It was dark by the time they got back to the Flynn-Fletcher house. Phineas had sent Isabella inside to give her mother a call, since they'd been contacted by her earlier and she needed to know that her daughter was alright. He was glad that it was warm again; after the persistent cold of the mountain cave he just sat outside for a few minutes to warm up. He could see Perry sitting on the back step, seemingly bored, and he watched him for a few moments as he waddled over and gave his signature chatter. Phineas tried to mimic it, since he would like to learn to speak platypus, but he sounded nothing like Perry and instead just sighed. "I don't know if we're going to get Ferb back," he said, as if Perry could even understand him, let alone give him any advice. He scooped the platypus up in his arms, settling him in his lap and scratching the back of his head absently. "I don't suppose you could get him, could you, Perry? You're small enough that I think you could sneak in and bring him back," he paused for a moment, considering, and then quietly smiled to himself. "Of course, you'd probably be scared of the giant robot, wouldn't you, boy?"

Perry blinked.

"Me too," Phineas agreed.

The back door opened behind them, startling Perry and making him scamper away, and Phineas turned to see Moon standing in the doorway. She was just a dark silhouette against the lights in the house, and Phineas had to squint for a minute so that his eyes could adjust. "I want to see Zhalgo," she told him.

Phineas sighed, then nodded. "He's in the garage. Follow me."

Moon was silent as she followed him through the house and out to the garage. She could see Zhalgo's massive head, dormant, connected to a power cord that ran down the length of the workbench to an outlet on the side. It was still in need of work; although the outer panels had been cleaned, the inside would take much longer to repair. Its other pieces, too, needed several hours for even Phineas to fix, although he knew that if his brother was here it would go much more quickly.

Phineas glanced back at Moon, watching her to see how she would react. He wasn't really sure what to expect, but he did expect at least something from her.

Moon only stood, silent. Her eyes were blank, her expression unreadable, and for a long time she just stood without a word.

"Moon?" Phineas whispered, staring up at her with his huge innocent eyes, "Moon, I'll fix him, I'll put him back together, I promise," he took one of her hands, tugging her over to where Zhalgo's dormant head sat. He kept his eyes on her, but he was certain now that he'd get no reaction from her. Why, he wondered. Why wouldn't she say anything? It seemed she had completely stalled out inside; she just stood, without words or movement, as if her mind had suddenly gone vacant.

"Moon, I-"

"It's been years," Moon said quietly. She tried to keep her voice even, but Phineas found in it several mixed undertones. He couldn't place all of them, but he knew to take a hint and slid his hand out of Moon's, taking a step back.

"I'll just leave you alone for a few minutes," he told her, darting quickly back into the house and closing the door silently behind him.

"What's with her?" Candace asked from the living room, "Not that I care or anything, but-"

"She needs a few minutes to herself," Phineas told her, taking a seat on the living room sofa and watching Perry as he hopped up into his lap.

Candace frowned but didn't say anything. She knew that once Phineas got an idea into his head, it was impossible to stop him unless she offered a better one - which, currently, she didn't have. She just sat next to him and sighed. "You still think Moon can be your friend, don't you?"

Phineas nodded. "She's a good person, Candace. Why can't you see that?"

"Phineas, she cares more about that stupid robot than about you," Candace told him, "I don't-"

"Zhalgo's not stupid," he interrupted, shooting Candace a quick glare before softening his gaze. "He saved me from being killed. If it wasn't for him I'd probably be dead, okay? Don't be so cynical all the time. You don't like the robot, and you don't like Moon. Can't you see that she's just a little weird? There's nothing wrong with that."

"Did you forget about the time she tried to kill you?" Candace put in before he could continue.

"She didn't mean it," Phineas defended after a moment's hesitation, "She's not a bad person, okay? She's just not used to Danville yet. She needs a friend-"

"No, I don't," came Moon's voice from the doorway, making both of them jump. Her face was still blank, and her voice was quiet when she spoke. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Phineas asked, "You're not leaving Danville, are you? What about Ferb? What about Zhalgo? You can't go-"

Moon looked down at him, her eyes dull and blank, almost as if she refused to let any detail slip about what she was thinking. "I won't be back," was all she said before turning and heading away into the night.

"But-" Phineas protested, darting after her into the front hall, but she had already gone, leaving him standing in the doorway. His mind ground to a halt. Where would she go? What would happen to Zhalgo? What would happen to Ferb? That question ran through his mind over and over, making his head spin, and along with everything else that had happened, his mind overloaded. He swayed off to one side and then passed out.

She knew she was close. Her skills as a huntress had proven useful once again, even though she was looking not for a meal but instead for a monster. If it hadn't been for Zhalgo she would have gone already; as it was she had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that the boy had found it. It had been so long now she'd almost forgotten about it - well, as much as she could forget about the only thing she'd cared for that hadn't betrayed her. She knew that things would be different after this. If she survived, she'd at least get to see Zhalgo again. She would find out why it had run away, and why it had never come back. She would find out what exactly had happened between it and Phineas; all she knew at this point was that it had been horribly damaged. She wasn't really sure if Phineas could fix it, since there were no written plans or designs for the thing, but she knew it would be better off in his hands than in hers. She was too rough with things; she was better at killing and destroying than she was at creating new things.

That was okay with her.

She stood now at the edge of a huge cliff, staring up at the point where it seemed to touch the sky. The face of the rock was rough-cut; she knew she'd have no problem getting up to the top. Sliding her knife into its sheath on her belt, she grabbed the rough stone in both hands and climbed.

By the time she reached the top it was threatening daylight, and she could see the sky slowly light up a bright red, then pink and orange. She sat for a few minutes to watch, since she wasn't sure if she would be able to again, and then headed into the crooked cavern that ran deeper into the side of the cliff.

Inside it was dark, and with the darkness came a dank earthy smell that hung in the air, making the place seem to close in around her. Her tank-top and bare arms were soon spotted with tiny droplets, and for a few moments she waited inside for her eyes to adjust as best they could to the dark. The pendant on her choker glowed faintly, not enough for her to fully see but just for her to make out a few close outlines of the cavern. That had to be good enough.

She continued, her footsteps silent against the bare rock, her ears catching the sound of a steady dripping that came from somewhere close-by. Apart from that it was quiet, except for a tiny hum that had settled on a pitch that she couldn't replicate. It sounded mechanical to her, and she didn't like it - she knew little about it, where it came from, what it was - she much preferred the steady drone of the summer birds or the crickets in the night.

A sudden light blinded her, making her shield her eyes with one hand. After a minute she took a step back; she'd run into the mechanized monster: Six-Bolt, easily ten times as tall as she was, covered in huge metal plating and heavy steel rivets. His engine fired up with a roar, making the lights of his eyes glow all the brighter, and dark black smoke fumed up from two thick tailpipes behind his shoulders. With one hand he grabbed her, before she could even turn to run, and held her up flat on his palm. His voice was rough when he spoke, metallic and grinding like the sound of a boulder running down a mountain. "You're here," he rumbled, "It's been so long."

She was silent. She knew he couldn't hear her heart pounding - how could he, over the sound of his own? - and so she let it. With any sort of luck, she'd be able to slip away from him. She knew that big things moved very slowly, and so she could easily outmaneuver him.

"You're doing well, I see," the monster continued, "I assume you've come to release your little-boy friend?"

She glared up at him. "He's not my friend. You were the only real friend I'd had."

"That's not entirely true, is it?" he chuckled, taking on a distinctly Jabba-like tone, "You had that little machine of yours. I saw how much you cared about it. You loved it-"

"You know I can't do that. I can't. I was born to kill. There is no place for love in that."

The machine pondered this for a moment, giving a loud rumble of consideration, and then spoke: "I suppose you're right. A girl like you can only destroy, never create. But that's not why you've come, is it? You want the boy to be released..."

She nodded. "He's no use to you anymore."

"You're certainly right about that," the massive machine conceded, reaching up with his other hand and plucking the boy from a small space he'd been given in a stalactite. He held him between two fingers like an insect, and she could see that he was shaking slightly. "I take it you'd like to say good-bye to him?"

She nodded. She watched the boy drop, and she caught him as he came down to her. She could see in his eyes that he was terrified, and she could feel him shaking as she set both her hands firmly on his shoulders. She held his stare until he began to settle, neither of them saying a word. Finally she spoke, her voice quiet: "You help your brother fix Zhalgo up. Promise me."

He hesitated a moment, but then nodded.

She gave a silent sigh of relief, closing her eyes and then taking a deep breath. She knew now that it didn't matter what happened to her. Zhalgo would be okay.

The metal giant rumbled deeply, the joints giving a collective metallic grind as they worked in unison to pick the boy up. He grabbed Moon's hands, holding on in reluctance to be taken, and glanced briefly back at her. "I'll be back," was all he had time to say before he was pulled away from her. He was set a little roughly on the cold ground far below, and he knew he had to run. Even as he turned toward the cavern's opening he could hear several dozen little machines coming after him, chasing him away from the place, and almost without thought now he ran.

By the time he got home it was almost noon. He was exhausted; he'd run almost the entire way back from the cliffside after climbing the long way down, only pausing once to catch his breath. As he spotted the gate to their backyard, he knew he wouldn't make it into the house. Instead he collapsed under the tree in the backyard and fell instantly asleep.

The sound of his brother's voice startled him awake, and his eyes snapped instantly open. They took a second to focus, but he could see Phineas sitting over him, both his huge eyes on him, unblinking. "Ferb?"

Ferb blinked, slowly propping himself up against the tree and then yawning.

"You've been asleep almost all day," Phineas told him, "I didn't want to bother you but it's getting dark out and Candace said you should come inside."

Ferb just nodded, still quite sleepy, and slowly got to his feet to follow his brother into the house.

"I was really worried for you," Phineas told him, offering him a hand to help him up, "How'd you escape?"

As his mind began to clear he suddenly remembered exactly what had happened. He turned back to his brother. "He let me go."

Phineas' eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Moon gave in to him," Ferb told him, "And I promised we'd get her back."