Mystic Resonance

Gregory

"After I woke up, I was stuck with your turtle boyfriend and your loyal slave in a house full of imposters", Warren finished his detailed story.

"I can't believe you remembered all that", I said, astounded.

"A good reporter has a sharp memory besides you two are disgustingly adorable it's hard not to forget", the worm boasted, "Apparently, before we met up with you, you were already unconscious after a bar fight."

"Did I win?"

"Duh! Master always goes on top!" Cuddles cheered.

"I knew it!" I silently cheered.

Leo sighed. "Despite Merrill being on top..."

"Giggidy."

"Shut up. As I said, despite Merrill being on top is one thing, there's the fact that we keep going back to square one with no idea how to get home."

Mi tortuga amigo has a point. With each reset, we're no closer to figuring out how to escape or who's behind it. We're at a disadvantage. No powers. No weapons. We had to adapt to our surroundings. I'm certain we figured this out over the last few times but were outsmarted in the end. I looked at the sheets in my hands. Maybe we're not at a loss... "I think Worm Guy gave us an edge", I said and the trio gave me a questionable stare along with Warren protesting his nickname. "Think about it... Warren here recorded the last 378 times. He made his cheat sheet. We followed through the story while avoiding the red flags. Leo doesn't have to die; I won't disappear; Leo won't get married to a numbskull; and we'll be home faster than quicksand."

Lee nodded. "Great plan... problem: we live in two different houses, how are we going to keep an eye on each other?"

I picked up both the worm and the rabbit. "With our new sidekicks", I replied with a smirk.

"How dare you call me a sidekick!" Warren protested again and I rolled my eyes.

"Yay, I'm promoted!" Mrs. Cuddles was over the moon.

"Listen. We get one pest", I explained, "I'll take Wally and you'll take the fangirl."

"NO!!! I don't wanna go with the smelly turtle!"

"Cuddles, go with him."

"Okay!"

Leo huffed. "I'll pretend not to be offended. What you're saying is we follow through the plot with no questions asked?"

"Not exactly", I said, dropping our two sidekicks while starting to pace, "we'll pretend to accept our roles. Lee, you're the key. Whoever is behind this doesn't want you to die. You're Beauty, the protagonist. In this story, the Beast is portrayed as the antagonist. Not just an anti-hero, but an absolute bad guy. He's a terror to the villagers. They were desperate enough to sell you to some guy for safety. It would help if you were placed in the spotlight. The author – who I'm guessing is the person behind our entrapment – intended for you to be with the town hero. Everyone will have eyes on you. As for me, I'll investigate the circumstance. I'm playing as a side character which is perfect for me. No one will suspect a thing."

"Great, you play detective while I play kissy face to a stranger", Leo sarcastically said with an eye roll.

"I get it. You don't like it-"

"No. No. 'Don't like' is what I say if there was barbeque sauce on my Hawaiian pizza. Try 'Ew!' or 'Not gonna happen!' or my personal favorite 'Do it yourself'. Which one would you like to hear?"

"You already gave me all the above."

"I know I'm pretty, but when the bad guys see me like a trophy wife, it gets tiring. I almost locked lips with Hypno; I'm not having a repeat!" he said, shivering at the memory of the homecoming dance.