So this is the third and probably final chapter thing in my song fic mini-series. So, enjoy!
Prologue
Pain, pain without love
Baljeat raised the gun and cocked it. A smile spread across his face as he prepared to kill his childhood friend and former accomplice. He smirked at how helpless Phineas was now. It was hard to believe Baljeat had once feared him.
Pain, pain can't get enough
Phineas struggled against the coma's hold. He needed to do something. But what could he do?
"Good bye Phineas." Baljeat said.
Meanwhile, Ferb raced up the stairs and down the hallway to his brother's room. He didn't know if Baljeat was there, but he knew that he needed to get to Phineas, needed to see that he was okay. Ferb ran the last few yards and swung himself around the corner into the room.
Just in time to see Baljeat fire the gun.
Pain
Phineas jerked, just in time for the bullet to slam into his shoulder. He jerked up, his back arching in pain. He heard noises from the outside world, noises of pain, noises of struggle. It took a while for Phineas to realize that he was hearing it all so much more clearly. He opened his eyes. He opened his eyes. He opened his eyes.
I like it rough
Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all
Baljeat and Ferb were fighting in the middle of the room, and Phineas twisted his head to watch them. Through the pain and strange, blurry film in front of his eyes, he couldn't tell who was winning. His vision was tinted with red, and he struggled through his weak, devoid-of-use muscles to sit up. The gun clattered to the floor by the beside. Phineas leaned over to reach it, but laid back down as a fresh flash of pain shot through his body. Baljeat kicked Ferb off his back and lunged for the gun.
Pain, pain without love
Ferb rolled behind a chair as Baljeat fired off two shots at him. Phineas groaned. Ferb shouldn't die. Ferb couldn't die. He used the last of his strength to kick over the bedside table onto the Indian boy. Baljeat rolled over, rubbing his arm.
"you are really getting annoying." Baljeat said. Phineas shrugged apologetically.
"I do that a lot." He said.
Pain
Can't get enough
Isabella pulled up in front of the hospital and ran up the stairs. She heard a crash and pushed herself faster. She hoped she would get there in time…
Pain
I like it rough
Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all
Ferb jumped on Baljeat's back and pulled his wrist upwards, shoving him towards the bed. Phineas moaned as he almost fell onto his bleeding arm. Baljeat yelped and turned to the British boy with fire in his eyes.
"What is it with you two and ruining my life?" He exclaimed.
"I'm sorry things worked out like this Baljeat." Ferb pleaded. "But it doesn't have to be this way…"
"yes it does." Baljeat said in a low, even voice. "It has to be this way. You stole my childhood dream, my love, and my revenge…" He glared at Phineas on the last one. "But you won't steal anything from me ever again. I'll make sure of that."
I'd rather feel PAIN
Three things happened simultaneously.
Baljeat cocked the gun.
Phineas fell pressed the call button for the nurses.
And Baljeat fell to the floor, bleeding from a bullet hole in his head.
"That was close." Isabella sighed in relief. "Oh, Phineas, you're up."
Three years later
Well, I know that it's early
And it's too hard to think
Isabella and Phineas sat in different rooms, in different houses, in different cities. For all the time they spent communicating in the past three years, they could have been in different universes as well. Phineas looked at the calendar laid out on the yellow-stained table in front of him and sighed. It was the anniversary of the day he'd left Danville for good. Also, it was Isabella and Ferb's wedding anniversary. He grimaced and picked up the small, dented phone sitting on the counter beside him, and put it down again. Then he repeated the process. Like he'd been doing for the past hour and a half.
And the broken, empty bottles lay reminder in the sink
Phineas got up and paced the room. It wasn't that large – only about seven feet from the wall on which hung a faded picture of himself and his childhood best friends to the sink in which lay a broken bottle that had been filled with an alcohol-based substance the night before. It wasn't that Phineas drank that much. He usually avoided it – it brought back too many bad memories from his early childhood. Finally, he dialed the number burned into his memory. It rang four times before he heard the voice he'd been hearing in his head all night.
"Hello?" Isabella Fletcher asked.
"Hey Izzy." Phineas said, then silently cursed himself for using her old nickname.
"Phineas?" Isabella was surprised. "Why are you calling? Or, more importantly, why are you calling at five-fifteen in the morning?"
But I thought I should tell you, if it's not too late to say
I could put back all the pieces – they just might not fit the same
"It's nice to hear your voice again." The red headed freelance inventor said.
"Same for you." Isabella said cautiously. "What do you want, Phineas?" The now-twenty-one-year-old boy sighed. He knew he'd earned the distrust, running off and leaving all his friends and family without so much as a good bye or a forwarding address.
"I was wondering if you wanted to meet somewhere – just to talk. Bring Ferb, if you want. It's not a date. It's just a friendly meeting. I miss you." His voice wobbled on the last sentence, and he struggled to keep his emotions in check.
Nothing's worth losing
Especially the chance to make it right
"I'll have to ask my husband," Isabella emphasized, "But I'll try to be there. We'll try to be there." She still hadn't forgiven her lifelong friend for jumping town on her wedding day. Of course, she hadn't known until after the honeymoon.
"Who was that?" Ferb asked, coming into the room as Isabella hung up.
"Our resident runaway." She said begrudgingly.
And I know we're gonna be fine
Phineas sighed and smiled, for the first time in what seemed like forever. This would all work out. He could feel it. He remembered Buford saying once that nature bent to his will, and found himself hoping the former bully's superstitions had some merit to them.
And the tattooed mistakes
Are gonna fade over time
Phineas called his girlfriend – he had a girlfriend now – and asked her if she wanted to go to Danville and meet his step-brother and step-sister-in-law or whatever. Yes, the famous Ferb and Isabella. He had a good feeling about this trip, and was sure that if he showed them that the surprise visit wasn't just to use them to fill an empty hole in his life, they would agree to meet him again. Maybe even correspond from time to time.
As long as we live, time passes by…
And we won't get it back when we die
I know it's been years now, and I don't look the same
"Ferb, hi!" Phineas said, shaking the older boy's hand with his new, mechanical one. Ferb eyed the robotic arm with suspicion, but Phineas waved it off. "I built it myself." He said. "I lost the real one in a…car accident." He shrugged.
"Phineas was trying to see if going up to nine-hundred miles an hour would make him invisible to other cars." The jet-black haired girl by Phineas sided said, then stuck out a hand for Ferb to shake. "I'm Elise, Phineas' girlfriend." She explained.
And the hopes and dreams you had for me you thought went down the drain
Phineas felt his brother's critical eyes looking up and down his tall, gangly figure, taking in the faded black t-shirt and old, ripped-by-use-not-manufactured-that-way jeans, stained with who-knows-what. He knew that Ferb was wondering what sort of man Phineas had turned out to be. But Phineas and Elise knew better.
And the room feels so empty
Where my pictures used to be
The Flynn-Fletcher home now belonged to Ferb and Isabella, and Phineas felt a tug of sadness on his heart when he saw the office the boys' former shared bedroom had been converted into.
"Sure has changed a lot around here." Phineas commented. Ferb was with him in the room, while Isabella and Elise talked in the living room. They had hit it off right away, and Isabella couldn't stay mad at her best friend and ex-crush. The only one left was Ferb.
"Not as much as you have." Ferb pointed out. "What happened between us, Phin?"
"Not enough." His brother sighed.
And I can't say I blame you,
But you can't blame me
"I know I've put you through a lot." Phineas began. "But I was afraid…" He bit his lip. "I was afraid you wouldn't want or need me anymore now that you have Isabella." Ferb allowed himself a spasm of pain while the younger boy's back was turned. He had felt the same way – that Phineas didn't want or need him – when the younger boy had run away. And Ferb didn't know how many times he could forgive something like that. Or how many times he could heal.
Cuz nothing's worth losing
Especially the chance to make it right
Phineas allowed himself a small smile as Ferb suggested – grudgingly – that Phineas and Elise might want to go to the movies with them and their friends the next week. Things might turn out right after all.
And I know we're gonna be fine
And the tattooed mistakes are gonna fade over time
"That went well." Elise said. "I like your family. We should have them over…when you get a better place. Maybe somewhere closer to Danville. I like it here." Phineas nodded happily.
"Glad you think so." He said. "I was wondering…I saw some nice, good-priced houses for sale around the block from Ferb and Iz–Isabella."
"That's good." Elise said.
"do you like the suburbs?" Phineas asked.
"yeah, why?" Elise asked.
As long as we live, time passes by
"Do you think our kids will like them too?" Phineas asked casually.
"Oh Phineas!" Elise squealed joyfully.
And we won't get it back when we die
Come over
Come over
"Hi, it's Elise…No, Elise Flynn. We got married last week…sorry! We didn't invite anyone, Isabella. We eloped….why? More adventurous. And it's fun to see the look on people's faces…Man! I should've called you via video chat!...Okay! Okay! Next time, alright?" She smirked. "Oh, and Izzy? Phin and I were wondering if you and Ferb wanted to come over."
Cause I gotta know
"Ferb?" Phineas asked. "Hey, I know you're probably still mad at me…but I was wondering if you wanted to hear one of my ideas for a new project…call me as soon as you get this." He hung up and sighed.
Am I doing this all on my own?
What was wrong? Would Ferb never forgive him? What if he had blown it forever? No more Phineas and Ferb – just Phineas. Ferb. What if three years of disappearing off the face of the earth was too much to forgive?
"Come over, come over." Phineas chanted in a whisper. "How can I show you if you're not here?"
"Phineas?" Elise called. "Someone's at the door. They want to talk to you."
"Who is it?" Phineas asked, his mind lost in despair over his stupidly cutting himself off from the person who mattered most to him in the world. Or at least was tied with Elise.
"You'll never guess." She said in a giddy tone. Phineas hauled himself up and walked to the door. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Hey little brother." Ferb said. "What are we going to do today?"
And I know we're gonna be fine
And the tattooed mistake
Are gonna fade over time
As long as we live
Time passes by
And we won't get it back when we die
And I know we're gonna be fine
"Here's the plan…" Phineas began, the determined grin that Ferb recognized and realized he had missed spreading over the younger boy's face.
And the tattooed mistakes
Are gonna fade over time
The new building stood in the center of town, shiny, green-and-red and defying all previously conceived laws of gravity and ability for a building to stand. On the top was the name, with a triangle over it on the left side, and two rectangles interconnecting below it on the other.
As long as we live
Time passes by
"It looks amazing." Isabella gushed, leaning into her husband. Elise kissed Phineas on the cheek and whispered "What she said" in his ear lovingly.
"I like the name." Ferb commented. Phineas nodded.
"It was a good idea, Ferb." He said.
"We both thought it up." Ferb disagreed.
And we won't get it back when we die
The sign was big enough to be seen from across town, the name sparking remembrance in the minds and hearts of anyone who had been in Danville for the remarkable summer all those years ago, that no one had ever forgotten.
Come over
Come over
"I like it." Candace said. "At least now Mom will know what the boys are doing."
"I like it too." Her husband, Jeremy said. "Phineas and Ferb Incorporated. Very nice."
"What? A new business? Right next to my own business? You know this means war!" Dr. Heinz Doofinshmirtz said in anger. Perry rolled his eyes. Dr. D had nothing on Phineas and Ferb and anyone and everyone knew it.
It was three o'clock in the morning a week later when Ferb woke up to the buzzing of his cell phone. He picked it up and rubbed his eyes, croaking groggily, "Hello?" He was greeted by the energetic voice of his younger brother.
"Well, I know that it's early…"