Busting of Regret Chapter 7
By Lolitafreak88
"…What?" Candace asked with a tone that sounded halfway between doubtful and completely stunned.
"A secret agent? Wait, really? Our Perry?" Jenny asked with slight excitement.
"…Huh." Stacy sounded completely uninspired.
She was silently beating herself up in fact. Way to go Stacy, she thought grimly, Perry would be very proud of you right now. Indeed, she felt as though she had completely let him down and it was mostly her fault for this. She could've tried to sabotage Jenny and Candace or even better, let Perry know that something was going on. But her curiosity, nerves, and worry that Perry was truly a manipulating fiend had prevented her from doing the right thing. Was it worth it to get all the answers? At this moment, Stacy was indeed thinking it wasn't.
"Wh-what do you mean… secret… agent?" Candace had extreme difficulty getting the words out of her mouth.
A big sister such as Candace had to deal with most of the craziness that came her family's way. Or at the very least, deal with it for her brothers sake. But this was a whole other level. How does one cope with the idea of your pet platypus being a mature, intelligent secret agent since you adopted him? The Narrator began explaining,
"I mean that he is a secret agent in every sense of the world. Highly-trained, resourceful, intelligent, even rather dashing when he puts his mind to it."
"Mmm… I like dashing." Jenny sighed dreamily.
Stacy responded with a closed-mouth fuming noise and putting her hands on her hips. Jenny actually knew she was being a bit ridiculous, but she felt she needed to look on the bright side of things. Being so concerned about nature had allowed her such empathy and she could tell that Candace was not going to handle this well. Or at least the possibility that she would not be able to handle it weighed on her mind and thus Jenny was intent on trying to lighten the mood.
"… What… does he do…?" Candace asked again.
She had her hands clasped so tightly against the chair Stacy was sitting in and she was looking down. She wore the sort of expression that one might wear when they learned something deeply horrible, like that an action they took led to something bad. She also looked like she was trying to gather her thoughts. Stacy noticed this as did the Narrator.
"O.W.A.C.A assigned him as Dr. Doofensmirtz nemesis so his goal is to foil Dr. Doofensmirtz schemes everyday. But you'll be happy to know that they get along like butter and toast. They are the best of frenemies."
"Frenemies?" Stacy asked.
She had seen Dr. Doofensmirtz talk casually even when Perry was kicking his butt that fateful day when they crashed into her house. Dr. Doofensmirtz seemed perfectly at ease with Perry tackling him and defeating him though she simply thought him as… an idiot. But if this was true, then…
"So… they get along? Does he help him cope?" Stacy asked again.
Candace looked to her suspiciously.
"In a sense yes… they help each other cope really. Dr. Doofensmirtz has had a hard-knock life and Perry is part of the reason he can keep going on. Well… him and Vanessa, his daughter, and I even think his Inators and building Inators provides something for him to do." The Narrator said pleasantly.
"That is very kind of Dr. Doofensmirtz. I thought he was simply an evildoer but there is more to him than I thought." Jenny said with a beautiful smile.
"Wait." A flat, tense voice rang out.
Needless to say it was Candace. Needless to say she had a tense expression and looked very shaken. If you looked hard enough, she was even shivering slightly. Jenny uttered a small gasp of worry and Stacy bit her lip.
"So. He knows Dr. Doofensmirtz personally. What's Perry like then?" Candace continued.
The Narrator suddenly lost the sense of hope he'd been having since Candace had found that elusive camera. From her tone, it was demanding, seemed calm and controlled, but instead showed cracks in it. Cracks of a desperate attempt to hide a lot of wild and powerful emotions that she clearly wanted to express. There was not a trace of compromising or a will to compromise at all in that voice. No sign of understanding or a will to understand. Just emotions. I… I really thought… The Narrator thought sadly.
"H…He is very-" He began but was instantly shot down.
"From the sounds of it they have a very complex relationship. Which means Perry must have a complex personality. Ironic. We were always saying he didn't do much." Candace said with a small, sarcastic laugh added in.
This was, without a doubt, the most intense situation Stacy and Jenny had ever been in. Jenny looked as thought she wanted to say something desperately but was too afraid. Stacy looked like she wanted to confess badly but knew that would only make things worse. Yes she had heard about what Perry had to go through to hide this from them but if you really looked at it from a family perspective. Then what Perry did…
"So basically, he decided to be himself only in front of a hunchbacked coot rather than my little brothers. Two brothers who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Not even the rarest Ducky Momo collectible." Candace pointed out.
"…" Was the reply of everyone else.
It was that silence that seemed to give Candace that final push to let it all out. Tears appeared in her eyes and she banged her hands on the chair.
"D-do you realize… what this means…? Th-that all along… all this time… w-we had a complete stranger living in OUR house?! O-our sanctuary? He could've done anything he wanted! He was smart, he could fight, he could talk for heaven's sake! Yet he completely alienated us and made us look like idiots while he was off doing, whatever the heck he does! Letting US pay the house bills while he did nothing but lie! I-I mean…. I…" Candace grasped her head and looked like she was having a mental breakdown.
Jenny rushed to her side and tried to gently comfort her.
"Can-" Jenny began but was thrown back when Candace roughly shook her off and screamed,
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Candace began wailing and then raced out of Hirano Divination, no longer the composed mature adult she was.
No longer was she on the case, in fact, it was likely she wanted nothing more to do with the case. The Narrator was not a fool and could read feelings better than anyone. The sudden reveal of Perry's deception had been too much for her. Although she had trusted Perry in the 'Fireside Princess', the Narrator realized that the 'Mysterious Lover' was just the role Perry was filling in. Candace had grown to respect Perry more but to learn that all along he had been like this and had been keeping secrets from not just her but her beloved brothers was too much. The Narrator slumped down on the table and even seemed to start sobbing as tears of ink trailed out of the spine.
"I thought she could handle it…" He whispered in the quietest of whispers.
Jenny looked as though her world was falling apart all around her, with a timid and confused expression. Stacy looked as though she knew she needed to do something. Damage control, she thought. Candace needed to know what risks Perry took to get this far and that he did care for the family. He was not using them in anyway. Even if he tried to use them, he'd lose them in a flash. Stacy may have failed in keeping it a secret, but she was going to keep the first promise she made. 'I don't want Candace and the boys to lose you and I also do not want my memories erased.'
"Jen, we have to go." Stacy said, facing Jenny with an inspiring look.
Jen looked towards Stacy with scared eyes. But Stacy's empowering presence gave Jenny the strength she needed to move forward. They nodded, not taking their eyes away from the other and went after Candace.
Candace had actually just stopped at the same fountain outside of Hirano Divination and was on her knees, slumped against the edge of the fountain, banging on the fountain's stone with fury, tears, and tragedy. Her screams reflected this perfectly as well,
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! How could he?! Why did he LIEEEEEEEEEEEEE?! PERRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
"Candace please! Calm down! There's always an why-dunnit in these types of situations!" Jenny pleaded as she hurried to Candace.
Candace stood up and turned around in a most aggressive manner and shouted,
"Why-dunnit? This isn't a Sherlock Holmes novel Jenny! Me and Stacy already did that once! There's no why-dunnit! It's just a disgusting, deceptive, furry little bastard making me and my family look like utter fools!" Stacy looked slightly offended by the way she used that reference.
But she had to act calm as Candace was very close to saying something that would get her detention after school. If they were actually at school anyway. Summer really does last a long time, she thought.
"That has nothing to do with this Candace. We were channeling Sherlock Holmes style to bust your brothers remember?" Stacy pointed out.
Candace seemed to calm down a bit and instead looked regretful rather than angry after Stacy said those words. She bit her lip, looked up to the sky, and then put her hands to her face sobbing. Jenny walked over to Candace and offered an sympathetic hug.
"A-and that's what kills me…" Candace murmured.
"It's alright Candace, let it all out. I don't think this stress was good for us. It's made us more sensitive than an animal in heat. We should just take a few deep breaths and clear our heads and make sense of what we heard." Jenny spoke in a soothing tone.
"No Jenny, you don't get it. This is all my fault. I allowed… all this to happen. I can't even face Phineas and Ferb like this…" Candace confessed, lifting her face from her hands to face Stacy and Jenny.
Stacy seemed to know where Candace was going with this. She walked over and looked to Candace with a look of complete understanding.
"You mean you think that because you had other things on your mind, you didn't notice this?" Stacy offered.
Candace nodded grimly before speaking again, sobbing throughout,
"…I-I was so obsessed with busting my brothers that I forgot… I forgot I'm also supposed to be protecting them… from strangers… from liars… from pain. They trust Perry with all their heart, they love him like he's THEIR little brother… I've done nothing for them! I could've at least tried to see that Perry was suspicious and maybe… maybe settle this before things would get this far. Instead I was… I was only focused on my own stupid goals. My insecurities…"
"… But Candace, you found love. And I'm pretty sure Phineas and Ferb appreciate just you being there, to experience the inventions, to witness the inventions, to be an older sibling. Me and Django have that sort of relationship. Even if I don't give feedback to him, I think that me being there inspires him to keep going as an artist." Jenny said.
Indeed, while Candace had done many unsuccessful and likely unnecessary things throughout the summer, she had been able to get into a successful relationship with Jeremy. Probably one of her favorite parts about life. But Candace had been ridiculed with insecurity from the start. She had two amazing, creative little brothers… that outdid her at Mom's birthday. She wanted to bust them so bad… that she was losing her sanity. She had only four friends, her mom was losing faith or at least acknowledgement for her, and she rarely did anything else besides busting. But she was able to do other things throughout that summer, like partake in a spa, a cotillion, a 'do-nothing' day, and vice versa. It was just that those positive moments were usually buried under 'busting, busting, busting' and her brother's accomplishments.
"I've allowed this to happen. That's as bad as it gets. I mean, how did I not even get the hints? Now that I think about it I saw him myself, during the camping trip, as a secret agent. But I thought it was a hallucination because I touched some stupid moss. It was slapping me in the face and I didn't notice a single bit." Candace said.
"Well it's not like anyone else noticed either.." Stacy said.
Of course that was a lie but she was hoping that would bring some comfort to Candace. But instead she looked more troubled.
"Stacy… Jenny… what am I going to do?" She asked.
A difficult question that seemed to have no answer as of now. What was the best thing to do? Stacy had an idea.
"I think you need to forgive Perry. He-" Stacy started.
"HE'S NOT EVEN 'PERRY' ANYMORE GODDANGIT! He is a complete and utter stranger! He was like a roommate but without the responsibility! He did nothing but make us think he was incapable of doing anything!" Candace shouted in an emotional outburst.
This made Stacy and Jenny's eyes widen instantly. Candace's statement had incredible evidence to back it up and seemed very logical. If Perry had truly been a secret agent from the start and 'Perry' was the name given to him, what if he already had a name? Plus the idea that he been keeping secrets from the Flynn-Fletcher family also suggested that he was not showing them his true self. Thus, the Flynn-Fletchers didn't know Perry anymore, he was just a random platypus. He was no more unique than the many platypuses who lived in Danville. That was a scary thought.
I never thought about it that way, Stacy thought. Perry had came to her but through Candace's logic, the only way she knew about Perry was from Dr. Doofensmirtz. She didn't even know Perry's hobbies or interests, just that he wanted her to help keep his secret safe so he wouldn't have to be relocated. But this had happened before, and it seemed that he hadn't tried very hard to have his owners retain their memories. Also there was the crucial fact he had kept this camera, which could've easily been used to get his owners on the right track to regaining their memories, hidden from everyone. Although he probably didn't want anyone to know about how he became 'Platyborg'.
Grr… I'm going around in circles. Stacy grumbled in annoyance.
"That is a good point Candace but let's face the facts. We are only running on pure speculation from the Narrator and you." Jenny said.
Now this led both Candace and Stacy to look at Jenny in bewilderment. Jenny seemed to have figured out something.
"What kind of speculation?" Stacy asked.
"Think about it. All the facts we heard just now were from a flying book's… tongue. We have no solid evidence about anything. Except perhaps the camera and the 2nd Dimension. But as for Perry, all we have learned is that he's a secret agent, with Dr. Doofensmirtz as a nemesis, has been this way all along, and is aligned with O.W.A.C.A. Overall, we have the who-dunnit, and how-dunnit but like you said earlier Candace, the why-dunnit is completely absent." Jenny said, playing with her hair elegantly as she spoke very intelligent words.
Stacy immediately figured out what angle Jenny was working at and was sincerely grateful for it.
"Oh! You're right! We know nothing about Perry's motivations for doing all this. Surely he had some reason for keeping his secret agent life a secret from us." She said with a bit more enthusiasm than she should.
She had done it on purpose for two reasons. One, to lighten up the mood a little bit and two, emphasize that Candace should stay open-minded and not just assume Perry was a bad guy who had used her and her family. Stacy couldn't blame Candace for acting like this. She would've done the exact same thing had she been in Candace's shoes. But she wasn't in her shoes and she knew the truth better than Jenny or Candace did. She was Perry's only hope. It made Jenny laugh a bit as she placed her hand over her mouth.
"You are such a delight Stacy!"
"I do try." Stacy said with mock arrogance.
Despite this light-hearted attempt, Candace wasn't having it.
"It doesn't matter! Even if he had a motive, I can't even fathom why he would make us lose our memories without asking for our consent! I bet his organization put him up to this and threatened him to make us lose our memories or he'd lose his precious job! And he fell for it like a coward." She complained.
Jenny looked at Candace with a challenging expression.
"And what is your proof of this?" She asked.
Candace looked taken aback by Jenny's severe tone and posture and Stacy looked a bit surprised too. Jenny's really hard to read sometimes, Stacy thought. But considering she was still acting like a 'detective' she was probably keeping an eye out for loopholes or evidence not yet discovered. She also was not about to jump to a conclusion.
"I… I have no evidence." Candace said.
By now she had calmed down significantly, no longer crying, but it was clear she was not at peace.
"Then this is what I propose we do. According to my research, he should be at Dr. Doofensmirtz shortly after someone notices he's missing. So we head there, wait until Perry has foiled Dr. Doofensmirtz scheme, and then confront him. He'll be likely tired or not expecting it so we'll be able to assert dominance easily. We need solid answers and I believe he is the only one who can provide them." Jenny said.
Stacy looked relatively impressed. That was a risky but graceful and straightforward idea. Get the truth from the source. Plus her relationship with Perry would make it extremely easy for Jenny, Candace, and her to get him to speak to them. However, it would show that Stacy had allowed Jenny and Candace to figure out Perry's secret and that Perry would think he had been betrayed. But if I'm there to help Perry explain himself… then wouldn't that make up for it? Stacy thought positively. But then that led her to realize something.
"Wait, Jen. I don't think he talks. I mean when I saw him as Candace he only gave a weird gesture, not even a noise." Stacy pointed out.
Jenny didn't look fazed in the slightest. In fact she pulled out what appeared to be a journal with an anime character on it and a pen with a cute and extremely familiar mascot character on the end of its out of her pockets.
"Ta-da! Perry can just write all his responses in this journal and with this pen!" She cheerfully exclaimed.
Candace looked a bit amused though confused.
"Wait, when did you have time to buy those?" She asked.
"I bought it when we split up to find the fortune-teller. The reindeer on this journal is SOOOOOOO cute! Much more original with his blue nose than most reindeer. Oh and this pen was recommended to me when I asked for a 'cute pen'. This cat looks so precious with that bow!" Jenny explained with the same eagerness as a fangirl.
"You don't know what media they're from do you?"
"Um… no. Heh-heh-heh…" Jenny muttered cheekily and scratched her head.
Stacy face-palmed though loved how her friends could light up a mood instantly. But Candace seemed to have another thought on her mind.
"Ok, that sounds fair enough. I'm pretty sure if we give him a little pressure, he'll crack. But he's a secret agent so we need to be on our guardd. Jenny, you have your boomerang and I am a capable fighter… Stacy has nothing to defend herself with though. Maybe my brothers have something or will build something to assist us?" She started pacing back and forth talking to herself.
Stacy was unnerved by what she was talking about.
"You can't be saying we're going to have to fight Perry are you?!" She called out.
Jenny also seemed stunned.
"Platypuses are a delicate species and he's your pet! Violence is never the answer!" She added.
Candace, who at this point had her back turned, stopped briefly and muttered darkly,
"That 'stranger' has managed to deceive the entire Tri-State Area and… me. We can't let our guard down no matter what. The end result of this is going to be one of either two things. That stranger will be forced to leave, or we'll forgive the stranger." She spoke with a chill that was as cold as the polar ice caps.
Jenny and Stacy shuddered at how serious she sounded and how dark as well. Neither liked how she was referring to Perry as a stranger now. It was justified but seemed almost too harsh. Especially for Stacy. If Candace knew what she knew, she wouldn't be acting like this at all. So she would wind up hurting Perry more than fixing things. But neither of them knew that something else was nagging in Candace's mind. Something much more serious but was not yet proven. She was especially on edge about this 'something' and that was why she was acting more severe. She turned around with a facial expression that was stern but incredibly determined.
"So tomorrow, in the morning, we meet at my house. Don't tell ANYONE, especially not my brothers. I hope that we can settle this without them ever having to know. We'll get geared up and then go to confront the platypus. We need to ask him about the camera, about O.W.A.C.A., and why he lied to us. We need answers. If his why-dunnit is acceptable, then we'll forgive him and go about this like it never happened. Fair enough?" She asked of her two best friends.
Neither of them were entirely comfortable with providing an answer.
"Candace, I suggest you be a bit more open-minded than how you sound right now." Jenny said.
Candace looked down to the ground.
"I'm Phineas and Ferb's big sister, a mature adult. My brothers look up to me and it is my duty to protect them. I'd become the worst possible side of myself in order to protect them." She confessed.
Such an argument provided no room to respond. In fact, it was Candace's best argument for taking such drastic actions. Jenny's expression clearly showed a sign of respect for Candace that was reserved for the military towards their leaders. Stacy understood Candace's drive but looked very worried. Tomorrow, everything would change. There were three fortunes that had yet to come true for Candace, Stacy, or Jenny. 'Incredible confrontations may spell the end.' 'Your future actions will be harsh and justified.' 'You will keep your promises no matter what happens.' Tomorrow, those fortunes would come true, and there was no telling what it meant.
It was now time to head back home. The trip to Hirano would soon end and things would go back to normal. Candace was in no mood for busting her brothers, rather, she wanted to save them. Candace stepped forward and announced with the vigor of a war commander,
"This is it! This is what it's come down to! Us against a stranger who's lied to my family this whole time! Stacy! Jenny! We're going to put Perry down! DOWN, DOWN, DOWN! D-O-W-N, DOWN!"
"Candace, karma will never let you get away with-"
"Chill Jenny, I just mean that as a metaphor."
I must do everything in my power to resolve this, thought Stacy.
Post-Credits Scene
In the headquarters of O.W.A.C.A, Carl and Major Monogram were stationed, clearly wondering about the rumored alliance of evil that they heard about.
"It frustrates me to know that this organization is being threatened and we can't figure out who is threatening us." Major Monogram grumbled.
"Well we were late on paying the electric bill sir, maybe we are being threatened by the electric company." Carl suggested.
Carl wasn't the brightest intern though fairly competent most of the time. But Major Monogram didn't agree with this idea.
"Perry said his mission went well and that Dr. Doofensmirtz doesn't seem to know about the evil alliance. No suspicious sightings anywhere either. It just makes you wonder when they'll make their first move." Major Monogram said.
At that moment, the lights turned off and only the eyes and pupils of the two men could be seen. They reacted calmly enough but were now definitely on-edge.
"See sir? I think it's the electric company." Carl said.
"No, we know for a fact the occupations of that alliance and who in their right mind turns off the lights in a large room that two men are currently at?" Major Monogram complained.
Then they heard a mysterious voice that sounded like it was being altered by a device to hide the true quality of the voice. The voice was definitely male though.
"Perhaps just some rogues looking for a little fun." Before Major Monogram and Carl could react they felt themselves roughly being attacked and tied up with rope.
Their mouths were tied with duct tape and soon they couldn't move. They could only try to resist and yell in muffled voices.
"Perfect, with this, O.W.A.C.A is under our command!" Said another male voice, also sounding electrically enhanced.
"And now we can take over the world!" Said a female voice this time, electrically the same.
The three voices laughed boldly and powerfully until the female voice started coughing from how much she was laughing. The male voices instantly stopped when they heard her coughing and the second one suggested,
"You should get some rest."
Yep, this is it, the end of 'Busting of Regret'. Took long enough didn't it? Fortunately, this storyline is only now heating up so there's one last story left to conclude the 'Writer's Blockade' saga. I'm not sure when it'll start but in the meantime, now's a good time to catch up on the storyline, starting with 'Writer's Blockade'. So yes, Candace didn't take it very well. I always thought that between her and her brothers, Candace would actually react a bit more severely than her brothers did. She didn't think much of Perry in the 2nd Dimension movie because at that point she was focused on 2nd Candace, the 'Mysterious Force' and other things. But if she was the one to find out point-blank like Phineas and Ferb did, I would imagine her feeling terribly guilty for not noticing this and also betrayed. There's also something else that would make her upset but that won't be revealed until the next story. So three fortunes. Three evildoers. Three determine girls. One platypus. Everything's out in the open, and it ain't going to be pretty. Find out what happens in the conclusion to the Writer's Blockade storyline, coming soon! As usual I take no ownership of copyright and all rights belong respectfully to Phineas and Ferb and Disney. Thank you ^_^.