"So, a time loop," Eugene said. "How is that possible?"
They were standing outside the mall. Rapunzel was a little scared to enter. She knew she had lived the same day over and over again at least three separate times but she couldn't remember any of it. It was on the tip of her tongue. A memory that she couldn't quite catch.
All she knew was that something inside that mall kept making her and Eugene re-spawn outside the mall and that scared her.
"I'm not sure," she responded, pacing back and forth. "It's not impossible. They do happen. I learned about them back at the Academy. But it takes a strong power to place someone in a time loop. It has to happen at the exact right time."
"What does that mean?" He stepped out of the way as a little kid ran past him and an exasperated mom followed.
"Someone would have to know we were on our way here and travel at the exact same time for the time loop to happen."
"Well, couldn't that happen at any time? I mean, we're time travelers. You know a lot of time travelers. Any one of them could have placed us inside the time loop. Doesn't the Society know we're going after their clues?"
"Which means they could have sent anyone through time to land in the exact same place at the exact same time as us." She frowned, her hands flapping at her sides. "But we don't know who. Since the Society is sending assassins after me, it could be any number of people. And I'm having trouble remembering what happens inside that mall."
"Me too." He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. "All I know is I keep experiencing Deja-Vu. That's it."
"Same as me."
He sighed. "So, how do we break a time loop?"
"We find the person responsible and…"
"And?"
"We have to kill them," she said, wincing. "It's the only way."
"So, let's find this person and kill them and be done with this."
She scoffed and walked over to a bench and sat down. "We can't just kill people, Eugene."
"If it's one of the assassins the Society sent, then yes, we can. I'm not letting you die again, Rapunzel. I'm just not."
She let out a shaky breath. "Ok. We'll do what we have to do. But I can't even remember anything."
"Neither can I."
She gasped and stood up. "But, we can leave notes for ourselves, just in case we end up back here."
He snapped his fingers. "Blondie, that's genius."
"First, we need a pen and paper."
They both looked at the mall.
"I guess we know were to start," he said.
She grabbed his hand. He squeezed it. "Let's do this. Together."
They entered the mall, neither of them knowing what was going to happen next.
"So, where are we going to find a pen and paper?" Eugene asked.
"Uh, a store," she said.
He shot her a look. "I know that, Blondie. I meant, where in the mall?"
She pointed at a board in the middle of the walkway. "We can look at the map." They walked over to it. "Ok. We're here and… there's a stationary store just over there." Her finger touched a part of the map that was all the way across the mall.
"To the stationary store we go. Let's just try not to get killed in the process."
They began their walk through the mall. Eugene looked over at the food court as they passed by and saw some teenage girl run right into a man. The smoothie in her hand went all down the man's shirt. Eugene winced. "Tough luck, buddy."
Then he stopped.
Wait. Why did he seem to remember that happening to him?
"Blondie, what happens if we change events of the time loop?"
"Then we stand a better chance of breaking it."
He let out a quick breath. "Whew. Good."
"Or…"
"Or? I don't like your tone."
"Or it could cause us to get even more trapped within the time loop, making it so we can never escape."
"So, how do we change events and not end up back in the time loop without causing us to get even more trapped within said time loop?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted. "This is all new to me too."
"Great. So we're doomed."
She smiled and linked her arm through his. "We're not doomed. We'll figure this out. We figure everything out together."
He stared down at her, noticing just how beautiful she looked. "Did I tell you I love you today yet?"
"I'm not sure. If you did, I wouldn't remember, would I?"
He chuckled. "Let's go find a damn pen and paper."
They were heading for a store when the sound of two men arguing made them look over.
"You kissed my girlfriend, asshole," one of them said.
"She asked for it. Besides, you weren't giving her anything," the other one said.
The first one lunged at the other and began punching the second one.
"Woah," Eugene said, running over. "Take it down a notch, fellas."
They both turned to Eugene. "Stay out of this," the first one said.
"You made it everyone's problem when you started punching this guy in the middle of a mall," Eugene said.
"You want to get punched too?" the first one asked, advancing onto him.
Eugene stepped back. "Uh, not really."
Rapunzel ran over. "Enough. There's no need to fight."
"Stay out of this," the second one said, pushing Rapunzel back. She stumbled.
"Hey there," Eugene said. "No need to push my girlfriend."
"That's your girlfriend?" the first one asked. "Then you better watch out or this asshole" – he nodded at the second man – "will kiss her and ruin your friendship forever."
Eugene shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not getting involved in this. You two have fun killing each other." He grabbed Rapunzel's hand and walked away.
The two men began fist-fighting.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" she asked.
A security guard ran past.
"He's got it," Eugene said. "But first thing we should right on our note – don't get involved with any men fighting."
"Probably a good idea."
They hurried to the stationary store and quickly grabbed a bundle of paper and pens. "Just in case," she said.
They sat down on a bench outside of the store. "Ok, what do we write first?" he asked.
"That we're stuck in a time loop and we need to find the person who's doing it and kill them. And then we need to find the clue the Society left behind." She began writing.
He groaned. "I forgot about that. Damn it. How are we ever going to find that?"
"By finding a place where they would hide it. Something that would make sense for the 1980s."
They both looked around. After a moment, Eugene shrugged. "I honestly have no idea what that could be. I wasn't alive in the 80s."
"Neither was I." Her eyes fastened on something across the walkway. "But there. Look."
He did. She was pointing at a workout studio with teenage boys standing outside, looking in at the women in leotards who were working out. "So?"
"The clue said we'd find the next piece of information wherever hormonal teenagers would be. That looks like hormonal teenagers to me."
"I agree. But I am not going to join a jazzercise class just to gain information."
"Eugene, we have to."
He shook his head. "Nope. No way. I am not doing it."
He ended up doing it.
They joined the jazzercise class – both of them now in neon leotards, which only caused him immense shame. Rapunzel had stuck the note in her everyday clothes that she had stashed in the locker.
A middle-aged woman glanced over at him. "I'm impressed a man is doing this. I was never able to get my husband to join me."
"Neither was I," said another woman.
"Men," said one more, shaking her head.
Eugene was hit with another strong sense of Deja-vu. He had heard that conversation before.
The instructor arrived. "I'm Jennifer and who's ready to tone those booties and bellies?"
Eugene really wanted to die.
After spending a few moments awkwardly moving his hips and legs, Eugene was about to quit and give up when Jennifer made a comment about a cassette tape.
"And if you're looking for a new cassette tape, you can always try Radio Shack."
Eugene thought that was weird but Rapunzel seemed to think it had significance.
"A cassette tape," she whispered. "That's where the next clue is. We have to get to Radio Shack."
They hurried out of the studio and towards the locker rooms. Eugene felt eyes on him and when he looked back he saw the instructor, Jennifer, staring right at him. Her eyes were saying something but he didn't understand what.
Rapunzel entered the changing room and slipped back on her normal clothes. She was reaching for the pen and paper she had kept in the locker when the door to the room banged open.
A woman walked inside, wearing a green cloak and a sword at her hip. A woman she knew very well. A woman who was once her best friend. A woman she saw die.
And a woman who hated her.
Cassandra.
"Cass," she gasped, her body bumping against the row of lockers.
"I'm here to end things," she said, lifting up her sword.
Rapunzel knew in that exact moment what was causing the time loop. Cass had come for her.
"I can't let you do that," Rapunzel said. She spun around to grab the paper and pen when Cass ran up behind her and jammed her sword straight through her body.
Rapunzel gasped as the sword left her body, leaving behind a large hold in her stomach. She gripped the edge of the locker and quickly wrote 'Ca-,' on the piece of paper before she fell over.
The last thing she saw was Eugene running into the room and Cass cutting him down with her sword before she died.
Her eyes opened. She was outside the mall again, alive and well. Eugene was with her.
"I think we're in a time loop," they said in unison.
After having a conversation about that, they entered the mall, determined to find a piece of paper and a pen to write on to leave themselves clues.
"But," Eugene said, "if this has happened before, don't you think we would have already left ourselves a clue?"
"Maybe. But where could it be? I say we head for the stationary store and see what happens along the way."
Rapunzel noticed when a girl spilled her smoothie on a man and when two men got into a huge argument. She also noticed teenage boys drooling outside a dance studio and knew that she had to go inside.
Something was calling to her.
It took some time to convince Eugene to join the class but eventually he came around. She went into the women's locker room and he went into the men's.
She opened the locker and a piece of paper fluttered out. The first thing Rapunzel noticed was the red on the edge of the paper. It looked like… blood.
She picked it up and frowned. All that was written on the paper was 'Ca' and nothing else. 'Ca'… what? She knew that was her handwriting though.
Which meant, she had left this clue for herself.
And if the clue was covered in blood, then that couldn't be a good sign.
Everything inside of her was telling her to leave right that second.
She walked out of the locker room and bumped into Eugene, who had changed into a neon leotard.
"I hate you," he said, "for making me wear this."
Normally, she'd laugh but right then, there were more pressing issues at hand.
He looked her up and down. "How come you're still in your everyday clothes? If I have to wear a goddamn leotard, then so do you."
"Eugene, look at this." She gave him the paper. "It was in the locker I chose. That's my handwriting. There's blood on it. Probably my blood."
He looked between her and the paper. "Ok. So, this is our first clue. Now what?"
"We still need to find the clue the Society left behind and we also need to find the person who caused me to bleed. The person who's probably causing this time loop to happen in the first place."
"Should we go?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'm going to change." He hurried back into the locker room.
Rapunzel was pacing the hallway when a blonde woman wearing a neon bright leotard walked past her. "Shouldn't you be in class?" she asked her.
Rapunzel frowned. "What?"
The woman blinked. "Oh. Right. Well… don't you want to join the class? Very illuminating information you could gain from it."
"What's your name?"
"Jennifer. I'm the instructor. Join the class. You won't regret it."
Something inside Rapunzel knew she'd end up regretting it. "Ok. I'll see you in there," she lied.
Jennifer smiled brightly but there was a fakeness to her that Rapunzel did not trust. "See you in there."
She waited until Jennifer was out of sight before bursting into the men's locker room. Eugene was half-naked.
"Jeez, Blondie. A little warning next time." Then he flashed her his charming smile. "Unless you want to get naked with me."
"We need to go. Now." She grabbed the pen from her pocket and wrote down 'Don't Trust Jennifer, the fitness instructor.' She walked back into the women's locker room and left the note.
Her and Eugene left the workout studio, him back in his normal white t-shirt and jeans.
"Now what?"
"Now we need to find the clue the Society left behind," she said.
"How? We thought it was at that workout studio and that was a bust so…"
She huffed. "There has to be something. Think. What do we know about the information the Society has been leaving behind?"
"That it's the most inconvenient thing to get to?"
"No. In Egypt, it was a book. In Greece, it was a scroll. Which means the Society is changing the way the information is learned. So, what would it be for 1986 in Ohio?"
Eugene sighed and looked around before standing up straighter. "Wait a minute. The clue in the scroll said that the next piece of information would be at a place hormonal teenagers frequent. Other than teenage boys lusting after women working out, where else do teenage boys tend to hang out?"
She frowned. "I honestly have no idea."
"And I think it's cute that you have no idea." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around and pointed. "There. Radio Shack."
She saw the store with its red and white lettering. And inside the store was a bunch of electronics from TVs to cassette tapes.
Also inside the store was a ton of teenage boys checking out the electronics.
"Huh," she said.
"Maybe it's not a clue we have to read but a clue we have to listen to."
She turned back to him and grabbed his face, planting a quick kiss on his lips. Eugene looked a little flustered and proud of himself. "You're so smart. We have to try that."
They hurried over to Radio Shack and entered the store, then… stopped.
"Now what?" she asked.
Eugene shrugged. "I don't know. I came up with the idea. It's your turn now."
She walked up to the young man behind the counter while she ignored all the looks the teenage boys were throwing her way. "Hi. I'm looking for a cassette tape."
"Sure. We have a lot you can choose from." He pointed to a wall full of them.
"Are there any that have things pre-recorded onto them?"
"Like music? Uh, you probably want to try a music store for that."
She smiled. "That's ok. Thank you." She walked back to Eugene. "That didn't work."
"Or did it," he said, nodding to the door behind the counter. "You really think the Society is going to make it easy on us? If the next piece of information is on a cassette tape, then it must be hiding. There's no way the Society would leave it out in plain sight."
"We need to get in that back room."
"Yep."
"Without being seen," she said.
Eugene rubbed his hands together. "Good thing I used to be a thief."
So, here was the plan.
Rapunzel will distract the guy behind the counter while Eugene used that to his advantage to sneak into the backroom and see what he could find.
She walked back up to the employee and his entire attention was on her. Normally, Eugene would be jealous since Rapunzel was his and no one else's but today, he was glad his girlfriend was so beautiful.
Whistling, Eugene walked over to the wall closest to the backroom. With a quick glance around, he saw that no one was looking at him. Now was not the time to be offended by that.
He walked right past the employee who was busy showing off to Rapunzel different TVs she could choose from and walked right through the back door. It lead to a small break room. There was a chair and a table and a minifridge. Nothing else.
Eugene looked all around the room but there were no cassette tapes to be found. Well, that was a bust.
He walked back out and motioned for Rapunzel to follow him. She gave the employee a smile and said goodbye before following him out of Radio Shack.
"Well?" she asked.
"It wasn't in there. Maybe we should try the music store. The Society might have hidden it within stacks of other music."
"And risk someone buying it?"
"Someone has to be guarding it just like they did back in Egypt and Greece."
She frowned and then her eyes widened. "Jennifer."
"Who?"
"The fitness instructor. She asked me why I wasn't in class which I thought was odd. When I asked her about it, she got really cagey. You're right, Eugene. Someone in this mall works for the Society. They're guarding the cassette tape. I think we should go find Jennifer and get some answers."
"Or maybe she was just really curious why you weren't in class?"
"Eugene."
"Right. Stupid question."
But as they turned to leave Radio Shack, they ran into someone.
It was Cassandra.
Eugene stepped back and yelped. "You're supposed to be dead."
She smiled savagely. "Well, I'm not. I survived that fall and now I've come to finish what I started." She raised her sword and ran right for Rapunzel.
Eugene felt like he had seen this happen before.
And honestly, it probably had.
Which meant that he needed to leave a message behind in case anything happened to them. But Rapunzel had the paper and pen. He didn't have anything.
On instinct, he pushed Rapunzel out of the way and she managed to just barely avoid getting sliced in half by Cass's sword.
"We need to leave a message!" he shouted at her.
Rapunzel nodded and scrambled for the paper in her pocket but Cass was advancing again so Eugene kicked out with his leg and made Cass stumble. That gave Rapunzel enough of a chance to write a note.
But then Cass ripped the paper right out of her hands and tore it up. "You're not going to warn yourself about me. I know we're stuck in a time loop. I'm going to kill you for good now."
"Hold on," Rapunzel said, raising her hands. "You know you're in a time loop too?"
"Yes," she said in a very annoyed voice. "Now stop distracting me so I can kill you."
"So, you're not the person who created the time loop?"
Cass stopped. "What? Of course not. I'm stuck in it with the both of you. You keep changing locations. You were supposed to be in the workout studio but you weren't there. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I am going to kill you for deceiving me. I'm going to kill you and use the price on your head to find the Society's headquarters so I can take them down for good."
All Eugene wanted to do was stop Cass but he knew she'd be unstoppable. She was stubborn as all get out.
Which meant that he and Rapunzel needed to be prepared next time.
And he knew another way to leave a message that didn't involve pen or paper.
While Cass was distracted with Rapunzel, he ran back into Radio Shack, grabbed a cassette tape and a cassette player and a tiny microphone and pushed record.
"Uh, you have to pay for that," the guy behind the counter said.
Eugene ignored him. "Cass is alive and trying to kill us," he said into the mic. "When you hear this, leave Radio Shack immediately. Go back to Jennifer, the fitness instructor and get answers. She's hiding something. She might know where the cassette tape we need is." He pushed record again which ended the recording. Then he placed the cassette tape on a shelf and ran back out of the store.
He watched in horror as Cass advanced on Rapunzel and stabbed her with her sword. He knew he had to die for the time loop to reset. Everything in his gut said that was the case.
So, he held still as Cass turned to him and stabbed him next.
They both woke back up outside the mall. After figuring out they were in a time loop, they made their way to the workout studio.
Rapunzel knew her memories were starting to remain more intact. She could remember more and more each time the time loop reset. So, she wasn't surprised when she found a note in the women's locker room warning her to not trust Jennifer, the fitness instructor.
She got Eugene out of there and they headed for Radio Shack.
They tried looking for the cassette tape that would hold the answers they were looking for but there wasn't anything there.
Until Eugene accidently bumped against a shelf and a cassette tape fell to the ground. He stared at it for a full few seconds before he held it up. "I think we should listen to this."
So, they did.
It was Eugene's voice, warning them that Cass was alive and coming for them. It also told them to go find Jennifer again.
"Let's go," she said, hurrying back out of the store.
They made it to the workout studio without running into Cass.
Eugene grabbed her arm before they could enter. "Blondie, hold on. You didn't say a word after finding out that Cass is alive and stuck in this time loop with us."
"That's because when I heard you say that on the recording, I wasn't surprised. I'm starting to remember things more."
"Is that good or bad?"
"It's… I don't know. I'm not sure if we're closer to breaking the time loop or getting even more stuck within it. But we know one thing for sure – Jennifer knows something."
Jennifer in question was currently in the middle of teaching a class.
That didn't stop them from entering and walking right up to her.
"Uh, I'm busy," she said, nodding at her students.
"Well, we need answers," Eugene said.
Jennifer looked between them, seemingly not surprised to see them standing there. "Fine." She turned to the class. "Sorry, girls. Class is over for today."
They all grumbled and whined as they left the studio, leaving behind Jennifer, Eugene, and Rapunzel.
"You know who we are," Rapunzel said.
Jennifer sighed and fixed her scrunchie. "Yes. I know you're stuck in a time loop. I keep seeing you over and over again."
"You work for the Society?" Eugene asked.
She nodded. "Yes. But I'm not an assassin if you're wondering. I was sent here to guard the Society's next clue."
"I'm starting to remember things. From the previous time loops. And I remember you telling us to go to Radio Shack. Why?"
She sighed. "I was trying to get you to leave before that woman showed up. The one who keeps killing you."
Rapunzel and Eugene shared a look. "Cass." She turned back to Jennifer. "Why?"
"Because I know what's going on with the Society. I know they're sending assassins after you to kill you since you cheated death. But I'm a sucker for love. I don't think you deserve to die for that."
"So… there's nothing at Radio Shack?" Eugene clarified.
"Correct. I'm not supposed to tell you where the next clue is since I'm supposed to be guarding it. But what I can tell you is that it's not here."
"Then why do you work here?" Rapunzel asked.
Jennifer shrugged. "I like working out. It's fun. Keeps me in shape, you know?"
Rapunzel leaned in closer. "Did you create the time loop?"
"No. Someone else did. Maybe the woman trying to kill you."
"No." She slowly shook her head. "I remember Cass telling me she didn't create the time loop. So, then who did?"
Jennifer eyed them back and forth. "Then someone the Society has sent after you did it. To be cruel, I'm guessing. I'm not sure who it is, so don't ask. They tend to keep their assassins on the down low. I'm just a protector. Not a killer. But I still can't tell you where the clue is. if you find it on your own, good for you. But I won't be involved in that."
Rapunzel turned to Eugene. "So, if the clue is being kept where hormonal teenagers tend to be, then… where could that be? It's not the workout studio. It's not Radio Shack. It's…" She shrugged.
Then Eugene stood up straighter. "Does this mall have an arcade?"
Jennifer smiled. "Maybe. I won't stop you. Remember, I'm a sucker for a good love story."
"Come on," Eugene said. "The clue is in the arcade. Teenage boy central in there."
They found where the arcade was on the map and sprinted to get there. They ignored the security guard who shouted at them for running.
They entered the arcade, which smelled like stale pizza and body odor. Practically every video game was taken up by a teenage boy.
"So, where do you think the clue may be?" Rapunzel asked.
Eugene looked around before nodding at one of the games. "That one." They rushed over to it.
The side of the game was a depiction of a werewolf wearing a top hat and a cane. The game itself was occupied by a boy playing it but Rapunzel looked over his shoulder to see what the game was about.
It was pretty basic – you played as a werewolf who walked through grimy old streets and had to pick up coins along the way, all the while avoiding white circles following you. It was clear to Rapunzel that if the circles reached the werewolf, game was over.
She shrugged. "I don't understand."
Eugene pointed to the side of the arcade game, which said the name of it – Werewolf in London, 1891.
"Oh my god. That's the next place we have to go to."
"Hopefully the next piece of information actually gives us… you know, information," Eugene said, scratching the back of his head. "And not just a date."
"That's fine. We know where we're going next and hopefully that will lead to more information about my parents."
They turned to leave when they were blocked by a person. This time, it wasn't Cass though.
It was a teenage girl sucking on a smoothie.
Rapunzel vaguely remembered her but Eugene seemed to remember her more.
" You," he said in a breathless tone. "You spilled a smoothie on me before. Many times."
"I'm Tiffany," she said, still sucking on her straw.
"Uh, ok. We're gonna leave now." Eugene tried inching past her but she stepped into his way.
And then Cass showed up in the arcade. "There you are." She pointed her sword right at Rapunzel and came running over…
…and was stopped as Tiffany threw her smoothie right into Cass's face. Cass stumbled back and wiped at her eyes.
During that time, Tiffany brought out a handgun from her purse and shot Cass in the head.
Rapunzel gasped.
Tiffany turned back to them with a smile on her face. "So, do I have your attention now?"
"You're the one who created the time loop," Rapunzel said. "You're the assassin."
"Guilty." She took a little curtsy. "I was the first person you met in this mall if you remember. I was so sad when you started to figure it out. I wanted to have more fun with you before then but oh well. I guess it's time to kill you now."
Rapunzel and Eugene grabbed hands and looked into each other's eyes right before Tiffany shot them both in the head.
And then they immediately woke back up in front of the mall.
But this time, they knew who the assassin was and they knew where they needed to go.
The only thing left was to break the time loop.
Which meant, they had to kill Tiffany.
"Than god for that," Eugene said. "She kept spilling her smoothie on me. I'm ready to see her die for all the trouble she's caused us."
Together, they walked back into the mall, ready to end things once and for all.
Until Sunday!