- Prologue -

"See you later, mom!"

"Take care, Isa! Be back home by 7 please."

"Yes mom."

I shut the front door to my house. I noticed a strange silence filling the air around Maple Drive. I looked around, then scrambled to find my phone.

"Eight-fifteen. Hmm, that's strange." They usually start with their big idea at this time.

I scanned my surroundings. Everything looked … fine. The few number of people walking on the sidewalk, the light traffic present around Maple Drive … only their backyard was out of place. I definitely should check out what's up. Preparing to cross the street, I looked left and right.

"Perfect.", I grinned. I began to cross the street, my mind laden with thoughts of him. Everything, from the day I met him in Kindergarten, to the day of the Rollercoaster, to our trip around the world, the Night of the Living Pharmacists, up till this summer. Every moment I shared with him, and a purple pick uptruck … A PURPLE PICK-UP TRUCK?!

I stood there frozen in shock; my jaw hanging, not shaping any sound. The screech of tyres pierced the air. I could tell, the vehicle was not going to stop in time. I closed my eyes …

One. Two. Three.

No pain. My slowly opening eyes were greeted by the truck … a hair's width distance away.

"Are you okay?", I heard a cracky and awkward voice. It came from the truck's window.

"Yeah. Sorry sir." I grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, that's good. Next time, you must look both ways before crossing. You should be thankful to my new evil braking system."

Ironic. "Will do, sir."

Flashing a peace sign, the driver and his car sped away."Whew! That was close. Wait 'till he hears about this!", I whispered to myself.

Then, suddenly remembering my original intention, I rushed towards their backyard. Strange though, as I heard a rather faint sound of welding and hammering. Not what you'd expect when you've been a part of their crew for the longest time possible.

I opened their wooden backyard door cautiously. Peeking inside, I saw … nothing! The backyard was void of people. The faint sound of the wind making the setting eerie.

"Hello? Anyone?", I called out loud. My question was met by silence and wind. A very strange morning indeed. I began to scan the area, all the while crying out for any sign of the two.

Behind the tree? Nothing. Around the fences? Nothing. The rooftops? Not a single ladder for crying out loud. Plus, the glass door is locked.

"Hello?", I began.

Then, I suddenly remembered the faint construction sounds from the garage that I heard earlier. "Well, they must be there.", I figured. I walked over towards the garage door … to find that the sounds were gone.

"Has their house gone paranormal?", I chuckled to myself. Figuring out what needed to be done, I began to knock on the garage door. Yet, before I could start …

… the garage door began to rise, complete with what was apparently super-cooled air rushing out. I jumped back in reflex, placing myself in a defensive stance.

'Come on, Isabella. If he was really here, he would never scare you like this', I thought. Then, relaxing my posture a bit, I called out, "Phineas? Ferb?".

- To be continued -