A/N: Little bit of a trigger warning for this chapter. There's a bit of a kind of panic attack in the story, so proceed with caution if you must (I say it's kind of a panic attack, because it's not exactly like the symptoms that I know of, but it's definitely something).

Something was horribly wrong. Dakota felt like he was missing something really important, but he couldn't figure out what it was. All he knew was that it had something to do with the gap in his memory. He was a computer, he didn't just forget things, at least not naturally or without outside influence messing with his systems.

Dakota looked at Cavendish, who was staring at him in concern. "Did something happen to you while we were gone?" Dakota asked.

Cavendish rubbed the back of his head with a slight grimace. "I was about to ask you the same thing." Cavendish's eyes widened in alarm and he looked at Dakota's head like something was on it. "There's...why is your hair colorful?" Cavendish moved his hand gently over Dakota's hair. It tickled slightly, which was strange. Things shouldn't tickle him.

Cavendish slowly moved his hand until Dakota felt his form waver and twitch. "Ow!" Dakota drew back and ducked his head. He instinctively wanted to draw his hands up to the sensitive spot, but he held back. Touching it was what had irritated it in the first place.

Cavendish drew back like he was burned. "That looks like…" Cavendish turned towards Orton in alarm. "Did Dakota come in contact with a magnet?" Dakota started. Magnets were extremely dangerous for computers. They screwed with their memory systems. Most computers in the future were immune to the effects of magnets, but the original version of Squips were from the past, and they were still made in much the same way.

Orton flinched and looked extremely guilty about something. "Yes, unfortunately it was the only way I could think of to get Dakota moving. He was too worried about-"

"Milo!" Dakota looked around the little time vehicle rapidly, even though he knew the boy wasn't there. "He...he's in trouble," Dakota's memories were still failing him, but he had small flashes of something. Pistachions approaching, A tree between them and Milo, the sound of Milo running away, accompanied by a feeling of terror.

"We have to go back," Dakota rushed to where Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus were hanging out near the controls. Dakota was so single-minded and determined to return to milo that he barely noticed that he pushed Perry out of his way, and the small platypus could have fallen into the time stream if Doofenshmirtz hadn't pulled him back.

"Hey!" Doofenshmirtz looked at Dakota in irritation. Perry the Platypus made a clacking-like growl. Dakota didn't feel guilty at all, which was what he ended up feeling bad for. Milo had been trying so hard to teach him to be concerned about everyone, not just those he felt connected to. Dakota felt like he was failing his programming. He didn't care about people as much as he probably should, and yet he cared about Milo and Cavendish far more than a Squip should care about anybody, host or not.

Dakota hastily scanned the controls and froze when he noticed that something was incredibly wrong here. He immediately knew what was missing, but it took him a few long moments to actually process it enough to say something.

"There isn't a return button," All time machines had a function to make it simple to return to the time they had just left. It was supposed to make things easier. It was one of the most basic functions of time machines, in matters of importance and amount of use it was second only to the main time traveling part of the vehicle, and yet it was missing.

Dakota turned and glared at Doofenshmirtz, his eyes flashing viciously. "Where's the return button?"

"I didn't think it was needed," Doofenshmirtz crossed his arms defensively. Dakota seethed furiously.

"But you thought a self destruct button was?" Dakota growled.

"Well, obviously we have different ideas of what's important." Doofenshmirtz wasn't intimidated by Dakota, which just irritated him even more. "This was my first time working with time machines. I asked you if everything looked okay with the time machine. If this return button is so important, why didn't you say anything then, hmm?"

"I...was distracted," Dakota could barely remember what Doofenshmirtz was saying, but it sounded vaguely familiar. One thing that he did know though was that he had been focused completely on Milo at the time.

"Wait a second," Cavendish looked alarmed and slightly furious. "There was something wrong with the time vehicle, and you didn't notice it?"

"Wha-hey!" Dakota turned to Cavendish angrily. He didn't like being scolded like he was being given a poor performance review. He was doing his best! "You were the one working with him on the time vehicle, and you didn't notice anything either."

"You're a supercomputer!" Cavendish shouted. "Your whole point is to keep things like this from happening."

"My point?" Dakota's form glitched slightly. Cavendish flinched, and Dakota honestly didn't know if it was because of what he'd said, or if he'd actually done something to Cavendish through their connection. "The only point I have is to do what I want, and what I want is to help the kid."

Dakota turned his attention back to the main controls. If he couldn't push the return button, he would just have to hack into the time vehicle and manually change their destination. Dakota was just about to do that when he saw that the return button wasn't the only thing that the time vehicle was missing. There was a year and month setting, but the day one seemed to be completely missing.

Dakota felt like his processes were frozen. There were a lot of parts that went into a time vehicle. It was an easy enough mistake to make, to not notice that a single button was missing, even a button as important and common as the return button. But to not notice that a third of the single most important part of the time vehicle was completely missing, it was an incredibly sloppy mistake to make for any time traveler, but for a Squip it was practically unforgivable.

Dakota didn't like the thought of having been created to serve a specific purpose, but Cavendish was right. The main reason why the B.o.T.T. used Squips was because they were able to notice technical details that others might miss. This was technically what his purpose was, but Dakota hated and somewhat rejected that thought. And yet he still felt bad about screwing it up. Why should he feel like he had failed when it wasn't something that he felt should be his responsibility more than anyone else's?

Logically, Dakota knew that it wasn't that bit a deal. Even if Doofenshmirtz hadn't included a day function in his time vehicle, Dakota could easily override things and input the information for himself, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt like he couldn't move.

"...Dakota," He barely reacted when he felt Orton grab his arm and gently pull him away from the controls. "Dakota, are you okay?"

Dakota blinked. He should be okay, he knew there was no real reason why he shouldn't be, but the more he tried to tell himself this the worse he felt. He couldn't even say what was on his mind, because his mouth refused to work for him. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, and it was like he was physically incapable of getting it out.

"Dakota?" Cavendish reached out to him, but Orton moved Dakota right past him and lead him to the corner of the time vehicle. Orton sat down on the ground and pulled Dakota down to sit next to him. Dakota let himself be maneuvered around, because he lacked the motivation to do anything else. Even thinking felt a little hard to do. The only thing that Dakota could think clearly about was that he should be better than this. He couldn't even think of how, exactly, he could be doing better. The only thing going through his head over and over was that he wasn't doing good enough.

"Can you answer a question for me?" Orton asked. Dakota didn't feel like he could, but his processes were already firing up, ready to answer a question. It may not happen immediately, but Dakota was fairly confident in his ability to answer a question. He nodded his head. "What are you feeling right now?" Orton's tone wasn't cautious and pitying. It sounded a lot like how he'd sounded when he was asking them questions about his show. He wasn't being overly careful, he was just trying to make conversation.

Dakota felt like this should help him to feel calmer, but he felt somehow even worse. What kind of question was that? Statistics, history, facts, those were things that he could find in an instant, and it would give him something to focus on. How was he supposed to answer this question about his feelings when he didn't know what his feelings were?

Dakota groaned and ducked his head against his knees. There was just so much information running through his systems, and he couldn't make sense of any of it. He couldn't exactly turn off his processes, but at least he could block out any additional information.

"Don't worry about making it understandable," Doofenshmirtz said. "Give yourself a minute, we're not in any hurry, and then just say whatever you're thinking of. Talking about it helps, trust me," And Dakota did. All of the books and stories about Professor Time went into great detail about his past. He'd been through a lot, and he always wanted to talk about it. If anyone was an expert about talking through his pain, it was Doofenshmirtz.

Dakota dragged his feet across the ground. It gave him something to focus on. He stopped trying to gather his thoughts and just focused on his feet. The consistent movement and sound was somewhat soothing. It took him a minute, but Dakota was able to calm down his frantic thoughts enough to remember how to vocalize them.

"I should...I should be better than this." Dakota said, his voice wavering. It hadn't really done that before.

Dakota could feel Cavendish's confusion through their connection. "Better than what?" Dakota heard Cavendish approach him, but he stopped a few feet away. Cavendish never really knew what to do when it came to being comforting.

"I don't know," Dakota said. He kind of knew, but he certainly felt like he didn't, which he didn't understand. "I should be in control of my emotions."

Doofenshmirtz scoffed so loudly and irritably that Dakota lifted his head and looked towards him. "Says who?"

Dakota didn't answer, but Cavendish cleared his throat. "Well, Squips aren't exactly known for being particularly emotional," Cavendish explained. Doofenshmirtz crossed his arms and gave Cavendish an irritated look.

"So what?" Doofenshmirtz' gaze softened as he looked back towards Dakota. He still looked unimpressed, but it seemed to be more with the situation than with Dakota himself. "Why 'should' you be like that just because other squipy-things are?" Dakota chuckled slightly. Squipy-things. That was definitely a new one.

"Some could say that I should be able to write a show without relying on time travelers from the future, because other writers manage it," Orton said.

Perry the Platypus made his clacking-like growl sound and Doofenshmirtz nodded. "Yes, exactly, thank you Perry the Platypus." Doofenshmirtz gestured to the Platypus. "Some people say that Perry the Platypus should be brown, because it's the normal color for a platypus. Or they might think that Perry the Platypus shouldn't be a secret agent, because he's just a platypus."

Doofenshmirtz looked like he was just barely getting started. "I grew up hearing all about what I should be, and let me tell you this, it really doesn't matter." Doofenshmirtz gestured around them, though Dakota didn't completely understand why. "Who cares about what you should be? Just because some people are a certain way doesn't mean that you have to be too."

Cavendish slowly stepped closer to Dakota and held a hand out to him. "Honestly, I prefer you as an emotional mess over an uncaring computer."

Having emotions was hard, and sometimes Dakota wished that he didn't care so much, but maybe Cavendish had a point. Dakota couldn't imagine what it would be like for him to be a regular Squip.

Dakota gave Cavendish a small smile as he took his hand and got pulled to his feet. "Thanks," Dakota took a deep breath, though he really didn't need it. All of them were right, he needed to take a step back and look at this whole thing from a logical standpoint. Milo was a resourceful child, he would probably be okay. He had to be focused on the task at hand. They were time traveling for a reason. They were going to the past to...wait a second.

Dakota frowned and returned to the controls just to double check something he'd already been sure about. "Why are we going to 1965?"

"That's where the pistachions were," Cavendish gave him an odd and slightly concerned look. "How much was your memory affected?"

"My memory is fine," Dakota said. "But the pistachions were already pretty solidly there by the time we got there. We don't know how long they were there for. We don't really have a plan."

Cavendish was taken aback. "I...no, I suppose we don't."

Dakota put his hands over the controls, hacking into them. "Getting a jump on the pistachions when they're not expecting it is a good idea, but not when we don't know what we're doing. We need to come up with a plan first." Dakota noticed something else about the time vehicle, and he was glad he saw it now instead of after they left the time stream. "We don't have a lot of time juice. We've got enough to make one jump for sure, but I can't guarantee we have enough to make it back." Time juice from the clocks in the future may be used in time vehicles, but it was really hard to tell just how effective it could be.

Cavendish, Doofenshmirtz, and Perry the Platypus looked extremely alarmed. Only Orton seemed unconcerned, but they were currently on their way to his time, so if they got stuck he wouldn't be in that much trouble.

Dakota looked at all of them. "How do you guys feel if we go back to Milo's time and figure things out from there? There are more pistachions there, but there are also more people that can help," Like Milo, for one, but there were others there.

Cavendish didn't look completely happy, but he wasn't arguing either. Orton looked really worried. "Would I be stuck there?"

"We'll figure out how to return you to your time," Dakota promised him, and that was a promise that he intended to keep. No matter how long it took, they would make sure that everybody was returned to their own time period.

Orton was hesitant, but he finally nodded. "Whatever you need." Orton was putting his complete trust in them, in Dakota, and it was a little frightening.

Dakota looked at Doofenshmirtz and Perry, who both nodded. They were on board with the idea. Cavendish was still cautious and unsure, but he was willing to give it a try. Like Orton Cavendish was willing to put some trust in him. Dakota just hoped that he wasn't letting his concern for Milo and desire to get back to the kid cloud his decision making. He hoped that going back really would be the best thing to do. Dakota didn't want to mess things up any more than he already had.

Dakota put his hands on the controls and hacked into them. He rerouted the time period destination. He also changed their physical destination. The pistachions were all over Danville, but thanks to Dakota's resources he was able to find a place where they wouldn't be bothered by pistachions. At least, not immediately.

Once Dakota had everything arranged and the time vehicle was heading where they needed to go he turned to Cavendish, who had pulled out his phone. One quick glance into Cavendish's mind and his phone told Dakota exactly what he was doing, but he didn't immediately believe it.

"You're contacting Milo?" Dakota asked quietly. Cavendish looked embarrassed about being called out, but he didn't try to hide it, which was good. Cavendish couldn't really hide anything from Dakota, just like Dakota couldn't hide anything from him.

"Just sending him a quick text to make sure that he's okay," Cavendish said. "I have great confidence in Milo's abilities, but you were so worried. I thought you might feel better if you heard from him yourself."

Dakota hadn't even considered the possibility of contacting Milo. His systems were too scrambled. He was getting careless, and he felt horrible about it, but he really appreciated what Cavendish was doing. The man was really trying.

Is he okay?" Dakota looked over Cavendish's shoulder, though he really didn't have to. Cavendish didn't call him out there, he just adjusted the phone and allowed Dakota to get a better look. Cavendish had only just sent the message, so there wasn't a response yet, but Dakota could see a small symbol that meant that Milo was in the process of writing a response. He wouldn't be doing that if he wasn't okay.

Dakota relaxed and leaned against Cavendish's shoulder. "The kid's alright." Dakota still wanted to see what exactly Milo's message was, but he wasn't terrified and on the verge of freaking out again.

"Yes, he is," Cavendish said just as his phone pinged. Milo had responded. Dakota grabbed Cavendish's phone away from him. Dakota was desperate to hear from Milo.

'I'm okay! I'm with Zack and Melissa. We've met some new friends, and we're going to try to figure out how to help the others. What about you guys?'

Dakota grinned. Not only was Milo just fine, but so were his friends. They had even found some help. He went into the phone's basic systems and immediately had a response appear. Maybe he was getting lazy, but this was a lot faster than texting.

Dakota here. We got into the time stream, but decided that going to the past might not be the best idea without a plan. We're heading back to your time so we can all regroup. Where are you?

"What's going on?" Cavendish looked annoyed at not having access to his own phone. Dakota sheepishly handed it back to him.

"Milo's met up with his friends and some other people," Dakota said. "We're going to meet up with them."

"That sounds like a good place to start," Cavendish nodded his approval. His phone dinged again and he looked at it. Cavendish smiled when he saw it. "We have Murphy's destination." Another message showed up. Cavendish glanced at it and then held it out for him to see. Dakota felt both happy and a little sad to see it. He hated having conflicting emotions about something that should be so simple.

I'm sorry for running off on you, Dakota.

Milo had nothing to be sorry for. He'd done what he thought was best. It wasn't his fault that Dakota got so worried about him.

Dakota put his hand on the phone and sent out another message.

It's fine, kid. We'll see you soon.

Dakota put his hands into his pockets and tried to relax. Milo was okay, the time machine wasn't perfect, but it was working well enough, and while they still didn't have a plan, they at least had an idea of how they could make a plan. There was no reason for him to be so upset, but he couldn't shake the feeling that either something was about to go wrong, or he was about to do something to make their situation worse.

Cavendish put his hand on Dakota's arm. "Don't worry so much. We can figure things out." Of course Cavendish could tell what he was thinking. They really couldn't hide anything from each other. Cavendish gave him a meaningful look. "And when I say we I mean all of us. Just because you're a Squip doesn't mean that you have to shoulder everything. We're a team," Cavendish shifted uncomfortably. "And I'm sorry if I ever forget that, or don't act like it."

Dakota knew that Cavendish rarely tried to be mean. Cavendish sometimes had a hard time remembering to keep in mind the emotions of those around him. The fact that Dakota was a computer, which normally wasn't an emotional being, didn't help matters. Cavendish was actually doing a lot better than Dakota had thought he would when they had first met. They'd both come a long way since then.

"It's fine," Dakota said, and he really meant it. "I'm not exactly the perfect partner either." Neither of them were perfect, but they were figuring things out. Dakota didn't doubt that the two of them would be able to figure things out, it was just a matter of throwing all the others in with them. Cavendish was right though, between them, Doofenshmirtz and Perry, Milo and his friends, and whoever the kids were with, they would be able to come up with a way to stop the pistachions. They had to.

A/N: I was midway through writing this chapter when I realized that I had no idea what I was doing with it. I had to take a minute to figure out what I was going to be doing to finish up this pistachion arc (hence why they go into the time stream, only to jump right out of it. I just couldn't think of any reason why they would go to 1965).

Because I didn't know what I was doing with this chapter, and I've been in a bit of a mood these past few days while writing this, I ended up projecting onto Dakota quite a bit. Though Dakota in the show isn't exactly an anxious person, he's apparently become the character for me to project my anxieties onto, because this is the third time where I have written Dakota as a little anxious, at least in the way that I deal with anxiety. The whole thing with Dakota not being able to focus his thoughts outside of what he should be able to do, as well as his apparent inability to vocalize his thoughts for a bit, and the thing with dragging his feet on the ground, those are all the kind of main symptoms that I deal with when I'm at my most anxious. I'm still not really sure why I decided to write it with Dakota, but it kinda feels nice to write about it. It's easier to think about it in a logical way when it's not about me.

I just wish I knew what exactly my freaking out thing was, because panic and anxiety attack symptoms don't really seem to fit it, and neither do meltdowns. I guess I Don't really need a word for it, but it would help me be able to figure out how to deal with it. If any of you guys know what exactly it's called, I would love to know. It could really help.