Chapter Three

Self-Hate and Horror

The previous feeling of depression was replaced by an intense feeling of utter self-loathing and utmost horror. The depression remained in Danny, however, since his was genuine, not artificial.

A new memory formed. One Danny had anticipated, but was dreading. The revised (slightly) scene at the Nasty Burger. The one he, not his evil self, had witnessed. Short line from Dan first.

"Don't you see, Danny? I'm still here. I still exist. That means you will turn into me. I'm inevitable."

Scene change. This was of my violent argument of the future with Dan.

"What makes you think you can change my past?" Dan asked, malevolence in his eyes.

My memory-self struggled to stand. "Because I promised my family."

"Ha, ha, ha! You are such a child! You promised?" he scorned, his laugh slowly changing to a look of scorn.

"Yes. I PROMISED!" my memory self replied, unleashing the ghostly wail. The scene continued, an oil truck exploding in flames, followed by Dan stepping out. The scene ended.

Then, it continued from when Danny realized he had left his friends and family tied to the Nasty Sauce boilers (which were never actually supposed to boil). He turned around and began running. He summoned the familiar rings around his waistline, but they vanished.

"I can't go ghost." his memory-self realized. "NOOOOO!" he cried as he tripped and fell, looking up for the last time into the faces of his friends and family. They all seemed to exchange looks of total despair in the last moments before the inevitable explosion.

"Noooo!" the real me cried, witnessing it, yet unable to stop it.

I bowed my head, for my eyes glowed green with complete and utter self-hatred my parents and teacher could not be permitted to see the depth of. But they seemed to get the picture anyway, and just stood, shocked. Again the seemed about to say something when the scene changed yet again.

This was of Vlad. His older self. Helpless. Alone. Beaten. Broken.

"Is that... V-man?" asked Jack, horrified.

I nodded. "This is what would have happened in that alternate timeline. He ripped the ghost half out of me."

"Ew." broke in Jack. I quietly agreed, then went on.

"I- my ghost half ripped out his and merged with it. Dan was the result. Well, part of it. Listen, he's about to speak."

Right on cue, Vlad turned. To say he looked unwell would be an understatement.

"Come to kick a defenseless old man while he's down?"

"Defenseless? Old?" asked my memory-self. Then he gasped. "Whoa. What happened to you?"

"I could ask the same of you, my boy. Or perhaps, I should ask, what hasn't happened to you. Yet."

"If it is any consolation they went so quickly. They felt no pain. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of you, Daniel. With no one left to turn to you came to me, the only one who could possibly hope to understand your situation."

"All you wanted was to make the hurt go away. I honored your wishes. No more painful human emotions. I ripped out your ghost half, which unfortunately freed you up to rip the ghost out of me. And when my evil ghost half merged with yours, my evil side overwhelmed you. Dan was created."

My memory self spoke up. "What happened to my human half?"

Vlad turned away, one hand raised, as if to ward away bad memories. "Some things, my boy, are better left unsaid." Real me shuddered at the very idea of something horrific to make Vlad not speak of it happening to my human half. Sometimes, I really did hate myself. Like now, these memories were drawing out the worst of it.

Then Vlad continued. "If any good came out of this it's that ten years without ghost powers has allowed me to see what a fool I've been."

The scene faded out. The next emotion was long in coming, so Mr. Lancer had time to ask some questions, as did my parents.

"Did you ever find out what happened to your human half?"

"No. I'm also pretty sure I don't want to."

Now, Maddie asked a question. "What happened to Dan?"

"He's locked in a Fenton thermos in Clockwork's lair. He should stay there for quite a while, hopefully forever."

Finally, Jack asked his question. "What was that power? The thing out of your mouth?"

My gaze darkened. "My most powerful power, a last resort. My Ghostly Wail. I was supposed to learn it nine years from now, but instead, because of certain... ah... circumstances, I gained it early."

Maddie caught the hesitation. "What kind of circumstances?"

"Well, this thing you just witnesses in general, but more specifically, in that alternate future, Dan tied me up and sent me into the Ghost Zone. A bunch of future ghosts tried to kill me at once, but right them, when I was saying get away, I finally shouted it and it became my first Ghostly Wail. That Wail could take down a building. Or several buildings."

They gasped.

Finally, the emotion was replaced with another. Terror.

Uh-oh. This... would probably have the most memories.