And here it is! The much awaited chapter 15! I'm sorry that I took a little longer on this one... but I had finals. Now school's finally out, and I will most likely have more time to work on the fics! Until I leave the country that is... but I hope to be finished with this story by then.

And now to reviews! To Kaiya... I'm sorry that I didn't answer your question, I guess I missed it. Anyways... the outers know about Usagi, but they didn't know how the inners were struggling with the bill. And thanks to all of the other reviewer.

I don't own GW or SM.

Poem and Authoress' comments

Perhaps Virginia- Patrice Cathey

I cannot hold tightly to an iceberg

My hands will grow cold, my heart will freeze

Making it impossible to love

My lips will grow numb and I will not be able

To feel the tenderness of your kiss

Instead I need a warm man with a warm heart

Who is able to fill me with the glow

Of the noontime sun

And ignite my blood with the richness of

Red wine and sparkling brandy

And I will not waste another lifetime

Attempting to warm a loveless iceberg

For he would them melt away

And become less of what he aspires to be

I will instead walk away from the arctic

Moving in a southerly direction

With my heart facing the sun

In search of a glimmer of the warmth awaiting me

Perhaps... Virginia

Me: I thought that this was so sad... and I think that the author is a very talented writer. I was disappointed because I couldn't find any more poems from the author, and I'd appreciate it if you could give me any of their works, if you have them.

The four girls sat around the table, each sipping a cup of tea. Minako's hair hung lower than usual, a few strands occasionally obscuring her face without a ribbon to hold it all up. Minako set down her cup.

"They know what school we go to now." She said, shattering the silence. "And we know that there's more than just a couple of people."

"Should we stop going to school?" Makoto asked.

Ami thought for a moment, and then replied, "No. It'll only draw suspicion."

"Minako, you should stay here for a couple more days. That wound on your head is hard to mistake, and whomever the pursuers are, they might recognize you. You can't hide it like Makoto." Rei put in, setting down her cup of tea.

There was another bought of silence until Ami raised the question that weighted heavily on everyone's minds. "Minako... are you sure you didn't see the shooter?"

The blonde sighed as she lowered her head, causing more golden locks to hide her face. "It was really dark, and I had no idea I was being shot at until after the bullet grazed my head. Whoever he was, he was concealed carefully in the shadows. All I got a glimpse at was a flash of dark, angry eyes before I went into shock." The Venusian explained, obviously angry with herself. Her voice shook slowly with disappointment, and she found herself yet again fighting tears.

"It's alright, Minako," Ami reassured as Makoto fondly patter the shaking blonde on the back, "I'll try to track them with the laptop. We'll find them soon."

Minako nodded, and Rei cleared off the half empty cups of tea. Taking the cups to the kitchen, she scrubbed them lightly until they were clean. Drying them with a flowery dishrag, she set them lightly in the cabinet. Sighting, she wiped her hands dry and looked up at the clock. It was already two in the morning, and she didn't feel like she would be able to sleep any time soon. Well... at least it was a holiday tomorrow.

Making her way back to the living room, she saw Ami working on the laptop, face illuminated in the ghostly light, making her seem pale and frail. Minako had gone back to rubbing the previously white ribbon that she had worn earlier that night. Makoto was still watching the news, looking for any more broadcasts. Rei sat down and pulled out a stack of bills, checking them again.

It was going to be a long night.
Morning came to find Ami still typing at the laptop, dark rings under her eyes. She looked and felt like she was going to collapse, her eyes wanted to blink and stay shut.

Minako and Makoto were both dozing on the couch, both tired out as well. The faint hum of the T.V. could still be heard in the background. Rei hadn't even made it to the couch; she had just bent over onto the table, sleeping uncomfortably on the stack of bills that had somehow become her pillow. Ami stifled a small yawn as she gave up in trying to concentrate. She was totally spent, and she slowly closed the laptop, resting her head on it.

She had searched for the whole night, and had gotten almost nowhere with the laptop. She had set out to find something, anything that would help them. But the main problem was that there was nothing to find. About all that the computer had left on it was an annoying clock system, and a hacking device.

So naturally, she had delved deeper into the hacking device, and found herself submerged neck-deep in firewalls and security systems. It had taken seven cups of tea and over four hours to go around all of the security, and the passwords. And once in the hacking device, all she found out was that there was someone looking into student files.

Minako's files, in particular. Who ever it was, they seemed fixated on Minako's file, spending hours on it, and returning to her personal data many times.

One thing was for sure. While the others seemed safe for the moment, the blonde was facing great danger, and there was a big chance that she had been discovered already. And there was nothing that Ami could think of to solve this problem. Unless...

Unless Minako 'disappeared' for a while.

But that was impossible... where would they be without the blonde's guidance? She had been their pillar of support since Usagi had fallen into her coma. It was ironic that that strong pillar might just be the unsteady foundation that would send them all crashing down.

But there was really no choice... it had to be done.

Suddenly, the ringing of the doorbell (1) jarred Ami from her thoughts, and pulled her out of the half-sleep mode that she had felt herself pulled into. Wearily getting up, she moved to the door, taking a glance behind her and seeing the others still all asleep.

Sliding the door open, she rubbed her eyes at the shock. It couldn't be... they couldn't have found out already...

Hakura stood in front of the door, Michiru leaning on the wall behind her. Behind the duo, Ami could see Hotaru sitting in the yellow convertible, peacefully reading a book. Lifting her eyes to Hakura's rough gaze, she gulped.

"Ami... it's time we had a talk with you." Michiru said, voice void of the usual kindness.
Heero looked up at the clock and read eight o'clock. He mechanically pushed himself up, and headed for the bathroom, cleaning up. Finishing in less that a minute, he went back into the room to find Wufei still asleep.

Going into the living room, he cast his gaze over Duo, who was sprawled over the couch, drool hanging out of his mouth as he slept. Not so much as quirking an eyebrow, Heero made his way to the kitchen and ate (of course) a perfectly balanced breakfast.

Today was going to be a busy day.

He had to get Minako's address, and then find some way to keep an eye on her. There was a chance that she would have to be watched at all times of day, even to a point of intruding on her privacy.

In other words, Heero was going to going to stalk her.

In a very thorough way, at least. He needed to get the name of her friends, to find out where she lived and with whom.

Everything counted. She might lead him to the other scouts, and that was a chance that he wouldn't miss. Not even if he didn't think he could hurt her.

And he would do this alone. For the time being, anyways. He would eventually have to let the others in on his information, but the longer he could hide it the better. Heero had a feeling that the others wouldn't have the same reservations when dealing with the blonde.

And she couldn't be killed yet. Not until he got some answers.
Under a darkening sky, Usagi sat underneath a tree, face streaked with dry tears. Rain still fell steadily, but not in the threatening way it had before. The storm had, in fact, seemed to calm for a while.

This did not quell any of Usagi's fears, however. There was still something wrong, something invisible. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it just felt... cold and clammy. Like a chill, without a breeze. Something that not only swept over her body, but over her soul as well.

And it was awful, whatever it was. A shadow of some sort... and it was keeping her here. Trapping her in her own dream.

All she wanted was to go back. She had tried to get back into her body countless times, but had been denied every time. There was nothing she could do as she was flung back into the dream field over and over again. And now, exhausted, she had stopped. Sitting under a tree, crystal tears fell again.

She wanted to go back. She wanted to see Mamoru, her friends, her family. She just wanted to be free.

A cold wind swept into her dream, causing her to shiver. Dark clouds swirled.

And one by one, the daisies started to die.
Ami looked back and forth between the two senshi that stood before her, gaze shooting to the car. As if reading her mind, Michiru spoke up.

"Hotaru is going to stay in the car. We have something serious to discuss, and her audience may not be beneficial."

Hakura lifted her hand, and Ami saw a tape in it. "This is what we have to show you, Mercury." The gaze that Hakura gave her was chilling, relentless.

Calculating in her head, Ami frowned. There was going to be trouble, and Ami wasn't that sure of the outcome. There were four of them, and only two of the outers. With the statistics, they had a good chance of winning should a fight erupt.

But none of the inners were in the best of conditions, seeing as how they were already worn out from the previous night's adventures. She was the only one that was conscious at the moment, and to tell the truth, she really wasn't in the mood to be fighting.

Not to mention that Michiru and Hakura had always made a good team, one of the best. They seemed to be able to even read each other's thoughts when in a fight. They were strong, and their powers were not to be underestimated. And if Hotaru were to join in... Ami didn't even want to think about it. The Firefly had powers to rival even Usagi's, and any fight with her in it would end in disaster.

Going over this in her head, Ami frowned. They didn't stand a chance.

Seeing Ami's expression, Hakura quickly put in, "Don't worry. We're not here to fight. Not for the time being, anyways. We just need to talk."

As Ami gazed into Hakura's eyes, she saw no deception. Slowly, she nodded and stepped back.

"Please make yourself comfortable."
ANs

(1) They have a doorbell, right?

Ok... I know that was short! But I'll try harder next time, and this seemed like a nice place to end it.

It seems that Heero's fast on Minako's track now... she's going to have to work hard to keep hidden. Poor girl... oh well. Can't be helped. Usagi's still in the same position, trapped in a field of dying daisies.

And the confrontation of the inners and outers is finally coming! Relena might not show until a few chapters later... I have to fit her in.

Please review...

Love,

Inverse-chan.