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 2017-12-30. This is the second of two chapters posted today. (Edited 2017-12-31.)
Disney/Kingdom Hearts Loops, Chapter Twenty-Five
25.1 (Masterweaver): [Pirates of the Caribbean] / [My Little Pony] (previously compiled in MLP Time Loops as Loop 173.23)
"Ah, Equestria! Learned about the loops here, you know."
Sea Swan, elsewhen known as Elizabeth, tilted her head. "I thought Poseidon gave you the looping speech."
"Aye. Then I got so blind drunk I forgot it, so he arranged for me to be dumped in here. Don't let the colorful ponies fool ya." Sparrow Jack, elsewhen known as OY YOU!, gave her a broad grin. "There's debauchery aplenty if you know where to look. Case in point!"
The brown stallion's hoof swung to indicate a red barn. "Looks ordinary, don't it. Sure, maybe they'd make some drinks here, but you'd think that servin' them would happen elsewhere." He smirked as his hoof pointed at a particular cellar door. "Down there, though, lies one of the most skilled bar-mixers in the multiverse, and if rumor is to be believed, she's shackin' up with a chaos spirit."
Sea Swan rose an eyebrow. "You're going to go in."
"No, lass. We're goin' to go in."
25.2 (Leviticus Wilkes): [Star vs. The Forces of Evil]
Princess Star Butterfly, heir apparent to kingdom of Mewni, vanquisher of evil, wielder of the magic wand, nacho lover, friend of Marco Diaz and all in all happy girl...
Sighed.
...Nah, just kidding.
"Rainbow sparkle narwhal blast!" Star cried, sending a stray monster in her evil villain Ludo's employ flying. The frog, named Buff Frog because he was a buff frog, crashed into Giant Chicken, a giant chicken monster. Mace Hands (take a wild guess) ran straight at Star to replace Buff Frog. Star grinned evilly. "Laser puppy storm!"
Mace Hands was buried beneath a mountain of laser puppies. Ludo and his entourage of evil monsters decided now was a good time to throw in the towel.
Star spun her wand in her hand and blew a little smoke wafting from it and grinned at her parents, King and Queen Butterfly of Mewni. "So, I can handle the wand. Please can I go to Earth? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!?"
King Butterfly looked at Queen Butterfly. "She did handle the wand well and we did say she could study abroad."
Queen Butterfly harrumphed. "I'd rather we send her to St. Olga's Academy for Wayward Princesses."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Star screamed.
"Now now honey, we made a promise," King Butterfly said. He produced a pair of magical scissors and cut a hole in the fabric of their dimension. "Star, since you have demonstrated proficiency with the Magic Wand, and because we promised it, you can go from the magical world of Mewni to... eh..." King Butterfly looked into the portal. "Hearth? No, Earth. You may go to Earth."
"Loveyouboth,later,bye!" Star said, grabbing her luggage and leaping through the portal. A moment later, she leaned back into her home dimension. "Uh, can I have some gold and jewels for a bribe, I mean, allowance?"
Marco Diaz, green belt (with a stripe) in karate, average Latin American boy, voted safest guy in the school, secret crusher on Jackie Lynn-Thompson, and all around nice guy really did sigh. You'd be unfailingly depressed and would absolutely be considering how quickly and painlessly you could kill yourself if you were in high school too.
The intercom for Echo Creek High crackled, bringing Marco out of his funk. "Marco Diaz to the main office please," the principal said.
Marco ran like his life depended on it. Star was here, and occasionally, running was an appropriate response to her antics.
Outside the main office, there was the principal (with his chest of gold and jewels as bribe, I mean, payment for hosting Star) and Star herself, standing, smiling, and-
"Narwhal blast!"
Narwhal blasting him.
Marco watched the unfortunate aquatic mammal soar straight by him. 'Hmm. Star's aim is usually really good. Why would she miss?'
'Wait, did Star just narwhal blast me!?'
Star waved at Marco. "Hi Marco! I'm Star Butterfly, a magical princess from another dimension."
Marco stared at his friend of over four lifetimes. "Why were you doing that?"
Star smiled and shrugged cutely. "I wanted to get the magical roomy out of the way really quickly."
Marco's eye twitched. "No. No no no no NO! That's not what you did last time! That's not what you're supposed to do at all! You're supposed to not even show me magic until I say I want danger! This isn't right!"
Star stared at Marco. "Marco say what now?"
Marco nearly ripped his hair out. "The last four times we did this you weren't like this! Something's-" Marco came to a dead halt.
Star smiled suddenly. "Time travel?"
"You... You're time traveling to?" Marco said.
"Fifth time!" Star sang.
The principal coughed into his hand. "Well now, since you're both acquainted, I guess I will be on my way. Also, Marco, you'll be hosting Star at your house." The principal ran for it. "Hasta la bye bye!"
Star and Marco were alone. Marco grinned awkwardly. "So, you're in the Groundhog Time thing too?"
"Oh yeah. You showed me that movie by the way. Do you remember that?"
"I've never watched it with you."
"Huh."
Marco smiled. "So, I've done this four times."
Star held up her fingers. "Five times for me."
"After the wand got cleaved?"
"After the wand got cleaved. Wanna kick Toffee's butt?"
"Oh yeah."
Then, a buff frog appeared between them. Buff Frog pointed at Star. "You, hand over dee wand, and you won't get hurt."
Buff Frog went flying. Marco grinned. "Did I mention that I earned a black belt in karate?"
A three eyed giant baby, named Three Eyed Giant Baby, showed up behind Marco and screamed at him. He went flying. Star grinned. "Did I mention I mastered the Narwhal Blast?"
Ludo, the tiny kappa monster, appeared with his usual band of monsters. "Get that wand!"
Star and Marco fell against each other, side to side, ready to rumble. "Marco."
"Yeah Star?"
"I love fighting monsters."
"Ooh yeah."
25.2 (Leviticus Wilkes): [Star vs. The Forces of Evil]
Star popped into Earth. "Oh Marco?"
The students in Marco's class stared at the magical princess from another dimension who had just walked into the classroom. Marco Diaz was among them. "Yes?"
"I'm a magical princess from another dimension." Star leaned in as the customary flaming rainbow showed up. "Ring any bells?"
Marco ran from the room.
"We got a runner!" Star cried, racing after Marco.
Marco met up with the principal of Echo Creek High, and Star, who was mystified by the water fountain and trying to attack it. Marco smiled. "Hey Star, want to see a magic trick?"
Star almost flew over to Marco. "Do I?"
Marco held up his hands, wrapped his thumb in a grip, and "pulled" it apart from his hand. "I can remove my thumbs."
"Ooh," the naive Star said.
25.4 (StormrangerDraconis): [Disney] / [Bar Loop]
As Donald waddled into the House of Mouse, Mickey could instantly tell something was off.
"Donald, were you practicing the 'Dreamworks Face' again?" the Disney mascot said sternly. "You know none of us here had enough time on-"
The named duck suddenly began throwing a fit. "WAK! NONONONONONO!"
Having tired himself out about a minute later, Donald slumped over the bar: "Spent the past dozen Loops over in the Dreamworks Cluster, and I somehow strained my facial muscles."
Mickey dropped the accusatory glare before pulling a shot glass out. "I'm assuming they tried helping?" he asked, conversationally.
"Po and his friends tried. Unfortunately, they had the wrong charts on the nervous system."
25.5 (kingofsouls): [Inside Out]
Riley was running as fast as she could, her breath heavy and ragged. The moon-lit forest that she was running through was a reflection of the monster that she ran from: twisted and pulsing with ill intent. So thick was the dread, the feeling of ill intent that even the moonlight seemed to cower from the darkness that pursued her.
No, it wasn't the darkness.
Even the darkness feared it.
It was the void. One that Riley was all too familiar with, and wished to never see again.
The trees became thicker, their branches weaving across one another and blocking her path. Riley charged ahead, ducking and weaving as she avoided the obstacles ahead. As she ran, she felt her body tire, burning with pain and begging for a single moment of rest it could never have.
To her surprise, the trees began to clear, what was once thick and insurmountable now thinning out into clear passage away from the horror behind. A dirt road was present, leading her to who knew where, but since it was anywhere but here and here was a pretty bad place to be, Riley started to race down the dirt road.
Anywhere but here was where she wanted to be.
Her ragged breath was the only sound she heard as she ran towards her unseen goal, never daring to look behind her. She did not care what lay ahead, only that whatever caused this would end.
If only it was that easy.
From out of the darkness came her destination: A cliff. Riley skid to a stop, dust flowing upwards as Riley slowed down. The dust and pebbles that Riley disturbed fell off the cliff, and Riley looked down.
The cliff stood above a pit that never ended, the ground below so far away that none could see it.
If there was a ground at the bottom...
Riley steeled herself, and turned around, her only option as she had just ran out of road.
And then the void stared back.
-Reality-
Riley shot up, screaming louder than she ever screamed before. Her pajama was drenched in her sweat, the sensation uncomfortable in more ways than one. Slowly, the darkness in the room became more pronounced yet in a comforting way; familiar objects and trappings in her room became known to her as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
Riley's thoughts then wandered to the visage that haunted her ever since that fateful day in Arcadia.
She violently shuddered, tightening the grip her blankets had on her.
The nightmare had returned.
Again.
Thankfully, even in the deepest darkness, Riley was never alone.
"Riley!" the familiar voice of Disgust echoed across the link between Riley's thoughts and her emotions. "Please tell me you're okay."
"Yea, I think so." returned Riley. "I had another one, didn't I?"
"Afraid so, girl. Would have hit the Awake button sooner but someone fainted."
"Hey, in my defense it was a scary nightmare! You would have done the same."
"Okay, until Riley stops having these nightmares you are not allowed on dream duty Fear."
"Best news I've heard all week."
Before Riley could retort, her door opened, and Bill and Jill rushed in, fear on their faces. "Riley!" Jill was the first to reach their daughter, and quickly wrapped her arms around Riley. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Riley paused for a moment before answering with a meek "Yeah. I'm okay."
-Headquarters-
Disgust watched through the Mind's Eye for a moment before walking away from the console. Sadness (the only other emotion Awake besides herself) walked up behind her, gently placing her hands on it and letting her influence drift into Riley. Psycho Joy watched from her spot in the back, straight-jacketed and tied to a dolly. Anger rolled his eyes as he began to free her from her prison just in case she was needed.
If there was ever any time Riley needed Sadness more, now was it.
With a huff, Disgust slumped onto Anger's couch in a most unladylike manner. Before she could properly relax, Fear walked up next to her, more ashamed in his inability to protect Riley from the nightmare than fear of the Slenderman that plagued her dreams. "Alright," Fear slowly began. "I may not understand this whole time loop thing, but I'm guessing that this Slenderman nightmare thing has happened before."
"Afraid so." Disgust huffed. "Riley used to have them every night after..." she shuddered as she struggled to stop remembering that fateful Loop. "...it happened."
Fear nodded in agreement. "At least it's just nightmares."
Anger then joined them, grumpier than usual as Psycho Joy (who had strangely done nothing disruptive towards her perceived image of a happy Riley. Apparently even Psycho Joy knew when was a bad time to be annoying) bounced her way behind the couch, leaning on it's back and dangling her head over Anger's. "Well, everybody," Anger huffed. "I for one wish death to that monster that was in Riley's nightmare."
"You and the rest of the Multiverse," Disgust grumbled back.
"Uh guys?" Psycho Joy announced. "Mom and Dad are leaving."
It was true: The visage of Bill and Jill returning to their rooms graced the Mind's Eye, turning off the lights and returning Riley's room to darkness lit only by glow-in-the-dark stars. Quickly getting off the couch as quickly as she sat down into it, Disgust raced over to join up with Sadness whom was still manning the console, Anger, Fear, and Psycho Joy slowly following her.
Disgust shrugged as she manned the console, Sadness and Riley's short conversation quickly ending as fast at it began as Riley channeled Blue mana for a sleep spell to return to sleep quickly. First thing in the morning she was going to pay a visit to Dream Productions and give them a piece of her mind.
25.6 (kingofsouls): [Inside Out]
-Reality-
Riley was sitting at the kitchen table, doing her homework of the day, which in and of itself was now mind-numbing tedious given that she had an entire section of her mind that stored the answers to any assignment she would encounter in Baseline and in some cases Variants, when it happened.
One moment, peace and quiet. The next, a headache with the force of a jackhammer.
Jackhammer was probably the most accurate way to describe it because it felt like the headache was starting to echo, compounding the pain.
Riley shook her head, and quickly got out her Mind Machine. She didn't feel comfortable using Blue magic at this point, since the last time she tried to use it to dive into her mind without the machine ended in Eiken.
-Headquarters-
Riley popped into existence, and was shocked at what she saw.
Headquarters was a mess. Memory Orbs, papers, cups...you name it, it was on the floor being a part of a mess that seemed to span all of Headquarters.
"What..." Riley started to ask. She was interrupted by a yellow blur rushing towards her, grabbing her before Riley could process what was happening.
"Oh my gosh Riley, I'm sooooooooo sorry! I didn't mean to, it just sort of happened!"
"Joy... what happened?"
Releasing her most favorite person in the world, Joy smiled one of those awkward 'please don't ground me pretty please' looks you would give your mother. Or at the very least the closest equivalent one would give the human you lived in. "Well, it's one of those really weird stories that don't really sound like it could ever happen, and then you try doing it because it's never going to happen, but then you're really really surprised when it happens."
"Aren't we time travelers?" Riley countered. "We've seen strange stuff already, like when Dad was a pro-wrestler."
"Oh yeah, that was hilarious!" laughed Joy. "I guess that's true. Okay, well.. this happened." Joy then held up a small red rubber ball.
Riley was not impressed. "...Really?"
"That's what I thought!" Joy replied. "I didn't even throw it that hard, I threw it gently like this, and." Before Joy could stop herself, she gently threw the ball at the floor (at least, the small part of it that wasn't covered in stuff).
As soon as the ball hit the ground, it shot straight up faster than it ever should have been. It hit the ceiling, ricocheting off of it and into a shelf, knocking out some of the memories that were still on it before flying off in another angle over and over again.
Riley then immediately gripped her head as the ball bounced like a hyperactive rocket all over her mind, the pain returning with a vengeance.
Realizing what she'd done, Joy gulped. "...ooops."
25.7 (Hvulpes): [Frozen]
Elsa and Anna were in the Hub on the East Coast of North America, when the news reported: Snowmageddon 2016!
Anna looked at her sister with a smirk. Elsa told her, "It's not my fault... this time. Not like 2013."
"Still... Snowmageddon would make a great supervillain name for you." Anna said before getting pelted by a small snowball.
25.8 (wildrook): [National Treasure)
When one sets out on a treasure hunt, their excitement tends to vary. For non-Loopers and pirates, it's all about the money one could make. For archaeologists, it's about the amount of history one could learn from what's contained there.
But for Loopers, the location and clues tend to vary from Loop to Loop. So for all Benjamin, Riley, and Abigail would know, the treasure map could be the back of the Constitution and the Location could be either the Pentagon, the White House, or where the World Trade Center used to be.
The set of clues they had this Loop had brought them to Watergate, of all places.
"Of all the places we could be," Riley muttered, "the scandal involving Richard Nixon had to be the location of the next clue."
"I know, Riley," Benjamin replied, "but our only saving grace is that the map this time is more straightforward. Although I seriously doubt Watergate had any significance for my ancestors."
Abigail gave them a look. "Well," she said, "I'm just glad I found you guys before I nearly got kidnapped by Ian again. Which reminds me, if we're looking for the next clue, now would be a good time."
Benjamin gave her a look. "Ian?" She gave out a nod. "Luckily, this room has been empty for a while. Turns out the previous owner had taken care of Leader Dole before the 1993 election. That, and better to find a needle in a haystack."
"Hiding in plain sight," Riley muttered. "But we all know that Ian's going to find your Dad in order to lure you out. That's a bit of a bummer."
Benjamin knew that as he brought out the glasses to look for the next clue. They had to work fast this Loop.
25.9 (ScyBlade): [Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]
When Eddy Valiant entered her bar, Dolores knew something was up. "Eddy, I know that look. You're planning something."
"Actually, it's not something, but somethings." Eddy proceeded to drop a file folder onto the counter. "That's Judge Doom's records. The ones saying he's human."
Dolores gave him The Stare. It was a pretty good The Stare. It'd rate a .9 on the Fluttershy scale. "Hey, I got those through perfectly legal means. I just need you to keep those safe until after I've done my things." The Stare intensified to a 1 on the scale.
"Don't worry Dolores, when Eddy told me what he was planning, I knew it would work." Roger reassured her. "Besides," Roger leaned in closer to whisper something into her ear, "he's been to 'Space Jam'." The eyes of Dolores widened, knowing what that meant due to being Awake. She then proceeded to pull Roger under the counter. She had heard a noise. One indicating someone entering her establishment.
"Judge Doom, what a... something... to see you," Eddy said with a tone of amusement.
"Don't waste my time Valiant. I have information that the Rabbit is here." Doom sneered. "It would be everyone's benefit if you simply let me do my job." Doom then looked down at the squeaking noise he heard.
While putting on a black rubber glove, Doom began to say, "Since I've had Toontown under my jurisdiction my goal has been to reign in the insanity. And the only way to do that is to make Toons respect..." letting the glove snap back onto his arm to emphasize his point, "the Law." Doom proceeded to pick up the shoe, and take it to the van. Inside is a barrel that Doom violently throws the lid off of, revealing a bubbling green liquid. As he was about to Dip the Shoe, Eddy grabbed Doom's gloved arm.
"Mr. Valiant, kindly unhand me-"
"Yeah, yeah I know normally what I just did would constitute 'Assault and Battery', but not when I'm stopping someone from breaking the Law. And you can't make people, or toons for that matter, respect something you don't respect yourself. I should know." Eddy remarked.
Doom glared. "In what way was I not respecting the Law, Mr. Valiant?"
"Well, I got two words for ya, 'Sucker Punch'." Which he proceeded to do. Valiant got what he expected, Doom's head raising several feet. Which would raised questions about if he was a toon or not, if his mask had stretched with him. Since it didn't everyone saw his very toony neck. Which Valiant proceeded to grab, allowing him easy access to Doom's mask when his head snapped back like a rubber band. Eddy then ripped the mask off. "Nice mask, you dirty brother killer."
"So you found me out, did you now?" Doom's voice was noticeably higher pitched now. "Yes, I did kill your brother, but good luck stopping me from getting away."
With his back turned to Doom, Eddy proceeded to speak. "It's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, toons like you..." He turned to Doom, but both of his eyes were shaded hiding them. "should be burning in hell." Valiant's left eye glowed an eerie blue.
25.10 (HarmonyChaos): [Fablehaven] / [Percy Jackson]
Kendra Woke up staring at a manticore as he snuck up on a kid with a sword.
"Behind you!" she cried in alarm. However, the kid didn't even need her warning as he dodged the stinger, which crashed into a wall, then both the manticore and the boy with the sword began to look around in confusion. But why? She felt Seth grab her arm and then realized that he used his Shadowcharmer abilities. As they ran she took the time to go through her memories and to drag Seth along as they walked away from the two combatants.
Apparently they was taken from a hotel at a young age, sent to stay here, and the manticore's name was Dr. Thorn.
They re-entered the ballroom and closed the door. Only to come across two girls and a boy on crutches. She debated going back but a roar stopped her, and one of the girls pulled them along.
"Come on!" she said as they struggled. "If we don't leave now we're all dead."
"First of all, who are you?" Seth asked. "Second, where are you taking us?"
"We're taking you someplace where people like us live." the girl pulling them said. "My name is Thalia."
"My name's Annabeth," the girl next to her said. "That's Grover." pointing at the other guy. "You've probably met Percy... Where is he anyway?"
"Is he a guy with a sword?" Seth asked.
"Yup." Grover said.
"Last I saw he was in a fight against Dr. Thorn." Kendra said.
"He'll be fine." they said simultaneously.
At camp
Percy walked up to the Hermes cabin as he smiled at the other campers. He really did love it here.
When he opened the door he saw the girl and boy he rescued.
"Hey there, you okay?" he asked.
"Oh. Yeah, totally fine. We just got told that the Greek Gods and Goddess exist. Lucky it's just for however long this loop goes on for."
"Uh, hate to break it to you but they- wait did you just say loop?"
"Kendra!" Seth said fake shock was on his face. "I thought that I would be the one to spill the beans, not you!"
"Look I'm just sick of not having any answers, and what if we're trapped here, never to see our parents, or grandparents-" she was cut off by Percy hugging her.
"Shhh" he said, rubbing her head. "Everything is going to be okay. How many loops have you gone through?"
"200. Not counting this one." she said.
"I've only done 10. Which includes this one."Seth said.
Percy winced. "Here I got something that'll help ease you into all this." He pulled the manual out of his Pocket and gave it to Seth.
"Whoa!" Seth said. "Tell me how you did that!"
"All in due time. First read up on it."
Seth opened the book to find... that nothing made sense. It was all jumbled up letters and words. "Hey! What gives?"
"Whoops gave you the wrong one. That's for mortals. This is the Ancient Greek version." Percy said as he took the book back then gave him the right book. "If that doesn't work I've got a Latin book you can have."
25.11 (Evilhumour): [Pirates of the Caribbean] / [Kantai Collection]
"And that missy, is how I,-" the pirate captain was stopped telling his tale to Will Turner and his feisty wife when a voice called out.
"JACK SPARROW!" a fierce looking woman shouted, storming over the trio. Before any of them could react, the woman did something very familiar and slapped the pirate across the face. She then did something very unusual and pulled the dirty pirate into a tight kiss. She then slapped him again, glaring at him.
"Um, do I know you lass?" Jack asked, rubbing his face and blinking slowly.
"Do you know me!?" She huffed, slapping him again before spitting onto the floor. Turning to the other two loopers, she snapped, "After all the time together and all the times he lost me, he has the nerve to ask who I AM!" She then kicked Jack in the leg, causing the pirate to curse and hop around as he held his knee.
"Wait a tic," Jack paused, tilting his head. "You do seem familiar to me, which is saying something."
"I better," the woman glared before turning to glare at Elizabeth. "And if you dare try to sink me again, I swear I will knock your pretty head off!"
"By the code, are you..." Jack gulped, "Are you my ship?"
"Yes!" She groaned, showing her rigging to the trio before grabbing Jack's ear. "Now you will tell me why I remember you back in the past and how you three are alive now!" Dragging the cursing pirate away as Black Pearl let out a string of curses, the couple were struggling to keep their amusements to their faces.
25.12 (kingofsouls): [Inside Out]
Riley ran down the stairs in a hurry like a crashing tide. "Dad! Dad!"
Bill's attention was soon Riley's, her father taking his eyes off the television. "What's up monkey?"
"Dad, you know how we're a movie in the Hub?" Riley asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Look what it got!" Riley then reached into her Pocket, and revealed a golden statue of a man.
Bill's Headquarters
Bill's Anger leaned towards the Mind's Eye. "Is that... an Oscar?"
"Oh my God it is an Oscar!" Bill's Disgust exclaimed. "Our movie won an Oscar!"
Bill's Joy wasted no time raising the "elated joy" levels to ten.
25.13 (TangleKat): [Peter Pan]
Peter Pan, prior to the Loops, had never been one for memory. All experiences were instantly lost to the mire of eternal childhood, opening the way for new things to happen. As such, it had taken a while to adapt to being able to remember things clearly.
There was also the matter of the multiple different "selves" he had been throughout his many… was the term Sub-Branches? If it wasn't, he rather liked the term. Either way, he had experienced many different personalities over the countless years. Some had been familiar and easy to slip into – like that one where he had dark hair and dressed in autumn colours – and others far more confusing – like the many times he had to put up with those silly tights and the stupid hat.
But by far the hardest was always the grown-up loops. The ones where he was a married man with two children; it had certainly been a shock for him, receiving all of those Loop Memories all at once. That wasn't to say that he wasn't fond of Jack or Maggie or Rufio or Don't Ask or Thud-Butt or Pockets or all the rest of his new Lost Boys. It was simply that Peter was an Eternal Child – The Boy Who Never Grew Up. So it was rather disconcerting to find that yes, at one point, he might have become a Grown-Up.
Over time, Peter's own personality had begun to change. It assimilated aspects of all his other selves – the good-natured trickster with the stupid hat, the grown-up… It had happened to some of the other inhabitants of Neverland as well, regardless of whether they were Awake (and none of them ever were) or not. Tinkerbell could speak fluent English, had a Talent for fixing things, and was generally some-what sort of nicer than before – or at least, was capable of retaining more than one emotion at a time.
Hook was sort of a mixed bag; at times he could be as unspeakably cruel as ever, other times cunning and manipulative, and – for whatever reason – he could be a stupid, bumbling idiot. Or a lovable rogue who loved an older, not-Indian Tiger Lily, which was strange. Smee seemed to have gotten a touch Irish and was often infatuated with Hook. Peter didn't really see the point, but simply shrugged his shoulders and went along with it.
Some days Peter wondered if he shouldn't have had his multiple selves in his mind, sort of like that one Pony from the Equestria Loops. Other days he decided that if that was the case, his grown-up self would likely be torn to shreds by the rest of his selves, because he was a grown-up. (Though he had to admit that he did enjoy lawyering, especially after spending a Loop Replacing Apollo Justice.)
And Neverland was always changing, flowing with his imagination. During a Baseline Loop it would take on as many aspects as he had Sub-Branches – the Lost Boys' village would have grown up around Hangman's tree; he could wander around and find the Black Castle a few minutes flight from the Tiki Tree Forest or perhaps he would find the Underground House had relocated to where the other hideout was – that one from the modern times… The Island itself provided more adventures than he could count, adding in some of the new things he had experienced in the Loops. Giant Robots, space adventures, days when every word became a song… The Loops truly did give him endless days of adventure.
Peter wondered if all this constant change didn't put him in a state of Sakura Syndrome. His grown-up sensibilities told him that due to the Island's fluid nature, he couldn't really be blamed for not being used to an unchanging environment. They also told him that he had something to look forward to – once the Loops ended, there would be a boundless reach of possibilities with whatever happened. Perhaps he would die and see what great adventure lay after life, perhaps he would go back and grow up for good, or perhaps his memories would be wiped entirely – he could experience things for the very first time again!
And so Peter carried on in his Eternal Childhood; a boy confident in himself, his skills, and the promise of a new adventure around every bend.
25.14 (HarmonyChaos): [Percy Jackson] / [Undertale]
"don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."
Percy cautiously turned around, Riptide fully out and reached his hand out-pffffft.
Percy stared at the chuckling skeleton, then chuckled.
"heh heh heh, the ol' whoopie cushion in the hand trick, gets them every time." the short skeleton in front of him said. "so. you awake kid?"
"Why? Do you need an Anchor?" Percy asked, he put the cap back on Riptide, grinning. "Percy Jackson son of Poseidon, Anchor of the Percy Jackson, Hero's of Olympus, and the Kane Chronicles. In other words the Riordan Branch."
"wow. that must be tough. name's sans, sans the skeleton, looper of the undertale branch. welcome to the underground. i'll introduce you to my brother, he's a bit of a human hunting fanatic when he's not awake, just remember he has a blue attack. just think of it like a stop sign, only blue, and you'll be fine. welp i'll see you around."
Everything went black for a moment, when it was over Sans was gone.
25.15 (Luna Gale): [Danny Phantom] / [American Dragon: Jake Long]
Of Quad-brids, Familial Relationships, and Sleep Deprived Cousins (Part 1 of 3)
Danny didn't really know what to think of this Loop.
Unlike many of his other adventures, this Loop had one of his more complicated backstories, to say the least. It gave him a headache trying to think too much into it, especially since in some sense, the background made the weird situation have logic.
Plus, every memory was disturbingly hard hitting in one way or another.
Emotionally, not physically.
So, at first, everything was simple. Years ago, the Dragon community wanted to finally populate America with its very first natural born American Dragon. This child would eventually become in charge of the protection, guarding, care-taking, and so on of the magical creatures in the area. Lao Shi, the previous Chinese dragon, immigrated to America with his two children to become one with the society, his kids even adopting American names, Susan and Edward, once they adapted to the culture. While, both dragon children didn't develop abilities of their own, they still carried the dragon gene, making it possible to have many dragon children, and to one day have one of them take the mantle of the first American Dragon.
Due to Chinese culture, it was assumed that Edward's child, being of male descent, would be the one to take the title. Many thought it was absolutely guaranteed, as the young strode through life with his sleek black hair, deep brown eyes, and a charming smile that made the ladies practically swoon. Edward was one year older than Susan, graduated a year in advance, and was what many considered to be a genius, ready for a long life of success. Any woman would want him, dragon heritage or not.
It all seemed inevitable.
And then everything turned… complicated.
While Susan married a human named Jonathan after high school, Edward… Edward stayed single throughout his schooling career. And far more alarming, as soon as the youngster graduated, he seemingly disappeared without a trace.
"I was tired of it, the responsibility." he once said, "Maybe it was immature, of me, but… I'm glad I left, in the end."
He then looked at his young son with a bright smile at this, making a warm feeling of love fill Danny's Unawake self's heart.
Years passed and no one heard from the older child. The Dragon community grew worried, announcing Edward missing after six months of no contact, and ready to announce him deceased at the two year mark, hopeless that the young man would reappear.
So when Edward finally came home, everyone was ecstatic, angry, yet relieved that he finally appeared… until, of course, they saw the little bundle in his arms, bright blue eyed baby sleeping soundly in the blankets.
The dragon community was even less enthused when they were told who the mother was.
"Your mother's name was Aquarius," Edward said with this small nostalgic smile, "She was a water nymph, wonderful in every way. She was witty, intelligent, and oh, so beautiful," He sighed, lost in his memories, but after his moment, he looked down at his wide eyed son, "You look like her you know. You have her blue eyes, button nose, and of course, the same imp-like smirk," The eight year old boy giggled when Edward tapped his nose. The single father chuckled and continued, "She picked your name, Daniel. While it's a perfectly American sounding name, Daniel has Greek origins. She said… she said the name meant 'God is my judge,'" Edward trailed off, eyebrows knitting in concentration, "Aqua wasn't religious, most magical creatures aren't, and even they are, they're definitely not Christian, but…
"I think, she meant something else. Your mom had the strangest thought process sometimes…" He smiled again, closing his eyes at the memories, "I guess she knew how hard it was going to be for us…" He swallowed, "for you. Maybe… maybe she wanted you to find your own path, to not let others judge you for what you are..." He shook his head, and looked down at his son proudly, "I guess it doesn't matter much in the end, you are who you are, Danny. Names are just a rose, beautiful as they are hurtful."
When Danny asked to hear more about the two of them together, the man continued, nostalgic smile reappearing on his face, "We were a strange couple, I guess," The man admitted with a shrug, "Water and fire. Tricksters and order. Our own Romeo and Juliet story," He chuckled dryly, eyes sad, but he brightened when Danny jumped up from his position on the floor to hug him close. As the small family cuddled, Edward ran his fingers through his son's hair, whispering under his breath, "I guess it was inevitable it would end tragically,
"But I don't regret any moment with her," he reassured strongly, looking into the little boy's bright blue eyes. Edward smiled again, "I especially don't regret you, my little imp."
Danny smiled back.
His father didn't speak much about where he met his mother, nor did she explain why she left him, other than the fact that she needed to go. However, Edward loved her, and in turn, he loved his son. And really, that was all that really mattered.
At least, that was all that mattered to Danny. The Dragon Council… not so much.
There was much round about arguing and debating on Danny's status, if he was legitimate, legal, or even a 'true dragon', "Boring yet incredibly stupid discussions," his dad would say with a roll of his eyes, "Something you probably don't want to hear about. I practically knew the outcome as soon as I stepped in front of the Council."
So, long stupid arguments short, it was decided that while Danny was technically the elder dragon, his hybrid status immediately banned him from being able to take the mantle as the official American Dragon. If that wasn't enough, due to the out of marriage child and the violation of the Interspecies Breeding Clause, Edward either had to renounce Danny as his son, leaving the four month old child to his fate, or leave the Magical Community forever.
That day, Edward looked at the Dragon Council with a dead stare, swept his gaze back to his father, and after a curt nod to the aging man, left the building with baby Danny held safely in his arms, never looking back once.
Danny had surprisingly distinct memories of feeling both touched and sad that his dad gave the Magical Community up for him. His younger self had frowned sadly, saying sorry over and over for making him choose, little pinpricks of tears starting to form in his eyes. However, the man had just smiled warmly, ruffled up Danny's hair, and said with an understanding that the Looper had only ever seen in a few beautiful people.
"I would make the same decision again and again for you. You're my family too, I would never give you up, no matter what. Besides, adults can take care of themselves, you on the other hand… I couldn't bear to imagine what would happen to you… I love you, Danny. Don't forget that." His father finished his confession with a wink and a smile so bright, it practically shown around the room.
Despite his kind words and reassurances, the aftermath was anything but easy. Armed with only a high school degree, his intelligence, and the miscellaneous skills he picked up throughout the years, Edward moved away from the magical heavy New York, New York to another small town about five hours away, the man not having enough resources to travel any further. There he had to find a way to not only get a stable career, but also find the time to care for baby Danny.
It was tough, with little to no sleep for days on end and various amounts of odd jobs taken just to stay alive. There were times Edward thought he'd never make it, at least, that's what Danny could see in the man's face when he told his stories, reminiscing.
Yet, through time, hard work, and the little bits of kindness from others, the small family eventually worked.
While odd jobs were a nice temporary solution, especially when the people who hired him let him take Danny along, they could only do so much. So, Edward decided to write books, publishing fantasy novels about the strangest stories of the Magical Community. Nothing specific was said, and there were both no names involved, and many things were altered to not reveal too much, but in the end, the stable income from Edward's series of short stories was what kept them alive and kicking.
"It's ironic, I think. It was the magical community that left us to our fate, yet at the same time, it's what saved us. It just goes to show you, Danny, never let your pride yet in the way of the important things. It's not worth the cost."
Danny did everything he could to help, learning how to cook, clean, and keep everything in order around the house at a very young age. When he Woke up, the tasks grew easier, having both his memories and other abilities to quicken the pace. Though, Danny was glad his Unawake self learned Chinese, instead of having to learn it naturally. The halfa was never much of a linguist, and with some of their conversations switching rapidly between English, Chinese, and sometimes even Latin, Danny thanked Unawake him for being such an awesome kid, so he could communicate with his dad.
For many years the father and son duo both assumed that Danny would never show either of his heritages. They thought that either the strange opposite genetics of both magical creatures either would cancel each other out or not present themselves at all due to the already impossible combinations.
It was strange though. As Danny grew up, he showed small signs of his hybrid nature. His ears grew pointed and elf-like, his canine teeth sharpened like fangs, and his eyes, while blue before, shone a startling shade of blue that was so bright, they practically glowed. While his father said he didn't inherit his mother's hair color, instead receiving Edward's raven colored locks, Danny did gain Aqua's rough, easily matted hair that Danny swore smelled like water flowers mixed with smoke. Thankfully, his fingers weren't webbed, but when he was about ten years old, the boy had to start filling down his nails to keep them from being too sharp. He also had a strange fixation for fish, seaweed, and steak, but in contrast felt sick trying to eat most vegetables and anything that was partially frozen.
Of course, he already had his signature imp-like smirk.
"I didn't think that an expression was hereditary until I saw yours," His dad said with utter amazement, "Honestly, your smile has my charm, but your smirk has your mother's mischief. You're an imp, through and through… that… or a siren," He smiled in good humor, "One of the two."
There were other small things, too minor to really note, and really, they could easily be accountable to the differences between his Awake and Unawake self. However, it wasn't until Danny accidentally shot water out of his nose at tender age of eight that they knew the full implications of his hybrid status. He couldn't transform fully into a dragon, not yet, and maybe not ever, but at the very least, Danny could transform his hands into sharp scaled claws, and with enough concentration, use his Eye of the Dragon ability. They discovered his voice was magically enhanced to the point that their apartment sometimes looked a city version of Snow White, cockroaches and pigeons trying to squirm their way into the building to have a chance to hear the boy sing.
So, that was how Danny became the first water nymph and dragon hybrid, and with this Loop, it became the second time the halfa became a previously thought to be impossible hybrid with impossible to predict abilities.
…Yay?
Unknowingly to the rest of the dragon community (and even to his father), even with his dragon and water nymph heritage, Danny wasn't just a two way hybrid (because that would be too simple). When Danny Awoke on his twelfth birthday, (after getting practically clobbered by his Unawake self's memories), he found that he still had access to all his ghostly abilities, including his ghost form. Granted Phantom had the same new quirks as his human form, and he would suddenly get the really strong, strange urge to eat fish when he transformed, but still, he was four creatures in one.
He was a human, ghost, nymph, and a not to mention a freaking dragon all wrapped up in a less than five foot five form of prepubescent male teenager-ness! Not to mention, this made him into a quadruple hybrid.
A quad-brid!
Geeze, it was like the multiverse loved to make him a freak or something…
Oh, wait... It did!
….Stupid ironic Loops.
Despite the weird lifestyle and hard times, Danny actually really enjoyed his childhood memories. He was used to the hiccups in his abilities, even if they were of a different nature, and Looping made him a master at making excuses.
(Though, there was that one time, he accidentally burned his teacher when he sighed boiling steam in their face. That was kind of hard to explain… especially to the medical team.
Whoops?)
Overall, everything was just fine and dandy in this Loop, despite his hybridism, and Danny was actually enjoying himself.
So when Edward Shi died in a car crash when Danny was sixteen, everything felt like it… stopped.
The Loop didn't crash. That wasn't what Danny meant, though for a small period of time, he kind of wish it did, just to have an excuse to get out and not think.
For the first few days, the world passed him by in a blurry daze, the news not seemingly… real to him. Social workers gathered him up, said their less than enthusiastic grievances, and then promptly called his closest relatives. The only consultation, Danny guessed, was that the death was quick and painless, his father hitting his temple the moment of impact.
Though it was only a minor consolation.
Danny wasn't stupid. He knew how these Loops worked, and how utterly set up some of them were. To the halfa's knowledge, Edward didn't actually exist in Jake's baseline. Danny figured there were only two reasons why the man existed in this Loop: To make Danny a dragon (hybrid?), and to die at the right time, so the boy could live with the Long family right when Jake was starting his American Dragon career.
However, Edward was so much… more than a simple reason for causation. He was the young immigrant trying to find his place in the world, the scared young man who ran away from his responsibility, the mysterious charming human locked dragon who loved an equally mysterious water nymph, the courageous father who stood up to the leaders of the entire Magical Community for the rights to care for his son, but most of all, he was Daniel's dad. Loving but stern, hardworking but playful, and always one to care for his little imp, Edward tried his best, even when he knew that it wasn't enough.
He was a person. The Loops created a real live person, which Danny thought was the most beautiful and tragic part of this entire situation.
The halfa hated to admit it, but when a Looper died (even it was one of his friends or family members), he didn't feel sad per se, but more like… like he failed them. Since he knew everyone was going to come back anyway, it wasn't like he mourned them each and every time they died or got seriously injured. That… that would drive him insane, especially considering the amount of Loops he had to fight his alternate future self, only to have Clockwork not save his family in the end. No, he just apologized the next time they were Awake together, and tried to make it up to them in any way he could.
However, Edward was a different type of creature entirely. Unlike Loopers, or even other people within the Loops, when Edward died, that was it. Game over, no redoes, or no other chances. There was probably a one in a million chance for another Edward to be created, and an even less chance that he would have the exact same personality and experiences.
The bottom line was this: After this Loop ended, no one else would remember his temporary father but Danny. His temporary father never would exist again in the multiverse, at least not in the way Danny remembered him, the memories of him lost in the Infinite Loops.
But even so, Danny swore to himself to never forget the man. Even if he wasn't his real father, Danny would never forget the kindness and utter acceptance his dad showed him. He held these memories close to his heart, bookmarking them in his mind, so that he hoped that even after thousands upon thousands of more Loops, he could look back and remember the courageous man that gave up his future to care for his son.
His memories were a promise, and he be damned to not keep this one.
Three days after Edward Shi's death, Danny met his Aunt Susan for the first time.
Meeting her wasn't much of a surprise, since, hey, the social workers told him they were calling her. He was clueless, not deaf.
As the door creaked open, Danny took a moment to take in her expression. Small dark eyes looked sad, and to his surprise, nervous. As soon as she saw him, the woman smiled brightly, though Danny could see her tightening her grip on her handbag.
"Are you Daniel?" Her voice sounded thick, and looking closer Danny could see dark bags under her eyes. Danny belatedly realized something. While Danny might have lost his father, Susan just lost a brother, part of her family. True, they probably hadn't spoken in years, his dad refusing all contact with the magical world.
But, she never tried to contact with his father either...
"Yeah," He suddenly said, trying to stray away from those thoughts. Suddenly realizing that, hey, this woman is an adult, his new guardian, he tried straightened himself up and make a good first impression, "I mean, Yes ma'am."
"There's no need to be so formal. We're family," She looked nervous, unsure, her stance not as firm as it should have been and eyes brimming with too many emotions to specify. Warily, she continued, "You- you can call me Aunt Susan if you want."
A flash of anger suddenly tried to overtake him at her proposal. He swallowed it down, eying her cautiously.
His Unawake self probably wouldn't have accepted her. Danny knew that for a fact. To be honest, he probably would have yelled out in anger, and given her attitude the moment she walked in, saying something along the lines of "you left us to rot" or something stupidly dramatic like that.
Fortunately, while Unawake memories were important, they didn't control him. If Loops had done one thing for Danny, it was make him more mature… kind of. In certain things. When he wanted to be…
Okay, he was willing to give her a second chance. Points to Clockwork for teaching him that life lesson. Besides, she was here, so it must mean that she at least cared about him somewhat.
Cautiously the hybrid stood up from his chair and with a small smile, he said, "Alright," He mentally winced at the unsure quality in his voice, "Umm… then you can call me Danny, I guess," He finished with a shrug.
Susan smiled softly, "That sounds nice."
The two stood together, Danny shuffling his feet and not looking at his Aunt. He didn't know what to say or do, or really what was going to happen. If this didn't work out, the hybrid could probably become a scavenger on the street, but still what if-
"Danny?" He looked back up to see his aunt biting her lip.
"Yeah?"
Susan hesitated for a moment, as if deciding something. But after a second, to Danny's surprise, thin arms suddenly held him close. He froze, stunned, at the sudden contact and the suppressing warmth of her tiny frame. Her small, soft voice whispered, "Welcome to the family, Danny," She sounded choked, "I-I'm so sorry for your loss."
Danny's heart caught in his throat. Images of his dad smiling brightly at him suddenly bombarding him. Swallowing, he finally held her back, trying to hide the tears starting to sting his eyes, "Thank you," He muttered, he swallowed again, "You-you too."
She only held him tighter in response.
25.15 continued (Luna Gale): [Danny Phantom] / [American Dragon: Jake Long]
Of Quad-brids, Familial Relationships, and Sleep Deprived Cousins (Part 2 of 3)
"So, do you know about your… heritage?" Susan asked in the car.
Danny blinked and, turning away from the window, looked to his aunt.
The legalities on the hybrid's guardianship were sorted out rather quickly, suspiciously quickly, Danny had thought. He was pretty sure the Magical Community somehow sped up the adoption process (considering that hey, he was a hybrid of two magical creatures, and they really didn't want him in the human society's system).
It wouldn't surprise him.
So with only his suitcase in the trunk, his father's ashes packed carefully in an urn in a very cushioned box, and some etcetera stuff stuffed in his school backpack, Danny and his Aunt Susan were on their way to New York City. The only other things he took with him were in his subspace pocket, one copy of each of his Dad's short stories and the most sentimental pictures of the two of them...
…You know, just in case the Loop suddenly ended.
His aunt had this semi-nervous energy about her, as if she was unsure of his answer. Judging by the way she said heritage, Danny was pretty sure that the woman was worried whether or not he knew about the magical world.
It would be kind of awkward if Danny didn't know about the whole dragon thing. Especially the part where he was the reason why his father left the magical world in the first place.
Maybe just a bit.
Danny sat back in his seat and arched an eyebrow, "The dragon thing or my mom? Because he explained both to me," He smirked, purposely pointing one of his fangs out, and he pulled back the hair to show his left ear, "Also, it's kind of hard to hide fangs and elf ears, you know?"
Susan smiled lightly, "I suppose not… Was your mother an elf?"
Danny blinked, "Oh, no. She's a water nymph," He frowned, and brushed down his hair over his ear again, suddenly self-conscious, "You… you didn't know?"
"No," She said with a shake of her head, "My father, your grandfather," Susan clarified, with a slight nod of her head, "never told us anything. All I knew is that my brother intermarried with an illegal species, and I never heard from him again," The woman smiled good-naturedly, confusing the hell out of Danny, and asked, "So, a water nymph?"
"Yeah, but I don't know her," he answered warily, confused by her accepting attitude, "If that's what you're asking, and I also don't have a full dragon form either. I'm just me, I guess."
"Do you have anything from her?"
He shook his head, "No, other than my dad's stories, I don't know anything about her."
"Oh, that's a shame. A child should always know their mother," Danny simply let out a short hum of acknowledgement in response, "You said a full dragon form. Does that mean you can partially transform?"
He eyed her sharply, "That depends," Danny finally said slowly, looking, and irritatingly not finding anything on his aunt's face that could give away what the woman was feeling. He shifted in his seat, "How much would you tell the Council?"
"Not a word," She said sternly.
"Why?"
She didn't say anything for a moment, and Danny thought that she might not give an answer at all. Maybe to sidetrack him or something to forget the conversation entirely. His worries were unfounded, however, for Susan started speaking once more.
"Well," She started, her voice had a surprising amount of coyness about it, "despite your parentage, you're technically not a part of the Magical Community, and the Dragon Council has no authority over you. If you so happen to have some less than usual traits," She shrugged nonchalantly, but her small mischievous smirk had Danny's entire formal impression of her suddenly flying out the window, "We'll pass it off as a little… quirk from your mother's side. Does that sound good?"
Danny blinked stupidly at her.
It wasn't like this was the first time he talked to Mrs. Long, having Looped into Jake's universe before. However, they'd never interacted much other than the occasional, 'hello', 'thank you for letting me come over', and 'see you later Mrs. Long'. Saying this, Danny fully expected to Loop in as Jake eventually, (especially with the recent addition of his dragon hybrid status), but so far, he never really got to know Susan as a person, more like a mom friend.
Despite not knowing her that well, Danny thought he had a general feeling about her, very caring and motherly with a dash of strictness thrown in there to keep her little dragon children in line. It wasn't like he expected her to be a super racist psycho wench, but at the very least, he… he didn't expect Susan to be so… accepting.
Considering Danny was expecting at least some backlash for his hybrid status, for her to brush it off like it was nothing…
Well, score for Aunt Susan on the 'awesome relative' list.
"Yeah," The hybrid's voice cracked a bit, but he was a bit too awed by the woman's attitude to care too much at the moment, "But it's just my hand and a few little things here and there. I think I'm just growing into it a little later. Speaking of dragons," Danny wanted to steer this conversation away from his abilities, thank you very much, "You have kids right? One who is going to be the American Dragon, right?"
"Yes, two kids," Her face suddenly blew up in a bright smile, one that only proud parents could truly make, "Jake and Haley. They're…"
As Susan talked proudly of her children, both Jake taking responsibility as the American dragon, and Haley, the student prodigy, Danny relaxed in the seat beside him, listening, asking questions, and nodding occasionally to keep the conversation going.
On top of the Empire State building on midnight under a cloudy, New York polluted sky, Danny sat in his ghost form, relaxing in the darkness. He absently scanned the skyline, from each towering skyscraper to the ant-like cars scurrying to their next destination. He smiled lightly at the scene, as his tense muscles slowly unwound themselves with every new interest.
Though, not a New York native and practically a tourist himself, seeing the city sights wasn't the real reason why Danny wasn't in his bedroom, asleep. No, it was the home life itself that had him tense and nearly needing to run the other direction.
Don't get him wrong, living with the Longs was not bad in any way. In fact, he was surprised about how welcoming they were to him. They were nice, letting him in with a welcoming smile, a hug or two, and a semi-reluctant Jake sharing his room. Every day he was slowly integrating in their normal house life with only Haley occasionally pestering him and the slightly wary looks from Jake doing anything to disrupt his life.
Yes the Long family, was practically a normal household, if you discounted the little dragon traits that is.
But it was exactly their normal attitudes that grated on Danny's nerves.
For a house filled with magical secret dragons, nothing happened. Sure there was the occasional finger-wagging admonishment from Mr. Long and Haley's almost overwhelming chatter, but other than that, the house was usually quiet. Jake wasn't around often, doing some dragon training who knew where, and by the time the teen was home, he'd usual either go straight to his headache-inducing homework or simply pass out on his bed. Oh sure, Danny caught the few dragon transformations that Haley did, dragon arm here to chop up onions, a little puff of smoke there to annoy Jake. But there wasn't really anything… big.
Danny had long accepted that his life would be nearly constantly exciting, and most of the time, he embraced this excitement, lest he go insane from the craziness around him. Granted, the teen wanted to fit in just as much as the next guy, but over time he'd learn to balance just enough ghostly shenanigans and normal school life to keep life interesting.
The halfa was not used to this much normal, especially considering he was in a house with dragons in it.
And so, to keep himself sane in the overwhelmingly sane house, the halfa decided to let his ghost half to exercise some excess energy, and maybe scare a few pedestrians here and there if he felt like it. This was his fifth night out and about, and he was already feeling better than he had when he first arrived.
Not that the Long's hospitality wasn't appreciated, but being a Fenton required a certain amount of insanity in his life, in which, somehow, a dragon family did not provide.
Did he mention how jaw droppingly normal a house filled with dragons was? Because it was too normal. As in, he needed to let out some steam on top of the Empire State building to restrain his pent up need to run around a bit because Mr. Long does not want his kids getting hurt by slipping on wood floors type of normal.
It was weird.
As he took his perch, Danny eyed the little magical creatures frolicking around the top of the building, some secretly, others so obviously magical in their appearance that was a wonder they hadn't been caught yet. While the city buildings were a sort of nice sight to look at, the halfa would very much rather see the clear starry sky.
Danny sighed loudly, becoming amused when water vapor instead of carbon dioxide blew from his mouth. An idea popped in his head. He huffed out another wave of air, ears twitching, as he activated his power. Quickly, before the steam-like puff could disappear, he blew out a breath of frost from his mouth. The water vapor started crystallizing midair, steam turning into water droplets transforming into pure ice. They newly formed crystals dropped like rocks, and Danny absently wondered if the crystals would turn back into water by the time they hit the ground.
The halfa smiled, amused.
"Yo, nice trick you did there," Danny paused, blinked, and twisted around midair to look at the source of the noise. To his surprise, he saw a red dragon, not the size of Aragon or Dora, but at least a good seven feet tall. He had a yellow belly and a green and black... mane? Hair? Scales? Whatever. It ran from his head from to all the way to the bottom of his tail. He flapped his wings to keep himself steady in the air, his tail swishing behind him.
What was Jake doing here? The halfa had no clue, but since he was…
Danny, with his pointed ears, and impish smile, smirked, "Hey yourself."
The dragon sighed, "Gotta say, you're really tough to find. Had to spend three nights dragging my tail out of bed just to find you."
Danny arched an eyebrow, "Oh, really?"
"Yeah-" The poor guy started yawning. The dragon shook his head and stared intensely at him, albeit tiredly.
"Maybe you should get a little sleep then," He smirked at the dragon teen, his legs crossing in front of him. He put his hands behind his neck and laid back casually. Danny mused that he looked more like he should be in a chair than defying the laws of gravity.
"Not gonna haaaaapppen daaawwwwwg," Danny bit his lip, fighting the urge to yawn as well, and mentally cursing when his fangs accidently cut the skin.
Lip slightly bleeding green and suddenly tired of arguing, the halfa held his hands up in surrender, "Look, I'm not here to give trouble. I just want to fly around for a bit at night. Is that too much to ask?"
"That's what I said, but Gramps said we need to track the movement of magical creatures, and you apparently just appeared out of nowhere," The dragon crossed his arms over his chest, cocking his head to the side with a frown, "How did you get here? Speaking of which, what are you anyway?"
"To answer both of your questions, I'm a ghost. Beware!" To prove his point, Danny turned invisible then revisable before crossing his arms over his chest, "I flew into to town and decided to stay a bit. So… can you leave me alone now?"
"You're a ghost?"
Danny blinked at the sudden question, "Yep."
The dragon frowned, "Not any type of ghost I've seen."
"I get that a lot."
They flew/floated there for a moment, awkwardly shuffling their feet or looking anywhere but at each other. Danny had the sudden urge to spurt water in the dragon's face, just to see what would happen, but he withhold the urge with what he thought to be great self-control. (Because, come on! Just imagining a sputtering dragon practically had the halfa [quadra?] in a mess of snickers).
After a moment, the American Dragon spoke, "So are you gonna answer my questions or do we have to do this the hard way?"
Danny smirked again, his fangs making the action look positively devilish, "Oh, the hard way huh? Look, I wasn't terrorizing anyone. Not my style. Although…" He gained an evil look in his eyes that would have made the Weasley twins proud, "You might be fun to mess around with."
"Huh?"
Danny nodded to himself, smirk growing and longer ears twitching, as they picked up his glee, "Yeah, that will work. That will be fun…"
"What are you talking about?"
The halfa mostly ignored the dragon, though he did allow his smirk to grow, just to freak the guy out a bit.
Danny and Jake knew each other decently well, having mostly replaced each other's friends at one time or another or even adding to their trio gangs to make quartets. Being the prankster that he was, when Danny made friends with someone his age, nine times out of ten there would be untold amount of pranking chaos involved when they Looped together, or at the very least, an unruly amount of fun with a questionable use of their abilities.
To put it lightly, family or not, American Dragon or nah, there was no chance Danny was giving up this opportunity to have a little fun with an Unawake Jake.
With one final mischievous glinting smirk, the supposed ghost went invisible, laughing at his semi-thought out plans of pranktitude. The halfa's snickers echoed throughout the night, only growing in volume when Jake yelped at his sudden disappearance.
Oh, Danny was going to have so much fun messing with his cousin.
25.15 continued (Luna Gale): [Danny Phantom] / [American Dragon: Jake Long]
Of Quad-brids, Familial Relationships, and Sleep Deprived Cousins (Part 3 of 3)
"That was a pretty good prank you pulled on my big brother."
Danny peered over the newspaper comic he was reading, only to see Haley's way too brightly smiling face. He arched an eyebrow, hiding his inward panicking rather well, before looking back to the Garfield strip.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," He deadpanned.
The halfa felt a small dip in the couch and heard the tell signs of squeaking couch cushions. Realizing that no, this little girl was not letting this go, he sighed and closed the newspaper with a huff, "Do you mind?"
"Not at all," Haley replied with an infuriatingly cheeky grin.
Danny ran his hand through his hair, huffing out another sigh. He put down the newspaper and gave the little girl a stern look, "Look, what do I need to do to keep you quiet?"
"Hey, I'm not snitching!" He merely raised an eyebrow, "But while you're offering…" Of course. "Just as long as you catch it on camera next time, I'll pretend I didn't see anything, Also, I want to know what Looper ability you used to put that pie spring trap in the wall."
"Well, I …" His mind went over what she said. Going through a reboot before restarting again, he then gaped at her, "Wait, you're a Looper! I thought I was the only one Awake!"
"Well, I wasn't sure you were Awake until now, and honestly, it's a relief, let me tell you. For the longest time, I thought we had a stealth Anchor!" She eyed him sternly, "You are an Anchor, right?"
Danny blinked, suddenly feeling slightly overwhelmed by the turn of events… again, "Umm, yeah. I'm an Anchor. I'm Danny Fenton from the, uh, Amity Park Loops."
"Wait, you're the half dead guy?" She yelled excitedly. Haley started touching and poking and batting at his arm, analytical look on her face, "Jake talked about you once! How does it work? Are you a ghost possessing your own corpse or what? I'm curious!"
"Wait-what? I don't know. How are you a dragon hiding in a human? Hey!" He batted away her hands, "Stop poking me. I am not your third grade prodigy class science experiment."
Haley huffed but didn't move away from him, "I'm in the second grade."
Danny rolled his eyes, "That's even worse then. No scientific analysis until you have your 'Now that You're Ten' speech at school or something."
She pouted, "You're not going to answer my question are you?"
"Well… I…" He huffed and laid back on the couch, pointing at her accusingly, "answer mine first!"
"Fine." Haley huffed to Danny's surprise. She stood up on the couch, threw her shoulders back, and in the most scholarly tone he'd seen in a little kid in years, started her history lesson, "Years ago, in order to adapt to the quickly growing human dominance on Earth, the Magical Community in a cumulative effort never seen since the establishment of the Dragon Council, created a spell that would let powerful magical species gain a human form. Dragons, being the most hunted and limited species, despite their magical prowess, quickly used the spells on themselves. However, due to political tensions and the potential negative side effects of certain, more malicious beings potentially using their human forms for destruction, the spell was quickly destroyed and all magical beings with the knowledge of said spell had their memories erased or at the very least, altered. Any information on how to cast the spell is gone from history, and any magical creature caught trying to replicate its effects are immediately arrested for defying the Human Form Clause of the Magical Community's Secrecy Act. Due to these new human forms, dragons are now seen as myths in Chinese culture, and we can peacefully incorporate ourselves into human society without huge negative consequences."
Haley jumped down from her seat and beamed at him.
"Now that I answered your question, tell me, how are you half dead!?"
As Danny gaped at the seemingly innocent pony-tailed girl bouncing in front of him, he took note to never ever, in any Loop where he was Awake, have Jazz and this little girl in a room together. It would only lead to mass chaos of sisterly proportions and massive headaches from their surprising super intelligence.
25.16 (Luna Gale): [Danny Phantom] / [American Dragon: Jake Long] / [Marvel] / [DC]
Sam and Tucker knew they were the sidekicks (or according the Sky High Loops, 'hero support'). They didn't have superpowers in baseline, helped only when needed, and really, they were mostly there to make Danny's life easier rather than take on the big bad ghosts. Despite being sidekicks, the two knew their stuff. Whether it be a ghost, tech, or even something as simple as a sleeping schedule, Sam and Tucker usually had the best plans to keep Danny in line and ready. They were proud of their roles, even if it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world.
Being the 'hero support' as they were, they were extremely loyal to Danny and empathetic to the strain superheroing put upon him. The halfa discovered quickly that despite his increased range of powers, even the baseline caused a momentous amount of issues to his schedule, and while there wasn't as much stress, the frustration of random ghost attacks and continued patrols were still very prevalent. Simply put, Danny's job wasn't easy, despite his years of experience.
So when other super hero Anchors Looping in as Danny thought that just protecting one little town, in one little high school, with an unbelievable range of powers would be easy, almost even a break from their own baselines, well, the sidekick duo were more than just a little ticked off. It wasn't like they were arrogant jerks about it. On the contrary, most were more empathetic about Danny's situation than most Loopers could be. However, on paper or word by ear alone… the Amity Parks Loops looked easy, especially considering that none of the ghosts actually tried to kill anyone.
Simply put, it was a common misconception among the teenage heroes that being Amity Park's hero would be a cakewalk.
So knowing this, could you really blame the sidekick duo from being amused at the other Anchor's struggles?
It was Monday, and after an exhausting weekend of near constant ghost hunting, everyone on the ghostgetter trio was exhausted. As Sam walked in, mascara probably smeared and purple eyes puffy from rubbing them too much, Tucker was leaning against the school's lockers. He looked nearly ready to pass out right then and there, as he shakily held his PDA in his hands and his eyes blinked close for far too long.
And Jake? The halfa of the Loop was nowhere to be seen.
Sam trudged next to the techno geek, and leaned on the locker next to him, "Tucker?" He acknowledged her with a tired hum. Staring at the ceiling, she continued, "Where's Jake?"
He sighed, and using his stylus, pointed next to him.
To a locker.
Sam arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for more explanation. However, Tucker was being overly unhelpful and continued tapping on his PDA. Shaking her head, Sam went to the locker he pointed to, and after once or twice failing to get the right combination, finally managed to open it.
Only for a clearly snoozing Jake to fall directly out of it.
Sam looked to the locker then back to Jake who didn't even looked phased, as he continued sleeping peacefully on the cold tile, and then back to Tucker. This confused cycle of nodding and headache inducing circular thinking went on for about a minute before Sam managed to keep her gaze on Tucker, who still was tapping on his PDA.
"Tucker."
He hummed again.
"Why was Jake in the locker?"
The techno gave her a tired look, "The dude said he wanted a nap. I told him to try sleeping in a locker. It's not my fault he listened to me," Tucker yawned loudly, and blinking blearily, stuffed his PDA in his pocket, "Though you'd think the guy would be used to sleepless nights," He shrugged, "The more you know."
Jake snorted in his sleep.
"Peter, you need a little help there?" Sam asked with a suspicious smirk. Tucker capped the thermos that they just captured the Box Ghost (for the seventh time this week), wiping a stray piece of sweat off his forehead afterwards.
The Anchor scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "No, why do you ask?"
"Well," she started, as she propped herself on one of the warehouse boxes, "You're phasing through the floor."
And sure enough, as Peter looked down, he was slowly sinking through solid concrete, and worse, he couldn't pull himself out, "Not again!" He looked to the Goth in a panic, "Help!"
It was bad enough to have super strength as Spidey. Falling through floors? Yeah, definitely not in his top ten powers he would like to malfunction.
"I don't know," The Goth said coyly. Peter was starting to hate Sam's smirk, "You might look like a good floor ornament. Tucker?" She said with a nod of her head to the techno geek, "What do you think? Would Spidey here make a good floor ornament?"
Peter looked to the techno geek with a pleading look, concrete already up to his knees.
Unfortunately for him, Tucker was not being the nice one today. The techno geek smirked, as well, dashing Peter's hopes, as his voice became laced with mischief, "Maybe. We could even take a picture. Let everyone see the big, bad Peter Parker, betrayed by the very ground that he tried to defy!"
"Ironic that the guy who's known for climbing walls keeps being eaten by them. I guess the floor just wanted to have a taste for once."
"Too true."
Peter groaned, as the concrete reached his armpits. He flashed a glare at them, "Okay, ha ha, Spider-Man's about to be eaten by gravity. Too funny. Now, that you're done laughing, can you please help me out of the floor?!"
The two shared a look, and looked back to him, smiles bright on both of their faces.
"Nope!"
"Wha-?" And then Peter fell through the ground. He reached up to grab something, anything to keep him up and sinking from the Earth's core. But he couldn't grip anything, and Peter realized with no small amount of annoyance, that he was going to keep going because of a stupid joke.
Still, not the stupidest may he had died so far.
However, before the tips of his fingers even went below the surface, he felt something pull him out. He gasped unnecessarily, but he couldn't bring himself to care. After a moment, he looked up to the, in his opinion, partially insane duo, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
"Why…" Peter's face twitched in annoyance at the nonchalant on their faces, "why couldn't you have done that earlier?"
Tucker shrugged, "Dramatic tension," He said simply, "Now come on," Peter didn't like the look on either of their faces. Tucker looked too sincere, and Sam was smirking again, "Now that you're done with your little field trip, let's go fight some more ghosts!"
Peter couldn't stop the groan slipping out even if he wanted to.
"This doesn't make any sense!"
As Tucker snickered under his breath, Sam shrugged, picking at her salad with a surprising amount of sharpness about her. It was lunch, and after many, many weeks of ghost hunting, the Non-Native Anchor had had enough.
Apparently running out of class the third time that week had finally done it.
The Goth raised an eyebrow at Dick Grayson's outburst, "Welcome to the Amity Park Loops," she deadpanned.
Tucker snorted, "Yeah, where nothing makes sense, and it's best not to think too much about anything."
"But..." Dick muttered, eyebrows scrunching in concentration. He leaned in, hissing under his breath, "It's so obvious!"
Sam's eyebrow merely raised higher, "Yeah, and? So is Superman being Clark Kent, and you don't see us having a mental break down."
"Ahuh, true that."
Grayson frowned, annoyance twitching in his eyes, "But Fenton? Phantom? And the hair color change?" He made a wild gesture of... something with his hands. Tucker looked around, and noted how some of the other students were watching amazed as the usually composed Richard Fenton was seemingly having a mental breakdown of sorts. The temporary Phantom narrowed his eyes in a way that was supposed to look dangerous.
Sam almost snorted.
"Look," The raven haired teen started, "in any other universe, I would have been caught by now. It doesn't take a detective to see the connection. I go to class as a human, leave class on a supposed nurse's note, and seconds later Phantom appears fighting a ghost. I get secret identities, and while Clark Kent's is... obvious, he at least has alibis. Peter Parker when he leaves classes has his journalism technique. I get it. It doesn't mean I have to like how no one else seems to get it," Dick frowned once more, frustration obvious on his face.
Tucker reached over the table and patted the Anchor's arm, "It's okay, dude. Just go with it. That's what we do. Just think of this as a place where common sense takes a vacation. It makes it easier."
Sam mused, as a familiar wisp of blue flew out of the Anchor's mouth, as he gained an utter look of distress on his face, that the teen didn't take much comfort in Tucker's advice.
25.1: Jack being Jack.
25.2: Another Loop joins in.
25.3 This was what Marco and Star did with each other when the other wasn't Awake. It was wacky.
25.4: Dreamworks Face is a thing - you can find it on TV Tropes.
25.5: Slenderman's actions still haunt Riley. She'll work past it eventually, I promise.
25.6: Joy, you've got to learn to think before acting…
25.7: Yes, it would…
25.8: Their first viewed Loop to be compiled. Or written, period, that I've been able to find.
25.9: No, I don't know what the glowing eyes have to do with Space Jam either. (Okay, so humans could stretch like a Toon there, but there was nothing related to eyes as far as I remember.)
25.10: Texts of this sort are convenient to keep on-hand. Or at least in-Pocket.
25.11: For those unfamiliar, Kantai Collection revolves around ships that have been sunk and revived as anthropomorphic versions of themselves. The Black Pearl had this happen to her this Loop; the process won't stick in the future.
25.12: No, Bill Andersen isn't a Looper yet; Riley just sometimes fills him in on things when she Awakens, and it happened again this Loop.
25.13: Note: "Indian" is what the original work calls Tiger Lily; it is not meant to be an offensive use of the term.
25.14: And two more Loopers meet.
25.15 parts 1-3: That was an interesting one.
25.16: As a separate Loop, we see Jake visiting Amity Park.