A/N: Alright. I've gotten used to school again. A thanks goes out to all my readers and reviewers. Here is chapter 11. Enjoy!

Previously... It finally happened. Cleo and Lewis got married after Nate interrupted the ceremony. The only good part about this is that any doubt that Cleo had disappeared. Now they're on their honeymoon. Also a chapter before the girls found out about their class trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Now on to the chapter.

Chapter 11: Dangerous Night

"Oh, come on. Why shouldn't we go?" Amber demanded, annoyed.

"Why? You really need to ask? How about the fact that we'll be surrounded by water and our classmates? Or the fact that there will be a full moon while we're there?" Emily retorted. They were in a secluded part of the school campus, so no on heard them. Sarah and Rachel had watched an argument come to life between the two blondes of the group, if they should go on the class trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

"We can't live our lives in fear of the full moon and of being discovered forever," Amber objected.

"Then I'm guessing you want to end up on a science lab table with Mr. Martin using a scalpel on you?" Emily asked.

"I never said that it will come to that, but life is too short to always play it safe," Amber answered.

Emily glared at Amber for a moment and then turned to the two bystanders. "Say something will you," Emily demanded.

"I haven't been a mermaid for that long. Plus I have been to the Great Barrier Reef. I'm fine with either decision," Rachel replied.

"I agree with Rachel. I mean, I would like to see the Great Barrier Reef, but I'm fine with staying home, if you think it's too dangerous," Sarah said. Neither wanted to get involved in the fight.

"Why can't you just say what you think?" Amber demanded.

"You want me to say what I think. Fine. Stop arguing, I hate it. Can't you both cool down? Lets decide tomorrow, that way you can think about it again calmly," Sarah told them, firmly and Rachel nodded in agreement.

The blondes looked at each other. "I'm sorry, Emily," Amber finally said, "It's not that I don't care about out secret, it's just that I really want to go to the Great Barrier Reef. Imagine, we could swim through it."

"I'm sorry too. Maybe I am a bit overprotective," Emily admitted, "That would be great."

"Group hug?" Sarah asked as she spread her arms and everyone came in.

"Amber… Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Jordan, who had come around the corner, asked.

Amber got herself out of the hug and answered, "Not at all. What is it?"

"I was wondering, if you're free tomorrow night?" Jordan asked.

"I might be. Why?" Amber teased with a smile.

"I have dinner reservations for two and I need a dining companion," Jordan replied.

"Oh, so I'm just a replacement for someone better?" she joked.

"You could never be a replacement. You're a first pick," Jordan told her.

"Well, I guess if you put it that way I'll come," Amber finally gave in.

"Great. I'll pick you up at 7. Wear something formal," Jordan said and with a kiss on the cheek, disappeared again.

With a big grin on her face, Amber turned to her friends, who all however wore a serious expression. "What?" Amber asked.

"You know what. Tomorrow is a new moon," Emily retorted.

"So?" Amber went on.

"It's dangerous. What if you use your powers?" Sarah replied.

"May I remind you that it was not me who got moonstruck the last two times," Amber said, granting her a sheepish look from Emily and Sarah, "Like I just said before, we can't be afraid of life. Plus, I'm going out to dinner. Why would I use my powers there?"

"That's true. There shouldn't be any reason why you should need your powers," Rachel agreed.

The brunettes turned to Emily, who looked at Amber unemotionally. Finally Emily said, "Okay, have fun, but be careful."

"Yes, mom," Amber joked and everyone had to laugh.

"But don't you want to greet my mom and Lewis when they come back from their honeymoon tomorrow?" Sarah asked.

"I'm sorry. Tell them that too, but I really want to go on this date," Amber answered.

"It's okay. I'm sure mom and Lewis will understand," Sarah replied, "But you two are still coming, right? It's the prefect cover of why we should be together."

"Of course. Since I missed the wedding, it's the least I can do," Rachel said.

"You can count me in too," Emily added, "We can do our homework."

"Thank god, I'm not there," Amber muttered, causing everyone to smile.


Amber stood in front of Emily and Sarah. They were at the beach. Amber raised her hand and balled her hand. She saw Sarah hunch over, holding her left hand in pain. A burnt mark showed on her hand. Emily and Sarah stared at Amber astonished. "What's going on here?" Amber thought as she stared at Emily, who seemed to be saying something, but no words came out of her mouth, "Why am I going through this again?"

Just then her hand went up again on its own. Panic rose inside her as she tried to regain control of her body. "No, please don't," Amber pleaded silently as she watched her hand form into a fist. Amber could see the horror in her friends' eyes.

"Don't," Amber begged as her hand was almost a fist.

"Be aware, Amber," a voice rang through the air.

Amber shot up out of her bed, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down her face and she was shaking. "Why?" she breathed, trying to control her breath. It had been a while since she had had that nightmare or, to put it better, memory. After that incident it had haunted her for a long time. Of course, she hadn't told her friends that. How was she supposed to be the tough one in the group, if she told them that she had nightmares? Luckily the nightmares had subsided after a while. Until now at least.

She looked at the clock and groaned. 5 A.M. Way too early for her and yet she knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after this. So she got up and dressed. Not knowing what else to do, she went down stairs and made breakfast.

Just as she had finished making the coffee her dad came in. "You're up early," Zane said, surprised when he saw his daughter with a cup of coffee in hand.

"I was just wake," Amber lied as she handed him his own cup. Zane was sure he didn't believed it, but didn't have much time to inquire, since had to get to work soon. After a quick breakfast he was gone.

Amber was reading the newspaper, when Rikki came in. "What are you doing here? Isn't it a bit too early for you?" Rikki asked as Amber's head shot up.

"Why can't anyone believe that I got up early!" Amber exclaimed, causing her mother to stare at her.

"Is everything alright, sweetie?" she asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm fine. I just woke up early and made breakfast," Amber replied.

"Is that really all?" Rikki questioned.

"Yes," Amber answered annoyed and Rikki gave up on trying to figure out what was wrong with Amber. She knew her daughter would tell her on her own time. "I'm leaving," Amber muttered and got up.

Outside she met Emma and Sarah, who were just coming out of their houses as well. Amber almost froze as she saw her friends. Her nightmare flashed before her inner eye. Shaking her head as she walked up to them. Surprised to see Amber, Emily checked her watch. She was about to open her mouth, but Amber interrupted, "Don't say it." Since it was obvious that Amber wasn't in a good mood, Emily didn't take her chances and didn't say anything.

"So what's your answer?" Sarah asked, trying to get off the topic. The blondes looked at her for a moment.

"I think we should go. We can't let our mermaid halves always stop us from doing what we want," Emily finally answered.

"I'm still not sure. Something could really go wrong. What do you think, Amber?" Sarah questioned the blonde, who until then had just solemnly walked next to them.

Amber looked at her friends, pulled from her daze. "I think we should stay here," Amber replied.

Abruptly Sarah and Emily stopped and stared at their friend. "What?" they both said in unison.

"I think we should stay," Amber repeated.

"But weren't you for going yesterday?" Emily asked, confused.

"I changed my mind. It's too dangerous. There's a full moon during our stay," Amber explained.

"Since when have you cared about something like that? You're the one that's having a date tonight. On the day of the new moon, none the less," Emily reminded her.

Everyone waited for an objection are a challenge to an argument, but none came. "Is everything alright?" Sarah asked, worried.

"I'm fine," Amber muttered and stalked off.

"Watch out!" someone suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to stop in their tracks. A millimeter before Amber's face a tentacle zoomed past her. Startled Amber stumbled backwards.

Looking for the caller, the girls saw Rachel further up the street. "Hurry!" Rachel yelled and the girls nodded. Turning to the tentacle, they raised their hands and activated their powers. The tentacle that once again lunged forward for an attack, slowed down for a moment, but then broke free of their control and knocked into them, making them fall to the ground. Laying on the ground, they transformed into mermaids. It was about to attack them again, when it began to twitch and shake. Suddenly it exploded.

Looking to the side, they saw Rachel with her hand point to the place where the tentacle was. "Are you guys alright?" she asked as she hurried to their side. They nodded as Rachel slowly dried them off.

A moment later they all stood again. "Thanks, Rachel. That was close," Sarah said.

"You're welcome," Rachel smiled.

"Lucky for us that you were around," Emily added.

Rachel looked at Amber, who seemed to have an emotionless expression on her face and asked, "Is everything alright, Amber?" Instead of answering, Amber hurried off, leaving a confused Rachel. "Did I do something wrong?" Rachel asked, unsure.

"No. Amber has been acting a bit weird today. We're not sure ourselves what's wrong. She won't tell us anything," Sarah answered as they looked at their friend worried.

"I'm sure Amber will tell us once she's ready," Rachel assured them.

"But she even changed her mind about going on the class trip. She said the full moon would be dangerous," Emily objected.

"Really? That's serious. She really wanted to go yesterday. What could have happened since then that she changed her mind?" Rachel wondered and the others shrugged.

"Weird," Rachel muttered after they had walked for a while.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Did you ever have the feeling that you forgot something?" Rachel answered.

"No, why?" Emily replied and Sarah also shook her head.

"I planned on waiting for you at the school gate, cause it's obviously a detour to go this way. That's where I was waiting, but the next thing I remember is seeing you get attacked over there. It's been happening quite a lot lately. I'm in one place one minute and the next thing I know is that I'm somewhere completely different," Rachel explained.

"That's really strange," Emily agreed.

"Are you sure that this hasn't happened before?" Sarah asked.

"Positive. A few months ago I never had something like this. Lately it seems to be happening more and more frequently," Rachel retorted.

"So you're having a memory lapse, so to say," Emily summed it up and Rachel nodded, "How strange."

"But we'll still meet at my house for the new moon, right? Even if we're only three," Sarah made sure and the others nodded.

That evening all four mermaids met at Sarah's house. The new moon had risen during the afternoon and so they were on lock down.

"Well, I guess I'll be going," Amber said, got up from her spot at the kitchen table and walked towards the door. She was about to open it, when Sarah came up behind her.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You've been acting weird today," Sarah asked, referring to the fact, that Amber had hardly said a word to them before, during and after school.

"I already told you I'm fine," Amber answered, annoyed. "I know. It's just… Is something bothering you? If something is, then tell us. We're your friends. We want to help you," Sarah told her. "No," Amber only curtly replied and opened the door.

She was almost out, when Emily appeared next to Sarah. Annoyed Amber turned around and said, "If you're here to tell me to stay, then forget it. I'm going."

"That's not it. I just want to say, take care of yourself," Emily replied.

"I will," Amber promised and with that left.

A while later Amber looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a black dress that went just to her knee. Normally she was ecstatic for the few times in the year that she was allowed to dress up, even if she hid it well. However today she couldn't be happy. The whole day her mind had been revolving around two scenes. The nightmare and the attack of the tentacle. Over and over a voice inside her head repeated, "You're too weak to protect your friends. You can only hurt them."

Just then the doorbell rang. Giving herself one last check, she hurried downstairs, forcing herself to smile. Opening the door, Jordan greeted her with a smile. "You look beautiful," he said, eying her.

"Thanks," she replied, halfheartedly and they kissed.

"Everything alright?" Jordan asked, looking at her worried.

"I'm fine," Amber lied, "So where are we going?"

"It's a secret. Actually, I forgot something at my house, so we'll have to stop by there first," Jordan told her and Amber nodded.

Since Jordan's house was only a few blocks away, they soon arrived there. It was a normal house, though you could tell that there was quite a bit of wealth in his family. "I always find it hard to believe you live here," Amber said, looking around the house.

"Why don't you wait out back? I'll be right there," Jordan suggested as he walked off somewhere.

Amber nodded and walked out back. There she froze. On the patio was a table with lit candles and a few roses petals on it. The silverware shone in the candle light. "What do you think?" Jordan asked, coming up behind her.

"It's amazing," Amber breathed, awestruck, completely forgetting her problems.

"Then come, milady. Dinner awaits," Jordan said in a British accent as he reached his hand. Amber took it with a smile and was led to the table.

After having taken a seat, Jordan lifted the cover from the plate to reveal spaghetti bolognese. "Bon appetite," Jordan told her as he also sat down.

"So who's the cook?" Amber asked, suspiciously.

"Me," Jordan smiled.

"Is it safe to eat?" Amber questioned.

"I've been told I'm a very good chef," Jordan replied. Amber first eyed him and then the food.

Finally she took a bite. Her eyes widened and she said, "This is really good."

"Thanks. It's a family recipe," Jordan told her as they ate.

"It sure is quite around here," Amber observed as she took a sip of water.

"My parents are out. We have the house to ourselves," Jordan replied.

Just then a strong gust of wind picked up, blowing the candles out. As abruptly as the wind came, it died down."Oh great. I'll go look for matches," he told her as he started to get up.

"No, wait. Let me," Amber said as she raised her hand and balled it. The candle lit itself again.

Seeing the candle lit, Amber froze as she realized what she had done. "No," she breathed as fear overtook her.

Jordan looked at his girlfriend confused. "Is everything alright?" he asked, seeing her weird expression.

Abruptly Amber got up. She could hear the thunder in the background. Without another word Amber ran off. Jordan hurried after her. Out on the street he called after her, "Amber!" But Amber didn't hear him and kept running.

Amber ran further down the street, not caring where she ran to. As she came to the end of the road, she had stop to look where to go. Just as she turned to one side a bush burst into flames. Startled she jumped back, staring at the burning bush. Out of the blue another bush closer to the house burst into flames. Terrified Amber turned on her heels and sped off as she could feel more an more things burst into flames.

Reaching the beach, she jumped into the ocean. She only wanted to disappear. Swimming as fast as she could, Amber zoomed off.


Meanwhile back in Sarah's house, the three mermaids sat in the kitchen. They were playing a round of monopoly, much to Emily's protest, who wanted to do her homework. "I wonder how Amber is doing," Sarah said.

"I'm sure she's fine. Amber can take care of herself," Rachel assured her.

"Yeah, Amber is feisty, to say the least. Say, when are Lewis and Cleo landing?" Emily asked.

Looking at the clock, Sarah answered, "They should be landing soon."

Just then the sound of thunder made them look up. "Thunder? Is there going to be a storm?" Sarah asked, worried as the other two shrugged, "Hopefully mom and Lewis' plane will be allowed to land."

"Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure they'll land as planned," Rachel reassured her and Emily nodded, adding, "Besides the weather report said that the weather is supposed to be good. I'm sure it'll pass quickly."

"I guess you're right. Plus it's only one flash," Sarah agreed, but suddenly another flash followed by a really loud thunder filled the house. Now Sarah was worried. "This is not good. It's coming closer," she muttered, as thunder and lightning quickly followed one another.

"Hey, mind if I turn on the radio?" Rachel asked and when nobody protested, turned it on.

"…Several gardens and houses are on fire in the southern part of the Gold Coast. Firefighters are on it. People in the area are advised to stay indoors and lock their doors. The police believe that this is the work of a group of arsonists," the reporter said.

"That's not good. That's very close to where we are," Emily muttered.

"Hopefully Amber and Jordan are okay," Sarah said.

"Why not try her phone?" Rachel suggested and the other two nodded.

Sarah pulled out her cell phone and dialed Amber's number. "She's not answering," she told them as she hung up.

"I bet she can't hear it over the noise in the restaurant," Emily replied.

Before Sarah could say anything the doorbell rang. "I bet that's Amber now," Rachel said as Sarah headed to the door.

Opening it, Sarah saw Jordan. "Jor…," she began, but he interrupted her, "What is going on here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah replied, confused as Rachel and Emily came to the door.

"Why did Amber suddenly start freaking out, when she used her power?" he demanded. The girls froze. If that was true, then this weather and the fires were not an accident.

"Amber used her powers?" Rachel repeated.

"Where is she?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. She ran away. What is going on here?" Jordan told them.

The girls looked at each other. Finally Sarah said, "Come in. We're not supposed to be outside. Fires are raging not far from here."


Meanwhile Amber was underwater just off the coast of Mako. She would have gone there, but she knew she would destroy everything, if she went on land. So she stayed there, curled up in a ball, her fin drawn to her chest with her arms slung around her. Amber could hear the thunder and lightning flash at the surface. She knew she would have to stay here until the new moon was gone. Maybe longer.

Just then she had the feeling of being watched and looked up. Not far from her was a shark, swimming around her. It was coming closer and closer. Amber was scared, but she couldn't find the strength to do anything. "Why am I so stupid? I knew the waters were shark infested and yet I'm still here. Didn't someone once say that sharks feed on weak prey?" Amber thought and she shut her eyes as the shark was only a few feet away.

Suddenly the water around her become warm, no, hot. Opening her eyes, Amber could see that the water around her was boiling and the shark had fled. She would have breathed a sigh of relief, if she could. Amber waited for the boiling to stop, but it didn't. Slowly she forced herself to move. She couldn't stay here, because of the shark and the fact that heat could kill the underwater life. Not sure where to go Amber just swam off, out into the Pacific. The only thing she did know was that she had to stay away from everyone. Even her friends.


"So all this is happening, because Amber used her powers on a new moon?" Jordan recapped, doubtfully, "And the snowstorm and the other storm was because of you too?" The mermaids nodded. They had told him everything after he had told them what had happened. "Why are we still sitting here then? We have to find her," Jordan demanded as he jumped up.

"We can't. The police and fire department have ordered everyone to stay indoors," Emily retorted, stepping in his way.

"Besides, where should we look? Amber could be anywhere," Rachel pointed out.

Jordan dropped back in a chair, buried his head in his hands and cursed. "Why didn't you ever tell us about this? Had we known we could have helped," Jordan asked.

"How could you have helped? All we know is that we can't use our powers on a new moon or we lose them until the moon is gone again," Emily replied.

"I don't know, but it's better than being kept in the dark. Why must you guys be so damn secretive about everything having to do with mermaids?" Jordan objected.

"Stop it you guys. We have other things to worry about," Rachel interrupted them and motioned towards Sarah, who was sitting on a chair as though in a trance. She had checked online and found out that Cleo's and Lewis' plane was still in the air during the storm. The others fell silent and then tried to comfort Sarah as best as they could.

A few hours later it was time. "Ready?" Emily asked and Rachel and Sarah, who was still pretty silent, nodded, "3,2,1, over." The girls sighed.

"Quick," Rachel said as they opened the door. They all raised their hands and activated their powers. Emily cooled the air that had gotten quite hot during the new moon. Rachel let rain clouds come, which put out the fires, while Sarah used her magic to create a wind that blow the thunderclouds and smoke away.

"Thank god, it's over," Emily sighed, "What shall we do about Amber?"

"We have to wait until she's home. She could be anywhere," Rachel replied and they got back inside, after they had bid Jordan farewell.

A hour later the door opened and Cleo and Lewis came in. Relieved Sarah hugged them both. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said with tears in her eyes.

"So are we. That was pretty scary," Cleo replied as they went to the kitchen.

"What happened exactly?" Emily asked.

"We were running low on fuel, because we were staying in the air so long, and if lightning had struck us, the electronics could have short-circuited. Either one could have caused the plane to crash," Lewis explained.

"But couldn't you have flown to another airport?" Rachel questioned.

"No. We were in the middle of the storm and getting out would have been nearly impossible. Not to mention the other airports were all busy landing other planes going to the Gold Coast airport," Cleo replied, "But you should all go to sleep now. It's been an eventful evening. Rachel, Emily, you can stay the night. Where is Amber anyway?"

The girls looked at each other and Sarah replied, "She was on a date with Jordan. I'm guessing she's home now." With that they went upstairs.

The next day Rachel, Sarah and Emily were walking to school. They still hadn't heard anything from Amber. "I hope she's okay," Emily said, worried.

"This is Amber we're talking about. She'll be…," Rachel began, but cut herself off and exclaimed, pointing to the beach, "Look!" Coming towards them from the beach was Amber.

They hurried to her. Up close they could tell Amber was exhausted. She had been swimming the whole night, since she didn't know when the new moon was over and didn't want to chance it. Her dull eyes looked at them. "You guys…," Amber muttered.

Before anyone could say anything, Sarah snapped, "Mom and Lewis could have been killed because of you. Not only them, but many others too and only because you used your powers to light a stupid candle. They could be traumatized for life. This is all your fault, Amber."

Sarah froze, when she realized what she had said. A hand clapped over her mouth. "Amber,…I'm.. I didn't..," Sarah stammered, but Amber interrupted coldly, "Leave me alone." With that Amber turned around and left. The three remaining mermaids stared after Amber shocked.

A/N: A dangerous night ends in a disaster. Amber is gone. Can the remaining three convince her to come back or could this be the breaking point for them? Please review.