Descent Into Madness

Chapter 1: Brand New Reality

This is an OPEN fanfiction. Meaning, while it is technically a fanfiction, no show knowledge is necessary to understand it.

But there is a terminology page at the back for a few show terms that don't really affect the story.

Glass cracked under my feet. Shining my torch down at the broken pieces, I was grateful for the thick soles of my shoes as I took another step.

"What do you think happened here?" Phineas's voice was barely above a whisper. No doubt he was as disturbed by the eeriness of this place as I was.

Shrugging, I panned the light across the dark room. It looked like a fight had happened, what with all the broken beakers and test tubes. I think that might be blood spattered on the wall.

A high pitched squeak caught my attention, causing me to spin around, only to see my step-brother trying to open one of the laboratory cabinets. Seeing me look at him, he let go of the handle and shot me a sheepish smile.

"Sorry." He cast his eyes around the dust coated room. "Maybe we should go back. This place is giving me the creeps."

I nodded my agreement and he produced the dimensional remote, we'd built earlier today, to open a portal home.

Looking at the rust coloured stain again, a chill ran down my spine.

This was a mistake. We should have skipped over this dimension as soon as we got a look at it through the portal. I shook the thoughts away. We would be back home soon enough.

"I'm having trouble getting a clear signal," Phineas said.

Walking towards him, I stopped when a shadow shifted in my peripheral vision. Frowning, I pointed the beam towards it. But didn't see anything.

"Fer-" A thud and a scream that made my blood freeze.

I spun on my heel.

What I was seeing didn't fully process. All that registered was something attacking my brother.

Lunging, I wrapped my arms around the thing's neck, trying to pull it off of him. Its skin was moist under my hands. The smell of sour meat filled my nose.

It jerked. Phineas fell silent. It continued to thrash. I lost my grip, tumbling backwards. Falling from my hand, the torch rolled, casting only enough light to outline the being. A small blur of movement shot towards me. I rolled sideways, glass crunching under me. A metallic thunk rang out as it pierced the floor. A slurp as it shot back towards the creature.

My hand found a piece of glass as it bit into my palm. The thing shot at me again. Striking out with the shard, I hit it.

The creature cried out with a sound like nails on a chalkboard. Clicking followed as the thing retreated, disappearing from the beam of the torch as the sounds faded.

I climbed to my feet and stumbled over to Phineas, scooping up the torch on my way.

Dropping to my knees, I ran the light over him, taking in the blood that oozed down his right arm and soaked his side. My chest tightened at the sight. I reached to move his shirt out of the way.

Shrieking from the distance caught my attention.

I clenched my jaw and swept the light around, looking for the remote. I closed my eyes and took a calming breath when I saw the broken pieces.

Panicking wasn't going to get us anywhere.

Quickly, I gathered up as much of the remote as I could, stuffing it into my pockets.

A second shriek joined the first.

"Sorry, bro," I muttered before grasping Phineas' left arm, lifting it over my shoulder and wrapping my arm around his waist to hoist his unconscious body up.

His head flopped lifelessly onto my shoulder as I tried to situate him into a manageable position. His exhales were warm on my neck.

Shining the torch towards the door, I started towards it, practically dragging Phineas along. It hung halfway off its hinges and, as I approached, the deep gashes in the metal became visible.

I flinched as more shrieks joined in.

How many of those beasts are there?

Beyond was a corridor splitting off in two directions. I paused to listen.

Right. The shrieks are coming from the right.

I shuffled down the left passage, eyeing the doors as I passed them. All were either broken down, hanging off their hinges, or ripped to shreds. Beyond them, darkness lurked.

The creatures fell silent. The pounding of my heart filled my ears.

Phineas sank down slightly in my grip as his arm slipped from my shoulders.

Adjusting my grip, I tried to pull him back up without stopping even as I could feel my strength leaving me.

The corridor ended abruptly at a large metal door. I ran the torch over it. Good news: while clawed up and dented, it wasn't broken into. Bad news: it had an electronic keypad to open it.

After lowering Phineas to the floor next to the door, I stuck the butt of the torch in my mouth and pulled the broken remote from my pocket--rather the battery section of it--and my screwdriver.

I shined the beam at the keypad and started taking out the screws that were, luckily, on the front. As the last screw came out, I pulled the front panel off as far as possible without disconnecting any of the wires.

A soft click drifted from the way I came, followed by another.

Sticking the screwdriver back in my pocket, I pulled my Swiss army knife and flipped out the blade, using it to sever wires in both the keypad and battery pack. The clicking was drawing nearer as I hurriedly twisted the wires together.

A brief flare of light filled the hallway as the door buzzed, unlocking. I pushed on the door, sliding it open before it could relock.

After shoving the knife back in my pocket and ripping the battery away, I grabbed Phineas and dragged him into the room.

The clicking drew closer, faster as I forced the door closed. The bolt slid back into place, locking it once more. I flinched at the dull bang that rang out as the creature collided with the solid steel door.

 I do not own Phineas and Ferb that pleasure goes to Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Major Monogram... Er, I mean Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. I do, however, own the plot.