Weight of Memories
Summary: When Candace was 16 she ran away from home. 10 years later Phineas has given up all hope of ever finding her until his 6 year old niece appears on his doorstep. Now he must go a journey of a life time to reunite his family and follow the path of fate.
Disclaimer: "Phineas and Ferb" belongs to Dan and Swampy along with all it's characters. Some of the inspirations belong to "The Longest Journey," which is owned by Funcom. Everything else is owned by me unless I say otherwise.
Rating: Mature for language, implied sex, and maybe slightly graphic violence later on.
8*8*8
There were no words to explain that moment between the men and thee little girl when all their eyes met.
"Hi, daddy!" Amanda said cheerfully. Drew looked at her, at his glass of wine, then back at her before tossing the glass over his shoulder.
"Charlie! Get me the bottle of moonshine! No, don't bother with a glass, just get me the fucking bottle!"
"D-Daddy?!" Jeremy said in surprise as he turned towards the man next to him. It was easy to see who child's mother was just by looking at her, but the father was surprising.
"I'm pretty sure I'm not your daddy, Jeremy." Drew muttered as Charlie handed him the bottle of moon shine. "You are two years older than me."
"Drew!"
"Alright!" Drew threw his hands in the air as he stood. "So we were together for twelve hours! If make you feel better all we did was have sex the whole time." He glanced at Phineas as he passed.
"Candy's in the back, last door on the right." He told him. "Warning though; she keeps three guns in her room." He was about leave when Amanda called him out.
"Hey!" she yelled at him. "That's it?! You see the daughter you gave up six years ago and you don't even say two words?!" He looked back at her with what seemed to be a bored stare.
"'Go away.'" He said. "There! I even threw in nine more for ya." Amanda counted on her fingers to see if he was right. He tried to walk away, but she didn't travel this far for nothing.
"Hey! Get back here! I've some words for ya!" she snapped as she pushed through the crowd.
"Leave them outside and I'll pick them up tomorrow and toss 'em in the trash!" he said back.
"Amanda!" Phineas made to follow them, but stopped.
Candace was in the back. He was just a few steps away from his sister! And it wasn't like Drew would hurt the kid, right? After all she was his flesh and blood, not to mention this was a public place. He knew that he was being irresponsible, but his sister was so close!
'I'm sure Amanda will be fine,' he reasoned with himself. 'Besides, seeing me and Amanda at the same time might be too much of a shock. Especially if she already saw…'
He made to go to the back, but Jeremy stopped him.
"Phineas," he said. Phineas gave him a half glare. Why was he stopping him when he so close? Didn't he realize that Phineas had been searching for his sister for ten years?
Jeremy seemed to rethink what he wanted to say and sighed.
"Just… be careful. Candace isn't the way you remember her." He said as he stood. Phineas watched him for a moment, wondering what he meant, then turned.
*8*
As he walked to the back he could feel his heart pumping as the adrenal rushed through his veins. At first he walked slowly, but with each step he quickened his pace until he was running. Then he stopped in front of a door that was labeled, "Kandi Rok."
This was it.
After all these years of searching and hoping, this was it.
Taking a deep nervous breath, he reached his hand out towards the door knob and noticed that it was shaking. How could he be this nervous? Sure, it had been ten years, but Candace was still Candace, right?
"Candace isn't the way you remember her."
That was impossible. No matter what happened, or how much time had passed, Candace would always be the same.
Or so Phineas thought.
He closed his eyes and grabbed the door knob, not knowing that when he opened that door, his life would change forever.
*8*
Ferb shifted uncomfortably as he sat against the wall in the rain. What was taking Phineas so long?
In front of him, the tiny robot was still chasing Doofenshmirtz back and forth while he ran comedicly, screaming like a maniac. Baljeet and Buford went to help him while Vanessa stood in an alley way with Monty smoking a cigarette. They were talking about something, but Ferb didn't care to listen. To be honest, during this whole trip he had it his personal mission not to think about her too long, least he start experiencing old feelings again.
Instead, he focused on Heinz and the robot.
Usually, he would have been amused to watch this scene, especially when Buford tried to tackle the robot in an attempt to stop it. The robot was more durable than that however and spun wildly until it threw him into one or the canals.
"Yuck!" he exclaimed. "Even I have my limit when it comes to filth!" Then Buford saw a dismembered head float past him. He immediately jumped out and landed in Baljeet's arms. Baljeet struggled to hold him, but his knees eventually gave way and both fell on to the wet cement.
Ferb turned his attention to the sky and watched the lighting flash. Unlike his brother, Ferb liked the rain. It was peaceful in a way to him and he always felt as if it was washing his problems away little, by little. Right now though, he felt as if it would take a typhoon to wash his worries away.
He pulled out the Cd of Candace and touched the cover.
He wasn't naïve like his brother. He knew time could change a person completely, and ten years was a long time. He hadn't even seen her and he knew that Candace was different. Hell, she had changed before she left.
The Candace he knew wouldn't have run away because of a small fight. She wouldn't have had a kid and just give it up. Most of all, she wouldn't have let her family worry for ten years, wondering if she was dead or alive.
But this Candace did. Not only did she leave them, but she forgot about them and made a new life without them.
That hurt Ferb more than anything. That was why he didn't go in. He couldn't. And what if Candace didn't want to see them? What then?
"Hey." He glanced up and saw Isabella holding an umbrella over him. "You okay?"
Isabella mentally kicked herself. Of course he wasn't alright. When he didn't reply, she slid down and sat next to him. There she started to watch the rain fall into the puddles. All sorts of questions began to spring into her head.
What would happen after today? Would things go back to the way they were, or would everything change?
'Brr!' Isabella shivered as she hugged herself. 'It sure is cold tonight.'
Suddenly a warm arm wrapped herself around her. Blushing slightly she glanced up as Ferb leaned his head against hers. Whether he did this to warm her, or for some sort of comfort she didn't know. But she didn't push him away ether. Despite herself Isabella found herself cuddling into his warm chest as something else began to stir inside hers.
*8*
Back inside the club, Amanda was staring at her long lost father. He wasn't as scary as he looked online, but he wasn't exactly being pleasant.
"Aren't gonna ask me anything?" she asked. Drew finished his drink before answering.
"Just two; Why are you here and how did you get here?" he asked.
"Unca Phineas and Ferb brought me with Auntie Vanessa."
"Vanessa? Oh, god! She's here too?" Drew hit his head on the table. "Dammit! Mom must have told her! Well, it's nice to know she actually reads my post cards once in a while." Amanda nudged his head.
"Get up! I still gots questions!"
"What?!" he snapped as he looked up. "What could you possibly want?"
"I wanna know why you dumped me!" she snapped back, getting straight to the point.
"'Dumped?' What? Did we date?"
"Eww! That sick, even as a joke!"
"Good! Means I'm getting drunk." Drew glanced at the child and sighed. God, when she was scowling at him with her arms were crossed, it was hard to tell who she looked more like; Candace or him.
"You wanna know why we 'dumped' you? Fine! I'll tell you," he straightened himself up and looked her square in the eye. "We got rid of you because we're selfish A-holes who can't even take of ourselves." He tossed the bottle away, and motioned to Charlie to toss him another.
"Then why did you have me!?" Amanda yelled. Anywhere else, the customers would be staring at the two, however here this kind of situation was normal. Hell, they've had worst.
"Because Candace believed that aborting you would be the same as murder, and she didn't want any more blood on her hands!" Drew clutched his hair.
Dammit! In all his years of learning to lie, cheat, and manipulate like his father, but he never learned how to act in this situation. He didn't know how to deal with this! All Drew did know was that he shouldn't lie. Not about this. Not to his…
He knew the kid deserved the truth, but the look she had on her face told him that he was doing this all wrong. So what in the world was the right way? Was there even a right way?
Drew played with the bottle in his hand as his pet raven swooped down and landed on his shoulder. It rubbed against his cheek as if to comfort him and give him strength.
"Look…" he said. "You probably came hoping to get a family and find yourself, or whatever. But we, especially your mother, don't even know ourselves." Amanda scoffed.
"Forget that stuff! I just want my money!" she said as she held out her hand. "You owe me six years' worth of child support!"
"Sorry brat, but because you were given up for a closed adoption, I don't owe you squat." Drew said immediately on instinct. Was it wrong that he was glad that he was happy the kid didn't look heartbroken like any other child would? "Nice try though."
*8*
In the back, Phineas took a deep breath.
'Here it goes.' He thought. He opened the door and just barely managed to side step a bullet that came his way.
"Whoa!" In his shock he fell back on to the hallway floor.
"I don't want to hear it anymore!" a familiar voice yelled.
"Candace?!" Phineas gasped. Complete and utter silence fell between the two as their eyes met.
"Ca…Candace?" Phineas said slowly as tears began to fill his eyes. Time had defiantly changed Candace over the string of ten years. She looked like completely different person.
Candace blinked as her tried to process who the boy in front of her was.
No, not boy. Man.
Ten years ago the person in front of her was boy, but now he was a twenty one year old man, with the same baby face. Slowly, her mind finally worked itself around the alcohol and she gripped her door as she recognized him. Her eyes widen and she went stiff.
This was not happening. She was drunk. Her mind was busted from all the alcohol she drank and now she was having hallucinations. That had to be it. There was no way that after all these years he would be here on the same day as Jeremy was.
Not unless…
"DREW!" Candace clutched her fists and ran past Phineas, determined not to look at him.
"Candace!" Phineas scrambled up as quickly as he could.
'Where is she going?'
Candace stomped down the hallway until she came to the bar.
"Drew!" she yelled as she searched around for him. "First Jeremy, now this?! This isn't funny!"
"Well, it was!" Drew yelled back. Following his voice she tore through the crow, throwing aside any unfortunate soul that got in her way.
"Candace!" Phineas yelled as he followed her. He didn't get it. Why was she acting this way? Why wouldn't she look at him?
Candace ignored him and continued on her rampage.
"I'll kill you this time, I swear!" she cried. "For gods' sake! Both in one day?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"If you think that's bad, then don't come over here!" Candace scowled until she finally saw him. There, she saw what he meant.
"Told ya." Drew said as he took a swing from his bottle. Sitting across from him was a six year old little girl with big round eyes just like hers.
"Hiya!" she waved as she kicked her feet. Candace felt as if the whole world had picked itself up and jumped on her back. First Jeremy, then Phineas, now this?
"Candace!" Phineas panted when he finally caught up to her. She looked between him and Amanda.
She couldn't take it. She just couldn't.
"I… I…" she gapped. "Shit!" Without another word she turned and ran for the back door.
"Wait!" Phineas yelled as he followed.
*8*
IMPORTANT! READ!
Alright people, here's the deal; I have too many projects to work on and I need to cut down on some projects. So if you like this story, you need to tell me so I can continue. If you don't, then I'm going to move on to the next story.
Is this an ultimatum? Perhaps. But I have more than I can keep up with, and even more that I want to do and if no one cares what happens in this story, I would like to try and save this idea by turning it into an original. I'll of course finish posting what I have, but after that I'll have to move on.
So, if you like, review. If not don't.
*8*
Profile:
Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Age: over 50(?)
DOB: June 24 (correct me if I'm wrong, please!)
Occupation: Evil scientist
Skills: advanced in technology and speaking Spanish
Other: Heinz is as bent as ever on taking over the Tristate area and as such his battle with Perry the Platypus is unending. He remarried Drew's mother who also happened to be his brother's ex-wife. This also makes him Drew's seventh stepfather. (Small world.) While Heinz and Laura have an off and on again relationship at the end of the day they always end up back together.
Even though she is an adult now, Heinz still over protects Vanessa much to her annoyance.