Chapter 7

Ferb collided with the concrete floor of the garage as he landed on his side. He pushed up and looked at the one who had thrown him, standing in the doorway.

"I TOLD you never to talk to him!" he screeched down at the Ferb lying on the ground.

Staring back up at him, Ferb gave him a revolted glare. "I just wanted to talk to my brother... For five minutes."

He got up on his hands and pushed right up to the imposter, thankful that they were the exact same height; he could at least gain some ground against him. He straightened up as he accused with force, "I was apologizing for what YOU did. Do you have any idea how upset he is in there?"

The other Ferb straightened up to match him, but did nothing more than angrily smile his teeth.

Ferb continued to shout, "He trusts me! He trusted you! You are Messing. Up. Everything!"

The second did not cease his sinister smiling. "I don't care about him. I don't care about his feelings. I care about his skills."

Ferb realized that as the other spoke he was subtly-almost inadvertently-gesturing to the strange contraption on the garage floor.

"That's what you're having him build?" Ferb asked as he came over to look at it. The strange design offered no clue to its purpose, and it looked odd with its many broken holes into its inner-workings. Ferb pointed at the central lever and denounced, "That lever is way too close to the mesh of the cogs... Whoever pulls that will lose at least… two… three fingers!"

The other Ferb pushed him away with his arm. "I warned you what would happen if you got in the way," he said through a menacing growl. "I think I'll make Phineas pull it."

Ferb gaped back with nothing but sheer horror. He stayed still for a moment, but then opened his mouth and began to scream as loud as he possibly could, "PHINEAS!"

He took a breath. "PHINEAS! I'M IN THE GARA-!"

Ferb's scream was muffled as the other came around behind him to cup his hand tightly around his mouth, whispering with a slight panic, "Shush! Shush, you!"

He kept a strong grip on Ferb's arms as he tried to struggle away, and drug him over to the back door. Quickly he opened it and tossed Ferb out into the muddy rain.

"Ferb!" Phineas called out, appearing in the door from the house. He fixed his eyes on the single person in the garage and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes..." the now-alone impostor answered, not turning away from watching the now-locked door. "I just wanted to tell you that I finished the machine."

"Really?" Phineas said with doubtful confusion. "Cause from the way you were screaming, I thought maybe you were dying out here or something."

"Go back in the house," he commanded, ignoring Phineas' concern. "I have to take care of something."

Phineas just eyeballed him suspiciously, then snuck back inside with an odd look. The other immediately turned back around and unlocked the door, slipping out into the rain.

The instant the door was shut, he reached down and snatched up Ferb by the back of his collar, and began to pull him through the dirt.

"Let….me….go!" he panted while attempting to resist with both arms.

The other Ferb had dragged him to the basement pantry, and flung the wooden doors open. He lifted Ferb with strength and tipped him over the edge, causing him to fall down onto the dusty floor. Immediately, Ferb stood up and grabbed for the ladder, but it was already being pulled up out of the open pantry doors. Once it was out, the second Ferb threw it across the yard and peered back into the hole.

"Let's see if you can get out of there," he taunted with annoyed anger, before shutting the wooden hatch with a slam.

Phineas was waiting in the living room, when he spotted Ferb coming in from the back door and greeted, "Hey, Ferb!"

He just walked past him, heading for the garage. "Follow me."

"…Okay," Phineas answered. "Where are we going?"

"To the lake."

"Mom! We're going to the lake!" Phineas called out to the kitchen. She answered with a nod.

Phineas glanced back in front of him and saw that Ferb had not even stopped, and was entering into the garage. Phineas ran to catch up to him.

Ferb was already loading his device into the bed of their pickup when Phineas entered. He cautiously looked over Ferb with a slight conviction. "Ferb... why are you covered in mud?"

"Get in the truck," Ferb said, jumping down from the raised platform.

"Are you going to tell me why are we going to the lake?"

Ferb snarled at him. "I SAID, get in the truck!"

"...Oh. So you're back to being like that again?" Phineas said, his heart dropping to his feet as he looked at him. "What happened to you?"

"I want you to do what I say," Ferb commanded again.

"Why are you acting like this? Where is the Ferb I was just talking to upstairs?"

With clenched fists, Ferb went around to the front side of the truck that was parked in the cold night air, muttering, "You should've never seen him. He came out on his own."

"Please, Ferb, let him out again. I don't know if he's right on the surface or somewhere deep inside, but you can reach down and find yourself again," Phineas said, chasing him around the truck. "Please, let me help you."

Ferb just stayed next to the truck door, piercing his gaze into Phineas. "You can NEVER talk to him," he growled.

"There's something wrong with you, Ferb," Phineas begged into his brother's slitted stare. "You need help, maybe medical help."

He just retorted back, "There is nothing wrong with me."

"Were you doing some experiment and tested it on yourself? Are you being controlled by something?" Phineas tried to ignore Ferb's rage as he attempted to speak to him. "Whatever it is, we can fix it. I... I just want you to come back."

"I told you there is nothing wrong with me!" he snapped with flashing teeth.

Phineas moved a bit to reposition himself so that he was shielded by the truck's front. "I care about you, Ferb. And I don't like seeing you like this. Please, calm down and let me help you. We can find out what went wrong in that brain of yours, we can find some way to change you back."

"Look into my eyes, Phineas!" Ferb yelled unnecessarily loudly. "Look into my eyes and tell me what you see."

The night wind blew lightly through Ferb's hair as Phineas tried to read him. His brow was scrunched up in the center as he wore a scowl, and the whites of his eyes were so narrow that Phineas could barely see his pupils. His expression held nothing but mercilessness.

Phineas took a gasp as he tried to keep his composure. "I'm looking, Ferb, and... I can't see you in there.… That's what scares me."

"That's because he's not in there," Ferb said plainly. "The old Ferb is gone. This is me now!"

Phineas started to back away from him, but Ferb launched forward and grabbed him by the upper arm, tossing him into the open passenger's seat. He then went around and jumped into the driver's side.

Reaching for the handle, Phineas pulled it and discovered that it would not open. He turned to Ferb in horror. "You turned on the safety locks? Why would you do that?"

Without an answer, Ferb turned the key and began to drive the truck out of the driveway.

With another jump, Ferb's hand was still a good few feet away from the bottom of the pantry's door. Even after stacking whatever he could find, the wood hatch was at least a foot out of reach.

Ferb got back down to the pantry floor and took a rest. With a few pants, he took the moment to regain his strength for another attempt at escape. He tipped his head up with his arms at his hips.

"Phineas!" he called up to the silent night beyond the doors. "Phineas, I'm coming for you!"