I do not own Phineas and Ferb.

Failure

"No, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro, I haven't seen Isabella yet. No, I haven't seen Buford or Baljeet either. No, my brothers aren't home yet. My parents aren't home yet either. They're stuck in traffic and will be home a little bit later. Yes, I'll be sure to call you once I hear something. I'm sure they'll be back soon. Goodbye Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro."

Candace hung up the phone, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. She slunk lower in the red armchair and stared out the sliding glass doors, wondering what would cause her brothers to be late. They never stayed out past their curfew.

Perhaps she wouldn't have been as worried as she was if Perry was with her. But the platypus hadn't arrived home either and Candace could not contain her wild imagination. She sincerely doubted Doofenshmirtz would do anything to harm her pet and brothers, but she knew that there were many actual evil scientists in the Tri-State Area. If their cover happened to be blown, then big trouble would occur.

"Come on," the redhead groaned. "Get home already so I can yell at you for being late and worrying me."

Just as the words left her mouth, she saw Isabella burst through the gate and charge across her backyard. The Mexican-Jewish girl threw the sliding glass door open and tumbled into the living room, strands of sweaty black hair strewn across her forehead. "Candace," she panted. "I need to talk to you."

Candace placed the phone on the carpeted floor and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and adopting a stern look. "You bet we need to talk. What's going on? Where are my brothers?"

Isabella paused and glanced around the living room. In a hushed voice, she asked, "Is Perry here?"

"No." Candace frowned. "I haven't seen him since this morning. In fact, I haven't seen my brothers since this morning either. I'm going to ask one more time-what's going on?"

"Phineas and Ferb are missing," Isabella said, knowing that there was no way to sugar coat the hard truth.

Candace stiffened and paled. "W-w-what?"

Isabella swallowed, trying to keep the sudden tears from springing to her eyes. She had kept her calm for this long. She wasn't going to lose control now. "We called Carl a few hours ago asking where Phineas and Ferb were. He told us that he didn't know. Their bracelet signals had disappeared, which means that they are no longer on Earth."

Candace's legs gave way and she collapsed back into the armchair. She buried her face in her hands and took a few shuddering breaths. "What does that mean?"

"It means that someone has taken Phineas and Ferb." Isabella closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Perry's been looking for them all day and so have we."

"Why didn't Perry tell me?" Candace demanded. "Why didn't Carl or Major Monogram tell me? I'm their sister. I'm the first person who should have been notified!"

"The guys and I wouldn't have known either if we didn't call Carl and drag it out of him. They probably will tell you later tonight, when Perry reports back to Major Monogram," Isabella said quickly, sensing Candace was worried and angry (never a good combination). "And since Phineas and Ferb disappeared under O.W.C.A's watch, I'm not sure what they'll do. But your parents will probably come home before they contact you."

"I think I know what you're going to say. I need to come up with a cover story to explain Phineas and Ferb's disappearance," Candace said heavily.

Isabella nodded. "I talked to Buford on the way here. He said that you can use him as the cover. Phineas, Ferb and Baljeet are staying over at Buford's for a boy's week. Baljeet is even going to ask his mom if he can do that."

"Did Baljeet's mother say yes?" Candace asked, knowing that she wouldn't feel as bad if some of the lie she was telling was true.

"Well, he probably just got home, and so long as he and Buford aren't grounded for staying past curfew, then the answer should be yes," Isabella answered.

"Okay," Candace breathed, trying to get her thoughts in order. "And why are you guys late again?"

"We were searching for clues," Isabella explained. "Baljeet managed to find Phineas' sneaker and a screw that may or may not be important."

"Does Perry know that you guys found something?"

Isabella hesitated. "No. We don't want to say anything just yet. What Baljeet found may be nothing at all and I don't want anyone to get too excited."

Candace studied Isabella's face for a moment before glaring accusingly. "You guys are up to something, aren't you?"

Isabella grinned sheepishly. "Am I that easy to read?"

"Oh yeah. Spill."

"Okay, Perry gave the request that no one know about Phineas' and Ferb's disappearance as of yet. So the whole evidence searching thing probably won't go over okay with him. And we're also planning on going to base tomorrow morning to see if we can find some sort of machine to scan the screw and tell us where it came from."

Candace nodded. "Okay...yeah, alright. I'll keep my parents happy, keep Perry off your backs and then when you guys come back from O.W.C.A tomorrow with the results (if any) we'll figure where to go from there."

"Sounds good. I better get going, my mom is probably freaking out."

"Yeah, she is."

"Then I'm off before she calls the cops. See you later, Candace. And don't worry. We'll find them."

Candace smiled sadly. "I hope so. Bye, Isabella."

The Mexican-Jewish girl turned on her heel, opened the sliding glass door and hurried for her own house, knowing that she would have a frantic mother to face when she got there.

...

Vivian Garcia-Shapiro was not the only one in a worried state. The family Chihuahua and second-best secret agent in the Organization was pacing up and down the kitchen floor, his nails clacking against the tiles. Pinky would have left half an hour ago to search for his owner but Vivian kept picking him up and cradling him as a source of comfort.

Calm down, Pinky told himself firmly, stopping by Vivian's slipper-clad feet. Isabella probably lost track of time. She'll be home soon.

He glanced up at Vivian, who was sitting at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped tightly around a mug of tea. Pinky let out a comforting bark and rubbed against her leg. Vivian glanced down and managed a small smile.

"Oh, Pinky. Where could Isa be? She knows to call if she is going to be late." Vivian sighed and cast a glance at the clock worriedly. "But I'm a mother, and mothers worry when their children are late. So many things could happen."

Pinky didn't even want to know what things Vivian was thinking of-it would probably drive him insane.

"But I'm letting my imagination run away," Vivian continued. "After all, she is with her friends and they are good boys. I'm sure she'll be home soon."

The door suddenly slammed open, causing Vivian to jump and spill her tea. Pinky barked threateningly and charged into the hall, only to slide to a stop when Isabella skidded around the corner. "I'm home!" she called breathlessly. "I'm so sorry I'm late!"

"Oh, Isa!" Vivian cried with relief. She got up from the table and hurried to pull her daughter into a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Of course I'm alright! I lost track of time. I was with the guys," Isabella said, sinking into her mother's embrace as sudden exhaustion crashed down on her.

"The boys are home, then?"

"Yeah."

"Have you decided you've put your poor mothers through enough worry?"

Isabella felt guilt well in the pit of her stomach. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean for you to worry."

Vivian sighed, resting her chin on the top of her daughter's head. "I know, hija. You are much too good a girl to do something like that on purpose."

Great. Now I feel terrible.

"Mom, am I in trouble?" Isabella asked, dreading the answer but knowing that she had to ask.

Vivian leaned back and studied Isabella's worried expression. After a moment of agonizing silence (agonizing for Isabella at least) the woman smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Since this is the first time you've come home late without letting me know, I'll let it slide. But if it happens again, then we'll have to have a serious talk, okay?"

Relief crashed over the Mexican-Jewish girl. If she had been grounded it would have most definitely complicated her plans in searching for Phineas and Ferb. "Thanks, Mom. I promise it won't happen again."

"I believe you, dear. Have you eaten?"

"Yes. The guys and I stopped for some pizza," Isabella answered. She had really stopped for pizza, but only because Buford would not stop whining about being hungry.

"Alright. Go upstairs, wash up and get to bed. It's late."

"Okay. Love you." Isabella pecked her mother on the cheek and dashed up the carpeted stairs, Pinky scampering behind. The girl slid into her bedroom and slammed the door shut before the Chihuahua could enter. Huffing in frustration, Pinky dropped down to the hardwood floor and waited.

I wonder what has that girl so excited, he thought. I don't think she even noticed I was in the kitchen with her!

"Oh, hey!" Isabella's muffled voice suddenly exclaimed. She threw her door open again (nearly sending Pinky flying across the floor in the process) and hollered, "Mom! Where's Pink-?"

Her voice immediately cut off when she caught sight of her dog glaring at her warily from the across the hallway. "Never mind! I found him!"

"Okay, dear!" Vivian's amused voice called back. "Good night."

"Good night!" Isabella returned and padded towards her dog. "Gee, Pinky. I'm sorry. Did I hit you with the door?"

Pinky put on his best pout. No, but ignoring me in the kitchen like you did was more painful than a door slapping me in the side.

The girl mistook his pout as a yes to her question and quickly picked him up, cradling him tightly to her chest. "Oh, Pinky, I'm so sorry! I'll be more careful next time, I promise. I shouldn't be throwing doors open like that anyway."

You know, there'd be better communication if I could have one of those animal translators for a few days, Pinky sighed. But he didn't bother trying to communicate to Isabella that she had not hit him with her bedroom door and his pout was due to her previous ignoring.

He was snuggled against her pajama-clad body, her face nuzzling against his fur. If a misunderstanding brought forth such attention, why bother ruining it?

...

Candace couldn't sleep.

The redhead was sprawled on the couch, her hands crossed over her chest and her mind racing. Perry still hadn't come back from the O.W.C.A and that meant her brothers were still missing.

And that meant she had failed.

She had failed as a big sister, as their protector. Phineas and Ferb were her little brothers. It didn't matter how bright or how capable they were. It was her job as the older sister to make sure they were safe and happy, especially when she was the one in charge of them.

Now they were gone, somewhere in the wide expanse of the universe (or heaven forbid, another dimension) and Candace was at a loss of how to find them.

Every day of the past few years of her life had been dedicated to successfully bust her brothers. Yes, admittedly, some of it stemmed from the desperate desire to prove to her mother that she was not crazy (and ironically got more and more frantic and maniacal as the years stretched on). But most of the urge to bust was for her brothers' safety. They made dangerous contraptions every day. Sure, nothing had happened to them yet, but there was always a chance of something going terribly wrong.

Candace didn't want to take that chance.

So she tried to get her mother to see, to believe that the boys were doing activities that Linda would never knowingly approve of. Lawrence, as great a father as he was, didn't seem to understand the amount of danger that was involved in Phineas' and Ferb's activities.

And, to be fair, he had only witnessed the tame creations.

Creations. Oh, what if she never got to see her brothers make another one of their inventions ever again?

A sob broke through and the teenager buried her head into a decorative pillow. The tears cascaded down her cheeks as she entertained the horrible thought-what if she never saw her brothers again?

Thud!

"Ssh, Lawrence! The kids are probably sleeping."

Candace froze. She sunk lower into the couch as her parents bustled as silently as they could in the entry hall. The redhead swallowed thickly and hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks and eyes. Get a hold of yourself, Candace. You can cry later-right now you have keep Mom and Dad blissfully unaware that their sons are missing.

As the last tear was swiped from her cheek Linda and Lawrence tiptoed into the living room, halting when they saw the glow of the television screen and their eldest child watching it. "Candace!" Linda scolded. "It's late! What are you doing up?"

Candace cast a quick glance at the time displayed in the corner of the television screen. It was just past midnight. "I didn't know it had gotten so late," she answered truthfully. "How was the antique convention?"

"Wonderful!" Lawrence beamed. He hefted up a plastic bag, which was bulging at every angle. Candace could see a duck-shaped toaster sticking out of the top of the bag. "We certainly gave them a run for their money."

"You gave them a run for their money, dear," Linda said with amusement. "I was there to stop you from spending all our savings."

Candace shook her head, a slight smile playing on her lips. "I'm a little frightened to know what you bought."

"You should be," Linda joked. "But you can see everything tomorrow. It's way past your bedtime."

"Sorry, Mom. I got a little worried when you said you'd be delayed getting home, so I wanted to wait up for you."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry!" Linda exclaimed, furious at herself for forgetting that Candace's anxiety and overactive imagination could result in some serious fits of panic. "I should have reassured you that we were fine. You didn't go to the panic room, did you?"

"No, no," Candace said quickly, feeling guilty that she had made her mother feel guilty for no reason. "I, uh, also wanted to stay up to let you know that Phineas and Ferb are spending the week at Buford's house. They said it was a boy's week or something like that. I didn't want you guys to wake up and see their beds empty and start freaking, so I thought I'd better let you know when you got home."

"Why didn't you just call and let us know?" Lawrence asked.

Good question.

"I didn't think of it," Candace muttered.

"It's okay!" Linda assured her daughter, mistaking the frustration in her eyes for embarrassment. "I know how you can overlook things when you're panicked."

"Yeah," Candace muttered. "Um, I hope that it's okay that I let them go over."

"Oh, it's perfectly fine." Linda kissed Candace's forehead and headed for the stairs. "I had a few prolonged sleepovers when I was their age myself."

"Ah, I remember camping in the woods for days on end with my mates," Lawrence sighed nostalgically. "Those were the good old days."

"Yes, yes, you can tell us more of your childhood stories tomorrow." Linda winked at Candace. "Now it's time for all of us to get to bed."

"Okay." Candace got up from the couch, turned off the television and shuffled after her parents, feeling as if her stomach was being ripped apart inside by claws.

Her brothers were missing, probably extremely hurt, and she was lying about it to her parents.

She didn't just fail as a big sister. She failed as a daughter as well.