(A/n) Chapter ten! Whoopee!

To Sarah: If I could do two chapters a day I would but I hardly have the time to try and do even one a day… -grumbles about real life and sighs- Oh well, hope you like this one.

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

"Over here… move him over here…"

Octave and Arpegius were helping a wounded Shep into the darkened warehouse. Anisse was carrying his triangular computer, which gave off a bright white glow to light the way. She set the computer down by their sleeping area and went to help Baryl move a rather tattered mattress in place of Shep's sleeping bag. While Baryl went to set the sleeping bag on the mattress, Octave and Arpegius carefully set him down. The mattress was arranged in a sitting position so that the blood wouldn't rush to his upper body. Anisse rushed back to the car and dug around in the back for the first aid kit.

Angrily, she brushed the tears that continued to fall away then went on to dig around under the backseat, knowing that the kit was under there somewhere. He was losing so much blood… if she would just find the stupid first aid kit! Finally her hand grasped the plastic and she tugged it out, grabbing the spare blanket she kept with it. She clambered out of the back of the car and turned around only to bump into something warm and solid. Large hands steadied her and she glanced up to find herself staring straight at Arpegius.

A deep frown was settled on his face while his brown eyes searched hers. "What can we do to help?"

Taking in a shuddering breath, she was relieved when he dropped his hands and she rushed the few steps back to the sleeping corner between the crates. When she turned the corner, she was grateful to see that Shep already had shed the jacket of the jumpsuit off his right shoulder. He was trembling as Anisse kneeled down beside him and opened the first aid kit. She turned to Octave and held the blanket out to him. "Could you tear this in strips for me?"

Octave only nodded gravely in response and took the blanket in order to make bandages. She was deathly pale as she leaned into study the wound and tried her best to fight down the tears. Whatever it was that had shot her friend had torn through his right shoulder. It was a deep wound and it needed to be stitched, something that the first aid kit lacked. She dug around in the kit and tried her best to clean the wound with what she had. She wasn't a nurse after all so she had no experience with serious wounds like this. Her hands were trembling and they were slick with his gold blood. It was only when she felt a hand grip hers that she finally looked at her friend.

Shep was smiling up at her even though his face was a pale shade of his usual blue. "You're… doing fine Neesy…" He said and squeezed her hand.

Anisse's breath hitched slightly and she closed her eyes to calm her frantically beating heart. She needed to stem the blood flow and fast. When Octave had handed her the first strip of bandage, she nearly cried with relief and took it to tie tightly around Shep's upper arm. She needed more pressure on the wound itself and she took one of the other strips. "This is going to hurt but I have to try and stop the blood…"

Shep said nothing in response; he only gritted his teeth and gave a nod. There was nothing but trust in his deep blue eyes and he kept that pained smile on his face even when she pressed the bandage against the wound. He gasped and gritted his teeth tighter. She wasn't strong enough; the blood was still coming on strong even as she pushed down. A few tears escaped as she opened her mouth to ask for one of the guys to help but strong hands were already there over hers. She looked at her right in surprise to find Arpegius there beside her, his dark brown hair falling over his brow. "I got this, just wrap up the wound." His deep voice spoke just above her ear.

A little out of breath, she gave a nod and proceeded to wrap strips of bandages around and around Shep's shoulder until it was snug. Arpegius released the pressure he had over the wound and Anisse tied the ends of the strips together. She sat back on her knees and studied her handiwork. It wasn't neat bit it would do until he could get medical attention… but where could he get it from? He didn't bring any major medical supplies from his ship and even if he had she would have no idea on how to use it.

"Neesy…" Shep took in a breath and placed a hand over his wounded shoulder. "It feels good… you would have made a good nurse…"

At this comment, she blinked in response. She stared at the small smile he gave her and she started to laugh, just a bit.

"What did he say?"

Anisse looked at the drummer who spoke. Baryl was twisting the white towel, which he normally wore around his neck, between his hands. His long brown hair fell down past his shoulders, even though he was a short man he had a definition about him. Turning her attention back to her friend, she rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "He said… I would have made a great nurse…"

The worry on Baryl's face eased a little and a small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. The keyboardist was the first to break the tension in the room. Octave had risen to his feet and had folded his arms across his chest. He was staring at Shep then at Anisse before his fingers disappeared into his dark, curling hair. His olive skin was in such contrast with the fierce white glow the computer gave off. "Who are you?" He asked, his eyes flicking to Anisse. "Who is he? What has been going on here?"

He walked away from the group and rubbed his forehead. "I can't remember anything clearly… not until this night." He turned back to look at Anisse and shook his head. "We can't understand anything your friend says but you can… do you think you can enlighten us as to what has been happening? Why are we here?"

Anisse gave a nod while she shifted her position and sat cross legged beside the mattress. Arpegius had gotten to his feet and went to lean against one of the crates that surrounded the corner. He stayed near the woman, his gaze studying her even as his hand reached into his left pocket to feel for the charm bracelet that was hers. His fingers curled around the charms, it was so familiar to him now and he could recall those foggy moments when he had seen her.

He watched as she turned her attention to her wounded friend and translated everything that Octave had said. The man said something in turn and she listened, the white light glowing from the triangle beside the mattress reflecting in the grey of her eyes. She turned her attention back to Octave. "He said that he will explain everything but afterwards you must go and rescue Stella. There isn't much time to waste and the longer that we stay here, the harder it will be to rescue her."

"We're going to go after her even if we hear the story or not." It was Arpegius who spoke this time, his intense gaze on the woman's face. She glanced back at him and there was something in her eyes, some emotion that flickered past. It disappeared just as quickly though and she turned her attention back to Octave and Baryl.

"My name is Anisse Sterre and this is my friend Shepardeus but he likes to be called Shep…" She nodded to the blue skinned man, who gave a trembling smile to his favorite band. She translated what she had said to Shep and he studied her. The trembling smile had softened and his deep blue eyes looked up at Arpegius, who was standing behind Anisse. He pointed to the dark haired woman and his smile deepened. "Call…Neesy…" He said in a broken variant of her language but they pretty much understood.

Arpegius could see the faint pink on her cheeks but she said nothing in response. Her name was Neesy… his fingers found the guitar charm and he rubbed it. She said something to Shep, who listened and gave a weary nod in response. She turned her attention then to the band members and brushed the dark hair from her eyes. "You might want to get a little more comfortable… this is a long story…"

--

Several hours and one story later, Shep was resting against the mattress, his eyes closed. Anisse had pulled the guys toward the car and taken out the schedule of the tour that had helped to keep track of The Crescendolls whereabouts as well as the map of the city. She set the papers on the hood of her minivan and pointed on the map. All three of them were leaning over the hood to get a better look. She pointed on the map where a small purple dot was labeled the Cosmic Space.

"Here is where they will be having the annual Heavenly Stars fashion show. It is the biggest fashion event of the season and it is here that Stella is scheduled to appear." Her slender finger moved across the map and pointed to a red dot labeled the Golden Record Awards. "The following night is when they have the Golden Records Awards. You were all scheduled to appear there for your nomination. I guarantee this is where Stella will be as well." She released a shuddering sigh as she straightened and held a hand over her eyes to fight back the wave of exhaustion. She dropped her hand and pulled out the small device that Shep had given her. "You will have your chances then to deactivate the mind control device with this."

She held out the small device that had been used to free the guys of their enslavement and looked at each of them. "You will only have one shot with this so make it count. They will be looking for anyone to try anything suspicious so you have to be extra careful."

They all looked at each other for a moment then it was Baryl who took a huge gulp and stepped forward to grab the device from her hand. She gave an encouraging smile to him and he blushed. She turned her attention to the little computer bracelet on her arm and started to enter something into it. A moment passed and then she was moving her hand in several different ways, pressing the flashing blue stone every time she was done.

On the hood of the car materialized: a large black coat, a large black hat, a fake brown moustache and a camera with an ID badge that read Music Today. She took each item and handed them to Baryl. "It's not exactly a great disguise but there will be a lot of people and even more cameras. You'll blend right in…"

"Don't worry, you can count on me." He smiled at her then proceeded to get dressed in his new disguise.

Somewhat satisfied, she turned her attention to Octave and Arpegius. "You'll need transportation to get to these places. I would say use my car but they already know what it looks like…" She trailed off as she moved away from the car and out of the warehouse. The moon was shining bright even against the haze of streetlights and pollution. When they had gone to follow her outside, she was already at work on something and the next moment, a yellow car had materialized in front of the warehouse. On the sides were written in bold, black letters: Taxi.

She turned to face them and gave a weak smile, she looked so tired. "You can use this to get where you need to go. It's not as big as the truck so it will last longer. I'll give it a day and a half, maybe two before it disappears."

Baryl had emerged from the warehouse then with the map of the city in hand. She smiled at them all and hung her head. "That is all I can do for now. I need to stay here with Shep and look after him. Promise me you all will be very, very careful."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up to find Octave smiling down at her. "We'll handle it from here Neesy. Don't worry; just make sure you take care of our friend and yourself."

Anisse could only smile and she nodded in response. He patted her shoulder then went to jump in behind the wheel of the taxi. Baryl went to hop into the backseat, looking a little funny in the large coat and hat with the camera hanging from his neck. Something seemed a little odd and Anisse noticed that someone had not joined the others in the cab. They all looked at Arpegius, who was standing beside Anisse with his hand in the left pocket of his black pants. He looked at his band mates and gave a nod. "I'm going to stay here with Neesy. The less of us that are there the better chance we'll have at getting close to Stella."

Octave smiled at his friend. "All right then. You two look out for Shep and Baryl and I will get Stella." The engine roared to life and the headlights shone bright against the sleek pavement. "We'll be back by tomorrow night, that's a promise." With that, he gave a wave and drove off. Baryl had leaned out the window and was waving frantically. "Arpegius! Take care of them for us! We'll have Stella back before you know it!" The car turned a corner then and disappeared from sight.

Anisse just stood there with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She shivered against the cold and something else that hung about, a feeling of dread? She stiffened slightly when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a large hand rub her arm. She blinked and looked up at Arpegius in confusion.

"Neesy, it'll be all right. They'll get her back; you can trust me on that." He said as he gave her a squeeze. "Let's go back inside and see how Shep's doing…"A small and gentle smile played on his lips while his brown eyes searched her face. She felt herself begin to relax and she nodded in turn. He let her go and took a few steps back to the warehouse. He glanced back at her to see that she was following then thrust his hand into his left pocket. His fingers curled around the silver charm bracelet and he sighed. So much in one day yet he knew that they were just beginning to scratch the surface of reasons as to why all of them were here in the first place.