Okay, I have been going through a writer's block as of late. So, I've been taking it slow on writing so that it doesn't seem forced. This chapter is very short, and Dracula free (sorry Drac). It is also a bit of a tribute for the actors who have been passing as of late. Such a small amount of time, and so many have passed. I certainly hope that you all enjoy it. DISCLAIMER: I only own Gwen and her family in this chapter.

...

Hyperion looked down at the sniveling child as she proceeded to cry. He had no idea of why he would be dreaming of some weepy, little girl, but it aggravated him.

"Why are you crying?" he barked, which caused her to cry more. "Crying gets you nowhere."

He had about had enough of her hysterics when some blue fellow walked past him, picking her up. He didn't even flinch when the guy glared at him through blood red eyes.

"Honestly, do you know nothing about handling children?" he growled, holding the simpering she-whelp in his arms.

"And what of it?" Hyperion countered casually.

"She not even a child, really," he sighed, "She's just in emotional stress that she has reverted back to a child within the realm of dreams."

"And what emotional stress could cause that?" Hyperion laughed, "Did she break a nail?"

"He said that she'd get better, Luka," the girl cried, "but she's not, she's only getting worse."

"Did he really that she would get better?" Luka replied softly. "He doesn't seem like the type to be giving you empty promises, now does he?"

"Who is this 'she'?" Hyperion ordered.

"Judging by her state of distress," Luka muttered, "I would daresay that it is her mother."

Hyperion paused at this, feeling a bit foolish. Of course a child would weep over the thought of losing their mother. Granted, he hadn't been able to get an answer out the child that apparently wasn't a child.

"I can't lose her," the girl wept, "What will daddy and I do? I don't want to go back into the system! I don't…"

"Shh, shh," Luka hushed her as he tightened his grip on her.

"System? What system?" Hyperion snarled.

"The Phantom Zone," Luka snapped, "How should I know? Midgard has a lot of 'systems.'"

"Which system would you suspect then?" Hyperion groaned.

"I don't want to," Luka mumbled, resting his head against hers.

"Why?" Hyperion asked.

"Because if she goes back in," Luka explained, "she'll only get out because she's too old."

"Is this system really all that bad?" Hyperion implored.

"Let's just say that you don't often hear of the success stories with this system," Luka muttered.

"Donny found a way we can save her, but I can't do it," the girl cried.

"What way is that, Hannah?" Luka asked.

"Dark magic," she answered, "someone would have to die in my mother's place."

Hyperion was about ready to rip Gwen from Luka's arms when Luka made her look him in the eye. "Hannah, hear me now, you are not weak because you refuse to use such dark magic. If your mother loves you like I think she does, then she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Plus, even if the reason behind it is selfless, once you dabble in dark magic you can never get out of it."

"One way to put it," Hyperion barked, "once you go down in the gutter, a piece of you always stays there."

"Actually, that is a very good way to put it," Luka replied in surprise.

Hyperion put an approving hand on Gwen's head. "You should be proud. Most people would have sacrificed someone for their own selfish gain."

"What's there to be proud of?" she mumbled. "I don't use dark magic, I lose; I use it and I still lose. No matter which way I turn, I end up losing. Stupid leprechaun with his stupid luck!"

"Everyone has moments like this," Luka suggested, "It is what we do those moments that make us who we are."

"I don't even know how to get the book to Mr. G," she sighed, "It's just sitting in a box on the oak chest at the foot of my bed, waiting for an address."

"I wish that we could be of some help," Luka commented, "but I don't know how much help we can be if it's at the foot of your bed."

"Where are we, by the way?" Hyperion asked, looking around at the misty void.

"The in-between," Gwen replied, "this is where your dreams begin to take form."

"I'm dreaming?" Hyperion pondered before becoming a blur and disappearing.

Luka sighed, "What will you do if your mother succumbs to…"

"I suppose that I'll just be grateful that she isn't suffering anymore," Gwen muttered, "What else can I do?"

"Graduate? Get a college degree?" Luka suggested, "I'm sure that's what she would want you to do; make something of yourself?"

"The only way I could probably get into college is if I got lucky enough to get a scholarship and land a free ride," she stated.

"I've heard of crazier things," he chuckled.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Now that would be telling," he teased.

"You're incorrigible," she grumbled, pulling a giggle from him. She sighed, "It's just not fair, so many people seem to be here and then just like that, they're gone."

"Imagine how I feel," Luka sighed. "I'll live longer than even you most likely, just a candle flickering in the wind. I have been around long enough to watch many flicker out, some much too soon. Poets say that the greats are always taken much too soon from us… We see them, love them, and just like that, we are forced to let them go and remember the legacy that they left for us."

"You're immortal, aren't you?"

"I am as close to an immortal as you Midgardians would put it, but even I can still die… I have yet to die from a broken heart, may be it has something to do with my pride."

"Pride doth come before the fall, Luka."

"Yes, I am aware, little Hannah." She didn't respond as she pondered on something. "If you were to get a scholarship, what would you get your degree in?"

"I don't know."

"What is it that you love?"

"I love dancing." She looked at him sincerely as she said this with a sparkle in her eye.

"Do you now?" He smiled sweetly.

"Yes, when I dance, I feel free."

"You dance with your spirit…"

"When I dance, it feels like I have wings." She sighed as he let her go, watching her grow to her full age. "I feel like I can glide."

"Then why not dance?" Luka asked. "Dance for your mother? For Vlad… For me?"

He watched her as she looked up to see the pale moon's glow. "If I dance… Will you tell me of a time when the sun loved the moon so much, he died to let her breath?"

"If that is what you wish…"

...

Snape: That's actually kind of... sweet.

MsN: Really?

Snape: Really. *strokes MsN's head*

MsN: Yay :3

Chase: What about my story?

Alucard: Our story.

Chase growls.