Disclaimer: All Disney works are the property of The Walt Disney Company. All other characters and settings are the property of their respective legal owners.
Author's note: Originally posted by Anon e Mouse Jr. on 2018-01-27. This is the first of two chapters posted today.
Disney/Kingdom Hearts Loops, Chapter Thirty
30.1 (Anon e Mouse Jr.): [Cars]
Lightning McQueen looked around, and mentally sighed. Great. The courtroom again.
He always hated it when he Awoke too late to keep from tearing up the main road through Radiator Springs. Getting arrested was not fun, especially after the... how many times had it happened to him? Ah well, he had a plan for it this Loop.
"Pssst," Mater whispered. "Lightning'? You Awake in there?"
"And well-Anchored as long as you're here," Lightning assured him.
Mater grinned. "So what's the plan this time?"
"Ahem."
The pair looked up to see Sheriff eying them, then cleared his throat. "All rise! The Honorable Doc Hudson presiding."
Lightning looked up as Doc Hudson entered the courtroom and began his usual speech. Once he'd finished (and ordered Sheriff to have Lightning thrown out of town), Lightning cleared his own throat. "Um, sir? I'd like to speak in my own defense for a moment. Please?"
Doc glared at him. "You have two minutes."
"Thank you, sir." Lightning looked around. "First off, I'm pleading guilty to accidental destruction of city property."
There were a series of murmurs throughout the courtroom.
"Second... I am very, very sorry for what happened last night." Lightning paused. "I was lost, I was already nervous, I could barely see a thing since I don't have headlights due to not being designed for normal roads, and when I heard what sounded like someone shooting at me-" (and here he heard Sheriff exclaiming "Shooting at you?!"), "I panicked. I know now that it was just your sheriff's engine backfiring, but it scared me out of my wits. The end result was the destruction of your main road and some other city property, and I take full responsibility for it. I'll gladly pay to have it repaved, or even do the work myself, if you want." He looked at Doc. "That's all, your honor."
Doc Hudson looked at him, a curious expression on his face. "Well now. Never thought I'd see the day a racecar admitted he was at fault for something bad, or was willing to do something serious to make up for a mistake. Tell you what, Mister... whoever. I'll take your deal. Fix our road, and I'll clear this incident from your police record. That sound fair?"
"Yes, sir." Lightning nodded.
"Good. Then get out there. Sheriff? Hook him up to Bessie so he can get started."
"Right away, sir."
As Lightning left the courtroom with Mater right behind him, he noticed a light blue Porsche standing by the door, staring at him with her mouth open in surprise, and inwardly smiled. Oh, Sally, my love... I can't wait for you to join us.
30.2 (kingofsouls): [Frozen]
When Anna saw Kristoff reach into his Subspace Pocket and reveal a small squirt bottle, she knew that she had done messed up. "Come on Kristoff, it can't be that bad, can it?"
"Anna, I don't care if thermodynamics say it can be done, you are not going to convince Elsa - Awake or otherwise - to learn how to reverse her ice powers and shoot out fire instead."
"But you know how useful fire is? Especially against certain individuals from say, I dunno, the Southern Isles?"
Kristoff responded with many well aimed squirts of the water bottle.
30.3 (Duckapus): [Phineas and Ferb] / [My Little Pony - no confirmed Loopers]
Phineas took off his futuristic gladiator helmet and looked over at Ferb.
"Looks like we can cross Antigravity Chariots off our list. I wonder how the track's gonna disappear."
As if summoned, a masked equine figure in a purple cape and stylish hat flew past, casting some kind of spell on the floating racetrack. Both it and the hooved enigma vanished in a flash of light.
In the end, Ferb had only one thing to say; "That was one Mysterious Horse."
30.4 (Masterweaver): [Finding Nemo]
Intellectually, Marlin knew that Coral would only be around for a year or so. Nemo had explained the loops, and the concept of variants.
But emotionally, he couldn't distance himself from her. He'd doted on her, ever since the loop began. Nemo had mock-gagged, but willingly moved to sleep with Dory so Marlin could indulge himself. It had been going well.
Then Coral, for some reason, declared she wanted a pet llama. And Marlin had, without really thinking, agreed to get one for her.
Which had somehow resulted in all of them being separated in what Nemo had identified as a 'water park.' On the one hand it was easy to navigate, but on the other he'd warned that they couldn't let the humans see them.
So now, Marlin was hiding under some sort of water-jet tower, looking out of the water to a llama standing on top of a tower connected to a complex collection of slides, and wondering if Coral and Nemo were both still in the wave pool.
"...You know," he mused, "at this point, I really shouldn't even be surprised."
30.5 (Purrs): [Mary Poppins]
Wind's in the east, there's a mist coming in
Like something is brewin' and 'bout to begin
Can't put my finger on what lies in store
But I feel what's to 'appen all 'appened before...*
"We won't forget you, Mary Poppins," Jane whispered to the stars.
"We'll never forget," Michael promised.
Then.
"Hurry up, Jane! Let's run!" Michael urged.
Quite to the contrary, she stumbled to a stop. Why was it daytime—why were they in the street and not the park—where had their parents gone?
"Come back here, you little blighters! You've got to do your lessons," scolded Katie Nanna.
Katie Nanna? Realizing just when she was, Jane turned her head over her shoulder to stick out her tongue at the sour old nanny, then ran after Michael. "What are we doing here?" she complained. "Mary Poppins left. She wouldn't just do this to be mean. She thought we don't need her anymore!"
"Who's Mary Poppins?" Michael asked.
"Who—you just said you wouldn't forget her, ever, and now look at you!" She gaped. "Oh, no."
Jane had barely managed to hold herself in during the interview, such as it was, but all bets were off once Mary Poppins was alone with the two of them in the nursery.
"Very tidy, I must say. Tidier than I was expecting. Who's responsible for that? Jane, I thought I told you not to stare."
"I can stare if I bloody well want to, Mary Poppins!" she snapped, balling her fists. "Why'd you do it?"
"Language," Mary Poppins reminded. "What, pray tell, did I do? I haven't been here for hardly ten minutes yet."
"You said you'd leave when the chain breaks. The chain broke, didn't it? I'd be glad you stayed except what was even the point of fixing everything if you were just going to undo it all?"
"What are you talking about?" Michael wrinkled his nose.
"Exactly!"
Mary Poppins tsked. "I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, although frankly I am not surprised."
Jane frowned. "Why not?"
"I'd be quite disappointed in myself if I thought such a petulant girl was satisfactory."
"I am not—"
But Mary Poppins was already pulling out her tape measure and holding it up to Jane. "Petulant, just as I thought, and short-tempered to boot."
Jane sighed, half-annoyed, half-happy. Whatever this was wasn't Mary Poppins' fault, at least. And who was she to complain, with Mary Poppins back in the house? "Better than last time, at least."
"Now you, Michael."
"I know this one," she said with confidence. "'A noisy, mischievous, troublesome little boy.'"
Mary Poppins hummed, laid her measure against Michael, and nodded. "Quite right, Jane."
Michael screwed up his face and crossed his arms. "You're making that up."
"In that, as in so many things," Jane said loftily, "your information is faulty."
Mary Poppins laughed at that. "You certainly have been spending time with me, it seems."
"Can we go see Bert? In the park with Neleus and Queen Victoria and all the statues?"
"If you're good. That shouldn't be a problem for you, miss time traveler."
"Oh, no, it won't. Now do tell us your measurement, won't you, Mary Poppins?"
She smiled pleasantly. "I'm practically perfect in every way."
"Practically perfect!" Jane sang.
"So people say..."
Jane just could not be more excited for another month of magic. Hopefully she could keep Mary Poppins from leaving this time, even.
30.6 (Purrs): [Mary Poppins]
"Mary, don't stare. And Michael, close your mouth. We are not a cod—" Jane Poppins reoriented herself and nearly squealed with glee. "We are not a codfish. Up to the nursery, children." She practically flew up the stairs. Once Mary and Michael joined her, she fixed them with a smug look and launched into song. "I'm practically perfect in every way."
"Practically perfect?" Mary repeated.
Jane snapped her fingers, grinning like nothing else. The nursery straightened itself to the tidiest it had ever been, glasses full of colorful medicine or whatever it was appeared in front of each of them, and a whole plateful of gingerbread stars came into being in her hand. "Wouldn't you say?
Each virtue virtually knows no bound.
Each treat is great and patently sound!"
She took a big swallow from her glass. Mmmmm, Lime Cordial.
30.7 (Purrs): [Mary Poppins]
How do you learn to talk dog?
How do you think? Master the grammar—
Practice when you can—
And avoid mongrels.
Far too much slang.
"Rruff!"
"Good. How was yours?"
"Growf."
"That's too bad. Don't worry, though, I'm sure you'll find her soon."
"Aroof?"
"Of course! Just let me know—what's so funny?"
Jane snickered. "Michael, I don't know what you thought you were talking about, but there is no way you understood that conversation. Willoughby was just chatting about the weather, silly. Go practice some more."
"Twitter~"
She looked up at the lark perched on her head. "Exactly my point! Now, what were you saying about environmental policy?"
30.8 (Purrs) & (BIOS-Pherecydes): [Mary Poppins] / [RWBY]
The winds may blow, but who's to know
Exactly what it's bringing
Good news or bad, happy or sad
The pendulum keeps swinging
"Stand over there," Mary Poppins directed. The two children shared a glance, then warily obeyed. She pulled a measuring tape from her bag and held it against the elder. She glanced at the measurement, stiffened marginally, and read it again. "Now you," she directed, and ran the tape along the younger. Snapping the tape closed without saying a word, she bent down to the girls' eye level. "I have the feeling that 'practically perfect' isn't a feasible goal in the time we have together, is it?"
Ruby Banks grimaced. "No."
"Perhaps not," she said, straightening, "but remember, Ruby: anything can happen if you let it."
"Come on, you two!" Bert called, but as he and Mary Poppins pranced faster, Yang and Ruby didn't; the children were soon on their own in the park.
"Boring, where's all the excitement? Epic quests and fast paced fights. All these nature scenes are nice, yet We want more than just pretty sights," the two complained.
"Too young," Yang sighed, "that's what they keep saying."
"Can't fight or train or party late," Ruby agreed.
"There's nothing here to see."
"No sweets to eat
Our friends aren't with us"
They returned to unison. "And we both agree
There is nothing to excite us in—"
An unnerving creak sounded from behind them. On instinct, Ruby whipped out Crescent Rose and neatly decapitated the figure behind her.
"Neleus!" Bert dashed over and cradled the severed head in his hands. "Neleus, speak to me!"
"It doesn't even hurt," Neleus pointed out, "I'm a statue." His body folded its arms over his carven toga. "Not that that makes it better, of course."
"I thought you were stone dead." Bert exaggeratedly dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "Agate all weepy just thinkin' about it."
Mary Poppins strode over. "Now what is—oh. One moment." She poised her fingers to snap, but Bert cut in.
"Hold on a bit, Mary." He held Neleus' head close and whispered something.
A grin spread across the stone boy's face. "Toss me back, will yooooouuuu thanks," he said, catching his head. He tucked it under his arm. "Look, all I need is a horse!"
"Well, if you're happy like that," Mary Poppins allowed, and turned to the children. "Now put that weapon away and be polite with the statues."
"You're not going to—"
"Go on. Spit-spot!"
"This plinth is half empty!" the park keeper declared. "One of the statues is missing!"
Bert spun him around to face the other direction.
"Do you mean you've lost your marbles?" Mary Poppins inquired.
"This is your fault, ain't it?" he accused, while behind him Neleus leapt back into place. "I knew we should have trouble when you first arrived! And now we've got—" He turned to gesture again at the statue which, he discovered, was no longer missing. While he stood there, taken aback, Neleus' head started sliding off, and the statue hastily adjusted it before returning to his pose. "Oh, Lummy!" the park keeper muttered, and stormed off.
Mary Poppins looked over the two children who were not exactly children. "Yang, Ruby, why don't we go to Mrs. Corry's talking shop? She sells conversations and the most delicious gingerbread stars."
Ruby smiled hesitantly. "I do like cookies."
A game is played, a change is made
But still the road is long
And though they might yet fly a kite
Sometimes the wind's too strong...
30.9 (Purrs): [Mary Poppins] / [Peter Pan]
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly...
Jane and Michael looked at each other, then at their sister Wendy, currently sound asleep, then back at each other. They'd tried to send Mary Poppins a letter by chimney but it hadn't gone up, so either she just wasn't there at all or she didn't want to come.
"Variant?" Michael suggested.
"Maybe." Jane shrugged. "I'm in the mood for a walk, how about you?"
"It's a bit late, isn't it? Mother and Father wouldn't—"
"So we don't go past them." She nodded at the window, beyond which lay a star-studded sky of deep blue-black.
He grinned. "Oh, that kind of walk. Of course."
Grabbing her brother's hand, she opened the window and led him forward with confidence. She turned to see Michael push the window closed with his foot. "Come on," she declared, and set forth. The darkness gave a little under her foot, like a cushion, but as long as she expected it to hold their weight, it would. It was bouncy, almost, if she let it, which she did. Their steps pattered faster and faster until they were running full speed across the night, laughing without abandon.
That was when they crashed headlong into someone else.
Jane stumbled back from the collision. Self-assurance faltered a moment in the face of the instinctual fear of falling, which unfortunately led to them doing just that. She reasserted her right to do as she pleased, and pulled Michael to his feet. "You're okay?" He nodded, and she frowned at the boy who was now several metres above them. "Look where you're going next time, will you?"
He ignored her comment and floated in circles around her brother and her. It was odd, the way he was drifting right through the same air that felt firm enough under her bare feet. (In hindsight, it might have been a better idea to put on shoes before leaving. They weren't technically needed, but the sky was cold this time of year. She was surprised the boy wasn't shivering, actually, considering he was wearing nothing warmer than dried leaves patched together with spiderwebs.) "Where'd you find pixie dust around here?" he asked.
"I didn't," Jane replied, and was about to continue when Michael beat her to it.
"What do you mean, pixie dust?"
"For flying, of course." Hovering upside down, the boy prodded Michael. "How are you doing it, then?"
Michael poked him right back. "I might ask the same of you."
He looped around them again, this time curving under their feet and ending up reclined above their heads. "You two look silly with your feet on nothing like that. Why don't you actually fly?"
"This way's more dignified," Jane justified, to avoid admitting she wasn't sure how to 'actually' fly.
The boy's face crinkled up, eyes narrowing, and he folded his arms. "You might as well say grown-up," he accused. The word fell from his lips with all the sentiment of some of the naughtiest words Mother and Father wouldn't let her say.
There was only one possible response. Jane stuck her tongue out at the boy, who laughed and responded in kind. Then he swept under them and attacked her feet with his fingers. "Aaaahaha!" she shrieked, and instinctively wriggle-kicked away from his touch. She tumbled free, catching glimpses of the boy moving on to Michael with a wicked slash of a grin. Eventually she got control of herself, but her feet were still free. Frowning, she waved her arms a bit to find that it was kind of like swimming now. "Huh."
"Huh," the boy echoed, cocking his head at the two of them. Michael was still spinning. "Didn't know that would happen. Neat."
Jane grinned. "We should keep an eye on you. You're tricky."
"Thanks!"
"That's my line," Michael protested with a mock-glare, having stabilized. He turned to the boy. "What's your name, then?"
"I'm Peter, and you?"
"We're Jane—"
"And Michael—"
"Banks," they said together, and giggled.
"Do you have any more tricks?" Michael asked.
Peter flew between them and pointed at a star. It twinkled on cue. "A whole island full of them," he bragged.
Jane and Michael shared a glance full of anticipation. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jane declared.
30.10 (Purrs): [Mary Poppins]
I'm practically perfect, and here's my aim:
By the time I leave here, you both will be the same
Mary Poppins held her tape measure up to Jane. "An untidy—"
"Here, Mrs. Brill, let me help you with that," Jane offered, bending down to pick up the pieces of the shattered vase.
"The heirloom's gone and broke, and what now?" the housekeeper mourned.
Mary Poppins sniffed the air. "Is that dinner cooking?"
"Oh, don't you start on that again." Mrs. Brill shot the nanny a glare. "I've opened the windows, and—"
"I was only going to say it smells wonderful."
Mrs. Brill threw up her hands with a huff and stormed into the kitchen. "The whole world's gone upside-down, that's 'what now' for you!"
As Jane tittered at the familiar exchange, a sparkle caught her eye. It was a gingerbread star, one of several shining from amidst the mess, and she grinned. Yes, yes, maybe these stars did help Daddy be nicer again when he found them, but that didn't mean she couldn't break off a piece for herself.
"—thieving—"
When Mrs. Corry handed Jane and Michael each a piece of gingerbread from her daughter Fannie's tray, the girl's mouth watered, but she held off on eating it. Michael, though, was quick to raise his to his mouth.
"Uh-uh," Mrs. Corry interrupted. "Georgie always saved his stars."
Michael reluctantly put the treat in the pocket of his coat, and Jane raised a finger. "Could I save one for him, too, then, besides mine?"
The oldest woman in the world grinned and handed over another cookie. "Well, aren't you a dear? Now, Mary Poppins, what can I do for..."
How much longer would it take, Jane wondered, to be older than Mrs. Corry? Each repeat lasted a month and a half, which made eight of them to a year. Mrs. Corry was... Jane wasn't sure about Vlad the Impaler or Alexander the Great, but she was pretty sure that William the Conqueror was alive something like nine hundred years ago. So if Mrs. Corry had talked to him, that made her at least that much. Nine hundred years was...a bit more than eight per year...seventy-two hundred repeats. Thousands. That...that was a lot. But they would end a long time before that, right? Of course they would. So Mrs. Corry could stay the oldest as long as she pleased.
"...Jane," Mary Poppins was saying. "Jane, pay attention."
"Sorry," she said.
"Now, you pick seven letters. Michael's already chosen his."
She reached into the jar, pulled them out, and looked them over. "I've got a D, G, R, U, C, L, and...and B." Oh. Oh no. She'd always gotten the I there before. How were you supposed to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious if you didn't have any I's? Maybe Mary Poppins would take it, and they could just swap the B for the—
"And I'll choose an X!" Mary Poppins announced. "Now, what words can we make?"
"We can use each letter more than once, right?"
"That's right, Jane. Good thinking."
Jane preened. Compliments from Mary Poppins were few and far between. Now if she could only find a word. "I see 'cat' and 'dog'," she offered.
"'Rautoplex'," Mrs. Corry suggested, because where did words come from if not people making them up? "That's nine."
"'Lapetoferous', that's eleven, nearly there," Bert chimed in.
She could just replace the I's with E's, couldn't she? That might work, and if she wedged in the B somewhere...
"Let me see..." Mary Poppins hummed. "Aster...cata...laborfecto...pseudogalact...era!"
Jane laughed—she should have known—and then her face fell in dismay. She was going to have to learn the letter dance all over again. Too fast... Her muscles ached already.
"—absentminded—"
Oh, was Mary Poppins really going to hold every little thing against her? Hadn't they all four of them been supposed to be good enough back at the end of the first time? Couldn't she just be done? Couldn't everything just be done?
It didn't even matter. She wasn't going to change anything anyway no matter what she did.
Willoughby scrambled up to her, panting. He barked.
Great, Miss Lark had run off again. Jane knew just where the woman was at this point in the repeat—as a matter of fact, she was coming this way even now, wringing her hands and looking about nervously. "I saw her go that way," Jane said, and threw Willoughby in the opposite direction.
"—mean-spirited—"
Guilt thrummed through her veins. What had she been thinking? Of course it all mattered. Maybe she didn't know why this was happening, but surely there was some reason, and she had to be better, else what was the point? Besides, she felt positively awful about the way Michael had reacted when she scowled at him at the beginning of the repeat.
Jane scuffed a shoe on the cobblestoned street and looked up.
"I want to feed the birds with Michael," she said.
"Then you, like Michael, should also save your sixpence," Mary Poppins replied, a smile on her face and another coin in her hand.
Jane held up the sixpence coin Mr. Northbrook had given her, then tucked it in a pocket. It was special. "Don't worry, I will, but you save yours too." She reached into a different pocket and pulled out a fistful of coins. It was something like half a crown all together, if she'd counted right earlier. "Here," she said to the bird woman, offering her hand. A few pence fell onto the street. "One bag, please."
The bird woman complied, stunned into silence at what she had received. She'd been selling the birdseed bags for only tuppence each, after all.
"Thank you!" Jane smiled widely at the woman and cast out a handful of seeds.
"What was that for?" Michael whispered.
"I just felt like it," she said, because it wouldn't do any good explaining.
"—secret-keeping—"
Jane frowned. What was—was it because she didn't mention the time thing? It was just that Mary was much the same whether or not she said anything, and Michael only got confused when she did. But then, she couldn't think of what else it could be.
After Mary Poppins had settled her furniture in the bedroom, Jane sat down on her bed with a bounce. "I've lived through this before," she announced, and Michael stared at her in a way that he'd never done the other times she mentioned it.
"You too?" he asked.
Jane gaped. "Wait, how many times—"
"I only went back this once. Does that mean you've—"
"So many, Michael. So many. At least fifty, I must be something like fifteen." She leaped up and ran to him, nearly bowling him over with the force of her hug. "And now I'm not alone."
"—inconsiderate little girl."
She bent to pick up her—no, he was his own doll—from where he lay on the floor. Fortunately his arm wasn't seriously ripped again yet, but the stitches from last time were coming loose. "Valentine, this would be easier if you were bigger, please." The doll remained immobile, and Jane grinned sheepishly. "Oh, you want some privacy, don't you? Here, I'll put you back in your house," she said, doing just that.
Soon enough, Valentine came crawling out of the now-quite-small-for-him dollhouse and turned his back to Jane. "There's also the seam along my other arm, if you would be so kind. It feels like my stuffing is due to come out any moment."
"Of course," Jane agreed, and slid her needle through the cloth of his shoulder. "Just tell me if there's anything else."
Valentine kept facing away from her, because turning his head would tug at the stitches, but she could hear his usual wide smile as he replied. "Thank you, Jane."
Jane craned to read the tape measure stretched down Michael, but before she could make the words out, Mary Poppins snapped it closed and stood. "Now you, Jane."
She obediently held the end by her head as Mary Poppins brought the tape down to her feet. Then the nanny closed the tape again and took a step back, looking the children up and down. "Well," she said, "it appears that we match."
"What?" Michael blinked.
"Practically perfect, the three of us." Mary Poppins strode to her hatstand, plucked off her flowered black hat, and replaced it on her head. "It appears I'm not needed here. Good luck, you two."
The children, dumbfounded, watched as she returned the hatstand to her magic bag. Lifting the bag and her bird-handled umbrella, she walked to the door. The clicking of her heels was the only noise in an awful silence.
"Wait," Michael burst out. "Don't leave us."
"We want you to stay," Jane pleaded.
Mary Poppins didn't even turn her head to look at them. "Jane, you must know that you don't need me, and that other families will. Goodbye, children." She left the room. If they tried to go after her now, they knew, they wouldn't even find her in the house.
"We could misbehave on purpose this time around," Michael suggested after a pause.
Jane shook her head. "It wouldn't work. We wouldn't mean it. She'd know. She knew what I said when she left us, so she'd know this, too."
"How does she know so much?" he mused. "Do you think she's stuck in this time thing too, or what?"
She shrugged. "We could go ask her. She's probably with Bert right now, saying hello before she leaves."
"We wouldn't get any answers, though. She never explains anything. She's never done it, and she said so herself."
"Right." Jane sighed. "Do you think we'll ever see her again?"
"How would I know?" Michael moved to the window and peered out into the city. "But there's still Bert, and the statues, and Mrs. Corry and her shop, and the Bird Woman and Mr. Northbrook, and the chimney sweeps, and the toys."
"And Miss Andrew." Jane made a face.
Michael shuddered. "And Miss Andrew."
She walked over to stand next to him and watched a carriage make its way down the street. "And our family."
He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed right back.
30.11 (Harry Leferts): [Zootopia]
Having Woken up early, Nick had sent out a Ping and gotten a large number of quick ones in return which had staggered him. Pulling out his phone, he quickly tapped a message to Judy with a frown having gotten used to her number after so long. 'Hey, Carrots, looks like we might have a number of loopers.'
Moments later though, he got back a message that caused him to blink. 'No, that was me! Nick... do... do you know that coffee shop on Fourth?'
Just raising an eyebrow as he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut, Nick thought for a moment and remembered that this was the day Judy was given to acquaint herself somewhat in regards to the city. 'The one with that carrot cake you love? Yeah, what about it?'
It went without saying that the reply caused Nick to really become concerned. 'YES! That one, go there to the back room and I'll meet you... I... I really need to see you...'
Frowning, Nick put away his phone and ran his mind through the various ways to get to the coffee shop. "What happened, Carrots?"
When he reached the coffee shop, Nick pulled out some money (one of the reasons he was thankful for having a Pocket) and got himself a coffee and a slice of blueberry pie before he made his way into the back area. A back area that was strangely empty except for Judy who was staring ahead from where she sat with a shaken expression on her face. That, more then anything, told Nick that something horrible had happened as even that odd variant where predators had shock collars hadn't shaken her up this much. "Carrots?"
Nick winced and could have sworn that Judy's neck cracked from how fast her head whipped around. "Nick?" Upon seeing him, her eyes widened and she began to tremble as tears built up. As Judy leapt from her seat, Nick quickly set his coffee and pie aside and just managed it before she grabbed him in a hug. "NICK!"
Feeling his ribs creak a bit under the pressure, Nick tried not to grimace as he patted his friend on the head. "Hey, Carrots. I know that I'm good looking and that you missed me, but..." It was then that he noticed that Judy had barely reacted to what he said as she buried her face in his chest. But what really showed that something was wrong was how he could feel wetness soaking into his shirt. 'She's... crying? But she never...' Gently, he guided her back over to the booth she was using, though he was surprised that instead of sitting on the side she had, Judy picked to be on the same side as him so she could continue to hug him. "Now... what happened, Judy?"
A shuddering breath escaped from Judy as she gulped and pulled her now cold coffee over before staring into it. "I... it was bad, Nick. Really bad. It was some sort of strange variant where things did become violent and I got hurt."
Unseen by Judy, there was a stormy expression on Nick's face as he clenched his paw. "How badly."
Still looking into her coffee, Judy sighed. "Bad, as in I was hemorrhaging a lot of blood and was wounded enough that I couldn't be moved much. The worst part was that we were trapped in a warehouse with the sheep and they were looking for us. At one point, they shouted out that if you left me behind along with serum and antidote that they would let you go."
A stricken look came over Nick's face at that and he gulped. "And what did I do?"
Reaching up, Judy rubbed her arm a bit. "Well... I gave you the serum along with the antidote and told you to run. That I would distract them."
There was a far off look on Nick's face as he thought it over and considered what he would do in such a situation, what the unAwake him would do at that point in time. "And then?"
It took Judy a few moments before she took a deep breath. "You trapped me in one of the cages and locked it... For a moment I..."
With a small frown, Nick nodded. "You thought that I betrayed you to save my own skin..."
Judy nodded a bit and then frowned. "Which was about when I Woke up. Just as you placed the serum and the antidote in my hands. Telling me if I remembered the what happened under the bridge, where you were hurt but I protected you..." Another shudder went through Judy's frame as she shook her head. "... And then you had this odd look as you put the pellet we had switched with the fake one between your teeth and bit down..."
For several seconds, Nick was silent before he nodded. "And I scared you?"
Snorting, Judy shook her head. "No... you terrified me, Nick. Those sheep had no chance, but even with the antidote... we weren't able to..." Closing her eyes, Judy swallowed. "For the rest of the loop you were in a cell because you were feral. I visited as often as I could and while you didn't seem to recognize anyone else... You seemed to recognize me. You were always a bit more peaceful. And it hurt to see you like that."
Quiet, Nick placed his arm over Judy's shoulders and tried to imagine what went through that Nick's mind. Then he slowly nodded before smiling. "Well... I'm here now and I can tell you, I'll try to make sure that sort of situation never happens while I'm around."
Just chuckling, Judy nodded. "I know that, you dumb fox."
Humming, Nick glanced at Judy's cold coffee. "How about you go and get some new coffee." At her look, he just smiled. "I'll be here when you get back. And if you don't hurry, I might try and take some of your cake."
In reply, the bunny only punches him in the shoulder before she walked off to get some new coffee having recovered some by talking with Nick. As she did so, Nick leaned back and frowned in thought.
30.12 (Duckapus): [Phineas and Ferb]
Baljeet blinked owlishly, "Is that a giant Mech made of loafs of bread?"
"...Yeah," Buford admitted somewhat sheepishly, "It was Warhammer, and I was an Ork so... yeah. Breadnought."
Indeed, the self-proclaimed bully and his best friend/usual victim were currently standing in front of a fully operational Dreadnought-one made entirely of Rye bread.
The Flynn-Fletchers were going to have a field day with this.
30.13 (lord Martiya): [Marvel] / [W.I.T.C.H.]
Tony Stark saw his AI F.R.I.D.A.Y. activate her hologram, today taking a look that reminded him of a lady from that odd Loop, complete with katana.
"Let me guess, F.R.I.D.A.Y., more good news." he said with his usual smirk. That he lost when his AI cut the table next to him and held his 'little Tony' at swordpoint.
"I know your reputation, Stark, so you better have an explanation for this or for this Loop I'll make you celibate." she growled.
"I take you don't just look like Orube… By the way, for some reason the Loops turned you into my secretary AI. Who has a crush on me."
Orube was about to call bullshit when her Loop memories hit her. And they checked out.
In Latveria, Doctor Doom heard the scream of horror and mistook it for his Squirrel Girl alarm. He wouldn't sleep for days.
30.14 (Duckapus): [Fairly OddParents] / [Chicken Little - setting only]
When Chester Awoke, he felt a lot smaller than normal, despite also feeling like a teenager.
'Let's see, feathers on my arms, so I'm some kind of bird boy, slight aversion to acorns for whatever reaso-'
Then he remembered. The endless short jokes. The overreactions. The 'Sky Falling Incident.'
Chicken Little McBadbat groaned, "Even when I'm not home I get saddled with a bad reputation."
30.15 (Duckapus): [Phineas and Ferb] / [Mega Man]
As he appeared in front of Light Labs, the robot considered his best approach.
'Let's see, forced entree would fit the theme, but they'd obviously take it too seriously. They are expecting a Wily-style attack after all. Better just knock.' And so he did. He also included a Looper code, just in case.
"Coming!" Roll's muffled voice called from inside, before opening the door, "Oh, hi Phineas! I didn't know you were here this Loop."
Phineas just shrugged, "It's a more recent development. You know, just built and all. Say, is Rock home? I ended up replacing Bass and I've got a message for him."
"Sure thing," she said, before leading him through to the lab proper. "So, how have things been going in Danville?"
"Pretty good. We expanded to the end of summer and the first day of school a while back, so there's that."
"Cool. We got a new branch just a little while ago, I can tell you about it when you've got time."
"I'll be sure to remember that," he noted before spotting his 'target', "Hey, Rock! Special Delivery from Doofenshmirtz!"
With that Phineas dropped a metal disc to the floor and teleported away. Before anyone could properly react a hologram of Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz appeared over the disc.
"Hello Rock, Roll, Thomas. As you've probably guessed by now, I am replacing Dr. Wily. What you may not know is that some time ago Danville's Baseline had an expansion where I left the path of Evil. I've been going along with it for a while, and don't get me wrong it's great!
"But, well, the Evil Scientist thing is just too fun to give up! So, I'm gonna try to take over the city with my Inator Masters so I can get back into the swing of things. I would've just had Perry deal with me, but I figured you would enjoy having some inators in that copy chip of yours, Rock.
"And don't worry Roll, I'm not leaving you out! I've got plenty of designs in the wings for later schemes to curb this place's apparent lust for conflict. Have fun guys!"
After taking a moment to process the current situation, Rock could only say one thing, "Well, I know what I'm going to do today."
The first Inator Master hadn't been too hard to find, considering the trail of syrupy mess and spatula-wielding Mets he left in his wake. Still, nothing could have prepared Rock for what was coming.
"Greetings, Mega Man!" The blue and yellow waffle iron-shaped robot exclaimed, "I have heard much about you from my creator! I, Waffle Man, shall be honored to face you in battle-and to aid you in the battles beyond this scheme!"
Rock held back a snicker. 'Only Doof would purposely mix Thor with breakfast food.' "As will I, Waffle Man."
"Glorious! My Wafflinator is primed and at the ready!"
'Hold on, is that a Gatling-'
For the next few minutes, all Rock knew was breakfast.
Honestly, Balloony's face was really creepy. Especially when it was attached to a body made of balloons and a visible Jacob's Ladder skeleton.
Rock racked his brain for a balloon-related inator. "Soooo, you would be Static Man, right?"
The eerily silent balloon responded with an electricity-covered balloon-shaped missile.
"Right. I think waffles make a good insulator."
"Okay, what is with all the giant Mets and killer plants?"
"That'd be my handiwork, lad."
Rock wasn't really expecting an answer, so actually getting one caught him off guard. As he looked around he noted that he was, in fact, in the standard robot master chamber. And that the one who had spoken was a mechanical Lawn Gnome.
"The name's Shrink man," He continued in his gentle Irish accent, "And I'll be cuttin' you down to size."
With that, Rock's world got a whole lot bigger.
'Why are the Inators so much more impressive as robots?'
'Okay, think.'
Dodge.
'Buster isn't strong enough,'
Jump.
'He's as much of a bottomless pit as Guts Man, so the waffles just get eaten,'
Deflect.
'All that rubber makes electricity useless,'
Jump again.
'One more to try.'
Rock fired the Shrinkinator.
Tire Man now had to look up.
It ended rather quickly after that.
Rock could only stare, dumbfounded. The... Robot Master lifted his sunglasses to get a better look. "What, is there something on my face?"
After looking himself over, Dance Man realized what was confusing the young hero, "Oh, right. It's, er, kind of a reference. You see, the Baseline Danceinator was originally supposed to be an instant clothes dryer. And before you ask how those two functions could possibly come from the same place, note that the Flynn-Fletchers have a sorbet machine that turns people into insects if you take the wrong piece off."
With that out of the way, the Blue Bomber sprang into action against the inexplicably drier-shaped Dance Man.
While a bug with an ice cream cone body was weird, at least Combo Man fit his theme (unlike some people).
"GAH! CURSE YOU MEGA MAN!"
And besides, not much was funnier than an angry dessert.
"WILL YOU PLEASE GET OUT FROM UNDER THERE? THIS IS STUPID!"
"Hey, you're the one who thought it was a good idea to fuse me with a Met!"
Rock was starting to realize just how long a day he'd had. "Seriously? I'm all for creativity Doc, but this is ridiculous! It's just a plane holding a glue bottle! What's 'Eulg' even supposed to be?"
Eulg Man responded by squirting his Master Weapon onto Mega Man's arm-which then proceeded to fall off.
"...Of course. Well, they can't all be fun."
"Hey, Rock."
"Hi Vanessa. I take it you're why all the robots here have backwards attack patterns?"
"Yup," The currently-mechanical teenager replaced her arm with the usual Inator ray gun, "say hello to the Least-Likely-inator. It causes whoever is hit by it to-well you know. Obviously using it on you will end badly, considering you're a pacifist with access to some of the most powerful weapons in the multiverse. That does not, however, mean you get to just copy my weapon and leave. I kind of hit myself with it, and you know how I feel about helping with my Dad's schemes."
"...Hand-to-hand, first to knockout wins?"
"Deal."
"Doofenshmirtz Evil Big Fortress!"
Rock snickered a little, "That never gets old."
The fortress itself was a mix between a Wily fortress and an office building, with possibly-for-decoration construction equipment jutting out the sides and Doof's usual Ferb-shaped penthouse at the very top. And on the inside… well, all the Blue Bomber could be sure of was that he had quite the climb ahead of him.
Floor 1:
As he entered, Rock noticed something rather odd. Instead of Doofenshmirtz's signature purple-and-green color scheme, everything was in shades of blue and brown. As he pondered this, a voice came from all around him, "Hello, Mega Man, and welcome to the newest branch of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. In case you are wondering yes, I am the Looping version of Baljeet. Currently, I am also this Fortress's main computer. In a way, this means I am the Fortress.
"Here is how this part of your challenge will work; this fortress, despite its immensity, technically has only one hundred and twenty floors. Every twenty floors you will encounter a Fortress Guardian, each of increasing difficulty, with the doctor waiting at the very top. In the case of a Looping Guardian, they will only use a Looper Power if it was incorporated into their design."
With explanations over, Fortress Baljeet sprang to life, rapidly becoming the ominous deathtrap that so many Fortresses before him had aspired to be.
"Shall we begin?"
Floor 20:
"Finally!" Rock gasped between gulps of an E Tank, "that was insane. Where did you learn how to set up a level?"
"I spend an unprecedented amount of time as evil Artificial Intelligences. Anyway, on the other side of that door is the first Guardian. Devil Series, if I am not mistaken."
"Right."
Unfortunately, Baljeet wasn't mistaken. This was quite possibly the strongest looking Devil Series robot Rock had ever seen. It was mostly black and built like a brick. Its lower body was an olive green color, with suspender-like ridges to match. Its feet, rather than just melding into the legs, resembled red and grey boots. And in place of the standard single eye was a familiar stylised skull.
"Nothin' personal, Rock," Buford offered, "but the Bully Devil's gotta do what the Bully Devil's gotta do."
The fact that this was supposed to be the easy one didn't give him much comfort.
Floor 40:
"So… Sniper Izzy?"
"Yup," the pink, off-model Joe unit confirmed, "Dr. D made me last and ran out of ideas. The Rainbow Buster is cool, though."
Baljeet just groaned, "Oh, yes, The epic battle of Skittles vs Lemons is the perfect place to strike up a conversation."
He couldn't tell for sure if those stray shots hitting the more sensitive parts of the room were intentional or not.
Floor 60:
The room Rock found himself in was shockingly dark compared to the rest of the Fortress, and the eery violet light peeking out of various places wasn't helping much.
"So you've arrived," Ferb's soft voice drifted from the darkness, "It's good to see you again. Hopefully later on it can be under more peaceful circumstances."
Suddenly, a glaring red glow appeared to Rock's left, causing him to aim his Buster in shock. He saw exactly what he had feared; Ferb, in black robes, wielding his Sith form's signature six-bladed lightsaber.
"I thought you weren't gonna keep the sith thing going. You know, considering how you got it."
Ferb shrugged, "I wasn't at first, but Anakin's homemade gingerbread cookies are surprisingly persuasive. Now, are you ready to face Darth Rhapsody?"
Floor 80:
Rock was only mildly amused. That's what he was telling himself, at least. "This was inevitable, wasn't it?"
"Yup," True to what he'd told Roll, Phineas was currently wearing an orange and blue version of Bass's armor, albeit with a heavily modified helmet. Standing next to him was Perry, who looked like a green, more symmetrical version of his Platyborg counterpart- with both eyes and his hat intact, of course.
"Oh," Phineas seemed to remember something, "on-duty, we're Concert and Chord. Just so you know. Also, I'm kinda replacing the Robot Master rematches too. Dr. D's a little behind schedule, so he didn't have time to rebuild everyone."
"Alright then. So… mirror match, right?"
"I'll wait for you to call in Rush."
Floor 80 (Second Phase)"
"Chord, Super Adaptor mode!"
"...The Beak? Really?"
"We ran out of ideas!"
Floor 100:
"Hello Rock," Baljeet's voice was now coming from one spot-a huge computer monitor on the other side of the room. One which happened to have his disembodied head on display.
"Welcome to the Final Guardian. I am sure that you saw this one coming. After all, what self-respecting villainous computer does not supply a boss battle?
"Now, down to business; you destroyed my companions. Yes, I am aware that they are perfectly fine and will be rebuilt later, but it still… peeves me a little. Aggravates, even. One might say it… makes me angry."
Suddenly, the room was filled with a harsh green glow.
"Will you like me when I am angry?" Fortress Hulkjeet asked ominously as large turrets sprang from the walls.
Floor 120:
"Ah, Rock. How unexpected." Doof called out from the darkness, "And by unexpected I of course mean COMPLETELY EXPECTED!"
As the good doctor basked in his own evil laughter the lights came on, revealing an immense chamber in his normal color scheme of purple, chrome, and electric green. And at the center; a fifty foot tall version of Norm with a screen on the chest, revealing Heinz Doofenshmirtz in all his pharmacist-like glory.
"BEHOLD! The Doof-Powered Battle Norm, equipped with all of his Baseline weapons, all eight Master Inators, and a few surprises! Get ready for the fight of your Looping career!" With that, the mad inventor started running, supplying the needed kinetic energy to his creation.
"WE SHOULD DO LUNCH SOME TIME!"
30.16 (Harry Leferts): [Zootopia] / [Jurassic Park]
Nick bent his head back slowly and stared up with his eyes wide. "... C-Carrots? Is... that you?"
There was a deep, rumbling chuckle before a deeper and louder version of Judy's voice echoed out. "Yeah... it's me."
Looking around, Nick noted that no one was really giving Judy a second glance despite everything and then turned his attention back to her. "Really... it's you?" After getting a nod, he pawed his face and took a deep breath. "... I... I just... really?"
Another rumbling chuckle could be heard for a moment. "Uh, yeah... trust me, it was really weird for me as well when I Woke up... and even odder is that everyone is treating me just like in Baseline."
For several moments, Nick was silent as he looked up at her. "... They're treating you as a rabbit..."
Humming, Judy nodded a bit. "Pretty much..."
Now utterly confused, Nick spread his arms wide. "How... I mean why!?"
If anything though, Judy was just really amused. "I was adopted this loop."
Flabbergasted, Nick let his arms drop before he groaned. "That just brings up more questions!"
Judy "Indominus" Hopps just shrugged as she tossed back a hot dog like the bite sized morsel it was. "You're telling me, though the whole able to camouflage myself and seeing heat is pretty cool."
30.17 (Black Omochao): [Zootopia] / [DinoZaurs]
"Excuse me," the elephant working the counter of Jumbeaux's Café looked forward to see a small bat hovering before him with a smile on her face. "I would like one of your jumbo servings of ice cream! Mix of all flavors you have, and don't go easy on the peanuts!" the elephant regarded the small, flying mammal without much care.
"Beat it shrimp! We don't serve your kind," the larger mammal huffed, causing the bat to frown a bit. The air around her seemed to blur and the eyes of the elephants behind the counter, and all the customers widened and they backed up as a massive dragon stood where the bat did, barely fitting in the front of the store.
"I don't think you heard me. I would like a jumbo serving of ice cream… Now!"
Fearfully the elephant took the order and the others began to get her ice cream. "And glove those trunks! I don't want snot in my ice cream!" The elephants could only nod fearfully as they followed her directions.
"Thank you!" The small bat cheered as she somehow carried the giant cone out of the shop that was easily several times her size. She walked on the ground with the cone held between her small hands as she left.
"C-come again," The elephant behind the countered mumbled timidly. After the bat left the shop she met up with a rabbit and a fox.
"So, how are you liking Zootopia Kira?" Judy questioned as Kira set her cone down and hovered to the top of it.
"Well, if I can get ice cream like this here, I hope I can come more often!" Kira cheered before diving into her massive serving of frozen dessert.
"Just try not to scare everyone too much," Judy muttered with a little chuckle.
"Speak for yourself, that was hilarious," Nick smirked.
30.18 (Arc_Zephyr): [Kingdom Hearts] / [Undertale]
At first Sora had figured that this was going to be a Baseline Loop. Sure there were little variations at the start like an Unawake Kairi speaking only in a mix of French and Spanish, but the events didn't seem to stray too far from Baseline this Loop.
That notion was quickly squashed when he arrived in Halloween Town and saw just who was replacing Jack Skellington this Loop.
"GREETINGS, HUMAN... AND DUCK AND DOG PERSON!" The tall skeleton with a red cape fluttering in the wind cheered gleefully. "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS~! WELCOME TO SPAGHETTIWEEN TOWN. WOULD YOU LIKE SOME OF MY ARTISAN SPAGHETTI?" The Unawake version of Papyrus continued while ignoring the confused stares he was receiving.
"Gawrsh, Spaghettiween Town? I thought this was Halloween Town, Sora?" One thoroughly confused Goofy echoed the thoughts of all three Loopers with that one question.
With the dim lighting that came naturally with this world it was hard to tell, but most of the Halloween attractions that made up Guillotine Plaza were replaced with sculptures made of spaghetti. Little monster children were running around from door to door. Naturally, they must have been going on a round of Trick or Treating, but even Sora had to blink in surprise when he saw them receive plates of spaghetti.
"Eh, I've seen weirder." Donald commented nonchalantly causing his fellow Loopers to give him strange looks.
Regardless of what Donald said, Spaghettiween Town was one of the weirder variations of Halloween Town in Sora's books.
30.1: This marks the first Loop in this thread that was entirely mine, rather than an addendum to an older one. And the first and (as of this writing) only Loop written for this particular setting, since I have yet to find anything for it that's older.
30.2: She's got a point there.
30.3: ... Okay, how did Mare-Do-Well get there?
30.4: No. No, you shouldn't be surprised, Marlin.
30.5: And so Jane Banks begins to Loop.
30.6: Replacing your mentor...
30.7: Another Loop with Jane.
30.8: A couple of visiting Loopers.
30.9: That must have been a fun one.
30.10: Several Loops in one, and Michael Awakens.
30.11: Ouch... poor Judy, having to go through that.
30.12: Punny!
30.13: Yes, F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s avatar actually looks like that W.I.T.C.H. character.
30.14: Oy.
30.15: Yep, these sorts of things happen in the Mega Man Loops.
30.16: Oh. My.
30.17: Kira of DinoZaurs visits Zootopia.
30.18: Yes. Yes, that is a pretty weird variant.