The Seer Book 1 chp1

(Intro on the video game)

Cantoria was once a peaceful world, where all was good and free. Men, Dwarves, Elves, Sprites
and Nymphs, as well as many other creatures, all lived in harmony under the watchful eyes of
the Nine Sages, the guardians of that world.

But then the Dark Sorcerer took control of the land, corrupting everything good with his greed
and power. He turned against his fellow Sages and began building his empire of Dark Magic.
His minions—Warlocks, Snitches and Watchers, as well as several others—roamed the Realms
of this once beautiful world in search for the Stones of Power, the purest, physical form of Good
Magic.

But there are those who stand in his way.

Chosen by Sage Mortimer, the Chief Sage of Cantoria, the Brotherhood is a handful of people
who are willing to take a stand and defend their world. They set off on a quest to reach the
Center of Cantoria's Mega Labyrinth, where the very life force of their world resides. They have
but one goal: to safely escort the Seer, the only being who can use the Stone to save Cantoria.

The Dark Sorcerer will stop at nothing to claim the Seer as his own. To aid them in their quest,
there are the Seven Guides, the leaders of Cantoria's Realms, who will provide them with
knowledge and the training they will need to succeed in their quest.

The Seer is Cantoria's beacon. The precious Stone it carries is the key to the liberation of that
land. Strength and cunning alone will not be enough to obtain victory. Victory lies in the heart of
the Brotherhood; in friendship, hope, faith, and Real Magic.

Magic Exists; but only the Innocent of Heart can See it.

*****

"Take the left flank and I'll take the right!"

"What do I look like, Buford; a soldier???"

"Just pull out your magic rope and do something, Baljeet! Your guy's just standing there! He's
gonna get powned!"

Phineas vigorously pressed down repeatedly over the attack button on his game controller.
"Isabella, keep an eye on our Stone; we can't let that get into the wrong hands," he ordered over
his headset. He and Ferb had organized a day of video games with their friends online. Both
Sixteen-year-olds were sitting on their beds, staring at the giant screen they used to play video
games on with Isabella, Buford and Baljeet. Each person had a headset, and although neither
Phineas nor Ferb were able to visually see anyone, they could hear them, as well as the game's
sound effects, over their headsets.

"Gah! I have got a Snitch on my tail!" Baljeet exclaimed. "Phineas, I need a healing spell right
now! My health is down to 23%!"

Phineas moved his Mage character into the right direction. "Hang on, I'm comin'," he replied,
watching his game persona rush off. The game they were playing was part strategic and part
adventure. Because so many people could play, it was being viewed at an aerial view. This also
made it easier for Phineas and Ferb to see where everyone was and where their enemies were.

Normally, Phineas could not stand playing video games for long amounts of time, lest he was
sick and forced to remain in bed. He would rather spend his day inventing. But this was an
entirely different game than the others he owned. It had been the one he had waited over a year
to be released. With his mother's permission, he and Ferb had saved up their allowance to buy it
on its release day.

Its title was The Seer. It was said to be the most thrilling adventure game of all time, having
already sold millions on the first day and gotten a five star rating. It had online versions and live
versions to play on the gaming system.

The Seer was ultimately the only video game Phineas had actually sat down with Ferb to play for
more than an hour. In fact, the two brothers had already beaten the game five times. The reason
they continuously restarted was not only because their friends wanted to play along with them,
but because there were so many different ways to play, and so many different things to unlock.

"Aaaahhh, I can't get passed the dang blockade those Warlocks put up!" Phineas groaned as he
attacked an invisible shield. "Where's that dumb intangibility cloak when you need it?"

"Why don't you just use a cheat?" Buford suggested.

"Buford, I don't cheat at games. I win fair and square."

"Goody-two-shoes."

Phineas made several attacks before sighing and looking at his brother. "Ferb, you still have that
blockade disintegrator on you?" he wondered.

Ferb finished attacking an enemy before looking at Phineas and nodding. He then returned to the
game.

"Mind if I trade it with you?"

"Be my guest," his stepbrother replied without taking his eyes off of the screen.

Isabella gasped over her end of the line. "Phineas! Phineas, I lost sight of the Seer!" she
exclaimed. "He just ran off!"
"Fall back, Gang!" Phineas ordered urgently as he and Ferb turned their characters around. "We
need to find the Seer before going on! Move, move, move!"

"We heard you the first time, sheesh!" Buford groaned as they all regrouped on screen.

Phineas pressed a combination of buttons. "Lemme pull a tracking spell and find him before the
Dark Sorcerer does," he muttered.

Sparkles of coloured light swirled around Phineas' character. "Oooh, I love it when you do that
spell," Baljeet said. "It looks so cool!"

The red-head grinned. Out of all the characters he had wanted to play since he had bought the
game, it was a Mage. A Mage was the lowest ranking of Good Magic wielders in The Seer, and
considering Phineas never enjoyed playing games with weapons such as swords or axes, a wand
or a staff, which was what his character currently carried, were his favourite options.

After several seconds of watching his Mage twist his staff and let his robes flutter about in the
swirls of light, the teenager sat up straight. "Found him!" Phineas announced. He immediately
paused and frowned in confusion afterwards. "Hm. That's weird; the readings I'm getting are
telling me he's right nearby. Does anyone see him?"

"Is that him digging through that chest over there?" Isabella pointed out.

"What the heck's up with this Seer?" Buford scoffed. "He's like a five-year-old! The last one was
better than this one! Why did the creators have to give so many different kinds of Seers for Sage
Mortimer of Colornia to choose from? We're gonna lose because of him!"

"Let's just get him back here and find a way safely around that battalion," Phineas sighed. "Jeet,
which way is the safest? What does your map say?"

"Ummmm, lemme check," Baljeet replied. There was a moment of silence before a map popped
up on the screen. "If we go towards the Frost Range, the mountains in the North, there are
definitely more caves to hide in, but it takes the Seer too close to the Burning Inferno Level and
the Fire Sprites. We could go south, but then that takes us too far from Cantoria's Mega
Labyrinth and its Center."

"We'll chance the mountains, then," Phineas decided as Baljeet put away his map.

"But Phineas, what about the Burning Inferno?" Isabella pointed out. "The Dark Sorcerer has a
base near there."

"We're going to have to eventually beat that level too, Izzie. So, let's just go with it. Besides;
Ferb has beaten it before; he knows all the shortcuts in that level."

"What about you?"

Ferb snickered. "If Phineas had unlocked the ability to keep his balance, then perhaps he would
have beaten it without my aid," he teased.

"Hey, lay off!" Phineas exclaimed with a laugh. "I'm not a world winner at video games, Dude!
Those stepping stones were tricky!" He turned his character and began running towards the
mountains. "Okay, Gang; let's start heading there before the sun sets. And make sure the Seer
hides his stone this time. We could get caught again."

"I have to agree with Buford," Isabella said as they all began running and only attacking what got
in their way. "The Sage's choice of Seer really reeks this time round."

There was a moment of silence that followed until Phineas cleared his throat and spoke up again:
"Okay, lemme just refresh our list of players for a sec," he announced. "Bufe, you're a Ranger
right?"

"One you ain't gonna want ta mess with," came the reply. "Took me sixteen level ups to get to
this point from a Scout, sheesh. And I still need 35 more level ups if I wanna be a Knight. How
the heck did you get that far anyway, Ferb?"

Ferb grinned proudly. Phineas smiled as well. "You know Ferb's a top Gamer," he said. "He
beats everything fast."

"Why do both of you have to be born with all these talents?"

"We weren't born with them. We just worked really hard at them." Phineas paused before
continuing. "Okay; Isabella's the Archer, right?"

"You betcha, Phinny!" Isabella shouted out happily. "And I've still got those Ice Tip Arrows to
boot, so no one's gonna wanna mess with the master!... Oh yeah, and I still have those extra
special herbs by the way."

"Good, we may still need those. Baljeet's still the Rope Maker?"

"Unfortunately," Baljeet sighed. "What a lame occupation. I make ropes. Why was this even an
option?"

"It's just as important as any of ours, Jeet," Phineas encouraged. "We can't make the special ropes
you can. Remember how we had to cross that giant divide in the Floating Forest? It was you who
made that rope out of twigs."

"… I got lucky, I suppose. Still don't remember what the formula I did for it was… I'd personally
rather be a Mage like you, Phineas. That's such a neat job."

"Yeah; all those spells and everything! It's so neat!" Isabella added. "And you're all the way up
to level 28 too! Almost a Wizard! Why do you always pick a Mage when we play, Phineas?"
"Yeah; why don't you pick the Seer next time?" Buford suggested. "It is one of the playable
options right? That way, you'd be a pretty decent one, not like this doofus."

"And think of all the unknown, mystical powers you could use because of your rarity and that
Seer Stone!" Baljeet added. "Seers are incredibly rare, which is why they're so precious. Why not
be the Seer, Phineas? You fit the description perfectly, never mind you're already knowledgeable
about this game."

"His height corresponds to it too," Buford teased, making the others giggle. "Seers are always
short."

Phineas frowned. "Hey!" he exclaimed, making the others laugh again. "They are not!" After
they had quieted down, he replied: "I like being the Mage, that's why."

"But Seers have magical powers too," Isabella pointed out.

"Not really. Mages can perform spells, Izzie. Seers can't. Only offense and defence attacks
through the aid of the Stone. I believe magic—or in this case, spellbinding—is essential to
several levels in this game. Don't you guys believe magic is important?"

There were several indecisive murmurs on the other end. Phineas raised an eyebrow and then
looked at his brother. "How about you, Ferb?" he said. "You believe in it, right?"

Ferb shrugged. "Well, perhaps theoretically, yes," he said. "But… not literally. I mean, there's
always an explanation to everything, Phineas."

Phineas was a little disappointed by this answer. He groaned softly and stared at the screen again
as his mage led the others off. "Fine, I'll be the lone Magic believer, sheesh," he mumbled. "If
you ask me, magic exists. We just don't know where to find it."

"There is another Seer attribute," Baljeet announced. "Guidance in the right direction."

"Oh, gimme a break."

"But Phineas, it's true," Isabella pointed out. "The Seer is always the most humble, gentle-
hearted, innocent and adorable person—!"

"Adorable???" Phineas interrupted in confusion. "What does adorable have to do with it?"

Ferb, Baljeet and Buford were already choking on laughs—they had noticed the little hint
Isabella had set down, but were completely blown away by the fact that Phineas was still that
oblivious.

Isabella groaned tiredly. "I didn't mean that," she muttered. "What I meant to say was wise. The
Seer also has to be wise in order to lead the group when needed. The Seer's the only one who
knows the exact paths to the Center of the Labyrinth, Phineas. It's got powers that are beyond
what any Mage has, it can see things others can't normally see, and even feel things others can't
normally feel."

"But I'm not like all of that," Phineas replied.

Ferb crossed his legs. "I think what she meant, Phineas, was that many of those attributes can be
found in you," he explained. "Not necessarily all of them, just most."

"Come off it, I'm not that special, guys," Phineas sighed. "I like being a Mage, that's all. I don't
want to take on such a serious role as the Seer. He's the guy who's wanted by the good guys and
the bad guys. Besides; who would want to play as a player who needs to sacrifice himself at the
end of the game anyway?"

"He does raise a good point," Baljeet pointed out.

"I thought you liked being a hero," Buford said. "You know… The Beak???"

"Oh please, I was ten years old," Phineas groaned. "Besides; I was only the hero because of a
fluke—!"

Ferb cleared his throat loudly, catching Phineas' attention. The red-head smiled wryly while
blushing. "Uh, I mean we were the hero," he said after noticing his brother's irritated glare. "I still
feel bad about totally ignoring you, Bud."

"I'm sure," Ferb replied, although he had a smile on his lips.

Phineas looked at the game again. "Okay, so being the hero has its perks," he answered Buford's
question. "But who would want to be a hero in a video game who ends up dying anyway? Either
you get taken by the Warlocks and Dark Sorcerer, shot at by their Deception Sceptres and turned
into a weapon of mass destruction, OR, you reach the Center, connect yourself to the Labyrinth's
life force, go through the Transfiguration and sacrifice yourself to save all of the innocent people,
as well as your team."

"Heroes make sacrifices," Ferb pointed out.

Phineas groaned. "But this is just a silly video game, for cryin' out loud!" he exclaimed. "It's not
even real!"

"Says the guy who just claimed magic to be real," Buford muttered, making Baljeet giggle.

"Okay, you guys are confusing me now. Can we just get back to finding a haven and then saving
this silly game?"

"You wanna quit?"

"No, I just want to stop playing. I'd rather be inventing now. You guys are making this game a
confusing whirlpool of… confusion."

Isabella started laughing at the other end, and was soon joined by the others. Ferb chuckled and
looked at his brother. "Actually, I think adorable would fit you perfectly if you were a Seer," he
joked.

Phineas narrowed his eyes and tossed his pillow at Ferb. "Put a sock in it, Ferbo," he muttered
behind his teeth.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp2
"So; how do you like the game so far?"

Ferb looked up from his dinner plate that evening while chewing on some of his steak. Because his
mouth was full, Phineas was the one who answered their father's question: "It's really sweet," the
sixteen‐year‐old replied with a grin. "Ferb and I practically have every part of it explored and unlocked…
Well, except for Twilight Lagoon."

"What's that?" Lawrence wondered curiously.

"Not what; where, Dad. And it's only the most beautiful realm in Cantoria. Says so in my official game
manual! I've got loads of concept art of the people and the realm itself!"

"Why haven't you unlocked it then?"

"Insanely difficult to do so. You need like, a bajillion points in order to unlock it. Ferb and I have only
saved up about two thirds of that."

"You've only had that game for about a month and already you're near completion?" Linda said
curiously, making Lawrence chuckle.

"Are you kidding? It's the biggest game world that was ever created, Mom," Phineas replied after
swallowing some food. "It took them near a whole decade to make it so huge. There's too much to
explore for us to be near completion!"

"I hope you two won't be spending your time on that game for the rest of the school year," Linda said
sternly.

Phineas winked. "No worries, Mom; inventing is still my first priority!" he reassured her.

Lawrence cleared his throat. "I believe she was referring to your grades at school, Phineas," he muttered
with a grin while raising an eyebrow.

Ferb choked on a laugh while Phineas smiled wryly at his parents. "Oh yeah, well, that comes first‐first,"
he corrected.

"How about you, Ferb? How do you like the game so far?"

Ferb finished drinking his coke before wiping his mouth on his napkin. "Quite stimulating," he replied.
"There's always something new to discover. I know most levels from the back of my hand now. And I've
mastered every single attack my Knight can accomplish. Only three more levels up and I'll be a Blade
Master."

"My, my, sounds like you've been a busy squire," Lawrence laughed. He looked at Phineas again. "What
about you, Boy? What kind of Knight are you?"
Phineas shook his head. "I'm not a Knight," he replied. "I'd rather be a Mage—!"

"Apparently, magic exists," Ferb muttered teasingly.

His brother shot him a glare. "Not restarting that!" he scolded. Looking at his father again, Phineas
continued. "I don't like fighting with swords, so I use magic." He beamed of pride. "BUT, I know every
single secret, every single location, and every single power for every single playable character by heart.
Even the bad guys. I can name them all from the back of my hand. Plus, I've memorized their basic
clothing. I can tell the diff between a Rope Maker and a Monk, a Knight from a Squire, a Wizard from a
Warlock. Comes in handy when someone doesn't know who he's talking to…"

Ferb raised his chin. "Like if I could tell that it was a Snitch just like that, sheesh," he grumbled.

"Uh yeah, you should. Their eyes are orange, remember? And their pupils looks like crosses."

Lawrence grabbed some vegetables with his fork. "What about the Seer itself?" he asked. "What do they
wear?"

Phineas and Ferb exchanged a startled look before both shrugging. "Actually, he's the only one we don't
know what he wears," Phineas said. "Because of the special Seer Stone he or she wears around their
neck, they have to wear a cloak over themselves in order to hide their identities and powers."

"Goodness; you boys really do know your video games…"

Linda cleared her throat, catching their attention. "Which is why we will stop talking about this while
we're eating," she announced. "Dinner is food and family time; not video game time."

"But when we play video games, we do it together," Phineas pointed out innocently. He was answered
by a punch in the shoulder from Ferb. "Ow! I was kidding, Dude!" Phineas exclaimed, rubbing his
shoulder gingerly.

While Ferb returned to his meal, Linda continued to speak: "Speaking of family… Phineas, Ferb, your
sister and Jeremy are coming over for dinner on Friday, so I want you two off of the video games that
day, please."

Ferb shrugged his shoulders while Phineas nodded his head. "We could do that easy," he replied. "We'll
probably invent something instead—!"

"—And I don't want any inventions, please."

At these words, even Ferb gave his mother a horrified look. "What?" Phineas gaped. "But Mom, what
else are we supposed to do?"

"Homework would be a safe place to start," Lawrence commented.

"But we always finish early!"

"Then I suppose you can sit in the living and chat with your sister and her fiancé."
Phineas was devastated. "Why can't we invent?!" he exclaimed.

Linda wiped her mouth. "I would like one normal dinner with Candace where she isn't attempting to, as
she puts it, bust you," she answered. "Every time you guys leave to do something while she's visiting,
she gets all hyped up about it and is distracted for the entire evening while attempting to prove to me
that you guys do impossible things."

"She doesn't do it all the time!" Phineas argued.

"She does it enough to bother me."

"But Mom!"

Linda frowned at her youngest son. It was not often that Phineas objected, but when inventing was
involved, it was the only place he would rebel. "No inventions and that's final," the woman repeated.
"You can drop it for a day, Phineas."

Phineas stood his ground. "But what if I come up with some great idea again?!" he asked while flailing
his arms about in the air. "What if that happens while we're talking with Candace? I'm gonna lose it if I
can't get it on paper, Mom!"

While Lawrence and Ferb had begun to chuckle softly at Phineas' miming of the scene, Linda, just as
stubborn as her son, pointed at him. "You can write it down as a memo, but no drawing," she said.

"But Moooommm!"

"For Heaven's sake, Phineas Flynn! Why are you fighting it so badly this time?!"

Ferb swallowed his food and wiped his mouth before replying: "We played video games for so long
today, we never got the chance to actually build anything," he explained. "So he's sort of… cracked."

"I DON'T CRACK!" Phineas exclaimed, making his stepfather burst into laughter. "I don't know where you
and the others even get that term! I. DON'T. CRACK!"

Linda sighed in exasperation and passed a hand over her face. "I cannot believe you resemble Francis so
badly," she groaned. Uncovering her eyes, she looked up at Phineas again. "Here's the deal, then; if you
get that antsy, then you can run upstairs and grab your sketchbook. But if you even think of dragging
Ferb out to the garage or the backyard or even your room, I will ground you from touching a single
pencil or pen in this house for an entire week, Phineas Flynn. I will even empty your room and bags of
sketchbooks. Is that clear?"

Phineas was not fond of the idea of being grounded from inventing. He was hardly ever punished,
considering he was such an honest and kind teenager. But it had happened once, and that was when he
played with a robotic Frisbee in the house and smashed Linda's priceless antique vase. Linda had
grounded him from inventing for five days; though it did not sound like enough to most parents, Linda
was more than certain that Phineas had gotten the message.
Mainly because he was forbidden to jot down his ideas.

The sixteen‐year‐old sighed heavily in defeat and sunk low into his chair. "Crystal," he groaned miserably,
making Ferb and Lawrence laugh again.

*****

Wow. Mom actually got ticked at you? That's a first.

Phineas made a grimace as he typed his reply back to his sister on MSN that evening. She didn't get
ticked, she just gave me a hunkin' big warning. While Lawrence had asked Ferb if he could help him with
something on the car, Phineas had gone up to their bedroom, pulled out his laptop and checked if
Candace was online. Sure enough, just as they normally did on those few days they had to themselves,
his sister was available to talk.

Last time I checked, that was the beginning of being ticked. I KNEW you weren't an angel! LOL, Candace
teased.

The sixteen‐year‐old grinned amusingly. I never said that I WAS an angel, he replied.

But everyone believes it… Mr. We're‐Visiting‐the‐Moon‐and‐Mom‐won't‐Get‐Mad.

She never did.

Because she never believed me! She always thought you and Ferb were just goofin' around in the
backyard!

As Candace continued to rant on about the amazing feats her brothers had accomplished in the past,
Phineas could not help but to laugh softly. He still found it amusing that his sister had tried so hard to
expose them. The entire time, Phineas believed that they were doing only the most innocent of acts—he
had asked for permission before building anything.

You tried so hard to accomplish a pointless act, Candace, Phineas typed. Mom had given us permission to
do those things.

Oh, don't give me that, Einstein; if I had tried to do that, she would have flipped. There was a pause
before his sister continued. Anyway, how's that crazy game you and Ferb bought? Mom mentioned that
you two have been playing it more than any other game you own.

Shyah, Phineas replied. It's only, like, THE best game ever… though inventing still tops it by a mile.

No surprise there. Stacy and I started playing the online version of it a little.

Told you you'd like it.

Yeah, yeah, I know… I like being a Mage. It's fun to blast magic from your finger tips and wands, LOL.
What do you and Ferb like to play as?
Ferb's a Knight. He's almost levelled up to being a Blade Master for the King. Bufe's pretty upset that it's
taking him this long to even attempt to get as high as Ferb. But Ferb's a master, so there's no surprise.

Ha, no kiddin. What about you?

Phineas paused for a moment, wondering what he would type next to sum up his feelings about his role
playing. Sighing, he put his fingers to work. I like being a Mage too, he began, But everyone else thinks I
should play as the Seer.

Candace did not reply for a moment or two. Well, why wouldn't you? She asked.

Candy, who would want to play as someone who you KNOW is gonna die anyway? At least with a Mage
or anyone else, you get to come back to life.

Phineas, it's only a game. Besides; the Seer is an important role. It's up to him or her to make it to the
Center of the Labyrinth and save the world.

Phineas sighed again, this time out of irritation. I know that, Candace, he typed. I've beaten the game
five times already.

Then why don't you want to be the Seer?

I don't like the idea of being the main character. I like being a follower.

…… Oh, PLEASE don't tell me you just wrote that.

Why?

Phineas, it's YOU who tells Ferb what to build! It's YOU who designed all of those crazy inventions! It's
YOU Isabella and Baljeet look to for advice! For cryin' out loud, Phineas; you're a flippin leader! You have
no right to say you would rather be a follower when you're a born leader!

Just because I'm a born leader, it does NOT mean that I enjoy being the center of attention.

Get off it! You're the lead singer of your band, you're the lead in that play you guys are doing at school,
and you're even your art class' best artist, for Pete's sake! You have everything a leader should have!

Phineas was beginning to feel more and more pressured into playing a role he did not want to play. It
was not often that he got upset at his sister, but when a frown fell over his brow, he made this an
exception. What IS it with everyone and telling me to be the Seer??? I like being a Mage and I DON'T like
the fact that all the pressure of saving a world is on my shoulders! Never mind I take magic seriously, and
the role of the Seer is kind of freaky. So would it hurt if I told you to quit while you're ahead?

He pressed enter and waited for a response with his arms crossed. It took Candace a few seconds before
she typed anything. Okay, okay, I'm sorry, she said. I didn't think it mattered that much to you, Phineas. I
just think that you would be really good in that role.

Thanks, but I like my magic wand, not a death sentence.

Ok, I'll admit THAT comment made me laugh.

Phineas grinned again, glad to have made his sister laugh.

The sound of the front door downstairs opening and closing caught his attention. Linda had returned
from visiting the neighbours—she had gone out shortly after dinner—and by the sound of it, Lawrence
and Ferb were back in the house as well.

He sighed and began typing again. I g2g, Candace, he wrote. Mom may need my help with the dishes
again.

Aw, how sweet of you, Candace said. You're an angel again.

Phineas laughed. I can read the sarcasm in that comment, he typed. See you on Friday, Candace.

Bye, Baby Bro. Later.

Phineas ended the conversation and signed out before closing his laptop and setting his head back
against his pillow. With a sigh, he closed his eyes.

The door opened and in walked Ferb, drying his hands off on a cloth. He looked up at his brother before
wiping the oil off of his face. "You forgot to put the brakes back on the truck, Phineas," he noted.

Phineas opened an eye. "My bad," he muttered. "Sorry, it slipped my mind."

"Everything like that slips your mind nowadays."

"I don't mean it. I just got distracted."

Ferb grinned weakly before sitting down on his bed. "Who were you chatting with?"

Phineas set his laptop aside and stretched out his arms. "Candace," he replied. "She thought it was
funny that Mom gave me a no inventing warning."

His brother nodded subconsciously and then tossed off his shoes.

"Then she asked me why I don't play as the Seer."

"And how did that go?"

"… I won't repeat it."

Ferb chuckled softly before settling down on his bed with a book. "Phineas, you don't give yourself
enough credit," he said. "You really would make a good Seer."

"And why wouldn't you?" Phineas wondered, turning his head and looking at his brother. "Why couldn't
both of us be eligible to play that role?"
Ferb shrugged his shoulders. "I like being a Knight."

"And I like being a Mage."

"Fine, fine; but still."

Phineas sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "Ferb," he said softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you… really not believe in magic?"

No response.

"… Anymore?"

Still no response.

"Like… Real Magic?"

Ferb raised his eyes from his book. "What does that mean?"

"Just answer the question, Ferb."

Ferb looked heavenward. "I don't know," he replied.

"That's… not really an answer, Ferb."

"Why are we discussing this?"

Phineas shrugged. "I dunno… I just had this feeling that I should ask you again… So; do you or not?"

Ferb sighed and looked at his book again. "No, Phineas," he concluded. "I don't believe in magic. It's only
tricks that can be explained."

Although he had expected the answer, Phineas was yet again disappointed. At one point in time, Ferb
had believed Magic to be real. But now that they were almost adult, Phineas suspected that children
had to stop believing in fairytales and start looking at the rational instead.

Because he relished the idea of magic existing, Phineas had been the only one out of his group of friends
who refused to believe otherwise.

After a final moment of silence, Phineas turned onto his side, back facing Ferb, and closed his eyes.
"That's what I thought," he whispered.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp3
Light gray clouds covered the blue sky from view the next morning. Powdery snow was falling over the
city of Danville when Phineas and Ferb awoke at six o'clock that January morn. As usual, Phineas came
up with a new idea; and as usual, Ferb looked it over with him.

And, as usual, Linda had to call them down for breakfast at seven.

"Phineas, your father will be picking Ferb up at twelve thirty for his dental appointment, and considering
they'll be downtown, they'll be picking a few things up for the store," Linda announced as her sixteen‐
year‐old sons got dressed appropriately to leave the house. "And I will be over at Candace's house,
helping her with a few chores. Which means that you will be home alone for at least two hours or so—!"

"Mom, just 'cause I'm the youngest, it does not mean I don't know how to stay home alone," Phineas
muttered as he zipped up his jacket. Perry the platypus was lying on the teenager's backpack, seeming
to be fast asleep.

Linda grinned as she looked through her purse. "I'm sorry, Phineas, I just want to make sure you're
alright with coming home to an empty house," she replied. "The last time you were calling Candace once
every fifteen minutes."

"That's because you never told me where you were, Dad and Ferb got caught in a traffic jam and
couldn't reach me, and there was a massive storm over the tri‐state area," Phineas pointed out, making
Ferb giggle as the green‐haired teenager leaned down to tie his shoes. "Plus, to top it off, I had just
finished playing through a game of basketball while attempting to fight back a massive headache… not a
good combination—Would you just quit while you're ahead, Genius?!" he exclaimed as Ferb continued
to giggle uncontrollably. When all his brother did was laugh some more, Phineas playfully swatted him
across the head.

"I'm sorry; you're so cute when you panic," Ferb teased.

"Why do you only talk when you have something dorky to say?"

Once Perry had removed himself from Phineas' backpack, the teenagers left the house, racing as usual.
"See you tonight, Mom," Phineas shouted over his shoulder as he and Ferb ran out. "Bye, Dad!"

"Have a good day at school," Lawrence called out from the steps before closing the door.

The bus had not yet arrived, which was a rare thing to happen for Phineas and Ferb. On any normal
occasion, they enjoyed playing close calls and normally dashed out of the house when the bus was just
about to take off again. Today, it seemed as though they were early.

"Hm. Must be ice on the road," Ferb muttered while looking down the street.

Phineas placed his red toque over his head and looked at his brother. "We have a science test today,
right?" he asked. As Ferb nodded, Phineas dug into his pocket and pulled out his mittens. "Guess that
means I'll need to build that contraption myself at lunch hour, huh? Since Dad's pickin' you up at twelve
thirty?"

"I'm still at school for the first half‐hour of lunch," Ferb pointed out.

"True, but you need to go to the front desk and then wait for Dad, granted he gets there earlier. And
knowing Dad, he probably will." Phineas shrugged. "No biggie, I mean I've done it before, right?"

Ferb smiled amusingly. "With disastrous results," he teased.

"That is not true!" Phineas replied with a laugh, shoving his brother aside. "I've been able to build them
without a mistake… just as long as they're smaller than my body, that's all."

Ferb chuckled while rolling his eyes, but hardly had a moment to react when Phineas pushed him
backwards into the snow. "I'm on first again!" the red‐head exclaimed as he dashed towards the
sidewalk. When the British‐born American looked to the street, he saw the school bus slow to a stop.

"Oh, no, you don't," Ferb muttered as he quickly got onto his feet and ran after his brother. Thanks to all
the running he did in sports, he could sprint fairly quickly; so when he reached Phineas just as the
teenager was about to enter the bus, Ferb grabbed his backpack and pulled Phineas back out as hard as
he could. The young tinkerer shouted in surprise as he stumbled backwards and fell into a pile of snow.

Ferb saluted him and dashed into the bus. With a laugh, Phineas got onto his feet and dashed in after
him.

Isabella was sitting in her designated seat, reading a magazine, when the boys came in—she had needed
to run some early morning errands for her mother so she was picked up a few stops earlier. As usual, all
eyes were watching them as they fought to enter the bus first. She grinned in amusement as Ferb
dashed in first this time, wearing a bright grin—and then her heart fluttered as Phineas stumbled on
behind him, his clothes covered in snow.

Even when he looked silly, she thought he was cute.

Phineas leaped onto Ferb as they reached their seat before looking up at his childhood friend and
smiling brightly. "Hey, Isabella," he said cheerfully. "Watcha doin'?"

*****

Phineas' assumptions had been correct; Lawrence arrived at the school fifteen minutes earlier,
disappointing Ferb a little—he had wanted to stay and help his brother build the invention even a little.
Luckily for him, Phineas had promised to take pictures.

The rest of the afternoon dragged on for Phineas until the final bell rang. Along with Isabella, he got on
the bus and rode it home.

It was not often that he and Isabella rode the bus without Ferb's company. Although he found his heart
thumping in odd rhythms most of the time, Phineas had come to enjoy the few moments he had alone
with his closest friend. Ever since they had been very young, in fact, even before Ferb moved in, Phineas
and Isabella had spent several minutes a day, talking about things, whether they be silly or not.
Isabella, despite the fact that Phineas' obliviousness was still irritating her, relished the moments they
spent alone. It hardly ever happened, more or less because Phineas wanted to include everyone. That's
why she would text him sometime every evening, just to chat. Often, it was to hear him say something
encouraging—Isabella knew more than anyone that Phineas could put the sun back into the sky on a
cloudy day; all of her problems seemed like nothing when his comforting words penetrated her.

If only he wasn't so dull on the romance level, maybe he wouldn't be so fidgety when I ask to speak with
him alone, Isabella thought. She had noticed Phineas' seemingly anxious actions more and more often,
but never took them to be incredibly serious just yet. He's a boy, she would tell herself; all boys do silly
things like that around girls, except for Ferb. He's got the gentleman role down pat.

When the bus stopped in front of Phineas' house, he hardly noticed his friend's disappointment; but he
winked and smiled anyway while waving. "Finish your homework, get home after visiting your
grandparents, and catch me on the edge of the Fields of Ashes in The Seer, okie doke?" he said.

Isabella waved back. "You betcha, Phinny!" she replied.

Phineas hopped down the steps of the bus before turning around and watching it head down the street
to Isabella's stop. Then, he turned and walked towards the house while pulling out his key. "Perry's
probably still on his daily mission, so that means I've got the entire house to myself to do homework and
then play video games…" He sighed. "I could invent, but Ferb's not here to start building it with me; so I
guess the only thing left to do is think up ideas while I'm playing with Izzie." He jogged up the front steps
while tossing the key into the air. "Hee hee; good thing I know how to multitask when inventing is
involved, or else—!"

A bright light suddenly crossed over his eyes, causing him to recoil and pull his key away from the lock.
"Whoa! What the?" Phineas exclaimed while shielding his face. Turning his head in the right direction,
he rubbed his eyes and opened them.

Lying in the snow a few feet away in their yard was something round and extremely shiny. It seemed to
cast a light on its own, since no sunrays were strong enough to penetrate the clouds above.

Phineas put down his arm and stared at the object in odd curiosity. Perhaps Ferb had dropped one of his
tools on the way to the bus? Maybe their mother had lost the extra key to the house again? Whatever it
was, Phineas' childlike curiosity immediately ordered his body to turn away from the door and go see
what it was. And as usual, Phineas did just that.

Jumping off of the steps, he landed in the soft fluffy snow and began trudging across the front yard to
the glow nearby. When he was standing over it, Phineas squatted down and reached into the snow to
pull out the item.

It was a stone, smooth to the touch and almost completely flat. Phineas tilted his head curiously as its
glow dimmed so that he could study its structure. Now, it looked as though the rock was made of glass,
containing a type of light that rippled with shades of blue, pink and purple.

"Woooowww," Phineas whispered in awe while holding the stone up to his eyes. "What's something as
beautiful as you doing out here in the snow?"
The stone seemed to cast a bright ripple of light in reply before dimming again. The teenager stared at it
for a little longer before realizing that it was still winter outside and that the wind was beginning to get a
little chilly. Rising to his feet while tucking the gem in his pocket, he pulled out his key again and dashed
to the front door.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp4
HONK! HOOOONNNKK!! BEEP!!

Lawrence groaned in frustration before slapping the wheel of his truck. "Blasted traffic; it always seems
to happen when we're on our way back home early!" he complained. "There is a bypass for a reason,
you know!"

Ferb was just as tired as his father was; they had been sitting in traffic for nearly an hour now; it was
nearing four thirty, and all he had to entertain himself was his cell phone and iPod, which was beginning
to be low on battery power.

"Blast this nonsense," his father muttered stubbornly. He looked at his son. "Almost reminds me of
Charlene's driving."

"Her driving was more reckless," Ferb replied without looking up. "And she would curse at the driver in
front of her every five seconds. Even if it was a bobby or someone of the sort."

Lawrence leaned over his seat. "Who are you texting, Lad?" he asked. But when his son only pulled his
phone away to hide the message he was texting, his father chuckled and leaned away. "Ah, the girl,
that's who," he guessed. "Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. You know, I would very much like for her to come
over some time for dinner…"

"She's exceptionally busy with her own parent problems," his son replied.

"Uh‐huh… Have you given Phineas a call yet? He must be wondering where we are."

Ferb sent his text and then went through his contact list. "He's not actually afraid of staying home alone,
you know," he muttered.

Lawrence giggled. "I know that," he replied as his son held the phone up to his ear. "But it's so much fun,
pushing his buttons, since he won't do anything more than squeak angrily."

Although Ferb was not incredibly fond of people teasing his little brother, he did have to agree with his
father; Phineas hardly, if ever, yelled at anyone or held a grudge.

The phone at the other end of the line began to ring. Lawrence looked at him. "Are you calling the
landline or Phineas' phone?" he wondered.

"Phineas'," Ferb replied. "Knowing him, he'll have it nearby in case Isabella calls."

"… Has he, uh—!"

Ferb chuckled softly and then shot his father a sarcastic look. Lawrence giggled before looking at the
road again. "Romance is tricky," he muttered.

"No, Phineas is simply blind."

"Bah, he's young; he's got an entire life ahead of him."

"But not Isabella."

Lawrence laughed at this. Ferb smiled at him until another sound turned his attention away from his
father; it was the sound of a line being cut. The sixteen‐year‐old frowned in confusion and held the
phone away in order to study it. His father looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?" he wondered.

"The phone just cut off," Ferb replied. He pressed the redial button and held it up to his ear once more
before receiving the same response. "Odd… I thought Phineas had given his phone an upgrade?"
Changing settings, he began writing a text and sent it.

Barely ten seconds had passed when Ferb received a text: Hey, what's up?

"Okay; his text is working but the phone is not," Lawrence muttered. "Try asking him if he heard
anything."

Doing as he was told, Ferb wrote a second text and sent it to his brother. A few seconds following it,
Phineas sent his reply:

Nnnnooo, my phone seems to be working properly.

"Did you hear my ringtone though?" Ferb muttered aloud as he text a third time and sent.

… U called? Funny, my cell didn't even vibrate.

… Try calling me, then.

Now?

Yeah.

Ferb set his phone down and stared at it in silence, waiting for the call. After stopping the car again,
Lawrence looked at it too. Then, just as he was suspecting that it would not work, Ferb's cell phone rang.

"That's very strange," Lawrence muttered as his son grabbed the phone and pressed the talk button.

Ferb held the phone up to his ear, but hardly a second had gone by before he recoiled painfully.
"Whoa!" he gasped.

"What?"

"There's some sort of interference going on. Like what you would get on television or the radio…" Ferb
placed the phone against his ear again. "Phineas? Are you there?" he asked.

"…Ferb…"
"What's wrong with your phone?"

"Nothing… why?"

"I can hardly hear you."

"I can hear you just fine…"

"There's some kind of interference. Did you maybe add something to it again?"

"… Ferb, I haven't upgra… phone since las… summer…"

"Oh, great, now he's cutting off," Ferb muttered to his father. "Phineas, I can barely hear you. Are you
sure nothing's wrong with your cellphone?"

"… se I'm su… It wor… morning… Fer…"

"What was that?"

"I sai…!"

Suddenly, the line went dead again. Ferb held the phone away for a moment before ending the call and
looking at his father.

Lawrence smiled compassionately. "I'm sure it's just a bug, Ferb," he said, knowing his son's
protectiveness for his stepbrother. "Phineas' phone probably hit a dead zone or something. Try not to
worry about it."

Ferb looked at him while Lawrence began driving the car once more. Then, in a last attempt, the sixteen‐
year‐old tried sending a text to his brother.

This time, the text did not even go through.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp5
"Okay; where did you say that chest was, Phineas?"

"To the left of the giant half‐dead willow tree. The one over there, in the fog."

"Is it safe to cross that? What if there's a trap?"

"Just follow my Mage and you won't hit any speed bumps. Ferb and I have been here several times to
replenish on our health supplies."

By five‐thirty, Phineas was still alone at the house. Perry had returned only a few minutes earlier, and
considering how exhausted he looked, Phineas had decided to let the platypus sleep while he finished
homework instead of asking him how his mission had gone. After giving the platypus his dinner and
grabbing a snack, Phineas put his homework away and put The Seer into the game system. Arriving at
the meeting place he had designated, he found that a female archer was waiting for him at the edge of
the Fields of Ashes.

Isabella had been waiting for him for about ten minutes.

"Okay, if you say so," the girl replied.

They walked slowly this way and that, always in single file. "Isn't this fun, Phineas?" Isabella added after
a moment of silence. "Just you and me, playing video games without Ferb or Baljeet or Buford—!"

"Watch your step here, Izzie; you might trip into an Ash pit," Phineas interrupted, not showing any
attention to her words by the least.

Isabella sighed. "Yeah, sure, Phineas," she said flatly. "Whatever you say." After a moment, she cleared
her throat and spoke again. "So, what did you say Ferb's call was about?"

"Apparently, he tried calling me but the call never went through," Phineas replied. "When he texted me,
he told me to try calling him. I was able to hear him perfectly, but for some reason, he couldn't hear me.
And then the line just went dead. Like that. Kinda weird."

"Yeah, no kidding. And he hasn't texted you since?"

"Nope."

"Maybe there's a problem with your cellphone."

"I didn't think so. I just recharged it and everything."

"But don't you like experimenting with it and adding your own upgrades?"

"Yeah, but it's never interfered like this before… There's the chest, Isabella. Take your golden arrow and
shoot it through the lock."
The female Archer on the video screen did as she was told and raised her bow. An arrow glittering in
gold light particles sailed through the air and managed to penetrate the chest's lock without difficulty.

"That has got to be the most beautiful tool you've got on you in this game," Phineas complimented,
"And the fact that you've gotten so good that you can't miss is even better, Izzie."

Isabella giggled over his headset. "Thanks, Phineas," she replied.

"Considering you unlocked it, I give you the honours of opening it."

"Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"But it's a Sacred Chest. Who knows what kind of upgrades there are in there."

"Exactly why you should get first dibs. I know the secret location, so I can always come back."

"Aw, Phin, that's so sweet…"

"I try. Now open her up Izzie, and see what's inside."

The Archer put away her bow and began to approach the chest. Phineas could hear Isabella attempting
to keep in an excited squeal—this was the first time she had ever gotten to open such a rare chest in the
game, and he was happy to have given her that chance.

"I can't believe I got to it before Buford," Isabella snickered.

Phineas grinned amusingly at this until the lights in his room suddenly began to flicker. With a soft gasp,
the sixteen‐year‐old raised his eyes and looked up.

"Phineas?" Isabella had obviously heard him gasp.

Phineas put his controller down and sat up straight. "The bedroom lights just flickered," he replied. "I
guess Ferb and I sapped too much energy from them the other day for our invention." Just as he said
these words, the lights made loud zapping noises and hisses before suddenly going out completely and
casting the entire room into darkness, save the light being projected from the video screen.

Phineas gasped a second time. "Aaand, now they went out completely," he added quickly.

"All the lights?" Isabella asked.

"Looks like it."

"Maybe there's a sho… cuit…"

Phineas looked up at the game screen. "What was that?" he wondered. When he received yet another
unclear reply, he pressed his fingers against his headset. "Isabella, what did you say? Are you there? I
can't hear you clearly, Izzie. Can you repeat that? Izzie? Izzie???"

Suddenly, the giant video screen skipped and, like the lights, went out. Phineas widened his eyes in
shock and immediately got up on his feet. "Isabella?!" he cried out. "Isabella, can you hear me?!" When
there was no reply, the teenager moaned and sat back down on his bed. "Great; first my cellphone's
acting weird, and now the entire house lost power. And I didn't even touch anything this time."

There was a soft grunt from the corner of the room and then a tiny flashlight was activated. When
Phineas turned his head, he found Perry standing on his back legs, holding up another one of his handy
spy tools.

"I didn't do it," Phineas said instinctively.

Perry rolled his eyes before walking out of his little cushioned bed and headed for the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Phineas wondered.

Perry stopped in the doorway and turned to look at his young owner. Pointing over his shoulder while
pretending to flick a switch, he gestured that he was going to go downstairs and check the power box in
case anything had been damaged. He then pointed at Phineas as if telling him to stay where he was
unless the platypus needed his help.

Phineas crossed his arms. "Why does everyone still treat me like I'm a kid?" he asked stubbornly. "Fine;
I'll stay here. Happy?"

Perry smiled in amusement and nodded his head before walking out of the room.

"Yeesh; if he wasn't a secret agent, I probably would have followed him out," the teenager muttered
with a grin. He looked about the room for a moment or two before staring at his cell phone, which was
sitting next to him on the bed. Phineas tilted his head and picked the device up. "I wonder why Isabella
hasn't called me yet to find out what happened…"

Phineas…

Phineas quickly snatched up his head when he heard a whisper nearby. His imagination already hard at
work with the possibilities of who or what had spoken his name, the teenager widened his eyes and
searched the dark room.

Phineas Flynn…

"Wh‐who's there?" he asked aloud while rising to his feet. Tucking away his cellphone, he attempted to
calm his heart which was already beginning to beat quickly. "Who are you, whoever or whatever you are,
and how do you know my name?"

I know all…

A soft light from Phineas' side of the room casted eerie shadows over the wall he was facing. Realizing
that the light was coming from behind him, he slowly turned around to see where its origins were.

Sitting on his dresser next to his Tinker Box was the stone he had found earlier that evening in the snow.
Unlike when Phineas had taken it into the house, it was now glowing brightly in shades of blue, pink and
purple. Phineas had set it down on his toque after studying it, considering it was no longer glowing once
he had brought it into the house. But now it had begun to once more, this time casting water‐like
illusions on the walls.

Phineas stared at the stone in silence before nervously walking towards it. "Was that…the stone?" he
asked, more or less speaking to himself.

The stone rippled in light. No, it is the sender of the Stone to which you speak, came a deep and wise
voice.

The voice made the teenager halt in his tracks and stare in bewilderment at the object.

Step closer, Phineas.

"How… h‐h‐how do you know my name?" Phineas asked anxiously as he inched forward.

I know more about you and others than you may think, the Stone replied. Now come closer. The Stone
won't bite.

It was the first time Phineas found himself torn between curiosity and caution. He stopped a few feet
away from the stone and, after reaching a decision, reached into his jeans pocket and began pulling out
his cellphone.

That won't work, Phineas, the Stone announced. I need to speak with you alone.

"W‐w‐ait; so it was you who made the lights go out?" Phineas wondered in shock. "And my cellphone?
Are you the reason why Ferb can't reach me?"

Yes; I had to cut all communications in order to reach you.

"… Wh‐why did you need to speak with me?"

The Stone glowed brighter for a second or two. Pick up the Stone and I will tell you.

Although alarms were going off in his head, Phineas cautiously inched towards the dresser while holding
out his right hand. He was incredibly curious about what this Stone had to say to him—stones do not
normally have much to say. In fact, they do even less than what a platypus can do. But at the same time,
he felt a small voice at the back of his mind telling him to stay away from it. An adventure certainly
awaited, but what kind, Phineas was unsure.

But, being the curious Tinkerer that he was, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around the jewel.
Its light continued to shine between them as Phineas pulled the Stone towards him, almost holding it up
to eye level. Its beauty seemed almost unrealistic now.
"What do you want?" Phineas asked.

The Stone rippled with light like a pebble being thrown into a pond. You have been appointed with an
important task, it spoke. Others have been chosen to accompany you.

"An important task? What important task?"

You will need to leave certain things behind for a short while…

Phineas frowned in confusion. "Leave things behind?" he echoed. "What does that mean?"

Your mission does not take place in your home city…

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I am not moving away just because a rock told me so," Phineas argued. "I'm in
school, I've got guitar lessons, I've got a play to practice for, I've got friends and family here—!"

You have been specifically chosen for this task.

"B‐but I've got a right to refuse, don't I?"

The stone paused. You've touched the Stone, the voice whispered as it grew brighter and brighter in his
hand. I chose you for this mission, and so you are the only one who can accomplish it. Because you have
touched the Stone, you have already embarked on that mission. Now let go of it and allow it to tell you of
this task you have been appointed. All the information you will need will be given here and now; the
rest… will be up to you.

Phineas found himself doing what the Stone instructed. As it spoke, he slowly loosened his grasp around
it and watched it float up into the air. He was no longer certain whether this was a dream or not; in fact,
the only thing he was certain of was that he had let his curiosity get the better of him, and was now
being forced to play along in this seemingly twisted game.

Within mere seconds, everything around him seemed to vanish as whispers filled his head with
information he honestly believed to be unreal. It felt like a waterfall of information was being poured
into him, almost pushing out everything else he knew to be true. A strange feeling overwhelmed him,
but it did not make him feel at ease; in fact, the more he was hearing and absorbing, the more he was
regretting having touched the Stone in the first place.

He had no idea how long he had been standing there or even when the Stone had floated back down
into his hand and ceased to glow; all he knew was that when he came to again, the lights in his bedroom
had been turned on, the rest of the house had been alit once more, and the giant video game screen
was reactivated.

And his cell phone vibrated, announcing that a text had been received.

But Phineas did not answer it.

*****
It was six o'clock when the front door finally opened again. Linda walked in, arms filled with groceries,
while giggling. "As if you two were in traffic that long," she teased while taking her shoes off.

Lawrence, followed by Ferb, entered the house behind her, covered in snow. "Well, getting cut off and
landing in the ditch did not help much either," the man replied as his son closed the door behind him.
"We were lucky when that man pulled over to help us. Now we got back in time for dinner! Isn't that
right, Ferb?"

Ferb looked up from taking his jacket off and brushing a bit of the snow off of it. With a small grin, he
nodded.

"What's on the menu tonight, Dear?" Lawrence asked.

Linda set her groceries down on the counter. "Lasagne and veggies," she replied. "Candace made it for
me while I did some cleaning in their bathroom."

"Aw, how sweet of her… Though Phineas should enjoy that. He loves her cooking."

Linda laughed softly. "Phineas loves everything about Candace, Lawrence," she said, making her
husband laugh. "He admires her on all levels."

"Speaking of the little bugger, where is he?" Lawrence wondered. He cupped his hands around his
mouth. "Phineas!" he shouted. "Phineas, we're ho‐ome!"

"We have some of Candace's cooking!" Linda added. When no reply came, she shared a puzzled look
with her husband. "I wonder what he's up to up there?"

While Lawrence shrugged, Ferb picked up his bag and headed for the stairs. "It's alright, I'll let him
know," he replied. As he ascended the stairs however, he began wondering again if his brother was
alright or not. Unknown to his father, Ferb had been secretly worrying about Phineas since he had not
received any reply to his text. He attempted to remain calm as he climbed the stairs, but as soon as he
had reached the second floor, Ferb broke into a sprint and dashed for his bedroom.

Without hesitation, he turned the doorknob and swung the door open. "Phineas!" he exclaimed.

Ferb stopped cold in his words; there, sitting on the bed, reading a book, was Phineas. As soon as the
door opened and his name was shouted, the teenager raised his head and looked up inquisitively at his
stepbrother. Perry was sleeping near Ferb's bed, on the little purple cushion.

Ferb stared in surprise at his brother before blinking and shaking some sense into his head. "Uuuhh,
you're… alright," he stated. After a moment of silence, he stepped into the room. "Um, what happened
to your cell?"

Phineas looked at the phone, which was lying by the lamp. "Uuuuhhh… it malfunctioned," he hesitated.
He quickly looked back at his book and seemed to fight the temptation to raise his hand up to his ear
and scratch it.

Uh oh, Ferb noticed. He's hiding something. "Are… you sure that's what happened?" he asked as he set
his bag down.
"Y‐yes." Phineas' reply was quick yet reluctant all at once.

Ferb noticed the fear in his brother's reply again, but did not question it. "Uh, Mother brought some of
Candace's lasagne for dinner," he announced. "Did you want to—!"

"—I'm… not hungry, Ferb."

Okay; since when does Phineas say no to Candace's cooking? Ferb walked up to his bed and sat down on
the side facing Phineas'. "Is everything alright, Phin?" he asked softly.

Phineas closed his book and set it aside before laying down on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling and
said nothing as he closed his eyes. Obviously, he knew that Ferb would be able to read what his dark
blue irises were hiding, and so closing them would temporarily keep his brother from discovering
whatever Phineas knew.

Ferb did not like this. Phineas only did it when something was bothering him more than usual. "Phineas,
what's wrong?" Ferb asked, much more concerned now.

Phineas was silent for a moment longer. "… N‐nothing," he said incredibly softly.

"But—!"

Phineas sighed loudly yet miserably and then turned onto his side, back facing Ferb. He hugged himself
and tucked his legs against his stomach. "Just… leave me alone, Ferb," he whispered, almost fearfully. "I
need to… think about things."

Ferb did not normally worry this badly about Phineas; like everyone, Phineas needed alone‐time, even if
he was normally incredibly cheerful. But what was bothering Ferb about this moment was the fact that
he knew something was dreadfully wrong and his best friend was refusing to talk to him about it.

On any normal occasion, Ferb would remain there until Phineas would speak to him. But this seemed
too serious of a matter—there was no way Phineas would speak to him about anything yet; the time
was not right. So, all Ferb could do was get to his feet and leave the room.

Something was wrong… or else it would be soon… and Phineas knew something about it.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp6
Morning came with sunshine, which made the fresh snow look as though it was covered in beautiful
white sparkles. It would have been the perfect day to adventure outside and build another great
invention, had it not been for the fact that there were still classes to attend.

Ferb woke up at the usual hour he and Phineas normally did; Phineas was up fifteen minutes after him.
Phineas pulled out his sketchbook and attempted to come up with another idea, but Ferb could tell that
he was having difficulty—undoubtedly because of whatever had been bothering him the day before.
Phineas would begin jotting notes down or sketching something out until he stopped and scribbled over
it or erased his work. He had to tear out a page at one point because it was covered in scribbles.

That was not the only sign that gave away his preoccupied mind; Ferb noticed that Phineas never
flashed a single smile. There were no laughs, no exclamations, not even a pillow fight. Phineas would
often begin his day by grabbing his pillow and tossing it across the room onto Ferb, who in turn would
wake up and toss it back—Phineas never picked up his pillow that morning.

He did not announce what they were going to do that day.

Even more alarming, he hardly made any eye contact with Ferb at all. But whatever Ferb tried, Phineas
would not tell him what was on his mind.

"Phineas, are you feeling alright?" Linda asked later that morning when the boys came down for
breakfast. She had noticed her son's gloomy look and was also wondering why he hardly touched his
cereal. Walking over to the table, Linda held out a hand and placed it against her son's forehead. "Hm;
you don't feel hot…" Lawrence and Ferb, who were also sitting at the table eating breakfast, looked on
silently.

Phineas moved his head away. "I'm fine, Mom," he said softly. He looked at her with tired eyes. "I just
had a rough night, that's all."

"Did you stay up playing that video game again?"

"No… I just couldn't sleep…"

Ferb noticed the hesitance in his stepbrother's voice; whatever Phineas was hiding, did it have
something to do with the game?

Linda seemed convinced that something was wrong as well. She looked worriedly at Phineas. "Are you
sure you're not sick?" she asked. "Because I'm not working today; I can take you to the doctor if you
need to go…"

To her surprise, Phineas grabbed her hand and held it in both of his, almost as though he was afraid to
let go. Ferb and Lawrence looked on in surprise and curiosity, having both noticed Phineas' movement.

The sixteen‐year‐old held onto his mother's hand while staring at it in silence before standing up and
letting it go. This time, he wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face in her shirt.
Linda was at once startled and worried by this movement. But deciding that it was not a good time to
ask questions, she simply wrapped her arms around Phineas' waist and held him closely.

"Could you drive me to school, Mom?" Phineas whispered, almost too softly for the others to hear.

Linda remained silent for a moment before rubbing his head. "Is there something you need to tell me,
Sweetie?" she asked quietly.

"No… I just want you to drive me to school."

"If you really need me to, I can… We'll just tell the bus driver that you and Ferb—!"

Phineas shook his head. "Not Ferb," he interrupted. "Just me… Ferb can ride the bus."

Linda raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at her stepson. Ferb had heard those words as well,
and was just as startled as his parents were.

"Did you two have an argument?" Linda asked in her son's ear.

Phineas moved his head. "… No… I just want him to ride the bus…"

Still utterly confused by these words, Linda finally complied and told Ferb to mention to the bus driver
that Phineas would be going to school with her. Ferb did as he was told, but not without a drop of
concern or confusion.

Isabella was surprised to see only Ferb get on the bus when he did. She watched him walk up to the seat
behind her and take his place before clearing her throat. "Uh, where's Phineas?" she wondered.

Ferb placed his bag next to him. "He's going to school with Mum," he replied.

"Does he have an appointment?"

"No… he just didn't want to ride the bus."

Isabella frowned in confusion. "That's weird," she muttered.

Ferb shook his head. "No; what's weird is that he looks like he's hiding something," he said. Looking up
at his neighbour, Ferb crossed his arms. "Not only that, but I think he's avoiding me. He didn't come up
with anything to do this lunch hour because he seemed preoccupied, and he never even looked at me."
He looked at his feet worriedly. "I don't think I said anything to bother him… I mean, all I did was
attempt to text him to find out why his cellphone was acting up…"

"Yeah, he mentioned that when we were playing The Seer yesterday," Isabella noted. When Ferb looked
up at her again, she continued. "After our homework, Phineas asked if I'd like to play video games with
him. Just him and me—believe it or not," she added sardonically. "Anyway, he said that you had tried to
call while he was doing homework, but you couldn't hear him and the line went dead."
Ferb nodded.

"I found that kinda weird, but didn't dwell on it until I lost communications with Phineas…"

At these words, Ferb raised his head again and stared at her in bewilderment. "Repeat that?" he asked.

Isabella shrugged. "Just when I was going to open the chest we found, Phineas said that the lights in the
house went out," she explained. "And then when I said that it might be a short circuit, he asked me to
repeat because he couldn't hear me. And then… the line went dead and his Mage just froze in place with
the word offline floating over his head."

Ferb frowned in confusion. "Did you try calling him?" he asked.

"Yeah… but his cell was always busy. And then my texts wouldn't go through for some reason."

"Odd… my last text never went through either."

Isabella rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe his behaviour has something to do with what happened
during that time," she muttered. She looked at Ferb again. "After at least an hour, I tried texting him
again, and this time it went through… but he never texted me back. What happened when you got
home?"

"Phineas… wanted to be left alone," Ferb said quietly. "He said that he had things to think through. He
never came down for dinner, and he was already tucked in bed when I came back upstairs…"

"This is really strange… Phineas is never this secretive. You think something's wrong?"

"Either that… or something will be."

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp7
They arrived at school to find Baljeet and Buford already waiting by Ferb's locker. When asked, neither
of them said to have seen or even noticed Phineas arrive—Baljeet was normally at school early,
considering he only lived a few blocks down the street, but he never even saw Linda's car pull into the
school parking lot.

"Did he have an appointment?" the Indian teenager asked.

Ferb shook his head in reply.

"Apparently, he's been acting really secretive," Isabella announced. "Something happened yesterday
when I was playing The Seer with him and—!"

"Oh! You mean you two played without telling us???" Baljeet interrupted excitedly.

"Does that mean he took you on a cyber‐date or something?" Buford added.

Isabella shot him an irritated glare while Ferb rolled his eyes. "No," she said behind clenched teeth.

"Oh; so then, did he openly announced his feelings to you?" Baljeet wondered.

"He's not that smart, Dweeb," Buford muttered. "We are talking about the same guy who's been
oblivious about romance since he was a kid."

Isabella was becoming more and more annoyed. Ferb sighed and took off his winter clothes. "Bottom
line, Phineas and Isabella were cut off for about an hour and when I came back home, he refused to talk
to me about what it was that was bothering him," he explained.

"Phineas is hiding something from us?" Baljeet said in shock.

"No," Isabella muttered stubbornly. "From us." She pointed out her and Ferb.

"That is what I said. From us."

Isabella squeezed her fists in frustration.

"Anyway," Buford groaned while grabbing Baljeet's shirt collar and pulling him backwards, "What are we
supposed to do about his attitude? So, Dinner Bell's gotten secretive; who isn't nowadays?"

"Phineas isn't," Ferb clarified. "He gets too excited about things to keep secrets. From me at least. The
only secret he kept from anyone other than myself was how his biological father died."

"Whoop‐dee‐do. He's sixteen, for cryin' out loud. Everyone becomes a little moody or secretive at that
age, Dude. It's called puberty."

Ferb shot him an irritated glare in his turn before slapping his forehead.
"Could we change the subject or something???" Isabella asked impatiently. "I've got a feeling this is
going somewhere girls don't want to go… Not to mention puberty usually happens a few years before
sixteen, dork," she added under her breath.

"Back to my question, then," Buford replied. "What are we supposed to do about Pointy's attitude?"

"We need to find a way to have him tell us what's bothering him."

"Nice, my kind of job." Buford smiled cleverly and smacked his right fist against the palm of his left hand.
"Where do you want me to start; clobbering or locker stuffing?"

Isabella's eyes went wide at this, just as Ferb took a step forward. "We aren't going to use violence to
force Phineas to tell us anything," he said sternly.

"Well, how else are we going to get what we need?"

"By asking politely."

"Uh‐huh; and how well has that worked for you so far?"

Neither Ferb nor Isabella said anything at this. They both stared at Buford in silence before looking at
each other.

Baljeet shook his head with a sigh while Buford rolled his eyes. "Yyyeah; that's what I thought."

Silence fell over them until the five‐minute warning bell rang. The students around them rushed off to
class before they got a tardy, slamming their lockers closed or simply picking up their bags and leaving.
Isabella was about to suggest that they all do the same when voices down the hallways announced the
arrival of a certain someone:

"Hiya, Phineas," a girl cooed.

"Are you doing something else at lunch hour, Phineas?" another wondered.

Several more girls giggled, finally causing Ferb and the others to raise their heads and look over their
shoulders. Sure enough, headed towards them was none other than the tinkerer himself: Ferb's
stepbrother, Phineas Flynn.

"You got here pretty late for someone who took the short route to school," Buford noted.

Phineas did not look up at him. He simply walked past his friends, unlocked his locker and stuffed his
things inside. "I… just went for a walk around the school yard," he said very softly. He pulled out the
right class binder and then dug into his jacket pocket.

Ferb looked on in surprise for a moment; he was not sure if his eyes had played tricks on him, but from
where he was standing, he thought to have seen something glowing being pulled discretely out of his
brother's pocket. Phineas seemed to put a great effort into pulling whatever‐it‐was out of his pocket and
then into his jeans pocket without anyone noticing.

"Phineas, what happened yesterday during the black out?" Isabella asked meekly while leaning towards
him. She, like Buford and Baljeet, had not noticed the glowing item.

Phineas stuffed his jacket into the locker but did not look at his friend. "Nothing important," he said
quietly.

"But Ferb said—!"

"—I just had to get a few things… thought out, that's all."

"But you never came back to the game after."

"… I didn't feel like playing it."

At these words, Baljeet gasped. "Did I hear that right?" he said, pretending to clean out an ear. "Did you
just say that you did not want to play… The Seer???"

"Weren't you the guy who was flippin' out when you bought it?" Buford pointed out.

Phineas closed his locker and kept his head down. "I didn't feel like playing, that's all," he repeated.

"But—!"

"I didn't feel like playing, Buford. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Buford fell silent. After sharing a startled look, Ferb, Isabella and Baljeet looked at Phineas, awaiting an
answer.

But Phineas never gave one. He simply turned on his heels and walked off. "I'll see you guys in class," he
muttered, although he did not sound incredibly thrilled with the idea.

The other four teenagers watched him leave before Buford frowned and crossed his arms. "Okay, I give,"
he said. "If we're gonna figure out what the heck's crawled up his leg, then we'd better do it before his
'tude ticks me off." He looked at Ferb. "Considering you're the next one in line for the Idea‐making‐ups,
what are we going to do today?"

Ferb looked at him in silence before turning his head and watching his brother leave.

*****

Morning went by quietly and incredibly slowly for Ferb. Although Phineas sat next to him during the
classes they shared, the green‐haired teenager did not dare ask his brother what information he was
hiding—he was going to wait until classes were over, and see if his brother would be more cooperative
then.

According to Isabella and Baljeet, for the one morning class they had together with Phineas and not Ferb,
they reported that the red‐head hardly spoke at all, or even looked at them.

By Science Class, they were all convinced that Phineas was hiding something. Once again, he was sitting
next to his brother, but Ferb thought it would be best to keep silent for the time being.

Phineas hardly looked up as his teacher taught about the human body and its organs. He was spending
most of his time playing with his fingers, almost as if nervously waiting for something to happen. Ferb
found this odd, considering Science had been one of the few classes both he and Phineas enjoyed the
most.

"… Now that all of you know what most of the basic organs are and how they work, we're going to go a
little more into detail about them," the teacher announced. "I hope all of you read the pages of your
book that I assigned you last week…"

"Shoot, I knew I forgot something," Ferb heard Buford mutter from the table he and Baljeet were
sharing. The answer did not surprise Ferb, though; Buford hardly ever did his readings.

The man at the front of the class clasped his hands together and rubbed them. "So! Time for the first
question, hm?" He searched the classroom with his eyes. "Phineas?"

Phineas stopped playing with his fingers and raised his head. All the students turned to look at him,
wondering how he would answer. They all knew Phineas did his homework, and they knew he always
had the most interesting, if not funniest, way to answer every question correctly.

The teacher pointed at him. "Can you tell me what red‐blooded body organ are vitamins A, B, D, E, and K
stored in?" he asked.

Phineas looked at him in silence for a moment after quickly glancing at his classmates. Then, he lowered
his eyes and returned to playing with his fingers. "Uh, the liver," he replied.

Though the teacher was obviously used to the way he normally answered, the man was satisfied with
this and nodded his head. "Correct," he said, turning towards the white board at the front of the class.
The rest of the students continued to look at Phineas in a shocked manner before returning their
attention to the teacher.

Ferb hesitated at asking his brother what was wrong again. Phineas did not look up at him. He even
seemed to be attempting to ignore his brother's existence.

Ferb was about to go back to his note taking when he noticed Phineas do something from the corner of
his eye. The red‐head pulled his hands away from each other and slowly pulled his right hand towards
him. He reached down into his jean pocket and began to pull something out.

Something shining.

Ferb ceased to take notes and finally turned his head towards his brother to see better; sure enough,
Phineas pulled out the same object Ferb thought to have seen earlier that morning. It was a glowing
stone, taking on the appearance of a flat, hollow piece of glass that had been filled with blue, pink and
purple liquid. It was the most beautiful thing Ferb had ever laid his eyes on.
It also looked slightly familiar for one reason or another.

The English‐born student widened his eyes in amazement. "Where did you find that?" he whispered.

Phineas snatched up his head incredibly fast and stared in bewilderment at his brother—he had
obviously not expected Ferb to be paying any attention.

Ferb waited for an answer anyhow. Phineas continued to stare at him in silent shock before turning his
head away and beginning to study the stone in his hands. "Nowhere important," he whispered back.

Okay; now Ferb was beginning to get concerned, if not the least bit irritated. He leaned towards his
brother. "How long is it going to take for you to realize that I'm not an idiot?" he whispered in Phineas'
ear. "You're hiding something, and I want to know what it is."

"It's nothing important."

"What does that mean???"

"… It means what it means. Nothing important."

Ferb tightened his lips. "Phineas, your behaviour is beginning to worry me," he said. "Since when do you
ever keep secrets? From me???"

"It's just something I can't let you be a part of," Phineas replied, looking up at Ferb without moving his
head.

Ferb noticed the same fear in them that he had seen the night before. It made him grow even more
concerned for his brother. "Phineas, please tell me what's going on," he pleaded. "If it's something
serious—!"

"I can't, Ferb," Phineas interrupted. "I… I just can't tell you."

"Why not???"

The stone in Phineas' hands began to glow brightly. The red‐head gasped and clamped his hands over it
in order to shield its light. "Stop it, stop it," he ordered behind clenched teeth.

"What is it doing?" Ferb wondered.

"Nothing."

"Phineas, it just glowed like a beacon, and you're telling me it was nothing???"

"Ferb, please stop; I don't want you to be part of this."

"Part of what?!"
The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly caused both boys to raise their heads and look up.
Most students were staring at them in curiosity now; the only one who did not seem the slight bit
curious was their science teacher. The man, in fact, was staring at them with a soft frown. "Is there
something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Phineas and Ferb?" the man asked while
crossing his arms.

Phineas and Ferb blinked several times quickly before Ferb pulled himself away from his stepbrother
and looked down at his notebook while blushing—he hardly ever did something to upset his teachers.
Phineas stuffed the rock back into his pocket. "No, Sir," the youngest brother replied.

"Good; then if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you two to pay attention now."

As the man returned to his teachings, the rest of the students did the same. Ferb, however, was growing
more and more curious, not to mention more and more worried, about his brother's behaviour.

It had something to do with that stone now; that much Ferb was sure of.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp8
"Phineas! Phineas, check this out!"

The lunch hour bell had hardly rung when Phineas heard someone call to him from down the hallway.
Turning around while tucking his science books beneath his arm, he watched as a teenager with short
golden brown hair and thick, round glasses rushed towards him while holding up a scale model of a city
with a rollercoaster.

Phineas raised his eyebrows and forced up a grin; it was Irving, one of the students in his grade, and
Phineas and Ferb's self‐proclaimed biggest fan. According to him, he had kept records of every single
one of the Flynn‐Fletcher Big Ideas. He had joined them on certain occasions and asked for their help at
other moments. When they entered high school, he became one of the school's newspaper
photographers, just in order to take more pictures of the inventive duo.

Phineas had tried on numerous occasions not to mind Irving's company, but with a camera and excited
squeals, Irving often made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. Because Phineas had never intended to
become the center of attention, never mind he had never planned on making inventions for attention,
having a camera stuffed in his face every day and hearing the words "You're so awesome!" over and
over again made Phineas uneasy whenever Irving was around.

But he tried his best to be polite, like he always was, and when Irving called to him, Phineas turned
around to greet him. "Hey, Irving," he said as the teenager stopped before him. "What's up?"

"This!" Irving said excitedly, holding up his miniature project. "I did it for a project in one of my classes.
Recognize it?!"

Phineas looked at the maquette. It was definitely the city of Danville—he recognized several buildings,
including his house. Twisting around and above the skyscrapers was a rollercoaster, complete with
rubber snakes and mud. And sitting inside one of the cars was a familiar red‐headed boy and a green‐
headed boy.

Phineas grinned impressively and looked at Irving. "The Rollercoaster," he said.

"Heee! You recognized it!" Irving squealed.

"Of course I did. That was the first official big thing Ferb and I ever did. Why did you build it?"

"We had to reproduce a memorable event in our lives, so I reproduced one of your inventions! Pretty
neat, huh?"

Phineas leaned back. "Yep, pretty neat," he agreed while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Pretty
impressive too, Irving. Must have taken you a lot of time."

"Heck yeah. And a bunch of trips to the store."

"And obviously, a lot of patience," Phineas added with a laugh.

Irving beamed. "I'll take photos of it and send them to you and Ferb if you'd like," he suggested.

Phineas shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, I can add it to our project binder in the Rollercoaster file."

Irving squealed loudly, making Phineas recoil and flinch. "This is SO awesome!" the teenager with round
glasses exclaimed. He turned on his heels and dashed off. "You ROCK!"

Phineas rubbed one of his ears. "Apparently," he muttered, continuing on his way.

*****

Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford were headed for their lockers only a few minutes behind Phineas
when Irving came running in their direction. The teenager cried out happily and nearly stuffed the
maquette in Ferb's face. "Check it out! I made this for a project and Phineas said I can send you guys
pictures!" he exclaimed. "And that he'd add it to your project binder! Isn't that sweet?!"

Ferb nearly fell backwards, but luckily, Baljeet and Isabella were there to catch him. He straightened the
pair of sunglasses he had sitting on his head and then nodded gratefully at the student.

Irving squealed again and continued on his way. "YOU ROCK TOO!" he cried out.

They watched him leave before Ferb got back to his feet. "That kid is even more annoying than he was
over the past five years," Buford groaned.

"He's only trying to be friendly," Isabella pointed out.

"Sure; but I wouldn't be surprised if Phineas and Ferb lose their hearing by graduation day no thanks to
him."

They continued on their way until they had reached the first set of lockers. There, much to Ferb's relief,
they found Phineas still digging through his locker.

Ferb immediately pulled himself away from the others and rushed over to his brother. Without waiting
for Phineas to look at him, Ferb frowned and stuck his hand into his brother's pant pocket. This resulted
in having Phineas cry out in surprise and jump back while removing his brother's hand. He placed a hand
over his pocket and stared at Ferb in shock. "What the heck was that for?!" he exclaimed.

"I want to see that stone of yours," Ferb replied as he crossed his arms. The others stopped nearby,
looking on with curious looks.

"Ferb, for the last time—!"

"If it's nothing as you say, then why can't I look at it?"

Phineas looked on worriedly. "Ferb…" But when all his brother did was stare back just as worriedly,
Phineas sighed and pulled out the stone.
Isabella, Baljeet and Buford gaped and stared at the glowing rock in awe. "Woooowwww!!!" Baljeet
exclaimed.

"That's the most beautiful stone I've ever seen, Phineas," Isabella said in wonder. "Where did you find
it?"

Phineas held the stone firmly in both of his hands, and incredibly near to his body. "In the yard," he
replied. "When I came home yesterday. It was sitting in the snow, so I…" He looked down at the rock as
his eyes darkened. "… picked it up."

Ferb noticed the sudden shame in Phineas' eyes. He wanted to ask why, but he knew Phineas would not
give him the answer.

"You didn't mention it when we were playing games," Isabella pointed out.

Phineas shrugged. "I didn't think it was important at the time," he began.

"Important?" Buford interrupted. "Didn't Ferb just say that you said it was nothing???" They all looked
at him in silence before Buford crossed his arms. "You are hiding something, aren't you, Dinner Bell?"

Phineas shook his head quickly. Baljeet walked over to him and reached out for the stone. "Then, if you
are not, would you mind if I held it to get a better look?" he asked.

But Phineas gasped and immediately held the stone away from him. "No!" he exclaimed, startling
Baljeet. Shaking his head again, he added, "Y‐you can't touch it, Jeet. It's… it's not safe."

"What the heck does that mean???" Buford wondered. "It's just a stupid rock."

"No it isn't… I‐I mean y‐yes it is, but you see—!"

"Just one peek, Phineas?" Baljeet begged. "I promise to give it right back, really. And I will be very
gentle—!"

Phineas immediately took several steps back, holding the stone against his chest. "You can't, Baljeet," he
repeated nervously.

Buford was clearly becoming more and more annoyed. Isabella held out her hand to her best friend.
"Phineas, what's wrong with us touching the stone?" she wondered. "It won't do us any physical harm,
right?"

Phineas stared at her in silence until a giant hand reached out and snatched the stone from over his
shoulder. The sixteen‐year‐old gasped and turned around.

"If it's just a dumb ol' rock, then I say pass it around," Buford groaned, holding up the shimmering stone.

"Buford, no!" Phineas exclaimed, reaching out for the rock. "Give it back now!"

Buford held out a hand and placed it against Phineas' head, pushing him backwards to the floor.
"Doesn't feel like any rock I've ever held," he muttered while holding the object up. He attempted to
shake it. "Looks more like a glowing piece of glass…"

"Lemme see, I want a turn!" Baljeet said, running over and grabbing the stone. Buford immediately
snatched it back, and the two began to tussle over whose turn it was to hold the stone.

"Guys, give Phineas back his stone!" Isabella shouted, running over and attempting to pull the item away.

Ferb stood on the sidelines, wondering what he should do, when Phineas gasped in horror and
immediately rose to his feet. "DON'T!!" he shouted frantically. "DON'T TOUCH IT ALL AT ONCE!!!"

"Lemme see it!" Baljeet complained.

"You got your turn!" Buford snapped.

"Guys, just give him back the stupid rock!" Isabella snapped in her turn.

Phineas pulled on his hair and dashed over, this time accompanied by Ferb. The two of them attempted
to break the others up and take back the stone. "Let it go! LET IT GO!!!" Phineas screamed. "Don't touch
the stone all at once! Please give it back!! LET IT GOOOOO!!!"

Ferb felt the smooth surface of the stone and for some reason, felt obliged to keep it in contact.

"LET THE STONE GOOOOO!!!" Phineas screamed once more before his hand came to a rest over the
stone as well.

Just as soon as everyone's hands came in direct contact simultaneously with it, the stone began to hum
and glow brighter and brighter with every passing second.

"What the heck is it doing?!" Buford exclaimed as he shielded his face.

"Let it go now!" Phineas cried out. "Guys, you've got to let it—!"

The stone flashed incredibly brightly, causing everyone to shield their eyes and shout in surprise.

When the light had cleared, school binders, books, bags and Ferb's sunglasses fell in a scattered mess on
the floor, their owners having vanished without a trace.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp9
It was over a barren land of gray that the light finally dimmed. When they uncovered their eyes, Phineas,
Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford were all floating several feet over the ground. Once the stone had
dimmed, they were immediately dropped like rocks to the ground, shouting in fright.

Buford was the first to land—directly on his stomach in what appeared to be a hill of ashes and dust.
Baljeet and Isabella landed on top of him, bouncing off in different directions and rolling across the ash‐
covered ground. Phineas and Ferb managed to fall onto their behinds, which resulted in having them
slide halfway down the large hill on their backs. The stone tumbled straight behind the red‐headed
teenager.

Several moments of silence passed before the teenagers began to groan and moan painfully, rubbing
their rumps or other painful areas.

Baljeet was the first to raise his head. While Phineas coughed out a bunch of dust, the Hindi student
looked about while raising his upper half of his body. "Uh, where did the school go?" he wondered.

Isabella was the next one to sit up. "Is everyone alright?" the girl called out.

"Sure," Buford groaned while turning onto his back. "If by alright you mean dropped out of the sky into a
pile of dead stuff, damaging our tailbones and pride, then yeah, I'm good."

Ferb was the next to sit up. Raising himself off of his back, he immediately began to look at his
surroundings. Just as his eyes became alert, so did everyone else's.

They were sitting in the middle of a barren wasteland. Nothing was alive for miles. The clouds above
were dark and ominous, matching the dead ground beneath them, which was covered in ashes and dust.
A few dead trees and stumps littered the hilly field, but other than that, there was not a single sight of
life to be seen.

"Is everyone seeing what I am seeing?" Baljeet asked nervously. "Because all I am seeing is bleak and
lifeless scenery."

"You're not dreaming," Isabella reassured him. "Not unless we're all having the same dream."

Ferb brushed some ashes out of his green hair while Buford scratched his head. "What kind of rock was
that?!" the football player wondered.

They all looked at each other until Phineas finally groaned softly and began raising himself from his
stomach. "It wasn't an ordinary stone, Buford," he said. "It was a teleporter."

"A what?"

"You mean you invented that thing?!" Baljeet exclaimed, pointing at the stone near his friend.

Phineas groaned again as he dusted off his orange hoodie, this time out of irritation. "No, Baljeet, I
didn't invent it," he replied. "It's way too advanced for me."

"Then how did you know—!"

"Who cares how I knew; bottom line, I told you guys not to touch it all at once, and you did just that!"
He looked at Ferb and pointed at him. "That's why I was avoiding you all morning! Because your
curiosity is as bad as mine, if you touched it at the same time as me, we would have all been sent here!"
Phineas picked up the stone and stuffed it into his pocket. "Why did I have to go and be so stupid???"

Ferb raised his eyebrows in revelation until Isabella cleared her throat. The boys all looked at her and
found that she was wearing a very worried look on her face. "Then, where's here, Phineas?" she asked
meekly.

Phineas looked at her in silence, his frown having already disappeared, and then sighed heavily while
rising to his feet. "Follow me," he said as he began to climb the hill. "I'll show you."

Without another word, his companions immediately rose to their feet and followed him.

The climb did not take long; within a few minutes, Phineas had reached the top. There, he could feel a
weak breeze blow by, which was both welcoming and chilling to the bone. He stared straight at the
landscape before him until the others joined. Taking a deep breath, he said, "This is here."

At the bottom of a small valley sat a large city, filled with buildings that seemed to date all the way back
to the medieval age. There was a large fort‐like building at the very center, where the windows alit
looked like dancing flames from afar. There was a river that flowed to a bay nearby, and unlike the
barren wasteland on the other side of the hill, this place, stretching all the way to the mountains, forests,
hills and fields in the distance—and perhaps even farther—was filled with colors and life. Not a shade of
gray was to be found. Even that side of the hill, though rocky and uneven, was covered in patches of
dark green grass. The only thing that had remained the same was the dark clouds overhead.

"What… in the world?" Ferb whispered in bewilderment.

"This isn't Danville," Isabella added worriedly. "This… this isn't anything like home."

"But it still…" Buford began, "Kinda looks familiar… Like I've been here before, but not in real life…"

While Baljeet and Isabella looked at him curiously, Phineas raised his head as the wind made his hair
flutter. "It should look familiar," he said, catching their attention. "This is the City of Colornia, the
Cultural Trades city by Unsung Bay…"

As he spoke, the others stared at him in revelation and disbelief all at once. "You mean…" Buford began.
He looked over the city again. "You mean we're inside that game?!"

"We've been transported into The Seer?!" Baljeet exclaimed in horror.

Phineas looked at them. "No," he replied. "Just to another dimension." He studied the city again. "That
stone is similar to a dimensional teleporter. It appears in locations where the chosen host visits most
often, and once they've touched the stone… they're teleported. The one we touched happened to be
one that led to this dimension. And as it turns out…" He paused before looking at his feet, almost in
defeat. "… that video game is unknowingly based off of another dimension."

"So, things that happen in the game… happen in real life here?" Baljeet guessed.

"… Sorta."

Isabella grabbed onto Phineas' sleeve—out of fear or in order to keep her balance, he did not know.
"Phineas, if that stone was found at your house, does that mean it was meant for you and Ferb?" she
asked. "Or maybe all of us? Is that why we were all transported here?"

Phineas looked at her for a moment before looking up at the clouds as thunder groaned. "That sums it
up," he replied. "We…" He hesitated here. "… We were chosen for a special mission."

"What… what kind of mission?"

Lightning lit up the sky as the wind began to pick up. Phineas looked about for a moment before pulling
his arm away from Isabella and grabbing his hood. "We need to go see someone," he said. "He'll be able
to explain to you guys what we're here for."

"You sound as though you already know why," Buford noted.

Phineas fastened the hood securely over his head until even his eyes were nearly covered from view.
"Maybe I do know, maybe I don't," he replied. "But whether I do or not, I'm not the one who should be
telling you why we're here. Now, we should get going before rain starts falling down in buckets—!"

Ferb leaned forward in order to see his brother more clearly. "Phineas," he began, catching the sixteen‐
year‐old's attention, "… Why are you putting on your hood? It's not like it will keep you any dryer than
without."

Phineas looked at him as he spoke and then turned his head away. "We should get going," he repeated,
beginning the descent down the steep hill.

"But Phineas—!"

"You'll… you'll find out soon enough, Ferb. Now hurry up; with your clothes, you'll catch pneumonia. Just
follow me and make sure not to get lost."

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp10
By the time they had reached the city, night was nearing; however, the rain fell with such thickness, it
was impossible to tell the difference between night and day if one could not see more than five feet
ahead of them.

Phineas lead them into the narrow streets of the medieval city, ignoring the chatter and laughter around
them in nearby pubs and residencies. Farmers were packing up their kiosks in the market place; beggars
sat outside doors, asking for spare change or food; stray dogs and cats ran about. Even in the pouring
rain, the city was filled with life outside its doors.

Ferb was more than certain that Phineas knew more than any of them did; he was even more certain
that the amount of information he somehow knew was probably frightening him. If Phineas had been
that desperate to keep everyone from touching the stone, then there was a very grave reason as to why
they were all here.

Or even more specifically, why Phineas was there.

He had been correct on one thing, though; Ferb was freezing now that the rain was falling. His clothes—
vest, blouse, pants and all—were soaked and wet; his green hair draped over his eyes; and his skin was
as cold as ice. Walking behind him, Isabella was just as cold and tired; Baljeet, who had nothing but a t‐
shirt and jeans, and Buford were undoubtedly feeling the same way.

Ferb wanted to speak to Phineas and ask him exactly where they were headed, but he knew his brother
would only redirect the question or else ignore it completely.

He only does that when he's really scared, Ferb thought. On any normal occasion, he wouldn't hesitate
on speaking with me.

Phineas was just a soaked as everyone else, but he seemed more preoccupied with his destination than
the weather. He brushed by people without looking up, but always remembered to say "excuse me" or
"sorry."

People gave them odd looks—probably because of the way they were dressed, Ferb guessed. Unlike
everyone else, who was wearing something medieval or something found only in fantasy novels, Phineas,
Ferb and their friends were dressed in Modern American clothes.

When it seemed as though they had been walking for hours, Phineas slipped around a final building and
stared upwards. "We're here," he announced, catching everyone's attention. He looked both ways
before dashing across the wide street. "Come on; we need to get inside before a Snitch or Watcher sees
us."

Not wanting to be left behind, Ferb immediately dashed after his best friend. Isabella was the next to do
so, followed immediately by Baljeet and Buford.

Looming above them was the giant castle‐like tower they had seen from the hill. From up close, it
looked like an ominous structure, built of dark stones with very few windows. It was tall and round,
exactly like its counterpart in the game…

Counterpart… Ferb gasped as he realized where it was Phineas was taking them. "The Sage," he said
aloud.

"The who?" Baljeet wondered.

"The Sage; Phineas is taking us to see Sage Mortimer of Colornia."

"You mean the dude that gives us the missions in the video game?" Buford clarified. "What; did we just
get sucked into here to play this whole darn thing or something?"

Phineas slipped in some mud but quickly regained his footing. "You'll find out when we get inside,
Buford," he said, coming to a stop at the large doors. As the others slowed down as well, he walked over
to one of the giant knockers and placed his hands around it. "Ferb, come gimme a hand, will you?" he
asked.

Ferb did as he was told and helped Phineas raise the knocker. Slowly, they knocked it against the door
thrice before letting it go and backing away. The knocks echoed loudly in the air around them and inside
the tower, so there was no way they could have gone unnoticed.

The sound of rain falling hard was the only thing to breach the silence as the teenagers waited. Isabella
eventually walked over to Phineas and glued herself against him, notifying him that she was freezing and
needed warmth. Without noticing, Phineas wrapped an arm around her while continuing to watch the
doors.

After what seemed to be ages to five soaked and wet teenagers, the sound of one of the doors opening
slowly reached their ears. With a low groan, the door Phineas and Ferb had knocked on began to swing
backwards, opening just wide enough for someone of Buford's size to fit in. Two hands appeared around
the door and then out peeked the head of a young man with glowing pale blue hair and white skin.

"Is… is that a Light Elf?" Ferb whispered in his brother's ear. He had a feeling that Phineas would know,
considering he had learned how to recognize everyone and everything in the game.

Phineas nodded his reply. "One from the North Country," he whispered as the short child‐like creature
walked into view. "Those ones are the kind that can't grow any taller than a ten‐year‐old."

The elf was wearing a very beautiful suit, completed with small boots. Its entire body, garments included,
glowed dimly. It stared at the teenagers in silence, its giant green eyes studying these strangers from
head to toe.

Phineas then dug into his pocket and pulled out the stone. It glowed brightly within his grasp, almost at
the same strength as the elf's body.

The elf stared at it with wide eyes and then looked at Phineas while gasping in shock. Then, after a short
moment, it turned on its heels while ushering the teenager to follow him. "Quickly, quickly, come in
before they see you!" it whispered urgently.
Phineas tucked the stone away and followed the creature inside. Isabella, holding on tightly to her best
friend's sweater, immediately followed; Ferb, Baljeet and Buford came in next.

The warmth within those walls was a greeting all five adolescents were glad to receive. Phineas finally
removed his hood here while the others ringed the water out of their clothes or hair. This gave him the
chance to really absorb the details in the architecture around him.

The tower's insides seemed to have been built in Gothic style, and the paint used gave it the illusion of
being built in gold. Pillars and Doric columns surrounded them in a perfect circle. A giant diamond‐
decorated chandelier hung above their heads. A set of giant stairs, like in palaces, traveled up the tower
in a spiral to the different levels. The marble floor was filled with designs that seemed to shape a map of
some sort. Words written in a tongue Phineas could not understand were placed here and there in a
neat manner as well.

The one thing that seemed to catch Phineas' eye the most, though, was the chandelier. Despite it
hanging directly overhead, it was doing so… without any suspension. There was no rope holding it in
place; in fact, the diamond lights seemed to be floating in mid air.

Phineas remained in his trance until a hand reached out and tugged on his wet sleeve. When he looked
down, he found that it was the elf doing so.

"He has been waiting for you, you must come now," the elf insisted.

"We having a banquet or something?" Buford joked.

Phineas looked at him for a moment until the elf began to lead him to the center of the room. There, the
creature instructed him to stand at the very center of the hall, directly over a circular design. Then, it
beckoned for the others to come do the same. Once all five were standing together, the elf held out its
hand to Phineas, obviously asking for the stone.

Phineas blinked before digging into his pocket and pulling it out. The elf pulled out a piece of thick cloth,
grabbed the stone with it and squatted down near the ground. Here, he placed the stone in an indent in
the floor. It slid in with ease, as though it was meant to fit there.

The stone began to glow brightly and sent rays of lights shooting across the floor. Just as everyone was
wondering how this was possible, the design they were all standing on groaned, nearly tossing Baljeet
off of it, and began to float upwards.

"Where's it taking us now?" Buford wondered.

Ferb caught Phineas when his brother stumbled backwards and then looked up at the diamond
chandelier. The pieces of light immediately spread out, revealing a hidden vertical tunnel entrance in the
ceiling. It was alit in the same light as the stone.

"The Sage's study is at the top of the tower," Ferb reminded him. "We had to have our characters ride a
floating device up to it as well, remember?"

"But I do not remember it looking this complex," Baljeet added as they entered the tunnel and began
climbing faster and faster.

They all looked up as the air shot passed them the faster they traveled. When Ferb looked at Phineas, he
was sure to have seen sparks of wonder in his dark blue eyes. Despite the fear he still saw in them, he
was content to see that his brother had not completely lost his sense of wonder.

"If this wasn't making me feel any weirder than I thought it was, I'd probably be enjoying this more,"
Isabella whispered fearfully.

Phineas was about to put a comforting arm around her when their ride finally came to a halt. The halt, in
fact, was so sudden, it sent all five teenagers stumbling to the ground in shouts of surprise. Only the elf
remained on its feet.

"Geez, could we at least have a bit of a warning?" Buford complained as he pushed Baljeet off of him.

Ignoring them, the elf rushed off towards a fire place that was presently glowing with orange flames.
Here, the creature bowed to empty air. "They have arrived, Sir," he said politely. "I brought them up,
just as you had instructed me to."

"Good… good," came the reply. The voice sounded distant and echoed in the air as though it was
speaking in a cave.

There was a bit of a breeze that began, and right before the students' very eyes, a tall man faded into
view. Sparkles of blue light swirled around him until he was completely tangible. His back was to the
teenagers, but by the beautiful garments he had on, with the glowing edges, one could tell that he was a
Sage.

Or at least, Phineas and Ferb were able to tell.

"Who the hey is that?" Buford whispered.

The Flynn‐Fletcher brothers looked at him. "The Sage of Colornia," Phineas replied.

"How do you know?"

"Notice his clothes? How they're glowing like that at the seams? Only the wisest who have mastered
good magic and philosophy are allowed to wear clothes like that. Since a Sage is the highest ranking of
Good Magic Possessor in the game, this is him."

Buford, Baljeet and Isabella looked up at the man as he began to turn around. "Ah," the football player
replied. "Okay."

The man finally came face‐to‐face with them, and they were able to recognize most of the same traits
that he had in the video game; however, his dark grey eyes seemed much wiser, and his grayish‐blue
beard was glowing very dimly. The light it projected reflected a little off of the round spectacles he was
currently wearing.

The Sage studied the newcomers in silence before his eyes fell upon Phineas. Although he had expected
this, the teenager was immediately intimidated and blushed. He looked away quickly.

"So, you have finally come," the man's deep voice noted while he closed the book he had in his hand.

Phineas cleared his throat but did not look up. "N‐not on my own terms, but yes," he replied meekly.

"If it had not been on your own terms, Phineas Flynn, you would not have willingly reached out and
touched the Stone." The Sage let the book go and it floated down into the hands of the short elf. "That is
the funny thing about curiosity; it lands you in situations your mind despises but your heart desires."

Although Phineas seemed to be attempting to ignore every word the man said, Ferb was soaking it all in;
his curiosity was beginning to set off alarms in his head. As the Sage began walking towards them, Ferb
took a step forward and instinctively got in front of his stepbrother, as though shielding him from a blow.

The Sage stopped at this and studied Ferb from head to toe. After a moment, he cracked a small grin.
"You must be Ferb Fletcher," he said. "The stepbrother."

"How do you know that?" Ferb wondered, although he did it with a hint of dryness in his voice.

"You will come to understand that I know much, young Knight; and that most of that information is
better left unanswered."

"May we have an explanation as to why we are all here?"

The Sage raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Phineas. "You did not tell him?" he wondered.

Phineas did not look up again; instead, he seemed to relish the fact that Ferb was shielding him, and hid
even more behind his brother. "I didn't want him to be a part of it," he squeaked.

"He was supposed to share it."

"… I didn't want him to have to."

The Sage did not speak at these words; he only looked at Phineas in silence.

Isabella was the next to take a step forward. "Getting back to Ferb's question, Sir," she said as politely as
she could, "May you tell us what mission we've apparently been chosen for? Phineas mentioned
something like that when we were teleported here…"

The Sage raised his head. "Ah, yes," he said. "The mission…" He clapped his hands twice and
immediately, all the lights, including the fire, were put out, casting the entire study into darkness. Then,
having no origins, blue lights began to flutter about, shaping a giant 3D map of what everyone
recognized as the world of Cantoria.

The world in which the video game took place.

"You have been chosen by myself to embark on a mission of grave importance," the Sage explained.
"The Dark Sorcerer is growing stronger every day, and with every passing moment, our world is
crumbling. Good is being forced more and more to the East, towards us, and further away from the
Labyrinth we, the Sages, were sworn to protect. The life force of Cantoria is weaning with every drop of
evil added, and the more we wait and linger, the more the Dark Sorcerer is prevailing and becoming
stronger.

"Many have attempted and failed to reach the Center of the Labyrinth in order to replenish its power.
So I have been given the task to find the souls brave enough to take the journey and reach the Center of
the Labyrinth. The Seer must reach it in order to defeat the Dark Sorcerer—!"

"Ah‐HA!" Buford exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "I knew this was the game! We were
transported into the actual game!"

The Sage frowned at these words. "This may be another dimension from yours, Buford Van Stomm," he
said gravely, "But I can assure you… this is no game."

His voice seemed to echo in the darkness around them, causing even Buford to cower slightly.

"I have the power of pulling people from their reality and bringing them into this one," the Sage
explained. "Whatever game you are referring to, it does not exist here. This is real. This is all happening
as we speak. The more time we let slip by, the more powerful the Dark Sorcerer becomes. I have
searched for many years, and then I stumbled upon your dimension and found you."

"So, you've been spying on us?" Isabella clarified.

"Hardly. More or less, I have been studying your personalities and traits. And I am content to say that
you all are fit for the challenge." The Sage rubbed his chin for a moment. "… A little on the young side,
I'll admit, but fit nonetheless."

"So, what is it that we must do?" Baljeet wondered.

The Sage held out his arms to the map around them, and it began to move forward as though they were
traveling over it like eagles. "Your task is to accompany the Seer and make sure he arrives at the Center
of the Labyrinth unharmed. That is your first priority."

"So, the Seer actually exists…"

"In this realm, they do. They are incredibly scarce, considering only the purest of souls has the power to
save Cantoria. In fact, only one comes from every dimension, every three hundred years of their time.
Most go unnoticed, for a Seer's magic goes unnoticed everywhere save here."

Ferb rubbed his chin. "Is this the first time you have called upon a Seer?" he asked.

The Sage shook his head. "No," he replied. "I have called upon many in the past, but all have failed, only
increasing the Dark Sorcerer's power. I fear that if I do not accomplish my duty correctly this time, our
world will crumble for good."

Isabella looked at the others, as though silently contemplating the matter and discussing it with the boys.
After a moment, she grinned and turned to face the Sage. "Well, considering we're now stuck here, I
guess we've got no choice but to go along for the ride," she said boldly. "I've seen a lot of crazy things in
my life, so I think I'm ready to add something unbelievable to my book."

"I'm all good, as long as I can do a bit of pounding," Buford added.

Baljeet raised his hand. "Question, Mr. Sage, Sir," he said meekly. "Um, how many lives to we have
here?"

The Sage raised an eyebrow. "How many do you have in your dimension?" he asked.

"Um, just one."

"Then unless you can reincarnate yourself like a phoenix, you only have one here as well. So I would
suggest you don't kill yourself by stupidity."

Baljeet swallowed with great difficulty at these words and went a little pale. "Uh, okay," he squeaked.
Raising a fist in the air, he added, "Yahoo," very unenthusiastically.

"Will we be sent home once our mission is completed?" Isabella asked.

The Sage looked at her and then nodded. "If you manage to accomplish the task, then yes, I will
transport you all back home." He held out his hand, and the small elf, who had gone to pick up the stone
that was still in the floor, again with the cloth, handed it to him. He held it up. "You will not be forced to
remain here unless you sincerely wish to."

The teenagers nodded their agreement and looked at each other before staring at the Sage. The only
one who had not spoken or moved since he last spoke was Phineas. To Ferb, it seemed as though his
stepbrother seemed incredibly disappointed that everyone was agreeing. It filled Ferb with more worry,
but he had no time to dwell upon it, as the old man began speaking once more.

The Sage pushed up his glasses. "Now that I have your agreement, I might as well give you the roles in
which you will be playing," he said. "I have assigned you each with a position that I believe best suits
your personalities and characteristics; along the way, you will have a chance to learn new attacks, both
offence and defence, and at certain time you will meet those who form the Seven Guides, who will
personally train you. For now, I will give you your tasks, you will be given appropriate clothing, and
tomorrow morning, when your journey begins, you will be given your first destination."

He pointed at Isabella. "You, my dear, are the Archer," he said. "Your courage and fierce heart will give
you an advantage over your enemies, as well as your feminine touch and beauty will be needed. You will
be supplied with your bow and arrows. If you are seen fit, you may be able to acquire better arrows
along the way; if you can find the Golden Arrow, then you would have mastered your skills."

Isabella smiled brightly and held up her fists. "Sweet!" she exclaimed. Quickly remembering where she
was, she cleared her throat and bowed politely. "I mean, I will do my best, Sir."

The Sage pointed at Baljeet next. "You have been appointed the Rope Maker," he announced.

Buford immediately had to stifle a laugh. Baljeet moaned. "Aaawwwww, are you serious?" he said in
despair. "But I cannot stand being a Rope Maker! They do not do anything heroic!"

"Heroism comes in all shapes and sizes, Baljeet," the Sage replied. "And your skills at making ropes will
be needed on this journey, as you will not only be traveling across fields and plains." As Baljeet pouted
and crossed his arms, the old man pointed at Buford. "You, will be—!"

"Lemme guess!" Buford said excitedly while flexing his arm muscles. "A Knight, right? Cause I've got the
strength!"

The Sage rolled his eyes. "You may have the strength, but you do not possess the knowledge or loyalty
of a Knight," he said flatly. "That role has been reserved for another. You are more fitting as a Ranger. It
is your job to be a look out, as well as an extra aid in battle. Because of your strength, you can raise
heavy weaponry."

While Baljeet and Isabella giggled behind their hands, Buford made a grimace and then shrugged. "Meh,
I guess that's alright," he muttered. "Better than a dorky Squire or Scout."

"Your roles have each equal importance, so do not underestimate yourselves or your teammates," the
Sage warned. He looked at Ferb, but before saying anything, he frowned softly. "You were initially
reserved another role, but since you lack a certain trait, I had to reassign you to one that was just as
fitting." He pointed at the teenager and a sea of green and blue lights faded into view, swirling around
Ferb's body and forming a transparent suit that resembled a Knight's.

"You, Ferb Fletcher, have been assigned as the Knight," the Sage announced. "Because of your
intelligence, skills, courage and ability to quickly construct and think plans through, you have been given
this role. Many battles will await you, and you will often be forced to fight them head on without
thinking. If you fail your task as the protector of the Brotherhood, then everyone will perish. It is the
Knight who must protect the Seer at all costs."

Ferb looked at the fake armour around him before it disappeared, and then looked up at the Sage.

"Do you accept this role, despite it carrying a heavier load on your shoulders than the others?"

Although Ferb would rather spend his time reading a book than swinging a sword, the teenager nodded
firmly. The Sage nodded as well before walking off a few steps. The study returned to normal and the
map disappeared. The fire was rekindled.

The teenagers waited patiently to hear more.

"You are free to go now," the Sage said. "Edwin here, will show you to your chambers to get dressed,
and then you are all invited to dine downstairs. You must all be famished by now…"

"W‐wait a minute," Isabella spoke up. She pointed at her best friend. "You didn't give Phineas his role."

At these words, the Sage raised his head and turned around again. Surprise was in his eyes.

"I mean, considering he's the one who found your teleporter, shouldn't he be getting a role too?"
The old man looked at her in silence before turning his gaze on the red‐headed sixteen‐year‐old. "You
never told them?" he asked.

Phineas stared at him in silence before looking away again. Weakly, he shook his head.

The Sage did not seem incredibly pleased to hear this, but he did not show his disappointment for long.
"I suppose I should appoint one to him then," he muttered, more or less to himself. "Or, more
specifically, tell you what it is, considering he has not told you yet."

"Does he get to be a Mage?" Baljeet asked eagerly. "He plays that role all the time in the game at home.
He is incredibly skilled!"

"Mages do not normally embark on such adventures; they stay and study magic in order to become
Sages one day… or Warlocks, if they decide to use their knowledge for evil." The Sage shook his head.
"No; you will have no need of spellbinding on your quest. Only the courage within your hearts and the
ability to work together as a team."

"Then, if we will have no Mage, what will Phineas play as?"

The Sage waited a moment before looking at Phineas. Phineas raised his head again and looked up at
him in silence. The man could see the reluctance and fear in his eyes, but the choice had been decided;
there was no turning back. So he held up the stone, and it immediately began to hum and shine brightly.

Phineas gasped softly and fixed his gaze upon the stone. As though in a trance, he held out both hands.
The Sage let the stone go and it began to float in midair as rays of blue, pink and purple light swam out
of it and haloed around the sixteen‐year‐old.

Ferb almost felt obliged to step out and pull his brother away; he had no idea what was happening, but
he did not like what it looked like, especially after the light cast from the stone surrounded Phineas. Ferb
even noticed that his brother's blue eyes seemed to begin to glow as though being filled with the same
light that was currently haloing him.

The scene continued to develop until the stone had landed softly in Phineas' hands. Then, the lights
faded away, the stone dimmed, and Phineas' eyes returned to normal. By the look of ever growing fear
in his face, Ferb could tell that Phineas was not pleased with the role he had apparently been appointed.
In hopes of clarification, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford looked up at the Sage.

The Sage raised his head as he continued to stare at Phineas. "He is the Seer," he whispered solemnly.

*****
The Seer Book 1 chp11
"Phineas is the Seer?"

It had been nearly half an hour since Edwin the Light Elf had taken the sixteen‐year‐olds into the
giant chamber where they would spend the night. Like most of the tower, the walls were paved in
gold and red paint, and there were three king size beds aligned against the wall. Three windows
overlooked the city below.

Buford was sitting on a chair next to one of the windows, balancing on its back legs while folding his
arms behind his head. He yawned loudly. "I told him he'd make a good Seer," he muttered,
responding to Isabella's exclamation. He had been the first to get dressed once the elf had returned
with their new uniforms. He was dressed in a mail tunic, complete with thick brown leather
padding over his chest, shoulders, thighs and knees. He had also been given fingerless gloves
crested in gold, along with matching boots and a green cloak. He was not expected to wear it to
sleep, but was obliged to wear it to the banquet that evening.

Buford had also been given a special axe to carry on the journey. To anyone else, it weighed a ton;
but because he did several weights every day and played football, he was able to lift it without
hardly a sweat.

"Did you see the look on Ferb's face when we were told?" Isabella added. "He looked like he had just
seen a ghost or something."

Buford shrugged his shoulders. "So he did," he said with a yawn. "Though if you ask me, it looked
more like he had just seen his bro get murdered in front of him."

"Buford, that was really inappropriate."

"But true. He seriously looked freaked, Man."

Baljeet was sitting on one of the beds, fumbling around with his own uniform. He kicked a leg in the
air while groaning. "Ugh! Why do Rope Makers have to dress up in such baggy clothes?" he
complained. "I look like a monk!"

"Because monks were often Rope Makers, Nerd," Buford snickered, watching his friend attempt to
straighten his dark red hood. Baljeet's uniform consisted of a loose sweater‐like shirt, matching
pants and matching boots that were fastened to his legs by laces. Had he had the hood over his head
at the moment, he would have looked exactly like a monk.

He had also been given a few tools for the journey: some rope making utensils—which included a
small dagger—and a light sword in case he was called into battle.

Buford got a kick out of that. "I can't believe Mortimer the Sage gave you a stupid sword," he teased.
"I bet you can't even lift it."

"Can so!" Baljeet sniffed. "Besides; he only said it was in case of an emergency, so it isn't really
supposed to be a good one."
"Fine, whatever. Just make sure to warn me if you swing it."

Isabella, who had hidden herself in behind a giant changing board while she stripped her wet
clothes and put on her new set of garments, tossed out her shoes and grabbed a pair of green
leather boots sitting just in view of the boys. "Let's just hope we won't need to fight that often," she
said. "Considering we've played this game a lot, though, I'm sure we'd do just fine anyway."

"Knock on wood, knock on wooooddd!!!" Buford exclaimed as he and Baljeet rapped their knuckles
against either a desk or the bed frame. "You're gonna jinx us, Isabella!"

"Oh please; are you seriously that superstitious?"

"After hanging out with Phineas and Ferb? Heck yeah. Especially Phineas. Every time Dinner Bell
says something like that, something ends up going wrong. Like when we traveled around the world
in one day. Seriously, that kid doesn't knock on wood enough."

"Phineas isn't superstitious, that's why."

Baljeet leaned on top of the sword he had been given. "Where are Phineas and Ferb, anyway?" he
wondered.

Isabella tossed out the rest of her clothes and then walked out from behind the boards while
pushing back her long black hair. "They had to go get their uniforms with Edwin, remember?" she
said. "Ferb had to go to the armoury, apparently, and Phineas… well, they never said where he had
to go."

"The Seer stuff is top secret here," Buford noted. "They really take this whole thing seriously."

Isabella picked up the blue and silver bow she was given and held it over her shoulder while leaning
on one leg. "So; how do I look?" she asked while grinning. Like Buford, Isabella was wearing a mail
shirt. Along with her green boots, she sported a dark red skirt, a leather belt with a red ruby on the
buckle, a green cloak and green and brown sleeves. If it was any other girl, Buford would have
laughed; but because it was Isabella, the matter was different. Since her main group of friends
consisted of boys, the Jewish‐Mexican girl fit this tomboy‐like outfit perfectly.

Baljeet grinned and gave her the thumbs up while Buford shrugged. "Pretty nifty, I'll admit," he said.
"Can you shoot arrows?"

"My uncle owns an archery practice field on his land in Mexico," Isabella replied. "He let me practice
whenever we went to visit him." She set the bow aside and placed her hands on her hips. "So… is
anyone other than me still thinking this is some kind of dream?"

Baljeet raised his hand like a school boy. Buford nodded. "Yep, I'm still trying to decide whether to
pinch myself or not," he said. "If I don't, I'm stuck in this medieval‐fantasy world with no way home,
but on the plus side, I've got no school."

"This could just be one of those dimensions that time passes by faster than in ours," Baljeet pointed
out. "You know; like one minute on Earth is like a week here or something."

"You know, if you just stuffed it, maybe people wouldn't call you a party pooper."
Isabella rolled her eyes and studied the room. "I just hope our parents aren't wondering where we
are," she said. "My mom would be worrying her head off by now." She looked at Buford again. "It
just seems so unreal. That the video game we've been playing for the past week or so just so
happens to be based off of an actual dimension and events. And the creators don't even know. I
mean, think about it."

"No, you know what I still find unbelievable?" Buford complained. "That Dinner Bell decided to
keep this whole thing a dang secret from us."

"What does Phineas have to do with it?" Baljeet wondered.

"Everything, duh. I mean, this whole time, he knew he was the Seer, but he never even told us! Can
you believe that?"

Isabella frowned. "Buford, considering Phineas hates drawing attention to himself, I think he had a
right not to tell us," she said.

Buford rolled his eyes and muttered something inaudible before setting his chair down properly
and standing up. "Where are those two dweebs anyway?" he groaned. "If we're invited to some
stupid banquet, I want to get first dibs! I'm starving, for cryin' out loud! If anyone can remember,
that stupid rock teleported us here right before lunch!"

Just as he spoke, the doors to the bedroom moaned softly as they were pushed open. Baljeet and
Buford looked up in curiosity; Isabella turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, wow," she
muttered.

Ferb walked in, completely in tunic and armour. Save for the upper part of the black pants he was
wearing, the dark sleeves over his arms, the leather gloves and his dark boots, the teenager was
covered in beautiful silver armour. From his shoulders to his waist, his knees to his ankles, silver
metal with gold edges fit snug against his body, though loose enough if he needed to battle. Over his
shoulder plates was a light pink pearl which resembled the stone Phineas had found.

But what made Ferb look even more impressive was the beautiful sword that hung in its sheath on
his side. The blue and gold handle had enough space for two hands to grab it, and at its tip sat a
white diamond, sharp enough to leave a mark in battle.

"Holy‐cow‐call‐me‐insane," Buford gawked.

Ferb cracked a grin.

"They turned you into King Arthur, Dude! What; are they trying to keep you here on purpose or
something?"

Ferb placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Hardly," he replied. "Though the sword is a nice touch."

"What did the armoury look like?"

"I don't know; I didn't actually go in it. I was only allowed in the shop part to get my body measured
for the armour."
"That sucks."

Isabella walked up to Ferb as the boys spoke and inspected his armour. "It's beautiful," she
muttered, walking around him. She stopped by his chest and knocked against it. "Sounds tough."

"According to the blacksmith, it's covered in a coat of diamond iron," Ferb replied.

"Diamond what?"

"It's a metal here. The Dwarves forge it. It's the strongest metal in Cantoria."

"Gee whiz, they gave you the best of the best."

Ferb shrugged and looked down at his sword. "Probably because… it's my duty to protect the
Seer…"

The sentence sounded awkward not only to him, but to the others as well. To divert their attention
from it, Ferb grabbed his sword and pulled it out quickly, holding it up before him.

"Oooooohh, woooowww!" Baljeet said in awe.

"That sword looks brand new!" Buford exclaimed.

Ferb swung the sword weakly and held it up a little higher in order to study it. "They were putting it
together while I was measured and clothed," he replied. "Apparently, it's a tradition to give every
Knight a new sword when beginning this sort of quest."

"Did they name it?"

At these words, Ferb, Isabella and Baljeet gave Buford a sceptic look.

"Well, you know; in most books and movies, the swords have names," Buford added with a shrug.

Ferb turned his eyes heavenward. "Sword," he said while lowering the weapon. "I called it Sword."

Buford shot him a glare. "Hardee har har," he mumbled, making Baljeet giggle.

Ferb grinned back before swinging the sword with both hands, attempting to imitate the Knight he
played as on the video game. "It's light, which is perfect for swift movement," he commented, "But
I've never really battled with a sword before."

"You've done fencing, haven't you?" Isabella pointed out.

"Yes… but that's not exactly the same. A sword is much larger and can do much more damage. If I do
not learn how to manoeuvre it properly, I can cut someone's head off."

"Eeee, then stay away from me in battle too!" Buford exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his head.
"I don't want to have a monk and a tin man slicing my body to bits, thank you very much!"
"I am not a monk!" Baljeet cried out.

"Oh yeah; and a Rope Maker is a big difference?"

Once the two had finished arguing, Isabella sighed and crossed her arms. "You know what I just
realized, guys?" she said, catching their attention. "We've all seen each other's outfits on our players
in the games, but we've never actually seen what the Seer wears."

Baljeet gasped as Ferb and Buford looked on in revelation. "That is right!" he said. "The Seer always
had a cloak on because it shielded his identity from everyone. Apparently, because they are so rare,
Seers wear a different material." He looked at Ferb. "And they have their hoods on most of the time
because it shields their faces from Snitches, Warlocks and Watchers."

Isabella shrugged her shoulders. "I wonder what Phineas' outfit will look like?" she said
thoughtfully. "I wonder… what a Seer is supposed to wear?"

The other three boys pondered this as well, suddenly finding that they were each curious as to what
Phineas would be wearing. But hardly a moment had gone by for them to think when a voice caught
their attention:

"Apparently, I'm supposed to wear this."

Buford and Baljeet raised their heads and looked over Ferb and Isabella's shoulders. Their eyes
immediately went wide and their jaws dropped in amazement. Curious by their looks, Ferb and
Isabella turned around to see what was so interesting; what they saw caused them to give the same
awestruck look on their faces.

Phineas walked towards them, dressed in a beautiful blue uniform. The material it was made of
caused it to glisten in the light like newly brushed silk. Its edges, like the robe of the Sage, looked as
though it was sewn from blue light. Both the pants and the shirt matched, with a slight difference in
the shade of blues. On his feet was a pair of white boots with blue stripes and silver buckles. Around
his neck, now attached to a silver chain, was the very same stone which had transported them to
this dimension.

"Holy Toledo," Buford gaped.

Phineas stopped next to his brother, and to everyone's surprise, he was smiling his usual cheerful
smile. After looking at everyone, he said, "I guess I win the Who's wearing the best cosplay costume
contest, huh?"

"That uniform is the most beautiful uniform I have ever seen in my life!" Baljeet cried out.

"Thanks, Jeet," Phineas said gratefully. He held up an arm and studied it while turning it over. "I
personally like orange a lot better, but blue's a good shade too. Isn't as sharp, you know?"

"Is that the same stone that brought us here?"

"Yep. Apparently, it's also the Seer Stone. That's why I was the one who found it."

As he spoke, Isabella walked up to him and looked at the beautiful material. Reaching out, she
placed a hand over Phineas' arm and stroked the material. Her action caused Phineas to stop
speaking and look at her.

"It's… so soft," she whispered. She raised her other hand and stroked with it as well. "It looks like it
would have been sewn from light, but it feels so smooth and silky…" Realizing finally that Phineas
was staring at her, Isabella pulled her hands away and placed them neatly behind her back. She
stared at hers and Phineas' feet while blushing. "You look… very handsome, Phineas," she added.

Phineas looked at her with gentle eyes before grinning in appreciation. "Thanks, Isabella," he added
just as softly. "You… you look pretty good in your uniform too."

They locked gazes for only a moment before Phineas turned away and looked at Buford when he
spoke:

"So, you're the dude we have to protect, huh?" the football player announced.

Phineas said nothing.

"I told you you'd make a good Seer."

Phineas sighed and looked away. "I'd rather not talk about that right now, okay?" he said. He looked
at his friends again and grinned. "But you wanna know what I think is pretty sweet? The fact that
you guys are all dressed as the characters you played in the game. I mean, how cool is that?"

"I am a Rope Maker," Baljeet complained, making Isabella giggle. "That is not special."

"Come on, Jeet, you heard what the Sage said; heroism comes in all shapes and sizes."

The Indian teenager shrugged his shoulders, but smiled timidly, thanking Phineas for his
encouraging words. Phineas nodded in reply before looking at his stepbrother. "Whoa, King Arthur
all over," he said, as though noticing Ferb's armour for the first time. He walked around his best
friend while whistling. "Dude, you look awesome! Way better than what your Knight wears in the
video game, man!" He leaned back and studied his brother while rubbing his chin. "Totally
bodyguard material, too."

Ferb forced up a smirk at these words while the others giggled; he had noticed, unlike the others,
Phineas' fake smile. He knew Phineas hated being upset for too long, but he could tell by the look in
his brother's eyes that the red head was putting up a false grin.

Phineas looked Ferb over a little longer before his eyes fell upon the sword. "Oo, he comes complete
with a blade too," he said in awe. He held out his hands. "May I?" he asked politely.

Ferb handed him the sword and only let go once he knew Phineas had a good grasp on it with both
hands. But no sooner had he let it go did Phineas yelp in surprise as the sword dropped to the floor,
nearly dragging him with it. The tip of the blade fell with a clang on the floor.

Buford threw his head back and laughed as loud as he could while the other three covered their
mouths or attempted to keep their shoulders from shaking. "Oh‐ho, that's rich!" the football player
laughed. "That's even more pathetic than Baljeet with a sword! HA, HA, HA!!!"
Phineas groaned while looking up and grinning wryly. "Gee, thanks," he said. He tried holding it up
on his own but found it to be much heavier than he had expected it to be. "Holy crow, I didn't think
it would be this heavy," he groaned, holding the sword up with great amount of difficulty. "Why is it
so hard to lift this thing?"

Ferb came over and took the sword away from his brother. "That's what you get for being the
Thinker half of the duo," he replied.

"Oh come off it, I build too," Phineas replied as he straightened out. "Your arms aren't that much
more muscular than mine, computer geek." As Ferb put the sword back in its sheath, Phineas
looked over his shoulder at the open doorway. "Anyway, the banquet is going to begin soon," he
said in a much quieter tone. "You guys can stay for a few minutes longer, but because of my position,
I need to make my own special appearance with the Sage…"

"You mean, you won't be sitting with us?" Isabella asked.

"I'm not sure. All I was told was that I would need to be lead out some other way." Phineas looked
down at his Stone for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh. "Better get a good look at me at the
banquet, guys, because after that, I need to wear a hood over my face…"

"Are you saying that we won't even be able to look at you?" Isabella said, again in disbelief.

Phineas looked up at her. "Only when we're somewhere safe," he replied. "It's too risky for a Seer to
show their faces; Snitches, Warlocks and Watchers can sense when one's near, but they can only pin
point one if they see their faces." When Isabella looked away disappointingly, Phineas grinned again
and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, Isabella," he reassured her. "It's not like I'm
going to disappear…"

Ferb noticed that his brother seemed to end his sentence there, even though it was meant to be
finished at another point. But he decided not to question it.

"Phineas, if you do not mind me asking, when did you find all of this out?" Baljeet asked aloud. "You
know, about you being the Seer and about Cantoria and the Labyrinth existing?"

"Yeah; how long have you been hiding this?" Buford added suspiciously.

Phineas looked at them as they spoke before raising a hand and holding the stone around his neck.
"Since yesterday," he replied.

"… Seriously? Just a day ago?"

"Yeah. It… kinda started when I was doing homework. Ferb texted me, saying that my cell wasn't
working. So I called him, and he said I was cutting out, and then the line went dead." Phineas looked
at Isabella next. "Then, Izzie and I played some video games, and the lights in the house went out.
And then the video game did as well." He looked at the Stone. "That's when the Stone started
talking… The Sage was communicating with me through it, and once he mentioned that I had been
chosen for this special mission, the Stone just started floating in midair.

"It was really weird; it felt as though a whole heap load of info was being poured down into my
brain. I was instantly given all the history of Cantoria, all its provinces and peoples, and every single
route that could lead to the Labyrinth. It told me the roles each of you guys were going to play and
how I would be transported here along with everyone…"

Phineas fell silent here again. He let go of the stone and turned away. "You know what, I'm just
rambling on about stuff that's already passed," he said. Looking up again, he smiled. "So instead of
dwelling on the past, let's just get ready for the big feast we're going to have in a few minutes. I
mean, travelling between dimensions makes one hungry, right?"

"Does it even bother you that we're in a world that isn't supposed to actually exist?" Buford said
with a frown. "I mean, what if we don't get back home? We're just kids, for Pete's sake. I hate school
as much as the next person, but I am way too young to move out of my mom's house. What if we're
stranded here forever?"

Phineas looked at him silently for a moment before looking away again. "You won't be stranded
here, Bufe," he replied. "You'll… all go home after this is through." His voice trailed off, leaving
everyone in an awkward silence.

Especially Ferb. The more his brother explained, the more concerned he became about their
situation. Or, to be more precise, Phineas' situation. Something felt uneasy about the way Phineas
was acting at that moment; his cheerfulness was just a cover up this time. Ferb knew he was not
really feeling that happy.

And something about the last few words he said was disturbing.

But he did not have long to dwell upon them; a few seconds had passed before a knock came on the
doors. When the teenagers looked up, Edwin the Light Elf was standing in the doorway. Bowing, the
creature said, "The Sage has requested your presence on the main floor for the banquet now. He
would like you to all be dressed in your uniforms for the event." When he straightened out, he
looked up at Phineas. "You may accompany them to the banquet hall, though you are instructed to
wait outside until the Sage comes for you."

They all stared at him silently until Isabella sighed and walked towards the exit. "Let's get this over
with so that I can practice my arrow shooting on Buford," she muttered.

Baljeet giggled and followed her, closely trailed by the football player. "Hey! I was the one who said
you looked good in that outfit!" he snapped.

Ferb watched them leave before looking at his brother again. Phineas did not return the look.
Instead, the red head smiled weakly and followed the others out.

Ferb was more than certain that something was scaring his brother.
The Seer Book 1 chp12
The banquet was incredible. Light Elves and Faeries, Mages, Sages and Wizards were all gathered in the
giant, gold coated hall when the teenagers stepped in. Lord Kelinor, the Ruler of the Elves of Cantoria,
was also present at the banquet. Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford were given seats at the head table.
They were introduced one by one, and then Mortimer the Sage of Colornia stepped into the room,
accompanied by Edwin and, of course, Phineas.

Phineas was seated at the right of the Sage while Ferb and the others dined at the man's left. Lord
Kelinor was seated on the other side of Phineas and took this opportunity to ask him quiet questions
about himself. While the others spoke, Lord Kelinor also whispered words of advice and wisdom in
Phineas' ear, words Ferb guessed to be guidance for the Seer; words Phineas never repeated to
anyone—not even Ferb.

Those present took turns asking the teenagers what their dimension was like, which in reply Isabella,
Baljeet and Buford would give eccentric responses. Eventually, they were so amused by the people's
interest and curiosity in cars that they began enjoying the feast and nearly seemed to forget about the
situation they were all in.

But Ferb never spoke. He hardly even touched his food. When he looked over to Phineas, the red‐head
did not seem to be enjoying the party too much either. All he did was answer questions calmly when
asked and smiled as much as he could.

Forced smiles. And the more he noticed them, the more Ferb became uncomfortable.

Had he suddenly become the only one who could not shield his fear of what lay ahead?

Once the banquet had finished, Edwin led the students up to their quarters. Once he had left, Buford
and Baljeet watched Isabella practice shooting arrows at a target that was placed on the wall. They
made a game out of it and drew pictures of people they despised at school—Irving being one of them—
and hung the pictures up on the target to see where Isabella would hit them. Often times, the arrow
would land somewhere that would make them all laugh.

Phineas sat near one of the windows, looking on. He admired Isabella's amazing aim, and laughed softly
every time his friends did or said something silly. If there was one thing he loved seeing more than
anything, it was seeing people laugh and have fun.

"Try aiming for his family jewels," Buford said, pointing at the image of their Geography teacher.

"That is only funny if she does it by accident," Baljeet pointed out. "Hey, Bella, think we can blindfold
you?"

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Want me to shoot you by accident?" she said flatly, making Buford chuckle.

"No."

"Then no, you can't. Just enjoy whatever shot I dish out." She held her bow up, pulled her arm back with
the arrow and released it. The arrow whizzed through the air until it had slammed into the picture, right
in the figure's right eye.

"OOOOHHHH!!! Buford laughed. "That's sweet! Mr. Magnesium's gone blind in one eye, ha! I'd die if this
was all voodoo!"

Phineas chuckled softly as Baljeet and Isabella laughed along with Buford until the girl was ready to
shoot again.

Ferb, who had been sitting on one of the beds removing his armour, walked over to his brother while
the others enjoyed themselves. Beneath the plates of silver, he wore nothing but a black tunic and dark
boots. Unlike everyone else, without his armour Ferb looked quite ordinary.

Phineas continued to watch the others until Ferb came to a stop next to him. Then, he looked up at his
stepbrother.

Ferb looked at him in confusion and concern. "Why are you smiling?" he asked softly.

Phineas did not reply right away. Once he turned his gaze onto his friends, he said, "Why shouldn't I?"

Ferb rubbed his arm. "Well, it's just… you know, our situation," he pointed out. "We don't know what's
happening back home, we're not sure of what the future holds, and we're embarking on a journey in a
world that isn't, you know, supposed to even exist. And to top it off, you've been given the role of the
Seer. And here you are, smiling…" Ferb shrugged questioningly. "I mean, aren't you afraid, Phineas?"

Phineas looked at him again before shrugging as well. "Of course I am," he replied.

"Then, why are you forcing up a smile?"

Phineas blinked before looking at his hands. "If I don't, Ferb, then who will?" he asked very quietly.

Ferb remained silent. After another moment, he let out a sigh and sat down on the windowsill right next
to Phineas. He leaned over his lap and crossed his arms.

"I didn't mean to push you away, Ferb," Phineas apologized softly. "You know, since yesterday… I just
really didn't want you to be part of this… Or anyone else to be part of this, for that matter."

Ferb looked at him. "Why?" he asked.

Phineas shrugged. "I just didn't want you to go through it, that's all…" He sighed and laid his head back
against the wall. "Stupid; why did I have to go and touch that dumb rock? Seriously, if I could tame my
curiosity even a smidge, I wouldn't be in this mess."

"Something is bothering you, isn't it?" Ferb guessed.

His brother looked up at him for a moment before looking away again. "Yeah," he said. "Just a… certain
detail that was sorta mentioned indiscreetly to me when I got all this silly Seer knowledge yesterday
during the blackout…"
"The journey to the Labyrinth? If it makes you feel better, I'm not all that keen on it either. I mean, we're
all only sixteen years old and we have to embark on this crazy mission—!"

"It's… not the journey that's scaring me, Ferb," Phineas interrupted. He waited a moment before looking
up at his stepbrother. "If you want to know the truth, I'm… almost excited. I mean, we're teens, about to
save the world. It's a whole adventure on its own. We've got swords, bows and arrows, and axes as
weapons. We're living a quest that should only exist in books, movies or video games. What sixteen‐
year‐old gets to do that? And on a school night to boot? It's almost as good as inventing."

Ferb stared back at him in silence before opening his mouth. "Then, if the journey there isn't worrying
you," he began, "… What is?"

Phineas's eyes suddenly glazed over. He turned away while blinking quickly in order to keep his tears
from overflowing. "It's… the end result that scares the bejeepers out of me," he said very softly.

Ferb gave him a confused yet worried look. "Wh‐what end result?" he asked nervously. "Did the Sage lie
about us going back home afterwards?"

His brother shook his head. "No, no, he was telling you the truth," he replied. "Once the mission's been
completed, you guys can go home if you want. He was being completely honest."

"Th‐then, why is the conclusion frightening you? And why are you speaking about us returning home…
as though you aren't including yourself?"

Phineas sighed as he placed his hands together and looked up at the ceiling. Tears made his eyes shine
in the candlelight nearby. "Ferb," he said as his voice broke. After a short pause, perhaps to control his
tears, Phineas looked at his brother again. "You know what happens to the Seer at the end of the
game…"

It took a few seconds for the answer to register in Ferb's mind. Once it had, his eyes went wide with
dread as he covered his mouth.

"It doesn't matter how this story ends," Phineas continued; "Good or bad, happy or sad, I'm not going
back home." He looked away again. "Either the Dark Sorcerer will get me and control me like a weapon
of mass destruction… or else I reach the Center of the Labyrinth, save the world and… sacrifice myself at
the same time…"

He sniffed and looked down at his hands. "You, Isabella, Baljeet and Buford will be able to go home," he
repeated as his voice broke again. His chin began to tremble. "… But I won't. Because I decided to be
Curious Phineas Flynn again, I just had to pick up that stupid rock." His voice shook more and more.
"Now, I'm not only playing the role I haven't wanted since I got the game, but I'm playing it on a real
board game, where death is just a stab, slice or spell away…"

Phineas raised his eyes heavenwards again once he had wiped his tears over his sleeve. "That's what's
scaring me," he whispered shakily. "Having to save the world but die in a dimension who knows how far
away from ours… Without saying goodbye to Mom or Dad, or Gramma and Grampa Flynn and Fletcher,
or Perry or…" He covered his mouth as more tears filled his eyes. He sniffed. "… Or Candace," he added
in a squeak. Hugging himself, Phineas added, "It's not fair. I don't want to die yet. I'm only sixteen, I
haven't gotten my full driver's yet, I haven't graduated from high school, I don't even have a girlfriend
yet…. And I won't even be able to see my big sister get married. And to make matters worse, I won't
ever be able to invent ever again. Why couldn't I have been teleported here with my sketchbook?" He
buried his face between his arms. "I didn't want you guys to touch the Stone because I didn't want to
come here. I wouldn't mind the adventure and may even enjoy it more if I didn't know what was going
to happen to me at the end."

"You won't die, Phineas," Ferb whispered reassuringly. He slid off of the sill and sat down next to his
brother. As Phineas raised his head again, Ferb crossed his arms over his knees. "I promise that nothing
will happen to you."

But Phineas only shook his head. "You can't promise something like that, Ferb," he whispered. "Not if
the ending's already been written."

"But the ending's never written in stone, Phineas; that's why it's unpredictable. It's the future. If a
glowing stone could teleport us to another dimension, then what tells you that I can't promise you'll
come home with me once this is through?"

Phineas looked at him in silence for a moment or two. When he answered, he looked at Isabella, Baljeet
and Buford laughing about another arrow shot. "It's the fact that I won't be enough to get the job done
properly, Ferb," he replied.

Ferb felt uneasy when he heard this. "What does that mean?" he wondered.

The red‐head sighed and laid his head against the wall again. "I wasn't meant to do this alone," he added.

"… Does this have to do with what the Sage said about my role as a Knight?" Ferb guessed. "When he
said that I was initially supposed to be something else?"

"… Yes."

"What did he mean by that then? What other role was I supposed to play?"

Phineas sighed again and looked at his brother. "Remember when he said when we first got here, that a
certain role… my role… was meant to be shared?" he said.

"… Yes. Who was supposed to share it?"

"… You."

Ferb raised his eyebrows in shock and gaped. "… Me?" he echoed. "But why me? Why two Seers instead
of one?"

"Because of my age," Phineas explained. "Seers are normally chosen after their coming of age, which for
us in the USA is twenty‐one officially. Magic or superpowers are just too much for anyone younger to
handle. And having the weight of an entire world on your shoulders would crush you. So initially, my
role as Seer was supposed to be shared with my stepbrother, who had just as much innocence and
curiosity as I did." Phineas' eyes grew dark. "But… it just couldn't be in the end. So I have to carry it
alone… Which will be way too much power for me when it comes to delivering the world of Cantoria
from the Dark Sorcerer. I'll be overcome by the amount of energy needed for this job either before I
save everyone or after I save everyone. So either way, your promise won't be held, Ferb—!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Ferb interrupted while holding up his hands. "What did you mean by that?
That it simply was not meant to be in the end? Phineas, if I must share this burden with you, then I'll go
ask the Sage to boost Buford up to Knight! I'll do anything just so that you don't have to do this alone!
We've always worked as a team; I'm not just going to sit around while you need to take on this alone,
not if I can help you. What must I do to change my role?"

Phineas looked at him tiredly before turning his gaze away. "It's too late, Ferb," he whispered. "You can't
change it."

"I will if I must! Why did it end up that you needed to take on the Seer role alone, if you're not going to
be strong enough?"

Phineas remained silent as he watched the others goof off with their weapons. "… Because, Ferb," he
whispered. Looking at his brother again, he said, "You don't believe in Real Magic."

These words ricocheted off of the walls in Ferb's mind, shattering them in the progress.

"Though the Seer doesn't actually possess magical powers, the Seer Stone does," Phineas explained. "I
studied the game inside out, remember? I know everything about every character in this game. The Seer
Stone gives the Seer the power he needs to save Cantoria, but it's only to be used in emergencies. The
energy and life force of the Seer is combined with the Stone at the end because the Stone needs a living
host to transfer its power and light across the land. That's the only way Cantoria will be saved…" His eyes
darkened again. "But the Seer has to believe this to be possible. He doesn't need to like it, but he needs
to believe that Real Magic actually exists… But you don't believe that. You said so yourself. Everything's
got an explanation… That's why your role changed from Seer to Knight, Ferb; because you weren't fit for
the role anymore…"

Ferb was devastated. "You mean, just because I don't believe in magic, my brother has to carry this
burden alone?" he said in dismay. "Phineas, there's got to be some other way out of this; I can't let you
take on this alone, not after everything we've been through together in the past thirteen years. Can't
you convince the Sage differently? I mean, if you are the Seer, then—!"

Phineas raised a hand and set it down gently on Ferb's shoulder. Ferb immediately ceased speaking and
looked at him in silence.

The red‐head forced up another smile. "I don't want you to worry about it, Ferb," he said gently. "You
start yackin' away every time you get freaked out about something, and you and I both know how weird
it gets when I become the quiet one and you become the chatterbox. So let's just drop the subject and
stop worrying about the future. Instead, we should worry about the present." He pulled his hand away
and placed them together over his knees. "We've… got a big day ahead of us tomorrow," he added,
attempting to change subjects. "We should be getting some shut eye…"

Ferb looked at him with distress in his eyes. "Phineas, I don't want to think of anything if I can't promise
you that you'll come home," he said softly. "If I can promise you that one thing, then I won't worry about
anything else."

"You can't promise to prevent a foretold death, Ferb."

"Stop that! You won't die, Phineas! I won't let that happen! I promise you that you'll come back home
again, I do!"

"… Ferb, that's impossible…"

"Last I checked, Phineas and Ferb could do the impossible. Remember?"

These words caused Phineas to stop and think. All of their past projects and adventures resurfaced in his
mind, all the laughs and smiles, all the things people said they were too young to achieve but were able
to achieve anyhow. It had all happened. And right in their own backyard, too.

Phineas pondered a little more before looking at Ferb again. Although small, he finally sprouted a real
smile. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes I do."

"Then, when I promise you that we'll return home together, do you believe me?" Ferb repeated.

"… Yes."

"Let's pinkie swear on it, then."

At these words, Phineas threw his head back and laughed. "Pinkie swear?!" he exclaimed. "Ferb, I
thought you said that was for toddlers!"

"But we did it when we first met, remember?" Ferb reminded him. "When we were three years old. You
told me that we needed to promise that we'd always be brothers, not stepbrothers. You said the step
part cramped your style…" He choked on a laugh at that. "A three‐year‐old said that."

"I picked up a lot from my sister."

"Anyway, you made me promise that, even if our parents would never get married, we'd be brothers
forever. So we made a pinkie swear, and sure enough, Mother and Father got married a year later." Ferb
held up his pinkie. "So, in recognition of that day, I, Ferb Fletcher, hereby pinkie swear—" the word
made Phineas giggle again, "—that I will return to Danville with my brother, Phineas Flynn." He cracked
a grin. "How did that sound?"

Phineas held up his pinkie. "Convincing," he replied. Wrapping his pinkie around his brother's, he added,
"I, Phineas Flynn, hereby hold you to your word, Sir Ferbalot."

"That part was corny."

"I know. But I had to add it."

They held their pinkies together for a moment longer before Ferb released his and then placed his arms
around Phineas. Phineas did the same and held him tightly.

"We'll make it through this, Phineas," Ferb whispered. "We always do. And until we're sitting in our
rooms again, I won't let anything happen to you."

Phineas closed his eyes. "I know you won't," he whispered back.

"We can do this, Phineas."

"Yes… yes we can."

******************************
End of Book One
******************************