Chapter 8: Sheila Once Again

Penelope

"Sheila, dear, it's good to see you again," said this dimension's Enigma, cupping my chin.

"I'm not who you think I am," I said.

"I know about the whole thing, Sheila. The whole 'dimensions crossed' situation. I've been in contact with the other side. We know what's going on. Still, I can't resist ogling over your beauty, even if you don't belong here. Perhaps the reason why I've never been able to capture your affections before was because I was going after the wrong one. Hm?"

"Hardly."

"It matters not. You're captured and there's nothing you nor anyone else can do about it."

A portal opened suddenly and someone new entered. He looked… very familiar. "Hello, Mum," he said to me in a slight Australian accent.

"Wait, what?" I asked. This couldn't possibly be Max… could it?

"What happened to you?" asked the Enigma.

"Pretty easy, really. I aged my body to match my mind. This is also sadly an irreversible process. I cannot go back to the age I once was," Max shrugged. "It is for the better though since I have once again attained an intellectual advantage, eh, Uncle?" He pulled out a strange gun and fired it at the Enigma and his minions. They all fell, stunned. "We should get going. That will not keep them knocked out for long."

Max waved us to follow him and we all went out of the lair and far outside the city into the outskirts. When we got there, Max said, "Seems like we will be safe here."

"What's even going on anymore?" I asked.

"I let the Enigma of our dimension have his way. Once he was done with my portion of the spell that he needed, he no longer had use of it. I took back what I could. He did not seem bothered by it either. He just let me alone. I aged myself, but unfortunately, my body could not keep up. I have had to put myself in cryo for a few years. I woke up and the curse was lifted, everything fine. I figured I would come back and help in any way I could," Max shrugged.

"You time-travelled?" I asked, incredulous.

"Pretty easy with your blueprints. A little tweaking was needed, but here I am."

"What about Jacob and Daisy?"

"Oh, little brother and sister? They are fine… relatively speaking."

"What do you mean relatively speaking?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Well, in my time, they are having their own adventure. In this time, however… well, before I froze, I ensured they had a good home, I did."

"So, where did you leave them?"

"Great-grandfather Flynn's. They are fine. They have a lake and everything. Not all of our dimension is under the curse, it would seem, just a bubble around the Tri-State Area."

"He must not have everything he needs for a global curse."

"Of course not. That would require something more."

"Like me…"

"Exactly that. We need to break the curse, but from a safe distance."

"What do you suggest?"

"Me? I was hoping you had something."

"If you were thinking that, why did you travel back in time in the first place?"

"It was not for naught, I can assure you of that. An extra hand can always be helpful. Besides, we have made an important discovery, my siblings and I in the future."

"And that is what, exactly?"

"HErtE si NA HoaRuT" He clamped both of his hands over his mouth, eyes wide in shock. "Huh. Must be a spoiler," he said, face pale.

It suddenly became clear to me that there was something bigger going on in the universe than mere spirits. There must be some bigger force at play. Something that prevented itself from being made known in this timeline.

"That was spooky," said Max.

"Yeah," everyone seemed to agree.

"Well, what's our plan of action now?" asked this dimension's Perry.

I turned to my Perry. "I think it's about time we test the fullness of the Deus Ex magic," I said.

"I think I know where your mind is going. Shall I create a portal to the Prime Dimension?" asked Max.

"If you would, Son, that would be much appreciated," I said.

Max bowed. He reached to his watch and typed in a few things to open a portal. "The Prime Dimension is an ideal place to go for help right now, but it is also the most dangerous since it is the epicenter of everything going wrong right now," said Max.

"We'll be all right. You said so yourself that there's a future with no curse. Unless something changes, you'll still have a future to go back to," I said.

Max snapped his fingers in realization. "I knew there was a reason why I was here! One of the rules of time travel state that if a future is no more, then all things related to that future disappear. I am from the good future, so if we start veering from the path we are supposed to be on, I will start disappearing."

"What do you know? The kid made himself useful after all. Come on, then," said this dimension's Perry slinging him over his shoulder.

"And who invited you? Perry and I can take care of this just fine on our own," I said.

"Let's just admit something here: you need as many allies as you can get right now. Besides, if we fix your dimension, ours will be all the easier afterwards. Of course, you could always stay here and fix this dimension first, like you had planned," this dimension's Perry shrugged.

I squinted my eyes. "You're more devious than my Perry."

"I think you just haven't seen that side of me yet." He winked. "Come on, then." He walked through the portal with Max in tow. I sighed.

"I suppose this means you're all coming?" I asked.

"Your dimension helped ours a few years ago. It's only fair we pay you back," said Candace.

"Very well then." I sighed. The second dimension's Phineas, Ferb, Buford, Baljeet, Candace, and Isabella and her Fireside girls followed their Perry through the portal. I reached a hand toward my Perry. "Shall we?"

"And what exactly do you plan to do once you take me back there?" he asked, wary.

"Get your memories back and keep them back. I think we're all a little tired of the back and forth rollercoaster," I said.

"I do not understand entirely what that means, but I want to help you. I trust you." He put his hand in mine and our fingers intertwined.

"I'm glad. It'll be good to be back back." We walked through the portal. This had to be the start of the road to the good future where Max came from and, if we had any say in it, would return to unscathed.

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