Beiträge von Sheyffer

Not much more than half an hour later, Ferb was look­ing at the first natural light he had seen since the mem­bers of the resistance had knocked him unconscious earli­er. Dimmed by shapes he was not able to identify against the light from behind them, but still: any open space was welcome to him. The greenhead was standing at the very end of one of the tunnels, leading out of the cave system. With him were the other people he had met: Fern, Can, Bal, Jared, and Colin. They were all waiting for Phineas now - and for Bue, who had gone off to fetch him.
Soon enough, the group heard approaching footsteps, and Bue appeared from the tunnel leading deeper into the resistance, closely followed by Phineas - who stopped and stared at Ferb as soon as he was near enough. But Ferb realized he was not looking at him: rather, his brother’s surprised and even quite amazed eyes were resting on the sheath the greenhead was carrying on his back.
»Is that a sword ?« Phineas could hardly believe his eyes. Ferb was not able to tell whether his brother ap­proved of it or not, but at first glance, Phineas was as fas­cinated as he always was when he was shown some new device.
Can, now carrying a staff as well as a backpack, did not sound as if that was unusual at all. »We asked him if he was good with weapons, and that’s what he picked.« She shot a glance at her own brother, who was transporting his sword the same way Ferb did. Fern did approve of the similarity, Ferb had already noticed.
But Phineas, by now, was even more confused than be­fore. »Since when do you know how to use a sword?«, he asked his brother, who only replied with a shrug.
»King Arthur.«
»Fair enough«, his brother grinned, satisfied. They both knew how much Ferb loved that tale.
»Anyway«, Fern interrupted their dialogue. »We should leave as soon as possible. If we wait any longer, we’ll only be reaching the Duke’s place at sundown, which would force us to spend the night way too close to the dark­ling lair.«
»And you really do not want that«, Bal, wielding the same bow he had used to save the brothers earlier, agreed.
Fern nodded. »Best case scenario is we manage to de­feat him before all the darklings become active.«
»You’re coming with us?«, Phineas then asked him, re­minding Ferb that his brother had no idea about what had been decided when he had talked to Ivan.
»Him, me, and those two«, Can explained, nodding at Bal - and Bue.
Now, Phineas looked as surprised as Ferb had felt when that had been announced. Much like him, the red­head had probably expected Jared or Colin to join them - but Bue? The small boy was not even carrying any kind of weapon at all, only a shoulder bag, and he really did not seem like he would be any good in a fight.
»Someone has to be in charge while our two leaders are gone«, Colin shrugged.
Jared, next to him, had his usual grin on his face. »And that’s us!«
»And Ivan.«
»Way to ruin the moment, Bal.« Colin rolled his eyes.
The archer ignored him and turned to Phineas instead. »Ivan cannot join us for obvious reasons, but we do need a healer - and as his apprentice, Bue is the only option.«
Ferb knew that Bal was not at all happy with the deci­sion. In fact, it sounded like he blamed the brothers for anything that was about to happen, but that was not sur­prising: if Bal and Bue’s relationship was as strong as that between Baljeet and Buford, then they would not let anything bad happen to one another.
Bue, on the other hand, swelled with excitement. »I’ll be useful, you’ll see!«, he exclaimed to Bal.
The archer nodded absentmindedly, eager to change the topic. »You have all heard Fern. We should go.«
Fern nodded and took a step toward the exit. »Right. Let’s go, everyone.«
»Make sure to kill some darklings for us«, Jared shout­ed after them as they left, but Ferb was not sure whether that was a serious or joking remark.
He took his place next to Phineas on their way out and gave his brother a comforting smile. The redhead had no weapon with him, he noticed - that probably made him feel even more useless than he already was. Even without fighting skills, he could still have used some kind of weapon… the greenhead fiddled in his pockets and quickly found the still a little bloody pocket knife he had used to wound the darkling. This gadget was better than nothing, so he handed it to his brother.
»You’ve kept that?«, Phineas asked. »I thought you lost it in the battle!« But as his brother shook his head, the redhead grasped the multi-functional machine tightly, and Ferb could tell how comforting it was for him to be able to defend himself at least a little bit.
He looked at the object for another moment. The other people, especially Bal, all thought he had killed the dark­ling with his bare hands - but that was not the truth at all: he alone knew that the beast was all but dead, only un­conscious, not to mention that he did have had this knife with him for the first several moments. There was no rea­son to tell them, however - if that made them respect him, then this truth could wait.
The small group had left the cave system by now, after pushing through the tall fern plants that had been dim­ming the light earlier. When he turned around, Ferb saw a huge mountain - the equivalent of Danville Mountain, most likely. Inside that place, the resistance had its hide­out, the entrance hidden behind the fern. There was noth­ing suspicious about some giant plants, he thought.
Ahead of them was nothing but the forest. Ferb watched his brother closely, trying to figure out whether he would also notice what plants these woods were made of… but Phineas was as oblivious to that as he was to most things. At least he seemed to enjoy the walk: his usual smile had found its way back onto his face. Ferb was left to wonder what things Ivan had told him, but he was not going to ask. Phineas would tell him if it con­cerned him, the greenhead knew. Still, he was glad that his brother was back to his cheerful self again.
The forest was a wild one, with nothing but some scat­tered trails the resistance seemed to have left over the years to walk on. The birds were singing just like in Danville, but in a much higher number, and ground-based wildlife left the bushes rustling here and there. Ferb noticed Bal flinching a couple of times - the boy was the last in the line they had formed, keeping his bow and one arrow ready in the case of sudden danger. He was highly alert, Ferb realized… and could not help but think that he and Phineas were the last people Bal wanted to protect.
In front of the brothers was Bue, with his eyes wide open, enjoying the forest and its wildlife around the small group. He was the one worrying least about anything, more frolicking than just walking, his bag constantly slapping against his side. That, too, was not bothering him too much, it seemed.
Fern, of course, was leading the group, brushing aside all vegetation blocking their path. He simply marched on­ward, without taking the time to observe his surroundings at all. That was Can’s task: she was walking behind him, from time to time pointing out things he was supposed to notice but did not, and occasionally grinning and gener­ally being amused at him when he stumbled over a root or overlooked a twig that would then slap him into the face.
But other than that, there was little to no talking at all - something that visibly bothered Phineas who mindlessly fiddled around with the retracted pocket knife. Ferb knew that his brother wanted, and needed, to talk about some­thing, anything , so he put a hand on the redhead’s shoul­der to gain his attention. When Phineas looked at him, probably surprised someone actually wanted to talk to him after he, in his own opinion, had not really left much of a great first impression, Ferb just nodded at Bue, hop­ing his brother would get the message. He’d be happy to talk to you, I’m sure.
That really seemed to brighten Phineas’ mood and he sped up his steps to catch up with Bue.
»Oh, hey, Phineas!« The chubby boy smiled at him, genuinely happy to have someone to talk to. »Are you re­ally from another world? That’s so cool! What’s it like there?«
This question also caught the attention of the other travelers, Ferb noticed. They all wanted to know more about this strange place the brothers were from.
»Well, it’s... sunny«, Phineas started, not really sure how to begin. »Because it’s summer, so everyone’s eat­ing ice cream and going swimming and stuff like that.«
»What’s ice cream?«, Bue asked him.
»Frozen water with flavors«, the redhead laughed. »Re­ally delicious! But that’s probably not too interesting when compared to what we’re doing!«
A little smile appeared on Ferb's face. He knew what was coming now.
Phineas enjoyed the silence full of suspense for a mo­ment before continuing, »We’re building the biggest, best things ever! Time machines and rockets and all those things to make summer absolutely fantastic.«
»Let’s just say you’re creating things so beyond belief that we don’t even know what you’re talking about«, Fern pointed out. But that was not meant to sound rude: his interest in the topic even beat the last caution about his surroundings he had left. Still walking, he had looked at Phineas as he said that, making him trip over another root once again. Can had to grab his arm and pull him back into a standing position to prevent him from landing face-first on the ground. She rolled her eyes at him in a more teasing than annoyed manner, and he tried to act as if nothing had happened, facing the path in front of them again, this time without turning his head as he spoke. »The others already told you, we’ve got nothing like that in this world.«
That did not stop Phineas’ excitement at all - quite the contrary. »Well, we’re gonna show you! Ferb’s got a book full of pictures of everything we’ve built this sum­mer.«
Ferb nodded. He kept Ferb’s Log with him at all times and would not mind showing it to his new friends.
»Once we’re taking a break, that is«, Can decided. »So we won’t be losing too much time.«
That seemed to frustrate Bue a bit, as if he was too im­patient to wait any longer. Phineas noticed that and quickly went on talking.
»Of course, those things aren’t what makes the summer great«, he explained. »It’s the time we’re spending with family and friends that counts.«
»Yeah, if you have family«, Bal muttered. If anyone heard that, nobody let it show, and Ferb, too, kept silent, as usual. If… no, when one of us dies, what becomes of the other one?
»We’ve got a sister, Candace«, Phineas went on, oblivious to Bal's comment. »And she’s great! A little stressed most of the time, but the best big sister ever.«
Once again, Ferb spotted Can flinching at those words, just like when she had first met Phineas. It reminded him that nobody had ever spoken a single word about his look-alike. Where was he? Or do I even want to know?
»And Ferb’s the best brother«, the redhead continued, interrupting his thoughts. But Ferb knew that the red­headed boy was sharing his worries. What had happened to this world’s Phineas - and which of the brothers would die?
’One brother slain’ - that was not even the line worry­ing Ferb the most. It was what came afterward: ’The other one his fate will claim’ . One would be severely hurt, the other one would die saving him - and yet, some­how, at the end of their journey, they would still be five people more than they were now. But who knew how many people they would meet, and how many of their current group would die in the process? Ferb tried to ban­ish these thoughts from his head, they did not matter now.
What mattered was that the group had gone silent again as Bue tried to come up with another thing to ask. But this time, Phineas was faster than him.
»You know what else we’re always doing back home?«, he asked nobody in particular.
Bue shook his head, absolutely interested.
»We’re singing!«
Bal looked at him like he was completely insane. The others, too, were not really convinced.
»Singing?«, Fern repeated. That had made him lose his focus on the path and the vegetation again, but this time he was able to prevent himself from falling on his own. Ferb saw him glance around, as if making sure that no­body had noticed this little incident. His eyes met Ferb's, who decided to look at him in an » Is something wrong? You look nervous« - kind of way. That made Fern turn away in what seemed to be embarrassment, and once more, he pretended that nothing had happened. Can, however, had followed his gaze and questioningly stared at Ferb, who simply shrugged in reply. She rolled her eyes again - visibly exhausted from dealing with Fern, it seemed.
Phineas did not notice any of that. He simply nodded at Fern's question from moments ago. For a moment, he even seemed to consider explaining the term 'singing' to him.
»We know what singing is«, Bal told him, reading his thoughts, sounding as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it probably was. »I just do not know why you would do that - often, it seems.«
Ferb helped his brother out this time.
»Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words«, he said casually. He saw Phineas chuckling at that: his brother most likely thought Ferb himself to be the very definition of poetic phrases. Which was true, he did like to express himself with a certain melody, of both mean­ing and syntax, in his words - and, occasionally, in song, if the situation allowed it.
»Can you sing something now?«, Bue asked Phineas, full of excitement.
Even Fern agreed. »Anything to give us motivation on this journey is more than welcome, especially while we're still this far from the truly dangerous zone.« More like 'anything that doesn't distract me too much while I'm walking' , Ferb added silently.
He also silently thanked the resistance’s leader for this: Phineas was now just as excited as Bue, just like he al­ways was when he was about to sing a song. The redhead threw the pocket knife back to Ferb, who smoothly caught it in one hand, within seconds transforming it into some kind of very simplistic string instrument. They had built this device some weeks ago: a small machine that could turn into dozens of different objects with countless applications. To achieve that, they had to make the options as simple as possible to fit it all into the tiny space, so it was not at all like a proper guitar from back home. But this banjo of sorts would have to do as Ferb's musical accompaniment.
And then, the air was filled with not all too natural mu­sic as Phineas walked past Fern to lead the way, follow­ing the small trail deeper into the forest and closer to their fate.

»Look out new world, here we come,
Brave, intrepid and then some.
Pioneers of maximum
Audacity whose resumes
Show that we are just the team
To live where others merely dream,
Building up a head of steam
On the trail we blaze! «

Phineas tirelessly sang as he shoved branches aside and jumped over roots, climbed on trunks that had fallen over ages ago, never losing sight of the trail in front of them - and being much more agile and focused than Fern had been. Although the others did not leave the trail at all, they all enjoyed the change of attitude in the group - Phineas’ singing and Ferb’s music even managed to make Bal seem a little less grumpy.

»Changing legend into fact,
We shall ride into history.
Turning myth into truth,
We shall surely gaze
On the sweet unfolding
Of an antique mystery –
All will be revealed
On the trail we blaze! «

Ferb was actually quite surprised Phineas sang this op­timistically about the events to come. But that was in his brother’s nature: at least for the length of a song, he was able to forget all the problems and dangers ahead of them - and as Phineas repeated these lines, it seemed to have the same effect on most of the others as well. Although being out of tune, Bue sang along, and Ferb could hear Fern and Can humming the song’s melody - even after Phineas had stopped singing and Ferb was no longer playing his instrument.

And for a little while, just this once, everything seemed completely alright.

Phineas immediately turned to his right. There was his brother, completely awake, and apparently not at all thrown off by any of his surroundings. No, the determi­nation in his voice and eyes, directly facing Fern, made it seem like he hadn’t been unconscious at all, but rather like he had been observing the entire situation from the beginning.
Ferb only gave the redhead a glance Phineas would have missed if he had blinked: his brother let him know that he had heard him in spite of still remaining focused on Fern. Ferb made no other move or sound, waiting for his look-alike, or anyone else, to reply.
This person turned out to be Bal.
»How come you want to help us? Your brother had some pretty good points.«
Phineas watched his brother, curious about his answer. As much as he wanted to help those people, it was far too dangerous, not to mention that neither his friends nor his family had any clue about their whereabouts. Regarding Ferb’s words, though, he was just as curious as he was surprised - after all, his brother was known to hardly ever make bad choices. So what reasons would he have to join this resistance, knowing well enough how dangerous this was going to be?
Ferb shook his tied-up hands. To Jared, sitting next to him, the message was clear, and after exchanging a quick look with Fern, he got up and cut through the rope re­straining the green-haired boy. While Jared went on to release Phineas as well - how glad he was to move his hands again! -, Ferb took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it over to Bal, who, both cautious and confused, stretched it out on the ground before him. After all, the sheet was quite big, and this way he could also make sure the others were able to see its contents as well.
Unfolded, the piece of paper was as long as Ferb’s out­stretched arm and as wide as his legs were long - the greenhead’s map folding skills were unsurpassed, as Phineas had found out many times before. White lines, text, and numbers covered the otherwise blue sheet, thus identifying what it was.
»That’s the blueprint for our teleporter!«, Phineas real­ized. He was just as bewildered as the other people in the room who had never seen such a paper before, so it was completely holding their attention at this point.
Colin shrugged and leaned back into his seat again, mak­ing it obvious that he did not care about the blueprint in any way. »So what?«
»Yeah«, Jared nodded. »How is that a reason for want­ing to help us? You’re not gonna find a thing like that anywhere in this place!«
»Not even the parts?« The last hope Phineas had had about having an excuse not to engage in deadly fighting was gone in an instant.
Fern shook his head. »Not that I’d know, no. Although…«
»Although what?«, Phineas probed him.
But the resistance’s leader shook his head. »My only guess is that the Duke would be able to create this… thing with his magics - or the parts, anyway. But, as you’ve already said, traveling to him isn’t an option.« His voice had a challenging tone that bugged Phineas. He knows I don’t have a choice. And Ferb does, too.
»So no matter whether I want to do this deadly stuff or not, we will have to find that guy?«, Phineas sighed, dedi­cating this question to his brother rather than to the re­sistance.
Ferb nodded, but the redhead was at least a little re­lieved when he read his expression: Sorry. I know you don’t want to do this.
»That means they’ll help us, right?«, the chubby boy called Bue asked nobody in particular.
Phineas took a deep breath, knowing well enough that all he had to do was find the positive aspects of the situa­tion. After all, he had made it through so much already! And although flying around the world in a single day or exploring the galaxy were not nearly as intense as what he suspected was going to happen today, the redhead managed to face the circle of people with his hopeful, contagious smile, sounding as optimistic as the situation allowed.
»Yes. Yes, we will.«
Bue smiled widely at that, Jared and Colin both grinned as well, and even in Bal’s eyes Phineas believed to spot a little spark of hope. Can looked like Phineas felt: very conflicted about what to think, but trying to make the best out of the situation. Like Candace. And Fern thanked the brothers, sounding like he actually meant it and with no superior ring to it, before turning to the remaining person in the room.
»Ivan, you should tell them the full prophecy now. They deserve to know.«
The blind boy nodded, slightly amused when sensing how Bal was merely waiting for being allowed to leave now that things were settled. Phineas noticed that the In­dian boy, or the closest to that in this strange place, was sitting on the edge of his seat already, most likely want­ing to get away from the two brothers as fast as possi­ble. Someone here doesn’t like strangers. And we haven’t even done anything to make him hate us!
»If you think this doesn’t concern you, you’re wrong«, Ivan remarked, sounding not at all angry with the boy who now forced himself to sit back, unhappy with his situ­ation, but not wanting to get into trouble.
Still, that did not stop him from wondering, »It is Phineas and Ferb who are supposed to defeat the Duke, not me. So why do I have to stay?«
»Because you are in the prophecy as well.«
That did surprise Bal. »I am?« He did not sound too happy about that.
Can, too, turned to Ivan now. »Maybe you should tell all of us about the prophecy, how about that?«
»You don’t know about it either?«, Phineas wondered. If Ivan was the only one knowing about it, then why was everyone else believing that he and Ferb would save them? Maybe they’re as clueless as we are… maybe we aren’t even supposed to be a part of this!
Colin did not seem to mind that, just like he had not been interested in the blueprint. »All Ivan’s told us is the part with two brothers from another world saving us from the Duke, and that’s all I need to know.«
»But now that we’re all here, I’d like to hear the rest as well!«, Jared declared. »Come on, Ivan, I’m all ears!«
»Very well«, the blind boy agreed. »But please, don’t interrupt me. Keep all of your reactions and opinions to yourselves until I have finished. There is no need to jump to conclusions.«
Everyone nodded until Can realized that Ivan was not going to see that. »...go ahead.«
And thus, Ivan recited the prophecy only he knew.

»Country ruled by envious eyes,
Children forced to deadly strife
Against a foe so wild and dark:
Creatures given blackened hearts.«

This already gave Phineas chills. Not that he had not been aware of the contents of this passage, but poetry made it sound all the more terrible. The others seemed to be thinking the same: these words were nothing new, but horrible reality.

»When hope is lost and peril nigh,
Two warring brothers will unite
Two worlds apart since decades past,
Bringing peace to both at last.«

So that was the part everyone was talking about. And Phineas, though unwillingly, had to agree: this sounded a whole lot like him and Ferb. Even though he could not see in what way they were ‘warring’. All eyes were on them now, he noticed.

»As green as grass, as red as blood,
With intentions bad or good,
Six children on a journey set –
Eleven when their pasts have met.«

The redhead spotted Bal glancing around. ‘Six chil­dren’, that meant the brothers - and most likely him as well. Now he was probably trying to figure out which of the others he would most like to accompany them on this journey.

»The foe is gone, one brother slain...«

Phineas froze and held back a scream when it dawned on him what this passage meant. He took no time to ob­serve the others’ reactions - he was too busy trying to concentrate on the remaining lines, yet actually paid little attention to them either. One of us is going to die. That was the only thing on his mind right now.

»...The other one his fate will claim.
For only trust can be the key
For all people to be free.«

Ivan ended his recitation, and for several seconds, there was silence.
And Phineas was the one breaking it.
»You can’t make us do that!«, he exclaimed, incredibly frustrated he had actually agreed to this journey, and panick­ing now that he was allowed to show his reaction. »I… I don’t care if the Duke’s the only one who can help us back home, I’m not gonna die !« It was only a term of good manners that he did not get up and run away, but the boy was close to doing just that.
Ferb noticed his brother’s distress - Phineas knew that he, too, was shocked by this turn of events and that yet, he was much better at hiding it. When Ferb grabbed his brother’s hand to calm him down, the redhead could not help but think that the unusually tight grasp was meant to comfort Ferb himself as well. There was worry in his eyes, and Phineas could not tell whether Ferb was more afraid of himself or his brother dying.
Phineas was not so sure about his own feelings either.
»Phineas.« Ivan’s unchanging calm voice caught the redhead’s attention and, for some reason, made him feel a little more relaxed.
The boy just blinked at Ivan, but soon enough remem­bered his blindness again. »...huh?«
»I need to talk to you.« Resting his eyes on Ferb, he continued, »Alone.«
Fern quickly understood. »Phineas, I know you’re not too… happy about how things are turning out, but your brother’s right. You don’t have much of a choice. So while you go with Ivan, Ferb will stay here with us and discuss all other important matters - such as who is going to join the two of you.«
Ferb nodded and seemed completely alright with that, and when Phineas got up from his chair and was about to follow Ivan who was already leaving the room, he start­ed feeling uneasy and, especially, alone. But Ferb was al­ready preoccupied with listening to Fern and Can’s tacti­cal discussions, and the redhead couldn’t help but feel another thing: guilt. If Ferb can keep it together, why can't I? He sighed and turned away.
»It’s hard, I know«, Ivan’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
»...huh?«
»Getting used to such a different situation.« The blind boy was walking in front of him, slowly, his cane guiding him through the tunnel network they now appeared to be in. These paths were smaller in diameter than the room they had just left, but otherwise fairly similar, with torch­es lighting the way and several other tunnels leading deeper into, or out of, the entire system. In some of these tunnels, Phineas heard voices, but they were too far away for him to understand the words even as he tried.
There was a sudden sadness in Ivan's voice. »We have all been there.«
And then all his thoughts left Phineas’ mind.
»Ivan, I… I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to fight, actually fight, and I don’t even know where I am! It’s such a long way from home and what if I don’t even get to see my friends again? Or Mom and Dad and Can­dace? They’ll have no clue what happened and I don’t wanna die and…«
»We have all been there«, the blind boy repeated, still leading the way. »The Duke has made us flee from our homes; for all we know, all of our families and friends not in this resistance are dead, and any of us patrolling the forest are as afraid of losing their lives as you are, not to mention those that will join you on your journey. All of your fears are those that unite our resistance, Phineas. They are completely understandable.«
That was actually worse than what Phineas had thought. »I’m sorry«, he began. »...for everything that’s happened to you. All of you.«
Ivan suddenly stopped walking, and the redhead almost bumped into him. »What’s past is past«, he merely said before turning around to face the boy just as tall as him­self. Phineas couldn’t help but examine the scars around Ivan’s eyes now that he was this close to them. They were old, the wounds having healed years ago, but the scars were still there, just like the whiteness in his eyes. »All you must do is learn to live with it.«
»What happened to your eyes?«, Phineas blurted out, already regretting this rude question.
But Ivan did not mind. »Everyone asks that one day, don’t worry.
»It’s not much of a great tale, actually. Sorry if you’ve expected something more dramatic! But yes, I was noth­ing but a simple boy, tending to my village’s horses as well as the herbs I have always been so interested in. We have heard of the Duke’s attacks on other towns, of course, but we were still incredibly optimistic on the mat­ter of him actually coming to our home. One day, howev­er, he did attack us, and the horses I was feeding that day panicked, and I was completely overwhelmed, to say the least.« With a little bit of imagination, Phineas was able to identify horseshoe-like shapes in Ivan’s scars.
The blind boy smiled slightly. »When the resistance found me - Jared and Colin, actually -, I was still wide awake - and had to boss them around quite a bit to make sure my wounds were tended to properly.« And now, he even let out a short laugh, remembering that moment.
»See, Phineas, I cannot change what has happened to me, or to anyone here. But I can still do my best not to let it bring me down today - or in the future. I can sense that that’s the way you’re looking at life, too - so don’t let anything bring you down, not even the prophecy.«
Despite being incredibly moved by Ivan’s words, Phineas found it hard to convince himself of the last part. »But -«
»There are different ways to look at a prophecy, Phineas. Even though it is me who received these very words the moment I went blind, in an epiphany, you might say… I can’t tell you its outcome even if I wanted to - because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Only that things, or people, aren’t always what they seem to be.«
That was the first actually uplifting thing Phineas had heard from anyone today. »So it’s possible that Ferb and I will both make it back home?« The thought of that not going to be the case still horrified him.
»Nothing’s impossible if you believe you can do it - or can’t, in this case.«
»Fair enough«, the redhead nodded, but he was certain that Ivan was able to sense how comforting his speech had actually been. Phineas couldn’t find the right words to express it, but still: for now, he was at least somewhat relaxed again. He smiled, too, for these last words re­minded him of the many similar bits of advice he had been giving his friends over the summer.
»Wise words, aren’t they?«, Ivan smiled, indeed aware of their effect on the other boy. »My mother taught me - and she, in turn, learned them from a stranger who, now that I think about it, was very much like you.«
That caught Phineas’ attention. »What do you mean?«
»Well«, Ivan replied. »When I was no older than two years old, a visitor came to our village. He only stayed for a day, yet left such a big impact on my mother and other villagers that they often told me about him. He was very kind-hearted and optimistic, and he impressed them all with little gadgets he had built. Most notable, however, is that he told them about coming from a strange place very similar to our country in several ways - by using something he referred to as a ‘teleporter’.«
The similarities to Phineas were obvious enough for the redhead to notice, and he couldn’t help but wonder, »...what did he look like?«
»All of this is only what my mother told me«, Ivan re­minded him, but continued anyway. »She always de­scribed him as rather small for his age, with bright red hair and a very unnaturally triangular head -«
»And his name?«, Phineas interrupted him. If this man was who he thought he was…
The blind boy thought about that for a moment, notic­ing Phineas’ unusual interest in the topic. After all, he had no idea what Phineas looked like: just like the man he had just described. »Josh, if I recall correctly. The last name was something beginning with F, although… no, I don’t remember what it was, my apologies.«
»Flynn?« By now, Phineas was hardly able to contain himself.
»Yes, that… sounds about right, indeed.«
»Where is he now?« Ivan didn’t know it, but he had just confirmed to Phineas where his father, his actual fa­ther, had disappeared to so many years ago. Not that the redhead had ever really cared, though: after all, his father had vanished when he had been two years old, he didn’t remember him at all, and with Lawrence, Ferb's father, they had found a perfect replacement for whoever this man actually was. Until now, Phineas had not even known his name, but now that he had actual traces of him, the whole prospect of one day meeting his biological father suddenly turned incredibly exciting.
»This is actually both good news and bad news for you«, Ivan told him. »My mother said that when he van­ished in the evening, the last thing they found were foot­steps - his and those of several darklings. Which doesn’t mean he is dead«, he quickly added. »I doubt the Duke would kill someone this extraordinary… which is good, of course, but I really cannot tell you what has happened to Josh since.«
Phineas nodded, but also could not help sighing. No matter what happened, everything seemed to lead him into the direction of the Duke. And with every new reve­lation, he found it harder to resist his fate.

When Phineas regained consciousness at last, every­thing was silent and dark. Of course, his eyes still being closed could be blamed for the latter - and curious as the redhead was, he opened them.
He was indoors, as he had already assumed from the lack of sounds. The walls of this moderately sized place revealed their unstructured and rough patterns thanks to a handful of torches casting many little shadows wherever a ridge was, for there was no light coming from above or anywhere but the torches at all. The walls were of brown and gray color, too, and Phineas soon realized that he was inside a cave. Man-made or natural, he couldn’t tell. In a semicircle in front of him stood seven chairs - and the boy let out a surprised gasp when he noticed that three of them were not empty.
The three people would have turned their heads to him at this sound - if they had not already been staring at him the entire time, that is.
»Look who’s finally woken up«, one of them, a teenage boy at the age of about sixteen, with messy blond hair and a sleeveless black t-shirt, exclaimed excitedly.
The one on the chair next to him, a dark-skinned boy of the same age, with long braided dark brown hair and a gray short-sleeved jacket over a black shirt, didn’t sound as happy. »Yeah, it’s about time. I was starting to get bored with them just being unconscious like that.«
'Them'? Of course! Phineas looked around once more, and to his right, he spotted Ferb: tied to a chair, still not awake. It was only then that the redhead noticed how he was just as tied up as his brother.
»What’s that for?«, he decided to speak up, looking questioningly to the two teens that, he thought, bore a strange resemblance to Jeremy and Coltrane, two of his sister’s friends from back home. Phineas was not too worried though: after all, these people did not seem like they wanted to harm him - and they had saved him and Ferb from those wolf beasts, he remembered.
»Just so you won’t fall off your chairs«, the fairly amused blond boy replied, but he was quickly interrupted by the third person Phineas had spotted earlier. He had not paid much attention to this boy because he was sitting on the left side of the semicircle, unlike the other two on the opposite side of it.
Although he was younger than the two teens by four years or so, the remaining boy had the most serious and wary expression of their group. His gray-sleeved arms were crossed in front of the black vest he was wearing, and he had straight black hair at a little less than shoulder length.
»We have tied you up because we do not trust you«, the boy openly declared. His dark skin and foreign accent immediately reminded Phineas of his friend Baljeet, even though the boy coldly glaring at the brothers now was much taller, more serious, and had a much deeper voice than their Indian friend.
» You don’t trust them«, the blond boy emphasized.
»We never really agreed on tying them up, did we?«, his teenage friend added.
The boy on the left sighed. »And you two are not much of a help here.«
The blond boy turned to Phineas, grinning. »That’s what he’s telling us every day.«
This made the redhead smile. By now, he highly doubt­ed the trio actually meant harm, and he was glad that two of them didn’t seem to take the situation very seriously either.
The one that did, though, raised his voice again.
»Anyway«, he said, completely ignoring the other’s re­mark and turning to Phineas, »Let us get back to the actu­ally important matters.« There was a warning tone in his voice, and the other boys decided to be quiet for once. »Who are you, what do you want, and how did you ap­pear out of nowhere in the middle of a forest?«
»Well«, Phineas started, hardly intimidated by his harsh tone. »I’m Phineas, and this is my brother Ferb. We’re from a place called Danville and -«
»Ha! I told you they’re the ones!«, the blond boy ex­claimed, grinning at his friend next to him.
»The ones?«, Phineas repeated, confused. »Were you expecting us?«
»Duh«, the long-haired boy replied. »You’re the broth­ers from the prophecy. Supposed to be saving the world from the darklings.«
»Saving the world?«, Phineas repeated again, looking at the more serious boy. Surely he’d tell him now that his friend was kidding.
»I hate to admit it, but he is right«, the boy sighed. »Two brothers from another world, which you are by the looks of it, defeating those canine beasts - the darklings - and their leader… not that you would stand much of a chance against that man.«
»Come on, Bal, we all saw him -«, the blond boy nod­ded at the still unconscious Ferb, »- defeat a darkling with his bare hands! Don’t say they can’t put up with the rest of them!«
»Well, I am«, the boy on the left, Bal, countered. »Two boys against a pack of monsters and a dark sorcerer? They stand no chance.«
Just when the blond boy opened his mouth for a re­sponse, he was cut off by the sound of approaching foot­steps. It was hard to tell, but Phineas estimated about three or four people - most likely four, he realized, matching the number of still empty seats in the room.
»Looks like our reinforcements have arrived«, the long-haired boy stated with a look at Ferb. »This is going to be interesting.«
Phineas didn’t have much time to wonder what Ferb in particular had to do with that. Only seconds later, the first person entered the room from behind the tied-up broth­ers. With fast steps, a small and chubby boy hurried to a chair right between Bal and Phineas. He wore a black t-shirt, dark khaki shorts, and had a lot of freckles - all traits that reminded Phineas of another friend he, and es­pecially Baljeet, had: Buford. Like the bully, this boy had dark brown hair, but the curls made him different from the person Phineas knew. Buford also had one upward tooth that was even visible with a closed mouth - the boy now very agitatedly staring at the brothers had an over­bite instead.
»Are you from the prophecy?«, he asked Phineas, with an honest grin that reminded the redhead of himself.
»That’s a little straightforward, don’t you think?«, a very calm voice replied. Another boy at Phineas’ age en­tered the room and took his time to get to the seat next to the long-haired boy, a spot almost directly facing Phineas and Ferb. Why the boy was walking so slowly was easy to see: he was slouching, using a cane as assistance, and his very pale blue eyes were closely surrounded by the scars of several long-healed wounds. The short, reddish hair only added to Phineas’ thoughts about which of his friends this boy was resembling: Irving, the glasses-wearing self-proclaimed biggest fan of the brothers and their adventures. And by the looks of it, the boy Phineas was watching now was not half as hyperactive as the one he knew - and blind.
»Sorry, Ivan«, the chubby one answered him. And, af­ter a pause, »...but are they?«
»If Jared and Colin told us the truth, yeah.«
Phineas gasped at the sound of this voice and turned his head.
»Canda-« Of course, he quickly cut himself off. The person strolling into the room and taking the seat on Bal’s other side wasn’t his sister - just a girl who looked and sounded a whole lot like her. Her orange hair was tied into a ponytail, and like the others, she mostly wore black: her sleeveless shirt, skirt and boots all were of that darkest of colors. Not having glanced at the brothers for even a second yet, she flinched and immediately turned her head when Phineas spoke up. When she saw him, her eyes widened in surprise and even shock, but she quickly shook her head as if trying to get rid of an image inside her mind. Then she looked back in the redhead’s direc­tion, but past him - at the final person entering the room.
Whatever remark anyone in the room had been about to make regarding the little incident that had just happened, it was quickly forgotten when everyone went silent as the last person appeared, aiming straight for the remaining empty seat: the one directly facing Phineas and Ferb.
When even Bal’s two companions, Jared and Colin, Phineas assumed, became quiet like that, the redhead knew that the person behind him must be quite intimidat­ing - or even some kind of authority figure. They nodded at this person, and Bal even slightly bowed his head, re­inforcing Phineas’ assumption. But still, the boy was not exactly scared, just very curious.
But when a boy with dark green hair came into Phineas’ view, he could hardly believe his eyes.
He was as tall as Ferb, and all the proportions fit: square nose, rectangular head, eyes of different size. But what Phineas called his brother’s very own type of si­lence, the calm and collected one, could hardly be ap­plied to this boy. It was easy to read his expression, cu­riosity most of all, and the smile on his face was more of a smirk. His hair was of a darker shade than Ferb’s, styled upwards, and with a jacket of just about the same color, he was easily the most colorful person in the room if one excluded the brothers. Under the jacket he wore a black t-shirt, and his gray pants started at a normal height - not almost directly under the armpits like Ferb’s. Leaning back on his chair, the boy folded his arms behind his head that was also bearing a scar just above his left eye. Everybody was looking at him, and he in turn was look­ing at Ferb.
»So«, the boy spoke up. While Ferb hardly ever re­vealed his emotions even in speech, this one did not seem to bother not revealing them. He made it clear that he was in a superior position, yet he also openly showed his curiosity. »You’re the ones from the prophe­cy.«
»Pretty much, yeah.« Phineas found it hard to actually act inferior towards this boy, especially because he was so similar to his brother - in appearance, at least. Luckily for him, the other one didn’t seem to mind.
»Well then - I doubt the three guys you’ve had the pleasure of meeting told you much about anything… or did they?«
Bal considered it fitting to reply and defend himself. »We thought we should wait until everyone is here«, he explained - and was immediately contradicted by the blond boy, Jared.
»He was the one thinking that, we were useful!«
The Ferb-like boy raised an eyebrow.
The girl looking like Candace sighed.
»Guys, calm down. This is important.« With a glance to the green-haired boy next to her, she continued, »Don’t you think we should, like, introduce ourselves?« That sounded more like a reminder than like an unsure ques­tion. »You’ve heard it, Bal didn’t tell them anything.«
»Do not blame me, I -« But Bal cut himself off, know­ing that arguing about such a matter was useless.
»Right«, the green-haired boy agreed, this time sound­ing like he would not tolerate any more interruptions. He had changed his position, now he was simply sitting straight with his hands on his thighs. As he was introduc­ing people, he nodded at the respective person.
»That’s my sister, Can«, he began, then looked to his right. She still avoided looking directly at Phineas. »I suppose you already know Bal here. And next to him’s Bue…«, the little boy smiled again and waved, »...and over there on my left is his mentor of sorts, Ivan. He’s also our healer.« The blind one bowed his head. Colin and Jared were also introduced - now everyone but the speaking boy himself had been. »You can call me Fern«, he concluded. »I’m the leader of this place.«
Phineas had assumed just as much. »Of what exactly?«, he asked Fern. That still had not been solved.
»Ah, right. Did the others already tell you about the darklings?«
»He fought them«, Colin pointed out, but Fern ignored that remark.
Phineas just nodded.
»Well, there you go. We’re a resistance against them and their leader, the Duke.«
Ivan, too, had something to say. In his calm and collected voice, he explained, »We have not actually been fighting him and his beasts, I might add. They are very hard to defeat, especially the Duke, of course.«
»Wait a second«, Phineas put in as he saw most of the others nodding at Ivan’s statement. He also remembered Bal’s similar words from earlier. »If they’re that difficult to beat, then why do you think Ferb and I can do that? We’re a little young for that, don’t you think?« The red­head was very well aware of the irony in his last words: normally, when someone asked him that question, he’d proudly answer Yes. Yes, I am. - but now, he wasn’t so sure.
Jared shrugged. »Ferb did kill that darkling with his bare hands.«
And even Bal agreed, »And you somehow came from another world and appeared right in the middle of a for­est.«
»That was an accident!«, Phineas exclaimed, frustrated. »Look, I know we’ve built that teleporter, and I know Ferb and I achieve the impossible every single day by building big and amazing stuff - but this is different! We're creating our inventions for fun, nothing else. This, this is dangerous and deadly and… and serious , guys.«
Bal just raised an eyebrow at that. »Of course it is all of that, what did you expect? The Duke has killed hundreds of people. This resistance here, we are the last ones left, and we sure are not many.«
»Cut it, Bal«, Can sharply interrupted him.
»A little bluntly put, but he’s right«, Fern replied bitter­ly, then looked at Phineas again. »Go on.«
»Yeah, well«, the redhead was still unsure, even more now after Bal’s harsh words. »Really, this is unlike any­thing we’ve ever done, in a bad way, and… I’d really like to help you, but I don’t know how! We’ve got no fighting experience or anything that could help us here, and you can't make us fight in the first place. Not me, and not Ferb. We aren't going to battle or even kill anyone.« He sighed. »I’m sorry, but -«
A more than merely familiar voice interrupted him. Coming from somewhere on his right, with a distinctive British accent.
»We will help you.«