Well, lets find out where Candace and Ferb went, shall we? We'll see a familiar face and know a lot more about the mysterious PSI…
Now, on with the show!
Chapter 3: Candace's Nightmare
"Ferb!" Ferb heard Candace's voice, it was faint but loud enough for him to hear. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw Candace looking down upon him and a bright sun above, although bigger than the one he saw everyday. The sky was completely cloudless, and Ferb wondered why. His question was soon answered after he stood up.
He looked around and noticed he was standing on… pink clouds? In fact, the whole ground was made of pink clouds. A small river of bright blue water circled the area of clouds he was on, forming an island. There was a purple bridge that lead to the main land and a large pole behind him that looked like a sea shell. In the land surrounding the island were little sea shell shaped homes, and some little palm trees with purple bark and vibrant green leaves. A fence surrounding the town made of sea shells was visible, and the people around the town were dressed like witches with blue robes and blue hats, or pink robes and pink hats for girls. Ferb and Candace were confused as to where this place was… or what it was, anyway.
Nobody seemed to notice the two, most of the townsfolk walked around aimlessly and ignored them. Confused, the two of them crossed the bridge into the actual town. The town was neither hot or cold, but rather between the two, between warm and cool even. A small little humming like theme seemed to fill the air around them, but it was very, very faint.
"Where are we?" Ferb asked.
"Beats me." Candace replied. "We could ask around, but…" Candace looked at the townsfolk. "I don't know if these guys are human or not."
Walking around the circle lake and north of town, they saw a sea shell like gate at the very edge, with two guards standing by it. Outside the two could see a building in the distance, surrounded by green weeds and the occasional red weed. The path to the building seemed to be purely pink. That's right, just… pink. The color was pink, but it was as if pink itself was the ground. The two walked toward the gate, nobody paying them mind at all. As they approached, the guards stopped them.
"What business do you have, exiting the town of Magicant?" Guard 1 asked.
"Magicant?" Candace asked. "What's a Magicant? Is it like, a magical ant that can use PSI?" Both of the guards' eyes widened at the mention of PSI, seeming to know what it is. They grew more serious as Guard 1 cleared his throat.
"Magicant is the realm you are currently in. It is above the clouds and is the resting place of many." Guard 1 said.
"So it's basically heaven?" Ferb asked.
"Yes, it is. This is heaven." Guard 1 said. "All people who have, as some say, "passed on," come here after they have gone through purgatory."
"Then that means…" Candace began. "Do you have a list of all the people who have died in the last two years?"
"Yes we do. You two have not appeared to have died… how did you get here?" Guard 1 asked.
"We got here by using PSI." Ferb answered.
"Hmm…" Guard 1 seemed puzzled. "What do you need with the list?"
"Is a Phineas Flynn on the list?" Candace asked. The guard pulled out a note pad and browsed through many names on the list. He stopped at one area.
"Yes, we have a Phineas Flynn here. He is located in Queen Mary's castle, just North of here." Guard 1 pointed to the building in the far North. "Have safe travel, and may I have your names?"
"Candace Flynn. This is my brother, Ferb Fletcher." Candace said. The guards gasped.
"Candace?! Ferb?! Queen Mary must see you right away! Go on, go on!" The guards bowed and stepped aside, letting the two walk out of the town.
"Well that was weird." Candace said.
"Almost as if they were expecting us." Ferb said. "They seemed to know about PSI. Maybe this Queen Mary has answers to all the problems around Danville."
They continued walking before reaching a humongous pink-purple sea shell castle. The gates were open and the castle seemed to want the two to enter. As they walked inside, they saw many familiar people walking down the halls.
"These look like our relatives that died long ago…" Candace said. Then, the two of them noticed at the end of the hall was an open door. They walked past the massive amount of people and entered. Inside was a long, lush red and gold encrusted carpet, leading to a golden throne with a red cushion and back. Sitting on it was a lady with flowing yellow hair, a sea shell like crown, and a beautiful pink-purple dress. Sitting on her lap was a boy about Ferb's age. He looked at the entrance and got a huge grin.
"Ferb!" The boy shouted. He ran towards Ferb.
"Phineas!" Ferb shouted back. They ran over to each other and gave a warm embrace, showing how happy they were to see each other again. Phineas took a step back with a horrified look on his face.
"Wait, does this mean you're dead?!" Phineas asked.
"No, no. We somehow ended up here by use of PSI." Ferb replied. "We never died." Phineas sighed in relief.
"Welcome to Magicant, then! It's great here!" Phineas said, smiling. "You can do whatever you want, and you can have whatever you want and as much of it as you want!"
"Now now Phineas, we don't need Ferb getting spoiled." The lady stood up and walked over to them. "Hello Ferb. Hello Candace. I am Queen Mary, ruler of Magicant."
"How do you know us? How do you know Phineas?" Candace asked.
"You don't recognize me?" Queen Mary asked. Candace looked her over.
"Wait a second… Great-Grandmother Maria? Is that you?" Queen Mary smiled and hugged her, to which Candace returned the hug.
"It's so good to see you again." Queen Mary said.
"How did you become the ruler of Magicant?" Ferb asked.
"That is a question that is to be answered later." Queen Mary replied. "For now, I understand you need help with something, yes?"
"We need to collect the eight Star Crystals." Ferb said. "One of them is located in the meteorite in the Danville Museum."
Queen Mary got a serious look on her face. She knew this day would come, but she did not expect it for a long, long time.
"I understand that you require a third friend to assist you. However, I must stay and rule Magicant, and Phineas is spiritually bound to Magicant, meaning he cannot leave as he is not alive." Queen Mary said. "But I can provide you with knowledge of PSI. Especially for you, Candace."
"What kind of PSI can I use?" Candace asked. "I know I can use it, but I don't know what it does."
"Well Candace, now you shall know." Queen Mary snapped her fingers, and Candace got a far away look in her eyes. Her pupils disappeared as she stood on the ground not moving. Queen Mary gasped.
"Oh no, she cannot learn her techniques…" Queen Mary said.
"What's wrong with her?" Phineas asked.
"She has some sort of… being inside of her. It is preventing her from realizing PSI." Queen Mary replied. "I wonder what is going on inside her head…"
Inside Candace's Mind…
Candace looked around. The whole area she was in was surrounded by darkness, with nothing but a small, blue platform in the middle that kept her from falling. In front of her was… her. She stood face to face with herself.
"…Huh? This is…" Candace began. The other her was transparent.
"Welcome. So you've come here again… Me." Candace2 said.
"…This being?" Candace questioned. Candace2 smirked.
"You've forgotten? How foolish of, well, me." Candace 2 said. "This is the inside of my heart." Candace2 stared at Candace. "Remember when that thing locked you up in here?" Candace got wide eyed.
"How… How did you know about that?!" Candace said shocked.
"I'm you, remember? But back to the point." Candace2 said. "Of course, you happened to be rescued by a superb individual." Candace took a step back.
"…What are you afraid of?" Candace2 asked. "…Are you afraid to look into your own heart?" Candace gave a small nod. "But there's nothing to fear. You see? This is all there is." Candace took another look around. This darkness was her heart?!
"It's all empty. Totally hollow. A dreary, dank expanse, that's all. And there's not a single person to comfort you in here." Candace2 said. Candace took another step back.
"Because you've thrown it all away. Tossed it from your heart." An illusion of Candace's family appeared next to Candace2. Candace was shocked.
"Ah yes. I believe, though, there was such a girl once." Candace2 continued. "But, I must ask. Do you remember her? Did you appreciate her?
"No, that can't be right. You always did things for the fun of them. Because you were just so bored. And so even she left you. And then, as they say, there were none." Candace 2 continued to tell Candace about her… err, their dark side. Candace was shocked again as another illusion of her family appeared, this one was of the day Phineas died, and all of them looked sad.
"So, who was she?" Candace 2 continued.
"O-Of course I'd remember!" Candace stuttered. "You mean Mom! Duh! You're talking about before my… brothers were born. S-She cared about me to the very end… Hell, maybe she'd even go past that." Candace never swore before, but she felt it was okay inside of her own mind. "But… At the same time, the things she told me fell on deaf ears… I'm beyond all help."
"…So, perhaps you wish to die this time." Candace2 said again. "You never see anything but yourself. Truly… irredeemable in every way."
"Stop… Stop it…" Candace tried to shake off the things Candace2 told her…self.
"Listen, me. Do you know why you are here once more?" Candace2 said. "It is because you desired not to think about anything anymore. So we'll live here together, forever. Just me, myself, and I. After all, there's nothing I can do. It's only the inevitable outcome."
"…Who are… you?" Candace asked. Candace2 gave off a bright light before transforming into a golden humanoid statue holding a dagger with both hands, in the center of its chest. The dagger pointed at the ground, and the statue had devil horns. A small engraving on the bottom read "Nightmare."
"I am the wickedness in your heart." Nightmare said. "Yes, it is I. And you must defeat me if you wish to escape. But you can't beat me. Because… You are the one who forced me into being."
"…That can' be right." Candace said. "…This empty place is supposed to be ALL of me? You think I'm gonna believe that?!" Candace faced Nightmare with a glare. "This can't be all there is! And you're… not… ME!"
Candace's hammer appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed it and rushed toward Nightmare. The statue broke position and jumped out of the way, getting behind her and smacking her head with the blunt end of the dagger. She stumbled around before bringing up her hammer again. She swung it, and made contact with Nightmare.
"Me, to still your sword and simply endure is not of your true nature." Nightmare said. "That, I will simply not approve." It proceeded to stab at Candace, who jumped out of the way and tried attacking, but couldn't get close enough.
'It's no use.' Candace thought. 'I can't get close to it to attack without getting hurt. Unless…' Candace felt something awake inside her… well, inside of her right now, not inside of her mind. She pointed her fingers at Nightmare, as they glowed bright red.
"PSI Fire!" Fire shot from Candace's fingers and made contact with Nightmare, burning it. She pointed again.
"PSI Freeze!" Ice shards appeared around Nightmare and began to stab at it. It shrugged the shards off and rushed Candace, punching her in the gut. Candace fell backwards, as Nightmare raised the dagger up. Candace pointed one last time.
"PSI Thunder!" Candace shouted. Lightning bolts formed around Nightmare, striking down and electrocuting it. It was stunned, causing Candace to grab her hammer and run forward. She smashed Nightmare upside the head, causing it to stumble backward off the platform. As soon as it did, it began to crack as light began to shine from it.
"How… can this be? The thought… of being defeated… by a mere child… is highly unexpected!" Nightmare exploded into light, causing everything around Candace to vaporize. She blacked out, but not before hearing a voice in her head.
"Come on, Candace. It's time to get up. Wake up! You need to go to Normalville! A friend awaits you there! One with PSI capabilities! Then, return to Danville and acquire the Star Crystal. That is where you must return home. Oh, when you wake up, put this on. If anyone asks, say this…"
Candace woke up, holding a hat in her hand. Everyone stared at her. As she moved around, she looked at her surroundings. They were still in Magicant. She put the hat on. It was a simple straw hat with a blue band going around the base.
"Candace you're awake!" Phineas said. "Where did you get that hat?" Candace remembered what the voice said. She smiled.
"Some pirates gave it to me." Candace looked at Queen Mary. "Apparently, I can use PSI Fire, Freeze, and Thunder."
"Ah, those are the three elemental PSI powers." Queen Mary said. "They are the most basic and well known offensive PSI powers, next to Lifeup and PSI Beam, which you should learn shortly."
"So what do we do next?" Ferb asked.
"We need to go to Normalville." Candace said. "A new friend awaits us there!"
-(End Of Chapter)-
UGH THIS TOOK FOREVER. I'm FINALLY getting back into the time/motivation of writing again, so expect more from me soon! The thing will be expanded on later, but for now…
Stay Tuned!
~087-B
