The Flynn-Fletcher's House

"Hey, Ferb, has Candace mentioned how Perry's doing?"

His bother shook his head in response, and Phineas went back to working on the deflector shield they were trying to invent. It was their third try, and this looked more hopeful than the others, but they weren't nearly as experienced as their 1st dimension counterparts. "That's too bad. I was hoping we'd get to see him again soon. He was doing so well for a while there… I just can't believe that he turned evil again."

Candace tried to shrug off the guilt that followed that one. After all, she was only trying to protect them, and if they knew that Platyborg was back on their side again, they'd probably get hurt. Phineas kept talking.

"Annie must be taking it really hard, too. I haven't seen her around since Perry got captured again." Candace sighed, and told herself she didn't care how much better they'd feel knowing that Platyborg was being taken care of by his former pet-sitter. They'd insist on going over there, and she couldn't allow that. The little monster might…

The look he'd had on his face when they'd patted him flashed through her mind. No. Her brothers were not going near him; but that didn't mean she couldn't pay Jamison a visit. She quirked a smile, and ducked out the door.

Somewhere on the City Limits

AJ wasn't trusting any weight at all to her bad ankle. She shot an uncharacteristic scowl at Perry as he flew around the robot's head, drawing fire once again. She didn't like the game he'd started. He'd been distracting the robot so she could take aim. The Platyborg-Retrieve-Inator had gotten in a few shots as well, and she knew Perry well enough to know he'd never admit he was hurt.

She also knew him well enough to know that droop in his left shoulder, and his slowing response time meant he was hurting.

As the robot turned it's back on her once more, she fired… or tried to. Nothing happened. The laser was dead.

The platypus had expected her to shoot, and had flown in to close. A large, robotic hand swept him out of the air, and sent him skidding through the dirt.

"Perry!"

He looked up at the warning, and barely dodged as the machine cratered the ground where he'd been sitting. To both of their surprise, it froze there.

Platyborg aimed his blaster, and took a tentative step towards it. Annie tossed her now useless blaster to the side, and put her hands in her pockets.

All of a sudden, the robot sprang back to full height, and turned. Platyborg jumped back, and fired, but to both of their surprise, the thing charged for Annie.

She quickly ducked into a roll to avoid it's advance, and as it's foot hovered over her, she slapped Doofenshmirtz's device onto it's leg. The thing immediately tipped over, and lay there, unmoving.

She dropped to the ground, too, panting hard from the fight. She noted that Perry was breathing even harder as he came over to her. He made eye contact, then pointed to the robot's leg.

She nodded. "I figured that he wouldn't bother with more than one shut down signal. You okay?"

He gave a quick nod, and pointed to her ankle.

She sighed. "It's not too bad, but I don't think I'm going to be able to walk home. How's the shoulder?"

He shrugged, but she caught the wince when he did. Before she could comment on it, Platyborg put his hand on her shoulder for a full second. He then jumped backwards, nearly tripping over his metal foot, and looked away.

She smiled, and she said softly, "I'm fine, really." She reached out and rubbed his head playfully. The poor little guy. With Doofenshmirtz out to get him, the resistance pushing him away, and his family being nothing more than a lost memory, she was all he had.

When he pushed her hand away, she pulled him into a hug. He stiffened, then rested against her shoulder with a heavy sigh.

She stroked his cheek, wondering just how much more he'd have to go through. When Doofenshmirtz had wiped his memories this time, he'd taken away the guilt and depression. But without those memories, what did he have?

She felt his beak quiver. It was the only warning she got before his arms wrapped around her neck and hugged her back. "You didn't think he'd really do it, did you?"

He shook his head, face still pressed into her shoulder.

She gave the robot a dark scowl, meant for the one who had built it. Perry had shown her the information he'd stolen, planning to give it to Doofenshmirtz. She knew that half the reason he'd chosen her side, was simply because he could. He'd been curious to see if she was telling the truth.

Now he knew.

…

Flynn-Fletcher's House

Candace came home after a fruitless search for AJ and Perry. According to the mission log, they'd gotten patrol duty. She stretched, and decided to get some sleep while she could. She glanced into the boys room as she passed it out of pure habit. It wasn't until she touched her doorknob that her heart skipped a beat.

She raced back, and stared from one bed to the next. Her hands shook as she raced to the nearest bed, and pulled the covers back. "Ferb?" Then the next bed. "Phineas?"

She stood, holding two blankets at her sides, and staring around the room numbly. She was only vaguely aware that she was standing in splintered wood, and broken plaster. She noted the giant hole in the wall with unseeing eyes.

Her brothers were gone.

To be continued…

A/N: Still don't own P&F.

Darn, this is short too! Sorry WordNerb93, at least I posted it on time. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.

Thanks for reading!