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 2018-02-10. This is the first of two chapters posted today.
Disney/Kingdom Hearts Loops, Chapter Thirty-Four
34.1 (Hvulpes): [Gravity Falls]
Dipper awoke as he got out of the Greyhound bus, noticing the unique difference of the vehicle. As well as his sibling. Followed by the people around him. The fact he didn't have hands wasn't a problem, given memories and experiences as ponies. The problem would come if his sister ever enter this loop... or even heard about it. Since she would drive Dipper insane about it.
In his mind, Dipper swore, 'Mabel must never find out about the Gravity Paws loop for as long as possible.'
34.2 (wildrook): [Zootopia] / [Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger]
"I may have noticed a lot of things in my day," Nick Wilde said to Judy, "but a giant cube is new to me."
Sure enough, they had noticed something off when they saw the thing in the middle of Judy's carrot farm.
"Oh that thing?" Judy's Dad asked him. "That's been there for quite a while. We kind of use it as a marker for our crops. It's quite a tourist attraction."
"It says something when they're comfortable around you before Gideon decided make amends," Judy muttered, "when they use it for a conversation piece. Besides, I think Commander Kruger warned us about something like this."
Nick nodded. "Uh-huh," he muttered. "Did he mention anything about it moving on its own and acting like a Rubix Cube?"
"No, why?" Nick just pointed at the cube which did that, and when it opened, two individuals came flying out and landed...on one of the crops.
Nick and Judy just looked at the two, surprised.
"You lost?" Nick asked them.
"Maybe," the one in red muttered. "Are you guys Zyumen?"
"No," Judy answered, noticing her Dad scurry away. "I'm Judy Hopps, and this is Nick Wilde. We're from the Zootopia Branch."
"So we're Awake... but still puzzled." He then groaned as he got up. "Yamato Kazakiri, and this is my friend Misao Mondo," he said. "We're Zyuoh Eagle and Zyuoh The World, respectively."
"And I really wanted to see Tusk again," the identified Misao replied. "Maybe next time, Yamato?"
Yamato smiled. Misao hadn't gone into one of his depression fits ever since he first Awakened, showing that his desire to change was set. "If we can avoid the Zyumen trying to kill us." He then looked at the cube. "I'm just glad that the Dethgaliens were already taken care of by Flashman."
"Dethgaliens?" Judy asked them.
"They're basically hunters of planets," Yamato answered. "Micchan and I tend to run into those guys a lot more than we should, and he tries to make sure the Zyumen whose powers were forced into his body try not to die. Earth would have been their 100th."
"World destroyers," Nick muttered, sitting down. "Quite the nuisance, aren't they?"
"I'm more concerned about how Zootopia as a whole would react to humans," Judy replied.
Misao tried not to go into a depressed state, but he bowed anyways. "We apologize for the inconvenience," the man replied. "But we can go back through the cube at any time."
Yamato nodded. "And in case we decide to stay," he added, "we can help around the farm. I've done the same for those who end up at my place."
Judy and Nick looked at each other before nodding.
"Alright," Judy replied, "but try not to scare the kids. I've got several different siblings running around and they barely know what a Night Howler is... nor do we want to know how they affect humans."
"I think we can explain when we get inside," Nick added. "Until then, welcome to... well... Judy's place."
34.3 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. The Forces of Evil] / [Moana - no Awake Loopers]
Things had been going pretty Baseline this loop for Star and Marco...
...Until Lobster Claws turned out to be some crab with an addiction to shiny stuff.
As Tamatoa sang his trademark song, with Ludo and his henchmen as back-up singers and dancers, Star and Marco just stared.
"I... just... why..." Marco stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence from the sheer weirdness.
Ludo then ripped off his clothes, revealing a swimsuit underneath.
"MY EYESSSSS!" Star screamed.
And so the song and dance continued, with Star and Marco continuing to stare.
34.4 (Vinylshadow): [Kingdom Hearts]
Eraqus and Aqua watched Terra and Ventus leave the chamber.
"Now that you're a Keyblade Master, you will have new responsibilities," Eraqus said. He snapped his fingers and a huge pile of papers appeared.
"...What's all this?" Aqua asked.
"Taxes!" Eraqus said cheerfully. "Training wielders is expensive, so King Mickey set up a system to make it easier. Why do you think we encourage you to pick up as much munny as you can while defeating Unversed?"
"...This is not what I expected," Aqua said as she sat down and began working.
34.5 (Awesomedude17): [Snow White] / [Mulan] / [Frozen] / [Rick and Morty] / [Bar Loop]
"Welcome to the newest Princess Summit, one and all." Snow White said. "How has everyone been?"
Many of the Disney Princess spoke in a generally positive manner, except one.
"What's wrong, Mulan?"
"Someone's been following me for quite a while this Loop."
"And who's that?" Elsa asked.
The doors burst open.
"Him."
Everyone stared as Rick Sanchez, known by many as the most scientific of all Loopers, and one of its biggest jerks. Everyone braced themselves for impact.
"Mulan! You-you better get McDonald's to bring that-that-that fucking! Delicious! Szechuan teriyaki Mc-McNugget *urp* dipping sauce back because it's fucking awesome, Mulan! It's like... sooooo fu*uuuurp*cking gooooood and-and-and I won't stop until-until I get my McNugget... Szechuan sauce, Mulan. Mulan, you have to get that Szechuan sauce back because-because fuck me, it's good!"
As Rick began to ramble on, Mulan gave a pleading look towards the others, who only responded with sympathetic stares.
"Rick & Morty, th-the search f*uuuuuuruuuurp*r the Sze-Szechuan sauce! Coming this summer on [adult swim] on-on-on Cartoon Network! Nine seasons of the search for sauce. Nine whole seasons of Szechuan madness! Ninety-seven whole years!"
34.6 (Saphroneth): [Kingdom Hearts]
"Let the keyblade choose its true master," Riku said, softly, reaching out his hand.
Sora felt the pull on his Keyblade, and knew he could resist it - but decided not to. Opening his hand, he let the Kingdom Key disappear into Riku's grip.
"Sora?" Donald asked, baffled. "What just-"
"Looks like you were just the delivery boy," Riku said, dismissing the Keyblade and throwing a wooden sword to Sora. "Go play hero with this."
"Sure," Sora replied, readying the sword. "Tell you what, Riku - if I beat you, then I get the Keyblade back!"
"Sora, are y' sure this is a good idea?" Goofy asked.
"You bet," Sora grinned.
So Riku couldn't see, he shot the knight a wink.
"Hmph," Riku snorted. "If you're so eager to lose."
He resummoned the Keyblade, and took on a ready stance - planning to show Sora how outmatched he really was.
Sora pointed his wooden sword at Riku, and Riku had just enough time to notice it was glowing before a torrent of Firagun magic blasted into him.
Summoning the Darkness, Riku produced a shield - letting most of Sora's magical attack splash off to one side - then had to dive out of the way as a Thundaga flashed down from overhead.
"What?" he demanded, baffled, then raised the Kingdom Key to block as Sora flourished his wooden sword again. "How are you doing this?"
He rushed forwards once the Blizzara spell had faded, but his Keyblade hit a glowing barrier of transparent hexagons. The barrier brightened, then exploded out in all directions, and Riku bounced off the stone of Hollow Bastion before flipping around and driving Soul Eater into the ground as an anchor.
"I picked up a few tricks," Sora replied with a grin. "I guess being a delivery boy is a harder job than you realized?"
Riku growled, summoning the Darkness again, and stepped through a portal to emerge directly behind Sora. Soul Eater in one hand and Kingdom Key in the other, he lashed out at Sora's unprotected back-
When Riku jolted back to awareness, he was lying at the bottom of the Rising Falls.
"Sorry about that," Sora said, chuckling nervously as he floated down to join Riku. "That spell reflects back the power of the attack, and I guess it was a pretty strong attack you used on me."
Riku groaned, thinking homicidal thoughts.
34.7 (Saphroneth): [Kingdom Hearts]
Kairi took the handle of her keyblade in both hands, and swept it at the nearest Shadow. It exploded in a flash of light, sending a heart flashing upwards for a moment before it passed out of sight.
Another one jumped at her from the side, and she swept Destiny's Embrace to her right - catching the Heartless in the chest, making it thump against the wall and dissolve.
"That's the last one," Riku said, his voice gruff. "Good work."
Kairi panted, unused to that kind of exertion, then a smile spread over her face. "Thanks. And - thanks for helping, Riku."
He didn't reply, and she glanced back at him. "Riku?"
Riku tapped the side of his hood, about where his ear was, and Kairi fell silent to listen.
She could hear the sound of combat through the nearest door. Thumps and crashes, a yelp, and then Sora shouting something.
Then there was a final concussive BANG that made the door resonate, and near-silence - though she could still hear Sora, Donald and Goofy talking.
It sounded as though Donald was upset about something.
Smiling fondly, Kairi remembered belatedly to let Destiny's Embrace dissolve - knowing, deep down, that she could summon it again whenever she wanted.
Then the door opened, slowly and ponderously.
Riku was the first to react. "...what."
"This is your fault, Sora!" Donald said, watching as the other two strained to push the door open.
"Hey, these clothes didn't come with an instruction manual!" Sora protested. "And I can't exactly fix it now, can I?"
"Why not?" Donald demanded, keeping a careful grip on his staff.
"It ain't like he can get at 'em now," Goofy pointed out, lowering his head and pushing. "Okay, Sora, on three..."
"One, two - three!" Sora agreed, and pushed. The door ground open, and then - when the leaves were about a foot apart - Sora's grip slipped. His paws scrabbled on the door as he tried to regain traction, then he somersaulted over Goofy and landed in a heap on the far side of the threshold.
"...what," Riku asked flatly.
"Riku?" Sora asked, brightening, and rolled back to all fours. "Hey, do you have any idea how magic clothes work? I think mine shorted - whoah!"
Kairi swept Sora up in her arms, giving him a cuddle. "Sora, I didn't realize you'd gotten so cute!"
Riku began to chuckle, overcome by the absurdity of the situation.
"Kairi - ack!" Sora protested, tail twitching. "I'm only a lion cub like this - agh - don't squeeze so hard!"
"It's yer own fault, Sora," the tortoise-Goofy said sagely. "We could'a gone back to the Gummi Ship to fix your clothes."
"Yeah, but that would mean waiting to meet Kairi again," Sora pointed out matter-of-factly. "Besides, hugs are hugs."
It had taken a dozen loops to work out how to break his clothes just right, but he wasn't going to say that.
Kairi giggled. "How do you even fight like this, anyway?"
"Somehow, I imagined our reunion to be more... thematically appropriate," Riku sighed.
34.8 (katfairy): [Batman Beyond] / [Moana]
He wasn't afraid of storms. In fact, he liked them. But he hadn't felt like getting soaked today, so he waited this one out in his favorite cave, the one where he worked on his statue. It wasn't a very good statue, but it had been a way to pass the time, and it amused him to think what someone might think about it if they wandered by this place a few hundred years down the road. After he'd escaped. Which he would. Really.
He'd just finished buffing up a ridiculously over-developed pec on the statue when he noticed sun slanting through the opening in the cave's roof. A glance upward showed blue sky; the storm was over.
"Well, time to see if anything interesting washed up."
He wandered down to the beach, not bothering to rush. After all, it wasn't like there was anyone else around to yoink all the good stuff before he got to it. Then, as he came around a rock, he froze. He couldn't possibly be seeing what he was seeing.
There, on the beach, was a fully-functional, not totally destroyed boat. He rushed toward it, a small part of his mind aware that a female voice was yelling something about fish peeing somewhere a lot, but the rest dismissing that in favor of ZOMGAFRIKKINBOAT. He reached it and lifted it into the air with a whoop of joy.
"Yes! The sea has sent me a boat! -And a girl!" Her existence only filtered through to him when he actually saw her, but he wasn't so out of touch that the look on her face didn't tip him off. "No! Not what I meant! I didn't mean the sea sent you-well, I did-but I didn't-not like-Uh, can we take this from the top? And can we maybe forget the last few minutes actually happened?"
The girl was starting to grin, but it wasn't as reassuring as it should have been.
"Of course-on one condition."
"Sure! Uh, what?"
"Put down my boat. Without destroying it. Or me."
"Put… Oh! Oh. Yeah. Sure. I can do that." He set the boat down gently, then smacked the heel of his hand into his forehead a few times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"I can hear you, you know."
"…Of course you can."
He sighed, then straightened up, put on his most charming grin, and walked around the boat as though nothing had happened. Which was, of course, the cue for both of them to Awaken. He froze in place, reviewing the last few minutes, while she blinked a bit before the grin returned.
"Wow. I really just did that, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did."
"And you're not going to forget it any time soon."
"Nope."
"Fair enough. I'm Terry McGinnis, from Dick Grayson's Loop."
"Moana. I'm the Anchor of this one. And that's Heihei trying to nuzzle your ankle, which is weird even for him."
Terry looked down at the brightly-colored chicken, sighing in relief.
"Well, if that's how the usual random being getting a crush on me is going to be handled this Loop, I'm not going to complain."
"Happens a lot, does it." Moana looked as though she was trying to make up her mind whether he was being a macho jerk or just stating a fact; Terry knew which line of thought he wanted to encourage.
"Yeah. The tree seems to think it's funny, but it's gotten ugly more than once. Been to Hogwarts yet?"
"Who hasn't?"
"Bellatrix."
Moana winced, but thankfully didn't ask for details. That had not been a fun Loop, and the next, rather than sending him home to Gotham, had dropped him in a nice, quiet, surf-friendly world with Hank and Abby Sciuto. Terry was about to change the subject when the Loop memories hit, changing it for him. "Seriously? How dumb was unAwake me anyway? Okay, let's get that heart back where it belongs."
"Maui had good intentions in baseline, even if his ego was pretty wrapped up in it," Moana said. "And we have to get your fishhook back and get you back up to speed in using it first. Do your Loop memories include the fact that Te Ka and Te Fiti are the same?"
"No, but it makes sense. I've seen that sort of thing before in the Loops. When it happened, I was a little preoccupied."
"Running for your life will do that." She raised an eyebrow at him; she seemed to be friendly, but was waiting to see how he did before making any final judgements. He was okay with that, although he found he had a disturbing inclination to want her good opinion. He hoped that was just a lingering artifact of his unAwake self, or at worst a crush of his own.
"Also, Maui mentioned it when I ran into him. On Maui, ironically enough."
"Oh, you're that Terry." Moana relaxed a little, her smile becoming less guarded. "He mentioned you; said you were a good waterman and that we'd probably see you here sooner or later. I was kind of looking forward to helping teach you our methods of navigation, but I guess you got them the easy way. Too bad; I think you'd have enjoyed it."
"Yeah. Sometimes I don't mind learning things this way, because they aren't a lot of fun, but then there's times like this. Not much we can do, though."
"Well, except get off the island and start setting things right."
"Details, details."
She laughed and Terry felt a worrying bloom of pleasure at the sound. It didn't help that she was kinda hot and only a year younger than he'd been at the start of his baseline. The baseline his fiancée lived in. The fiancée that Grayson had started spending time getting to know when they were in Terry's home Variant, in hopes that just maybe they might be able to game the system and get her Looping. At which point he planned to propose again. And actually marry her, this time. So there would be no falling for attractive, intelligent, badass girls from other Loops. At all.
Terry looked at the giant hole.
"I have to jump down there."
"It's even deeper than it looks."
"Well, that's comforting."
Moana grinned, but looked sympathetic.
"It took me a long time to be able to just jump in without having to really psych myself up for it. Just think of it as extreme cliff diving."
"Ah, slaggit, let's do it." And he jumped. It was long enough to be… well, he'd admit to worrying if anyone ever asked. The last time he'd dropped this far hadn't ended well. In fact, it had ended in Eiken, and it hadn't even been his fault. Plunging into the water came as a relief, even when he punched through and saw the brightly colored (and highly deadly) realm underneath. He did manage to stick the landing though, allowing himself a brief moment of smugness before Moana showed up. "Okay, not as bad as I thought, but I really hope I don't have to do that again any time soon."
"Oh, would you rather play distraction for an angry giant lava goddess?"
"Actually, yes."
"…You Gotham people are strange." But she was still smiling. "Speaking of distractions, I don't play distraction for Tamatoa anymore. It's best to just grab the fishhook and go, because that crab is really good at getting under your skin. He knows things he shouldn't be able to, and he'll use it. Don't let him start talking if you can help it, and if you can't, don't listen, just power on through."
"Déjà vu," Terry muttered.
"You fought a giant crab with tendencies toward mental and emotional abuse in your baseline?"
"No, just the Joker. But Bruce's advice for that was almost word for word what you just said."
"How did it work?"
Terry started to answer, then hesitated, blushing. He couldn't figure out how to tell her what he'd done without sounding like he was bragging. And while he did want to impress her, he'd figured out pretty quickly that bragging was the wrong way to do it. She'd heard enough of that from Maui. Although, when he thought about it, he shouldn't be wanting to impress her anyway, as that could lead to awkwardness. Not that she was showing any indication of feeling anything more than vaguely friendly toward him. Which was good. Really.
"Uh, earth to Terry?"
"Oh! Uh, sorry." Terry's blush deepened, although it might not be noticeable in the odd light.
"You know, when you Northwestern European types blush, you really blush, don't you?"
Then again, maybe it was.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I've never been able to shake that, which has led to some pretty embarrassing situations in some Loops."
"I can imagine. So, I'm guessing that run-in with the Joker-and yes, I have been to your Loop, although before your time and not in Gotham-anyway, I guess it didn't end well."
"Uh, well, actually… I kinda psyched him out then hit him with his own joy buzzer when he tried to strangle me."
"Nice." Moana's grin bordered on the feral; she clearly approved. Terry squashed the warm glow that caused. "Oh, we better quiet down now, we're getting close."
Terry nodded, motioning for her to lead. In theory, he was supposed to be the expert here, but it was her home Loop. She'd probably memorized the layout long since, although he supposed there could be some differences from Loop to Loop. It took some time, and Terry saw a few things he knew would be featuring in his nightmares later, but eventually they found a pile of gold that was probably impressive to someone who hadn't replaced Bilbo Baggins one Loop; Smaug's was still the best hoard in his opinion. He raised an eyebrow at Moana, who nodded, pointing at the oversized fishhook lodged at the top. He debated using his Animagus form to get there, but decided that would be too risky; he had no way of knowing how the two different forms of magic would interact yet. In fact, he decided against using any magic at all for that reason. Luckily, he'd never let his baseline skills lag, and he'd always been good at moving quietly. And unlike the man he'd replaced, he wasn't an over-muscled giant. He might be able to reach the top of the hoard/shell without Tamatoa even knowing he was there. If he was extremely lucky, he might even be able to retrieve the hook and get out unnoticed; it would depend on how deep the hook was lodged.
Very, as it turned out. The second he reached it, he knew there was no way he'd be able to remove it with anything resembling stealth. He shot a look at Moana, shaking his head. She grimaced in reply, adding a what-can-you-do shrug. All right; one possibly emotionally scarring confrontation it was.
"Oh, just yank the thing out already, Teri," Tamatoa grumbled. "I suppose you're going to yank off one of my other legs while you're at it? Or-"
"You know, the leg would grow back if you just shed your shell," Terry said, interrupting the crab before it had a chance to get rolling. "And if you'd done it just after it happened, which you know perfectly well was as much your fault as mine, it would have grown back before you picked up all this gold. In fact, you'd probably be even bigger, which would give you more room for that gold you're so obsessed with. Compensating for something? Like maybe the fact that you know you're just a bottom-feeder scavenging for second-hand versions of what you don't have the guts to get honestly. Or maybe it's because you need something to brag about and looted gold is all you'll ever have." He jerked the hook free while the crab was gawking at him; he knew Maui had probably never talked like this, which meant Teri, his unAwake self, probably hadn't either. He just needed to keep it up for a few more minutes. "Look, you stole my hook, and now I've got it back. I'm willing to call it even, since leaving me stuck on a rocky island for a thousand years has to be at least the equivalent of lopping off a limb that can grow back. Don't push your luck; you have no idea what I've learned on that island. I'm nowhere near the nice guy you used to know, and these days I don't let my ego get in my own way either. So if you think you're hard enough, we can dance-but I really wouldn't recommend it."
The giant crab continued to stare at him as he jumped off, landing so he could keep an eye on it. He had no intention of turning his back until he was out of range. It took longer than he liked to back into the shadows where he could be comparatively safe. Once there, he did turn, and as he'd half-expected, heard Tamatoa coming after him. He whirled, blocking a blow with the hook, not even trying to access its magic; he knew that would be a bad idea.
"You've gotten even mouthier since your little timeout," Tamatoa said. "Did you actually think while you were there? Did it hurt? I know you humans ache after using unfamiliar muscles. Oh, you did think; how amusing! Did you think about how your father left you to be raised by strangers who were too busy arguing over whose fault you were to actually do their job? Did you think about the fact that all you ever were was somebody's science experiment? Or maybe you thought about how you'll never really get to see your sweetheart again, and even if you did, once she learned the truth about you, she wouldn't want you anymore. After all, you're a killer now, aren't you?"
Terry stiffened, but didn't let himself drop his guard. Moana had been right, not that he'd doubted her; the crab was good at knowing weak spots. Unfortunately for it, Terry had actually thought about most of these things, over and over, and while they still bothered him, they were bothers that he was used to. And Tamatoa has badly misinterpreted Terry's family situation, although it could have been a deliberate attempt to plant new doubts into Terry's mind.
"Guess I am," Terry shrugged. "But maybe that should make you even more nervous. After all, if I've killed before, what makes you think I can't do it again?"
It was the crab's turn to freeze, the expression on its face making it clear that it hadn't thought of that. Terry, knowing he might not get a better chance, used both the fishhook and the unexpected strength he'd gained as a demi-god to snare one of Tamatoa's legs and flip it into the air. Before it landed, Terry was on the run, Moana right beside him at first before she took the lead, showing him the best way out.
Hours later, they lay back on the boat, finally convinced that they were clear.
"That… was not fun," Terry said. "I hope that crab never starts Looping; he'd be an MLE for sure, and we don't need any more of those."
"Here's hoping. That got a little intense down there; I haven't had too many Loopers replacing Maui, and none of three who have ever talked back to Tamatoa that way. They just grabbed the hook and took off-which didn't work too well, honestly. He actually managed to kill one of them; I didn't hear what he said to Tony, but it really threw him, and, well…" Moana grimaced. "I wasn't fast enough. But it barely seemed to faze you; I guess that's the Bat-training. Or maybe because you've been Looping so long."
"Bit of both," Terry said. "He hit some sore spots, yeah, but I have run into his type plenty of times. The key is to not let them know they hit you. And I think I hit a few nerves myself."
"You did; I'll have to tell Maui about that, he hasn't tried doing that yet."
"Yeah, well, he seemed like a decent guy, just not too big on thinking sometimes."
"You have met him."
Terry and Moana locked eyes, then collapsed laughing. It was mostly reaction to the stress, both knew, but it still felt good. They laughed themselves out, laying on the deck under the sun.
"So, now we go return the Heart, right?"
"One more thing first."
"Oh?"
"Tomorrow, you're going to learn how to use that hook."
"Oh."
"Okay, that didn't work either."
"I'm not even asking how you ended up as a platypus."
"Well, there was this whole thing with Agent P and one of Doofenshmirtz' -inators; it's kind of a long story, along with why I kept the tooth."
Terry sat on the raft, legs dangling in the water, hook well off to the side. He was having more of a learning curve than he liked, but Moana had assured him he wasn't doing any worse than Maui had, and better than the other two Loopers who had replaced him. Tony DiNozzo, of course, had died before he got the chance to try, which Terry planned on asking Abby about to see if it was safe to troll Tony later. He was absolutely going to rag on Ash for repeatedly turning into various Pokémon. The third guy he'd never met, which took half the fun out of hearing just how badly he'd screwed up; of course, if he ever did meet this Sebell guy, all bets were off. Not that using his ineptitude with the hook as a distraction hadn't been pretty smart.
"I haven't met anyone from that Loop yet, but I've heard stories," Moana said, sitting down beside him. "I hope I get there someday; it sounds like fun, even if it is a bit landlocked for my tastes. And cold. I know it's kind of a cliché, but I really don't like your winters. It's pretty in pictures, but the real thing is too cold, and the snow melts and gets in everything, and if you go outside with wet hair in subzero weather, it does not end well."
"Everyone has to learn that one the hard way," Terry assured her. "Pretty much everyone I know who grew up where that's a thing has done it at least once, even when they knew better. Of course, there's these hot springs in Canada where people will do it on purpose for some contest, but that's different. On many levels. Anyway, do you know how to work this thing? Re-learning on my own would be best, I know, but I don't want to take all Loop doing it. Besides, my ego isn't so insecure I'm afraid to ask for help when I need it. Usually."
"I've switched with Maui a few times, but I'm no expert. And since I am a native of this Loop, it might come a bit easier to me. Wait-you said you'd been to Hogwarts? Are you an Animagus?"
"Yeah, actually. The last few years of my first Loop there, I had to spend my summers in Hogwarts because… well, that's another long story, but some of the Professors decided to give me special tutoring as a way of killing time. So I managed to get that one done pretty early. It's come in handy a few times, although I don't use it too often. It's a Bat thing."
Moana rolled her eyes.
"I know he's important to you, and I know he's basically a good man, but he really makes me want to smack him with an oar sometimes."
"Oh, you have met him then." Terry laughed at Moana's stunned expression. "Look, nobody in the Loops is going to argue that Bruce Wayne has more issues than National Geographic. And you won't find too many who will disagree with you that he is one of the good guys, and most of the ones who don't have only met the unAwake version, probably during a Crazy Steve Variant. There's a lot of Loopers out there who can't decide whether to salute him or deck him or both, me included. And I'm his son, sort of. So don't worry about it. Anyway, how is being an Animagus going to tie into using the hook right? Is it a similar type of transformation?"
"Maui said it was, and he'd know. So try your Animagus form, and concentrate on how that feels. Go back and forth a few times doing that, then try the hook again, keeping that in mind. I can't promise it'll help, but it's worth a shot."
She patted his arm, and he ignored the warm feeling that persisted from the contact. She wasn't interested, and he shouldn't be. And he had more important matters to think about. He stood up, readying the spell that would transform him, concentrating as Moana had suggested. He could feel the magic gathering around him, then start to shift inside him. Unlike in a lot of cheesy movies, the transformation wasn't slow and painful, but he could still feel the entire process; it really was like a full-body sneeze, like he'd read somewhere. He felt his legs and arms shrink; his head, neck, and torso condensed into each other although not entirely; his hair split and branched, turning into feathers. The weirdest part was always feeling the webbing grow between his toes. And then there was the waiting for the inevitable jokes.
"Well, you're definitely some sort of water bird, but not one I know," Moana said, tilting her head to look at him. "But that would make sense; it's probably from your Loop, and probably not too far from where you grew up, and I haven't had a reason to study up on Gotham's wildlife yet. Try flying and swimming like this, then change back and try doing the same with the hook."
Terry slipped into the water, ignoring Heihei's attempts to snuggle and the subsequent squawk from Moana when the idiot chicken tried following him into the ocean. One of the drawbacks of his Animagus form was that it needed considerable runway space, but that was less of a problem at the moment; he just pointed himself away from the raft, giving himself a tailwind, and started speeding toward takeoff. The moment he left the water always seemed to take too long, but eventually he was airborne, flapping madly still but less frantically than before. He wasn't built for gliding, but once he was in the air and settled into a rhythm, he could keep going for hours. Not that he'd try that today. Instead, he concentrated on how flying felt in this body, the way the wind slipped through his black and white feathers, the smells and sounds that human senses couldn't detect, until he felt he had a good enough grasp on the fine details. Then he landed again, paddled around for a while, and dove. It was easier for him underwater; he noticed again how his streamlined body cut through with less effort than when he was human and how much longer he could hold his breath. He stayed down a bit longer than necessary because he was having too much fun, but eventually he resurfaced and flopped ungracefully back onto the raft. He reversed the transformation, paying so much attention to how it felt that he forgot one minor detail until Moana squeaked.
"Gah! Sorry! I always forget that part!" Terry dressed quickly, grateful that his outfit for this Loop made that easier. He could feel himself blushing again, although Moana was right there with him this time. "Okay, I'm safe again. I'm guessing Maui's transformations don't have that problem?"
"No. I'd never considered it until now, and now I'm going to need several Loops to stop considering it."
"Oh, good; it's been way too long since I've given an Anchor any lingering mental trauma."
Moana tried to give him the stink-eye, but he saw the grin she tried to hide. Once again he squashed the warm feeling that caused, which was starting to be accompanied by a sinking feeling that this was more than just a crush. Well, he'd just have to deal with it. Later.
"Okay," Moana said, shaking her head, "now try the hook. Concentrate on how it felt to be that bird. Flying, swimming, just being in that body in general. Then try transforming. With the hook."
Terry nodded. Picking up the hook, he did exactly as she instructed, not allowing even the concept of failure to cross his mind. He concentrated on his other body, but kept the Animagus spell just as firmly locked away as any other distraction. The hook began to feel warm in his hand, and he felt himself shift. A second later, he was back in the water, webbed feet paddling away.
"It worked! Oh, hey, I can talk this way!"
"That was one of the drawbacks of Maui's transformations," Moana deadpanned. "How does it feel? The same?"
"Yep, still a loon."
"Terry, be serious!"
"Uh, that's what I am right now. Seriously."
"That's what a loon is?" Moana blinked. "I've heard of them, but I don't remember ever seeing any pictures. Now, try changing back, paying attention again, and use that for a different form."
Terry changed back, more than a little relieved that this version at least let him keep his clothes, then aimed for a shark.
"Uh, Terry…"
"Yeah, don't tell me. Sharkhead. Maui warned me that was inevitable, but I had to try. Hey, I wonder…" Terry's rueful (and pointy) grin turned manic as he hefted the hook, concentrating hard on a form he knew he had a tooth from. This change didn't feel like the shift into his Animagus form, either using the spell or the hook, and it didn't feel like sharkhead either. He felt himself growing, expanding, scales forming, wings sprouting, bone density increasing… "Oh, crap, Maleficent can't swim!"
He shifted straight to loon form as the weight of his dragon form dragged him down, popping up to the surface in time to keep Moana from diving after him.
"Well, that's two forms you can do, but maybe keep the dragon for when you're not in the middle of the ocean."
"Not arguing. Maleficent is not aquatic. Who knew?"
"Probably Maleficent."
"Point."
Terry was flopped on the raft, Moana sitting next to him.
"But did you notice how easily you switched to your Animagus form without using the spell?"
Terry's eyes shot open. He hadn't noticed; he'd been busy not drowning in the most embarrassing way possible. She was right, though-he hadn't used the Animagus spell. Which meant…
"I used the hook right?"
"You used the hook right. And you did it instinctively. Now you just need to figure out what other transformations you can do, and we've got a bit of time before we really have to get to Te Fiti. What other teeth do you have?"
"You know, in some places, that would be a really weird question."
"Terry, you're changing into a bunch of non-native species using a giant magic fish hook. And you dress up like a bat to fight people who think nerve gas is a fun party trick."
"Yeah, but that's normal."
Moana pushed him off the raft.
"Okay, there's the half-crazed lava demon. This should be fun."
"Well, you have learned to use the hook properly, anyway. Be careful with the dragon form; the ocean won't let you drown, and she's less annoyed with you now that she understands what's going on, but…"
"No need to make her job harder, right?" Terry nodded, understanding. "You be careful, too, okay? Loops can turn Variant without warning sometimes-"
"I know, and I always am. At least, I am since that one Loop where Te Ka and Te Fiti were separate and Te Ka was keeping Te Fiti captive. That got scary. That's why I always go to the island first; to check for that."
Terry nodded again, then dove into the water as he shifted into his loon form. He'd never admitted it to anyone, but he enjoyed shapeshifting. Exploring the possibilities of each new form, testing new sets of limits, discovering new senses… it never got old. He sometimes wished he had more opportunities to do it, but also knew that the simple fact that those opportunities weren't too common kept them special. After all, if he got to do it all the time, it could possibly get boring.
Possibly.
He stayed underwater for as long as he could, swimming toward Te Ka. He'd have to time this carefully; he needed a long stretch of water for a runway, as one of the drawbacks of the loon was that it was not good at takeoffs. If he moved too early, Te Ka would spot him before he was ready; too late, and he could end up parboiled. Neither was favorable. When he did pop up to the surface again, he let out a small sigh of relief; he'd nailed it. He shrugged his wings, limbering them up, then began paddling his webbed feet, building momentum. This was the tricky part, since the splashing could draw Te Ka's attention, but he got airborne with no problems. Once there, all he had to do was keep Te Ka distracted for at least half an hour. Oh, and not get baked by a blast of lava; that was important too.
"Hey, lady, this is a No Smoking area!" And it was on. Te Ka whirled, spotted him, let out a scream of rage. Perfect. Well, for a given value of perfect, anyway. This was another delicate balance: be annoying without going so far that she ignored everything else in her efforts to swat him. He dodged a lava blast, transforming as he did so. And learned that when a whale belly-flops, it has a lot more surface area to sting. "Ow. Note to self: don't do that again. But have you mist me yet?"
He expelled a gout of spray from his blowhole, wondering if the look of disgust on Te Ka's face was from the water vapor or the admittedly lame pun. He dodged another lava ball, swimming at an angle that drew her eyes away from where Moana would be sailing, dove underwater for a few seconds, then breached, splashing back down again a lot more carefully than the first landing. Not wanting to overuse the trick, he transformed again and began to sing, not even trying to stay on key.
"Narwhal, narwhal, swimming in the ocean, causing a commotion, 'cause they are so awesome!"
Now that was an expression he would cherish: complete and utter bewilderment. And it gave him a better idea. If he could keep her confused instead of annoyed, she would be in a more receptive mood to hear Moana. Time to give his improv skills a workout. Not to mention the hook. When he'd checked his Pocket, he'd discovered a surprising amount of teeth in there, some of which he had no memory of getting, and if Moana was right, he could change into anything he had the tooth of. Time to see just how true that was.
"Shoo-be-doo!" Terry snickered, becoming a seapony, one of the where-the-frilly-heck-did-that-come-from teeth. Te Ka's expression was almost identical to what Moana's had been when he'd first taken the form. After a few well-timed and well-placed explosions, he changed again, this time to a strangely boxy cow, bobbing along in the water. There wasn't much he could do like that, so after giving her a few seconds to realize that cows don't generally consist of right angles, he shifted to the Maleficent-dragon, splashing as melodramatically as he could. "Ahhhh! Wrong dragon! Wrong dragon! Gimme a second!"
He shifted to a Skyrim dragon and took to the sky, and once he was there, shifted to Tiamat.
"This should help me keep ahead of you."
Te Ka flicked a smaller lava ball, and from her expression, it was definitely a reaction to the joke. Terry responded with a five-headed smirk; it was working better than he'd expected. Not only was Te Ka focused on him, but her anger was diminishing, replaced by confused exasperation. He could work with that. He shifted to a llama, making sure he hovered in space for a few seconds before looking down, doing a wild take, and beginning to plummet.
"Bad plan!" He changed into a turtle, slowing his fall dramatically. He supposed using out-of-Loop magic to do so was cheating, but it did the trick. Te Ka's jaw dropped, gaze switching from him to the ocean; he could almost see the calculations going on in her head as she tried to work out the logic behind what he'd done. The minor detail that there wasn't any would make her job harder, but that was okay. As he landed, he switched forms once again, to a goofy-looking sea serpent, one that looked more like foam rubber than anything living. Terry wondered once again what the Zygons had been drinking when they'd come up with this one, but he was glad he'd kept the tooth Benton had carved. "Ach, lassie, ye're lookin' a wee bit fashed noo; time fer-"
"I have crossed the horizon to find you;
I know your name."
Terry stopped as Moana began to sing in the distance. Te Ka whirled, and both she and Terry saw the path that had opened between Te Ka and Te Fiti's island where Moana stood, holding the Heart. Terry watched, nerves singing at a much higher pitch than Moana's voice, as the giant humanoid pyroclastic flow raced toward the green glow; like he'd said earlier, it was never too late for a Loop to go haywire. To his (and probably Moana's) relief, Te Ka stopped just short of the girl, although a cloud of ash and soot blasted past her, causing Terry one very bad moment. But Moana came through unharmed and unfazed, still holding up the Heart. Terry switched to a marlin, slicing through the water at top speed, hoping to get close enough to help just in case.
Unnecessary, as it turned out. He was nearly there when Moana reached up a bit higher, placing the Heart where it belonged. Green light flared out, blinding but somehow not painful, and when he could see again, Te Fiti's island was restored, as was Te Fiti. Terry sighed in relief, swimming the rest of the way at a less frantic pace. A few minutes later, he stood next to Moana again, looking up at the beautiful green face of the goddess and trying very hard not to think of Poison Ivy. Te Fiti raised an eyebrow at him, silently reminding him of what he'd done before he Woke up.
"Uh, sorry about the Heart thing," he said, more than a little awkward; in his opinion, one of the biggest inconveniences of Looping was having to fix screw-ups he'd never have made if he'd been Awake. He could screw up enough without that, thank you. "It was a really stupid thing for me to do, and if I could go back in time and smack myself upside the head for even considering it, believe me, I would."
He had done just that in a few Loops where it was possible. Not too often, but there had been times when he just had to if he wanted to keep his self-respect. Some of that must have slipped into his tone or expression, because Te Fiti smiled. But then she looked back and forth between him and Moana before raising the eyebrow again, her smile growing as he turned scarlet.
"You really can blush, can't you?" Moana was laughing at him again, not that he could blame her. She looked up at Te Fiti, their smiles unnervingly similar. "Sorry, but there's nothing like that. He's a nice guy, believe it or not-"
"Oh, hey…"
"-but I don't think I could get between him and his true love." Moana's smile changed to a smirk as she looked down to where Heihei was again nuzzling Terry's ankle.
"I hate you so much right now."
There wasn't much more to the Loop. He went to Moana's island with her, using the excuse that he could help her teach them to become voyagers again; every time another reason popped into his mind, he squashed it. He kept the hook in his Pocket, as Moana had warned him that the Loop's ending was a bit fluid, and he wanted to keep it. It turned out to be a good idea; the Loop ended a little over a week after they arrived. He Awoke in Gotham, flopping back on his bed, feeling like an idiot for missing her already.
Maui strode forward, looking forward to chatting with Moana again. She steered her boat onto the island, waving.
"So, anything interesting happen while I was in Chicago dealing with one really strange Mountie?"
"That guy you met on your namesake replaced you last Loop."
"And…?" Maui waggled his eyebrows at her; he wasn't big on the whole matchmaker thing, but he'd thought the two might hit it off.
"And he's a nice guy. His fiancée probably thinks so too." Moana's raised eyebrow, a little too much like Te Fiti's, told him she'd figured out his cunning plan. She didn't seem mad, though, so he took that as a good sign. At least, he did until her words soaked in.
"Fiancée?"
"Yep. She's not Looping, but…" Moana shrugged. Maui sighed; if he'd known about the fiancée, he wouldn't have talked up the guy so much. Moana elbowed him lightly. "Hey, don't feel bad. I might have given it a thought if he hadn't mentioned her, but at least I got a new friend out of it. Just double-check next time."
"What makes you think there'll be a next time?"
"Because I've met you."
Maui just grinned in response. This meant he'd have to do some more matchmaking, of course, but next time, he was going to have some fun. He wondered if he could convince their Admin to get Ron Weasley to drop in for a Loop, or maybe that Saotome guy; he'd have to make sure to have a camera ready if it happened while he was around. He didn't notice the evil grin on his own face warning Moana of his plan, nor did he notice her shaking her head. Instead, he focused on the brilliance of his plan and the opportunities for trolling that could arise, never once considering that the troller could himself get trolled.
34.9 (Mirror Mage) (Anon e Mouse Jr.): [Kingdom Hearts] / [Pokemon]
Terra had nearly passed the scene when he first came across it-though you kind of had to wonder how he needed his Larvitar to point out something that obvious.
"Guys, are you seeing this?"
"Seeing wha...?" Aqua paused for a moment, her Brione tilting its head at the sight. "...You're not the only person, that's for sure."
Ventus twittered assent, retreating into the "Fluffy Hat" Position he'd established atop Terra's head. A queen-sized Shuppet pile was kind of hard to miss.
...Especially when they weren't supposed to be on this Route. Or have a suspicious red-and-black-gloved hand sticking out of the pile, twitching every so often as its owner attempted to get up.
(Keyword: attempted.)
"...Mickey's the Pokémon Champion this loop, isn't he?" Terra asked as the Shuppet victim let out a string of curses, failing yet again in his attempts to wiggle out of the overbearing pile (or even shift to a new position).
"I think so, but I can't remember which Region," Aqua muttered, brow furrowed in thought. "We haven't heard from him this Loop yet."
Elsewhere, Mickey sneezed.
"Gesundheit," Cynthia told her fellow Champion, who was sitting across from her in the living room of her Undella Town villa.
"Thanks," Mickey replied, before he shook his head. "Why do I get the feeling someone's talking about me?"
"Believe me, I get that feeling all the time," Cynthia told him. "I'm just better at controlling the physical reaction."
"Right."
"They seem to be holding him pretty well, though." The pile glowed, the curses petering out into a series of quiet grumbles.
"We should still keep an eye out in case things go wrong."
"Swablu." Ven nodded.
"I'll see if I can contact anyone via the Pokedex."
"I'll take the first watch."
"Blu?"
"...Okay, you can watch with me." Ven nodded and shifted into a more alert stance, his wings puffed up in a failed attempt to look imposing. He never thought he'd say this, but-well, time to babysit a Vanitas.
34.10 (lord Martiya): [Winx Club] / [W.I.T.C.H.] (also compiled in Winx Club Loops as Loop 29.6)
"What do you want?" Icy bluntly asked Cornelia when she showed up.
"I have an offer for a truce." the visiting Looper said. "I guess you know what I've been doing?"
"You mean completely sealing Tritannus' cell, collapsing Darkar's lair on his head, robbing that warlord Yoshinoya blind, and stealing our fun with Mitzi?" Stormy asked, a bit bitter since she had realized WHO had ruined Mitzi before they could.
"I have a younger sister. But I take you know I'm tackling all the bullies of this Branch-and I believe you'll be interested in helping with my next target: Lightrock. After all, you haven't found anything bad enough for them yet..."
"And what would a little HERO like you know about making them pay?"
Cornelia simply smiled and gave the Trix some papers. She remained like that as the Trix read them, then incredulously re-read them multiple times until they accepted that Cornelia had done just that.
"And you call yourself a hero?!" Darcy asked, trying, and failing, to hide her admiration for what Cornelia had pulled.
"A very efficient one." Cornelia confirmed.
"Then how did YOU come up with this when WE couldn't?!" Icy demanded.
"Perspective: you are relatively hands-on people who never had many resources besides your own magic, while I am the daughter of a bank director. That's why I robbed Yoshinoya to begin with." she explained as she offered Icy her hand. "So... Truce for this Loop?"
Icy didn't answer, just shook her hand.
The throne room of Lightrock was in complete silence, except for Stormy snickering, as the Lord of the Knights and his closest assistants digested what Cornelia and the Trix had just announced them.
"What the-Could you please repeat that?" the lord said after a few minutes of shock.
"I said I've bought Lightrock out and you're fired. You and most of your torturers, but some I may keep if you haven't corrupted them enough." Cornelia replied as she showed him a copy of the relevant documents. "Now get out before I have you arrested for trespassing."
In the following months as "patients" in the new and reformed Lightrock, the Lord of the Knights and his closest assistants would regret having attacked the Loopers to try and keep the Fortress.
34.11 (Awesomedude17): [Gravity Falls] / [Rick and Morty]
"RIKKI TIKKI TAVIIIII!"
"Grunkle Rick!" Mabel hugged Rick.
"Hey there, little scamp. Ignore my plus one."
"I will destroy you, Rick!"
"Yeah yeah, keep saying that, Lincler, and maybe I will actually give a crap."
"Rick, how're ya doin', old pal?"
"Eh, still the same. This is Abradolf Lincler, my failed experiment at creating a morally neutral leader. He's a wurrrrss."
Lincler growled.
"Really?"
"So you're still crazy coot, I see. Well, you feeling Loopy?"
"I'm well Anchored. So Stan, about those... magical crystals I got..."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, I couldn't get them."
"Let me guess... Jerry?"
"Nope. Mr. Meeseeks."
"Oh."
"I'M MISTER MEESEEKS! LOOK AT ME!"
"I want to find a rainbow!" Mabel shouted.
"Can doooo!"
"I'll just follow her." Dipper followed Mable out with Mr. Meeseeks.
"How's she going to screw this up?" Rick asked.
"Hey! That's my niece you're bad mouthing!" Stan shouted.
Rick rolled his eyes.
"It's going to rain in an hour or so, so they should find one easily when it's over."
"Right then. Anywho, see ya later jackass. Here's my end of our deal." Rick shoved Lincler into Stan's hands.
"Wait, you're just going to give a clone made of Lincoln and Hitler DNA?"
"Yes, you're going to give me away... to a sideshow shack?!"
"Yes. Later." Rick left.
"Wow, what a jackass." Stan remarked.
"Tell me about it."
34.12 (Hvulpes): [Gravity Falls]
The population of Gravity Falls were hidden in the underground bunker Ford had created, hiding from the monster which had taken over the town.
"How long do we have to wait down here, Dipper?" asked Soos, as they guarded door way out.
"Till Mabel runs out of Unicorn Frapps... or Mabelcorn Frapps using her new recipes. So a couple of days at least." said Dipper, as he turned to the being next to him, "Right Bill?"
"Made sure all deliveries are diverted. I have to hand it to your sister. I've seen chaotic madness, but this takes the cake... Then everything made of sugar and goes crazy. Broadway Style!"
34.1: Riiiight… (Note: I added to this one to clarify what was being referred to.)
34.2: Zootopia in place of Zyuland. Interesting version.
34.3: Oh-kay...
34.4: One of the scariest things you can ever face.
34.5: Princess Summit interrupted by bizarre tangent.
34.6: Sneaky one!
34.7: That's actually a useful form to access.
34.8: New cross-loop friendships are always good to see.
34.9: Interesting. (Note: the scene with Mickey was me, Anon e Mouse Jr. - the original posted version requested a cutaway gag here, so I wrote one.)
34.10: Note from lord Martiya: "So… Disney Loopers buying out problems. I accidentally started a running gag…"
34.11: Strange...
34.12: Also strange.