It was almost dark by the time the boys went back to Shadowshire. Candace had gone with them, despite her loathing of Moon, and the three of them stood at the front gate. Even from there, Phineas could see the note still stuck on the front door of the old house. He was starting to become a little worried for Moon. Maybe something had happened to her.
Candace had said she just plain old ditched them.
Phineas didn't really want to believe that. He wanted to think that Moon was just out for a while, and that she'd be back later.
Ferb didn't seem to have an opinion.
Morning came soon enough, and the sharp sound of the alarm woke Ferb from his dreams. With one hand he slammed down on the snooze button, fumbling around behind it to find the switch that disabled the alarm. It was the first thing he did every morning and yet, despite this, it seemed that the switch never became easier to find. He yawned, stretched, scratched, and then looked over at Phineas to see if he'd woken.
He had, although he seemed a little more enthusiastic than his step-brother. He yawned and then met his stare. "Good morning, Ferb," he grinned.
Ferb just blinked. He wasn't in the habit of saying much, but first thing in the morning he never said anything at all. He counted himself lucky if he was able to think before breakfast. He knew Phineas never noticed this, since he was just the same quiet Ferb, and that was alright with him.
He yawned.
He and Phineas dressed quickly and then headed downstairs for breakfast, and then after that to discuss the day's plans. Phineas had a few ideas and he was eager to hear what Ferb had to say. He had a feeling Ferb would like them. He usually did. He supposed that, after they were done with the day's activities, the two of them would stop by Shadowshire later to see if Moon had come back yet. It was okay if she hadn't, but if nothing else he wanted to say hi to Khan and Khalia. He thought that maybe they were a little lonely up in that house, especially since Moon wasn't home, and he'd do the best he could to fix that.
As the sun rose higher, the boys migrated to the backyard to begin their daily routine of defying the laws of time and space. Candace watched them from her bedroom window, as she usually did, and soon they settled on a final idea for the day.
The back gate swung open with a creak, and Isabella skipped into the yard with a grin on her face. "Hey, Phineas," she greeted cutely, "What'cha doin'?"
"Oh, hi, Isabella," Phineas grinned, "We're-"
"So busted!" Candace cried from the window. Phineas looked up to see that she had set up a mounted camera overlooking the yard and had apparently been filming them for most of the morning. She didn't seem too happy - Phineas wasn't exactly sure why, but decided it must be a girl thing - and she stood glaring down at the boys.
"Oh, hi, Candace!" Phineas called, "What's with the camera?"
Candace huffed. "Nothing you have to worry about, at least until you're busted! I'm telling Mom!" and then she disappeared inside, taking the camera with her.
Phineas shrugged. "Well, that was a little weird."
"Yeah, I'll say," Isabella agreed, "You guys didn't even do anything yet."
Before Phineas could say anything else, there was a small click behind him and he turned to see the little robot from yesterday, sitting on the grass in front of him. He grinned. "Oh, hi," he said, taking a seat as well so he could be level with it, "What happened yesterday? You kinda shut down on us."
The robot turned to Isabella briefly, focusing its lens on her for a moment and then turning back to Phineas. When it spoke its voice seemed irritated. "Have you found your friend?"
Phineas shook his head. "She wasn't home last night, so-"
"Come," said the robot, looking up at Phineas.
Phineas frowned. "Well, Ferb and I were planning to build a-"
"Come," the robot repeated. It didn't wait for an answer before turning and heading off toward the street.
Phineas glanced to Ferb and shrugged. "I guess we follow it."
Ferb blinked.
The two of them quickly chased the robot out into the streets, back to the place where it had led them the day before. When they got there it sat silently, waiting for them.
"Oh, there you are," Phineas finally caught up to it, with Ferb close behind, and took a minute to catch his breath before turning back to the robot. "How come you brought us here? Isn't this the same place you showed us yesterday?"
The robot only stood, watching without a sound.
Phineas thought that maybe RocketJaws wouldn't mind if he took it back home for a while and showed him some more of what he and Ferb did, so he made to pick it up. As soon as he got close enough he sprung a hidden trap that caught him and pinned him to the ground before he could even realize what had happened. After a moment he was gone.
Before Ferb could react, the robot spoke. Its voice was steely and mechanical, like the voice of an engine itself, flaming under its metal shell. "It is clear to me now that you have no regard for your friend Moon - and she likely has the same for you - and so I will make this simple for you. I have given you a day to find her, and you have ignored me. I will give you three more. If you ignore me again, your brother will be killed. Understood?"
Ferb glared. Without a word he reached for the robot, so that he could tear it up into scrap for what it had done. The robot hardly moved, just flicking its sharp tail that stung Ferb like a bee and made him pull his hand back away from it.
"You have three days," it told him, "And one more thing - if you do find your friend, tell her that old Six-Bolt said hello."