Dreamscapes Chapter 36: A Lost Empire, a marvel fanfic

Well, at the moment, my life kind of sucks but it could be worse. I could be homeless and without a job, and I have both at the moment. It's not quite what I was hoping for, but to be honest, it's not bad. Anywho, I do apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. It'll kind of read more like a songfic... I hope. It's my first attempt at one to be honest. I might elaborate on AO3, but right now, I don't know how.

...

Vlad looked around, surprised to be in a chapel. There was a big assembly and he was dispersed somewhere in the midst of the guests on the left. He gazed at the people around him, trying to spot a few familiar faces, which he did. Surrounding him some of Oberon's family, but they seemed to just be shadows of the real thing. Out of curiosity, Vlad tried to touch one of them only for his hand to ghost through them.

This is peculiar if I do say so myself, he thought as he looked over at the other side to see a dark assortment of characters as well as a few light, very few. Looking up toward the altar, he saw a lone figure with his back to the audience as a dark preacher moved to stand in front of him. Something's going on here, Vlad thought, especially as a horrendous form of the Wedding March started to play. Vlad, however, could hear something soft underneath it.

Take off all of your skin
I'm brave when you are free.
Shake off all of your sins,
And give them to me.
Close up, let me back in
I wanna be yours, wanna be your hero
And my heart beats

He looked down the aisle along with everyone else as the wedding party slowly marched in. His eyes went wide as he recognized one of the bridesmaids to be a shadow of Des. Turning back to the man at the altar, his breathed hitched as he recognized who he was. The would-be groom turned towards the audience to view the procession with them, revealing himself to be the Nightmare King.

Please tell me that this is just my nightmare, he silently pleaded as he looked to where the bride would be coming from. He felt himself turn to sheer ice when he saw Gwen walk out onto the aisle. "No."

He could tell that by the look in her eyes, she was lost in the dream, victim to its sway, and not just some shadow like the others. He could not deny that she was breathtaking as the dark colors contrasted with her pale form, making her seem even paler. There were even dark colors chosen for her makeup, which contrasted greatly with fair skin. He could practically picture himself putting her in such a dress himself as the black and reds suited his liking well.

However, he couldn't let her marry the Nightmare King. He pushed closer to the aisle as he whispered, "Hannah! Hannah, wake up!"

Like the empires of the world unite
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
You're my wildfire every single night
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
And you touch me
And I'm like and I'm like and I'm like

She paused in a state of awe as she looked at everyone around her. She then looked up at the altar where the Nightmare King gazed at her expectantly. Vlad grew hopeful when he saw some form of realization come before her eyes. Dropping the bouquet in her hands, she gathered her skirts turning to run.

"No!" the Nightmare King exclaimed.

This didn't make her pause as she ran from the altar out the open cathedral doors. No one in the cathedral moved or even seemed scandalized by the seeming runaway bride. They simply stood there like lifeless dolls, dead to the world happening around them. No one made any attempt to stop her, not even the two chaperones by the cathedral doors as they still stood there, looking to the altar.

Ooh, ooh
And I'm like ooh, ooh
And I'm like ooh, ooh
And I'm like ooh!

Vlad and the Nightmare King both gave chase after her. Vlad flew through the air, watching her run as he watched the dream play out. Despite how she had regained some sense of self, Gwen was still lost within the dream. He stayed close to her as he saw her running to a cliff's edge.

"What are you doing, Hannah?" he muttered curiously.

He made no move to stop her as he remembered that she was always surprising within the realm of dreams. While he prepared for the worst, he waited to see if the impossible will happen. He simply watched and waited as he remembered that the Dream Realm doesn't always let things go exactly as planned.

I will follow you down wherever you go
I am, baby, I'm bound to you and do you know?
Closer, pull me in tight
I wanna be yours, wanna be your hero
And my heart beats…

He watched as she jumped. Instead of falling though, she began to glide. Vlad followed after, the darkness flowing after him like a smoky cloak. The Nightmare King, however, stopped at the cliff watching with a look of reluctant acceptance as Gwen flew off into the night. This caught Vlad as peculiar, but he simply wanted to keep an eye on Gwen.

Stars flew by as he followed her. Curiosity consumed his mind as he pondered on to where the dream was taking her. Wherever she was travelling, she was travelling far as he could plainly see. It was when she was in that strange, psychedelic world that she began to slow. With the grace of a fairy, she lowered until one of her feet touched the water of a hidden lake.

Vlad's eyes grew in amazement as she started to glow with an ethereal light. He almost couldn't believe it. The thing that puzzled him was that he didn't know if this was from her father's heritage, her mother's, or both. Gwen glowed like a star, her skin an ethereal white. Her blue eyes sparkled as she glanced his way for but a moment.

She slowly began to dance on the water's surface as he could see the smile on her face. He smiled himself as he grew content to simply watch her as she twirled and dipped with whatever song was in her head or in her heart. Curiosity struck him when he noticed figures started dancing around her with that ethereal glow.

They were different from her though as they towered over her greatly. The women alone could have easily dwarfed Vlad should he stand next to one of them. Their long, lithe figures swayed like they had no bones in them whatsoever. Every last one of them had some shade of red hair, whether it was strawberry blonde or deep burgundy. Their skin was pale like porcelain with rosy hues, and their eyes, oh, their eyes… If Vlad were to describe them, he would have said that they were every shade of green or blue gem a king could ever covet.

They danced around Gwen in time with the rhythm she had found. Occasionally, a few of the men would toss her in the air. Vlad had only seen a spectacle like this once before when he had spied on the Fae.

"You will never see these beings within the waking realm," the Nightmare King said behind him.

"What do you mean?" Vlad snapped.

"Any purebreds have all but vanished," the king replied with an ironic grin. "They have intermingled with so many other races that they no longer exist, not really. Their descendants still walk the earth." With this, he dipped his head in Gwen's direction. "Each generation after the next seems to lose more and more of the physical appearance of their ancestors. They, however, seem to keep their talents."

Ooh, ooh
We are alive
Ooh, ooh
And I'm like ooh, ooh
We are alive
Ooh

They both turned and watched Gwen as she danced with the ones the Nightmare King hinted to be her ancestors. This made Vlad wonder about what other talents they might have had that she would have inherited. It was obvious that she had her father's colors, and if he were a betting man, he'd say that she had her mother's nose and round face. It was even possible that she had her same fiery spirit.

"I was so close," the king muttered, "forever have their race escaped my grasp. Any other descendants' blood will be too diluted."

"And what would her blood offer you?" Vlad growled.

"What indeed?" he replied curiously. "One doesn't always need to know the result in order to wish for it."

"Well, what makes you think that I'm going to stand around and let you take her?" Vlad snarled.

He looked back as the Nightmare King sneered at him. "Because even you have nightmares, oh Vampire King."

I'm just gonna raise my head
Welcome to the final edge
And I'm gonna fall
And the stars make love to the universe
I'm just gonna raise my head
And hold you close

Vlad gasped as he looked back at Gwen, who was still dancing away without a care in the world. When nothing happened, he looked at the Nightmare King, who looked just as confused as him.

"What?" the Nightmare King muttered.

"This is her dream," Vlad proclaimed in smug satisfaction, "you lost any hold of it the moment she broke free."

The Nightmare King snarled and went away, leaving Vlad in peace to watch Gwen dream. He leaned against a large boulder, content to recline there for the rest of the day that he slept. He didn't think that anyone noticed the little altercation between him and the Nightmare King, let alone notice he was there.

He was highly surprised when a woman lifted the branches that were hiding him, smiling down at him. The confusion was clearly written on his face as she gently pulled him out onto their dancefloor. They all gathered around him, a few giving him pats of approval on the back, others would stroke his hair or caress his face. They parted when Gwen walked up to him. She smiled up at him, taking his hand. He smiled back as they began to dance.

...

MsN: *sighs*

Alucard: What?

MsN: I don't know...

Snape: What don't you know?

Chase: What does she know?

Alucard & Snape: How to get under your skin.

Alucard: You and I might get to play soon. *grins*

Chase: -_-'