CHAPTER 14: THE WALKING DEAD, PART 2

When the time comes to elect a new president for the country, the United States is always put on edge when the election comes about; all potential directions in which the country could be heading are decisions left in their hands, and the stakes in the game as high as politics go.

Since the 1960s, it has been customary to air presidential debates on television for the entire country to see. With the invention of a brand new method of mass entertainment and communication in nearly every household in the country, it becomes only logical that candidates have a chance to spread their campaign and platform to the rest of the country to amass the most amount of voters.

In the current year of 2027, the presidential run has been put on two candidates making a run for the White House for the next 4 years:

President Tucker Foley, trying to retain his seat in a reelection bid...

...and newcomer Ellis Robertson, known for his liberal and unorthodox views on ghosts in the country.

Both candidates arrive to the stage to shake hands with one another, as well as each take time to shake hands with the moderator of their debate. Their arrival garners much applause, the audience carrying a balance of support for both candidates and looking to the debate with great anticipation.

Hearing the enthusiasm of the audience, President Foley knows that much of the applause is for his opponent and not for him. In between dwindling poll numbers and little accomplishments that have provided for the American people, and looking back on the friendly smile of Ellis Robertson, he knows that his chances of winning in this debate are minor at best.

It is this situation that once again makes him think of Danny Fenton and his crumbling friendship, giving him more uncertainty over the outcome of the debate.

Moving to their respective podiums, each candidate joined the audience in directing their eyes to the moderator, waiting for the moment in which the debate would being at last. Preparing her microphone to announce the debate and its rules, moving her chair to gain the most comfort, the moderator announced the start of the debate.

"Good evening, I'm Frankie Varley of the Jerusalem Spider, coming to you live from James Madison University, where we begin the first presidential debate between President Tucker Foley and Ellis Robertson. This debate will be divided into 6 segments, each segment 15 minutes long. The three topics will be the well-being of the country, America's direction, and security of the country. Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to the questions, with discussion time coming after each question. We ask that the audience remains silent for the duration of the debate so we may focus on the topics at hand. Without further ado, let's begin." Frankie said.

Long does the debate rage on between the two candidates, sharing passionate and heated discussion regarding all areas of government and policies that would provide for the country. Much of the dialogue is directed at the lackluster years of President Foley during his time in office, allowing the favoritism of the crowd, and, by extent, the country, to fall in favor of Ellis Robertson instead.

But none of this is of the current interest in Demon Phantom and his 4 horsemen. For now, they favor the past instead of the present, seeking to catch up on knowledge of the world during the many years in their absence from it. All are engrossed in the history lesson and take it well, but none watch it with greater interest than Demon Phantom, rivaled only by Vlad Plasmius.

Listening to M.I.S.T.E.R. recite the past years, providing visual aides of news video and images, he is brought up to speed on the various events that he has not been present for. Starting from a bout with the Ghost Writer on Christmas Eve, coming to the threat of an Ectoranium meteor threatening to destroy all life on Earth, and ending with current events with his recent victory over Danny Phantom.

"...and, following his last conversation with President Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton had been preparing for the threat of a ghost that he referred to as 'Dark Danny', prior to shutting my systems down for security reasons." M.I.S.T.E.R. said.

Finally gaining all of the lost events that had become of Danny Fenton in his absence, Demon Phantom accepted the information in stride, allowing himself time to contemplate how to use said information. The rest of the ghosts, not carrying their leader's vision and drive, looked back on the news shared with mostly mild amusement, having little to contribute to the matter.

"So, basically, the whole world knows about ghosts and just about every country has a means of fighting back against them. Good to know." Skulker said.

"And the world still has chosen to divide itself into factions, even now that all men carry that knowledge. It says much about the so-called human experience." Fright Knight said.

"All of those new inventions that came down the line are still very promising. If any of it's like this place's A.I., this world'll be like a buffet for me." Technus said.

"Eh, at least dubstep is finally dead." Ember said.

"Figures that Fenton Works would buy out every last bit of my company. Dragging me down until the bitter end. Well, who's laughing now, Jack?" Vlad asked.

"Enough. I think we may have stumbled upon something very interesting. M.I.S.T.E.R., what is the current status of Tucker Foley?" Demon Phantom asked.

"President Tucker Foley is currently in his first presidential debate with his primary opponent of Ellis Robertson, trying for a second year. According to live reactions, the debate appears to be falling heavily on the side of Ellis Robertson, tanking the already-dwindling poll numbers of President Tucker Foley. The debate is being aired on various news stations across the country. Would you like me to play the live broadcast?" M.I.S.T.E.R. asked.

Further intrigued by the promise of seeing what benefits he could reap from Tucker as president, Demon Phantom looked on with great interest.

"Yes, I would like that very much." Demon Phantom said.

"Very well, sir." M.I.S.T.E.R. said.

Downsizing the various tabs across the computer screen showing the historical events of the past decade, M.I.S.T.E.R. displayed the presidential debate as it continued on near the end. Missing various topics of conversation leading to questions regarding various economic and social issues, the ghosts had viewed the debate in time to view the one political topic which has become of high interest in recent years:

Ghosts.

"Moving onto one of our biggest topics for tonight, the public has been most interested in the issue of ghosts and what rights they may or may not have, mostly due to the efforts of Ellis Robertson to put the discussion in the national radar. President Foley, your opponent has raised many questions regarding the personhood of a ghost and how the United States constitution applies to them. You've been known as a crusader against paranormal threats during your time in office, and even before that during your teenage years with Danny Phantom. How does your approach to ghosts in today's America help the country?" Frankie asked.

Feeling as if he finally had a topic of which he had pure mastery of, President Foley stepped to the microphone confidently to give his answer.

"It's very simple, Frankie, and you've already broken down most of it yourself. I've been fighting ghosts with Danny Phantom since the day he became a superhero. The Fentons might know ghosts better than anybody else out there, but I know how to fight them better than anybody else out there. How many people here remember the times when Amity Park was under invasion from all kinds of ghost threats, like when a giant weed tried to overtake the whole city, or it got sent into the Ghost Zone itself? I was always there to give Danny a hand, and we all beat the enemy ourselves. I've been doing the same for my time as Amity Park mayor, and I've been doing the same as President of the United States. Under my time in office, I was able to keep us safe from anything that would try to attack us, and my efforts have brought us to a point where ghost attacks are at the lowest they've ever been. My way produces results, it's always produced results, and it will continue to produce results so long as I'm here to continue doing it my way. And I might also add that with multiple countries trying to make their own version of Danny Phantom, there's never been a greater need for my approach to ghosts than there has been now." President Foley said.

Able to give a response to a question that seemed to lay in his favor, President Foley gained a large heaping of applause from the audience, finally gaining some favoritism from the crowd at last. To anyone else, the reaction might have made the opponent of the president for his seat nervous to respond, but Ellis Robertson seemed to hear the answer with displeasure, as if hearing it in disappointment.

Turning to the moderator of the debate, he was soon given his chance to reply, which he took to with great enthusiasm.

"Mr. Robertson, you've been a staunch and vocal advocate for what you view as 'Ghost's Rights'. How would the country benefit better if your views were put into effect rather than President Foley's?" Frankie asked.

"Well, first of all, I'm in no way dismissing President Foley's service to this country. I do acknowledge that he has kept his home city of Amity Park, and, by extension, the nation itself, safe from the many supernatural threats that have come to it. But we also have to acknowledge that the world that he fought for isn't the same one we live in today. My great-grandfather served in World War 2, against one of the greatest threats that this country and this world's ever faced, but he knew that the world changes over time, especially when we've already beaten the bad guys. The world changes when we see new nations and countries rise over time, and, thanks to the discoveries of the Fenton family, we've just made contact with the greatest undiscovered country of all time: The afterlife, which we've all come to call the Ghost Zone. Not only do we now know what happens after we die, but we also can speak with those who we never had a chance to speak to before, maybe even some of the greatest minds and thinkers who ever lived, but we can speak to anyone who recently passed away. We can reconnect lives that once were lost to us. The lives of the people we can meet now were once living people that we acknowledged as people, is it too far removed a concept to extend acknowledgement of their personhood past their life as well? The practical applications of meeting with the recently deceased alone could bring us further as a nation, but to truly accept the afterlife and let it help us view our own lives to live better ones, that is a dream that I have and I believe in." Ellis Robertson said.

The crowd rewarded Ellis Robertson with applause reaching equal in volume to President Foley's, giving the sitting commander-in-chief a feeling of uncertainty over his ability to win over the audience after the debate. As the moderator began to allow time for discussion, he quickly began thinking up his talking points, trying to find any and all ways he could take down his opponent's position.

"Alright, and that brings us over to discussion time, where each candidate will have 10 minutes to debate their positions against one another. President Foley, you may begin by responding to Mr. Robertson." Frankie said.

"Thank you, Frankie. First and foremost, I just wanna say how glad I am that you also weren't dumb enough to also try to extend your position on stretching for pro-life, since that's the only logical step that your viewpoint could be taken. That ship's sailed long ago, and the debate's long settled on that issue, for the same reason that this one is. A fetus, a gamete, a zygote? None of those things are fully-formed human beings, therefore, they are not human beings. A ghost? Not any part of a human being, so also not a human being." President Foley said.

"Well, first and foremost, Mr. President, I made no assumption over your own positions aside from the actions you have already taken, so I would appreciate if you were not so quick to make assumptions on mine. I am also indeed pro-choice, and your reasoning for being so is correct. But you're making a false equivalence. A fetus is not a human being because it's not a human being yet. The creation of a human being requires a fetus to grow fully to term, and a brain and nervous system to fully form a conscious mind. The creation of a ghost comes requires a human being to die, in which the contents of the brain pass on to ghosthood. There is a distinct difference in this process because a conscious human mind is exists before the creation of the ghost, and it still exists in the form of the ghost. That is why I hold my views on personhood of a ghost and I remain pro-choice." Ellis Robertson said.

Finding his argument defeated quickly and his character smeared by a simple interpretation of his words, President Foley strategized a new line of attack to use.

"Personhood is an issue we've already settled with the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, back when we ended slavery. Which, I might add, is the reason I, a black man, was even able to run for office in the first place. The first article of the Amendment says: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws'. You'll note that the Constitution makes it clear that it says 'persons' and not 'ghosts', 'spirits', or even 'beings'. Not that those writing the Amendment would have ever guessed that we'd be living in an age where we literally interact with ghosts, but the language is clear nonetheless." President Foley said.

"And, as you've brought up already, Mr. President, that Amendment came along when we had abolished slavery after it had been in practice for over a century, back when most of the country did not even consider black men like yourselves to be 'persons', nor Asians, nor Hispanics, nor even other whites like the Irish or Italians. The closest they got without it was deciding that black men, note that I didn't say 'women', because we'd still have a ways to go for them, that black men were only considered 3/5ths of a person. I do believe that the writers of the Amendment got it right when they gave all 'persons' the right to citizenship, but I'm of the belief that the Constitution is a living document meant to be interpreted throughout the years, and 'persons' can mean more than just a human being with a body of flesh and blood. We recognize individuals as persons long after they pass, making record and celebration of their accomplishments, much like our past political leaders and civil rights activists. If they were considered no longer 'persons' after they pass, then does that mean that should no longer value their opinions and contributions? By that logic, would the 14th Amendment, the Constitution, or even the Declaration of Independence no longer be valid documents? I sure don't think that, and I don't think you or the American people think that, either." Ellis Robertson said.

"Again, you're using the 14th Amendment to talk about aren't human anymore. We've used the Amendment as a way of giving civil rights back to disenfranchised people that they were supposed to have under the law. You clearly haven't dealt with ghosts in the way I have, or Danny Phantom, or any of the good men and women serving in the Ghost Corps do. These are not disenfranchised people left in the dust from a government that neglected them. They are threats coming into our world and destroying it as they see fit. They are a terror to the world that must be stopped, and that's why I'm running again as president to keep us safe."

"Again, that exact language was used for people of all colors and genders, treating American citizens as a threat to their own nation when they were indeed disenfranchised and 'left in the dust'. Have you looked at the rates of crime beginning to reduce when poor communities are actually given material support and well-being? They drop massively. When people become violent, it's because they need something, they're not getting it, and they feel as if they have no other choice to get it but through violence."

"And exactly what is it you think that ghosts want so bad that the United States government is not providing them with?"

"Aside from being shot an extraneous branch of the Army? I actually have a few examples here to go through, Mr. President."

Taking a selection of notes from out of his jacket, Ellis Robertson prepared them in his hands, reading them off for the audience to hear.

"Here's just some of the ghosts you've fought against during your years with Danny Phantom. Ember McLain, died in a house fire in her late teens, never got to finish high school. Classmates says she dreamed of being a rock star, hoping that she would be loved by people at last. She grew up with an alcoholic father, who both caused said house fire and perished in it as well. Her goals upon returning to Earth were consistently to gain the admiration of fans, which she also received before being stopped by Danny Phantom." Ellis Robertson said.

"And you might want to add that she was brainwashing them to love her and her crappy music." President Foley said.

"Brainwashing that wouldn't have happened had this poor young girl been provided for properly when she was alive, and after. I've got more. Nicolai Technus, born July 10th, 1856, inventor of all kinds of technology that led to use having practically everything that we use today. He was brought down when J.P. Morgan, that's the original man, not the bank itself, stopped funding him and deprived us of any more advancements that could have led to a different course of human history. He tried to continue that goal when he returned, but was often stopped by Danny Phantom. Johnny Wyatt, biker kid back in the 60s, ran with Hell's Angels with his girlfriend Kitty. Both were runaways from abusive parents. Johnny in particular had a lot of attitude problems growing up, some of his friends would almost say his anger would just come over him like a shadow and make him do things he wouldn't do otherwise. Both died in an auto collision. Their only goal as a pair were to spend the rest of their lives on the road, just like any runaway teenager in the day. They continued that goal when they returned as ghosts, but were often stopped by Danny Phantom. Penelope Spectra, spent her life as a high school guidance counselor, trying her best to help misguided youth back on a good life. She often complained to her coworkers that she felt her efforts were having no effect on teenagers that came to her, stating that they seemed to just still be depressed no matter what she did. Her worries led her to many stress problems, when she started to develop wrinkles and seem to age quicker than normal. This also led to her having trouble finding any potential male suitors and was often turned down for being, as she accounted for, 'old and ugly'. She took out this anger on the students of Casper High when she returned as a ghost, but often she was stopped by Danny Phantom."

The personal accounting of each ghost gained much attention from the audience, remaining dead quiet and focused on the presidential candidate to listen for more, where President Foley stood in silence, having no way to rebut the information given. Finished with the use of his notes, Ellis Robertson set them down to make his final point.

"Now, I'm well aware of the fact that these individuals have committed many misdeeds. So do living citizens, too. That's a fact of life. But we acknowledge that punishment alone is not enough for a criminal to reparate for their mistakes. Rehabilitation must also come with the punishment, to ensure that the individual learns from the mistake and finds a way to live on a better afterlife. The problem is that you, Mr. President, have not even come close to offering a decent chance to the many deceased citizens that still live in this country, and you've done far worse to those who don't live in this one. You have consistently waged war on a group of people who have suffered enough, and did nothing to try to find a way to reduce their suffering. I have also attempted to be courteous to you multiple times throughout this debate, but you have done nothing to extend the same professional courtesy to me. You've got a right to be an asshole to me if you want, but this isn't a place for you to be throwing around cheap insults and pettiness. Maybe that's how you got through in high school, but this isn't high school. This is a run for office for President of the United States: A job that requires serious decisions which seriously affect people. I used to admire your political career in my younger years, but you've proven that you're clearly not cut out for the job. You've proven yourself to be another elitist emboldened to corporations, and the second one to indulge in lewd acts in the White House itself. The first, of course, was the one with the secretary and the cigar." Ellis Robertson said.

The audience let out a laugh at the passing quip made by Ellis Robertson, leading to more degradation and humiliation for President Foley.

"And the stances I take are no joke, nor do I joke about them. I want rights for all citizens, living and deceased, and I'm willing to help build a better America together. That's why I'm running for president, and that's why I hope I'll have your votes this November." Ellis Robertson said.

After concluding the last of his speech, Ellis Robtertson gained a large amount of applause from the audience, clearly winning over the spirit of the crowd, and no doubt a majority of Americans watching at home as well. Watching his constituents and voters clearly swerving in the direction of his opponent, President Foley hung his head in defeat, feeling a large blow to his campaign done.

Just as the pitiful display of weakness was televised to the majority of the nation, Demon Phantom took good note of his reaction, devising a way to exploit it for himself.

While the thought festered around in the mind of Demon Phantom, the debate came to a close at last. Finishing the final closing portion of the debate, the moderator, Frankie Varley, took the main microphone to address the audience, giving the final thanks to those involved in the debate.

"Well, folks, that leads to an end of our presidential debate, we'd like to give a big thanks to President Tucker Foley and Ellis Robertson for coming out to give us a very enriching and intriguing debate, we'd like to thank James Madison University for hosting the debate tonight, and we'd also like to give a big thanks to those watching at home. Remember to vote this November 7th, and have a great night." Frankie said.

"End playback." Demon Phantom said.

The last audio feed coming from the television was a final applause by the audience, cut short with the broadcast feed stopping with the order of Demon Phantom.

Not as interested in the debate as Demon Phantom was, the other ghosts spoke among themselves regarding what to think of the show. Lacking any interest in politics, their observations are little more than gawking and mocking in nature, choosing instead to reject the very focus of the debate itself.

"Ghost rights, huh? I guess the future really is as crazy as I thought." Skulker said.

"I thought he was making some good points, you know. I used to be a person once, I think I deserve another shot." Ember said.

"I agree. I would've brought this planet centuries ahead if not for the interests of thrill-seeking capitalists like yourself." Technus said.

"Of course you guys are on his side, you were propped up as the poor little martyrs. And what exactly does he have to say about me? He doesn't think I don't have a story worth telling, or maybe I just don't support his narrative?" Skulker asked.

"Oh, it's always about you, isn't it? This is why we first broke up, you know. All your weird-ass obsessions with hunting and making trophies. I swear you loved those things more than me." Ember said.

"I seem to recall my interest in hunting Danny Phantom to be what brought us together in the first place, you know. Besides, I'm having a discussion on politics here, not our own relationship. Fright Knight, you with me on this?"

"I care not for the ramblings and bumblings of politicians. The only man I was ever subservient to was a king." Fright Knight said.

"Talk about low-information voters. How about you, Vlad?"

"I really don't care." Vlad said.

"See? It's only you that's making a big deal about this. Everyone else here actually pays attention to the argument and understands the point." Ember said.

"Hey! You know, we're not a couple anymore, I don't have to be nice to you. And since Danny Phantom's finally dead, that leaves you and I shit out of shared interests. That means I won't lose any sleep if you're erased from the cosmos forever, and I've got all the means to make that happen." Skulker said.

"You wish you could be able to touch me with that hunk of junk you call a body."

"At least I kept in shape and didn't become a big, fat slob like you."

"Well, guess what? I got back in shape, bitch? Look at this! I'm stacked! I bet you're starting to miss this right about now, aren't you? Wish you could lay a hand on this nice ass?"

"Maybe I could land a foot on that ass!"

"Oh, yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"YEAH?!"

"YEAH!"

The verbal argument between the two former lovers ended with them grinding their chests against each other in a confrontational stance, both displaying vengeful faces and clenched fists with the intent to go to a full brawl. Scowling one another down, carrying enraged looks in their eyes, the contact they shared led to a connection of opposition that sparked pure hatred.

But, underneath that rage, that same emotion of hate began to turn to something resulting in the opposite.

The angry looks they shared with each other began to turn to smiles, with their emotions of rage turning to those of lust. The confrontational stances they took against one another turned to an embrace, with groping hands laying themselves across the each other's body, resulting in giggles from them both.

Observing the entire affair from start to finish, the Fright Knight and Technus looked to each other baffled in complete disbelief, turning to Vlad in hopes that he would justify their confusion. Still disinterested in any affair involving the other ghosts, Vlad turned his head and scoffed at the matter completely.

Continuing with their lustful gropes, Skulker and Ember found their mutual affection rekindled once again, finding a completely new foundation to their relationship.

"Mmm, I missed it when you were that rough-and-tough mean guy." Ember said.

"I missed it when you were that rough-and-tough mean bitch." Skulker said.

"Knock it off, all of you. I'm trying to think." Demon Phantom said.

Still deep in thought with no signs of revealing what his plans were, the ghosts turned their attention back to their leader, hoping to find new direction to their afterlives.

"Think about what? You said you wanted to kill everybody on Earth, right? We just wiped out all the Fentons-" Ember began to say.

"I wiped out all the Fentons." Demon Phantom said.

"Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. But you wanna just kill everybody, so why are we still standing around here? Let's go out and kill some shit."

"Not exactly the best idea. The Fentons were basically the primary supplier to almost every NATO-aligned military on Earth, and they were damn good at hunting ghosts." Skulker said.

"So?"

"So if we try to kill them, they'll have plenty of hardcore, heavy-duty, superweapons that could wipe us out of the cosmos before we lay a finger on them. If we're really gonna wipe out all human life, then we need to be smarter than that."

"Oh, so just because some big player comes in and give you a job, you think you just know everything, don't you?"

"No, he's right. Even with my powers, there's no guarantee we'll be able to effective at destroying the Earth when half of it has all the technology of the Fentons. The way I see it, we have all the advantages so far: We hold control over the primary source of all anti-ghost weapons and technology, no one knows that we're on this plane of existence, and, as far as the world knows, the Fentons, who also have a direct line to the president, are still alive." Demon Phantom said.

"And what good does that do us when the Fentons are dead?" Vlad asked.

"You can answer that yourself by asking yourself a question. What happens when someone dies? Their soul leaves their body. The Fentons are dead, and their souls left their bodies. Their bodies are here now, and we're a bunch of souls."

The ghosts finally came to understand the master plan of Demon Phantom, looking to the dead bodies of the Fentons to fulfill the next step of it.

"So we pose as the Fentons by taking their bodies. Is that what you're saying?" Vlad asked.

"Correct. The Fentons are the most influential people on Earth, all we need to is assume their identities, and none would be the wiser. If we can maintain our direct line with the president, and, by extension, the government, we just might be able to make things work in our favor at last." Demon Phantom said.

"Why go through all the trouble of masquerading as the Fentons and infiltrating the government? Regardless of the capabilities of the world's defense against us, would it not be easier to simply fight as we always have done?" Fright Knight asked.

"You're a knight, you understand battle better than all of us. If you wanted to destroy an entire kingdom and be sure you got the job done right, would you charge in like a maniac and hope you get through... or would you slip through the back door where you can stab the king in the back yourself?"

The ghosts began to further sway in the direction of Demon Phantom's argument, all silently and unanimously agreeing on his logic.

"I believe I've made my case. Now, each of you, take a body. Except Technus. You I'll need here, with direct access to Fenton Works." Demon Phantom said.

Following Demon Phantom's instructions, the group of ghosts, with the exception of Technus, took to the bodies of the dead Fentons to possess the deceased flesh and control their bodies to assume their identities. Picking up the lifeless bodies, they began to place them over their metaphysical forms, as if placing the bodies on themselves like a change of clothes.

Wishing for a larger body to fit his size, Skulker opted for Jack's body. Seeing the fatal wound left in his head, he tied a compromised bandanna to conceal it.

Desiring a young female body, Ember chose Jazz's body. Taking its two severed halves, she reconnected them again; an act not unlike putting sandwich halves together.

Indiscriminate in his choice, the Fright Knight took Sam's body. Placing her lower half on like a pair of pants, he slid the upper half on top, pushing her entrails back in.

Vlad, despite his inner debates on doing so, possessed Maddie's body to use as his own physical vessel. Entering the body in his ghost form, he assumed control over the corpse, allowing himself to feel the still-active nerves and muscles of her body for him to control.

Among those is the piercing left in the heart... and it gives him a grave reminder of his own emotions. Trying to place his mind away from the thoughts of Maddie's passing and his fault in her passing, he let out a joke in an attempt to bring levity to himself, trying to find whatever humor he could in this macabre scenario.

"Well... I've always dreamed about being inside of Maddie, but this is not what I had in mind." Vlad joked.

"So now what? We've got the other Fentons' bodies, but what about you? You tossed out Danny's body." Skulker said.

"Not to worry, my horseman of War. Allow me to exhibit a useful trick." Demon Phantom said.

Demon Phantom began a transformation similar to Danny Phantom's ghost transformation, generating a pair of blue rings that originated from his midriff, and changed the appearance of his body along with the action. When the twin rings had dissipated, he no longer resembled his old form of self, but instead bore an uncanny resemblance to Danny Phantom, creating a perfect, painstaking replica.

The ghosts, not expecting Demon Phantom capable of such a feat, even after all his power displayed thus far, all stood wide-eyed in schock at the change.

"Whoa... How'd you do that?!" Ember asked.

"A simple manipulation of thought. Ectoplasm is subject to the thoughts of whoever it is in service of. That is how I changed you from your obese form to your current shape and created your guitar, and it is how I can alter my own form at will. Believe me, it brings me no pleasure to be this person again. I will continue this only for as long as needed." Demon Phantom said.

Hearing a specific phrase embedded in his answer that brought great confusion to himself, Vlad inquired about the small admission spoken by Demon Phantom.

"What do you mean, 'be this person again'?" Vlad asked.

"Another time, and another place, Vlad. Now, from what I saw on TV, looks like our good friend Tucker's having some problems with his re-election. Why don't we give him a call and see how we can give him some help?" Demon Phantom said.

With the presidential debate behind him and declaring him the unofficial loser, President Foley began to depart from James Madison University to his limo, greeted by a long array of police and Secret Servicemen preparing to escort him, and a large crowd of reporters asking for comment.

"Mr. President, are you certain you'll be able to defeat Ellis Robertson in the election?" One reporter asked.

"Mr. President, do you feel as if your career in politics will be over if Ellis Robertson wins the presidency?" Another reporter asked.

"Mr. President, have you considered ghost personhood would lead to a new voter demographic for the opposition party, and seriously harm any chances you would have in a re-run?" A different reporter asked.

"Mr. President, have you considered reparations for the ghosts you and Danny Phantom have fought against?" Yet another reporter asked.

Surrounded by media vultures hungry for a wrong answer, President Foley dismissed the questions with a hand up to the crowd, and his face in the other.

"No comment, please, no comment." President Foley said.

Stepping to the limo, having its door opened by a Serviceman, he stepped inside the vehicle and plopped down in the seat, seeming to carry a large weight on himself that made him sink into his seat all the heavier. Continuing to hold his face into his hands, regret and anger flood his mind, making him unable to think.

He is fortunate not to have to think too much regarding his current situation, for his drivers and escort are tasked with the drive, leaving him with all the time in the world to work through his own thoughts. Whether it be for a split-second or for an eternity, however, the answers to the problems he has are never so clear.

All the more, his presidency seems to be slipping out of his hands without a chance to regain power again. The feeling of one loss on his hands makes another burdening him all the more unbearable, and being placed at the focus and forefront of his mind:

The slipping friendship between himself and Danny Fenton.

Knowing him since both were young and children, sharing many life experiences together, their respective lives have become so intertwined with one another that the very idea of losing friendship with one another seems impossible. Yet, this becomes the case all too strongly for President Foley, making him wish for the days when life was not so complex and busy and leading them away from each other.

He had once assumed that life would be all the better with both having high positions of power, sharing it together to lead the world into a better tomorrow. Spending 4 years in Washington as a young man and the youngest man to be president, susceptible to money and power and corruption just as any young man would be, the friend he once had and their friendship seems to be all the further away...

...and the person that he used to be seems to be long since gone, leaving in the place of Tucker Foley a man named President Foley.

Soon leaving his limo upon its arrival to the nearest airport, he disembarks from the automobile in exchange for an airplane, moving to a seat and buckling himself in to prepare for his next transport. His approach to the change in location is much the same than before, leading him only to disappointing thoughts and anger.

But those thoughts soon came to a stop with the promise of change, coming to him in the form of a video call from Fenton City. Raising his head to see the incoming call, he spoke out to the plane's own computer to accept the call. Speaking out his command, he seemed to take a new form of enthusiasm, seeing hope for a change in the problem he faced now.

"Accept call." President Foley said.

Sitting in his seat in anticipation to see his friend once again, what he sees is the friend he hopes to mend his friendship with, and, in another surprise, the rest of his family joining him at the call. The others joining in the call are a new addition to have during such calls, but, nonetheless, he welcomes their virtual presence.

In all his excitement, however, he is still under the false pretense that the people he sees are the same people he knows... and looks can be deceiving.

"Danny! And the whole gang's here, too. Glad you guys gave me a call. I wanted to talk to you guys about something." President Foley said.

Gaining the full interest of the president and successfully fooling him, Demon Phantom, still in the form of Danny Phantom, gave a smile.

"What a coincidence, Tucker. I wanted to give you a call, too. I saw your debate on TV. Couldn't help but notice you seem to be having some trouble getting voters on your side. I think I have some ways to help you with that." Demon Phantom said.