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Laughter. Friendly teasing. A feast with all sorts of foods once forbidden by Danville's former tyrant. Singing and dancing. It was something Perry the Platyborg hadn't heard in a long time. Unless he could count Dr. Doofenshmirtz himself, who always took time to practice his evil laugh and sing songs all about himself and how evil he was. Such was the life of the new No-More-Doof day created for the celebration of the downfall of Doof's reign.
Outside, in the backyard of the Flynn-Fletcher house, Perry saw through the window Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, and even Baljeet singing and cheering as colorful fireworks exploded in the sky. No doubt it was Danville's celebration of the fall of the tyrant who had enslaved them for so long. Even Phineas and Ferb's parents- he recognized through facial recognition in his robotic eye to be Linda Flynn and Lawerence Fletcher- were wildly swaying to the music. Their eyes were alight with a joy Perry hadn't seen them with for a long time.
In fact, the only member of the family who wasn't celebrating was Candace Flynn. She still wore her black bandana and Resistance gear, with a pole strapped on her belt and shades covering her eyes. Instead, she was seen staring up at the sky. Perry couldn't tell if she was taking in the moment that the battle was finally over, or if she was bracing herself to wake up and find herself back to planning Doof's busting. He wouldn't be surprised either way. She was always on the lookout for threats.
Threats... like him.
On the couch, Perry sighed, images flashing through his memory banks. Him saluting to Doofenshmirtz. Him fighting his non-robotic counterpart. Him leading robot armies to terrorize innocent civilians.
Him about to punch...
His eyes shut tightly as Perry lifted his hands in vision. The cold metal on his robot hand only confirmed that what he'd experienced was no dream. Chattering miserably, he felt his normal eye become a bit moist. Lowering his hands, he walked to the off television. What he saw was a nightmarish mix between robot and platypus. His body was a mix of wires and metal. A spike shone on his tail. The only platypus features he had were a hand, one of his feet, and most of his face, with the exception of one eye. He took in all of his appearance, putting his platypus hand on the screen.
Three. Years. Three years of him away from his home. Three years of him serving Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Three years of his life, wasted. A seemingly-normal mission had gone horribly wrong.
Perry had come in expecting a trap and the usual schtick he and Doof did. And it did come, but not in the way he was used to. The doctor came in, grinning ear to ear, showing off his robot army to his nemesis. Which would have been normal, if Agent Pinky hadn't been one of them.
Perry had been caught off guard when the cyborg chihuahua had stunned him with a ray gun, knocking the platypus to the floor. As the top agent had tried to get up, he soon saw more animal cyborgs come near. All of the missing agents.
But that wasn't even the worst part. Dr. Doof had begun to stroll over when the Platypus struggled fiercely under the robot's grasp. He sneered with venomous glee in his eye.
"Now now, let's not get violent, Perry the Platypus. After all..."
The doctor got on one knee as he breathed the words that haunted Perry now. He remembered the doctor's horrible breath as he spoke.
"I don't think you'd want any trouble to come to your family, would you?"
Perry's heart had stopped when he revealed a picture of the Flynn-Fletcher family- his Flynn-Fletcher family- all smiling and joyful. Rage filled his being as the implications of the threat sunk in. His fist clenched and stung with his nails poking his skin.
Everything after that was a blur. Robots being smashed. Doofenshmirtz roar telling the guards to get him. Parts flying. Perry was nearing the doctor, ready to finally put an end to his dastardly plans.
Until he wasn’t.
A robot had flown from the shadows, larger than the rest, and pinned the platypus to the wall. As he struggled, a whirring sound emerged, with a bright light. Eyes widening, the platypus looked up to see the ray above him. He struggled harder, but the robot wouldn’t budge. Then a loud dinging began, and a bright light came and-
Crash!
The platyborg shook his head, snapping out of his memory. He knew what had happened. His new body showed it.
It was only then that he realized that he had punched the television, leaving broken glass in its’ place.
He sighed heavily. What a mess. Just like him.
Why did he get a second chance? Why wasn’t he destroyed or deactivated like the rest?
Why?
“Perry?”
A familiar voice startled the platyborg, causing him to jump and whip around. What he saw froze his heart. It was a familiar red-haired boy, his eyes concerned.
“Perry? What are you doing?”
Perry stared, jaw opening and closing before clenching his teeth. He felt his eyes grow wet as he stared at the ground. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes, waiting for the scolding to begin.
“Perry? What’s wrong? Why did you punch the TV? Are you hurt?”
That tone. That loving, friendly tone. A tone he had heard millions of times before. He didn’t deserve such a sweet boy for an owner.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize Phineas was in front of him until he felt a warm hand lift up his. “What’s the matter, boy?”
Perry lowered his head again, chattering miserably. Phineas’ brows furrowed in worry.
“Perry, please. I just want to help you.
Perry only sat in anguish, his heart torn between coming in to hug him or throwing everything off.
“Please?”
Phineas’ anxious voice only tore at his heart more. He didn’t deserve him. How could he still be happy to see him after-
“I don’t want to lose my pet again.”
That did it. Perry the platyborg ground his teeth together as his eye began to burn. His attempt at holding it together only made his battle against his emotions harder. Until finally, he could bear it no longer. For the first time in many years, Perry wept, collapsing to his knees as he covered his face.
“Perry?!” He heard his owner rush up to his pet, his voice filled with fear. “What’s wrong? Ferb! Get in here! Something’s wrong with Perry!” Before the platyborg could do anything, he felt arms wrap around him. To his dismay, he wept all the more, melting in his owner’s gentle rubbing.
He did not notice the sound of incoming footprints entering the house until two more arms went around him. Perry looked up to see a green-haired boy with a buzz cut. He removed his shades and quickly took out a device and scanned Perry.
“Well?! Can you tell what’s wrong?” Phineas asked anxiously. Ferb shook his head. This only made Phineas shriek, “What do you mean no?! I thought that device we made was enough to help! Should we try to call our other-dimension selves? They know how to build! They can help!”
“I don’t think it’s a mechanical problem, Phineas,” Ferb replied, gesturing to Perry’s tears and anguished face. “I think Perry’s sad about something.”
“Sad?” Perry saw Phineas turn his triangle head back to him. “Is that true, Perry?”
Well. No point in hiding it anymore. The moment he was waiting for was coming. Slowly, the platyborg nodded.
“What’s wrong, boy?” Phineas asked again, albeit more gently.
This was one of those moments Perry wished he could speak. And even if he could, no number of words could describe the guilt he felt towards his actions. Or what he almost did.
But he could do the next best thing.
He felt himself touch some buttons on his chest from memory and saw the blue glow from his robotic eye shine. He felt himself force his head upwards as his owners saw images flash in front of them. After several minutes Phineas’ eyes widened in realization.
“Perry… are these… your memories?”
Perry chattered in shame. His throat constricted as the images continued. Images from his past as an agent, images of his… conversion to a cyborg. Images of his service to the former tyrant. With each one, Phineas and Ferb stared in horror with their jaws dropping. All Perry could do was watch and brace for the incoming storm.
One particular image stood out from the crowd. It was of the platyborg flying through a tunnel, lazer-focused on a particular target. A bunch of small mine cars with familiar faces. Faces of the alternate dimension versions of himself and…
“Hey, it’s us with our other selves!” Phineas said.
“And, there’s you, Perry, right above us,” Ferb commented.
While the memory was painful enough, hearing the boys say it out loud only increased Perry’s shame. The memory continued as the platyborg shot the wheels, causing the cars to lose balance. The cars vanished from view as Perry landed and Norm-Bots chased after them. 6 minutes later though, they returned with the other dimension Phineas, Ferb, Candace and Perry with them. The platyborg nodded and turned around, leading the robots to their master, who grinned and cackled when seeing them.
And just like that, the light turned off. Perry sat on the floor, face turned downcast. This was it. Everything was revealed now. Everything he had done and could have done. Whatever happened now was up to Phineas and Ferb. Now, they truly saw how much of a monster he had become. Now, they would understand. Now… he would finally face justice for his crime.
“Perry… is this…why you…?” Phineas asked softly.
The platyborg nodded, chattering in response. He braced himself again, ready for whatever came next.
“Oh Perry!”
Suddenly, Perry stood up straight at the sound of misery in Phineas’ voice, his pet instincts kicking in. But before he could do anything, he felt four arms wrap around his robotic body. His eye widened at the warm touch of his owners’ love.
“Did you really think that we would hate you because of this?” Perry nodded to Phineas. “Oh, Perry. You don’t need to worry about that, boy. You’re not evil anymore. You’re our Perry. Our pet. You’re a part of our family.” The red-haired boy stroked his pet’s metal head tenderly. “This doesn’t change that.” Ferb nodded in agreement, smiling.
Perry tilted his head. This was not what he expected. He clanged his chest and gestured to his entire body, as if asking what about his being a cyborg.
“We don’t care if you’re a cyborg or a platypus! Or a platyborg! You’re our Perry. And we’re so glad you’re back!”
Perry chattered again in confusion, shaking his head and—
“Perry.” Phineas voice sternly snapped Perry to. He held his beloved pet by the shoulders firmly but gently enough to not hurt. “We. Do. Not. Care.” Then Phineas softened. “My other dimension-self said that his Perry was his family and that he wasn’t leaving him no matter what. Well, guess what? Neither will we!” Phineas knelt down, cradling Perry’s face. “You are our Perry. And you’re not a monster. You’re back with us. And we are never letting you go again.”
“And we’ll make sure of that,” Ferb added, pointing a finger above him. His voice was smooth and comforting as molasses.
And at that moment, Perry realized how deep the brothers’ love for him went. How could he have doubted them? He felt his eye moisten as his bill widened into a touched smile. He held out his hands and rushed right into his owners’ embrace. For the first time, the platyborg felt like everything was going to be okay.
“Boys!” A familiar voice said. “Steaks are about to be served!”
“Yes, Mom!” Phineas and Ferb shouted, standing up. “Come on, Perry! Let’s eat!” Phineas said as he and Ferb ran outside.
Perry smiled. He sighed deeply. Maybe this was a bit optimistic, but maybe a new era was on the horizon.
Quick as a bunny on a sugar rush, the platyborg flew out the door. There was no way he was going to miss a chance to be with his family after being away for so long. And he could not wait.
Plus, he called dibs on the first steak.