A/N: Hey, everyone! I apologize if any of you felt that this chapter was long overdue. If you've been following my profile updates, I've been preoccupied with other ongoing projects at the time, as well as my part-time job. But, rest assured, I strongly intend to keep you all in the loop through future updates to my profile. I am also thinking about implementing brand-new stuff on my profile that estimates when I plan to update any given story. I'm still working out all of the kinks, so hopefully you get to see what that looks like, ladies and gentlemen.

Alright, that should be all at this point! On with the long-awaited chapter. ENJOY!

P.S.: Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:

-Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick
-Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)
-Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly
-Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to
-Stay informed on the COVID-19 vaccines and get shots if you're able to

And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:

-Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough
-Not sharing food and drinks with others
-Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)
-Avoiding close contact with others
-Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects
-Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)
-Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)

If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

Original A/N: Hey, everyone! My apologies for the totally un-awesomely slow update. I feel like I'm starting to lose my mojo in writing P&F fics. As a result, this chapter might be a bit too short for your tastes, but hopefully the ending shocks you.

Alright, time for Chapter 20. ENJOY!

Phineas watched from the window of an overhead office constructed specifically for him as the ones he considered his friends before this event were being forced by the members of the Red Triangle to build new technology. This activity had been going on for a couple of days now, and the captives obviously looked exhausted beyond belief. There was still a pang of guilt within his stomach, something that he anticipated, and the inventor knew that it was because he still wasn't used to voluntarily submitting to the Shadow's will and literally merging with the evil soul.

But there was no turning back anymore. Phineas was used to being a winner, a champion of the better good. Sure, allying with a villain wasn't the greater good, but he knew that resisting would result in more innocent people being hurt and he didn't want that to happen. So, his best strategy was just to go with the flow.

And besides, there was this feeling of power that Phineas seemed to be...enjoying...

Phineas shook his head and thought, "I can't be enjoying this kind of power. It's probably the influence from merging with the Shadow. I can't possibly enjoying power that is earned by pain-"

His thoughts were interrupted when a voice said, "You know, you guys are gonna have to pay for this reconstruction."

Phineas twirled around in his chair to see the same secretary from Chapter 7 standing in the doorway, a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. He was tapping his foot patiently.

"And how long were you here?" asked Phineas, his blue-green eyes flashing menacingly.

"Long enough to see what you guys were doing," the man replied. "Now, according to Tri-State Area laws, you're not allowed to reconstruct a location of importance to the community without permission and a pay beforehand."

"Red Triangle, capture this buffoon and zap him with the Turn-Everything-Evil-Inator!"

Rodney and Cravenblack arrived on the scene and dragged with the secretary away.

"WAIT! I forgot to mention that it is illegal to zap an innocent civilian with a thingamajig without permission!"

"Very well. Does the Red Triangle have your permission to get zapped by the Turn-Everything-Evil-Inator?"

"Yes," replied the man absently. He then shook his head in realization. "I mean, no. I mean-"

"Take him away!" Phineas ordered.

"WAIT! You DO know that the Danville Wreckers are gonna play a game here today!"

"Tell them that there has been a change of plans."

The man continued to let out large screams of protest that echoed all over the room as Rodney and Cravenblack dragged him away. Seconds later, Diminuitive walked into the room, a long whip in his hands.

"Shadow, sir-"

"It's completely unnecessary to call me 'Shadow' now, Dr. Diminuitive," snarled Phineas without looking at the evil scientist. "It's just...irrelevant. I gave the order that everyone shall now call me 'Phineas'..."

"Yes, that's right, sir." Diminuitive cleared his throat before continuing. "Phineas, sir, one of our captives wants to talk to you."

"Tell him or her I don't have the time, and never will," Phineas replied grimly.

"This captive, he wants to join the Red Triangle. He wasn't scheduled to be zapped by the Turn-Everything-Evil-Inator, and yet, he has recently expressed a desire to join our cause."

"Send him in," Phineas said quickly, turning around, his eyes filled with interest.

Diminuitive left the room, and just a second later, Phineas watched as the captive so willing to join the up-and-coming criminal organization stepped into his office, a malicious smile on his face. Phineas's true personality, the caring and optimistic one, became shocked to see that this particular captive wanted to follow his lead and give in to the commands of evil, but the Shadow's personality, as evil and dominant as ever, became pleased to know that a new soldier was joining the Red Triangle ranks.

"You want to join the Red Triangle, willingly?" asked Phineas.

"That's right, Phineas," replied Baljeet. "I wish to do so. This Red Triangle's obviously gonna win against Isabella, Ferb, and all the others that escaped, and accomplish its megalomaniacal goals. ...You see, I've been thinking about it for a while, and I came to the conclusion that if everything looks hopeless for my side, then I might as well just join for the kicks of it."

"Please tell me this isn't just means to bring down the Red Triangle from the inside."

Baljeet shook his head. "Nope. I really want to join the Red Triangle. Not only because it's obvious you guys are gonna win, but because there's something I'll gain from all of this should I join."

"And that is?"

"Isabella. You see, I've had this crush on her for a long, long time. However, she's always been ignoring me, failing to recognize my feelings for her. All she does is put me aside in favor of YOU.

"However, now that you're evil, I find an advantage in that. She'll lose faith in her crush on you because of that, and that puts her up for my grabs. I'll comfort her and become the Phineas she always wanted, or I'll just get her zapped by the device you keep mentioning, the one that induces evil. But for that to happen, I can't let her see me be on the losers' side, which is why I want to join you."

"That's why you want to join the Red Triangle?" Phineas asked. "For love?" He began to cackle. "How PREPOSTEROUS!" He then ceased his evil laughing and considered Baljeet. "But I like it. I like it. You're in. However, I want you to take a simple test..."

"Which is?"

Phineas procured a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, causing a cage containing an OWCA agent, a kangaroo, to emerge from the floor. The agent struggled to break down the cage's bars, but without any success. Baljeet noticed a strange-looking collar strapped around the agent's neck before Phineas tossed him in the remote.

"The red button's the activation switch for this agent's shock collar, which has thrice the power of an average shock collar. Press it."

"E-E-Excuse me?" sputtered Baljeet nervously.

"Press the red button. Make it suffer..."

"W-W-Won't that kind of power kill it?"

"Don't worry about that. The technology is advanced and will prevent the shocking from being fatal. But it's the torture that we villains savor. Now, PRESS the button."

Baljeet looked at the red button nervously, then the struggling kangaroo agent. He then glanced at Phineas, who smirked tauntingly.

"What's the matter? Afraid to do it? I expected that. After all, you're a weak-looking one. No wonder why Isabella kept ignoring you..."

Evil suddenly flooded into Baljeet's eyes and his finger went down on the red button. The agent screamed as electricity surged through its body, and two different cackles flooded the room.

Original A/N: Yep, looks like Baljeet's joining the Red Triangle. Things are really going to Phineas's/Shadow's favor now...

I'm starting to get dissatisfied with the dark tone of the story. I mean, I've seen P&F fics with a dark tone, but I just feel displeased with my take on it. I'm not backing out of this rewrite like I did with the original, I can't afford to piss you guys off for a second time, but I just don't feel good with trying to balance the usual light-hearted mood that we see on the show with a dark tone. Maybe that's why I chickened out on the original...

This is the point where I respond to the reviews, but I feel really lazy right now. I had to go to places before writing this down, and I feel tired and bummed out. Sorry, guys. I'll just simply thank you all for reviewing.

Well, hope you enjoyed this short chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!

New A/N: Welp, there's not much to say that the original ending Author's Note did not say. At this point, I'm just going through the motions, making sure this fic's re-posted to its completion. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

-Gamelover41592: Thanks! I do appreciate it. :D

-DisneyFan16: Thanks for clearing all of that up. Now, can you please describe what you enjoyed about this chapter? Or anything you didn't like? I feel like you could've send that review in a PM instead.

Well, hope you enjoyed this late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!