"Speech" : Normal speech
|Speech| : Force bond, telepathy
:SPEECH: : Droid speech/computer talk
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The Adventures of a Time Travelling Padawan Chapter 33
Maketh Education Aftermath / Brothers of the Broken Horn, Spanish Inquisitor, The WhiteBoard,
IMC Hangar, Hot Hot Hot, Musical Mayhem, The Ravine
[ - - - ]
33.1 Maketh Education Aftermath / Brothers of the Broken Horn (numair2304)
Loopers get used to the status quo, things can seem predictable and then something makes a change, it could be for the better, it could be for the worse. A new looper getting tortured without anyone Awake catching on, that would be categorized as for the latter
Different people have different methods for dealing with things outside their control.
Some get angry, turning that anger inwards on their perceived mistakes or outwards on those deemed responsible.
[ - - - ]
Sabine stumbled slightly from the Fifth Brother's push as she Awoke.
"Once we have the others, we'll dispose of them both." The Seventh Sister said as she led the way down the corridor.
Waking up a captive of the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother with Ezra beside her in cuffs wasn't going to leave Sabine in the best of moods to begin with but combined with how she was already feeling made her temper explode. The Inquisitors tensed, reaching for their weapons as the Force shifted around the quartet.
"I'M SO.."
The Fifth Brother felt himself leave the ground as a left backhand sent the man flying backwards, hitting the floor he gasped in pain at power behind the hit. Not slowing down Sabine spun with her blow and charged towards the Seventh Sister passing a dumbstruck Ezra.
"NOT IN..."
The Seventh Sister having lit her blade in time swept it towards Sabine. Bending backwards Sabine observed the red blade pass over her face before her hand reached out and grabbed a firm hold of the lightsaber wielding arm's wrist. Twisting the woman's wrist and jabbing at the held arm with her free hand, Sabine forced the woman to drop her blade.
"THE MOOD..."
The Seventh Sister was unable to hide a wince of pain as her lightsaber fell from her listless fingers and distracted the woman didn't feel Sabine relieve her of Ezra's stolen blade. The pain the Seventh Sister had on display increased as a frontal blow from Sabine sent the woman reeling backwards.
"FOR THIS!"
With both Inquisitors on the ground for a moment, stunned by the sudden change in their captive, Sabine had a moment's respite. She lifted her hands, reaching out with the Force towards the Inquisitors lightsabers. Delicately Sabine wove her presence into the structure and located what she wanted. Sabine's hands twisted, crushing into fists, focusing her intentions. That accomplished Sabine turned her attention to a staring Ezra.
"Ezra leave!" Sabine said firmly, handing over the boy's lightsaber.
"But-but- Sabine..." Ezra stuttered, completely confused by what was going on.
"Now Ezra!" Sabine stated, her face softening slightly at Ezra's look of confusion. "I'll be fine. Trust me."
Ezra hesitated for a moment before nodding acquiescent and running off down the corridor towards the hangar, passing the Seventh Sister as she unsteadily rose to her feet.
Behind Sabine the Fifth Brother had risen back to his feet and with a growl withdrew his blade. When the man tried to ignite the blade however, all that occurred was some sparking and nothing else. The Seventh Sister found herself having the same problem when she tried her blade.
Sabine couldn't help the curl of a smile as she observed the growing looks of frustration on the Inquisitors faces. While she couldn't do anything large scale with the Force, small things she could now with enough focus, in this case damage the lightsabers internal workings. On the surface both Inquisitors lightsabers seemed perfectly fine, undamaged, but inside of them the focusing arrays were crushed. To repair would require either a complete disassemble and replacement of parts or an incredible of fine-tuned control over the Force to undo the damage; very unlikely from the two Inquisitors.
Withdrawing and dropping a seal on the ground from her Pocket, Sabine placed a foot upon it channeling chakra. With the infusion of chakra a white barrier grew surrounding her and the two Inquisitors, now there was no escape for them. The Seventh Sister tried to push through and found it impassable. The barrier would drop only when Sabine chose.
"No way in, no way out. no running away. No weapons, just bare hands." Sabine stated to the frustrated pair, shifting into a taijutsu stance, preparing to use Snake Wild. Having Anko usually as an elder sister in Naruto made it a favorite style of Sabine's.
Fifth Brother snarled and moved towards Sabine having no problem with those rules, his rage fuelling his actions. Seventh Sister held back, cautious about the abilities Sabine had sudden demonstrated. Sabine tensed her leg and launched her first assault. Sabine was annoyed, right now wanted to hit something and grinning as her fist slammed into Fifth's cheek considered it lucky that there were two guilt free targets right in front of her.
[ - - - ]
Inside Hogwart's Hospital Wing Dumbledore was forced to halt his retreat as he found his path blocked by a very sturdy wall. Looking round with worried eyes he could see no easy escape from the threat bearing down on him. Nevertheless he attempted to stave off the attack.
"Madam, I assure you that adequate precautions were taken to ensure the children's safety-" Dumbledore was interrupted.
"Are these the same precautions that failed to prevent a troll entering the castle earlier this year or have they been put in place since then!? This is a school for children, they should be able to walk safely through these halls, not risk injury or death!" The school Matron's announced advancing on the headmaster's position.
Dumbledore attempted to rally.
"The troll was an unusual occurrence I admit but the children's recent escapade was due to them trespassing into an area that had been declared off limits." Dumbledore asserted, ignoring the fact that he'd secretly wanted at least one of these particular children to explore that area. Seeing the woman pause for a moment listening to his words he pushed on. "The third floor corridor was declared off limits. In fact I informed the entire school that that particular area was off limits, the children shouldn't have been in that area at all." Dumbledore sighed in affected weariness. "But alas children will get into places despite warnings to the contrary."
Unfortunately for Dumbledore, his words didn't calm the situation but instead appeared to stoke the flames.
"And knowing that you gave them motivation to explore a forbidden area! I remember the speech you gave during the Sorting Banquet, you declared the area 'out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death'." At the confusion apparent on Dumbledore's confusion, the woman explained in exasperation. "The troublemakers in the school would take that as a certified challenge, I'm amazed that the Weasley twins didn't end up occupying beds in here on the same day as your speech. And I dread to think how many people were curious and inquisitive about what exactly was occurring in that location."
Sitting beside Harry, on one of the empty beds, Hermione whispered. "Shouldn't we tell her that we're both Awake?"
Harry whispered back. "Nah, this is fun to watch. Popcorn?" Offering her a bag.
Considering for a second Hermione shrugged and took a handful. "Thanks."
They both watched as the looping replacement for Madame Pomfrey, a Madame Syndulla, continued haranguing Dumbledore
"You do not set a dangerous trap inside a school of impressionable young people, inform the entire building of its location and then warn off trespass using terminology that many would treat as a challenge!"
[ - - - ]
Some get depressed. Understanding that life isn't fair and no matter what you do things will go wrong.
[ - - - ]
Kanan lay on his bunk listlessly, thinking back on his previous loop. There was a whistle from the doorway and turning Kanan spotted his Awake partner for this loop, Chopper. He'd informed the looping droid of the new looper and their circumstances. Chopper had acted like the news was nothing big on first disclosure but since then Kanan noticed that the droids antics on board had reduced slightly. Chopper seemed to moping a bit and, if Zeb and Ezra's curious eyes on the droid meant anything, the crew were noticing. In his own case Kanan kept catching Hera observing him with worried eyes, he fully expected her to start questioning him about what was wrong soon.
Chopper silently wheeled into the room and came to a halt remaining silent. The two remained quiet with their own thoughts until Kanan broke the growing silence
"You know what this calls for." Kanan announced to the silent room.
:WHAT?: Chopper whistled in reply.
"Fallback on the usual coping strategy." Kanan explained as if it was obvious.
:PRANKS?: If Chopper could grin, he would have done.
"Yeah pranks. The two of us hardly work together on them, might as well give it a try. The only question now is who, the Imperials or the crew." Kanan mused, considering targets.
:WHY NOT BOTH?: Chopper suggested, wheeling back and forth in slight jerks.
"Why not indeed." Kanan agreed.
[ - - - ]
Some are both.
[ - - - ]
Inside a recently formed crater two fighters took a moment to catch their breath.
"So," Zeb panted, "do you want to talk about it or should I beat you down again."
"I should have noticed!" Yoyo asserted, leaning against his weapon.
"Firstly you weren't there, it's possible none of us was." Zeb argued, straightening up. "Secondly no one tasked you to watch for new loopers, heck none of us look out for that." Zeb paused for a moment in consideration. Seeing Yoyo's questioning look at his contemplation , Zeb explained his thoughts. "Most of us are on the same crew, we live in close proximity on the same ship for the loop. When someone in the Spectres Woke for the first time there was likely to be a member of the Awake crew around them. The only exception in this before Maketh was you." Zeb stated to Yoyo, reflecting on the man's Awakening. "We didn't have a clue you were Awake, you were the one who reached out to us, something you were able to accomplish thanks to remembering Ezra's contact details from your first loop. Without that particular information you might have ended up in a similar boat to Maketh and we wouldn't have known. If Agent Kallus disappeared, any Awake members of the crew would have probably considered it a Variant loop."
Yoyo started to refute Zeb's idea then paused. He wanted to deny Zeb's idea but the harsh truth was that upon his awakening as a looper he had used all his self control to calmly move himself to his private quarters whereupon he collapsed, struggling to come to grips with the new reality. His first memories iteration, thanks to Ezra and Zeb's machinations, had turned against the Empire and fought to defend the planet Lasan and its inhabitants. He'd died in one of the clashes and then found himself alive, unharmed inside his office in Lothal's Imperial Complex but with memories of a very different timeline on Lasan. This second timeline he wasn't a rebel, Ezra and Zeb hadn't met him on Lasan instead he'd been a willing member in the campaign against the Lasats that resulted in the devastation of Lasan and the near extinction of the Lasats. Trying to incorporate the two different and contrasting sets of loop memories, trying to settle his reeling mind in desperation Yoyo reached out to Ezra through the HoloNet and thankfully Ezra answered. What might of happened to him if he hadn't remembered the contact, if no one answered, if he had been alone trying to establish his identity under the Empire's rule. It wouldn't have ended well. He had been lucky, Maketh hadn't.
"It's not fair, she didn't deserve any of this." Yoyo muttered sullenly.
"Life isn't bliss, life is just this, it's living." Zeb quoted with a slight cadence to the words. Yoyo gave him a questioning look and Zeb explained. "Quote from a, at the time, nonlooper which was a pity really as the guy was skilled with the fisticuffs and pretty good in a scrap, even took the time to teach me a bit of Fyarl lanuage and... I'm going off topic. Anyway he blurted that out during a cursed musical period and it just resonated. Life isn't fair. Everyone on this crew, and I'm including you in that," Zeb stated pointing to Yoyo, "you might not be a visible crewmember but you're definitely a member of the Spectres. Everyone on this crew has suffered at some point and somehow, we might even be due more in the future but knowing that we can watch out for each other and try and help. Right now Maketh is the one who needs the most help and out of all of us." Yoyo's heart sank a little as he guessed where Zeb was going. " You realize someone needs to teach her how to deal with Empire-"
"Any of the Spectres could-" Yoyo interjected.
"-from the inside," Zeb continued without pause, "None of us aboard the Ghost don't really have a lot of experience with that, we know enough to run operations that run parallel in opposition to the Empire but that only brings us close enough to function in the short term not the long term. We could organize a routine to expedite her removal from the Imperial administration but we won't always be there. Eventually Maketh needs to learn to deal with the Empire on her own especially now that she can see and has experienced its crueler side. Hiding the extent of her knowledge, perceiving how people view her, judging when it's necessary to do a vanishing act. Those are the skills she needs to learn the most and out of all of us local loopers you are the one with the most experience of that. You have to be her teacher in this."
Yoyo understood Zeb's reasoning, he had worked it out for himself earlier and agreed with it. And yet part of him paused to accept the idea. He tried to voice his reasons about his reluctance.
"I know. I know already but it's just... just...it's so hard. I thought I had come to grips with who I was, that I had come to terms with being both Yoyo and Agent Kallus. And then... and then a new looper Wakes and her first reaction to me is mind numbing terror. And I know its selfish after everything she's been through but it just tears at me, her reactions, her fear, the way she flinches slightly when I enter the room." Yoyo spoke quickly, trying to verbalize his mental hiccup.
"So do you." Zeb bluntly pointed out. "You blame yourself for something this you didn't do. And what if she flinches while dealing with an unAwake you?"
Yoyo grimaced, considering the likely outcome.
"I'll do it." Yoyo declared, wrenching his feelings of guilt and misgivings down, solidifying his resolve. "But from now on we, all of us, need to keep track of potential loopers to try and prevent this from happening again."
"I'm not sure if that's a likely scenario." Zeb contemplated, scratching the back of his head as he thought about likely candiates. "I mean most of the potentials I can think of are a part of the resistance."
"There were those two kids that Ezra befriended in the Training facility," Yoyo pointed out, "and wasn't Tseebo a family friend. Maketh Waking was a surprise to all of us, it was likely thanks to us trying to protect her in the loops somewhat that enough connections were made." Yoyo remarked bitterly.
"We're going to have to make a list." Zeb moaned, reflecting on the numbers of people the crew interacted with. If the strength of connections, both the positive and the negative, increased the probability of Awakening even if new loopers were rare. The sheer quantity of pranks that Chopper pulled on the Empire meant there was even a decent chance that their next candiate could be someone like the Inquisitor or Tarkin. Zeb shuddered at the horrifying thought, stuck with an Awake Tarkin in the loops.
The mood was pensive and both men were silent.
Zeb slapped his hands together, the noise sounding like a thunderclap in the silence.
"Right that's enough feelings." Zeb stated firmly. "Time for the next round, and since it's my turn to choose the weapon, this time we're wielding these." Withdrawing a Klingon bat'leth from his Pocket, Zeb took a stance opposing Yoyo.
"qa' wlje'meHmaSuv!" Zeb snarled, his grin bright in contrast to the harsh syllables.
"nltebQobqaDjup 'e' chaw'be' Suvml'!" Yoyo replied with a wistful smile, drawing his own bat'leth.
[ - - - ]
"Let's all relax. I take the generators. You two split Azmorigan's credits. Everyone wins." Ezra proposed before blinking slightly as he Woke.
Quickly he processed his situation. Standing in the cockpit of the Broken Horn, strange. Standing in said cockpit alongside Cikatro Vizago and Hondo Ohnaka, even stranger. His unAwake self trying to suggest a balanced beneficial deal for all parties, what was he smoking?
"That is a fair deal. Hmm?" Ohnaka mused as if considering the idea. The idea was then torpedoed as Ohnaka's face twisted into a grimace. "And it disgusts me."
Ezra noted that diplomacy was breaking down but kept his main focus internal, reviewing his recent memories. There was a brief flicker of amusement as Ezra considered how Lando would react to him pretending to be Lando but that flicker was quickly overwhelmed by the sinking feeling in his chest
"For once, I agree." Vizago affirmed. Raising his hand, he pressed the button of the controller held within. "Care to hear my counter-offer?"
Ezra's mind ran. A new expansion, new things to inform and warn his friends about and all of it right at this moment felt unimportant and meaningless. Waking up this late in this loop meant that there was nothing he could change. It was too late in the loop, Maketh wouldn't be Awake as Minister Tua was dead. He had been hoping as the Anchor he would run across Maketh the fastest out of all the Rebels loopers but after twenty seven loops he still hadn't encountered her. The only good thing was that one of those loops was in Equestria and he'd informed Twilight about Maketh, asking her to pass the message along about the new looper.
The two robots within the cockpit activated with a jerk and were joined by a third entering through the door.
Ezra snarled in impotent fury. All the power at his disposal and he was still so powerless in so many ways, unable to reach one person. Switching focus, he turned his attention to the drama around him, he could play along but right now he wasn't in the mood.
Ezra flexed his fingers and there was screech of twisting, tortured metal as the robots crumpled and compressed into a lump half their size. The door of the cockpit slamming shut under Force pressure as an afterthought.
Glaring at the two now pale faced smugglers Ezra suggested a new idea.
"Now that you've made your counteroffers here's mine, accept the original deal or else."
Ohnaka and Vizago were veterans of their particular expertise. They had survived the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire but the sheer pressure of that glare, the weight they could feel on their backs, the threat that was implied. Their instincts honed over the many years of skirting on the edge screamed at them to surrender and pray for mercy.
"Working together sounds like a great idea!" Ohnaka was the first to offer his complete agreement with Ezra's demand. The nervous smile on Ohnaka's face a complement to the sweat on his brow as he tried to understand how his former partner had suddenly became so scary.
"Yeah, couldn't have put it better myself!" Vizago affirmed, his own nervous smile plastered in place.
[ - - - ]
.
Maketh opened her eyes. There was no office, no Imperial Complex, no Capital City, she wasn't on Lothal. Instead she found herself amongst colourful medieval style buildings.
"Hi there!" A loud cheerful voice chirped from behind her. "Whatcha doin'?"
Maketh buckled down on her flight instinct, failed to curb it and hit the ground hard as she found herself with more legs than she was expecting. Her head spinning slightly, Maketh stared at one of the limbs stretched before her. Were those hooves?
"Oh sorry!" The voice came again, softer, slightly apologetic. The voice's owner moved in front of Maketh and looking up Maketh could see the pink pony standing over her. "First outside loop? Looking for an anchor?"
Maketh just dully nodded.
"Okie-dokie-lokie." The pink pony enthusiastically expressed. "Don't you worry about a thing, your Auntie Pinkie Pie here will take care of everything. I'll call Twilight."
The pink pony held a hoof up to its head. There was a ringing sound and then a click.
"Hi Twilight, we've got ourselves a new looper in town and, boy, is she a bit jumpy." Pinkie uttered into her hoof.
"Pinkie Pie, is that... where are...how are you talking to me!?" Another voice came out of the air responded with a bit of confusion.
"On the phone silly." Pinkie replied with a giggle.
"Pinkie Pie I don't have a phone! And I'm sure neither do you!" The voice replied with a drawn out sigh. "Never mind, you said you have a new looper with you."
Pinkie nodded. "Yup! We're in the Town Square!"
"I'll be there in a moment."
There was a flash of white light and a new purple pony appeared beside Pinkie who clicked a stopwatch.
"Just under three seconds," Pinkie Pie pronounced, "that's on average eighty seven seconds less than a moment."
The purple pony just looked at Pinkie for a mom... for an indeterminate period of time before shaking her head and turning her attention to the fallen Maketh.
"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle, resident Anchor for the Equestria loops." Twilight said, helpfully offering Maketh a hoof up. "It's nice to met someone new. May I enquire what your name is?"
"Maketh." Maketh mumbled quietly.
"Of the Star Wars Rebels loops?" Twilight asked gently, receiving a tentative surprised nod in reply. Twilight explained. "Ezra informed me about you the last time he passed through and that you had shall we say," Twilight winced, "an unpleasant introduction to the loops."
At Maketh's slight pained look, Twilight waved her hooves frantically.
" Ah no no no, nothing like that. He didn't provide any clear details, claimed that was your decision to make, story to tell. He just asked me to spread the word around that you were looping, had a rough start and he would be grateful if anyone who ran into you gave you a helping hand. Luckily for you we've designated our loop as a sanctuary, you'll be able to relax here. Would you like to come back to the library for a cup of tea while I explain our loop to you?" Twilight offered with a kind look.
Maketh coughed slightly before replying. "That would be very nice, thank you."
"It's not far from here so we'll just walk and I can point out a few things on the way. Now Pinkie Pie." Twilight said, her voice rising slightly."Inform the others that we have a newcomer in town so they should keep the shenanigans down and Pinkie," directing this last bit towards towards the pink mare, "no large scale parties until our guest finds her feet, ok."
"Yessir!" Pinkie Pie saluted. "P48247 Party type shelved for indeterminate period instead P87532 Party type will be mobilized to allow for quiet gatherings."
And still holding the salute Pinkie Pie bounced off. Maketh found her head bobbing along as her gaze followed the bouncing pony. Twilight gave a slight cough and when Maketh's attention turned to her, indicated their path. Their progress was halted in midstride however when a yell came from the direction that Pinkie disappeared in.
"WAHOO! NEW ELM! I mean NEW PONY! NEW PONY!"
Twilight facehoofed. Lowering her hoof she gave Maketh a rueful grin.
"Sorry about that, Pinkie gets a bit exited at times and she enjoys meeting new people. She was probably holding that in the entire time she met you." Twilight said apologetically, before mumbling. "If I'm honest Pinkie is probably the most chaotic thing you'll encounter in all of Equestria and with our baseline that is saying something."
33.2 Spanish Inquisitor (Scoddri)
Ezra walked through his mindscape, waiting for the Inquisitor to show up again. A nearby door burst open, alongside a loud trumpet blast. The Inquisitor leapt in, wearing a sombrero, and shouted, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisitor! My two weapons are fear and surprise! No, I have THREE weapons; fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency! No there are FOUR!"
There was a long silence.
"I have to restart."
Ezra stared as the Inquisitor walked out of the door and after a slight pause burst in again to restart. Ezra couldn't hold back his laughter when the Inquisitor tied him to a dishwasher rack. How would that even work
33.3 The WhiteBoard (numair2304)
Blinking at the usual Awakening disorientation Ezra found himself behind the wheel of a run of the mill automobile. Waking in the driver's seat of a vehicle wasn't really the best place for a looper as the expanding conscious and memories took a short time to come to grips with situation, especially if the looper in question had a different body than normal. Fur and claws weren't Ezra's normal look. Luckily for Ezra in this case the vehicle was stationary, parked amongst others in a countryside carpark.
Feeling a familiar Force presence beside him, Ezra smiled. Turning he took in his looping girlfriend's new look, noting her doing the same.
To Sabine, Ezra appeared to be a human sized and shaped mustelid of medium height, wirey build with a round face and round eyes. His fur was an orangey brown with a white underbelly. The way his body was twisting suggested a very flexible substructure.
Ezra considered Sabine's form. She appeared to be an human anthro of canine heritage. Medium height with a slim build, narrowed eyes within a slender face accented by the single gold earring in one ear. Her fur was a patchwork of black, brown, white and orange.
"So, anthropomorphic animals this loop." Sabine said matter of factually after a quick peek at her loop memories. "Seems like the basic normal Earth but with us instead of humans."
"It will probably be interesting to see all the variety." Ezra mused as his gaze followed how Sabine's ears were twitching occasionally.
"Well I know mine's a bit of a rarity in these parts." Sabine said lifting her arms to examined her patterned fur with interest. "African wild dog. Cool markings, I might copy them in the future. What are did you get?"
"Weasel." Ezra stated flatly, sensing the amusement in the question.
"Good at sneaking and crawling through vents, I can see it." Sabine remarked with a cheeky smirk on her muzzle. "So where are we... Ezra look!" Sabine exclaimed, her observations of their surroundings halted as she pointed gleefully to a sign displaying the words 'Red's Paintball Field'. "I'm already liking this loop."
"Would you believe it's our 1000th loop anniversary of playing paintball this loop?" Ezra dubiously said. Sabine gave him a dry look, her expression highlighting her belief of that statements accuracy. Ezra's ears sagged at the visual skepticism. Recovering he said. "Ok, ok I admit I'm grasping at straws but we're here, there's a paintball field here, so let's play!"
"Yep!" Sabine agreed cheerfully after a moment's reflection.
Getting out the car, they stood together and looked around. Nearby an adult polar bear was talking to a young arctic fox by his side. "The main woods fields are through there, the speedball course is off to the right, and the target and chrony range is down that little trail past the benches."
"Okay." The youngling said.
The polar bear continued his description. "There's a firepit over there for parties and barbecues, the little shack is the office and pro-shop where you sign in and get rental stuff, and the bathrooms are right over there."
"I thought you did that in the woods." A nearby raccoon interjected with humour.
"That's a myth. There are very few forests above the Arctic Circle." The polar bear stated flatly.
Watching the trio talk, Ezra and Sabine were caught unawares when a voice called out from behind them.
"Hey folks!"
Turning they saw a fox talking to them.
"Name's Red, owner of these fields." Red held out a hand for them to shake. "Haven't seen you two here around before. Are you here to play today?" Seeing both Ezra and Sabine nod, Red sighed slightly. "It's a busy day today but we should be able to fit you into a few games. If you get yourselves signed in at the shop we'll find a place to slot you in." Red said pointing towards the small structure before turning away. As Red walked away he called over his shoulder. "You can rent equipment if you don't have any."
"That's ok, we have stuff stored in the car." Ezra called after Red, already thinking of what in their Pockets he and Sabine could use.
Ezra turned to Sabine and, seeing that she already had a hand disappearing into mid air reaching for stuff, said. "So for now all we need are the basics like a mask, jacket and a paint gun. Try not to grab anything overpowered, we don't know what the skill level here is."
BOOM!
The explosive noise drew their attention towards the chrony.
"Ezra..." Sabine said in questioning tone as she observed what was being timed.
"Yes..." Ezra replied in the same tone seeing the same thing.
"Is the raccoon trying to chrony an actual paintball railgun!?" Sabine asked in a mixture of disbelief and rising excitement.
"Looks like it." Ezra answered before noticing something else out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly to get a better angle his eyes widened slightly. "The polar bear over there seems to have a mortar stored in his truck."
There was a pause as both of them took a moment to let those facts settle in their minds.
"We have to absolutely play here!" Sabine exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let's sign in!"
33.4 IMC Hangar (numair2304)
Kanan slammed into the crate he'd been thrown into by Vader, the impact enough to knock the cowboy jedi unconscious leaving Ezra standing between Vader and the rest of the Spectres.
Raising his hand Vader sent a blast of Force towards the boy but was slightly surprised to find his attempt deflected by a wave of the boy's hand.
Shifting in his stationary position, Ezra altered his stance to something more defensive. Facing down Darth Vader, lit lightsaber in his hand.
"What's sad is that a part of me wants to say you shall not pass!" Ezra muttered under his breath.
[ - - - ]
Inside one of the Imperial complex's hangars sparks flew as the blades of energy collided. Blue meet red as Ezra and Vader lightsabers clashed, seemingly evenly matched in conflict as they fought.
In the background a disbelieving Spectre crew including a slightly concussed Kanan watched the fight.
"You have strength, child." Vader admitted, the strength the boy displayed at such a young age was incredible. Vader poured on the pressure, increasing the speed and power of his blows and slowly the boy gave ground against the onslaught. "But you are still no match for the power of the Dark Side."
The next engagement led to the azure and crimson blades locked together, sizzling as neither of their wielders relaxed the pressure.
"I admit it... you are better than I am." Ezra with a slight smile over the crossed blades at his opponent.
"And yet you find amusement in your defeat?" Vader questioned, freeing his blade from the lock with an downwards sweep. As the boy disengaged and whirled away from the sweep, Vader studied his opponent. No fear, no anger, no negative emotions, no belief in their defeat. If it wasn't for the boy's age he would believe he was fighting a master. Gripping his lightaber's hilt with both hands Vader swept his blade up in a powerful stroke. "Why are you smiling?"
"I wouldn't say that my defeat is evitable." Ezra's blade met the stroke but instead of repelling the power of the blow flowed with it, using the strength of the attack to push him back, jumping back with it to leave some room between himself and armored Sith. "Because I know something you don't know."
Vader lifted his arm, angling his blade. Something gave the boy confidence but what? An ambush didn't seem likely, judging from the rebel crew's confused expressions and emotions, the boy's strength was a surprise to them.
"And what is that?" Vader asked curiously, still studying the battlefield.
"I am not left-handed." And so saying Ezra switched his lightsaber over to his other hand and went back on the offensive.
33.5 Hot Hot Hot (numair2304)
Sweltering heat bore down upon Lothal's plains as slowly broke. Amongst a collection of rocky outcrops the heat shimmer hovered over the shell of the Ghost, the interior of which was starting to feel like a slow cook oven to the Awake occupants. In the early hours, for one brief moment, the skies had opened up and rain had pelted down. The rainfall had disappeared as soon as it appeared and the momentary cool was swamped by the returning vengeance of the heat alongside its new partner humidity.
In the lounge most of the crew were gathered trying to avoid the heat. Multiple fans were placed to try and fight the heat but that battle had been lost a while ago and now all they were doing now was fighting a rearguard retreat.
Ezra sagged, sweat drenched, sitting against the wall. "Argh!" He groaned plaintively, his energy drained by the heat. "It's too hot, this is unbearable. Can't we take off and head for space, space is cold! Or just find somewhere cool outside?"
Beside him Sabine wasn't in much better condition. "We're hiding from the Empire right now, hanging out in orbit would get us noticed. And there's no use heading outside, it's worst outside. I don't know what's worse," Sabine mumbled, "the heat or the humidity."
Out of all of them Hera looked the worst, draped on the sofa with a cold compress on her head moaning slightly.
"I don't know what you are all complaining about, the temperature seems fine to me." Zeb said as he made his move in the game of dejarik he was playing against Chopper. Zeb grinned at the whine of annoyance his statement returned as his Monnok defeated his opponent's K'lor'slugs.
:ME TOO: Chopper whistled cheerfully making his next move, resulting in another whine of annoyance from the heat struck members of crew.
Ezra, the slight irritation at their words sparking a return of energy, glared towards the duo.
"Zeb," Ezra said, "you're not that affected as your species is used to tropical and desert climates and I'm pretty sure you've worked out how to cheat using your Iron Dragonslayer's abilities as a heat sink." Zeb momentarily flushed face indicated that Ezra had hit true with that guess. Ezra then turned his focus on a shuddering with suppressed laughter Chopper. "And don't you pretend, Chopper, that you aren't being affected by this somewhat. I spotted you waterproofing yourself earlier against the humidity."
Hera gave another depressed moan, this time accompanied with insensate jabbering. Zeb gave Hera a worried look.
"She's really out of it. Is she going to be all right?" Zeb asked, a shard of worry in his words. "I thought Twi'leks were used to higher temperatures."
"Some of them are yes, some of them live in costal climates and some, I guess, spend so much time in a cockpit that their bodies forget how to deal with the heat." Ezra hazarded as a answer. "I do know that Twi'lek's naturally have a higher body temperature than humans so if we think it's hot, I dread to think how Hera feels."
All of them stared at Hera. With a sigh Zeb got up removed Hera's compress, re-soaked and returned it before returning to his seat.
Sabine felt like asking an obvious question. "How is that all of us have spare parts in our Pockets to repair and in some cases rebuild the Ghost but no one has an air conditioner unit?"
"Lack of foresight." Ezra muttered.
Their conversation was interrupted by cheerful whistling as the last member of the crew joined everyone else in the lounge.
"Good morning everyone!" Kanan chirruped, entering the room with a spring in his step and in the process completely failed to register the many looks of disbelief at his demeanor. Upbeat, cheerful, no sign of suffering from the heat, no sheen of sweat, it was like Kanan was experiencing a different world to the rest of them.
"How are you doing that?" Sabine was the first to ask.
Kanan frowned, pausing in his step. "What do you mean?" Kanan asked confused.
"That!" Sabine exclaimed pointing at Kanan.
Kanan's look of confusion deepened. "If you don't explain what that it is I'm supposedly doing, I can't really answer." Kanan calmly pointed out.
Taking note of Sabine's growing look of frustration Zeb took over the conversation.
"What see means laserbrain," Zeb drawled at Kanan, "is why, when pretty much everyone else is suffering from the heat do you seem fresh as a daisy and full of energy."
"It's not that hot is it?" Kanan asked, observing Zeb's condition. "You seem to be ok with the temperature."
Zeb shuffled slightly in his seat. "I've got a trick to avoid the worst." Zeb admitted but noticing the rising look of vindication in Ezra's eyes ploughed on. "But it only works if I'm still and concentrating on it. You're not doing anything like that."
"I suppose it does seem a bit warm." Kanan mused, registering the state of the rest of the crew around him. It still didn't feel that bad to him.
"A bit warm! That's like saying the Empire's a bit oppressive!" Ezra said in disbelief.
Kanan shrugged and continued making his way across the room. As he passed Ezra, Ezra's eyes widened for a moment as he felt something that seemed impossible in the heat box. Unsure if what he felt was just a trick of the mind Ezra dragged himself to his feet pulling a disgruntled Sabine along with him.
"Ezra..." Sabine tiredly complained, not wanting to move.
"Just trust me for a moment." Ezra said to console her and moving over to Kanan, Ezra placed his and Sabine's entwined hand on Kanan's shoulder. Sabine's eyes widened as she registered the difference between Kanan and the rest of the room.
"See." Ezra said to Sabine who nodded in reply.
Kanan looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, unsure what they were going on about.
"Are you two finished?" Kanan asked. He was surprised when the duo shuffled closer to him. "Ok! What's going on?"
"Kanan you're cold!" Sabine stated, reveling in the colder temperature.
Kanan disagreed with her. "No I'm not, like I said I feel a bit warm."
"No, I mean the air around you is cold." Sabine explained, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cold air. "How are doing that?"
"I told you I'm not doing anything!" Kanan getting nervous over the growing looks of euphoria on Ezra's and Sabine's face.
Getting up Zeb moved over to the trio and held his hand close to Kanan to test. It was like walking into a different room or from outside a structure to the inside, there was a distinct change in the air close to Kanan.
"They're right mate." Zeb said, pulling his hand back and then returning it. "It's definitely colder around you than the rest of the room."
Chopper having followed Zeb whistled in agreement.
:TEMPARUTURE AROUND KANAN IS MEASURABLY LESS THAN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OF THE ROOM.: Chopper warbled, trundling back and forth to get readings.
"Do you think Kanan's using his cryokinesis to subconsciously cool the air around him?" Ezra asked eagerly, scooting closer to Kanan.
"Maybe." Zeb said, moving further into the area affected. "Kanan didn't seem to realize what he was doing."
"Do you think Kanan can increase the effect and range?" Sabine asked with hopeful tones.
:THE FACT THAT KANAN WAS ABLE COVER THIS AREA OF VOLUME WITH OUT EVEN NOTICING SUGGESTS THAT HE SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF HOLDING IT OVER A LARGER AREA.: Chopper chirped, still taking readings.
As the conversation moved further into theories and ways to experiment, Kanan was becoming increasingly nervous with the crew's animation over this new highlighted trick of his. He honestly hadn't realized that he was doing anything, he thought that the warm snap had cleared. Now, looking at the crew's exhilarated faces, it felt like he was close to becoming the subject of a mad scientist cackling over a new pet project.
"Hey let's all calm down here and stop with the crowding." Kanan said, breaking away from the group.
Kanan backed away from them until the back of his legs struck the sofa.
"I get that the heat is getting to all of you but-"
A green arm crossed Kanan's vision wrapping around his torso.
"Hera what! gwark!" Kanan managed to squawk before he was yanked to join Hera on the sofa.
When Kanan got to grips with his new situation he realized he was pinned between Hera and the back of the sofa.
"Hera!" Kanan exclaimed.
"Mmmm. Cold." Was the only reply Hera murmured drowsily as she snuggled closer, her deeper breathing signifying that she was falling asleep.
"Guys!" Kanan hissed quietly, not wanting to disturb Hera. "Get me out of here."
The crew looked at Kanan, then at each other where a silent acknowledgement passed and then back to Kanan with grins on their faces.
"Looks like Hera made a claim first." Sabine said with a smirk. "I'll leave you in peace, thanks to that brief relief I'm feeling a lot better and I've got some ideas involving seals to mimic that effect."
And with a smirk still on her face Sabine left the room.
"Sabine!" Kanan hissed in mild annoyance. "Zeb! Help me untangle Hera."
"No can do laserbrain." Zeb said with a grin. His face turned serious. "The heat has affected her the worst, this is the most relaxed and content I've seen Hera look all day, I'm not spoiling that for her. Me and Chopper can continue our game in the cockpit."
:TRUE, LET'S GO.: Chopper whistled.
"Besides," Zeb's face sported a grin again as he and Chopper left the room. "You're both old enough to be trusted without a chaperone."
"Zeb!" Kanan hissed, but more in resignation than anger. Kanan turned to the last standing member of the Spectres in the room. "Et tu Ezra?"
"I suppose so." Ezra agreed nonchalantly. "Zeb is right though, Hera really hasn't been coping well with this weather. I will admit that I was starting to consider a raid on the Imperials, despite our need for secrecy, for any air-conditioning equipment they had. This works out just as well, so just treat it as if you were looking after a sick friend and be there for them. And don't worry about any of us messing around with you, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone."
And with those parting words, Ezra exited the room smiling.
Kanan groaned slightly and silently swore that he'd get revenge on all of them later. He glanced down at his sleeping jailer, despite Hera's sleeping face being relaxed and peaceful he could distinguish the fading signs of heat stress and flushed skin. Kanan gave her a gentle smile and shifted slightly to gain a more comfortably position on the sofa, closing his eyes in mediation. The things he did for his friends, Kanan mused whimsical as he settled in for the long haul.
[ - - - ]
The blurred ceiling of the lounge appeared as Hera tiredly opened her eyes. For a while she stayed motionless, just laying there staring at the ceiling. She felt very mellow, her current position felt quite comfortable and cool after the searing heat from earlier. After a few minutes, despite not wanting to move, she decided it was time to get up. Blinking a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes she tried to sit up but was prevented when she felt something holding her in place and heard a low grumble. Tilting her head slightly she realized that Kanan was asleep on the sofa with her and it was his arm preventing her movement. Looking at Kanan confused, her memories hazy over why they were even like this, Hera heard a slight cough. Twisting her head the other way she saw Sabine sitting on a stool nearby.
"Good evening." Sabine said quietly, raising a eyebrow in amusement. "I assume you had a nice sleep."
Hera's blush wasn't helped that at that particular moment Kanan decided to shift in his sleep hugging her closer.
"Here..." Sabine whispered, moving slowly to help Hera extricate herself without waking Kanan.
Once freedom had been achieved Sabine gave Hera a silent indication that they should vacate the room which Hera agreed to with a nod. Both them were silent until they reached the shelter of Hera's room where Sabine filled Hera in on the days happenings. By the time Sabine was finished Hera had picked up a blush again.
"So I really..." Hera asked Sabine, sitting beside her on the bunk.
"Yep!" Sabine exclaimed, resounding the final consonant with a smirk. "You were so affected by the heat that you used Kanan as a your own personal cooler. Oh and speaking of the heat, catch!" Sabine gently tossed a pendant over Hera. Hera caught it and studied it closely, noting the seal engraved on the metal, a seal that was slowly starting to glow. "I rigged up a seal to deal with the heat, that's yours." Sabine explained. "It slowly absorbs the ambient heat from the surroundings and converts it to light. Had to include the conversion or the heat would eventually end up burning through the seal and the person wearing it."
"Thanks." Hera said gratefully placing the pendant around her neck.
"You know, once I had the first prototype finished and was able to think outside the oppressive heat I got to thinking of other ways to stave off the heat." Sabine looked at Hera questionably. "And that made me wonder, why didn't you use a cooling charm?"
As Sabine's implication crossed Hera's mind and the resulting realization that she already had a method of staving off the heat, Hera buried her face in her hands, her face burning red as the blush that had slowly retreated returned with reinforcements. Of course she could have used a spell to help her with the heat wave, the cooling charm was a required second year spell at Hogwarts, there was even a freezing charm taught in third year. In fact to Hera's growing embarrassment she considered that there were a whole branch of Weather-Modifying charms, at worst she could have used aguamenti to soak herself with water reducing her temperature that way. The whole situation with Kanan could have been avoided.
"It completely slipped my mind. I forgot." Hera admitted peeking through her hands.
Sabine giggled at Hera's plaintive expression. Sabine leaned in closer.
"So now that it is just us girls. How was it? Spending the day wrapped in Kanan's arms? Give a girl some details."
Hera's unAwake self had had fun teasing Sabine about her growing crush on Ezra, Sabine thought it quite justified in return for her to tease Hera about sharing a couch with Kanan.
Hera's shocked gasp "Sabine!" was clearly audible out in the corridor as was Sabine's laughter at Hera's face.
33.6 Musical Mayhem (numair2304)
Yoyo groaned as he worked at this desk, it seemed this loop someone Awake was really annoyed with the Empire. A short time after he'd Awoken the broadcast system had been subverted and now music was playing nonstop throughout the Imperial complex.
It wasn't just the same song played on a continuous loop, no that would be too simple instead each individual room and connecting hallways had its own personal soundtrack. If a person adapted and managed to treat the constant music as background changing rooms brought it all back to the forefront of their perception with the change of music.
The patrols tried to keep their composure as they walked their beat.
"When der Führer says, 'Ve ist der master race'. Ve HEIL! Th-hhhh! HEIL! Th-hhhh! right in der Führer's face-"
In the main canteen Stormtroopers and other off duty Imperial personal tried to eat.
"Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly. Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat-"
In the adjoining kitchen the busy staff couldn't help wondering why they were being subjected to their particular song, they weren't even serving seafood.
"Are you ready, kids? I said, are you ready? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants. Absorbent and yellow and porous is he. Spongebob Squarepants-"
Throughout The Academy for Young Imperials various songs were playing their own mesages.
"Rule number one, is that you gotta have fun. But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run. Rule number two, just don't get attached to, somebody you could lose-"
"Hey! We are Number One. Hey! We are Number One. Now listen closely. Here's a little lesson in trickery. This is going down in history. If you wanna be a Villain Number One. You have to chase a superhero on the run-"
"Yeah yeah, do the Beep Beep-Chicken. Yeah yeah, with the Yodel-Champ-"
"I must've dreamed a thousand dreams, been haunted by a million screams, but I can hear the marching feet, they're moving into the street-"
The hangers bays were the only place without vocals instead a strain of keyboard music repeated over and over again. The mechanics and work crews were inclined to believe it was related to the graffiti spray painted over the walls showing a cat at a keyboard.
And all of that were some of the gentler ones.
Some of the local squads had been posted on permanent assignment to outlying areas and their barracks sealed off when the songs they were being subjected to left them on the cusp of breaking down.
"Sunday is gloomy. My hours are slumberless. Dearest the shadows. I live with are numberless. Little white flowers will never awaken you, not where the black-"
"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. Life in plastic, it's fantastic. You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere. Imagination, life is your creation-"
Even Yoyo's office wasn't safe from the musical onslaught.
"Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan-"
Yoyo groaned again as the musical meme penetrated the ear plugs and cotton wool stuffed in his ears, and the ear muffs placed atop of them. Enough was enough, Yoyo understood that there were good reasons to attack the Empire but getting caught in the crossfire wasn't fun at all. He'd been suffering this for over seven hours now. It was time to take action.
Yoyo'd: Whoever's doing this I understand wanting to prank the empire but don't forget about friendly fire.
Yoyo'd: I am quite happy to retaliate if this keeps up for much longer.
AllHailMe: Yoyo? You're Awake? Sorry I thought it was just me and boss.
There was a burst of static and Yoyo's office was filled with blessed silence. Removing his ear guards he resumed typing.
Yoyo'd: Loki, is that you? Where's Ezra?
AllHailMe: Boss told me to have fun, he was having a vacation. My orders were irritate the Imperials and aid the Rebels.
Yoyo'd Could you tone it down somewhat? I mean some of these people don't deserve this.
Yoyo'd: I've had to assign some with a suicide watch after what they were subjected to.
Yoyo'd: Where do you even find this stuff?
AllHailMe: The internet is a scary place.
33.7 The Ravine (numari2304)
Ezra reached into the ravine's depths, connecting with the mind residing there.
The Inquisitor stared at the small creature that appeared with a can in its paws. The red squirrel took a sip of the energy drink, twitching and shaking as the drink took effect.
Hammy felt his mind open as time slowed to a crawl leaving him happily ambling amongst the living statues. The small human had offered him a bag of cookies in exchange for pranks on everyone else bar himself and the brown haired human. Hammy did like a cookie.
"I get a cookie." Hammy exclaimed cheerfully as he got to work,
[ - - - ]
The Inquisitor stared at the three padawans standing at the back of the cavern. With a hiss, three lightsabers lit up in unison. The Inquisitor found himself facing three glowing blades, one blue, one green and one... red?
"Alvin!" The green one hissed. "The bad guys here are the ones who have red lightsabers." Indicating towards the Inquisitor's red glowing blade with a wave.
"I don't care, red is my colour. I not letting any individual or organisation tell me different." The labelled Alvin announced with no reservations. "If the local villains run with red than it just means they have some decent fashion sense." He studied the Inquisitors outfit with distaste. "Though apparently with blades not clothing."
The blue one pushed his glasses up with a free hand.
"It is at times more relaxing to conform to the rules and trends of certain loops in order to avoid confrontations with authority figures. Theoretically I would agree it doesn't make sense to judge a beings alignment based on their colour scheme since that should be about personal choice rather than long term goals. If such a judgment was true then Theodore would be aligned with evil during a term with Hogwarts—"
"I don't know why liking green automatically makes me a bad person there." A disgruntled Theodore muttered loudly.
"See! Just because it's believed by the majority doesn't make it true." Alvin stated loudly, feeling justified. He would agree that sometimes the belief fit but that was more likely the idea of a broken clock being right occasionally, eventually something would line up right. "Though I will admit that the blue matches Simon there though, he's a perfect match for Ravenclaw."
The identified Simon coughed loudly drawing the other two's attention.
"As I was saying just because Theodore prefers green on his robes does not make him anything like the stereotype of what a Slytherin is considered to be instead he is one of the kindest people I know."
"Aw." Theodore murmured, his cheeks glowing slightly with embarrassment.
And if we continue to follow the colour wheel in a lot of worlds with my choice of blue I would be classified as a Chessmaster, a Manipulator, an Influencer; creating plans, moving people into positions for my goals, sacrificing unwitting pawns."
There was silence.
"What?" Simon asked his staring brothers.
"You're not are you?" Theodore asked, a slight worried warble in his voice.
"You're the usual winner of the chess championships at home." Alvin pointed out, studying Simon closely.
Simon sighed, massaging the top of the nose to try and stave off the incipient headache.
"Chess boards have set rules, people don't. And honestly," Simon turned to Alvin, "do you really believe I can predict whatever you might decide to do at times."
"You didn't really say yes or no." Alvin poked at Simon.
"I have much better things to do with my time then move a blockhead around." Simon sniffed.
"So you have considered the idea at least!" Alvin crowed in triumph.
"Alvin! Simon!" Theodore tugged at his brothers sleeves as they started to bicker.
The Inquisitor stared in disbelief at the quarrelling trio, well quarrelling duo with the third hesitantly trying to get them to stop. From being the focus of their attention he had been gradually ignored and now apparently dismissed from their minds completely as irrelevant.
[ - - - ]
The Inquisitor walked into the dimness of the cavern.
"¡Arriba, arriba! ¡Ándale, ándale!" Came a loud cry.
There was a blur of speed and the Inquisitor found himself and his accompanying squad of stormtroopers trussed up with ropes. Unable to balance themselves, they all slowly toppled over with a crash.
"They don't make 'em like they used to." A voice crowed with enthusiasm.
"Show yourself." The Inquisitor snarled, struggling against his bindings. His eyes and senses darted about trying to track their captor but unable to find anyone.
"Excusa! Esta too mucho rapido for the eyes to follow? I'll show you in el slow motiono."
There was another blur and standing before the Inquisitor's eyes was a small mouse wearing a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief around its neck.
"Us good guys always win." Speedy Gonzales gave a victorious grin.
[ - - - ]
"So Ratatoskr, you're a courier for Yggdrasil's Admins." Erza asked the large horned squirrel to see if he understood it right.
"Yep. Sorry about falling into your loop I was trying a new shortcut and must of got turned around somewhere." Ratatoskr replied, scratching his head in an embarrassed fashion. Tripping while running and crashing into the man waving the red light around hadn't been the best of first meetings but apparently the man was one of the local villains so it had worked out well. The red light had tickled a bit when the man had tried to hit him with it.
"Why do the Admins need a courier service?" Kanan asked, his mind trying to escape the fact that a lightsaber had bounced off the squirrels fur like it was water.
"After the first crash and the resulting mess; all the extra work and problem reports mean that it turns out to be quicker for me to physical run a message than for someone to find an urgent message amongst all the clutter on the network. It makes a nice change to my usual gig. My previous occupation was passing along insults between the dragon Níðhöggr and the eagle Veðrfölnir ."Ratatoskr was happy to explain in detail. Not many took an interest in his work, it was nice to talk about his job and what it entailed.
After hearing the explanation Ezra asked with some fatalistic trepidation.
"And how much of your current workload is carting around insults between the various Admins."
Ratatokr's cheerful answer of about half of it was accepted with forlorn resignation by the two loopers.
[ - - - ]
Ezra stood alone at the edge of the ravine facing down the Inquisitor. Suddenly the cavern was lit up as a white light formed closed to the ceiling.
"Look! It's beautiful Rizzo!" A voice yelled exultantly.
"Mommy!" A different voice screamed wildly.
There was a brief flash as the light's intensity increased only for it to then disappear completely as two figures appeared out of thin air in its place and fell to floor in a pile.
The cavern's occupants, eyes blinking from the flare, saw that the two strangers appeared to be one large rat and one blue thing? No one really recognised what species the blue one was supposed to. Well the stormtroopers and Inquisitor didn't recognise the species. Kanan and Ezra recognised them both though.
Rizzo the Rat and Gonzo the Great, both dressed for the Hub's 1840s. Gonzo wearing a fancy frock coat and a whole lot of pattern-mixing; striped socks, chequer pants, plaid waist and different chequer pattern on his tie. Rizzo wearing a brown coat, chequer waistcoat and striped cravat. And both with a top hat.
Groaning Rizzo rose to his feet and looked around at his surroundings. He shook himself and then spoke sarcastically to his companion.
"Um... correct me if I'm wrong Mr Dickens but I'm pretty sure that Scrooge's childhood didn't happen in a cave alongside people with glowing swords."
"Rizzo." Gonzo grumbled, rising to his own feet.
"Don't you Rizzo me. Hold on you said and I did, it was you who let go of the rope. One moment we're heading to Scrooge's past, the next we're freewheeling through time. I knew that we should have had a doctor look at you after you hit yourself with the hook but oh no you said, I'm fine, nothing wrong with me. Should have realised it was the concussion talking. So what now Mr Godlike Smarty-Pants!"
"I got nothing." Gonzo said with a shrug, Rizzo huffed.
"I thought you were omniscient, that you knew everything!" Rizzo complained.
"For where and when we were. I'm the storyteller for Christmas Carol not whatever we are now. I don't have a script." Gonzo explained to his irritated friend.
"So we're offscript right now?"
"Yeah, fun right! We're playing it by ear." Gonzo exclaimed in an excited voice.
"And you're just cock-a-hoop about it, aren't you." Rizzo sighed, accepting his friends positive outlook as the norm. "So Mr Storyteller even if you don't know the story can you at least analyse what's going on in this scene. Some of these people don't seem friendly."
"All right then." Gonzo agreed cheerfully. "Cast appears to be split between two sides, the similar uniforms on one side suggesting a military structure. Judging from the aggressive tension involved, the current scene is s standoff between an protagonist and antagonist, probably resulting in an development of character or acquisition of new skills. Maybe with repercussions."
"It's strange." Gonzo mused out loud as he scratched his head. Something about this sparked a memory of his. The swords and the white uniform the soldiers, he felt he should know them from somewhere. "Something about this feels familiar. I feel I should know more about the setting. Those weapons and the uniforms seem familiar."
Ezra shared a look with Kanan. No reaction to pings, neither of the muppets was Awake apparently. The sheer randomness of what was occurring had made the Inquisitor and the stormtroopers halt in their actions for now but that wouldn't last long, especially if Gonzo kept talking.
Gonzo focused on the glowing swords. They were something he knew but where from? What were they called again. Lightblade? No that wasn't it. Lightsword, No again. Lightsaber... the memory clicked, he remembered where he knew them from. Luke and his cousin Mark Hamill had them when he performed with them on the Show. He'd gotten his own snazy one when he'd played Dearth Nadir.
Ezra shifted position slightly ready to react to any change. The uneasy tension would be broken the moment someone asked any awkward questions.
"Does the name Luke Skywalker mean anything to anybody?" Gonzo asked everyone.
Like that for example, Ezra thought. From how the Inquisitor stiffened at that question it seemed he recognised Vader's family name.
|Time to clear the room.| Ezra sent to Kanan.
|Agreed.| Kanan replied.
Between them they grabbed all the Imperial Forces in the cavern, stunning the Inquisitor for good measure and threw them out of the entrance. Kanan guarded the entrance while Ezra went to introduce himself.
"Hi sorry about that bit of unpleasantness but that name isn't one you should spread around at the moment. I'm Ezra, my teacher over there is Kanan." Ezra said. Holding a hand out, he received Gonzo's in turn and shook it.
"How do you do? My name is Mr Charles Dickens, a brother of the quill." Gonzo introduced himself with a flourish, taking the recent chaos in stride.
"And I'm Rizzo. By the way his real name's Gonzo, he's really in to method acting." Rizzo said, indicating his companion. A bit nervous about the violence that had just occurred but absorbing the fact that they had only been offered friendliness from Ezra and Kanan so far.
"Could you perchance give us directions to the city of London." Gonzo asked Ezra.
"Yeah about that. At the moment you're at the outer rim of the galaxy. Not only that I think you might be in a different galaxy than you were last in."
"Oh great." Rizzo said turning to Gonzo. "We're supposed to be a long time ago, not in a galaxy far far away."
"I think you're both." Ezra unhelpfully offered up.
[ - - - ]
Ezra reached into the ravine's depths, connecting with the mind... the minds residing there.
The Inquisitor gave a large yell of rage and confusion as he and his forces were swarmed by a flood of bushy tailed critters.
"Squirrels." Kanan pronounced the single word in a dull tone.
The squad of stormtroopers led by the Grand Inquisitor had disappeared under the mass scurry of squirrels with only the occasional glimpse of white and black armour appearing beneath the twisting, shifting furry bodies.
"Squirrels."Ezra agreed in the same tone. Idly he wondered what would be recorded in the Empire's report about this incident before they tried to bury it.
Kanan and Ezra stood at the Phantom's open door watching the scene of the Empire's most recent defeat. Their eyes shifted for a moment as a group of squirrels broke away dragging away the Inquisitor's lightsaber before returning to the main scuffle.
"Why is it squirrels again?" Kanan rhetorically asked the world at general.
"Maybe Yggdrasil has some nuts loose?" Ezra replied.
Kanan reached across and cuffed Ezra on the back of the head
"Ow!"
[ - - - ]
"Kanan."
"Ezra."
"Have you noticed how..."
"How our last few encounters at this location have been shall we say rodent themed." Kanan filled in the rest of the sentence.
"Yeah."
There was silence for a while and then Ezra sighed.
"Let's see how this time plays out." Ezra said walking through the cave's entrance.
Later as they relaxed on the Ghost the duo considered their latest encounter.
"So not a rodent this time." Kanan was the first to start.
"No," Ezra agreed, "close but this time it was a mole."
"Breaking the rodent theme perhaps." Kanan edged.
"A mole, called Moley, looking for his friend Ratty, who happens to be a water rat." Ezra expanded.
Kanan considered that.
"So does this one count?" Kanan asked unsure.
"I dunno." Ezra replied.
33.1: Took a long time to get this written. Still not sure whether I got it right.
qa' wlje'meHmaSuv!" We fight to enrich the spirit!
nltebQobqaDjup 'e' chaw'be' Suvml' A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone!
33.2: Nice little sketch by Scoddri.
Scoddri: 'Based off a typo in an earlier loop, listing the Inquisitor as the Inquisition.'
33.3: The WhiteBoard is a great webcomic, who's cast of characters whose antics rival some loopers. Ever since Ezra's and Sabine's first paintball game I've wanted them to end up in this world.
33.4: Maybe the start of a new running gag loops
33.5: At the moment of writing this it feels ridiculously hot where I am.
33.6: Do you know I found it hard to choose music for this. I don't really find any music annoying for some reason, so I looked up lists of people's suggestions of annoying or depressing music.