The Adventures of a Time Travelling Padawan Chapter 10
10.1 (Rae the demiBoss)
Kallus blinked and twitched. And twitched again. And trembled.
"Uh, are you okay?" A younger than normal version of Ezra waved his hand in front of the man's face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-"
"I'll take that as a no. Weird, the Ying Yang Yoyo usually doesn't have that effect…"
"AAAAAAAAHHH-"
"Oh shut up, you're not physically capable of being bad anymore so you might as well get ready to help us out with something…"
"I… I… I…" He twitched violently.
"Oh, I think I get it. You're freaking out because of the memories of some of the bad things you've done." The man nodded mutely in horror. "Well at least we know the Yoyo worked."
BTHead: Hey Zeb?
TheIronSpeaker: What?
BTHead: We might have to postpone the plan until Kallus becomes mentally stable again…
TheIronSpeaker: Why?!
BTHead: Because he had a breakdown when I said that he ends up destroying your planet…
BTHead: Oh, and already had a panic attack about the memories of things he'd done.
TheIronSpeaker: …
TheIronSpeaker: Well at least we know the yoyo thing worked.
BTHead: That's what I said!
"No, wait, I… I don't want that to happen." Kallus gulped. "I want to help. I know I did all those bad things but you have to let me help!"
"Not to make it sound bad or anything, but we kind of turned you good for that exact reason…" Ezra scratched the back of his head.
"And I get that! It's weird and a little too manipulative for comfort, but I completely understand your reasoning! So let me help, I may have freaked out a lot at first but that's because…. Well, who wouldn't?" Ezra shrugged admittingly. The guy had a point. "But let me help. I need to help. I can't let this happen! Or, happen… again, or, whatever… Tenses are confusing, how do you do it?"
"Meh, we usually just use random ones." The Anchor shrugged. "I'm willing to let you help but you should probably know. Zeb has more than a little hatred for you, or at least your bad self. It's understandable really. I think he's willing to give you a shot, especially since you're helping us out, but he's probably never going to be really friendly with you."
"I… I understand. And I don't blame him, if what you've said is true." Kallus had the grace to look ashamed.
"Okay then, operation: Project Lasan is a go!" Ezra yelled, startling the other.
"Yay~!" LOKI cheered.
10.2 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra smiled. He waved to the crowds and then turned right around and walked back into his house.
"Karrabast, I hate famous loops…" He groaned and rubbed his face. He poked at the bundle of loop memories in his subconscious that he hadn't had time to try and crack open.
"Sir usually does as well." He didn't even flinch at the British AI.
"I'm guessing you're a looping AI?" He asked boredly.
"Of sorts. Now, would you like the plotline to this loop, a summary, or would you like to 'wing it' as Sir does?"
"Give me the plotline but don't go too far into detail unless necessary." He said without even pausing. "Is this a crossover or just a replacement? Or do you not have a way to tell?"
"I believe it is a crossover, as I certainly do not recall an organization called the Empire." An AI with snark. Just Ezra's type.
Ezra groaned. "Alright, I need a little help here with something else. I can't seem to access my loop memories. It's like they're locked up in my subconscious." There was silence for the moment as JARVIS contemplated this.
"May I?" Ezra felt a telepathic poke at his mind. He opened up to it easily. "I believe I see the problem."
'Oh hey Jar', where am I?' Ezra raised an eyebrow at the voice sounding in his head.
"Sir, it would appear that the visiting looper has replaced an odd mixture of yourself and Doctor Banner."
'…Oh, hi there. I'm Tony. The Anchor. Because I'm awesome like that. And what do you mean by… Oh-' Ezra tuned out the curses that started coming from the back of his head.
'I'd appreciate it if you didn't cuss in my head. Or at least tone it down a bit. What's going on?'
Tony ignored him. 'You've got to be kidding me! Out of all the times, I replace Hulk when I'm being replaced by a different looper?!'
'I'm so confused right now.' Ezra noted idly as he began looking over the garage with some awesome machines that he was totally going to put to use sometime.
"About that plotline." JARVIS supplied helpfully, bringing up a holoscreen to show an actual timeline.
10.3 (Rae the demiBoss)
"I am so confused right now…" Ezra buried his head in his hands.
They were all sitting down and 'Mike' had helped the other Sabine explain what was going on. At the moment the two loopers were discussing names she could use so the nonloopers didn't get confused.
"I still like Sable." She crossed her arms stubbornly. Mike winced.
"You are trying to give me flashbacks aren't you…" He muttered.
"Not my fault you guys don't like those types of loops."
"They're genderbender loops! Nobody likes them!" He complained.
"Well me and Hera never mind them." She shrugged unapologetically.
"Whatever. What about Ash's loop?"
"I am not going by Misty." She glared at him.
"Why not? I thought you liked that loop?"
"I liked the fact that there were adorable creatures capable of blowing things up without even trying." She deadpanned. "Pokémon are awesome, the rest of that loop? Not so much."
"Okay I see your point on that." He admitted.
"Why not just let her go by Sable?" Hera finally spoke up, having gotten her thoughts in order on the whole situation.
Mike's eye twitched. "Because I really, really, really hate that loop."
"Did you say genderbender?" Ezra was still in slight shock. The looping Sabine smirked maliciously.
"Oh yeah, I don't really care about those loops. Most girls apparently don't. But the guys always hate it. Isn't that right,"
"Don't you dare," Mike groaned.
"Erza?" Nonlooping Sabine snickered with her counterpart and Mike facepalmed. Ezra paled amusingly.
"Two of them, my torment shall never cease." He said in the driest deadpan he'd ever used. "Fine, go by Sable. But you owe me the next Freddy loop," He warned her.
She made a face. "You drive a hard bargain." She nodded anyways.
"Freddy?" Kanan couldn't help but ask. He wasn't sure exactly how to take the idea that the Jedi Mike had been an alternate version of Ezra all along.
Both loopers winced.
"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." Mike rubbed his forehead. "It sounds harmless but it's one of the most horrifying loops I've come across."
"Animatronic animals trying to stuff you, always looping in as the nighttime security guard, inside a metal suit filled with crossbeams, metal wires, and movement joints. All while you're trying to keep track of said giant, creepy things in the dead of the night with nothing to protect you but security cameras and two blast doors. Not to mention that if you use the cameras and doors too much you run out of battery and you automatically get killed." Sable rubbed her own forehead. "Ugh, I can't count how many times that stupid rabbit got me…"
"I actually tried using LOKI to outsmart that loop," Mike said. "It didn't work. At all. It ended very, very terribly."
"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.
He shuddered. "Imagine them with AIs…" Sable's eyes widened in horror.
"You're telling me they don't already have them?! I thought for sure that was why the dang things were always trying to kill people!"
"Turns out nobody really knows what the heck's going on with that loop… Though the original security guard supposedly started looping a while back." Mike shook his head. "I pity that guy, I really do…"
"What are they even talking about?" Zeb asked Hear in confusion. "It doesn't sound too scary, yeah sure a little creepy but-"
Before he could say another word a hologram of a giant, mechanical bear that was rusted and terrifying jumped in front of them with the most unearthly screech. All the nonloopers screamed their heads off while the two loopers froze solid and trembled with a few eye twitches.
"I will not allow you to say something so untrue about the horror that is Freddy's." LOKI growled. "My apologies, boss. Boss's girlfriend."
"It was necessary." Mike ground out. "But we have a telepathic bond from Nanoha's loop, please use the dang thing next time you plan on doing something like that…"
"Woah woah woah, girlfriend?!" Sabine turned to Mike and Sable.
"That's what you got out of that?" Sable asked.
"I think the point is to pretend it never happened." Mike nodded.
"Answer the question!"
"Well, number one you technically didn't ask a question. Number two, yes. We've been dating for a while in the loops. But neither of us even touched the possibility with a ten foot pole until we'd both thought it through very clearly." Sable crossed her arms.
"There might also have been a pained, delirium induced confession along there somewhere," Mike allowed.
"And then a few loops of us thinking it over." Sable added on.
"True. But before you guys say anything, let me just say. Couples throughout the loops change." Mike leaned forwards with a rare serious expression. "In my time as the Anchor of our loop, I've seen every person possible paired with every other person possible. And relationships change. I've seen more breakups and get togethers than most could even think about. In the loops, loopers don't usually stay in relationships very long outside of baseline. And the loops are very, very, very important in decision making over anything."
Sable took over. "We literally spent lifetimes debating over how we wanted to take things. I actually was the one to ask him out. As the Anchor, he's looping all of the time. More than I'm ever Awake. We have been dating for over two hundred loops by this point. Two hundred lifetimes. We have to think things through and be extremely careful about us because in the loops, sometimes the rest of the crew isn't Awake."
"Those loops are usually the ones where we have to pretend we barely even know each other. Now, all of this isn't to say it couldn't happen here. Like I said I've seen every pairing imaginable. Even if some of them are horrifying and should never have existed, they always work." Mike was elbowed in the ribs. "Like I said, anything could happen. Heck, there have been a few loops where I literally did not see a single couple the entire time!" He leaned back, serious mood gone.
"Those loops are actually closest to baseline," Sable shrugged.
"True."
"What just happened?" Hera blinked.
"You just experienced the full length of a looper's attention span and ability to think sanely. Try again tomorrow or input one credit to try again!" LOKI replied cheerily.
10.4 (Rae the demiBoss)
"Kanan, what's wrong?" Ezra knocked on his master's door.
"Snow. Not doing it, nope." Kanan yelled to him from inside.
"Wait… are you still not over that weird sled tournament thing?" Ezra looked at the door amusedly.
"No! …Maybe."
Ezra rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to deal with it eventually," He said.
"Not if I don't leave my room!"
"You're acting like a child."
"Well you technically are one."
"And compared to me, you are one. Now come out."
"Nope! Not happening!"
Ezra sighed and rolled his eyes. Might as well let the loops use their sense of humor to deal with this problem.
10.5 (Rae the demiBoss)
"You have to make a connection-"
"Aw, it's so cute! Here kitty kitty!" Ezra walked right up to the creature and picked it up, Kanan staring blankly. "Aw, does kitty like being petted? Hey look Kanan, its purring!"
"You have to make a connection-"
"AAAAAAHHH!" Ezra took one look at the creature and ran away screaming
"Really Kanan, did you not know he's got a phobia of cats?" Sabine shook her head.
"You have to make a connection- what are you doing?"
"Making business investments." Ezra typed away at his tablet. "Oh hey, nice cat."
"You have to make a connection-"
"Uh, Kanan?" Ezra's eyes bulged. This was NOT baseline.
"What is it Ezra?" He turned around and couldn't restrain the squeak when he came face to face with a ship sized version of it growling angrily.
"I think the connection would be better made with the mom…"
"You have to make a connection-"
"Seriously, what is this thing?" Ezra bent down and poked it with a stick. Kanan had no idea where he'd gotten said stick. The creature batted playfully at the stick. "Is it some type of cat? Or bat? Or something else that rhymes with at?"
Kanan facepalmed. "You ruined my teacher moment, Ezra."
"Yeah yeah, we're both Awake we know how this moment goes. But I'm serious here. Throughout the loops I still haven't managed to figure out what this thing is."
"I have no idea."
The Adventures of a Time Travelling Padawan Chapter 11
11.1 (Rae the demiBoss)
"You have to make a connection-Ezra, don't even think about it."
Ezra pouted and lowered the pie.
"You have to make a connection-there's something behind me isn't there."
An oddly NonAwake Ezra nodded mutely.
Kanan turned around, ready to deal with whatever hell the loops had decided to throw at him this time, and flat out fainted when he came face to face with Freddy's face.
"You have to make a connection-"
"Hey master?" Sabine raised her hand.
"Yes, Sabine." Kanan rubbed his hand over his forehead. Why did he have to deal with two padawans?
"Why can't we just pet it?"
Kanan facepalmed.
'You have to make a connection-' Kanan couldn't help but stop in his instructions and snicker. 'To… your dragon…' He couldn't stop the snickers.
'What?' Eragon looked at his teacher curiously.
'Nothing, nothing at all.'
'…You're Awake aren't you.'
'Aw dang it… To be fair I'm a looper from a different loop.'
'I have been incredibly confused for quite a while.' The NonAwake Glaedr rumbled tiredly.
"You have to make a connection-"
"I have Wi-Fi, does that count?" Ezra waved his tablet.
"Connection a make to have you-"
"Loop this hate I."
"You have to make a connection-" Kanan twitched and screamed when a snowball hit his face. "Nonononono-"
"Huh, so it existed in baseline too..?"
11.2 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the Force to the mind sequestered at the bottom of the ravine-
Actually he just used his powerful connection with the Force to do it, but appearances you know.
The Inquisitor's eyes widened while the deadly looking creature towered over Ezra and snarled viciously at him… and then he frowned in confusion when Ezra smirked.
"Go ahead and say it, I look pretty badass."
11.3 (Rae the demiBoss)
"I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you,"
"Ezra, what did you do to Zeb?"
"That was so frickin awesome." Ezra squeed. Actually squeed. Hera couldn't hold in the 'aww' at how cute it was.
"I hate you I hate you I hate you,"
"Don't worry, it was just a stunt loop gone wrong." Sabine shrugged, enjoying the rare loop where everyone but Kanan was Awake and they could therefore drive him insane without any retribution later in the loops.
11.4 (Rae the demiBoss)
Kallus gaped when an explosion went off in his face…
...and then he blinked and he was sitting in his desk. He calmly stood up and cancelled all his duties for the day, luckily minor ones that could be pushed off on lackeys, then walked out of his office and headed to his private quarters. Once there he calmly and casually turned off any security cameras.
And there he proceeded to have a complete mental breakdown.
Yoyo'd: Ezra.
BTHead: …How do you know that name?
BTHead: And for that, how did you get me on this chat?
BTHead: This is my company's private browser!
Yoyo'd: If I wasn't currently losing my composure in every way possible I would be able to remember the code words you told me, but since I'm not thinking clearly I can't remember a bit of it. I'm looping and please tell me that I didn't actually…
BTHead: Wait a second…
BTHead: Oh my god.
BTHead: …Agent Kallus?
Yoyo'd: I'm not 'good' right now but I was. I'm currently trying my hardest to settle the moral conflictions in my mind. I am very VERY positive that is not something best done in the environment the Empire has.
BTHead: …
BTHead: I'll… organize a… something between my company and the Empire...
BTHead: Try and hold it together until then, okay?
Yoyo'd: Thank you.
Yoyo'd: …Please hurry.
Kallus was sitting on Ezra's couch.
Agent Kallus was sitting on Ezra Bridger's couch.
Nope, no matter how Zeb thought that sentence he couldn't make it make sense.
"Uh… Ezra?"
Kallus twitched violently.
"No you can't punch him. He's looping now."
"Wait… WHAT?!"
Ezra watched the trembling man worriedly. In the loop where he'd used the Ying Yang Yoyo on Kallus, the reversed Agent had helped prevent the destruction of Zeb's planet and therefore allowed for an extremely satisfying vacation loop for the lasat.
Considering the positions the destruction of his planet usually put him in within the loops, Zeb deserved that vacation too.
Ezra had regretted the fact that the Agent had ended up killed in the conflict though. Sure he was going to be there next loop without any memory of it happening, but Ezra hated any deaths in the loops.
So when around twenty loops later Kallus contacted him telling him he was looping, Ezra could be forgiven for feeling a strange mixture of relief, excitement, and dread.
The good version of Agent Kallus was actually a very, well… good person and Ezra had actually started to like the guy. (Unlike Jack's situation, Kallus was actually a competent villain. He was just unlucky enough to have a more competent rebel crew foiling his attempts at capturing them.)
Zeb had only barely accepted the fact that Kallus was there to help, so there was no real help the Agent could receive emotionally from the lasat. But right now Ezra needed anyone who'd been there in the situation to help the man sort through loop memories of being evil and memories of doing good.
So, despite his reservations on the matter, Ezra asked Zeb to come to his tower early in the loops.
"Yes, he's looping. Apparently he became enough of a friend to me that loop that it activated him." Ezra cut Zeb off before he could speak. "Right now not only is he dealing with the shock of his first loop, but he's having to deal with current loop memories and the loop memories of that loop." Ezra crossed his arms with a demanding look. It was his 'I'm the Anchor of this loop and could kick your butt if you make me angry' look. "Just think for a second. Try and see what he's going through at the moment."
Zeb huffed but complied and thought about it. He remembered the confusion of his own first loop… then remembered the few former villains from other loops he'd met. They talked about things they did in baseline casually at best and with multiple flinches and guilty looks at worst.
Zeb suddenly remembered Gajeel's baseline and physically flinched when he realized how absolutely horrible Kallus must be feeling at the moment.
"Eh… sorry?" He offered.
"Good enough, considering what's between you two." Ezra nodded. "Now. The biggest problem we have right now is that his PreAwakening self was not good… But in the other loop he was made good, not reformed." Zeb blinked. "He's having trouble separating the 'good' him and the 'bad' him." Ezra deadpanned.
"Well why didn't you just say so?"
"Frag you. Right now we just need to encourage his 'good' self to be in charge. Obviously his 'bad' self is not a good idea." Ezra plopped down on the couch, Zeb walking over to stand near the two.
"Uh, hey Kallus…" He began awkwardly.
"Zeb, you speak more languages than technically exist if you count the boundaries of this loop. Why can you not hold a conversation?"
"Frag you."
Kallus snorted slightly. "Let's hope the rest of this conversation is as enlightening." His voice was shaky.
"Is it a conversation when we're bickering?"
"Are you going to ask another meaningless question?"
Kallus relaxed as the two sniped back and forth. This was what he'd seen much of in his first loop. It was actually comforting listening to them.
He settled in for a long, extremely amusing time until his head would stop hurting.
11.5 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra Awoke and paled.
"NOT. FRICKIN. HAPPENING." He stormed past the Inquisitor and without a second thought headed to throw himself out an airlock somewhere to subsequently end the loop.
The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at his apprentice but continued on down the hallway.
11.6 (Rae the demiBoss)
"Um, Mike?"
"Yes, younger me?"
"Number one, stop calling me that it's creepy. Number two, what are you doing?"
"I'm doing Science! Now leave unless you want to be the first human to glow in the dark and spontaneously combust…"
Ezra backed out of the room warily.
11.7 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra blinked and shook his head as he Awoke, and then fistpumped. He loved these loops! And right on time too!
"Mom, Dad, we need to talk! I have a girlfriend and I need to know what you guys know about time loops!"
Sabine smiled as she shook Ezra's parent's hands. "You guys are taking this very well,"
"Well him using the Force and pulling out a lightsaber was very convincing." Ephraim shook his head. "Also, he did give us some time to absorb the idea…"
Mira smiled. "And the way he talked about you? He's in love, not just a crush." Sabine blushed slightly. "That doesn't come without experience."
"Mom, Dad…" Ezra whined with a blush of his own. "You know that I'm capable of literally dying of embarrassment, right?"
"That loop cannot be related to other loops." Sabine said amusedly.
"Worth a try." Ezra looked between his girlfriend and his two parents. "So, I uh… have something to talk to Kanan about…" Ezra scratched the back of his head. "I'll just leave you guys to… bond, or something." Ezra rushed out of the room.
"Wow, he must be really nervous. He's handled rotten egg-bombs with less nerves."
Ephraim couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, let's 'bond'. What is it you like to do, Sabine?"
"Sabine, what did you do to my parents?" Ezra watched with wide eyes as he walked into the room ten hours later to see three shapes covered in glowing blue powder.
"Tried to show them how to make egg-bombs." She blew powder out her nose. "Not sure what happened."
"It was fun all the same." Mira giggled.
"What did you tell them." Ezra demanded with a horrified expression.
"Only some of my favorite loops." Sabine teased.
"I hate you."
"Love you too."
With Ezra, previously…
'Kanan, I… I'm nervous. I'm not sure I can go through with all of this.'
'Relax Ezra, you two are made for each other. This'll work out.'
'But what if she doesn't like my parents? What if they don't like her?! Then what if when I meet her's something happens and-' Ezra was surprised to receive the mental equivalent of a slap in the face.
'I know that the Jedi order doesn't allow love, but screw that we're time loopers so I'm giving you advice anyways. Ezra, you both love each other. You've both made some big steps with each other already and I'm sure everything will go fine. From what I've seen, your parents are great. She'll love them and they'll enjoy meeting her even if they're confused out of their minds. As for her's? I don't think you have to worry much about that.'
'Why not?'
'Remember how a long while back there were those crashes in Yggdrasil and some things were lost in the loops? Well, Sabine told me once that her baseline past was one of those things.'
'…Oh…'
'Exactly. You can still ask, but you're most likely going to get told the same thing. So hurry up on your planning and know that we're always here to give you some strength and advice.'
'…You guys were listening in.'
'Actually, Kanan invited us to listen. And if what I just picked up is true I'm hugging you with a squee the next time I see you.' Hera said amusedly.
11.8 (Rae the demiBoss)
"You're joking." Ezra stared at Hera, who looked more like Chopper this particular loop.
"HA-HA. DA-LEK-TWI-LEK. I-GET-IT. CHOP-PER, STOP-LAUGH-ING." Hera waved a mechanical doohickey through the air.
"I'm going to go back to bed and pretend this loop never happened." Sabine said monotone as she turned back around.
Ezra opened his mouth once she left.
"NO-EZ-RA, YOU-CAN-NOT-RUN-EX-PER-I-MENTS. WHO-VERSE-IS-READ-ON-LY-RE-MEM-BER? DON'T-WANT-TO-MAKE-AN-Y-MOD-ER-AT-ORS-AN-GRY. WHY-DO-DA-LEKS-HAVE-TO-TALK-SO-STU-PID?!"
Kanan facepalmed and followed Sabine's example.
11.9 (Rae the demiBoss)
"You have to make a connection-"
"Didne wee alreadeh goo oover thus?"
"You have to make a connection-"
Kanan blinked as Ezra and the creature were both suddenly on the ground snoring. He sighed.
"This is what I get for trying to teach…"
"You have to make a… a… Dangit, Zeb, Ezra, would you please stop that?!"
After uncountable lifetimes of experimenting with this exact topic, Zeb had finally found one thing that no Jedi could ever focus through.
He vwapped through his kazoo again, Ezra snickering and doing the same.
"You have to make a connection," Kanan paused when nothing different happened. No humorous interruptions by loopers, no random event happening that didn't happen in baseline, nothing.
"Yes Kanan?" Ezra raised an eyebrow, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"Oh I see what you did there."
The lesson continued.
The Adventures of a Time Travelling Padawan Chapter 12
12.1 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra didn't bother asking where Hera and Kanan were going with the weapon crates, since Zeb was Awake and would just snark back at him.
"Grab a crate, pull your weight!" Sabine called back to Ezra. Ezra rolled his eyes, knowing full well that she was Awake too and just trying to annoy him. "What's the plan this loop Ezra? Hera and Kanan definitely aren't Awake, they asked where I got my 'new toys'." Sabine brushed off a patch of egg-bomb powder off a crate.
"Not sure, I'm thinking about going baseline. Haven't had one of those loops in a while." Ezra shrugged as he chose the crate he always ended up with and followed the other two. "Oh, and Zeb, Kallus is Awake. He asked for you to give him a run for his money in those duals you guys always have, in not so many words. I'm pretty sure he's trying to learn more about weaponry and fighting now."
Zeb gave an evil grin. "Oh I'll give him a challenge."
"No killing him." Ezra rolled his eyes. "Remember that whenever you kill him in the loops, the next person assigned to trying to 'apprehend' us is always worse."
"Yeah yeah, how about injuring?"
"Go for it. He wants to learn the hard way through experience, something about encouragement to do better faster."
Zeb chuckled darkly and Sabine smacked his shoulder. "Next time you talk to him, let him know I'm willing to teach him a thing or two about ninjutsu if he wants."
"Sure, thanks for offering. I think he's starting to get settled in the loops finally."
Kallus held in a gulp as Zeb grinned. 'Well, I did want to learn the hard way…'
"Do not worry Agent Kallus, you are deemed as capable of making a full recovery. Your organs were avoided and only a few minor bones were broken, must have been him having some sort of 'honor' system." The doctor snorted. "A short while in the bacta tank and you'll be fine."
"Thank you doctor," Kallus nodded as much as he was able at the moment.
'Oh he's good.'
The next time Zeb and Kallus faced off, Zeb was impressed. It seemed the Agent was good at learning from his mistakes.
This didn't mean much when facing a looper millennia older than him with loops worth of experience dueling NonAwake versions of him, but it was a start.
A very good start, Zeb noted as he narrowly dodged a jab at his head.
'Let's just make this a little harder.'
12.2 (Rae the demiBoss)
"Ezra, we need to talk." Kanan approached his padawan.
"Uh, sure." Ezra shrugged and flicked off his tablet. "What's this about?" 'Is this going to make it an even twenty times Kanan's figured out about the loops without looper influence?'
"It's about you and Sabine."
Ezra's mind immediately screeched to a halt. 'Karrabast.'
In most loops Kanan wasn't Awake he and Sabine kept their relationship secret. Awake Kanan could care less about the old Jedi code prohibiting relationships, but NonAwake Kanan would very often make things very complicated indeed.
One loop Sabine had 'kidnapped' him off to a distant moon just to get out of that particular situation.
This loop they'd accidentally been seen by Hera, who'd immediately made sure everyone knew about it. Kanan hadn't said anything about it so they'd assumed they were safe.
Apparently not.
"Look, I can explain," Ezra was more than willing to tell Kanan about the loops just so he and Sabine weren't bothered about it. If there was any time he didn't like his master in the loops it was when his NonAwake self started meddling in his and Sabine's relationship.
"No Ezra, I know I should have told you something about this sooner, but I never thought it would come up-" He stopped short at the wave of raw frustration Ezra threw at him through the bond. It was the ginormous crippling amount of emotion only capable of being felt by ancient beings. And they both knew it.
"No Kanan, I'm not going to hear it." Ezra stood up from his spinning chair and crossed his arms. Kanan didn't speak, still overwhelmed by the emotions coming over the bond. Something in his padawan's stance and voice also told him that speaking right now would be a very very bad idea. "There are things called time loops, where time is repeating over and over again. Not everyone remembers and the ones who do don't always remember with each repeat. Including you." Ezra's eyes darkened into a dangerous glare and Kanan felt deep instincts inside him demanding him to start running. "Me and Sabine have been dating for longer than you could even comprehend because you. Are. Not. Awake. When you are, you don't care. I am NOT going to spend this loop trying to deal with you being a fracking drajl just because some old code doesn't want Jedi to be in love. So don't even try anything. Because I. Will. Not. Deal. With. It." Without another word Ezra walked out of the room.
Kanan was still fighting his flight instincts when Ezra shoved a bundle of emotions and memories across the bond.
He sat down shakily and had to use a Jedi calming technique three times before he stopped trembling.
Once that was done, he took a deep breath and began unraveling the 'package' he'd been given. He had a feeling it was very important…
12.3 (Rae the demiBoss)
"Nope." Ezra walked back out of the room tiredly. "Not doing it."
"What?" Hera asked, absently rubbing her swollen stomach.
'Good luck master, you'll need it…'
'You're telling me..?' Kanan sent back weakly as he tried comforting the overemotional Hera.
12.4 (Rae the demiBoss)
Ezra appeared in his mindscape, readying himself as the Inquisitor whirled to face him.
"You, how are you doing this?!" He hissed angrily.
Ezra just grinned. "I'm a little loopy," He said teasingly, knowing the Inquisitor wouldn't understand the code. "Now hold on tight because I'm not sure how this is going to go. We both might end up as vegetables for the rest of this loop…"
"What are-" Was all he managed to get out before everything went dark.
"Ezra? Ezra!" Kanan shook his padawan with a roll of his eyes. "What did you do to him this time?"
Ezra was still too caught up in giggling manically. "Hogwarts, HUFFLEPUFF!"
"What?" Kanan befuddled look seemed to snap Ezra out of the worst of it and he calmed down to chuckles.
"So you know how in Dean's loop, God keeps putting angels as mortals to make them 'realize their wrongs' and all that?"
"Yes, I remember because I was Castiel for some reason." Kanan deadpanned.
"Well, I used a variant of the idea to basically 'reincarnate' him in a world that existed in my head outside of real time." Ezra sunk back into giggles for a while before getting a hold of himself again. "I put him in Hogwarts and… and he was a Hufflepuff!" He fell backwards while cackling.
"You're joking right?" Kanan's jaw dropped.
"No!" Ezra gasped out. "The thing was, he didn't remember anything because I made sure he didn't! And! And! Oh it was hilarious!"
Kanan finally started laughing too. "Okay, you're going to tell me all about it! I can't wait to hear this!"
"He punched Draco right in the face!" Ezra snickered hysterically. Kanan finally gave in and leaned against his padawan as he laughed. "It was so funny!"
12.5 (Rae the demiBoss)
Mike watched amusedly as the two Choppers beeped and whirled excitedly to each other.
"We're doomed." Zeb said, staring at the two astromechs in horror.
"You do know that LOKI was made from some of Chopper's memories backed up on a USB for too long, right?" Mike raised an eyebrow.
"That… explains a lot." Kanan looked to Mike's tablet, which was where LOKI preferred to generate his hologram form.
"Should I take offense to that?" LOKI asked over the intercom.
"Uh, guys?" Hera's voice followed. "Chopper isn't the only other looper who came…"
"Hi 'Mike', 'Sable'." An identical voice said. You could practically hear the amused grin.
"Oh hey, you going by Hannah for this loop?" Sable perked up eagerly.
"More than likely."
"Hey Mike," Hannah caught his attention later in the hallway. "I met Yoyo'd. He's currently trying to avoid the Empire so he and his counterpart aren't experimented on. Plus, I don't think NonAwake Zeb would appreciate that he's looping."
"Probably not, but then again the rest of them wouldn't either." Mike shrugged. "Hey, seen any sign of our Kanan yet? I haven't felt him through the bond but you know he's the only one of us who can actually hide his Force signature."
"No, but I heard something about a 'metal monster' turning ships into crushed cans." Hannah said amusedly.
"That's Zeb alright," The anchor rolled his eyes. "I'll see if I can reach him. Otherwise, want me to generate a fake ID with BT Corps?"
"Sure. You still set that company up even in, what, two months?"
"Hannah, I could set my company up in ten seconds if I wanted to. And the five second delay is because that's how long it'd take for anyone to realize there's completely revolutionary programming tech on the market." Mike deadpanned.
"Touché."
12.6 (Rae the demiBoss)
"Cannonball!" Ezra yelled as he jumped into the water.
"Hey, watch it kid!" Zeb splashed him as he came up for air.
"Ez, if you mess up my tan I'm kicking you back into Zeb's room for a week." Sabine rolled her eyes.
"Not going in the water Kanan?" Hera asked from a floaty.
"Not just yet, I need to learn how to swim first…" The Jedi scratched the back of his head when everyone turned to him.
"Wait, how do you not know how to swim?" Ezra asked in shock.
"I've never had a reason to learn!" Kanan defended. "Besides, I can't remember if I knew how in baseline or not. And I've never had any loop memories that could help me learn how."
"That's it, get in the water." Ezra pointed to the large, crystal clear pond right out of a fairy tale. "If I have to I'll cast a partial anamorphic spell."
Kanan looked nervously at the water. "I don't know…"
"Oh come on, the water's beautiful and the perfect temperature!" Hera rolled her eyes.
"…Ezra has to stop trying to get me over my fear of cold for the next ten loops we're both looping."
"Deal." Ezra said. "This is seriously a life skill, I don't know why you don't know how by now."
Kanan pulled off his shirt and began wading carefully into the shallow part of the pond. The two loopers messing around finally got annoyed, Zeb shoving Kanan into the deeper water and Ezra catching him.
"See? It's not so bad." Ezra grinned.
"I hate you guys so much." Kanan grumbled. "And I hate the loops too, I swear they use me as the running gag." He tried treading water but as soon as Ezra let go he started sinking.
The Anchor caught him and rolled his eyes. "Use your arms too, it takes a really strong swimmer to swim in one spot with just their legs."
Kanan suddenly screamed and something clicked instinctually. He swam like a lightning bolt out of the water, cursing up a storm.
Zeb came up next to Ezra laughing his butt off.
"That was great!"
"Zeb, did you really have to do that?" Sabine snickered.
"That was kind of mean." Hera covered her mouth to hide her smile.
"That was hilarious!" Ezra clapped Zeb's shoulder as he fell into hysterics. "See master? Swimming isn't so hard!"
"I really really hate you guys." Kanan muttered, huddled up in the shallow water with a deep scowl.
"Oh come on Kanan, lighten up!" Zeb laughed.
'I think I know what you mean by 'running gag' now,' Chopper whirled to Kanan, far away from the water due to an extreme dislike of the stuff. He couldn't short out anymore but so long as a normal droid had cemented a hatred for getting wet.
"At least someone does, I swear I'm the only one who sees it…" Kanan got out of the water and grabbed a towel, sitting down by the droid. "I'm adding 'swimming' to my list of 'Things I'm never doing ever ever ever again' right under snow."
'Snow? Just snow?'
"Yes. Snow involves everything cold."
'Ah, I get it. I don't really like the stuff either. It gets in joints and melts.'
"Really? Never thought of that, quick question. Will you ever do anything aimed towards getting me over my phobia?"
'Nope, I completely understand a phobia of cold stuff. I hate cold. I'm not scared of it though, just hate it.'
"I think we're going to get along great from now on…"
"Aw, look Sabine." Hera was getting out of the water to sit next to Sabine. "Kanan and Chopper are bonding."
"About time," The kunoichi chuckled. "Hey, can you help me put some sun tanning cream on my back? I think Ezra's distracted." The lasat had just dunked said teenager under the water.
"Sure." Hera shook her head at their antics. "I have a question of my own though, how long are we going to stay at this place? The loop looked pretty busy last time I checked."
Sabine looked around the beautiful shoreline and the sparkling water. She then looked at Hera and raised an eyebrow. "Not anytime soon, but it's not the first time we messed up the timeline because we weren't where we were supposed to be."
"Very true." The twilek laughed.
10.1: You guys are probably confused but I know where this is going so I'mma just cackle evilly. I am a HUGE fan of good!Kallus. Kallus is like, my favorite villain. (well not exactly but he's pretty high on the list under Loki and Lucifer (spn))
10.2: I don't even know but it's funny. I believe Tony would make a fantastically hilarious Anchor.
10.3: 7.2 continued. Looping Ezra will for now be refered to as Mike in this loop and Looping Sabine will be called Sable. Sable. Sable. I don't know why but I really like that name. Five Night's at Freddy's ~ LOKI is a troll plain and simple.
10.4: Yup. Still hanging onto this.
10.5: Kind of just strung them all together... I know that's not the exact words but it was funny okay!
11.1: I like messing around with this.
11.2: My thoughts regarding this scene.
11.3: They like screwing around with NonAwake Kanan because he can't get back at them later.
11.4: And now you know why I was doing that! *fistpumps* I love good!Kallus ~ Also poor Kallus he is so confused.
11.5: Haha I don't even really know I feel like that would be his response to that loop.
11.6: 7.2 continued. 'Mike' really likes to mess with his nonlooping self.
11.7: Sometimes Ezra will have loops where either 1: the Empire doesn't kill/capture his parents or 2: the Empire doesn't exist at all. He really loves those loops but they usually make him pretty gloomy afterwards.
11.8: Lek?
11.9: More~
12.1: Similar to Ezra with his programming and Zeb with his languages, Sabine visited the Naruto loop and got into ninjutsu. Kallus is more getting into fighting in general.
12.2: I apparently really like Ezra and Sabine being protective of each other.
12.3: And then there are those loops. Poor Kanan.
12.4: Haven't had one of these in a while.
12.5: 7.2 continued. Think back to when Zeb replaced Gajeel, he's got Iron Dragonslaying magic.
12.6: Mostly just fun fluff. :3
Quick note on Zeb's seemingly very calm acceptance of Kallus looping. He's a looper. At this point he's really really really old and (whether they act it or not) all loopers are "wise". He knows that through the loops, villains don't usually stay villains and that Kallus has even more reason not to. Not to mention it's fairly obvious he's got the worst luck out of all the loopers so far. Every loop he's going to wake up with brand new memories of what atrocities he's committed this time. Zeb's not going to make things hard for someone who has to deal with that sh!t. Also the fact that they're still having their "fights" helps a little. Just a little.