Disclaimer: I do not and never will own any right to Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Though I fervently wish I did. However this story, it's general plot-line, all of it's original characters do belong to me. Go on, try to sue. I think I've got some lint and a few quarters in my purse.

...

:Mona Lisa:

...

It didn't matter if I did or didn't care. It hurt to know that. Hurt to know that there was so little I could do. I love her with all my heart, every fiber. I always had, and always would. And if there was anything I could do, I wouldn't let it end like this. Problem was, it had ended so many times before. And even with the best of my determination, I had no idea how I was going to stop it.

...

:Chapter Three : To The Bitter End:

...

"You could knock." She repeated the same thing Serenity had said to her hours before. The person behind her did not speak, did not move, but she could smell her. The faint breeze that mysteriously followed her lifted up Hotaru's hair. Honey and Cloves. She turned her violet eyes towards the intruder, a light smile upon her lips. "It's nice to see you Sets." Setsuna still did not move from the place she stood, looking odd among the modern decor. It was strange every-time, seeing her in the uniform she and Serenity hadn't been able to materialize in a millenia or more. "Are you really just going to stand there?"

Setsuna smiled softly. "No. Is it so wrong to like looking at you sometimes, little firefly?" Hotaru's smile widened just a bit.

"What, you think I'm going to spontaneously combust or something?" She asked, throwing her legs up over the arm of the chair she was in and leaning back, her eyes playful. "Could happen. Hasn't yet."

"I think you know why I'm here." Hotaru shrugged.

"What is it with this new idea that I'm psychic?" The joke didn't work on Setsuna, so Hotaru frowned, sighed, and said; "What would you like me to do Sets? After all this time you think I can ask her to stop? To slow down? What the hell for? We live and we die. Over and over. As far as I'm concerned she can do whatever the fuck she wants."

"You wouldn't stop if I told you to. She wouldn't." Setsuna said, and Hotaru smiled despite the air of tension in the room. "I have told you that you were going to get caught and killed if you weren't careful. Life after life. But neither of you seem to care." She wasn't looking at Hotaru, rather towards the window, a horizon of city lights. She breathed in and out deeply, and only then did her garnet eyes meet Hotaru's deep violet. "There are many, many paths to the future. Nothing is ever set in stone."

"I disagree." She said softly. "The eventual end, that is always set in stone." Setsuna's eyes softened, but Hotaru could not guess the emotion there. It was somewhere between pity and remorse.

"If I could..." Setsuna cut herself off, as if she didn't know where to go with the sentence. After all these years, what more was there to say? Hotaru sighed, and stood, ruffling her own hair and blowing her bangs out of her eyes before speaking.

"I know Sets. But you can't." Setsuna's eyes were soft. It bothered Hotaru without reason she could place. Perhaps it was because she'd seen eyes like that too many times over the years. Sometimes on her, sometimes on Serenity. She tired of those eyes. "And you know Ren and I would rather do this... over and over again. Then have you condemn yourself to help us."

"Aishiteru Firefly."1 She whispered, and the tone was something that made Hotaru turn away. It hurt to hear the distress in the Time Guardian's voice.

"I hate when you talk like that." She knew she had heard her words, like she also knew the Senshi of Pluto would not be standing there when she turned around. "And I hate when you disappear like that." She sighed, and fell back into the chair she'd been previously occupying, not bothering to brush the short, spiky strands of black hair out of her eyes this time.

As if they didn't have enough on their plates. They'd finally found the target Serenity wanted dead more than anyone. And that man Serenity had left with... the memory she'd never had the heart to share. Hotaru knew him. How could she not? His face had been plastered all over every TV screen not too long ago, along with the faces of the rest of the Gundam Pilots. Of course he had to pop his head in at this time. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

Everything was falling apart. It wasn't something she wasn't used to. It was something she wished didn't happen every lifetime. When she looked back, it was hard to remember the ones that did. Some started bad, some good. But most ended horribly. You couldn't have the minds, the knowledge that people like she and Serenity had without it affecting you. They'd seen generations, civilizations, entire countries rise and fall. They'd seen horrors no one person should see. A thousand times over. Maybe more. And always this deadline. Only a certain amount of time to make what impacts they could. There was never a question of relaxing. It was something that didn't need to be said. They'd never been able to sit back and do nothing. Fighting was in their blood.

It changed from lifetime to lifetime. The jobs they laid out for themselves. More than once it had caused their untimely deaths. But then, all their deaths were untimely. And she knew, although the Guardian of Time was not allowed to interfere, watching them break, bit by bit, was tearing her apart as well. This life had been crueler than most. She'd lost her parents at a young age. To the Eve War, in fact. She'd only been nine at the time. It was at that point she took to the shadows. It didn't take long. Six months later, Serenity found her.

Her eyes had been darker than she remembered. Not the bright silver they'd been a lifetime ago, but a deep grey that spoke louder than Serenity dared of her experiences. She didn't ask. She didn't need to. But it was terrifying. To see the one light she'd counted on to lead her through the dark burn so low. It had been then that Serenity told her their mission for this lifetime. To take out everything that slipped through the Preventers fingers. To take out one person in particular.

It had taken her a long time to say it. To admit it. To say his name out-loud. The person they searched for was a face they knew well. But in this lifetime, he carried a different name. Seth Corrodin. The almost perfect reincarnation of Mamoru Chiba.

...

She closed the door softly behind her, but she should have known that Hotaru would not be sleeping. Bright Violet eyes stared at her over the back of her favorite chair. She'd bought the chair just for the girl she'd taken in as a sister. She'd have to track down the company that manufactured them. Because now, there was no way they could stay.

"We're leaving." She said it as evenly as she could. Her heart was taking it's time mending, and she felt more torn than she should have.

"Now?" Hotaru asked. Serenity traveled to the liquor cabinet she'd had special made three years ago. Poured a perfectly chilled glass of Knob Creek.2 They'd been comfortable here. But it was time to leave it behind. She took a sip of the alcohol. It refreshed the buzz she'd been carrying with her since the hotel room. Calmed her.

"Now." She said after she swallowed. "It seems they've finally caught on. And they don't seem happy."

"The Preventers?" Hotaru asked. She still hadn't moved from her chair. Serenity could now see the book in her hands. Reading was what Hotaru used to relax. She looked at the glass in her hands. To each their own. She took another sip. Smacked her lips at the taste.

"Yeah." She said, knowing what was coming next.

"They sent the Gundam Crew didn't they?" Serenity closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to stem the emotion that forced itself up in her chest.

"Yeah." Hotaru rose from her chair, setting the book down. Serenity watched her look longingly at the cover for a moment. She made a mental note to remember the title. She'd have to buy it for the girl so she could finish it. Leaving meant they took nothing but the necessities. the book would be left behind.

"You never told me you knew Duo Maxwell." She said. Serenity's heart clenched in her chest. She sipped on the bourbon again.

"You never asked." She said simply. And was relieved when Hotaru left it at that, standing to travel to her room and gather the most important things. Her heart swelled with love for the dark-haired girl as she did the same, walking up the spiraling staircase to her room. She pulled a plain black duffel bag from her closet and rummaged through the room to gather a few changes of clothes, and all the weaponry she cherished. She changed into a pair of dark skinny jeans, and her favorite black and cheetah print sneakers. And paired then with a simple white tank-top and a tight black hoodie with one leopard print paw on the breast. When Rin was finally laid on top, she zipped the bag closed, and hefted it over her shoulder.

When she arrived back downstairs, Hotaru was already waiting. She'd changed into simple black leggings with a long black tank. Paired with a tight grey vest that only went mid-torso, and black flats. It made her look demure. But when traveling it was what she preferred.

"Where are we going?" Hotaru asked, as Serenity picked up the keys to their fastest transport and tossed her a pair.

"Hiroshima, for now." Serenity said, draining the last of her glass before scanning the room one last time. "We need to regroup. Where is he?"

"He's here in Tokyo." Hotaru said. "And won't be moving anytime soon." She swung the key ring around her fingers once, and caught them in her palm with a short jingle. "It's never easy, is it?"

Serenity smiled, looking around the room one last time. Tried to make sure that she'd taken everything she needed. "It never will be." She said softly. She opened the door, and Hotaru scooted past her. She had two bags over her shoulder. One that held her clothes and other weapons, and one, Serenity knew held her prized possession. A weapon Serenity had made for her. It had taken two years to track down a suitable weapons master. "I'm gonna miss this place." She said, closing the door with a soft click behind her. She didn't bother to lock it. They could look through what they wanted when they found this place. All they needed was a little more time.

"Yeah." Hotaru said, as Serenity followed her soft footfalls through the hallway and down the stairs. "Me too." She tried not to think about it. But her heart was breaking again. It told her without words, that this was the beginning of the end.

...

"So what did you find?" He realized Hiiro was still pissed when all he got was a cold glare, and turned half-laughing, half pleading eyes to Quatre, who smiled before speaking.

"The name matches the owner of a condo on the south side. But if she realizes who you are she won't be there. It says something about her character that she didn't kill you in your sleep."

"Would have saved me the trouble." Wufei grumbled from behind him. He rolled his eyes. He'd been defending himself from those quips since they'd arrived.

"It could have happened to anyone." He protested sourly. Quatre laughed, at least. Wufei snorted. Something he only did when he was disgusted and amused at the same time.

"Things like this only happen to bakas like you."

"Oh come on Wu-man. You shoulda seen her. She was gorgeous. I bet she could have loosened your ponytail." Wufei sent him a glare, and he laughed. It was just too easy to mess with them. "So." He said when he'd finished. "Whats the game plan?"

"We go to the condo." Quatre said. "And see if we can gather any clues. It's our only move. Forensics said the girl's fingerprints are untraceable. And we have no information on her partner. Amity Lelaine has only existed for Five years, as far as Hiiro has traced back. And he is thorough. She has another name. We just need to find it."

"Let's get going then." Duo said. He ignored Quatre's look of disapproval when he grabbed the remainder of the bottle of bourbon. "What?" He said with a broad smile. "I paid for this."

...

"I must admit I'm impressed." Trowa said, his baritone ringing off the walls of the empty condo. "There's nothing here." He walked down the spiral stairs that led back to the main room. He and Wufei had searched the room of what seemed to be 'Amity's' partner. "There was little to speak of but well read books and a few random weapons. And her fingerprints haven't shown up anywhere else so far."

"They're like fucking ghosts." Duo said. "Nice liquor cabinet. Must have been hard to leave all this behind."

"It doesn't seem like it." Quatre said. "They didn't take much from what we can tell. Some clothes, as the drawers were ruffled through. We found a few empty gun cases. They had quite a collection. There are keys here for an SUV that the forensics team confirmed has not left it's space. They had to have taken some other form of transport. And this book." Quatre picked it up, opening it to a page that still held a plain black bookmark and showing it to his comrades. " One of them didn't even finish reading it. You were right with your first statement Duo. They are like ghosts. I think they had no problem leaving it all behind. they even left the door unlocked for us."

"I need my laptop." Hiiro said from the corner of the room. Quatre nodded his head.

"Our best bet is to head back to base and gather information. Something might pop up." He turned for the door, and giving one last longing look towards the liquor cabinet, Duo followed with the others. Part of him was still angry. The other part confused. But he pushed it down into the never-ending abyss in his chest, and tried to focus.

The encounter with the girl known as Amity Lelaine had served as motivation. He still didn't quite see the point of chasing after a hot broad that was doing their job for them, but it was personal now. Shinigami didn't enjoy being played. And, you never knew. This mission might have just become that much more enjoyable.

...

"It's a little dusty." Hotaru said, brushing a thick layer of the offending stuff from a shelf with two fingers. The trip hadn't taken long, and was made faster by the cycles they both owned. They were parked outside now, the shiny blacks steeds in place of the power they'd once shared to teleport.

"We haven't been here for quite awhile." Serenity said. Hotaru watched her pull the sheets from one of the twin beds in the small, abandoned apartment, reaching into the closet beside it to replace it with new, less dusty ones. When she was finished she pulled out a comforter, kicked off her shoes and peeled off her hoodie, and fell back into it. "I need sleep." She said simply.

Hotaru fought the urge to roll her eyes. What she really needed to be was sober. She was having a hard time pretending not to notice how torn up her comrade was. Physically and mentally. The girl had no problem hiding it from anyone else, but Hotaru could see her breaking. There was nothing they could hide from each-other. Only things omitted, for respect's sake. Serenity was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It gave Hotaru time to muse. To wonder at the relationship between her Hime and the Gundam pilot Duo Maxwell. She'd called him a memory. He was obviously a painful one, if the lost look in Serenity's eyes had anything to do with it. And Hotaru was sure it did. Barely, these days, did her emotion show.

She picked a chair in the corner and fell into it, ignoring the dust that flew up and into the air. Her orchid eyes focused on the sleeping form of Ren, her best friend. Her only love in the mad cycle they traveled together. Soon they'd go after Seth. And Hotaru feared that once that was over, it wouldn't be long before she'd lose her light again. It was something that burned like molten lava in her heart every-time. She knew, that the few times she'd expired first, Ren felt it too. Their connection was bored to the soul. They could feel each-others death as if it were their own. A few times... the pain had killed her. But once she'd gotten used to it, once it had become so repetitive it was numbing, she was most often left alone with the pain. These were days of seclusion. Of quiet thought and shadows. She'd always felt alive in the dark, but without Serenity it was pitch. Without any release but her eventual death. And now it was coming sooner than she liked. They'd been born so far apart this time.

The realization was a sudden jump to her heart. She slowed her breathing with a practiced, calming method, forcing it back to normal. She couldn't let it end this way. The idea wasn't fully formed yet, just a tiny voice in the back of her head that begged to be heard. "I won't let it end like all the times before Ren." She whispered to her sleeping friend. "Even if I have to stop the whole world."

...

His head hurt. The hangover that he had been waiting for had finally reared it's ugly head. He'd chased it away with bourbon all day, but when the bottle had run out so had his time. He pressed two fingers to each temple, and groaned. He supposed he deserved it. The hangover anyway.

The rest...? Well he could handle just leaving it at the fact that the fates were obviously cruel. A week. There was only a week left til the anniversary of the biggest regret he remembered. And after trying to drown himself in alcohol and a warm body, it had only been made worse. The guys were less pissed than he'd thought they would be. He chalked it up to the fact that without his mishap they wouldn't be as close to finding the girls as they were now. However the thought remained that he wasn't quite sure if he was happy about that or not. He'd not felt something that strong since her. The blonde angel he'd left behind.

"Ahhh." He hissed as his head pounded, and fell unceremoniously back onto the bed in his room. The guys were currently gathering what information they could on the mysterious female vigilantes. Quatre had taken pity on him and told him to go get some rest. Though it was also true that when it came to reconnaissance he had no patience.

He squinted his eyes at the light that suddenly flooded his room, trying to focus on the blurry countenance of the person who entered. "Hiiro." He said, not getting up or removing his fingers from his aching temple. "Have you come to shoot me? Because I'm starting to think that might be my best option to escape this pain right now." He'd said it jokingly, but the tone in Hiiro's voice took all humor out of the room.

"You're usually half-way around the world right now." He said, and Duo was shocked into complete stillness, staring up at the ceiling. "I didn't forget, you know."

Slowly, Duo pushed himself to a sitting position, opting to use one hand to hold himself up, and the other to stem the pounding in his head. He stared at his closest friend through one squinted eye. The light was making his head pound harder. He'd almost forgotten that time, so many years ago, when Hiiro had pinned him to a wall.

It had been a year after the Eve wars. And a week after he'd found out that the Angel he left behind would no longer be waiting for him. She was dead. And though the anniversary was close, it had not quite yet arrived. He'd been planning to go back to her. They had just finished a mission that had left him with three bullet holes, and though they had all noticed his carelessness, it was Hiiro, of all people, who had called him out on it.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face, even through the pain of being slammed against the concrete wall. He'd been drinking since noon, but it wasn't stemming as much of the pain as he hoped it would. It was however, making everything more amusing.

"Not sure what you're getting at buddy." Hiiro shoved him harder against the wall, and he groaned this time. "That hurt."

"Not nearly as bad as it's going to if you don't answer me." Hiiro threatened, Duo smiled again.

"Nice to know you care so much." His hands traveled to Hiiro's wrists, and he spoke evenly, though the smile still lingered on his lips. "I'd be better persuaded however, if you'd let me sit down." Hiiro let him go reluctantly, and he hobbled to a chair, falling into it with a huff.

"You almost got yourself killed." Hiiro said. his arms were crossed, and his icy blue eyes caught with Duo's, so stern that he had a hard time looking away.

"Jeez is this what having a Dad is like?" Duo asked. Hiiro did not look amused. He sighed heavily, looking down at the floor. "I lost her okay?"He said, looking back up, not bothering to hide the distress anymore. If he wanted it, he was going to get it all. "She's fucking dead."

"Who the hell are you talking about Duo?" Hiiro's voice was the same cold monotone, but Duo knew him well enough to hear the echoes of sympathy beneath.

"Serenity Maclaine." He let his head roll back, blinking, and staring at the ceiling. "The only thing I ever loved." For a moment there was silence, and Duo almost expected Hiiro to just walk away. He knew how stupid it was, to fawn after something lost. How stupid it was to jump in front of a bullet to mask the pain.

"How?" He was mildly surprised, and was sure it showed in his eyes when he turned them back to Hiiro. Hiiro's eyes were even, and he was waiting.

"A car crash." Duo said softly. he hung his head again. "I just keep thinking if I'd taken her with me, if i had been there to protect her..."

"You know as well as I do how stupid that is." Hiiro said, but there was no harshness to his tone. "If you had taken her with you, she'd probably be dead anyways. It's a miracle we aren't. And if you had stayed... All of us needed to be there to win those wars Duo. And getting yourself killed isn't going to bring her back."

"Have you ever lost anything Hiiro?" Duo asked, almost awed by the moment they were sharing.

Hiiro had a hint of cynicism in his eyes that Duo did not miss. He wondered if the other guys could read him like he could. "I've never had anything to lose." He said, and turned to stride out the door, leaving Duo to his own devices.

"You need to focus Duo." Hiiro said, almost softly. Almost. It was in that moment that Duo realized how much he had missed them all. Maybe Hiiro most of all. The guy was closest thing to a best friend he'd had in a long time.

He pressed his fingers hard to the spots on his head that ached. "Hey buddy, I say after this, we all take a vacation somewhere nice. The beaches in Cali, or The Bahamas."

"Yeah." Hiiro said, and Duo was amazed to see the small smirk that turned up his comrade's lip. "Maybe. Just make sure there is an after this."

"There will be Hiiro." Duo said, smiling. "Shinigami can't die." Hiiro nodded, and satisfied, took his leave. Duo sighed in the sweet darkness, and the pain in his head ebbed slowly. A vacation after all this would be nice.

...

"Ren." Hotaru's voice came out harsher than she meant it to, but her frustration had been building, and it was reaching it's peak. Serenity turned her eyes to her slowly, a sheepish smile spread across her lips. "Don't fucking patronize me." Hotaru said, and Serenity looked humbled, before turning back to cleaning her gun.

There was the soft clicks of metal against metal as she reassembled and loaded Rin, and only when she was done did she speak. "What do you want me to say Hota?" She asked, busying herself with polishing the dark grey metal.

"Anything." Hotaru said, and pushed the urgency of her pleading into her voice. "You're never yourself this time of year, and then he shows up and you fucking fall apart. And don't even try to deny it. You think I can't see how badly you're broken? And to top it all off you failed to mention he was a fucking Gundam Pilot! I mean, Goddess, how long have you known?"

"Five years." Serenity said softly. "I didn't even know he was alive until he showed up on the TV screen. Heroes of the war. I never wanted him to leave, but I always knew he'd make it through." She set Rin down and sighed, turning in the swiveling chair at the desk so she could face Hotaru. Her hands were wrought with gunpowder and grease. She wrung them together as she spoke. "My parents were never around. My father in this life was a tactician for the war. My mother would have rather been drunk and fucking some stranger than pay attention. We lived on the Colony L2. And I was lonely. Longing for you. Waiting for you. And then I met him." She looked like the memory she was reliving in her head right now was pleasant. A small smile graced her lips as she spoke. "There was a church orphanage down the street, and I had gotten lost in the dark, trying to get away from one of my mother's recent boyfriends. He had a taste for girls my age. I hid beneath a tree next to the church. He was hiding in the boughs. I wasn't crying. I think I was beyond it. But when he leapt down in front of me I flinched. I was sure my mother's lover had found me."

Hotaru wasn't fazed. Not really. Lifetime after lifetime had been harsh and cruel. She herself knew the horrors. Yes, they were born with memories intact. But the powers, the extra speed and strength, the ability to glamor, the accelerated healing. They didn't usually develop until they were around thirteen. It didn't matter how much experience you culminated when you were a little girl. The strongest fighter always won the fight.

"He picked me up, and brought me inside. The Sister who ran the orphanage cleaned me up, made sure I was comfortable, and then he sat with me all night. When I met him, he didn't have a name. But he proclaimed himself Duo not long after. I spent all my time with him at the orphanage. A year passed, and everyday I loved him more. But then, Oz came. And Rebels with them. The rebels took the church for cover. I remember the tanks, the guns. And Duo came and told me that they would leave, if he'd steal a mobile doll for them. I begged him not to. But he went anyway."

Serenity smiled through the tears that were forming in her eyes. And Hotaru stayed silent. It wasn't her turn to speak this time. It was her turn to listen.

"I was only eight at the time. My powers were far from developing. And I worried and wondered. While he was gone, they destroyed Maxwell church. I was standing by the heat of the flames when he returned. He'd brought the Leo. Too late. Always too late. My poor, darling Duo. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face. And then, he told me he was leaving again. That he was going to war, that he was going to fight for revenge." She sighed, and a lone tear trailed a path down her cheek. "Again I begged him not to go. And when that didn't work, I begged him to take me with him. But we were so young... He left." Another tear. She wiped it hastily, smearing gunpowder and grease across her cheek in the process. "My father died not long after in the war. And my mother drank herself to death. So I left, and started searching for you."

"But you found Seth instead." Hotaru said softly. Serenity nodded slowly. It was something they'd encountered a few times. Something they didn't completely understand, but had a mild theory on. Back perhaps a thousand years, the senshi had started being 'recycled'. They had come into contact with a few of them so far. But they did not retain any memories as she and Serenity had. They were merely carbon copies physically. Rei had been a famous Jazz singer named Lorainia Moore two lifetimes ago. Four lifetimes ago, they'd met the prize female box-fighter Hara Poland. The exact reincarnation of Makoto. And so long back it was hard to remember, the child prodigy of violin, Marice Tenor. A very young Michiru. This lifetime it had been Mamoru who'd shown up. It had become obvious that their past lives as Senshi had no impact on their new lives.

"I thought that fate had finally been kind." Serenity whispered. Hotaru felt her heart clench. She knew the feeling. "But what he was doing... that wasn't Mamoru."

"I know the rest." Hotaru said. "You don't have to repeat it again." Serenity had told her long ago what he had become. Serenity was twelve when she met him. He had been nineteen. And she'd been so enraptured with him she didn't care. For awhile, it was as if he was her little sister, but then the beatings started. The rape. And then he started selling her like he sold all the other young girls he found on the street. During the wars, there had been so many strays for him to manipulate. She'd waited until her power came back, broken her chains and ran. Two years later she'd shown up in the abandoned building Hotaru had been hiding in.

She remembered the long nights where she and Serenity trained, calling back the motions their limbs knew all too well. And what Serenity did to get them money. Hotaru knew even then how broken she was. Setsuna had shown up a year or two later, with sad eyes and soft words. But she could not be there to care for them. Could not interfere or twist the timeline. So Serenity did what she had to, and kept them both afloat. Hotaru would follow her to the end for it. To the bitter, horrible end. She'd done it thousands of times before.

"There isn't much time." Serenity said, breaking Hotaru from her sorrowful reverie. There was the shuffle of her feet across the floor as she refilled her duffel bag with the weapons she had cleaned. "I won't miss."

Hotaru stood, pulling her own two bags to her shoulder with ease, and nodding. "You know I'll follow you to the bitter end Ren." She said softly, picking up the keys to her cycle and cutting off the jingle in her palm.

"I hope not Hota." Serenity said back, with a smile. Her tears were gone, but Hotaru could see the pain in her eyes. "It won't be pretty this time."

Hotaru had enough in her to muster a smile and a chuckle. "Oh Ren, is it ever?"

...

"What did you find?" He was leaning over Hiiro's shoulder and staring at the screen as it shifted from window to window and his fingers flew across the keys.

"I checked the bank account under Amity Leleaine. She drained it hours ago. But I'm honestly not sure what to make of this." Hiiro said, and then turned slightly to glare at his comrade. Duo got the point, raised his hands in apology and took a step back. Hiiro clicked a few keys and a picture showed up on screen. It was of a small girl, with short black hair and violet eyes. "This is the person the second set of fingerprints in the condo was matched to."

"Smart girl. Took it all in cash eh? What's the problem?" Duo asked. "We got one of em. What's our mystery girl's name?"

" Rukia Thine. The obit said she was fondly referred to as Firefly. The problem is, that this girl died B.C. Year 22."3 Duo sat down hard on the kitchen chair behind him.

"You're sure?" Hiiro turned the glare full on this time, and Duo raised his hands again reflexively. "Alright, you're sure. But how is that even possible?"

"That, I can't answer." Hiiro said. Duo ran his hand through his hair and breathed out slowly. This was just insane. If the girl had faked her death, she'd be over a hundred and fifty years old. Were they just that crafty? But how, in all hell, did they procure the fingerprints of a girl who had died over a hundred years ago? Was it possible to be reborn with someone else's fingerprints?

"So what do we do now?" He asked. Hiiro clicked two buttons on the laptop and stood, heading to the printer that was sitting on a table in the corner of the room. He grabbed the paper that erupted from it.

"We go to the club and ask questions." Duo couldn't help smiling.

"You and me, at a strip-club? Never thought I'd see the day." Hiiro glared at him before heading to his room to get ready, and Duo laughed after he called over his shoulder.

"You won't live to see tomorrow if you don't shut the fuck up." Now that, was his best friend. No question.

...

Hotaru and Serenity delve deeper in the darkness that is their everlasting their souls be saved? Forced to dispatch of a man they used to hold dear to their hearts, and running from the outstretching hands of the law, how long will it be before they have nowhere to hide? Don't forget to review!

:

For those who didn't know...

1 : Aishiteru Firefly : I love you Firefly

2 : This my most favorite bourbon... If, and only if you are old enough to drink.. Try it. It's smooth and perfectly aged. Yum.

3 : This will be explained in later chapters. You can't go through eons and not leave some sort of paper trail...

To my Reviewers:

MegaKat : I 3 you... and will update as soon as I can!

JPandS: Thank you! You made me blush.. lol. All my stories that are currently posted need to get to a certain point first... but there will be much more from me! :)