Author's Note: New chapter, from multiple POV's this time as will become clear as you read. The plot starts advancing here.


Perry had had two years without crazy green rays shooting into what he always thought of as 'his' backyard. And yet, he knew exactly what to do the moment he heard Phineas speak about the afternoon's events. For there could only be one explanation.

Doofenshmirtz.

It had been two years since his long-standing nemesis had given up evil to join the good guys for good, a new career which had had its ups and downs… to say the least. But even though Perry had visited him last just three months ago, there had been no indication of a relapse then. Heinz had seemed settled in with his current existence, and he had even been treated to a happy back-story for once about how the bills could finally be paid without Charlene's alimony. And yet there could be no doubt that these rays were coming from DEI. The trajectory made it inescapable.

After spending the night sleeping uneasily, Perry called in on OWCA Headquarters the following morning to inform Major Monogram that he wasn't going to Professor Annihilator today – not that that bumbling old man particularly needed anyone to thwart him anyway – and headed off to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He broke through the wall in the special place he and Doofenshmirtz had previously agreed (before Doof had suddenly given up on evil) he could break in one day because his nemesis had been meaning to get a new window anyway. From there, he had a good view of the room, which was cluttered with rusty inators. Perry's eyes scanned the area for the inevitable trap.

Heinz, who was mulling around with some tools in the back, noticed him after just a few seconds. "Perry the Platypus! Boy, has it been a long time since I've seen you! How have you been? Still fighting evil every day? Monobrow won't ever give you time off, will he now."

Perry motioned towards the inventions. He had no time for chitchat right now.

"Oh, you were coming for these, weren't you?" Doofenshmirtz said. "Yeah, should've figured that. You'd never come over just for fun, Perry the Platypus – you're way too much of a workaholic. That can't be healthy, you know. Anyway, I found these old inators in the basement somewhere last week and what with me being one of the good guys now, I figured the responsible thing to do was to get them out to the scrap yard. Only then I realized that I didn't actually know what a lot of them did anymore, and we wouldn't want some random chap getting his hands on one of my dangerous old inators! So, I decided to test them to find out what they're for." He sighed. "Frankly, it – it serves as a good distraction too. My baby girl is heading to college next week. College! Can you believe it? She's old enough to head out all the way to Povenmire University and I can still remember the day I held her in my arms as a newborn like it was yesterday. I mean, I didn't actually get to hold her in my arms as a newborn because my car had broken down on the way to the hospital Charlene was staying in and when I got to her room mother and father were already there and they wouldn't let me in with them so I had to stay in the hallway the next eight hours, but you get the idea."

He cleared his throat. "Anyhow, I tested a bunch of the inators yesterday and put them in the kitchen to be taken away later. I'll tell you Perry the Platypus, that brought back memories. I found my old Dime-Inator, which I'd intended to change bills into pocket change because I would never have enough cash on me to pay the bus fare. And then my Aerobics-Inator, which was supposed to make people all over the Tri-State Area start working out uncontrollably, without being able to stop!" He grinned maniacally. "And after that I would… well, I don't think I ever got to the part of what I'd do with it, actually. I mean, you'd have all these people working out, getting into fitter shape and wasting their time, but what's the point of all that for me? That might be why I put it in the basement and never used it. I only ever showed you my best ideas, Perry the Platypus. And those are all gone because, you know, you destroyed them. Cause that was what we did." He sighed, leaving Perry to reflect on how if the inventions he faced were Doofenshmirtz' best ideas, he would not have wanted to confront the bad ones. There was a limit to how much facepalm-inducing material a platypus could endure in one day. "But there were some inators that I couldn't figure out, even though I'd actually labeled them. I mean, look at this one! The 'Canon-References-Amplifier-Inator'! I've been shooting that thing everywhere in Danville yesterday and I still don't even know what the nametag means! It's like big laundry all over again! Speaking of which, here's my old Evil-Uses-For-Zinc-Inspirationator-Inator. Yeah, I really used to have too much free time on my hands." He sighed. "So anyway, when I fired this one, the next unlabeled inator, at a random chair I'd taken as a victim it didn't seem to do anything! Then I wanted to test it on something remotely human so I tried to use Norm, but what do you know, that didn't work either."

"Did you just admit I'm like a human, Dad?" Norm's voice boomed from the kitchen.

Doofenshmirtz grimaced. "No I didn't, you misheard me. Now get back to work!" He sighed. "So that's why I had to test the inator on something outside. And wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be my Flower-Destruct-Inator! I must have made that one years ago to get rid of my allergies. So that's why I had that ray that seems to have disintegrated a giant flower in Candace Flynn's backyard. I don't suppose you've met, but she's a friend of Vanessa's. I like her because at least she's not another one of those Visigoths, but she is just a bit off-hinged and she just rambles on and on and on, and it makes me think sheesh, don't you ever shut your mouth? So anyway, that's basically why the flower withered away. Just to recap: testing out old inators, intending to destroy them afterwards, not evil. There. Are we good now, Perry the Platypus?"

In response, Perry pointed to the inators and firmly shook his head. "What, no? I'm not even allowed to shoot off rays when it's not expressly evil? I guess that wouldn't make any difference to the rays, though… okay, I see your point. I'll just hand over the inators to OWCA I guess, and I'll have to find something else to do with my time. Like read a magazine or something, or browse the internet. Did you know I have my own web show now? I get on with the times! Wait, where are you going?" Perry walked out onto the balcony and tipped his hat. "You're leaving? Already? Well, be careful, I just waxed the balcony floor and it might still be slippery…"

If only Doofenshmirtz had said that a few seconds sooner.

Perry slipped, hit his back against the floor and went sliding back into the room, right into one of the still untested inators. The force of the hit made the inator activate and it sent out a single red ray into the sky before exploding.

"Wow!" Heinz muttered, helping Perry back to his feet. "I did not see that coming. If it makes you feel any better Perry the Platypus, I think that was my old Attitude-Changer-Inator, and I could never get that thing to work for more than a few hours. And the ray was shot into the sky anyway, so it's harmless unless it bounces off a satellite or anything, and we'd have to be really unlucky for that to happen." He paused. "Yeah, pretty sure that's going to happen now."

Perry nodded and ran back onto the balcony, this time making sure he didn't slip. He jumped off and activated his parachute, ready to head off for wherever the ray had shot off to to ensure it hadn't wrought any damage. These were the moments he really wished he could retire.

oooooooo

A new day, a new invention. That was the way it had always been for Phineas Flynn, and that was the way it was today.

Throughout the past months, he and Ferb had been making the most of summer, just as they had done the summers previous. The rapidly approaching end of summer had never made him feel quite this… melancholic, though. Their group of friends was on the verge of entering the last year of middle school, and it was a reminder that he was growing up. That wasn't something he ordinarily would have minded, but he'd heard Candace rant about being a responsible adult and that did not sound fun.

Speaking of Candace, she had been the one to inspire today's project after he had noticed her watching a show about hamsters last night. He had always liked the way hamsters spent their time running around in a metal wheel, and he would have built one for Perry if not for the fact that their platypus didn't do much. A giant version of a hamster wheel, though… one they could move through the town in… now that was something else.

He'd approached the others, and they all sounded enthusiastic as ever, so they got to work on the hamster wheel right away. Baljeet in particular seemed ecstatic, but rolled his eyes when asked about it. "Of course I am excited! These are the final days before we can resume our education! I say school, you say homework! School!" The yard remained quiet. "Why does that never work?"

"Cause we're normal" Buford informed him. "Save that stuff for your nerd friends."

Baljeet frowned. "Wait, are you saying that you also consider yourself my friend now?"

Buford glared at him. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I can't still give you wedgies, so watch it."

Baljeet sighed. "Noted."

Phineas was looking at them and marveling how strange their dynamic was when he noticed his sister walking into the yard. The sullen expression on her face instantly distracted him from Buford and Baljeet's quarrel of the day. Candace had seemed to be irritated yesterday as well, when she had foregone joining their project for spending time with Jeremy. In an odd way, that made him feel uncomfortable, the way a stomach ache normally would. They only had a few more days left. Why didn't she want to spend time with them? They (he and Candace and Ferb and Isabella, and occasionally Buford and Baljeet too) were a team, weren't they? Sure, maybe she didn't always participate, but she'd been there with them for all the major events of past summers, so… the thought of ending the summer without them participating in something together at all would really upset him. He didn't want to go into the school year with that unease still on the back of his mind.

When Candace noticed their invention, she scowled. Ah, it was good to see her showing emotion again. "What are you squirts up to now?"

"Building a giant hamster wheel" Phineas replied. "Want to join us? We've even added Ducky Momo-themed posters on the side!"

Candace blinked. "Oh, that does sound tempting." She frowned. "But still way too bustable. Plus, I'm busy today. I need to meet up with Jeremy."

Phineas nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. "I see" he replied. "So, how about tomorrow then?"

Candace stared at him. "You're just going to keep asking me this, aren't you? No, not tomorrow! Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, not Friday or Saturday or Sunday! Jeremy is going to leave for college in just a few days and I need to be with him every single step of the way for as long as I can! Who knows what will happen to him if I'm no longer there? I'm sorry, but I can't play with you anymore this summer!"

Her brother gasped and dropped the hammer he was holding. "But… Candace!" He rushed over as she was about to exit through the town gate. "You've always been there with us at the end of summer, you can't just leave us now!" He pulled on her sleeve to keep her in place. "Why don't you want to have fun with us?"

Candace sighed. "Because life can't always be fun, Phineas! Because not everyone spends all their time building impossible and showy inventions, but some people out there actually have to work to achieve something! And I have to work on this relationship with my boyfriend, the guy who's going to be the most important person in my life!" Something in Phineas' mind snapped at that line, but he wasn't sure what. "And if you don't get that one day you too are going to have to face reality and responsibilities and stop this dangerous and bustable 'fun', you will have to learn to get used to it real fast! Behave for once, will you, and grow up!"

Phineas felt himself reeling at the mental blows his sister had just dished out to him. He clung onto the gate uncertainly and began to reply even as his mind was screaming at him to get over it, put it behind him and not let it ruin his amazing summer day. Before he could say anything, though, a red ray came out of the sky and hit his sister.

The young inventor gasped. "Candace!" he shrieked, running to her side. "Are you all right?"

Candace appeared dizzy. "Yeah… I think so…" she murmured. "What were we talking about again?"

A confused Phineas pointed at the hamster wheel. "About the 'dangerous' invention Ferb and I built?" he said. "Look, Candace, if you're worried about our safety, we're wearing helmets and…"

"Pshaw, helmets" Candace said dismissively. "Who needs them!" She looked up at the wheel and beamed. "Wow, this is the coolest thing ever! Oh, and you even added pictures of Ducky Momo! Can I join you guys? Please, Phineas?"

Her brother gave her a look of disbelief and growing joy. "Of course… if you want to…"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Candace pulled him with her towards the hamster wheel, grinning maniacally as they climbed the ladder up to where the others were. It warmed his heart to see her act so happy for once. This was going to be the greatest day ever.

It took them a few moments of practice running around the hamster wheel, but they soon got it on the road. And from that moment on, Phineas had a great time. He was running around with his friends, occasionally jumping over obstacles they encountered, going in different directions, crashing into each other, and having a lot of fun while they were at it. He also steered the machine in the correct directions on occasion, piloting it from the seat on top of the wheel. It was quite a bumpy ride.

After about half an hour of steering the wheel all over town, Phineas heard a soft voice call his name. He looked sideways to see Isabella sitting on the seat next to him and winking at him. "Enjoying the day so far?"

"Yeah, it's been pretty great" he replied. "Exhilaration, running around, making plain old memories… it was so cool that Candace decided to join us. She's normally too busy trying to bust us."

"Yeah." Was he seeing things, or did Isabella's face actually turn… sour? Annoyed? Right when he started focusing on Candace? Maybe she'd had one of those pesky mosquitoes fly against her head – those insects were really mood spoilers. Phineas resolved to invent something to get rid of them, but Candace's appearance at the top of the ladder distracted him from that thought.

"Hey Phin," she said casually, "I had an idea. How about we crash this thing into the lake and go running around it in there? You know every adventure is more fun when it's in the water."

Phineas grinned. "I like the way you're thinking, Candace. That sounds like a cool idea."

"We don't have swim suits on hand, though" Isabella said. "Do you really want to get your clothes wet?"

Candace shrugged. "I wouldn't particularly mind… but you can't tell me Phineas and Ferb wouldn't be able to invent water suits on the way there. You guys are geniuses who can build anything in under half an hour – let's see if you can do this, too."

"Ooh, a challenge" Phineas replied. "Did you hear that, Ferb?" His brother, still running down below, gave him a thumbs-up. "All right, let's do this!" He patted the spot in-between his and Isabella's and motioned for his sister to come join them, only when he did that, Isabella abruptly stood up and climbed back down. He had no idea why she did that. Sure, it was a bit squishy for three, but they could have managed, and it wasn't like the hamster wheel wouldn't hold the weight.

Anyway, he and Candace piloted the wheel over to the lake, Candace occasionally losing her grip on the controls (which forced him to take it briefly from her and correct the course) but overall doing a good job. He and Ferb managed to get the swimsuits ready just in time, and in pretty good quality too. The swim suit they'd made for Candace particularly looked good on her and Phineas didn't stop staring until she cleared her throat. His own actions unnerved him – he'd never shown such extreme pride at one of his and Ferb's creations before. He soon decided to put that behind him and they all put their suits on as the hamster wheel sank into the Danville lake.

Running around the wheel was if possible even more fun in the water than outside it. They were jumping over the wheel, jumping off the wheel, diving under the wheel – making it a competition which of them could manage it from the shortest distance, which Ferb of course won even though Candace made a close second, and by the end of the day they all got ice cream and hauled the machine back ashore, taking it back to the place it belonged.

"I can't believe we've been out there for hours" Isabella commented as they got back into the backyard. "Your Mom's probably home by now."

"Yeah, and she won't notice anything, as usual" Buford said. "Hey Candace, aren't you supposed to be runnin' up to her and trying to bust Phineas and Ferb?"

Candace lightheartedly scoffed. "Yeah, right. Bust them for what? For having a little fun? For taking a few r-risks?" She tightly held onto her forehead and appeared dizzy, with Isabella, who was nearest to her, worryingly steadying her. "I… uh…"

Phineas gave his sister a concerned look. "Candace, are you okay?"

"I'm… fine…" she murmured. Looking around the backyard and at the invention, she slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'm… wait a minute, I'm not fine! I'm not fine at all! I just wasted hours on your scheme while I should have spent every waking moment with my boyfriend!" There was that itch in his mind again. It was too oddly-timed to be a sign of the flu… "It's all your fault for making such an impossible and stupid project and dragging me into it and now I've got to call Mom before it vanishes!" She gave them a fierce look and took off into the house, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Well, that was an abrupt return to character" Ferb observed.

Phineas glanced up at the hamster wheel. "Yeah…" The sad feelings were back, and he suddenly felt like the world around him didn't make sense anymore. This… this was the second time in a row Candace had called their projects stupid. But she had liked it. She had had fun with them. They had had fun with her… she couldn't just bring that to an end.

"Ferb, can you take care of the wheel?" he asked. "I have to go sit in S.H.E.D and mull over something for a while."

Now that earned him confused looks. "Phineas, are you okay?" Baljeet wondered. "You are usually never sad. Did Candace upset you?"

"In a manner of speaking." He mustered a small smile. "I'll be back in a moment and then we can all have pie. I just need some time for myself."

His friends just kept staring at him as he walked into S.H.E.D, closing the door behind him and only peaking outwards briefly to see Ferb had pressed the button that folded their machine underground again. It was of little interest to him today. He… he needed to sit and think.

It was one thing for Candace not to spend time with them – he had become used to that over the past years. It was another for her to go so cuckoo over Jeremy that she refused to have anything to do with their projects whatsoever in this final week and instead callously dismissed them at every turn. For her to embrace the project at one part in the day and completely reject it just hours later… it didn't feel right. It felt wrong, and it left him with a knot in his stomach.

He loved having Candace there, much more than Isabella or Buford or Baljeet would ever care about her presence. Not that they didn't like Candace, but Phineas could sense that it made no difference to them whether the elder Flynn sibling participated in their schemes or not. But Phineas… Phineas felt an invention was complete when his older sister would join in with them. Not that he wasn't able to enjoy himself otherwise, his upbeat nature took care of that, but Candace's presence added made him love the whole thing just a bit more. The more the merrier, after all, and he did have the expressed goal of making the absolute most of summer…

Had he perhaps done something to offend his sister? It was possible, although for the life of him Phineas couldn't remember what he could have done to upset her. He supposed he could just ask, but…

Oh well. He sighed, and tried to put on an upbeat face. Honestly, he still had a lot of things to be optimistic about. Today had been amazing, and they still had most of the week to go. There would be enough opportunities for fun left over. Smiling, he exited S.H.E.D and walked across the empty backyard into the house, almost stumbling across his pet platypus on the way.

"Oh there you are, Perry" he said, picking him up and petting him. "Just goes to show that everything is fine again as it should be."

He left it at that and gazed straight ahead. It was therefore that he didn't realize – and wouldn't for years – that at that point the eyes of his platypus focused, and a look of concern and suspicion emerged on the monotreme's face.