BeBe: Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I slammed my finger in my aunt's car door, so now it's a pain to type, and I've been having my friend, Rina do it for me. Give me a few weeks, and I should be updating much much more.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Mandi cried, when they reached the cave they'd been residing in a half hour later. Robin had just stopped hypnotizing her, and she was madder than hell. "I should've gone with them!"

"Roland told him to." Brittany said, softy. "You don't understand the soulmate principle that well, so you don't realize the drastic choice they had."

"It doesn't matter!" Mandi said, curling into a ball in the corner. "I really should be there! They could get killed! Don't you guys care?"

"Of course we do!" Robin shot back. "Remember, you're not the only one whose soulmate is in danger!"

"Yeah, well you're the only one whose soulmate isn't in danger!" Mandi accused, jumping up, and pointing a finger at him. "You have no reason to worry!"

"Mandi!" Brittany gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Shut up! We're all stressed, right now! We can't afford to get annoyed with each other, right now!"

Mandi collapsed against the blonde, suddenly drained of all energy. "How can you stand this?" she whispered, "How can you stand not knowing what's going on?"

Brittany bit her lip, "Believe me, it's not easy." she gently pushed Mandi so she was laying on the ground. "Sleep. They'll be back before you know it."

Mandi wasn't sure just how in the world she was going to be able to sleep at a time like this, but she decided it was better to try. She closed her eyes, and sure enough, was asleep before she could count to three. Today had been a long day….

Or, at least Mandi assumed she was asleep. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her anymore, but her mind was conscious. She was floating in a dark pool of black nothingness. It was trying to comfort her, but she couldn't me comforted at the time.

Suddenly an image flashed before her. It was Roland, Fern, and Gillian facing Axel.

"You really expected anything different?" Roland was saying, "You didn't even put wood in the bars. Are you really so stupid as to not realize that your kind is only vulnerable to that?"

Axel turned to glare at the blonde witch, his brown eyes glinting with a fierce anger. "I'm the one who's stupid." he smirked, "Let's not forget that you're the one who decided to run right back into my arms after you escaped. Why did you do that… I wonder…?"

"You think we're gonna leave just for you to kidnap one of us, again?" Roland asked, crossing his arms.

"I would assume that you'd be smart enough to not let your guard down so easily, now." Axel's voice sounded smug. "Only stupid people make the same mistakes twice."

"I thought we just confirmed that we're not the smartest bunch." Fern said, stepping up. Mandi noticed tht the two boys were unconsciously putting themselves between Axel and Gillian. Keh, stupid male testosterones.

Axel opened his mouth as if to say something, but then looked around as if noticing something for the first time. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"We sent them away." Gillian butted in before the boys could answer. "There's no point in getting the humans any more involved than they already are."

Axel's attention was immediately brought to the only female in the room. "You're a cutie." he purred, stepping forward, and taking her chin in his hand.

Fern growled, and stepped forward, as if to attack the other vampire, but Roland put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Don't." he shook his head.

"It's too bad I'm gonna have to kill you." Axel sighed, shaking his head "Such a waste of a pretty face."

Mandi let out a sound that was like a gasp. She didn't know if it came from her lips or merely heard it and assumed it was herself.

Fern and Roland kept their faces impassive, but Mandi could see the panic in their eyes. One wrong move, and they were all goners. Roland turned and looked straight at Mandi. Or, at least it seemed as if he was. Surely he couldn't see her, she wasn't there, she was in the cave, even if her mind was with them.

"Axel," Roland's mask dropped after a few seconds. "Why do you have to kill her?"

Axel turned from Gillian and smiled. "Well, what do you expect? I can't let you guys think I've gone soft. I'll kill this pretty girl nice and slowly, that way, when you get back to can tell everyone what happened." his smile turned into a smirk. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before defying me."

Roland and Fern's eyes went wide as Gillian's went hard.

"No!" Roland cried, holding out a hand. "Don't! I'm the one you don't like, kill me, instead!"

Axel let out a loud laugh. "Now, if I kill you, you won't be able to live with the guilt of knowing that it was really you who killed the person." with that, he turned back to Gillian.

Mandi saw rushed panic cross Roland's face as he tried to think of a way to counter act what Axel had just said. The panic was no longer rushed, as the blonde vampire tilted her head back.

"You won't get another chance like this, again!" he yelled.

Axel turned to face him, eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"It's me you want dead." Roland explained. "You were right, when you said that I won't let my guard down, again. You won't see me ever again, Axel. This is your only chance. Kill me, not her."

Axel looked back over at Gillian, before sighing and turning to Roland. "I suppose your right." he snapped his fingers, and four vampires appeared, two grabbing both Fern and Gillian.

"Just a formality." Axel smiled. "I don't want you escaping, here, anytime soon."

Roland glared at Axel at that, but didn't move. Except to look back in the direction of Mandi, as the blonde vampire approached him.

Suddenly, there was a pushing against Mandi's mind. Soon she found herself back in the pool of nothingness with Gillian's scream of "No!" echoing in her head.

Then, she was back in her own body, soaked in a cold sweat, and Robin, David and Brittany all around her. She sat up, abruptly, clutching a hand to her chest and breathing hard.

"Mandi!" Brittany cried, putting a hand on her back, trying to help steady her. "What's wrong?"

Mandi gripped and pulled at the silver cord, trying to locate Roland on the other end.

He wasn't there.

The other end of the cord was disconnected.

"He's gone." she breathed.

"What?" Brittany gasped. "Who?" she began to shake Mandi when she didn't answer. "Mandi, tell me! Who's gone?'

"Roland…." Mandi whispered. "He's… he's dead."