I'm back! Things get a bit more interesting from here ;) I just want to mention, I don't hate Major Monogram or the AWACA, but I just wanted to exploit I darker side of the "good guys.
Perry POV
Fired… I couldn't believe it. I've been fired. Sacked, let go, released, discharged, terminated, laid off, shown the door, given the pink slip; I've been fired.
My head felt very light all of a sudden. Had I been standing, I'm pretty sure my knees would've buckled. It's one thing to know you'd get fired for telling someone something, but it's a whole other thing to actually get fired. What do I do now? What… Oh there's so many 'what's I could ask, but I just… I…
My shoulder was squeezed. When had someone placed their hand upon it? Now that I thought about it, that shoulder felt particularly warm. They must've held my shoulder a while ago then. I slowly looked up; it felt like my head weighed a thousand pounds. Nothing quite seemed real at the moment. I suppose, if I was being honest with myself, I never actually believed Major Monogram would just up and fire me like that. Or at all. I just didn't believe…
My shoulder was squeezed again. It was Vanessa. Of course it was Vanessa. I forced myself to concentrate on what was being said.
"…okay, right? They'll take you back after we change you, right?" Isabella was asking nervously.
"No," I said quietly. "It's not the fact I'm human, it's the…" I trailed off dejectedly, not really wanting to say it out loud.
"It's the fact you told us about being a secret agent," Ferb stated. That's one of the things I love and hate about Ferb. He simply stated it. It wasn't a question; he already knew and understood.
"But that's not fair!" Candace shouted.
"No it's not!" Phineas agreed. "Couldn't you talk to them? Explain the situation?"
I shook my head. That's not how the agency worked and I told them just that.
Phineas shook his head in utter disbelief, "That's just not fair."
That being said, I couldn't help but laugh. "Life's not fair, kid. Don't ever forget it," I told Phineas. I told everybody really. After all I've been through I should know life's not fair. This year alone could make some very strong points on life's unfairness, but I started realizing life wasn't fair long before this.
My first year in the agency (the training portion), my best friend –since an owner hadn't given him a name yet, we all called him Ducky, since he was a duck and all– was learning a new move, one that I had mastered the day after we had gotten it, but he twisted wrong and ended up breaking his neck. He was taken out of the agency, never to be seen by any of us again. Later, a year or two after I passed the training course and had my own family (the Flynn-Fletcher's), another friend of mine was removed from the agency, but not because he broke his neck. That was when I found out that falling in love was frowned upon at the AWACA. Actually, 'frowned upon' is a gross understatement. Doug (the Skunk) was practically obliterated from the agency. His name couldn't be found anywhere. Not his stuff, not his cubical, not even his smell! A replacement sunk was brought in to fight his Nemesis; his name was Lace. After a while, I started liking Lance, but that doesn't mean I missed seeing Doug. Nothing was the same without his jokes. That's when I started noticing things more and more. Though it didn't happen often (perhaps one or two times a year), once in a while someone would just disappear. I was able to make the connections when I (subtly) questioned the friends of those missing. Each and every missing animal had been talking about a 'special someone' to a coworker or two. Even the ones who never let it slip that they'd fallen in love were found out eventually. I remember asking Major Monogram why and he simply replied that everyone in love acts differently and is a danger to the agency; he never said more than that. Then, there was this one time where an agent revealed himself to his family and was relocated to Alaska! All because he was trying to protect his family from his Nemesis! This all happened before I was turned into a human. Before everything got very, very complicated for my own personal sake.
When people say life isn't fair, I don't doubt them for even a second.
"There's got to be something we can do!" Phineas cried. "Something, anything!"
I shrugged. "Not really, no."
"What if you stay like this?"
I looked up to see Candace, avoiding my gaze and looking rather embarrassed; but it definitely was her voice I had heard.
"What?" I asked, simply because I couldn't believe what she was suggesting.
"Stay. Like this," she gestured to my body. "I don't know how it would work, but… Wouldn't you like to stay?"
My mouth was hanging open, but no words came out. I wanted to. Dear Lord, I really wanted to. But I was just so stunned I couldn't figure out what to say. Dimly, I registered the sound of clapping and Isabella's excited voice saying, "Oh that would be wonderful! I bet Phineas and Ferb could help you too! Get you on your feet and everything."
There was a pause before Ferb's thoughtful voice said, "…It would be difficult, but… I think we could make it work."
I was just in shock. They were suggesting I stay like this. A human. So many things were going around in my head. Good things, bad things, very horrible things, things that made me blush, but all that that I could think of saying was, "But what about your mom?"
The excited chatter died down and everyone looked thoughtful. That was when I realized Vanessa hadn't said a word since I admitted I'd been fired. I looked at her only to find a strangely quiet girl with a far-off look on her face. Before I could ask Vanessa what was wrong, Candace broke the silence.
"Well I don't know whether or not we should involve her, but I should at least let her know that Isabella's here so she won't be too surprised or anything." Walking out of her room, Candace said brightly, "Oh! And maybe she'll make pancakes! I'll ask her!" She practically flew out of the room.
I tried to suppress a chuckle. Candace loved pancakes, especially her mom's recipe that had been passed down for generations. I've had a few nibbles here and there and I can understand Candace's love for them. But that wasn't the only thing that made me happy. Rather than going to her mom immediately to bust her brothers, Candace was willing to keep quiet about it. She really had changed.
I said 'tried,' but I actually failed. Pretty soon, we were all cracking up. Even Vanessa had a small smile on her face. Just as we were finally calming down –my sides were aching and my checks were burning from so much smiling– Candace burst into the room looking frantic.
"They're gone!" She cried, waving a piece of paper in the air. "They're gone!"
"Who's gone?" Phineas asked.
"Them! Mom, dad!"
"…What do you mean?" I asked slowly.
Candace sank to the floor, holding up the piece of paper above her head. "Just read it," she said quietly.
Phineas took it first. After he read it, he held it out to Ferb with wide, confused (and a little bit freighted) eyes. The note was passed to everyone until it got to me.
Hello Flynn-Fletchers! (And Vanessa and Isabella.)
You've got something that I want and I propose a trade. You give me what I desire and I'll give you what you desire. Oh? What is it that I've got that you want? Excellent question! Have you notice something missing? For about… Oh, I'd say a few hours now? Yes, that's right! I've got your precious mummy and daddy! And you can have them back; just meet me at the park today at 1. And if you don't bring what I want, well… I don't think there's any oxygen in space, now is there? Just remember: Get the police involved and they die. I look forward to meeting you!
-Z
I looked up, my mind processing this information as quickly as possible. I understood everything (and I had a feeling I knew what to was they the person wanted), but who exactly was this person? Who was 'Z'?