I'm sorry to say, but this may be the last chapter I'm releasing. Someone has already volunteered to finish this so you should still get updates, but chapters will only be looked over by me now.

Chapter 12: A Frozen Reality

Isabella was convinced. Somehow, someway, those sweet-scented field of red plants had affected Phineas's brain, which had to be the cause of his spontaneous rudeness. After knowing how thoughtful and kind he was for nearly a decade, she simply couldn't believe that he would act so rudely without a definite reason.

She kept her distance from him for the remainder of the day, cautiously observing to see if he would exhibit any other strange behavior. But Phineas only strolled on silently, traveling remarkably fast for his wounded side. She kept trying to check his wound for infection or strain, but he consistently blew her off, telling her she didn't know what she was doing.

Despite his grumbling, she made him stop early on to slip on her air-dried sundress and off her gear, as the heavy coat and snow pants were uncomfortably warm and because she felt very strange holding her clothing rather than wearing it. But as they trekked further into the canyon and the mountains surrounding them began to shrink, she had to don her gear once more because the river and its warm temperature were slowly disappearing back into cracks in the ground.

In fact, it was getting too cold. If they went much further, it would probably become as frigid as it had during that first day. It was past their usual dinner time—Isabella had been too timid to ask Phineas to stop—and even though they were going downhill, she was still becoming exhausted. They needed to stop, for Phineas and his healing stomach even more than her, even though he seemed to have an endless supply of energy. Isabella braced herself; even though she believed that Phineas wasn't in control of his behavior, she could still feel her dominant side prickling with agitation at his previous remarks.

"Um, Phineas?" He took no notice but perhaps sped up slightly, jumping a small crack with ease without the thought to help her across. She gulped and jumped it as well, feeling a small amount of her seismophobia resurfacing, then ran up to walk beside him.

"Phineas?" she repeated more promptly, grabbing his forearm to get his attention.

"What?" he demanded, halting and facing her. His eyes found hers, but instead of the glimmer she always saw, there was nothing.

"This looks like a good place to stop, doesn't it?" she said lightly, gesturing around the area. She needed to play this safely to avoid aggravating him. "There's still a little hot water left for heat and the white plants—"

"Are you stupid?" he interjected, "This place is terrible. Didn't that Fireside thing teach you anything about survival?" And with that, he ripped his arm from her grasp and continued on.

Isabella had expected it, but it still hurt. He was making fun of her Fireside girls troop? Her eyes tightened, but she ran ahead to try once more.

"Phin, we can go a little farther, but if we don't stop soon it'll be too cold to sleep—"

"What did you just say?" he interrupted, rounding on her once again.

Isabella took a step back, startled. "We can hike a bit further?" she repeated, bewildered.

"No. Before that."

" … When I said your name? Phin?"

"Why are you calling me Phin?" he accused, taking a step towards her. "What is that, some type of fungus?"

That struck a chord. "I don't understand… " Isabella replied, confused, "It's my special nickname for you. I call you Phin and you call me Izzy." They had created them when Isabella had asked him to preference the previous year, and they were very memorable to her. Aside from Buford, none of her other friends gave each other nicknames, which gave her reason to believe they were more than just good friends. So why was he acting like he couldn't remember it?

"Izzy? I've been calling you Izzy?" She nodded slowly, feeling uneasy. What was he talking about?

Phineas made a face as though he was gagging. "Do me a favor and never call me that again. Ever."

It was a blow to her stomach. Even from something as simple as a nickname. Isabella looked up desperately at him, hoping it was a joke, as he stepped right up to her.

"But you know me, I'm a fair guy," he whispered into her ear, strangely making her stiffen. His voice had changed, and now sounded almost sinister. "In return, I won't call you Izzy either. What an awful name…" And with that, he slunk away to look at their surroundings.

"No," she muttered, horrified. Pouring salt on the wound, that's what he was doing. She adored his nickname for her, why was he doing this? Was he actually enjoying her displeasure?

Phineas had found a flat place devoid of the ever-increasing snow to make camp. It was the same place Isabella had suggested before. "We're stopping here tonight. Stop crying and make yourself useful."

"Wha- I'm not crying!" Isabella could feel the flame of annoyance reigniting in her chest, even as she tried to tell herself to calm down.

Phineas snorted. "Well you're acting like it."

Isabella couldn't help herself. "You just told me this place was horrendous. Now you're following my advice?" All he did was chuckle.

"Phineas, are you trying to make me angry? Because I can assure you, you're succeeding with flying colors."

He only grinned, pulling a protein bar out of his backpack and unwrapping it.

Isabella could feel her face turning red. Not from embarrassment or blushing, as it did in any other case, but in ire. Sure, maybe the red grass was the onset of his asperity, but she didn't care anymore. Placing her hands on her hips, she marched straight up to Phineas to give him a piece of her mind.

"I know I wasted time taking a bath and I'm still sorry, but do you realize that you've been treating me like crap all day?" she demanded. "I've been trying to be patient with you this entire time, because maybe, just maybe the red plants you discovered without me messed with your brain, but I've about had it!"

Phineas blinked at her lazily. "Yeah. Like I care."

Isabella was vexed. "Did you even listen to me?" she seethed, "Or are you just ignoring me again? You seem to be getting pretty good at that!"

"Yeah, I listened. Sounds like you're getting some hallucinations yourself. Those red plants did not mess with my brain, where on earth did you get that idea from? I think with my level of expertise that I'd know if the plants were harmful or not. Did you really think I didn't stop and test their aroma first?"

He was just lying. Of course it was the red grass, what else could have made him act like this? He had no way of testing the aroma, either. Still, if he didn't want to believe it, then she would play along.

"Well if that's not the reason you're being such a jerk, then what is?"

Phineas was more focused on chewing his dinner than listening to her. "Could you stop eating for one second?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice in control. In response, he turned to her, pulled down the protein bar's wrapper, and took an enormous bite.

Isabella lost it. She took a step forward and swiped the remains of the protein bar that were apparently more important than her out of his hand, then darted back, holding it behind her back.

"Give that back." Phineas stared lethally into Isabella's equally angry expression. Now she had his undivided attention.

"Not until you give me an explanation."

"I'm giving you one more chance. I said, give—that—back." Isabella stood her ground defiantly.

Phineas slowly stood up, his eyes trained on her. "Alright, girly, if that's what you want." He began advancing on her, letting his coat slip off and revealing his bandage and arms, and—was he flexing?

"You asked for an explanation, and you're gonna get it. Did you think for one second that maybe I'd be getting tired of this by now? That every waking moment of this trip, you'd be whining and complaining about everything? After all the things I do for you?" His voice began to rise in volume, and his piercing glare made Isabella feel like she couldn't turn away. He was freaking her out.

"I've been playing nice this entire time, comforting you, eating less than you, carrying the heavier load, but it is never enough for you! The only reason you've survived at all out here is because I've saved your stupid life over and over again, and what do I get in return?" He began to speak in a high-pitched howling voice meant to mock her, stepping still closer toward her. "Oh Phin, stop going so fast! Oh Phin, stop ignoring me and listen to my life problems! Oh Phin, you can't even eat your dinner anymore!"

"Phineas, stop ye-"

"SHUT UP!" He was now shouting into her face, having forced her to back away into a mountain wall in trepidation. "You aren't grateful for a single thing I've done! You don't deserve to be here, you don't deserve me, you deserve to be taken away in those snowmobiles or left to fend for yourself! So don't you go nagging me about how you've had it, you ignorant little BRAT, because I'm the one who's had it!"

Isabella was pressed up against the wall, tears streaming down her red face as Phineas stared her down only inches from her face. He was breathing hard, his fists curled tightly as if ready to strike her. She shrank down to the ground, her mouth in a paralyzed 'o' from being attacked by her best friend.

"...What happened to you?" she whimpered.

And then he smirked at her, triumphantly. Phineas had somehow begun to enjoy hurting her feelings, and her expression of fear was some sort of accomplishment for him. She was too astounded to make sense of anything else, shaking so violently that it took several seconds to notice the earthquake.

This was no normal earthquake. The ground jerked harshly to the right and then the left, letting out an earsplitting groan, and cracks began to appear in the stone floor. All of Isabella's fear of Phineas was replaced by absolute horror as she was knocked to the ground from another jerk. She screamed out Phineas's name for help, as he now understood how she felt about these. She knew he would come to protect her, to comfort her. But he never did. Isabella whimpered his name again between her hyperventilating and crying, but he had abandoned her. The noises grew worse and the shaking increased until large rocks began to tumble down from the huge mountain.

Isabella could do nothing but sob open-mouthed into the ground, holding on for dear life and waiting for this torture to end. It was worse than the things Phineas had yelled at her, even worse than the unendurable pain from teleporting here in the first place. A small rock hit her arm, and she felt as though a crevice would open up and swallow her at any second, or a boulder would come tumbling down and crush her. It was incomparable torture.

It took her a whole minute to realize that the ground had stopped shaking, that she was continuing to make the earthquake up in her head. But Isabella continued to sob, still clutching the ground with all her might. Her heart would not slow down but kept racing madly from the panic-attack.

"You're pathetic," came Phineas's voice at her from somewhere. But it couldn't have been Phineas. She couldn't believe that any of this had been Phineas. He was much too nice, too caring to ever show a fraction of the anger this imposter had now. No, she wanted her old Phineas back.

Isabella's crying gradually quieted until she lay sniffling on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. She had been traumatized. A few minutes later she opened her eyes to see Phineas standing next to the pool, finishing off the only fruit cup that had survived the river. They had been planning to share that fruit cup.

Isabella crawled to the white bubble plants, not caring about the dirt and snow that got all over her, and tried to bring herself to a sitting position. It was now nearly dark out and she must have completely missed the sunset. She had been hungry before, but now all she felt was emptiness.

When she spoke, her voice came out as a wavering croak, nearly ready to break once again. "Why w-would you even ask m-me out if you planned on treating me like th-this?"

"Easy," he replied casually, throwing the wrappers into the steaming water, "I thought it would be funny to get you all excited for a date, and then tear it all away at the right moment. And boy was it hilarious. You having your tantrum over there during that little shakeup?" He laughed again at what he had apparently watched. Isabella knew that he was just trying to aggravate her again, but she felt so crushed already that this did no good.

"You're right," she answered, glowering up at him. "I w-was excited. I thought we were best friends. I thought you would n-never yell at me. I liked you. I was in l-love with you. And I still am. But I'm in love w-with the old Phineas, not you. I want the old Phineas back."

There. She hadn't even meant to say it, but the words came tumbling out, out of the blue. She had straight-out admitted her feelings to Phineas, and at the absolute worst moment possible. Now he would have another reason to yell at her, to hurt her. But at least he knew.

Phineas stared at her, food forgotten, as she got courage to meet his gaze.

Phineas looked down at himself, and his hands began to shake. He looked into the lake at his reflection, and his expression began to contort with confusion, then anger, then utter panic. And then his neck snapped back to her.

"Izzy…" He was staring wide-eyed at her, as if something had clicked in his brain. He began taking slow, wavering steps towards her, his mouth open in horror at what he had done. Isabella cringed away from him, but her heart had begun to race again. Had the red grass's effect worn off? Was her Phineas back?

"I can't… what's happening to me… how did…" He began to stutter, suffering a mind overflow. But then he stopped. Phineas hesitated, then as gently as he could offered her a hand. Isabella took it, and he lightly pulled her up.

"You're in love with me?" he finally whispered, now holding both of her hands. "Even after I just…" She nodded serenely.

"I always have," she breathed back.

Phineas was beginning to breathe heavily, probably shocked at what he had done. And Isabella could feel that he was back.

"Isabella," he said, lightly caressing her hands, "I have to tell you…" Her heart was going crazy, she was leaning forward for the response she had been waiting for her whole life. It all boiled down to this.

"I hate you."

A dagger ripped its way through Isabella's conscience, Phineas wasn't finished. "You are such a gullible monstrosity! Heck, I've never felt the slightest twinge of anything for you! Who in their right mind would even come near a wreck like you?!" He dropped her paralyzed hands as if they were contaminated and began to sneer. "And you thought I was about to admit my undying love to you, that your life was about to be changed forever? You thought I was becoming Mr. Nice Guy?!" He began to laugh, a horrible, cackling laugh, as she stared at him, lost in despair.

Phineas had faked the entire thing. And now she could feel the reality crashing down on her that he didn't like her back. The frozen reality that he hated her.

"Should have … videotaped it … best ever…"

"No..." she whispered to herself, her heart ripped from her. She fell back onto the white bubbles where she lay, lifeless. The seed of hope that Phineas had loved her back, that she had nurtured and depended on for years had been destroyed, leaving a gaping hole. She had simply too much pain and shock to endure, and her body forced her into unconsciousness.

~•~•~•~

It was past midnight when Isabella awoke, her dreams filled with the nightmares that had come true. She had been crying even throughout her dreams, but she had no more tears left. They would stay together and make it out of this icy wasteland alive, she had mentally decided, but she hadn't thought past that.

But then an alarming thought resurfaced in her brain. Isabella hadn't checked Phineas's wound for a day, as he wouldn't allow her to anymore. She needed to check him now, while he was sleeping, to keep him and indirectly her alive. No matter how horrible the things he had said to her, no matter how broken she felt, he was her way out of this horrible place and she needed to keep him alive.

Isabella sat up, then crawled towards the sleeping Phineas several yards away and looked at him. He was curled up and snoring softly, and in the past, Isabella would have thought of this as adorable. Now, however, she could barely bear to look at him.

When she reached him, her hands wavered in the air for several seconds in worry. She felt as though she were trying to steal eggs from a sleeping cobra, and that it could strike at any moment. Finally, with trembling fingers, she delicately unwrapped the bloodstained bandage from Phineas's rising and falling stomach to reveal the wound.

The wound—it wasn't there. No more blood, no cuts or bruising, not even the faintest scar. An uneasy feeling swelled within Isabella as she traced the healthy, pink skin of his stomach. How had it healed so quickly? Did the water here have some healing remedy? Did he have a tonic he kept secret?

Just as Isabella was examining Phineas suspiciously, his eyes shot open, and for a full second they bore into Isabella's petrified ones. Then, his hands flew into the air and clamped around her wrists forcefully, making her squeak in startlement.

"What are you doing?" he seethed, spitting out the last word at her. Isabella struggled to free her hands but he tightened his grip painfully.

"Ouch, you're hurting me!" Isabella complained, trying to pull away, but he wouldn't budge. That was when Phineas glanced down and saw his lack of a wound. Isabella knew he would be amazed to see it healed, but he suddenly looked … smug. He let out a hollering laugh and grinned down at her strangely.

Phineas stood up, jerking her up only with her wrists and making her cry out in pain. "Stop it, Phineas, you're scaring me!" she pleaded. He only let out a sinister laugh, then pulled her forward so they were nose to nose, making her heavily blush despite the situation.

"Well I'm sorry, gorgeous, but you just had to disobey me, didn't you?" he whispered maliciously. "I told you I'd change my own bandages. Well, now you get to suffer the consequences." What's going on with him now? Isabella thought frantically, more tears beginning to form in her eyes. Phineas laughed again, as if he could hear her thoughts, and then he raised his hand, and slapped her. Hard. The blow to her face knocked Isabella away, sending her sprawling back until she tripped over her feet and fell head first the steaming pool. Her kneecap collided with a rocky edge on the poolside and she felt something twist and then shatter.

Isabella's entire body spasmed in the burning water from excruciating pain and stark panic. It felt like she had been thrown into a bed of molten lava with barely enough time to cover her face. She broke the boiling water's surface and chambered back up, a horrendous cry of agony coming from her mouth as she coughed up water.

Isabella, unlike ever before, was genuinely afraid of Phineas. He was no longer a friend; he had gone crazy out here or something and was now a danger. "Why are you doing this to me?!" she sobbed, fighting her old urge to run up and hug him. There were stars blurring her vision, from either pain or injury.

But then she heard it. Footsteps, lots of them, echoing through the canyon towards them. Isabella forced herself to endure the pain and get a grip, and looked behind her instinctively. Six or more burly men were sprinting down the criss-cross pathway, equipped with more big guns and winter camouflage gear. She whipped around to alert Phineas, when four more men stepped up behind him with loaded weapons trained on them.

"Run!" Isabella screamed belligerently, moving forward and grabbing Phineas's hand only to crumple from her mangled kneecap and burns. She needed to push out her pain and gloom and flee. But when she reached for his hand and tried to pull him away, he didn't budge. Isabella looked back at him incredulously before trying harder to pull him, but instead, he began to pull her back.

"They're going to kill us!" she protested in desperation, but he just began to chuckle as he had before. The men had nearly surrounded them. Isabella struggled futilely for a few seconds longer before realizing it was hopeless. She cast a glance at Phineas full of hurt and confusion, and then, betrayal.

Phineas finally released Isabella and she fell to the ground. "You'll just never get it, will you?" he sneered at her with that devilish glint in his eyes. Then, he turned his attention to their enemies. Isabella screamed as huge hands closed around her burned arms, felt something hard come crashing down on her head, and blacked out.

If the next chapter gets posted, then almost everything should make sense! Sorry... too tired to do a word of the week.