"Doofy, Doofy, Doofy,… Doofy, Doofy, Doofy, Doofenshmritz!"

Perry rolled his eyes. If Doof sang that toneless 'themesong', one more time…

He didn't need the silence filled, or the mood lightened. Annie was trapped somewhere in the giant puzzle, and he needed to get to her before she had another panic attack or something.

"Oh lighten 's just a mechanism that's gone haywire, and is potentially fatal now. Like, well, a lot of my -inators. So this is practically like old times."

He nodded absently, hearing something up ahead. He tugged on Doof's pant-leg until the scientist stopped. "What is it?"

He wasn't sure, but something wasn't right. He found a few loose pieces of rock from the walls, and started grinding them together. Doof covered his ears at the unpleasant sound, but he didn't stop until he'd created the dust cloud he needed.

Sure enough, the entire hallway ahead of them was filled with laser beams.

Doof scoffed. "No problem. This is a test, right? They wouldn't use real…" Doof's voice cut off, and he jumped back with a yelp as he threw one of the rocks he was holding into the lasers, and it was sliced in half like it was made of butter.

He didn't have long before the dust settled, so he dove right in.

"Perry the platypus, are you crazy?!

There were a few tight spots, and a couple flips that had to be preformed perfectly, but it really wasn't that bad. He got the the other side, and hit the lever that turned everything off.

Doof broke into applause as he hurried through. "That was… wow… I'm sure glad I didn't get stuck down here alone, because I never would have made it through that. Wait a minute! Who's the Dumkoff that put a laser trap in a ancient ruin escape?!" With that, Doof scowled at the wall like there was a hidden camera in it.

He decided to just keep moving. Two corridors and a staircase later, the stepped out into glaring sunlight.

"Agent P!" Carl's voice was right behind them. "Great work getting your team out of there. Agent X brought the others out a little while ago."

He gave a sigh of relief, and ran to the edge to look where Carl was pointing. He squinted, and hooded his eyes with his hand, but he could only make out Maggie, Harry, and Karen."

When he turned, Carl was twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Yeah… we told her to wait, but AJ insisted on going back for you as soon as the others were out."

"She went back in there?!" Doof followed him to the door they'd just come out of. He shook his head, and pointed to the others.

"But, Perry the platypus…"

He stopped his foot, and scowled.

Doof crossed his arms. "Fine. But if you guys aren't back in ten minutes, I'm goin' back in, and you won't be here to stop me!" His voice went sing-song as he finished.

He just rolled his eyes, and headed back down the corridor alone.

He chattered, and listened for a response, then kept walking. If he knew Annie, she'd go right back to that slide, and try to track them from there. But with all the traps and turns down here…

It wasn't long before he heard footsteps up ahead. He briefly considered getting stuck in a trap so she could think she'd accomplished something by coming back for him, but he immediately dismissed that idea in favor of crossing his arms, and tapping his foot.

Her flashlight beam hit him as she rounded the corner. "Perry!"

Her relieved smile faded as he shook his head, still tapping his foot.

"Everyone's out… you knew that already." She sighed. "You had to come back here for me, didn't you?"

His foot stopped tapping as he realized she wasn't hyperventilating, even after coming back down here in the dark. His face pinched in confusion, and she smiled again.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need to work on dark, tight spaces. But this has actually been a really great first step. Thanks for that."

She didn't have to explain what she meant. He remembered how much playing in the pool with her had helped him forget about the underground river. He could only assume that holding him in the dark had started creating less negative association, too.

He smiled, and led her back to the door, where Doof was waiting. "They made it!"

Carl ran forward as they stepped out, and sealed the door shut. Agents were taking care of the other doors. The intern wiped his brow and smiled at them. "Good to have you back, guys."

Annie crossed her arms. "What happened?"

He looked down at his clipboard, scratching his head. "I'm still not sure. The first half of the test went beautifully…"

Annie stooped him there. "What about my trap?"

He checked his notes. "That was intentional."

She swallowed. "I was afraid of that."

He crossed his arms, and the intern smiled down at him while he adjusted his glasses. "We knew about Agent X's growing claustrophobia, Agent P, and we needed to be sure she's got a handle on it. We also needed to know how you handled the team with everyone working at sub-par levels. It was never supposed to collapse, though. I don't understand any of the accidents we've been having around here. This equipment is brand new! Still, you all passed with flying colors. Even you, Doofenshmirtz!"

Doof blinked. "But… I called in sick…"

Monogram came up behind them. "Yes, but you came through for the team when they needed you. I never thought I'd say this, but you just might make a decent agent yet, Doof."

He smiled, and glanced down at his watch. He still had a few hours before school was out, so he pointed to Carl's clipboard. The intern handed it to him without question, and he scribbled a quick note, and handed ti to Annie.

She smiled, and nodded.

—_

He'd invited both his friends over for dinner, at Annie's house, of course. He climbed around her kitchen, getting the meal ready while they sat at the table.

Annie leaned back, and asked, "Sure you don't want help?" over her shoulder, again.

He shook his head, and motioned for her to turn around.

She shrugged, and turned obediently.

"Well, at least it's obvious what this is all about."

"Right. But you're not still thinking of quitting, are you, Doof?"

"Me thinking of quitting? No! No, this is about you, and the whole, scared of the dark bit!"

He shook his head with a smile as the argument went on behind him.

"What?! No, we're well past that! I explained to Perry that the whole thing actually helped me, so… this is entirely about you."

"Well I think that coming after you guys proves that you're stuck with me. Even though you don't really want me, and you think I'm stupid."

"Who said we didn't want you?"

"You should have seen Perry the platypus's face when he got stuck with me."

"He was just worried about getting everyone out of there. And c'mon, Doof. No one thinks you're stupid! Well, okay, people do. But we know better!"

"No! See, right there. It's always 'Doof'. And don't say it's to make saying my name easier, because my name is Heinz. It's not all that difficult to say."

… "I didn't realize it bothered you. Irked you a bit, sure… but I had no idea you felt that way about it."

"Why wouldn't I feel that way? How'd you like to be called stupid all the time?"

"It's a nickname. Or are you trying to insult me back when you call me 'MC'?"

… "A little. Now you've gotten me all turned around! I'm supposed to be telling you that you proved you can handle your fears when you got the team out, and then went back for us. That took guts."

"No. I'm supposed to be telling you that you've already come a long way, and that you didn't let me thank you earlier. I don't think I could have handled being trapped alone in the dark again, and I would have if you hadn't shoved me out of the way."

"Well, we're…"

"Go on. Just say it."

Doof let out a big sigh. "We're a team. And it was no big deal."

"Well for the record, it was a big deal to me. And I'll try not to call you Doof anymore."

… "You're sure it's not an insult?"

"Hasn't been for quite some time now."

"Well… I guess it's okay… you ever going to tell me what your letters stand for?"

"Maybe someday."

"Oh sure." …

He stopped the conversation by setting a plate of rigatoni and bratwurst in front of each of them, than dashed back for a third plate for himself, while Annie bowed her head.

"Wait… is this bratwurst? What are you doing with bratwurst in your fridge?"

Annie finished praying. "I have no idea where he got this, but anything goes with rigatoni." She tried a bite. "Mmmm, Perry, you're done it again!"

"Yes, this is delicious! Perry the platypus, I had no idea you knew how to cook! This bratwurst tastes a lot like mine, but you cooked it to perfection! And not a hotdog in sight. Huh."

It made sense that Doof recognized the taste; he'd picked up the bratwurst at Doofenshmirtz Incorporated when they'd stopped to get Doof a change of clothes from the oil slide fiasco.

They enjoyed their meal quietly for a few minutes before Doof spoke up, mouth full. "So, wait, now I'm confused… Perry the platypus, which was it? Is this for AJ, or for me?"

He shook his head with a smile, and took another forkful of food as they started arguing again. He was glad they'd had a chance to talk things out, but he'd just wanted to let his two best friends know that he appreciated them.

—_

A/N: Thanks for reading!