Jeff looked over a map of the local landscape, waiting for a few more of his scout teams to return on new information about the Nether-runers' and their movements. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," John called to the knocker.

"Sir, someone was asking for you; he was outside the A.R.R."

"The A.R.R.? What is that again?"

"The A.R.R., the Anti Radiation Room. It was your idea to name it."

"Ah, that's right. Anyway, thank you for telling me."

"Sir," the underling stopped John.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is it true sir, could they really be the Six?" the underling asked.

John sighed. "To be completely honest, I don't know. But if you remember, I'm one of the few in the world that are able to tell, and I don't think I would have had the pulsations that I had being near them they way I would have if they were the wrong group."

"I understand sir, it's just... some don't believe they are gonna be capable. They don't look ready."

"Oh, and would you say that you were ready to be a military man when you first joined our cause? If I told you a few years ago before you joined that you would be able to control your powers to the extent that you now? The only difference between you and those six young adults in that room is that you have had your powers since you were born."

"I'm sorry sir I didn't mean any offense."

John walked to the door and put his hands on the underling's shoulders. "I know that, and you have to trust me, no trust them; that they will be able to fulfill the prophecy. That's all we can hope for. Now, run and tell them to ready the writing room." The underling gave a salute and ran down the hallway to alert to John's request.

For John, a few steps down the hall in the opposite direction and then a turn down another and he was at the A.R.R. Trying to be somewhat polite, he knocked on the door before entering. The small group of 17, 18 19 year old were laughing and talking, almost not noticing that John had entered.

"So I was told that you all were looking for me?" John alerted the group to gain their attention. The teens turned and looked at John.

"Yes, yes we were, and we made a decision." Phineas replied.

"Oh, and so what have you decided?"

"We want to stay."

John smiled as he nodded his head. "Alright, this is great. You all wouldn't believe how excited I am. But now that you have decided to stay, there are things that need to be done, most important is you need a rune."

"That's something we were just wandering about. You do you get a rune? I mean you were born with one, but we obviously did not. So what do we have to do?" Addison asked.

"Well remember in the book, the original runes were put into you. There is only a few people in the world that can write runes onto people, and only one has the book at their disposal to write the runes in the most stable and powerful way."

"And are we going to meet this person?"

"You will meet him soon. I might suggest that you might select who goes in what order. It can take some time to write runes, and it is a very difficult, delicate, and dexterous process. Once you're finished, you will be led to the mess hall to get something to eat, and some basic information that you will need to know about runes, using your runes, etc. Everything clear so far?" Everyone nodded. "Good, I'm going to go and make sure everything is prepared. I'll send a person to fetch you one at a time." John turned and quickly left the room, leaving the teens alone once again.

"Alright, anyone up for volunteering?" Bryan asked the group.

Everyone looked at each other, not really saying anything. "Fine; it's going to be rock, paper, then."

"Can't we draw straws or something else? Maybe there is something in that medical supply drawer from earlier." Dallas offered. Isabella got up from her seat and opened the drawer to see if there was something to be fair for everyone.

"There's some tongue pressers in here. We can cut one and whoever gets the short one has to go. Then we just go again till the order is decided."

"Works for me." Bryan said. Isabella grabbed 6 depressors and ripped the bottom off of one. Putting them behind her back, she mixed them up so she couldn't be accused of cheating. Then she put them in her hand for everyone to pick. Everyone reached in and grabbed a presser.

Phineas blew air through his mouth as he got the short stick. "Well, looks like I'm going first."

"I'll go second." Ferb volunteered.

"I'll go after you," Bryan added. Bryan looked over at Dallas.

"Ladies first," Dallas countered Bryan's look.

Isabella and Addison looked at each other. "I'll go before you if you want."

"Alright, I'm fine with that." Addison answered.

"I'll round out everything then." Dallas finished.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Have you all decided whose first?" An underling asked. Phineas stood up and walked toward the door. "Follow me please." The underling led Phineas down the corridor, took a turn or two and finally arrived at an unmarked room. "Just inside here. Good luck."

Phineas thanked the underling as he opened the door and entered the barely lit room.

A couple of can lights hung from the ceiling, giving off a little light. The room was seemed rather large, but the light could have been deceiving Phineas' sight, but he saw what looked like an old gurney or chiropractor's chair. Next to that was a stool on wheels with a simple table next to that. Phineas couldn't see what was on the table, but he could tell the silhouette of a book. A man was arranging things here and there, focused on his work.

"Please, have a seat." The man called out, but Phineas could recognize the voice.

"Is there anything you don't do?" Phineas asked the man as he made his way to the table.

"Not much, but I was in charge of learning everything about this book, and therefore, this is one of the things that I learned to do. I only trust one other person with this book, but he's not ready to receive it yet." John answered as he took the book off the table and began to flip toward the page he knew well.

Phineas sat down as John looked over the notes again. "Alright Phineas, I'm going to tell you a few things. My rune/ability/ whatever you call it is as a sensor. I am able to sense the power within a person. I also can tell what rune is best suited for people if I ever needed to write a rune on someone."

"Where is your rune?" Phineas asked.

"Mine is on my back on the right shoulder. It's green color and shaped like almost like circle radiating outward, but a red streak runs straight through the middle of it."

"Kinda like the colors of your shirt?"

Jeff laughed. "Yeah, it would be kinda like the colors of my shirt."

"So what's going to happen? What's the whole process?" Phineas questioned

"I'm going focus the essence of different runes in my hand. My rune, when the right rune is focused will send pulsations through my arms. After that will come the hard part, I have to write the rune onto your body. Normally it's just born in a random spot, but for all of you I'm going to just place it on the backs of your hand. It's the only spot that the book tells where I can put it."

"Have you ever done this before?"

"No, no I haven't" Jeff admitted. The silence was a little heavy for a moment before Jeff spoke again. "Alright, please follow my instructions and don't worry, everything is under control. Now, please lay on your stomach."

Phineas did as he was asked, flipping over so he was lying on his stomach. He could hear John moving something as he flipped over, moving something next to the table. "Now stick out your right hand." Again Phineas followed directions. His hand out, John moved the restrainer under the hand and began to strap Phineas' hand down. "It's only to keep your hand still while I'm working. You could completely ruin all of the work that we have accomplished." John answered before Phineas could protest. Phineas wrist had been secured, preventing the hand from being jerked around while the hand was wrapped around the handle, which John told Phineas to hold on to.

"Last chance to stop this. Once I begin, it has to be completed all the way to the end. Are you ready?" Phineas nodded his head.

John took a deep breath before he began. With a quick thrust of his hand into the ground, a bright blue circle light up the ground. Slowly, runes, similar to what had surrounded Phineas and his friends when they were first transported from the past began to form around on the ground. It seemed to take a long time, but about only a minute later, the circle had been completed. John looked over at his notes that he had taken from studying the book. He then focused intently into his hand; a brown aura appeared, surrounding his hand. He waved his hand over Phineas' body, and then the aura dissipated. Again, Jeff looked at his notes again, this time a light blue aura appeared around his hand. He repeated his process again, but still nothing happened. Next, Jeff focused and a darker blue aura appeared. This time when he passed his hand over Phineas, pulsations shot down John's arm.

John then looked at his notes, not letting the aura dissipate around his hand. John picked up a scalpel from the table that he had with him. Pulling the stool next to Phineas' hand and sat down, and very delicately just laid the tip of the blade on the back of his hand. Then slowly he pressed the blade into Phineas' hand. Phineas was surprised and let out a yelp. His first reaction was to jerk his arm back, but because his arm had been restrained, he couldn't. Phineas tightened his grip around the handle that he was holding, trying to hope that some of the pain would go away.

"I know that it hurts, but it's what thousands of people before you endured just to live. Besides the beginning is always the hard part, well so I was told." John spoke for the first time since the whole thing began."

"Would it distract you if I asked a question?" Phineas asked.

"No, it wouldn't bother me right now," John responded as he slowly carved a curving line on Phineas' hand. "The only thing is if I ask you to be quiet, it's cause I need to focus. Otherwise, it's just time consuming."

"So you sensed what power that was suited for me?"

"Yes, it's a rare talent that people were only born with. Many other runes are repeated throughout the world, but only two or three people in a generation have my ability."

"Wow, that's kind of cool." Phineas winced as John now finished the third curving line.

"It's interesting, but it's not always that great. I mean when I was a kid, I would see my friends that could grow their limbs to fifteen feet, or could simply levitate off the ground and fly across the air, my abilities seemed kind of trivial. But it was when I was approached by the leader of the First and he asked me to join just because my power was so rare, it made things seem better. And then after his guidance and training helped me, he promoted me to his second."

"Wait, so the guy who died to save everyone that you told us about, that was your commander?"

"No," John countered loudly. He finished the line he was working on before he continued. "To most he was a commander or leader. To me and only a handful of others, he was a mentor, friend." John had to stop, he hadn't thought about what had happened in a long time. It was something that was emotional for him. He breathed out before continuing his work. "When he gave me The Book and the command of The First, I wasn't completely thrilled, because I knew that it was because he was going to die."

"I- I'm sorry." Phineas said, not really knowing what he should say.

"It's alright, most of us have moved on. I work in his memory, that his sacrifice wasn't in vain." Before Phineas could ask another question, John asked Phineas to be quiet. John looked at his notes one more time before continuing. The aura had continued to appear around John's hand. He placed his hand on top of the rune. Phineas couldn't make out the mumbling John was speaking but he did notice the aura that was around John's hand seep into the rune that had been written onto his hand. He could feel it go through the rune, filling all the lines in his hand.

"Alright, everything is done." John began to undo the straps on the restraints. "All I need to do now is to wrap up the rune in a bandage just to make sure you don't get infected or something. I did just cut into your hand after all."

"So what happens now?" Phineas asked.

"Well, you just need a little while to heal, but otherwise you are ready to at least for now be outside the safe room. I'd suggest for now going to the mess hall because I'm sure by now you guys are a little hungry." John answered as he began to wrap Phineas' hand.

"When can I look at my rune?"

"In a little bit. I'd prefer that you wait till everyone has gotten their rune so you can all see them at one time. Can you go send the next one in?"

"Uh, sure thing." Phineas left the room while John rearranged his notes again and cleaned his scalpel. A few minutes later, a knock on the door disturbed John's work.

"Come in," John called.

The door opened and Ferb walked in with Phineas staying outside the door.

"I'm going back to the room for now. I'll wait for you to get or whatever you like." Ferb nodded as Phineas closed the door behind him.

"Welcome, please lay down." John instructed. Ferb did as he was instructed. "I'm just going to strap your hand down in order to keep it from moving while I'm working." Ferb just nodded his head. "Don't talk much I take it."

"Only when something needs to be said." Ferb replied.

"I understand. I'm sure you know as well as I do that some people talk more than they need to." Ferb silently agreed and John continued his work in silence. Focusing a different aura on his hand, John found what rune resonated with Ferb. Ferb could see that John was focused on his work, choosing not to stop him even as the blade pierced his skin.

"Do you sing?" John asked as he finished the first shape on Ferb's hand. Ferb raised an eyebrow in question. "Do you sing? I know it's a weird question, but it seems to me like you have this feeling that even though you don't talk much, you love music, and you like to sing." John explained.

"Well, I do like to sing, but I'm only known for a song me and my friends sang when we were kids."

"Oh, which song was that?"

"It was Gitche-Gitche-Goo, by Phineas and The Ferbtones." Ferb answered.

John stopped his work. "Wait, you were part of the Phineas and the Ferbtones?" Ferb nodded his head. John resumed his writing. "Well, you might not know this but, I actually am a big fan of you guys."

"How is that possible? That was so long ago."

"Music didn't really move forward after you guys were around, and then when the war happened, any kind of progress stopped, so we really only had the music that was around when the war started." Ferb simply nodded in understanding. "So I'm guessing that one of the people here is Phineas?"

Ferb nodded. "How about Isabella and the other Ferb-ettes?"

"Isabella and Addison are the two girls here."

"Huh, well I never would have guessed that." John replied, starting a new cut on Ferb's hand.

"So I have a question, ow!" Ferb flinched for the first time.

"Yeah, sorry bout that, but there's only a little bit left. So you had a question"

"Why did you pick us? Why all out of all the times and all of the people you could have chosen, why did you pick the six of us?"

"Well, I really didn't. I just did what the Book told me to do. I personally didn't have any clue who we would be summoning, when they were from, or what they were going to do when they got here. I just have to trust that what we are doing is right. I have strayed from my convictions and believed that we may have been off course, and that proved to have devastating consequences. When you got as old as I am, you learn that many times when things get tough, you need to stick to what you believe, what you know is right."

"Is that why you do this?"

"Yes." John answered. He set his scalpel down and began to undo Ferb's arm. "I just got to wrap your hand up, and you're good to go."

Ferb laid up and stretched his shoulder to loosen the muscle. Before he could see what rune he had on his hand, John had begun wrapping the wound.

"Keep this on until everything is ready." Ferb raised an eyebrow in question. "I'll tell you when that is, trust me on this one. Can you go send in the next person? I have to set up for them again." Ferb nodded and left the room.

(*)(*)

John wiped the sweat off of his brow as he set the scalpel down. "You're done my friend."

Dallas released the grip he had on the restraint. "Cool, so what's next?"

"Well, since you're the last person, I'll show you all to the mess hall and get you some grub while I go get a shower. After that, I'll start you on some training. I am a little surprised though; I have seen the runes you all have gotten only a few times before, I have only seen your rune on one other person."

"Oh really, who had it?"

"An old friend you can say. She used to be a part of the First a few years ago, until some things happened."

"Like what?" Dallas asked. Before John could answer, he could feel pulsations shooting through his rune and throughout his body.

"Hold that thought," John rushed to the door and yelled down the hallway. "I need a messenger, now!" Within a few moments, a couple of people appeared. "Prepare the front lines, everyone to their positions, someone or something is coming, battle stations!" The two people saluted and as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone. John turned back to Dallas. "Come with me."

"What's going on?" Dallas asked as he followed John down the hallway.

"If I had to make a guess, a small strike force is here to try to test our defenses for Nether- runers."

"So aren't you going to fight them?" Dallas asked

"Not me personally." John opened the door that the rest of the group was staying. "Time to get some field experience."