Chapter 5

Ferb blinked his eyes and moaned, pushing himself up on his elbows. It took some effort to stand back up, but once he had, he brushed the leaves off of himself. His whole body ached, mostly his back. However, as he leaned against the side of the house, he was sure that nothing was broken.

Looking up, Ferb could see that two or three small branches had broken off from where he had collided with them on his way down. Ferb realized that he had apparently been out for quite a while; from the color of the sky he could tell that it was already early morning. He shook his head and rubbed it, before making his way slowly around to the side door that led to the garage.

"Aw, come on, Ferb. Just a hint?" Phineas begged as they continued work on the intricate project.

"I'm not telling," he answered sternly.

"Please? If I just knew what it does, I'd get rid of lots of design questions floating in my mind."

"I told you before, I'm not telling you what it does."

Phineas just set down the piece he was working on. "Surprises are fun and all, but we've been working on it for a while. We're a team, wouldn't it go faster if we both knew what it does?"

Ferb also put away his metal object, but his movement was more deliberate than Phineas' had been. "Phineas!" he exclaimed. "I'm your brother, we've known each other for sixteen years. Just trust me when I say that I'm not telling you."

Staring back at Ferb, Phineas merely cocked his head as one side of his lip went down in a sideways frown. "No… Ferb, we're stepbrothers. We met each other when we were three. We've only known each other for thirteen years."

"Yes, that's what I said. Thirteen," he said casually, returning to work on the piece of the machine.

"You said sixteen," Phineas pushed, refusing to pick up his own object.

"Your ears are playing tricks on you," he retorted, only tipping his gaze upwards once. "Do you really think I would forget something like that?"

"But, I coulda sworn I-"

"You heard me wrong," he said directly into Phineas' eyes. Just then there came a loud knocking sound coming from the garage. Ferb returned the metal to the table and stood up, looking down onto Phineas. "Stay here. I'll get it."

Ferb went over to the garage, heading for the side door. He reached for the knob, and creaked it open to survey the visitor standing in the door.

"Please, just let me come in," the tired and dust-covered Ferb asked.

The other placed his hand on the doorframe to block Ferb's entrance with his arm. "Why would I let YOU in?"

Ferb breathed hard and gave up trying to push past. He leaned around and peered into the house that he was being excluded from, and begged, "Why are you here? Why do you want my life?"

"I don't want your life," the second Ferb scoffed at him. "There are other things I want."

Ferb leaned back and gave him a grimace of his own. "You threw me out a window."

"Yes, I also locked you in a janitor's closet on the other side of the country," he replied with an annoyed smile. "And I'm surprised you got back up."

A look of disgust appeared on Ferb's face as he said quietly, "...What are you trying to do?"

"I am trying to get rid of you," he responded, pushing his face right up to Ferb's. "And if you don't stop interfering... I might have to include your brother."

"You wouldn't…" Ferb tried to convince both himself and the other. "I would never do anything to him, and you're me."

"Hah!" he replied in a frighteningly amused laugh. "You think that I am you? We are far from each other, Ferb Fletcher."

The imposter then began to shut the door, leaving it open only a few inches as he whispered back out of it. "Now leave. Leave and never return."

He closed the door slowly with one last whisper, "I am nothing like you. Remember that if you ever think about coming back."

After the door was shut tightly, he returned to the living room to silently come and sit back down on the couch.

"Are you going to tell me who it was?" Phineas asked skeptically.

"It was another branch," he answered. "It's windy."

Phineas eyeballed him. "You were out there for a while, though."

"I had to take care of something," Ferb said steadily, almost ignoring Phineas.

Standing outside in the bright morning sunlight, Ferb rested his forehead lightly on the door. Out of nothing but desperation, he set his hand on the knob. Then the imposter's mistake suddenly came into view: He had left the house door unlocked.

Easing the handle open, Ferb pushed the door with careful attention not to make a sound. Crouching low, he snuck into the kitchen. From the shuffling sounds, he could tell that the two of them were in the living room, but he dared not go in lest the imposter was truthful in his threats.

The other Ferb grew attentive at the sounds from the kitchen, looking up towards the doorway. Phineas noticed this, and also peered over.

"Stay here, I'm going to check something," Ferb said as he moved over to the archway.

From the kitchen Ferb could hear this conversation, and frantically began searching for anything he could use, without even knowing his intentions. Quickly he grabbed a notebook and a pen, scribbled something on it, and tossed it to the table. In half a second, he had slid gently out the back door, keeping his eyes fixed on the scene through the window.

His impersonator came walking into the kitchen, scanning the room with a suspicious squint. When he found nothing at first, he immediately came over to the back door. Reaching up to the lock, he turned it with a click.

Phineas came waltzing in behind him, and also looked around the room.

Ferb turned around and scolded him, "Didn't I tell you to stay in the living room?"

"I don't have to do everything you say, Ferb. I was curious," he said, still watching the room. In his thoughtful inspection, he instantaneously recognized the out-of-place notebook on the table. He ran over and picked it up.

It took him a moment to make out the haphazard catscratch. However, tilting it sideways a bit, he read it carefully.

not me -F

After reading again, he turned it around and showed it to Ferb. Letting him stare at it for a few seconds, Phineas remarked, "So whatzit mean?"

Ferb tossed his gaze away. "Why would I know that?"

"I dunno," Phineas said as he turned it back around. "It's signed with an 'F,' I thought maybe you wro-"

"I didn't write it," he interrupted. "I don't know who wrote it, and it hardly matters."

He stuck out his hand forcefully, holding the palm up. "Give it."

"No," Phineas said rebelliously. "I want to find out what it means."

"Give it to me!" Ferb repeated, pushing his hand closer.

"I want to-" Phineas started, but was unable to finish as Ferb grabbed onto his wrist with one hand. With the other he clutched the notebook and yanked it out of Phineas' grip. Then, he took the empty palm and shoved Phineas on the shoulder, sending him hobbling backwards onto the kitchen floor.

"FERB!" Phineas exclaimed. "WHAT has gotten into you?"

But he had already left Phineas laying on the tile as he stomped up the stairs.

Leaving the outside window, Ferb began to rattle at the locked door, trying with all his willpower to see it opened. "No Phineas! I didn't mean it!" he called, but his brother could not hear him through the thick wood of the walls. Phineas just stood up and trudged disappointedly back into the living room.