Doofenshmirtz sat behind his desk staring out the window; watching the black smoke rise from the smoldering facility. His intercom beeped, "Sir, Colonel Raymond is here."
Doofenshmirtz pressed the button and replied, "Send him in."
Raymond soon entered from the tunnel ride; he got off the chair and knelt before Doofenshmirtz.
"Are they dead?" Doofenshmirtz asked, not turning around.
"No, Sir… they escaped." Raymond replied hesitantly as he continued to look down.
Doofenshmirtz spun, his voice becoming louder, as he asked, "How did they escape!?"
"My second in command, along with a number of traitorous soldiers, helped them escape. They stole weapons, medical supplies, and a VTOL aircraft. Please Sir, forgive me." Raymond answered, keeping his gaze down.
Doofenshmirtz put his hands together and took a deep breath before declaring, "I warned you, that boy was a dangerous risk to be kept alive. Now you are paying for the consequence of that action. As you, of all people know, Colonel… the penalty for failure, is death."
"Yes Sir, I understand, but please I beg of you, give me another chance. If it hadn't been for the traitors, they would all be dead. I swear I'll hunt them all down and make sure they all die." Raymond pleaded as he looked up.
Doofenshmirtz got up. He stared at Raymond, as he walked around his desk, "Because of your loyalty and dedication to me, I'm willing to give you one more chance; fail me again and you will be executed. You may rise."
Raymond stood up as Doofenshmirtz turned around and stared out the window, "These resistance pests have been a thorn in my side for too long. I want them found and eliminated, I am giving you permission to do whatever it takes to find them, just don't destroy the city; or too many of my subjects in the process."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." Raymond said as he got back on the ride and rode away.
The borg chamber in the room opened, smoke obscuring the person within and the sound of mechanical components whirring echoed as the borgified person walked out, "You know, I'm your best chance at finding the resistance."
"Yes I know, but I need to be certain that you don't have any emotional attachments left for them and hesitate to destroy them." Doofenshmirtz answered.
"Sir, they left me to die. You gave me a second chance at life. I'm ready to prove myself to you, my augmentations are working perfectly, and I'm ready to seek my revenge." The person stated.
Doofenshmirtz turned to the person and smiled, "Patience, you will get your chance, and when it comes, I know you won't fail me."
"I don't intend to." The person replied.
Normal POV, Resistance Base
The team was heading back to their base, using the mine carts.
The VTOL ride had been quiet, Ryan's team chatted quietly amongst themselves for most of the ride, while Ryan just leaned against the bulkhead, staring at the floor. The coordinates Isabella had given Betty had them land outside the city near a mine entrance. Betty, Arron, and Avery had stayed behind to hide the VTOL, while the others headed into the underground. Buford had suggested quietly to Isabella that Ryan and Eugene be blindfolded before they got on the trains. Stating that they could be spies, despite what happened. Isabella would have nothing of it; she replied that without Ryan and his team they may have not made it out alive.
The train ride was just as silent, Ferb jabbed a staff into the wheels to stop the cars, coming to a stop in front of the base platform, where Candace and everyone else eagerly awaited them. Holly and Gretchen, quickly ran to the train with a stretcher, placed Phineas on it, and quickly rushed him to the infirmary.
Candace took her shades off and watched her brother as he was rushed by. She felt a hand on her shoulder, taking her by surprise, she turned to see Buford, "Don't worry," he encouraged, "He's tougher than he looks, he be back on his feet in no time." Candace gave a slight smile and nodded.
Meanwhile the Firestorm Girls had been hugging Katie and Isabella, welcoming them back, also asking questions of what happened to Phineas, and questioning their wounds. Katie and Isabella were a bit overwhelmed, until Candace spoke up, "Girls let them have some time to recover before you start barraging them with questions. Isabella, Katie, go to the infirmary and get patched up."
They saluted in return, and walked inside, Shannon stuck close to Katie as they walked away.
Candace put her shades back on and approached Ryan and Eugene who were chatting to each other and questioned, "So you helped my brother and the others escape?"
"Yes, I also have weapons and medical supplies to donate to your cause, along with data to give you an edge in this war." Ryan replied.
"Why would you help my people escape? You're part of Doofenshmirtz's army." She pointed out as she crossed her arms.
"Were part of Doofenshmirtz's army, now we're defectors with "kill on site orders" on our heads." Eugene replied.
"Could be a cover story to help you gain our trust, then next thing we know a battalion of bots are kicking down our door." Candace replied.
"Listen here Candace," Ryan began, "I lost my mother turning against Doofenshmirtz, my sister has seen the horrors of war up close, and my people have lost someone close to them because of that tyrant. Five men sacrificed themselves so we could escape from that facility, and if you think after all of that, that we're spies, you're sadly mistaken." He finished, anger in his voice.
Candace seemed taken aback as she listened to Ryan, because of her shades, Ryan and Eugene couldn't see that her eyes were averted as she remembered her past. She then sighed and said, "Look I'm sorry. In this line of work you have to consider all possible threats, I have to make sure you aren't a threat to my people."
"Understandable, but we are willing to earn your trust, if you don't mind some new members." Ryan replied.
Candace held out her hand and said, "Welcome to the Danville Resistance."
Ryan shook her hand in return and said, "One more thing Candace."
"What might that be?"
"Don't make us regret this decision." He stated as he let go of her hand and walked away with Eugene.
"I don't know about letting them join us, do you really think we can trust them?" Buford asked as he walked up to her.
"Like it or not Buford, we need their help, and they need ours, plus they know the price of their actions."
Buford looked away, sadly, and said, "I know you still think about her, but you can't blame yourself, you made the right call.
"Tell that to her." Candace simply replied.
"Like you said before, we all knew the risk when we joined, we knew what could happen. There wasn't anything you could have done." Buford said as he walked away.
"There must have been something." Candace muttered.
Ryan's POV
My team and I were shown to our quarters, and then given a quick tour of the base. Eugene and Arron were put in one room, Betty and Avery in another, and then Shannon and myself in the last. We were also given a chance to change; I didn't expect them to have a closet full of clothes in various sizes. I chose a black long sleeve shirt, tucked into a pair of black pants with diamond patches on the knees. I also took a pair of black socks and boots; I put on a bandolier crossing from my right shoulder down to left my hip for a finishing touch.
Eugene dressed similarly, except he wore his bandolier around his waist, along with the one going across his body. Betty just kept her green jumpsuit; it made her feel like a pilot. Arron had put on a black short sleeve shirt and pants, along with black socks and boots; but nothing else.
My team and I gathered up the red armbands, and as a ceremony to us, set them on fire as a type of freedom from our former lives and hopefully a new beginning.
I was walking around, trying to find Katie, and to see if Shannon was still with her. I found the infirmary and opened the door. The infirmary was a large room with four beds on each side, bunched up privacy curtains between each one. There were also heart monitors and other medical equipment beside each bed.
I saw Phineas laying in one of the beds, on the left side of the room, Ferb, Katie and Isabella sat around his bed, chatting amongst themselves. Shannon was asleep on the bed next to Phineas's.
I entered the infirmary and walked over to Shannon's bed, everyone watched as I sat down on Shannon's bed and stared at her. She was sleeping peacefully on her side away from Phineas; a few stands of hair covered the side of her head. I took my hand and gently tucked her hair behind her ear.
"She fell asleep a few minutes ago." Katie said in a whisper.
"At least she can sleep and get away from this nightmare." I looked towards Phineas and asked, "How's he doing?"
Isabella gave a small smile and said, "He's going to be all right. Gretchen said that he just needs to rest, hopefully he'll wake up soon. She also mentioned that his laser wound was well taken care of, did you do that?"
"No, my mother did." I simply answered.
"Ryan, it wasn't your fault." Katie replied.
I looked towards her and stated, "I'm the reason my mother is dead, I'm the reason that Shannon's now involved in this damn war, it's my fault she's in danger. If it hadn't been for me, she would be at home, safe with mom."
I looked towards Shannon and replied, "Mom and I kept my other life a secret from her, we didn't want her involved in any way… now, she'll never forgive me. I've caused too much pain and suffering." I then sighed, "I'm so sorry for what I did you guys."
"Ryan," Katie began as she moved her chair, setting it down in front of me, and took a seat. She grabbed my right hand, "Look at me."
I reluctantly looked at her, holding back the tears.
"Ryan, your concern has always been for your family. Since Phineas and I woke up in your home, you always told us that you wanted to protect them. Yes, we should be mad for what you did, but you didn't have a choice." She tried to encourage.
"There's always a choice Katie, and the consequences that go with it. My sister is paying for my choices" I replied as I pulled my hand away from hers, I stood up and continued, "Its best that I just stay away, for her safety. The less she's involved with me, the better. Before this war is over, I'll make sure Raymond suffers for messing with my family." I turned and exited the room.