Author's Note: I read a few stories that used this plot, and I was inspired to try it out. Hopefully the first chapter is okay.

Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.

In the Dark

Chapter One: A Nighttime Visitor

Dr. Doofenshmirtz had taken longer than expected to defeat, leaving Perry to return home past the boys' bedtime. He stared at their closed bedroom door, debating whether or not it was worth the risk of exposing his secret agent identity just to turn the doorknob. After nearly losing his family a few weeks ago, he did not want press his luck with the agency.

Letting his eyes stare off into space, giving off a cross-eyed appearance, Perry sat on the ground and made a chattering noise, hoping that either Phineas or Ferb were not in a deep stage of sleep. After their exciting and adventure-filled days, the boys tended to sleep like a log at night.

He waited, listening throughout the quiet house for the sound of bedsprings or footsteps padding softly against the floor, but nothing happened. He chattered again, hoping that it would do the trick this time, but neither Phineas nor Ferb opened their door for him.

Perry stood up on all fours. Theoretically, he could just sleep on the couch for tonight, but a bed provided him with more restful sleep. He knew better than to intrude in his owners' parents' bed, so he headed down the hall to a door that had been left open slightly ajar.

Even in the darkness, the different shades of pink and purple seemed to overcome his sense of sight. Candace's room was a bit hard on the eyes for him, but her bed was even comfier than the boys' beds. Yes, she hated it when he slept in her room, and she especially hated it when he slept on her bed, but Candace had unpredictable mood swings. Sometimes she would scream and cringe when she saw him, other times she would hiss at him to leave, and then there were times when she allowed him to be in her presence.

The most notable time had been on his day off when the boys had decided to wash the house. Dr. Doofenshmirtz had somehow messed up his own plans before Perry arrived at the scene, so Major Monogram gave him the rest of the day off. Since the boys were out building another crazy invention of theirs, Perry decided to go see what the loud girl was to since she was nowhere to be seen.

He found Candace passed out on her bedroom floor, murmuring something in her sleep. Concerned, he went over to her and made a chirp-like sound to try to rouse her from her sleep. Instead of waking up, Candace weakly tried to push him away from her while she was still in a state of sleep. Perry could not leave her lying on the floor in this state, so he broke his act as a mindless animal and stood up on his hind legs. He grabbed the sleeping girl and dragged her up onto her bed, making sure to rest her head against a soft pillow in case she had hit it when she wound up on the ground.

At this thought, Perry checked her over for injuries, and he thankfully came up with none. Candace and he may not have gotten along as well as he did with his owners, but she was still a part of his family. Even her obsession with busting her brothers stemmed from the reason that she did not want them to put themselves in jeopardy during their outrageous projects. Perry had to respect her for that.

When Candace finally woke up, she had noticed immediately that Perry had been sleeping right next to her on the bed, but she did not retaliate in her usual discuss. She allowed him to remain on her bed and in her room, even when she left on the large unicycle ride that her brothers had built.

Hopefully Candace would be in the same mood as she was when she woke up that day.

Perry used his skills to maneuver quietly over to the pink bed with a darker pink flower pattern on the covers. Candace snored softly while spread out in the middle of the bed, so Perry gingerly situated himself on one side of the bed, tucking his legs under his body as he curled up slightly in a position for sleep. He waited for a bit until he was Candace was not going to stir anytime soon, and then he fell into a peaceful sleep.

"Perry!" Said platypus opened his eyes, alarmed at the shrill tone of voice at such an early hour. Judging by the light that spilled into the room through Candace's window, the sun had not been up for more than a couple hours. "Ew! What are you doing on my bed?"

Candace nearly tore the covers off her body and hopped off her bed, marching angrily over to the side Perry was sleeping on. She grabbed him roughly under his arms and unceremoniously dropped him a foot or so to the floor. Perry landed on his feet, of course, but he was annoyed at having been manhandled in such a way when he had just woken up. He had not been bothering the teenaged girl, so he really did not understand what the fuss was all about.

"C'mon, scram! Out!" she ordered, pointing to her door. She followed him to make sure that he left her room, and then she turned to face the direction her brothers' room was in.

"PHINEAS! FERB! Stop letting Perry sleep in my room!" An accompanied door slam followed Candace's piercing voice, and Perry looked over his shoulder at the now-shut door. If he was not worried about Phineas and Ferb coming out of their rooms now, he would have openly mocked the girl openly, but instead he decided to head over to the boys' room. They had to be up now, so he might as well help them get ready to start the day before he headed off on his newest mission.

As Perry approached the room, he heard a lot of shuffling and moving noises from inside it. Something sounded as if it was knocked over, and then something sounded as if it was being thrown. He sat down in front of the door, waiting for one of his owners to open the door so that he could see what was going on in there.

It did not take long for Perry to find out, for not even a moment later did Ferb burst out of the room, letting the bedroom door slam loudly against the wall. Perry was nearly trampled by the green-haired boy as he rushed by, looking inside every room as he went. Perry watched him, not sure of what to make of his owner's sudden frenzy. Was he looking for something?

Perry made his move and walked into the boys' bedroom, expecting to see Phineas either in the same state as Ferb or in the same confusion as Perry. He glanced around the room, but no redhead met his vision. The covers on Phineas' bed were still rumpled, meaning that Phineas had uncharacteristically left the room without making it. A slightly crumpled pieced of paper appeared on top of the messy covers too.

Suspicion crept in the back of Perry's mind as he waddled over to the piece of paper. He grabbed it and quickly placed it on the ground to make it seem as though it had fallen off the bed. Strange letters that looked as though they had been cut out from various magazines littered the page, but its message was still readable.

Without the boy, there will never be a day filled with fun. Prepare to live out the worst days of your life.

Time seemed to stop as Perry finished reading the message. He felt numb. This was not happening. He had just gotten Phineas back a few weeks ago. This could not be happening again.

"Someone took Phineas!" Ferb shouted, raising his voice to a level he had never used in his entire existence. "He's been kidnapped!"

Perry felt sick.