Chapter 4: Not So Evil

Doof opened his eyes.

Everything was fuzzy and unclear. His head hurt. Blinking, he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

And then memories of what had just happened crashed in on him. In shock, he leapt to his feet.

"Vanessa?" he called, spinning around the room.

She was nowhere in sight. Neither was Monogram.

"Vanessa!" he screamed. "Vanessa!"

Panicking, Doof rushed to the balcony and looked over the edge.

"Dr. D?"

Doof barely even heard.

"Vanessa!" he sobbed. He crumpled, allowing himself to sink to the ground, overcome with grief.

She was gone. His little girl was gone!

"Curse you Major Monogram!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Dr. D!"

This time he heard the shout. He had to slowly force himself to his feet, before finally turning around. He saw the two boys, tied side-by-side to a chair.

"Please, can you help us out of here?" the red-head pleaded.

Doof blinked and merely stared at the boys.

"Dr. D, we need you help! Perry—" his voice cracked, but finally, he managed to whisper, "he's…been hurt…"

Perry the Platypus?

Cautiously, Doof walked back into his living room. All his furniture had been knocked down and strewn across the room, leaving nothing but the chair that the boys sat on, and the Inator.

And laying in front of it was…

Doof gasped and leaned against the wall when he saw the Perry's motionless figure. No. It couldn't be…

He couldn't stop staring. He gulped twice.

"Dr. D?"

Snapped back into reality, he tore his eyes away from his nemesis, and looked at the boys. He was having a hard time comprehending…

Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, hand-held ray gun. He stared at it silently. Why hadn't he remembered it? He could have used it on Monogram…

Swallowing past a hard lump in his throat, Doof held up the weapon and aimed it towards the boys.

He saw their eyes widen in horror. The red-head gasped, then turned his head away, squeezing his eyes shut. The green-head made no sound, but simply stared at Doof with intensity.

But Doof's hands didn't even shake as he fired. A beam of light shot out of it. The red-head gave a cry of shock, but found he was unharmed. He looked down, and watched as the ropes that bound him melted away.

Doof had always had superior hand coordination.

The gun fell from his fingers to the floor with a clatter. The red-head stared up at him with wide eyes, before jumping down from the chair and rushing to the platypus.

Doof could only watch as the green-haired boy whipped a stethoscope out of nowhere, and pressed it up against Perry's chest.

Silence. Finally Doof couldn't stand it.

"Is he…is he…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"He's alive," the green-haired boy whispered.

The red-head sighed heavily in relief and bowed his head, so that his forehead lightly rested on the animal.

"You boys," Doof choked, "are his owners?"

The boy lifted his head again and gave a weak smile.

"Yes," he said proudly. "Yes we are."

Doof watched the red-head pick up Perry's hat, which had lain a few inches away, and clutch it close to his chest.

"You two…know?" Doof asked.

The red-head nodded.

"He helped us remember."

At that moment, Doof could almost feel the light bulb go off in his head.

"Wait a minute! He used the Rememberinator on you two?"

The boys looked at each other, then looked back up at the doctor.

"Yes." The red-head pointed to himself. "I'm Phineas and this is my brother Ferb." He slung an arm around the green-haired boy's shoulders.

"Whoa," Doof mumbled. "Déjà vu-ish."

More silence. The boys simply knelt next to their pet, stroking his fur. Doof looked away, still trying to get used to the idea of Perry the Platypus being a pet…

"Why was Candace and Isabella acting like that?"

It came as a whisper, and Doof almost didn't hear it.

Ferb shrugged. "I don't know," he whispered back.

"They were being controlled."

The two boys looked up at Doof, who continued to look away.

"What do you mean, 'controlled?'" Phineas asked. "Like, against their will?"

Doof simply nodded.

Phineas's mouth hung loosely open.

"What does he want with them?"

Doof didn't respond right away. The answer still didn't make much sense to him.

"He said he wanted revenge on me and Perry the Platypus," he said at last.

Phineas crinkled his brow.

"Revenge for what?"

Doof sighed and scratched his head.

"I don't really know. He said something about another dimension and another me…"

"Yeah, we heard him say he was from the other dimension," Phineas said. "What do you mean, 'other you?'"

"He said he worked for another me in another dimension, and he was my second-in-command."

The boys looked at each other, silently communicating. Then Phineas stood up, still clutching Perry's hat. He walked right past Doof to the open balcony and stopped, then leaned out over the edge. Doof and Ferb both watched him.

Then Doof looked back at his nemesis. He lay on his back, his chest rising and falling slowly and regularly. Without his hat, he looked just like an ordinary platypus. If Doof hadn't already known that it was Perry the Platypus, he would have said it was just an ordinary platypus.

He took a hesitant step forward. Ferb didn't look up, so Doof took another step. Then another, until he stood next to the boy and the platypus. Slowly, he crouched down on his knees. Then he reached out and lightly brushed his fingers against Perry's fur.

That's when Ferb looked up at him with large, mismatched eyes.

Vanessa was gone. Doof wouldn't be able to bear it if Perry didn't make it either.

Phineas looked out over the Tri State Area, seeing, but not really comprehending.

His sister had been kidnapped, and so had Isabella.

What were they going to do?

Perry would have known. Phineas was sure of that.

He sighed. Turning back around, he saw Dr. D on his knees beside Ferb and Perry. Ferb was silently watching the man as he lightly stroked Perry's fur.

Phineas raised his eyebrows.

"I thought you were Perry's nemesis?" he said.

Doof looked up at him.

"Well, yes…but he's also my best friend."

Slightly taken aback, Phineas looked at his brother, who stared back equal confusion.

"How…how can you be friends as well as nemesises?" Phineas managed to ask.

Doof looked back down at the platypus.

"I…don't know. The whole 'nemesis' thing is really just routine on behalf of our jobs." He paused, then mumbled, "I don't remember how it was that we became friends though."

For some reason, Phineas suddenly felt sorry for Doof. Was this man so lonely that his best friend was an animal, who also happened to be his enemy? And how did Perry feel towards Doof?

After a moment's silence, Phineas asked,

"Vanessa is your daughter?"

He didn't know why he abruptly asked the question. He just wanted to confirm it.

Doof didn't answer at first. Finally, he nodded without making a sound.

With a sigh, Phineas walked over and placed a hand comfortingly on Doof's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Dr. D," he said simply.

Doof's shoulders shook slightly. Then the man rose to his feet and looked away.

Despite the terrible situation they were in, Phineas found a small sliver of amusement:
Dr. D was supposed to be an evil scientist. Perry was supposed to be a secret agent. They were supposed to hate each other, and yet…they were friends. Dr. D was also a father, who genuinely loved his daughter. And even though the man knew that he had Perry's owners within his grasp, he made no move to imprison them for ransom as hostages.

It was as if he wasn't as evil as he made himself out to be.

He was so caught up in his own musings, that Phineas was slightly startled when he felt a small pressure on his arm. Looking up, he saw Ferb staring at him. The green-head's eyes then shifted down to their pet, and Phineas did the same.

He took a sharp intake of breath when he saw that Perry was stirring.

One of my favorite things in the movie was the fact that Phineas, Ferb and Doofy had all this interaction, and Doofy was nice to them, and they sort of became friends. X) That's the reason why I wanted and like this chapter. I know it's not very action-y, but more of that will come later. ;)