Forever Forever Forever Summer
Chapter 10: What's Worth Fighting For
“You.” Ferb stares dead into them. There was no name tag, no identification, no indicator that this person was any more important than the others, but he knew. If he wasn't carrying Phineas they’d already be bloodied on the ground.
“Yes, me. Us. No point trying to hide what we did, is there? I will admit, I never expected you to get this far, I can see why he’s so inspired by you.” They snark. “Put him down, step away, and maybe we won't get you arrested for trespassing.” Their posture was loose - carefree, almost. It seeped disgusting confidence; someone who believed they were in control.
“I have a plan!” Irving declares with so much confidence they can almost hear the lightbulb turning on in his head. “Just stall them, don’t acknowledge me, I’ll be quick!”
“Because kidnapping someone and faking their death is wayyy less incriminating.” Isabella mockingly waves her hands. “Like hell we’ll just put him down. He’s not your property.”
“You’re completely surrounded. If you value your own wellbeing, what other choice do you have?”
“If you lay another hand on Phineas, you will not make it out of this building alive.” Ferb states plainly. It was a promise.
There's a brief silence.
“That's cute.” The tiniest twitch in their stance makes it past whatever unflappable facade they’re trying to put up. “Are you really willing to murder someone just to help your stepbrother?”
“It would be worth it.”
“We could say the same to you, what could possibly be so important that you need to kidnap and torture an innocent boy?”
“Torture?” They lean back, but with their face obscured it's hard to tell how genuine their surprise is. “Oh, you have the wrong idea. I would never torture him. After all, I need him for his mind, and stressed minds don't tend to think clearly.”
“Go on...?”
“This ‘innocent boy’s’ brain is something truly extraordinary. He regularly conceptualises and creates things even the most world renowned engineers could only dream of, yet he only uses this incredible gift for insignificant summer projects! It's a complete waste of his talent and potential.” They pace and gesture as they explain, but never turn their head away from Phineas. “I simply created a way to... tap into it, to make the most of his gift, so to speak, by placing him in his own little personal paradise, expertly crafted with data from weeks of footage to watch how he ticks.”
“Nno, it-...” Phineas whimpers and strains, creaking as fragments of words fall out one by one. “... it- was... hell.” It was croaky and dry, but god, it was comforting to hear his voice again.
“It had a few bugs, no one’s perfect. I’m still impressed you managed to break free from the inside. Twice, even. Perhaps we should’ve had you design your own cage.”
“For the record, it’s a stupid idea to just tell the people trying to stop you exactly what your plan is. When I said go on, I didn't literally mean go on, you creep.”
They tilt their head. “Oh, that’s just what we do here. Are you new to this?”
“Plan incoming!” Irving reappears in their ears, almost tripping over his words trying to get them all out quickly. “After the loud noise push past whatever guard wall looks the most disoriented and if we’re lucky I can guide you out while they’re distracted.”
“What lou-”
For the second time that day, a deafening screech fills the halls, immediately suffocating out any other sound. The ringleader and guards all flinch and recoil, reeling as they try to cover their ears. It’s different from last time.
Ferb shoots one last glare before he and Isabella pick a direction and run, shoving past the weakened barricade. Indistinct shouts follow them, all unable to be heard under the blaring.
They keep running for what feels like an age before the screeching finally fades, replaced with a high-pitched ringing. The moment it’s quiet enough for him to be audible, Irving begins talking again.
“Sorry! I didn't mean for it to be that loud!”
“One problem at a time. Is there a clear route to the stairs?”
For a moment, there's no response.
“Nnn... no. Uhm... they weren’t as distracted as I thought they’d be...”
“Unless you are willing to risk leaving through the window-”
“Not a chance, Baljeet. Not with the state Phineas is in. Without the grapple line it’s too risky.” She spares a glance back at Phineas, mostly limp and swaying as they run. Adrenaline could only get him so far.
Then, they run past a door, and Ferb skids to a halt. An idea.
“Is this room empty?” He asks, helplessly feeling his words start to clog up again.
“As in, no people? Yeah, why?”
Without answering, he kicks the door open and rushes inside. Isabella silently follows and closes it behind them, briefly placing them in pitch darkness before she finds the light switch and flicks it on.
Compared to the rest of the building this room was like stepping into a rainstorm. Instead of flawless white tile, the walls were painted a dark thundercloud grey and the floor was a short and fuzzy indigo carpet. The air was stale and ridden with dust kicked up by the door opening.
Just like the room where they were holding Phineas, there were consoles and monitors lining the walls, only these ones were all inactive. As Ferb gently lays Phineas down against the wall and takes out a bandage to tend to his brother’s bleeding arm, he looks the tech over, finding that everything was powered by a few dubiously overloaded plug sockets. When he turns back, Phineas is pointedly avoiding looking at the blood on Ferb’s knuckles. Whether it was his or not he wasn't sure, and it was infinitely less stressful if Phineas didn't know either, though the flourishing bruises suggested it was.
“Okayyy...” Isabella mutters as she scans the room. “Baljeet, what’s this room for?”
“I am not sure, many of these rooms look near identical and they are not all labeled...”
“Ferb?”
Not answering, Ferb grabs an empty chair and jams it under the door handle. It was an imperfect barricade but it was better than nothing.
“Ferb... what's the plan here? We’re just as trapped as before.”
Ferb stands tall and only looks at her.
In his stare - his wide-eyed, stoic as ever stare - Isabella sees the unfettered determination of someone who would stop at nothing to protect the ones he loves. He would move mountains, he would break laws, he would take lives and do all of it with perfect precision. He knew how to channel his fury into something devastating and would do so without hesitation if it meant saving Phineas.
In that stare, nothing was said, but Isabella understood.
“Okay. I trust you. Let's do this.”
Ferb nods, the briefest glint of a smile appearing on his face before he turns to the various control panels and keyboards and begins examining them, tearing the access panels off some and delving into their innards. He takes a small piece of metal and flicks it at the camera in the corner of the room, destroying it with ease. Isabella hadn't even noticed it was there.
“Huh.” Irving says. “Good aim!”
“Good thinking, Ferb. We are still not sure if they are also watching their cameras, but it is good to play it safe.” Baljeet adds, more or less translating Irving’s remark into something productive. “We will keep an eye on the hall outside.”
“Thanks, Baljeet.”
“Status report?” Gretchen inquires, not completely hiding her concern.
“We’re safe for now, we’re hiding in a room on the second floor.” Isabella begins. “It’s... not ideal, but it’s better than being walled in by people since we can come out on our own terms. Ferb took out the security camera, we’re betting on them not wanting to do anything drastic to get in here if they think it could hit Phineas.”
“What, now you're backed into a corner? You should’a let us run in and grab ya!” Buford once again protests.
Isabella inhales sharply through her teeth, gripping the bridge of her nose and being very glad Buford can't see. “For the last time, no, Buford. Some of them are armed, we can't take that risk, especially when we have no way to fight back.”
“Then why didn't you bring somethin’, huh?”
Ferb tenses, just for a moment, then returns to his rummaging.
“You know why, this was meant to be a stealth rescue. We’re not here to fight.”
Phineas’ head lifts slightly. The adrenaline keeping him alert had dissipated and he was only barely holding onto consciousness, yet something had caught his attention. Both tending to their own tasks, Ferb nor Isabella notice.
“Ferb threw a chair at some guys earlier.” Irving comments before Buford makes another snide remark. His smile was audible.
“Metal! See, that's what we should be-”
“BUFORD!” Isabella snaps, flinching at her own voice. The following echoless silence hangs heavily in the air until she continues talking. “Buford. This is not the time. I know you're eager, and that's great, but you are not getting yourself killed because you ran in without a plan. Need I remind you that all of our lives are on the line here? Phineas’, Ferb’s and mine. This isn't a game. And before you say they haven't shot at us yet, if their entire business model revolves around kidnapping someone and trying to make sure no one searches for him I'm sure they’d have no qualms about offing anyone who gets in their way, so for the last time, unless you want to die for nothing, stay. Where. You. Are.”
Surprisingly, there's no quick comeback. Isabella stood frozen in time, clenching her fists to avoid showing that they're shaking. Ferb sees through it but remains silent as he tears another panel away, now placing it down gently instead of dropping it.
“She is right, Buford...” Baljeet murmurs, finding the confidence to speak as he goes, never fully shedding the slight wobble in his voice. “I understand we are all stressed but Isa is a very talented leader, we have seen her show that many times before. Listen to her, if only for today. Please.”
“... Fine.” Buford grumbles, packing as much venom as possible into a single word. “But if someone comes to me for a fight, I ain't going easy on ‘em.”
“We’re counting on it.”
A croaky half-word, half-groan comes out of Phineas. Ferb immediately abandons the tangle of circuit boards and wires he was fighting and rushes over, skidding slightly as he drops to his knees mid-step beside him.
“Phineas? Are you okay?” Isabella asks as she steps over, seamlessly switching from leader to caretaker.
His face scrunches, more tightly than when he's just trying to focus on a runaway thought.
Ferb wraps his hand around Phineas’ bare arm and squeezes gently. He almost recoils away when he hits bone far earlier than he should.
Phineas takes a deep, slow, calculated breath and tries again, but no sound is made.
“Phineas, please don't force yourself to speak, save your strength... we’ll get you out of here one way or another.”
Phineas looks between Ferb and Isabella, his eternal smile somehow starting to appear on his face. Not even the unfiltered chaos of the past ten minutes could stop him from doing what he does best.
In Ferb’s head, the spark of inspiration finally reignites.
This is it. This was home. This is what he was lacking, the torn away piece of his soul that nothing could replace. Their friends had repeatedly called it sibling telepathy, in reality it was something even greater. It was more than only being brothers, or only being best friends. They were kindred spirits, two halves of a whole, reaching the exact same page at the exact same moment with nothing said beyond Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today.
And today? They didn't even need that.
“You’re doing the thing.” Isabella deadpans, pulling both of the brothers out of their little not-telepathy trance. “Does that mean you have a plan?”
Ferb gives Phineas a firm pat on the shoulder as he turns and walks back to the loose wiring, giving a thumbs up to Isabella as he does. He plunges his arms into the machines and pulls at their guts, feeling around for specific parts and throwing anything he doesn't need aside. With no tools and a time limit it wouldn't be pretty, it would probably even break if it was held too tightly, but that didn't matter. It just had to get them out of this godforsaken building.
“They are outside!” Baljeet yelps.
Before anyone can respond, an abrupt thud shakes the room. The door handle rattles aggressively, held back by the chair propped up against it. The smile is wiped from Phineas’ face as his head snaps to face the door.
Ferb doesn't look. He pulls a circuit board from the innards of a monitor and continues working, unfettered.
“We know you're in there, come on now.” The ringleader’s voice slithers through the wall. “Don't make this difficult. You’re walled in, just open the door now and no one has to get hurt. You’ve already caused enough property damage.”
Isabella eagerly moves to shout back, but catches Ferb gesturing to stay silent just in time. Instead, she remains knelt by Phineas, watching the door carefully as it’s shaken from the other side.
Despite everything, a piece of Phineas’ smile remains as his grip on the waking world loosens again. He watches Ferb with the same glee and sparkle as he would on any ordinary day.
The walls rumble again. The chair slips but doesn't give way.
“Look, we’re evil, not monsters, alright? We don't want to hurt you, only... borrow that incredible mind of his. Something like that doesn't deserve to be wasted on frivolous and childish games.”
Isabella looks to Ferb, her expression tense but quickly softening when he turns and stands, revealing a small handheld device primarily composed of overlapping, intertwined wires. A single button sat on its surface, a significant portion of its wires running through it. Without waiting for a comment, Ferb presses it and disappears, reappearing shortly thereafter.
Local invisibility. Of course.
“Why didn't we think of that in the first place...?” Isabella whispers, just barely loud enough for Ferb to hear her.
Because I didn't have Phineas, Ferb wishes he could explain, but he can only look away. Phineas’ smile becomes a little warmer and that's all the confirmation he needs.
The door shakes, crackling as it settles. Ferb points to Phineas as he relocates to the door, grabbing the chair barricade with his free hand. Isabella sharply nods and picks up Phineas with ease, managing to suppress the loving smile Ferb knows she’d be making under any other circumstances.
After another nod, Ferb pulls the chair away from the door, rushes to Phineas as Isabella and pulls them close. With a simple press of the button, the three of them disappear into the surroundings just as the door comes crashing through. It flies off its hinges and smashes against the already completely ruined machinery. A particularly well built guard stumbles in behind it and looks around.
Isabella takes a step towards the door. Ferb holds her back.
A few more filter in, investigating the damage. Their eyes prowl the walls while Ferb's remain on the exit. Patience.
“They're not in here, sir.” One of them says.
“They are. We know they are. Keep looking.” The owner responds from just outside, perfectly calm. “It’s already wrecked, tear it all apart if you have to. We have spares.”
“Yessir.”
As the guards begin poking through the rubble Ferb and Isabella inch forward. The moment the doorway fully empties, Ferb pulls them all out and into the corridor, breaking into a silent sprint.
Irving lamented not being able to give directions on account of not being able to see who he’s directing but Ferb already knew exactly which turns to take. With no one actively chasing them or trying to corner them, they easily made it down the staircase and onto the first floor. Half way home.
A disembodied spark flickers in his peripheral, tickling the numbness that won’t leave his fingers. He brings the invisibility device up to his eyeline, not that he can see it, and another spark flies outwards.
Isabella's concerned stare is potent. He feels her eyes get drawn over by the sparks then move to the space he occupies.
No time to stop and tinker.
They weren't getting caught now.
Ferb returns the device to his side, holding it as delicately as the mad dash to the exit will allow.
Just a little more.
They rush down the stairs onto the ground floor.
Just a little more.
Every piece of Ferb's body was either numb or burning. He knew with complete clarity that the second he stopped moving the fatigue would catch up and he would collapse, and he guessed Isabella was like no different, especially while carrying another person's weight alongside her own. But until they got out and away, there was no chance in hell they were slowing down.
They keep running.
They just keep running.
Just a few,
more,
turns.
By the time Ferb's conscious mind catches up he’s already kicked the front door open. The two armed guards that remained at the entryway look around confused as he and Isabella sprint past unseen and back out into the cool summer night.
Before they can fully get away from the building, the device crackled and shook in Ferb’s hand. Suddenly, a dart of pain shoots up his arm and the device bursts, spraying sparks and red-hot exposed wires across a patch of the grass as Ferb recoils away. The trio warble back into view, thankfully far enough away from the guards that they quickly disappear into the trees.
Well, at least that impromptu mess was too broken for anyone to steal.
“We’re out.” Isabella announces between heavy breaths. “All three of us.”
“They're out! Holy moly!” Irving triumphantly repeats much louder. “We did it!”
“We’re not in the clear yet, Irving.”
Like returning home from war, a much needed wave of relief hits Ferb when they arrive at the little base camp, everybody already standing in wait. Glee shifts into fear the second Phineas’ barely conscious frame becomes visible in the moonlight.
As he slows to a stop, Ferb stumbles to the side and drops onto his knees, leaning on a nearby tree trunk to keep him upright. He pants harshly, all of the fatigue and fear catching up with him all at once, just as he predicted. At least he finally knew Phineas was in good hands, and so he allowed himself to take a moment to just breathe.
On the other end of his tunnel vision he sees Isabella lay Phineas on the grass with the delicacy of a feather floating down.
“Check him over, Katie.” Isabella instructs, still in troop leader mode.
“You better not die on us, Dinnerbell! We didn't rescue you for nothin’!”
Despite all other signs pointing to him being unconscious, Phineas manages a weak and loose thumbs up.
He was alive. Ferb’s head buzzes. He was still alive.
“Well, at least he’s kind of awake.” Katie comments as she empties her equipment bag and begins examining Phineas. How very convenient that someone in their extended friend group developed an interest in healthcare. “How was he at first?”
“More awake than this, only because of the adrenaline, I’d bet.”
“I’m not surprised. How are you two doing?”
“It...” She hesitates, glancing at Ferb, Phineas and then back to Katie. “It could be better. Ferb’s hands are bleeding, other than that I think it's only fatigue and some potential bruises.”
“I see.” She squints as the readings begin coming through.
Morbid curiosity draws Buford over, though whether he understood all the numbers was another matter entirely.
“Whoof. That could be better.” Katie continues, leaning away from Buford slightly. “Not on death’s door, but he's so... he’s so thin... you’d think he was being starved with how much weight he must have lost this quickly because he was not this thin before.” She pauses for a moment, visibly remembering the camera feeds they all saw, then sheepishly continues. “Well, I... I suppose he was. We don't know what was in that IV, right?”
“We don't.” Isabella looks away for a moment before her eyes are easily drawn back to Phineas. Her voice is stern, but a hint of anguish still lingers behind it. “Maybe we should have tried to take one of the bags, but there was a lot going on.”
“That's fine, the important thing is Phineas. The hospital will find out if they put anything nasty in his system.”
There it was. It was a word everyone was dreading, including Phineas if he was awake enough to fully understand what was happening. They all knew trying to kid themselves into believing he wouldn't need professional care was wishful thinking. They had a lot of incredible talents between them, but they were still only kids.
Meanwhile, Isabella winces, finally letting her guard down and kneeling beside Phineas to hold his hand. The only response is the slight twitch of a fingertip.
“Oh, Phineas...”
“He’ll be alright, Isabella. He’s a tough cookie. I’ll call the ambulance.”
One thing Ferb hadn't mentioned while they were planning is that not only had he memorised the building’s floor plan, but also the surrounding area. Despite only having been to Badgertown a handful of times, he knew exactly where the nearest hospital was and how to get there.
Before Katie can even fully take her phone out of her pocket, Ferb launches into a sprint from his resting spot. Without slowing he pulls Phineas into his arms and continues onwards, out of the trees and onto the pavement. Any calls for him go unheard.
His legs cried with each heavy step. His hands were numb and bloodied. His chest was burning. But this wasn't over until Phineas was safe, truly safe, and far away from the people who hurt him.
He keeps running and doesn’t look back.
Somewhere high above the treeline, their teal guardian angel follows on a hang glider, hidden by the night.