Chapter Text
“MOOOM! Phineas and Ferb are building a spaceship!”
Candace stood by the window, watching her brothers hammer together large pieces of metal, waiting for her mother to make it in time to see what they were up to. ‘This time,’ she thought, ‘Mom will see them and they’re really gonna be busted!’
“Candace, honey, don’t you think you should leave your brothers alone when they’re playing make belie– oh my goodness.” Candace turned to her mother with an absolutely evil grin on her face as she watched her cycle through shock, disbelief, and finally…finally! Anger.
“PHINEAS! FERB!” Linda threw open the door and marched out to the backyard. “What on Earth do you boys think you’re doing? This is so dangerous! And to think you didn’t even ask me for permission.”
Phineas looked up at his mother. “But Mom, we asked you if we could build a spaceship and you said ‘Sure boys, have fun.’” Ferb stood at his side, stoic as ever.
“Oh my god Phineas, I thought you meant a model spaceship.” Her eyes widened as she thought back to all the times she told her sons they could build submarines and rollercoasters and robots… “Oh Candace,” she said, turning to her daughter, who was still smiling. “Honey, I am so sorry I never believed you all those times you called me.”
Candace just laughed…At last, the vindication she deserved!
Candace woke up that morning with a smile on her face. Phineas and Ferb had finally gotten busted yesterday! Now she would know peace. Now she could enjoy her summer!
She rolled over in her bed to turn off her alarm clock. That’s when the urn on her bookshelf caught her eye.
Oh yeah. She remembered. Mom’s dead. It was all a stupid dream.
Lawrence Fletcher was picking out a movie to watch when his sons walked into the living room. “Hello, boys. What are you up to today?”
“Oh, nothing much.” replied Phineas. “We were just going outside.”
Hearing this, Candace ran in from the kitchen, grabbed Phineas by the shoulders and shook him. “Phineas I swear on my life if I catch you doing anything stupid today you’ll be sorry you were ever born!” Her eyes had that crazy look in them, like she was a rabid animal out for blood. But Phineas was used to it. This was just another one of his sister’s weird quirks.
Lawrence chuckled nervously. “Candace dear, don’t be so violent with your brother.” Candace just narrowed her eyes at them before huffing and stomping off to her room. “Well anyway boys, I’ll just be in here if you need me.” He started the movie, and the screen lit up with bright letters: The Time Traveler
Phineas read the title and turned to his brother. “Ferb, I know what we’re gonna do today!”
Ferb hopped on his bicycle and headed down to Blueprint Heaven. On the way there, he let his mind wander.
It truly is bewildering how Candace has so much hatred for Phineas. Of course, their mother’s death must have been especially hard on her–she was only five years old. That type of trauma at such an impressionable age is sure to manifest itself in more intense ways. This unresolved grief most likely explains her extremely violent tendencies as well, though she’s only violent towards Phineas…
Ferb was so preoccupied with this matter that he didn’t even notice Vanessa standing right next to him as he picked up the time machine blueprints.
Phineas opened the garage door as he saw his brother’s bicycle pull into the driveway. “You got the right blueprints this time, right?” Ferb opened up the paper to reveal the words: TIME MACHINE. Phineas nodded, then looked around. “Hey, where’s Perry?”
“Wow Ferb, we’re working faster than usual today.” The clock on the wall showed it had only taken them about an hour to build the massive machine. It was so large, in fact, that half of it was out on the driveway. Lucky for them, Candace was too busy to notice–she was probably complaining about them to Stacy.
“Well, I guess now we have to decide when to go. Maybe we could go back to the dinosaur age again!” As Phineas spoke, he reached across the machine’s controls to tighten one last screw.
A loud ZAP! made Phineas jump and grab on to Ferb’s hand. “Oh no…I think I accidentally touched a button!” They had no choice now. They were going to an unknown time in the past.
Phineas and Ferb landed in a heap in the corner of an empty, dimly lit room. As they looked around, it appeared to be some kind of lobby. They could faintly hear the wailing of an ambulance outside. A hospital lobby. They were about to leave when Phineas noticed someone.
Noticed him.
A man sitting on the other side of the room, staring at the floor. He took a shuddering breath before turning his head away and running his hands through his hair. His…red hair? His red hair that was on his unmistakably triangular head.
Phineas’s heart skipped a beat. His breath caught in his throat. His vision narrowed. He stopped blinking. No one existed except this man. He was pulled out of his daze when Ferb dragged him behind a fake plant to hide, but his eyes never left the man.
“Ferb.” He hissed. “Ferb, I think that’s my dad!”
Ferb gulped nervously. Oh dear. We have to get out of here. We are not supposed to be here.
But they couldn’t leave just yet, because at that very moment another man walked into the room. His face was obscured by the fake leaves, but he was wearing a doctor’s coat. He spoke quietly to the man on the chair. Phineas could just make out his words.
“I’m sorry Mr. Flynn. Your wife…she didn’t make it. Your son–”
The man quickly looked up at the doctor.
“Your son made it, but his sharp skull killed her.”