Darien's possessions had finally arrived from America.

His packed boxes had come at once, since he only had three. But a small box the size of a loaf of bread also came with his things.

He knew instantly what would be inside. Serena's letters, she told him that he kept writing to him out of habit.

Darien didn't know what to expect when he finally got his letters back from America.

He knew that those months he had been dead must have been beyond hell for her, but those letters contained the absolute truth.

Darien and Serena shared everything, and he knew the letters she had sent him were of no exception.

"Thanks" he signed for the package. It was a bright sunny morning, and was expected to get warmer, Serena was to come over after her last day of

school and they were going to celebrate by going to the pier.

Turning to the front room, he saw the time was almost nine.

Serena wasn't due for another five hours. He would read them now.

He opened the package to find her numbered letters, the most recent was labelled 'letter 71' at the bottom left corner.

He knew there wouldn't be many one-page letters in the envelopes – good thing he was a fast reader.

Darien emptied the contents onto the coffee table. As he reached for his letter opener, his mobile buzzed and her face popped up on the screen.

My last class has been cancelled for today, I can come round an hour earlier

If that's alright? see you later xx

Looked like he had four hours, he replied to her immediately and then sat down to read.

He ripped open the first letter she had wrote him, it was dated the day of his flight to America.

Dear Darien,

I have no idea how I'm going to manage this next year without you, I'm writing this letter in the airport, I just watched you fly off not ten minutes ago and I already miss you more than anything, but I won't dwell on the bad because I know your coming back.

And when you do, were going to get married like we were supposed to in the past.

I expect a letter back from you soon enough, tell me everything and I promise to fill you in on every boring event that goes on here,

All my love,

Serena.

Only another ten minutes after she had wrote this letter he had been attacked, Galaxia had taken over his plane, she killed him before he could register what had happened.

The last thought in his mind was her face.

He took the next one, it told him of her school year starting back up, with three new additions to the class.

They were three new transfer boys who had recently made it in the music industry, their names were Seyia, Taiki and Yaten. The lead singer seemed to be favouring her, though she had no idea who he was and mentioned five times that she had a boyfriend.

He gave a slight chuckle at the response she had given him 'look I have a boyfriend alright! You shouldn't let a bit of fame go to your head' .

He also felt a pang of guilt and shame. Seyia was there with her through it all, he would be forever in debt to him, for saving her.

As Darien made his way through Serena's letters he felt more and more guilty for leaving.

By the time he got to her thirtieth letter, tears began to flow.

It was like she has sent him a journal of the entire ordeal. She left nothing out.

Not even how much she regretted not saying no to him going to America.

Her next few letters told him about the new enemy that had popped up, including three new Sailor soldiers called the Sailor Starlights.

She said how much she wanted them to join her and the others.

It reminded him of the time Amara and Michelle had first come to town, she wanted nothing more than for them to be not just allies but friends too.

Those were a few hard months on them all.

But Serena's letters only showed that things can get worse.

Darien,

This is the thirtieth letter I've sent and I haven't had a reply, I know something is wrong.

There's no way your work would keep you so busy that you can't even write a letter every few days.

I miss you so much it hurts just to think about you. But I'll keep writing to you, because to be truthful, I don't know who else to talk to. I can't tell the others that something is wrong, they have enough to deal with at the moment.

This new enemy is getting serious, I hoped it was going to be one of those stupid passing through kind of enemies that we can usually stop in a week. But they're getting stronger, we still have no idea who these Starlights are, they claim to be Sailor Soldiers, but they refuse to be apart of any team which isn't themselves. I'm going to try and talk to them next time they show up.

Amara, Michelle, Trista and Hotaru are back in town too, that's another sign that things are getting bad, they seem to be keeping an extra close watch on me too.

Everything is so hyped up right now, were patrolling every day now.

I just wish you were here to tell me what to do.

Love, Serena x

His heart was breaking at her written words.

She didn't tell anyone that he was missing, he kept reading to find out just how long she carried this burden for, along with everything else.

All the next seven letters were pretty similar, all three pages long, containing her day's events.

Phages that she had put back to normal, going out with friends, telling him about her friendship with Seyia, and how she thought that his brothers were finally warming up to her.

Even the Starlights seemed to be getting better accustomed to her and the others.

Her fifty-second letter told him how she attempted to form an ally bond with them, only to have hare hand almost blown off by Amara when they were about to shake hands.

"Get away from her, I won't miss again" she had said.

Serena was devastated by Amara's actions, and even more enraged that Michelle stood in full agreement to her partner.

In one letter Serena said "I can barley stand to be in the same room as her, sometimes I feel like blasting her just for opening her mouth, I know she means well, but its like having another set of parents, she and Michelle are being way to over-protective, and if that's not bad enough, I have Trista to worry about then too, I feel like I'm going to explode, I guess there is a good thing for having the odd excess phage around"

When the letters reached the high fifties, she told him about the new little girl residing in her house hold.

Dear Darien,

Guess what, there's a new little girl living in my house, and my mother seems to think she's my sister, I know what you're thinking, Rini?

No, this girl is way younger, almost a toddler, calls herself Chibi Chibi,she follows me everywhere.

Trista thinks she could be dangerous, we thought at first that she might be a second child of ours in the future, but Trista being the guardian of time knows she isn't, so we still only have the one right now.

I really don't think she's dangerous, I know looks can be deceiving, but still, there's something about this girl I think is genuine, and I'm going to protect her.

I don't know why or how she's here, but I believe there is a good reason.

Darien why haven't you replied? I'm going crazy not knowing where you are or what might have happened to you.

I know something has, it's the only reasonable explanation.

If you do get my messages that I've left your mobile, and even your apartment, please, just come home. Forget America, I wish I had never said 'yes' to you leaving, please come back to me.

I need you, I'm so lost right now, it feels like my head is going to explode with everything that's going on.

The guilt that he was feeling at this point in time was immeasurable, he was crying now, like he had when he first saw her face again.

He remembered that moment vividly, they were all around her, she was floating in the middle, crying exhausted sobs of relief.

She flew to him when he spoke to her, the she blacked out in his arms. She was broken battered and bruised, and he handled her with so much care for fear that he would loose her.

But he didn't, he had to keep reminding himself that she was still there, that she fought and won.

Darien turned to the clock for the fifth time that day, he had just over an hour to finish reading the letters before Serena arrived.

With a deep breath he opened the sixty-fourth letter.

It told him about her trap night-flight that the enemy Siren used to reveal her identity.

Only her identity wasn't just revealed to them, but to the Starlights as well.

After that they all seemed to have had some trust issues with each other.

"Taiki and Yaten say he won't see me after he got injured because of me, they hate me right now"

He felt a slight wave of anger toward the Starlights for hurting her like this.

"Amara, Michelle and Trista say it's for the best, they're practically stalking me now, to make sure I'm safely a hundred yards away from them"

The outers had always been protective of her, Darien was proud to be they're friend from what they did to protect her.

"They say it's their mission to protect me from outside invaders of our galaxy, but their Sailor Soldiers, so surely they can't be that bad? but it seems that this war is among sailor soldiers, our enemy is going by the name Sailor Galaxia, no one knows what to make of her.

But one thing is for sure, the Starlights are really scared of her, she destroyed their planet and now their here looking for their princess who escaped the war, Seyia told me, I hope they find her, she could be a huge asset, things are looking pretty grim right now"

Darien had to stop reading, not only because he was almost blinded by tears, but because her words were worse than torture on him.

She had gone through all of this completely alone.

Yes she may have had the girls, and Luna and even the Starlights in a way, but there was still no mention of her telling the others that she pretty much knew he had been missing for months.

However, he made himself finish the last few letters that remained so that he could fully understand what he had missed.

'Letter no#68' read

Would you believe that we actually have good news for a change? The Starlights princess has been found, and she and I both want to join forces, but the others have different plans.

The Starlights just want to keep her safe and protect her, and Amara and the others want to do the same thing with me.

I know I'm their princess but I'm not helpless, if anything I'm going to be the one that saves them, you'll see-

He laughed at her prophetic words.

But the bad news is, I have one of those pure star seeds that Galaxia is looking for, turns out mine is the Silver Crystal itself, and I cannot let them have the Crystal, it may be our only hope to stop this war. I'm a target, which means no one will leave me alone, I can't even go to the bathroom without someone waiting outside.

I don't think Amara or Michelle have slept in days, they keep guarding outside my house at night.

In the end I just told them to keep watch from inside at least, so they've been crashing at mine a lot these days, everyone is on high alert.

Not only this but today I discovered just how horrible your heart can be sometimes.

I miss you so much that I hallucinated that you saved me today.

Seyia saved me from Sailor Tin-Nianko, and he threw a rose that landed right in front of me.

I thought he was you, after all of these months, I thought that you were back, and then he talked.

All I could to was deal with Nianko and then I broke down, I couldn't stop myself, after all.

How much can one heart take before it's completely shattered?

I wish I could just see you again, it feels like I'm suffocating Darien.

But now that I'm a target, I have a feeling that D-Day is on it's way. What should I do?

He wished that he had been there to answer her question, or at least to just be there.

Did she really think that, if he had made it to America and were reading her letters like he should have been , that he wouldn't have booked the first flight home?

She was his world, he would have been back as soon as he heard that there was a new enemy.

Let alone that the war to end all wars was under way.

'letter no#71'

The girls finally know that your missing, Rei cornered me, and they confirmed my worst fear. Not that it really needed confirming.

She said that you never even arrived in America, so it makes no sense in why I'm still going to post this letter.

I guess I'm still praying that your going to get it.

But as much as I know that's not going to happen, writing and sending these letters to you is the only real routine I have right now.

The Starlights are disbanding, their final concert is in three days, I guess now that they have their princess they don't need to sing to find her anymore.

We're all going to go of course, I'm going to miss them, but I don't think their princess wants to leave, she wants to stay and fight, I think she knows I'm a princess too, she keeps giving me that all knowing look whenever I see her, and saying we have to work together.

And I agree with her.

Amara is more than fine with them leaving, she keeps saying how it's our duty to protect our own planet, but I think even she can tell that were going to need every ounce of power we have.

This Galaxia is ruthless, I watched her take out one of her own best. I'm not looking forward to this.

But I'm getting sick of waiting to be attacked, I'm going to call a meeting and tell them that I think we should take the fight to her.

Wish me luck, wherever you are.

He sat motionless with tears running down his face, staring at the pieces of paper that she had wrote to him.

He knew what happened after that last letter.

She never got to call a meeting before they were at last attacked and one by one she watched them die.

The sound of the doorbell broke him from his trance, Serena was here, she opened the door and he heard the most beautiful sound in the world, her voice.

"Darien? Hey, my last class was cancelled and-

She cut off mid sentence as she processed the sight in front of her.

"Are you alright?!" she was at his side immediately, and as she crouched down beside him, he pulled her to his arms and held her for a long minute.

"Shh it's okay, what happened?"

"Nothing it's alright now, I missed you"

"I missed you too-

Again she cut off the second she saw what he had been reading.

Her letters, letters that she hoped he'd never read.

"Where did you get those?"

"The university held onto my mail, with these, and a bit of junk mail, they kept all of my things in storage, I just got them this morning"

She was clearing his face with her hand and a sad expression on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me it was that bad, I mean I know you never really want to talk about it, but Serena, this is insane, how could you have kept my disappearance to yourself for all those months?"

"Because the others had enough on their plates without that too" she said.

"And you didn't?"

"I was trying to protect them, and I was so lost, I didn't know what to do, so I acted like all was normal, when they asked how you were, I just told them you were fine, worried but fine, I told them that I never told you how bad the situation was, to prevent you coming home early"
she was crying now too, all of it was coming out, the nights she had lain awake worrying about him, crying because part of her knew the truth already.

"Serena please forgive me, I'm so beyond sorry that you had to go through all of that. That I wasn't even there to hold you"
she shook her head.

"Believe me, no one wanted that more than I did, but Darien don't blame yourself, you couldn't have helped any more than the others even if you'd stayed, I know that, and I'm sure on some level you do too"

"The important part is that, were all okay, it's all in the past and I got you back, and I love you alright?"

He held her close again.

"I love you, and I swear that no matter whatever happens, I'm by your side. I'll never leave you again"

"Sounds good to me, now what do you say we burn those?" she said gesturing to the letters.

He nodded and they gathered the letters back up, and took them outside to the garden were they burned the letters into the past along with her horrid memories.