Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom as it's the property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International. I am just a loyal fan and nothing more.
Unshattered Bonds
Chapter 12: Prisoners of love
At the Sanchez estate
Paulina was currently trying on her designer wedding dress and was madly in love with it. It was a gorgeous sleeveless, satin gown with a sweetheart neckline that showed off her figure quite nicely. She was also wearing the matching tiara that came along with it that showed off her eyes. It was the kind of wedding dress only a woman who was marrying into royalty would wear and that made Paulina love it more, but not as much as her own appearance.
"Beautiful..." She thought blissfully as she loved the dress and how she looked in it.
Needless to say, she was gorgeous; it's been so long since she felt any amount of pleasure from her own looks….
"Oh mija, you are so bella…." Maria gushed as she admired her daughter.
"I knew that this dress was the right choice, very beautiful…" Sarah said sycophantically.
"You both are right…" Paulina said as she tried her veil on.
Everything was going exactly as she wanted. She was beautiful, engaged to marry Danny and her mama and papa loved her again. It was almost like those 8 horrible, horrible years didn't happen, but they did but she would no longer think of them.
"Never again…." She thought as she did some poses for her mother and the planner.
Bludworth, poverty and a near decade of the stigma of ugliness would not affect her anymore. She was beautiful again, she was with Danny and no bride would be lovelier than her, she would make sure of it.
"Danny…" Paulina thought with a blush as she looked down to her brand new engagement ring.
It was much better than the first one her darling picked out. The one flaw Danny had was taste in jewelry but she would fix that after they were married….along with a few other things. She still found it unbelievable that her beloved was still….inactive. As much as Paulina would deny it, while the ghost boy was her first love, he wasn't going to be her first time. She had quite a few boyfriends before her darling Phantom but all that mattered was that she was loyal to him after she had found him. She had rejected countless men, wealthy, popular and attractive men out of desire to be with Phantom and soon her patience would be rewarded.
"But still…8 years of nothing?!…." She thought in disbelief.
She had told her younger self to do whatever it took to keep Danny in love with them. 10 years ago but to her it was only a week and she could still remember it.
FLASHBACK
14 year old Paulina Sanchez has just returned home. It's been two weeks since freshman year started and Paulina already cemented her status as the most popular girl in school. Countless boys drooled over her, begging for her attention and for the chance to worship her and Paulina loved every second of it.
"I'm home…" Paulina called and was soon tended to by her maid.
"Good afternoon mistress…" Millicent, a plump maid said as she took Paulina's things.
Paulina soon left for her room to get ready for her date tonight. Millicent informed her that her parents weren't home. They had to leave for a quick business conference and that they left her the credit card for emergencies. She didn't mind, that would make her date tonight a lot less of a hassle. Tonight she had a date with some senior jock tonight…Paulina didn't remember his name much but he was popular and drove a cool convertible and that made Paulina look even better to her peers.
"Now coral crop top or magenta tube…" Paulina muttered as she compared both outfits. Tonight her date was going to take her to the movies and Paulina was going to do her standard first date mission.
Look perfect without actually looking like you made the effort, that would keep her status as the most beautiful girl in town without giving the guy false hope that he was anything serious to her other than a date tonight.
She had standards. The guy that Paulina would deem 'the one" had to be the most extraordinary of all men, the kind of guy that no other girl could get and the one that everyone would want.
Basically a male version of her, if such a thing even existed.
"So, gold or silver?..." She asked to no one but herself as she compared her earings.
"Gold, duh….Silver is so last year…" A voice suddenly called. Paulina screamed and looked around, startled..."Who's there?!..." She demanded as she looked fearfully for an intruder.
"Don't be scared, I'm here to help you…" The voice said strangely.
"What the hell?! Come out right now before I call security!..." Paulina demanded.
"You don't want to do that…I'm here to help you with your future…" The voice said, still not coming out.
"What do you know about my future?..." Paulina scoffed as she discretly put her hand on her pepper spray just in case.
Suddenly the intruder appeared and Paulina would have fainted right there. This person…she looked just like her.
" Because I am your future…." The woman, an older Paulina said with a smirk.
Teen Paulina was completely agape, unable to believe this. This woman looked just like her, even having the exact same shade of teal eyes and the perfect smile that Paulina practically had trademarked.
"What?..."The teen exclaimed.
"I am Paulina Sanchez, age 24…I am you 10 years from now…" The adult said dramatically.
Okay, Paulina might not be the brightest bulb in the store but she had enough sense to be wary about something.
"Wait! How do I know you're not tricking me? Tell me something that only I would know and no one else…."The teen demanded, still suspicious about this whole thing.
"Every member of the Sanchez family has a mole and ours is located at the back of our neck, which is why we never wear our hair up under any circumstances…"Adult Paulina said with a sigh.
Even before her life was ruined, that mole was the one thing that kept her skin from being totally flawless. She always planned on having it removed once she convinced her father, who for whatever bizarre reason, thought that the surgery was dangerous or something.
Back when he still cared about her safety that is…
"Papa…" Adult Paulina thought sadly but then turned to her younger self who's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Oh….MY….GOSH….YOU ARE ME!..."Paulina screamed only for her older self to cover her mouth.
"Shut up, do you want someone to hear you…" The adult Paulina hissed.
"Mistress, are you alright?..." Millicent the maid said from the other side of the door.
"Oh…Um…Yes Millicent, I was just…watching something on my television…" Teen Paulina lied quickly.
"Very well…" Was heard as well as some footsteps walking away. As soon as they were sure that she was gone, teen Paulina looked to her older self in amazement.
"I can't believe it, you are me?..." She said in wonder.
"Yes I am…" The adult said.
"You said you came to help me with my future? What's it like?..."The teen asked curiously.
"Not good…horrible…but we can fix it…"The adult said with reluncance.
"Horrible? What do you mean?..." Teen Paulina asked in concern.
Adult Paulina sighed bitterly, knowing there was no way around it. Using the time staff that Vlad loaned her, and remembering her instructions, she opened a time window and showed all of the events of her bad life. She explained everyone of how she would lose her beauty, wealth and everything and that horrified the teenaged girl. Teen Paulina looked like she was about to cry or something.
"This can't be my future! It can't be!..."Teen Paulina shouted in dismay.
"I wish it wasn't…"The adult sighed… "But don't worry, this is why I am here, to help make sure it never happens…" Adult Paulina said reassuringly.
Suddenly teen Paulina clunged to her and looked desperately in her eyes…
"Tell me, I'll do anything….."The teen begged in desperation.
"My younger self, you only need one thing to not only prevent that bad future but to also gain everything we ever wanted…" The adult Paulina said dramatically.
"What is it?...' The teen asked uneasily.
"Danny Fenton…." The adult said confidentially, confusing her younger self in the process.
"Fenton? Oh, you mean that kid who broke 32 breakers in chemistry class today?..." Teen Paulina asked with a raised eyebrow.
Normally Paulina didn't pay attention to anyone who was not popular, but it was kind of hard not to notice somebody destroy most of the lab equipment and get banned by Lancer from handling it all…
"The very same…." Adult Paulina said happily.
"You have to make sure that you and him end up marrying…" The adult said.
"Married?! What? But why? Fenton is a loser, he's not rich or cool enough for a date, let alone marry?..."Teen Paulina said in disgust.
Sure, maybe Fenton was not hideous, a non-popular girl might even call him cute in the scrawny kind of way but Paulina always had rigorous standards with the boys she dated. How the heck could someone like Fenton meet them?
"He is more than meets the eye…" Adult Paulina said as she present Danny in the time window and both watched him transform into his ghost half.
"What…is…that?..."Teen Paulina thought stunned, unable to believe what she was witnessing.
"Our soulmate Danny Phantom…"Adult Paulina said with a dreamy sigh.
The adult version of Paulina explained the situation, that Danny was half-ghost and was destined to become a superhero. She showed more and more events involving her beloved and his best exploits. She also told the tale to her younger self, of how she was saved by Danny, who would grow up to be everything they ever wanted in a man, even showing a picture of himself at 24, in both his human and ghost forms.
"I can't believe this is Fenton…" Paulina said as she looked at the images of the adult and felt herself becoming attracted to it, especially the ghost half.
Paulina had to admit it, she always was attracted to the idea of being swept off her feet by some gallant hero. She liked hearing that Fenton was destined for greatness and from what she could tell, would grow out of his awkward faze soon and become a stud! If all she had to do to save her life was to marry a hot superhero, then she had no problem with it…
Not at all. She probably would have snatched him up without the fear of the future anyway.
"Believe it, Danny has already gained his powers, which explains why he broke all those beakers, since he is still controlling them….but once he does, he will become everything we ever wanted in a man, handsome, tall, rich, famous and powerful…and you have to snatch him up before anyone else does...especially these two…"Adult Paulina said as she presented images of Sam and Ember.
"These two ruined my one chance at being with him…and caused the horrible life I faced…You have to make sure that Danny never becomes close to either of them…" Adult Paulina ordered.
"These two did that?..." Teen Paulina exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, they wanted Danny for themselves and turned him against me…against us…and they also got some ghost called Aphrodite to take away my beauty….My life has been hell since then but not any more…We are going to fix this problem before it even becomes one….' Adult Paulina said.
"Tell me what to do…" The teen asked.
"Listen here, Danny is totally infatuated with you…with us and in a few days will ask you to the school dance, you and him will go together and come back as a new, happy couple…" Adult Paulina said.
"Sounds easy enough…" Teen Paulina said.
"No it's not, this isn't like any other guy, you have to make sure that Danny is the one you marry, speaking of which…You are cancelling that date tonight with Tad or whatever…"Adult Paulina ordered. Her younger self was about to protest when she stopped her… "Believe me, it will never go anywhere and he doesn't have….a lot to offer if you know what I mean…."Adult Paulina said with emphasis and surprisingly…or not so surprisingly, her younger self got the meaning.
"You mean me and him-?..."She started and her older self-looked almost disgusted.
"Not now we won't, as I said, he's not worth it…." Adult Paulina advised.
The teen Paulina looked a little displeased but said nothing else.
"Are you sure about this?..." The teen asked, just wanting to be sure about this.
True, she wanted a better future for herself, she didn't want to become ugly and lose her inheritance, and the idea of being with Danny had its appeal on its own but she was referring to marriage which meant she couldn't play the field ever again.
"Yes I am, I will be staying here for a few days to make sure that you don't screw up…You know I have a better idea…" The adult Paulina touched the staff and suddenly she was aged down to look identical to her younger self.
"What are you doing?..."Teen Paulina asked in confusion.
"When the day of the dance arrives, I will go as you…me…oh, whatever, I will go with Danny and after that, you will do everything possible to keep him happy, make him love us more and more each day possible and make sure that you both tie the knot, as well as make sure Manson is out of his life along with that ghost bitch Ember, we have to make sure Danny never gets close with either of them…" The adult wanred once more.
"Alright, I'll do it…" Teen Paulina nodded.
"Perfect…"Adult Paulina said happily.
"You made the right choice and when I return to the future, we will both be rewarded for it…" Adult Paulina thought happy that the first step to fixing her life was taken care of.
Now was onto the next step.
End of Flashback
That was how it all went down, after that, it was child's day charming Danny at the dance, making him love her right then and there and she knew her younger self did her end of the bargain, especially when she finally got proposed to the day after she arrived to this new, wonderful future.
FLASHBACK
One week ago
Valentine 's Day
Paulina and Danny had arrived to Café rever at 6:00pm. The moment Danny came to pick her up, Paulina gave him the biggest kiss she could muster and was thrilled that he kissed her back and was totally in love with her and no one else. They arrived to their destination and was pleased to see that only the most exclusive of Amity Park was allowed to dine there. It's been such a long time since she had a decent meal, and she was going to enjoy a 5 star one!
After Danny called this morning, she spent hours and hours getting ready and was now wearing a seductive, pink dress that looked fabulous on her and she and Danny were living her fantasy of being the perfect couple.
"Oh Danny, this is so romantic…" Paulina said dreamily as she stared into her beloved's eyes.
"I am glad you feel that way…Paulina?..."He asked.
"Yes, my handsome prince…" She said sweetly.
"We have been together for a long time…"He started.
"Yeah but it feels like our love is only just beginning…" Paulina said, trying to be cute and ironic at the same time.
"I know…Thad's exactly how I feel…We have been together for a long time…and I was thinking that…something more should come out of it…"Danny said, looking nervous as he pulled out a ring box and Paulina gasped.
"Paulina-…" Danny didn't even get to finish as Paulina suddenly flung to him and he was now in a enthusiastic lip lock with her. After what felt like a long time, Paulina finally let him go, Danny was stunned until she pulled him into a tight hug.
"YES! YES! YES! I'LL MARRY YOU…" She shouted as she took the box out of his hand and put it on her finger only to look critically at the size of the diamond.
"The ring could be better but we'll fix it later, oh, darling! We have so much to do…The wedding, the reception….the honeymoon and everything and I can't wait to tell my parents and yours…."Paulina suddenly started rambling about every possible detail about marriage to her newly appointed fiancé.
"Um…Ok…." Danny said, still a little whiplashed from the force of Paulina's reaction.
He was glad that she said yes and of course she would be happy about being proposed to but he had hoped that she would have at least given him a chance to actually ask for her hand before saying yes.
"Wait? Why am I complaining? I want this…." Danny thought in surprise before being kissed by his fiancé.
"Oh Danny, I can't wait to marry you…" Paulina said before pulling him into another kiss.
"Finally!..." Paulina thought happily.
She was beautiful and rich again and at long last, she finally had her ghost boy as well.
End of Flashback
That was what Paulina always wanted and soon, she would walk down the aisle with her man and live happily ever after in a palace, as a genuine bona fine princess to boot!
"I so deserve this…" Paulina thought as she took her dress off and was back in her usual outfit..."The next time I take this dress off, it will be as Mrs. Danny Phantom…" She thought with a giggle before turning to her mom, who was going with more details with Sarah.
"Everything is in order, we got the location, the dress and everything else is all set, along with the cake order….I can safely say that this wedding will be one to remember…" Sarah said.
"Yes, it will be…" Paulina said pleased.
In a month, she would become Mrs. Danny Phantom….or Danny Plasmius...or whatever, the point is, she and Danny would be married and live happy ever after. Sarah soon left and Paulina was about to leave with her mother, only to notice that her phone was missing...
'Where did you last leave it mija?..." Maria asked.
"I think I must have left it at the palace…"Paulina said.
"We'll go get and hurry back, we have to get ready for your engagement ball tonight…"Maria urged her.
"Yes mama…" Paulina said as she left the room.
At the palace
Emperor Vlad soon arrived to his palace and was greeted by his family.
"Oh Maddie, how I have missed you…" Vlad said as he pulled his queen into a quick kiss.
"I take it that everything went well in the colonies, dear…" Maddie said to her king.
"Perfectly, we have managed to make a deal with the realm of the Far Frozen…." Vlad said vaguely.
His wife didn't need to know that the deal was more or less "be destroyed or ruled by me", just like it was for the realm of Aragon and many other areas in the Ghost Zone.
The less she and his son knew of that, the better.
Speaking of which….
'Daniel and Jasmine…" Vlad said happily upon seeing them.
"Hello father…."They both said to him, unaware that he was relishing this.
"Oh "father", I never tire of that…"He thought in amusement.
"You are home early…"Danny commented.
"Oh, you don't honestly think I would miss your engagement party now, do you?..." Vlad said with a chuckle.
"Now how is dear Paulina?..." Vlad asked.
"Wonderful, we have decided to get marred in a month…" Danny said, although it was mostly Paulina deciding that and Danny going along with it.
"Wonderful to see that soon you will settle down and continue the family line, I do have a lineage to think about…" Vlad said with amusement.
"Yes father…" Danny said with a sigh.
Soon the "family" went their separate ways to prepare for the engagement ball tonight, unaware of the events that are about to unfold.
Elsewhere
In the dungeon
Ember was appalled by what she was seeing. This entire dungeon looked like a nasty combo of medieval jail and high tech Alcatraz. There was hundreds among hundreds of cell, all filled with prisoners, ghosts and humans alike and Ember would bet that these people's only crimes were not worshiping Vlad.
"Aphrodite has to be here somewhere…" Ember thought as she became invisible, still holding onto Kate just in case.
She searched each and every one of the prison, but this place had multiple levels and she had to be careful to keep out of the sight of guards.
"Where is she?..." Ember thought as she checked all the visible cells but most of them were humans or ghosts, not the guardian of love.
"Think Ember, Aphrodite is Vlad's prisoner and the one he's controlling the most…"Ember thought, until and idea formed her.
A ghost of Aphrodite's caliber, and the kind of prisoner she was to Vlad likely wouldn't be in a common prison cell with the other inmates. She would likely be in an even more secluded area of the dungeon.
"I wonder if this place has solitary confinement…."Ember considered and noticed a large, sealed door with the words "Keep out" and she knew this had to be the place. The door had another password lock. She tried Packers again but it was invalid.
"Dammit, come on Ember think, what else Vlad would use as a password…" She thought, until an idea formed in her head.
She quickly typed the words "Maddie Masters" and no surprise, the door suddenly opened.
"He is so predictable…"Ember muttered with an eye roll as she soon entered and quickly locked the door before any guards came by and noticed.
Once in there, she saw Aphrodite locked up in a cell and shackled up.
'Aphrodite!..." Ember exclaimed, and saw the sorry state she was in. As beautiful as she saw, she looked like she missed a lot of sleep and she noticed some burn marks around her neck, along with a strange choker as well.
"Who are you?..." The prisoner said with a hoarse voice to the unknown female who dressed as a maid.
'It's me, Ember…"She said quickly and even made her eyes glow to prove it.
"Oh Ember, I knew you would come…" Aphrodite said with relief in her voice.
"I promised that I would…'Ember said to her friend.
"Oh, it's been awful Ember, you have no idea what it has been like, Plasmius put this horrible collar on me and if I try to resist his commands, he just zaps me...forcing me to give him my power.…"Aphrodite bemoaned.
"Poor Aphrodite..." Ember said sympathetically.
"Not only that but I can sense all the changes each time, in each time period..." She said sadly.
"I saw all the damage that creep and the witch caused…"Ember said with bitterness.
'And it's only going to get worse, Plasmius think he has control over time but without Clockwork to maintain order, Plasmius is putting us all in great danger…"Aphrodite said seriously.
"Don't worry, after I get you out, we'll find Clockwork next…Now, I'm gonna bust you out…" Ember said as she reached for the door to try and faze through it, only to feel excruciating pain upon touching it.
'AHHH!..." She said in pain and recoiled back.
"Be careful Ember, the door, along with most of the cells in this prison, has traces of ecto-ranium in it, to keep the ghostly prisoners from trying to escape…"Aphrodite said sadly.
Ember cursed under her breath, ecto-ranium could destroy a ghost if they are in direct contact with it for too long.
"And what about the ghostly guards?..."Ember asked in confusion.
"Even they don't touch the cell directly, the human guards under Plasmius's control handle this but only Plasmius has total control… " The guardian of love said sadly.
"But he can't control me!..." Ember said as she tried to look for something else. She noticed another password lock and she knew what she had to do.
"Give me a minute, I know what to do…" Ember said as she reached for the password lock, fully betting that it had to be "Maddie Masters or packers1967" or something. Aphrodite's eyes to widen.
"Ember, wait!..."The guardian of love shouted but it was too late.
The moment Ember's hand touched the pad, a red light started flashing and an alarm was shouting.
"What the heck?..."Ember shouted in dismay.
"It's a genetic lock! Only Plasmius and his minions can open it!..." Aphrodite shouted.
"Oops…."Ember said, feeling so stupid for being so careless.
Suddenly the door busted open, revealing several ghost and human guards, all carrying weapons and Walker was among them.
"Unauthorized personal trespassing in his highness's dungeon…that's against the rules…"Walker said menacingly.
"Oh crap…."Ember thought as she realized that things have gone from bad to worse.
To be continued-
Next time on Unshattered Bonds
From bad to worse
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Feurrige and Wiseguy2415: Thank you boy and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
Spectrer: We'll find out in the next chapter.
Invader Johnny: We all get that feeling….
Guest: You make your decision on teen Paulina here, Adult Paulina is the real villain and I guess teen Paulina is just a shallow teenager just wanting the best of the best…You decide.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)