As The Clock Ticks

by Galaxina-the-Seedrian

[Once called "Time and Time Again"] Over one hundred years ago, Phineas Flynn and I disappeared from Danville without a trace. Now, here we are, in the future. The Tri-State Area is now a utopia, with everyone living peacefully. Everything is perfect. Everything anyone could ever want, and more...it's a lie. My name is Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and I want to go home. (AU Post At2D)

1. Prologue

I know this should be sci-fi, but...look, it's not entirely sci-fi...I think.

This is what happens when I read too many MLP fan fics. They inspire me to write this kind of absurd but wonderful work of art! :D

So, basically, this is another Phineas and Dr. Doofenshmirtz story. I should have more of those by now, since they're my favorite characters, and I like writing stories about them both. This is more light-hearted than "Like Father, Like Son", as you will see later on.

I happen to really like this idea, so, I'm gonna do my best to update this as often as possible. Hopefully, you guys will like this story! And if you do, I will be overjoyed! 8D

The cast of Phineas and Ferb belong to Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh

Please, read, review, and enjoy the show...fic...whatever.

P/F/P/F

Prologue

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"Man, this has been the greatest day ever! Imagine how much fun we'll have together now that we know you're a secret agent!"

"Yes, yes, the next fifteen minutes should be a real hoot. Well, then of course Agent P will be sent away forever."

"Sir, maybe there is a way. What about Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Amnesiainator?"

"I never built an Amnesiainator...I think I'd remember something like THAT."

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The dimensions were safe once again. The reformed Alt. Doofenshmirtz was now serving time in prison, while everything else in the second dimension was, at least to some extent, turning back to normal. No one would ever forget the time in the 2nd Dimension...or, that's what they thought. Phineas, Ferb, and the rest were now left with a choice: to either forget ever meeting Agent P, ever going to the 2nd Dimension...or lose their beloved pet forever.

It wasn't a hard choice to make, save for Doofenshmirtz, who pretty much foresaw himself being strapped in a stray-jacket and gagged: they of course chose to lose their memories of the events. However, just before they got to the "cleverly" hidden OWCA headquarters, Carl had another idea.

"What if everyone swore allegiance never to tell a soul about Agent P, as well as the OWCA?"

Of course, Major Monogram firmly said no at first. He knew very well that it was far too dangerous for any of them to know Agent P's secret double life. But after some persuasion, as well as a "We can take care of ourselves, we defeated an army of robots for heaven's sake" rant and forcing Doofenshmirtz to swear that he'd never hurt Perry's owners or the people they were closest to, Monogram finally had no choice but to agree. Everyone thanked Carl for coming up with the idea, while Doofenshmirtz told Perry, who forced him to make the promise in the first place, that he would never look at the platypus the same way again as he fearfully scooted away from the angry looking semi-aquatic mammal. Safe to say, everyone kept their memories about Agent P, while keeping their mouths shut about it to their other family and friends.

Now all that needed to be solved was how to get over the habit of saying "Hey, where's Perry?"

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5 months later...

At the outskirts of Danville was a bush, and there hid a triangular headed boy. The leaves provided bare camouflage for the boy, who as still as a rock, trying hard to hold his breath. Sweat formed and fell from his forehead. If he was found, a number of terrible things could happen to him. He scanned the perimeter, as if to search for an enemy looking specifically for him.

"Yes," Phineas thought to himself, grinning, "No one will ever find me here!"

A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. "GOTCHA," a voice shouted from above.

The red-headed boy gasped as he jumped out of the bushes in pure shock. He panted and placed a hand on his chest, which was an action that the other seemed to take no notice in as she giggled. "Sorry," Isabella giggled, "Didn't mean to spook you that bad."

"That's...that's fine Isabella," Phineas rasped, "How did...how did you find me?"

"Your nose was sticking out," Isabella stated, poking the said body part playfully.

Phineas chuckled weakly. "Oh...that..." he rubbed his lobe, "I don't see...the others...who won?"

Since school had started up again, Phineas and Ferb found nearly no time to build things everyday. However, no matter what they did, they would try to "carpe diam" anyway. Of course, today, the two brothers and their friends decided to play a game of hide-and-seek. A normal, military-based game, of hide-and-seek. Of course, it was kind of an "all men for themselves" kind of thing. Literally all men, since it was Isabella's turn to be "it".

"No one yet," Isabella said, "I found Buford and Baljeet already. They're waiting back at the park. I think I saw Irving hiding near Slushy Burger, and I heard that Ferb was somewhere around here."

"I can...I can help...look."

Isabella frowned. "I don't know, Phineas," she said, looking worried, "You don't look so good."

Phineas wheezed. "You think so," he asked, as if obliviously to his own coughs.

"Maybe you should take another break," Isabella insisted.

Phineas was going to turn down the suggestion (that seemed more like a demand), but let out another cough. His throat hurt badly from all the coughing. "Yeah...that seems like...a good idea," Phineas admitted as he slowly turned, "I'm gonna...go home and...see what Candace is...up to...maybe...Perry's home, now..."

Phineas heavily tread to the Flynn/Fletcher household. Isabella wanted to go with her not-so-secret love to see if he was alright, but thought it would be rude to leave everyone else in their hiding spots. "He's been having a lot of breaks lately," Isabella murmured to herself as she went.

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~Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated~

Phineas stumbled a bit as he passed Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. He felt like his heart had been replaced with heavy rocks. No, boulders. It felt like boulders to him. He looked to the streets heading for his home, and then back to DEI.

After a moment of thinking, Phineas dragged himself toward the apartment building, his head swimming. He went on his toes, and pressed on one of the buttons on the intercom. "Hey, Dr. D," Phineas greeted a bit loudly, "You there?"

Phineas released the button. Moments later, he heard the evil scientist's voice. "Ah, Phineas Flynn,"Doofenshmirtz's voice said, almost as if he were talking to Perry only without the malice, "How are you doing?"

"I'm...doing fine," Phineas said, a little tiredly, "Hey, do you...think I can...come in?"

"Sure thing," Doofenshmirtz said, "Perry the Platypus already left. I could use some help cleaning up."

Phineas smiled. "Sure...thing," he nodded.

Doofenshmirtz let him inside the building, and led him to his penthouse. The room was a complete mess from the battle Doofenshmirtz and Perry had. The red head looked up at the tall brown-headed man, curiously. "What exactly were you up to this time," Phineas asked.

Doofenshmirtz looked down to Phineas, smirking as he crossed his arms. "I tried to spray paint Town Hall with a Spray-Paintinator," Doofenshmirtz said, "It was Vanessa's idea."

Phineas chuckled. "Vanessa came up with that," he asked.

"Yep," Doofenshmirtz sniffed, "I am so proud of her."

Phineas rolled his eyes with a smile. "Well, let's get started," he said, noticing that he was feeling better.

Thank goodness! For a second he thought that something was wrong with him!

An hour passed...

Phineas grabbed his chest, just as he was about to throw away the last piece of metal. Oh, crud...

"Thanks again for the help, kid," Doofenshmirtz grinned as he went over to Phineas, who looked back at him weakly, "You have no idea how much of a pain cleaning all of this up all by myself is. Sheesh!"

"I...can imagine," Phineas panted.

"I mean, you think Perry the Platypus could be a bit more aware, and...Phineas, are you alright?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, I...I'm okay...I'm fine."

To Phineas, it sounded like an assurance. To Doofenshmirtz, it sounded like a plea. As if Phineas was begging to be alright, when part of him knew something was off. Doofenshmirtz frowned. "You don't sound fine," he said, feeling sternness that he only showed to his daughter.

Phineas failed to notice, and tried to smile a positive smile. "It's fine...I just...need to sit...down for a...couple...of..."

Phineas wobbled before suddenly falling to the ground, too sudden for Doofenshmirtz to react immediately. The evil scientist quickly went to his knees and began to shake the boy. "Phineas? Phineas!"

The boy was unconscious.

"NORM," Doofenshmirtz's voice barked to the direction of the kitchen where the said piece of machine was baking cupcakes, "Call 9-1-1! NOW!"

Norm, hearing the sound of panic in his "father's" voice, immediately stopped what he was doing and did as he was told. He went to a phone, dialed the said number, and-.

"They are on hold," Norm said in an overly happy tone (at least for the situation at hand).

"On hold?!" Doofenshmirtz groaned loudly, "Oh, for the love of-!"

Doofenshmirtz lifted the young boy up to his arms and headed for the car. "Scratch that, Norm," Doofenshmirtz yelled, "Call Candace and tell her I'm taking Phineas to the hospital!"

The robot obeyed as the scientist ran out the door, down the halls, and out of the apartment to his car. He could feel Phineas leaning on his chest, breathing soft, raspy breaths.

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A car sped forward, the driver ignoring everyone else around him who were all yelling at him for speeding. In the back seat, the young ten-year-old stirred.

"Mm...Dr. D...?"

Doofenshmirtz stopped at the stop-light before turning to Phineas, who lying in the back. "Thank goodness, you're alright," Doofenshmirtz let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened," Phineas asked, "We were talking, and...and..."

"You passed out," Doofenshmirtz explained as he turned back to the road, continuing to drive as the light turned green, "Right now, we're heading to the hospital. They'll be able to find out what's wrong, alright?"

Phineas nodded, faintly smiling. Doofenshmirtz gave a reassuring smile as he gave glances to the boy every so often while trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"You're going to be okay Phineas. You're going to be okay..."

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The doors of the Danville Good Samaritan Hospital opened. Doofenshmirtz, carrying Phineas on his back, sat the boy on a chair, who dizzily looked around.

A friendly nurse went over to them, wearing a kind smile. "Good afternoon," she greeted, "How may we help you?"

Doofenshmirtz replied, "Phineas fell unconscious a few minutes ago, and I got worried. I took him here as fast as I could. He's awake now, as you can see, but, still..."

Before the grown man could go off on a ramble, the nurse kneeled down to Phineas. "Phineas, how are you feeling," the nurse asked, "What doesn't feel good to you?"

"Well, I feel really dizzy," Phineas said, "And...my chest hurts...really bad."

The nurse frowned. "Oh dear," she said as she stood back up, still looking at the boy, "We better get you to one of the examination rooms right away."

The woman picked up the boy, and carried him away. "Don't worry, we'll see what's wrong, alright Phineas?"

"Alright..." Phineas nodded weakly.

The two left, leaving Doofenshmirtz in the waiting room. He sat there for about ten minutes before the doors slammed open, revealing two teenagers followed by a green-headed boy holding a platypus and a girl with raven black hair an a pink bow. "Where is he," Candace boomed, "Where's my brother?!"

"Candace," Stacey's voice hissed, "We're in a hospital! Indoor voice, please?"

Everyone took a seat with Doofenshmirtz, who seemed to be staring off into space until he noticed the action. "Oh, hey," he said, almost nervously.

The platypus chattered in Ferb's arms. "Oh, hey Perry the Platypus," Doofenshmirtz greeted.

"Thank you for helping Phineas," Ferb said.

Doofenshmirtz didn't say a thing to that, and simply nodded. Ferb patted the man on the back. "I was at Stacey's when Norm called," Candace explained, "And rushed her as soon as possible! We met up with Ferb and the other kids and told them what happened. We meant to bring Ferb only, but Isabella insisted she come along."

A look of guilt was planted on the Spanish-Jew's face. "Oh, it's all my fault," she sobbed, "I should have followed him!"

Perry crawled over to Isabella's lap and nuzzled her. She stroked him, starting to calm down a bit.

"What's wrong with him," Candace demanded.

"I don't know," Doofenshmirtz said, "He just passed out. He woke up, eventually, during the drive here. And when we got to the hospital, he said he was feeling dizzy and had chest-pains."

Candace paled. "No, it-it can't be," she said to herself, "He's too young for that..."

Isabella peered over at the ginger-headed teen. "Candace?"

"It's nothing," Candace lied, "Really, it's probably nothing too serious. He may have done things, like, build a roller coaster, or traveling to the depths of space, but even I know he's too young."

"Too young for what?" Ferb, Doofenshmirtz, and Perry wondered.

A few moments passed before Candace let out a sigh. "Well, ain't this just a wonderful time for our parents to be on vacation," she said sarcastically to Ferb, who did eye-roll in response.

"Maybe you should call them," Stacey suggested.

"I'll do that as soon as we know Phineas's condition," Candace said, just as the nurse from before came around the corner. "For Phineas," she asked, and everyone stood, "Follow me. He's in one of our rooms."

"Thank you," Candace nodded as she and everyone else followed the nurse through the infirmary.

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"Phineas!"

Phineas looked to see Candace, Ferb, and Isabella-who was currently holding Perry-run to his side, his siblings on the right, and his best friend on the left. Doofenshmirtz and Stacey entered soon after as Phineas greeted them all. "How are you feeling," Isabella asked.

"Tired," Phineas said, looking to the pink-wearing girl.

A man in a white coat similar to Doofenshmirtz's entered the room. "Hello, everyone," he greeted, "I'm Dr. Anderson. How are you feeling, Phineas?"

Phineas looked over. "Still tired," he answered after a minute, earning a few half-hearted chuckles from his family and friends.

Doofenshmirtz looked over at the doctor. "What's wrong with him," he asked.

The doctor removed his glasses. "Phineas has developed some severe heart murmurs," Dr. Anderson explained, "It's rare to hear them in a child his age. Has young Phineas had any recent fevers?"

"Not that I can recall," Candace said, "The most recent sickness I remember Phineas having was a bad cold, and that was in the middle of Summer Break."

"Any throat infections?"

"I don't think so," Candace said, turning to her brothers. Ferb shook his head, while Phineas did the same in a drowsy manner.

Dr. Anderson picked up a clipboard on a table next to Phineas's bed and looked it over. "Any family issues of heart issues?"

All eyes were on an obviously worried to death Candace Flynn. "Do you think that's what it is," she asked, "Well, yes, there was some heart problems for my biological father's side. You see, the cause of his death was a heart-attack that happened when Phineas and I were younger, but he had some...other constant heart problems as well. The same goes with other family members from my father's family tree, though most of them are still alive. I'm lucky not to have had anything that serious...but, Phineas is young. He'll be fine, right?"

"We're still waiting for the results of the x-rays," Dr. Anderson explained, "At any case, he'll need immediate operation."

"Dr. Anderson," another nurse entered the room, "I have the patient's x-rays ready in the hallway."

"Thank you, Bethany," Dr. Anderson nodded before turning to Doofenshmirtz, "And your his...?"

Doofenshmirtz blinked a moment before realizing the question at hand.

"Wha-no, no, no, I'm not his caretaker," Doofenshmirtz quickly explained, "I'm just a friend of theirs."

"I see," the doctor turned to Candace, "So, where are your parents then, Miss...?"

"Candace," the teen replied, "And, my mom and dad are on vacation."

"Well, then," Dr. Anderson said, "Would you like to discuss them outside?"

Candace nodded. "Yes. Yes I would."

"We'll keep Phineas company," Isabella stated.

And with that, Candace followed the doctor and nurse out of the room. A few more minutes passed, as everyone sat and waited. Phineas had just nodded off when the sound of angry screams were heard in the hallway. Doofenshmirtz smiled. "You know what," Doofenshmirtz said in a way that failed to mask his worry despite his sudden "optimism", "I'm gonna go see what's wrong."

Stacey decided it'd be a good idea if she went as well. Doofenshmirtz and Stacey both left the room. "Candace," Stacey began, "What are you-?"

Candace was busy being restrained by two nurses, whose strength was barely enough to hold the angry sister back from strangling Dr. Anderson. "YOU LIAR! You said you could help him, you QUACK!"

Doofenshmirtz and Stacey both moved to help the two nurses hold Candace back from Dr. Anderson. "Candace," Stacey yelled, "Please, STOP!"

"NO," Candace yelled, "This phony's telling lies about Phineas!"

Doofenshmirtz decided to ignore Candace while Stacey tried her best to calm her down. "What's wrong," he asked Dr. Anderson, who straightened his coat.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Anderson began, sounding guilty, "But, Phineas has developed a severely malformed heart valve. There's nothing we can do."

Doofenshmirtz's heart dropped.

"LIAR," Candace screamed, her tears streaming down her face.

Stacey's own eyes began to water. "How long does he have," she asked.

"Two months, three at most," Dr. Anderson answered, "I'm sorry..."

"L...Liar...Liar," Candace choked through he sobs as she to the floor, dragging Stacey down with her.

"Candace...I'm sorry," was all Stacey could say as Candace sobbed into her shoulder.

Doofenshmirtz was staring off into space once more before immediately leaving the hospital without a single goodbye.

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One weeks later...

The closed curtains muted the sunlight shining into the infirmary room. Vivian slowly opened the door, letting in her daughter, two of her friends-one in particular was wearing glasses-and a certain little Chihuahua. Phineas looked up at them, smiling. "Hey guys."

"Hello, Phineas," Vivian greeted.

Gretchen and Adyson chuckled. "I see the other Fireside Girls already came by," Adyson said, pointing out the part of the room that ceased to exist, being replaced by some get well balloons, a few streamers, and enough goody baskets to satisfy the entire hospital.

"Irving came over too," Phineas chuckled nervously, "He was a bit...hysterical."

Irving had taken to this the worst. As obsessive and creepy as he was, to see one of his two idols lying on a hospital bed, and knowing that he was dying broke him. However, there were still others who were more worried for Phineas's well-being than Irving. Isabella, Gretchen, and Vivian took their seats next to a sleeping Candace and Ferb, while Perry and Pinky both walked to the other side of the hospital bed to converse.

"How do you feel, Phineas," Vivian asked.

Phineas sighed. "Scared," he said.

"It's only natural to be scared," Gretchen stated.

"But you have to stay strong, for your friends and family," Adyson said with a bit of oomph to it...that depleted with a sigh, "Still a bit depressing, though."

"It's not fair," Isabella said, "You had so much ahead of you..."

"That's what Candace said," Phineas said, trying to light up the mood.

He failed.

"It's not right," Isabella said, close to tears, "It's just not right."

Vivian pulled her daughter into a one-armed hug. "Some things happen that aren't right, my chika," she said.

"Unless Phineas magically gets better and...uh..." Adyson trailed off and sniffled, "Sorry..."

Candace and Ferb both blinked awake, Ferb being the first to greet everyone with a wave-he hadn't said a word since learning that his brother was going to die in a few months-while Candace halfheartedly straightened her now frizzy hair. "Sorry," Candace apologized, "I didn't notice any of you come in."

On the other side of the bed, Isabella's beloved Chihuahua tilted his head at Perry. "So, mi amigo, when was the last time Doofenshmirtz came to visit," Pinky asked in his native tongue.

"Two weeks ago when he got here," Perry chattered almost bitterly.

"AYE," Pinky growled, "Why hasn't he been coming by?! Doesn't he care?!"

"He probably finds it awkward showing those kinds of emotions to his nemesis' family," Perry said, motioning to himself.

"Yeah, man, but it ain't right," Pinky shook his head, "Doofenshmirtz still cares about you guys, right? What could he possibly be doing that's more important than helping Phineas get through this?"

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There were times where Vanessa's father was just plain annoying or idiotic. There were times where he managed to let her down, or make her look like a fool. But he always managed to make up for it in the end...now was not one of those times. And this time, the bad luck wasn't directed to her, but to her friend's brother who was dying as he worked in the part of the penthouse where he and Perry would usually do their battles.

Vanessa opened the door. "Dad," she said, "I know you're here...dad?"

Vanessa was met with the stench of fresh coffee. Books were stacked by a desk where her father sat, his back facing her. All around the floor was random sprawls of paper that looked like blueprints that had been discarded, crumpled, or torn. The punk-rock teen was suddenly feeling a little uneasy about coming to her father's home.

"Uh, dad, what are you-?"

"Brainstorming! Studying! Gotta study! Have to build it fast! No time to waste!"

Vanessa blinked. "Uh..."

Doofenshmirtz giggled.

"Time! Get it?!"

The man turned to his daughter, revealing nearly blood-shot eyes that made the girl gasp. "Dad, when was the last time you slept," Vanessa asked, slowly walking forward.

Doofenshmirtz looked at Vanessa as if she were asking him to jump off a cliff. "Sleep? Can't sleep! Not yet," Doofenshmirtz's eyes twitched several times before taking another sip of cup of coffee that was on his desk.

"Yeah," Vanessa began, "I'm just...gonna go and see how Phineas is doing, okay?"

"Yes! Phineas!"

Doofenshmirtz paused. Then jerked.

"Gimmelshtump!"

"Gimmelshtump," Vanessa asked.

"Yes! Gimmelshtump," Doofenshmirtz answered so rapidly that Vanessa could barely hear his rabble, "The answer lies there! Hee-hee! Yes! NORM!"

The said robot entered, holding a pot of freshly brewed coffee. "More coffee, dad," Norm asked.

"I AM NOT YOUR FATHER-Hee hee hee," Doofenshmirtz's short rage towards the giant robot-man lasted for only about three seconds before he let out more insane laughter that made even Norm take a few steps back, "I need you to watch the penthouse! I'm going back to Gimmelshtump to get that library! If those two kids could do it, then I can do it too! But bigger!

"But I need more books! More, more, books!"

"Books? Library?" Vanessa was even more confused, "But, dad, there's a library he-."

"Need to hurry! Gotta be fast," Doofenshmirtz said more to himself than anyone else as he ran out of his chair and down the hall passed his daughter and giant robot man, "Plane to Gimmelshtump leaves in an hour! Gotta pack!"

Vanessa and Norm gave each other glances, Vanessa's obviously being weirded out, while Norm's remained ambiguous. Five minutes later, Doofenshmirtz came out of his room, dragging along his suit-case in one hand, and three books in the other. He kissed his daughter on the forehead, before heading out the door. "Be good," he called out to his daughter before the door slammed.

Vanessa could only stare.

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Two months later...

Phineas had been allowed out of the hospital for two weeks now. His parents had demanded that they keep trying to find ways to save him, but, no one had the cure. And soon, everyone began to sadly except his fate.

Ferb said absolutely nothing the entire time. What could he say? He's practically on his death bed, Ferb thought as he looked over to his brother who was fast asleep. Nothing was okay. Nothing would ever be okay.

Isabella hated herself. Not only was she the only person who noticed Phineas acting strangely yet did nothing to see what was wrong, she couldn't even tell him how she felt even now! Isabella felt like Phineas would never forgive her for something that wasn't even her fault. Maybe if she tried to see if he was okay, then they would have saved him. But, it was too late now.

Perry was completely depressed. Too depressed to fight Doofenshmirtz, who hadn't been doing anything that involved the Tri-State Area. Major Monogram decided that for the time being that another agent would check up on Doofenshmirtz until Perry managed to get back to his feet again. The cruel, cruel irony: he was finally allowed to let them know who he was, and now...

Candace had never felt so paranoid in all her life. She knew very well that, as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, she knew that when she opened them again, Phineas's might not. Her dreams involved her on a boat during a storm. Phineas was there, falling overboard, and she could only watch as her brother was being taken farther, and farther away from-

"Hello Candace."

The teenager nearly screamed at the giant robot's presence. "Norm," Candace hissed, "What are you doing here?! It's three in the morning!"

Norm turned to the alarm clock on the table beside Candace's bed. "My apologies," Norm said, "But Dr. D wants you to come over. He says it's really important, and to bring Phineas."

Candace stared at Norm with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Norm, no offense, but Doofenshmirtz hasn't really been himself lately," Candace looked to the side in thought, "Then again, maybe he's been himself too much."

"But Doofenshmirtz thinks he knows how to save Phineas."

Candace's eyes widened. "...What?"

"He found a way to save Phineas," Norm repeated.

Candace stared at the giant robot, who stared back. She sighed. "Look, I don't know if it's such a good idea to move Phineas in his condition," Candace said, rubbing her temples, "How did you even get in here?"

"Perry the Platypus let me in."

Candace looked to the entrance of her room, seeing a platypus standing on his hind legs and wearing a fedora. Perry walked over to Candace and took out a pen and notepad, writing something into it as he did. He gave the notepad to Candace once he was done scribbling down his words. Candace eyed the message and then the platypus.

"You're telling me you believe him," Candace asked.

Perry sighed with a shrug. He didn't know if he should trust Doofenshmirtz or not, since, as he heard from Vanessa, the man was pretty much going crazy. But this was a chance to save Phineas. Whether it was right or wrong, it was still a chance! And he'd take any chance if it meant saving his owner.

Candace wasn't as sure as the platypus was. What if whatever Doofenshmirtz planned made things worse? His plans tended to backfire on him a lot. What made this time different? But as Candace stared at Perry's eyes, she realized that there was finally an alternative, and gave in.

"Fine," Candace said in defeat, "I suppose it can't make him feel worse...in the end."

The ginger headed teen didn't bother waking up her parents. They wouldn't dare let Phineas leave the house, no matter how much he wanted to be outside. Candace tip-toed over to the boys' room, having already ordered Perry and Norm to leave the house and wait outside, going over to Phineas's bed respectively. She gently shook Phineas, who groaned as he opened his eyes.

"Huh? What," Phineas yawned as he turned to his sister, "Candace? What is it?"

Candace hushed him. "We were just about to go see Dr. Doofenshmirtz," she chimed, "Won't that be fun?"

The boy finally nodded, tiredly. "I'd like to see Dr. D, one more time," Phineas said.

The answer made Candace cringe. Phineas Flynn, her brother, the boy who could do anything, was excepting his fate. She guessed that even the most optimistic of people knew that death was inevitable in the end. "Alright then," Candace gave a nervous smile, "Let's go."

Candace picked up her brother and headed out the room, unaware that Ferb was awake the whole time. "What is she doing?"

"Is mom and dad awake," Phineas asked.

"No," Candace answered as they headed down the stairs, "They're-."

"Candace, what are you doing?"

Candace froze. Slowly turning, she saw her mother, Linda, and her step-father, Lawrence, staring down at her. No sooner later, Ferb got out of room to see what Candace was going to do. A pregnant silence ruled the moment. The parents saw Phineas in her arms, but both said nothing, hoping for a good explanation.

"D-a friend of mine thinks he's found a way to save Phineas," Candace said, reminding herself that her parents didn't know of Doofenshmirtz's existence, "I trust him. So, I'm taking Phineas on a little trip."

Phineas stared up at Candace hopefully. So that's why Doofenshmirtz had been gone for so long?

"Candace," Linda started, "I don't think that's such a good-"

"I'm not gonna sit while there might be a way to save my brother's life," Candace yelled earning a flinch from the others, "I am taking him to Doofenshmirtz and that is final!"

Candace thanked heaven above that her parents didn't seem to notice her saying "Doofenshmirtz" as she headed out the door with Phineas in her arms. The rest of the family looked at each other.

.

.

.

Outside, Phineas and Candace found Norm, Perry, and...

"Isabella," Candace asked.

"Norm got the wrong address," Isabella, still in her pajamas, explained, "Is it true? Is there a way to save Phineas?"

"I...I don't know, Isabella," Candace sighed, "But, whatever Doofenshmirtz is planning, then it's worth a shot."

With that being said, Norm transformed into a car, and happily said as everyone began boarding him, "Please, strap yourselves in, quickly. Dr. D has been running ragged while he's been working on that project of his."

"Oh boy, here we go," Isabella face-palmed while Perry eye-rolled.

"Norm get me some more coffee, Norm get me this book, Norm help me carrying in half of the library's vaults," Norm went on, "And now, he's going to get extremely mad at me if I don't get you outside of town right now. So, if we can please get there so I can be ordered around some more...?"

"Candace!"

Everyone turned to the voice, all shocked to see that Ferb had finally spoken after all these months. Perry, sitting on the passenger's seat, went back to his "mindless-pet" mode at the sight of Linda and Lawrence, who both stood by the front door. Ferb ran over to the car, staring up. "I want to go too," he said.

Candace looked over to her parents, hopefully. After a few minutes, they both nodded. Ferb entered Norm and sat on the other side of Candace. The robot-man-car then drove off with no other question.

"...Is it me, or did that car have a head," was all Lawrence could say.

.

.

.

After Norm stopped in the middle of the outskirts of town and a several minute walk, the robot, platypus, and others found themselves staring at a large portal-like machine powered by large pillars. Everyone stared, jaws dropping to the floor, save for Norm who had already seen the machine and had no jaw to begin with.

Four pillars, each over forty feet tall, stood in separate "corners" and ways from the portal. The pillars glowed faintly with green-looking energy. On the ground were thousands of wires, plugged into the machine and the power source. An "evil" scientist stood by one of the pillars, pressing a few buttons on the side of it, while another teenager stood from a distance. When he noticed the others there, he briskly went over to them, glaring at Norm.

"Norm! What took you so long," Doofenshmirtz scolded, eliciting an eye-roll from his daughter as she walked over to the others.

"Doofenshmirtz," Isabella said, still staring at the large machine awestruck, "What...what is that?"

"I was going to ask the same thing," Vanessa said, crossing her arms as she pondered to herself whether to add 'for the tenth time' or not.

"This," Dr. Doofenshmirtz motioned, "Is the Temporalinator! A trans-temporal transportational apparatus, designed to jump along the fourth dimension, while remaining stationary relative to the planetary gravitational field." Dr. Doofenshmirtz clapped his hands together.

Everyone stared at him blankly. Even Perry looked flummoxed. "It's a what-now," Candace asked.

"It's a time-machine," Ferb translated.

"Ooooh," everyone else said while Perry chattered.

"Wait a minute," Candace said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, why didn't you just use the time-machine from the museum?"

"They moved the exhibit to another museum," Doofenshmirtz explained with a shrug, "They wouldn't tell me anything when I asked about it. So, I thought, why not build my own time-machine? If two kids can fix one, I can build one in a week, tops," the man paused with a chuckle, "Of course, it proved a lot harder than expected."

"So, let me get this straight," Candace said, "You're going to go back in time an prevent Phineas from getting sick?"

"No offense, Dr. D," Isabella said, "But I don't think we could exactly heal him then, either."

"Well, yeah," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "It wouldn't be possible, anyway, since I didn't arrive then. The past can't be altered, which means everything that has happened will happen. That's why I knew I had to finish this quickly."

"Then, what exactly do you have in mind, Dad," Vanessa asked.

"Simple," Doofenshmirtz said, "Phineas and I are going to the future. I'm sure the medicine a few centuries from now will be able to heal him. After he's back to normal, then we come back!"

Doofenshmirtz beamed at everyone.

"Are you sure that's a good idea," Candace asked.

"I'm almost positive that this'll work," Doofenshmirtz's 'comfort' seemed dead to everyone, "Okay, I admit, it's a little dangerous-"

"A little," Vanessa asked, eyeing the machine.

"-But it's the only thing I can think of that will save Phineas."

Ferb looked up at the apparatus and back to his brother. "I'd feel more comfortable if I could go with," he admitted.

"Unfortunately, it only has room for two," Dr. Doofenshmirtz sighed.

"THIS has only room for TWO," Isabella asked, scanning over the machine a hundredth time.

Candace looked down to Phineas, who was barely awake at the moment. "Well...if it can save Phineas, then I can't say no," she said as she handed Phineas over to Doofenshmirtz, who gently took the boy.

"Vanessa," Doofenshmirtz turned to his daughter.

Vanessa nodded and went to the pillar. "I remember the buttons," she said, "Just tell me when."

Doofenshmirtz nodded and began walking over to the portal. "Phineas," he said, earning the boy's attention, "You and I are going to a time where they can heal you, okay?"

Phineas nodded, earning another smile from Doofenshmirtz.

"You might want to take a few steps back," Norm said to the others, who obeyed his request.

Doofenshmirtz nodded to Vanessa, who pressed a few buttons before running over to the others at the sound of the machine running. The energy from the machine whizzed, and began to form a literal doorway through time.

"Be careful," Candace called, raising out a hand.

"And stay safe," Isabella added.

"Good luck, dad," Vanessa said.

"Bye Phineas," Isabella called.

"When you get back, I will throw you a welcome back party, dad," Norm said, happy not to hear his father deny that the robot was his son.

Perry let out a chatter with ambiguous meaning.

Finally, Ferb gave a thumbs up.

Doofenshmirtz took a deep breath as he walked into the swirl of green light, taking Phineas with him. "Please work," Doofenshmirtz whispered to himself as he finally went through, a blast of light erupting from the action.

And right after, the portal closed into nothingness.

"For once, I hope my dad know's what he's doing," Vanessa said.

"I better get started on that party," Norm stomped off, "Who knows when they'll be back!"

Somehow, that worried everyone else all the more.

(End of Prologue)

A/N:

I hope you all enjoyed! 8D

I worked really, really, REALLY hard on this! So please, no flames unless it involves constructive criticism. I like constructive criticism. :3

Please, read and review! It'll make me happy! :D