I hope I'm not painting Ferb and Graciela in a bad light. Just for clarification, they are the good guys, they're just going about their self-assigned missions in ways that aren't that legal.
Review responses!
Dreadwing216: Actually, it already has! If you are reading this, and this goes for everyone, you have my gratitude for making this my most popular story so far on the site. Carpe Diem!
Guest Again: You're right. What I meant was, Doof is a bad guy, he's just not the main antagonist (...Or is he?). Also, yes, genetics may not control all aspects of personality, but it plays a part here. Why? My excuse is, it's science fiction. There's a phrase that goes "Nature vs. Nurture," which I think is what you're talking about, and it does have a role in this story as well. Multiple people have noticed that P and I are extremely obedient too, which is something I have been trying to establish. However, someone like them should know exactly to whom it's okay to give your obedience and who will only try to take advantage of you. I never meant to make the story seem race- or gender-heavy, and it was never in my interest to make points about anything that could offend anybody. As stated above, this story is my most popular so far, but it is also probably my most controversial. For now, your fear is valid, but my hope is to soon remove any reason to think that way.
Phineas A: Alright. I'll try to do that.
Red A: What is known as the fourth wall is actually the absence of said wall. In a play, there are typically three walls surrounding the stage and one in the back of the room behind the audience. Therefore, the audience can only see the three walls. When a character in a play, or any other piece of fiction, acknowledges that the audience is there or even speaks to it, they are acknowledging the fact that there is no fourth wall separating them. Hence, breaking the fourth wall.
Phinfan101: Um, okay... Are you laughing at me, or am I missing something?
10/21/15: Back, from the future! (Because it's Back to the Future Day? Get it?) Anyway, I'm just going to say it... Some of these chapters during revising started to come out with really awkward lengths - some too short, some too long - and this is one of them. Sorry, I tried to avoid it, but some things couldn't be helped...
Enough ranting. On with the chapter!
As an OWCA agent, Ferb was given access to a variety of different technologies. Grappling hooks, Monkey Wrenches, hang gliders, wrist communicationizers, fedoras, you name it. Among these was an OWCA-certified motorbike, green, purple, and cream spray paint running down the sides, which he was currently taking full-speed to a location Graciela disclosed to him. He gripped the invisible handlebars for dear life, feeling the wind course through his thick green hair sticking out in a splayed mess underneath his proudly-worn fedora, his own determined expression reminding him of that of a Tatooinian racin' turbo dust bikes.
Yes. He stood by that metaphor.
It was the twenty-eighth day of June - three days until his plan would come to fruition and Perfeneas and Isealia would finally be enlightened to everything that really went on in their world. Everything about themselves that was being kept from them, all the lies being shoved down their throats, the universe of possibilities they would be able to experience once they learned what was really going on; put as Cansummace would, he was going to bust the world for its secrecy to them. He crawled to a stop on the sidewalk in front of the Hidden Oak Hotel, the energetic hum of his bike slowly receding into a steady putter; he then flipped off the miniature global positioning system in the small dashboard, pushing out the kickstand with his left heel at the same time.
Making sure he was unnoticed, Ferb finally retrieved his invisibility pistol and aimed it at the precious motorbike - the blast renewed its time to retain invisibility - then ran behind the building and turned it on himself again, gaining the same effect.
In his absence, an unsuspecting passerby walked into the vehicle before dizzily continuing his trek.
To avoid suspicion, Ferb entered the building with a family of four. It was in no way difficult; it was as if the female daughter had known to keep the door open a second longer for him. He did not dwell on this possibility, however, and instead made sure to stray off the rug and onto the tile floor of the lobby in an effort to minimize the appearance of his would-be ghost-like footfalls.
He went into the elevator the same way he made it past the hotel gates. A small crowd awaited at the top, but Ferb was able to push through them and he jogged the hallways to room K203, the place Graciela had specified during the beginning of their plan's formation.
Pressing an invisible eye up to the door's peephole, Ferb realised he could not see any more than a meter into the room, at best; he would have to trust that his friend had the right location. He rasped his hand against the heavy wood in a pattern they had agreed on, namely his first four initials spelled out in Morse code.
Seconds passed.
He raised his hand with annoyed intention to try again when the door opened, finally revealing the petite, eight-year-old Graciela.
In sharp contrast to her age and appearance, the Mexican child's tone portrayed that she was clearly all business. "Where en el mundo were you?" She whisper-snapped, assuming the empty space in front of her was really her invisible partner. "Come in, quickly."
It's nice to finally meet you in person, too, Ferb mused. He felt the ray in his back pocket and accepted her outstretched hand, giving a shake that proved his presence; Graciela exhaled. "Am ready when you are."
Ferb mentally corrected her English and fired the beam. "Wow, that worked," Graciela noted, not entirely sure why she ever doubted that it would in the first place. "Now I can quit hiding around here with only this thing's cloaking device to help me." She gestured towards her wrist communicationizer, knowing and just as well not caring that Ferb could not see it. "Do not know about you, but my country no does use that technology often. Are the effects temporary?"
She paused. "Can not see you when you shake your head." When Ferb looked at her face there was nothing but the finely engraved wood behind it, but it certainly was not amused.
Likewise, Graciela could not see Ferb's expression, but knowing him she was sure there was a pair of lowered eyebrows involved. "I can not see you. Happy?"
"Yes. And they are temporary."
One would think there was a draft in the empty hotel room; it was actually Graciela sighing. Whether in approval; or in disappointment; or in relief; or in the realization that she had finally heard the British lull of his voice in person, no one will ever be sure.
"Okay. And for the record, I am glad to meet you in person." She extended her right hand again, this time too forcefully and too far. The puff of air she heard escape the boy in front of her indicated that the blow knocked his wind out.
"Ooh, sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I, ah, forgot how tall you are."
Ferb bent forward in an attempt to right his breathing, and raised a hand to show he was fine. "Ow!" Graciela whined, finding that Ferb had accidentally smacked her upside the head. "Okay, now are even. And say nothing about the subject pronouns, am working on them! Know what?" She paused to pick up her light gray beret from wherever it had fallen when he flipped it off her head. It required some searching, but she was glad to find it underneath her foot. "Let's just get on with the mission. Isealia y-" Graciela coughed at her mistake, plopping the hat onto its proper position- "and Dr. García-Shapiro left a few minutes ago to get some food and get used to the town. Have been spying on them for a while - nothing out of the ordinary yet, so we should be in the clear. Hey! Am using American lingo!"
Silence.
"You don't care; got it. So, may we?" She was referring, of course, to Phase II of their mission.
The two learned soon enough that apparently, they may not. Both children panicked as the same family that came in with Ferb unlocked the door and made their way inside.
Ferb vaguely recalled Graciela claiming this room was not booked, and the near-silent gasp of the girl to his left proved that her surprise ran as deep as his. He immediately felt the space beside him for her and clamped a hand over what he was reasonably sure was her mouth. This reasonable certainty was easily confirmed when he felt some kind of wet muscle smear itself against his palm - did she seriously just lick him?
Dismissing this, the nine-year-old wiped his hand down his high-waisted shorts and pushed the two to the nearest wall. They placed their backs firmly against it, not daring to breathe as the family's antics played out.
"Thanks again for getting this ready for us," the older man said gratefully to his dark-haired wife. "I know it's pretty last-minute."
The woman's outfit entirely matched those of the hotel's other workers, being a relatively simple combination of black on black on black. "No problem, honey," she answered quickly, "Being the owner has its perks. I actually have to go back now, you know how busy it gets this time of year."
"Don't I?" The man replied with a grin.
"Great. See you later then."
Her husband and the children (actually, they looked to be more adolescents, Ferb noticed) all saw her off. The door gave a mightily discouraging click as it locked closed behind her.
"We should leave..." Graciela insisted precariously into Ferb's ear over the clicks of opening suitcases and the zips of string bags ripping apart.
The statement to Ferb was an obvious, No, duh. He was sure doing this would prove easier said than done, however.
"You know what doesn't make sense?" The family's son asked conversationally, opening up a foldable game system on the bed he had wordlessly claimed as his own, "Why we're staying in a hotel when we live right here in the Tri-State Area."
"One," the remaining female began, leaning up against the same wall Ferb and Graciela were, not six inches away from the invisible children. "You know, this is the hotel that Isealia's staying at. I'm really hoping for a chance to meet her!"
"Kayla." Her brother lowered his game and gave her a look that obviously questioned her IQ. "Really, what are the chances of that?"
Kayla's mouth twisted to the side as she considered this. "I'd say pretty good," she confidently asserted, earning an eye-roll and contradicting smile from her brother. "And two," she continued, "We aren't in here for five minutes, and you're already on that thing?" She gestured to his game, a red version of which Ferb noticed resting in her back pocket, and the other kid merely shrugged and returned to playing.
"No fighting," their father called from across the room, not looking up from his work unloading the suitcase.
The older of the children sighed. "I just find it a little weird, that's all," she explained in a voice that sounded like a mutter due to its low volume. Suddenly, a playful grin crossed her face as she turned to her left - where she would have come face-to-face with Ferb had he been visible - and observed: "Oh, look, a closet; ain't that nifty."
Ferb and Graciela cursed their luck as Kayla nearly walked through them to get to the door against which they had plastered themselves. The two felt their heart rates accelerate even more as she reached past them to open it; they immediately scattered to separate places across the room.
Ferb was afraid he was not going to find Graciela again with any ease. He was even more afraid when he did; her invisibility was fading, and he sensed his was as well.
He ducked silently behind half of a wall, watching a mostly-transparent Graciela hurry to meet up with him. Somehow when he saw the teenage girl look out from her search of the oh-so-exciting closet, he got the feeling she had seen him clearly. The pit in his stomach dropped even farther, but did not prevent him from focusing on the task.
Not willing to take any more chances, Ferb pulled out the miniature invisibility ray and re-shot Graciela and himself with it. "Uh, I've got to - make a trip to the bathroom," the girl said hastily, jogging over to the door leading to the rest of the hotel. A strange decision, Ferb noticed, considering there was a lavatory right there in the room, but he was thankful regardless when the door opened and he and Graciela were allowed to make their escape. The girl closed it behind them, whispering something along the lines of, "You can thank me later."
Ferb was not sure how she knew of their presence, and was not willing to stay to find out. He and Graciela sprinted out of the building and onto his re-invisinated motorbike.
Doofensmirtz's face displayed a look overwhelmingly dominated by annoyance when he heard the knock on the door. He tried to ignore it and return to his work, but the rasping persisted long enough that he eventually broke. He valued what was left of his sanity, after all.
He swung the door open, and the entranceway neatly framed a fully visible MOWCA Agent Graciela - and a not-as-visible Ferb. "Excuse me," the child started with purposeful nervousness, "I am a friend of Perfeneas's. He invited me over for a while... Can I come in?"
As a part of their plan, Ferb had previously made sure Perfeneas was expecting his friend's MOWCA counterpart - he had even prepared a place for her to stay multiple nights if necessary; Graciela had done the same for Ferb with Isealia. Doofenshmirtz was informed of none of this, however.
"Um, who are you? Per-Perfeneas isn't really supposed to have outside friends." He was sure to say this quietly to keep the experiment from hearing.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Graciela congratulated herself for not only nailing the subject pronoun, but also for using it in a contraction. "I was told that I would be let in. Guess sho- I should just go."
"Yeah, maybe you should," Doofenshmirtz agreed. "I can ask him right now if he wants to see you." He jabbed a finger at her. "You better not be selling something."
Graciela had faced worse complications. "Okay, go ahead. Ask him," she allowed. "In fact, want me to call him?" She raised her voice. "Perf-"
"Shush, shush!" Doofenshmirtz shushed. "Alright. Perfeneas, front and center!"
The boy was taught that Doofenshmirtz's immediate demands took precedence over a chore that could be finished later with no negative repercussions. "I am present and you have my attention," he stated.
"Hey, kiddo. You recognize this girl here? She says she's your friend. What's she want?"
"This is Graciela," Perfeneas introduced with a smile. "Yes, I was expecting her. She asked to stay here for a while; can she be let in?"
Content, Graciela thrust an arm in Perfeneas's direction. "See? Nothing to worry about," she insisted, flashing a special MOWCA-trained smile.
Doofenshmirtz contemplated the situation. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" He asked the boy skeptically.
"Cansummace overheard the conversation and wanted to tell you so that I wouldn't have to. Although, from the context of the scenario, I conclude that she likely didn't."
"You darn right, she didn't tell me. Well, if all of this is true, then..." He looked back and forth between them, a hand caressing his chin in thought.
"Hey, excuse me?" The voice of Irving was unmistakable as he appeared in the doorway. "I forgot my UPAFDS, can I - wait, Graciela?"
Ferb stood outside the door, holding the also-invisible digital compilation of the group's machines. Graciela turned to Irving and opportunity grabbed her hand and pulled her down its favorite road with enthusiasm only rivaled by that of Cansummace. "Oh, hello, Irving. How have you been?"
The boy stood there, dumbstruck and momentarily forgetting for the second time the reason he was there. "Uh, good! I'm good. Very-very good. How are you? What are you... Doing here?" He had only known her through videochat, and was now stunned to see her standing in the same doorway he was. Any explanation at this point would be acceptable.
"Well, I had a date with Perfeneas-"
Except that one! "What? No!" Irving wailed, shaking his hands in front of him as if to wave off what he believed to be the truth, "No no no no nooo! First Ferb, now Perfeneas too? Why!? Why must everyone else be after the jewel I so desire?"
The OWCA agent had dropped to his knees in dramatization at this point.
"Did I say anything wrong?" Graciela wondered with a furrowed brow, "I meant - oh, right, 'date' has a double meaning. I had an appointment with Perfeneas; is that better?"
Irving, still on his knees and holding his hands in the air in desperate plea, moved only his facial features when continuing. "...Yeah." He awkwardly stood back up. "Thanks for... Clearing that up."
This taken care of, the girl looked again at the man in front of her. "So, am I welcome for to enter, mister..?"
"Doofenshmirtz. And hey, it's Doctor." The evil scientist scowled at the girl. Who did she think she was? Clearly she had some interaction with Perfeneas, which sent some red flags up in Doofenshmirtz's mind - there was no way he would allow her to stay. None whatsoever.
Half of him had the heart to slam the door on the children, and the other half was out getting coffee.
"Oh." Irving was taken aback by the man's rudeness. "Well, guess it's just the two of us then..."
He did not know how wrong he was - Ferb tried and succeed to not take offence. Graciela grunted. "Need to get in there... Need to find Perfeneas... Oh, it isn't good! No good..."
"Woah, woah. I'm sure it'll be okay." He placed his hands around the back of her shoulders comfortingly, which she promptly swatted off. "Is... Is that, like, the whole reason why you came to this country?"
She nodded. "By myself."
He placed a hand on his chin and considered the options. Suddenly, his index finger came up as if pointing to the ceiling, his face becoming brighter than the metaphorical lightbulb Graciela pictured forming above his head. "I got it!" He exclaimed, "Follow me."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the door, towards the elevator; Graciela looked back to where she imagined the invisible Ferb had been standing, gesturing for him to follow, and the young Brit had a feeling he knew where this was headed. "You know how Perfeneas is perfect, right?"
"Obviously," Graciela agreed.
"Well, that means he always has to eat healthy." Graciela had no idea how this information could help them. "This information can help us because it means he also has to supply his own food, so he has to keep his own garden at the bottom of the building."
That's right, the garden, Graciela remembered. Isealia had one of those, too.
"And he has to come down there every day to take care of it." He checked his watch; it was almost dinnertime. "So he should be down soon, and if we get down there quick enough, we can meet him there. Sound like a plan?"
Graciela's mouth formed a thin, straight line, and she nodded. The wait for the elevator was short, and only when all three children had made it in there (Graciela made sure the doors were open until she felt Ferb tap her shoulder, confirming his presence) did Irving realize he had not let go of the girl's hand yet. She shook it off and uncomfortably wiped it a couple times across her skirt - as would be expected, his hand was on the sweaty side.
A few seconds passed as the elevator began its descent. "Um... Hm..." Irving would repeatedly mutter, trying to break the silence. "Uh, is-is this - I can't really tell, is this awkward?"
This earned a chuckle from Graciela, but nothing more. By the time the elevator got to the main floor (without extra stops, thank goodness), Irving was about as red as a sunscreen-less Irish person after a full day in Miami.
"This way," he stuttered, and led her out to the garden.
It was just as Graciela had expected: nothing short of gorgeous. The two placed themselves on a stone bench near the entrance and waited.
"Wait a minute," Irving realized suddenly, "I never got my UPAFDS back!"
At that, Ferb faintly smiled. He moved away, sprinted around the building, and rode to the other side of the Tri-State Area - but not before leaving a visible UPAFDS in the building's lost and found.