Vlad's POV:
Plasmius flew into his lair, satisfied with tonight's heist. Now, for an ordinary man, the task to rob Clement's bank would have been difficult; perhaps even impossible. But, for Vlad Plasmius, it was the most effortless heist he ever committed! Thanks to his continuous training and enlarged intellect, he was the sneakiest, most ruthless, cunning, and successful robber in all of Wisconsin!
He landed gracefully down on the floor before he strolled over to the nearest examination table and set his bag down. He smirked, already knowing how much the stolen items were worth, and nodded once, satisfied.
He picked up a diamond necklace, reminding him of the one he bought Elizabeth for her twelfth birthday. She claimed to love it, but he had never seen her wear it. Not even once. He frowned and set the necklace down, remembering all of the other birthday and Christmas gifts he bought her that she claimed to love but had never actually worn or used.
As much as he didn't like to think about it, the aggravating thought that Elizabeth still didn't trust him resurfaced. She didn't seem to want anything to do with him anymore. She didn't even want to go to a movie premiere which he knew was what she loved to do just because the possibility of meeting her favorite actors were high; he never would forget the awestruck look on her face when she met Toby Maguire, also known as Spiderman, at a movie premiere. Yet, now, she didn't want to do anything with him.
A solemn frown settled on his lips as he transformed back into Vlad Masters then ascended the stairway leading to his study. Perhaps he should return to sell his merchandise once the long and torturous thoughts had dissipated.
Once his hideout closed behind him, he walked over to the doors of his study but halted in his path when he heard the door creak open. He rose a curious brow then widened his eyes in surprise to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway. His mouth gaped slightly as he took in her appearance, still surprised to see how much she had changed even though he had seen her dress in that style a numerous amount of times during dinner. Her jet black wavy hair fell over her shoulders as she waltzed in, the heels from her black boots clicking against the wooden floor. Her black and neatly pressed jeans hid her boots well, and fit snug around her small curved waist. Trailing his eyes upward, he sighed in disapproval as he made out the black leather jacket over the nice dark blue blouse. Next, he noticed the semi-dark eyeliner, the popping red lipstick and the powder plastered on her already beautiful face which, to him, made her look somewhat like her friend Susan; someone he didn't exactly want around his daughter anymore. He frowned at the dark blue highlighted tips colored in her hair which, along with her use of makeup, seemed to give her a bit of an edgy look. Gosh, he wished he didn't see that in her.
What in the world happened to his little princess who loved to play dress up in ridiculous outfits and not care for unnecessary items such as makeup? The one that loved it when he read to her at night? The one that would sleep in his bed when she had a nightmare and didn't want to be alone so the 'monsters' wouldn't get her? What happened to the little girl he once knew? Why did she have to grow up and become a teenager?
Her hair swayed to a stop as she stopped in the middle of the room, halfway away from him which caused him to return his attention to her. "Dad," she started, her voice unfortunately no longer squeaky but older, "I'm leaving."
He narrowed his eyes, skeptical. "And where exactly are you going?" he questioned.
"I'm going camping-" She crossed her arms. "-with Susan."
He scoffed; of course it was with Susan. Everything she did was with Susan. She wouldn't go anywhere unless Susan would be there. It was so annoying. "Didn't you just have a sleepover with Susan last weekend?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, and it's been forever since I've seen her."
"You just saw her at school today!"
She shrugged. "So?"
He sighed, irritated with where this conversation was going. "Elizabeth, you know how I feel about you leaving every weekend just to do something with Susan."
"Fine, then I'll call Matt and see if he wants to go-"
"No!" He glared and clenched his fists. "You will not go anywhere with that boy!"
She scoffed then uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "Why do you have such a problem with Matt? He's a good friend."
"He's also a boy."
She raised an eyebrow. "Your point?"
"My point is, he's a boy! I don't trust teenage boys!"
An annoyed sigh escaped her lips. "As I've said billions of times, just because Matt's father is your rival, it doesn't mean Matt's your rival; you can trust him."
"Anyone with the last name of Henley cannot be trusted!"
"Alright, fine! I get it! You don't like Matt! I'm just letting you know that I'm going camping with Susan, so I'll be gone until Monday, alright?"
"No, it's not alright." He stormed over to her, clenching his fists at his sides. "You're gone every weekend, you stay out late, and you always miss breakfast with me."
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Elizabeth's POV:
"Sorry, I have to spend most of my morning getting ready for school," she sarcastically apologized, clenching her fists at her sides, copying his posture, "besides, you're usually on the phone when I see you in the morning anyway, so why would I even want to join you when you're not exactly there to talk to me?"
She took a step back but smirked as he watched him attempt to restrain the anger boiling up inside of him. She was right, and he knew she was. After all these years, she knew all of the right buttons to push to win an argument against him; he was no match for her.
"Elizabeth," he seethed, hardly containing his anger she noticed, "you are not going camping and that is final."
Oh, yes she was. She crossed her arms. "No, I am going camping."
He glared. "I said you're not going-"
"I know what you said," she interrupted, narrowing her own eyes, "and I'm still going camping. I don't exactly want to spend the weekend here while you're wasting all of your time talking to other people."
His glare narrowed further. "You're not going!"
"I am going!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"I am your father, and you will obey-"
"I'm not going to listen to anything you say!" She crossed her arms and leaned forward slightly to seem defiant. "'Cause every time I say something to you, you shrug me off and completely ignore me!" She scoffed, her anger rising inside of her. "And you know something?!" Her eyes narrowed further, the grim name flying through her thoughts. "I know you ignore everything about me because all you want to talk about is your insignificant friend Maddie!"
His eyes widened for a brief moment before returning to their narrowed gaze. "How dare you." He stormed closer to her, and she backed up in response which made her suddenly realize she had crossed a line.
Her eyes widened in fear, unsure of what to do now that she had crossed the line; the only line she knew she should never cross over. For some odd reason, if she ever said something wrong about her or disagreed with Maddie no matter the topic, he would get furious and defensive for her questioning Maddie's reasoning and intellect. She knew she should never cross that line.
"How dare you," he repeated, and she grunted when he cornered her against a wall, pinning her with his furious gaze.
"Uh, Dad?" she asked, uncertainty clear in her tone, as she trembled at his furious side she had only seen a few times in her life.
"Don't you ever insult Maddie." He placed both hands on each side of her which only made her feel even more trapped. "Understand?"
"I, uh-"
"Elizabeth!"
"Yes!" she yelled, quickly answering his earlier question or threat. Her arms wrapped around herself, providing some sort of comfort. Then, meekly, she whispered, "I-I understand. I'm sorry."
He stared at her for a long minute, his narrowed eyes practically burning into her own, and she glanced down, wanting to avoid the threatening glare.
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Vlad's POV:
After she had lowered her head to avoid his obvious menacing gaze, he widened his eyes slightly and straightened up then took a step back. Oh no. He had just treated her as an enemy Plasmius would torment into submission. He swore he would never do such a thing to her, and, yet, he did. Why did he let such sensitive topics as his true love set him off?
He let out a sigh once he noticed she had stepped a little to the left, no doubt sneaking her way over to the door. "Elizabeth," he started, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to seem so hostile."
His eyes softened as she took a cautious glance up at him before looking back down. "I-It's fine, Dad," she whispered, hugging herself tighter.
His head dropped and a disappointing sigh escaped his lips. After all of these years of learning to control his other persona, he failed in keeping himself together in front of his own daughter. He no doubt damaged their distant relationship further. She would most likely avoid him for the next week or two, maybe even avoid speaking to him altogether; gosh, he hoped he hadn't scared her to that point.
He glanced up at her when she took another step, approaching the exit. Her hand barely touched the knob before he cleared his throat, startling her on accident. "Elizabeth, please wait."
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Elizabeth's POV:
Screams of warning flashed through her mind as her heart pounded against her ribcage, still trying to process everything that happened. She knew she had to leave, to let him calm himself down before his anger drastically increased into something more dangerous. She assumed he would never hurt her, but she also knew they had been distant for two years. She had no idea who he truly was anymore.
Her hand stilled above the knob, her fingertips twitching when a soft smile adorned her father's lips. "Elizabeth, I am truly sorry," he apologized, his guilty gaze pinning her in place.
Her breathing hitched in her throat when he took a step closer to her, and, in response, she grasped onto the knob; better to be safe than sorry. He frowned as soon as his gaze landed on the knob, and he stopped in his tracks, possibly believing he would only worsen the situation by nearing her. A dejected sigh escaped his lips, and she bit the bottom of her lip when his gaze bore into her own. "Listen, Elizabeth, perhaps it's for the best that you do go camping." He glanced away and clasped his hands behind his back. "I am having quite a few problems with the Company to the point that it has consumed most of my time which, in return, has only made me stress for the sake of it." He looked over at her, smiling softly. "I fear that if you stay I would constantly-" he took a deep breath, "-snap at you for ridiculous reasons and that is something I certainly do not want to do. You understand, don't you?"
Oh, yeah, she understood. She understood the lie that he forcefully spat out as an attempt to ease the tension of the situation. Honestly, after all of the years of living with him, she would have thought he would have at least tried to improve or change his lying methods. How could he not see she could see right through his lies?
But, this was what she wanted, and he had opened the door of opportunity for her. Plus, the guilt he was feeling possibly wouldn't last through the whole weekend so why not take advantage of it now rather than later? Slowly and hesitantly, she stood up straighter and tightened her grip on the knob. "Yeah, I understand, Dad."
"That's-" he let out another sigh, his smile growing, "-a relief, Elizabeth. Thank you."
No, thank you for giving her this opportunity to leave. She shrugged. "Sure." Her hand twisted the knob, and she took a step out the door. "I'll see you on Monday?"
"Yes." He cleared his throat which caused her to return her attention back to him. "Don't invite Matt, alright?"
She smirked slightly. "Relax, Dad; it will be just me and Susan. You have nothing to worry about."
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Vlad's POV:
Actually, he did have something to worry about. His persona was becoming more powerful with each transformation. If Plasmius were to take control and become alpha over their forced bondage, what would become of Elizabeth? What would Plasmius think of her? He knew Plasmius knew that she existed, of course, but still, the Halfa actually hadn't met her because of Vlad's overly protective nature toward her.
A long sigh escaped his lips as he stared out the window and watched his daughter climb into Susan's RV. It shouldn't of, but it pained him to see her eyes light up as soon as Susan's father pulled up in front of the Mansion; she was never that excited around him anymore. She slammed the door, and he helplessly watched as they drove off, leaving him alone in the empty mansion she used to call home.
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Elizabeth's POV:
Wow.
Elizabeth could not believe how peaceful and beautiful nature was. It was as if a better reality had opened its doors for her to walk through. Crickets sang in sync with one another as the moon rose from its slumber, leaves from the trees blew away to dance in the wind, an owl called out to greet the other creatures of the night, and a fire crackled in the center of it all, providing warmth and comfort against the slight chill of the air.
She shivered as a draft flew past her, whipping her hair behind her, then fled as soon as the fire sent warmth to protect her. "Gosh, it's chilly," she whispered, hugging herself then scooted closer to the fire, "how are none of you cold?"
"We're used to camping, silly," Susan teasingly replied, smirking slightly as she took off her jacket, "we go camping all the time."
"Actually, I'm a little cold too," Thomas admitted, lifting his hood onto his head.
"Oh, come on," Matt groaned, rolling his eyes, "Thomas, don't be such a wimp. And, Elizabeth,-" he smirked lightly at her, "-stop complaining."
"I wasn't complaining," Elizabeth protested, narrowing her eyes playfully, "I was just informing you of how I felt."
Matthew chuckled then stood up and strolled over to her. He plopped down next to her, sitting rather close, then took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders. "Better?" he asked, teasingly smirking and wrapping an arm around her.
She scoffed and shook her head slightly, a small smile creeping up her lips. "You'll do anything to get close to me, won't you?" she whispered, smirking up at him.
"Perhaps,-" He smirked wider and pulled her closer to him which caused her to rest her head on his shoulder, "-or perhaps I'm just cold too."
Rolling her eyes in playful annoyance, she looked up to meet his signature smirk as she met with his gorgeous chocolate eyes. "You are such a flirt, you know that?"
"A 'flirt'? Me?" His thumb started slowly caressing her upper arm. "No, I'm not a 'flirt'; I just like teasing you, Lizzie."
"Yeah, I know." She turned her head to look back at the crackling fire, wanting to distract herself as she waited for her heart to stop beating against her chest. The teasing was certainly working; her heart and the blush that wanted to form on her cheeks was proof of that. She knew why this was happening to her, but she didn't want to admit or accept it; her life was far too hectic for her to add romance into it.
Besides, he only teased her; he did it all the time, especially when she was upset about something. It wasn't like he was asking her out or asking her to be his girlfri-The blush rose to her cheeks at the longing word, not expecting her thoughts to travel to that place. "Keep it together," she thought, forcing a sigh out as she lazily rested her head on his shoulder, "you have no time for something like that."
Her eyes glanced up from the fire when someone cleared their throat. "I just wanted to remind you all that we're getting up early tomorrow," Susan's father, Mr. Kool, announced, smiling gently, "so I suggest you all head to your sleeping bags in a little bit and get some shut eye."
She glanced over at Susan, who was smirking as her father started walking toward his own tent. As soon as he entered, her friend immediately turned to look over at her and smirked wider. "Oh no," Elizabeth muttered, knowing exactly what that look meant; it meant trouble, lots of trouble.
"Want to have some fun?" Susan questioned, her smirk turning into a mischievous grin.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "No."
"What kind of 'fun'?" Thomas questioned, butting in on their conversation.
"It's nothing," she tried to convince them before it turned into something out of her control.
"What kind of 'fun', Susan?" Matt repeated, drawling out Susan's name.
"We're not doing anything." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her trouble-making friend. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you asked me if I wanted to have some 'fun'?"
"Which is why we were asking Susan and not you, goody-goody," Matt smirked and leaned forward to see past Elizabeth.
"Don't call me that," she grumbled and leaned in more to Matt, "you know I hate it when you call me that."
He sent her a teasing smirk then turned his attention back to her best friend. "Well? Are you going to share your evil plans or not?"
Susan giggled mischievously, much to Elizabeth's dismay. "Well, there's this lake by the mountain."
Oh, frick no. "Again, no."
"Go on," Matt encouraged, lightly drumming his fingers on her shoulder.
"And my Dad's rival's family is camping close to there."
Oh, she knew where this was going. "Again, and with more urgency, no!"
"I'd say we get them wet."
Elizabeth frowned as her eyes narrowed further. "We are not going to do that."
"Very tempting," Matt interjected, ignoring Elizabeth's disagreement, "but how are we going to get them wet? We can't throw them in a lake." He snorted. "I mean, I'm strong but if I have to lift a man that weighs more than one hundred pounds, I may as well toss myself in the lake with them."
"We don't have to lift them." Susan pulled a hidden backpack out from behind the log she was sitting on then unzipped it and pulled out deflated balloons and water guns. "We just have to pelt and spray."
"Ooh!" Matt smirked. "Evil!"
"Which is why we shouldn't do it," Elizabeth protested, "besides, aren't they going to recognize you and report it to make your Dad's business fall?"
"I knew you were going to say that," Susan smirked wider and pulled out what looked to be monster masks, "which is why I bought these."
"Oh, great." Elizabeth scowled. "We'll not only attack them but we'll scare them to death as well."
"Sounds thrilling," Matt interjected, smirking over at Thomas, "you in, Tommy?"
Thomas hummed, scratching his chin. "Who's the target?"
"The Watsons."
Slowly, a small smirk crept up his lips. "Oh, I am so in."
"What?!" Lizzie leaned toward the most rational boy in the group. "Aren't you afraid of getting caught?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, but the Watsons practically stole my Dad's potential promotion about a year ago; these jerks deserve what's coming to them."
Lizzie sighed hopelessly; it was three to one. Her friends had stated there was no way they weren't going to go through with this, and she had no doubt they would drag her along with them. Well, if none of them were going to stand ground with her, then she may as well give in and join them.
After all, it was a silly prank to get revenge on the Watsons, whom she knew was an enemy of her father's as well. What was the worst that could happen?
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Elizabeth's POV:
"Lizz?! LIZZ?!"
Elizabeth gasped at the booming voice then groaned in pain as her head pounded against her skull, it reminding her of how the pain started. "Ow," she muttered and lightly rubbed the side of her head, hoping to ease the pain.
Slowly, her eyes opened - at least, that was what she thought she did - and all she could see was pitch black. Darkness floated around her, creating a sense of fear to swell inside of her which only worsened her situation. A whimper escaped her thin lips and her eyes widened as she stared up, trying to spot the moon or a flashlight or something that could provide some sort of light. But, all she could see was a green swirling orb above her. "What the-?"
"LIZZ?!" the same booming voice hollered down to her which caused her to wince when it spiked her growing migraine.
"Shut up!" she yelled back, registering that Matt's disembodied voice was only adding to her pain.
"LIZZ?!"
"MATT?!"
"LIZZ?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
Yes, she could. His deafening voice pierced through her pained skull, like it would if he yelled into her ear. Why couldn't he hear her though? She was screaming loud enough, wasn't she? "MATT!" she screamed louder, clutching her head when it pounded harder against her skull and gasping when her throat started to become dry.
"LIZZ?! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, STAY WHERE YOU ARE! WE'RE GETTING HELP!"
"Okay," she muttered then coughed and sat up when dirt sprinkled onto her then gasped in fear when the portal vanished, leaving her to suffer alone in the dark. Her cold hand held her head as she tried to steady her racing heart the further she peered into the enveloping darkness then glanced to the side when a flicker of a green light shone in the corner of her eye. Where did that come from? How come she didn't see that there before? Was it another green orb?
Wanting to be free of the darkness and disregarding Matt's order, she crawled forward until she was directly in front of the shining light which she discovered was a tiny opening behind a rock wall. She peered through, waiting for her sight to readjust to the brightened, flickering light, and was able to make out a spacious room behind the wall. Her lips pursed as she tried to label what was in the room but could barely see anything other than the metal flooring and the flickering light.
Believing there to be civilization or something on the other side, she pushed against the rock wall then pounded on it when it wouldn't budge. Dirt fell from above her, and she stopped her furious pounding when she realized she could cause the tunnel she was trapped in to collapse. "Crap," she murmured then peered in again, hoping to spot movement or a shred of a dark silhouette. Either would do.
After a few moments of unbearable silence, she screamed, "Hello! Is someone out there?! Please! Help me!"
Silence ensued throughout the cavern, save for the echoes of her cry for help, and she let out another whimper. "Please! If someone's there, please help me!"
Another wave of silence responded, and she sighed in frustration then placed her fists back on the wall again. "Crap," she repeated, realizing another problem as soon as the air around her became denser; oxygen levels were low in there, and it was most likely because there wasn't a stable air flow moving around her claustrophobic prison, even with the hole in the wall.
"Frick." If she was going to survive, she had to break through the wall. Her fists banged on the rocky wall in front of her again, hoping she could break it and get through before the cavern could collapse. Dirt continued to sprinkle down on her, her fists throbbed, her skin tore the harder she hit the sharpy rock wall, her skull screamed as the loud noises resonated off of the tunnel walls, and her heart rate accelerated the closer she was to breaking through.
After a few moments of relentless pounding, a few rocks loosened and fell on the other side. Not wasting another minute, she pushed the remaining stubborn rocks out until she opened the path to her freedom. She crawled quickly through the widened hole once she was sure it could fit her then yelped in fright when the unforgiving sounds of rocks falling reached her ears. Her mouth gaped open as the tunnel she had once been in collapsed before her. "Oh my-" she whispered then gasped and glanced forward when a continuous siren interrupted her.
"Alright, alright!" a smooth voice, one she hadn't heard in years, yelled over the siren, "I know, I know! 'Change the Ecto-Filtrator'! I got it!"
Elizabeth scooted further back to prevent herself from being seen then widened her eyes as soon as she spotted the familiar U-shaped hair and the white flowing cape. "Plasmius," she muttered in disbelief but soon turned into pure hatred, "Plasmius." Of course, of all the rooms she could have crawled through, it was with the betraying, back-stabbing, annoying, and evil Plasmius!
"There!" he announced, his voice only infuriating her further, then the continuous siren sounds stopped resonating off the walls, "Happy now?" She backed further into the wall when she spotted him walking past her. "Geezh! I really need to find a way to make it so I don't have to change the filtrator every six months!"
Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she registered his words, wondering if she misheard what he had said. What the heck was an 'Ecto-Filtrator'? And why did he have to change it every six months? She sunk lower into the ground and peered forward, trying to see underneath the desk she crawled under, then sighed in relief when he started to ascend a stairway, leaving.
Her eyes narrowed as she crawled out from underneath the desk, ignoring the relentless throb on the side of her head, and stood up. Grasping onto the desk behind her to keep herself steady, her jaw dropped in awe of the spacious and extraordinary laboratory she stood in. It was as if she had stepped into her dream laboratory, something she had dreamt about for years but only to be disappointed when her father refused to let her have one.
Cautiously, she took a step forward, taking a peek at the stairway to confirm he wasn't there before moving past it. She glanced over at the large pentagon-shaped door only ten feet from her. Her eyes narrowed further and her fists clenched; perhaps this was the 'Ecto-Filtrator' he had spoken of. Something used for evil, no doubt.
A mischievous and cunning smirk settled on the teen's lips, the thought of destroying his 'Ecto-Filtrator' pleasing her. He wouldn't be able to achieve whatever goals he had set without it! His evil plans wouldn't pull through! His tyranny of committing crimes would die! She hurried forward, the thought of Plasmius returning before she finished destroying his machine egging her on.
Once she reached the machine, she noted all of the various buttons which unfortunately were rather confusing to decipher which one opened the doors. Taking a lucky guess, she pressed one of the blue buttons. She glanced at the big red one, believing it to mean 'Death' since the fictional novels she read usually described such buttons as that. When nothing happened, she pressed another blue button and glanced over at the machine when the doors slightly opened. Her eyebrow arched in confusion; why the heck would he have a button that would only open the doors a few inches?
She rolled her eyes in annoyance and pressed down on another button, watching as the doors opened completely, revealing a small little room that literally led to nowhere. She walked over to the doors and stepped inside, her footsteps echoing off the metal walls. What kind of machine was this? Perhaps it was something that provided Plasmius with health? Or perhaps it helped him commit crimes?
She shook her head, interrupting her train of thought. None of that would matter after she destroyed the machine.
She bit her lower lip, glancing around to decide where she should start. The machine itself was rather large and secure. Panels were screwed in, wires were connected to chargers, and a dimmed circle stood out in the center of the back wall which was screwed tightly in. A sigh of frustration left her lips, and she placed a sweaty hand on her forehead, feeling her skull continue to pound. She could have given up and left, leaving Plasmius his precious 'Ecto-Filtrator' to care for her possible concussion.
But, that wasn't what good people did. They didn't leave the world to be robbed by criminals. They didn't throw in the towel and go home, leaving the villain to do whatever they pleased. The good people - the heroes - protected the citizens and the victims from the pure evil spread throughout the universe. They shone light through the darkness to evaporate it. They-
Whoa. Where were her thoughts going to? How hard did she hit her head? Her injury must have really shut down some brain cells over the course of the last thirty minutes.
She shook her head, refocusing her attention on the machine. She had to do this. For the sake of all of his potential victims, she had to permanently break his machine.
Placing her hand on the wall to steady herself, she bent over to look at some wires in the floor, wondering if she could pull them out without getting electrocuted. She hummed and stepped forward, deciding against pulling out the cables. Who knew what kind of electrical shock she would receive from pulling them out?
As soon as she stepped forward to look at a control panel, she gasped in shock when her wrist tugged her back. A loud snapping noise sounded out, and she brought her wrist forward to look at it, noting the bracelet Susan made her snapped. She watched with widened eyes as the pieces of her broken bracelet rolled around her on the metal flooring. A frown formed on her lips, crestfallen that her best friend's gift broke after two years of wearing it. How could she have been so careless?
Her grievance was interrupted when a flash of light filled her vision and the doors shut behind her, followed by a vibrating sound resonating throughout the machine. She gasped in fright and ran to the doors then tried to pry them open. When that didn't work, she pounded on them and screamed for help, hoping - rather reluctantly - Plasmius would hear her and come to her rescue. A screech escaped her throat as the feeling of electrical sparks coursed through her body. The electricity which flowed through her veins and forced her on her knees, and she screamed again as the pain intensified.
Finally, when she thought she was going to die, a green light swirled in her vision as the machine stopped vibrating. A pained gasp escaped her, and she fell on her side, feeling lightweight as her body stung and slowly decreased the pain she suffered. Her heart slowed down tremendously, and she took one final breath before closing her eyes and succumbing to the darkness of her death.
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Vlad's POV:
Vlad walked back down to his lair, annoyed a little with Molly; he understood she was only concerned about Elizabeth's health when she found she had left her vitamins here, but come on! They were vitamins! Not life-saving pills! Honestly, Molly really needed to learn how to control her-
He halted, staring wide-eyed at his Portal. It was open and turned on. Odd. He could've sworn he shut it down before he left.
Skeptical, he walked toward it and stared into the swirling green abyss, hoping to see a sign of why it turned on. He hummed then turned to the control panel, noting nothing was out of the ordinary; everything seemed to be in working order. This was rather strange. How could it have possibly turned on on its own?
He shrugged. Perhaps he forgot to turn off the Portal before he left. It was the only plausible explanation for this mystery. Besides, it wasn't the first time this had happened, so he had to have forgotten again. Yes, he was sure that was it.
He reached over and flipped the switch, turning off the machine and closing the doors, then turned away to start ascending the staircase. A short and soft gasp escaped his lips when he almost lost his balance after tripping on - was that a pearl? Kneeling down, he picked up the painted blue circular object and narrowed his eyes as he concluded that it was a pearl; a rather small one too. How in the world did this get here? Where did it come from? Why was it here?
He shrugged again and pocketed it. It must have fallen out of his bag when he returned with his stolen goods. Oh, well; it would only mean he would have to make one more call to his buyer and negotiate a price.
Straightening up, he walked toward the staircase and ascended it for the last time that night.
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Author's Note: Hey, Everyone! I wanted to thank you for sticking around and waiting for me to update. I do appreciate it, and I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter. :)
Fun Fact: Even though her last encounter with Plasmius was disastrous, Elizabeth still thought about him from time-to-time instead of letting his memory fade into oblivion.