Brontophobia
Part 1
"Mom," Isabella told her mom. She, Pinky and her mother were all sitting in front of the TV watching the news. A commercial break had just started, so Isabella's mom looked at her. Isabella was petting her dog while her mom sat on the sofa.
"Yes, querido?" she asked her daughter.
"I'm going to take Pinky on a walk. Is that all right?" Her mom thought about this.
"Well it's okay with me. But be careful. You heard the weatherman, a terrible thunderstorm is coming. Now you know how Pinky feels about thunderstorms."
"Yes Mom, Pinky and I will head home before the storm begins; don't you worry."
"Okay honey." Isabella's mom then kissed Isabella on the cheek. "Hurry back!"
"Mom, the storm's not expected until half an hour." She was putting on Pinky's leash.
"I know honey, but still I want you to be careful. The weatherman isn't always right you know."
"I know. I'll be careful! Don't you worry." The girl finished preparing her dog and looked at him "Are you ready, Pinky?"
The dog barked and stood up on all fours. He then bounded for the door. Isabella laughed and followed the dog.
"Good luck honey!" Isabella's mom called after her as the news went back on.
Isabella and Pinky passed Phineas's house. Isabella looked at it.
"Pinky," She told him. "You wouldn't mind if we make a pit stop to say 'hi' to Phineas first?"
Pinky looked up at the sky. Isabella did the same. The sky wasn't too promising.
"We better hurry. The storm is coming." She looked at her dog and pulled at his leash. "Come on, let's make this quick." Pinky followed Isabella as they walked to the front door. Isabella rang the doorbell and Phineas answered it. Behind him stood Buford, Baljeet and Ferb. They all looked at her.
"Isabella?" Phineas wanted to know. "What are you doing here? Didn't you hear the news? A storm's coming. You should be at home."
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say 'hi.' So, um, hi."
"Okay! Hi, I guess." He looked at the sky then back at her. "Isabella, you should leave before the storm hits."
"I agree. Bye!"
"Bye!" Ferb and Baljeet said together, waving at her. Buford just stood there, looking bored.
"Bye!" Phineas was about to close the door when suddenly lightening flashed across the sky. Thunder boomed loudly. Terrified, Pinky jumped. He scampered in the door past Phineas.
"Pinky!" Isabella shouted after him. "Pinky, come back! Its just thunder! Pinky!" It began to rain.
"Oh no! I didn't bring an umbrella! And it's weird, the storm's not supposed to hit to another half an hour
"Here, come inside!" Phineas offered. Isabella looked at him. "I'm sure my mom will be fine with it." Isabella smiled at him.
"Thanks!" It then thundered again. Isabella jumped into Phineas, their lips almost touching. Phineas looked surprised. Isabella laughed nervously and blushed.
"Oooh!" Buford oohed. "Check out Dinner Bell and Girly Girl! They almost kissed!"
"Buford." Baljeet told him. "No they didn't" Buford scowled at Baljeet
"Don't tell me they didn't almost kiss, pipsqueak, when they clearly did."
Baljeet looked ashamed.
"Yes, sir."
"It's okay, I'm here." Phineas consoled Isabella. Isabella looked at him and smiled. Phineas smiled back.
It thundered again. Isabella shrieked. Phineas closed the door behind them.
"Thanks for letting me come in, Phineas."
"No problem, Isabella. Now let's go find Pinky."
"Let's." Phineas looked at his friends.
"I'm sure you guys can help." He said.
"Oh sure!" Baljeet agreed. "Let's go find that dog."
"Whatever!" Buford said with a shrug. "I got nothing else better to do." Ferb just nodded.
"Great!" Phineas said. "Let's go!" So they all went to go find Pinky.
Meanwhile, in Phineas and Ferb's room, Perry was sleeping on Phineas' bed when Pinky dashed in. Perry woke up as he saw the dog go under Ferb's bed. The platypus yawned and jumped down. He trotted up to the shivering dog.
"What's wrong Pinky?" Perry asked. The dog trembled in fear as he spoke.
"T-t-t-he t-t-t-hun- thun…"
"The what?" Pinky was about to answer when the sky boomed again. Pinky whimpered in fright.
'You're afraid of thunder, right?" All of a sudden, the Chihuahua whined.
"YES!"
Perry was about to say something, when Baljeet came in.
"There you are!" He said. "We have been looking all over for you, well except Buford." He then called to his friends. "Guys! I found Pinky in Phineas and Ferb's room!" He looked at the dog under the bed, who was shaking all over. He bent down and petted him.
"Don't be scared, Pinky." Baljeet consoled, rubbing the dog's fur. "Baljeet's here; it's all right." Pinky liked Baljeet's soothing words and being petted, but he still shook all over.
Isabella, Ferb, and Phineas then came into the room, Isabella rushed in and scooped up her dog in her arms.
"Oh Pinky!" She cried. "You're shaking all over!" Baljeet looked confused.
"Doesn't he always shake?" He wanted to know. Isabella looked at him.
"Baljeet," She started. "I know my dog. True, he does shake a lot, but this time he's trembling in fear because of the storm."
"Owwww!' Buford said. He looked at Baljeet. "You just got burned, Jeet!" Baljeet just scowled and ignored him. The sky then thundered again. Wide-eyed, Pinky trembled from his owner's grasp.
"Pinky!" Isabella lost her grip, and the dog rushed under Ferb's bed again. He shook again, whimpering loudly.
"Poor Pinky," Isabella observed. She looked at Phineas. "What are we going to do?"
"Well we could find some helpful advice on the Internet." The boy replied. "It should be able to help us cure Pinky's phobia." Isabella then looked pleased.
"Oh Phineas, you would really do that for me?"
"Well for Pinky." Isabella's face fell.
"Oh, right."
"Plus, with the storm, we can't go outside; this will be a great activity!" He looked at his stepbrother. "Ferb, I know what we're doing today!"
"YAY!" Baljeet and Isabella cheered.
"We're going to teach Girly's dog to not be afraid of thunderstorms? That's boring; I'm going home!"
"Buford," Phineas said to his friend. "You better stay here; it's pretty nasty out there. You can leave once the storm clears." Buford realized he was right.
"Aw man! But, I get something in return, right?"
"You get the reward knowing that you helped someone in need." Baljeet answered. Buford eyed him.
"That's not an reward, numbskull!" The bully elbowed him. Baljeet yelped and laughed nervously.
"Oh, of course, if you say so…"
"I'm sure my mom will reward us with pasta" Phineas answered. The kids all cheered. "Now, come on! The Internet must have some good advice on calming your dog during thunderstorms!" The kids all cheered again and followed the brothers out of the room. Isabella stayed behind to comfort her dog again. She petted him.
"Don't worry, Pinky." She reassured him. "After we find a cure, this thunderstorm fear of yours will be gone in no time." She then left the room, leaving the two animals alone.
Pinky's watch then beeped. The dog stood and went out from under the bed.
"Well, storm or not," He told Perry. "I got a job to do, bye Perry!" The platypus watched as Pinky headed for the exit. Pinky stood on his hind legs and was about to put on his fedora, when thunder boomed outside again.
The chihuahua jumped in fear. He got on all fours again and quickly ran under the bed again. He shook all over.
"You got to do your job, Pinky." Perry told Pinky. "It's just thunder, that's all. Nothing to be afraid of."
"Easy for you to say, Perry." Pinky said. "You're a platypus, I'm a dog; dogs are afraid of thunderstorms or any other loud noises like fireworks or gunshots."
"Pinky, fear or not, you've still got to do your mission, otherwise you'll get fired, and I don't want to see a friend of mine getting fired because of his silly fear of thunderstorms."
"You're right," Pinky got back out and went to agent mode. "I got a job to do. Wanda is counting on me, and I'm not going to chicken out because of a little thunder." Perry smiled.
"That's the spirit, Pinky!"
Suddenly, thunder boomed again. Pinky quickly dropped into pet mode and dashed under once again.
"Fired or not," He said to Perry. "I'm not going out there when it's thunder-storming. You can't make me!"
Perry let out a deep sigh. This will take a while.
The kids then all came back into the room. Phineas has a tennis ball in his hand. Pinky and Perry looked at them. Phineas smiled at Pinky and gave the ball to Isabella. Isabella grabbed it and showed it to her dog.
"Hopefully this'll be a good distaction to help you get rid of your fear, Pinky." She said. Pinky stood up on all fours real slowly. He looked at the ball.
You think a ball will stop me from being afraid of thunder? Isabella, no offense, I love you like any other pet would, but chasing after a ball can't persuade me to… Isabella then threw the ball in the corner.
Ball! Just like lightning the dog bolted for the ball. Pinky grabbed it in his mouth. He trotted back to his owner, dropped the ball, and wagged his tail for more. Isabella grabbed the ball.
"Okay, fetch!" Isabella threw it in the corner again. Pinky again bolted after it.
Perry watched them play catch. This will surely distract Pinky when thunder strikes again. He liked his owner's ideas.
Then his watch beeped. He stood on all fours and strolled out of the room. The kids were too focused on Pinky to notice.
Perry passed Candace's room where she, Jenny, and Stacy were looking at fashion magazines. The platypus stood on his hind legs when he was in front of the washing machine in the laundry room.
He put on his fedora, opened the door, closed it, and went down a slide to the secret entrance. He landed in a pile of "lost" single socks at the foot of the slide, which cushioned the fall.
The platypus sat in his chair and turned on the monitor. He was surprised when he saw Wanda Acronym instead of Major Monogram on screen.
"Agent P," She started. "Weird, the storm came early. But anyway, I'm sure this is a total shock for you, seeing me here, but we need to talk. Pinky's not doing his mission to foil Poofenplotz's plans and I have a theory that it's because of the storm, isn't that right, Agent P?" Perry nodded. Wanda sighed.
"I was afraid that was the case. Poor Pinky, he must be scared to death. Agent P, Monogram and I have talked it over and we have come to a compromise. Since, Pinky is too scared and we need him to do his mission, we think it would be best if you can go with him. Are you up to it?"
Perry pointed to himself, me? Wanda nodded.
"Yes, you. You see Agent P, whenever a child is scared of something like thunderstorms; they look up to someone who they trust. If that person is not scared, the child won't be scared. We think that might apply to Pinky. So, if you show Pinky that thunderstorms aren't scary by being brave, that will make Pinky brave and he'll be able to do his mission without a problem. It will hopefully abolish his fear on future missions. So, can you go with Pinky on his mission tonight? It'll really mean a lot to him… And us,"
Perry scratched his head, thinking this over. Sure I'll go, but what about Dr. Doofenschmirtz? If I'm with Pinky, who'll fight him and foil his plans? Monogram then appeared on screen.
"Dr. Doofenshirtz is sleeping in his bed so you don't have to worry about him, Agent P." He told the platypus as if he read his mind. "We actually are watching him right now on the other camera to make sure he doesn't make any movement." He watched the crazy doctor sleeping like a baby on the upper part of his screen. He was in his pajamas and nightcap in his bed in his panda slippers, sound asleep. He had a stuffed Perry the Platypus in his hands, and was quietly strangling it. Carl was on the sofa watching with a bag of popcorn in his hands. He looked at Perry and waved at him and went back to watching the doctor sleep, eating his popcorn. Monogram smiled. "My gosh he is so cute when he's asleep." Monogram looked back at Perry.
"So, do you think you can do it, Agent P? Show Pinky that there's nothing to be scared of, what being a brave agent is all about and…wait, you're not afraid of thunder, are you Agent P?"
Perry shook his head. Of course not! What do you think I am? Monogram sighed in relief.
"I thought you weren't. I was just making sure." Perry rolled his eyes. Of course you were! "So, are you willing to go and help Pinky conquer his silly dog fear of thunderstorms, Agent P?" The platypus nodded.
"Great then!"
"Thank you for doing this Perry." Wanda said to the mammal. "It'll mean a lot. No wonder you're Francis's number one agent."
"She's right Agent P. You are such a great agent. Such dedication and always willing to get the job done. Those are good qualities of an agent human, animal, robot, or alien. Now go Agent P! Go make us proud!"
The animal agent saluted and dashed off.
"Goodness, I really hope Perry can succeed in this mission." Wanda said. "Poor dear. It's a shame he has to go out in a severe thunderstorm like this. I hope the thunder won't be too much for him."
"Don't worry." Monogram reassured her. "Agent P will come through. He always does." Wanda tried a smile.
"I hope you're right."
When he was back in Phineas' room, Perry went to pet mode. He saw Phineas rub a drier sheet over Pinky's fur. The dog looked calm and relaxed.
"Phineas," Isabella said. "I think it's working."
"Rubbing a drier sheet over your dog might sound weird." Baljeet exclaimed. "But anything to make Pinky not afraid of thunder."
"Well said my friend." Phineas said. 'I think Pinky's calm now." He stopped rubbing him. "So, what do you say Pinky? Are you finally out of your funk?" Pinky looked at the boy like he was about to answer when there was a loud clap of thunder.
The dog yelped and ran under Ferb's bed again.
"I'll take that as a no." Ferb observed.
"Oh, what are we going to do?" Isabella said tragically. "We tried tug of war, putting him in a box with the flap open, patting him, telling him to 'chase the thunder', Nothing's working."
"We can try making him chew on Jeet's socks again." Buford suggested.
"No!" Baljeet shirked. "My socks aren't chew toys, Buford! Especially with my feet still in them…"
"I know." Buford replied. "But he's not chewing on mine; that's for sure." Suddenly, Phineas snapped his fingers.
"I know!" He said. "We can desensitize him." All of his friends looked confused.
"Huh?" They all asked at once.
"You know, have a recording of thunder boomings. If we play it a lot of times, hopefully Pinky will get used to them; thus conquering his fear once and for all." His friends cheered in agreement.
""Let's do it!" Isabella said. "Sooner we get rid of Pinky's fear, the better." They all then exited the room.
Perry went towards Pinky under Ferb's bedclothes. He stood on his hind legs and put on his fedora. He picked up the bed sheets to look at Pinky.
"Pinky," He stated. "Come on; you have a mission. Don't worry; I'll come with and protect you. Your boss told me that it was okay." Pinky was about to stand up when thunder boomed again. He went back down and shook his head.
"No, no, no! Wanda'll have to fire me. I'm too much of a coward. I'm just going to stay under this bed." Perry had enough of Pinky's shenanigans.
"Pinky, no! I'm putting my foot down! I'm tired of this. You're going to do your mission whether you want to or not!" He was about to drag out the dog when the dog stood up and gave him a mean growl, baring his teeth. Perry stopped, surprised. Pinky had never growled at him before, especially not like this.
"Perry!" The dog barked. "I made up my mind. I am NOT, I repeat, NOT going to do my job in this weather and that is final!" He sat on his haunches again. "And nothing is changing my mind."
Perry sighed. He then got an idea.
"SQUIRREL!" He shouted. He knew it sounded stupid, but he was desperate. Anything to make Pinky to do his job.
"Squirrel? Where?" Perry pointed out the door.
"It just ran out the door."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Pinky almost pushed over Perry as he bolted out of the door. When the platypus got his balance, he sighed again. He would never understand what dogs like about squirrels so much. He exited out of the room.
"He's in the laundry room." The platypus told the dog as soon as he caught up with him.
"Laundry room? Gotcha! Look out squirrel, here comes Pinky!" The animals went into the laundry room. Pinky looked around.
"Where is he?" He asked.
"He went in the washing machine." Perry said. Pinky stood on his hind legs in front of the washing machine. The platypus opened the door. The Chihuahua looked in.
"Uh, Perry are you sure…." The platypus then pushed him in. Pinky screamed as he went down the secret tunnel slide. Perry dived down after him.