Ha! Weren't suspecting Chapter 6 so soon, were you? :D I kind of figured, when writing the last chapter, that I could possibly crank out two chapters if I really focused on them... so, I tried. And this is what we have. And, I'm really pleased with this chapter... even though it did make me cry :| Nevermind.

So, yeah. My characters are mine. Everything else belongs to someone smarter than me.

"She fainted… I can't believe she fainted." Leah said shaking her head. It'd been about half an hour since the happy couple had arrived, and Jake had come outside to give them some of the food. This came with an explanation for all the commotion that had occurred.

"Poor Joanna." Seth sputtered around the hot dog in his mouth. Leah couldn't help but glare at him a little. Honestly, couldn't he chew his food first?

"Problem is, we don't know why she fainted." Jake said. "She tried to cover it, saying she choked on a candy."

"… And she didn't?" Leah asked.

"Carlisle says no."

"He would know I guess."

"What other reason could there be?"

"And why'd she feel the need to cover it up?" Seth asked. Jake's eyes narrowed.

"Now that you mention it, that's a good question." A decidedly out of place giggle broke their conversation. The three whirled around to find the little red-eyed girl in the back Sam's truck. This time she was wearing a dark purple dress, though it was still pared with black. She smiled at them, and then began to sing as she skipped along the frame of the truck. She seemed to effortlessly twirl on her tip toes…

"A human face

Eyes of red or black."

She jumped out of the truck, landing lightly on the ground as she continued singing.

"Danger! Beware!

Run! Don't look back!"

She leapt about still balancing on her toes, spinning in a delicate arc before singing again.

"Gold is the rarest of hues.

Don't test them though.

They may still eat you."

She finished pointing at the three of them before curtsying.

"Okay, that wasn't creepy." Leah said sarcastically. "You realize that you have red eyes, right?"

The girl blinked smiling almost indulgently. "But I don't have a human face." She replied.

"Looks pretty human to me." Seth replied, gaining a scowl from the girl.

"Go back to the house." The girl said.

"What?" Leah asked.

"I want you to go back to the house." She clarified.

"Why?" Leah asked, almost indignantly.

"Because it will be safer there." She announced, her eyes beginning to glow unnaturally again.

"Okay." Jake said, holding his hands up. "Let's… go back to the house, guys." Jake said. Leah didn't like it, but she wasn't going to question him right now. Jake moved so that he was always between the girl and them, which also annoyed her. It wasn't as if the pipsqueak was doing them much harm.

"Great. Now we're back at the house." Leah muttered. "I feel so much safer."

"We're having a bit of a relapse out here." Jake said, making sure his tone was loud enough for only a select few members of the party to inside to hear. Alice and Jasper casually strolled out of the party and onto the front porch steps. The girl looked at them measuringly.

"How good are you with blood?" She asked.

Jasper's face hardened, but Alice smiled. "We manage."

"Good." The girl said, reaching for an ornament around her neck. "Hold your breath and make a wish." The necklace she wore looked like a tiger laying down. She grasped the head of the tiger, and it disconnected from the body, exposing a small pike-like blade. Before anyone could react, the girl drew the edge of that blade down the outside of her bare forearm. She shifted her weight, her feet slowly sliding apart as she carefully rested against the ground in a split. The blade, now soaked in bright red blood was then thrust into the ground. "Blood Barrier." She whispered softly before rising. As she drew the blade out of the ground, the blood on it was gone… as though to make a liar of the long gash against her arm.

"What did you just—" Alice began.

"I put a barrier around the house so that enemies can't intrude." The girl said simply as though she were talking about picking up butter from the grocery store. She looked back at them. "The house is safe now."

Suddenly, she wasn't alone. Though it was impossible to tell where exactly he came from, the man that had been in the woods with this girl — the other red-eyed non-vampire — walked up beside her. Still, he had long black hair, and he still wore all black clothing. This time, just black jeans and a black wife-beater. It showed more of his tanned skin, which was almost as dark as the Quileutes. He knelt down and took her injured arm in his hands.

"We have a serious sense of deja vu going on out here." Jake said, and this time Carlisle, Esme, and Sam all came outside. Esme put a hand over her mouth in shock and Sam and Carlisle just stared aghast.

"This wasn't the best idea." The red-eyed man growled at his younger companion.

"It's the only one I know." She responded, slightly crestfallen.

He sighed, his expression blanking as though he were reminding himself not to be angry. "We'll change that tomorrow."

"You mean, if we live through tonight?" she asked softly.

"We'll change that tomorrow." He said more firmly. Then, much to the disgust of everyone who was now out on the front porch, he leaned forward and licked her arm.

"What are you doi—"

The man turned and growled, literally growled, bearing his teeth, at Jasper who had tried to speak. The sound was too much like a pole cat from hell, and actually made the wolves present shrink away. The fact that the man's teeth were different, elongated and saturated in blood, was not helping either. After another seething hiss, he leaned down and licked the length of her forearm again. This time, the blood was gone. In fact, the girl held out her arm and the wound was gone entirely. Nothing remained to suggest that she'd ever harmed herself, save for a light pink scar.

"Thank you, big brother." The girl said with a bright smile.

"How.. did you?" Carlisle began, his face a mask of shock as he slowly took a step forward.

"Our saliva has healing properties." The man said as he rose. His head turned away from them, and the big guy ( the one that they'd seen with Stan when they'd had the pleasure of meeting these two) walked around the other side of the house. "All set?" Bruiser only nodded. Red eye turned and smiled at the people on the porch. There was no evidence of blood on his teeth now…in fact, they looked almost too white. "You folks notice that something isn't quite right tonight?"

"You mean besides you?" Leah asked.

"Why are you still single?" Red eye shot back at her casually. Then he continued as though she hadn't spoken. "I'd just like to remind you all that there is, in fact, a full moon out tonight."

"Are you afraid we'll turn into wolf men?" Leah groused.

Bruiser looked back at her in confusion then at Red Eye. "They really are not observant at all." Red eye said to Bruiser. Bruiser only nodded, turning back away from the house.

"So, none of you notice anything strange about the woods?" The girl asked, seeming almost hopeful.

"What should we be noticing?" Alice asked.

"It's a full moon out." The girl said, stressing that again. "Look at the woods. Don't you see it?" she said, looking out at the woods.

"It's dark." Seth said.

"Exactly!" the girl said.

"I've never seen the woods so dark." Seth continued.

"So… you're saying we should have noticed the dark?" Jake asked.

"It's a full moon…." The girl said again as if they were missing that fact. "You should be able to see for miles!"

"She's right." Seth murmured, still looking over the woods. The woods were black with thick heavy shadow. They couldn't see beyond the tree line. Hell, they couldn't even make out the tree trunks.

"I'll admit it's odd, but I don't understand the significance." Jasper said, finally trusting himself to talk now that there was no scent of blood in the air.

"It isn't 'odd', it's dangerous." Red eye said cryptically. "It shouldn't last much longer though…" He smiled. "If we could have your cooperation in staying near the house… well, that'd make everyone's evening much nicer."

"What's the big deal?" Jake asked. "So it's darker than usual out…"

"Ask yourself a fundamental question." Red Eye asserted. "Is darkness simply the absence of light?"

"It is." Carlisle answered, and Red Eye raised a questioning eyebrow. "It is." Carlisle said more firmly.

"Not always." The little girl said, absently staring at the darkened tree line. "And in this case it's definitely not that simple." When she turned around and saw that they were all staring at her she crowded closer to Red Eye, taking one of his hands in both of her arms and cuddling his arm close. He smiled down at her.

"Fine, then. If darkness isn't the absence of light in this case, then what is it?" Leah asked.

"Void." Bruiser said, his voice so deep it was shocking in the stillness.

"…He speaks." Leah observed, making him look at her.

"Void?" Esme asked, trying to keep the subject in focus.

"It's difficult to explain…" Red Eye said, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "Void doesn't enter the world on its own - it can't. But when it's invited or otherwise takes residence here, it tends to move on its own and further its 'agenda' in spite of its host."

"Whoa… ok… wait." Seth said shaking his head. "We're talking about..about like, void? Like nothingness or nihility or…"

Red eye looked at him penetratingly. "You can't possibly be under the assumption that you're the only type of monsters in the world." He said.

"What kind are you?" Leah asked scathingly. A deep growl resonated through Bruiser as he glared at her balefully.

"That's funny." Red Eye said with a grin. "I mean, honestly, I was unaware that I was in the running as a monster. As far as I know, I'm a completely normal specimen of my breed." He eyed Leah almost clinically. "You, on the other hand… well, you used to be human." His eyes darted to the Cullens. "You were too, at one time." Jake had stepped forward, blocking Leah and Seth from Red Eye's view, but Red Eye seemed more than content to stare him down as well. "If a monster is an abnormality or mutation, then you're it." He said simply. He smiled down at his sister before looking back to them. "Just because our species isn't human, that doesn't make us monsters."

"That's for damn sure." Bruiser grumbled, his gaze returning to the tree line.

"I suppose we could always get into a discussion about the connotations of the term 'monster' though…" Red Eye murmured speculatively, but quickly shook his head in dismissal. "But this is not Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Thank God." The little girl spat.

"Right?" Red Eye sympathized.

"So, what? You're just here to fight the void and lecture us on being monsters?" Leah asked.

"It's so funny how you think you know things." Red Eye said with a smile.

"I'm beginning to dislike your tone." Jasper murmured evenly.

"That's too bad." Red Eye said with a shrug. "We could try not speaking to each other, but then neither one of us would learn much. And I do enjoy a good dialog."

Before anything more could be said, the screen door opened noisily as Joanna passed through the front door. "No, I just think I need some air—." She froze as she came to stand right beside Esme. She didn't even seem to notice Embry behind her.

A loud snap sounded as Red Eye snapped his fingers and pointed at Joanna. "You remind me of the Babe." He said.

Joanna's gaze turned to him and she blinked rapidly. "What babe?" She asked, bewildered.

"The babe with the power." Red Eye said wagging his fingers as though he were casting a spell.

Joanna walked down the front steps towards him. "What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"Who do?" Joanna asked, getting closer to him.

"You do!"

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe." Red Eye said with a satisfied smile when Joanna walked right up to him and hugged him. "We just had a Labyrinth moment." He murmured into her hair. "God you smell good! Like a cheeseburger."

"They have them inside." Joanna said drawing back with a big grin. Red Eye actually looked mournful at the idea of missing a good cheeseburger.

"Well, I suppose if anyone could use one.." He said looking down at her waist pointedly. Bruiser turned around and cuffed him hard on the back of the head. "Jeezy Creezy!" Red Eye muttered with a wince, practically bent in half as he cradled his head in his hands.

"Ben!" Joanna cried in excitement, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Ben's neck. She seemed more than content to hang against him, and since he was so tall that's exactly what she had to do. He hugged her to him, and sighed as if he'd just come home. It almost felt a little intrusive to watch…Anywhere else, this scene might have been heart warming…but here, it was almost unsettling.

"You know them?" Jake asked dumbly. It would be odd if Joanna were being so familiar with people she didn't know. When 'Ben' released her back onto the ground she turned around and smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, they're my brothers." She said simply. Then her eyes landed on the little girl that was half hiding behind Red Eye. "And sister! Sweet Stars, Dinah, you are getting so pretty! I can't even!" Dinah smiled and skipped around to tackle Joanna's waist.

"Your siblings…" Embry said slowly. "I guess.. These are the ones that Stan told you were… around."

Joanna actually looked a bit contrite. "Yeah. Sorry, um… let's see. This is Benjamin." She said, motioning to Bruiser. "And this is Ruben." She said waving a hand towards Red Eye. "And this is Dinah." She finished, patting the little girl's head. "Guys, this is Embry.."

"Your puppy dog." Ruben said with a smirk. Embry tensed at that, but Joanna glared at Ruben for a moment before shaking her head.

"Dinah, how do you manage to put up with him?" She asked.

"We all have our crosses to bear." Dinah said with a shrug. Joanna laughed at that.

"You're looking good, Ben." Joanna said, her attention now on her bigger brother. Ben smiled down at her as means of reply.

Though Joanna hadn't noticed Embry's start at being called her puppy dog, Ruben had. He looked at Joanna and then back to Embry and slowly mouthed 'You haven't told her' before gaping at him. Embry glared at the man in contempt, and Ruben looked as though he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. Ruben shook his head, seeming to shake it off, though Embry would've liked it if he'd loose the smug smirk.

"What are you guys doing out and about anyway?" Joanna asked.

"Helping Stan and Cassie." Ben said simply.

"Oooh.." Joanna nodded, a look of comprehension dawning on her face. "…would it make things easier if I went back inside?" she asked. Ben looked to Ruben, but Ruben was staring at Joanna's torso… namely her upper chest, and though he knew he couldn't say anything, Embry really wanted to smack him.

"Yes." Ruben said at last, his eyes darting up to her face. "You should stay inside… If Cassie needs you, we'll let you know." He finished with a nod before looking back out towards the darkness. Joanna looked too and shuddered, chafing her arms.

"It's gotten thick." She observed.

"You've no idea." Ruben murmured softly. When he looked back to Joanna, he seemed to collect himself. He smiled and nodded back towards the house. Joanna nodded and turned back around.

"See? Just needed a breath of fresh air." She said to Embry before jogging back up the front steps. Embry looked back at her and then back to her siblings and shook his head in confusion before following Joanna.

"What is going on?" Leah asked.

"Joanna knows." Dinah said, slowly turning her back on the house. "Just because you don't know that she knows doesn't mean she doesn't know."

"…still… so… confused." Leah grumbled.

"Joanna understands our purpose here." Ben said simply. "So she understands that if we say she should go back in the house, then she should go back in the house."

Leah stared at him. "Wow. Two complete sentences."

"Pretty sure that second one was a compound sentence actually." Ruben said absently, still staring at the darkness.

"Is there a reason you don't talk?" Leah asked Ben. There was a moment of silence as he stared at her, considering whether or not to respond.

"I have a problem with my temper." He replied before looking back at the darkened tree line.

"…and that's why you don't talk?" Leah asked bewildered.

"Of all the muscles in the body, the tongue is the hardest to master." Ben said without looking back at her. "If I can keep control of it, there's a chance I'll be better at mastering myself." He finished with a shrug. Leah was about to say something in response, but Jake muttered, 'Holy hell' and it drew her attention.

Suddenly, there was a perceivable shift in the darkness around the tree line. It became denser, even harder to see through before moving forward. It surrounded them, making the barrier the girl had mentioned earlier that much more obvious. It covered everything, making all things disappear in the darkness including the yard and cars that were parked beyond the barrier. It coiled within itself just in front of the barrier, about a foot from Ben and Ruben's feet.

"Trust me," Ruben began, shifting so that he was solidly between Dinah and the barrier. "There's nothing holy about it." He finished grimly.

"I could do another walk—" Ben began.

"No." Ruben said firmly, still staring into the dark.

"If you honestly think something could harm me on the night of the full moon—"

"There is a pregnant woman inside." Ruben hissed, finally looking at his brother. "Not to mention our sisters are here. So forget what you could or couldn't do, because we're playing this safe tonight." Ben let out a loud sigh, obviously not happy with the situation but not willing to argue.

"It's doing something." Dinah said. She was still behind Reuben, crowded tightly against the back of his legs, staring down at the grown. Her eyes darted back and forth. "What is it doing?" The darkness in front of the barrier was swirling like a black cloud rising from angry fire that had no place to go for ventilation.

"I feel it too." Ruben murmured. He shook his head. "I don't know yet what it's trying to —" his words halted and he swallowed hard. "Close your eyes, Dinah." She did so, immediately closing her eyes. Jasper staggered slightly before catching himself. Ben looked back at the commotion on the porch, as everyone was now looking at Jasper. The cloud in front of Ruben seemed to pulse before it retreated slightly… Where it had been there stood a man who looked exactly like Ruben, only his hair was trimmed short. They were even wearing the same clothes… though, this guy looked a little dead behind the eyes.

"Jasper? What's wrong?" Alice asked as she took his arm.

"It's so heavy." He said through his labored breathing. He looked up at Ruben's back, somewhat mystified. "This sorrow. Why is it so.." Ben's head swiveled back to Ruben.

"Reksa!" Ben muttered as though it were a curse. He surged forward, insinuating himself in front of Ruben. His skin suddenly began to get whiter… and brighter. And then, he was glowing. The dark cloud slunk forward, enveloping the man who could've been Ruben's twin.

"Hey, wait… what just happened to that guy?" Seth asked.

"It wasn't a guy." Ruben said, his voice strained and gravely. "It was just a trick." Ben's skin stopped glowing, returning to it's normal shade. He turned around and his expression changed when he saw Ruben. The wolves and Cullens couldn't see Ruben's face… Leah, who was the closest to the two, took a step forward so that she could see better. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in Ruben's crumbled expression saturated in tears. His red eyes were glowing brightly, which made the shining tears that leaked onto his face seem that much more out of place. Ben reached in his pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief, of all things. Ruben took it in one hand, and covered his entire face with the handkerchief. His other hand reached back, resting on top of Dinah's head. The girl slowly slumped to the ground, falling fast asleep. Acceptance and frustration were waring on Ben's face.

"That wasn't Russel." Ben said, his voice rough from some emotion. Ruben nodded, his face still burred in the handkerchief. Ruben dragged the handkerchief down his face and school his expression with some difficulty.

"I know." He said, his voice still rough. Ben nodded, snatching the handkerchief back before walking standing by Ruben's side.

"I don't understand." Jasper said, still somewhat breathless. "Who's Russel." There was a long beat of silence as everyone waited to see if the question would be answered.

"My twin brother." Ruben said, swallowing hard. He steadied himself before turning and bending down to gathering Dinah's sleeping form up in his arms. He cradled her to his chest carefully, almost clinging to her.

"Was that a good idea?" Ben asked, eying Dinah.

"She didn't need to see or hear that." Ruben said firmly. "And she'll wake up feeling rested, and I can tell her whether or not she has a new big sister." There was yet another heavy silence before Leah couldn't stand it any more.

"Okay." She said, with a somewhat more mellowed attitude. For whatever reason, seeing Ruben suffering so visibly had softened her. "Would someone please explain what just happened?" she requested.

Ben sighed, but turned around to face her and the rest of them. "Void does things, it moves a certain way, and it has a certain effect on matter that's exposed to it for a continued amount of time. Its usual effect on matter is to consume it, but under certain circumstances it uses matter. Only when it has to, of course." He shook his head. "That thing was just a suit. It wasn't a person or even a thing. It was just a scrapping together of matter, made to resemble a person. We call them Shiivo… I guess you could say.." He tried to search for a word. "Dolls." He said with a shrug. "Its only purpose is to distract or lure…or provoke." he swallowed harshly before taking a deep breath. "You can tell the difference because it can't maintain itself for too long, and it has none of the normal orifices. It's mouth, ears and nose are sealed shut, and its eyes are fake and don't move, and it doesn't breathe."

"… why would the image of Russel provoke Ruben?" Seth asked.

"Because he's dead." Ruben countered, his tone flat. Leah looked down, not wanting to offer pity to the man, but Seth looked hurt as though the loss had actually touched him. "Stupid trick." Ruben muttered. "It can't last much longer." He said as an aside to Ben. Ben was staring at him in an evaluating manner. "Is it any better for you?" Ruben asked suddenly.

"Is what?"

"It's been… what? Over a year?"

Ben turned back to face the barrier, swallowing harshly. "I guess."

"It doesn't feel any less raw than it did on that day." Ruben observed.

Ben huffed on a sigh. "Only when I'm thinking about it."

Ruben nodded. "That's probably the problem." He said, his eyes wondering down to Dinah's sleeping face. "Need to shift focus."

"Good plan." Ruben stayed like that for a moment, but then his head swiveled to one side and then the other, as though he were listening for something. "What is it?" Ben asked.

"It's over." He said. Before the two words had even left his mouth, the darkness recoiled and then faded entirely. The woods were beautifully lit in bright silver moonlight. Ruben glanced over at Leah and Seth who were the closest to him still. "Do whatever you want now." He said blandly.

"What about that barrier?" Jake asked.

"It'll last until the next heavy rain." Ruben said.

"Well, yeah but.. I mean.."

"All it does is keep enemies out." Ben affirmed. "As long as you don't try dragging someone who has purely evil intentions towards you across it, you shouldn't have any problems."

"Wait…how does that work exactly, and who does it work for?" Seth asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. Ben blinked at him.

"It protects anyone who is already within the barrier, but more specifically the people who live here." He said.

"Someone get Joanna." Ruben ordered.

"What? Why?" Leah asked.

Ruben continued to stare out into the woods. "Because Cassie is going to need her help very soon."

Yeah... I hope that wasn't too much of my brain functioning in the Twilight zone... That's just the way this cookie crumbles.