"I can't sleep." Ferb said.
Perry opened one eye. The cold night air was blowing in through the open window. The blanket draped over him wasn't keeping him very warm.
"I kept seeing icicles every time I closed my eyes." Ferb said.
Perry shuddered. "Don't say that word. That's the last time I watch a horror movie late at night."
Ferb walked over to the window and closed it.
"I think I'm gonna have issues with snow days from now on." Perry said. "MAN, that movie was terrifying. Remember when the icicle-"
"Don't!" Ferb said, covering his ears. "I remember, I remember." He crawled back into bed.
Perry climbed into bed with him. Ferb's covers were much warmer than his purple blanket.
"Have you and Phineas ever been apart this long?" Perry asked.
"A couple of times." Ferb said. "Mostly for one-day trips."
"A month is a long time." Perry said.
Ferb patted him.
Perry slowly drifted off to sleep.
...
Perry stormed into the agency.
"You look like you had a good morning." Darren the duck commented.
"I had nightmares about icicles all night, I woke up late, and now my head hurts because I have a huge zit above my left eyebrow. Look."
Darren squinted. "I don't see anything. Just a slight bump in your fur."
"Yeah, that's Mount Pimplemore. I might as well just stick a little arrow pointing to it: MOUNT PIMPLEMORE, GIVING ME HEADACHES SINCE LAST NIGHT."
"I think Mount Zit Helens is better." Said Darren.
"How about Mount Zitsuveus?" Peter asked. "In the center of Pimplepeii."
"Those are volcanoes, not mountains- EW. YOU GUYS, GROSS. NOW I HAVE A STOMACHACHE ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE."
"Put ice on it." Darren suggested.
"Guys, we can name the zit later." Pinky said. "But today's the day we carry out Plan Monogram. We have to focus."
Peter's baby cousins hopped into the room.
"Everyone, meet my cousins." Peter said. "Ping, Pang and Po."
"If the last one was named Qiu, we'd have a game of ping-pong." Perry said.
Peter blinked.
"Ping Pang Qiu? Means ping-pong? …Never mind." Perry shook his head.
"Bamboo." Said Pang, clapping his paws.
"That's the only word they know so far." Peter said.
"Yes, yes. They'll do nicely." Ernest said, walking up to them.
"Since we're all on board with this Monogram thing, can I call you something besides Sir?" Perry asked. "How about it, Ernest Hemingway?"
"Don't push it, agent." Ernest snapped.
"All right." Perry said. "Chester the chameleon, since you're good at blending in places, you'll give Synonym the letter telling her that she is to meet Monogram at the airport."
"The 'special' letter." Chester mocked.
"Peter, put Ping, Pang and Qiu in with the new recruits and give them all the fingerpaint, glue, and messy art supplies we have."
"Ping, Pang and PO." Peter corrected.
"Whatever. Terry the turtle, you give Monogram HIS letter telling him about an important meeting in the Quad-State Area. The Importance of Being Ernest, you and Pinky and Darren will go to that 'meeting' and impersonate Colonel Conundrum. Remember, Chester, don't give Synonym the letter until AFTER Monogram has left to go to the meeting. Devon, Peter and I will round up the other agents and do the rest. Everyone got that?"
All of the agents nodded.
"Awesome." Perry said. "Plan Monogram, activate."
...
Monogram hurried into the main room.
Perry and Devon were sitting at the table, pretending to play cards. They looked up at Monogram.
"Have you seen Synonym?" Monogram asked.
Perry pointed. Synonym was telling Peter what 'special' baby cousins he had.
"Sandra?" Monogram called.
Synonym looked up. "Yes?"
"Would you mind doing me a favor? I have to head to a meeting in the Quad-State area. This works out nicely, because it will give the agents a chance to see how you'll run the place once I'm gone. Look after them."
"I'm sure we'll have great fun." Synonym assured him. "You go on to your special meeting. Don't worry about a thing."
"Please find a synonym for 'special'." Perry muttered. "I can't stand the word anymore."
Monogram thanked her and left.
"Pen and paper." Perry whispered.
Devon handed the items to him. Perry forged Monogram's handwriting best he could.
Dear Sandra Synonym,
My meeting ended very early. Turns out, it was a trap. I need your help on this…
Perry smiled.
SPECIAL mission. I need you to stand in the middle of Danville's airline and wait for me. IMMEDIATELY. GO NOW. I will not come at once. I'm not sure when I'll come, come to think of it. But I need your help. The world needs your help. The agents will be fine by themselves. COME NOW.
FRANCIS MONOGRAM
Perry folded up the letter and handed it to Chester, who instantly vanished. Perry watched the letter float across the floor before landing on a table next to Synonym.
"Oh, goodness." Synonym said. "A letter."
She picked it up, quickly scanned it, and gave a little gasp. "Oh dear. I'm afraid something very special has come up, little agents. Don't you worry your little heads, though. I will be back, and then we can play some educational and healthy games!"
She ran out the door. Perry and Devon grinned at each other.
"Okay, agents." Perry said. "Let's do some redecorating."
...
The new recruits were very happy with Plan Monogram.
A baby hippo was riding a tricycle through the main room. Its tires had been painted, and the paint was still wet.
Baby Ned was painting the word BUTT over and over on the wall with his fin. A baby pony squirted glue across the room.
"FLOWERS!" Shouted Ping, tossing many pots at the floor.
Rhonda the rhino had set up a disco ball, and Marvin the monkey had ordered seventeen large cheese pizzas.
Perry took a slice and shoved through the dancing agents to find the couch. It was covered in popcorn and spilled punch.
He sat down and watched the chaos unfold. Plan Monogram was going quite nicely.
"Awesome party, dude." Said Rocky the raccoon, sitting down next to him.
"It's not a party." Perry said. "It's our plan to keep Monogram from retiring. Once he sees how quickly things fall apart with Synonym in charge, he'll be forced to stay."
"I still think it's a radical party." Rocky said. "I've drunk so much orange soda my mouth's permanently fizzed up."
"Who brought soda?"
"Kyle. You want some?"
"Nah, I don't like fizzy drinks."
Rocky left.
"Think I should blast a couple of holes in the wall?" Ferdinand the frog asked.
"No, I think the chocolate syrup's done enough." Perry said.
Lowe the fennec fox came into the main room, holding his ears. He ducked as a flowerpot came flying past his head.
"What is this?" He asked Perry in the same calm tone he used for every situation.
"We're trying to keep Monogram at the agency." Perry said.
"Hm. I'll try to block the noise out of my office, then." Lowe said.
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine. How are you? After, you know… what happened a while ago."
Perry shrugged. "I'm all right. The alien invasion was intense. But hey, I heard you vanquished Gretalyn. Good job there."
Lowe half-smiled. "Good. So you've sorted everything out since then?"
"Yep. Pretty much."
Lowe ducked again to avoid a baby pig who had just been launched from a cannon. "I think I'll take a rain check on the party. See you later."
"Where'd you get the cannon?" Perry called to baby Ned.
Ned shrugged. "It was in da basement."
"Be careful with that. We don't want a pig-shaped hole in the door."
"I was aiming at dat secuwity agent."
"Oh. Carry on, then." Perry said.
"EVERYONE, STOP!" Monogram shouted.
Everyone turned. Monogram was standing in the doorway of the agency.
"I can't believe this!" Monogram yelled. "WHERE IS SYNONYM?"
Synonym came running into the agency. "Oh dear! Naughty agents! That wasn't a very nice thing to do while I was gone!"
"You LEFT THEM ALONE?!" Monogram fumed. "The new recruits CAN'T be alone, Sandra, I told you that! Look at the walls! Look at the floors! Agent P has feathers glued to his back!"
Perry looked at his back.
"I maded you a feathery shtegosaurus." Said Po innocently.
"I am OUTRAGED." Monogram said.
"But Francis, you sent me a letter telling me you needed my help." Synonym said. "I was at the airport."
She handed him the letter. Monogram's face turned red.
"AGENT P! This is YOUR handwriting."
Everyone looked at Perry.
There was silence, save for the small crash of a tiny flowerpot.
"ALL AGENTS, CLEAN THIS MESS UP AT ONCE. AGENT P, LEAVE. YOU'RE ON SUSPENSION FROM THE AGENCY FOR ONE DAY. GO!"
Perry sighed and got up off of the couch.
"That sure backfired." He muttered to Pinky as he passed him.
...
"Phineas sent me postcards every day he's been at O'Riley's so far." Ferb said.
"That's nice." Perry sighed. He tried to detach a pink feather from his back and winced.
Ferb picked up the first postcard. "Dear Ferb, I'm bored. From Phineas." He picked up the second one. "Dear Ferb, I'm bored. From Phineas. Dear Ferb…"
"I get it." Perry said. "Can you help me cut these feathers out of my fur?"
"…I'm bored. From Phineas. That's all the postcards." Ferb dug in his bedside table drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors.
"Poor Phinny." Perry said.
Ferb started to cut out the feathers. "I mailed him a model airplane kit so he won't go bonkers from not building things."
"Why isn't he building anything?"
"There are things about building I don't know, and things about building Phineas doesn't know." Ferb said. "We can't exactly build things alone. Well, we could, it just wouldn't turn out as good."
Perry nodded. "I see- OW!"
"Hold still." Ferb said.
"Ferb, you got a postcard." Linda said, opening the door. She placed the postcard next to Ferb on the bed.
Ferb looked at it. "Dear Ferb, I built the model airplane. It's raining so I can't fly it yet. I'm bored. From, Phineas."
"Poor kid." Perry sighed.