Chapter 6: Three's a Party, Six is a crowd, but Twelve is Trouble

"You did what!?" Riley and Rhuben shouted in unison. Crystal winced at how forceful their shouts were.

"Ok," Crystal started as she let out a breath. "Lewis helped me on my first day by driving out to the middle of the ocean with his boat. After I got some pictures we got to talking and he mentioned that Emma was having them over for dinner. He asked if we wanted to go, seeing as we were new, and I said sure. I mean, we don't have to cook and it's not like we have anything else to do."

"Protecting our lives is something," Rhuben shot back. "Doing that is hard enough as it is, but now we have to do it at someone else's house? You weren't thinking, were you?"

"We need some time to relax and I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity. I mean, we haven't been able to sit down since we woke up," Crystal explained.

"Riles, what do you think?" Rhuben asked as she and her cousin turned to her twin who had been silent during their exchanged. Her face was void of emotions but her eyes were squinted slightly, signaling that she had been thinking.

"I say we go," Riley finally announced as she let out a breath. "We don't have to cook for ourselves, which is a plus. If anything happens, we can just split in a second and no one will be the wiser. Just stay on your toes and we'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Rhuben said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

----

"...and if anything happens, the emergency numbers are by the phone," Mrs. Gilbert said as she and Emma stood by the front door of her home.

"I know Mum," Emma said in a slightly impatient tone as she held open the door for her mother. Her father and her brother, Elliot, were sitting in the car waiting to leave. They were going out to dinner with Mr. Sertori and his daughter, Kim, which lead to Cleo going over to Emma's which was how Cleo convinced Emma to have a dinner with their friends that night. "Have fun," she called after her mother as she walked briskly down the sidewalk just as Cleo came down the stairs, adjusting her purple top. "Stop, you look gorgeous," Emma told her.

"Even when I'm wearing a tank top and capris?" Cleo asked with raised eyebrows and bit her lip.

"Yes, but so you know, Lewis will love whatever you wear, even something as comfortable as that," she responded as she went into the kitchen and started to set the table.

"Wait...I think you put out three extra places," Cleo said as she quickly counted the plates that were on the table.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Emma asked as she knitted her eyebrows together. "Well, after you convinced me to have this dinner and after I convinced Mum to let me have it, I told Ash to come over. He then suggested that Rikki, Zane, and Lewis come too. Lewis then suggested that we invite Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal over so we could get to know them better. That's why we're not going to Mako."

"Lewis suggested it?" Cleo asked in confusion.

"Yeah, after he helped Crystal out with her job," Emma said as she started to place silverware with the plates.

"Helped her with her job?" Cleo echoed. Emma could hear the concerned tone in her voice and didn't have to turn around to have to know that a troubled look was on Cleo's face.

"Relax, Cleo, he was just helping out. You know that he's crazy about you," Emma said with a smile as she gently bumped Cleo's arm. Cleo couldn't stop the smile that had formed on her face. She turned and went to the door when she saw that Emma was busy.

"Hey guys," she greeted her friends cheerfully as she stepped aside for them to enter. Cleo's smile got bigger when she saw Rikki and Zane holding hands, the flowers that were in Ash's hands, and the dolphin bracelet that Lewis was holding out for her to take. "Aww, Lewis, it's so cute," she cooed as she took it from him and slid it over her wrist, marveling at how well the blue colors went with her tan skin. "I love it," she added before hugging him, feeling secure when he wrapped his arms around her lower back. It was a perfect fit.

"Ah, I knew you would," Lewis said with a bright smile as he brushed his blond hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, if you're into that sappy stuff," Rikki commented from her position in the kitchen. She was resting her elbows on the table and eating out of the bowl of peanuts that was sitting out. Cleo cleared her throat and gave her a pointed look. Rikki held up her hands, as if surrendering, before turning around to listen to Emma, Ash, and Zane talking about something.

"Funny, she was in a good mood earlier today," Cleo muttered.

"Is that possible?" Lewis questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I heard that!" Rikki called from the kitchen. Cleo and Lewis chuckled before walking hand in hand into the kitchen, waiting for their guests to arrive. Ash was discussing how the horses were doing when the doorbell rang and Emma rushed to get it.

"Hey, glad you could make it," Emma said with a bright smile as she stepped aside to let Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal in.

"Thanks for inviting us," Crystal spoke up when Riley and Rhuben stayed quiet.

"It's no problem at all," Emma told them before leading them over to the group. "You know the girls and Lewis. That's Zane Bennet and Ash Dove."

"We've all ready met," Riley said as she nodded in Zane's direction. Rhuben's eyes narrowed slightly as they rested on him. He shifted uncomfortably under her piercing gaze.

"So, um, dinner's ready. Let's eat," Emma said, breaking the silence as she clapped her hands. She picked up a pan that was on the stove and carried it over to the table. She went back into the kitchen to grab another pan when Ash stopped her.

"Let me do it," he offered with a smile.

"It's all right, I've got it," she responded as she reached for it again.

"You've done enough all ready," he said as he gently grabbed her wrists and lowered her arms. He kissed her forehead before telling her, "Go and sit, and that's an order."

"Ok," Emma said with a small giggle before turning and leaving the kitchen to sit down at the table. Once everything was set on the table they passed the pans around, putting their portions on their plates, and started to dig in. Emma watched Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal eating with her fork halfway through her mouth. She couldn't help but notice that they were eating like they hadn't had food for weeks.

"Empty stomachs?" Ash asked, breaking the silence.

"Er...our Dad doesn't cook really well," Rhuben muttered once she noticed all of the stares. "More than half the stuff he makes we can't even get close to."

"What does your Dad do?" Rikki asked.

"Hers or mine?" Rhuben questioned as she jerked her thumb in Crystal's direction.

"Both."

"Her Dad is a scientist and my Dad...what does Dad do again?" Rhuben asked as she looked over at Riley. Riley's eyes shifted back and forth before she scrunched up her face in thought.

"It's hard to explain, but he works for the US government," Riley responded after a couple of seconds of silence. "That's why we moved here with Crystal's Dad first. Our Dad is coming down later." Her hand stopped halfway to her mouth as her eyes focused on something outside. She gently stepped on Rhuben's foot and pretended to cough as she pointed out the window. Rhuben followed her gaze and her eye twitched slightly as she looked out the window.

Her eyes locked with Reihu's as a slow evil smile formed on his face. He let out an inaudible laugh before he disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"What are you looking at?" Cleo asked as she looked out the window herself.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw something," Riley responded as she got to her feet. "We could check it out for you," she offered as she glanced at Emma before looking back out the window.

"It could be people trying to use our pool," Emma said thoughtfully. "Let me check," she said as she started to stand, ignoring the hard looks that Cleo and Rikki had shot at her.

"No, we can do it; it will only take a minute," Riley said as Rhuben and Crystal got to their feet and they all rushed to the front door. They jumped down the stairs and ran around to the backyard where Koto, Reihu, and Kotaro were lounging around. "Crys-" Riley started.

"I'm on it," Crystal said as her hands started to glow blue. She stuck her hands out in front of her and moved them out to the sides as a blue orb surrounded them before it disappeared. "Shields are up. Let's finish this."

Ruben pulled back her fist as a black sphere surrounded it. She charged at Reihu and shot her fist forward, smirking when it connected with his stomach. He was pushed back a couple of feet as he wrapped his arms around his abs. With a burst of speed he ran forward and knocked her backwards into the pool. She swam to the surface only to be met with a punch to the face. Her head snapped back so Reihu took the opportunity to wrap his hands around her neck and hold her head under water. She thrashed against his hold and tried to get him to let go as darkness started to seep in from the corners of her vision.

She felt his hands leave her neck as she pushed herself to the surface, taking in a deep breath of air before coughing up a little bit of water. She lifted herself out of the pool and saw that Crystal had pulled Reihu out of the pool and was freezing the water that was left on him. She glanced around to see where Kotaro was and saw him staggering to his feet.

"Thanks for the help, but I can take it from here," Rhuben said with a grin. "After all, the Darkness is my element."

"Have it your way," Crystal said with a shrug before conjuring three ice crystals in her hand and throwing them at Kotaro. He managed to dodge them before rushing at her claws raised and fangs bared. She managed to dodge his claws, but felt a little snag on the side of her shirt and saw that it had ripped. She aimed a kick at the back of her head but was hit by a blow from Koto. She fell to the ground and bounced once before rolling over, only to be vulnerable to Kotaro's kicks that rained down on her body.

"Two against one, what a dirty trick," Riley commented as she wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. Her hands at her sides burst into flames that were reflected in her dark eyes.

"Remember, Riles, the BlackWolves never play by the rules," Koto responded. "But you would know that, by taking DalFang away from us."

"You abused him, so you didn't deserve him," she growled as the flames on her hands got bigger so they reflected in her eyes. "He's better off with me."

"Really? From what I've seen your life sucks since you left Wingz Corp," Koto said with a shrug. "But it's your loss." He slammed his fist into her abs, which knocked the wind out of her. She grabbed his arms as she tried to get the wind back into her. The darkfire spread up his arms and Koto pulled away from her, thrashing his arms to try and get the fire out. Riley kicked him in the chest and knocked him back into the pool. Crystal threw Kotaro over her shoulder and he also landed in the pool.

Rhuben laughed evilly as she held up her hands. Reihu's eyes widened as he slowly sunk into the shadows that he was standing above. Rhuben lowered her arms when Reihu had sunk halfway into the earth. He placed his hands on the ground and tried to get out by putting all of his weight on his hands but he wouldn't budge.

"Freeze 'em so we can get out of here," Riley called over to Crystal as she held her arm in a tight grip.

Crystal raised her hand to do so but stopped when she saw that the pool had been frozen over all ready. Riley glanced over at her before looking down at the pool. "I didn't do it," Crystal said as she raised her hands.

"Who else could have done it? We're the only Elementals around here. I'm sure of it," Riley muttered in confusion.

"Who cares right now? We have to go back in before they get suspicions. The shield can only stay for so long," Crystal responded as she brought her wrist up to her forehead that started to bleed.

"Aw man, we let them get away again," Rhuben groaned when she looked at the ice before she looked at the spot where Reihu was before.

"Realize that we can't just kill them," Riley pointed out. "Let's go back in."

The trio made sure they were somewhat presentable before going back inside, expecting to get interrogated, which they did.

"How'd you get all wet?" Emma asked as she raced out of the room to grab a towel.

"I wasn't paying attention and I fell into the pool," Rhuben responded as she squeezed out her hair. "Clumsy me."

"What took you so long to come back inside, though?" Ash questioned.

"We were making sure no one was hiding in the bushes or anything," Crystal responded. "So, um, what do we do now?"

"Sing karaoke," Rikki responded before rushing into the living room.

"That sounds like fun, I've never heard you sing before," Zane said with a small smile as they all moved into the kitchen.

"You're lucky," Lewis muttered, earning a glare from Rikki.

"Here you go," Emma said as she held the towel out to Rhuben.

"Thanks," she grunted before taking it from her. Emma's eyes widened when she felt a couple of droplets of water land on her hand.

"Umm, I left some Karaoke discs up in my room," she muttered before tearing out of the room. Rhuben's eyebrows knitted together as she watched Emma run up the stairs.

"Maybe you should ask for a change of clothes," Riley suggested. Rhuben nodded before going up the stairs. She looked down the hall and walked towards the light that was coming out of a room. She opened her mouth to call out to Emma when her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she had just seen.

She saw an orange tail.