CHAPTER 11: TOTAL RECALL, PART 2
The day for Danny Fenton had come to a decent start. Waking in a small park in the city next to his wife after a night of champagne and passion, he arrived back to a leisure around his home with her yet again, said leisure coming to a ceasing temporarily to enjoy a quick training session, then enjoying the luxuries and indulgences of love with no activity else left to fulfill soon after.
That lack of activity soon came to an end when Jazz had requested a search regarding a large power level of ectoplasmic energy in the Ghost Zone. Not able to match the anomaly towards any known ghost the family had encountered before, there came a need to identify the entity and ensure it would not pose a threat to them or the world.
Not much was expected of the reading, other than to proceed to it with caution; all lack of past experience with the entity making them unsure of what it could be, save for a new attempt at a recreation of Danny Phantom. As such, Danny thought of the search as nothing more than a simple recon mission into the Ghost Zone, expecting to find nothing that he was incapable of dealing with.
What he found, however, was something far worse than even the worst-case scenario in his mind could have predicted. The reading that Jazz had picked up on by chance had posed a far greater threat than any new ectoweapon forged from a human soul, but instead one of his greatest threats he had faced in his early years:
Dark Danny.
The creature was born of an accident resulting in the deaths of the rest of Fenton family and Danny's closest friends, resulting in an alternate timeline where it was soon born. Laying waste to its own world and coming to the past to ensure its existence would last, the being known as Dark Danny sought to cause the deaths of his family again, leaving Danny himself unable to save his family in time.
It is by divine intervention itself by the being named Clockwork that allowed him to have a fresh start to life again, averting the tragedy that gave birth to his darker, genocidal self that he faced and barely defeated. Ever since that trial had long past him, he believed the fear and terror of his dark self to be gone and no longer a concern...
...until now, and the fear is now shared with the rest of the family when he had finished sharing the aforementioned events with the rest of the Fentons. Taking in the news in full as delivered by Danny, it is not just the story itself which disturbs them, but how heavy that the youngest member of the family had been forced to live with such a memory, and relive it through reciting the events once again.
"And now he's back. I don't know how, but he's back. Maybe he managed to find a way to escape from Clockwork, maybe he even killed Clockwork, I don't know. But he's even stronger than he was when I first fought him, and I barely managed to do it the first time. That's why I'm so scared." Danny said.
With Danny's story coming to an end, the family took a collective silence to reflect on his sharing, none taking the news with any sense of pleasure or joy. The most that could be managed by way of levity was a comment from Jack Fenton, but even it was not enough to relieve the tension of the moment.
"Well... Uh... That's definitely a lot to take in, Danny. If it makes you feel any better, getting blown up by Nasty Sauce sounds like a decent way to go if you ask me." Jack said.
"Jack, not helping." Maddie said.
"Er, right, sorry."
Trying to be more supportive than her absent-minded parents, Jazz stepped towards Danny and laid a caring hand on him, lightly rubbing his shoulder.
"Danny, don't worry. That was another time. It's different now. Things aren't gonna play out the same. Listen, you got him once before, right? That was before we made half the advancements in our gear that we had then. We can bag and tag a ghost on our own faster than even you can. Maybe he roughed you up a little, but he's not gonna have a fair fight against all of us, even if he's got others helping him." Jazz said.
"Yeah. It's gonna take a lot more than just bad memory to break up this family." Sam said.
"That's right. We Fentons never back down from a fight!" Jack said.
"Especially not when it comes to fighting ghosts." Maddie said.
The prior reliving of past tragedies and traumas had taken their toll on Danny Fenton, lingering on with feelings of anxiety and tension that cloud his abilities to think and process any rational thought clearly. Still do the feelings pour over his brain and start to affect his judgement, but there is another profound affect that fights back against the negativity that eats away at his mind:
There is support from his family, which gives him an unquestionably large boost of confidence which gives him the strength to move forward to the battle needed to be taken to see the threat of Dark Danny eliminated once and for all. Little and few is the support he receives, and still does he have his own reservations and uncertainty about the future...
...but there is enough force with hope to rise to his feet once again, and seeing his rising gives the rest of the family hope as well. With a somber nod and partial smile, Danny agreed with the sentiments of his family, ready to take on the fight together, as a family should.
"You're right. But we can't do this alone. We'll still need some more help." Danny said.
"More? We're the biggest ghost-hunting group on the planet. Who else is there to help us?" Sam asked.
"The biggest help anyone could ask for. The President of the United States of America."
Light-years away from the developing phone call to the presidential hotline, the distant planet of Carcerem still rests complacently in the hold of its twin suns, like a set of parents giving a natural and unconditional love to its child to offer its support. Such similes of life might seem inappropriate for most in the planet's current state of affairs, however, as it currently holds resident to members of the undead themselves...
...and the ghosts have already made their debut on the planet making plenty of residents on the small world join them in a trip to the world beyond life, in a trip much less pleasant and peaceful that most individuals would like to have. The ghosts' main goal on this planet is to locate one of its prisoners, and that prisoner they have found standing before their leader unafraid and unfaltering.
Vlad Plasmius is the prisoner that they have sought out, and the leader of the ghosts is a being now calling itself Demon Phantom. Kindred spirits in the most literal sense physically possible, they both maintain a sense of superiority, facing off against one another with impartiality in hopes of gaining dominance over the other.
The effort would continue in a stalemate were time permitting, but, with other affairs on his mind, Demon Phantom put the standoff to an end with a laugh.
"So, here you've been, after all this time. Out of all the places you could have been for so many years, I must certainly admit that an alien prison was definitely not one of my prime candidates for searching. Nonetheless, you've not changed a bit. Still you've got that sense of self-importance; that ego you could never find a way to properly deflate. Some things just never change." Demon Phantom said.
"And people ask me if I love hearing the sound of my own voice." Vlad said.
Having his entire speech dismissed with a simple insult, Demon Phantom once again let out a laugh, amused by the try for superiority Vlad was displaying.
"And just as quick-witted as ever, I see. You really haven't lost a beat, haven't you?" Demon Phantom asked.
"Listen, asshole, I don't know who you are or what you want, but I was in the middle of a workout before you decided to interrupt me. So why don't you go fly away to some other planet to find someone else who cares?" Vlad asked.
Vlad's next dismission had instead given Demon Phantom pause from his next sentence, not fully understanding the reasoning behind his choice of words.
"Hmm? What's the matter? Don't you remember- Oh, yes, that's right, I'd never taken the time to see you in this timeline, have I? What a wasted opportunity that was." Demon Phantom asked.
"Were you planning on saying something that made sense, or are you purposely trying to keep me in the dark for your own amusement? If it helps, I don't know who you or your friends are or what you want with me. If you're supposed to be someone from my past, I regret to inform you that I don't remember any of it." Vlad said.
Demon Phantom's expression changed once more, this time turning to curiosity and intrigue.
"You don't remember anything at all? Have you truly become so lost in your life that you don't even remember the first thing about yourself?" Demon Phantom asked.
"I don't even remember how I got on this planet. My best guess is that it was something to do with an asteroid and a crash landing. Now, I'm telling you for the last time: Whatever it is you're selling, I'm not buying. That was a fancy little show you did against the Irkens and their lasers, but I'm ultimately not impressed. Get out of my sight and leave me alone." Vlad said.
Uninterested in continuing the conversation with Demon Phantom any further, Vlad turned around to disregard his guest completely, seeking to amuse himself with whatever was close enough in his sight to catch his attention. To ensure that his attention was kept, Demon Phantom responded to Vlad with a reminder of his past, starting with his name and former status in life.
"So, look at the great Vlad Masters. Once one of the richest men on the Earth, now a simple prisoner in this horrid planet in the middle of nowhere, far away from his own home planet, so disappointed with his past that he chooses to forget it." Demon Phantom said.
Upon hearing the name that he was referred to, Vlad stopped in his tracks, intrigued from the utterance of the title. Turning looked at Demon Phantom, Vlad carried in his expression a show of curiosity, seeming to crave more information than the morsel that was given to him.
"'Vlad Masters'? That's my name? And I thought 'Vamp' sounded stupid. I guess for all the money I supposedly had, I couldn't have have bought a better name than that?" Vlad said.
Hearing the egotistical Vlad provide a rare sampling of self-depreciating humor, Demon Phantom once again laughed at the response, following with more of his past.
"Well, there is another name that you were once referred to. One that struck fear into many and was known as a being who got whatever he wanted when Vlad Masters couldn't get it. Vlad Plasmius." Demon Phantom said.
"'Vlad Plasmius'? A simple change of my last name somehow made me two different people? This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You had caught my attention briefly from these little sparks of truth, but you're beginning to bore me with your severe lack in giving me anything that actually applies to me." Vlad said.
After thinking of a way to sustain Vlad's attention, an idea had come to him, urging SkulkTech to step forward to fulfill the idea to reality.
"I don't believe it. Not only do you really not remember who you are, but you don't even care to know when the chance is offered to you." Demon Phantom said.
"Nope." Vlad said.
"Not even the chance to know who this is?"
At Demon Phantom's orders, SkulkTech held out his hand, displaying a hologram of Danny Fenton on it, changing back and forth between his human form and to Danny Phantom to showcase both of his faces. Seeing the boy in his dreams brought forth once again, the sight had immediately caught Vlad's attention, and in an instant his apathy had been fully vitalized with renewed interest.
Though no words had come from Vlad's mouth, his face expressed a desire to know more, giving Demon Phantom a smile as he saw opportunity present itself again.
"Well, it seems that as much as you forgot, you still remember some of the most important things, don't you?" Demon Phantom asked.
"I don't remember who he is... but I keep seeing him in my head. I feel like he was the most important somehow, I could never place how or why. Anytime I'd remember something even minor, it would all trace back to him eventually. You know who he is?" Vlad asked.
"Step forward and I'll show you for yourself."
Vlad reluctantly stepped forward in compliance to the request, cautiously keeping his guard and following along only to see this figure from his past revealed at last. Having his chance to gain his last follower, Demon Phantom slowly put his hands around Vlad's head, doing so gently to assure Vlad of his safety.
"This will feel a little strange, and, once you see what you are looking for, you may very well get... upset, to say the least." Demon Phantom warned.
"Just show me who he is and get it over with." Vlad said.
"As you wish."
Demon Phantom followed through with the impatient demand, beginning to show Vlad his forgotten memories.
The composition of a ghost itself is based around memes; thoughts, ideas, beliefs, passions, and, most importantly, memories. It is the latter of these building blocks of the spirit that Demon Phantom is in search of, and quickly in the being of Vlad Plasmius does he find the specific ones he requires.
Making a beginning at the beginning of Vlad's life, his birth, he moves on to other significant events, fast-fowarding through them until stopping at the significant portions for Vlad to indulge in. The first he stops at is the incident in which he had first received his powers, coming into full contact with an ectoplasmic blast to his face.
The memories then progressed on to his first years as a young man, using his new ghost powers to make himself wealthy. The emotions that greatly associate with these thoughts are feelings of envy and resent towards the Fentons, and it is towards one family member that comes far later that he solely focuses these destructive emotions on.
Of course, the Fenton in question is none other than the boy named Danny, who would soon come into a scientific accident which would grant him his own ghost powers. Each and every encounter and fight had played back for Vlad to see, forcing him to relive many of his lowest moments once again.
Minute details of experiences other than pure opposition followed through, ranging from a team-up to accomplish their combined defeat of Pariah Dark, to his unsuccessful attempts to clone Danny Phantom, and the events which led to his exile from Earth, there was no escape to be found from Danny Phantom in his life.
Each memory had brought him further and further agitation and rage, but it had another effect for the one invoking the memories from the fellow ghost.
Born of both Danny and Vlad's ghost halves, a fusion and union of the two's worst qualities, Demon Phantom was able to see every last detail of Vlad's life as well. Carrying the memories of both Danny and Vlad per his own creation, to experience them once again for himself is an interesting encounter, but ultimately one that only invokes enough interest to keep the task at hand more entertaining.
But it is far from any pleasant experiences that Vlad has for himself. Continuing to play back every wasted year and revelation of his own powers, to learn how much time that had been wasted with the new identity he had accumulated during his time on the planet, all at the hands of his sworn enemy of Danny Phantom, it fills him with rage that he cannot take anymore.
Upon achieving total recall of his life at last, Vlad did what any person would do if they forgot who they were for an untold number of years:
He completely lost control of himself.
"DANNY PHANTOM! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Vlad screamed.
[Soundtrack Cue: White Zombie - More Human Than Human (Meet Bambi in the King's Harem Mix)]
Unleashing every bit of potential in his ghost powers, Vlad unleashed a complete maelstrom of ectoplasmic power, creating a blast that blew straight through the roof of the prison, blasting through several feet of thick metal, outmatching the power of 1,000 nuclear warheads.
As Vlad continued his energy burst, the ectoplasmic blast had increased its range where it had blasted through one of the planet's moons, completely disintegrating it and causing its remains to begin to reforming as a ring. The blast of energy was a great display of the powers he had at his disposal, but the minor show was not enough to rid himself of the rage in his heart.
Turning to the prisoners, now cowering away from the enraged Vlad Plasmius, he still carried more rage and anger in his heart over all the wasted years in the prison, and sought to find someplace else to put his newfound energy onto. As the first things in his sight, the other prisoners are the ones unfortunate enough to be his target of choice, and also unfortunate enough to have no chance of defending themselves.
Firing on the nearest prisoner in his sight, Vlad vaporized the alien creature with a single blast of ectoplasm; his body incinerated to ash in an instant of hellfire. His death led the others to flee in hopes of finding safety from his rampage, but the efforts they made were for naught, as would soon be proven by Vlad himself.
In pursuit of his enemies, Vlad began to move after them, but not on foot. Instead, his feet began to rise from the ground, placing his body in the air in flight. Feeling the power of flight return to him after years of neglect, the act comes easy to him as ever, but to accept that their fellow prisoner can fly is a belief that the other prisoners struggle with, just as they now struggle to survive.
One by one the populace of the prison befalls the enraged hand of Vlad Plasmius; the solitary and usually silent man they once knew as Vamp long gone and replaced with a specter of vengeance and rage intent on taking out his frustrations on them. Their struggles of survival against him are nothing more than a farce of basic survival instincts, condemned to a fate of destructive hellfire from the enraged madman.
Not content with killing the prisoners, Vlad took to firing more ectoplasmic blasts around the prison, destroying it from the inside out. Though built to withstand the harsh weather of the planet Carcerem, it stood no chance against the powers of an undead human soul, much less one pushed far beyond all reason and rationale.
Where Vlad unleashed all of his own power in full display, bringing terror to the prisoners and even the other ghosts, the only one who is not swayed by the carnage is Demon Phantom. Watching the violence as it carried on without end, he stayed back with a calm collectiveness, enjoying the entire affair as if it were a show for his own personal entertainment.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
After a long period of destruction and mayhem, all at the behest of Vlad, every prisoner on the planet was disintegrated and gone without a trace... save for one. Out of the destruction of the prison, Belasco managed to survive the insanity, crawling out from the rubble in hopes that he would remain safe.
Continuing to crawl his way to supposed safety, his quest for self-preservation had come to a pause with Vlad landing in front of him. Watching Vlad raise his hand up to him to prepare another blast, Belasco instantly set his head down and hands up, pleading for mercy from the man who was once his friend.
"[Wait, Vamp, I was good to you for years, take me with you! I can help you! Let me serve you! We said we were going to help you learn all your powers, right? This is a big step, believe me, a big step! We can accomplish a lot together if you'd just let me live!]" Belasco pleaded.
Unswayed from Belasco's pleading, Vlad began charging his hand with ectoplasmic energy preparing another blast. Belasco, knowing what would come of him next, looked back to Vlad with an expression of complete betrayal; not able to accept the total change in the man he once knew as Vamp.
As the blast prepared to fire, he understood that his friend was no longer there, and his end would come from a complete stranger.
"[Sorry, Belasco, but I have no room for sycophants. Besides, I've just gotten a very good reminder of my powers... and nothing you could offer me even compares. Nice knowing you.]" Vlad said.
Vlad unleashed the energy charge in his hand at last, firing all its destructive force on Belasco. The flame of the blast had completely engulfing his body, leaving only an outline of a humanoid silhouette in a glow of ultraviolet ultraviolence. A scream was briefly heard in the light of the blast, but only so briefly that no one could have reasonably deduced that the sound could have come from a living being.
When the smoke began to clear and the energy faded, it became so that no one could deduce that a living being was once here; Belasco was now completely gone, leaving no trace of his being from the sheer power of Vlad Plasmius. Lowering his hand, he seemed to show little concern for Belasco, even with the history the two had shared as friends on the planet.
The Fright Knight, Ember, and SkulkTech all stood in shocked silence just as they had done when the destruction had started, not expecting him to be so eager to kill someone supposedly considered his friend so easily. Demon Phantom, likewise, kept his past expression, watching the destruction with a look of amusement.
With years' worth of repressed rage and anger finally unleashed, Vlad stood silent and alone among the destruction, allowing himself time to recover from the chaos he had caused. Pleased by the display of power shown, Demon Phantom approached Vlad again, making his offer to join his cause at last.
"Now, then... After that little display, I doubt that you're really interested in staying in this place for a second longer. Now that you're back, how'd you like to get your revenge on Danny Phantom once and for all?" Demon Phantom asked.
Hearing the name of his arch-enemy spoken once again, Vlad turned back to Demon Phantom, carrying on his face a look of intense focus and anger.
"I've wanted to kill that pathetic kid since he first started interfering in my life. Now that he's left me on this planet for god knows how long and making me lose my sense of self completely? I'll give you his head on a silver platter with a nice Chianti. It's the least I can do in return for the man who set me free." Vlad said.
Having easily secured his final horseman in his conquest, Demon Phantom let out a satisfied chuckle.
"Good. Now, from this moment on, you will be my horseman of Death, the most valued of all my horsemen." Demon Phantom said.
"I suppose that naming things badly is a bad habit of yours as well. Just tell me one thing. Who are you? And why did you come all this way for me?" Vlad asked.
"The answer to your last question is simple. I'm on a mission to personally set the world free of the pain of the human condition. My means of doing that include a complete destruction over Earth. The answer to your first, however, is a bit more complex than that. For all intents and purposes, I'm someone who has my own agenda against Danny Phantom. You may call me Demon Phantom."
"Like I said, naming things badly is a bad habit of yours as well."
"Heh-heh-heh-heh... When I've accomplished what I've set out for, names will be the least of anyone's worries." Demon Phantom said.
With the last of his horsemen now under his command, Demon Phantom took the Infi-Map from his pocket, giving it his next command to achieve his goals.
"Take us to Fenton Works." Demon Phantom said.
At Demon Phantom's command, the Infi-Map transported the group now consisting of 5 ghosts to Earth, preparing to complete the first phase of his plan.
The White House remains busy as it always does for the day; policy for the entire country is undertaken by both the President and his various subordinates, all working together to see that the country is kept running smoothly without trouble. Even with a man as loose and fun-loving as President Tucker Foley, there is still moments when the man focuses his efforts on serious matters, and this is one of them.
With polling and public approval beginning to dwindle, moreso than ever in the wake of his recent assassination attempt at the hands of ghosts, crying for freedom without reason or any known ideology. To combat both the ghost threat and his lowering approval rating, President Foley's choice to address the matter is to once again add money to the military budget of the brach of the Ghost Corps.
Overseeing several bills being drafted to his specifications, the process seems to be moving along as planned, with a full projection of greater political prospects in sight.
"Alright, that's another 140 billion towards more manufacturing alone, that'll give us plenty of good tech." President Foley said.
"Mr. President, are you sure that this would be a good use of the discretionary budget? Fenton Works already receives plenty of grants as it is over the years, and production rates haven't seen much difference despite the higher budgets." A secretary said.
"Hey, am I the president, or are you?"
"Er... You are, sir."
"Then just do as you're told."
Upset by the rude handling by the president, the secretary set off to see the appropriate paperwork delivered, fulfilling the orders of the commander-in-chief.
With other affairs being handled and set off to be completed, President Foley allowed himself time to relax and take time to rest his mind from the work, and in that short timeframe he is given the next matter to be handled coming to speak to him personally. On the desk was a red phone acting as a direct hotline to Fenton Works and Danny Phantom, and now it begins to ring.
With his attention brought to the phone, all other matters for President Foley came to a pause, putting himself on the task of answering the call.
"Guys, take five. Call on the hotline." President Foley said.
Dismissed from their duties temporarily, all secretaries and employees of the president left their leader alone in the Oval Office to see to the call, allowing him a moment of privacy to settle his conversation. Pressing the 'ANSWER' button to the phone, President Foley accepted the call, allowing a holographic image of Danny Phantom to display on the screen.
"Danny Boy, to what do I owe the pleasure to today?" President Foley asked.
"Right now, Tucker, it's pure business instead of pleasure. We've got one of the biggest ghost threats on our hands, and I need all the help I can get to take care of it." Danny Phantom said.
Becoming displeased with the request put forward to him, President Foley dropped all means of pleasantries from his tone, addressing the matter more seriously.
"Biggest ghost threats, huh? Who is it this time? The Ghost King? Undergrowth?" President Foley asked.
"No. This one is something worse. I never talked about him before, but this is something way worse than any of the ones you could name off combined. His name is Dark Danny." Danny said.
"'Dark Danny'? What kind of a name is that?"
"Long story short, he's a fusion of my ghost half and Vlad's ghost half from an alternate future, where he single-handedly killed everyone on the planet. I just barely beat him last time, but I'm not so sure I can do it again this time."
Underwhelmed by the name of the alleged threat, much less the origin of the aforementioned Dark Danny, President Foley took little to the threat itself, doubting the existence of the ghost altogether. Following a brief moment of critical thought and skepticism, he voiced his thoughts aloud for Danny in response.
"Danny, is this some kind of joke?" President Foley asked.
"What?! Why the hell would you think this is a joke?" Danny asked.
"An evil you and Vlad from the future? That sounds like a pretty bad joke to me."
"If it was a joke, it'd have to have the punchline of the century, and you know for a fact I'm not that good a joker."
Swayed slightly in the direction of convincing from Danny, President Foley resumed his focus on the matter, listening further to the plea.
"Alright, Danny, I'm listening." President Foley said.
"Just like I said. He's on his way here and he could be here any second, and I need some help to beat him. I need you to send up some Ghost Corps troops." Danny said.
"How many you need?"
"If possible, I want the whole damn branch."
Once again brought to uncertainty, President Foley's concern lies not in the believably of the story itself, but instead the large request placed on him.
"Are you sure he's that big of a threat?" President Foley asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. He just kicked my ass and shoved it in a Fenton Thermos, that's how I got back here. He's also got the Fright Knight and Ember working for him, plus he just somehow fused Skulker and Technus together into another mix of ghosts, too." Danny said.
"But you have beaten him before?"
"Yeah, once, what's the point here? I need help! Are you gonna give it to me or not?"
"Well, see, Danny, it's like this. Since you stepped in to fight off those ghosts who attacked me at the stadium, people aren't looking to kindly at me right this second. As you know, I'm trying to get re-elected, and not being a favorite with the people doesn't make your chances good for another shot at that seat. I've got to prove to them that the nation doesn't just need you to keep it safe from ghosts, but that we can take care of it ourselves. I'm working on some bills to get introduced to raise the military budget some more, and send a lot of moolah your way to make us some more toys. I'm sure you guys'll like that part."
"What do you mean? Are you gonna send us some troops or not?"
"I can't."
Shocked to hear the simple yet damning words come out from his friend's mouth, Danny grew agitated with President Foley, demanding a more clear answer.
"What?! Why not?!" Danny asked.
"Danny, try to see it my way. You're the most powerful being on Earth. That means people look to you instead of me. I need to actually prove to the world that the government can actually take care of itself and not rely on superheroes to do the job. Sure, you and your family make us the toys, but it's always you that does most of the fighting, you that gets all the applause. Where does that leave us? In the dirt. You're leaving me in the dirt." President Foley said.
"If you don't help me with this, then you'll be 6 feet under the dirt, along with everyone else on the planet. How well do you think your re-election chances will go then?"
"C'mon, Danny, you said yourself that you can beat this guy. You got all the powers, your family's got all the toys, you don't really need us at all. Like I said, this bill coming up's gonna put a lot more money in those deep pockets of yours, money in the 10 figure range, I might add, I'm sure that you can find a way to win on your own."
"Damn it, Tucker, I put you in that seat, I delivered for you, I expect you to deliver for me, and I expect you to deliver for me right now!"
"Wrong, Danny. Right now, I'm delivering for you, and I expect you to deliver for me. If it weren't for the fact that you're the sole owner of all anti-ghost technology in the world, I could more than easily take it to someone else, or maybe I could introduce some anti-trust laws and see your grand empire have a few pillars taken from it. I don't think any of us want that, do we?"
"Oh, I see how it is. First, you steal the credit for us handling your little Saudi problem, now, you're trying to handle another problem of yours to stay in power?"
"Guess you could call it that, yeah."
Losing all semblance of kindness for President Foley, Danny changed his tone of voice to a far more harsher one, giving nothing in the way of friendliness.
"You know something, Tucker? I helped make you president because I thought you would actually do some good for the country. You were a good mayor, a good ghost hunter, and a great friend. But something happened to you over the years. I thought we'd be able to make the world a better place if you and I were working together, in higher places. But you got way too caught up in power. You just wanted the fame and the women. You should've been in Hollywood if that's what you wanted. I don't care what you do. I'm going to handle this myself, without your help. And... I just might be making a few changes to my own political investments. Maybe that'll actually mean something to you. Bye, Tucker." Danny said.
Ending the call with President Foley, Danny left him sitting at his desk alone, staring at a blank screen that once held the image of his best friend's face. Even with the face long gone, the expression of anger upon it stuck well with him, leaving discomfort and shame in the place of his professional mindset.
Pressing matters such as policy and lawmaking still wait to be completed, but there is no longer any urgency for them to be completed. Continuing to sit at his desk, he reflected on the words shared with him, pondering where the criticism hit him most and what effect it truly had on him.
Was it mere disappointment that his own political career may now be doomed, with his best chance of beneficiary abandoning him?
Or was it the fact that someone who was once his best friend no longer wished for any affiliation with him, ending one of the longest and best friendships he had known?
The answer is unclear to anyone who could have been in the room to see for themselves... and it is just as unclear for President Foley himself.
For those at Fenton City, neither the question nor its answers laid any concern on their minds, for they had far greater concerns to deal with than the petty affairs of man. Their problems instead laid with those who were no longer man or woman; no longer living beings, but instead ghosts with an intent to destroy them all.
Ending the conversation with the President, the family turned to Danny for an answer, their needs for support having no answer.
"Danny, what are we supposed to do? We can't seriously take them all on ourselves, can we?" Sam asked.
"Yes, we can. We can, we will, and we'll win. That's how we've always done." Danny said.
"But how are you so sure of yourself? If you said yourself that you couldn't beat him-" Jazz began to say.
"Jazz. Guys. Everybody. We can do it, trust me. We don't need him."
"Danny, no one's more confident in our technology than me, but this sounds like a big challenge. Are you really sure?" Maddie asked.
"It doesn't matter. We're all that we've got right now for this fight, and that's all we'll need. We can do this."
"Alright, but what about that weirdo with the clock in his chest?" Jack asked.
Gaining a question not pertaining to the matter of the incoming ghost threat, Danny turned to follow his father's finger, leading him and the rest of the family to look towards the figure it was pointing to. Who they had seen was a ghost with a distinct purple cloak, a scepter in his hand, and a body that phased between different ages at random.
Rather than show any threat to the Fentons, the ghost simply smiled, offering a sense of calm to disarm the family from any sense of threat.
"Greetings, Danny Phantom. I hope you don't mind my dropping in uninvited, but I thought you might wish to see a familiar face." Clockwork said.