*Hello everyone. (: This is L.J.S.' unofficial yet official beta. We apologize for the late update, but the author is packing for a trip, and I still had to edit. Better late than never though, eh? Here's the most recent chapter, we hope you enjoy it. (:

Chapter 4: Oh Crap!

Vlad had been swinging on one of the park swings for the past hour, enjoying the last bit of his humanity. It was getting late, however, so he had begun to walk back up to the castle when he heard voices. They seemed familiar to him somehow. Almost like... 'No. It couldn't be,' he thought. Just then, he caught a glimpse of the speakers. It was Robin and Chloe! Vlad used his vampire speed and hid behind a bush.

"Chloe we have to!" Robin cried at his sister. "He was our friend."

"He erased our memories, Robin! We couldn't have meant that much to him!" the young blonde retaliated.

'How could Chloe even say that?' Vlad wondered. 'I erased their memories to protect them and stop a bloody war!' At that moment, Vlad realized the flaw in their conversation. He had erased their memories, and they shouldn't remember that day or him.

"Look, Chloe, it's Vlad we're talking about here."

"That doesn't mean anything! He's almost sixteen, Robin. In fact he turns sixteen today!"

"Stop it!"

The two Branagh children paused and looked toward a patch of bushes near the swings. Vlad made his presence known, looking at them angrily.

"I finally accepted what I had to go through today and here you stand before me, with your memories no less. What is that!"

Robin and Chloe were shocked and didn't know what to do. The only other time they had seen Vlad show anger and aggression was when Magda, Vlad's mother, had come back to the castle pregnant and the Count was favouring the unborn child. That was one fiasco everyone wanted to forget. The next shock was that Vlad was crying, almost bawling.

"I spent y-years getting rid of any th-thoughts of staying in your w-world. Now you show up a-and…" He couldn't continue speaking as the tears were getting out of control.

Finally, Robin got it. He studied Vlad. He was no longer wearing the bright striped sweaters he had loved, having traded them for a crimson t-shirt and a black leather jacket. Where his light coloured trousers used to be were now black, tight-fitting jeans. His clothing wasn't all that had changed. His hair was longer, covering his eyes unless it was styled to the side. There were dark bags under his eyes and he was paler than he used to be.

"Vlad, how long has it been since you were last outside?" Robin asked slowly, as if unsure of himself.

Chloe noticed Vlad's changes as well and a sad look shadowed her face. Vlad looked at Robin, the pain in his turquoise eyes evident, and wiped his tear-stained face.

His response was a hesitant, "Well, about… Uhm, two years…"

Robin and Chloe stared in disbelief. They realized that the Vlad that stood before them was not the same one they had known before. The deafening sound of the castle bell rang out then, summoning Vlad for his transformation. The soon to be vampire began to walk away, without so much as a good bye to his mortal friends.

He slowed his walk slightly and said in a cold, indifferent voice, "It was good to see you both one last time."

Then he was gone, leaving the Branagh children alone once more.

*Read and review, pretty please! Much love to you glorious people.