(a/n) Chapter seven is here! More yays!

Thanks Gundamfanatic123! Your reviews are what make this story worth all the more! :)

Disclaimer: See first chapter. Anisse is of my own creation.


The lines for The Crescendolls signing were huge, in fact they were beyond huge; they were enormous. Hundreds of people were grouped outside of the large music store that was located in downtown Center City. They spilled out onto the sidewalks and the streets, lined around the corner of the building and continued on for about two or three blocks. Anisse had arrived earlier that morning to park her grey minivan some twenty blocks down from the music store then hiked the rest of the way to try and get in line. She had been in line for over four hours now and she had just barely set foot in the store.

She adjusted the little computer that was snug in her ear, the blue shades springing to life as data began to roll past her eyes. She pulled down on the long left sleeve of the red suede jacket she wore, the strange computer bracelet that went with the shades hidden from view. Her long dark hair was set in a braid that fell over one shoulder and she reached up to tuck a loose lock behind her ear. "All right I'm in."

"Good. Can you see them from where you're standing?" Shep's deep voice spoke into her ear, sending a surprised shiver down her spine. He really did have a nice voice. She tried not to laugh as she held a copy of Music Today, with the band on the cover, over her face. She took in a breath until the urge to giggle subsided and she stood up on tiptoe to try and get a look at the booth that was ahead some ten feet. Unfortunately, it was completely over run by adoring fans and she could not see them too well. She settled back down on the heels of her black boots and huffed. "No, there are too many people."

There was a pause on his end then, "All right, now I can see… Yeah, it's not too good of a view. Can you get closer Neesy?"

She clucked her tongue and shook her head. "And start a riot? No thanks. I'm surprised all of these people are being so patient about getting their autographs." She tucked the magazine under one arm and pulled on her right sleeve then, her fingers brushed over the silver charm bracelet that adorned her right wrist. She started to absently finger each of the charms as she kept her grey eyes on the booth ahead.

The line was starting to move an inch… First charm was a microphone; it was to commemorate her mother's success as a singer. Oh good, now the line moved a foot. Second charm was a guitar, mom loved her guitar so much and dad would listen as she played while he sketched her. They were so happy together… Now the line was moving another foot, goody. Third charm was a paint brush, dad was an artist and his favorite subjects were his wife and daughter. He had given the charm to mom for her birthday; she remembered how mom had cried. The line was now moving a whole two feet. She fingered the last charm and the dull ache that was a constant in her heart flared up only slightly. Last charm was a heart, to signify love. The love of a soul mate, of family, of friends…

The line moved another foot and the crowd shifted a bit so that Anisse had a perfect vantage point of the booth from where she stood. Shep's voice shouted in her ear and she jumped just a little. "There! I can see them. Hold on while I… Got it!" The entire time that he had been speaking, a little target was bouncing around in front of her eyes and focusing on each band member. "I got hold of a signal from each of them, its originating from those glasses they are wearing." The target moved over to one of the band members, the drummer named Baryl and zoomed in on his emotionless face. It zoomed even closer to just above his ear and a little red light was blinking faintly beneath the long brown hair. "If I can just work out the frequency of that signal… I can reroute it so that way I can develop an opposing signal…" He trailed off as his brain began to work overtime, the target remained focused on the drummer that was signing everything shoved under his nose. Anisse let go of the last charm of her bracelet and studied each of the band members as the line began to move again.

The drummer was sitting on the farthest right corner of the table, next to him was the bass guitarist Stella, beside her was the guitarist Arpegius, and beside him on the far left was keyboardist/vocalist Octave. Anisse watched all of them and a stab of sympathy struck her, she knew who they really were and where they came from and to see them like this just wasn't right. Between Arpegius and Stella, watching with the self satisfied smirk she had seen in almost every picture of him, their manager stood. He would watch everything that the band members were doing; occasionally he would lean down to mutter something in one of their ears. When this happened, they would shake someone's hand, force a smile that did not reach their eyes, or anything else that needed to be directed from the manager. She clenched her fist as an unexplained hatred began to build but she kept it under control.

"The signals are different with each of their devices. I need some time to get a scan on all of them." Shep had spoken while he worked through her computer; the target had bounced from Baryl to Stella beside him. There was an odd choking sound at the sight of Stella but Shep had said nothing else as the target focused on the little red light attached to her eyewear. The line was beginning to move a little more and she moved with them. Her grey eyes were drawn to the sight of two very mean looking security guards that manned both sides of the table. They were looking back and forth among the crowd in an almost mechanical fashion. Something didn't settle right about those two…

The line moved again and she was shifting toward the left side of the table. Her eyes were now on Stella, who the target was still fixed on. She was getting closer to the table and Shep had not finished. "Um…" She began to speak but then the target blinked and focused on Arpegius, who was straight ahead of her. She blinked in surprise, when did she wind up in his line?

"Just a little more…" Shep muttered in her ear as the target scanned, focusing on another small red light located around his ear. The lights were hidden beneath their hair so it wouldn't have been noticed if you didn't know where to look. The line shifted again and she was behind four people in line. A little boy was bouncing up and down in front of her with a copy of The Crescendolls CD grasped tightly in his small hands. He was dressed exactly like Arpegius with the black pants, the red t-shirt with the torn sleeves, the red sneakers and large blue shades covering half of his face. He even had dark brown hair like Arpegius and looked like a mini version of the guitarist. Anisse smiled at the excitement the little boy could barely contain as the line moved again.

The target was still scanning Arpegius and she was third in line. Her heart began to pound at the sight of the manager watching the crowd with that smirk, the two large guards with the dark shades scanning the crowd left and right… She hoped they couldn't pick up the signal coming from her computer. Considering the fact they most likely had their alien technology somewhere, she was beginning to panic. "Shep, could we hurry up?" She whispered as the line shifted and the little boy thrust his CD out in front of the guitarist.

"Sorry Neesy… this one is a little more difficult to decode…just sit tight, I'm almost done."

Arpegius's eyes barely registered the little boy as his hand automatically moved across the CD case, a surprisingly neat signature reading The Crescendolls. The little boy cried out in pure delight as he thanked Arpegius over and over. He grabbed his CD and shuffled off with the rest of the crowd toward the exit. Anisse's heart slammed against her chest as the target finally focused on Octave. She swallowed as she pulled the magazine from under her arm and placed it down the table where she stood in front of Arpegius. She was barely paying attention to the guitarist as her grey eyes were focused on the target scanning the red light under Octave's curly, dark hair.

"Shep hurry…" She whispered fiercely while she leaned on the table, her gaze on the keyboardist. She did not notice the slight pause of the guitarist in front of her. His gaze had shifted from the magazine he had been signing to the slender hand that was a half inch from his left one. A glint of a silver charm had caught his eye beneath the cuff of the red sleeve, the silver guitar glittering against the sharp fluorescent lighting above. Moving slowly, his broad fingers trailed that last half inch to curl over and under the charm and the chain, his fingertips brushing against the warm skin of the bracelet's owner.

A soft gasp escaped from the feel of callused fingers touching her wrist and she tore her gaze from Octave back to the guitarist. His fingers were curled around her bracelet and resting against her wrist. It was at that moment that several things happened all at once. The target that was still scanning Octave's glasses finally blinked once and Shep's voice exclaimed. "Got it! All right, I have their signals. You can get out of there now!"

Before Anisse could respond, a group of teenage girls further behind in the line caught sight of Arpegius and Octave and screamed bloody murder. "There they are!!" The group of girls then decided it would be a good idea to push the people in front of them in their haste to get to their idols. While the teenagers pushed it started a rippling domino effect that thrust everyone else forward in their excitement and Anisse, plus the other unfortunate souls around at the table, were squished right up against the table. Anisse had lost her balance from the sudden onslaught and she landed right on top of the table in front of the guitarist.

Arpegius still had his fingers curled around her bracelet and they tightened around it as his gaze shifted to hers. She found herself blushing deeply as the gaze focused ever so slightly on her face then her eyes. It felt as if time had slowed to a grinding halt before she was suddenly yanked back from the table. The police had arrived to subdue the rising crowd as they tried to get to the table all at once. Anisse was barely aware of a snapping sound as she was propelled with the rest of the crowd from the music store and back out onto the street.

"Neesy are you all right?" Shep's voice brought a much needed calm to her nerves as she rubbed her right hand. Tears were beginning to well in her eyes as she stared at her now bare wrist, devoid of her mother's charm bracelet. Somewhere along the chaos she had lost her mother's bracelet. She couldn't go back into the store to look for it because the cops were shuffling everyone out. She took in a shaky breath as she turned and began to walk back the twenty blocks to her car.

"Neesy?" Shep spoke to her again; there was concern in his voice. She pushed the blue stone of the little computer in her ear and the blue shades faded from view. She brushed the tears from her eyes as she forced a smile into her voice. "I'm fine Shep. We got what we came for. I'm heading back now." She sighed heavily and started to jog the rest of the way to her car, being sure to avoid the crowds that were now screaming in protest to the signing being over.

--

They were taking the back exit of the store where the limo waited for them. They followed the manager the entire way through the building while his two bodyguards brought up the rear. Arpegius was a step behind his sister, the glazed look in his eyes focusing slightly as his fingers gripped the silver charm bracelet in his left hand. The silver was still warm from the touch of the woman that it had adorned. He tried to focus on that warmth as his fingers pulled the chain into his balled fist, hiding it from view. The little charms settled against the inside of his fist as they walked, the little guitar rubbing against his forefinger. Blue shades… she had blue shades like his…

He followed the rest of his band members into the limo while one of the guards closed the door. Blue shades and grey eyes…