I forgot to mention this in my last chapter, but I am very slow at updating. So, I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter.

Also, a disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb, any of its characters, or the Slender Man.

Actually, I wonder if I could get a trademark on him...


Phineas's POV

Two months ago

Isabella stepped into the Flynn-Fletcher backyard and yawned.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," she said sleepily. "I'm a little tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Phineas looked up from the device he and Ferb were tinkering with. "Oh, it's alright, Isabella," he said. "Could you bring me that socket wrench over there?"

She picked up the piece of metal he was pointing at and brought it over. "So, what are we building today?" she asked.

"Well," Phineas grunted as he took the tool Isabella brought him and began to force a component into place. "In theory, it'll let us see the emotions of people in the area. That screen will change color based on the prevalent emotions- red for anger, blue for sadness, stuff like that."

"What do you mean 'in theory?'" Isabella asked quizzically. "Your inventions always work."

"That's the thing," Phineas replied. "We've gone over the plans at least a dozen times already, but it still doesn't work like it's supposed to. Whenever we turn it on, we just get this."

He flicked a switch on the device, and instead of turning a single color, the screen showed a series of color bars, like you'd get on an old analog TV tuned to a test pattern. After a few seconds, the colors jumped into a reverse image of themselves, then started to flicker back and forth.

"We still haven't worked out exactly what's wrong with it," he continued. "Ferb thinks it's a problem with the emotional capacitor, but I still say it's just something with the screen connection."

"Yeah," Isabella said absently, like what Phineas had just said had gone over her head. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Phineas said.

Isabella waited a few seconds, and then added "Alone."

"Well, we're sort of in the middle of something here... Give me a few minutes."
"Please, Phineas. It's really important."

Phineas looked up from the device at Isabella.

"Oh," he whispered when he saw her expression. "I... Yeah. Sure."

Ferb looked up from the other side of the device.

"I have to go for a second," Phineas said. "You can handle this without me, right?"

Ferb shot Phineas a look that seemed to say "Why do you even need to ask?"

Isabella led Phineas back into the house, shooting nervous glances over her shoulder all the way. Once they were inside, she gingerly closed the door behind them and started wringing her hands nervously.

"So, what's going on, Isabella?" Phineas asked. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, and then closed it again.

"I..." she started, but with her voice trailing off as soon as she started. When she tried again, the same thing happened a second time. She sighed.

"I don't know how to explain it," she said in a tired tone. "I don't even know where to start."

"Well, start at the beginning, then," Phineas said, trying for a bit of humor. Isabella didn't really react; she just slumped against the wall.

"Isabella?" Phineas asked. His voice was beginning to show a bit of concern. "Are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment before replying "I don't know, Phineas. I... I'm not really sure about anything anymore. I think I'm starting to see things when there isn't anything there, but I can never remember what I've seen. I'll sometimes wake up and realize that pieces of my memory are missing. And then..."

Her voice trailed off again. She looked around them again, and then leaned in closer to Phineas. "I sometimes feel like there's someone watching me. I'll look up and look around, but I never see anyone. I don't know what's going on... Oh, Phineas, please help me!"

She started crying. In spite of being caught flat-footed by the situation, it never crossed Phineas' mind to do anything besides comfort his friend. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Isabella. She didn't respond, except by doing the same.

Phineas didn't say a word; he just held her close as her tears ran down her cheeks. After about a minute, once her crying started to abate a little bit, he pulled away from her just enough to look into her eyes.

"It's going to be okay, Isabella," he whispered soothingly. "Have you told anyone else?"

She shook her head, her eyes still filled with tears. "No, you're the first. I was afraid anyone else I told would think I was going crazy." She sniffed, and asked "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

Phineas shook his head. Isabella fell back into his arms, crying again.

There was a knocking at the back door. Phineas looked over Isabella's shoulder and saw Ferb through the window set into the door.

"Not now," he mouthed, and motioned for Ferb to leave them alone. Isabella looked back to see what was going on.

"It's fine," she said, and added, with a weak smile "I can handle myself for a few minutes." Phineas looked at her with an expression of concern.

"You sure?" he asked. She nodded.

With apparent reluctance, Phineas walked over to Ferb and began to help him resolve some technical issue with the device. Isabella stood where she was, still sobbing a little bit, but making an apparent effort not to cry in front of Ferb.

Suddenly, something in a window caught her eye. She turned to see what it was.

She let out an audible gasp.

Her scream filled the room.

Phineas turned at the terrible noise and ran to her side.

"Isabella?!" he exclaimed in a panicked tone. "What happened?"

She didn't answer; she just continued staring. Phineas followed her terrified gaze out the window.

He didn't see anything.

He nervously turned back to Isabella. "Um... Isabella?" he asked. "Do you see something?"

She stammered something incoherent, and then stopped, like she'd meant to say something else. She tried again, and once again only managed to stutter.

After taking a moment, apparently to compose herself, she said "I... I have to go."

"You- what?" Phineas asked, now just sounding confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I have to go."

"What? Why?"

"... There's something I forgot about. Homework."

"It's summer vacation!"

Isabella ignored Phineas' protestations and ran across the room to the front door. She opened it, ran through, and shut it behind herself with a slam.

Phineas's POV

Present day

"And that was it?" Baljeet asked astonishedly.

Phineas nodded. "I went over to her house afterwards, but nobody came to the door. She came back over the next day, but when I asked her about what happened, she just clammed up about it. I left it alone after that."

"Wow..." Baljeet whispered. "She always seemed fine whenever I talked to her. I can hardly believe it."

"I know," Phineas said. "I'd never seen her like that before. She'd always been the one of us who kept her head under pressure, but she seemed so scared. She made me scared for her, too."

He sighed. "And I can't help feeling like this is my fault..."

Before anyone else could respond to that, one of the policemen (and women) milling about in the Garcia-Shapiro household came up to them and asked "Are you Isabella's friends?"

Ferb nodded.

"Well, you'd better come with me," the policeman continued. "We've found something you'll want to see." None of the children argued with him; they were all eager to know just what had been found.

He led them into one of the rooms at the back of the house, where a higher-rank looking police officer was waiting. A few moments after the kids had arrived, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro and the Flynn-Fletcher parents came in as well.

"Have you found my Isa?" Vivian asked through sobs. The police officer shook his head. Vivian very nearly burst back into tears.

"We've managed to track Isabella's footprints through Danville Forest," the officer began. "They start on one of the trails, but soon go far into the forest itself, before ending far from just about everywhere." He pulled a plastic evidence bag from behind his back. "This was all we found."

Inside it was a long black flashlight. On the end cap, ground jaggedly into the metal, was a circle with an "X" through it. Under it was carved was a single word:

"Watching."


Thanks to everyone who reviewed:

woodland5 (anonymous): Everyone else seems to be doing that, actually.

Sleeping Kangaroo: Honestly, I prefer long and sweet

Yarthayaj'knaushtavdhladleklwa: Not gonna say. My lips are sealed /zips up mouth/

AuthorD: I hope so.

TheCartoonFanatic01: ... Well, this isn't quite ASAP, but I'm hoping you'll be willing to read it anyways.

OC RADIO FM 365: Can't wait to write more!