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 2020-07-11. This is the second of two chapters posted today.
Disney/Kingdom Hearts Loops, Chapter Forty-Four
44.1 (Leoblade): [Inside Out] / [Zootopia]
"This loop is going to be a long one," Judy said looking at the human girl leashed to a corner of her small room.
"You're telling me," the girl said while trying to get the collar off, surprising Judy. Humans were a common pet this loop and from Judy's loop memories, they had little to no sign of being intelligent except for primitive clothing the wild ones wear which many people claimed was a sign they were once domesticated.
"Let me help you with that," Judy said quickly moving over to the girl and taking off the collar, thankfully her pre-Awakening self did not believe in using shock collars. "I'm Judy, anchor of the Zootopia branch."
"Riley, anchor of the Inside Out branch," the newly named Riley said as she rubbed her neck.
"Sorry about the collar, our loop isn't usually like this," Judy apologized.
"It's no big deal, though Disgust and Anger want to have words about the 'Human Chow.'"
"Right your emotions, I saw your movie the last time I was in a near-Hub loop," The Rabbit cop explained. "Are they Awake as well?"
"Only Disgust and Anger right now," Riley said before wincing. "And they are having trouble calming down Fear who doesn't understand why my mind is so different and why I am talking to you."
"Well, let him know I am sworn to protect and serve, and I will not harm you," Judy told the human girl with a smile.
"It's not you he is worried about," Riley grimaced as her loop memories registered. "We were warned not to talk."
"By who?"
"My dad this loop said bad things happened to those who talk."
"Well, between the two of us, I'm sure we can take on anything this loop throws at us," Judy said confidently.
As it turned out, the loop decided to throw several tons of tanks and infantry at Judy, the Awake Nick, and Riley, along with the entire Zootopia police department. "Who knew trying to reveal that humans are sapient and had an ancient civilization before other mammals would lead to this," Judy said while firing tranquilizers at the approaching solders.
"Anyone who's seen Planet of the Reptiles," Nick snarked as he ducked to avoid a tranquilizer dart.
"Firing turrets," Riley yelled as ship parts appeared on her body, her smaller guns firing and disabling two of the tanks.
"Less talking, more firing," Anger yelled as he used fire to keep some solders from flanking them.
44.2 (ThanatosTiger): [Percy Jackson] / [RWBY] / [Order of the Stick]
In the middle of goblinoid corpses, standing next to the recently treeified Salem was one Annabeth Chase, who was currently rubbing her temples at the carnage from both Redcloak's and Salem's team-up. The only ones not passed out from exhaustion were the two visiting Anchors, Ruby Rose and Elan. Ruby Rose was currently examining the Crimson Mantle, trying to see how it looked on her shoulders, while Elan was playing on his lute, composing a song about their victory. She prayed that Elan would never meet Apollo, their combined suck would probably end Yggdrasil, or at least give her a bigger migraine.
Speaking of Anchors, her own was currently drooling on the pavement, sound asleep. The Curse of Achilles was funny that way.
Ruby and Elan had decided to change courses, and were now gushing about how cool it was to see Percy tying several Sea Feilong together and then decapitating the lot of them at once. Annabeth had to agree.
"Okay, every one of us, demigods, valkyries, adventurers, are all exhausted. Even the talking sword is currently passed out, and not flirting with an ancestral weapon. This is good. Every local looper is now going to pack up, and head straight to the Lotus Hotel and Casino, where we will drink Brain Bleach and not do anything until the world is in danger. Sounds like a great three week vacation. All of you are welcome to join us."
Ruby beamed. "Sounds great! I have a few airships in my Pocket and,"
"Wait!" Elan yelled. "The Lotus Hotel and Casino, that's that weird place that forces you to never leave right? Cause I don't think Roy and the others will appreciate another double, no, a quadruple fantasy."
"They are welcome to stay behind. Now, I hope there will be no more interruptions."
"I can't promise that."
Annabeth sighed. "Tell me more about those airships, Ruby."
44.3 (Masterweaver): [Frozen]
"Hey Elsa, why have you never seriously dated anyone?"
"Because my people come first and I might need to have a political marriage."
"...that's a terrible reason."
"That's the world we live in, Anna."
"Er... but you're using your ice powers to cool the supercomputer you got from that hub-loop and installed beneath the palace to predict oceanic patterns."
"Yes, but that's just technology. Forcing societal change is... really more your speed, actually. You want to make political marriage not a thing, go ahead and try, I'll support you all the way."
44.4 (Masterweaver): [RWBY] / [Snow White] / [Wreck-It-Ralph]
"...so the idea of the internet as a place we can walk around in is actually pretty common," Blake finished. "Granted, there are risks, but they're pretty well codified nowadays."
Ilia looked around the vast expanse of structures and flying machines. "I guess...? I mean, I know there are digital beings, but-"
"Oh hello! Blake, wasn't it?"
Blake turned to the newcomer, smiling. "Snow White! It is nice to finally meet you, I hope this whole place isn't driving you loopy."
"No loopier than I usually am," the raven-haired woman assured her. "I am very sorry if I confused you, I've met your unawake self before you see."
"Really?"
"Well, in a way. 'Snow White and the Seven Catgirls.' It was a variant loop. When I brought it up at the next Princess Summit, Belle told me about you."
"Yeah, she's a good friend. Oh, is she Awake this loop? We need to exchange books... "
"Yes she is, I'll see about getting you backstage passes-oh, I do beg your pardon!" The woman curtsied to the bemused Ilia. "Snow White, of the Disney Princesses."
"Ilia Amitola. Uh, Disney princess, huh?"
"That's right. The first one, actually."
Ilia looked her over. "...um... So, maybe I'm not as big into Disney stuff as I should be, but, um... well..."
Snow White sighed. "You don't recognize me, do you."
"Sorry?" Ilia shrugged awkwardly. "I mean, if it's a problem-"
"No, no, it's fine. I know I'm not exactly the most... marketable of characters." Snow White tilted her head. "Although... I do know Remnant has a number of fairy tale motifs. If it wouldn't be too forward of me to ask, what would your reference be?"
Ilia hummed awkwardly. "I... don't really know? I guess I might not have a reference."
Snow White shrugged. "It isn't always the best thing to be derived from a well-known tale. I know that Cinderella has had... significant arguments with Cinder Fall."
"Huh, that's right." Blake nodded thoughtfully. "Cinder does have a sort of... I don't think hatred is the right word? It's more petty than that. It's some sort of rivalry."
"Wait, wait wait." Ilia held up her hand. "I just remembered. Weiss Schnee means White Snow, right?"
"Yes, Snow White is Weiss's template."
"So," she turned to the princess, "have you two met?"
"Yes," said Snow White, her smile gone.
"...uh-"
"We have an understanding," said Snow White, her voice level.
"...so, this isn't like... anger or anything," Ilia said. "You're not mad at her-"
"Oh no!" Snow White assured her quickly, her tone once more bright. "It's just... our situations are different enough that, well... It's really very complicated. We don't dislike each other, we simply... well... it's quite complicated."
Blake rolled her eyes, but deigned not to comment. "So... what are you doing out on the internet?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes well. As the least marketed Disney princess I'm the most free to head out and shop for trinkets," Snow White explained. "You see, Ariel finally got a hold of the most recent Kingdom Hearts game a while back and just recently completed every hidden path, so now she wants to spend a loop briefing the rest of us on that whole... well, you know, just for the next time we end up in that world."
Blake groaned. "Oh, Kingdom Hearts Summary party. Yeah, you know what, you're going to need help with that." She pulled out her scroll and brought it to her ear. "Yeah, Ruby? I know you're going to be busy this loop, but the Disney Princesses are having a Kingdom Hearts post-series talk party, if you-yeah, Weiss would be best to organize this."
"I still can't believe I'm literally inside the internet," Ilia muttered. "Why is this a thing?"
"Wreck-it-Ralph," Snow White explained. "It's a new part of his baseline..."
44.5 (HollowedOut-Grimoire): [Gravity Falls] / [Transformers] / [Event - Refactoring]
With one of the Norns spelling out Pockets won't be usable for more or less a thousand loops, everyone who had time-sensitive items and entities within were getting them in order.
"Heya, fellow one-eyed bozo! I have a question!"
Like some who had inane collections, for example.
"Cipher, did you rethink my offer to spam memes directly into hardballs?"
"Been there, done time, Whirl. I'm talking about The Favor, remember?"
"Why yes, I remember."
"Good!" Bill Cipher extended an arm. "Now-"
"Shame I got rid of it."
"I do HOPE YOU DON'T MEAN-" Bill Cipher got real peeved real fast. But before anyone could assess the situation...
"Whirl, I found you, asshat!"
A feminine voice called attention to the two, the owner unseen. The bizarre, fractal-necklace thrown, however, wasn't registered until it hit Whirl.
"Worst, Going away gift, Ever!"
Cipher reverted to his smaller form, elbowing the blue Autobot.
"Well, Whirl, you dog!"
Whirl just looked at the direction of his spurned love's voice. "I'm surprised she actually-"
*Whappa~!*
"Kept it-it. Wh-why-y turning s-s-someone into a ice cuu-be makethat sound!?"
"Dunno" Bill looped the necklace on his finger. "But it's the frost that counts!"
"ktchh!" (I'm not gonna dignify that with a comeback!)
44.6 (wildrook): [Kingdom Hearts]
"Still reeling from the revelation?"
While Sora was on top of Twilight Town's highest tower, he had stared at Axel, who had brought Roxas and Xion for their usual ice cream rounds.
"Kind of," Sora replied, looking at the two and smiling. He was glad that they were Awake and retained their sense of selves, too. "It just means we have to train harder in case a certain someone throws a few curveballs at us."
Roxas got the idea as he passed his Somebody the ice cream bar. "You're still upset about what happened to Kairi in Baseline, aren't you?" he asked him.
Sora, taking it, gave out a sad smile. "Is it that obvious?"
"Xion was made to be you and I'm your Nobody, but you really don't need that direct of a connection to figure that out."
Xion nodded. "And considering Kairi and Riku are the ones that matter to you the most," she replied, "when it concerns one of them, you tend to be obvious about it."
They weren't wrong about that.
"And you guys wonder why I tend to volunteer for babysitting duty," Axel replied, looking at the sunset. "Still, with that part out of the way, we're more worried about you..."
The look Sora gave Axel was a bit of a surprise.
"How so?"
"You're still... kind of inept with technology," Roxas replied. "Minus the selfie function, at least. And from what we've seen, you end up in an advanced city."
"Forgot that you guys got your hands on the game the moment you entered the Hub Loop," Sora said, in a deadpan tone. "And I've been getting better."
Neither of the three were convinced at that one... leaving Sora to fume a bit.
"Still, I kind of thought you guys would have partied about the whole Xehanort mess being over."
"That was the plan," Roxas muttered, "but finding out that Xigbar not only gave him the idea, but had his own reasons to re-enact the war..."
Axel gave them a stare. "Yeah, the others were told about the guy being a Foreteller," he muttered. "And I don't know if it was Terra or the guy hiding in his heart that made the scowl when they found out, but I can see why Xehanort wanted to possess THAT guy."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Xion said. "Should we head out to Radiant Garden and meet up with the others?"
Sora nodded. "You guys felt the mess of pings, too?" he asked them.
"We did," Roxas muttered. "And a text message from the king about meeting at Ansem the Wise's old lab."
That place, he was familiar with. Add the fact that the massive headache was implied, it probably meant that there were more Loopers from outside the worlds he's visited, sleeping or otherwise.
This was going to be one heck of a reunion, though.
44.7 (ThanatosTiger): [Percy Jackson] / [Spongebob Squarepants]
The Magic Conch Shell
Squidward rolled his eyes as an entire picnic coincidentally fell in front of Spongebob & Patrick. He'd long since given up figuring out how their luck came about, and didn't care about it anymore. He knew that the toy they worshipped was just that, a toy. He could get his own picnic thanks to his Pocket, full of high class foods made by a gourmet chef.
"Heh heh heh. Rubes, as if anyone could believe in a magic conch shell that wasn't a dunderhead."
"At last, the sixth oracle, The Magic Conch Shell. Careful Lester, the oracle does not take well to those it feels do not believe in it." Said a voice a few feet away.
Squidward turned to see an acne ridden teen and a girl in a green dress being lectured by what looked like a centaur with a fish tail.
"Lester, Meg, this is as far as I can lead you. Aphros can train the students in combat well, but he much prefers to teach them lessons in baking and knitting. The magic of the blade won't wear off any time soon, though I recommend not tarrying."
The centaur swam away, leaving the teenagers behind.
"So this is a real oracle, right? A magic eight ball wannabe?" The girl in the dress asked. "You gods are dumb."
"Not my idea, so I don't qualify as dumb." The teenager argued. "Let's just get it to make sure the Triumvirate don't."
As the teenager swam past him, Squidward heard him mutter, I really hope this loop ends soon." Squidward couldn't help but agree.
44.8 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
Ludo Avarius Awoke... and immediately teared up. He couldn't believe it... his castle, his minions, his beloved old clothes! They were all back! It was impossible! For a brief moment, Ludo was happy. And then, he frowned. He.. didn't deserve this, did he? He had hurt a lot of people. Heck, due to his being manipulated by Toffee, some of these monsters had DIED! Glossaryck... Ludo couldn't even think about it. With a sigh, Ludo turned to Buff Frog.
"You're in charge, old friend. I have to go." Ludo nodded, opening a portal to the Void with his Dimensional Scissors and throwing himself in before anyone could stop him.
Star was confused as she and Marco showed up at Ludo's Castle, having decided to give her old foe a cake to be friends this Loop. However, Ludo himself was nowhere to be found.
"Ludo would never miss a meal..." She murmured.
"Lord Ludo left me in charge and threw himself into some void. It was very upsetting." Buff Frog explained. Star and Marco looked at each other in surprise. There was only one way Ludo could know about the Void this early in the Loop...
Ludo sighed as he started building his trash home, where he belonged, before being startled by Marco and Star showing up.
"...Hey." Marco awkwardly waved.
"I don't need help. I still have my dignity!" Ludo instinctively snapped. Marco and Star stepped back, and Ludo sighed.
"...Sorry." He forced out.
"It's okay, man." Star softly stated.
"Hey Ludo, have you... gone back in time?" Marco asked gently. Ludo blinked.
"Yes... how did you know?" Ludo nervously stated.
One Welcome to the Multiverse Speech later...
"...Why?" Ludo muttered.
"Well, no one really knows what broke Ygg-" Marco began.
"No, I mean... why am I Looping? I don't deserve the second chance... I hurt people who depended on me, and gave Toffee everything he needed... and Glossaryck... dear corn, Glossaryck..." Ludo blubbered... only to be interrupted by a hug from Star.
"It's okay Ludo. It's okay..." Star assured. Ludo cried harder and, after some brief hesitation, hugged back.
It felt good, he decided. It felt good.
44.9 (wildrook): [Kingdom Hearts] / [Devil May Cry]
"So," Riku said to Vergil as they both met in the Realm of Darkness, "what have you learned from Baseline?"
"Other than the fact that it's not a good idea to split your human and demon halves," Vergil replied, "it definitely has some similarities from this world's mechanics." He then glanced at Riku. "You're here to save the Keyblade Master?"
Riku gave out a glance. "I'm more wondering if she's Awake. Or in this Branch considering I found you instead of her." Riku then brought out his new Keyblade, the car key. "Knowing you, you're probably going to see how strong Sora is."
"Call it a personal interest after seeing Nero's true Devil Trigger." He then brought out Sparda the Keyblade. "Although if she's not here, I could try to gauge how strong you've become."
Riku had to be wary as he stared at Vergil, who had brought out Yamato as a secondary weapon. Not only was that thing a Gateway opener, it could probably split someone into a Heartless and Nobody. Something Xehanort in his early days would have been interested in.
"...I come out of the darkness to see you two about to fight," a female voice replied, literally showing up out of the water. "Sorry I'm late... had to purge a certain somebody out of my system." She then noticed the demonic-looking Keyblade. "And you definitely would fit the bill of one of the Thirteen Darknesses, Vergil."
"I've no interest becoming another pawn in their scheme," Vergil retorted to the bluenette. "The fact that you resisted that fool's allure speaks volumes about your own strength."
Aqua gave out a small smile before glancing at Riku. "The King's not here yet?" she asked him.
"Nope," Riku replied. "Glad you're here, though... the Realm of Light's kind of going haywire even with Xehanort's plan involving the True x-Blade."
Vergil's interest was piqued. "I take it there's some significance in why he wants to wield it?" he asked them.
"It's Kingdom Hearts in Keyblade Form," Aqua answered. "Requiring Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses with the Keyblade War as its forge."
"...So not a pawn, but an ingredient." Vergil gave out a glare. "For the record, I've made mad grabs at power before, but from what I'm hearing, this is pure insanity."
Riku gave the blue-clad half-Devil a glance. "That's exactly what your son told us when he found out about the whole scheme before he shifted to the Devil Breaker and punched him in the face."
If one could notice, there was a faint mark of pride on Vergil's face. "And I'm assuming Dante's reaction matched that of his encounter with Arkham the Clown?"
"Mostly, but he made a spectacle of it and outright mocked the guy in very creative forms. I think the exact terminology is 'your brain must have been fractured if you split your heart into thirteen.'"
That sounded like the Dante Vergil knew.
Unfortunately, talk was cut short by several different creatures coming out of the darkness. Not surprising. One Keybearer of Light would have attracted Heartless, but three? It's practically a bullseye.
"I was wondering when those rats would show up," Vergil muttered. "And some familiar faces."
Riku then gave out a stare as Aqua brought out her old Keyblade. "Let's see... Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Nightmares... and demons from your world?" he asked Vergil.
"That means Mundus probably has a way to come back. All the more reason why we need to put him down."
"Or," Aqua muttered, "knowing Xehanort, there's a replica of you running around."
"My stance hasn't changed. It just means that he and the Ancient Keybearer have made this very personal."
And knowing how Vergil acted, it meant that this particular "Darkness" was siding with the Light, even if he may be using them for his own objective.
"All we needed to know," Riku said to Vergil as he and Aqua took stances at the oncoming horde. "We still need to get things ready for the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard."
Aqua nodded. "Try not to break down on us," she said to Vergil, who gave out a glare.
All three Keybearers charged against the horde, personal objectives on hand. While Vergil was a bit standoffish with the humans, he knew that their personal strength is not to be underestimated. After all... their plans and his went hand-in-hand as they both shared the same targets.
Kind of surprising that it took a literal split decision for him to realize that strength should not be gained if there's a huge cost to it...
44.10 (Mattman The Comet): [Percy Jackson] / [Kamen Rider Build - not Looping]
"So you tricked me..."
Percy Jackson, facing facsimiles of the Stoll Brothers, was defeated. Having Awoken just as he lost his fight in the tournament for the safety of Touto on the behalf of the Prime Minister (who was Hades of all people), he decided to let the show play out as the man he awoken from likely would've.
"Oh well... I'm the one to blame."
He glanced behind him.
"But... in my place..." he jabbed a thumb behind him, "She'll finish this."
PING PING PING PING
He limped back to the pair behind him: Thalia Grace and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
Well I say Thalia Grace, but in all likelihood it was Annabeth Chase behind those eyes.
Thinking about it, he would put good money that the other two pings were Leo, who won the previous fight against Travis, and Piper, who helped Annabeth develop her new weapon.
Annabeth, who would be fighting Nico next.
He followed the two back into the staging room where, if the trio hadn't awaken not 30 seconds earlier, he would've been scolded.
"Where's Piper and Leo?" he asked.
"Making sure the next bit goes off without a hitch," Annabeth replied, with a knowing smile.
"You're not gonna tell us, aren't you?"
"Got it in one, Seaweed Brain." Gods, Percy didn't know weather he wanted to kiss or throttle her. Though in all honesty that was probably because she was wearing Thalia's face.
He was, in fact, going to throttle Luke (aka Blood Stalk) for framing him as his Girlfriend/Employer's murder.
Rachel, seeing the situation getting flirty fast, interrupted any thoughts going through the pair's mind. "Well as much as I'd love to see how much serial escalation your flirting brings, why don't we get Annabeth out there and save the day."
The sight of the pair devolving into blushing, blabbering messes was simply a cherry on top.
Annabeth made for the door "W-why don't I get out there and win this for us, okay?"
"Y-yeah. Good luck out there!"
The door slammed and left Rachel and Percy alone.
"Fuck you."
"I aim to please."
Third Battle! Kamen Rider Build vs. Kamen Rider Rouge!
"This is the end, Nico." Annabeth said, facing her opponent.
"Yeah. I'll win, and Seito will unify this country."
Ah, so he was still in his Edgy Teen phase.
"We'll see," Annabeth said, raising a device and slamming it onto her waist.
"A clash of swords," Nico counter, doing the same. "A contest of might. This is everything you ever wanted, Athene"
"The Rider System is not a weapon," Gods is this baseline always this snarkless? She drew a soda can-like device and shook it, popping the the tab before slamming it into newly formed belt.
DAEDALUSLAPTOP SPARKLING!
"Henshin."
STYX!
"Henshin."
44.11 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil] / [Camp Camp]
"...This is bullshit." Max Deadpanned as he was thrown out of a Mewman bar due to having Looped in as a Bat Monster.
"I know right? No way magic can be real!" Neil murmured.
"Dude, are you still on that? Get over it, magic exists. I was complaining about the blatant racism... Or speciesism? Whatever, it's an ism." Max grumbled as he dusted himself off. Neil simply scowled as the duo walked off to find Nikki, David and Gwen.
Meanwhile, Ludo knocked on Star's door in her castle.
"Ludo? What're you doing here?" Star asked with a raised eyebrow. While she was by no means still enemies with the Looping Kappa, they weren't exactly friends yet.
"I need a place to hide! Some crazy chick is chasing me! I told her my past and was a little nice, and next thing you know, she's saying tragic backstories are hot! How can a past have a temperature?!" Ludo ranted. Star stared, repressing giggles at Ludo's ignorance. she soon let him in.
Meanwhile Meanwhile, David was giving Gwen a concerned look as she asked around for Ludo. He tried to stay out of it... Only to sigh and drag Gwen off when she started getting a bit too aggressive.
Meanwhile Meanwhile Meanwhile, Nikki was Whooping as she and Ludo's Army (who Ludo had given a dismissal to, though at least with a good severance pay and even better recommendations) ran around the forest.
"Buack Buack!" Big Chicken exclaimed, gesturing to a nearby house. Nikki giggled as Deer Beard rang the doorbell and hid.
"Dang it, ya dirty kids! I have better things tah do with mah time then deal with your pranks!" the farmer complained.
"Nikki, there you are! We've been looking for yo-" Neil began as he showed up alongside Max, getting interrupted by the farmer throwing rocks.
"I'm gonna git you punks!" The farmer roared, believing Max and Neil to be the pranksters as he chased them off. Nikki yelped and chased the farmer, getting chased by a guard dog, who in turn was chased by Ludo's Army.
"...I love fused Loops." Star chuckled as she, Marco and Ludo watched the chaos ensue using the All-Seeing Eye.
44.12 (ThanatosTiger): [Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir] / [Marvel Comics]
"I! Can't! Believe you!" Chloe yelled at the yucky ooze stuck to her back. "That dinner was important, a charity type thing to help Daddy get elected again, and you ruined it by forcing me to dive into the lobster tank! Even worse, that cashmere sweater I was gonna wear today was too waterlogged to wear ever again!"
"I was hungry." The black snot pile whined.
"I fed you six boxes of disgusting tater tots!"
"Tater tots are yummy!" The slime mold reached up behind her back, searching for something or other. It then extended more to the right, trying uselessly to pull Chloe to the right.
"Chloe! Sabrina's here! Let's see her!"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "You just want food. Why can't you be addicted to something delicious, like sushi."
"Raw Fish is disgusting! Blech!"
Chloe couldn't believe him. "I am not hearing this right now! You eat lobster straight out the tank but can't handle fish on rice!?"
"Yucky!"
Chloe searched the hallway to distract herself from her ridiculous pet ink stain. She noticed Sabrina run towards her. Chloe smiled. At least one thing was going well today.
"Oh, Chloe, I got the snacks for your little buddy!" Chloe's smile grew. Sabrina was such a good friend. Loyal, always ready to listen to her, dealt with anything that could trouble her, a perfect friend. To bad she had to be the bearer of bad news.
"My 'little buddy' forced me to swim in a lobster tank, so he's not getting his treats today," Chloe snarled. "So thank you, but I'm putting these where they belong, the trash."
"Oh. That explains why you didn't text me back after I told you about the test today."
"What!" With that snarl, Chloe was covered head to toe in black mass, then reached for the tater tot container and ate the whole thing in one bite.
The Symbiote grinned. "Thank you Sabrina. You do good work." The Symbiote, frowned, thinking to himself. "So there's a test today. Darn shame, Chloe didn't study."
Sabrina looked confused. "And you didn't help her?"
The Symbiote raised an eyebrow. "Why should I, I don't attend school."
At this point Chloe took back control, and began screaming now that she had her mouth back. "That complete jerk! Come on Sabrina, we're heading to class, and I hope you have the answers!"
'No.' Her annoying sludge pile whispered in her brain.
"Or what?" Chloe seethed.
'I've been holding back a massive burp since yesterday.'
"Ugh, fine, don't go into any more detail you disgusting slime ball!"
As Chloe marched to class, she noticed people walking outside the school, some complaining about another Akuma attack this week.
"We should help." Her pet puddle said aloud. "We are strong."
"Not a superhero, genius."
"We can be. Ladybug said no because you didn't have a suit, you have one now, me."
Chloe considered this, she did want to be a superhero. But there was one thing to make sure of.
"No eating. That includes the butterfly, I don't need to risk someone getting hurt cause you couldn't stop thinking with your stomach."
"Fine," the Symbiote grumbled. The two disasters ran towards the nearest building to climb it, ready to fight alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir and actually help out.
44.13 (CrazyCog): [Kingdom Hearts] - Baseline Expansion Saga: The First Casualty
Baseline Expansion Saga: The First Casualty
The cry of seagulls sounded through the air. The familiar scent of salt tickled the inside of Sora's nose, causing him to breath it in deeply. Stretching his arms above his head, Sora let out a groan as he felt his muscles pop in a satisfying way. The last loop had been quite the doozy, as he had been replacing Luke Skywalker in a galaxy where one could only fight if they were yodeling the entire time. Standing up, he looked over the wide expanse of the ocean while brushing some loose sand of of his clothes. Perhaps this loop he would take a vacation, take Kairi out to Radiant Garden and treat her to something special. It had been a bit since they had seen each other, and he felt like doing something special for her.
Fate is a cruel mistress, raising your hopes one moment, only to crush them into grains of sand the next.
The sound of feet impacting the soft ground drew his attention to his left, where Kairi could be seen running towards him, face obscured by her hair. A smile growing on his face, Sora started to speak, "Hey Kai, how's it..." He was interrupted by her slamming full force into him, sending them both toppling to the ground. It was then that Sora noticed the wet feeling where her face was pressed into his chest, and the quiet sobs that came from her lips. "Kairi, what's wrong?"
Again, he was the one trying to help her, the wheels of fate proving to once more turn against her.
She let out a sniffle, still clinging to him as though he was going to disappear at any moment. "I-I woke up at the beginning of the latest expansion." Sora's face broke into an expression of confusion. He hadn't heard anything about baseline growing, and was about to voice his surprise. However, before he could, Kairi continued without pause, "It was a null loop, and the only other looper there with me was King Mickey acting as a guest anchor. Before he and Riku traveled to go rescue Aqua, we had a talk about our plans for the loop. While we could still try to use the experience that we had gathered in the loops, I suggested that we go through it as close to baseline as possible, in order to fully understand what the expansion entailed." The princess shook her head bitterly. "Mickey was a little skeptical at first, and we had a discussion..."
Mickey looked up at Kairi with concern in his eyes. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? Neither of us know what is going to happen, and without Sora here..."
A light laugh came from Kairi. "Oh don't worry so much. I think that we've proven that we can handle whatever baseline throws at us." She summoned her Keyblade to her hand. "Besides, I think that after everything our baseline selves have been through, they can finally take care of themselves without too much worry. Right?"
The diminutive King bit his lip for a few seconds before finally responding, "Well..."
"..which ended with him agreeing, although a bit reluctantly. I on the other hand foolishly went forward without a second thought, unaware to what was to come."
After all, it had all been building up to this, a chance to see what her baseline self was truly capable of.
"At first things seemed promising. I trained with Axel, while you tried to regain your Power of Awakening." She spat out those last three words, but spoke before Sora could enquire why, "You ended up saving Aqua, who then led you to Ventus. Vanitas tried to stop you, but you learned to harness your power and Ven was able to drive him away. Once all seven of us were prepared, we traveled to the Keyblade graveyard, to fight Xehanort and his Seekers of Darkness." Her eyes hardened. "It was there that Axel and I fought Saix and a hooded figure, who turned out to be Xion."
She had saved Sora once before that encounter, but that was a mere footnote compared to what had happened next, barely worth mentioning.
"You showed up and tried to help us, but then Xemnas grabbed me before you could react. I tried to escape, thinking that somehow things would be different this time. They were not."
Who was she kidding? She was once again reduced another damsel in distress.
"I was wrong. Like your first adventure and against the organization, I was useless."
Unable to fight back, awaiting salvation like every. Other. Time.
"Xehanort ended up needing one more clash to forge the x-blade. To provoke you, he decided to take away what you cared for most, and I didn't notice until it was too late. He struck me with his keyblade..." She let out a hiccup and was barely able to get the next three words out of her mouth, "and I died."
She had underestimated how weak and pathetic baseline intended her to be. Once again, she was reduced to being less than useless.
Instead of saying anything, Sora just wrapped his arms tightly around Kairi and held her close, gently rocking her as she began to sob again.
He didn't deserve her. He had saved her thousands of times, and she could barely keep herself from being strung along like fate's puppet.
After a few minutes, he finally spoke, "Hey, don't worry, something like death can't stop me." He gave her what he hoped to be a brave smile, "As long as there's a chance to save you, I'll take it!"
He constantly brought himself to his lowest points for her, and she was always unable to do anything.
"And that's the problem, you did try to find me! You used the Power of Waking one more time, and in the process of you saving me, you died! I might have returned, but what does it matter if I lost you again?!"
Fate always conspired to keep them apart, forcing them to do the same dance again and again.
Despite her heavy news, Sora just gave her the same adorkable smile as always. "Hey, don't you worry. I've never let something as inconvenient as death stop me before, and I'm sure not going to let it now."
She wanted to scream at him, tell him that things were different this time, that it was all pointless, but she held back.
*thump-thump*
Sora always carried her burdens but adding more to the news of the latest revelations may prove to be too much for even him. No, she would not let fate turn her into an instrument of Sora's misery again.
*thump-thump*
She would not worry him. This time, she would be strong...
Kairi gave Sora a small reassuring smile, causing his heart to lighten, if even only a little bit. While he knew that there might be something still bothering her, he trusted her to tell him about it. After all, she always did so in the past, so why would that change now? Whatever it was, they would get through it together.
Alone, she would stand firm.
*thump-thump*
No matter how much it hurt.
44.14 (DrTempo): [Kingdom Hearts] / [My Little Pony]
Sunset was, as she usually did, meditating in the dojo she had created. It was a typical Loop, but she had gotten a Ping earlier, and was wondering who it was. The door opened, and she saw Sora walk in. Sunset smiled.
"Hey, Sora! It's been a while." Sora nodded, frowning.
"Yeah, it has." Sunset could see something was bothering him, and she said, "Let me guess... something about your Loop's baseline expansion bothering you?" Sora blinked in surprise, and then facepalmed.
"Duh... you played the game, didn't you?"
Sunset laughed. "Yep. Apparently in baseline, I'm quite the gamer. But moving on, what's bothering you?"
Sora sighed. "It's Kairi. She and Mickey were the first ones to experience the baseline expansion, and..." Sunset grinned.
"Let me guess. She isn't taking ending up being a damsel in distress, and getting killed, with your saving her causing you to end up in some version of Shibuya, well, is she?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah. I know she isn't telling me something, but I don't know why." Sunset thought for a moment, and then frowned.
"If I had to guess, she's trying to be strong on her own. Guess she forgot what you always say... that her friends are her power."
Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Makes sense. But every time someone's tried, we haven't been able to help her calm down." Sunset nodded.
"It'll take time. She is just being stubborn, and likely feels like she ended up being useless all over again. It isn't her fault. She was caught by surprise, and her baseline self likely, even with all the training she went through, stood no chance against Xehanort. She just needs to realize she needs to talk about it to someone else."
Sora nodded. "I hope she does soon. But, that isn't all that is bothering me. It's what Xigbar... or Luxu... did."
Sunset nodded. "He tricked everyone, all to revive the Foretellers, and have the Master of Masters return from wherever he went. I'm all but sure another Keyblade War is in your baseline's future, and if I have to guess, this time it'll be seven seekers of darkness against thirteen guardians of light. Considering how powerful the Foretellers seem to be, this could mean trouble, especially since they were the ones who caused the first Keyblade War to happen. But, don't lose hope, Sora. Riku'll save you, and you'll stop them. And when that time comes, you'll prevent the mistakes of the past from happening all over again. Stay determined."
Sora laughed. "I know that. But for now, we have to make sure Kairi gets through whatever's bothering her. We likely have a lot of time before the next baseline expansion, but still.."
Sunset grinned. "You can do it, Sora. I know you will." Summoning her Keyblade, she entered a fighting stance. "How about a sparring session? You only use your baseline abilities, while I go all out. Show me what you've got, Sora!"
Sora summoned his Keyblade, and the two clashed. For now, he wouldn't worry, but he knew he had to help Kairi realize she needed to have her friends help her.
Hopefully before things got too bad.
44.15 (ThanatosTiger): [Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir] / [Pokémon]
Meowth grinned as he flew across Adrien's room, finally free from the Miraculous. The headband he was stuck in felt cramped, and he somehow managed to develop a sore back.
"Man, with bein' stuck in dat for such a long time, I'm startin' to agree wit' my Anchor's point on Pokéballs. Hopefully he ain't here, or we might be dealin' with quite the blackout." Meowth shuddered at the thought of Pikachu's particularly zappy reaction. "Anyway, this loop I'm known as Manekko, Kwami of Wealth and Fortune, which is kinda ironic since I can't use Pay Day in baseline."
Adrien hmmed in response. "There goes my Chat Crème idea. Maybe Catsh Money?"
"Twoip, I will summon a dragon's, no a Diancie woithy fortune if ya never say those words again."
Adrien chuckled. "Fine, I'll come up with names later. So what superpowers do I get this loop? And what do you need to eat?"
Meowth's eyes widened. "Only the finest of the fine! Oysters, caviar, and delicious lobster! All that'll be perfect for my pallet."
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Is that cause you need it or because you want to eat a bunch of rich-type foods?"
"A bit of both actually, since I can tell you about the years I spent living on salt. In regards to power, you transform by saying "Pay up!" and detransform by saying "Pay down." When transformed, you get a gold coin similar to my charm that's linked to an endless amount of cash. You can summon something by shouting Exchange, which will replace the coin with whatever material thing you desire. Keep in mind you can only use this once per transformation, so be smart about this. No charging in without a plan."
Adrien nodded. "Got it, be smart about how to use the Cat Credit Card."
"Yer on thin ice, Twoip."
"Okay, no puns. We should probably transform soon, Ivan turns into Stoneheart around this time, we need to be there to help deakumatize him."
"On it kid, say the magic words."
"Pay up!"
44.16 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil] / [Gregory Horror Show]
Star, Marco, Ludo and Janna blinked as they Awoke in a creepy forest.
"Oh man, this is a dream come true!" Janna smirked, taking a happy breath.
"...Janna, you scare me more than literally anything else." Marco snarked. Meanwhile, Ludo hid in Star's backpack.
"I'm not scared!" He insisted.
"No one said you were." Star smiled. With that, the 4 came across a hotel.
"Could this get any better?!" Janna beamed as they entered.
"Why hello. Welcome to Gregory House." Gregory smiled, appearing out of nowhere.
"Ooh. Do you have an axe murderer? This place totally seems like it would have one." Janna chuckled.
"Would you like-"
"Or a giant monster?"
"Would you like-"
"Or a curse!"
"Would you like-"
"Or a cursed giant monster!"
"LET ME FINISH!" Gregory snapped.
"Do I have to?" Janna smirked.
"JUST TAKE A KEY!" Gregory roared. The four did as told and walked off.
"You all Visiting Loopers?" Neko Zombie yawned from the ceiling.
"Well, three of us are..." The unnerved Ludo stated.
"Oh, I'm Looping too, if that's time repeating." Janna shrugged as she inspected the place.
"WHAT?!" Marco and Star exclaimed.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd have funny reactions." Janna snickered. While Marco looked annoyed, Star cheered and hugged her friend.
"Well, wanna help me burn this place down?" Neko Zombie interrupted.
"Sure." Star, Janna and Ludo shrugged.
"Wha- Why are you agreeing to arson so easily?!" Marco exclaimed, before getting ignored as everyone got some fire prepared. He groaned into his hands.
44.17 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
Janna groaned as she laid on the Diazes' couch.
"What's wrong with her?" Marco asked.
"She's annoyed because our last fused Loop was Count Duckula." Star stated absentmindedly, working on ships in bottles again.
"He was soooooo lame. Vampires are supposed to be scary!" Janna whined.
"...I'm gonna go hang out with Ludo this Loop." Marco sighed, leaving with his Dimensional Scissors. Star nodded, too focused on her ships.
"Hey Big M! What diggin', mah main man?" Ludo smiled as Marco arrived at Castle Avarius. Marco silently went back into his Portal.
"...I thought it was cool." Dennis assured his brother.
"Thank you Dennis. SOMEONE appreciates Me." Ludo hurrumphed.
44.18 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil] / [Twilight Saga]
Janna blinked as she Awoke.
"All right, so fusing Ludo's dimensional scissors with Marco's money and then throwing it into a volcano? Definitely gonna crash the Loop." She shrugged to herself.
"Janna, my love! We must be together, but alas, we can't!" Edward Cullen stated as he approached her. Janna looked around at all the sparkly vampires, her eye twitching.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Janna shouted as she fell to her knees.
"Alas, I knew our love was complicated." Edward sighed.
44.19 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
"...I want a romantic subplot." Ludo stated suddenly as he and the other SvtFoE Loopers were riding on the River of Time.
"Huh?" Marco blinked.
"Yeah! Pretty much everyone in our Branch who's not irrelevant has been a part of one! Even Janna, technically, since she has so much subtext with you AND Star!" Ludo ranted.
"...Please tell me you're trolling us." Star deadpanned.
"...Yeah, I totally am. I'm REALLY bored." Ludo admitted.
"Oh thank goodness." Star murmured.
"...I'm not THAT boring, am I? Fam, I may cry!" Reynaldo the Bald Plate frowned.
"You totally are dude." Janna shrugged. Reynaldo cried as Star went to comfort him and Marco scolded Janna for her rudeness, which she ignored with music.
44.20 (ThanatosTiger): [Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir] / [Pokémon]
Adrien's opponent accepted the loss gracefully, bowing and leaving the the tournament soon after. Though Adrien tried to schedule a meet up later on, the opponent turned it down.
Marinette raised an eyebrow, "Not to knock your fencing ability, but I'm surprised you beat him. Kartana have a monstrous attack, and their speed and defenses are no slouch."
"I'm not." Adrien winced. "Er, I'm not trying to be arrogant or anything. On paper, their godly attack, defense, and speed would have forced me to formulate a special attack plan to steel victory."
Marinette looked confused. "Their defense and speed aren't godly, just good."
"Marinette, I'm trying to lecture here." Adrien mock-whined. Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled, gesturing for him to continue in an exaggerated fashion.
"Okay, so being a foot in height gives it a leg up in defense, making it harder to hit, but kinda hurts its options to attack. Even with how speedy it is, you can plant to stop its charge with a few parries when you're en garde, since it still has to get in close with how short those blades are. Six inches don't measure up against a three foot blade, so it would half to get out of range and force me into offense, where I excel, or focus on retreeting to create a steelmate. Honestly, I kinda knew how this match would have blade out before it even began.
Marinette hummed in affirmation, before turning to face her superhero partner. "Did you just fill your entire speech with puns?!"
"Hey, you started it, calling Kartana's attack monstrous. Second, Yggdrasil caused the fight thanks to its love of puns, replacing Kagami Tsurugi with a Kamiturugi."
Marinette groaned in response, causing Adrien to grin wider.
"Honestly, Kagami's more of a god-sword."
Marinette groaned louder, mumbling under her breath about "dumb Japanese puns".
44.21 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
Janna cackled as she entered Echo Creek High, the Empire theme being played by a terrified Ferguson.
"Janna, what're you doing?" Marco deadpanned.
"Oh, I'm a Sith now. Pretty hot huh?" Janna smirked, leaning on a locker before casually using the force to blow up a nearby water fountain, snickering.
"I'm deeply concerned for my life." Ferguson stated.
"...Janna, who even wanted to train you?" Marco sighed, massaging his temples.
"Unimportant." Janna shrugged.
"It was Robot Chicken Palpatine." Ludo stated bluntly, dropping off a clearly traumatized Alfonso before leaving. Star had also been conveniently listening in on the conversation... And so Star and Marco laughed hysterically.
"Bahahahaha! Robot... Robot... Oh Admins, I'm gonna wet myself!" Marco guffawed.
"It's not funny!" Janna complained.
"You're right... It's HILARIOUS! Ahahaha!" Star added. Janna stormed off to plot her revenge.
"I don't understand what is happening." Ferguson murmured.
"So dark... So cold..." Alfonso stated with a thousand yard stare.
44.22 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
It's Finally Over
Ludo whistled as he dusted off his castle's doors.
"Ugh, maybe getting Big Chicken to do it wasn't the best idea..." Ludo murmured.
"Hi Ludo." Janna said, appearing out of nowhere. Ludo screamed and fell over.
"What the heck, Janna?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ludo complained.
"Heh, yeah. Well anyways, Star and Marco's relationship drama is finally over." Janna chuckled.
"Really? Oh thank Goodness, that was getting obnoxious." Ludo stated.
"I know right? Oh no, I have a demon boyfriend I'm clearly not all that into! Woe is me!" Janna said, stating The latter things in Star's voice.
"Uh, I'm Marco! I'm too awkward to make a move!" Ludo laughed in Marco's voice.
"...We're right here." Marco Deadpanned, him and Star standing nearby.
"It WAS getting out of hand..." Buff Frog interjected.
"Et tu, Buff Frog?... Did I use that right?" Star pouted.
"Yep." Marco sighed.
44.23 (BestEverNoob): [Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir]
Marinette Awoke in a new loop, and, as had quickly become habit, checked her memories for anything different.
Pretty normal this time around, although she seemed to be Alya's childhood friend already, which was nice.
She pinged, but didn't get a response, Adrien must not be awake this loop. Shame.
"Right, I need to help fu cross the street... then screw everyone over. How should I play this?"
A particularly stir-crazy Ladybug, Wearing a cape made of stolen cell phones, sat cackling evil in her secret evil lair, planning her next great prank, so far, she'd stolen Alya's phone, given it back, stolen it again, egged the Eiffel Tower, dyed all of Gabriel's clothes bright pink, and gotten Cat Noir high on catnip. Twice.
And Chloe still Hero-worshipped her.
She wondered what she could do to Lila that wouldn't end up with Yggdrasil/Tyche/karma sending her to another Eiken loop.
44.24 (Boohoooo!): [Star vs. the Forces of Evil]
How this Ends Is Great!
Marco, Star, Ludo and Janna stood around in the newly fused Mewni and Earth realm.
"Wellp, Baseline really went out with a bang." Marco smiled.
"Speaking of bangs..." Janna slyly began, looking at Star and Marco.
"EW! NO JANNA! JUST NO!" Star gagged.
"I was just gonna ask if there were any cool explosions." Janna smirked. Ludo snickered as he pet Bird and Spider.
"...Janna, you're the worse." Star and Marco grunted in unison.
"Can't deny that." Janna shrugged.
"Aw, you're already speaking like a couple!" Ludo cooed at the new lovers.
"Ugh, this is gonna be annoying." Marco grumbled.
"But it's worth it." Star smiled, Marco soon smiling as well as they held hands.
"Kissssss!" Janna and Ludo insisted.
"Would you two can it?!"
"Nope!"
And so the Adventures continued!
44.25 (BlueStarOfTheSouth): [Lilo and Stitch]
Stitch found himself in a strange situation: contained in the bubble like cage that he was in during Jumba's trial. Didn't he already do this? Stitch was so lost in his own thoughts, trying to work out which of his cousins was responsible for this, that he missed what the Grand Councilwoman said. Not that it mattered, seeing as he was taken to a cell, the same one he remembered being locked in so long ago, to await his sentencing. Banishment to some distant asteroid no doubt.
But Stitch didn't have time for that, he had his family to get back to.
Breaking out of the cell was trivial. Stealing the small red ship that he had used to get to Earth was easy. The small dogfight that followed his theft was actually tricky, because Stitch was trying to work out the exact angle and time he needed to jump to light speed if he wanted to hit Hawaii while he was trying not to get shot.
Finally, once he was sure he had the timing and angle just right, didn't want to miss and hit Pluto or something, he made the jump, sending the vessel speeding towards Earth. Towards home.
As Stitch's stolen craft burned in the atmosphere of the blue planet he let out a mad cackle. In that moment he didn't care about how, or why, he had time travelled, all that mattered was that he could see his island home growing closer through the flames of his burning spacecraft.
44.1: One of the more disturbing variants, but luckily, Riley's got friends here.
44.2: Uh-huh.
44.3: They've got a point. Also, Elsa spent years in a state where she really wasn't ready for a romantic relationship of any kind, and even after Looping as long as she has, she's probably still a long way away.
44.4: Snow needs more screentime. Desperately. (Looping has rid her of some of her naivety, at least.)
44.5: The Refactoring was an event that basically got rid of a lot of random glitch outbreaks and also made Pockets temporarily inaccessible for roughly a hundred Loops.
44.6: Post-expansion discussions. There's definitely going to be fallout from KHIII and its events.
44.7: It's a "The Trials of Apollo" thing.
44.8: And now Star's former arch-enemy is Looping. (The guy had reformed by series' end, so it's okay.)
44.9: Been a long time since we've seen these two interact.
44.10: Yeah, that happened.
44.11: Er...
44.12: Chloe isn't actually Looping here, but the Venom symbiote is.
44.13: Like I said, fallout. Kairi is going to have a rough time of it for a while.
44.14: And now Sunset's gotten the chance to talk with her friends here about it.
44.15: Kwamis apparently get Replaced sometimes.
44.16: And they got a new Looper.
44.17: Right.
44.18: ...(sighs) Okay, the flanderization here is a little much.
44.19: Uh-huh.
44.20: They must have been in Alola.
44.21: Well that's scary.
44.22: One problem solved.
44.23: (raises eyebrow) Marinette must have been in one of those moods.
44.24: And that's it for this series' expansions. Not for its Loops though.
44.25: And we go back in time to see Stitch's activation.