Balance of Terror

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Balance of Terror Promotional

Video Promotional for Balance of Terror

This is the sixth story in Tiberius64's story series (Klingon64 on FanFiction.net). In a small deviation, this story is actually a prequel to the fourth story in that series, The Terran Empire, and takes place in that parallel universe, where Doofenshmirtz seizes power as a world dictator. The previous stories, in order, are Celestial Feelings, If Summer Only Lasted One Day, An Interplexing Future, The Terran Empire, and A New Star is Born. This is also the first story to touch on themes such as lust and certain degrees of violence (given the setting of a darker parallel universe). The accumulation of all events explains what led to the foundation of the Terran Empire, what Phineas and Ferb had to do with it, and how they arrived in the Prime Universe, where they fought Phineas and Ferb Prime. Below it the link to the FanFiction.net version.

Balance of Terror

If you like this story and wish to review it, please visit the FanFiction.net version, which has anonymous reviews enabled for the sake of those without FanFiction.net accounts. Tiberius64

Full-Text Story

Chapter 1: Foundation of the Empire

It was 3 years before the 104-day summer vacation we all knew in the Prime Universe. The year: 2008. The

Emperor Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Terran Empire)

place: earth, parallel universe. Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, as we all know, had a horrible childhood and decided to let himself be defined by that, thus becoming an evil scientist out to avenge himself on all who made his early life miserable. In this universe, however, he got smart early on how to successfully take over more than just the Tri-State Area; he intended the whole world as his goal of acquisition. Over a period of time, he began creating or acquiring nuclear weapons and building up a robotic army to prepare for world conquest.

In 2008, he let all Hell break loose from Professor Destructicon's secret base (after assassinating him) by sending nuclear missiles at major cities all over the world; New York, Moscow, London, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City, and many others had massive casualties within a matter of hours. The world economy was sent into frenzy while armies across the world armed and prepared for any assaults to come. It was at this armament that Doofenshmirtz sent out his legions upon legions of robots throughout the world.

Many countries fell quickly; the United States, its Allies, China, Israel, and some other Middle Eastern countries resisted valiantly, but in futility—after a year's-worth of fighting, and with all world icons of freedom in ruins, Doofenshmirtz established the United Earth Empire with himself as the ruler in 2009. Shortly before the empire's foundation, institutes of evil were promptly set up and children were taken by force from their parents to be indoctrinated in evil ways. They were placed in class by mental and physical aptitude; some of the more apt were able to escape and join military resistance groups. These small resistance efforts rarely attracted too much attention unless the rare occasion arose where severe damage was inflicted.

In 2010, satellites were able to pick up the signal from a few space exploration craft entering the solar system. First contact was made on April 5th with some adorable aliens that spoke with "meaps." When they were nearly killed and their ship nearly taken, they promptly left earth. Doofenshmirtz thereby commissioned experimentation of capabilities to break the speed of light barrier so that he might expand his iron fist's control to other worlds. It was at this moment that he also renamed the empire The Terran Empire, whose new goal was conquest of all other worlds possible.

Chapter 2: Thinking Back...

== The Year 2009… ==

With the news getting more and more horrific, Phineas and Ferb sat at the TV screen watching as the whole world seemed to collapse around them as resistance movements fell left and right. They sat on their room's bed; this wasn't their normal room—these were their quarters in the Doofenshimirtz Institute for Advancement of Humanity. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, who owned Doofenshmirtz Evil, Inc. only a year and a half prior, was the emperor. Under him, people like his brother Roger Doofenshmirtz were publicly tried and humiliated before being put into labor camps, all monuments of liberty throughout the world were destroyed, and everything was controlled by his bidding. Phineas was the first to reach for the remote, which he used to turn off the TV after seeing just too much doom and gloom. He closed his eyes, remembering what had happened two months ago…

== 2 Months Earlier… ==

A futile resistance by Phineas and Ferb...

Robots stormed the streets, brandishing blaster-loaded arms of steel and raw power. Candace had run away a week prior after stating that "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees! I'm gonna go be the difference and fight this new regime even if I must exhaust my last drop of strength!" As they stayed up in their room, Phineas and Ferb warily eyed the streets, seeing people being searched for unknown reasons. At that moment, they heard robotic Norm Guards smash down the front door, saying "Do not attempt to resist. Your children are now to be taught in the genius ways of His Majesty Heinz Doofenshmirtz." Linda tried her luck with a rolling pin while Lawrence tried his own physical strength, both in futility. They barged upstairs and were immediately shot at by two boys with homemade blasters. Linda screamed "Phineas! Ferb! Are you two alright?" Phineas yelled down at her, saying "yeah, mom! We're just holding them off right now!" They then both aimed their blasters out the window and started blasting at the robots that were about to barge into Isabella's house across the street. This attracted the attention of many others whose adaptive difficulty level was way over the amateurish abilities of Phineas and Ferb. Shots were volleyed at the window, which easily blew away the wall around it. One Norm robot switched his blaster arm to a tranquilizer dart shooter and hit the boys in their arms. Isabella, who was being dragged out of her own house, screamed in horror as she saw the unconscious bodies of Phineas and Ferb being carried outside.

== The Next Day… ==

Phineas woke up in a room of cells where he and many of his friends were being held; many were pulling on the bars and futilely trying to somehow escape; all were in tears of fear, anger, hatred, and confusion. He heard Isabella in the cell next to his own, crying her eyes dry. Phineas called to her "Isabella?" She stood up from her

A sorrowful kiss

corner and looked through the bars of the cell next to her. She walked up to them, as did Phineas. Sniffling, she asked "hey, Ph-Phineas? Come in closer…" He came in closer to have his head brought flush against the bars while Isabella locked lips with him for what seemed like eternity. "I love you!" she said. They both held each other in a tight embrace through the bars, crying deeply and passionately. Everyone in the room fell silent and watched in wide wonder. "I've always loved you, too, Isabella. Why did you never tell me before? Why barely now when we could be facing the…possibility of…never seeing each other again?" She simply answered "It's all I have to cling to. It took me a lot to say it for a few years, but I was brave enough to risk it just now." They both stayed there and kept each other company for another hour, when Norm robots came into the large cell-filled room and said "You, recently-recruited children, have been chosen to exhibit your skills by aptitude tests for ascertaining your abilities to service His Majesty Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Resistance of his rule is futile. Freedom is irrelevant. We shall now escort you to the Doofenshmirtz Coliseum to hear his speech and view his signing of the United Earth Empire Charter."

Phineas snapped out of it and let some tears fall from his eyes as he thought about what tomorrow was—Field Test Day. He had to prove himself and show what he had learned: Democracy, Republicanism, the notion of a free country and world, and Capitalism were all follies doomed to failure, as made apparent by the near economic collapse of America and other nations. This brutal training was to produce productive people for the betterment of society. Heinz Doofenshmirtz was a man to be pitied for his mistreatment in life, as well as one to be revered and hailed. Phineas—being one to think for himself on normal terms—was starting to doubt what he had known to be true and right. Was there any way to disprove what was being taught? Was the turmoil of the world before this truly the result of a lack of total unity in leadership and brutality in tactics? Phineas put his hand on his forehead, noting the scar over his left eye. He had gotten it while trying to physically resist some guard robots, one of which was able to slash at his face with a skin-searing set of claws with one of the digits hitting successfully.

Phineas saw the clock and saw that it was 7:00 PM—time to report to the Mess Hall for dinner, which would consist tonight of spaghetti, a bread roll, vegetables on the side, and a protein shake. He nudged Ferb, who had fallen asleep on the bed, waking him up. "Hey, Ferb, we've gotta go now." Ferb opened his eyes slowly and sorrowfully and got his shoes on. Phineas put his own shoes on and the two left their quarters, catching up with Isabella, whose quarters she shared with Adyson next door. In the hallway, Buford, Baljeet, Irving, and other members of the Fireside Girls caught up with them as they walked along, part of the lugubrious mood that had long enveloped the area of the Institute. When they arrived in the Mess Hall, the jingle "Doofenshmirtz Nightly Announcement" went off.

Chapter 3: The Results

Phineas felt somewhat confident that he had proven himself well in leadership. Ferb's neutral stare in the Prime Universe was replaced by a similar one of cold and clammy feelings in this parallel universe, but he felt good inside, as he had also demonstrated a good leadership through wordless action. Isabella had shown excellent aural sensitivity and communications abilities. Baljeet had really had his chance to shine here with his intellectual skills although he was scarred across the eye during an attempt to resist. Buford had shown his physical prowess, but during an attempt to escape, his left eye was severely gashed by a guard robot, rendering him in a painful and at first humiliating place where he now brandished an eye patch over where his left eye used to be before surgical removal of the infected and severely-damaged organ. Irving had proven to be good at his sciences on general terms. The Fireside Girls had all proven themselves as excellent in cooperation and teamwork, even if it meant great physical risks (as shown by the scars over Holly's and Milly's left eyes caused by survival training against wild animals).

The group of kids was placed among the elite "gifted" group, where they were all relieved to find each other safe and on the same level. Back in their quarters, Phineas, Ferb, and their friends had their TV's turn on automatically at 5:00 PM for an evening announcement by Emperor Doofenshmirtz. "Good afternoon, my subjects! As you all know, your children at my Doofenshmirtz Institutes for Advancement of Humanity were given diagnostic exams of aptitude before anything else. Well, I'm pleased to announce that after yesterday's Field Test day, they have turned out to be rather productive youth. In fact, I have now placed the following people on my list of the elite class: Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Baljeet Rai, Buford Van Stomm, and Irving [A/N: his last name hasn't been revealed yet! AGH!]. And in the area of great teamwork and cooperation, we have the Fireside Girls members from various former troops all over the world, it looks like. Anyways, it's dinner time, so get movin'!"

Phineas and Ferb had no sooner heard the full announcement when personal robotic escorts came to their quarters, saying "Greetings, you of the highest class. We are your personal bodyguards and will escort you wherever and whenever you need us to." Phineas beamed in the delusion that he was right in following the evil propaganda of Doofenshmirtz. Ferb himself began to feel the same. They both put their shoes on and went to the mess hall, where they were joined by the others of their high-ranking group of friends with their own bodyguards. On the way, Isabella whispered to Phineas "I knew we'd be fine. I guess we were just that blind to our own full potential in the first place. I'm proud of you especially." She kissed him on the cheek, giving him a newfound pride in himself and his accomplishments. He replied "Thank you, my love. I'm proud of you and all the others in our group, too." Isabella heard the way he now spoke with a new savvy and instantly fell in love with it. The group members, after a few seconds of letting the pride sink in, now grinned in satisfaction that their conformity had paid off so well. Their dinner consisted of something different than what everyone else was having—prime cut ribs, shrimp cocktails, and root beer floats. The special treatment was really getting to their heads…

Chapter 4: The Replacement

== One Year Later (2010)… ==

Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Irving, and the Fireside Girls were no longer the innocent children they used to be. They had the chance to resist, even if it meant their lives, but they instead had entirely conformed to the evil of Emperor Doofenshmirtz. Their attitudes of self-giving had become ones of self-seeking and pride. They had been exposed to brutality and obscenity of many kinds and were fully desensitized to it. All relationships between lovers had become ones of lust. Many "friends" could no longer be trusted for fear of them plunging a dagger into others' backs. The 10-year-old children of Phineas and Ferb's friend circle, as well as all children in the institutes, had become toughened-up and brutish in many ways.

By this time as well, being that Doofenshmirtz owned all the old satellites in space, there was unusual activity detected that involved deformations in space itself, as well as unusual and never-before-observed plasma anomalies near the same sites. And then, on April 5, 2010, at the Doofenshmirtz Palace, they came and made first contact…a group of adorable little white aliens with blue eyes and different colored ears. Exiting a small scout ship, they spoke in "meaps" until one with pink ears put on a translator mustache and spoke in perfect English. "Greetings, fellow citizens of the galaxy. We are here on a survey mission to seek out new worlds and explore space. Have you any interest in political friendship?" It was here that Emperor Doofenshmirtz stepped through a crowd of people and looked in awe. He was the first to speak, saying "Uh…sure. How about you follow me to my palace and we'll discuss this over a nice dinner?" The aliens acquiesced and went with him to the dining hall. Within two hours, a second news flash invaded everyone's television sets.

Phineas now shared quarters with Isabella and Ferb shared with Gretchen. In their own rooms, they heard the breaking news. "After a monumental first contact with extraterrestrial life, our Emperor, Heinz Doofenshmirtz, has attempted to take the newcomers' ship and technology by force. The aliens have retreated back into space, but His Majesty now wishes to make an announcement." Doofenshmirtz now showed on the screen, about to give a speech. "Dear world…hehehe, I love the way that sounds…there is nothing left to gain on this planet alone. We have now seen proof of life beyond this pitiful world with technology far surpassing our own. They may claim to be peaceful, but if they ever try to get wise, they could easily swat us from the skies above! I hereby declare that we bring this species into submission, as well as all others who are not of this planet! I hereby declare that this United Earth Empire is to grow to cosmic proportions at all costs! I've already seen which young individuals have shown the most aptitude and talent for servicing the empire, and I hereby declare that we start a NEW space age where we roam the stars and take all that we see with their help! I'll have all the legal paper stuff tomorrow, so get ready for glory! Long live the empire!" It was at this that a roaring flame of patriotism swept through the institutes and all people who were fiercely loyal to Doofenshmirtz throughout the world.

== 7:00 PM That Night… ==

Phineas and his friends of the elite were eating well as usual when Emperor Heinz Doofenshmirtz came in obviously pleased and excited. He shook their hands personally one by one and said "I'm glad I can have such young, apt individuals like you to carry out my will. Now…Phineas and Ferb, isn't it? Yes, I have seen your abilities for leadership and building the seemingly impossible. I hereby commission you to begin building a prototype faster-than-light starship so that we can test our abilities to match their technology. Congratulations, you two. As for the rest of you, you'll all be members of the future crew of that first starship. You're all about to be part of a bright and glorious future! Now eat up, my comrades!" As he left, the whole table was filled with smiles and feelings of pride.

== The Next Day… ==

As broadcasted throughout the world on TV, Emperor Doofenshmirtz signed the charter that made the United Earth Empire something that had never existed prior—a planetary empire. It was named The Terran Empire (from Latin terra, or "earth") and its insignia was made a black and yellow globe with a silver dagger running through it. In it was also funding set aside for the construction of warp-powered starships for exploration and conquest purposes. The Doofenshmirtz Shipyards were proposed in it to make it a reality. In a year, the empire would amass strength enough to hold possessions with an iron fist.

== June 14, 2010… ==

The Doofenshmirtz Shipyards were completed and dedicated at noon, the world watching in pride. After Doofenshmirtz gave a short speech, acknowledging the incredible contributions that Phineas, Ferb, and their friends were about to make, Phineas stepped up and gave his speech. "To the recently-established Terran Empire, I am very proud to take the credit for this, although the credit for where we are today is owed to His Majesty Heinz Doofenshmirtz. We before this have been only wading ankle-deep in the ocean of space. Now it's finally time to swim and acquire the pearls available for the taking in this vast ocean. We will amass a navy so strong that we'll be feared throughout the galaxy! Hail Doofenshmirtz! Long live the empire!" Amid the cheers, Phineas had the honor of cutting the ribbon while F-35 Joint Strike Fighters roared overhead at the raising of the empire's flag.

Chapter 5: Phineas' Phoenix

The ISS Phineas (Iso View)

== June 21, 2010… ==

The very first prototype Flynn-class starship, the ISS Phineas (registry #: PF-01) was complete and ready for a warp flight to the Kuiper Belt and back. The nacelles boasted a power never-before-witnessed—the ability to propel a large mass by using antimatter to bend space itself. This cold fusion-powered starship was to be a legend among other species as a small yet strong interceptor (although weapons had not yet been fitted). Only a week after the dedication of the Doofenshmirtz Shipyards was this wonder ready to be kicked from the nest.

Phineas walked onto the bridge arm-in-arm with Isabella while Ferb, Irving, Buford, and Baljeet followed behind and took their posts at their assigned desks. Isabella went over to her new Communications Console after kissing Phineas. Phineas sat down in his Captain's chair with a grin of savvy and pride, ready to give orders. From the engineering sector, Baljeet and Fireside Girls Milly, Katie, Ginger, Gretchen, Holly, and Adyson were to keep the bridge informed on the status of the warp core area and surrounding machinery. "Communications established, Phineas" said Isabella. "Call me…Captain" said Phineas. Isabella gave a coy grin and nodded. "Warp core stable, Captain" said Baljeet from the engineering sector. "All scanning equipment working, Captain" said Irving. "There obviously ain't no weapons, Captain, so…yeah…Buford's gonna just sit for this one" said Buford. "Ferb, how are helm controls?" asked Phineas. Ferb gave a thumbs-up and Phineas sat back in his chair. "Isabella, contact mission control and give them our ready signal." "Aye, sir." "You know what? You can just call me by whatever you want" he said as he winked at her coyly. She winked back and contacted mission control.

"This is Doofenshmirtz. You are cleared for launch. Make it good!" Phineas then gave the momentous order to Ferb at the helm. "Helm, take us up." With a few button presses, the aft impulse units burned to life and in a minute, the ship was rising into the sky. After a minute of hovering upward, Ferb took manual control and piloted the ship forward, soon turning the nose upward. In two minutes, the planet's atmosphere had been breached and the crew's sights gave way to the ocean of blackness and diamond-like stars as the sun rose behind them. "We are clear of the earth's atmosphere, sir" said Ferb. "Warp core is still stable, sir. Impulse power's normal. We may proceed with warp drive at your discretion" said Baljeet from engineering. "Then let's go for it. Helm, plot a course for Pluto at Warp 3." Ferb cautiously set the trajectory and then stopped the ship. With a slow push of the throttle lever, the viewer showed stars stretching, which soon gave way to stars zooming past.

Phineas gave a mile-wide smile at this incredible accomplishment that had never before been achievable my mankind. Ferb, Isabella, and the rest of the crew did the same. Phineas himself was almost in tears, as with Ferb. "Well, people…WE DID IT!" Phineas shouted. The whole crew whooped and cheered as Phineas broke out a bottle of champagne that he had secretly stored aboard the bridge. Everyone's cheers suddenly went quiet at the shock of the presence of alcohol. "Come on, guys. This is just a little…celebratory thing we're doing here! Eh?" None of the crew said anything and instead uneasily stood around. "Come on, we're tough! We can handle some mild drink here! Who's with me?" After a few seconds of silence, Isabella courageously walked forth and stood by his side. "I trust my boyfriend knows what he's doing here. Will all of you?" They all waited a while before joining in on the festivities.

After pouring some for all, Phineas offered a toast. "I offer a toast: The Undiscover'd Country…the future." Irving chimed in and said "Hamlet, Act III, Scene I." Buford quickly said "Nerd!" Before they all gave their glasses in a toast tap. After a while, Phineas realized that no one had watched the helm and that Pluto had long passed, he quickly said "Ferb! Get to the helm and drop us out of warp!" Ferb did, and the crew found themselves just outside of the Kuiper Belt, witnessing a sight that no man had seen before: the outermost part of the solar system. They all stood in wonder at the new sight motionless and speechless. It was after a few minutes that a beep came from the Communications Console. Isabella answered and put Emperor Doofenshmirtz on for the whole crew. "Hey, are you guys there? I'm kinda worried here about losing my best and brightest!" Phineas answered and said "Oh, yes, we're alive and well. In fact, we're just outside the solar system now. You've gotta see this. It's amazing!" "Yes, I'm sure it is, but you'd better get back here quickly so we can build more of these babies!"

Phineas sadly looked out of the viewscreen at the wonders to behold and responded "Yes, sir. We're on our way back now. Helm, set a course…for home." Back on earth awaited a celebration feast and commendation ceremony. This was not the beginning of just exploration—it was the groundwork for conquest.

Chapter 6: Ranking and Christening

"Welcome to all my loyal subjects present and thank you to all of mine who are watching this broadcast!" announced Emperor Doofenshmirtz from the Doofenshmirtz Coliseum, which had been stained with the blood of countless fights from aptitude tests. "After the full refit of our first legend, and after the results of the aptitude exams given to the crew of its maiden voyage, I am ready to rank that crew today. Phineas Flynn here, my most trusted subject, will have the honor of christening this ship from the warp core inside with this bottle of 2003 Vintage Dom Perignόn!" he said as he held the champagne bottle up for all to see. The soon-to-be officers stood in a line side-by-side and stared upward in pride.

Doofenshmirtz left the podium and rolled with him a case filled with uniforms and medals for the accomplished youth. Phineas was the first to receive his awards. "Phineas Flynn, by the power vested in me, I hereby commission you to the rank of General—in this case, you're the captain—whichever you prefer to go by." "General" said Phineas. "Ferb Fletcher, I hereby commission you to the rank of Commander to be his First Officer." Ferb nodded slowly. "To you, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, I place you at the same rank to be his Second Officer." "Thank you, sir." "Irving [A/N: His last name hasn't been revealed yet! AGH!], I place you at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Baljeet Rai, who just recently earned the title of doctor, I place you at Lieutenant Commander as well. Buford Van Stomm, for your physical aptitude comparable to few others, I place you as Major, meaning that you can lead your own ships, but you will still fall under Phineas' authority." "Yes sir." "And all of you, Milly, Holly, Katie, Adyson, Ginger, and Gretchen, members of the old Fireside Girls organization, I have you all down ranked merely at Ensign, but your jobs aboard a starship will be vital." They all bowed their heads in respect.

"Now that I'm done with that, let's hear it for our elite youth! Yes, I know, they're all a bit young to serve in the Imperial Navy, but they've proven themselves capable!" The crowd cheered. Back at the Flynn-Fletcher homestead, Linda and Lawrence held each other in sadness now that their children were so corrupted and on such a high level due to their extreme loyalty to this regime. They had occasionally heard from Candace, who had been joined by Stacy and, surprisingly, Django Brown, a good friend of Phineas and Ferb. Their resistance was slow in starting and amassing weapons, but their progress at obtaining enough to leave their mark was steady. Some Imperial weapons had been stolen, giving them a slight advantage.

The ISS Phineas christening

Back in the Coliseum, Doofenshmirtz continued. "And now, it's time to christen this symbol of power! General Flynn, crew of the Imperial Starship Phineas, you may now enter the craft and take this bottle of champagne with you to the warp core." Phineas took the bottle of champagne and had his crew follow behind him. They entered via transporter and had someone with a video camera follow them to the engineering sector where the warp core burned softly and quietly. On the large elevated screens, Phineas walked towards the warp core, raised the bottle slowly, yelled "Long live the Terran Empire!" and smashed it over the giant glowing tube made of transparent aluminum (another invention of Phineas and Ferb's). Most of the whole world cheered at this great symbol while resistance movements and other disloyal Terrans either cowered in fear or were enraged and incited to fight.

Chapter 7: A Deeper Intimacy

***[Degree of Reader Descretion Advised]***

== Sometime in 2011… ==

Mirror Universe Lovers...

Isabella was madly in love with Phineas. Phineas felt the same towards Isabella. They had revealed their feelings for each other in neighboring cells before they had been taken to the Institute against their wills. They had been boyfriend and girlfriend for a couple of years. The thing was, though, they wished they could have a more intimate connection with each other since they were far too young to get married. While sitting in their room, Phineas lay on his own bed with Isabella in his arms, both awake despite the lateness of the night. By this time, the Imperial Navy had been established and had already lay siege to various worlds. The Thoroni, Soruna, and V'malnons had fallen to the empire entirely, and Phineas had been promoted to Fleet Admiral while maintaining his rank as "General" and his command of the ISS Phineas. Isabella was proud to call him her boyfriend and Phineas was proud to call Isabella his girlfriend.

It was about 1:00 AM when Phineas just started kissing Isabella for no real reason, to which she gladly consented. Just as it was about to get passionate, Phineas stopped himself, prompting Isabella to ask "what's wrong, Phineas?" "Oh…well, um…sigh…I think I was just going too far there. I mean, come on, we're not even married! Our parents never did this before their marriage…and we can't just get married because we're so young…" "I know…hey, how about we ask the Emperor about it tomorrow? I'm sure he could offer advice." "Sure. Let's get some sleep…good night…my love." Isabella smiled at him returning to his savvy and said "I love you, too, Phineas." However, Phineas could not resist stroking her over her back that whole night, which she didn't mind, however.

== The Next Day… ==

The two walked into Emperor Doofenshmirtz's office, where he was reading through reports on his world and space militaries. He put down his papers and greeted the two warmly, saying "Ah, welcome, my trusted subjects! What can I do for you?" Phineas and Isabella smiled, looked at each other, and then bowed lightly before Phineas spoke. "Your honor, there's…something that's been bothering us two. You know how we're both in a relationship together…?" "Yes. What do you need?" "Well, uh…we love each other more than we love our own selves, but we're too young to get married and we want your advice." Doofenshmirtz thought briefly and just asked "so basically, you wish you two could be more…lovey-dovey together? You can be! You love each other, no? Do what feels good! The Greek Hedonists were genius in their ideas of the pursuit of comfort!" "Yeah, but…it just doesn't feel…proper…to be physically intimate when we're only 11 and not married…" Emperor Doofenshmirtz signed and said "look here, you two. In my empire, anything behind closed doors—as long as it's not conspiracy against me—is fine with me. But if you want it to feel more 'proper', then I may have an idea for you."

Doofenshmirtz got up and looked out his window, continuing to speak. "I could write a legal paper for you two saying that you two are meant to be married in the future but are too young now. It will put you on a near-married status, however, so you two, by all considerations of law, are an official couple. I call it a 'Document of Legal Partnership', which I have given in similar cases to young couples, like you, that has the two entitled to most benefits of marriage. It's a little service I supply to those who just can't wait." Phineas and Isabella thought for a while before Phineas asked Isabella "Isabella, if we were adults would you marry me right here and now?" "Oh, Phineas, you know I would" she said slightly seductively. Phineas turned a bit red before saying "I would too…I mean, uh, marry you, too." She giggled before kissing him on the cheek. Doofenshmirtz just watched, saying "awkward…anyways, I guess I could write one for you two." They both yelled simultaneously "YES!"

"Wow. You two are like insanely in love here. Anyways, hold on one sec…NORM!" A bunch of Norm robot guards came in saying "can I help you?" "Ugh, I keep forgetting…Norm Prime!" All of them left except for the original prototype of Norm [A/N: Doof in this universe built Norm a few years earlier than he did in the Prime Universe]. "How may I help you, sir?" "Could you print out a Document of Legal Partnership?" "Yes, sir, right on it!" Norm automatically printed one out, on which Phineas and Isabella signed their names in the provided blanks stating the consenting partners. Phineas signed the surname "Flynn" for Isabella in the surname change blank and Doofenshmirtz gave his signature at the bottom. "By the power vested in me…blah, blah, blah…you two are on a near-married status. Now go fly her out to the stars at warp speed for all I care. I trust that since you two are among my elite, you two will make your own sound judgments."

Phineas and Isabella almost laughed at the second-to-last comment despite feeling uneasy about going about it that way. "Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything. Long live the empire!" Phineas and Isabella raised their right arms forward in a salute to which Doofenshmirtz replied with the same gesture and a face of pride. The two left holding hands and walked back to their quarters together. When they arrived, Phineas went over the military reports himself for a few hours before nearly collapsing on his bed in exhaustion from a lack of sleep from the night before. It was only mid-afternoon at that point, but both felt the need to rest. Isabella, after an hour of her napping on her own bed, quietly got up and approached the sleeping Phineas' bed and quietly climbed over him before waking him with a deep and passionate kiss that startled the living daylights out of him. After she pulled away, he asked "what are you…doing…?" "We're on a near-married status, remember? Besides, we're behind closed doors where no one can see anything!"

Phineas grinned and flipped Isabella over so that he was on top of her now. He started kissing her passionately now, a little longer than what she had done to him. Activity such as this—and much farther and more of it—was to become a frequent thing for the two. Love had turned to lust. Their beautiful emotions of love had given way to the ugly lust in human nature. The two had lost their ability to think straight entirely at this point except in preventing unwanted "complications" as a result of their recklessness and vanity. This had become a norm in daily global life, anyways, so this was not in any way uncommon.

Chapter 8: A Thorn in Their Side

The Empire had grown on large scales; not only had it conquered entire races, but it had forced them to serve in the Imperial Navy. The Thoroni, Soruna, V'malnons, T'larans, I'lin, and a dozen or so others had fallen under Emperor Doofenshmirtz's iron fist. The only race contacted that had not yet succumbed was Meap's kind, known as "Species 1" by the Terran Empire. With a massive fleet of their own, they were formidable in battle to an extent never before known. They had even somehow secretly given some aid to earth resistance movements and developed a common insignia to all who opposed the empire. The ISS Phineas had become the flagship of the empire although bigger ships existed. Phineas and his friends had avoided assassination attempts by fellow graduates of the Institute on a few occasions due to the fact that all officers, cadets, or trainees carried daggers and disruptor pistols with them. However, only Phineas had the honor of being able to carry the recently-created lightsaber on him. Besides, many of the greatest weapons had been created by Phineas and Ferb themselves, so they had immediate access to them.

[First part of this paragraph censored for T-rated content; read FanFiction.net version for full content] It was at this moment that an alert sounded from his computer. He went over to his desk quickly and opened up an audio message from Emperor Doofenshmirtz. "Hey, Phineas, sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but I need you and your crew to report to the Mission Briefing Room in half an hour. We've got ourselves another problem with Species 1, and we need to get closer to breaking their resolve as soon as possible!"

The message ended and Isabella said "well, we'd better get down there now. Let's get ready!" Phineas and Isabella gave each other one more kiss before donning their uniforms and rushing out the door to their personal hovercraft. They flew to the Doofenshmirtz Palace and entered through the maximum security doors into the

Meap (Anti-Terran Empire Resistance)

Mission Briefing Room, where everyone else had been for some time already. "Sorry for being late, sir. We were, uh…busy." Doofenshmirtz and everyone else just looked awkwardly as they all knew what this probably meant. "Anyway…here's our problem. The ISS Dauntless and ISS Ares were out on their usual reconnaissance missions when they detected a fleet with numbers comparable to our own. From transmissions they intercepted while cloaked, they found that this was preparation for an attack on earth for some time in the near future. These were members of Species 1, to remind you all. This would be no huge issue if the Dauntless and the Ares hadn't been hit with a gravity mine that they had cloaked in the area; the two were able to warp away and are on their way here now, but so is the enemy with a smaller fleet. I need you personally, Phineas, to lead our own forces out to their border and annihilate them immediately before they can get us back! The little pink one we call 'Meap' is leading this himself. He is their Fleet Admiral, so if we can also remove him from this picture, we can get closer to conquering Species 1!"

"How much of the fleet will I need?" asked General Flynn. "Oh, given their stubbornness, I'd say about two-thirds this time." Phineas bowed his head lightly and said "Yes, sir. Is there anything more?" "Hmm…no, not really. I trust that you as my most trusted officer will know what to do and how to fight these little vermin, right?" Phineas gave a cold, hard, and confident face and a light head bow while saying "yes, my lord." "Good. Now off with you all. I've got some issues here on the planet with our pesky little resistance movements. May the stars shine down on you." Phineas saluted and said "the same to you, sir. Long live the Terran Empire!" Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Irving all saluted and said the same before following behind Phineas. They all walked to the shuttlecraft at the shipyards and took off upwards, with Phineas and Isabella in the Captain's Yacht. Once inside the Phineas, the crew disembarked and headed to their stations. The Fireside Girls Engineering/Medical Team was already present, as the girls had been fixing and maintaining the ship for the past few weeks. Once on the bridge and at their stations, the bridge crew did launch checks from the dry-dock (there was no space dock yet) before Phineas said "Isabella, put me on to the crew." "Aye, sir, you're on." "To the members of the Starship Phineas, here's our mission breakdown. We're going into battle against a large fleet from Species 1. Emperor Doofenshmirtz has already called the rest of the fleet, and we should leave in one hour. Be prepared for a shakeup down there, because this is going to be a glorious battle! Long live the empire!" In an hour, the fleet was gathered and en route to the border of Species 1's space.

Chapter 9: The Temporal Disruption

Meap's fleet had dropped out of warp and prepared itself for the battle when it had scanned the Terran fleet on its way. The ISS Dauntless and ISS Ares had already been contacted and told to stop at the appointed place of battle, which they did, cloaking immediately. In two hours, the Terran Empire Naval Fleet had dropped out of warp and had made visual contact with Species 1's fleet. From the ISS Phineas, General Phineas Flynn hailed the fleet. "This is General, or for now, Captain Phineas Flynn of the Terran Empire, representing the United Earth. I'm giving you one chance to withdraw or surrender to escape destruction. If not, we will fight until you flee or perish." Meap's fleet responded by sending out small attack fighters, to which Phineas sent out the empire's own set. After a few minutes of that, and seeing that Species 1 would not give up, Phineas said "Avenger, Bludgeon, Agamemnon, Perseus, and Sitting Bull, you take the side and flanks of the fleet. The rest of you, come with the Phineas and let's take these vermin head-on!"

The strategy was ineffective. Phineas then said to his surviving majority "back off from their more advanced ships. Focus on their smaller, weaker, or older ships first. I say again, ignore the bigger vessels entirely!" The fleet obeyed and was beginning to gain the upper hand. Just then, Meap ordered his fleet to retreat for a temporary respite; his ships began to fly away at full impulse, the Terran Empire fleet following behind. Just then, a distant blue glow began to form into a stable-looking portal—it was a temporal disturbance, as Irving's computer console indicated by its gravimetric readings. Meap ordered his ships to splinter off around it, which they did, leaving the Terran Empire fleet heading towards it. Phineas, in his curiosity, said "attention, fleet, we're entering this disruption to ascertain what lies within. It looks relatively stable and harmless. Yes, I know this is a slight deviation, but let's just briefly check it out." Major Buford Van Stomm protested, saying "Captain…!" "Don't call me Captain! Only I can do that when I see it as necessary! What do you need?" "This is an unwarranted gamble on our own security!"

Phineas pulled out his disruptor pistol and said "do you want time in the agony chamber? I can tell Baljeet to fire it up for you…" Buford looked ashamedly downward and said "no, sir. Let's continue." "That's what I thought. Now, fleet, let's enter this thing. Who knows what we might find on the other side of this portal? We could find another universe or dimension! We could find more territory to conquer! We could…ah, whatever, you get it. Let's enter. Phineas out." The fleet obeyed and entered the temporal disruption slowly and with caution, all of them ending up on the other side in two minutes. What they found there was nothing super special; all they saw was a small group of starships almost identically resembling those of Meap's fleet from the other side. They were in a parallel universe!

"Phineas, they're hailing us" said Isabella. "Make no reply. Let them eat static." "Aye, sir" she replied. Phineas, after a minute of waiting and thinking, said "attack them. Get them out of our way. This may be a different universe, but it's still the same Species 1! Contact the fleet and tell them the same." Immediately after the ships were contacted, they all accelerated to attack speed and fired on the unprepared vessels. After destroying a few, the Meap had his fleet back off. "Well, these guys are of no major concern yet. Helm?" "Yes, sir?" replied Ferb. "Take us on a course for earth. I wanna see how it is in this universe. Maybe we'll even meet our own selves…" Meap Prime, currently in the USS Phineas, warped towards earth at maximum speed to warn Phineas and Ferb Prime and return the USS Phineas to them after 4 years of usage. The ISS Phineas and the rest of the Terran Empire fleet then changed its trajectory towards the Terran Solar System and warped towards earth, taking its time to get there…

Allusions

• The idea of a parallel universe where earth is the Terran Empire (Star Trek [Original Series], Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Enterprise)
• The lines "Freedom is irrelevant" and "Resistance is Futile" (Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II, Star Trek: The Next Generation in general, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager)
• The idea of April 5 being the date of first contact with an alien species (Star Trek: First Contact)
• The title of Chapter 5: Phineas' Phoenix (after Zefram Cochrane's Phoenix, which is mankind's first warp-powered test craft flown on April 5, 2063 - Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Enterprise)
• A toast to "The Undiscover'd Country", or the future and the reference to Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
• The usage of Vintage Dom Perignόn for a ship christening (Star Trek: Generations)
• Norm guard robots (Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension)
• Battle strategies similar to those of The Dominion War (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
• The idea of a stable temporal disruption (Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Yesterday's Enterprise)

Author's Comments

• "I had a bit of alcoholism mentioned to show how Phineas and his friends in this universe slowly but surely slipped into immoralities of all sorts under these environmental conditions by their own decisions. They didn't binge or anything, but I had to show how Phineas began to compromise his values little by little in what seemed relatively harmless actions and celebration."
• "Well, this one was a real tricky one to put together at certain points due to the fact that the farthest I go is PG-13 on ANY story. After all, I am a Christian, so I acknowledge adult themes and only prefer to lightly touch on them in any story I write so as not to seem that I endorse immorality. Since the age where most youth start experimenting is between 11 and 13, I felt that in a society like this one with little to no moral conscience, it would be commonplace. Besides, Emperor Doofenshmirtz himself said that he has no problem with what occurs behind closed doors unless it involves conspiracy against him."
• "When writing the 7th chapter (in order to explain why Isabella's last name is Flynn in her Terran Empire Universe Picture), I had to be very painfully careful with how much I could describe in order to imply that Phineas and Isabella were intimate at their young age. I could not even say the s-word once, or I'd be saying too much for younger readers who visit the Phineas and Ferb Fanon Wiki site. I might've pushed my conscience a bit when writing this chapter, but, as with the Star Trek: Enterprise episode In a Mirror, Darkly (Parts I and II), in order to accurately portray the environment of self-seeking, I felt that I had to at least lightly touch on it to show how morally-bankrupt they all were."
• "I don't know if any of my readers caught it, but I gave Phineas of this universe a slight foot fetish element (only mentioned in the FanFiction.net version), like he had in the Prime Universe in If Summer Only Lasted One Day. Since my stories revolve around character development, I couldn't keep Phineas a sterile stereotype of any kind; to make him more...human, I included what some consider an oddity in his personality, since we're all at least a bit odd or strange in some way--although I personally don't consider a foot fetish weird. People just see it as weird because of how popular culture unfairly depicts people like that as weirdos who can't control themselves. In reality, it's more of a side characteristic most of the time. Besides, in a parallel universe where characters have developed differently, I was more free to go my way with characterizing all Terran Empire Universe characters."
• "There was something more to Emperor Doofenshmirtz's ideology that I never really mentioned that I had featured: the idea that people can be considered 'mature enough' or 'old enough' to engage in serious activities based on age/maturity levels. This is outright wrong; there are some things that have a distinct place and time for people of an exact status. I had to think in terms of the lies of the world and this flesh to give Doof that mentality; he says that he trusts that Phineas and Isabella have enough discernment and maturity to behave responsibly when going about certain activities. This kind of mentality severely frustrates me, but being a teenager in high school, I was perfectly able to know how that kind of mindset goes on so ingorantly and immorally. As my youth pastor put it best, 'it's not for people who think they're ready. It's not for people who are mature. It's for a married couple, no exceptions.' Amen to that!"