Dear all thanks for being so patient and sticking with me after so long! Whee! It's the aftermath.. And I am not sure how this is all going!

A lot of you have asked for more actions.. *grins* uh… Not yet.. not yet people. Patience! *Gollum's voice* Soon the precious will come! *nods* It will.. yeah..

Haha.. better treasure this. Expect a huge turnaround (Westlife's album???) next chapter!

         Dermot looked around the room. All the elders had gathered for this important meeting that he had organized. The elders were all tired obviously. Discussions either led to abrupt silence or they would snap at one another.

         Of course, Daybreak Council did not always have such temper flaring meetings. As best as the elders could, they maintained harmony.

         "We can't just sit here and simply wait for Blood Iris to attack us again." Juan said in his papery voice. Silence. Then another elder, Cyril said, almost too curtly, "Yeah? What do you suggest we do then? Go charging into Blood Iris's headquarter? Gee, we don't even know where it exactly is!"

         Someone sniggered. It was Eliza, an elderly shapeshifter. She focused her hawk like gaze on Cyril, "Ironic. Isn't it funny how we don't even know where their headquarters are, and they came charging into ours and killed a huge number of daybreakers?" The elders fell silent again. Dermot decided that it was enough. "I didn't ask you people here to jump on one another." He got out of his chair and paced. "I don't think Blood Iris will go for direct attack this time again."

* * * * * *

         Kyle was flipping the channels around in the TV when Russell returned. He knew that Kyle was not even watching the programs. It would be a lie to say that he knew how his best friend was feeling – he did not have to kill someone he loved. The light from the screen illuminated Kyle's face. Blank, that was how his expression had been throughout the few days. He did not talk to Russell about it and Russell, on the other hand, did not want to go probing into his feelings.

         He knew Kyle hated people exposing his emotions. Somehow, Kyle was totally different from Russell. He was not one who loved or hated openly. Most of the times, he saw Kyle's emotions only through the pair of black eyes.

         But they held nothing in them now.

         Russell got worried. If Kyle had usually been silent, this was worse. He knew that Kyle was not directing the silence at him, but he felt uneasy. There was no way one could feel unaffected.

         "Hey," Russell said softly, easing himself into a couch adjacent to Kyle's. He put a hand on Kyle's right hand that was holding the remote control. Finally, Kyle's finger stopped pressing on the channel button. Russell studied his friend. Kyle definitely had not been getting much sleep lately. His eyes were bloodshot.

         "Hey, let it out." Russell said softly. Kyle's gaze dropped from the TV to the ground. Then, a single tear fell.

         For the first time in many years, Kyle Caldwin broke down.

* * * * * *

         "Give him some time." Jasper said. Jade knew that as well as anyone else did. But she just could not stand it, they were so closed to coming together at the party. And then everything had to happen.

         Jasper did not have a soulmate, and he hoped he would not have one. Seeing Jade and Kyle were already a proof that having soulmates were not as cool as it seemed. He preferred choosing his own partner, and not let fate, nor others decide for him.

         Paula came into the living room. She sat down beside Jade and said, "Well, I was so afraid I was going to lose you." She told her daughter. Jade gave a reassuring smile to her mother. "No, I guess Circle Daybreak will do a good job in protecting me. How have things been going between you and Elder Fallis?"

         Her mother could not resist a smile, "Hun, really. Dermot's too busy these days. And we are just friends." Jasper got out of his seats. "It's time. I'm going on a date with Halyssa." Jade raised an eyebrow, "Halyssa? Who's that? The brunette vampire?" Jasper nodded sheepishly. He wiped both hands on his jeans nervously. "Do you think I should get her some roses?" Paula and Jade looked at each other, then both burst out laughing. "Yeah, you can."

         After spending a fair amount of time in the florist, Jasper went over to Halyssa's apartment. Halyssa was a shy girl, but she was sure hot. Jasper had never felt for any other girl like how he felt for Halyssa. He rang the doorbell once and waited patiently. When Halyssa opened the door, he was stunned speechless momentarily. All those smooth lines that he had thought of the night before fled from his brain.

         "Uh… You look awesome." He finally said. Halyssa lowered her head and smiled shyly. They stood in the hallway, staring at each other in silence for a few moments. Then Jasper said, embarrassed, "Your flower. Let's go."

         They went to the mall near the Daybreak Center. Jasper had just bought the movie tickets when he could not find Halyssa. He was unable to get through her cell phone, and that made him increasingly perturbed.

         He searched for Halyssa, going into shops after shops and continued to dial her cell phone. It was not like her to leave without saying anything to him. He was about to make a public announcement at the service counter when he thought he saw Halyssa's distinctive brown hair among the crowd. He dashed through the crowd and gave chase, only to lose sight of it in a short while. Surprisingly, the call finally went through. Halyssa's voice came on the other side, but she sounded scared. "Jasper?" She only managed to say that much before she gave a scream. A gruff voice came through the line. "Jasper Finster? You want her? Then come get her." He snarled.

         And then the line went dead.

         "Hello? HELLO??" Jasper yelled into the phone. Panic kicked into him and he thought, Where are you, Halyssa? He did not expect a reply, but thankfully, Halyssa did. Outside. Outside the mall. Must becare— She got cut off in mid-sentence, but that was good enough for Jasper. HE raced out of the mall and searched the exterior, before he saw them.

         "Hey!" He yelled. The group of guys did not look pleased by the interruption. A guy with straggly blond hair turned and glared at him. The rest, who were trying to get fresh with Halyssa, turned as well.

         Jasper thought he heard a snigger behind him. He turned around and before he could register who the attacker was, he was struck unconscious.