The Future, An Object Of The Past.

(A/N: This is supposed to be a one-shot based off of the fanfiction Evil Phineas written by TheCartoonFanatic01. Go check it out! This is under the scenario 'what if the evil Phineas actually did take over?' ... Which, ya' know *spoiler alert* he did.

I may end up writing my own take later.)

"It is so empty and cold in here.

All that I wanted, it was so near.

I no longer have the will to fight.

I thought my future would be so bright.

I hope that this torture will end soon.

I really don't mind if my body's a tomb,

For those ideals I had way back when,

I was someone people could depend,

Will I ever learn to be free?

Become the person I wanted to be?

I don't remember the life I had,

but I have the feeling it wasn't so bad.

I have, for so long, been inside this cage.

I no longer have wrath which I can wage.

I will never become free.

Do all the things I wanted to see.

Who was the person I knew before,

All of my loved ones died in the war?

I know I'm singing to nothingness.

I just wish I could sing for them."

A boy, sitting in a gilded cage sang clearly, sang sadly into the dark mist that surrounded him. A tear slid slowly down his unaged face, dissolving into the purple mist that permeated the air around him. The song echoed off of the smooth ground, before being swallowed by the nothingness. The boy looked out of his cage, but he knew that nothing was out there. Nothing existed in this world, only this cage and the suffocating haze that shrouded this reality in darkness. The sound died and the boy bent his head back down.

There was a slow, deliberate clapping.

The boy gasped, looking up.

Where there was nothing before, a man's figure began to solidify from the mist.

The boy sighed in disappointment, lowering his head once again.

The figure in the mist took a step towards the boy and spoke, "Wonderful song, Phineas. How long have you been working on that one?" A man, clad in black jeered at his prisoner, coming into full view of the cage.

Phineas glanced at his older counterpart for only a second before saying, "it's been a while hasn't it?"

The older man grinned, but his cold, green eyes remained the same, not letting any joy seep into them. "Sorry that I haven't been able to visit you. You know, with taking over the world, everything you ever knew, and more, where could I find the time?"

Phineas watched the shapes in the mist ravel and unravel, creating objects that almost resembled faces before smearing back into formless whips of smoke. His navy blue eyes examined them with a hollow expression. Subconsciously, he moved his arm up and down the closest bar to him in his golden cage.

The man, who was once considered a mere shadow in comparison to the boy now in the cage, looked at the boy in despise and semi-pity. "What? No, 'Please, Shadow. Please let me out?' or any, 'Shadow, you bastard, you won't get away with it!' because you already know that I won't and it's too late, I already have."

Phineas remained silent.

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself, pathetic little boy?" the 'shadow' demanded.

"You're not the shadow," Phineas muttered to him.

"What was that?" Did the shadow hear that correctly?

"I can't call you 'Shadow' anymore. It wouldn't be appropriate." Phineas turned to his older self and watched dark curls of vapor waft off of his body.

"Oh, really? What makes you say that?" The shadow smiled, humored.

"I can't escape. You've been in control of my body for longer than I have, and even if I took my body back now, I could never repair what you have done. My dreams have all died and the people that I loved are gone." Phineas paused before whispering to himself, "I can hardly remember them anymore..."

The shadow raised an eyebrow.

The boy looked up at the shadow and continued, "Nobody remembers Phineas, the optimistic boy who helped everyone out, with a smile on his face. The multiverse only knows the evil Phineas that slaughtered millions and enslaved their families. If anything..." Phineas held his arms out and declared, "I am the shadow now. I can only be considered a pale imitation in comparison to you. I am the ashes of a blazing fire, the negatives that are thrown away once the picture has been developed, the distorted reflection you see when peering into the water. I am no longer Phineas, I am the shadow now." His arms sank back to his sides, he lowered his head, almost in a bow and turned away from the man. "The name belongs to you. You, the being that never truly had one."

The shadow blinked in confusion for a second before his grin widened maliciously. "Now, I'd never thought I'd hear that from you." The man approached the boy in the cage. He slid his lanky arm through the bars. With one richly jeweled hand, he held Phineas' head up, and forced the boy to look at him in the eye. "But I suppose it is true. Who would remember debris like you anyway?" He scoffed to himself for a moment and started to walk away.

"But..." Phineas whispered to the man.

The shadow stopped in his tracks. He had almost missed the sound.

"I do have one wish..."

The shadow spun around to look at the boy again. "What is it?"

"I... I just want to be free..."

"That's impossible." The shadow scoffed, almost turning away.

"... of this cage." Phineas continued. "I don't want to be trapped like a bird anymore. I can't stand being in this gilded cage. I don't care where you put me, or what you choose for me to do. I just don't want to be here anymore."

The shadow gazed at the boy in pity, but at the same time the child disgusted him. "Very well."

Phineas gaped up at the shadow in surprise. He thought that the shadow would just ignore him as he usually does.

"You can be free of that cage. After all, you are no threat to me anymore." With a snap of his fingers, the golden cage dissolved into dust and was blown away by a non-existent breeze.

Phineas clamored to the ground, still staring at the shadow.

"However, I will do nothing more for you. I have things to do, places to be, people to make mine, and I can't waste energy on rubble like you."

"Yes, I understand." Phineas bowed his head to the shadow.

The shadow spat on the boy, who didn't seem to care, or even notice. With that, he swept himself away.

Just before he faded back into the mist he declared, "And here I thought that you... that we were stronger than this. I know who you were, and for a boy who wanted to conquer the known universe, you are far less greedy than I remember. What a shame." The man turned to the darkness, and added to himself in a hushed voice that could hardly be considered a whisper, "And if you are this weak... what does that make me?"

The shadow slowly opened Phineas' eyes. He let the eyes adjust to their surroundings, letting the blurred objects solidify before siting up. This capsule was wrapped in warm, luxurious cloths, the likes of which could not be made on earth. The shadow forced the body's eyes onto its hands, which were interwoven and settled onto its belly. This body, he knew, was never truly his. Now that Phineas let him have it, it almost felt alien to inhabit. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if it was truly Phineas' evil manifestation inheriting this body. He threw the blankets off and ran to a mirror. Sure enough, his eyes remained an olive green. Staring at his reflection, the shadow concentrated. He could hear Phineas' faltering, weak footsteps echoing in the desolate reaches of his mind.

"Phineas?" A man's voice asked him from behind.

"What is it, Brown?" Phineas glared at Django Brown's reflection in the mirror.

The man gulped. Phineas could still tell that the man was reluctant to follow his orders. "There have been movements from the resistance lately. I believe that they're going to enact their plan soon."

Phineas turned to Django, and glared at him for a moment. "Are you certain?"

The man nodded. "Yes... Yes, I am."

Phineas' face burst into an insane smile as he remarked, "It's about time."

(A/N: DuhduhDUN! To see more, read Evil Phineas by TheCartoonFanatic01. I know that was short, but that's how I prefer to keep oneshots... when they actually stay oneshots ** If you have read Evil Phineas, yes this does take place in the future where Phineas rules, however, you may notice that I may interpret the characters a bit differently. I just feel that at this point the shadow better be an ass, while Phineas is broken and weak... Sadly, some of the random ideas I had don't really fit... By the way, I probably wasn't so stubble about this, but I came up with the lyrics at the beginning of this story from Green Day's Song of the Century, and yes, I came up with those lyrics in this story myself... I try my best to not use lyrics from copyrighted music... but the lyrics go pretty darn well to Song of the Century...

Well, I hoped you enjoyed, please comment about anything and everything you can in this! I want to hear your opinions, good and bad!

Oh, and Merry Christmas! Consider this a Christmas present to TheCartoonFanatic01... though it's a bit depressing.)