Meanwhile, back in the present day, Candace was outside in the backyard, wearing an old bathrobe and kneeling.
"Oh great and powerful mysterious force," she said "I know that I am often mean to my brothers, and that I make fun of them, and I'm always trying to bust them, and… uh, what was my point?" she asked.
Then she remembered; "but despite all of that, I still love them," she continued "so please, bring them back; if you do, I promise I will be nice to them for a whole day." She paused, as if waiting for a response "ok fine, two days." She paused again; "you're really pushing me here, force."
"Ahem."
Candace turned and saw Isabella standing behind her "how much did you hear?"
"More than I would've liked to," the girl replied "anyway, while you were appealing to this so-called 'force', Baljeet, Buford and I having been scouring the city. I didn't find anything, but I haven't heard from them yet."
"Don't worry Isabella, it will be okay," Candace said, hugging the little girl "my brothers couldn't have gotten far. And I know it will all work out."
"You really think so?" Isabella asked.
"Of course," Candace said "once I find a sacrifice to offer to the mysterious force." So saying, she ran back into her house.
Unknown to them, Phineas & Ferb were doing okay in the past, but things were about to change.
There was a sudden ring at the doorbell; "pizza delivery" came a high-pitched voice from outside. Upon hearing the doorbell, Candace 2 & Phineas emerged from the basement.
"Who is it?" Candace 2 asked.
"A pizza man," Linda replied "although I don't recall ordering a pizza. Not that I wouldn't eat it, of course."
"Don't worry ma'am, we'll take care of it," Candace 2 told her, and whispered to Phineas & Ferb, who was still in the living room.
"Doofenshmirtz is getting ready to make his move," she explained "when I open the door, you two keep back, understood?" Both boys nodded.
"Pizza delivery," came the voice again.
"Hold on one minute," Candace 2 replied "we're coming to give you exactly what you deserve."
She got over to the door, and silently directed Phineas & Ferb to go on either side of it. "Okay, here's your payment!" she shouted, flinging the door open and kicking…nothing.
"What the?" She looked around and found a pizza box lying on the ground, along with a tape recorder, from which "pizza delivery", in Doofenshmirtz 2's voice, kept playing.
"Fooled by such an obvious distraction," Candace 2 chided herself "but wait, why would he leave the pizza here?"
She picked it up and opened the lid, with a cloud of gas then spraying in her face.
"Aaah, gas!" she said, as she popped back into the room, choking and trying to regain her breath.
"So…I'm guessing he wasn't there," Phineas said.
"It was (cough cough) a diversion," Candace 2 explained "he must (cough cough) be around here somewhere. Get my (cough) brothers quick!"
"What happened to the pizza?" Linda asked.
"False (cough) alarm."
Candace 2 had no idea how right she was; for, while she and Phineas & Ferb were at the front door, Doof 2 had broken in the back way and was now in the kitchen.
"There's nothing more relaxing than a cup of tea," he said, "of course, it won't be complete without the secret ingredient." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial of green liquid. "A few drops of this, and when that lady drinks her tea, that triangle-headed kid will be oolong gone. 'Cause oolong is a type of tea, you see…wait, who am I explaining this to?"
He dropped a few drops into the cup, then slipped out of the room.
Meanwhile, Phineas & Ferb 2 had come down from upstairs and rejoined their sister and their counterparts in the living room.
"Doofenshmirtz is here, and I think he's in the house somewhere," Candace 2 explained "we need to find him, but not draw too much attention to ourselves."
"Excuse me, babyproofers," Linda interrupted "I don't mean to interrupt…whatever it is exactly you're doing, but I'm going upstairs to my room for a while, could you not make too much noise? And just leave the bill on the table when you're done, okay?"
"Of course ma'am," Candace 2 replied, as she watched the woman head up the stairs. "Doofenshmirtz will most likely make his move when she's asleep and helpless," she said, then turned to her brother "Phineas, you keep an eye on her, and warn me if you see him anywhere."
"Got it sis," Phineas 2 said.
"The rest of you, spread out," Candace 2 ordered "if Doof's here, we need to find him and stop him ASAP. Let's move people!"
The remaining four went their separate ways; Phineas & Ferb headed down to the basement, Ferb 2 went outside to check the perimeter, and Candace 2 also headed upstairs.
She opened every door she found and peeked inside, but everything checked out. As she ran down the hallway, she suddenly stopped and peered inside one of the rooms. It was her younger alternate self's room.
She stepped inside and looked around at all the childish posters and toys that filled the place, especially ones featuring a familiar yellow duck. One caught her eye immediately; a teddy bear that lay on the bed. She reached down and picked it up, and it caused her to reminisce…
Several years earlier…
In the alternate Tri-State Area, a younger Candace 2 was sitting on the couch watching TV with her parents.
"Next on 'Danville's Funniest Home Videos', a man doing his gardening accidentally rakes his nuts," the host said.
A clip was then shown of a man using his rake, and spinning it around like a bo staff, causing the handle to hit him in the groin.
"I'll never understand the fascination Americans have with people getting hit in the groin," Lawrence 2 commented.
"Then we'll see a dog who…" the host was cut off as the picture disappeared, and was replaced by a long-nosed man with an eyepatch and black overcoat.
"We interrupt Danville's Funniest Home Videos to bring you this oppressive message," he said "I am Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and I am now your new leader. Which means there's going to be a whole lot of changes around here, all of which involve you serving me."
"Is he serious?" Lawrence 2 asked.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just part of the show," Linda 2 assured him.
"Oh by the way, I am serious, and this is not part of the show," Doof 2 replied "but if you don't believe me, take a look outside."
Lawrence 2 got up from the couch and noticed a horde of robots flying over the street.
"Robots? Well, this is new," he commented.
"Well, at least things can't get worse," Linda 2 added.
"Prepare for things to get much, much worse," Doof 2 continued.
"How does he keep doing that?" Linda 2 asked.
"We now return you to 'Danville's Funniest Home Videos, which has just been cancelled in favor of 24-hour programming about your new supreme leader," Doof 2 continued.
Seeing her parents looking out at the swarm of robots filling the sky, Candace 2 left the couch and headed upstairs to the room of her brothers; she saw Phineas & Ferb 2 sleeping and decided not to wake them. Then she made her way to her own room, and took a teddy bear off her bed.
"Things have gotten really bad Mr. Miggins" she said "some guy has taken over the Tri-State Area! I may not be able to do anything about it, but there is one thing I can do; protect Phineas & Ferb. They're too young to deal with this, and as the older sister, it's my duty to make sure they never have to."
She then grabbed her bear tighter, as she thought about what she would have to do.
Candace 2 returned from her memory and clutched the bear tighter to her chest. Holding him reminded her of that terrible day, and how she was forced to grow up almost overnight. She also thought of the vow she made that day; one she was determined to keep, no matter the cost.
"Hey! What are you doing in my room?"
Candace 2 whirled around and saw the younger version of her alternate self standing in the doorway, looking very cross.
"I thought you were supposed to be making the house safe for my baby sister?" young Candace asked, stepping into the room, "and let go of Mr. Miggins, he's not yours!" she added, grabbing the bear from her.
"I'm sorry, it's just…your bear reminded me of my own," Candace 2 explained "I have one just like him."
"Aren't you a little too old to still have a teddy bear?" young Candace asked.
"Yes…yes, I am," Candace 2 replied "anyway, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I have to go."
The teen headed for the door, then turned to her younger counterpart.
"A word of advice Candace," she continued "enjoy your childhood while you can, make it last; because sometimes, you never know when it will slip away from you." With those words, she left the room.
"That lady is weird Mr. Miggins," young Candace said.
Next time, our heroes discover Doof's plot, but will they be too late to stop it?