CHAPTER 9-Hey! I know I am putting these chapters up really fast, but I am going to be super busy over the weekend, so yeah.

I reference the episode "The Chronicles of Meap" in here. I don't own it, or Phineas and Ferb.

Well, don't sit there reading this anymore (providing you actually do)! Read the darn story! Go!

"Question is," Phineas muttered, "where on earth is he?"

GENERAL POV

Perry struggled uselessly against the grip Scott had him in, and he mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down. One false move to the litter box, and here he was, hog tied and forced to smell cigarette smoke in his face.

"Stop moving, stupid platypus!" Scott cried.

That was the thing Perry didn't get. Before now, he had never been able to hear Scott. While he still couldn't see him, his raspy voice was now clear as day.

Despite the warning, Perry continued wiggling, trying his best to get free from the ropes that bound his hands, feet, and tail to his sides. How Scott had managed to tie him up, he didn't know.

Scott scowled and hit Perry upside the head. Perry winced, not used to such hard hits. Doofenshmirtz had absolutely no upper arm strength, so the platypus normally got it pretty easy. "I told you to stop wiggling!" Scott cried.

Perry automatically stopped moving, not wanting another punch from the ghost. He instead began wriggling his fingers in his bonds, trying to reach the small pocketknife he knew was somewhere in his fur. The only problem was, the ropes were digging into his skin, making him bleed slightly in some places.

Perry sighed a moment later, knowing that his search for the knife was fruitless. He would just have to wait for Ferb…that is, if he had gotten the note.

Perry grimaced. Scott had left the note on the kitchen table. Perry had seen Candace on the way out, but he had no idea if she had seen the note or not. The platypus had tried to alert her to his presence, chattering earnestly, but Scott had done something to him that made him impossible to see or hear, so his efforts were worthless.

Perry groaned, now wishing for the first time that he actually was fighting Doofenshmirtz.

ON A PLANE, SOMEWHERE OVER WESTERN OHIO

Dr. D sat straight up in his seat and looked over at Vanessa, reading a fashion magazine quietly in her seat, her ear buds tightly encased in her ears. She caught her father watching her and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong, Dad?" she asked, pulling one of the buds out so as not to shout.

Dr. D shook his head. "I'm not sure, dear. I think something's wrong with Perry the Platypus…and I didn't cause it."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Dad. Perry can take care of himself. I mean, he defeats you every day, right?"

Doof paused. "Well, yes. But I still think he's in trouble," the doctor grumbled, sliding down into his seat.

IN THE FLYNN FLETCHER BACKYARD

Phineas and Ferb paced the backyard, both of them wringing their hands. The girls watched them roam back and forth until the inevitable happened: they crashed into each other and fell to the grass.

Phineas rubbed his head and winced. "Sorry, Ferb."

Ferb nodded and stood up, offering his hand to Phineas.

"Did you think of anything?" Phineas asked his brother as he dusted his shorts off.

Ferb shook his head. Phineas sighed, and they turned to the girls in the yard. All three were tapping their chins or had their faces scrunched in concentration. Suddenly, Candace looked up and snapped her fingers.

"I've got it! You guys remember when you made that Meap-tracker or whatever?"

Isabella's eyes brightened as she realized what Candace was thinking. "You could build a Platypus-tracker!" she cried in excitement.

Phineas frowned. "But we don't have time to make another one! We don't know what the heck Scott is doing to Perry!"

Holly shrugged. "Just use the one you used for Meap and re-program it to find Perry instead."

Phineas' frown was replaced by his usual grin. "That's brilliant! Wait here!"

He darted inside, pursued closely by Isabella. Holly looked from Candace to Ferb and paused. "I think you guys need to talk."

She stepped inside and shut the sliding door tightly behind her. Ferb lifted his eyes and looked at his sister. To Candace's surprise, his face darkened.

"I can't believe you've known for a year and you didn't tell me! You might've been able to help!" Ferb crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from his sister, scowling.

Candace pursed her lips and looked at her brother for a minute. "Ferb."

The boy stayed where he was, and Candace sighed. "Ferb…come on, look at me."

Ferb turned and glared at his sister. Candace knelt in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. She gazed into his eyes for a minute and sighed again.

"Ferb, tell me honestly, what good could I have done against something I couldn't see or hear?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Ferb's scowl vanished, replaced instead by slight shame. "Nothing," he mumbled, and then the frown returned. "But you could've talked to me and made me feel better…or at least made sure that I wasn't dying!"

Candace gave him a small smile. "You didn't see it, did you?" she asked softly.

Ferb looked at her, confused. Candace shifted her position and looked back at him. "Ferb, every time you went outside to the backyard, who always came down for a drink of water or a snack?"

Ferb blinked, and then whispered, "You."

Candace nodded. "Exactly. I always stayed downstairs until you came back in or until Perry came down. I felt like if I left you alone, you'd get hurt."

Ferb tilted his head. "Why'd you leave when Perry came out?"

Candace hesitated, confusion flashing over her features. "I'm not sure. He seems like the kind of pet that would know when one of his owners is in trouble and would somehow alert the others."

Ferb nodded, and then gave Candace a hug just as Phineas, Isabella, and Holly came back into the yard.

"OK, it took some searching, but I finally found it!" Phineas cried, holding up the tracking device in his hands.

Ferb knelt next to Phineas and the two went to work immediately, re-wiring the wires that connected to the traits system and flipping some of the microchips on the inside. Ferb paused a minute later and looked up. "To find him, we're going to need a sample of Perry's DNA."

Expecting this, Holly handed over the hairbrush that Ferb had used on Perry only the day before. Ferb plucked a strand of teal blue hair from the bristles and dropped it into the machine. It instantly whirred to life, a small beeping coming from it as it searched for the location. Phineas watched it closely until the beeping stopped and a small blue dot blinked from the screen.

"I got the coordinates!" Phineas yelled in excitement.

The five kids raced inside and Phineas brought up the internet. He inserted the coordinates into the computer system and a tiny hourglass appeared onscreen, telling him that the search would take no more than 30 seconds.

Sure enough, exactly 30 seconds later, a ding emitted from the computer and a tiny map of the Tristate area showed up. Phineas grinned in excitement, and then widened his eyes in surprise.

"You guys will never believe where Scott took Perry," he said, zooming into the picture onscreen.

"Where?" the other four cried. Phineas scooted his chair out of the way and waved his hand. "See for yourself."

Candace's brow furrowed in confusion as she read the screen.

Maryellen Gary. 104 River Road. (Search it on Google. Don't know if you'll find anything, but it's in Maine…the street, not the address.)

"Why would Scott take Perry to his Mom's house?"

AT SCOTT'S OLD HOME

Perry squirmed on the metal table that was under him, the cold metal bars keeping him from escaping. He didn't see Scott come over, but the cold air and smoke scent wafted across his nostrils and he shivered. A cold hand clamped onto his shoulder tightly, and Scott leaned over menacingly. "I really hope Ferb learns his lesson from this."

Perry shuddered to think what that meant, and then winced as his face was slapped once more. As the hand connected with his face he heard "Dumb platypus" and then Scott fell silent again. Another strike, and "always in the way" made its way to Perry's ears. That's when he understood.

He could only hear Scott when the teen was touching him. It explained why Perry had never heard a word out of him until now. Perry flinched away as the shocking cold smacked his face again. He groaned inwardly, mad that he couldn't get free, and then yelped out loud as his gut was punched.

IN A PLANE, SOMEWHERE OVER EAST INDIANA

Doofenshmirtz yelped, causing all the passengers to turn their heads to look at them. Vanessa looked at him in confusion. "Dad? What happened?"

Doof rubbed his cheek. "Not sure."

A sharp pain entered the man's stomach, and Dr. D winced. He pulled a remote control like item out of his pocket and grumbled as he fumbled with the switch. Vanessa looked at it curiously. "Dad, what is that?"

Doof looked up briefly. "My mini transport-inator. I'm telling you, sweetie, something's wrong with Perry the Platypus. I want to find out what Monobrow did with him, and we are leaving now."

Vanessa threw her hands in the air. "You're kidding me! We didn't have to take a dumb plane home?"

Doof smiled and shook his head. "Nope."

With that, he pressed the green button and he and Vanessa flashed out, leaving their empty seats and a very bewildered stewardess behind…as well as all of their luggage.

Well?

I know, I know. Another cliff hanger. Well at least now you know where Perry is!

R and R!