He didn't know what to get them. He had racked his brain for the past week trying to come up with something. But, what do you get two boys who can build anything?
Perry sighed, pacing back and forth across his lair. He had been in here for hours; it was Christmas Eve and he was running out of time. He sighed, taking off his fedora and gently detaching the replication device. He aimed it at the wall, clicking past Dr. Doofenshmirtz's various Inators before landing on the boys' summer creations.
Rollercoaster. Spinning Tops. Continent Painter. Robot Dog. Tricked out Linda's car (various times); treehouse robots; the Beak suit; the baseball launchers; all appeared before him. He hit the off button, causing the replicated inventions to disappear immediately. What he needed was something unique, something the boys hadn't built yet.
But what? Nothing could rival these inventions. Nothing could even come close. Unless of course a box of various odds and ends appeared under the tree.
He cracked a smile. With that kind of gift, they could build anything they wanted. Ferb's toolbox alone could provide the mechanics of an invention. Though not all of the inventions were considered "street legal" as Ferb had once put it. Perry had heard the green haired boy mention that once or twice.
But what sort of gift was a box containing various odds and ends? He sighed. Maybe a walk around the backyard would help. It would give him some fresh air and clear his head. Quickly, Perry did a few back flips, landing squarely on his feet in one of the tubes that lead into the garage.
The platform in the tube shot up and minutes later, he emerged into the garage. Only to be met by the sound of a loud crash.
"Dang it!" Ferb let out an annoyed growl as his toolbox clattered to the floor, spilling nails, screws, fasteners, duct tape, slide rules and various types of wood glue over the garage.
"Ferb!" Phineas ran into the garage. "Ferb! What happened?! I heard this crash and—" his eyes landed on the mess. "Dude, did your toolbox break again? I thought you reinforced it with heavy steel from our last project?"
"I did."
"Huh. Well, that's odd." He picked up a piece from the floor. "Ferb, look at this." The green haired boy peered over his brother's shoulder. "It looks like it's rusted. But…over night? Rust is quick, but it's not that quick. I don't understand; this toolbox is brand new. How could it be rusted already?"
Perry froze. So that was what the Doctor's Rustinator hit yesterday.
"Well Bro, looks like we better get a new toolbox. This one appears to be on its last legs." Ferb sighed, opening his wallet. Phineas watched in wonder as something flew out of it. "Wow. When an actual moth flies out of your wallet, that's really bad news."
"No money."
"At all?" He shook his head.
Phineas slung an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Don't worry Ferb. It's Christmas Eve. We're bound to get some spending money tomorrow." He looked at the rusted toolbox. "Besides, we're on Christmas Break. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a break from building things anyway." Ferb nodded and the two disappeared into the house.
Perry grinned as he emerged from behind one of the workbenches. He knew what to get the boys for Christmas. Now he just had to find it.
He spent the rest of the day scouring the Googleplex Mall, Superduper Mega Superstore and various hardware stores around Danville. But every place seemed to say the same thing:
"I'm sorry, but we're all out of toolboxes."
"No toolboxes here, sorry."
"Sorry platypus. We just ran out today."
"Oh! You want a toolbox? Yeah, we had—oh. Sorry. Looks like we just sold our last one." The shopkeeper gave him an odd look. "Hey, what do you want with a toolbox anyway?"
Perry merely tipped his fedora to the man before quickly leaving the store. He trudged through the streets, absently kicking aside snow drifts. He consulted his watch: only several hours before it officially became Christmas. There had to be another place to get a toolbox.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. The Doctor. He had received a spate of toolboxes yesterday. Which, if the platypus remembered correctly, was the reason Doofenshmirtz had created a Rustinator. Something about toolboxes never working correctly and drawers opening up and things falling out…
He really couldn't remember the Doctor's entire rant; after a while, all the rants tended to sound the same. But that didn't matter at this point. Before thinking further on it, Perry was off like a shot, tearing down the street. If he was lucky, Dr. Doofenshmirtz would still have at least a few toolboxes left.
The platypus arrived at the Doctor's apartment in record time. Quickly, he did a handspring up to the door of the main building, using his tail to press the intercom button.
"Hello? Who's there?"
Perry righted himself, hopping onto the handrail before pushing the button and growling into it.
"Perry the platypus? Is that you? Wait. Why are you buzzing the intercom? I mean, normally you would just bust through one of my windows or show up on my balcony. Don't get me wrong; this is very courteous of you, but—"
He rolled his eyes; with the Doctor's usual monologing, this could take the rest of the evening. He was rapidly running out of time. He pressed the button again, growling.
"You know, you could at least let me finish a sentence. I was going to say that this is very courteous of you to ring my buzzer, but…really Perry the platypus; I thought you had better manners." Perry pulled his arm back, ready to give the intercom a punch when the Doctor's voice came over the speaker. "Although, since you did show courtesy by ringing the buzzer and not, you know, breaking in again, I supposed I could just let you in. Hang on a moment; I have so few visitors that I don't know where the unlock button is." A pause. "Did I just say that out loud? You know, I'm not really that lonely. Really."
The monotreme hopped off the railing, softly landing on the stoop. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently as Doofenshmirtz prattled on.
"You know, I could have sworn the button was around here somewhere…oh wait. Here it is!" Another pause. "No, that's a bowl of mints. Why do I always mistake them for buttons? Oh wait. Here it is!" A loud click was heard and the door in front of him swung inward, inviting him into the warm glow of the hallway. He chattered, habitually tipping his hat to the intercom before stepping over the threshold and making his way to the elevator.
A few floors, and several passengers later, the elevator dinged on the correct floor. Perry stepped out into the hallway, making his way down to the Doctor's apartment. He stopped at the door and knocked.
"Who is it?"
He growled.
"Oh! Perry the platypus! Hang on just a min—ah!" The platypus cringed as a loud crash was heard from behind the door. "I'm okay. Really. Just one moment—ow!" Another crash was heard, followed by the sound of stumbling. The door opened a crack and Perry walked inside, finding Dr. Doofenshmirtz sitting on the floor of his apartment, cradling his right foot. "Oh these darn toolboxes."
He motioned around the room. "You see Perry the platypus, ever since—wait, why am I telling you this? You foiled my rustinator scheme yesterday." His eyes narrowed. "Thanks to you, I have a ton of rusty toolboxes lying around that I don't know what to do with. If it wasn't Christmas Eve, I would build an Inator to dispose of them." He paused. "Which might actually be a good idea. But—Perry the platypus, what are you doing?"
The doctor watched as Perry went from toolbox to toolbox, opening each one in turn, appearing to inspect the inside.
"You know, if you're looking for a toolbox that isn't rusted, you're out of luck. Every single one of these is rusted. Except for…" Doofenshmirtz shut his mouth, watching as the platypus stopped hunting, walking over and facing him. "Forget it Perry the platypus. What have you ever done for me? All you ever do is break in here and foil my plans. You-you could at least act nice and let me win for a change." The monotreme crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him. "No way. I'm not going to tell you that the only unrusted toolbox is hidden in the back of my closet."
The monotreme brightened, making a beeline for the doctor's bedroom.
"No no no! Wait! I was saving that!" Dr. Doofenshmirtz, went to stand up, only to catch himself. "Ooo…that smarts." He hopped on one foot towards the back of the apartment. "Perry the platypus, don't you dare take that toolbox! I only have one…"
Perry emerged from the back of the room, carrying a toolbox in each paw.
"Huh. Well what do you know?" Doofenshmirtz laughed nervously. "I guess I did have more than one toolbox in the back of my closet. You know, I should really check the quantities on those order forms." He paused, watching as the platypus set one toolbox on the floor, carrying the other one towards the front door. "Hey, where are you going?"
He opened the door, chattering.
"You're-you're leaving? So soon?" The doctor paused, looking behind him as the clock chimed six times. "On Christmas Eve? You-you can't stay?"
His heart sank. He had to get back to the house and get the present ready for the boys. Although…he checked his watch; normally the boys would be looking for him. But since tonight was Christmas Eve…he smiled. The Flynn-Fletchers would be busy; he could spare a few hours. He set the toolbox down by the door and looked at the Doctor.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz returned the smile. "Come on, let's go watch It's a Wonderful Life. I heard it's supposed to be really good."
Perry went to follow him, only to pause. He held up a finger, motioning for the doctor to wait before disappearing into the kitchen. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he walked back out, holding a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. He gently took the Doctor's hand, leading him to the couch.
"Perry the platypus, what you are doing? Are you stealing my ice now? Because, really, that's not anything worth stealing. Unless of course, you know, you're an Eskimo."
The monotreme ignored him, stopping at one end of the couch, motioning to Doofenshmirtz to lie down. The doctor did as he was instructed, propping his head on a pillow and turning on the television as Perry lifted his foot, propping it on another pillow before wrapping the ice around it.
The doctor smiled as the platypus climbed onto the couch, coming to sit near him. "You know, this is kind of nice. Just you, me, and a Christmas classic on TV." He yawned, absently reaching over ands rubbing Perry's head. "Merry Christmas Perry the platypus."
He reached a paw up, ready to smack the hand away…only to pause. He smiled before curling into a ball on the couch, his eyes slipping closed…
Perry woke with a start, sitting bolt upright on the couch. Where was he? What was going on? What—his clouded thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the clock chiming. He yawned, mentally counting the chimes. Midnight.
It was officially Christmas. He yawned again, blinking sleepy eyes as he curled back into the doctor, his mind slowly processing the information.
Toolboxes. Phineas and Ferb. The doctor. Christmas…
Christmas.
Wait.
His eyes popped open. Now fully awake, the platypus hopped off the couch, carefully covering the Doctor with a blanket before heading for the front door. He had to get home and finish wrapping the present for the boys. They'd be awake in seven hours, if not sooner. The platypus stopped by the lit up Christmas tree on the way out, digging around in his fur before producing a box of almond brittle, setting it underneath the tree.
He chattered quietly before picking up the toolbox and heading out the door. It was the least he could do for the Doctor. As he stepped inside the elevator, he looked down. He had the toolbox; now all he had to do was figure out what to put inside. The platypus smiled. That he could manage.
After stopping by a late night hardware store to pick up one additional thing, Perry wearily made his way down to his lair. He set the toolbox on his chair by the computer console, opening it and quickly filling the box with various odds and ends before taping a note to the inside of the lid, snapping it shut. He wrapped the present in brightly colored paper, complete with a nametag and bow before picking it up, heading over to one of the tubes in his lair.
The tube shot him up inside the grandfather clock in the living room and he held his paws over his ears as the clock struck two. Carefully opening the glass door, he gently set the toolbox on the floor, quietly sliding it over to the tree. He rearranged a few presents, sliding the box behind something before yawning. He stretched, curled up underneath the tree and promptly fell asleep.
"Just try to catch me Bro!"
"Not if I catch you first!"
A door slammed against the wall upstairs, waking the platypus from a sound slumber. He yawned, his ears perking up at the sound of running coming from the upstairs landing.
Candace's voice floated down the stairs. "There's no way you two are gonna make it downstairs before me!"
"Oh yeah?" Phineas voice now. Perry slowly crept out from underneath the tree, hiding a smile as the boy came flying down the bannister, hitting the carpet and rolling as Ferb landed beside him. "Alright!" The boys jumped up, high fiving as they raced into the living room. "Whoa! Check out all the presents Bro! There must be hundreds of them!"
"Hey, wait for me-AH!"
The platypus quietly backed underneath the tree, flinching at the sound of Candace hitting the floor over by the stairs.
"Seriously, how do you two do that without getting injured?" She walked past the tree, sitting down on the couch.
"There's a certain technique to it." Phineas voice again. "What do you think this is?"
"Who cares? Gimmie!"
"Candace, you're forgetting what this holiday's about; it's about sharing time with the people you love and giving them presents you put a lot of thought into. It's not about getting the presents."
"Yeah yeah. True meaning of the holiday, giving is better than receiving, blah blah blah."
"Well, now that we've got that out of the way…" the red head got down on his hands and knees, pulling out presents. "Here's one for Ferb, one for me, one for Candace…"
The platypus chattered as two presents were removed from around him. Phineas grinned. "Oh, there you are Perry." He reached underneath the tree, gently grabbing his pet around the waist and pulling him out. He gave him an affectionate scratch on the head. "Where were you last night? Ferb and I were worried about you."
Perry cringed inwardly; he should have never stayed over at the Doctor's. But, at least he had brought the man a little Christmas joy. He shrugged as Phineas placed him off to the side before reaching back under the tree for more presents.
"And a present for Mom and one for Dad and…I think that's everything."
Ferb shook his head, pointing to something underneath the tree.
Phineas shot his brother a quizzical look before turning his attention back to the tree. "Oh. I guess there is one more thing." He slid the present out, reading the tag. "To Phineas and Ferb."
"Who's it from?" Candace asked.
"Dunno. There's no From on it." He looked at his brother. "Since it's addressed to the both of us, do you wanna open it at the same time?"
Ferb nodded, reaching out a hand and pulling on one end of the wrapping paper as his brother pulled on the other end, the two unwrapping the gift.
"Oh wow! It's a new toolbox! Santa must have known you needed a new one Bro!" Phineas whistled, running a hand down the smooth metal. "Look how shiny this one is. There's no rust or anything anywhere. Wonder what it looks like inside?" He unlatched the lid, pausing at something taped to the inside. "Hey look! A note!"
Ferb peered over his brother's shoulder, reading. "This is an imagination toolbox. Inside you will find various odds and ends. Do with them whatever you like; the possibilities are limitless. Love, Your Secret Santa"
"Secret Santa? We didn't plan a Secret Santa this year." Ferb shrugged. "You're right. I guess it's not worth worrying about." The red head dug through the toolbox, pulling several items from it. "String, paperclips, nails, glue-"
Ferb pulled out a hammer, nails, bits and pieces of fabric, some wire and-his eyes widened as he pulled something else from the box. He held it up to his brother.
"Whoa! That's a power drill 5000!" Phineas grabbed it from his brother. "Nice Bro! You've been asking Santa for one of these for a long time now!"
The platypus smiled. The drill had been the big splurge, but the smiles on the boys' faces made it worthwhile.
"So...what do you think we could build with all this stuff?" The red head sat back on his heels in thought. "We could..." his eyes lit up and he grinned. "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do this morning!" He jumped up, grabbing his brother's hand and the toolbox, hauling them upstairs. "This will be our best project yet!"
"Wait a minute. Building something?" Candace grinned. She flung her present onto the couch, racing upstairs. "Mom! Phineas and Ferb are going to build something in the backyard with various odds and ends they found in a toolbox!"
Perry made sure the boys were gone before standing up and stretching. He smiled; another typical Christmas morning in the Flynn-Fletcher household. Now for a nap; it had been a long night.