Hey! Here I am with another chapter!

It only took me a week and a half this time! Aren't you proud?

Anyways... I don't own GW or SM.

"OUCH! MAXWELL! BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!!!" Wufei screamed as Duo managed to 'accidentally' thwap him on the head with the wooden spatula ha was waving around, making breakfast.

"Well stay out of my kitchen then! You know that it's practically a war zone in here!" Duo yelled back, trying to extinguish the eggs that had somehow caught on fire. Again.

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't be cooking in the first place, Maxwell! Leave it to someone that won't give us all food poisoning!" Wufei spat back, already in a bad mood from having to put on his uniform in the morning. His very, very feminine uniform.

"Well FINE! DO IT YOURSELF THEN!" Duo said, throwing up his hands and running out of the kitchen, away from the flaming eggs.

Sighing, Wufei went into the pantry and threw a handful of baking soda onto the burning oil/egg mixture, extinguishing it immediately. He then started working on something that would be moderately edible for the five boys, hoping against hope that school wouldn't be as bad as he feared.

Today was day one. The first day of his slavery, and his endless torture.

He was done with the cooking in less than ten minutes, and heaped plates with the food. Doing a jugging act that would have made Trowa proud, he walked into the adjoining room to see the other pilots already up.

Setting the plates down, he looked on as Quatre pulled on his equally girly uniform, and Trowa as he brushed his hair into the gravity defying style. "Breakfast." Wufei said, shooting a glare at Maxwell. "And it's edible today."

"What can I say?" Duo asked, a smirk on his face. "Well I always thought that cooking was a more..." here he eyed Wufei's uniform, "... feminine job."

Before the American could blink, he was tackled by the Shenlong pilot. For the second time within 24 hours, he felt his face pressed into the rough carpeting. Lashing out blindly in hopes to throw off the angry pilot, Duo found himself quickly and securely pinned to the ground.

"Take it back, Maxwell, or you'll find yourself unable to go to school today after all."

"Ooooo. Biiiiiiiig loss for me, Wuffles." Duo replied, tone cocky as ever, albeit a little muffled by the carpet.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Wufei hissed, while contemplating ways to kill the braided menace. Before he could carry out any of his previous threats however, Heero literally picked up from Duo.

"We need to get back to the mission. We all have subjects now."

Wufei's anger was replaced with confusion as he looked at the Wing pilot. "Subjects? But we haven't found any suspects yet."

"Yes we have." Heero knelt down to the still sprawled Duo and snagged the picture out of his pocket, despite Duo's protests. "You will be following her." Heero said, pointing at a very familiar person, to Wufei, at least.

"Her? Rei? You have got to be joking." Wufei deadpanned.

"You know her?" Duo asked, now sitting up and staring at the picture as well.

"She goes to our school. She's the stupid onna I kept complaining about. She has serious problems." Wufei said, still unable to believe his luck. Bad luck, that is.

"And you don't, 'Fei?" Duo asked rhetorically, rubbing his sore cheek.

"At least I know how to deal with mine." Wufei answered.

"Yeah... by tackling people, cursing at them, and inevitably threatening their lives." Duo muttered.

Wufei blinked. "Since when did you know a big word like 'inevitable'?"

Duo glared, as was to be expected, still rubbing his cheek.

Straightening up, Heero then walked over to Trowa and Quatre. "Trowa, you will follow Makoto. And Quatre, you will investigate this girl. I want full analysis reports by the end of today." Heero said, voice standing for no argument.

They all nodded, and sat for what was so far a relatively calm breakfast. Then, Duo realized something.

"Heero?"

"Hn?"

"I want my picture back."

"Hn."

There was a slight pause as Duo considered this option. Then...

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Rei! Wait for me!" Minako cried, pulling on her shoes. They had earlier in the morning decided that she should at least put on the appearance of going to school, so to escape the suspicion of Relena and Dorothy. Swinging a school-briefcase over her shoulder, Rei stood in the door, yawning. "I'll walk with you," Minako then said, giving her a serious look.

Rei stopped mid-yawn to meet Minako's suddenly strict gaze, and she knew that their conversation would be business, and not something that was pleasant. Nodding, she went outside, followed closely by Minako.

"What is it?" She immediately asked, thinking the worst. A dozen scenarios flashed to her head... Mamoru finding out... the outers on the hunt... them being tracked down by the preventers... Usagi getting worse...

"I have been targeted." Minako said, barely above a whisper, "I really shouldn't even be seen with you, since you're the safest of us all right now. I should really keep out of view for a while... Makoto talked to me last night."

"Makoto? How did she find out?"

"The temple was bugged." Minako said calmly, seeing Rei's horrified look. "In some roses... that were sent to me. By Heero Yuy, the new guy at our school. Ami's going to research on him, and the other newbies too."

Concern flashed in the fire senshi's eyes. "Is that safe? For Ami?"

"Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer." Minako quoted. "None of us are safe if we don't have any information. If they are the ones that we are looking for, then it's best that we prepare some sort of defense."

Minako seemed to consider her words before speaking again, and still it was with great hesitation. "Rei... look out for yourself. There are at least two others that aren't accounted for at our school. For all we know... they might have targeted you already."

Considering this information, Rei replied slowly, "Life really isn't working out for us, is it? I mean with the outers and these guys after us... what are we supposed to do anyways? This must be some kind of cosmic punishment," Rei half-jested.

Minako's tone was flippant and bitter. "What do you really expect? We're lost without a queen."

Shaking her head sadly, Rei disagreed. "No. I don't think it's just for Usagi. Had someone else been in an accident and in her state, we would have done the same. You know that... there was no way to prevent this in the end. It was just one big disaster waiting to happen, and not even you with all of your determination and stubbornness can prevent it. After all... we are just human when it comes down to it."

"We're more, Rei." Minako responded with a quite ferocity. "We're senshi. And we're doing our job. Never forget that, or you'll spiral down into the darkness. Never forget your goal... what is important. Never forget Usagi."

There was a moment of silent submission. "I'm falling already, Minako. We all are. Not even our goal can save us from drowning in the darkness... you know that."

"But we can hold it off... for a little longer at least."

A silent tear rolled down Rei's face, hidden by her bangs. "It's killing my soul, Mina."

"You'll live, Rei," Minako responded almost cruelly. "You have to. We all have to. We had this responsibility pushed on us, and now we must carry it."

No more tears fell... it was the truth. "You're right. But Minako..." Rei met her eyes, "I've not fallen into the darkness yet. Can you honestly say the same?"

At this, Minako wavered. Her world had become black and white recently, and easy to deal with. Now Rei was making a shadow, making a patch of grey. "I don't know Rei."

Rei sighed, and patted Minako on the arm. "Don't let it get you too. I don't want to loose you like Usagi."

Minako remained silent.

"I'll see you later, Minako." Rei said, almost wistfully, the remark bringing memories of the past. A happy past, the direct opposite of the living nightmare they were in now. Back in the past... but no. It wasn't possible.

Minako stood there, not moving as Rei turned the corner, walking to school. A few minutes later, she finally responded, her words ringing with her anguished soul. "I'm sorry Rei. God... I'm so sorry."

High above it all, there was a silver pool, in which only truth was reflected. A ruby-red gaze was fixed on it, as the Mistress of Time watched on. There was no hint of sadness in her visage, no shadow of pity that threatened to weaken her resolve. She saw everything and accepted it as it was, for she knew her duties.

The blood-red eyes flicked upwards, and Pluto found her staff in her hand in a second as she felt another presence in the misty realm she dwelled in. Her hand wrapping tightly around the staff, she brought it up in an attacking position.

"Who dares trespass on the Gates of Time?" She asked, her calm and logical voice sharp, as if words could cut.

A twinkle of amethyst answered. "It's me, Pluto." An equally calm voice replied, its softness belying the anger beneath it.

The staff was dropped, and Pluto felt her resolve crumble. "Why are you here, Saturn? You know my answer... it has not changed."

"Will it?"

"I cannot say."

There was a silence, in which sadness dissolved the anger that had driven Saturn to arrive. "Why...?" The young girl bit back a sob, "Why must you do this? I know that you can see them... just as I can sense them. You know they're suffering... so why won't you help?"

"It's not worth it."

"You call saving your friends... the future... 'not worth it'?" Hotaru's voice was still quiet, but emotion leaked heavily from it.

"They are but five people. I could harm five billion by changing the past." Pluto said, voice leaving no room for argument. "Do you think that if I could just change it all, I would sit here? There is nothing to do but wait. If I could change time... do you honestly think I would stop to right before Usagi's accident? No... I would change everything. I would have saved the Silver Millennium... I would have destroyed Beryl's troops. But the truth is, I can't. And do you think that the scouts would appreciate it if I did? I would be erasing their very lives from that point... all of their experiences and memories. I know that there are some memories that they hold for which they would not exchange their lives for."

"It's not fair." Saturn said, suddenly sounding very much like the child she was. "They don't deserve it. No one does... this world is just unfair." Hotaru felt hot tears slide down her face, and her attempts to wipe them away were futile.

Pluto looked ponderous for a minute, and finally swept up to the young girl. Instead of rebuking her, the Guardian wrapped her arms around the sobbing figure. At first Hotaru made half-hearted attempts to break free, but finally seemed to accept it, sobbing into Setsuna's arm.

Setsuna, for her part, patted the girl on her head and made calming sounds. "Hush, child. It will all work out in the end. Fate can only be so cruel."

And Hotaru, sobbing with all her heart, wished that it might be true.

Aw... poor Hotaru.

She's only hoping for the best.

Please review... and I'll try to get out the next chapter soon. My fav. scene was the one with the spatula.

Love,

Inverse-chan