Ah, the Googolplex Mall. A glimmering nirvana that drew teenagers in like moths to a flame with it's multitude of clothing stores and restaurants. Now that the gang were in their early teen years, the mall had quickly become just as important as Phineas and Ferb's backyard when it came to a summer vacation well spent.
With all the commotion recently involving the Phineas being the Green Ranger and the constant threat of Rita sending down a monster to attack Danville, the gang often found themselves stopping off at the "Mr Slushy Dawg" whenever they were feeling peckish. Fortunately for their health, the restaurant also served a range of freshly prepared salads, so on most occasions they stuck to them. Well, almost everyone did...
"Buford, could you please keep your mouth shut when you're eating?," Baljeet whined, grimacing slightly as he watched the remaining chunks of Buford's hotdog be slowly chewed up into smaller pieces. "I don't want to be a bother, but it's rather putting me off my food."
"Tough," Buford replied, continuing to chomp vigorously as he did. "I still don't understand how you eat that stuff. It's rabbit food, simple as."
"Well, maybe if you were actually mindful of your health, you would actually try this 'rabbit food'," Baljeet retorted.
From the other side of the table, Ferb winced as the pair continued their argument. It wasn't even a particularly noteworthy debate, it was salad for crying out loud! Even as teenagers, the pair of them bickered constantly over the tiniest of things. Phineas would usually function as the peacekeeper in these situations, but unfortunately for Ferb, his brother was busy working on some new invention he wished to keep secret for the time being. Ginger and Isabella were out with the rest of the former Fireside girls, so the duty of peacekeeper rested firmly on Ferb's shoulders, and he did not like it one bit.
Excusing himself from the table, not that the other two noticed, Ferb edged his way over to the counter. A familiar face awaited him, chuckling slightly at the commotion that was occurring a few tables away from where he stood.
"I hope they're not bothering you," Ferb said sheepishly as he approached the counter.
"Not at all," Jeremy replied, dismissing Ferb's concern with a slight wave of his hand. "I can't exactly fault you though, they seem like a handful."
"You don't know the half of it," Ferb chuckled lightly, before worriedly glancing back at the table, where the bully and the nerd now sat facing away from each other in complete silence.
"Something on your mind?" Jeremy asked curiously.
"It's nothing," Ferb said dismissively, only to be met by a raised eyebrow from his sister's fiancé. "Fine," he sighed. "It's just, I'm worried that I'm too dependent on other people sometimes."
"In what way exactly?" Jeremy inquired.
"When it comes to matters like these," Ferb replied, gesturing towards the table once again. "I'm just used to being the 'strong silent type' as people put it. Phineas would be over there sorting that argument out, but I just can't."
"Who says you're the one who has to sort it out?" Jeremy replied after a moment of consideration. After receiving a slightly confused look from the green haired teen, he continued with a, "Friends fight, Ferb, some more than others. A lot of the time, it's better to just try and let them make amends rather than trying to force them into doing it."
As Ferb mulled over Jeremy's advice, he was interrupted by the sound of his watch's ringtone. Thanking Jeremy for the advice, he swiftly made his way back over to the table, ignoring the other two as best he could.
What might have looked like an ordinary watch from an outsider's perspective, was actually an incredibly complicated little gadget gifted to him and the others by Phineas shortly after he was freed from Rita's spell. Dubbed the 'wrist communicator', the purpose of said device was in the name. Each of the Rangers could now communicate with each other without fear of having their calls tracked or wiretapped, as the wrist communicators' received and sent their electrical signals from the Command Centre, preventing any outsiders from listening in on them.
Briefly checking his surroundings, Ferb answered the incoming call from his mentor, Zordon. "Go ahead, Zordon," Ferb said in a hushed voice.
"One of Rita's monsters has been spotted near city hall," Zordon informed him. "From Alpha's observations, it appears that this monster can eject an adhesive substance from a cannon on his right shoulder. He also appears to be skilled in melee combat, as evidenced by the large fork-like weapon that he is carrying."
"Anything else I should know?" Ferb asked.
"Use caution when dealing with this monster," Zordon instructed. "With Ginger and Isabella busy, it will be up to you and the rest of the team to take this monster out."
"Understood, I'll inform the others" Ferb replied, before ending the call. Looking around once more, and concluding that no one seemed to be eavesdropping on him, he quickly selected Phineas' contact on his watch and dialed it.
The sound of metal striking metal rang out from Ferb's watch as soon as his redheaded brother answered. "Hey Ferb!" Phineas' voice shouted over the barrage of noise. "Everything alright?!"
"Monster at city hall," Ferb uttered under his breath, hoping that Phineas would be able to hear him above whatever racket he was causing. Unfortunately, Ferb's prayer went seemingly went unanswered, as evidenced by Phineas yelling that he couldn't hear a word of what he said.
Sighing deeply, Ferb glanced around the room apprehensively before shouting, "City hall!"
Numerous perplexed looks were sent his way, but Ferb brushed them aside as he listened intently for Phineas' response.
Oh, right!" Phineas called back to him, swiftly following up with a, "Be there in a few!" before hanging up.
Well, at least he heard me, Ferb thought. But now my sister's fiancé probably thinks I'm a bit nutty. Brilliant, just brilliant.
Exiting the restaurant at a brisk pace, it took Ferb a moment to realise what, or who, he was forgetting. He dashed back to the restaurant, yanking Buford and Baljeet to their feet before leading them out of the restaurant.
"Situation at city hall," Ferb explained once they had left the mall, the trio coming to a stop at a nearby alleyway. "A monster is using some kind of adhesive substance to attack civilians."
"I'm gonna need Layman's terms on that one, Ferbo," Buford interrupted.
"I apologise on behalf of Buford's stupidity," Baljeet muttered, causing Buford to raise his fist threateningly.
"Will you two just quit it already?" Ferb said in an annoyed tone. "We have a job to do, so let's just do this right."
Nodding begrudgingly, Baljeet and Buford watched and listened as Ferb yelled, "It's Morphin time!"
"Mastodon!"
"Triceratops!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
Just outside City Hall, the aforementioned monster was wreaking havoc. Most of the citizens in the surrounding area had turned and fled as quickly as possible, but not all of them were so lucky.
Upon rounding the corner, Buford, Baljeet, and Ferb stopped dead in their tracks once they saw what was in front of them. All around the plaza in front of City Hall, people were lying on the ground, held there against their will by some kind of hardened ooze. Ferb knew immediately that this must be the substance Zordon told him about earlier. They'd have to avoid being caught in that glue if they were to have any hope of beating their foe.
As if on cue, the monster stepped out from behind a nearby tree, brandishing his fork as he approached the three Rangers. His skin appeared to be a blood red colour, but it was hard to tell as most of his body seemed to be drenched in the exact same substance that was currently binding the civilians to the pavement. Strange, tooth-like anomalies dotted his torso, and resting atop his right shoulder was the cannon Zordon had mentioned.
"Hello, Rangers," the monster sneered. "What do you think of my handiwork?"
"Guys, stay back for a second," Ferb instructed, ignoring the monster's comment. "See the cannon on his - "
"Screw that, I'm taking him now!" Buford declared, unsheathing his blade blaster and sprinting towards his foe. Ferb looked to Baljeet for reasoning, only to find that he had followed behind Buford.
Because their attacks weren't in sync, the monster had enough time to react, parrying Buford's initial strike before dodging Baljeet's follow up. Another one of Buford's strikes was then easily blocked, opening up a gap for the monster to hit back, stabbing his fork into the Black Ranger's chest.
Swinging his fork back caught an unsuspecting Baljeet by surprise, who was then swept clean off his feet and thrown towards his still slightly shaken comrade.
"At least the red one is sensible," the monster jeered. "Why don't you make like him and just leave me alone?"
"On the contrary, I think we'll stay here," Baljeet responded. Grabbing hold of Buford's gloved hand, Baljeet just about managed to heave him back to his feet, something he wouldn't have been able to achieve without his new powers.
"You know what? I agree with you on that one, Jeet," Buford said, still keeping hold of Baljeet's hand as he attempted to steady himself. "Let's beat him together!"
"Very poor choice of words!" the monster cackled, firing a single shot of glue at the two Rangers. Both Buford and Baljeet yelped in surprise when a firm feeling of tightness ensnared their wrists. Staring down at the affected area, they found themselves frozen as panic started to set in.
Off to the side, Ferb watched on in despair at the sight of his friends, who were now bound together by the wrist. Deciding that enough was enough, Ferb unsheathed his blade blaster and proceeded to charge the monster. His foe noticed his rapid approach, however, and fired a few shots of the glue-like substance towards the Red Ranger in an attempt to ward him off.
"Keep your distance or you'll end up like them," the monster gestured towards the other two. "And now, to finish the job."
Buford and Baljeet immediately took notice of what the monster had just said, and the two of them went to dodge the incoming glob of glue. Unfortunately for them, they both attempted to jump backwards, resulting in the glue firmly latching onto their other wrists.
"Oh look what you've done now, nerd!" Buford groaned in frustration, furiously tugging at his wrist's new confinement.
"Look what I've done?" Baljeet said, feigning offence. "If you had only jumped my way, maybe we wouldn't be in this predicament!"
"I was doing just fine before you decided to hold my hand back there, chum!" Buford snapped. "I'm not five years old for cryin' out loud!"
"Uh huh, keep telling yourself that," Baljeet retorted. "Now come on, this way!"
"No, you listen to me, and I say we're goin' this way!" Buford yelled, yanking Baljeet towards him, only to be pulled back towards the Indian teen as Baljeet continued to argue about which direction they should go.
"Your friends over there are quite the old married couple, aren't they?" the monster snickered as he slowly made his way closer to Ferb.
"I never thought I'd agree so much with one of Rita's goons," Ferb replied, carefully edging backwards as he assessed his options. If he could dodge the glue, then he would probably be able to get up close enough to get a few good hits in on his opponent. That was all well and good, but would it be enough to completely destroy the monster? And if it wasn't , he'd be easy prey for his glue cannon.
"Perhaps you and I have more in common than meets the eye, Red Ranger," the monster considered. "It's a shame I'm going to have to destroy you, though."
"Think again, Pritt Stick!" came the voice of the Green Ranger as he leapt towards the monster. Slashing at the monster's chest repeatedly with his Dragon Dagger, Phineas narrowly dodged a low swing from his opponent's fork, before striking the monster a few more times.
Retreating momentarily in an attempt to regain his foothold in the battle , the monster fired round after round of glue towards the Green Ranger. Just before the glue struck him, however, Phineas raised his dagger to his mouthpiece and started playing his signature tune. Glob after glob of glue ricocheted off his now glowing gold chestplate.
"No one told me the Green Ranger was gonna show up!" the monster said fearfully. "I'm not sticking around for this!" he cried, before disappearing into thin air, presumably back to his empress' moon base.
"Geez, were all his puns that bad?" Phineas asked, inserting his dagger back into it's sheath.
"After your Pritt Stick remark, I don't think you're in any position to judge," Ferb smirked, resting an arm on his brother's shield covered shoulder.
"Let's not poke fun at the guy that has saved your butt at least three times this past week," Phineas chuckled.
"Twice, actually," Ferb corrected. "That incident at Paul Bunyan's doesn't count."
"Hello? Two Siamese twins on the ground here."
Chuckling lightly to themselves, Phineas and Ferb made their way over to their conjoined friends, gently easing them back to their feet once they reached them.
Seeing them in such an awkward position, with both of them looking like they were midway through a slow dance, Phineas couldn't hold his laughter in anymore. Even Ferb couldn't help but grin at the sight in front of him.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Buford grumbled. "But yous two geniuses better think of a way to separate us real quick."
Unfortunately for the two frenemies, the road to freedom was to be long and tedious.
So I've finally started on the sequel to my previous story, and I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with this story being a nice change of pace between the previous one and the one which will be coming up next (more on that at a later date). This story won't be the most eventful nor will it alter the timeline in any specific way, but I just wanted to have a story where our favourite frenemy duo are the main focus rather than Phineas, Ferb, or Isabella. Having said that, there will be a thing or two that happens in this story that directly leads into the next one, and if you know the timeline of MMPR Season 1, you might be able to guess what major story arc happens next. Follows, favourites and reviews are welcomed but not needed, the simple fact that people take time out of their day to read a fanfiction of mine is more than enough for me. Thanks guys and I'll see yous all in a bit.