Bryan stomped his feet on the welcome mat in front of the Garcia-Shapiro house hold, before ringing on the doorbell. The snow wasn't deep, a dusting mostly, but his body hadn't adjusted to this year's cooler weather. A few moments later, Addison answered the door.
"Finally, you're here." Addison greeted.
"I know, I know, but mom wanted to do some things first before I could leave, and I couldn't say no." Bryan explained as he entered the house.
"It's no big deal, but considering for the first time in a long time that you are the last person to get here, it's a little different."
"Wait Dallas beat me here? That is a change." Bryan added as he hung his coat on the rack next to the door. "Where's Alex and Katie?"
"Doing other things. They wanted to come, but prior engagements and such. Kinda like what happened with Baljeet, Ginger, Buford and Millie." Addison explained.
Back in the kitchen, Ferb was stirring a pot filled with ingredients. Bryan walked in and took a deep breath through his nose. "Man, it smells good in here. What is it?"
"One of Grandmother Fletcher's best soup recipes. With the temperature as it is right now, I thought it would be nice to fix it, and thankfully, Ms. Vivian was kind enough to help me get the ingredients together."
"I think mom was surprised when someone else asked to cook." Isabella commented.
"So how long till it's done?" Bryan asked.
Ferb tapped the wooden spoon on the side of the pot before placing a lid over the top. "It has to simmer for a while and then it will be done."
"So suggestions on what we do until that's done?" Dallas asked, sitting on a barstool next to one of the cabinets.
(*)(*)
"Focus your energies together. You are going to have to transport a lot of complex things, and probably the hardest thing about this job is the time difference." The first in command told.
"Uh, sir, time difference?" One of the transporters asked.
"It's in the past. The only reason that this is being tried is because of the information in this book. Without it, this opportunity wouldn't even be possible. You are going to have to listen to my commands even more than you ever had before. If it wasn't for your loyalty in the first place, you wouldn't have been selected for this task."
"Sir, if you think this is best, let's get started."
"Alright, what I tell you is only what I'm reading. You're going to have follow the words, but your abilities are the ones that are going to be doing the work." The commander looked at the book in his hand. "Focus your energies and form a circle, just like a normal teleporting." The teleporters turned toward each other and began forming a large circle, the runes etching themselves in light on the ground. "Now, the next part is the hardest part, the changing through time…"
((**))((**))
"And that's why I will never be allowed near the Danville Zoo for the rest of my life." Bryan finished telling his story. The rest of the group stood silently, mouths hanging open. Bryan rolled his eyes. "You guys said to tell an interesting story."
"Yes, yes we did. I just don't think we expected to hear that." Phineas replied.
"Still it was interesting none the less." Isabella added, taking down glasses from the cabinet.
"Well after that story, I don't think that I want to hear another one." Phineas shook his head.
"Then how about a toast?" Isabella asked, expertly sliding the filled glasses to the people that were there.
"That'll work, but what do we toast to?"
"How bout… just to a new beginning?" Dallas offered
"Hmm, it's simple, true, and something I think we can all agree on; to a new beginning!" Phineas raised his glass.
"To a new beginning." The rest of the group followed Phineas' example, raising and tapping their glasses together in a toast.
Phineas lifted the drink to his lips and took a sip. He looked outside and noticed something peculiar. A dusting of snow that had been blown off of the roof in front of the window was floating in mid-air. It wouldn't have been such a new development if it was for the fact that the snow was completely blocking the view from the window.
The entire room began to dim in light, except for around the 6 teens. Phineas looked at his friends, who began to notice the oddities around them. Suddenly, a loud crack was heard and two bright lights appeared on the floor, each opposite each other. Everyone was surprised, not understanding what was going on. Then the lights began to split, beginning to create two rings. As the lights spread, everyone that could began to group close to each other.
"Phineas, what's going on?" Isabella asked.
"I don't know. You got something?" Phineas looked over at Ferb. Ferb simply shook his head.
"This isn't some kind of prank is it?" Addison questioned.
"I think that the gig would have been up by now." Bryan answered.
As the two rings of blue light finished encompassed the group, both the circles flashed bright light, with weird symbols appeared in the space between the circles.
"I got a bad feeling about this…" Dallas said, as he watched the symbols finishing appearing.
A loud humming began to emanate as the light that was on the floor began to shoot up into the ceiling, forming a cylinder around the group. Everyone was confused and truth be known kinda scared. Phineas raised his hand to head to rub his temples but stopped himself before he did. His hand was a translucent color, with small particles quickly leaving his hand and shooting up in the air.
Phineas turned to show everyone else his disappearing hand, but he was a little slow. The entire gang was staring at their arms and legs as they too began to dissipate into nothing.
Bryan was the first to completely disappear. His and feet were gone first, and then almost immediately his torso and head were gone as well. Addison's body quickly followed suit, then Dallas and Ferb. Phineas tried to grab Isabella's hand before either one of them disappeared, but their hands simply slipped through each other. Isabella disappeared and before Phineas disappeared, he looked around the room and wondered if it was the last time he would ever see it again…
((**))((**))
The first thing that Phineas remembered was his eyesight returning, then the feelings in his hands and feet… He looked to his left and right and everyone that he just saw disappear into nothing appeared near him, just as fine as they were before. Everyone seemed glad that they weren't dead or something. Some even started laughing, until Addison decided to look down. Her face fell and tapped Ferb's shoulder. He turned to Addison and followed her hand as she pointed down. Ferb did the same to Phineas, and he followed suit until they all realized that they were floating about ten feet off of the ground. Then the proverbial rug was ripped from underneath their feet, as a few yelped and flailed as they feel from in the air to the ground.
The sound of people gasping for breath and the pounding of feet on the floor filled the room. Isabella was the first to recover from the fall. She saw people were bent over or on the ground, breathing heavily while being attended to people dress in white.
"Quickly, get them to the infirmary. This took a lot out of them, and they are going to need extra care." A voice commanded over the bustle.
The teens turned their heads toward where the vice was coming from. A tall man, roughly six foot six, with a graying goatee and thinning salt and pepper hair, came strolling from his spot near the edge of the room. His forest green and red diagonally stripped shirt and blue jeans felt like a welcome sight compared to the bland of the room and the bright white of the first group of people. "They will be fine, but they'll need a good amount of time for recovery."
"Yes sir." One of the people in white replied.
The older man turned from his subordinates and looked at the teens that had appeared. "Sorry for this inconvenience."
"I'll say…" Addison interrupted, rubbing her head from the fall.
"But allow me to introduce myself. My name is John, and I am the one that brought you here."
"And where exactly is here?" Phineas asked.
"Well, this particular place is an old hangar bay, added during the wars to the property formerly known as Fort Knox."
"Wait, wait, Fort Knox…, as in the gold safe place in Kentucky?"
"Yes, that one; or at least it used to be."
"Was?" Isabella asked.
"Well, about 50 years after the war had finished, the First raided the gold safes. Now this place is still a government base, but with no gold." John explained.
"Hold up!" Phineas yelled out. "First of all, 50 years ago, the First, Fort Knox with no gold? What the heck is going on?"
John smacked his forehead. "My apologies, I have been working with so many people, I have forgotten that things are different-"
A blur quickly ran into the room and stopped at John's side. "Sir, sensors indicate a group of five heading in from the gate."
"Identify them. It should be group three on return from their mission. If not, detain the trespassers."
"Yes sir," and as quick as he appeared, the person disappeared in another blur out of the room.
The whole group was dumbfounded. That person had moved at speeds inhumanly possible. It had to be a trick or something. John noticed their looks and smirked.
"I have a lot to discuss with you. Please get up and come with me."
The group removed themselves from the pile they had fallen in, dusting themselves off. Dallas tried to stand up but quickly fell back down.
"Clumsy feet, get back up." Bryan poked.
Dallas shook his head. "No, I'm too nauseated."
John frowned at Dallas' statement. He walked over to Dallas, pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, and shined it in Dallas' eyes. In the bottom of his eyes, shades of red and green were beginning to pool. "Crud."
"What's wrong?" Ferb asked.
"He's absorbing too much radiation, and his body can't keep up. Give me your right arm." Dallas lifted his arm as John reached for something else in his pocket. John held Dallas' arm steady and with a quick flick of the wrist, he put a small cut in Dallas' arm above the elbow with the knife that he had in his pocket.
Dallas yelled in pain. "What the heck you do that for?"
"It's to help control the radiation absorption. It will keep you from getting sick." John switched back to his flashlight and looked back in Dallas' eyes. The pooling that had already started didn't go away but it did nearly completely stop the pooling. "Now quickly, before the rest of you get sick, follow me." John helped Dallas off the ground and began to lead the group down a few hallways. At the end of one of the hallways a large white room, set up like a military barracks. John led Dallas over to one of the sets of bunk beds and sat down, trying to stop the bleeding from the cut that he had made.
"Do any of you have some medical training?" John asked the teens. Isabella and Addison raised their hands, having earned a few patches for medical training. "There are some supplies in a drawer over there." John pointed to the drawer. "Please grab some gauze."
Isabella quickly did as she was asked, even applying the bandage as her training took over. John who knew what to do, allowed Isabella to continue, allowing himself to observe her work. As soon as Isabella was sure that the bleeding was stopped and the bandage was going to hold, she cut the gauze and returned it to the drawer.
"Thanks Isabella." Dallas thanked.
"No problem, although I think now," Isabella turned and looked at John, "I think it's time we got a history lesson."