Phineas and Ferb

Cam woke on the bathroom floor his muscles feeling stiff, but other than that nothing else hurt including his stomach. It growled noisily, but the dry heaves were gone. Happily he noted the itch was back. He never thought he'd celebrate that feeling, but here he was rejoicing at the ache.

He got up stiffly not even bothering to change out of the clothes he'd fallen asleep in last night. His mouth was cottony and tasted like day old rat shit, so he took a second to wash it out with mouthwash and as he looked in the mirror he saw his hair was matted to his forehead on one side and he still had the lines of the outline of the tiles across his face like a checker board. If anyone saw him on the way to the beach this morning they would probably call the cops thinking there's a vagrant loose on their posh little street, but there was no time to deal with it, if he wanted to get into the water while the itch was still present. He'd better do it now.

He exited the bathroom and grabbing his backpack, slung it over his aching back while he opened and closed the door silently. He made his way to the beach covering the distance with sure easy strides. Why not? Determination was the name of the game now. All he had between him and rejection was his determination.

He made it to the shore, quickly undressed and wrapped the skin around his waist. Once he dove in he went right for the breakwater and never looked back. Confidence and determination where going to be his new mantra. From now on no more whiny bitch; or oh woe is me why is this happening to me, shit? It was solutions or nothing.

He swam for an hour and then excited the water in the cold February chill, dressed quickly and strode home. After a killer breakfast he showered and helped his mom get the girls ready for school. He brewed his second pot of coffee while waiting for Meg and sucked back his sixth cup. He was getting the jitters, but who cares. The java juice gave him confidence and he told himself again confidence and determination is what life's all about now.

Megan pulled into the driveway and he was already suited and booted and ready for a kick ass day. No more moaning about his circumstances! He was going to own this life!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After school, Cam reflected on his crazy day while he set up his equipment in the lab.

The news of the forced conscription spread like wildfire and it was all the Enlightened could talk about. The cafeteria was abuzz with the loud whispers of the magical students. No one was even bothering to cast privacy spells and the teachers had to wipe more than a few Unenlightened because of it. Magical classes that afternoon were awash. Nobody was paying attention and there was more than a little dissention among the ranks.

The teachers couldn't talk about it because of the gag order and yet it was all the kids could talk about. The kids were more than pissed at the teachers for not having their backs and he saw the evidence of that in training after school. Whenever a teacher was paired up with a student to demonstrate a martial art move the kids took out their frustration on them. Kelly had even managed to get the better of Murakami, her Kitsune trainer, and had driven her into the mat so hard they could clearly hear a few bones break. That was the very first time they ever saw a teacher require the god awful troll bile. The teachers wised up after that though, and only matched up students with students. After school Meg had her swim class so he'd kissed her goodbye and took the bus home. He had work to do, and nothing was getting in the way of that, not anymore.

And now here he was standing in front of an over flowing table. Every piece of equipment he owned was on display. He had stopped at the pet store and had purchased live crickets and as an afterthought mice. He knew Meg's views on animal cruelty, and he didn't want to hurt the little buggers either, but this was it. No more pussyfooting around! He was sure if she had to decide between him and a few mice she'd prefer him, at least that's what he told himself after placing them in their cage. When he dropped them in one sat up on its hind legs and cupped its little hands out looking like he was begging for a treat and Cameron coldly looked away. He could not afford to get attached.

The alchemical formula for the glamour potion was found in an ancient Magi's diary. The Magi where an ancient order of magical Zoroastor Priests that lived in ancient Persia well before the Hellenistic period in 323 BC. It had only taken a few minutes to translate from its ancient text to English, and he was certain this time of its translation, because Clio had explained that she had spent most of her time in ancient Persia or what we call modern day Iran and this text was like a second tongue to her. Cameron hoped so because he was grasping at straws here and this was his last one.

He started the procedure: and followed the instructions to the letter. It was 10pm before the potion had the right consistency and color. He turned the spigot on the cask and the brew poured out into the beaker he held in his hand. He jostled the container, until the liquid sloshed around inside. His heart started racing when it kept the same hue and consistence as before. That was a very good sign that he had constructed it properly, but he was floundering around in the dark here. He was trying to modify it to fit his needs and by combining both the glamour and duplication spell he thought he might be on to something. He'd cleverly thought of that while swimming today, but before he congratulated himself on a job well done, he still needed to test it.

He used a pair of long tweezers to grab a live cricket from its enclosure and taking a dropper full of the blue liquid he put a drop in the cricket's mouth. He set the cricket aside in an isolation enclosure to wait for the results or lack thereof. As he watched closely he took out his grimoire to take meticulous notes. He watched for an half an hour and still nothing happened.

He had to theorize that the cricket's physiology was too different for the formula to work. So with a heavy heart he gently removed one of the three mice from its cage. Its beady black eyes stared at its captor and its whiskers twitched nervously. Cam didn't want to do this but he had to. He reminded himself confidence and determination, right? No more whiny little bitch, remember?

He took the dropper again, but this time he gave him not only just a drop but the entire dose and placed him in a separate enclosure. Cam sat back to wait, but again nothing happened and this time he'd waited an entire hour. The mouse looked fine the cricket looked fine. What had he done wrong? Then it hit him. He needed the magical catalyst. He needed his skin. He fished it out of his backpack and placed it first on the cricket. Nothing happened. Again he theorized different physiology. So he wasn't too disappointed.

Then he placed it on the mouse. It happened then a blue aura shone from the mouse's white fur and tiny little pink sparks shut out from its body. They looked like tiny little sparklers going off around it. And Cam's heart started racing in his chest. This was it. This could be the solution he'd been looking for. The mouse started taking on another shape and changing into something. His fur was becoming dappled and grey instead of white his body was elongating his two legs in the back started fusing together and becoming a tail, but then the tiny little form started twitching and then convulsing violently, before he keeled over dead mid change.

Cam wanted to cry, whiny bitch or no whiny bitch, he wanted to cry. And he was about to when the cricket promptly exploded in it enclosure. Nope this formula was defiantly not ready for human trials. With a deep sigh he started cleaning up the lab. He'd have to try again tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that, he had no other choice. It was find a solution or die trying. Literally.

It was 1am before he went for his swim and 2:30 before he crashed for the night, but there were no bad dreams to chase him through his slumber, because sometime you're just too tired to dream.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day had been the longest he'd ever had. It was a struggle to stay awake in all his classes. Training after school was brutal. He'd not fought back during his sparing session with a fourth year Fury just so that he could get the extra mat time. When he'd fallen asleep on the mat while waiting for the incredibly terrible troll bile, Conte had reprimanded him and ordered him to get some sleep; he mistakenly accused him off partying all night. He wished! Nope he was in for another night of zero sleep tonight. Meg had swim after school again today and he couldn't wait to get back home and start in on the concoction again. Maybe he could have it successfully brewed by the time he had to have his nightly swim. Or better yet maybe he'd get home and his Dad would be there with the solution and he could crash until next week.

Cam fell asleep on the bus and nearly missed his stop. When he got home he called out to his dad, but no one answered. His mom wouldn't be home for another hour and the girls were all in after school care. He had the house to himself. Cam went straight for the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove and lit the gas burner, and went downstairs to set up the lab while he waited for it to boil.

He opened his lab door and walked over to his table where the mice and crickets waited for him. Attached to the glass cage was a note from his mom. It read:

Honey,

Abby and Hannah snuck down to your lab this morning before I went to work and discovered the mice. I hope you don't need to dissect them in school or anything, because the girls have already named them Phineas and Ferb.

Sorry Love.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mom

Ah shit that's all he needed. What was he going to do now?! He needed to talk to his Dad about a lock for the lab door and he needed to go and get some more mice.

He looked at the mouse that had begged yesterday and said, 'Guess what? You've had a stay of execution. The governor has decided you're both going to live."

He took the cage upstairs with him when the kettle boiled, he thought ruefully: Looks like the family has two new members.

He said out loud, "Welcome to your new home guys." As he placed them on the coffee table in the adjoining open concept living room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cam decided not to get more mice until he could install the lock on the lab. He knew his sisters were incorrigible snoops and they would just keep finding them and naming them, and unless he waited they would end up with a whole circus act full of mice. Probably one for each sister.

So he took the noisy kettle off the stove and did something completely out of the ordinary. He deliberately decided to catch up on some sleep. If he couldn't stop the rejection tonight he might as well try to forestall the symptoms by getting some much needed rest. And even though Cam felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

He slept right through his alarm and straight 'til morning no 'second star on the right' in sight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

His father woke him from a deep slumber the next day. When he opened his bleary eyes he thought he was still dreaming, but when his father laughed at him for burrowing back under the covers he knew he was really there, he excitedly sat straight up with a huge grin on his face.

"DAD! he cried.

Cam was so relieved to see him that he'd hugged him fiercely. His father chuckled and hugged him back.

"It's time for our swim son." His father pulled away and started for the door.

"Wait did you find it!?" Cam asked eagerly, and was crestfallen when he saw his father's shoulders fall forward in defeat.

His deep sigh before turning around was the nail in the coffin of all Cam's hopes.

"I'm sorry Cameron, The Sea Witch wasn't at her home in the Welsh Sea I looked everywhere for her and asked everyone who might know where she was. But nobody knows where she's gone."

His father looked crushed and downright heartbroken, when he said "I'm sorry, Cameron, I failed you."

"It's all right Dad we'll think of something, besides I feel great maybe the Jengu was wrong."

Cam didn't know why he was lying to his father, perhaps it was because he sensed that the Sea Witch had been his father's only hope, and he knew it was going to be left up to him to find the solution. He was a fifteen year old selkie/alchemist with a death wish, if he was thinking on taking the concoction that he'd brewed the other day.

But it was death wish or death sentence.

Before they could both leave his room Cam blurted out, "Dad, I need to talk to you about installing a lock on the lab door." 

****************** THANKS FOR READING********************

I hope you all liked this chapter-- How do you think Cam's going to find a solution for his problem if he's ancient dad couldn't even do it?

Don't you just love Phineas and Ferb?

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