When arriving back in the living room, he nearly jumped when Seri stood there, a visible frown on her face, no one else in sight.

"They told you?" he asked, knowing they must have.

"Who are you really?" she asked, her voice wavering, unsure if she was afraid or angry with him. "What are you?"

"My name is Perry, that's for sure," he half joked, though no laugh or humor danced on those words. "As for what I am, I honestly don't know at this point. I don't know whether to consider myself human or platypus."

"How could you lie to me?"

"I'm surprised you actually believe us," he spoke softly, not realizing she heard him, making her grow more frustrated.

"I don't want to believe it, but Ferb showed me what they've been designing to help Heinz not only being taken care of easier, but actually communicate. I'm no engineer, I'll admit that much. But the math calculated? The designs they made? They were amazing; perfect I'm positive if taken to a real engineer."

"That's how my boys are; they do the unthinkable, turning imagination into reality one way or another."

"But why did you hide it from me? Hide it from Dennis?"

"Would you honestly believe us if I had told you the truth?"

The woman faltered, realization dawning on her through her own frustration, "No, I suppose I wouldn't. At least not at first, not until I saw proof."

"Exactly, those boys are the key to getting us out of here. We don't belong here, they don't belong here, having their innocence tainted more and more each day."

"And what would you do then? Just up and leave?" she asked, her voice raising in volume, hands clenching.

"I don't know. I wanted to avoid connecting with people outside our group… I wanted to avoid hurting you, hurting anyone more than I had with those kids. But then you and Dennis came into our lives."

"But everything you've told me, told Dennis, it was all a lie though, about how you came to town? What you said about their families, all of it was a lie."

"I didn't completely lie, where we lived originally, it literally was like a slice of heaven. There was almost no crime; at least nothing like serious robberies or home invasions. The most I dealt with was Heinz when he and I were enemies."

"So he isn't your friend then?"

"Not exactly, we're more as he'd call it "frenemies" if anything."

"What?"

"While we fought, I foiling his plans take over our hometown; we would be rather civil with one another. When I was first assigned, yeah, he tried to kill me, but I never really tried hurting him. If anything, I saved his ass just about every time I went to his lab or wherever. And as we got to know each other, he stopped really trying to kill me."

"Doesn't sound like he's malicious enough to take another life."

"Not intentionally at least, he's made a few inventions that could've hurt a lot of people, whether he really knew it or not. That's why I was assigned to stop him at the time, as any agent like myself are assigned with our own evil genius to grapple with. Some are relatively harmless like Heinz, others are far more threatening, but those people are rare to find. They're usually caught before any real harm is done and thrown straight into jail for however long is necessary."

"But how does it really show you two had forged some sort of friendship, or acquaintanceship at least?"

"Times I've gone to thwart him, finding he wasn't up to anything really evil, I'd either be ready to leave, or get roped into helping him. Whether it was to help him kick a kickball, don't ask, or setting up his daughter's birthday party. Even times where I've thwarted him successfully, I find myself sometimes helping him in the very end. Nothing bad, just little things, like not looking like a total ass in front of his kid and her friends or giving him some comfort if he has a bad date."

"Sounds like a very strange relationship between you two."

"It is, but it's ours, something special we had where at some point, we simply couldn't function without each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's strange; it was like we forged some unbreakable bond, very much like the one I forged with the boys. One time I had been reassigned, not only taken to a new family, forced to abandon the family I've been with for almost five years, but Heinz as well. He had been given a new nemesis as well as a gift basket to explain his threat level dropping and my reassignment and new nemesis."

"It must've been hard on all of you."

"It was, it really was. I found out my boys were searching for me all over, even writing and performing a wonderful song to bring me home."

"A song?"

"I love music, especially theirs; Phineas knew that very well and believed it would've brought me home if I heard it."

At that, the woman couldn't help but give a small smile, seeing how much the teal haired man loved his family, seeing a few tears falling from his eyes.

"But it wasn't just losing them that tore me up, but I couldn't function like I normally would when I actually had been sent to foil my assigned nemesis. Because if it, I must've faltered and ended up getting captured, and worse, this one, unlike Heinz, he was truly evil. He was going to kill me on the spot, making a perfect trap to keep me from escaping."

"It must've been terrifying."

"It was, I thought I was going to die, but Heinz actually came to my rescue."

"He did what?"

"He saved me, I know, evil genius saving his ex-nemesis, not exactly something you hear every day, even my fellow agents and boss were rather surprised. But I later learned that he came to get me because like me, he couldn't function either since we became nemeses. It was like another time he tried replacing me with an agent from Seattle, I was ready to quit and Heinz realized his mistake and begged me to come back."

He explained more about his world, finding the woman was more understanding, at least now she is after seeing the blueprints the boys have been working on.

Before long, he told her about how they ended up in this world, what the kids told him and his own experience, the woman feeling awful at the hell they all went through.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner…"

"I can understand better why you kept it a secret for so long, not just from me, but the fate of your dimension from the kids. You put so much weight on yourself though…"

"Wasn't like I had much of a choice."

"I guess so…"

"Perry…what you said about how you got to look like this…is there any chance Dennis could've been a captive too? It'd explain so much about him, about his nightmares and lack of history prior to meeting him."

The teal haired agent was silent, gripping his hands together tightly to the point the knuckles turned white, his mouth a thin line.

Should he tell her who Dennis really is? Who he really was? Or should he simply lie for the other's sake.

"Perry, please, whatever he did before, I don't care, I just want to know."

Realizing he's been caught, he gave a small sigh, telling her about her late husband, seeing her eyes widen in surprise.

However, he quickly explained that the rabbit he fought so long ago wasn't the same, not just physical appearance, but the way his demeanor had changed.

"So I married a rabbit? That explains why he loved carrots so much," she laughed, appearing not hurt by the news as much as the other feared. "But as you said, the Dennis you fought wasn't the same Dennis I met, I comforted, I fell for and married."

"You helped him redeem himself, find a purpose in his life before and after he regained his memories."

"I'm just glad to know he was able to make such a good friend with you, share things he was scared sharing with me."

"I can see why he loved you so much, you're very understanding. I was afraid of you freaking out, thinking I was nuts, that I made everyone nuts around me. I feared you would have had me locked up, take the kids away, take Heinz away from my life. I was afraid of you hating me if I let it slip about Dennis, especially since he isn't here to back me up or not."

"When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of encountering fairies, meeting wizards and knights who would save people. I dreamed of being among them, to help people and save them."

"In some ways, you are, the helping part at least."

"Yes, but to think in some ways, that dream could've become true, but turned into a nightmare instead."

"I know… Seri?"

"What is it, Perry?"

"I know this is sudden, but I'm still determined getting the kids out of this world. We'll be searching for someone who might be able to help us, give us answers we want and need. I also plan on taking Heinz and if she's willing, Melody as well. But I need someone with medical skills who can help take care of Heinz in case he has a problem."

"Are you…are you asking me to leave my world? To go with you?"

"I know it's a lot to ask, but you're probably the only one I can trust here. I don't think I can get lucky meeting such an amazing person as you to help us, understand us, care for us as much as you have."

"I don't know…my work, the work I did with Dennis, I don't want to throw it away, abandon those girls."

"I know that, but I'm scared about trying to bring Heinz along without proper medical knowledge. I only know so much as does Isabella due to her Fireside Girl patches and whatnot. But I also don't want to leave him here alone, afraid that if I leave, I may not be able to get back and get him again."

"I need to think about it, it's a lot to think about."

"I know, just promise me you won't say a word about this to anyone. I can't risk being seen crazy, risk losing my family, losing their friends, my friends."

"Of course, I don't want to do anything to hurt you," she reassured, hugging the teal haired man.

"Th-thank you, thank you so much," he sobbed, relief filling him as he rested his head against her shoulder. "I'm so sick of secrets."

"I don't blame you," she half laughed as they pulled away, "how are the boys doing? Baljeet and Phineas I mean."

"They're in their rooms to think about their fight, but I talked with both of them about their actions, mostly Phineas'. I just hope they actually forgive each other and stay friends. They've been through so much, I don't want to see my screw up not saying anything sooner ending their wonderful years together."

"If they love each other as much as they love everyone else, as much as they love you, I think they will stay friends," the woman reassured. "Friends are known to fight, the closer you are, the more you may dispute over things. But in the end, you forgive and laugh it off, making your friendship even stronger than ever."

"I hope so."

"It will, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks Seri," Perry smiled bitterly before starting to get up, "where are the others by the way? I want to try talking to them, make sure that they're doing okay, Melody especially."

"They're in one of the spare bedrooms," she spoke as she lead him where the others were gathered.

As she walked him, she honestly still couldn't believe what she heard, yet she was seeing proof. It explained why some of them had such unusual hair colors but no horns as they should have if actual diclonii.

Not only that, the blueprints, they really were ingenious, knowing if she gave the boys a chance to put them to use, those designs would work. She wouldn't be all that surprised if they could rebuild one of their earlier designs perfectly to show as proof too.

But learning that Perry had actually been a platypus, she almost wanted to laugh at the idea, yet seeing how serious he looked, knew it was true. He wasn't a man to make such a joke, especially if it meant hurting the kids, he loves them too much.

Then there's Candace and Jeremy, they're far older, they would've saw through him if they didn't believe his words. They would've done something sooner than simply going along for the ride, endangering themselves and the kids.

Arriving at the door, the woman opened it, seeing the group sitting together, Melody sitting in Candace's arms, sniffling a little.

Walking in, Perry wasn't surprised when Ferb ran into his arms, clinging to his waist, face buried into his stomach and chest.

"She knows everything now?" Jeremy asked after a few minutes of silence passed, the older man trying to settle the shaking boy.

"Yes, I know everything, and to be honest, I'm still having some trouble believing it," Seri admitted with a small laugh.

"We're so sorry for keeping this from you and Dennis."

"That's another thing, Dennis sort of already knew," Perry half laughed, feeling eyes drawn onto him now. "Remember your pet rabbit, Candace?"

"Mr. Cutiepatootie?"

"Yup."

"Wait…are you saying that Dennis was my pet bunny?"

"Yup, but he was a bad guy at the time. Those people who took him away at the pier, they were my boss and his intern."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Candace groaned softly, resting her head in the small girl's hair, ignoring the horn poking her forehead.

"Perry?" Melody's small voice called out softly, wriggling out of the teenager's arms, hopping on the ground.

"What is it, sweetie?" he asked, kneeling down after pulling Ferb away enough to do so, letting him resume clinging.

He was surprised when she ran into his arms, crying softly into him, letting him gently pat her back, shushing her.

"Is…is it true? Is your home gone?" she hiccupped, her voice filled with sorrow.

"I'm afraid so, if I had known Phineas would've gotten your hopes up like that, I would've spoken with him sooner. I'm sorry for putting you through this, Melody."

"But what's going to happen to you though?"

"I still plan on getting us out of here, including you," he stated, the others staring in shock of those words. "Ferb, once Phineas and Baljeet have made up, think you and Phineas can try to get to work on your designs some more? I'll do what I can to help with ideas if you're stumped. If anything, maybe one of Heinz's past inators might be of use, I remember them enough to be of use and I'm sure he won't mind."

The boy nodded, relieving the man by the familiar spark starting to return to his eyes, somehow feeling the others would, particularly a redheaded boy.

"How are you going to get us out of here though?" Buford asked warily.

"First we need to know what happened with Heinz and find out how he got into this world. It looks like he might be the closest thing we have to a key getting out of this dimension safely."

"Well, he is a scientist, you told us that," Isabella chimed in as the agent sat down, letting the two practically crawl all over him to get comfortable.

"Exactly, he also once build a device to traverse to other dimensions. I know his memory was wiped, but I doubt it was completely wiped. He might have a memory about coming up with the idea, but never got around to doing it again afterwards."

"So you're thinking he could help rebuild it?"

"Yeah, but he couldn't do it alone, he needed Phineas and Ferb's help to get it working, but we'd have to redesign it entirely though. I'm afraid we can't risk leaving it behind if we go through. We can't risk someone finding it and fiddling with it, causing unnecessary harm to this world or to themselves."

"That makes sense," Seri spoke up, almost startling the group by her words. "So you're thinking of making something more compact to make taking it with you easier."

"Exactly, and we'll have to design it to take in different energy sources so it's easier to recharge if necessary."

"I could work on batteries that recharge on solar, thermal, as well as electrical," Ferb offered, giving the older man a confident look.

"That'd be great, if I knew more about this whole reiatsu thing, I'd suggest making something to tap into that."

"What is it though?" the boy asked.

"If I remember right, I was told it was basically spiritual energy. I don't know if everyone has it or what it is exactly, but yeah, that's what it is."

"I don't know if Phineas and I could design a battery to do that, but the others we can surely make."

"I figured as much," Perry smiled, nuzzling his face into the boy's hair.

"What about Mr. Doofenshmirtz though?"

"We'll need to design a wheelchair or a portal bed that can carry him easily. If possible, have it need the same kind of power source the dimension transport will need to make charging it hopefully easier."

"Don't forget a communicator so he can actually speak with us than blinks alone," Candace added with a smile.

She could everyone starting to get into this type of talk more and more, even Seri getting into it.

"Of course, thinking that could be hooked into whatever chair or bed is made."

"Knowing Phineas, he'd want to do a two in one deal for Mr. Doofenshmirtz," Isabella laughed, making the others smile.

"You're absolutely right."


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