Yes. I am indeed evil, thank you. I hope you like this chapter. Sorry for the last cliffy, but at least I don't write one every chapter.

Yay! I have over 170 reviews! I'm so happy!

Disclaimer: I wish....

Quote and author's commentary (aka. ramble)

Courage is fear that has said its prayers —Karl Barth

Personally, I don't think this is right. In my opinion, courage is being able to stare death in the eye and laugh. And if not laugh, then at least stay alive. Did I mention how much of a coward I am? Oh well...
In a flash Minako looked up as she felt something perilously close brush by her head at an alarming speed. There was a sharp sting and warmth flowing down her face... she was bleeding. Quickly, she ducked down in reflex, but she hadn't seen her attacker in the shadows.

"Venus!" She heard Mercury cry out as the blue haired girl quickly put up her own computer. Minako found Jupiter at her side in a moment, electricity crackling around the latter. The brunette looked livid, the static energy in the air was enough to cause her clothes and the bandage on her arm to stand out stiffly.

Mars was also there is a second, waves of heat rolling from her as she brought her arms up in an attack stance, fire swirling around her in a chaotic vortex. She looked towards the door, and saw a shadow quickly dash past her.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" The Thunder Goddess let forth a disk of pure electricity as she hurled it at the door, where the shadow was fleeing. She growled as she missed, and Mercury also rose to attack.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" She cried, but her attacks missed as well... by that time the shadow was well outside of the door. There was the loud retort of a gun, and Rei heard something behind her break as the bullet impacted. Dropping to the ground, she also called upon her senshi powers.

"Mars Fire Soul Bird!" A fiery phoenix was unleashed at the door as more shots rang out. Above the sound of gunfire, she could hear one of them telling the others to retreat. The phoenix flared for a moment as it continued to press on their mysterious attackers, and then died out. There was the sound of light footsteps, and soon even that was gone.

They were alone.

Minako hadn't moved from the spot where she had collapsed on the ground. She was standing there in shock, breathing heavily as her eyes were wide. Her face was much paler than usual, and she seemed to be having a hard time breathing. The left side of her face had blood cascading down it, some of the sticky red liquid getting into her hair and onto the white ribbon, making it red like the last.

She just sat there, staring at the floor, trying to catch her breath. The usual lively eyes were full of fear and shock, and she kept looking up at her worried friends. Finally, she seemed to calm down a bit as she grabbed onto the nearest senshi, Jupiter. The brunette quickly helped her friend to her feet, and there was another second in which Minako regained her breath.

"We need to get out of here before they come back." She said, her voice low and dull. There was nothing in her voice unless you dug deep, but the rest of the senshi knew what the Love Goddess really felt: fear.

And if she wanted to hide it, then by all means there was no one stopping her. They all nodded as they slipped out of the broken window through which they had come, Ami with a closed laptop underneath her arm.
The five Gundam Pilots sat in the living room, Wufei glaring at Heero, as the Wing Zero pilot glared back with equal intensity. A deep growl was heard from the Chinese man's voice as he finally snapped.

"Why did you call us off, Yuy?"

"There was no purpose in remaining. All of out attacks were useless." Heero answered in his monotone, only faint lines of anger in it.

"We could have stayed and discovered their identities."

"I already know one of theirs." Heero replied, glaring back.

"And the other three? Damn it, Yuy, we could have wrapped up this whole mission tonight!" Wufei almost shrieked. His face was flushed in anger, and his eyes were shining bright with malice.

"I needed more information on the subject. And it is also none of your business, Chang."

"Of course it's my business! It's all of our businesses! We're in this mission as well, Yuy, if you hadn't noticed. Goddamn, Yuy! I can't believe you're endangering the mission!" Wufei raged at the stoic boy in front of him.

There was a dead calm in Heero's voice as he levelly relied, "I am not endangering the mission in any way. Another moment and they would have recognized us, giving us the disadvantage." Heero's cobalt eyes flashed a warning, which Wufei deftly ignored.

"I don't give a damn if they see us, Yuy! As long as they're behind bars!"

The other three watched for a moment more, and then rose to leave. The three quietly slipped into the kitchen, sliding the door shut quietly on the argument. Quatre sighed as he busied himself with making tea. After a moment, Trowa spoke:

"Heero shot at the girl, Venus. He aimed for her head." The tall pilot said smoothly as he waited for a response.

Quatre looked up from the teapot. "He jerked his arm up in the last second, involuntarily. He had a shocked look on his face as the bullet only grazed the blonde's head." The Arabian replied in an equally quiet voice.

"He almost killed her never the less."

There was more silence in the kitchen, and Duo could still hear Wufei and Heero arguing in the adjacent room. Thinking back on the past days, Duo sounded perplexed. "Heero's been acting weird lately. I've never seen a mission get to him before... he's been real stressed."

"He said that he knows who one of them is already. Why would he hide something from us?" The Arabian sounded a little hurt.

"Heero must have his reasons." Duo said, confident in Heero's ability to pull through. After all, when had the perfect soldier ever let them down before?

The other two nodded, also thoughtful. The kettle on the stove began to whistle loudly, and Quatre quickly moved it off the stove. Watching as Quatre began to pour himself a cup of tea, Duo heard silence from the living room, which meant Wufei had finally run out of steam, or Heero had finally had enough and shop the Shenlong pilot.

As Quatre began to placidly sip his tea, Duo resolved himself to do something. Wufei was right... this mission was taking too long for his liking. After all, they were only a group of bank robbers.

He knew exactly what to do.

Discussing his idea to the rest of the pilots, including the still agitated Heero and Wufei, the braided boy picked up the phone and dialed the closest news station.

Hopefully this would all be resolved before much longer.
Somehow, Minako found herself back in the temple, her friends surrounding her with worried expressions. 'It's just like when Makoto got shot,' she mused.

Part of her brain was empty of everything but shock and disbelief. The other part was immensely grateful for the fact that she was still alive, and that everyone had gotten away safely. She felt Rei dab at her wound with a warm, wet cloth, and felt the sting as the blood was wiped away. She forced herself not to cry... no. She hadn't cried since she had found out about Usagi's accident, and she would be damned if she started now.

Soon, a bandage was put on it, and Mako had pulled down her hair, freeing the now red-specked ribbon. There was a little blood staining her golden hair, but Rei had managed to smooth most of it out. She was dimly aware of Ami examining the laptop she must have gotten from the library.

The sound of the keys clicking was oddly comforting... the only thing that seemed normal in her mixed up thoughts.

Ami glared at the laptop in the meantime, trying desperately to find something that would give them a clue to whom the owner was. It was ridiculous that the hard drive seemed to be completely blank except for an almost absurd looking clock in the lover right hand corner. She had a sinking feeling as she realized that it had probably been her virus that had inflicted such damage, and for a second felt a stab of pity on the person who owned the laptop.

Served them right though, trying to track them down.

Pushing the laptop away after a few minutes, she was annoyed to find nothing of use. Finally, she sat down on the couch in the living room, and turned on the T.V. Something to calm the nerves... it had been a long day. She felt Minako slip softly besides her, and turn the channel to a news station.

Ami closed her eyes for a moment, trying to erase her mind of stress. She wasn't even aware of what the news broadcaster was saying until she felt Minako shake her harshly. Giving a questioning glance to the blonde, she saw the Goddess of Love completely submerged in what the lady was saying. Turning her eyes to the T.V., she was faintly aware of calling out to Makoto and Rei.

They were there. On the T.V.

They were on the news. Pictures of them in the past, and real footage from surveillance cameras were shown on the report... pictures of them stealing.

Pictures... hard evidence.

They had been discovered. And now, everyone would know.

They were doomed.
Three pairs of eyes were focused on a television screen, all of them cold and calculating. There were three people sitting on a couch, two of them were sipping drinks. The third was slightly further down the couch, her garnet eyes flashing with an inexpressible emotion.

It was Setsuna, and she was the one that had seen the broadcast first. She had been the one who told Hakura and Michiru, abandoning her place at the Gates of Time. It was only in the most critical moments in which she left her post, and this definitely qualified.

There was a light creak, and the keeper of time lifted her eyes slowly. Glowing orbs of violet met her blood red eyes. Hotaru was standing by the door; face pale in the soft light. She was supposed to have been asleep hours ago.

Well, Setsuna didn't blame her for feeling curious, but she didn't think it would be a good thing to tell the child. Hotaru didn't need to know about the other scouts... it would just make her depressed.

"Little Firefly, what are you doing?" Setsuna asked quietly. Hakura and Michiru looked up at Hotaru at Setsuna's question, and they put down their drinks on the coffee table.

"I couldn't sleep. Setsu... what's happening? I feel weird." Hotaru asked, voice sounding small and scared.

"It's alright Hotaru. I promise everything will be all right. Try and go back to sleep." Setsuna found herself saying, although she knew that it was far from the truth. "Just go back to sleep. You might be going on a little trip with Hakura and Michiru soon... I'm not sure yet."

"Setsuna-chan... I'm afraid." Hotaru said in an even smaller voice. "I think something bad is about to happen... I have a fluttery feeling n my stomach."

"I hope not, little one." Setsuna didn't know what else to say.

"Goodnight, Setsuna-chan."

"Goodnight, Firefly."

As Hotaru closed the door. Hakura looked back at the television. Her eyes were full of apathy, and a cruel determination. "It's not alright, Setsuna. You know what we have to do now."

Shaking her head, Setsuna replied. "No. It is what you two have to do. I came here to tell you that the future is changing beyond my control, and nothing else. I can only give a warning, not take action in itself."

Michiru nodded, agreeing with Setsuna. "I know that it is beyond your power. We thank you for telling us... I promise that it will be resolved. One way or another." The usually melodious voice now held no emotion, as the aqua haired woman also turned back to the television.

"I must be going." Setsuna said after a few moments. "I have taken too much time away from the Gates as it is. I trust in your abilities to deal with the other scouts."

"Yes," Hakura muttered dully, "yes, we will."
And that's it for chapter 13! Well... I know that you're all glad to see Minako unharmed, and some new characters put in. And I might add someone in from GW in the next chapter... you'll just have to wait to see who it is. Although it shouldn't be that hard to guess.

And I really don't think this is much of a cliffhanger (definitely not like the last ch.) so I don't think there'll be any complaints there.

Anyways... review. I hope you like it, and I'll try to update as fast as I can.

Love,

Inverse-chan.