You people demanded it and so I have come to deliver. The prologue might seem a bit out of place but stick with it and you shall be rewarded later. As it said in the summary, this is the sequel to The Girl of Warehouse 5 so I strongly recommend you read that story before diving into this one. However, as this has yet to be connected to the story, you can read this without the fear of spoilers.
Candace had been sat at her desk all night. She would usually go to her quarters to sleep but, then again, she hadn't slept at all. How could she sleep knowing that she could die at any second? This war had taken everything out of her and she was beginning to wonder if she was needed at all. This war had taken almost everything from her as well, including her ability to walk. After a stray shot from a Norm Bot hit her in the bottom of her spine, she was paralyzed from the waist, down. Now, every day, she had to make sure she was properly exercised. Luckily, she had done this before the incident; it was now just harder to exercise with her legs being taken out of the equation. As morning dawned, she was joined by Gretchen. She and Gretchen had gotten quite close now that she chose to work with her. Even though she was disabled, she didn't want to feel like a spare part. Though she knew much about tactics and strategy, she knew little of the technology they were using. Working with Gretchen allowed her to take on a new role within the resistance. While she missed being out on the field and battling, she was content with working behind the scenes.
All was normal until the afternoon came around. 'Normal' for them was losing at least one outpost and taking on a lot of casualties.
"Sir, the Norm Bots flushed us out of the lower east quarter. They've taken back control" announced Gretchen.
"Damn! What's the status of Outpost 4?" asked Candace.
"They're holding their own but new Norm Bots are flooding in by the hour. If we don't get one over on them soon, we'll lose Outpost 4." Candace but her head on the desk.
"How did it get to this?" Just then, two resistance troops stood aside as the door they were guarding opened.
"Commander on deck!" shouted one of the guards as Isabella Garcia-Shapiro walked into the room. As she walked over to Candace, she stood still and saluted.
"Why do you do that every time? I'm no longer your commander."
"You are to me, sir." Candace smiled and returned to her desk. "What'cha doin'?" Isabella asked.
"Monitoring how bad we're losing. Seriously, if we don't get some kind of effective offense against the Norm Bots, we aren't gonna last another year." Isabella put her hand around Candace.
"We'll think of something. Don't you worry."
"Isabella! Incoming message from Outpost 9!" Isabella spun around and ran over to Gretchen's monitor.
"Ferb?" The picture slowly became unscrambled revealing Phineas on the other end. "Phineas? Phineas, can you hear me?"
"Isabella?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I'm here!"
"Oh, thank god. I just wanted to know if you got back in one piece."
"Yes, I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm holding up. We just had to dispatch a squad of Norm Bots inside our perimeter. They're getting smarter."
"Is Ferb okay?"
"I don't know. He left with some of the guys to re-enforce Outpost 14. I haven't had any word from him yet." Isabella bowed her head and closed her eyes.
"Don't worry, sir. They're probably quick footing it over there. I'm sure he'll get in touch when they get there" said Gretchen, consoling Isabella.
"It… It's okay. I'm good. Phineas, see you soon, okay?"
"You bet." Phineas then disappeared from the monitor. Isabella sighed and walked over to Candace. "Candace… I want you… to…" she stuttered.
"Isabella, I'm your subordinate now. You can order me."
"Sorry… Candace, bring up the Tri-State Area!" she said with authority.
"Yes, sir." Candace began to fiddle with the controls at her desk until a map of the Tri-State Area appeared on the big screen at the front of the room. While they began to strategize, a dark, mysterious figure moved silently across the numerous pipes and girders at the top of the room.
"If we focus our efforts on the North West sector, we might be able to push through to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. We'd need a huge distraction though." As the girls were contemplating, none of them heard the figure drop down from the shadows. The figure, upon landing spun around in what was a blur. As it crouched down once again in its landing position, the two officers by the door fell to their knees. As Isabella and Candace turned around, the officers' heads fell off of their necks and landed with a thump on the floor.
"What the hell!?" yelled Candace. The figure stood up slowly. It was no man, or woman. It wasn't even human.
"Norm Bot!" yelled Isabella as she took out her staff. She pressed a button on the side and it 'deployed', growing by several inches. She spun the staff around her, showing off her mastery of her former commander's weapon. Both Candace and Gretchen pulled out a small gun from under their desks and began to fire. The Norm Bot, in a blur of motion, dispatched the laser blasts from Candace's and Gretchen's guns effortlessly.
"That isn't any Norm Bot I've seen before!" proclaimed a startled Gretchen. The Norm Bot had a tall, slender body, unlike the others. It also got around on two legs and its design was, overall, more human than the other models the resistance had thought before. The Norm Bot's head, however, was remained mostly like a normal Norm Bot's head, except it was more elongated at the back. The Norm Bot took two steps back and threw back its hand into the door's panel, breaking it and causing the door to close and the room to lock. It then took two steps forward. All the time its gaze never drifted from them. Isabella knew that this 'thing' couldn't be taken down by gunfire. She stepped forward and began to spin the staff again. As she hitched it under her arm, she put one foot forward, to show she was ready to battle. The Norm Bot seemed to acknowledge this as it too drew its weapon. It reached back and pulled out a katana like sword from its holster which had been attacked to its back. It held the sword out in front of it and the two remained motionless for a few seconds before sprinting from their positions and engaging in a fierce duel. As they did, Candace spun round in her wheelchair.
"Gretchen, get that door open, now!" Candace yelled at Gretchen, referring to the other door in the room. Gretchen jumped out of her seat and ran over to the other door and began to mess with its wiring. As she did, Candace pressed a large red button, causing an alarm to sound and a revolving light in the room to begin flashing red. Neither of this put off Isabella or the Norm Bot who were constantly blocking and countering each other's attacks. After a few minutes when troops finally started to gather at both doors, Isabella managed to disable the Norm Bot, or so she thought. She threw the sword to Candace who caught it with little effort.
"What'cha gonna do now?" Isabella scoffed. The Norm Bot straightened its posture before raising its arms. Isabella stepped back, ready for the Bot to strike. Suddenly, pressure fumes began to release around the Norm Bot's torso and hips. As they did, blades emerged on both its arms and its legs. As the pressure fumes subsided, the Norm Bot's torso began to rotate, spinning its arms as it did. It slowly approached Isabella before engaging in another bout with her. This fight was tougher. Not only was the Bot faster, but now it would not let up for a second as it switched from fighting with its spinning bladed arms to fighting with its spinning bladed legs. The Bot would constantly change positions to forever keep her guessing. With Gretchen working on the door and Candace out of action, she was alone fighting this menace. After a hard fought battle, the Norm Bot got one shot in, cutting Isabella's left cheek. As she fell down on the floor, the Norm Bot flipped over her and landed in front of Candace which caused her to fall backward out of her wheelchair. The Norm Bot moved its blades to the front of its arms, its hands descending into arms as it did this, and pointed one of its bladed arms at Candace's throat. "Candace!" screamed Isabella as she ran at the Norm Bot and proceeded to attack it. However, the Norm Bot blocked all her attacks without even looking at her, its focus still on Candace. She tried again. Same outcome. She tried once more. The Norm Bot this time managed to knock her on her back.
"Isabella, I don't think it's gonna hurt me" Candace said nervously.
"What!?"
"It… it's not doing anything"
"Oh, so knocking me on my ass is 'nothing'?" Isabella said in annoyance. Candace tried to move herself but the Norm Bot's blade followed her.
"What do you want?" she asked the Norm Bot.
"AWAITING ORDERS" replied the Norm Bot in a deep mechanical voice. All the girls in the room stood, shocked. No Norm Bot had ever answered a question before. Candace gulped before asking another.
"Awaiting what orders?"
"AWAITING ORDERS" it replied again.
"What are your current orders!?"
"AWAITING ORDERS" it replied once again.
"Is it broken?" asked Isabella as she walked over to it. However, as soon as she got in range, the Norm Bot faced its other arm at Isabella. As she backed off, its arm lowered.
"What orders ar…" Candace managed to say before being cut off.
"AWAITING ORDERS" it said again.
"Candace… I don't think it's answering you" claimed Gretchen. Candace watched the Bot for a moment. It moved as she did, as if it was trying to guard her. She began to sit up. The Norm Bot thrust its blade so it was touching her neck.
"Candace! What are you doing!?" yelled Isabella.
"Something… clever." She carried on trying to sit up. Instead on plunging it's blade in her neck, it allowed her to sit up, still keeping its blade on her neck.
"Why… Why didn't it kill you?" questioned both Gretchen and Isabella.
"I… don't think it can."
"Don't think? It killed Phillip and Mark just now!" yelled Isabella, angrily. She had fought with Phillip and Mark before. They were good soldiers and good men but, they would be mourned later.
"I know… it must need me alive for some reason." Gretchen finally managed to get the door open and a flood of soldiers entered the room. As the held their weapons to the Bot, Isabella walked in front of them.
"No, wait! Lasers can't stop it!" she yelled. The troops looked at each other. "Stand down!" she commanded. The soldiers held down their weapons and saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
"No-one goes near this thing! No-one attempts to retrieve Candace Flynn from this thing! You will keep this thing under guard until we can figure this situation out and we can destroy it! Have I made myself clear!?"
"Sir, yes sir!" replied the soldiers. Just then, Gretchen's monitor began to flash again. Isabella ran over to answer it. It was Phineas once again.
"Phineas, what is it?"
"The… the Norm Bots. They're acting funny…"
"How so?"
"Well, they're still fighting and defending themselves but… look." He grabbed the camera and moved it so that Isabella could see. Phineas was showing her a Norm Bot who had managed to subdue Irving but had not killed him. However, he could not move as the Norm Bot kept it's lasers pointer at him. A very similar scenario.
"Has it said anything?"
"Yeah, it said; 'Awaiting Orders'. How'd you know?"
"We've got it too. Do you think they have a virus?"
"From the ones we managed to destroy, we got no indication of any virus, according to Irving anyway." 'What is he up to?' thought Isabella.
"He's up to something, he must be."
"Yeah well, we can't do anything about it. They're still holding Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!" Isabella turned to Candace and the Norm Bot and got an idea.
"Maybe not…"
"What? What are you thinking?"
"Look at them. They seem like they're holding Irving captive like Candace…"
"Candace! Is she okay!?"
"She's…"
"I'm fine, Phineas!" Candace yelled.
"See? Now look, what if the Norm Bots are programed to capture us, but, for some reason, Doofenshmirtz hasn't told them where to take us."
"Your point?"
"The Norm Bots are also programed to know that DEI is their base. In theory, we might get them to take us there."
"What, so we could get captured for real?"
"Just listen, we thought that the Norm Bots were programed to kill us all but it looks like they are just programed to capture us. There's no destination point though and so they are just holding them there. The Norm Bot that has Candace actually allowed her to move to some degree. If we can exploit this they might just give us all a free pass to DEI!"
"One problem, Isabella. It killed Mark and Phillip!" yelled Candace
"You saw how it tried to get through me and went straight after you. Maybe… Maybe there only programed to capture high value targets like you; you were our commander. Maybe it doesn't register that I took over…" replied Isabella.
"Yeah umm… one question from me, why wouldn't Doof program them with a destination?" asked Phineas.
"M… maybe he does it 'on the fly' if you will. If something happened, he could program them to take us to a safer or secluded location."
"Isabella, I'm hearing a lot of 'maybes'…" began Candace.
"Have you got a better idea of what's going on here?" Candace closed her eyes and shook her head.
"So… what do we do?" asked Gretchen.
Isabella, Candace, Phineas, Irving and Django slowly made their way towards the North West sector where Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated loomed in front of them. Candace was in her hover chair while under the watch of the new model Norm Bot, while the rest of the group had the Norm Bots lasers aimed at the back of their heads as they passed the border. In front of them was DEI. They could only see the top of the building as there was a huge wall surround it. As the group approached the wall, they were suddenly grabbed by the Norm Bots and the bots ascended with them in hand over the wall. Candace turned and saw 'her' Norm Bot open up two flaps on the back of its shoulders which revealed a propulsion system. The Norm Bot grabbed her chair and ascended into the air and over the wall.
"It's working…" said Phineas.
"Told ya" replied Isabella
"Yeah, but for how long?" questioned Django.
"Yeah, if he does this 'on the fly' as you put it, what's to stop him telling them to kill us?"
"If he could, he would have done it by now. You got the stunners ready?"
"Irving has them." The three turned to Irving who was froze and closing his eyes tight. "Irving?"
"I'm not talking. I'm not risking my life more than I have to" he whispered. The Norm Bot with Candace soon joined them. The five of them were then led into DEI through a door that was disguised as part of the wall. They went through numerous corridors and shafts before reaching a main floor.
"NOW!" yelled Isabella. Irving swiftly placed a small circular device on the Norm Bot carrying him, causing it to short circuit and temporarily lose power. After the bot lost its grip, Irving fell to the floor. Before he hit the cold metal floor he threw his other devices to the others who all managed to catch them and attach them to their respective Norm Bots including the new model one. They all fell to the floor except for Candace, due to being in her hover chair.
"How long will they be out for?" asked Candace.
"5 minutes… at the most. Though I'm unsure about your friend there, Candace." He replied pointing to the new Norm Bot.
"Good, let's get up to Doof's office. It won't be long before they figure out we're in here" said Isabella. The five of them quickly made their way to an elevator.
"Wait, won't he just cut the power?" asked Django.
"As I said before, he would have done something by now. Look…" Isabella pointed to a camera in the top corner of the room. "… he's playing with us. For now, we play along." Django nodded in acceptance and the five took the elevator to the top of DEI, to Doof's office. As they did, the lights on the new Norm Bot began to illuminate as it powered up again.
As the elevator doors opened, the five saw one long corridor leading to the doors to Doof office.
"Okay, look out for anything suspicious. This is a new tactic he's pulling. We've never got this close so we gotta make this count" announced Isabella. The four nodded in response and the five of them slowly approached the doors and withdrew their weapons; Candace and Irving were armed with pistols, Django and Phineas had rifles and Isabella was armed with Candace's staff and a small pistol. Phineas and Isabella got into position to breach as Django, Irving and Candace kept back. Phineas nodded to Isabella who nodded back before the two of them breached the doors and all five of them pointed their weapons to the chair in front of them. The chair was pointing away from them and towards the window. "It's over Doofenshmirtz!" yelled Isabella. No reply came. "Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz, you have been charged with crimes against humanity and you are hereby arrested by the authority of both the Resistance and the Firestorm Girls!" No reply came. Isabella motioned for the others to encircle him. "You do not have to say anything but anything you do say… will do you no good 'cause you aren't getting any trial you son of a bitch!" As the group encircled him, Phineas and Django stood shocked. "What is it?" Phineas walked up and spun the chair around. "What the…?" asked a startled Isabella as she saw the empty seat.
"Where is he?" asked Candace.
"Don't know, but this explains why the Norm Bots aren't getting further orders" replied Phineas.
"But where is he!? He never leaves! Never!" yelled Isabella.
"I don't like this, guys. I think we should get outta here" said Irving. However, no one heard him.
"Who says he doesn't leave? For all we know he could be overseas!" replied Django.
"Umm… guys?" asked Irving. Yet again, no one heard him.
"No! He has to be here! He can't just… not be here!" yelled Isabella. She was furious that the one time they managed to breach DEI, Doof wasn't there. Irving feeling isolated somewhat decided it would be better to wait outside.
"Isabella, it's okay. We can, at least disable the Norm Bots from here" said Candace, trying to reassure her. She exhaled slowly.
"Right." She began to look around the room. "Where's… Irving?" As the four of them turned and saw no-one else in the room, a loud banging came from down the hall. The four of them turned to the door just in time to see Irving being sent through it and landing, unconscious, in Doof chair. "What the…" They turned back to the door where the new Norm Bot now stood, drawing it's sword. Phineas and Django raised their guns to fire.
"Wait! Lasers can't hurt it!" yelled Candace.
"Couldn't hurt to try" replied Phineas and both he and Django began to fire. Like before, the Norm Bot effortlessly dispatched the laser blasts with its sword. It managed to deflect one of the laser blasts which returned and hit Django, knocking him to the floor. Phineas stood in shock. He was told of the bot's power but he didn't believe until now. As Phineas and Candace remained still, Isabella drew her staff and stood, poised to fight. While she knew that she hadn't beaten this bot before, it didn't stop her from thinking she could. As she stood ready, the Norm Bot jumped high into the air, held it's legs with its sword in its arms and begun to spin forward as it descended towards Isabella.
So, how was that then? Now this chapter, you might be thinking "Cool, but what has this gotta do with the story?" Well, as I said before, stick with it and you shall be rewarded. We'll return to the main story in chapter 1 but, think of this as a small preview of some of the action that is to come. Below are some small profiles on the 2nd dimension characters
2nd Dimension Profiles - The Resistance
Candace Flynn
Candace is now the ex-leader of the resistance. After a stray shot disabled her, she now works behind the scenes, co-ordinating attacks and discussing battle strategies. The role of Leader was given to her second in command, Isabella Garcia Shapiro. Luckily, beforehand, Candace showed and taught Isabella how to handle a staff. After taking over as leader, Isabella now uses Candace's very own staff in battle.
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro
Now the new leader of the resistance, Isabella holds more rank and responsibility than she ever thought she would get. After developing a relationship with Ferb Fletcher, Isabella found herself having to repress her feelings once the resistance was brought into commission again. She wants this war to be over so she can have a normal life but she is also willing to spend as much time as she can fighting as she doesn't want her skills to become 'dull'.
Phineas Flynn + Ferb Fletcher
Phineas and Ferb continue to fight alongside the resistance. They both work closely alongside all sectors of the resistance, scientific or military. Their subjugation under Doofenshmirtz has left the boys buzzing with new ideas. While Ferb is in a relationship with Isabella and is willing to hold it off until the war has finished, Phineas holds a secret crush on her as well, a secret to everyone, except Ferb. This has caused some altercations in the past between the two but they continue fight as one, as brothers.