CHAPTER 13- So….apparently I'm still alive, since I typed this….although I typed it before I even put up the last chapter….but who got the password for my account? Huh. I must be alive then! Yay! I like life….

Haha, no I'm just kidding. I'm impressed that so many of you realized that it was actually logical for Candace to be hurt when she turned back into a human. I was originally going to make her lose her whole right foot, but I figured that her losing her toe was easier for when- whoops! Almost slipped up! Ahem. Comments:

Reid Phantom: Um…thanks. I think ;)

Elizabeth: Stop asking so many questions and just read. Many of them will be answered.

AquaThePheonix: Yes, I do have Perry slippers. They make me happy (:

TheLPSDragon: Sorry about me killing your weak stomach!

Wii Guy: Haha, very punny.

I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Joy. Just read.

She gently covered up her legs, trying to ignore the phantom pain from her missing right pinky toe.

GENERAL POV

Dipper looked up from his perch on the roof as the hatch opened up and Mabel climbed out. The boy sighed and put his chin back on his knees as his twin slid down the roof and sat next to him.

They stayed silent for a while until Mabel spoke. "What are you doing up here, Dipper?"

Dipper glanced sideways at his sister. "Sitting."

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "You know that's not what I mean, silly. Candace scared you, didn't she?"

Dipper winced and looked down. "I…I want to say no….but at first, yes, she did. I don't want to be…I know it's stupid."

Mabel scooted over and hugged her brother. "It's not stupid. You had just been attacked by a bunch of murderous mermaids. I would've been scared too."

Dipper smiled thinly. "Yeah, but the way I reacted…Mabel, she's going to hate me!"

Mabel chuckled softly. "She doesn't hate you Dipper."

"How do you know? And why won't she come talk to me if she doesn't?" Dipper asked.

Mabel bit her lip and looked away. "Dipper, for one thing, she was really beat up by those mermaids. For another…I don't know how much climbing she's going to be doing for a while."

Dipper looked at Mabel in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Mabel glanced down again and shivered slightly, and not because she was cold. "Those…those mermaids. They did a lot of damage." She glanced up and met her brother's eyes. "Do you remember seeing her flipper?"

Dipper winced. "You mean, like how it was all torn? Yeah, why?"

Mabel gulped. "I guess that stuff transfers over to her legs no matter what…and Grunkle Stan isn't a professional surgeon."

Dipper was getting worried. "Mabel? What are you getting at?"

Mabel took a breath. "Candace….her pinky toe isn't…I mean…it's gone. Like just…absolutely vanished."

Dipper's face paled. "It's…gone? Like, bleeding, ripped off, or….just…gone?"

Mabel sighed. "Gone. There's a really…a really big cut, but it's not bleeding or anything, at least, not too badly, probably because of the stitches. But it's gone."

Dipper gulped and reached towards his chest, before realizing that he was wearing a shirt that wasn't his. He jumped up, wobbling slightly, and Mabel grabbed his arm. "Dipper, what are you doing?"

Dipper gulped and started towards the hatch that led into the house. "I need to find my book," he said, his voice cracking a little more than usual. "It was with my stuff on the boat."

His hands flew to his head and he almost fell down the roof. "And where the heck is my hat?"

Mabel placed a hand on his back so he wouldn't fall. "Wendy picked it up. But why-?"

Dipper scrambled down the ladder and jumped into the Mystery Shack just as the front door opened. Wendy, Phineas, Ferb, and their parents walked in.

Mabel jumped down next to Dipper and gave him a small smile. "I'm going to check on Candace. Don't mention anything about…you know. Just in case."

Dipper stared after his sister as she walked out of the room. Since when was she so intuitive and sensitive? He felt like he didn't even know her.

A hand plunked down gently on his head and he turned around to find Wendy smiling at him, his hat now on his hat. He grinned. "Thanks, Wendy. You didn't by chance-?"

Wendy reached into the bag she had and pulled out his book with a smirk. "One step ahead of you, Dipper. You ok?"

Dipper gave a small nod and clutched his book to his chest. "I've been better…and I'm really tired."

Wendy nodded. "Well, it is two thirty in the morning. You should get some sleep."

Dipper nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Wendy."

Wendy rubbed his head fondly. "I'm just glad you're ok, man."

She walked away and Dipper darted up to his room, Waddles on his heels. That pig was everywhere.

Dipper flopped into bed, wincing at the pain in his chest, and flipped open his book to the very first page. Waddles hopped up next to him and oinked curiously.

Dipper sighed. "It's my fault Candace got hurt, Waddles. And I need to fix it."

Linda and Lawrence each kissed Candace on the forehead and went back to bed. Phineas had already gone upstairs to keep an eye on Dipper, and now only Mabel and Ferb were left sitting in the room with her.

"You guys should get some sleep," Candace said softly.

Mabel hesitated, then nodded and left the room. "Night, Candace and Ferb," she called over her shoulder.

Perry trotted sleepily into the room and flopped immediately onto the floor at Ferb's feet. The boy leaned over and stroked his pet, his intense eyes never leaving Candace.

"You're leaving something out," he finally said.

Candace hesitated. "What do you mean?"

Perry cracked an eye open and looked at her curiously. Ferb crossed his arms and walked over to his sister in concern. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Candace, I know when something's wrong. Call it intuition, or sibling instinct, but you're hiding something."

Candace looked down, her eyes wandering to her legs, and Ferb followed her gaze. He frowned and tilted his head, pondering.

"Something happened, didn't it? Because of what happened to your flipper," he said softly.

Candace glanced up and Ferb knew he'd hit the nail on the head. He swept his hand down at the blanket and Candace sighed, reaching down and tugging it up so that her legs were still covered (she was admittedly a little cold) but her feet were showing.

Ferb grimaced and his face paled. He knelt next to Candace's feet and winced, looking up, his eyes full of sympathetic pain. "Does it hurt?" he whispered.

Candace gave a small shrug and covered her feet back up. "Sort of. Yes. But it's more of like…a phantom pain. You can tell Phineas, ok, but please don't mention this to Mom and Dad. I want them to sleep for the rest of the night."

Ferb nodded, hugged his sister tightly, and went to bed without another word.

Perry stood up wearily and pulled back the covers at Candace's feet, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I might kill some mermaids," the platypus chattered, clenching his fists.

Candace winced and held out her arms. Perry automatically hopped into them and hugged Candace. "Please don't Perry. They almost killed me, and I'm much bigger than you. Even with your agent training…"

Perry nodded and curled up on Candace's stomach. Candace paused and cocked her head. "You're not going to stay there all night, are you?"

Perry opened one eye. "Probably not, but I'm staying for now."

Candace chuckled and sank down into the couch, nestling her head on the couch cushions and falling asleep almost immediately.

She woke up a little while later and squinted around. Perry was no longer on her stomach, and Candace searched the room for the platypus.

He was curled up in an easy chair, snoring gently and chattering every time he exhaled. Candace smiled and took a look at her phone, which someone had put next to her on the side table. The digital display said that it was almost 4 am.

And Candace really had to pee.

The girl hesitated and pushed herself into a sitting position. She really didn't want to wake Perry up, but she wasn't sure she could get to the bathroom, despite it being like ten feet away.

Candace gulped and pulled her covers off. She swung her legs over the side of the couch and almost screamed at the flare of pain that went through them.

Candace gulped back tears and grabbed on to the arm of the couch tightly before slowly standing up, putting all of her weight on her left foot.

The girl almost crumpled to the ground screaming but she had to do this. If not just to use the bathroom, then to prove to herself that she would be ok.

Candace breathed heavily and slowly hobbled her way over to the bathroom, grateful for the small light that had been left on by the door. She finally made it to the door and grabbed it, almost falling flat on her face as it swung inwards.

A strong arm caught her bicep and Candace almost screamed (again). She hobbled around and looked up at Grunkle Stan, gently putting a hand over her pounding heart. "Geez, Stan, you scared the crap out of me," she whispered.

Stan looked at her in worry. "Why on earth didn't you call for someone to help you to the bathroom?" he asked softly.

Candace winced and glanced down, staring at her throbbing foot. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own."

Stan gave her a small smile. "Kid, you can't do everything by yourself, especially after just losing your…ahem, do you want me to wait here?"

Candace gave him a grateful smile. "Yeah. Thanks."

She went to the bathroom rather slowly, but when she finally came out, Stan was still there. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep right now," Candace said. "Can you help me to the kitchen?"

The man nodded, and, rather than letting Candace walk, he scooped her off her feet and walked her into the kitchen, setting her down gently on one side of the benches.

Candace glanced around, taking in the half eaten sandwich on the table, the cold mug of coffee, and the reading glasses perched on top of a book. She looked up as Stan sat down.

"Have you gotten any sleep?" she asked, gesturing to the stuff on the table.

Stan gave a sheepish smile and shook his head. "No. I stayed up to keep an eye on you, and catch up on my reading."

Candace looked at the book and blinked, squinting closer at what it was about. "Oh. You were, uh…"

Stan smiled. "Catching up on my mermaid facts, kid. Yeah, it's kind of stupid, but after tonight…"

Candace nodded and leaned back, wincing as the scrapes up and down her back flared up. "You know, you could have just asked me stuff."

Stan nodded. "Yeah, I know. Listen, uh, I did have one question. That book mentions moving water with your mind, and I uh…I wasn't sure if…"

Candace smiled and nodded to the sink. Automatically, the tap turned on and Stan blinked in surprise. Candace flicked her hand gently and a stream of water flowed into the air, twisting and moving to her will.

She shaped it into the words "Mystery Shack" and then let the water fall back into the sink and shut the tap off.

Even that small bit of power had drained her, and Candace suddenly felt ready to sleep for a thousand years. "Stan? Can I actually go to bed?"

Stan nodded and got up again, seeming to realize just how tired Candace really was. He picked her up again and walked back into the living room, gently setting her down on the couch and covering her with the blanket.

"You know," Candace said with a small yawn, "I think you were soft hearted before all this happened."

Stan smiled and walked back towards the kitchen. "Yeah, well, don't you dare tell anyone."

Aw. I love Stan, frankly. He freaking rocks.

This chapter obviously wasn't very action-y, but that's because no one's fighting any death crazed mermaids anymore. But there will be a few more things that happen.

Hee hee.

Please review!