The knot of anger loosened and Heinz swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears. "I'm sorry too," he said. All of the resentment he'd built up towards his brother started to crumble as he looked at Roger for what seemed like the first time.

Instead of seeing someone that had stolen everything from him, taking it all for himself, he looked at a man that had always admired his older brother, even when he couldn't or wouldn't say it, and done his best to live up to the example he had set.

"It wasn't your fault," he admitted.

Across from him, Roger nodded. "Thank you," he said. "It wasn't yours either."

The feeling that rushed through Heinz reminded him of the time he had built the Backstory-Inator. All of the anger and hatred of his childhood memories started to drain out of him until he finally let go of it entirely. It felt peaceful in a strange sort of way to look at his younger brother and see someone who could be a friend instead of an enemy.

"We're not there yet," he mused out loud.

"No, but we're on the right track," Roger said in the same tone. He reached across the desk. "Would you like to try?"

Heinz considered it, turning it over in his mind to examine it from every angle. To his surprise, the usual mental reminders of all the things Roger had done to him were no longer there. "I would," he said, taking his brother's hand.

"Thank you," Roger said again, shaking his hand firmly. "How about we start today? Dinner at my place?"

Sitting back in his chair, Heinz nodded. "I'd like that."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. It was a strangely comfortable silence, one that Heinz was sure had never been there before. For once, he didn't feel the need to fill the air with words to prevent the silence from pressing uncomfortably on him. There was a soft noise from beside him and he turned to see Mabel tucking her yarn and knitting needles away along with another mostly-finished sweater.

"I'm so proud of you," she said seriously, grinning widely. "Both of you are doing really well." From Heinz's lap, Perry the Platypus chattered and Mabel nodded as if she could understand him perfectly. "He's right. You two should get going; we've got to jet."

Roger looked at his watch, "Goodness, you're right. Heinz, it's after six."

It had taken hours but the walls that had divided him and his brother were finally starting to come down. He hadn't been lying; they weren't gone yet, and forgiveness was still on its way. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and that was far more then they had walked in with. Heinz stared at Perry the Platypus for a minute before lifting his hand off him. "Thank you," he said quietly, as his nemesis jumped down to the floor.

Turning his head to look at him, Perry the Platypus chattered happily and Heinz was sure he could see a smile on his beak. Following Mabel out of the office, he raised one eyebrow.

"Perry the Platypus is right," he said, standing up. "It's getting late."

Roger stood up, walking with Heinz to the door. "Perry? Are you sure he isn't your pet?"

"He's not my pet."

Pulling the door shut and locking it behind him, Roger smiled. "Why are you wearing a sweater with him on it?"

Scowling, Heinz pulled his lab coat shut. "It's a long story, okay? It's mostly Mabel's fault anyway."

A corner of Roger's mouth turned up in a smile as they reached the main doors of City Hall. "Miss Pines? She's behind that?"

"I'm behind all of this," Mabel said from where she was standing on the steps. "It's all my fault. You're welcome." She smiled, but there was a trace of sadness in it.

"Just one question," Roger said, checking to make sure the doors were locked. "Why did you do this?"

It was so quick he wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been looking, but twin emotions of sadness and anger flashed across Mabel's face. "Like I said," she said, back to smiling. "I don't want the world to end again."

She walked down the steps and paused at the bottom. "Have a good night," she called before turning down the street and walking away.

Heinz watched until she was out of sight before looking around for Perry the Platypus. Spying him behind a nearby column, he waved surreptitiously to the teal figure. Meeting his eyes, his nemesis saluted him from the shadows.

"Heinz? Are you coming?" Roger asked from the bottom of the steps. Waving one more time in the direction of Perry the Platypus, Heinz walked down the stairs to join his brother.

Walking through the street with his younger brother for the first time he could remember, Heinz felt like laughing. It was a strange feeling, the loss of the anger he'd carried for so long, but it felt better than almost anything had in his entire life.

Watching Heinz and Roger leave together, Perry slipped into the shadows in the direction Mabel had gone. It didn't take long for him to catch up to her and he started walking beside her. Catching her eye, he chattered out a question.

"I told you," she said with a smile. "I did it to stop the end of the world."

Frowning, Perry shook his head, and Mabel smiled wider. "I know." Seeing a park bench, she sat down and patted the seat beside her. "Sit down, Perry."

Jumping up beside her, Perry looked out across Danville Park. Mabel tilted her head back and watched the sun set. After a minute, she began to talk.

"I have great-uncles that remind me a lot of the Doofenshmirtz brothers," she said. "They were twins, and their parents always favoured Grunkle Ford over Stan. Eventually, Grunkle Stan spent thirty years trying to live up to Ford's legacy and it still didn't turn out to be enough." She turned to look at Perry, tears standing in her eyes. "Like I said, it turned out all right in the end, but when I saw Dr. D, I couldn't let the same thing happen again."

Perry nodded. Taking off his hat, he reached into it and passed a tissue to Mabel.

"Thanks, Perry," she said, wiping her eyes. Seeing the look he was giving her, she laughed. "Don't worry, I don't think you'll be out of a job just yet."

Perry raised an eyebrow, inclining his head towards her. Major Monogram wouldn't let his top agent stay with a nemesis that wasn't causing trouble or coming up evil schemes. For all the laxness of O.W.C.A regulations, that was one that was adhered to with absolute strictness.

"Seriously," Mabel said, standing up off the bench. "I have connections, Perry." She winked at him. "No one's reassigning you as long as I have any say about it."

Shrugging, Perry saluted his partner.

"It was fun today," she said. "I'll see you later, Agent P." Taking her grappling hook out of her purse, she aimed it upwards and fired. "Major Monogram was right," she said thoughtfully. "You're totally the best in the business." With a swoosh she was gone, no indication remaining that she had ever stood there.

"Do you think he's lost?" Phineas asked, standing in the driveway.

Behind him, Candace snorted. "No way. He's followed you to Africa and back in case you didn't notice."

"Still," Phineas sighed, staring out into the lengthening shadows. "I wish the little guy was back."

Ferb put a hand on his brother's shoulder, opening his mouth but before he could say anything, there was a familiar chatter from the bottom of the driveway.

"He's back!" Phineas cried, rushing to pick Perry up. "You really scared us, little guy," he said. "Don't do that again."

Settling further into Phineas' arms, Perry chattered again. Snapping her phone shut, Candace walked inside the house. "He's back Mom! You don't need to call the shelter!"

"You know," Ferb said as he and Phineas walked into the house, "Candace is right. He did cross an entire ocean by himself already."