Truth of Purity
"Vlad!"
Only thunder rumbling in the distant Wisconsin hills answered.
"Vlad! Where the hell are you?!"
Fury blurred the young trespasser's eyes, made worse by the rain that clouded over the window at the end of the green-and-gold-decked hall. He fumed, stomped down the rug a little further, and called out again.
"VLAD!"
No answer, save for pattering water.
Danny was very close to breaking something. A swift kick of a table leg would do nicely, but his first priority was finding Vlad and stopping him, once and for all. This was no time for hide-and-seek.
Vlad's ridiculous games had gone on for much too long, but this latest stunt had crossed a line. It was downright disgusting, if Danny thought about it.
He'd been onto Vlad the moment he called about visiting the Fentons for a week, but even that didn't prepare him for what actually happened.
Partly cloudy Saturday afternoon. An impromptu barbecue in the backyard suggested by Jack, surprisingly enforced by Vlad.
Then chaos.
The barbecue brought an unexpected visit from the one and only Wisconsin Ghost, with an innocent Vlad Masters standing "helplessly" nearby. Blasters were drawn, banter was tossed around, and Danny didn't even get a chance to start running to find a spot to go ghost, because Plasmius got to his point rather quickly.
With a precise aim, the older halfa shot an ecto-blast towards Maddie. Jack was ten feet too far from his wife to do anything, but Vlad suddenly jumped into action and dove in front of her to take the hit. He absorbed the impact, landing on his back with a thud.
Danny watched from close by, barely stunned and incredibly suspicious. Jack shot one or two more blasts at Plasmius as he flew away with a smug grin, his fangs glinting in the broken sunlight. The Fentons then gathered around Vlad to see what the damage was.
At first, Danny was sure he was standing over a duplicate. But a quick peek back at the ghost denied that theory as Plasmius winked out of sight, seemingly being absorbed back into its original with the slight shudder Vlad gave off a few seconds later.
Vlad's eyelids flickered in a struggle to stay conscious. The upper-left part of his torso was smoldering as his flesh burned from the blast. The fabric of his suit around the wound was stained red with blood, quickly seeping further into his shirt. His breathing hitched with each fall of his chest. The whole image seemed forged on someone both as devious and as rich as him.
Maddie crouched down next to him, barking orders back at Jack and Jazz, who were closest to the kitchen door, to go get the first-aid kit and towels. Danny was told to be ready to call 911 on his cell phone, but not quite yet. He automatically dug his phone out of his pocket, not even bothering to turn the screen on. He was still baffled. Why would Vlad deliver such a direct blow to himself?
Vlad finally came to, and Danny got his answer then. He feebly turned to Maddie as she carefully picked off strands of his shirt lying across the wound, bringing a hand up to stop hers. He held it tightly, and gazed at her with longing. "Maddie," he rasped out. "I don't…think I'm going to…make it."
Danny rolled his eyes at the dramatics (he knew Vlad's ghost half would heal the worst of it), but Maddie barely seemed phased, allowing him to keep hold of her hand but keeping her eyes on his injury. Years of martial arts training and countless ghost-related emergencies were keeping her calm and collected, despite the fact that she'd almost been shot herself. "You'll be fine, Vlad," she reassured, picking another piece of shirt out of his torso. "Just hang in there."
"Maddie…please. I need to-" He choked on a cough. "I-I need to tell you s-something."
She waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, she prompted him with, "Yes?"
Instead of answering, Vlad moved his hand to her upper arm and nudged her down towards him, as if to whisper something. But in one swift move, he brought his lips up to hers and kissed her instead. He tried to make it last as long as he could, but Maddie instantly repelled herself from his grip, scrambling to her feet as Vlad's head fell against the grass again, his eyes closed.
Maddie's features lit with anger and betrayal. She looked like she was about to chew him out, but some minuscule thread of composure had her turn to Danny instead and grit out an order through clenched teeth. "Call the hospital, Danny. They can deal with him. I'll send Jack back out."
Danny would've chuckled at the thought of his dad patching up an unwilling Vlad, if he wasn't equally as appalled as his mom, probably even more so. Maddie would've chalked it up to a "final words" mentality, at most.
But Danny knew better. That kiss was far from Vlad's final words. He would be nearly healed by nightfall. The hospital wasn't necessary, though by the time Danny finished with him, it would be. The teen glared back at his arch-enemy, only to find the grass looking untouched, save for the shimmer of blood on a small curved patch.
Vlad was nowhere to be seen, leaving Danny with one guess as to where he disappeared to. With a frustrated growl, he transformed into Phantom and launched himself into the air.
Looked like he was making a house call all the way in Wisconsin.
Danny shuddered in disgust at the memory. Only Vlad could - and would - stoop low enough to stage a seemingly fatal wound just to kiss the person he hopelessly pined after. It better have been worth the ass-kicking he was about to get.
Vlad had to be close. Danny had left right after him, yet he hadn't seen one glimpse of him during the two-hour flight. Either he'd stayed invisible, teleported, or somehow got back to his (unnecessary) private jet in time.
So far Danny had checked the lab, all of downstairs, and three guest bedrooms on the second floor. No Vlad, and no answers to his furious calls.
The next door was promising to be more of the same frustrating news, until he saw the faintest flicker of orange from under it. His determination grew once again, and he marched over to the door, his boots squelching from the rain.
Danny swung the door open with force onto a den. It was like the spacious private library downstairs, only much smaller. There were shelves along either side, and on the far wall was a fireplace, lit and crackling loudly.
As he opened the door, he wasted no time in announcing his presence. "Vlad, I swear you better be in-"
An eerie silhouette just off to the side of the fire caught his eye. Plasmius was kneeling in front of the flames, his shoulders hunched as he leaned forward on one hand. The other hand was covering his face and he was…trembling? His cape shrouded him like a blanket, yet it hardly appeared to be comforting him.
Vlad made no sign he had heard Danny come in.
"Vlad?! Vlad!"
Danny stepped into the room, striding forward until he heard a muffled sob. He paused in shock. Was Vlad Plasmius…crying?
He shook it off. Vlad didn't cry. His pride wouldn't allow it. This had to be another ruse of some kind. Danny scanned the room for any duplicates lurking in the shadows, finding none but staying alert nevertheless. He glared back at the ghost before him, ready to take him down a notch.
"What the hell is your problem, Vlad? Why can't you just leave my mom, and my family, alone?"
A large clap of thunder nearly shook the room, followed by a minute of thick silence only punctuated by more (fake) sobs and the snapping of flames.
Just when Danny was about to interrogate him again, Vlad finally spoke. It was in a low tone, a choked-back cry full of heartbreak.
"What's wrong with me, Daniel?"
Danny had to bite his tongue from instantly going into a full-on passion-fueled tirade to answer the question. He started to take a step forward, but Vlad cut him off by snapping his neck around, growling to keep him away as if Danny was a predator.
Plasmius' red eyes were highlighted by a watery glint, proving once and for all he really was crying. His lips were curved down in a regretful, angry grimace through the tears. Danny could see the injury on his shoulder at this angle; it seemed to be only halfway healed, the burnt skin reforming in patches here and there. At Vlad's knees laid an open book. A yearbook.
Just as quickly, Vlad turned back to the fire, his head bowed down. He sniffed, then repeated his question. "What's wrong with me?"
Danny spoke from his current spot, folding his arms over his chest. His enemy may have looked pitiful right then, but he knew better than to provoke him further. "It should be obvious, Vlad," he remarked acidly.
Vlad shook his head shamefully. "I just want her to love me." He brushed a hand over the yearbook. Danny couldn't see the details of the photo, but he was guessing it was of his mom.
"Yeah, well, my dad beat you to that." Danny rolled his eyes at the way Vlad's body tensed. He continued, ready to berate like never before. "What you did today was despicable. Faking a serious injury just to kiss someone? Only as someone as loopy as you would even consider that in the first place. My mom thought you had a serious injury as a human!"
Vlad sunk in on himself. The rest of his resolve was fading fast. "I was just…I was just trying to show her…that I would take a bullet to save her." He subconsciously brought a hand up to his shoulder, wincing at the touch.
"By literally planning to throw yourself in harm's way?!" Danny threw his hands up in exasperation, his green eyes smoldering in contrast to the shadows in the room. "Listen, Vlad. She will never love you. You've got no shot with-"
Vlad's body, which had been trembling this whole time, seemed to unleash a wave of built-up frustration as he turned on Danny. The teen reeled back as he got a glimpse of Vlad's eyes once again. This time they shone with a mixture of emotions Danny didn't think he possessed, and it frightened him. Resentment, hopelessness, and pure…desperation.
"No, YOU listen!" Vlad roared.
Danny took a hesitant half-step back. He'd never seen Vlad like this, even at his most infuriated state. He was ready to bolt if the other so much as even twitched his knees to stand up.
More thunder in the distance. "I tried so hard all my life to be a man worthy of Maddie's love. I could give her everything, everything, Daniel, even my life! But she still won't love me." By now, Vlad was crying hysterically. He turned back to the fire, shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Why doesn't she love me?"
Danny was at a loss for words. Here was the Vlad Plasmius, still frightening, but breaking down into a vulnerable state, the suave confidence of Vlad Masters nonexistent. He found himself pitying the man before he knew it, and he felt like he was breaking some law of physics.
He sighed, unsure of what to say. Yelling didn't seem like it would be effective in ending his games now, but perhaps reasoning would be. "Vlad, I…I thi-"
"Just leave."
Danny's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What? No, Vlad, come on-"
"I said LEAVE!" This time Vlad stood up as he looked at him, a beast pointing a shaking finger at the door. His typical rage seemed to be taking control once more, temporarily blinding his pain, making him strong again.
Danny quickly complied, raising his hands in a surrendering pose. This was going to take time, that was certain.
As he walked backwards to the door, watching Plasmius return to the floor, he carefully spoke a few final words. "Vlad, just…don't do something you'll regret." Any further, he added in his head.
Vlad simply huffed half-heartedly, sniffing back more tears as if he was waiting for Danny to leave before breaking down again.
With another sigh, Danny turned to close the door on his way out. Just before the door clicked, he heard a page being torn out of a book.
All that followed was the renewed crackling of fire.
Holy smokes. I...I did it. It took over a year, but I did it. I completed all the prompts sapphireswimming sent me. Just...WOW.
Many thanks x infinity to the-little-insomniac for beta-reading this final prompt! And a GIGANTIC THANK YOU to sapphire for sending me these prompts in the first place! Who knew one little request would grow into this?
Now to get ready for Ectober Week in 2 days.
Important note for this particular prompt: please PLEASE listen to "Is It Scary" by Michael Jackson. It inspired this from the start and just screams Vlad. (Prompt was "Pride + Vlad")
