Phineas felt the zap of the Crazy-Control-inator. He gasped, his eyes widened and his pupils shrunk. A strong force pushed against his chest, throwing him into the air. Phineas landed on the grass hard. He looked up to see the blue sky. There was a cloud that resembled a squirrel.

"Come on, Dinner Bell! I'm ready for ya! You can't beat Buford in a fight!"

Phineas realized he was out of breath and it hurt to bring in any air. The fear Phineas felt in his mind returned. Breathe! Breathe!

"Phineas?" Candace!

The slight distraction helped calm Phineas enough to bring in half a breath. Little by little, Phineas's breath returned. The squirrel cloud became disfigured and whisped apart.

Perry chattered. Phineas turned his head to the side to see him. No red eyes. No super fighting skills. Just a platypus that doesn't do much. Perry chattered again.

"Phineas?" Candace asked again. Phineas watched her approach, but she still stayed a safe distance away. Ferb was only a step closer than she was.

"You back to normal or do I gotta beat you up some more?" Buford was kneeling on Phineas's other side. He was covered in blood.

"Buford! Did I do that?" Phineas rose to a sitting position, "I'm so sorry. You need to get those looked at."

Buford just waved it off, "I'm fine. Nothin' I haven't had before from the ground. You might wanna get yourself looked at though."

Phineas looked down to see his shirt and shorts bloodstained even more than Buford was. His arms had turned red from the bloody cuts. Phineas's hands began to shake violently. He couldn't take his eyes off of his arms.

Candace and Ferb ran up the moment Phineas spoke. Candace picked Phineas up in her arms and carried him inside. "It's okay, Phineas. We'll get you cleaned up and taken care of. Everything is going to be okay."

Phineas just shook, staring at his hands.

Isabella and Stacy led the others into the house after Candace and Ferb. No one spoke except for Candace, who soothed Phineas and gave directions. No one complained about her giving them orders. Together, Candace and Ferb washed the blood and cuts. Candace didn't want it to look worse than it was-the cuts really only kept bleeding because of Phineas's fight with Buford-so she changed Phineas's clothing as well, sending Buford to dispose of the stained clothing.

Candace was just getting Phineas's attention when Stacy poked her head into the bathroom, "Candace, Albert just texted me a warning that your mom is coming home. He's going to keep her in the car for as long as he can."

Candace nodded, "Thanks, Stace." Candace turned back to Phineas. "Phineas, how are you feeling?"

Phineas was now staring at the space by his shoes. He didn't respond. Both Candace and Ferb expected Phineas to be out of it for the rest of the day, at least, so Candace didn't push him to respond.

Isabella came up to the bathroom door, "How is he?"

Candace sighed, "He'll be fine. He's going to be distracted for a while."

Isabella walked up to Phineas, "Phineas?"

Phineas looked up at her, but quickly put his gaze back on the floor.

"Phineas. Are you okay?"

Phineas didn't look up.

"Phineas," Isabella insisted, "I need you to tell me you are okay. Please? Just say something."

Phineas looked up at her again. His eyes reflected the sorrow and fear he felt. He willed her to understand, to see it, instead of hear it. He returned to staring at the tile floor.

Isabella sat beside the boy she loved, sharing her comfort with him. Ferb signalled to Candace that they should leave the two alone.

Candace didn't resist. She wanted to stay with Phineas, but others could help him just as much as she could. She was also more comfortable leaving him with Isabella than with any of Phineas's other friends.

Linda walked into her house, followed closely by Albert, one of Candace's friends, apparently. Albert had annoyed her enough on her errands. Linda was going to have a talk with Candace about getting her friends to do things instead of Candace doing them herself.

"Candace, I'm home! I'm sure you want to bust the boys for something."

"Hi, Mom," Candace greeted her mother.

Linda was a little surprised by the calmness in Candace's voice, "Hi, Candace. Hi, boys."

Ferb waved to his mother as she entered the living room. Phineas stared at his shoes. Isabella waved, but didn't say anything. Irving, who had already lost and was allowed to stay until his brother returned, attempted to get the others to talk, "Speak if you are human." No answer. Stacy and Jeremy had taken Buford and Baljeet home.

"They're having a quiet contest. Who can be quiet longest," Candace explained.

Linda noticed the bandages on Phineas's arms and hands, "Phineas! What happened to your arms?" She kneeled to examine them.

"Mom! It's okay! I took care of it," Candace assured, "Phineas was getting plates for lunch, but he fell and the plates broke in his arms. I made sure he was okay. I would have called, but I was just so busy making sure Phineas was okay that it slipped my mind." Candace remembered breaking several plates on the kitchen floor to accomadate her story.

Linda sighed in relief, "Well I'm glad you are all right. All of you. Candace, that was very responsible of you."

Candace smiled, though she knew she didn't deserve the compliment. Candace nudged Albert to leave.

"Oh, uh, Irving. Mom wants us home."

Irving whined a complaint, "Why do we have to go now?"

Albert crossed his arms, "Because Mom wants us home."

Irving groaned and followed Albert out the door.

Linda rose to her feet and offered snacks. Ferb and Isabella nodded. Phineas closed his eyes.

"Phineas? Are you okay?" Linda asked.

Candace herded her mother to the kitchen, "He's just concentrating on being silent. It's hard for him you know. Always talking."