Chapter 9 "The Big Nose vs. The Big Snout."

Isabella was really glad to be out of that place, to be back walking on the sidewalks, and to be back on track to achieve her goal. Although that incident caused them to be a little behind schedule, she was still postive of being able to succeed today. However, despite having that line of thought, her attention was diverted to Phineas, who's smiling now seemingly relieved, but she still seemed concerned about him. ARChie was able to take a shot of Phineas caressing Pinky with his head bowing closer to her pet and she thought it was a beautiful moment between them, but some things were pretty confusing for her, though she has a hunch of what Phineas was doing.

"Phineas?" She called his attention.

Phineas looked at her happily.

"You saw Bucky today, didn't you? You saw him with Pinky."

Phineas wasn't expecting her to understand what was going on with him, in fact he was surprised that she guessed right. He gave a sad smile to her.

"I just miss him you know."

Isabella shed a tear from her left eye, happy to have understood him completely. She then walked closer to him that they were arm elbow to elbow and Phineas noticed.

"Can I hug you?"

Phineas eyes' widened but then he smirked. "No. You might get your germs on me."

Isabella giggled. "Silly, don't kill the moment, I'm trying to cry. I miss him too you know."

Phineas smiled and wrapped his right arm around Isabella for a quick hug. Isabella rested her head on his shoulder instead of doing the same since her arms are occupied with the sleeping Chihuahua. Phineas broke it off, much to her disappointment, but she was already satisfied with it.

"Tomorrow, after you treat me, why don't we visit the museum? I'll bring the flowers, biscuits, and dog biscuits."

Phineas chuckled. "They don't allow food in the museums you know."

"You know, we should request the museum to give Bucky to us, so that we could have a proper burial for him. It's not intentional, but the museum is mocking us with setting his remains up for display."

Phineas smiled. "Where will we bury him?"

"In your backyard, you know, so that he'll always be close to both of us. Also, we can't really afford a grand funeral for Bucky."

"Wouldn't his ghost haunt the house?"

"That's the cool part! You get to see him again!... I just hope that he'll be pleasant and not scary."

Phineas chuckled. "That's a really nice thing Isabella. Thank you."

Isabella blushed, taking those words which such passion that it chilled her spine.

"D-don't mention it."

"I already did."

"Well, don't mention it again."

"Okay... well I tried. Thanks Isabella. You're the best."

Isabella now grinned widely. "Shut up."

In the next few minutes they decided to walk silently, no talking. They already knew where they need to go next before Isabella brought up the subject of his dead dog. It might slow them down even more, but they thought it was the perfect moment just to have each other's company. Isabella wasn't disappointed that his arm wasn't around him, in fact, having their elbows keeping contact was already enough.

Danville Zoo was one of Phineas and Ferb's favorite places to go to, but they kept their distance from it so as to not lose its specialness to them. Today was an exception, though Phineas didn't want to view the animals, though his conscience is tempting him to go inside. Afraid that his id might succeed, he chose to stay outside while Isabella retrieved the meat that they required for this next patch. A few minutes later, Isabella came out with some meat packed in plastic bags strapped to her belt.

"So, remind me what's the difference of a Crocodile and an Alligator again."

"The key is their snouts. An alligator's snout or shorter but wider, while a crocodile's snout is longer but narrower. I looked it up the other day."

"Great! Shall we go?"

"Yeah! Ready when you are."

They walked to the nearest manhole which was already opened by Jenny.

"Thanks again Jenny for opening it for us!" Said Isabella.

"Make peace with the alligators my friend, and they shall have peace with you."

"Yeah! Thanks!"

Phineas climbed down the ladder first before Isabella as she was talking to Jenny. It's very dark inside, but the light from the outside was their only source. As soon as Isabella reached the sidewalk she rummaged for a flashlight on her satchel. Phineas noticed Pinky's head pop out from the satchel. She probably placed him there to keep him safe while she climbed down.

"Aren't you afraid that he might mark that bag?"

"If he ever does that I might send him to the vet for neutering."

"Yikes! You better be good in that bag Pinky."

The sewer designed like the roads, with dry sidewalks in the sides and the mucky water in the middle. She gave an extra flashlight to Phineas and they both turned it on at the same time and began to walk.

"Phineas? What if we suddenly cross with crocodiles?"

"Well, simple, we run."

"Easier said than done. We're gonna be able to outrun a bunch of reptiles."

"I never said we wouldn't try."

Suddenly they heard growling, and breathing. Next they then heard struggling and numerous splashes in the water. Phineas looked to Isabella, who was already quite scared. They remained close while they investigated the sewers.

"I have this weird feeling that the Slender Man is here." Said Isabella.

"Oh please Isabella, the Slender Man doesn't growl. And we'd be finding eight pages while trapped in a nightmare."

"Wait... you believe he's true?"

"No. It's just the atmosphere in this sewer reenacts the game."

"Agreed."

The splashing and the growling was getting louder. It was coming from the water in the middle. The two shone their lights to that direction and saw an alligator hogtied there with a toy torch stuck between its jaws.

"Hey! I recognize this guy." Said Phineas.

"Really? Wait, let me guess... Candace's Wrestle the Alligator patch?"

"Somebody give this girl a candy bar."

"Wew, such a cheap award. I deserve something more."

"A bigger candy bar?"

Isabella gasped. "Promise?"

"Okay, now you're just taking advantage of my kindness."

Isabella giggled. "I tried. Now let's untie this guy."

"You serious? Wouldn't we be attacked?"

"Well, I've looked on some techniques on Alligator taming, though I haven't practiced them, I'm still eager to give it a try."

Phineas watched her walk ahead of him. "Be careful."

Isabella walked over to the growling and struggling Alligator. The bonds that Candace tied to it were so tight that it couldn't break free of it this whole time. The Alligator was luckily able to survive though for some reason, probably just feeding off of tiny food that were floating around the water and letting them pass through its throat. Isabella rubbed it's abdominal part, causing it to struggle more because of the sudden touch, but she, not at all fazed, kept on scratching it. Slowly his growling relaxed to just fast breathing and he stopped struggling. Pinky barked a few times at the Alligator and Isabella shushed him. She then proceeded to pick up her army knife from her satchel.

"Phineas, can you come closer and give me a little light?"

Phineas complied by walking to Isabella. He pointed the light towards the hogtied hind limbs, which she carefully sliced free first. Cautious, she stopped in the middle of her cutting in order to monitor carefully the alligator's mood. Thankfully it was calm and still that Isabella was confident enough to cut the last bindings on his forelimbs. In swift motion, the Alligator turned over, splashing some mucky water over the much to their disgust. Then it was still, it just sat there still on the water with only his snout and eyes visible.

"I think you should give the meat now." Whispered Phineas.

"Yeah."

Phineas activates ARChie and sets it to night vision mode while she was busy preparing the meat. Once the camera was ready Isabella removed the plastic from the meat and tossed it to the Alligator. In a swift snap of the jaw, it catches the meat midair and begins chewing it. Suddenly it turns around and swims swiftly to further into the depths of the sewers.

"Did we do it? Did we finish the patch?" Asked Phineas.

"That's only one down. We've gotta find two more."

"I was afraid that you might say that."

They continued they journey into the sewers, though they don't really know where is the best way to go. It wasn't entirely dark in the sewers, in fact there was some light that was able to pass through thanks to the sewer vents on the sewer ceiling, but the use of flashlights was still necessary. Eerie was the atmoshpere in this place because of the unpredictable patterns of the sounds here. Sometimes there would be mice squeaking, sometimes the water would move, sometimes there were distant growls of either a crocodile or alligator that would echo through the sewers. Isabella stayed close to Phineas, even to the point of clutching his arm while hiding behind him. The latter didn't mind as he's assuming the role of the protective man he sees himself as, also this was his opportunity to pay back Isabella for showing the bullies who's boss.

"You know, despite the sinister atmosphere here, it's kinda nice. It's quiet, mostly, but still nice."

"How is it that you can still conjure optimism in that head of yours despite all of this?"

"Oh, it's a secret of mine." He teased.

"Gee. I bet you'd think positive even if you were stuck on Pluto by yourself."

Phineas's smile faded at the thought. "Interesting thought... but no. I'd be lonely. I'd survive, adapt, like every other human being in this planet could... but I wouldn't be happy."

"Oh... what if I was there? You know, just... you and me? A whole planet to ourselves? Forever?"

Phineas chuckled. "That'd be better... but not forever. You may be one of my closest friends, if not thee closest, but sorry, we won't happy there forever."

"Oh..." She said, and she began to doubt Phineas's feelings for her.

"Okay, Let's get realistic Isabella. I'd miss home, I'd miss mom and her snacks, Dad, Ferb, Buford, Baljeet, Perry, and all of my other friends. How about you? Wouldn't you miss Pinky, or your mom? Or eating that delicious Paella you guys cook? Or maybe even the moments you cooked with mom?"

After a few seconds of thinking, he was right. She'd miss the fireside girls, her patch collecting adventures, her moments of helping mom, Phineas and Ferb's inventions, Buford, Baljeet, beautiful Danville... There's so much at home that they could do rather than Pluto.

"Hmm, you're right... how about a day?"

Phineas chuckled. "Okay. It's an idea I could pursue in the future."

Isabella grinned. "Promise?"

"I'll think about it. I mean, we gotta ask Ferb, Baljeet, and Buford first."

Welcome back to reality Isabella.

"Oh... yeah, sure. Let's ask them." She said sarcastically.

The boy, ignorant of her sarcasm, just kept walking silently while enjoying her company, while the latter was frustrated and irritated that he failed to pick up a hint once again. That moment she really wished that Phineas wouldn't be such a boy anymore because she's pretty much tired of having her flirts constantly backfired at her. Now she's also beginning to think that their alone moments are just pure luck, and so is this one. A small ripple of water was heard coming from their immediate right causing the two to backoff a little from the water. Pinky began to bark repetitively until Isabella shushed him again.

"What was that?" She pointed her flash light at the water.

"Wait, let me check."

Phineas walked closer to the water to inspect for anything that moves. With his flashlight pointing to the water he tried to spot for suspicious activity. Then he saw some sort of tiny shape floating on the water directly under his nose. Apparently his nose was a little too close to the water that in an instant the tiny shape, which turned out to be a tiny crocodile attempted to snatch his nose. The boy recoiled quickly in time, but he stumbled into Isabella who caught him almost tripping backwards. Pinky then barked repeatedly at the tiny crocodile and once again Isabella shushed him.

Isabella giggled.

"How is that funny?"

"He wanted to eat a booger flavored Dorito."

"Wha-... Not again Isabella."

While they continued walking through the current tunnel, Isabella's giggle turned into snorting and snickering getting louder. Though she tried to contain it and muffle the sound by her hands, Phineas could still hear her and it contagiously made him smile.

"Isabella shut up."

Isabella kept snorting and snickering... and now laughing in her mouth. Phineas just facepalmed and tried his best to ignore her. But it made it even more difficult when she rested her forehead on his shoulder and then giggled.

"You know, you should ask if it wants some cheese on me."

Isabella just cracked with laughter. "Che-heese booger flavored Dorito!"

"You better add in some fries."

Isabella laughed louder. "Stahp! Ph-hineas Stah-ap!"

"And finally add in a soda. The Booger Value meal for the baby crocodile."

Isabella was now clinging on his other shoulder. "For only fo-hour point ninety nine dollars."

"Pfft! Too cheap, I'm worth waay more than that."

Isabella laughed some more. "E-heither way the baby crocodile would buy you a-and start munching that spot everybody loves."

"Yeah, yeah make fun of big old nosey."

Isabella laughed. "Big old nosey va-halue meal for only four point ninety nine dollars!"

"Isabella for pe-heace sake le-het go of me and sh-hut u-up." He started to chuckle too.

Although Phineas tried to contain it, his chuckles increased into giggles while Isabella was practically clinging to Phineas for support, preventing herself from rolling on the sewer floor. Despite the danger of that name to be spread in interstellar space, he considered the idea of surviving Pluto with her alone for weeks, until the jokes run out. Suddenly they heard growling, towards the direction ahead, causing their laughter to die down to a minimum. When they pointed their flashlight ahead of them, they spotted a bask of crocodiles blocking the entire tunnel startled by the sudden light.

Isabella started to chuckle nervously. "We're gonna die."

"Not if we run." He said in a sarcastically endearing manner.

"On 3?"

"Okay. 3!"

They sprinted for the opposite direction away from the angry chasing crocodiles. Pinky hops off Isabella's satchel instinctively making it easier for her to run. Though they try to outrun them, even to the point of jumping across to the other sidewalk to prevent any loss of momentum on turns they will still eventually catch up to them.

"It can't be that far, we have to get back to the ladder!" Yelled Phineas.

"Which way is the ladder?!"

"I thought you knew the direction!"

In an epiphany of horror, the two look at each other and scream loudly.

"Oh, I hope there's still enough sugar for us to outrun them!"

Isabella gasped. "Phineas!"

There was a giant splash of water ahead of them and they pointed their flashlights towards a giant alligator that leapt into the air with its jaw wide open. They were cut off, unfortunately. With no other choice left Phineas just grabbed hold of Isabella and embraced her tight and the latter did the same with Pinky sandwiched in the middle, bracing for what seems to be the end.

"I love you Phineas Flynn." Whispered Isabella.

Phineas embraced her... but then jumped in surprise. "Wait, what?"

Suddenly there was a large splash of murky water coming from behind them, and it soaked them. They reacted disgustedly, but then realized that they weren't dead yet. Behind them, the bask of crocodiles were pushed back by the alligator who boldly did so with his entire body. Then suddenly the alligator went for them. The two screamed in terror and braced each other again. The alligator immediately bounced Phineas' butt upwards, causing Isabella and Pinky to bounce along with him, but they accidentally broke their hug midair and dropped their flashlights.. Phineas landed on the back of the alligator first, then Isabella behind him carrying Pinky. With haste, the alligator galloped towards the direction the two were initially going, away from the crocodiles. Phineas fastened his arms around the alligator's neck while Isabella held the boy's stomach. For an alligator, it sure is smart enough to let them ride on their back and save them from the crocodiles. They could not see anything ahead due to their flashlights missing, but they were too scared to even care. There are some parts of the sewers that they could see thanks to the sunlight from above, but repetitive patterns of light and then darkness gave the kids a bit of a headache.

"Isabella, are they still chasing us?"

Isabella looked behind and found out that the crocodiles were galloping as well, angry for waking them up.

"They're still chasing us!"

"It must be the meat they're after! Could you release one?"

"Sure! But only one! I won't be able to accomplish my patch if I let all of them go!"

She releases a piece of meat from her belt and tosses it towards the crocodiles. It did distract a portion of their bask but most of them are still chasing.

"Okay, good news: It worked. Bad news: There's still some who are chasing us!"

They finally made it to the part where it was a roofless canal, The kids braced their eyes for the sunbleaching. Suddenly Pinky was barking at the Satchel and Isabella found out why.

Isabella shrieked. "Crocodile! Crocodile!"

She tried to shake it off by rapidly shaking her satchel, making some of her make-up and her lotion fly off. It worked but the crocodile then landed in front of Phineas's nose.

"Uhh, Isabella?"

"Yeah?" She gasped. "Get off! Get off!"

She began to play whack-a-crocodile on the baby croc but it kept dodging her blows. Her fourth blow landed on Phineas' nose.

"Oww! My nose!"

The croc then licked it's jaws and then snapped the end of his nose with them, causing the boy to say ow several times. Tears came out of his eyes because of the pain. He then tried to rapidly shake it off with his head but it just the crocs jaws were too strong and it intensified the pain.

"Isabella get it off! Get it off!"

"Hold still! Hold still!"

Isabella held his nose down on the alligator's neck. She wacked the crocodile on the back, knocking it out.

She tosses the croc behind her. "The Big Nosey Value meal is not for sale!..."

Phineas looked at her in ridicule. "Isabella..."

Isabella began to laugh hysterically behind his neck.

"You are so mean!"

"I-I'm sorrryy!" She continued to laugh.

Phineas sighed. "Never mind."

They approached another entrance to a tunnel and it became dark again. Suddenly the alligator turned around and stopped on its tracks.

"W-wait, why are we stopping?!" Exclaimed Phineas.

The crocodiles were heading straight for them fast.

"C'mon! C'mon! Run!" Isabella was patting the alligator.

Too late, The crocodiles are already close enough and are ready to pounce on them. The two kids closed their eyes and braced themselves for being eaten. All of a sudden there was a huge roar coming from behind them so powerful that it blew Isabella's hair along with it. The fading roar was followed by whimpering and galloping which seemed to be going away from them. When they opened their eyes, right in front of them was a clear bright canal from the tunnel.

"Woah!" Exclaimed Phineas.

"But what..."

The two looked behind them and saw a bask of alligators all grouped together, organized in a single file. They were shocked, if it's not to be eaten by crocodiles, it's to be eaten by alligators. But the alligator they rode on went to the sidewalk and bowed his head down, as if to let them get off his back themselves. They were greeted by the chattering Perry, who was seemingly just waiting mindlessly in front of them.

"Perry!" Yelled Both the kids.

Phineas hopped off the alligator first, picked up the platypus and hugged him followed by Isabella who sandwiched him. Their attention however was brought back to the alligators that approached them, but they kept themselves in the water. Phineas was getting suspicious.

"For a bunch of alligators, they sure are smart." Commented Phineas.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well first, one of them saved us, second, they all coordinated to scare off the crocodiles, and lastly, they're cueing you so that you can feed them with those meat."

Isabella suddenly remembered that she had meat on her belt. Phineas initiatively activated ARChie for her before she could ask for it. After removing the plastic bags wrapping the meat, she tosses it to the alligators midair and they begin fighting over it like a bunch of rampaging wrestlers. ARChie takes several shots of the feeding process, starting from when Isabella tossed the meat.

"Let's get outta here before they take us for seconds." Said Phineas.

They rush to the middle of the canal where the ladder, which is a sequence of handle bars attached to the wall, place their pets inside Isabella's satchel and climbs the ladder with Phineas climbing last.

"Okay, that... was really close." She said as she set her satchell down to help Phineas up.

"I think it was lucky. Who knew that there were a bunch of alligators who were on our side."

"No... I meant that baby crocodile was really to eating you for free."

"Wha-! Isabella..."

Phineas just started to walk to make their way to the next patch and Isabella followed while giggling hysterically.

"Hey Phineas, wanna hear a song?"

"Uhh no."

"Aw c'mon, it's dedicated to you. It's a Rudolf parody."

"Isabella I said no."

"Okay it goes like this:

Phineas the big nosed Dorito.

Got a croc to bite his nose.

And if you look at his nostrils.

Boogers will come out of those."

Phineas pushed Isabella. "Shut up."

Isabella pushed him back. "No, you shut up."

"No, you shut up."

"No! You shut up!"

Phineas pushed harder. "You shut up!"

Isabella giggled. "You shut up!"

Phineas pushed. "You're not gonna shut up are you?"

Isabella pushed. "Nope."

Isabella sticks her tongue at Phineas while he fake grins at her, or at least tries to look like he's doing it.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!"

-End of Chapter 9-