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 13: From bad to worse
Ember could kick herself if she could. She couldn't believe that she was so careless and now she had to deal with Walker and his goons who were pointing their weapons at her.
"No way! I didn't come this far to be stopped now..." Ember thought as she tried to think of an escape. She was still using Kate and she had to get away from there creeps as soon as possible.
"Put your hands up!..." One of the guards shouted.
"Not happening..." Ember shouted as she quickly turned invisible and immediately flew out as fast as she could, surprising the men in the process.
"She's a ghost!..." One of the stupid guards shouted.
"After her!..." Walker ordered as he and his men gave chase and pulled out one of his phones.
"Attention all guards, we have an intruder. Surround all the exists..." He ordered as he followed his men.
While Plasmius was ruler of both the earth and the ghost zone, Walker was in charge of all of his prisons and no one, dead or alive, would break the law on his watch.
He would make sure of it.
As he locked the prison cell once more, he didn't realize that the special prisoner was staring out in dismay and worry.
"Please be careful Ember..." Aphrodite prayed silently, hoping that somehow, someway, her friend would figure a way out of this one.
Meanwhile
In the palace
Emperor Vlad was enjoying spending a nice moment with his beautiful queen Maddie. The engagement gala was in an hour and he was already dressed, so as he and his wife awaited for their wealthy and affluent guests to arrive, they were enjoying a spot of tea.
"I am glad that your trip was successful Vlad..." Maddie said as she took a sip of her tea.
"Was there ever any doubt my dear..." Vlad said as he placed his hand on hers and smiled.
He still couldn't believe that after so long, Maddie and the world finally belonged to him and no one else. Jack was gone and Danny was his heir. He finally had everything he could ever want and that included the Packers since he owned everything in the world now.
He liked it this way.
"It was a very hard few days but the land of the Far Frozen is now a part of my empire and it will be most beneficial..." He said smugly.
Maddie frowned at the way he said that. She knew that he was ruler of the earth and ever since the Disasteroid happened, he made it his quest to unite the two worlds in order to achieve peace. With every new realm he added to his domain, more ghosts were allies...but Maddie couldn't help but wonder if he was hiding something from her.
"Vlad, I know your quest is in good nature but don't you think it would be best to end the expanding...You already half of the Ghost Zone under your reign but I keep worrying that the rest of the zone won't be willing to join..." Maddie voiced her concern.
Vlad merely frowned at that, not liking that she was questioning his actions. So he knew what he had to do, what he always did when she became confused.
"Now Maddie, I am only doing what is best for our two worlds who are finally in peace with each other, you have nothing to fear, I will protect you no matter what..." Vlad said as he discreetly placed his hand on his remote in his pocket.
The same one that allowed him to control his most special prisoner.
With a simple press of the button, he watched as Maddie's reluctant expression soon change into an infatuated one, reserved only for him. The one he made sure to see when he proposed to her and during their wedding and honeymoon.
"I suppose you are right dear..." Maddie said obediently, being blinded by "love".
"Of course I am my dear..." He said happily.
He leaned in to kiss his lovely wife and queen, only for them to suddenly hear a loud alarm begin to sound nearby.
"Drat!..." He cursed internally.
'What's happening?..." Maddie asked in concern.
"It's coming from the dungeon..." Vlad said as he quickly changed into his ghost form and flew off to see what was happening.
Elsewhere
The half ghost prince of the Earth and colonies in the Ghost Zone had just put on his tuxedo. Tonight was his engagement ball and he was now all dressed, with his hair slicked back and with a clean shave, He looked every bit like the perfect prince his father always wanted him to be...but he didn't really like the way he looked in this suit. He never could explain it but he just didn't like it.
"Here we go..." He said with a sigh as he left his bed chambers to go join his family.
However once out there, he came across his fiancé Paulina.
"Oh darling..." Paulina ran to give him a big hug.
"Hey there Paulina, your early, the party isn't for another hour..." Danny said as he shrugged out of her embrace.
"I forgot my cell phone and I came to pick it up..." She answered before sending him a flirtatious look... "Don't you look so handsome..." She said in a sweet tone of voice as she gave him a quick kiss.
"Thanks..." He said plainly as he waited for her to let go.
"Anyway I just fitted in my wedding dress and it's totally perfect! I can't wait until you see me in it..." She said in excitement.
"I'm sure you'll look beautiful...you always do..." He said, earning another kiss from her.
Danny blinked a bit, it was strange but lately kissing Paulina didn't feel as...well...he could explain it, it wasn't bad but it was...kind of. ...lacking was the only word that came to his mind. It didn't feel bad per say but it didn't feel great either. He didn't understand this was the woman he has loved since he was a teenager and she was his future wife, he shouldn't be feeling like this.
"Maybe I'm coming down with something..." He thought when Paulina pulled away.
"Anyway, as long as I'm here, I might as well get ready for the ball...and I see your wearing the tie I picked out for you..." She said pleased.
"Yeah..." He muttered.
"Come on, I brought some of my dresses and I gotta be sure it doesn't clash..." Paulina said as she pulled his arm to the other room.
However before they could move three feet, a loud alarm was sounding.
"What's happening?..."Paulina asked in shock.
"It's the alarms, it must becoming from the dungeon..."Danny said as he immediately changed into his ghost form.
Danny Plasmius. His ghost form looked similar to his human form but there were differences. He had white hair, green eyes and he wore a black and silver suit that was similar to his father's armor. It also had on his chest the symbol of the Plasmius empire, the sign that he was Vlad's sole heir.
"Stay here where it's safe Paulina, I'll be back soon, I got to check this out..."Danny said as he became invisible and flew out.
"Danny!..."Paulina shouted and frowned at that.
She had a bad feeling about this and she soon found herself running after her fiancé. If there was trouble, she wanted to be there to see Danny take care of it. It's been a while since she seen one of his ghost fights and she always got a kick from watching him battle.
So, despite making sure her hair and appearance was alright, Paulina followed her man to see him in action one more time.
With Ember
The ghostly pop princess kept flying as fast as she possibly could as she tried to escape her pursuers.
'Stop in the name of Emperor Plasmius…"One of the ghost guards shouted as he chased her.
"Darn it…"Ember thought as she tried to think of something. She suddenly got an idea.
Ember immediately turned a corner, flew down and hid in one of the closets. She then immediately came out of Kate, who in turn, was now unconscious on the ground.
"Sorry Kate but I'm desperate… I'll come back as soon as I undo the damage caused by that creep…"Ember whispered to her unconscious hostess that was still knocked out.
Ember heard footsteps and realized the guards were on their way. She immediately became invisible and flew out, just in time to see the goons knock the door down and surround Kate, who was still out of it. Ember knew she had to be fast, it was easy to tell that Kate was being overshadowed and even these goons will realize that and try to search again, so she had to get out of here while she still could.
"Now what do we have here…' A male voice called out and Ember suddenly found herself being hoisted up.
She gasped when it was Vlad, all dressed up in his royal garb, looking down on her menacingly.
"EMBER MCLAIN?!..."Vlad shouted in disbelief.
"Darn it!..."Ember hissed as she soon found herself reacting on instinct. She summoned her hair flames and sent a fire blast at Vlad. Since Vlad was still in shock, he got hit and was sent flying a few feet away.
"AHHH!...'Vlad said as he was knocked away. He quickly got back up on his feet and found the ghostly diva already gone from the area.
"NO!...'Vlad shouted as he now went to search for her.
Ember wasn't supposed to even be here! He made enough changes to make sure she and Daniel never have even met in this timeline as per Paulina's request. He didn't know what was happening but he was going to put a stop to it.
One way or the other.
Ember was flying as fast as she could for her entire after all. Things have gone from bad to nightmarish right now. Vlad has seen her! He knows now that she wasn't affected by this damned timeline and now he would be after her.
"Crap! Crap! Crap…" Ember repeated as she kept trying to hide.
As she kept flying, she soon felt someone grab her and she feared that it was Vlad. Toher surprise, it turned out to be Danny.
"Danny…"Ember said in a mixture of shock and relief.
"Alright, now what's with all the-…"Danny ranted but soon ended once he got a good look at her.
"What?..."Danny thought as he stared into her eyes.
It was strange, it was like…he has seen these eyes before…Dany's grasp on her lightened, not that he noticed but Ember did. He was just looking at her. Ember realized this and felt relief.
"This could be my chance…"Ember thought.
"Danny…"Ember said with hope in her voice, feeling so happy to be this close to him again after what felt like an eternity.
"Who are you?..."He asked in an unsure but wondering tone of voice.
"It's me, Ember…I'm-
'An intruder!..."Was suddenly shouted.
Ember and Danny turned around to see Vlad with Walker, the ghostly guards and an angry Paulina as well who all surrounded them. Two of the ghost guards pulled Ember out of Danny's arms, despite her struggles for freedom.
"No! Let me go! You don't understand!..." Ember shouted as she tried to break free but they put ecto-resistance handcuffs on her.
"Oh, we understand that you're a troublemaker…Take her away…"Paulina shouted and Vlad nodded as well.
"Wait! What's going on here?..."Danny asked completely confused.
"I'll tell you what's going on! They-…"Ember was suddenly gagged by one of the men.
'Take her to our ghost zone jail at once, I'll deal with her later…"Vlad ordered.
"Yes Emperor Plasmius..."Walker said as he ordered his men to do just that.
'But father, what is her crime?...'Danny asked, completely lost by all of this.
"It seems we have a little spy here Daniel, this ghost overshadowed this maid and broke into the castle…"Vlad said as Kate suddenly appeared, still dizzy and out of it.
"Where am I?...'The maid said with a headache.
Danny blinked at that and then turned to the ghostly girl who was being led away. He couldn't believe this but despite the fact that he should feel outraged that someone overshadowed one of his servants, he still couldn't help but wonder about that ghostly girl he came across.
"Who was that girl?..."Danny asked out loud in a tone of wonder.
It was so strange but that girl seemed so familiar, her blue fire hair was familiar as well but he wondered where he has seen it before...along with her green eyes...It was so weird but when Danny held her for that one moment and looked into her green eyes, he almost felt...happy.
As Danny continued to stare in the direction where the ghostly woman was taken away, Paulina saw this and frowned hard.
"No! Not this time..." She thought in fury, already guessing what must be happening.
Well, she was going to put a stop to it, once and for all!
Danny, you love me don't you..." Paulina asked, trying to make herself look as sympathetic as possible.
O-Of course I do..." Danny stuttered, which didn't go unnoticed by his fiancé.
"Well, I was thinking...Why we don't get married right away...tomorrow..."Paulina said in an enthusiastic tone of voice.
Time almost seemed to stand still as Danny's jaw dropped at those words. Did he hear her right? Better question, did she even here herself just now?!
"Get married Tomorrow?!..." Danny shouted in disbelief as he pulled a way from her, completely flabbergasted.
"I was just thinking that it would be so romantic to get married this way, I mean we don't need a long engagement junk..."Paulina said to her man who looked like he was questioning her sanity.
"Long engagement?! One month already seemed too soon..."Danny thought feeling panic all over.
"Paulina, my dear, please don't take this the wrong way but...but...getting married Tomorrow? ...just like that...it's...It's. .."He was stuttering and practically hyperventilating right now.
"But Danny..."Paulina whined, just wishing he would do as she said like he always does.
Vlad witness this and walked between them, to break them up.
"Excuse me Daniel but may I please speak with your lovely bride for a mere moment..."Vlad said politely.
"Uh, sure father..."Danny said, thinking that he would try and talk some sense into her.
Vlad and Paulina excused themselves away and began to talk, practically in whispers to keep a low profile.
"What on earth are you doing?!..."Vlad hissed.
"The right thing. .."Paulina growled. .. "We had a deal Plasmius...Danny is suppose to marry me and then you let that home wrecker into this world after I told you to keep them apart..."She whispered harshly.
"I do not know how Ember retained her memories and was unaffected by the changes I made but I will soon fix it...Even as we speak she's been sent to the Ghost Zone to be disposed of..."He said to his accomplice.
"It's not enough, you saw the way Danny looked at her, what if he somehow remembers her?! I didn't come this far to have that witch steal him away from me again..."She hissed.
"Now listen here. .."Vlad started but was cut off.
"No, you listen Plasmius, if I go down, so do you...Think about it, if Ember makes Danny remember her, what's to stop Maddie from remembering Jack and everything else..."She pointed out.
Vlad gulped and began to sweat, realizing the point that she made.
"I already did my end of the bargain and you still owe me Vlad, either Danny marries me tomorrow or we both risk him going back to that tramp and ruining everything..."She nagged.
Vlad sighed and began to rub his temples. He supposed he really had no choice at this point. He had to get rid of Ember and check and see if there were any other loose ends and despite everything, he always did keep his end of the bargain...when it was convenient for him to do so.
"Oh alright..."He sighed and ignored the girl's smug smile of triumph.
They soon went back to Danny who was in anticipation.
"Well, it's been settled, the wedding shall be held at 10 am tomorrow, here in the castle. ."Vlad said in a cheery tone of voice.
"What?! But father...That's. ..It's. ..It's not possible...what about the priest...and guests and...and...and..."The young man was stuttering but was not being taken seriously.
"Oh don't worry about that my son, it will all be taken care of, just leave it to me..."Vlad said reassuringly and internally smirked when he saw the boy become paler than usual.
"But...but father..." Danny pleaded.
"Now son, I don't really mind if you and Paulina wed tomorrow, you both certainly belong together after all. .."Vlad said.
"As for who will officiate the ceremony, I was thinking your dad could do it..."Paulina suggested.
"What?!..."They both asked in sync.
"Think about it, who has more authority than the man who runs the whole world..." Paulina said with an innocent smile while she sent Vlad a "do as I say or else" look with her eyes.
"Why, I would be delighted to..."Vlad said, barely managing to resist the urge to strangle the girl.
All the while, Danny felt like the entire room was spinning.
"It...it just seems so fast..."He said.
"Don't be silly, marriage makes everything better Daniel and the sooner you continue the family line, the better..." Vlad said seriously before walking closer to him... "You do love and respect our family don't you Daniel?..."Vlad said as he was now face to face with him.
"Of course I do…" Danny answered and started feeling a little nervous.
"And you do love this woman don't you?..." Vlad said as he gestured to Paulina who was giving puppy dog eyes.
'Y-Yeah…" He said with hesitation.
"Then what is wrong? You both are in love and engaged and we do have the resources in our disposal…" Vlad said as if it was nothing.
"I already have my dress and all of our guests for the party can stay an extra night…" Paulina explained.
Danny didn't answered and that was when Vlad began to lose his patience. He discreetly put his hand in his pocket, on his remote control and pressed the button.
And that was when it all happened. Danny began to feel his emotions in a whirlwind, his mind and his heart were in a melee right now and the latter was winning.
"Maybe they are right, maybe it would be best to get it out of the way…but it still feels so soon…but…but…"Danny thought as he felt logic and reason versus emotions and desires in a fight.
After about a moment, he looked to his father and his bride who were patiently waiting for his answer.
"Alright, tomorrow…"He answered.
Paulina squealed in delight and clung to him, while his father patted him on the shoulder with a proud smile.
"Excellent…" Vlad said with a smile.
"Oh, I can't wait…I got to go tell mama and papa…" Paulina said in excitement before pulling Danny into a kiss despite the fact that Vlad was right there.
"Oh darling, the next time we kiss, it will be as husband and wife…"Paulina gushed happily.
"Yeah, I can't wait…" Danny answered.
As he watched his father and fiancé talk and discuss the arrangements, Danny tried to keep a grin on his face but a part of him wondered if maybe, just maybe, he was making a mistake.
"No! This is what's best! Father says this is the right thing to do and Paulina really wants this…"He said stubbornly as he soon left the dungeon to go join them for the engagement ball.
Tomorrow was going to be one heck of a day.
To be continued-
Next time on Unshattered Bonds
Resistance
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Feurrige: I fear Vlad might be too far gone at this point.
Invader Johnny: Lets have our fingers crossed.
jasonvoores: A little of both but mostly the money and the spoiling is what Paulina misses the most. The fact that she essentially undid her siblings entire birth just for the chance to have her old life back is the biggest sign there is.
DannyPhantom619: Well said, man.
Guest: Truer words have never been spoken my good fellow.
wiseguy2415: Thanks and happy 21st birthday.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)