He could see only darkness for a minute, but as his eyes began to adjust he could make out Candace's outline sitting next to him. It took him a moment for him to catch his breath, but then he turned back to her, his eyes wide. "Where's Ferb?"
Candace shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't hold onto him."
Phineas just hung his head. He knew he'd have to go back; those robots had taken his brother. He couldn't leave him with them.
"Phineas?" came a squeaky voice behind him.
He turned. He could see Isabella sitting across from him, the cold remnants of a dead bonfire between them. She'd been wrapped in a deerskin, by the looks of it, but despite that she shivered. Her huge eyes were locked on him.
"Isabella?" Phineas whispered, taking a moment to realize what had happened but then scrambling over to her and throwing his arms around her. "You're okay! Ferb said you disappeared a few days ago and you hadn't come back and I thought maybe something happened but now you're okay and-"
"Phineas, calm down," Isabella said with a grin, returning his hug, "I'm fine. I was worried for you too."
Phineas paused. "Yeah?"
Isabella nodded. "After that weird robot thing kidnapped you I went out looking for Moon. They said if we didn't bring her back home they'd kill you."
"It's okay now. Another robot helped me escape. I'm okay," Phineas gave her a tiny smile, sitting by her with the deerskin. It was a little bit slimy on one side, but he wasn't really worried about that.
A sudden shadow fell over the cavern's opening and the three of them looked up to see Moon, carrying three dead rabbits in one hand and her hunting blade in the other. Noticing Phineas and Candace, she cocked an eyebrow.
"Hi, Moon!" Phineas exclaimed, giving her a small grin.
Moon slid down into the cavern, tossing the rabbits aside and setting her blade back in its sheath. She gave Phineas an inquisitive look. "Where'd you come from? I didn't find any trace you'd been by."
"It's my phone," Phineas explained, "It can teleport."
Moon had no comment; she would no longer question the weird things he said. Instead she just sat. "Okay, boy."
"Well a big hello to you too," Candace crossed her arms, giving Moon a sour look, "Do I even exist now?"
Moon ignored her, her eyes still on Phineas. "What are you doing here? From what your little friend told me he'd taken you."
"I escaped," he shrugged, "I met a nice robot and he helped me."
Moon huffed. "Well that explains it, then."
"Seriously?" Isabella glared from her place by the fire-pit, "You're not even glad that he's safe now?"
Moon shot Isabella a dirty look. "I told you already. I can't."
"Enough already!" Isabella demanded, crossing her arms, "You're always like this! You don't care about anyone except yourself!"
"Maybe that's how I've been able to survive so long on my own. Otherwise - guess what - I might be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. How's that suit you?"
Isabella thought that would suit her just fine, but she wouldn't say so. She knew Moon would probably slaughter her if she did, without so much as a second thought. She was a heathen and that was what heathens did. Instead she just glared. "You could at least be glad to see that your friend is okay, you know. Don't you feel anything-"
"He's not my friend," Moon growled, her voice suddenly fierce. She gave Isabella a hard glare that made her a little uneasy, her teeth half-bared in irritation. "I've told you enough times I don't have any friends. Not after the two that I'd lost."
"What do you mean two?" Isabella demanded, "You said this robot guy's the only friend you had!"
Phineas interrupted: "Umm, am I missing something-?"
Moon and Isabella both ignored him. "I said he was the only human friend," Moon snapped, "But he's not even human anymore and Zhalgo's long gone anyway so it doesn't even matter, does it? Why do you care so much, anyway? You hate me. You wouldn't have a problem if I just went on and disappeared. If it wasn't for your friend you'd try and drive me away yourself, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, and not without a good reason!" Isabella retorted, crossing her arms and stamping one foot on the cold cavern floor. "You're a jerk! You don't even care about anyone else except yourself!"
"Hold on a minute!" Phineas cried suddenly, silencing them both. He gave Moon a look that was impossible for her to place, like a combination of worry, hope, and wonder. When he spoke again, his voice was a little more quiet. "Moon...how do you know about Zhalgo?"
The question caught her off-guard, and she faltered. After a moment she glanced back at him, her eyes narrow. "What do you know about Zhalgo? Where is it? Is it okay?"
Phineas nodded without a word.
Moon slowly let out her breath in a relieved sigh. "Okay," she said, keeping her eyes low, "I suppose you're curious-"
"How much do you know about Zhalgo?" Phineas interrupted before he could stop himself, "Where did it come from? Why was it left behind? How long had it been there?"
"One at a time, boy," Moon snapped, but then softened. So much went through her mind: she hadn't heard Zhalgo's name in years, and where else does it turn up but this kid, of course, none other. For a long time she was silent.
"Moon?" Phineas asked, sliding a little closer to her, his eyes locked on her. He reached out a hand to put on her shoulder but before he could touch her she turned back to him. "Zhalgo was the only thing that he'd ever given me - he built it for my eleventh birthday. I kept it close and eventually I guess I trusted it a little, even after Six-Bolt had gone. But then when I was thirteen it disappeared. I spent three weeks looking for it, but it had just gone. I haven't heard about it in so long, I just..." her voice trailed off, and she turned away, now silent.
Phineas too was quiet, his eyes wide. After a moment he whispered, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because you didn't need to know," Moon told him, "I don't need you. I can't depend on anyone."
Phineas sat a little closer to her, his eyes tracing any small movements she made. "Moon, listen. This is different. We're not out to hurt you, I promise."
Moon turned to him, her eyes narrow and watchful. "A week after I'd met Six-Bolt he told me the same thing. He said we'd be friends, and that I didn't have to worry about anything happening between us. It lasted for less than a year until he tried to kill me."
Phineas was silent. He worried for Moon, now having learned a little more about her. He could see why she was so hesitant to trust anyone, especially someone who wanted to be her friend, but he was certain he could help her - if she'd let him. Convincing her of that would be the hardest part. What could he do? She wouldn't trust what he'd tell her, and she'd probably counter any of his ideas with her own - and her conclusions would probably involve destroying things. He didn't blame her for that, but he did wish she could be a little less violent sometimes. It seemed that her solutions always involved her knife, and although she was very good with it, she didn't see that there were other ways to deal with things.
For now, though, he had to earn at least a little bit of trust from her. Looking back up at her he asked her, "What if we could help you face him?"
Moon snorted. "No offense but you don't strike me as the type that could fight him."
"Maybe we don't have to fight him," Phineas told her, watching carefully to see her reaction.
She just shrugged. "He's not going to drop dead on his own. If we don't kill him he could do any number of things to your brother."
Phineas didn't have an answer to that. He could only hope that Ferb was okay - he reasoned that Six-Bolt would keep him there, same as he had done with Phineas, but he knew that he wouldn't be as forgiving with the rest of them. Maybe Ferb was already dead.
He didn't really want to think about that.
"What about Zhalgo?" Moon's words startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned back to her. "What?"
"What about Zhalgo?" Moon repeated. "Where is it?"
"We took him back to the garage. He's in pretty bad shape but I could fix him up for you if you wanted to see him."
Moon nodded. "I might like that."