Rainstorm
Phineas kept his chin up. He decided to be brave, and hope for the best. Maybe Ferb had gotten out, and went home to get help.
He smiled. That must be it! That's why Platyborg was so mad. His pet had just been scared… that's all.
As he followed Platyborg around the corner to their house, though, the sense of dread grew denser. He didn't really need to see the ambulance to know that things weren't fine.
That didn't soften the blow of seeing it there though.
He gave a muffled gasp, and froze, breathing heavily. His eyes were wide, staring, but not really seeing. Ferb… he just had to be okay!
In an instant, Platyborg was there, hugging him. Phineas stopped fighting back the tears as he buried his face into as much of the teal fur that he could.
"It's… it's all my fault!"
Even if Platyborg had been able to say anything, there was nothing to be said. The only comfort he could give his owner was his presence. He just hoped that Phineas would calm down quickly, so he could check on his other boy.
He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so utterly torn in two direction. One part of him needed to stay here and comfort Phineas, while the other urged him to go to Ferb. The tear that slipped down his bill was his own, and it wasn't lacking in company.
It's going to be okay. Candace called to say she'd found Ferb… she didn't sound like anything was too serious…
Phineas seemed to take the comfort he offered, and hugged him tighter. "Perry, what am I going to do? I… I should have gotten help, instead of going after that man. I should have just stayed home! If anything happens to Ferb…"
He was cut short by an angry chatter. Stop it! You can't change what's happened!
Platyborg knew the truth. It wasn't Phineas's fault. Phineas wasn't in charge of the boys' safety. Phineas wasn't supposed to protect them… that was his job!
A door opened, and footsteps closed in on them. The forlorn pair sniffed in unison, and looked up at AJ.
Her voice was coated in sympathy. "Easy guys! Everything's okay. The doctor said that Ferb's going to be just fine."
At her words, Platyborg felt his bill quiver, and tears threatened again. In less then a second, AJ had dropped to her knees, and wrapped them both in a comforting hug. "It wasn't your fault. Either of you! Sometimes, we've just got to roll with the punches. Right, Perry?"
She ruffled Phineas's short hair, and rubbed under Perry's bill. "C'mon. Let's get you two cleaned up."
Taking one of their hands in each of hers, she led them into the house, quietly past the kitchen. Both boy and platypus looked into the living room, where an even more silent than usual boy lay on the couch. Candace was beside him.
She looked up, relief in her eyes when she saw her other brother. Platyborg watched the same incision he'd just battled flash across her face as she looked from Ferb to Phineas.
AJ stepped forward. "I'll look after him. Why don't you get these two a glass of water?"
"Thanks."
She sat them down at the table, and put her hands on her hips. "First things first… are you okay, Phineas?"
The boy nodded sadly, still looking towards the living room. "I'm fine."
She let out a relieved puff of air. "Good. And you, Perry?"
He nodded, somewhat surprised that she asked.
She turned to Phineas again. "Alright then. Now; what happened? Why were you two even out there!"
Phineas hung his head in shame, unable to answer. Platyborg let out a quiet chatter, and put his paw over his owner's hand.
Phineas sniffed, and looked up, eyes watering. "I left. Ferb, just came after me. Do you remember the old gym?"
At Candace's nod, he continued. "Well, a while back… when we were helping the resistance, Ferb and I found it, and though it would be cool to fix it up. So when everybody left, I went out there, and got started.
"I thought it would be a cool place to train. I thought maybe we could add a few things, and you and Perry and AJ could help us with our fighting… but, well, Ferb tried to tell me that the building wasn't safe. When he came to find me, these robots attacked, and one of them knocked the building down. Ferb pushed me out of the way… but… I guess he got hit instead. Then everything went kind of crazy. Some of the robots cornered me, but Perry showed up just in time.
"How did you find Ferb?"
Candace sighed. "Ferb left a note, telling us where he thought you'd gone. When we got there, and saw the rubble… we called in every available person to help. When we couldn't find you, AJ called Platyborg, so that he could scan the city."
Phineas had barely sipped at his water. He suddenly pushed away from the table, and asked, "Can I go see Ferb?"
She nodded. As Platyborg pushed back his chair to follow, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Perry."
He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. When was she going to learn? They might be her brothers, but they were his boys! He'd do anything to keep his family safe.
She actually smiled at the look on his face, before following him into the living room.
What nobody seemed able to say, was that Ferb still hadn't woken up yet. His head was bandaged where he'd been hit, but from the bruises on his face, he'd taken the worst of it.
Candace slipped a hand around Phineas and Platyborg's shoulders, and the whole group just stood there, waiting for Ferb to wake up.
…...
Late that Night
Platyborg blinked his eye open, yawned, rolled over, and settled back down. He instantly jumped to his feet as he realized that something had just woken him up. Turning on the night vision in his bionic eye, he scanned the living room.
Candace's whisper assured him. "I was just getting some water. You want anything?"
Platyborg shrugged, and laid back down.
They were all taking turns sitting up with Ferb, but when his shift had ended, he hadn't been able to leave. There wouldn't have been much point anyway, because Phineas had brought his sleeping bag down, and curled up on the floor next to him.
Platyborg yawned again as Candace brought him back a glass of water. He gave a soft, thankful chatter, then looked up at Ferb. How did I even fall asleep?
The guilt nipped at him, plainly evident on his face, because Candace reached down to pet his head. "You're exhausted and you need to check on Doofenshmirtz tomorrow. Better try and get some more sleep. I'll wake you up if there's any change."
P;atyborg worried frown turned into a soft smile as Phineas wrapped his arms around him in his sleep. He'd worry about leaving to check on Doof tomorrow. Right now, his boys needed him. As he drifted back to sleep, something Phineas had said kept going through his mind.
He had a bad feeling about the attack. He and AJ just might have to take another look at the battlefield.
To be continued…
A/N:
Thanks for reading!
