Carpe Diem

by Isabel3710

Summary:

After a hard school year Dipper and Mabel move to Danville instead of going back to Gravity Falls liked they hoped. The twins are instead spending their summer settling into their new town before starting High School. But things might get a bit more interesting when they meet their new neighbors.

Chapter 1: Something New

Daniel Pines glanced through the backseat of the rearview mirror at his two kids. Both of them were preoccupied with their own activities. His daughter, Mabel, was knitting something for her pet pig. And his son, Dipper, was reading.

It had been a hard year for the three of them. He and his now ex-wife had gone through a nasty divorce, Dan had tried to make things work but it was all in vain. Last summer he had the kids stay with his uncle in Oregon while he and Carol went to counseling. He didn’t want them to be caught up in it all.

Unfortunately counseling hadn’t done much and by the time the twins got back he and Carol were both looking for divorce lawyers. It had taken most of the school year to finalize the divorce and to fight the custody battle to see who would take the twins.

Thankfully, Dan won full custody under the condition that Carol would be allowed to have a video call with them every two weeks. The whole thing was mentally draining for everyone. It was especially hard for Dipper and Mabel seeing how they had just gotten back from a fun trip. When he got a job offer in another city Dan accepted, knowing that a fresh start could be just what they needed.

So now here they were, in the city of Danville located within the Tri-State Area. They were currently driving to the new house from the hotel. The twins had already ended school so the three of them could spend the summer getting the house set up and exploring.

The father knew that the kids were disappointed. He knew that they were hoping to go back up to Organ to stay with his uncle again. Dan wasn’t exactly sure what had happened last summer. All he knew is that Dipper and Mabel went to stay with his Uncle Stanford and when they got back his other uncle, Stanley, was suddenly back from the dead.

But it seemed like the twins had fun and really changed a lot during their time together. Dipper had gained a bit more confidence but seemed more anxious, while Mabel became better at socializing but seemed to have lost some of her ‘sparkle.’ Of course, Dan wasn’t sure if that last one was because of time they spent with their great-uncle or because of the divorce.

-------

Linda Flynn-Fletcher was making a pie, she saw the new neighbors had moved in today and she wanted to help them feel welcome. Unfortunately she didn’t know anything about them. It had been a few weeks since the house had been sold and no one had been by the house until a few days ago.

She had once caught a glimpse of a man around her age looking around but hadn’t seen him since. This morning, when she woke up to see a car parked in the driveway and a moving truck. Based on the amount of boxes she saw being brought into the house she guessed that it might be a small family or at least a couple.

She rolled out the pie crust and smiled softly to herself when she heard her two sons running down the stairs. Phineas was talking loudly to his brother about their plans for the day as they came barreling into the kitchen.

“Hey mom!” Phineas said.

“Hi boys.”

“What are you making?” Phineas asked as the two grabbed some cereal.

“I’m making a pie for the new neighbors.”

“Wow!” Phineas said, Ferb then blinked and Phineas nodded, “yeah I thought that they hadn’t moved in yet?”

“Well this morning it seems like they are,” Linda said “there’s a car parked out front.”

“Cool!” Phineas said “I wonder what they’re like…”

“Well, you are more than welcome to come with me to greet them when the pie is finished.” Linda put said pie in the oven.

The two boys looked at each other for a moment. “Sorry mom,” Phineas said “we would but we have plans with our friends today.”

“That’s fine dear, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to meet them later.”

-----

Mabel giggled to herself as she ran through the maze of boxes that decorated the ground level of the new house. Dipper had disappeared looking for the box that held some of his books. Mabel, on the other hand, was exploring. She had seen pictures of the house but that was different from the real thing.

The doorbell suddenly ran and Mabel ran over to answer it, Waddles hot on her heels. Pulling open the door she was met with a woman with orange hair, holding a pie tin and a teenager, also with orange hair, who looked bored.

“Hello!” She waved.

“Hi,” the woman smiled. “Is your mom or dad here?”

“Uh..” Mabel stiffened slightly at the mention of her mom, and her dad came up behind her.

“Hi,” he greeted “I’m Daniel Pines.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman said “I’m Linda Flynn-Fletcher and this is my daughter Candace.” The teen gave a bit of a wave.

“Nice to meet-” Dad was cut off with the sound of boxes falling over and landing on the ground with a crash.

“I’m okay!” Dipper yelled from somewhere inside the house.

“What happened?” Dad yelled back and Dipper appeared behind one of the stacks of boxes.

“I was trying to get one of the boxes down and they all fell over.”

“Is anything broken?” Dad asked and Dipper shrugged “well, it's fine if something is. The only thing I can think of breaking are the dishes and I’ve been meaning to replace those anyways.”

“Ooo!” Mabel gasped “can I help pick the new ones out?”

Dad chuckled lightly, “sure sweetie.”

“I don’t care what they look like so long as they aren’t pink or have kittens on them or something.” Dipper said.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Dad said before turning back to their visitors. It seemed like Candace had decided to leave but Mrs Flynn-Fletcher was still there.

“Sorry,” she said. “Is this a bad time?”

“No,” Dad ran a hand through his hair. “You’re fine. Just the stress of moving, that’s all.”

Mrs Flynn-Fletcher chuckled “I understand.”

Dad turned to her and Dipper “how about you two run upstairs and go look at your rooms. I’m pretty sure most of your stuff is up there.”

Mabel turned to look at her brother and grinned “race you!” She yelled and bolted for the stairs, Dipper chasing after her.

-----

Dan chuckled lightly as the twins ran upstairs and turned back to his visitor “sorry about that.”

“No worries, I have two boys so I know how it is,'' Linda said. “What were their names?”

“Mabel and Dipper. Sorry I forgot to introduce you.”

“It’s alright,” Linda said “so is your wife out or-”

Dan shook his head “ah no, I’m divorced.”

“Oh!” Linda’s eyes widened a bit “I see.”

—---

When Linda went next door to greet the new neighbors she didn’t expect to find a recently divorced father and his two kids. It reminded her so much of her own life before she met Lawrance.

“I assume this was recently?” She asked.

Was it a bit rude to pry? Yes, but she could tell that the man could use some support. She had been in his situation once and it was the least she do.

“Yeah, it happened late last year.” Dan paused for a moment “how did you know?”

Linda smiled, “Well I was in a similar situation to your’s several years back when my own kids were young.”

“Really?” Dan said “wow I’m… Sorry?” He looked a bit uncomfortable. “Sorry I don’t really know what to say in this situation.”

Linda laughed lightly “it’s alright, I don’t think anyone does. But it was all for the best” she said, moving back on topic “because in the end it led me to meeting my amazing husband and gaining an incredible son.”

“Oh really?”

She nodded “technically Freb is my step-son but I will always see him as my son, blood or not.”

Dan smiled, “You seem like a great mother.”

Linda smiled back “thank you, but what I’m trying to say is that if you ever need any support or advice I am more than happy to give it.”

Daniel sighed “I may take you up on that. This move was to help us get a fresh start but I’m starting to have second thoughts.”

“Oh?” Linda questioned “why is that?”

“I mostly just worried about the twins,” Dan said “the two of them have always had trouble making friends so I’m worried that they’ll have trouble here too.”

“How old are they?”

“They turn fourteen in August.”

“Well” Linda said “Ferb is fourteen and Phineas turns fourteen in about a month, if you’d like I can ask them to invite your kids to hang out with them and their friends sometime.”

“Are you sure they won’t mind?”

“I don’t see why they would” Linda said “they’ve always enjoyed making new friends.”

Notes:

I have been working on this for over a year now and I'm so happy to finally upload something. I've had this idea for a while and has been my on again, off again, hyper fixation. I have a lot of stuff planned so this is going to be a monster of a fic. I'm even drawing character art right now!

I would like to warn all of you, I only have a few chapters written so far. I'm going to be putting a lot more effort into each chapter (unlike some of my other stories). That plus work and classes it might take some time for each chapter to be released, each chapter will also be longer than this first one. I might go back and do some light editing to already posted chapters at some point as well.

The goal for this is for each chapter is to have the same feel as a Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls episode, though it's going to take a few chapters to get to that point. So the different things the kids will do be inspired by one of the shows. I'll explain more in the Author's Note of Chapter 2, so stay tuned for that.

I hope you all enjoyed!
-Izzy

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Summary:

Mabel and Dipper met the Gang.

Phineas and Ferb sat in their backyard with their friends going over their plans for the day. Summer vacation had just started a couple days ago so they had a lot of work to do to make sure that it was their best one yet. The two brothers always made sure every summer was better than the last. To seize the day, every day.

“Hey,” Isabella suddenly said “did you guys ever figure out who moved in next door?”

Phineas looked up from his blueprint “oh yeah! Mom and Candance got to meet them a few days ago but Ferb and I haven’t yet.”

“Cool!” Isabella said. “What are they like?”

“We don’t know,” Phineas said “Mom mentioned that two kids our age moved in, we were thinking about inviting them to hang out with us sometime.”

“Don’t you have to meet them to hang out with them?” Buford raised an eyebrow.

“I wanted to introduce ourselves right away,” Phineas said “but Ferb pointed out that we should probably wait a few days so they could settle in first.”

—----

Dipper sat in his new bedroom sorting through boxes, today would be their first full day in the new house. Even though they had technically started moving in a couple of days ago they had been staying in a hotel while everything got moved in and some of the more basic stuff, like their beds, got set up. Dipper opened a box as the door burst open, looking up he saw his twin; Mabel.

“Hey Mabel, what’s up?”

“Wanna explore our new backyard with me?”

“Shouldn’t we work on unpacking?” Dipper asked her.

“Phhh” Mabel scoffed “we’ll have all summer to do that! We’ve never had a real backyard before, this is our chance.”

Mabel had a point, after they got back from Gravity Falls last summer they moved between two different apartments while the divorce was being finalized. And their house before that didn’t have a backyard, just a patch of concrete and some flower pots.

Besides, unpacking was boring.

“Alright.” Dipper stood up and fixed his pine tree hat.

When Wendy found out that they weren’t coming back to Gravity Falls this summer she insisted that they switch back hats through the mail. Instead in person like they had originally planned.

Grabbing his hand Mabel pulled him downstairs where they passed Dad unpacking in the living room. Not stopping, she pulled him out the backdoor and he got his first look at the yard. It was nice, there was a wooden porch and empty flower beds lined the side of the house.

Mabel grinned and picked up Waddles, who had followed them, and jumped off the pouch landing softly in the grass.

“Maybe we can convince Dad to get a trampoline!”

“That would be fun,” Dipper said, “there’s certainly room for it.”

“Hey there!” A voice called.

Dipper yelped and nearly fell off the porch. Looking towards the sound he saw two guys around his age looking over the fence, one had fire-engine red hair and the other had green hair.

“Hi!” Mabel said, waving at them. She put Waddles down and grabbed his hand again, pulling him over. “You must be our new neighbors!”

“Yup!” Said the red-haired one “I’m Phineas and this is my brother Ferb.”

“Hi!” Mabel said again “I’m Mabel and this is my twin brother Dipper.”

“Hey there.” He said.

“Do you want to come over to our backyard?” Phineas asked.

“Sure” Mabel let go of his hand and started to climb the fence.

Dipper sighed and started looking for another way, he soon found a door built into the fence with a metal sliding lock. Undoing the lock he found he couldn’t open it, the door must have another latch on the other side. This was quickly solved when the door swung open to reveal Ferb.

“Thanks man,” he said and the other boy gave him a quiet nod. The two headed over and stood beside their respective siblings.

He and Mabel were soon introduced to three other kids. There was a black haired hispanic girl named Isabella, a larger buffer boy named Buford, and an indian kid named Baljeet.

Mabel soon started chatting with Phineas and Isabella while Buford and Baljet were talking off to the side while Ferb stood quietly near his brother. Dipper couldn’t help but notice the blueprint laying on the grass. His curiosity got the better of him, he turned to Ferb.

“Do you mind if I have a look at this?” He asked, pointing to the blueprint.

Ferb shook his head and Dipper sat down on his knees to see the paper better, squinting a bit. Despite never having seen a blueprint before it wasn’t all that hard for him to read. Most of the page was taken up by a diagram of the device which was titled 'Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher' with notes on what type of materials needed to build it. On the side were varisis math equations calculating the amount of energy needed among other things.

Dipper looked over the equations with a frown, yes they were correct but he could make them so much better. Patting his pockets he pulled out a pen and started to write on the blueprint.

“What are you doing?” Dipper looked up to see everyone staring at him but it seemed that Baljeet was the one who had spoken.

Dipper winced, realizing that he may have gotten a bit carried away.

“Sorry” Dipper stood up. “I was just fixing your math.”

Baljeet glared at him “what’s wrong with my math?”

“Nothing!” He exclaimed. “The math itself is fine, I was just making it better.”

“How?” Phineas asked.

“Well…” Dipper bent down again and showed them his work.

He explained how his equations would make the “Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher” work so much better and how if they used the other ones it would end up blowing up in their faces from an energy overload. Plus this way they could make it last thirty minutes instead of only ifteen. While he talked Dipper finished up his writing and began idly chewing the end.

“Huh” Phineas picked up the blueprint and looked over, Ferb peering over his shoulder. “You’re right.”

“What?!” Baljeet turned to stare at Phineas with wide eyes but the other boy made no sign of hearing him.

“We’ll have to adjust the original plans to fit the new equations,” Phineas continued, “but it really would work so much better.”

“Cool!” Mabel said “what does it do?”

“It’s a Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher” Phineas explained “it will turn our backyard into an anti-gravity zone, it was only supposed to last fifteen minutes but with Dipper’s help it will last thirty instead.”

“That’s so cool!” Mabel smiled, giving Dipper a smile.

“You must be really good at math” Isabella said “you didn’t even use a calculator.”

“Heh, thanks” Dipper scratched the back of his neck. Not used to this amount of praise.

“Yeah, Dipper is a bit of a genius,” Mabel bragged.

“I am not.”

“Yes you are!” Mabel insisted “you were our Middle School’s Valedictorian.”

“All that means is that I work hard.”

“You can do really hard calculus without a calculator” Mabel argued back “Ms Smith once said that it’s college level stuff. You need to give yourself more credit.”

“Do you want to help us build it?” Phineas asked, holding up the blueprint slightly.

“Wait,” Dipper frowned, “you’re actually planning on building it?”

“Yeah” Buford said “what else do you think we would do with it? Let it sit in a box?”

“.... Fair enough.”

—---

Mabel was having the best day ever, not only did she and her family finally move into their new house but she also made a bunch of new friends! Isabella especially was super nice, and it turned out she lived right across the street. The two chatted for a bit as they helped Phineas and Ferb with their project then she started talking to Phineas about their pets.

“You have a pet platypus?” Mabel exclaimed. “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen one before.”

“Yeah! His name’s Perry.”

“I have a pet pig named Waddles.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you can meet him if you want. He’s right…” Mabel looked around but couldn’t see him. “Waddles!” She called but he didn’t turn up. “Where did he go?”

“I’m sure he’s alright.” Phineas said “Perry likes to disappear all the time, but he always shows up at the end of the day.”

“Oh!” Mabel perked up “maybe he’s showing Waddles around Danville!”

Phineas grinned back “I bet he is. Perry needs more friends, but then again. He doesn’t do much.”

—---

Dipper wasn’t sure what to think of this group of friends, they all seemed to be a bit strange. Never mind the fact that they ordered a bunch of building materials and got them delivered straight to their backyard. And all they got was a comment on them being young!

And crazier yet the machine would be finished in less than a half an hour. If Grunkle Ford and Mr McGucket tried to build something like this it would take them months. And it seemed like it would actually work.

If they were in Gravity Falls these guys would fit right in.

But overall Dipper was having a great time, nobody made fun of him or got mad when he wrote on their blueprint. Instead they complimented him and decided to use his notes. He never had someone his age actually take his advice like this before, with the expectation of Mabel.

He found himself looking forward to the “Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher” being done. He had never experienced anti-gravity before, with the expectation of when Grunkle Stan turned the portal on last summer. But given the situation Dipper didn’t think that counted.

Dipper was holding a piece of metal so Ferb could hammer it in place when Baljeet approached him.

“Dipper, can we talk for a moment?” He asked.

“Uh sure” Dipper turned to Ferb “you got this man?” Ferb nodded and Baljeet took him off to the side. “So, what’s up?”

“What’s up?” Baljeet repeated “what is up is that you are encroaching on my territory!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I am the smart one in this group” Baljeet said “and then you come here and embarrass me!”

“Embarrass you?” Dipper frowned “how? I’ve barely talked to you.”

“You changed my equations!”

Dread filled Dipper’s body, looks like he was wrong when he thought that no one would be mad that he wrote on the blueprint.

“I am so sorry” he said “I had no idea that you were the one who wrote those equations… Is there a way I can make it up to you?”

“Yes. You can leave.”

“What?”

“There is only enough room for one smart guy in this group.” Baljeet said “and I was here first!”

“Alright.” Dipper nodded, “I really am sorry.” And with that he slipped off back to his own yard and went inside without complaint. Trying to hide his disappointment.

Unknownst to both boys Ferb had heard everything.

—-----

The group took a step back and looked at the completed 'Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher' all of them feeling proud of themselves.

“So what happens now?” Mabel asked.

“Now we use it!” Phineas said.

“I think our guests should go first,” Isabella said.

Beaming Mabel looked for her brother, this was going to be so much fun! But she paused when she noticed one little thing.

“Where’s Dipper?”

They all looked around and found that he was nowhere to be seen. “Yeah,” Buford said, “Shouldn’t he be here? He’s the one who fixed it.”

“He left.” A voice said, they all turned to look at Ferb who had just spoken.

Mabel pushed her surprise at his British accent away and faced the bigger issue “what do you mean he left? And when?”

“About five minutes ago” Ferb said “and because Baljeet was upset with him and asked him too.”

At that she turned to the boy in question “what did you say to him?” She wasn’t angry, not yet, but he better have a good explanation. “And why did you ask him to leave?”

It took some prompting but Baljeet explained how he was upset at Dipper because the original equations were his and he didn’t like that some random guy showed up and fixed them, because ‘it was embarrassing.’ And how when her twin apologized and asked how to make it up to him Baljeet asked him to leave because he was supposed to be the smart one in the group.

As he spoke Mabel grew angry, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists as hard as she could. It was taking every ounce of self control not to hit him, as much as she wanted to.

“How dare you.” She said, opening her eyes. “How dare you speak to my brother like that! How dare you force him to leave something that he was excited about all because you are jealous!”

“I didn’t force him to leave!”

“Yes you did!” Mabel said, so close to yelling. “Dipper asked how he could make it up to you. He was going to do anything, within reason, because of how bad he felt! Because that’s just how he is, he hates upsetting people.”

Their lack of friends growing up lead to Dipper doing everything he could to impress people. He had gotten better but he still hated upsetting people he liked.

“Oh” Baljeet grew quiet but Mabel was on a roll.

“And the worst part is that he was really excited about this! He might not have said it outloud but I could tell.”

Closing her eyes again Mabel took several deep breaths, knowing that hitting him would just make things worse. She opened her eyes again and looked at the group in front of her.

“I hope you guys have fun.”

Mabel turned around and headed towards the gate. She needed to make sure that her brother was alright, he was more important than a bunch of kids she just met.

—----

After Mabel left they all turned to look at Baljeet who was staring down at the grass. None of them expected the, normally, well mannered boy to act this way. The closest he had gotten was that time last summer when Phineas and Ferb cloned him several times and they almost beat up Buford.

“Baljeet…” Isabella said “why would you do that? The twins seem so nice!”

“I don’t have a problem with Mabel,” Baljeet said “but I wasn’t going to let some new kid take my place.”

“What place?” Phineas asked “we’re all friends here. Yeah sure, we’re all different but it’s not like we have roles that can be replaced with someone else.”

“Yeah” Isabella said “you’ll always be our friend.”

“You know,” Buford said “for someone so smart you sure can be stupid sometimes.”

Ferb gave his brother some sort of gesture and Phineas nodded. “I agree with Ferb, I think you need to go and apologize.The twins seem really cool and it would be great if they were to hang out with us!”

Baljeet nodded, looking ashamed “yes, you are all right. I should go and apologize.”

Phineas placed a hand on his shoulder “we’ll go with you.”

—---

Mabel hurried inside through the backdoor that led to the kitchen, and saw her Dad was still unpacking boxes.

“Dad! Have you seen Dipper?”

“Yeah he came in about ten minutes ago, said he was going to do some more unpacking.” Dad stopped what he was doing “what have you two been doing out there? Is everything alright?”

“I’ll explain later.” Running upstairs Mabel went into Dipper’s room to find him sitting in the corner reading a book surrounded by boxes.

He looked up as she came in and gave her a small, fake smile “hey Mabel. How did the Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher turn out?”

“We didn’t get to test it.” She said, folding her arms.

“What? Why not? Did something happen?”

“Yes. Some jerk decided to drive my brother away before we could use it.”

“Oh…” He looked down “so you found out then, huh?”

“Yeah,” She walked over and sat down next to him “why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed sadly and put the book aside “you were having so much fun, I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

“You were having fun too, Dipper!” She said “I don’t think I’ve seen you have that much fun since last summer.”

“Yeah, well same with you!” Dipper said “I know you were disappointed that you’re not going to be able to see Candy and Grenda this summer. And you were hitting it off so well with Isabella… I didn’t want you to get upset and ruin your chance all because of your dumb twin.” He pulled his hat down and didn’t look her in the eyes.

“You’re my brother.” Mabel scoffed “besides… I think my chance is ruined. I kind of yelled at Baljeet.”

“What? he looked up at her. “Why?

“Nobody insults my brother and gets away with it.” Mabel declared “he was lucky that I didn’t hit him.”

Dipper gave her a small smile. “You did that for me?”

“Of course I did.” She smiled and stood, holding out her arms. “Awkward sibling hug?”

Dipper stood and held out his arms too “awkward sibling hug.”

They wrapped their arms around each other. “Pat. Pat.”

—-----

Dan Pines heard a knock at the door, and he quickly put down the stack of cookbooks he was holding and headed to the door. Opening it he saw a group of kids.

“Hi, can I help you?”

The red-haired one went through introductions and Dan recognized Phineas and Ferb’s names from their new neighbor, Linda. These must be her sons.

“We were hanging out with Mabel and Dipper earlier,” Phineas explained “but they left and we wanted to talk to them.”

Dan was surprised, but pleased to see that his kids were making friends and nodded. “Sure, let me go grab them.”

He headed upstairs to look for the twins; he ended up finding them in Mabel’s room. It seemed that Dipper was helping her unpack and put away her collection of sweaters and turtlenecks.

“Hey you two,” Dan said with a light smile, leaning against the door frame.

“Hey Dad” they said in unison.

“There is a group of kids at the door,” he said, “they want to talk with you.”

“Wait, what?” Dipper looked surprised.

“Yeah, they said you two were with them earlier and wanted to talk with the both of you.”

Mabel looked at her twin and it was like they had a whole conversation just by looking at one another. Dipper seemed to hesitate before nodding, they quickly thanked him and headed downstairs.

Dan had the feeling that he missed something. With a sigh he also went back downstaris, he really should be used to this by now.

—-----

What followed after was a long conversation in the Pines’ front lawn. Baljeet made sure to explain himself to Dipper before giving him a heartfelt apology and said that he never should have been jealous and he never should have acted out.

Dipper was surprised, not just by the apology but by the fact that it sounded like the other teens were the ones who talked to Baljeet. He thought that they would have taken they’re friend's side but no, they took his! A kid they just met.

Dipper forgave Baljeet and Phineas asked if he and Mabel wanted to come back and try out the ‘Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher.’ And well, it wasn’t that hard of a decision.

They ended up having a great time, the device worked perfectly and they spent a good 30 minutes testing the laws of physics. When the time was up they were all slowly lowered to the ground.

Mabel laughed as she gently fell onto the grass “that was amazing!”

Dipper nodded “it really was, do you guys build stuff like this every day?”

“Most days,” Phineas said “sometimes we like to switch it up.”

Dipper was about to say something else when he heard what sounded like an older, teen girl yelling for her mom. He turned to the brothers with a questioning look.

“That’s our older sister Candance,” Phineas explained. “She's always trying to get Ferb and I ‘busted’ but I don’t know why. Mom always knows what we are up to during the day.”

It was at that moment that a strange orange beam hit the ‘Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher’ and it disappeared.

“Huh,” Dipper said, “that’s ironic.”

“That happens a lot,” Isabella said, “you get used to it.”

“Sure makes cleaning up easier,” Buford agreed.

At that moment the same woman who showed up at their door a few days ago was dragged into the backyard by the same girl who was with her a few days ago.

“See, see!” Candance yelled “look!”

“Candance,” the woman sighed, “there is nothing there.”

Candance stood there in shock and the women seemed to have noticed them. “Hey there kids, who are your new friends?”

“This is Dipper and Mabel Pines.” Phineas introduced.

“Hi!” Mabel waved.

“Oh! You must be Dan’s kids” they nodded “well I’m Linda Flynn-Fletcher. If you need anything let me know. But for now, would all of you like to come in for some snacks?”

They all agreed happily and as they started to head inside the twins grinned at each other. It seemed like it was going to be another interesting summer.

Notes:

Yay! Another chapter is out! I hope you guys liked it, especially now that the story has 'officially' begun. Also yes, the plan is for me to update every weekend. But please don't hold me to it, I'm a pretty busy person.

As I promised in the Author's Note for chapter one here is how a lot of this story is going to work. A lot of chapters will either be (1) inspired by Gravity Falls, wether that be the the comic, the journal, the shorts, or the show itself. (2) Inspired by Phineas and Ferb. (3) Will be a rewrite of a P&F episode with the twins added in.

The episode rewrites will go one of two way, has the same plot as the OG episode but with the twins. Or (and what will happen most of the time) the same idea of the OG plot is still there but a lot of stuff changes. Because, you know, two new characters means that things will change.

If you guys have suggestions for P&F episodes to use feel free to leave a comment with the episode name and a few ideas. Though since I know people are going to ask I'm going to say it now. I'm not planning on using 'Dude We're Getting The Band Back Together.' I know it's a classic episode (one of my favorites) but I thought about it and honestly, I can't find a way to fit in the twins in a way that makes sense. I'm sorry.

Also, the idea for the 'Anti-Gravity Fun Launcher' came from the episode 'Undercover Carl.' I decided the break the twins in slowly with the brothers' Big Ideas with something more tame.

-Izzy

Chapter 3: Second Impressions

Summary:

Agent P gains a new partner.

Perry watched as his boys and their friends chatted with the new neighbor kids. They seemed nice, and Isabella looked excited over the idea of another girl in the group. His watch began to buzz and Perry held back a sigh, time for work.

Making his way to the side of the house Perry slipped through one of his many entrances and slid down the tube to his hideout and landed in his chair. Seeing someone out of the corner of his eye he turned his head to find a pig standing there.

The pig had the OWCA standard fedora with a black band showcasing that he was a fully trained agent. The agent nodded at him and tipped his hat politely.

“Ah Agent P,” Monogram said from the screen in front of him. “I see you’ve met our newest agent. He recently finished up his training and transferred here from our California division.”

Perry frowned slightly, what was his boss getting at? Surely they didn’t call him down here just to introduce to a new agent, especially one who had just gotten their black band.

“His code name is Agent P.I.G” Monogram continued “since he’s new and doesn’t have a nemesis yet he will be shadowing you for the summer.”

Now Perry gawked, were they really going to have someone shadow him? How was he supposed to do his job when he was responsible for some newbie? He looked over at Agent P.I.G who just shrugged, seemingly not happy with the arrangement either. At least he wasn’t the only one. Monogram then proceeded to give their assignment, apparently Doofenshmirtz was looking into teleporting objects.

Once they were dismissed Perry introduced himself to Agent P.I.G who in turn introduced himself as Waddles. With a sigh Perry led Waddles to his hover car to start their mission, he had a feeling that it was going to be a long summer.

—----

Waddles held back a sigh as Agent P flew the hovercar to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, this wasn’t what he imagined when he and his host family moved here. He had been hoping that he would get his own nemesis, or at least be able to fight some people one on one. But instead he would be shadowing another agent.

Honestly, it felt like an insult to his skills that they thought that Waddles needed to shadow someone. It wasn’t even a partnership. But Waddles tried to keep an open mind, Agent P was one of the best OWCA agents after all. Maybe OWCA wanted him to learn a bit more of what it was like in the field. Or at least, that was what he was trying to tell himself.

As they flew over Danville Perry gave Waddle the rundown on what to expect with Dr Doofenshmirtz. Themed traps, musical numbers, flashbacks…

Gosh, Calafornia was nothing like this. Then again, Waddle was originally from Gravity Falls and his two owners had a knack for trouble and investigating the supernatural.

Eventually they reached a strangely shaped, purple building with the words 'Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorp' written on the side. They landed on a balcony towards the top and Perry walked right in, not even trying to hide his approach.

Frowning Waddles let Perry do his thing while he ducked behind the door frame and observed. It didn’t take long before the other agent was stuck in a cage and a middle aged man dressed as a pharmacist came out.

“Ah Perry the Platypus what a completely expected surprise.”

Making sure to stay hidden, Waddles watched as Dr Doofernshmirtz revealed his grand plan. Apparently the mayor was Doofernshmirtz’s brother and was unveiling a new statue at the park. Doofernshmirtz was going to use his ‘Teleport-inator’ to make the statue teleport into the middle of nowhere and embarrass him. Which would, somehow, lead to Doofenshmirtz taking over the Tri-State Area.

Waddles then decided to reveal himself, he ran through the doorway and kicked the man and knocked him over.

“What!” He said, surprised, “who are you?” Waddles handed over his business card, “Agent P.I.G…. wait… Perry the Platypus, do you have a partner again?” Perry shrugged and nodded “wow! You must hate that. Well, back to the scheme.”

Dr Doofernshmirtz tried to run and activate the inator only for Waddles to trip him.

—----

Insead of escaping his trap, Perry decided to watch and see how Waddles handled things. He found himself very impressed as Agent P.I.G fought Doofernshmirtz without much trouble.

Waddles’ fighting style seemed to consist of more karate and martial arts than the average agent but he did it very well. It wasn’t long before the inator was destroyed, sending out an orange beam as it exploded. Perry was soon out of his cage and the two agents headed back to the hover car.

“Curse you Perry the Platypus and Waddles the Pig!” Dr D yelled behind them.

As they flew back to base Waddles asked him why he didn’t escape and help, Perry explained that he wanted to see how Waddles would handle things. Especially if they were going to be working together.

—----

When he and Perry got back to OWCA HQ Perry had a long conversation with Monogram where he managed to convince their boss to change their working relationship. Now, instead of Waddles shadowing Perry the two were partners. They would be sent on most missions together with the occasional solo missions.

When he asked why he did this Perry explained that, while he preferred to work alone, if he was going to work with someone he would much be on equal footing with them. And besides, Perry had pointed out, Waddles had already finished formal training and didn’t need anymore. From what he could see anyways.

The two soon arrived back home and that was when Waddles realized that they were neighbors, which was very convenient. The two went back into pet mode and entered the Flynn-Fletcher yard together where he could see Mabel and Dipper eating cookies with some other kids.

They headed on over to their respective owners and Waddles heard a boy’s voice say “oh, there you are Perry!”

“Waddles!” Mabel cried out and scooped him up. He snuggled into her soft sweater happily letting out a soft oink.

“I told you he would come back.” Said the same boy as before.

Mabel laughed “looks like you were right Phineas. And since Perry and Waddles came together they must have become friends!”

Phineas smiled back “sure seems like it.” He said, petting Perry.

—----

That night after Dipper got ready for bed he opened up one of his boxes. Inside was a bunch of random, strange items. Including an old brass skeleton-key, a negative twelve dollar bill, a flashlight with a crystal tied to it, and three worn looking red journals.

Dipper pushed past all of these items and pulled out a book that looked new. It was a dark blue journal with silver clasps and a silver pine tree on the cover with a number one written on it.

Climbing into bed Dipper grabbed a pen and flipped it open. The journal had been sent to him as a Bar Mitzvah gift from Grunkle Ford last year but he hasn’t found a chance to use it yet. With all of the craziness that happened over the school year, Dipper never got a chance to go out and look for anything strange.

But now he finally had an opportunity to use his journal. Sure, it wasn’t monsters and mysteries but having neighbors who could defy the laws of physics was definitely worth writing about.

Smiling to himself, Dipper began to write his first entry. It was going to be a fun summer.

Notes:

Another week, another chapter.

I know this one is a bit on the shorter side but I'm not great when it comes to writing action scenes. So sorry about that, hopefully I get better as time goes on.

When I first started drafting out ideas I knew that I wanted Waddles to be an OWCA agent. I wasn't originally going to have him team up with Perry but I thought that this fit better. Plus I don't have to come up with a whole OC for Waddles to fight. Also, what do you guys think of his code name? I'm pretty proud of it myself.

Now, not to spoil anything but... despite Waddles being a trainee during the events of Gravity Falls. His training was a bit different to other agents. And I'm not talking about the monsters and demons. In fact... it's a bit odd that Waddles was a trainee during that time since... He really didn't need it.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this chapter? It's not my favorite and I mostly wrote it because it needed to be written. If you know what I mean. I think chapter four is a lot better, though I'm really looking forward for chapter five.

Have a great weekend!
-Isabel

Chapter 4: The Owlbear

Summary:

Dipper and Mabel take the Gang on their first monster hunt.

The Pines twins sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. As they ate Dipper read the latest edition of ‘Anomalies and Mysteries of The World’ magazine. A supernatural and cryptid themed magazine that he held a weekly subscription to. Not only did every issue have articles written about different cryptids but also had a different cipher puzzle for readers to solve.

Dipper ate his cereal as he worked on solving this week’s puzzle. When he was done he flipped towards the back, which held a list and description of various paranormal sightings from around the world. Each one was submitted by readers, and while most of them were probably hoaxes it was still cool to read.

Suddenly Dipper grabbed his sister by the arm “Mabel look at this!”

“What?”

“One of the sightings was here in Danville!”

“Really?!” Mabel leaned over his shoulder to get a peek.

The two read over a brief report someone had sent in describing some kind of owl hybrid that they glimpsed in the woods by the park.

“We should go find it,” Dipper said.

“That’s a great idea, the Mystery Twins are back!” Mabel cheered and they high fived.

It had been so long since they’ve investigated anything. California wasn’t really known for hosting much of the supernatural.

“Oh! Maybe we can invite the brothers and their friends to join us” Mabel suggested.

“I don’t know…” Dipper said “are you sure that’s a good idea? Wouldn’t it just be better for the two of us to do this by ourselves?”

“Nonsense,” she scoffed. “Having friends is always better. Remember how big of a help Soos and Wendy were last summer?’

“I guess...”

“It can’t hurt to invite them,” Mabel said.

—----------

Phineas, Ferb, and their friends sat in the backyard when Mabel came in closely followed by her brother who had a blue backpack.

“Hey guys!” She said, heading over.

“Hi Mabel,” Isabella greeted “watcha doing?”

“Dipper and I are going to go on a monster hunt and we wanted to invite you.”

“A monster hunt?” Phineas repeated.

“Yeah,” Dipper said “apparently some strange owl hybrid was spotted near here and Mabel and I are going to try and find it.”

“And you want us to come?” Buford asked.

“If you want.”

“Sounds fun!” Phineas said and turned to his brother “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today.”

“So where do we start?” Baljeet asked.

Phineas started to answer but Dipper beat him to it. “Well, Mabel and I have everything we should need so all we need to do is head over to Danville Park and start looking for it.”

“You already have everything?” Phineas repeated.

“Yup, in here.” He patted his backpack.

“What all do you have?” Buford asked.

“Umm…” he opened his bag “let see I got water, snacks, my video camera, some disposable cameras, a couple flashlights, and my journal.” He said, pulling the blue book out. “I record anything unusual I find in here.”

“I’m guessing you’ve done this before?” Ferb asked.

“Oh yeah!” Mabel said “we spent all of last summer in Gravity Falls with our Grunkles.”

“What’s a ‘Grunkle?’” Baljeet asked.

“It’s short for Great-Uncle.” Mabel explained.

“Gravity Falls is a bit of a central point for anything ‘weird’” Dipper explained. “We spent all summer investigating it.”

“We’re kind of experts” Mabel bragged, she looped his arm through his “they don’t call us the Mystery Twins for nothing!”

“Cool!” Phineas said “anyway, let's get going!”

—---------

The group of kids all hopped on their bikes and headed to the park, as they rode the twins told them all about their ‘Grunkles.’ They talked about how one was a supernatural researcher and the other used to run a themed tourist trap before they decide to travel the world together on their boat.

“So wait, you haven’t talked to Grunkle Ford about this at all?” Mabel was saying. “I thought you would’ve called him for advice.”

“I tried too,” Dipper admitted “but no one picked up. They must not have service or something.”

—------

Sometime Earlier

Stanford Pines’ phone rang from where it sat in his pocket while the man himself struggled to escape the tentiquels that were wrapped around him. Stanley let go of his legs to run and jumped onto the kraken and began to punch it in the face.

“Take that you stupid squid! Now let go of my brother!” Stan yelled as he punched it over and over again.

—------

“Yeah you’re probably right.” Mabel shrugged “oh look we’re here!”

They reached the small wooded area and left their bikes nearby and started walking. “So what do we do now?’ Baljeet asked.

“Look for anything unusual,” Dipper said absently, looking around.

“We tend to wing it a lot.” Mabel said.

“It’ll probably take a little bit” Dipper said “the article said that it’s an owl hybrid and owls aren’t that big.”

“And nocturnal.” Mabel added.

“Alright,” Phineas said, “come on gang. Let's spread out!”

—--------

Mabel and Isabella had climbed a tree and were carefully looking around for a nest that the owl hybrid might have. Or for the animal itself. Though the two girls were having more fun talking then searching.

“I can’t believe that you’re a Fireside Girl Troop Leader!” Mabel squealed, “I’ve always wanted to be a Fireside Girl.”

“Then why haven't you joined?” Isabella asked.

“We don’t have a troop in Piemont,” Mabel explained, “I tried to start one but no one joined.”

Mabel still remembers all of the campaigning she did at her school when she was eight, she talked to every girl at her school and the only person who agreed to join was Dipper (this was before he came out). But since she needed at least three other girls to have an official troop, and no one else wanted to join, it never got off the ground.

The teachers made her stop after a month because apparently her recruiting techniques were actually ‘harassment.’

“You can try and join my troop if you want.” Isabella offered.

Isabella felt pretty bad for Mabel, she loved her troop and all of the friends she’d made through it. The other girl had just moved to town and didn’t have any other friends here yet except for her. Plus Mabel was really nice and proved herself to be super resourceful. She was perfect Fireside Girl material.

“Really?” Mabel lit up “I would love too!”

“We’re having a meeting tomorrow.” Isabella said “I can nominate you and then the other girls have to accept you. But that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“That would be amazing!”

—-------

“So what do you think of the twins?” Phineas asked his brother.

The two of them looked around in some bushes with a flashlight they borrowed from Dipper. Ferb blinked.

Phineas nodded “yeah I think they're really cool too! I can’t wait to get to know them better.”

Ferb looked around at the rest of their friends. The girls were in a tree and Buford was holding Baljeet by his legs as the smaller boy looked down a hole. Dipper was off by himself, Ferb pointed him out.

Phineas grinned at him “great idea bro!” And called over the other boy.

“Hey guys,” Dipper said awkwardly “what’s up?”

“Ferb and I wanted to know if you wanted to team up with us.”

“Oh… Um sure.”

The three searched in silence for a bit.

“Are you okay?” Phineas asked, Ferb made a slight hand gesture and he nodded “yeah I agree, you seem pretty nervous.”

“Hm?” Dipper looked up “yeah I’m alright, I’m always pretty nervous... It’s… It’s just been a while since I’ve done this and normally it’s just Mabel and I.”

“You’re friends don’t join you?” Ferb asked.

“We don’t really have any friends.” Dipper admitted, looking down. “Back in Piemont I mean. In Gravity Falls Mabel had some, and she still talks to them. I was friends with a couple of people but they were a few years older than me.”

“How come?” Phineas asked “you guys are great!”

Dipper snorted softly “thanks but most people back home think that we’re pretty weird. At least Mabel has that ‘magnetic personality’ thing going for her.”

The two brothers looked at each other, Ferb felt like there was more to the story but decided not to ask. It wasn’t any of his business after all. Phineas couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to be friends with the twins, they might have only known them for a couple of days but they were awesome!

Both of them felt bad, from what it sounded like Dipper didn’t have any friends his own age. The idea baffled Phineas a bit, he loved his friends and couldn’t imagine being able to do most of his Big Ideas without them.

The two coming to a simultaneous agreement “well, you can be friends with us if you want.” Phineas offered.

“Wait…” Dipper looked up at them from where he was crouched on the ground, investigating something. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re really nice and we want to get to know you better.” Phineas said.

Dipper stared at them, processing. Honestly…. He didn't know what to say. The only people who had ever wanted to hang out with him were Wendy and Soos. Even before he came out he was considered nerdy and weird, people only talked to him if they wanted homework help. And after his coming out people avoided him (and by extension Mabel) like the plague.

But here… Nobody knew. Only Mabel and his dad knew he was trans and they wouldn’t say anything. Dipper knew that someone would eventually find out and tell the others and then he would be avoided again but…. He really wanted to say yes. To feel normal even if it was only for a little while.

Dipper gave the brothers a small smile. “I’d like that.”

—----

“Ugh. It’s been hours and we haven’t found anything.” Buford groaned “how long is this going to take?”

“Sorry but it’s… it’s probably a hoax.” Dipper looked down at his feet. “Sorry for wasting your time.”

Mabel patted his shoulder “it’s okay bro-bro. This just happens sometimes. Not everything can be real.”

Isabella nodded “yeah, and we had a great time anyway. Right guys?”

Baljeet nodded “yes it was quite delightful and I found some new foliage to study.”

“And we still have time today to do something else” Phineas said, Ferb pulled out a couple of blueprints.

“Yeah I guess you’re-” Dipper suddenly froze, cutting himself off. “Did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” Baljeet asked.

Mabel shushed him and listened, she suddenly grabbed her brother's hand and started running farther into the trees. “Come on!”

The rest of the gang looked at each other before running after them.

—-----

It didn’t take long for Buford, Baljeet, Isabella, Ferb, and Phineas to hear what the twins heard.

“What is the noise?” Baljeet covered his ears.

“Whatever it is, it sounds awesome,” Buford said.

The sound they heard was a mix between a growl and a soft screeching sound, almost like…. snoring?

Isabella noticed the twins a few feet away and they all went to join them. Mabel had stars in her eyes and was squealing softly, Dipper was sitting on the ground writing something in his journal, occasionally looking up in quiet fascination at the creature that lay before them.

The animals didn't look wonky or off-putting like most would expect, it was the perfect mix. It had the head of an owl and the body of a bear, and the size of one, but instead of fur it had golden brown feathers. The Owlbear had talons instead of feet and two large wings tucked behind it’s front legs, which were covered in brown fur. It was curled up, asleep, in a large nest made of grass and leaves.

The five of them all gasped but made sure to stay quiet and not startle it. Dipper slowly put his journal back into his bag and stood up, pulling out his camara. After turning off the flash he quietly took a couple of pictures.

“We should go.” Mabel said softly.

“What?” Buford whispered “we’re just going to leave it?”

Dipper noded “it’s not hurting anybody and we got to see it.”

“It would be rude to disturbed them,” Bajleet agreed.

“I guess that settles it.” Phineas said “let's head home.”

—------

The group all rode back on their bikes, all of them talking about different theories on how the Owlbear lived, what it ate, if it could fly (or if it was too heavy), things like that. They all had different opinions and reasons to back them up but they were all respectful to one other. They did all agree that the Owlbear was probably nocturnal, which explained why nobody had spotted it before and why it was sleeping.

They all soon sat in the backyard of the Flynn-Fletchers still talking excitedly.

“That was amazing guys!” Isabella said.

“Yeah,” Phineas agreed. “We had a lot of fun.”

“It was definitely interesting.” Buford said, Baljeet nodding.

“We had fun too.” Mabel smiled at them. “Right Dipper?”

Dipper looked up from his journal briefly and nodded before going back to his drawing of the Owlbear, focused on his task.

“Are you going to publish the pictures you took?” Baljeet asked him.

“Hm?” He looked up and registered the question “ah no. No, I'm not planning on it.”

“Why not?” Baljeet looked appalled.

Dipper considered his answer “one thing I’ve learned about the supernatural is that most creatures want to be left alone. If I publish the photos then the Owlbear will be ambushed by scientists wanting to dissect them or something. Which could lead to the Owlbear, rightfully, defending themself and hurting themselves or someone else...”

Baljeet thought that over and nodded “that…Makes a lot of sense.”

Dipper shrugged “like Mabel and I said, we’ve done this before.”

Notes:

Yay! A new chapter. I was planing on posting this yesterday but I had a long week of work and decided to relax instead.

Stan and Ford make their first cameo! I'm hoping to do this a few times over the course of the story where the Grunkles have a brief scene as they are out at sea. I am planing of the two of them visiting the twins at some point so they will be in a couple chapters but that won't be for a while.

Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Man, it took me a while to write cause I had no ideas for how I wanted it to go what so ever. So I'm glad it turned out alright and it fits the vibe I was going for. If you guys want to give me your thoughts I would really appreciate it.

-Isabel

Chapter 5: Start The Fire(side Girl)

Summary:

Mabel meets the Fireside Girls with the hopes of joining them.

Isabella headed towards the cabin that was the Fireside Girl Lodge dressed in her uniform, Mabel was skipping beside her. The two kept up a steady stream of conversation, despite only meeting a few days ago the two girls became fast friends. There was something about Mabel that drew Isabella to her and before she knew it, they were friends.

The two soon reached Lodge and Isabella opened the door and led her friend in, she was happy to see that the girls were all here.

“Hey guys!” Isabella greeted “whatcha’ doing?”

“We’re all working on our knitting patches,” Getchen said, and Isabella then noticed a mess of knotted, multi-colored yarn on the floor.

“Who’s that?” Katie asked, pointing to Mabel.

Isabella grinned and pulled Mabel to the front of the room “everyone, this is Mabel! She’s one of Phineas and Ferb’s new neighbors and I thought she would make a good addition to the troop.”

“Hi! I’m Mabel.” She gave everyone a wide smile and waved.

The girls all stared at the sparkly girl. With her rainbow braces, large sweater, and the dusting of glitter she was covered in, she was a bit of an odd site. But the rest of the girls greeted her kindly all the same.

“So… you’re nominating her?” Adyson asked.

“Yup.”

“Hey chief…” Holly said “can we have a word?” She glanced at Mabel, nobody noticed that her smile started to dim “in private?”

“Oh, sure.”

—----

Mabel watched as the Fireside Girls slipped into another room and her smile fell. From the sounds of it they didn’t want her in the group, though she supposed that it did make sense. As much as she hated it.

After all these girls have probably been together for a long time, since they were Lil’ Sparks if she had to guess. Her joining would change their whole dynamic and rhythm.

With a sigh Mabel sat against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, she tugged at the collar of her sweater. Recently she started making and wearing sweaters with a ‘normal’ swoup neckline. And she really liked them… except for days like today when she wanted to disappear into Sweater Town. She still had a bunch of her turtlenecks and still wore them but didn’t have any with her.

A year ago she would be optimistic and think that there was still a chance, and while she still was. Mabel learned during the school year that it was best to be realistic at times, and this felt like one of them. Mabel didn’t have many friends back in Piemont, and the ones she did have left her after she chose to defend and support her brother after he started his transition. Like she would do anything different.

Danville was supposed to be a fresh start, and while she was happy that she became friends with Isabella, Buford, Bajeet, and the Flynn-Fletcher brothers… She was hoping for some more gal pals. At least she still had Candy and Grenda, even if they could only hang out online and over video chat.

Looking at all the yarn that covered the room Mabel found an unused ball of red yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Picking them up she started to cast on.

—-----

“So…” Isabella said, once they were in the other room “what did you want to talk to me about?”

“We don’t think it’s a good idea to add another girl to the troop.” Ginger said.

Isabella looked at all them in shock “you all think this?” The girls nodded “why?”

“It’s just…” Milly trailed off “how do I say this?”

“Adding a new member is just going to change the group dynamic.” Adyson said.

“You guys didn’t have a problem with Candace joining last summer.” Isabella pointed out.

“Well, we all knew it wasn’t going to last long,” Holly admitted, “so it wasn’t going to change anything.”

“Besides,” Ginger added, “we’re starting highschool in just a few months. So she’ll only have a few years, unlike the rest of us who have spent most of our lives working on our patches.”

“If she really wanted to be a Fireside Girl she should have joined ages ago.” Holly agreed.

“Mabel didn’t get the chance to join!” Isabella said, frustrated “if she did she would have! They don’t have a troop where she’s from, and nobody would join when she tried to start her own!”

The rest of the girls all looked at each other and whispered to one other. “We’re sorry Isabella,” Milly said “but we just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

—-----

Isabella followed her friends back to deliver Mabel the news, dejected. What was she going to do? She told Mabel that it would be easy, and that the other girls would be thrilled to have her. But instead they rejected her, before even getting to know her. If they would just talk with her then they would see what an awesome person Mabel is.

They all stepped into the room to see Mabel Pines sitting up against the wall with a half knitted red sweater, working on it diligently. She looked up at them with a smile, but it wasn’t as big as before, and stood up.

“So,” she said, “what did you agree on?”

“We’re sorry to say,” Gretchen started “but-”

A lightbulb went off as Isabella was struck with an idea “but it doesn’t matter right now.” She interrupted “because we need your help!”

“We do?” All the Fireside Girls said and Isabella nodded.

“We do. We’re all having trouble getting our knitting patches,” she gestured towards the mess of yarn “but you, Mabel, have been knitting for how long again?”

Mabel thought for a minute “since I was around five, I think.”

“Exactly!” Isabella said, her plan fully formed “none of us know how to knit but you could teach us.”

Some of the girls looked like they wanted to protest for a moment then thought better of it. Isabella was right after all, they were really struggling. The knitting books they borrowed from the library could never replace a teacher.

“We really could use the help” Katie admitted.

“If you’re willing too of course.” Holly said.

Mabel considered them all before nodding “I’ll help.” She decided “but I’m not going to go easy on you. I may not be a serious person but my craft is one thing I do take very seriously.”

The Fireside Girls all nodded, they had faced hard things before. How bad could this be?

“Great!” Mabel smiled, but it wasn’t her usual smile instead it was mischievous and a little bit of something else. Something that made them all nervous.

—-----

While Mabel was teaching the Fireside Girls knitting. Dipper had finally finished unpacking his room. The brothers were spending the day with their family, it was their sister’s birthday. Probably for the best since he really needed to finish unpacking, and a break from wearing his binder. Despite the gender dysphoria it gave him.

Now he was helping Dad unpack even more boxes, which is how he stumbled across the box of cassette tapes. They were all different bands and artists that he’d never heard of, with the expectation of a few BABBA albums.

“Hey Dad,” he said as casually as he could. Even though he wanted to grab the BABBA tapes and run up to his room, the problem that he didn't have a cassette player could be resolved another time. “What are these?”

Dad walked over and looked in the box “oh these are some of my cassette tapes from when I was in college. I forgot I still had these.” He chuckled.

Sitting next to him Dad looked through the box and pulled out one of the tapes, one for a band called Love Handle. “This was my favorite band, really popular back in the day. They got back together last summer.”

“Do you still listen to them?”

Dad shrugged “not really, they’re more of a rock band and I’m not as interested as I used to be. Still a great band though.” He thought for a moment “you know, I bet my old cassette player is around here somewhere. If we find it I can play a couple for you.”

“Of course!” Dipper's voice cracked a bit and he winced.

He was on a waiting list to start Hormone Replacement Therapy but until then he had to settle for voice training, and whenever he got excited like this his voice risked cracking. But he couldn’t help it! He loved 80s and 70s music, it was a secret guilty pleasure of his. It was much better than early 2000s and 2010s pop music or boy bands songs that Mabel enjoyed.

The two Pines spent the next fifteen minutes looking through boxes until Dad found the cassette player. He set it up and played one of the Love Handle albums, and well… Dipper fell in love.

Dan smiled at his son, Dipper tried to keep his love for older music a secret but he knew. And he was glad to introduce him to more of it. In fact…

“You know,” he said, “if you want you can keep my old tapes and the player.”

“Really?”

“Sure. I don’t have a use for them, and someone might enjoy them.”

“What??” Dipper said, clearly lying “I don’t like it… That’s stupid!”

“Well if you don’t want them-”

“No!” Dipper shouted, “I… I want them…I really like them…”

Dan laughed “okay then, it’s yours. And Dipper?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s okay to like this stuff, it’s good music and plenty of people like it. There is no reason to be ashamed.”

Dipper nodded slowly “okay. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

—------

After a few hours of gurling hard work the Fireside Girls had completed the Knitting Patch requirements. The handbook stated that each girl needed to complete an article of clothing that they themself could wear and was approved by their teacher (if they had one).

Mabel hadn’t been kidding when she said that she wouldn’t go easy on them, she made them each repeat stitches, rows, or even entire sections multiple times. And they still had no idea where Mabel had gotten the megaphone from. She didn’t teach them anything too hard (according to her), they all had the option to make either a scarf, hat, or pair of leg warmers. Mabel herself finished the turtleneck she had been making earlier and was now wearing it.

But despite what she put them through all the girls could see the passion Mabel had for the craft. And Isabella was right, she was super nice. Yes she had been hard on them, but she was also very supportive. Like when she encouraged and comforted Ginger when she got frustrated after halfting to redo a section for the fifth time.

The girls all realized that they had been wrong to judge her so harshly and deny her so quickly. They had all been worried about the group dynamic changing and running their strong bond but Mabel fit in so well. Like the final color of a well made, knitted, rainbow garment.

When they were done and packing up to go home Gertchen stepped forward. “Thank you for your help today Mabel.”

“Yeah!” Holly said “it was awful and I’m never knitting again but at least I got these cool leg warmers out of it!”

Mabel laughed “you’re welcome! I’m happy to help.”

“”Our decision is yes, by the way.” Adyson said.

“What?”

“To join The Fireside Girls.” Adyson clarified “our answer is yes, we want you to join us… If you still want to anyway.”

Mabel’s face burst into a wider grin than before, if that was even possible, “I would love too! Thank you!”

Isabella smiled, happy her plan worked. “All you need to do now Mabel is fill out this application, read the entire training manual, and sign some insurance waivers.” As spoke she handed Mabel each of the items in question, impressed when she didn’t buckle under the weight of the book like most did. “Then in one week you’ll be sworn into the group.”

“Great!” Mabel smiled and put everything in her knitted tote bag “I’ll see you then!”

Everyone waved and said goodbye, all of them looking forward to next week.

—-----

After spending a few hours helping his Dad unpack, Dipper slipped up to his room to use his new (for him) cassette player. He set it up on his dresser and went through the tapes. Dipper pulled one out and the cover showed a young woman with orange hair dressed in typical 80s fashion. The title declared the single to be called ‘I’m Lindana And I Wanna Have Fun.’

Dipper titled his head slightly as he looked at a picture of the pop star. She looked… familiar but he couldn’t place where. With a shrug he carefully placed the tape inside the player and pressed play. It was probably nothing.

Notes:

Here to another chapter!

Sorry this is a bit latter then my pervious chapters, I normally post Friday Night/Saturday Morning but my Dad and I went camping.

What do you guys think about Dipper's lil scene? I would love you hear your thoughts. I love the idea of him being a fan of Love Handle and Lindana, since he's already a fan of BABBA. I didn't think that his 'music discovery' needed a full chapter so I just included a scene here.

-Isabel

Chapter 6: Disco Mini-Golf

Summary:

The Gang builds their own mini-golf course and Dipper brings out a skill he picked up during the school year.

When the gang found out that Mabel was a master at mini-golf, Phineas suggested that they all go to Danville’s local miniature golf course, Little Duffers. Everyone had agreed and they all decided to meet up at the course. The two brothers pulled up on their bikes to find the rest of their friends sitting on the sidewalk, looking dejected.

“Bad news guys,” Isabella sighed “Little Duffers has closed its doors for good.”

“What?” Phineas said, shocked, “that’s horrible.”

Mabel sighed too “I was so looking forward to dystorying you all on the mini-rink.”

“And I was going to bury you on the freeway,” Burford said to Baljeet.

“Metaphorically, right?” The boy said nervously.

“Yeah, right.”

“How can they close Little Duffers?” Phineas asked, still trying to process “I’ve been coming here since I was little.”

“Sorry kids,” the owner came outside. He was a short, red haired man wearing a kilt and had a scottish accent. “But Little Duffers is officially out of business.”

“But how?” Dipper asked, “Little Duffers is the only mini-golf course in town.” Because of course he would do his own research on other courses.

“Aye.” The owner agreed “people just don't respect the game anymore. They think it's just golf in miniature. But it's not! It's miniature golf.”

“Gosh,” the kids said in unison.

“It's a sad thing when a town loses a major sports franchise.” Phineas said.

The owner nodded “but kids today only go for the stuff that's all shiny and new and high-tech.” He explained “ah, the Scotsman in me tells me to hold on stubbornly to the bitter end! But then again, I'm half Irish.” And with that he left.

The kids all hopped on their bikes and started the ride home, the mood much more somber than it had been an hour ago.

“It’s really too bad.” Dipper said “today would have been perfect for mini-golf.”

A lightbulb went off in Phineas’ head “hey everyone, I know what we’re going to do today!”

The group quickly biked back to the Flynn-Fletcher household as Phineas explained today’s Big Idea. They dropped their bikes in the driveway and ran to the backyard, passing Linda as she pulled her car out the driveway.

“Hi mom!” Phineas said as they ran past “we’re going to build a miniature golf course in the backyard!”

“That’s fine dear” she chuckled. “After all, it’s only golf in miniature.”

—-----

Stacy Hirano was Candance Flynn’s best friend and when she heard that her friend was sick she rushed over to take care of her. She was setting up the movie, ‘Who Wants To Be A Total Idiot 3,’ on her laptop while Candance ate miso soup when she heard the sounds of construction outside.

She took a look outside and turned back to her friend “your brothers have a giant crane?”

Candance’s eyes widened. “They are so bu... bu... bu…” Her voice was so hoarse that she was unable to speak. She pulled out a notepad and quickly wrote something down.

Stacy took it “what is this? Dancing weasels?” She paused and considered the notepad for a moment and flipped it right-side up “oh busted! You want me to bust your brothers, you should really work on your penmanship.”

“Find out what they’re up to and report back to me.”

“No problem-o.” Stacy grinned “I’ll be right back.”

—----

Out in the backyard Phineas was looking over the construction of their miniature golf course with Ferb.

“This is awesome,” Phineas said “at this rate we’ll be done before lunch!”

Stacy then walked up to them “listen up twerps! Just because Candance is out sick doesn’t mean you can get away with anything. I am now her eyes, ears and mouth. Basically I'm her whole face.”

“Aw” Mabel said, “what a good friend!”

“Who are you?”

“This is Mabel,” Phineas introduced “she and her twin brother, Dipper, just moved in next door.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Stacy.” She smiled at the girl and turned back to the brothers “so, what are you building here?”

“We’re building a mini-golf course!” Mabel said excitedly.

“Why can’t you go to Little Duffers?” Stacy asked.

“They closed,” Phineas said sadly. “But it’ll be okay! Cause we’re building our own, wanna see what we have planned? Mabel has been helping us design it.”

“I’m a mini-golf expert!”

“Sure!” Stacy agreed.

—----

After they explained what they had planned for their course Stacy ran off to report back to Candace and the young teens finished up and got ready to play. The group all grabbed their clubs and took the ‘Elevator To The Coolness’ to the top.

“I still can’t believe that they made this in less than a few hours.” Dipper said to Mabel.

“I know!” She squealed “it’s awesome!”

“Still, how are they able to do this? Much less pay for it?”

Mabel shrugged then grinned, “oh look, we’re at the first hole!” She ran off, the earlier topic forgotten.

—----

Dipper slid up to Baljeet and Buford. “So… Do you two want to make any bets?”

Burford looked intrigued while Baljeet looked confused. “Bets? On what?”

“On who's going to win of course.” Dipper pulled out a small notebook and his pen, flipping it open he quickly wrote down everyone’s names.

Buford took the book “Isabella’s probably going to win.” He admitted “she’s good at everything.”

The three of them watched as Isabella only took three turns to get her ball into the hole, Phineas then stepped up.

“What are the odds on Phineas?” Baljeet asked.

Dipper shrugged “I don’t know you guys that well yet. Whatever you’ve calculated is probably your best shot.” This was mostly true, he had a general idea of how good everyone was when they were all practicing/showing off earlier. But he didn’t have exact odds on anyone other than Mabel.

Baljeet thought that over for a moment and then pulled out a calculator. After a little bit he took the notebook, wrote his bet next to Ferb’s name and handed it back to Dipper. Who wrote in his own bet then took his turn, and failed quite badly. Sports weren’t his thing, though Dipper noticed it seemed harder to see than when he last played.

Last summer Grunkle Stan taught the twins how to gamble, so when he got home Dipper started underground betting pools at his school for various things. He used his knack for math to calculate the odds and make sure that whatever he betted on always won. Except for the few times he lost on purpose, to make sure that people still participated without feeling cheated.

Everyone’s jaws dropped when Mabel took her turn, with the expectation of Dipper who already knew how good she was.

“Wow, Mabel wasn’t kidding when she said was good at mini-golf.” Isabella said and turned to him “can I put my money on her?”

Dipper shook his head “sorry but she’s already taken. If more people were betting then you could but with a group this small there can only be one bet on each person.”

Isabella nodded and placed her bet on Phineas.

—-----

Ferb was taking his turn when Stacy re-appeared, everyone else had already taken theirs. He was taking the time to find the direction and strength of the wind and Dipper mentaly raised the odds a bit.

“Phineas?” Stacy said, walking over to them.

“Hey Stacy, you’re just in time.” Phineas greeted “so, what do you think of our miniature golf course?”

“It's so…” She started to say before stopping herself “I mean, I've come to deliver a message with an unimpressed demeanor.”

“Cool,” Phineas said “we’re on our way to the next hole. Wanna come?”

“Sure!”

They headed down the slide that would lead them to the next hole, along the way Phineas and Ferb got outfit changes. And the rest of them got new clubs. Stacy tried to deliver the message that Candance was going to call their mom but got distracted, which was pretty easy to do. With the coolness and all.

They reached the next area and they were all of them hovering slightly in the air.

“What kind of hole is this?” Dipper asked, a bit freaked out and trying to stay upright.

“It’s the air hockey hole!” Phineas said, taking aim and hitting his ball towards the hole but missed.

“Wicked!” Stacy said.

“Look at us,” Burford said. Ferb, himself, and Baljeet had all linked arms and were doing tricks “we’re gliding on air!”

Mabel skated along twirling and spinning as she hit her ball and got a hole-in-one. She whooped and cheered as the lights around the net flashed and a bell rang. She grabbed Dipper’s hands and spun him around. The boy yelped and clung on, trying not to fall flat on his face.

Everyone cheered and they only freaked out more when Stacy also got a hole-in-one.

—----

Stacy left again but the rest of them kept on playing. The twins learned just how far the brothers took their Big Ideas and they were shown a variety of holes. The rest of the group didn’t seem super surprised (though still impressed) so this had to be normal, somehow.

And gosh where the holes super cool!

While Mabel was waiting for her turn at the ‘clown hole’ she spotted Dipper with his notebook and a bunch of score sheets. She rolled her eyes lightly, but she had a smile on her face as she headed over to him.

“We’ve been here less than a week and you’re already starting betting rings?”

Dipper shrugged “seemed like a good opportunity. Why? Do you want to make one?”

“Sure!” She took the list and looked over it “you placed twenty-five bucks on me?”

“Why not?” Dipper asked, “I already know that you’re going to win.”

“Stacy is pretty good,” Mabel said, “maybe I’ve met my match.”

“I thought you met your match with Pacifica?” Dipper asked.

“I mean my Daville match. Pacifica is my Gravity Falls match.”

“Right…” Dipper said “well anyways, Stacy’s missed out on a couple of holes so if she hops back in it’ll be hard to make up those points. It’s possible, but it’ll be hard.”

Mabel hummed softly and wrote in her bet. Dipper gawked at the fact that she was betting on Stacy, she claimed it was to be nice and ‘you never know what will happen.’ But really it was just to mess with him.

—-----

Stacy did end up coming back and stayed with them for the rest of the game. They encountered a bunch of different, unique holes including; a shooting range, a tilt-a-maze, pinball, a game show, a soccer field, and a baseball pitch.

“Here we are.” Phineas said “we’ve reached the final hole. I hope you guys brought your dancing shoes.”

The last hole was a 70's themed light up, multi-colored disco dance floor. Complete with music. Dipper sat this one out, he claimed that he needed to count up the scores. Which was true but mostly because he needed a break, he didn’t realize how physically straining some of the holes were going to be and was a bit winded. The unfortunate downside to binding.

Everyone was super impressed by the outfits Mabel made for them and how quickly she got it done, they all loved them. Her own outfit was a pink, sparkly thing covered in fake rhinestones and sequins. As they all danced along to the music Mabel saw everyone start to sing and dance.

Mabel was surprised and looked to her brother who was sitting on a bench nearby, she hoped his binder wasn’t bugging him too much, he also looked surprised but smiled at her. That was all she needed before joining in. Dipper knew that she always wanted to be a part of an impromptu music number.

They all sang the catchy tune and Stacy took her shot and missed, much to everyone’s disappointment. But they all cheered when Mabel got a hole-in-one. Winning the game and beating her personal record, Stacy smiled and cheered for her with everyone else. Not at all bitter at losing. Even if she did just lose five bucks to the betting pool that one kid got her to join.

The kids all celebrated Mabel’s win, Dipper came over and Mabel pulled him into the dance, much to his embarrassment. But unbeknownst to all of them the mini-golf course was lifted into the air by the windmill with the help of a giant leaf blower.

—------

A woman in a blue dress was talking to the owner of Little Duffers.

“You know you should've been setting aside a portion of your profits over the years with the understatement that money would be used to upgrade your investment.” She said, “what did you think? A shiny new miniature golf course would just fall out of the sky?”

At that moment the brothers’ course fell out of the sky, gently landing in Little Duffers. The owner smirked, “you'd be surprised what falls out of the sky in Danville.”

—-----

Everyone was leaving Little Duffers as Phineas was saying “I still don't know how we ended up at Little Duffers.”

“It is pretty strange,” Dipper said, “though not the craziest thing to have happened.” Mabel nodded in agreement.

“I don't know why we didn't build it here in the first place.” Ferb said, behind them Perry dropped out of a tree and onto the sidewalk.

“Oh, there you are Perry.”

While Phineas, the only person who didn’t participate in the betting pool, was distracted with Perry, Dipper went to collect his winnings.

“I’m calling inside knowledge.” Buford argued.

“Either prove it or pay up,” Dipper argued back.

Everyone groaned but paid him all the same.

Notes:

Cheers to another chapter. Gosh I had a long week....

If you guys didn't think that I wouldn't pull in the P&F episode 'Put That Putt Putter Away' then you are sadly mistaken. It's cannon that Mabel is fantastic at Mini-Golf so of course I had her show off her skills.

For anyone wondering about our two favorite agents. Waddles was sent on a solo mission and Perry took an impromptu day off with Dr D. Just like in the show.

Writing Help Needed (kinda spoilers): I'm a doing a Halloween special/chapter and I need help figuring out costume ideas for everyone. I already have Dipper and Mabel but if you have ideas for the other kids please leave a comment. I'll credit any ideas that I use.

I'm really proud of how this chapter turned out so I would love to hear your thoughts on it. What do you guys think of Dipper starting betting pools? I think it's funny and it makes a great plot device/joke for future chapters. Also, if anyone wants a full list of all the bets let me know and I'll leave it in the comments.

-Izzy

Chapter 7: Glasses, Braces, and Knitting. Oh My!

Summary:

Phineas and Dipper have doctors appointments and Mabel and Ferb bond.

Dipper sighed and stared out the car window and a line of trees passed. But all he could see was a green blur, not because they were going super fast but because he couldn’t see them. Dipper knew that his eyesight wasn’t great, it had been getting harder to see for a while now. But he hadn’t wanted to say anything before now.

When he and the gang had played mini-golf the other day Dipper noticed just how hard it was for him, he wasn’t normally that bad, not as good as Mabel but he could still hit the ball. So he finally bit the bullet and told his Dad. And now they were off to see the eye doctor.

Dipper knew that he needed glasses but he really didn’t want them. He had already been bullied back in Piedmont enough for his birthmark, his geeky interests, and being trans. And while he hasn’t been bullied in Danville he was pretty sure it was because his new friends didn’t know those things. But glasses… that was hard to hide.

Maybe if he was lucky he didn’t really need them?

—----

Phineas sat in the waiting room at the orthodontist office and glanced over at his Mom who was reading a magazine as they waited. The idea of him getting braces was something that had come up multiple times over the past few months, but as far as he knew it could have been longer. And he honestly didn’t know how to feel about it.

He wasn’t ecstatic over the idea of getting braces, he did know that. He knew, logically, that it was the smartest move. He knew that his teeth were pretty bad, and had been ever since he was a kid. So the topic of braces had come up. By now it was pretty much confirmed that he was getting them and this appointment was to figure out next steps and decide when he should get them. Though it would probably be in the next few weeks, maybe even sooner.

Phineas knew that Mabel had braces and asked her about them. When she found out that he was getting them too she got pretty excited and declared them ‘braces twins’ which helped him feel a bit better. She did warn him about how much it would hurt when he got them on and when they were tightened. She also went on a bit of a rant about how awful it was that she couldn’t eat certain things with them on. Like caramel or happy ranchers candies. But she did admit that she snuck them sometimes, which would cause her to lose a bracket and delay her getting them off.

“Phineas Flynn.” Looking up he saw the orthodontic hygienist standing by the door that led to the back.

His mom stood up, “over here.” He stood up too and his mom gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and led him over.

—-----

Mabel lay in the grass in the front yard with her eyes closed, bored. Everybody was gone. Dad and Dipper were off at the eye doctor, Phineas was at the orthodontist, Isabella was at a Fireside Girl Troop Leader Meeting (and getting Mabel’s paperwork filed), and Buford and Baljeet were at a Bully And Nerd Convention. Whatever that was. Even Waddles was gone!

There was nothing to do, she already made her sweater of the day and started working on a couple for her friends. Sure, she could finish unpacking her room but she wasn’t motivated enough to get up and do so. And she wasn’t really in the mood to get up and “be productive” as Dad would say.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching Mabel opened her eyes to see a familiar green haired teen standing above her.

“Hey Ferb,” she greeted “what’re you up too?”

He shrugged and gave her a questioning look.

“I’m bored,” she sighed, “there’s nothing to do and everyone’s gone.” She thought for a moment “well, expect you.”

Ferb gave her a little smile at that and sat down next to her, Mabel sat up and brushed the grass out of her hair and fixed her ponytail. The two sat quietly for a moment. Mabel wasn’t used to being quiet for long periods of time, not that it wasn't bad, just different. After a bit Ferb pointed at her sweater, pastel pink patterned with flowers.

“Oh yeah,” she said, looking down at it, “I made this.”

Ferb gave her a thumbs up and another smile and she had the feeling that he just complimented her.

“Thanks! It took me a while to get this good, I’ve been knitting since I was five. You should see some of my first attempts.” She laughed, “I think I still have some of them… I should go look…”

Tilting his head, Ferb gave her another look.

“My Mom taught me.” Mabel answered the unspoken question “I don’t really talk to her anymore… Well I do… kinda, it’s complicated.”

“Can you teach me?” Ferb asked, breaking Mabel out of her revelry.

“Teach you how to knit?” Mabel clarified and he nodded. Her face broke out into a grin “I would love too! Wait right here.” Then she jumped up and ran into the house.

—----

Dipper squinted slightly as he looked over a pair of glasses frames, trying to see them a bit more clearly, before putting them back on the shelf. He wasn’t surprised that the ophthalmologist confirmed that he needed glasses, though that didn’t make the news any easier, now he was picking out a pair of frames. After that the office would order them and he would get his new glasses in a few days.

“What about these?” Dad asked, walking over and handing him a pair of circular green frames.

Dipper tried them on and looked in the mirror “yeah no thanks.” He took them off and handed them back to his Dad.

He nodded, “I agree, they don’t suit you at all.”

The two kept looking, Dad picking out frames and Dipper trying them on. Not saying anything with the expectation of a comment here or there.

“Do you know what the doctor said that I thought was interesting?” Dad asked, breaking the silence.

“What?”

“That from his observations your eyesight has been slowly decreasing for the past few months” he said. “So here’s my question, what haven’t you said anything before now?”

“I didn’t notice?” Dipper tried. Dad gave him an unimpressed look. “It’s just… things have been crazy lately and I know you’ve been stressed with us moving here and everything with Mom…. I just didn’t want to add more to that, and it was fine I could handle it!”

There was a pause at that and Dipper fixed his eyes on the pair of black frames in his hands. He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders but he kept his eyes on the glasses.

“Dipper,” he heard Dad say “look at me please.” Looking up he saw that Dad had crouched down to his level. “No matter what is going on you can tell me anything, you know that. Right?” Dipper shrugged, “well you can.” Dad sighed softly “I know this past year has been crazy, and I know this summer isn’t what you and your sister had planned. But if there is anything going on I want to know, nothing will change that. Okay?”

“Okay.” He said, feeling better.

Dad smiled and straightened “great, now let's go see if we can find you some glasses.”

—-----

Mabel sat next to Ferb, gently guiding him through the motions of the garter stitch. She didn’t know why she was more gentle with him then she was with the Fireside Girls, maybe because he had shown a genuine interest? Who knows. She did find herself very impressed by how quickly he was picking it up.

“How are you picking this up so fast?” She asked him.

Ferb shrugged “I am a lot better at the smaller details of our Big Ideas then Phineas is.”

She nodded “that makes sense.”

The two sat quietly, knitting, Mabel working on another sweater but this one was for Ginger rather than herself. Ferb working on what would probably end up being a scarf. While Mabel was normally a pretty loud, talkative person it was nice to have a more laid back, quiet day. Especially after the crazy couple of weeks she’d had, it had taken a lot out of her.

Mabel didn’t know how long they sat there for before Ms Flyyn-Fletcher’s car pulled up the driveway next door and Phineas hoped out. Seeing them he headed over to them.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey Phineas!” She greeted “how was the orthodontist?”

“I’m getting braces on Friday.” He said.

“Congratulations!” Mabel cheered “what color are you getting?”

“I’m thinking red.”

Mabel nodded “good idea. Green makes it look like you got spinach in your teeth and yellow makes them look, well, yellow! I know from experience.” She gave a little laugh.

Phineas laughed too. “I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit nervous.”

She nodded “yeah I was too, but you’re going to be fine. You’ll probably want to eat softer foods for a couple of days though.”

A car pulled up into the Pines’ driveway and Dipper got out of the passenger seat, seeing them he walked over to them.

“Hey Dipper,” Mabel greeted. “How'd it go?”

“I need glasses,” Dipper deadpanned, “they’ll be here in a week.”

“Cool!” Phineas said “I bet you’re going to look great.”

The tension in Dipper’s shoulders relaxed “thanks.”

Mabel stood up and brushed grass off her shorts and grabbed her knitting stuff “I’m going to go inside. Are you coming?” She asked her brother, who nodded.

Dipper slipped inside and Mabel looked back at the brothers, specifically Ferb. “I had a really fun time today! Thanks for hanging out with me.” Then she went inside too.

—----

“Thanks for hanging out with me.” Mabel swept her pony-tail behind her shoulder with a smile. To him, the whole scene was in slow-motion with music playing in the background and flowers.

Ferb was suddenly snapped out of his trance by his brother, he blinked several times and looked up at him.

“Woah,” Phineas said in concern “are you okay?”

Nodding, Ferb grabbed his things and headed towards the house. He had a lot to think about. After all, the last time that happened was last summer when he gained a crush on an older girl named Vannessa.

Notes:

I hope everyone had a good week. I didn't. Crush you stupid, stressful adult job. LOL

This chapter is a bit of an interlude so to say. One of my favorite head cannons is Dipper getting glasses, Phineas getting braces I got the idea from some fan art. I couldn't find a way to include them receiving side items in a normal chapter. Hence, this one.

So.... Ferb has gained a new crush. What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them. This something I've debated for a while so I hope everyone is at least... Friendly to the idea. I know feelings on ships can be a bit mixed at times.

- Izzy

Chapter 8: Summerween Fest

Summary:

The twins introduce the gang to the Gravity Falls holiday, Summerween!

Mabel burst into the Flynn-Fletcher backyard with a shower of orange, purple, and green glitter much to the surprise of the two brothers who, like always, were sitting under their tree. Once the glitter had settled a bit Dipper appeared as well, covered in light dusting of the stuff though he didn’t seem too bothered by it. More like he tolerated it honestly.

“Hey guys,” Phineas said.

“Sorry about the glitter, Mabel has a thing for it,” Dipper said.

“It’s Summerween!” Mabel shouted, interrupting her twin.

“Summer what?”

“Summerween!”

“Do you remember how we told you that we spent last summer with our Grunkles in Gravity Falls?” Dipper asked, the two nodded “well the residents of Gravity Falls like Halloween so much that they celebrate it twice a year.”

“And it’s today!” Mabel said, the brothers then noticed her sweater. It was orange with a watermelon on the front that had the face of a jack-o-lantern. Dipper was wearing a t-shirt with a mummify-ed on the front over a long-sleeved orange shirt.

“That’s really cool!” Phineas said “and smart too, since it’s warmer in the summer for trick-or-treating.”

“Yeah, it’s a shame that it’s only celebrated in Gravity Falls.” Dipper started to say.

“Says who?” Phineas asked “who says that we can’t celebrate Summerween in Danville?”

Mabel grinned at him “nobody. Why do you think we’re here?”

“Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!” Phineas said “hey where's Perry?”

“And Waddles?” Mabel wondered.

—------

Waddles landed gracefully in Perry’s lair, the other agent already there. Major Monogram was up on the screen.

“Go morning agents.” He greeted “Dr Doofenshmirtz has looked up some very strange things. Even for him.”

“I wouldn’t say that sir,” the intern, Carl, said from off screen “it seems pretty in character if you ask me.”

“He’s been looking up how to summon ghosts, Carl.” Waddles froze at that, please don’t give him a repeat of the ‘Incident’ from last summer. Monogram countined, not noticing “who knows what trouble that will cause.”

“Yes,” Carl said, “but Doofenshmirtz has gotten into just about everything at least once. And I’m sure the agents can handle it.”

The two started to bicker a bit so the agents left, not needing to hear the rest of the assignment. It was pretty self explanatory at this point.

—------

Mabel sat next to Dipper, sketchbook in hand as she drew out several costume ideas. Since Summerween would be celebrated in the evening, that gave everyone plenty of time to spread the word and work on costumes. She finished her drawing and showed it to her brother.

“What about this?”

He looked over at it and shrugged “I’m not really feeling it.”

Mabel huffed in annoyance “Dipper, I am giving you costume gold right now and you don’t like any of them. What’s the problem?”

Dipper hesitated for a moment “I just… I don’t want matching costumes.” He admitted before quickly correcting himself when he saw her face fall “not that I don’t want to match with you! Just not like that!”

“What do you mean?”

Dipper thought over his words as he bit his nails before he stopped himself. “Remember our Halloween costumes from last year?” She nodded, “that’s what I mean, costumes that complement each other but people are still able to understand them if we are separate.”

Mabel nodded slowly, she didn’t fully get why Dipper would want something like that. But she could work with it, and was more than willing to compromise. She thought about it for a moment then grinned. She went back to her sketchbook and drew out her idea, and showed it to him.

“What about this?”

—------
The two OWCA agents burst into Dr Doofenshmirtz’s lap and were immediately trapped in a glass tub. Looking around Waddles noticed how similar it looked to the ones used in that ghost hunting show Dipper liked.

“Ah, Perry the Platypus and Waddles the Pig” Doofenshmirtz, stepping fully into the room “what an unpleasant surprise.”

“Now, you may be wondering why you are trapped in a ghost hunting tub thing-y. What are those called?” He muttered to himself “anyway, the other night I was watching ‘Ghost Slaughter: 3' with my daughter, Vannessa. Horrible effects by the way, clearly not as good as the first one.”

“Anyway, I noticed how much power just one ghost could have, and how much trouble they could be! So I did some research on if ghosts are actually that way because again, the movie was horrible. Couldn’t find much” he admitted “people are pretty split but most agree that ghosts are very scary.”

“So,” he said, finally getting to the point “I made this, the ‘Ghost Trapper-Inator' he gestured to the large inator behind him “I am going to use this to summon and trap a bunch of ghosts and then release them on City Hall, and when my good for nothing brother Roger-” he interrupted himself.

“Oh wait, Waddles The Pig, do you need the backstory on my brother?” Waddles shook his head, Perry had filled him in.

“Good, good thank you Perry The Platypus. Filling the new guy in would take far too long” Perry tipped his hat to him. “As I was saying, when I release the ghosts and Roger is unable to stop them from all of the chaos they will cause I will swoop in and retrap the ghosts. Everyone will see how capable I am and make me the ruler of the Tri-state Area!”

Waddles was pretty sure that wasn’t how ghosts work…. But this could still end pretty badly.

—------

Ferb was in the garage, blow torch in hand, working on Phineas’ costume. Due to the nature of it Ferb had decided to make it for him because of all of the little, more difficult details that he knew Phineas would have trouble with. Mabel walked in and smiled when she saw him.

“Hey Ferb!” He waved. “What are you up to?” He gestured at his blueprint and she took a look “wow! That looks awesome!” She said “anyway, I was wondering if you could help me with mine? It’s okay if you’re too busy.”

He shook his head and gestured for her sketchbook, she handed it over and he took a look. Her costume wouldn’t be too hard, not as hard as Phineas’ anyways. He gave her a nod and smile.

“You’ll help? That’s great! Thank you so much.” She said “is there anything I can do?”

Ferb shook his head before getting an idea, he pulled out another blueprint and handed it to her. He would make his costume himself but now that he was working on two costumes he might not have time for a third. And Mabel would be the best person to make it instead, and would probably do better than he would.

Mabel looked it over and nodded “I can definitely do this! I’m working on Dipper’s costume for him and should have some fabric I can use.”

Tucking the blueprint under his arm she ran off “thanks Ferb! I’m going to go get started.”

He stared after her, his cheeks heating up before pulling the welding mask back down over his face and getting to work.

—-------

Perry and Waddles watched from inside their trap as Doofenshmirtz struggled to get the cord for his inator all the way to the outlet. As the man went on a hunt for an extension cord the two started to work to cut through the glass.

—------

Normally when Candace heard about one of her brothers’ Big Ideas she would try and bust them. But she had mellowed out a bit since last summer, now she really only tried if what they were doing looked dangerous. And having an impromptu holiday wasn’t that bad, pretty mild compared to some other stuff they’ve done.

Unsurprisingly the whole town had gotten in on this ‘Summerween.’ Her parents were carving something called ‘Jack-O-Melons’ in the kitchen, of course Mom had no idea it was the boys who put the whole thing together. Like always.

Candance wandered about town trying to decide her next move. All around her people were setting up decorations, craving Jack-O-Melons, and getting costumes put together.

“Hey Cadence.” A voice said, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up to her boyfriend, Jeremy.

“Hi Jeremy!”

“I was just looking for you.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, have you heard about Summerween?” He asked, showing her a flier.

“Who hasn’t?” Candace asked with a chuckle “it’s one of my brothers’ projects.”

He laughed “yeah I figured, though I heard it was someone else’s idea and they just helped put it together. Anyway, some friends are throwing a party and I was wondering if you wanted to go.”

“Sure!”

“Great” Jeremy smiled “and you know… it’s a costume party.” He said “and since we’re a couple…”

Candance grinned “want to go look for couples costumes together?”

Jeremy took her hand “sounds great, let’s do it.”

—------

Perry was slowly getting through the glass when Doofernshmirtz came back with an extension cord.

“Alright,” he said, “I finally found an extension cord in the back of my junk draw… I should really clean that out.”

The two agents stopped their escape plan to watch Doofernshmirtz finally plug in his inator…. Only for it to start warming up.

“This is going to take a while,” Heinz admitted. “I’m going to watch the first ‘Ghost Slaughter’ while we wait. Let me move the TV over so you two can watch too and then you can see how much better it is than the third.”

He left again and Perry and Waddles went back to cutting through the glass of their trap.

—------

Phineas and Ferb stood on the sidewalk waiting for their friends, it being summer it was still light out. Ferb’s costume was of long, flowing purple wizard robes with green accents and he held a staff. Phineas was dressed as a cyborg and had a few fake metal prosthetics, his whole costume was made with silver and red metal that matched his braces.

“Hey Phineas, hey Ferb” Isabella said as she came up to them “watcha doing?”

“Waiting for everyone” Phineas said “great costume!”

“Thanks!” Isabella’s unicorn costume was a rainbow tutu matched with a sparkly shirt and she had on a headband with the horn and ears attached to it. “I like yours too.”

Buford and Baljeet were the next two to show up. Buford was a glow-in-the-dark skeleton and Baljeet was some scientist.

“Now we just have to wait for the twins,” Phineas said.

“I say if they don’t show up in the next five minutes we leave without them” Burford said “I’m getting tired of waiting.”

“You just got here.” Isabella pointed out.

“We’re here!” Mabel announced, running over to them. Dipper close behind her.

“Wow guys!” Isabella said “you two look great!”

Mabel was a knight but instead of the traditional silver armor Ferb had made it pink, per her request. Underneath the armor she wore a dark purple jumpsuit type of thing, though it was mostly covered by the armor. And she had a sword in a sheath by her side, it was made with metal but padded and very dull. Her favorite part of the costume was a shooting star that Ferb had engraved onto the breastplate as a surprise.

“Thanks Isabella! I love your costume too.” Mabel said “even though real unicorns are jerks.” She muttered under her breath.

“What?” Isabella said.

“Nothing! I’ll tell you about it later.” Mabel said “it’s a long story.”

“What’s your costume Dipper?” Baljeet asked, a bit confused.

Dipper wore a long, midnight blue coat with silver constellations embroidered into the fabric. Underneath he wore a black sweater that had just enough glitter in the yarn that it simmered slightly in the light. Mabel had made the sweater and jacket and had, somehow, convinced him to let her brush some silver glittery makeup across his nose and cheeks. He was, of course, wearing his glasses which were dark blue with rectangular frames. Lastly, his hair was pushed back, birthmark in full view.

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck “I’m um… the night?” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Oh!” The five of them said in unison.

“Dipper and I are the kings of Halloween and we do matching costumes. We wanted to switch it up a bit this year. That's why he’s the night and I’m a k-night.” Mabel said, pronouncing the k.

“What’s that?” Buford asked, pointing at Dipper’s forehead.

The teen in question stiffened slightly “oh um… it’s my birthmark.”

They all leaned forward slightly to get a closer look. After all, how many people have a perfect replica of the most famous constellation in North America on their forehead?

“So that’s how you got your nickname!” Isabella said and Dipper nodded.

“It’s really fascinating,” Baljeet admitted.

Ferb nodded and gave Dipper a thumbs up. “It is pretty sweet,” Buford admitted.

“It’s awesome,” Phineas said “why don’t you show it off more?”

“Most people don’t like it,” Dipper shrugged. The truth was, he loved his birthmark and wished he could show it off more. But years of bullying taught him to keep it hidden.

“Why?” Phineas asked, shocked. “I mean, it’s so cool!”

“You think?” Dipper asked, “you…. You don’t think it’s weird?”

“It is weird” Buford said “but not the bad kind of weird. It’s weird like Ferb’s hair.”

“What do you mean?” Mabel asked, confused.

“Oh,” Phineas said, “Ferb’s hair is natural.”

“Really?” The two said in unison.

“How?” Asked Dipper.

Ferb shrugged “runs in my family, skipped a generation with my father.”

“Woah” Mabel said “that is awesome!”

“Just like your birthmark,” Ferb said to Dipper.

Dipper smiled, shoulders relaxing. It had been a gamble to use his birthmark as part of his costume and one that he was happy to see pay off. “Thanks guys.

“Now,” Mabel said “let's go get some candy!”

They all cheered and ran off to the first house.

—--------

Waddles and Perry sat inside their trap eating popcorn watching the first ‘Ghost Slasher’ movie with Heinz. It was the type of cheap horror movie that Dipper and Wendy liked to make fun of. A beeping sound came from the inator, Doofenshmirtz jumped up and ran over to it.

“It’s ready!” He said excitedly, starting up the machine. The end of the inator glowed a ghostly green light Waddles watched as several ghosts appreaded.

“Yes!” Doofenshmirtz cheered, “and now to trap them-” but before he could do anything one of the ghosts flew into the ‘Ghost Trapper-Inator’ and it fell to the floor in a pile of parts. “Oh no…”

Perry rolled his eyes and finished cutting through the glass of the trap, leaving said trap he began to try and fight the ghosts… Only to very quickly realize that it was next to impossible all he could do was try and avoid the stuff they were throwing at him.

Waddles reached into his hat and pulled out a bunch of silver mirrors, he tossed about half of them to his partner who looked at him confused. Waddles ran and leaped off of the TV, which was still playing the movie, and swung one of the mirrors at a ghost. The ghost disappeared into it and Perry’s eyes widened.

The two agents made quick work of the rest of the ghosts. Doofenshmirtz looked relieved and thanked them. Only to turn around and curse them when they activated the self-destruct button on the pile of parts, just in case. Waddles also tore up the blueprints for good measure.

They went to HQ where Waddles had Carl exorcize the ghosts from the mirrors using an incantation from one of Stanford’s journals that Waddles had copied on a separate piece of paper. Then, they went home.

—-----

The gang were sitting on the living room floor of the Pines home, sorting through their candy. The Fireside Girls had joined them at one point during the night, each of them had dressed as different members from various boy bands. Bits and pieces of everyone’s costumes were scattered around the room as they sorted and traded their candy.

The two pets came in and Waddles hopped onto Mabel’s lap, who fed him a piece of candy. Despite her brother’s warning not to.

“Oh there you are Perry.” Phineas said, picking the platypus up.

Notes:

Here is the Halloween special I promised that I would write. I knew from the beginning planing stages that I wanted a Summerween chapter and planned it so it would be released around Halloween.

Thoughts on everyone's costumes? The idea for Phineas' and the Fireside Girls' came from the user "Im_A_Rogue_Puppy." The user "asperman1" also had a interesting idea for Buford and Baljeet that I almost used, but I went with something else instead.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments last chapter. It really means a lot to me and I'm so happy to see everyone enjoying Carpe Diem.

I know I promised I would try and update every weekend but I'm not sure if I will be able to update next week. Normally, by the time I post one I've finished writing the next chapter and just need to edit. But I'm still working on writing chapter 9 and I'm kinda struggling. My goal is to still post like always but it might not be until Saturday or Sunday instead of Friday night like I usually do.

Happy Halloween and have a good week everyone!
-Izzy

Chapter 9: Haunted Slumber

Summary:

Mabel has her Fireside Girl initiation and the guys play a strange board game.

Mabel rang Isabella’s doorbell dressed in her newly hand-made Fireside Girl uniform; an orange knitted sweater, brown skirt, and matching orange hat. And she had her hair down instead of up in her usual pony-tail. Today was her initiation into the Fireside Girls, and the day when she would get her sash. She didn’t know anything about what might happen, just that she had to meet at Isabella’s that evening. Which was now.

The door swung open to reveal Isabella dressed in her own uniform. “Hi Mabel,” she smiled at her “come on in.”

Isabella led Mabel to her room where the rest were waiting for them, the lights in the hallway were dim giving off a very spooky vibe.

Isabella joins the rest of the group by the door, facing her. “We’re really glad that you’re joined us.” She said “but before you can become one of us there are a few things that you need to do.”

Mabel nodded “like what?”

“First we ask that you vow to keep the five sacred commandments of the Fireside Girls.” Holly said.

“What are they?”

“Commandment one,” Adyson said, “be kind to others and to yourself.”

“Number two,” said Katie “Fireside girls are loyal to each other.”

“Commandant three” Milly was next “always be helpful.”

“Commandant four” said Ginger “we are strong and capable!”

“But it's okay to ask for help,” Isabella added.

“And lastly,” Gretchen said “number four is to to be honest and trustworthy.”

“So what do you say Mabel?” Isabella asked “do you swear to abide by the rules?”

Mabel nodded “yes, of course!”

The girls cheered and Isabella shushed them “not yet girls, we’re not done yet.” She smiled at her “next you have to endure the all night trial!”

“The what?”

“It’s a test we do on every new member” Katie said “it’s to test your endurance, measure your character, and your perseverance.”

“Plus it helps us get to know you better!” Milly said.

“If you make it through the night then you will be an official Fireside girl and you will have earned your sash” Isabella said “and maybe a few patches if you’re lucky.”

Based on some of the things that handbook talked about and some of the patches, the all-night trial could be anything. But Mabel nodded, after everything she’d been through she felt like she could handle anything that came her way.

“You ready?” Holly asked.

“Let’s do it!” Mabel said, determined.

“Okay….” Isabella said “then it’s time for a…” She threw her bedroom door open and all the girls yelled in unison

“Slumber Party!”

The floor of Isabella’s room was covered in blankets and pillows, with a stack of games in the corner and a table with pizza and soda set up against the wall and Isabella's bed had a pile of overnight bags on top of it.

Mabel squealed in delight and excitement.

—------

Buford walks into the Flynn-Fletcher house with Baljeet and sees Dipper has already arrived, which makes sense given how he lives right next door. He was playing a video game with Phineas and Ferb, the two dropped their bags in the corner of the room where Dipper’s was. Isabella and Mabel were at a Fireside Girl slumber party so the five of them decided to have their own guys’ sleepover.

Despite the game not being the type to use teams Dipper and Ferb had joined forces against Phineas, something he was protesting against. Buford laughed, this was something he could get behind. Burford flopped on the couch and grabbed a controller. Baljeet did the same.

Phineas groaned and attempted to shield his character as Burford logged in and started attacking him. “Come on guys.”

Buford laughed, “deal with it, dinner bell.”

“I’ll help you Phineas,” Baljeet offered.

“Thanks Baljeet.”

“Prepare to lose,” Buford said.

“Can you even win or lose at this game” Dipper wondered “I mean, it’s a multiplayer combat game.”

“You win by not dying,” Buford said, killing the other teen’s character. “And you just lost.”

“.....Dang it.”

—--------

Mabel very carefully worked on painting Adyson’s nails, all of the girls dressed in their PJs. Apparently, Isabella told her Dad about the slumber party and he dropped off her overnight bag in secret.

“Why is the Fireside Girl initiation a sleepover?” She asked, adding a layer of teal nail polish to the other girl’s nails.

“We find that a sleepover is the best way to bond with someone” Adyson said “nothing says unity like greasy pizza, messy makeovers, and sleep deprivation.”

“Plus,” Grethen's voice came from behind her where she was braiding Mabel’s hair. “It helps us get to know you and these types of things help people relax.”

Mabel nodded “I can agree to that” Mabel gave a sly grin “so since we are getting to know each other… Do any of you have a crush?”

“Well….” Adyson said with a smirk “there is one girl here I know has a crush. Isabella.”

Mabel looked at the hispanic girl with a grin “really? Who?”

Isabella looked down and blush “Phineas.” She admitted.

Mabel squealed “Really?”

“Oh yeah” Katie said “she’s crazy for him. Has been for years.”

“Yeah…” Isabella said, looking down.

“What’s wrong?”

She sighed “I’ve been trying for years to get him to notice me, but no matter what I do…” Isabella sniffled “I’m getting close to giving up!”

Mabel scooted over beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders “don’t say that! It’s not too late.”

“I hate to admit it,” Holly said, “but I kind of agree with Isabella.”

“It’s never too late for love!” Mabel said, “and there is one thing that you have now that you didn’t have before.”

“What?”

“Me! I am the world’s best matchmaker, and I promise to do everything I can to help get Phineas to notice you!”

“Really?” Isabella asked with a small smile.

“Really.” Mabel took her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

—------

After a very competitive couple of hours of video game playing Ms Flynn-Fletcher came out and told them to keep their voices down. Reminding them that while Candace may be at Stacy’s for her own sleepover she and her husband were still there.

“Great,” Buford groaned, “what are we going to do now?”

“Oh!” Bajleet said, “I found a board game that we could play.”

“It better not be some nerdy math game.” Buford said.

“It’s not,” Baljeet assured him, pulling the box from his bag.

It was a pretty plain box titled ‘Castle Adventures: Guaranteed to make you have fun.’

“Cool” Phineas said, “you guys want to play?”

Ferb shrugged and moved to sit on the floor.

“Sure,” Dipper said. Joining them on the floor.

It was a pretty simple game, roll the dice and move your piece along the path to get to the end of the castle. There were different spaces where you had to draw a card and do whatever it said. It started out as pretty normal, the cards were basic stuff like ‘go back two spaces,’ ‘draw a second card,’ ‘skip a turn.’ stuff like that.

Then things started to get weird.

They started to get cards that had them do things in real life, which wasn’t too bad and honestly kind of fun. But then it started affecting things in real life, things they didn’t do.

Ferb drew a card “things start floating, go back three spaces.”

Ferb moved his piece and various household objects began to float in the air.

“Well,” Dipper said. “I think it is safe to say that this isn’t a normal game.” He pulled out his journal to take notes, only to lose it thanks to a card Baljeet drew on his next turn.

This wasn’t good.

—-----

The five boys all stared at the card in Phineas’ hand as it was suddenly on fire, Ferb pulled out a water bottle and doused the flames (and the carpet).

“Alright,” Baljeet said, standing. “I’m going home.” But as he tried to leave his body turned to mist and was sucked into the game.

The rest of them stared at the spot where their friend once stood.

“I’m… I’m not the only one who saw that, right?” Dipper asked. The rest of them nodded.

“What happened?” Phineas asked.

“I’m guessing that we have to keep playing” Dipper said “I don’t know for sure but… I bet if we finish the game everything will reset and Baljeet will be back.”

“I guess we now know what the game’s slogan meant.” Ferb said dryly.

“I hope the girls are having a better time than we are.” Phineas said, picking up the dice.

—-----

Ginger and Mabel both stood on Isabella’s bed, using their hair brushes as microphones and singing (but more like screaming) at the top of their lungs. Music playing in the background.

“You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my! I'm never not by your side, your side, your side!!!!”

—-------

Ferb rolled the dice on his turn looking at the two other boys who remained. Shortly after Baljeet disappeared Buford had refused to take his turn and got sucked in as well. He sighed softly, this wasn’t his idea of a fun time but… He would play if it meant saving his friends. He went to move his piece forward, only to look down and see his body turn to mist.

“Ferb!” Phineas whispered-shouted, still aware of his sleeping parents upstairs, unable to tear his eyes from where his brother once sat.

Dipper placed a hand on his shoulder “it’ll…. It’ll be okay man.” His voice was shaky. “We just gotta finish the game and everything will go back to normal.”

Phineas nodded “yeah, yeah. You’re right, we can still have fun.” He chucked “nothing says fun like your life on the line, right?”

“You sound like Mabel,” Dipper chuckled too as he started up his turn.

The anxiety weighed down on him, he had no idea if finishing would bring everything back. All he knew was that three of his friends were inside a board game and strange stuff kept happening when they drew cards.

The two kept playing quietly, Phineas trying to encourage them all the way to keep having fun. Dipper was tense, his mind a whirl as he tried to figure out what was going on and praying that he was right and everything would go back to normal at the end of the game.

The next card he drew instructed him to tell the truth, specifically ‘are you having fun?’

“Are you?” Phineas asked after Dipper read the card.

Dipper sighed “the truth is… I’m not.” His body turned to mist and he was sucked into the game.

—------

Phineas didn’t know what to do, his friends were gone including the one who might have any idea how to fix this. So he just kept playing, not knowing what else to do. People often believed that Phineas was a happy, go-lucky type of person. And he was, but it wasn’t the same as when he was a kid. He grew up a little bit and now saw things a bit more realistic. And right now he was struggling to keep seeing the bright side and still have fun.

As he reached to pick up a card a swirling, blue vortex suddenly appeared and Dipper poked his head out of it.

“Dipper?” He asked, shocked.

“Hey Phineas,” Dipper said “I don’t have time to explain just yet but I need you to come with me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” he repeated “but you just gotta trust me on this.”

Phineas nodded and took Dipper’s hand, letting himself get pulled into the vortex. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but when they did he saw himself in a castle, it looked just like the one in the game. Letting go of his hand Dipper led Phineas up several stairs and to a large sort of chamber. Standing in the middle of the room was a boy he did not recognise.

“Phineas” Dipper said “this is Aiden, he’s the creator of the game.”

“You made the game? Why?”

“I did,” Aiden said. “Years and years ago I was a very lonely child. No matter what I did no one wanted to be friends with me, all I wanted was to have fun but I couldn’t since nobody wanted to do it with me.” He explained “so I made this game using some magic that I found in a book.”

“What book?” Phineas asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” Aiden said. “What does matter is that I made the game to force people to have fun and become friends.”

“So what went wrong?” Phineas asked.

“Mostly all the things that the cards do,” Aiden admitted. “One thing I did mean to happen was people getting trapped here if they failed to have fun.” Much to Phineas’ surprise.

“It makes sense,” Dipper said. “Think about it, Baljeet disappeared when he tried to leave. Buford when he refused to play, and I’m guessing Ferb just stopped having fun like I did.”

“Why?” Phineas asked Aiden “why go through all this effort?”

“To try and have fun.”

“That’s not how you have fun” Phineas said, “you can’t force people to have fun. That’s not how it works.”

“That’s what he said,” Aiden said, pointing to Dipper.

“Aiden said that if I could bring him someone that can always have fun, no matter what he would let all of us go.” Dipper said “and outside of Mabel I have never met someone who knows how to have fun like you can Phineas.”

Dipper looked down slightly “when I first moved here I thought I was never going to make friends. But you accepted me and let me join your group. I haven't had this much fun in over a year!"

“How do you have fun Phineas?” Aiden asked him.

He shrugged, “it’s pretty easy, summer is meant to be fun.”

“Tell me about it.”

Music began to play from some unknown source and Phineas began to sing.

—-----

“Summer, is running through the sprinklers”

“In a t-shirt, shoes, and jeans,”

“Rolling down a grassy hill.”

“Yeah that's what summer means to me,”

“It's true”

“There's so much more to do.”

“The days are longer,”

“The nights are shorter,”

“The sun is shining.”

(It's noticeably warmer)

Phineas could see Aiden looking curious but not fully convinced. “Keep going,” Dipper whispered to him.

“Summer, every single moment is worth its weight in gold.”

“Summer is like the world's best story,”

“And it's waiting to be told.”

“It's ice cream cones and cherry soda”

“Dripping down your chin.”

“It's summer.”

“Man, where do I begin?”

“Dipper, why don’t you give it a try?” Phineas suggested.

“Really?” Dipper said “you sure that’s a good idea? I’m not the best singer.”

Phineas nodded and gave him an engaging smile. Taking a deep breath Dipper began to sing, a bit awkwardly.

“Summer, it's hanging with your Grunkles way deep down in the woods”

“Solving a mystery.”

“Summer is exploring with your twin and having fun just like you should.”

“And being with your friends.”

Dipper smiled at Phineas and the two of them sang in unison, the tempo picking up.

“It's also,”

“Surfing tidal waves, creating nanobots,”

“Or locating Frankenstein's brain.”

“Finding a dodo bird, painting a continent,”

“Or driving our sisters insane!”

“Oh wait. Maybe we're going too fast” Phineas said, seeing the look on Aiden’s face. He nodded and the tempo slowed down again.

Phineas started singing again.

“Summer, it's crickets and cicadas and a glass of lemonade.”

“Summer, it's sitting with your brother in the backyard under the shade of a big tree.”

“That's what it means to me.”

Dipper’s voice joined his once again, more confident than when he first started.

“The days are longer,”

“The nights are shorter,”

“The sun is shining,”

(It's noticeably warmer)

"Summer, every single moment is worth its weight in gold.”

“Summer, it's like the world's best crossover and it's waiting to be told.”

“It's ice cream cones and cherry soda dripping down your chin.”

“It's summer, man, where do we begin?”

(It's summer, man, where do we begin?)

“It's summer, man, where do we begin?”

—------

Dipper could see Aiden staring at them with wide eyes then gave them a bit of a smile.

“Okay.”

The two boys were surrounded by a bright, blue light and when it cleared they were sitting in the living room. And everyone else was there too! They were all sitting around the game board as if nothing had happened. Dipper noticed that Phineas’ game piece was at the end, showing that he finished the game.

Phineas knocked over the board in his lung to hug Ferb, who hugged him back just as tight.

“Are you guys okay?” Dipper asked.

“What happened?” Buford asked.

“What do you remember?”

“I remember appearing in this strange castle” Baljeet said “then this light and we were back here.”

“Right,” Dipper nodded. He noticed his journal was back and lying beside him, he picked it up and started writing a new entry. “Let’s start from the beginning.”

—------

Isabella walked back into her room with a refill of snacks to see her friends all passed out inside the half made pillow fort they made. Smiling, she set her bowl aside and grabbed a sash from where it lay on her dresser. It was mostly empty except for a few patches Mabel had earned throughout the night. She walked over to the girl in question and shook her awake.

“Mabel,” she whispered.

“No,” Mabel groaned, “let me sleep forever.”

“I just wanted to tell you that you passed your test.” Isabella said “and I have your sash for you right here!”

Mabel, eyes still closed, lifted a hand and clench and unclench her fist a few times. Isabella handed her the sash and Mabel rolled over and hugged it to her chest like it was a stuffed animal. She was soon fast asleep again.

Holding back her giggles Isabella crawled into the pillow fort and drifted off to sleep.

Notes:

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good week.

I don't have a whole lot to say on this chapter expect that I had something totally different planned but changed it last minute. I'm sure my fellow writers can relate. LOL

I'm not super happy with how this turned out, the pacing is a bit off and the transitions could be better. I am happy with how my edited song lyrics came out. The song is "Summer (Where Do We Begin)" from the Phineas and Ferb movie. I'm not the best with lyrical writing but I'm happy with how this one turned out.

I tried to focus a bit more on Phineas this time around and I hope a did a okay job at it. Dipper is my favorite character so I've been worried that I'll focus on him too much. Also, the song Mabel and Ginger were singing in their brief cut-away was Nobody Like You by Four Town. It's a made up boyband from the movie Turning Red.

-Izzy

Chapter 10: Cheer Up, Pines

Summary:

The twins are feeling down so Phineas and Ferb attempt to cheer them up.... It does not go well.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Transphobia (mentioned), transphobic parents (mentioned), mensural cycle (mentioned), gender dysphoria, emotional breakdown, crying, anxiety

This chapter is going to be a bit heavy so be forewarned.

Dan finished setting up the laptop then sat across the table from his kids, out of site from the camera. So he was there in case they needed him.

“Remember,” he said “I’ll be right here the whole time. If you need me to intervene, let me know.”

“Okay Dad,” Mabel said.

“Thanks,” Dipper said.

They both looked like they were walking into their own funerals. Today would be the first video call with their mom since moving to Danville. And neither of them were looking forward to it, they had the same look on their faces as they did whenever they had to go stay at their mother’s apartment before he won custody.

Dan wished there was something he could do, something to make sure they avoided all this. But there was nothing, the calls were court ordered. Meaning that the twins had to be on them for at least a half-hour. And as much as he hated it, Dan had to admit that this was much better than Carol having partial custody.

The three sat in silence as the call went through and his ex-wife got on. He just hoped that this didn’t go too badly.

—-------

It did go badly, very badly. By the time the call finished the twins were close to tears, so Dan suggested that the three of them have a pajama and movie day to cheer them up. They both agreed so he went to pick up ice-cream, pizza, and candy. While he was gone Dipper and Mabel went to cancel plans with their friends and change into some comfy clothes.

The two went into the brothers’ backyard, both of them were there with Isabella. They were getting ready for the giant house of cards that they were going to build.

“Hi guys!” Phineas greeted.

“Hey.” Mabel said.

“Are you two okay?” Isabella asked, noticing the looks on their faces.

Dipper shrugged “not really” he said, his voice monotone “so we’re going to stay home today.”

“I-” Mabel started to say and cleared her throat of the sob that threatened to escape “I know we promised we would help you guys out today.”

“But we have to cancel,” Dipper finished.

“Oh” Phineas looked worried “okay. You two have a good day then.”

They nodded and the twins went back to their house without a word. Phineas turned to Isabella and Ferb.

“Wow…” He said “they seem pretty upset. We should try and do something to help them feel better.” Ferb nodded “I wonder what we could do?”

“Oh!” Isabella said “I know! It’s all right here” she pulled out a magazine “in Teen Bleep magazine! It was written for girls but it should help with Dipper too.”

“And if it doesn’t we can cheer Mabel up and she can help with Dipper!” Phineas said. “What does it say?”

Isabella began to read “three sure-fire ways to lift your friend out a serious flunk. Step one, give her a complete makeover. A completely new look will usually do the trick.”

“A completely different look…” Phineas repeated “that will definitely work for Mabel. Come on Ferb, we need someone who’s good with makeup and fancy hairdos.” The two boys went inside to make some calls.

Isabella stared after them “um, okay then… I guess I’ll just stay here with my expert makeover patches.”

—------

Mabel grabbed a pair of pajama pants and one of her knitted turtlenecks and laid it on her bed. She sighed sadly and sat on the bed. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, looking around Waddles was nowhere to be seen. Great, now he’s gone too! And right when she needed him.

Her wallowing was interrupted by a knock on her door, she got up to answer it with a frown. She and Dipper’s rooms were connected by a bathroom so there was no reason why he would be at the bedroom door. Opening it she saw a brightly dressed clown carrying a case.

“What the-” Mabel started to say but was interrupted when he walked into her room “hey, what are you doing? How’d you get in here? Get out!”

The clown ignored her and pulled out what looked like a hula-hoop, he set it above her in the air and when he let go a curtain fell down around her. After a second it fell to the floor and Mabel was suddenly in a clown outfit matching his, the clown grabbed her and set her in a large chair with a mirror. Then he pulled out a pie-tin covered in clown makeup.

“Wait!” Mabel shrieked “don’t-”

She was interrupted when the tin was slammed into her face. And just like that the clown had packed up and left.

Dipper opened her bathroom door and poked his head in. “Hey you okay? I heard-” He started to say but stopped when he saw her, speechless, and not in a good way.

Mabel looked in the mirror the clown left and saw that she was in a hideous yellow wig and her face was covered in clown makeup. She screamed and burst into tears. Quickly her brother was by her side and he gently led her to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

“He-he just c-came in” Mabel sobbed as Dipped got out the makeup wipes. “A-and I tried to t-t-tell him to s-stop but he won't listen and…” Mabel was crying too hard to make much sense but Dipper nodded and offered words of comfort all the same.

—------

Phineas and Ferb winced, having heard Mabel’s screams.

“No biggie” Phineas said to the clown they hired “you gave it your best shot.” The clown honked his horn and left as Isabella wandered over.

“In hindsight maybe a clown wasn’t the best choice to do a makeover.” Phineas admitted.

Isabella gave them a look “you think?”

“So what else does the magazine say?” Phineas asked.

Isabella read aloud “step two. Make her laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.”

“I think Mabel is too upset for this one.” Ferb said “how about we try Dipper this time?”

“Good idea!”

—------

Dipper went on a search for Waddles while Mabel was in Sweater Town. She was still pretty upset so he was putting his own feelings aside to help her. He headed down stairs, his chest hurt. And this time it wasn’t from his binder, he blinked back tears.

Talking to his mom reminded him of all the things she said whenever he and Mabel had to stay with her when their parents were first separated. She repeated several of those things today and he was trying so hard not to cry. Not when his sister needed him.

He opened the backdoor, hoping to see Waddles out there. Only to see that some kind of fancy club had been built in front of the door. Phineas stood behind a velvet rope in a tux.

“Good afternoon” Phineas said and moved the rope aside and gestured for Dipper to follow him.“We have a table reserved for you close to the front Mr Pines.” He was led down some stairs and to a booth near the front near a stage.

Phineas gestured to the bench and Dipper automatically sat down. His mind was blank and he was too stunned to process any of this, much less say anything. What was going on? The soft piano music that was being played stopped when Phineas went on stage.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey everybody!” He said “we’re having fun yet? First up is our favorite mathformla funnyman, Baljeet!”

Phineas stepped off stage and Baljeet came on with a ventriloquist dummy that looked just like him, it honestly creeped Dipper out a bit. He didn’t have the best experience with puppets.

Dipper watched the disaster of a performance, more confused than stunned now. He watched as Baljeet tried to tell some joke, the puppet or ‘Little Jeet’ then insulted him. After that Baljeet tried some water drinking trick that ended in a coughing fit that took the dummy’s head off.

Phineas came back on stage “let’s hear it for the dummy, and the puppet wasn’t too bad either.” Everyone, except for Dipper, gave some light applause. And Ferb played a ring-shot. “Next up, my favorite vegetable based comic. Broccoli Top!”

Once again Phineas left the stage and was replaced by Buford, who was wearing a green wig that did look a bit like broccoli.

“I'm gonna do some prop comedy for you, and you're gonna like it!” His act was pulling different props out of a box and making various comments. One of the ‘props’ ended up being Baljeet.

“I am in both acts!” He declared. Ferb played ring-shots at different points, trying to get laughs. But instead the crowd booed.

This wasn’t making him feel any better, if anything it made him feel worse.

“Next up, Ferb Fletcher.”

Ferb came on stage and with a small grin said “so, how about that airline food?”

Everyone burst into hysterical laughter, one guy pounded on the table with his fist another flipped a table. Looking around, Dipper saw Candace and Stacy losing their minds at another table. Dipper just put his head in his hands, staring down at the floor. Trying not to cry.

Phineas peeked out to look at his friend from behind the curtains. “Looks like we need to kick it up a notch” he said and went on stage again, he knew just the thing to cheer Dipper up. “Hey everyone! Here’s a joke for you. What did the evil chicken lay?”

Everyone called out a “what?”

“Deviled eggs!”

The reaction was a mix of laughter and groaning. Except for Dipper. The terrible joke reminded him of Grunkle Stan’s bad fishing jokes and made him miss him even more than he already was. He quickly stood up and hurried back inside.

Back in the safety of the house Dipper sunk to the floor and began to cry. All he wanted now was his Grunkles. He wanted one of Stan’s big, strong hugs that never failed to make him feel safe. He wanted to feel Ford ruffle his hair and hear him say how proud he was of him.

Dipper wanted Dad to finally get home so the three of them could curl up on the couch, eat ice-cream, and watch cheesy romance movies and cheap horror films. Where was he?

—--------

Dan stood in one of the isles of the grocery store idly nodding along as Mrs Garcia-Shapiro chatted away. Normally he loved talking with the Jewish-Hispanic women but right now he just wanted to finish shopping and get back home to his kids. But he didn’t know how to end the conversation. He sighed and subtly checked his watch.

—--------

“Alright,” Phineas said, “so what does it say for step three?”

“Introduce her to someone new” Isabella read.

“That should be easy,” Phineas said, “there are a lot of nice people in Danville that the twins have never met.”

“Especially since they’re new to town,” Ferb added.

“Yeah! This would be perfect for both of them,” Phineas said. “Come on, I have an idea.” And the three of them ran to the backyard.

—-------

Dipper and Mabel sat on the front porch, waiting for Dad to get back, both dressed in comfy clothes. Mabel wore a dark blue knitted turtleneck with gray storm clouds on the front and a pair of purple pajama pants. Her hair was loose and it hung around her face.

Dipper was wearing an oversized green ‘Mystery Shack’ hoodie that Soos gave him for their birthday last year over his sports bra and a pair of black sweatpants. And instead of shoes they both wore rainbow socks Mabel had knitted.

Mabel looked down at her phone and sent out yet another text to their dad, trying to see where he was and when he was getting home.

“Excuse me Mr and Miss Pines?” The two looked up to see Baljeet with his puppet, who had spoken. “The two of you are cordially invited to the Mixer Mingler.”

The puppet handed Mabel a flier and she looked at it. “The Mixer Mingler?”

“Hey,” Dipper said “aren’t you that dummy from the club?”

The puppet looked up at Baljeet and said in a stage whisper “he’s talking to you.”

The two looked over at the flier as Baljeet walked away and then at each other.

“Wanna try it?” Mabel asked.

“Might as well.” Dipper shrugged, “it’ll at least waste some time while we wait for Dad to get back.”

They grabbed their shoes, not bothering to tie the laces, and headed over next door where they could see what looked like some huge amusement park type ride. They hopped on an escalator and went to the top. The chairs were made for one person but the twins squeezed into the same one, not wanting to be separated.

—-------

“With the Mix 'n' Mingler, you'll meet someone new every two seconds.” Phineas said, “Now, let's fire this thing up!”

Getting to the top of the machine Phineas said into a microphone “fasten your seatbelts!”

Dipper yelped and Mabel shrieked as the ride began to spin very fast. It spun for a second or two before jolting to a halt so the two of them were across from someone. They would get a second with the person before being spun around again and the whole thing would start over.

Then the song started.

‘Glad to meet ya.’

‘Nice to see ya.’ ‘My uncle owns a pizzeria.’

“Hey, I smell muffins!” Mabel exclaimed.

We love to bake them.” A pair of identical twin girls said in unison.

‘Got any leaves? I'd love to rake them.’

‘Here's a maraca, we can shake 'em.

“I like your pants?” Dipper said, but it was more of a question.

"Here, you can take 'em.” The man then took his pants off and Dipper covered Mabel’s eyes.

‘Meet and greet folks off the streets,’

'(So make sure that your underwear's clean.)’

‘'Cause you've only got a second to make a good impression’

‘In a mix and mingle machine.’

‘I raise rats.’

‘My tooth fell out.’

‘I love to dance when I have the gout.’

‘I like to shoot a bow and arrow.’

‘I like to dance just like a pharaoh.’

‘I'm very small, I need a booster.’

‘I'm being followed by a rooster.’

“Yeah, I'm followin' him."

‘Meet and greet folks off the streets,’

‘(So make sure that your underwear's clean.)’

‘'Cause you've only got a second to make a good impression.’

‘In a mix and mingle machine.’

The brothers were having a grand old time jamming out to the song as they operated their invention.

‘I'm really dull, but you'll like Tom.’

‘I drew a banjo on my mom!’

‘You'd never know I sport a rug.’

‘I lost ten pounds.’

‘I'm into sprockets.’

‘You'll never guess what's in my pocket.’

‘I'm Tom.'

‘I'm Keith.’

‘I'm Steven.’

‘I'm Rex.’

‘Meet and greet folks off the streets,’

‘(So make sure that your underwear's clean.)’

‘'Cause you've only got a second to make a good impression.’

‘In a mix and mingle machine.’

‘‘Cause you've only got a second to make a good impression.’

‘In a mix and mingle machine.’

‘(Mix, mingle, mix, mingle, mix, mingle, mix, mingle.)’

—--------

Phineas and Ferb were forced to stop the ride and do an emergency injection when a bunch of metal and debris fell from the sky and something got stuck in the gears. Luckily all of the seats had parachutes so the two of them plus the twins were able to safely land in their backyard. Isabella landed in her own yard.

“So,” Phineas said, “what did you guys think? Do you feel better now?”

“What?” The twins said in unison.

“We noticed you two were feeling down so we wanted to help you out!” Phineas explained.

“Wait?” Dipper said “is that why Mabel was harassed by that crazy clown? Is that why you build a comedy club in our backyard? Is that what this” he gestured wildly at where the Mixer Mingler once stood “was all about?”

“Yeah….”

“Why?!” Dipper asked “we told you that we wanted to be alone and stay in!”

“We wanted to help.” Phineas said, confused.

“This isn’t something you can help us with Phineas,” Dipper said, close to yelling. Mabel looked down at the ground, for once not saying anything.

“Well,” Phineas said “if you could tell us what was wrong maybe we could fix it!”

Ferb held up a finger, wanting to butt in. This didn’t feel like something they should pry into. None of them noticed Ms Flynn-Fletcher, summoned by the commotion.

“You can’t fix this Phineas!” Dipper yelled, tears in his eyes “you can’t make my Mom love me!”

Everyone froze and Dipper’s eyes widened as he realized what he said. He was frozen before the tears began to slowly fall.

“Mom…” He whispered “Mom doesn’t love me.” It seemed like Dipper only just realized it himself.

Nobody moved and it felt like nobody was breathing either. Then it was broken by a sob escaping the boy’s lips, Mabel hurried over to him and wrapped an arm around her brother’s shoulders. She was crying too silently as she led him back to their house.

—-------

Phineas and Ferb stared after the door that separated their yard from the Pines'; they could hear Mr Pines’ car pull into the driveway and the slam of the front door. The two then notice their mom standing by the back door.

“I uh…” Phineas said “um… How much of that did you see?”

“We saw enough,” Mom said. “How about you come inside and tell me what happened?”

Nodding the two did just that and sat at the kitchen table and told her the brief rundown of everything that happened. She sat quietly and listened and didn’t say anything until they were done.

“While I am proud of both of you for trying to help” she said slowly “you two could have done it differently.”

“What do you mean?” Phineas asked “we did everything in Isabella’s magazine.”

Mom sighed, “those magazine articles are meant to help people get over petty break ups, not help them through major life changing events and trauma.”

“We knew that the twin’s parents were divorced” Ferb said “but we didn’t realize it was quite like this.”

“Every divorce is different” Linda said “and it can be very hard to know what someone’s is like until they tell you about it.”

“What do you mean?

Linda winced a bit, she definitely should have talked to the boys about this more. “Well, the best case scenario is that the parents split but share custody of the kids and are still on good terms. The worst case is that one of the parents isn't… The best and yet the kids still have to see or talk to them.”

“Is… Is that how it was with my bio Dad?” Phineas asked.

Linda thought it over before nodding to herself, he was old enough to know. “As you boys know, for a short time I was a pop star. During that time I met Andy and we had a very quick relationship before getting eloped. I was young and thought I was in love. A few years later I found out that I was pregnant.”

“When you were about a year old, Phineas, I found out that Andy was cheating on me and had been since my record label dropped me.” She explained “I confronted him and he told me that he only wanted to be with me because of my fame. We got a divorce and the only reason I was granted full custody was because I had proof of his cheating and he came into the courtroom drunk.”

After taking several minutes to process this Phineas asked “is it like that for the twins?”

“That’s something you’ll have to ask them.” Linda knew a few things from her conversations with Dan but it wasn’t her place to share them.

“We… We should apologize to them” Phineas said, sharing a look with Ferb.

“Don’t do it today,” Candance said as she walked in, joining the conversation. “They’re probably really upset right now and need some time to calm down. And when you do, don’t talk to them about their mom, just be there and support them. Let them know that they can talk about it with you if they want but don’t make them feel like they have too.”

The two brothers noded. Tomorrow then.

—--------

Mabel answered the door the next day to see the brothers standing there.

“Hey guys,” she gave them a small smile. “Sorry but Dipper and I still aren’t in the mood to do anything, we’re going to stay in again.” They both felt a lot better after their movie day but not enough to go out again.

“That’s okay,” Phineas said, “we’re not here for that. We just wanted to apologize to you both.” Ferb nodded in agreement. “Would it be okay if we talk to Dipper too?”

“Let me go ask” Mabel left the door open and went into the kitchen where Dipper was, messing around with one of his camera lenses.

“Hey Mabel,” he said, distracted.

“Phineas and Ferb are here” Mabel said and Dipper’s head snapped up “they want to apologize.”

“They do?” Dipper seemed surprised.

“Yeah, do you wanna talk to them?”

He hesitated before nodding, grabbing one of his fidgets and joining her at the front door. The conversation that followed reminded him of that first day when he and Mabel met the gang and Baljeet’s apology to him. But this time the two of them didn’t run off to keep hanging out afterward.

“I’m sorry guys,” Dipper clicked the buttons on one of the sides of his fidget cube. “While I do forgive you I’m still not in the mood to hang out.”

Dipper’s gender dysphoria was still really bothering him, plus both he and Mabel got their periods today. Which was not helping with said dysphoria, and they were in pain from the cramps and feeling overall crappy.

“I think I’m going to stick with Dipper today.” Mabel said “otherwise I would."

“That’s okay” Phineas said, “that isn’t why we came by. We really just felt bad, next time we’ll leave you guys alone."

“I just hope there isn’t a next time,” Dipper said.

“If there is, you are welcome to talk to us,” Ferb said.

“Thanks guys!” Mabel said, giving them both a big smile.

“We’ll see you guys later.” Phineas said and the two brothers ran off.

Notes:

This week wasn't too bad. Yay me, but I got a headache right now... so that's fun.

This chapter was a bit heavy as you guys probably noticed. That wasn't the original plan but it never is. We do get some more backstory on the Twins' mom so that's fun. We also get some on Phineas and Candace's bio dad.

I'm really proud of how this one turned out but I understand if you guys don't like it or even chose to skip it. I promise I'm not going to have this many heavy chapters, maybe a couple more but this isn't going to be the normal.

This chapter was based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Cheer Up Candace.'

-Izzy

Chapter 11: Rainbow Day

Summary:

Danville celebrates Pride Month.

Dan opened the front door and beamed at the person who stood on the other side.

“Danny!” They said.

“I don’t know why you’re greeting yourself sib.” Dan said with a laugh as he hugged his twin.

That’s right, his kids and uncles weren’t the only twins in the Pines family. His own twin, Dani, came out as non-binary back in college and now travels for a living. They were happily single and childless and was the considered to be the cool, queer Aunt by Dipper and Mabel.

“Aunt Dani!” The kids came barreling down the stairs and tackled Dani who laughed as they nearly fell over.

“Alright, alright” Dan said, “don’t kill them before they’ve had time to get through the door.”

“Ah don’t be such a party pooper Dan.” Dani said, but the kids got off of them and they walked into the house.

Dan rolled his eyes “I can be plenty fun, I’m the one driving you three to this thing after all.”

“That’s right” Dani said “are you two ready for your first Pride?”

“Hasn’t it been Pride all month?” Dipper asked, confused.

“I mean your first time going somewhere to celebrate it” Dani clarified.

“I am so ready!” Mabel said happily.

True to her word Mabel was dressed head to toe in the pansexual flag colors. She had on a sweater in the colors (with a t-shirt underneath in case it got too hot) with a pink skirt and one blue shoe and one yellow shoe with rainbow shoelaces. And there was a bunch of glitter in her hair which was pulled up with a rainbow scrunchie.

“Great!” Dani said and looked over at Dipper “why aren’t you dressed yet?”

Dipper, who was wearing his normal clothes, frowned “do I need to wear anything special?”

“You don’t have to,” Dani said, “but it’s pretty encouraged.” They themselves were wearing a black ‘I’m too cool for gender’ t-shirt and a skirt in the non-binary colors.

“I don’t even have anything…”

“Not a problem” they handed Dipper a shopping bag and he peeked inside.

“Oh… Yeah this looks pretty cool” he said, pulling out the shirt and Mabel oohed and awed over it.

“How about you go get changed and I’ll show your Aunt to the guest room?” Dan suggested. “We leave in an hour.”

—------

By the time they were leaving Dipper had changed, he was now wearing a t-shirt in the trans colors that read ‘this isn’t even my final form’ with a transformer on it. Underneath he had on a long sleeve shirt that was striped in the trans colors too. Aunt Dani had passed out rainbow pronoun pins to everyone before they all left. They had also, somehow, convinced their Dad to wear a shirt reading ‘proud dad’ written in rainbow.

The Pines arrived at the Danville Pride Festival and true to most stuff in the queer community it was a rainbow of colors. The field was filled with various booths, food trucks, and vendors. So many were dressed proudly in their respective flag colors. The four walked around, Dan and Dani leading the way catching up.

“Hey guys!” Turning around, the twins saw the brothers standing behind them.

“Hi!” Mabel said “we didn’t know you guys would be here.”

Dipper gave a little wave. Growing very nervous, here he was at Pride wearing the trans colors and his friends didn’t know that he was trans. He had no idea what their reaction would be.

“Nice shirt Dipper,” Phineas said.

“Um thanks.” He said “so…. Are you okay with the whole… you know?”

“You mean you being trans?” Phineas asked, sharing a look with Ferb “why wouldn’t we be? I mean, you are a guy right?” Dipper nodded “then that’s all that matters!”

The tension in Dipper’s shoulders eased as their causal acceptance. “thanks guys.”

“No problem!” Phineas said “Now Ferb and I have a great idea to make Pride even better! Do you guys want to help?” Ferb waved a little rainbow flag hopefully.

“Sure!” Mabel said before calling over to Dad, “Dad! Dipper and I are going to hang out with Phineas and Ferb!”

Dad paused his conversation with Aunt Dani and glanced back at them “okay. Don’t go too far and meet us back up in the car when you’re done.”

“Let go!” Mabel said and the four ran off.

—-------

Mabel happily ate her rainbow cotton candy that she picked up from a food vendor as she stood next to Ferb, the two watching their brothers going over blue-prints. Ferb pointed at her pan-pride sweater with a questioning look.

“Yup! I’m pansexual.” Mabel said, “I’ve always kinda known. I’ve never really cared how gender people are, so long as they’re nice and pretty. What about you?”

Ferb shrugged “I’m questioning right now. I know I’m not straight, just not the specifics. I believe Phineas is straight in some form but he is here out of support.”

Mabel nodded “that makes sense. And you don’t have to be queer to celebrate!”

“Okay!” Phineas hurried over to them “Dipper finished going over the math so we are ready to get started.”

“It’s going to be pretty cool” Dipper said “and it’s perfect for you Mabel.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Phineas grinned, “you are the glitter expert.”

—-------

Candace walked through the fair grounds with Jeremy and Stacy, holding hands with her boyfriend. Stacy was dressed in the bisexual flag colors while Candance herself was in the trans colors, Jeremy was wearing a ally shirt.

“Stacy!” A voice called, the three turned to see a brown haired teen in gothic clothing and a ‘she/they’ pronoun pin in the bi colors hurrying up to them.

“Vanessa!” Stacy beamed and the two shared a quick kiss.

“Hey Vanessa,” Candace said “I didn’t know you two were dating.”

“It’s a pretty new thing,” they said with a shrug.

“Are you here by yourself?” Stacy asked.

“I was here with my Dad” she said “but he got distracted but something and ran off.”

“You can hang with us if you like,” Jeremy offered “if that’s alright with you two ladies.”

“That’s alright with me.” Candace said.

“I’m always happy to spend time with my girlfriend” Stacy turned to the one in question “if you want too of course.”

“Sounds cool.”

—----

Dipper and Ferb watched from a safe distance holding plastic shields for good measure, Ferb had originally pointed out that it might be overkill but Dipper insistanted that it wasn’t. If anything it was underkill, he had been experiencing glitter attacks since Mabel first discovered the stuff when they were toddlers. The girl in question was pouring glitter into giant firework-like rockets with Phineas, Mabel had an insane light in her eyes that reminded Dipper of a mad scientist or something.

They had a lot of these rockets, each one was aimed at a different pride flag. Since there were so many they couldn't get all of them, but they got a fair amount. Mabel had mixed up some glitter for each firework, the colors matching the flag they represented.

“We’re all done!” Phineas called over to them.

Ferb put down his shield and started to head over, Dipper, keeping his shield up, started to walk over at a much slower pace. And good thing too for one of the rockets accidently blew up. Nobody was hurt but Ferb, Phineas, and Mabel were all covered in glitter, due to his caution Dipper avoided most of it.

“Never mind,” Phineas said. “We gotta fix this one.”

“I’ll go mix up some more glitter!”

—-----

Dani looked over at their brother as the two sat in a quiet corner away from the hustle and bustle of the Pride Festival. Since they traveled so often Dani wasn’t able to talk to their brother as much as they would like too, while technology did make things easier it was still pretty hard. And when Dani did visit it wasn’t for super long, only a few days, sometimes a week during the holidays.

“So how’s Dipper doing?” They asked “I know things have been a bit hard, especially since he’s transitioning right now.”

“He’s been doing really well” Dan admitted “I think being in a place where people don’t know, or care, that he’s trans really helps.”

“I can imagine.” They said “has he picked out a name yet?”

Dan shook his head “I think he’s pretty happy to go by ‘Dipper’ for right now. And that’s fine but I might sit down and talk to him about something more permanent.”

“There’s nothing wrong with going by a nickname.” Dani said, “you and I both do it.”

“I know, but you can’t really put ‘Dipper’ on your legal documents.”

“Well you can” they pointed out “but I see what you mean. It’ll raise some questions and you never know how he’ll feel about his childhood nickname in the future.”

Dan nodded and the two sat in silence for a bit. “Hey,” he said, “I never did thank you for all your help. When he came out to me… I didn’t really know what to do, I was a bit out of my depth.”

Dani chucked, remembering the very frantic phone call they got the night Dipper had come out to his parents. “Yeah you were, but you definitely handled it pretty well. All things considered. And what’s most important is that you still love him.”

“Yeah but loving my kid isn’t going to help with name changes and all of the other messy legal stuff.”

“That’s true,” they admitted, “but you are putting in the work and learning. That is a lot more than a lot of parents.”

Dan sighed at that and Dani knew he was thinking about Carol, leaning over they placed a hand on his shoulder in quiet support and he gave them a small smile.

—-------

“Hey Candace” Stacy said “aren’t those your brothers?”

She pointed over to where Canadce brothers where with two other kids that Stacy recognised from when she played mini-golf with them.

“What?” Candace looked over to see the group setting up several large rockets. “You gotta be kidding me! I’ll be back” and she ran over to them much to the amusement of her friends.

“What are you boys doing?” She demanded.

“Hey Candace” Phineas greeted, “we’re just working on a little something for Pride!”

Candace groaned internally when she saw their big colorful rockets, she may not know what they do but they looked dangerous. Meaning that she had to tell Mom!

“You’re trans?” A voice said and she looked over to one of the new kids her brothers were hanging around. He too was dressed in the trans colors and he winced “sorry that was rude.”

“It’s alright,” she said. Her voice was a bit more gentle than it had been earlier “I am. Found out when I was little and started my transition when I was eight.”

“Oh…That’s cool,” the boy said awkwardly. She couldn’t remember his name. “I came a little over a year ago.”

“Congrats.”

“Thanks.”

“So what exactly is this?” She asked, turning back to her brother.

“It’s a surprise” Phineas said “Dipper and Mabel were helping us work on it.” Those were their names, right. Candace made a mental note of it in an attempt not to forget again.

“Well this looks dangerous.” She said “so I’m telling Mom!”

“Okay…”

“Mom!!!” Candace called as she ran off to where her parents were.

—------

Once things started to die down the kids launched their plan, it went off without a hitch. They set off the fireworks and like normal fireworks they blasted off into the sky and exploded. But unlike normal fireworks these ones showered the crowd in glitter, much to Mabel’s excitement.

Dipper groaned as he wiped glitter off his face “this was a terrible idea, I’m going to be finding it for weeks!”

Mabel gave an evil laugh “that was the idea! Now Pride can last forever.”

“People will still have Pride even when June is over” Dipper said “it’s not like I’m suddenly cis once July comes.”

“But now people will never forget.” Mabel said “even though stupid jerks that came to protest!”

She pointed at the small crowd of people who had shown up to protest, who were now being led away by authorities, all covered in the glittery dust.

Dipper gave a little smile at that “I guess that’s a plus. I'm surprised that the police are taking care of them.”

Ferb shrugged, “Danville is very accepting.”

“Well,” Phineas said “I think it is safe to say this year’s Pride Festival was a success.”

Notes:

It may not be June when this is posted but someone will read this when it is. And to those people, Happy Pride!

This is what I consider to be another interlude chapter, just like with Summerween Fest. I knew I wanted a pride month chapter but couldn't make it work out to be a full chapter. I know it's a bit shorter in comparison to another chapters but I think it turned out pretty okay. And it was probably for the best since I got sick this week and couldn't do a whole lot of writing.

Dan has a twin! Since we know next to nothing about the twin's parents I decided to throw another set of twins in there for funnies. Dani is AFAB and their full name is Danica and they sure They/Them pronouns, the kids' call them 'Aunt' because they see it as a center neutral term.

Candace is trans! This is a head cannon I've seen floating around for a while now and decide that I like it so... Also, I know a lot of people like Candace/Stacy but I saw a couple a fics with Vanessa/Stacy and thought that sounded more fun. Also, Vanessa gives be Bi vibes and she/they vibes.

-Izzy

Chapter 12: Camp Bigfoot

Summary:

The gang goes camping.

A van drove down the road inside sat the gang, the Fireside Girls, Candace, and the Flynn-Fletcher parents.

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do at camp Buford?” Phineas asked.

“Gonna find a nerd, take his underpants, and run them up the flagpole.” He gave a side eye to Baljeet who sat next to him.

“I don’t think Camp Phineas And Ferb has a flagpole.” Phineas said.

“Then I’ll just take his underpants.”

Baljeet sighed “you may have them. I bought extra.”

“Thanks but it’s not the same if I don’t rip them off.”

“What about you girls?” Phineas asked.

Isabella, Mabel, and the rest of the Fireside Girls were sitting towards the back of the bus.

“We’re going to work on our accomplishment patches.” The girls all cheered and Mabel set off a party popper.

“How about you Dipper?” Phineas turned around in his seat to look at the boy sitting behind him.

Dipper looked up from his book, one of many he brought. “I think it would be pretty cool to look for Bigfoot.” He admitted “apparently he’s supposed to be around here.”

“Cool!” Phineas said, then turned to Candace “what about you sis?”

“First off, it’s not a camp. It's just Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin and it’s boring.”

“But Mabel made t-shirts,” Phineas said, holding one of them up.

“Secondly, I don’t like the outdoors, okay? I can’t do bugs.”

“Oh, I think it's rather sweet that Grandma Betty Jo and Grandpa Clyde invite you kids and all your friends every year.” Lawrence said from where he was driving up front.

“But I’m not a kid, I’m a young adult” Candace said “can’t I do something with you instead?”

“Of course you can,” Linda said. “You can join us at the antiques symposium. This year's keynote address will debate Shellac vs. Lacquer.”

“Woo-hoo” Lawrence cheered.

“I’ll take one of those shirts” Phineas handed one over and Candace sobbed into it.

“So what kind of stuff do you guys do at camp?” Dipper asked, looking forward to this trip. It would be nice to be back to the woods and there was the promise of finding Bigfoot.

“Oh we do lots of stuff!” Phineas said “like last year we got to be pirates and look for Badbeard’s treasure.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah.” Phineas spent the rest of the ride telling Dipper the story.

—-----

The bus pulled up at the cabin and the kids all hopped off, the brothers heading over to greet their grandparents. After some chatting and light teasing their grandpa asked.

“So, where are those twins you two keep talking about?” Having met the rest of their friends Dipper and Mabel were the only ones they haven’t met.

“I’ll go grab them.” Phineas ran off and came back soon after followed by the twins.

“Grandma and Grandpa, this is Dipper and Mabel.” Phineas said “guys these are my grandparents.”

“Nice to meet you both” Betty Jo.

“Nice to meet you too.” Dipper said.

“Thanks for inviting us!” Mabel finished.

“Of course!” Clyde said “it’ll be fun.” He turned back to the boys “now where’s your sister?”

—------

Candance sat on top of the cabin with her phone, trying to get ahold of her friends.

“Gosh, what do you have to do to get cell service in this place?” Candace complained.

“Candace?” Looking down, Candace saw her Grandmother.

“Oh, hi Grandma.” She started to climb down “how can you stand living out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“It’s not so bad,” she said “you’ll see.”

“Alright nature lovers” Clyde called “it’s time for vittles!”

“That’s Grandpa for food.” Phineas told the twins as they walked over with a laugh “hey, where’s Perry?”

Mabel shrugged dismissively, a bit grumpy that Dad made her leave Waddles at home.

—-------

Candace groaned, insanely bored as she sat on a fallen tree trunk swatting at bugs. Phineas walked up to her.

“What do you want?”

“I just wanted to bring my favorite camp counselor a Phineas Special.” He set the drink next to her.

“That’s just a glass of limeade” she said “and I’m not a counselor!”

“Hey Phineas” Isabella walked up to them “the girls and I finished setting up the tents. Can you sign here for our Tent Pitching achievement patches?”

“Sure” Phineas took the clipboard.

“What are you doing?”

“Well as camp director” Phineas signed the paper “I would say that I’m doing my job.”

“Gather around, kids.” Clyde said “there's an old legend about the Sasquatch. A race of giant, hairy creatures living up here in these very woods.”

“Have you ever seen it?” Dipper asked hopefully.

“No, not that I believe in it anyways, but there was a song written about it.”

“Do you remember any of it?” Mabel asked.

Clyde played a banjo and got ready to sing. “He remembers,” Phineas said.

—------

Candace groaned as her Grandpa played the song. “Why can’t Grandpa act his own age? Am I the only adult here?”

“I think you need to act your age dear,” Betty Jo said as she walked up to her Granddaughter.

“Sorry Grandma.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find something fun for you to do.” Betty Jo said “now come on, we’re making sick figures out of actual sticks!”

“Grandma!”

“Alright,” she chuckles, “I’ll think of something else.”

—------

That night the kids all gathered around the campfire roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. Mabel handed one to Phineas who ate it happily, despite it being covered in a light dusting of edible glitter.

“Mmm. Just how I like them” Phineas said “you just earned your Marshmallow Patch my friend.”

“Yay!”

“So what do we do now?” Dipper asked, scratching at a bug bite on his arm.

He had gotten into the habit during the school year of wearing long-sleeve shirts under his graphic t-shirts. Normally he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows because of the heat but now he had them rolled down and swapped his cargo shorts for jeans. In an attempt to reduce the amount of mosquito bites, it didn’t help.

“Ooo!” Phineas said “let’s tell scary stories! I got a great one.”

“Ah Phineas,” Clyde said “you always go first. Let’s give someone else the chance. Candace?”

“No.”

“I bet Dipper has one!” Mabel said.

“I’m not the best at making up stories.”

“Lier” Mabel muttered, Dipper ignored her.

“But I do have a real event I can share that’s a bit spooky.”

“Great.” Clyde handed him a flashlight and Dipper turned it on, his birthmark standing out a bit since he was without his hat.

“Like many of you know, my sister and I spent last summer in a small town in the middle of the woods in Oregon. While I was there I saw many strange things and solved many mysteries, but there is one that I never solved. Until now.”

“Throughout the summer there was a strange string of murders, each on crazier than the last. All of them seemed unrelated to each other and looked like different, unfortunate accidents. The police wrote them off and didn’t investigate, so I did some looking on my own.”

All eyes were on Dipper, completely invested in the story.

“The strange thing was that the killer seemed to have no pattern or motive. They targeted loners, tourists, and travelers; people nobody would notice or miss. And then as summer died down… the murders stopped as quickly as they began. But they are still out there. And nobody found out who was behind it all… Until now.”

Dipper met everyone’s eyes around the campfire, making sure that they were all listening. His eyes briefly landed on Mabel who was sitting across from him.

“Who was it?” Baljeet asked nervously.

At that moment the campfire went out and there was a ear piercing scream, the campfire was (magically) relit to reveal Dipper standing over Mabel. She was now laying on the ground, seemingly dead and covered in blood. In his hand Dipper held a knife.

“It was me!” He had an insane smile on his face “and now that you all know, I’ll have to take care of the rest of you.”

Everyone screamed and Dipper burst out laughing, doubling over as Mabel sat up and started laughing too. The twins high-fived and Dipper sat down next to her. Mabel pulled off her sweater showing an identical one underneath, but without the fake blood.

“Oh my gosh” Isabella placed a hand over her chest, taking a deep breath. Everyone else was in similar states. But after getting over their shock the kids started laughing, but still a bit nervous.

“That was awesome.” Phineas said.

Mabel giggled “you should have seen your faces!”

Clyde chuckled, “well, that was something. Who wants to go next?”

“I do!”

“Alright” Clyde handed his grandson the flashlight “take it away Phineas!”

“I got a good one.” Phineas said eagerly “it’s about Bigfoot.”

—-------

Somewhere in the distance a wolf howled, only adding to the spooky atmosphere thanks to Phineas’ story.

“And when the moon is full, like it is tonight, Bigfoot will return, and exact his revenge.” They could all hear the sound of leaves rustling. “Huh? What was that noise?”

Turning the flashlight to the noise and everyone gasped at the sight of the large, hairy creatures emerging from the trees. Everyone started screaming then Phineas started laughing and the twins quickly realized what was happening.

“You guys crack me up!” Phineas laughed.

“What?” Isabella said.

“There's no Bigfoot! It's just Ferb in the tree, they're just dummies!” Phineas waved at Ferb. “Nice rope skills, my friend!”

“Well played,” Dipper smiled.

“You got us good,” Mabel said with a laugh.

“Wait,” Isabella said “if Ferb is up there then who’s that.” She asked, pointing at‘Ferb.’

“Ah, it's an inflatable Ferb.” Phineas deflated it and the real Ferb climbed down “sounds like Ferb too.”

“Whoa! That was a good one, boys.” Clyde said “you sure got us”

“I can’t take it anymore!” Candace suddenly yelled.

“It was just a joke, Candace.”

“You’re a joke Phineas!”

“Candace honey,” their grandfather said “calm down!”

“Calm down? Calm down?! I don't wanna calm down!”

“But your screaming might attract a real Bigfoot.” Phineas said nervously.

“A real Bigfoot. Oh, give it a rest, Phineas” Candace said in a mocking tone. “Everyone knows that there's no such thing as a real-”

There was a large thumping sound and behind her was a large hairy beast. Bigfoot. Candace looked at it and scoffed.

“Oh, fine. What's this one made of? Popsicle sticks and glitter?”

“Uh no…”

“Huh.”

Bigfoot grabbed her and shoved Candace into his mouth, she screamed as it chewed her up and swallowed her. The kids screamed and ran away leaving Clyde and Betty Jo behind, hugging each other. Bigfoot stomped its way over to them when the twins slid in front of the couple. Mabel brandished her grappling hook while Dipper held a tree branch, about the same size as a baseball bat, in front of him. Behind them Clyde started to chuckle.

“Looks like we fooled them ma!”

“What?” The twins said in unison, looking at each other in confusion.

The body of ‘Bigfoot’ was unzipped and Candace and Betty Jo looked out at them and climbed out, completely unharmed.

“Did you see the look of their faces!” The grandmother laughed.

“That was so cool!” Candace said.

“Wait…” Mabel said “was this a prank?”

“Sure was!” Betty Jo said “your efforts to protect us were not needed. But very thoughtful.”

“Um… You’re welcome?” Dipper said, lowering his weapon Mabel doing the same beside him.

“Oh!” Candace said “you got an inflatable Grandma too.”

The woman laughed “I’m not inflatable, I’m your Grandma’s identical twin. I come out once a year when these two want to prank someone.”

Dipper and Mabel grinned at each other, that sounded like something their Grunkles would do… Only for their smiles to fade when they remembered the last (and only) time they saw them switch places…

“Well back to my closet!” The woman said, standing up and leaving.

“See you next year, Lorraine.” Betty Jo chuckled then turned to Candace. “Oh, come on. Let's round up those scared kids and have some hot cocoa.”

—------

Later the kids all sat on the porch of the cabin drinking hot cocoa with marshmallow (Mabel put glitter in hers) all of them feeling a lot better. Candace was gloating about her prank. Then she froze, her eyes landing on something behind them.

“B-b-b-BIGFOOT!” With a scream Candace ran inside.

The kids all looked behind them only to see nothing was there.

“I do not believe her one bit” Baljeet said, sipping his drink “too much overacting.”

“Yeah.”

“Uh huh.”

“Agreed.”

“I smell ham,” Buford said.

“Oh there you are Perry!” Phineas picked up his pet and frowned “why are you all covered in lipstick?”

Notes:

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends. Hope it goes went fo you.

This chapter was inspired the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Get That Bigfoot Outta Of My Face.'

I'm pretty proud of how this chapter turned out. And for those of you who are wondering if Dipper does end up finds Bigfoot.... wait till next week!

-Izzy

Chapter 13: The Hunt

Summary:

Dipper looks for Bigfoot.

The sun rose above Camp Phineas and Ferb and one of the Fireside girls had been tasked with playing the wake up call on a bugle. All the kids groaned as they woke up, still tired from the late night they all had but got up anyway. As everyone got ready Candace seeked out her Grandmother.

“Hey Grandma, where’s the shower?”

“Shower? Why, sure honey. Would you like a massage and a fruity drink too?” Betty Jo asked sarcastically, “how about a manicure and a mud facial while you lay by the pool eating crab cakes?”

“I can do without the sarcasm Grandma.”

Dipper and Mabel sat by the fire eating pancakes by the fire with the rest of their friends. Dipper was reading a book that sat in his lap and was wearing one of the camp t-shirts (out of support for his sister) over a blue shirt. Mabel was dressed in her Fireside Girl uniform and was chatting with Isabella who was dressed in hers.

“I don’t know what it is,” Buford said, “but there is something about food cooked outside that makes it taste better.”

“Agreed” everyone said.

“Chow times over, campers.” Clyde said, walking over to them. “It’s time for our hike to the top of the mountain.”

“And for us to get our Hiking Patches!” Isabella said and all the girls cheered.

“I read Bigfoot is up in the mountain,” Dipper commented.

“I thought we established that he wasn’t real last night,” Baljeet said.

“Just because Phineas and Ferb played an awesome prank doesn’t mean that Bigfoot isn’t real.”

“Well sorry to disappoint you” Clyde said “but the woods are pretty dense and easy to get lost in. So everyone is going to stay on the path and nobody is running off looking for monsters, we don’t want to lose anyone.”

“Can I look once we get to the top?” Dipper asked.

“Sure!”

“Cool!” Dipper grinned.

“You might not find anything,” Clyde warned.

“I know,” Dipper said “but I’ve done this before so I’m pretty sure I’ll find something.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be a monster hunter?” Betty Jo asked, amused.

“Yes, yes I am.”

—------

Dipper walked along the hiking trail trailing a bit behind everyone else but keeping an eye out for any signs of Bigfoot. He wore his backpack and had his camera around neck ready to snap a picture of anything unusual. He then noticed Ferb had slowed down and was now walking beside him.

Ferb looked at him with concern.

“What?” Dipper said “oh yeah I’m fine, sorry. I got distracted.” And sped up a bit. “Sorry, I’m keeping an eye out for Bigfoot, even if I can’t leave the trail I still want to look.”

“Maybe when we get to the top Phineas and I can help you look” Ferb offered.

“Really?” Dipper asked, “that would be great!”

It was a bit of a trek but once they got to the top all the kids were free to look around and explore. The top of the mountain was a large clearing with a small lake and a great view of the land below them; they could even see the Flynn Grandparent’s cabin in the distance.

The three boys started their search for Bigfoot. They made sure to stay at the edge of the tree line, in clear view of Clyde who was supervising something the Fireside Girls were doing.

“Guys!” Phineas said, holding up a chunk of grayish brown fur “look what I found!” Dipper and Ferb ran over. “Do you think it could be Bigfoot hair?

Dipper looked it over “maybe, but it could also belong to a normal animal. Like a rabbit or something, what we really need is something to help us identify it.”

“Sorry,” Phineas said “but we didn’t bring any of our tools or supplies with us.”

“It’s fine,” Dipper said. “It would be pretty hard to carry stuff like that up the mountain.”

Ferb pointed and the two could see another chunk of fur a few feet into the trees. The three ran to it and found another bit of fur even farther into the trees.

“It's a trial!” Dipper said excitedly, he started to walk but Phineas grabbed his arm.

“Maybe we should leave a marker or something” he said “just so we don’t get lost.” Ferb nodded and pulled out some colored string and tied it to a nearby tree branch.

“Good idea.” Dipper said, “so, shall we?”

“Let’s go!”

The boys started following the trail, having no idea if the fur even led to Bigfoot. But the excitement of a sense of adventure was high with all of them and that is what kept them going. Ferb was careful to keep placing markers as they walked, none of them wanted to get lost. After a while they reached the end of the trail. Looking around they couldn’t find any more fur, or any to keep tracking.

“Is… is this the end?” Dipper wondered aloud.

Phineas nodded “seems like it.”

“That’s odd,” Ferb said, “I thought there would be more.”

They heard a loud roar and turned to see a large beast covered in grayish brown hair, the same hair that they had been following.

—--------

Mabel stood barefoot in the lake with her sleeves rolled up, she bent over and grabbed a smooth, shiny rock with one hand. She placed it in her sweater which was pulled out with her other hand to make a makeshift basket type thing.

“What are you doing?” Looking over Mabel saw Holly standing on the shore, but still in talking distance.

“Finding pretty rocks.” Mabel answered and held a pinkish one up “look how pretty this one is!”

“Cool.” The two girls chatted as Mabel wadded out of the water and began to sort through all the rocks she found. The rest of the Fireside Girls join them.

“Hey,” Isabella suddenly asked, “where’s Phineas?”

“And Ferb and Dipper?” Milly asked.

“Oh” Mabel giggled “they went looking for Bigfoot.

“What?!” All the girls said in unison.

“Shouldn't we go after them?”

“They could get hurt!”

“Girls!” Mabel said “they’ll be fine, Dipper is super resourceful and besides,” she grinned “I lent Ferb something that should help them if they do get into trouble.”

—---------

The three sat somewhat safely in a tree as Bigfoot roared and stomped below them, the ground beneath their tree shock causing Dipper to fall. He screamed as he fell then his fast descent was halted and he felt a tugging around his weight, looking down he saw Mabel’s grappling hook wrapped around it. Looking up, he saw Ferb holding it.

“Mabel let me borrow it.”.

Dipper laughed in pure relief then realized Bigfoot had gone quiet. Looking over he saw that it was holding his hat, which had fallen off.

“I’m sorry,” Bigfoot said, surprising all of them. “But you wouldn’t happen to be Dipper Pines, would you?”

“Uh yeah.” Dipper said, even more surprised as Ferb gently lowered him to the ground. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Ah yes, allow me to introduce myself” Bigfoot’s voice was surprisingly deep. “My name is Alastor, he/him pronouns if you please.”

“I’m Dipper, he/him.”

“Phineas, he/him” Phineas said, now beside him on the ground. “And this is Ferb, he also used he/him pronouns.”

“Sorry for scaring you” Alastor said “that’s something I do to get the locals to leave me alone.”

Dipper nodded “how did you know my name?”

“Oh yes,” Alastor said, “my pen-pal told me about you.”

“Who’s your pen-pal?” Phineas asked.

“The Multi-Bear.”

“Oh!” Dipper’s eyes lit up in recognition “yeah I remember him, he’s pretty cool.”

“He is,” Alastor agreed, handing Dipper back his hat. “I am quite honored to meet you. He told me all about what you did.”

“What did you do?” Phineas asked curiously.

Dipper gave a nervous laugh “oh nothing important.”

“Nothing important?” Alastor repeated “you and your sister helped save the world!”

“You did?”

“We really didn’t do much…” Dipper looked even more nervous.

Alasor studied him for a moment “if you say so. Now then, how would you and your two friends like to join me for tea?”

“Oh um sure,” Dipper said.

—-------

Dipper walked back to the rest of the group with his friends quietly. Alastor had been very polite and had been happy to answer Dipper’s questions and he agreed to answer some of his in exchange, through the mail because Dipper didn’t feel comfortable with his friends overhearing.

“Hey Dipper” Phineas said “what did Alastor mean by you helping to save the world?”

“It’s nothing,” Dipper said, “and I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Ever since getting back from Gravity Falls he had tried to avoid thinking of Bill or of Weirdmageddon, he and Mabel had a bunch of nightmares when they first got back and he really didn’t want a repeat of that. It had been nice, in a way, to have friends that didn’t know about it. It helped him feel normal and he didn’t want to change that.

“Alright” Phineas said, thankfully dropping it.

They got back to the lake and Mabel ran up to them. “There you guys are!”

“Hey Mabel.” Dipper gave her a quick hug which she happily reciprocated.

Ferb handed Mabel her grappling hook with a small smile. “Thanks! Did you end up using it?” Ferb nodded “well, I’m happy it worked out for you. Did you guys find Bigfoot?”

Dipper nodded “it was pretty cool and he was super nice. Next time we come up here I’ll introduce you.”

“Cool!” Mabel linked arms with her brother and began to lead him away “tell me all about it.”

Notes:

Happy Friday!

Sorry this chapter is shorter than normal, I was having a little bit of writers block. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I knew that I could not mention Bigfoot without having Dipper try and find him.

Writers Help: So I am debating wether or not to include Rollercoaster: The Musical. If I do then I want to give the twins a song together but I can not write music. I can edit song lyrics but that's it, so if anyone has a song recommendation please leave a comment. Still haven't decided if I'm going to write it or not so please don't be disappointed if I don't.

- Izzy

Chapter 14: Mabel, I Shrunk Our Friends!

Summary:

To help make a rainy day more exciting Dipper pulls out his old grow-shrink flashlight.

“Phineas, Ferb?” Mrs Flynn-Fletcher said, walking into the room. Dressed for the rainy weather. “I'll be over at Vivian's house for a few hours. You kids have fun.”

“What kind of fun can we have when it’s rainy?” Buford complained. He and the rest of the boys were sitting on the floor in front of the couch where Isabella and Mabel were sitting.

“We could talk about our feelings,” Isabella suggested.

After a beat Buford said, “okay I’ll rephrase it. What kind of fun can we have when it’s rainy?”

“I wouldn’t mind talking about my feelings,” Baljeet admitted.

Buford reached over and punched him in the shoulder “how do you feel now?”

“In pain.”

“Great, we're done.” There was another pause. “I guess that was fun.”

“What do we do now?” Dipper asked, by now used to his friend’s anitics.

“How about a game of hide and seek?”

“Who said that?” Phineas asked.

“I did!”

They all turned to the unknown boy who had spoken, he was sitting on the opposite side of the couch from the girls. He had short ginger hair and round pink glasses.

“Who are you?” Mabel asked.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the boy walked over to Phineas and Ferb. “I’m Irving, I’m your biggest fan!” He giggled excitedly.

“How long have you been sitting there?” Phineas asked with a frown.

“A couple hours. My horoscope says I'm a background type.” Irving showed them a book with ‘P and F’ written on it. “Check it out. I've kept a scrapbook of your adventures.” He flipped it open and showed them different photos and described some of the different things that the brothers had done or built.

“What a nerd” Baljeet scoffed.

“Is that a lock of Ferb’s hair?” Phineas pointed at one of the pages.

Irving snapped the book shut “don’t touch it!”

“Well…” Phineas got back on topic “Irving suggested hide and seek.”

“Isn’t the house a little small for a good game of hide and seek?” Buford asked.

“Perhaps the problem is not that the house is too small,” Ferb said “but that we are too big.”

“Oh!” Dipper said “I got just the thing. You guys wait here and I’ll go grab it.” Mabel grinned, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

Phineas grinned “great. Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!”

Irving squealed “you said the words! Hey, can I say the Perry thing?”

“What?”

“You know, when you say ‘where's Perry?’”

“O…kay?” Phineas just looked confused.

All of the kids slowly backed away as Irving started to say different variations of the phrase ‘where’s Perry?’ In different voices and accents.

—-------

Mabel stood in Dipper’s bedroom watching her brother rummage through a box in his closet. He remerged a moment later holding a flashlight with a crystal tied to it.

“Found it!”

“Great!” Mabel said “let’s go.”

The two headed downstairs but before they left the house Dipper snagged Mabel’s arm.

“Can I ask you a quick question?”

“Sure,” Mabel said “what’s up bro bro?”

“The way Irving talked and acted in front of the brothers…” Dipper hesitated for a moment “did I act that way with Grunkle Ford?”

Mabel laughed “no,” she reassured him “you weren’t even that bad compared to Irving. And you didn’t have a creepy, stalkerish scrapbook.”

Dipper let out a breath of relief “oh good… I think.”

The two hurried back over to the next door, trying not to get too wet. They burst in through the backdoor, not bothering to knock, and quickly shed their gear. Dipper shook the rain water off of his glasses and dried them on his shirt.

“Great!” Isabella said “you’re back.”

“What’s that?” Buford asked, pointing to the flashlight.

“It’s my grow-shrink flashlight, it’s made with a special crystal I found last summer.” Dipper said, “this will help us get smaller.”

“How does it work?” Phineas asked.

“Like this” Dipper pointed it at Mabel and shrunk her down to only a few inches. Then shrunk everyone else down then himself.

“Wow! We're really tiny!” Isabella said “Phineas, your coffee table is huge!”

“Ha, look at this pencil,” Buford said, lifting it.

Baljeet stood next to a dust ball shaped like a bunny “somebody take a picture of me next to this dust bunny!”

Ferb obliged by jumping on the camera shutter and snapping his picture.

“Dipper, this is amazing!” Baljeet said, “everybody should shrink.”

“Get teeny!” Mabel agreed.

“Get tiny!” Ivring said.

The kids had a great time exploring the house with a new set of eyes and size. They did different activities that they wouldn’t be able to do when they were big. The brothers used the kitchen sink as a swimming pool, the twins used a sponge as a trampoline, Buford used a comb as a jail which he ‘locked’ Baljeet behind, they all used the TV like a movie theater, and lastly flew down the hallway in a paper airplane.

“Alright guys,” Phineas said, “let’s start that game of hide and seek.” He was interrupted by the ground starting to shake.

“What’s that?” Dipper asked, trying to keep himself steady and upright.

“Earthquake!” Baljeet cried.

“No it’s Candace” Phineas said, just as she walked in. “Hey, Candace! Everybody hide.”

The kids all shattered and Candace walked in, unaware of what was going on as she talked on the phone. “Stacy, the bow is totally cute. It's your signature look. You have the bow, and I have…. some weird flashlight in the living room.” She ran up to it “Stace, I'll call you back.” Bending down, Candace picked up the grow-shrink flashlight.

Dipper winced from where he was hidden behind the couch leg, hoping she didn’t take it.

“This thing was obviously made by Phineas and Ferb, so it must do something.” Candace headed to the front door and Dipper sucked in a breath.

The kids all ran out from their hiding places, trying to catch up to Candace.

“Look!” Isabella said “on the umbrella stand!” She pointed at Baljeet.

Cadence grabbed one of the umbrellas “oh look, she found me” Baljeet said Candace opened the umbrella and he flew through the air “guess I’m it!” He yelped when he landed on the over-head lamp.

“Baljeet?” The twins yelled up to him.

“I’m okay!”

The door shuts as Candace leaves, flashlight in hand. “What are we going to do now?” Dipper asked, “we can’t get big without the flashlight.”

“You guys always have a plan!” Irving said to the brothers.

“We don’t have a plan.” Phineas admitted.

“What?”

“We’ll just have to wing it!” Mabel said.

“There’s no winging in the book. You guys have just been improvising this whole time?” Irving said, distraught. “Oh how heroes fall!”

“Hey guys” Baljeet called “remember me? Up here with the dead flies?”

“Oh!” Mabel said, pulling out her grappling hook “I got an idea.” She tried to shoot the hook up to the lamp so she could get Baljeet down, but the line was too short. “Never mind.”

“Sit tight Baljeet” Phineas called up to him “we’ll get you as soon as we can.”

—------

Candace walked across the street to show her mom the strange flashlight that, she believed, her brothers made. Halfway across the street the rain stopped and she shut her umbrella and stuck it under one arm. She stood on Garcia-Shapiro's doorstep and knocked on the door.

“Oh Mom!” She called, “I have to show you something. Yup, I’m one step ahead of you boys.” She looked down at the strange flashlight in her hand “what does this do anyways?” She looked at the crystals tied to it and turned the flashlight on, and screamed as she suddenly shrunk. The flashlight fell to the ground beside her with a loud thud.

“I shrunk!” She shrieked.

Mrs Garcia-Shapiro opened the door ‘hello? Huh I could have sworn I heard someone kn-” she paused when she noticed the flashlight “ah that’s not a good place to leave a toy.” She picked up the grow-shrink flashlight and brought it inside, unable to hear Cadace’s attempts to get her attention.

Cadence screamed again as she fell off the stoop, with a groan she stood up again. “I guess this is what I get for trying to be one step ahead…” she screamed again and started to run when she saw a caterpillar that was much bigger than her.

—-------

“We have to get the flashlight back from across the street,” Dipper said.

“What's the point?” Irving said dramatically “we’re vacuum bag filler.”

“Thanks for that, Captain Bring-Down” Burford said sarcastically.

Just then what looked like a giant metal bug ascended down on them. They all screamed and started running and the bug began to chase them.

“What is that thing?” Phineas asked as the group ran “did we ever make mechanical bugs?”

“There’s nothing in the book!” Irving said, flipping through his scrapbook.

“Everybody split up!” Dipper said and they shattered in different directions.

The mechanical bug crashed into the leg of the kitchen table, causing a basket of sewing materials to fall down. Isabella screamed as she tripped and fell as the bug came closer to her. Mabel swung in on her grappling hook, grabbing her and placing her safely on the coffee table.

“Let’s thread them and throw them guys,” Phineas said.

Everybody grabbed a different colored thread and slipped them through the hole in the sewing needle and threw them at the bug. Hooking the threads around its limbs. Isabella threw the last one then Mabel finished it off by using her grappling hook to hook its leg and pulling it to the ground.

“Nice shot Mabel,” Ferb said.

“Thank you very much” Mabel gave a little curtsy.

Burford let out a war cry and climbed on top of the bug and tore its head off, throwing it to the ground. Phineas chuckled, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“That was awesome,” Isabella said.

“But guys,” Irving said, “we’re still small, what now?”

Ferb stood on top of the bug and made a few quick adjustments to the wiring to cause it to grow wings and gave them a thumbs up.

“Ferb, you're a genius!” Phineas said “everybody, get on.”

They all climbed on and Irving took a picture “I don’t have to digitally insert myself!” He giggled.

Buford let out an annoyed sigh “go tell it to your blog.”

“Let’s go save Baljeet” Isabella said and Ferb flew the bug up to the ceiling lamp.

“I don’t see him,” Dipper said with a frown then cleaned his glasses, they had gotten smudged during the fight.

“Neither do I,” Mabel said.

“Baljeet?” Isabella called.

“Look over there,” Buford said, pointing “something’s moving.”

One of the dead flys began to wiggle and move and then Baljeet broke out of it, covered in a gross green slime.

“Ew!”

“I had to survive, okay!”

—---------

Candace ran through Garcia-Shapiro's front yard, screaming as she was being chased by Isabella’s pet dog, Pinky.

“Pinky no!’ Isabella said from above her “where are you manners?”

Pinky backed off and Phineas grinned down at his sister “how are you doing there, short stuff?”

“Phineas” Candace said, relieved “thank goodness.”

Candace climbed on and they started to fly again when the teen frowned “who smells like fly guts?”

“I had to survive, okay!”

The gang flew into Isabella’s kitchen where the grow-shrink flashlight sat on the counter. They landed next to it.

“Everybody hang on!” Mabel said and used it to grow everyone back to their original sizes then Dipper unshrunk his sister. Everybody cheered.

“Isa, is that you?” Ms Garcia-Shapiro called from the other room.

“Yeah Mom!” Isabella called back.

“You guys are so busted!” Candace said “wait until I tell Mom. MOM!” She ran off.

Irving giggled “she’s going to go get your Mom!”

“What?” Phineas asked, confused.

Dipper quietly tucked the flashlight away for safekeeping and slid off the counter. Everybody followed his lead. There was a small explosion and the mechanical bug blew up but none of them noticed. Much to Candace’s dismay when she came back.

Notes:

Happy Holidays everyone! If anyone can name what old movie reference the tittle is making I will give you a shout out in the next chapter.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it is inspired by the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Hide and Seek.' When rewatching it I thought it would be fun to bring the grow-shrink flashlight into the mix and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

I have some bad news. I will be going out of town next week for my older brother's college graduation and won't be brining my laptop with me. So I won't be posting chapter 15 until that Sunday (the 18th) after I get back. I know some of you will be disappointed to hear this but I thank you all for being so understanding.

I do have some good news. A lot of people expressed their love for the Ferbel (Ferb/Mabel) ship after I hinted at it. Unfortunately there is little to no fanfiction for it, I myself have only been able to find a couple of one-shots on Tumblr! So I decided to do it myself and start writing my own one-shots. If any of you are interested I'm hoping to post the first on here on AO3 this weekend so please go check it out.

- Izzy

Chapter 15: A Matchmaker’s Cruise

Summary:

Mabel pulls out her matchmaking skills

Notes:

Credit to asperman1 for guessing the reference last chapter

Phineas and Ferb stood proudly on the deck on a large ship that sat in their backyard. “Now this is a ship. My she’s yar” he turned to his brother “is she ready to sail?”

“She’s shipshape in Bristol fashion” Ferb said with a salut.

“What does that mean?”

“What does ‘yar’ mean?”

“Phineas! Ferb!” Baljeet called as he ran into the yard “I need your help.”

The two brothers used a pulley system to lower themselves to the ground “Hey, Baljeet.” Phineas greeted “I thought your friend Mishti was visiting from India.”

“She is. But…” he hesitated. “She is different now.”

“Different how?” Phineas asked “did she turn into a werewolf or something? We can go grab Dipper for you if you want.”

“No” Baljeet said “she is.. She is… A girl!”

“Oh” Phineas said “is she trans? Again, Dipper might be the best one to talk to. Or Candace.”

Baljeet groaned “no, she’s always been a girl but not like this! Back in India we were able to have fun and get messy, but now…” He quickly explained how things used to be and what Mishti was like now.

“And she didn’t show any werewolf tendencies?” Looking up Baljeet saw Dipper leaning over the fence, bracing his arms on top.

“No!”

“Geez man… No need to be so harsh” Dipper dropped down from the fence and back into his own yard.

“Anyway” Baljeet turned back to the brothers “after hiding in the bathroom I climbed out the window and ran here. What am I supposed to do? I don't even know how to act in front of a girl! I don’t even know what girls like!”

“Isn’t it like sugar and spice and everything nice?” Phineas asked.

“That is what they are made of” Baljeet corrected “I don’t want to build one!”

“You know…” Phineas said “I think what girls really like is romance.”

“Romance?”

“Yeah, we learned all about it in this movie we watched last night.” Phineas said “dinner, music, candlelight, and all on a romantic cruise over the ocean blue. Lucky for you, we happen to have a ship right here.”

“Did someone say romance?” Mabel appeared out of nowhere.

“Yeah!” Phineas said “Ferb and I are going to help Baljeet and his friend Mishti get together.”

Mabel frowned, the gears in her head turning. “No offense Phineas but I doubt that you have what it takes to create romance.”

“Well what do you suggest?” Ferb asked.

“You have some good ideas that are super romantic,” Mabel said, having overheard their conversation. “The only thing you need now is a matchmaker and an event planner. Luckily you have one right here!” She pointed to herself. “I am the world’s best matchmaker and with me in charge we can definitely get Baljeet and his friend together.”

Phineas grinned “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!”

—--------

Meanwhile Candace stood in her room chatting on the phone with Stacy. “I just wish Jeremy was more romantic. You know, like romantic Romeo-and-Juliet romantic, but without all the dying.”

She was interrupted by the sound of a fog horn and a ship ‘sailing’ past her room. “Yeah Stace, I’m going to have to call you back.” Candace then tried to call her Mom but when that did nothing she headed to the pier to find out what was going on herself.

—----------

Baljeet walked up to his own front step holding flowers and readjusted his bowtie. He rang the doorbell and his Mother answered.

“Baljeet?” She said, confused, “weren’t you in the bathroom?”

“I climbed out the window.”

“Oh! I thought it was a-”

“Mother, please” Baljeet interrupted “can I speak to Mishti please?”

His Mom shrugged and left, a few moments later Mishti appeared in the doorway. Baljeet gulped, she wore a pink sari with gold bangles; she looked very pretty.

“Hi Baljeet” she greeted “what’s up?”

Baljeet cleared his throat “um… Well… If you do not already have plans for this upcoming afternoon….”

“Actually,” Mishti said, “I had plans with you.”

“Oh okay” Baljeet said, feeling both relieved and disappointed. “Well if you’re busy…”

“No, no Baljeet” Mishti said “what did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Baljeet pulled out the brochure the brothers had made. “Some friends of mine have planned an all-inclusive luxury cruise around Danville Harbour.”

“A boat ride! Cool, I’ll go get my stuff.” Mishti grinned and headed inside.

Baljeet continued to read, not noticing. "Highlights of the evening will include a romantic candlelit dinner with- Oh, she is gone.”

—--------

Candace walked up to where the giant cruise ship her brothers made stood in Danville Harbour. Standing in front of it was Phineas and his friend Mabel, who was holding a clipboard.

“And then we can dump the rose petals on them” Phineas was saying.

“That’s a great idea!” Mabel said.

“What’s going on here?” Candace demanded, walking up to them.

“We’re creating romance for Baljeet and his friend Mishti” Phineas said, Mabel cleared her throat. “Sorry, Mabel is creating romance. Ferb and I are helping.”

“You’re creating romance?” Cadence asked Mabel and she nodded.

“Yup!”

“Apparently Mabel is a great matchmaker.” Phineas sais and Candace got an idea.

“Do you think you can do that for me and Jeremy?”

“Who’s Jeremy?” Mabel asked.

“My boyfriend,” Candace said.

“Sure! You two can join the cruise if you want.” She turned to Phineas “is that okay? It’s your ship after all.”

“I don’t see why not.”

Candace hesitated, considering whether or not to really go along with one of her brothers’ crazy plans. “Okay,” yup she was doing this “I’ll go get Jeremy.”

“Great!” Phineas said “we set off in an hour.”

—-------

Baljeet and Mishti stood on the deck of the ship watching people walk down below on the deck as the wind blew past them.

“For your safety Mishti” Baljeet said “I invite you to hold onto the rail. It appears to be very clean, which I know is very important now that you are a girl.”

“Huh? Mishti said, confused.

A little bit farther down the deck Phineas was finishing some last minute maintenance before they headed out when he spotted Isabella approaching the ship.

“Hey Isabella!” He called out “Watcha doing?”

“Hi Phineas!” She called back “I’m just walking around, getting some fresh air.” The truth was she was following a very cryptid text Mabel sent her, but the text said not to tell Phineas so she didn’t. “What are you doing?”

“A romantic cruise. Wanna come?”

Isabella's heart nearly stopped “you want me to come on a romantic cruise with you?!”

“Yeah,” Phineas smiled at her, “it’ll be fun.”

“Okay” Isabella squealed in excitement as soon as he turned away. This must be why Mabel texted her. Finally Phineas was making a move.

Dipper and Mabel were watching this exchange and Dipper turned to his sister “what are you planning?”

Mabel giggled “I’m going to get Isabella and Phineas together!”

Dipper sighed “Mabel.…”

“It’s different this time!” Mabel said “Isabella has a crush on Phineas.”

“Oh!” Dipper looked surprised then thought about it. “Huh, well… This changes things…. Go ahead.”

Mabel grinned at him and ran off to finish preparations. And soon they were headed off. Each of them had a role for their trip; Phineas was the captain, Ferb was the food and beverage coordinator, Isabella was host, Mabel was the romance director, and Dipper was the ship’s photographer.

“This is great” Jermery said as he and Cadence stood on the deck, watching the water. “I’m still amazed by all of the stuff your brothers pull off.”

“Yeah,” Cadence agreed, “it is pretty cool.”

Jermey felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see a girl, who he was guessing was one of Phineas and Ferb’s friends, wearing a pink sweater covered in red hearts holding a bunch of roses in different colors.

The girl held one up to him “want a rose for your significant other?”

“Sure,” Jermey said with a smile. He took a rose and handed her a bill.

She took it with a wide grin, “thanks!” And ran off.

Jermey turned back to Candace and handed her the rose. “Aw,” she said “thank you! I love it.”

—---------

Phineas was with Isabella as she gushed over the cruise. “Aw Phineas,” Isabella said “this is so romantic.”

“If you think this is romantic” he said “wait till you see what else I have planned.”

Phineas took her hand and led her into the ship “yes!” She whispered to herself.

She was led to a very fancy dining room. “Behold! A candlelit dinner for two.”

“Oh Phineas-” She started to say.

“Ferb, please lead the happy couple to their table.”

Isabella watched, mouth open as Baljeet and some girl were led to a table by Ferb. Baljeet pulled out a chair for her and she sat down at the table.

“Here is our table, Mishti.” Baljeet said, nervous “is this okay with you? It is not too drafty, is it?”

“It will be fine, Baljeet.”

“Cue music!” In the corner an orchestra started to play “classical music, very romantic.”

“Cue rose petals!” A soft fluttering of rose petals started to fall, “cue sparkles!” A bunch of glitter fell from the ceiling, covering Baljeet and Mishti.

Above the table Buford looked embarrassed for he accidentally poured more glitter than intended.

“So,” Phineas turned to Isabella. Oblivious to her disappointment. “Do I know romance or what?”

“What.”

“I said” Phineas repeated “do I know romance or-”

“I heard you.” With a huff Isabella walked away.

Isabella found Mabel chatting with her brother and she turned to her and grinned “so, how’s it going?”

She glared at her “why did you call me here Mabel?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought Phineas was finally going to admit he had feelings for me” Isabella said “but instead he planned this whole big thing for Baljeet and his friend.”

Mabel’s eyes widened “seriously” she said “I mean, yeah we had something planned for Baljeet and Mishti but I thought Phineas would be moved and say something to you. He didn’t?”

Isabella shook her head and Mabel gave her a hug, Dipper slowly backed away and ran off. “I’m sorry Bella,” she said “don’t worry, I’ll fix this.”

—------

Mabel let out a sigh of relief and sat down in a chair on the deck. It took some persuasion but she managed to convince Phineas to take a break and eat some of the ‘extra’ food with Isabella.

Someone cleared their throat and looking over she saw that the chair she sat in was next to a table where Ferb was serving drinks. He looked at her and she sighed.

“I’m alright,” she said. “Just tired.” Ferb handed her a glass of lemonade “thanks.” She took a drink “I just don’t understand, normally I’m much better at getting people together but Phineas is so hard! What am I doing wrong?”

Ferb shrugged, “Phineas is more interested in his inventions.”

Mabel groaned and let her head drop to the surface of the table and Ferb patted her shoulder sympathetically. With her face hidden Ferb didn’t see the slight blush that rose to her cheeks.

Meanwhile Phineas and Isabella were watching Mishti and Baljeet make very awkward small talk.

“I don’t get it,” he said. “We did everything in that romantic movie but nothing seems to work. The only thing we didn’t do was sink the ship.”

As if on cue a lighthouse with a rocket strapped to it flew through the bottom of the ship making a massive hole. And the boat tipped down and started to sink, just like in the movie the brothers watched the night before. The guests started to scream and run up to the highest point of the now sinking ship.

“I must apologize” Baljeet said to Mishti as they ran “the ship sinking was not in the brochure.”

“Is this romantic or what?” Phineas asked Isabella, looking very pleased.

“Phineas,” Dipper said, running up to them. “Where are the life perseveres?”

“We don’t have any!”

“What?” Isabella shrieked while Dipper’s eyes widened in panic.

“We have Fun Perseveres” he said “hit it Ferb!”

The top part of the ship where everyone was standing lifted up and raises about 50 feet into the air. A huge plastic slide emerges from the bottom of the platform, rolling out across the ship’s smokestacks and into the ocean. It fills up with water, becoming a waterslide, inner tubes, in rows of four, emerge above the slide.

“Okay everyone!” Phineas calls “to the Fun Perseveres!”

“Me first!” Buford shouts and jumps onto one of the tubs. He laughs as he goes down the slide and lands safely in the ocean.

With that everyone else follows, including Phineas, who offers to share his Fun Preserver with Isabella. Which she hesitantly accepts. Baljeet and Mishti also share a Fun Preserver along with Mabel and Ferb.

As the tub slid into the ocean Baljeet and Mishti finally had a real conversation. “So you are telling me that even though you are now a girl, you still like to have fun just like in the old days?”

“Of course!” She says.

“So… You don’t mind if I do this?” He splashed her with water.

“Only if I can do this!” Mishit pushes him into the water. They both laugh, and he pulls her out of the Fun Preserver too. They both resurface inside, still laughing.

As their tube washes onto shore Phineas helps Isabella out “this romance thing is pretty fun, we should do it more often!”

Isabella smiled back “yes, yes we should.”

Perry appears in his own tube and Phineas grins “oh, there you are Perry!”

Father down the shore Dipper snaps a picture of Phineas and Isabella and then one of Baljeet and Mishti, just in case they wanted them. He then noticed Mabel a little ways away with Ferb, the two were talking (or she was talking and he was listening) and Dipper noticed the blush building on his sister’s cheeks.

Dipper’s eyes widened “oh no.”

Notes:

This chapter is based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'That Sinking Feeling.'

I know I said last chapter that this one would be late but I had a little bit of extra time and was able to get it posted after all! I'm not supper happy with how this turned out, pacing wise. It feels a bit more rushed then I wanted too. I am happy that I was able to work a bit more on Ferb and Mabel's relationship, the main reason why I wrote it.

Speaking of Mabel and Ferb, last week a posted a Ferbel (their ship name) one-shot, I am hoping to write more so if you like this ship you should check it out.

- Izzy

Chapter 16: Snow Day

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb make a machine so the twins can have their first snow day.

Phineas and Ferb lay underneath the shade of their tree with their eyes closed, it was the hottest day so far and neither of them had the motivation to do anything. The heat did that to you. Perry lay next to them letting out the occasional churr.

“Hey, guys!” Opening their eyes the two saw Mabel. She was without her usual sweater but otherwise seems perfectly fine.

“Hi, Mabel’ Phineas groaned.

“Got any plans today?” She asked.

“We’re going to lay here,” Phineas said, “it’s too hot. How are you not melting?”

“I’m from California, I was made for hot weather.” Mabel said, “Dipper, on the other hand, is inside. He’s more of a cold-weather person.”

“Yeah,” Phineas said, “snow is great.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Mabel said, “Dipper and I have never seen snow.”

The two brothers sat up at that. “You’ve never seen snow?!”

Mabel giggled “California, remember?”

“Don’t your Great-Uncles live in Oregon?” Ferb asked.

“Yeah,” Mabel said, “but last summer was the first time we visited them.”

“That’s terrible!” Phineas said, “everyone should have a snow day.”

“I’m sure we will once it gets colder.”

Phineas shook his head “winter is too far away.” He turned to his brother “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!”

“Hey,” Mabel said, “where’s Perry and Waddles?”

—---------

The two agents were sweating buckets as they headed into the lair, both of them grateful for the air conditioning. They sat down in front of the screen which turned on to reveal Major Monogram.

“Morning Agents” he greeted “as I’m sure you noticed it is hot enough to fry an egg today, which Carl is currently trying.”

“It’s working!” The interim yelled happily from off camera.

“Anyway, we just got word that Doofenshmirtz is the one causing this heat wave,” Monogram said “though we don’t have the foggiest idea as to why! Your job is to find out and stop him.”

The two agents saluted him and hurried off.

—-----------

The gang was all gathered in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, all of them sweaty and hot.

“Why did you call us here for dinner bell?” Buford complained, “do you know how hot it is?”

“I do,” Phineas said, “that is why I made this.”

Ferb pulled off a sheet that was covering their invention to show what looked like a metal box with some kind of ray gun thing on top. It was painted a light blue with white snowflakes on the side.

“Behold,” he said “the Snow-Maker 2000!”

The kids all gave the customary applause and oos and ahs. Then Isabella frowned.

“Didn’t you guys make a snow machine a few years ago? She asked.

“Technically we used Dad’s old snow-cone maker,” Phineas said “this will work a lot better. Not only will it make snow, but it will also lower the backyard’s temperature so we don't have to use a bunch of fans to keep it from melting.”

“Cool!” Mabel said. “Literally!”

“Nice pun,” Dipper said and the twins high-fived.

“Let’s fire this baby up!” Phineas said, “hit it Ferb.”

Ferb pulled a level on the Snow-Maker 2000 and almost immediately the temperature began to drop, the kids all let out a sigh of relief. A few clouds flew up from the ray and hovered in the air and a soft fluttering of snow began to fall and they all began to cheer.

“Okay!” Phineas said, “everyone go grab your cold weather gear and come back here, by then there should be enough snow to play in.”

Mabel pulled her brother back to their yard. “Mabel,” he said, “we don’t have any cold weather stuff.”

“Don’t worry Dip-dop” Mabel said, pulling out a pair of knitting needles “I’m taking care of it.”

—----------

Agents P and P.I.G burst into Doof’s lab to be welcomed with the sweet release of air conditioning, only to get stuck in a rope trap.

Doofenshmirtz walked in, sipping at a glass of lemonade. “Hello, Perry the Platypus and Waddles the Pig.” He greeted “hot today, isn’t it?” He looked far too pleased.

The two looked at each other and Perry gave a soft churr.

Doof smirked “yes I did have something to do with it. Behold! The Hottest-Day-Inator!”

The two looked over to what looked like a very large space heater that was on the balcony that was pointed at Danville. How did they miss that?

“You see,” Doofenshmirtz started. Here they go. “I have noticed recently that when it is hot people get more tired and become much lazier. So I am making it incredibly hot to make my brother, Roger, unable to do anything. Then I will swoop in and take over.”

Waddles looked at his partner, was he serious? Perry shrugged, honestly he shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

—--------

There was a good five feet or so on the ground by the time everyone got back to the brother’s backyard. All of the young teens were wearing winter gear except for the twins who both had on a bunch of Mabel’s knitted creations.

“I made some for you guys too!” Mabel said and passed out scarves and hats.

“Thank Mabel!” Isabella said, pulling them on.

“These are quite delightful,” Baljeet agreed, putting on a light blue hat.

Dipper bent down and scooped up a handful of snow with wide eyes. “This is so cool.”

“Why are you acting as if you’ve never seen snow before?” Buford asked.

“We haven’t,” Dipper said, “not in person anyways.”

“Oooh!” Buford, Baljeet, and Isabella all said. Now realizing why Phineas and Ferb made this their project of the day.

“You know one thing you can do with snow?” Buford asked Dipper.

“What?”

“This.” Buford picked up a bunch of snow and made a snowball, throwing it at Baljeet. It hit him in the face causing the boy to fall over. “Ha ha ha!”

Mabel smiled an evil grin and looked at her brother. “Oh no.” He said before he was pelted with a snowball, courtesy of his sister.

This led to a massive snowball fight between the group of friends who were joined by the Fireside girls and other kids from around the neighborhood. As they played, the pile of snow slowly got bigger and bigger.

Later Dipper was taking a break, his binder was feeling tight and making it hard to breathe. Mabel came up next to him, snowflakes caught in her curls and her face flushed from both the cold and the exercise.

“Isn’t this awesome Dipper!” She said with a laugh.

Dipper nodded back, “yeah. It is pretty great.”

“Are you okay?” She asked, concerned.

“I’m alright, my binder is just bugging me.”

“You know…” Mabel said, a bit hesitant “you could try and wear a sports bra…”

“What?”

“Not all the time!” Mabel reassured, “just when we do stuff like this.”

“I don’t know Mabel…”

“They already know you’re trans.” Mabel said, “and they haven’t seen you any different since you’ve come out. Why would this change anything?”

“It’s just…” Dipper said “it’s one thing to know and another thing to see it. You know?”

Mabel nodded, while she didn’t fully understand (and she never would be able to) she did understand her brother’s thought process. “It might be nice to try,” she said, “and your sweater should cover anything up pretty well.”

“That’s true…” Dipper said, thinking it over. “

—---------

Waddles was carefully cutting through the ropes that tied him and Perry up while the platypus was distracting Heinz.

“What do you mean it won’t work?”

“Churrr.”

“You take that back!”

“Dad?” Doof’s daughter, Vanessa walked in and Waddles stopped what he was doing. “What are you doing?”

“Well I’m trying to take over the Tri-State Area but Perry the Platypus keeps doubting me.”

Vannessa looked over at the two Agents “since when did a pig start coming by?”

“Oh right,” Doofenshmirtz said, “you two haven’t met yet. Waddles the Pig, this is my daughter. Vanessa, this is Waddles the Pig. He’s Perry the Platupus’ new partner.”

“Cool,” Vanessa said, giving Waddles a nod which he returned. “Anyway, I’m going to the pool with Stacy.”

“She’s that girlfriend of yours,” Heinz said “right?”

“Yup.”

“Alright, have fun,” Doofenshmirtz said waving as she left “be safe, and don’t do anything, you’re only sixteen!”

Vannessa let out an embarrassed groan but didn’t argue as she left.

“Sorry about that,” Doofenshmirtz said, turning back to them. “As you were saying?”

“Churrr.”

“Oh, that’s it!” Doofenshmirtz said, “I’m turning up the heat!”

The evil scientist started walking to The Hottest-Day-Inator and Waddles started cutting through the ropes faster.

—--------

Despite Dipper’s worries nobody said anything when he came back out in a sports bra instead of a binder. One of the Fireside girls, Holly, did compliment his sweater but that was it. Then he was drawn into a snow-fort building contest with the other boys and forgot about it.

Mabel was happily ice-skating on the frozen pond Alyson made using the hose, she had been ice-skating before but it was always in an indoor rink. She wasn’t very good because she ended up slipping and falling, but before she landed someone caught her hand.

Ferb gave her a concerned look as he helped her up.

She nodded “I’m okay. Thanks.”

He nodded and smiled at her before heading back to help Phineas with their snow fort, though it was more of a snow castle. Ginger walked over to her.

“Are you okay Mabel?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your face is all red,” Ginger said.

“Oh!” Mabel slapped her hands to her cheeks, “it must be the cold, I’m not very used to it.”

“Do you want some hot chocolate?” Ginger asked, “we have a stand all set up!”

“YES!” Mabel said, heading over “do you have whipped cream?”

“Wouldn’t be hot chocolate without it” Ginger said, “we also have marshmallows, but we don’t have any sprinkles.”

“Don’t worry,” Mabel said. Pulling a small jar from inside her sweater “I got plenty to share.”

—-------

“Prepare to eat your words, Perry, the Platypus,” Doofenshmirtz said, turning the dial on his inator up.

Suddenly he was tackled by Perry and he stumbled back “ow” he complained. In retaliation, he threw a fake potted plant at Waddles which he dogged.

Waddles ran over and used a small trampoline that was on the balcony, for some reason, to jump up and did a round-house kick into the scientist’s face.

“Man, your hooves are hard,” Doof said.

As the pig and evil scientist fought Perry made his way to the inator, he hit the self-destruct button and it exploded. But not before sending out one last way of heat.

“Oh come on!” Heinz said, rubbing his cheek. “I was so close.”

Perry churred an apology for his words earlier. “It’s okay Perry the Platypus, oh and curse you!”

—-------

The kids were all happily playing in the snow when a burst of heat came in, overheating the Snow-Maker 2000 and causing it to break, then all the snow melted and a wave of water left the backyard.

“Wow!” Phineas said, watching it go. “That’s exactly what happened last time too.”

“Hey,” Dipper said, pulling off his hat (the one Wendy gave him) and running a hand through his hair making it stick up. “I think it’s cooled down.”

“Hey kids,” Linda said, coming outside and taking in what she was seeing. “Isn’t it a little hot for your snow gear?”

“Yes,” Phineas said, pulling off his coat. “Yes, it is.”

“Well, why don’t you kids take all that off and come inside and cool off with some lemonade?”

They all cheered and hurried to pull off the thick clothing and run inside.

“Oh,” Baljeet said, as Perry walked over “there you are Perry.”

Notes:

Happy Holidays everyone!

This is my Holiday chapter, I am planning on posting a little something extra on Christmas so stay tuned for that.

Some personal news, today was my last at my job and I'm moving up to school in a couple of weeks. I took a gap semester so I'm really excited. However, because I have to readjust and will have homework to do chapter updates might be a bit slow. My goal is to still post one every week but the exact day might have to change. Thank you all for being so understanding.

-Izzy

Chapter 17: Bonus: The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Summary:

The cast sings The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Phineas, Candace, Jeremey, Isabella, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Baljeet, Buford, Mabel, Dipper, Perry, Vanessa, and Ferb all stood together in a line. Then music starts up and everyone began to sing.

“On the first day of Christmas please Santa give me.”

“A jet-powered rocket ski!” Phineas sang.

—------

“On the second day of Christmas please Stanta give to me.”

“Two busted brothers” Candace sang.

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—------

“On the third day of Chirstmas please Santa give to me.”

“A sash full of patches” Isabella sang.

“Two busted brothers.”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—------

“On the fourth day of Chirstmas please Santa give to me.”

Jeremey was up next, “a silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—------

“On the fifth day of Chirstmas please Santa give to me.”

The music switched to a rock/punk style tune as Doofenshmirtz sang his verse. “The entire Tri-State Area!!!”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—---------

“On the sixth day of Christmas please Santa give to me.”

“A kiss from a girl” Baljeet sang.

“The entire Tri-State Area! Or at least a large portion of it. I don't...I don't want to get too greedy.”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—--------

“On the seventh day of Christmas please Santa give to me.”

Burford’s turn. “More nerds to bully.”

“A kiss from a girl.”

“The entire Tri-State Area….You know what, how about just two of the three states? That's fair, right? Deal?”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.” Candace sang in a demanding voice.

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—------

“On the eighth day of Chirstmas please Santa give to me.”

Mabel smiled, the light glinting on the sequins sewn into her Hanukkah sweater “eight menorah candles.”

“More nerds to bully.”

“A kiss from a girl.”

“One single state! I feel like I was overreaching before. Just...just one state area will be fine… Anyways, go on with the song.”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.” Candace yelled.

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—--------

“On the ninth day of Christmas please Santa give it to me.”

“A new mystery to solve,” Dipper sang, a bit nervously.

“Eight menorah candles.”

“More nerds to bully.”

“A kiss from a girl.”

“Five golden rings!!! Y'know, I had to sing it that way at least once. It's tradition... and I'm traditional.”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers. Is that really so hard?!”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—------

“On the tenth day of Chirstmas please Santa give to me.”

“Churr” Perry shrugged.

“A new mystery to solve.” Dipper sang “to clarify I mean a mystery like finding The Author, not stopping a murderous demon.”

“Eight menorah candles.”

“More nerds to bully.”

“A kiss from a girl.” Baljeet was begging a little.

“How about a crossover story between two beloved kids shows that you think would have a crossover by now but doesn’t?”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.” Candace was giving said brothers a death stare.

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—-------

“On the eleventh day of Christmas please Santa give to me.”

“My own set of wheels!!” Vanessa sang.

“Churr.”

“A new mystery to solve.” Dipper was reading a book on conspiracy theories as he sang his line.

“Eight menorah candles.” This time Mabel was joined by Isabella and Dipper, the only other two Jewish kids in their group.

“More nerds to bully.”

“A kiss from someone please!”

Instead of singing his line Dr. D went on a rant. “You know, this is way too much pressure, being put on the spot for one thing that I want from this mythic all-powerful gift giver who only comes once a year. It's insane!”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Two busted brothers.” She was growling now.

“And jet-powered rocket ski!”

—-------

“On the twelve day of Christmas please Santa give to me.”

“On line of dialogue” Ferb said.

“My own set of wheels!”

Instead of singing his line Perry pulled in Waddles. “Oink.”

Dipper was pouting as Mabel had taken his book and sang very reluctantly. “A new mystery to solve.”

“Eight menorah candles.” Mabel sang “or just give our holiday some recognition!” Dipper and Isabella both noded.

“More nerds to bully.”

Baljeet was arguing with Burford “I don’t want to kiss you! Do not flatter yourself!”

“How about some almond brittle? That’s pretty reasonable.”

“A silver guitar.”

“A sash full of patches.”

“Ah, forget it!”

“And jet-powered rocket ski!” Instead of Phineas singing his line by himself everyone joined in with him.

Notes:

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you (those who celebrate that is) enjoyed it, I sure did.

This is not an official chapter, just a fun lil thing I wrote for all of you.

The cast of Phineas and Ferb did sing The Twelve Days Of Chirstmas which is what inspired this, I also took some inspiration from the version that the cast of Musical Without A Cool Acronym did.

The next chapter will be this Friday, as always.

- Izzy

Chapter 18: Name-A-Thon

Summary:

Dipper picks out a new name.

Dan walked up the stairs to his son’s room and lightly tapped at the door before entering. He found his son listening to one of the cassette tapes he had given him, it sounded like a BABBA song though Dan didn’t know which one.

“Oh, hey Dad.”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure,” Dipper turned off the music and sat on his bed while Dan claimed the desk chair. “So… What’s up?”

Dan hesitated, trying to find the best way to phrase it “I was doing some research and…. If you want to, we can get your name changed. Officially that is.”

“Really!?”

Dan nodded “is that something you want?”

“Yes,” Dipper nodded “yes please!”

“Okay,” Dan smiled. “I’ll start the paperwork, I just need one thing from you. Your name.”

“....Dipper?”

“Buddy,” Dan said “if you want your legal name to be Dipper then we can do that. But…” He paused, not sure how to phrase it.

“But am I sure that I want my nickname to be my name for the rest of my life?” Dipper finished and Dan nodded.

“I think it would be smart to look into some other name options.”

“Sounds fair,” Dipper admitted.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” Dan said, “take some time to think about it, and when you come to a decision come and find me.”

—--------

As Dipper followed his sister to the brothers’ yard his mind was preoccupied. The thought of changing his name came up a few times since he came out, but he never thought about it for too long. With Mom having the reaction that she did to him being trans he never thought he would be able to change his name until he was eighteen. So, he had never bothered to pick one out.

‘Dipper’ had never counted, it was all a nickname that Mabel had given to him when they were little. A placeholder until he could pick a real name. He had never planned on going by it forever, but now that he had the chance to change it…

“-ipper, Dipper?”

“What?” Dipper shook away his thoughts to see his friends all staring at him.

“Are you okay?” Isabella asked, “we’ve called your name five times now.”

He found himself flinching at that, “oh um… I’m okay.”

He could see the looks of doubt on everyone’s faces.

“Did you guys talk to your Mom again?” Phineas asked, looking at Mabel who shook her head.

“Our last call was scheduled for a few days ago and she didn’t pick up.” Mabel turned to him “what’s going on? And don’t say you’re fine because I know you’re not.”

“Well,” Dipper said. Flopping down on the grass, everyone else follows. “You guys know how I’m trans?”

“Yeah.”

“Well… Dad said I can change my name, legally.”

Mabel beamed “that’s great!”

Dipper smiled back “it is but there’s one problem… I don’t know what my name is.”

“I thought your name was Dipper,” Baljeet said.

“Dipper is a nickname,” Mabel said.

“I never thought I would get a chance to pick something more permanent,” he said, “but now that I do…”

“You don’t know what it should be” Phineas finished and he nodded.

“Why do you even need to pick a new name in the first place?” Baljeet asked, “nobody’s going to call you whatever is on your birth certificate.”

Dipper shook his head “people will. If I don’t change it, there will be people who are going to call me by my dead name, even if I ask them not to. Sure, some trans people never change their name, legally or otherwise, and that’s fine for them. But I don’t want that.”

“That makes sense.” Isabella nodded.

“So yeah,” Dipper said, “if I seem a bit distracted today, that’s why.”

“Why don’t we help?” Phineas asked. “We can get a bunch of books and help you find a name that feels like you!”

“What about your plans for today?” Dipper asked.

“A person’s name is much more important,” Ferb said, and Phineas nodded.

“You guys would do that for me?” Dipper asked softly.

“You’re our friend,” Buford said with a shrug.

“Will you let us help?” Mabel asked, taking his hand and he squeezed back.

“Okay.”

—------

Thirty minutes later the gang was joined by the Fireside Girls and they were all surrounded by baby name books. Occasionally one would shout out a name and Dipper would share his thoughts.

“James.”

“No.”

“Logan.”

“As cool as the character is, I don't want to share a name with him.”

“Forest.”

Dipper gave Holly a long look “you want my name to Forest Pines?”

“Yeah,” Burford said, “sounds like a great way to get bullied."

"You would know best," Baljeet agreed.

Holly giggled “yeah that’s a good point, I don’t know what I was thinking!”

“Nate.”

“Andy.”

“Oliver.”

“No, no, no.”

It kept on like this for a while, and despite the many names they gave him Dipper still couldn’t find one he liked.

“Maybe we need a new strategy,” he said.

“Do you pick a letter or two that you want your name to start with?” Baljeet suggested, “that will help us narrow it down.”

Dipper thought for a very long moment, going through each letter of the alphabet carefully in his head but only one stuck out to him.

“M.” He said, “it’s tradition after all.”

Everyone looked confused. “What do you mean?” Katie asked “what tradition?”

“The Pines Family Twin Naming Tradition,” Dipper said.

“Of course!” Mabel said, “how did I forget?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Buford asked.

“The Pines Family Twin Naming Tradition is what it sounds like'' Dipper said. “Twins run in our family so we have a tradition when naming them.”

“Every set of twins have names that start with the same letter,” Mabel said. “And they often sound the same. Though that often isn’t planned.”

Dipper nodded “Stanley and Stanford, Daniel and Danica….. Mabel and Maisley.”

There was a moment of silence at the reveal of Dipper’s dead name.

“Thank you for trusting us with that,” Isabella said.

Ferb nodded, “that took a lot of courage.”

“Thanks, guys,” Dipper said.

“Maisley huh?” Burford said, “that doesn’t suit you at all.”

Mabel nodded “it really doesn’t.”

“Right,” Dipper said, clearing his throat and changing the subject. “Let's move on.”

—-------

It was quiet, too quiet. Candace had been relaxing in her room talking with Stacy but then noticed she hadn’t seen or heard anything from the boys. It was very suspicious and set her on edge. Looking out the window she saw her brothers with their friends, going through a bunch of books? What?

“My brothers are doing something weird.” She told Stacy “I’m going to check it out, I’ll call you back later.”

Candace walked downstairs, not in a huge hurry. While she was still a big buster she wasn’t as crazy about it as she used to be. These days she only tried to bust them if they were doing something super insane or dangerous. Luckily whatever they were doing today seemed to be more on the ‘normal’ side.

She slid open the glass door that led to the backyard and took in the scene. Dipper was staring at the grass with a focused look on his face while everyone else had baby name books and was calling out names.

“Milo.”

“Mick.”

“Michael.”

“Miles.”

“Matthew.”

“Micha.”

On and on it went on like this before Phineas noticed her. “Oh! Hey Candace.”

Everyone else looked over at her “hey.” She greeted “what are you guys doing?”

“We’re helping Dipper pick out his name,” Phineas explained.

“Oh!” Candace nodded.

Dipper groaned, placing his head in his hands with a groan. “Why is this so hard?”

Cadence sat down next to the boy and patted his shoulder sympathetically. “What names are you thinking of?”

“I already decided on a middle name ages ago, Henry, after Grandma Rachel’s Dad. But for my first name, I want something that starts with M” Dipper said, “I don’t know why but most of the ones we found I don’t like. I could maybe do Michael or Miles.”

“But do you like them?” Candace asked, “do they feel like you?”

“Not really.”

“Then don’t use them,” Candace said with a shrug. “It’s your name, it should feel like it.”

“How did you decide your name, Candace?” Mabel asked.

“I picked a name similar to my dead name,” she said “I like it and on the rare chance that someone knows my dead name and uses it I’m able to correct them and make them look stupid.”

Candace was lucky that she found out when she was so young, young enough that not a lot of people outside of her family knew. It wasn’t some big secret or anything and she didn’t mind telling anyone, but didn’t scream it from the rooftops either.

“That’s an idea,” Baljeet said. “What is the male version of your dead name Dipper?”

“I’ll look” Mabel grabbed one of the books and flipped through it. “Huh, it’s Mason.”

Dipper looked up at that and Mabel read a bit more. “Mason was originally a surname for those who worked with stone. It conveys thoughts of building, reliability, and strength. The origins are from Middle English. Other spellings are M-A-Y-S-O-N and M-A-C-E-N and nicknames include Mace, May, and Ace.”

“Mason,” Dipper said to himself. “Mason. Mason Pines. Mason Henry Pines.”

Everyone sat there with bated breath, this was the longest Dipper has considered a name so far. And they were all hoping that they had found the right one.

Mabel was the one who broke the silence “do you like it?”

Dipper looked up at her, “I do, I really really do.”

There was a pause at that, no one knew what to do now. Buford stood up and walked over and stood in front of Dipper who joined him. Buford stuck out a hand.

“Hey,” he said, “I’m Buford Van Stomm.”

Dipper seemed surprised at first, then grinned. He took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

“Hi, I’m Mason Pines.”

Notes:

Our boy has a name! I repeat, our boy has a name!

I alway saw Dipper's nickname as just that, a nickname. I always head cannoned that he would go by Mason more as he got older, especially since he picked it out himself. Now, Dipper isn't suddenly going to go by Mason 24/7 but you will see him (and others) use it more and more as time progresses.

I hope you all had a good New Years, and I'll see you all next year!

-Izzy

Chapter 19: Phineas' Birthday

Summary:

Phineas celebrates his fourteenth birthday

The gang and the Fireside Girls all sat around the Pines’ kitchen table, much earlier than they usually met. Everyone was sleepy but alert all the same, it was a big day after all. It was Phineas’ fourteenth birthday!

“Alright everyone,” Mabel said, standing. “I think we all know why we are here today.”

“Yes,” Dipper said with a groan “but does it have to be early?”

“Yes Dipper” Mabel rolled her eyes “for the last time. We have to meet early so we can plan the party!”

Mabel had been elected as the group’s party planner and was taking over all preparations for Phineas’ party. With Ferb’s help, of course, since he knew his brother the best.

“Or,” Dipper said, “we could have started planning days ago so we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“As I was saying,” Mabel said, rolling her eyes at her brother. “Ferb and I already planned the party, we just need your help to get it set up!”

“If you already have it planned then why are we here?” Dipper asked.

“Shut up Mason and let Mabel talk,” someone said and everyone laughed. Dipper huffed and acted annoyed but secretly pleased at the use of his chosen name. While he still (mostly) went by his nickname he always felt happy when someone called him by his name.

“How can we help?” Isabella asked as if the interruption had never happened.

Mabel handed everyone but Dipper and Ferb a sheet of paper “here’s a list of things to get and tasks to do.”

Everyone looked over their lists and nodded and moved to get started. “What am I doing?” Dipper asked.

“You and Ferb are taking Phineas to see the newest Space Adventure Movie while I oversee the party set up.” Mabel explained, “just don’t bring him back to the house until 3 pm.”

“Works for me,” Dipper said “I’ve been wanting to go see it for a while now.”

“So you like the Space Adventure Movies too?” Ferb asked as he and Dipper headed over to the other house.

“Of course!” Dipper said, “I hope they go more into Commander Xaldin’s backstory in this one.”

Mabel grinned as she watched the two boys walk away, talking about their nerdy movies before she went to complete her tasks.

—-------

Phineas walked downstairs for breakfast and was surprised to see that Ferb was nowhere to be found. Then he went outside and found his brother waiting for him with Dipper.

“Oh! There you are Ferb.” He said, walking over.

“Happy birthday Phineas,” Dipper said.

“Thanks!” He said, “where is everyone?”

“Setting up your party.” Ferb said, “we’ve been sent to distract you.”

“Cool!” He said, “So what are we doing?”

“We’re going to go see the next Space Adventure movie,” Dipper said.

“Awesome! I haven’t got the chance to see it yet. Let’s go!”

—--------

Mabel held a very sparkly clipboard in her hand as she oversaw the party setup. Ferb had told her about some of Phineas’ past Birthday parties which helped her plan for this one. It was going to be small in comparison to his other party but Mabel couldn’t make anything bigger fit in the budget.

But that didn’t mean that it wasn’t going to be a good party, it would be small but mighty. Tiny but EPIC. And Mabel had made sure that it fit her budget. Well, Dipper had made sure it had fit the budget (being the math genius that he was) but that didn’t matter.

It ended up being decided that the party would be held at the local arcade, it was perfect and worked with their budget. There was something there for everyone. Bowling, laser tag, video games. And Ferb even made some of his own games to give the party that little extra pazza that was needed for Phineas’ Birthday.

Since the party was being held at a venue all they really needed to do was decorate the party room and pick up the food. Mabel’s fellow Fireside Girls were on the food so all that was left was the decorations, her expertise.

She had that Party Planning Badge in the bag!

—-------

It wasn’t until that afternoon that the boys finally got the all-clear to bring Phineas to the all-clear. Since the movie had only been a couple of hours long, the two were forced to find other ways to keep Phineas occupied until the party was ready. Luckily Mabel sent Buford and Baljeet to help.

Since Phineas knew what was going on (to some extent) it was easier to keep him busy. Unlike, for example, if they tried to make it a surprise party. Mabel had originally wanted to but Ferb had talked her out of it.

At the same time, they didn’t want Phineas to be bored or grow restless so they needed to find something to do. Eventually, they caved and the group of boys ended up building something. Thankfully, by the time the invention disappeared, Mabel texted them the all-clear.

The party went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. There was a small incident where Isabella got a little too competitive with some of the games and another where almost Dipper got caught making betting pools. This led to both of them almost getting banned, but to everyone's surprise, Candace ended up stepping in and took care of everything.

“Thanks, Candace,” Isabella had said.

“Yeah,” Dipper said. “Thanks.”

“It was no problem,” Candace said.

“I would have thought that you would have wanted to bust us,” Dipper said.

“Yeah,” Isabella agreed “isn’t that your whole thing?”

“It’s Phineas’ birthday so I’m off the clock.” Candace said, “just don’t do it again or I will bust you.”

The two nodded and after Candace left Isabella looked over at her friend. “You’re going to do it again, aren’t you?”

“Today? No.” Dipper said “I don’t want to ruin the party. But in the future? Yes. I’ll just be more careful not to get caught next time.”

Isabella laughed “just let me know when you do. I need to earn back the money you keep robbing me of.”

Dipper laughed too, “never going to happen.”

—-------

As the party winded down the two brothers sat by themselves in the corner, finally getting a moment to themselves.

“Do you have a good birthday?” Ferb asked. “I know it wasn’t as big as some of your other parties.”

“It was great!” Phineas said. “I loved it, thank you. And thank Mabel for me next time you see her.”

“I will.”

As if they had been summoned the twins appeared. “We’re going to head out, “ Dipper said.

“Okay!” Phineas said.

“Happy birthday Phineas” Mabel said and handed him a gift-wrapped package with a glittery bow on top. “This is from the both of us.”

“Thanks,” Phineas said “and thank you Mabel for doing such a great job on the party.”

“Of course!” Mabel said “party planning is my specialty. And now I got the patch to prove it.” Mabel pulled out said patch and they all laughed.

Phineas waved as the twins left and leaned back in his seat. Best birthday ever!

Notes:

I'm not going to lie, I really struggle to write this chapter. That's why it's shorter than some of my other ones.

I hope all of you are having a great year so far. Let's hope that 2023 is better than the last few years. Fingers crossed!

If you guys read my author's notes then you know that I just started college again and that's it's been a few months since I've been in school. Because of that my uploaded schedule may change, it hasn't yet but I will let you guys know if/when it does.

Also, I am currently working on another fic. This is a non crossover Gravity Falls fic. It's going to be a lot more plot oriented than this one, I don't know when I'll start posting it but if any of you are interested let me know and I'll keep you updated.

-Izzy

Chapter 20: Bonus Scene: Phineas' Birthday

Summary:

Mabel forces Dipper to sing karaoke at Phineas' party.

One of the things Mabel had set up in the party room was karaoke something Dipper was not at all surprised by. He wasn’t the biggest fan of karaoke but everyone was having a fun time with it so he chose not to complain.

“Oh Dipper,” Mabel said in a sing-songy voice.

“Yes, Mabel?” Dipper asked, already on edge.

“When are you going to go up and sing?” She asked.

“I’m not going to.” Dipper said, “Danville may be famous for their musical numbers but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to do karaoke.”

Mabel giggled “yes you are.”

Dipper frowned “no I’m not. You love karaoke Mabel but that doesn’t mean that you can force me to do it.”

“Then why do I have this?” Mabel pulled out a blue note card from the folds of her birthday cake-themed sweater and handed it to him.

Dipper took the note card and looked down at it and felt his blood run cold. After the ‘Zombie Incident’ last summer Dipper had (in a fit of insanity) made and given Mabel a ‘one free karaoke’ coupon as an apology. This allowed her to force him to sing karaoke one time any time she wished.

Desperate to get out of it he said the first excuse that came to his mind. “It’s not valid! It’s expired.”

Mabel, clearly foreseeing this, pointed out “there’s no expiration date.”

“Well it says ‘Dipper Pines’” he said, pointing to the card “not ‘Mason Pines’ which is now my name.”

“Dipper was your name when you made it,” Mabel said “and you still go by Dipper, therefore it counts.”

He looked at his sister in horror, was she really going to make him do this? Mabel just gave him an evil smirk and he sighed, yes she was. Shoving the card into his pocket he walked over to Ferb who was manning the sound booth.

“You’re singing?” He asked.

“Yeah” Dipper sighed, “Mabel’s forcing me.”

Looking through the song choices one stuck out to him. ‘Man After Midnight’ by ABBA. Dipper knew it well, while it wasn’t his favorite song of theirs (that was Disco Girl) this was a good one too. And was pretty confident he could sing it without stumbling over the lyrics and without making himself more of a fool than he already was going to.

—--------

His face felt hot with embasement as he stood on the tiny makeshift stage, clutching the microphone for dear life. It didn’t help that Candace (who went before him) did an awesome rendition of ‘I’m Lindana And I Wanna Have Fun.’

The music started up and his friends cheered him on and he was able to relax a bit. By the time the chorus came around, he was singing with full confidence.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight.
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?
Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight.
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day.”

When the song ended his friends whooped and cheered and he found himself laughing. He swept off his hat and gave a dramatic bow before leaving the stage free for the next person.

“You’re welcome,” Mabel said with a grin as he came to stand beside her.

“I hate you,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh, you love me.” Mabel teassed.

“Unfortunately.”

Notes:

Why didn't I include this in the main chapter? You ask. Well I wish I had a good reason like 'oh I wanted to keep the spot light on Phineas.' But the truth is that I didn't think about adding a scene like this until after I already posted the OG chapter.

Fun fact, this is loosely based off of a real life experience. The other day my college did a 'back to school' type party thing and one thing they had set up was karaoke. And I deiced to 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme' by BABBA (the band ABBA is based off of). I was pretty nervous but had a lot of fun.

Also, how are we already at 20 chapters? The fact that I've managed to post every single week for this long is impressive to me.

-Izzy

Chapter 21: Truth Or Dare

Summary:

The Firesides Girls play truth or dare.... But then it all goes wrong

After how much fun they all had at that first Fireside Girl sleepover back when Mabel first joined the troop the girls decided to have another one. And to get her ‘Hosting Badge’ (and because she wanted to) they were having it at Mabel’s house.

Dipper (unsurprising) chose to spend the night over at Burford’s house with the rest of the guys. He didn’t want to be caught up in the girly sleepover crossfire.

“So what should we do now?” Mabel asked, once all her friends finished setting up their sleeping bags.

“How about we play truth or dare?” Ginger suggested.

“I’m down but truth or dare can be kind of boring.” Adyson said “but I got just the thing. Everyone sits in a circle.” Once they were all sitting, Adayson placed a silver disk in the middle. She pressed a button and it lit up.

“Woooo,” the girls all said.

“What is it?” Katie asked.

“It’s truth or dare!” Adyson said, “we all put our names in and it chooses who picks people, questions, and dares randomly.”

“Cool!” Mabel said, she picked up the disk and typed in her name.

“Have you played this before?” Isabella asked as she put her name in.

“No,” Adyson said “I found it at the thrift store and thought it could be fun.”

“Sounds interesting, Holly said, putting her name in.”

—--------

How the game worked is that on the little screen a person's name would pop up and the player could pick between truth or dare. If they picked truth it asked a random question which the player would answer, if they picked dare it would give the player a task. Once you answered your question or did your task you would press the ‘done’ button and it would light up green and move on.

It was Holly’s turn and she picked the truth. ‘WHAT IS THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU.’

Holly flushed “well, one time in second grade I was at lunch and laughed so hard that I peed my pants.” The girls all laughed and Holly laughed too “yeah, it’s more than funny embarrassing now. But at the time I was mortified.”

After pressing the button the next name popped up. Ginger. She picked a dare and had to sing the alphabet backward, she surprised everyone and did it well.

Ginger shrugged at all their shocked faces “when I was learning it my mom had me memorize it both forward and backward so I wouldn’t forget.”

Katie was next, she picked truth. ‘IF YOU COULD DATE, WHO WOULD IT BE?’

“Well um… I don’t know.” Katie said, “I would say my crush but I don’t have a crush on anyone.”

Katie pressed the button and something strange happened. Instead of lighting up green the disk flashed ‘LIE’ in red over and over again on the screen.

They all stared at the game in shock. Then all looked at Adasyson.

“Where did you say you found this game?” Mabel asked.

“At the thrift store.”

“How does it know what we’re saying?” Ginger asked.

“I don’t know,” Mabel said, pulling out her phone. “But I’m going to call Dipper. Whatever this is, it’s probably supernatural.”

The phone rang but nobody picked up, so she tried again. Nobody picked up. “Dipper,” she groaned, “what are you doing?”

—--------

“I still think you cheated,” Buford complained.

“Whether I did or not it doesn’t matter,” Dipper said, “now pay up!”

“Fine but remember,” Buford said, “this never leaves this room.”

The rest of the guys nodded, Dipper pressed play on his phone and the sounds of a peppy pop song began to play. And Buford began to sing.

—-------

“It’s okay,” Isabella said, “we can do this on our own. Katie, it says you’re lying. What’s the truth?”

“If I had to pick someone to go on a date with, it would be…” Katie said “Mason. Mason Henry Pines.” Isabella pressed the button and it lit up green.

“Dipper?” Mabel said “really?”

Katie shrugged, “I don’t have a crush on him or anything but he’s a sweet guy and I wouldn’t mind going out with him.”

“Awww.”

“This isn’t too bad,” Mabel said, “oh look, Isabella, it’s your turn.”

Isabella picked dare and had to do a handstand, something she did with ease. “I got my Ganastics Patch a few years ago.” She shrugged.

It went on like that until the only person who hadn’t had a turn yet was Mabel. Overall it was going well. Everyone else picked dare but Mabel picked truth.

“Do your worst game!” She said, “I’m an open book.”

‘WHO IS YOUR CRUSH.’

“Oh, that’s easy.” Mabel said “Abby Hunt. She was in my History class last year, she’s so pretty. And one of the few people who didn’t bully Dipper.”

“That’s sweet,” Milly said, leaning forward to press the button.

‘LIE.’

“What?” They all said, then turned to Mabel.

“Alright,” Gretchen said “fess up. Who’s your real crush?”

“I’m not lying!” Mabel said, “it’s really is Abby Hunt.” She tried pressing the button but a shock of electricity went up her arm and she yelped.

“Mabel!”

“Are you okay?” Ginger asked.

“I’m okay,” Mabel said, rubbing her arm.

“I’m going to try and call the guys again,” Isabella said, doing just that. This time Dipper picked up.

“Hello?”

“Dipper!” Isabella said, “we need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

After putting the phone on speaker the girls explained the situation.

“This reminds me of the game we played at our last sleepover,” Phineas commented.

“Yes,” Baljeet said, “it will probably reset once you finish the game.”

“We can’t,” Holly said, “it asked Mabel who her crush is and claimed she was lying.”

“Are you?” Buford asked.

“No!” Mabel said “at least… I don’t think so. Maybe… Maybe my feelings have changed and I’ve fallen for someone new. But if I have then I don’t know who.”

“Sometimes we don’t know what we are feeling,” Ferb said “sometimes we don’t know the difference between truth and lies. That’s what makes us human.”

Mabel breathed a little easier “yeah you’re right. Thanks, Ferb.”

Suddenly the game screen lit up green and turned itself off. The girls all looked at each other and then back at the game.

“Thanks for your advice,” Isabella said quickly “I think I know how to fix it. We’ll call you back.”

Dipper started to say something but she hung up before they could make it out.

“You have a crush on Ferb?” Milly asked.

Mabel could feel her face heating up and a fluttering in her stomach and she gasped, the truth finally hitting her. “I do. I didn’t realize it but I do.”

“That’s so sweet” one of the girls squealed. “We should call back and you can tell him!”

“No!” Mabel said “we shouldn't. We should never mention this again.”

“Why not?” Ginger asked.

“Because….” Mabel started to say but was unable to finish.

“We should let Mabel figure this out on her own,” Isabella said and turned to her. “But you’ll come to us if you need anything. Right?”

She nodded “yeah.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door and her Dad poked his head in. “Hey girls, it’s getting late. You should all get some sleep soon.”

After taking a baseball bat to the truth or dare game Mabel lay back on her bed and stared up at the dark ceiling. She had a crush on Ferb.

What was she going to do?

Notes:

BREAKING NEWS! Dan Povenmire announced on his TikTok that Phineas and Ferb are back! He will be helping them to make 40 new episodes, this is huge and I can't wait.

I am not super happy with this chapter. I was insanely busy this week and didn't have a lot of time to write. However, I am currently working on a new Gravity Falls fic that I am hoping to start releasing later this year.

That being said, this fic of mine is a pretty ambitious project and I desperately need a beta reader. So if any of you out there are beta reader and want more info please message me on Discord. My username is Isabel#1292

-Izzy

Chapter 22: Questing Time: Part 1

Summary:

The gang plays Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons.

Everyone sat around the Pines’ Family kitchen table; they each had a small stack of papers, a notebook, and a set of dice. Dipper’s spot on the table was covered by a colorful folding sheet made of cardboard.

“Alright,” Dipper said with an excited grin. “You guys ready?”

“Let’s do it bro-bro,” Mabel said.

“Let’s play some Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons!” Phineas said.

“Great,” Dipper said “we start on a beautiful spring morning…”

—-------

It is a beautiful spring day in the town of Summer Root. The sun has recently risen and businesses are opening their doors and people are starting their day. One of these people was two brothers opening their armory for the day, one brother was a red tifling and the other was a green-haired gnome.

“It’s a great day today isn’t it, Xeth?” The tifling said. Xeth nodded as he got ready to stoke the fire. “How about we get some breakfast before we eat?”

The two left the armory and headed to the best breakfast spot in town, Layla’s Cafe.

Across town, an elfish woman with black hair twisted into braids sat on a horse as it walked down the road and into town. Once the horse crossed the town’s barriers the women slid down, tied the reins to a post nearby, and kept walking on foot.

It wasn’t long before she reached a medium-ish building made of cream-colored brick. It had a stone path that led up to a pair of large, double doors that were wide open. Above the doors is a painted wooden sign that reads “Layla’s Cafe” in bright, yellow letters. The doors are flanked by large windows and the flower boxes underneath were tall sunflowers.

The elf walked in and the cafe was mostly empty except for a tifling and a gnome sitting at one of the round tables. Looking around she smiled and the cozy and homey feeling the place gave off.

“Hello, sunshine!” The woman behind the counter said.

“Hi,” the elf said, walking over. “I’m Iśa, what’s your name?”

“I’m Layla,” the half-elf said, “and that’s Maé.”

Iśa looked over to see a young woman behind the counter with brown hair and sparkly, pink fairy wings.

—-------

“Hang on,” Dipper said “Mabel, we talked about this. You can’t play a fairy! That’s not a real race.”

“You said in D,D&D you can make stuff up!” Mabel argued back.

“Yes, in homebrew.” Dipper said, “which we aren’t doing!”

“I want to play a fairy,” Mabel said stubbornly.

“Let her play a fairy Macy” Buford said “I want to get to me.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “And don’t call me that.”

“Sorry.”

—-------

In a different part of town was a small port and walking off one of these ships was two individuals. One was a large half-org and the other was a tiny little halfling.

“I can’t believe we got kicked off another ship,” the half-org complained.

“I told you that you shouldn’t have eaten all of the supplies,” the halfling said.

“I got hungry!” The half-org defended himself “what was I supposed to do Bael?”

“Not eat the supplies” Bael deadpanned.

“Well, I’m still hungry.”

Bael sighed “let’s go find something to eat.”

It wasn’t long before the two also found Layla’s Cafe.

—--------

“When are we going to go on the adventure?” Phineas asked.

“Soon.” Dipper said, “I’m setting the scene.”

“Well can you stop and let us fight something?” Buford asked.

“No!” Dipper said, “not until I finish setting the scene and give you the quest.”

—--------

Maé and Iśa stood chatting at the bar when the tifling approached them “hi!” He said, ”what are your names?”

“I’m Maé.”

“I’m Iśa.”

“Cool, I’m Phin, and over there is my brother Xeth.”

—------

“Hang on,” Isabella said, “did all of us but Ferb and Baljeet just pick shorter versions of our names?”

“What’s your character’s name, Buford?” Mabel asked.

“You’ll see.”

—-----

“Do you two want to come and sit with us?” Phin asked.

“I wish I could,” Máe said, “but I’m working right now.”

“I would love to come to sit with you,” Iśa said with a dreamy sigh.

Phin led her over to his table and introduced her to Xeth who gave her a nod. “He doesn't talk much,” Phin said with a shrug “he’s more of a man of action.”

The doors flew open and the buff half-org walked in, closely followed by Bael. “I want all the meat you got!” The half-org declared.

“We don’t have any meat until supper,” Maé said “we got drinks and pastries. We also serve sandwiches around lunchtime.”

The half-org paused at that “then I want all the pastries you got.”

“We can’t afford that many pastries,” Bael said. “We’ll each have one. And do you have any tea?”

“Sure!” Maé said, “what kind?”

After they got their food the half-org led the way over to the table where everyone else was sitting. Not caring about all the other empty tables are chairs around the room he sat down with them.

“I’m sorry about him, I’m Bael and this is Gruff.”

“Nice to meet you.” Phin introduced everyone else.

It was at that moment that Layla approached them with Maé. “Hi sunshines,” Layla said “I am so sorry to bother all of you but I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?”

“What’s the favor?” Bael asked.

“I was wondering if you all do quests?”

“I was born to do quests!” Gruff said.

“And I join him to keep him out of trouble,” Bael said.

“Xeth and I used to before we opened the shop,” Phin said. “Why?”

“I need your help.” Layla said “I haven't seen my errand girl, Zara, in quite some time. I sent her to the next town over, Fanfoss, to pick up an order I had placed. She was supposed to arrive a few days ago. Both me and her family are getting worried.”

“We were hoping,” Maé said, “you could join me in looking for her.”

Xeth nodded and Phin grinned “yeah we would love to help you.”

“I’ll come too,” Iśa said.

“Bael and I are coming,” Gruff said.

“We are?”

“Sounds like a good chance for a fight.”

“Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that,” Layla said.

—--------

“Alright,” Dipper said, “anything you guys want to do before you leave?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” Isabella asked, “in real life I mean.”

“Yeah sure, let's take a break,” Dipper said.

“I’m going to get more snacks!” Mabel ran off.

—--------

It was early afternoon by the time the adventures set off for Fanfoss. It was a gorgeous day, nice and warm with a light breeze keeping them all from getting too hot. Iśa rode on her horse while Maé glided along next to her on her wings, the two chatting happily. The guys walked behind them.

They walked for several hours before it began to grow dark so they started to look for a place to stop for the night.

“How about here?” Bael said, pointing to a clearing a little off the path.

“Looks good to me,” Phin said.

The group walked over and Xeth dropped his large bag on the ground, the metal tools inside it clanged together as they were jostled. He opened it and pulled out a few things and started a fire, then began to cook food for the group.

“Thanks!” Maé said, taking a plate from him.

“Not a problem.” Xeth said, “I noticed none of you packed rations.”

“I knew I was forgetting something!” Phin said. “So Maé I was going to ask you, are you new to town? Xeth and I have lived in Summer Root for years and we’ve never seen you before.”

“I am,” Maé said “I’m just traveling through. I’ll stay for a little bit then move on.”

Iśa nodded “I get that, I’ve been traveling a long time too.”

“I travel a lot too,” Bael said “but I would like to settle down one day, maybe go to school.”

“If I ever find a nice girl I would settle down for her,” Gruff said. “But until then I’m going to keep moving forward, like a shark.”

The group kept talking for only a little while longer before they headed to go to sleep, Xeth taking the first watch.

—------

“Hey, Ferd” Dipper said, “can you make me an investigation check?”

Ferb rolled one of his green dice “eight.”

“Cool….” He checked his notes “you don’t notice anything. Who’s taking the next watch?”

“I can,” Isabella said.

“Okay, so you two switch out,” Dipper said “Isabella, can you roll me an investigation check?”

Isabella frowned at him “what are you doing Mason?”

“Just roll it please.”

“Fifteen.”

“Awesome!” Dipper grinned “so as you are sitting there you notice something in the distance….”

—-------

Iśa was sitting a few feet away from camp when she saw it, there was a figure about 50ft away from them. Standing Iśa carefully walked towards them, the figure was a man dressed as a farmer. He looked normal enough, except for the fact that he had a strange expression on his face and was nodding his head.

“What?” Iśa muttered to herself as she stared at this man.

“Iśa?” Turning she saw Bael.

“Oh, is my watch over?”

“Yes,” he said, “what are you looking at?”

Iśa pointed at the man and Bael frowned, “that’s strange.”

“I know right!”

The two started and were started when Gruff walked over with a yawn. “What are you two talking about? You woke me up!”

“Sorry,” Bael said, “we were looking at that.” He pointed to the farmer.

“Huh.” Gruff stared at him for a moment “throw a rock at him.”

“What?”

“Throw a rock at him.” Gruff repeated.

“I’m not going to do that,” Bael said.

“Who are we throwing a rock at?” Maé asked, walking over with Phin and Xeth.

“Oh look,” Bael said sarcastically “everyone’s awake.”

“Woah,” Phin said, looking at the man. “That’s weird.”

“That’s why someone should throw a rock at him,” Gruff said, “so we can see what he’ll do.”

“I’ll do it!” Maé said, picking up a rock.

—------

“Okay…” Dipper said “roll me a… Dexterity.”

Mabel rolled one of her sparkly pink dice and frowned. “I got a natural one.”

“You miss.”

“I try again!” Mabel rolled the nice again and added her dexterity modifier. “I got a 19!”

“Yeah, so the rock hits him,” Dipper said and Mabel cheered. “But nothing happens, it just bounces off his face and he keeps nodding.”

“Boo!”

—-----

“This is getting kind of freaky,” Bael admitted.

“All in favor of moving campsites say ‘I’” Phin said.

“I.” The rest of the party said then went to go pack up.

The next morning the party left their new campsite and headed out again for Fanfoss. Unlike the day before it was a bit more cloudy and windy, but not worryingly so. As they were walking Iśa noticed something strange on the side of the road.

She saw that some grass had been pulled out exposing the dirt and some patches were flattened. “Hey guys,” she said. “Come look at this.”

The rest of them joined her in looking at the grass. “What are we looking at?” Gruff asked.

“Is that blood?” Phin asked, alarmed. Pointing at it.

“Yes,” Xeth said “and there are some footprints too.”

“He’s right,” Maé said, pointing at one of the flattened patches of grass. When she took a closer look Iśa noticed that she was right. They were footprints.

“We should follow them,” Bael said.

“Good idea,” Iśa said.

Xeth led the way down the makeshift path, it wasn’t long before they reached an overturned cart. Produce littered the ground along with a sword and a single yellow sunflower. Xeth picked up the sword and frowned when he saw it, it was the sword Phin had made for Zara.

Phin noticed the sword in his hands. “Yeah,” he said. A bit shaky “I think we are on the right track.”

“Look,” Maé said, “there's a trail of blood over here.”

The group followed the blood trail and soon reached a wooden door built into the side of a hill. Gruff broke it open and they found a very small dirt room with a single, lit lantern. There was a hole in the middle of the room with a ladder going downward.

—------

“Alright,” Dipper said. “And I think we are going to stop here for the day.”

“Wow!” Phineas said, leaning back in his seat. “That was cool.”

Ferb nodded “thank you for GMing for us.”

“Of course! Anytime.”

“Are we going to play again?” Isabella asked.

“Yeah…. I need to finish writing the next session so it might be a while.”

“Don’t worry Mason,” Baljeet said. “Take all the time you need.”

Notes:

Sorry for the late post, I've had a busy week and only just finished writing. That being said, we now come to that time when I must change the uploading schedule. So from now on will be uploading on Saturdays until I get more free time and can go back to Fridays.

For all of you who are excited for part 2 of Questing Time I'm sorry but are going to have to wait (Mwaahaaa). In a attempt to make this like DnD (which I play) as much as possible each part of Questing Time will be posted at random times through out the fic. Sorry not sorry!

There will be 4 parts if any of you are wondering.

I do hope you guys enjoyed it, the game Dipper GMs is based off of a DnD game I once wrote and run myself so some of the things the characters do are based off of real stories.

-Izzy

Chapter 23: The Race Is On

Summary:

The kids had a roman chariot race and the Agents face a giant robot.

The twins walked into the brothers’ backyard to find them kneeling over a map of Danville with little horses and chariot models.

“Hey, guys! Whatcha doing?” Mabel said with a giggle.

“Careful Mabel,” Dipper joked. “Isabella is gonna come after you now.”

“Hey Mason,” Phineas said “hey Mabel. We’re going to have a chariot race.”

The twins looked down at the map “it’s a little… Small.” Mabel said.

Dipper nodded “it’s fine but it’s not like your normal stuff.”

“Oh no,” Phineas said “we’re just planning the route. The real chariots are over there.”

He pointed at five chariots each with a different theme all set up in another part of the yard. “Wow.” The twins said in unison.

“How did we miss that?” Dipper wondered.

“We’re just waiting for everyone else to get here then we can get started,” Phineas said.

“Great!” Mabel said, “also, where’s Perry?”

—-------

Perry and Waddles stared up at the abandoned movie theater that Doofenshmirtz had rented out. The two looked at each other and decided that Waddles would be hidden nearby while Perry went inside and assessed the situation.

The agent went inside the theater where a guy holding an usher flashlight led him to a seat, and as soon as he sat down he was strapped to it with metal bands. The Doofenshmirtz revealed himself.

“Comfy, Perry the Platypus? Waddles the Pig not here today? Ah no matter, I've prepared something special just for you. You see, until now, every attempt to eradicate you has been foiled.”

The evil scientist was interrupted by a teen who had, somehow, gotten a ticket for the movie. Despite being caught off guard Dr. D rolled the film anyways.

—--------

Phineas was explaining the race route to the twins, “the race will start here at home, through the streets of Danville, and over to the park. From there we make our way past Paul Bunyan's Pancake House….”

“Paul Bunyan's, where food is good!” Mabel sang.

“But not too good, eh,” Dipper added the last part of the jingle and the two laughed.

“...and finish at the steps of the museum,” Phineas said as if they hadn’t interrupted.

“Hello kids,” Mr. Flynn-Fletcher said, coming outside. “What are you up to this fine morning?”

“We’re showing the twins the route for the big chariot race we're gonna have.”

“Wonderful! It's good to see you kids taking an interest in Greek mythology. I'm doing the same. I've got over 12 hours of gladiator movies here I wanna watch.”

“I like your hat Mr. Flynn-Fletcher,” Mabel said, pointing at the gladiator helmet he was wearing.

“Thank you, Mabel, it’s my movie-watching hat!”

Mr. Flynn-Fletcher went inside and Isabella walked over to them. “Great!” Phineas said, “Isabella, you’re just in time for our chariot race.”

“Are you two going to race?” Isabella asked the twins.

“Of course!” Dipper said.

“Dipper and I are gonna beat your butts!” Mabel said and the two high-fived.

“We’ll see about that,” Isabella said.

“You on!” The two girls playfully glared at each other.

—------

The movie Doofenshmirtz had decided to show was a short documentary about all the different enemies of the platypus. It ended by revealing that the biggest threat was humans. Or man as the movie said.

Doofenshmirtz jumped up and stood in front of him. “Ah, you see, Perry the Platypus? For years I've been trying to rid myself of you with traps and bombs and poisonous gas and automatic tennis ball machines. I--I don't even know what I was thinking back then, but now I have the ultimate platypus elimination weapon.” A loud thumping sound started to make its way toward them. “Perry the Platypus, recoil in horror at my new creation! A giant...killer...robot...man.

Perry looked up at what was, indeed, a large robot man. “My name is Norm. The enemy of the platypus is man.”

Norm swung his fist down to where he was sitting but Perry freed himself from his trap and started to run out of the theater, the robot close behind him.

—-------

It was roughly an hour before the rest of their friends were gathered. They were all dressed in their normal clothes but added gladiator helmets. Mabel had also made a red and gold roman themed sweater for the occasion.

“Alright,” Phineas said, “let’s meet our racers. First is me and Ferb, then Buford and Baljeet, Isabella and Ginger, and then Dipper and Mabel. We made one for Candace too, if she shows up.”

Ferb passed out maps of the course to all of them. “First one to the museum wins!” Phineas said. “Any questions?”

Baljeet raised his hand “shouldn’t we go over the rules?”

“This is a chariot race.” Buford said, “there are no rules.”

“No rules?” Isabella said in shock. “Well, if those are the rules!”

“Each chariot will be pulled by a rocking horse Ferb souped up with a lawnmower engine!” Phineas said.

“Phineas!” Candace yelled, coming outside with Stacy. “Just what do you think you're doing?”

“Candace!” Phineas said happily “you’re just in time. Check out this cool-looking helmet we made for you! And we built you your own chariot.”

“Do you honestly think I’m going to race chariots?” Candace asked.

“Hang on,” Stacy said, “this looks pretty cool. We should do it,” she turned to the brothers “do you have an extra helmet?”

“Sure do.” Phineas tossed a helmet that matched Candace’s to her.

“Fine” Candace sighed “but if you two start breaking traffic laws you are so busted!”

“Deal!”

—-------

The two agents were running for their lives as they were chased by Norm The Robot.

“We should do this more often!” They could hear him say.

Waddles rolled his eyes, did Doofenshmirtz have to make him so cheery?

—------

Five teams stood at the ready in their chariots at the starting line in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. Holly stood in front (but off to the side to avoid being run over) with a flag, ready to start the race.

“Are you ready?” Holly asked, and the engines started revving. “Get set... go!”

They were off like a shot. Dipper yelped and grabbed onto one of the safety handles he insisted the brothers add to the inside of the chariots. Mabel laughed from where she stood up front holding onto the reins.

There was a loud thud and Dipper nearly fell over again, looking over he saw that Buford and Baljeet had decided to try and tip them over by ramming their chariot into them.

Mabel pulled on the reins and swerved them out of the way. “What are you waiting for? Try and stop them.”

“Right, right. Sorry!”

Dipper found a bucket of water balloons and didn’t hesitate to throw them at Buford, and by extension Baljeet. By the time he got a third of the way through the bucket Mabel had, somewhat, safely steered them away.

The two high-fived as they passed them.

The two boys decided to try their luck with the Fireside Girls, they did the same thing to them that they did to the twins. Try and run them over. They, however, were prepared. Isabella clipped a rope to their chariot and used the grappling hook at the end to attract them to a lamp post.

“What are we going to do?” Baljeet asked. “Failure is not an option for me, my husky friend.”

“Use your head and think of something, genius!” Buford said.

“Exactly! Use my head!”

Buford picked up Baljeet and used the other boy’s helmet to cut through the rope and the two were off again. Meanwhile, the twins were head to head with the brothers, only for Candace and Stacy to take the lead.

“Go, Candace!” Mabel yelled.

“What are you doing?” Dipper asked, “we can’t root for the enemy!”

“It’s called being supportive.”

—---------

While the kids were racing the two agents were running from Dr. D’s giant robot. Who was very quickly gaining on them.

“We should do this more often,” Norm said.

The two passed by Paul Bunyan's at the same time the kids did. The two ran up to the giant bull statue and separated at the last minute. Norm ran into it and the statue’s head came off and landed over Norm’s. The two agents ran into the middle of the street right as the chariots passed them. They quickly went back into pet form.

“Oh, there you are Perry.” Phineas scoped up his pet.

“Dipper!” Mabel said, “switch with me.” The twins swapped places while Dipper was driving and Mabel snagged Waddles as they passed.

While that was going on Candace and Stacy got into the lead. “Ha!” Stacy laughed, “take that suckers.”

“Wow, you are competitive,” Candace said.

“If we win I might be able to convince my mom I’m good enough for a car,” Stacy said.

“I think you are missing a couple of steps.” Candace said, “but I am so for beating my brothers.”

The twins and the brothers were head to head for second place when they heard and felt a loud thumping.

“What’s that?” Phineas asked.

The four turned their heads to see a large man with a blue bullhead.

“What’s that!?” Mabel asked.

“It’s half-man, half-bull!” Phineas said. It’s a minotaur.”

“I’m Norm.” The minotaur said.

“It’s Norm the minotaur!” Phineas said.

“You guys made a minotaur!” Isabella yelled, coming up beside them.

“He’s not ours,” Phineas said.

“There can’t just be a random minotaur,” Dipper said.

“To be fair,” Ferb said, “this is Danville.”

“This is normal?” Mabel asked, “its Gravity Falls all over again.”

“There’s the museum! We’re almost there!” Phineas said.

“Phineas, reaching the museum does not stop the minotaur!” Mabel screamed.

“Oh…uh…” Phineas mused. “What weapons did we give you guys? We only got cup holders, we were in a hurry!”

Mabel pulled out her grappling hook and shot Norm, she hit him but the hook bounced off of him with a loud clanging sound.

“A metal minotaur” Dipper laughed in disbelief. “Are you sure you didn’t make him?”

“We’re s-s-s-s-s-sure” Phineas was interrupted by them going up the front steps of the museum.

Candace and Stacy, who were in the front, crossed the finish line and turned their chariots to avoid slamming into the wall. They capsized and everyone else crashed into them.

“Candace and Stacy won!” Dipper announced,

“And you owe me five bucks.” Mabel teased, holding out a hand.

Dipper groaned and passed over the money as Candace stood up and brushed herself. Norm the Minotaur stomped over to the group, Candace turned to face Norm and he started to say something only to fall over.

(None of them noticed Waddles and Perry taking off their hats and hurrying away after switching the robot off.)

“She turned him to stone!” Someone yelled.

“I did what?” Candace turned to the kid and he screamed and ran off.

She turned to Buford and Baljeet who ran off “don’t look at us!” Baljeet yelled.

The rest of the kids all ran off leaving the brothers and the twins. Dipper closed his eyes and covered Mabel’s for her. Just to be safe. Ferb also closed his own eyes.

“I’m outta here” Candace ran outside.

“Wait! Candace!” Phineas yelled, grabbing Ferb’s hand and running after his sister.

Mabel pushed Dipper’s hand away, who refused to open his eyes and pulled him outside after the brothers.

“Candace,” Phineas was saying “looks like we owe you a big thanks for defeating the Minotaur. Who knew you had the power to turn men to stone?”

“That is so not true. Who ever heard of something as silly as turning someone to stone...?” Candace turned to be faced with a stone statue. She ran off thinking that she had turned someone to stone.

“It’s okay guys,” Mabel said to Dipper and Ferb. “She's gone now.”

Dipper opened his eyes while Ferb refused. “No. Not taking any chances.”

Perry and Waddles walked up to them. “Hey look,” Phineas said, “it’s Perry.”

“Still not looking.”

Notes:

First chapter I'm posting on a Saturday. What are your thoughts on the new uploading schedule?

This chapter was inspired by the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Greek Lightning.' It's not my best work but I am proud of it.

I hope you all had a great week, I'm really excited about next week's chapter so I hope that you will all check it out.

-Izzy.

Chapter 24: A Quick Peek

Summary:

The gang travels 20 years into the future to see where they all end up.

The gang all lay in the grass at the park, none of them in much of a mood to get up and do anything. It was nice to lay there in the sun and get lost in one’s thoughts.

Mabel broke the silence.

“Do you guys ever get scared?” She wondered aloud.

“Scared of what?” Isabella asked.

“Of the future.” Mabel said, “how we can make all these plans for our lives and they might not end up where we want them to be?”

“Ferb and I like to take it one day at a time,” Phineas said.

Dipper rolled over on his side so he could face his sister, she rolled over too. “I thought we talked about this last summer.”

“Not really,” Mabel said “we talked about how it’s ok to grow up. Not what might happen when we do.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Dipper tried to comfort her.

“You don’t know that.” She challenged.

Dipper went to say something but found he had nothing. “Huh.” He rolled back onto his back and stared up at the sky.

“You know what could be cool?” Buford said, “if we go to the future and meet ourselves.”

“Mabel and I once found a time machine.” Dipper said idly “the person we “borrowed” it from called it a time tape.”

“That’s so cool,” Phineas said, “did you guys know there’s a time machine at the museum?”

“Really?” The twins sat up in unison to look at their friend.

“Yeah,” Phineas said “though it didn’t work until Ferb and I got to it. We’ve used it to go see dinosaurs.”

“Woah.”

Mabel thought that over and an idea came to her. “Let’s all make a pact.”

Everybody else sat up. “What kind of pact?” Isabella asked.

“Let’s all promise to come back to this exact same place twenty years from now.”

“Sure,” Buford said.

“Alright,” Baljeet said.

“Why not?” Dipper agreed.

“Ok!” Phineas said and Ferb nodded.

Mabel stood up, “guys, I know what we are going to do today!”

—----------

The gang all stood around the time machine in the Danville Museum.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Dipper asked.

“I have to agree with Mason,” Baljeet said “There are so many things that can go wrong.”

“It’ll be fine!” Mabel said, “Besides, don’t you guys want to see what you’re like in the future?”

Everybody nodded. “But what if our future selves aren’t there?” Isabella asked.

“The only way that will happen is if everyone breaks their promise.” Mabel said, “are you guys planning on breaking it?”

Everyone shook their heads but still looked hesitant. Dipper looked over at his sister and nodded to himself, if this helped her feel better then he was willing to try.

“Come on guys,” he said, “what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Yeah!” Phineas said, “it’ll be fun.”

They all climbed onto the machine and Ferb pulled the lever that brought them to the future.

—---------

Meanwhile in 2033

Mabel and Ferb walked over through the park and found most of their friends waiting for them at the same spot they promised to meet twenty years ago.

“Mabel!” A voice called.

“Hey, Bella.” Mabel rushed over and hugged her friend. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s great to see you too.”

“Hey Mabel,” Phineas said, giving her a little wave and walking over to greet his brother. “Hey, Ferb.”

“Hey Phineas,” she greeted “is everyone here yet?”

“Nah,” Buford said from his spot on the blanket. “Baljeet had to finish something before he came over.”

“It looks like my brother isn’t here either,” Mabel commented.

“He probably got distracted.” Buford said with a smirk “you know how he and his wife are.”

“Gross,” Phineas said.

“Yeah Buford,” Mabel said, “I don’t need to think about my twin like that.”

“I didn’t say anything!” He complained.

“Hopefully Mason and Baljeet get here soon,” Ferb said, “it’s almost time.”

—-------

When the kids arrived in the future they were quick to look around, and while there were clear differences between the past and the future there were a couple of disappointments.

“It seems like there aren’t any flying cars yet,” Buford commented.

“We can make one later if you'd like,” Phineas offered.

“You guys can do that later, we got ourselves to meet!”

“Come one,” Isabella said, “let’s go.”

“I wonder if there is a ‘Time Travel’ Fireside Girl patch.” Dipper wondered aloud.

Isabella shook her head “as cool as that would be there isn’t.”

“There is a ‘Discover Something That Doesn’t Exsit’ patch,” Mabel said.

Dipper laughed, “yeah right.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Wait really?” Dipper looked to Isabella who nodded. “Cool! Do you want me to help you get it?”

Mabel grinned “who else would help me?”

“Oh look,” Baljeet interrupted, “we’re here.”

The park hadn’t changed too much in twenty years, it was bigger and a new flower garden had been added but it wasn’t too hard to find the meet-up spot. As they approached they saw a group of adults sitting on a blanket, chatting.

“I think that’s them,” Mabel said.

“How can you tell?”

“One of them had green hair.”

They all giggled and walked over. A woman with brown hair looked right at them and a large smile appeared on her face.

“Oh my gosh, it worked!” She said.

“We knew it was going to work,” a buffer man said, “we didn’t lose our memories.”

The woman picked up a pinecone and threw it at him and turned back to them “hi! Come sit.”

“This is so cool,” Isabella said, sitting.

The rest of the gang all followed her lead. “So we do introductions?” Ferb asked.

“Sure,” a red haired man said. “So I’m Phineas and Ferb is over there.” He pointed to the green-haired man.

“I’m Mabel,” the woman said. “Over there is Isabella.”

“Hi!” A Hispanic woman greeted.

“Bufford and I are over here,” an Indian man said, pointing at himself and the buffer man.

“Um,” Dipper said nervously “where am I?” The older gang all looked at each other, causing Dipper to freak out. “Oh gosh, did something bad happens?”

Older Mabel laughed, “No he's fine, just running late.”

“There he is.” Older Ferb said.

Then everyone turned to see a man about 50 or 60ft away lift a hand in greeting, he started to walk toward them… When a woman suddenly intercepted him. They watched as he turned to talk to her, his back to them.

“Looks like he’s going to be another minute.” Older Isabella commented.

“People just need to stop harassing him,” Older Buford said “like, we get it. You like Mason’s books, no need to bother him.”

“I write books?” Dipper asked.

Older Baljeet glared at his friend “we aren’t supposed to tell them anything you idiot.”

“Aren’t supposed to tell them what?” The man, Dipper’s older self, dropped down on the blanket.

“Oh, there you are!”

“Sorry, I got held up. Work stuff.”

“I become a writer?” Dipper asked again, still in shock.

“Alright, who told them?” Their future selves all pointed to Buford. “Really?”

“In my defense, it already happened to us.”

Dipper’s older self just sighed.

—-----

The gang had spent about a half hour chatting with their future selves, except for that one slip up they were pretty tight-lipped on the future held for them. It wasn’t long before they were back in their own time.

“Well that was fun,” Phineas said as they were leaving the museum.

Everybody else nodded. “Do you feel better Mabel?” Ferb asked.

“Yeah I do,” she said “thanks, guys.”

“Of course! Anytime.”

Notes:

I really wanted this chapter to be longer but I had an insane week. So if it feels rushed that's why. Sorry! :(

Hope you guys enjoyed this one, this is a chapter that I've had planned long before the first chapter of Carpe Diem came out so I am really happy to finally write/post it.

Also, I got a beta reader for a Gravity Falls fic that I've had in the works so I am hoping to start uploading chapters later this year. So stay tuned!

-Izzy

Chapter 25: Rollercoaster Redux

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb remake a old project, the rollercoaster

Notes:

Huge announcement! Please read the ending notes.

Phineas and Ferb sat in their backyard going through a box of blueprints, today they were sorting through some older ones from projects long since made or long since forgotten and never created.

Phineas would pull out the blueprint and pass it on to Ferb who would sort it. Phineas would help with the sorting but he didn’t know Ferb’s system and didn’t want to mess it up. He rummaged through the box and found one that was different from the others. Instead of being on a blueprint and written in drafting pencil, this one was on blue construction paper and written in crayon.

The Rollercoaster.

The Rollercoaster was their first-ever project at the tender age of eight. They had remade it once when they were eleven but as a musical.

“Hey Ferb, look what I found!”

Ferb looked at the paper and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Do you wanna remake it?” His brother shrugged and Phineas grinned. “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today!”

“Hey boys,” Linda said, coming outside. “I’m going to run to the store, you two stay out of trouble.”

“Okay!” Phineas said, “bye mom.”

And Linda headed to the garage Candace hurried over. “Can I be in charge?”

“No one has to be in charge,” Linda said “Besides, the boys are a little old to be baby-sat.”

“But what if there is an emergency?” Candace asked.

“Like what?”

“Like… What if a giant robot storms into the yard and starts destroying everything!”

Linda chuckled, her daughter had such a big imagination “if that happens then you’re in charge.”

—------

When the Mystery Twins walk into their backyard they see the start of a roller coaster making its way over the fence with the brothers sitting on top.

“Um…” Dipper looked a bit lost. ”Hey guys?”

“Oh hey, Mason!” Phineas greeted.

“What are you guys doing?” Mabel asked, “don’t you normally keep your projects in your yard?”

“We’re re-doing one of our first Big Ideas.” Phineas said, “it’s pretty big so it’s going all over Danville.”

“What’s the project?” Dipper asked.

“It’s a rollercoaster!” Phineas said, “Ferb and I first built it when we were eight.”

“Cool!” Mabel said, “mind if we come up?”

“Sure!”

Mabel pulled out her grappling hook and grabbed her brother’s hand and used the hook to pull them up, landing gently next to the brothers. While Phineas shared the story with Mabel, Dipper, and Ferb looked over the blueprints and went over safety measures.

“Hey guys,” Isabella said, walking into the backyard. “Whatcha doing?”

“We’re building a roller coaster!” Phineas said.

“Haven’t you guys already done that… Twice?”

“Yeah, but we thought we would do it again.”

“Cool.” Isabella waved at Ferb who gave her a nod. “Still a man of few words I see.”

“Hey,” Dipper said, “where’s Perry and Waddles?”

—-------

Perry and Waddles slid into the lair to see their boss waiting for them on the screen. “Morning agents, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is up to his old tricks. For reasons unknown to us, he bought up 80% of the country's tin foil.” He paused then yelled to Carl off-screen, “hasn’t he already done this? Twice?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well alright then” Monogram turned back to them. “Well Agents P and P.I.G, go out there and stop him.”

The two saluted and hopped in the hover car and flew off, careful not to be seen by their owner as they passed by the slowly growing rollercoaster.

“At this rate, we’ll be done by lunch.” Phineas said, “I’m gonna go get some more supplies.”

“Cool,” Dipper said, “mind if I come with?”

“Sure.” The two boys climbed down and headed off.

Ferb waved as they headed off and turned to see Mabel spray painting some of the wooden slabs in between the metal tracks pink. He gave her a questioning look.

“What?” She said, “it was looking so boring before.”

Ferb huffed in amusement, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach.

—-------

Candance, having now seen what her brothers were doing, ran into the grocery store and up to her mom. “Mom!” She said, “you gotta come home, right now.”

“Let me guess,” Linda said, “a giant robot is destroying the house.”

“No!” Candace said, “they are building a rollercoaster.”

“Honey” Linda turned to her daughter “you’ve used that already, twice. Though it has been a few years.” She mussed.

“They’re doing it again.”

“Candace” Linda sighed “isn’t Phineas a little young to be a rollercoaster engineer?”

—-------

“Yes,” Phineas was saying “yes I am.”

“Well then” the engineer looked at the two boys in front of him. “Your paperwork seems to be in order, it’s pretty impressive.”

“Thanks,” Dipper said, having been the one to fill it out.

“Alright then,” he handed Dipper the paperwork back. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“We will,” Phineas said. “Thanks.”

—-----

Agents P and P.I.G burst into Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s lab only to be caught in a rope trap. “Hello, Agents,” said the evil scientist. “What a surprise. And by surprise, I mean not a surprise at all.”

“I have covered the entire eastern seaboard in tin foil...again. But this time when I put my giant magnet next to my ingenious Magnifinator, I will pull the East in a westerly direction, thereby reversing the rotation of the Earth! I know I tried this before but that was with a Magnetism Magnifinator this is a Magnifinator. See? I shortened it.”

“Oink?” Waddles asked, wondering what the man had to gain from it.

“Well…” Doofenshmirtz started to say “I don’t know… I haven’t worked it out yet but I’m sure I will think of something.”

—--------

At the Flynn-Fletcher house, a tent with a stage was set up and a group of kids was waiting. Ferb walks in and onto a stage up to the microphone then step out of the way as Phineas walks over and grabs the mic.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends without binary, children of all ages! Today you may want to mark your calendars because you will want to tell your grandchildren about the day you rode...the Coolest...Coaster...EVER!”

The tarp fell away and all the kids craned their necks to look up at the very tall roller coaster in front of them. A bird flew right into and fell to the ground causing several people to wince. Everybody rushed forward to ride and the twins followed, Dipper pulled off his hat and hooked it to a belt loop on his shorts.

“Why are you doing that?” Mabel asked.

“Just a feeling.”

Everybody climbed on and buckled in and the brothers started up the ride and the little car began to slowly move up the tall hill. Dipper peered over the side.

“I’m not scared of heights,” he said, “but being this high up makes me wanna puke.”

“Just don’t do it on me Dipping-Sauce,” Buford said from behind him.

“Yes,” Baljeet said from his seat next to the bully. “Please do it over the side.”

“Don’t worry,” Dipper said “I should be okay.”

At that moment the car tipped over the hill and started going down at very high speeds causing all the kids to scream. In joy or terror, no one will ever know.

—-------

Dr. Doofenshmirtz was getting ready to activate his inator when the two agents broke out of their trap and rushed towards him. “Ha!” He said, pulling a lever “you are too late! Quake in your boots and watch helplessly as the unimaginable electromagnetic forces, pull the eastern seaboard, thereby reversing the rotation of the-”

The tinfoil flew off the buildings but nothing else happened. “You know” Doofenshmirtz “maybe there is a reason that it didn’t work the last two times.”

As the man was talking the tinfoil formed a giant ball and starts heading toward them. The three notice and while the scientist freaks out the two agents jump onto the magnet and fire a grappling hook at a passing helicopter. Waddles wrap some of the rope around the magnet. The helicopter flies off, taking the magnet and the agents with it.

As they fly away the tin foil ball collides with Dr. D’s building taking off half of it. “Curse you Perry the Platypus and Waddles the Pig!”

As the helicopter and the magnet fly away it accidentally picks up the roller coaster. Much to Candace’s frustration when she drags her mom to the store outside to bust her brothers. Waddles and Perry drop down into the coaster much to their owners’ surprise and joy.

The car goes to the end of the track and goes into a construction area, it gets flung into the air. “Funny,” Phineas comments. “I don’t remember this in the blueprint.” An airplane picks up the roller coaster car with its tail. “And I'm sure this is new.”

The coaster car drops down and onto the Statue of Liberty, bending it and throwing the car toward Mount Rushmore. The car lands on a pine tree which bends lowering them down toward a Mr. Slushy Burger stand.

“Hey, Jeremy” Phineas greeted.

“Hey guys,” Jermery said, “do you want anything?”

“I’ll take some fries!” Mabel said. Jermery pulled out a basket and passed it up to her. “Thanks!”

The tree straights out and throws them again and they land on the axe of a lumberjack statue, it leans down just like with the tree and they see an old man building a giant robot. He looked up at them.

“Oh hey, kids!”

“Hey Mr. Mcgucket” the twins greeted, a little surprised but happy to see him.

“You know,” Phineas said to Ferb, nodding to the robot. “If that thing breaks into our house Candace is in charge.”

They are flung into the air again and Mcguket yells after them “say hi to your Uncles for me!”

“Look at that Dipper, we did go back to Gravity Falls.” Mabel giggled.

The rollercoaster car is flung out of orbit and goes into space, luckily they aren’t there long before they are flung back down to earth…. At very high speeds.

—-------

Candace burst into the yard and grinned when she saw that her brothers were nowhere in sight. She yelled back to her mom “See, Mom? I told you they weren't there!”

Linda walks over to see the boys sitting under the tree and smiles. “Hi boys.”

Candace looked back in shock “but but but…”

“Come on” Linda dragged her daughter away “come help me put the groceries away.”

Dipper dropped down from the tree closely followed by his sister. “That was both terrifying and amazing.”

“I think it's just amazing!” Mabel said.

The rest of the kids dropped from the tree and headed home, all complimenting the rollercoaster.

“That was great Phineas!” Isabella said, “I gotta get home but I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“We gotta go too,” Mason said.

“Okay!” Phineas said “bye guys.” Isabella and the twins left and the two brothers were alone again. “I wonder what we are going to do tomorrow.” Phineas wondered aloud.

“Well,” Ferb said, “there is a world of possibilities.”

Notes:

Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! It's based off of the Phineas and Ferb episodes 'Rollercoaster' and 'Rollercoaster: The Musical.'

I decided when I was first drafting Carpe Diem that the Rollercoaster took place years before the events of this summer. But I thought it would be fun for the boys to rebuild it so that they could include the twins. I'm really happy with how this turned out and I hope you guys like it too.

I have some news: as you guys have noticed this is chapter 25. The way I have things planned out is that the fic will be split up into 4 'sessions.' This is the end of 'session 1.' So I will be going on a one month break to caught up on classes and to work on other stories so I can (hopefully) post them latter this year.

I know it is disappointing but this is something I need to do. I've been pretty brunt out lately and I need a break. I promise to return March 18th 2023. Until that point I am taking a break from Carpe Diem, this includes official art work and some of the editing I started on the early chapters.

Thank you all for understanding.

-Izzy

Chapter 26: The Ledend of The Lake-Nose Monster: Part 1

Summary:

The Mystery Twins and the Flynn-Fletcher brothers team up to find the Lake-Nose Monster.

Mabel jumped out of the car and kicked off her sandals and wiggled her toes in the sand, giggling. Dad and Dipper both got out of the car as well and Dad headed to the trunk to get their things.

“Dipper! Mabel!” Phineas called, waving to them.

Mabel dashed over, dragging her brother behind her. “Hi, Phineas!”

“Hey guys,” Dipper said “thanks for inviting us.”

The Flynn-Fletcher family had decided to do a day trip to Lake Nose and invited the Pines family to join them. Their parents were now chatting as they unpacked their things and started to head down to the beach.

“Yeah!” Mabel said, “I even made a new sweater for the occasion.” Mabel showed them the gray sweater with a picture of Lake Nose on it.

“You make a sweater for everything.” Dipper pointed out.

“Did you guys hear about the Lake Nose monster?” Phineas asked.

“Of course!” Dipper pulled out the Lake Nose guide. “It’s so cool, did you know that Nosey may have survived for so long because Lake Nose is rich in zinc?”

“What’s zinc?” Mabel asked.

“It’s a common metal used in everything from sunblock to pennies,” Ferb said as Candace joined them.

“Oh, of course! Nosey the vicious zinc-eating dinosaur.” Candace rolled her eyes “now it makes perfect sense! Thank you, crazy people, I live with!”

“He probably doesn’t eat it.” Dipper said, “I bet he just absorbed it or something.”

“You don’t believe in Nosey, Candace?” Mabel asked, tilting her head.

“Of course not!”

“But look!” Phineas said, also now looking at the guide. “They got pictures.”

Cance took it from him and proceeded to debunk them all. “Elephant, log, dolphin, driftwood, tire, driftwood, rhesus monkey wearing a powdered wig, driftwood, driftwood, driftwood, driftwood, it's usually driftwood.” She shrugged and handed the guide back to her brother. “So don't go humiliating me by, I don't know, building some boat to find the Lake Nose Monster or something.”

“Huh. Some boat to find the Lake Nose Monster or something” Phineas repeated “Ferb! I know what we’re going to do today!”

—-------

A half-hour later the four young teens stood on the dock with a small rowboat.

“I think we're all set to get definitive proof that Nosey exists,” Phineas said.

“This is going to be awesome!” Dipper said, he thrust his Journal into the air and put the strap of his camera around his neck.

Candace walked down the dock in a lifeguard uniform. “All right, what are you two up to?” She asked, ignoring the twins.

“Nice uniform Candace,” Mabel said, “it’s super cute.”

“Thanks,” Candace said absently, still focused on her brothers.

“We've just built a boat to find the Lake Nose Monster,” Phineas told her.

“What?” Candace said, “didn't I specifically tell you not to do specifically, exactly just that?”

“Actually, you asked the brothers to not humiliate you by doing that.” Dipper pointed out.

“And we won’t!”

“Mom!” Candace yelled, “quick, I caught them red-handed!”

Linda walked over to them with Dan. “What is going on out here?” She asked.

“Hi Ms. Flynn-Fletcher!” Mabel waved.

“Hello, Mabel.” The women smiled at them.

“All right,” Candace said, getting back to business “so where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Dipper asked. As their Dad let out a quiet, amused laugh.

“The giant Lake Nose Monster search boat you made!” Candace said.

“You mean the Nosebud?” Phineas said and pointed at their rowboat. “She's right there.”

“You boys made this?” Linda asked. “I'm very impressed!”

“What?!”

“Well, look! They made a boat. It's waterproof and everything. That's pretty cool!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Phineas said as Candace groaned.

“Okay, Candace. If you're so worried... “ Linda called out “honey!”

Mr. Flynn-Flecther dashed unto the dock “yes dear?”

“Can you please go out on the lake with the kids to make sure they don't get into any trouble?” She turned to their Dad. “Is that okay with you Dan?”

“Works for me,” Dad said and noticed the disappointed look on his twins’ faces. “I would feel better if an adult went with you, kids.”

“Well, I would be happy to join them.” Lawrence grabbed his fishing gear. “And who knows? I might even be persuaded to tell a few of my world-famous fishing stories.”

“Great” Dipper muttered and Mabel stifled a groan.

“Well, I guess that’s fine,” Candace said with a sigh. “I’m going to go to my first lifeguard shift.”

Candace headed down the dock and Dan handed his son a bottle of sunblock “make sure you wear plenty of sunblocks. We don’t want a repeat of the summer of 2010.”

The three Pines all shivered in unison. “What happened during the summer of 2010?” Phineas asked.

“Don’t ask.” Mabel warned, “you don’t wanna know.”

—------

“So,” Dan said, “what do we do now that all of the kids are gone?”

“Why don’t we get set up?” Linda suggested. “I also got some wine if you’re up for it. Lawrence can handle the kids.”

Dan laughed, “works for me.”

—------

The four sat in the back of the rowboat, Lawrence was upfront fishing. The twins looked like they were about to fall asleep as the man shared one of his fishing stories. This was wose than when they went fishing with Stan! At least then they got to participate. Phineas nudged them alert.

“Wow,” he said, “great story Dad.” Ferb tried to raise his hand but Dipper pushed it down. “Uh, we're gonna start our search for Nosey now, okay?”

They heard the echoing sound of someone snapping their fingers. “Okay!”

“Oh, did I ever tell you boys about the time I caught the infamous Big Mouth Ramon?” Lawrence asked.

“Yes.”

“Splendid! Then I'll set the scene…” Lawrence started the story and the brothers pulled the twins onto a small disk set into the floor of the boat. The elevator descended down a tube and into a large, submarine-like structure.

“Cool!” Mabel said.

“Thanks,” Phineas said, “it was Ferb’s idea.”

Ferb gave them a thumbs up.

“So Mason,” Phineas said, “where do we start?”

“You’re asking me?” Dipper asked, surprised.

“Of course!” Phineas said, “you are the group's paranormal investigator/monster hunter!”

“Well…” Dipper said “I guess the best place to start would be to send a camera or something out into the water and see if it can spot anything. If that doesn’t work then we might have to go out ourselves.”

Ferb nodded and dropped a waterproof camera with a small engine into the water and it began to float and look around.

“You know,” Mabel said. This reminds me of when we looked for the Gobblewalker last year. But more high tech.”

Dipper nodded “definitely. If we ever go back to Gravity Falls we should look for it again.”

“I thought it wasn’t real.” Mabel said, “Remember, it was just a robot that Mr. Mcgucket made.”

“Yeah but it’s Gravity Falls.” Dipper said, “surely there has to be some kind of monster in the water. Remember the giant floating head-island thing?”

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that.” Mabel said.

While the two were talking the brothers were looking at the screen that showed the camera feed.

“Hey, guys!” Phineas called “come look at this!”

The two hurried over. “What is it?” Dipper asked, “did you get anything?”

“No, but we did find a red herring.”

The two looked at the small red fish on the screen, who looked terrified.

“Huh,” Dipper said, “I never knew a fish could look scared.”

“Let’s follow it and see where it goes!” Mabel suggested.

“Good idea.”

Ferb used the camera controls to follow the little fish through the water. A large shadow covered the fish and the camera but before any of the kids could see what it was everything went static. Then the lights went off too.

“Oooohhhh” Mabel made ghost noises.

“Stop it, Mabel.”

“That wasn’t me,” Mabel said in a stage whisper, trying to scare her brother.

“Emergency power on.” The computer said and the lights turned back on.

The four walked to one of the large windows. “So much for getting proof,” Phineas said, sounding disappointed.

They all heard a loud sound coming from the pool of water in the center of the room. “What was that?” Mabel asked. “Did we find it?

“No,” Dipper said, picking up the destroyed camara. “I think it found us.”

The lights went out again.

Notes:

I'm BACK! Did you all miss me? I sure missed you guys, this break was just the thing I need.

Welcome to season 2! I am so excited. One thing I'm sure you guys noticed, in season 1 I spent a lot of time getting things set up and working on getting relationships established. But now that is all done I can get to some of the chapters I've had planned since the beginning. It's going to be a lot of fun.

What are your thoughts on this chapter? This is my first 2 parter so I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

-Izzy

Chapter 27: The Ledend Of The Lake-Nose Monster: Part 2

Summary:

Part two of Dipper, Mabel, Phineas, and Ferb trying to find the Lake-Nose Monster.

Candace was running around, clealy stressed, trying to keep control of her section of the beach. When a little girl walked up to her.

“Excuse me.” She said “my daddy came to see Nosey, but I'm scared. Is he really coming back?”

“Aw no sweetie” Candace said, getting on the girl’s level “I was being silly before and overreacted. Sometimes we see things that aren't really there, but don't worry. I promise I'll protect you if...I...see... “ Candace looked out to the water and froze “THE LAKE NOSE MONSTER!!!”

Everyone started screaming and up out of the water, running away. Candace’s boss, Captain Webber, reached into the water and pulled out Baljeet on an inflatable tube shaped like the Lake Nose Monster. “Candace! Is this your Lake Nose Monster?”

Baljeet laughed nervously “uh.. Surprise?”

“You're in big trouble, young man!” Captain Webber snapped his fingers “okay! Just a little prankster! We're safe!”

The man left and Buford popped out of the water with a laugh. “I thought you said this would be funny,” Baljeet complained.

“It is!” Buford laughed, “you got in trouble.”

—--------

Phineas, Ferb, Dipper, and Mabel all stood at the pool of water in the submarine, in front of them was a large, green creature. The Lake-Nose Monster.

“Okay,” Dipper said sofly “everyone stay calm. No sudden movement.”

Nosey growled and Ferb and Mabel backed away. “Okay,” Dipper said with a touch of sarcasm. “Try panicking and making a lot of sudden movements.”

Nosy lunged forward and grabbed the camara Ferb was holding and dove away. Mabel’s eyes widderen “he must not be after us, he must just be after the camara.”

The group all ran to the window and watched Nosey swin around. “I got an idea!” Mabel said “Dipper, can I have one of your disposible camaras?”

Dipper nodded and pulled off his backpack and swapped his nice, expense camara for one of his cheap disposable cameras and handed it to his sister.

Mabel took the camera and snapped a picture of the monster, he swam up to the window with a growl. She held up a hand and gave Nosey a grin, she threw the camara on the ground and smashed it with her foot.

Nosey’s whole mood changed and appeared in the submarine, Phineas reached out and patted his snout. “See, we’re all friends here.”

Dipper patted him too “he must not want the world he exists.”

“Don’t worry” Phineas told Nosey, “your secret is safe with us.” He turned to the rest of them “is it just me or is Nosey easier to find than Perry?”

—--------

Candace sighed from where she was sitting on the doc, Jermery came up and sat beside her. “Are you okay?”

“I can't believeI was fired.” She said “and this time I actually saw it!”

“Candace…”

“Okay, I know it sounds crazy, Jeremy,” She said “but I saw it, I really did! I mean, not the times when I saw it and it wasn't it, but this last time, when I saw it and it was it! You believe me, don't you?”

“Well.. Um…”

“It’s okay, this morning I wouldn’t have believed me either.” The teen said “In fact, I was even mocking my... “ Suddenly she got an idea “brothers! That's it! They'll vindicate me! They're out there right now getting proof that Nosey is real!”

—---------

“Here. You want some corn dogs, boy? “Phineas asked, holding out a plate. Nosey sniffs the dogs and takes a big bite out of them. “He likes it!”

The four had a lot of fun playing with the creature, Mabel and Phineas especially liked using Nosey’s neck and back like a water slide. They were interrupted by a phone ringing. Ferb walked over and pressed a button on the computer and Baljeet appeared on the screen.

“Um Phineas,” Baljeet said “ is your refrigerator running?”

Phineas walked over “we don’t have a refrigerator.”

“Then you better go catch it?”

The four all stared at him and the young teen yelled off screen. “I thought you said that this would be funny!”

Buford appeared “It was! You looked stupid! He laughed, “it works on so many levels.”

Ferb hung up on them and Nosey peeked his head over curiously. “Oh, hey, Nosey.” Phineas “this is just our videophone. See, when we talk to people, we can see them on this screen. ”Phineas flipped the camara so himself and Nosey on the screen. “And this is what they see.”

Nosey gasped before growling, his eyes seemed to well up with tears and ducked back into the water and swam away. The group ran after him, Mabel seemed to figure out the problem first.

“Nosry, it’s okay!” She yelled “we weren’t taking your picture.”

“Come back!” Phineas yelled.

—-------

“I can’t believe it,” Mason said, sitting on the floor, sulking. “We were probably the first people Nosey trusted and we blew it!”

“I wish there was a way we could explain eveyything to him.” Mabel said.

“Maybe we can… Ferb, I know what else we are going to do today.” He said “come on guys, let's suit up.”

The four ran off and on some scuba gear and dove into the water and started to look for their friend. They swam down to the lake floor and found Nosey laying on the bottom.

“There he is!” Mabel cheered.

“What’s wrong with him” Phineas asked, concerned “he doesn’t look too good.”

They swam up to him and Mabel placed a hand on his snout, he groaned. “He must be sick,” she said. The worry was clear in her voice.

Ferb looked down at his watch and showd it to his brother. “ The zinc levels in the lake seem to be dropping. Nosey needs zinc in order to survive!”

Dipper frowned at that, then he had a sudden idea “I got it!” Swimming up to Nosey’s side, Dipper pulled out the bottle of sunblock his Dad gave him easier. “It has zinc in it!”

He poured some of the sunblock onto Nosey's head, he looked up at them. Nosey seemed relieved but then looked scared and swam away.

Mabel tilted her head “what was that about?”

The ground bagan to shake and a large machine appeared and started sucking everything in its path. The four teens grabbed onto some seaweed, trying not to get sucked in too. Nosey then appeared and began to hit it before scouping the four up and returning them safely to the submarine.

“Aw” Mabel said “thanks Nosey.

“Yeah!” Phineas agreed, “thanks boy.”

Nosey then began to nudge Dipper’s backpack until it fell over, his camara falling out. He pushed the camara over to Dipper, who frowned.

“What is it?”

Nosey nudged it again.

“Do… Do you want me to take your picture?” Dipper asked, confused.

Nosey nodded and Dipper’s eyes widened but he grinned, he picked up the camera and snapped a photo. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I won’t show it to anyone. Not even my Grunkle Ford.”

Dipper laughed as Nosey pushed him slightly, nearly causing him to fall over. Hugging him he whispered “thank you for trusting me.”

“I think I understand now” Phineas said “it’s like what Mason said with the Owlbear, if people knew you’d exist they would never leave you alone.” Nosey nodded “it's too bad you don't exist, Nosey, cuz if you did, I think we'd become great friends.”

Phineas winked and Nosey dove back down and winked at them through the window before swimming away.

—------

Later the four were safely back on shore and ready to head home, Phineas noticed his sister talking with Jermey and her boss.

“Hey Candace,” he said, coming up to her.

“Did you get it?” She asked. “Did you get the proof that Nosey really exists?”

Dipper noticed all the people starting to approach and tightened his grip on his camara nervously.

“I can honestly tell you that a ferocious, man-eating lake monster does not exist in Lake Nose.” Phineas said.

“Wait. So does a non-ferocious, friendly lake monster exist?” Candace asked “do you have proof of that? Hmm?”

“I’m going to go find Dad!” Dipper blurted and ran off, Mabel hot on his heels.

“No,” Phineas said “Ferb and I do not have proof.”

“Well, if such a creature did exist,” Ferb said “I believe its habitat and safety would be all of our responsibility to look after and protect.”

“Hey everyone” a random guy said “that British kid is saying something really, really...boring.” Everyone else all made sounds of agreement and left.

“What about Dipper?” Candace asked, “he was acting pretty suspicious.”

The brothers looked at each other, they didn’t want to outright lie but they couldn’t break their friend’s trust. Candace then noticed a camara floating towards them in the lake, it had a giant bite mark in it. She grabbed it and held it up.

“Look at this! Only one thing could've made a bite mark this big!” She said “yes! I have proof! Now they'll have to...believe...me…” She then noticed the expressions on her brothers' faces. “Or maybe you were specifically trying to protect Nosey.” She sighed “oh. I'm gonna have to do the right thing here, aren't I?”

“We’re proud of you sis” Phineas said.

“Yeah, yeah. Candace is crazy, but the monster is safe.” She shoved the camara in the trash.

Meanwhile Dipper’s nerves got the better of him and he was emptying his stomach into a trash can, Mabel patting his back comfortingly.

Notes:

Part 2 is out! What were your thoughts? I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself.

So some personally news, I have finals in the next couple weeks. I am still going to upload but if the chapters aren't a well written as they normal are, that is why. I will probably have to go back and edit them once finals are done, so please keep that in mind.

What do you guys think of Dipper getting a picture of Nosey? It was something I added last minute but I am so happy I did.

Hope you all had a great week!
-Izzy

Chapter 28: Detective Pines

Summary:

Candace's doll goes missing and Dipper gets on the case!

The Flynn-Fletchers were having a yard sale and Dipper had discovered a box full of old tapes, since his Dad had given Dipper his collection of tapes he had been out looking for more. And now he’s hit the jackpot.

There were a bunch of Love Handle tapes, BABA, AB/DC, King, and Danny Bowtie…. At the bottom of the box was a walkman which Dipper thought was insanely cool.

“Hey, Mr Flynn-Fletcher” he called “how much for this whole box?”

The man took a peek inside “I didn’t know you liked this type of music Mason.”

Dipper shrugged, “yeah it’s pretty cool.”

“Well, since you clearly have good taste,” he said, “I’ll give it all to you for… ten dollars?”

“Deal!”

At another table Mabel was looking through old clothes and costumes, it was never too late to start preparing for Halloween. And maybe she could find something to boost her style! Phineas and Ferb were by the garage looking at reels of films.

A man in the lab coat walks up to Lawernce holding a small doll, Dipper looks up from his tapes as the two men chat. “How much for this?” The man asked, speaking in a German accent.

“Oh um… fifty cents?” Lawrence suggests.

“I’ll give you a dollar.”

Dipper went back to his tapes and Ms Flynn-Fletcher put a box down next to him with a sigh and walked off. Looking through it he saw it was full of old records. He pulled out a Lindana one, he had the tape but not the record (though he didn’t even have a record player). He frowned at the picture of the pop star, she seemed familiar…

“Dad, Dad, wait!” Candace runs outside “Dad, is that the box from my room?”

“Well yes…”

“I think I put my little Mary McGuffin doll in there by mistake.” she says “have you seen her?”

“I just sold her for a whole dollar.” Lawrence said, “here, you can have it.”

Dipper puts down the record and walks up to Candace as she screams. “Are you okay?”

“No!” She yells “my doll is missing.”

“Well,” Dipper grins “allow me to offer my services to you!”

“What?”

“I’m a detective and I can help you find your doll,” Dipper says proudly.

“I thought you were a paranormal investigator?” Phineas asked and he and Ferb joined them.

“I’m both.” Dipper said, “I have a keen sense of deduction.”

“That’s true!” Mabel butts in “he solved a murder last summer!”

“Wait really?” Candace asked.

“It was the murder of a wax figure but yeah.”

“Well if you want to help find her that would be great.”

“Ferb” Phineas smiled “I know what we're going to do today!”

—-------

Dipper stood in front of Candace with his Journal, wearing a detective hat. “Okay Candace,” he said “what does your doll look like?”

“Um okay” Candace said “she has orange pigtails and is wearing a green dress and it is made with rubber and plastic.” Dipper pulled out his journal to make some notes. “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” Dipper looked up “oh, it’s my journal. I keep records of a lot of my adventures in here?”

“Really?” Candace asked, “even stuff you do with my brothers?”

“Especially stuff I do with the brothers, have you seen some of the things they've built?” Dipper then changed the subject “when was the last time you saw your doll?”

“I accidentally put her in a box for the garage sale,” Candace said, “my dad sold her.”

“Then that’s who we need to talk to next!” Phineas said.

—------

The brothers set up an interrogation space in their garage, it looked like something out of a black-and-white movie. Their Dad was sitting behind the table. Dipper stood in front of the man, Journal in hand, and Ferb had a lamp shining on him.

“So… Mr Fletcher” Phineas said “We need you to tell us everything you can about the man who bought the doll.”

“Well, let me see…” Lawrence said, “he had some kind of a German accent, and ooh, he was wearing a lab coat.”

Dipper snapped his fingers “I know who you’re talking about, I saw him earlier. And I know who to talk to next.”

“Let’s go!” Mabel said “don’t worry Candace, we’ll have your doll back in no time.”

—------

The group went to Lab Coat Emporium and interviewed several people.

“Well, yes I was at a garage sale, but as you can see,” one said “I don't have an accent.”

“Yeah, I have an accent,” another said “but I have not been to a garage sale.”

“Whoa! Hey kid, slow down.” The last one said to Ferb, “I can't answer all these questions.”

“I think we need to talk to the owner,” Dipper decided. They all found him, like before Ferb set up an interrogation space.

“What do you know about a man in a lab coat with a German accent, who goes to garage sales?” Mabel demanded, Ferb shining a bright lamp on him.

“Oh, that guy,” the owner said. “I don't know anything about that guy.”

“Alright Ferb,” Phineas said, “lean on him.”

Ferb started leaning on their suspect and Dipper stood back with Candace and watched all this with a far too serious expression on his face. Candace looked more confused.

“Where did you get the detective hat?” She asked.

“Mabel bought it off your Dad for me.”

Finally the owner cracked “alright, alright I'll talk. Okay, there's this guy.” he said “he comes in every week for a lab coat. He has me put everything on his ex-wife's tab. See, her address is on the bill.”

Mabel took a copy of the check and passed it to her brother. “Look like we’re getting close,” he said. “Let’s go talk to this ‘ex-wife.’” He turned to the owner “thanks for your help!”

“Ferb,” Phineas said, “pack it all up.”

Ferb began to fold up their interrogation room setup.

—--------

Candace drove them to a fairly nice house up in the rich part of town and Ferb knocked on the front door. The door opened and a woman looked at them all, they made a fairly strange sight. The brothers decided to dress like detectives from black and white movies (fedoras and long coats), Dipper still wore his detective cap, and Mabel had on a Duck-tective sweater.

“Hello, ma'am.” Phineas said, “we'd like to ask you a few questions.”

“Are you with the census?”

“No ma’am” Dipper said “today we are detectives.”

“Aren't you a little young to be detectives?”

“I think we’ll be asking the questions” Mabel folded her arms across her chest.

The woman looked amused. “Come on in, would you all like some lemonade?”

“Sure!” Mabel said and the rest of the kids nodded.

Ferb set up his interrogation room setup as the rest of them sipped their drinks, then it was time for the questions.

“Okay…” Dipper flipped through his notes “what do you know about the little Mary McGuffin doll?”

“You too?” The woman said, “Well, like I told my daughter, I gave it to charity.”

“And?”

“Well... nothing, that's it.” She said, “The Charitable Charities truck just left, which has a few locations 'round town, so I'm not sure which one they're going to.”

“Hmmm” Dipper looked lost in thought.

“Why was your daughter asking about it?” Mabel asked.

“Her father just bought it for her,” the woman said.

“How old is she?”

“Sixteen.”

“A guy bought a sixteen-year-old a doll?” Candace asked, looking a bit amazed.

“You’re sixteen and you ask us to find it” Phineas pointed out.

“Touché.”

—-----

The group went to every Charitable Charities in town and the brothers and Mabel decided to use every cop persona they could think of to question the suspects.

“Aren't you kids a little young to know about all these old detective shows?” One asked.

“Yes, yes we…” Phineas paused and the three of them put on sunglasses. “Are.”

—-----

They went to the last Charitable Charities and there, sitting on a shelf, was the doll. “There she is! My little Mary McGuffin Doll!” Candace ran over and grabbed it, only for someone else to at the same time.

“Candace?” The person said.

“Vanessa?”

“I'm sorry,” Candace said “but this is my doll.”

“No, it ended up here by mistake,” Vanessa said “and it's actually my doll.”

The two began to fight over it “this is exactly why they took that doll off the market.” Ferb said.

The boy was staring at Vanessa and Dipper frowned and pulled him aside. “Do you know Vanessa? You’re looking at her a bit strangely.”

Ferb looked embarrassed. “I used to have a crush on her.”

“Oh yeah I get that,” Dipper said sympathetically “last summer I had a crush on this older girl named Wendy. Luckily it all ended up okay and we stayed friends.”

The two turned back to the fight and watched as it flew out of the girls’ hands and into the arm of a little girl who hugged the doll. “She’s perfect! I love her.”

“Oh, forget it.” Candace said, “I guess I'm too old for dolls anyway.”

“Yeah” Vanessa agreed. “Maybe I don't really have to have the one object my dad spent years to find in order to show me his affection.” There was a pause “no, actually I do.” She walked over and snatched it away from the child. “Give me that kid.”

As Vanessa walked away the girl began crying “I think you dodged a bullet man” Dipper commented and Ferb shrugged. He had long lost his feelings for the older girl and knew she was dating Stacy.”

“Sorry about your doll Candace,” Mabel said.

“It’s okay,” she said, “let’s just go home.”

—----

That night Vanessa was talking with their Dad over the phone.

“So you just took it from the little girl and left her there crying?” He said “wow, that is evil! Honey, I am so proud of you! It felt good, didn't it? Yeah, we can build on this.”

Vanessa smiled.

Notes:

Happy April fools everyone! I honestly forgot that was today so I don't have any pranks for ya'll. You're welcome.

I am shocked I was able to get this chapter out. I was so busy this week that I almost forgot about it, I was reminded last night when I was in the shower so the fact I got it written.... I impressed myself. And all things considered, I think it turned out pretty good.

Hope everyone had a good week.
-Izzy

Chapter 29: The Case Of The Missing Journal

Summary:

When Dipper's Journal goes missing the gang helps him find it.

Candace peered over the fence that separated her yard from the Pines’, their yard was empty except for one Dipper Pines. The kid hadn’t noticed her yet, busy writing in that Journal of his. Ever since he helped her find her little Mary McGuffin doll a few days ago Candace had been thinking of that Journal non-stop.

Dipper had said that he kept note of almost everything he did with her brothers, which meant that it was proof. If Candace could get her hands on it then she could finally bust her brothers! The only problem was that Dipper never left it unattended.

Candace watched as Dipper kept writing then heard Mabel call for him inside “Dipper! Come here!”

“I’m in the middle of something!” He called back.

“Dad’s got a surprise for us!”

He paused, looking intrigued, and set his Journal down “Coming!”

Dipper jumped up and ran inside, leaving his Journal behind. Yes! Finally. Candace took a quick glance around to see if anyone was around but didn’t find anyone. She slipped into the other yard and picked up the book. As she headed back to her own yard she found Perry looking at her, if platypuses (or was it platypi?) could be judgmental that would be the look on Perry’s face.

“Oh shush meat-brick” she said “I’m just going to borrow this to show Mom and then I’ll give it back before anyone notices.”

She headed inside and hid the Journal behind her back when she saw her brothers sitting at the kitchen table, looking at blueprints.

“Hey Cadence,” Phineas said. “What are you doing today?”

“Oh nothing,” Candace said “Hey, where’s Mom?”

“She went to her Greek Cooking Class,” Phineas said. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Candace said “anyways… I’m going to go to the mall if you need me.”

“Okay.”

Candace managed to hide the book as she moved around her brothers and went to the garage. If they found out that she had the Journal they would tell Mason and she needed to keep it just long enough to show her Mom.

In the garage, Candace grabbed the keys to her car (The Nedlington Nymph her Dad and brothers restored for her last year) and left to go to her Mom’s Geek Cooking Class.

—-------

Dipper walked inside and found his Dad and sister with a very large book in the living room. “What’s this?”

“It-” Dad started to say but Mabel interrupted him.

“Dad got us a trampoline!”

“Wait?” Dipper said, excited “Really?”

“Yup” Dad grinned “Now that we finally have the room I thought I would get one.”

“Woah.”

“Now,” Dad said, “It’s going to take me all day to set it up so I need you two to stay out of the backyard.”

“Oh!” Mabel said, “Maybe we can hang out with the brothers.”

“Sure,” Dipper agreed. “Let me just get my Journal, I left it outside, and then we can go.”

Mason walked out onto the porch and froze, his Journal wasn’t there. He looked around, scouring over every inch of the porch. Then look under it and in the grass, thinking it fell. But no such luck.

His Journal was gone.

“Dipper?” Mabel walked out to find her brother laying on the ground with his head under the porch. “What are you doing?”

Dipper sat up “I can’t find my Journal.”

“Where was the last place you saw it?”

“Right there.” Dipper pointed to a spot on the porch. “I left for five minutes and now it’s gone!”

Mabel frowned, “Maybe Phineas and Ferb borrowed it.”

“Maybe….” Dipper said "But why would take it without asking first?"

“Let’s go ask.”

The two hurried over to the other yard and Mabel knocked on the glass back door and Ferb opened it.

“Hey, Ferb!” Mabel greeted “Is Phineas with you?”

“Hi guys” Phineas walked over “What’s up?”

“Do you have my Journal?” Dipper asked, his anxiety getting higher.

“No,” Phineas said, “why would we?”

“Dipper can’t find it,” Mabel said.

“I need to find it,” Dipper said.

“I mean” Phineas said “it’s a shame all your notes are gone but can’t you rewrite them?”

Dipper started to pace and started wringing his hands “I don’t just keep my notes in there, I also have a lot of personal stuff in there too. Stuff I don’t want people to read.”

“Stop pacing,” Mabel said, “you're making me nervous.”

Dipper stopped, a sudden thought came to him, and turned to the brothers. “Do you guys have anything that can track it?”

“We don’t” Phineas said “but we can make something. Ferb, I know what we are going to do today!”

—------

Dipper, Mabel, Phineas, and Ferb all met up with the rest of their friends. When they found out his Journal was missing they all offered to help him find it. It meant a lot to him that they wanted to help.

“Okay,” Phineas pulled out a device “This should help us track your Journal.”

“Great!” Dipper said “What do I need to do?”

“Just touch it!” Dipper places a hand on the screen and the device began to beep, Phineas looks down at it. “Looks like it’s downtown.”

“How?”

“Maybe someone took it,” Isabella suggested.

“Why would anyone want to do that?” Buford asked.

“Maybe someone found out about my notes and wanted to read them,” Dipper said.

“Well,” Mabel said, “whatever the reason is, we still need to find it!”

“Let’s go,” Phineas said.

—-------

Candace parked her car in a lot and got out to look up at the building where her Mom’s cooking class is. She grabbed the Journal and headed inside and found her mother at a station near the back of the classroom.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Oh Candace,” Linda smiled, “what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to bust the boys,” Candace said.

“I thought you’d given up busting?”

“No” Candace shook her head “I just don’t see the point if I don’t have proof. But now I do!”

“Candace,” Linda sighed “can this wait until after my class?”

She suddenly had an idea “What if I join in?”

“You want to join my cooking class?”

“Why no?” Candace said, “It’ll be fun. Besides, I’m going to college in a couple of years. I should start preparing.”

Linda smiled, “Well that would be great. Put your stuff away and grab an apron.”

—-----

The gang all grabbed their bikes and began to make their way downtown. “So Dipper,” Baljeet said, “what all do you write in your Journal?”

“Um, a few different things,” he said, “mostly the adventures we go on and the stuff we build.”

“Really?” Phineas said, “You write about our Big Ideas?”

“Of course!” He said.

“Why?” Phineas asked, “It’s just having fun, nothing super big.”

“Really?” Mabel said, “You guys built an anti-gravity machine the day we met.”

“They do have a point,” Isabella said, “that's not normal.”

“Haha I guess” Phineas looked embarrassed “though I’m not sure I want to be normal.”

“What does it even mean to be normal?” Buford asked.

“Being ‘normal’ means to conform to a standard.” Ferb said, “Usual, typical, or expected.”

“By that definition no one is normal” Buford said, “everyone is a bit weird in some way.”

“That is true” Dipper said “In Gravity Falls everyone was a tad strange. Except for, ironically, Tad Strange.”

“And he was weird because he wasn’t strange!” Mabel said.

“Can we please go back to the Journal?” Isabella asked, “You are all making my brain hurt.”

“Sorry, Bella!” Mabel said.

—-------

Candace walked out of the Greek Cooking Class with her Mom. “Man, that was a lot harder than I thought.”

Linda laughed, “Don’t worry, most cooking you’ll do in college won’t be like that.”

“Okay,” Candace changed the subject “so about the boys...”

“Hang on just a moment dear” Linda pulled her ringing phone out of her purse and stepped aside to answer it.

Candace looked down at the Journal and flipped it open, she hadn’t had the chance to see what was written and wanted to make sure it had the evidence she needed. She was pleased it had a bunch of writings and drawings of a bunch of the stuff her brothers had been doing this summer.

She paused as she read one of the entries and sighed “I’m going to have to do the right thing, aren’t I?” She asked herself.

Linda walked back over and Candace quickly shoved the Journal into her purse. “What did you want to show me?”

“Nothing,” Candace said, “just forget about it.”

“Okay” Linda raised an eyebrow “well, I gotta go run some errands. Do you want to come?”

“No thanks,” Candace said “I think I’m going to meet up with Stacy.”

Her mother headed off and Candace started to walk back to her car when her brothers and his friends ran right up to her. Phineas was frowning down at some device he and Ferb probably made.

“It should be right here.”

“What are you all doing?” Candace asked.

“We’re looking for Dipper’s Journal,” Mabel said, “it went missing.”

“Oh?” Candace bit back a groan, of course they would make something to track it with. “Well, it’s right here.” She pulled it out.

Dipper grabbed it, looking relieved “Thank you!”

“Why do you have it, Candace?” Isabella asked.

“Oh um... I found it.” She said, “I was just on my way back home to give it to you.”

Dipper looked up at her, he clearly didn’t buy it “Oh well... Thanks anyway.”

“Yup! No problem” Candace speed-walked to her car and got in.

Lesson learned, never ‘borrow’ stuff from her brothers or their friends.

Notes:

Man, this chapter did not go that way I thought it was going too! Normally when I write I just start putting words on the page and see where the story takes me and my brain decided to make this. Not that I'm complaining!

This was a fun chapter, it ended up being a lot more Candace Focused than I thought it was going to be but I think it's better that way. I think it helps show a bit more of where I'm trying to take her character and how she has grown.

What do guys think? I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, if any of you have chapter suggestions feel free to share them. I love ideas.
-Izzy

Chapter 30: Fan Wars: Part 1

Summary:

The kids go to a fan convention.

Phineas, Ferb, Dipper, and Mabel all stared up at the building where the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Convention was being held. All of them were in costume. Phineas was dressed as Captain Lump Sharkboard from Space Adventure XIV. And Ferb was dressed as Hymie Silverman from Stumbleberry Finkbat and the Whining Wand of the Turtle Wizard.

Dipper’s costume was of a pilot (an orange jumpsuit and a helmet with goggles) from the Space Adventure movies and Mabel was an elven warrior (a silver wig with a long dress that looked like it was made out of leaves and a sword) from the Stumbleberry Finkbat movies.

“Look at it, Ferb.” Phineas said, “Science-Fiction and Fantasy, together at last.”

“Alright kids” Dan Pines came up behind them “you all have fun, I’ll be back in a few hours to pick you up.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Dipper said.

“You all have your phones?” Dan asked.

“Yup!” Mabel pulled it out from the folds of her dress “and it’s fully charged!”

“Good.” Dan said, “Call me if you need anything.”

The twins waved as their Dad left “Let’s get in there!” Mabel said and they all cheered.

“You know Mabel,” Dipper teased “I never thought I would see the day where you dressed up for a fan convention.”

“What can I say?” Mabel shrugged “The Stumbleberry Finkbat movies are good.”

“That they are” Phineas said “I can’t wait to see Clive Addison's presentation, Ferb and I came up with a demo of some of our own special effects.”

“Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get to meet him” Dipper said “and then you can show it to him.”

“That would be awesome.”

—-----

The four walked through the convention hall Phineas and Mabel both seemed a little star stuck but Dipper and Ferb both noticed something was off.

“Isn't it magnificent?” Phineas asked, “Special effects extravaganzas just have a way of bringing people together.”

Ferb and Dipper noticed two guys (one in a dragon costume and one in a robot costume) arguing. “If you think Lump Sharkboard can defeat Hymie Silverman, the elf prince,” one said “then you are three phlorics short of a foxonian zipfeller, my friend!”

The two looked at each other and their thoughts were interrupted by Phineas “Ferb! There he is! Clive Addison! Do you have our special effects demo reel?” Ferb turned his attention to his brother and pulled out the disk “Yes! I can't believe we're going to meet him!”

They started to head over when they were intercepted by the kid in the robot costume, it took a moment before Dipper recognized him as Irving from the hide-and-seek adventure.

“Oh! Phineas, you're just in time.” He said, “Would you please tell this dragon-loving heathen that the Space Adventures movies are superior to the Stumbleberry Finkbat movies in every way imaginable?”

“Oh...uh...uh... We're just…” Phineas leaned over to look around Irving and groaned when he saw Clive Addison disappear behind a door.

“ Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were in mourning.” Irving said.

“What?” The four asked in unison.

“Yeah, it also took me a while to accept the fact that I had no brother anymore.” Irving glared at the teen dressed in the dragon costume. That must be his brother.

“What?”

“They think all those magic elves movies are better than Space Adventure's epic science-fiction genius!” Irving said.

“Why can’t people like both movies?” Mabel asked.

Dipper leaned over to her “because hardcore fans like to fight over things.”

“Ah.”

A large crowd of Stumbleberry Finkbat movie fans (or Finkies) gathered around as the dragon costume guy started talking. “Stumbleberry Finkbat and the Lost Shadow of Darkling Tower alone was smarter and more realistic than all the even-numbered Space Adventure movies combined!”

“Yeah, you tell him!” A random Finkie said.

“Realistic? Space Adventure is based on hard scientific facts. It's like watching a reality show from the distant future.” Irving said and a crowd of Space Adventure fans (or Speckies) began to gather.

“I mean..” Dipper said “cold hard facts is a bit of a stretch…”

“Who’s side are you on?” Irving asked and Dipper shrugged, deciding to drop it.

The crowd of Speckies all stared at Ferb and Mabel who were still standing with Phineas and Dipper. Ferb whistled a tune and walked over to the Finkies' side and Mabel shrugged and joined him. Dipper didn’t blame her, this was Mabel’s first convention and he knew his sister wanted to make a good impression.

The Finkies and Speckies all began yelling at each other and Irving turned to Phineas and Dipper “That fantasy stuff is for kids! It's almost as lame as dressing up as...Ducky Momo or something.”

The three watched as a person in a Ducky Momo costume ran off.

—-----

The four young teens all watched as the two groups of fans kept yelling at each other.

“Isn’t this being blown a bit out of proportion?” Phineas asked.

“Yeah!” Dipper agreed “I mean, both Space Adventure and Stumbleberry Finkbat have so much in common.”

“We will never have anything in common with those magic-loving apes!” Irving said.

“Both movies had special effects done by Clive Addison” Dipper pointed out “That’s one thing they have in common.”

There was a pause then everyone went back to yelling at each other. Irving grabbed both Dipper and Phineas by the arms and started to drag them away. “Come with me” he said “you should meet with the Almordian Council. They'll set you straight.”

“But what about our siblings?” Phineas asked.

“Forget about them,” Irving said, “they’re nothing to you anymore.”

Mabel and Ferb watched as Irving pushed their brothers away, Mabel looked distressed. Ferb went to say something to her when Irving’s brother (Albert) interrupted him. “Well, I guess I'm your new brother. Carry my action figures?”

—-----

Irving led the two boys to the men’s room and knocked on the door. It opens to reveal another person in a Space Adventure costume, they seemed to be serving as some kind of guard. “We seek counsel with the exalted one.”

The three are led inside and see Baljeet sitting on a sink counter with his eyes closed and dressed as an Almordian Vanksloth.

“Baljeet?” Phineas asked.

“Baljeet is the only sixteenth-level Space Adventure trivia master in the world,” Irving said.

“Oh, sixteen?” Dipper asked “That…. Cool..” He made a mental note to beat that score, he and Baljeet have been having a friendly rivalry since the beginning of summer.

“I feel a minor disturbance in the universe, almost as if…” Beljeet said and then a toilet flushes and he opens his eyes. “Nope! Now it is gone.”

“Look!” Phineas said “Clive Addison!” He pointed to where the man was washing his hands.

“Pay attention!” Irving snapped and turned back to Baljeet “I have unfortunate news to report, master. Ferb and Mabel are... dressed like elfs!”

Dipper nodded “They’ve been working on their costumes for weeks!”

“Yeah!” Phineas agreed “Ferb forged Mabel’s sword and she spun all the wool herself!”

“Oh for the love of humillian dorphite!” Baljeet interrupted “We lost Mabel and Ferb?”

“I wouldn’t call them lost,” Dipper joked “We know exactly where they are.”

“They’re just enjoying another genre,” Phineas added.

“Never! The line must be drawn here!” Baljeet got up and shined a flashlight beside Phineas and Dipper “right between you and your loved ones.”

“This is getting ridiculous” Dipper said “I mean the fans of Space Adventure-”

“Speckies.” Baljeet corrected.

“Speckies” Dipper repeated “and the fans of Stumbleberry Finkba-”

“Finkies!”

Dipper rolled his eyes, frustrated and Phineas took over. “Maybe Speckies and Finkies have more in common than they do differences.”

“Oh! Bite this prop tongue from episode eight!” Baljeet produced a prop tongue.

“Have you ever tried talking to them?” Phineas asked.

Dipper sighed “Something tells me talking won’t work.”

“Yes,” Baljeet agreed. “I mean, have you met the leader of the Finkies?”

—-----

Mabel and Ferb were in the Finkies’ base, aka the food court, and stood in front of Buford.

“I'm sure you're wondering why I, Buford, have taken a leadership role in such a geek-centered enterprise.” He said.

“Not really” Mabel said “Anyone can enjoy movies, I mean, look at me!” She gestured to her own costume “Do I really seem like the type of girl to enjoy such a nerdy movie?”

“I see your point” Buford said “I relate to the character of Odaf Underhump and his complex emotional inner journey.”

“You are a lot like him,” Ferb admitted.

The three turned to see Blajeet, Dipper, and Phineas walk over to them. “Hey!” Buford yelled, “No space bunnies allowed!”

“I am not a bunny rabbit!” Baljeet protested “I am an Almordian Vanksloth.”

“We come in peace” Dipper held up his hands.

“Yeah!” Phineas said, “It's time to end this silly feud, so we can all enjoy Clive Addison's special effects presentation.”

“Baljeet prepared a peace treaty.” Dipper said and nudged the boy “Go ahead.”

Mabel walked over to stand by her brother as Baljeet pulled out a scroll and began to read. “We Speckies vow to live in peace and harmony with you Finkies. All that we ask is that you admit that Space Adventure is much better than Stumbleberry Finkbat and that you have brought eternal shame to your families believing otherwise.”

As he read Dipper, Mabel, Phineas, and Ferb’s faces all fell. “Remind me to proofread all peace treaties from now on” Dipper sighed.

“Oh yeah!?” Buford said “You and what army?”

“Your question makes no sense as a response to what I just said” Baljeet yelled.

“Well, how 'bout this?” Buford reached over and tied the ears of Baljeet's costume into a knot.

Baljeet let out an angry groan “Very well, it is war then!”

“Bring it on, Speckies!” Buford said, “We're gonna go all Hyborian age on you!”

“That’s not even a real age!”

Everyone dispersed leaving the twins and the brothers behind.

“Well…” Dipper said, “That didn’t go well.”

Mabel punched his arm and gave her brother a look “You think?”

Notes:

Happy 30th chapter! In order to celebrate I decided to do another two parter.

This one was fun to write and I think it turned out pretty good. Especially since I wrote it over the course of two days.

Some personal news: If you guys interact with me in the comments then you'll know I've have some plot-oriented Gravity Falls fics in the works. Well I am happy to announce that I just posted one of them, go to my account to read the first chapter of Flash From The Future.

-Izzy

Chapter 31: Fan Wars: Part 2

Summary:

With two sets of fans at the brink of war the brothers and the twins must find a way to bring them together.

“What are we going to do?” Mabel said, “the entire convention is at war.”

Dipper shrugged “I say we let things play out, that’s what I do over fights on the internet.”

“This is real life Dipper,” Mabel snapped.

“She’s right” Phineas sighed, “it’s our fault. We brought the entire convention to the brink of an inter-genre geek war. It's us to extend the olive branch of diplomacy. Here’s the plan. Dipper and I will go talk to Buford, and you two can talk to Baljeet.” He pointed at Ferb and Mabel. “May the luck of Sluffon be with you.”

“Always.” Ferb said as the four separated. He and Mabel started to head to the bathroom where the Finkies were located. “Mabel, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Sure,” she slowed down and the two sat down on a nearby bench. “What’s up?”

“Are you alright?” Ferb asked, “you seemed a little upset earlier when we were talking with Irving and his brother.”

“Oh.. Yeah. That.” Mabel said “I’m fine it just brought up some… Memories.” Ferb placed a hand on her shoulder in silent support. “After Dipper came out people bullied him a lot… There were also some who tried to get me to do the same. To leave my brother behind simply for who he was.”

Ferb nodded, realizing why she had been so upset. He patted her shoulder. Their eyes met and they stared at each other, and they both started to lean forward. They were interrupted as a person in a Ducky Momo costume ran past them being chased by a little girl with blond curls. The two jumped away from each other.

“Thanks for listening.” Mabel said, “um.. We should probably go talk to the Finkies.”

—------

“We've got to get to Buford, but how to approach it?” Phineas asked Dipper.

Irving walked up to them “working on your battle strategy, Phineas?” He asked, ignoring Dipper.

“What? No! I-I mean... yes!” Phineas said, getting an idea “Yes I am. In Fact, there's a way you can help.”

Dipper grinned, he knew where this was going. “Me? Help you? My manipulator-slash-grasper is at your command!” Irving excitedly said.

“Well great,” Dipper said, “we’re going to need to mess with your costume a bit to help you get behind enemy lines.”

“Enemy lines?” Irving repeated, eyes wide.

—-----

Dipper and Phineas watched remotely as Irving (disguised as a stump) approached the Finkies’ camp. Burford sat on a homemade stump eating a chicken leg. “Uh, excuse me, Mr. Barbarian, Sir.” Irving said, clearly nervous.

“Why do you disturb my brooding on the eve of war, stumpling?” Buford asked.

“I come bearing a message.”

Dipper flicked on the holoprojector and could hear the Finkies yelling something about witchcraft as Phineas’ projection appeared in the middle of their camp. “Greeting, all-mighty Odaf Underhump.”

“Phineas,” Burford growled. “Your kind is not welcome here.”

Dipper continued to man the holoprojector as Phineas pleaded his case. “Just hear me out!” He said “In a theatrical landscape that's drowning in comedy, romance, and thought-provoking ecological docu-dramas, Finkies and Speckies are all outcasts. They should be friends.”

“Nice speech,” Dipper muttered.

“Thanks,” Phineas muttered back. “Though you deserve credit for helping me write it.”

“There are no friends in these halls, Phineas.” Buford said “There are only my people, and those who must be destroyed.”

“Man are they taking this way too seriously.” Dipper commented, glad the Finkies would be unable to hear him.

“But that’s just-” Phineas tried to say.

“Hold your words, outlander!” Buford interrupted “Once Odaf Underhump has made a hasty and ill-informed decision, he cannot be swayed.”

Irving left the camp and rejoined them. “Thanks for your help,” Dipper said.

“No problem” Irving said “now I’m going to take all this stupid plant stuff off my costume.”

The two boys sighed as Irving left. “I hope our siblings are having better luck than we are,” Phineas said.

—-----

Ferb and Mabel approached the bathroom that was the Speckies’ camp, and two guards awaited outside. “Go home Finkie, your kind isn't welcome here” one said.

The two looked at each other, Mabel noded and Ferb took off his cloak and threw it over their heads. “Did you see that?” The other guard said.

“He just vanished.” The first said.

“He must be employing some kind of cloaking device,” the second said.

“No, it's an elven cape of invisibility, duh.” The first corrected and the two snuck past them and headed into the bathroom.

Ferb removed the cloak from their heads and put it back on as they approached the Speckie’s leader. “Baljeet, we are here to negotiate with you!” Mabel declared.

“My time is limited, Magician and Warrior.” Baljeet said, opening his eyes “I must gather my positronic impulses for the coming battle. Speak.”

Ferb went to talk but Baljeet interrupted him “Ha! You cannot charm me with your silver tongue, Elf Prince.”

The boy closed his mouth and Mabel gripped the handle of his sword “Baljeet-”

“And your magic rune signs have no power in this dimension.” He informed her.

The two looked at each other “well, looks like there is nothing we can do” the girl said.

“This conversation is over.” Baljeet ordered “transport them away.”

They were bathed in the light from a flashlight as two Speckies made teleporter noises and the two Finkies left.

—------

The four met up and Dipper sighed “well, it looks like there is nothing we can do.”

Phineas kicked at the floor, his face full of disappointment. “This day isn't turning out like I'd hoped at all.”

“I know how you feel.” The four spun around to see Clive Addison sitting at a table.

“Clive Addison!” Phineas exclaimed “we're your biggest fans!”

“Thanks, man.” Clive said “it's just too bad there aren't more of you out there.”

“No, no, no!” Mabel corrected “everyone here loves you, the only reason they aren’t in line to see you is because they are about to go to war over which of your movies is better.”

“Oh man, I don't wanna hear that.” Clive said “I became a special effects artist to join the nations of this earth together in peace and hope.”

“Well, what other reason is there for creating cool visual effects for film and television?” Phineas asked.

Dipper got an idea “special effects!” He exclaimed “that's it! Guys, I got an idea.”

They all heard a horn blaring “well, whatever it is.” Mabel said “we’re gonna need to hurry.”

—------

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Phineas asked, they were setting up for their plan in a booth above the convention hall.

“Pretty sure” Dipper said “if I know anything it’s that big monsters brings people together.”

Mabel watched as the two groups of fans met in the biggest room in the convention hall and got ready to fight. Right as they started to charge, a person in a Ducky Momo walked through, but as soon as they passed they all ran at each other and started to fight.

“Guys,” Mabel looked back at the boys who were working with Clive Addison “you might want to hurry. They started fighting.”

“We’re on it!” Phineas said.

The girl continued to watch the fight, pulling out a pair of bonoclures to get a closer look. She could see them rolling dice, shooting fake guns, and playing with action figures. “Wow this is a lame fight.”

“Would you prefer it to be real?” Dipper asked from across the room.

“Not really,” Mabel said “but they could put more effort into it.”

A few minutes later the brothers had finished their giant holoprojector and began to use the (fake) monster to pretend to attack the convention hall. The twins watched as the fans began to run away, screaming.

“Any minute now..” Dipper muttered.

“Look,” Mabel pointed at Buford and Baljeet, it looked like they were making up!

“Yes!” The two high-fived as the fans began to work together to take down the monster.

“Oh guys, this is soooo cool!” Clive said “eatch this man, I'm gonna make him lurch to the right.”

Clive made the monster lurch to the right and the twins watched as a person in a Ducky Momo costume appeared. Phineas turned off the projector as they waved a fake wand at their monster.

The brothers joined Dipper and Mabel at the window as the Ducky Momo was lifted into the air by the fans and they all saw them take off the head to reveal it to be Candace.

“Candace is so brave,” Phineas said.

Later, as they were cleaning up, Clive Addison approached them “I gotta say guys, that was, hands down, the best special effects show ever. And I've been at Burning Man. Your holo-projection device is brilliant!”

“Thanks, Mr. Addison!” Phineas said “that means the world coming from you.”

“They deserve all the cedit” Mabel nudged Phineas’ shoulder.

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “It was their device.”

“Yes, but you guys were the one to degin the monster” Phineas pointed out.

“Well it's just really clear that you four are going to have some amazing careers ahead of you.” The man handed them each a business card “and if that's what you evern need a reference, give me a call.”

Dipper pocketed his card “I will definitely take you up on that, thanks!”

“You’re interested in special effects?”

“Film” Dipper corrected “I want to host my own ghost hunting show.”

Clive laughed “well, I don’t have any doubt that you’ll do well but if you need a special effects artist. Give me a call. Unless your friends beat me to it.”

Notes:

Alright, the final part of Fan Wars is now done! Woo hoo!

I really liked how these last couple of chapters turned out, I was also glad to fit in some another Ferb and Mabel moment. What did you guys think?

Also, I know I say this a lot but if you have any chapter ideas please leave them in the comments. I love to hear your ideas and try and write them (when I can).

-Izzy

Chapter 32: Twin Fever

Summary:

Dipper and Mabel fall sick.

Being a twin himself Dan had a bit of 6th sense when it came to ‘Twin Stuff.’ Sure, he and Dani were never able to swap places but that did not mean that they hadn’t messed with people. Though Dipper and Mabel never really switched places either, the last time they did was when they were seven. Which should have been the first hint of his son’s identity given how much he and his sister loved to mess with people.

The point is that when Mabel came down for breakfast Dan immediately knew something was wrong. Though, that might have been more of a Dad thing than a Twin thing. When Mabel came for breakfast her hair was messy and loose and didn’t seem to be her usual sparkly self.

“Mabel?” He said “are you okay?”

Mabel shrugged, “‘m fine Daddy, just tired.”

Yup, something was wrong. The only time the twins called that was when they were upset or…. Or sick. Dan walked over and placed the back of his hand against his daughter’s forehead, it was very hot.

“Hey Maple Sweet,” he said “how about we get you back to bed, okay?”

“Why?”

“You’re sick honey.” Dan led the girl upstairs.

“What about Dipper?”

“I’ll check on him next.” Dan promised, he layed Mabel back down in bed and handed her Waddles to cuddle. Then went to check in on his son.

Dan didn’t know why but for some reason when one Pines Twin fell sick the other was soon to follow. It happened to him and Dani when they were kids and his father once mentioned that the same thing happened to Stan and Ford as well. Dan found Dipper curled up on the bathroom floor, his shirt had some vomit on it.

“Hey Little Dipper” the father bent down and placed a hand on his back.

“I threw up,” Dipper moaned, “and everything hurts.”

“Yeah I bet,” Dan said “let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Is Mabel okay?”

“She’s sick too,” Dan said, “and back in bed. But let's worry about you first, okay?”

Dipper seemed to be more aware of his surroundings then his sister and his fever was mild compared to hers. But he had much more of an upset stomach than Mabel did, as soon as Dan got him back in bed Dipper threw up again. Thankfully in a trash can and not all over his bed.

—-------

The next day Mabel and Dipper felt well enough to sit up in bed and read or knit and Dipper could keep food down besides crackers and water. The two were in their respective rooms but had the bathroom doors open so they could talk to one other.

Dipper picked up his phone and opened up the Daville Friends Group Chat (a different one than the Gravity Falls Friends Group Chat). “Mabel!” He called “check your phone.”

“Why?” Mabel called back.

“Just check it!”

There was a pause “how did everyone else get sick too?”

“They came to vist us, remember?” Dipper responded to the text, “or maybe there’s a bug going around.”

Another message came in from the group chat from Phineas and both of them grinned and pulled out a headset and a game controller, both pressed a button on the controller and screens came down from the ceiling across from their respective beds. All of their friends’ faces appeared.

“So, everyone's sick in bed today, huh?” Phineas asked.

“Yup,” Mabel said.

“Told you not to vist us,'' Dipper said.

“Nah, I'm just lazy,” Buford said.

“Cool, I think.” Phineas said “hey, where's Perry?”

—------

Ferb pulled up the video game he and Phineas made “all right, gang, who wants to go first?” Phineas asked.

“Me, me, me, me!” Everybody yelled.

“Let's let the computer decide,” Phineas said.

“Then why did you ask?” Dipper groaned, leaning back against his pillows.

“Buford! Vs. Isabella!” The game said.

“I'm fighting a girl?” Buford asked, “this'll be easy!”

“Ohhhhh!” Mabel said.

“Fight-uh!”

Game verison of Buford and Isabella appear on the screen, Buford was in his normal outfit while Isabella was in her Fireside Girl uniform. Buford’s character runs to Isabella who jumps out of the way. He charges and tries to punch her but Game Isabella pulls her sash off.

“Patch sash smack attack!” Game Isabella spin whips Game Buford “Isabella wins!”

“In your face, Buford!”

—------

“All right, gang,” Phineas said “let's see who's next.”

“Baljeet! Vs. Ferb!”

“Oh, great!” Baljeet groaned “it is not like Ferb is an internationally ranked video game wizard or anything!”

“Wait,” Dipper said “really?”

Ferb held up a large trophy “woah!” Mabel said.

“Fight-uh!”

Ferb’s character runs over to Baljeet’s and tries to punch him but misses, Baljeet kicks and punches Ferb and his HP goes down to zero. “Baljeet wins-uh!”

“Ferb, did you let me win to save my fragile, nerdy ego?” Baljeet asked.

“Oh, I'd never do that.” Ferb denied, though they could all see him reading a book on camera.

—-------

“Let's see who is fighting next!” Phineas said before coughing.

“Dipper Vs. Mabel!”

Both twins sat up straight and glared at each other through the cameras playfully. “You’re going down bro-bro!” Mabel said.

“Not if I beat you first!”

“Fight-uh!”

Dipper moved his character and had him run over to Game Mabel and pulled out a pixelated copy of the Journal and whacked her with it. Mabel’s character moved back several spaces and pulled out a grappling hook.

“Grappling Hook!”

“Hey! It stole my line” Mabel jokes, she had her character shoot the grappling hook gun and hit Dipper with it and his HP went to zero.

“Mabel wins-uh!”

“Ah dang it.” Dipper groaned, tossing the controler aside.

“Okay, Isabella, Mabel, and Baljeet won their battles.” Phineas said “So who am I gonna fight?”

“Phineas! Vs. Phineas!”

“Okay. At least I'm evenly matched.”

“Fight-uh!” Everybody watched as the Game Phineases did the same kick move, knocking each other out. “Phineas! Wins-uh!”

Phineas laughed “I’m kicking my own butt!”

—-------

The kids kept playing, meaning Phineas got in a real battle, it was against Buford. But as Game Buford goes to jump on Phineas’ character all the screens go static.

“Woah,” Dipper picked up his controller and pressed a few buttons but nothing happened. “There must have been a power surge.”

The screen cleared to show Perry standing on his hind legs were some strange metal helmet and in a junkyard. “Oooh, a Perry level.” Phineas said.

“Nice graphics.” Dipper commented.

“Okay, Perry the Platypus, all charged up and ready to…” A guy in a lab coat walked on screen with some kind of remote and pressed some buttons. “Oh, great. Now what's wrong with it?” Perry’s arm moved up and down “I didn’t do that.”

“I did that!” Phineas exclaimed “but I only seem to have control of his left arm.”

“Let me try” Isabell said, on the screen Perry’s left leg lifted up. “Cool! I've got control of his left leg!”

Perry’s tail swished back and forth “I got his tail!” Mabel called.

“I've got his right arm.” Burford said and forced Perry to slap himself . “Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?” Burford asks as he laughs.

“I have his right leg,” Ferb informs them.

“Oh! I have got back and forth!” Baljeet said.

“Looks like I got up and down,” Dipper tells them, making Perry jump.

“What are we supposed to do?” Mabel asks.

“Who cares,” Burford says “let’s just fight that old pharmacist!”

“Okay” Phineas agreed “this must be the boss battle.”

“Cool” Dipper said “but it looks like we are all going to have to work together.”

The leg team had Perry crouch into a fighting stance and Phineas uses the left arm to taunt. “Ready stance, now taunt and... jump!”

Dipper had Perry jump and Baljeet threw him at the pharmacist. “Mabel, Baljeet. Let’s have him spin around and whack him with Perry’s tail” Dipper said.

“Let’s do it!” Mabel said. The three doing just that, hitting the pharmacist in the face.

“Awesome job guys!” Phineas praised.

The group then had Perry do a flip next and kicked him in the face “oh yeah!” Isabella cheers.

“Perry the Platypus, what's gotten into you?” The pharmacist asked and tried to run up a hill of metal junk.

“He’s getting away!” Mabel yells.

“Not for long” Phineas said as Baljeet and Dipper have Perry run after him.

“Now, now, Perry the Platypus….”

Dipper and the leg team work together to have Perry jump on the pharmacist and Buford uses the right arm to punch him in the face.

“Eat pig iron, old pharmacist!” Baljeet yells.

The guy grabs an umbrella and swings it towards Perry but Burford grabs it, the young teens all work together to move closer and jump up and hit the pharmacist with the umbrella.

“Finsh him off Ferb!” Phineas says and Ferb kicks the pharmacist off the hill. The kids all cheered “We won, gang! And if I may be so bold, I claim the right to throw Perry's hat in the air.”

Phineas uses the left arm to take off the strange helmat and throw it into the air, then the screens all go static again. “Looks like it’s game over” Mabel says sadly.

Everybody groaned, disappointed. “Well, it looks like all our fevers have broken.” Phineas comments “except for Buford, who managed to get sick by laying in bed all day.”

Notes:

Parts of this chapters where based off the Phineas and Ferb episode: Brain Drain.

I was going to write more scenes showing just Dipper and Mabel being sick but I decided against it. Other than that I really don't know what to say about this chapter.... It think it turned out fine. What did you guys think?

Also, I am doing a special writing challenge over on my Tumblr so feel free to go check it out. https://isabel3710.tumblr.com

-Izzy

Chapter 33: Bonus Scene: Twin Fever

Summary:

The gang vist Dipper and Mabel while they are sick in bed.

Mabel lay in bed, her arms tightly wrapped around Waddles. Her bed sheets lay crumpled at the end of the bed from when she kicked them off of her in an attempt to get cool. There was a soft knock at the door and her Dad opened it.

“Hey Maple Sweet,” he said softly, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m cold.”

Dan walked over and tucked her blankets back around her “well maybe you shouldn’t keep kicking them off.”

Mabel kicked them off again “it’s not my fault they’re made of fire!” She winned.

“Well,” Dad said, “someone is here to see you.”

Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet shuffled into the room. “Hey Mabel” Phineas said “we heard you weren’t feeling well.”

Mabel sat up, releasing Waddles from her death grip “hiya guys, I’m fine… But this blankie keeps burning me.” She glared at the covers.

Ferb held up a couple of tupperware containers “we brought you and Dipper some soup” Isabella said.

As if on cue they heard the sound of someone wrenching in the bathroom and Dan hurried over to check on his son as Ferb handed the soup over to Mabel.

“What did ya guys do today?” Mabel asked as she ate.

“We made you guys soup” Buford said, “didn’t want to do anything without you and Dipper.”

“Aw!” Mabel said “that’s so nice, you guys are always so nice.” To everyone’s horror the girl started crying, Ferb gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

Dan came back and saw her crying “aw honey” he took the soup from her and Mabel latched onto him.

“We’re sorry Mr Pines” Phineas said “we don’t know what happened, she just started crying!”

“It’s okay,” he said “it’s not your fault, why don’t you guys go say hi to Dipper.”

The group shuffled over to Dipper’s room to find him sitting up in bed reading the latest issue of ‘Anomalies and Mysteries of The World’ magazine. He seemed a lot more coherent than his sister.

“Hi guys,” Dipper said, confused “what are you guys doing here?”

“We heard you were sick and thought we would visit,” Baljeet said.

“You guys are gonna catch something,” Dipper warned, accepting some soup.

“I don’t know about these loser” Buford said “but I gotta strong immune systerm.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Isabella said, “just focus on feeling better.”

“Okay,” Dipper said doubtfully “but don’t blame Mabel and I if you all get sick tomorrow.”

Notes:

Supremebandit brought up the idea of Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet visiting the twins while they were sick so this inspired me to write one of the scenes I didn't include in the main Twin Fever chapter.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! We will be back to our regular scheduled updates on Saturday.
-Izzy

Chapter 34: A Strike-ing Day

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb decide to break the record for the biggest bowling ball.

As Dipper and Mabel headed to the brothers’ backyard for their daily check in they could hear Phineas say “you know, Ferb, with a few modifications, we could really zip up this old lawn-bowling set.”

“Hey guys” Dipper said, walking through the gate “what are you guys talking about.”

“Hi Dipper” Phineas said “we’re just looking at Dad’s old lawn-bowling set.”

“Cool!” Dipper said “I love bowling.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s one of the few sports I’m actually good at.”

“More like the only one” Mabel said with a teasing grin.

“Haha” Dipper deadpanned.

“Hello, everyone” Baljeet joined them “what you doing? Ooh! I just sounded like Isabella” he laughed.

“We're gonna build the world's biggest and best bowling-ball game!” Phineas exclaimed.

Well, according to ‘The Most Pointless Book of World Records’…” Baljeet said and a fanfare played “...the world's largest bowling ball is four feet in diameter.”

“Four feet?” Phineas said, shocked “Ferb, we could beat that record in our sleep.”

“You know, the officials from ‘The Most Pointless Book of World Records’…” Baljeet said and there was another fanfar “...will be at the fair today at 3:00, handing out awards.”

“Ferb, get the tools. We've got a record to shatter” Phineas grinned.

“And then you will be in the next volume!” Baljeet said, excited and Buford played another fanfare. “Is that absolutely necessary?”

“Why?” Burford asked, “does it bug you?”

“Well, yes, a little.” Baljeet admitted.

“Then yeah, it’s necessary.”

Mabel giggled and asked “hey, where is Perry?”

“He’s right there” Dipper pointed to the platypus sleeping in the shade. “The real question is, where’s Waddles?”

—------

Waddles is sliding down and the tube that Carl is fixing and falls through the hole. “Oh, sorry about that Agent P.I.G” Carl picked up the agent and put him back in the tube.

After going down the rest of the tube Waddles lands in one of the seats in Perry’s lair, wondering for the 100th time when he will get his own lair. “Morning Agent P.I.G” Monogram greeted “thanks again for covering for Agent P as he has a day off.”

“We've tracked Doofenshmirtz to an old abandoned warehouse, and he's made some suspicious purchases,” Monogram continued “10,000 packets of powdered hot chocolate, a hotdog vendor's cart, a medium-sized parka, and a pair of red flannel long johns with a flap in the back. Don't ask us how we know. Get out there and kick some Doofen-butt.”

Agent P.I.G gave a salut and headed off. It would be strange to do a mission without his partner but Perry deserved a good day off.

—------

Isabella walked into Phineas and Ferb’s backyard to find the two leaning up against a giant bowling ball. A blowtorch hanging loosely from Ferb’s hand. “Wow! That’s one big bowling ball.”

The two woke up “see Ferb,” Phineas said “I told you we could do it in our sleep!”

“I stand corrected,” Ferb said.

“Great!” Mabel said “cause I just finished sewing the bowling shirts.”

“And earned your Sew Patch” Isabella added, handing it to her friend.

“Yes!”

Meanwhile Candace was up in her room talking with Stacy on the phone, the two were doing a double date with Vanessa and Jermery at the fair. “So, what do you think I should wear to the fair tonight?” She asked “I'm thinking of my red sweater with some white jeans and red matching socks.”

“Yeah that sounds great” Stacy said “a bit different than your normal outfit but this is a date.”

She heard the sound of crashing bowling pins from outside and sighed “Stace, I gotta call you back.”

“Your brothers?” Stacy asked knowling “I understand, Vanessa and I will meet you and Jeremy at the fair.”

Back in the backyard, the set of bowling pins crashed again and they were knocked over. Baljeet and Buford both cheer, a slot in the side of the giant bowling ball slides open and Dipper reemerged.

“Wow!” Isabella said, impressed, “another strike Mason.”

“That makes four in a row” Dipper cheered “in your face Buford!”

“Ha ha! Yes! What he said! In da face!” Baljeet laughed then noticed the look on the bully’s face. “Uh-uh, I mean... You will get him next time. Clearly.”

“Man,” Phineas said as Dipper walked over to him “you weren’t kidding when you said that bowling was your sport.”

Dipper shrugged, trying to stay modest. “Mabel has mini-golf, I have bowling.”

Ferb took note of the points then pressed the ‘Reset’ button on the command table. The bowling pins sunk through a hole in the lawn and a new one replaced them.

“Who’s next?” Phineas asked.

“Phineas, just what do you think you're doing out here?” Candace asked, walking over to them.

“Candace” Phineas said “just in time, it’s your turn.”

“I thought it’s my turn?” Mabel asked and Dipper gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“Just wait until Mom hears about…” Candace was saying “then again, you guys always seem to make everything disappear before Mom gets home.” She seemed to have gotten an idea “But if I take the evidence to her at the Bowl-A-Rama, then she'll have to believe me!”

Candace’s eyes went distant as if she was daydreaming “So, you wanna give it a try?” Phineas asked.

She snapped out of it “oh um sure! I would love to give it a try.”

“Great!” Phineas brought Candace inside the bowling ball to show her how it all worked.

Once he was done Phineas left the bowling ball, leaving Candace inside and walked over to join the rest of his friends. While they waited for Phineas everybody went to Dipper to update their bets. By the time they were done the red-haired teen came back and rejoined them.

“Okay, Candace, try to take it slow at first!” Phineas yelled. The bowling ball flew past them hitting the pins and knocking them all down. “Way to go Candace!”

Instead of stopping, like she was supposed too, Candace kept going and left the backyard. “Where's she going?” Dipper asked.

“She must be freestyling!” Mabel said “we should follow her.”

“Yeah!” Phineas agreed, “come on gang. Let’s hit the bikes.”

—--------

Waddles swings into an abandoned self-storage building, after landing on a metallic ledge he looks around suspiciously, only to end up getting frozen by a giant robotic penguin. Dr D stepped out dressed in a warm looking parker. “Ah Waddles the Pig, Perry the Platypus isn’t here today? No matter” He said “ It seems like you've got quite a chill there! I want you to see my latest creation: the Giant Robotic Penguin Icy-Freeze-Breath-inator.”

“First, I will unleash my giant penguins at the fair today, so they may begin freezing the entire city!” Doofenshmirtz started to explain “then I will sell all the citizens of Danville my organic, yet highly addictive, Doof brand hot chocolate. Because, you know, who doesn't enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate when it's so cold out?” He asked and then got back on track “the first cup will be free, of course. But then the second... will also be free. But then the third... will cost a million dollars! That way, I only have to sell three, and I will already be a millionaire.”

Heinz left the storage unit, ready to put his plan into action, yelling a final goodbye over his shoulder.

—------

The group of young teens rode their bikes after Candace and the wayward bowling ball. “She's headed for the Bowl-A-Rama” Phineas realized.

“I thought she was done trying to bust you guys” Isabella said and Ferb shrugged.

As Candace moved the giant ball to the Bowl-A-Rama only for a car to hit it and the bowling ball flew through the air before crashing to the ground and began to roll down a hill. Phineas winced “ooh, that’s gotta hurt.”

The group rode their bikes down the hill just in time to see the ball drop down into a drain pipe and roll away. Dipper tapped one of the construction workers’ shoulders “excuse me, but where does this pipe go?”

“How should I know?”

“Ferb, the map of Danville's underground.” Phineas requested and Ferb pulled it out. “Looks like she's headed downtown.”

“Let’s go!” Mabel yelled and they all headed off again.

“I really shouldn’t have worn my binder today.” Dipper groaned.

They all made it down to the subway just in time to see bowling ball roll to them. “Here she comes,” Isabella said.

“Go Candace!” Buford and Baljeet yelled in unison.

It rolled past them “there she goes” Buford said.

“Looks like she’s going to 7th street,” Phineas said.

—-------

Meanwhile Waddles was still trapped in the ice at the abandoned self storage. He notices a hot cup of chocolate sitting on a table and manages to move himself over to it. Waddles knocked the cup over and the warm liquid melted the ice, freeing him.

—--------

The gang rode their bikes back up to the subway entrance, the bowling ball rolled at high speeds up the stairs and hit a bunch of those bulletin board stands.

“Go Candace go!” Isabella yelled.

“Huh,” Dipper chuckled, “it’s like a giant pinball machine.”

Phineas had an idea “Baljeet, what’s the record for the largest pinball machine?”

“I don’t know,” the boy admitted, “but I’m sure we can beat it.”

“Okay, everybody,” Phineas said, “split up and let's keep her in play until we get to the fair.”

“What about Candace?” Mabel asked.

“She’ll be fine so long as she doesn’t hit the gyro stabilizer lock button” Phineas said.

“Okay!” Mabel agreed, “let’s do this!”

The gang followed the bowling ball and set up things around them to keep the giant pinball machine in play. Then, they all finally made it to the fair. Isabella and Mabel walked up to one of the games. The type where you had to knock down pins in order to win stuffed animals.

“Isabella, darlin'!” The man greeted “good to see ya.”

“Set me up, Shady Joe.” Isabella slapped down a five dollar bill “I'm feelin' lucky.”

“You got this bestie” Mabel said and her friend picked up a baseball.

Isabella pretended to get ready to throw it when the bowling ball came through knocking over the stand. “Help yourself, anything from the top shelf.” Shady Joe said, looking shocked.

The girls grined at each other and gathered as many stuffed animals as they could into their arms. Meanwhile Phineas and Ferb were up on stage collecting their Pointless World Record Awards.

—------

Doof and his giant robot penguins walked down the road “to the fair, my pets, where the freezing of the Tri-State Area will begin!” A giant bowling ball sped down the road towards them “wait. Wait, what is that? A giant bowling ball?” The evil scientist screamed as it hit him and the robots.

The bowling ball exploded and Candace flew through the air, luckily she landed safely in the ferris wheel next to Jermey.

“Huh,” Dipper said, having seen all of it. “Well, that’s one way to fix that.”

“I wonder who the guy in the big coat was,” Mabel wondered.

“Who knows?” Dipper shrugged “but I do wonder what the giant penguins were for.”

Waddles walked up to them, interrupting their conversation “there you are Waddles!” Mabel said, scouping up the pig into her arms. “Why are you so cold?”

The pig oinked and snuggled into her warm sweater.

Notes:

Happy Saturday! How was your week?

What did everyone think of this week's update? I thought it turned out alright, though it's far from my favorite chapter. Make sure you stay tuned for next week because I got a special surprise.

-Izzy

Chapter 35: Many Trees In Danville

Summary:

Danville gets some interesting visitors.

Notes:

This chapter was co-written by Supremebandit

Phineas and Ferb were looking through a couple of their blueprints, trying to scout out an idea they could do with their friends for the day. They had several different ideas, and all were tempting. Maybe they could get input from their friends when they arrived.

Phineas and Ferb didn’t have to wait long, seeing as Isabella chose not long after to step through their gate, “what’cha doin’?”

Phineas shifted the blueprints as he answered. “We're just getting ready to figure out just that. We were having a smidge of trouble picking, so we figured we would get feedback from everyone before deciding.”

Baljeet was the next person to enter the fenced backyard, Buford right behind him. After a bit of time waiting for the twins, curiosity began to gnaw on their minds. Normally, the twins would have already at least said hi over the fence, Mabel usually climbing over it to say hi without the fence in the way. The current crew decided to stop on by and see what’s up, hoping it wasn’t anything too serious.

As Phineas opened the gate, they were greeted on the other side by Dipper, wearing a blue coat and red scarf. “Hey Mason, cool scarf.”

The guy chuckled. “Thanks, though you might want to take a second look at me, buddy.”

Upon closer inspection, the boy looked less like Dipper as they began to notice the scars on his face. Dipper didn’t have those and if he had just gained them, they would have noticed them when they hung out the other day. He had cracks beside his left eye and cheek, neither looked to have been pleasant, the one on his cheek looked to shift and slightly open when he smiled too widely on that side.

The boy chuckled as he spoke up again. “You're not completely wrong, I am Mason, from a certain point of view. You can call me Sans.”

As Sans held his right hand out, Phineas smiled as he reached forward to shake. Before the boy could speak what was on his mind however, everyone heard a drawn out farting noise. Sans chuckled as he showed them his palm, “the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick, gets them every time.”

The group chuckled over the harmless prank, Dipper never being huge on more ‘petty’ pranks made it all the more funny. Though before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted from another voice. “Sans, you were supposed to signal us when you located our alternate selves in this town, not goof around.”

As the kids turned to look at who was speaking, within the tree, there was a strange black creature, his facial features completely white, before he dropped down and took the form of what Dipper might look as a man in his twenties. Sans chuckled again as he spoke up. “These kids recognized me, so this is their house, and Alastor and Rosie beat us here. They are already inside, so I have just been hanging around.”

Sans raised his hand towards the tree, where another Dipper, this one with short antlers and fuzzy ears, and a girl with some rhinestones decorating her face with hair a rainbow of colors, walked from around it, before looking at the crew baffled. Buford was the one to ask, “what’s with the rainbow hair?”

Ferb chose to point out, “Actually I would say it looks closer to the coloring of a rare shade of the aurora borealis.”

Phineas nodded as he spoke up, “yeah. You would normally only see reds and pinks at heights of three-hundred or so kilometers.”

Everyone was interrupted from their conversations as there was a shout from the twins’ house.

—--Earlier—---

Mabel and Dipper had decided to laze in a little, their Dad had headed out to get a headstart on his errands earlier, and merely chuckled over them asking for another five minutes, believing they could just have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. But when Mabel grew bored of lazing about, and opened her eyes.

There was Dipper, who looked sixteen, smiling down at her. “How long have you been standing there waiting for me to get up?”

The boy shrugged, “maybe fifteen minutes, I didn’t really keep track.”

He looked like her brother, if he was older and on HTR, and wore a rather snazzy red suit, but from this angle, she could see the birthmark. “Did you play with the size-altering crystal in order to prank me? And where did you get such a snazzy outfit… Did you finally get a sense of fashion?”

Mabel probably would have continued her questioning, if she hadn’t heard her brother shout from his room, proving that this wasn’t, in fact, her brother. “What was that?”

The boy chuckled as he answered her. “My twin, an older you from an alternate dimension pulling the same prank on your twin as I just pulled on you.”

Mabel gasped as she heard him say that, before rushing in to meet an alternate, older her. And she was not disappointed, seeing as her older self was wearing a rather cool looking dress, as she giggled over Dipper having shouted and flopped off the bed. As Dipper got up to yell at his sister for pranking him, he noticed another sister of his gawking at the first.

Dipper yelped and dove for his backpack and pulled out a water pistol, spraying water at the other version of himself in the face. “Dipper!” Mabel yelled “what are you doing?”

“What?” Dipper said “this is how you get rid of clones. You know that.”

“He’s not a clone!” Mabel said.

“Then what is he?” Dipper asked and looked over at Mabel’s alternate self and corrected himself “they?”

The Dipper in the red suit stepped fully into the room as he explained. “We are alternate versions of you from a separate dimension. And we have been going on a journey to return home, but we have also wound up curious about the worlds we find ourselves traveling through. So, every world we visit, we just go about and do a little exploring, meet and greet the locals, hang out for a bit, and have some fun.”

The older Mabel smiled as she spoke, having finally gotten her giggles under control. “My brother here goes by Alastor, while I go by Rosie. We use different names because it is only fair, seeing as we are just guests here.”

Mabel and Dipper looked between each other before turning back to them, “so, why were you watching me sleep? And how did you get in here?” Dipper asked.

Rosie and Alastor both chuckled before Rosie answered. “It was a harmless prank for when you awaken, just a little harmless fun. Not like I did anything untoward to you, we understand this world is uncorrupted, and we don’t plan to battle Sans in order to do so. So you are safe from us trying anything.”

Alastor gave another short chuckle, “at least not while he has that infinity bar. Might try something to test these pure worlds after he uses it, but while he could literally cheat to win in order to save the world we try anything in. We are rather patient.”

Dipper and Mabel shifted their eyes to one another before looking back at the older set. “Am I the only one confused?” Mabel whispered and Dipper shrugged.

“Well…That’s great and all” he said “but you mind getting out of my room? I gotta change,” he looked down at himself “and put my binder back on.”

Rosie and Alastor smiled as they scratched his head as they stepped out, Alastor pausing for a brief second as he grabbed the door to close it. “To answer your other question, we know a shortcut. Though we can’t generate one in this world due to certain limitations, our friend helped us when he caught up. We will meet with you in the backyard to answer more questions when you are prepared.”

Alastor closed the door, leaving the two alone. Dipper and Mabel looked at each other and shrugged, Mabel slipping into her own room to change.

—------

Alastor and Rosie stepped out to find the rest of their crew talking with another crew of comrades. Alastor spoke up so they all noticed their presence. “They are awake and preparing, I believe they were just having a short case of the ‘lazies’.”

Rosie giggled, “we were so adorable at that age, where does the time go?”

Alastor looked to answer, until Sans spoke up. “Before you answer that Al, please keep in mind what kind of world we are in, and the presence of young impressionable minds that stand before you.”

Alastor rolled his eyes as he gave Sans a hurt look. “Sansy, how could you think so little of me? I know how to keep myself under control, and I know how to censor myself for underage viewership.”

Ink piped in here, “fade to black as the only thing we hear is a ‘good night everybody’ the moment you step into the spotlight?”

Alastor and Rosie both pout at them, as Rosie turns to her twin. “Why is it that they are ganging up on me all the time? You even join them to do so on occasion.”

Alastor wasn’t given time to answer as Dipper and Mabel step out of the backdoor. Sans chuckled when he saw the two’s reaction to the rest of their little band of misfits. “We have a story to tell you all, and your friends here were nice enough to wait until you could join us. So, let’s finish with introductions, because Rosie and Alastor haven’t met these guys.”

Giving the Danville crew a moment to introduce themselves to the two demons, Sans continued. “Well, I am just a skeleton that is fused with Dipper here, you can call me Sans. The two pouty children are just an older version of you guys that tend to be…”

Mabel gasped “are we chaos in the future? Yes!” She held up her hand to her brother for a high five, Dipper was scribbling in his Journal. “Dipper? Earth to Dip-dop.”

“What? Oh” Dipper gave her a half-hearted high-five, clearly distracted, and went back to his writing.

Alastor and Rosie smiled as they watched Sans think about how he could describe their origin without being adult about it, chuckling over how Mabel was taking his pause.

Sans sighed. “They aren’t your future, but an alternate future, one that could have happened if events… You guys do know about Gravity Falls, right?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said, looking up, “we were there last summer. We didn’t go this summer because of the move.”

Sans smiled, “there are infinite worlds of infinite timelines, and because we are nowhere near Gravity Falls, I wanted to make sure. But those two are different versions of you, that came about from a difference in your history, and because you already passed their split point, you won’t be able to become them. Same with me and Chiron here, seeing as you survived Weirdmageddon.”

“Which one is Chiron?” Buford asked.

The boy with antlers and furry ears raised his hand, “I am.”

“Like the centaur from Greek Mythology?” Phineas asked.

Chiron smiled as he took a deep breath, growing into a larger form, his antlers growing larger, as his lower half took the form of a deer.

“Cool!”

“Hang on,” Isabella said, “what’s Weirdmageddon?”

“Nothing!” Dipper and Mabel yelled in unison.

Chiron chuckled as he spoke up. “That is not something I can answer, because it never happened in my timeline, seeing as I prevented it. But with this timeline’s Dipper and Mabel being the ones from here, you will have to wait until they are comfortable talking about it. We should also ask that we not mention it too much in front of Sans.”

Baljeet looked over at Dipper “so what is Weirdmageddon?”

Sans twitched a bit as his hood began to shadow his face, raising his left hand to cover that side, but remaining silent.

“Nothing,” Dipper repeated, “and we are going to stop talking about it.”

“Because there is nothing to talk about,” Mabel added. Both of the twins looked a little panicked.

Phineas and Ferb glanced at each other and silently agreed to drop the topic “so what are you doing here?” Phineas asked.

The older looking Dipper, that was in monochrome stepped up. “You can call me Ink, and this Pacifica here has been going by Elise, though as we said…”

Sans huffed as he interrupted Ink, “Baljeet, when Chiron asked you to not ask about it, he was asking you to drop it because of what bringing it up does to me. I didn’t survive it after all.”

“Survive what?” Buford asked, frustrated, “what was there to survive?”

“Can we please stop talking about this?” Dipper begged “it’s nothing, really.”

“Sure” Phineas agreed “how about we go back to how and why you are all here.”

Sans smiled as he relaxed, lifting his head to show the scars next to his eye closing, though his smile was still a bit too wide on the left side, showing nothing but teeth. “We were summoned to one world, someone tried to get rid of us, pain, and ever since we have been bouncing around the multiverse trying to get these kids home. But something in this last jump went wonky, and suddenly a pharmacist is shouting and running around as a machine blows up and damages mine. So we figured we would find ourselves and ask to borrow some tools.”

“Kids?” Isabella repeated, the unspoken question clear.

Sans chuckled, “I understand because of my height, you might be confused. But I am rather old. I stopped aging when I shattered the connection I had with my timeline. I no longer have a timeline to make my time flow forward, so no aging. I have been around for a good amount of time, visiting a good deal of worlds. Though this is the first time I’m meeting any of you, I have traversed a good number, but mostly stay around Gravity Falls.”

“Cool!” Phineas said “So you need to borrow some tools?”

Alastor was the one to speak up this time, “If you are all willing to let us, we would be rather grateful.”

Sans stepped back and pulled out a cell phone, a couple clicks and from thin air, a large machine appeared. It was about seven feet tall, about four feet around if their eyeballing measurement was correct, about three feet from the ground there was a sudden shrink in thickness as it had keyboard panels with a screen circling around it not far above. It would have been more impressive if there weren't a couple panels along the base falling off and the top of it wasn’t looking like it would fall off, and they couldn’t ignore the black smoke coming from it.

Sans grumbled about crappy pharmacists as he looked his machine over and opened a couple of the fallen panels. “If you guys are willing to lend us the tools, we should be able to get out of your hair soon.”

“Sure” Phineas said, “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today!”

Elise turned to Isabella, “does he say that everyday? Each time they find something to do?”

“Yes,” Isabella said. “Yes he does.”

“Your boyfriend’s weird.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Isabella sighed.

“Not yet!” Mabel added.

Elise smirked’ “well, as strong as I am sensing your bond with him is, you should just go throw him against the wall and tell him he’s taking you on a date, before giving him a kiss.”

Chiron chuckled, having overheard them, though he had to speak up quickly before the boys returned with the tools. “Well, Phineas does appear to have stronger bonds of friendship, but Elise and Mabel are right, If you two aren’t together by the end of the summer, he is an idiot.”

Rosie stepped over to give her two cents as the boys got back, deciding to explain a little since she wasn’t allowed to have fun like she usually would. “Chiron and Elise here can sense the emotional bond of those around them. It comes from their celestial element.”

“Phineas isn’t an idiot,” Mabel said “just oblivious, he likes his inventions”

Rosie giggled before she responded to her younger self. “Boys and their toys, right?”

Chiron caused a cloud to rain cold water on her, “no. I know where that was coming from, what you really meant by it, and just, no.”

Rosie giggled again as she released a small amount of her dark power, enough to cause her eyes to be lit aflame and her teeth to sharpen, before returning to normal after she dried off. “But seriously, what Chiron meant by calling Phineas an idiot, is he doesn’t recognize his feelings for you as being more than he thinks they are. But boys don’t have enough emotional awareness like us girls do.”

Mabel and Isabella looked at each other, a tad confused on what Chiron meant. Phineas walked over to the group, tool box in hand “what are you guys talking about?”

“Oh nothing important” Isabella said “you got the tools?”

Sans and Alastor were both pulling pieces of the machine off as they were looking over what they were going to have to do, both chuckling over the young lady’s choice over the problem. As the boys gathered together to look the machine over, Dipper took note that Elise was back to staring at him, examining him for whatever reason, tilting her head in confusion.

Dipper had been ignoring the girls’ talk as he asked Sans and Alastor a couple questions and took notes in his Journal; Elise would on occasion look at him with curiosity, though never said anything.

“Can I help you?” He asked her, a bit awkwardly after the fifth glance.

Elise shrugged. “You have a different feel in your life force than other Dippers I have met. And any girl with an eye for detail can see what you're doing to your chest. I just don’t know why you would be doing that, or have a ‘feel’ closer to a girl, at least biologically. Not exactly, but it is confusing me.”

“Excuse me!” Dipper yelped “I don’t know what you’re feeling but I am a boy, thank you very much.”

Sans turned around as he placed his hand on Dipper’s head to draw his attention.

“She has never met a trans person before, and her father is both homophobic and transphobic enough that he refuses to allow her to learn. She didn’t even know girls could date girls until Rosie explained it to her. You're just the first person like this she has met.”

“Oh well…” Dipper said “you might want to explain it to her because I am not in the mood.” He huffed and walked over to Phineas and Ferb. Allowing the boys to look over the machine, Rosie and Chiron pulled Elise over to explain things to her.

Alastor placed a hand on Dipper’s shoulder. “She did not mean to be rude, she is just dealing with the fallout from her upbringing. If the Preston of this world is the same as in others, Pacifica here probably acted a little weird as well, right?”

Dipper shrugged “I guess, though our Pacifica is a bit more informed on this stuff. Last time I checked anyways, it’s been a while since we’ve last spoken.”

Ink stretched up to lift the top of the machine as he spoke down to them to give his two cents. “Preston can be a rather stupid person, in some worlds he is so delusional, he ignores the existence of certain kinds of people, and in others, he gets you killed.”

“Preston is a jerk!” Mabel declared “he’s almost as bad as Great-Grandpa.”

“Ugh” Dipper groaned, “I hate how we’re related to him. The only good thing that came from him was Grandpa Shermie and our Grunkles.”

“Why?” Phineas asked.

“That’s a long, long story,” Dipper said “and one for another day.”

As the girls and Chiron came back over, Chiron decided to ask something, considering they were all appearing okay with talks about their ends. “Well, is it better to be murdered by Preston who screwed up with debts and a mafia, or Gideon who won’t leave Mabel alone. The only thing good that came from the end of my story, is that Mabel no longer cared for dating a vampire. Silver lining ya’ know?”

“Ugh, Gideon,” Dipper groaned.

“Let’s not bring him up,” Mabel said.

Chiron shrugged. “That’s what happens when you get cursed by an amulet and get spoiled by a town of idiots.”

The Danville gang all looked at each other, very confused. “Are any of you following this?” Buford asked.

“Nope.”

“No.”

“Not a clue.”

Sans chuckled as he stepped over. “Don’t worry, inside jokes and all. As you all spend time with the twins, you will pick up tidbits of context. Though considering your helping us out, I am sorry that these conversations are going over your heads. The information is for the twins to share when they want to talk about it, because not every timeline matches up with one another. The unicorns in Gravity Falls for example, in my timeline, they’re jerks that I ripped the hair off of, while in another timeline, they are rave ponies that throw a party for every new guest. In a third they are rather nice and understanding, doling out good advice to whoever will listen.”

Mabel muttered something under her breath about ‘stupid, lying, one-horned jerks.’

“You really need to tell me that story one day,” Isabella commented.

“I will at the next Fireside Girl sleepover” Mabel promised.

Phineas and Ferb were sitting on two benches Ink had made from his ink, as they helped him repair the top of the machine. Both boys realized how easy this was actually to repair, with not a whole lot of actual damage, but mostly repairing a hole or two in the circuitry, and straightening it out.

“You know,” Phineas said “this would go a lot faster if we go into song and do a montage.”

“Yes!” Mabel yelled from across the yard.

“No!” Burford yelled back “we’re not going into song.”

“I wouldn’t mind going into song” Baljeet said.

“Too bad,” Buford said, “cause we’re not doing it.”

Sans chuckled. “Well, it was just our machine getting tossed around by an explosion, before some pharmacist shouted about animals, curses, and self destruction… That is something I thought would only make sense in Gravity Falls.”

“If I’ve learned anything in the past… however long we’ve been here” Dipper said “Danville is almost as strange as Gravity Falls.”

Alastor shrugged. “We are done down here anyways, young Phiny-boy, so once you and Ferb finish with fixing the patchwork up there, we are done and ready to do something to repay your kindness.”

Sans shrugged. “Couldn’t we just give them cash?”

“Oh!” Phineas said “you don’t need to pay us.” Ferb nodded “yeah! Like Ferb said, we’re happy to help.”

Sans shrugged, “I got a friend that gave me an infinite supply, so it’s not like giving some out would matter. Just as long as we don’t inflate the economy too much, nothing will happen.”

Sans smiled widely as he looked between the kids. Pulling out his wallet, he hands out a bill to everyone.

“Is this…” Phineas said, looking confused “a negative twelve dollar bill?”

“This is worthless!” Buford exclaimed.

Dipper started laughing “it’s less than worthless!”

Alastor smiled as he spoke. “Technically, if you were to sell it online, you could earn a fortune, seeing as the written price isn't the actual worth to collectors, and all the copies originally made were burnt. The only person with any left is Trembley himself. It is official money after all.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” Burford said.

“Well, if you don’t want it I’ll take it” Dipper said “I can start a collection.”

“Nah,” the boy said, “I’ll keep it.”

Having had his fun, Sans pulled out proper bills, and gave each kid a fifty. “Spend it all in one place.”

“You really don’t have to pay us” Phineas tried to protest but Dipper nudged him in the ribs.

“Never give up free money” he hissed.

“You spent way too much time with Grunkle Stan” Mabel informed him, Dipper just shrugged.

“Isn’t the phrase don’t spend it all in one place?” Baljeet asked.

Sans chuckled, but didn’t answer as he winked. Alastor rolled his eyes, “he is goofing around with you to get a laugh kid. But if you look at it from a technical standpoint, you have just one bill, so you technically have to spend it all in one place, you will just get change back.”

Baljeet paused at that “I… I… Yes I suppose that is correct.”

Chiron chuckled, “like Stan always says, no better win then a technical win.”

The twins both snickered at that. “Man, I would really like to meet your Grunkles now,” Buford said.

“Well,” Mabel said hopefully “maybe one day.”

As Elise spoke up, everyone took notice she was sitting on Chiron’s deer half, draping her arms around his neck. “Well, are we going to do something fun now that your nerd thing is finished?”

“Yeah!” Phineas said “making the thing is only half of the fun.”

Elise looked confused. “But you only repaired the machine, are you suggesting we take you all to another dimension?”

“No thanks” Dipper said “no offense but I do not want to risk getting trapped in another dimension for thirty years.” The Daville gang looked at each other, unable to tell if Dipper was joking or not. Mabel just pouted.

“Oh um..” Phineas said, at once at a loss for words. “We can do something else.”

Sans took a side glance at Dipper, “well, seeing as someone was writing in a journal, maybe you all have questions?”

Rosie and Elise pouted, as Rosie spoke up. “I vote you have your nerdmance in the background. If you guys get a chance to sit down and chill, go ahead and do a Q&A, but maybe we can do something with a little more fun for everyone to enjoy? Not all of us want to have constant interviews, and me and Alastor are basically a two for one deal, because of our similarities and willingness to give what answers.”

“So…” Dipper said, turning to Sans “is everyone like… Dead in your dimension or just you? Sorry, that was probably rude.”

Sans shrugged, “A lot of my answers pertain to the event we just got done getting angry over them bringing up, so if I talk about my dimension, I will be talking about that. Are you ready to talk about it?”

“Good point,” Dipper said “we can just drop it then.”

Sans did give a relieved sigh as he heard him, before speaking lowly so only Dipper could hear. “If you want an answer, without spoilers, mine didn’t end, until I destroyed the cause and another demon. No one survived.”

“Oh” Dipper muttered back “I’m sorry.”

Sans smiled, “I had to fix everything, and it cost me my place in my world, and have been traveling the multiverse since. So they are alive again, if that helps you feel better. I saved every life the two demons ended, before ensuring neither could do it again.”

“Wait.. If they’re alive then how come you can’t see them?” Dipper asked “or is that too personal?"

“I reset the timeline, erasing my own present while I couldn’t be erased with it. So while they all reset, and I could go talk with my sister again, I would also be talking with her twin brother, the past me, which made it a little awkward. Looks like Phineas and Ferb brought their blue prints out again, you wanna join?”

“Sure.” Dipper said “and for what it’s worth, I am sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine knowing Mabel is alive and not being able to see her.”

Sans chuckled. “Think of it this way, I got to go meet and help hundreds of Mabels across the multiverse that could have wound up in horrible places. I may not be able to live comfortably in my original dimension, but that doesn’t mean I don’t spend time with my sister and friends. I can’t count the number of times I pulled them all out of the fire.”

Before Dipper could follow Sans as he stepped over to join the others, Elise placed a hand on his shoulder, having somehow popped up behind him. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.” Elise gave Dipper a quick kiss on the cheek as she stepped back over to the rest of the kids.

Dipper frowned and wiped his cheek “that was weird.” He muttered to himself and headed over to the rest of the group.

As Dipper reached them, he caught Phineas saying “that’s a great idea Ferb.” Before running off and coming back with a blank blueprint, which they used to begin forming their plan for the day with input from their interdimensional guests.

—------

In the backyard of the Fynn-Fletcher home, there was a green colored, high-tech looking building. Which was suddenly struck by a beam of energy that caused it to dissolve, revealing the entire gang and new friends, Candace, Stacy, and Jeremy having joined them at some point.

Ink looked around confused. “What happened to the building?”

The Danville crew all shrugged as Candace groaned out. “You get used to it.”

“I really want to find out one of these days,” Dipper said.

Sans chuckled, “well, we got to view a couple alternate versions of us all, which we never expected to experience before, in all honesty. So this has been an exciting day. You guys are super cool, maybe not as cool as my bro, but still super cool.”

Alastor and Rosie had smiles as they once again used their magic to power up and dry off. Chiron, having used his magic to douse them with rain on occasion to get them to quit with their inappropriate jokes. They were just seeing how often they caught them at this point.

Elise was still smiling, in high spirits as she spoke up. “I found it to be very fun to be a cat from Fuzzyville.”

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed “that was awesome!”

Ink rolled his eyes, “not to be confused with Fuzzville, where we were all cops.”

“The one where we were all Platypuses was pretty fun” Phineas remarked “it was cool to see what Perry feels like every day.”

As they all got to the Pines’ backyard, where Sans resummoned the machine once more, he pulled what looked to be a laptop out of a compartment in between the screen and the keyboard layers, before turning to his new friends. “This is a laptop, it is keyed into our machine and you can only really use it as a chatroom to talk with anyone that has one of these. You can even contact us if something happens and you need some extra muscle. There are also other dimensions that we already visited that have one, that you can contact and chat with. I know Marble is on often and chatting up a storm with whoever is willing to chat with him.”

“Awesome!” Mabel opened the laptop and Dipper looked over her shoulder.

As Sans handed the laptop to Mabel, Elise muttered lowly to Isabella so the others couldn’t hear. “Keep my suggestion in mind, you might need it with your boy.”

“Thanks, but Mabel and I have our own plan in mind,” Isabella whispered back.

As the travelers gathered around the machine, the Danville residents stepped back as a cone of light was generated, showing the area that needed to be cleared. The Danville residents waved as their new friends waved goodbye, as they began to disappear within the spinning cone of light.

“Well, that was fun,” Phineas said.

“Yeah” Dipper agreed “a bit unexpected but what else is new?”

“Ah, there you are Perry” Ferb commented, picking up the platypus.

“I wonder who that pharmacist was they were talking about” Mabel wondered as she picked up Waddles, passing the laptop over to Dipper.

“Eh,” Buford said, “it’s probably not important. I mean, it’s a pharmacist, what are they going to do? Prescribe us to death?”

Everybody laughed, not noticing the look the two pets exchanged.

Notes:

I think this is the longest chapter to date!

A couple weeks ago Supremebandit reached out to me about doing a chapter with some of his characters, and as you can see; I said yes. That being said, the characters Sans, Ink, Alastor, Rosie, Chiron, and Elise are all characters from Supremebandit and he wrote most of the dialogue for them.

I do hope you guys liked this, it's a bit different than what I normally write but I enjoyed working on it and I think it turned out great. What are your thoughts?

-Izzy

Chapter 36: Blind Faith

Summary:

Dipper is effected by one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's schemes.

Everything started as a normal day, Mabel and Dipper headed to the Flynn-Fletchers' to find the two brothers trying to figure out what to do with leftover parts from past projects. That’s when Buford gave Phineas the idea to make an invention casserole of shorts with recycled stuff. So, like always, they built the thing and had fun playing on it.

That’s when it happened.

Dipper slid down one of the many sides and landed safely on the grass, he started to head over to the stairs to climb back to the top when he felt something hit his face. It felt like a puff of air, maybe a quick gust of air. Then his vision was filled with a bright light and when cleared Dipper could barely see anything.

Frowning Dipper reached up a hand to make sure he was still wearing his glasses, he was. He took them off and found that his vision was way worse than usual. What was going on?

Mason waited to see if eyesight would clear up on its own but it didn’t. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Ah!”

“Dipper?” It was Mabel.

“Oh, hey Mabel,” Dipper said, he turned around and put his glasses back on but it did nothing to fix his vision.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Mabel,” Dipper said, panic creeping into his voice. “I can’t see anything.”

“What?”

“I can’t see anything!” He repeated “I… I don’t know what’s going on but I’m completely blind. All I can see is a bunch of blurry white light.”

“Okay,” Mabel took him by the shoulders and led Dipper to the side, and sat them both down. “Take a deep breath. Maybe it will come back on its own.”

“Maybe.”

The two sat together, quietly, waiting. As they wait Mabel notices Waddles waddling up to her. “There you are Waddles” she squealed softly and scooped him up.

—----

Perry and Waddles had a pretty normal mission, Doofenshmirtz had decided to make an inator that would make people go temporarily blind. He invented something that was used in the equipment that eye doctors used and wanted to turn it evil by finding a way to get more royalty checks.

But just like every other day the two stopped Doofenshmirtz and were now back home with their respective owners. Perry was scooped up by Ferb and he and Phineas after the two finished cleaning up their latest project. The brothers walked over to where Dipper and Mabel were sitting.

“Hey,” Phineas said, sounding concerned “Are you guys okay?”

“No!” Dipper’s voice had risen an octave, sounding more feminine than it normally did. “I can’t see anything.”

“What do you mean you can’t see anything?” Isabella asked.

“I mean that I suddenly went blind” Dipper sounded panicked. “One moment I could see just fine, and the next everything was all blurry. Even with my glasses!”

Waddles and Perry looked at each other then slipped out of their owners’ hold and hurried off.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Buford was saying.

“You think!” Dipper yelled, and then he winced “Sorry, I’m just really anxious.”

“That’s okay,” Phineas said “I think any of us would be in this situation.”

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed, then she got an idea. “Hey guys, do you think you could make something to fix it?”

“That might not be a good idea…” Phineas said and Ferb nodded.

“We don’t have much experience with the medical field,” Ferb said, “you would be best seeing an optometrist.”

“Dad does have the day off…” Dipper admitted.

“How about you two go find your Dad and get this figured out,” Isabella said, “we’ll finish cleaning up.”

“You sure?” Dipper asked as Mabel helped him up.

“Yeah!” Phineas said “We got this. You worry about getting your eyes fixed.”

“Okay,” Dipper said “Thanks, guys.”

“Keep us updated,” Buford said.

“We will!” Mabel promised.

—--------

Perry and Waddles slipped down into the lair and looked at each other with worry. When they fought Dr. D the inator made a rouge shot before they destroyed it, seems like it hit Dipper. The good thing was that the effects of the Eye Fog-inator were only temporary. Though Waddles decided he needed to keep an eye on Dipper, just in case.

Waddles left the lab and headed back to his house to find Dipper sitting at the kitchen table and Dan standing in front of him, waving a hand slowly in front of his son’s face. The man frowned.

“So you really can’t see anything?”

“I can see stuff,” Dipper said, “but it’s all blurry, even with my glasses.”

“Yeah…” Dan said “That’s probably not good… Okay, let's go see the doctor.”

“Can I come?” Mabel asked.

“Sure” Dan agreed.

The father helped his son to his feet and the small family headed out to the car, Waddles followed them and bumped Mabel’s leg a couple of times.

“Aw” Mabel cooed and picked him up, “Waddles must want to come too.”

“You can’t bring him, honey,” Dan sighed, “we’ve talked about this.”

“But he has to!” Mabel said, “he must be worried about Dipper.”

Dan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose “Okay, fine. Just get in the car.”

—------

Once the twins left the rest of the gang finished cleaning up and went inside for snacks. “I hope Dipper will be alright,” Phineas said.

“I am sure he will be fine,” Baljeet said.

“What do you think happened, Baljeet?” Isabella asked.

“I’m not sure” the boy admitted. “The only thing I can think of right now is that he is suffering from a bad migraine. But that usually has other symptoms.”

“Woah” Phineas said, “I can see why Mason is so freaked out.”

“Maybe we can do something to cheer him up,” Isabella suggested.

“Yeah!” Phineas agreed “But what?”

“Why not just make him some cards?” Buford said, “Ya know, keep it simple.”

“That might be the best idea,” Ferb said “I don’t think Dipper likes having a big fuse made over him.”

Everyone nodded “I got a bunch of craft supplies back at my house,” Isabella said.

“Great!” Phineas said, “Ferb, I know what else we are going to do today.”

—--------

Dipper sat in the chair at the optometrist's office, on the car ride over here he started to see a bit better but not like he normally did. Right now his Dad and sister were out in the waiting room. The door opened and Dipper could see the blurry form of the doctor walk in. He couldn’t see the man super well but he didn’t think it was the same doctor as he saw last time.

“Hi,” the man said, “you must be Maisley.”

Dipper flinched “Uh it’s Mason.”

“Oh,” there was a pause “alright. So I heard you've been having trouble with your vision?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said “I don’t know what happened, one moment I could see fine and the next everything was blurry. Even with my glasses.”

The man went through the usual eye check-up stuff. Dipper decided he liked the doctor he saw when he first got his glasses better. As the doctor did his thing Dipper’s vision slowly started to come back bit by bit. Much to his relief.

By the end of the visit, his sight was restored to the way it was. The doctor acted very smugly over the whole thing, acting like it was all because of him. Much to Dipper’s annoyance. But he kept his mouth shut, just grateful.

As they drove home Dad said, “While I’m glad your eyesight is back, I wonder why you lost it in the first place.”

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed, “it was weird.”

In Mabel’s arms, Waddles began to relax.

Notes:

The tittle of this chapter was inspired by a Gravity Falls AU. If someone can tell me what the AU is and what it is about then I will give them a shoutout in the next chapter.

This chapter was inspired by the Phineas and Ferb episode: Backyard Hodge Podge.

Sorry this isn't as well written (and shorter) as most of the other chapters. I'm going to my Great-Aunt's funeral this weekend and I was rushing all week to make sure that I got everything I needed to do done before I left. Technically, I am posting this late Friday night because I don't know if I will have time on Saturday.

-Izzy

Chapter 37: Baljeet’s Big Brain

Summary:

Baljeet fears his brain is slowing down because of the break from school.

The group of friends (minus Baljeet) sat in a circle with a small pile of random objects in the middle including; nail polish, loose change, a few dollar bills, hair ties, some bolts and screws, etc.

“Well I’m out,” Isabella announced, throwing her cards down.

“Me too” Phineas said and Buford groaned as the two of them tossed down their cards.

Mabel grinned “Dipper?”

“Hang on” Dipper was glaring at his cards before admitting defeat and setting them down.

Mabel laughed and she pulled the pot towards her. “I win again!”

“Why do we keep playing with her?” Buford groaned.

“I tried to warn you,” Dipper shrugged.

Ferb gathered up the cards and started shuffling, it was then Baljeet decided to arrive. “Hello everyone,” he said, “sorry I’m late.”

“That’s okay” Phineas said “Ferb, deal him in.”

“Who invented playing cards anyways?” Buford asked.

“They were invented by ancient Babylonian traders and merchants,” Baljeet explained.

“Actually, the Babylonians had been defunct as a distinct culture for a millennium prior to the introduction of playing cards in India.” Ferb corrected as he kept shuffling cards.

“That is right!” Baljeet gasped “two months of summer vacation and I am losing my edge!”

“Two months!” Dipper exclaimed “really?” He turned to Mabel “is it just me or has it felt way longer?”

“It’s not just you,” Mabel said.

Baljeet was still talking “Oh! My brain is atrophied! It needs exercise!”

“Gang,” Phineas said “I know what we're gonna do today!”

“And Perry?” Dipper asked.

“Who knows.”

—--------

Baljeet came running in the Flynn-Fletcher yard holding a couple of papers. “Look at this!” He held up a X-ray of a brain “this is my brain during the school year... “ Baljeet held up another one” and this is my brain now!”

“Um,” Mabel frowned, “they look the same.”

“I know!” Baljeet said “but it took me three minutes to remember how to give myself a CAT scan! I am slipping!”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about” Dipper said “most fourteen year olds can’t give themselves CAT scans.”

“Grunkle Ford probably could” Mabel said.

“Yeah,” Mason agreed “but he’s the exception.”

“Don’t worry Baljeet” Phineas was saying, showing off a metal helmet thing. “We've done a bit of cerebro-stimulatory haberdashery since you left.”

“We made a hat for your brain, slowly.” Buford turned to Isabella “boy, he is slippin'.”

“Try it on!” Phineas said.

“What does it do?” Baljeet asked and he put on the helmet.”

“Hold on” Phineas flipped a switch on a control box.

“Oh my!” The Indian boy said as the helmet took effect.

“Hey Baljeet,” Dipper said “how many subatomic particles do you think...are in that dandelion?”

Baljeet picked the dandelion and weighed it in his hand “hmm…” he pulled out a piece of chalk and walked over to the fence and began to rapidly write on it. “Two points seven-three-two times ten to the twenty-sixth power of particles. But I could not tell you the exact location of any of them because of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.”

“Wow” Mabel looked shocked.

“Looks like it works,” Phineas said.

—-------

Everybody sat on the grass watching Baljeet cover the fence with writings in chalk, Dipper frowned a bit. He had always been good at math and knew quite a lot (his friends liked to call him a math genius) but even this was a little out of his realm of knowledge.

“Look at him go,” Phineas said.

“Ah,” Buford said, “he still gets de-pantsed one leg at a time.”

“This is great!” Baljeet said, turning to them. “With my stimulated brain, I am dreaming up all sorts of super smart projects!”

“That’s great!” Mabel said “what’s your favorite?”

“I have! You see, the greatest impediment to making astronomical observations, is our atmosphere. It is like looking through pea soup!” Baljeet said “to make our terrestrial telescopes more effective, I am going to take all of the Earth's atmosphere, and put it on the moon!” He holds up a poster showcasing what he is saying.

They all stared at him, gob-smacked.

“Wh… What?” Dipper asked.

“Uh…” Phineas said.

“I don't...um…” Isabella tried to say.

“That sounds…” Mabel tried to say.

“.... Suffocating?” Buford finished.

“Yeah…” Mabel agreed.

“Aw,” Baljeet waved their concerns away “I will disintegrate that bridge when I come to it.”

“Um Baljeet” Dipper said “if the atmosphere is gone-”

“And it is so simple!” Baljeet interrupted “I can use an ion coupling device to attract each atmospheric molecule to the second greatest gravity source, which in this case, is the moon, and after the initial impact…”

“I knew we should have just had a study session,” Dipper said.

“...the particles will bounce up into lunar orbit! Blue skies on the moon! Imagine that!” As he talked Baljeet started to get to work and Phineas walked over to him.

“Hey, Baljeet?” He said “can I talk to you for a second?”

“Of course! I will just use small words!”

“So...uh,” Phineas said “we were hoping we could talk you out of transferring the Earth's atmosphere to the moon.”

“On the eve of my greatest triumph?” Baljeet asked, fidgeting a bit.

“Well, we were just thinking it would be sort of a hollow victory,” Phineas explained “you know, with everybody not being able to breathe anymore?”

Baljeet stopped fidgeting “science marches on!”

“Okay, thanks!” Phineas walked back to the rest of the group “brain booster, in retrospect...not such a good idea.”

“I tried to warn you,” Mabel said and Dipper nodded.

“I think Brain Boy's had enough stimulation for one day.” Buford tried to touch the control unit but got shocked. “Ow! Hey, that hurts!”

“Yes! Yes, it does!” Baljeet yelled from high up on his slowly growing tower “this way my work will not be interrupted by creatures who cannot possibly understand it! Like raccoons, or people, for instance.”

“I was so looking forward to High School” Isabella said sadly and Mabel gave her a side hug.

“We're going to have to get into that tower.” Phineas said “Any ideas?”

Dipper dialed a number on his phone and held it up to his ear. Then sighed and put it back in his pocket.

“Who were you trying to call?” Phineas asked.

“Grunkle Ford” Dipper said “but like usual, he’s not answering.”

—-------

Somewhere in the Arctic.

Stan was sitting on the couch in the living area of the Stan O War watching a movie on DVD. “Ya know, we should really check in on the kids here soon.”

Ford looked up from a red Journal with a gold hand on the cover with a number four. “I’m sure they are fine Stanley.” He said “and besides, we don’t have any phone service.”

—------

The brothers, the twins, Isabella, and Buford army crawled through a tunnel under the Flynn-Fletcher yard. Meanwhile, above ground, Baljeet was distracted by cardboard cutouts of them and a voice recording.

“All right, gang.” Phineas said “this is our chance to attack the Atmospheric Device.”

“He’s going to notice us,” Isabella said.

“Exacttly!” Phineas said.

“This is just busy work, isn't it?” Buford asked.

“Did you guys not pay attention to the plan?” Dipper asked “cause if you did then you would know that this is simply step one.”

Mabel opened a manhole on the street from underneath and peeked out. She ducked back down “coast is clear.”

The gang all flew out on jetpacks. Up in his now finished tower Baljeet noticed them on the monitor. “ Jetpacks? I thought you were-” He uses a robot arm to pick up Isabella's decoy. “Cardbord pulp effigies?” He laughed “clever, but not clever enough!”

Baljeet managed to zap his friends with a green beem. “Aww! I got you in my tractor beam! He starts to press buttons. “Time to strip the atmosphere from our planet, and allow an unobstructed view of the cosmos!”

The Atmospheric Device starts to create static, causing dark clouds to cover the sun and the sky and dark clouds begin to cover the earth. The fog over the earth begins to swirl and rise toward the moon. Pulling the Earth’s atmosphere away from the planet.

“Only a few more seconds to my greatest triumph!” Baljeet said "I wonder what I will do tomorrow.”

Phineas’ voice came over a loudspeaker. “Attention, Baljeet! Prepare to surrender!”

The boy laughed “surrender to whom? You are frozen!”

“Are we?”

Baljeet took a closer look to see that who he thought were his friends were relly stuffed dummies.
“That is not possible! Well, I mean, clearly, it is possible, but highly unlikely. Prepare to be --

Mabel then swung in on her grappling hook and yanked the helmet off of Baljeet's head to see the boy had some giant brain and recoiled “gross!”

Baljeet’s brain deflates back to a normal size. “Something is different” he turned to Mabel. “How did you get in here?

“That’s easy,” Dipper said “we tunneled up here while you were busy with the jetpack decoys.”

“I do not understand.”

“Well, remember when we all made those life-sized stuffed models of ourselves this morning?” Phineas asked.

“No.”

“It pays to show up on time.” Ferb said.

“I will get an alarm clock.” Baljeet sighed.
An electronic voice came from the tower “two minutes to atmospheric transfer.”

“Oh! It is too late!” Baljeet started to panic “I do not understand the controls anymore!”

“Didn't you build a fail-safe or something?” Isabella asked, also freaking out along with the rest of the group.

“YES!“ He relized “Of course! It is right here, and the key is right on that hook!” Baljeet ran over and found it to be missing.

Dipper sighed and pulled out his phone again. “Time to try Ford again.”

“I think it’s a little late for that...” Mabel said.

“Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…” The voice overhead counted down.

Meanwhile Baljeet was panicking and running back and forth around the room, screaming. “Where is the key? Where is it?!”

Noone noticed a key landing on the key rack.

Isabella noticed it “is this it?”

“Yes!!” Baljeet ran over and grabbed it and stuck it into a lock as the countdown kept going. He turned it.

“Atmospheric Transfer terminated.” They all sighed in relife.

—-------

The gang left the tower, the day nice and sunny once more.

“We should do something about that helmet,” Dipper said.
“No! No, you should not!” They all turn to see Buford wearing the helmet “ used my now vastly superior intellect to build the world's largest wedgie machine!”

Phineas, Ferb, Mabel, Dipper, and Isabella all took a step away from Baljeet.

“Boy, you try to eliminate the atmosphere one time…”

Buford laughed loudly as Baljeet shudders, the bully reached toward Baljeet as if he was going to wedgie him. The machine’s hand grabs the Atmospheric Device and rockets into space with it, along with the helmet still connected to it. The helmet is pulled off of Buford’s head and his large brain deflates.

“Something is… Different.”

It was then the kids noticed Linda and Candace “you kids want pie?” The mom asked.

They all excitedly ran inside, cheering.

Notes:

This chapter was based off the Phineas and Ferb episode: Cranius Maximus.

Nothing super exciting to say about this one. Sorry it's a tad latter than usual, I had a big homework assignment to finish up. I would have done it last night but some friends and I had a Girl's Night/Sleepover.

Hope you guys have a good Memorial Day weekend. Do you guys have any plans?

-Izzy

Chapter 38: Text-tastic

Summary:

A brief peek into various group chats the Mystery Twins are in.

Notes:

Username Index:

Big-Dipper - Dipper
GlitterPigQueen - Mabel
FlannelQueen - Wendy
LlamaWarrior - Pacifica

Platy-eas- Phineas
Ferb-tastic- Ferb
BelleOfTheBall - Isabella
MathWiz- Baljeet
Buff-ord- Buford

Holly-Tree - Holly
GingerSpice - Ginger
Katie-Bell - Katie
FiresideMilly - Milly
Ally-Sweet - Adyson

Group Chat - The Mystery Gang

[LlamaWarrior]: I mean honestly, why do people work? This sucks.

[FlannelQueen]: cause we aren’t all rich like your fam

[Big-Dipper logged on]

[FlannelQueen]: yo! Hey Dipper.

[Big-Dipper]: hey guys, what's up?

[FlannelQueen]: Paz and I are both working and ranting about customers

[Big-Dipper]: nice, but shouldn’t you guys be… idk… working?

[FlannelQueen]: since when have you known me to work?

[FlannelQueen]: and besides, Soos doesn’t care.

[Big-Dipper]: fair enough, what about you Pacifca?

[LlamaWarrior]: I’m on my break.

[FlannelQueen]: Dipper how’s your summer?

[Big-Dipper]: it’s been great! Have had a lot of fun adventures

[LlamaWarrior]: I thought you said Calafornia was boring.

[Big-Dipper]: it is but we moved to this town called Danville

[Big-Dipper]: it’s like a more mild version of Gravity Falls

[LlamaWarrior]: Wait, when did you move?

[Big-Dipper]: at the beginning of summer….

[FlannelQueen]: how do you not know this?

[LlamaWarrior]: I only just got my phone back and I don’t listen to rumors.

[Big-Dipper]: why did your phone get taken?

[LlamaWarrior]: As punishment for getting a summer job at Greasy’s. Stupid, I know.

[Big-Dipper]: yikes. That’s sucks

[LlamaWarrior]: you’re telling me.

[FlannelQueen]: not gonna lie but you, Paz, are the best thing to happen to Greasy’s

[LlamaWarrior]: Really?

[FlannelQueen]: ya kidding? Why do you think I come around so often?

[FlannelQueen]: Seeing you sass off customers is the highlight of my day

[Big-Dipper]: oh man, wish I could be there

[LlamaWarrior]: Well the next time you’re in town come by and I’ll sass you.

[Big-Dipper]: I’ll hold you to that

[LlamaWarrior]: Anyways, my break is over so I have to log off.

[FlannelQueen]: bye

[Big-Dipper] bye!

[LlamaWarrior logged off]

—------

Group Chat - Fireside Gals

[GlitterPigQueen logged on]

[GlitterPigQueen]: GUYS!

[GlitterPigQueen]: Is Bella on?

[Holly-Tree]: No, why?

[GingerSpice]: want me to tag her?

[GlitterPigQueen]: NO!

[GlitterPigQueen]: not yet. I figured it out.

[Katie-Bell]: figured what out?

[GlitterPigQueen]: why I haven’t gotten Phineas and Isabella together yet

[GlitterPigQueen]: or more like a new plan

[FiresideMilly]: Well, don’t leave us hanging!

[GlitterPigQueen]: Dipper finally planned another DDMD session for tomorrow. So I’m gonna have Phineas’ and Isabella’s characters get romantic!!

[Ally-Sweet]: wow, how’s that going to work?

[GlitterPigQueen]: if they fall in love in the game then they might fall in love RL

[Holly-Tree]: It's not a bad plan. Is Mason going to help?

[GlitterPigQueen]: no he said that I can do what I want in game but he’s not gonna set stuff up for me

[GingerSpice]: well good luck! Tell us how it goes!!

[GlitterPigQueen]: I will!!!

-----

Group Chat - DDMD

[Big-Dipper]: @everyone

[GlitterPigQueen logged on]

[Ferb-tastic logged on]

[Platy-eas logged on]

[BelleOfTheBall logged on]

[MathWiz logged on]

[Buff-ord logged on]

[Big-Dipper]: you guys ready for the session tomorrow?

[GlitterPigQueen]: YES!!

[Big-Dipper]: calm down Mabel.

[BellaOfTheBall]: don’t worry Mabel, I’m really excited too

[GlitterPigQueen]: ghdkfhew

[Big-Dipper]: Mabel, I’m serious.

[Platy-eas]: is everything okay?

[GlitterPigQueen]: everything is great!

[GlitterPigQueen]: I’m just excited for the session

[GlitterPigQueen]: can’t wait to see what you will do Phineas

[Platy-eas]: yeah! It will be fun

[Big-Dipper]: MABEL!

[GlitterPigQueen]: BRB

[Big-Dipper]: while we hguyhjhuig

[Big-Dipper]: bhgiyhojonodhemdfw

[GlitterPigQueen]: hiqheigfuiehiogq

[MathWiz]: What is going on?

[Buff-ord]: i think they’re fighting Rl

[BellaOfTheBall]: yeah, Mabel must have tackled Mason or something

[Big-Dipper]: hel hiubybhi

[Big-Dipper]: hey I’m Dipper and I’m always sweaty

[Ferb-tastic]: Mabel must have stolen his phone. Again.

[Platy-eas]: this sure does happen a lot

[Buff-ord]: they’re siblings it’s normal for them to fight

[Buff-ord]: and they don’t really fight

[Platy-eas]: Ferb and I don’t fight

[Buff-ord]: yeah cause you two are weird

[Big-Dipper logged off]

[BellaOfTheBall]: oh?

[Buff-ord]: Dipper’s dead

[MathWiz]: I am sure he is fine.

[GlitterPigQueen logged off]

[Ferb-tastic]: seems like Mabel is gone too

[BellaOfTheBall]: Has anyone noticed that Ferb texts a lot more than he talks?

[MathWiz]: Yes. Why is that Ferb?

[Ferb-tastic]: writing is easier than speaking

[Big-Dipper logged on]

[Buff-ord]: hey, you’re back

[Big-Dipper]: sorry bout that

[Platy-eas]: It’s fine!

[BellaOfTheBall]: what happened?

[Big-Dipper]: long story, too long to type out and I’m not in the mood for a phone call

[GlitterPigQueen logged on]

[GlitterPigQueen]: I HAVE RETURNED!

[Platy-eas]: welcome back!

[Big-Dipper]: can we get back to the topic of the chat please?

[Buff-ord]: why do we gotta have two chats anyways?

[Big-Dipper]: as I said many times before, this one is for DDMD and the other is for everything else!

[Platy-eas]: sorry Dipper

[Big-Dipper]: it’s fine. Anyways, what time do you guys want to come over?

[BellaOfTheBall]: why not the same time as last time?

[Big-Dipper]: well dad said if you come at 8 then he’ll make us pancakes

[GlitterPigQueen]: yeah! And I’m gonna make Mabel Juice

[Big-Dipper]: on the other hand, maybe we shouldn’t do breakfast…

[MathWiz]: What is Mabel Juice?

[Big-Dipper]: Mabel’s homemade energy drink

[Big-Dipper]: No one knows how she makes it but I think it should be classified as a hazardous substance

[GlitterPigQueen]: it’s really good

[Platy-eas]: I’ll try it

[Buff-ord]: me too

[Big-Dipper]: this is gonna be a disaster

[GlitterPigQueen]: of fun!!!!

[Big-Dipper]: whatever. So tomorrow morning at 8?

[Ferb-tastic]: I just asked our mother and she said that she will make us muffins.

[GlitterPigQueen]: what kind?

[Ferb-tasitc]: chocolate chip

[GlitterPigQueen]: yummy!

[MathWiz]: I can provide juice

[Platy-eas]: cool!

[Big-Dipper]: you guys don’t have to bring food

[BellaOfTheBall]: my mom said that she’ll make us some latkes

[Big-Dipper]: NEVER MIND! You can bring that

[GlitterPigQueen]: YES! Isabella I love you!

[BellaOfTheBall]: lol I love you too Mabel

[Buff-ord]: can someone remind me what latkes are?

[Ferb-tastic]: They are a type of Jewish potato pancakes. They are traditionally made to celebrate Hanukkah but can be eaten at other times of the year.

[Buff-ord]: so they're like hash browns?

[GlitterPigQueen]: NO!

[Big-Dipper]: how dare you

[BellaOfTheBall]: no, and please don’t try to eat them with ketchup.

[Big-Dipper]: if you do I’m kicking you out

[MathWiz]: Surely you're joking.

[Big-Dipper]: why would we joke about latkes?

[MathWiz]: Right… Well I need to log off. I will see you tomorrow.

[MathWiz logged off]

[Buff-ord]: I need to go feed my fish, see ya losers tomorow

[Buff-ord logged off]

[Platy-eas]: looks like everyone’s heading out. Bye guys!

[BellaOfTheBall]: Bye Phineas!

[Ferb-tastic]: Goodbye

[Platy-eas logged off]

[Ferb-tastic logged off]

[BellaOfTheBall]: see you tomorrow!

[GlitterPigQueen]: bye!

[BellaOfTheBall logged off]

[Big-Dipper logged off]

[GlitterPigQueen logged off]

Notes:

This was inspired by the fic 'The Echo Falls Groupchat' by Thornrose270. I highly recommend it. Wendy and Pacifca's usernames are from them.

As you guys can see, we got some Gravity Falls cameos! I was so excited to pull Wendy and Pacifica in, even if it was only for a little bit. This format was a bit different than other chapters but I like it a lot.

I am a little disappointed in myself because I forgot one of the Fireside Girls, Gretchen. I also wanted to do a chat between Candy, Grenda, and Mabel but couldn't find a place to put it. Maybe I could do a part 2? What do you guys think?

-Izzy

Chapter 39: Questing Time: Part 2

Summary:

Our brave adventures head down into the dungeon!

Notes:

Character guide:
Phin- Phineas
Xeth- Ferb
Iśa- Isabella
Maé- Mabel
Gruff- Buford
Bael- Baljeet

“Okay” Dipper said “welcome everyone to our second session!”

“We’ve been here for a half hour already,” Buford said.

“Yes” Dipper rolled his eyes, “but now we are playing.”

“Should we put our dishes away?” Phineas asked.

“Oh yeah” Dipper agreed “you should. And wash your hands. I don’t want syrup all over my stuff Mabel.” He gave his sister a pointed look. Mabel laughed.

As everyone cleaned up Dipper finished setting up and looked through his notes. Soon everyone was back to sitting around the table.

“Alright” Dipper said “quick summary of last time… The party all met and was told by the local cafe owner, Layla, that her employee, Zara, is missing. You guys headed to the town of Fanfoss to find her. Along the way you ran into some strange farmer dude and an overturned produce cart and found Zara’s sword. You guys found a small cave with a ladder into a hole. Any questions?”

“I think you covered it,” Isabella said.

“Awesome” Dipper said “then let's get started!”

—--------

They all stare down the hole. “Should… Should we go down?” Phin asks.

“Might be the best course of action,” Xeth said.

“Looks pretty dark…” Iśa says.

“You are an elf,” Bael said, “don’t you have darkvision?”

“Oh!” Iśa laughs “I can!"

“I can go down first.” Maé offers “I can also see in the dark.”

“Alright” Phin agrees.

Maé climbs down the ladder with the rest of the group following. Bael was the last to enter the hole, and as he climbs down he looks up and sees the sunlight fading as the party goed deeper and deeper underground.

When they got to the bottom Iśa, Maé, Xeth, Phin and Gruff could all see in the dark. Meaning Bael was the only one who couldn’t.

—------

“Wait,” Baljeet said “why can’t I see anything?”

“Because you're a halfling” Dipper reminded him “they don't have darkvision.”

“Oh… right.”

—------

Bael groaned “great! I can’t see anything.” Xeth lit a lamp and handed it to him. “Oh, thank you.”

The group all took a proper look around to see an empty room with no doors and several unlit lamps lining the walls. On the far side of the room there is a gold circle facing the wall which has eight white squares in the wall. Along the right wall there are tables filled with books and papers. Along the left wall are a bunch of boxes and crates.

“Cool” Phin said “where should we start?”

“I know!” Maé said “Phin, you and Iśa should go look at the books. Bael and Gruff will look at the crates and Xeth and I can look at those weird squares.”

“Sure.”

“Works for me.”

“Let's do it.”

Phin and Iśa headed over to the tables and started looking through the papers and books. Not knowing what to look for Phin was mostly looking at the books and one on dungeons, one on traps, and ‘The Beginners Guide To Getting Revenge.’

“Huh” he said to himself, “strange. Did you find anything Iśa?”

“Not really…” Iśa said “just this.” She showed Phin a piece of paper with the lyrics for ‘You Are My Sunshine.’

Across the room Maé and Xeth were looking through the crates, the gnome held up two viles. One was filled with a red health potion and the other was filled with a strange blue liquid.

“Oooh” Maé said, taking the blue one “this one’s sparkly.”

—------

“Can I drink it?” Mabel asked.

“What? Right now?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah!”

“Um…” Dipper said “are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Okay…” Dipper said “so you drink it… and um… roll me a D10?”

Mabel rolled the sparkly pink dice “five.”

“You gain back one level 5 spell slot.”

“What?!” Everyone yelled.

“Yeah,” Dipper said “the potion is a homebrew item that gives you a spell slot back.”

“Come on Mabel” Bufford groaned, “we could’ve used that.”

“Buford” Baljeet teased “are you enjoying yourself? Are you enjoying a nerd game?”

“Just because I like some geeky stuff does not mean I’m a nerd” Buford glared at Baljeet.

“Right…” Dipper said “well, back on track…”

—--------

As it turned out the white squares were some kind of puzzle and when Iśa stood on the gold circle on the ground and said the word ‘sunshine’ in elvish a door opened up and they were able to get past. The group went down a short hallway and were soon facing three doors. The middle one had two locks.

“I think we need to go through that door,” Bael pointed to the middle one.

“But it’s locked,” Maé said, “how are we supposed to get through it?”

“Maybe we can find the keys in the other two rooms,” Phin said.

“Good idea” Iśa said “which one shoul we start with?”

“We should split up,” Maé said, “we can cover more ground that way. How about Phin and Iśa go through the right door and Xeth and Gruff can go through the left?”

“What about you and Bael?” Phin asked.

“Perhaps we can stay here and try and pick the lock?” Beal suggested.

“Yeah!” Maé agreed.

Everyone split up and went to their own separate rooms. Gruff and Xeth went through the left door to find the room has 26 levers in it.

“Looks like a puzzle” Gruff said “I've never been good with puzzles so you should probably figure this one out.”

Xeth looked over everything with a keen eye before figuring it out. He walked over and pulled each of the levels to correspond with the word ‘open.’ But nothing happened.

“Aren’t we looking for a key?” Gruff asked “why don’t you try that?”

Xeth nodded and spelled out ‘key’ this time there is a clicking sound and part of the wall opened up to reveal a brass key.

Meanwhile, Phin and Iśa went through the right room to find it was empty except for some small stone tabel kind of thing. Phin walked over to the tabel but couldn’t find anything super unusual about it. Iśa walked to one of the corners and could find a little carving of fire.

—------

“Phineas” Dipper narrated “you look up to find that there is no door.”

“What about the one I came through?” Phineas asked.

“It’s gone.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Isabella frowned.

“I have worse news,” Dipper was trying so hard to hold back his grin “the walls are closing in and there is a two minute timer.” He held up a small, handheld timer that is counting down from two minutes. “All four walls are slowly scratching their way towards you.

“Oh geez!” Phineas exclaimed and Buford laughed.

—------

Phin and Iśa quickly move to the center of the room “what are we going to do?” The elf woman asked.

“I… I don’t know” Phin said.

Looking around Iśa spotted a torch and grabbed it, sticking it in the corner with the fire carving but nothing happened.

—---------

“The walls get closer and closer and I don't know if you've ever been claustrophobic before but you definitely are now.” Dipper says “and as the walls fold in around you, you are now inside the illusion and you can see a key hanging on the back wall.”

“What??!” Everyone yelled and Dipper laughed.

“It was an illusion this whole time?” Mabel asked.

Mason nodded “yup!”

“I’m going to grab the key,” Isabella says, rolling her eyes a bit.

“You can walk through the illusion around you and grab the little silver key and when you turn around the door is back.” Dipper says.

—-------

Bael and Maé turn to see Phin and Iśa almost fall through the door and back into the hallway like the two were rushing to get out.

“Woah” Maé said “are you guys okay?”

“We got the key,” Phin said, holding it up.

“Wonderful!” Bael grabbes it and sticks the silver key into the silver lock.

Gruff and Xeth come out of their room and show off the brass key. Bael is now able to open the door and the party walks through it.

—--------

“That’s all I got for today,” Dipper says.

“That was fun!” Mabel said “what did you think, Phineas? Wasn’t Isabella amazing?”

Dipper groaned but said nothing. “Yeah” Phineas agrees “trying to use fire to stop the walls was really smart.”

Isabella has a huge grin on her face “thanks! I’m sorry iit didn’t work.”

“That’s okay” Phineas smiled back.

Mabel was practically vibrating in her seat, Mason ignored her “did the rest of you guys have fun?”

“Yes” Baljeet said “I like your word puzzle.”

“Thanks!”

“When’s the next session?” Buford asked.

Dipper shrugged “whenever I finish planning it.”

Notes:

Happy weekend! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, after long last we get the second part of Questing Time!

This was a fun one to write, even if it took a while. A lot of the reactions the gang had are similar to ones my players had the couple time I ran this campaign. Also yes, this is based off a home-brew campaign I wrote about a year ago.

I hope you enjoyed, please comment your thoughts!

-Izzy

Chapter 40: A Father's Love

Summary:

Dan Pines celebrates Father's Day with his children and reflects on what it mean to be a Dad.

Dan woke up on Father’s Day morning to hear a crashing coming from downstairs and huffed silently in amusement. If he knew his kids, and he did, then he was sure that Mabel and Dipper decided to try and make him breakfast. Unfortunately the two weren’t the best at cooking. He really needed to get on that and teach them, or find someone else too.

Getting out of bed Dan walked down the stairs and sure enough, the kitchen was a mess. The sink was full of dishes and the walls and ceiling were splattered in lumpy pancake batter, the food was sticky with syup, and the counter had a light dusting of glitter and sprinkles.

Mason noticed him first “oh… hey Dad.”

Dan smiled, amused “hi Dipper.”

Mabel pouted “Dad! You’re supposed to stay in bed while we make you breakfast!”

He snorted “as much as I appreciate the effort it doesn’t seem like you two are having the best luck.”

“Yeah” Dipper sighed, “sorry about the mess.”

“It’s okay” Dan said, “I appreciate the thought… even if this isn’t ideal. How about this, you two clean up the kitchen… and yourself” he added, looking over his flour covered teens. “And we go out for breakfast.”

“Really?” Mabel squealed “can we go to Paul Bunyan's?”

“Sure” Dan agreed “so long as eveything is clean up in then next hour, otherwise I’m picking.”

“On it!” The two yelled and got to work.

—-------

Later the small family were sitting in a booth at Paul Punyan’s Pancake Haus, Dan had ordered the apple fritters, Dipper had gotten blackberry pancakes, and Mabel got chocolate chip pancakes. Which she dumped a bunch of edible glitter and sprinkles on top and drowned in syup.

Dan was relaxed as he watched the twins chat happily as they ate. When they first moved to Danville he had been unsure if it was a good idea. But he was happy to see it had been a good idea, since arriving in Danville the two seemed to flourish. The nightmares that started up last year finally seemed to stop, they made several good friends, Dipper found a community where he was accepted, and they were overall much happier than they had been in Piedmont.

“Dad!” Mabel suddenly yelled.

“Inside voice honey” he reminded her.

“Sorry” Mabel said, much softer “but I got something for you!”

“Really?” Dan took the package, unwrapping it Dan found a sweater with ‘World’s Best Dad’ on the front. He grinned “I love it, thank you.” He leaned over and gave his daughter a hug before pulling it on.

“I got something for you too, Dad,” Dipper said. Instead of a colorful wraped package like Mabel, Mason handed him a plain box.

Inside the box were a bunch of photos that Dipper had taken over the summer. Mostly of their family or some of the different things in town. “Wow,” Dan said, “these are great, very impressive.”

“I know it’s not as good as Mabel’s gift…” Dipper said.

“What?” Dan looked up from a photo of Mabel sitting in a box of packing peanuts from when they first moved in. “These are great! I love them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Dan smiled at his son, “you’ve gotten really good at photography.”

“Heh,” Dipper pulled down his hat to cover his face in embarrassment “thanks Dad.”

Dan leaned over and lightly knocked his hat off to ruffle his hair. “I mean it, take pride in your work.”

Dipper gave him a small smile “alright, thanks.”

The three finished up their breakfast and the twins were very instant and doing whatever their father wished to do. So Dan decided they would go to the Natural History museum and look at the dinosaur bones. Where they then ate lunch in the foot court. It was a perfect way to spend Father's Day, surrounded by his children and creating beautiful memories together.

After the museum the three took a short walk through the park and fed the duck before getting some ice cream. Around them were other families spending the warm, sunny, Sunday together. They eventually headed home where Dan decided to elist the help of the twins to make dinner, trying to teach a few basic cooking skills.

Once they finished dinner, they decided to unwind by watching a movie together. The twins curled up on the couch, their heads resting against Dan's shoulders. As the film played, they occasionally paused it to discuss their favorite scenes or speculate about the plot.

As the night grew darker, Dan tucked Mabel and Dipper into bed, even though they were far too old to be tucked in. Reflecting on the day's events, Dan felt immense gratitude for the bond he shared with his children. Being a father wasn't always easy, especially this past year, but moments like these made it all worthwhile.

Dan sat on the edge of Mabel's bed, pressing a soft kiss to her forhead. She was fast asleep, a content smile gracing her lips. He marveled at how much she had grown over the years, from a mischievous little girl into a compassionate and creative young woman.

He quietly closed the door behind him and made his way to Dipper's room. His son was curled up under the covers, his journal tucked under one arm. Dan smiled at the sight, gently taking it and setting it on the boy’s nightstand.

"Goodnight, my Little Dipper," he whispered, brushing his hair off his forehead and running a thumb softly over his birthmar. He lingered for a moment, watching his son sleep peacefully, before turning off the bedside lamp and leaving the room.

As Dan settled into his own bed, he couldn't help but feel a swell of love and pride for his children. They had come so far since their time in Piedmont, and he was grateful for every moment they shared together in their new home of Danville.

With a contented sigh, Dan closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep, his heart filled with gratitude for the gift of fatherhood and the joy of being surrounded by his children. He had come so close to losing them and he would treasure every moment, good or bad, he had with them.

Notes:

Gosh this was so tooth-rottening fluffy and I am not mad about it! I know this is short than other chapters but it was never meant to be long to begin with. Especially because I want more time to work on next week's chapter.

Also, news! A couple weeks ago I posted the first chapter of my newest Gravity Falls' fic, Life After (A) Death, if you want to cry then please go check it out!

Supremebandit and I decided to co-write a new fanfction together. It is our take on the Blind!Dipper AU the first chapter is currently out. You can check out Blind Pinetree on my page.

-Izzy

Chapter 41: City Hall

Summary:

Isabella's dog, Pinky, goes missing and Dipper get his name legally changed.

“So we all need to be…” Mabel stood in front of the brothers, Baljeet, Buford and Dipper who were sitting on the grass in the Pines’ backyard. Mabel held a pointer stick and was gesturing to a pad of paper sitting on an easel. “...prepared. You'll want to find a safe place and establish a defensive perimeter.” On the paper was a very detailed drawing of zombies attacking the Mystery Shack.

“Like in the basement?” Baljeet asked.

“No!” Mabel said “you never go in the basement!”

“What is going on here?” Candace asked, looking over the fence.

“It's our bi-monthly Zombie Apocalypse preparedness lecture!” Mabel said.

“Wanna join?” Dipper offered “you might learn something.”

Candace rolled her eyes “please, there is nothing about zombies I don’t know.”

“Did you know there is one standing behind you?” Ferb asked.

Candace shrieked and whipped around to find nothing there and Phineas laughed “good one bro.” And the two high-fived.

“Phineas?!” Isabella yelled from the other yard.

“Over here!” Phineas yelled.

Isabella slipped through the gate “huh, this is new.”

“We wanted to switch things up” Phineas said “so… Whatcha doing?”

“Pinky’s missing!” Isabella said.

“Oh that’s too bad” Phineas said.

“Chihuahuas, that's the first thing zombies go for,” Burford commented.

“Uh, we moved past zombies, Buford.” Phineas said.

“He's been gone all morning!” Isabella said, distraught. “He didn't even touch his breakfast burrito. What am I going to do?”

“I could make posters.” Mabel offered.

“We could do nothing,” Buford said.

“We could make a portable positronic canine detector using the olfactory receptors that Ferb and I were gonna use for our milligram scale purification study.” Phineas said.

“I would say that’s a little out of left field” Dipper said “but honestly, nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Let’s do that one,” Isabella said.

Dan Pines opened the sliding back door “hey kids.”

“Hey Mr Pines.”

“You ready to go?” Dan asked Dipper.

He stood and brushed some grass off his shorts “yup! I’m ready.”

“Where’re you going?” Burford asked.

Dipper’s face split into a grin “City Hall! I’m getting my name changed, legally!”

“That’s great!” Phineas said and everyone else cheered.

“Congrats,” Candace said.

“Thanks!”

“Anyways,” Candace said and turned to her brothers. “I came over here to tell you I’m heading to Stacy, so let Mom know if she asks.”

“Sure” Phineas agreed.

“We should head out buddy” Dan said “and who knows, if we make good time maybe we can stop by the food court!”

“City Hall serves food?” Baljeet asked.

“I thought they only served subpoenas!” Buford asked and there was a pause “oh, come on! What's a guy gotta do to get a rimshot around here?!” Baljeet sighed and walked off.

Candace left and Mabel turned to her brother “do you want me to come?”

Dipper shook his head “it’s okay, you should stay here and help Isabella.”

“Alright,” Mabel hugged Dipper and he left with their Dad. “Hey, where’s Waddles?”

“And where's Pinky?” Isabella asked.

“And where's that breakfast burrito?” Buford asked and there was the sound of Baljeet playing a rimshot on the drums. “Ah, there's my guy!”

—-------

Waddles landed in the lair and looked over to see a small dog sitting next to him. “Ah Agent P.I.G” Monogram said “I believe you know Agent Pinky” the two agents nodded to each other “Agent Pinky informs us that Doof intends to steal the deed to the Tri-State Area from the City Hall archives.”

“It seems he's discovered that whoever has the deed automatically becomes the ruler. It's an old law from a simpler time.” Monogram said “Agent Pinky is going to be helping you while Agent P is on leave, you'll find that he is quite an asset.He's good with computers, covert ops, and, quite frankly, he needs the hours. So get out there and stop Doofenshmirtz! Good luck.” And the two ran off.

—--------

Dipper stood next to his father, holding a folder, while Dan looked at the map of City Hall. “Okay…” he muttered, “so we’re here and we need to get to the Name Change Office.”

“There’s a whole office just to change your name?” Dipper asked.

“Apparently” Dan said “now the best way to get there is…”

“Is by taking the mandatory city hall tour!” A tour guide said, appearing out of nowhere and shoving them to join a group of people.

“Ah no,” Dan said, “that’s not necessary.”

“Nonsense” The tour guide said “wouldn't want a bunch of uninformed people wandering around City Hall!”

“You can't fight it.” A woman said “I've been on this tour since this morning and I've been caught trying to escape twice!”

“No talking back there!” The tour guide snapped “now, follow me to a world of bureaucratic action and adventure!”

As the two followed the rest of the group Dipper looked up at his father with worry. “Don’t worry” Dan whispered “I’m sure we’ll find a way out of this.”

—--------

Outside the building. Waddles and Pinky parachute down. Waddles slams open the door and sees a very long line of people waiting. The agents approach Doof who is standing in line with a box in his hands.

Doofenshmirtz greeted them enthusiastically and explained his whole plan, including showing them his Blend-Into-The-Background-intaor. By the end of the conversation the evil scientist used his inator and escaped them. And the two agents got stuck in line, unable to follow him.

—--------

Back in the Flynn-Fletcher yard, where the kids had moved too, Phineas showed off a dog head shaped helmet as he and Ferb slowly lowered it onto Buford’s head.

“Behold, the Dog Sensomatic Helmet! It will amplify Buford's senses to those of a dog.” The helmet drops onto Buford's head. “Okay, Buford, uh, what do you smell now?”

“I think I can smell the future!” Buford said.

“It's working!” Mabel cheered.

“Do you smell Pinky yet?” Isabella asks.

“I smell something!” Buford said “ I smell…” Suddenly he ran off “I smell bacon!”

“No, Buford, wait!” Mabel, Baljeet, and Isabella yell as they run after him.

“Uh-oh.” Phineas said and he and Ferb run too.

—--------

Meanwhile Dan and Mason were still stuck on the tour. “Excuse me” Dan said “we just need to get to the Name Change Office.”

“Please hold all your questions to the end. Those are the rules.” The tour guide starts to walk closer and closer to them forcing the father and son duo back up. “Also, please refrain from chewing gum and there are no pets allowed on the tour. Also there are no cutsies or halfsies for funsies.”

Dipper tried to duck under the velvet rope but the guide appeared in front of him like he had teleported. “And absolutely no crossing the stanchions, please! ¡No cruzar la cuerda por favor!”

—----------

Back at the Flynn-Fletcher house the gang managed to catch Buford and now sat in the front yard as Isabella rubbed a dog bone on her friend’s belly and treated him a bit like a puppy. Mabel giggled and snapped a photo.

“Scrapbook-tunity” she cheered.

“Is that Mason’s camera?” Phineas asked.

“...... Don’t tell him.”

“Isabella,” Baljeet asked, “how does this help us with Pinky?”

“Easy,” she said “I've been rubbing his belly with Pinky's squeak toy. Now he's got the scent!”

“He's this way!” Buford yelled “I can smell it!”

“Let’s go!” Mabel said.

They all got ready to head off only for Buford to get distracted again and run off.

—-------

Back in City Hall Waddles and Pinky caught up to Doofenshmirtz who had found the deed to the Tri-State Area only for the man to lose it. So they were forced to dig through a bunch of papers to look for it.

Back upstairs Dipper and his father were still on the tour. “And over here are the spontaneous musical number dioramas.”

“The what?” Dan asked.

“Ooh, Danville is known for its spontaneous musical numbers. For instance…” The tour guide started to sing.

“This is not a time for a musical number” Dipper groaned.

“Is this normal?” Dan asked.

"A lot of people know that the Tri-State Area.”

“Used to be a Bi-State Area with an Adjacent Area over there;

“What people don't know is that originally it was three distinct”

“Single-State Areas, but people don't care.”

“The founders of the Area were independent thinkers,”

“Completely unaffected by bureaucratic hurdles”

“And that's why the Capitol building was moved here from Sri Lanka”

“On the backs of seven giant sea turtles.”

“It's the history of an area, the Tri-State Area,”

“Formed mostly from adobe and seaweed;”

“If you've heard it different elsewhere, that's historical hysteria,”

“So stop believing everything you read!”

“Over here's a diorama of the first diorama.”

“Of Vincent Diorama, who lived right here!”

“When I say ‘right here,’ I mean in this very room,”

“'Til we moved him to a studio apartment last year.”

“It's the history of an area, the Tri-State Area,”

“Don't mean to cause a ruckus or a fuss;”

“It's the birthplace of the onion and the Danville cafeteria.”

“And home of Bigfoot's hairless cousin, us!”

“It's the history of an area, the Tri-State Area,”

“Where planet Venus holds some office space;”

“Try to think of someplace better, well I double-dog-dare ya,”

“But if you can't, then get out of my face!”

"It's the”

By this time the tour group were getting into the song and joined in for the last line. “History of the Tri-State Area!”

“And now, step this way for the history of the history of accounting.” The tour guide said and they all groaned.

—--------

Back in the vault under the building Dr. D found the deed and ran off before the Agents could stop him. While at the same time Buford ducked through a doggie door on one of the side doors in City Hall.

“In here!” Buford said “follow me.”

“Really?” Baljeet said “A doggy door in a municipal building that does not allow dogs?”

“Come on,” Mabel said, opening the door and running inside.

Waddles stood on a balcony watching the invisible Doof. He presses a button and a gate comes down on a door before the man could go through.

“What the?” He said “who did that?”

“This way everyone!” Isabella yelled, following Buford.

Agent P.I.G watched as they started, unknowingly, corner Pinky. Waddles pulled out his grappling hook and swung in. He grabbed Pinky and moved them safely out of the way, knocking the inator off of Doofenshmirtz’s head in the process.

“Hey,” the man complained.

The young teen made it to the spot where Pinky had once been “what?” Buford said, pulling off the helmet. “He was right here!”

“I don't get it.” Phineas said “well, maybe the helmet needs to be fine-tuned.”

“I hope Pinky’s okay,” Isabella said.

Mabel patted her shoulder “I’m sure he’ll turn up. Waddles always does.”

—---------

Dr Doofenshmirtz stood in front of a computer and typed in ‘COMPUTER LOCK OVERRIDE.’ And a new screen popped up, needing him to type in a password. “Oh!” He said “I’m really good at passwords. How about, ‘Reindeer flotilla.’ The gate rises.

The two agents drop down in front of him “Agent P.I.G!” Doof said “well, you're both persistent, I'll give ya that, but the security system is offline and there's nothing you or your little dog friend can do about it! Y'know, unless one of you happens to be really good with computers.”

Waddles then remembered how Monogram said that Pinky was good with computers and whistled. Pinky grinned and grabbed the computer monitor and smashed it over Doof’s head and the man fell to the ground, letting go of the deed which Waddles grabbed.

“Wow,” he said, “that guy is really good with computers!”

Back at the tour the guide said “now who wants to see the who thing again?”

The group all ran off leaving Dan and Mason behind “the song part wasn’t too bad” Dan admitted.

“Oh you like the song?” The tour guide repeated “well…”

“Hey look” Dipper interrupted, “it’s Pinky.” Dipper put his folder under one arm and picked up the small dog.

“Is that a dog!” The tour guide yelped “no dogs allowed, that is it. This tour is over.”

“Pinky!” Isabella yelled, running over. Followed by the rest of her friends. “Dipper you found her. You were right Mabel, he did turn up.”

“Hey Dipper” Phineas greeted “did you get your paperwork filled yet?”

“No, not yet,” Dipper said.

“Well you should hurry,” Ferb said “The Name Change Office closes in fifteen minutes.”

“Right!” Dan said, “Let's go!”

The two Pines Men ran as fast as they could, making it with only a couple minutes to spare. Dan slid to a stop in front of the desk and grabbed Dipper by the shoulders. The boy handed over his folder.

The women behind the desk looked amused. “Don dragged you on a tour, didn’t he?”

“Is that his name?” Dan asked.

The woman shook her head, amused and took the folder “well you are in luck, you made it just in time.” She looked over the paperwork “so you are changing your name from Maisley Carol Pines to Mason Henry Pines?”

“Yes” Dipper said, looking a bit uncomfortable at the use of his full dead name.

“Alright, it seems like everything is in order” she said, and stamped ‘approve’ and set the form aside to be filled. “Congrats young man.”

Dipper grinned “thank you!”

“It will take a few weeks for the system to be updated” the women said to Dan. “But you should get updated documents in a few weeks.”

“Great, thank you.”

“Good,” the woman nodded, “then we are officially closed.” She pulled down the metal curtain.

Mason threw his arms around his father “thanks Dad.”

“Of course” Dan said “now how about we grab your sister and your friends and go get some ice-cream to celebrate?”

Back by the tour guide Waddles walked up to Mabel. “Oh! There you are Waddles” Mabel said, picking him up.

Notes:

I hope you all had a good week, I sure did!

Since it is the last week of Pride month I thought I would do a lil Pride Related chapter (kind of). But yay! Dipper is officially Mason. This was a long chapter and took me a while to write so if you guys would leave your thoughts it would mean the word to me.

- Izzy

Chapter 42: Family Visits

Summary:

Dipper and Mabel receive a visit from their Grandparents.

Dipper and Mabel were laying on their trampoline, since their father had set it up the twins have had a lot of fun jumping on it with their friends. Today Mabel decided to turn it into a giant blanket fort. The surface was covered in blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals and there was one large blanket resting on top of the poles holding the net up, casting shade over the two of them.

Mabel was curled up on her side cuddling with Waddles with her eyes closed, Dipper wasn’t sure if she was asleep or not. Dipper himself was on his back reading the latest issue of ‘Anomalies and Mysteries of The World.’

“Kids?”

“Over here Dad!” Dipper called.

Dan walked over and did a double take at their Trampoline Pillow Fort “Mabel’s work?”

“Yup,” Dipper said, “so what’s up?”

“What’s up is that your Grandparents are here.”

Mabel sat up, not as asleep as he believed “Grandpa Shermie and Grandma Rachel are here?”

Their father looked amused. “Yes, I told you they were coming a few weeks ago.”

“Oh right,” Mabel giggled.

“So wait” Dipper said “they are here, right now?”

“Yes,” Dan said, “they’re waiting in the living room.”

The twins looked at each other and then at the same time they scrambled to get off the trampoline and run inside the house. Their Dad laughed and followed them at a much more reasonable pace. The two burst into the house and ran through the kitchen to find their Grandparents sitting on the living room couch.

“Grandma! Grandpa!” Mabel cheered and ran over to hug them.

Dipper hung back and waited for Mabel to be done, after hugging Mabel his Grandfather walked over to him with a smile. Grandpa Shermie had a lot of similarities to Stan and Ford, though his hair was white and he wore a tweed jacket with suspenders and a bow-tie.

“Hello Mason” he said, giving him a side hug.

“Hey Grandpa” Dipper grinned “Dad told you about the name change?”

“Indeed he did” Shermie said “congratulations.”

The two looked over at Rachel who was gushing over Mabel’s latest sweater, while their Grandmother hadn’t been theo ne to teach her to knit Rachel did knit as well so the two liked to exchange patterns.

“Rachel,” Shermie called “come say hello to our grandson.”

“Yes, yes” she said “I’m coming.” She walked over to them and pulled Dipper into a huge hug. “Hello dear.”

“Hey Grandma.”

Dad laughed from where he stood on the other side of the room “well, I have some work to do but you three have fun.” He said “but kids, please pick up your stuff from outside before you leave.”

“Are we going somewhere?” Mabel perked up.

“Indeed we are,” Shermie said.

“But it seems like you two have some cleaning to do,” Rachel added.

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other “be right back!” and ran back outside.

—-------

A half hour later Dipper and Mabel sat in the back seat of their Grandparents’ rental car, Mabel happily chatting about the friends they have made and some of the things they have done this summer so far. Dipper added in a comment here or there but he was just happy to be there.

“So where are we going?” Dipper asked.

“We thought we would get lunch,” Rachel said, turning around in her seat to face them. “And then there is a Football game your Grandpa thought we could try and sit in if there is time.”

Dipper nodded, his Grandpa was a casual sports fan so it didn’t surprise him that he would find a game of some kind to go too, not that he minded. Dipper didn’t mind sports though he wasn’t a huge fan either. Mabel did pull a face though, she was not a sports fan.

“Don’t worry” Rachel chuckled at the look on her granddaughter's face. “I have something else to do while the boys do their thing.”

“I spent all this money on tickets and you don’t even appreciate it” Shermie pretended to grumble and Rachel lightly wacked his arm.

The car soon pulled up into the parking lot of a little cafe where their Grandparents had a reservation for. The four had a nice lunch and Shermie and Rachel answered all of their grandchildren's questions about their latest trip abroad. Then they headed out to the football game.

—---------

Mabel leaned into Rachel’s side as her Grandmother showed her a new knitting stitch that she had learned. It wasn’t one that Mabel had learned yet and she was alreadying thinking up how to incorporate it into her current projects. On the field below the bleachers was a typical football game that Mabel wasn’t even pretending to watch and understand.

“So” Rachel said “you and your brother have been having fun this summer?”

“Yeah” Mabel said “though it’s still a little sad we couldn’t see Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford this summer.”

“Yes…” Rachel said “I know you and Mason have bonded with them. Though I am still surprised to find out that Stanley was alive.”

“Were you close to him?” Mabel asked “before everything?”

“Oh not really” Rachel said “your Grandpa moved out of the house the first chance he got. Sure, Carlyn would watch your Dad and Aunt when they were first born but Shermie was too old to truly bond with his brother. Something he regretted when we all believed Stanley had passed.”

Mabel nodded “Is Grandpa still upset now that he knows the truth?”

“A little but I think he got all of his anger out at them at Thanksgiving” Rachel said with a light laugh and Mabel joined her. It had been pretty funny seeing Grandpa chasing after her Grunkles and threatening to skin them alive, she knew he hadn’t been serious. Much.

—-------

While Mabel and Rachel talked Dipper sat next to his Grandfather as the man tried to explain how football worked, this was the first time Shermie had done so. Despite how smart Dipper was he never really understood most sports, probably because of a lack of interest. Still Dipper made sure to ask questions and make comments when prompted.

The entire time they talked Shermie kept up with calling Dipper by his name, Mason. It was something that the boy appreciated. When he first came out his Grandparents hadn’t really understood, sure they had gone through something similar when Aunt Dani came out as non-binary but they had never truly understood that either.

But despite their lack of understanding his grandparents had always tried to be supportive. During Thanksgiving last year the two had clearly put in an effort to use his proper pronouns and avoid calling him by his deadname. They weren’t perfect and messed up a lot but they at least tried. Which was more than what Dipper could say about other family members.

It was nice to see them now, using his proper name and pronouns with little slip ups.

—------

After the game Shermie took them out for ice-cream before heading back home. “How was the game?” Dan asked after they walked through the door.

“It was… Interesting.” Shermie said.

“How so?” Dan asked.

“It got overrun by llamas” Mabel supplied.

Dan looked down at his daughter “what? That can’t be true.”

“It is,” Dipper said, showing his father the photo he took. He had already sent it to Pacifica and the girl was both amused and annoyed.

“Huh” Dan said with a frown. “Well, alright. So long as you had fun.”

“We did,” Rachel assured her son. “Now then, how about I make some dinner for all of us?”

“You don’t have to do that Mom” Dan said.

“Nonsense,” Rachel said. “You may be an adult but you are still my son.”

Notes:

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was a fun one to write.

I knew when I was first planning Carpe Diem that I wanted to give Dipper and Mabel's grandparents (Shermie and Rachel) a cameo. They are (loosely) based off of my own grandparents, in which they have the same vibes as mine. Not much is known about Shermie expect that it was mentioned in one of the Gravity Falls video games that he wears bow-ties and most fans believe he is Stan and Ford's older brother.

So as such I decide to come up with my own head cannons for Shermie and his wife, (an OC) Rachel.

Also, the mention of llamas taking over the football game? That was a reference to Milo Murphy's Law. If you know, you know.

What did you guys think of this week's chapter? Feel free to leave me your thoughts.
-Izzy

Chapter 43: Birthday Dates

Summary:

It is Vanessa Doofenshmirtz's birthday and she and Stacy go on a date.

Notes:

Just a reminder: Vanessa uses she/they pronouns because I said so.

Vanessa woke up to the sound of her mom’s voice “Vanessa, honey? You need to get up.”

Groaning, the teen blinked sleep from their eyes and sat up “hmmm I’m up.”

“Good” their mom then smiled “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks” Vanessa grinned, she was now seventeen.

“Now, I have to get to work but I got you breakfast,” Charlene said.

Vanessa perked up “cinnamon rolls?”

“Of course,” Charlene said. “Now, your father said he would come by sometime today to give you your gift and then the two of us will go out to dinner when I’m off work.”

Vanessa nodded “yeah I know, is Dad coming?”

“I invited him but he said he had a work thing.” Charlene said this made Vanessa frown at what he could be doing instead but didn’t comment.

“At least he’s not trying to throw me another party” Vanessa said, her last Birthday party had gone well (for once) but she told her dad that she didn’t need one this year.

Charlene chuckled “well, at least he’s trying.” Then changed the subject “Do you have any other plans for the day?”

Vanessa leaned over to grab her phone “Stacy said she wanted to take me out on a lunch date.”

“That sounds nice” Charlene said “It seems like your relationship is going well.”

“Yeah I think so.” They and Stacy have been dating for almost six months now.

“Maybe you could invite her to dinner?” Charlene suggested “I would love to finally meet her.”

“I would” Vanessa said, reading through her friends’ Birthday wishes. “But she has family plans tonight.”

“Alright” Charlene said “but I want to meet her soon, I know your father does too.”

Vanessa nodded, she didn’t blame her parents. This was the first time they were dating a girl after all. “I’ll ask her when she’s free and maybe the five of us could do something.”

Her mother seemed satisfied and after one last ‘Happy Birthday’ she headed off to work. Vanessa got out of bed, got dressed, and did their makeup. Looking in the mirror they wondered if she could convince her mother to let her shave part of her hair, or at least dye it. They could probably convince their dad but mom was another story.

Vanessa sat at the kitchen counter and tucked into a cinnamon roll, they were from a bakery down the street and she and her mother only got them on special occasions. The sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, must be her dad.

Opening the door Vanessa saw it was exactly who she suspected it to be “hey Dad.”

“Hi Vanessa!” Doofenshmirtz grinned “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.” They said and accepted the hug “do you want to come in?”

“Sure” Vanessa let her Dad in and they both sat down on the couch. Heinz handed over a package, the wrapping paper was covered in what she could only call ‘gothic unicorns.’ “Here’s your gift” the man was grinning, almost giddy.

Vanessa smiled back and opened the present. Finding it was a black, leather lab coat. “Oh wow, thanks dad” she said, managing to hide her disappointment. It was cool but not what she was hoping for.

“Try it on!”

“Alright” Vanessa stood up and pulled on the coat. It was comfy and had a gothic, dramatic look to it that they liked. She put her hands in the coat’s pockets and felt something. “No,” she looked at her dad with wide eyes “you didn’t.”

“Why don’t you find out?” Heinz suggested.

Vanessa pulled out a set of car keys and tackled her father into a hug “oh my gosh, thank you!”

The evil scientist laughed and hugged her back “you’re welcome. Your mother and I talked and decided you were ready. Though Charlene mentioned something about you having to help pay for the insurance and the upkeep.”

Heniz then led Vanessa outside so she would see the car he and his ex-wife had gotten her. It was a black second hand vehicle that was in decent shape that Heniz had done a little bit of work on in his spare time. He grinned when he saw how delighted they looked.

“Now I have to get going,” Heinz said. “I have a LOVE MUFFIN meeting tonight and I need to finish my scheme before then.”

“Is that why you can’t come to dinner tonight?” Venessa asked and he nodded.

“I tried to reschedule but the other members. refused to budge.”

“That’s okay” she said “thanks for coming by.”

“Of course” he hugged her again.

—--------

Stacy stood outside her house, waiting for her girlfriend. Originally she had been planning on taking the bus to Vanessa’s place but they had texted her saying she was going to pick her up. Leading Stacy to believe that Ms Doofenshmirtz wass letting her borrow her car.

The car that pulled up did not belong to Vanessa’s mother, Stacy grinned when she realized what Vanessa’s birthday gift had been. Getting in the passenger seat she grinned at her girlfriend. “Happy Birthday! I see you got a car for your birthday.”

Vanessa smiled back “Thanks and yeah! It was a combined gift from my parents.”

“That’s great” Stacy infused “I know you’ve been wanting one since you got your license.”

“So,” Venessa said “where are we going?”

The two ended up having lunch at Jermery’s Uncle’s restaurant. The food was both delicious and decently priced, two things teenagers loved. Overall it was a normal, casual date. The only thing that made it different was that it was one of their birthdays.

“So” Vanessa said “my parents want to meet you here soon. I suggested the five of us go out to dinner at some point.”

“Sure” Stacy agreed “but won’t it be strange? Having both of your divorced parents in the same place.”

“Maybe” Vanessa shrugged “but overall the two get along fine. They broke up because they ‘wanted different things’ or so they say.”

“Do you believe it was something else?” Stacy asked.

They shrugged “I think it was for a lot of different reasons. They separated when I was like, ten, so I remember a few things. I do remember they used to fight alot when they thought I wasn’t listening.”

“And they don’t now?” Stacy raised an eyebrow.

“It’s better now” Vanessa said “they don’t love each other but they respect each other, I think that now that there isn’t the pressure to be in love and get along all the time they like each other much more now. In some strange way.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Stacy said before changing the topic. “By the way, my mom wants you over for dinner some time.”

“I’ve already met your family though” Vanessa pointed out.

“Yeah” she agreed “but it wasn’t ‘offical’ enough for my mom. And you haven’t met my sister, Ginger, yet. She’s always been busy with her Fireside Girl stuff whenever you come around.”

Vanessa nodded “fair enough, we’ll have to plan a couple days so we can do both of these dinners.”

The two finished up their lunch and went to the mall and walked around a little bit, Stacy buying Vanessa a pair of earrings that had caught the teen’s eye as a birthday gift. Eventually Vanessa drove her girlfriend home before heading home herself where she was greeted by her mom and the two went out for their birthday dinner.

—-------

Mabel frowned as he phone went to voicemail “any luck?” Her brother asked.

“Nope,” she said “what about you?”

Dipper shook his head and sighed “I don’t think they are going to pick up. We’ll probably have to try again tomorrow.”

Mabel pouted “yeah but then it won’t be their birthday!” Today was their Grunkles’ birthday and the two have been trying to get a hold of them for most of the day.

“Yeah” Dipper agreed with a sigh, they haven’t talked to them all summer. Dipper didn’t even know if the two men knew that they moved! “But I’m sure they’re somewhere with really bad service or something” he said, trying to cheer his sister up.

“I guess” Mabel didn’t look convinced. “I just wish that I knew where to send them my gifts.”

Mason shrugged “you can always hang on to them and give them when we next see them.”

“But we don’t know when we’ll next see them!” Mabel pointed out.

“That’s not true” Mason said “I’m sure they’ll be at Thanksgiving. I don’t think Grandpa Shermie will let them skip out.”

Mabel giggled “yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Notes:

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are having a good weekend.

Fun fact, I Googled it and Vanessa and the Grunkles do share a birthday. I didn't make it up! It is on June 15th, that is also the day Love Handle got back together and the brother's parents' wedding anniversary.

I know I've been doing a lot of less exciting chapters but that is all in preparation for the next two chapters which (I hope) make it up. I am really excited to share them with all of you.

- Izzy

Chapter 44: Hats And Rollerskates

Summary:

Dipper and Mabel receive a visit from an old friend.

It was another day and the twins were relaxing at home, Dipper was playing a video game and Mabel was in the kitchen doing some chaotic baking. Their dad was at work and so long as she cleaned up afterwards he would never know the difference. Mabel hummed happily as she pulled out a bag of powdered sugar, dancing a bit to the playlist she had on blast.

“Oh fudge sauce!” she said, as a cloud of powdered sugar flew up and covered her and a decent section of the counter. Sighing she pulled off her sugar covered, cookie themed sweater.

As Mabel went to grab a washcloth she was interrupted by the sound of the door bell. “Dipper!” She yelled, only to not receive and answer. “Dipper!” She yelled again.

Peeking her head into the living Mabel found her brother still playing his game with his headphones on. She threw her wet towel at him and it hit his shoulder. Dipper yelped and pulled off his headphone “what the heck Mabel?”

The doorbell rings again “the door” She said.

“Why don’t you get it?” He asked grumply.

“I’m busy!” She said.

Dipper rolled his eyes “so am I!”

“Can you just get it?” Mabel asked, ducking back into the kitchen.

Mason sighed and paused his game and stomped over to the door, annoyed. Opening it he found the porch to empty. He sighed, one of their friends must be playing a prank. Stepping outside he looked around trying to spot them in their bushes.

Not seeing anyone, Dipper turned around and was about to head back inside when there was a ‘thump’. Then he felt someone set something on his head. Frowning Dipper reached up and felt the very familiar fluffy hat that he wore for an entire school year. Turning back around there was Wendy, now wearing his Pine Tree cap.

“Wendy?”

“Sup dude!” Wendy grinned and pulled Dipper into a giant hug.

“Is that Wendy?” Mabel called. And then. “Did she fall off the roof?”

“Yes but it was on purpose!” Wendy called back.

“I bet it looked awesome.” Mabel yelled back.

“It did!”

“Mabel! Stop yelling and just come here” Dipper yelled.

Mabel came outside, now cleaned up and in a new sweater and tackled Wendy into a hug. “Hey Mabel” Wendy smiled and hugged her back.

“How are you here?” She asked, pulling away. “How did you find out where we live?”

“Soos found your Dad’s number in a binder Stan left behind” Wendy explained “so I called him and said I was going to be in the area and asked if I could come by.”

“Oh no!” Dipper said sarcastically “I wonder if he said yes?”

They all laughed at that. “So why are you in town?” Mabel asked.

“I’m here for a music festival that’s going on tomorrow,” Wendy said.

“Oh yeah,” Dipper said, “I’ve heard that a bunch of local bands and artists are going to be playing.”

Wendy nodded “I’m mostly here for the Lumber Zacks and Love Handle.”

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “I’m going for Love Handle too.”

“What are the Lumber Zacks?” Mabel asked.

“It’s a lumberjack themed boy band” Wendy said “my family loves them, my Dad likes them almost as much as Sev'ral Timez. Before they ‘disappeared’ anyways.”

“Oh!” Mabel said “I heard 4*Town was going to be performing too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Mabel said “they broke up in like, 2003. Some of my friends here and I are big fans of theirs.”

“Cool” Wendy said “anyways, do you two want to go out and do something?”

“Sure” Mabel agreed and Dipper nodded.

“Sweet” Wendy said “what kind of stuff is there to do?”

“Um” Dipper said, thinking it over. “Well, there is mini-golf, go-karts, roller skating, laser-tag, stuff like that.”

“What about roller skating?” Mabel suggested “Dipper and I haven’t gone yet.”

“Awesome,” Wendy said, “let’s go.”

“Wait,” Dipper said, “how are we going to get there? How did you get here?”

“Oh” Wendy said “I’m borrowing Soos’ truck. Anyways, let's go! You guys can give me directions.”

—--------

Wendy was pretty happy to see the Mystery Twins again, everyone back in Gravity Falls had been so disappointed when word got out that they wouldn’t be coming back. Though it had been understandable, being one of their friends Wendy was able to find out exactly why they had moved. The two had often called her during the divorcees and those conversations had reminded her how young her friends actually were.

So yeah, she was happy that they were able to get a fresh start. And hopefully they’ll get a chance to visit next year instead. The two have grown so much since she last saw them, and not just in height.

Dipper (or Mason, she knew all about his name change) seemed much more confident and didn’t blush or get flustered around her anymore. Mabel was less childish but still had her sparkly personality.

Wendy was glad they hadn’t changed too much, a part of her was worried that she was going to find two completely different people. But she was also glad that they weren’t the same people she met last summer, that would just be weird.

She pulled up into front of a building with neon, light up signs. And turned to look at Mabel and Dipper in the back seat “so what all have you two been up to this summer? Your texts don’t give me a lot of details.”

“I’m a Fireside Girl now!” Mabel said with a wide grin.

“A what?”

“It’s a scout troop,” Dipper explained. “I don’t think they have a chapter in Gravity Falls, they didn’t have one in Piemont either.”

“My new bestie, Isabella, is the troop leader” Mabel said “normally girls join in like, elementary school but she pulled some strings and got me in!”

“That’s awesome” Wendy said “what about you Dipper?”

“I’ve been doing more photography and film,” Dipper admitted. “I got to meet the special effects legend, Clive Addison, and he gave me some advice.”

“Woah,” Wendy said, impressed. “I’ve heard of that guy. He’s done work on a lot of big movie series, right?” Dipper nodded. “How did you manage that?”

“Oh” Dipper said casually “ya know, Mabel, my friends, and I impressed him by making a giant monster to stop his two fan bases from being at war with each other.”

“What?” Wendy laughed, “okay, you gotta tell me that story.”

—-------

Mason tells Wendy the Fan Convention story as the three of them rent out their skates, then Mabel decides to tell Wendy the Mini-Golf story from back at the beginning of summer.

“Geez” Wendy laughed “you two have had some crazy adventures.”

“Yeah” Dipper smiled fondly “Danville is not Gravity Falls but we like it.”

“Well I’m happy for you dudes” Wendy said “though you two have to introduce me to your friends before I leave.”

“Uh duh!” Mabel said “of course!”

“I think most of them are going to the festival tomorrow.” Dipper said “so you can probably meet them then.”

“Sweet.”

The Danville Roller Rink was pretty similar to Gravity Falls’ one, though less sketchy and less of a chance of a ghost popping out and running your date. 70s music played in the background and Dipper hummed along to a couple of the songs and the whole place was lit up by blacklights. Even though it is a Saturday the place isn’t as busy as they thought it would be.

“Love the blacklights! It’s like a zombie apocalypse party up in here, am I right?” Wendy jokes, earning laughs from the twins. A few people glance at them but don’t comment”

“Ah shoot! I could’ve worn a glow-in-the-dark sweater!” Mabel’s tries to skate backwards, facing Wendy, but her strides are turning into some kind of haphazard moonwalk. “If only I’d known…”

“Dude!” Wendy said “just skate home and grab it. Who’s gonna stop you?”

“I can think of a few people…” Dipper goes to say.

“A few people who’d wanna stop her, but would they have the courage?” Wendy asked “The dexterity? Dip, your sister’s a menace, just look at her!”

Mabel did the splits and barely catches herself on the railing before her legs fell out from under her. “Hey Wendy” she said “did Grunkle Stan ever teach you his skating trick?”

“What?” She said “like Stan didn’t teach you how to run off with rental skates?”

“Well yeah” Mabel said “but I mean- I’ll just show you.”

Mabel bends down and lossens the laces on her skates and then takes off, she kicks the loose skate off and sort of coast beside it. She then crouches and manages to sit on top of the skate and ride it.

“Woah,” Wendy said. Watching as people move out of the way of the incoming thirteen year old.

“Mabel the wall!” Dipper yells. Mabel rolls off the skate just in time for it to hit the wall and bounce off. “Never mind, she’s got it.”

Mabel put her skate back on and headed over to them “and that is Grunkle Stan’s skate trick.”

“Stan messed up his knee when he showed it to us,” Dipper said.

“Ha!” Wendy said and handed Dipper her phone before bending down to loosen her own skate. “I’m gonna get it on the first try, so record me so I can show that old man up!”

Wendy doesn’t get it on the first try, she lands flat on her butt. But the twins both mess up a few times too, on camera, so there is equal amounts of blackmail to go around. Then a very stressed out employee comes out begging them to stop. Personally Wendy thinks that they don’t have the skill or courage to stop them but she's been that underpaid worker corralling total weirdo, so she gives in.

The Rink’s food court has greasy pizza and soda so she buys lunch for herself and the twins and they park it at a sticky table next to a couple claw machine. After they eat Mabel pulls out a bunch of quarters from the folds of her sweater and goes to ‘rescue the stuffies from their glass prisons!’

Hearing a banging sound Wendy looks over to see a buff boy with a black shirt trying to force a vending machine to give him stuff. Looking back at her friend Dipper seemed to have noticed the boy too but doesn’t seem concerned. Instead he stands up and heads over to the boy and uses Soos’ Vending Machine trick and gets a couple bags of candy which he and the other kid split.

“Friend of yours?” Wendy asked when Dipper rejoined her.

“Yeah” Dipper said, “that’s Buford. Though I am surprised Baljeet isn’t with him.”

Wendy nodded and mentally filled this away, she hadn’t heard too much about the twins' new friends. Just offhanded comments here and there. “Hey,” she said, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Dipper agreed.

“Do…” Wendy started to say then stopped, thinking over what she wanted to say and rephrased it in her mind. “Do you like it here?”

“Yeah…” Dipper said, frowning in confunison. He thought he made that pretty clear.

“Do you like it more than Gravity Falls?” Wendy asked “because if you do, it fine. I get it.”

Dipper thinks over that “I’m not sure. Danville and Gravity Falls are both different and I like them both. Why?”

“I don’t know” Wendy said “I guess I’m just worried you two aren’t going to want to come back.’

“What?” Dipper looked shocked. “Of course we want to go back! This summer is just off and yeah sure, we’re having fun but Mabel and I talked about it and if we get the chance we do want to go back next summer.”

“Really?” Wendy asked “but what about your friends here?”

“I don’t think we’ll visit for the whole summer again” Dipper admitted “like maybe for a few weeks or something. That way we can still hang out with our friends.”

“That’s fair.”

At that moment Mabel ran over with an armful of stuffies “hey guys!” She said “I think the employee from earlier is gone.”

“The one who stopped us from doing tricks?” Dipper asked “how do you know?”

“I just saw him leave the building.”

Wendy grinned “do you two want to go back to being menaces to skating society?”

“Yeah!” The twins cheered and the three ran back to the rink.

Notes:

ITS WENDY!

I am so happy to finally be able to do this chapter, I have been looking forward to it for months. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sorry this update was a bit latter than usual. I have finals this upcoming week and I'm moving back home right after so I was getting a head start on packing.

-Izzy

Chapter 45: One Hit Reunion

Summary:

It's the Danville Music Festive.

The day after Wendy arrived the twins joined her at the Daville Music Festival at the park downtown where they then met up with the rest of their friends. Unlike the day before where Wendy and Dipper were wearing each other hats the two had gone back to their normal ones.

“Hey guys” Phineas said as they approached. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Wendy” Mabel said “she’s one of her friends from Gravity Falls.”

“Cool, it’s nice to meet you” Phineas said and quickly introduced everyone. “This is my brother Ferb and our friends, Baljeet and Buford.”

“Sup” Wendy greeted “it’s nice to finally put faces to names.”

“Where’s Isabella?” Mabel asked.

“She’s with the rest of the Fireside Girls getting ready for what we are doing today” Phineas said.

“Oh” Mabel said, frowning “I wonder why they didn’t call me?”

“I believe they didn’t want to interrupt you spending time with your friend,” Ferb said.

“Yeah,” Mabel said, “that makes sense.”

“Do you need any help with your Big Idea for the day?” Dipper asked.

“Nope,” Phineas said, “we got it, but thanks.”

—-------

While the twins were hanging out with their friend and listening to some of the local performers, the rest of the gang were getting ready for their own performance later that day. Last summer Phineas and Ferb had written a one-hit-wonder that was at the top of the musical charts for a full day, Gitchee Gitchee Goo.

Today was the one-year-anniversary of that adventure so the brothers thought it was high time for them to have a reunion concert. Even if they said that they were never planning on singing it again. After all, their mom had performed her own one-hit-wonder since she retired from her music career.

“So,” Isabella said after they finished rehearsing “remind me. How come we didn’t invite the twins to perform with us?”

“I thought it was because they didn’t sing with us the first time,” Baljeet said.

“No” Phineas said “if we wanted to, we could have found a part for them. But since they have their friend visiting we thought we wouldn’t interrupt them.”

“She seems nice” Buford commented “Wendy I mean. Mason once mentioned that she is a lumberjack and has won prizes in these lumberjack games.”

“I heard that too!” Isabella said “I want to ask how long she is staying and if she will help the Fireside Girls and I get our Tree Chopping patches.”

“Let's run through the song one more time” Phineas decided “and then we can go and hang out with the twins and see if we can get to know Wendy better.”

Everybody quickly agreed and jumped back into things.

—---------

Wendy frowned as she looked up at the stage and the group currently performing.

“Chop chop chop! Chop away at my heart!”

“I can feel it falling (timber!) and I will never part.”

“Man,” Dipper laughed, “when you said ‘lumberjack themed boyband’ you weren’t kidding! I can’t believe you like this Wendy.”

Wendy shrugged, “boy bands aren’t my thing but my Dad is a pretty big fan. I think he would ground me if I didn’t go and see them.”

Mabel giggled at that “they are pretty cheesy.”

“Yeah” Wendy agreed “though it is strange, I thought they had a different lead singer.”

“Let me check” Dipper said and pulled out his phone “yeah so it says here that the previous lead singer, Zack, left the band because a ‘girl got in the way’ and was replaced by a guy named Max. He remanded the band to the Lumber Maxes and all of the other members changed their name to Max to match.”

“Geez '' Wendy said “that sucks, my Dad is going to be so disappointed. Especially because that ‘Max’ guy is not bringing the same energy as Zack did.”

“Didn’t realize you knew the difference,” Dipper teased.

Wendy rolled her eyes playfully “only because my family has listened to them so many times.”

Eventually the Lumber Zacks were done and there was a fifteen minute break before the next performer so the three went to go get some snacks, meeting up with Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella on the way.

Mabel grinned and ran over “Bella!”

“Hey Mabs,” Isabella said, accepting the hug from the other girl. “Sorry I didn’t invite you to help me and the rest of the girls.”

“It’s okay” Mabel said “you knew I wanted to spend time with Wendy.”

She nodded “I did, and I didn’t want to stress you out by choosing.”

“Where are the rest of the girls?” Mabel asked.

“They’re going to find seats for the 4*Town performance” Isabella said, “do you want to sit with us?”

“Yes!” Mabel called over to Wendy and her brother “I’m going to go sit with Isabella and the rest of the Fireside Girls, I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Okay!” Mason called back and the two girls ran off giggling and turned back to his friends “so what is your Big Idea for the day?”

“What do you mean by Big Idea?” Wendy asked.

“Oh just the different ideas the brothers have for us to do every day” Dipper explained.

“Cool,” Wendy said, “so what’s the idea for today.”

“Right,” Phineas said “well do you guys know the song Gitchee Gitchee Goo?”

“Yeah?”

“Well Ferb and I wrote it as a part of a different Big Idea” Phineas said “and we thought we would perform it again.”

“No way” Wendy said “that was you guys?”

“Yup.”

“Man,” Wendy said “I had that stupid song stuck in my head for weeks!... No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I probably didn’t help that Soos and Mabel kept playing it on repeat,” Mason added.

“You’re probably right,” Wendy admitted.

“It was meant to be one of those nonsense songs with a fun beat” Phineas said “it was never meant to be taken seriously.”

“Really?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah,” Phineas said “we wanted to be one-hit-wonders for the day.”

“Huh,” Dipper said “you know, I’m honestly not that surprised.”

—---------

The rest of the festive went by pretty quickly, after the 4*There was an intermission type thing before Love Handle played, during which Candace’s boyfriend, Jeremy, and his band got to play a short song.

And then there was the final act of the day, the one so many people had been waiting for. Phineas and the Ferbtones and their hit, ‘Gitchee Gitchee Goo.’

“Hi everybody!” Phineas said into the mic “it’s great to see all of you. Are you ready to hear one last song?”

The crowd cheered, though to the twins it sounded more like screaming. “Man,” Dipper complained, “I forgot how popular this song was.”

“I didn’t!” Mabel said, bouncing on her toes.

The music started up and the twins watched as their friends started to sing.

“Bow chika, bow, bow.”

“That's what my baby says.”

“Mow, mow, mow and my heart starts pumpin'”

“Chicka chicka choo wap.”

“Never gonna stop.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you.”

Mabel laughed and sang along to the course like most of the crowd.

“My baby's got her own way of talking.”

“Whenever she says something sweet."

“And she knows it's my world she's a-rockin'”

“Though my vocabulary's incomplete.”

“And though it may sound confusing.”

“Sometimes I wish she'd give it to me straight.”

“But I never feel like I'm losing (losing)”

“When I take the time to translate.”

“Here's what I'm talking 'bout.”

Dipper and Wendy both pretended to be annoyed and the two would forever deny singing along.

“Bow chicka bow wow, that's what my baby says!”

“Mow, mow, mow and my heart starts pumpin'”

“Chicka chicka choo wap.”

“Never gonna stop.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you”

“Well I don't know what to do (I don't know what to do)”

“But I think I'm getting through (I think I'm getting through)”

“Cause when I say I love you (when I say I love you)”

“She says "I gitchee gitchee goo you too."

“Gitchee gitchee goo you too.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo you too.”

“I said bow, chicka, bow-wow.”

“Don't need a dictionary!”

“I said bow, chicka, bow-wow."

“That's what my baby says.”

“Mow, mow, mow.”

“And my heart starts pumpin'”

“Chicka, chicka, choo wap.”

“Never gonna stop.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you.”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you.”

“Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, baby, baby)”

“Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you."

—--------

The morning after the Danville Music Festive the twins sadly had to say goodbye to Wendy. “You sure you can’t stay?” Mabel pouted.

“No, sorry” Wendy said “I have to get Soos his truck back and my Dad will get worried.”

“We’ll miss you,” Dipper said.

“Yeah well don’t worry dudes” Wendy grinned “I’ll text you both so much that you’ll get sick of me!”

“Not if you get sick of us first!” Mabel declared.

“Ha!” Wendy laughed “you’re on. But really, I gotta get going if I want to get back to Gravity Falls before dark.”

“Say hi to everyone for us?” Mabel asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Wendy said and started to climb into the truck. “Oh wait, before I forget.”

Wendy got back out of the car and pulled off her hat which she then plopped onto Dipper’s hat-less head. “Hang on to it for me?”

“What?” Dipper said. “I don’t get it.”

“Until we see each other again” Wendy said “because trust me, this is a ‘see you latter’ not a ‘goodbye.”

Mason grinned “do you want me to go grab my hat super quick? I can run and grab it from my room.”

“Nah it's fine man” Wendy said “so long as you promise to lend it to me when I see you next.”

“Sure,” Dipper agreed.

With that the older teen got into the car and started to drive down the road, the twins chasing after her until she disappeared from sight.

“That was a lot of fun,” Mabel said.

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “It was."

As they headed back to the house Dipper pulled out his Jounarl and unfolded a slip of paper safely stored inside. On the paper was written 'See You Next Summer' with the signatures of all the people they met last summer.

Mason ran his thumb over the letter with a smile before putting it away and hurrying up to catch up with Mabel.

Notes:

Sorry this took me so long to upload, this week was long. Not only did I have College finals I also packed up all my stuff and flew home to stay with my family until January. I am mentally exhausted.

I hope you guys enjoyed this kind of 2 parter, it was fun to add in another Gravity Falls character for a while. Also yes, I did cut some of the song out but I did not have the mental energy to include all of it.

-Izzy

Chapter 46: Cupid’s Letter

Summary:

Isabella send Phineas and embarrassing love letter and needs to get it back before he can read it.

Isabella was at the Danville Senior Lodge visiting her grandmother, who was currently showing her some scrapbooks. “Thanks for showing me the old scrapbooks, Nana.” She said “I love hearing about the old days.”

One of the other residents laughed lightly from where she was sitting at a nearby table writing a letter “Oh, that's so cute, honey. Look at how old-fashioned I still am.” She said I'm writing a letter. By hand.”

“Why don’t you just call or text them?” Isabella asked.

“You kids know nothing of the lost art of letter writing.” Her Nana said “back when we were young, we expressed our truest feelings in letters.”

“Yes. You can tell someone how much they meant to you without worrying about getting interrupted.” The other lady said “or losing your nerve.”

“Or hiccuping.” Nana said “that was my problem. When I was young, I had a crush on a certain boy, and I wrote a letter telling him how I truly felt. That boy ended up being your grandfather.”

“I’ve been having trouble expressing my feelings to someone” Isabella admitted with a sigh, thinking of a certain red-headed boy.

“Really?” The other woman said “well, I got an extra pen and paper!”

Isabella grinned and grabbed the letter supplies and started to write. She didn’t hold anything back, writing down all of her feelings for Phineas. Offering her heart on a silver platter, as they say. Letter now done Isabella sealed it in an envelope and gave it to the post men who had just arrived.

“Thank you” she said as the man left and turned back to her Nana “so how did grandpa react when he got your letter? Did he run to you and sweep you into his arms?”

“What? Oh no. I never mailed it.” Nana said “I'm not brave like you. I mean, he would've laughed at me or shown the letter to his friends. Can you imagine the embarrassment?”

As the old woman spoke Isabella felt a sense of horror and panic “oh no!” She cried “I need to get that letter back!”

—--------

Meanwhile Mabel was with her twin and the Flynn-Fletcher brothers, the two of them had decided on an… Interesting project. An art project out of old take-out stuff. Like chopsticks and old sauce packets. It was interesting and different but something that was right up her alley.

Dipper, on the other hand, looked disgusted. He had a thing about touching old food.

“You don’t have to help” Phineas was saying, having found out about Dipper’s thing.

“Really?” He asked “you won’t mind?”

“Yeah!” Phineas said “it wouldn’t be the first time someone decided to sit out for personal reasons. And Ferb and I don’t want to make you do anything you are uncomfortable with.”

Mason looked relieved “thanks guys, I do want to sit and watch though.”

“Sure,” Phineas agreed.

Mabel was jolted out of the conversation when her phone rang, stepping aside she answered. “Mabel!” It was Isabella “I have a big problem.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I sent a letter to Phineas expressing my true feelings!” Isabella said, distraught.

“That’s great!” Mabel said “I’m so happy for you.”

“No! Don’t be” Isabella said “what if Phineas laughs at me?”

“I don’t think he will” Mabel said “he’s not that kind of guy. And if he does then that means that he doesn’t deserve you.”

“You don’t understand Mabs!” Isabella said “that letter is so embarrassing, I called him my ‘little crumb cake’ who does that?”

“Okay Bella, calm down” Mabel said, realizing that her friend wasn’t going to let up on this. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need help getting that letter back and burning it before Phineas can read it.”

“Okay” Mabel nodded “but we are going to need back up.”

“You’re right” Isabella said “we need the rest of the girls. This is top priority! I call it ‘Operation Crumb Cake’!”

As Isabella started to call the rest of the girls, Mabel looked back at Phines, Ferb, and Dipper who were now joined by Baljeet and Buford. “Hey guys?....”

 

“Yeah?”

“So I would love to help you guys out with this but there is a Fireside Girl emergency I need to help with.” She explained.

“Is everything okay?’ Dipper asked.

“Yup!” She said “everything is fine.” And ran off before they could ask any more questions.

—--------

Mabel and Isablla met up with the rest of their troop all fully dressed in their uniforms and they were all sationed to different areas around town to intercept mail trucks. One plan was for Gretchen and Mabel tried to set up a distraction for another post person so the rest of the girls could look through the letters. Which worked but it was the wrong truck.

When that didn’t work they all chased after one of the trucks and snuck into the mail office where all of the letters and packages were sorted and shipped. They spent a good hour looking through everything before findining the letter being put into a mail bag which went into a mail truck which then drove off.

“After it!” Isabella cried and they all started to run after the truck.

“We’re not gonna make it,” Milly said, forced to stop and caught her breath.

“I got an idea!” Mabel said.

“What?” Isabella asked.

“What if we call Dipper and-”

“No!” Isabella said “I don’t want any of the guys to know about this?”

“Why not?”

“Because what if they laugh at me?” Isabella asked, self concise.

“He already knows about your crush,” Mabel said “and he’ll understand. Something like this happened to him too.”

“What?”

Mabel shrugged “he doesn’t like to talk about it, he’s embarrassed by it, but last summer Dipper had a crush on this girl and wrote her a letter. Just like you. He didn’t end up giving it to her but they did talk about it.”

“Really?” Isabella asked “what did she say?”

“She was flattered but didn’t like him back but wanted to stay friends.” Mabel said “also, she was too old for him.”

“Who was it?” Ginger asked.

“I’m not gonna tell you that” Mabel said “but the point is, if we ask him he will help.”

“How?” Holly asked.

Mabel shrugged “I don’t know, but anything is better than Phineas reading the letter. Right?”

“Right.” Isabella nodded. “But let’s use him as a backup plan. Until then let's intercept the mail at Phineas’ house.”

—--------

Mason was sitting and watching his friends work on their take-out stuff sculpture when he noticed a text coming in. It was from Mabel, apparently Isabella sent an embarrassing love letter to Phineas and needed him to stop the other boy from getting in.

At that moment Isabella walked over and Phineas began to proudly show off the sculpture to her.

“What do you think?” He asked her “the world's largest art piece made entirely of takeout food packets and utensils.”

“Wow, artsy,” She said nervously.

“Right? Can I show you around?” Phineas asked and she nodded “Here, Baljeet has thoughtfully recreated Gainsborough's The Blue Boy completely in red pepper flakes.”

Baljeet turned to look at them with very red, bloodshot eyes. “I wish I would have thoughtfully recreated an eyewash station. Sheesh!”

“Watch your step up the chopstick ladder.” Phineas said as they climbed to the top ”from here, you can see the whole neighborhood.”

Isabella then noticed the mailwomen coming “Phineas, uh...let's switch places. The light catches the foon so beautifully from this angle.”

Ferb then whispered and held up a sign with an envelope printed on it. “Oh sweet, “ Phineas said “the mail’s here. Wonder if that comic book I ordered arrived.”

“No wait!” Isabella tried to stop him to no avail.

Meanwhile the Fireside Girls were watching the postlady come up to the house and Milly, Ginger, and Mabel jumped out of the bushes and went straight to her. “Excuse me,” Ginger said “but do you have a letter in your bag addressed to Danville resident Phineas Flynn?”

The woman checked her bag and pulled out the pink envelope “huh, looks like I do.”

Ginger put on a stern voice “We demand that you hand it over to us immediately!” Then switched her voice to be polite “please?”

“I'm sorry.” The mailwoman said “it is unlawful for a postal carrier to deliver any envelope or parcel into the hands of anyone except the intended recipient as indicated in the address column of said envelope or parcel.”

“What about after?” Mabel asked, slamming her fist into the palm of her hand. “Can we jump him and wrestle it out of his hands?”

“Honey, what you do with your afternoon is none of my business.”

Phineas walked over with Ferb and Isebella who looked panicked. “Hey, Mrs. Ferguson! Did my comic book arrive today?”

“No, just this letter” Isabella gasped as her letter was handed over to Phineas.

She sighed, well there was no going back now. Seemed today was the day he would find out how she felt about him.

“Oh hey” Phineas said “it’s from you Isabella.”

Meanwhile, Mason turned on the hose in the front yard of his own house. “Doo dee doo” he said, trying to sound casual “just watering the grass, a real chore I totally have.”

As Phineas broke the seal he was suddenly sprayed with a face full of cold water, dousing the letter in his hand and rendering it unreadable. Everyone turned to see Dipper holding the hose.

He dropped it, his eyes going wide with ‘horror’ “oh my gosh!” He ran over “Phineas, are you okay?”

He wiped water out of his eyes “yeah I’m alright.”

“I am so sorry” Dipper said “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“It’s okay,” Phineas said, looking down at the papery paste in his hands, “though it’s a shame I didn’t get to read my letter.” He turned to Isabella “oh well, I’m going to go dry off.”

Once the young teen was gone Isabella turned to Dipper “thank you.”

“Yeah of course, anytime.” Dipper said with a grin before leaving to put the hose away.

“Well” Isabella said “I guess we’ll never know what was in that letter.”

“Yes,” Ferb agreed with a teasing smirk. “And neither will your ‘little crumb cake.’”

“Milly!” Isabella yelped and the other girl ran off cackling.

Notes:

This was inspired by the Phineas and Ferb episode "Operation Crumb Cake."

Sorry this chapter was late, I went to a Renaissance Fair with my family today and did stuff with them yesterday too so I didn't have time to finish the chapter and post it until now.

- Izzy

Chapter 47: Daytime Twilight

Summary:

Mabel gets back together with a former boyfriend.

Notes:

Thank you to my friend, Supremebandit, for his help in giving me ideas for this chapter.

Mabel was at the local craft store picking up some more yarn, glitter, and stickers and thinking about what her next sweater design was going to be. Then her thoughts were interrupted by someone tapping her shoulder.

“Mabel?”

Turning she was faced with a pale-skinned boy with dark hair and wearing sunglasses. “Theo?”

Theodore, or ‘Theo’, was Mabel's ex vampire boyfriend from last summer. The two of them had a brief, two day, summer romance last year while his family was visiting the Mystery Shack.

Theo took off his sunglasses showing off his black eyes that were tinted with red “what are you doing here? I thought you lived in Oregon.”

“No,” Mabel shook her head. “I was just visiting relatives. At the time I lived in California but my family and I moved here a couple months ago.”

“Ah,” Theo nodded.

“So, why are you here?” Mabel asked, she didn’t know where Theo actually lived but she was pretty sure it was Danville.

“My parents are here on business and dragged me along.”

“That’s cool” Mabel said “how long are you staying for?”

“Just a few days,” he said.

“Maybe we should catch up,” she suggested. “It's been a while.”

“It has, and we should.” Theo said “hey, wasn’t there a pig with you?”

“Ah shoot” Mabel said “where did Waddles go now?”

—---------

When his O.W.C.A watched beeped Waddles slipped away from his owner and walked over to a shelf where a giant skein of yarn sat. He slipped into the soft fibers and disappeared from view, sliding down a tub where he landed in his chair located in Perry’s lair.

(Waddles still didn’t have his own lair. He wasn’t salty at all.)

Agent P was waiting for him, sitting in his own seat.

“Hello Agents” Monogram said from the monitor. “Dr. Doofenshmirtz is meeting up with two individuals who will be selling him something that, I quote, ‘will help him take over the Tristate Area.’ This can not be good. I need you two to go down to the meeting place at Danville Park and investigate.”

The two animals nodded and headed off.

—--------

After buying their respective craft supplies Theo and Mabel sat down at a bench outside to catch up. At first they mostly just exchanged notes about their respective projects. That was how they met last summer, Theo was quite the crafter himself and had complimented the sweater she was wearing at the time. One that she (of course) made herself.

“You know,” Theo said, changing the subject. “It really is a shame we broke up, I forgot how well we get along.”

“I guess” Mabel said “but there’s nothing we can do about it, I mean. The past is the past and all that.”

Theo nodded “true. But we still have the future.”

There was a slightly awkward pause before Mabel stood “well, I really should get going.”

“Wait, Mabel” Theo stood as well “would you like to go on a date with me? Tonight?”

“What?!”

“I want to give things a second try” Theo said “we never got the chance to be a proper couple, our families didn’t even know about us, but now we can. If you want to.”

“You said you were only going to be here for a few days,” Mabel pointed out “so it will be the same thing as last time.”

“I only live a few hours away,” Theo said, “so it will be easier to visit each other. Plus technology has expanded in the past couple years and keeping in contact is easier than it ever was in the past.”

“That is true…” Mabel was conflicted, she did like Theo. But not in a romantic way… Plus there was Ferb…

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to” Theo said “it was only a suggestion.”

“No” Mabel decided “let’s do it. But only one date, just to try things out.”

The boy grinned “great! Let me give you my number so we can text about the details.”

—--------

Phineas looked at his brother in concern, Mabel had come back from the craft store and told them all that she ran into an ex-boyfriend and the two of them were going to give the relationship another shot. And since then Ferb had shut down. Isabella took Mabel to meet up with the rest of the Fireside Girls so they could help her get ready for her date.

“Ferb,” Phineas said “are you okay?” His step-brother shrugged and Phineas realized something “you like Mabel.” Ferb nodded.

Phineas felt guilty, he couldn’t believe it took him this long to notice his brother had a crush on someone. He knew his brother better than anyone! “How long?” He asked.

“Since your first Orthodontist appointment” Ferb admitted “Mabel and I were the only ones around and we spent the day together…”

“Wow,” Phineas said “that was a while ago. I mean, that happened back in chapter seven!”

Ferb nodded, his feelings have only increased since then and he had been working on building up the courage to admit his feelings to the girl. But now… He lost his chance. She was with someone else.

Phineas placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, not really knowing what to say. He had never been the most ‘romance oriented guy’ he had never had a crush on anyone and never understood why other kids their age got so obsessed over crushes. He much preferred to work on his inventions or hang out with friends than try and get a boyfriend or girlfriend.

But he also understood that Ferb wasn’t like him. Ever since they were little Ferb had alway wanted to find someone to love, to take care of. He was much like their dad in that regard.

“I’m sorry” Phineas said “for not noticing sooner.”

“It’s alright” Ferb said, he knew about Phineas’ feelings towards romance.

Phineas then got an idea, he might not know what it is like to be rejected. But he was pretty sure Dipper had one last summer. Maybe he would know how to help. “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today.”

—----------

Perry and Waddles made their way through Danville Park and spotted Heinz in a very shady area behind a bunch of trees. The two started to make their way over there when a bola flew out and wrapped around the both of them, tying them together. The strange thing was that this bola had giant garlic bulbs instead of weights on the end.

“Ah Perry the Platypus and Waddles the Pig” Doof said, emerging from the trees. “What an unfortunate surprise. Now you may be wondering what I am doing in the middle of Danville park. Well, a few weeks ago I made a post online into an evil scientist group asking if anyone knew how to take over a large portion of land.” He explained “and someone reached out to me! They said they had a magic artifact or something that could help, this is the spot where we are going to meet up.”

The two agents looked at each other, this didn’t sound good.

—-------

The Fireside Girls all sat in Mabel’s bedroom, trying to help her decide what to wear on her date. “What about this one?” Milly suggested, holding up one of her sweaters. It was blue with a scene of penguins playing hockey.

“That’s too wintery” Mabel said.

Milly nodded and tossed it into the reject pile. Isabella carefully twists a lock of her friend’s hair around the curling iron.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Ginger suddenly said.

“What do you mean?” Mabel asked.

“Why are you going out with this guy?” She asked, “I thought you liked Ferb.”

“Yeah” Adyson agreed “I didn’t want to say anything but… Did something change?”

“No…” Mabel said “nothing changed.”

“Then why-”

“I don’t know” Mabel admitted “I had fun with Theo with what little time we had, and maybe this is a romcom situation.”

“What do you mean?” Holly asked.

“Like, you know those movies where the girl chases after a guy the whole time?” She asked and her friends nodded. “And then she realizes the guy who is perfect for her is right there the whole time. Maybe this is something similar.”

“But life isn’t a romcom,” Adyson reminded him.

She sighed “I know… But is it so wrong for me to want a relationship?”

“No.”

—---------

Mason quietly sat beside Phineas as he tried to find a way to distract Ferb from his disappointment. Dipper had suspected Mabel had a crush on their friend for a while but never thought that he would like her back. The two seemed so different!

Still, Dipper didn’t think that he should tell Ferb the truth. First off, he had no right and had no idea if Mabel wanted the boy to know. Second, he didn’t want to get Ferb’s hopes in case Mabel’s feelings had changed.

So there was nothing he could do but watch as Phineas tried to distract his brother by suggesting different inventions. But, apparently, Ferb was interested.

—----------

Agent P.I.G and Agent P watched as a pale skinned couple approached Heniz, both wearing dark colors, wide brim hats, and sunglasses. One of them was holding a metal box. “Dr. Doofenshmirtz?” The man asked.

“Yes!” Doof hurried over “you must be the people who respond to my ad!”

“This is correct,” the woman said.

“So,” Heinz said, “so what did you bring to help me take over the tri-state area?”

“This” the man opened the box and showed off a gold chain “will allow you to control anyone in your sight.”

“Well that sounds perfect” Dr. Doofenshmirtz said “with this I can just make my brother Roger turn over leadership to me!”

Perry and Waddles looked at each other, they didn’t think decomercy worked that way.

“Stop,” the man said before the evil scientist could grab the necklace. “Do you have payment?”

“Oh yeah of course” Doof said, opening his wallet “how much do you want?”

The couple looked at each other “I’d say… about a gallon.” The woman said.

“I’m sorry?”

“A gallon of your blood” the two bared their teeth, showing off their fangs.

Oh no.

—-------

It was dusk when Mabel met up with Theo for their date, despite what the media portrayed, vampires did not turn to dust in the sun. But they did burn much easier than humans, and the sunburns were much worse. In the end Mabel had chosen to wear her galaxy themed sweater with her hair down and curled.

Mabel and Theo met up at an outdoor cafe, despite his aversion to the sun Theo did like the outdoors. “Hello Mabel. You look nice.”

“Hi Theo” she said, accepting the hug.

The two went and bought a couple ready made sandwiches with some drinks and sat down at one of the tables to eat. “How has your day been?” He asked.

“It’s been good,” Mabel said.

The two started talking about everything and yet nothing, Mabel tried to give her date her full attention but she kept getting distracted, she kept thinking about Ferb. She shook herself and pulled her mind back to what Theo was saying. Determined to have a good time.

—--------

“I’m sorry” Doof was saying “you want blood, my blood?”

“Yes,” the female vampire said.

“Why can’t you get some from a blood bank or something?” Heinz asked.

“We could” the male vampire agreed “but it tastes so much better fresh. So, do we have a deal?”

Waddles shifted a bit in the trap as Perry started to work through the ropes. “You know what,” Heinz said “I think I’m good. No offense, but I am not comfortable letting you suck out my blood. Donating blood is one thing, Doctors and Nurses are there to make sure it goes the way it is supposed to, but how am I supposed to know that you won’t kill me?”

The man scoffed “please, we’ve done this many times before. We know what we are doing.”

“Still…” Doof said “I’m good. Is there some other way to pay you?”

“No” the man tossed the box away. “That chain was a fake, we were just using it as a way to feed off of you.”

“What?!” Doofenshmirtz exclaimed “so you were just going to drink my blood and give me nothing in return?”

“Yes” the woman hissed “and we still plan on doing just that.”

And then, the vampire couple lunged at the man and he shrieked and tried to get away. Perry cut through the ropes of the garlic bola and ran to fight his nemesis’s attacker. Meanwhile, Waddles broke open the garlic bulbs and pulled out the cloves, he crushed them and put them in a spray bottle he had pulled out of his hat.

Along with the garlic the bottle also has to holy water, the pig agent shook up the bottle and ran forward. Spraying the two. Thankfully, it worked and with some shrinking they ran off.

Doofenshmirtz let out a sigh of relief “ah, thank you Perry the Platypus, Waddles the Pig.” The two tipped their hats “I’m gonna head home now, so I’ll see you later. Also, curse you.”

—---------

In the end the Phineas and Mason decided to cheer up Ferb by watching as many Space Adventure movies as they could get away with. He appreciated their efforts but right now he just wanted to be left alone. Finally, he was able to convince his brother to let him go on a walk alone and he headed out.

Ferb loved Phineas but sometimes he needed a moment away from his more hyperactive brother. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he headed to the park. As he walked he could hear the sound of two people talking and recognized one of them to be Mabel.

He quickly ducked behind a large tree, Ferb didn’t want to interrupt Mabel and her date. But also, a bit selfishly, he wanted to see what this guy was like. To maybe get an idea of why his crush liked him.

“Are you alright?” A male voice was asking.

“Yes,” Mabel’s voice said “but… I think I need to be honest with you.”

“Oh?”

“I can’t date you” Mabel said “I’m sorry but there isn’t a ‘spark,’ not like when we dated last summer.”

“Yes…” The boy said, Theo, if Ferb remembered correctly. “I feel it too, you feel more like a friend than a potential romantic partner.”

“Yeah” Mabel said “I feel the same.”

Ferb peaked around the tree and could see Theo nod “friends then?”

“Friends” Mabel agreed.

“Well,” Theo said “I should go find my parents, unless you want me to walk you home.”

“No,” Mabel said. “I’m okay.”

Ferb watched as Theo left and Mabel sat down on a park bench, he waited a few then ducked out of his hiding place and walked over to sit next to her. “Oh,” she said, “hey Ferb.”

He gave her a questioning look and she sighed “I’m okay, just… Disappointed.” There was a pause and Mabel spoke again. “I’m just disappointed that I didn’t like him after all, I mean… I’ve never been in a relationship longer than a week. Is it so wrong that I want more?”

Ferb shook his head “I think most people want to be in some kind of relationship, platonic or romantic. But I think you need to relax and let things happen.”

Mabel snorted “you sound like Dipper, he’s always telling me to let up on the flirting. But I don’t think he can talk when he hasn’t dated anyone.”

He grinned and found himself staring at Mabel, she was so pretty. Both inside and out. Ferb shook the thoughts from his head before they got out of control, she was just on a date. “Shall we head back?”

“Sure,” Mabel grinned. “Sounds great.”

Notes:

This chapter ended up being a lot better than I thought it was going too. I hoped you guys liked it as well.

Now, some of you may be wondering why I wrote it, especially since I am clearly a Ferbel shipper. Well, I knew I should show how Mabel has grown in the romance department and this is how I decided to do it. What did you guys think?

Also, fun little fact, we got one more chapter before we start on the season finale!!!

- Izzy

Chapter 48: Mid Summer Day's Dream

Summary:

The Pines Family celebrates it being the middle of summer.

It was a warm morning and the Mystery Twins were sitting outside enjoying the nice weather. It was perfect, not too hot and not too cold. Their dad walked over to them, “hey you two, enjoying the weather?”

“Yup!” Mabel said from where she was laying back on the lawn “it’s great.”

“So do you two have any plans for the day?” Dan asked.

“Not really” Dipper said, looking up from his Journal “why?”

“Well, today is officially the middle of summer,” their dad said.

“Really?” Dipper asked, “It feels like it’s been longer.”

“I thought it wasn’t for a while,” Mabel said with a frown.

“Nope,” Dan said, “it’s today, and Danville is having a Midsummer Festive and I thought the three of us could go.”

Mabel sat up “do you know if our friends will be there?”

“I don’t” Dan said “but I thought that the three of us could spend time together. As a family. While I am happy you guys have made some friends, I haven't spent much time with you this summer.”

The twins looked at each other “sure Dad,” Mason said “sounds fun.”

—--------

The Pines Family walked around the fair, taking a look at the various games, booths, stalls, and other things of that like. Mabel got very excited when she found a booth that made custom stickers and used her allowance to get some.

Dipper was looking at a book stall, seeing if there was any that he was interested in. Dad said he would get them each one thing of their choice (within reason). But then he stopped short when he heard a familiar voice, one he hadn’t heard in almost a year.

He bites his lip. Dipper wanted to investigate but he promised his dad that he wouldn’t run off to do his own thing. “Hey Dad?”

“Yeah?” Dad said “what’s up?”

“Um,” Dipper said “I gotta run to the bathroom super quick.”

“Yeah okay. I think I saw some port-a-potties that way.” He said, pointing.

“Okay” Dipper said “I’ll be right back.”

Mason ran in the direction of the bathroom and then ducked behind a tent for something called the ‘Oddball Show’ and spotted who he was looking for. The person had his back to him but Dipper recognized him.

“Blendin Blandin?” The man turned to him and his eyes went wide. The time traveler looked a good five years older than when he last saw him.

“Dipper Pines.”

“What are you doing here?” Dipper asked.

“I’m here on a mission,” Blending said.

“Weren’t you fired?” Dipper asked, still a bit in shock.

“Why would I be fired?”

“You know because of…” Dipper traced a triangle shape in the air, not wanting to say it out loud.

“Oh” Blendin realized, eyes widening “no, I was just stuck on probation for a while.”

Mason nodded, “So what kind of mission are you on?”

“That’s classified.”

“Yeah but you owe me,” Dipper pointed out. “Mabel and I did help you get your job back.”

Blendin sighed and Dipper grinned, knowing he was right. “Fine, I’m looking into a couple of other time travelers. They do work for a different department. I was asked to look into them.”

“Cool” Dipper said “well… I should go…”

The time traveler then hesitated as if thinking over something “why don’t you help me?”

“Wait, what?” Dipper said “why?”

Blendin shrugged “yeah, despite you and your sister causing a lot of problems for Time Baby you’ve proven yourself capable and I could use the extra set of eyes.”

“Look man,” Dipper said “I would like to help but I can’t, I promised my Dad I would spend the day with him and Mabel. I can’t do that if I’m running around all day.”

Blendin chuckled “did you forget? I have a time machine, I can just bring you back to this moment.”

Mason thought that over for a moment before pulling out his phone and sent a quick text to Mabel, just in case. Normally he wouldn't do something like this but after what happened the last time the guy showed up... He should probably join him to make sure something like this didn't happen again. “Let's do it.”

—----------

Mabel read over her brother’s text with a frown, was he really going to run off Blendin Blandin? After what he did? But she understood why, even if she didn't think it was a good idea. “Everything okay?” Dad asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She looked up at him, “yeah I’m okay.” Mabel then looked around, trying to find something she can use to distract her father until Dipper came back. Then gasped in delight “look!”

Dan turned to see his daughter pointing at one of those fair carney games, the one where you could win giant stuffed animals if you won. Which was always a low chance. This one was a ring toss and the big prize was a stuffed pig the same size as Waddles.

“Can I go try it?” Mabel asked.

“I don’t-”

“Please” Mabel begged, giving him the puppy dog eyes. “I wanna win Waddles a friend!”

He sighed “oh alright.”

—-------

“So” Dipper asked and he and Blendin walked through the Mid Summer festive “who are these guys you are investigating?”

“Balthazar Cavendish and Vinnie Dakota” Blendin said “they work for The Bureau of Time Travel, everyone who works for them does very minor stuff. The whole place is a bit of a joke.”

“What’s their mission?” Dipper asked.

“To protect a pistachio stand.”

Dipper stared at the man, waiting for him to burst out laughing with a ‘just kidding’ but there was nothing. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Unfortunately,” Blendin sighed. “They’re a bit of a joke, even in their joke of a department.”

“Why are you investigating that?”

“My boss wants me to look into them,” Blendin explained, “and see if it’s worth promoting them to work under Time Baby like I do.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Dipper said, “so where do I fit into all of this?”

“I was hoping you could help me find them,” Blendin said hopefully.

“You don’t know where they are?!” Dipper exclaimed “why?!”

“Normally I would track their time tape but they don’t have one” Blendin said “B.O.T.T has time vehicles instead of time tapes, they aren’t as reliable as time tapes and you can’t track them as easily.”

“Ah” Dipper said “got it, well, we better get looking then.”

—--------

Mabel threw her last ring, once again purposely missing it and pouted in disappointment. She was able to win the game, if she wanted to. But right now she was still trying to distract her father from her brother’s disappearance.

Her dad winced “sorry Maple Sweet.”

She looked at her father hopefully, this may be a distraction but she really did want the stuffed pig. “Will you try?”

“I don’t know honey…”

“Please??” She gazed up at him and turned the cuteness on higher.

Dan started to cave “are you sure I just can’t buy you one?” Mabel shook her head “okay.” He sighed and turned to the carney, setting down some cash.

—---------

Mason led Blendin Blandin through the Mid Summer Festive, doing his best to avoid being spotted by anyone he knew. He had already seen Phineas and Ferb working on some kind of project and Baljeet participating in a science competition.

The reason why he didn’t want to be spotted was that if he used time travel when this was all over to avoid ditching his father and twin then he couldn’t interact with his friends. Just in case they ended up turning around and seeing his future self. If things went to plan that is.

The two finally found the pistachio stand and the two men running it, one was wearing a tracksuit while the other was in a suit and top hat that reminded Dipper of a steampunk costume. “Is that them?” He asked, pointing to them.

Blendin pulled up a hologram of the two men and compared it to the real life version “looks like it.”

Mason looked over at the two, it seemed like they were arguing about something “what are they saying?”

“Why don’t you go find out?”

“Okay,” he agreed and Dipper headed over to the stand to hear them bickering.

“Honestly Dakota,” the top hat man said “can you please take this more seriously?”

“Come on, lighten up” the track suit man, Dakota, said “we’re at a festival!”

“We’re on a mission!” Cavendish corrected.

The two kept arguing, never noticing Dipper standing there. He could, probably, do whatever he wanted to the stand and they would never notice. He headed back to where Blending was waiting.

“Well?”

“They’re so busy arguing that they aren’t paying attention to anything else” Dipper informed him.

“The file I read says they do that a lot,” Blendin said. “I think that’s why they keep failing at their mission, either that or they are just incompetent. That’s what their boss thinks.”

“So, what do we do now?” Dipper asked.

“Well, now I have to wait and see how their mission goes” Blending said “if you want I can take you back to your family.”

He considered his options “nah, I want to see how this goes.”

Blendin nodded “well, I don’t think it’s going to take too long. If the records are correct that is.”

The two stayed in their hiding place and watched, at some point Dakota left his post to get food from another stand nearby and Cavendish stood guard in front of the stand, getting mad whenever someone got too close.

“Aren’t they supposed to be undercover?” Dipper asked.

“Yes.”

It took another half hour before anything interesting happened, while the two men were faced away from the pistachio stand a flaming piece of metal came flying and crashed into the stand. Destroying it completely. Not one nut was spared.

Blendin sighed and made a note of it, “well, that is that.”

“Sure is,” Dipper said, “though I don’t think they can be blamed.”

The man shrugged, “it’s not my job to decide that.”

Dipper found himself surprised, it seemed in however long Blendin made that deal with Bill he seemed to have gone through a lot of maturing and had taken a ‘I’m not paid enough to worry about that’ mindset. Unlike when he and Mabel first met him.

“Well,” he finally said “do you think you can take me back now?”

“Sure” Blendin agreed “how long do you want to go back?”

“How about fifteen minutes after I left with you?” Dipper suggested.

“Sure.” Blendin pulled out his time tape and placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled out the tape.

As the time traveler let go there was a bright flash of light.

—--------

Mabel watched as her dad threw the final ring, it hit the back wall of the booth and they both groaned in disappointment. “Sorry honey, looks like I can’t win it either.”

“What are you guys trying to win?” Mabel turned to find her brother had returned. “Dipper!”

“Hey bud,” Dad said “what took you so long?”

“Sorry,” Dipper said, “I got lost on the way back.”

“It’s fine,” Dad said, “and to answer your question, we are trying to win this giant stuffed pig.”

Dipper looked at the game booth “why? We already have Waddles.”

“You can never have enough pigs,” Mabel said seriously.

“We are not getting another live one” Dan warned her.

“I know Dad” Mabel said and playfully rolled her eyes in fake annoyance.

“Well,” Mason said, “can I try to win it?”

“Sure.”

Dipper accepted the money from his father and turned to try out the game, reminded of the last time he played a game like this. Back at the Mystery Fair last summer. While he was unable to lop three of the rings around the pins (which was required to win the giant stuffie) he was able to lop one.

“Congratulations” The carney said in a bored tone, handing the boy a small stuffed pig, about the size of both of his fists.

Dipper handed it over to Mabel “sorry I couldn’t get you the big one.”

The girl squealed in delight, hugging her brother “I love it, thank you! I’m gonna name him Cotton Candy.”

Dan chuckled, “well, how about we go get some real cotton candy?”

“Yes!”

“No thanks,” Dipper said, “too much sugar for me.”

“That’s fine, we’ll get you something else.”

—-------

The Pines Family had a great day at the fair and Dan was satisfied to spend some good, quality time with his children. He understood that they two were growing up and wanted to spend time with their friends (and he was delighted that they had friends to begin with) but he missed the days when they were small enough that he could pick them up and cuddle them.

It was late afternoon when Dan noticed the twins’ friends hanging out by one of the amusement park rides. He also noticed the way his children looked over at them.

“Hey,” Dan said “I’m getting pretty tired but if you two want to stay late with your friends then you can.”

Mabel looked up at him in surprise “but what about us spending time with you?”

“We already did that,” Dan said.

The twins looked at each other “you sure Dad?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah,” Dan said, “you two go ahead. Just keep your phone on and be home before dark.”

The two ran off to join their friends and Dan laughed lightly before heading back to the car.

Notes:

Hope you guys all had a good week, I did. I got to start my new job!

I have exciting news! Next week is when the season final will start, it is going to be 4 parts so be sure to look for that! I for one, can't wait. I would love to hear your theories in the comments.

- Izzy

Chapter 49: Bonus Scene: Mid Summer Day's Dream

Summary:

After the Mid Summer Festive the gang runs into a old friend.

Alternate title, 'Nice Cream Sunday.'

Notes:

This was completely written by Supremebandit with the exception of a bit of editing by yours truly.

As the entire crew were walking through the festival, getting ready to head home. When Phineas spotted something along the sidewalk. “Hey, guys, is that Sans?”

As they turned to look where Phineas was pointing and found that, indeed, it was Sans, their new friend from a couple of weeks ago who was an alternate version of Mason that they helped with his machine. Sans looked to be manning a small sales stand, that only said it sold nice cream, and he looked to be taking a nap.

The guy lifted his head, smiled and waved, as they walked over to say hi. Mabel was the one to ask, “hey Sans, where is everyone else?”

Sans, sleepily smiling, just shrugged. “Back in the last world we were on. Everyone was busy, and seeing as time means little when you exist outside of it, I figured I would stop by and say hi to a couple of the other worlds we have been to. Maybe sell some nice cream, or maybe some hotdogs. You just caught me as I came back from break, so it’s your lucky day I guess.”

“So, is nice cream a type of ice cream then?” Isabella asked.

Sans smiled and nodded. “Yup, just fifty bucks for a single cold treat. But seeing as you're all my friends, I guess I could set you up with a discount. Actually, seeing as you might never have had one before, why not have a free sample.”

The kids each took a wrapped ice cream bar from Sans, they all shrugged and peeled the wrappers off. They each took note that each wrapper had a little phrase printed on them, while the ice cream looked to be immune to the heat, seeing as they were still cold.

Dipper read his first, “you are the ‘coolest’ dude around.”

Mabel giggled “you’re the ‘sweetest’ friend.”

Phineas smiled as he read his. “You make everyone’s day legen‘dairy’.”

“Your accent makes every heart ‘melt’.” Ferb read.

“You're the best ‘scoop’ of the day.” Isabella said.

Baljeet’s read, “your calculations are ‘cream’ of the crop.”

Last was Buford’s, “you are a ‘cream’inal mastermind.”

As the group looked up, they noticed that Sans was no longer in front of them. He was actually nowhere in sight, not even the stand that was just there. The only evidence of him being there, were the cold treats in their hands.

Dipper looked to his friends. “Did Sans literally just pop in, just to make some ice cream puns, before leaving?”

Phineas was the one to answer, “yes, yes he did.”

Notes:

Supremebandit is a friend of mine and is a fan of Carpe Diem and wrote a little Drabble a while backend I've been waiting for a opportunity to share it with all of you. Please leave your thoughts in the comments, we would both appreciate it.

Be sure to check out the fic the two of us are co-writing, Blind Pinetree.

- Izzy

Chapter 50: One Long Day: Part 1

Summary:

It's the summer solstice and the gang decide to celebrate big!

Mabel yawns sleepily, beside her Dipper was also pretty dreary eyed as well but more alert than she was. She found herself wondering if he had gone to sleep at all last night or if he had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading. The two were standing in the Flynn-Fletcher yard with the rest of their friends, the two brothers who were responsible for waking them up, stood in front of them with something covered in a sheet. It vaguely looked like the Statue of Liberty.

“So Phineas, whatcha doin’” Isabell asked “...Up so early?”

“Today is the summer solstice,” Phineas said “the longest day of the year! And Ferb and I are gonna make it even longer.”

“So you made the Statue of Liberty?” Dipper asked, coming to the same conclusion as his sister.

“No…” Phineas said and then turned to see the sheet covered invention. “Oh, wow. That is weird." With a flourish he removed the sheet cover “behold! The Amazing Sun-Beater 3000!”

Baljeet, Dipper, and the girls all gave the appropriate sounds of astonishment and Buford said “ It's a name followed by a big number!” At the same time.

“It's fast and it runs on vegetable oil, so it's environmentally friendly.” Phineas started to explain “in this ship, we will travel around the world as the sun does, making this, the longest day of summer, even longer! That'll give us twenty-four hours of continuous daylight; and add the extra fifteen hours we would've had anyway, that's almost a forty-hour day!”

“It can't be done!” Buford butt in “there's only twenty-four hours in a day and that's that!”

Mason scrunched his brow as he did the mental math “no, he’s right.”

Burford turned to him “he’s not!”

Dipper yawned and didn’t bother responding, it was too early for this. Phineas spoke up “you see, Buford, if you define the day by the passage of the sun, and we follow the sun by traveling around the…”

“Nah, nah! Don't try to confuse me with your sorcerous ways.” Buford listed off a few of the brother’s previous projects “there's nothing' I've ever seen that would make me believe you could pull this off. Except for that time-machine thing, and oh, and the rollercoaster!”

“Don’t forget when they defied the laws of gravity when we first moved here” Mabel piped up.

“Yeah” Phineas said “nothing is impossible if you believe you can do it.”

“Well, I don't believe and therefore it's impossible.” Buford declared “and what's more, I bet you can't do it!”

The brothers looked at each other “you bet us?” Phineas repeated.

“Yeah, I bet you!’ Buford said “and if you lose, you're gonna have to stand up in front of everyone and say that you are governed by the laws of physics and summer's not whatever you want to make of it. And what's more, you're gonna spend the rest of your summer doin' nothin'!”

“And what happens when we win?” Phineas asked.

“Hmm…. Then I have to eat a bug,” Buford decided.

Dipper was now much more awake “woah woah woah” he said, stepping forward “that is a really unfair bet, I mean, Buford would eat a bug right now if we asked him too.”

“He’s right,” Phineas agreed.

“All right.” Buford said “how about I give you back your bike I took when we were little?”

“My bike…” Phineas said, eyes going distant as if lost in a memory.

The twins looked at each other “I thought you already had a bike” Mabel said.

“This is a different one” Phineas said and turned back to Buford. “How about this? When we make it back here before the sun sets, you gotta give everyone their bikes back.”

Buford nodded “deal” the two shook on it.

“Phineas,” Isabella sounded worried. “Are you sure about this? I mean, you're putting your entire world view on the line. And for what? A bunch of bikes?”

“She’s not wrong” Dipper said “this is a pretty big risk you are taking, don’t get me wrong, the odds are in your favor but if you lose…”

“But that’s just it!” Phineas said “it’s all about my worldview, you see, we all gotta ask ourselves just one question…”

Music started to play and someone began to sing, someone who was not Phineas.

“What is a summer really? But a tepid month or three?”

Turning, everyone saw the person singing was a guy with auburn hair who was dressed like Phineas. “Clay Aiken?” Ferb asked.

“Yeah.” Phineas said, the two playing a guitar and a tambourine. “I hired a stunt singer, what do you think?”

Clay Aiken kept singing “if you agree with Buford, that's all it will ever be.”

“Why did he hire a stunt singer?” Dipper wondered aloud “Phineas sings fine.”

“Maybe he wanted to save his voice in case there are more musical numbers” Mabel suggested.

“And we don't need to break the laws of physics.”

“To make a day that's longer than a day.”

The guy was now standing on the wing of the plane, using it like a makeshift stage with the brothers next to him.

“We can follow that old sun 'round the circumference of the globe.”

“And stop all the naysayers from nay-say... ing.”

“'Cause I believe we can,”

“And that's the measure, the measure of a man.”

As Clive sang the young teens all joined him in standing on the wing of the plane, the twins looked at eachother. Still a bit confused by the stunt singer but just accepted that it was another Daville thing.

Besides, it was a good song.

“It may sound far-fetched, this thing we've got planned,”

“But I believe we can.”

“I believe we can” he repeated and another voice joined him.

“Ooh, I believe we can!” They turned to find a woman burst into the backyard with long brown hair and who was dressed like Ferb.

“And that's the measure, the measure of a man.”

“(Oh, that's the measure of a man)” the women seemed to be singing back up.

“Chaka Khan. Nice.” Phineas complemented his brother.

Mabel pouted “I like Ferb’s singing voice...”

“I think the stunt singers are more for fun” Isabella told her friend, also disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to hear her crush sing.

“We'll make it back here (We'll make it back here) to where we began... (Oh...)”

It was then that the plane’s wing fell off, unable to keep supporting everyone’s weight. Everyone tumbled together and fell in a big pile.

Phineas popped out and grabbed one of the mics “or at least that's the plan!”

Everyone burst out laughing and Chaka Khan sang out one last line “oh course, first you're gonna have to fix this wing, yeah!”

—---------

“Okay,” Phineas said, looking over a large map of the world that covered the back of the house. “We're getting a slight late start because of the broken wing, but here's the whole route. With stops in Tokyo and Paris to refuel.”

Isabella looked over the map “you're going to Paris?”

“Yeah,” Phineas said “wanna come?”

Her eyes went wide with surprise “to the City Of Love?”

“That’s what they call it” Phineas said cheerfully, not noticing his friend’s reaction.

“You're asking me to go to the City of Love with you?” Isabella repeated in an attempt to clarify the situation.

“Yeah,” Phineas said “it’ll be fun.”

“Okay” Isabella agreed and ran over to Mabel. The other girl grabbed her hands and they jumped up and down, squealing in excitement.

“This is it!” Mabel said “this is your chance, there is no way you guys can go to Paris and not fall in love!”

“I know” Isabella said “I just have to get him alone, then he won’t be able to resist!”

“Why does that sound like you are threatening him?” The two turn to find Dipper standing behind them.

“Shut up Dipper,” Mabel said “you don’t know anything about love.”

Mason rolled his eyes and walked over to where the brothers were standing, “hey Dipper” Phineas said “are you and Mabel going to come?”

“Mabel sounds like she really wants to,” Dipper said, “so I might as well tag along. Dad’s working late tonight so if all goes to plan he won’t notice we left.”

“Cool!”

“I do want to clarify some stuff before we take off,” Dipper said.

“Sure,” Phineas said, “what do you need to know?”

“What safety precautions do you have?”

“Well, there are life vests under the seats which also double as flotation devices” Phineas said “we also got parachutes too. And we have backup stops planned in case we need to make repairs or use more fuel than planned.”

“That’s great,” Mason said, “but what if we get stranded somewhere? How will anyone back in Danville know where we are?”

“I….” Phineas started to say then stopped, he and Ferb looked at each other. “We didn’t think of that one. But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Yes…” Dipper said “but wouldn’t it be better to be safe than sorry? Everyone who comes should have personal trackers or something, that way people back home will know where we are in case the worst happens.”

“That’s a good idea” Phineas said “Ferb and I will whip something up super quick.”

Ferb got to work and Buford came up, carrying Baljeet. “Hey Dinner Bell!” He said “I'm goin' with you to make sure you don't cheat.”

“Okay.” Phineas agreed “so Baljeet, you wanna come too?”

“Well, naturally-” Baljeet started to say.

“I get one carry on,” Buford interrupted.

“All right.” Phineas said “carry on, then.” he turned to the two stunt singers “did you get that wing fixed yet?”

Chaka Khan nodded “I guess so. We pretty much used up all the packing tape.”

Dipper checked his watch “time’s ticking guys, we need to get moving.”

Mabel, who had slipped back to the Pines’ house for a moment, came running over with her knitting bag slung over one shoulder and tossed Dipper’s backpack to him. “Just in case” she said by way of an explanation.

Dipper peaked inside his bag and grinned at the contents “thanks Mabel.”

Candace came out the back door, pushing past the map. “What is going on out here?”

“Hey Candace,” Phineas said “we're flying around the world to make the longest, funnest day of summer ever.”

“What?!” Candace said “no, that is not happening. Mom and Dad left me in charge and I’m not about to let you two go flying around the world-”

“Hey Candace,” Stacy, who had been with Candace, interrupted. “Check out this giant map.”

Candace looked at it and noticed the red line that mapped out their route then turned back to her brothers. “You’re going to Paris?”

“Yup.”

“Paris, France?” Candace clarified.

“That’s the plan” Phineas said “we’ll have to make a stop to refuel.”

Candace stopped at that. While she had grown used to her brothers’ crazy stunts over the past year, and even participated a couple of times, this was way more risky than anything they have done in the past. After all, they wanted to not just leave Danville, but the country!

But Jeremy, her boyfriend, was in Paris and it would be fun to see him. Even if it was only for a little bit, and besides, it would be safer if she came along. “As I was saying,” she continued “you two are not going anywhere, Without me.”

“Woah, Candace” Stacy said “this is a really bad idea, what if something goes wrong and… I don’t know… you all get stranded on a deserted island somewhere?”

“Stacy, relax,” Candace said, “that’s not going to happen.”

“And if something does happen then we got trackers for everyone so our friends here will know where we are” Phineas said, and passed out the trackers. They looked like solid metal bracelets. “It was Mason’s idea.”

“See!” Candace said, putting her tracker on. “Besides, they’re going to Paris. Where Jeremey is!”

Stacy shrugged “okay, say hi to Jeremy for me. Oh, and Vanessa is in Tokyo with her dad right now and I have some cousins who live there. You should say hi.”

“We will” Candace promised “or you could just come with us?”

“Nah,” Stacy said “I'll hold down the fort here.”

Ferb finished packing up the giant map and looked over where the two girls were excitedly talking by the plane. Well… He was looking at one girl in particular. Ferb had been the one to suggest that they make a stop in Pairs, sure, it lined up perfectly with their plans but he had an alternative motive.

Paris, France, as many of their friends have already brought up, was the City Of Love. And Ferb was hoping to be able to pull Mabel aside and confess his feelings for her. He could only hope she felt the same way, if not then hopefully they could stay friends.

“Ferb” Phineas interrupted his thoughts “do you got the giant map packed?” He nodded and patted his pocket “wow, nice folding skills! Is everyone ready?”

“Ready for you to lose!” Buford said and he and Baljeet headed to the plane.

“Let’s go!” Mabel cheered and she ran over, pulling Isabella by the hand who was laughing.

Dipper walked behind the girls at a much more reasonable pace, smiling fondly at his sister. They all climbed into the plane and got into their seats and the brothers started things up as their friends on the ground.

“Uh Ferb?” Phineas sounded nervous. Which was understandable given how they were pointed straight at the Flynn-Fletcher house.

Thankfully Ferb pressed a button and the house lowered into a hole in the ground “how long has that been there?” Candace asked.

“All right, everyone,” Phineas said, ignoring his sister’s question “make sure your tray tables are stowed and your seats are in their full and up-”

The plane took off at breathtaking spreads, the house rose up and the backyard was left a mess.

“Okay, girls” Adyson said “we have roughly forty hours to get this backyard in line and set up for the party. Let's go, go, go!”

“Who put her in charge?” Clay Aiken asked.

“Here, make yourself useful.” Adyson said as she walked past him, handing him a rake.

The man stared after her, “you know, we're only booked for the hour!”

Notes:

It's a season finale time people! We are also at chapter 50! This is a pretty big deal for me because when I first started I didn't think I was going to get this far, while I hoped too I didn't think I would be able to stick with it. I also didn't expect so many people to read it.

What do you guys think of me doing a rendition of Summer Belongs To You? I know people have other specials that they like better but this one is my favorite. I'm so excited to finally share with all of you what I've been working on, I've spent a lot of time on it. I just hope that you guys like it as much as me.

- Izzy

Chapter 51: One Long Day: Part 2

Summary:

The gang makes it to Tokyo, Japan.

A small plane, The Amazing Sunbeater 2000, flew over the blue waters of a large body of water. A fourteen year old red head was in the pilot’s seat while a green haired teen was in the co-pilot spot.

“So,” Phineas said, “what did you guys think of the Pacific Ocean?”

“Eh,” Buford said, “probably like my fifth favorite ocean.”

Mabel pulled off her sparkly purple sleeping mask “following the sun sure makes it hard to sleep” she yawned.

“You should keep trying,” Phineas advised. “It's going to be a while before we make it back to Danville.”

Dipper’s elbow was propped up on his seat’s armrest (Mabel having snagged the window seat) and had his cheek resting in the palm of his hand. “I’m just going to crash when we get home.” He said, having already given up on trying to sleep. “So don’t expect me to do anything for the next few days.”

Isabella stared at him. “What?” He asked.

“Oh,” she said “I’m just surprised, I think that was the first time I ever heard you refer to Danville as ‘home.’”

Mason shrugged “well California stopped being home to me a while ago. And while I love Gravity Falls, Mabel and I were never meant to stay there longer than a few months so I never made it a habit to call it home.”

Mabel nodded in agreement and Isabella smiled “well, I’m glad you guys are starting to like Danville.”

“Thanks Bella,” Mabel said, smiling at her friend then turned to Phineas. “Where to next?”

“Tokyo, Japan!”

—--------

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz stood next to her dad at the top of Tokyo Tower, reading over a pamphlet. Heinz was peering over the edge, people watching. “It says here that the Tokyo Tower is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world!”

Their father suddenly chuckled, “oh, look down there, that guy just fell off his bike.”

Vanessa looked over at the guy (who she was pretty sure was Perry The Platypus and Waddles The Pig’s boss) who her father had tied up and then looked up at the giant water balloon hanging from the top of the tower. “You know… I don’t think there is supposed to be a giant water balloon.” They said pointedly.

“Do you like it?” He asked.

“No!” They said “we're supposed to be on vacation.”

“Ah, we are.” He said “we'll be on our way as soon as Major Monogram drops this water balloon on the entire International Good Guy Convention.”

“I would never pull an elaborate childish prank like that.” Monogram said “it would ruin my reputation! Destroy my credita-” He cut himself off and he began to figure out Heniz’s plan. “Oh, I see where you're going with this.”

“Yes!” Heinz grinned “and best of all, without your leadership, it will totally put an end to the...yes... What's the name of your organization again?”

“The O.W.C.A.” The Major said “The Organization Without a Cool Acronym.”

“Okay. Well I'm going to put an end to Ah-ooh-CA, I guess...?” Doofenshmirtz said “wow, that really isn't a cool acronym.”

“Told ya.”

—--------

The plane flew over Japan and the boys got ready to land “ladies and gentlemen, Tokyo, Japan” Phineas said.

“Stacy has family down there,” Candace told them “we should visit.”

“We’re one step ahead of you Candace” Phineas said and he started to land the plane. Only he forgot to deploy the landing gear.

This made their landing very rough and bumpy as the plane dragged across the road until before coming to a stop. “Really?” Dipper deadpanned, once he recovered.

“Heh, sorry” Phineas said sheepishly “I thought it sounded a little grindy and sparky.”

They all got out of the plane and while the rest of the group recovered from the landing and stretched their legs. Ferb approached an old woman “Kon'nichiwa! Suteishī no tomodachi desu!”

The women yelled in accented English “hey, everybody! Phineas and Ferb are here!”

A gong is played as a bunch of people ran over to them, all of them having some kind of resemblance to Stacy. “Wow!” Mabel said “I didn’t know Stacy had such a big family.”

Dipper turned to his sister to say something but noticed Mabel was wearing a light blue sweater with Japanese Cherry Blossom trees on the front, she had not been wearing that before. When they left she had on a world map sweater.

“When did you make that?” He asked. Mabel just grinned and didn’t answer.

What followed next was a musical number that took after Japanese Pop Music (or J-Pop) with anime elements. Dipper through it was a bit weird while Mabel loved it. They did get to refuel during the song, just as it ended.

“Thanks a lot! We'll say hi to Stacy for you!” Phineas said as the plane took off, “man, Tokyo's a fun town!”

“I have no idea what just happened,” Candace said.

—---------

Vanessa sighed as they leaned up against the railing on top of Tokyo Towering the view as Major Monogram and her father debated behind her…. Like they had for the past hour.

Finally she snapped.

“That’s it!” She yelled “Dad! This entire trip has been about your work! That's it! If you don't want to spend time with me, then I don't want to spend time with you.”

“Vanessa!” Heinz said “where are you going?”

“I'm going to the airport and I'm flying to Paris.” She starts to walk away as Perry and Waddles land beside her on a couple of jet packs. “Hey, Perry. Waddles.” they said and turned back to her Dad “alone if I have to!”

“Vanessa, wait!” She stopped and turned back around, arms crossed. “You have all the traveler's checks.”

“Traveler's checks?” They demanded “really?!”

“Ohh, did I say traveler's checks?” Her dad tried to back-peddle. “Uhh, no, no... I do wanna spend time with you... Ohh look, look. I'll drop the water balloon right now and... “

Vanessa watched as her father tried to activate his machine only to be kicked in the face by Agent P.I.G as Perry untied Monogram. The man fell to the ground, noticing the blinking button on the remote that controlled the contraption that was controlling the water balloon.

Next thing she knew Vanessa was being hit by the balloon and was flying through the air, falling off of the tower. There was a thud as she landed on the glass dome that covered the top of Phineas and Ferb’s plane.

She opened her eyes “Ferb?” They said in shock.

“Vanessa?”

“No matter where we go” Phineas said “Ferb knows everyone.”

The brothers let Vanessa in and she moved to sit next to Candace “hey Vanessa” she greeted “how’s your trip going?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” they sighed.

“It's a good thing we came along when we did,” Dipper mentioned.

“Yeah!” Phienas agreed, “where can we drop you off?”

“I don’t know,” Vanessa sighed, “where are you guys going?”

“Paris!” Mabel said excitedly “we’re going to refuel there, maybe even find some romance.” She leaned across the aisle to whisper the last bit to Isabella and the two girls giggled.

“Do you mind if I just hang out with you guys?” Vanessa asked, “I can get off in Paris.”

“Sure!” Phineas agreed.

—-----------

Dipper looked out the window as the Sunbeater 3000 flew over the snowy mountains for the Himalayas. He dug through his backpack and pulled out his camara.

“Everyone keep an eye out for Klimpaloon” he said “I want to try and get a picture of them.”

“Klimpaloon?” Candace asked.

“Yah know” Dipper said, not taking his eyes away from the snowy landscape outside. “Klimpaloon.”

“I have no idea what that is,” Candace said.

“Yeah Dipper,” Mabel agreed “you just can’t say stuff and expect us to understand.”

“It’s the magical old-timey bathing suit that lives in the Himalayas,” Dipper finally explained.

“That can’t be real,” Vanessa said.

Mabel hummed “I don’t know, there’s a lot of unbelievable stuff out there.”

“I assume you two would know best,” Baljeet said, remembering the stories of Gravity Falls.

“I still think you’re making it up,” Candace said.

“Gravity Falls or Klimpaloon?” Mason asked.

“Both.”

“Well, I’m not.”

The conversation was interrupted by a beeping sound from the front of the plane. The brothers looked at each other. “What’s wrong?” Candace asked, worried.

“Well,” Phineas said “we didn’t account for the extra weight that came with Vanessa joining us.”

The person in question winced “sorry.”

“It’s not your fault” Ferb said “we should have taken precautions.”

“Will this affect our arrival to Paris?” Candace asked, leaning forward.

“Hmmm…” Phineas thought it over “I'll let you know in about two seconds.”

“Okay,” Candace leaned back and got back into her seat.

There was a loud cracking sound and everyone looked out the windows to find both of the wings were breaking off. “Candace?” Phineas called.

She leaned forward again “yeah?”

“It is going to delay our arrival to Paris.”

They all screamed as the plane crashed into the side of one of the snowy mountains. Once they all recovered Ferb pressed the button to make the glass dome slide away. As they all looked around, an old-timey, green bathing suit walked past them.

“NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH” they walked past them. They all started.

Dipper snapped a photo “and you all thought I made it up” he teased.

Notes:

Hope you guys a good week and enjoyed part 2!

I've been having a lot of fun writing this lil special for all of you and would love to hear all of your thoughts! Also, if any of you have any ideas for season 3 I would love to hear them.

- Izzy

Chapter 52: One Long Day: Part 3

Summary:

After a unexpected delay the kids are back on their journey around the world.

The group of young friends (plus Candace and Vanessa) next to the wingless airplane on the mountains of the Himalayas.

“Well,” Buford laughed, “looks like you're gonna lose!”

“Hey,” Baljeet said “I believe my Uncle Sabu lives not far from here! Perhaps he can help!”

“Great!” Phineas said “let’s go.”

“Forget it” Candace said “I’m staying with the plane.”

“And I’ll keep her company,” Vanessa offered.

“Wait,” Mabel said “before we go.” She passed out a bunch of sweaters. She herself had changed into one with a mountain scene on the front.

“Thanks Mabel” Isabella said as she put it on, everyone else following suit.

“Now that we are ready for the cold” Phineas said, “let’s get going. Baljeet, lead the way!”

“Right,” Baljeet said “I believe his house is this way.”

—-------

Thankfully, it only took them an hour to climb up the mountain. Which was good because any more time would have really hindered their schedule. Making it to the top the kids saw an older Asian man sitting cross-legged on a mat.

“He is home!” Baljeet exclaimed.

“Ah, Baljeet and friends,” the man, Uncle Sabu, said “I was expecting you.”

“Really?” The Asian boy asked, sounding amazed.

“No,” the man chuckled, “that's just something we say up here to freak out the tourists.”

“Uhh, Uncle Sabu,” Phineas said “do you live up here?”

Baljeet’s uncle began to lead them inside and they all got warmed up, “yes, it's quite a trek, isn't it? It used to be very inconvenient for me. But then I built my factory up here, and now it's inconvenient for everyone else!”

“What do you make?” Mabel asked.

“Ohh, wait for it.” Uncle Sabu said “there's a whole musical number.”

“Another one?” Mason said in astonishment “how many musical numbers are we going to get on this trip?”

Bollywood style music began to play as Baljeet’s uncle began to sing with a bunch of Indian dancers.

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.” “

“Made with super-special density.”

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.”

“They can bounce with such intensity.”

He began to slow them around the factory.

“This is the room where we test the stretching.”

“This is the room where we test the bounce.”

“Here we add the long-chained hydrocarbons.”

“The names of which I cannot pronounce.”

“This is the room where we test compression.”

“This is the room where we test recoil.”

He brought them into a break room.

“This is a break room for all these dancers.”

“And here's a little fridge so the curry won't spoil.”

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.

“Made with super-special density.”

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.”

“They can bounce with such intensity.”

“Basically what we make here is rubber.”

“We're not trying to diversify.”

“We don't make knickknacks, we don't make tchotchkes.”

“Or really anything that's gonna catch your eye.”

“We don't make pianos, we don't make cream sodas.”

“We don't make the zippers for your parachute pants.”

“We don't make ice cube trays or ceiling fans.”

“We make rubber bands!”

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.”

“Made with super-special density.”

“Rubber bands, rubber balls.”

“They can bounce with such intensity.”

There was a beat after the musical number ended and Phineas spoke up “so what do you make here again?”

Uncle Sabu sighed “okay everyone, back to work.”

“No, I'm just kidding.” Phineas laughed “just kidding. Could we borrow one of these?” He pointed to one of the giant rubber band balls.

“Oh sure,” Uncle Sabu said.

“I have a question” Dipper said “why have a giant music number when you could just tell us that you make rubber bands and balls?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

—-------

Back at the plane the kids found a note from Vanessa and Candace saying that the two were going to go up to higher ground to try and get a phone signal. Probably so they could call their respective partners. As they waited for them to return the brothers began to attract the rubber band ball to the underside of the plane.

“So, as soon as Candace and Vanessa get here, we can…” Phineas began to say as they all climbed in.

“Start the plane!” Someone yelled “start the plane! Start the plane! Start the plane! Start the plane! Start the plane! Start the plane!” They looked over to find Candace was the one yelling as she and Vanessa were being chased by a giant snowball.

“Ferb,” Phineas said. “I think we may wanna start the plane.”

Ferb turned the key, trying to start the plane, but it didn’t work. He tried again.

“Sounds like you're flooding it…” Phineas said.

“I’m not flooding it,” Ferb defended himself.

Vanessa got caught by the snowball and was flung into the air but Ferb pressed a button and one of the seats caught her. Candace was still running towards them when the plane was hit with the snowball and fell off the cliff.

As they fell Dipper turned to his sister “do you think your grappling hook can hold all of us?” He asked nervously, not freaking out yet.

“Don’t worry” Phineas said as Ferb finally got the plane started. “It’s not needed.”

The plane landed on the ground and the rubber band ball made them bounce back into the air, the brothers using the jets to control where they flew.

“That’s good,” Mabel said, “because my grappling could not hold all of us.”

The plane bounced up next to the cliff where Candace stood “Candace, hop on!” Phineas said and Candace got onto the seat next to Vanessa. “Everyone hold onto something.”

—---------

Over the course of the next several hours the group got to see many different places as they bounced around the world, like the Great Wall Of China and the Roman Colosseum. But the problem was that as they traveled they lost some of the rubber bands from the rubber band ball.

As they approached their next stop Phineas said “we're all out of rubber bands... But the good news is we're gonna crash into Paris.”

“How is that good news?” Candace asked.

“What?” Phineas looked back at his sister, confused. “I thought you wanted to go to Paris?”

“Oh yeah, I did.”

The plane began to fall and everybody inside screamed before they landed with a large splash in the Seine River. “At least we made it, '' Dipper said dryly. “But please tell me we won’t have any more landings like this.”

“Well” Phineas said “given how this day is going I really shouldn’t promise anything.”

Notes:

One more chapter and then we will be done with season 3! Also, (fun fact) we are officially half way through Carpe Diem!

I hope you all had a good week, I did but it was long. Friday was terrible, the air conditioning broke so we were all boiling hot yesterday. Thankfully I get a long weekend due to Labor Day. Hopefully it's fixed by then. LOL

- Izzy

Chapter 53: One Long Day: Part 4

Summary:

The gang are in the home stretch, will they make it back to Danville in time?

Once everyone had disembarked the plane Phineas spoke up, a plan already in mind. “So we got a lot to do so I think we should split up-”

“My pants are already ahead of you” Buford cut in.

“So here is what I’m thinking” Phineas continued as if Buford hadn’t spoken “Candace, you go and see Jeremy.”

“Already ahead of you” Candace said, already running off.

“Buford, Baljeet” Phineas turned to the two boys. “You two go scare of the fuel we need.”

“You’re still going to lose,” Buford informed him, “but I do like scaring things.”

The bully and nerd headed off and Ferb tried to speak up “Perhaps Mabel and-”

“Oh yeah” Phineas interrupted. “Thanks for reminding me, Mabel, Dipper, can you guys go get some food and snacks for everyone? We forgot to bring some.”

“Uh sure” Mason agreed, noticing the looks on both Ferb’s and Mabel’s faces.

“Ferb,” Phineas turned to his brother, “why don't you go to the Eiffel Tower and get a reading on the trade winds?”

Ferb noded, looks like he will have to wait on his plans until later. Hopefully they will have time. Vanessa drove up on a scooter. “Hop on.”

“Vanessa,” Phineas said, sounding pleased “you rented a scooter.”

“Yeah…” Their voice trailed off as Ferb got onto the back “rented.”

The twins headed off as well as Phineas turned to the last of his friends. “I'm going to go see if I can find some parts. Isabella, you want to come with me?”

The girl let out a loud squeal before composing herself “yeah sure, sounds good!!”

—--------

Dr Doofenshmirtz was flying in his nemesis's hovercraft with Agent P, P.I.G, and their boss. After his daugh- child fell of the Tokyo Tower he had gotten the good dooers to help him find them. They had followed her to the Himalayas and various other countries.

“According to this sdƃ,” he said, looking down at the device “Vanessa's in some place called sıɹɐd. Hmm…”

Perry leaned over and flipped it right-side-up “oh, Paris!” he realized “that makes a lot more sense. That's actually where she wanted to go. Good for her.”

—----------

Dipper looked over at his sister, worried, they were in Paris and she looked upset. He would have thought she would be excited to be in the City Of Love and try and get Phineas and Isabella together or some other random couple. But instead she looked…. Disappointed?

He stepped into a store to grab some drinks and snacks and when he stepped out again Dipper found his sister staring up at the Eiffel Tower. “Are you okay?”

“Do you think he’s up there?” Mabel asked.

“Who?”

“Ferb.”

“Probably” Dipper said, as he looked over at a stall selling cheap, yet colorful, berets. It was probably to attract tourists. “if he’s tracking weather patterns that would be the best place.”

Mabel looked over at one of the flower stands, an idea forming in her head. She had mostly been ignoring her crush in order to help Isabella with hers. But right now she and Phineas were alone…. Maybe now was her chance to make a move on her own crush.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dipper handing her a sparkly gold beret, he was wearing a sparkly silver one. She giggled as she put hers on “thanks Dipper.”

“Feeling better?”

“How could you tell I was upset?” Mabel asked.

“I’m your twin,” Dipper shrugged. “I know it was something about Ferb but other than that I’m a bit lost.”

“It’s nothing,” Mabel said, “I’m just being stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not” Dipper said “if you don’t want to talk about it though then that’s fine. I understand.”

“I guess…” Mabel said “I want to tell Ferb how I feel but… What if he doesn’t like me back?”

“I don’t know,” Mason said, “but I do know that he won’t be a jerk about it, Ferb isn’t like that.”

“That is true…”

“I know I’m ‘useless with matters of the heat’ and all” he said, quoting something Mabel once said. “But isn’t it better to take a chance and get things out into the open versus letting things fester?”

She nodded “yeah, you’re right. I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Go,” Dipper encouraged “I’ll finish up here.”

“Thanks bro!” Mabel said as she ran off.

—-------

Ferb on top of the Eiffel Tower gathering his weather schematics, it was nice to see Vanessa again. Even gave her some advice in regards to her father. But his thoughts kept drifting towards a certain sweater-loving girl. He was trying to finish as quickly as he could so he could speak to Mabel but things were taking longer than he wanted.

While he waited for one last result to come in he turned to Vanessa, an idea coming to him. “Vanessa, you are currently in a romantic relationship?”

“Yes…”

“How would you suggest someone admit feelings towards another?”

“Ah,” Vanessa grinned. “Well, I can definitely help with that.”

—--------

Mabel stood nervously in the elevator taking her to the top of the Eiffel Tower, fiddling with the small purple flowers she held in her hands. Whoever said that only girls could receive flowers was a jerk-face in her mind.

The elevator stopped and Mabel walked out, it took a little bit of looking but she finally spotted Ferb. She grinned and started to head over but then froze when she noticed the scene before.

Ferb, with Vanessa, holding flowers.

Was…. Was he giving them to her?

Mabel felt the familiar feeling of her heart breaking. Why did this keep happening to her? She tossed her pitiful flowers into the trash and headed back to the elevator, trying to hold back tears.

—--------

Ferb had been getting Vanessa’s help on buying a flower bouquet for Mabel when he noticed Mabel walking away. At first he was confused and then came to the realization as to how this must look.

He looked back at Vanessa “go on” she said “I’ll fly back home from here.”

Ferb nodded his thanks and started to hurry after Mabel, who had already entered the elevator, when he heard Vanessa explain “Dad? What are you doing here?”

But as curious as that was, Ferb had more important things to do.

—-----------

Mabel wiped away the last of her tears as she walked, approaching a bridge. Why did it feel like every time she thought she found someone to love it always backfired on her! Hearing the sound of running feet she turned expecting to see her twin only to see Ferb.

Stopping about a few steps away from her, Ferb looked at her with concern, she sighed “hey Ferb, I’m going to go find Dipper” she said “I’ll see you back at the plane.”

Ferb took a deep breath. “Before you go, I just want you to know that I’m interested in Vanessa, I’m interested in you.”

“Wait,” Mabel stopped mid step and turned back around “what?”

He blushed and tried to silently convey his feelings, his voice clamming up.

Mabel hesitated “you don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better. I know that-”

Ferb, taking a chance, suddenly strode forward and kissed Mabel. She froze, her eyes going wide. Quickly Ferb stepped back and went to apologize but then Mabel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and kissed him back.

She pulled away, smiling “I’ve been wanting to do that all summer.”

He grinned back “me too.”

The two joined together in a kiss.

—--------

Phineas and Dipper watched as their siblings respective kissed on the bridge above them. “Do you think they know we’re here?” Dipper asked.

“I doubt it,” Phineas said “but let’s not interrupt them.” Dipper nodded.

“You know,” Phineas then said “I’m not surprised they would get together here. After all, a guy, a girl, alone in The City Of Love. It’s a forgone conclusion after all.”

Isabella glared at Phineas, something that went unnoticed by the boy, while she was happy her best friend finally got together with her crush she was upset her own plans to get together with Phineas didn’t work.

—----------

After Ferb and Mabel’s moment Candace re-joined them and the brother fixed up the plane to turn it into a boat using plastic baguettes. and got ready to head off once again. As they climbed inside Mason passed out sandwiches and bottle water.

“You guys ready?” Phineas asked and nodded. “Great! Next stop, Danville.”

The brothers started up the plane-turned-boat and they started to sail away at high speeds. “We're almost to Le Havre harbour, Ferb. After that, it's nothing but an open ocean and a couple of remote islands! We should be home in no time!” Phineas said happily which quickly turned to worry as he noticed the boat blocking them in. “Huh… Well that might be a problem.”

Thankfully they didn’t have to worry because they were suddenly back by a large wave that helped them get over the boat with ease. None of the kids notice some of the water falling over a wooden boat, soaking the two old sailors on the deck.

“Wow” Dipper said “it seems like the random wave put us back on schedule. Who knows, we might even make it back early! If nothing else goes wrong that is.”

As if on cue the steering wheel suddenly came off in Phineas’s hand, then the engine went out, the baguettes broke off, then the roof, and a bunch of other things.

“See,” Dipper said, clinging onto his seat. “This is what I was talking about.”

What was left of the plane/boat crashed into an island, throwing them all onto the beach. “Well, Ferb,” Phineas said, standing up, “that was our worst landing yet. I'm beginning to detect a pattern here.”

Ferb nodded as he stood as well, helping Mabel up as well. “Phineas!” Candace yelled “this isn't Danville; it's a deserted island! The only things on this island are us, a couple of trees and a big fat ox!”

“Hey!” Buford protested.

“Not you, you big ox” Candace said “that big ox.” She pointed at, sure enough, an ox.

“Oh gosh,” Mason could feel his breath start to quicken “we’re stuck here, aren’t we!”

Mabel quickly hurried over and tried to help him calm down “breath, Dipper, breath!”

Buford laughed “ha! You’re gonna lose.”

“Buford,” Phineas said, “you do realize that you're stranded on this island too, right?”

“I don’t care! I’m winning.”

“Phineas,” Baljeet said “how are we going to get off this island?”

Everyone looked over at the red-haired boy, waiting for him to share some great idea to get them home. “Easy, we just have to fix the boat!”

“With what?” Dipper asked, still breathing heavily as Mabel worked to calm him down.

“There's plenty here. All we need is our imagination!” Phineas said “for instance, we could tie those two palm trees into a raft and add a super sonic outboard motor. Oh, wait...we don't have anything to cut the trees with and...we don't have an outboard motor.” He looked over at the oz “oh, I know, we could soup up this ox so he could run on a conveyor belt that would charge the... Ohh, we don't have a conveyor belt and we don't have any soup.”

“Not to mention…” Buford added “you're never gonna make it!”

“At least we have the trackers” Dipper said, finally having calmed down “so we’ll get home eventually.”

“We'll make it! After all, we've got... Uhh... We've got the seats! We've still got one rubber band! And we've got…” Phineas looked around and noticed the Dipper’s backpack and Mabel’s knitting bag. He quickly handed them back to their owners “what do you guys got?”

“Um…” Mabel looked through hers “yarn, knitting needles, and fabric scissors.”

“My camera, which is somehow in tack, and my Journal” Dipper said “I seemed to have lost everything else in the crash.” He thought for a moment before making a decision “you can take apart the camera for parts if you want, so long as I get the SD Card. And if you get me a new one, luckily this isn’t my nice one.”

Phineas took the camera and Mabel’s yarn “okay, so we got this too, there has to be something we can make!”

“Like….” Buford prompted.

“I….I…”

Buford laughed “hey, maybe you can make an hour glass to watch the time slip away!”

—-------

Mabel sat next to Ferb as they watched Phineas digging a giant hole on the beach “there, There's got to be some minerals or something down here that we can use!” He said “I mean, we can't...we can't just be stuck here!”

“Again” Dipper said “we still got the trackers, once the time is up I’m sure the Fireside Girls will find a way to come and get us.”

Phineas didn’t seem to hear the other boy as he kept digging. Ferb looked between Mabel and his brother, unsure if he should stay with the girl or go try and comfort Phineas. Thankfully Mabel made the decision for him. “Go ahead, once we get back to town we can talk about next steps.”

Ferb nodded and walked over to his brother’s hole as Mabel went over to Isabella, sitting down next to her and handing the other girl some tissues.

“Thanks Mabel,” Isabella wiped her teary eyes “I just don't know what to do... we were in Paris! The most romantic city in the world, and…” she blew her nose “he didn't even notice me!” Mabel patted her on the shoulder sympathetically “just feel like giving up, and look at him!”

Phineas poked his head out of the hole holding a starfish and a sponge “Look! A sponge and a starfish! There's gotta be something we can make out of this! Ah! Oh no, that's ridiculous!” He threw them away and ducked back down into the sand.

“It's as if I don't exist!” Isabella said “I would give anything if he would just sit down with me and enjoy this beautiful sunset.”

“I’m sorry Bella” Mabel said “I should have helped you more. I promised at the beginning of summer I would help you two get together and I haven’t been doing much lately.”

“No no!” Isabella was quick to say “I don’t blame you at all! And I’m really happy for you and Ferb.”

“Thanks” Mabel blushed, remembering their kiss. The third one specifically, the first two were both a bit of a mess. “I just hope that it all works out.”

Mabel stepped away and Phineas ran over “we, we, we could- We, we, we could dig a tunnel under the ocean and then we could, uh, we could… we can, we can...we...we can't. I can't… I can't believe there's nothing we can do to get off of this…” He sighed and sat down next to Isabella “I guess at least we can sit and watch this beautiful sunset.”

Isabella looked over at him then back at the sky, she had gotten what she wanted but…. It was not right. She stood, determined. “No.”

“What?” Phineas looked up at her in surprise.

“No! You are not going to enjoy this beautiful sunset!” She declared.

“You build a roller coaster through downtown! You helped find bigfoot! You traveled through time, twice!”

“But, Isabella,” Phineas said, “there's nothing here for me to work with.”

“Well, that's not the Phineas Flynn that I fell in…” She paused, and quickly rephrased “... to… this… situation with. You showed us all in Ferb's map how this is possible and I'm not gonna let you sit there and-”

“Wait, that's it!” Phineas said, getting the idea they had all been waiting for. “Ferb’s map.”

Ferb pulled the map and unfolded it, the map was so big that the island was pretty much covered in it. “Okay. We're here, and we need to go there.” Phineas said, pointing “and we've got about…” He looked up at the sky “I'd say eleven minutes. Isabella, grab Madagascar and bring it over here to Ohio. Now Candace, you grab the Andes and fold it over so that it meets Greenland.”

The two quickly did as they were told “you know folding the map doesn’t make these places closer” Dipper said.

“I know” Phineas said “just stay with me, crease it here. Buford, Australia over to Africa. Baljeet, Hawaii to Japan.” Baljeet pulled the map “no, no, East, East! Don't go West, you'll rip it! All right...now Dipper, fold it here. Mabel, one more crease down this line.”

Everyone folded the map, still a bit confused as they ended up making a paper unicorn. “Phineas..” Candace said “I don't see how an origami unicorn is getting us off this island!”

“It just needs one more fold,” they all watched as the paper map turned into a monster, then a Ferris wheel and finally a paper airplane.”

Candace immediately started denying Phineas plan as the rest of them kept working. “There's no way I'm getting on that plane!”

“I don’t know,” Dipper said, as he and Mabel sewed yarn into the paper wings to help strengthen them. “It seems like it’ll work.”

“Don’t encourage him” Candace said “Phineas, this is crazy!”

Phineas used their last rubber band to make a slingshot shot in between two palm trees and Buford carried the ox over. Baljeet, Ferb, Mabel, and Dipper carefully put the seats into the plane. “Have I taken crazy pills?! There's no engine!” Candace yelled.

“True,” Phineas said “but we do have this rubber band made of super special den-si-ty!”

“Just believe we can, Candace!” Mabel said.

“Yes,” Baljeet agreed “Clay Aiken and Chaka Khan cannot both be wrong.”

“What?” Candace looked confused.

“Oh that’s right” Dipper said “you missed the musical number, shame. But basically, it was about if you believe you can do something you can.”

“It was very inspirational,” Baljeet said.

Everybody but Candace and Buford climbed into the paper plane “I'm not getting on that plane!” Candace declared.

“You won't see Jeremy again 'till we get off the island.” Phineas pointed out, there was a pause and the Candace got on with the demand to get a window seat.

Buford, who was sitting on the ox, had it pull the plane back with the rubber band slingshot “You know, my horoscope said I would be riding an ox today. But I thought that was a figure of speech!”

“We’re almost out of time!” Dipper said.

“Buford get on” Phineas said “it's now or never!”

Buford got on and pulled the release on the ox and they flew into the air. “We did it!” Mabel cheered.

“We’re gonna make it!” Mason said.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Buford cheered.

“What are you so happy about?” Baljeet asked.

“I finally ate a bug!”

The kids could see the plane approaching land “there's the Tri-State Area!” Phineas said “everyone hold on.”

Like all of their other landings the paper airplane crashed into the ground, “actually,” Phineas said “that's probably our best landing of the day. Great, the sun's still up and we're only five blocks away. Come on!”

They all started to run to the Flynn-Fletcher house but stopped when they noticed the giant ditch “oh no!” Isabella said “road construction!”

“It took our mom an hour to get around that,” Phineas said.

“58 seconds,” Dipper announced.

“No, no, no!” Buford wailed “ohh, I actually thought we're gonna make it! I thought we were gonna do the impossible. For one shining moment...summer was whatever I wanted to make of it!” He paused as he realized something “wait...this is my house! Hold on one second! I'm givin' everybody back their bikes!!”

“But Buford, we didn't make it back to our yard” !Phineas started to protest then realized what Buford was doing. “I get it! Everybody, get your bikes”

The kids ran over to Buford’s garage and he started passing out bikes “here’s Phineas’, Ferb’s, Isabella’s…. And here's, uh... A recumbent? Really?”

“It’s better for your back,” Baljeet said as he took it.”

“How come I don't have to stand in line to bully you?”

“Wait, Buford never took my bike,” Candace said.

“Or ours!” The twins said in unison.

“Here” Buford handed the twins a tandem.

The two looked at each other and did a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Mabel got on the back while Dipper the front. Candace had been paired up with a tricycle. Everyone began to peddle their way towards a ramp that was propped up near the ditch.

“There is no way this is gonna work,” Candace said.

“Just believe it can, Candace!” Phineas encouraged.

“Is that another Chaka Khan reference?” She asked.

“ You don't have to hear the song,” he said “you just have to believe!”

Each member of the group declared that they believed as they rode over the ramp, they flew through the air and landed in the backyard just in time for the Fireside Girls to yell out “one!”

—-------

The Fireside Girls had set up a party for their return and they, of course, had to do a musical number. Phineas grinned as the music began to play and he started to sing.

“It's been a long, long day”

“And there were moments when I doubted.”

Isabella started to sing too “that we'd ever reach the point”

“Where we could laugh and sing about it.”

They began to sing together “now the sun has set on this,”

“Another extraordinary day”

“And when it comes around again”

“You know I'll say.”

Everybody else joined in.

“Tell me what you wanna do today”

“All we need is a place to start”

“If we have heart, we'll make it.

“'Cause we're not messin' around (we're not messin' around)”

“Yes we can dream it, do it, build it, make it.”

“I know we can really take it”

“To the limit before the sun goes down.”

“As soon as you wake up you gotta make your move” Phineas sang.

“Don't miss the beat, just get into the groove.” Isabella sang.

“The sun is shinin', there's a lot that you can do (a lot that you can do)”

The two started to sing together again “there's a world of possibilities outside your door”

“Why settle for a little, you can get much more”

“Don't need an invitation, every day is new”

“Yes, it's true.”

Everybody else joined in again “summer belongs to you (Summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to you (Summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to everyone, so have some fun”

“There's nothing better to do”

“Summer belongs to you.”

“Aright,” Candace said “I’m taking a verse.”

“Be my guest” Phineas agreed.

“I traveled halfway 'round the world” she sang.

“And almost turned and ran away.”

“But you helped me get my courage back”

“So now I've got to say”

“That though I've often thought of you”

“As just a nuisance and a bother”

“Today I can't imagine”

“Having better little brothers!”

“And you gotta believe in something”

“So today I believed in you”

“And you came through, we made it”

“I've never been so proud (never been so proud)”

“I know at first it seemed implausible”

“But we accomplished the impossible”

“Now there's something that we got to say out loud.”

Candace then noticed Jermey over by the gate door and ran over to him so Mabel took over.

“Time is what you make of it, so take a chance”

“Life is full of music so you ought to dance!”

“The world's a stage and it is time for your debut!!”

Dipper sung next.

“Don't waste a minute sitting on that chair”

“The world is callin' so, just get out there.”

“You can see forever so your dreams are all in view”

“Yes it's true” Phineas sang.

“Summer belongs to you!” The twins sang together.

“(Summer belongs to you)”

Everyone else joined in again as they had a fun time dancing and celebrating their success.

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to everyone, so have some fun”

“There's nothing better to do.”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to boys and girls all around the world”

“We wouldn't say it if it wasn't true”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Baby, baby, baby, baby” Ferb sang in that deep voice of his.

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Whatever you want to do, you make the rules”

“You got the tools to see it through”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Summer belongs to you (summer belongs to you)”

“Just remember that you can do it and when you're through it”

“Will change your point of view”

“Summer belongs to you!”

—--------

After the party Dipper and Mabel were in their bathroom, getting ready to get some well deserved rest. Mason yawned, “well, I’m going to bed.”

“Okay” Mabel agreed, “see ya later bro.”

Dipper slipped into his room and Mabel waited for a moment before smiling at the reader and breaking the 4th wall for the first time. “See ya in five weeks!”

And with that Mabel went back to her own room.

Notes:

We did it! We finally finished this four parter. I hope you guys like it as much as I did. It took me ages to write and a lot of planning. We are now, officially, done with season two. I really hope you guys liked it.

So, just like Mabel said, I will be going on break. I will be back on October 21st 2023. Until then I will be taking a break from everything Carpe Diem related (though I will still respond to comments) and when I get back we will get to see the aftermath of Ferb and Mabel's kiss.

- Izzy

Chapter 54: Ferbel First

Summary:

The waiting is finally over! Mabel and Ferb go on their first date.

Dipper walked into his and Mabel’s shared bathroom with a yawn, his sister was already wide awake and getting ready for the day. “Good morning dear brother of mine!”

“Morning.” He grabbed his toothbrush “you’re in a good mood” he observed.

“Why would I be?” Mabel asked “after all, we had an amazing day yesterday!”

“We did?” Dipper’s sleepy mind took a moment to catch up. “Oh right, yesterday was the longest day of summer and we traveled around the world.”

“And….”

He frowned “and…?”

“Ferb and I kissed!”

“Oh right” Dipper said “sorry, it feels like I slept for at least a month!”

“It’s okay,” Mabel said, “we had a long day.”

“That we did,” Mason agreed. “How are you so alert?”

Mabel shrugged “who knows, maybe it’s part of my Alpha Twin Powers” she teased and Dipper rolled his eyes.

The two then got busy doing their respective morning routines but later at breakfast Dipper asked “so, are you and Ferb like… a thing now?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Mabel asked.

“Well,” Dipper said “just because you two kissed doesn’t automatically make you boyfriend and girlfriend.”

She nodded “yeah that’s true. Though we do like each other.”

He nodded “yeah but you haven’t even been on a date yet!”

“I know,” Mabel said, “but we can go on one.”

“Mabel-” Dipper started to say.

“I know what you’re trying to say broseph” Mabel cut in “but don’t worry, I’m not naive enough to assume things. I’m just trying to stay optimistic.”

“Okay,” Dipper said “I’ll trust you then.”

—-----------

Ferb took a deep breath as he approached the Pines’ household, Mabel was off at a Fireside Girl meeting and Mason was with Phineas getting some help on a project he was working on. That meant that today was the perfect day to do what he wanted to do.

Knocking on the door it opened a moment later to reveal the twin’s father. “Ferb,” the man looked surprised. “hi, um… The twins aren’t here.”

Ferb nodded. There was a long moment where it seemed like the man was waiting for Ferb to speak but he didn’t. He wanted to wait until the conversation started. “Would you like to come in?” Mr Pines asked after a minute.

He nodded again and was let inside “so,” Mr Pines said, after they sat down at the kitchen table. “What brings you by?”

“I…” Ferb cleared his throat “would like your permission to ask Mabel out on a date.”

Dan blinked, surprised but also impressed. Mabel had dated several people in the past couple of years but this was the first time one of them talked to him first. Inwardly he smiled, Ferb was a good kid and he was happy that his children had found such a good group of friends. If anyone was going to date Mabel then this boy was a good choice.

Outwardly he raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is that so?”

This was his little girl they were talking about. He wasn’t going to make it that easy.

Ferb walked away from his conversation with Dan Pines, satisfied he had succeeded in his mission to ask for permission to date Mabel. But also a little terrified, the man had made it very clear what he would do to him if he broke Mabel’s heart. Not that he was planning to.

When he walked into the kitchen he saw his own father sitting at the kitchen table, Lawrence looked up and saw his face (having been aware of Ferb’s plans) and chuckled.

“Gave you the shovel talk, did he?” Ferb nodded. “That’s alright, every father does it. Your grandfather did the same thing to me when I first met him.”

Ferb couldn’t imagine Grandpa Fletcher threatening anyone but the knowledge that this was normal did make him feel better. Now he just needed to find a way to ask the girl of his desires without stumbling over his words.

—----------

Mabel skipped home from her Fireside meeting, her curls loose and bouncing along on her shoulders. She held the hat from her uniform in one hand and she swung her a bit, humming a tune to herself.

As the girl approached the house she noticed Ferb standing by the front door, holding a small bunch of flowers. Her smile became wider and she slowed to a walk and headed over to meet him. The two of them had yet to talk about the kiss or the next steps but Mabel was hoping that he would ask her out.

“Hi Ferb '' she greeted, the boy smiled at her and handed her the flowers “thank you! I love them.”

The two sat on the porch side by side, knees brushing up against each other. Mabel blushed “so um… what brings you by?”

Ferb felt his face heat up and found himself unable to speak and form the words he wished to say. Thankfully, he had the foresight to think ahead and handed the girl a note.

Mabel opened the folded paper and read the pretty handwriting, a simple request to go out on a date. She smiled at him and gave Ferb a kiss on the cheek. “I would love to.”

Ferb stood and held out a hand, Mabel stood as well and took it. “Oh wait,” she suddenly said “before we go, let me change.” Mabel looked down at her Fireside Girl uniform, embasered.

“It’s alright,” Ferb said, “you look lovely.”

She blushed again “thanks but really, I should go change. I should really avoid getting this dirty if I can.”

He nodded in understanding and Mabel hurried inside “I’ll be quick!” She yelled over her shoulder.

—-----------

A half hour later the two sat at an outdoor table at Danville’s local ice-cream parlor. Mabel had a sundae decked out with whipped cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, sprinkles, cherries, and three different flavors of ice-cream. Ferb had a simple scoop of chocolate ice-cream.

Mabel chatted away happily as she ate her ice-cream while Ferb listened to her happily, occasionally making a silent comment. It surprised him how quickly Mabel was able to read him, having learned how to do it almost as well as Phineas in just a couple of months.

After their ice-cream dishes had been cleared away Ferb then said “Mabel… I know we have only been on one date, but I was wondering…” He took a deep breath, his nerves running rapid. “Would you be my girlfriend?”

This was the part of the date he was nervous about, it was one thing to kiss her and go on a date. It was another to ask to be in a relationship, in his limited experience Ferb found that most people didn’t want to go out with a boy who had trouble talking to them. He knew his friends were different and didn’t mind his silent demeanor but no one understood him like Phineas did.

At least, until Mabel moved in.

He really, really, hoped she said yes. But, if she didn’t, then he hoped their friendship wouldn’t suffer.

“Really?” Mabel asked, surprised. Ferb nodded and she smiled, leaning over to kiss him. “I would love to.”

Notes:

I'm back!!!!!!

Wow, the was a good break. It was nice to take some time off to rest and get used to my new job but I'm glad to jump back into Carpe Diem. I got some fun chapters planned that I can't wait for you guys to read.

I know this wasn't the most exciting beginning to season 3 but I thought after all of the waiting we deserved to see Mabel and Ferb finally get together. I hope it was worth the wait!

- Izzy

Chapter 55: Halloween Haunt

Summary:

The kids go trick-or-treating and encounter a haunted house.

Notes:

This is our Halloween Special and therefor take place after the summer that the main events of Carpe Diem take place.

Phineas stood next to his brother on the front porch of a random house and rang the doorbell. A man opened the door a few moments later.

“Trick or treat” Phineas said with a smile, showing off his pumpkin-orange braces.

The man frowned “aren’t you two a little old to be trick or treating?”

The two fourteen year olds looked at each other “I guess,” Phineas said with a shrug. “But I think you are never too old to dress up and get candy.”

The man considered that and dumped a handful of candy into each of their pillow cases. “Well alright, just don’t go egging any houses or anything.”

“We won’t” the two walked back down to the sidewalk and saw Dipper and Mabel walking past. “Hey guys!” Phineas said.

“Hey Phineas, hey Ferb” Mabel smiled and leaned over to kiss her boyfriend.

“Nice vampire costume Phineas,” Dipper said.

“Thanks,” Phineas said.

“Of course” Dipper looked over at his sister and her boyfriend “Ferb did a good job with his Frankenstein’s Monster costume”

“Yeah,” Phineas agreed, “he worked so hard on it. So, what are you and Mabel supposed to be?”

Dipper was wearing a black suit with a red bowtie, his blue-framed glasses were swapped out for one with black frames with an eye patch underneath and his hair was slicked back and he wore a red fez.

“My Grunkle Stan” Dipper said with a grin “or, if you want to be more accurate, Mr Mystery. Since Stan’s retired.”

“That’s awesome” Phineas said “so is Mabel your Grunkle Ford then?”

“Yup” the two looked over at Mabel who was wearing a red knitted turtleneck underneath a long, brown trench coat. She also wore glasses, but unlike her brother’s they were fake, and lastly she had a high-tech looking gun strapped to her waist.

“I would have thought you would have been Ford” Phineas commented “given how much Gravity Falls fans like to compare you two.”

“Dipper and I drew straws and this is who we got” Mabel said and she and Ferb rejoined them. “Plus, Grunkle Ford and I are pretty similar in personality. If you think about it.”

The four started to head to the next house when they were found by Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet. Buford’s costume was a pirate, Baljeet’s a daisy, and Isabella’s a fairy princess.

“Nice fairy princess costume!” Phineas complemented “where'd you get it?”

“Actually,” Isabella said, “I'm not wearing a costume.”

“Oh okay” Phineas said.

There was a pause and Isabella sighed “I got it at the Googolplex Mall.”

“What kind of person hands out these weird, orange peanuts?” Buford complained as he looked through his candy bag. “We gotta find a better neighborhood.”

“What about there?” Mabel suggested pointing up to a large, spooky looking house.

“That's strange. I've never seen this place before.” Phineas said “you'd think we would've noticed it.”

“Well, don’t look at Mabel or I,” Mason said. “We haven’t lived here as long as the rest of you.”

“I'm gonna give those orange peanuts a second look.” Buford said.

As the group approached the house they heard a rustling in the leaves “what’s that sound?” Baljeet asked.

A head popped out of a pile of leaves and a flashlight was flicked on, showing that the source of the sound was an ordinary boy a few years younger than them. Any other time of the year a random kid hiding in a pile of leaves would be kind of freaky, but this was halloween. In fact, the strangest thing about the boy was the fact he wasn’t wearing a costume.

“Hi, I'm Russell. I live here.”

“Oh, Russell, like the leaves,” Isabella realized and Mabel giggled.

“What are you trying to do, scare us?” Buford scoffed.

“No. Hiding in the leaves makes me feel warm and secure.” For a moment the teens could all hear an ominous sounding violin playing. “Well, relatively speaking.”

“Why not go inside?” Mabel asked.

“In there?” Russell pointed up at the house “it's haunted!”

Dipper’s eyes lit up “really?!”

“Cool” Phineas said at the same time.

“No, not cool!” Russell said, eyes wide “the horrifying screams, moving shadows, floating objects, ghosts, zombies, vampires. It's really freaking me out, man!”

“Well,” Mabel took a dramatic pose, “you have no reason to fear, because I, Stanford Pines, the world's best paranormal researcher will stop your little ghost problem.”

“Uh…” Russell said “isn’t Stanford a boy’s name?”

“It is,” Mason said, “Stanford is our great-uncle, and currently halfway across the world. Luckily, you got the next best thing. Me! I have tons of experience with ghosts and zombies and stuff.”

“Actually, there is no scientific evidence for the existence of ghosts.” Baljeet said.

“Dude,” Dipper turned to his friend, “just last summer you got trapped in a haunted board game.”

“He has a point,” Buford said. “And the light under this kid’s chin makes his story pretty convincing.”

“Do you have anything to fight ghosts with Mason?” Phineas asked.

Dipper opened his suit jacket to show off his Journal, a silver mirror, and one of those devices that helps people detect ghosts. “Do I have stuff to fight monsters on Halloween? You bet I do!”

“Looks like we're in business!” Phineas grinned “let's bust us some ghosts!”

“You coming, Russell?” Buford asked.

“If I have too” he sighed and followed them inside.

The enter the house to find it to truly look like an old victorian mansion, as soon as the group stepped into the foyer the heavy double door slammed shut and the candles keeping the room lit went out.

“Oh, this always happens.” Russell informed them.

“Nobody panic!” Phineas said as Ferb pulled out a flashlight.

“Come on” Russell said “most of the ghosts are this way.”

The gang followed the boy through the house and Mabel started to hum the Ghost Harassers’s theme song under her breath. She blamed her twin for her knowing it. “Who you gonna call?” She sang to herself.

“Ghost Harassers!” Dipper sang softly back.

“Ghosts, there's no such thing.” Baljeet said, holding Mason’s ghost detector “look! My EMF readings are three milligauss. Normal background radiation. And when we point it at the room, it is also…” There was a pause “well, that cannot be right.”

Phineas looked over Baljeet’s shoulder “78? I didn’t think these things were made to have double digit displays!”

A figure rose up out of the darkness, it was a large creature with a jack-o-lantern head. “Aren't you a little young to be hunting ghosts?”

“Yes, yes we are!” Everybody but Dipper and Mabel said and ran off screaming. Leaving the Mystery Twins behind.

“We should probably run, right?” Mabel said.

“Yeah. probably” Dipper agreed, grabbing his sister’s hand and running after their friends.

—----------

The group ended up back in the foyer “well, at least it’s only 78 on the meter, right?” Phineas said, trying to find the bright side.

Baljeet nodded “iit can’t get much worse than that.”

“And you just jinxed us,” Mason sighed and turned to Russell “anything else we should know?”

“Well,” the boy said “sometimes the floor gives out.”

As if on cue the floor collapsed and the kids all fell through the hole screaming. The landing is a little rough but they are mostly unharmed, with the expectation of a few bruises. They all stood and found themselves in a basement full of ghosts.

“I gotta say,” Buford said, “this is a really non-traditional use of interior space.”

“What do you know about interior design?” Mabel asked.

Bufor shrugged, “you don’t know everything about me.”

“Aren’t all houses infected with ghosts?” Russell asked.

“Older ones are” Dipper “but I’ve never heard of this many.”

“I have a tremulous voice!” A female ghost said.

“I like to play,” a male one said.

“This could be related to your problem,” Phineas said.

Hearing a loud noise the gang turned to see the door to a shed burst open and the Jack-O-Lantern monster walked out and began to move towards them. “I'm not alive anymore.”

The kids all yelled in shock and started running again “across the river, we'll be safe in that house!” Russell yelled, pointing.

“River?” Isabella repeated “how big is this house?”

“Yeah, I don’t think this is normal,” Dipper said, breathing heavily as he ran. “Gosh, if I had known we were going to be running for our lives tonight I wouldn’t have worn my binder.”

“Not like you could have known,” Mabel pointed out “it’s not like we plan to get into life-threatening situations.”

They made it to the river and began to wade through the water “this really is the wrong color and viscosity for water!”

Mabel pouted “aw, my costume is getting all wet!”

“I think that’s the least of our worries Mabes” Isabella said.

Zombies began to rise from the water “did I mention the zombies?” Russell asked.

“No, you did not,” Phineas said.

Mason frowned “I’ve seen zombies before, these ones look way different.”

“Maybe it depends on what area they are from,” Baljeet said.

Dipper hummed in consideration, his hands twitching to pull out his Journal but held back. Later, right now he had more important things to do. The teen, and Russell, made it across the river.

Now that they were out of the water they all started running from the pumpkin monster again. “Relax and stay awhile. Stay FOREVER!!”

The Jack-O-Lantern began to move closer to them and the ghosts and zombies surrounded them. “Uh guys?” Phineas turned to the twins “what do we do?”

“Well,” Dipper said, “ghosts are stopped by silver mirrors but I only have one. And zombies are killed by a three part harmony.”

“And the pumpkin monster?” Isabella asked.

“This is a new one…” Mason admitted, pulling out the mirror from the inside pocket of his jacket.

Mabel picked up a rock and threw it at the Jack-O-Lantern monster, it made contact and it stumbled back. Sparks flying.

“Dipper wait!” She yelled, stopping her brother before he swung his mirror at one of the ghosts. “I have an idea.”

Pulling out her twin’s magnet gun she actaviated it and swung around in a circle, pointing it at the ‘monsters’ surrounding them. Bits of metal flew off them and flew towards Mabel and the gun, she turned it off and they landed in a pile at her feet.

“They were ghost robots?” Buford said.

“I think they were just normal robots,” Phineas said.

“I knew something was off!” Dipper exclaimed.

The rest of the robots (not destroyed by Mabel) were then turned off and a man and women walked out “Ah, darn servomotors.” The man sighed “you guys really gave us a heck of a workout.”

“Huh?”

“I’m Russell’s dad, Waylon,” the man said.

“And I'm his mom, Mona,” The woman said.

“Russell, Waylon and Mona?” Isabella repeated their names “they're like, themed for Halloween or something!”

“How did you get past Dipper’s ghost detector?” Phineas asked and Russell pulled out a device “a frequency emitter! You sly dog, Russ.”

“We've got them all over the place.” Mona said with a light laugh.

“Wow! This is one of the best Halloween tricks ever!” Phineas said happily.

“It was really cool,” Mason agreed. “You almost got me.”

“Sorry for wrecking your stuff,'' Mabel said.

“Ah don’t worry about it” Waylon waved a hand “occupational hazard.”

The kids were led back outside “you know,” Phineas said “for a minute there, I thought there were real ghosts.” He turned and gasped “the old house! It's gone!”

Waylon just stared at them from where he stood next to the collapsed. “Uh yeah, we’re just packing up for the season.” Phineas turned back to his friends

“Isn't this the moment in one of these things when someone really turns into a ghost?” Dipper joked and in unison they all looked back at the small family.

“Dude, that’s it” Russell said, annoyed.

“Oh, okay. See ya next year!” Phineas said.

The group started walking back down the street, going back to their trick-or-treating. “Well,” Dipper said. “That was fun, a little disappointed that none of that stuff was real.”

Mabel chuckled “only you brother, only you.”

Notes:

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you enjoyed this little special, it is based off the of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'That's The Sprit.'

I thought that this would be a fun episode to base the Halloween Special and I thought it fit the vibe pretty well. And of course, Dipper would be all over exploring a 'haunted' house.

- Izzy

Chapter 56: Curse You!

Summary:

The kids start up their own curse breaking business.

The Mystery Twins walked into Phineas and Ferb’s backyard to find the two step-brothers sitting in their usual place under their oak tree. Mabel immediately went to sit down on the grass next to Ferb who kissed her hello. They had only been dating for a couple of days and still in their honeymoon phase.

“Hey guys,” Phineas said and pointed to the book under Dipper’s arm “cool book!”

“Thanks,” Dipper said, showing it to his friend. It had a worn looking, red cover with a six finger hand on the cover in gold foil and a number two written on it. “This is one of my Grunkle Ford’s old research journals.”

“What did you uncle study again?” Phineas asked.

“He studies anomalies.”

“Cool!” Phineas said “and he just gave you his old notes?”

“Yeah” Dipper shrugged awkwardly “they kept bringing up…. Bad memories for him so he thought that I might get more use out of them than him.”

“How many are there?”

“Three,” Dipper said “I pretty much have the third one memorized so I thought I would read the first two some more.”

“Anything interesting?” Phineas asked curiously.

“Sure, lots of stuff,” Mason said. “This one mostly talks about magical objects, spells, curses, things like that.”

Phineas nodded “you know, Ferb was cursed once.”

“Really?” Mabel looked at her boyfriend “when was this?”

“Last summer” Phineas answered “emus ran off with our assistant coach when Ferb had the ball.”

Whatever Dipper was expecting it was not that “what?”

“Yeah, the emus curse” Phineas explained “apparently he was cursed to never play on a winning soccer team again.”

Mabel nodded “makes sense.”

“How did you break it?” Dipper asked.

Phineas quickly went through the story of when their cousins visited and they made a Football X7 stadium and how the Ferb’s curse was broken by both accident and convenience.

“That sounds….” Mason started to say “needlessly complicated.”

The tw brother looked at each other and then back at their friend “what do you mean?” Phineas asked.

“Well, for starters,” Dipper began to explain “a sunday bonet is something you can just buy online, and I am sure there is someone in Danville who can hit a E Flat above High C, just give them thirty bucks or something and I’m sure they would have done it.”

Ferb looked complementing “yes, I suppose you’re right. Shame you weren’t around back then, would have saved me a lot of unnecessary stress.”

“I guess some ancient curses aren’t meant to stand up to the internet and modern mass communication” Phineas said with a shrug.

“I wonder if there are any other curses with strange cures we could solve,” Mabel said.

Phineas then lit up “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today!”

—---------

Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet walked in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard to find Phineas and Ferb finishing up with setting up a few wooden tables.

“Hey guys!” Isabella said “whatcha’ doing?”

“We’re setting up our own curse breaking business!” Phineas said, pointing to a sign reading ‘The Ferbtastic Curse Breakers.’

“Where are the twins?” Buford asked “I woulda thought they would be all over this.”

“They are!” Phineas said “in fact, they’re the ones who gave me the idea. They're just grabbing some supplies.”

Dipper then walked into the yard, holding a stack of books. Which included all three of Ford’s journals. “Okay, I’m bringing every I got on curses and the paranormal. Hopefully there’s enough information that we should be able to help anyone in need of our services.”

“That’s all you have?” Baljeet looked at the book stack “I would have thought you had more.”

Mason set down the stack on one of the tables and opened the gate door leading to his yard and letting them see Mabel walking over with Waddles, pulling a wagon full of more books. Dipper looked back at Baljeet with a smirk.

“You were saying?” He teased.

Mabel pulled the wagon through the gate door with a lot of effort “gosh Dipper, why did you have so many books?”

He shrugged, “I like them.”

Ferb hurried over to Mabel’s side and helped her pull the wagon over.

“Thanks for bringing them over guys” Phineas said.

“Of course,” Dipper said as he carefully placed all of the books on the table. “Just be careful with them.”

Phineas nodded “okay, all we need to do now is spread the word and then we are open for business!”

“Mabel and I can get the rest of the Fireside Girls and do that” Isabella offered and turned to the other girl. “Ready to get your Flier Delivery Patch?”

Mabel grinned “let’s do it!”

The two girls ran off and Phineas shared an excited smile with Mason “this is gonna be awesome!” He said.

Dipper laughed, “well, if anything, it’ll be interesting.”

—-----------

A couple hours later and ‘The Ferbtastic Curse Breakers’ was booming with business the Fireside Girls were in charge of crown control while the rest of the teens were working with customers.

“Hm…angry brownies, angry brownies…” Phineas mused, looking through a book. “Looks like they react well to sweets. Did you leave them money?”

“Well yes,” she admitted “I mean, they did repair my grandfather's old armchair.”

“That seems to be the problem then” Phineas said “it seems that the fae are insulted by monetary compensation. Try leaving out some cupcakes and a note explaining that you didn’t realize you were insulting them with the money.”

“Thank you” the women said gratefully and took the paper Phineas handed to her before running off.

Vanessa’s friend Charlie was next.

“Ma thinks she’s cursed” he explained to Isabella “she broke a mirror.”

“Ah, the classic seven years of bad luck then?” She said, looking through a book “so it seems that the myth came from the idea that the mirror’s projection of yourself symbolizes the soul, and thus your soul breaks with the mirror…”

Charlie’s mom looked worried.

Isabella said frowning before getting an idea. “Try burying the broken mirror to represent what's done is done and it cannot be changed. And if you’re still worried you can always wear silver to ward off evil.”

“Isn’t your favorite necklace silver?” Charlie asked his mom, shooting Isabella a thumbs up.

“Yes it is!” She said “thanks kids.”

Mason opened one of Ford’s Journals and began to look through it, “sorry, but describe your problem again?”

A man with white hair and a mustache, who had introduced himself as Francis Monogram, began to explain again. “There have been some strange things going on around my house lately.”

“Right,” Dipper said “I got that, but I’m going to need more details.”

“Oh sure, something seems to be increasing my wife’s chore load by making more messes. More dirty dishes and laundry are the main ones. We used to just do it weekly, but now it’s every few days!” Monogram said.

“Got it” Dipper nodded, “there’s not a whole lot I can think of.”

“What about a poltergeist?” Mabel suggested.

“I don’t think so” Dipper shook his head “Those guys go big or go home. It might be some kind of ghost but the most likely is a curse of some kind.”

“Have you made anyone super mad lately” Mabel asked “someone with the ability to curse you?”

Monogram shrugged “I can’t think of anyone specifically but I work in the government so there are a lot of people who don’t like me.”

“Why don’t you go sit in our waiting area” Dipper suggested, pointing over to a set up of chairs “while we do some more research?”

—---------

In the end the group couldn’t figure out a solution to Monogram’s problem so they decided to make one up. “Isn’t this lying?” Phineas asked.

“Not if you don’t get caught!” Was Mabel’s answer.

“I mean,” Dipper said, “it’s not like we’re not lying. We told him we would perform a ritual to remove his ‘curse.’ We never said it would work.”

“So, we are tricking him?” Baljeet asked.

Mason shrugged “I mean, his problem sounds more like minor inconveniences. I think he’s just overly anxious about it.”

“So we’re placing a placebo effect on him?” Isabella asked him.

“Pretty much,” Mason admitted.

The group finished hauling their supplies into the park where Monogram was waiting for them. “Hello children.”

“Hey! Glad you can make it” Phineas said “let’s get started.”

Fifteen minutes later Monogram was wearing a lucky moose hat while Buford ceremonially smashed a watermelon with a mallet and Dipper chanted a bunch of words Mabel had come up with.

“Do you think that worked?” Monogram asked as Ferb wiped watermelon bits off of his bagpipes.

“Oh well… Um” Dipper stammered “it was kind of an all-purpose cursebreaker since we weren’t sure of the, erm, exact nature of the problem.”

“Dipper, Mabel?” They all turned to see Dan Pines walking towards the group.

“Hey Dad!” Mabel waved “what are you doing here?”

“I’m on my lunch break” Dan explained “what are you all doing out here?” He looked at the scene before him.

“Oh, we’re just helping this guy break a curse….” Mason said.

Their father raised an eyebrow “really? What kind of curse?”

“We’re not really sure” Dipper said “it’s a little strange.”

“My wife’s been doing the laundry and dishes twice as often! Noises in the night! And someone’s been ordering movies pay per view way more than usual.” Monogram explained.

Dan blinked “do you have kids?”

“I do,” Monogram said “I have a sixteen year old son.”

“Does he live with you and your wife?”

“No, he’s normally at boarding school” Monogram said “but he’s home for the son.”

“Well then” Dan said “I am happy to tell you that you’re not cursed. You just have your teenage kid living with you again!”

“Huh?!” Everyone said in unison.

“More laundry and dishes because there is an extra person in the house. Your kid might want to watch a movie now and then and orders one,” Dan said. “And the late night noises because teenagers tend to stay up late.”

“I told you the symptoms sounded familiar,” Ferb said to Phineas.

“The pay-per-view thing threw me off,” the boy shrugged, “we don’t have that.”

“How do you know all this Dad?” Mabel asked.

Her father gave her and her brother a pointed look “we don’t rent movies though!” Dipper protested.

“Yes, but do you know how much time I spend cleaning up after you two?” The twins flushed.

Monogram also looked embarrassed. “Ah I see, well, sorry for bothering you children.”

“That’s okay” Phineas said “we had fun.”

“Well then” Monogram said “I should head home then. Talk things over with my wife, we should give Monty some better boundaries. Maybe some chores.”

The kids waved the man off and Dand chuckled “well, glad we sorted out. Now, I have to get back to work. I’ll meet you two at home.” He ruffled the twins’ hair and headed off.

“Bye Dad!”

“Welp,” Burford said, “that was fun. And we made a boatload of cash!”

“What are we going to do with the rest of the day?” Baljeet asked.

Mabel had an evil grin on her face “anyone want to use their cut to play cards?”

“No!”

Everyone knew that if they did they would lose their hard earned money to the glitter loving girl by the end of the day.

Notes:

Hope you all had a good week, mine was fine. If not a little stressful.

This was inspired by part fourteen of 'Perry the Evil-Adjacent' Boyfriend by Kereea (aka my favorite Phineas and Ferb fic/series) 'Curses.'

I thought that running their own curse breaking business would be something the gang would do at some point, especially with Dipper and Mabel a part of their friend group.

- Izzy

Chapter 57: Bonus: Theme Song Takeover

Summary:

Dipper and Mabel take over for Phineas and Ferb.

Phineas and Ferb walked into their backyard, ready to start their show with the usual theme song. Only to find a large sign reading ‘Theme Song Takeover.’

“Theme Song Takeover” Phineas read aloud, he turned to his brother “do you know what this is Ferb?”

Ferb shook his head.

Mabel popped out from behind the sign “Phineas and Ferb! We’re challenging you!”

“You’re challenging us?” Phineas repeated.

“Yes!” Mabel said “my brother-” she stopped herself when she noticed Dipper was in fact not next to her. She sighed “Dipper,” she hissed.

“Oh sorry,” Dipper quickly joined his sister in sitting on top of the sign.

“As I was saying” Mabel rolled her eyes “my brother and I are challenging you to the right of being the best pair of siblings ever!”

“I thought we were celebrating the one year anniversary of the first Carpe Diem chapter?” Dipper said.

“Didn’t the anniversary already pass?” Phineas asked.

“Well, yeah, it did,” Dipper agreed, “but the second season's finale overlapped with it a bit and the author wasn't ready to tackle an anniversary chapter right after her break.

“And then we had that Halloween special,” Mabel added “and we definitely couldn't miss that, what would Halloween be without us celebrating it?”

“If we miss one deadline for a special, she shouldn't miss more just to catch up,” Ferb commented, “I am sure everyone can wait for our anniversary special. They have been patient with the author for other things in the past.”

Phineas nodded “alright then, so we’re celebrating by letting the twins take over our theme song?”

“It seems so,” Ferb said.

Mabel smiled widely “you don’t have a choice, we’re gonna do it, and it’s gonna be great! We even wrote new lyrics.”

“Okay,” Phineas said as he and Ferb stepped aside “have fun.”

The twins looked at each other “well,” Mason said “if we’re going to do this, might as well do it fight.” He snapped his fingers and the scene changed from the brother’s backyard to Gravity Falls.

“Hit it Waddles!” Mabel yelled and the pig pushed a button on a DVD player with his snout.

—--------

It opened with a scene of Dipper and Mabel sitting on their respective beds in the Mystery Shack attic. Music began to play.

“There's 104 days of summer vacation”

“And school comes along just to end it.”

“So the annual problem for our generation”

“Is finding a good way to spend it”

“Like maybe…”

“Finding a Journal”

The scene briefly changed to show Dipper finding Journal 3 at the beginning of that fateful summer in Gravity Falls.

“Or singing to zombies”

Now it showed Stan, Dipper,and Mabel singing karaoke on the roof of the Mystery Shack while hoards of zombies prowled on the ground below them.

“Or saving your sister from gnomes”

Dipper sped through the woods in a golf cart with Mabel in the seat beside him while a monster made up of hundreds of gnomes chased them.

“Discovering something that doesn't exist (Hey!)”

“Or giving your Grunkle a shave”

Mabel was attempting to shave the hair off of Stan’s chest to help get him ready for his date with ‘Lazy’ Susan.

“Solving wax murders”

Dipper was fighting Wax Sherlock Homes on the roof of the Mystery Shack armed with nothing but a hot fire poker.

“Creating puppet shows”

Mabel and her friends were in the living room of the Shack sewing puppets and putting together sets and props.

“Or locating the Author (he’s our Uncle?!)”

Stanford Pines stepped out of the portal into the destroyed basement.

“Finding a Gobblewonker”

The twins were racing away on a boat with their friend, Soos, while a green sea monster chased them across the lake.

“Time traveling”

Dipper and Mabel high fived as they activated a time tape.

“Or driving our Grunkle insane (KIDS!)”

The twins giggled as they hid from Stan after a successful prank.

“As you can see”

“There's a whole lot of stuff to do”

“Before school starts this fall (Come on Waddles)”

Dipper ran through the woods, holding Mabel’s hand as he pulled her along behind him and Waddles raced after them.

“So stick with us 'cause the Mystery Twins”

“Are gonna do it all”

“So stick with us 'cause the Mystery Twins are Gonna do it all!”

The two were dancing and singing in the gift shop using brooms and mops as make-shift microphones when Stan yelled from the other room.

“Kids! Have either of you seen my pants?”

The two young teens looked at each other before the final guitar chord played.

—-----------

The two walked back into the Flynn-Fletcher yard where the brothers were waiting. “Well,” Mason said, “that was fun.”

“Fun?” Mabel repeated “it was amazing! And we killed it!”

“You guys did great!” Phineas smiled “wanna take over our show when the new seasons come out?” He joked.

“No way!” Dipper laughed “our show is over, we did our time! Now we get to relax and enjoy people’s fanfiction.”

“Except for the ones with really weird or really creepy ships,” Mabel said.

“Fandoms will always have a strange and unusual side to them,” Ferb said.

Notes:

That's right folks! Carpe Diem is over 1 year old, can you believe it? I can't.

I wanted to do a lil bonus chapter in celebration on the actual anniversary but as already mentioned, life got in the way and I was already working on the four parter.

I don't know if you guys know this, but Disney has done a bunch of videos called 'Theme Song Takeover' where characters from the various shows will do their own version of the theme song. You can find them on YouTube if you are interested. But yeah, that's what inspired this.

I hope you guys enjoyed this, make sure you check back on Saturday because you got a long chapter coming your way!

- Izzy

Chapter 58: Trans-cending Into Madness

Summary:

Dipper mets a music manager.

Notes:

Trigger Warnings: transphobia, mis-gendering, dead-naming, blackmail, references to sexual abuse (nothing explicit).

Dipper readjusted his posture from where he was leaning up against the tree in the front yard, his Journal sitting on his lap. The rest of his friends were all out doing their own activities for the day so he decided to update his notes. As he drew Mabel and Ferb’s first kiss in Paris, he sang ‘Disco Girl’ by BABA softly to himself under his breath.

Normally when Dipper sang (usually when his friends had a musical number going) he would sing in his ‘masculine voice’ which, despite the last year of voice training, was nothing special and had a tendency to crack. His friends had never minded, caring more about if he was having fun or not.

Apparently Mason’s natural voice, on the other hand, his ‘feminine voice,’ was quite nice. He hated it. There was a reason why his mother kept dressing him up and having him sing and dance for her when he was a toddler.

He didn’t sing in his natural voice very often these days, only when he was distracted by something else and was singing under his breath and didn’t want to keep up the concise effort to use his masculine voice. Like today.

As Dipper sang he didn’t notice the car slowly driving past with the window rolled down and the person staring right at him. By the time he looked up the car was already on the other side of the street and driving away.

—----------

Earnie Stickler had once been a man of great influence and power, all thanks to his position as the manager for the popular boy band, Sev'ral Timez. But now that was all gone, all because of a combination of the boys he cloned to be in his band running away and getting arrested over a lost license plate.

It had taken a good deal of work, but eventually Earnie had gotten himself out of jail and left that backcountry Oregon town as quickly as he could. He did a little searching for the boys, but they were long gone, and so were the cloning tubes he had used to make them. Having broken down beyond repair without anyone to maintain them.

A quick look at his bank account showed that most of his funds had been used to pay for legal fees. Earnie was running out of money fast, he needed to find a new star if he wanted to regain all of his power.

Earnie had thought over his entire week leading to his arrest, and the only point that he could think of, was when he had stopped by to speak with that stupid, giant, hairless gopher, idiot. There was no other point of time that he could have lost his license plate, because he had always followed the law, he wasn’t a good person, even he could admit that, but he wasn’t so dumb as to forget some like that.

The point was that he was short on funds, short on patience, and couldn’t deal with all those hicks in that stupid town any longer. So as soon as he was out of jail he skipped town and started driving across the country looking for a new star.

A simple drive was clearing his head, driving along, his window down, a refreshing breeze, the lovely sound of a young voice singing a catchy song… Wait.

A quick look, and he spotted something interesting. A boy, or what appeared to be a boy, with a voice like a young princess. The child sang a song he recognized from the Icelandic Pop band BABA. This gave Earnie a brilliant, awful, morally corrupt, and possibly illegal, idea.

Though he needed to wait until the child was alone to enact his plan, he didn’t want the kid’s guardians coming out and wondering why some random man was talking with their child. Earnie parked a bit away, leaving his car and started the walk back, plans and ideas forming in his head. Even after he lost everything, he still kept an eye on events for up and coming artists.

Pulling out a folded up flier for budding performers, he rechecked some details. This Saturday, five days from now, they were holding a competition, with a large monetary prize for the winners. Second and third would also get prize money, but neither compared to first place.

First place also came with a record deal.

As Earnie walked along the street, once again nearing the house his target was on, he took notice of an adult talking with the boy. Focusing on hearing what was said, he caught some interesting news.

“Alright Mason, I got to go and grab a couple things I forgot on my last trip to the store. You wanna come with?”

“Nah,” Mason said “I’m okay. It’d be nice to have some peace and quiet for a change, with Mabel being out and all.”

Dan smiled, “I don’t have to worry about coming home to some wild party right?”

The boy laughed, “come on Dad, when have I ever done anything like that?”

“Well, you’re a teenager now,” the father teased.

Dan ruffled his son’s hat as he walked off to his car, Dipper smiled and once the car pulled away and started to head down the street he stood to head back inside, he made it to the door when a voice called out to him.

“Why, hello there my young friend.”

Turning around, Dipper found a rather clean guy in a suit. His smile was as sketchy as Stan’s when he was working on a con, but without any of the warmth or joy.

“Hi…” Mason said, narrowing his eyes. On guard. He didn’t move from his place on the front stoop.

“I was driving by earlier, and I couldn’t help but hear some rather lovely singing.”

“You heard me sing?” The caution turned to a mix of panic and anxiety.

“Well of course, it is my job to keep my ear out for the best talent around. My card.” Earnie had been moving closer as he spoke, before stopping right before the first step, holding his business card out to him between a couple fingers.

Dipper took the card automatically, uncomfortable by how close this guy was. Looking down it seemed that he was some kind of music manager. He swallowed, well, that taught him not to sing outside of the company of his friends.

“I must say my young friend, you have one of the loveliest voices I have ever heard before. Could pass off for a fairy tale princess even.”

“Oh well… thanks, I guess…” Dipper said, rubbing the back of his neck “I’m a guy though so I wouldn’t really be a princess… I’m trans.”

During the past couple months living in Danville, Mason had never had trouble with coming out to someone. Everyone here was very accepting and nice, and always felt bad when misgendering him so he was starting to feel safe telling people.

Earnie held back his chuckles. “Well, I do apologize young man, but your voice could bring about a new generation to the music industry. What do you say? I can make you the biggest name since Sev'ral Timez.”

Dipper blinked, oh gosh, was this man serious? Who approached a random teen with offers to make them famous? That kind of thing only happened in those teen romance movies Mabel liked.

“Um look… I appreciate the offer but I’m good. If I’m ever to become famous it’s going to be for the ghost hunting tv show I want to start when I get older, not for my singing voice. Besides,” Dipper added “I’m on a list to start Hormone Replacement Therapy so my voice isn’t going to be like that forever.”

Earnie frowned. “Well, being a star now, could fund your dreams later. You can be a music sensation, earn some money for yourself, set it aside to purchase your equipment, and I take my cut, before we both go our separate ways.”

“No thanks” Mason said, “I don’t want to be known for music. Singing is only something I do with my friends or in the privacy of my shower. Like a normal person.”

Earnie sighed. “You know, I tried. Look kid, I was the manager of the band Sev’rel Timez, and last year in this little town called Gravity Falls, I recall a crummy little shack that wound up doing something to my license plate that got me thrown into a cell. All because of some stupid, annoying, gopher man.”

Dipper shifted uncomfortably, he was pretty sure he knew what happened to the band members. Recalling the story Mabel had told him last summer, but he wasn’t about to tell this guy that.

“Do you realize what all I have done to ruin the lives of the owners of that little wooden death trap? Let alone a silly little gender confused brat?”

Dipper froze at being called ‘gender confused.’ A year ago, or even a few months ago, he would have gotten upset and stumbled over a denial. But it turns out having good friends who supported him helped him grow a bit of a backbone when it came to this kind of thing.

“I already told you no.” Dipper said firmly “I suggest you leave before I call the cops for harassment.”

And with that he slipped back inside and shut the door, ignoring the glare the man was giving him.

—--------

It was later that night when Mason realized just how serious this Earnie was about making him his new star. He and Mabel had been cleaning up after dinner when their dad came in with a grim look on his face.

“Hey Dad!” Mabel said “everything okay?”

He sighed “not really… I have some bad news.”

“What is it?” Dipper asked.

His father led him over to the kitchen table and sat him down, that was how he knew it was serious. “Well… I just got a call from the doctor’s office, about you starting HTR.”

“Okay…”

“Well,” Dan sighed, “they lost your paperwork. I resubmitted it but they have to move you back to the end of the list.”

“What?” His voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “Why can’t they put me back in my original spot?”

“I don’t know” dad said “policy, I guess? The point is that it might be a little longer till you can get on testosterone.”

“How much longer?”

He shrugged “I’m not sure, but it could be a while.”

“Oh” Mason stared at the floor. Feeling tears form in his eyes and splash onto the lenses of his glasses.

Dipper could hear his family move to comfort him but he slipped past them and headed up to his room. Locking the door behind him and curling up on the bed.

—---------

The next day, Dipper was still pretty upset and feeling a little gender dysmorphia, so after his dad left for work Mabel went out to explain the situation to their friends and give him some privacy. He ended up spending the morning curled up on the couch watching a show he discovered a few weeks ago, ‘The Doctor Zone Files.’

It wasn’t a bad show in terms of story and acting, but the effects were awful, the show reminded him a bit of Duck-tective.

He loved it.

Dipper’s relaxing day was interrupted by some knocking, overly cheerful knocking at that. Standing he turned off the TV and headed to the door, it was probably one of his friends checking in on him. He wouldn’t be surprised if he found Phineas and Ferb on the other side armed with a giant ice-cream sundae or something. Isabella had once mentioned that they tried that with her after she got her tonsils removed.

As Dipper opened the door, he was met with the sight of that manager from the day before. “Well, if it isn’t little Maisley, or Mason I believe it is now.”

He felt his heart stop “what did you call me?”

How did he know? His records were changed, he was Mason Henry Pines now. Not Maisley, he was supposed to never have to go by that name again!

“Don’t be silly, it’s easy to get information. Just because you can’t be bought with money, doesn’t mean someone else can’t. Like janitors, teachers, cops… Doctors.” Earnie finished with a smirk.

Dipper felt his breath quicken “it was you, you’re the reason my treatment was delayed.”

“I’m gonna ask a serious question, did you really think that it was a coincidence that it was delayed right after I warned you of my power?” He asked, “everyone has choices to make, and I have plenty of money. If you don’t want to be made a star, I can always find a different person to make famous, and they will earn me the money I need to postpone your treatment again and again. You’ll be stuck as a girl for life.”

Mason could feel his breath getting heavier “I’ll…. I’ll just find a different doctor then.”

“Listen, no matter what doctor you go to, there will always be someone to bribe. I mean, come on Maisley, listen to yourself and think before you speak. After all, even government officials can be bribed.”

Dipper wasn’t an idiot, he could hear the silent threat in the man’s voice. The threat of forcing his records to read his dead-name once again, how he would be forced to explain to every teacher and government official and say ‘sorry, but my name is actually Mason.’

He didn’t know if he could do that for the rest of his life, Dipper stared down at his sock-clad feet “what do you want me to do?” He whispered.

Earnie, seeing the defeated teen, smirked. “I want you to accept my offer to make you famous, kid. We could be rich. And all you have to do is sing. This Saturday, there is a little competition for up and coming talent like your own, and first place gets a hefty paycheck. We can each walk away with a good deal of cash, and I won’t go greasing any palms.”

“That’s it?” He clarified “you want me to sing and then you’ll leave me alone?”

“Once you sing in the contest, with me as your manager, earn me a pretty penny, and become famous. I won't bribe your doctor to shred any more papers.” Earnie stuck out a hand “do we have a deal?”

Dipper looked at the man’s hand and his eyes flickered up to look him in the eye. For a brief moment he thought he saw a flash of yellow but he blinked and it was gone. Just his imagination.

He swallowed, reminded of the last deal he made. Dipper slowly took Earnie’s hand. “Deal” he whispered.

—-------

Earnie did his best to keep a straight face through the day. If things didn’t go well this Saturday, and his new little star didn’t even make it to third place, he wouldn’t have the money for anything. And now, he had to splurge a little to pretty the boy up so he could wow the judges.

There were a couple instances when the boy tried to deny him but all he had to do was remind him of the threats and that shut the kid up. He already had to give the brat a ride, which if anyone that couldn’t recognize him saw, would earn him a visit from police.

Who would trust some random guy from out of town that invited kids into his car? Every parent would call the authorities on him. Well, this performance would change everything, because once he was known as Mason’s manager, no one will question why the kid was spending time with him. As long as he kept the boy on a short leash and continue to remind him of his place.

Clone boybands were so much easier to control. So much cheaper as well, seeing the price tags on some of these dresses, he also needed a wig, and makeup, ugh.

“Considering you might not be suited, I am gonna do you a favor and skip the high heels.” That would also lower the final price as well.

Mason nodded, though miserable, some relief showed on his face.

“We need to make sure that you are all dolled up, but top agencies aren’t all that much into the whole ‘princess’ look, you know what I mean?” Earnie walked through the isles of the rather expensive store, looking over the many clothing options.

Dipper followed him sulkily, staring down at his worn sneakers. Wishing he was anywhere else. Earnie pulled a sparkly blue, sleeveless dress that wouldn’t go down very far from his waist, putting it into his arms before he grabbed a pair of shorts that would stop just above his knees. The next was a black pair of leg netting, followed by a pair of midnight blue sneakers.

Dipper stared at the clothes being piled in his arms “why do I have to wear stuff like this? Can’t I just wear jeans or something?”

As Earnie grabbed a thin neon blue jacket, he turned to answer. “Look, every star has to look attractive. You might not care what you look like, but if people think you look like a slob, they will be distracted from how you sound. Presentation is just as important as talent.”

“Then put me in a suit or something!” He said desperately “why do I gotta dress like a girl?”

“Because you have to dress the part. You have a lovely voice when you sing as a girl, so you have to play the role of a girl. If you go out there as a boy and sing like a girl, it will distract people. Be reasonable here. You don’t want to make me lose, do you?”

Dipper stumbled over his words, his lip trembling as he tried to hold back tears. “But I’m a boy, I should be able to look like one!”

“Do you know how many voice actors voice characters of the opposite gender? Or how many actors and actresses crossdress for a role? They are just clothes, just a face to put on to be successful.”

“But with actors people know they’re pretending!” Dipper said “with me… they won’t.”

Earnie sighed. “I am doing my best to meet you halfway here, but if you are going to throw my kindness back in my face, I won’t be so nice anymore. I’m trying to pick an outfit that isn’t as girly as it could be, but if you really want to try my patience, I’ll just stick you in a frilly prom dress or something. Maybe I’ll even make you wear the stupid high heels.”

“But…. But…” Dipper stuttered, feeling tears in the corners of his eyes. “I want a masculine outfit, not a ‘not as girly’ one. Please!” He begged.

“Look, first off, shut up.” Earnie ordered “I don’t need people questioning why a grown man is making a kid cry. If you continue to cause me stress, I won’t be so nice anymore, and I will have another set of your paperwork shredded as well.”

The boy went quiet at that and did his best to stop the tears. Earnie grabbed the shorts, and swapped them with a black jean skirt. “Remember, Maisley, I can always make things harder on you.”

Dipper stared at the skirt and didn’t speak, only nodding his acknowledgment of the man’s words. Earnie, took notice of the kid’s defeated look and smirked as he twisted the knife further. “You know, you are going to need a stage name. Maybe I can just use ‘Maisley’, it is so lovely, don’t you think?”

Mason felt a sense of horror and dread at the idea but had a feeling that if he tried to protest then the man would find a way to make him even more miserable. So he just gave another quiet nod, eyes fixed on the floor.

Earnie rolled his eyes and the kid’s reaction, gosh he was such a brat. But it would all be worth it when the boy made him rich. “I’ll mull the idea around in my head, you go and try that on.” He pointed to the clothes in Dipper’s arms.

Dipper wanted to cry, he thought that wearing a girly outfit would just be for when he was on stage.

Seeing his expression, Earnie gave an exasperated groan. “We have to make sure it fits. I ain’t some pervert that’s gonna measure you, and if they’re too small or too big, tell me and I will get the proper size for you. Now calm down, it’s not like I’m making you wear them all week.”

He nodded numbly and headed to the dressing room. Just one week, he reminded himself. One week and then he’s gone.

—---------

Mabel was worried, for the past several days her brother had all but disappeared. Every day he left early in the morning and came back late at night. Their dad was busy with a big project at work and had yet to notice. But she and her friends did. At first they all thought Dipper was still upset about the HTR situation and was hiding in his room but after day two they went to check up on him and found him gone.

On night three Mabel stayed up late and worked on a new sweater for Waddles as she waited for her brother to return. After several hours she heard the familiar sound of her twin walking up the stairs and him opening and shutting his bedroom door.

Putting down her knitting needles she slid through the bathroom on her fuzzy-sock covered feet and tried to open Dipper’s bathroom door. It was locked.

No matter, she would just use his normal bedroom door. But a minute later found that it was locked too! Something that was a very rare occurrence.

Mabel knocked politely but there was no answer, even if Dipper wasn’t in the mood to talk he usually would call out that he wanted to be left alone. For him not to respond at all….

Pressing her ear up against the door she could barely make out the sound of her brother crying. And not just crying, but sobbing.

“Dipper,” she called through the door “are you okay?”

“Go away, Mabel!” She could hear him trying to suppress his sobs.

Heading back to her room, Mabel frowned, something was wrong and it felt bigger than his treatment being delayed. But surely he would talk to her eventually….

Right?

—----------

The next day Mabel sat with Ferb, who was always a great listener, and told him her concerns. Once she was done with her rant her boyfriend pulled out his phone and showed her a photo he had taken the night before.

The photo was of Dipper standing next to a strange car she had never seen before talking to someone inside. Mabel frowned as she took the phone.

“Hang on…” She zoomed in on the photo “I recognize that guy. It’s the manager guy!”

Ferb gave her a questioning look “he was Sev'ral Timez’s old manager before he got arrested. What’s he doing here? And why’s he talking to Dipper?”

“Mabel…” Ferb hesitated, an idea coming to his head. “Can Dipper… sing?”

“No” Mabel said “not with his voice training anyways, you’ve heard him.”

“What about his natural voice?”

Mabel’s eyes widened as she realized what exactly was being implied. The shock soon gave way to a fierce anger, standing she grabbed Ferb’s hand. “Come on, we need to find our friends.”

An hour later the gang (minus Dipper) were sitting around the Flynn-Fletcher’s kitchen table where Mabel and Ferb explained what they discovered.

“Ferb was asking me about his singing voice” Mabel was saying “and Dipper’s natural voice is really pretty, but he doesn’t like it. So I think the manager is forcing him to use it.”

“What do you mean?” Isabella asked.

Mabel quickly told them the story of how she and her friends saved the Sev'ral Timez boys from their evil manager. “I think he wants to use Dipper’s voice as some kind of siren’s call.”

Everybody choked, that was not what they were expecting. “… come again?” Baljeet said.

“Yeah” Mabel noded, as if this made perfect sense “he wants to use Dipper to lure the boys back to him and help him control them.”

“That sounds…” Isabella tried to think of the right words to say.

“Insane” Buford finished.

“What do you mean?” Mabel tilted her head, confused. “Makes sense to me.”

“It’s an interesting theory,” Phineas said and he set a paper down on the table “but I think it’s simpler than that.”

Mabel picked the paper up and saw it to be a flier for some contest for new musical artists. She looked down at the bottom and her eyes widened at the first place prize “that’s a lotta zeros.”

“You said that this guy was in jail right? Phineas said “so he might be trying to find a way to get some money and is using Dipper to win.”

“How do you know about this?” Isabella asked as she read the filer over her friend’s shoulder.

“Oh, Ferb and I were asked to be a couple of the judges.” Phineas explained “because we won the contest a couple years ago when we wrote our one-hit-wonder.”

“Here’s my question,” Buford said, “why did Mason agree to do this? That doesn’t sound like something he’d do.”

“It doesn’t” Mabel agreed.

“His treatment” Ferb piped up “you said it was delayed, what if this manager is the reason why?”

Mabel’s eyes went wide in shock and then her face went red in anger, surprising everyone “that… that… Poophead! How could he do this?”

Everyone was surprised by her reaction, but maybe they shouldn’t be. The twins were very close and had always been protective of each other, and this was something that made even them angry. They couldn’t imagine how Mabel must feel.

“So what do we do?” Isabella asked, “We can't risk Dipper winning!”

“Why not?” Baljeet asked. “Surely the man will leave once he has his money.”

“We don’t know that” Isabella said “for all we know the manager will use Dipper winning as a reason why he should keep forcing him to work for him.”

“So we need someone to outperform him,” Mabel said.

“Well,” Phineas said “Ferb and I can’t do it, we’re too popular and this is for new and upcoming artists.”

“And you two are judges,” Isabella pointed out.

“Yeah but I doubt we will remain as judges for much longer,” Phineas said. “Once they find out that our friends are competing we won’t be impartial.”

“I’ll do it,” Mabel suddenly said.

“What?”

“I’m gonna compete.”

“You’re going to compete against your brother?” Isabella said, a little shocked.

“No,” Mabel said, “I’m going to save him.”

—---------

Candace had heard the sounds of her brothers and their friends scheming in the kitchen and went to investigate. What she overhead, she was not expecting. She bit her lip, Candace knew that even if Mabel managed to outsing her brother there was still a chance Mason could place second or third which would be enough money to keep motivating this manager guy.

Adult bullies were nothing like Buford, they wouldn’t stop if you ignored them. They would exploit someone, until they were unable to anymore. She could see the manager using the prize money to continue blackmailing the poor boy.

Phineas and Ferb and their friends did amazing feats every day but Candace knew they were going to need help with this one. An adult exploiting a kid wasn’t the same as building a rollercoaster.

“Candace?” She turned to see her mom standing behind her. “Everything okay?”

She hesitated before shaking her head, “Mom, I need your help.”

Candace quickly explained the situation and could see her mother looking angrier than she had in a long time. Though it was sort of a righteous anger that only a mother could have.

“Aright,” Linda said, “I’m going to call Dan Pines and see if he knows about this.”

“I don’t think he does” Candace said, she didn’t know the twins’ father very well but she knew enough that he wasn’t the type of person to let his kid be taken advantage of.

“I don’t think so either” Linda agreed “that’s why I need to call him.”

“Before you do that though Mom,” Candace said “I had an idea, but I need your help…”

Once she had gotten her mother’s permission for what she was about to do she slipped into her room and pulled out her phone. If this was going to work then she needed backup.

—-----------

Dipper clenched the fabric of his skirt in his hands, today was the day of the competition and this week had only gotten worse and worse. Mr. Stickler had spent almost two days having him sing bits and pieces from a bunch of different songs to figure out his range and what song would work best with his voice. The man ended up picking a lesser known Lindanna song and changed a couple of the lyrics to make it ‘original.’ Dipper had tried to point out that the song was copy-righted but the man refused to listen.

The man also spent way more time than necessary on his outfit, he ended up scrapping the ‘teen pop-star’ idea and going with a more ‘princessy’ look to match the style of his song. The dress itched and the shoes pinched his feet.

He hated makeup, not just because it was a more feminine thing but because of the way it felt on his skin, he could feel the pins stabbing his scalp from where they were holding the long, brown wig in place and the contact lenses poking the edges of his eyes.

Dipper stared down at the sparkly fabric draped across his lap, trying so very hard not to cry. He had already ruined his makeup once and he didn’t want to make Mr. Stickler even more mad at him. As the week progressed the man had gotten more and more annoyed at him, whether that be thanks to Dipper’s mood or because he kept messing something up. Probably both.

His thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of one of the curtains that made up his ‘dressing room’ being pushed aside. Dipper looked up to see the manager now standing before him. Earnie looked down where Mason was sitting and he could see the man staring at his hands that were clenching his skirt so hard the fabric was beginning to wrinkle.

Quickly Dipper let go and did his best to smooth out his skirt before folding his hands in his lap. Hoping he avoided getting in trouble, again. Mr. Stickler was still staring down at him and Dipper shifted a bit in his chair, waiting for him to say something.

“For each wrinkle the judges see, equals one call. Are you ready to sing your original song that I wrote? It is getting closer to your big debut, my little star.”

Dipper sighed before he muttered, “I am telling you, that song isn’t…”

Earnie growled at the boy, causing him to flinch and become quiet. “I told you before, Lindanna has been out of the public eye for long enough, her lesser known songs are public domain.” Earnie began to smile as he adjusted his tie. “Maybe you should trust me a bit more than that.”

“You’ve been blackmailing me for the past week and you want me to trust you?” Dipper asked.

Earnie went back to glaring at the boy, before it turned into a smirk. “You know… There are a lot of people out there who are willing to pay a pretty penny to teach you how to enjoy being a girl.”

“Wha… What do you mean?” Dipper asked nervously.

Earnie darkly chuckled. “Don’t be so quick to take everything I say as my final threat. Because if you don’t want me to grease the palms of doctors or government officials, you gotta grease my palms. You pay me to not pay them sort of deal, you know? And I looked into it, one of the judges out there is big on fashion, so he will notice every little wrinkle and possibly dock you points for them. But if you can’t pay me to keep my end of our deal, then I would need to get my money in another fashion.”

Earnie let the child wallow in fear for a moment as he walked around behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders and whispered in his ear. “A lot of boys dream of getting a chance to have some fun with stars after all.”

Dipper felt his heart in his throat as he finally understood what the man was implying, his hands shaking in fear. He could feel the hands press down on his shoulders and felt unable to move, his voice caught when he went to speak.

“Don’t worry, you have a lovely voice after all. When you win, you can pay me the full amount that you owe me, and nobody will ever have to touch you. Just remember who your friends are today, because you don’t want them as your enemies tomorrow.”

“So…” Dipper turned his head to look up at Earnie “I win this thing, I give you the money and then you leave me alone. Right? That was the deal?”

“When was that deal made? I don’t recall ever saying that.” Earnie crossed his arms, scratching his chin in confusion.

“Yes you did,” Dipper said, recalling the deal. “You said ‘once I earned you a pretty penny and become famous’ we would be done.”

“If you’re talking about what I said earlier this week, maybe you should have paid better attention. I said I wouldn’t bribe your doctor.”

“What?” He whispered, the feeling of horror filling his body.

“That’s right, and as soon as you get me my money, I will never grease your doctor’s palm again, not that he would accept the bribe in the first place. I had to step a level above him, apparently this town is too nice for its own good.”

Dipper wanted to throw up but forced himself to keep his composure and bravely said “then who’s to say I’ll stick around and keep doing what you say?”

Earnie chuckled, the sound causing Dipper to involuntarily think back to a certain demon. “You can do whatever it is you want to, kid. But how are you going to do it? Run away, live on the street, be an easier target for shadier men than me? At least I am cutting you in on the cash.”

Dipper stood, and whirled around to face him. His skirt swished around his ankles, giving him a douse of dysphoria. “You won’t get away with this.”

Earnie frowned at the boy. “Kid, you do realize that there is no paper trail that will get me in trouble for bribing. What charges are you gonna press against me? I did nothing but buy you clothes, sponsor you in this competition, and even spent my own hard earned cash to get you some pretty trinkets and prescription contact lenses. Anyone else would see me as doing you some favors, while you are earning this money to pay me for all my hard work.”

Mason stared at the floor, they both knew he was right. And slowly the boy sat back down. His mood dropped once again.

Earnie smirked at the boy’s defeated look. “Anyone else would see this as me helping you become famous, a dream a lot of people have, while they see you as being ungrateful for all the money I have already given you.”

“What are you gonna do? Walk up to the police and claim that I am threatening you to be a star.” He chuckled a little, “can you imagine how much those officers would laugh at you?”

Dipper didn’t say anything, just staring at his hands. After a long moment he asked “when am I performing?”

“You have seven minutes left of alone time. I made sure that you would be free to not have any fans bothering you, the downside being that we have a three minute walk to the stage, but it was worth it. Especially to ensure that our conversations weren’t overheard. I figured we would need the privacy, with how much you cry and whine.”

Earnie looked out the window, towards the outdoors stage where the contest took place, he groaned. “I need to stop skipping leg day. But those cupcakes on the buffet table were worth the exercise. You should try one, after your performance and you get the makeup off.” Earnie made a disgusted face. “Impossible to eat with lipstick on, makes everything disgusting. Also there are some, not so healthy ingredients in the more expensive brands. Did you know they put snake venom in some of those? People can be weird.”

He slowly nodded, not really getting half of what he said. Dipper was not a makeup person. He fidgeted in his seat before Earnie shoved sheet music in his hand, Dipper spent the rest of the wait time staring down at the pages. Trying not to cry.

—----------

Mabel, despite her best efforts, was unable to find Dipper backstage. The evil manager guy probably hid him away somewhere. Like in a basement. The brothers, always the miracle workers, were able to help her write a song in a few hours and she got the Fireside Girls to play the music for her.

Instead of staying in the curtained off area that served as her dressing room, Mabel wandered around talking with the other performers and keeping an eye out for her brother. While she still didn’t find him she did spot Phineas and Ferb’s sister, Candace. She also spotted Candace’s friend, Stacy, and her partner, Vanessa.

Strange, she didn’t remember them being super into singing and competing. Though, to be fair, she didn’t think she would be doing anything like this either. Mabel checked her phone, she was going to be one of the last people on stage so she had a good hour or so of just sitting around and waiting.

On the stage a nicely dressed gent stepped onto the stage as he addressed the audience. “Hello everyone, I understand you're all here to hear all the newest upcoming artists, but I need to introduce the great and wonderful judges that made the effort to come down to our little town to pass judgment on our hidden gems.”

“Our first judge, you may recognize his name, Max, from the Lumber Maxes. So give the kid a round of applause.” The announcer gestured towards the teenaged boy sitting in the first seat of the judge’s table who waved as the cameras focused on him.

“Our next judge, or judges in this case, Love Handle.” The host said “we had a little trouble deciding on which one to invite, but they came up with the idea to have their votes combined. Their three votes will be averaged into a single number so I wish our competitors luck in appeasing all three.”

Danny and Bobby each smiled and waved as they got some good amount of cheers from their fans. Swampy was a bit busy with all the frosting on his fingers, as his plate was still half full of a bunch of the snacks from the buffet table. Though he still waved after he noticed everyone focused on him.

“And our final judge, Simon Cowell, the one that needs no introduction, his reputation speaking for itself.”

Simon nodded. “Nice to be here, I look forward to crushing everyone’s delusions on having talent.”

“Now that we’ve met our judges” the host said “please welcome our first performer, Marty the rabbit boy and his musical blender!”

Mabel watched from the side lines as the first few acts went on stage, humming along as they sang. She had no idea when Dipper was going to go on but she wanted to try and watch when he did.

“For our third act we have Miss Maisley” the host announced.

Mabel’s blood ran cold. Then hot with anger. They were using Dipper’s deadname!? How did the manager guy even find out what it was?

A girl walked out on stage and it took Mabel a moment to recognise and realize that ‘she' was Dipper. He looked so much unlike himself. He wore a sparkly, poofy dress with a pair of short heels, a long brown wig, perfectly styled makeup, and his glasses were missing.

Mabel watched her brother sing some song that she was pretty sure was a knock off of one of those older 80s songs he loved so much. At some point the rest of her friends joined her. While Dipper was smiling it was clear that he wasn’t being genuine and there was a lack of emotion in his voice. Mabel knew that the judges were aware of this too. She didn’t even know if Dipper was fully in the moment or just going through the motions.

Feeling a hand slip into hers Mabel looked to see Ferb standing next to her, she squeezed his hand tightly. Gratefully he wasn’t trying to comfort or talk to her, just offering his silent support.

Baljeet tried to be nice “you have to admit he’s quite good” he said, failing at being nice. “It’s a good thing I’m not competing, because I would just declare defeat now.”

Buford glanced over at Mabel, she didn’t seem to have heard Baljeet. More focused on her brother. “Well, it’s a good thing we aren’t relying on your far below par musical talent.”

Baljeet frowns. “You aren’t no Lindana either, you know.”

“I will have you know, I sing that song so well,” he bragged “Lindana would love to have me sing backup for her.”

As Dipper finished his performance, the announcer came back out clapping with the rest of the audience. Before turning to hear what the judges had to say.

Once the crowd had settled down, Max started his review. “You have a beautiful voice, but I can’t help feeling something was lacking. But I understand that this might be your first time performing for a crowd like this. I give you a seven.”

Before Danny could speak up, Bobby was right there leaning forward. “Fabulous dress darling, ten out of ten, you are absolutely beautiful.”

Nobody but his sister and friends noticed Dipper’s flinch.

Danny rolled his eyes as he shoved Bobby back to his seat. “Bobby, chill man, our scores are averaged between the three of us, and her clothing isn’t technically what we are supposed to judge. And I have to agree with Max here personally. Your heart just wasn’t in it.”

Swampy poked Danny’s shoulder. “Hey, have you guys tried these cupcakes? The absolute best I have ever eaten.” Taking a moment to register the flat looks he was receiving, he shrugged. “She did a great job too but could have more emotion, I listened, I just wanted to give a small shoutout to the person that brought the cupcakes. Easy eight.”

Danny sighed. “Well, I guess I will have to be the downer here, since you guys aren’t paying attention. I am gonna have to lower my number because someone is feeling like artificially raising their number. Our team call will settle on eight.”

Ignoring the three bickering bandmates, Simon took his turn. “Honestly, and this is my professional opinion, you have the most talent by far in this competition so far. That earns you extra points in my book, even if you don’t sound like you want to be here. Nine is my score. I just hope there are more with your kind of talent, young lady, because if you are the only one, I may just make an argument to give you both first and second place.”

“Wonderful, give her another hand folks!” The host clapped along with the rest of the audience.

Dipper didn’t even acknowledge the host or the judges and just hurried off stage, while it was clear to the rest of his friend group that he did not want to be here; everyone else seemed to think ‘she’ was suffering from some kind of stage fright.

“Alright” Isabella said, turning to the Fireside Girls and taking charge “Mabel’s turn is in fifteen minutes. So we need to get her ready, let’s go girls!”

The Fireside Girls ran off and Isabella took her friend’s hand and gave her a comforting smile and Mabel took a deep breath “Okay, let's do this.”

—----------

Earnie scowled at him as he approached. “If you can’t hide your emotions behind a happy facade, maybe I will have trouble keeping money away from doctors. Listen here boy, cause apparently I have to spell it out for you. If we lose because you couldn’t drum up any happiness, our proceeding performances won’t be this friendly. Cause if you fail to get that record deal, I will have to look into other methods to get you one. And I think we both know how I will do that.”

Dipper hated wearing makeup, but at least it could hide how green his face was turning after hearing his ‘manager’s’ words. Recalling what he said in his ‘dressing room.’

“I got twenty-four points,” Dipper protested quietly, “doesn’t that count for something?”

“While not ideal, considering a clear victory is thirty, you did score more than twice what your competition has so far. Well, let’s just hope that the rest of these bozos do worse, because I’m being serious. If you fail here, how will we be successful elsewhere?”

As Dipper’s face was downcast, he wasn’t able to notice the man sweating. The cost to swap out the clothes he selected had not been cheap as he had hoped. If only the dumb brat hadn’t been so difficult, or he had thought of a better punishment for all his incessant whining, he would still have some cash. But if Dipper didn’t place in at least third place, his career was over.

—----------

The rest of the competition went by fairly quickly before it was Mabel’s turn. Most of the performers did alright, though not enough to truly impress the judges. But there were a couple, Candace had surprised everyone with a cover of Lindana’s famous one-hit-wonder. Which almost brought trouble for her for using a copy-righted song until the former-popstar herself showed up and assured everyone that her daughter had permission.

Vanessa and their girlfriend, Stacy, sang a high paced, upbeat duet that was very popular with both audience members and the judges alike. Baljeet had made some calculations and it seemed like at this point Candace, Stacy and Vanessa, and Dipper would be in the top three.

But that wasn’t good enough.

Mabel knew that the manager guy would still be able to exploit her brother even if he got third place.

—----------

Earnie glared at Dipper. “For your sake, you better hope that this last contestant fumbles, because if they don’t and they knock you out of placement, there will be consequences.”

Dipper swallowed and nodded. And listened to the host announce the last contestant.

“And last, but certainly not least,” he said “we have Mabel Pines!”

His eyes went wide and looked at the manager out of the corner of his eye, thankful, the man didn’t seem to recognize his sister’s name. Dipper wouldn’t be surprised if the man didn’t even know his last name, or at least had forgotten.

—----------

Mabel stepped out onto the stage, dressed nicer than usual but still in a way that was true to her personality and style. As she walked towards the microphone she took a deep breath, she was confident in her song so most of her nerves came from the large crowd that had gathered and the cameras that would be broadcasting her performance to thousands of people.

The music started (played by the Fireside Girls) and Mabel started to sing.

“I don't want to make a scene”

“I don't want to let you down.”

“Try to do my own thing”

“and I'm starting to figure it out,”

“that it's alright,”

“keep it together wherever we go.”

“And it's alright, oh well, whatever”

“Everybody needs to know.”

“I might be crazy.”

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly!”

“And it's crazy that someone could change me.”

“Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try.”

“And you need to know that you're the reason why”

“You don't even care when they say”

“I’m a little bit off.”

“Look them in the eye, you say,”

“I could never get enough.”

“‘Cause it's alright,”

“keep it together wherever we go.”

“And it's alright, oh well, whatever”

“Everybody needs to know!”

Mabel found herself dancing a bit on stage, even though she wasn’t the best at it. Even though she was doing this to help save her brother, she really was having a lot of fun.

“I might be crazy.”

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly!”

“And it's crazy that someone could change me.”

“Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try.”

“And you need to know that you're the reason why.”

“If it was raining, I would yell at the sun”

“You’d pick up the pieces when the damage is done.”

“You say it's just another day in the shade”

“But look at what a mess we made.”

Mr. Stickler had left Dipper in his changing room, the backstage had speakers all over so people could hear what was happening on stage. He didn’t know why Mabel was doing this but he couldn’t deny that it sounded like she was having fun.

Dipper found himself smiling for the first time all week.

“We might be crazy”

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“You're the only reason that I'm not afraid to fly!”

“And it's crazy that someone could change me.”

“Now no matter what it is we have to do, we’re not afraid to try.”

“And you need to know that you're the reason why.”

Mabel smiled as the audience cheered and clapped as the music died down. After about a minute the noise died down and the judges began their scoring.

Max, from the Lumber Maxs, “well I have to say,” he said. “It seemed like you had a fun time up there.”

Mabel nodded with a smile.

“It was a pretty simple song,” Max said “but I think it worked out really nicely for you. I’m going to give you ten points.”

Love Handle went next “I agree with Max” Danny said “it was a simple tune but the lyrics were interesting. Can I ask what inspired such a song?”

“Um yeah, sure” Mabel said “I wrote it for my twin brother, he’s always supported me in whatever I do. Even if my ideas are crazy or unrealistic. He’s always stuck by my side and I’ve always stuck by his. We’re each other’s best friends and I knew when working on my song that I wanted to show how much I love him. Especially because he’s part of the reason why I’m here.”

The audience ate that up, but Mabel purposely didn’t mention the whys and hows of her brother led her here.

“That’s a really sweet story,” Swampy said “I love songs that have some kind of history to them.”

“Okay, can I just say,” Bobby piped up “I love your dress. And I need to know who designed it.”

“I did,” Mabel said, “I designed and sewed it myself.”

“Wow,” Bobby looked impressed. “That is incredible, do you mind if…” Mabel giggled and gave a little twirl, Bobby turned to his teammates. “We should give her full points just for that.”

Danny sighed “we talked about this, we can’t give people points based on their outfits alone.”

Bobby looked scandalized. “I am giving a full review here, she designed and created not only an original song, but also her outfit. I don’t know if you recall, but this contest was opened to public knowledge no more than twelve days ago. Do you have any idea how much work goes into sewing a dress?”

Danny thought about that, giving Swampy a moment to get a word in. “Yeah, I can see it. I also noticed that she came in with the guy that brought the cupcakes…”

Danny raised his hand, “please don’t tell me you want to give her a perfect score simply for the cupcakes.” Danny was rubbing his temples, doing his best to ward off the headache he felt coming.

Mabel piped up. “They were made using my secret ingredient.”

Bobby nudged Danny. “She sings, designs, sews, and bakes. Could use a little work on choreography, I’ll admit, but this was a singing competition, not a dance competition. If this was a pageant, she would make high scores easily.”

Dany sighed again. “Alright, I agree, the girl is nearly perfect, we give a ten. Are you two happy now?”

Simon nodded. “I have watched plenty of contests throughout my career, and I have seen better, but from one so young. I can’t justify giving you a perfect score, but I will cave and give you a nine. My second one in this contest, the first time I have given more than one I believe. But that performance and work earned it.”

Mabel wanted to inform him that the ‘girl’ that impressed him so much was her brother, but instead she just nodded her thanks and went backstage.

—-----------

Dipper fidgeting nervously as he waited backstage to hear the results, his ‘manager’ stood behind him. Glancing up at him Dipper could see his face was both a mix of smug pride and annoyance. After all, based on the scores thus far. He would only be getting third place.

Sneaking a look at the judges he noticed them talking with the host and a couple of other people, their voices too quiet for him to make out. After a minute or two the judges all stood up and followed the host and the official-looking people backstage.

“Excuse me?” Turning Dipper saw the whole group standing being him and Mr Stickler, one of the official people, were talking. “Are you Miss Maisley?”

He flinched at being addressed by his deadname but nodded.

“Are you aware that you have violated the fourth contest rule?”

“What?”

“You sang a copyrighted song” the man said sternly “this is a competition for new and upcoming artists, not a way for you to sing karaoke. Not only that, but you sang on broadcasted television. Because of you we could be sued!”

Dipper tried to form the words to defend himself but before he could, Earnie spoke, “I will have you know good sir, that I looked into all sorts of resources. And I did look over Maisley’s song, and was under the impression that the song she chose to rework was in the public domain. She assured me that the original singer had no claim.”

“I… I never said that” Dipper whispered, both terrified of the manager and the threats and of the threat of legal action.

“And you are…” The man said, looking at Earnie, not having heard Dipper. Though the members of Love Handle shared a concerned look.

“My name is Earnie Stickler, I was the manager for Sev'ral Timez, until their sudden disappearance. And after losing so much money trying to find those boys, and after being denied so often for more help, I chose to help upcoming artists to make their dreams come true. My card.” Earnie finished as he pulled a business card out with a flourish.

“I see” the man frowned “and yet you didn’t know the song your client chose was owned by Lindana?”

“As I said, Maisley assured me, and I did check, but according to the records I found, the song was in the public domain. Unless someone was able to magically alter the dates on the documents I read, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Well it seems that your ‘information’ was incorrect” everyone turned to see a middle-aged red haired woman walking towards them “that song doesn’t enter the public domain for a few months.”

Dipper frowned at the sight of his best friends’ mom, his frown cleared up and his expression turned to a mix of awe and horror as he came to a realization. Phineas and Ferb’s mom was Lindana?

The contest officials also seemed to realize this and began to whisper to each other. “Don’t worry” Mrs Flynn-Fletcher said “I am not planning on suing the contest for using my song.” She turned to Earnie “you on the other hand…”

“Wha… Miss Lindana, this has been an honest mistake. My client here was just singing a form of your song because she obviously admired your work.” Earnie was sweating.

“Funny” Linda, who was normally a warm and kind person, “I never knew the friend of my sons to be one to claim other people’s work as his own.”

“I’m sorry,” Bobby interrupted, “did you say ‘his own’?”

“Yeah, she did,” a new voice said.

“Dad?” Dipper looked shocked to see his father approach.

Dan quickly pulled his son over to him, placing a protective arm around him “given how ‘Maisley’ is actually my son, Mason, and this… Cretin” Dan paused, looked down at his kid, and stopped himself from using a very different word.

“Has been blackmailing him and forcing him to go back into this closet for your little show.” The father was giving Earnie a death glare “never mind the fact that he never got parental consent to enter him.”

Simon Cowell, the host, and all three members of Love Handle all looked horrified. Max looked confused but the officials were sweating a bit, knowing that they could get into quite a bit of legal trouble for this.

Mason looked surprised that his dad had figured all of this out “Dad…”

“We can talk about this later buddy,” he gave his son a comforting smile before going back to giving Earnie his ‘Protective Father Glare.’

“I don’t want to bring you any trouble with all of this” Linda assured the official and looked over at the manager “you, on the other hand, will be hearing from my lawyer.”

Earnie looked between each of the people glaring at him. “Well, a man has to know when to…” Earnie quickly turned to run but Dan stepped away from his son (and was quickly replaced by Mabel).

The man grabbed Earnie by the shoulder before he could run and drove his fist into the other man’s face, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. “Touch my kid, either of them, again and I’ll make sure you wish you had never been born” he said, and lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear. “After all, my uncle is banned from at least ten states and a couple countries. I am sure he would be happy to add another to that list to protect his favorite great-nephew.”

Dan stepped away and Earnie looked pale and this time no one stopped him from running out of the building and jumping into the nearest car and speeding away.

There was a long pause “well,” one of the officials said, looking at Mason. “We are going to have to disqualify you…”

“Okay…” Dipper said, looking to be in shock a bit at what had just transpired.

Mabel grabbed his hand “come on Dipper, I brought you a change of clothes. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Okay” he let his sister gently pull him along to the bathroom.

—----------

A half an hour later Dipper was cleaned up and looking like himself again and reunited with his friends who told him all about their grand plan. He also go to properly meet one of his favorite bands.

Notes:

This is easily one of the longer chapter of Carpe Diem thus far, a little over 10k words!

Big thank you to my friend, Supremebandit, for both the idea and helping me write Earnie Stickler (aka the manager) for me. I am not the best at writing villains. Lol.

- Izzy

Chapter 59: Bubble Kids

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb make a giant bubble.

After everything that happened with Dipper and the singing contest the boy was, understandably, spent a solid week in his room mentally recovering from the event. His friends were very understanding of the whole thing, so while they checked in on him (making sure he knew they were there for him) they left him alone.

One afternoon Phineas and Ferb sat in their backyard, perusal, with Perry blowing bubbles. Not for any particular reason, they had just felt like it. The two were interrupted by the sound of the gate opening and Mabel Dipper walked through, his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts.

“Hey guys…”

“Dipper!” Phineas said “how have you… Been?”

“Feeling a lot better” he admitted “thanks for asking. But now I’m ready to do something besides laying on my bed. What do you guys have planned for today?”

“Nothing right now” Phineas said “right now we’re just brainstorming and blowing bubbles. Where’s Mabel?”

“Fireside Girl meeting” Mason sat down on the grass in front of them and picked up the bottle of bubble solution, giving it a little shake. Ferb offered him a bubble wand.

“Hello” they all turned to see Baljeet. “Dipper! Good to see you out of your room.”

Dipper chuckled awkwardly “thanks.”

“What are you guys doing?” Baljeet asked.

“We're blowing bubbles and relaxing,” Phineas answered.

“Oh, I remember being relaxed,” Baljeet said wistfully “but that was before I had this!” He showed them a colorful calendar.

“That looks like a color-coded schedule” Phineas observed.

“That's because it is. Every minute of my entire day is planned out right here. You know how you two always talk about seizing the day? Well, consider it seized!”

“This isn’t exactly what I meant,” Phineas said.

Dipper took the schedule “man, and I thought my plans were insane.”

Buford walked over “is it time for me yet?”

Baljeet took the calendar and checked his watch “not yet.” After about five seconds he said “okay, now.”

Buford licks his finger and sticks it in Baljeet's ear “do you have any extra time for a bubble?” Phineas asked them.

“Hmm” Baljeet considered his schedule “maybe one.”

“Oh, oh! Can I blow a huge one so I can crawl inside it and float around like a little woodland pixie?” Everyone (except for Baljeet) stared at him “did I just say that out loud?”

Dipper snickered “yeah you did!”

Buford glared at him “you better not tell anyone about this.”

“Too late!” Mason said “I already texted Mabel.”

“You know” Phineas said, getting back on topic. “That actually sounds fun minus the pixie part. Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today! There's no better way to see Danville than from inside a huge bubble.”

“I wanna float around!” Buford said, there was another pause “...like a man.”

“Dipper, Baljeet” Phineas said “you guys coming?”

“Sure” Dipper agreed “sounds fun.”

“My schedule is extremely tight” Baljeet said “I doubt I even have a second to answer your question. Maybe if I move my polka recital back. Okay.”

“Great” Phineas said “so you’re coming?”

“No! I moved polka back so I could answer your question!” Baljeet exclaimed “it would take some major rearranging, but I think I can at least come and watch you make the bubble.”

—-----------

Later the group of boys were setting up the machine at the park, needing plenty of room to make the bubble.

“So,” Dipper said, “is that it? Are we done?”

“Not quite yet” Phineas said “we just need to get one last ingredient.”

They were interrupted by the Fireside Girls arriving “hey guys. Whatcha doin'?” Isabella asked.

Mabel moved to give her brother a side hug “hey bro, how ya doing?”

“Good,” Mason said. “It's been nice to hang with the guys again. How’s your Fireside Girl thing going?”

“It’s going good!” Mabel said “I’m glad you're having fun.”

“I’m happy you are too” Dipper said, for the past week Mabel had been so worried about him that she hadn’t been able to spend much time with her friends.

They turned back to the conversation between the rest of their friends “we're building a machine to make the biggest, most durable bubble ever.” Phineas was saying to Isabella.

“Oh, right.” Baljeet said sarcastically as he rearranged his schedule “nobody ever asks Baljeet what he is doing.”

“We have just about everything we need for our durable bubble,” Phineas was now talking to the rest of the Fireside Girls, “but if you guys wanna help out, we still need some sap from a maracanut tree.”

“Sure!” Isabella said “we can definitely do that.”

“Excellent!” Phineas said “while they're doing that, we can finish the design on the transponder. See you girls back at the field!”

“Looks like I have to go,” Mabel said.

“Bye” Dipper waved his sister off as she ran to rejoin her friends.

—----------

A few hours later and the girls were back with a test tube full of light green sap. Dipper couldn’t help but be amazed.

“How did you guys get this?” He asked “I looked it up and maracanut tree sap is pretty rare.”

“We have our ways,'' Isabella said casually.

Dipper frowned, taking in the girls' dirty and worn appearances but decided against pushing the issue. He turned back to the brothers to see them pouring the sap into their bubble machine and turned it on.

The machine began to blow a giant bubble, slowly encasing the young teens inside. It didn’t feel bad, maybe a warm and sticky.

“At this stage, the maracanut sap isn't fully congealed.” Phineas explained “so we can pass through the semipermeable membrane with ease.”

The bubble finished forming around them and then became airborne. “Well, that was very entertaining, but that is all the time I have scheduled for” Baljeet said then looked down to see how high they were. “Oh, wait. You are already airborne. And I am already still with you.” He began to panic “I do not believe this! My schedule is totally blown! I am going to miss my polka recital!”

“I've heard you.” Buford said “it's a small loss.”

“Geez man” Mason placed a hand on the asian boy’s shoulder “calm down and take a breath” he turned to Mabel and muttered “and I thought I was the anxious one.”

“How long are we going to be up here?” Baljeet asked, still freaking out.

Phineas was reclining on the floor(?) on the bubble “a while.”

“And...and how do you even steer this thing?”

“We're at the mercy of the breeze.” Phineas answered.

The boy gave a nervous laugh “oh, sure, when you say it like that, it almost sounds… relaxing.”

Mabel turned to her brother “how are you not freaking out too?”

Dipper shrugged, “I have no idea. Maybe because this is the least crazy and dangerous thing we’ve done…. You do have your grappling hook, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

—-----------

After a couple of harrowing moments where the bubble almost popped everything had calmed down and Baljeet finally seemed to get the hang of relaxing.

“Wow.” He said “this whole relaxation thing is...well, relaxing.”

“That’s kind of the whole point” Buford deadpanned.

“You know, it’s insane that it’s still able to float with all of us in it,” Dipper commented. He carefully poked at one of the transparent walls with the end of his pen before making a note in his Journal.

“That’s because of the sap,” Phineas explained.

“So,” he said “what do we do when we’re done?”

Phineas shrugged “I don’t know, but I’m sure it’ll all work out.”

The bubble floated through a tree in the park and it popped, thankfully they were too far up from the ground and landed safely on the grass.

“Well” Dipper said, “I guess that’s one way to do it.”

Notes:

This was based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Bubble Boy.'

I decided to do a shorter chapter this week because of the monster that was last week's. I also decided to go a bit more low-key and chill while still addressing how Dipper handled everything that happened to him. I hope you guys liked it.

- Izzy

Chapter 60: Sticking Together

Summary:

How the Fireside Girls got the sap needed for the brothers' giant bubble project.

Mabel stood in her full Fireside Girl uniform with the rest of the troupe, they were all spending the day by working on some of their patches.

“Sesquipedalian” Gretchen said, they all looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Here's your ‘Saying a Word No One Else in the Room Knows’ patch!” Milly congratulated “does anyone else want to try?”

“I’ll go!” Mabel offered but was interrupted by Gretchen.

“Shhh! Someone’s coming.”

“Places people!” Mabel said and they all got into formation, ready to defend their hideout.

There was about a minute or two of silence before they heard the sound of someone knocking on the door in a certain pattern. They all relaxed.

“Look alive, people!” Gretchen opened the door “it's our fearless leader.”

Isabella walked in with her dog, Pinky. “Hey, guys, what'cha doin'?”

“Earning patches!” Mabel said.

“Mabel!” Isabella said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “It’s good to see you, I thought you weren’t coming today?”

“Well,” Mabel smiled. “Dipper’s doing a lot better and decided to hang out with the guys so I thought I would come after all.”

“That’s great! So, did you guys decide what patch to get today?” Isabella asked “'cause I have a suggestion!”

“Let me guess.” Adyson teased "it's the 'Let's Help Phineas and Ferb' patch?”

“It's called the ‘Help Thy Neighbor’ patch, Adyson.” Isabella did not sound amused “don't make up patch names.”

Both Milly and Ginger raised their hands “I already have 52 of those” Ginger said.

“I have 53.” Milly said “remember, I went back one afternoon after everyone else went home.”

“I know don’t remind me” Isabella glared at her. “But Mabel hasn’t earned it yet.”

“Well actually-” Mabel started to say then changed her mind. “Never mind, let’s do it!”

“All right, then!” Adyson said “let's go see what Phineas and Ferb are doing!”

“Why don't we ever go see what Baljeet is doing?” Ginger asked.

“Because we've done that before,” Milly reminded her.

“Yeah…” Mabel “and Ginger, no offense, I know you like him but….”

“That patch was not worth it” Holly finished.

—--------

The group of girls walked into Danville Park, immediately Isabella beelined towards Phineas. Mabel headed over to her brother and gave him a side hug.

“Hey bro, how ya doing?”

“Good,” Dipper said. “It's been nice to hang with the guys again. How’s your Fireside Girl thing going?”

“It’s going good!” Mabel said “I’m glad you're having fun.”

“I’m happy you are too,” Dipper said.

Meanwhile Isabella walked over to the rest of the boys “hey, guys. Whatcha doin'?”

“Well, to be perfectly honest,” Phineas said “I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I've been doing. Always getting so wrapped up in these silly projects that I don't care about. It's you I care about, Isabella!” In her daydream Phineas turned into a centaur and pulled her onto his back and they began to ride off on a rainbow “can we be together forever and ever?”

“Yeah!” She smiled, her eyes closed “we can definitely do that.”

“Excellent.” Phineas said, snapping her out of her fantasy. “While they're getting that, we can finish our designs on the transponder. See you girls back at the field.”

“Okay, Phineas! Oh, my gosh. What did he say? What does he need?” She sighed “I was in Phineasland again.”

Mabel rejoined them “sorry, I was talking to Dipper. What are we doing?”

“We have to find the rare maracanut tree, and earn our ‘Sap Collecting’ patch,” Gretchen explained.

As Gretchen led their leader away Ginger slapped a patch unto her sash. “It's the ‘I Just Saw a Cute Boy’ patch.”

“Where?” Milly asked.

“Duh!” Ginger pointed at Baljeet “that one over there with the color-coded schedule.” Milly ripped off the patch.

Mabel giggled and skipped off after Isabella, her ‘Got a Boyfriend’ patch was proudly displayed on her own sash.

—---------

An hour later the girls were climbing up a mountain, each other attached to each other with rope. Which was a good thing seeing as Gretchen was reading the Fireside Girl handbook instead of climbing, meaning they were pulling her up with them.

“According to this Fireside Girls book on dendrology, the maracanut tree is indigenous to mountain valley microclimates.” She read “so it looks like we're heading in the right direction.”

“That’s great!” Mabel said “do you think you can start helping now?”

“No need” Isabella called down “I’m at the top.”

They all made it back onto flat land to hear and see a hippie sitting on a tree stump playing a didgeridoo. “Hi. Excuse me.” Isabella said “um, hello? Earth to hippie?”

“Let me try” Mabel offered and tried to imitate the didgeridoo’s hum “excu-u-u-u-u-u-use Me-e-e-e-e-e-e.”

The man stopped his playing and looked up at her in amazement “whoa! You just harmonized with me.”

“Woah!” The other girls said in unison.

“Hi,” Isabella said “we were wondering where we could find the maracanut trees?”

“Well, look no further” the guru said and gestured to the land surrounding them “behold!

They all gasped when they finally took notice of all the tree stumps “what happened to them?” Mabel asked.

“They were all chopped down so their sap could be used for…” He teared up “...hair spray. Such a shame.”

“So, there aren't any left?” Isabella asked, disappointment clear on her face.

“Don't fret. There happens to be one sole maracanut tree left in existence.” The guru said “it's at the old abandoned Old Abandoned Amusement Park over on the next hill.”

“Did you just say the old abandoned Old Abandoned Amusement Park?” Isabella asked.

“Yes,” the hippie said “the old abandoned Old Abandoned Amusement Park.”

“Okay….?” Isabella frowned.

The man gestured to Mabel “before you go, step up, little sister. Let me bestow upon you the Key of Wisdom.” Mabel walked over and he dropped something into the palms of her hands “bask in its glory!”

The girls all crowded around Mabel to see a car key with a peace symbol keychain “thanks!” Mabel smiled, not noticing the odd looks on her friends’ faces.

“Cool, huh?” The guru said then disappeared in the cloud of smoke.

“He’s gone!” The girls said in unison.

“No he’s not,” Mabel said, pointing “he’s over there.”

They all turned to find the hippie trying to sneak away, he gave them a sheepish smile “oh, uh... Hey! Hey, hi... Hey, little sisters. See you on the flip side!”

—-----------

The Fireside Girls hiked farther along the mountain before stopping in front of a large entrance. The sign read ‘The Old Abandoned Amusement Park.’

“Well, here we are, I guess.” Isabella said “oh, I get it! It was actually called ‘The Old Abandoned Amusement Park!' And now it's old and abandoned. Hence, ‘old abandoned’ twice.” She got back to the mission on hand “girls, we're goin' in. We've got a tree to find!

They all spit up and began to search. Isabella called for status reports but none of them could find anything except for cans of cheap hairspray in the clown locker rooms.

“It’s gotta be around here somewhere.” Mabel said “roadside hippie gurus are pretty reliable.”

“I think I found it!” Isabella said, pointing up to the top of the mountain roller coaster.

They all ran over to regroup and read the ride’s description sign, apparently it was a sticky based ride with the maracanut tree as its centerpiece. No wonder this place was shut down.

“Girls,” Isabella said, “get your gear. We're climbin' up.”

“Probably not a good idea.” Holly punched one of the plaster walls “the whole thing's structurally unsound.”

Cracks began to form up the plaster mountain and a piece at the top began to fall right towards them, Holly screamed and it nearly hit her but, thankful, was able to get out of the way.

“The whole place will fall!” Adyson said.

“And there's no way to get that tree!” Gretchen added.

“Calm down, girls. Have you forgotten who we are? We're Fireside Girls Troop 46321, and we never give up!” Isabell said as they began to sign their theme song.

“We're Fireside Girls, one and all”

“And together we belong!”

“We wear our patches upon our sashes”

“And stand cute, small, and strong!”

”This is the Fireside Girls song…”

“And it's not too terribly long!”

“So, let's procure the sap for Phineas!” Isabella said.

“Yay Phineas!”

“Don’t forget Ferb,” Mabel said.

“And Ferb too!”

“And Baljeet!” Ginger cheered, wearing the Cute Boy patch again. Katie ripped it off.

“Well, the old hippie didn't mention how to get to the top of that,” Mabel said “all he gave us was this Key of Wisdom.”

She noticed a button on the key chain and pressed it, they all heard a beeping sound and looked up to see a colorful 60s style van perched on top of the hill of the roller coaster tracks. They all climbed up and Isabella took a look inside the hood.

“Well, there's no engine, but it looks like gravity will do the trick.” She said, and the looked at the tree that was several feet away and at the top of another hill. “All right, girls. Are we ready to get that ‘Reckless Disregard for Life and Limb’ patch?”

“Aye-aye, Captain!” They all got inside the car and bucked their seat belts, Mabel sat next to Isabella in the passenger’s seat while she got in the driver’s seat.

“Alright ladies” Isabella said “lean!”

They all leaned forward, using their weight to get the van to start rolling down the hill. They all screamed when the end of the tracks shot them up into the air.

“So, how exactly is this gonna work?” Gretchen asked.

Mabel’s eyes lit up “I got an idea!”

She pulled out her grappling hook and Isabella moved out of the way so she could climb out of the window of the driver’s side. Mabel leaped out of the window, the end of her hook catching onto the window.

Mabel, with her hook in one hand, leaned down and grabbed the potted tree in the other. She pressed the button on the grappling gun and flew back up towards the van, Milly and Katie opened the back door and she landed inside. Safe and sound. If not a little bruised.

“Got it!” She said, breathless. “Aw! What a cute lil tree.” She gushed.

“Aw” the other girls exclaimed.

Now that they had the tree they needed to get back on the ground, which they did with a lot of leaning and lots of panicking. Once they were on the road Holly and Katie carefully extracted some of the sap and into a test tube.

Mabel took the tree “maybe we can replant it somewhere” she suggested “and, ya know, bring them back from endangerment.”

“Good idea,” Isabella said, “but let’s finish this first.”

The van breaks through the wall surrounding the park. It drives right over to where Phineas and Ferb are standing. Isabella somersaults out the back, stands up, and gracefully hands Phineas the vial of sap.

“Hey, Phineas.” She said casually “we got that sap you guys needed.”

Mabel carefully set the tree aside to replant later and joined the rest of the girl, grinning to herself over her brother’s shocked exclamations of their retrieval of the sap. Looks like it was just another ordinary Fireside Girl meeting.

Maybe next time they could get Phineas and Isabella together in real life and not just in her daydreams!

Notes:

I really wanted to do more Fireside Girl Focused chapters so I wrote this! It's based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Isabella and The Temple Of Sap.'

Sorry it's so late, I was not in the mood to do anything today/this week. For all of my fellow Americans, how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was good, my mom (per-usual) made a bunch of pies and I ate way too much.

- Izzy

Chapter 61: Bella's Birthday

Summary:

It's Isabella's birthday.

The brothers, the twins, Buford, Baljeet, and all of the Fireside Girls gathered in Phineas and Ferb’s backyard. Getting ready to plan for Isabella’s birthday. Mabel was practically for today was her best (gal) friend’s birthday.

“Okay everyone,” Phineas said “time to commence operation INAP.”

“That stands for Isabella's Natal Anniversary Party.” Adyson told Dipper.

“I know that,” Dipper said, “I came up with that acronym.”

“Mabel, Ferb, and I have been spending all week planning” Phineas said “and I think this is going to be Isabella’s best birthday yet!”

“We need your help to carry all this stuff over to Isabella's backyard,” Phineas gestured to the boxes and crates that surrounded them. “So we can set it up for-”

Isabella then walked through the gate “hi, Phineas. What'cha doin'? You're not planning something for my birthday, are you?” She asked.

Mabel screamed “no! Bella, you can’t be here!”

Phineas covered his blueprint from view with his body “yeah! Don't look, don't look, don't look! Nothing to see here.”

“Phineas! But all I really want for my birthday is-” Isabella tried to say.

“Don’t ruin the surprise” Phineas laughed a bit “Buford, get her outta here.”

“You got it.” Buford threw a bag over the birthday girl and carried her out.

Dipper frowned after his friend “does he always have that on him?” He muttered.

“You’d be surprised what Buford can fit into those large shorts pockets” Baljeet sighed.

Isabella, now back outside the gate, let out a sigh. As sweet as her friends were, she didn’t want some big elaborate party or fancy gift. All she really wanted for her birthday was some time alone with her crush.

“Today is my birthday and there's just one thing I'm wishing for”

“To spend some time alone with a certain someone I adore”

Isabella sang as she walked back to her house, behind her the gang was bringing things for the part over to her backyard.

“It doesn't have to be formal or fancy”

“It's not a deal breaker if it's not romance-y”

“After all of this time, I've lowered my expectations.”

“Expectations…” Buford and Baljeet sang.

“Don't need a limo or a corsage,”

“Just him and me without the entourage”

“And I won't be upset (I won't be upset)”

“At this emotional roulette (Emotional roulette)”

“I'll take any little thing that I can get…”

As the twins passed by her, carrying their own party supplies Mabel stopped to listen for a moment. Dipper groaned at the look in his sister’s eyes.

Isabella began to daydream of scenarios as she sang.

“Like eating some French fries: I'll take it!”

“Stuck on a tarmac: I'm good! (I'm good!)”

“Trapped under rubble: That's awesome! (That's awesome!)”

“Moving a piano: If we only could!”

“Getting orthodontia: Sign me up! (Sign me up!)”

“In a smelly subway car: I'm in! (I'm in!)”

“We could be reupholstering a loveseat:”

“I call that a win-win!”

“'Cause that's all I really want;”

“Just time alone with my triangular savant”

“I'm not asking for the world; I'm just a simple girl”

“And I would change my mournful tone…”

“If we could just be alone”

Isabella stood in her living room and turned around to see the party in her backyard through the glass door. “Just be alone…” She sighed and stepped outside.

“Happy Birthday Isabella!” They all yelled.

—----------

“Check it out!” Phineas said, the party was in full swing and Ferb and Mabel wheeled in a giant birthday cake. “We made your favorite, a red velvet cake, with a little surprise.”

“Ooh, I hope they do not have a male dancer popping out of it.” Baljeet said.

“It would certainly make things interesting,” Mason said “but I’m in agreement there.”

“They asked,” Buford said, “but they couldn't afford me.”

Phineas led Isabella up several flights of a rolling staircase that had been pushed up next to the cake. “Make a wish. Hit it Ferb!” The green haired boy pressed a button and the giant candles lit.

Isabella closed her eyes, making a wish to spend more time with Phineas. She blew out her candles and even though the cake was so big they still all went out. She suspected that the brothers were behind it. The now unlit candles shot glitter everywhere, Mabel’s work she was sure.

The two made their way back to the ground “so, did you get what you wished for?” Phineas asked her.

“Uh…” She started to say.

“Yeah” Buford said sarcastically “every girl wants their yard to be covered in glitter.”

“I want my yard to be covered in glitter” Mabel said “but Dipper won’t let me.”

“Dad agrees with me!” Dipper protested, this was a frequent debate between the two.

“Alright,” Buford said, “let’s go, next event.”

The second event of the day was a giant pinata that broke into several smaller ones, one for each person. Dipper chose to sit out and eat his cake but the girls were having a blast.

“Sooo” Mabel said, munching on some gummy candy from her pinata. “Isabella, what do you think of the party?”

“It’s great,” Isabella said, trying to hide her disappointment. She didn’t think she was going to get what she wanted, but this really was a fun party. And she knew her friends worked hard on this.

Buford walked over to them “okay Birthday girl, onto the next.” She yelped as he threw a bag over her, and carried her to the pool.

“Gather 'round everyone,” Phineas said, “and keep your eyes on the pool. Isabella, it's grand finale time!” He pulled a lever and everything began to shake.

“Oh wow…” Dipper said, “this is… wow. Um Mabel, did you know about this?”

“Nope,” Mabel said, also in shock.

A beam then hit Phineas’ finale and turned the whole thing into a flock of butterflies. Isabell squealed “butterflies?! I love butterflies!!”

“Wait?” Phineas said in shock “what? This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

—--------

After the party Phineas, Ferb, Mabel, Dipper, and Isabella stood out on the sidewalk. “I still can't figure out what went wrong with the grand finale,” Phineas said.

“It was really great Phineas,” Isabella said “thank you.”

“You know…” Mabel said “if you really want to make it up to her then you should buy her ice-cream.”

“That’s a great idea!” Phineas said “what do you think Isabella? Can Ferb and I take you out for ice-cream?”

“Well-”

“Actually” Ferb but in “Mabel and I had plans, you two go.”

“Okay” Phineas said “Is that cool with you?”

“Very cool” Isabella smiled and gave Ferb and Mabel a thumbs up as she passed them.

“So” Mabel said “what are we doing?”

Ferb just smiled and took her hand and led her off. An idea for their impromptu date night.

Notes:

Sorry this chapter wasn't very long or has a lot of major changes. But I had a final this weekend so that took up most of my time but I still wanted to post something for you guys. That's also why it was so late.

I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway.

- Izzy

Chapter 62: Breaking Out

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb take an escape room to the next level!

“Looks like the brothers already got a head start on today’s activity” Dipper said as he walked outside, leaning back his head Mason tried to get a good look at the tall tower in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard.

“Looks fun!” Mabel said.

“You think everything’s fun” he pointed out as they slipped through the gate door connecting the two yards.

“I don’t think everything is fun,” Mabel said “the Bill thing wasn’t fun.”

Dipper’s mood dropped at the reminder of what had happened last summer. “Well,” he finally said “most things then.” His attempt to joke fell flat.

Mabel winced, her mood also becoming low “sorry, it just came out.”

“It’s okay.” Dipper said he went to say something else but was interrupted by Phineas.

“Hey guys!”

“Hi Phineas,” Mabel said “hey Ferb. What’s this?” She pointed up at the tower.

“Go ahead and sit down with the other and we’ll explain in a minute” Phineas said, gesturing to where Baljeet, Isabella, and Buford were sitting on the grass.

“Do you know what this is about?” Dipper asked them. They all shook their heads.

“Well,” Mabel said “whatever it is will be fun.”

Isabella nodded “Phineas, and Ferb, sure are good at making everything sound fun.”

Phineas cleared his throat, getting their attention “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! My brother and I are here today to give you a thrilling display of escapement arts as we attempt to extricate ourselves from this,...”

The group all took another look at the very tall tower “...the most complicated trap ever devised by man or child! A computer controlled tower so fiendishly clever that…” Phineas, taking a dramatic approach to his presentation. “...its blueprints had to be viewed in a smoked mirror to avoid driving its creators insane!”

“Wow” Isabella said “he’s really selling this hard!”

“But if you designed the tower, will you not know every way to get out?” Baljeet asked.

“We programmed it to learn as it goes, so it's conceivable we could be trapped in there forever.” Phineas said “coming with?”

Isabell, Baljeet, and Buford all took a step back. At first Isabella looked like she wanted to join but then thought better. “Dipper and I will come,” Mabel offered.

“We will?” Dipper asked, then saw the look on his twin's face “I mean… Of course we will?”

“Are you sure Mason?” Phineas asked “you don’t have to.”

“No no no” Dipper said, making a decision “I want to come, but only if it’s safe.”

“Of course it’s safe” Phineas said “there are protocols in place to make sure that no bodily harm occurs.”

“Okay then” Dipper said “let’s do it.”

“But what if you do not come out?” Baljeet asked.

“:If we're not out in fifteen minutes, you can smash the machine and rescue us, just like in the old days.” Phineas said.

“Is this thing even possible to smash?” Mabel asked and Ferb shrugged.

Buford pulled out a rubber mallet “sounds like a party.”

“Ferb?” Phineas said “start the timer please!”

The twins moved to stand on the elevator that would bring the four into the tower “I have a bad feeling about this.” Dipper said, feeling anxious.

“Don’t worry” Mabel patted his shoulder comfortingly “this will be great! It’ll be like solving all those puzzles in Grunkle Ford’s bunker.”

“There were that many,” Dipper pointed out “but yeah, you’re right. Phineas and Ferb know what they’re doing.”

Phineas and Ferb joined the twins on the lift “women and children and the faint of heart may wish to leave now.” Phineas pressed a button and the four began to rise into the air “so we bid you adieu! Goodbye! Auf wiedersehen! Farewell, friends!”

They were lowered into the tower “and we'll see you in a few minutes!” Phineas called “or not at all!”

The now empty elevator rises up again, the door closes, which activates the locks. The timer beeped. There was a pause.

“Legally speaking, what is our liability here?” Baljeet asked.

—-----------

Inside the tower was dark and Mabel wondered if they needed to do something to activate it. “Good day to you, Tower.” Phineas said, breaking the silence “we're ready to begin.”

“Welcome, children.” A male robotic voice said “we're gonna have so much fun together.” A pair of robotic arms came down and in a flash they were all wearing straight-jackets “put on your coats and stay a while.”

“Woah,” Dipper said, “this thing really isn’t easing us into this, huh?”

Phineas just laughed “isn't it great?”

It took a bit of maneuvering but soon the brothers had gotten out of the jackets and freed the twins “this is gonna be fun” Phineas said.

“I have a feeling you might be right.” Mabel said, smiling. Dipper rolled his eyes at their antics.

They were then trapped in shackles and pulled upwards to a dungeon themed room. Ferb pulled out a nail file “.... Why do you have that on you?” Dipper asked as Ferb freed them.

“Always good to be prepared.” The green haired teen said.

Mason spotted a grate in the corner “over here!” He said, opening it and the two sets of siblings crawled inside.

They crawled through the vent for about a minute before finding a small door, on the other side was a room full of locked doors and a bunch of keys on the floor. “Hmm. Big keys, tiny doors.” Phineas said “we're not fitting through any of those, but maybe that one!” He pointed up at a door that looked like it might be big enough for them.

“How are we going to get up there?” Dipper asked.

“Oh!” Mabel said “I got an idea.” She used the keys to form a make-shift ladder by sticking them in the key holes. She began to climb up.

“Great job Mabel” Dipper said, following.

They go through the door and find themselves climbing up a ladder nailed into a wall. “Nice warm up” the Tower said “but can you escape the relentless pull of gravity?”

The Tower then flipped them upside down and they began to fall “oh, I’ve seen this before” Dipper said “it’s a bottomless pit.”

“Do you know how to escape?” Phineas asked.

“Well,” Mason said “the one in Gravity Falls just lets you fall for a few hours then spits you back out with no time having passed.”

“So that’s a no then?” Ferb asked.

“Unfourtally .... Yes.”

“At least we’re having more fun than Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford!” Mabel said “they’re probably just sitting around waiting for us to finish.”

—-------

Baljeet was trying to teach Isabella how to play chess (she was working on her Chess Master Patch) while Buford was nearby sharpening his mallet. The timer read 11:25.

“It would be terrible if they did not come out,” Baljeet said idly, making a move on the board.

“I know!” Isabella said in the same tone, moving her bishop piece.

“I’m counting on it,” Buford said.

—--------

Still falling down the pit the fourteen were trying to think, well, the boys were thinking. Mabel was just playing with her hair, which looked like it was flying above her head. (Dipper was glad he chose not to wear his hat today, he was positive he would have lost it by now.)

“Wait! I've got it. Give me your hands.” Phineas said Dipper, being closer, did as he was asked and seemed to know what his friend was thinking.

The two braced their feet along the walls and slowed to a stop, below them Ferb and Mabel were doing the same thing. Carefully they walked their way up the wall until reaching a small door that Phineas kicked open with one foot.

“Is that the best you can throw at us?” Mabel dared as they crawled down a short hallway.

“Ooh, so special.” The Tower said sarcastically “I don't give a flying buttress.”

Phineas paused, forcing everyone else to as well since he was in the front. “Tower, are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, what's it to you?” The Tower asked rudely.

They started crawling again. “I thought you would have made your machine more polite,” Dipper said.

“We did.” Ferb said from the back.

Phineas opened a door from the inside of a hollow log and they came up to a sawmill themed room. “You think you're so sharp, don't you?” The Tower said.

The teens found themselves tied to the log and moving towards a sharp looking saw, reading to slice them in half. “I'm gonna show you something sharper.”

“I think there may be something wrong with the Tower.” Phineas started to freak out a bit “I'm taking suggestions here.”

Dipper found himself feeling strangely calm, as he normally did in situations like this. Which happened more than one would think, though not in this capacity. Not since last summer, anyways. Mason pulled out a small, swiss army and cut himself free.

“Have you always had that on you?” Mabel asked as her brother released them.

“Yup” Dipper said, leading them to the next door. “Though I want to get a nicer one. But this one is fine for now.” He pocketed the knife.

The four keep moving through room after room, working together to solve the puzzles and move on. Thankfully, each one of them were able to solve each room since they were all so different and often played into their strengths.

—--------

Back outside Isabella and Baljeet had moved on to cards, though this time Buford abandoned his mallet and was playing with them. The timer started counting down from twenty seconds.

“Oh, my gosh!” Baljeet said, “it is almost time.”

“What if they can't get out?” Isabella asked.

“Then I get to start smashing!” Buford said, looking excited.

The end of a shovel came up from the ground and a hole began to form and Dipper, Mabel, Phineas, and Ferb climbed out. A little dirty but unharmed.

“Made it. Boy! That was close.” Phineas said, looking up at the timer to see it was at seventeen seconds.

“And with time to spare” Dipper said before they were bombarded with questions from the rest of their friends.

“I ain't done with you yet.” The Tower formed a force field around its lower half, once again trapping the four. “Ooh, it looks like you losers are still trapped. Might as well change your address, 'cause you're gonna be receiving your pension in here.”

“I'm feeling such an odd mixture of pride and mortal terror.” Phineas said.

“Freaking out yet?” Mabel asked her brother.

“Not yet” Dipper said “check back in two minutes. You?”

“A little” Mabel admitted and Dipper wrapped an arm around his sister’s shoulders.

Isabella and Baljeet backed away as Buford ran towards the force field at full speed, banging the mallet on the dome... with no success. “You guys are on your own.”

“Thanks for trying,” Mabel said, giving him a small smile. Ferb took her hand.

“What are friends for?” Buford asked, giving a bow.

“Friends?” The Tower said “I have been programmed to trap you and your friends.” The dome expanded to trap the others as well.

“Oh that’s right,” Phineas said “I forgot about that.”

“How do you forget something like that?” Dipper asked, sarcastic.

“Do me a favor.” Baljeet said “next time you wanna make a fiendishly clever computer-controlled contraption, call one of your other friends.”

Phineas got an idea “That’s it!” He looked up at the Tower “Tower. You were programmed to trap Ferb and me and our friends. But we've got friends all over Danville.”

“Is that so?” The dome raised up to cover all of Danville.

The red-haired teen started to look very smug “in fact, we have friends all over the Tri-State Area.”

“ Well, aren't we popular?” The dome now covered the Tri-State Area.

“Plus there was that small matter of circumnavigating the globe” Ferb reminded his brother.

“You're right.” Phineas said “Tokyo, Paris, Nepal. We have friends all over the Earth.”

“Look at me, I have got friends all over the Earth. All right then.” The Tower covers the globe with the dome.

“In fact, we even have an alien friend named Meap.” Phineas said and Ferb showed off a picture.

“When did you become friends with an alien!?!” Dipper exclaimed.

“A couple summers ago,” Isabella said. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll meet him at some point.”

“He is from another planet.” Phineas was saying “so, really, we have friends all over the galaxy.”

“A small matter for one such as me.” The Tower said, leaving the backyard and they assumed it was covering all of the milky way galaxy.

They all stood there, looking up at the sky before the spell broke and Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford all began to leave.

“That works for me,” Baljeet said.

“They only make mallets so big,” Buford said.

“See ya” Isabella said.

“Well,” Dipper said, “as fun as that was, I think next time I’m gonna sit out.”

“That’s fair,” Phineas said. “And maybe next time it won’t be computerized.”

“Or at least not use an AI” Ferb agreed.

Notes:

Happy Holidays everyone! I myself celebrate Christmas but I know there are lots of other holidays out there, in fact, I believe Hanukkah started this past Thursday.

This chapter was fun to write and one I knew that I wanted to do when I first started drafting Carpe Diem. It's based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode, 'Escape From Phineas Tower.'

For those of you wondering if I'm doing a proper Holiday Special this year (unlike last year which was just the chapter 'Snow Day') I am! It will be posted on the 22nd, the Saturday before Christmas. So stay tuned for that.

- Izzy

Chapter 63: Fusion Dance

Summary:

You know what they say, two heads are better than one.

“Hey Ferb” Phineas said from where he was relaxing under the tree. “Have you ever thought about what we would be like if we were one person?”

Ferb shook his head.

“Oh,” Phineas said, “well I have. We should build something to find out what would happen.”

Ferb gave his brother a look, as interesting as that sounded, there were a lot of risks involved.

Phineas stared back, “we can still try.” Finally Ferb nodded his agreement and Phineas beamed. “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!”

—----------

Dipper and Mabel walked into the Flynn-Fletcher yard to find the brothers going over a blueprint. “Already gotten started on today’s project I see,” Mason said.

“Hey Dipper!” Phineas said “what do you think of the idea of merging two people into one?”

“Awesome!” Mabel said.

“Sounds… Dangerous” Dipper said.

“You mean dangerously fun!” Mabel corrected, she grabbed her brother’s arm and pulled him close. “Imagine, we could become one person. With your brain and my creativity we could be unstoppable!”

“We’re already unstoppable,” Dipper pointed out.

“So do you two want to try it out?” Phineas asked.

“YES!” Mabel yelled.

“How about someone else goes first?” Mason asked.

“Sure,” Phineas said “though we need to finish first.”

“We can help,” Dipper offered.

“Great,” Phineas said, “then let's get to work.”

“Hey,” Mabel interrupted, “where’s Waddles?”

—-------------

Agent P.I.G moved carefully through Dr Doofenshmirtz’s lab, Agent P was on a different mission today so Waddles was on his own today. He was then pulled from his thoughts as he was trapped in what looked like a giant jelly-jar.

“Ah Waddles the Pig” Dr D stepped out of the shadows “it’s good to see you again. It’s been so long since the author has written one of our interactions. I see Perry the Platypus is not here?”

Waddles oinked.

“No matter” Doofenshmirtz waved a hand “only having one of you will make my plan go much easier!” He put his hands together in a slow clap “now, backstory time!”

—------------

Dipper looked down at the two metal bracelets sitting on the folding table “this is it?” He asked.

“Yup.” Phineas said.

“No offense,” Mason said, “but it seems kind of… underwhelming. I would have expected some big machine, like something out of a horror movie.”

“We thought about it,” Phineas admitted, “but this seemed like the safe option, since it will be easier to reverse.”

“What do we need to do?” Mabel asked, picking one up.

“The two people who want to merge will put them on,” Phineas explained “and when the bracelets touch each other they will activate and fuse the two wearers together.”

“This is so weird,” Dipper muttered.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to go first then?” Ferb asked.

“No way!” Mason exclaimed “do you?”

Ferb shook his head “I guess Phineas and I will go then” Mabel said, putting the metal band around her wrist and Phineas followed suit.

The two touched their wrists together like some kind of fist bump and there was a flash of light.

—-----------

“So,” Dr Doofenshmirtz said “the other day I needed groceries but I was busy working on my latest inator so I decided to use one of those new grocery delivery apps.” He explained “one of the things I asked for was peanut butter and jelly. But apparently the store was out so the delivery guy gave me this!”

Doofenshmirtz held up a jar, “it’s peanut butter and jelly mixed together! I mean… I’m evil but I’m not that evil.”

Waddles oinked. “Well, you’re a pig,” Heinz said, “you’ll eat anything. So of course you don’t mind it.”

—---------

The person that stood in front of the two boys had long red hair with brown highlights and blue eyes. He wore a pink sweater with dark orange highlights and a blue jean skirt.

“Woah” Dipper said, eyes wide and pulling out his journal “it worked. How do you... two? Feel?”

“Strange” she said, “I still have all the thoughts and memories of Phineas and Mabel but I also feel like my own person.”

“Fascinating” Dipper said, his pen moving across the page. “So they didn’t just merge them… Fused.”

Phineas?… Mabel?… Phinabel pressed the button on the mental bracelet and there was a flash of light and the two separated.

“That was awesome!” Mabel yelled “Dipper you gotta try this.”

Mason looked intergied “sure. But who am I going to fuse with?” Ferb raised a hand “really? Are you sure?” Ferb nodded “okay. Let’s do this!”

The two put on the bracelets and activated them and fused into a teen boy with green hair and brown eyes. He wore Dipper’s glasses and hat and a blue sweater vest with a long-sleeve, cream colored shirt underneath.

“Woah!” Mabel said “you look awesome.”

Feason (As Mabel decided to call him, combining Ferb and Mason’s names together), apparently, had Dipper’s anxiety and Ferb’s natural quietness because he chose not to speak.

After a few minutes the two boys defused and the two brothers decided to give it a try.

—----------

“Now,” Doofenshmirtz said “to solve my little problem I decided to make this” he pulled back a sheet to show off a hand held inator. “The Sepratation-Inator! It will take this,” he held up the peanut butter/jelly combo “and put them into separate peanut butter and jelly jars.”

Put the jar on the table and shoot it with the inator and hit the jar with a green beam. And sure enough, it did what it was supposed to do.

“It worked!” He said then grinned “I wonder what else I could separate…”

Waddles sighed, of course the man would decide to use his invention for evil. As the man walked away his move kicked a nail which flew over and got stuck in the jar of his jar trap and spider web cracks began to move across the glass.

The glass shattered and Agent P.I.G ran over to Doofenshmirtz, leaping up and kicking him in the back.

—--------

After Phineas and Ferb fused Mabel and Dipper decided to take a turn. Their fusion was a gender unambiguous person with long brown hair and eyes. They wore a purple sweater with Mabel’s shooting star design on it and Dipper’s hat and glasses.

Mae, as they decided to be called, was suddenly hit with a green light and suddenly, and without warning, separated. Dipper and Mabel flew to the ground the fusion bracelets sparked before breaking and falling off their wrists.

“Ow” Dipper groaned “what happened?”

Mabel sat up “I have no idea.” She was suddenly distracted by her pet’s return. “Oh there you are Waddles.”

Notes:

Happy Saturday everyone. I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter.

This one was really fun for me to write, I even drew all of the fusions! I'm hoping to post them in the art book once I finish the character art. Next week will be our Christmas special so I hope you all get excited, I'm really looking forward to it.

- Izzy

Chapter 64: Christmas Belief

Summary:

Phineas and Ferb find out Dipper doesn't believe in Santa Clause.

Mabel loved winter! Why wouldn’t she? It was prime sweater time, the season when knitters came out to play. Not that Mabel didn’t knit the rest of the year but people didn’t appreciate her knitted gifts during spring and summer.

And this winter she was actually living in a place with snow! Piemont never got snow except for when she and Dipper were six and they got a whole half inch and everything closed down.

She hummed happily as she sat at the Flynn-Fletcher kitchen table kicking her feet a bit, her boyfriend sat on one side and her brother on the other. The rest of the gang sat in the other chairs.

“So,” Dipper said, “is there a reason why you called us over?”

“Yes!” Phineas said, pulling out a box full of writing supplies. “Since it’s Christmas Eve I thought we could write some letters to Santa for when he visits tonight. Just to thank him and wish him well on his journey.”

Isabella frowned “you do know that we” she gestured to herself and the twins “celebrate Hanukkah, right?”

“Yeah” Phineas said “but you guys celebrate Christmas too, right?”

“Not really” Isabella admitted “the only real ‘celebrating’ I do is with you guys.”

“You two celebrate Christmas too, right?” Ferb asked the twins, remembering the tree with its blue and silver lights and ornaments he saw in the Pines Family living room whenever they came over.

“I mean… Kind of” Dipper said “we did more for it when we were younger because Mom celebrates it. But now that she’s not here we haven’t done a whole lot.”

“What about presents?” Buford asked.

“We get most of our presents for Hanukkah” Mabel explained “we get a few small ones for Christmas and ones from our Grunkles or Grandparents along with Mom’s family.”

“And Santa gifts,” Phineas added.

“We don’t believe in Santa” Dipper said, unaware of the bombshell he had just dropped. Everyone (but Mabel) stared at him. “What?”

“You don’t believe in Santa?” Buford clarified “you two, who have had more experience in this kind of stuff than all of us combined?”

“Yes….” Dipper said.

“But how can you not believe in Santa?!” Phineas exclaimed.

He shrugged awkwardly “never had any proof he’s real.”

“You believe in lots of stuff that you don’t have proof for,” Baljeet said.

“Can we drop this?” Mabel asked “I mean, lots of people our age don’t believe in Santa.”

“I still don’t understand how you don’t believe in him” Phineas said “I mean, you two believe in all sorts of stuff that most people don’t believe in.”

“Like I said” Dipper said again “we’ve never had any proof, most other things have at least a little bit.”

“So…” Phineas said “we just need to prove it to you guys!”

“That’s not that I-”

“Wait here,” Phineas jumped up from his seat “Ferb, I know what we are going to do today!”

—--------

Dipper sat cross legged on the floor with Mabel in the brothers’ living room as Phineas and Ferb gave a presentation on various Santa sightings and the historical contexts of the man.

“I already know all of this,” Mason said. “Just because there was a person known as Saint Nick doesn’t mean there’s a man who flies around the world delivering toys once a year.”

They were interrupted by Linda Flynn-Fletcher walking in “hey kids, what are you four up to?”

“We’re trying to convince the twins that Santa is real,” Phineas explained.

His mother frowned “aren’t you a little old to believe in Santa?”

“That’s what I said!” Mabel exclaimed.

Phineas gave a long sigh as Linda left and sat down on the floor “I just don’t understand how you two don’t believe. I mean, Dipper, you believe in way crazier conspires. And Mabel, you like all sorts of fairytales and stuff.”

“I just don’t understand why this matters,” Mason said, “I mean, we hardly celebrate Christmas.”

Mabel bit her lip nervously before sighing sadly “I think we just need to tell them bro-bro. They’re not going to give up.”

“Tell us what?” Phineas exchanged a look with his step-brother. “What are you two talking about?”

“We used to believe in Santa when we were little,” Mabel explained, “but we stopped last year.”

Dipper fidgeted with his sweater (made by Mabel, of course) “we would never get a lot from Santa, usually just a few things that we didn’t get over Hanukkah.”

“But the last time we got presents from him…” Mabel said “well more like the last time I got presents from him.”

“I didn’t get anything,” Dipper said. “We were over at Mom’s, this was before the divorce was finalized, and she implied that I didn’t get anything because…”

“Beauce he’s trans, '' Mabel finished. “And anyone who thinks my brother shouldn’t bet presents because of who he is doesn’t get my belief!”

“I’m sorry” Phineas said “but that doesn’t sound like something Santa would do.”

“Why” Dipper asked sarcastically “how do you know you? Have you met him?”

“I have,” Phineas said. “Look, I get that you don’t believe me but will you give the guy one more chance?”

“We are away from Mom…” Mabel said “maybe this year will be different.”

Dipper sighed “I guess I can give it a try.”

—----------

The next morning Dipper sat on the carpet reading over a letter written in a loppy scrawl. Mabel was squealing over some trinket Stan and Ford had sent her.

“Huh,” Mason said to him, reading the explanation as to what exactly had happened last year. “Looks like he’s real after all.”

Notes:

I don't even know what this chapter is, I didn't have a whole lot of time to write it because I got family in town for Christmas but I still wanted to post something.

Speaking of which, I might not be able to post something next week. I'm going to my cousin wedding so I might not get the time.

- Izzy

Chapter 65: Questing Time: Part 3

Summary:

The party goes into the next room and meets... themselves?

Notes:

Character name reminder:

Phin- Phineas
Xeth- Ferb
Maé- Mabel
Iśa- Isabella
Bael- Baljeet
Gruff- Buford

Phineas watched as Dipper set up his things for their upcoming DDMD session “you know what would be fun.” He said.

“Hmm?” Dipper hummed, too focused on his task to give a proper response.

“If we played Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons in real life!”

Mason stopped and looked up at his friend “what?”

“Yeah,” Phineas continued, obvious to the look on his friend’s face. “I mean, imagine how much more fun we could have if it was really us going on the adventures and fighting the monsters!”

“So…” Dipper said “you want to figure out a way for us to have a real life fantasy adventure?”

“With all the fun of DDMD,” Phineas added.

“No offense Phineas” Mason said, “but I’ve done that before and it was not fun. More like really freaky and being forced into and then having to fight for my life.”

“Oh…”

“So yeah,” Dipper said, “I’m not exactly jumping for joy at doing something like that again. Sorry.”

“It’s okay” Phineas said “it was just an idea. We don’t have to do it.”

“Thanks,” he said, “okay, let’s call the others over so we can get started.”

—---------

The group walked through the next door after unlocking by turning the three keys they had found. Entering the room for a brief moment it looked to be pitch black. Once they all step inside the door slams shut behind them and several torches are suddenly lit.

“Well,” Bael said, “that is foreboding.”

Looking around the, now lit, room they could see six mirrors hanging on the wall. Five of them each had a silver frame and one of them had a gold one.

Xeth titled his head curiosity and approached one the mirrors, he could see himself just as he always looked but for one strange detail. His reflection was drained of color, he looked down at his hands to see they looked the way they always did. Looking back up at the mirror his reflected self was still in grayscale.

Phin walked over to join Xeth and peered into the mirror too but he could only see his brother’s gray reflection. “Woah, that is strange.”

Above the mirror Xeth’s name suddenly appears written into the silver frame in the language of the gnomes and his reflection is no longer copying him. It suddenly lunges forward and comes out of the mirror.

The two stumbled back as the gray version of Xeth draws a sword that is a copy of the true Xeth’s weapon and swings it at him but he blocks it with his own sword.

The other party members run forward to help the two brothers but are quickly distracted when Maé moves past another one of the silver mirrors and a gray copy of her comes out. Gray Maé uses her magic to hit the true Maé with a burst of fire magic, the fairy yelps in pain, clutching her injured arm.

“Maé!” Iśa shouts and moves to help her friend.

“I’m okay” Maé reassures “you guys go help the brothers,” her smile then turns dangerous as she looks at the cheap copy of herself “I’ll take care of this one.”

—--------

“Hey Dippin-dots,” Mabel said “can I fly?”

“I don’t know Mabel,” Mason sighed “you’re the one who homebrewed a fairy race. Let me check.” He looked over the copy of his sister’s character sheet “okay, so you can fly but only as much as your walking speed.”

She giggled chaotically “perfect!”

—---------

Phin, Xeth, and Beal made quick work of the Gray Xeth, who after being killed, was turned into mist and was sucked back into his mirror. Which had then disappeared. They were now helping Iśa with her own clone which she had accidentally activated.

Meanwhile Maé was using her wings to fly circles around her copy, the Gray Maé was also flying but not nearly as gracefully as her counterpart.

“Ha!” Maé laughed, “you may look like me but you have none of my skill.”

—--------

“Ferb,” Phineas nudged his brother, “it’s your turn.”

Ferb, who had been staring at Mabel with a lovesick look on his face, jolted and blushed. “Sorry.”

—---------

The Gray Maé was looking pretty weak and was struggling to stay in the air. Maé had done her work well, using a mix of spells and old fashion fighting. When the clone got too close to the ground Xeth suddenly stabbed it in the back.

As the copy and mirror disappeared Maé landed gently in front of the gnome “sorry” he said “I know you had it handled.”

“It’s okay” she said “I appreciate you wanting to help.”

The two blushed and were then interrupted but Gruff, who was in a fist fight with his own copy, “hey you two! Stop flirting and start helping.”

“Sorry!” The two rejoined the fray.

After the two lovebirds ran over and started fighting Gruff’s gray copy he looked over at the mirror his cone came from. Then, without hesitation he punched it. The glass shattered before reforming right in front of him as if it had never been broken.

“Well,” he said, “there goes that idea.”

It took much longer than all of them expected to successfully defeat their respective clones. But things went by much quicker when they realized each gray copy shared their weaknesses.

“Woah” Phin whipped his brow “I’m glad we’re done but I am beat.”

“How about we take a break?” Bael suggested.

“Good idea” Maé “I don’t think I can do any more magic for a little bit.”

“Let’s take a rest, then” Xeth decided “we don’t know what’s ahead when we go through that door.”

“What door?” Gruff asked.

Xeth pointed and they all turned to see the golden framed mirror was now a golden wooden doorway.

—------

“And that is it! for today” Dipper stretched.

“That was fun” Mabel said “I like that we got to fight ourselves.”

“Our greatest enemy is ourselves,” Baljeet said “so it makes sense.”

“Also it makes for a pretty easily matched combat” Mason added.

“When are we going to meet again?” Phineas asked.

“I’m not sure yet” Dipper said “but I do know that our next session will be our last.”

“Well,” Isabella said “I'm sure it’ll be great!”

“I hope so too.”

Notes:

Happy 2024 everyone!

Sorry again for the lack of a chapter last week, between the holidays and going to my cousins wedding I didn't have the time to write with out becoming too overwhelmed.

This chapter wasn't nearly as long as I wanted it to be, this is in part because I am really bad at writing action scenes. Also I had another busy week because I was moving back up to school. Let's cross our fingers that next week will finally be a normal week!

- Izzy

Chapter 66: Maze Away

Summary:

The brothers make a giant maze with the help of Dipper.

Mason walked into his friends’ backyard through the gate that connected his and theirs yard. He found the two brothers in their usual place under their tree. He groaned and flopped onto the grass next to them, staring up at the leaves.

“Everything okay?” Phineas asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, “I just feel… sluggish. And I don’t know why.”

“Is it a trans thing?” Phineas asked.

“No,” Dipper sighed. “Though I almost wish it was, at least then I might have an idea on how to fix it. It’s like… All of my motivation to do anything has been sucked right out of me.”

“That’s the author’s fault” Ferb said “she’s been quite busy these past couple of weeks and therefore hasn’t had much motivation to write. And thus we have no motivation.”

“I feel fine,” Phineas said.

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Dipper said. “And that doesn’t fix my problem.”

“Well,” Phineas said, “maybe we can do something to help stimulate our brains?”

“Like that thing you did for Baljeet” Mason sat up “cause we all remember how that turned out!”

“No, no,” Phineas assured “like a puzzle or a maze.”

“I do like puzzles,” Dipper mused. “May you could combine them? Like a giant maze with puzzles and challenges inside?”

“That’s a great idea!” Phineas said “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today.”

—-----------

The three boys looked up at the finished project. “It looks like we're good to go.” Phineas said time to test it.”

Baljeet appeared out of nowhere “did someone say test?!”

“It's not really a test.” Phineas explained “we're more like lab rats going after cheese.”

Buford also appeared out of nowhere “did someone say cheese?”

“It’s not real cheese,” Dipper said, “it’s just a metaphor.”

They were interrupted by Isabella and Mabel walking into the yard in their Fireside Girl uniforms with a five year old girl, also in a uniform. “And I want to get the zoo keeping patch, and the cooking patch, and the astronomy patch.” The child was saying.

“Oh, Melissa.” Isabella gushed “you remind me of me, when I was a Lil' Spark.”

“When I grow up and become a Fireside girl, do you think I'll earn as many patches as you have?” The girl, Melissa, asked.

“With your enthusiasm,” Isabella said “you'll probably earn even more.”

“You really think so?” Melissa asked “cause that's my goal. I want to be just like you.”

Isabella turned to them “hey, everybody. This is Melissa.” The boy all said hello.

“You girls want to join us in testing out our maze?” Phineas asked.

“Sure!” Mabel said, running over to join them as they got on the elevator. Isabella and Melissa joined them too.

“So, you’re hanging out with these two today?” Dipper asked, jabbing a thumb at his sister and friend.

Melissa beamed up at him “Isabella is my mentor for today. She's the best Fireside Girl ever.”

Isabella tried to be humble but they could all see how flattered she was “Melissa, I'm sure they don't want to hear about-”

“Hey Candace” Phineas interrupted. “What are you doing today?”

The older teen came out, wobbling on a pair of rollerskates. “Hey Phineas, Jeremy and I are going roller skating with some friends later so I thought I would practice.” Candace rolled over and ended up on the elevator just as it rose up to the maze “what is this thing?”

“It's our elevator to the top of the maze.” Phineas said.

“Well can you make it go down?” She asked “I don’t have time to get caught up in one of your crazy ideas!”

“It doesn't go down,” Phineas said, “it only goes up.”

“It’s to keep people from leaving early and cheating,” Mason informed her.

They reached the top and were now inside the maze, a bunch of hallways and paths going in every direction surrounded them.

“We had the computer randomly load puzzles and brain teasers to make clearing each level more of a challenge.” Phineas explained “though unlike the escape tower we build…. This isn’t sentient.”

“How should we do this?” Baljeet asked “should we all work to-”

Baljeet was interrupted as Mabel grinned and grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled him off in a random direction.

 

“First one out is the smartest rat in the lab!” Phineas yelled before he and Ferb ran off too.

There was a beat before Buford and Bajeet ran down their own path together; leaving Isabella, Candace, and Melissa alone at the entrance.

—--------

The twins had slowed to a walk and were discussing their strategy “so, Phineas said brain teasers and puzzles, right?” Mabel asked.

“Yup” Dipper said “I helped design some of them. But the computer will randomize everything so I don’t know which ones we’ll get.”

Mabel noded “I guess we’ll just have to use our own individual strengths to beat everyone else!”

“Sure, but we might not win,” he said, “I mean, Phineas and Ferb are pretty good at this stuff too.”

Mabel was about to retort when they reached their first puzzle, the path widened to make way for a bunch of white glowing tiles set into the floor. Standing on the edge they watched as some of the tiles flashed blue in some kind of pattern.

“Oh” Dipper said, “it’s one of those types of puzzles.”

Mabel nodded “we just have to step on the tiles in order.”

“Yup,” the two considered it for a moment.

Mason watched as his sister jumped on the first one, which was in the second row of tiles. The two waited with bated breath and when nothing happened Dipper took a running start and jumped over to join her. He stumbled but luckily she caught him by the arm before he stumbled and landed on a different one.

The two kept on like that until they reached the end in which they shared a high five. “Yes!” Mabel cheered “Mystery Twins for the win.”

Dipper laughed too “come on, let’s see what’s next.”

—----------

Isabella was not having a good time, Melissa had found out that Candace was the one to earn forty-nine patches last summer and was gushing over the teen. And Candace was just… going along with it!

It was only because of her they had made it as far as they had come and yet Melissa was thanking Candace! Sure, the girl was only five but still! Some might call her jealous but Isabella was there when Candace got all of those patches and it was only because of her and her troop that she succeeded. Never mind the fact that Candace only did it to get concert tickets.

The three girls walked into the next room to find themselves on the edge of a ledge with a deep chasm before them. “How far down is it?” Mellissa asked.

“I don't know,” she said “I can't see the bottom. But it almost doesn't matter, so long as we get across it.”

“Of course we need to know how deep it is, so we know how scared we should be.” Candace said “we can use this grappling hook and rope to find out.” She grabbed the hook and rope that was hanging up on a nearby wall and dropped it. “One...Two...Three.” There was the sound of something hitting the ground. “You see? Now we know that it's three seconds deep.”

Isabella sighed “okay... Now that we want to get across, it sure would be nice to have a grappling hook and some rope” she said sarcastically.

“Oh yeah. Yeah, where can we get a grappling… “I know it's right over--!” Candace turned to where the set had used to hang “oops.”

“Oh, would you look at that?” Isabella held back the impulse to roll her eyes.

The door opened behind them and they turned to see the twins entering, the door closed behind them. “Oooh!” Mabel said “a deep pit!”

Dipper barely gave them a glance as he pushed past them, his face was one of focus as he examined their surroundings “there’s a metal ring up there” he pointed to the ceiling and turned to his twin “did you bring your grappling hook?”

“Yup!” She pulled it out and took a running start, shooting the hook at the right she grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled them across to the other side.

“Wait!” Candace yelled “can’t you help us get across?”

“Of course not!” Dipper yelled back.

“Yeah!” Mabel yelled “it is a contest after all.”

The two ran through the door, leaving the three girls behind. “Oh no!” Candace said “the platform's retracting!”

—-----------

By the time Candace, Isabella, and Melissa found their way out of the maze Dipper and Mabel were sitting on the grass eating snacks Mrs Flynn-Fletcher had given them (how the women didn’t notice the giant maze in her backyard the two will never know).

Candace ran inside and Isabella took Melissa back to her Lil’ Sparks bus to go home before joining them. At some point the maze started rolling away, luckily Phineas, Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet got out before it rolled right off a cliff.

Notes:

I was going to do something completely different for this chapter but I had classes start this week and I got into a new fandom and started a couple of fics for it so that has distracted me.

This chapter was based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'We Call It Maze.'

- Izzy

Chapter 67: Mabel's Scrapbook

Summary:

Mabel works on her scrapbook and thinks about some of the things she has done this summer.

Mabel hummed happily to herself as she sat on the floor of her bedroom, Waddles was lying lazily next to her. She sorted through a shoe box full of pictures she has taken over the course of this summer. Not much was going on today so she decided to update her scrapbook.

She selected one of the photos and grinned, it was of Dipper and Phineas holding a pair of nerf guns and trying to look tough.

—----------

Phineas and Ferb’s Big Idea for the day was the Ultimate Nerf War. They had built a giant course in their backyard, complete with plenty of spaces to hide and try and get an advantage, and consume Nerf Guns for all of their friends.

The battle was in full gear, it was every man for themselves! Mabel ran through one of the many hallways, gun in front of her. She stopped as she came face to face with Burford.

The boy grinned and pointed his gun at her, Mabel pointed hers right back and the two were caught in a standoff. Isabella suddenly ran past them, shooting them both with the foam bullets.

Mabel gasped “betrayal! From my own bestie.”

“There are no friends in war!” She yelled as she ran off.

Buford started running after her “I’ll get you for this Garcia-Shapiro!”

—----------

Mabel carefully glued the picture onto the blank scrapbook page along with a few others “that was a fun day.” She pulled out another photo from the box “oooh, it’s that time the Fireside Girl and I worked at the shelter and got all those puppies adopted!” She turned to show it to her pet pig “do you remember that Waddles?”

—---------

The girls were getting the Animal Shelter Volunteer patches and while not getting all of the dogs adopted was part of the requirements it was certainly encouraged. Mabel made a bunch of flyers, which the other girls helped pass out, and Isabella used her insane sales girl skills to help spread the word even more.

After that it was all about pairing up each person with their perfect pet. After all, you couldn’t just have any dog. It had to be the one you would best get along with!

By the end of the day all of the dogs, and most of the cats, had been given their perfect forever home!

“Wow girls” the shelter’s manager said “I’m impressed, you really outdid yourselves. We haven’t had a turn out like this in years.”

“It was no problem,” Isabella said, “we were just happy to help.”

“Well,” the woman said, “if you girls ever want to help more there are plenty of shelters around Danville that could use it.”

“Ooh!” Mabel said “maybe that’s something we could do tomorrow. But this time with the guys!”

“That’s a great idea” Isabella said, her voice then turned teasing “but are you sure it’s not so you can spend the day with Ferb?”

Mabel blushed as the other girls giggled “I was thinking more of you and Phineas.”

There was more giggling as Isabella blushed.

—------------

Mabel dumped a healthy amount of glitter onto the page and went back to the photo box. “Oh! How about that time Ferb and I went to the waterpark?”

—----------

Ferbm, being the gentleman that he was, held her hand as they carefully walked through the park; careful to keep an eye out for anything that would make Mabel trip and fall.

Mabel was keeping an eye out for a place for them to sit “how about there?” She started to point to a pair of empty chairs only for them to be quickly snagged by another couple. She pouted “never mind.”

It was a very hot day so it was no surprise that it was so busy. But that meant that the lines were long and there was nowhere for them to sit or put their things. She sighed, disappointed.

Ferb frowned “if you’d like we can go home. I’m sure Phineas would be happy to help me make something.”

Mabel shook her head “thank you but it’s not about the waterpark. I just wanted to do something fun with you. And I love our friends but I wanted to do something alone.”

Her boyfriend nodded his agreement. Lately it felt that they had barely any time together, just the two of them. Their relationship was so new one would expect them to spend all of their time together. But often they only saw each other when they were with the rest of the group.

She went to say something else but suddenly dark storm clouds filled the sky and it began to rain. People screamed and started running away, desperate to get dry, leaving the water park empty. Ferb quickly raised his towel above their heads.

Mabel started laughing “well I guess we were planning on getting wet anyways!”

—---------

Mabel colored dark clouds and raindrops onto the page “that was a weird day. I wonder how it started raining so quickly?”

She didn’t notice the slight shift in Waddle’s lazy posture before he returned back to normal.

Notes:

This was inspired by the Gravity Falls shorts; 'Mabel's Scrapbook.'

I had a busy weekend (I went to my friends' wedding) and spent most of today and yesterday driving. But I still wanted to put something out for you so here ya go!

There was also the benefit that I got to use some ideas I've had that aren't well fleshed enough to make a full chapter.

- Izzy

Chapter 68: Revenge Of Rodrigo

Summary:

When their siblings disappear into thin air (literally) Dipper and Ferb call upon an old contact.

Notes:

This was written by my friend, Supremebandit, with some light input and editing by me.

If you don't remember who Sans, he is a AU version of Dipper from, fic. He was first introduced in a crossover chapter, Many Trees In Danville.

Rodrigo stared down at the earth. It had taken him so much time to get what he needed to create this space station, a full year, all for his revenge.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz will meet his end, Perry the Platypus shall face the same, and he will have that girl that has been clouding his mind since his defeat by that silly gymnast agent. If he cannot have her, no one will!

Going to the controls of his Ubduct-inator, he began his grand evil scheme to take over the world.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Doof was doing his best to think of his next big scheme, although he was also subtly hinting to Vanessa how she could join him. “Oh, come on Vanessa. It could be fun, hasn’t there ever been anything that you wanted to take over? You could become the overlord of that Mall place you like so much, or we could create something to get revenge on one of your exes. Anything that can help you bring out the inner villain.”

Did I say subtly? Oops…

Vanessa was more focused on her plans for hanging with current friends rather than some jerk she used to date, nor wanting to take over the mall, no matter the
appeal it had. This was just something that her dad did every now and then, trying to show her how much fun villainy can be, to entice her to join in on his schemes.

And no, she didn’t want to be considered evil enough for the O.W.C.A. to assign her an agent nemesis.

Their current thing was interrupted though, seeing as there was a sudden wave of light, and they were suddenly somewhere else.

Heinz looked back and forth, completely confused why he and his daughter were in a cell. In space, seeing as he got a clear view out the window up front. “Well, this is awkward.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes at her father. “What have you gotten us into this time?”

Both moved their attention when they heard someone laughing. Stepping into the light, was someone they hadn’t seen for a year, Rodrigo. The biggest difference about him was the fact that he looked like he had started going to the gym since they last met, and lived there.

Rodrigo was wearing a lab coat, similar to Heinz’s, except the sleeves were torn off showing his muscular arms, the lab coat being the only piece of clothing that was the same, underneath he was wearing his prison uniform. “Hello Vanessa, do I look like someone you would enjoy siding with now?”

Vanessa had a deadpanned look as she answered. “Nope. You look more like someone trying too hard to be Tony the Tiger, without wanting to look like someone that wants to look like Tony the Tiger.”

Rodrigo looked down at his orange jumpsuit, his white lab coat, and even took a moment to look at and even flex his muscles. Turning to pout at the girl, “well, I hope you change your tune after you see what I have planned.”

Rodrigo turned around and began to mess with the settings on his machine. He had set it to kidnap Heinz and Vanessa specifically, because he knew their location. But his next target would be a bit more of a challenge, Perry the Platypus.

It was more difficult, because he didn’t have the exact location of the agent, so the plan was to target the type of technology within their hats, that he knew they had on their person at all times. He had plenty of chances to study the little fedoras while within his cell, whenever the animals would walk by and check on him, so he knew how to go about this for maximum proficiency.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Mabel has been having a wonderful day. She had noticed that Waddles was extra sticky and dirty from a mud bath he had somehow taken during his little trip off to wherever it was that he and Perry went off to. Which also brings about the second half of things, Perry was also rather sticky and dirty from assumably the same mud that Waddles found.

As they say, those that get messy together, get clean together. She had joined up with Phineas and Ferb to work as a team and clean their pets in a fun manner. It mostly went down to giving them a regular bath, because they didn’t want them to run off.

Though Mabel provided some soap for Waddles, the kids wound up giving Waddles and Perry a bath in the Flynn-Fletcher home. Candace had shrugged before heading out to help Stacey with an issue, apparently something was worrying the girl about Vanessa, because she was unresponsive to her calls.

They hoped everything was okay and decided to check on their friend/partner to make sure.

Here at the house, everything was going smoothly. Waddles and Perry were both well behaved, and enjoying getting cleaned after a day of playing. They were even calm throughout Mabel and the boys singing a spontaneous music number.

Mabel loved this town.

As the two animals were getting toweled off, Perry in Phineas’ arms, Waddles in Mabel’s, there was a sudden wave of light, and the four disappeared into thin air. Ferb was left speechless, or more so than usual, already being a man of few words.

Ferb’s only plan was to seek help from the only sibling left with him, Dipper.

Hopefully, he could help shed some light on what just happened.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dipper was calmly reading his book under the shade of the tree within his front yard. He had chosen against washing the lovable pig, because love him as he does, Waddles was Mabel’s responsibility. Mabel has been doing leaps and bounds in maturing and being responsible with Waddles, and both he and their dad were proud of her.

Dipper looked up in surprise as he somehow heard the panic within Ferb, as the boy, silently as usual, rushed into his yard. “Dipper, our siblings just disappeared in a strange wave of light, and I was hoping you would be able to assist me in figuring things out, what with your advanced knowledge of the supernatural and all.”

Dipper widened his eyes as he rushed into his house, followed closely by Ferb, as the two boys rushed to Dipper’s room and began to go through his books to see if they could find anything. Pulling out the books of the supernatural phenomena, and placing them on his desk for the two boys to search.

“I will need to know everything you can recall about the incident, anything and everything could help us narrow down the suspected abductors. My first thought is aliens, but that is my fallback guess until I have more information to work with.”

Ferb nodded, seeing the boy work like this was kind of reassuring for his own state of mind. Ferb may be calm on the outside, but he was still greatly worried for their siblings, and watching them disappear was rather scary.

“The light was in more of a wave pattern than a flash, and it was hard to pinpoint with the speed in which it came and went, but the color was somewhat red, maybe a purplish hue.” The other boy started to look pale. “Dipper, is everything alright?”

Ferb had no means of knowing, but the color he described, the fact that it looked like a wave, brought very unpleasant flashbacks to Dipper, of Weirdmageddon.
The thoughts were unpleasant enough that the boy just started to hyperventilate a bit, his only hope would be if this was just him overthinking things.

Dipper took a deep breath. “I can’t think of anything from my books with that description.”

Dipper stepped into his sister’s room, Ferb not far behind, and pulled a familiar laptop out from under Mabel’s bed, opening it and activating it. “Maybe someone on here can help.”

As Dipper was doing his best to figure out what to press, the screen lit up showing his own face, but more feminine. “Hello, I don’t recognize you. Are you one of Sans’ new friends?”

Dipper looked nervous, and uncomfortably itched his side, specifically underneath his binder. Dipper had been rather cautious with using the laptop since Mabel wound up talking with a male version of her, and they enjoyed passing back and forth party ideas and song suggestions.

But this was something he wasn’t fully ready to handle mentally. The girl on the other end asked, “are you doing okay dude?”

Dipper just nodded, “fine. I just needed to get a hold of Sans, it’s an emergency.”

The female Dipper smiled as she noticed his nervousness. “Well, if you hit the red button in the corner, it will get a hold of Sans. He asks us to only use it in emergencies, so if something is wrong, I hope you guys get it all figured out.”

Dipper hit the button as soon as the girl said that. “If you ever do want to talk about what is bothering you, you can call me back. I hope things work out.”

As Dipper let the screen go blank, he turned to talk with Ferb, only to be surprised as Sans was also standing there with him. “So, what’s the emergency?”

Dipper took a deep breath, heading to his closet as he started to explain. “Our siblings were kidnapped by a wave of energy that Ferb described as reddish and purplish.”

Ferb looked slightly confused as Dipper took a pill, shiver for a moment, and reached into his shirt to pull off his bindings. What Ferb didn’t know was that the pills were a gift from Sans to Dipper as a way to, temporarily, be biologically male. Dipper didn’t use them very often, only times like this when his dysphoria was worse than usual.

Sans nodded as he turned to Ferb. “Take me to where they were taken from. Waves have a starting point and ending point, similar to my shortcuts. But I have to be quick if I want to follow that path.”

As the three boys rushed over to Ferb’s place, Sans explained a bit about his own plan. “Normally, my shortcuts need a solid start and end point, and I would need to have been there to use it to visit. With it being an energy wave that pulled them through, it should have a trail I can follow.”

As the three boys made it to the bathroom, Sans closed his eyes as he focused. “I can get us there, and you will be glad to know, this has nothing to do with what you were thinking Mason.”

Dipper began to relax at the good news, Sans using his new name helped with his nerves and the dysphoria from talking to the female him. Mason was not ready to confront her, the issues were all in his own head, but somehow, looking at the girl was like looking at a part of himself that he rejected. It messed with his dysphoria in an all new way, and was kind of upsetting.

But he would face down Bill Cipher himself to help Mabel, facing his own emotional issues was a small step… Actually, Dipper didn’t know if it was a step below or above yet. Let him punch Bill a couple times and he will get back to us on it.

Sans placed a hand on Ferb’s and Dipper’s shoulders, and the three were gone the next second, just missing Linda stepping in and looking around in confusion. “I could have sworn I saw the boys coming in here. Oh well, I’m sure they’re fine.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Vanessa and Heinz both watched as the light died down, revealing three kids, each holding a pet. Rodrigo frowned at the additional tagalongs. “What, I was only aiming for Agent P, how did I get a bunch of snot-nosed brats?”

The six were a bit disoriented, as Phineas turned and noticed Isabella looked ready to throw up. “Are you alright Isabella?”

Phineas had been standing by Mabel, so when they teleported in, they were able to lean on one another for balance. But the moment Phineas heard someone else stumble, he turned and noticed his friend plopped onto the floor, and rushed over to help her up, Perry now under his left arm as he used his right to help Isabella stand.

Even in this situation, Isabella still took a second to bask in Phineas’ caring gaze, barely catching Mabel giving her a thumbs up. Waddles even looked like he was nodding in support, though that might have been Mabel nudging him so he looked like it.

Rodrigo glared as he growled. “Oh well, one agent or three, you shall all perish either way.”

Heinz cleared his throat. “So, you know me, Vanessa, and my nemesis, putting us at a disadvantage here. Are you going to introduce yourself anytime soon?”

Rodrigo looked at Heinz in surprise, “are you saying that you forgot who I was? After all I went through for my vengeance, and you don’t even remember me? I am Rodrigo, the exchange assistant from a year ago. I planned to rip the Tri-State Area in half to instill fear into the world so as to take it over?”

Heinz widened his eyes as he spoke, “oh! I remember you now. Did you do something with your hair?”

Rodrigo took a deep breath, holding it for longer than necessary, and released slowly. “I am going to shoot something, and since I happen to have so many hostages, I guess one missing won’t hurt.”

Rodrigo pulled a small handgun out of his lab coat, aiming it at the kids, not caring which one he hit. Perry, Waddles, and Pinky each became serious as they stared down the gun, ready to do what must be done.

Until Heinz Doofenshmirtz stepped in the way, getting shot in his side.

Everyone was surprised by the action, the three kids stepping forward to check on him, as Vanessa rushed over shouting. “Dad!”

Rodrigo raised a brow as Mabel was the one to ask him why. Heinz chuckled, “I may be an evil scientist, but I am also a father. I love my girl, and if your parents were here instead of me, I would hope they would do the same for her.”

Rodrigo rolled his eyes. “I have more bullets you know?”

Heinz frowned at him. “Yeah, and I can still move. If you have some big plan for revenge on me, you will want me alive to rub your victory in my face.”

The three hidden Agents stepped in front of the group. Beginning to growl at Rodrigo, their snarls were something that caught each of the kids off guard, having never heard them this angry. Waddles has never growled before, Mabel didn’t even know he could. Phineas has gone on record saying that Perry doesn’t do much, and Pinky only ever did his adorable yipping bark when excited to spend time with Isebella.

This was both worrying, and heartwarming, all three adorable, well behaved pets, were getting aggressive to protect them. As Rodrigo rolled his eyes once more, he aimed the gun again. “Tell me, do you feel lucky?”

For a split second, the agent’s almost stood up to fight the man, until the gun was kicked into the air before Rodrigo got kicked away from the others. Sans swung his arm behind him, bones shredding apart the bars keeping the others imprisoned. Dipper and Ferb rushed forward and hugged their siblings and friends. Though not knowing that Isabella was there before, they were still happy she was fine.

Sans walked over and handed Heinz a hotdog. “Eat up, trust me, it will help.”

Heinz shrugged as he ate the hotdog, ignoring the meows it gave him. Vanessa smiled and chuckled as she wiped her tears away as her father stretched out and checked himself over. “Wow, I have never felt better. What was in that thing?”

Sans chuckled, though was interrupted from answering as Rodrigo shouted in anger. “Who are you? How did you get here? Those other brats were obviously near the agents when I zapped them here. But you have no excuse, so how the *bleep* did you get here!?”

Sans’ smile turned cruel as he turned to the man. “There are children here buddy. Keep yourself under control there. You’re already in for a bad time, so I advise you to not, make it worse.”

Rodrigo shouted in rage as the kids cowered back. Rodrigo looked as if he had snapped, because the next thing any of them knew, he pulled a syringe out of his lab coat, and injected whatever was in it, into himself. “Forget letting you watch me take over the world, I will just get rid of all of you, and dance on your graves in the dump that I decide to leave you in.”

Sans sighed, “the stars are shining, the earth is lovely.” Sans stretched out, pulling his scarf and coat off as he dropped them off to the kids behind him, Mabel grabbing the scarf and holding it close, recalling how Sans mentioned it belonging to his brother. He must have pulled it off to insure it wasn’t damaged.

Rodrigo’s body began to bulge with almost twice as much muscle, his height being almost twice what it was. Sans held his arms out as he also gained height, growing to be about seven or so feet, though the thing that really caused everyone to flinch back, was the fact that his skin didn’t grow with him.

“With a view like this, punks like you.”

Sans had gained length on his limbs and torso. His forearms, shins, and abs were pulled up as if they were clothing, and he simply grew out of them. His shin bones, forearm bones, and spinal column, were all on display, as six, bone structured wings burst from his shoulder blades, and a bone tail, the tip looking similar to a scythe, grew from his tail bone.

What only Rodrigo saw was how Sans’ face ripped open, the rips around his left eye now left it looking like a hollow eye socket, a glowing blue ring in the center. His smile ripped open his left cheek, nothing but teeth showing all the way back. His right eye gained a red glow.

Sans threw his hands out towards his sides, a glowing red spear appearing in each hand, as dragon skulls appeared over the wings. “Should be suffering in purgatory.” As Sans finished, music began to play from somewhere.

Mabel looked around in surprise. “He has a boss form and bopping theme? Why didn’t he mention this before?”

Sans was fast, flying straight forward as he swung both spears at Rodrigo, who grabbed them, and immediately regretted it as he began to scream from the burning sensation he experienced.

Sans kicked Rodrigo in his chin, a wave of bones following him as he rose up. Rodrigo showed that his new form was for more than size and threat, seeing as he flipped around and slammed his fists into the bones, and though they stabbed into him a bit, they all shattered. Leaving him with some minor wounds on his arms.

As Sans was fighting, and the kids were calming down from the shock Sans’ change had caused, Phineas and Ferb took notice of the machine Rodrigo was at earlier, and ran over to see what they could do to get them back home.

The machine looked to be just a control panel attached to a tube, obviously to hide where the finer parts were. Heinz showed his intellect here, seeing how easy it was for him to get access to the data, bringing up the schematics. Phineas and Ferb were helping him go over them as the three identified what they had to do to send them home.

Phineas sighed as he pointed out, “according to this, there’s no return function. We will have to do a little rewiring, the point we have to open up is a bit up there.”

Ferb nodded, “someone will have to climb this completely smooth and flat surface.”

Mabel smiled as she swirled her tongue around her mouth for a second as Heinz gave it a shot, only for the man to flop onto his back as he groaned from the stiffness in his side. Better he may be, but he is still not fully healed. Mabel licked her hands, before she jumped onto the surface, climbing it like a spider themed hero.

She grinned down at them, “I always keep a select bit of candy in the back of my jaw for emergencies, never thought I would be using it for this.”

Dipper facepalmed, as Ferb released a small chuckle at his girlfriend’s words.

Rodrigo took notice of the kids. Taking advantage of Sans punching him into the ground again, he grabbed a chair swinging it at Sans, who pulled up a wall of bones to stop it, starting to look bored as he battled it out with the man, until Rodrigo smirked as he reaffirmed his grip long enough to miss Sans and send the chair flying at the girl climbing the surface of his machine.

Sans turned to look at where Rodrigo was aiming, only to widen his eyes as he began to sweat.

Dipper took notice of the lul in the fighting and the skip in the music, and turned to notice a chair heading right for Mabel. Dipper shouted in fear. “Mabel!”

The teen didn’t realize what was happening, but his eyes gained a glow, the left green, the right blue. Mabel gained a blue shine around her, as a large glowing green frying pan appeared and floated about behind her, protecting her from the projectile that would have impaled her.

The others that were still on the ground looked at Dipper with surprise, but decided to wait till everything was done, so as to avoid looking a gift horse in the mouth. Phineas smiled as he turned to look back at Mabel. “She needs to go up a little bit more and she will be there, just a little more.”

Dipper never allowed his focus on his sister to waver as he took notice of the song taking a bit quicker of a tune, the sounds of the battle behind them returning with more ferocity. Dipper couldn’t find it in himself to care if Sans went so far as to kill the guy for what he tried to do to Mabel. But so focused Dipper was, he didn’t realize that he was the one lifting Mabel up instead of Sans, listening to Phineas as the boy directed him to the proper height she needed to be.

As Phineas spoke loudly, “perfect!” Ferb began to shout what Mabel needed to do, as the girl just kicked the plate off, not caring how much damage happened to the rather flimsy paneling, before it flopped off to the side, hitting a wall on the way to the floor.

Sans was showing his own anger, probably a bit of his ptsd from what he viewed and heard, as he began to throw harder punches, holding back less as he impaled Rodrigo in his left arm, pretty much removing the limb from the man through repeated stabbing.

Rodrigo was smart enough to avoid the blasts of magic from the skulls that looked more like they were trying to eat him now, he might be starting to regret throwing the chair to impale the brat that was messing with his machine. He was now down to one arm, and was facing a demon-like creature that was angry with him.

Sans roared as he swung both arms out and upwards, creating a ring of floating glowing red spears around him, before he threw his arms towards Rodrigo, the spears nearly finishing what Sans started with the first limb with the other three. If he hadn’t jumped back and grabbed the gun and began shooting enough to stop them from stabbing him too much.

Rodrigo was left with nearly a dozen spears piercing him in several locations across his body, only the grotesque muscles he gained from his drug kept him from being impaled too deeply, which was now over.

Rodrigo was panting in fear as his muscles began to steam and fizzle out, going back to his old look, his jumpsuit now having some rips in it, as well as his lab coat, the muscles he built over his time in prison also deflating slightly. The spears thankfully fizzled out, and Rodrigo was now faced with a seven foot tall demon with several dragon skulls charging up beams, holding a couple spears, ready and willing to impale him. His demonic features were staring at him with a lot of hate.

As Sans was about to send the many attacks he had, looking to kill the man, he heard the kids shout to him. “Sans, we got everything ready, we can go home now.”

Sans shook his head, hearing Mabel’s voice snapping him from his rage.

Sans turned to see Dipper lowering Mabel slowly to the floor as Phineas talked him through it somehow. Subconscious suggestion into action. Mabel decided to holler at him in an attempt to get him to stop his killing attack, the slight fear in her eyes as she watched him.

Sans smiled as he nodded, pinning Rodrigo in place by having blue glowing bones stab up from underneath him. “Move, and they hurt, stay still and you will be fine.”

Sans powered down as he walked over to the group. “Everything work out with you guys?”

As Mabel was reaching the floor, she wound up just falling the last two feet as Dipper rushed forward to hug her. Phineas smiled, “way to go Mason. When did you get the ability to do that?”

Dipper looked confused. “Do what?”

Sans laughed. “I can explain when we get home. I would just shortcut us, but that guy doesn’t look like the cooperating type. If we don’t send him with us, he may just try this again, so let’s drag him back and let the proper authorities handle him.”

They all suddenly heard a scream from Rodrigo, turning to notice that his right leg looked to have been torn from the center outward. “I told him not to move. Blue means stop with my soul magic, orange means go. Idiot.”

The kids did their best to ignore looking over there. Sans frowned, “I will fix him up after we get back, I promise.”

The kids nodded as they activated the machine, a wave of energy flowing around them all as they suddenly found themselves within Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. Where Sans made a show of pulling out a glowing star from behind him, giving it a squeeze, Rodrigo found himself back to a hundred percent, though he was less muscular still, he had all his limbs.

The kids looked at Sans in shock over what they just witnessed, before anyone had the chance to make a comment, there was a slightly panicked knocking on the door. Heinz, answering as if it were any other day, greeted the kids on the other side. “Hello, welcome to my home. Who are you?”

Phineas and Ferb waved at Candace as she came in with Stacy and Jeremy. As Stacy rushed over to talk with Vanessa, Candace stepped over to her brothers, Jeremy explaining what they were there for to Heinz.

Rodrigo stood up and began to get angry. “Do you all think this is over? I will have my vengeance on you all. I won’t miss my shot this time.”

Seeing as the man was angrily pointing at them all, and noticing blood on the weird pharmacist guy, Candace put two and two together, and she felt like giving this guy four. “Are you saying you shot at my brothers?”

Rodrigo scoffed at the girl, before he grabbed the gun not far from him, that he had managed to get a hold of when they teleported them, though before he could take aim, he was punched in the jaw, solidly.

Rodrigo layed there unconscious, his jaw hanging in a way that said it was broken.

Everyone looked at Candace, Jeremy being the only one to be able to form words. “What a woman.”

Candace walked over to her brothers, giving them both a hug. “You two are going to explain, now preferably.”

Sans chuckled as he began the explanation. “Psycho there that you just slugged, nice form b t dubs, kidnapped five people, and three pets, Ferb and Dipper’s reaction was to figure out what happened and called me for help. I came, we conquered, and you slugged him out. Cliff notes version, the pharmacist needs to call the cops, and deal with this guy, while we go get some nice cream. I know this great little stand that always has some free samples.”

Dipper swallowed as he looked at Sans. “Are you going to explain how I was able to do what I did?”

Sans nodded as he began to walk out, the rest following, besides Hienz, who just waved goodbye, before stepping back as several human members of the O.W.C.A. stepped in to handle Rodrigo. No need to raise suspicion by having animals do it.

As the group was walking, Sans pulled a bunch of nice creams out and passed them around, everyone either giving a slight head shake or a giggle at the pun on the wrapper after silently reading them.

Sans began to explain, “I am an alternate version of you, as I use my magic, it intermingles with the energy of this world, and as with all forms of energy, it cannot be destroyed, so it tries to return it. This world however, can’t tell the difference between us, causing it to give some of my magic to you.”

Dipper looked to be in thought, as Mabel frowned. “So, if you stay, you will eventually lose all your magic?”

Sans just chuckled. “Normally, the world would give me back all of my magic, because it’s from me, but since I don’t belong here, it gives it to your Mason instead. However, I don’t have the time to wait around to give the universe enough time to drain me to that point. But this does have the side effect of activating your own soul magic.”

Phineas, Ferb and Isabella were all silently listening, finding this all fascinating, as Dipper couldn’t wait to write this down in his journal when he got back home, having left it behind in his panic to help Mabel.

The teens were watching in fascination, wishing they had something like this happen for them.

Sans continued, “your color green, is kindness. It is mostly attuned to healing, stalwart. A protector and guardian that will stand in your defense, while being able to heal you. The last soul that used it, could conjure healing eggs and bacon.”

“But one of his eyes glowed blue too,” Isabella said.

Sans nodded. “That would be my soul magic that he gained. Blue magic is my monster magic that Dipper gained through the connection my Sans half has with my Dipper half, basically filtering it into his.”

“Does this mean I will always have magic from now on?” Dipper asked.

Sans nodded. “Yup, it’s yours to do with as you please. The universal algorithm that dictates how your world goes has decided that it is a part of you. So you can use telekinesis, the magic frying pan, and if you try hard enough, possibly my shortcuts. You already summoned your soul weapon, the frying pan, though I think my magic activating yours might have altered it slightly, so after you filter out my influence, it might change shape. It might take a couple hours, maybe a day, but it will reform to match your soul. My soul weapons as Sans are bones, while my Mason half has spears.”

“Is there a way I can learn more about it?” Dipper asked “or like… How to control it?”

“Soul magic listens to your heart, if you desire your magic to do something, it will do its best to do it. It acts more like a muscle though, the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. But it will always be an extension of your soul, so if you desire it, it will help you. Like how Candace pulled that strength from within when she slugged that crazy guy, and broke his jaw when I didn’t no matter how much I punched him.”

Sans pulled out a small pamphlet and handed it to Dipper and the teen began to look through it.

“I wonder what that guy meant when he talked about agents” Mabel wondered aloud, still cuddling Waddles.

Sans smirked secretively, having gotten the info when he scanned the pets with his judgment skill. “He was screaming like a crazy person, Mabes, and apparently shot at you guys. I would assume he was just angry he missed his original target and was originally aiming for someone like an FBI guy. He obviously escaped from jail, so he might have been aiming for the guy that threw him in there.”

Mabel nodded “yeah, that makes sense.”

“Must not have been very good at the whole ‘evil’ thing” Phineas commented “since he got us three and our pets instead of whoever he was after. Though I do wonder why he went after Vanessa and their dad.”

Sans chuckled as they neared their homes. “That pamphlet I gave you Dipper, holds a couple nuggets of knowledge about how soul magic works, and what limits it has. Just remember, it’s like a nice pair of socks. It’s yours to wear, turn into a puppet, or leave in the corner of the living room as your brother tells you to pick it up.”

Sans turned and smiled specifically at Mabel. “I am glad you are fine, Mabes.” Sans finished as he gave Mabel a hug, before stepping off behind a tree, where he apparently shortcutted elsewhere, seeing as he was no longer around.

Notes:

I hoped you guys enjoyed this, Supremebandit and I have had this done for a while but I've been waiting for the chance to post it.

I ended up picking today because the two chapters I'm working on aren't done yet and this they're rather... Big, to say the least, I didn't want to rush through them. Hopefully one of them is done by next week.

So, Dipper has magic now! I'm not planning on him using it a whole bunch but if guys have ideas for scenarios feel free to leave them in the comments!

- Izzy

Chapter 69: Memory Walk

Summary:

The brothers pull out their old Mind Machine.

Dipper trailed after Mabel as she headed to the neighbors’ yard. He was exhausted.

After coming back from Gravity Falls last summer he and his sister had frequent nightmares about Bill and Weirdmageddon. But Dipper had thought they had stopped on the account of not getting any about a month before the move.

But for the past few days they had come back with a vengeance, he guessed it was triggered from the little kidnaping thing last week. And the worst part was that it seemed that he was the only one getting them!

Sure, Dipper was glad Mabel wasn’t getting any more nightmares but there was something…. Comforting about knowing that you aren’t alone.

He held back a yawn as they slipped through the gate, Mabel happily greeted their friends.

“Mason?”

“What?” He jolted himself out of his thoughts and looked over at Isabella, who had spoken. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah” he waved away her concern “just tired. That’s all.”

None of his friends looked convinced but Phineas started to go over their project for the day. “So you guys remember the mind machine we built a couple summers ago?”

“A mind machine?” Mabel repeated.

“Yeah,” Phineas said, “it helps us go into someone’s subconscious. We did it to help us find the root of our fears so we could overcome them.”

“Oh…” Dipper said “we did something like that once. But we used a spell and not a machine.”

“Really?” Phineas asked “what was it like?”

The twins looked at each other “it was…. Fine.” Dipper said.

“Well we decided to pull out the old plans and improve them,” Phineas explained.

“Oh, that’s pretty cool,” Mason said.

“Great!” Phineas said “you can go first then.”

“Wait, what?”

“Well we got to start with someone” Phineas said.

“Why do I have to go first?”

“What’s the big deal?” Buford asked, “are you scared or something.”

“No!” Dipper quickly denied. “It’s fine… I’ll do it! But I just have a couple of questions.”

“Sure, ask away,” Phineas said.

“Will I be able to go with you?”

“Of course” Phineas said “you can guide the adventure however you want.”

“So if there’s something I want you guys to avoid or when I’m ready to be done…”

“Then we’ll avoid it or stop” Phineas said “it’s your mind, you have complete control.

Dipper sighed “okay, let’s do it,”

“Great!” Phineas said “let us get set up and then we’ll get started!”

Mabel pulled her brother aside “are you sure about this? You seem…”

“It’s fine,” Mason said. “Besides, what's the worst that can happen?”

—-----------

While the others were getting set up Buford and Baljeet were off to the side, talking. “Huh, the transactions between scenes are back to being smooth.” Baljeet said “I really missed our usual narrator.”

“We weren't even a part of last week’s chapter,” Buford reminded him “are you really that upset at not being able to argue with the disembodied voices?”

“That was the disembodied voice that blamed me for the marshmallows for our rocky road ice-cream, which wasn't my fault.” The Indian teen defended “I don't make a habit of it.”

“Yeah, sure, and since we weren't a part of the episode, why would you have complaints then?” Buford asked.

Baljeet blinked “are you saying that us not being a part of that chapter doesn't upset you?”

“Not really, I mean, even Isabella was more an afterthought due to something the substitute almost forgot about until he read Chapter 41 again, where I got that puppy helmet thing to find Pinkie.” Buford explained “we just would have just been counted as fanservice for extra laughs if he did include us.”

“With how much you just argued about it, one would think you were a bit sour about not being included as well.”

“Of course I am.” Buford said “we could have added in more laughs, even if we didn't need to be there, we still could’ve done something. I don't like being left out, it makes me feel unpopular, like you.

Baljeet huffed “well, that was rude for you to point that out, no matter how true it is.”

“Okay!” Phineas said, interrupting their conversation “I think we are ready.”

“Oh.. yay….” Dipper deadpanned.

“You don’t have to go first if you don’t want to,” Isabella said.

“Thanks but it’s fine,” Dipper said.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yup.” Mason walked over to the two brothers were waiting. “What do I need to do?”

He soon found himself sitting on a chair with sticky pads that were attached to wires on his forehead and back of his neck. The others were also hooked up, clearly excited to see Dipper’s subconscious. Baljeet and his two-weeks-of-psychology-camp experience was staying behind as mission control.

Mabel looked at her brother and gave him a look, he shrugged and gave a what was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

“Alright everybody” Baljeet said “I want you all to count backwards from three.”

“Three…. Two….”

When Dipper opened his eyes he was in what looked like a movie studio, he stood in a long hallway with doors on either side and the hall was littered in what looked like movie props. But a closer look showed that they were things Dipper recognised, things from his life.

Already he could stop the Third Journal sitting on a cart with his grow-shrink flashlight, the President’s Key, and a jar with a giant eyeball inside.

“Woah!” Turning he saw his sister and friends (minus Baljeet) behind him. He had forgotten they would be here.

“I didn’t know you enjoyed film” Ferb said.

“It’s one of my special interests,” he admitted, “but I haven’t gotten the chance to do it much this summer.”

“Ooh!” Phineas said “what if we made our own movie? That’s a good idea… But one for another day. Remind me to write that down, Ferb.”

The green haired teen gave thumbs up.

“There’s a lot of Mabel’s stuff in here,” Isabella said, looking into a cardboard box full of yarn.

“Yeah” Mabel said, “some of his stuff is probably in my mindscape.”

“Mind…scape?” Phineas asked.

“You know,” Mabel said, “the place inside your mind. Mindscape!”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“What’s through those doors?’ Buford asked.

“I don’t know” Mason walked up to one of them, they reminded him of the doors leading to movie sets. He pulled it open and found himself in the Mystery Shack Gift Shop.

“Woah!” Mabel said, eyes wide.

“I bet these doors lead to copies of the places I like,” Dipper realized. Mabel ran through the doors and he groaned “please don’t break anything!” He said “this is my brain, after all.”

Their friends followed them inside to explore “what is this place?” Phineas asked.

“It’s the Mystery Shack Gift Shop!” Mabel said happily.

“What’s the Mystery Shack?” Buford asked.

“It’s the tourist trap our Grunkle Stan used to run before turning the reins over to his best employee” Dipper explained.

Mason looked around and found that instead of merchinse on the shelfs there were more props but also rolls of film. Each one was carefully stored in round metal boxes and labeled with tape and sharpie. These must be his memories.

It wasn’t long before the others got bored and they left the gift shop to explore a different set. Mabel and Buford ran off with Ferb and Isabella close behind them, leaving Phineas and Dipper behind to trail after them.

Phineas closed the doors to the gift shop set with a bit of a frown “everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Phineas said, “I’m just a bit confused.”

“Why?” Dipper asked, “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Phineas said “but your mind doesn’t look like I expected it to be?”

“How is it supposed to look?” Mason asked, trying not to get offended.

“Well, first of all,” Phineas motioned to the area around them, “everything is so normal-looking. When we tested this on Candace last summer, there were bright abstract thoughts flying all over the place!”

"Huh.”

“Not to mention the ambiance,” Phineas shook his head, “I mean, no offense Dipper, but it’s pretty gloomy in here.”

Looking around Dipper could see what he meant, while the space was filled with color it looked almost… Drained. Dull.

He crossed his arms, defensive. “I don’t know why you’re surprised, Mabel and I have had a pretty rough year. You don’t go through what we did and not be affected.”

Dipper walked off after the rest of their friends and found they were in a set that was modeled after the living room in their childhood home back in Piedmont. Mabel was sitting on the couch, bouncing a little.

Burford was rummaging through more rolls of film “dude,” he said “can you not do that?”

“What? Why?” Burford asked.

“Those are my memories” Dipper said “I don’t want you looking at them, besides, we don’t have a projector to play them.”

“Then why do you care?” Buford asked.

“Because they’re mine and I don’t want you breaking them!”

“Buford” Isabella scolded “we are guests in Dipper’s mind so leave them alone.”

“Fine,” he groaned, putting the case back.

“Good,” Isabella said, “now apologize.”

“Right,” Buford sighed and turned to him “sorry Pine Tree.”

Dipper froze, his vision went hazy and it felt like his throat was filled with cotton. Around him his mindscape went to chaos, someone was talking but his ears were buzzing.

Then, he became more aware and found Mabel standing in front of him. “Dipper?”

He grabbed her hand and started running, behind him his friends were yelling but he didn’t stop.

—------------

Dipper didn’t know how long he ran for but eventually he found himself in one of his inner-mind film sets. This one was of his and Mabel’s attic bedroom back in Gravity Falls. He let go of Mabel’s hand and curled up on his bed.

“Dipper” Mabel said softly “what’s going on, why did you run off?”

“Buford,” he muttered, “he called me Pine Tree… Like….” Dipper found himself unable to finish but Mabel knew what he was talking about.

“I don’t think he knew,” Mabel said softly “I mean, you know how Buford likes his nicknames.”

Mason buried his head in his lap, feeling a semblance of comfort from the familiar environment of the attic. Even if it wasn’t exactly the same. Mabel rubbed his back softly.

“Oh, hey guys” Mabel suddenly said, looking up Dipper saw the rest of his friends standing in the doorway.

Quickly, he composed himself “hey…”

“Are you okay?” Phineas asked, concerned “you just… Ran off.”

Dipper didn’t answer and Mabel stood up, fixing Buford with a hard look. “You called Dipper something, before he ran off. What was it?”

Buford looked confused “what, you mean Pine Tree?”

Mason flinched “why?” Mabel asked.

“What’s the problem? I mean, it’s just a nickname” Buford said “I mean, you guys are Pines and he’s always wearing that hat of his.”

“So it was just a nickname?” Mabel clarified, relaxing a bit.

“Yeah” Buford said “I mean I give everyone nicknames and you said I couldn’t use the ones you made up so I’ve had to get creative.”

“Well don’t use that one” Dipper said “ever.”

Buford went to say something, maybe protest but Isabella elbowed him “uh yeah, sure, no problem.”

He nodded and stood, “thanks.”

“Are you okay now?” Phineas asked.

“I think so” Dipper took a deep breath “but I think I’m done with the adventure.”

“Understandable,” Phineas said, he said in his walkie-talkie, “Baljeet, can you let us out?”

Later that day, when Dipper was reflecting on the adventure in his Journal he sighed softly to himself. He thought he was over his trauma from Bill and was moving on, but now it seemed things were a bit more complicated than that.

Notes:

I bet you guys thought the twins didn't have a Bill Trauma anymore, well you were wrong! I feel bad for their friends, they have no idea what's going on.

I hope you guys liked this chapter, I really love how it turned out. It certainly helps that I've been planning this one for a while.

- Izzy

Chapter 70: A Challenge Of The Heart

Summary:

Gideon Gleeful come to Danville.

Mabel sat next to her brother on the living room floor, the two of them eating cereal while watching their favorite cartoon; Duck-tective. The show was only aired in small towns in rural areas, like Gravity Falls, so while living in Piedmont they hadn’t been able to watch it. So the twins were delighted to discover that the show aired in Danville.

“I think they’re about to find out who the murderer is,” Dipper said excitedly, leaning forward.

“Yes!” Mabel said, “Finally, we’ve been waiting for like, two episodes.”

The two waited with bated breath only for it to be interrupted by a commercial break “ah boo!” Mabel groaned.

“Lame” Dipper rolled his eyes, leaning back against the couch.

Their dad then walked in “can you two not eat on the floor?”

“Nope” Mabel smiled and took a big bite of her overly sugary cereal.

Dan sighed “normally I would make you two move to the table but I got a meeting I need to get to. So just promise me you won’t get stuff all over the carpet.”

“Sure thing Dad,” Dipper agreed.

The man rushed out the door, yelling a quick ‘love you’ as he went and the two turned their attention back to the TV where a very familiar commercial started to play.

Familiar, but somewhat different. It still had all his psychic pizazz as the first time they’d seen it, but instead of poking fun at Stan, it showed some of who they knew were the inmates that started to hang out with Gideon at the end of last summer. They were explaining how it was a tour around the world to share Gideon’s gifts with everyone.

Dipper stared at the screen, deadpanned “I thought he was done with the psychic thing?”

Mabel just leaned back and groaned out. “As long as he’s done with the me thing, I don’t care what he does.”

“I mean yeah, true” Dipper agreed “but do we really think that’ll happen? I mean, he’s here. In Danville. Where we live.”

“Dipper” Mabel sighed “I doubt he knows we’re here. How would he know?”

“You never know with that kid,” Dipper shrugged. “Though I guess as long as none of our friends end up name dropping one of us. We already debunked him being a real psychic after all.”

“Well, let’s just forget about it” Mabel said “he’ll be gone in a few days and then everything will go back to normal.”

—----------

“Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!” It was the day after the twins saw Gideon’s commercial and they were hanging out with their friends. “We’re going to a psychic show.”

“What?!” The twins said in unison.

Baljeet looked a little iffy. “While I don’t believe in psychics in general, I am curious about your two’s opinion. Phineas, Ferb, do you two believe psychics are real?”

Buford huffed. “I believe it.”

Baljeet rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe anything without solid proof.”

Buford smirked. “I predict that you will get a wedgie.”

“You give me wedgies every day, that’s not a prediction, it’s just you giving me a heads up.”

“What do you two think?” Phineas asked the twins.

“I think that it’s possible,” Dipper said hesitantly, “but I’m pretty sure the kid you saw on TV is a fake.”

“In the commercial it said Gideon’s from Gravity Falls, Oregon” Isabella said “that’s where you spent last summer, right? Do you two know him?”

The twins exchanged a look “yeah…” Mabel said “you could say that…”

“Well if he’s your friend then we have to go see him” Phineas said “I bet he’ll be so excited to see you!”

“At least for one of us.” Dipper muttered as he rubbed his neck.

“He’s not-” Mabel tried to say, but was interrupted.

“Let’s get going!” Phineas said.

—----------

And that’s how the two ended up sitting on the wooden benches in the Tent Of Telepathy.

And it was just as cheesy as they remembered. Gideon started off with his song just like back then, only this time, there were the inmates dancing with him. They also couldn’t see Duece, though they couldn’t remember seeing him outside of their first visit here.

Gideon was still able to sight read several of his guests, though at least these people could see it was phony. Dipper could see many people rolling their eyes at the ‘readings.’ He had a feeling that they were less likely to fall for the fake miracles when there was a pair of step-brothers living in town who created real life marvels.

Mabel was incredibly anxious, she still hadn’t forgotten the stunts Gideon had pulled in his attempts to make her fall in love with him. The idea of him recognising her and trying to ‘win her over again,’ was a rather frightening thought for her.

Though she and Dipper did their best to avoid being recognized, it was still a possibility that Gideon would still recognize them and start something. In the end, they still hoped their friends had a fun time, they just didn’t want Gideon to start a scene here.

The twins’ fears were unfounded though, because as the night went on, he never called them out or included them in his ‘readings.’ And they got through it with just having to listen to a new rendition of his old song.

Which Dipper still found obnoxious.

Mabel at least felt slightly like things could be good, it reminded her of the time before Gideon forced her onto those dates, and it was somewhat nice. Maybe Gideon had stuck with trying to be better like he promised?

After the show the group were heading out and Mabel was feeling much better, humming happily as she walked next to Ferb, swinging their joint hands a bit.

However, just like last time, she was unaware of spying eyes.

—---------

It wasn’t until a couple days later that Mabel met Gideon again, she was at the local craft store stocking up on glitter, yarn, and stickers. When she turned away from the shelf she found the boy standing right behind her.

“Ah!” She screamed in shock, dropping her shopping basket.

“My apologies” he said “I didn’t mean to startle you.” Gideon started to bend down to pick up her things but Mabel quickly stopped him.

“No. I got it.” She quickly gathered her purchases and started to head up to the counter. Hoping that Gideon would take the hint and leave.

He didn’t.

“I noticed you and your brother attended one of my recent shows, and I am just wondering. Why didn’t you come say hi? I would have given you some tickets, and maybe even a short demonstration for your friends.”

“We didn’t decide to go until the last minute” she said, giving a sort of half-truth.

Mabel put her things on the counter and had a short conversation with the cashier, she was a regular and all the employees knew her. The whole time Gideon stood behind her and started following her again when she left.

She sighed and turned to face him “do you need something?”

Gideon smiled at her. “I was hoping to spend some time with you, show you how much I have changed, maybe buy you some tea and snacks?”

Mabel bit her lip, she wasn’t naive enough to think he meant only as friends. So she decided to just rip the band-aid off and tell him. “Gideon, I have a boyfriend. And I really like him and he makes me happy.”

Gideon gasped. “But, but, but, everything I have been doing has been for you to give me a second chance. What does this other boy have that I don’t?”

Mabel raised an eyebrow “you know, I heard you were working on changing and being a normal kid. Did you only decide to do that in the hopes I’d give you a second chance?”

Gideon groaned, before it tapered off to a sigh. “I started to do it to earn your forgiveness for all the bad that I did. I understand that the things I did were horrible, stealing your shack, attempting to murder your brother, siding with the embodiment of chaos that wanted to destroy the world. I admit that things have gotten better for me since I turned over a new leaf, but that will never change how I feel about you. I will always have feelings for you, and no matter which side I am on, I will always love you.”

“Do you love me or do you love the idea of me?” Mabel asked, “because I can’t remember once while we were ‘dating’ you ever trying to learn about me and who I am.”

Gideon gasped in hurt. “I did learn about you.”

Mabel deadpanned at the boy. “What’s my favorite color?”

Gideon shifted his gaze “purple?”

“No.” She sighed “how can you love me when you don’t know the first thing about me?”

“I know you enjoy dancing, matchmaking, glitter… um… You’re beautiful.”

Mabel rolled her eyes “and that’s why I’m not interested in you. While we were dating I felt more like some kind of prize or status symbol versus a friend and partner. My boyfriend now treats me with respect, he knows almost better than anyone else and cares for me and is one of my best friends.” She felt herself blush as she talked about Ferb.

“I could do better if you just gave me another chance.”

“I’m with someone else” Mabel reminded him “and I’m not going to break up with someone I care for just on the off chance that I might get feelings for you.”

Gideon flinched at her words, taking a step back as he tried to think of anything he could say to convince her. But before he could Mabel had turned around and was walking away.

—--------

A few hours later Ferb and Mabel were out getting smoothies and she was ranting about the situation.

“I mean,” she was saying “he threw my brother out a window, took the Mystery Shack and almost got us sent home early, and now he wants to date me again! Never mind the fact that I was forced into the relationship the first time.”

Ferb gave her a sympathetic look, after she explained her history with the younger boy he now understood why the twins were reluctant to go to the show.

“But enough of that” Mabel sighed, done with her rant. “I’m done thinking about him, I just want to have a good time with you.”

Any further bonding was put on hold as the sounds of trumpets began to play. Turning towards the music, Mabel groaned in dread, seeing Gideon entering the place with some of the old inmates playing the instruments. Gideon was wearing a sparkly white cape over his usual powder-blue suit, as he sauntered over to their table.

“So, this is the young man who has encroached within our relationship.” He said “I don’t understand how you have managed to sway my peach dumpling to your side, but I shall win her hand back.”

Gideon pulled a white glove off his hand as he tossed it onto Ferb’s lap. “A challenge, for the love of the fair maiden.”

As Gideon stood there with a smirk, his plan was going along nicely so far. This boy would obviously be far too intimidated by him and his entrance to even consider accepting.

Ferb blinked, his eyes wandered to the people watching this, each of them looking at Gideon as if the boy was a loon. But as he turned to look at his girlfriend, she looked absolutely embarrassed, practically sinking into sweater town. Apparently, Gideon was adorable enough that he got away with things like this in Gravity Falls, with everyone thinking it was an act for their entertainment, but here…

Gideon doing this was just him making a scene and embarrassing everyone involved. Didn’t help that the boy was acting as if this was normal, and this coming from a guy who lived in a town where people spontaneously burst into musical numbers, and he and his brother built crazy inventions almost daily. This kid wasn’t special here.

Ferb raised an eyebrow at Gideon, causing several of the other patrons to gasp, along with two of the three inmates that were Gideon’s entourage.

As Gideon looked baffled at everyone’s reactions, the inmate that didn’t understand turned to Ghost Eyes. “Why did the kid raising an eyebrow get that much of a reaction? And how did you understand it?”

Ghost Eyes sighed, as he pulled out a paper. “Well, the answer to your first question can be answered with the second.”

The paper was a certificate stating that Ghost Eyes learned the silent tongue language. “It is actually a really uncommon language used only among sophisticated chaps.”

Noticing Gideon looking as confused as Henry was, Ghost Eyes shrugged. “You don’t know everything about me.”

Ferb picked the glove off his lap and set it aside and looked over at Mabel, she bit her lip and leaned close to him and whispered “you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

He smiled at her and stood up, offering her his hand. She smiled back and took it, and he led her out to the sounds of Gideon starting to yell after them and Ghost Eyes trying to explain that Ferb, in fact, had accepted his challenge.

—--------

“So hang on” Dipper was saying “let me get this straight. Gideon crashed your date and challenged Ferb to ‘test for her love?’” Mabel nodded and Dipper turned to Ferb “and you’re going along with it?!”

Ferb nodded, he doubted that Gideon would leave them alone until either Mabel agreed to go out with him or until Ferb went along with this challenge. Dipper could agree, and was mostly just glad that Gideon wasn’t trying to remove someone’s head this time.

And yes, he still holds that against the kid. Wouldn’t you?

Phineas crossed his arms and nodded his head. “Well, I guess we know what we’re doing today.”

Before they could even start with setting something up, the group was interrupted by an adult they recognized from Gideon’s show, who the twins knew to be an inmate. “Here, the details for where the contest will be held. Lil’ Gideon has rented out the stadium downtown.”

Phineas and Ferb set down their tools and blueprints, a little sad they wouldn’t be able to build a new stadium for their town like they usually would for something like this. Mabel and Isabella patted Ferb and Phineas respectively on their backs in comfort.

Dipper took the paper, looking it over, and smacked his face. “This names Mabel as only one of the judges.”

“Mabel being a judge makes sense” Isabella said “since this whole thing is for ‘her love.’”

“The other two are Suzy Johnson and Bobby Fabulous.” Dipper continued “I know who Bobby is but who is Suzzy?”

Phineas shrugged. “Suzy Johnson is Jeremy’s little sister. Jeremey is Candace’s boyfriend, he was the guy that walked with us back home after the whole kidnapping thing a couple chapters ago.”

“My question is,” Mabel said, “why are there other judges? Isn’t my opinion the only one that matters?”

Dipper gave Mabel a serious look. “This is Gideon we are talking about here. Are you really going to wonder why he wants to rent a stadium for something he blew out of proportion, when it was a simple ‘you want to date Ferb’. He is doing this because he wants the attention”

“Well” she huffed and folded her arms “this whole thing isn’t going to change my mind. Even if Ferb does lose.”

“Don’t worry” Ferb said “I’m not planning on losing.”

“Well, at least he won’t try to murder you in front of a crowd.” Mason grumbled under his breath.

As quiet as he was, his friends looked at him in concern when they caught it. Mabel laughed nervously as the realization they’ve been caught.

“Why…” Phineas started to say “why would Gideon try to kill someone?”

Dipper groaned as he realized his mistake. “Because I got in the way of him and Mabel.”

“You didn’t ‘get in the way’” Mabel protested “you tried to help me break up with him when I couldn't do it myself.”

The others looked horrified at the implications “don’t worry!” Mason tried to assure “I doubt he would try anything with people around.”

Ferb placed a hand on Mason’s shoulder. “Remember, we will listen if you want to talk about it, but for now, you can depend on me to ensure Gideon leaves Mabel alone.”

“Right,” Dipper said, shaking the memories away.

—-------

Down at the stadium, Ferb was getting ready and Mabel was there to wish him good luck.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Mabel asked, “you can still back out.”

Ferb shook his head.

She sighed “what if I go over there, punch Gideon in his stupid, chubby face and then we run off into the sunset for frozen yogurt with all the toppings we can eat and a musical number?”

Ferb smiled at her and shook his head.

Mabel’s shoulders slumped “I knew you would say that… Well, Dipper’s been practicing that magic thing Sans talked about so if Gideon tries to cheat or kill you he’ll, hopefully, be able to put a stop to it.”

Ferb nodded, he wasn’t worried.

“Well,” Mabel said “good luck.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

Gideon, who had been standing across the room, called out to her. “May I get a kiss darlin’?”

“No.”

She walked away to the seat reserved for her as the judge, where she sat between Bobby and Suzy, both of whom kind of looked a bit confused. Bobby asked, “what are we judging?”

Suzy frowned. “Wait, you don’t know? All I was told was that I was selected to judge some important event that would change the lives of important people. Any idea Mabel?”

She sighed “yes. This guy I used to know, Gideon, challenged my boyfriend to compete for ‘my heart’ and Ferb decided to go along with it to get Gideon off my back because he refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Pushy exes, girl I feel for ya. Those are so several generations ago.”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend,” Suzy said “but my brother has a girlfriend I’ve been trying to get rid of.”

“You mean Candace?” Mabel asked “why… Never mind…. Is there any way I can convince you two to just… Let Ferb win?”

Suzy and Bobby both raised a brow at her, as Bobby answered. “What would we have to say about who you want to date? This is all your choice in the end, no matter what we say. We can’t and won’t force you to date anyone. Even if both me and Suzy vote for Gideon to win, the entire town would chase him out of the tri-state area if he tries anything.”

“Really?”

Even Suzy looked confused at her. “Why wouldn’t we? What kind of backwards town would pressure someone into a relationship?”

Mabel looked away, deciding not to mention how Gravity Falls did just that.

—-------

Phineas was once again feeling bad, because he was denied the chance to be the announcer. Phineas had felt a hit to his integrity, when Gideon argued against him announcing, being accused of being biased towards Ferb. Phineas had never played favorites, even when it was his brother entering.

Isabella tried to enjoy the fact that she was sitting next to Phineas as he was taking comfort in her presence, but even she was insulted by Gideon outright accusing them of trying to color the crowd’s and/or judges’ opinions.

“I’m sorry dude” Dipper said “I know you want to do something.”

Phineas pouted “first we can’t build the arena, then I can’t help come up with the challenges, and now I can’t be the announcer!”

“Doesn’t help that the announcer Gideon hired is from a professional televised network. That he paid to be here. Just because he has a fancy contract and credentials. Don’t worry Phineas,” Isabella said “we can do something like this, but ten times better another day to make up for all this.”

Phineas smiled at her. “Thanks Isabella, I can always count on you.”

As those three were having their conversation, Buford and Baljeet were sitting not far away. “I can’t believe we have been getting ignored more often than not lately.”

Baljeet pouted at Buford. “At least you had a significant scene in the last chapter. I was sidelined.”

“I blame the chapter before last, ever since that guy wrote a chapter for our author, we have been getting less and less screen time.”

As Buford and Baljeet complained, the guy next to them overheard them and could only blink as he experienced an existential crisis as a non-named extra, that is only referred to now out of an extra thought as a joke.

“So what kind of challenges do you guys think Gideon and Ferb will have to do?” Isabella asked.

“Knowing Gideon it could be almost anything” Mason said “but if I had to guess it would probably be stuff that Gideon thinks will impress Mabel, the judges, or the audience.”

—---------

As Gideon and Ferb stood opposite each other in the center of the arena, Ferb had to roll his eyes as Gideon smirked at him as the announcer began to speak. The younger boy obviously thought he took away some advantage he had by not allowing Phineas to announce the competition.

“Welcome folks, to this event. I was just hired on the spot and drove out here from my nice and comfy desk from out of state. So if I get mixed up on something, it’s Gideon’s fault.”

Gideon smacked his face, doing his best to ignore the chuckles that rang through the stadium, as well as the small smile of his opponent. Was it too much to ask for a little professionalism?

“So, the first challenge is called, ‘Presentation.’” Each boy must paint or commission a background that represents their time with Mabel, that will be judged on how the background represents their relationship.”

Everyone looked a bit confused at the wording, kind of annoyed that Gideon had it worded like that. As Ferb turned to the wall provided for his mural, Gideon snapped his fingers as he was joined by a group of muscular guys that he recognized from his show.

Ferb wasn’t too worried about this competition, it may not look like it but he had picked up a variety of skills over the years thanks to his brother’s many ideas.

As the two boys got started, a curtain fell and hid each participant for privacy and to surprise the crowd. Phineas had a couple of colorful words going through his head, but only allowed a couple out. “So, I can’t do anything, but Gideon gets to have his backup dancers help him?”

“Honestly man,” Dipper said “at this point I would just go down there and help. I doubt the crowd will complain and now the contest is in the judges’ hands and we both know Mabel isn’t going to let Ferb get disqualified. And if Gideon does put up a fuss, which he will, then just point out that you’re making things fair.”

Phineas actually shrugged. “Don’t be silly Mason, Ferb has this in the bag whether I help him or not.”

“Then why are you complaining?” Mason asked.

“Because Tinkerbell has a problem with doing nothing.” Buford looked annoyed as everyone turned to him. “Yes, I interrupted his answer to make a call back to a canon event, in order to insert myself back in to have more than a cutaway line.”

Dipper turned to his friend and raised an eyebrow “is that true? Are you really not used to just… Sitting?”

Phineas chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. “Both me and Ferb enjoy making the most out of every day. If we don’t we feel like we wasted one.”

“Dude, you should probably work on that” Dipper said “because at some point, whether you like it or not, you’re gonna be bored or unable to get involved.”

“I have been. But I also have you guys, nothing is boring with best friends like all of you. And yes Buford, I am including both you and Baljeet. You guys are more than just cutaway gags.”

As the curtains fell, the murals were shown. Gideon’s was filled with rainbows, and all sorts of colors, and unicorns. There was even a tree to the side made of what could be cotton candy, with a very small image of Dipper sleeping, though his hat was multi-colored. The drawing looked very child-like and simple.

“That’s creepy” Dipper said, reminded of Dippy-Fresh. “Also, I look nothing like that! And why is my hat rainbow?”

“It’s art Mason-jar,” Buford said.

“Well yeah but-” Dipper cut himself off “what did you just call me?”

“What, you got a problem with every nickname I’m gonna give you?” Buford asked.

“No, I don’t mind that one.” Dipper said “I just didn’t expect it.”

Ferb’s mural was simply an intricate drawing of the scene from their first kiss on the bridge in Pairs with the Eiffel Tower in the background. It wasn’t nearly as much stuff as Gideon’s but much more detailed. All those years of drawing blueprints paid off.

Mabel gasped as she saw Ferb’s mural. “He did the scene of our first kiss.”

Bobby was all for the romance. “Well, that earns my vote. A romantic kiss within the city of love, with the Eiffel tower in the background.” Bobby sniffled a bit. “I told myself I wouldn’t tear up.”

“I like the unicorns. But Gideon’s is just so crowded.”

“Unicorns suck!” Dipper yelled from the stands, since it was clear Mabel wasn’t going to do it. Being as distracted by her boyfriend’s mural as she was.

Gideon glared at him. “Didn’t Mabel mention her first word was unicorn?”

Suzy looked at Mabel with a raised brow. Mabel didn’t notice, clearly trying to contain herself from jumping out her seat to kiss Ferb. Both of the judges shrugged as they rolled their eyes at the love struck girl.

Gideon obviously stood no chance.

“Well, if the person trying to take my job is done shouting from the stands.” Dipper whistled innocently as the announcer called him out. “Our judges appear to have selected Ferb Fletcher as the winner, with a two of three vote, while the third is fenced. Onto the next challenge!”

“The next challenge is a love… You know what, I am gonna call a spade a spade. Each boy must make a Valentine's day card. You boys can make it as big, and flashy as you want. Good luck.”

Once again, the curtains covered the stages where the boys were.

“Man” Dipper said “Ferb is good at this romance thing.”

“He gets it from our dad,” Phineas shrugged.

“I wonder why it took them so long to get together,” Isabella wondered.

“Well, I know Mabel wasn’t sure if Ferb liked her back,” Mason said “plus she was busy….” He glances at Isabella and Phineas “with other relationships. I don’t know about Ferb though.”

“You know, I just realized something.” Baljeet spoke up suddenly. “Mabel is sitting right next to a member of Love Handle, aren’t you a fan of them, Dipper?”

“Hmmm” Dipper glanced over “yeah… I like them a lot but the last time I met them wasn’t… under the best circumstances to say the least.”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Baljeet chuckled nervously.

“It’s fine,” Mason said. “I’m just hoping that they’ve forgotten so that if I ever meet them again it will be as myself.”

Phineas pulled Mason into a side hug. “Don’t worry, we have plenty of opportunities, they tend to hang around Danville often. They are cool guys.”

“Yeah, I did some research after that whole… Event” Dipper said “I’m surprised I haven’t met them before, apparently, you’re the reason they’re back together.”

Phineas chuckled “they tend to enjoy joining in with our spontaneous musical numbers a lot. But yeah, we got them back together for our parents’ anniversary.”

“You guys will never cease to amaze me” Dipper said, shaking his head “I swear, there has to be some kind of supernatural element to you two.”

Meanwhile Ferb and Gideon had just finished their cards, the curtains falling to reveal Gideon standing before a giant card, covered in glitter, rhinestones, and streamers. All while it played a generic pop beat. As it contained a simple poem declaring Mabel’s beauty, and how much Gideon loved her.

Ferb’s looked plain on the outside but that was only because he spent all his time focusing on the inside. It was a mix of fancy looking origami and pop-up art, made with colorful paper and glitter placed in just the right places instead of thrown around. He too had a poem but it was much longer and more well written than Gideon’s, who’s felt like something you would find in a store bought card.

Suzy gasped. “The letters are so fancy. But Gideon’s is so big. Obviously bigger is better in my opinion.”

Bobby gave a so-so wave. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. My point must still go to Ferb. Beauty is both inside and out, and he captures the simple nature of Mabel on the outside, while allowing her inner Fabulousness to show. Too much on the outside just turns into gaudiness.”

Mabel looked over Ferb’s card and smiled at all of the little references in his, “Ferb.” She didn’t feel the need to say much more.

“Looks like another two points for team Fletcher, while lil’ Gideon managed to get himself on the board. The score is now four to one, in Ferb’s favor.” The announcer was starting to already sound bored of Gideon’s antics, especially seeing as this was not worth the money he was paid.

“He could put some more life into his job” Phineas muttered.

“And now for our next event” the announcer continued. “Sweaters. Apparently, Mabel enjoys sweaters and making them herself, so each boy needs to make a sweater for her.”

Once again, the curtains closed to hide the two boys.

Bobby turned to Mabel. “Yeah, I remember. You mentioned that you made your own dress during that competition. Have you got any designs you wanna share? I would love to go over them with you.”

“Wait, you’re a fashion designer at your age?” Suzy looked amazed as she leaned towards Mabel.

She shrugged, “I do a bit of everything.”

Bobby just ruffled Mabel’s hair. “Well, I say you have talent. You should expand on it, explore your creativity. I could even display or even sell some of your designs. We can talk over brunch, have your people call my people darling.”

Bobby finished his statement as he handed the young girl a card. “Oh um.. Thanks.” Mabel said.

As the curtains opened, Gideon revealed a two person sweater, powder blue to the right and magenta on the left, with enough rhinestones to be mistaken for an attempt at a disco ball. “It represents the both of us, and it would allow us to be so much closer.”

Ferb lifted his up, the design shifting in a spiral upwards, going through multiple hues and colors. It shimmered with an inner sparkle that caught in the light. And, unlike Gideon, the stitches were more neat.

“It’s so pretty” Suzie whispered in awe.

“Gideon, my boy, two person sweaters are creepy at your age. Reel it in a bit.” Bobby looked a bit uncomfortable when he saw Gideon’s work.

Mabel reached out her hands, her desire for the sweater obvious. Ferb smiled at her actions, up until a pair of grabbers lifted the sweater from his grasp and took it over to his girlfriend. Looking at the operator of the device, Ferb noticed Phineas. “What, I got bored.” The red-head defended.

She pulled off her current one (she was wearing a t-shirt underneath) and replaced it with the multi-colored on.

“It fits perfectly!” She said, beaming.

Gideon was getting flustered by the lack of reaction and love from Mabel and the judges. Why wasn’t this working? Bobby should understand how fabulous he was, with his outfit and designs, while Suzy was a young girl, who should simply love his style, because it pandered to her inner princess complex.

Suzy pouted, not getting a sweater herself, causing her to insult the other one. “What kind of creep would enjoy sweating in a sweater with another person? Being squeezed together, unable to get any room for yourself, there are even only two sleeves, which means you would be stuck with your arm constantly wrapped around the other person.”

Mabel wound up thinking about her and Ferb stuck in that exact position. Bobby just shook his head. “Exactly, two person clothing is a major fashion don’t.”

“I bet Mabel and Ferb wouldn’t mind,” Dipper muttered to himself.

The announcer well… announced the next event which would be ‘dazzling Mabel with magic’ so as the two were getting ready everyone turned to Phineas.

“Does Ferb even know magic?” Isabella asked.

Phineas shrugged. “Ferb knows a lot of things, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows something about it, even if it’s just an illusion like most magic shows.”

“I don’t think he’s gonna win this round” Dipper said “magic is kind of Gideon’s whole thing. I mean, you’ve seen his show. The kid may be a psychopath but at least he’s got flair.”

“Do you think that’s why he picked this challenge?” Baljeet asked.

“Definitely” Mason said, without hesitation. “Punk’s playing dirty, and Mabel and I both know it. Even Stan, Gideon’s arch rival, would admit this was a con.”

“Is your Grunkle also the one that taught you to call him a ‘punk’” Buford laughed “cause I’ve never heard you use that word before.”

Dipper shrugged “when you spend a summer with your con-man uncle, you pick a few things up.” He grinned “speaking of which, anyone wanna make any bets?”

It was now time for the two contestants to show off their tricks. Gideon opened up as soon as the curtains raised, the doves flying from his hair just as in his show. Before he proceeded to pull rabbits from a hat, saw one of the inmates in half, and even pulled the disappearing assistant trick.

As everyone cheered for Gideon’s act, turning to Ferb to see what he would do, Ferb’s tricks were not as impressive. He showed some tricks, as he shuffled a deck of cards very impressively, and the card tricks he displayed were good. He was even able to impress a couple people, but his tricks weren’t as flashy as Gideons.

His friends cheered as loud as they could, trying to show their support. Everyone clapped but clearly not as impressed. As Gideon smirked at Ferb, the judges gave their opinions.

Suzy was obviously on Gideon’s side this round. “The Pompadork was amazing this time. Ferb’s tricks were good, but if we’re talking about wowing the crowd…”

Bobby sighed as he nodded. “As bad as his previous showings were, this one is an obvious win.”

“Well” Mabel said “I think simple is better.”

Suzy rolled her eyes. “Girl, just because a guy you don’t like is better at one thing than your guy, doesn’t mean you have to dis him.”

“When did I dis him?” Mabel raised an eyebrow “it’s called, being honest. I didn’t like his act, it was too big and dramatic for me.”

Bobby smiled. “Credit where it’s due, Ferb may be a better person in many aspects, but he is much better in a private show. I do doc points for obvious favoritism, but Gideon is just better statistically at his job. Ferb is a man of science and detail. I know my little friend down there won’t hold it against you. Everyone knows at least this challenge was rigged.”

Mabel pouted and leaned back in her seat.

Suzy snorted. “Obviously. Gideon has a magic act, he set this whole thing up, he paid each of us to be here, obviously he is gonna try and rig some part of it. Kind of surprised there has been so little of that.”

“I think the results are pretty clear” the announcer said “this round goes to Gideon Gleeful.”

The boy grinned at Ferb smugly who just blinked in response.

Up in the stands Dipper was squinting a bit “is Ferb freaking out? I can’t tell.”

Phineas shrugged. “Kind of hard to tell from this angle, but with him having a lead of at least four individual points and three challenge points, he has nothing to worry about.”

“Unless Gideon was so bad at rigging, he just made the rest of the challenges about magic shows.” Buford pointed out. “I mean, he was obvious enough to do it for this one, I can’t help but think if he was dumb enough to do it more.”

Baljeet scoffed. “I hope he doesn’t think everyone here is dumb enough to actually fall for this. If he’s made the rest of the challenges this badly rigged in his favor, he’ll have a riot on his hands.”

“You know what would be funny?” Dipper said “if Gideon accidentally came up with a challenge that involved building or something.”

“He would obviously believe he would have the advantage, what with all those guys helping him.” Phineas pointed out. “But I don’t believe it would be possible for even me to win against Ferb in that kind of challenge.”

“What do you mean?” Dipper asked.

“Well, as much as we both put in the work, Ferb has always been better with the finer details.” Phineas admitted. “I know there are things that I need Ferb for, and there are probably things that Ferb knows he needs me for. It’s probably the same for you and Mabel, right? Two halves of the team, both supporting each other.”

Dipper nodded “yeah, we work pretty good together.”

Baljeet looked curiously at Phineas. “Is that why you two never fight?”

Phineas raised a brow. “What do you mean? Me and Ferb have had fights. It’s just natural sibling stuff. We just don’t drag others into it.”

“Alright folks, we are past the halfway point to being able to go home and not deal with a kid’s obsession over an older girl anymore.” Dipper ignored that, seeing as he took a shot at Gideon, even if it hit too close to himself. “Our next challenge is a dance off.”

Phineas snickered as the curtains closed to give the boys some privacy to change into outfits for pizzazz. “And here I thought Gideon wouldn’t shoot himself in the foot unless he declared some kind of building challenge.”

Before Dipper could ask, the curtains raised, seeing as it was just a quick change of clothes rather than another crafting subject. Gideon was wearing pretty much the same outfit, but decorated in tassels along the sleeves, and a new cowboy hat that molded around his pompadour. Ferb was wearing white pants, with a sparkly blue v-neck shirt, which Dipper recognized from one of their spontaneous music numbers.

Gideon once again took the lead, showing his skill in ballroom dancing, the friends would say he had the elegance of a pig, but Waddles would be offended. The little dapper pig was actually just as good at dancing.

“Doesn’t ballroom require a partner?” Isabella asked.

“Yup” Phineas said, grinning, clearly knowing what was about to come next.

The music started and those that weren’t already in the know of Ferb’s abilities were left in shock. Mabel’s mouth dropped open and Dipper just started laughing in pure shock. Gideon even teared up a little (though he would later deny it), and then he was done.

There was a long pause before everyone started clapping. The judges’ vote was unanimous, Ferb had clearly won that round.

Even the announcer regained a bit of pep in his announcing. “Well, no need to tally those scores. Now, according to both Judge and audience vote count, Ferb Fletcher is our winner!”

Mabel didn’t wait another second before she was running down to the main part of the arena, practically tackling her boyfriend. Ferb caught her and used their momentum to spin her around before kissing her.

They were interrupted by a scream and looked over to see Gideon red in the face and stomping his foot “it’s not fair! I was supposed to win. I was supposed to be with Mabel!” He pointed at Ferb “not you.”

Mabel walked over to Gideon and looked down at him “Gideon, you know that I was never going to be with you. Right? Even if you had won this thing.”

Gideon actually started to tear up. “But, I have put so much work into being a better person, to prove myself a changed man. What does he have that I don’t?”

She sighed “I already told you. Ferb respects me for who I am, not what he thinks I am. He cares about me and listens to me, and I care about him too. Ferb is so sweet and thoughtful and generous…” Her voice trailed off.

Even though no one would hear, Dipper muttered. “He also didn’t try to murder her brother, but we can ignore that fact.”

Ferb came up behind Mabel and took her hand. “Being in a relationship means respecting one another.” He said.

Mabel placed her free hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “I am sorry that I can’t be what you want, and for what it’s worth, I am proud of you for being better.”

Gideon nodded as everyone began to pack their things up and leave, still doing his best to wipe the tears off his face.

Back with the other two judges, Bobby looked at Suzy. “I do believe we got paid to sit around and critique a child’s obsession. I feel used, but at the same time, I am fine with that.”

“You're kidding me, I got paid more money than I would ever earn throughout an entire year. If some idiot wants to do this again, I’m fine with that.”

—----------

A couple days had passed and Gideon had moved on from Danville, so when Mabel got a letter from him she was a little wary. But luckily Ferb was there and sat with her as she read it.

It was a fairly simple note, nothing at all like the love letters he had sent her back in Gravity Falls. Just an apology for trying to force her to date him again and holding a huge event to convince her. There was even an apology for Ferb!

“And once again he doesn’t mention trying to kill me” Dipper said, from where he was reading over her shoulder. “I mean, the least he can do is say ‘sorry!’”

“I wanna mention how you can really hold a grudge.” Buford started. “But I can understand why you are.”

“Are you ever going to give us the details?” Baljeet asked.

“Nope!"

Notes:

Thank you so much to my friend, Supremebandit, for helping me with this chapter.

I've had the idea of Gideon showing up for a while now but I wanted to wait until Ferb and Mabel got together, good thing I did cause I think this chapter turned out pretty good! What do you all think?

- Izzy

Chapter 71: Catch-A-Cabra

Summary:

The guys try to find a Chupacabra.

Dipper was hanging out with Phineas and Ferb, helping them look over some of their blueprints, since Mabel decided to ditch him for the day and go to a knitting club meeting at the library.

Buford then walked over, dressed as Isabella. “Hey, guys! What'cha doin'?”

“Uh” Phineas said “the better question is, what are you doing Buford?”

“I’m filling in for her while she visits her grandparents in New Mexico” He said.

“The dress was all his idea, though.” Baljeet said.

“Hey!” Buford said “I got the legs for it.” He took off his wig “ah, New Mexico. My great grandfather once saw something mysterious in New Mexico…” His eyes went distant.

“What’s he doing?” Dipper whispered.

“A flashback” Ferb whispered back.

“There he was, happily plying his trade,” Buford said, “cow punching. It was a dangerous profession, and then one day, he saw it. It was the elusive Chapricobra.”

“The what?” Phineas asked.

“I’m pretty sure he means the Chupacabra,” Dipper said, “the Latin American goat-eating monster that is said to haunt the deserts of Mexico and South-Western America.”

“That's just a myth.” Phineas said “like Bigfoot or Klimpaloon, the magical old timey bathing suit that lives in the Himalayas.”

“And yet we have proved both of those to be true” Dipper said, smiling as he knew exactly where this conversation was going.

“So we have Mason!” Phineas, also grinning. “Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today. We're gonna search for an elusive creature that tends to slip away unse - Hey! Where's Perry?”

—----------

Agent P.I.G and P sat next to each other in a meeting room in O.W.C.A HeadQuarter with their fellow agents, Carl stood up at the front. He turned on a microphone, getting ready to start a presentation.

“I-Is this thing on?” Carl tested the mic “I want to thank you all for taking some time outta your busy schedules to attend our compulsory O.W.C.A. Animal Sensitive Seminar. However, if you currently are an animal, you may be excused to your missions.”

The Agents all got up to leave, Waddles was relieved that he wasn’t going to have to spend all day listening to a time draining presentation. The only person left was Major Monogram.

The man scoffed “wha- wha- what? They get to go? What is this, Pick On the Higher Species Day?”

The animals all turned around and made angry noises. “What? Humans are a higher species, everybody knows that!”

Carl rubbed the bridge of his nose, lifting up his glasses. “And that’s why you’re here today sir.”

—-----------

“Gentlemen and gentlemen,” Phineas showed off what he and Ferb made “we present to you the Chupa-Copter!”

Dipper, Buford, and Blajeet made the appropriate sounds of astonishment. “Alright, everyone!” Phineas said “take your seats and buckle up! We're off to New Mexico to find the elusive Chupacabra!”

“We’re going to need some kind of bait,'' Mason pointed out as he sat down.

“I got that covered” Buford turned his Isabella dress inside out to show it was now a goat costume. “tada! A goat costume!”

Dipper noded “that'll work.”

“Alright, then!” Phineas said “let's start trackin' us a chupacabra!”

He and Ferb began pressing buttons and starting up the machine, and the computer began to talk. “Searching Chupacabra traits: Rooting, sniffing, long neck, desert dwelling.”

“Let’s do this!” Dipper said, rubbing his hands excitedly as the Chupa-Copte rose into the air.

—---------

Meanwhile at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, there is a biplane sitting atop a ramp Doofenshmirtz has built. Agent P and P.I.G dropped in and the evil scientist turned to them with a grin.

“Hello Agent P and Agent P.I.G!” Heinz said “You like the new Bi-plane? Pretty sweet huh?” The two get trapped in a hair drying machine, the type one would find a salon, the two were forced to share the chair. “Sorry you’re a little squished but I could only find one and sometimes only one of you shows up! Anyways, Look what I invented…”

Dr Doofenshmirtz pours a thick liquid on to a mannequin and it suddenly grows hair. “It grows your hair back. Got it in all the stores, but it's not selling it like I thought of it. That is why it got a catchy name: Get Back Hair.”

Waddles oinked, clearly the man needed a better marketing tactic.

“Eh maybe” Dr D agreed “but that sounds like a lot of work. So I’m going to do what I normally do! Build an inator to fix my problem for me.”

“So, behold, the Switch-Place-inator!” The two agents shared a glance “why are you two looking at each other like that? Why are you so unimpressed?” He asked “I'll explain. I simply fly over town in my biplane, Ride off! And I look for someone with a receding hairline, standing next to someone with a full head of hair. I fire, and presto! The hair switches places. The person who was formally hairline challenged, is thrilled, and the other guy is- well he's gonna spend a lot of money to get his hair back. Thus, Get Back Hair!”

The agents shared another look. They both knew that this wasn’t going to work.

—-------

“Okay guys, welcome to New Mexico.” Phineas said “Ferb, let's lower the Chupacabra bait.”

Ferb pressed a button and Buford was lowered wearing his goat costume and a harness. As they flew along, staying close to the ground, Buford was knocked into a bunch of cacti.

He bleats like a goat “hey! Hey! Watch the cactuses.” He hit another one”ow! Ah! Who's driving up there?”

Mason, Phineas, and Ferb all looked at Baljeet who laughed sheepishly “hehe sorry!”

Meanwhile, back in Danville, Doofenshmirtz was flying his biplane. “Now to go make my millions with my trusty Switch-Place-inator! Where is it?”

Back in his lab the two agents had escaped and used the Switch-Place-inator to swap places with a bird and landed in the backseat of the plane. “Hey!” He yelled, “give it back.”

The man lunged for the inator causing the plane to tip, Waddles rushed over and took the controls as his partner fought Dr D up on the roof.

Back in New Mexico the group of boys were still searching for the Chupacabra in the style of a musical number montage. Dipper then noticed something behind them and pulled out his camera.

“Look!” Dipper said, pointing at the strange whirlwind of black limbs, dust, and dirt.

“Hey guys!” Buford called up to them “I think we got something.”

“We see it!” Phineas called back, looking at the computer which read ‘TARGET LOCATED.’

Buford let out a goat bleat as the Chupa-Copter flew quickly over to a pit, the Chupacabra fell right into their trap and was soon trapped in a crate.

“We got him!” Phineas said, landing the copter.

Mason practically jumped out to run over and get a closer look. “So that's what a Chupacabra looks like.”

Phineas and Ferb came to stand beside him “huh.”

“Yes.” Bljeet agreed “surprising, is it not?”

“Well, I think he's kinda cute.” Buford said.

Dipper snapped a picture. “What should we do now?”

“We could bring him home,” Phineas suggested.

“That sounds like a recipe for disaster.” Dipper tried to say but then noticed his friends were already walking back to the Chupa-Copter. “Never mind…”

—------------

Back in Danville they landed the copter and the Chupacabra was making quite a fuss. “Wow, the Chupacabra does not sound happy.” Phineas said.

“Well, we did just kidnap it” Dipper pointed out “what are we even going to do with it?”

“Don’t worry,” Phineas said, “we'll bring him home by the end of the day.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Mason said.

“How about we get him something to eat?” Buford asked, “I growl just like that when my blood sugar is low.”

They started to head inside “do you have any goat based food products?” Baljeet asked.

“Let's go look in the fridge,” Phineas said.

Meanwhile, the agents had finished things up with Dr Doofenshmirtz when they got a call from their boss. “Agents, we've just heard that our New Mexico operative, Agent CH, has had his cover compromised.” Major Monogram said “we have the coordinates of his location, and you two are the closest. Get to it.”

“Keep writing sir.” Carl said from off screen, the man sighed and went back to writing the phrase ‘animals are people too’ on a whiteboard.

“Ha, how convenient that your mother has a whole terrine of goat biryani.” Baljeet said, back at the Flynn-Fletcher house.

“I know” Phineas said “those gourmet cooking classes are sure comin' in handy.”

While the teens were in the kitchen Agent P.I.G and Agent P were letting Agent CH out of the carte. He waved to them as he took the brothers’ Chupa-Copter and flew off. Just in time for the boys to come back outside.

Phineas opened the crate “he’s gone!” He exclaimed “and so is the copter…. Wow, this must be what Candace feels like when this happens to her.”

“I just hope we won’t have an angry Chupacabra running loose around town,” Dipper said with a sigh.

“Hey guys!” The two looked over to see Mabel leaning over the fence. “Nice costume Buford.

“Thanks.”

“Hi Mabel!” Phienas said, heading over. “Guess what, we caught a Chupacabra!”

“Cool!” Mabel said.

“We tried to bring it back but it got away,” Dipper said, “I just hope it won’t be another Gremgoblin situation.”

Mabel nodded, and jumped off the fence to their side. She picked up Waddles. “Did you guys take pictures?”

“Yeah!” Phineas pulled out his phone and frowned as he looked through them. They were all blurry.

Dipper looked through his camera roll, none of his had the full creature. Just a limb here or there. Baljeet and Ferb found they had the same problem.

“Well,” Ferb said “I guess perhaps the universe wants some things left un-photographed. Like Chupacabras, or...group photos where everyone has their eyes open.”

Notes:

Sorry it took me so long to post (I wanted to earlier this afternoon) but my internet was really slow. This chapter was based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode, 'La Candace-Cabra. '

I hope you guys enjoyed this fun lil chapter, I wanted to do something simple to wind down since I've put the twins through a lot these past couple of weeks. But I hope you'll stay tuned for next week, I'm looking forward for you guys to see what I got planned.

- Izzy

Chapter 72: Storytime!

Summary:

The kids reflect on what they did the day before.

Dan stood on the Danville docs, wearing sunglasses to guard his eyes against the sun of the bright summer day. A voice cut through his thoughts.

“Dan!”

He turned to see two old sailors walking up to him “Uncle Stan, Uncle Ford” Dan said with a small smile “glad you could make it.”

“So are we,” Ford said, “especially on time.”

“Well,” Dan said with a shrug “even if you two had been delayed for a couple of days it would have been fine. The kids don’t know you’re coming so it would be a surprise no matter what day you show up.”

“Very true.”

Dan led the two men back to his car and started the drive home, when his uncles reached out with the hopes of visiting the twins he agreed. They also decided to make it a surprise, though that was more of Stan and Ford’s idea versus his own.

An half hour later the three were walking through the door “Dipper? Mabel?” Dan called, when he received no answer he stepped out the back door and called for them again.

“I think they’re over at Isabella’s” looking over Dan saw Linda looking over the fence. “Did you need them for something?”

Walking over to the fence he shook his head “not right now, no. I was just wondering where they are and they’re usually over in your yard.”

Linda laughed and nodded “yes they are. Which is why I am taking the time to plant some new flowers.”

“Oh nice!” Dan said “well, I would love to chat but I got family visiting.”

She nodded “okay, well have a good rest of your day.”

Dan walked back inside to see Stan and Ford looking over some of the family photos hanging on the wall. Ford looked over at him “I see Dipper got glasses.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah!” He said “back at the beginning of summer, I forgot you two wouldn’t have known.”

Stan nodded “they suit him.”

“Where are the children?” Ford asked.

“Out with their friends” Dan shrugged “I don’t want to bother them so you’ll have to wait until they get home.”

—-----------

Dipper and Mabel walked through the back door, Mabel was bouncing a little on her toes. Still giggling over the day’s events. “Dad!” She yelled “we’re back.”

“I’m right here honey.” Their dad came out of the kitchen “there is no need to-” He stopped and took in their appearances “what the heck?” He walked over to them “Mabel, why are you covered in… Is that jello? And Dipper, why are you soaking wet?”

“Oh well… You see” Dipper scrambled to come up with an explanation.

“You know what,” dad said “never mind. Just go get cleaned up, both of you, and then I got a surprise.”

“A surprise?” Mabel asked “can we get it now?”

“No you may not” dad sighed “get cleaned up and then you can.”

The two siblings shared a look before running up stairs, nearly tripping each other in their haste. “Be careful!” Dad yelled after them.

Less than ten minutes later the two are running back down the stairs, Dipper almosting falling down them in his rush if it weren’t for Mabel steading him. The two stop, breathless, in front of their father.

“What’s our surprise?” Mabel asked, eyes lit up with excitement.

“It’s in the kitchen.”

Mabel was off again, dragging her brother by the hand and she ran to the kitchen. Dipper ended up whacking his knee into the wall and he grunted in pain but quickly recovered.

The two then notice their Great-Uncles standing in the kitchen and they both grin.

“Grunkle Stan!”

“Grunkle Ford!”

The two yell at the same time. “Kids!” Stan smiles back and accepts the hug from his nephew.

Ford tries to speak but is cut off by Mabel suddenly ramming into him with a hug. He stumbles back and quickly adjusts himself to give her a hug back “hello sweetie.”

Stan grinned down at Dipper “hey kid,” he ruffled his hair “look at how tall you’ve gotten and nice glasses you got there.”

Dipper chuckled “thanks!”

Mabel rushed over to greet Stan while Dipper went to hug Ford. “When did you guys get here?” She asked.

“A couple hours ago” Stan said, hugging her tight “looks like you’ve grown too.”

Dipper then called over “I’m taller!”

“No you’re not!” She yelled back.

“Yes I am!” He said “by one centimeter.”

“That’s just your floofy hair!” She protested.

“We are not having this conversation again” Dan sighed, coming into the kitchen. “Mabel, your brother is taller. Dipper, be nice to your sister.”

Ford chuckled and leaned over to his brother “seems like some things never change.”

—---------

The rest of the afternoon and the evening was spent with both sets of Pines twins catching up. Dipper and Mabel were all too happy to tell their Grunkles about some of the things they have done this summer and the friends they’ve made.

The next morning Dan left for work early since he had a meeting, leaving his Uncles to entertain the kids. So Stan got up and made some of his infamous ‘Stan-cakes’ he had plated them just in time for Mabel to run down the stairs.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel cheered.

“Hi pumpkin.” Stan said “where’s your brother?”

“He’s coming,” Mabel said. “Where’s Grunkle Ford?”

“Right here” Ford said, walking downstairs. The two Grunkles having slept in the guest room last night.”

Dipper then walked into the room a folder under his arm “morning” he yawned, sitting down at the table.

“Good morning Dipper,” Ford smiled, sitting next to him. “What’s that you got there?”

“Hmm?” Dipper looked down at his folder “oh, just something I’m helping my friend out with.”

Opening Dipper flicked through a couple of the pages before pulling a pencil out of one of the pockets in his cargo shorts. He made a few notes on what looked like blueprints then closed it again.

“What is it?” Ford questioned.

“Nothing important” Dipper said, setting the folder aside to grab the plate Stan was handing to him.

Mabel hummed happily as she covered her pancakes in whipped cream and chocolate syrup. “So what are we doing today? Do you guys have some super awesome plans?”

Stan shook his head “we figured you two could pick something.”

“How long are you here for?” Dipper asked.

“Just a few days, unfortunately,” Ford said.

“Oh…” Dipper said “well, normally we go over to the brothers’ yard and see what they’re doing.”

“You guys should come with us!” Mabel said “then you can meet our friends.”

“That sounds great,” Stan smiled.

“She just wants you to meet her boyfriend,” Dipper snickered.

The two men turned their heads to look at their nephew “what do you mean boyfriend?!”

—---------

The twins ended up inviting the twins over to their house to introduce them to their Grunkles and now they were all sitting in the Pines’ backyard.

“It’s nice to finally meet you two” Isabella said “Dipper and Mabel talk about you guys a lot.”

“It’s kind of annoying,” Buford agreed.

 

“Geez,” Dipper said sarcastically “thanks.”

“Mason said you're a supernatural researcher” Phineas said to Ford.

“Mason?” Ford question.

“Yeah,” Phineas said “Mason.” He pointed at Dipper.

“Oh,” Ford said, turning to his nephew. “I didn’t realize your name was Mason.”

Dipper shrugged, “yeah, it’s new.”

The two old men stared at him in confusion before Stan laughed “oh, that’s right. I forgot you were trans. Congrats kid.”

“Thanks,” Mason smiled.

Ford nodded with a smile before turning back to Phineas “and to answer your question, yes I am a supernatural researcher.”

“Cool!”

“Oh!” Baljeet said “we should tell you what we did yesterday. I think you would find it to be very interesting.”

“Yeah!” Mabel said, from where she was sitting next to Ferb.

“Sure” Dipper said “why not?”

“Does this have something to do with why your father said you were covered in gelatin?” Ford asked his niece.

“Yup!” Mabel said.

“Well” Phineas said “it all started yesterday when our older sister, Candace, decided to have a desert party…”

—-------

Candace stood in the kitchen facing her friends; Venessa and Stacy “As president of the Healthy Dessert Club, I declare that nothing says low-calorie, non-fat more than gelatin.”

“You wouldn't have started this club because gelatin is Jeremy's favorite dessert, would you?” Stacy teased.

“What?” She tried to deny, opening a cabinet door “no.” Looking over she saw Perry sitting inside the empty cabinet and he chattered. “Ew! Gross! Phineas and Ferb! Your smelly rodent pet is germing up the cabinets!” The two appear behind her “where are those two?”
“Right here, Candace.” Phineas said.

She whirled around “how did you two get there so fast?”

“Oh, we're just putting the finishing touches on our molecular transporter.” Phineas held up a device “would you like to try?”

—---------

“Hang on” Ford interrupted “you two,” he pointed at Phineas and Ferb “built a molecular transporter?”

“Yup.”

Ford stared at them “how old are you two?”

“Fourteen.”

“Amazing” he said “if you wouldn’t mind I would love to get a look-”

“Ford” Stan interrupted, “let the kids finish their story then you can talk weird science stuff to them.”

“Right,” Ford said “sorry.”

—----------

Candace sighed, annoyed “do I look like someone who wants their molecules transported? Now can you please Perry out of our cabinets and go scramble your molecules somewhere else?”

“Oh!” Phienas said, grabbing his pet “there you are Perry.”

The two brothers started to teleport away when Stacy spoke up “you two want some gelatin?”

The two stopped teleporting “sure” Phineas agreed.

Candace sighed again, as much as she wanted them to leave she knew friends wouldn’t drop it until she shared with them. “Do you want cherry or grape?”

“Grape please” Phineas said “thanks.”

“Jello is so interesting,” Ferb said “ it’s the cartilaginous fibers from the bovine patella structure that gelatin is extracted from that gives it a fun, bouncy quality.”

“Ooh!” Phineas said “that gives me an idea. Ferb I know what we’re going to do today!”

And with that they teleported away.

—------

Later the whole gang plus the Fireside Girls were in Isabella’s backyard. “Thank you for letting me use your pool as the largest gelatin mold ever!” Phineas said.

“Of course,” she said.

Phineas picked up a megaphone “Ferb, release the gelatin mix.”

Ferb, who was meaning a crane, gave a thumbs up and emptied a large, wooden crate pull of purple powder into the pool. “Ooh, ooh, ooh, may I add some of my favorite flavor?” Baljeet asked.

“Sure buddy” Phineas said through the megaphone.

Baljeet laughed as he emptied a packet of mix into the water. “Stirring team, commence mixing operations” Phineas said.

“Aye, aye!” The Fireside Girls used paddle boats to start mixing.

—-------

“Hang on for just a moment” Ford interrupted, again, “how did you get access to a crane?”

“We know a guy,” Phineas said.

“And you have a permit?” Ford asked.

“Of course.”

Ford looked like he was going to ask another question but Stan stopped him “Sixer, in all the things we’ve been through are ya really going to ask why these kids are using a crane? Is that really what you want to focus on?”

“Right,” he said “of course. Sorry.”

“So anyways” Mabel said “while that was happening Dipper, Isabella, and me were having a very important conversation.”

—---------

Mason was reading the inherent list off the back of a jello packet “sugar, gelatin, adipic acid, disodium phosphate, sodium citrate, fumaric acid, natural and artificial flavor, yellow five, and blue one.”

Isabella was on her phone, looking something up online “huh?”

“What?” Mabel asked.

“Well,” she said “according to this it all depends on where the gelatin was sourced from because most of the time it’s not.”

“So what does that mean?”

“The jello brand we're using is kosher,” Isabella said. “It's been certified and everything.”

Mason nodded “but is it really kosher to make it in a pool?”

“I don’t think so,” Isabella said.

“I don’t think we’re going to be eating it” Mabel said “and besides, none of us follow kosher super strictly.”

“Yeah” Dipper said, “your family is the most kosher out of the three of us Isabella.”

“Yeah” she agreed “but that’s mostly because Mom makes sure the restaurant is.”

As they were talking the three teens headed back over to the rest of the group. “How's it lookin', Phineas?” Isabella asked.

“I think it’s just about done,” he said “so now we can get to the fun part!”

“You mean test the resiliency of our cartilaginous collusion with vigorous application of weight and velocity?” Baljeet asked.

“Exactly.” Phineas said “let's jump on it!”

—--------

“Hang on” Stan said “now I gotta question. You mean to tell me that you kids made a giant thing of jello just to jump on it?”

“That sounds about right,” Dipper said.

“Why not just get a trampoline?” Stan asked.

“Oh we got one,” Mabel said, pointing to the trampoline in the corner of the yard.

“Then why…?”

“For fun” Phineas shrugged, “that’s why we do most things.”

—----------

The kids were having a blast jumping on the gelatin, and Candace, Stacy, and Venessa even joined them. None of them noticed the green ray of light hit it, the jello started to take a form and started to stand. Everyone slid down the sides as if it was a slide, laughing.

They all looked up to see a monster made out of the purple gelatin. “Evil!” It growled.

“Who added the evil flavor?” Phineas asked.

Everyone looked at Baljeet “ It's curry. It's not inherently evil.” He laughed nervously “maybe a little spicy…”

The monster let out a roar “ah man” Mason groaned “out of all the days to leave my camera at home.”

The evil gelatin lunged forward, grabbing Candace and proceeded to ‘eat’ her. She let out a muffled scream from inside. “Well,” Phineas said “I guess we gotta rescue Candace.”

“But how do we fight a gelatin monster?” Holly asked.

Everyone looked at Dipper who thought it over “why not use the same stuff we made him with? Water!”

The kids were off, some got water balloons, some water guns, Mabel decided to just use the hose. The manic grin on her face made them all worried.

Together they were able to draw it back into the pool, much smaller than when they started. Candace just needed a little bit more room in order to escape her fruit flavored prison. The monster roared.

Phineas trusted a fist into the air “for Candace, our neighborhood and all the good gelatin left in the world!”

The teens all attacked the monster with their watery weapon, unknownst to them the jello monster was getting called to an evil scientist’s lab and started trying to go to his master via the drain.

“It’s working!” Dipper cheered.

Soon, Candace lay on the concert bottom of the pool and her brothers helped her out. “Thanks guys” she said “sorry about the mess.”

“It’s okay” Phineas said “we had fun.”

“You know what we got to do now” Mabel said, she then turned the hose on her brother. Soaking him to the bone. “Water fight!”

—----------

“And I’m sure you can guess what happens next,” Mason said.

“Yes” Ford said “thank you for sharing, that is quite fascinating. I wonder why it turned evil like that?”

Dipper shrugged, “Who knows, the important thing is that we stopped it.”

“Very true,” Ford smiled at his nephew proudly.

“You know,” Mabel said, now standing behind her brother. Hands behind her back “now that you and Grunkle Stan are here maybe we should have a round two!” She then dumped a bucket of cold water over her twin’s head.

Dipper sat there in shock, processing. Then he looked up at his sister and smiled “I love you.”

“Huh?” She looked confused.

He stood up, slowly, “in fact,” he said “I love you so much that I want to give you a hug!”

Mabel’s eyes went wide in realization and started running, just in time for Dipper to lung at her. He missed but that didn’t stop him from giving chase.

Notes:

It's the Grunkles!!!

I am so excited to finally post this chapter, ever since the beginning I wanted to do a couple of chapters were the visit and it's finally time. We will get to see them again next week and then it's back to our regular programing.

I really hoped you guys liked this, if you did then I would love to hear your thoughts.
- Izzy

Chapter 73: Double Trouble

Summary:

Both sets of Pines Twins spend the day together.

It had been a few days since Stand and Ford arrived in Danville to visit their niece and nephew and now it was their last day. Something that disappointed everyone but they couldn’t say forever. But it was decided that their last day should just be them spending time with Dipper and Mabel.

The two had spent most of this trip with the younger twins but usually their dad or one of their friends were around too.

Mabel skipped alongside Ford as they walked through the streets of Danville, trying to find something to do. “So what do you kids want to do?” Stan asked.

She shrugged, “I’m happy with anything.”

Mason looked down at his phone as he got a text “the brothers said that they’re building their own laser tag course, they said we can go for free if we want.”

Ford chuckled “I think Stan and I are a little old for laser tag.”

Stan snorted “of course we aren’t, besides. It’s free, now let's go!”

—-----------

“So how do we want to do this?” Ford asked as he put the vest on. “How should we split ourselves up?’

Since their friends were running it the four Pines got to play laser tag by themselves on one of the smaller courses versus playing in a large group.

“I want to play with you, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel said.

“Alright!” Stan laughed “us against the nerds.”

Dipper pulled a face “I am not a nerd. I am a geek. Completely different.”

“So you don’t want to be paired with Ford?” Stan asked, amused.

“No!” Mason said “I never said that.”

Ford placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled down at his nephew “do you want to step aside and come out with a plan of attack?”

“Of course!”

The brothers, as always, went way over the top in building their laser tag course. It was full of platforms and ramps to climb on, walls and things to duck behind or hide in, and underneath one of the platforms was a foam pit which Mabel had a lot of fun hiding and dragging her family members into.

The Pines played several rounds, first was Ferb and Dipper against Stan and Mabel then was the younger twins versus the older ones then lastly was Stan and Dipper against Ford and Mabel.

Stan and Ford watched as their niece and nephew, apparently, recreated some movie scene. Mason was laying on the edge on the platform above the foam pit, pretending to be morality wounded.

“Ah sister!” He stretched a hand out to Mabel “help me.”

Mabel leaned down and grinned gleefully “long live the king!” And she pushed him off and into the foam below.

Dipper yelped as he disappeared into the pit and Mabel laughed before jumping after him. “You kids okay?” Stan called over with a laugh.

“We’re good!” Mabel called back.

“How about we dig up your brother and go get some food?” Ford suggested.

“That sounds good,” Dipper said, popping back up. “But my glasses are gone.”

The two Grunklles hurried over and helped him look, once the glasses were procured (thankfully unbroken) they headed out in search of some lunch. They ended up deciding on getting some fast food and eating in the park.

“Oh Grunkle Stan!” Mabel said “do you want to go feed french fried to the ducks with me?”

“What?” Stan said “so I buy you two food and you want to go give it all to a bunch of birds?”

“Yes!” Mabel said, giving him puppy dog eyes “please?”

Stan quickly caved “alright let's go.”

“Yay!” Mabel dragged him off to the duck pond, leaving Mason and Ford alone.

“How’s your hamburger?” Ford asked.

“It’s fine,” Dipper said, feeling awkward.

“Is everything alright?” Ford asked “I thought you would want to talk about some of the things Stan and I have seen since Thanksgiving but the whole time we’ve been here you haven’t said anything.”

Mason sighed, propping his chin up with his hand and looking away. “I’ve called you guys you know. A few times this summer, but you guys never answered. Why?”

“I didn’t realize you called” Ford said “We don't have the best phone service in the arctic. Even with the improvements I’ve made.”

“Oh…”

“I’m sorry” Ford said “I’ll be sure to get that fixed.”

Dipper noded “Okay, but you gotta promise to call more often.”

“Of course,” Ford said. “I’m sorry you and your sister couldn’t go to Gravity Falls this summer.”

“It’s okay” Mason said “I’m enjoying Danville a lot. It kind of reminds me of Gravity Falls. Expect that most people acknowledge the weirdness.”

“Really?” Ford said “I know you already told me about some of your adventures but what has been one of the strangest?”

Dipper thought it over “gosh… There are so many things. Do you want supernatural or just weird in general, cause that will narrow it down a bunch.”

“Let’s go with the supernatural for now” Ford said, pulling out his current Journal.

—--------

Over at the duckpond Stan and Mabel were throwing ducks bits of french fries “so you got a boyfriend” Stan said.

“Yup!” She smiled “Ferb is really great.”

“Oh yeah?” Stan said “so I don’t gotta give him the ol’ shovel talk?”

Mabel laughed, “Dad already did that, but thanks.”

“Okay” Stan chuckled, “but you let me know if it hurts you, okay?”

“Ferb would never hurt me,” Mabel said confidently.

“How long have you two been dating?” Stan asked.

“Only for a few weeks now” Mabel said “but it feels way longer than that. This whole summer feels long.”

“You should mention that to Ford” Stan said “he would probably think that this place has some kind of time-slowing shield or something.”

Mabel laughed “no, it’s not like that at all. It’s just the fact that the author only updates once a week and takes breaks in between seasons.”

Stan stared down at her “.... What?”

“Don’t worry Grunkle Stan” she said “if you stay in Danville then you’ll understand all the meta jokes. I only just started making them myself! Dipper is still confused though.”

“Pumkin,” Stan sighed “I love you but that did not help one bit.”

“That’s fair!” Mabel said “oh, do you want to hear how I’m trying to get Phineas and Isabella together?”

“Sure” Stan chuckled, “why not?”

After lunch the Mystery Twins showed their Grunkles around Danville, showing them all their favorite places. Before heading back home where they went out to dinner with their dad before driving down to the docks so the two old sailors could leave before it got too dark.

The two younger twins hugged their Uncles tightly “do you have to go?” Mabel asked, her voice muffled by Ford’s coat.

“We can’t stay forever,” Ford said gently. “But I promise that we’ll call more often, or at least write letters.”

“You guys are going to visit again, right?” Dipper asked.

“Course we will kid” Stan said, ruffling Mason’s hair. “You’re not getting rid of us any time soon.”

Notes:

I know this was a little shorter than most of you wanted but I really didn't want to do anything super big, just some nice family fluff.

We only got a couple more chapters until the season 3 finale! It's going to be another four parter so be sure you all look forward to that, it's going to be fun.

- Izzy

Chapter 74: Brotherly Woes

Summary:

The brothers have a disagreement as to how they should celebrate their return.

Notes:

If you are reading this in The Future the context for this chapter is that I was on a very long hiatus to recover from burn out and to properly mourn my great-grandfather who had passed away around that time.

Ferb sat next to his brother in their usual place under the big tree in the backyard, Phineas was going through a stack of blueprints. Trying to find one for them to build today.

“Oh!” Phineas said “what about our frog suits?” Ferb shook his head “okay… How about we go to space again? We can visit a new planet or our star.” Ferb considered that but shook his head again, maybe another day.

His brother was starting to look concerned “is everything okay Ferb, you’ve been denying everything I’ve suggested. I mean, this is the first chapter since the Author took her mental health break. We gotta do something big!”

“Exactly” Ferb said “this is the Author’s first chapter in a while. Shouldn’t we do something smaller and manageable so she won’t get overwhelmed again?”

“That won’t happen” Phineas said “she adjusted her uploading schedule.”

“I still think we should ease into things,” Ferb said “at least for today.”

Neither of them noticed Irving opening the gate “hey guy-” his voice cut off when he took in the scene.

Phineas sighed “maybe we need to separate for the day, it’s clear we aren’t going to agree.”

Ferb nodded, while he and his brother were as thick as thieves they were still their own people. They, like everyone, had days when they needed alone time.

Neither one of them noticed Irving run off.

“Great” Phineas stood “I’ll see you later then?” Ferb nodded and watched his step-brother head off.

—--------

Mabel lay in the grass in the front yard of the Pines house, her limbs were spread and her hair was loose. Basking in the warmth of the summer sun. Instead of wearing a sweater like she typically did, the girl was in a pair of shorts and a knitted tank top. It was a bright, sunshine yellow and patterned with green leaves.

“Mabel!” She opened her eyes and sat up to see a boy running towards her. It took her a moment to recognize him as Irving, the kid from the shrinking hide-and-seek adventure and the science fiction/fantasy convention.

“Oh hi!” She smiled “it’s good to see you again, how are you?”

Irving rushed over and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her to her feet “I need your help, it’s an emergency!”

Mabel, feeling uncomfortable at the intensity, pried the boy off of her and took a step back. “What’s wrong?”

“Phineas and Ferb are fighting!”

She laughed “what? No way, they never fight.”

“I thought so too,” Irving said, “but I saw them do it, and now they don’t want to spend time together anymore.”

Mabel frowned, while she doubted Irving’s words it was clear the boy was worried. “Would you feel better if I checked in on them?”

“Yes.”

She slipped on her sandals, which were laying in the grass nearby, and gave Waddles, who was also basking in the sun, a pat before walking around the house to the back. Irving followed close behind.

Dipper was sitting in the shade of the house in the backyard, reading, he glanced up at them. He looked at his sister, confused, and Mabel gave him a shrug. Dipper raised a brow in a silent question and she shook her head. With that he went back to his book.

Mabel boosted herself up on the fence and peered over to the Flynn-Fletcher backyard to find her boyfriend sitting under the oak tree by himself. Well, not completely by himself, Perry was sitting on his lap.

Ferb looked perfectly content to be petting the platypus as he read his book, it seemed to be the same one Dipper was reading. Mabel was vaguely reminded that she needed to read it herself before the next book club meeting.

Eh, it was fine. She could probably convince Dipper to give her a summary or look it up online.

Mabel was about to call out to Ferb, to make sure everything was okay and find out what was going on. When a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her off the fence, she let out a yelp as she face planted into the grass.

She lifted herself up to glare at Irving, by now Dipper had put his book away and was starting to walk over. “What the heck?!” She said “what was that for?”

“What are you doing?” Irving hissed.

Mabel stood up and brushed grass off her clothes and picked out some blades from where they got stuck in her lip gloss. “I was going to ask Ferb what was going on and if he was okay.”

By now Dipper had reached them “what’s going on?”

“Phineas and Ferb are fighting!” Irving exclaimed.

“Okay” Dipper shrugged.

“Okay? Okay?!” Irving said, getting more and more worked up. “How can you be so calm?!”

“I mean,” Dipper said, “it’s awful, I’m sure. But all siblings fight sometimes. I’m sure it’s not as big as you’re making it out to be, they probably got into some kind of spat instead of a full fight.”

“Then why aren’t they spending the day together?” Irving asked, refusing to calm down.

“Probably so they can take the time to recharge and think before it turns into a real fight,” Mabel said. “Me and Dipper do that sometimes.”

“But what should we do?” Irving asked.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged “wait it out?” Dipper guessed. “See if it is a real fight and if they resolve it on their own. If they don’t then we can intervene.”

“So you just want to sit around and do nothing?!”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Mabel asked.

“Do something!”

“There’s nothing we can do right now,” Dipper said.

“Fine, I’ll deal with this on my own!” Irving huffed and stomped off.

The two watched him go and Dipper turned to his sister “well, that was an interesting start to our day.”

“Definitely something for the readers to come back too” Mabel agreed. “Well, I’m gonna check in on Ferb. Maybe see if he wants to go out.”

“Okay, have fun,” Dipper said, heading back to his book.

—---------

Mason’s hopes for a quiet day were soon interrupted by Isabella, Baljeet, and Burford entering his backyard. “Hey Dipper,” Isabella said “whatcha doing?”

“Trying to read” he sighed, giving up and putting the book away. “What’s up?”

“Do you know where Ferb is?” Baljeet asked.

“He and Mabel went out, though I don’t know where.” Dipper shrugged. “Why?”

“Cause that punk, Irving, showed up and said that he and Phineas were fighting.” Burford said.

Dipper sighed “yeah, I know, he tried to get Mabel and I to help in some kind of grand scheme or something. He didn’t stick around long enough to tell us his plans.”

“Should we try and find Phineas?” Isabella asked “make sure that everything is okay?”

“I guess we should” Dipper stood up. “Do you guys know where he might be?”

“Why should we know? Baljeet asked.

“Cause you guys have known him longer than I have” Dipper pointed out “where does he normally go when he and Ferb aren’t together?”

“That doesn’t normally happen,” Isabella said. “But maybe he’s just inside.”

Mason nodded and pulled out his phone “what are you doing?” Baljeet asked.

“Texting Mabel to see what she and Ferb ended up doing.” It didn’t take long before he got a response “seems like they’re baking and she wants me to stop texting her.”

“So Phineas is somewhere else” Isabella said “but that doesn’t really help us.”

“Why don’t we just go check places he normally goes?” Baljeet suggested.

“Does he have a preferred store to get supplies from?” Dipper took a moment to scratch behind his ear “....Kind of surprised I never asked that before.”

Baljeet started to answer and then paused “I… Don’t know, usually they order the supplies or get them on their own.”

“There was this one store that Phineas went to to get some supplies when we were younger, before Ferb became his brother I would go with him on one or two occasions.”

As the boys turned to her, Isabella shrugged. “I have been Phineas’ next door neighbor since we were babies, and while not as big as the things he does these days, we still had fun. Why do you think I have a crush on him? He has always made my summers special.”

“Huh…” Dipper considered “okay… Do you think he still uses them or does he have a different supplier now?”

“They’re still open for business, and since Ferb wants some alone time, he might end up doing something small. A spontaneous thing like this might cause him to pay them a visit for old times sake.”

“Right yeah, that makes sense,” Dipper nodded “and if this is really as big of a deal as Irving says it is then Phineas might be upset and not be in the mood for anything big.”

“So, we head to this nerd site,” Burford said, “check for twinkle toes, and ask him what his deal is with Ferb today. And if nothing is wrong, I come back here and give Irving Baljeet’s daily allotted wedgies for interrupting my extremely busy schedule.”

Mason nodded “honestly, I don’t blame you. This whole thing has interrupted my reading time and I just got to the good part of my book.”

Buford nodded. “I will squeeze you in for a scheduled wedgie lesson between the third and fifth wedgies then.”

“Thanks but I’m good,” Dipper said. “Wedgies aren’t really my things and I don’t want to mess with your craft. I might just curse him, to be honest…”

And so, with the plan in place, Isabella led the boys to the store. “Huh, this place is a bit bigger than I remember it being. Maybe since the brothers still get some of their supplies from here, and they were able to expand it.”

Dipper just nodded, “expanded or not, we should split up to cover more ground.”

Buford chuckled. “Alright Fred, I’ll take the mascot and look over here.”

“Fred?” Dipper repeated “why did you just call me Fred?”

“Hey, I don’t judge you for your fourth wall breaking reference jokes, or lack of, don’t judge mine. Come on Scooby.”

Baljeet sighed in exasperation as Buford lifted him by his britches and walked off. Mason looked at Isabella as the girl merely shrugged before walking towards the other side of the store. Leaving the center of the place for Dipper himself to search.

Dipper decided to go and find an employee, as he searched he wondered how Ferb and Mabel were doing.

—----------

Mabel and Ferb stood in the Flynn-Fletcher kitchen, the two deciding to spend the day making cookies for everyone. Which was going as well as one might expect, given how Mabel’s baking skills were…. Messy to say the least. Ferb, on the other hand, was a pretty decent cook thanks to the skills he picked up from his father.

Ferb looked in her bowl of dough, which was a little… Sticky. And not sticky that cookie dough was meant to be. It was also full of sprinkles and very glittery thanks to the edible glitter she added. Other than that she did a good job.

“Now we just gotta roll them out?” Mabel asked and he nodded, handing her a baking sheet.

The two started working on scooping and rolling out their cookies when Mrs Flynn-Fletcher walked in, taking in the scene. “Hi kids, what are you doing?”

“Hey Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher” Mabel smiled “we’re just making some cookies. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she said, “just clean up after.”

Ferb gave a nod from where he was bent over his own baking sheet, using a ruler to make sure each ball of dough was the same size. Unlike Mabel who was eyeballing it.

“Well,” Linda said, “you two have fun. I’m going to run to the store before my couples’ roller skating class tonight. Ferb, do you or Phineas need anything?”

Ferb wasn’t sure about Phineas but he and Mabel did use the last of the eggs for their cookies. Linda nodded, adding eggs to her list before heading out. Ferb looked over at his girlfriend to see that she had abandoned rolling out her cookies and had taken to just eating the dough.

He smiled as he leaned over to wipe some sparkly dough off her cheek. Ferb loved his brother and their friends but he was glad to be spending the day with Mabel without the rest of the group.

—----------

As Isabella was walking down an isle, she also felt the nostalgia of each pleasant memory she had of this place.

“Huh, hey Isabella, didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Isabella jolted slightly as she heard Phineas beside her, turning to find him as peppy as ever, and smiling like there wasn’t a problem in the world. “Oh, hey Phineas. Whatcha doin?”

“Just looking around” he said “it’s been a while since I’ve been here, they’ve really expanded!”

“Yeah, it still brings back memories though.”

Phineas’ eyes widened a bit as he spoke up, sounding a bit more excited than usual. “You know what, you’re totally right. I hadn’t thought about it, but with you being here, this does remind me of all those times before we had all the friends that moved into our neighborhood.”

As the two spoke Baljeet walked into the isle, spotting them he was about to call out when Mason suddenly showed up. He practically tackled the other boy and pulled him out of sight. Baljeet struggled slightly, though his struggling was less effective when Buford shoved a sock into his mouth.

Seeing both boys raise a brow at him, the bully shrugged. “I always keep one of his socks handy in case of emergencies.”

“Thanks,” Dipper said, breathless. “Sorry Baljeet, but if we didn’t leave them alone and let, as Mabel would say, ‘their love blossom’ then she would probably sick Waddles on all of us. And we don’t want that, that pig can cause some damage.”

The short conversation went unheard as Phineas and Isabella continued to reminisce. “Hey, Ferb wanted to do his own thing today, and I don’t really want to go as big without the whole gang to enjoy it, maybe we can do something like in the old days?”

“Isabella, I know what we’re gonna do today. If that’s alright with you.”

Isabella smiled as she giggled. “Anything you wanna do Phineas, you always have great ideas.”

Isabella would later realize that she mumbled that aloud, even as she entered “Phineas Land” after what the boy just said.

Dipper, who was watching the exchange, looked back at Buford who was still holding Baljeet back. “What is she doing?”

Buford shrugged “how should I know?”

“Fair enough,” Mason said, “I’ll ask Mabel later.”

Isabella was suddenly brought out of her trance when something hit her back, turning she saw that someone had thrown a piece of crumpled up paper. She spotted Dipper at the end of the isle, giving her a thumbs up before ducking back out of sight.

Isabella turned back, finding Phineas gathering supplies, causing her to rush to catch up, and begin to listen to his idea, as they started to iron out the details.

Back to the three boys, Dipper and Buford nodded towards, the bully shrugged, “and girls make this matchmaking thing sound hard.”

“Yeah” Mason said “Mabel makes it seem to be this ‘grand and difficult’ task but that wasn’t hard at all.”

Baljeet pulled his sock out of his mouth. “Or maybe it’s because the two already have excellent chemistry, and all they really needed was some alone time to really get their relationship started.”

—----------

Isabella had been so distracted by the fact that she was finally spending alone time with Phineas that she almost forgot the original reason why he was alone. “Hey, Phineas, earlier you said that you and Ferb were doing separate things today, everything okay with you guys?”

Phineas smiled at her. “Everything is cool between us, we just had different ideas for what to do after the break. He wanted to chill and relax, I wanted to go big for our return. I really wanted to celebrate the Author getting better, and he wanted to let her ease back into things.”

Isabella could only smile. “You always enjoyed going big to celebrate or cheer people up, I still remember when I got the chicken pocks.”

“I tried to create an auto scratcher for you, but wound up getting them myself when I took it over to you to help out. At least we were able to enjoy each other’s company throughout the experience.”

“I recall our moms laughing and teasing us about the whole thing.”

“I think the phrase they used was ‘chickens that flock together, pock together’ if I remember correctly.”

Isabella smiled. “I kind of miss this, I love our friends and all, but just the two of us, doing a silly experiment like this. I guess you never realize how special some things are, until you share them with others.”

Phineas blinked as he hummed in thought. “If you mean all these small things, they still are just ours. We started doing bigger things when Ferb became my brother, and Buford started hanging out with us after that whole bully boxing day back in elementary school, and Baljeet came with him and then the twins moved next door.” He said “but we haven’t really done any simple experimentation, or small invention since. But yeah, I kind of miss it as well, maybe we should set aside a couple days to do this, just like old times. Seize the Day, Carpe Diem.”

Isabella smiled widely, covering her blushing cheeks. Phineas noticed, blinking as he realized how happy this was making his friend, bringing a smile to his face.

“If you wanted to do something like this before now, you only really had to ask.” He said “you were my first friend, the first person to believe in me, and that means the world to me. So, if you want to do this again, all you have to do is ask.”

—----------

With both of the brothers, Mabel, and Isabella occupied, that left the remaining three members of the friend group alone. As they walked down the street of Downtown Danville Dipper frowned to himself.

“Hang on” he said “is this the first time the three of us have hung out alone?”

“No” Baljeet said “I’m sure we…. Huh, I think you’re right.”

“That’s weird” Buford said with a shrug, not seemingly all that concerned. “Though I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, the Author doesn’t really know how to write me and Baljeet.”

“Baljeet and I” Baljeet corrected. “It’s a bit annoying though, we shouldn’t be pushed to the sidelines because of her lack of writing skills.”

Thankfully the three boys were interrupted before a full argument could be broken out between the bully and nerd.

“Oh good,” Irving said, running up to them “I found you. Have you guys talked to Phineas and Ferb yet? Are they done fighting?”

Before Dipper could reassure the boy, having gotten a text from Isabella that everything was okay, Buford smirked as he got an evil idea for revenge. “Actually, we don’t know. We failed to find Phineas and lost Isabella. Maybe they eloped, which means we need a replacement. And if we get a new Phineas, we will definitely need a new Ferb, seeing as they are a package deal.”

Buford couldn’t help his evil smirk as Dipper caught onto his plan, and not just that but went along with it. “I just don’t know anyone who knows the brothers well enough to replace either of them.”

As Baljeet rolled his eyes and went to speak up, Buford smacked him upside the head. Irvine was almost crying as he began to mumble before rushing off.

Baljeet looked exasperated and rolled his eyes as the other two laughed “that was mean.”

The others both shrugged and Buford spoke up as they continued to walk. “It was also mean of him to make all of us worry about our friends having real issues when it was nothing. Revenge is a dish best served.”

“Cold, I…” Buford cut Baljeet off.

“Wrong. Revenge is simply best served, whether cold or hot, doesn’t matter. As long as it’s served. Everyone knows it’s better served as a surprise.” Buford finished with a dark chuckle.

Dipper gave a more light hearted chuckle. “Besides, everything will be back to normal soon enough, and Irvine most likely will just be too happy to see the brothers ‘back together again’, he’ll forget all about it.”

Baljeet blinked at the two. “You guys are awfully cruel when working together like this. No wonder the Author doesn’t write you two together often.”

“And that’s a shame. All my cruelty backed by his logically powered reasoning, we could destroy the entire Tri-State Area.” Buford gave another dark chuckle.

Dipper nodded as he turned to Buford. “You’ve been practicing that evil laugh, haven’t you? It sounds really natural.”

“At least someone noticed.” Buford sent a disappointed look towards Baljeet, who just rolled his eyes good naturedly.

As the boys opened the gate to enter the brother’s backyard, more out of habit than actual planning, they found something that caught all three off guard. They could tell it was Irvine, but he had apparently gone and changed his clothes. If you split the boy down the middle, his right half would have been a copy of Phineas, as his left half was Ferb.

A wig that was styled and colored to fit each side, the shirt and pants looked like one of Phineas’ and Ferb’s usual outfits if you cut them in half and sewn them together, while the shoes were also from two separate pairs that matched the brothers’ own.

Baljeet gave Dipper and Buford a deadpan stare.“Regret is minimally felt, but watching him lose his mind is kind of funny,” Buford said.

“At least they are just similar outfits, the sizes are different in comparison to what Mabel has written in her sweater book.” Dipper shrugged.

Baljeet and Buford nodded, recalling as Mabel got their sizes for when she was making sweaters. She didn’t always have a reason to fit a sweater to specific people, but she enjoyed it when she made one to fit perfectly for her friends.

Irvine noticed the boys entering as he began to chuckle a bit. “I know what we’re gonna do today, Irverb. I, Irvineas, have thought of the perfect idea. Why are you always picking and choosing what we do for the day, Irvineas, why can’t I decide?”

And suddenly, it wasn’t so funny anymore. “Because that’s just how it’s always been Irverb. I have to say the line, it’s how things are supposed to be. Well, why can’t I say it for once, Irvineas?”

Dipper looked over to see Ferb and Mabel in the Flynn-Fletcher kitchen “how are they not seeing this?”

“Love is blind” Buford said wisely.

“So….” Mason said “should we try and fix this or leave it? I don’t know what to do in this situation, most of my revenge plots don’t lead to stuff like this.”

“You make revenge plots?” Baljeet asked.

Dipper shrugged “sometimes, most of the time revenge just comes more naturally.”

Buford laughed, “I knew there was a reason I liked you!”

“And here I thought it was because of my brilliant personality.”

The gate door opened behind them and Phineas and Isabella walked through, at the same time the back door to the house opened and Ferb and Mabel came through. Mabel was holding what looked to be a plate of cookies.

“Hey Ferb!” Phineas said, not noticing Irving, “how was your day?” Ferb blinked in that silent way of his and Phineas smiled “that’s awesome, I had a pretty good day too. It was nice that we could each do our own thing for a change.”

Ferb nodded in agreement, it had been nice though he wouldn’t want to do it all the time. But he wouldn’t be opposed to separating more often.

The two brothers then noticed Irving. “Irving?” Phineas said “what are you doing? Why are you dressed like that?”

Irving flushed as the embarrassment set in as he realized that the brothers weren’t fighting like he originally thought. “Uhh” he scrambled for an excuse “I was just working on my summerween costume!”

“Summerween was months ago,” Mabel pointed out, “and we might not even do it again next year.”

“We probably will” Phineas said “even if Ferb and I aren’t behind it I think the people of Danville will just make it a yearly tradition.”

“Phineas and Ferb just helped spread the word about the holiday, not create it. It was just a fun tradition we shared with the town from our time in Gravity Falls.” Dipper reminded his sister, knowing that was how traditions and holidays usually spread.

“Yeah!” Irving laughed nervously “I knew that, and that’s why I was getting a head start on next year’s costume. But it’s not working right so I’m gonna go.”

They all watched Irving rip off his strange costume and run out of the backyard. Buford scoffed, “and here I thought I had seen it all.” Reaching over, he grabbed a cookie. “Too much love, not enough glitter.”

“Ferb made me stop,” Mabel said, shooting a fake pout at her boyfriend who just smiled softly and gave her a quick kiss.

“Well,” Mason said “this was an interesting end to the chapter.” Everyone stared at him “what?”

“Was that your first fourth wall break?” Isabella asked.

Dipper frowned “huh… I guess it was.”

Notes:

I'm baaaaack! Did you miss me?

I am so sorry that my hiatus was so long, when I deiced to take a break I did not mean for it to be for almost a year. But life happened and time slipped away from me. But I'm back now and stronger than ever. I also wanted to thank you guys for all your kind words when I announced my hiatus, it really meant a lot to me. Now, I have deleted the announcement but I did screenshot those comments because they really did mean a lot to me.

As mentioned in the chapter I have reevaluated my uploading schedule as sadly I can't go back to updating every week like I had done before, it caused far too much stress and was the reason why I burnt out the way that I did. So I have deiced that for the rest of Season 3 (at the very least) I will be updating one every two weeks. We are almost done with the season and I have most of the chapters written for it so I think that's reasonable. Once the season is over I will inform you all if I will keep this schedule or change it again.

Hopefully you guys enjoyed everyone's return. What did you guys think? Did you like Dipper's first fourth wall break? Please let me know!

- Isabel

Chapter 75: Buford Vrs Romance

Summary:

Buford runs into an old 'friend' of his.

Up at a cabin in the middle of the mountains was a group of five kids, there were the twins, the brothers, and Isabella. Mabel and Isabella were both in their Fireside Girl uniforms while the boys were trying to combat the heat in t-shirts and shorts.

“Thanks for letting us host the French Fireside Girls at your cabin, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn.” Isabella said to the two grandparents, the owners of the cabin, “this'll be a great place for them to get their North American Tracking patches.”

“What did I do again?” Clyde asked.

“Mabel and The French Fireside Girls, or Le Filles à côté du Feu, as they're known in their country of origin, are going for their North American Tracking patches.” Phineas explained “and you're helping us help them.”

“I put a sticky note on your shirt,” Betty Jo said.

The old man picked up the sticky note “aww. And you wrote ‘love’.” As the kids left to get ready he leaned over to his wife and whispered “I knew it was there.”

“Why do you play senile?” She asked.

“I love your notes!”

—---------

A few hours later a van pulled up “they're here!” Isabella said excitedly “The French Fireside Girls! Or Le Filles à côté du Feu, as they're known in their country of origin.”

Mabel was bouncing on her toes “oh I can’t wait to meet them!”

The van pulled to a stop and three girls got out, each wearing a similar version of the Fireside Girl uniform. The main difference being that they wore orange berets. The two American Fireside Girls walked up to them.

“Bonjour, Le Filles à côté du Feu. Je m'appelle Isabel.” Isabella said, which translated to ‘greetings, Fireside Girls. My name is Isabella’.

One of the French Fireside Girl’s, probably the leader, eyes widened “Oh, tu parles français. Et ça c'est inentendu! J'ai beacoup de choses à dire… '' She said, which translated ‘oh, you speak French? And that is unheard of! I have so much to say…’

Isabella quickly cut her off “whoa, whoa, stop, stoppez! That's all the French I've got.”

“D'accord.” She nodded before switching to an accented English “I am Brigitte, and these are Josette and Collette.”

“Bonjour!” The two girls greeted.

Isabella gestured to Mabel “this is Mabel, she’s going to be getting her North American Tracking patches with you guys.” She then turned to the two brothers who walked over. “And this is-”

Brigitte interrupted excitedly “Phineas et Ferb!” She held up a newspaper “we read your column in Le Filles à côté du Feu Gazette.”

“I'm syndicated,” Isabella said humbly.

“Who’s that?” Collette asked, pointing at Dipper who was sitting on the porch and writing in his Journal.

“That’s Mabel’s brother, Mason,” Isabella said.

“He’s just here to hang out,” Mabel explained.

They were interrupted by Baljeet appearing, pushing a large crate covered by a sheet “​​everyone, please stand back!” He warned “keep your fingers, and berets away from the bars.”

“Le Filles à côté du Feu, and Mabel,” Isabella said “to earn your American Tracking Patch you'll have to capture the most dangerous of creatures, the vicious, American,” she pulled away the tarp to reveal Buford in a bear costume “grizzly bear.”

“He has not been fed,” Baljeet warned.

Burford started making growling noises, no one noticed when he stopped when he spotted Brigitte. “My friend has graciously agreed to be the bear for today's hunt,” Isabella said.

The bully suddenly pulled the tarp back over the crate, Baljeet looked confused “excuse me.” And he walked around to the back side of the cage. “What’s up?”

“Get in here.” Burford grabbed him and pulled him inside “I know that girl out there!”

“You do?”

“Yeah, we met in Paris.” His eyes went distant as he started to flashback “ it was a year ago, and I was taking in some of the local color, when I saw her, Brigitte. She was a beautiful French girl, and I was an ugly American. Which of course holds a certain… mystique. With her I completely forgot myself. I read poetry, I wept at beauty, I clipped my toenails. For Brigitte, I even learned to speak the language of love, French talk.”

“Oh, “ Baljeet realized “that is why you are fluent in French.”

“It was easy, actually. A lot of the root words are the same in Latin.” He said before getting back on topic “but I can't let anyone know I have a heart, it'll ruin my tough-guy image. And believe me, the irony is not lost on me in this suit.” He started to panic “aw man, don't you see, if I get all gushy now, I'll be totally exposed! I can't stand it! He pushed Baljeet aside before running off.

Mabel spotted Burford and pointed at him “there he goes!”

“Let the tracking begin!” Isabella declared and the girls ran after him.

“Wait, you speak Latin!?” Baljeet yelled after him.

“Go get 'em girls!” Phineas cheered and Ferb waved a little French flag in support.

Clyde walked over to them with a chuckle “you'll never catch me running around in a fuzzy bear suit,” there was a pause “in this heat.”

Dipper pushed his sweaty curls off his forehead “I wouldn’t run around in a bear suit period.” He had enough of that with the ‘Lamby Lamby Dance’. “But I see your point.”

“It is a tad sweltering.” Phineas agreed “a little fun with water might be in order.”

“Way ahead of ya' kiddo.” Grandpa Flyyn pointed and the boys looked over to see a little sprinkler.

“You're on the right track Grandpa,” Phineas said “mind if we kick it up a notch?”

“I was hoping you might,” he said.

“Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!”

Mason stood up, stretched, and put on his hat, “alright let's do this!”

—--------------

As the brothers and Dipper were working on the sprinkler Baljeet pulled out his phone and called Buford, putting him on speaker. “Tell me she was deported!”

“Buford, what are you doing?” Baljeet asked him.

“The forest is crawlin' with patch-crazed Europeans and I'm a bear in the woods.” Buford said, sounding frantic “what do you think I'm doing?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I know!” Phineas called over.

“Am I on speaker phone?” He realized, then yelled “get me off speakerphone!”

Through the phone the boys could all hear Brigitte say, “this way I see a score!”

“They're coming!”

“How’s he doing Baljeet?” Phineas asked, obvious to their friend’s panic.

“I want his fuzzy fent on my wall!” The French Fireside Girl yelled before the phone hung up.

“Ha, well…” Baljeet laughed nervously.

“Do you want to help us make a mega-sprinkler?” Mason asked.

Baljeet tossed his phone away, “yes, yes I do.”

—-------------

The girls paused when they noticed a bunch of tracks in the dirt, Mabel studied them with a frown. “He must have gone that way!” She said, pointing in the direction the tracks went.

“Great!” Isabella said “come on, let's check it out!”

“Wait!” Brigitte stopped her before kneeling next to the tracks “look here, the weight was on the balls of his feet instead of the heels, he retraced his steps to here” she moved over and pushed away the thick leaves of a bush. “Voilà! The footprints continue here. This way, the hunt is on!”

“Wow” Mabel said as they started running again “she’s good.”

The girls started running again, following the tracks. Burford was clearly trying to make it hard for them as it felt like they were being led in circles at times. At one point they needed to wade through a river, not that anyone complained; it was hot!

After a few hours they ended up in a dense part of the forest that was dark and cool thanks to the thick canopy of leaves. While this offered relief from the heat it also gave the girls a disadvantage, making it harder to see.

“How are we going to find him now?” Josette wondered.

“Ooh!” Mabel reached under her sweater “I got just the thing.” She pulled out a bunch of goggles with green titled lenses “heat vision goggles!”

Isabella took one “how did you get these?”

“Ferb gave them to me when he found out what patch I was working on today!” She said, handing a pair to each of the other girls.

Brigitte nodded appreciatively “very good, Fireside Girls, goggle on.” The other girls put the goggles on as Brigitte went into full business mode “he has gone completely animal. He smells us. Pursue!”

The Fireside Girls ran off into the dark foliage in search of their target.

—----------

Buford continued to run away from the Fireside Girls, one of which being his crush, but he tripped over a log, sending him tumbling into the edge of the lake. When he sat up he spotted Phineas and Ferb's super sprinkler. It stood straight out of the water, twisting and turning.

Phineas waved from where he was sitting on a paddle board, “hey Buford! What do you think of our super sprinkler? We used low turbulence mechanics, and specific gravity to make the water hold its shape while in motion.”

Buford stared up at it “you had me at super sprinkler.”

The girls ran into the clearing and spotted Burford who turned to look at them with deer-headlights-looks. Or a bear-in-headlights-look, as they say.

“There he is!” Brigitte pointed.

“Get 'em girls!” Isabella yelled.

“I got him!” Mabel ran at Buford in an attempt to tackle him but the bully jumped away and threw himself into the water, allowing himself to get sucked up by the super-sprinkler. Mabel landed on the ground with an ‘oof.’

“You think I am afraid of a little water, bear?” Brigitte asked, “think again!” She pulled off her Fireside Girl uniform to reveal a swimsuit underneath and took chase, jumping into the lake.

Isabella helped Mabel up “she is really serious about getting this patch.”

“Oui.” The two remaining French girls said in unison.

Burford swam up the twisting, vertical stream of water and passed by Baljeet who was relaxing on an infallible tub. “Where have you been?”

Baljeet was leaning back with his eyes closed “dude, it is not my problem.”

Buford passed by Phineas, Ferb, and Dipper. Phineas was still on his paddle board, Ferb was wearing a snorkel and had his face in the water, Mason was sitting on a makeshift raft he made out of pool noodles and was readjusting his swim binder.

“Ferb, did you order a bear?” Phineas said teasingly.

The green-haired teen said something but his voice was muffled by the combination of the water and snorkel, Phineas laughed. “Oh man, that would have been so funny without the snorkel.”

“I know,” Dipper joked “if we were able to hear it I’m sure it would have been unBEARable!”

The two boys laughed and high-fived and Buford kept swimming for what felt like his life while being chased by a French girl. “Move it or lose it!” She yelled.

Burford then came to a dead end “it just stops? How is that possible?”

Dipper turned to Phineas “why does it stop? Shouldn’t it go in an infinite loop?”

Phineas shrugged “I don’t know. Plot?”

It was the end of the line, Brigitte caught up “there is nowhere left to run, bear!”

“No!” Burford turned away from her, trying to cover his face “don’t look at me!”

She paused, recognizing him “Buford?”

None of the kids noticed when a beam of light hit the super-sprinkler, but they did notice when it untwisted itself; causing them all to fall into the lake. Thankfully no one was hurt. Burford tried to swim away but Brigitte quickly caught up.

“Buford!”

”No! I'm not me!” He denied “I'm somebody else!”

“Burford” she sighed “I know it is you, but why would hide from me?”

“Oh, Brigitte,” he sighed “I've spent years building up my tough-guy street cred. I can bounce back from the fuzzy bear suit, but being in love with a beautiful, sweet, exotic girl like yourself... If people found out about that, my image would be fini.”

“Oh, Buford, you silly boy. I'm a well-bred, refined European. I would never let the Fireside Girls know that I was vaguely interested in a brute such as you. In fact,” she slapped him before swimming away “au revoir.”

Baljeet swam up to his friend “you okay buddy?”

“She said she was vaguely interested in me,” he said dreamily.

Back on the shore Mabel turned to her friend “so even though we didn’t catch Burford personally do we still get our patches?”

Isabella nodded “of course, you filled all the requirements.”

“Sweet!” Mabel grinned and started to pull off her uniform to show she was wearing shorts and tank-top underneath “then I’m going to go cool off!”

“That sounds like a really good idea” Isabella admitted and turned to the French Fireside Girls “do you two want to join us?”

The both looked at each other and nodded and with that they all jumped into the cool water to join their friends.

Notes:

Just a fun, lighthearted chapter for you guys today. The next chapter though will be the first part to the season 3 finale!

For those of you wondering, yes, I did hear we are getting new Phineas and Ferb episodes. I have not yet deiced if I will be including any of them into my fic. What will likely end up happening though is that I will watch the new episodes and if I like any of them I will consider including them in season 4.

- Isabel

Chapter 76: Dimension Adventure: Part 1

Summary:

The Pines Twins and the Flynn-Fletcher Brothers team up for their most crazy adventure this summer.

There was the sound of screaming as two children fell through the air only to land on the hard, concert floor. When the two recovered they looked around to see they were in some kind of cell.

Once Mason and Mabel slowly sat up “you know Mabel” the boy said “I would say that this is the craziest thing we’ve ever done but I’d be wrong.”

Mabel nodded “you can say that again, though it is pretty crazy how much has happened today.”

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “I mean, just a few hours ago we were having a perfectly normal day and now we’re trapped in a jail cell by some crazy eye-patch guy!”

—------------

It was the perfect day, the sun was bright and it was nice and warm but with a light enough breeze that no one was too hot. Today the brothers decided that their project for the day would be to build a pair of platypus-themed badminton machines to celebrate the anniversary of the Flynn-Fletchers adopting Perry.

Dipper, Mabel, and Buford waited at the park with the second platypult while Isabella and Baljeet were with the one in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. The brothers would be using the large badminton birdie to fly between the two.

“How long is this going to take?” Dipper asked, looking down at his watch. By now it has been over a half hour. “I feel like they should have been here by now.”

“I say they chickened out and forfeited” Buford said “which means an automatic win for us.”

“That doesn’t really sound like them,” Mabel pointed out.

“Eh” Burford shrugged “I’m sure they’re fine, they always are. Anyways, I’m going to go get some Victory Gun.”

The bully walked off and the twins glanced at each other “am I the only one who has a bad feeling?” Mabel asked.

“Nope,” he said, “it’s not just you.”

“Hmmm” Mabel frowned before turning to her brother “also, I’ve been meaning to ask but what are you wearing?”

“It’s a cargo vest!” He said, showing off the vest that was over the top of his Doctor Zone t-shirt.

“Yeah… but why?”

“Cause it has a lot of pockets,” he said “I can fit so much stuff in here.”

“Well you are not pulling it off” Mabel informed him.

“Maybe I’ll start a fashion trend,” he said.

“I doubt that.”

“Just you wait sister” he said “this thing is going to come in handy one of these days. Like Batman’s utility belt!”

Eventually Buford came back, chewing on his gum as he lounged on a park bench. Dipper began idly flipping through his Journal as Mabel attempted to call Ferb, with no success. After another half hour Candace and Stacy ran up to them, Isabella and Baljeet following close behind.

“Where are Phineas and Ferb?” Candace demanded.

They all shrugged “how should I know?" Buford said “they never showed up for me to return serve. That's considered a forfeit in catapult badminton, so I went to get some Victory Gum.”

“I’ve been trying to call Ferb but he hasn’t been answering,” Mabel explained.

“Where’s the giant platypult they built?” She asked.

Dipper looked around “oh… It seems to have vanished.”

“Oh, really?” Candace turned to her friend “did you hear that, Stacy? The mysterious force took the platypult away before I, the grown up, could see it.”

“What are you talking about?” Mason asked.

“Candace believes that some ‘mysterious force’ is the reason why her mom doesn’t see the boys’ inventions,” Stacy explained.

“Oh!” Dipper pulled out his Journal “that’s interesting… You know, I’ve been wanting to investigate where the inventions go for a while. But it’s kind of hard to study, but it would make sense if there was some kind of supernatural element.”

“I don’t care about that” Candace said “what I want to know is why does it care so much about my little brothers? Why doesn't it want them to get busted?”

Mabel leaned over to Isabella “I thought she was done with the busting thing.”

“I thought so too,” Isabella agreed.

“Well, why don't you ask it, Kierkegaard?” Buford was saying, they all turned to stare at him. Confused by the strange word. “What? Existentialist Trading Cards.“ He held up a pack “it came with the gum.”

“That’s crazy-” Stacy started to say.

“Wait,” Candace interrupted, “he's right! I should just ask it! I'll bet I can reason with it!”

“Reason with it?” Stacy repeated “Candace, it's a force! That you made up.”

“Candace does have a point” Dipper said “if this force is sentaint then you can usually talk to it, so reasoning with it is certainly worth a try!”

“See!” Candace said “I know what I’m talking about. Now let’s go back to the house.”

“Can we come?” Mabel asked, gesturing to her and Mason.

“Huh?” She glanced back at them “oh um, sure. But we have to hurry.”

As they ran off the remaining kid looked at each other for a moment before Baljeet turned to Buford “would you like to trade two Sartre for a Nietzsche?”

“Yeah, alright” Buford agreed and the two made the trade.

Baljeet grinned “sucker!”

—------------

The four headed back to the house and Candace decided that the best way to contact the ‘mysterious force’ was by standing in her backyard and yelling to it. Stacy, Mabel, and Mason all watched her from the sidelines.

“There has to be a better way to do this,” Dipper said.

“What would you suggest?” Stacy asked.

The twins looked at each other “we could build a shrine?” Mabel said, though it sounded more like a question.

They turned back to Candace who seemed to be finishing up “show yourself so that I may reason with you!”

Nothing happened.

“Maybe we should build a shrine” Candace suggested.

“That’s what I said!” Mabel exclaimed.

“I was thinking more of a ritual of some kind,” Dipper said.

“Oh come on!” Stacy looked frustrated “that’s ridiculous, there is no mysterious-”

As if on cue a glowing blue portal opened “ah!” The two girls screamed “it's the mysterious force!” Candace and Stacy ducked behind the tree.

The twins glanced at each other and Mabel pulled out her grappling hook and the two moved closer to it. They should probably hide as well but both had to admit that they were curious.

As they got closer they could hear the sounds of talking “Ferb! I think we got it! It looks like home!”

The two were now standing right in front of the strange portal and Dipper was able to peer inside “Phineas? Ferb?”

“Oh!” Phineas waved “hey Mason.”

“What are you two doing?” Mabel asked.

“It’s a bit of a long story…” Phineas said “we’ll tell you about it here in a second.”

“Who are they?” A strangely dressed Isabella asked.

“Oh, that’s our version of Dipper and Mabel,” Phineas said, only to get blank looks in return. “You know, the Pines/Mystery Twins?” Still blank looks “Dipper also goes by ‘Mason’ if that helps.”

“Wait…” Dipper said, noticing the version of Candance and the brothers on the other side of the portal “are you guys in an alternate universe?”

“Yeah!” Phineas said “though, not for much longer.” He turned to the alternate version of their friends “well, thanks everyone. Hey, where's Per... Oh, that's right.”

The twins shared a glance, the contention between the two realms was messy at best and they wouldn’t really see or hear everything. It was like trying to talk to someone over the phone when going through a tunnel, but they could tell something was happening.

“Is everything okay?” Mabel asked.

“It seems that Perry has been captured,” Ferb informed them.

“Perry was with you guys?” Dipper asked.

“Who would want to capture a platypus?” Mabel asked at the same time.

The contention got fuzzy again and when it next cleared up Phineas was trying to talk to them “what did you say?” Mason asked “we didn’t hear you.”

“I said that we’re going to save Perry” he repeated “can you let everyone know we’re okay and that we’ll be back soon?”

“I mean… We can…” Dipper said, sharing a look with his sister.

“Or we could come over there and help you!” Mabel finished.

“Will that work?” Phineas asked a Baljeet look-a-like who seemed to be manning whatever device was creating the portal.

“I’m not sure” he said “this is already unstable as it is but I can try and keep it open.”

“Oh no” the other version of Candace was saying “I’m not letting anyone else in here.”

Though it was too late for Mabel had grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled him through the portal. It was a very strange sensation, like they were moving through cool, thick liquid only they didn’t get wet.

When they came out on the other side they could see way more than the hazy connection offered back in their world. Everything and everyone looked dark and geared up for a fight, like out of some kind of dystopian novel.

“Well it seems like your portal is okay,” Mason said, gesturing to it. And then, as if on cue, it fizzled out. “Looks like I spoke too soon,” he said after a moment.

“So….” Mabel said “what’s this about Perry?”

“We’ll explain on the way” Phineas said “let’s go!”

—-----------

The Pines Twins and the Flynn-Fletcher brothers all sat in some mine cars with the alternate version of their friends while the two boys explained what was happening.

“Okay…” Dipper said “So what you are saying is that your pet platypus is really a secret agent and he fights the pharmacist guy from the whole ‘kidnaped into space’ thing but he’s really an evil scientist.”

“Yup” Phineas nodded.

“And because of them you guys ended up in a strange YA novel dystopian version of our world?” Mabel countined and Ferb nodded. “And now Perry’s been captured so we’re going to go save him?”

“That about sums it up” Phineas nodded.

“I’m not going to lie” Mason said “I am really surprised that this is the first time we ended up in an alternate universe.”

Mabel nodded before changing the subject “so why are we in mine cars again?”

“This'll take us as far as the underground entrance to Doof's headquarters,” Alternate Isabella said.

The other Candace showed them a map “from there, we go up the ventilation shaft. The detainment center is on Level Four.”

“And the snack bar is on Level Five!” The second Buford said and Candace glared at him “if there's time!” The alternate Candace groaned as she put away the map “I’m just going to get some nachos…”

“Looks like some things never change” Mabel whispered to her brother with a giggle.

The twins and brothers watched as Candace Two jumped off the cart and used a Bo staff to hit a turnstile, the tracks move so they could go down another route. She then swung back up and landed next to them.

“So…” Dipper said “if there are other versions of the rest of our friends then that means there are us versions of us?” He gestured to himself and his sister.

“Probably” she shrugged “what are your names again?”

“I’m Mason, or Dipper, and that’s Mabel.” He said “our last name is Pines.”

“Pines?” She repeated and for a moment there was an odd look on her face (though it was covered by her sunglasses) “nope, never met you two.”

“Huh” he said before pulling his Journal out of his vest and got started on a new entry.

As the carts rumbled along the tracks they went over a bump and they all heard a muffled “ow!”

Candace Two froze before rushing to the last cart and pulled off a cloth to reveal the alternate version of Phineas and Ferb. “What are you two doing here?!”

“We’re here to help!” Phineas Two said.

“Sir,” Isabella Two said, “we’re nearing the target.”

“Ugh!” She turned to her brothers “don’t move.” She leapt to the front and jammed her staff into the front wheels to make it screech to a stop just as they reached an entryway and everybody got off the mine carts. “Okay people, change of plans. This is as far as we go.”

“We're not gonna help them?” Phineas Two asked.

“No. We're gonna to get you two home where it's safe” Candace Two said.

“But we want to-”

“Look, this isn't our fight, it's their fight.” She interrupted “and you two shouldn't have gotten involved!” She hit a button to make a door slide open “maybe none of us should have. Now, we're outta here.”

The alternate version of the brothers got back into the carts as the second Candace began to push it while the rest of them went through the now-open doorway.

“I don't remember it being so dark down here.” Buford Two said.

“Dark?” Candace Two stopped.

The lights come on, revealing robots surrounding them. One of them was holding Peri (who stood on his hind legs and wore a fedora) by a chain-collar. There was also two versions of the pharmacist guy, Doofenshmirtz, one was the version in their world while the other was in all black and wore an eyepatch.

“That's because it's a trap!” Doofenshmirtz laughed. “And if it was light, you would've seen us and run away, hence ruining the trap!”

“I think they get that” The second Doofenshmirtz said with an annoyed sigh.

Notes:

Welcome to the season 3 finale which is based off of the Phineas and Ferb movie; Into The Second Dimension. Sorry this was posted so last in the day, I lost track of time and only just now remembered haha.

I really hope you guys like this, I've been working really hard on it. This whole plot line has gone through many changes but I think what I settled on is the best so I can only hope you agree.

- Isabel

Chapter 77: Dimension Adventure: Part 2

Summary:

The kids' rescue mission goes wrong.

“Perry!” Phineas exclaimed “we uh, we… we, well, came to rescue you!” There was a pause “so far it's not going as well as we'd hoped. We didn't have a lot of time to… you know, plan something elaborate, but I guess we could've created some sort of diversion, just in case... “ He sighed “yeah, we could've thought this out more.”

The second Doofenshmirtz laughed “got you, and I got your little friends, too. Game over. You lose! I win! Mark this the hour of your doom, Perry the Platypus! He checked his watch “three-forty...ugh, I got one of these watches with just the little hash marks. It doesn't even have numbers on it! Wait. Let's just say it's between 3:30 and 4:00, Eastern Standard Time.”

“Why are you being so specific?” Mabel asked.

Her question went ignored as Perry's eyes widened, he pushed a button on his watch, showing a hologram of a guy showering. The man yelps and covers himself and both Doofenshmirtz's turn away in disgust, as do Platyborg and the robots. Doofenshmirtz Two lets go of Perry's chain, and he runs, still having the hologram on.

“I told you,” the hologram man yells, “not between 3:30 and 4:00!”

Perry ran up to the kids, grabbing the brothers’ hands, and pulled them away. The twins follow close behind. “They're getting away!” Doofenshmirtz Two yells.

The group runs out the door as the robots chase them. Candace Two hits the button, shutting the door, and an alarm goes off. “I knew this was a bad idea. Alright, everyone in the cars!” They all get in and she starts pushing the carts. “Go, go, go, go, go! Isabella, start the motor!”

“Yes sir!” Isabella Two leapt to the front and started the engine “I got it!” As she drove away the bots began to chase them.

“You two,” Candace Two turned to her brothers “keep your heads down and remember your training!”

“But we never had any training!” Phineas Two pointed out.

“Well, keep your heads down!” The two alternate brothers duck “consider yourselves trained.” The robots got closer “this is gonna be close.” Candace Teo picked up her staff and gave it a twirl “all right, you rust buckets. Let's dance.”

The small group of dimension travelers all watched with mouths agape, Mabel turned to Phineas “can our Candace do that?”

“Well… Apparently!”

Second Dimension Candace stabbed her staff into the neck of one bot. She uses it to vault and hit another, then rips the head off the first bot. Buford Two stared wide eyed. “I am so in love with her right now…”

“What was that?” Isabella Two asked.

“Nothing!”

Candace Two landed back in the mine cart “if we can get to the north tunnel before they get to us, I can trip the security door.” She said as Perry pulled the collar off his neck. “Isabella, can you give us more throttle?”

“It's all the way in, sir!”

“Alright, hang tough, this is gonna get hairy.” She leapt to the front.

The four kids, and platypus, began to prepare for a fight. Perry started to use the metal collar and chain as a weapon, Phineas picked up a wrench and Ferb took off his shoes and tied the laces together to make nun-chucks. Mabel pulled out her grappling hook while Dipper pulled out his magnet gun from the inside of his vest.

“Where did you get that from?” Phineas asked.

“Cargo vests hide lots of secrets,” he said.

“Yeah, I was going to ask about that…” Phineas said.

Mason sighed “I’ll have you know that I wore a vest every day last summer and no one thought it was weird! And this one is more versatile because it has more pockets.”

“Can we make those turns at this speed?” Isabella Two was asking.

“Well, we're about to find out!” Candace Two used her staff to hit the turnstile, they swerved.

Mabel and Dipper started to use their respective weapons to make the bots go off course and smash into the walls. Though Dipper was having more success as Mabel was having a hard time getting the prongs of her grappling hook to stick into the metal bodies of the robots.

Perry wraps his chain around one of the bots' arms and attaches the collar to a sign, causing the chain to rip the arm off. It lands in the car where Buford Two and the twins were and it starts to fire lasers at random and they all back up.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Buford Two said.

They go through a tunnel and they start to approach an entryway,

“There it is. We should be okay if we can hold off these...:”

She was interrupted as the bots start being hit with lasers, she turns to see Phineas, Ferb, and Perry using the robot arm as a cannon. “Can we do that?” Phineas Two asked.

“No. Keep your head down” he ducked again.

Platyborg then flew down; his hands turned into lasers and he fired at them, hitting two of the wheels and the car.

“No, no, no...!” Phineas said, dropping his makeshift cannon.

“We're slowing down, sir!” Isabella Two said.

“Keep it on the floor!”

“It's on the floor!” She said “there's too much track, sir. I don't think we're gonna make it!”

“Everyone, to the front, now!” Candace Two orders “We're gonna have to cut loose these cars…”

Everybody ran over but flames shot up blocking Phineas, Ferb, Mabel, Dipper, and Perry.

“The motor's overheating!” Isabella Two cried.

The second version of Candace looked between them and her brother and sighed “sorry, guys. You're on your own.”

She hits the lock that attached her cart with the flaming one with her staff, causing the cars to dislodge. She opened the doorway as they go in and it seals up again. The group all looked at each other as they started to become swarmed with bots, far too many for them to fight off on their own.

“You know,” Mason said, putting the magnet gun away “I wanna be upset but honestly… Can’t blame her.”

Mabel nodded “yeah, I would’ve done the same thing.”

—--------

A few hours later the four young teens and platypus were being held captive by the Normbots while Doof Two talked to them or, more specifically, the brothers. “Now you have no choice but to fix my machine.” He said, referring to the device that would let him go to their dimension and take over.

“No.” Phineas said.

That's not one of your choices.” Doofenshmirtz Two said “fix the machine!”

“No.”

“Fix it!” He yelled.

“No.”

“Look, I would make myself do it,” he pointed at their version of Doofenshmirtz “but apparently, he's an idiot.”

“Hey!”

Doofenshmirtz Two was getting more and more frustrated “FIX THE MACHINE!”

“No!”

“Alright, then. You've forced my hand!” He reached a hand into his coat and pulled out a dog sock puppet and started to use a high pitched voice. “Fix the machine!

“No.”

The man looked surprised “really? When I was your age, I did anything a puppet told me to do!”

“How old do you think we are?” Phineas asked, looking a bit offended.

“I don't know why you're being so uncooperative.” Doofenshmirtz Two said “I'm asking you to do is make my machine work so I can invade and conquer your world and enslave your loved ones.”

“See, that's your problem man” Dipper said “why would the brothers, or any of us really, do something that would lead to our self-destruction?”

Their version of Doofenshmirtz hears this, his eyes widened in realization “Self-destruction? S-Self-destruct... Wait, wait! That's it! I remember now! They took out my self-destruct button!” He walked over to the machine and pulled it out “I don't know why I put it back in, but here, I'll just rewire this, like so, and there!” He clipped in a wire and turned it on and a portal forms “it's working! It's working! It is functioning properly!”

The second Doofenshmirtz smirked at Phineas “ell, look who just became redundant! Send them to their doom!” Platyborg points to Mabel “yes, her too.” He points at Perry “yes yes, everyone. Doom, doom, doom, doom and…”

Their Doofenshmirtz chimed in at the last second so they both said “doom!” At the same time.

“Jinx!” He said “you owe me three sodas!”

“Okay, doom for him, too.”

“What?” He protested “but, but I'm you!”

The second Doofenshmirtz uses his sock puppet again “doom!”

“Wow…” Doofenshmirtz said “if I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?”

As the bots started to drag them away Doofenshmirtz Two noticed the trans flag-colored, pine tree shaped pin on Dipper’s vest (Mabel made it for him) and Mabel’s shootstar hair clip.

"Wait” he said “leave those two here.”

“Hold on, what?” Dipper said.

The boy was ignored as the robots holding the twins stopped while the rest of their little group was carried off to their doom, much to their friends' protests.

—-----------

The twins stared at second Doofenshmirtz as they were left alone with him, still in the robots’ grasps. Neither one said anything as they waited for the man to speak. Though Mabel was quite curious as to why he was having them stay behind. She glanced over at her brother and noticed the slight frown of concentration and she knew that he was busy trying to plan out their escape.

“You two” Doofenshmirtz Two said “you two are Pines, aren’t you?”

They glanced at each other “yeah…” Dipper said slowly, “So what?”

“You Pines have caused me a lot of trouble over the years” he said “almost as much as that little rebellion that people don’t think I know about.”

Mabel and Dipper shared a look, this was the first time they had ever heard someone in this dimension mention their alternate selves. “You know that’s not us us, right?” Mabel asked.

“Oh sure” the alternate Doofenshmirtz nodded “but if you are anything like them then if I send you to your doom with the others then you’ll end up escaping and cause me just as much problems as they do.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Dipper asked cautiously.

“Oh I’m just going to imprison you for the rest of your natural lives!”

“What?!”

The robots grabbed them again and dragged them away, ignoring their protests and struggles. They were pulled off into a separate room where one of the bots opened a small door in the wall that reminded the two siblings of an old fashioned laundry shoot and pushed them inside.

Soon they were falling, screaming at the top of their lungs, only to land on the hard, concert floor. When the two recovered they looked around to see they were in some kind of cell.

Once Mason and Mabel slowly sat up “you know Mabel” the boy said “I would say that this is the craziest thing we’ve ever done but I’d be wrong.”

Mabel nodded “you can say that again, though it is pretty crazy how much has happened today.”

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed. “I mean, just a few hours ago we were having a perfectly normal day and now we’re trapped in a jail cell by some crazy eye-patch guy!”

“You know…” Mabel said “I wish I could say this is the wildest thing that has happened to us…”

“But it’s not,” Mason finished.

The two looked around to see that the cell was what one expected, it was fairly bare and made with metal and concert. Dipper walked over and tried the door; it was, of course, locked.

“It’s so dark down here” Mabel said, squinting in the low light. “I wish we had a light or something.” A bright light then filled the space and the girl turned to see her brother holding a large flashlight “where’d you get that?”

“Cargo vest” Mabel rolled her eyes at Dipper’s smug look. “By the end of this adventure I’m going to convince you that this” he gestured to his vest “was a good idea!”

“Keep dreaming” she said “now let's get out of here.”

“You’re best givin’ up now” the two startled as someone spoke, their raspy voice echoed around the space.

Mabel snatched the flashlight out of Dipper’s hand and walked over to the door and shone the light through the bars to try and spot the owner of the voice. “Who’s there?” She demanded.

“Mabel” Mason hissed.

There was movement in the cell across from them and Mabel swung the flashlight in that direction, the person raised a hand to block the light. And then, slowly, they lowered it as they got more used to it. Soon, they could see his face.

“That’s…” Dipper said softly.

“Grunkle Stan” Mabel finished, voice in a whisper.

Notes:

CLIFFHANGER!!!

Unfortunately, you guys are going to have to wait to read the next part. I have finals in two weeks (which is when I would post the next chapter) so I'm going to until around April 12 or so, if I calculated it correctly.

Please let me know what you guys think of this special so far, I've been having a really fun time writing it and I hope you all like it too.

- Isabel

Chapter 78: Dimension Adventure: Part 3

Summary:

The twins find a way to escape prison, with a little bit o help.

Dipper and Mabel stared at this world’s version of their Grunkle, in some ways he was similar to their own but so much different. His face was weathered, his gray hair was longer with streaks of white, and he had a beard.

“You two done staring yet?” He asked, snapping the twins out of their stupor. Yup, there was no doubt about it, this was Stanley Pines.

“Uh sorry” Dipper said “we just weren’t expecting anyone else to be down here.”

“Eh it’s fine kid” Stan said “I don’t blame ya, I’ll admit. I’m surprised to see that they stuck a couple of kids down here.”

“Don’t worry,” Mabel said confidently, “we won’t be here for long.”

Stan snorted “while I admire your gumption kid, that Doof guy is never going to let you out. Once you’re down here you’re here for life.”

“Hmmm” Mason hummed “how’d you end up down here?”

He sighed “it’s a bit of a long story….”

“Well it sounds like we have all the time in the world” Mabel pointed out.

“...Fine” Stan reluctantly agreed, “but I’m giving you the abridged version.”

The story that followed was vastly different than the one back in their dimension. The beginning was the same; Stan and Ford’s childhood, the science fair, the fight, and Stan getting kicked out.

But that was where the similarities ended. Because instead of moving to Gravity Falls and making a deal with Bill Cipher, Ford had instead started working with an old college classmate, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Who then tricked him into helping him make inventions that would lead to his take over of the Tri-State Area.

After Ford had realized the truth he had tried to fix things but by then it had been too late, by that point the alternate Doofenshmirtz was well on his way to concerning the Tri-State Area. Panicked, Ford had called Stan, asking him for help.

Stan had agreed to help his brother but just like in their dimension things had gone horribly wrong. But instead of Ford falling into the portal Doofenshmirtz had mistaken Stan for his brother and decided to lock him up when ‘Ford’ refused to help him anymore.

“Wow…” Mabel said “that sounds awful, I’m so sorry.”

The man shrugged “it’s alright, I would do it again if it meant keeping my brother safe.”

Mabel nodded, even in another dimension Stanley Pines still loved his family. “So,” Stan said, “I shared my story, what’s yours?”

“Well…” Mabel said “we’re kind of here by accident. See… Well” she hesitated, trying to find the best way to explain.

“We’re from an alternate universe.” Dipper explained.

Stan stared at the two for a moment “huh, okay.”

“Wait…” Mason said “you believe us?”

“Eh, crazier things have happened.” Stan said “Apparently my brother nearly made a deal with some triangle demon guy to get rid of Doof before deciding to do the smart thing and calling me.”

The twins shared a look “that’s…” Dipper started to say but stopped himself “why don’t you share the rest of the story Mabel?”

“Oh sure!” Mabel jumped into a recap of the last few hours “and then we fell down here and met you! Which was a super wild and crazy surprise.”

“Why’s that?” Stan asked.

“Cause in our world Stanley Pines is our Grunkle” Mabel explained.

“What’s a ‘Grunkle’?” Stan asked.

“It’s great and uncle mushed together” Mabel said “I came up with it!”

“Wait…” Stan said slowly “you’re saying that in your dimension I’m your uncle.”

“Technically our great-uncle but yeah” Dopper said.

There was a long pause before Stan said “do you think I’m a great-uncle here too?”

“I don’t see why not,” Mabel shrugged.

“Hang on Mabel” Mason cut in “Grunkle Ford, our version of Stanford,” he quickly clarified to Stan “once told me that not all universes are like ours. Like some of them are mostly the same but with a few changes, an example would be… I don’t know… A version where you are the one into the supernatural while I’m more interested in having a good summer. Or maybe we aren’t there for the summer but for winter instead!”

“But there are other worlds that are completely different” Dipper continued to explain “like maybe there’s one where we are both evil or maybe one where one of us doesn’t exist!”

“So what are you saying?” Stan asked.

Mason took a deep breath, getting back on track “what I’m saying is that we won’t know if Mabel and I exist here until we try and find us.

So far there had only been one hint that this world might have a version of Dipper and Mabel Pines and that had been the second Doofenshmirtz’s comment before he threw them down here. But the man could have been referring to different members of the Pines Family so Dipper didn’t think it was worth mentioning and getting Stan’s hopes up.

Stan nodded “shame we’ll never find out.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Mabel asked.

“Cause we’re locked in these cells” Stan said “as I said earlier, there is no way Doof is going to let us out.”

“Oh yeah” Dipper remembered “I almost forgot” he pushed the door open “I picked the lock while you and Mabel were swapping stories.”

Stan stared at him “how… Where did you get the supplies to pick it? That’s the reason why I’ve never been able to get out. Doofenshmirtz had always been careful not to give me anything useful.”

“Well” Dipper grinned and pulled a small lock picking kit (a Hanukkah from their version of Stan) from the innards of his vest “he should have made sure to search us.”

Mabel shared an identical grin to her brother and pulled out her grappling hook from her sweater “let’s get outta here!”

—---------------

After Dipper undid the lock on Stan’s cell the three quickly moved to escape the dungeon. Which was… Surprisingly easy. According to Stan there were constant patrols of Normbots and the animal cyborgs that this world’s Doofenshmirtz had made.

But as they looked for an exit they found none of that. The whole place was dead quiet, even the other cells were empty. Though, apparently, that last one wasn’t so strange. Stan explained that Doof rarely kept prisoners as he usually just opted to banish them. The only people he kept locked up were those who caused so much trouble that he didn’t want to risk them coming back.

Eventually they were able to make their way out of the dungeons but unfortunately none of them knew where they were or where they were supposed to go, especially since the twins wanted to meet up and help the rest of their friends.

Though knowing Phineas and Ferb they were probably able to get out of whatever ‘doom’ the alternate Doofenshmirtz had stuck them in.

“I think we’re lost,” Mabel finally said.

Stan nodded, running a hand over his weathered face “yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Doesn’t help that all these hallways look the same,” Dipper said. “If we could just find a window then maybe we could get out of here!”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps moving in their direction; this was the first time in several hours that the three had faced any other signs of life. And from the sound of it there were multiple people.

The alternate version of Stan quickly pulled the two young teens behind a corner and they all waited for whoever was approaching to leave. Mabel readjusted her grip on her grappling hook, ready to use it if need be.

Dipper held his breath as the footsteps got closer and closer, as if that would keep them from being found. As the steps got closer Dipper was able to make out the sounds of someone talking.

The voice belonged to a man with a bit of a deeper voice and a very smooth tone. It took Mason a moment to recognize it as the voice a bit different from the one he knew. In fact, he was pretty sure that Mabel was the one who figured it out first as she jumped out from behind their hiding spot, much to the protests from Stan.

He quickly followed his sister, Dipper knew his twin and knew if she was taking a chance like this then that meant she wasn’t worried about this mystery person. Their adventures from last summer had taught him to trust Mabel on matters like this.

Stan quickly followed them and froze when he saw that the mystery person was his own twin brother.

Stanford Pines.

Meanwhile the twins were in their own state of shock as they stared at the alternate Ford’s companions. For it was this dimension's versions of them.

—----------

While the twins were trying to get out of prison the rest of their friends (and their dimension’s Doofenshmirtz) were all chained together and hanging above a vat of lava. Perry was clinging to the bars of the cage that had once held the monster that the second Doofenshmirtz tried to feed them to. The platypus was struggling to hang on and the monster (which was called a Goozim) roared at them.

More Normbots swarm into the room as the alternate Doofenshmirtz noticed what was going on as the Goozim roared and swiped. Phineas gulps, unsure of how they are supposed to get out of this. He then hears a rumbling noise and looks up to see one of the large gnome statues begin to move. Almost as if it was being pushed.

The statue hits the screen that the other Doofenshmirtz had been watching them from, cracks begin to form across it. It’s then revealed that the second Candace was behind it, pushing with her feet.

The gnome tips over and she rides it, she unhooks two devices from her belt. One fires a grappler, which grapples onto a bar on the ceiling, the other she places on the back of the gnome. She hooks the two together and the gnome swings, smashing into the Normbots.

“Yay, another dimension Candace!” Phineas cheers.

“Phineas! Catch!” She pulls out a remote and throws it. He catches it on instinct and gasps as he realizes what it was. It was a remote he and Ferb made as a hand-held version of Dr. D’s alternate dimensions portal machine.

As more bots begin to swarm them Phineas gets an idea, it takes some convincing but he’s able to get Perry to let go of the cage. For a brief moment they all fall toa fiery, magma death when he manages to activate the remote. A portal opens just in time and they all fall through.

Phineas feels himself land face-first and quickly rolls over onto his back to shut the portal before any robots can come through. Then there is silence.

Everyone takes a moment to breathe before Ferb pulls the keys to their chains out that he had managed to get earlier out of his pocket and quickly unlocks them. Phineas looks around and finds that they are in a strange, pinkish jungle.

“So” Dr. Doofenshmirtz said “what now?”

“Now we need to start traveling through dimensions until we get back to our own,” Ferb said.

“Wait” Phineas said “what about the twins? They’re still in the second dimension!”

Ferb hesitated for a moment “I think” he said slowly “we need to trust that Mabel and Mason will be able to escape and get back on their own.”

Phineas looked at his brother and the two shared a private and silent conversation. And he nodded, while Phineas didn’t know Dipper and Mabel’s full story it was clear that the two had been through a lot and could clearly handle themselves.

“Okay” he said, reactivating the remote “lets get started.”

Notes:

I am so sorry for the long wait, I was planning on posting last week but I got busy with finals and didn't get the chance to write. Hopefully it was worth the wait though.

Stay tuned cause in a couple of weeks I will be posting the last part to this four part special, and then we'll be done with season three!!

- Isabel

Chapter 79: Dimension Adventure: Part 4

Summary:

The Twins make it back home to their own dimension,.

Mabel and Dipper stood in the middle of a long, empty hallway as they finished their explanation of who they were and where they were from to the alternate versions of Ford and themselves. This was all after Stan and Ford had a very tearful reunion, of course.

Apparently, this world’s version of Stanford Pines had been working to free his brother for the past several years now. And it was with the help of his niece and nephew that they finally managed to break in. Though it helped that the place was currently empty.

As they talked Dipper took the time to look over Ford, Mabel, and himself’s alternate selves. Ford looked a lot like their version except he was in an outfit similar to the one he had come out of the portal wearing.

This Mabel had short hair that rested above her shoulders (and gosh did that look strange), she wore a muted pink sweater and black pants with a grappling hook strapped to her waist. Meanwhile his alternate self wore a black jacket and worn out jeans with some kind of bag that lay across his torso.

The group was now heading up to the rooftop where the second Doofenshmirtz had opened a portal to their dimensions to try and take it over. Ford figured that if they could get to it then Dipper and Mabel could get home, which made sense.

While they walked Mabel tried to talk with her alternate self “so do you also have a pig?”

“.... I used to” the second Mabel said “but he went missing about six months ago.”

“Oh….” She said “I’m sorry.” Mabel decided to change the subject “so what’s your favorite craft? I like a mix of them but if I had to pick one I would say knitting, or anything with glitter!”

“I don’t really do a lot of crafts” she said “I don’t have time for something so silly.”

Mabel stopped talking after that as it seemed pretty clear to her that the other Mabel wasn’t interested in conversation. She looked over at her brother who didn’t seem all that inclined to talk to his alternate self either.

Man this place was depressing. She could not wait to get home.

She wished Phinead and Ferb were here, they would know what to do. Mabel had a pretty good feeling that when they met their alternate selves they gave them a pep talk which would change their lives for the better. Mabel was good at pep talks but this whole situation was really catching her off guard.

Dipper was doing a bit better, she guessed that he knew more about other dimensions from his talks with Grunkle Ford. Even then though her twin was more focused on the mission versus the people side of things - normally that was her job.

The Pines Family here was so much different then the one Mabel knew. They were all so focused on serious things and she did not like it. She was used to laughter and jokes and teasing her brother when he got into his own head.

And Mabel kind of understood it, after all, this world needed people to be more serious. Just like in all those dystopian teen movies she and Dipper like to watch (and debate over) but in those movies the characters still took moments to relax. They still joked around during missions. But not here.

Dipper then grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the back of the group, keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard. “I know I’m bad with social situations but this is weird, right?”

She nodded “yeah, it is.”

“Okay, that’s what I thought.” He said “I mean, we’ve met other versions of us before but none of them are this… heavy.”

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed “like, I tried to talk to the other Mabel but she didn’t even seem to want to try and find some kind of common ground.”

“I know,” he said, “that’s how it seems to be with the alternate me, I tried to ask questions about him and this universe but it felt like he only answered to be polite and didn’t give me much of an answer. Or ask me anything in return.”

“Yeah” she nodded.

“One thing I did get though,” Dipper said, “is that we never met this dimension’s variation of our friends.”

“Danville or Gravity Falls?”

“Both.”

“That must be it,” Mabel decided. “Before we leave we should try to introduce them.”

“We’d have to find them first” he pointed out “and we should probably focus on getting home first. But that’s a good idea.”

—--------

Meanwhile, back in the first dimension Buford, Baljeet, and Isabella were still sitting on a bench in the park. “Alright, how about two Kafka's for your Dostoevsky?” Buford offered, still trying to trade cards with Baljeet.

“Stop wasting my time, Buford,” the Indian boy sighed.

A portal opens and Phineas sticks his head out “wait, I think this is it” he said and the other walked out with him.

“Where have you guys been?” Isabella asked.

“This is it” Phineas confirmed then turned to Isabella and the two boys. “Have you guys seen the twins?”

“No” she shook her head.

“They left with Candace and Stacy to go look for you two,” Baljeet explained.

“Why is Perry wearing a hat?” Buford asked.

“Right…” Phineas said “okay, Ferb and I have a lot to catch you-”

They were interrupted by the sights of swarms of Normbots flooding the sky “oh no… We’re too late.”

—----------

The Mystery Twins and the alternate Pines finally made it up to the rooftop where they could all see flocks of robots flying into the portal.

“Those are a lot of Normbots,” the second Dipper muttered.

“Indeed,” Ford nodded.

“I don’t think I’ve seen this many in one place before!” Alternate Mabel said.

“Yes, well” Ford said “if Doofenshmirtz is trying to take over these two’s” he nodded at Mason and Mabel “dimension then that would explain it.”

Dipper frowned as he watched the bots from their hiding place “if I know our friends” he said “then chances are Phineas and Ferb have already gotten back and are working to stop this all. Which means Mabel and I just need to get over there.”

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed “and then we can kick the evil Doofenshmirtz’s butt.”

Stan chucked “while I admit your enthusiasm kid, I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”

“Of course it is,” Mabel said, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, it may be hard but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible!”

“How?!” Dipper Two asked “you’re just a couple of kids, and you don’t have the training and experience my sister and I do.”

“Mabel and I ended the apocalypse and helped kill a demon all before our thirteenth birthday” Mason said “I think we can handle a couple of robots.”

“Aren’t you two a little young to be saving the world?” Ford asked.

“Yes,” Mabel said.

“Yes we are” Dipper finished.

He pulled out his magnet gun for the inside pocket of his vest, grabbed Mabel’s hand, and shot at one of the Normbots. The strong magnet pulled them to the bot and the two clung onto its back as it flew through the portal.

They were officially back in Danville. Their Danville.

—--------

Perry had given Phineas and Ferb a way into his lab where the two had found copies of all their old inventions, inventions that they and their friends were now using to fight for their home.

The fight was hard, it felt like for every Normbot they destroyed ten more showed up in its place but the kids kept at it. Love Handle even showed up to give them an awesome soundtrack to fight to!

The brothers tried to stay focused on their task but the two of them still couldn’t help but worry about the twins. The last time they saw them they were being dragged away by Normbots to some unknown location for some unknown reason.

Hopefully they were okay, and once all of this was over the two would find a way to bring them back home.

Ferb was leading a herd of mechanical bulls to charge at a large swarm of normbots when there was a soft thud landing on one of the bulls behind him. He turned and his eyes widened when he saw his girlfriend lounging on top of the bull. She twirled her grappling hook with one hand while trying to maintain a causal expression, though he could see the grin spreading on her face.

“Hey sweetie” she said “you miss me?”

He grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling Mabel to sit on the same bull as him. “You escaped.”

“Of course we did,” Mabel smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Did you really think that we’d let you have all the fun?”

Ferb shook his head, “where’s Dipper?”

“He went to go help the others” she explained, Ferb nodded and she adjusted her grappling hook. “Now, let’s kick some robot butt!”

Meanwhile Dipper was taking full advantage of his magnetic gun and suffice to say he did manage to cause quite a bit of damage. Unfortunately he was forced to take a break as his binder began to bug him.

“Mason!” He looked up to see Phineas sitting on top of a giant robot dog (when did the brothers make that?!), he seemed a bit surprised to see him here and not in the other dimension but that surprise quickly faded to concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah I’ll be fine” Mason assured, taking slow and deep breaths. “Are you?”

“Yeah” Phineas nodded “Perry and I are going to head up to try and stop the portal.”

“Good idea, here, take this” Dipper pulled off his vest and tossed it to him, after taking out his Journal, “maybe this will come in handy.”

“Thanks,” Phineas said, catching it.

The other boy ran off and Mason straightened, he turned the magnetic gun back on and got back to work making the robots crash into each other. He also used it to draw the bots away from buildings or people, trying to prevent as much damage as possible.

Mabel soon joined him, Ferb deciding to try and climb a building to help his brother, and the two siblings rejoined the rest of their friends as they kept working to demolish as many Normbots as possible.

It didn’t take long though for all the bots to start falling to the ground and the twins hid under a bus stop roof with Isabella, Buford, and a few of the Fireside Girls to avoid being hit.

“It's weird that Perry's a secret agent, huh?” Isabella asked as they watched.

“Yeah,” Buford agreed “but it was obvious in retrospect.”

“I wonder if this means that all pets are secret agents,” Dipper said, “like Waddles or Pinky.”

“Now that would be insane” Buford said “Waddles doesn’t seem like the secret agent type.”

Mabel let out a mock gasp “how dare you! Waddles would be an amazing spy.”

As the two bickered and teased each other Baljeet walked over to them, wearing the top half of the Beak superhero suit the brothers made last summer “Has anyone seen my pants?”

Dipper pointed over to Irving who was in the bottom half of the suit and standing on a large pile of dismantled Normbots while holding two crowbars in each hand “wolverines!” He yelled in victory.

“I know I’m the last person to be saying this…” Mason said “but gosh, what a weirdo.”

The kids decided to go and meet up with the brothers, as they walked the Normbots all suddenly exploded. Thankfully the explosions were big or violent enough to cause any damage, just made it look like the invasion never happened.

—---------

When they got to the top of the building (which, apparently, was called Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated and came with its own jingle) where, not only, did they meet the brothers and Perry. But both versions of Dr. D, the second Phineas, Ferb, and Candace, and the other versions of the Pines Family.

Mabel bounded up to the other dimension Pines, dragging her brother behind her, with a large smile on her face. “Guess you all were wrong” she said “we did manage to win!”

“Yes…” Ford said “it seems like we were.”

“So what are your plans now?” Dipper asked, “since it seems like your dictator is getting arrested” he pointed with his thumb at the evil Doofenshmirtz who was being dragged away by an old guy with a mustache and decked out versions of the Fireside Girls.

“I’m not sure,” Stan admitted, “but we’ll figure it out together.” Ford nodded and the two brothers smiled.

“Who are those two?” Dipper Two asked, pointing to the alternate version of Phineas and Ferb who looked more combat-ready then the last time the Twins saw them.

“Yeah,” the second Mabel agreed, “the green-haired one is kind of cute.”

Mabel’s grin became wider. “I’ll introduce you!”

Soon those from the second Dimension were saying their goodbyes for heading back home, ready to start life free from evil.

Mason and Mabel were standing nearby the brothers with the rest of their friends, listening in on the two boys' conversation with their pet. “Man, this has been the greatest day ever.” Phineas was saying “imagine how much fun we can have together now that we know you're a secret agent!”

A man with a buzz cut with a mustache in military camo walked over with some college-aged guy “yes yes, the uh next fifteen minutes should be a real hoot.” he said “well then, of course, Agent P will be sent away forever.”

“What?!” Phineas yelled, Ferb looked equally as shocked.

“You didn't know?” The man asked “didn't he give you a pamphlet?”

“We threw it away.”

“Does anyone read those things?”

“I tried to warn you, sir.” The college kid said.

“Kids, I'm sorry, but now that Agent P's cover has been blown, you won't be allowed to see him anymore,” the man, apparently Perry’s boss, said.

“That's why you didn't want us to know your secret.” Phineas said and Perry nodded, looking upset. “So we'll never see Perry again? There has to be another way!”

“Sorry, Phineas.” The man said “It isn't safe, you know too much.”

“Now I never wished so much that I could un-know something” Phineas sighed.

Dipper shifted uncomfortably, thinking about the memory gun hidden in his closet. He opened his mouth to say something when the college kid interrupted “Sir, maybe there is a way. What about Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Amnesia-inator?”

“I never built an Amnesia-inator.” Doofenshmirtz said “I think I'd remember building something like that.”

The Mystery Twins shared a look, neither one of them liked where this was going.

“Well, that might work,” the man said, turning to the group of kids “but you'd all have to agree.”

“So our choice is to: either forget the best day ever, forget the greatest adventure we've ever had, and forget meeting Agent P,” Phineas said “or remember today, but never see Perry again?”

There was a long pause as everyone looked over at Perry, thinking about the offer. Ferb was the one who spoke up “well, we've had a lot of great days, but we only have one Perry.”

Phineas smiled, “agreed.”

Everyone else made sounds of agreement, except for Mabel and Dipper. Phineas frowned at them, noticing their hesitation. “Guys?”

“Can…” Mason paused, “can you give us a moment?”

Before anyone could say anything Dipper pulled his sister off to a quiet corner “what are we supposed to do?!” She hissed and he was glad he wasn’t the only one freaked out about this.

“I know!” He said “we just can’t let them wipe our minds. I know that it sounds like they’ll only take a day but what if they do more?”

“Guys?” They two spun around to see Ferb and Phineas standing behind them. “Are you guys okay?” When the two didn’t say anything Phineas kept talking “Ferb and I noticed that you didn’t agree to the memory wiping, why?”

“It’s just…” Mabel was the one who spoke up “last summer Grunkle Stan got his memories wiped… And it wasn’t just a day or anything but his whole life! He didn’t remember anything, not even us.”

Dipper wrapped an arm around his sister as she tried to hold back tears at the memory “really?” Phineas said “but we’ve met Stan, he seems fine to me.”

“He got them back” Mason explained “it took a while, and there are still some missing pieces, but he got them back. Eventually.”

“So what?” Phineas asked, sounding almost angry. “You two don’t want to have your memories erased, even though if you don’t it’ll mean we’ll lose Perry?!”

“Phineas-” Mabel tried to say.

“Look, I’m sorry that you two went through that” he said, interrupting her. “But this is Perry we’re talking about. We just can’t lose him how-”

Ferb placed a hand on his step-brother’s shoulder, stopping him. The two looked at each other and shared a private conversation before Phineas walked off. The twins didn't take offense to his words, knowing that emotions were running high.

Once Phineas was out of earshot Ferb turned to them “I understand that you two are scared and I would never ask either of you to agree to something like this. But Phineas and I would really appreciate it.”

“If it was us” Mabel asked slowly, “if me and Dipper needed to remove your memories, would you?”

Ferb thought that over before nodding. It depended on the situation, of course, but he trusted the two and knew they would only ask if it was really important.

The two shared a look and nodded, despite the anxiety still prevalent on their faces. “...Okay,” Mason said, “we’ll do it.”

—-------

The man, who’s name they learned was Major Monogram, brought them to a lab in a building labeled O.W.C.A and gave them instructions and where to stand so they could get this done as quickly as possible. “Alright, everybody, tall kids in the back. Just need to do a little more programming here, and we'll be ready to roll.”

The twins watched Phineas and Ferb say one last goodbye to Agent P before they all forgot about his double life. Even though neither of them liked the idea of doing this (why was this the only option to let the brothers keep Perry?!) they knew that they made the right choice. After all, it’s what friends do.

The brothers soon walked over to join them “okay, sir, we're ready” Phineas said.

Major Monogram nodded and turned to his intern who was managing the machine “okay, Carl, we're set.”

“ Uh, Major Monogram?” Isabella spoke up.

“Yes?”

“So, none of us will remember any of today?” She confirmed.

“That’s right.”

She smirked and turned to Phineas, “Good.” The girl grabbed him and gave him a quick kiss.

“Isabella!” Phineas gasped, clearly surprised.

“Hit it, Carl!”

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Phineas tried to protest.

But it was too late as a white light filled everyone’s vision as the Amnesia-inator was activated.

Notes:

And season three officially draw to a close!

Gosh, this finale was a beast and I'm so glad to be done with it, haha. Sorry this chapter came out so late, I really wanted to make sure I ended this the best way I could. I can not wait to hear your thoughts!

Now, I know that I just got off hiatus but I've decided to take another. I normally do in between seasons to take a break and this one is no different, I also want to focus on some of my other fics for a little bit and try to get a backlog of chapter for this fic done. Hopefully you guys will understand.

The plan is to return on June 7th but if that changes I'll let you guys know over on Tumblr.

- Isabel

Chapter 80: Buzy Little Worker Bees

Summary:

The Fireside Girls get a new patch!

A group of girls walked into the Fireside Girl Lodge as they chatted amongst themselves. Today was ‘Bee Day’ and they had just gotten back from the celebration Danville held every year.

“The opening ceremony of the Bee Day festival was awesome!” Milly said.

“It's my favorite part of Bee Awareness Day!” Holly agreed.

“My favorite part is the B-flat with the F-sharp bass at the end of the song!” Katie said and everyone stopped to look at her “what? It's tradition!”

“I just think it’s cool that you guys have a whole holiday to celebrate bees,” Mabel said. “....Even if the song ends a bit weird.”

“Okay, girls, festivities are over.” Isabella said, getting down to business “let's focus on getting our Beekeeping Patches. It's the only patch that we've ever tried to get and failed. Remember last year?”

Her eyes went distance as she was about to flashback only for Gretchen to interrupt “eep! Stop! You promised to never flashback on that ever again.”

Mabel frowned “I don’t understand, what’s happening?”

Isabella sighed sadly “well Mabel, every year we have tried to get our Beekeeping Patchings but every year we fail” she explained as they walked out back where a beehive was waiting for them. “If we don't succeed today, the 'three strikes and you're out' rule kicks in, which means this spot will stay empty on all of our sashes forever!”

She sniffled with suppressed tears “don’t worry Bella!” Mabel said “I’m sure that if we work together we’ll succeed!”

The girls all pulled on their Fireside Girl sanctioned bee outfits and veils over their normal uniforms to protect themselves from any potential stings. “You’re right Mabel” Isabella said, cheering up.

“Ready girls?” Gretchen asked and they all nodded.

Gretchen pulled off the top of the hive and they all gasped at what they saw inside “they’re gone!” They yelled in unison.

“Gone?” Isabella repeated, starting to freak out again “we've gotta find those bees before the sun goes down!”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Holly asked.

Mabel pulled off her veil and grabbed the large copy of the Fireside Girl handbook. “In the guideline for the Beekeeping Patch they say that a good beekeeper tries to ‘think like a bee’.”

Katie began buzzing “what are you doing?” Gretchen asked, clearly annoyed.

“I’m thinking like a bee!”

“I know!” Adyson yelled “we can get stung by radioactive bees and gain bee-themed superpowers!”

“Um...we don't have access to radioactive bees” Holly pointed out.

“Yeah.” Ginger said sarcastically “that's what's wrong with that plan.”

“What about Phineas and Ferb?” Mabel asked “maybe they can make us something?”

A lightbulb went off in Isabella’s head “they don’t need to make us something they already have something! They have a sorbet machine that turned Candace into a fly. They've gotta be able to modify it to turn people into bees.”

“Phineas and Ferb have a sorbet machine that turns people into flies?” Katie asked

“Yeah!” Mabel agreed “when did that happen?”

“Last summer” Isabella said, as they all pulled it off their bee suits “go look it up on the internet, we don’t have time for me to explain. Now let’s go!”

—-----------

About a half hour later the Fireside Girls were in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, apparently the guys were going to make some kind of giant kiddy pool thing. Phineas pulled himself away from the project (though they hadn’t gotten very far yet) in order to help them.

“So what are you guys doing?” Dipper asked his sister as Phineas showed Isabella how to work the sorbet machine in the corner.

“I already told you this morning,” she said “we’re getting our Beekeeping Patches.”

“And you’re doing this by turning yourselves into bees?” He clarified.

“Yup!”

“That makes no sense,” he informed her.

“It makes perfect sense” Mabel defended “you just don’t get it, you’re not a Fireside Girl.”

“Only because I’m not a girl,” Mason said, “I would be awesome at the other stuff.”

“Well you’re not a girl so you can’t join” she said, sticking out her tongue in a teasing way.

Dipper laughed, “lucky me.”

“So,” Mabel said “giant kiddy pool?”

“Yeah” he nodded “well, more like a bunch of kiddy pools of different sizes and full of different stuff in some kind of tower. At least that’s the plan, as you can see we haven’t gotten started yet.” He waved a hand to show off the empty backyard.

Meanwhile Isabella had turned on the sorbet machine, messing with the settings to make those hit with it turn into bees but made sure to give it a time limit so they wouldn’t get stuck. A few hours should be enough, right? Lastly she entered the Fireside Girls as the targets and pressed the button.

Back with the twins Dipper had briefly turned away from his sister when one of his friends called his name, asking a question.

In the split second where his eyes were off of Mabel she gets hit by a ray along with the other girls, turning a shrinking into a bee. When he turned back around it appeared as if she was gone.

Mabel grinned at her fuzzy bee form and flew over to join the rest of the girls “it worked!” she buzzed.

Isabella grinned “of course it did, it was made by the brothers. Now” she got back into business mode “Fireside Bees, follow your noses!”

They all sniffed, trying to find their bees “that way!” They all yelled and flew off.

—-------------

The Fireside Bees flew to a tall, strangely shaped, purple building that was downtown “my bee instincts are buzzing!” Isabella said “this must be where our bees went!”

Mabel sniffed “oh something smells good! I bet that’s what our bees were following” she sniffed again “what is that smell?”

The girls all sniffed the heavenly scent for a moment, distracted by how good it was. “It seems to be coming from that gigantic perfume sprayer” Milly said, pointing at was, in fact, a giant perfume bottle on the building’s balcony.

“Let's check it out!” Gretchen suggested.

They flew over to the source of the smell and found a large mass of bees flying around the perfume sprayer. “Woah! It looks like every bee in Danville is here!” Isabell said “Fireside Girls, forward, buzz!”

But before the girls could do anything a guy dressed as a pharmacist (Mabel recognized him as the guy from that time she and Isabella ended up in space with that weird Rodrigo guy) turned on a vacuum and the bees got sucked inside. Which included them!

They landed at the bottom of the vacuum on top of a hill of dirt, dust, and lint. Isabella groaned “Wow!” She said “humans really take for granted not being sucked into the nearest vacuum cleaner.”

Mabel hovered in midair and she looked around, noticing a larger bee surrounded by a few normal sized ones. That must be the queen and her attendants. “I'm gonna see if the queen knows anything.” She said, flying over with Isabella following. “Excuse me, Your Majesty, but do you know how to get out?”

“Not a clue.” The Queen said, her voice sounding weak. “And without my jelly, I'm way too weak to fly.”

The two girls flew back to the others “whaddya think Fireside Girls?” Isabella asked.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Holly asked.

“Yeah” Gretchen agreed “Bee Day's almost over and we're stuck inside a pharmacist's power-vac.”

Isabella deflated “you’re right, we’ll never finish in time. I’m sorry girls, looks like we’ll never get that patch…” She turned to Mabel “at least you’ll still have a chance next year.”

The Fireside Girls all sighed, defeated. That is to say, everyone but Mabel. “No!” She yelled, a determined look on her face. “It’s not over until it’s over! We can’t give up now.”

“I know I haven’t been a member for very long” Mabel said “but I know you guys can do this! Cause when the going gets tough... the tough get going! Come on!”

Isabella’s eyes harden with Mabel’s speech “she’s right” She said flying up to hover beside her best friend “we've got enough patches between all of us to make this work! Gretchen, Milly, Katie, you've got the Exploring Patch, right?”

Milly nodded “yes, and we can look for a way back out of here!”

“Right” the two over girls said and they all flew off.

Isabella picked up a piece of hair “these pieces of hair and dust are like rope! Holly, Ginger, you two have the Advanced Knot-Tying Patch and Mabel has the Weaving Patch. What do you think?”

“We could totally work with that stuff!” Holly agreed.

“And make a sling for the queen!” Ginger finished.

“Let’s do it!” Mabel cheered.

As they got to work Isabella turned to the last girl “Adyson, you and I have the Appliance Repair Patch!”

“Let's hotwire the vacuum” Adyson said “and reverse the motor so that it blows us all out again!”

“That's what I'm talkin' about!” The two fist bumped and got to work.

After some time had passed Isabella checked in on her girls “how's that sling comin'?”

“We’re good to go” Mabel confirmed as Holly and Ginger helped the Queen’s attendants use the makeshift sling to lift her up.

“Excellent work!” Isabella said “Recon Team, is the escape path charted?”

Gretchen, Milly, Katie appeared, all covered in dust and dirt. “Yes, ma'am!” Gretchen said “we located the power vac hose.”

Milly then sneezed “it was murder on my allergies.”

“Bee-autiful!” Isabella said “prepare for exit, everyone!”

They were suddenly blown out of the vacuum and back into the fresh Danville air. “Ah!” Mabel sighed, enjoying the scent of anything other than dust “freedom!”

“Great job, Adyson!” Isabella complemented.

“Uh… Thanks?”

“We're going home to the Fireside Lodge!” Isabella announced “everybody, follow me!”

—---------

The girls made it back to the Fireside Lodge, their bees in tow. They started to lead them around to the back of the building and to their hive when Isabella’s leg suddenly grew and became more human.

“Oh no!” She shrieked “it’s wearing off.”

The Fireside Girls tried to keep going, they were so close! But body parts kept going back to normal and with a yell they all tumbled onto the sidewalk. After taking a second to recover Mabel said “well at least we got the bees back.”

“That’s true” Isabella agreed “now we just need to get them back into their hive.”

They all stood up “okay, little bees,” Milly said, gesturing with his arms “go back into your hive.”

“We don't speak their language anymore.” Holly realized “we can't communicate.”

“Ooh! I have my Semaphore Patch!” Katie said “could that work?

“Only if they were on a boat,” Adyson said.

“I have my Yiddish Patch” Mabel offered “...but I don’t think that’ll work either.”

“Sorry Mabel,” Holly said sympathetically, ”but no.”

“Yo… “ Mabel sighed “ikh figyerd.”

“I know!” Ginger said “Baljeet is the answer.”

“Ginger,” Isabella said, “now really isn't the time.”

“Yeah” Mabel agreed “girl, while I admire your commitment to your crush I don’t think-”

“No no no!” She interrupted, “he told me all about this dance they do to alert each other to a source of food or shelter.”

“Like the rhumba?” Gretchen asked.

“No,” Ginger corrected, “it's a waggle dance!”

“Dance Patches we've got!” Isabella said.

“I don’t have mine,” Mabel said, raising her hand a bit.

“Well now’s a good time to get it!” Isabella said as the music started.

“(Waggle dance! Waggle dance!)”

“Well, I don't think I can really overstate it,” Ginger explained through song.

“But bee communication is quite complicated.”

“What seems at first like a simple figure eight... “

“Is packed with meaning when their butts gyrate!” The other girls sang.

“See, the waggle explains the angle” Ginger continued, drawing them a diagram.

“From the sun to the door of the hive”

“We shake it to and fro”

“To let everybody know”

“That the angle is seventy-five.”

“Oh, 75 degrees is the angle in relationship to the sun!” Gretchen said.

“Yeah,” Ginger said “but it also tells the bees the distance they're gonna have to go just to get there!”

“Ooh…”

“It's a waggle dance, waggle dance,” the Fireside Girls all sang.

“Show them where they got to go!”

“It's a waggle dance, waggle dance,”

“Take it to the bee chateau!”

“Let's do it!” Ginger said as they all began to dance, trying to lead the bees back to their hive.

“Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, stop!” Ginger sang.

“Figure eight and shake it again!” The rest of the girls sang.

“Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, stop!”

“Everybody shake your rear end!”

“You got it!”

“Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, stop!”

“Come on and swing those skirts!”

“Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, stop!”

“Try to hit 'em at thirteen hertz!”

“That's right!”

The bees began to fly back into their hive as the girls sang and danced.

“It's a waggle dance, waggle dance,”

“Show them where they got to go!”

“It's a waggle dance, waggle dance,”

“Take it to the bee chateau!”

The last bee entered the hive.

“(Waggle dance!)”

—-------------

Isabella stood in front of her Fireside Girls, handing each one a small fabric patch with a bee embroidered on it, she handed Milly the second to last one. “And here your patch” she held the last one up “and here’s mine!”

The girls all cheered and celebrated at another patch well earned. Mabel grinned down at the three patches in her hands. Along with her Beekeeping Patch she had also earned her Dancing Patch and her Inspirational Speech Patch.

She put each new patch in their rightful places on her sash and grinned at her friends “it is time to time to paaaarrr-tay!”

—-----------

When Isabella and Mabel reached the Flynn-Fletcher Yard, bathing suits and towels in hand, ready to try Phineas and Ferb’s latest creation they found not a tower of kiddy pools like they had been told. But a single ducky-momo themed one.

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher was also wadding in it. The two girls shared a glance before shrugging. “Sorry we’re late Phineas” Isabella said “our bee ceremony ran long.”

“No worries, Isabella.” The red-haired teen said “go ahead and join Mom in the fun.”

The two girls gigged and ran over, hoping into the ankle deep water. Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher smiled at them “aw, it's just like old times.”

“Hey, Isabella,” Phineas called over “we're having iced tea! You want some Honey?”

The two girls froze and stared at each other, did he just… “what did you say?” Isabella asked, holding her breath.

“I said, we're having iced tea!” He held up a honey pot “you want some honey?”
Oh” Isabella laughed awkwardly “un sure.”

“Rats,” Mabel muttered, kicking at the water a little and making tiny splashes “so close.”

Notes:

We are officially at season 4! I thought that it would be fun to open it with a Fireside Girl Adventure, it's been a while since we've last seen them. My uploading schedule is going to remain the same, once every other week on Saturdays with breaks as needed for school, family stuff, and other personal things. I think that this is the only way to avoid getting burn out... Again.

The season 5 revival of Phineas and Ferb came out yesterday but I haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet (no spoilers) but once I do I will see if any there are any episodes I want to include in the fic. Though I just want to say now, I don't think there are going to be any. But you never know!

Also, what did you guys think of the last part of the rewrite of Into The Second Dimension? That was the season 3 finale and I noticed I didn't get any comments on the last part so I would love to hear your thoughts.

- Isabel

'Yo… kh figyerd' translates to 'yeah... I figured.'

Chapter 81: A Bee-zy Mission

Summary:

Our two favorite animal ageists go on another mission.

Two Agents entered the secret platypus themed hideout hidden under the Flynn-Fletcher house. Agent P.I.G snickered when he noticed the bee themed headband his partner wore, Agent P rolled his eyes and swapped it for his usual fedora.

Today was National Honey Bee Day and Phineas and Ferb had felt the need to give him a themed accessory for the occasion. “Good morning, Agents” Major Monogram appeared on the screen.

“We, ah, ah” the man sneezed “sorry, my allergies are acting up. This whole Bee Day business is stirring up all the pollen in Danville. Anyway, uh,” He sneezed again “Doof's been spotted gathering bee pheromones, which is not only disgusting but probably evil” he then turned off screen. “Carl! Where are those tissues?!”

As the two headed out they could hear Carl and Monogram bickering about the quality of tissues and the low budget OWCA had.

Using their jetpacks the pair of agents headed to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, a place that Waddles had grown very familiar with over the course of the summer. He didn’t know why but it felt like this summer was way longer than it was last year, like at least four years!

The two landed on Dr. D’s balcony and the man himself came out to greet them “Perry the Platypus, Waddles the Pig. It’s good to see you, I feel like it’s been a while since the author wrote a chapter about us.”

A giant yellow fly swatter appeared behind them and quickly trapped them “ha!” Doofenshmirtz laughed. “Swats happening, Perry the platypus? Swats up?” When the two of them didn’t react to the pun he sighed “hey, swats your problem?”

Waddles oinked, he was starting to get annoyed.

‘Oh, I'm sorry,” the man apologized “I-I can't help it, I got bees on the brain, especially the queen bee. She's all you hear about- queen bee this, queen bee that. You never hear about the 'king bee', do you? That means there's a power vacuum that I need to exploit.”

Heinz showed off his invention for the day which looked like a giant perfume bottle. “Behold! The Aroma-inator. Like the queen bee, I have acquired mass quantities of pheromones.” He pointed to a section of the inator “see? Right here in the tank. Once I spray myself, the bees will be attracted to me and I will be crowned King Bee! After that, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump to ruling the entire Tri-State Area.”

The two agents shared a look. Yeah, there was no way this was going to work. That was because most honey bees were female, the only male ones were there to reproduce with the queen. Once that job was done the male bees were kicked out during the winter when food was short and, as one could imagine, would die.

Perry gave a little churr, trying to inform his nemesis that this plan was unable to work “yes it will!” Dr. D protested, Perry churred again “oh I’ll show you! You’ll see.”

—------

The evil scientist walked back onto the balcony with a vacuum. By now all the bees in Danville had been attracted to the inator and were buzzing around it. “Okay, time to fill the void in the power vacuum.” There was a pause “‘cause you see, it's a… it's a real vacuum cleaner.”

Waddles and Perry gave him identical unimpressed looks. “No? Wow, either I'm off my game or you're just being stubborn.”

The two watched as he turned on the vacuum and sucked the bees inside “ha ha! Sucks to bee you! We're back in business! Now, lemme just shut this baby” Doofenshmirtz reached for the button “oops! I almost hit the self-destruct button here!”

Agent P.I.G questioned why he had a self-destruct button on his vacuum cleaner. “What? I install one on everything.” The man defended “it's my thing. I-I put one on my coffee machine, on my TV, I have one everywhere!”

“Alright,” the man said, getting back on topic “now that the bees are out of the way, let's try this baby out. Just a little spritz.” Heinz activated the inator and it sprayed his entire body “uh...okay...needs a little adjustment…”

—------------

Meanwhile the Flynn-Fletcher brothers were working on their project of the day with the help of Buford, Dipper, and Baljeet. Today they were making a kiddy pool tower, inspired by Phineas and Ferb overhearing their mom reminisce over the Ducky-Momo wading pool Candance had as a toddler.

“You know,” Mason commented, “out of everything I’ve experienced these past couple of years this might be one of the weirdest.”

“Really?” Baljeet asked, sounding doubtful “that does not sound likely.”

“Okay” he admitted “maybe not the weirdest but definitely one of the most random.”

“Eh” Buford disagreed “this is pretty tame.”

“I didn’t say crazy, I said random” Dipper said.

“What?” Buford asked “do you have different lists and ranks for the stuff you do?”

“Yes.”

Phineas looked up from the pile of plastic sheets he was sewing together “really? What are the categories?”

“Craziest, Randomest, Weirdest, Strangest,” he began to list “Scariest, stuff like that.”

“And this” Baljeet waved a hand around them “is one of the most ‘randomest’?”

“Pretty much” Dipper nodded, “though if you asked me three summers ago this would have made the craziest list but I’ve done so many things since then that this doesn’t even tip the iceberg.”

“When you do strange and unusual things every day it makes sense that it becomes ‘normal’ in a sense,” Ferb said.

“Exactly,” Mason nodded.

“What’s the Craziest?” Phineas asked.

DIpper pulled out his Journal, flipping through it until he found the right page “well, this list isn’t really a ranking like the others just because Mabel and I have done so much. But some of the top ones are ‘The Wax Museum’, ‘The Ghomes’, and ‘The Haunted Convenience Store’.”

“How is a wax museum crazy?” Baljeet asked.

“Yeah,” Burford agreed. “Did the statues all come to life or something?”

“Actually…” Dipper said “yes.

They all stared at him for a moment “well you have to tell us the story now” Ferb said.

“Sure” he agreed and began to retell the story “well it all started back in Gravity Falls…”

—------------

“Now we're cookin' with gas!” Dr. D said “watch, Perry the Platypus, and Waddles the Pig!” As he talked Waddles threw his hat at the vacuum, hitting the reverse switch and freeing the bees. “As I shpritz myself right into ruling the Tri-State Area!”

He was once again spooked by the pheromones and then spotted the escaped bees “uh oh.” The bees began to swarm around Doofenshmirtz “hh! Ow! I think it might be time for Plan Bee!! Ow! Ow!”

Perry then used his tail like a chainsaw freeing the two agents from their swatter trap “hey! Stop it, stop it!” The evil scientist continued to yell “ah! Ow! They're all over me! Ahhhhh!!! Get 'em off! Get 'em off!

Waddles hurried over to the remote while his partner retrieved his hat, he then activated the Aroma-inator, amining it away from the building and emptying it completely. The bees quickly followed it “thank you for saving me, Waddles the Pig” Heinz said gratefully “and on the bright side, with all those bees, not one sting! Ow!

The man spat out a bee and stuck out his swollen tongue “oh, man! I thould've ekthpected thith. At leatht my inator ith intact” he tried to say as Perry pushed the self-destruct button on the remote control.

The two agents watched as Doofenshmirtz tried to curse them but kept having trouble getting the words out clearly thanks to his swollen tongue. Eventually they just left him to it and headed out.

When Waddles and Perry made it back home they found the Fireside Girls playing in a kiddie pool while the guys drank iced tea. The pig headed over to the plastic pool, jumping into the cold water and making all the girls giggle as he splashed them.

“There you are Waddles!” Mabel said happily “you wanna wade with us?”

Waddles gave an affirmative oink as she scooped, hugging him close to her check. Yup, everything was officially back to normal.

Notes:

I deiced to do a bit of a shorter chapter this week because I have some other chapters planned that will likely be a bit longer. I hope you guys still like it anyways, it's been a while since we got to see Agents P and P.I.G Please let me know what you guys I really want to hear your thoughts and comments are what keep me motivated haha.

Also, I'm making my way through the new episodes of Phineas and Ferb (no spoilers please) and I really enjoy them so far. I might try and see if I can incorporate one or two of them into the fic. If there is a specific one you want to try and rewrite let me know!

- Isabel

Chapter 82: The Most Epic of Battles

Summary:

The kids reenact the Trojan War

It was another normal summer day and the gang were all hanging out in their usual spot under the Flynn-Fletcher tree, only to be interrupted by Candace walking over. “Hey, Candace,” Phineas greeted “doing a little light summer reading, I see” he nodded to the book under his sister’s arm.

“This is for the book club Jeremy and I joined.” The older girl explained “we all read the same book, and then we get together, and discuss over tea.”

“Sounds sophisticated,” Mabel commented.

“Yeah, the tea was my idea. This week we're reading,” She showed them the cover “The Lliad.”

“That's a great book!” Phineas exclaimed “it's all about the Trojan War.”

“You’ve read this?”

“We all did” Buford said “you're not the only one with a book club, you know.

“I like your idea about the tea though.” Phineas said “Ferb, make a note of that.” Ferb pulled out a notebook and pen.

“The war started because Paris fell in love with Helen of Troy.” Isabella said dreamily “it's so romantic.”

“No it’s not!” Dipper said, sounding offended “what book did you read? The war started because Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, was married to some other guy, Menelaus of Sparta. She left with Paris because the goddess, Aphrodite, promised him the most beautiful women in the world.”

Phineas nodded “that’s true, though some of the details are different depending on which version you read.”

“Yeah,” Buford said “and Helen could launch a thousand ships with her face!”

As Buford was talking Mason noticed Isabella glaring at him “what?” The girl only huffed, not about to explain how upset she was that Dipper ‘ruined’ her love story. “What?” He asked again, confused.

“My favorite character was Achilles,” Buford continued, “the greatest Greek warrior of all time. He had this big fight with Hector. He was all, Wham! Bam! Stab! Stab! Stab!” He poked Baljeet with each word.

“Cut it out!” The other boy whined.

“Isn't there something about a wooden horse?” Candance asked.

“Yeah,” Phineas nodded, “the Greek army built a huge wooden horse, and left it outside the gates of Troy. The Trojans thought that the Greeks had given up and that the horse was some sort of tribute to them. So they wheeled it inside the gates.”

“This was after the war had already lasted ten years,” Dipper added.

“Then late at night,” Isabella said, apparently over her upset feelings “the Greeks climbed out of the horse, opened the gates–”

“Then it was all; 'Wham! Zam! Stab! Stab! Stab!” Buford interrupted, pretending to stab Baljeet again.

“Cut it out!” Baljeet just sounded more frustrated this time.

“Wow, it really sounds exciting.” Candace said “I'd better get started. Book club is in three hours. Bye.”

“Wow, she must be a fast reader” Phineas said as she walked off, Dipper hummed in agreement.

“What gets me is,” Buford said, “why did the Trojan War take so long? If I were Achilles, I could've taken the city of Troy, like, in one afternoon.”

“Because the Trogian walls were considered impenetrable” Mason said “so it took the Greeks a while to figure out how to get past them.”

“I don’t think it helps that many of them did not want to be there” Mabel added “I mean, weren’t most of them in the army cause they had sworn loyalty to Helen?”

“Yeah” Dipper confirmed “but if anything I think that’d make them want to end the war and get home sooner.”

“Ferb!” Phineas interrupted, “I know what we're gonna do today! We're gonna finally recreate the Trojan War.” He stood, ready to assign roles “I'll be Paris because my name starts with a P.”

Isabella jumped up, wrapping an arm around his waist “and I'll be Helen because-” She froze, face going flushed as she realized what she had done “ah, my... name... starts... with... I which is right after H.” She removed her arm and smiled awkwardly.

“And I'll be the great Achilles” Burford announced “and I'll be all; Wham! Zam! Stab! Stab! Stab!”

“I said cut it out!” Baljeet complained as Buford poked him again.

“And you can be Hector, now get over there.” the larger boy shoved Baljeet over to Phineas and Isabella’s side of the invisible line they had made, pulling Ferb over. “I'm taking Ferb.”

Mabel jumped over to the Greek side “I’m gonna be Greek too!” She declared “Oh oh oh! Ferb, you should be Odysseus and I can be Penelope!”

“Penelope wasn’t in the Trojan War” Mason said, frowning “she stayed home with their newborn son and waited for twenty years for her husband to return while trying to avoid getting remarried. That’s like half of the plot of the Odyssey.”

Mabel glared at her brother “well I say that in our version she was in the war!”

“Fair enough” Phineas said “Dipper, which team do you want to be on?”

“I guess I can be Trojian” he said, moving to stand next to them. “Just so we have even numbers and all.”

“Hey, everyone!” They all turned to see Irving peeking out from over the top of the fence “can I play?”

“No!” Buford said.

“How’d you get in our yard?” Mabel asked.

“I've got baklava” the boy showed them a pan.

“Welcome to the Greek army.”

“Well now the numbers are uneven,” Mason said.

“It’ll be fine,” Phineas said.

“I can always call the Fireside Girls too,” Isabella added.

“Great” Phineas said “while you do that Mason, Baljeet, and I will get started on Troy.”

—-----------

After some debate it was decided that the Flynn-Fletcher yard would be used for the Trojan City while the Pines yard would be the Greek Army’s camp. The two sides used the fence as a sort of privacy curtain to hide their respective preparations.

“And they say Rome wasn’t built in a day” Burofrd commented, seeing the finished fortress towering over the fence.

“Uh, technically, that's not Rome,” Irving said “that's supposed to be Troy.”

“If I wanted nerd facts,” Buford said, “I would've kept Baljeet.”

Baljeet called over the fence “in case you are wondering, the word you are looking for is, 'impenetrable'.”

“Actually the word I was looking for is 'decimate'!”

“Fair enough.”

“Yeah,” Buford turned to the rest of his team, “we're gonna need a bigger army. Irving, break out my recruitment fustanella.”

“You mean the little Greek skirt-”

“It's a fustanella!”

While Buford and Irving turned a section of the Pines backyard into an army recruitment center (which was really just a table and a pile of greek style weapons and shields) Mabel and Ferb got to work on their preparations.

It took both groups a few hours but soon, they were ready.

—---------

Candace sat up in her room, trying to read the thick, dense book. She was trying to read it but kept finding herself dozing off. The story book was full of old-fashioned and complicated words which made it incredibly boring.

“Hector!” A voice called from outside.

“Oh for Pete’s sake” Candace gave up, moving to her window.

Outside in her backyard was a large castle, in the Pines yard (somehow her brothers found a way to move the fence) was Buford, Ferb, Mabel, and Irving wearing ancient clothes. Standing on the fortress she could see Phineas wearing ancient Greek style armor and Isabella in a long, flowing dress and a fancy updo.

“WHat is going on out here?” She asked.

“You've inspired us, Candace.” Her brother responded “what do you think?”

She paused, taking in the scene “are you by any chance re-enacting the Trojan War, like in my book?”

“That's the plan.”

“Oookay,” she decided “I'll just watch you guys, and take notes for my book club. Buford, continue.”

“Hey, uh, Hector?” Buford said “why don't you come on down here, I got something for ya'.”

“Oh, sweet. I am going down there.” He leaves the castle “okay, here I am. What have you got for me?”

“Get him!”

“Oh no, not good” he books it as he is chased by a few kids in chariots.

“Eat hot chariot, sucker!”

Mason, Isabella, and Phineas watched from behind their wall. “Well,” Phineas said, “so much for Hector.”

“Hmm” Mason nodded “should we go save him?”

“I think he’ll be fine.”

In true Danville fashion their fight was accompanied by a musical number, sung by a couple of guys Buford had hired.

“There was a hottie named Helen and she launched a thousand ships with her face”

“Paris took her home to Troy, and to the Greeks this was a slap in the face”

“Agamemnon got mad 'cause that just wasn't right”

“He said, “Hold your Trojan horses, now we're having a fight!"”

“And I haven't sacked or pillaged since at least last Saturday night.”

“And for ten years they were all”

“Slamming! And jamming! And clashing! And gashing!”

“And brawling! And mauling! And trashing! And smashing!”

As the musical number went on the kids playing the Greeks tried various methods to get past the Trojan war, only for all of them to be counteracted by the other team.

“When they finally figured out they couldn't take 'em by force”

“The Greeks all got together, and they hid in a horse!”

“Bagpipe solo!”

Ferb began to play his bagpipes mid-fight “Troy Troy Troy Troy!”

“You know, bagpipes are sort of anachronistic for this time period-” Baljeet tried to say.

“Quiet, you!” Burofed said “go back to being vanquished!”

“Troy Troy Troy Troy!” Phineas, Dipper, Isabella, and the rest of the Fireside Girls all cheered.

“Troy Troy Troy Troy!” Mabel cheered with the other kids in the Greek Army.

—---------

As the song ended around mid afternoon and the neighborhood kids that Buford had recruited began to leave, dropping their weapons and armor into a large pile. “Hey, where are you guys going?” He asked, “we're not done yet.”

“I gotta get home,” one boy said.

“I've got book club.”

“I've got a balalaika lesson.”

“You know they've got a word for what you guys are doing” Buford yelled.

“Yeah, it's desertion!” Irving yelled.

“No, it's-” he started to correct “oh no, it is desertion. Irving get over here. It's time to execute Plan B.”

“Plan B?”

“Yeah, you know the one where you climb into the decoy, and uh…”

“Oh!” Irving said “that Plan B-”

“Get goin'!”

There was some shuffling and then Phineas, Isabella, Mason, and Baljeet watched Buford wheel over a small wooden platypus up to their front gate. “Really?” Dipper rolled his eyes, “a Trojan platypus?”

“Yeah Buford,” Phineas agreed. “What made you think we would fall for that?”

A loud crash interrupted them as Buford steered a large mechanical t-ret made out of wood, crushing the platypus in a single step. They could all hear Irving’s protest from inside the now crushed wooden semi-aquatic mammal.

“Ha, I bet you didn't see a Trojan T-rex with laser cannon mouth, and laser cannon eyes comin'.” Buford said proudly as Ferb took over the controls “didja?”

“Well he's got me there” Phineas shrugged.

“You guys ready to be conquered?” Mabel called triumphantly, also inside the t-rex.

Irving joined the rest of his team mates “seriously, if you were just gonna crush the Trojan Platypus, why did I-”

“Leave me my simple pleasures. Now Ferb, destroy Troy!” He grinned at them “this is why I got Ferb on my team!”

Dipper turned to Phineas “do we have anything like that?”

“Nothing as cool!” Phineas said, stars in his eyes “Ferb is way better at engineering than I am.”

“That… Did not answer the question” Mason said.

A large laser shot out from the t-rex’s eyes, cutting a hole into their wall. “Uh oh” Phineas said, getting back on track. “Looks like Ferb’s going off the book. “Everyone to the chariots!”

The three boys, Isabella, and the rest of the girls climbed into the flying chariots Phineas had made earlier and they all took off to battle with the T-Rex. Phineas fires a laser out of his chariot at the wooden mech only for it to just bounce off.

“Whoa ho, laser proof!” He said “nice touch Ferb.”

“That is pretty cool,” Dipper had to admit.

“Yes” Baljeet said from behind him (they were sharing a chariot) “it is quite impressive.”

They continued to fight but found it difficult due to the sheer volume of bells and whistles Ferb had put on the t-rex. And it wasn’t helping that Mabel kept taking out their chariots with her grappling hook.

And then, suddenly, Dipper had an idea. If this were a roadrunner cartoon there would be a lightbulb over his head. “I have an idea!” He turned to Baljeet, “grab one end of that rope!”

Baljjet did as asked and Mason steered closer to Phineas and Isabella, tossing them the other end. Phineas quickly caught on and the two chariots wrapped the rope around the t-rex’s ankles, making it stumble out of control.

“Well, that can't be good,” Buford said, his voice surprisingly calm.

“Guess they knew a T-Rex's weakness is also its Achilles' heel” was Ferb’s comment.

“This is un-heel-livable!” Mabel said dramatically, giggling at her own joke.

The Trojan t-rex fell to the ground, pulling the chariots down with it. They all crashed into the model of Troy, destroying it. After a long moment the kids all poked up through the rubble, all unharmed with the expectation of a few scraps and bruises.

“That was awesome!” Phineas declared.

“Who won?” Mason asked.

“This time I think it was a draw.” Phineas said “come on, let's go tell Candace how it ends. I think she left for her book club.”

“Yeah,” Buford said as they all left the backyard “and maybe we can pick up some Greek frozen yogurt on the way.”

“Next time we should reenact the Odyssey,” Dipper said.

“That would be fun but I think it’d be a bit too hard with how much stuff he did” Phineas said.

“True.” Mason conceded “but we should definitely read it for our next book club.”

Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been busy with homework for most of the day. Speaking of which, the next chapter won't come out until the August 2nd as the day it would normally come out (July 19th) is right before finals and I got to prepare.

This was a really fun chapter to write and I definitely used it as an excuse to talk about greek mythology haha. Also, for those who can't tell, the chapter title was meant to be a reference to Epic: The Musical. It's really good so you guys should go and check it out.

- Isabel

Chapter 83: Up And Over

Summary:

The brother build an obstacle course in a attempt to get rid of some spare parts.

The Flynn-Fletcher brothers stood in the middle of their backyard which was littered with what seemed like junk. “Ferb, we've got a lot of leftover parts from the last time we used leftover parts.” Phineas said “there must be something we can do with them, you know, besides hodgepodges or art pieces.”

“Woah” the two boys turned to see the twins enter the backyard, Mabel having been the one who’d spoken. “What's with all the junk?

“Yeah,” Dipper agreed “it's like an obstacle course back here!”

“That's it!” Phineas yelled “I know what we're gonna do today!”

“What'd I say?” He asked.

“You said obstacle course, of course!”

“Are you telling me that you guys have never made an obstacle course before?” Msbel asked.

Phineas turned to his brother “Ferb?”

“I'm filled with remorse,” Ferb said, his words rhyming “that we haven't, of course, even thought of building an obstacle course.”

“Then let's build one and make it our new tour de force!” Was Phineas’s response.

“That is a plan I can clearly endorse.”

“Of course!”

“Of course!”

“Of course!”

“Alright” Mason cut in “let's stop this before we break out into song.”

—----------

Meanwhile Stacy and Candace were leaving the theater after watching the latest Gluttony Games movie.

“Wow,” Gluttony Games is totally bloated with mindless mayhem! And the two girls, they were so brave and fearless!”

“We would make an awesome team” Stacy said “you and me!”

The two high five “you and me baby! Of course, we'd have to learn to shoot a bow and arrow, and build a rope bridge…”

As the two walked Candace continued to name off various things they would need to learn only for the two girls to stop dead in their tracks as they entered her yard. “Holy cannoli!” They said in unison.

“What in the world is going on here?!” Candace asked “PHINEAS AND FERB!”

Phineas’s voice came over the loudspeaker “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, babies and slightly smaller babies, welcome to the Phineas and Ferb Ultimate Obstacle Course! The first team that makes it all the way to the end, you know, alive and stuff-”

“That’s a joke!” Dipper yelled, “he’s joking! It’s all safe!”

Phineas continued as if he was never interrupted “will win this nifty trophy! So are you ready to get muddy?”

“That tears it!” Candance snapped “those two are so-”

“Hang on, Candace!” Stacy stopped her “we can win this!”

“Yeah, we ca- Wait, what?”

“I want that trophy!”

“.... Why?”

Stacy then went on to flashback, showing how her younger sister won so many awards meanwhile she had none. Something that was often brought up by her parents. Winning this thing would mean finally having something to display.

“Okay” Candace said with a determined nod “let’s do this!”

—-----------

With the teams now assembled it was time to start the race. There were five teams in total; Candace and Stacy on the Red Team, Isabella and Ginger on the Green Team, Buford and Baljeet on the Black, and Mabel and Dipper on the Blue Team. Phineas (and Ferb) was serving as the announcer.

“Good luck, contestants!” Phineas said “and watch out for giant worms! On your marks…”

“Wait, what?”

“Get set…”

“Did he say, giant worms?”

“Well” Mabel said, sharing a look with her brother “this will be interesting,”

“Go!”

The platforms the teams are standing on lower and they fall onto ducky-floats in their respective team’s colors. The Black Team immediately gets swallowed by the aforementioned giant worm.

“Aaaah!” Burford yelled “giant worm!”

“Well, it looks like Buford and Baljeet are out of the race,” Phineas says. “Sorry, guys. You know what they say: Giant worms can do whatever they want.”

The remaining teams fall down a pinball-themed waterfall before getting washed up on a beach. “Both remaining teams have made it to the beach!” He said “nice job ladies, and Mason, but you may wanna get to cover.”

“Cover?” Dipper repeated, voice weary as he knew what his friends were like.

Phineas pressed a button “fire!” He yelled as a gain water balloon launcher was activated.

“Incoming!” Isabella says as she and Ginger take cover.

“Water balloons!” Candance yelled.

“Just look at them go!” Phineas says as the Red Team nearly gets wiped out.

Meanwhile the Blue and Green teams manage to get off the beach and away from the wet attack. The four break out into a run to try and beat the other to the next obstacle, the two Fireside Girls managing to pass the twins.

“It looks like Isabella and Ginger are way out front!” Phineas announced.

“Hurry, Stace!” Candance said as the two teens ran “they're getting away!”

The next obstacle was a bunch of moving platforms over a large pit that went in every direction, evening up and down. Dipper and Mabel moved through it with ease, managing to take the lead, Isabella and Ginger following them close behind.

“Watch your step, that's mud down there!” Phineas said “Baljeet's suggestion!”

Inside the mouth of the giant worm Buford stared at his teammate, annoyed “really?

“I knew we would not make it that far.”

“Well, not with an attitude like that!”

Back at the bridge Candace narrowed her eyes in determination “we'll see who gets mud in his face, Smart Guy!” She starts to step on a platform, but it moves at the last second and she falls into the mud pit with a shriek.

“Good thing mud's good for the skin” was her brother’s comment. “Let's dry 'em off, Ferb!”

Ferb nods and turns on a giant fan, creating a wind tunnel like an effect on the course. The Blue Team immediately get blown away, luckily Mabel managed to save them from a painful connection to the ground but it’s clear the Pines Twins won’t be able to finish.

“And it looks like the Blue Team is out!” Phineas said “sorry guys.”

Isabella and Ginger brace themselves “hold on to something, Ginger!” Isabella said “we're almost there!”

Candacne climbed out of the pit and rejoined her friend, covered in mud, tTe fan instantly dried her and made the dirt flake off. “Hey, he's right, my skin feels so soft.” She exclaims “come on, Stace!”

Candace and Stacy try again to jump onto one of the moving platforms, then try to jump onto the next though they do struggle to avoid being blown away. Luckily, they manage to grab onto a pipe, which lifts them into the air.

“Whoa! Nice hang time!” The Ream Red then lands onto a wooden suspension bridge and sees Team Green blowing in the wind.

“I regret nothing!” Isabella yells.

“That puts us in the lead! Woohoo!” A pie then smacks her in the face “Pie? Really?
Dozens of more pies are flung towards them and the Green Team ran past them.

“And Isabella and Ginger take the lead!”

The two girls run over a bridge that’s a log shaped like a piece of corn, the two work to cross it with it rolling in place and trying to make them lose their balance. “We're nearing the finish line,” Phineas said “and here comes Team Ginger and Isabella, with Candace and Stacy in hot pursuit!”

“The Red Team jumped on the corn as well. “And now, ladies, who's up for some popcorn?”

A machine sprays some butter and flamethrowers appear, popping the corn. Team Green then falls off the log and into the mud below.

“We're the last ones standing!” Candace cries and she and Stacy cheer as a finish line banner appears, only for them to fall off not a moment later.

Back in the announcer box the twins stand with Phineas and Ferb, watching Ginger and Stacy have a nice sisterly moment. “Aw,” Mabel said, “that’s sweet.”

“Really” Dipper squints “how can you tell? You can’t even hear them.”

“I can tell,” she said wisely.

“Whatever” he said “let’s just get cleaned up and go get something to eat. This whole thing has made me starving!”

Notes:

I am so sorry it's taken me so long to post again! I got really, really busy plus I was out of the country last week. But luckily I barely managed to finish this chapter in time to post today. Luckily things should be calm enough for the next few months that I can keep up with my regular schedule.

This chapter was based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode One Good Turn and it was pretty fun to write. Hopefully you all enjoyed it.

- Isabel

Chapter 84: Wheels Of Grease Lighting

Summary:

The kids go to the Do Op Hop.

One thing that Mabel had been delighted to discover upon moving to Danville was the town’s massive number of holidays and events. Some were a little more stranger than others but Mabel was used to being weird, she did spend an entire summer in Gravity Falls after all.

As far as events went the one today was fairly normal, it was called The Doo Wop Hop and was a 50s themed car show and desipte none of them having a car, or even being able to drive, the gang were all planning on going. And dressing up, of course. Like that was even a question, Mabel has been planning and making her outfit for weeks.

Mabel looked over herself one last time in the mirror, readjusting the pink poodle skirt she had made and fluffing up her pin curled hairstyle. She was proud of her look and how it all came together, plus it would be fun to match with Isabella as the other girl was also going to be wearing a poodle skirt.

“Mabel?” Her brother called through the bathroom door “are you almost ready?”

“Yeah!” She called back “hang on.”

Mabel grabbed her rollerblades before opening the bathroom door that led to Dipper’s room to find that he was all dressed and ready in his own 50s themed outfit, he had even slicked his hair back in a similar style that had been back then. Ever since moving here her twin had grown more comfortable with showing off his birthmark Mabel had always thought it was the coolest thing ever and she was happy for Dipper had finally learned that.

“Great, you’re ready.” He said “let’s go.”

“Hang on” she said “aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Say anything about what?”

“My outfit of course!” Mabel said “what else?”

“Oh um…” Dipper stared at her, clearly clueless “it looks nice and I like it?”

“What do you like about it?” She prompted.

“Uhhh…..”

Mabel sighed “oh never mind, you’re useless. Let’s just go.”

“Oh thank you!” He let out a sigh of relief “I was really struggling.

“Yeah, I could tell.”

—-----------

“Oh my gosh Mabel!” Isabella ran up to her friend as soon as the twins reached the meeting place “you look amazing!”

Mabel shot her brother a look before smiling at her bestie “thanks Bella! You look great too.”

“All thanks to you.” When Mabel was making her skirt she had made Isabella one too in a blueish purple color.

“Oh it was nothing” she said “I was happy to do it.”

“Are you ready to go?” Isabella asked.

“Yup!”

The two girls ran off, leaving the boys behind, to meet up with the rest of the Fireside Girls. They would be spending today getting their Carhop Badges. “What was she on about?” Buford asked, gesturing to Mabel’s retreating back.

“I don’t know” Mason sighed “I guess she wanted me to give her some kind of compliment on her outfit? I told her it looks nice but I guess that wasn’t good enough.”

“Girls are so complicated” Baljeet sympathized.

“Tell me about it.”

“I don’t think so,” Phineas disagreed, “girls are just like everyone else.”

The rest of the boys shared a look as they all disagreed with that statement. Then again, Phineas has been oblivious of Isabella’s crush on him for years now. Even with Mabel’s attempts to get him to notice.

“So what’s the car show like?” Dipper asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, it's great!” Phineas said “a lot of the entries are custom designs or restorations, it’s cool to see what people have done.”

“I’m surprised that you and Ferb haven’t entered yet” Mason teased.

“Well last year we helped our dad restore a Nedlington Nymph for our sister” Phineas explained “with a few modifications, of course. It won Best In Show!”

“That’s really cool” Dipper said “and I am so unsurprised. Is she entering again this year?”

“Nah” Phineas said “you can’t enter a car if it won in the past.”

“Huh,” he nodded, “that makes sense.”

“Phineas and I plan on making an entry when we turn sixteen” Ferb said “I’ve already started sketching out ideas.”

“You have?” Phineas asked, surprised. “I didn’t know you started making plans.”

Ferb shrugged, clearly he never saw a need too. After all, it would be another three years before they could put his blueprints into place.

—----------

Mabel wove in between the cars on her rollerblades, helping to direct cars to the parking lot for the main party or the sections where they could enter their car for the contest. The other Fireside Girls were nearby, doing the same thing.

As the summer sunlight began to fade Mabel could see the artificial lights of the car headlights shining off of the glittery pink boots of her retro skates that she thrifted and fixed up.

“Alright girls” Isabella said “I think that’s all of them.”

“What are we going to do now?” Mabel asked, once their cheering subsided.

“I guess we can go and hang out with the guys,” Isabella said.

“Sounds good to me” she grinned, excited to spend the evening with her boyfriend.

The two girls swapped out their skates for regular shoes and wished the rest of the girls good bye before heading back to the rest of their friends to watch the car show.

Notes:

I know that this chapter is a day late and that it's super, super short and I'm really sorry but I promise I have a good reason. I wanted this chapter to be longer but I have been pretty busy lately with my job so I haven't gotten a lot of time to write as of late. Not only that but I was having some tech issues so I didn't get to write as much as I wanted.

Also, I decided that I'm going to be switching my uploading day to Sunday. Due to the nature of my job I'm often pretty tired and unmotivated when I get home (fun fact, comments give me motivation) so I don't have a lot of time to write. I'm hoping if I post of Sundays instead I'll be able to post longer chapters again. What do you guys think?

- Isabel

Chapter 85: Some Picnic

Summary:

Isabella gets a day alone with Phineas.

It had started out like a normal day with everyone gathered in the Flynn-Fletcher yard and the brothers ready to get to work on their latest idea. “Come on gang,” Phineas said “let's get started on building our megamondo-”

“Ah, no can do, Dinner Bell!” Buford interrupted “it's family day, and the Van Stomms from the low countries are visiting.”

“Well that's a bummer. But we can come up with some workarounds.” He turns to Isabella and Baljeet “so if you two-

“No can do, Phineas.” Baljeet said “I am taking an eastern Indian cooking class. We are going to make goat vindaloo. If we can ever find a goat…. There’s the sound of a goat bleating off in the distance “ah! There is one now. Got to run!”

“Well good luck!” Phineas yelled after him before turning to the twins “well I think my plans should still work with-”

“Dipper!” The twins’ dad yelled from their yard “we gotta go.”

Mason winced “sorry, I forgot to tell you. I got a doctor’s appointment. I’ll see you guys later!”

Phineas sighed “well it might be a bit hard but between the four of us-”

Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher was the one to interrupt him this time. “I'm afraid your plans will have to wait until after Ferb's dental appointment.” She and Ferb head out “come on, honey, time to go!

“All right.”

“Wow, I've never seen Ferb so nervous.” Phineas commented once they left.

Mabel then got a brilliant idea "actually" she said “I can’t stay either I got uh… Knitting club!”

“Oh, o-” Mabel ran off before the boy could finish speaking “kay.” There was a pause before he turned back to Isabella “well I guess it's just the two of us, huh.”

She resisted the urge to squeal and jump up and down like a crazed fangirl “oh. Oh yeah. We… We can spend the day together, that'll be fun! Whatever.”

“Let's see;” he thought, “with only two of us, we'd have to reallocate some weight in order to... “ there was a pause “huh. Well, maybe if we just reduce the amount of…” He sighed “nope, that won't fly either. Y'know, this is a lot harder without Ferb around.”

“But he never says anything,” Isabella pointed out.

“It's not what he doesn't say, it's how he doesn't say it.”

“Well I can get the Fireside Girl Manual for inspiration” she offered.

“That sounds great! Thanks.”

Isabella started to leave when she heard Mabel hissing at her from her backyard “Bella! Bella, over here!”

She slipped over to the other yard “I thought you were going to knitting club?”

“Nah, that’s on Tuesdays” she said “I lied so you and Phineas could spend some time together.” Mabel pointed behind her to show that she had set up an Fireside mobile tactical unit “I also called for backup.”

“You’re the best!" Isabella declared.

“I know,” she laughed.

—-----------

Inside the inflatable hideout the Fireside Girls were standing around a table with a map of the Flynn-Fletcher yard, it looked a bit like a war room. “Right,” Mabel said, wearing a headset “Initiating Operation: Perfect Picnic. Is everyone ready?”

Gretchen and Milly finished setting up the TVs that would show the live footage from the backyard “roger!”

Holly sat in the tree, holding a pair of binoculars “roger!”

“I think we’re ready.” Mabel said “you are good to go Isabella!”

“Roger that!” She re-entered the backyard and sat down next to Phineas, holding out the Fireside Girl manual “Here we go. Well let's just take a look-” She then paused “you know, I'm kinda hungry.”

“Well then, why not just have a picnic?” Phineas suggested.

“Wow. What a great idea.” She said, clearly acting “and I just happen to have…” She pulls out a basket “a picnic basket right here!”

“Ooh she’s good!” Mabel grinned.

“Wow!” Phineas said, amazed “way to be prepared, Isabella!”

“Just doing my Fireside Girl thing! I packed it with some Mexican-Jewish delicacies like... “ She began to show off what she had packed.

Suddenly Irving looked over the fence, luckily Holly noticed him from her place in the tree. “Oh no! We've got a Code Irving!”

“Strike team, deploy!” Gretchen ordered.

“Let's see what else I've got…”

Irving opens his mouth to speak, but is dragged down out of sight. “Did you hear something?” Phineas asked.

“Nope!”

—---------

Inside the clubhouse, the door opens and the girls bring in a lumpy and squirming bag.

“Mission accomplished” Ginger gave a salute as Adyson pulls off the sheet, revealing Irving, all tied up.

“Hello, ladies!” He purrs.

The girls all looked disgusted "permission to knock him out?” Adyson asked.

“Permision granted” Mabel said.

—----------

Mabel watched the monitors with a thoughtful frown, listening to Isabella and Phineas talk over the coms. “That's one of my own creations! I call it the Enchillatke!”

“It was delicious!” Phineas said.

“That does sound good” she muttered to herself, stomach growling.

Meanwhile Isabella was grabbing something from her basket when Ferb appeared out of nowhere, still wearing the paper bib from the dentist. When she turned around her eyes went wide “Ferb?!”

“Hey, Ferb! You're back!” Phineas said happily “Now let's get to work, this'll be the biggest picnic ever! I'll get the tools!”

“Alright girls, Union Jack is back.” She sighed sadly, “Operation: Perfect Picnic is now Operation: Ginormous Non-romantic Overblown Picnic.”

Ferb went to say something, clearly figuring out what had happened. ”It’s okay” she stopped him, “you guys just do your thing.”

Phineas ran back, blueprints in hand “looks like we're gonna need a change of venue. How 'bout the park?”

—-----------

The brothers ended up building a picnic themed amusement park, and while it was cool it wasn’t what Isabella had planned. After the typical ‘it disappeared without warning’ that always happened she headed home, a slump in her shoulders that wasn’t normally there.

“Bella?” She looked up to see Mabel and Dipper waiting on their front stoop for her.

“Hey…” Mason said awkwardly “I heard what happened? You okay?”

“Yeah…” She said softly then paused “wait, why are you here? I thought you weren’t into this type of thing.”

“Maybe but I understand what it feels like to be rejected by your crush.”

“She wasn’t rejected!” Mabel intercepted, then hesitated and turned to her “you weren’t rejected, right?”

“No” she shook her head “at least, not in the way you’re thinking.”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess… I just realized that Phineas doesn’t feel the same way and I don’t think I’ll be able to change that.”

“Wait!” Mabel’s eyes went wide “are you giving up? You can’t! There’s still a chance, I got so many plans we haven’t tried yet.”

“Mabel” Isabella sighed “I appreciate it, I really do but I can’t do this anymore. I have liked Phineas since we were kids and we’re going into High School in just a few months. I think it’s time for me to move on.”

The girl went to say something else but her brother placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Are you sure about this?”

“I am.” She said, blinking away the tears “if this is meant to happen then it’ll happen. But I’m done chasing.”

“Okay” Mabel nodded “if that is what you want… Do you want me to make some rebound crushes for you?”

Isabella let out a wet laugh “no thanks, at least not right now… Do you have any broken heart plans?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “I’ll call the rest of the girls and we’ll have an impromptu sleepover.”

“Thanks Mabes” She gave her friend a hug “you’re the best.”

Notes:

This chapter is based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'It's No Picnic.' Also, I just noticed that it's been a little over four years since I've posted the first chapter. YAY!

Now, I know some of you will have opinions on this chapter (and I want to hear them all) but I do have my reasons. In 'Act Your Age' it was mentioned that Isabella had given up on her crush around the time the gang started High School and given that this fic takes place the summer before they start High School I really wanted to cover this.

I am really happy with this chapter so please tell me your thoughts. I've been having a hard time staying motivated when it comes to working on this story and this is partly due to the lack of comments recently. I love this fic and I have so much planned so if you guys want to see them please let me know.

- Isabel

Chapter 86: A Little Bit Older: Part 1

Summary:

Fast forward a few years and the gang are all now getting ready to head off to college.

Eighteen year old Phinead Flynn and Ferb Fletcher lay on their respective beds in their shared room, Ferb was reading a book while his step-brother lamented loudly “ugh! I'm running out of time, Ferb.” He said “I gotta choose a school. Do I stay local or go abroad? Trade school? Art school? Come on, Ferb. Help me make a decision.”

Ferb sighed and set down his book “get in the booth.” He gestured over to a clear glass booth which contained a pile of paper.

“Oh, cool! All my college acceptance letters.” Phineas said, getting in “guess we're gonna let fate decide this one.”

Ferb presses a button which sends the letters flying around his brother, after quite a few attempts Phineas sighed “you know,” he said. “Things seemed a lot easier when we were young and just waiting for our voices to drop.”

A deep voice interpreted them “hey guys” they turned to see Bajeet in the doorway, he coughed and his voice returned to, mostly, the same as it had been when they were kids. “Oh! Something was caught in my throat. So, still trying to figure out where to go to school?”

“Workin' on it.”

“Well as a reminder you don’t have much time” Baljeet said, as if Phineas wasn’t already aware “my school has already closed registration.”

“You’re going to MIT, right?” Phineas asked.

Baljeet nodded “yes. I wanted to go to West Coast Tech but then the twins wouldn’t talk to me for two weeks until I changed my mind…”

“I remember that,” Buford said as he walked into the room, sandwich in hand. “By the way, you guys are out of cheese.”

“Well we stand by our decision” Mason Pines said as he appeared, his voice was in an awkward place between high and low and was a bit raspy as he had finally started testosterone early this year. “Where are you going again Buford?”

“I’m taking a gap year,” he explained, “then I’m going to go into music.”

“Ah that’s right,” Mason nodded.

“So, Ferb, you're off to school in England?” Baljeet asked.

“Yeah. He's going to Camford on Oxbury.” Phineas chucked “heh heh. ‘Camford on Oxbury’. It sounds like a wizard school.

“It's not a wizard school.” Ferb tried to defend, then there was a pause “...Well, there is some wizarding.

“Phineas, why don't you just go there?” Buford asked.

“Or why not go where Candace went to school?” Baljeet asked.

“Law school? I don't know….”

“Plus you would still need to do your undergraduate which is often four years at a different school” Mason pointed out “which doesn’t really help.”

“True.”

“You can still join me at my school,” Dipper offered.

“I thought Unseen Academy was invite only?” Phineas asked “like they won’t even let you apply unless they reach out first.”

“It is,” he confirmed “but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, you’ve encountered a fair amount of supernatural stuff too.”

“Not as much as you though,” Buford pointed out.

“I’ve never even heard of Unseen Academy until you applied” Baljeet said “and we all know you and Mabel were basically accepted on the spot.”

“Well yeah,” Dipper said with a shrug “they’re pretty secretive and everything they teach is supernatural based. I don’t know what I’m going to major in yet but it’ll probably be something ghost-hunting related.”

“Is Mabel going there too?” Phineas asked.

“No” Ferb was the one to answer “she’s going to art school.”

None of them were surprised that Ferb was already aware of this, after all for the majority of the summer if Mabel and Ferb weren’t spending time with their respective brothers they were with each other. Both of them were pretty upset about the other going to college with such a long distance from the other but they both wanted to be supportive.

“I don’t think Unseen Academy is for me, besides I want to go into something more science based.” Phineas grabbed two different envelopes “forget the booth. I'm gonna go with my gut. It's between these two, Danville U and Tri-State State. Both really good schools. Looks like I have some thinkin' to do.”

—--------------

Eventually the guys all moved downstairs to the kitchen to make themselves some lunch “so, I heard Isabella is off to Tri-State State” Baljeet said.

Oh, wow, really?” Phineas asked “huh. Haven't seen much of her this summer.”

“We have all been a little busy,” Mason pointed out, “way busier than in the past.”

“Why do parents buy such weird food?” Buford asked from where he stood in front of the open fridge “everything's 'lite', 'low', 'non', 'free', or 'diet'.”

“So she's... leaving?” Phineas asked.

“Yes.” Beljeet chuckled a bit “I always thought the two of you would end up together.

“I wish.” He groaned “I am so in the friend zone there.”

Dipper stared at his friend “you’re kidding, right? You do know she used to have a giant crush on you.”

“Uh... no…?”

“Oh, come on!” Buford exclaimed “it was so obvious! She came over to your house every day for eleven years, just to see what you were doin'!”

“The summer we moved here Mabel spent the majority of it trying to matchmake you two” Dipper said “with Isabella’s permission."

When she looked at you, her pupils actually formed little hearts.” Baljeet said “like, I do not know how that is physically possible. She changed her eyeballs!”

“We- I don't believe it… Ferb?” The British teen nodded, “Well, why didn't you guys ever tell me?”

“We are guys.” Was Baljeet’s answer “we do not talk about feelings.”

“That’s a bit of a stereotype…” Mason said “I never said anything cause Mabel would kill me if I did.”

“Um, I'm sorry.” Phineas stammered “I feel like my brain is broken. I-I gotta think. I'm gonna take a walk. See ya, guys.”

They all watched him leave for a moment then Dipper hummed aloud in consideration “you know… It’s not too late. Isabella doesn’t leave until tonight, we could still try and get them together.”

“I thought your sister was the matchmaker in the family?” Buford teased.

Mason shrugged “eh, she might be rubbing off on me.”

—-----------

Meanwhile the Fireside Girls were all off having their own lunch at Mexican-Jewish restaurant that the Garcia-Shapiro owned. Unlike when they were all younger they all wore normal clothes instead of their Fireside Girl uniforms. This was mostly due to the fact that this wasn’t an official meeting (yes, they were still all active members) and just a regular hangout.

“Ginger, are you texting Baljeet again?” Holly asked.

“Yeah, we're at odds deciding what movie to see later.” She said “he wants to go to the one about that planet and I want to see the one with that guy.”

“Well, don't fight about it” Adyson said “manipulate the situation!

“Manip-the-wha-?”

Adyson sighed “okay, ladies, listen up. Pretend you don't care about your movie, but then hint that it's playing at the theatre next to the fro-yo place he likes. The seed is planted, and he'll think it's his idea to go there.”

“That feels a little…Sleazy” Mabel said “why not just compromise and communicate about it?”

“That’s easy for you to say” Adyson said “none of us have been dating the same guy for four years.”

“Has it really been four years?” Katie asked “I thought it was less than that.”

“Give or take a few months” Mabel said “not counting those few months we were broken up Sophomore year to try and date other people.”

“Hi, guys!” Isabella interrupted, standing by their table dressed in a waitress uniform “food's up! Aw, just think, this is gonna be the last time I'm stuffing your faces before I'm off to school.” Her reminiscing was interrupted by the phone “I got it, Mom! Anyway, enjoy! Gotta treat my Fireside Girls right.”

Ginger looked up from her phone “hey hey! Baljeet says okay to my movie!”

“Mm-hmm.” Adyson said, giving Mabel a smug smile who just rolled her eyes. “Works every time.

“Where is Baljeet anyway?” Gretchen asked.

“Oh, he's over at Phineas's.”

“And Ferb’s” Mabel muttered under her breath.

“Oh, Phineas…” Holly and Katie sighed in unison.

“It's too bad Isabella and Phineas never got together,” Gretchen said.

“Yeah,” Holly agreed “I always thought they were meant for each other.”

“I wish that Isabella let me keep up with my matchmaking attempts,” Mabel said. “I’m sure they would have gotten together if she did.”

“Look at her.” Adyson sighed “working so hard.” The girls all looked over at her to see their friend doing two things at once while also answering phone calls. “She doesn't have time to manipulate a situation where she and Phineas can get together.”

“But we do!” Milly said.

“You know what,” Mabel grinned “I think enough time has passed for me to ‘forget’ about my promise not to matchmake them anymore.” She pulled out her phone “I’m going to text Ferb that we have a plan to get Isabella and Phineas together!”

“I thought you didn’t like to manipulate situations?” Adyson teased.

Mabel tossed a strand of her short hair over one shoulder “I don’t mind when it’s for the greater good. And I think this qualifies.”

—-----------

Back at the Flynn-Fletcher house Ferb, Baljeet, Mason, and Buford were all hanging out when Ferb’s phone went off. He looked down at the screen and smiled at the text from his girlfriend and Dipper glanced over.

“Mabel?”

He nodded “she and the girls have a plan to get Phineas and Isabella together.”

“Well that’s lucky” Buford said “given how it was our idea first.”

“It’s not,” Baljeet said. “It's Ginger manipulating the situation, it’s how we love.”

“You really shouldn’t do that,” Ferb said. “It’s not very healthy.”

“Well not everyone can date the same girl for over four years” the other teen huffed.

“Speaking of girls” Buford said “Mason, how’s that girl you game with?”

“Pacifica?” He clarified “she’s fine, we’re hoping to meet up soon. Her school is only a few hours away from mine so we should be able to see each other more often.”

“Is that so?” Ferb asked, giving Dipper a side eye as he was clearly not saying what they were all thinking.

“Oh shut up” Mason said, his face turning red.

—-----------

Later the gang (minus Phineas) and the Fireside Girls (minus Isabella) all met together in the Fynn-Fletcher’s backyard. “Isn't this fun?” Ginger asked as she and Baljeet carried over a table. “It's like when we were kids! Building stuff in Phineas and Ferb's backyard!”

“You mean the beginning of the summer before we all got too busy with college prep and work?” Mason asked with a raised brow.

“We'll build the perfect dinner date for Isabella and Phineas.” Mabel said happily “we got their favorite food and music.”

“And when we get them to come back here and see it and each other, they're bound to fall madly in love like they were always meant to be!” Adyson finished.

“You know,” Ferb said, “you can't force these things.”

“Oh, come on,” Adyson teased “we're girls! It's what we do!”

“At the very least we can help it along,” Mabel agreed.

“When they first walk in, we'll play the songs I put on this playlist.” Gretchen said, holding up her phone “they're all about love, and it will trigger them to start thinking about love. Then we have these streamers and balloons in both of their favorite colors, which will stimulate the romantic centers of their brains making them think about love.”

“What if it doesn't?” Katie asked

“Well, then, we have this sign,” Buford said, walking over with a sign that read ‘Think about love.’

Notes:

I know I was suppose to post this chapter next week but if you guys follow me on Tumblr than you'll know that I got really busy last weekend (I went out of town) and just couldn't get around to posting it. This chapter is based off of the Phineas and Ferb episode 'Act Your Age', originally it was only going to be one part but once I got to writing I deiced that it would make more sense to have it be two.

For those of you wondering, Unseen Academy (were Dipper is going to school) is something I completely made up. I wanted to find a real life school that had some kind of supernatural type degree but I couldn't find anything that I thought fit him.

Also, I don't know if you guys noticed but I tried to use the name 'Mason' for Dipper more in this chapter than I have in the past. I have the head cannon that Dipper would start going by his real name (especially in this context where he picked it himself) more as he gets older. The only person who only calls him Dipper is Mabel.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts, I've noticed that I haven't gotten many comments as of late and I really want to know if people actually read the chapters that I post.

- Isabel

Chapter 87: A Little Bit Older: Part 2

Summary:

Isabella and Phineas finally her together.

Phineas was out for a walk when he noticed Nana Shapiro is about to mail a large package in a mailbox “here” he offered “let me get that for you, Nana Shapiro” he reached over to open the mailbox.

“Phineas Flynn! Oh, look at you, so tall and handsome.” Nan Shapiro said “and going to college I hear. Oh, how time flies. Where're you going to school?”

“I haven't really decided," he admitted.

“Isabella came over to say goodbye this morning.” The older women commented “she's off to-”

“This morning?” He repeated, feeling a sense of panic overcoming him “but her school doesn't start for two more weeks!”

“Oh, honey, didn't you know?” She asked sympathetically “she's leaving today! As soon as she's done with work. Something about needing to-”

“Today!? But-”

“Phineas, look at me.” Nan Shapiro interrupted “if you have anything you need to say to her, you'd better get over to the restaurant and say it. Her summer's almost over.”

“He paused, considering her words “I- You're right. Thanks!” He runs off

“The restaurant is that way!” She calls and points in the direction opposite.

“Thanks again!” Phineas spun around and ran in the other direction.

—--------------

Back at the Pines kitchen (it was bigger than the one in the Flynn-Fletcher house) the group were working on cooking dinner for the surprise date. Ferb and Mabel were baking the deserts while Ginger and Adyson were making the main course.

“Oh, yeah,” Buford said, walking in through the back door. “It’s the perfect romantic setting out there. It'll be like love kicked 'em both in the face!”

“Buford, the table looks great,” Baljeet agreed, also coming in “but there is one thing that would make it perfect.” His voice takes a teasing tone as he pulls out a cupid costume from behind his back.

“No! No way!” He instantly protested “I'm not puttin' that stupid cupid costume on again.”

“But it worked so well for me and Mishti!”

“Oh, Mishti, Mishti, Mishti” Ginger muttered jealously.

“Let it go Ging” Mabel said “that was years ago.”

Once the food was done they all headed outside to double check everything.

“It's good,” Mabel said “but…”

“It's still missing something,” Baljeet agrees.

Ferb puts a vase on the table, pulling the look together and everyone takes a moment to compliment how nice it looks.

“Alright, let's get 'em over here now.” Adyson says as she pulls out her cell phone. “Oh, wait, I don't have any charge.”

Gretchen pulls out her own phone “oh, this is her old number.”

“Wait, where is my phone?” Mason asked, patting his pockets.

Everyone pulled out their phones, trying to call their friends. Their backs were turned to the table so none of them noticed a dumpster roll through and took the romantic set up along with it.

“My phone's out in the car,” Baljeet said.

“I just got the 21G” Buford told them “and the software won't be ready for two months.”

“Um, guys?” Mabel said, looking behind her at where the table once stood.

Everyone looked over too “wow!” Katie said “now it's exactly like it was when we were kids!”

—------------

Phineas walked by the Garcia-Shapiro residence, dejected. He stopped and stood there for a while. A delivery truck drives past and Phineas sees Isabella sitting on the stoop of his house.

He walked over and gave her a little smile “whatcha doin'?” She looks up and smiles back “is this step taken?” He moves to sit down next to her.

“I actually came by to…” She hesitated “say goodbye to you.”

“Off to school, huh?”

“Yeah. I'm going two weeks early because I'm an R.A.,” Isabella said “and in soccer, debate camp, student government…”

“Yeah.” He nods “I haven't seen you all summer.”

“I've been busy.” There was a long pause.

“You know, the guys said something funny.” Phineas laughed a little “he said you had a crush on me back in grade school.”

“Oh. Yeah. I had a big crush on you.”

“Wow…” Phineas said “I had no idea.”

“Really?” She exclaimed “I thought I was being so obvious!”

“Absolutely clueless.” He said, embarrassed “sorry.”

“I sort of gave up when we got to high school.”

“Yeah... I think that's when I started having a thing for you.”

She looks up at him in shock “well… that's unfortunate timing.”

“Yep.” He agreed, “and now you're off to college.”

“Have you decided where you're going yet?” She asked.

He pulls out his two letters “you know what? I just did” he hands her one.

“Oh…. ”

“Hey, what's wro- Oh, shoot!” He quickly takes the letter back “I'm sorry. Heh. Wrong letter”

Isabella takes the new letter and smiles “well, I guess I'll see you in two weeks.”

“Yes. Yes you will.”

The moment is interrupted by the sounds of clapping and turn to see the Fireside Girls and the rest of the gang. “It's about time!” Mabel declares.

“We have been trying to get you two together all day!” Mason laughs.

“You guys are the best!” Phineas grins.

Isabella stands up “I'm going to miss you guys!”

The group all pretend not to watch as Phineas and Isabella wish each other goodbye as she gets back in her car. Phineas watches her drive away, standing in the middle of the road.

Mabel and Ferb look at each other and grin, he pulls out his car keys and walks up to his brother "Mabel and I are about to go on a date, do you want us to drop you anywhere?”

—---------------

Mabel pulls her car up next to Isabella’s who was sitting at a traffic light and Phineas quickly gets out of the backseat “Phineas?” She gets out of her own car “what are you doing?”

“This” he pulls her into a kiss.

“Matchmaking, accomplished” Mabel grinned as she and Ferb fist bumped before driving off.

“Well,” Isabella said as she pulled away “that was worth the wait.”

“Yes.” Phineas agreed as he moves to kiss her again “yes it was.”

Notes:

Overall I'm pretty happy with this chapter, even if it is a bit shorter than planned.

I have a question for all of you. I really want to include the crossover episode with Milo Murphy's law and I was wondering if that was something you guys would want to see. The only downside is that the crossover takes place during the school year which is why I'm asking.

- Isabel

Chapter 88: Update (not a chapter)

Hey, I know it's been a while since I last posted and I'm sorry. The last several weeks have been a bit crazy. Basically, I lost my job, managed to find a new one, and now with the holidays coming up I've gotten pretty busy with family stuff.

I'm still working to try and post each chapter as quickly as possible but if they are late or just take a while I hope you guys will give me some grace, I find that trying to keep to a schedule is pretty hard when your life is busy. I know I keep going on hiatus and I promise that this is not going to be one, it's more of me (temporarily) getting rid of the updating schedule until things calm down a bit more.

- Isabel

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Seize The Day