Author's Note: Alright, here is the first of my contest stories. If you haven't seen my author page, this is a contest between me and my sister, Avarellia Ebony, to see who is best in our writing. The idea: Phineas goes to the future and meets himself...

I do not own Phineas and Ferb...

"Hey Ferb, have you seen our wood and metal fusing tool?"

Ferb shrugged.

Phineas glanced at their (considerable) collection of tools spread over the backyard. "I wonder where it went."

A certain semi-aquatic mammal, who was lying under the tree, had to stifle a laugh. He recalled what had occurred yesterday…

"Now, Perry the Platypus, watch as my Metal-Destruct-Inator eliminates all metal in the Tri-State Area!" The wooden contraption began to glow.

Perry, who had been dumped into his own backyard, ran for the boys' tools. He hoped they wouldn't mind, but they probably wouldn't even notice, seeing as the family was out at the movies. He noticed a tool labeled 'Metal and Wood Fusing Tool.' He grabbed it and fired it at the –Inator.

Unfortunately, the –Inator also fired, hitting the tool. The two somehow fused and then exploded almost simultaneously.

Doofenshmirtz was launched out of sight by the explosion, but Perry caught the sound of, "Curse you Perry the Platypus!" as Doof vanished…

Yeah, he was a little guilty that he had destroyed one of their tools, but it was kind of funny. Kind of. But he had to beat Doofenshmirtz.

Speaking of which…

After making sure neither of the boys were looking, he placed his fedora on his head and ducked down the hole that appeared in the tree.

"Ferb, I'm going to go get another one. Can you finish everything else while I'm gone?"

Ferb thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Great! See you in a bit!" With those words, Phineas ran out of the backyard.

Let's see, Phineas thought as he headed toward his destination, I know that I can get one twenty years in the future, but I don't want to upset Future Candace. She did ask us not to come back.

I know! I'll find me! I'm sure I'll understand why I did it!

As he finished this thought, he arrived at the museum. He walked inside and headed straight for the time machine.

He looked it over, to make sure it hadn't been unfixed by someone.

Satisfied it hadn't been messed with, he jumped in and pulled the lever. The museum vanished in a purple glow, only to reappear after a few seconds.

Phineas headed outside. The view was just as he remembered it: the museum's new wing, the mobile houses, etc.

However, he didn't head in the same direction as he did last time. Instead, he looked for someone to give him directions.

He walked down a few streets, but no one was around. "Really? All I need are directions!" Phineas shouted to no one in particular.

"Directions to where?"

Phineas turned around and his first thought was that he was looking in some carnival mirror. He had the same face, but it looked more mature and had a head of tamed red hair.

The older Phineas grinned. "I wondered when you'd come back."

Younger Phineas also grinned. "You knew?"

Older Phineas laughed. "Knew? I remember! You came for another metal and wood fusing tool."

"Yep. I guess I'll be looking forward to this day in twenty years, huh?"

"You have no idea how true that is, Phineas. Come on, my house is right around the corner."

As the pair headed around the corner, younger Phineas began to ask questions: "What award did you get in Switzerland? What do you do for a living? Do you still invent? What's Ferb up to? Why-"

"Phineas! Slow down! I'll actually need to answer the questions! Why don't we go inside before I answer them?"

Younger Phineas looked ahead and saw the house they were walking up to. For a moment, confusion was all over his face. He looked at the street name, which confirmed his thought. "This was Isabella's house!"

"Well, I would have liked to buy our house, but Mom and Dad didn't decide to go to a rest home like Ms. Garcia-Shapiro did." With that, he walked inside, with young Phineas right on his heels.

But one thought would not leave the mind of young Phineas: If I live here, where is Isabella?

"Okay, here's the tool. Now, you have any questions you want to ask me?"

"Well, I had a lot more, but now I want to know what happened to all our friends."

Older Phineas smiled. "Don't worry. We're all still good friends. Baljeet is a quantum physics professor at Danville University."

"Don't you mean Danville Community College?"

"No. The community college was upgraded to a full university about seven years ago. Baljeet was the first person they hired. We still chat and he does help out with the occasional invention."

"That's good. But what about the rest of our friends?"

Older Phineas smirked. "I was getting to them. Buford is the Danville Chief of Police. He's not too busy, as crime has gone down over the years, so he often checks up on 'Dinner Bell' for old times' sake."

Younger Phineas laughed, and older Phineas joined him. Neither of them minded the nickname Buford had given them, and they both actually found it rather funny.

Older Phineas took a couple breaths to calm down. "Anyway, Ferb is an adviser to the President, and thanks to the new amendment, he's actually looking at running next election. Of course, when he's here in Danville, we spend a lot of time together inventing things. Although, it's not as often as you might think. After all, we both have other people in our lives now."

"What do you mean?" younger Phineas asked, perplexed.

"You know how people fall in love, right?" Younger Phineas nodded. "Well, Ferb and I both have done so and gotten married. So we spend more time with our wives than with each other. Of course, all four of us do spend some time together too."

Younger Phineas blinked. "Wow. I know intellectually that I would probably end up married one day, but I guess I never thought about it. But what about Isabella? You haven't mentioned her yet!"

Older Phineas chuckled. "You'll see in about a minute."

"Wha-"

The front door suddenly burst open. "Daddy!" Older Phineas turned and lifted the young girl that ran inside up.

"Hey Sally. How's my little girl doing?"

"Mommy helped me and my troop get our Sewing Patch!" The girl noticed the younger Phineas. "Daddy, who's that?"

"Sally, this is me when I was ten years old." Older Phineas put his daughter down and she walked up to younger Phineas.

Younger Phineas held out his hand and she took it. While they shook hands, Phineas was racking his mind. While this girl had the same eyes as him, not to mention the vibrant red hair, she looked like Isabella! This resemblance was only magnified when she asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

After a moment, younger Phineas responded, "I'm just talking to myself." Older Phineas laughed at the joke.

"Sally, why don't you call Xavier and Fred? I heard they made some really cool devices while we were in Switzerland."

Sally nodded and rushed out of the room. Older Phineas turned back to younger Phineas. "Yeah, she's a handful. But I don't think she'll prepare us for how the twins will act."

"Twins?"

"Yeah. But you'll see them in three," he held up three fingers, "two," he put one down," one…"

"Honey, we're back!"

Even as older Phineas called out, "I'm in the living room!" younger Phineas felt his head spin. That voice…

He turned around and watched as a thirty year-old Isabella Garcia-Shapiro walked into the room, carrying two toddlers.

She stopped as soon as she saw younger Phineas. She blinked twice, then let out a quiet, "Oh."

Older Phineas let out a soft chuckle and said to younger Phineas, "Let me introduce you to my wife, Isabella Flynn, and the twins, Francis and Natasha."

Younger Phineas sat down, hard, on the couch. So, in the future, he would be married to his best friend?

He tried over and over to wrap his mind around it, only to fail miserably.

"Well," he heard Isabella say, "this would explain the sudden change you made."

While older Phineas laughed, younger Phineas looked at himself accusingly. "You knew about this?"

Older Phineas nodded. "This is how it happened to me. But think about it, Phineas. Think about how Isabella makes you feel."

Younger Phineas, though slightly angry on how this was forced on him, thought. And thought. Isabella made him feel…

"I don't know how to say it."

Older Phineas smiled gently. "Let me put it this way. You'd do anything for her, right?"

Younger Phineas nodded.

"If she left, you wouldn't figure out half the inventions you make, would you?"

Another nod.

"Whenever she comes over, the day seems brighter and your mood improves no matter how you feel?"

Nod.

"You love her?

Another nod, then, "Hey!"

Isabella giggled. "Phineas, you are an amazing boy, and you have an amazing future ahead of you. I should know, I've been there for most of it. And that's the point. When I was younger, I was always there for you, and you were always there for me."

"But-" younger Phineas began.

"Phineas," older Phineas said, "don't try thinking of love as some formula, or base it off of some movie's idea. Just follow your feelings." He wrapped his arm around Isabella. "It works."

Younger Phineas nodded slowly. He realized that his older self would know exactly what he was going through. How stood up and headed for the door. "Thanks for the tool," he said.

"No problem. Oh! And tell Ferb that he needs to go to the mall tomorrow! Vanessa's going to need him." Seeing the confused look on his younger self's face, he added, "Ferb will know what I'm talking about."

Phineas stepped out of the time machine. His thoughts had yet to settle, or be presented in a rational order.

Finally, as he exited the museum, he managed to grasp one: He was in love with Isabella.

This thought froze him to the spot. His older self had told him so, but was that really the case?

He recalled the formula he had made for love that day for Baljeet and Mishti, but it didn't fit. He tried the movie formula, but it didn't work either.

As he resumed his walking, he began to doubt. After all, if it didn't fit the formula, it must not work.

He thought this to himself over and over, even as he walked into the backyard.

"Hey Ferb, I got the tool!"

He heard Ferb sigh, and that's when he noticed the construction had vanished.

"Where'd it go?"

Ferb shrugged from his place under the tree. Phineas walked over and sat beside his step-brother. The moment he did, Ferb raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I met me while getting the tool, and I learned some things that I'm not too sure about."

Ferb chuckled and said, "It's about Isabella, isn't it?"

Phineas attempted to reply, only to find himself tongue-tied. His stammering brought a grin to Ferb's face. "Been wondering how'd you finally figure it out."

"But Ferb, I don't know if- if I love her back."

Ferb slapped Phineas. "Listen bro, I know you. You're using some sort of formula, aren't you?"

Phineas nodded, rubbing the cheek Ferb had slapped.

"Romance doesn't follow formulas. It doesn't have rules. You just follow your feelings."

"Funny, that's the second time I've heard that today."

Ferb stood up. "Then follow that advice! The next time you see Isabella, just do what your heart tells you to do!"

Phineas nodded. "Okay, Ferb. I'll do that. How'd you get to be such an expert at this?"

Ferb blushed slightly. "Well-"

Now it was Phineas's turn to grin. "You're in love too, aren't you?"

Ferb grinned sheepishly. Phineas wasn't supposed to be that observant!

"Have you told her?"

Ferb shook his head.

"Well, who is she?"

"Vanessa."

Phineas blinked. "That Goth girl we picked up in Tokyo? Wow, I guess that might be a problem."

As Ferb began to sigh, Phineas suddenly remembered the last words his older self had told him. "Wait a minute! I forgot that my older self had something to tell you!"

Ferb gave Phineas a look that said 'So tell already!'

"He said to tell you that Vanessa is going to need you at the mall tomorrow."

Ferb just sat down, stunned. He never imagined that he'd really get a chance with Vanessa, let alone find out from Phineas, present or future.

"Hey guys! Whatcha doin'?"

The pair looked as Isabella walked through the gate. Phineas, as usual, greeted her by telling what they had done for the day, and that it had disappeared. But Ferb noticed that he was beginning to blush.

"You know what, bro? I think I'll head in. You just talk with Isabella for a while." With that, Ferb left a slightly confused Isabella and a now extremely nervous Phineas in the yard.

"What's with Ferb?" Isabella asked.

Phineas knew, and was about to tell her, when a thought struck him out of nowhere.

She looks beautiful.

He blinked, confused. Nothing had changed about her, he knew that. He knew her looks by heart, and he knew she looked the same as she had the day before. But another thought hit him after that.

Hasn't she always been beautiful?

Phineas shook his head, trying to clear his head. He wasn't in love with her!

Was he?

"Phineas? What's wrong?"

Phineas realized he had been silent for too long. "Nothing! I just- uh- was thinking."

"'Bout what?"

Phineas nearly panicked. So he said something.

Somehow, in the confusion of his mind, he didn't even hear what he said. But as soon as his mouth closed, Isabella's face went blank. It was almost as if she was frozen herself.

What had he said?

Finally, Isabella spoke. "Let me get this straight. You're asking me to go to the movies, with you."

Inwardly, Phineas sighed. He hadn't said something entirely stupid. Outwardly, he attempted a grin. "That's right."

"With or without Ferb?"

"Well, Ferb already has something to do tomorrow, so I don't think he'd be able to make it. That's okay, right?"

Isabella immediately lit up. "That's perfect."

Then she hugged him.

Phineas froze for a moment. His heart was beating at the speed of light, the places where their skin touched seemed to burn, and his thoughts were frozen on one sentence:

Just follow your feelings.

So he returned the hug. Maybe, just maybe, he was in love with her.

Guess he'd figure it out.

Aaaannnddd done! So, what did you think? And please, don't read just mine. Go and read Avarellia Ebony's as well (title is For Ferb). If you'd like, I'll have a poll up that you can tell us whose is better. Thanks!