Hey, beautiful people! I have a very sad announcement. My life has been super busy lately, and I have a feeling it's going to become busier, so I will unfortunately only be able to update every Friday instead of every Monday and Friday. I'm so sorry, beautiful people. :( Thank you for understanding. :)
Disclaimer: As much as I wish, I do not own Danny Phantom. I only own my OC's and their stories. All rights go to their respective owners. :)
Vlad's POV:
Why did he flinch? Why in the world was it his body's natural instinct when his daughter had found something out she wasn't supposed to know? How could he be so careless and let one of two very important secrets slip?
Normally, in a situation such as this one, he would come up with a clever and convincing lie to avoid the secret from entirely being told. But he couldn't. He couldn't trick her into believing his compelling lies; she was too smart for that.
"Daddy," she whispered, and he looked back up at her to see tears running down her bright pink cheeks, "I am your daughter, aren't I?"
He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated and closed it. How was he supposed to answer that? Biologically, she wasn't his daughter. He wasn't her biological father; he had no idea who that even was. But by law, she was his daughter. He adopted her through-well, through bribery, which obviously was similar to a crime; or perhaps it was a crime?
For Pete's sake, he had to tell her the truth. If he didn't, she would look into it herself and search for her birth certificate, which he made sure to keep away from her. He sighed. "Sweetheart," he whispered softly then scooted closer to her and sat next to her on her bed. He pulled her into his arms, and she snuggled close to his side. "What I'm about to tell you, you have to know that I still love you and always will. I'm still your father and that will never change. Do you understand, sweetheart?"
He heard her sniffle and felt something wet start to soak through his suit, giving him the hint she was crying, then glanced down at her when he felt her nod her head into his side. He started rubbing her back in circular motions. "Sweetheart, I know this will be difficult for you to understand, but-" He gulped then squeezed her tighter when he felt her trembling against him. "I adopted you when you were a newborn."
Her cries became more louder, and he picked her up and placed her in his lap then squeezed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "But that doesn't change anything," he continued, gently stroking her black locks of hair, "I may not biologically be your father, but I still am your father; just in a much different way. Do you understand?"
"W-What about my Mom?" she asked, her tone soft and quivered.
He frowned as he continued stroking her head, unknowingly tangling his fingers in her messy locks. "I'm afraid I've never met her or your father. I only met the social worker that brought you to me."
She mumbled something incoherent to him, causing him to tilt his ear towards her a little more. "What was that, Elizabeth?" he asked.
"Why did she give me up?" she repeated, speaking a little more louder.
"I don't know the exact reason, sweetheart." He squeezed her tighter. "But I'm sure it was because she wanted to give you a better chance." He smiled softly. "In a way, she gave us both a better chance."
She sniffled then lifted her head up to look at him with her teary red eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Before I adopted you, my life felt meaningless. I was completely and utterly alone. I had no family, no friends-"
"What about the Fentons?" She tilted her head slightly. "I thought they were your friends."
"Well, uh, it's much more complicated than that." He sat up straighter from sliding down a bit during their conversation and held her closer to him. "But that's a story for another time." Hopefully, never. "In short, I had no one." He smiled and caressed her cheek softly, which she leaned into. "Until, one day, I decided to adopt, and I chose to adopt you. Now, I'm not alone and my life isn't meaningless anymore because you're in it, sweetheart."
"S-So that's why you believe my Mom gave us both a better chance?"
"Uh huh." He kissed her forehead gently. "Just because I adopted you, that doesn't mean you're not my daughter because you are."
She sniffled again then laid her head down on his shoulder. "Thanks, Dad."
He smiled softly then hugged her gently. "I will always be your father, and I will always love you. None of this changes anything, Elizabeth. I swear it."
Elizabeth's POV:
No, her Daddy was wrong. What he told her, what she now knew, changed everything. Ever since he told her she was adopted only four hours ago, she couldn't stop thinking about who her mother was, who her biological father was, and why they gave her up. Her brain told her it was best to forget about it and wait until she was older to search for the answers, but her heart told her otherwise.
Quietly, she slowly opened her bedroom door and peeked her head out, looking for any sign of her Daddy or any of the staff. When no one came into sight, she stepped out, fully-clothed in warm clothing, then slowly closed her door, not wanting to alert anyone she wasn't in her room. As soon as it was shut, she put her backpack on and tiptoed across the hall, glancing over at her Daddy's room to make sure he wasn't awake.
She froze in the middle of the hall, though, when she saw he wasn't in his bedroom. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and checked her watch, noting it was eleven forty-five in the evening; he should have been in bed by then.
Knowing she now had to be even more mindful of where she stepped to not alert him of her presence, she carefully, yet quickly, tiptoed down the marble staircase. Every time her shoes made a squeaky sound against the floors, though, she bit her lip, it being a nervous habit she must have inherited from one of her parents.
After a long and stressful journey down the staircase, she hurried to the front door and opened it, relieved her father hadn't locked it yet.
Vlad's POV:
Once Molly frantically informed him that Elizabeth wasn't in her room around midnight, he transformed into Vlad Plasmius, turned intangible, and flew out of his Laboratory.
He should have known Elizabeth would've run away from home after finding out she was adopted. Yet, he believed she would be fine and get used to the fact that she was adopted after a short week or two; how stupid could he be?!
He shot past Susan's house, knowing Elizabeth wouldn't of gone there; she wasn't tall enough to reach the spare key above the door frame, and she knew Susan's parents would have called him to inform him she was there.
He shouldn't be worried; she couldn't make it that far with how short her legs were. Yet, he was downright terrified. What if someone hurt her, and he wouldn't be there to protect her? What if she managed to slip onto a subway and end up in another part of the city? What if she was abducted and gone forever?
How could parents deal with this kind of stress?!
He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening, when he heard a loud and terrified little girl scream close by.
Elizabeth's POV:
Whatever part of the city she was in, it wasn't recognizable. It seemed almost too dark and creepy. The dark buildings around her felt as if they were looming over her, attempting to make her feel small and vulnerable. Not to mention, the air didn't feel or smell clean; it smelled foul and that caused her to gag with disgust. A car alarm went off to her left when she walked beside it, causing her to jump in alarm then make a run for it to avoid any confrontation from whoever the owner was. Once she was sure she was far enough away from the vehicle, she shivered and hugged herself as a cold chill ran up her spine, adding onto her growing fear of being by herself.
No wonder her Daddy told her that the outside world was dangerous and to not go anywhere without an adult. Every building, tree, dark alleyway, noise, and vehicle set her on edge. Even the shadows were frightening her; it seemed as if they were playing tricks on her to mock her of her ever growing fear. Yet, the closest subway was in this part of the city and that would take her to the nearest hospital where she could find her birth certificate, if her Daddy kept it there, and find out who her biological parents were; at least, that was what she hoped she could do.
"You lost, little one?" a deep, rough voice asked from behind her.
Elizabeth yelped and whirled around, not expecting someone else to be outside with her. Hesitantly, and reluctantly, she looked up, tilting her head up, and spotted a dark silhouette towering above her. Voluntarily, she shuffled her feet backwards to be further away from the large man. "M-My Daddy said I couldn't t-talk to s-strangers," she stuttered out, feeling her heart pound rapidly against her chest as fear began to cloud her mind.
"Oh that's okay." She watched as the silhouette crouched down in front of her then she squeezed her eyes shut when a bright light filled her vision, making her squint to readjust them. "Oops! Sorry." The light left her vision and pointed upwards, revealing the man in front of her. "I'm not a stranger. I just want to help you get home."
"Thank you, but I-" She took another step back, noticing the large scar diagonally stretching from his forehead to the other side of his lower jaw and the crooked smile he gave her. "-I-I know my way back, so I'll be fine."
He tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure, kid?"
She nodded then started to turn, prepared to run far away from the stranger. "Y-Yes, I do." When she fully turned around, her back facing the stranger, she started to to step away. "G-Goodbye."
A loud scream escaped her throat as a pair of arms wrapped around her stomach then lifted her up. Before she could scream again, a large hand covered her mouth and clenched onto it, making her let out a muffled scream of pain and thrash in the stranger's grip.
"Now, now, it's okay," he whispered in her ear, attempting to calm her down, "we're just going to meet an old friend of mine and see how much of a ransom your family would pay to get you back."
A whimper escaped her lips, and she thrashed harder in his grip, but he squeezed her side tightly, making her let out another muffled scream and stay still in his grip; he could hurt her further if she did anything he didn't like.
Tears began to pour out of her eyes as fear settled in the pit of her stomach. Why did she leave home, especially in the middle of the night? Why was she so stubborn and desperate to search for answers that she talked herself into leaving to search for her family? She wouldn't have been in this situation if she had just waited.
A gasp escaped her when she felt another pair of arms wrap around her small body and screamed shortly when she was pulled backwards and through the stranger. Once she was pulled out, she glanced down and let out another gasp when she saw her arms turn from a light blue color to her skin color. "What the-?" she muttered then froze and tensed when a puff of hot breath blew on the back of her neck. Hesitantly, she looked over her shoulder to see a white shirt covering a brawny chest with a white high-collar cape connected to the shirt, but red showed on the inside of it.
Involuntarily, she gulped then glanced up to spot the face of a vampire-looking man, or creature, with red eyes that seemed to become darker when he narrowed them. What the heck was that creature? It certainly resembled a vampire but those were myths, weren't they? Plus, his U-shaped black hair resembled horns, his pointed fangs made her want to cover her neck in fear he might bite into it, and his red piercing eyes paled her.
Her body started trembling as she bit her lower lip and looked down, silently crying to herself as thoughts of what horrifying scenarios of what could happen to her raced across her mind. If he was a vampire, he would want to drink her blood, kill her, or enslave her. Honestly, to her, she would much rather have him kill her than live to watch him drink her blood; she just hoped she wouldn't die painfully and slowly.
She heard him snarl from behind her, and she accidentally let out a sob then closed her eyes as she attempted to curl up in his grip, hoping to somehow give herself comfort. He was going to hurt her, she was sure of it. After all, what freaky psychopathic maniac wouldn't want to hurt an innocent little girl?
Her eyes widened when she felt him kneel down and release her from his grip. What was he doing? Was he letting her go? Was she free? No, she wasn't; she couldn't be. He was a monster, wasn't he? If anything, he probably wanted to be at eye-level with her to gain more access to her neck.
A yelp escaped her when she felt a slight nudge push her forward, but she didn't dare look back. She couldn't face him. He probably wanted her to watch as he slowly drained her of all of her blood. That was what monsters did for entertainment, right? Watch their victims suffer as they terrorized them, hurt them, kill them, or ate them?
A short scream escaped her when she felt a rush of wind race past her, forcing her hair to whip out in front of her. Pure terror spread across her features as she watched in horror as the creature charged at the attempted kidnapper then rammed him into a brick wall behind him.
When the creature picked up the kidnapper and slammed him against the wall again, Elizabeth turned and started running blindly in the opposite direction, seeing it as her chance to get away.
Vlad's POV:
Vlad was going to kill him, he was sure of it! No one dared to touch his little girl and expected to get away with it! It was unacceptable! Unspeakable! Appalling! Disgusting!
He slammed the attempted kidnapper up against the brick wall again, holding him by his neck and effectively choking him. He snarled at the obviously fearful criminal. Oh the joy he was going to feel after showing him just how frightening he truly was. The thought of the various horrors he could unleash on the petrified man brought a smirk to his face, causing the latter to shake uncontrollably. Oh yes, he was going to have fun with this one.
His thoughts were interrupted though when he heard the sound of running footsteps, causing him to turn slightly to see Elizabeth turn a corner; she was running away, again. His hold on the criminal's neck tightened as he growled softly, not paying any mind to the latter's choked gasps and the attempted pleadings.
Now what was he supposed to do? He wanted to kill the criminal to appease his vengeful side, yet he knew he had to take Elizabeth back to assure his partially worried side. The crook had to pay, but his little girl had to be safe. The creep was a kidnapper, but Elizabeth was his daughter and had to be comforted and assured that she was safe at home.
He sighed in defeat and threw the crook on the ground, letting him go but took his wallet; he could always find the crook again later.
Elizabeth's POV:
Elizabeth's heart pounded against her chest when she stopped to rest, needing a break after running so fast. She placed a shaky hand over her heart then let her backpack slide off of her shoulders and to the ground, believing she was at a safe distance from the monster. Her shaky knees gave way beneath her, and she fell to the ground in exhaustion as pants escaped her mouth.
Her Dad was going to kill her, she was sure of it. She stupidly ran away from home, disappointed him, and now he was most likely fuming with fury; he was worried sick about her. A disappointed sigh escaped her as she pushed herself up to sit on her knees then reached over to grab her backpack, so she could start walking home.
Right as her fingertips touched the bag, she screamed when someone picked her up from behind and flew her up into the sky. Her eyes widened when she looked up to see the creature she was running from before carrying her. Panicked pants escaped from her lips as her heart pounded harshly against her rib cage, but she wasn't sure it was because of the creature or the fact that she was really high up in the sky. Still, whichever it was, she didn't dare look down; there was no way she was going to look-
"Don't look down," the monster ordered, his tone soft.
And she looked down.
She yelped then clutched onto his shirt and buried her face in it, hoping that by doing so she wouldn't fall out of his arms. Why was it that whenever someone told someone else to not look down, they would look down anyway?! It was like a knee jerk response that only encouraged them to do the exact opposite of what they weren't supposed to do!
A disappointed sigh escaped his mouth, and she clutched tighter onto his shirt as he tightened his grip on her. Where was he taking her?! Why was he kidnapping her?! Was he going to kill her?! Was he going to take her to a place where other monsters existed?! What if he wanted to turn her into a monster too?! What was he going to do with-
"You can let go now," the monster whispered and loosened his grip on her, "we're here."
She shook her head and clutched tighter onto his shirt; there was no way she was going to do what he wanted.
"Miss, you have to let go now. I brought you back home."
Again, she shook her head. Why should she believe anything he told her? 'Home' probably meant his home, and she didn't want to be there.
He let out a frustrated sigh, and she tensed when one of his hands grabbed her own and tried prying them off of him. When that didn't work, he grabbed her sides and tried pulling her off of him, but she wrapped her legs around his waist as soon as he released her hands.
Vlad's POV:
"You've got to be kidding me," he thought as soon as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her grip on him surprisingly strong.
He brought her back home! Why in world wouldn't she, at least, look up to see that he was telling the truth?! He rubbed a hand down his face in frustration then walked over to her bed and gestured to it. "Look, this is your bed!"
But, she shook her head again.
"Would you please just look?!"
Another shake of her head.
He sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. Now what was he supposed to do? How was he going to get her to let go without hurting her? The only way he was able to do that in the past was by tickling her, but he honestly didn't think that would work; her death grip on him was far too strong, and it would be weird just because she had no idea he was her father. Plus, he had a reputation to uphold as Plasmius; he was supposed to be a villain, not a loving father. What was he going to do to get her to let go then?
"I'm going to count to three," he whispered and felt her tense up, "and if you don't let go, then you're going to be in some serious trouble."
He heard her whimper then clutch tighter onto his shirt, and he narrowed his eyes. "One."
Another whimper sounded from her, and she wrapped her arms around his stomach.
"Two." He grabbed onto her arms, feeling her tremble underneath his touch. "Thre-."
Elizabeth's POV:
Before he could even finish, she let go and jumped down then ran across her bed but stopped her 'escape' as quickly as it started when she registered she was actually in her room. Her mouth hung open in shock as she glanced around; he brought her home? But, how did he know where she lived or which room was even hers?
"Told you," he teased, and she looked back at him to see a smirk of amusement settled on his lips.
"W-Who are you?" she asked, it barely audible, as she turned around to face him.
He crossed his arms. "Plasmius."
"H-How did you know where I lived?"
He scoffed. "Your father's the most famous billionaire in the world. Who wouldn't know where you lived?"
"Oh." She glanced back to her bed then sat down and took off her backpack. "R-Right."
He hummed, and she glanced back up at him to see him retreating to her window. "Don't let me catch you out there again, Elizabeth." Once he reached the window, he narrowed his eyes at her, and she shivered in response. "Or there will be serious consequences."
"O-Of course."
He nodded once at her then climbed onto her window seat, preparing to leave.
He was going to leave her there? Why? Didn't he want to kill her? Or drink her blood? Or enslave her until the day she died? Why would he bring her back when he could have imprisoned her instead? Was he really a monster?
She wasn't sure why or where the unexpected courage came from, but she stood suddenly, causing him to glance at her from the window seat. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it, unsure if it was the right thing to say. What if he took it to offense?
"Well?" Plasmius asked, raising a curious brow, "Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
"Um, I, uh." She exhaled then clenched her fists and glanced down, not wanting to know his reaction. "I-I just wanted to say t-thank you for saving my life."
A long few moments of silence passed between them, making her all the more nervous but wonder if he had left without responding. Should she check? But what if he was going to charge at her the moment she looked up? Or what if he was angry and killed her on the spot? Or what if-
"You're welcome," his response echoed, and she glanced up with widened eyes to discover that he was gone.
Still, she ran over to the window and peered out of it, hoping to spot the mysterious and paranormal creature one last time.
Author's note: Hey, beautiful people! I just wanted to thank you all again for understanding that I need to change my updating schedule. You all are so awesome, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week. :)
On another note, what did you think of the encounter between Plasmius and Elizabeth? Do you think anything will change now that Elizabeth met him? Will she change? Will he change? Will she be afraid of him for the rest of her life? What do you think will happen either in the next chapter or in the future for the two of them? Let me know what you think through review! As always, constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated. :)
Fun Fact: Elizabeth has a slight interest in mythological creatures, legends, fairytales, or anything that involves the unknown. :)
Thank you, beautiful HeartLuvAnimeGirl, and everyone else, for following and/or favoriting my story! :)
Thank you, beautiful HeartLuvAnimeGirl, beautiful GhostWriterGirl-1, and everyone else, for following and/or favoriting me! :)
Review Time!
Thank you, beautiful ElealehBlue, for your review! That is true. Little boys do tease little girls if they like them, but I don't know if that will happen. We'll have to see. ;) Vlad is pretty much a coward, isn't he? Originally, I was going to have Vlad lie to Elizabeth, so he wouldn't have to tell her she was adopted but then I decided against it. Oh yes. Vlad definitely loves Elizabeth enough to not allow her to become like him. :)
Thank you, beautiful GhostWriterGirl-1, for your review! I'm so glad you love my story, thank you! Also, welcome to the Fanfiction world! I'll be sure to check out your stories when you post them! I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of your questions. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone or you, but I promise those questions will be answered within future chapters. :) Some tips? Well, I would definitely use detail in your stories and delve further into the character's thoughts to show character development and their personality. Also, try and put yourself in your character's shoes, so you can have a better understanding of who your character is. Hmm... Ooh! Stick to one POV! I noticed that some writers don't stick to one POV and the story becomes a bit difficult to read because of it. I don't know what kind of music you like but try and listen to some "Writing Inspiration Music" for inspiration (it helps me all the time). Try to not use the word 'said' every time a character says something. Try and use words like: replied, responded, retorted, echoed, yelled, exclaimed, whispered, etc. I can't think of anything else but if I do, I'll let you know! :)