-1Pre-Notes – It's taken me a bit longer, but I've finally managed to progress into the 2nd chapter of the story. Please note again that due to the chaotic nature of my current life that updates will be irregular, but I will try to get at least one chapter out every two to three weeks. It's a goal that I'm setting so that I don't loose focus on this story. On another note, it's snowing in Georgia!

"Xxx" is talking.

'Xxx' is thinking.

Xxx is writing or dreaming.

Xxx is electronic text.

Chapter Summary: The gang executes the plan, but Serena, Lina, and Rikku run into trouble. This is the chapter where the fun starts. Most, if not all of this chapter, is going to be again in the first-person POV with a third-person interlude here and there when appropriate. With the way this story is spreading out, it seems to me like this will be the formatting that I use for the remainder of the story, as it seems to fit. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Little Ms. Trouble

'So... this is what it feels like to die...'

'Rini...'

I awoke with a start before moaning and rubbing my eyes. The damn dream came again. It's the same one I've had for some time: me in a forest, this huge light show of neon lights and what felt like my life being sucked right out of me. Tonight's rendition was different though, I actually heard a voice this time. 'She sounded familiar, like I'd met her before... she even called my name.' I look at my clock. 5:06am. Good, I had some time.

I dig through my bag until I find my diary and start writing, fearing that I'll forget all about it later on in the day, and start a new entry for the day.

15/06/957 NSM

Dear Diary

It's 5:06am as I start this new entry. I had another one of 'the dreams', but this one was slightly different for some reason. I actually heard a voice this time. I can't say why, but I feel that it's familiar, almost as if I'd heard it sometime before. It said "So this is what it feels like to die." Not only that, but the voice called out my name. It felt like it was almost pleading with me for something, but exactly what I just don't know. I'll have to think more on it later.

I stopped writing and put my diary away again. It was short, but precise in what I experienced with the dream. I often wrote about it whenever I had it, as a means of trying to preserve it. I always felt that that particular dream held some sort of important meaning. I could never really tell why, it was more of a gut feeling, and since more often than not it was my gut feeling that kept me and Lina out of trouble I had learned to pay attention to it whenever it told me something, whether it was avoiding a certain street, helping a certain individual, or writing about obscure and seemingly innocent dreams in my diary. Tonight's dream proved that I had been right though: it seemed as if that dream I've been having for the last two years hadn't been as innocent as I thought they were. They had started only a bit after the girls and I started living together as one big happy family for the first time.

I shook the remaining thoughts and sleepiness out of my head and got up. There was a lot of work to be done.

0-0-0-0

The Moon Plaza Subway Station was packed as usual, people going about their business. I notice that the crowd is tenser than usual. 'Crap, there must have been some attack sometime today or something. The crowds around here shouldn't be this tense, especially with this station being so damn close to the Crystal Palace.'

The girls and I had split up two stations ago. The dojo in southern Crystal Tokyo was closed for renovations it seemed, so Raina and Miki decided to stay at the dojo in the western district. I motioned to Lina and Rikku to follow me. We needed to switch trains here if we wanted to go further north.

I glanced around as was habit and noticed that something was off. I look a little closer and notice that a lot of people that we were walking by were giving us odd glances. Something was amiss. I walk next to Lina and whisper to her "Lina-chan, there's something going on and I don't know what. People are starting to give us odd looks. Keep an eye out and be careful."

She nodded and walked a bit straighter, adjusting her green computer bag on her shoulder and shuffled her backpack a bit before looking for the source of the disquiet around us. I glanced at my watch. The next train due north wasn't going to be here for another ten minutes, so we had a bit of time to relax, or so I thought. I knew something was definitely wrong when I heard a raspy voice suddenly curse. My eyes must have nearly popped out of their sockets when I heard Lina speak the obscenity out loud for what had to be the first time in months. I looked at her and she pointed at a wall. I followed her view and cursed as I saw the four Missing Children posters. Someone was looking for us, and they were going through a lot of trouble to find little us.

"Shit, this complicates things," I muttered. "Ok, new plan. I'm going up top and try to draw the crowd towards me since from what I can tell I'm the most recognizable one. Lina, you know these tunnels well enough to be able to make it on your own, so take off and lay low until you feel its safe to go out. Rikku, stay and wait for the train, but try to stay out of sight if you can, and for the love of the Kami, don't burn anything unless it's a last resort."

I shifted my bag over my shoulder. "I'll try to contact you guys once I'm safe," I said. I start to walk towards the exit when Lina grabs my hand and stops me.

"… be careful," she mutters, looking me in the eye. I nod my head, give her a brief hug, and start for the stairs on the other side of the station. Damnit, I knew I should have taken a hat with me. I sift through my back jean pockets and pull out a folded bandana that I kept there in case of situation like these. I paused while I tied it over my head, leaving enough room to let my ponytail escape it's confines. My hair is almost a dead give-away as it is. At least with the bandana in place, I'll be a bit more inconspicuous.

I finally made it up top without much problems. The Crystal Palace can be seen a bit to the east. The Palace looked huge from here, I dully noted. I didn't often venture topside of Moon Plaza station, mostly due to the increased number of officers, not to mention that the shopping plaza around was a popular spot for Palace guards. Being around so many potential government lackeys always made me slightly nervous.

I keep my head low as I walk along the sidewalks. I need to find a place to loiter around for a bit. Correct that - first I need to do something about my damn hair, THEN I need to find a place to hang out. 'Hmmm… maybe I should get it cut somewhat, maybe make it shoulder length rather than keeping down to my waist… nah, it took me way to long to get it this long…' My eyes wander around, looking for inspiration. Finally they settle down on a billboard. Neo-Queen Serenity was displayed there. Apparently she was scheduled to make an appearance at some charity event or another in three weeks and they were advertising it all over the place. I rolled my eyes. Politicians. Ugh! That's when inspiration hit as I started to look at the Queen's hairstyle in a new light. Eureka!

I wander around the plaza, stopping by an ATM machine to withdraw some money, and eventually find what I'm looking for - a hair salon. I walk in and notice that for it being at the Moon Plaza, it was surprisingly empty. The elderly receptionist looked up and smiled warmly. "Welcome to Beauty Works! How can we help you sweetheart?" she asked, apparently happy to see me. I smiled.

"I need a new hairstyle, I'm a bit sick of my ponytail," I said, taking off my bandana.

"I see. Anything in particular that you had in mind?" she asked me, smile on her face. "I must say your hair looks very nice, and so long too."

"Yeah. Originally I was considering just cutting it, but I worked too hard to grow it this long. Then when I was looking around I noticed a billboard of Neo-Queen Serenity and thought 'Well why not?'."

"Ah, so you want the Queen's pigtails then?" the receptionist pondered on it for a bit. "I don't know if that will work, the Queen's pigtails are rather unique to her, they don't really work that well on too many people…" She narrowed her eyes at me for a bit before she snapped her fingers. "I got it! I seem to remember that the late Princess, the Queen's deceased daughter, had a very similar hairstyle to her mother's. With your hair… yes, I think this could work! Especially with how similar you look to the late Princess."

She went to the back and shouted for someone. After a few minutes she came back out with another elderly woman in tow. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the pair. They looked exactly the same. They grinned at her. "Miss, meet my twin sister Nodoka. No-chan, this is your newest client."

"Nice to meet you ma'am. My name's Serena, but you can call me Rini," I said with a grin as I bow slightly and shake her hand in greeting.

"What a nice name," said Nodoka. "I'll take it from here Kimiko-chan. Right this way Rini."

"Thank you ma'am. Has your sister told you what I want?"

"She has, and please, I insist you call me Auntie."

0-0-0-0

"I knew I should have stayed at the Palace," muttered Hotaru as she walked down the street, aware of the stares that she got. She didn't blame them for staring, she did look a bit out of place, with her excessively pale skin and her purple eyes reflecting the coldness that she felt practically all the time now. 'What the hell possessed me to come out here anyway?' she wondered.

"It's not healthy for you to live exclusively at the castle Hotaru-chan, and caving yourself in your apartment isn't my idea of 'going out' either!" said the annoying pest on her shoulder. 'Oh yeah, I remember now. Diana no baka…' "for the last 17 years you've either locked yourself up in your apartment, the Palace or on Titan Castle. You need to interact with society every now and again Hotaru-chan. Chibiusa wouldn't want you to mope around because of her."

"I wouldn't know what Chibiusa would want because she's dead," replied Hotaru in an exasperated yet sad voice. Hotaru had been in mourning ever since she felt her best and closest friend pass into the great beyond 17 years ago.

After delivering the letter that Chibiusa had written to Neo-Queen Serenity, Diana had rarely been seen at the palace. Most of the time she spent out on the streets of Crystal Tokyo. The few times she stayed at the palace it had been with Hotaru whenever she was there. She had confided in her the reason as to why Chibiusa had done what she did, and for almost an entire year had to keep talking Hotaru out of destroying the Earth in a hand of vengeance. Once Hotaru had calmed down, she became Diana's silent support, her eyes and ears in the Crystal Palace. Just as Hotaru had been Chibiusa's confident and support when she was trying to break free of her bond to her mother, so to did she become Diana's confident, acting as Diana's 'standing charge' until they could find Chibiusa's reincarnation.

"Exactly what are we looking for in the Plaza right now Diana?" asked Hotaru in a whisper. "I'm not exactly feeling comfortable around all of these people."

"I don't know exactly, but I had a strong feeling earlier today that this is where I needed to be," replied Diana. "It was almost as if something was drawing me here. I'd never felt something like that before, so I thought it prudent to bring back-up along and you're the only one I can truly trust right now to not go directly to the Queen."

"I doubt that Chibiusa would want her master plan divulged like that," muttered Hotaru with a sad smile. A comfortable silence hung between them after that, each of them lost in memories of their beloved friend.

"Well," said Diana, "I think we should go get something to eat. I don't know how long we'll be here in the plaza for."

Together, they wandered about until they found a small café with a video game shop on one side and a hair salon on the other.

0-0-0-0

"Um… I don't know about this…" I muttered as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"Nonsense dear, I think it looks splendid!" exclaimed Nodoka. I looked with a critical eye at the twin-pointed buns on my head. They almost looked like Bunny ears for heaven's sake!

"Well, I can kinda see the 'kawaii' factor in it, and I can definitely see myself playing turn-tables and dj-ing with them, but I can't see myself wearing this look while I play my guitar…" I muttered to myself, loud enough so that Nodoka can hear what I'm saying but low enough to keep the other hair stylists from hearing. My musical talent is one that I've successfully kept hidden from everyone, even Lina-chan, if only because there was never enough room in our apartment for me to be able to keep any equipment of my own. Not to mention the fact that the girls would bug me to play for them all the time. "… I guess making the buns is easy enough to do in front of a mirror…"

"All it takes is a little practice, dear. If you want, I can write down the instructions on a piece of paper and you can practice making them at home. It's really all in the twist and fold, and it keeps itself together like that," she said as she brushed the left stream of hair down to take the tangles out.

"That would definitely be helpful," I said with a grateful smile. "In that case I'm more than satisfied, I doubt even my friends will be able to recognize me right away. That brush feels nice too." What can I say, I was never really into brushing my hair seriously enough to try different brushes.

"The bristles are made of a relatively new synthetic material. I believe it's been out in the market for the last 5 or so years. They're tough enough to brush out practically any tangle, but gentle enough that it massages the scalp more so than actually scraping it. That level of comfort tends to transfer to general brushing, so that's probably why it feels so different," explained the enthusiastic hair stylist.

"Wow, now I know what to get Miki-chan for her birthday," I said with a small smile on my face.

The conversation drifts from there to general gossip and a bit into politics before I'm done. By the time I leave the shop I got a new look, a bag with 5 hair brushes, and a silly grin on my face. I almost felt like a new girl! I figure that I should be safe enough now to go back into the Underground, so I go ahead and pull out my phone and start texting Lina as I walked.

Hey, I'm alright, got a new look so I should be harder to spot, I'm heading north now and should be at the Northwest station in about 45min. I'll try to call you-

"OOOMPH!!" Seems like I can't text and walk at the same time. Go figure. "Itaii itaii itaii…" I felt for my head to the nice bump that was forming up. "Gomenasai, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," I muttered apology before I look up.

Violet eyes. That was the first thing I noticed about her. Just one glance showed a coldness within them, along with something else. To this day I swear that if I ever remember a time when I felt like a deer caught in headlights it was then. Soon, my brain jolted back into action and I started to notice the rest of her. Somewhat short-ish black hair, incredibly pale skin to the point that I must have looked exceptionally dark while standing next to her. 'Wow…' was all I could put together.

"… it's ok, I should have been looking up myself," she muttered. Her voice sounded soft, almost angelic. I felt myself flush at the thought.

'C'mon Serena, put yourself together!' I thought to myself as I shook my head hard, trying to shake the cobwebs out. I jumped up and started to dust myself off. "Are you ok? No bumps, cuts, anything?" I asked before holding a hand out to help her up. It was then that I noticed that she was staring at me too. I blinked, waiting for her to finish analyzing me before I see a small blush creep onto her face. I smiled a bit at that. 'Kawaaaaaaii…'

"Sorry," she muttered as she took my offered hand. So it seemed like I wasn't the only one with a morbid curiosity. "I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" she asked in her small voice.

"Kinda," I said. I consider telling her I grew up in West Tokyo, but considering where I was, I decided against it. "I've been spending most of my time now-a-days in Southern Tokyo, but I'm moving up north for the summer. I don't normally come to this part of town, it's only a stop for me I'm afraid," I tell her. "You here on business or pleasure?"

She blinked at me again. "A bit of both actually," she replied. I can see a brief flash of color enter her cheeks before she went on. "I work over at the castle most of the time, and come out here sometimes when I get a bit of free time."

"Oh wow, that must be nice," I said, forcing myself to keep my smile. I REALLY didn't like government officials, but I'm a pretty good judge of character, and something told me that she'd be alright. "I've never met anyone who works at the castle! Do you live there too?"

"Sometimes, but only whenever there's something big going on and the Queen calls for all staff to be on hand for extended periods. Otherwise I have my own little place up north that I stay at," she said. Oh wow, now THAT makes me raise an eyebrow.

"So you live in North Tokyo too? Wow, what a coincidence! I'm spending my summer up there. Maybe we can be friends?" I asked with a grin. I typically had hunches about what kind of girls would be 'up for a bit of fun', and while I wasn't getting that exact hunch from her I find that I can't really help but feel drawn to her. The fact that she has a cute smile doesn't hurt much either.

"I think I'd like that," she said, her smile getting a bit wider. "I don't have many friends, except Diana-chan here," she motions to the cat in her arms.

"Oooh kawaaaaaii…" I said as I bent down to take a closer look at her little friend. The cat was staring at me with wide eyes, and if I didn't know any better I'd say she was shocked to see me! "If you aren't the cutest little thing I've ever seen!" My grin was starting to hurt my face. It seems I'd made two friends today, rather than one. "And you have the cutest little crescent moon on your head! Is she a palace cat? I've only ever heard of the cats at the palace having crescent moons like that."

"Yes, she was a gift. Diana-chan and I have been through a lot over the years," she said.

I smiled. "I've always wanted a cat, but I never had the room for one," I muttered as I petted her. She closed her eyes and started purring up a storm, leaning her head into my hand. I feel a giggle escape and knew I had found a friend in both cat and master.

"Well, I gotta get going, I'm meeting some friends up north in order to get settled in. Maybe I'll see you around?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll definitely keep an eye out for you," she said, her voice revealing the enthusiasm she was feeling. "I'm Hotaru, by the way. Tomoe Hotaru."

"Basara Serena, at your service," I said, bowing down in an exaggerated manner. "But all my friends call me Rini-chan!" I said with a big, wide grin. "Well, gotta go, ja ne!" I said before heading towards the Underground. A new look, a small gift for the girls, and I made a new friend to top it all off. 'Wow, this day went from gloomy to awesome! I hope I see her again, I can't wait to introduce her to the girls.'

0-0-0-0

Hotaru must have stood there for a good five minutes after Serena's departure before Diana dug her claws into her arms to grab her attention.

"Diana-chan…"

"I know, I can't believe it either…" muttered the young Mao.

"Serena-san… I like that name," murmured Hotaru. "It suits her well, I think."

"She said she was going to be spending the summer in North Tokyo," commented Diana. "Now that we know where she will be, we can keep track of her and see about trying to awaken-"

"No."

"Nani!?" Diana looked at Hotaru with an incredulous face.

"I said no Diana. She killed herself running from her old life. I do not want her awakened unless it's an absolute necessity," said Hotaru, a cold glint in her eyes.

Diana shook her head. "Gomen Hotaru-chan, but I'm afraid that I don't have a choice. Small Lady's last wish was to be reawakened in her new life once she was found. I'm afraid that in this case, her orders precede yours."

Hotaru sighed and closed her eyes. Her shoulders seemed to slump down and her head seemed to sag. "It's not fair Diana-chan. She seemed so happy… it's not fair to her to dump the crap of her past life on her when it's not needed."

"She's not as happy as she appears Hotaru," said Diana.

"What do you mean?" asked Hotaru as she stared at the cat like she was mad.

"It was her eyes Hotaru," said Diana in a sad voice. "She had eyes that almost seemed colder than your own." She sniffled a bit and for the first time, Hotaru noticed that she was crying. "Her eyes looked so haunted…"

Hotaru hugged the cat in comfort and stared at the entrance to the Underground which lied close by. 'Chibiusa… what's happened to you in this life… what have you been through as Serena that pains you so…'

"Lets go back to the palace Diana-chan," she said as she turned around and headed to her destination. "We have one more night left at the palace before we're free to go back to our apartment. We'll start searching for her then."

There was a noticeable spring in her step this time, a small smile slowly forming on her face.

'My friend… she's finally back.'

To Be Continued…

A/N: Well, this one is a good bit shorter than my last two chapters, but it felt like a good place to leave it, considering this was mostly a set-up chapter with a bit of suspense into it. I'll try to make the next chapter a bit longer. So far the story seems to be moving along, and I already got a bit of an idea as to where I want this story to go. This means I'll actually be able to make an outline to follow and use as a guide once I get myself situated enough to slap it together. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Again, don't be afraid to pop a review, I can use the advice and tips. Till next time folks!