Author's Notes: This one makes me sad. :( I wonder if things would have gone differently for Perry if he had gone to check on the jail like he wanted to…

It was fun to edit, though! ^^

/edit

First off, there is something I need to say;

I have always wanted to use the word 'squeamish'. XD

And now for something relatively relevant.

Oh, my gosh, I feel so bad for everybody in this chapter. T^T The poor boys feel like they let their troops down, and Perry feels all betrayed, and Doof is just bewildered and a little concerned. Oddly enough, I feel bad for Doof the most. *SOB*OOH, and you know what else? Turns out my editor (Mom) likes drama, too, so now it's SUPER SAD. Ooooh, I am soooo evil! MWAHAHAHA...Aw, now I feel mean. :(

The rest of Perry's second day with the Rebellion passed uneventfully, aside from the mini food-fight that Buford and Ferb held at dinner (which ended with Buford covered in peas, while everyone else took cover under the table)- and the agent soon found himself curling up at Phineas' feet, prepared to lose himself to sleep once more. The atmosphere was a little tense that evening, no doubt because the boys knew Perry wasn't entirely pleased with their decisions not to let him help, and not to let him have a last fight with Doofenshmirtz. Nonetheless, Phineas' smile remained fixed on his face, and Ferb showed no sign of awkwardness. Perry, in turn, did not hold back his affectionate purring as they petted him, despite the slightly uncomfortable feeling swirling in his mind. For now, there was nothing he could do, but there was one thing he was sure of- even if he couldn't have his last fight with Doofenshmirtz, he would not let Phineas and Ferb confront a potentially dangerous saboteur alone. One way or another, this was one mission he couldn't miss.

The next morning was cold, which was odd, since it was still summer. A light mist hung over the camp, draping a veil of white over the tents and obscuring things in the distance. Another oddity of the morning was that Phineas and Ferb got up earlier than usual, which went unnoticed by Perry as he wasn't the earliest of risers. In fact, after he woke up, he did not see fit to rise until after the screechy bugler had made his morning call, and even then he remained curled in the rumpled bed sheets he'd fallen to rest on for several minutes.

At last, since Phineas and Ferb had not returned to the tent to fetch him, Perry decided it was really rather unbecoming to sleep late. So, with slight unwillingness, he rose and brushed his fur quickly, then set off for breakfast alone.

Upon arriving at the mess hall, Perry discovered that the boys were not there, either- although Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford invited him to sit with them at their table willingly. Phineas and Ferb, it seemed, had either eaten early or neglected to show up as of yet, which confused their friends. Usually, the boys were very sociable at breakfast time, unless they had some sort of project to work on.

"Which I wouldn't put past them," Isabella assured her friends. "Whenever they get a free moment, you can bet they're using it for something fun. It wouldn't surprise me if Phineas was dreaming about blueprints, and he needed to go write them up, or if they came up with some genius device that they just had to build in the middle of the night."

"Even when they are leading a rebellion, they are always having fun," Baljeet agreed, as Buford pilfered one of his hash browns surreptitiously. "Those two do not know the meaning of work!"

Perry shrugged, picking at his own food half-heartedly. "Maybe they don't know the meaning of breakfast, either."

Just then, the sound of a megaphone turning on echoed across the mess hall, and everyone perked up. "Testing, one-two-three testing…"

"That's Phineas' voice," Perry murmured, wondering what the boy was doing.

There came a noise like someone clearing their throat. "Good morning, troops!" Phineas' cheery voice echoed through the field. "And may I just say that although it's cold, it's a beautiful morning nonetheless! How we doin'?"

A general cheer of assent greeted him, and he chuckled happily. "That's what I wanna hear!" As he spoke, Perry searched the crowd for the red-head, who did not appear to be there. At last, he spotted him standing on top of an empty table, holding a megaphone and grinning happily. Sitting on the bench next to the table, Ferb's green hair was visible over the soldiers' heads.

Phineas raised the megaphone to his lips once more, wearing an excited smile. "Okay, guess what?"

"What?" the soldiers responded in unison.

"Ferb and I were working on something yesterday, which we completed just this morning," Phineas announced cheerfully. "We can't wait to show it to you- but first, a little back story!"

Perry bristled at the words 'back story', immediately thinking of Doofenshmirtz's long, tragic flashbacks to his childhood. But, considering that this was Phineas they were talking about, it had to be more interesting than his nemesis' dreary stories.

"You guys all know that our camp moves around a lot," Phineas began, "and that it's always disguised by the holographic barrier. Wherever we are, it mimics our surroundings and hides our camp from view." At this, he smiled and gestured around him. "Well, you guys have probably been too busy to notice, but we just so happen to have parked our camp in the old abandoned Old Abandoned Fairground!"

Another cheer answered him, along with a round of applause. Across the table, Isabella whispered, "Betcha anything it was already called the Old Abandoned Fairground- and now it's old and abandoned."

"And how d'you know that?" Buford demanded in a low voice.

Isabella just smiled slyly and answered, "Oh, past experience."

"Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with things," Phineas continued jovially. "Well, Ferb and I have been working to fix those old rides all this morning, and we've just finished now. So as a reward for your hard work and a celebration for Perry's safe return, we've decided to give you all the day off to enjoy them! So, who's ready to have some fun?"

An even louder cheer answered this statement, and Phineas' grin grew bigger still. Abruptly, he jumped down from the table and motioned to the crowd energetically. "All righty, then! Follow me!" And without further ado, he marched off through the tents, followed by all those who had finished breakfast.

Back at the table, Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford were each grinning happily, obviously excited by this prospect.

"What a lovely surprise!" Baljeet exclaimed. "It is just like the old days!"

"And a day off, too!" Isabella agreed cheerfully. "Isn't this great, Perry?"

"Yes," Perry answered, a touched smile spreading across his face. "Yes, it is." It wasn't often people rebuilt an entire fairground's worth of rides just to celebrate his safe return. His previous disagreements with the boys seemed to take a backseat, and he was suddenly flushed with gratification.

"Well, why are we sitting around here?" Baljeet spoke up, jumping out of his seat. "We should be out there, having fun!"

"I'm with you!" Buford agreed, quickly mirroring his Indian friend. "Let's go ride stuff!"

"Yeah!" Isabella chimed in happily, and they all dashed off after Phineas. Perry watched their retreating backs for a moment, then began to scarf down his breakfast at top speed (although somewhere in the back of his mind, he was sure it would give him indigestion), intent on following them as quickly as possible. When it came to Phineas and Ferb, he didn't want to miss a minute of the show.

A short few minutes later, he had finished breakfast and was making his way down the path at a swift jog, headed for the back of the camp. Everyone else had clearly passed that way- the grass was trampled in a long line, like a huge procession of people had just gone through in great haste. Which, of course, they had.

As he sped down the makeshift path, Perry couldn't help but notice that he was approaching the jail, and in the back of his mind, he felt a strange urge to make a stop there. The fortified tent approached steadily, a silver block amongst the other khaki-hued establishments, and he wondered if he should give in to the whim. Of course, he had absolutely no reason whatsoever to visit Doofenshmirtz, and if anything, it seemed a bad idea- it would only result in him having to explain the boys' refusal, and that would only make things awkward. Not to mention, his conscience was thoroughly against telling his nemesis of the celebration, since he couldn't take part in it.

The jail grew closer and closer, and still Perry was dogged by the persistent urge to halt. At last, he caught a glimpse of a carousel spinning in the distance, and began to hear loud laughter coming from it. He stole a final glance at the fortification, then set his jaw firmly and sprinted past, attention fixed on the path ahead. Doofenshmirtz didn't need anything else to worry about, and Perry didn't need any more tension in their unsteady relations. So no matter how uncomfortable he felt, it was probably better to leave the matter alone for now.

"Oh, there you are, Perry!"

He skidded to a halt at the sound and glanced up to see Phineas, beckoning to him from between a few tents and grinning happily. Returning the smile (albeit with a slight reluctance), Perry waved back and approached the teenager.

"Hey, Phineas," he greeted, his good mood returning gradually. "Didn't we meet like this just yesterday?"

Phineas laughed happily, his face flushed with childlike excitement. "I wonder if it'll become a habit!" Then he clapped his hands together, an energetic atmosphere almost emanating from him. "So, ready to come hang out? After all those years when you never got to enjoy our inventions, Ferb and I can't wait to show you what we can do these days!"

He grinned, extending his hand to Perry. "So what do you say?"

Perry reached up to take it, then paused suddenly. Hesitantly, not knowing why he did so, he turned his head to look back at the jail once more, with an unexplainable sense of anxiety. Despite the calm, cheery sense of peace that surrounded the camp and invited him to take part in the festivities, he couldn't help but feel as if something was on the very cusp of happening…something very bad.

"Perry? Are you okay?"

Phineas' voice jolted him into reality, and suddenly the situation seemed to clear itself up. It was irrational to think something horrible was going to happen- especially when there was absolutely nothing to make him feel that it would. The most important thing for now was to take Phineas' hand and join him, let go for a while, and just have fun. Once again, Perry's reason won over his instinct, and he turned with a smile, taking Phineas' outstretched hand and assuring him that nothing was wrong.

But had he known what was happening outside the camp at that very moment, he wouldn't have dreamed of it…

Meanwhile, while the rebels were enjoying themselves at the boys' festival, a very secretive military operation was taking place just outside their holographic barrier. A huge legion of armored men was assembled on a ridge overlooking the unseen camp, and their leaders were looking down on the valley in confusion. Their tracking devices pointed to this valley as the location of their target- and yet, where they were absolutely sure something should be, there was only grass, dirt, and a few lonely rabbits. In order to better understand the bewildering situation, they had just sent several well-disguised scouts down into the valley to investigate, who were currently winding their way through the scrub and brush. Two of them had gone so far that they were just at the edge of the holographic barrier, although they didn't know it, and the tracking devices they were armed with were going crazy.

"I don't get it, Dean," Joe muttered, shaking his head as he examined the tracker in his hand. "It says he's really close- really close- but I can't see anything for miles!"

He turned to his bald companion with a frustrated frown- not that he could actually see him. The two of them were both wearing Disguise-Inators, replicated from blueprints found at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, and they were set to the invisibility function. Both of the men were recognizable only by their voices and by the tracking devices they carried, which appeared to be floating in midair.

"They wouldn't have just wandered off into the middle of nowhere, would they?" Joe asked, quite puzzled.

"Doesn't seem like it," Dean concurred, his gaze also locked on his tracking device. "But then again, it does seem like it. It's that kind of thing where it is, but it isn't. Y'know what I mean, Joe?"

Joe snorted contemptuously. "Dean, I have no idea what you mean. Be serious for once, will you? We're on a very important mission! Imagine the rewards we'd get if we were the first to discover the fugitives!" He paused, an unseen, dreamy grin stretching across his face, and added, "Not to mention, we could get our revenge for our last encounter with them."

"Our symmetrical revenge," Dean added, running his hand over his newly shaven head. Joe grunted quietly in assent.

"See, Dean, that's why we've gotta be serious and find them," he said quietly, peering out from behind the bush he was crouched behind. "You go first. Be stealthy."

For a moment, there was silence; but it was not long before Dean shivered quietly and squeaked, "Uh, I dunno, Joe…what if they're hiding somewhere, waiting to ambush us?"

Joe groaned in an exasperated manner. "Oh, come on, Dean. They wouldn't do that, the platypus is too smart. Don't tell me you're scared…"

Dean answered quickly in a nervous voice. "Okay, then, I won't tell you."

"Dean," Joe hissed, beginning to get angry with his squeamish comrade. "Remember the rewards, Dean. Doughnuts, longer breaks, revenge…"

"Nuh-uh. Not doin' it."

"Dean!"

"I'm not goin'! You can't make me!"

At last, Joe snapped. "Oh, yes I can!" he growled, jumping out from behind the bush and reaching for about where he thought Dean was. Dean shrieked loudly and swatted at his invisible assailant, and the two of them began to struggle with each other.

"Go, Dean, before I make you!" Joe persisted furiously, attempting to shove Dean forwards.

"Noooo!" Dean complained in a panicked tone, digging his heels into the ground. Joe continued to push at him forcefully, until at last, the cowardly minion lost his balance with a shriek and fell face forward onto the scruffy ground below. Joe was so startled that he abruptly froze and fell silent, suddenly aware of the racket they'd been making.

"Y'know, Dean," he whispered, not wanting to raise any more commotion, "maybe I should go first."

Dean moaned weakly, pulling his head up from the dirt it had landed on. "Oh, now you agree with me-" Then, quite suddenly, he stopped and stared straight ahead. His jaw dropped; his eyes widened; and a frantic whisper escaped him: "…Joe."

Joe noticed the tense voice it was spoken in and immediately turned his attention to the direction Dean was looking in. Rebels? Fugitives? Crafty, annoying monotreme?

However, none of the anticipated dangers appeared to be there; as far as Joe could see, there was nothing but grass, rocks, and dirt.

"Dean," he hissed back in a low voice, staring intently at the blank valley, "what is it?"

"I think…" Dean responded hesitantly, his voice very low and excited, "…I think it's a tent."

Joe blinked, drawing a complete blank. From what he could see, there were no tents to be found in the area, and Dean's excitement over it was even stranger. "Dean. What tent?"

"It's…a lot of tents," Dean responded, his voice abuzz with anticipation. "Ohh, Joe, we are gonna get a promotion!"

"Dean, are you losing your mind?" Joe demanded in a low voice. "There are no tents here. There're no tents in this whole stinkin' valley, for cryin' out loud!"

"Oh, but there are, Joe," Dean responded calmly from the ground. "Just take a step forward. You'll see."

Joe frowned. "I'm beginning to doubt your sanity, Dean."

"Am I gonna have to show you myself?"

"Show me what? There's nothing here!"

Dean tutted under his breath. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." And with a swift kick to the leg, he knocked his companion off balance, causing him to fall facedown onto the ground, just as Dean himself had.

It didn't take long for Joe to recover, spit a bit of grass out of his mouth, and demand in a harsh voice, "You idiot! What was that for?"

"Revenge," said Dean coolly. Although still disguised, was clearly wearing the kind of satisfied grin one gets when they are thinking, 'I told you so.' "So, Joe," he said in a casual voice, "now do you see the tents?"

Joe cocked an eyebrow furiously and was about to make a snappy comeback about what an idiot Dean was- before having a sudden revelation, and finding himself too bewildered to do so. He couldn't believe his eyes, for right in front of him was…

A tent.

A rebel tent.

Of course, neither of them had any idea of what had just happened; but in reality, when Dean had fallen, he had fallen right through the holographic barrier and landed on the other side, allowing him to see the rebel camp beyond. Dean began to giggle in devilish anticipation, and a malevolent grin slowly twisted Joe's lips.

"Jackpot," he murmured in awe, staring at the blank canvas structure before him. "Ohh, Dean, that promotion is ours."

Elsewhere, Perry and the boys were enjoying their day at the abandoned fairground, completely unaware of the imminent danger. Currently, Phineas had dared them to go on the most nauseating ride of all- the Twirl-a-Whirl, whose cup-shaped cars spun dizzily in circles until the rider was sick. Phineas' dare was this; whoever could stand the ride the longest without throwing up was the winner, and would get to choose the next ride- if they weren't feeling too nauseous. So far, Ferb was winning; Phineas' face was a pale shade of green, and Perry was beginning to feel hot and feverish.

Despite feeling rather sick, Phineas grinned weakly in a teasing manner. "Ohh, Perry, you don't look so good."

Perry smirked and replied, "Speak for yourself. You're turning green."

"Well, I bet you are, too," Phineas added, his grin slipping as the car took a particularly queasy lurch.

"Phineas, I'm always green," Perry responded teasingly, gesturing to his fur.

Phineas tried to laugh weakly, but quickly stopped to cover his mouth.

A short while later, the three of them finally stumbled out of their car and collapsed on a nearby bench, thoroughly nauseated. None of them spoke for a moment, each taking in as much fresh air as he could get. At last, Phineas seemed to have recovered enough to chat.

"…Well," he started, staring up at the cold, gray sky above them. "I think we have a winner."

Ferb, who hardly looked sick at all, just smiled and gave the thumbs up.

At last, Phineas finally found the will to stand, wobbly though he was. Despite that, he still grinned happily. "That was fun, huh? Let's go ride something else!"

Ferb leapt up immediately, ready for anything, but Perry merely groaned wearily. "I don't know, guys. I'm not feeling so good," he told them earnestly. "Maybe I'll just take a walk or something."

Phineas blinked, then nodded in understanding. "Okay, I hope you'll feel better soon," he said comfortingly, offering a sympathetic smile. Perry returned it, hopped off of the bench, and began to make his way out of the area.

Phineas turned to his brother happily. "So, Ferb, you won the contest. What do you want to ride next?"

Ferb considered for a moment, then pointed up. Phineas followed his gaze until he saw what Ferb was pointing at; the extremely tall, extremely fast, not-as-good-as-the-Coolest-Coaster-Ever-but-still- pretty-awesome rollercoaster they had finished just that morning.

Ferb smiled happily, eyeing his brother to see what he would say.

Phineas gulped nervously. "Oh, boy."

Meanwhile, Perry was making his way out of the fairground, headed back to the boys' tent. They would probably have water there, which sounded very inviting at the moment, and he was sure that the walk would do him good. A cold wind picked up, pushing against his dense fur and blowing the sparse grass every which way. It was refreshingly cool, and he took a deep breath of it, closing his eyes and letting his feet carry him where they wished. For a few moments, he simply walked, not knowing exactly where he was headed, and not really caring.

When he opened his eyes again, he had reached the camp area and was once more surrounded by tents. A bit of paper blew over the scruffy ground in the breeze, and Perry abruptly realized that he was alone; the rest of the soldiers were gathered in the boys' amusement park, and he could hear their cheerful voices not far away. Somehow, being alone on the cold summer day struck him as eerie- especially with the gray sky above him, threatening rain, and the sudden silence that had fallen over the area.

Suddenly, a tiny noise reached his ears and made him freeze, staring straight ahead at the path between the tents. Thinking he had heard something coming from the tents to his right, he snapped his attention to the area- only to realize that no one was there.

Must have been my imagination, he told himself, shaking his head slightly (although he quickly stopped, because it made him feel sick again). Just then, the noise started up again, this time slightly louder. It almost sounded like footsteps, coming from the very alley he was looking down. They sounded loud enough to be coming from right between the tents; and yet, there appeared to be no one there. Instantly suspicious, Perry narrowed his eyes and crept toward the tent, making sure to keep out of the open in case of danger.

As he approached, he noticed something in the alley he'd been eyeing- something that hadn't been there a moment ago. It appeared to be a slip of paper, which seemed to have been carried in by the wind. Perry cocked an eyebrow, wondering who the litterbug was, and once again scanned the alleyway. Nothing moved. Even the suspected footsteps had gradually faded. Still unsettled, he reminded himself that the footsteps could easily have come from someone nearby, or an occupant of a nearby tent. Still, it couldn't hurt to be cautious.

Taking a deep breath, he tip-toed into the alley gently, his own feet hardly making a sound. Quietly, carefully, he picked up the paper and left the alley, now in search of a trash can to deposit the paper in. Maybe his nerves were feeling jumpy again, like they had after the ASA incident.

Perhaps it was the thought of ASA that made him pause, suddenly noticing a single detail about the paper he carried. On its pale, lined surface, there read a handwritten message that caught Perry's attention instantly. He paused, lifted the paper to eye level, and read the message. As he did, his eyes widened in alarm, and the nauseous feeling began to return. For written on the slip of paper was this:

To Perry the Platypus,

If this place means anything to you, meet me outside the camp before two o' clock. Your nemesis,

Dr. Doofenshmirtz

Perry's heart began to race, and for a moment, he couldn't think what to do. Outside the camp? What could that possibly mean? Doofenshmirtz, as far as Perry was aware, was locked in the Rebellion jail- and he couldn't have escaped, or the guards would have sounded an alarm. Maybe he had dropped it out of the window…but as he considered that, he realized that it didn't make sense, either. The window would have been kept closed, to prevent his escape. And how would the note have carried this far?

This note, unlike the majority of threatening notes and messages that came from Doofenshmirtz, seemed oddly serious (and Perry would know, as he had received a great many of those over the years). In fact, even the handwriting was different- Perry was used to Doofenshmirtz's usual scrawl, but this time, it was so messy that it was nearly illegible. Perhaps the stress was getting to him, or he'd written it in a hurry. All Perry knew for sure was that this was clearly bad, and he had to do something about it.

Usually, this would be the kind of thing he would report to higher authority; but higher authority meant the boys, and somehow that struck him as a bad idea. They already thought Doofenshmirtz was dangerous, despite Perry's assurance that he wasn't (usually), and this would only make it worse.

In fact, for all he knew Doofenshmirtz had arranged the entire thing himself, assuming their promised showdown had been approved. So if he really had escaped, perhaps it would be better for Perry to chase him down, take him back to the jail single-handedly, and pretend nothing had happened. After all, he didn't want to worry anyone, and the situation was desperate.

Having made his decision, Perry crumpled the note and tucked it under his hat for safekeeping. Then, without a backward glance, he took off through the camp, racing and weaving between tents like a furry, hat-wearing bullet. The wind rushed past his face and stung his eyes, but he didn't care. Adrenaline pumped through him and made him run faster, his feet flying over the ground with speed unmatched, and his mind was racing, filled with alarm. What if it was already past two o' clock, and he was too late? What if Doofenshmirtz had already gone through with whatever plan he had? And what if it had actually worked?

He shook his head forcefully, attempting to shake the fears away. He didn't have time to worry, especially if Doofenshmirtz was serious.

Just then, he looked up and noticed that he was once more approaching the jail. Now he wished he had visited it earlier, just to see what was going on. And at that thought, another idea occurred to him- why not check the jail now, to make sure it wasn't a false alarm? Perry had no idea why it would be, but it was always worth a check. Abruptly, he switched directions and sprinted down an alleyway between two tents, which he was just exiting when suddenly-

SNAP.

Moments later, Perry found himself lying on the ground, thoroughly shocked. He opened his eyes and attempted to get up- only to find that he was tangled in some kind of thickly-meshed net, which must have been attached to the end of the alleyway he'd gone through. He tried to struggle out of it, but its hold was tight and unmoving, and it didn't even budge when he tried to bite it. Obviously the thing was a trap- and if Perry knew his nemesis, this was exactly the kind of thing he'd try. But, the only strange thing was, the note said to meet him outside the camp…why would there be a net near the jail?

"We got 'im, Joe!"

Perry's heart stopped at the sound of the gruff male voice. That wasn't Doofenshmirtz.

"Yes, Dean. Yes we did."

That wasn't Doofenshmirtz, either. On the other hand, the two voices reminded Perry of something else…something he couldn't quite put his finger on…

Just then, someone seized him by the scruff of the neck and rolled him over so he was facing skyward. Alarm etched on his features, Perry glanced up at his captor and immediately recognized him- not by his face, but by the distinctive badge he wore.

His eyes widened in shock, and all he could say was, "You."

The minion standing over him smirked and turned to another man next to him, who was slightly shorter and grinning excitedly. "Aw, Dean, ain't that sweet? He recognizes us."

"Aww," Dean agreed, wearing a sentimental smile. Joe just rolled his eyes.

"It was a joke, Dean," he criticized. Then he turned his head and added, "He's all yours, Commander." And he stepped back, allowing Perry room enough to see that he was surrounded by many more soldiers, each wearing a black uniform and armor. And behind them, he could see many more streaming in between the tents, all headed in the very direction Perry had just come from- the boys' fairgrounds.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our little escaped agent," one of the men spoke up from the center of the group. Had Perry been able to see him properly, he might have recognized him as the thickset, square-jawed leader of the group that had attacked him at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. "Good thing I brought that platypus net, eh, boys?"

The minions around him all gave their assent, praising their commander for his ingenuity and cleverness. Perry just glared up at them and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

The leader smirked and said casually, "Oh, you know, just taking over your rebel camp. Nothing special." At this, all the minions around him began to guffaw loudly, delighting in Perry's fear and confusion.

Perry was absolutely terrified. What about the boys? He needed to escape and warn them, or they would be captured too! And what of the other soldiers? Would they be prepared to fend off LOVE MUFFIN? And where in the world was Doofenshmirtz? Had he really escaped, or was the note a fake? Surely Perry had to warn him, as well. His conscience said he had to.

He struggled as hard as he could, but despite his efforts, nothing happened. Ignoring the ridiculing stares and laughter that echoed from the group around him, he grit his teeth and spoke up again, anger burning in his voice. "How did you find me?"

The commander shrugged, wearing a condescending smile. "Oh, it was easy," he said coolly. "Especially with your little friend's help."

Perry blinked, rather bewildered. Little friend? he wondered in confusion. As far as he was aware, he didn't have any little friends who would betray him, only enemies.

And suddenly, his mind came to a halt.

No.

His first thought was that it couldn't be true. He couldn't have been so completely duped- especially not by his nemesis, of all people! The man had taken care of him after he arrived in the future, helped him escape when he could have just let him be caught, and saved his life at least twice- and even if that was supposed to be part of the plan, Doofenshmirtz was a terrible actor. He couldn't have…it couldn't be true…

As Perry struggled with himself, there came a sudden commotion from a ways off in the camp. Again, his eyes widened as he realized what the noise was- yelling, shrieks of alarm, and frantic orders being shouted. The commander's smirk widened as Perry's breathing quickened, and he said calmly, "Let's go see what the trouble is, shall we? It sounds like they're really getting started now."

He began to walk away, followed by most of the minions. One of them knelt down and produced a long strip of fabric from his pocket, then made to tie it around Perry's mouth. Perry fought and yelled as much as he could and even bit the man at least twice, but eventually, the gag went on. He was then carried away with the rest of the minions, off to see the demise of everything the boys had worked for.

The worst part was that there was nothing he could do.

Meanwhile, at the fairground, Phineas and Ferb had just gotten off the rollercoaster for at least the third time in a row. Phineas had somewhat recovered from his nausea, but both of them were having a bit of trouble standing after all those loop-de-loops. Eventually, they wobbled over to a bench and collapsed, each breathing heavily.

"Hey," said Phineas after a while, "anyone know where Perry is? You'd think he'd be back by now."

Ferb shrugged to demonstrate that he had no idea either. Phineas frowned, beginning to feel worried for his friend.

"Well, I hope he hasn't gotten lost or anything," he said, wondering just what was up with Perry. He'd seemed kind of down earlier. "But then again, what could possibly have happened to-"

Just then, several shouts of alarm echoed from somewhere in the fairgrounds. Phineas' eyes widened. "What was that?"

The shouts quickly grew in number until it was a real racket, and people were running, yelling, and frantically trying to protect themselves. Phineas leapt off of the bench to see what was happening, his dark blue eyes filled with alarm. Suddenly, Ferb tapped his shoulder and pointed to a mass of black-garbed men, all advancing on them steadily.

Phineas gasped. "Oh, no." Immediately, he turned to his taller brother and said, "Ferb, we're under attack! Sound the alarm!"

Ferb nodded and pulled a button from his pocket. Upon pressing it, warning sirens sounded all over the camp, which only seemed to make the rebels panic more. They were now running every which way in a very disorderly fashion, as none of them had thought to bring weapons with them. The LOVE MUFFIN soldiers advanced quickly, taking prisoners by the dozens and scattering many more.

Phineas face palmed in a rather ashamed manner, then began shouting, "Everyone evacuate! Hurry! Those who can, fight back! Hold them back so the others can escape!" When no one seemed to hear him, he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted even louder, "EVERYONE OUT! HURRY!"

As his brother continued to give orders in vain, Ferb suddenly froze. Afraid of what he would find, he turned around slowly…and came face to face with a whole host of LOVE MUFFIN minions, who had surrounded them from behind. He gulped.

"Busted."

Elsewhere, there was only one relatively quiet place in all the camp- and that was the bleak, steel-walled fortification that was the jail. It was almost entirely abandoned at the moment, and even the guards within had been captured by LOVE MUFFIN far before their attack ever began. In fact, the only inhabitant of the jail had absolutely no idea what was going on- although he was beginning to wonder why there was so much screaming coming from outside.

Doofenshmirtz's day had been quite different from the rebels'. Ever since the previous day, all he'd been thinking about was the promised showdown with Perry. After eight crazy years, things were finally going to be somewhat normal again- so long as his nemesis could get permission to let him out for the day. But Heinz had confidence in him. Perry the Platypus, as far as he was concerned, was good at getting what he wanted- unless that happened to be a day off. He never seemed to be able to get one of those.

In fact, Doofenshmirtz was so confident that Perry would get permission for the showdown that he had already started work on a new scheme. Of course, he didn't have very many materials, so it would probably wind up being something lame. But as long as there was some sort of evil going on, Perry was trapped, and he had a monologue planned, he was sure things would be fine.

Currently, the Inator he was working on consisted of a few spare wires he had in his pocket, a few screws he'd painstakingly removed from the cot, and a bit of stuffing taken from the thin pillow that was placed on it. Of course, he didn't actually know what it would turn out as- but so long as it was evil, it would be good enough for him. Being out of sheet metal, he had decided to use his shoe as a base for the machine, which he thought was pretty cool. He had even tried to decorate it with a permanent marker, but the black ink matched the black shoe perfectly and couldn't be seen. So that didn't work.

At the moment, he was sitting on the cot with his legs crossed, trying to force a screw through the heel of the unfinished contraption. Sadly, the rubbery bottom wasn't cooperating, causing the metal implement to slide off each time. Doofenshmirtz was starting to feel a little panicky, as he didn't even know what the thing was yet or what it would do. Even if he wound up calling it the 'Shoe-Inator' and claimed it was a deadly weapon, he still didn't have a monologue to go with it, and that was one of the most important parts.

He sighed tensely, narrowing his eyes as he once again tried to force the tiny metal implement through the heel of the shoe. This time, it actually flew backwards, hit him in the eye ("OW!"), and fell to the ground as if nothing had happened. Doofenshmirtz growled in frustration, rubbing his eye in a pained manner.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" he complained angrily, collapsing on the cot. "At this rate, Perry the Platypus will show up, and I won't even have a clever greeting! I mean, seriously. How am I supposed to build a competent Inator with a shoe?"

Unfortunately, there came no answer to his laments, not even from the guard. Not that he had expected one anyway. By now, he was used to talking to himself.

He groaned quietly, trying to picture what Perry would have to say about the situation. "He'll probably wonder if I even tried," he muttered resentfully, reaching down to retrieve the dropped shoe. "I had all last night and all this morning to work, but did I come up with anything? No!" He sighed heavily and stuck the shoe back on his foot, adding quietly, "And the one time I was really looking forward to it, too."

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

He heard the noise loud and clear, but it took him a moment to react. Oh, no. Surely that was Perry, come to announce that he was ready for their showdown. And what did Doofenshmirtz have to show him? Nothing.

The knocking sounded again, louder this time. Doofenshmirtz tried to ignore it for a moment, before deciding that even if Perry was bound to criticize, he couldn't just pretend he didn't exist. With a heavy sigh, he called in a wavering voice, "Come in."

The door opened faster than he had expected, and heavy footsteps thumped into the room. Doofenshmirtz blinked, confused, and turned over to see who his visitor was. To his extreme surprise, it wasn't Perry, nor even the guard who brought him his meals- it was three men in black garb and armor, each of them wearing a cupcake-shaped badge with a heart on it. Upon seeing the badges, Doofenshmirtz gasped and backed up against the wall, certain they had come to arrest him.

However, this didn't seem to be the case. Instead, the men stood stock still and saluted him, the first announcing, "Dr. Doofenshmirtz, sir, we've come to break you out."

"We've been ordered to take you back to headquarters," the second man said, pushing the door open wider so his third companion could come in, "and to tell you that your mission is complete."

Doofenshmirtz raised an eyebrow, absolutely bewildered. "Wait, how did you guys even get in here? There's, like, guards and stuff…a-and what mission are you talking about?" He grinned uncomfortably, hoping they were telling the truth about not hurting him. He had enough bruises already. "I don't do missions, that's Perry the Platypus' thing…"

Just then, he thought of Perry and wondered abruptly whether he had been captured as well. "Hey, where is Perry the Platypus, anyway?" he asked, slightly concerned and mostly confused. Surely LOVE MUFFIN couldn't catch him so easily, not Perry. He was too clever, too tricky to be caught by a couple of simple minions- but even so, Doofenshmirtz didn't know if that was a good thing or an annoyance. Before he could come to any hasty conclusions, though, the third minion spoke up.

"Don't worry about that, sir," he told the doctor, as the other two helped him off of the bed and led him out of the cell. "We've taken care of him nicely."

(Sorry for the interruption, but it's about time for some music. :3 Go look up 'Enya- (1988) Watermark- 08 Evening Falls')

"Wait!" Doofenshmirtz yelped, confused and alarmed. "'Taken care of him'? What does that mean? You didn't hurt him or anything, did you?"

The second minion shrugged. "Well, maybe a little…" he admitted.

Doofenshmirtz struggled for something to say for a moment, not even sure of how he felt about the situation, but was promptly escorted out of the tent and into the grayscale afternoon. A light rain had started up, as if on cue, but even through the wet weather, the sun was still bright enough to sting his eyes and make him shut them in pain.

When he opened his eyes again, he was faced with a slow procession of soldiers and rebels coming through the camp, each of them wearing handcuffs and escorted by the LOVE MUFFIN soldiers. The sudden light made it hard to look at them for long, but as they trudged by, Doofenshmirtz noticed that they all appeared to be in shock, as if they still couldn't believe what had happened, and a few were getting a bit emotional.

Among them were two teenagers, escorted by at least five guards each, who were still struggling to get out of their own handcuffs. One of the guards jabbed a stunning gun at the shorter one and barked something Doofenshmirtz couldn't hear, which subdued the redhead momentarily. However, he wasn't quiet for long- a moment later, he jerked around, straining to see something behind him, but was forced back into position mercilessly.

Feeling a strange mix of emotions, Doofenshmirtz glanced behind the boy to see what he was looking at, and saw another prisoner being towed along. He was so heavily guarded that it was hard to see him, but if one looked past the guards' feet, they could just make out the small form, wrapped tightly in a thickly-meshed net. With his tail dragging on the ground, his gaze turned downward, and his hat pulled low over his eyes, it was hard to recognize him- but without a doubt, it was Perry.

Doofenshmirtz almost called out to him, but his voice caught in his throat. Perry noticed him anyway. He glanced up slowly and observed his nemesis for a moment, his expression hidden by the men surrounding him. Then, with an almost defiant sharpness, he turned his attention right back to the ground ahead of him, as if he hadn't seen anything at all.

Doofenshmirtz just stood there, looking after him until he had disappeared around the corner of a tent. He didn't know what to think, or how to feel. He didn't feel triumphant about Perry's capture. He didn't even feel particularly unhappy about it. He just felt…numb. Like it couldn't really have happened. He might still be dreaming, waiting for the next morning, when Perry would surely come for the anticipated showdown. A showdown that, he now realized, was only wishful thinking.

Behind him, the minions began to discuss taking him back to headquarters to meet with the LOVE MUFFIN council, and to get his reward. Doofenshmirtz hardly heard them, as he wiped the first drops of rain from his cheek; a new thought had just struck him.

He'd never finished his Inator.

To be continued…