A/N: as promised, an update. After this it'll be a few more days before the next chapter, as I'm currently working on some things and hope to have them finished soon. Thanks to those who've been giving me all those good reviews; I promise to write again soon!
Impostor
Chapter Seven: The Clock is Ticking
Ferb
I couldn't sleep. It was well past midnight, and I was pretty tired, but I couldn't keep my eyes shut - not while Phineas's bed across the room lay empty. I'd turned my back to it, to pretend he was there, but in my mind I knew better. I knew he was off somewhere, hidden away, likely hurt, and that he was scared, and that there was nothing I could do to help him. It was all in Moon's hands now. I could only hope he would be alive when she found him.
Eventually, morning came. Today was cloudy. It would probably rain later. I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, as I had been for hours, when the seven-o'clock alarm went off. I only let it ring.
It was almost nine by the time Candace came and shut off the alarm. She looked over at me and sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Her weight made her sink a little in the mattress.
"Ferb," she said gently, "Ferb, c'mon downstairs. Have some breakfast. You need to eat something, at least."
I knew she was right. My stomach had been growling since sometime last night. I hadn't had dinner because I was certain that if I did I'd be sick. I might be sick as it was, but I had to at least try to get something down - toast, maybe, or cereal. Toast sounded okay. I slowly sat up in bed and looked back over at Candace.
"C'mon, Ferb," she gave me a firm yet sympathetic look and put a hand on my shoulder. "You'll feel better if you eat something, I promise."
After a minute I nodded, and followed Candace downstairs to the kitchen. There was a half-empty box of cereal on the table and I slid into the empty chair next to it. Despite the fact that I was very hungry, I only had half a bowl, and by the time I was done the clouds had made the sky outside a hazy grey. The tree in the backyard was damp, and its leaves hardly made a sound as a slight breeze shuffled them around a little. Opening the back door I went out and sat under the tree, as I had done every day this summer, and sighed. It was always around this time that Phineas would start making plans for the day...but not today.
Today I was alone.
"Hey, Ferb."
I looked up to see Marissa coming out into the backyard. Her face was blank, but in her eyes I saw worry and sadness. She probably saw the same in mine. I moved over a little under the tree so she could sit next to me. She did, and when she spoke her voice was quiet. "You doing okay?"
Slowly I shook my head. I wouldn't be okay until I got my brother back. "I miss him."
Marissa sighed. "I do too...but there's nothing we can do about it. It's all in Moon's hands now."
I knew Moon could find him, but she was as much a curse as she was a blessing. I'd seen the flash of malice in her eyes when she'd met the impostor, and I'd seen how well she'd hidden it from him, so that he wouldn't suspect anything. That worried me a little, how well she could hide her thoughts, but it wasn't what concerned me the most. What concerned me the most was that she seemed to lack any sort of morals whatsoever. She couldn't tell between right and wrong - either she couldn't, or she simply chose not to. I hoped it was the former; at least then she could learn. As it was, she made me nervous. She was more interested in herself than the rest of us - although I couldn't blame her for that as she'd only known us for about a week - but at least she was relatively clean about that. I knew we were lucky to get her help regarding the impostor; if the twenty bucks hadn't been enough for her, even I'd have begun to beg her for her help. That said, I understood her reluctance. She had mentioned how dangerous soul-suckers can be, and there was a significant risk for her as well. But we still had no clue what had happened to Phineas. I knew he was scared, alone, hurt...I only hoped he was still alive. I didn't want to think about what might happen if he wasn't.
It was hard enough not knowing. I was almost afraid to find out.
Eventually it began to rain. It started first as a light drizzle, but it escalated quickly into the beginnings of a storm. Marissa had gone back inside long before, but I hadn't moved. I only sat and let the rain come down on me. It didn't matter anymore - inside, outside, wet, dry, rain, sun...I missed Phineas and I couldn't be happy until I knew he would be alright. It was agony knowing that I couldn't help him, that there was nothing I could do for him. But I had to believe that at least he was still alive.
The gate to the backyard swung open with a creak, and before I could even think I looked up. "Phineas?"
No. Instead stood Isabella, wearing her raincoat against the coming storm. I could tell she had been crying - her face had turned a puffy red and there were still fresh tears around her eyes. She looked across the yard at me, then came over to the tree and stood over me. She spoke: "Ferb...how long have you been out here?"
I only shrugged. It didn't really matter anyhow.
Isabella softened. "Ferb, come on inside. Don't do this to yourself. I miss Phineas too, but..." her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath so she wouldn't start crying again. After a minute of silence she looked back up at me, holding out one hand. "C'mon inside."
I stared at her hand for a moment and then took it, allowing her to lead me back into the house. Inside it was silent, save for the rain pattering on the roof, and I took a seat on the sofa in the living room.
Candace brought me a towel.
I didn't have dinner that night either. Instead I spent it in my room. I didn't want to see anyone, and I didn't want them to see me. Not until Phineas was back. I had to believe he would be.
There was a soft tap on the door and I looked up to see Marissa, the one person I could fully relate to right now. I knew the kind of bond she shared with Phineas - I was a bit jealous of it at times, but I could not say that I didn't share the same bond with him.
Marissa was silent as she came into the room and sat next to me on the bed. Her eyes met with mine for a moment, and then without a word she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in close to her. After a moment I did the same. I could feel her shaking a little, but it wasn't until a small droplet landed on my collar that I realized she was crying.
"Ferb," she said quietly, in between sobs, "What if - what if he never comes back?"
I hesitated a moment, but then answered: "He will. He has to..."
"If he doesn't...would you sleep with me tonight?"
I only nodded.
"Thanks," Marissa's voice was barely a whisper, but in it was the tiny relief of a lost satisfaction, salvaged only by desperate hope. I wished I could be so lucky to share in that satisfaction - mine would only come with the return of Phineas.
Eventually I fell asleep, still in Marissa's arms.
It was dark when I awoke, and the clock on the bed-table read 12:23. It was still raining; occasional flashes of lightning lit the room, followed a few moments later by distant thunder. Carefully, I slipped out of sleeping Marissa's arms and tiptoed quietly to the window, staring out at the heavy rain. It seemed that the sky was crying for me - that it was crying for Phineas. I put my hand up against the cold glass, and it left a small foggy print where it had been. I could almost see Phineas's reflection staring back instead of my own. He stared back at me, but his face showed none of the pain I knew he must be going through, wherever he was...instead he only stared, blank-eyed, unblinking. I sighed. Brother, where are you? What has It done to you? Come home, Brother. Marissa needs you. I need you...
It was an hour later when I returned to bed, slipping back in with Marissa for some more sleep. Her body was warm, and in her sleep she snuggled closer, draping one arm around me like a teddy-bear. She gave a sleepy murmur, and then was still for a moment until a sudden boom of thunder woke her. She sat up with a startled gasp, and then looked down at me. I put one arm around her, and gave her a comforting look.
Marissa took a deep breath, and then gave me a tiny appreciative smile. "Thanks, Ferb."
I only nodded as another flash of lightning lit the room.
"You think it'll rain all night?" she asked quietly, "You know it's hard for me to sleep during a storm."
I only shrugged. No sooner had I done that than the thunder following the lightning rumbled across the sky, making the floorboards shake a little. There was the distinctive squeak of the door opening, and I turned to see Perry waddle sleepily into the room. He hopped up onto the bed and immediately curled up between the two of us, gave a contented chatter, and fell asleep.
I thought maybe it would be best if I went back to sleep, too. I hadn't slept at all the night before, and I was exhausted. I settled back down, careful not to wake sleeping Perry, and Marissa did the same. I was about to close my eyes when another flash of lightning crossed the sky, leaving its jagged mark in the dark clouds, and in that brief moment of light, I could see, outside the window, what seemed to be a gargoyle, perched on the roof. But as the lightning faded I could see the distinct colour of glow-in-the-dark green, and I remembered Moon wore a pendant that colour on her choker. Thunder masked my bare footsteps as I ran to the window and pushed it open. The smell of rain greeted me as soon as I did, but my eyes were locked on Moon.
"Moon?" came Marissa's voice from behind me. "What're you doing here? and in the middle of the night, no less?"
Moon only gave a sly smirk. "C'mon," she said, "I know where your brother is."
