Five years later...
"So Bro, who do'll think will ask you to the Sadie Hawkins dance?"
Perry's ears perked up at the familiar voice floating down the hall. He lazily opened an eye, watching as Phineas and Ferb walked into the bedroom, setting their backpacks on the floor. Five years had passed and although the boys were much the same, they were now fifteen; and interested in other things besides inventing.
"You know, that girl in homeroom's been looking as though she has her eye on you." He hid a smile behind a paw as the red head nudged his brother in the side. "Come on Ferb; don't tell me you don't notice."
"I notice."
"Well yeah, but you don't do anything about it." Phineas sat down on the edge of his bed, glancing behind him. "Hey boy. How are you today?" The teen reached out a hand, giving the platypus an affectionate scratch behind the ears. "Do you ever leave our room anymore?"
He chattered in response.
"Look Bro, all I'm saying is…"
Perry yawned, eyes slowly closing as Phineas continued to goad his brother about the girl in homeroom. He was just drifting off when a sharp beep sounded, jarring him awake. He quickly slapped a paw over the communicator, slithering down the bed and grabbing his fedora before activating a switch behind the boys' desk. A panel slid across and he dove in, sliding down the tube and landing with a rough thump at the bottom.
"Oh good! You're here!" Major Monogram appeared on the screen in front of him, suddenly looking apologetic. "Heh. Sorry about the rough landing Agent P. Since you haven't been using the lair to much these days, what with Doofenshmirtz having turned good and all, we've been doing a little…redecorating. Thought we'd install wood floors in the lair. Make it a little more homey."
He looked around, suddenly noticing the polished wood floors that gleamed in the afternoon light. He rubbed his bottom before walking over and sitting in his chair. Other than the new floor, the lair was much the same.
"Sir, are we telling him now?" Carl's voice came from off screen
"Of course we're telling him now Carl. Why do you think I called him in here?"
"I was just asking because the kids and well, my wife is making dinner…"
"Oh stop complaining Carl. You'll be home in time for your wife's delicious Pot Roast." The Major licked his lips. "She does make a mean Pot Roast."
"Yes, yes she does."
The platypus growled with impatience, causing Monogram to snap to attention.
"Oh! Right! The reason you're here!" The Major cleared his throat. "Agent P, Doofenshmirtz came into O.W.C.A headquarters yesterday with his 'Evil Scientist' resignation papers. Apparently, now that Monty and Vanessa have a baby boy, he's determined to become good, as well as help out with his new grandson." A photo of Doofenshmirtz holding a baby that had a head shaped like Monogram's appeared on the screen. "Isn't he cute? His name is Gary and he…" another picture popped up on the screen, this one of Doofenshmirtz attempting to rescue Gary from a hairdryer. "Oh, well that's just dumb. I knew I shouldn't have left Doof in charge of my grandson. Anyway Agent P, with Doofenshmirtz now turning to the side of good, and me busy with not only Doof but also my grandson, the time has come to retire you from the Agency. I'm only working part time now and Carl, against my better judgment, will be taking over for me soon. We figured it was time."
A wall panel slid open behind the platypus and he turned, watching as Carl and the Major walked out, Monogram holding a box in his hands. "Agent P, please come here. We have to follow protocol and retire you properly."
He slid off the chair, coming to face the Major.
"For your ten years of impeccable service and devotion to the agency, as well as being a good nemesis to Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Carl and I present you with this medal for ten years of service." The Major opened the box, revealing a shining gold medal attached to a red ribbon. Monogram placed it over the monotreme's head, sniffling.
"Sir, are you…crying?"
"No. I'm sweating through my eyes."
Perry took the medal, holding it up to eye level, reading the inscription: This medal presented to Agent P, aka Perry the Platypus, for ten years of impeccable service to The Organization Without a Cool Acronym.
"And here's a catalogue of all the cool stuff you can get for working with us for ten years." Carl handed over a book, opening it to a page. "See? There's a kitchen mixer or a pair of knives or a pewter watch."
He took the book, casually flipping through it before chattering at the intern.
"Agent P, we salute you." The Major held a hand to his forehead, Carl doing the same. The platypus smiled, returning the salute. Monogram's eyes filled with tears. "You're the best agent I've ever had the pleasure of working with."
The platypus swiped at his suddenly moist eyes, finally ending the salute.
"Ugh. That never gets easy." Major Monogram took a handkerchief from his pocket, blowing his nose loudly. "Now Agent P, is there anything else we can do for you as part of your retirement? You know, any last requests?"
He smiled, his face lighting up. He knew exactly what he wanted.
"Okay okay. So the girl is homeroom is obviously out. Though just because you're not interested doesn't mean she won't ask you to Sadie Hawkins. But still, there are other—"
"What about Isabella?" Ferb asked.
The red head blinked. "Isabella? Ask me to Sadie Hawkins? Seriously Bro, where would you get a crazy idea like that?" He paused. "Although…Isabella asking me to Sadie Hawkins would be cool. I mean, she is one of my best friends aside from you." His brother did a face palm. "What?"
Ferb merely shook his head, his eyes landing on Perry, who skittered into the room.
"Oh there you are Perry." Phineas laughed. "Wow. It's been awhile since I've said that to you. But I guess—" he stopped short, looking down. Perry was tugging on his pant leg, growling. "What is it boy? Is something wrong?"
He continued to tug on the boy's pant leg, anchoring his back feet and pulling.
"Uh Ferb? Have you ever seen Perry act like this before?" The red head stood up, trying to shake him off. "You think something's wrong?" Ferb shrugged.
Perry let go of the boy's pant leg, disappearing under the bed for a moment before reemerging seconds later, holding something in his bill.
Phineas raised a disapproving brow. "Perry, that's my Luc Robitaille autographed hockey puck." He got down on one knee. "You can't have that boy. Now give." He reached out a hand, attempting to grab it from the platypus…only to have Perry whip around, doing a one-eighty before bolting from the room.
"Perry! Come back!" The red head was out the door like a shot, Ferb following close behind. "Perry, come on boy! Give me back my hockey puck!" He turned to his brother. "Seriously, what's gotten into him?"
Perry zig-zagged across town, making sure to keep the boys in sight as he ducked under a nearby fence. He paused to catch his breath, dropping the hockey puck in front of him. He only had to wait a few minutes before the boys hopped over. The platypus grabbed the puck and took off again.
One more block and he'd have the boys exactly where he wanted them.
Phineas skidded to a stop, huffing and puffing. "Wow. I didn't think Perry could move that fast. Seriously, when was the last time he ever moved that fast?"
"About three years ago."
"Only three?" Ferb nodded. "Huh. I could've sworn it was longer than that. Anyway, I don't know where he went. I saw him go up a block and then we chased him over here and now…" the red head stopped, noticing something. "Hey. What's this building?" He cautiously walked up to what appeared to be an office building. "Ferb, have you seen this before? I can't help thinking it looks vaguely familiar…"
A door opened up and a man with auburn hair and an auburn goatee emerged from the building. He stood outside, looking at them.
"Excuse me, but have you seen—"
"Your platypus?"
The red head started. "Well, yeah. We're looking for our pet platypus Perry. But how did you—"
"Oh, I saw him come in here. I don't know where he went though. Why don't you follow me and we'll see if we can find him."
"Cool. Come on Bro." Phineas motioned to his brother as he followed the future Major.
Carl led them through several dimly lit hallways before rounding a corner. "Ah, here we are." He walked into a room, flipping a series of switches on the wall. The room lit up, revealing a massive computer console over in a corner, one which seemed to be controlling some kind of machine. A white circle was drawn on the floor, complete with an X marked inside.
"Is this an experiment?" Ferb asked.
"Yes. We just need someone to test it on. I'll just call my associate in here." Carl paused. "That is, if you don't mind testing it out. It won't take to long."
"Sure!" Phineas grinned. "We're always up for testing inventions, right Bro?" Ferb seemed to hesitate for just a moment before shrugging.
"Good." Carl walked over to a nearby door, opening it just a crack. "Sir, they're here," he whispered.
Monogram glared at his ex-intern as he entered the room. "Your associate? I am still running things here you know. You're not official for another week."
"Sorry Sir."
Phineas leaned over to his brother, whispering. "Have we seen him before? I can't shake the feeling that we've met this guy before."
Ferb seemed to consider it for a moment. "He does look strangely familiar…"
"Hello children." Monogram regarded the boys in front of him. "Er…teenagers. You are teenagers right? I mean, it's been so long…" The boys exchanged puzzled looks. "Oh nevermind. You're obviously teenagers." The Major cleared his throat. "Anyway, Carl and I have been meaning to test out this new machine of ours and we were wondering if you would mind being the test subjects. We…need the opinion of some civilians, so…"
"Yeah, sure, we'll test it out," the red head offered.
"Oh wonderful. Now, if the two of you will just make your way over to that circle with the X and stand inside it, we can start testing. The test will only take a few minutes." Monogram waited while the boys walked over, standing inside the circle.
"Is this good?" Phineas asked.
"Yes, that will do nicely. Now…well, I'll just press this button and we'll go from there." Major Monogram pressed a button on the large console, causing the entire room to be enveloped in a flash of white light. It lit the room up for a minute before rapidly dissipating. "Any…well, thoughts?"
Phineas rubbed his eyes, looking around the room. "Wait. Carl?" His eyes landed on the Major. "Major Monogram…" His eyes trailed upwards, taking in every inch of the space. "Bro, we've been here before. Summer…about five years ago…"
Ferb's eyes widened as his brother's eyes locked on his, the two speaking in unison. "O.W.C.A." The memories came back in a rush and Phineas couldn't stop himself.
"Major Monogram! Where's Perry? He didn't get relocated because of us did he?" He shook his head. "No wait, that's not right. We—"
Ferb put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We fought that day with Perry. He was Agent P. He was going to be relocated, but—"
"We had our memories wiped so we could keep him." His brother nodded. "So where…?" The red head paused, noticing a short figure hiding in the shadows. He sank to his knees, watching as a teal platypus slowly skittered into view. "Perry? I mean…Agent P? Is that you?"
Ferb got down on his knees beside his brother, the two watching as the platypus slowly stood on two legs, donning his fedora from force of habit. He slowly walked toward the boys, not sure what to expect.
The platypus stopped inches from the red head, his eyes searching the teen's for a sign. Any sign that would tell him things were going to be alright. Before he realized what was happening, Phineas reached out, pulling him into a hug that was so tight he could barely breathe.
Perry felt a tear fall on his fur as Ferb came around, hugging him from behind.
"Has it really been five years?" The boy's voice was muffled in his fur, but he could hear him loud and clear. "Welcome back Buddy." Phineas smiled as he pulled back, affectionately rubbing his head. "It's great to see you again."
He stifled a joyful sob as the teen released him, turning to Monogram. His voice was thoughtful. "But how is this possible?"
"Agent P has been retired from the Agency. There is no danger of him being relocated anymore."
"But what about Doofenshmirtz?"
"Doofenshmirtz signed his resignation papers yesterday afternoon. He's turned to the side of good. Agent P's services are no longer required."
The red head considered the statement. "So Perry…?"
Monogram smiled. "He's all yours now. Every bit of him. His identity no longer has to be kept a secret."
"You mean…?"
"Yes."
The boy's eyes filled with tears as he grabbed his pet again, giving him another tight hug. "Did you hear that boy? We're reunited. For good this time. You don't have to hide your identity anymore."
"You're with us now," Ferb added, hugging him just as tightly.
The platypus sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes as the boys released him. With a happy smile, he took off his fedora, handing it over to the Major with a final salute before walking back to his boys.
Phineas stood up, taking Perry's paw in his hand as Ferb took the other, the three not even looking back as they walked out the door. The red head looked down at his pet and smiled. "Come on boy. Let's go home."