Chapter 21: Moral-Twisted Machine-Adoring Pachyderm
It was at dinner several days later that Doofenshmirtz declared, "I think we need to address the evil, large, inator-loving elephant in the room."
"Since when has there been a moral-twisted, machine-adoring Pachyderm in the mess hall?" Ferb raised an eyebrow as he spooned haggis into his mouth.
The self-proclaimed evil scientist snorted. "No, I mean we need to breach the uncomfortable fact that your suit is different than everyone else's on board. Excluding mine, of course."
Isabella, Phineas, Baljeet, Buford, Nova, and Odyssey all glanced up at him from their food, shrugged, and then returned to eating.
"What?" Doofenshmirtz asked confusedly, "Why doesn't anyone else find it weird?"
Baljeet spoke up, not bothering to look up from his plate or to stop eating. "Ferb was with the elite fleet." He shrugged, spooning chili into his mouth, "When he came aboard, he kept his uniform because we did not have anything else to give him."
"Wait, you were in the elite fleet?" Doof looked shocked as he turned to look at Ferb. "You're just a kid!"
"I certainly was at the time. I was only fourteen when I first joined their ranks. They'd found me through one of their in-school recruiting programs, and I wasn't about to pass up a chance to put my heightened skills to good use."
"Ferb really should have been in college since we entered seventh grade." Isabella explained. "He only continued to stay in the public school system because he refused to leave any of us behind."
"That, and the rather sobering fact that most child prodigies who attend college early in life are prone to severe emotional stress later in their lives." Ferb agreed with a nod. "So I joined them. It was challenging but rewarding, for the most part. Due to unforeseen circumstances, my position among the elite fleet was terminated earlier this year."
"But you're really close to everyone here, right?" Doofenshmirtz reasoned. "So why would you choose to fight on opposite sides?"
"I joined before the news came out about the alien king Vun-Daan." Ferb pointed out. "By that time, I was already sending home the benefits I was earning and I didn't want to disappoint my family back home." Ferb flushed and stared into his haggis, silent now.
It was Phineas who placed a hand on his shoulder, not ignoring what Ferb was thinking but not going into detail. "Once the news broke out, Candace was so infuriated she immediately signed up to captain a rebel vessel. I elected to go with her, and when I told everyone else, they decided to come as well. They too wanted to fight against the elite fleet's plan to allow Vun-Daan to have full control over the Earth."
The self-proclaimed evil scientist frowned. "So that's what's been happening. I suppose I am a bit behind on the news. My plans for Tri-State Area domination have taken precedence over my life to the point that I didn't even notice the possibility of the Earth being taken over, my dreams dashed in the process!"
"So you're an evil scientist who wants to take over the Tri-State Area who is constantly foiled by a platypus secret agent." Nova repeated. "I still question why no one else thinks he's an idiot."
"Not cool, pointy-horned horsey." Doofenshmirtz shook his head as he shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth. "Not cool."