Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The cold wind sliced through the air like a knife blade. The city’s alleys were engulfed by a composed line of the general buzzing of the inhabitants, dressed in their most elegant clothes for the special occasion. The lights faded between the pale contrasts of blue and green, from the individual villas in the suburbs, to the sumptuous buildings and shops in the center, as if to disfigure the natural splendor of the full moon that soared over a clear sky as black as peace.

Traveling along the main road that perfectly split the city, a wall divided the inhabited areas at the foot of a tall hill made up of two massive structures facing a small field respectively. Continuing the way uphill, a single central building soared culminating in three unique turrets distinct in three alternating colors; two black at the ends and a light green central one, higher than the others. On the right side of the central building, there was a small turret, from which someone would be able to look at every alley and citizen, as big as a pin, of the megalopolis, glimpsing the border wall not far from the residential area.

The only lucky one who could enjoy that show was a tall, burly man with short brown hair. He was dressed in a smart green suit, which mirrored his alert bearing and the fierce expression on his face behind his half-moon glasses. He stood behind the wooden podium equipped with three microphones and with a wave of his hand, he turned on a pair of spotlights that beamed directly at him, illuminating his figure that appeared recorded in all the screens of any existing screen. He took a deep breath adjusting the left sleeve of his jacket before looking directly at the camera and starting his speech.

“My dear citizens of the Thri-State Area, in my name, Mayor and President, Roger Doofenshmirtz, and my fellow Oligarchs, we officially welcome the start of a new year.”

A general roar of applause rose from the metropolis, dying out shortly afterward so the man could continue.

“So, before returning to the celebrations, I gently ask the attention of all the inhabitants to hear the important announcements and some new directives on the management of the individual areas.”

Miles away from where the man was delivering his live speech, in the streets of a large city as poorly maintained and unkempt as its inhabitants despite the festive climate, a hooded figure walked indiscreetly on a sidewalk avoiding snow-covered cracks on the ground. The snowflakes were slowly falling from the dark sky and the cold wind gently carried them around. He made his way among the citizens who were closely guarded by security who, once noticed, forced himself to stop in front of one of the large screens placed around, freezing at the sight of the figure and holding his shortened breath.

“Useless to remember, but necessary to remain aware, we are still in the midst of a crisis that forces us to triple our work with meager earnings for fifty years now. My intent, however, is not to dishearten you by repeating every year and at peak times that our own capital has had to face, also given the tricentenary of the unification of our country in two years. Indeed, I am here to inform you that we may have found the key that will open the doors to the next level and this turning point is all in the hands of a new group of researchers who will deal, already today, with distributing themselves among the various cities of the three states and do the research necessary to solve the problems of each individual city.”

As if he knew of the reaction that would follow, the man pressed his lips together, letting the buzz of the population rise so anxiously that the police intervened and dissuaded the crowds in the cities from quieting down. In some places, the poorest ones, the warnings were followed by well-aimed threats by displaying the batons to silence everyone in fear, including the hooded figure who insistently covered the collar of his jacket taking continuously agitated breaths.

Once the general order was restored, the speech was able to proceed.

“My citizens, please keep your composure, despite this being a celebration night. The good news I have just given you is not an invitation to abandon your duties and leave it to the new Research Team to solve the problems that plague our country. Otherwise, where would your duty as citizens go, inhabitants of the Thri-States Area? What would your purpose be? If there is one good thing that led to this crisis, it was seeing how each of you, in your tasks, managed to make the most of it, albeit limited by the resources we have available. The reason we are still here to celebrate, tonight more than any other as has not been the case for decades, was to fulfill the rules and raise your voice to yourself and so to the group you belong to. If we have reached this turning point, it was thanks to the efforts of each of you and for this, I can only hope that your dedication to duty can always translate into diligence to your behaviors that must reflect observance of yourselves and thus on us.”

Taking a deep breath, the man continued as if to want to pass over an unpleasant argument “Going back to the distributions of the Research Group: there will be three groups for each area, which will be located in the three main capitals where special residential areas have been established along with all the equipment needed to carry out their work. Accompanying them, there will be new squadrons of Moderators to deal with the other important problem that hit us in the previous months, namely the flight of children from the Correctional Institute.”

A series of agitated hums swept through the listeners as the hooded figure clenched his fists, motionless in place staring at Roger who continued to speak in a pressing tone of voice with a hint of repressed bile.

“Although we managed to find some of the absconders as mentioned earlier, we realize the mediocre approach with which we have tried to tackle a problem that has never occurred before. But I guarantee you citizens that the remaining uncontrolled monsters that jeopardize your self-control will soon be captured, and brought back to the Institute that we have efficiently refurbished and rehabilitated by making them pay for the time they wasted in creating havoc and uncontrolled chaos. Particular attention will be paid to the city of Coat Side City due to the presence of the most dangerous subject among those who escaped so far. However, I remember maximum demeanor and trust for the new police forces.” A vibration in the inside pocket of his jacket made his composure escape for a millisecond and he decided to hurry to conclude the live broadcast solemnly.

“With this news, I conclude my year-end speech by wishing you all a good continuation of the evening. Enjoy the fruits of this past year by looking forward to the new resources of the next to come given this new rebirth. Wish you all a good night.”

A roar of composed applause escorted the man who left the spotlights to enter the elevator behind him. He pressed one of the buttons and the teleportation system made him appear in another area of the large structure where, opening the doors, he found himself in front of a large man in a dark green military uniform, irritating him even more.

“Colonel Contraction, couldn't you wait another five minutes?”

The soldier's response revealed the tone of urgency that overcame the displeasure.

“I apologize sir, but they called from Coat Side City and they say they got it.”

Amazement chased away the dissent on Roger's face and with a wave of repressed frenzy he squeezed his trembling left arm and flanked his colleague, marching into the large room occupied by about ten people sitting in front of computers and stopping in front of the larger screen, waiting for the link.

“When?”

“Right now, maybe this could be the right time.”

Roger stifled a skeptical snort.

“Just like all the previous ones. I want to see him now.”

The colonel ordered one of the guards to connect and request real-time viewing on the big screen.

The head of the Moderators turned on the micro camera placed in the collar showing those present the scene that presented itself in front of her: in the middle of the street, evacuated by citizens unaware of the situation, there was a Moderator who was trying to keep a hooded small person writhing trying to free himself from the handcuffs that had been locked on his wrists. Behind him, another guard nervously watched the scene, visibly younger than the others, holding a large shoulder bag in her hands.

Colonel Contraction addressed the chief through a transceiver.

“Lolliberry, make sure the other beast is also immobilized.”

The woman took the chains from her belt and quickly approached the prisoner.

“Yes sir, I'll take care of it right away-!”

A scream interrupted the conversation and the leader showed on the monitor a small teal creature that, growling furiously, slipped out of the hood of the handcuffed figure and attacked the soldier's face who was thrown back. Before they could even intervene, Lolliberry and the young recruit were also attacked, stormed by the animal that started scratching and beating its tail in the face of the Moderators, who found it hard to even touch it without being injured.

Meanwhile, the small figure seized the opportunity and within a second, rolled on himself, jumped to its feet, and presumably with two springs under the soles of the shoes jumped at least thirteen feet in the air to throw himself at the Moderator with the bag, isolating her a few meters from the fight against the creature and pinning her to the ground in terror, showing off a pair of long sharp canines with wide open mouth.

Meanwhile, the animal, taking out a key from the belt of the guard who had handcuffed the boy, knocked the two guards to the ground and shot toward him to free him from the handcuffs. Lolliberry nervously raised her eyebrows and stood up ignoring the wounds caused by the animal and turned to her colleague.

“I won't let it get away one more time. On your feet, prepare the chains!”

“Shall we call reinforcements?”

“I’ve got this, move!”

The hooded figure stopped growling at the still hostage, turning to peer with an eye over the hood at the woman who was about to attack him with a truncheon raised in the air, furious. The release of the free handcuffs allowed him to tighten the animal to the chest, preventing him from attacking the woman and taking the backpack still in the girl’s hand before jumping back a few meters just before being hit.

Lolliberry wasn’t impressed and stopped to snatch from her colleague's hands a long chain culminating in a small prehensile iron hook that she threw at the boy about to touch the ground. Shortly before landing, however, the latter had extracted a small fluorescent blue object with an indefinite shape from the backpack, throwing it with force to the ground and letting out a blanket of white smoke which, as if pushed by a jet of strong artificial wind, flared up quickly all around the road reaching the citizens supervised by the Moderators so as not to let them panic.

From the control center, Colonel Contraction addressed the soldiers controlling the screens.

“Connect to the street surveillance cameras. Lolliberry, find it and immediately call all nearby Moderators to assist you!”

“Yessir!”

She promptly replied, angrily withdrawing the chain thrown empty to herself to blindly put it back in the belt and give orders to her team.

“Split up and try to dispel this fog.”

About twenty guards carried out the order by occupying the entire deserted street, relying only on hearing and isolating unusual sounds. There was a general silence, tense due to the concentration of every guard in the area, blinded by the only vision of a white wall wherever they looked.

In a short time, however, the strong icy wind helped to dispel the white smoke and thus restore sight to the Moderators, one of whom spotted the fugitive, crouched on the ground a few centimeters from one of the alleys with the animal that enveloped his neck.

"It's over there!"

The alarm caused the boy to jump with a surprised leap to enter the alley, followed shortly afterward by about fifteen Moderators, some missing by the leader who ordered them to enter into other alleys and the remaining ones to look after the civilians.

The fugitive ran frantically turning two alleys and with a fleeting glance behind him, took a small spherical object from his bag and stopped kneeling on the ground, taking the Moderators by surprise. Once the invention was activated, a shock to the ground similar to a small earthquake reached the guards who led the group, causing them to lose their balance and thus hit by those behind, causing almost half of the squadron to fall. In addition, disturbing cracks formed in the ground and walls of both buildings next to them.

Meanwhile, the hooded boy had scattered a series of cords on the ground before resuming his escape, hastened by two other groups who surprised him on both sides of the intersection. But when the guards reached the point where the cords were scattered, these, as if they had a life of their own, tightly wrapped the closest guards, tying them together as if they were salami and pinning them to the ground.

At the same time, the little one had crouched away from the action to let the animal hide, reluctantly, again in the hood, while he was welding on the sides of both shoes two black rectangles which, once activated, allowed him to run on the wall of the building. A move that cost him too long as, a few meters from reaching the top of the roof, a metal hook hit him in the right foot. He was not captured, but the blow made him lose the device and thus make him fall dangerously to the ground where more and more Moderators were reaching him with chains ready in their hands.

With no apparent escape route, instinctively, just before ending up in the hands of the guards, he spun on himself, placing his feet against the wall, leaning towards the exit on the right, and activated the springs on the shoes that shot him sideways like a bullet. Such a force created a shock wave that caused the wall to crack and bring down an imposing wall of rubble, blocking the exit to the street and forcing the agents to back off and look for another way out.

The boy shot out of the narrow alley almost by a miracle, darting obliquely across the wide main road and stopping on the opposite side, bumping into the back of a van. Passers-by and motorists froze to watch the scene in astonishment. The driver of the hit vehicle restlessly opened the door to find the cause of the crash in shock.

A child with a very large brown jacket that came up to his ankles was sitting up cautiously, massaging his affected shoulder and a small beast that was clinging to the back of his head, almost hidden by the wavy and flaming red hair of the young man. As soon as he realized he was staring, the boy looked up and smiled broadly at the man, highlighting his long, sharp canines. The man blanched in horror and seized with a fit of hysterical fear, threw himself out of the car, shaking his arms wildly in the air.

“IT'S THE LITTLE RED MONSTER!!”

His screams were enough to spread uncontrolled panic from any corner of the street. People fled screaming and scattering in any direction, including alleys into which the Moderators were rejected. Lolliberry hardly dodged the civilians and ten meters across the street, she saw the hooded boy again on the roof of the van he had hit, intent on dispersing the ranks of screaming civilians.

His arms were raised above his head, he uttered menacing, scream-like noises in an open voice with a wide and sly smile, his face red-cheeked. From his head emerged the green creature surrounded by tufts of hair, the mandarin orange beak wide open, exhibiting two pointed canines and a hanging tongue while he emitted low gurglings.

The citizens continued to disperse, crowding the alleys and blocking the road to the Moderators who barely dodged them to reach the little one who, after a few more hoarse screams, addressed them directly with a broad amused smile.

“Sorry guys, maybe you’ll do better next time. Happy new year y’all!”

He turned his back to them and with two sharp jumps he leaped on a lamppost, crashing it to the ground, to the roof of the condominium, and with one last fleeting glance, he disappeared even when they finally reached him. The police split up, to look for the boy now dissipated in thin air. Most of the Moderators were gathered to restore order and control among the citizens in agitation and report public damage to the body in charge of repairs.

Meanwhile, the chief Moderator was arguing with his superior from Danville.

“Sir-!”

“I refuse to hear any more excuses from you Lolliberry! You've been letting it slip out of your hands for five months and tonight's performance was shameful, to say the least! Why didn't you call the reinforcements?!”

With a moment of hesitation, the woman replied bitterly.

“I thought we could get it.”

“No, you thought you could get it and out of all the many mistakes you’ve made tonight, this is the biggest one out of all of them! Take all the materials that are scattered and put the civilians in line to the best of your meager abilities.”

The Chief Moderator nodded, containing her shame as it was tightening her throat.

“Yes sir.”

The call broke off abruptly, leaving the woman disconsolate and impassive to the wind and chaos that she would soon have to face again. A shy clearing of her throat brought her back in alert, turning to see the young recruit nervously raise her back before speaking.

"Commander, we’ve covered the entire area but there is no trace of him anymore."

Lolliberry snorted with a disappointed expression on her face.

"Of course, there’s not." She turned her gaze to the building where the boy had been spotted just before his disappearance. "I still can’t believe how such a monster could even exist, I didn't think they’d have so many abilities ... this shall be a rare case. Some sort of mistake or something … damn little riffraff.”

The young recruit, staring at the roof along with her superior, bit her lip, holding back the embarrassment.

“Yeah … about that, I'm sorry for not having done anything when he attacked me. If I had intervened, we could have got him.”

Lolliberry turned to look at the Moderator, thinking seriously before drawing her conclusions with a clear bitterness in her voice.

“It would surely have found another way to attack us. I'm sure that with the new squadron, we could finally catch it." The woman turned to put all the attention on the young recruit in awe of the hard gaze of her superior “However, make sure you no longer allow your emotions to interfere with your work, Flynn. That being brings out what we have managed to overcome, but this should not stop us from fulfilling our duty. We will be able to catch it. At any cost."

The girl pursed her lips, swelling her chest with a huge sigh that she released to compose herself and take on a determined expression on her face.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Call the troops and let’s take care of the civilians."

The two women reunited with the group of Moderators to restore order to the city, still agitated by what had just happened. All were eager to recover and finally go back to celebrate and rest.

Colonel Contraction abruptly ended the call, letting out an exasperated sigh before referring to his colleague, who was sitting at one of the desks in front of a computer.

“President Doofenshmirtz, again, I am dismayed to have disturbed you during your speech, if I had known that we would have witnessed a pitiful scene like this...”

Roger was reviewing the recordings of the chase he had just witnessed, so completely absorbed that he didn’t seem to pay attention to the colonel's apologies. He looped many clips that had the boy as the protagonist during the escape and the attacks until his inexplicable disappearance on the roof.
Realizing that he didn’t have his full attention, the colonel waited in trepidation for Roger to cover the entire scene until he stopped the video showing the child on the roof of the van, intent on terrorizing the crowd.

“To be pitiful were the forced loans of the Moderators, although this is now normal administration for all the attempts of capture tried so far. Contrary to this, it is fascinating to see that little pest in action that uncontrollably terrifies that town without even bothering to maintain discretion among the inhabitants.”

Colonel Contraction nodded as he approached the screen.

“Yes, at the beginning it was much more discreet and only took care of escaping and later on knocking out the Moderators with its inventions.”

“This is because he is running out of resources.” Roger smiled slightly, hiding the mischief as he scrolled through the video to the point where the child was scattering the strings on the ground.

“Even his machines lack the ingenuity and originality that so distinguishes him. Little by little, by limiting his access to food, hiding places, and material with which he can build those tools, we pushed him towards a corner he will neither escape nor defend himself and with the new squadron of Moderators we will give him the coup de grace.”

The pleased gaze was shared by both men until Colonel Contraction suddenly raised his eyebrows.

“But it knows now. It heard the speech you gave tonight. Will this not allow it to devise an escape route?”

Roger looked at him, snorting amused.

“In a sense, his awareness of the situation he has found himself in will only be useful to be able to control him more later.” On the screen, he stopped the image of the boy shortly before being captured by the Moderators. His face was pale and horrified, seemingly absent from what was happening around him.

“Look at him. He knows he has no way out, he knows he cannot hide for long and even if he tries to come up with something, it will never be enough to hinder the new squadrons, especially if led by his supervisor. Also …” he scrolled through the video at the moment when the child had caused the blanket of thick fog. By activating the thermal vision, they discovered the hook that was about to catch him had managed to hit his leg so that he fell to the ground, squeezing his mouth with both hands to hold back a scream before scrambling to his feet and limping blindly towards the alley. The video went on again until the crash against the side of the van and his painful attempt to climb on the latter “His recent escapes have certainly given him many kinds of physical complications that he is unable to cure without the assistance that he continues to refuse. He is just making it easier for us and by the end of the month we will finally be able to welcome him here.”

The Colonel smiled in admiration and with renewed determination.

“Sure sir, I'll make sure that happens myself.”

Roger got up from his desk, adjusting his left sleeve, and with a nod walked slowly towards the elevator.

“I'm counting on you, Colonel. In the meantime, make sure you take back the machinery that the boy has lost and for the rest, we can declare this parenthesis over. I wish you a good continuation of the evening.”

“Likewise to you President Doofenshmirtz. See you …” the realization hit the face of the man who lowered his shoulders disconsolately while Roger nodded understandingly.

“Yes, tomorrow morning. At least it will be the last show before he goes away.”

“My only thought is that he won’t blow up that city.”

Roger entered the elevator and answered the colonel with a deep breath.

“Not for nothing did I decide to send him there. As long as he does not waste resources and hinder the operations concerning the boy, for me he can also raze that city, at least it will be a way for the team to perfect themselves.”

With this, the man pressed another button of the elevator and was teleported in front of a door behind which came a distinct classical music and a chorus of buzzing. He was about to enter when he felt his jacket pocket vibrate and rolled his eyes to see the name of the person he answered after a moment of preparation.

“Heinz.”

The answer was a high-pitched, croaking voice that tried to contain the agitation.

“Hey Roger! Sorry if I may disturb you, I passed by just now but I didn’t find you at the party.”

The man moved away from the noise by leaning his back against the wall, drawing a patient sigh.

“I was called by Colonel Contraction for quick advice on a nuisance still to be resolved. I just arrived.”
“Ahhhh that's why you looked a little annoyed at the end of the speech. Still great though! I mean, the speech, as usual, like all kinds of speeches you do. Even if there was a bit of noticeable annoyance, but I’m sure none noticed that at all-!“

“Heinz. Manner.”

He harshly warned the man with a disappointed expression on his face. On the other end, the voice stopped and a series of breaths were taken before speaking.

“Y-yea you’re right, sorry, uh ... anyway you got it.”

“Of course I do. So I guess you didn't last too long at the party.”

The man cleared his throat embarrassed.

“Well … enough to say hello to Rodney and to the other members of the Oligarchs. As soon as I found out you weren't there, I flee myself out.”

"Good. Are you at home now?"

"Not yet actually. I passed by the lab to complete the final checks on the machinery for tomorrow's presentation."

Roger snapped away from the wall, forcibly contracting a surge of strong agitation.

"Heinz-!"

“Relax relax, there’s Admiral Acronym here with me and Poofenplotz too, even if she minds her own business. Better on this way tho.”

“As the explosive incompetent says.”

The old woman commented sourly on a distance to which Heinz replied irritably.

“I am the incompetent?? Talks miss ‘I don’t even know what an atom is made of’."

“At least I don't blow up the laboratory twice a day and force the colleagues to clean up their own mess.”

Tired of hearing that discussion useful only to waste time, Roger took a breath and cut it off, drawing the interlocutor's attention.

“Heinz, please. Are you a man or a schnitzel?”

The man on the other end recovered and returned to focus on the call.

“Oh yeah, uh, sorry Roger! Anyway, yes, I checked everything” a little pause with several machine sounds in the background “aaaaand I have nothing more to do here so I'm going home now. Unless you want me to come-! "

“No forget it, I feel like you're pretty shaken tonight. I’ll see you directly tomorrow morning, counting that you have regained a little more self-control.”

Heinz remained quiet for a second, leaving the sound of buzzing and distant music in the background, before agreeing resolutely but with a certain shame hidden in his voice.

“Of course. You’re right. I think it must have been the general celebrations mood or one more drink played a bad joke on me. Or maybe both who knows eheh. Also, I’m not in the best conditions dress-wise since I’m all sweaty and such and-!” he interrupted himself clearing his throat, realizing it was too much information. “Well, you got it. Then see you tomorrow Roger, have a goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you too, Heinz. Please, I recommend you for tomorrow.”

And with that, he ended the call with a weary sigh, thinking about the many things that happened all at once that night. Fastened his tie to his collar, the mayor made his entrance into the large hall where a great party was being held, where various people with their elegant clothes participated politely, dancing around the room and occupying various tables set with high-quality dishes.

The general celebrations for the last night of the year had lasted for another few hours before their conclusion, leaving the streets isolated, only invaded by the snow and by patrols of Moderators in their rounds of surveillance, lightened by the street lamps. Everyone was in their respective houses, resting and preparing for the work that awaited them all in just a few hours.

Everything was quiet. As it was supposed to be.

Chapter Text

It was 8:08 in the morning, an hour late from the scheduled appointment. Heinz hadn't received any updates about the situation, and maybe it would have been better for him to wait at his house, but given the circumstances, he thought it would be better to be ready so as not to waste any more time.

The ticking of the clock echoed off the wide walls as much as it did in his completely tumultuous head. From that height, he had the sensation of being observed by the clock, pinning him to the chair with imposing oppression. Forced to stare at it. As if he couldn't escape the pressure of that endless slow time, yet so fast. Too fast. Uncertain whether or not he should rejoice in either option, leaving him in a state of anxious confusion.

It also didn't help that the room was plunged into darkness, saved only by the row of emergency spotlights. The cause was a general blackout that occurred at the crack of dawn, it was already a miracle it hadn't happened the night before, considering the amount of energy spent solely on the New Year's celebrations. Despite the risks, Roger had made an exception to the rule for limiting consumption, perhaps placing too much faith in the new machinery and energy conversion systems, which hadn’t reached the required standards. Heinz, therefore, knew the irritation that the Oligarchs, and especially his brother, were experiencing at that moment, making him more intolerant than he already was.

The scientist would have liked to help troubleshoot the technical problems right away since he was already awake when the problem occurred, but they had prevented him from doing so since it was out of his reach. Not that he wasn't technically capable. More or less. But due to his nature, it would undoubtedly have caused much more serious damage than the current ones, so it was for the best.

After pondering whether or not it was a good idea, Heinz shyly cleared his throat to get the attention of the only person in the waiting room with him, the secretary Melanie, who sat impassively at her desk filing paperwork.

“Forgive me, Melanie, are there any updates?”

Visibly annoyed by her interruption of work, the woman sighed before answering.

“There's been no news for three minutes since you last asked me, Dr. Doofenshmirtz.”

The man let out a nervous chuckle and clasped his shaking hands on his knees in consternation at having disturbed the woman.

“Y-y-yea you're right. S-sorry.”

After another twelve minutes, finally, the lights in the waiting room flickered just before stabilizing their pale light and the computer at Melanie's desk restarted. Although relieved by the resolution of the technical problem, the anxiety of the meeting became the only nail fixed in the chest to worry about. At least for now. And his thoughts ran free like a raging river.

Heinz would have allowed himself to play with his long fingers and untangle small knots from his always crumpled tie, but, to avoid further annoyance for the Oligarchs, he preferred to keep it intact for once. He could have used his stress ball as a second option for a tacit vent. Still, besides being expressly forbidden to him, like all his attempts to disavow his state of perpetual agitation, which shouldn't even have existed in the first place, he had put it mistakenly in one of the bags that had already been collected and placed on the train that would take him to Coat Side City. An error which, as soon as discovered, had plunged him even further into a state of embarrassing exhaustion.

In the end, he contented himself with staring at that ticking clock, aware that, of the two, he would be the one to lose the match. As always.

So the brown-haired man tried to focus his thoughts on the clothing to distract him from the agonizing wait, wondering if he had made the right decision to put on his usual clothes consisting of a white shirt, black tie, and a green jacket as dark as the brown pants. Or maybe it would have been better if he had shown up in a lab coat, in case the machine…

No. Everything would have been fine. Everything must go fine. For all the hard work he put into that project. He couldn’t disappoint his brother, leaving him for months with the last memory of yet another failure in front of all the Oligarchs. Especially after the morning he spent worrying about the blackout of the whole city.

It was the tremble in his arms that brought him back to reality, which from slightly, became increasingly unmanageable. The man immediately began to repress that growing panic by crossing his arms on his stomach and hiding his hands on the opposite sides. He began to take deep, silent breaths intent on getting as much air as possible without affecting his already compromised composure, ignoring the tightness in his throat that seemed to suffocate him while repeating the numbers in German from one to ten, over and over again, to stay conscious and compose himself better. Then raised his hunched back to swallow that panic flicker and definitively avoid losing control. 

Tired from the effort, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, raising his arms in front of his eyes and seeing the trembling that continued unabated to torment him. He took a deep breath, swallowing a block in his throat, and straightened up, rubbing his hands sideways over his tired, irritated eyes. He looked back at that clock which, composed as he had left it, continued to tick at a regular rate and without any trace of smearing. It was 8:30 am.

“Doctor Doofenshmirtz.”

Taken aback, the restless man turned to see Melanie, who was regarding him with eyes full of disappointment.

“They are ready to receive you.”

A despondent sigh anticipated his reluctant rise from the chair, transformed into a safe place now far away. The brown-haired man portrayed to the best of his present ability the demeanor he should have had from the start as he straightened his tie, walking with trembling arms forced at his sides towards the great black door which stood against the walls of the gray waiting room.

His trembling grip on the handle hesitantly stopped for only a few seconds, which prepared him for the panic that gripped him as he opened the door to discover a large room before him. The high ceiling and dark green walls were lit by cool lamps surrounding two long parallel conference tables each occupied by at least a dozen people, leaving space between a black piece of a peculiar designed machinery. In front of the device and between the two tables, there was a third of much smaller dimensions, necessary to accommodate the three heads of the Oligarchs: President Roger in the center, Colonel Contraction on his left, and finally Rodney, the scientist with the big bald head and pointy ears.

Except for Roger, who was immediately eyeing him from a distance as if to admonish him, the rest of those present soon became aware of the man's existence, welcoming him with a series of judicious eyes set on him. Doofenshmirtz was as if struck by an electric shock that went through his back and with a last lump swallowed by force, he headed towards the machinery.

The brown-haired man tried to ignore the loud silence of the room, broken only by the sound of his slow trembling steps, tracing a short route that made him stop a few meters in front of the three leaders. He crossed his arms behind his back, squeezing the hands as tightly as he could on his wrists, and bowed respectfully with his eyes fixed on the ground, remaining in that position for a moment before being dismissed by the voice of the leader in the center.

“Please start, Heinz.”

The inventor straightened his hunched back as much as he could and with a tucked knot of his tie as an illusory source of comfort, he stood behind the control panels of the machinery and restlessly began his speech.

“Good morning everyone. First of all, s-sorry for the inconvenience of this meeting, especially after what happened earlier…”

Greeted by a gloomy silence that masked the evident outrage, especially from Roger, the inventor continued to the best of his capability.

“S-So: this year, since the beginning of autumn, there have been a significant amount of downpours and blizzards that have caused extensive damage throughout our areas, making maintenance difficult and raising costs to amounts that we can't afford to have, especially in our zone. So I thought it would be more practical if we-! I mean, you…” he quickly cleared his throat with his brow already sweaty as he brought a nervous smile to his lips “well, who’s responsible, the weather.”

To his right Major Monogram, a man in a military green uniform with gray hair and mustache, distinguished from the others by a thick unibrow, intervened disoriented.

“So you made this machine all by yourself? If so, I hope you've tested it properly.”

Heinz swallowed hard to keep his face calm, failing at the widening grin that he tried to hide by bringing his hand to his lips.

“Oh of course and even with all the explossss…” noticing the increasing yet well-hidden shock in people’s faces, Heinz embarrassingly changed his phrase’s ending “… explosive results, literally of course, this should definitely work… hopefully. ” He whispered without being heard.

Despite this, a buzz of alarm rose from all those present, echoing in the hall, crushing the scientist at the center of the disputed content. Rodney, from his sitting, intervened with a marked note of skepticism and alarm in his high-pitched voice.

"Should ? Are you out of your mind, Heinz? An invention like that, built by you, would be equivalent to the complete destruction of Danville.”

The turmoil that further oppressed his chest led him to raise his hands agitated, avoiding the misunderstanding.

“N-n-no no of course I know! In fact, this is not definitive, it's just a prototype of the idea, that is-!” He immediately corrected his mistake, worrying those present even more. “No, it's not a prototype of course! It's just a  p-preliminary machinery to what I had in mind. This is only capable of creating a small cloud as a demonstration.”

Those present seemed to simultaneously breathe a sigh of brief relief, looking irritated at the scientist, who was intent on nervously rubbing his hands. Colonel Contraction pursed his lips as if to contain a suppressed scream and lashed out irritably at the scientist.

“Damn pittance Heinz, is this a way to do a presentation?!”

Roger immediately interrupted his colleague's intervention by slightly raising his hand in front of him and maintaining a composed and firm tone.

“Calm down, Colonel Contraction, we don't have any more time to waste on the usual nuisances. I'll take care of it myself as soon as it's over. Go ahead, Heinz.”

Although grateful for his brother's intervention, the disappointment with which he had addressed him was enough to definitively discourage his stormy mood. Heinz heaved a defeated sigh and concentrated on continuing with the presentation, minimally distracted by the hands that had started shaking more insistently.

The invention was activated with a low whistling ignition. From the spike similar to a spinning wheel, a small spark was formed from which a growing circular motion of air sprang, enlarging while small clouds went to form what appeared to be a small tornado, due to the size and also to the strength of the artificial wind that went to be created in the room.

People watched with certain skeptical amazement, looks that the scientist rarely had the opportunity to receive. A feeling that did not last long, when the device began to make alarming crackling noises, convincing Heinz to immediately shut everything down before shocking the spirits of the spectators even more. By now seized by an impetus of will given by adrenaline, he pounced on the machinery barely breathing and desperately passing his trembling hands on the metal, intent on looking for the malfunction.

Behind him, he barely heard Rodney's voice trying to admonish him as he shuffled the threads of the invention.

“Heinz, you've finished the presentation.”

“N-n-no wait, it has done it other times, g-give me a minute and I'll get it going again.”

“Heinz, we have to deal with your departure.”

He agreed with Colonel Contraction in the most temperate way possible.

“Y-y-yes I know, I-I swear it worked, I just need a-!”

“Heinz. We’re done.”

His name rumbled through the room, halting him frozen in place and retracting his arms, as heavy as his chest while a violent tremor ran up his spine. With a far too long second of hesitation, the man turned to find Roger standing behind the desk, staring at him with eyes filled with the outrage and frustration of everyone present. Those were enough to understand the climate he had created and thus give up definitively, psychologically preparing himself for what he would have expected shortly after while he tried to compose himself by wiping his forehead beaded with sweat and barely breathing while he straightened his torso.

Rodney interrupted that interminable moment of silence, sighing in exasperation before commenting in a mocking tone.

"It would be monotonous to rehash the poor presentation of yet another malfunctioning device. But after the troubles we had to deal with this morning, which you had the guts to mention, and with all departure preparations slowed down because of it, I can hardly contain my dissent with what could have been an excellent invention if only it had been made by someone else more capable. And make me start on the general execution of the whole thing. I would therefore ask you to archive your research notes and leave this invention in the laboratory so that it can be done better in the future."

The man fought with all his strength to keep his legs from unraveling completely nullifying his weight and with a grin aimed at keeping his agitation, he nodded.

“O-of course Rodney.”

Taking a deep breath through clenched teeth, Roger addressed those present without taking his eyes off Heinz.

“Well, we can wrap up the meeting here. I apologize for wasting everyone's time due to the fault in the control unit and for the presentation that has just finished, also in the name of my brother. Otherwise, I want to thank you all for your patience. I’d now invite you to organize the final preparations and in an hour we will meet at the station hoping for no further delays. Sergeant Drill, if you are not engaged in more urgent duties, I would ask you to wait for us outside to give you final elucidations on that concern.”

Daring to glance to his right, Heinz spotted a tall, stocky man dressed in a brown military commander's uniform with a hat covering his otherwise bald head, who grinned followed by a firm nod.

“Of course, President Doofenshmirtz. I'll wait for you outside."

With that, all the members of the Oligarchs stood up and walked quietly out of the hall, letting themselves go in low, altered hums that Heinz tried to ignore. Rodney and Colonel Contraction joined them, who, passing by, glared at him with anger.

“Do things within your reach without causing further damage.”

The remark echoed in his head louder than the sound of the door closing behind him, giving him a reason to drop onto his knees. The man crossed both trembling hands over his mouth, squeezing it as if to fight back the tumult of emotion that was erupting in his chest, so he could get ready to compose himself just for the only person left in the room, who was watching him with an impassive gaze, still standing upright on his seat with his hands barely touching the desk, waiting. Taking a good minute of hasty composure, he slowly got to his feet leaning on the control panel of his device.

“Roger, I-I swear I’ve made all the tests over and over again and it was working! Everything was just fine… I mean, it was acceptable at least. I-I would never have dreamed of bringing here a prototype that hadn't even been turned on-!”

“Are you justifying yourself, Heinz?”

The President sighed disconsolately at the man, allowing himself to move his authoritarian posture to rub his eyes under his half-moon glasses.

The scientist put up his hands as if taken by a shock at his chest, immediately correcting what he said.

“A-absolutely not! I just wanted to clarify that aspect.”

“Well, unlike you, I have to clarify to you the same things you’ve been hearing from me for years now, Heinz. Both for your behavior and for your work, not to mention the fact that you once again made a fool out of me in front of the Oligarchs.”

“I-I didn't mean-!”

“And the thing that baffles me the most is that I had given you more time than your colleagues, foolishly hoping for an at least decent result. But instead, in addition to having to endure the hassle of this morning, which of course you had to bring up anyway, there is still you and your antics to further damage our credibility.”

Heinz metabolized yet another blow to the stomach, swallowing mortified.

“I-I know Roger and I am sorry-!”

The man was interrupted by an explosion of his machine which frightened the man, making him jump to the side and retreat a few meters trembling with his ears covered. Heinz admired with overwhelming realization another of his machines destroyed in an explosion, shrouded in a blanket of smoke and contained flames.

In response to the crash, a small robot with a flashing red light on its head leaped from the wall beside the door, using the wheel to zoom past the explosion and extinguish the flames with a continuous stream of white foam from a small hole that seemed like a mouth. Efficiently completed its function, the alarm ceased and the little robot was able to return to its place.

Heinz watched the scene before meeting his brother's face as inflamed as his device just a few seconds earlier. He scratched his neck barely containing a nervous laugh.

“Well… at least this time it didn't happen during the presentation?”

“Why? Do you think it's acceptable for it to happen in front of me?”

The clarification made his stomach metaphorically sink into the ground and literally turned his smile into a mortified grin before lowering his eyes to the ground in embarrassment. Roger sighed and after tidying up the left sleeve of his dress, moved away in front of his chair placing it under the desk before heading towards the exit door.

“Follow me, Heinz.”

The scientist swallowed with difficulty the lump that continued to obstruct his throat as he quickly reached the side of the President, keeping the due distance between them. In the short length that separated the two from the elevator, Roger ordered Melanie to call the cleaning crew to pick up Heinz's destroyed invention who, without having to look, perceived the indignant eyes of the secretary and Sergeant Drill, who joined the two Doofenshmirtzes.

Entering the elevator, Roger took a particular key from his pocket which he inserted into a small slot next to the number box, making the three men appear a few steps away from a black double-leaf entrance door illuminated by a soft pale light. The President opened the door and welcomed his guests into his place.

The house was very big, almost as large as a villa, characterized by an extensive open space and furnished with beautiful designer furniture. The dark green walls surrounded the environment, which was divided on the left by the dining area, made up of a long table, and on the right by the living area, also divided into a living room with two sofas and a purple armchair highlighted by a beautiful green carpet that surrounded a nice fireplace. Next to it, there was a leisure area with a billiard table and a bookcase so tall that it reached the mezzanine on the first floor, well hidden from view. They reached the door under it, finding themselves at a crossroads where a large kitchen could be glimpsed on the left and a corridor on the right which they followed until they finally reached the second door.

Roger let Heinz go ahead and turned to Sergeant Drill.

“Please take a seat in the living room, Sergeant, it won't take long.”

Having received a nod of agreement, the two men entered a well-stocked study of furniture containing documents and books. Upholstering the entire black wall on the left, a collection of insects, preserved both in display cases and in glass bottles, with a desk in the corner dedicated to the study of small animals. The landlord took a seat in the armchair of a second desk placed in the center of the room, evidently for receptions. Above his head, a clock was ticking regularly. It was 8:53 a.m.

“Sit, Heinz.”

The man obeyed immediately, clasping his hands on his knees as a form of silent release possible at that moment, waiting agonizingly for his brother who was taking a long, deep breath, as if to arm himself with all the patience he had in his body to speak.

“Did you take your meds this morning?”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, the older brother nodded.

“Y-yes Roger.”

"Have you slept?"

Feeling the tone in his voice harden dangerously, he lowered his gaze and clenched his fists even more embarrassed before replying.

"T-the necessary."

“Then why, Heinz?”

The outburst made him roll up onto his back.

"Why do you always have to put me in these situations? I prepare spaces, the necessary time, excuses, and justifications that compromise my authority and further yours, everything in my power so that you can adequately do your job, despite your countless shortcomings, and this is how you repay me all the time. You have the potential, why are you wasting it like this? After everything I do for you? Can't you see how much the Tri-State Area is enduring this crisis with the opponents out of our confines that could attack us at any minute? Don't you care about the future of your own country?”

The scientist felt the blow as a firm grip on his stomach and suddenly dry throat, as opposed to his moist, guilty eyes, on the verge of what was the most miserable form of expression he could muster. He swallowed, trying to formulate a logical thought out of the hurricane that had been swirling in his chest since that morning. It took him a full minute before he dared to attempt an apology.

“I-I'm so sorry Roger, t-truly, I-I don't want to put you in these situations, and believe me, I for one am t-trying to tame this…” He raised his hands in front of his eyes, as shaky as his voice broke “…a-and also with the fact that I'm going to leave… I don't know, really. I-I promise my complete dedication to my job, especially with the new Research Group. I-I don't want to waste your time and cause any more inconvenience."

Roger listened to him without showing any sign of alteration, calmly reflecting for a moment before continuing the confrontation.

“Does your next accommodation upset you?”

The man with the crumpled tie barely held back a nervous smile to compensate for his not-too-subtle nervousness.

“I-I'd be lying if I said it doesn't… concern me” He quickly raised his shaking hands to make his point clearer “A-and I shouldn't be, I know, I know. It's just that… staying away for many months, risking hindering the work of others on the other end of the country, not to mention t-t-that b-boy t-that…”

The thought of it gave a shiver that ran down his entire spine, leading him to pursue his lips to repress the greatest concern of his stay in the city. Hands shaking more than necessary, he persistently rumpled his tie, damning himself once again for having already mismailed his stress ball.

Roger raised his brows thoughtfully, letting out a long sigh in anticipation of an understanding tone of voice as he absently rubbed his forearm.

“I know Heinz. For once, I’m not in the position to say anything about that matter. Given the inconvenience he is causing to that city and, above all, how it is dangerously unhinging our system in such an uncontrolled way. Not to mention the further structural damage to the urban environment and how he’s constantly teasing the citizens and the Moderators especially.”

The bespectacled man gripped his forearm and looked more steadily at the scientist in front of him.

“But trust me, I wouldn't send you there if I wasn't sure of your safety. It’s no coincidence that I have chosen Sergeant Drill to head your group of Moderators, to whom I will provide further directives to deal with that problem once we’re done. Not that he may need it since he already knows that rascal too well, but I will only clarify certain necessary aspects given his unorthodox ways. Furthermore, returning to your permanence, you will have no reason to leave the area set up for you, so you have nothing to fear. You understand that you can't derange an organization made months ago over something we can handle."

"N-no no of course I know, mine is not a complaint and indeed, I don't want to complicate things more than normal, but... I-I don't know, it's an unbelievable situation..."

Roger pursed his lips, holding back what could be guessed to be, at least for Heinz, a lucid nervousness that suppressed a vague vein of perturbation as he gazed down at the desk.

“We’ve made the mistake of not being able to understand how to act with him for time, trying many methods to correct his rebellious nature, but he really is one of a kind. Born twisted and with untamed behavior for all the time he’s been living in the Correctional Institute, he reached his breaking point and we couldn't get him back in line in time. A mistake which we will expiate once he is recaptured along with the other fugitives."

“B-but do you think he might be in contact with someone outside the area-!”

“However.”

He cut short the conversation, which was evidently taking an unwelcome turn.

“These are none of your business, Heinz. I've already guaranteed your safety for as long as you’ll live in Coat Side City, so there's no use pondering it over. In exchange for this help, however, I expect you to finally take responsibility for not only adequately fulfilling your task, but not further affecting the title that you hold. I won't be there to monitor you, much less provide you with loopholes, and you know Dr. Bloodpudding isn't quite as accommodating.”

Roger leaned over the seat, resting his elbows on the table and irradiating the man in front of him with a look full of barely contained anger.

"To be honest, I'm the only one who is. Too much. And I would like you to show your gratitude towards me with facts and no longer with words, demonstrating your real willingness to stop ridiculing me and the other Oligarchs. We cannot afford to remain so vulnerable to the point we cannot do our duty without the inconvenience of our backwardness. It’s unacceptable. We must update as quickly as possible before others outside the borders or even our own citizens realize our unfortunate fragility. So I recommend you not to push too much on this and to use the next few months as a new way to extinguish your problems autonomously albeit within the group. One thing I won't close an eye on, Heinz, is your impediment to the research. Whatever the reason may be. Because this isn't another of your usual little games anymore, but a duty which has the weight of the future of our country. Did I make myself clear?"

The inventor held his breath, frozen in place. The tremor seemed to fade for an instant. Unable to take his eyes off his brother's furious face, which he had made lose the composure he was so good at maintaining in any situation. Heinz felt guilty every time he forced him to get so angry, where his eyebrows twitched as his lips pursed and his eyes narrowed in a grimace that he hated having to do. An expression that did not belong to him and that hated to keep. All because of him.

He waited, afraid to say anything that might make that twisted expression worse, until he swallowed hard and nodded, using his guilt as a reason to reassure his brother despite his hoarse, shrill voice lowered to a whisper.

“O-o-of course Roger, I-I won’t let you down again. I promise."

The President inhaled a deep breath of air which served to convert the distorted expression to his natural impassiveness. As if nothing had happened, granting a quiet nod in response.

"Good. Before letting you go, I would like to give you one last thing.”

He moved slightly away from the desk to pull an elegant brown leather bag from one of the drawers. The upper part was darker and in the middle it, a closing hook bore a coat of arms of the city: an inverted equilateral triangle, inside which stood out a bright red capital T.

Heinz watched in amazement as Roger carefully handed him the bag.

“It’ll allow you to archive your paper documents, given your lack of sympathy for computers, where in any case you will have to update all the progress you will make for these months with your group. You will also be able to share your personal file with me or in any case make me part of your projects, so that I can give you some advice, although it would be better to let Rodney or Doctor Bloodpudding do this work.”

As he listened, Heinz ran his trembling hand over his present to study the feel of all the fine bindings, purposely designed to hold as much material as possible. Despite his promise, he struggled to suppress his smile before looking back at his brother with deep gratitude.

“Roger is beautiful, t-thank you.”

The president's face, observant and impassive, seemed to blossom into a slight grin and his eyes softened in such a short time that if he had blinked, he would have thought it impossible. A millisecond quickly passed, with the man who composed himself hastily clearing his throat.

“A meager practical gift that will certainly be useful for your work. Before leaving, do you need to see Dr. Shlussel for anything? A visit? Pills? Other medicines? How are your arms?”

Heinz smiled as he raised his trembling hands in front of him, being careful not to drop his gift.

“N-no don't worry, I've done the last checks and I've already stocked up on medicines, I'll be okay for a few months. But have you made any?”

“I don't need it, Heinz, I already told you, don't worry about me. Go and prepare your last things, see you at the station for the last goodbyes.”

Once he finished the sentence, Roger extended his open right hand forward, steady and composed, waiting at the center of the desk. That gesture lifted Heinz's spirits even more that, in response, he held out his trembling fist, received by his brother's hand which squeezed it gently. The two exchanged a knowing look, while Roger let out a sigh.

“Everything will be fine. Prove your skills.”

The President said with moderate comfort before letting go of Heinz's hand who, in response, tried awkwardly to imitate his brother's composure, puffing out his chest and nodding vigorously as he slung the bag over his shoulder with a face full of pride and rising from his seat to head for the door.

“O-okay. Thanks again Roger, see you later.”

“Later Heinz. And do not wrinkle the tie any further.”

“O-of course, sorry and thanks again.”

And with that, he slammed absentmindedly against the door, stirring his excitement. He tried not to hasten his steps as soon as he left the office, venting his temper by tightening his tie around his neck. An emotion that he gradually suppressed on his way, as if to repay his brother's generosity. He paused for a moment only to nod to Sergeant Drill, who waved back absentmindedly before he headed into the study.

Leaving the front door, Heinz turned by opening a hidden door in the wall to walk along a corridor that led him to a flight of stairs to go down to the lower floor, where his apartment was located. His home was much smaller in size than his brother's, differing only in the arrangement of the living and dining areas, reversed from the previous house, and the color of the dark purple walls, although it maintained the refined design style. He crossed the living room composed of an imposing bookcase emptied of most of its volumes.

With a sigh to keep from thoughts of him, he placed his new bag on the sliding chair to arrange the last documents and personal tools he would need. Despite the attempt to control himself, his hands began to tremble uneasily, making him loosen his grip on some files and increasing the persistent agitation. Conflict shifted more to his purpose.

The inventor puffed out his chest as if to recover, while his mind brought him back to the presentation he had made about half an hour earlier and how demoralized he was at having collected another failure for one of his creations and the figure he had made in front of his colleagues. Probably, that wasn't the best omen for a researcher of his caliber before his important departure. Yet he expected nothing but that. He had hoped, at least for that one time, even though he was aware that he wouldn't have made up for everything else. But even in the unlikely scenario that he won the approval of the Oligarchs, he would still find himself there, absentmindedly packing papers into his new bag, about to step out of his city and face the outside world alone for the first time, carrying behind all the pitfalls of the case. Not to mention the responsibility he had not only for the Oligarchs but the welfare and protection of the Tri-State Area.

"I’m sorry…"

He used to say it so often that he didn't even notice it, as if that faint whisper slipped undisturbed from the tip of his tongue, ready for his next passive call. But it was no use. He tried, but the problem wasn't his non-existent disinterest in his family, the Oligarchs, the future of his country, or the failures of his jobs, it was…

Heinz stopped his train of thought abruptly as he realized he had packed his new bag, stopping to observe it and the joy he had felt when his brother had given it to him re-emerged, snatching a slight trembling smile from him. He had to keep in mind the promise he had made to Roger, who arranged for him and the Research Group protection and material to be able to work and he wouldn’t have allowed himself to hinder his work and that of his collaborators. It was his job after all and he wasn't going to fail. Not anymore.

The brown-haired man closed his bag to head for the door with his stomach churning but his spirits slightly relieved. At least until his mind started to think relentlessly until it led him to other less optimistic thoughts, those that constantly occupied his head. He stopped at the door to take a last look at his home while he was putting on a heavy black overcoat, observing it just enough to bring out the ferment and restlessness in his soul, blocking them before they overtook him again. But as soon as the door opened, he froze petrified at the sight of a figure standing inside the elevator, evidently waiting for his arrival.

It was a woman about his age, dressed in a long dark blue dress and a black coat that covered her shoulders. A pearl necklace around her neck adorned her neck matching her earrings. Short brown hair and purple glasses were where you could see the blue eyes that diligently scrutinized the man more and more in awe.

In a moment of quick acceptance, he swallowed a lump in his throat before nodding to the lady.

“Charlene.”

“Heinz.” The woman replied with a pleased grin. "I thought I'd drive you to the station."

“I-I don’t need it, Charlene, I'll use the stairs.”

Charlene let out a mocking noise.

“Do you still insist on using them at the cost of getting another heart attack? We're still on the 29th floor here. If I were you, I’d avoid arriving at the station in pitiful conditions, at least physically. How would you even reach it? Still on foot?”

With a painful and long resigned sigh, the man entered the lift shaft and pressed a button that brought the two to a long corridor that led to a large exit door guarded by two Moderators who, as soon as they were joined by the two Oligarchs, led their way outward.

The sky was covered by a blanket of dark clouds moved by a brisk icy wind that carried small snowflakes, barely surmounting the noises of the metropolis separated from the gate towards which they were moving. They walked to a garage where Charlene asked for her car which arrived with the driver who opened the door to the two and gave the signal to the lookouts, they opened the gate, letting the car go out at a moderate speed from the building where the Oligarchs lived to get onto Danville central street.

Heinz gazed out at the streets of the metropolis as the cleaning staff took care of removing the decorations and lights of the long-gone holiday season while the inhabitants walked quickly but diligently along the sidewalks. To capture his gaze for those few seconds, were many citizens who requested assistance from the Moderators for the malfunction of their cars, or of machinery in shops or residential buildings, the structures most affected. He swallowed hard trying to keep his trembling hands clasped on his knees.

Keeping as much distance as possible between the seats that divided the two passengers, Doofenshmirtz decided to break the silence that was unbearable for him with a risky question.

"H-how is she?"

Charlene let out an irritated sigh as if she expected such a question.

“You’re not supposed to care about it, Heinz.”

He gritted her teeth so much that he bit his tongue, giving the woman an exasperated look.

"Charlene, please."

That flicker of firmness, so rare for him, barely touched the woman, who raised her eyebrows in response.

"She's fine."

Impatient with the vague and annoyed answer, he went against his normal attitude to vent out his concern.

“Who is watching her?”

The question made the woman’s composure waver, and she glared at him with a livid look.

“Do you have to torment me all the time with these interrogations?”

“If you’d give me more details I surely wouldn’t. Charlene, I haven't heard a single thing about her in three months, please.”

“And it would be better if you’d leave it behind and think about doing your job well instead of exhausting me with these pathetic antics every time we see each other. If you only cared one iota about your position, you wouldn't find yourself in this situation. It's already a miracle if you arrive at the end of the day with that damned tie intact.”

The man ran his hands over his eyes irritably, containing a faint moan.

“Not again Charlene, please.”

“Again? Are you serious Heinz?”

“Please Charlene, I already told you. It's over. I'm sorry b-but I can't go back to how we were before."

The woman straightened up to face the man bent forward on his knees more forcefully.

“You’re a dolt. How do you think you can stay in that treacherous city on the opposite side of the country? You can barely go to conferences or parties without making a fool of yourself.”

Unable to face her, Doofenshmirtz swallowed a lump in his throat, venting his frustration on his already crumpled tie, his eyes fixed on the ground.

“I-I just have to do m-my job in another place. I can handle it."

Charlene let out a sour chuckle before replying sardonically.

"Sure. Collecting failures like this morning and wasting our resources and the time of those who will have to watch over you, and that won't be Roger anymore. Not even children are this unmanageable. Come on Heinz, it's all about getting back together and making another heir-!”

“There’s not and won’t be any other heir!”

The car suddenly fell into silence almost as heavy as the lungs that gathered to feel that oppressive air. Heinz faced the speechless woman, his heart pounding in his chest as he felt an unbearable burning, the lips held by his trembling hands as the realization forced him to zoom out on his seat. The wet forehead and sunken eyes fixed on a point in front of him lost in a more heartfelt familiar torment. The new bag held on his knees suddenly seemed like an uncontainable boulder, giving rise to a sense of guilt that gave him no peace.

Charlene briefly observed the inventor intent on regaining control by emitting a series of raspy breaths, before hardening her resigned gaze, recomposing his posture, and assuming an impassive gaze.

“If Roger has to endure such an attitude on a daily basis, it's no surprise he assigned you that wretched city” Taking a deep breath, she continued “Anyway, do whatever you want, if you believe you're capable of tackling such a mission, go ahead. Our country and daughter's future is all on your shoulders and Roger won't give you any help this time around.”

Hearing the mention of his daughter, his breath caught in a sudden catch, releasing his mouth from his own grip to gaze in astonishment at Charlene's profile, composed and unperturbed beside him, shaken only by the car as it was rounding a tight curve. He licked his dry lips and straightened his crumpled tie to struggle back to his seat with a determined if heartbroken look.

“I’ve made a promise to him too, Charlene. I’ll devote all of myself to the rehabilitation of our country.”

“I hope so, Heinz.”

The rest of the journey continued in a tense silence which, fortunately, or not, lasted at least ten more minutes before the car reached the edge of town, set up in front of the impressive station entrance, where he recognized several of his colleagues, Moderators, and railway porter, who were carrying the last of the crates and luggage.

Taking a sigh cut off by the heaviness he felt in his chest, Doofenshmirtz adjusted his crumpled tie as best he could and got out of the car without the driver opening the door for him as he did for Charlene, who passed over him just to give him a bumped look.

“Have a good trip, Heinz. We'll see each other sooner than you think.”

Without giving him time to thank her for accompanying him, the woman walked briskly towards the station followed closely by the driver, as if he wanted to get rid of him as soon as he was there. Not that he was surprised about it. Many of his colleagues were accustomed to doing so. He bitterly savored the cold air that pierced his lungs, his chest continuing to swell beyond measure as he surveyed the surroundings of the car-filled parking lot, the station entrance waiting with a clock showing 9:36.

Realizing that it would not have been smart to immerse himself in his train of thoughts at that moment, he used his growing anxiety as a push that helped him to cross the entrance with an uncertain step to finding himself inside the large station made up of three six tracks. The place was crowded with people, many were ordinary citizens who arrived there probably driven by curiosity, but kept at a distance by the Oligarchs and the forces of order by the Moderators themselves.

Doofenshmirtz stood for a moment at the corner of the door, banging his back against the jamb stricken with a surge of oppression at the sight of so many people. The slitted eyes darted from side to side. Has anyone seen him? Were they watching him? What if they asked him something?

“Heinz! Still going through another crisis?”

The man’s gaze moved to find a group of scientists passing by while slightly laughing at the comment of Mittington Random, a handsome black-haired man well dressed with a pair of glasses, who didn’t try to hide the inner disdain of that sentence, most likely for that morning’s presentation other than the rest. 

He squeezed the strap of his bag, fighting against his trembling, and with a preparatory breath, he entered the fray of people with his head down and his back hunched, intent on reaching the rendezvous point as soon as possible. In just over a minute, he reached the top of the second platform, looking up to see the grandeur of the 450-foot-long, single-deck, glossy black six-car train.

Avoiding the commotion as best he could, Heinz passed the first three carriages, each reserved for the three Research Groups, where the luggage and equipment of the passengers were contained. Arriving at the third carriage, he stopped astounded at the sight of Moderators who were loading closed crates, but who were emitting high-pitched shouts. He recognized a dog, but could not identify the others. Hesitantly walking past the loads, a loud scream sent him sideways in terror and collided with a scientist who created a chain reaction to three other colleagues.

Heinz, still shaken by the loud noise, turned to face his colleagues in deep regret.

“S-sorry Professor Bannister, a-are you all alright?”

The man of short stature but with hair that resembled broccoli looked at him angrily before getting back to his feet followed by his colleagues.

“What the heck Heinz! Can't you even walk properly? Go to your own group and stay there.”

And with that, the man returned with a contemptuous shrug from the other scientists to unpack. Doofenshmirtz stood still for a moment, feeling the guilt resurface, pinning him bitterly to the spot in the midst of all the confusion.

“Dr. Doofenshmirtz?”

A young high-pitched voice jolted him back to reality, turning to lower his gaze towards a young man with dark red curly hair gathered on either side of his head, a freckled face where two large violet glasses stood out. He was dressed in a blue coat with a lab shirt and light gray pants underneath.

Recognizing the young man, Heinz cleared his throat and adjusted his tie while awkwardly holding back a nervous smile.

“Ah g-good morning Carl! A-Am I getting in your way?”

The young man, with an expression that contained agitation, shook his head.

“No, don't worry, this departure is already enough to create unwanted nervousness,” he said calmly as he walked toward the binary “they assigned us the first carriage, right?”

With a moment's delay from the boy's sudden arrival, Doofenshmirz sprinted to join his side, keeping a good distance.

“Y-yes indeed, I was going there too to… you know, waiting.”

Carl replied with a slight nod and together they reached their destination, where they found the rest of their collaborators.

A man with an impassive gaze masked in black, the only color of his clothing under a dark gray jacket, was immersed in the construction of a small machine that barely occupied the palm of his hand. Further on, another raven-haired young boy dressed in a lab coat under the jacket read aloud the list in his hands to a man intent on examining the remaining load with rigorous attention. He was slim and tall, also thanks to his thick hair with multiple shades of dull red like his thick mustache and eyebrows, dressed in a formal suit with a pale green jacket and black trousers combined with dark brown boots.

“…and the polymers have all been subdivided according to their deformation properties. However, I have not yet been provided with data on the materials in the new location.”

“They were provided to me Rodrigo, don't worry. There we’ll mostly use the resources provided by the city, otherwise, this whole mobilization would be useless…”

The man commented acidly to the boy who replied with an energetic nod of understanding and an admiring gaze.

“Of course, that's what I say too!”

After a moment of hesitation, Doofenshmirtz raised a shaking hand in greeting.

“Good morning, Doctor Bloodpudding.”

The man's attention was shifted to the two who had just arrived, turning a cold glance to the one who called him.

“Well met, Heinz. I’m impressed to see that you’ve already archived the files of the invention you presented this morning.”

Heinz's face went white in the blink of an eye and while taming the aggravated breath, he tried to reply.

“D-darn I forgot it! I-I can go back there and make it fast, s-sorry I wanted arrive a-as soon as possible to n-not waste time a-!”

“You have already done it with your presentation, you could at least finish your job. Luckily, I took care of it. May this be the only annoyance you’ll give me for the months we’ll work together.”

The shortened breath stopped to make room for the weight that assailed his chest. He shamefully lowered his gaze to the ground and straightened his wrinkled tie, avoiding the obviously ashamed looks of his companions.

“Y-yes, I-I’m sorry. I-it won’t happen again.”

To break the tension of that conversation, Carl, brought attention to the cars at the end of the train.

“Will animals be used for our research?”

He asked with a hint of hesitation in his voice. Bloodpudding looked over and answered by lifting his chin haughtily.

“For our sake, no. Those are needed for the plague that afflicts the city where we are going to reside.”

“Gosh, I haven't gotten to see any animals yet.”

Rodrigo commented in curious amazement. Heinz swallowed coldly as if he were reliving a bad memory.

“I-I hope you won’t have to work with any of those anytime soon.”

The attention of those present, including the masked man, turned to the boxes in the distance at the end of the train. He was the one who asked the question.

“Is it dangerous up to this point?”

After a moment of silence, the men now focused on Bloodpudding’s words that, with a displeased sight, replied.

“I personally think they’re giving him too much credit. But, considering how he's been terrifying that city for two months now, it’s better to catch him as soon as possible. Sergeant Drill requested those, along with new specific equipment for him and the animal he carries with him.”

Bloodpudding explained, letting out a particularly annoyed tone in the last sentence before continuing. 

“In any case, this is not something that interests us. That job will focus solely on the shoulders of the Moderators, the maximum of our contribution will be to provide them with other devices, but it counts in a timely capture of those two beings.”

A loud thud behind them convinced the group to turn around to see a woman of a certain age with white hair gathered in a bun and the station master's uniform who approached them with a determined step.

“Good morning, gentlemen. I invite you to bring on the latest stuff, we'll be departing shortly.”

The warning was met with mild excitement, except for Heinz who felt a spitting sensation that he masked better than expected. Doctor Bloodpudding turned to offer the woman a courteous bow.

“Thank you, Miss Wilkins.” He then turned sternly towards his collaborators.

“Come on fellows, let's get ready. Professor Mystery, stop fiddling with that thing and check the controls of the train with Miss Wilkins. Rodrigo, send these crates to our carriage. Carl, go with him and Heinz…”

There was a moment's pause, where Doofenshmirtz barely contained the agitation manifested mostly by the intense shaking of his arms. Doctor Bloodpudding folded his hands behind his back to emphasize his rigor.

“Wait for us here. Possibly without ruining your composure or at least your tie any further. I'll take charge of calling our group of Moderators and warning them of the imminent departure.”

As soon as he finished, everyone got ready to do what they had been told, including Heinz. He stood for a moment in the center of the platform before stepping aside so as not to get in the way of the others. He tightened the new bag over his shoulder and let his gaze wander among the people in turmoil darting from one side to the other for the latest checks, while he tried not to let himself be influenced too much by the loud noises that muffled his ears or be a disturbance to anyone nearby. 

Glancing to his left, he could make out the silhouette of Roger flanked by Sergeant Drill, with whom he spoke more excitedly than he had ever seen him speak to anyone but himself. Beside him, were Colonel Contraction and Dr. Rodney, who began to give indications to each one of their sectors. As soon as the President spotted his brother, he dismissed the sergeant and joined him with a diligent look on his face.

“Ready, Heinz?”

In response, the man let out a flustered smile and nodded vigorously.

“Y-yes, yes I am, Roger.”

He said as he just held the bag in his trembling hands. Observing him dejectedly, Roger sighed and after a fleeting glance from both sides of the track, he placed his hand on his brother's quivering fist and convinced him to look into his eyes.

“Manner, Heinz. Do what is required of you and everything will be fine. Focus on the research and machinery you can create and you’ll make it through. In case you’d need, contact me anytime you have the necessity, alright?”

Hearing his brother's strangely more encouraging words than he had ever heard before gave him a rare sense of security. He was meager against the mounting anxiety but strong enough to calm him and give a grateful nod to his brother.

“Y-yes, thanks Roger. I won't let you down.”

The President seemed to calm down, keeping the same still keeping his air controlled. After a while, he let go of his brother's hand, swelling his chest.

“Wait at the train door, your colleagues will join you shortly.”

Heinz obeyed immediately and in a short time, his companions, Moderators and all the people who occupied the platform positioned themselves with their backs against the train and their gazes turned to the three leaders. The President, adjusting his sleeve, stretched his arms over his head and spoke loudly to be heard even by the citizens and the Oligarchs at the station.

“Inventors and soldiers that are about to go, may this departure, coinciding with the new year, give you the right push to demonstrate the maximum of your potential for us and for your country, which places, now more than ever, its utmost trust in us. Your work is your value, and it's what the Tri-State Area needs to regain the greatness we deserve. Have a good journey.”

At the end of the speech, the people on the platform prepared to board the train with composure. Heinz stood for a moment looking at his brother, waiting for any sign as he clutched his bag. Roger met his trembling eyes and, without moving from where he was, gestured for him to go. He felt his stomach churn as if a blender itself was whirling its meager breakfast of rusk and coffee at full speed. The inventor backed away carefully, feeling those last few footsteps on the platform go slow, endless until he got into the carriage at last.

A loud whistle forced him to cover his ears as he felt under his feet the train vibrating, as it slowly moved forward to pick up more and more speed. Heinz didn't take his eyes off Roger for even a second, even when he soon lost him from sight. The train fastly passed the stretch where the villas were located outside Danville, spotting the other confining cities in the distance. Then a stretch of leveled land covered with a patina of white snow, while he continued to observe the size of Danville rapidly shrinking until a curve made them enter a tunnel and definitively lose the view of his metropolis.

The annoyance of plugged ears finally forced him to take a seat in the dark green carriage, advancing cautiously in the corridor to try to locate an empty seat. The first two places were composed of two purple seats and the other four facing each other just behind them were occupied by Sergeant Drill and the rest of the Moderators, who barely gave him a fleeting glance. Passing them, he found his assistants on the right except for Mrs. Wilkins, who was in charge of the train. So he took the window seat alone on the opposite side, letting the tumult of repressed emotions find peace and improve on that day's travel.

The lights barely illuminated the space around, slightly heated by the low voices of the passengers who were conversing animatedly about their next assignments and the prospects for the months that would follow. Discourses that were feeding the thoughts of Doofenshmirtz who, at the corner of the carriage, observed in a tense silence the darkness of the tunnel outside, whose presence was felt only by the movement of the train. As soon as they got out, he finally got rid of the muffled ears and admired an expanse of desolate and arid white fields extending for kilometers away, offering an empty and gray landscape.

In the hours that followed, Heinz did not take his eyes off those sleazy lands in wait for the restricted inhabited zones, recognizing in them a feeling of affinity on which hope and expectations for the future of his country rested.

Chapter Text

The blanket of dark clouds that carpeted the sky seemed to have persisted from the previous night, distinguishable only by the faint sunlight that barely filtered through. The center of Coat Side City, composed of high, yet modest residential buildings, work centers, and refreshment areas with a degrading appearance, was immersed in an industrious quiet occupied by citizens, dedicated to silently carrying out their duty from the first light of that first day of the year. The snow was falling heavily on the streets, currently populated only by the Moderators' patrols on the sidewalks and by motorbikes, the trucks, and by the cold that numbed the tense and silent air.

After the whole morning was spent incessantly at work, the loudspeakers placed in strategic corners of the city began to play, echoing in every street at a regular rhythm, similar to an alarm siren, to announce the lunch break. As if following a pre-established path, the workers left the buildings and factories with apathetic expressions to head to the canteens or small shops in the center to eat. Meanwhile, the Moderators, as if the sound of the siren had triggered a unanimous sense of alert, concentrated the patrol right around the refreshment places, advancing at a vigilant pace in the crowd, more cautious than usual.

The only individual deliberately dissociated from that uniform mass of inert citizens, and above all from the alert guards looking for him, was sitting at the top of a building. Numb from the cold, he clutched his elbows as a source of comfort as he motionlessly observed the entrance to one of the largest garment factories in the city, where workers heading towards the city center were leaving in orderly lines. Though shivering from the cold, he didn't look away until all the employees exited the building and the factory doors were sealed. The hooded figure heaved a long sigh, pausing to look at the logo above the door composed of an inclined needle intent on sewing a dark, stylized coat. Reluctantly, he got up on his feet and darted across the roof following the breeze of the icy wind until he took a long leap that landed him on the adjacent building.

He then began to run and jump on the roofs and the edge of the parapets of the buildings, without anything distracting him in his forays, forgetting at times about caution to make room for a feeling of genuine liberating joy, intoxicated by excitement as he jumped on the buildings and factories, watching the streets and the people below him grow smaller than he could ever be in comparison. A smile arose on his lips chapped by the cold, a reflection of the fun in that daring escape, abruptly brought back to reality only due to his clumsy landings and sometimes stumbles caused by the ice, by a jump too pretentious for his capabilities, by shoes decidedly too big for him or to avoid some Moderator on patrol in time.

His raid lasted for a while, until he reached the city center, near the central square, stopping on the roof of the tallest glass building in the area. Crouching slightly on the edge of the roof, he slowly caught his breath in the cold. Thus he began to observe the sidewalks, which filled up with lines composed in the various refreshment centers and with guards on alert, from that height as large as pins. His dark blue eyes darted like eels in that maze of streets filled with people, waiting, with such persistence that it seemed like more than just a reconnaissance of the area. His expression was attentive and curious, his lips slightly pursed due to the cold he was trying to counter, as well as with his crouched position, hiding his hands in the oversized sleeves of his green sea jacket.

At one point, a slight chattering under the hood took his attention away from the road and focused it on a small teal creature that was stroking his wavy red hair with its tangerine beak. The boy reached out to touch the animal's cheek, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Hey pal, sorry for the rush, but we arrived. Don't worry, we'll be fast as lightning despite those blockheads.”

A sudden soft blow to his head made him let out a squeak and a giggle before rephrasing.

“Okay, okay, more careful than fast.”

Noticing in time a Moderator who had just climbed onto a roof a few meters away from them, the boy suddenly ducked to the ground. The animal then emerged from its hood to sit waiting in front of the redhead, whose cheeks had turned nearly as red as his hair, mirroring his growing excitement and strain from the rooftop runs. The boy crouched down on the ground, almost at the creature’s level, to be able to talk to him while looking closely into its brown eyes.

“So Perry, where are we gonna go today? How about one of the canteens?”

Rising his back at the mere name, the animal let out a low growl as he repeatedly thumped his tail on the ground.

“Yeah, too many blockheads over there, the last few times didn't go very well... what about the little woman with the long hair instead?”

He thought about it for a second raising his eyebrows, then let out a short, submissive cry as he pounded the ground again. The red-haired boy squeezed his lower lip thoughtfully with his thumb and forefinger for a few seconds.

“The big eye with the tufts on his face?”

Answered with a shake of the head and a disgusted expression. The boy, therefore, continued to reflect, turning his gaze to the side to identify, located in the middle of one of the largest streets in the center, a shop occupied by a row of three people without any trace of Moderators too close. What attracted his attention were the slightly brighter shape and colors displayed in the window and the sign consisting of a box with an "O" printed on it. With a sly smile, he pointed it out to his companion.

“What if we try that?”

Perry carefully leaned over the roof and as soon as he saw the place, he withdrew together with the boy, grabbing him by the sleeve of his jacket, insistently shaking his head. A reaction that made the boy giggle in amusement.

“Which of the two this time? 'It's too close to City Hall' or 'Naaaaah Phineas, it's too easy'? After all, we're not that wanted.”

The playful response made the animal nervous, which yanked on his sleeve and gave a light stroke with his tail on the left leg, causing a painful squeal to come out in both cases. The red-haired boy looked at him irritably and started rubbing his arm and leg.

“Ouch! Perry! Why? What did I do?!”

Without letting him continue, the animal stood up on his hind legs to reach his shoulder and touch it gently, emitting low submissive chatters, his eyes filled with concern. Phineas read that expression and his nervousness immediately passed, completely giving way to uncertainty as he began to scratch his ear, lightly rubbing one of his bright orange earrings.

“Look, I know you want to be careful, but we didn't eat in a long time and I can tell you're hungry and last night..." he scratched his neck lowering his gaze guiltily "It didn't go very well. But we can make it, there seem to be less guards there, and near the town hall, there’s good food too. Let's just take what we can and then leave right away.”

Perry mulled over what his companion had said for a moment, slowly allowing himself to be persuaded. He nodded in response, insistently petting Phineas' arm with his paw who, having understood what he meant, smiled reassuringly at him.

“I'm fine Perry don't worry,” the animal let out a warning cackle, causing the boy to point out “Aaaaand I won't get hurt. But in case you contain the beatings for the blockheads, okay?”

Slightly reluctant, Perry nodded and let out a low verse. Phineas checked the road again and seeing the way clear, placed a small sphere with irregular shapes on the corner of the roof under the snow, shouldered the backpack, his companion under the arm and took a run before jumping. He ran and leaped across two rooftops, stumbling on the third before reaching the fourth, risking a 32,8-foot leap. The landing was barely cushioned by the huge spring boots, but he stood motionless for a moment to hold back a pained moan from the blow. They immediately crouched under the parapet, both spying on the small chosen shop, and after a while, Phineas let go of the animal, crouched down again, and began to explain the plan in a low voice, supported by drawings he made on the ground in the snow as he narrated.

“Okay, here's the plan: you disable the recording system out back by going through those little doors over the boxes and unplugging the wires. In the meantime, I'll go in and ‘fix it’ while you take what you can and we'll meet in the back alley over there" he said pointing to the right at the end of the block, flanked by the town hall square “I'll you leave the bag so you get as you can and then we meet again to use the teleporter to get away from here.”

Perry listened attentively and finally, after a sigh, nodded extremely reluctantly. Noticing the reluctant expression, Phineas, with a sly smile, playfully pounced on his companion, scratching him vigorously behind the ears, careful to not touch the hairless areas on the neck, and then on the stomach making him cry out like a peal of laughter.

“Come on pal, it’ll be fine, we’re unstoppable! And imagine if we find those special packages like that of the long-bearded man. Or the bars that those blockheads have or even the nice food from the elegant man at the town hall. What if it was…” The child's eyes began to shine with languor and hunger lit up his face in a hopeful smile “... what if it is corn? Whole cobs put in one of those packages that keep the heat and make them soooo good? Could you resist the thought of giving up all of that just because of fear?”

As if recharged by the boy's cuddle and optimism, the little animal lightly tapped its tail on the ground and pulled himself upon his paws with a look as determined as its companion, now radiant on his scarlet face.

“I was sure about it, let's go pal!”

And with that, Phineas extended his arm to let Perry climb over his shoulder to under his hood, adjusted his boots, and backed off to run up the entire building and manage to jump far enough to reach the buildings on the other side of the building. Luckily no one noticed them and landed on the building skidding over the edge at the last second, nearly falling off if not for his quickness in grabbing and the help of his companion.

Recovering from another fall rubbing his shoulder, he reached the edge of the building and making sure the alley was all clear, went down using the water pipes and the emergency staircase to find himself in another narrow alley, crouching behind large stacked crates. Phineas let Perry out, who took up guard, put down his pack, and hurriedly took from his bag a work belt, a spherical object, and ropes, which he distributed in both pockets. Satisfied with the tools he might need, he set about the disguise.

He unbuttoned his jacket and pulled up his extra large faded orange shirt to reveal two pairs of various pieces of metal roughly tied together over some sort of elastic fabric, forming two rectangular blocks on both hips, which started from under the armpits to the pelvis and held tied by two strings on the chest and stomach compressing his upper torso. Under the slabs, placed on both of the kid’s hips, there were attached two small spheres made from different components which gave it an irregular shape. Phineas squeezed them both by pressing hidden buttons and rotated them to activate the invention.

The slabs lengthened, sliding suddenly along the legs until they automatically welded themselves to the slit of the shoes and the spheres welded themselves to the back of a second pair of shoes that he wore under the bigger ones to make it act as fake knees. The child looked under himself, unrolling his tucked-in trousers to cover his rudimentary stilts, and felt them, raising his legs. The slabs lengthened by sliding along the legs until they automatically welded to the crack of the shoes and the spheres landed on the feet’s bridge of a second shoe that he wore, acting as fake knees. The child unrolled the tucked-up trousers going to cover the rudimentary stilts and felt them by raising his legs and making sure he could support the weight and maintain the new height of five feet.

So he proceeded to roll up his sleeves to discover his forearms covered with special leather shields that were too large, rolled up three times with laces so that they wouldn't slip away. Attached to each of these, were two pairs of plates which, once buttons on small bracelet-like devices on the inside of the wrist were pressed, snapped past the hands which, covered by another pair of gloves, controlled the artificial ones culminating on the new fake forearm. Once tested, he adjusted the sleeves, put on a helmet identical to the one worn by the Moderators, fastened it tightly, and covered it with the hood to make the small triangular head appear to have a different and above all larger shape. He concluded the disguise by placing an object similar to a fake brown potato nose made by him and turned to the lookout animal.

The boy then proceeded to raise his sleeves to reveal his forearms covered in special leather shields that were too large, rolled up three times with strings so they wouldn't slip off. Tied to each of these, two pairs of plates which, once the buttons on small bracelet-like devices on the inside of the wrist were pressed, shot past the hands which, covered by another pair of gloves, controlled the artificial ones culminating on the new fakes forearms. Once tested, he adjusted the sleeves, and put on a helmet identical to the one worn by the Moderators, fastening it tightly and covering it with the hood so that the small triangular head looked like a different shape and above all larger, while the jacket changed color to brown dark. He finished the disguise by putting on an object similar to a fake brown potato nose that he had made and turned to the lookout animal.

“Is anyone around?”

Perry scanned the alley closely and gave a loud grunt to give the all-clear. The boy nodded and walked cautiously out of hiding with the backpack. He turned towards the exit of the alley, barely seeing the center of the square and the phlegmatic passers-by. He took a deep breath, pursing his lips and pulling up his collar with both hands as if he wanted to hide as much as possible. At his feet, Perry meekly chattered as he approached in concern, but the boy immediately smiled at him, wrinkling his nose.

“Don't worry Perry I'm fine, I'm just getting ready to do their part.”

Looking into the distance, the animal focused the boy's attention in front of him, making him notice the layout of the square in front of the town hall. That didn’t seem to scratch the soul of the young boy, who shrugged sighing.

“It's probably gonna be another one of their speeches to say how everyone is a moron, that they’re soooo great and know everything, that they need to work harder et cetera et cetera. We make a quick get-and-run so we’ll avoid it, don't worry. Follow me from here, okay?”

The animal hardened his gaze sighing and then nodded. The boy bent over and extended his artificial hand to stroke his friend's head reassuringly.

“Don't worry, I'll be careful. Be safe too, though.”

The sentence seemed to hearten the animal, who smiled affectionately enough to squint. With one last pat, Phineas straightened up walking slowly towards the exit of the alley with bowed head, clenching his fists inside the sleeves of his jacket. Perry watched him until he disappeared, giving him reason to turn away and run crouched towards the chosen shop with the backpack on his shoulders.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, the world seemed to get heavier, influencing his already wavering spirit. He mimicked the movement of the crowd, keeping his eyes on the ground to both avoid the gazes of the patrolling Moderators and to pay attention to the cracks and ice on the sidewalk. He turned the corner onto the central street, giving him enough curiosity to peek over the hood and see the grandeur of the tall buildings so much that the roofs merged with the clouds in the sky, where he was just before observing that street full of people small as pins, now again despite having equipped himself with stilts.

The image of the tiny people made him chuckle slightly, ducking his head just in time to walk past two Moderators. He heaved a sigh of relief and continued on his way until he reached the entrance to the shop. Before entering, he glanced briefly down the side alley, where he saw, crouched behind some crates, his companion nodding at him. Phineas replied in the same way, stamped both feet twice on the ground to clean the soles of his shoes, and entered, immediately stopping at the doorway for the scene that was presented before him. A few steps away, there was a slender, hunched-over woman with her head covered by a worn bandana like her pale green dress who had her back to him. She was arguing with the owner behind the counter, a tall man dressed in a good suit covered by a brown apron, looking annoyed.

“… listen, this is getting ridiculous, if you don't even have the money for the canteens it's obvious that you don't have it for mine or any other place in the area.”

The woman, in a whisper bordering on desperation, held out the back of her right hand on which a square triangle was tattooed. From the internal corners of the plane figure, her rays converged at the center of the triangle where a small red chip stood out embedded in her flesh.

“P-please check again, t-there must be something. Maybe mine or your ID scan isn’t working.”

“They don’t seem to do any malfunction flashes, so I highly doubt that. Now, if you could just get out-!”

Interrupting the rude intervention, the woman threw herself over the counter to desperately cling to the collection of the incredulous owner, seized by an impulse of desperation that reached its peak.

“Wait please, I-I can custom make you a new suit for you to pay you back, anything you wanna, please j-just a small pack, p-please.”

The owner thrust away the woman's hand in disgust and leaned over the counter overlooking the customer’s diminutive figure.

“In my shop, nothing is accepted except for personal earnings. You have nothing? Then you deserve just as much. Now get out or you'll force me to call the Moderators.”

The lady stood silent and trembling on the spot, almost dwarfed by the man's threat. Phineas meanwhile, stuck at the door jamb, felt a strange tingling in his hands and a flame that threatened to flare up in his chest until he finally saw the woman turn around and walk out of the shop with her head bowed and defeated. Then, his body seemed to free itself from an uneasy heaviness, while feeling the beats of his heart starting to burden him more.

The owner sighed irritably and lightly wiped the counter as he tried to compose himself.

“Don't you have any more shops in your area instead of coming here seeking charity?”

Phineas clenched his fists and cleared his throat before responding in a low, hoarse voice to the man.

“They're closed.”

The owner snorted as he turned to pick up a small brown box with faded yellow decorations on the lid.

“Of course, if you wake up at the last minute. I guess you can afford a small pack.”

The boy took a deep breath before slowly approaching the counter.

“Yes please.”

He took back the last word in a whisper, turning up the collar of his jacket under the hood. The man looked at him dazed for a moment before grabbing a kind of scanner reader.

“Don't put your hand on the counter.”

The boy swallowed a lump in his throat, rubbing his real hand covered by the glove. He looked behind the clerk to where there was a side door leading to the back, but that move made the man intolerant.

“Can you move already? I don't want to get dragged to the square.”

With reluctant nervousness, the kid slammed his hand on the counter further irritating the owner, who seemed willing to retort, but let go to scan the customer's hand. However, the tool made no sound and the lights in the shop went out abruptly, setting off the owner another dose of anger which he had to repress through gritted teeth as he shook the scanner and checked its operation from the till.

“Holy patience, of all things…”

“Everything’s fine?”

The boy asked casually, looking behind the livid man.

“What do you think? Out of all the things… now I’ve gotta call the technicians, it’ll cost me a fortune.”

“I'll fix it for you if you want.”

The man stopped suddenly to look in disbelief at the boy who, from under the hood, stared at him again brazenly scratching his earring. This made him let out a mocking snort, leaning forward to overcome the small size of his interlocutor.

“You? And what would be your qualification?”

“Electrician. I arrived recently.”

“Aren't you still too young to be in service already?”

He asked raising a skeptical eyebrow, while the boy crossed his arms over his chest trying to calm the growing heartbeat.

“Well yes, yes I am. But you can let me try and save the bother for the techs.”

He explained the facts much more calmly than he would have expected, noticing the slight change in the owner's expression, who began to reflect pursing his lips and continuing to observe him. Suppressed by those eyes, Phineas swallowed as he lifted his collar and looked to the side with a shrug.

“Of course, if you don't want to I’ll just flee, it's not a problem-!”

“No no, wait a sec, young man,” the man interrupted him with a little grin, “If you think you know how to do it, take a seat, but you'll still have to pay for your lunch, I don't do charity here. And don't you dare tell anyone about your service here.”

“Okay! Where do we go?”

The boy asked energetically, already presenting himself behind the counter and surprising the merchant who, perplexed, led the way to the back of the shop. The two walked down a short corridor past an internal office to a room just a few steps back, where there was a large electrical panel with an open door and broken cables and switches, all lit by a cold ceiling emergency. As soon as he opened the door, the owner jumped in disbelief.

“The heck just happened here?!”

Phineas glanced over his shoulder to see his companion's orange tail disappear behind the door that led to the shop. He fought to hide a chuckle and cleared his throat to compose himself.

“Damn, what a mess.”

“Are you kidding?! Someone must have entered here, but as soon as I catch that scum…” The man started to leave, but Phineas blocked him by putting his hands forward.

“Sure may seem like that, right? But I assure you it's much more likely to be an electrical surge. If there was someone, where are they now? And why sabotage just an electrical switchboard when there would be all those nice packages to get? The important thing is to fix it anyway, right? Don't worry, I’ve got it.”

The kid reassured before unrolling the belt with the tools from his pocket and passing beside the owner to carefully observe the electrical panel. The man first turned to look at the half-open door of his shop, then looked back at the boy who had already started fiddling with the various cables and leaned his shoulder against the door jamb to wait and witness both the client and the shop. Phineas carefully studied the switchboards, lightly touching the tips of his artificial fingers and then confidently fiddling with the cables and cranks, but deliberately slowing down to buy time. He worked for a little without interruption before the owner heaved an exasperated sigh.

“As it wasn’t enough after that pathetic scene of that lout. She’s the fifth person today who comes thinking I’m doing charity or such. There are canteens, if they have nothing to eat then they’re better work harder to earn it. Still, what’s the point? As long as they don't catch that filthy little plague we have to put up with these bums too.”

The boy stopped, undecided on how to answer without showing his disappointment too much, so he bit his lip and shrugged.

“There seems to be good stuff here.”

“Of course, my portions are excellent indeed, but only for those who can afford them, they're not for the first wretches to happen and think they can afford something by making those embarrassing and out-of-place scenes. They’d better realize to make better use of their time instead of getting driven by craving, heck, they’re supposed to know it already. These are hard times for everyone after all. See to work hard too and don't end up like those beggars if you’re already capable of doing these things.”

The boy froze, heaving a sigh to force himself to continue and keep the feelings of that last line to himself.

“Yeah…”

He agreed halfheartedly before picking up a Phillips screwdriver. Phineas stopped to look at it, feeling a faint impetus that pervaded him instantly, making his moist eyes widen slightly.

“Hey uhm… did… did a lady come here recently?”

The owner let out a suppressed snort of derision at once.

“You’re a bit vague, there’re quite a lot of ladies who come here daily.”

The boy squeezed the screwdriver and his lips in a trembling grip, with a lump that he tried to repress by swallowing it hard.

“She has orange hair like the light of a lamp, tied up with a brush and a long red dress, and she… she’s beautiful.”

The boy's hesitation was perceived by the man, who looked at him confused.

“Eh, I don't think so. Why?”

After a long moment of waiting, Phineas recovered and went back to work.

“N-nothing… nothing.”

There was a strange air of confusion over both of them from then on, which continued through the rest of the repairs. The boy continued to fix the missing implant, lost in his thoughts and the question he had asked. Or rather, to the person he had asked for information about, feeling a weight obstructing his chest, his hands trembling. In any case, after a while, he managed to fix the system, restoring the light to the shop and leaving the owner mildly impressed, before he noticed, on the back of his hand, his chip that began to flash at regular rhythms, convincing him to hurry.

“Alright. For the payment, I offer you a check for three dollars which you’ll register in your account, you know the drill-!”

“What?! Where?!”

Exclaimed the child, who took a step back and quickly turned towards the man as if he was ready to attack. the owner, although under the hood, caught the young man's terrified eyes, his face turned pale and his hands raised forward, as if in defense, were trembling slightly. Slowly, realization twisted his immediately scarlet face, over which a wide, nervous smile formed as he began to stumble.

“Oh s-s-sorry, I uh, ya mean d-drill like the tool o-or like… the speech figure or something? I misunderstood, sorry” said while smiling out of jitters before taking back a bit of control “Well yeah, uhm, I’m done here so I’ll just go don’t worry.”

The man took a step backward, terror suddenly taking over his trembling body while pointing to the boy as a sort of curse.

“Y-you… y-you're the-the-the-!”

The man was abruptly interrupted by a strong blow to the head which made him suddenly fall unconscious at the boy's feet. Phineas watched him for a few seconds, pressing his thumb and forefinger to his lower lip with a mixture of surprise and desolation before raising his head and meeting Perry's frowning eyes, still with his tail raised and a critical look. A tense silence for a few seconds.

“It was part of the plan.”

Phineas commented, letting out a thunderous laugh amused, loud enough to keep his hands on his stomach. That reaction annoyed the animal’s eyes, which bit the trousers of the unconscious man to drag him completely into the room. In the meantime, the boy tried to compose himself, his cheeks red again, towering over his freckles.

“You should have seen his face when you hit him. He was like,” he mimicked the expression by sticking his tongue out to the side and crossing his eyes in bewilderment before laughing again as he helped his partner by dragging the man inside. He took the keys from his pocket and the two walked out, closing the door behind them.

“Damn if he was nasty. That face suits him, he's been badmouthing anyone the whole time. I don't understand what differences there are between these shops really, even the goggle was almost like this, but not like-!”

A loud chatter from the animal attracted his attention downwards, where his companion was stuck with his paws firmly on the ground, his head and torso up, revealing all his disappointment. Phineas closed his eyes and smiled nervously and modified.

“Yeah… maybe I could have been a little more careful.”

The animal raised its eyebrows and tail, making the boy immediately rectify as he locked the door.

“Okay, no maybes. Shall you scold me when we leave? Maybe these packs will cool you down a bit?”

Perry continued to stare, this time letting go of his concern. Phineas understood and smiled amusedly.

“I’m alright pal don’t worry. Wanna get a drill yourself?”

Perry couldn't stay angry and rolled his eyes, hiding a fleeting smile before pointing out to the boy his backpack, where he had managed to put one large, one medium, and two small packs, making the child beamed.

“Aaaaaa Perry you’re so amazing, pal!”

He congratulated him by nuzzling the back of his neck and letting out cackle-like noises from his friend.

“Okay, then I'll make the way back outside and we'll meet again where we were before.”

The animal looked at him strangely, pointing to the office door.

“I'd like to see if there are any components that could be useful for other items against the blockheads or our train. I'll hurry, I promise.”

Perry frowned hesitantly but, knowing that he couldn't convince him and softened by those deliberately blackmailing eyes, sighed as he shouldered his backpack, immediately stopped by his companion.

“Easy pal, I'll take it for you. Do you wanna eat something already?”

Receiving a shake of the head, Phineas continued putting the backpack on his shoulders a little more weight.

“Then see you in a bit.”

And with that, the two parted ways again. The boy helped his reluctant companion to reach the vent and returned to the counter, combing the back from top to bottom and finding a few objects, including a pen, papers, a device similar to a thinner walkie-talkie, and a small object on which there were numbers drawn on them. His eyes began to shine and he played with the latest found objects smiling and amused as he studied the shapes and their functioning. After a while, he forced himself to put the last two tools in his backpack, secured the strap by balancing the weight, and took one last large pack into his pocket before heading out with his head bowed and as nonchalantly as possible.

Meanwhile, the stream of people had dwindled and those who remained, including the Moderators, were moving unanimously towards the central square. Phineas swallowed, barely mimicking the phlegmatic steps of the inhabitants, with his head bowed and eyes fixed on the front until they were attracted to the side of the road, in an alley, which blocked him suddenly. A few meters away, crouched on the ground hidden by the garbage cans, he recognized the figure of the woman he had just met in the shop. She was hugging her knees and hiding her face in them, shivering from the cold and what appeared to be sobs and gasps that were forced back.

Phineas felt a tightening in his stomach that reached down to his throat as his eyes inadvertently watered at seeing the woman so frail on the ground. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked both sides of the street before quickly entering the alley and throwing the box he was keeping in his pocket a few meters away from the woman, immediately running away without being discovered. He only glanced briefly to make sure that the lady had noticed it, discovering her voraciously eating the contents of the box, giving him a shy beaming smile.

He, therefore, turned to continue on the path but bumped into a Moderator who glared at him with a harsh gaze.

“Watch it, brat.”

He admonished livid, blocking the child who, fighting the beating in his chest, nodded slightly before overtaking the man with his head down, hoping with all his might that he wouldn't say anything to him. Instead, he heard him follow a few feet behind.

“This way, move.”

The Moderator took him back, preventing him from turning at the crossroads by blocking him with his staff, and invited him to go straight ahead. Perry, hiding in the corner behind some trash, met Phineas' warning eyes as panic began to rise within him. Instinctively, he started to rush towards him, but seeing the Moderator who had guided him had detached himself from the boy, he calmed down a little bit, crouching down and watching his companion with growing anxiety.

Meanwhile, on the steps of the square, two Moderators were taking care of arranging the podium and checking on the citizens. The younger of the two sighed as she adjusted the microphone.

“Don't they need help on patrol?”

The dark-skinned adult with unruly curly hair under the helmet looked at the girl walking past to check on the dozens of people who were slowly filling the square.

“You've already asked me three times Flynn, if you haven't been assigned to patrol you have to wait until the next call, you know that. Why don’t you focus on doing your current duties instead?”

“But I could help. Maybe I could even get the fugitive-!”

The woman jerked her head around, shrinking the girl into her place.

“Have you forgotten your rank, Flynn? You're a rookie, so don't be so pretentious to even think that you could choose your assignments. Learn to stay in your place and follow orders without doing any more stupid things like you did last night, got it?”

The girl pursed her lips shamefully, lowering her gaze before walking towards the end of the staircase to join her colleagues at her attention.

“Yes, sir.”

Once all the citizens and Moderators in the area had occupied the square, a well-dressed couple emerged from the door of the town hall. The man was short and thin with raven hair combed into a low mohawk while the woman, slightly taller, had blonde hair pulled back into a bun. As soon as he saw them, Phineas quickly covered his mouth to hold back a whistle in time.

Once the two stood next to the wooden podium with their heads held high and their eyes impassive to observe the audience, the Moderator gave the go-ahead to three buglers, who began to sing rather bland reasoning that echoed in every corner of the square. At the foot of the staircase, the leader of the Moderators, Lyla Lolliberry, climbed up to occupy the podium, allowing the trumpeters to finish their brief musical introduction. Checking that the microphone was working, the woman arranged the braid of her hair and leaned towards the microphone to begin her speech.

“Greetings to all you citizens and welcome to the meeting at the beginning of the month. Today we’ll present December's overall production results and earnings expectations for January. Before giving the floor to our mayor, I'll provide the news preview of the changes that will take place on our patrols starting tomorrow."

Unable to see the tiny, distant figure of the woman, Phineas cleared his throat, lowering his gaze to the ground as if to restrain himself. Perry, on the other hand, fully concentrated his attention on keeping watch on the little figure of his companion in the crowd.

“As you already know, in the late afternoon, the new Research Group will arrive accompanied by a new pack of Moderators and new resources to deal with the thug who has been terrorizing this city for the past two months.”

The square was filled with concerned buzz, compromising the normal rigid and impassive feeling of their spirit. Meanwhile, the child continued to keep his head down, hidden by the hood. Once the order was restored thanks to the admonition of the Moderators, Lolliberry continued.

“We, therefore, count on being able to finally capture him as soon as possible to avoid further delays or damages. I will leave the command of the operation to a new leader who’ll take care to introduce himself tomorrow. As for the controls, they’ll branch out to every corner of Coat Side City, reaching the suburbs and uninhabited areas too. The penalty for anyone caught in areas without permission or engaging in acts such as theft, vandalism, disturbing of the peace, or breaking curfew will be arrested, and based on the crime, an aggravated sentence will be applied by the new management. I invite all of you to maintain, as is always expected, your composure, discharge your duty with the rigor required, and to meet the needs required by the Tri-State Area. Now, without further ado…”

“We therefore hope to be able to finally capture it as soon as possible to avoid further delays or damage. I will leave the command of the operation to a new leader who will be careful to present himself tomorrow. As for the controls, they will branch out into every corner of Coat Side City until they reach the suburbs and uninhabited areas. With the intensification of controls, the penalty for anyone caught in areas without permission or caught carrying out acts such as theft, vandalism, disturbing the peace, or violating the curfew, the penalty will be arrest, and based on the crime, a penalty will be applied aggravated by the new management. I invite all citizens to maintain, as is always expected, their demeanor and to fulfill their duty with the rigor demanded to meet the needs required by the Tri-State Area. Now, without further ado..."

Time seemed to slow down at that moment as if the world was anxiously concentrating in anticipation of that one moment. Phineas shrugged, hands clamped over his mouth as if to contain an explosion.

“Please don't say that please don't say that…”

Perry got up on his paws in horror, concentrating every strength of his being on pleading eyes at his companion who was suppressing low grunts.

“… I leave the word to our mayor: Khaka Peü Peü.”

Not even a second had passed since the man's announcement that the rigid silence of the square was suddenly interrupted by a thunderous laugh that echoed up to the ears of the citizens from the other end of the square. The Moderators, along with the rest of the people, turned in surprise to identify the source. Phineas was clutching his stomach with both arms, seized with a fit of convulsive laughter with his mouth wide open so that little clouds of heat formed around him. Scarlet cheeks and closed eyes trying to hold back tears.

"S-sorry I-I can't do this, that name is so funny-!"

He couldn't finish the sentence until other bursts of laughter escaped from his chortling lips. Those around him, confused or outraged at first, were soon overcome by a wave of panic that sent them running away in panic.

“IT'S THE LITTLE MONSTER!!”

In the blink of an eye, the whole square was engulfed in general terror. The townspeople screamed and ran wildly everywhere out of the child's reach as if the force of his laughter was driving the adults away from him. The Moderators, immediately ready to dash toward the target, were overwhelmed by the horde of screaming and uncontrolled crowds. Lolliberry darted towards her companions and took a transmitter from her pocket as she made her way through the crowd.

“Casey, Dint, attack him from both sides!”

Two officers, a woman and a man, who had been patrolling around the square shortly before, had enough free space to throw themselves towards the small figure of the boy who was still intent on laughing out loud and wiping the tears from his eyes But they didn't have time to get closer than five meters before Perry had pounced on the man, throwing him at his colleague, before they fell to the ground with a thud. Having given both of them a sudden blow with its tail on their heads to numb them, the animal splashed onto the shoulders of his companion, shaking him quickly while he watched in awe as the rest of the team approached faster through the crowd. Phineas seemed to regain some control and with a brief clearing of his throat and a raucous laugh, he looked at him playfully with tears in his eyes.

“Better than last night, right?”

Perry grew impatient and growled pointing the tip of his beak on the boy's nose who, finally understanding the situation, recovered by giggling nervously.

“Okay okay, I've got this.”

With a small leap, the extensions of his legs slipped on his hips, took off his fake nose, and regained control of the huge shoes, before turning and running straight towards the road from where he came from. Lolliberry frowned and turned to her team, leading them toward the route taken by the fugitive.

“Team two and six; get the motorbikes and the van. Team five with me. Everyone else rounds up the civilians!”

The rookie was about to object, but Lolliberry overtook the group along with four other Moderators and reached the central road, spotting the boy intent on jumping from a parked car to a light pole, ready to reach the roof.

Quick as a splinter, the leader took the chain culminating in a large iron pincer from the belt and hurled it at the fugitive. The grip closed on the boy's backpack, cushioning his fall and forcing him to cling dangerously to the edge of the third-floor window. Quickly, Perry reached over the pack and tried to free it with his paws. Two other Moderators took the same snipping tool, aiming at the animal as the other two Moderators entered the building to reach the still-hanging child. Once he saw the Moderators close to throwing more chains, the boy looked over his shoulder at his mate.

"Hold on Perry!"

Having secured his friend around his neck, Phineas let go and let himself be yanked to the ground, narrowly escaping the Moderators who had meanwhile reached the window. As he fell, he stretched out his artificial arms at his sides to hold onto the chains thrown by the two officers and used the springs of his shoes against the wall. The push was so strong that it left a crack on the building and with such force, it forcefully yanked him and the three moderators to the ground at the other end of the street. The guards fell backward, the pincers detaching from their packs.

In mid-flight, Phineas managed to lean sideways to ping the wall of the building opposite with the springs of his shoes, and dash toward the center of the street. They barely had time to get to their feet the two Moderators, alongside Lolliberry, were immobilized by the pincers on their torsos while the leader was caught up by the boy who made them slide back to the opposite side of the road. Lyla was about to attack him, but the boy took a long rope from his pocket which, as if she had a life of its own, tied the woman to the other two men already immobilized.

The two guards who had climbed into the building arrived quickly on the street only to be greeted by surprise by the child who, once reached them with a jump, activated a device on the ground that caused a strong shock similar to an earthquake. The two Moderators staggered, giving the boy the second he needed to rocket-jump between the two to tie them together with the same kind of rope pinning them to a lamppost.

Phineas released his grip on the rope and staggered at moderate speed against the palace wall, cushioning the blow with his hands. He began to take long, deep breaths to recover, his chest heaving with his heart in an unceasing, nagging pulpit, turning his head to meet his companion's gaze, wrapped around his shoulders and his flustered expression.

“Are you okay, Perry?”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, the animal nodded slowly while regaining consciousness. The answer gave rise to a wide nervous smile that soon turned into an amused laugh as the kid began to hop excitedly on the snowy sidewalk while he enthusiastically mimed what he was saying.

“Damn, what a spectacular fly, it was fantastic! Did you see how we shot from here to there?? And then back again and very fast we took them all in one go, it was amazing!”

The grunts and yells behind made him turn around to see the scene of the tightly bound Moderators wriggling like madmen, causing him to let out more amused chuckles before flashing a toothy grin, showcasing the sharp fangs that had just appeared.

“But you too didn’t do that bad either. Those mega claws are crazy! Perhaps ya shall be more careful when we pounce on you."

The comment seemed to irritate those present, especially Lyla who struggled to her feet to stagger dangerously towards the boy.

"Come back here you little sassy pest!"

Phineas dodged the bound Moderators with a high leap onto the icy sidewalk and landed carefully beside a van. While Perry monitored the angry guards, Phineas smiled at the sight of the immobilized adults from a distance.

“Heyooo Berry! I'm sorry for the speech, but at least you were done before…”

The boy touched his fingertips to his lips holding back an amused laugh, letting out an annoyed grunt from the leader.

“As soon as I get you I swear that-!”

“'I'll let you rot in the reformatory for the rest of your miserable life.'” Phineas chanted in mock monotone as he felt the wheel of the van. “No thanks. You go back there.”

The boy ignored the continuous harassment of the agents disappearing from his view on the opposite side of the van to focus on the wheel. The leader tried to get her knees off the ground and turned her gaze to her companions.

“Manner you all, stop yelling! Mason, Ali, let's get up and retrieve the knife from Ellis or Horton's belt.”

“Sir, where are the reinforcements?”

Asked Officer Ellis tied to the stake, but before she could get an answer, the hum of a transmitter seeking communication echoed muffled under the leader's tied jacket.

“Sir, we’ve got a problem…”

Meanwhile, Phineas concentrated all his attention on the wheel of the van, standing up on tiptoe to be able to barely touch the edge, making him let out a thoughtful moan. On his shoulder, Perry nuzzled his beak to catch his mate's eye, pointing his head to his left. Phineas, moving away from the wheel, took from his tool belt a dirty cloth that covered a black object similar to a bike knob where, from the flattened cone end, he extracted a small laser before answering him thoughtfully.

“We could try to get it, even though it may be a bit too big.”

The animal seemed extremely annoyed and patted the boy's cheek with its paw, who tried to calm it down while he used the laser to quickly melt and cut a piece of the bumper.

“But we need it Perry, it's been a long time since we got one. Of course, a wheel of those super cool bikes would be great, but better than nothing.”

As if to have called them, on the horizon beyond the square where the meeting had been held, a team of six agents in pairs on three motorcycles and a van behind them was driving at high speed towards them. Perry watched with a mixture of fear and excitement as Phineas widened his wild smile as he pulled from his bag a small blue ball and one of the grab strings that he used to tie the detached fender nearly as big as himself onto his back.

“Hold tight on my head, Perry!”

With a nod of understanding, the animal did as he was asked while Phineas drew his leg back as if to prepare and managed to escape in time from the free agents thanks to the leader, darting forward to jump recklessly from side to side of the road approaching the bikers like an arrow whipping in the freezing wind. The agents sitting behind the drivers immediately aimed particular guns, firing four shots at the target, which protected itself by using the piece of iron behind it as a shield and dodging them from its swift flashes.

The boy landed in one of his innumerable jumps, ready to charge again against the motorbikes now a few meters away from him, and broke the blue sphere by surprise on the ground. From this, a high and dense blanket of mist poured out and spread on both sides of the great road as if driven by a strong wind coming from the same ball. The vehicles were forced to brake suddenly to look around in alarm with the rest of the team, where a tense silence fell, muffled only by the wind. Soon, Lolliberry's timely orders were added.

“Scatter and find him! Those who are driving vehicles remain on guard!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a shriek accompanied by a series of verses echoed in the air, alarming the Moderators who followed the source of the noise in bewilderment. After two thumps, the roar of an engine pulling away from the thing in the line alerted the rest of the Moderators.

“It took a motorcycle!”

“He’s returning to the square. Go, follow him!”

The leader commanded abruptly, followed with difficulty by her companions disoriented by the fog. Meanwhile, Phineas, standing on the seat of the motorcycle as big for him as a dog on a horse would be, was holding the handlebars with his artificial arms trying to control it to the best of his ability. Perry, from under the hood, pointed the direction with his beak, keeping his paw on the tip of the boy's pointed nose.

“Thanks, Perry, let's take the wheel and leave right now-!”

Out of the blanket of fog as soon as he reached the square, Phineas saw in the distance a guerrilla war between a dozen Moderators and people with covered faces near the town hall. These seemed extremely aggressive and although some were immobilized, they continued to struggle violently, as if possessed by an uncontrolled force.

The boy watched the scene in astonishment, recovering thanks to Perry who shook his head to look behind him. Almost one hundred feet away down the road, he saw the group that had been scattered earlier on the bikes and the van coming out of the artificial fog. With a snort, Phineas looked back at the road in front of him, zigzagging to dodge the few shots from the agents who were approaching him, protected in any case by the metal plate stolen shortly before. After a moment's reflection, he raised his eyebrows sharply and turned to his companion.

“Perry, pack the giant claw and magnet, let's take this beauty for a ride.”

The animal nodded and, leaning on Phineas' shoulders, took from his backpack a little magnet and a slab composed of rough pieces of metal roughly disassembled and welded together, held by two leather straps. Perry handed the tool to the boy who, when he took it, turned his head in alert.

“Be careful, if there’re any problems, let it out without overdoing it.”

Phineas took an abrupt turn reversing him directly into the clashes between Moderators and civilians, catching his pursuers by surprise. Free for the moment from the attacks of the latter, the boy took care of welding one of the two straps of the device around the handlebar. Meanwhile, the wranglers dodged to let it pass, which interrupted the fights. Some of the Moderators tried to stop it with the grab hooks, but the animal positioned himself on the passenger seat and kicked them away with his tail accompanied by intimidating growls, as if to let off steam with each blow. Nearing the City Hall finished welding the handlebars, Phineas got up.

“Hold tight Perry!”

The animal immediately carried out the order and the boy swerved suddenly causing the bike to turn around to dart shakily towards the blanket of fog that was already thinning from the wind while his companion was back on his shoulders. The Moderators on the vehicles got ready to follow him, shortening the distance with the fugitive in a short time. Phineas turned to see them beyond the metal slab now a few meters from him, so he smiled pleased, and applied the magnet to the handlebars of the bike.

“Let's see how you follow us now.”

He scoffed mockingly before pressing a button, ducking aside, and springing a prehensile claw twice as large as those of the Moderators who, taken aback, ducked to dodge it, touching their helmets perilously. A few seconds later, the motorcycle driven by the boy crashed toward them, forcing them to get off their bikes and pin the van. Everyone turned astonished upwards where they saw, at least 200 feet high, the motorbike darting without problems along the wall of the buildings with the hook that supported it and guiding it towards the corner of a building located beyond the square. The boy, sitting leaning on the side of the seat, was keeping his artificial arms on the handlebars as he quickly moved away from the group. He turned to enjoy the incredulous face of the guards with his companion on his shoulders, eliciting an amused laugh from him.

“Try to catch us now, you blockheads!”

He squealed triumphantly and then gave them a blowing raspberry, making the animal laugh convulsively on his shoulders. Lolliberry turned livid and hastily turned to her soldiers.

“Follow him! Hit him before he turns the corner!”

The Moderators rearranged themselves and got back on their saddles to follow from the road the path traced by the child on the buildings, now close to the bend. Phineas meanwhile was preparing to turn with one hand ready on the magnet.

“Hold on Perry, we're going to have a flight.”

The animal was about to answer him with his trusting chatter, but a loud blow followed by a bang made the two fall backward and they grabbed the lid of the tank in time to avoid slipping. They turned to see the burst wheel dangerously scraping the walls and windows of the buildings, leaving its mark and diverting the rear of the vehicle toward the ground.

Phineas, stripped of the shield that had loosened from the blow and fell under his backpack, resumed the controls of the bike and with a roar increased speed, getting closer and closer to the fixed hook at the corner of the building, clinging to the petrol can to avoid slipping, along his partner under the arm. He turned in time to see an officer firing a gun at them and instinctively the boy hid the animal in his chest and raised his left arm to protect him from the blow. The bullet hit his forearm causing him to emit a short squeal of pain which he held back so as not to lose control of the guide, but caused him to lose his artificial arm.

Finally reaching the end of the line on the top of the building overlooking an intersection, he deactivated the magnet and jumped over the lights of the motorbike which detached itself from the wall swinging dangerously forward. Before oscillating back, Phineas placed Perry safely on the lights and took the laser device from his pocket to sever the vehicle in one swift stroke, saving only the part that went from the handlebar to the still intact front wheel and hurling the remainder against the groups of Moderators. They dodged in time and the severed engine skidded along the icy road until it reached the square, where the remaining Moderators and rebels stopped to observe what had happened.

A few feet below the parapet hung what was left of the severed bike dangling from the handlebars where Perry clung, shaken and his petrified eyes fixed on Phineas, who had one hand wrapped around one of the spokes of the wheel. He gasped for breath, keeping the shock and pain at bay in his left arm which dangled helplessly like the motorcycle and the shield placed behind his boot, unable to move it due to the side effects of the bullet. He took several breaths with his heart pounding in his throat and making sure that his companion was not injured. He dared to lower his eyes to the ground to find the entire squad of Moderators who had been chasing him up to that moment at the feet of the building with all a mad look aimed at holding back to the best of one's ability. In the center, there was Lolliberry, with an expression mixed between anger and satisfaction.

Seized by a sudden convulsion, perhaps due to adrenaline, embarrassment, or both, Phineas let out a nervous laugh, holding on to the wheel of the bike as best as he could with one hand and trying to move the other helplessly.

“Heyyyyy nice ride guys. I bet patrols are more fun when we're around, huh?”

Lollyberry let out a teasing snort before replying.

"I think the best term is 'eventful', but I don't think that's worth talking about now."

From the handlebars, Perry leaped to his feet and began to let out a menacing growl revealing a pair of fangs similar to his mate while reaching out to him, but the leader of the Moderators drew a pistol and pointed it at the boy, petrifying the animal.

“Tell your little beast to do nothing or I'll paralyze you completely.”

“He is not a beast, besides, he perfectly understands you. Better than all of you combined.”

Phineas mocked as if he were stating the obvious. Lolliberry didn't seem to listen to him and turned to her men.

“Leslie, Wyatt, Bates go get him. Mintz and Cross, get your handcuffs ready.”

The Moderators carried out the orders while the others remained stationary to check on the boy, who had become pale from holding back his growing anxiety. He looked up to meet Perry's horrified, concerned gaze for him. The boy reassured him with a faint smile.

“Don't worry pal, I'm fine. It's not that bad.”

He lay before groaning through gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on the wheel, straining his paralyzed arm and swinging his feet backward to make sure the shield was still there. He immediately heard the sound of the trigger, which convinced him to look toward Lyla, who warned him not only with the gun but also with a stern look.

“Don't be stupid, Flynn. Believe me, this is for the best, because from this night on, things would have gotten really, really bad for you.”

The threat silenced the red-haired boy, making him purse his lips and harden his gaze. Discreetly, he caught his companion's gaze, blinked twice, and gripped his hand tightly on the spoke of the wheel. Perry blinked the same way and gripped the handlebars. Phineas looked back at Lolliberry and gave her a mocking smile, showing his fangs as he pinned his legs back.

"Sorry, but we have more important things to do, so..." With lightning speed, he kicked the piece of metal straight into Lollyberry forcing her to recoil, giving him a second to dangle his feet against the wall and use his shoes to propel the motorbike held by the hook still firm to the parapet and dodge the Moderators rushed to take him. During the short flight, Phineas sardonically greeted those present. “Byeeeeeee!”

The severed motorbike landed over the roof together with the two fugitives, making Lolliberry nervous and yelling orders to the soldiers on the ground and to the transmitter.

“Get him on the roof, move! Team two, follow him from the ground!”

Shaken from the flight but aware of the urgency, Phineas scrambled to his feet and used the laser to cut the front suspension from the wheel before his invention stopped working altogether. Meanwhile, Perry had run towards the boy worried about his damaged arm.

“We'll think about it later, hurry jump up, let's go away.”

Said the boy, tying the wheel bigger than him on top of his backpack with one of his gripping ropes. A bang behind them coming from the door of the apartment building convinced the animal to jump onto the shoulders of its companion who began to run just when the three Moderators broke down the door and quickly chased after the boy who, just before being reached, jumped up to reach the building next door. Some officers took the guns and hooks aiming while others tried to run over the roofs to capture the child who, even if slowed down by the wheel, managed to escape to the tops of the tallest buildings until he reached the tallest glass building in the area, disappearing.

Even when the second group on the ground caught up with him, he had already vanished without a trace even in the snow, leaving the Moderators with the damage from the chase left to the construction workers, and anger hidden in their eyes.

Lolliberry returned to the Town Hall, making sure of the arrest of the insubordinate and the resumption of control of the citizens gathered in the square for investigations. While she was busy giving directives to the Moderators, many sending them in search of the boy, she was summoned to the City Hall gates by Mayor Khaka Peü Peü, who received her with an expression full of disappointment.

“I guess you didn't get it again.”

With a dejected sigh, the woman lifted her controlled posture almost as much as her patience.

“Negative Sir. I'm sorry it happened before your speech.”

“Oh, why thank you very much, Lolliberry! As if this was the first time that little plague had stirred up the citizens, destroyed the center, and, above all, made me look like a fool in front of the whole square with its ridiculous taunt! And you're supposed to be one of the top agents at the Correctional Institute? I hope Sergeant Drill makes up for your total ineptitude!”

At the mayor's side, her companion with her hair pulled back assumed an annoyed expression, she took her husband by the arm and escorted him inside the Town Hall in a disparaging manner.

"Come on dear, please have some manner, let them at least take care of restoring some order among those louts."

"But dear, and the presentation for the beginning of the year?"

She asked the man confused before being poorly yanked by his wife.

“It's too late now, we need to resume work activities. Plus, we're busy today, you still need to buy me the new chairs for the living room you promised me."

With a discouraged sigh, the man entered the building, letting his partner enter first and then closing the door behind him.

"Yes, dear."

The leader of the Moderators remained motionless in her place, frozen, clenching her fists with eyes filled with an anger that at that juncture she could freely express, furiously gritting her teeth.

“Stupid kid…”

She whispered, in a mixture of bitter resentment and commiseration, which she didn't let continue anyway. So, after a moment's pause, she took a deep breath to compose himself and marched head-on towards the center of the square, where he gathered the entire squad of Moderators to issue the next orders.

“The first three squadrons go and patrol the area. Group ten, you come with me. The others return to their positions. By 5:45 p.m. I expect the first five groups punctual at the station. That's all, dismissed.”

With this, the troops dispersed except for four Moderators, including the rookie who, as if impatiently waiting for the leader to finish speaking, turned to her, drawing in a breath to inflate her chest.

“Sir, retracing the route taken by the fugitive, I’ve retrieved these objects.”

Lolliberry walked over to see a box with sentient strings taped inside, the severed bumper, the artificial arm, a telephone, the bigger grasping claw, the laser, and some food packages decorated with an "O" logo on them. The leader took one of the boxes and studied it warily.

“Ozzy's… there's one right up this street.”

One of the taller and more robust agents intervened in the speech.

“Yes Sir, we went there to check and found the owner locked up in a back room.”

"Have you taken him to the Station yet for examination?"

“Yes Sir, we took him into custody along with all the rebels.”

“Good, then let's go there and then go back to the tasks assigned up to tonight. Move."

With this, Lolliberry led the group to two vans: one containing the arrested persons where Lolliberry and another colleague drove, the other empty, where the rest of the Moderators boarded. On the rear seats, placed on the sides of the car, the recruit sat near the driver's seat, placing the box with the objects recovered from the chase at his feet. She watched them for a moment before taking the prosthetic arm to twist it in her hands and study it carefully.

Next to her, she heard her colleagues nervously discussing what had happened in the past hour.

“And to think he's just been fleeing up and down Main Street…that scapegrace is nimble.”

“Nimble? Uncoordinated as he is, if it wasn’t for the tools he steals and that animal stuck with him, we could have taken him a long time ago. Not to mention his cheeky luck.”

The dark-skinned woman commented acidly before lighting a cigarette. A third man, sitting in front of them with his elbows on his knees, intervened and gave a thoughtful reflection.

“Maybe it's both or neither, that doesn't matter. The important thing is to get rid of that plague so that we can have the city under control again and face more serious problems. I can’t stand this situation anymore.”

There was a brief silence in the van, broken only by the sound of the wind and the wheels rolling on the road. Inhaling a drag on her cigarette, the Moderator continued detachedly.

“We'll see if Sergeant Drill can finally get it. I’ve heard he has a history with that little worm, so we should be in good hands.”

“Yeah, you had him as an educator too, right Candace?”

Asked the man sitting in front of the girl and suddenly placing the attention on her. She tried to hide her discomfort and embarrassment, thanking her helmet that covered her head and masked her eyes with a Plexiglas mask. She swallowed a lump in her throat and held back a slight smile as she still held the artificial arm in her hands.

“Well, just as a training instructor, but still he was a great teacher. I'm sure he'll be able to catch him.”

Receiving her answer with tepid interest, the companion next to her sat down with his back against the wall of the van and sighed.

“Let's hope so.”

With this, she definitively lowered the silence among her colleagues, who closed in their thoughts. Candace looked back at her artificial arm without the attention she had just before hers, so she raised her eyebrows in a hard expression. She replaced the object by closing the box and began to observe from the small window overlooking the driving seats, beyond the windshield of the van, the road rushing by before her, waiting to arrive at their headquarters and resume her work.

Chapter Text

The air in the surrounding area was desolate, tenser given the confusion that had occurred shortly before in the city center. However, the Moderators kept citizens under observation, leaving the streets and buildings deserted even after the working hours had begun. A few kilometers from the Town Hall, in the alley in front of the factory with the stylized mark of the needle and the coat, the two fugitives appeared out of nowhere, landing on the garbage bags, keeping them hidden from the street and well away from it.

Perry quickly darted to Phineas' side to see in horror the back of the bullet, similar to a small dark gray syringe lodged in the flesh of his still defenseless left arm, piercing the sleeve of his jacket, which turned teal again as Phineas took off his hood to look at his partner and in the meantime catch his breath from the run.

“Hey, are you okay?”

The animal was in shock, contracting his incredulous and irritated expression as he quickly darted his gaze from the boy to his injured arm as if wanting to point out the obvious. Phineas didn't seem to care much about it.

“I'm fine Perry, I'm not that-!”

In an attempt to sit up, the boy let out a groan of pain which was held back by gnashing his teeth and holding his damaged arm, worrying the animal even more. He quickly stood up on his hind legs and took some dirty, tangled zip ties from the side pocket. Perry sat down next to his companion and carefully raised his injured arm, while Phineas held back his moans and raised his good hand to try to dissuade his friend.

“Come on, I'm fine, we need to go-!”

He was interrupted by a dry, livid growl, supported by a warning frown, which finally silenced the boy, who then sat down to let the animal work while he pursed his lips painfully. Perry quickly pulled the bullet out of his arm, letting the kid squeal, and lifted the sleeve of his jacket and shirt, revealing a small, red, bloody wound down his forearm to his fingertips once he took off the glove and placed it in his partner's pocket. After using some snow to clean the injury and carefully bandaging the affected area, he delicately placed the arm in the boy's lap and got down on all fours again before him, as if to scold him.

Phineas, with an embarrassed smile, tried to reassure him.

“Chill Perry, it's just a little hole. And it’s gonna move again soon, so it’s not that bad.”

The response made the animal's fur stand on end slightly and let out a low chatter of reproach, a gesture that barely faltered the child's clumsy attempts at reassurance.

“They wanted to hit you, I couldn't let them do that.”

Perry stood up on his paws, with his mouth he removed the backpack and the wheel still tied to the boy's back, throwing them at his feet and tapping with his paw.

“We needed them both-!”

Without giving him time to continue, the animal unfastened his helmet, threw it to the ground, and lunged at it, biting and scratching it with animalistic growls, similar to those he had used against the Moderators. The child stiffened as he observed that uncontrolled outburst of anger, leaving his partner the space and time necessary to let it out. However, after a while, Perry stopped by himself, taking deep breaths, as if he had just realized what he had done, sending a shiver down his spine. He dropped the helmet to the ground, shrugged his shoulders, and looked up sideways at his companion, in a mixture of anger submerged by what was his pain and concern, emitting a single low docile chatter.

The child swallowed and let all the regret he had held back shine through, lowering his torso towards his partner to reach his height.

“I'm sorry Perry, I know they make you angry, but I don't want them to hurt you. And back there” he looked down, scratching his ear with the only hand that was working at the time. “I didn't mean to mess it all up again, it's just that I really can't be like them, I'm just… I'm so sorry…”

The animal's gaze slowly softened, leaning towards his companion's face to caress the tip of his nose with his beak. Phineas' face lit up with a faint smile, motivating him to lift his spirit.

“Well, apart from the hole in the arm, we’ve made it just fine. And we even managed to get a wheel along with all that…”

As soon as he noticed the top part of the backpack open, he pulled it towards him to see that of all the portions they had managed to steal, only the large package remained. Phineas rummaged in his backpack, to discover that from the chase, all he had left were some crumpled papers with the pen, a small water bottle, two blue marbles for the smoke, and some rope.

There was a moment of heavy silence with realization. Demoralized, Phineas, aided by Perry, also noticed the loss of his artificial arm, placing the only one left in his bag and hiding his eyes on his knees with an irritated whimper.

“Stupid blockheads…”

Perry, heartened by the dejected tone, thought for a moment, looking around to find a way that could make the boy feel better (as well as stay on guard for danger). His eye fell just a few centimeters from him on the dented helmet, lighting up his face. He put it on and attracted the attention of the child, who was surprised to see him with his head and eyes completely hidden by the helmet. The chuckle that came from him made Perry jump to his feet, as if in dismay, and he began to march in an exaggerated circle, like an obedient little soldier. He turned towards the boy and stopped, as if surprised by his presence, and started running excitedly in a circle, stumbling and tumbling to the ground supported by exasperated cries.

Phineas' smile rose brightly on his rosy face, covering his lips as he laughed amusedly at the teasing of his blinded companion. Approaching him again, he blocked him by placing his hand on his helmet to reveal the animal's amused and embarrassed face.

“I can let you have it if you wanna. Surely you need it more than those blockheads.”

The animal took off his helmet with his teeth and placed it on Phineas's head and then gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek. The child smiled and gently stroked his head.

“Okay buddy, then I'll keep protecting you. Thanks a lot, Perry.”

He whispered softly, closing his eyes and letting himself be cuddled by his companion's beak while he gently caressed his head. They remained sitting, crouched for a while, and naively leaving the guard to enjoy that unusual moment of tranquility while recovering from their escape, a daily life they would never get used to. After a few minutes, Phineas gently stopped caressing his partner and met his gaze.

“Hey, um, do you wanna go fix the train?” Perry immediately jumped up worried, but anticipating his reaction, the child continued. “I know, I know, but there will be few blockheads there now. We can eat, build the train, and return to our shelter. I'll be careful this time, I promise.”

Only the child's sweet and pleading eyes were enough to easily convince the thoughtful animal to nod while still giving him a heartening smile. Phineas returned the gesture and with a moment of preparation, he awkwardly stood up, took the stolen wheel on his shoulders, and ate some snow, putting some in the small canteen from his backpack and also putting away his helmet. Perry took it on the back, relieving the burden on his companion, accepted a handful of snow from him which he drank satisfied, and then approached the manhole cover a few meters away in the center of the alley.

From his pocket, Phineas took an irregularly shaped device, placed it on some kind of electric lock that sealed the manhole cover, and opened it automatically without any effort, revealing a dangling lamp that Perry caught with his teeth. Before climbing down, Phineas took one last look at the brand with the needle and the factory coat, sighed, and let his companion climb onto his shoulders before entering the duct and sealing the cover again.

Perry turned on the lamp, illuminating the narrow vertical shaft, allowing Phineas to carefully descend the rusty steps of the manhole. The stretch to cover was quite long and more difficult given the condition of the child who, despite his tiredness and always monitored by his friend, managed to lead both to the exit of the duct.

They were greeted by a stench smelled by the animal who made a disgusted face, which however didn’t seem to disturb the boy. There was predominant darkness, saved only by the small torch of warm light that barely illuminated its immediate surroundings of large walls of filthy bricks and the dirty water that flowed into the catch basin lead, not far from the concrete edge. Phineas placed his feet on the ground and let Perry off his shoulders to lead the way following the flow of the water.

Reaching an intersection that led to three different tunnels, Phineas bent down to reflect the light of Perry's lamp on the ceiling. He found a triangular-shaped piece of shiny metal, the tip of which indicated one of the three exits. The boy smiled, took Perry in his arms, and jumped with his spring shoes to land clumsily on the opposite bank of the canal and enter a new tunnel. As soon as he got there, however, he took out a device from his pocket that prevented a prehensile pincer as big as himself from capturing him from both sides, defusing the trap.

They walked quite a bit in that dark labyrinth, guided sometimes by illuminated pieces of metal on the ceiling or by traces left by Perry such as scratches or otherwise identifying the path through smell. They dodged many traps made up of giant claws, prehensile ropes, metal nets, dozens of small mouse-like robots, and other contorted robots ready to attack, but always returning to their hidden place as soon as they were tamed.

Phineas, in addition to deactivating the multiple traps, entertained the long time they spent underground by commenting on the possible missing pieces to complete the train, and the places where they could go to find them. He then passed more enthusiastically to more light-hearted pastimes such as humming, playing with the blue marble he kept in his pocket, the wheel he made roll beside him, and throwing any pebbles into the dirty water, taking care to maintain a distance. His companion listened to him with pleasure, even as he led the way with the torch firmly in his teeth, he couldn't help but cast jovial glances at the child, happily catching his grimaces or his monologues. And Phineas avidly sought those knowing glances, making that trip to the sewers seem much less burdensome than it was for anyone outside of them.

“Hey Perry, can you make that noise of yours?”

The animal looked at him slyly before letting out a loud, happy chatter that echoed far away in the darkness. Phineas laughed enthusiastically and began to crawl next to his companion, slowed down by his still helpless arm, but with a high spirit nonetheless. The engine wheel was rolling alongside him.

“Woah I’m gettin’ better on that!”

The boy tried to emulate the cry in a loud voice, taking care almost more to make noise than to imitate the animal which, in his way, giggled at the cry, playfully replying to the callback and starting a mocking conversation, especially due to Phineas' exaggerated noises. But suddenly, distracted by the convivial atmosphere, Phineas was about to fall into the water, caught in time by Perry who pulled him away from the edge of the intersection by yanking him by the sleeve. The boy suddenly slipped backward and, making sure he was far away, chuckled nervously, embarrassed and desolated simultaneously.

“Sorry.”

Perry smiled tenderly and with a gentle gesture of his beak invited him to stand up, paying attention to his left arm.

“I'm fine Perry, don't worry. I'm starting to feel the tip of the fingers again, ya know?”

The news seemed to brighten up the animal and, taking the lamp back, he continued to show the way.

Some more time passed before the two were able to extricate themselves from the entanglements of the sewer system, reaching a staircase that led downwards while the water was slowed down by a filter system, allowing only very little water to flow into the pipe below. The duo carefully descended the steps and when they reached their end, they found themselves in a tunnel that narrowed until it became an exhaust pipe towards the outside, closed by rusty iron bars from which the gray external light barely entered and the filtered water flowed out.

The two friends, however, stopped in front of a point on the wall that had a small crack at the edge of the ground, just before the part that could be walked on ended. Phineas bent down, stuck two fingers in the crack, pulled towards him, and like a broken door he revealed a tiny hollow space, mostly occupied by a vehicle made up of a minecart rebuilt to look almost like a small two-wheeled train wagon, despite the rough workmanship.

The child entered followed by the animal, passing through the small opening and slightly closing it. The little creature then placed the torch in the corner of the small space while the kid finally placed the wheel next to the front wheel of the cart in front. He sat down in front of it and from the backpack passed to him by Perry, he took the tool belt to try to assemble his creation. What prevented him from doing much, however, was his still helpless arm which did not yet seem to have awakened from the effect of the poisoned dart, making it difficult for him to use his single arm while he attempted to loosen the bolts on the motorbike's wheel.

Perry watched the scene with pity for a while, biting his beak as he saw the growing repressed frustration of his companion who persistently continued to connect the joints and handle the already sharp pieces of metal. At one point, impatiently, he placed his paw on Phineas' working arm and let out a low, warning, and worried chatter.

“Come on Perry I’m fine, we've come this far, I can't just leave it like this.”

Phineas replied calmly although not hiding his determination. The animal made another cry and with a quick leap, jumped onto the edge of the cart. Phineas looked at him in amazement while the animal, crouching down, looked at him with a pleading look while beating his tail inside the wagon. The boy smiled radiantly, put down his tools, and took a leap which, being too high due to his shoes, made him hit his head on the low ceiling and suddenly fall into the cart.

Perry turned worriedly and jumped next to his companion, only to find him lying there grinning while holding his head with his working hand.

“Damn did you see that blow? These springs are great even when they’re not needed.”

He said before letting out a loud laugh. Perry shook his head and smiled, infected by his companion's joy, as he caressed his head with his beak and relaxed him better on the bottom. Phineas recovered a little and, still chuckling, moved his helpless arm to one side and pulled up his sleeve to see, in the little light they had, the hand still slightly stained red, better than he had seen it last time. The boy then turned his gaze on his friend still intent on cuddling him and caressed him behind the beak, just under the ear, blocking the animal and making him enjoy the caress at that specific point, so much so that after a while, his tail stood up involuntarily.

“Do ya wanna eat a bit?”

He asked the child sweetly, receiving a nod from the animal which, like a splinter, jumped out of the cart and immediately returned with the package of food in its mouth. Phineas sat down and opened the contents to discover on one side a generous portion of grainy cereal porridge and on the other a puree of vegetables such as carrots, radishes, and spinach all cooked together.

Phineas, although not very tempted by the proposed meal, took a handful of cereal dough with his hands and ate it, handing another portion to his companion. The flavor was almost non-existent, as was the vegetable puree, this one slightly more sour, enticing Phineas to stuff his mouth with another bite of cereal before handing the food to Perry, who put it aside and returned to his companion, already lying on his back.

“Wanna lie down too?”

The animal smiled and immediately threw himself next to the child, who was also lying on his back, resting his head on the still motionless shoulder of his companion. The two gazes went to rest on the earthen ceiling, illuminated by the warm light of the torch, projecting shadows and lights on it. Phineas took a long, deep, relaxed breath.

“Can you imagine the finished train, pal?”

The animal replied with an enthusiastic chatter before rubbing its cheek on its companion's chest. A wide, inspired smile began to bloom on Phineas' lips.

“After all, there isn't much left. We are missing a wheel, covering that wall, one of those little blue flames that make sparks and we will finally be able to escape from here. Maybe it would have been easier with an actual train, but eh. Can you imagine if we had made a giant spring that made us jump so far that we were already beyond the borders? Or directly one of their mega-bikes which are soooooo beautiful, but they already wobble a lot, and we won't all fit on it. Hey, we can ask those blockheads directly to give us a lift and then happily say bye as we did today.” He said before laughing amusedly along with the animal. After recovering, he continued, “Well, it's better to have done this then. I really hope it goes as fast as a real train. Fast enough to take us far away and never let those blockheads catch us.”

With illuminated eyes, he stretched out his hand towards the ceiling, as if to make his friend admire a spectacle of unmissable beauty.

“Oh, you'll see Perry. As soon as we leave, you'll see how beautiful it’ll be to see the stars lying like this every night. It's so beautiful. Or even better yet, once we're all together again and out of the Tri-States, I'll make something that will take us all up there whenever we want, wherever we want. We’ll all be so happy…”

Perry looked up to watch Phineas' smile fade, lost in a thought that left him standing still. Pensive and almost hostile. He was silent for a few seconds.

“S-she's here Perry… I know she's here, j-just…” another long pause. He bit his lip harshly swallowing a lump in his throat “We’ll find her. And then we’ll go back to the others.”

The animal attracted the attention of the red-haired young man with its paw to smile reassuringly and nod at him. Phineas understood and smiled gratefully, stroking his companion's head.

“Thank you, Perry. We’re very close, I can feel it.”

He continued talking for a while, trying to imagine possible scenarios for new inventions and imaginary places. Perry listened to him in relaxation, cuddling his cheek on the boy's shoulder and slowly becoming drowsy with him, leading them to fall asleep lying inside the cart, relaxed by the calming and mutual presence.

Chapter Text

Darkness. A sadly familiar one.

He was immersed in that heavy blanket, so much so that he could hardly feel his body. Did he, though? His wrists and especially his neck seemed to hold him in a fatal grip that didn't seem to want to let him go.

Not again…

He felt the heat, images of dust that in that span of light looked like stars with a faint floating light. He was moving towards that light; he could feel it.

“Hey, you, my little darling, are you well covered and warm?”

There she was! The heat he was looking for.

Phineas turned and saw her, in all her splendor, yet too distant still. He tried to speak, but only heavy, bitter air seemed to come out of him. The now more vivid figure of a dawn-colored woman emanating such a warm light seemed to understand anyway.

“You need to stay hidden, darling. If you’ll always stay covered, you'll be safe and sound.”

“But I don’t want that! I want to find you!”

He finally managed to scream. A scream so high-pitched that it echoed in that infinite dark space illuminated by the luminous woman. She twitched, frightened, and moved away, joining other figures, smaller than her.

“I’m so sorry, darling…”

Phineas fought against the oppressive immateriality of his body and the density of the darkness to sprint toward those lights that were about to dissolve. 

No, not again. NOT AGAIN.

A series of indefinite debris and garbage scraps then hurled themselves at him like meteors, angry screams in the distance calling him out, insulting him, the surroundings were humid, almost as if waves were rising. What if it had hit and knocked him over? What if he let himself be dragged away again? Away from them. After everything they had been through... His fears were as immense as that of losing the figures who in that filthy abyss gave him a fraction of comfort in his suffering… was he going to drown anyway?

“Please wait for me! I'm catching up with all of you, I swear! This time I can do this, I promise! Wait for me, please! Please!!”

He felt a distant vibration that stopped him. The figures had dissolved, leaving only a feeling as oppressive as the darkness around. He looked around the area to witness nothing but the feeling of this shake in the void. How weird, it felt real. Too real…

The child opened his eyes to feel dirt grains falling onto his face. Phineas sat up and saw Perry alertly staring at the ceiling, his fur slightly bristling. The boy stood up, exited the little carriage, and opened the little brick door to see the barred conduit. He barely noticed that his arm had improved with his hand regaining feeling. It was now dark outside and he saw nothing that could show him the origin of the tremor that was becoming increasingly intense. But he knew what it was.

Phineas started to head towards the exit, but Perry stopped him by his sleeve with his teeth, pulling him back worriedly. The boy frowned, also bewildered, yet full of curiosity.

“C’mon, Perry, I wanna see. We’ll be covered, don't worry.”

The animal continued to pull, but Phineas freed himself from the grip of his companion and went down into the basin where the very shallow water flowed out of the conduit. The boy took a breath of encouragement and carefully approached the rusted metal bars, the conduit pipe narrowing. Outside, he began to make out a pale, dim light coming from above, the little artificial river that carried the water far away, and the tracks placed high up that extended to the dark horizon, where he saw the lights standing out in the fog and among the snowflakes of the train. The tremor had become so strong that he could feel it in his gut, giving him more frenzy than he already had.

The headlights of the semi-pilot carriage grew closer and closer, slowing down to finally begin to stop at the station. Phineas admired in disbelief the size and grandeur of the shiny black single-deck locomotive that reflected the external lights, the ornaments were well cared for and sophisticated.

“That’s so cool!”

He whispered with eyes full of wonder, observing the train which, now at walking pace, was about to stop at the station. Phineas, with a second of reluctance, carefully passed through the bars of the duct, but Perry, who remained at his side, caught him again by the sleeve.

“Chill, Perry, we’ll be careful, I promise we'll leave right away.”

The pleading eyes did not reassure the animal, which clutched its companion's sleeve as if to convince him to give up. However, seeing the fear submerged by curiosity and determination in the young man's eyes, he let him go, defeated, but not before preceding him. He jumped out two meters from the ground next to the artificial river, looked around, and gave the all-clear.

Phineas landed next to his companion and then headed towards some cageless ladders on the wall bordering the railway. Perry leaped onto the boy's shoulders, putting his hood over his head and being carried upwards, becoming increasingly alert as they reached the edge. The animal peeked over it, patrolling the vast area guarded by at least a dozen Moderators positioned in line on the first platform, except for a few of them who were patrolling the area a few meters away from their companions.

Perry flicked his tail twice, allowing Phineas to dash quickly and hide behind a freight wagon. He snaked between the various carriages and quickly avoided some of the Moderators on guard until he reached the small station building, where he jumped onto the roof and had a complete view of what was happening on the platform a few meters away from him.

The train had stopped at the terminus, emitting a great cloud of steam and a loud whistle that echoed in the cold evening air. The Moderators stood in a horizontal line along the platform of the first platform, Lollyberry facing the group with her hands folded behind her back and her chest out, waiting.

The carriage doors opened, and the first to come out was Doctor Bloodpudding, covered from head to toe in a long brown jacket and a hat that barely covered his fluffy hair. At the sight of him, Perry's eyes widened, and he drew back, fur bristling, letting out low, angry growls. Phineas pulled him close to hold him tightly.

“Hey, hey buddy, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

The child whispered in a feeble and reassuring voice, even though he was also scared. They continued to secretly look at the other scientists who were exiting the train, like Rodrigo alongside Doctor Bloodpudding, Professor Mystery, and Carl, all stiff both in spirit and from the cold. Doofenshmirtz, who was closing the line, as soon as he went down a step, stumbled forward and crashed into his colleagues in front, creating a domino effect whereby everyone, ending with the leader, was hit and collided with the Moderators in line who prevented him from a disastrous fall while breaking their line. As soon as he saw the scene, Phineas puffed out his cheeks and hid his head so as not to let out the sound of laughter that he barely held back with his face on the ground, worrying Perry, who crouched down on him to make sure he didn't make too much noise.

Bloodpudding readjusted his posture and hat and turned lividly towards the man at the end of the line, holding back as much as possible while the other men were putting themselves together, full of embarrassment and shame.

“For the Tri-State’s sake, Heinz! We just got off the train!”

Doofenshmirtz raised his trembling hands in front of him, stuttering in mortification.

“I-I'm so sorry! I-I've never sat for this long, m-maybe when I got up and the sudden temperature change-!”

“Save me these stupid excuses when we get to the lab. Why on earth…”

“S-sorry, I still didn't mean it, Doctor-!”

A loud and dry clearing of the throat stopped Heinz, as well as Phineas who, as soon as he heard it, his hidden giggles finally died out, freezing him. The strong, hoarse, and authoritative voice continued coldly.

“You are blocking the passage, Mr. Doofenshmirtz.”

Heinz swallowed a lump in his throat and began nodding his head frantically, moving to the side to leave the way clear, insistently rubbing his tie under his jacket. Phineas, from the roof, was shaking uncontrollably and had to fight every single molecule in his body to raise his head and see over the edge of the roof the authoritative figure of Sergeant Drill. His body was paralyzed, and he felt his heart leap into his throat, obstructing his breathing, which suddenly became shallower; his body seemed as if an electric shock had passed through it. Feeling the terror growing undaunted in his companion, Perry crouched next to him to whisper faint, sweet chatters in his ear.

Sergeant Drill, followed by the Moderators who had come with him from Danville, headed towards Lollyberry, who, taking a short breath, lowered his torso with his arms still crossed behind his back.

“Good evening and welcome, gentlemen. I hope that the trip went at it best.”

It was Doctor Bloodpudding who responded by nodding at the woman.

"Very good. Luckily, we arrived on time without any unexpected events.”

“Apart from Heinz, who almost destroyed the front wheel of the train.”

Professor Mystery commented apathetically, causing the agitated man in question to come closer to clarify.

“A-actually it was an accident, I saw that the wheel seemed loose, so-so I thought I-!”

“If you don't mind, I'll remain the only one to look after my train, sir.”

Mrs. Wilkins, who had also just joined the group, interrupted him abruptly. It was Sergeant Drill who immediately gave the directives, interrupting Doofenshmirtz's sudden apologies.

“Considering the circumstances, I suggest we all retreat for the night. Doctor Bloodpudding, if you agree, you and your group will head to your base accompanied by the escorts chosen by my colleague. We’ll speak with Lollyberry at headquarters to immediately take stock of the situation.”

“Of course, Sergeant. I hope you finally have a method to catch those two pests.”

The sergeant let out a slightly amused snort before replying confidently. “I know how to deal with the kid, and I will make sure that every single Moderator in this city knows that too, so we put an end to this.”

Phineas was struck by a jolt, unable to contain. The adults on the platform raised their eyes to glimpse the shadowy silhouette of the child and the animal that failed to contain him. It was enough to meet the sergeant's icy gaze to feel his heart skip a beat.

Barely sensing what was happening around him and within his own body, Phineas took Perry by the arm and jumped off the roof to run away like a splinter. He was so fast that he didn't even feel two Moderators who were about to catch him if it weren't for his reflexes and, above all, Perry's offensive stance. The kid stumbled on the edge of the chasm that ended the railway, fell to the ground, and without even digesting the harsh blow he received, jumped and clumsily slipped between the bars of the conduit. He barely had time to reach the walkable part again when the sound of a high-pitched, shrill whistle pierced his ears, forcing him to stop and cover his ears, involuntarily letting Perry fall to the ground, who was also unnerved by the sound.

The animal, however, even if limited by the whistle, fought to drag Phineas with its teeth and make him climb up from the basin to safety on the ground. The sound stopped, still percolating in the eardrums of the boy who was still holding his ears, with the horrendous and growing realization that was taking over his shuddering body.

The external light given by the torches was projected onto the tightened tunnel and together with the shadow of the narrow bars projected onto the flowing water, a shadow appeared that was massive and more imposing than it already was. Phineas covered his mouth with both hands and backed away, feeling an invisible grip on his throat, preventing him from moving. Perry was close to him, petrified by the motionless figure on the water.

After a moment of silence, they heard a frustrated sigh and the dark tone of reproach.

“Never miss a chance to put your nose in others’ business, right? I bet you had tons of fun here, just like you always wanted. Well, now playtime is over, you little ungrateful brat. I warn you that I won't leave this town until I get you and lock you in a hole so deep you'll regret ever daring to run away from your place. So run as much as you want, Phineas , but this time I’ll make sure to never let you go ever again.”

With his face contorted in horror, Phineas stumbled backward and fled up the stairs to the tunnels. Perry quickly took the backpack and the flashlight before following him.

Outside the flu, one of the Moderators turned to his superior.

“Sir, do we let him go like this?”

Sergeant Drill turned to glare at him before walking away towards the station with a sort of hidden smirk on his lips.

“You said that the sewers are mostly controlled by him and his traps, and the only ones who can pass through these bars are sedated, so we would only be wasting energy and time that he doesn't deserve. From tonight, you’ll all understand how to proceed.”

Once at the top, he and the other soldiers rejoined the group and, according to his previous directives, they divided themselves between the Search Group who, in a special vehicle, were escorted to their quarters. At the same time, the Moderators headed towards the city center, towards their headquarters.

Phineas ran blindly as if his constant, dizzying heartbeat and strong adrenaline were pushing him to the limits of his abilities. He zigzagged aimlessly through the tunnels without direction, without thinking, and he whistled with his mouth open, looking for air that he couldn’t reach. What made him resume from that frantic and aimless escape was Perr,y who, having finally reached his companion, surpassed him and then arrested him in front of him to force him to stop. The child had turned pale, his expression was absorbed in fear, breathing hoarsely, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably, but as soon as he recognized Perry, his eyes were struck by a faint ray of clarity.

“P-P-Perry… d-did… did I l-left you…”

Realization twisted his face into an expression of pure regret. He dropped to his knees and held his friend tightly to him, holding back what seemed to be sobs.

“I-I-I’m so s-sorry Perry I-I-I-I didn't mean t-t-to p-p-please I-I’m s-sorry-!”

The animal put down both the lamp and the backpack to be able to hug the boy in return and make a low and docile chatter towards him while caressing his cheek with his beak. Phineas froze for a moment before holding the animal even tighter, trembling more than ever, and starting to feel the pain in his body again that the adrenaline had anesthetized. He took strong, hoarse breaths while Perry tried in every way to make him feel his caresses, the soft chatter in his ear, while also fighting against the stress accumulated in such a short time.

At one point, Phineas froze, remaining still for a few seconds before moving away from his companion and hiding his lucid eyes completely sunken and red, as he seemed to be trying to contain himself.

“S-s-sorry again P-Perry, I-I didn't think he-he…”

He swallowed hard, a lump in his throat, and tried to get to his feet. Perry helped him, making another sweet and encouraging noise, convincing the boy to give him a small smile. Phineas then looked down and only then realized that his arm was moving again, but causing him more pain than he had a few hours earlier. He raised his hand and observed the still red back, from which he could barely distinguish the numerous scars that covered it, from the fingers to the wrist, without counting the internal part. The pale gaze seemed disgusted by that shaky, hurtful hand.

“I-it… it moves already…”

Almost as if struck by the realization, he took the glove from his pocket and covered his bruised hand, bringing it to his chest as if to hide it from hostile figures. 

“They’re everywhere anyway…”

“T-thank you P-Perry… c-can we…” he paused briefly, thoughtfully while snuffling “C-can we go to the shelter?”

The animal nodded and, without letting him take either the backpack or the lamp, it began to lead the way. By fortuitous coincidence, it took a little while for him to reach his destination, in one of the smaller and more hidden tunnels, where a large, now disused light control machine was located. Perry took a raised corner on the side of the machine with his paw and pulled it towards him to reveal the interior completely emptied of its mechanical parts. The small hiding place left room for some devices and spare parts certainly taken from the machinery itself, drawn and scribbled sheets scattered on the ground, some models made with scraps, a kind of water bottle, and on the side opposite the entrance, a small bed made up of a dirty blanket and a rag.

Phineas immediately headed there to lie down in a fetal position and make himself small with his face turned towards the wall. Perry sealed the opening from the inside with a three-point lock-like device, covered the hole, and placed his backpack and lamp at the entrance. From the bag, he took out the portion of food and handed it to his companion, who, after turning to take a peek, bent his back on him.

“I-I'm not hungry, Perry, thank you. Y-you can eat tho.”

Disappointed by that refusal, he looked around and took in his mouth a small miniature made up of pencils and tied pieces of wood and paper. He leaned over his companion and placed it in front of his eyes. After a moment of silence, Phineas curled up even more.

“N-no Perry, I-I don't wanna play either.”

The animal let out a low chatter, put down the figurine, climbed over his friend, and went to crouch in his arms. They remained for a while in a tense, heavy silence, digesting what had happened shortly before, even though, for Phineas' part, he wanted with all his strength not to think about it.

“I… I didn't keep my promise… again… I-I'm sorry…”

He whispered in a broken voice. Perry couldn't see his friend's hooded face, but with a tired smile and in the most reassuring way possible, he gave him a tender cry while rubbing his chest affectionately.

Phineas hugged him even tighter, taking a long, heavy breath as if Perry was his only lifeline. Which he technically was at that moment. From under his hood, his glassy eyes barely contracted a few tears that ran down his cheek, petrified, as if he were unconscious and at the same time repelled by what he was doing. He wasn't able to sleep that night. His body, as tired and sore as his soul, was in complete terror; there was only one thought, in addition to the reassurances of his friend, which could comfort him and at the same time discourage him from that living nightmare that he was going through.

“Lily… where are you…?”

Chapter Text

Another freezing night was about to come, with snowflakes carpeting the ground where they landed, white and in contrast with the ebony sky. This rigidity and coldness were comparable to the air being felt inside the imposing Moderators' Headquarters, located near the city center. It was a large three-story concrete structure, inside an area enclosed by a fence and monitored by cameras that, at that moment, did not appear to be active.

Many of the agents already in the structure had been working all afternoon on the citizens who had attacked them in the square during the chase and on the shopkeeper whom the latter had tricked. Each of these was locked inside isolated cells and kept under pressure by the Moderators to understand the causes of the revolt, sometimes even with aggressive methods to get them to just talk.

As Lolliberry entered the office with her colleagues and the team from Danville, she turned to the secretary at the front desk.

“Silva, I want all agents in the conference room in twenty minutes. Then, notify Ortega of our arrival.”

The woman with graying black hair nodded and announced the directives imposed on the intercoms that lined every corner of the structure. Meanwhile, Lolliberry led her group to the third and final floor of the building, in a large military green hall composed of a hundred or so chairs facing a wooden podium at the back of the room placed on a stage.

Sergeant Drill turned to the Moderators of his group.

“Wait for us here. Lolliberry, lead the way.”

The woman nodded, and together with her superior, they returned to the second floor, in one of the numerous and narrow doors of the cells, reaching the number 8. There, an agent was waiting for them, so she could open the door and let his superiors in.

The cell was small, in a claustrophobic way, with dark walls and a single fluorescent light on the ceiling. The only thing that filled the room was a man curled up on the floor, his head bowed, shaking.

Lolliberry closed the door and addressed the man in a matter-of-fact, stern manner.

“Mr. Ozzie Barron, I ask you to raise your head.”

With a moment of reluctance, Ozzie slowly raised his head, revealing a bruised cheek, a black eye, and a metal collar around his neck that reached his chin. His expression was one of pain and shame.

While the young woman grimaced in annoyance, the sergeant remained impassive and stepped toward the man on the floor, causing him to step back in terror. Drill raised his eyebrows, hands behind his back in an authoritative pose.

“Still tense, Barron?”

“S-sir, I don’t-!”

“Sergeant, for you,” he gave a low, annoyed grunt before continuing, “be sure to address yourself with proper respect.”

Ozzie swallowed a lump in his throat and, shaking, nodded, looking down submissively.

“Y-yes, Sergeant.”

“Much better. Now, I was made aware of what happened this morning between you and the fugitive, and I didn’t refrain from visiting you.”

“S-Sergeant, sir, I-I had no idea it was… i-if I had known-!”

“Would you have reported your violation?”

The man froze. A lump had formed in his throat as he began to shake again. A few seconds later, an electric shock from his collar made him let out a hoarse shriek of pain, writhing spastically on the ground.

Lolliberry frowned as Drill, whose eyes were ablaze with an excited light, unlike his imposing pose, looked at the screaming man on the ground. From behind his back, he stopped the electric shock with a remote control and allowed the man on the ground to catch his breath, still shaking and sobbing.

“Do you know why I wanted to meet you, Barron?”

Drill didn’t give the merchant time to answer, as he continued talking while strolling around him.

“Because I wanted to see with my own eyes the inept scum that’s growing in this city. Ungrateful citizens who find loopholes to get what they want rather than fight for what they deserve. I could have talked to some of the dissidents who participated in the riot today, but, in addition to still being busy paying their sentences, they wouldn’t have given me an example of an average citizen of Coat Side City.”

“Show me your ID chip.”

Still shaken, the man took a moment to obey. Drill put down his cane to take a firm hold of the man’s trembling hand and used a scanner to scan the man’s tattooed back. As soon as the identification was complete, with a warning beep, the sergeant read aloud.

“Ozzie Barron, age forty-eight. Assigned to the first division in downtown Coat Side City, downtown. Occupation: food merchant… apparently you’ve done this job with frequent omissions about the food’s provenance…”

The grip on his wrist tightened further, causing the man to groan as the sergeant’s cold eyes once again targeted him, the stick under the victim’s chin again.

“We let you do your job, what we trained you to do, in the best part of this city, and this is how you repay us for our efforts on your behalf? Put your head straight and remember who you owe your well-being to, and you will avoid this ridiculous nonsense again. Unless you prefer your state of ungratefulness, so you get what you deserve.”

The man on the ground began to nod decisively, holding back tears.

“Y-yes, Sergeant. I-it won’t happen a-again, I s-swear on the Tri-State’s sake.”

Drill scanned him impassively for a moment longer before removing the stick from under his victim's chin and handing it back to Lolliberry.

“We'll see. Start off by wiping away those stupid damned tears.”

And with that, he walked out of the cell, and Lolliberry followed, who closed the door and waited for a response from her superior.

“Lock him up with the other rebels in the Rehabilitation Center for six months.”

The woman was surprised.

“Sir, the protocol says that for the crime he committed, he must be kept in prison for a month and pay back the damages-!”

Sergeant Drill whirled around to face the woman, towering over her with a livid and contorted look.

“And that’s the damn problem! You've been too tolerant with these scums, loosening your grip and left them free to revolt without doing anything. Starting by you, Lolliberry."

The woman felt like her back was against the wall, while the Sergeant peered down at her with narrowed eyes.

“How many times did you have him under your sight? Uh? And how many times did you let him escape? You have always been too indulgent with him. Too soft. And you spread your drawback to the Moderators of this city too.”

She felt as if she were being grabbed in the chest, accused and guilty, as she lowered her gaze submissively downwards.

“That’s not true, sir. When this task was assigned to us, we had orders to capture him without causing him significant damage. It was actually the boy who risked to get some serious damage with his inventions or by reckless actions just to avoid being caught. He’s small and moves quickly and unpredictably, with a fair amount of experience behind his back, too. Not to mention his little beast. The team was not used to this type of target.”

“But you were! We bloody know what he’s capable of, that freaking piece of-!” The Sergeant burst, losing control and taking aback Lolliberry. He took a little pause, useful to regain his composure, and continued angrily, “You should have trained them better, given your knowledge of him.”

The young woman clenched her fists tightly, hiding the shame on her face.

“I know, sir, I just… You’re right, sir. I’m sorry. However, I was not aware of specific ways to control him.”

“Now, don’t start off by making excuses again. I’ve been unable to pass on the information, and you know why. You should have conformed to what you learned from him and me as well when we discussed and worked on his training. But there’s no point in brooding over it. From now on, the priority is to get him as soon as possible by any means necessary, the only condition is to not inflict fatal or compromising wounds on him.”

The woman looked up in surprise again, more than she wanted or should have shown. This only made her superior frown even more.

“Do you have any objection, Lolliberry?”

She slightly swallowed before shaking her head and frowning firmly, puffing out her chest.

“Of course not, sir.”

“As I hoped. This isn’t the Correctional Institute anymore, Lolliberry. I was hoping you would have figured that out on your own. Now, let’s have this meeting and finally get this right.”

With that, the Sergeant turned his back on her and headed toward the conference room. Lolliberry was right behind him. When they arrived, they found the room already full, giving them time to reach the podium. With a moment to establish order, the head Moderator approached the Podium and began speaking into the microphone.

“Good evening, Moderators. As anticipated these days, we welcome the support team from Danville, who will help us capture the fugitives and restore order in the city. From now on, their leader will play an important role in the mission. I, therefore, give the floor to Sergeant Drill.”

The woman stepped aside to leave the microphone to the man. Drill carefully observed those present, scrutinizing them sternly for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking.

“Well, gentlemen, without wasting more time, let's get straight to the point: I’ve witnessed the approach you use with the subject, and I regret seeing the loss of your composure.”

The man walked away from the podium and, with a slow and heavy step, paced back and forth on the stage with his chest out, his back straight looking at the entire room. Lolliberry and the Moderators were watching him with a certain nervousness.

“I know what he causes you every time; I know it better than anyone here, but this must not compromise the way we work and serve our lands. We are an example to the people. We represent the vigor and strength of our State, of the Oligarchs, and if we falter, what will become of the world? We must remind everyone who guarantees their safety, who allows them to live, and what happens if they are taken by arrogance. We cannot give in, now that we are facing a crisis outside the Tri-State Area, and we must be ironclad, so…”

He returned to the podium, gripping it tightly, his face excited and trembling.

“Regain your senses and prove that you are worthy of the title assigned to you. Therefore, no mistakes. From now on, I don’t want to see even the slightest hint of weakness in the eyes of any Moderator that comes my way. Not for the boy, nor any citizen. Now, I will give you every indication necessary to have an advantage over that little skunk and the new instruments provided by the Research Group to succeed in capturing him. We will set up more intense and more widespread patrol groups throughout the city area, and starting tomorrow at dawn, we’ll begin the research inside the sewers.”

Sergeant Drill continued to discuss for hours, explaining every necessary and carefully studied detail, exciting and motivating the listening Moderators. The most attentive of all was the young recruit with short orange hair, Candace, who, without showing it, hid a smile on her face, a reflection of her great enthusiasm. This was her chance.

The Research Group’s shelter area was located just outside the city, not far from the station, but efficiently built. The entrance was a large sliding iron door with guards on both sides to check on visitors. After parking the vehicles in a designated parking lot next to a small control center managed by the Moderators, a large two-story structure dominated the asphalt area. Next to it, a warehouse attached to some rails where the equipment arrived. In front of it was a small two-story building surrounded by high steel and locked up containers for the materials and inventions used. Passing beyond an open space for a possible walk, at the edge of the area, a row of six tall, narrow vertical houses placed side by side with a certain distance between each, all in the same modern and elegant. This entire area was surrounded by a high brick wall with a long trail of barbed wire on top.

The researchers who arrived that late afternoon had spent the rest of the evening organizing the workspace in the main structure. All done in a fairly taciturn way, except for the instructions given by Bloodpudding to prepare the devices and spare parts or to scold small mistakes that Doofenshmirtz made with his constant shaking of the arms. After hours of work characterized by a strange restless air mixed with the tiredness of the journey, the group headed to the small refreshment and leisure base in the center of the refuge. They were welcomed by a dinner of hot broth and a duck à l'orange. The silence continued.

Heinz barely ate. His thoughts were like a storm, similar to the one he had been able to witness from the window during that exhausting journey. Yet, nothing of what he had seen and experienced that day was comparable to the moment in which he had been able to see with his own eyes the subject he had heard so much about in those months. He wondered why he was there right when they arrived. Maybe he wanted to do something against them? An attack? He avoided thinking about it too much so as not to worsen his already terrible state of anxiety and his wrinkled tie. It was a consideration of his, however, that slipped out of his mouth, ending that silence while everyone was finishing dinner.

“He’s smaller than I thought…”

This outburst cost him the attention of all his colleagues, making him regret having spoken. Once again.

“D-d-damn, i-it slipped it, s-sorry. I-I was just thinking of-!”

“I don’t think it’s hard to figure out what you were referring to.”

Rodrigo commented acidly as he sipped some wine. Professor Mystery continued in a monotone voice.

“It’s a minor. What did you expect it to be?”

“W-well, sure, of course, he couldn’t be grown, but not this … small. I mean, with the damage he causes…”

“That’s the problem,” Bloodpudding interjected, swallowing a bite of duck. “It causes more damage than its own being; that’s why it’s dangerous. Even worse than the beast that follows it.”

Carl added himself to the conversation with a faint tone of interest.

“What a bizarre specimen. I barely caught a glimpse of it, but it seemed like a bizarre species.”

“Does it even matter? We don’t have to study it.”

“Thank you, Miss Wilkins, finally some sense.”

Bloodpudding reiterated, putting his cutlery on his plate and looking at his colleagues one by one.

“Neither the animal nor the boy are a reason for conversation, I thought I had been clear enough before our departure. So, let’s just think about the work that awaits us and give a concrete meaning to this mission. Now I suggest you go and rest. Tomorrow I’ll wait for you in the laboratory. We start at 8:00 a.m., as usual.”

With that, as if synchronized, all the guests, except Doofenshmirtz, who followed them after a while, got up from the table and headed towards their new accommodations, a few minutes from where they had just dined.

Heinz observed the large house that towered over him for a few seconds, feeling its weight, and the darkness was saved only by the street lamps that covered the area with cold lights, almost like the wind that whipped his face. He had been assigned to the mansion at the corner of the area bordering the wall, therefore the most sheltered.

He entered the house, his cheeks reddened by the sudden change in temperature, feeling like a block of ice welcomed into a sauna. He looked around to observe the welcoming environment. The walls at the entrance were green; on the left, a staircase led to the upper floor. To the side, a long corridor and on the left, an open door led to a very spacious living room with an armchair, a sofa, a desk, and a bookcase with a large television set embedded in the center. All the suitcases had been placed in advantage in the middle of the living room. Turning to the right, a large work table with machinery and spare parts was placed underneath and to the side, all illuminated by a large central light. It seemed completely disconnected from the living room.

He headed straight there to put down his new bag and take his phone from his pocket. He hesitated for a few seconds before dialing his brother’s number and nervously waiting for the call. He heard two rings on the other end of the phone before hearing his brother’s recorded voicemail.

“Hello, President Roger Doofenshmirtz’s talking. I can’t contact you right now, so please leave short messages and wait for my next call to talk properly. Have a good continuation.”

As soon as he heard the beep, Heinz smiled nervously and started to stumble.

“H-h-hey, Roger! I-I’m sorry to bother you. I-I know you’re busy, but you know, I thought that… Well, anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I arrived and…” he waited a few seconds to think, not sure what to say, considering whether or not to talk about his close encounter. But he felt that maybe it was better to talk about it when his brother would have been free. “The trip went mostly well. The ice was a bit of a problem, and we were stuck for a couple of hours, but we still got there at a decent time, and… it’s not bad here. I think I’ll do well. I see the library is well stocked, maybe I’ll find something interesting about insects for your collection, and… I think that’s it. S-sorry, you hate long messages. I-I’ll talk to you tomorrow then, o-or whenever you’re free, no pressure! Goodnight.”

He ended the call with a sigh of relief and embarrassment at the same time, as if he had finished an intense training session. The tie was still the subject of his silent outburst, so much so that it almost seemed like a rag.

At that moment, something came to mind that he went to find in one of the suitcases he had prepared for the trip. He put down the small suitcase with a supply of bottles, pills, and medicines inside. He took three different pills one at a time, swallowing them without any effort, and on a notebook placed to the side, he wrote down the types of medicines taken and the time by looking at them from the phone. 10:21 p.m. He had gone a bit over the time that evening.

“Let's hope it doesn't have repercussions…”

He whispered before taking his lab coat from one of the suitcases to put it on and taking off his tie as if he lumped in his throat. So he got himself a notebook, his stress ball that he kept in his medicine bag, and the new object to freely vent out his frustration, and spent the next few hours cataloging and signing all the materials at his disposal and comparing them with his pre-existing notes. He felt the tiredness weighing down his body, but his mind was active, even if clouded by the medicines and gripped by a constant anxiety and tremor that didn’t seem to want to subside. Most likely, he would have to do a general check of the notes he had taken. It didn’t matter anyway. It was his job; he had to do it, and he had to do it well.

Chapter Text

The anxiety that had come the night before had now settled in his chest, inside his gut, like having a pin on his heart that spread a sharp pain throughout his body all night. He had not been able to rest, and for the little time he had slept, horrible and violent images tormented his mind. He was shaking, and not only because of the enduring cold. His wounded arm was numb, as if the bullet was still in his flesh, infusing pain throughout his body. The swollen and tired eyes stared at the same spot on the metal wall before him. His friend was still held tightly in his arms, giving comfort in that warm embrace. But it wasn’t enough.

Giving up on the illusion of being able to fall asleep without waking up because of another nightmare, Phineas gently released Perry from his embrace to cover him with a rag placed next to him. He then crawled towards the lamp that dimly lit the tiny space where they were hidden and sat down near the exit of the metal box. In front of him, a series of small miniatures made from broken pieces of wood and paper, carved and tied together to create little dolls. Four were small and had different heads: one rectangular with a green cutout on top, one made of a hazelnut with black stiff broom fibers at the top, a black cotton ball, and finally a colored and shaped box with brown sticks on top.

Phineas arranged them in a row in front of him, took the green-haired figure in one hand, and made it interact with a dirty stone that made it talk.

“Hey Ferb! Did you find any parts then? I could really use some of them right now, ya know?”

He whispered hoarsely with a forced laugh to make the rectangular figure respond with a simple shake. He then reached for the colored box with the sticks for hair.

“You almost finished the train, right, dinner bell?”

“Of course, Buf! Yesterday, we took a wheel as big as me! We got 'em good again, those blockheads.”

The puppet with the black cotton on the end trembled and spoke in a high-pitched voice.

“Damn, how do you manage to stand up to them every time? And now that Drill-!”

“Nope! He’s no prob at all! And Perry is the great one here, I just run away.”

Phineas chuckled softly, making the hazel figure with the long black hair turn his attention, speaking in a feminine voice.

“Sooooo, whatcha doing now? You’ll come back to us soon…”

Phineas suddenly stiffened. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

“…right?”

He whispered, his eyes fixed on a tall, slender doll dressed in dark red fabric. He reached out and slowly brought it towards him, contemplating it, as if searching for any expression in that tiny log of wood that served as a head. He took a deep breath and pressed his lips together, holding back a sob as he caressed the doll’s imaginary cheeks.

“Where the heck are you, Lily? Why are you so mean… why don’t you…”

Phineas frowned and tossed the little mannequin aside before diving headlong into the drawing of a moving train. He then moved on to various scribbles of inventions, then of puppets, or rather, of the people they represented. He even tried to make some inventions, but his sore arm and bad mood blocked his intentions before he could even begin. This disturbed him even more, so he gave up on doing anything else.

Digging through the pile of drawn papers, pencils, and tools, he found a small, dirty bag of red hand-sewn cloth. On it, there was an embroidered design depicting a cross-stitch needle with white wings and a thread at the end, which transformed into a wavy railroad with a small bright red train speeding along the tracks. A small cloud of steam was coming out of the locomotive’s chimney. Phineas sighed heavily, frowning with his glassy eyes as he stroked the beautiful drawing, admiring the details and losing himself in thought. He remained there for a while before tightening the bag in an iron grip, putting it in his jacket pocket, and finally coming out of the hiding place.

He looked out over the tunnels wrapped in darkness, the lamp in the lair was the only and feeble source of light for miles. Stopping near the basin where the sewage water flowed, he stretched his hands above his head to stretch his back and all the muscles of his body, stretching on both sides. He then bent his torso downwards to touch his boots with the tips of his fingers. Stretching finished, his attention turned to his still-numb and painful left arm. With a moment of reluctant preparation, he reached out a shaking hand to the source of the pain, finding a sharp stab at his touch that made him squeak and jerk his hand away.

The kid closed his eyes, heavy as two boulders, and crouched on the ground, running his fingers through his red curls. An expression mixed with exhaustion, pain, and fear, his chest and stomach worn by that sense of unbridgeable emptiness, emerged on his pale and dirty face. He turned sideways to take a look at the shelter, to observe that tiny light slanting from the small opening. His eyes watered, but he reflexively covered them and pushed back that emotion, taking rapid breaths followed by frustrated grunts. He slowly regained control, the eyes compressed by weak fists, until a grumble coming from his stomach echoed in those infinite, isolated labyrinths.

The child opened his eyelids and sighed, turning his attention to the weak currents of dirty water that barely reflected the light of the small lantern. The palms of his hands gently massaged his shoulders that were shaking with cold, crouched so low that his chin rested on his knees.

“Is it soup beans, or maybe corn,
Let’s see what we’ve got in store
Anything is good,
to turn our belly full…”

Hummed softly in a thin voice, a whisper audible only to him, with a low tone as if he wanted to make those soft words vibrate inside his chest. He took a long breath and stood up to walk back to his hiding place, but he stopped as soon as he saw Perry dart out of the crack.

“Woah! Perry? Are you okay?”

The animal looked at him sideways and went back to wandering agitatedly back and forth on the canal, alarming his companion. Suddenly, the two stopped, the boy slowly crouched down on the ground with his friend at his side, concentrating more than ever on hearing a sound dissonant compared to the gurgling of the stagnant water. The air became heavy, pungent on the lungs, bodies trembling like dry leaves in the wind. The exhausting silence was interrupted by sharp echoes. Clicks, traps that were triggered, yelps and cries that, kilometers away, echoed in the darkness of those desolate tunnels. They were getting closer.

The faces of the two fugitives contracted in an expression of pure terror. Perry reacted immediately by showing his teeth and bristling fur to growl against the distant sounds. Phineas was still, unable to move, with the oppressive sensation that the space around him was pressing on his body without leaving him any possibility of moving.

“N-not here too…”

Phineas whispered in shock, giving him the push he needed to slip into the shelter, grab his backpack, and throw all the inventions, papers, and objects scattered on the ground in a jumble. Once the bag was full, he took the lamp and went out, finding Perry, who continued to search the surroundings. The distant cries became louder and louder.

“P-Perry, we have to go.”

The animal turned to see his companion with the lit lantern in his trembling hand that illuminated his terrified face, ready to spring at any moment.

“C-come on!”

Screamed, convincing Perry to run together towards the exit. The sudden rush of the fugitives was perceived by the presences that sifted through the tunnels, from which a succession of threatening and encouraging yelps and screeches echoed.

The two companions quickly reached the stairs that led to the exit shaft for the station, but as soon as they went down three steps, they were greeted by two Moderators on lookout who were illuminating the tunnel with torches. As soon as they saw them, they started shooting tranquilizer darts, dodged in time by the two who then sprang back into the shafts. The Moderators’ screams behind them.

“Found them! They’re at the East exit, send reinforcements!”

The shouts in the darkness grew louder, closer to where the fugitives were winding, darting through the darkness almost blindly, jumping channels, and getting lost in the underground labyrinth.

Suddenly, a large dog leapt out of the darkness and forced the two to stop. The animal was hunched down, emitting low, threatening growls, as if to tell them to stop. Its coat was short and spotted in dark and light brown, a scar ran across its nose, its sharp teeth glinted in the light of the lamp, and by the red LED light of the large collar that was flashing intermittently.

“Oh snap…”

Phineas took a step back, infuriating the dog, who barked at the boy, threatening to attack. Perry stepped between the two and leaped at the animal, starting to bite him on the back of the neck.

“Perry!”

The boy screamed while trying to help him, but was grabbed from below and yanked to the ground by a large badger who pinned him down by pressing his paws into his chest and emitting loud growls and hisses just a few inches from his face. It had a collar as well. Phineas was terrified, his chest compressed by the animal, and the animalistic growls of his friend, who was fighting the dog. From the ground, he distinctly heard the voices of Moderators and other animals approaching them.

Driven by adrenaline, he struggled to get up from the ground, but the badger began to growl louder and press its claws into the boy's chest. With a squeak of pain, Phineas reached for the lantern that had fallen to the side and hit the beast's snout, making it falter and send it flying into the water with a kick. He stood up in pain and, barely noticing the dog whimpering on the ground, took Perry and ran away, using his shoes to jump further and faster. The badger started chasing them, joined by other animals.

During the run, Perry stood on his friend's shoulders to inspect the surroundings and saw another dog and a snake intent on following them, not to mention some Moderators seen in passing. The situation was getting exponentially worse.

“Perry! The teleporter! Let’s get out of here!”

The animal immediately carried out the order. He rummaged through his backpack with difficulty while Phineas continued to run and jump wildly to lose the ever-increasing number of pursuers. Once he finally found the device, he quickly handed it to the boy. Phineas stopped and was about to activate it, but a crow caught him by surprise and began to peck him on the head while cawing loudly for help. After a few attempts, the bird stole the device from Phineas’s hands and flew away.

“Hey! Give it back!”

He shouted before chasing the crow through the dark vehicles. Still on his shoulders, Perry stood on alert with bristling fur and protruding canines, ready to attack any aggressor.

The bird took advantage of the darkness of the tunnels to camouflage itself as best as possible and dart nimbly from one tunnel to another, making it difficult to catch despite the child illuminating it as much as possible with the flashlight. Phineas was a few meters away, struggling to keep up even with the help of his boots, not to mention that the animal was using his own traps placed on the ceiling to capture him. He narrowly escaped two prehensile nets and an attack by a raccoon that, from the canal, was about to bite his ankle, had it not been for Perry's reflexes, who, with a flick of his tail, swatted it away.

Seeing the crow move away, Phineas frowned and, hesitantly, prepared his hand in his backpack and began to jump dangerously between the opposite walls of the tunnels to gain more speed thanks to the push of his shoes. Just before the bird curved into a new tunnel, Phineas grabbed a pair of capturing pincers and threw them at the bird, capturing it in his grip.

The child fell to the ground, barely avoiding tripping over the canal. Perry slipped in the blow but promptly lunged at the crow and grabbed the device with his teeth, struggling against the bird that was holding it with its beak. Phineas got up and helped his friend to take the teleporter, then moved away from the animal on the ground to try to activate the invention. However, he was taken by surprise once again by the raccoon who, in reflex to fear, hit it with the lantern, which, however, broke, making them sink into total darkness.

Phineas panicked, breathing heavily, and his eyes watered while the world around him became suffocating, and the sounds became an unbearable din. They were now very close. His companion shook him agitatedly on the shoulders, insistently touching the teleporter. This brought the boy to his senses and, after a few seconds of blindly fiddling with it, he activated the device, and the two escaped underground only to suddenly find themselves on a snowbank in an alley, next to large garbage bins that hid them from prying eyes.

The ice seemed to bring back a little consciousness to the two, now breathless and trying to find as much air as possible while they realized, shocked and in pain, what had just happened. Perry, after swallowing a lump in his throat, rushed to see the child's condition. The kid was staring at the frozen and dirty ground, shaking as if he were having convulsions while sweat dripped down his forehead, wetting his hair, his eyes were wet and narrow, his cheeks scarlet. The animal immediately saw the compromised jacket on his chest, two bruises on his forehead, and a scratch on his cheek.

Perry nuzzled his injured cheek with his beak, bringing the boy back to reality. The child turned to look at the bite marks on his chest and back, terrified.

“Oh Perry, y-you're hurt! I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to get stuck, I-I should have taken the teleportation e-earlier, b-but I-I didn't believe that, I-I didn't know that-!”

The animal stopped him by placing his paw on his lips and giving him a faint smile and a nod to reassure him. Phineas hardened his gaze and took a cloth from his backpack to massage his friend's back, as he pocketed the two teleportation devices. He had a feeling they would be of use to him now more than ever. A tense silence fell between the two, the cold air whipping on the two tired faces, reflecting on what had happened. Phineas clenched his fist, feeling the pain in the wound on his forearm and the repressed disdain and fear.

“So they really decided to use them... I didn't expect it at all. Who even were those little furry and black masked ones… I-I mean, did you see them all down there? They were amazing.”

His eye fell on the inside of his companion's ankles, where he saw two dark spurs protruding just above the webbed paws. Perry noticed it and sat down, covering his ankles with his tail in shame, avoiding the child's gaze. Phineas put down the cloth and gently stroked the animal's head.

“Don’t worry, Perry, you didn’t do anything wrong. You wanted to make us escape, and it was the only way.”

Phineas reassured affectionately, smiling. Perry looked at him sideways, and with a moment of reluctance, he smiled sideways back.

After cuddling his friend for a little longer, Phineas settled down on the pile of snow and trash, crossing his legs and staring at the ground with an absorbed and agitated look.

“Stupid blockheads, they took our shelter away… and our train… no, not that… I hope” He let out a long, irritated moan “What are we gonna do now? Now they even have animals hunting us, it’ll be so hard to find a new place to hide” he began to scratch his chin thoughtfully, his eyebrows raised “there must be a factory to go to, right? Like the one that made clothes that no one used anymore. O-or in the station. In the station… in the ducts or… in someone’s house…”

He looked to his companion for support, but Perry shook his head in despair, dashing any faint hope the boy had. Phineas pursed his lips, pondering.

“Maybe in the abandoned buildings?... or one of those tunnels…”

His uncertainty was confirmed by his pet, who reluctantly shook his head again and leaned toward him to sniff his clothes loudly and look up. Phineas sighed in exasperation.

“That’s right. Those animals have a super sense of smell, especially dogs. What are we gonna do? I don’t even have that many devices left to deal with them, and if they catch us…”

​​The last words escaped faintly from his lips, as if the vapor that his breath emitted while he spoke was frozen like his soul at that last thought. Perry immediately shook his shoulder and, having gained his friend's attention, frowned and beat his tail twice in a row on the snow. The child inhaled a breath of air and straightened his back to give himself courage.

“Y-yeah, you're right,” he whispered before caressing his cheek, “we won't let them.”

A screech tore through the sky, and the two looked up to see an eagle that, from about fifty meters, dived headlong towards them at great speed. Phineas put Perry on his shoulders and jumped out of its path. He emerged into the street and ran away from the Moderators on patrol who were looking for them. The two managed to reach the top of the rooftops, the snow raging their escape, when suddenly, a familiar voice spoke through the speakers scattered throughout the city.

“Attention please: to all Moderators, I order the temporary suspension of the chase so that the fugitive can hear me well.”

Phineas froze in mid-air and fell back onto the roof of a fabric warehouse. He was crouched on the ground, gasping for air, his eyes wide, trembling. Perry, still on his shoulders, wrapped himself around his friend’s neck, as if to protect him. Both of them were waiting for the sergeant’s cold, stern voice.

“Listen to me, kid. You’ve seen that we’re prepared ourselves pretty damn well and that we’ll spend all our resources and energies to catch you. And we’ll do it at the cost of your safety and your little beast's. Now, to make things easier for both of us, I give you one more chance to turn yourself in: we know what you are looking for, and we can tell you where she is.”

A rush swelled in his chest, his face contorted in blind rage, and without thinking, he looked out of the factory’s roof.

“YOU’RE A LIAR!”

His scream tore through the cloudy sky, echoing in the surrounding streets as if to reflect his thunderstruck state. After a while, Drill’s voice answered him from the speakers.

“Believe what you want, Flynn. I’m offering you the chance to end this senseless and harmful quest of yours: declare your immediate surrender, and you’ll receive the answers you’re looking for. Run away again, and we’ll exhaust you until we capture you for good. This is my first and only chance to negotiate.”

The Moderators and animals that were chasing him were staring at the child from the ground, anxious to have an answer from the person concerned. Perry looked at them, oppressed by those eyes and by that extraordinary situation. He then looked at his companion, anxious to know the response, too.

Phineas tightened his numb fingers on the building’s parapet, a grimace hiding his gnashing teeth as the shivering of the cold mingled with his anger. It didn’t take him long to give his answer.

“We don't need anyone! Not you, not any of you blockheads! We'll find her by ourselves, and we'll all go far, far away. Right up on your sorry asses!” A grin similar to a smug grimace that highlighted his sharp canines towered on his scarlet face before he leaned over the railing facing the Moderators, trembling in the grip of a feverish exaltation, “So do your best!”

And with a long, loud raspberry, he darted aside and leapt like lightning across the rooftops. The Moderators reflexively resumed their pursuit, both fueled by the insult and motivated to do their utmost to catch the fugitive.

A few miles away, Sergeant Drill sat in one of the vans in the center of town with the receiver to transmit to the loudspeakers. A smug, malicious smile spread across his lips and, with a wave of his hand, he gave the order to the waiting patrols to proceed.

“So be it.”