Monogram cleared his throat. "The reason I called you here, Carl… is because I have some unfortunate news."
"Is the Mexican food station gone again?" Carl asked.
"Honestly, Carl, is food ALL you think about?" Monogram huffed. "No, it's still there. And stocked with plenty of tacos. Carl, I have discovered that the rogues are tied in with the disappearance of some of our best agents."
Carl counted on his fingers. "So far, we're missing Agent C, Agent P, Agent L, Agent K, and Agent D, right?"
"Yes. And the only reason we know they're missing is their owners put up lost cat, lizard, dog, panda and kangaroo posters."
"I still can't believe Agent K's host family can fit him in their house." Carl said.
"They're a nice AND impressive family." Monogram said. "I've figured out that the rogues have been capturing our agents and then releasing them into Danville Wood. I've placed surveyor agents around the area, but I'm worried-"
"Can't we just track the missing agents?" Carl asked.
"I was able to track them INTO Danville Wood, but then I lost the signal." Monogram said. "Don't interrupt, Carl. Danville Wood is a big area. No one gets through without a map. The agents can wander in circles for days and never find the way out. Only the surveyor agents know their way around there, but it's so big, there's only a one-percent chance they'll actually find a lost agent."
"Wow." Carl said.
"There's more." Monogram said. "Apparently Dennis- the leader of the rogues- has gotten human help. He's hired a boy named Wizard. I've notified the surveyor agents about Wizard, but I hope that if they come across him, they won't mistake him for an ordinary kid and let him go… Never mind that. I heard about it from an unknown source. Wizard finds the agents, asks them to assist the rogues, and if they refuse…" Monogram didn't finish his sentence.
"Why don't the rogues just ask them and… you know… when they catch them?" Carl asked. "Why are they releasing them into the woods first?"
"Because they're trying to scare us into surrendering." Monogram said. "And… Wizard likes the idea. Twisted mind, that kid. I haven't told the surveyor agents about the hunting-down plot. I don't want them to get scared."
Carl frowned. "I hope no more agents get caught."
"Me too, Carl. Me too."
Perry was dozing away on Ferb's bed when he was jolted awake by a loud scream.
"JEREMY ASKED ME TO GO WITH HIM TO THE DANCE!" Candace shouted. "EEEEEEKKKK!"
"I thought someone died." Perry mumbled, trying to get back into a comfortable sleeping position.
"You've been asleep all day!" Phineas poked his pet in the ribs. "Come on, Perry. Get up!"
"Gotta recharge."
"Gosh, how long were you gone last night?"
"Five hours." Perry yawned. "Didn't come home until four in the morning. Now I must sleep. Must recharge."
"Aw, come on." Phineas rubbed his cheek. "Don't you want to do something fun? Seize the day!"
"I am seizing the day. I am using it for sleeping."
"Lazy." Phineas said.
"Awake person." Perry retorted.
"I know how to get him up for the day." Ferb said. "Let's make him coffee, throw it, and have him catch it. Like fetch."
"No running." Perry murmured. "Running is evil."
"Fine, we'll let you sleep." Phineas opened up a red electronic device and started playing on it. "Hey Ferb, can I tag you again on Search 4 Yu? I still haven't gotten to the Tower of Doom-ocity yet."
"Sure." Ferb pulled out the same game system in blue. "Have you tagged Perry yet? I haven't."
"Perry, can you tag me?"
Perry tapped Phineas on the head without opening his eyes. "There."
"No, I mean connect with me on Yu Street."
"I don't have one of those… thingy devices." Perry said sleepily.
"The BX in 4D? You HAVE to get one. It's awesome."
"4D?" Perry sat up. "I've heard of 3D. What the heck is 4D?"
"The images pop out, AND you can smell them."
"Eew." Ferb said. "I'm fighting a dragon, and I don't think he's had a bath in weeks."
"Lovely." Perry yawned again. "If someone wants to make me a pot of coffee, I'll get up."
"Okay. Just let me finish fighting this ghoul. I'm trying to win a new pair of sunglasses for my Yu. Ferb, what kind of glasses is your Yu wearing?"
"Rainbow-tastic."
"Dang. I only have Green."
"I can't believe Devon's gone." Perry said.
"He's not gone, he's just missing." Pinky said, doing a push-up. He collapsed. "There. I doubled the amount of push-ups I was able to do last week."
"Woah. How many did you do last time?"
"…One."
Perry rolled his eyes. "I can do twenty in under a minute."
"Blame my trainer." Pinky said.
"I'd have traded Ellen for yours any day. Did I ever tell you about the time she made me throw up?"
Pinky's eyes got wide. "No."
"Well, we were doing sit-ups, and I was doing only about one every five seconds, which was driving Ellen insane. She told me to do them until she told me to stop. So I kept doing them, and after a while I asked her when she was going to let me stop. She said 'I don't know'. So I did some more, and then I started feeling sick to my stomach. I told her, and she said, 'Well, now I can give you an answer to your question. DO THEM UNTIL YOU THROW UP!' but luckily I didn't have to do any after that because I DID throw up and I think that was around the time Monogram assigned Ellen a new job."
"Gosh. Harsh."
"Yeah, she was always like that." Perry looked around. The walls in the O.W.C.A gym were covered with pictures of previous agents who had broken records. Most of them were either dead, rogue, or retired.
"That's my pappy." Pinky said, pointing at a picture of a very skinny-looking Chihuahua. "He broke the record for jumping the highest. But it was only because a really big cat meowed behind him."
"No one in my family ever won anything." Perry said.
"It's only a matter of time." Pinky said.
"Hey guys!" Peter poked his head in the door.
"Peter!" Pinky ran over to him and hugged him. "You're okay!"
"I called one of the surveyor agents on my phone to find me." Peter said. "Good thing I remembered to charge it."
"What happened?" Pinky asked.
"I don't know. One minute I was minding my own business, the next I'd been knocked out. When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. All I saw were trees. So I walked around for a while, and then I called Bernie the bear."
"Rogues." Pinky said. "Probably Dennis."
Perry tensed at the mention of Dennis. The last time he'd seen him, Dennis had beaten Phineas senseless.
"Sorry, Perry." Pinky said. "I didn't mean to bring back any… bad memories."
"I think everyone should stay inside or something." Peter said. "Agents keep getting taken. Right after I got back, two more were reported."
"Who?" Perry asked.
"Darren the duck and Alan the alligator."
"Oh no." Perry said.
"OH YEAH!" Billy the beaver said, coming out of nowhere. "Alan beat me in Go Fish ALL WEEK! Now I'll never lose another game again! WAHOO!"
"Thank you for having an opinion. Please never let it get to your mouth again." Perry said.
"And you're SURE you can navigate Danville Forest?" Dennis the rabbit asked.
Wizard shrugged. "Sure I'm sure. I have a GPS, you know."
"You're an interesting human." Dennis said. "You have the ability to speak with animals…"
"The intelligence to speak with animals." Wizard corrected.
Dennis frowned. He didn't like being interrupted. "…And you are willing to join our group to help our cause."
"I always hated rules." Wizard said. "They all stink and make no sense."
"Well, the organization we're destroying has rules, so I'm sure that won't be conflicting for you." Dennis smiled. "My daughter Denise is fighting down in Danville Harbor along with a few other young rogues. And we, the older rogues, must focus our attention on the agency. So, it's great to have you on board. You will… patrol the woods for us."
Wizard smiled. "I will enjoy that greatly."
"You seem smart, for a child." Dennis said.
"I'm an adult." Wizard said, setting his jaw. "I haven't grown since I was ten."
Dennis was confused for a moment, but then he smiled.
"Even better, then. If you run into any large animals…"
"Surveyor Agents. I assure you, Dennis, my small size does not in any way effect my accuracy in battle. I will defeat them with my bare hands. And I will hunt down each enemy. They will either become one of us, or become…"
"Less fortunate." Dennis finished.
"Exactly." Wizard said.
Dennis beamed at him. "William Ian Zaro Andrew Reginald David III, I believe you and I will become great friends."