What? An author's note before the story? Yes, yes it is. I tried to write "First Dimension Isabella", "Second Dimension Ferb", and so on, but it got tiring. So, I'm going to use the notation that TV Tropes uses: Character-1 is a First Dimension character, while Character-2 is a Second Dimension character. If they do not have a notation assigned to them, they are either being spoken about by a character, or have only one living form (such as Baljeet).
The most active Resistance members were gathered round the bizarre gun-like machine last used many months ago. Gretchen was standing by it, with Baljeet's final letter in her hand. Isabella did not miss the tearstains that smudged the writing on the letter. The instructions, though, seemed to be intact. Gretchen read the instructions in her head for about the fortieth time. Then she began a complex series of commands, switching constantly between the computer and the many levers and buttons on the side of the Dimension Hopper.
"And... behold, the First Dimension!" Gretchen finally yelled. The Dimension Hopper fired, releasing a portal into the air. Through it, they could see a large grassy area with cobblestone walkways. "Isabella, sir, you may begin escorting everyone through. It's much more stable than the first run of the Hopper."
"Great. Thank you, Gretchen," Isabella said sincerely. "Candace and Jeremy, you go through first. Phineas, Ferb, and the Firestorms after them... minus Gretchen, of course. Django and Buford, take the rear with me."
They began walking through the dimensional rift. Gretchen maintained the portal's stability as each group hopped through, and closed it behind them. When they needed to return, they had three handheld "clockwise" guns, similar to the one used by the First Dimension Phineas to escape their doom. Naturally, their own mad scientists had created them.
The Resistance was almost blinded by the sight. They winced at the bright light, and Katie pointed at the sky.
"Why is it blue?" she asked. "And what is that big yellow ball?"
"The atmostphere here is not quite as polluted," Candace explained. "The sky is actually blue normally, even in our dimension. We just can't see it. As for the ball, it's the Sun: the closest star to the Earth."
"Ugh, why are stars so hot and bright?" Katie complained. "And what is all this green stuff on the ground?"
"Grass," Isabella said. "And before you ask, yes, it IS supposed to be green. An atrocious color, but we don't choose our natural world."
"Guh, I hope this mission is quick. I want to go back to our dimension with a pretty, normal purple sky, and no star burning us," Milly said.
"Well, the quicker we find this dimension's twins-" Isabella began, but was interrupted as a flying vehicle flew over the park they stood in. It was flying through use of rapidly spinning blades on the bottom, as opposed to a helicopter's normal top-mounted blades.
"There they are," Ferb said. Noone could see the First Dimension brothers, but noone needed to.
Suddenly, a ray hit the machine. The kids freefell for a few seconds, but they they activated parachutes and flew to the ground. As soon as they touched the ground, several more rays caused the parachutes to disappear.
"Look! Look! Mom!" A red-headed teenage girl was dragging her mother along, and the Resistance members hid.
"And I'm supposed to see...?" Her mother's voice asked.
"B-b-b-but..." the teenager stammered.
"Would you like a ride home, dear? Oh, hello, boys. Having fun in the park?" the mother asked.
"Yeah! We build an upside-down helicopter! It vanished, but we had parachutes on," Phineas said enthusiastically.
"Always with your father's imagination," the mother said, rolling her eyes and walking away.
"Whoever's been listening to our conversation can come out from behind the statue of John P. Tristate," a rough voice said.
The Resistance members stepped from behind the statue, which they had impressively all fit behind. The speaker had been Buford. Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Phineas, and Ferb were also present. Their mother had left. They lined up with their alternate counterparts, leavin g Jeremy, Django, and the Firestorm Girls behind the lines. The First Dimension's Baljeet was also left out.
"Whoa. This is almost as freaky as Thaddeus and Thor," Phineas-1 said.
"Pft. Those two were on Doof's side in our dimension. I brought them down during my time as leader," Candace-2 said.
"Alternate dimension? Interesting," Baljeet said thoughtfully.
"You remember. You helped us save it," Isabella-2 said. She imitated her introduction to Phineas, in the same accusative voice used. "What'cha doin'?"
"Hey! Noone uses my catchphrase but me!" Isabella-1 responded angrily.
"I am you," Isabella-2 said, rolling her eyes. Isabella-1 thought about it for a bit.
"So, why are you so unstylish, if you are me?" Isabella-1 asked.
"This is armor. You know, for when you can't be a pretty prancing pony every day of your life, and have to fight for freedom instead," Isabella-2 said bitterly. It wasn't because she hated cuteness or innocence. It was because this Isabella reminded her of herself before the Resistance came to be.
"Fight for freedom? Us helping? I don't remember any of this," Candace-1 said, crossing her arms.
"Well, gee, I only saved your collective butts," Candace-2 said. "Can you not remember nearly being fed to a vicious monster?"
"No, no I can't," Candace-1 said. "How about you guys?" All of the First Dimension kids shrugged.
"Hmph. They've probably had their memories wiped somehow," Holly-2 said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, she raised her fist in the air, smiling, and proclaimed, "Phineas, Ferb, I know what we're going to do today!" Both pairs of brothers saluted. "Er, OUR Phineas and Ferb. You guys can't really be too much of a help." The First Dimension brothers stepped back into line.
"Actually, they can be," Isabella-2 said. "Phineas, Phineas, Ferb, Ferb, and Holly, find this dimension's Holly and find a cure. Twice the mad science equals twice the speed, so get cracking."
The five saluted, but before they could depart, Candace-1 put her hand on her brothers' heads.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You have no right telling my brothers what to do," Candace-1 told Isabella-2.
"Her right is founded in the cumulative two dozen firearms we carry," Candace-2 responded. Candace-1 narrowed her eyes.
"You think I'm afraid of you? You're me. We both know I have no combat experie-" Candace-1 was interrupted by being flipped over Candace-2 shoulder, followed by having a chokehold around her neck.
"I think I have a bit of combat experience," Candace-2 said.
"Alright, you've made your point, Candace. Release her," Isabella-2 ordered. Candace-2 did so, and Candace-1 gasped for breath.
"You... take orders... from Isabella?" Candace-1 asked between breaths.
"I take orders from my commander," Candace-2 said firmly. "Now, then, Flynn-Fletchers, get busy." Phineas-1 and Ferb-1 stood still. "Now!"
"No. You just hurt our sister. Why should we help you?" Phineas asked defiantly.
"Hey, stop resisting! That's my job!" Buford-2 yelled.
"Ok, cut it out," Isabella-2 ordered. "We're here to get allies, not new enemies. Phineas, Ferb - YOUR Phineas and Ferb, I mean - Candace is a bit more violent than the rest of us, and I'm very sorry that she attacked. But our lives literally hinge on your help, so please, just do as I say. Follow my Holly, Phineas, and Ferb, and find your own Holly. Then get to work on some device to restore lost memories."
"Fine. I can't say no to Isabella," Phineas muttered quietly, turning and following the Resistance's mad scientists. Ferb followed silently.
"Hey, why are you doing that to MY Phineas?" Isabella-1 asked impatiently.
"I have no time to petty arguments, Pinkskirt," Isabella-2 said dismissively. "Get whatever you want to take to my dimension. Preferably, your battle armor."
"I don't have any battle armor," Isabella-1 said.
"Then you're gonna die," Isabella-2 said. "Alright, everyone, scatter and find your pretty-happy counterparts."
Scene cut...
Katie was with Milly, stepping cautiously near the DEI building. Ginger had separated from them. They noted about how this DEI building had neither an advanced security system nor the tall extra attachment it had in their dimension. They were oddly let straight in by the security man, who made a remark about the weird costumes they were wearing, and how they had just came in in their Fireside uniforms.
They took the elevator to the top floor, and peeked around a corner. There were their alternate forms, in bizarre orange uniforms. They were talking to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. They grabbed hold of their blasters, and when Heinz reached out his hand to grab the girls, they shot at it. He pulled his hand away, alarmed. The girls emerged from behind the corner with their blasters aimed.
"Hurry! You can escape!" Katie-2 called. She reached down for a knife. Katie-1 and Milly-1 looked at each other, before diving behind a potted plant. Katie-2 looked on disappointedly.
"Ok, that's the most pathetic hiding spot ever. He can still see you," she said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Ok, first, yes, I wish I couldn't see then, either. Their cute eyes are forcing me to buy cupcakes. Second, they're hiding from YOU," Doofenshmirtz said. "And why are you holding dangerous weapons like that?"
"Um... cupcakes?" Milly-2 repeated. Milly-1 emerged from the behind the potter plant, holding out a wooden log-like box. She opened it to reveal a half-dozen frosted cupcakes.
"T-t-two dollars a box..." Milly-1 stammered, her eyes on the girls' weapons.
"Calm down, curly, we're not here to harm you. We, well, actually, we're here to collect you," Katie-2 said, putting her blaster and knife in their respective sheathes.
"I wish I had two dollars..." Milly-2 said disappointedly. "I can't remember the last time I even saw a cupcake."
"Uh... free sample if you don't shoot us," Katie-1 offered. She held out a cupcake to each of them.
"Sounds like a good deal to me, seeing as we didn't want to shoot you, anyway," Milly-2 said, grabbing a cupcake out of the box. Katie-2 did the same. The Fireside Girls completed their purchase, and thanked Doofenshmirtz for his contribution. The girls walked to the elevator together.
"So, what's with the crazy uniforms? And selling to mad scientists?" Katie-2 asked.
"These are our Fireside Girl uniforms," Katie-1 explained. "And Doofenshmirtz is a pharmacist, for your information."
"Well, I guess that does explain a few things..." Milly-2 said.
"So, what did you mean by 'collecting' us?" Katie-1 asked.
"Our Isabella told us to gather everyone at the Flynn-Fletcher house. Our Holly, Phineas, and Ferb are working with your Holly, Phineas, and Ferb to build something that will restore lost memories," Milly-2 explained.
"Ah, ok. I thought they'd already done today's activity. Guess there's a surprise around every corner," Katie-1 said, shrugging.
Scene cut...
Ginger was alone. She didn't mind at all, since she had chosen to do so. She searched the city for her counterpart, until she finally found her in a ridiculously bright orange outfit... with Stacy beside her. They were knocking on doors, selling cupcakes in small logs.
"Chotto, jinjā, Walkerview rōdo ga tsugi no hitto mimashou. Saigo no hanbai 6-hako o kōnyū shita sutekina rō fujin o oboete imasu ka?" Stacy said in Japanese.
Ginger-2 groaned. It had been ages since she had spoken Japanese, and she was rusty when it came to the language. From what she could tell, they were going to sell to an old... something.
"Suteishī no ue ni hanguappu suru. Sore wa daredesu ka? Kanojo wa watashi no yō ni miemasu... Anata wa, ichi-shu no anata no atama to me o hosome,-me o katamukete iru baai," Ginger-1 responded, pointing at Ginger-2.
"Listen, I don't have time to speak Japanese with you, and not only because it'll take me forever to remember the simplest phrases," Ginger-2 said, when she noticed that they were talking about her. "I've gotta take you to the Flynn-Fletcher house."
"Sorry, but we're selling cupcakes right now," Stacy said. "And, honestly, it's really fun helping my sis sell them. It's been forever since I was a Fireside Girl."
Ginger-2 froze. She was spending time with her sister? STACY was spending time with her sister? She had a very brief flashback.
-Flashback-
"Play with me?" Ginger asked. Her older sister smiled, grabbing a doll from a small stack.
"What are we going to play, Ginge?" Stacy asked.
"Dun call me Ginge!" Ginger protested loudly.
"Alright, alright, you know I'm teasing, sis," Stacy said. A newscast suddenly came on the TV.
"Breaking news! A hostile takeover of the Tri-State Area has began!" a ridiculously pompous newscaster announced. "All citizens are to remain in their-" Suddenly, he was knocked out of his chair, replaced by a robot with a jovial expression on it's face.
"Dooferalls," the robot completed. "All hail Emporer Doofenshmirtz, new ruler of the Tri-State Area. Please go to the nearest Doofbooth to get your legal papers. If seen by a Norm-Bot such as myself, show us your papers-" The face suddenly changed to a frightening killerbot face. "- Or be destroyed. Have a wonderful Doofensday."
Stacy's expression was one of shock, resentment, and... rebellion? She turned to Ginger.
"Ginger, I would love to play, but I have to go get our papers," Stacy lied. "I'll see you again as soon as I can. Then we can play, like nothing happened."
-End flashback-
"You ok?" Stacy asked, snapping Ginger-2 back into reality.
Ginger-2 nodded slowly. She remained passive on the outside, but she was building up a well of tears. Why couldn't Stacy have come back?
"Sis, I think we should follow her. Walkerview Road isn't far from Maple Street, anyway," Ginger-1 said.
"Good, because I'm not very worried about use of force to take you where I need you to go," Ginger-2 said. "Move it."
Scene cut...
Django and Buford stuck together to look for Django's counterpart. They saw him at an icecream parlor, sketching a couple nearby.
"Alright... and you have a round head..." he said to himself, taking constant glances at his models. Then he noticed Django-2 and Buford-2. "Whoa. Buford, who's this guy?"
"Trust me, you don't know Buford, either. We're Django and Buford from a different dimension. You about done with the masterpiece?" Django-2 asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm just sketching for now, and I'm gonna do an artistic portrayal later," Django-1 said. "Hm, pretty gloomy outfit, eh?"
"Uh, yeah," Django-2 answered. "I wanted to wear a shirt similar to yours, but the commander said that it wouldn't protect me at all, and besides that, it's like a big tye-dye target saying 'Hey! I'm a doofus! Come and shoot me!'."
"You're from the Second Dimension, aren't you?" Django-1 asked. "Oh, before you ask, yes, I was there. They forgot to zap me with the Amnesia-inator. To be honest, I'm a bit insulted. I mean, my summer schedule's busy with all the art, but c'mon! It's like I'm invisible!"
"Amnesia-inator. Interesting. I guess Holly was right," Django-2 said. "C'mon, we need your help at the Flynn-Fletcher house. It's a rendevous point."
"Ok, one moment," Django-1 said. He turned back to his artwork and put a few finishing strokes on it. "Thanks for modeling, sir and ma'am. I'll give you the artwork when it's completed."
After he took down his canvas, they began walking to the Flynn-Fletcher house together.
"I hope you're not going to get me to tell them about Perry's identity," Django-1 said after walking in silence for a while.
"Oh, no, that's their own job. They're building a machine to make everyone remember the day," Buford-2 said.
"Guys, if they remember that day, Perry will have to leave," Django-1 said. Everyone stopped, and Django-2 turned around to face his counterpart.
"How did you keep this a secret?" Django-2 asked.
"I used my invisibility to my advantage for once. Noone remembers me, so noone thinks I'll do anything against the OWCA," Django-1 said. "It's a bit harder for the main characters of the show."
"First up, don't break the fourth wall. It was funny the first time around, but that was a one-shot joke," Django-2 said. "Break the fourth wall again, and someone will break you. Now, then, I think if we use the contraption, it can be hidden from the OWCA. They don't actually observe the house, do they?"
"Only the backyard," Django-1 confirmed. "But that's where they build everything."
"Then let's move! Don't let them activate it in the backyard!" Django-2 said, alarmed. They broke into a run towards the house.
Scene cut...
Isabella-1 and Isabella-2 were in Isabella-1's backyard. Isabella-1 was in the pool, but Isabella-2 simply stood by the edge.
"So, how's your relationship with Ferb going, without any war to obstruct it?" Isabella-2 asked.
"Um... what?" Isabella-1 asked.
"You and Ferb. You know, romance and cuteness and all that," Isabella-2 asked.
"Uh, I love Phineas. Not Ferb. I mean, sure, Ferb's cute, but he's more in the territory of Gretchen or Holly's tastes," Isabella-1 said, raising an eyebrow.
"Hm, weird. I personally can't see anything interesting about Phineas. And in my dimension, Holly likes Phineas. And Gretchen... liked Baljeet," Isabella-2 said.
"Ok, first of all, Phineas is the cutest boy in the world, and you're an idiot," Isabella-1 said. Isabella-2 reached for her blaster. "I mean, to each their own." Isabella-2 withdrew her hand. "And what do you mean, Gretchen 'liked' Baljeet?"
"Well, as I said, war obstructs romance in our dimension," Isabella-2 said, now sitting down with her knees toward her chin. "Baljeet is dead in our dimension." Isabella-1 gasped. "Yeah, I know. He was killed while defending our medic and an injured girl. The medic tried to save him, but he was pretty much already dying. Gretchen has his final letter. It's the only way we managed to come here at all."
"Wow. Your world is horrible," Isabella-1 said. "Why are you saying all this if you want us, untrained kids, to help you?"
"Well, it's pretty much necessary knowledge," Isabella-2 said. "We are not requesting your help. We NEED your help. If you don't help us, our blood is on your hands. Let's see how well you sleep at night." Isabella-1 stayed silent. "That's what I thought. C'mon, get out of your swimsuit and back into your dress. They're probably nearly done."
Scene cut...
Everyone gathered at the house, finding Django, Django, Buford, Holly, Holly, Phineas, Phineas, Ferb, and Ferb pushing a large contraption into the street, out of view of the local traffic camera and any other devices pointed at the backyard. Once everyone gathered in the street, Phineas-1 stepped in front of the machine to be heard by everyone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, First Dimension and Second Dimension forms, allow me to introduce to you... The REMEMBER-INATOR! If we just turn the dial to correct date, everyone in the TRI-STATE AREA will remember everything that happened that day vividly!" he declared.
"Um, Phineas, maybe you should tone it down a bit..." Isabella-1 suggested.
"Oh, right, sorry," Phineas-1 apologized. "So, the date of the Forgotten Day was... July 18, right?" Isabella-1 nodded. "Great. So we just... turn this dial... and press this button... viola!"
A gas started to pour from many spouts sticking out from the machine, spreading through throughout Danville. Everyone breathed it in, and the First Dimension forms widened their eyes. They looked at Perry, who looked back.
"You're a secret agent," Phineas-1 said.
"Surprise," Django-1 said sarcastically.
"So where are our Second Dimension counterparts?" Adyson asked, pointing at Gretchen.
"In the Second Dimension, duh," Isabella-2 said. "It's tougher this time, though. It's being ruled by Vanessa Doofenshmirtz."
Ferb-1's eyes widened at this revelation. They were asking him to fight Vanessa? How could he do that? Sure, he was none too fond of Heinz, but he loved Vanessa.
"Now, we brought along three Other Dimension-inator handhelds. Candace, Buford, fire 'em up.
Three portals, one shot from Isabella-2 herself, appeared in the air. Isabella-2 waved everyone through. There was some reluctance, but everyone stepped through a portal and found themselves in the Second Dimension.
Scene cut...
"And that's the war up to this point," Isabella said, finishing a long explanation of the war.
Django-1 had his arms crossed, and Phineas-1 was standing beside Ferb-1 and Perry. Perry was standing on two legs with her fedora on. The Fireside Girls and Firestorm Girls were together.
"Well, you have loads of people here. Let's take down Vanessa before it gets any worse," Jeremy-1 said.
"Easier said than done. We scored a massive victory at the manufactory, but the toughest opponents still remain at DEI: Balloony and Vanessa. Plus, there's a good chance that there are a few others we don't even know about," Isabella-2 said.
"That's about 25 people for each difficult enemy," Candace-1 pointed out.
"That's about 10 trained people for each enemy, and 15 pieces of cannon fodder," Isabella-2 countered. "The numbers look to be in our favor, but I've long ago learned to ignore the numbers. We often don't know all of the factors."
"Well, then, what's the plan?" Jeremy-1 asked.
"We have to lure Vanessa out of her safety. Unfortunately, we only know one person who Vanessa hates enough to personally come out and attack," Isabella-2 said. "And, well, we don't get along that well with her."
It's me again, Isabella! Er, you know, your Isabella. I mean our Isabella. I mean... gah, the one that's been commentating up until now! I hate alternate dimensions!
We have finally allies. Now to find a way to rope Stacy into this plan. If this works, we can finish this war in the next month or so. And then we will at long last have peace. But, of course, we have to find Stacy first. We already have a plan for that, of course. What is it? Well, you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?
Not much to say here, but thanks to everyone who continues to read, and special thanks to everyone who reviews. We're nearing the climax, but I've got a plan for a series of short stories afterwards.
Oh, yeah. Translations.
"Hey, Ginger, let's hit Walkerview Road next. Remember the nice old lady who bought 6 boxes last sale?"
"Hang on, Stacy. Who's that? She looks like me... if you sort of tilt your head and squint your eyes."
Remember: Read! Review!