"… Now that all of you know what most of the basic organs are and how they work, we're going to go a little more into detail about them," the teacher announced. "I hope all of you read the pages of your book that I assigned you last week…"
"Shoot, I knew I forgot something," Ferb heard Buford mutter from the table he and Baljeet were sharing. The answer did not surprise Ferb, though; Buford hardly ever did his readings.
The man at the front of the class clasped his hands together and rubbed them. "So! Time for the first question, hm?" He searched the classroom with his eyes. "Phineas?"
Phineas stopped playing with his fingers and raised his head. All the students turned to look at him, wondering how he would answer. They all knew Phineas did his homework, and they knew he always had the most interesting, if not funniest, way to answer every question correctly.
The teacher pointed at him. "Can you tell me what red-blooded body organ are vitamins A, B, D, E, and K stored in?" he asked.
Phineas looked at him in silence for a moment after quickly glancing at his classmates. Then, he lowered his eyes and returned to playing with his fingers. "Uh, the liver," he replied.
Though the teacher was obviously used to the way he normally answered, the man was satisfied with this and nodded his head. "Correct," he said, turning towards the white board at the front of the class. The rest of the students continued to look at Phineas in a shocked manner before returning their attention to the teacher.
Ferb hesitated at asking his brother what was wrong again. Phineas did not look up at him. He even seemed to be attempting to ignore his brother's existence.
Ferb was about to go back to his note taking when he noticed Phineas do something from the corner of his eye. The red-head pulled his hands away from each other and slowly pulled his right hand towards him. He reached down into his jean pocket and began to pull something out.
Something shining.
Ferb ceased to take notes and finally turned his head towards his brother to see better; sure enough, Phineas pulled out the same object Ferb thought to have seen earlier that morning. It was a glowing stone, taking on the appearance of a flat, hollow piece of glass that had been filled with blue, pink and purple liquid. It was the most beautiful thing Ferb had ever laid his eyes on.
It also looked slightly familiar for one reason or another.
The English-born student widened his eyes in amazement. "Where did you find that?" he whispered.
Phineas snatched up his head incredibly fast and stared in bewilderment at his brother—he had obviously not expected Ferb to be paying any attention.
Ferb waited for an answer anyhow. Phineas continued to stare at him in silent shock before turning his head away and beginning to study the stone in his hands. "Nowhere important," he whispered back.
Okay; now Ferb was beginning to get concerned, if not the least bit irritated. He leaned towards his brother. "How long is it going to take for you to realize that I'm not an idiot?" he whispered in Phineas' ear. "You're hiding something, and I want to know what it is."
"It's nothing important."
"What does that mean???"
"… It means what it means. Nothing important."
Ferb tightened his lips. "Phineas, your behaviour is beginning to worry me," he said. "Since when do you ever keep secrets? From me???"
"It's just something I can't let you be a part of," Phineas replied, looking up at Ferb without moving his head.
Ferb noticed the same fear in them that he had seen the night before. It made him grow even more concerned for his brother. "Phineas, please tell me what's going on," he pleaded. "If it's something serious—!"
"I can't, Ferb," Phineas interrupted. "I… I just can't tell you."
"Why not???"
The stone in Phineas' hands began to glow brightly. The red-head gasped and clamped his hands over it in order to shield its light. "Stop it, stop it," he ordered behind clenched teeth.
"What is it doing?" Ferb wondered.
"Nothing."
"Phineas, it just glowed like a beacon, and you're telling me it was nothing???"
"Ferb, please stop; I don't want you to be part of this."
"Part of what?!"
The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly caused both boys to raise their heads and look up. Most students were staring at them in curiosity now; the only one who did not seem the slight bit curious was their science teacher. The man, in fact, was staring at them with a soft frown. "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Phineas and Ferb?" the man asked while crossing his arms.
Phineas and Ferb blinked several times quickly before Ferb pulled himself away from his stepbrother and looked down at his notebook while blushing—he hardly ever did something to upset his teachers. Phineas stuffed the rock back into his pocket. "No, Sir," the youngest brother replied.
"Good; then if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you two to pay attention now."
As the man returned to his teachings, the rest of the students did the same. Ferb, however, was growing more and more curious, not to mention more and more worried, about his brother's behaviour.
It had something to do with that stone now; that much Ferb was sure of.
Phineas! Phineas, check this out!"
The lunch hour bell had hardly rung when Phineas heard someone call to him from down the hallway. Turning around while tucking his science books beneath his arm, he watched as a teenager with short golden brown hair and thick, round glasses rushed towards him while holding up a scale model of a city with a rollercoaster.
Phineas raised his eyebrows and forced up a grin; it was Irving, one of the students in his grade, and Phineas and Ferb's self-proclaimed biggest fan. According to him, he had kept records of every single one of the Flynn-Fletcher Big Ideas. He had joined them on certain occasions and asked for their help at other moments. When they entered high school, he became one of the school's newspaper photographers, just in order to take more pictures of the inventive duo.
Phineas had tried on numerous occasions not to mind Irving's company, but with a camera and excited squeals, Irving often made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. Because Phineas had never intended to become the center of attention, never mind he had never planned on making inventions for attention, having a camera stuffed in his face every day and hearing the words "You're so awesome!" over and over again made Phineas uneasy whenever Irving was around.
But he tried his best to be polite, like he always was, and when Irving called to him, Phineas turned around to greet him. "Hey, Irving," he said as the teenager stopped before him. "What's up?"
"This!" Irving said excitedly, holding up his miniature project. "I did it for a project in one of my classes. Recognize it?!"
Phineas looked at the maquette. It was definitely the city of Danville—he recognized several buildings, including his house. Twisting around and above the skyscrapers was a rollercoaster, complete with rubber snakes and mud. And sitting inside one of the cars was a familiar red-headed boy and a green-headed boy.
Phineas grinned impressively and looked at Irving. "The Rollercoaster," he said.
"Heee! You recognized it!" Irving squealed.
"Of course I did. That was the first official big thing Ferb and I ever did. Why did you build it?"
"We had to reproduce a memorable event in our lives, so I reproduced one of your inventions! Pretty neat, huh?"
Phineas leaned back. "Yep, pretty neat," he agreed while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Pretty impressive too, Irving. Must have taken you a lot of time."
"Heck yeah. And a bunch of trips to the store."
"And obviously, a lot of patience," Phineas added with a laugh.
Irving beamed. "I'll take photos of it and send them to you and Ferb if you'd like," he suggested.
Phineas shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, I can add it to our project binder in the Rollercoaster file."
Irving squealed loudly, making Phineas recoil and flinch. "This is SO awesome!" the teenager with round glasses exclaimed. He turned on his heels and dashed off. "You ROCK!"
Phineas rubbed one of his ears. "Apparently," he muttered, continuing on his way.
*****
Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford were headed for their lockers only a few minutes behind Phineas when Irving came running in their direction. The teenager cried out happily and nearly stuffed the maquette in Ferb's face. "Check it out! I made this for a project and Phineas said I can send you guys pictures!" he exclaimed. "And that he'd add it to your project binder! Isn't that sweet?!"
Ferb nearly fell backwards, but luckily, Baljeet and Isabella were there to catch him. He straightened the pair of sunglasses he had sitting on his head and then nodded gratefully at the student.
Irving squealed again and continued on his way. "YOU ROCK TOO!" he cried out.
They watched him leave before Ferb got back to his feet. "That kid is even more annoying than he was over the past five years," Buford groaned.
"He's only trying to be friendly," Isabella pointed out.
"Sure; but I wouldn't be surprised if Phineas and Ferb lose their hearing by graduation day no thanks to him."
They continued on their way until they had reached the first set of lockers. There, much to Ferb's relief, they found Phineas still digging through his locker.
Ferb immediately pulled himself away from the others and rushed over to his brother. Without waiting for Phineas to look at him, Ferb frowned and stuck his hand into his brother's pant pocket. This resulted in having Phineas cry out in surprise and jump back while removing his brother's hand. He placed a hand over his pocket and stared at Ferb in shock. "What the heck was that for?!" he exclaimed.
"I want to see that stone of yours," Ferb replied as he crossed his arms. The others stopped nearby, looking on with curious looks.
"Ferb, for the last time—!"
"If it's nothing as you say, then why can't I look at it?"
Phineas looked on worriedly. "Ferb…" But when all his brother did was stare back just as worriedly, Phineas sighed and pulled out the stone.
Isabella, Baljeet and Buford gaped and stared at the glowing rock in awe. "Woooowwww!!!" Baljeet exclaimed.
"That's the most beautiful stone I've ever seen, Phineas," Isabella said in wonder. "Where did you find it?"
Phineas held the stone firmly in both of his hands, and incredibly near to his body. "In the yard," he replied. "When I came home yesterday. It was sitting in the snow, so I…" He looked down at the rock as his eyes darkened. "… picked it up."
Ferb noticed the sudden shame in Phineas' eyes. He wanted to ask why, but he knew Phineas would not give him the answer.
"You didn't mention it when we were playing games," Isabella pointed out.
Phineas shrugged. "I didn't think it was important at the time," he began.
"Important?" Buford interrupted. "Didn't Ferb just say that you said it was nothing???" They all looked at him in silence before Buford crossed his arms. "You are hiding something, aren't you, Dinner Bell?"
Phineas shook his head quickly. Baljeet walked over to him and reached out for the stone. "Then, if you are not, would you mind if I held it to get a better look?" he asked.
But Phineas gasped and immediately held the stone away from him. "No!" he exclaimed, startling Baljeet. Shaking his head again, he added, "Y-you can't touch it, Jeet. It's… it's not safe."
"What the heck does that mean???" Buford wondered. "It's just a stupid rock."
"No it isn't… I-I mean y-yes it is, but you see—!"
"Just one peek, Phineas?" Baljeet begged. "I promise to give it right back, really. And I will be very gentle—!"
Phineas immediately took several steps back, holding the stone against his chest. "You can't, Baljeet," he repeated nervously.
Buford was clearly becoming more and more annoyed. Isabella held out her hand to her best friend. "Phineas, what's wrong with us touching the stone?" she wondered. "It won't do us any physical harm, right?"
Phineas stared at her in silence until a giant hand reached out and snatched the stone from over his shoulder. The sixteen-year-old gasped and turned around.
"If it's just a dumb ol' rock, then I say pass it around," Buford groaned, holding up the shimmering stone.
"Buford, no!" Phineas exclaimed, reaching out for the rock. "Give it back now!"
Buford held out a hand and placed it against Phineas' head, pushing him backwards to the floor. "Doesn't feel like any rock I've ever held," he muttered while holding the object up. He attempted to shake it. "Looks more like a glowing piece of glass…"
"Lemme see, I want a turn!" Baljeet said, running over and grabbing the stone. Buford immediately snatched it back, and the two began to tussle over whose turn it was to hold the stone.
"Guys, give Phineas back his stone!" Isabella shouted, running over and attempting to pull the item away.
Ferb stood on the sidelines, wondering what he should do, when Phineas gasped in horror and immediately rose to his feet. "DON'T!!" he shouted frantically. "DON'T TOUCH IT ALL AT ONCE!!!"
"Lemme see it!" Baljeet complained.
"You got your turn!" Buford snapped.
"Guys, just give him back the stupid rock!" Isabella snapped in her turn.
Phineas pulled on his hair and dashed over, this time accompanied by Ferb. The two of them attempted to break the others up and take back the stone. "Let it go! LET IT GO!!!" Phineas screamed. "Don't touch the stone all at once! Please give it back!! LET IT GOOOOO!!!"
Ferb felt the smooth surface of the stone and for some reason, felt obliged to keep it in contact.
"LET THE STONE GOOOOO!!!" Phineas screamed once more before his hand came to a rest over the stone as well.
Just as soon as everyone's hands came in direct contact simultaneously with it, the stone began to hum and glow brighter and brighter with every passing second.
"What the heck is it doing?!" Buford exclaimed as he shielded his face.
"Let it go now!" Phineas cried out. "Guys, you've got to let it—!"
The stone flashed incredibly brightly, causing everyone to shield their eyes and shout in surprise.
When the light had cleared, school binders, books, bags and Ferb's sunglasses fell in a scattered mess on the floor, their owners having vanished without a trace.
It was over a barren land of gray that the light finally dimmed. When they uncovered their eyes, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford were all floating several feet over the ground. Once the stone had dimmed, they were immediately dropped like rocks to the ground, shouting in fright.
Buford was the first to land—directly on his stomach in what appeared to be a hill of ashes and dust. Baljeet and Isabella landed on top of him, bouncing off in different directions and rolling across the ash-covered ground. Phineas and Ferb managed to fall onto their behinds, which resulted in having them slide halfway down the large hill on their backs. The stone tumbled straight behind the red-headed teenager.
Several moments of silence passed before the teenagers began to groan and moan painfully, rubbing their rumps or other painful areas.
Baljeet was the first to raise his head. While Phineas coughed out a bunch of dust, the Hindi student looked about while raising his upper half of his body. "Uh, where did the school go?" he wondered.
Isabella was the next one to sit up. "Is everyone alright?" the girl called out.
"Sure," Buford groaned while turning onto his back. "If by alright you mean dropped out of the sky into a pile of dead stuff, damaging our tailbones and pride, then yeah, I'm good."
Ferb was the next to sit up. Raising himself off of his back, he immediately began to look at his surroundings. Just as his eyes became alert, so did everyone else's.
They were sitting in the middle of a barren wasteland. Nothing was alive for miles. The clouds above were dark and ominous, matching the dead ground beneath them, which was covered in ashes and dust. A few dead trees and stumps littered the hilly field, but other than that, there was not a single sight of life to be seen.
"Is everyone seeing what I am seeing?" Baljeet asked nervously. "Because all I am seeing is bleak and lifeless scenery."
"You're not dreaming," Isabella reassured him. "Not unless we're all having the same dream."
Ferb brushed some ashes out of his green hair while Buford scratched his head. "What kind of rock was that?!" the football player wondered.
They all looked at each other until Phineas finally groaned softly and began raising himself from his stomach. "It wasn't an ordinary stone, Buford," he said. "It was a teleporter."
"A what?"
"You mean you invented that thing?!" Baljeet exclaimed, pointing at the stone near his friend.
Phineas groaned again as he dusted off his orange hoodie, this time out of irritation. "No, Baljeet, I didn't invent it," he replied. "It's way too advanced for me."
"Then how did you know—!"
"Who cares how I knew; bottom line, I told you guys not to touch it all at once, and you did just that!" He looked at Ferb and pointed at him. "That's why I was avoiding you all morning! Because your curiosity is as bad as mine, if you touched it at the same time as me, we would have all been sent here!" Phineas picked up the stone and stuffed it into his pocket. "Why did I have to go and be so stupid???"
Ferb raised his eyebrows in revelation until Isabella cleared her throat. The boys all looked at her and found that she was wearing a very worried look on her face. "Then, where's here, Phineas?" she asked meekly.
Phineas looked at her in silence, his frown having already disappeared, and then sighed heavily while rising to his feet. "Follow me," he said as he began to climb the hill. "I'll show you."
Without another word, his companions immediately rose to their feet and followed him.
The climb did not take long; within a few minutes, Phineas had reached the top. There, he could feel a weak breeze blow by, which was both welcoming and chilling to the bone. He stared straight at the landscape before him until the others joined. Taking a deep breath, he said, "This is here."
At the bottom of a small valley sat a large city, filled with buildings that seemed to date all the way back to the medieval age. There was a large fort-like building at the very center, where the windows alit looked like dancing flames from afar. There was a river that flowed to a bay nearby, and unlike the barren wasteland on the other side of the hill, this place, stretching all the way to the mountains, forests, hills and fields in the distance—and perhaps even farther—was filled with colors and life. Not a shade of gray was to be found. Even that side of the hill, though rocky and uneven, was covered in patches of dark green grass. The only thing that had remained the same was the dark clouds overhead.
"What… in the world?" Ferb whispered in bewilderment.
"This isn't Danville," Isabella added worriedly. "This… this isn't anything like home."
"But it still…" Buford began, "Kinda looks familiar… Like I've been here before, but not in real life…"
While Baljeet and Isabella looked at him curiously, Phineas raised his head as the wind made his hair flutter. "It should look familiar," he said, catching their attention. "This is the City of Colornia, the Cultural Trades city by Unsung Bay…"
As he spoke, the others stared at him in revelation and disbelief all at once. "You mean…" Buford began. He looked over the city again. "You mean we're inside that game?!"
"We've been transported into The Seer?!" Baljeet exclaimed in horror.
Phineas looked at them. "No," he replied. "Just to another dimension." He studied the city again. "That stone is similar to a dimensional teleporter. It appears in locations where the chosen host visits most often, and once they've touched the stone… they're teleported. The one we touched happened to be one that led to this dimension. And as it turns out…" He paused before looking at his feet, almost in defeat. "… that video game is unknowingly based off of another dimension."
"So, things that happen in the game… happen in real life here?" Baljeet guessed.
"… Sorta."
Isabella grabbed onto Phineas' sleeve—out of fear or in order to keep her balance, he did not know. "Phineas, if that stone was found at your house, does that mean it was meant for you and Ferb?" she asked. "Or maybe all of us? Is that why we were all transported here?"
Phineas looked at her for a moment before looking up at the clouds as thunder groaned. "That sums it up," he replied. "We…" He hesitated here. "… We were chosen for a special mission."
"What… what kind of mission?"
Lightning lit up the sky as the wind began to pick up. Phineas looked about for a moment before pulling his arm away from Isabella and grabbing his hood. "We need to go see someone," he said. "He'll be able to explain to you guys what we're here for."
"You sound as though you already know why," Buford noted.
Phineas fastened the hood securely over his head until even his eyes were nearly covered from view. "Maybe I do know, maybe I don't," he replied. "But whether I do or not, I'm not the one who should be telling you why we're here. Now, we should get going before rain starts falling down in buckets—!"
Ferb leaned forward in order to see his brother more clearly. "Phineas," he began, catching the sixteen-year-old's attention, "… Why are you putting on your hood? It's not like it will keep you any dryer than without."
Phineas looked at him as he spoke and then turned his head away. "We should get going," he repeated, beginning the descent down the steep hill.
"But Phineas—!"
"You'll… you'll find out soon enough, Ferb. Now hurry up; with your clothes, you'll catch pneumonia. Just follow me and make sure not to get lost."
By the time they had reached the city, night was nearing; however, the rain fell with such thickness, it was impossible to tell the difference between night and day if one could not see more than five feet ahead of them.
Phineas lead them into the narrow streets of the medieval city, ignoring the chatter and laughter around them in nearby pubs and residencies. Farmers were packing up their kiosks in the market place; beggars sat outside doors, asking for spare change or food; stray dogs and cats ran about. Even in the pouring rain, the city was filled with life outside its doors.
Ferb was more than certain that Phineas knew more than any of them did; he was even more certain that the amount of information he somehow knew was probably frightening him. If Phineas had been that desperate to keep everyone from touching the stone, then there was a very grave reason as to why they were all here.
Or even more specifically, why Phineas was there.
He had been correct on one thing, though; Ferb was freezing now that the rain was falling. His clothes—vest, blouse, pants and all—were soaked and wet; his green hair draped over his eyes; and his skin was as cold as ice. Walking behind him, Isabella was just as cold and tired; Baljeet, who had nothing but a t-shirt and jeans, and Buford were undoubtedly feeling the same way.
Ferb wanted to speak to Phineas and ask him exactly where they were headed, but he knew his brother would only redirect the question or else ignore it completely.
He only does that when he's really scared, Ferb thought. On any normal occasion, he wouldn't hesitate on speaking with me.
Phineas was just a soaked as everyone else, but he seemed more preoccupied with his destination than the weather. He brushed by people without looking up, but always remembered to say "excuse me" or "sorry."
People gave them odd looks—probably because of the way they were dressed, Ferb guessed. Unlike everyone else, who was wearing something medieval or something found only in fantasy novels, Phineas, Ferb and their friends were dressed in Modern American clothes.
When it seemed as though they had been walking for hours, Phineas slipped around a final building and stared upwards. "We're here," he announced, catching everyone's attention. He looked both ways before dashing across the wide street. "Come on; we need to get inside before a Snitch or Watcher sees us."
Not wanting to be left behind, Ferb immediately dashed after his best friend. Isabella was the next to do so, followed immediately by Baljeet and Buford.
Looming above them was the giant castle-like tower they had seen from the hill. From up close, it looked like an ominous structure, built of dark stones with very few windows. It was tall and round, exactly like its counterpart in the game…
Counterpart… Ferb gasped as he realized where it was Phineas was taking them. "The Sage," he said aloud.
"The who?" Baljeet wondered.
"The Sage; Phineas is taking us to see Sage Mortimer of Colornia."
"You mean the dude that gives us the missions in the video game?" Buford clarified. "What; did we just get sucked into here to play this whole darn thing or something?"
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