Beiträge von Sheyffer

When dusk eventually set in, three more hours had passed. Three more hours that Phineas and his friends had spent collecting their strength for the events to come. Baljeet and Buford had had a lively discussion on the matter of how to defeat the Duke, with brute force or in­telligence. Ferb had continued writing into his small book, and Phineas had not wanted to disturb him, so the redhead had been left frustrated that he was not able to invent anything in this world. He was already looking forward to returning home, but now that they were this close to their destination, he was not able to ignore his quite likely fate of death anymore. Not to mention the fact that if Ferb was the one about to die instead, his mother would most likely be witnessing that very mo­ment.
Troubled by thoughts like this, Phineas was incredibly glad that it was finally time for departing. Of course, it would bring them all closer to the threat ahead, but there was no point in delaying their departure - and any kind of occupation was a welcome distraction from worried thoughts.
As Phineas had already expected, Fern was completely assuming control. He was visibly tense, for once not say­ing much, not even some kind of motivational speech - just a simple »Alright, let’s go« once everyone was ready. And nobody else was saying anything either; because they just wanted to get this all over with, because they didn’t want to break the silence, or because they general­ly weren’t very talkative. Ferb was one of those people, staying close to his mother as they got moving. And even though he knew he shouldn’t be, Phineas was just the slightest bit jealous again, now that Ferb had some­one more important to him than his brother. So Phineas didn’t say anything either.
The silence lasted until the group had walked through the dark tunnels beneath the castle for quite a while and Buford noticed Baljeet’s unusually strained expression.
»Something wrong, nerd?«
Baljeet, much like almost everyone else, flinched as his friend’s loud voice echoed through the tunnels. »I am cogitating on the whereabouts of the darklings«, he in­formed everyone, considering Buford had completely drawn the attention to him. »We have not seen any of them, even though they are supposed to be especially ac­tive at this time of day.«
»Good point«, Bal agreed. Phineas had already noticed during Ferb and Buford’s absence that Baljeet and his look-alike seemed to be getting along quite well, sharing interests and having had a long conversation about an en­tire span of different topics. »We should at least have heard one by now.«
»It might be a trap«, Fern put in, coming to a halt for now. With a tone that was a little too harsh in Phineas’ opinion, he turned to Finn. »Do you know where they are?«
»...not here«, the boy declined, his voice quiet. Fern must have scared him with his strict voice, and Can gave the green-haired boy an ungentle jab. The boy stared at her, not seeming to know what he did wrong, but then he tried again, forcefully sounding nicer.
»Then where are they?«
»Won't... attack«, Finn stammered, and Phineas pitied him. Fern had made him remember his unpleasant life, and none of them had any experience on how to console him. Thankfully, Izzy took over, and Finn was visibly re­lieved he was not the center of attention anymore.
»He's right«, she nodded. »The Duke can't talk to the darklings, so they aren't as afraid of him as they used to be. And like I already said, they've always been on our side. The only one we still have to deal with is the Duke himself.«
»Well, that is a relief«, Bal commented, and Phineas believed he heard sarcasm in his voice.
Buford crossed his arms. «That guy's pretty dumb if he allows his only translator to change sides.«
»Unless it is a trap«, Baljeet reminded him, and Bal nodded approvingly. They really shared a lot of opinions.
»Finn wouldn't betray us like that«, Can countered, and Fern stopped them before things escalated.
»What side he's on doesn't matter now. I'm leading this group, we're not going to run into a trap.«
»Unless you're not on our side«, Buford argued. »You know an awful lot about these tunnels, man. How do you explain that, huh?«
Fern frowned. »I already told you, I've been here be­fore, okay? I used to live in this area.«
»There's a village on the other side of the hill«, Can nodded.
Buford made a skeptical sound, but Phineas had enough of that. They were friends, they shouldn't be ar­guing! Especially not about things like that. »Guys! We're not here to fight. I mean... not against each other! We're a team, and we should act like one. I don't care who's leading the way as long as we get to our destination. If Fern knows which way to go, then let's follow him, alright? Finn can take over once we're in the castle. That way, everyone gets what they want.«
His friends looked at one another, and he saw some of them nodding in approval. And Ferb was glancing amus­edly at his brother, in a »Who's the king now?« - way. Phineas blushed; he was only doing his job.
»Thank you, Phineas. Now let's move on.« Fern was visibly bothered by the fact that Phineas was way better at solving conflicts than he was, and he quickly turned away and started walking again, so everyone had to fol­low him without time for talking.
Once again, there was silence. This time, nobody broke it. Phineas knew that they were all incredibly nervous and irritable, even though technically, their plan was to kill the Duke in his sleep without any complications at all. But they knew that a lot of things could go wrong, and then everything would be different.
Eventually, after some steeper ascension, they reached a dead end, and Buford scoffed. »Great job, o mighty leader.«
Fern shot him an angry glare, then activated some kind of hidden mechanism behind an edge in the rocky forma­tion. At once, the wall swung open, and the flashlight cast its light into a corridor, far longer than the light was reaching on both the left and right side. Directly in front of them was a wall, which meant that this tunnel entrance must have been hidden in a wall as well.
»Now how'd you know that?«, Buford asked in an at­tempted whisper that was still louder than average.
Fern ignored him. »Your turn, Finn.« He still sounded frustrated, and now even Phineas was convinced that he was hiding something. Had he been a thief before, steal­ing things from the very castle itself? How else would he be knowing about the hidden passage?
But Phineas didn't say anything. They most definitely had more important things to take care of. And right now, that meant following Finn, who was heading into the left direction. Can and Melody were by his side: the boy was exhausted af­ter this already long walk, and he wouldn't manage to go the remaining distance without someone supporting him. Finn still insisted on not getting carried by Buford; he wanted to prove that he could still do things on his own.
There was an eerie silence now that they were only rooms away from the Duke, only disturbed by the sound of their steps. Fern looked like there was something on his mind, something he desperately wanted to tell every­one but couldn't for some reason. But Finn was still mak­ing his way through the dark hallways - until he stopped in front of an enormous door. Fern and Can exchanged glances, as if they knew something about this place. As if this was the completely wrong place to go. Melody seemed nervous too, and Fern looked very reluctant when he gave his approval for opening the door.
Buford pushed it open, and it seemed to be heavy even for him. He let everyone through and closed it behind them.
Fern let the flashlight wander across the room. It was huge; the light did not reach the other end. Slowly, he moved the light around, and there was nothing to see but an empty hall. Eventually, the light found a chair, a throne even. It wasn't empty, but occupied by a man in a dark robe, with a triangular head and a pointy nose, and long brown hair that was tied together.
With eyes that could kill, and a wide, wicked grin, he was staring directly at them.
Fern dropped the flashlight, and it turned off. And for one moment, it was completely dark. They were all far too shocked and scared to move or speak, and not a sin­gle sound was heard - save for the man's cackling laugh­ter echoing from the walls.
Phineas was unable to do anything. He couldn't even see his own hand, and this man could be everywhere now. He could kill them all before they even knew he was there.
Thankfully, this terrifying moment was quickly over. The man muttered something, and suddenly, several torches all across the room lit up. Phineas shut his eyes in the sudden brightness, but quickly adjusted himself. Now he could see the entirety of the wide and high room, deco­rated with numerous pillars, but otherwise empty - not including the man and his enormous throne.
Albeit useless, everyone drew their weapon, Melody and Brain growled, Bal stood protectively in front of Bue, same for Buford and Baljeet - and Finn fell to his knees, lowering his head so deeply that his face almost touched the ground. His remaining eye was closed, his body shaking - partly from his fear, and partly from straining his one remaining arm. And the man spoke.
»Well done, my boy. It pleases me to see that you have carried out my orders as instructed.« He had a high, raspy voice, but the calmness in it made him all the more terri­fying.
Phineas gulped. They had all felt the trap on their way, and still, they had marched right into it. And Finn had known all along, without saying a word - while Izzy, who had explicitly told them of the very high probability of Finn going to betray them, had been ignored completely. But that’s what they got for that: an actual conversation with the Duke himself.
»Let him go!«, Can yelled at the man on the throne, completely ignoring every danger. She had enough of him, and especially of seeing her own brother treated like this.
The man did not lose his spiteful smile as he turned his head to her. And worse, he also kept his calm tone. »And why would I do that? You and I both know that he is rather… valuable.«
»Nobody deserves to be treated this way«, Can replied; her angry and upset voice was the complete opposite of the Duke’s. »He should be with his family, where he be­longs.«
The Duke cackled again. »Dead like his father, or gone like his mother? Or with his sister who never bothered looking for him - even though the entire time, he had al­ways been right here in these tunnels?«
Can froze at this last comment, and Phineas could com­pletely relate. Realizing that all this time, Finn had been so close to her…
Now that Can was still processing the Duke’s words, the man spoke to Fern. »Anyway… I must say, I am quite impressed that you actually made it. Didn’t expect you to come back here anytime soon.« Bal raised an eyebrow at that, and some others, including Phineas, agreed. Back here? Have they met before, in this very castle?
»We have come to vanquish you, Doonkleberg. Fol­lowing a prophecy, your demise has arrived at last.« Was that the man’s actual name? So they did know each other.
The man leaned forward. »Tell me about that prophecy of yours.«
Fern didn’t see why not, so he complied. »It tells of two brothers from another world defeating you, and the time for that has come.«
The Duke seemed unmoved by these words. Even slightly amused. »And where is it from?«
»A wise and reliable member of the resistance.«
Now, the man actually started laughing. »Oh, I see what they did there! Kid, you’ve been fooled. I mean, come on: the Great Evil destroyed when all hope is lost? And even better, by mysterious and vaguely described strangers? They made it up.«
»He wouldn’t«, Fern replied behind clenched teeth, and the Duke shrugged.
»I’m sure he would. We both know that you’ve done everything in your power to avoid all kinds of responsi­bility your entire life. If he knows, too, then a prophecy stating someone but you would defeat me in the end is everything you ever wanted to hear.«
»What is he talking about?«, Bal asked his leader. Phineas knew how much he looked up to Fern, how much he trusted him… a secret was to be uncovered, and the redhead and Bal both sensed that it was something big.
The Duke seemed to notice Bal’s relationship to Fern as well. »Did you never even tell them your name?« He sounded shocked - although it was plain to see how he had already expected it, and that he was just messing with them.
»Nobody is forced to tell anyone their full name in the resistance«, Fern replied, determined not to reveal any­thing.
»Balavan Tinley.« Bal’s voice was cold. Fern was keeping something from him, from all of them - and if it was this serious, it was breaking Bal’s trust.
»Oh snap«, Buford mumbled, and all eyes were on Fern. He was still hesitating, but even Can prompted him now.
»Just tell them already, Fern.«
The boy eventually gave in, trying to sound confident, but actually failing at that for once. »Fernando Alexander Fleming.«
Was that supposed to mean something? That name did not tell Phineas anything, and he saw that his friends from his own dimension were equally clueless. Unlike Bal.
His eyes widened in horror, and to make it worse, the Duke used his powers to telekinetically turn something around: a huge canvas from behind his throne that had faced the wall until now. And looking at its now revealed front side, Phineas realized what was so special about Fern’s name.
Because on this canvas was a portrait - of a younger Fern who was holding the same sword he still owned, but without being able to actually lift it at that age, and a man bearing a striking resemblance to Lawrence, Ferb’s father. Looking at the viewer. And dressed in royal clothes.
Bal stared at Fern in complete disbelief. »He…«
Phineas remembered what Bal had told him: the king that had fled the country in fear of the Duke. The king that had abandoned an entire country. The king that had made Bal lose all respect for royalty.
»...is my father, yeah.« Fern actually sounded ashamed, but that didn’t change Bal’s thoughts.
»I cannot believe you kept that from me!«, he yelled, his voice sounding higher than usual as he did that, just like Baljeet when he was frustrated. »You are the prince . The one that was supposed to defend the country. And what did you do? Run away, just like your father. How can I trust you now, knowing that you are one of them? You and your father, you could have prevented this from hap­pening. All of it.«
»Oh, but so could you, Balavan.« The Duke really seemed to enjoy the argument he had ignited. And now, its feeble spark was about to turn into a mighty blaze. »Remember this?« The man revealed the necklace he was wearing: a simple cord, with a silver-blue-ish gemstone attached to it. The stone seemed to be glowing faintly, and Phineas realized this must be the source of his pow­ers.
Bal looked at it from the distance. He was still over­whelmed by the current events, and yet again couldn’t believe his eyes. His words were forced. »...that stone be­longs to my parents.« They were merchants, Phineas re­membered. Or had been, anyway.
»It did, once«, the Duke corrected him. »Somebody stole it from them, remember?«
»...no«, Bal whispered. He had realized something, re­membered something, and the Duke made sure that ev­eryone else knew about it as well.
»Yes. I was the man you saw talking to them that one night. You caught me stealing this very stone when I left, and detested your parents so much that you didn’t say a word. If only you had spoken up about it… I would never have gotten away with this stone, the source of my pow­ers. Blame your weak excuse for a leader all you want - but let’s face the facts: added to your heartwarming act of abandoning an entire village, including your family, for one unimportant boy, you are completely to blame for all the misfortune I was able to cause with this wonderful lit­tle stone.« He mocked Bal by repeating the boy’s own words. »You could have prevented this from happening. All of it.«
The sum of all this was simply too much for Bal to handle. Before things escalated and he broke down in tears, or worse, he dashed out of the room. Bue, unsure about what to do, looked around, then decided to follow his best friend. And nobody stopped him.
»And then there were eight«, the Duke commented. »And… Your Highness«, he said to Fern, very aware of how much that hit him, »I highly appreciate your return and the company you have brought. But understand, I am only in need of one of you.« And the man looked directly at Phineas.
Don’t show any kind of weakness, Phineas reminded himself. »What do you want from me?«
»The same thing I wanted from your father«, the Duke shrugged. »A gateway to your dimension.«
»I’m not going to help you with that«, Phineas de­clined immediately, his thoughts centering on his long-lost father. He didn't give in. So I won't either.
»Thought so. Luckily, I can be very convincing.« And with that, the Duke put one hand on his necklace and pointed the other one at Phineas. Suddenly, the boy felt pain spreading across his body. As if a million scorching suns were bursting inside of him. He fell to his knees, screaming as the pain became almost unbearable. Ferb was trying to get to him, but the others held him back, and just when Phineas thought he’d be dead any second now, the pain was gone. Weakened by this experience, and shaking still, he fell to the ground, only faintly hear­ing the Duke’s words - »I’ll give you some time to recon­sider« - before passing out.

---

Ferb helplessly watched the scene playing out in front of him. He wanted to help his brother, more than any­thing else, but his friends were holding him back. Even if all he could do was share Phineas’ pain or feel it instead of him, he had to do something. But then, Phineas was already on the ground. Trembling... unconscious.
And the Duke really seemed to take pleasure in the shocked expressions of the group. »Finn«, he command­ed, and the boy rapidly stood up, still with balance prob­lems. »Take him away.«
Finn bowed his head once more, then growled. Melody snarled back angrily, and Ferb looked at her with worry in his eyes. Was Finn trying to give her orders? The boy continued with insistence, and albeit hesitantly, she eventually com­plied. The darkling walked over to Phineas, gently pick­ing him up. She gazed at Ferb, and the determination in her eyes was still there. She’d do everything in her power to protect Phineas, Ferb understood, and that helped him get over attempting to save his brother right now… at least somewhat. He shot a glare to his friends, stopping them from doing anything imprudent. With Phineas on Melody’s back, she and Finn left the room, and the Duke was still wearing his grin.
»And then there were six. Don’t worry, I’m not plan­ning to reveal any other shocking backstories anytime soon… but I’m not done with you yet.«
»What do you even want?«, Buford put in, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. »The dogs, the magic, some vague relations to practically everyone, and your weird obsession with people with triangular heads… what’s your point, man?«
From what he could tell, Ferb shared Baljeet’s thoughts: Just great, Buford. As if we didn’t have enough problems already. But the Duke was not enraged at all. Instead, he seemed… happy. Happy that he could tell ev­eryone about his evil scheme. And admittedly, Ferb was also quite interested in how it all fit together.
»Well, kid, you see«, the man began. »It all started in a country not too far away from this one. I’m not going into detail here, but the precis is: everyone I knew was achieving something great in life - royalty, popularity, all those things I lacked. So I did the most logical thing… I came here and killed the king in order to spread chaos. Then I withdrew as soon as I realized that taking over wouldn’t be all that easy - while taking his son with me, an actual human I could bend to my will… quite a tempt­ing thought, no?« The man enjoyed the shocked, and in Can’s case, angry expressions of his enemies. »In the same night, I met a stranger from another dimension, he said. That guy’s imagination sounded quite useful at the time, so made him join me and then turned against him and kept him prisoner for the time being. And how’d you know - just two years later, I found a woman he actually knew from his world, and she apparently was a pretty good tinkerer. I imprisoned her as well and forced the two of them to devise powerful gadgets for me to use.«
Phineas’ father… and my mother. They really had known each other.
»Point is, another king came, and with him a merchant family I got this little gem from.« He held up his neck­lace again. »I don’t know if it really is any kind of magi­cal, but with the modifications my new friends made… I can do just about anything with it. My favorite op­tion is turning people into what everyone calls darklings - they cost less than soldiers, obey more easily, and the only downside is their unintelligible language. But I’ve got Finn to take care of that, so never mind.
»And, well, I’m sure you know most of the rest. How I took over this entire place, scared the coward of a king back to where he had come from… and once that was done, I started waiting for your little friend. His father had become quite useless for me for one reason or anoth­er, and the woman wasn’t good for anything other than darkling-ness without him. To get to their home dimen­sion, and take over it, of course, I needed someone with an equally inventive mind, something I was certain to find in the son he had talked about.
»So, yes, all this time, I could have destroyed the resistance, I mean, I did know of it. But I let it be - because ultimately, I needed you to bring Josh’s son here. Of course, there was a chance of him not showing up at all, but you know what they say. Like father, like son.« The Duke looked at Fern as he said that, and the boy did his best to appear unmoved. The revelation about his family tree had surprised Ferb as well, but he considered it too early to judge him yet. As for the Duke, Ferb did not know what to think of him ei­ther. He seemed like a megalomaniac, a madman even, but with an unsettling patience. Which made him all the more dangerous.
And suddenly, Ferb was absolutely positive that there was only one way to defeat the Duke with all his magic, knowledge, and power. A seemingly utterly foolish thought - but there was no other possibility.
He took a step forward.
»Doonkleberg«, he announced, determined to sound absolutely convinced of his own abilities. »I challenge you to a duel.«
For a moment, nobody said anything. Until Buford did.
»Are you crazy, man? That’s, like, such a bad idea.«
But he had caught the Duke’s attention, and the man leaned forward curiously. »I am sure he is familiar with the rules.«
Ferb nodded. He knew the traditional rules of dueling, he had read about it in several medieval books - includ­ing the tale of King Arthur. »One-on-one, with no restric­tions regarding weapons or techniques, as long as they are compatible with the code of honor.«
»Fine, I’ll make an exception for you on the last part«, the Duke replied, but overall agreed with what Ferb had said. Then, he brought up another question. »At what price?«
Ferb had already expected that question, and his an­swer was simple. A high price, but a just one. »If the re­sistance wins, you will release all prisoners, turn the darklings back into humans, and leave the country with­out ever returning.«
The Duke grinned. »And if I win?«
Ferb took a deep breath. He was well aware of what was at stake, but he had to give the Duke a convincing reason to accept. There was no turning back. He could save Phineas, his mother, and both dimensions… he had no other choice. »Then my dimension and I will be at your command.«
Behind him, Baljeet gasped audibly, and Ferb couldn’t blame him. To everyone else, his proposal must be sounding completely foolish - maybe it was, but it was the only thing he could do.
And the Duke… well, he sounded pleased. »We have a deal.«
»Tomorrow, at noon«, Ferb declared, forcing himself to sound confident. In truth, he was still incredibly nervous, but the Duke would only take pleasure in seeing him like that. And the boy knew that a good first impression could already determine a lot. He did not want the Duke to be­lieve that he was afraid and intimidated. »Until then, you will allow us to remain in the castle without being threat­ened by your side. A truce, per se.« That was nothing far-fetched; a cease-fire before the arranged date of the duel was only fair.
»You have my word«, the Duke nodded.
»Will you keep it?«
»If you keep yours.«
Ferb nodded. »High noon«, he repeated. He detested the Duke, but respected him nevertheless, so he bowed his head, turned around, and left the room with his head lifted high.
But without being able to look any of his friends into the eyes.

When they eventually set out, Buford looked at his best friend, Baljeet.
»You sure you don’t want to come?«, he asked. He was actually quite upset about that - the bully enjoyed his friend’s company more than he liked to admit.
»I… do not want to be in the way«, the nerd replied, and Buford felt anger coming up from inside himself. He knew Baljeet had other reasons: it was incredibly like­ly he didn’t actually believe Ferb, something Buford couldn’t understand. Ferb had always been a very reliable person, and if he said he had seen his mother, it was true. The bully had thought that especially after what Baljeet had learned about the Van Stomm family, he would be more trusting in such matters… but apparently not.
»Fine!«, Buford then exclaimed in frustration, but de­cided to leave it at that. This wasn’t about him and Bal­jeet, this was about Ferb and his mother. And Finn.
So Buford turned to the boy who was currently at­tempting to stand up with Can’s help. He was still quite wobbly on his feet, understandably, and he had to get used to missing one arm and eye. »Need a ride?«, Buford offered. »I’ve been carrying you around all day, I’ll do it some more.«
But Finn declined. »I… I can walk.« He tried to, failed to keep his balance, and would have fallen to the ground if Can had not grabbed him quickly enough. »I can«, he insisted, in a voice so determined that it reminded Buford of Phineas.
And said dinner bell supported him now. »He can do it«, the redhead nodded with a motivational smile. »Just take your time and help him a bit, I’m absolutely sure he’ll figure it out!«
»Carry him if you’re losing too much time«, Fern added, and that wasn't just an order, but a request. Someone here cared a lot more about Finn than they let on about.
Still, Buford only shrugged at that. He’d help his new friend if he really couldn’t walk another step, but other­wise there was no reason to if Finn wanted to do it by himself. Although, frankly, he had enjoyed carrying that boy around.
Now that they were leaving, Buford already started missing the extra weight on his back. He was the last one in line, directly behind Finn in case the boy needed help. Brain, the chihuahua, was running among their group, not really seeming to care about anything. He was a dog, af­ter all. His owner Izzy was walking right next to Finn, helping him keep his balance and supporting him if he needed it. Looked like she was becoming social after all. Or was she only helping Finn to make up for not having helped her friends when they got turned into darklings? An honorable cause, in that case. Or maybe she's just crushing on him. Like she does in our world.
Finn was actually doing quite well in spite of tilting a bit to the right, where he had more weight to carry than on his injured side. He was not asking for any help at all, and apologized every time Izzy had to assist him. She always reminded him that saying sorry wasn’t necessary, and then he apologized for exactly that.
And so it continued until it got on Buford’s nerves. So he attempted to distract everyone by, well. Talking.
»Am I the only one finding it pretty suspicious that Fern knows about these tunnels?«, he wondered just as soon as they entered that very place. He assumed that Finn would only start looking for Ferb’s mom when they had reached the crossroads from earlier.
»I wouldn’t think about that too much, honestly«, Izzy shrugged, but her voice clearly revealed how she wasn’t too fond of the resistance’s leader. »I don’t get him ei­ther. He’s probably just trying to get you to like him, re­ally. It doesn’t look like he’s being a great leader to me.«
«Leaders are never appreciated or needed until you don't have them«, Ferb commented from the front. Carry­ing the pocket knife that was also a flashlight, he was leading the way in the search for his mother, and he had not said much of a word since leaving the rest of the group. Even less than usual, that is. What had existed un­til this sentence was a silence unnatural to Ferb: not wise and knowing, but tense. And Buford couldn’t blame him in this situation, really. Had his mother been turned into a monster by a mad sorcerer… he’d so be punching the heck out of him.
»That’s all well and good«, Izzy replied. »But if you ask me, Fern’s lacking a whole lot of leadership quali­ties.«
»Like what?«, Buford asked. He had always enjoyed gossiping.
»Like all the stuff his sister’s got. She knows what she’s doing, he doesn’t.«
»And yet he is the leader.« The subliminal message was clear. Ferb actually supported his look-alike’s role and seemed to be bothered about them talking badly about him.
»Yeah, we get it, you’re on his side because he’s basi­cally you«, Buford countered. »But you’ve got to admit that he isn’t all that great.«
»That’s not what I meant«, Ferb replied unusually sharply, leaving even Buford stunned. But the greenhead was not able to explain himself - because their group had reached the crossing by now. And Finn, who had kept out of the conversation until now, spoke up.
»...is it my turn?«
»Looks like it«, Buford nodded, but he was definitely not done with the discussion yet. He’d continue as soon as this thing here was solved. »Go on, impress me.«
Finn flinched at that - had it reminded him of the Duke? That’s not what Buford had wanted to happen… oh well, better keep silent before making it worse.
»What do you need to find her?«, Izzy asked Finn, dis­tracting the boy from his memories.
Finn thought about that for a moment. »A name.«
And Ferb did not hesitate at all. »Melody«, he said with the voice of someone that had not spoken this very name for a long, long time. »Melody Fletcher.«
That had a nice ring to it, Buford thought. If his mother was as great as Ferb made her seem, he’d definitely enjoy her company. Then again, she was a dog at this point, so they probably wouldn’t be having much actual interaction. He couldn’t talk to animals, after all.
Finn could, though, for whatever bizarre reason, and he was making use of that now. What came out of his mouth were completely inhuman growls, and whatever he was saying with that, he seemed happy doing so. From what Buford could tell, Finn was not stuttering at all, or afraid of anyone’s reactions. Maybe he’s a werewolf, the bully thought. If I were one, I’d be talking to dogs all day, too.
The group went completely silent as everyone was waiting for something to happen. Finn’s growls echoed through the tunnels, causing Izzy to wonder whether the Duke would notice that.
But Buford just shrugged. »Even if, he already knows about us anyway.«
Finn shook his head at that, and Izzy had to support him once again since that had made him lose his balance. »The M-master doesn’t understand them«, he explained. »And they don’t g-get him… he needs me to communi­cate with the darklings.«
Well, that sure made things easier. »Fern’s gonna love that news«, Buford grinned - but nobody was paying any attention to him. Instead, everyone was watching Izzy’s dog Brain, who was perking up his large ears be­fore running off into one of the dark tunnels.
Buford was about to ask whether someone should go after him, but Izzy beat him to it. »He heard a darkling.«
Finn nodded. »...it’s her.«
The bully looked at Ferb. He was completely tense now, mentally preparing himself for meeting that beast. His mother.
Brain came back several moments later, constantly turning back while waiting for the creature behind him to catch up. And then, the darkling emerged from the shad­ows.
It looked like any other darkling Buford had seen be­fore: tall, dark… and strangely, for once, not at all terri­fying. There was a warmth in its eyes that the other beasts had lacked; the knowledge that someone it had known as a human was there. It was limping, too - the Duke must have punished this darkling indeed. And now, it - no, she - had come to a halt, eyeing the group with a hint of suspicion, but then, her eyes rested on Ferb. For a moment similar to the one not too long ago, they were staring at each other, but this time, without the distur­bance of a battle around them. The darkling let out a sin­gle, short growl, wistfulness in the sound.
Buford didn’t want to break this kind of magical si­lence, so he just shot a glance at Finn - who was already working out the translation. He seemed confused, as if he had understood something, but without knowing what it meant.
»What…«, Izzy began, whispering.
And Finn, equally in awe, replied with one single word; the translation of what he had heard.
»Arthur.«
»I think she’s mistaking him for someone else«, Buford commented at that, but Izzy shook her head as she nod­ded at Ferb.
He was breaking out in tears.
Neither Buford nor Izzy knew what to say or do, and so they merely watched Ferb as he stormed over to the dark­ling and hugged her, burying his face in her fur. It was an odd sight, knowing that this beast was actually his human mother, and yet, it was incredibly beautiful. Even Buford noticed a tear or two appearing on his face, but he quickly wiped them away.
It looked like Finn was having trouble deciding whether or not he should translate the most recent growls, and it was then that Buford realized how new this must be for him: actual affection between people, some­thing the Duke had always kept from him. »...I love you«, the boy eventually whispered, but with an uncertainty that revealed that he really did not know what that meant - other than being something incredibly positive.
And Buford genuinely smiled at the scene playing out in front of them. »Dude, I think Ferb already knows.«

They watched the interaction between Ferb and his mother for some more moments, before the boy eventual­ly let go of her. »We should return to the others«, he de­cided, having regained his voice. Ferb still sounded over­whelmed, but he had every reason to.
When they walked back through the tunnel they had come from, it was Izzy leading the way now. Buford was still walking behind everyone else as he watched the inter­action between those in front of him: this time, it was Ferb’s mother, Melody, helping Finn keep his balance. They were both letting out growls almost the entire time, and even Brain joined in. Finn seemed much more confi­dent by now, leaving Buford to wonder what he was talk­ing about with the two canines. Meanwhile, Ferb was walking on his mother’s other side, observing her injured right front leg and making sure she was well. Buford was getting bored again, but he didn’t want to interrupt the conversation between Finn and the dogs, so he more or less carefully made his way through all the way to Izzy.
»So, what’s up?«
She seemed surprised about someone wanting to talk to her. »Nothing.«
Yeah, okay. They really were just walking. He nodded at Ferb’s flashlight-knife Izzy was carrying to lead the way. »Well, what do you think of that? Pretty sweet tech­nology, huh?«
»I guess so. But it’s not gonna defeat the Duke’s mag­ic, is it?«
Buford shrugged. »Dinner bell’s gonna find a way for that to happen, you’ll see! He’s done lots of great stuff.«
»Well, consider me impressed if he actually manages to save us all.«
The bully snorted. »In our dimension, he wouldn’t need to do that to impress you.«
Izzy raised an eyebrow. »What’s that supposed to mean?«
»Well, the You from our world’s seriously crushing on him. Has been doing that all summer long. And he doesn’t have a clue. Everyone knows, buuut we’re not gonna tell him, that’s ruining the fun.«
»I guess he’s a nice guy. But he’s not my type, really.«
»And who is?«, Buford grinned.
»That’s none of - look, we’re almost there.«
Buford wanted to continue their conversation, but Izzy was right. They had reached the tunnel’s exit and would meet the others pretty soon. The girl turned the flashlight off, thrust it into the bully’s hand, and sped up. Mo­ments afterward, he could hear her announcing their re­turn to the rest of the group. All he did was following her, completely baffled, and he shrugged when Ferb shot him a questioning glance. Why was everyone always as­suming things were his fault? Admittedly, they usually were, but still. He found it pretty unfair.
»So… that really is his mother?«, Baljeet still sounded skeptical as the darkling came into view. She seemed wary around the strangers, but much less than when she had met the others.
Ferb nodded, and Bue spotted her injury immediately.
»I’ll take care of that«, he offered, and Ferb looked quite unsure. Wrongly, Buford thought.
So he supported his look-alike. »Come on. He won’t harm her, you know that.«
Still reluctant, Ferb nodded at last. Finn told the dark­ling in her tongue what was going on, and unlike her son, Melody did not refuse as Bue approached and touched her to take a look at her leg. When he put pressure on a certain spot, she winced and snarled, causing Ferb to shoot her and Bue a worried glance and even attempt to stop him. So Buford decided to hold his friend back be­fore things escalated. »Relax, man. She’ll be fine, okay?«
»It’s nothing«, Phineas agreed, then looked at his friends from Danville in a bit of confusion. »...do you think I should, I don’t know… introduce myself? I mean, I’m his brother, I should probably…«
But Buford shook his head. »She’s not gonna under­stand you unless Finn translates it. And I don’t think you want to bother him with complicated family stuff right now.«
The redhead seemed to accept that reply and turned to Finn. »Can you tell her we’re friends, at least?«
Finn responded with a growl, to which Melody replied, and they took that as a yes.
»Anyway«, Fern declared. »We’ve lost some time, but if we head off now, we can still be done with this by sun­down.«
Bue shook his head. »I've almost finished«, he stated as he bandaged Melody’s leg. »It’s not broken, but giving her a little rest would help a lot.«
»Finn is exhausted as well«, Izzy added, and beat the boy to it when he wanted to say something. »Maybe ex­haustion has never been a valid reason for the Duke to stop you from doing things, but it’s definitely a good one here. And it’s not like we’re in much of a hurry.«
That visibly frustrated Fern. »Of course we are. And I’d like some rest too, but I’m not getting it either. We’ve got a world to save, and as your leader, I’m the decision maker here. And if I say we’re leaving now, we are. Is that clear?«
Baljeet cleared his throat just as Buford wanted to start an argument with Ferb’s annoying look-alike. »Perhaps they are right. It seems to be strategically favorable for us to leave, instead of having finished this, at sundown, aside from the factor of exhaustion that should not be ig­nored either.« Having gained everyone’s attention by this surprising suggestion, he continued: »If we depart at sun­down, we will reach the castle during the night, and should be able to defeat the Duke in his sleep, provided he does sleep at night.«
Finn nodded at that, and Bal approved as well. »That could work. With our canine companions, the darklings should be no threat to us, and the Duke will not expect us to strike in the middle of the night.« He looked at Fern, his respected leader. »I agree to his plan, it might give us an advantage.«
»I’m with the smartasses«, Buford joined in. As much as he wanted to storm the castle, he knew that a more subtle approach was a better idea.
Everyone was waiting for Fern’s reply now. He sighed and still seemed reluctant, but eventually agreed. »Al­right. If delaying the rest of our journey helps you re­cover and gives us an advantage in battle, I’d say that we should give it a try. While we’re at it, it’s best for all of us to get some rest before the big finale. We’ll be leaving at sundown, so make sure you’re ready by then.«
Minutes later, everyone had done as Fern had instruct­ed. Melody and Finn were fast asleep, but would be im­mediately ready if needed. The members of the resistance were gathering together, simply resting or talking about things Buford didn’t really care about. Izzy and Brain were doing who knew what, yet the bully was sure they would be back in time. If only for whomever she was crushing on… he grinned before spotting what Ferb was doing: sitting near his sleeping mother, he was writing into a small, black, and altogether unspectacular book that immediately caught Buford’s attention nevertheless. As quietly as he could, he sneaked up on Ferb from be­hind and snatched the book away from his friend.
Ferb stared at him, his eyes open wide in ac­tual horror. That surprised Buford, and now he wasn’t so sure if he wanted to know what that book was about any­more. Maybe it was something personal? »What’s in there?«, he asked his friend, and then Ferb had suddenly gotten up and was trying to reclaim his book.
»What’s going on?«, Phineas interrupted them. With Buford being distracted for a moment, Ferb was able to get the book back, holding it tightly with both hands.
»He’s making a big deal out of some lame book«, Bu­ford shrugged, but was pretty happy nevertheless. Even if it had lasted for only a few seconds, he always enjoyed a good fight.
»Did I hear ‘book’?«, Baljeet chimed in, and now ev­eryone was gathering around Ferb.
»What’s it about?«, Phineas asked his brother, who shook his head in reply.
»Told you«, Buford shrugged. »I bet he’s keeping a di­ary or something.« Trying to imitate Ferb’s voice, and horribly failing at that, he continued: »Dear Diary, today I met another me who’s trying to be a great leader but really sucks at that. But I’m supporting him anyway because he’s me.«
»Shut up«, Ferb retorted, much to everyone’s surprise.
»Whoa, hit a nerve there, huh.« Ferb’s behavior made that book even more mysterious - and interesting. »Come on, man. We’re friends! You’re only making us more cu­rious.« Knowing that wouldn’t convince him, Buford still had an ace up his figurative sleeve, for literally speaking, he was still shirtless and would continue to be that for a while. »Arthur.«
Ferb stared at him warningly, but it was too late. »Arthur?«, Phineas asked his brother. »Is that your…«
Ferb nodded.
»You never told me!« Dinner bell actually sounded quite upset. At least this was going the way Buford want­ed - he had not intended to play anyone off against one another, but he wanted to know what was in this book. And if a Van Stomm wanted something, they’d get it. No matter how.
»I’d say he’s been keeping enough secrets from us. I mean really, do we know anything about him? His whole life’s a mystery.«
»I do not think we should force him to say anything«, Baljeet said. »He has every right to remain silent.«
»That’s what he’s been doing his entire life«, Buford countered, crossing his arms.
A silence resulted from that, eventually broken by Ferb himself. »He’s right.«
»Damn right I am - wait, seriously?« He had not ex­pected Ferb to agree after his harsh (but true!) words.
Ferb nodded. »I... do suppose it is time to shed some light on my past. People like you deserve to know.« Even people like Buford who had just said some pretty hurtful stuff? Seemed like Ferb really was quick to forgive.
»Well, I’m all ears«, Buford grinned, letting himself slump down. The others followed his example, and Ferb started telling them.
»It is a diary«, he began, turning his head to where his mother was sleeping. »To her.«
»You are writing her instead of a fictional entity?«, Baljeet asked, and Ferb confirmed that.
»Ever since she left.«
»We’ve known each other for almost eight years«, Phineas realized. »You must have been doing that for ages!«
»She vanished without a trace shortly before I turned four«, Ferb explained. »I used to tell her all about what I had done and experienced every day, and when she was gone…«
»...you continued by keeping this journal«, Baljeet con­cluded.
»And stopped talking to people because she was the only one to ever truly understand you«, Buford added as a joke, but Ferb actually nodded.
»There was a time I hardly talked to anyone at all, but I have since warmed up quite a lot… thanks to you.« He gratefully smiled at Phineas, who returned the expres­sion.
»You’re the best brother anyone could ever hope to have, and that’s never going to change.«
»There is one thing I don’t get«, Buford spoke up.
»Quantum physics?«, Baljeet suggested, and the bully shoved him in reply, causing his friend to lose his bal­ance and land on the ground.
»Other than that. I mean, about his name. How do you get ‘Ferb’ from ‘Arthur’?«
Ferb shrugged. »You don’t.« Thankfully, he explained it before Buford had to ask him another question. »Arthur is the name my mother gave me, after the king of the same name.«
»Which explains why you love that story so much«, Phineas laughed.
»So then what?«, Buford prodded his green-haired friend.
»My father thought it to be a name of bad connotation, considering the tragedy and misery attached to it. So it became my middle name instead.«
»And he named you Ferb«, Buford concluded.
»Not exactly. He named me Ferdinand.«
That made Buford laugh. »Ja, dürfen s’ denn des?«
Ferb sighed. »That’s exactly why I’m going by Ferb.«
»What did you just tell him?«, Phineas asked. As ex­pected, nobody but the Europeans of the group got the joke.
Buford grinned. »Let’s just say that emperor was a pretty… odd guy.«
And Ferb nodded. »You know my father’s humor. Naming me after a royal with several anecdotes to his name is better than after a noble and honorable king.«
Phineas thought about that for a moment. »Ferdinand Arthur Fletcher«, he savored. »Still sounds like a great king to me.«
»It suits you«, Baljeet added.
»Sounds pretty snobby, actually«, Buford shrugged, and Ferb frowned. »Just kidding, man. They’re right. Also, uh… sorry about what I said earlier. And making fun of you and stuff. It probably -«, Baljeet cleared his throat, »- okay, definitely wasn’t a nice thing to say. If it helps, my dad’s stuck in prison for things he didn’t do, so I guess we’re not all that different on the matter.«
»You are forgiven«, Ferb said, intentionally sounding as royal as possible, causing Phineas to snicker. But he did not respond to the part about Buford’s dad the bully had accidentally mentioned. »For now, I’m… just glad my mother is safe.«
»Meeting her again after so many years...«, Baljeet re­minded them all.
»I started building things in the hopes of finding her somehow«, Ferb explained. »She had created a lot of gad­gets and machines, I believed taking after her passions would bring me closer to her.«
»And it was worth it«, Phineas replied. »Even without finding her… think of all the fantastic things we built!«
»She really brought people together«, Baljeet agreed, giving Phineas an idea.
»Do you think she knows my dad?«, he wondered. »Both of them being inventors, and stranded in this alter­nate dimension…«
Buford nodded. »You know, dinner bell, after all I’ve learned today… if they had a relationship as close as that of you two -«
»- none of us would be surprised«, Baljeet added, and for once, the nerd actually agreed to something the bully had said.