals like an eagle, a horse, and even – Oh, yes. This would be enjoyable. Now she transformed, not into some bird, but a wolf.
«Why did you do that? You'd have been much faster as a bird.» Tobias said, taking flight towards the forest. As Rachel followed, she replied. «The only good birds are sparrows who light themselves on fire.»
«You do realise that I'm a bird?» Asked Tobias as he entered the forest.
«Yes.»
«But anyway, I think introductions are in order. My name is Tobias. Sometimes it's Tobiasir-Shirinial-Jevirkcor, but not right now.» A few seconds later, he continued. «So, what's your name?»
«My name is Rachel, or Bitch. Or Hellhound, on occasion. Not now, though.»
«You have the same name as the person you're replacing? That's... interesting. But on to more important matters, do you have any questions about this loop, or do you just want to go by Rachel's – the other Rachel, the one you're replacing – memories'?»
«Just one question. Will I be able to keep this morphing ability when I go back to Brockton Bay?»
«You'll need to put an Escafil device – blue box – inside your subspace pocket and use it when the loop begins. Luckily for you, I have some spares with me,» Tobias said as he began flying back towards Rachel, «along with a starter packet of DNA and some tools for gathering your own, for when you happen to loop into Pokémon or something.»
Having arrived at Rachel, Tobias opened a subspace pocket, which dropped a blue box and a briefcase at Rachel's forepaws. After a few seconds of effort, she managed to manoeuvre the blue box into her own subspace pocket, but pushed the briefcase away with her snout. «I don't need all that fancy equipment. All I need is to turn into a wolf.»
Rachel Awoke on a street. This place, she recognised. It was one of the many places where she had stayed after she had triggered, months before she had entered the Undersiders. She had two of her dogs with her, both of which recognised her as their Alpha. She opened her subspace pocket and grabbed the blue box, along with a piece of Bastard's fur she had kept as a memento. Rachel had no intention of becoming a nothlit every loop, but just this once, she would.
1.11 (Saphroneth)
"Okay!" F'nor said, in his official unofficial role as the One Who Chats To New Riders. "I'm F'nor, rider of brown Canth – he's over there."
Canth waved his tail.
"I'm sure you're all still enjoying the high from Impression," he went on. "But – you should know, it's normal for not everyone to be ready for everything involved in having a new personality connected to your own."
He looked at the boys and girls who had Impressed greens. "That's especially true for you lot, as well. M'ren, for instance?"
The indicated greenrider looked startled.
"You, and the other new greenriders, are connected on a deep and fundamental level to a female dragon. That means that, for you boys who did that, there might be some confusing issues coming up."
He smiled, disarmingly. "Let me assure you all – we may not have run into every issue, but we've run into a lot of them. I, as well as my brother F'lar, the Weyrlingmaster, the Weyrsinger... we're all available to talk to. Either have your dragon bespeak one of us, or come see my mother – she'll set you up."
A hand rose. "Who's your mother?"
"Manora," F'nor answered. "The fine lady in charge of the caverns. Cross her at peril of bean soup every day for three months."
Chuckles ran around the group.
"Okay, I won't keep you much longer," F'nor concluded. "Go enjoy the hour and a half of rest before your dragons wake up again. Anyone with specific concerns -" he made eye contact with one bluerider, "-should come talk to me when they're free."
"You asked after me?" asked the young bluerider a few minutes later.
"I did," F'nor agreed. "Come on, sit down. Canth doesn't bite."
I nibble, though, Canth stated.
"He doesn't," F'nor corrected.
The bluerider smiled faintly at the banter, then sat down against Canth's tail. "Thank you for the invitation."
"Not a problem." F'nor leant back as well. "So," he said, after a moment. "How are you finding Pern?"
The boy shrugged slightly. "Alright so far. It's been a bit frantic, really."
"Yeah, things calm down." F'nor stretched. "Some loopers say it's boring."
"I like a bit of down time," the boy commented, scratching Canth idly. The big brown purred.
That feels very nice...
"Whoops, sorry. Should have asked." The boy lifted his hand.
"What was that?" F'nor asked, interested.
"Oh – right. It's a side effect of acquiring a new morph."
Further explanation was interrupted rather abruptly as a blue dragon came walking out of the weyrling cavern.
Tobias? It asked. This is most peculiar.
"Turn it down, Ax," T'bias asked. "You're broadcasting to everyone."
Oh. Sorry. The blue dragon walked over, frowning down at his claws. This is very unusual.
"Won't you introduce me?" F'nor asked.
"Oh, right. This is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. He's usually more... well, anyway, he's about as blue as usual." T'bias shrugged. "He's my uncle, it's complicated."
"It sounds it," F'nor agreed, as the young dragon – who he recalled was called Esgarrouth here – completed his careful walk over to them. "Blue?"
I am an andalite, Ax explained. I am not from Earth, though I believe that I have become quite good at pretending to be.
He looked down at his claws again. These are very inefficient.
"Don't blame me, I wasn't on the design committee," F'nor said with a chuckle. "Anyway, welcome to Pern, if you haven't been welcomed already."
He seems very pleasant, Ax said, still broadcasting a bit widely.
"It's all an act, I assure you." F'nor shrugged. "Anyway, let me know if you two have any problems."
1.12 (Zig)
This loop, I would try something different. The war before I started looping, and every single loop I've been through in my home loop has had one thing in common. We did not act, we reacted. We fought the Yeerks on their terms. Me, Rachel, Ax, Jake, Marco, and Cassie... it was just us, against the entire empire. Sure, we won in the end, but at a terrible cost. This time, I will try something different...
"So you went back to the construction site?" Jake asked me.
"Yeah." I replied "I figured there was a pretty good chance the Yeerks missed something that might help us when they were trying to clean up the mess. Lucky I did! Can't imagine what would have happened if they managed to get their hands on it." I didn't have to imagine, I knew exactly what would happen. If nothing else, maybe this loop would help Jake and Cassie's relationship…
"What did you find?" He asked
"The blue box Elfangor used to give us our powers! It won't have to just be us in the fight! We can make allies! We can keep it mostly on missions at first, obscure our numbers, but after a while we can do an all out assault." Wonder what the Rachel and Marco of my home time would think of this…
"But how do we know who we can trust?" asked Jake.
"It just so happens I know a group of people that the Yeerks would deem unworthy of being infested. A group that would be happy to join our fight."
"Oh?"
"Disabled kids. We can face the Yeerk army head on with an army of our own." Maybe this time they would not be sent to their deaths...
1.1 The Ellimist be trollin'
1.2 That half andalite heritage is going to do weird things...
1.3 Tobias does not make the mistake of forgetting this event ever again.
1.4 One has to wonder just how being an andalite nothlit changed things.
1.5 C'mon Elfangor! Don't you dare die on us (again)!
1.6 Ah... Genderswap loops. He's going to have to get use to this stuff.
1.7 The most joyous event that Tobias has ever experienced; finding out that he was no longer going to be alone.
1.8 Welcome to the Multiverse, Tobias.
1.9 Tobias did not get the chance to pass the speech onto Ax before the next fused loop.
1.10 Aw... Rachel (Worm) can spend more time with her Pack now.
1.11 Here be dragons!
1.12 Maybe this time they can win with fewer casualties.