"Uh, no offense, but I thought we got rid of you guys three years ago," Heinz says.

"Trust me, I didn't expect this either," the half-metal Perry says, and with his distinctive accent, Perry realizes exactly who he is. He's the Perry-borg from the dimension where a truly evil Heinz had taken over. (He's looking a lot better these days. Less...afraid.)

Which means this platypus must be the same one, and the one in glasses (the one also wearing, for some reason, a mask like a surgeon's) must be the teacher.

Although the jury's still out on whether or not the one with the -inator is the same Perry as before. He probably is...but one can never be too sure.

The teacher takes a couple steps back, away from the group, eyebrows drawn together in what must be confusion. It's hard to tell, what with the aforementioned mask.

But before he can ask about it, the teacher starts to sign.

So I'm guessing there's no pandemic in this dimension? He asks.

Pande- oh, yeah, that would explain the mask. Perry shakes his head. Not that I know of. That would be an absolute mess, wouldn't it. At least they aren't dealing with that, too.

The teacher takes his mask off, folding it and putting it in his pocket.

And I thought this day couldn't get any weirder, the final Perry signs, setting his -inator pieces on the nearest lab table. Although it is nice to see you all again.

Well, that settles that question. Looks like they've gotten the band back together.

The others all nod in agreement.

"I might have preferred different circumstances," Perryborg says, looking around the lab, "seeing as we seem to be...a bit stuck in this dimension."

Speaking of which, the teacher says, there is a way to put us back, right?

Heinz's gaze drops to the floor, and his expression turns almost unreadable. "Yeah. I'm sure there's a way to get you all back to your home dimensions."

Then what do we have to do? The teacher asks.

Don't tell me we have to travel through dimensions again, the Perry with the -inator says, and the platypus nods emphatically.

"I- okay, I don't actually know what we need to do," Heinz says, wringing his hands. The uncertainty in his voice is palpable. "I just- I know there's a way to fix this. I'm just not sure of what it is."

The platypus yawns, so Perry checks his watch. Nearly midnight.

It's late, he signs, stifling his own yawn as he suddenly realizes just how tired he is. We should go to sleep, and work on this problem in the morning.

The others nod in agreement. Heinz smiles a bit in relief, clearly thankful to Perry for changing the subject.

"There's the spare room, a couch in the living room, one up here," he says, gesturing around, "probably plenty of spots for you to curl up in," he says to the platypus.

I'll get some blankets out, Perry signs, going back downstairs to retrieve said blankets. Yes, it's the middle of July, but it gets cold at night in Danville.

On his way back upstairs, his vision lands on the box on the kitchen table.

If he didn't know better, he'd say this was a complete coincidence. But his life is strange enough already- this is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to strange. The universe sure loves to throw him into weird situations.

So the same versions of himself (including the one that is an actual, bright freaking teal platypus) coming back into his dimension...well, he wasn't expecting this exact scenario, but it isn't all that surprising.

Soon, everybody from a different dimension has found a spot to sleep, and Perry and Heinz finally get to go to bed.

"I swear," Heinz says as they get ready for bed, "the second I think we're finally done with this dimension thing, something more happens. It's like the universe is against me."

Almost ironic that it happened today, isn't it.

Heinz laughs a bit as he takes off his tie. "What are the odds."

Considering your track record, honestly pretty high.

"Yeah, you're right. Sure is one heck of a problem, though."

He gets lost in thought as they brush their teeth and climb into bed. Perry doesn't push him to say anything, being familiar with the way Heinz thinks. When he wants to talk, he will.

Just as Perry reaches to turn off the lamp, Heinz speaks.

"What if I can't send them back?"

Perry raises one eyebrow, turning back to face his partner. What makes you say that? he asks.

"I said that I could fix it," Heinz continues, his voice barely above a whisper. "That I could find a way to make it better. But I don't even know why they're here. It shouldn't be possible."

What do you mean, shouldn't be possible?

"Well, remember how I said way back then that the dimensions only came together every five hundred years?" Perry nods. He doesn't really remember, but it sounds about right.

"It's only been three, they shouldn't be this close now." He laughs. "Even if we're going by a different planet's years, it's only been about 12 and a half years on Mercury."

And that's nowhere near five hundred. Perry signs, connecting the dots. But then again, remember when I was able to pull you out of that rock dimension? That wasn't supposed to be possible either.

"I mean, at that point, the dimensions were so close together, it was at least sort of plausible, yeah? But this...what if it's just not possible to send people back? What if I'm lying to them, and I really can't do it? Or what if I try to send them back, and they all die? Or what if-"

Perry takes Heinz's hand, effectively cutting him off. Every problem has a solution. Even if it's not what we expect. But I know you- you're just as brilliant as you are stubborn. If anyone can find a solution, you can.

"A-are you sure? I mean, it's me, nothing ever works when I want it to."

Even if it goes haywire, we can find a way to fix it. We're both good at thinking on the fly.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right."

He smiles gently. But you're more likely to find a solution when you're well-rested.

"Okay, okay," Heinz grumbles, but at least he's smiling as he lays back down. That's good. "Goodnight, I love you."

I love you, too.

Perry turns off the light, then curls his arm around Heinz's body, providing at least a little protection from his self-doubt.

They may not be able to fix this the same way they did last time, that's for sure. But if there's anything he's learned from watching his nephews build, it's that there's always a way to make things work.

Even when it seems impossible.