PnF: Timeloops

Phineas and Ferb leapt out of the brown station wagon after it had pulled up alongside the curb of the Googolplex Mall. They were shortly followed by Candace, who stepped out of the front seat with an annoyed look on her face.

"I don't understand why they have to come along, too," she complained while pointing her arm at the boys.

After a previous 'party mishap' when leaving the kids home alone, their father had offered to stay with them while their mom went to an out-of-town convention for the weekend. He found the best way to occupy them that Friday afternoon was dropping them off at the nearby mall.

"Oh, do try to have fun, Candace. And don't let your brothers bother you too much," he replied from behind the wheel.

"Uhg, but I have to go find that cute top before they sell out!" She glared at her brothers, who were staring through the sliding glass doors. "You heard him, you two. Don't bug me."

"No problem, Candace, we're going to the food court!" Phineas replied happily. "We have this idea and-"

"Yeah yeah, just stay out of my hair," she interrupted, pushing past him.

Though the mall was a full four stories, Candace knew exactly where she was going. Just three days earlier she and Stacy spotted the most ADORABLE top in a store that had just closed when they arrived. Though today Stacy's mom had dragged her to some doctor's seminar and Candace was forced to shop alone, she was not going to miss her chance at buying it again.

Locating the store was not hard, and soon she was walking out of the shop doors and into the crowded central area with her prize in hand.

"Hmm, Phineas and Ferb have been awfully quiet," she wondered out loud. "What could they be up to..."

"You look stressed!" a nearby kiosk employee exclaimed with a bright smile. "Come try our new Restoration Cream, it relaxes and rejuvenates!"

"Relaxes and rejuvenates?" Candace shot through the mass of people as fast as she could weave her way. "Give me some of that."

The kiosk employee pulled out her sample tube and Candace gave out her arm. Just as the cap had been unscrewed and the cream was inches from her wrist, Candace felt a black shoulder bag collide with the side of her head.

" 'scuse me... sorry," a mild voice said as it passed by through the surrounding crowd.

"Hey!" Candace exclaimed as she spun around. "Watch where you're go-"

It was then that Candace caught a glimpse of who had bumped her. He was a teen, probably about a year older than Candace herself, and was easily a few inches taller. The black bag was slung over his shoulder as he kept it close, meandering his way carefully to the far side of the floor. His purple slacks were neatly pressed, and the collar of his light blue sweater well folded.

But it was not his well-dressed appearance that had stopped Candace mid-sentence, or even his determination as he pushed past the crowd. It was his bright green hair and the large, square nose in the center of his face.

As quickly as he had come, Candace lost sight of him as the customers around her bustled about. She growled angrily to herself. "Phineas, what are you creeps up to THIS time?"

Bursting into the food court with clenched fists, Candace screamed her brother's name. It was not hard to find him; there was some commotion in the table area. She located Phineas in the middle of it.

"All right, where is it?" she demanded.

"Where's what, Candace?" Phineas replied.

"The age-changing potion you guys made!"

"We didn't make a po-"

"Spray? Pill? Ray gun? Whatever it is, I am SO calling Mom!" Candace threatened as she squinted at him.

"Nah!" Phineas informed with a smile. "We're making Cotton Candy today!"

Phineas pointed up at the huge contraption that was situated behind him. It was made of metal with a large cylindrical bowl in the center, and took up most of the food court up to the ceiling. The bowl was painted elaborately with a large green and red "P & F" in the shape of lightning bolts.

"We have blueberry, strawberry AND lemon!" Phineas exclaimed in triumph. He turned and looked up at the top of the machine. "Let 'er rip, Ferb!" he yelled with one hand cupped beside his mouth, waving enthusiastically with the other.

Sure enough, Candace looked up to see Ferb sitting on an extended chair at the very top of the machine, loading white sticks into vertical graspers on a conveyor belt. Hearing the order, he gave a thumb's up and reached over to pull a giant, red lever.

The machine whirred as the belt dragged the sticks through the cottony substance, spinning them and returning them to ground level, where they stopped within an arm's easy reach. Children ran over to it and picked their favorite colors, stuffing them in their mouths with squeals of delight and joy.

Taking a blue one, Phineas passed it to his sister. "Here you go, Candace," he offered.

Candace swatted it away. "I'm not getting involved in one of your crazy schemes. Ferb crashed into me down on the first level, so I know you guys are up to SOMETHING devious."

"Nope, just Cotton Candy today," Phineas repeated as Ferb lowered the chair to the ground and hopped off. He looked at Phineas and the back at Candace.

"Besides, Ferb's been up here with me all day. Right, Ferb?"

Ferb nodded.

Candace flung her arms in irritation. "But I saw someone who looked just like Ferb! All grown up!"

"Candace, when have we ever lied to you?" Phineas pulled his brother over and put his hand on his shoulder as the both stared at her.

Crossing her arms, she glowered at them in defeat. "Never. But I'm STILL calling Mom about this… this thing."

Phineas, Ferb, Candace and their father all sat eating breakfast the next morning. Candace was still slightly annoyed, as her phone conversation with their mother the previous night had gone as most of them did.

"Candace, they are allowed to eat cotton candy, they're kids."

"But it was all automated, with conveyor belts and everything!"

"Conveyor belts? Really, Candace?"

Her mother then told Candace to stop calling her while she was out of town, because that defeated the purpose of their father staying behind.

Phineas finished his mouthful of cereal and set his spoon on the edge of his bowl. "We're going back to the mall again today, Dad. Everyone liked out cotton candy so much, we said we'd make them a Giant Lollipop Dispenser!"

"Oh, sounds like fun," their dad replied over his newspaper. "Are the lollipops giant or is the dispenser giant?"

Silence fell over the table for a moment while Phineas thought. Then his face brightened up and there was almost an audible ding. "Both! Thanks, Dad!"

"Candace, go with your brothers and keep an eye on them for me, okay?"

"What!" Candace exclaimed. "Stacy's not back yet, I'll look like a dweeb at the mall alone!"

"I'm sure you'll find something to occupy yourself. Try hanging out with your brothers."

"Ugh, tie me up and feed me to a sewer gator," Candace mumbled as she placed her bowl in the sink.

After walking the short distance to the mall, Candace abandoned her brothers at the door.

"Maybe I'll find some peace from you two way up on the fourth floor," she commented, directing it purposefully at them.

"Okay, catch you later!" Phineas replied, unfazed.

Though Candace hated shopping alone, she did start to theorize which stores she would visit first and which ones might be having sales. However, in her fantasy, she did not notice that she had already reached the elevators and was about to miss the one that was leaving.

"Wait! Hold that elevator!" she shouted as she broke into a dash. An arm quickly shot out from between the closing doors, causing them to momentarily halt before they rolled back open. Candace slowed her run as she approached the now-stationary elevator car.

"Thaaaa…nks?" she panted, but her word ended with the high-pitch of surprise. She widened her eyes as she followed the arm to see its owner. Inside the car stood the very same green-haired teen who had ran into Candace the other day, standing with an equally shocked look on his face.

A bell startled Candace, and she had to force herself to edge into the elevator as the door attempted to close again. The boy seemed to come out of a trance and quickly dropped his arm to his side and turned away to awkwardly stare at the corner of the ceiling as the elevator started to move upwards.

Candace tried not to look at him, but he kept shooting her glances when he thought she would not notice. His feet were still but he shuffled them nervously, and he would not stop drumming his fingers against his black satchel and fidgeting with the taut strap around his shoulder.

Though Phineas had assured her that this was not him, Candace could not help but stare intently and awe at how much this teenager resembled her brother.

His eyes darted back and forth from the elevator wall to Candace herself, and when he realized that she had not dropped her focus, he stared back with sheer desperation. Sweat began to form over his brow, almost as if he was scared of her.

Candace raised an index finger with no intended purpose, although it seemed as though she might poke him to see if he was real.

"Fer-?"

The elevator dinged and a voice rang out. Level 2.

With a rumble, the doors rolled open and in stepped a hefty man. He wore a dirty uniform, with a few paint splatters, and looked to be an employee of the mall. He smiled and nodded to acknowledge the elevator's two occupants. As the doors closed again, the man seemed to keep his eyes on the two teens.

"Ah, your girlfriend, eh?"

"Hmm?" the boy jumped, his eyebrows shooting straight up as he looked at the man in horror. Candace shifted away, as she was disturbed by the boy's expression. He looked absolutely terrified.

"You're doing a poor job of hiding it, mate. You're as red as a ripe tomato!"

The green-haired teen then took his fist and started jamming the button labeled Level 3 with the side of his knuckles. When the elevator dinged, he mumbled, "…this is mine," at his feet to no one in particular. He had slid through the doors before they had even opened halfway.

The mall employee stood in silence next to Candace for a moment before speaking. "You know him?"

Candace looked at the man but did not reply. Instead, she reached over to the button panel to select Level 4, but discovered that it was already lit up, even though the man beside her had not touched it. She peered inquisitively out of the elevator, and saw that the door leading to the stairs was gently closing.