~POV to Sorcerer (oo spooky)~

The disheveled green-skinned man idly hummed his grievances and drew circles in the ground. A large sigh drew from his being and he glanced towards the only creature that possibly cared or knew where he was: the rat. "It's so... boring when I don't stank anyone." He sighed in defeat.

The rat scurried over to pat his knee.

The Sorcerer glanced to his little buddy, the faintest of smiles on his expression at the gesture. He opened his mouth to respond, only to roll his eyes and wave his hand.

"We have news oh great one!"

"Please, The Sorcerer is enough of a title for me." The Sorcerer huffed and turned to face McFist's green-tinted mug.

"We're getting closer to our end goal. We only have a few more ingredients left."

"Is that all you want to tell me?" The Sorcerer's eyes flared slightly. "I'm still not over you throwing that... girl into the plan."

"But... Sorcerer... She has valuable information!" McFist didn't look very certain- or at least nervous, from his position in the swirling green mass of portal-communication.

"She might endanger the ceremony." The Sorcerer spat in response, his anger boiling to the surface. He stood, flames dancing along his hands.

"Yes, but we think that she's important to Danny Phantom! We could lure him and the trio right to us!"

"And why would we want to do that?" The Sorcerer's voice was drenched in venom. "We still have the advantage of surprise!"

"But I thought-"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO THINK!" The Sorcerer shouted, the green mass of energy balling in his palms exploded at the outburst. The man then felt slightly bad, seeing that the rat just barely managed to scamper out of the flame's range. The fact that he felt bad then fueled his anger more. But, he took a calming breath and lowered his voice, the rage still evident. "...I'm the one who thinks here. Not you."

"I'm sorry-"

"Is that all you have to report?" The Sorcerer cut the man off once more.

"Not everything." The ancient being paused his rant when the previously silent scientist made his way forward. "Sorcerer, I think I have figured out the identity of the American Dragon."

The Sorcerer's eyes narrowed distrustfully. "And that matters to me because...?"

"It means we're more likely to figure out The Ninja's identity."

"...How?"

"We just have to follow the American Dragon and Danny Phantom's alter egos- find out who they're hanging out with."

The Sorcerer turned from the portal, thinking for a moment. He contemplated the benefits. It was definitely an intriguing notion, but the real test was whether they were right or not. And seeing how much the duo had failed him in the past, The Sorcerer was hesitant to trust that any of their plans would work. Besides, he didn't fully trust that... Plasmius character. But then again... They had managed to keep the potion creation on the down-low thus far... McFist keeping anything secret was rather surprising and impressive. Vlad had played a large part in that, along with the Huntsman's reliable gathering. He turned to the scientist and billionaire once more. "Who is it and where's your proof?"

~Jazz POV~

Jazz peeled her ears as she attempted to overhear what McFist was talking about. By this time the girl had finished faking her unconsiousness, keeping her external emotions stern and steely. There was no way the villains were going to get information out of her. She'd been trying to get communication with Danny... Or, anyone really. McFist and Viceroy (Jazz had asked the other voice's name as soon as she "woke up"; earning a disgusted gasp and a disappointed introduction with a "How can you not know me?") had taken her phone and one of the Fenton Phones. She hoped and prayed that they didn't take apart the gizmo or do anything to connect Danny to Danny- er, that is, Phantom to Fenton. They hadn't seemed to do that yet, as they left the second phone determining that the device was useless separated from its pair. Of course, Jazz had swayed them to think that; again, her acting surprising her.

In her time here she had learned that Vlad, McFist, and some person named the Huntsman (the skull -he?- wore was more freaky in person, Jazz noticed) had teamed up and were... Baking something?

Regardless, Jazz had constantly been attempting to reach any of the trio, their company, and even the ops center. She had only received static. The teen bit her lip as she scooted closer to the wall, trying to hear the conversation. Despite being a prisoner, Jazz seemed to get around just fine. The gorillas were no match for her superior intellect and quickly succumbed to any tricks Jazz pulled off. At the moment, she was standing outside what she called the control room. It seemed to be where McFist- sorry, Viceroy came up with all of their plans. Today... They were talking to someone else? She fiddled with the Fenton Phones once more, trying to remember what Tucker told her about the upgrades.

She froze.

"The American Dragon is a boy named Jake Long."

Jasmine's world suddenly cracked, her body shuddered uncontrollably, complete helplessness and a disgusting feeling of knowledge slugging her thought train out of the way as the words were spoken. She hyper-concentrated on the words, her entire focus shifting to hear every tiny detail.

"How do you know?" Voice 3 asked with suspicion.

Jazz dared a peek into the room, her heart stopping and fingers trembling at the sight before her.

Viceroy had brought out a small iPad-like device (the McTab if Jazz remembered correctly) and pulled up a video.

"This is from one of the many bugs Plasmius planted around the school. Thankfully, this one made it back before someone or thing destroyed it." Viceroy chuckled, then coughed when he realized his joke wasn't well received. "Anyways, the other day it caught this."

Jazz's teal eyes widened in fear as Jake appeared on the grainy, black-and-white recording. He glanced around, then sullenly called forth his dragon form. The black-haired boy didn't even say his catchphrase... Not even a replacement was muttered under his breath. Her expression changed when it dawned on her what time this was- back when Danny was caught by Catfish. Despite not being with the group all the time, Jazz learned and heard about the boy's adventures. This particular one... She faintly remembered Jake talking about how worried he was- so worried, that he didn't even speak until he and Danny fought Booray. It was told as a joke at the time, but the memory only caused Jazz's knees to buckle.

The ginger took a sharp breath and refused to pass out, fumbling the Fenton Phone into her fingers. She shakily pressed every button she could find- then, a click went off in her head. It could record! The teen went to press the untouched, hidden button and stopped, shaking her head to calm her nerves. She forced her attention back onto the men in the room, determined to learn as much as she could. Afterwards she could always speak about what she saw.

"...Complications, so it couldn't return directly." Viceroy leaned forward and pet the bug that brought the information, "but it came home!" The scientist sighed. "Bugsy is loyal after all!"

The green man cringed, then interrupted Viceroy's... Petting. "Okay..." He was obviously disgusted by the action. "What's the status of the po-" He cut himself off with a groan. "With the cake. What's the status of the cake?"

"We have seven of ten collected, sir." McFist jumped forward, ushering Viceroy to put away the silly McTab. "Vlad's getting the peppermint and vanilla as we speak!"

At this, Voice 3 smiled, his wrinkly face making it seem rather nightmarish.

~Vlad POV~

"Back again dude?"

Vlad Masters glanced up from his cart, instantly slacking at the appearance of a child in a beanie.

"I got you last time!" The clerk looked happy.

"Yes, hello. Please, continue checking out." Vlad waved to the stuff he was buying. Most of it was random stuff on his shopping list, but the man eyed the most important item he purchased: peppermint. Well, that and the vanilla beans, but he could get those beans from anywhere really. This was the fifth store he went to for peppermint leaves. Who knew it would be so hard to find non-freeze-dried leaves?

"How'd your celebration go?" The beanie asked between reading out the prices.

"Actually, we haven't started yet. Delayed flight." Vlad easily smiled, his lie rather seamless to any normal person. How did he get stuck with this idiot of a clerk again? Wasn't this super rare for how big the mall-like store was?

"Aw man that sucks!" The beanie hummed, then blinked, his checking out paused when he spoke. "Oh, you know, my friend Jake also wants to celebrate soon." He shrugged, then continued, the peppermint finally reaching the bags. "Something about... A scar, a plan..." The teen shrugged again.

Vlad relaxed slightly, still eager to get the item back to the Sorcerer. He was sick of the small chores. He was sick of making this potion for the Sorcerer. The green man boasted about the ancient recipe, but Vlad wasn't sure it would work. How could a cake do anything? "A scar seems rather intense." Masters commented indifferently, impatient to get back. He wanted the bigger jobs. In terms of favoritism, the Huntsman was far beyond Vlad.

"Eh? Oh, it was by accident." The beanie frowned, like he had said too much. "That'll be $54.76. Do you want to round to $55.00 and donate to the local shelter?"

"Sure." Vlad brought out his wallet, one hand shifting to pay and the other loading the cart back up.

"The Fish 'n Bones appreciates your donation." The beanie kid gave another sloppy grin, Vlad no longer caring to try to read his nametag. He felt like he should, but pushed the idea away. There was no reason for him to fear this bumbling fool right?

"Have a good day Mr. Mayor."

Vlad glanced to the teen once more, his gaze flicking to read 'Arthur Spudinski'. "You too Arthur." The mayor gave a soft smile before taking his card, signing, and turning to his cart. His smile faded, replaced by a stern line. "You too."


Ooo hoo... Was not expecting the chapter to go like that! But, it's been revealed that the "baking" is actually the baddies making a cake! But is it a normal cake? What exactly is this confectionery delight? What are they planning? Aren't they getting a bit too close to succeeding in their plans?

And! Oh, man... Jake, you goofed! Back in Chapter 21! Now the baddies know who you are!

We're getting closer to the end... Do you feel that tension?

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing/commenting! Until next time! *tips hat*