CHAPTER 8- Not much to say. Reviews:

14AmyChan: Carl's the greatest.

Krikanalo: I know, right? I actually thought about maybe having Jenny fall for Carl a little bit, but I wasn't sure…

Fanatic97: Wait'll you see the end of this chapter (: *evil cackle*

FanficChic2: No, no he doesn't.

Ficklepickle7: I hadn't thought of that…maybe if I can fit it in somewhere.

I don't own Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls. Jordan and Jack make a quick appearance in this chapter. I LOVE this chapter. Bwahahaha.

Carl smiled, waved to the girl, and headed back towards his family, all the while thinking that he had to talk to Candace.

GENERAL POV

The kids waited quietly at the edge of the lapping water, Dipper and Mabel having long since run out of questions about Jordan and Jack.

"So where is she?" Mabel asked, her eyes scanning the ocean.

Stacy shrugged. "I mean, they do live quite a ways down. It could take a few minutes."

"What could?" Candace asked, popping her head up out of the water several feet out and smiling.

Everyone on land jumped and the waded into the water as two other mer-people surfaced on either side of Candace, both of them smirking and trying not to laugh.

"Yeesh, Candace, a little warning next time," Phineas said with a smile, nodding to the two mer-people at her sides. "Hey Jack, Jordan."

The two grinned and waved at the triangular boy.

Candace glanced at Mabel and Dipper, who were standing uncertainly on shore. She rolled her eyes and waved a hand. "Come on, you two. They aren't going to…bite…" she said, trailing off towards the end as her eyes landed on Dipper.

Candace winced and pulled herself into shore, kneeling on her tail in ankle deep water as Mabel splashed into the waves. "Come on, Dipper. It was a while ago, and you know they're nothing like those ones."

Dipper shivered slightly. "I know, Candace, believe me. I mean, after you left we did meet a merman who was really nice. But he still freaked me out a little. Especially when I had to….gah."

The boy shuddered, more from disgust than fear. Candace smiled gently. "Seriously? Your sister is having a great time. Come on."

Dipper sighed, shrugged, and began wading out into the water, helping Candace for a few feet before she was able to swim back out.

He studied the mer-people closely as he approached.

The girl-Jordan- had shoulder blade length blonde-brown hair and a bright silver and blue swimsuit. From what Dipper could see, her tail was blue and silver as well. She had what looked like a pencil tucked over her ear.

The guy-Jack- had dark brown, or maybe black-Dipper couldn't tell which- hair that looked like it had recently been trimmed. He had a dark red, almost maroon tail, and he had a spear resting in a sheath across his back.

Dipper waded out further and Jordan glanced up with a smile, her bright blue-green eyes sparkling. "Hey. You must be Dipper. Candace has told us a lot about you two."

Dipper and Mabel turned to Candace, who shrugged, a smile on her face. "Aw come on, you guys have got some crazy things going on in Gravity Falls. I can't not tell them about you."

"Hey Jordan?" Mabel said, tugging lightly on the girl's arm. The mermaid looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, Mabel?"

Mabel pondered her words for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know a merman named Mermando, would you?"

She glanced at Jack. "Or you?"

Jack frowned slightly. "I don't. Jordan?"

Jordan paused for a moment, running her fingers through her hair. Slowly, she smiled. "He wouldn't happen to be Spanish, would he?"

Mabel gasped in delight. "Yes, yes he is!"

Jordan grinned. "Then yeah. He's a cousin on my dad's side. Do you know him?"

Mabel blushed and giggled. Candace took the distraction opportunity and pulled Jack aside quietly.

"Hey, Jack, you know Perry, right?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, your platypus. The one who fights evil, right?"

Candace smiled thinly. "Yeah. His boss is onto me. Any ideas on what to do?"

Jack frowned for a long moment, rubbing his forehead wearily. Candace could tell that his new position as palace guard was taking a toll on him, but she kept quiet.

"No. Not really. But I would suggest that if he does find out…you might offer your services," the merman said, looking up at her with a small smile.

Candace cocked her head, glancing back over at her group of friends to make sure they were still occupied. "How so?"

Jack shrugged. "You can talk to animals, right? Or at least, aquatic ones. And humans can't. So, you could be quite helpful."

Candace smiled slowly. "That's actually a really good idea. Thanks, Jack!"

Jack nodded, and then glanced down at his waterproof watch. "Darn it. Jordan, we've got to go!" he called.

Jordan sighed. "Drat. Our bosses each only gave us ten minutes for a break," she explained. "Bye Candace, bye Stacy!" she called.

Jack nodded. "See you guys. Tell Jeremy I said hi!" he said as the two waved and disappeared.

Candace smiled. She really enjoyed the fact that the two mer-people she was friends with liked her friends. (The story behind how Stacy and Jordan had met wasn't a good one-it involved a fishing net and a lot of insane fishermen) A/N: Anyone wants a one-shot about that, I can make it happen!

Phineas and Ferb helped Candace back onto the beach and Baljeet, who had gone to dry off, leaned down and glanced at Candace's phone. "Candace, you have missed a phone call!" he called out to her.

Candace, who had almost forgotten that Baljeet and Buford were there (they had been surprisingly quiet), jumped a good foot. "Oh. Can you bring my phone here?"

Baljeet trotted down the sand and handed the girl her phone. The others left Candace there, going to dry off, and Candace leaned back to listen to the voicemail as her tail vanished.

"Candace, this is Carl. Listen, Monogram was interrogating Jenny on you guys being back in that alcove. I think he's been following you. I got him away from her, but uh…well, Jenny knows that I know about you now. I don't know if that's a problem but….be careful."

Candace almost groaned out loud at that message, nearly pitching her phone into the ocean. She climbed wearily to her feet and went to her towel, sidestepping around Buford, who was giving Baljeet a sand wedgie (see, now that was the bully/nerd relationship she hadn't been seeing throughout the day).

She flopped backwards and sighed, making Isabella look at her in worry. "Candace, are you ok?" the girl asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Candace sat up and shrugged. "I guess. I'm just…really tired lately, is all."

Isabella didn't look convinced, but she didn't argue with the teen either, instead going back to her book.

Dipper noticed this, but he didn't say anything until later on, when they were all biking back to the house. He pulled Candace back and looked over at her. "Candace, you ok?" he asked, keeping one eye on the road and one eye on his relative.

Candace judged the distance between her and the others and lowered her voice so that only Dipper could hear her.

"Perry's boss was at the beach, trying to figure out what we were doing in that alcove."

Dipper chewed on his lip for a moment. Truthfully, he still wasn't quite used to the fact that his pet pig and his relative's pet platypus were secret agents. He had been avoiding the animals as best as possible, and keeping the secret from Mabel was killing him.

"He didn't see anything, did he?" Dipper asked softly, rounding the bend quickly and almost face planting into a stop sign before once again gaining control of his bike.

Candace held back a giggle and shook her head. "Not that I know of. Carl stopped him. But yeesh, this man is really starting to get on my nerves."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Well, he does think you're hiding something. I'd want to find out what it was too, especially if I thought it was going to jeopardize my agency."

Candace nodded slowly. "I guess."

Dipper shrugged. "Would he actually find out about you knowing if he knew that you were a mermaid?"

Candace looked over at the boy in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Dipper tilted his head and observed Candace carefully. "I mean, does him knowing about you being a mermaid actually mean he'll learn that you know about the OWCA?"

That stumped Candace. She hadn't really thought about it, but now that Dipper pointed it out, it kind of made sense. There wasn't really a good way to link Candace to the OWCA just because she was a mermaid.

"Huh. I'll have to talk to Carl about that," she mused, pulling into the driveway. "Thanks, Dipper."

Dipper grinned. "Glad I could help, Candace."

Carl paced anxiously in front of the surveillance camera monitors, running his hands nervously through his hair. Carla joined him a moment later, looking nervous as well.

"Carl? Why did Monogram call us here?"

Carl shook his head and looked desperately at his twin. "I don't know. Carla, this is freaking me out a little. Whatever happens, though, he isn't in charge of you. You're Wanda's intern, not his."

Carla was starting to panic. "Why? Carl, what do you think he's going to do?"

Carl pursed his lips and shook his head, pressing his fingertips together. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good. With the way I've been acting towards him lately…"

Carl sighed and sank into a chair. His twin winced and rested a hand on her brother's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it'll be ok," she reassured him.

Carl opened his mouth to respond, but Monogram walked into the room before he could. The man nodded to Carla and stood in front of the two sternly.

"It has come to my attention that you two are hiding something from the agency," he started. "Carla, since you are not my intern, I have no power over you. However, I wanted you to be here for this."

Monogram took a deep breath and began pacing quietly, stroking his mustache. "Because I can't trust you right now, Carl, I have made a…rather tough, though not permanent, decision."

Carl gulped and he felt Carla's hand tighten on his shoulder. "Sir? What are you saying?"

Francis looked down at Carl sadly. "Carl, you're fired from the OWCA until further notice."

I just did that. *Evil smile*

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