CHAPTER 26: MAN MADE GOD, PART 1

For the longest time on Earth prior to the coming of the Disasteroid, Christianity has been the most predominant and influential religion on the planet.

With origins spanning so far back that the very years in which it was conceptualized were named as the first century of the modern era, it has also come with different interpretations of its gospel, leading to differences between leaders of faith that broke and bred new denominations of the faith; all calling themselves 'Christianity', but none two sharing the same exact views and beliefs.

One of its youngest and strangest denominations is known as Mormonism, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was founded in the 1820s by a man named Joseph Smith, claiming to find a collection of golden plates chronicling a lost part of the bible, translating it into their holy book known as the Book of Mormon.

The golden plates are an alleged transcription of another series of metal plates (both written in a language called 'reformed Egyptian') called the Plates of Nephi, detailing a man named Lehi, a lost descendant of Joseph (the son of Jacob, who stole the blessing of his brother Esau), led out of Jerusalem prior to its destruction at the hands of Babylon, and what came next for the rest of his descendants.

The person of focus became his son, Nephi, who was contacted by angels and given visions and premonitions of the birth and death of Jesus Christ, as well as many historical events such as Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas and the American Revolutionary War, and the eventual discovery of the plates and their translation by Joseph Smith.

Led by Nephi and his god-given visions, the family of Lehi then built boats to come to the American continent and make it their promised land, but rebellion had come when Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, had attempted to kill him following the death of Lehi. The brothers and those who followed them were forced to separate from the group, now calling themselves Nephites, to become their enemies, the Lamanites.

As punishment for their rebellion against Nephi, the Lamanites were inflicted with a 'skin of blackness', turning their skin tone a significantly darker than the Nephites' lighter skin tone, visibly separating them from their original tribe. They are believed in the Mormon faith to be the ancestors of the Native Americans.

Joseph Smith claimed to have found the plates collecting the records of these events on September 22, 1823 on a hill near his home, directed to find it by an angel named Moroni. The excursion took a long period of time to complete, eventually leading to their recovery after 4 years.

He allowed none to see the plates until he would translate them to a scribe to write down the words, done not by reading the plates directly, but by looking at them through a transparent stone. When the translation was finished, he allowed a total of 11 witnesses to see them, then hid them with the aid of the angel Moroni, burying them in a cave named Cumorah Hill.

Ranging from a severe lack of historical evidence for any of the claims it gives including the very language the plates were written in, and a deliberate avoidance of allowing a qualified person to authenticate the inscriptions (if the supposed plates even existed), the suspicious convenience of Joseph Smith finding these plates near his home and taking 4 years to retrieve (a long enough time to forge such documents)...

...with a simple use of Occam's Razor, the entirety of the faith can easily be dismissed as a scam.

Nonetheless, this has not stopped the faith from collecting a total of 16 million followers across the globe. Following the coming of the Disateroid, the state of Utah, something of a Mecca for Mormons in the modern day, has become somewhere they all call home. For years, they have been known for their many attempts to secede from the union, hoping to become their own theocratic nation-state, much like Texas.

One of the many citizens of Utah, currently outside of his present awareness, has recently been abducted from his home and put to use as part of a series of experiments and procedures meant to change human beings into gods, set into motion by an entity calling itself Demon Phantom.

Again, he is not consciously aware of this.

For now, he is merely caught in a dream.

What he currently dreams is a portion from the Book of Mormon known as the Parable of the Olive Tree, a passage meant to be interpreted and viewed as an allegory for a perspective on life. He has heard the parable many times before in his life, but never before now had he experienced it.

He is the Lord of the Vineyard, an image of God and Jesus Christ of the bible taking charge over a vineyard, standing before an olive tree. Unlike the many other olive trees that grew wild and free throughout the vineyard, this one was well-kept and tamed, growing a much healthier color than the others and bearing much more fruit.

Alas, even with the care and effort put into it by its gardener, it was not safe from the threat of rot and decay; its wood began to lighten and dry, and fungi began to grow all alongside the afflicted areas of decomposition, showing it to be on its last years after living long as a mighty olive tree.

In an effort to save the tree, the Lord of the Vineyard began to prune away the rotting branches, putting a stop to the spread of decay before it could progress.

"It saddens me that I am going to lose this tree. I will cut off these main branches that have decayed. I must burn these branches so they do not infect the other trees." The Lord of the Vineyard said.

The Lord of the Vineyard began picking the new, younger branches off of the tamed olive tree, harvesting what could still be salvaged.

"I will take these new young branches and will graft them into other trees. This way, if the roots of this tree die, I will have saved part of the fruit of this tree." The Lord of the Vineyard said.

The Lord of the Vineyard then carried the decayed branches to a fire and tossing them inside, destroying them and burning them into ash.

"Now that these are destroyed, I must go and cut branches from a wild olive tree, and graft them in where I cut out the decayed branches, and I will try to save this tree." The Lord of the Vineyard said.

Moving to a nearby wild olive tree, the Lord of the Vineyard picked from it many branches, bringing them back to the tame tree when finished with his task. As he returned with the needed branches, he began attaching them where the old and decayed branches were broken off, grafting them to the tame tree to grow as part of it.

"I will be saddened if I lose this tree. I have done all this work to preserve the roots and save the tree. I will continue to watch over this tree and nourish it." The Lord of the Vineyard said.

Outside the dream, where he is known as Lord of the Vineyard, he is still but a normal human being. The world around him has expanded beyond his past understanding of it, changing from what seemed to be a normal world into a paranormal world, but he is still but a normal being.

He believes that he is the Lord of the Vineyard through the intense and detailed virtual reality that he is placed inside; a machine creating for him a personalized pocket universe all catered to himself and his beliefs through the alteration of his brain chemistry and consciousness.

The machine he is inside is a sensory deprivation chamber, shaped spherically and filled with water, where air is fed to him through a SCUBA mask and nutrients and mind-altering pharmaceuticals are fed intravenously; a creation of black science made by ghosts for the intention of making more powerful ghosts. He has no conscious awareness of the outside world whatsoever, nor any care for it.

All that he cares to know is that he is the Lord of the Vineyard, and he is caring for his olive trees.

I will take these new branches and will place them in the lowest part of my vineyard. I know what places to put them. This will help preserve the tame branches and the fruit of the tree. The 'Lord of the Vineyard' thought.

His thoughts, visions, and emotional state are all carefully monitored by the ghosts named Demon Phantom and Technus, both observing the results of the experimental procedure based on a patchwork of many similarly-planned ideas from other nations. Seeing the process work exactly as intended, Demon Phantom is pleased with the results, and, likewise, Technus is pleased to have found success.

Stepping up to the glass of the sensory deprivation chamber, Demon Phantom looked at the man inside, observing his movements; erratic yet somehow methodical in their execution. His actions did not seem to resemble any normal human behavior or reaction to their environments, making the actions of a man seeming to try to accomplish that which could not be visibly seen or understood.

Demon Phantom knows that this means the machine is working, and he will see his results soon.

"Congratulations, Technus. It works perfectly." Demon Phantom said.

"Yes, well, it's amazing to see what you can make in just one day when you've got unlimited capital and no need for eat or sleep. Just imagine what I could've done for the world if I had that at my disposal. But I cannot take the full credit for the expedient accomplishment. The Fentons' robots have proved to be quite the efficient helpers. I've even taken the liberty to make a few improvements of my own. Techbot 107, would you step forward, please?" Technus asked.

One of the late Fentons' robotic servants, the Jazzbots, stepped to Technus as it was ordered to. Once vaguely resembling a crude roboticization of Jazz Fenton, the robots now held a radical redesign at the hands of Technus, as the robot now designated Techbot 107 demonstrated in itself.

Instead of holding a basic human shape, it instead had a design filled with sharp angles and edges; each end of its body razor-sharp, especially its hands, which were now fitted with claws. Its head also had a more oval-like look, with a pair of green eyes lighting up on its LEDs hidden behind the armor over its face.

"Razor-sharp head to toe, and guaranteed to kill anything and anyone quickly. As for those enemies who are already dead..." Technus trailed.

Technus snapped his ethereal fingers, ordering the Techbot to hold up its arm and display its weapons. Taking influence from Skulker's hunter suit, the arm opened up to recveal various built-in ectoplasmic weaponry, designed to fight against any undead enemy it may encounter.

"...a full arsenal of ectoplasm-based weaponry, can send a ghost to oblivion faster than you can say 'busted'. I happened to take a little influence from Skulker while I was in that capitalist pig's memetic structure. Master, I give to you... the Techbot." Technus said.

Demon Phantom looked to the machine with a sense of light amusement, masking it with his co-existing emotion of disinterest.

"Very cute toy, but exactly what point does this serve to me or my needs?" Demon Phantom asked.

"Well, like I said, they've been my assistants in finishing the, uh... Did we have a name for the machines we're putting these people in?" Technus asked.

"God Machines."

Seeming either unimpressed or concerned over the choice of name, Technus raised an eyebrow.

"...'God Machines', sir?" Technus asked.

"Of course. What better name could there be for a machine that literally makes our own gods? Sometimes, simplicity is key. You don't need to be so picky over names when you're trying to end the world." Demon Phantom said.

"Ah, yes, of course. But, anyways, they've been very helpful assistants during this entire process. The robots were previously running off the operating system of Fenton City's A.I., M.I.S.T.E.R., making them each run on a sort of hive-mind mentality. I've actually been splitting my consciousness across the robots to get more work done by myself."

"Because if I'm going to do all the work by myself..." One Techbot said.

"...then why don't I just expand my personal manpower..." Another Techbot said.

"...so I can be more than one place at the same time?" A different Techbot said.

The splitting of Technus' voice between the Techbots led Demon Phantom to switch attention between them in a fast-pace move of his head; a move that brought him temporary disorientation, and still did not fully convince him of the necessity of the change in the robots.

"I'm well aware of the help the extra manpower gives you. My question was: Why bother with the redesigns and addition of weapons?" Demon Phantom asked.

"Why, for contingency, of course." Technus said.

"I'm sorry?"

"Contingency. I don't fully trust the results of what could happen from this experiment. What I'm dealing with here is basically an entirely new branch of science altogether. I've had my fair share of experiences in plenty of engineering disciplines, but much of this is over my head. I've never dealt with anything regarding the human mind or soul."

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Technus. Not only are the mind and the soul the same thing, but they're no different than any given machine. All it takes is a little modification and rebuilding, and you can use it to do whatever you want. Case in point, I believe that one right there's just about ready for rebirth."

Demon Phantom stepped up to one of the God Machines, moving to its controls to release the individual inside. Fearing any and all variables that could potentially interfere with and ruin the experiment, Technus quickly ran after him and made many pleas with him not to do so.

"W-Wait! Master, how can you know that? There's so many tests I'll have to make to make sure if it all worked or not! For all we know, this one could be more powerful than you and extremely loose-willed, or maybe it won't come back as a ghost at all! How can you be sure that it's ready?" Technus asked.

To confirm the question, Demon Phantom phased his hand through the God Machine, reaching into the head of the individual placed inside. Reaching in and touching the electrical currents between all the neurons and brain cells in the test subject's head, he had a look of satisfaction come to his face soon after.

"This one's ready. Open it up." Demon Phantom said.

The order was not one that Technus took any liking to, but he complied with Demon Phantom's decree nonetheless. Moving his hand to the controls of the God Machine, he shut the machine off and disabled all its functions, leading its orb to open and drain out its water, leaving the individual inside to fall to the floor, left naked and left to their own devices to stand up again.

The individual this God Machine held was an Indian woman of the Hindu faith, reprogrammed and brainwashed to be the Hindu goddess of Kali. Having had her brain conditioned to believe she was the very incarnation of the goddess, when she finally rose from the ground, she looked to Demon Phantom not out of fear, but out of some semblance of equal footing with the being, as if in a sibling-like comfort.

"It is time for your rebirth, Kali. Walk this way." Demon Phantom said.

And with the order of Demon Phantom, the appearance of equality was swiftly gone, and in its place a clear system of commander and subordinate. Complying with the order given out by her new master, the woman believing herself to be Kali had followed along with the two ghosts to the next part of her metamorphosis.

"See, Technus? Fully obedient, just as you programmed. You've done well." Demon Phantom said.

"But only on the human. What about the ghost?" Technus asked.

The group then made their way to a room containing Fenton City's Ghost Portal, leading the woman to stand inside it. Keeping herself compliant with her new master, the woman stood in the inside of the portal, keeping her arms folded and eyes closed in silent obedience of what would be done to her.

Then, making their way to the controls of the portal, Technus made all necessary preparations and preliminations to start the portal, with Demon Phantom keeping a careful eye on him. Technus next looked to Demon Phantom for a sign of approval, which he subsequently received with a nod.

Then, Technus activated the portal.

Creating another dimensional rift into the realm of the dead, a breach into that which is still not fully known by modern science, the Ghost Portal once again created an opening to the void of lost souls known as the Ghost Zone, bridging the worlds of life and death by means of science.

But unlike many who would go through such measures to learn and study the world beyond, the woman who stood inside the portal remained on the inside with the intent of becoming a god. And, through a baptism of artificial hellfire, her intentions are made into reality.

The ectoplasm which washes over her is an agonizing process, more than enough to send her screaming out of her mortal shell. Feeling her once-smooth and silken skin burn to a crisp, the only natural reaction for any human being to do under any such pain and distress is to scream. God as she may be in mind, the body is still but flesh and bone.

However, in just a few short moments, the body is dead and of no use, and it drops to the floor.

The woman is dead.

When the dimensional rift to the Ghost Zone is complete, after the physical remains of the woman are rejected from it, what comes after it in a few short moments is the psychic remains of the woman, fully manifested as Kali, the Hindu goddess of ultimate destruction and power. Just as predicted by Demon Phantom, the mental conditioning had fully paid off, with the results apparent and clear to prove it.

As in many popular depictions of Kali, the ghost manifestation of Kali was naked with blue skin, long, black hair, fierce, red eyes, and fangs, wearing a long necklace of heads and a skirt made of arms. Her ethereal body had not two, but four arms; a sword in one hand, a trident in the other, a severed head in the third, and a bowl collecting the droppings of blood from the head into the remaining hand.

The appearance of any such being, whether mere depiction or superreality as it has made itself here, would surely strike fear into the hearts of any who looked upon it.

For Technus, it almost does.

But for Demon Phantom, it does not.

Just like his past encounter with Damballah, his first instinct is to stare down the god in an animal-like show of dominance, showing himself to be stronger than the other deity by a sheer show of force and will. But unlike his previous necessity for the act in Haiti, it is not needed as much here and now.

In the instant he approached Kali, she knelt before Demon Phantom in submission, giving her allegiance over to him. The act of obedience, yet another clear sign of the conditioning having done its job, brought a smile to his face, leading him to turn to Technus to declare her a success.

"You see, Technus? Worked like a charm. It's not just me you should have faith in, but in yourself as well." Demon Phantom said.

"I'm a scientist, Master. I don't operate on faith. I operate on facts." Technus said.

"True. But it's their faith that we're depending on now. And we're the ones who're using it to our advantage. But if you'd like to see hard evidence, perhaps I should give you a demonstration of what your efforts have accomplished?"

Demon Phantom then led the two to the Scare Room, a training arena designed for the Fentons to sharpen their skills against fighting ghosts, using simulated obstacles and enemies as target practice and scenario training. Leading the group inside, he then urged Kali forward into the arena, next urging Technus to activate it.

"Technus, how does the training scenario in this room work?" Demon Phantom asked.

"It's, uh, set at different levels, all adjustable with different variables. The basic setups are set up at 6 different levels. Level 1 is a simple obstacle course with no enemies, and Level 6 is the most dangerous, comparable to an apocalyptic scenario." Technus explained.

"Apocalyptic, you say? Interesting. Would you please order the A.I. to start a training run at Level 6, then?"

"Already? We just made the ghost. Don't you think we should start with smaller tests first?"

"We're making these ghosts to destroy the world. A world that already taught itself how to fight back against ghosts. If it isn't capable of passing through apocalyptic-style scenarios, how do you expect it to bring the actual apocalypse? Now, Technus, I consider myself a very patient man, but you are serevely beginning to test my patience to its limits. Start the training at Level 6."

Anxious over the anger he brought upon his new master, Technus followed out the order without further question, concerned now with his own self-preservation.

"M.I.S.T.E.R., please run Training Simulation Level 6. Set timer for...?" Technus asked.

"20 seconds." Demon Phantom answered.

An instinctual urge rose in Technus to question the order, but, once again, the sake of his own afterlife brought him to swallow the urge and comply.

"20 seconds." Technus finished.

As the Scare Room began to adjust itself for the training exercise, Kali stepped forward with her sword and trident held high, giving a warlike shout in anticipation for the fight. Her desire to battle is not like a bloodthirsty barbarian, but that of an enraged mother bear, protecting over its own offspring of cubs.

The Scare Room gave no response nor care to the shout, as opposed to Technus' nervous stumbling back from the shout. Instead, the room shifted to a series of large, nearly insurmountable obstacles, revealing many ectoplasmic weapons with their gun barrels charging up and aiming straight for her.

Once again, Kali showed no signs of hesitation nor fear, only smiling with her fanged mouth at the chance to battle.

"3... 2... 1... GO!" M.I.S.T.E.R. said.

The instant the final number came from M.I.S.T.E.R.'s loudspeaker, the weapons in the scare room began firing straight at Kali, sending an unavoidable barrage of ectoplasmic energy sent directly her way. In defiance of all human perception of the situation, however, Kali seemingly vanished from the gunfire of the weapons.

Logical conclusions would have one believe that she had simply perished from the hellfire, if not for the fact that the weapons were still firing, and still moving as if to keep up with a target. Further evidence to support that Kali was still not destroyed was displayed by the destruction of many gun turrets, and the falling of their demolished bodies hitting the ground.

At a view only observable to Demon Phantom and Technus, Kali was moving through the gunfire with ease, lopping off the gun turrets with her sword, stabbing through them with her trident, and firing ectoplasmic energy through the eyes and mouth of the severed head in her hand, making use of her full arsenal of weapons.

Soon, the hellfire all came to an end, in a timespan even less than the mere 20 seconds set on the timer. What remained of the gun turrets were but scraps of metal; every device beyond repair and recognition. Standing unscathed and undefeated, Kali displayed herself as the obvious victor, declared a success by Demon Phantom.

In celebration of her victory, Kali held her bowl underneath some of the destroyed gun turrets, catching drops of oil and other mechanical fluids leaking from their remains. Catching the oil in her bowl, believing it to be the blood of her now slain enemies, she then drank from the bowl, consuming the oil as a final show of humiliation, lifting all her arms up with laughter as she succeeded.

The sight was one terrifying to witness for Technus, existing now in fear over what he has created...

...but Demon Phantom could not be happier to see what he sees now, seeing the experiment as a complete success.

Demon Phantom then waved a coaxing finger towards Technus, urging him to step forward with a Fenton Thermos.

"Playtime's over. Now it's time to put our toys away." Demon Phantom said.

As Technus gave him the desired Fenton Thermos, Demon Phantom then took it and pointed it at Kali, preparing to trap her inside it. Compliant with all her master's orders, even in this command which would be only detrimental to her, she knelt down and allowed him to use the machine on her, subjecting herself to a prison entirely to herself in an act all too uncharacteristic from the violence she once displayed.

Opening the lid to the Fenton Thermos, Demon Phantom fired out its tractor beam, keeping it aimed on Kali. Once the beam fired out from the thermos, Kali was immediately trapped within it, subsequently becoming sucked inside her own personal pocket dimensional prison.

Storing the goddess Kali inside the Fenton Thermos, Demon Phantom carelessly tossed it back to Technus, now scrambling to catch it and stop it from hitting the floor.

"Religious people are the easiest in the world to trick. India is the most religious country on the planet, even to this day. It's amazing how far you can take them with just a little push. Now, get back to work. I'll check in periodically and tell you if any of them are done cooking or not. Oh, and put some of those robots of yours to good use and fix this place up again. We'll need it to test further subjects." Demon Phantom said.

Stepping out of the Scare Room, Demon Phantom leisurely made his way outside, carrying himself on casually in wait for further development of his own machinations. Moving back into the hangar, expecting to find the next arrival or departure of his subordinate ghosts, he instead found one of said ghosts remaining behind carrying out none of his specific duties.

The ghost left behind is the only one of the group who is not fully, truly a ghost, and who has many of his own personal questions regarding the entire scheme.

Vlad Masters, once occupying the deceased body of Maddie Fenton, now existed outside of it once again as a spiritual being, free of any restraints and limitations placed on him by a physical body. He exists here in time now as a being completely comprised of thought and emotion...

...and it is his own thoughts and emotions that he truly exists in now, focusing on the memories of his past with the late Maddie Fenton, ranging from his many attempts and failures to woo her into marriage, to the ultimate betrayal he showed to her and Jack, two people he once existed as best friends with...

...and, finally, to this one memory that kept circling his being, leaving him unable to place its origin or reason for its reemergence in his mind.

Placing herself in the covers of her bed, she tucked herself into the sheets and blanket, covering herself with warm blankets to apply the pressure to her body needed to induce feelings of security and tiredness. Soon, the intended effect takes hold, and Maddie Fenton soons slips out of her conscious state into the healing meditation of sleep.

But her sleep does not last very long. Coming to interrupt her is a hand pulling off her covers, and another groping at her breast. Feeling a gentle touch come to her sensitive anatomy, she is awakened with a gasp, opening her eyes to the one who had brought her the sense of touch and brought her out of her sleep.

The touch had left her with a startle of fear from its lack of expectation, but that fear is subsided away when the one she sees in her eyes is Jack, her husband. The sight combined with the touch bring a smile from the once-unconscious Maddie, staving off her sleep to see her needs fulfilled at last.

"Mmm... Finally came to your senses?" Maddie asked.

"So it would seem, Maddie. You know how to make a man go to any lengths to get you." Jack said.

"Including finally getting you to give science a rest for once."

"Like I said, so it would seem."

Leaning into give Maddie a kiss, Jack began removing his own clothing, removing all obstacles from bringing their act to its full consummation. Laying his hands on her, he invoked pleasured and joyful moans from her lips, feeling her body in all its soft and wet offerings.

So it would seem that Maddie had began engaging in intimate acts with her husbands, having finally swayed him to come to bed with her and be as one...

"Yes, Jack... Yes..." Maddie moaned.

"Yes, Maddie, yes..." Jack said.

...but things are not what they seem. As Maddie closed her eyes, feeling them roll back in her head in pleasure, the form of Jack changed into someone far different from the joyful, portly man that she had married. In his place stood a specter swearing himself as his sworn enemy; his coveted prize of Maddie stolen from him forever following an incident involving a prototype Ghost Portal.

But through that same incident, he has found a way to take her back, even if the event was just for this one night for the man named Vlad Plasmius.

"...yes." Vlad said.

What brings him out of his self-imposed trance of memory is not his own conscious will, but instead a hand placed on his shoulder, bringing out an instinctual reaction of fear as he snapped his eyes towards the touched shoulder. The reason why he was touched was ultimately answered by the sight of Demon Phantom; a sight not too comforting to anyone, least of all him, but still assuring him of no immediate danger.

"Something bothering you, Vlad?" Demon Phantom asked.

Letting out a deep breath, a symbolic gesture to appease his symbolic being, Vlad stood up and addressed Demon Phantom face-to-face.

"Just... Just keeping my hopes up. Of seeing her again, mind you." Vlad said.

"But of course. I did promise that you could have her back if you so desired. It'd really take nothing more than a simple gander through the Ghost Zone until you manage to find her again. Her essence has to be somewhere in that godforsaken void. Hmph. 'Godforsaken'. Seems almost redundant when you realize there's no god there, isn't it?" Demon Phantom asked.

Demon Phantom let out a chuckle at his own minorly amusing joke, but Vlad paid the anecdote no such mind. Having his own fair share of troubles and concerns regarding the entirety of the mission and its goal, and many questions regarding the ghost behind it all, there is no capacity in him to laugh. As a result, Demon Phantom's laughter stopped short to a questioning scowl.

Instead, after all the avoidance he has taken to such troubles, he decided ask his questions.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you know. For all the work you've been putting out, getting your revenge on the Fentons like you always wanted, you could at least try to enjoy yourself a little and laugh." Demon Phantom said.

"I'm not in the mood for laughing. What I am particularly interested in is getting some answers that I need. Now, I did say that I wasn't going to ask any questions out of my own petty interests, but, as of now, my petty interests have severely shifted into getting those answers that I need." Vlad said.

"I see. And your question is?" Demon Phantom asked.

"I want to know who you really are. I've been disregarding the subject completely for some time, but I can't stand not knowing anymore. Skulker told me he is a fusion of two ghosts, and that you are as well."

"He told you correct."

"As far as I can remember, you're not any of the clones of Danny I've made in the past. None of them survived except a girl, and I don't know where she is now. You also mentioned something about not meeting with me in this timeline before, and that you 'were killing your own mother' when I confronted you about Maddie, something I didn't pick up on until retrospect."

"Go on."

"But that would imply you're supposed to be some version of Danny Phantom from... the future?"

"Ding-ding. I can see that mastermind brain of yours still has some juice behind it, whether in human or ghost form."

"Spare me the false praise. So, what's your story? Who did you fuse with to become who you are?"

"Why, you, of course."

The answer came to Vlad as a shock, but, somehow, not as big as a surprise as he might have guessed.

"What?" Vlad asked.

"You know, Vlad, I can see you feel some form of guilt by allowing Danny and his family to die by my hand. You're beginning to question if you are on the right side of history, aren't you?." Demon Phantom asked.

Vlad, though not appreciating the change in the topic of conversation, decided to entertain the discussion further, despite how much he disliked this particular subject.

"Well, if you are indeed Danny Phantom, or were Danny Phantom at some point, then you know that the woman I loved most was among Danny's family. That definitely doesn't put you in my best of graces. You took something from me that I very much cared about." Vlad replied.

"I once understood that pain. That was before I had you take out my human side in my timeline." Demon Phantom replied.

The cold and calm state of fact spoken by Demon Phantom laid yet another shock on Vlad, making him stop to process the information he was given.

"I... I did what?" Vlad asked.