Phineas and Ferb
The New Adventures of Phineas and Ferb
Episode 28: Trial By Warfare Part I
Episode Summary: Part 1 of a new 4 part special event. Inspired by his sister's brave intentions, Phineas decides to take on the war world by revving up the classic game "Capture The Flag". But, Isabella wants no part of it, as she doesn't condone violence, and her refusal to play sparks a big fight between her and the boy she loves. Meanwhile, Candace's military training intensifies, and an old face from the Flynn-Fletcher family rears its ugly head around again, and not in a good way. Plus, Dr. Doofenshmirtz leads Perry on a goose chase to keep him distracted so he can complete his greatest plan ever.
Disclaimer: Phineas and Ferb does not belong to me. It belongs to the two geniuses Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Keep up the good work, gentlemen!
There's just so many days of adolescence vacation
'Til adulthood and old age come to end it,
So the problem for children of this generation,
Is finding a good way to spend it
Like maybe...
Building a rocket, or fighting a mummy,
Or climbing up the Eiffel tower,
Discovering something that doesn't exist,
Or giving a monkey a shower
Surfing tidal waves, creating nano-bots,
Or locating Frankenstein's brain,
Finding a Dodo bird, painting a continent,
Or driving the adults insane
This could possibly be the best day ever,
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be
a million and six times better,
So make every minute count
jump up, jump in and seize the day,
And let's make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is Gonna to Be a Great Day!
It was another glorious, sun-fulled day in Danville, and everybody was enjoying their morning. The Flynn-Fletcher family were spending their morning at the Danville Museum, an idea conjured up my Lawrence Fletcher. Phineas & Ferb, well, Phineas mostly, were intrigued by the newly installed "Military War" section of the museum, a section in which the family had spent most of their time.
"And down this hall..." Their tour guide said as he led them down a hallway that consisted of several pictures with war veterans holding various weapons, and scenes of explosions and such. "We have only the finest selection of military weapons ever assembled." They were slowly edging up on the end of the hall. While Phineas was getting a kick out of the exhibit because it reminded him of Candace, the others weren't exactly thrilled with the idea.
"Honey, how much longer do we have to put up with this?" Lawrence whispered to his wife.
"Now, Lawrence, be patient. You know all this stuff reminds Phineas of Candace." She whispered back. "I'm sure we won't be too much longer. But let him have this. He misses her."
"Oh I know that. It's just that all this military stuff gives me the creeps."
The tour guide led them all to the end of the hall, where there was a giant glass case stocked with dozens and dozens of military weapons stored in there. "Here we are: the greatest collection of novelty military weapons ever assembled."
"Wow..." Phineas took a good look at the stock of weapons, as well as the many pictures that went with them. "Look at all this. This is an awesome collection. I don't even know what any of them are, and yet I feel so drawn to them."
"Well, son. This, here, is the FGM-148 Javelin. It's a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank guided missile. Now, a Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile that locks on to a target before it fires and it has an automatic self-guidance system that leads it to target. It's especially good with top-notch vehicles that would normally be unaffected by other kinds of bullets."
"Cool..." Phineas gazed deeply into the weapon.
"And this, my friend," The man led Phineas to another weapon. "is a standard M16A4 Assault Rifle. It acts like a regular gun, with the ability to shoot out bullets and penetrate another person's body. But Rifles are much stronger than handguns, as they fire more quickly and fire more bullets at once."
"Awesome..." Phineas couldn't stop staring at the vast majority of weapons. He believed that his inventions with Ferb were amazing. But somehow, all of the military weapons he looked at seemed to be a notch out of his league. "I thought Ferb and I made some awesome stuff during the summer. But all of this stuff...it just seems...so high-tech. This stuff is way too advanced for me to comprehend."
"I agree, son. Heck, the only way you'd probably be able to understand any of these weapons is if you were a war veteran. But you're not." He chuckled a little bit before he looked back down at the boy. "You're not, right?"
"No..." And unfortunately, by doing this, he gave Phineas something to work with. Phineas started pondering about what he and Ferb should do that day. "But, that does give me an idea. I know exactly what Ferb and I are gonna do as soon as we get home! Hey, where's Perry?"
Meanwhile, Perry was already in his lair, about to receive his mission from his boss. "Good morning, Agent P." Major Monogram said on the screen. "There's something very wrong with Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He's been very quiet lately. We're concerned that this means he's planning something BIG. Or, there is the off-chance he's doing nothing today. Regardless, I want you to go check-up on him, and stop him if he's up to anything dastardly. Good luck, Agent P." Perry saluted Monogram, then ran off.
Somewhere in the outskirts of Iraq, intense training was taking place in a big, secluded building. Commandant Spangler's students were being put through extremely intense training - even more intense than when they were in Danville. For some reason, Spangler just decided one day to turn up the heat on his many cadets.
They were beginning to feel the effects of this particular training session, and it wasn't even half over yet. Two, especially, were Candace, and her new friend, Tara. The current portion of the session had them all doing vigorous circuits consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, shuttle runs, weight lifting, kick-boxing, among others. Candace and Tara were currently on their push-up circuit, and had to complete 100 push-ups each. Luckily, they were both more than 3/4 of the way done, and it was their final circuit of the drill.
"Ow, this is torture." Candace said, feeling the pain of the circuit all around in her body, mostly in her arms, though, due to the push-ups. "I don't remember training bring this intense before. What's gotten into Spangler?"
"I don't know. But I have a feeling there's something else to this." Tara replied. "The other cadets told me that Spangler never goes this hard on students this quickly unless he feels that there's something big on the way."
"Big like...another war?"
"I don't know. But let's just pace ourselves and get through this circuit." Tara assured as the two finished up their 100 push-ups, and stood up. They were both physically in pain, their muscles sore from the rough circuit they had just completed, which only took about 45 minutes. Even though they looked like they were in pain, they also looked physically stronger; their muscles had gotten bigger and were more toned than they were the day before they first arrived in Iraq, and Candace looked so much stronger since she first entered the school at the beginning of the summer. The training was surely paying off.
"Cadets, assemble!" Spangler yelled sharply as all the cadets (which also included boys. Yes, Spangler runs a boys-only school as well) ran over to him, despite the aches they felt. "I can't tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you for coming as far as you have. You all look so strong, so determined...I would be proud to have each and every one of you in my army. But...your training's only just begun. Yes, you've rebuilt your bodies and your minds. But now it's time to rebuild your skills? So, get yourselves iced up, rest, and meet me back here at high noon. Dismissed."
The cadets all scurried out of the room and headed back to their rooms to ice their legs and rest before their next training session. "So, what do you think is in store for us later today?"
"I don't know. But how in the world he expects us to be ready for another training session is beyond me." Tara said, rubbing her sore biceps.
"Oh come on. Stop with that "Can't do" attitude. That's exactly why you can't handle this type of training. You don't see me complaining, do you?"
"No. No I do. And I gotta say that I'm pretty impressed with you. You haven't thought about your brothers since we got here."
"Of course I've thought about my brothers! I just haven't thought about busting them, is all. That's totally different. I miss the little guys, and Dad, and...Stacy, Jeremy, & Jenny."
"You forgot your mom."
"Who?"
"Never mind." Tara blinked as they entered their room to ice up their aches & sores.
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!
Meanwhile, Perry was busy flying off to his nemesis's lair. With no reported activity from Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Perry was concerned, with no idea what to expect from his nemesis. When he arrived at the building, he was surprised to see the window wide open, and he was surprised to see nobody there. No Dr. Doofenshmirtz, no Norm the Robot Guy, nobody. He swung into the rope in style and took a good look around. He still didn't find anything or anyone.
In fact, all he found was a note on the ground. "Dear Perry the Platypus, if you're reading this, it means I'm out doing evil today. If you would like to stop me, I will be at these three locations." Perry read the three locations on the note that Doofenshmirtz said he would be at doing evil. He widened his eyes. Doofenshmirtz said that he would be at the Danville Nursery tormenting babies, at the Tri-State Area Flip-Flop store, and at New York City, defacing the statue of liberty. He didn't want any of it to happen so he rushed off on his jet pack to the first location.
But throughout all of this, Dr. Doofenshmirtz wasn't at the Nursery at all. He was actually at the Tri-State Area's Super Duper Mega Super Store, shopping for supplies to supply his latest evil plan. As for Norm, well...he was actually in plain sight in Doofenshmirtz's bedroom. Perry just didn't bother to look there.
"Let's see..." Doofenshmirtz pushed his cart down the aisle as he read his list. "Computer chips, mechanical arms & legs - yikes. This is going to take me awhile." He said to himself. "Good thing I set up that wild chase for Perry the Platypus. I just hope he goes along with it. Now, where can I find all of this stuff..."
Back in Danville, Phineas & Ferb had just returned home from the museum, and Phineas was excited to unveil his idea for the day's plans to Ferb. "Well, don't keep me in suspense." Ferb urged, as Phineas started writing stuff down on a pad of paper. After he was finished, he handed it to Ferb, who studied it carefully.
"Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today." Phineas said proudly to his stepbrother. "We are gonna need a lot of stuff. So let's get to work." But just as Phineas & Ferb were going to get started with working on Phineas's latest idea, Lawrence popped his head into the room.
"Hello, boys. Just wanted to let you know that your mother and I are off to see your Aunt Lorraine. Turns out she really does exist. I'll be darned...anyway, apparently, she's injured herself and she refuses treatment unless she and I are there and only us. Can't understand why she wouldn't want you boys there, though. So, be good and we'll bring dinner home later." He explained as he left the room and left the house with Linda.
"Bye Dad." Phineas waved to his dad from the window. As soon as he was sure they were gone, he and Ferb got to work on the plan. "Come on, Ferb. We've got a lot of work to do." They went out to the backyard to begin. The plan was to convert the backyard into a military ground; the plan was to rev up an old military styled game & make it better. Luckily, Phineas knew just what to do. With a lot of running around, a lot of sweat, and a lot of confusion, Phineas & Ferb were able to change the entire backyard, making it look like a real military scene.
There were walls made out of sand bags, craters, dirt all over, rubble everywhere, and two flags placed on opposite sides of the field. "Gee, Ferb. It looks like we've really outdone ourselves this time." Phineas said, shaking his stepbrother's hand. "But we're not done yet. We still need a bunch of military-styled weapons and some army gear."
Ferb immediately took out a cellphone and started dialing a number. "Hello? Danville Emporium? Yeah, I'd like to order...uh, hang on." He put down the phone and turned to Phineas. "Uh, how many people do you suppose are going to play?"
"Let me handle the call." Phineas said, kindly taking the phone out of Ferb's hand. "Danville Emporium? I'd like 18 army suits, 3 cases of your "Complete Set of Military Weaponry", and 2 First-Aid Kits. Rush delivery would be-" As he was finishing his sentence, the truck carrying the supplies backed up into the backyard. "preferable. Wow, that was quick."
The driver came out and opened the trunk. "You Phineas Flynn?" Phineas nodded. "I got a delivery of army suits and cases of military weapons."
"Thanks."
"You know, these things aren't loaded, right? You didn't order the "Complete Set of Weaponry w/ fire power"."
"Yeah, I know. You leave that to us." He said as he signed the clipboard and handed it back to the man.
Back in Iraq, it was high noon, and it was time for the cadets' next training session. They all gathered back into the auditorium, where they met Commandant Spangler, and a robot with an exoskeleton on it. "Cadets, you've all gone through intense training to tone your bodies. Now, it is time to tone your body and sharpen your mind. Today, we are going to practice combat skills."
"Combat skills?" Candace asked.
"Why yes. This place isn't just a body-building facility. No, when you all leave here, you'll be whipped up, in shape, and ready to take on any challenge, and that includes a battle. So, your skills & instincts must be in tip-top form. That's why today I am going to test your instincts and ability to perform under pressure. Today, I am having each of you, one at a time, battle this life-life manikin."
"Lifelike?" Candace asked mockingly.
"Not as in looks, but as in the way a military war veteran would fight. Right now, we will focus on hand-to-hand combat. Flynn! You're up first." Candace slowly approached him and stepped into the ring where the robot was.
"Uh, sir? When can I start?" She was waiting for some sort of signal to come from Spangler, a common reaction from most teenagers. But, she didn't get her wish, as she almost immediately found herself being tackled by the robot. He landed one good sucker-punch in the fact, and she spun down to the ground. And before he could drag her by her feet, she screamed. "AHH! Uncle! Uncle!" She yelled, and the robot stopped hitting her, dusted itself, and then returned to its starting position. Candace stood up and dusted herself off before turning to the crowd before her. None of them made a sound. "I'm...guessing that wasn't at all what I was supposed to do, huh?"
"Nope." The Commandant shook his head.
"But I told you that I was waiting for you to say go."
"Flynn, do you honestly believe that when you go to yell, they're going to have some sort of referee out there who's going to call a foul or a penalty whenever you get hit below the belt?"
"Uh...I don't believe...more so hope."
"Well, wake up. That's not how the real world works. You can't expect somebody to just tell you when danger's coming. That's what your instincts are for. That's what this lesson will help you with: to enhance your senses and instincts. If you can't even handle an enemy without any weapons, just imagine what it'll be like when you actually start using weapons. You must focus yourself, concentrating on nothing but your prime target. Get back it line. You'll try again later. Next!"
Candace, feeling defeated, hung her head and trudged back into the crowd.
In Danville, the group of friends of Phineas & Ferb were assembled in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, with the exception of Isabella. Everyone was wearing camouflage and holding a firearm, which had been tricked out by the two stepbrothers to shoot out small pellets that cover their targets in ketchup. Just as he was about to explain the rules to them, Isabella came by.
"Hey guys." She said in her usual friendly tone. "What'cha doin'...dressed like that?" She almost laughed at the outfit Phineas was wearing. But it wasn't like a mocking laugh, it was more of a "You-Look-So-Cute-In-That" laugh. "I've been looking for you all day. And I went to our Fireside Girls clubhouse and nobody was there."
"Sorry, Isabella." Adyson explained. "We would've been there. But Phineas said he needed our help here. He said he wants to follow in his sister's footsteps and be an army veteran."
"Oh...OK."
"So, I'm starting small by simply intensifying the already gruesome game of "Capture The Flag". You wanna play?"
"Um, sure." Adyson handed her a camouflage outfit, and helped her put it over her normal clothes quickly. Buford supplied her with a weapon.
"OK, guys. Here's the deal." Phineas began explaining the rules to them. "It's like the classic game of "Capture The Flag". We've placed two huge flags on opposite ends of the backyard. We're gonna divide you up into two teams, and it's your job to deploy your troops out to capture the opposing team's flag."
"So far, this is just like regular Capture The Flag." Baljeet sighted.
"He's not done yet, dude. So be quiet and let the master enlighten us." Irving interrupted.
"Anyway, since there are 16 of us (Phineas & Ferb's circle of friends including Isabella, + the Fireside Girls including the young Melissa, excluding Isabella), we'll be split into 2 teams of 8. They'll be seven troops deployed out to the battlefield to try and capture the opponent's flag. One member of each team, though, will stay behind and act as the team's "nurse". The troops that are on the playing field will have to not only worry about the opposing troops, but also the ground they walk on. See, the ground is tripped with mines that, when stepped on, will cover their victim in ketchup."
"Wait a second. Since you guys planted the mines, won't this give whatever team you're on an unfair advantage?" Django questioned. Phineas suddenly realized this, but luckily, Ferb had thought ahead.
"Not necessarily. While each square inch of the underground has a mine planted, only a select few will be active at once." He held up a small computer with a keypad attached to it. "With the help of this wireless computer I built, random mines will be selected at a time and only the active ones stepped on will explode."
"And as for your weapons, you've all been given a small firearm that is loaded with tiny pellets that, on impact, will exploded and release a small amount of ketchup on its target. But if you choose to stay behind and protect your home base and more important your flag, you also have the option of using water balloons that are filled with ketchup. Anyone who gets hit with four mini pellets or one giant water balloon is out of the game, and they're not allowed to move from the spot they rest in. Fortunately, there's a way back in, and that's where your team's nurse comes in. All the nurses have to do is tag any player that's out...and clean them up of any lingering ketchup, of course."
"Then what are the real First-Aid Kits for?" Baljeet asked.
"Well, you never know. Somehow could get hurt out here. And the nurses are the only ones that can't be targeted with your weapons. First team to capture the opposing flag wins. Any questions?"
"Yeah. Uh, don't you think this is a little bit dangerous? You said it yourself. Someone could get really hurt out here." Isabella said out of concern for her friend's safety."
"Isabella, don't be such a worry-ward. We'll be fine. You are wearing camouflage. Now it's time to split us into teams. Who wants to be captain?"
Back in Danville, Perry was on his way to the Danville Nursery, the alleged first stop Doofenshmirtz said he would be at. He landed just outside the front door, and peered inside the little window there. He could see the babies playing calmly and quietly with their toys on the rug. The room was dark, however, so Perry couldn't make out any faces. He even got confused when an adult entered the room. The silhouette looked like Dr. Doofenshmirtz, as the man had a very bad slouch, and was wearing a white coat.
This was enough to force Perry to break the window and start beating the man up. Hearing the glass shatter and seeing the man being beat up made all the babies stop what they were doing and start crying loudly. Perry ignored the crying and continued beating him up. A lady soon came into the room and turned the lights on.
"What is going on - OH MY GOODNESS!" The lady screamed, as the man Perry was beating up was revealed to be a very old man who had a bad back, and Perry's pouncing on him simply made it worse. Not to the point where he couldn't walk, but still...The man appeared to be in his 70's. "What are you doing to my grandfather! And why are the babies crying!"
Perry took a good look at the man, and realized that it wasn't his nemesis. The shame quickly got the better of him as he backed away slowly.
"Not so fast, bub!" But the lady was very upset with Perry. "Who's going to pay for the broken windows and for the diapers the babies just wet and for my grandfather's medical bills!"
Perry thought quickly. Well, actually, he didn't think at all. He just handed them the O.W.C.A.'s official agency credit card that each agent is given, to pay for the damages. "Ooh, a credit card. Hang on, I'll run this up." She ran out of the room quickly with it, but returned less than 10 seconds later. "You're good to go." He wiped his brow and then took off out of the broken window. "Have a nice day." She waved happily to the platypus, as if nothing had even happened, completely ignoring her ailing grandfather on the floor.
"Hey! Are you gonna call for an ambulance or not?"
Perry, after his little tussle in the nursery, was confused since his note said that Dr. Doofenshmirtz would be there. But then, he figured he was already at the Tri-State Area Toy Store. He hoped as he was jetting off that this visit would be much better than the visit he just endured. He flew on his jet pack across town to the Tri-State Area Toy Store. He peered into the front window, and he saw two people: One worker at the register, and another in front of it. The guy in front looked, from the backside, like Dr. Doofenshmirtz, since he was wearing a white coat. He slowly lifted his right hand up, holding what appeared to be a knife.
The platypus dove right into the glass window, shattering it, and started attacking the man. In the process, he also destroyed several toy racks, and some of the toys. The customer screamed out for mercy, but Perry didn't let up. A couple of by standing customers started screaming, and some tried to pull the platypus off. "What are you doing!" The clerk shouted. "Are you nuts?" As soon as the victim turned on his back, to show Perry his face, Perry felt shame again. He stopped fighting the grip of the two bystanders who rushed to hold him back.
"Why would you just attack a customer like that? What is wrong with you!" The clerk was really angry now, and Perry didn't try to argue with it. "And how am I supposed to pay for the broken glass and for the plastic knife you broke?" Perry opened his eyes widely and looked down at the knife the customer was holding. It really was a plastic knife.
"My son wants to be a samurai, so I told him I'd get him a plastic swiss army knife!" The customer said, holding his head in agony. Perry cringed, and reluctantly handed the clerk his company's credit card when the pedestrians let him down.
"Thank you. Now get out of my store!" The clerk shouted, pointing to the exit. Perry hung his head and headed for the door.
Back in Iraq, the intense combat training continued. Everyone in the class was performing very well against the robot Spangler had set up for them. Everyone, of course, except for Candace. Even through her 2nd turn at it, she still struggle, and ultimately, she was beaten to a pummel once again. She wasn't laughed at, but she didn't need mocking laughter to feel ashamed. As she went back into line, Tara was there to comfort her. The line was smaller, as those who completed the exercise once were free to leave and return to their room if they so chose, or they could stick around, and once everybody had passed the exercise, they were free to use the robot as they pleased.
"Better luck next time." She said, patting her shoulder.
"That's twice I've failed this exercise." She said, sighing and hanging her head. "This is getting frustrating. I'm studying the other cadets' techniques, and none of them have worked."
"Candace, this type of training isn't about studying. No amount of studying in the world could prepare you for this. It's all about instincts." Tara explained. "You have to clear your mind; erase any thoughts that distract you and let your mind take care of the rest. Don't think about it at all."
"But...if I don't think about it, how will I know what to do?"
"That's what "instincts" means. You're not supposed to think. Because if you think, then you'll over-think. And if you over-think, you'll get yourself confused and you're going to get beat up."
"Well, let me ask you: how do you get an edge on your enemy?"
"Me? I imagine that the person coming at me is a person that I really can't stand, and then I clear my mind, and...everything else happens from there."
"Hm..." Candace pondered on that thought for a moment. "Someone I really can't stand...that just might work. Now, I just need to figure out who I can't stand the most out of everybody I know. Huh..."
Meanwhile, in Danville, Phineas & Ferb's game of "Capture The Flag" was about to begin. The teams were decided: Team #1: Phineas, Isabella, Gretchen, Adyson, Irving, Django, Ginger, and Milly, with Gretchen acting as the team "nurse", and Phineas as captain. Team #2: Ferb, Baljeet, Holly, Katie, Melissa (the young Fireside Girl), Buford, and the two unnamed Fireside Girls (appeared in I Was a Middle-Aged Robot), with Baljeet acting as the team "nurse", and Ferb as captain. Both teams had retreated to their home bases. Team #1 had a blue flag to guard; Team #2 had a red flag.
"Teams, prepare yourselves!" Phineas shouted through a megaphone. "When that horn sounds, it's game on!"
"Phineas? Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Isabella asked again.
"What are you talking about, Isabella? This is a great idea."
"But somebody could get hurt. And I'm not exactly comfortable with you going out there."
"Why? It's not like we're going to get hurt out here. It's just water balloons and little pellets filled with ketchup. What harm can that do anybody?"
"But what if something goes wrong? What if those mines you and Ferb set up don't work the way you planned, and somebody really injures themselves? What are you going to do then?" The horn blared through everybody's ears, just as Phineas was about to retaliate.
"It's gonna be OK, Isabella. I promise." He looked deeply into her eyes and smiled, which made her laugh. "Now stop being such a wimp and guard this flag. I'm going in."
"OK..." She was still swooning over the way he looked at her when she snapped back to reality. "Wait a minute." She shook her head rapidly, then stood up, and stormed in Phineas's direction to catch up to him.
"Uh oh. Looks like somebody's in trouble." Django whispered to himself. "Boys should never call girls wimps. There are some tough nuggets out there." He was completely unaware of the fact that Milly was right next to him, and staring at his cameo outfit.
"That camouflage looks really cute on you, Django." She said, batting her eye lashes in a girly way. The boy managed to get some sort of clue from this. He was able to figure out that Milly was flirting with him, but he didn't know that she still had a crush on him.
"Um...thank you?" He said politely, but slightly creeped out, before returning his attention to the battlefield. As for Isabella, things were about to really heat up between her and Phineas.
"Hold it, Phineas!" She shouted angrily, stopped him in his tracks. She caught up to him and never took her eyes off of him. Phineas was visibly confused.
"Isabella, you're supposed to be guarding the flag. You can't expect Django and Milly to do it by themselves, do you? You know how Milly's been getting around Django, lately. And Gretchen can't do it because she's the nurse, and she's supposed to attend to wounded soldiers."
"What did you call me back there!" She demanded some answer quickly, and Phineas wasn't sure what she was talking about.
"What did I call you? I-I don't understand the question."
"Phineas, you called me a wimp! You said "Now stop being such a wimp and guard the flag" before you left."
"I did? Huh, I guess I didn't realize it. I was so into this..."
"So what? You think that I can't handle this game just because you and Ferb spiced it up a bit?"
"I'm sure you can handle it." He said in a reassuring tone, which made Isabella smile; she thought he was believing in her again. "Now if only you could sound like you can handle it."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa! What's that supposed to me?"
"Not to be a downer, Isabella, but...you're kinda sounding like a downer." Isabella's mouth dropped as he said this. "I mean, all the complaining, "Phineas, are you sure this is safe? Somebody could get really hurt." it's really hurting my mood right now."
"Me, a downer! I'm a downer because I want to look out for my friends! Phineas, don't you understand the magnitude of what you're doing here!" She was shouting now. She just wanted to make sure that Phineas understood what he was doing and what he was imitating. While they were arguing, Buford took the opportunity to sneak up behind Phineas and shoot him with his pellet-filled firearm. But Isabella sensed him before he even got a chance, and shot at him, just missing Phineas's left shoulder.
"It's just...your constant complaining..."
"I was not complaining! I was simply warning you that this could get dangerous. Do you even understand what you're doing?"
"Uh, actually, I do!" He said angrily, now getting upset himself. "I'm wasting my time arguing with you-" Without even looking, he aimed his firearm at "Unnamed Fireside Girl #1", who tried to sneak up behind him, and pulled the trigger, shooting a pellet at her. "When I could be capturing the other team's flag."
"So now talking to me is a waste of your time?"
"Only when I have something important to do. Now stop being such a complainer and a wuss and let's get that flag!"
"Are you kidding! With that attitude of yours, I'm better off going back to the base. I'll see you when you get your precious flag." Angry that he wasn't understand what she was talking about, and angry that she was insulted, she stormed off back to the base. But after only taking a few steps, there was a big explosion beneath her feet, and she soon found herself being flown several feet back, landing very hard on the ground. Her right leg hit so hard that she actually twisted her ankle. Literally, it twisted back, causing her severe pain. "AH, my ankle!"
She clutched her right ankle in pain. The excruciating pain was quickly traveling through her body. And it was so bad that she almost started crying. "Isabella!" Phineas couldn't believe that his own girlfriend was hurt, and from a project of his. He rushed over to her aid, as did Gretchen & Baljeet. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, except for Buford, who, for some reason believed that she was faking, shot 4 pellets at her.
"Ha! You're out, loser! I beat you this time! There's no denying it! You're a loser!" He shouted in a triumphant, yet smug attitude. Nobody was impressed with his lack of sympathy. He took a closer look at her and could tell that she was in real pain. "Wait, you look like you're really hurt."
"She is hurt, you moron!" Phineas shouted in rage to Buford. "I can't believe you would be so stupid as to put a game before the well-being of your friends, if Isabella even considers you one!" He turned back to Isabella to tend to her wound. Guilt consumed Buford quickly as he also rushed to her aid. "We gotta get her to a hospital. Oh, I don't have my cell phone. I left it at home. W-We-"
"Phineas, I just twisted my ankle. I'm not gonna die or anything. And besides, Gretchen's an expert at this kind of stuff. She's earned the "Junior-Nurse" patch 4 times already." As Gretchen began icing Isabella's ankle & preparing the bandages, Phineas couldn't help it; he found himself tearing up at the very sight of his best friend injured. It all became too much for him to handle and he eventually found himself running into his house. He dropped his weapon, tore off his camouflage, and ran inside, sobbing hysterically. "Phineas! PHINEAS, COME BACK!" Isabella shouted to get him to return. But he was too upset to talk at the moment. "Oh no..."
"I'll call your mother and let her know what happened." Ferb said, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Vivian Garcia-Shapiro.
Meanwhile, all the way in NYC, Major Monogram had his hands full with his agency. After Perry traveled all the way to New York City in an effort to find his nemesis, beat up an innocent bystander who once again bared a slight resemblance to him, and caused thousands of dollars in property damages, Monogram was forced to step in and pick up Perry from NYC, and use his own money to pay for it.
"Again, I apologize for my pet platypus's behavior." He explained to Mayor Bloomberg. "He runs away from me all the time, and I can't seem to keep him with me for long periods of time."
"Mmm-hmm..." Bloomberg wasn't in the mood for stories as Monogram handed him the cash. "Just thank your lucky stars you don't live here." And on that note, he left, and the pedestrians who had stopped by to witness the action scattered. Monogram shook his head while Perry hung his.
"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, Agent P. Doofenshmirtz sent you on a wild goose chase. Of course, I would've at least thought you would have at least been able to figure that out. I mean, why would he send you to New York anyway? He wants to take over the Tri-State Area. Oh well. Since there hasn't been any real activity reported that was "out of the ordinary", I guess your work is done. Uh, good work...I guess. Whatever, it's not our problem anymore." Monogram led Perry to his hover car, and the two soon found themselves flying back to Danville.
Speaking of Doofenshmirtz, he was quiet for the day, but that didn't mean he wasn't scheming. After a full, exhausting day of shopping, he finally returned home with dozens of bags piled in his lair. "And there. That's the last bag." He trudged over to his sofa and collapsed. "Ahh, my feet hurt. I really need to invent a Foot massage-inator or something." As he was about to settle in, he heard a knock at his door. "Oh for crying out loud." Frustrated, he stood up and walked back to his door. Opening it, he greeted the stern face standing at his door happily. "Can I help you?"
Candace wasn't getting off so easily either. After failing her combat exercise twice, her composure was decreasing rapidly, especially after seeing everybody else succeed. She was one of only 11 people who haven't yet passed the test. As her 3rd turn slowly approached, she felt rattled, and her body started shaking.
"Oh man, it's almost my turn again." She said to Tara, who stayed behind to support her.
"Just remember what I said: try imagining the robot as somebody you just can't stand." Tara reiterated to her as she massaged her shoulders in an attempt to keep her calm.
"Well, I'll try." She took a deep breath in and stood up as she approached the ring. They both took their fighting stances, and eyed each other. But not even a few seconds into it, and Candace was already considering quitting. "I can't do it!" She shouted and turned back to Tara & Spangler.
"Candace, you have to." Tara told her. "If you're gonna be here in this training facility with us, you're gonna have to learn to fight-"
"No, not that! I mean I can't do what you said. There's nobody out there that I know that I really can't stomach."
"Seriously? What about your Mom?" As soon as Tara said that word, Candace's eyes opened widely. "What about all those times you were right about what your brothers were doing, yet she still mocked you to her friends? What about how she wouldn't treat you with the respect you asked for and always took her time when going to the "scene of the crime", as if she didn't even care enough to try." As Tara went on, Candace's anger started growing. "Or what about, even after it had been proven that you were always right about what they were doing, and they went missing, she still wouldn't give you respect? You know, always interrupting you while you were speaking, criticizing you for doing the same to her even though you knew where your brothers were after they had run away?"
Candace was now practically boiling mad. All those thoughts about her mother were long gone until Tara brought them up again. "Or..." Tara continued. "How about the fact that even after all that, she still wouldn't apologize properly until you threatened to come here to Iraq." That was the last straw for her, and without thinking, she reached behind her, happened to grab the robot that was sneaking up on her. She grabbed it by its right arm, swung him around and threw him into the ground. She panted heavily a few times before realizing what had happened.
"Hey, I did it. I did it!" She shouted triumphantly as she turned back to Tara.
"That was awesome, Candace." She said, congratulating her new friend. "You didn't even look like you were concentrating."
"Well, I was. I was concentrating about all those bad things you brought up about my Mom. But it was like...I felt her sneaking up on me, trying to make me feel miserable again. And then I said "Enough was enough!" and I exploded, and I just...it just happened!"
"Really?"
"Yeah. I guess your advice works. I guess all I need to do is picture my enemy as someone I really, really can't stand, and then my mind will do the rest."
"So...you really still can't stomach your mom?"
Candace pondered on this for a moment. "Well, it's not like I hate her, but, I don't exactly like her either. I find her...excruciatingly annoying. I mean, have you heard her voice? When she yells, it's like a cat scratching its claws on a chalkboard. And her singing? Ugh! Even my dad sings better, and he only had 1 hit! No wonder she lip syncs. (Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Max Modem!) And you do not, I repeat, do not want to be anywhere near her when she's asleep. I mean, she's so bad I can't decide who's worse: her or Phineas. Snoring is one thing, but I can't stand it when people talk on and on in their sleep. And she talks loud! She'd keep me up half the night at times. And she always wondered why I was on edge a lot."
"Hey, are you just about finished?" A waiting cadet shouted, becoming impatient with Candace's rant on how annoying she found her mother to be. "I'd like to get my turn done so I can get some food!"
"Keep your shorts on! I'm having a moment!"
Meanwhile, Phineas was having his own troubles back in Danville. After Isabella was injured, she was picked up by her mother and taken home, and put into bed right away. All of the other kids decided to go home, seeing that there was no more need for them to be around for the day. Phineas spent the hours after the initial injury sulking in his room. He pinned the blame sourly on himself for Isabella becoming injured in the first place.
So Ferb decided to head up to the room and console the depressed boy. Phineas heard a few knocks at the door. "Come in." He said reluctantly, as Ferb opened the door. "Oh, hey Ferb." He looked up at saw his stepbrother approached him. "I know what you're going to say: It's all my fault because I didn't listen to her. She tried to warn me and I simply brushed her off."
"That's not what I was going to say at all." Ferb replied.
"Well, I'm sure that's what you're thinking. It's what I'm thinking after all." He answered, lowering his head again. "I wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to see me again."
"Well, if she really loves you, she'll forgive you."
"I hope so. The last thing I would ever want would be to lose one of my friends because of my ignorance. I'm gonna go talk to her." He stood up, brushed himself off, patted his stepbrother's shoulder, opened his window, and jumped out. He desperately hoped that his talk would help calm his nerves. He climbed up Isabella's house all the way to her window, and knocked a few times. Isabella peered from her bed towards the window, and saw her boyfriend there. "Can I come in?" She could hear him ask from the other side.
"Sure." She didn't hesitate to say yes. She slowly managed to stand up, and with her crutches, made her to the window, which she opened, allowing him to climb in. Phineas wasted no time in helping her back to her bed. "Phineas, I'm fine!" But he was becoming over-baring quickly, and she tried to get him to back off while she climbed back into bed and rested her injured foot on a pillow to elevate it.
"How bad is it?" He asked about her injury.
"Well, I really broke my ankle when I fell. My mom called the doctor and he came over to examine my ankle. He said that I can't walk on it for at least 8 weeks unless I want to risk a permanent injury, or an injury on my whole leg."
"Gosh..." Phineas felt a heavy burden on his shoulders immediately; he began rubbing his left arm, coated with guilt.
"But he said that I was lucky, and if I had landed any harder than I had, I wouldn't have had any chance of recovery at all."
"Oh no." Phineas quickly became hysterical. He held his head in pure terror and was tearing up. "What have I done?" He held back a lot of tears.
"Phineas, it's OK." She reached her arms out, realizing that he was blaming himself for the accident, pulled him up onto the bed, and hugged him tightly. "I don't blame you."
"But I blame myself. You were totally right."
"I didn't mean any of that stuff, Phineas. Of course I believed that your plan was going to go off without a hitch. It was probably a 1 in a million chance that I got hurt." She tried to reassure him, to little avail.
"I'm sorry I called you those names, Isabella. And I'm sorry you got hurt. I don't know how I can forgive myself after this. I feel like such a failure!"
"Phineas, don't say that! You're not a failure." She held him tighter as he became more hysterical. She kissed him in an attempt to calm him down. "You just made a mistake, and it's not that big of a deal. Yes, I got hurt. But it wasn't your fault, it wasn't Ferb's fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. You have to calm down, Phineas. You're getting stressed out again. Do I have to force you to calm down?" She said that last sentence in a rather sly tone of voice. Phineas knew exactly what she meant by that (And if you don't, you can read my other fanfiction The Talk) but wasn't in the mood for it, so he wiped away his tears quickly and tried to stop crying. She kissed him again and hugged him, which made him smile.
"Isabella, can I ask you something? Why do you hate that game? You know, Capture The Flag?"
"I don't." She began explaining. "It's just the changes you made that I hated. You know, the military-styled changes."
"How come? I-I bet you're not a fan of violence, but..." He hesitated, waiting for Isabella to say something.
"You wanna know the truth?" She asked; he nodded. "Here goes." She took a deep breath away from him, then turned back to him, pulling him closer to her body. "Remember earlier in the summer? You know, like, when I ran away because you were oblivious to my crush on-"
"Stop. P-Please, just don't bring that up!" He covered his ears quickly. He loved Isabella so much he didn't want to be reminded of a time when he didn't notice her. She slowly took his hands off his ears.
"Just listen. Back then, when I was running away, I was planning to stay with my Uncle Fredward. He was the closest relative that I had."
"Aww, you loved him that much."
"No, literally. He was the closest relative. All my other relatives are in Puerto Rico. Anyway..."
"Wait a second. Wait. Isn't he the relative that you found out was dead for over 5 years when you got to California, and that even if you had gone to your desired destination, you still would've been alone?"
She hesitated before nodding cautiously. Tears started swelling up in Isabella's eyes. "Yes. Yes he is." She turned quickly to him, opened her eyes and looked at him like she was about to cry. "Phineas, he died in the line of duty!" She shouted before burying her face into her arms, sobbing. Phineas wrapped his arms around her tiny neck and stroked her hair.
"What are you talking about?"
"Phineas, he was deployed into Iraq!" She shouted again before leaning into Phineas's arms. Her hysterical crying finally settled long enough for her to gaze up at her best friend's eyes, who showed nothing but warmth, comfort, and assurance. "He was a war veteran." She spoke up again as she sat up. "It was his life long dream to serve in the military, and he was drafted when he turned 37. You know, in my entire life, I was only able to see him a total of 5 times before he was killed in the line of duty."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"After I found out he had been dead for so long, I decided to do some research about him. And I figured out why we were never notified about his death. Turns out, he legally had his last name changed."
"You mean...he got married?"
"That's what I thought. But Uncle Freddie was never good with the ladies. Anyway, he had his last name legally changed to "Finkle" from "Garcia-Shapiro", so that's why a different family was notified of his death and not us."
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." The two sat there, hugging, for a long period of time. Neither said a single word. Both longed to enjoy a quiet, comforting hug from the other since she was injured. "And Phineas, that's why I grew concerned when you set up that military game. I was concerned that you weren't thinking about the consequences that could come with it. I don't blame you, though. Nothing ever goes wrong with your plans, so I guess you didn't expect anything to go wrong here. But I at least hope now, you understand why I was so upset."
"I do, Isabella. And I'm sorry." He tightened his embrace on his, hoping to let her know that he would always be there for her no matter what. "You know, the only reason I set up that game was because I wanted to be just like my sister."
"You wanted to be a crazy psychopath obsessed with getting people in trouble for things that really aren't worth getting in trouble for?"
"No. I meant I wanted to be like her, and serve our country."
You want to join the army!"
"I didn't say that. I mean, I have thought about it, but after today, I would never want to risk my life out there, especially if it means the ones I love have to suffer. But I'm going to find other ways to make our country a better place..." He saw the concerned expression on Isabella's face. "When I get older."
"Good. 'Cause there's no point in trying to do anything now. I mean, you could if you wanted to, but you don't. Look, Phineas, I don't blame you for injuring me, and I don't blame you for doing what you did in the first place. You love your sister very much, so of course you would want to be like her. Anyway, it's getting late. I think you should go home; I'm sure your mom & dad are on their way home anyway."
"Good point. But I promise I'll come by and visit everyday until you heal up." He hugged her tightly one last time and kissed her before getting out of bed and making his way back out of the window. Before stepping out, he turned back one last time, and blew her a kiss. She did the same just before he was out of sight.
Late that night, after Linda & Lawrence had returned from their errands, & Perry had returned from his mission, everybody had gone to sleep. Everyone's sleep was peaceful, even Phineas, despite the fact that he still felt he was partially responsible for Isabella becoming injured. But not everybody was having a peaceful sleep.
Outside the Flynn-Fletcher home, a tall, slender man, with white hair and a very faint white beard, who, for some reason, was wearing a long, turtle neck sweater, & gloves, climbed up the side of the houses up to the window of the room where Phineas & Ferb slept. The man peered into the window and saw the two sleeping boys, but only had his eyes set on one. He opened the window up, careful not to wake anybody up, and climbed in.
With a black wool bag in his hands, he tip-toed quickly and quietly to the snoring Phineas. Not knowing that Phineas was a heavy-sleeper, he used all of his stealth to get up to him, scoop him up in the bag, and then dart out the room through the window, leaving nothing behind except a note. That was all. A note.
To be continued...
End of Episode 28!
Ooh, a twist! Wonder what's gonna happen next. Well, you'll have to tune in to find out.
Next Time: Dr. Doofenshmirtz carries out his most vicious plan ever, and this time, Phineas is directly involved. Plus, a terrible secret about the Flynn family is revealed.
Expected Update: I will try to update by Friday, September 3rd, which, if you didn't know, is the day "Camp Rock 2, The Final Jam" premieres on Disney Channel.