Day four of MerMay prompt month!

May the Fourth be with you! I'm sorry to say that in this chapter Phineas falls temporarily to the dark side. But not too worry, a Jedi is introduced here ready to bring him back.

(Possible trigger warning for reaching a breaking point before and during therapy.)

Create - Phineas

The scowl on Phineas's face used to feel so foreign to him. As the months went by, it started to become more and more comfortable. He sat at the worktable in the garage, waiting for his stepdad to come out and lecture him or something. Usually Phineas would be feeling nervous or guilty, but this time he was more on edge than anything.

Which was probably why he had yelled at his mom…

And yes, he did feel guilty for that. But… She shouldn't have butted in!

"Phineas." Lawrence stood in the doorway, having been watching his son tinker with some tools for a few minutes.

The boy's shoulders tensed at his dad's tone, but uncharastically he didn't say anything.

Lawrence stepped forward and stood near where he was sitting. "Phineas, why did you yell at your mother?" he asked calmly.

"She… she…" Phineas actually didn't know why…

"What did she say to you before you yelled?" Lawrence tried to catch sight of his son's face.

Phineas mumbled his answer, but Lawrence was still able to hear it. "She… asked me what was wrong."

After a moment's pause, he asked. "Do you want to tell me what is wrong?"

Phineas swung around to frown at his stepfather, his eyes hard. "Nothing is wrong! I'm fine! Everything is fine!" he said loudly, almost shouting.

"I don't think it is fine." Lawrence's voice was still calm.

Phineas glared at him. "So? I don't care what you think anyway."

Lawrence blinked, but otherwise didn't react (even if his heart felt like it had broken with those words). "Are you upset with me Phineas?"

His glare deepened and he turned away, his jaw clenched.

"Are you blaming me for Ferb leaving?"

Phineas flinched and the dam burst. "Don't pretend like you care! You took Ferb away from me. And he needs me." He spun around to glare again at Lawrence. "You might be his dad, but he's my best friend. He's my brother and you sent him away."

Lawrence waited patiently while Phineas yelled at him until he took a breath. "I do care, Phineas. I care about Ferb, and I care about you." Phineas scoffed at that, but didn't say anything. "Ferb left because he had to go. He would not have been able to stay here—he needed to learn about how his body was changing. And he will come back."

Phineas scowled. "Why did he have to go alone then?" he snarked back.

Lawrence sighed, blinking away some tears. "We wouldn't be able to go with him. We cannot breathe underwater, like he can. None of us can swim like a môr. And, even if I could, I wouldn't. Even though Ferb is not here, this is still my home, and my family needs me." He gazed at Phineas, pleading for the teenager to understand.

Instead Phineas crossed his arms and huffed. "We don't need you. I don't want you! You're not my dad!"

Phineas tried not to cringe as he watched Lawrence reel back as if struck, tears beginning to fall from behind his glasses. Lawrence took in a shaky breath before he responded, his voice strained. "Maybe not… But I love you anyway. You are my son, even if you don't view me as your father."

The redhead shifted in his seat, looking away from the older man. He felt a burning in his own eyes that he couldn't stop. His shoulders began to shake. His breathing became labored. His vision blurred.

He was crying.

He hadn't really cried since soon after Ferb left—not since he had decided he needed to go with Ferb. His brother couldn't be alone! He needed Phineas! And Phineas wouldn't let him down!

But he couldn't do it… He couldn't get anything to work! Everything fell apart without Ferb's help. Everything fell apart without Ferb!

Phineas gasped for air and a keening whine released from his chest. Arms wrapped around him and he clung to his dad—not his stepfather. This was his dad. Lawrence Fletcher had raised him from the age of three! Never again would Phineas make that mistake. "I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Over and over again he apologized.

Lawrence simply held the boy until he calmed down. "I know you are sorry, Phineas," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," Phineas whispered hoarsely.

Lawrence brushed his hand through Phineas's hair. "I know. I know." He held his son tighter, allowing Phineas to recover his senses, no matter how long that might take.

Phineas shifted in his seat, not used to sitting still for very long (if at all). The doctor across from him smiled as she sat down. Her face was kind and her eyes, though dark in color, were bright with care. "So, is there anything you want to talk to me about, Phineas?" she asked.

Phineas shrugged. "No, not really. My dad told me I should come and talk to you about what's going on."

Her head tilted curiously. "Oh? Is there a reason for that? Did something happen?"

"No…" Phineas trailed off with a wince. "Actually I kind of yelled at my mom…?" He looked down at his hands. "Well, actually a friend of mine said something that bothered me when she left the other day. And, well… I guess I was sulking—stomping—around the house and Mom… I didn't mean to yell at her, she just asked me what was wrong and I snapped."

"What did your friend say?" Doctor Sanni asked him.

Phineas frowned and crossed his arms in front of him. "She said that I was so fixated on one idea that I had lost my creativity."

"Why did that bother you?"

"Because!" Phineas burst out. "I am creative! I am the definition of creativity! I have variety. I have ideas. Just because this one thing isn't working doesn't mean I've lost it! It will work next time. I just need to try something else," he declared with finality.

"How long have you been working on this idea?"

Phineas blinked at the question. "I guess… Well, I've been working on it for… a while." He shifted again. "You see, my brother left. He kind of had to, because of reasons, but he was my best friend! And I miss him a lot…"

"It is obvious that you care about him very much." Doctor Sanni smiled softly. "You don't have to tell me the reason why he had to go if you don't want to, but you know and understand why he left, correct?"

"Well, yeah… I know why he had to go…" Phineas bit his lip—he suddenly really wanted to talk to someone about everything. "Uh… You're not able to talk about what I talk about, right?" he asked cautiously.

Doctor Sanni shook her head. "Unless there is a possibility that you might harm yourself or others, which I can see even now that you would do no such thing, anything you say will be kept strictly between us."

He sighed with relief. "Okay, well… Ferb's a… well, he's a… I don't really know how to describe it. He calls himself—and I'm going to butcher this—a pobl y môr."

The doctor's eyes widened a smidgen, but her voice continued to be calm. "And what does that mean?"

"It means that he's a… well, he's a mermaid—er -man. And he had to go with his mom, who is also a mermaid, and learn about all of the changes that he was going through, and he's been gone for a couple of years now, and I really miss him, and I thought that, if I could just find a way to live underwater myself, then I could just go with him and we wouldn't have to be separated anymore, but I can't get it to work without him because he was the one who made things work, I was just the idea guy, and now it's like half of me is missing and I don't know who I am or what to do with myself!"

There was a moment of silence as she watched Phineas blink in surprise at his own outburst.

"Uh… wow…" the redhead said sheepishly, slumping back in his chair. "I… I didn't know half of that. I don't know where all of that came from…"

Doctor Sanni smiled kindly. "I admit I used a 'trick of the trade', of sorts. By allowing you to open up to me with mild questions, you were able to open your own mind to thoughts usually well hidden."

"Oh… Oh, I guess that makes sense. It was kind of like that game where you say the first word that comes to mind after hearing another word."

"Yes, very similar." She reached over and grabbed a notepad and a pen off of a nearby table. "So, for the rest of our time, will you tell me about your friends and the rest of your family?" she requested with a smile. "I would like to know how you view them."

At the end of their session, Phineas grinned, feeling a clarity in his mind that he hadn't felt for a long time. "Thanks doc. You're a good listener. I really feel better."

Doctor Sanni smiled softly back, her black eyes glinting in the office light. "It is what I do, Phineas. Have a wonderful day and I will see you soon."

The redhead practically bounced out of the room, and the first thing he did was wrap his arms around his mom. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before. I love you Mom."

Linda's eyes widened and, without a word, she did her best to squeeze the life from her son. "I love you too, Phineas." She pulled back and, with wet eyes, asked, "So, are you wanting to continue?" She hoped so… And seeing how happy Phineas was after one session, she was thinking of scheduling an appointment of her own.

He nodded. "Yeah. Doctor Sanni is great. I can really talk to her."

His mother looked up and smiled brightly at the darker woman. "I'm so glad you like her."

Doctor Annette Sanni winked at Linda, and a spark of light seemed to fall from her lashes. Linda started for a moment, wondering if it had actually been there or if she was seeing things. But then Phineas was pulling her towards the checkout desk to get his next appointment scheduled and the thought was forgotten.

Aziza

The Aziza are a beneficent race in West African mythology (Dahomey, specifically). They lived in the forest, providing good magic for respectful hunters. They also are known to have given practical and spiritual knowledge to the people, such as the use of fire.

The perfect type of being to become a psychologist.