Part 6: Reunion and Pain

(A/N: By the way, for this chapter, I have no idea what I'm doing here... I have a vague idea about what I should do, but for the most part, I'm making it up as I go along... At least for the other chapters I actually know where I'm trying to take this, but for this particular one... I have no idea... I know where this has to go, but I have no idea how to get there... I just hope this doesn't end up too badly.)

As I stood to join Candace, a sharp, stabbing pain coursed its way through my system.

"Perry...?" Candace asked as she watched my fall over from this searing sting I felt inside of me. "Perry! Are you okay?" She was holding my hand tight.

I did a quick self-diagnosis. Something wasn't right, but I couldn't tell what. I tried to pinpoint the issue, but just as quickly as the problem came, it disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Candace had a concerned look in her eyes.

I shook my head. I felt perfectly normal, but what was that?

"Do you need Dr. Baljeet to look at you some more?" Candace suggested.

I stood up and checked my major functions again. It said that everything was working in proper order, but something felt... dislocated. I shrugged. Whatever that was, it seemed to be gone, and the dislocation I felt now didn't seem that major.

She sighed. "You know, if something doesn't feel right, you need to tell me. After all, we're a family. You can trust us with these things."

I nodded, examining myself again, but for some reason, I just couldn't identify the problem.

"When we get home, you're going to get checked by Dr. Baljeet immediately," she informed me despite my previous motion.

I suspected that she would do that, and indicated that I heard her, walking over towards the exit.

As we approached it, the door set into the wall opened cleanly before us. I felt a twinge of regret as I realised that this was the same passage that I had used to carry Pinky's body to his lair.

Candace sensed my hesitation and asked, "What's wrong?"

I pointed at the thin, faded trail that was barley visible among the dust and the now dim lights of the passageway.

She kneeled to examine it closer. "What is this...? Blood?"

I bowed my head. Yes, that's exactly what it was.

She looked at me, again with those eyes full of pity. "I'm sorry. Do you want to take another exit?"

I shook my head. There was no telling what happened to the rest of the ways out, and judging from my entrence, the system going back up from here would be a gamble. It was more than likely that, if we tried one of the tubes up, we could end up falling into the mines. This route was still perfectly stable and one of the more direct passages. It would do fine.

"Well, if you're sure..."

I was, and I lead her into the dimly lit hallway.

We remained completely silent. I looked up at Candace to see that she seemed to be studying the ground. I turned back to the floor and shook my head. Even now, after almost a whole year of living with her, I still had no idea what was going through that girl's head.

Finally, we were let out into the brightly lit lair, belonging to the resistance.

"What took you so... Oh. I see..." I heard a familiar voice practically sneer. "Where exactly did you find that thing?" I gazed up, and surely enough Benjamin Robins was pointing a single chubby finger directly into my face.

"I'm sorry, Perry, but he refused to leave me alone. He even insisted on coming down here," Candace apologized.

I glanced past his finger, to his face which was almost turning red in anger, set into an expression of contempt. I had to turn away from him. Again, the memories were trying to edge themselves into the forefront of my mind, making it painful to look at him. My hand moved to the place he had hit me with his cane. I still had to remember my position.

"And with good reason too!" he boasted, puffing his chest up like a pigeon. "How could I wander around, unprotected, with a fiend like him running around!" For dramatic effect, he lowered his finger only to point at me with his cane.

"I keep telling you, he won't hurt you. Were you listening to us at all in the library?" Candace tried to convince the man, "Even if he does try to hurt you, he will receive his due punishment."

I clenched my hand tightly around Pinky's collar. Even if she loved me, I still had no right to be protected like this. This man, despite his rude actions, and brash decisions, still had every right to hate me for what I had done, and even attack me if he deemed fit.

"Speaking of which, has he received his punishment for that little event earlier today?"

Candace turned to examine me. "I think he's receiving it right now."

I gulped, standing there in silence. Minutes felt like hours and ticked by with lacking speed. Benjamin just looked confused as he glanced at the both of us.

Finally, Candace broke the silence by asking, "Perry, what's that in your hand?"

I held my hand open in front of me, exposing the object inside to the light. I had almost forgotten that I was still holding onto Pinky's collar. What was I supposed to do with it? Should I leave it in the lair, or give it back to its owners?

Something about it caught my eye. There was something... unusual about it. The gems sparkled almost unnaturally in the light, as if they were blinking. Could it be? I held the collar as still as I could and watched it, indeed, flashing faintly. Was it a signal for something? I brought my other hand to where my own collar used to be wrapped around my neck and glanced at the giant computer screen.

Did he...? It was a fad among the agents, but still... I walked over to the screen and searched the keyboard. Sure enough, there was a hole where I expected it to be. I placed the collar into it, and found that it fit perfectly. I pressed down on it slightly, and almost immediately the screen came alive with light. It opened a file on the computer, and a female, robotic voice said, "Hello, Perry."

My heart skipped a beat in surprise.

The voice continued, "If you are hearing this, then that means that I must have failed."

I took a step forward. This message... It... It must have been from Pinky.

"You see, I have been ordered to put a stop to you, even if it means destroying you. However, that is something that I cannot do. If you are hearing this, then you must have killed me. But the fact that you have discovered this message at all means that you've somehow come to your senses." There was a short pause, almost as if the computer was taking a moment to sigh. "Just remember, you have always been a good person, and my best friend. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You are no longer a pawn of Doofenschmirtz. Please, let it stay that way. Who you were is not who you are now. Lastly, I'm sorry. It looks like I couldn't keep my end of the promise. Protect Isabella for me." And with that the computer screen went black.

I lowered my head. When did Pinky find the time to make this, and how could he possibly know that this would happen?

"Oh, how sweet. Too bad such a kind notion goes wasted on something like you," Benjamin mocked.

I turned to him, in anger. I wanted to tell him to shut up, that he didn't understand, but I knew that I couldn't speak. Instead something unexpected happened.

Water started to flow from my right eye. I could feel it slowly drip from my still organic eye, down my face, until it came to a halt where metal and flesh met on my chest. I touched my hand to my face, where my fur picked some of the water up. What was wrong with me? Was my fluid containment system failing? Or was this something else? Some overwhelming force took me over, and I could not help but notice more water pouring from my eye. My throat became numb, and my breathing came in short gasps. Something inside of me hurt, but I could not tell what. Whatever it was, it ached and throbbed relentlessly, and I could not stop it. What was this? Something told me that I had felt this before.

"Perry? What's wrong?" Candace came over to me and knelt by my side.

I looked up at her. I was confused. What was this I was feeling?

At one glance, she must have known. "Perry... Are you crying?"

Crying... an indication of sorrow, fear, or pain through the production of tears. Was that what I was feeling? Sorrow? Yes... That was it. I looked back up at the screen. It was like Pinky had died all over again. I missed him, but I knew that he couldn't come back, that he was dead.

Candace's eyes were full of sympathy. She understood how I felt, to some degree. Many of her friends had died in the war. I could sometimes hear her at night, crying for them. "It's okay to cry for a friend. You don't have to look so scared." She smiled and continued, "Now can't you see? You have changed. You are a good person. Even you friend could see that."

I ran to her and buried my face in her black shirt, leaking tears into it.

I could feel her pat my head and say, "Now that's a good boy."

After what felt like even more hours of crying, I was able to compose myself and dry my face.

"You sure you're okay?" Candace asked me.

I nodded. I was fine. Now that I finally had a good cry I knew that everything was going to be alright.

"Still don't get what the whole fuss is about," Benjamin snarled.

Candace stood up abruptly, clenching her fists, making Benjamin flinch.

I reached out, and grabbed her wrist. As she turned to me, I shook my head.

Her expression softened as she replied, "You're right." Her hand loosened. "He's not worth it, let's go home."

I nodded, and I let her lead me to the elevator going up.

"W-wait for me!" Benjamin yelled, chasing after us into the elevator.

I kept my eyes plastered to the ground on the ride up. Luckily, the blood stains had been since cleansed from the floor, but I still didn't want to make eye contact with the portly man in the elevator with us.

The elevator opened into the surprisingly well lit kitchen of the Shapiro household. I couldn't help but glance at the cupboard where I had previously discovered Linda, hiding.

"I hope he's okay..." I could hear Phineas say from the other room. "Why won't they let us help look for him? I mean, we know him better than anyone! Plus he's part of our family! We should have the right to search for him!"

It made me slightly grin. They really did care. They really did miss me.

"I'm sorry, Ferb, but I'm... I'm just really worried. I mean, he's out there, all alone with no one to lean on. I don't care what other people think of him! Things have been hard on him, so we need to find him!"

That was when we stepped into the room.

"Don't you agree..." Phineas stopped mid-sentence, as the two boys turned to the new arrivals. His expression almost changed instantly from concern to joy. "Perry!" Phineas exclaimed, leaping out of the dining room chair.

I watched as Phineas and Ferb ran to me, tackling me to the ground with a hug.

"Perry, where have you been?" Phineas asked me, pressing his face against my metal chest. "We've been looking all over for you!"

I was stunned for only a second, then wrapped my own arms around the boys, bringing them closer.

Ferb slightly turned his face to me with a curious look in his eyes, as Phineas started, "Perry...?" but immediately fell silent.

I could hear Benjamin scoff behind us, but I didn't mind. This was our moment, and I wouldn't let him ruin it.

Of course some other force thought otherwise because as I was holding them in my arms, the pain returned. I let go of the boys, and rolled to my side, curling up as the throbbing sting increased in intensity.

"Perry? What's wrong?" Phineas asked as the world around me became blurred. This pain was now a lot more intense than in my lair.

I could hear Candace pulling out a radio and ordering for everyone to gather at Isabella's house, then she barked at Dr. Baljeet, telling him to get there immediately.

"Perry? Where does it hurt?" Phineas bent over me with a worried expression.

That was the problem. It hurt everywhere. I weakly tried to give him a smile of reassurance, but the pain soon kept me from doing so. Now I could feel my temperature dropping. I was shivering, feeling as cold as a corpse. What was wrong with my heating system? I scanned it, but it didn't say anything was wrong. It said that my heating and cooling was normal, as well as my pain receptors. I could feel myself falling unconscious. I refused to let that happen.

Then I sensed someone taking my back off. "Don't worry, Perry, we'll help you!" Phineas exclaimed.

But for some unexplained reason, my defense system tried to activate itself. I could not let that happen. If it activated, it would try to attack the people who were trying to help me. I dug my hands into the carpet, focusing all of my energy and thought to stopping my body from following through with this command. I didn't care about the pain. I just needed to keep myself from hurting the boys.

I could hear the front door open, and automatically my hands transformed into their blaster form. It took all of my willpower to keep them from taking aim, or firing.

"What's so important that I had to come here immediately?" a high pitched voice asked, coming into the room. "Oh..." Baljeet's mouth hung loosely once he saw me.

"Help us! We don't know what's wrong with him!" Phineas begged to the young doctor. With Candace and Ferb at his side, they removed my back and set it aside to let the doctor see what was wrong.

"Okay, let's see..." he muttered, examining my wires. I had a vague feeling that he was unplugging, re-plugging, cutting, repairing, adjusting, and attaching my wires, cords and cables, but nothing that he did helped.

Finally, after frantic minutes of rapid fire adjustments, Baljeet admitted, "I don't know what's wrong with him."

"What?" the Flynn-Fletcher kids reacted in unison.

"It doesn't make sense. I hooked everything back up, but I still can't tell what's wrong."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Phineas asked frantically, grabbing the front of Baljeet's shirt.

"I... I don't know," Baljeet stuttered looking back to me.

I could only watch as Phineas let go of the doctor, came to my front, and pleaded, "Please Perry. Please don't leave us. We need you."

Just then the pain vanished. I didn't know why, but just as Phineas said those words whatever was hurting me stopped. I was able to sit myself up and do another thorough scan of my systems. Once again, nothing.

"Perry? Are you okay?" Phineas peered at me.

I hesitated. Something was very out of the ordinary, but my scans had identified no problems, even Baljeet admitted that nothing within my system was wrong. I decided to nod.

"No you are not," Candace retorted, "You almost passed out there. Whatever that was, it was obviously not something we can just ignore."

I looked down at my hands. I knew that something had to be wrong with me, but what?

Just then I noticed Phineas snapping his fingers.

I turned to him with a curious look.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I think I'll go and see what's taking everyone so long. I mean Dr. Baljeet was directly across the street, but where is everyone else? I think I should go," Phineas stumbled over his words. I couldn't help but notice how he compulsively pulled at his ear.

"Aren't you concerned about Perry?" Candace asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but I think that everyone else should know the situation and all." Phineas seemed rather fixated on a ceiling tile, and refused to look at his sister in the eye.

"Oh there's no need. I'm sure they'll be along shortly," Dr. Baljeet remarked.

"Well, you know, better safe than sorry, as they say. Just let me check. I'll be back soon. I swear," Phineas said, looking as if he was searching for the closest exit.

"Okay..." Candace paused, "But be back before it gets dark. I don't want you to get lost."

"Well, you know me, I won't get lost. I'll be perfectly fine." He slowly edged towards the front room. "Now if you'll let me be on my way!" With that he practically ran out of the room. As he opened the door, I could hear him mutter, "Oops, sorry Isabella," before I heard his feet dash across the concrete outside.

"What's with him?" Isabella wondered out loud entering the room.

"I don't know... That was rather... suspicious. In any case, we have more pressing matters to attend to," Candace stated.

"So, why exactly did you call us over here?" Isabella asked in her usual harsh tone.

"I found Perry," Candace remarked, nodding her head towards me. "No need to waste resources looking for something that was already found."

"I can see that, is there anything else?"

"Yes, well you see, something is wrong with him."

"Isn't there always?"

Candace shot her a severe glance and continued, "However, Baljeet doesn't know where the problem is."

"It's frustrating really, I just can't seem to..." he began, but was interrupted by Isabella.

"Have you asked Perry about it?"

"No, but..." Baljeet hesitated.

Isabella ignored the rest that Baljeet had to say and came to my front. "Hey, Perry. Do you know what's wrong with you?"

"Isabella, can't you put it a bit more delicately?" Candace sighed.

"Sorry sir, didn't know how else to phrase it." Isabella turned back to me and repeated, "Well, do you?"

I almost grinned. She was being straightforward with me, and I liked that quality about her. I shook my head. I really didn't know.

A thick silence ensued. We all listened as the clock ticked off the seconds that seemed to get slower and slower with each tick that passed.

"Well, now what?" Ferb asked, breaking the silence.

I turned to him in mild surprise. He had been so silent that I forgot that he was even there.

"I don't see what the trouble is," another forgotten voice sneered. "Just drop him off with Doofenschmirtz and leave him there. Then this whole problem will be resolved."

Everyone in the room turned to him. Most out of curiosity, but I was horror stricken. Was he actually suggesting...?

"W-what?" Benjamin stuttered, his face slowly turning red, this time in embarrassment.

"You know... He almost has a point..." Baljeet stated.

"Yeah, if Doofenschmirtz made him what he is today..." Isabella started.

"Perhaps he could fix him as well," Candace finished.

Then they slowly turned to me. I immediately shook my head in refusal. I didn't care about whatever could happen to me, there was no way I would willingly go to see that man.

Then, almost as if on cue we heard a knock on the front door as a group of people came in.

"Sorry we're late." I could hear Jonathan's voice call from the living room as the group walked into the kitchen. "Since we were all in the city together, we decided to group up before coming back here."

I sighed in relief.

"Yeah, in case you haven't already noticed, we found..."

"Perry. We know," Mr. Adina interrupted Candace to her dismay. "You're little brother briefed us on the way here."

I looked into the crowd, but could not see him among the newcomers. Candace asked the exact words I was thinking.

"So, where is he?"

"I... I don't know..." he admitted.

"He said that he was going to talk to someone first!" Melissa blurted over the chatty crowd.

"Talk to someone? Who would he need to talk to? Especially since everyone is already here?" Candace asked aloud, a concerned edge in her voice.

"I don't know... I just assumed that he wanted to... perhaps... find someone else...?" Mr. Adina hesitated.

"But as I said, everyone's here." That was when Candace's communicator started to sound. Candace sighed, muttering to herself, "Well, I suppose he's going to tell us one way or another..." She activated the device and spoke into it, "Phineas? Where are you?"

"Yeah... Sorry sis, but..." Phineas' voice crackled through the communicator.

That was when I heard it. A second voice in the background. "Hey, kid. Who're you talking to?" My eyes widened. It couldn't be...

"I might be a bit late coming home... You see..." Phineas sounded reluctant.

"Phineas? Who's that with you?" Candace must have heard the other voice as well, so I couldn't have just imagined it. "And what do you mean coming home late, I told you..."

"Hey, kid, give me that. I wanna talk," the other voice requested.

"Um... Okay..." We could hear Phineas' communicator being passed from one hand to another.

"Ur... Hello. Hello? Can you hear me? Is this thing on?" this person asked into the mic.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you?" Candace almost demanded. I wondered how could she not already know.

"Oh, sorry about that..."

It was undoubtably him. The one who caused it all, the one who brought this family, this community so much pain.

"This is Heinz Doofenschmirtz speaking..."

(A/N: Duh, duh, DUN! Oh my goodness... I finally finished this chapter. Sorry about the incredibly long, three month delay, but I've finally written this chapter! You have no idea how hard this was to write. I'm really bad at transitioning chapters, and chapters like these can be so boring to create! Add the fact that I had a bit of a writer's block, and got a randomly huge addiction to Romantically Apocalyptic, made this difficult to finish! Please forgive me! Thank the incredibly stupid TCAP tests for a lack of homework so I could finish this, as well as the Platypus Day marathon of Phineas and Ferb that finally got me off of my bottom to write this! (And spring break for editing.)

Now the story's finally starting to turn around the last bend! Hopefully there won't be too many chapters after this one, but before I finish this, I need your input. I need to know what kind of stuff you are interested in me writing next! Please vote on the poll on my profile page~ You're allowed up to six (I know an outrageous amount) votes, and the most popular (as long as my sister doesn't nag me too much) I'll try my hardest to write! Quickly! Vote now before I make there be 50 options! The ideas! They keep springing into my head!

In any case, as always, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are very much appreciated, and I try to listen to everyone!)