Author's Note: MAJOR Phinbella chapter! First, I am not a medical student. I do not have a clue how much adrenaline you need to keep a heart from stopping. I just picked a number and hoped it sounded good. If anybody actually has a better number, I'd love to hear it. :) More is on the way!
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor will I probably ever own, any of the stories, places, or characters that I use in this. Other than anybody from Faerie Dust. I do own them. I gotta say it's been loads of fun putting Skia, Alekin, and Sam in this chapter. They're some of my favorites!
"Phineas!"
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"Exterminate! Exterminate!"
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"Get back! Isabella, get back!"
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Those things... what are they?!
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"ISABELLA! NO!"
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"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"
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It hurts. My body, why does it hurt so much?
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"No no no no no! Stay with me!"
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"Why them?! They're only children! What do the Daleks want with children?!"
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"I need 30ccs of adrenaline, stat! Now, Sazed, or his heart will stop!"
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"Ph-Phineas... no..."
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Isabella let loose a scream, shooting upward. She lay in a pure white room on a plush bed. It looked the size of a gym, with several rows of beds across it. She was hooked up to several monitors, an IV resting in her arm. The nightmare was sharper than the rough white shirt and pants scratching at her skin.
There had been things in the sky, strange robot-like things, destroying Danville. They came for them, her and her friends, and... Phineas! She frantically searched the room.
"Phineas! Phineas!" She began to get out of bed, and was pushed back in by a girl with black and purple hair. She shoved her way past, calling louder.
"You have to lay down!" the girl said frantically. Isabella ignored her, dragging her IV stand behind her, searching desperately. You saved us. You saved us all! Please be alright, Phineas!
There! At the end of the row! Red hair! She stumbled toward the shivering lump, tears coming to her eyes. Phineas Flynn, the boy across the street, the boy who could do anything. The boy she loved. He had saved them all, her friends, her family, and now he could be dying.
She pulled herself around the end of the bed, the tears escaping and running down her cheeks in hot waterfalls. He shivered heavily, shuddered breaths escaping in an uneven pattern. Sweat dripped off his forehead, soaking the white pillow. Monitors beeped in time to his racing heartbeat, a tube ran from his nose to an oxygen tank.
She collapsed, her face and arms sinking into the edge of his bed. Sobs racked her body, cold piercing her soul. Phineas... Oh Phineas... Why? Why did you have to be the hero? You can't leave me now... The dark-haired Isabella Garcia-Shapiro felt her spirit rip in two.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head, stifling another wail.
The black haired girl from before stood over her. She smiled, and chuckled, "You've got some seriously bad timing."
Isabella pulled her head up higher, confused. The girl smiled again and continued, "His medication just wore off, that's all. Heh, great time to wake up right?" The girl walked around to Phineas' IV bag and injected a blue liquid. It mixed and twirled down the IV into his arm. He began to relax, his breathing becoming even.
"He'll be just fine."
Isabella's breath caught. The girl smiled again and knelt down beside her, wiping a tear off her cheek. Her large, purple eyes were comforting, like her mother's. Isabella leapt on the girl, crying into her shoulder.
"H-he saved us! He s-saved me! One of those th-things was coming straight at me an-and he j-jumped in f-front of me!" The girl held her comfortingly, softly reassuring her. She pushed her back a bit.
"Would you like me to move your bed down here?" she asked, "Set you up closer to him?" Isabella nodded. "Well, then you've gotta promise me you won't move around anymore, okay?" She nodded again.
The girl snapped her fingers. A couple deep purple sparks shot out, and the air tensed slightly. A bed and medical equipment began to materialize right next to Phineas', less than a foot between them. Isabella's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening.
"H-how?" she stuttered.
The girl laughed, "Technically I'm not supposed to say anything until Sam can talk to you, but I think you deserve something after that scare. I'm Skia, Skia Stregasorseth, a Crimson Sorceress of the Faerie Dust parallel. That won't mean much to you until later, but I can say, if you need anything, magic or not, don't hesitate to ask." Isabella's eyes simply got wider. The girl, Skia, simply chuckled, "Let's get you back into bed, okay?"
Isabella nodded and let the girl lift her onto the bed. Skia began reattaching the monitors to her, starting up the equipment. She lifted the blankets over her and gently tucked in the edges.
"So, you're Isabella, right?" Skia said, sitting on the end of the bed.
"Yeah," she replied, "How...?"
Skia chuckled, "We've been watching you. We figured they'd come after you and your friends. Phineas and his brother are the greatest inventors in the whole of creation, after all. Sam's looked, and she hasn't found anyone else that can so blatantly defy the laws of their dimension. Even the magic dimensions have laws that can't be broken, but Phineas and Ferb... The laws of that dimension should cancel out some of there more exotic stuff. But it doesn't. Quite unique. Either way, we figured you'd be a target, and we were right."
Isabella simply stared.
"You... have no idea what I'm talking about, do you."
She shook her head.
Skia sighed, and continued, "Well, you'll understand later."
Isabella sighed and leaned back. All at once, aches and pains she had forgotten returned, slamming into her like a runaway bus. She groaned.
"Looks like your medication wore off," Skia chuckled, "It's been a long couple of days. I'll put a light sedative in there too, okay? You deserve some sleep."
Isabella's eyes began to droop as blue liquid slid down her IV. She smiled, and gladly accepted the warm embrace of peaceful sleep.
She awoke with a start, unable to move from her scrunched position. She tested her muscles until she found the right ones to straighten her legs and arms. It was dark, the only light coming from the monitors. She assumed it must be the middle of the night. She lifted a hand from under the blanket to rub her face, and immediately put it back. The air was frigid, colder even than the night the Fireside Girls camped out in the snow. She rubbed her arms and curled up again.
Not far away she heard someone shivering. She rolled over and saw Phineas' silhouette shaking. She quickly inspected the glowing numbers on his equipment. All normal. She sighed deeply. He continued to shake, teeth audibly chattering. A wave of sympathy crashed over her. She lay silently for several minutes, and then made her decision, and slid the covers off of her.
She reached her hand out, feeling along until she found the edge of her bed. The cold nipped her skin as she hesitantly searched her arm with her other hand for the IV. To her surprise, it was gone. That will make things easier, she thought. She kept her hand on the edge of her bed and reached across the gap with the other, searching for the edge of his. It wasn't far, maybe a foot at most. She began to inch her way toward it, careful not to pull the rest of her monitors off.
She found the edge with her foot. She pushed herself upright and moved her feet across the gap. She took a deep breath, and did a variation of a jump, pushing off with one hand and pulling sideways with the other. She landed on his bed, bouncing just slightly. He continued to shiver, still not awake. She sighed in relief. Slowly she inched underneath his blankets, careful not to disturb any of his monitors either. She scooched over next to him and pulled him close. His skin was like ice. He definitely needed this.
His shivering slowly diminished. The knot in her stomach unraveled, and she held him tighter. Eventually, his shaking stopped, and he relaxed.
The last of her concern was replaced by pure joy. She was cuddling with Phineas! A warm, hot-chocolate-fuzzy-sweater-good-book-on-Christmas -Eve feeling crept out from her stomach to the tips of her fingers and toes. Her skin tingled with delight. Even though they were both stuck in a hospital, this was the best she had ever felt. She held him tighter, and drifted off to sleep.
Isabella's head throbbed, bruises all over her body pulsing. She groaned, trying to move. But, something was pressed up against her. Something warm. Something shivering frantically.
She forced her eyes open. Rigid in her arms lay Phineas, panting and shuddering, a death grip on her white shirt. Sweat rolled off of his forehead, just like it had the day before. Isabella panicked.
"Skia!" she screamed, "Skia! Somebody! Help!" She heard hurried footsteps echo through the room. She tried to find them, but curtains had been set up around their beds. Please, hurry, she thought. Phineas subconsciously buried his face into her shoulder, grinding his teeth in pain.
"I-it hurts..." he mumbled, "It hurts, please, help me..." He lay in a void, pain attacking every nerve, the constant throb crushing him from every angle. His skin burned but he felt so cold. Sweat boiled up and iced his skin as it slid down off his face. He had no idea who it was that he clung to, but they had to be able to make it stop. Please, help me!
Isabella cried out again. This wasn't like before. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. She turned her head to the monitors. Not a single light was on. On either of theirs. The power had gone out and turned them all off.
Absolute terror filled her. The terror mixed with the constant throb of her body, nearly making her puke. Phineas clung to her still, trembling. She pulled him closer, tears filling her eyes.
Suddenly, a teenage boy pushed aside a wall of curtains. His hair was a deep purple, with bangs that swooped sideways across his forehead. His dark eyebrows were furrowed over silver, caring eyes. But, what shocked Isabella the most, were large, eagle-like wings made of pure energy protruding from his back. They were the same deep purple, with silver along the top ridge.
He rushed forward, putting a hand to Phineas' head. He took it away and began flicking on equipment. It came to life with a low hum. One monitor began beeping furiously. The boy snatched a syringe off a nearby table and plunged it into Phineas' IV bag. The same blue liquid seeped down the tube.
Immediately, Phineas began to relax. His grip on her shirt loosened, and he fell back into a peaceful sleep.
Isabella shook slightly, panting heavily. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up into the boy's shiny silver eyes.
"You okay?" he asked. His voice was silky and strong.
"Y-yeah," she wavered, "That was scary."
The boy smiled, and stuck out his hand, "Alekin. Alekin Lytelus."
She took it hesitantly, "Isabella."
"Good to finally see you awake, Isabella," he said, "You've been unconscious for quite a while. Glad you could join us again."
She pulled her arm out from under Phineas and pushed herself upright, groaning, "How long was I out?"
"Well, you were asleep for almost a week until you woke up yesterday..."
Her eyes widened. A week? I was out for a full week?
Alekin nodded, as if reading her thoughts, and continued, "I'm surprised you're already awake. None of your friends are, and you were hurt a lot worse than them. Not as bad as Phineas here, but still much worse than anyone else in your group."
Isabella's heart jerked. She had totally forgotten about the rest of her friends.
"Oh my gosh Ferb! Baljeet! Buford! Candace! My troupe! Are they alright? What happened? Where are they?" Her mind went into overdrive, thinking up all sorts of scenarios. Alekin opened his mouth to speak.
"How about I explain this one, Alekin."
He jumped. A short, dark-haired girl about his age pushed her way past the curtains. Her long, curly hair bounced around her soft, sleek face. Her large brown eyes sparkled, thick black eyebrows raised in amusement at his surprise. Thick, red lips smiled wide, her nose crinkling in delight at his expression.
"Sam!" he exclaimed, "I thought you were going to tend to Ash!"
"Nah, Ash is fine for now. I thought I'd come see how Miss Garcia-Shapiro was feeling. How are you, Isabella?"
Isabella simply watched the two. This is just getting weirder and weirder. A "sorceress?" Now this winged guy? What is she, a psychic? They continued to stare at her expectantly.
"Uh, okay?" she responded, "A bit beat up, but..."
"Ah, that's right!" Alekin exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead, "Your medication's probably worn off, too. Here." He turned back to the nearby table and pulled the stopper off of a syringe, pouring the contents into a glass. He held it out to her. She eyed it hesitantly.
"Aw, c'mon it doesn't taste all that bad. I could stick you with a needle again if you prefer."
She took the glass and downed it in one gulp. Instantly, the throbbing subsided.
"Better?" Sam asked, plopping down on the bed. Isabella nodded.
"Good. So, you're probably wanting some explanation right about now, huh?"
Isabella nodded again.
"What do you want to know first?"
A thousand questions raced through her head. What was this place? Who were they? What were those things back in Danville? Why were they there? Why is magic suddenly real? Why does he have wings? Where are my friends? What happened? One question eventually found its way out her mouth.
"What's wrong with Phineas?"
Sam inhaled through her teeth, grimacing, "You sure you want to hear that one first?"
Isabella nodded again.
"Well, alright then," she began, "Back in Danville, when the Daleks-those things that attacked you-they came with one purpose: to get rid of you. Not you, specifically, but anyone and everyone that was involved with Phineas and Ferb's projects."
Isabella gasped, instinctively grabbing Phineas' arm.
Sam nodded, and continued, "Phineas and Ferb have... a special gift, you may say. They can avoid the laws of the dimension. That's not the laws of physics. Those are easy to break. But the laws of a dimension are solid, unbreakable, and dictate exactly what can and cannot happen. Candace busting the boys breaks one of those laws, so therefore the whole universe bends to prevent it from happening. But, Phineas and Ferb have on some occasions beaten those laws. Like, for instance, the day they built their own video game. You remember how Buford was the boss, correct?"
Isabella nodded.
"And you remember how they 'programmed' the second version into the real world?"
Isabella nodded again.
"Isn't it odd that there was nothing projecting Buford into the yard?"
Isabella thought for a second, and her eyes widened.
"That is exactly what I mean by breaking the laws of a dimension. In your dimension, as with nearly all of them, you cannot program reality. It simply doesn't work. Even the Doctor couldn't do that. They've never done it before or since, but they did it that one time, and the universe didn't correct it. And they've broken other laws too. And it attracted attention."
"Like the Daleks," Alekin added.
"Exactly," Sam continued, "And so they came after you."
"That's not exactly answering my question," Isabella cut in.
"I'm getting there," Sam said calmly, "As I was saying, they came after you lot, and the first one they spotted was you. You remember this part. Where Phineas suddenly shoved you?"
Isabella nodded. Phineas had dived into her, knocking them both into the grass. She had been peeved, until she saw the smoke rising from the spot she had been in. Phineas had gotten up and started yelling at some strange hunk of metal floating over the yard. After that, it was all flashes and loud noises, and a lot of pain.
"I don't remember much else, though," she replied.
Sam nodded, and continued, "Well, from what the Doctor told us-he's the one who rescued you guys-the Dalek tried to shoot you again, and Phineas dove in front. He's lucky to be alive. Dalek lasers are the deadliest weapons in the entire science fiction universe. The laser went through him and hit you anyway, if only with a quarter of the force it would've had."
"You're very very lucky to be sitting here today," Alekin chimed in, "Thankfully, the dimensional difference-and the mystic shield we cast-the drained most of the Daleks' weaponry. Phineas only got hit with a miniscule amount of what it would've been, and you can see it almost killed him."
Tears began to well up in Isabella's eyes. Sam shot Alekin a glare, as if to say, "You're not helping."
"Phineas will be fine, Isabella," she cooed, "And so will the rest of your friends. They were already halfway out of the dimension when the TARDIS got hit. In fact, Ferb was nearly up when I walked by. He kept muttering things about Gretchen..."
Isabella laughed, and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "So how long will it be until Phineas wakes up?"
Sam sighed, "I'd guess maybe two weeks more. But he will wake up, and he hasn't suffered any serious brain damage. You should probably stay here until then. You got hit, too, and by all logic you shouldn't be awake yet."
Isabella nodded, but furrowed her brow as all the new information piled into her head, raising a hundred more questions. She opened her mouth to speak.
"You're wondering about all this stuff with dimensions and such," Sam cut her off, "Well, let me start by saying this. All those stories, those movies and TV shows and books and plays, they are very, very real."
Isabella's mouth simply hung open. What? Of course they're not. They're just pretend.
"Oh, they are not pretend. Very much so. Maybe pretend to you, but to them they're definitely not pretend," she said. This weird reading her mind thing was starting to creep her out. Maybe wasn't so far off on her psychic idea.
"Every story ever written, ever told, ever televised, ever performed, has its own section of the universe, separated from all the others. A whole other 'dimension,' where everything that happened in what you call the story actually happened. The only thing this doesn't apply to is fanfiction. These 'parallels' are created directly from the energy in the original author's mind, and it branches off from the central dimension, 'reality,' and changes to fit the world the author imagines." Sam was starting to make some sort of sense, but at the same time, it was confusing her even more.
"Well, the walls separating these 'dimensions' are breaking, and everything is collapsing in on 'reality.'"
Sam watched Isabella carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. Most people didn't take it very well. Several had actually fainted from the initial idea.
"S-so, you're saying that all the books I've read... are real?" She was hesitant, her voice wavering.
"Yes."
She went silent again.
"So... The Hunger Games?"
"Yup."
"...Harry Potter?"
"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are a couple rows down tending to Baljeet."
"Lord of the Rings?"
"Aragorn ate breakfast with me this morning."
She went silent again, laying back down. It was a lot to take in. She squeezed Phineas' arm.
"So what is this place?" she whispered.
"This," Sam said, motioning, "Is the Fortress of Protagonists. A place where heroes from across the universe are being gathered to piece everything back together, and maybe even make it better than before. A place where everyone pools technology to keep the universe safe. So here's the big question, Isabella..."
Isabella lifted her head.
"Will you join us?"