Author's notes: Thank you so much for your reviews - they are really appreciated. I hope you enjoy this update. Let me know what you think in the reviews. My updates are a little slow these days but I'm looking forward to finishing this story! Please stay with me. I hope to see you through to the end! :') - R

Chapter 28

Darien…

His name was a mere whisper in the wind, but it felt as loud as if someone had shouted it in his ear. He shot up in bed with a startled inhale of breath and stared into the darkness of his bedroom, the only hint of light streaming through his slightly open curtains at the windows from the moon high in the sky. He sighed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He did not know what it was that made him feel so anxious, but it felt painful deep inside. He swung his legs from out under his covers and got to his feet, crossing his room and out of the doors to the balcony. He leaned on the railing and gazed up at the moon, feeling a sense of peace wash over him as if the moon were sprinkling calming vibes over him telling him that it is okay.

Darien.

In some ways, his name felt more insistent, even in his wakened state. He had been feeling like he was hearing things for a while now and it seemed to be getting worse since Killian swung by with the guys last week. There were some things that were increasingly bothering him, and he felt like there was only one person he could voice them to, and he had not seen her since the day after he had that episode in the library. This was one of the things that bothered him more than he liked to admit. Her absence made him anxious, like something was wrong and no one would own up to that fact.

Second, he felt like he was spending every possible moment with Killian's group of friends and it was great. Wonderful, even. He had a close-knit circle of guys to hang out with, study with, chill with, whatever the occasion and it was fine to be himself. It felt like he had known them far longer than he had. But sometimes it felt like he was being smothered by their insistence to include him in everything. He was convinced that subtly was not in Neal or Zane's vocabulary. He felt like he was missing something fundamental when he was with the four of them and he could not put his finger on it.

Third, things felt weird. For example, a few days ago, Killian left a study session in the library to meet Mina and the next day when Darien spotted Mina in the Crown arcade, she was sporting a serious case of bruising down her cheek and grazing down her shoulder and the back of her arm which her chiffon shirt failed to cover up. He had asked Killian what happened to Mina later that day, but he had merely replied that she had taken a fall. Jackson was arguably the most absent as he was always going to the Cherry Hill Temple, prompting Darien to ask if he and Raye were together. This was met with a resigned sigh from Jackson and a shake of the head. Darien did not question him further, but the response felt off to him. Zane took a few days out of swimming after he sustained an injury to his arm, though he gave no explanation for how he seemed to have what looked like bite marks down his arm. He just gave a shrug and said he would be back at it soon then announced that Amy would be a guest swimmer in the high school training session that week, putting paid to that conversation. He had bumped into Amy when she visited the high school for her advanced programme class, and he asked after Serena. She explained her absence away by claiming that she was visiting family for a little while in Osaka. Her reply left no opening for further questioning.

It was strange, he mused, that he could be surrounded by people everyday but feel so completely cut off from them and everything. His midnight blue eyes continued to stare into the face of the moon and he just knew that he was being lied to. Serena was no more in Osaka than he was king of the Moon.

Darien!

Yes, he heard her. It was her voice in the wind. Yet he knew he was the only one who could hear his name. He did not dare voice what he heard in his dreams and how his dreams continued to haunt him when he was wide awake and alone with his thoughts.

"I imagine myself in situations where I'm perfectly content and at peace."

He perfectly recalled those words that Serena once said to him after he confessed that he did not sleep well. He often wondered what situation gave her such contentment to make her feel safe. He sometimes dared to think that he had a part to play in the world that made her warm. She was right. There was no better feeling. He was just missing it with her absence playing heavily in the world he was living in now.

Raye was all too aware of Jackson's fingers clasping her own gently as they sat in quiet meditation in sukhasana, or the easy cross-legged seat. She was uncertain about adopting such a mindful approach to her meditation. Her meditation in front of the great fire was more about letting go of her mind to let in the minds and feelings of others, allowing her to see of the world that others cannot, giving way for her precognitive abilities. But this was precisely what Jackson called the problem. She never allowed herself to breathe for her and her alone, allowing her own thoughts and feelings to come to the forefront, letting her deal with what her brain needed to process. Like her nature as the soldier of war or as Jackson reminded her, more importantly as the guardian of flame and passion.

"I can't do it!" she exclaimed, releasing her hands from his grasp in frustration.

"Yes, you can," Jackson replied without hesitation.

She scowled at him.

"We've been practicing meditation for a week now and I'm still no better than I was!" she argued, raking her fingers through her long raven locks. "Look, I appreciate your offer to help but maybe you should just go."

"And what? Leave you with the nightmares?"

Raye's violet eyes shot to his face and when they met his grey eyes, she looked away.

"Raye, I know you're expecting a different reaction from me than the one you're getting but the only one punishing you here for doing what you needed to is you," he reminded her gently. "I'm not upset that my life ended the way it did, but I am upset that you clearly still suffer the trauma." Her eyes met his face at his use of the word 'trauma'. She frowned. "We've been practicing one week, Raye. Do you really think the world was made in a day? No. I know you have patience in waves, so why can't you exercise it here?"

Raye bit her lip and looked down, unable to find the words to express what she was feeling. She loved him more than she could bare and that was precisely what was making this so hard. Sometimes it felt like there was a very fine line between love and grief and it only took the faintest breeze to push her over it.

Suddenly, she was aware of the sound of birds singing, and a warmth on her skin that she had not felt a moment ago. She heard the faint trickle of water that sounded like something you could only dream about in a fantasy. There was a wind blowing that caused the rustle of leaves, blowing the fragrance of something familiar… She looked up. White Casablanca lilies. They were everywhere. Not only that, but she was no longer standing in the shrine. She was stood in a vast garden full of the fragrant lilies and wildflowers, large trees with the greenest of leaves, and a green lawn to luscious that she felt the urge to walk over it barefooted. In the distance, she could see a waterfall big enough to be believed to be homed in the quaintest of forests but small enough to be here in this very garden. There was a bench located at the end of the grassed lane that ran between the flowered borders. A part of her brain was telling her that this was a ridiculous situation to find herself in, but she wanted to be here. She took a step forward, then another and another, spotting a small lizard leaping in and out the wildlife on the ground. She smiled at the sight. Everything about this was things that she loved, and it felt like a haven. She continued her way down the grassy lane until she reached the bench and sat down, casting her eyes over the sights before her. She sat back, raising her face to the sun with her eyes closed, the faintest of smiles at her lips.

"You feel it, don't you?" Jackson's whispered voice cut through the sounds of nature around her.

He admired the subtle lavender tint to her eyelids, the delicate blush on her cheeks, her dark eyelashes. She had so much beauty that she did not see it herself. She opened her eyes and glanced to her side to find him there. For some reason, it surprised her.

"Peace," he clarified. He observed the tiredness in her eyes as he read the confirmation in her face. "You can have this, you know."

Then she realised why her mind was so foggy.

"I'm not really here, am I?"

"An illusion," he confirmed with a nod. "I never thought I'd find a way to use that particular ability out of evil hands. It seems you can be a bit of a muse."

Raye sighed.

"You helped me forget," she said.

"No," he corrected. "No. I just showed you the beauty that you forget to appreciate. The things you love. The things that make you Raye. It is not about being a sailor guardian or having magical abilities or being extraordinary. We are all more than that. I just… feel like you forget that sometimes. It's okay to get lost in your own world."

She listened to him silently, letting the heat of the sun warm her skin and soothe her. She did not know how to reply but she knew he was right. She felt like she had her mind in multiple worlds and none of them were her own. She felt his fingers find her hand and entwine with hers. She felt her heart palpate at his touch and resume its normal rhythm.

"Meditate with me," he invited.

She looked to the side at him, feeling the safety he offered in the hand he held hers with. The heat of the sun, the whistling of the birds, the gentle breeze, the fragrance of the flowers, the scuttling of the small lizards… it all seemed to invite her to close her eyes and clear her mind. And open her heart to even the possibility of love.

Zane looked at Amy over the top of his book and felt the frustration well up from deep inside him again. He let out a lungful of air and clutched his book harder, unable to take in anything more from the pages. He brushed the heel of his hand across his forehead, pushing some loose blonde strands of hair away from his face that had come loose from his hairband that tied his hair at the nape of his neck.

"If you sigh anymore, you're in danger of starting a tornedo in the library," Amy commented.

"Amy, how have you not noticed that I've been quietly stewing for the past few days?"

Amy closed her book and put it down on the table. Her azure eyes resolved, and she sat back, looking at him patiently. She raised her eyebrows to allow him to go ahead.

"Are we not going to talk about it at all?"

"What exactly?"

"Don't give me that," he objected, shaking his head in annoyance. "You know exactly what I mean."

It was Amy's turn to sigh.

"Look, Zane," she hesitated. She inhaled sharply. "This is awkward. I do not do well with people, emotions or relationships. To be honest, I have never really had to deal with any of them. You and I… we never had a story of our own. Darien and Serena. They are the living definition of an epic love story. Mina and Killian embraced their romance but kept it to themselves. Neal and Lita have always been a question mark to others but not to themselves. Raye is difficult and complicated, and Jackson is learning that. But you and I… we did not even get a moment in the Silver Millennium. How can we talk about something that never had a chance?"

"How about you start giving it a chance?" Zane suggested, folding his arms across his chest.

Amy shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"We need to help Serena and Darien," she replied weakly.

"And we are," he retorted. "But I can't keep going through this with you. You're right, we never had a story of our own to remember. But you remember the feeling, as do I. It's been a week since you learned how to be rid of the Croatoan, and that came at a cost neither of us expected." He pressed his lips together, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "Amy, you admitted that you want to let me in, so why won't you?"

"You know why," she said in a small voice.

"Right," he laughed drily. "You're afraid to. I get it. We're all afraid of something. But you protect a lunar princess, act as the brains of the group and fight monsters on a daily basis, yet I am what you're afraid of. What about letting in someone that can actually make you feel safe? Someone who loves you and knows you." He stood up. "I don't know about you, but that sounds like a welcome invitation to me."

He turned around and left through the door, leaving her staring after him with her mouth agape.

Mina sat at Serena's side, watching her intently. She couldn't help but feel like there was something more going on than what they thought was keeping her in her comatose state. The silver crystal was certainly extraordinary, and it was a well-known fact that the silver crystal was an extension of the Moon Family. It draws on the vital life energy and heart of its user. This was precisely what had Mina sat here with Serena now. She narrowed her baby blues at Serena's still form and made the decision to reach forward and take her hand in her own. She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against Serena's hand and meditated, allowing Serena's aura to go through her. She felt Serena's kind, loving heart and reached out to her through her birth right as the soldier of love and hope. She knew that Serena wasn't in her physical body anymore.

Killian strolled into the shrine and on automatic pilot, made his way to the spare bedroom that Raye had moved Serena to. Everyday since Serena had been in her current state of consciousness, Mina had been here. Truthfully, no one understood what she was hoping to achieve as nothing changed but no one was going to tell her that her presence was helping, no matter how much Serena would have appreciated her presence at her side. He made to walk right into the room and found the door ajar, but it wasn't this that made him pause in the doorway. Mina was surrounded by a delicate orange glow, her head bowed in concentration, her hands clasping Serena's hand that was closest to her. There was a charged energy in the air, and he stared wide eyed at what he was seeing. He accidentally nudged the door with his shoulder, and it made the slightest of squeaks, but it was enough to rouse Mina from her meditation.

As soon as Mina opened her eyes, the orange glow around her disappeared and the power in the air dropped. She turned to him and smiled involuntarily.

"Killian, hi," she greeted.

He noted that her energy seemed depleted, the pallor of her cheeks whitewashed, and the hint of tiredness dominating her voice. He crossed the threshold and kneeled next to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.

"Yeah," she sniffed, letting go of Serena's hand. "I was just sitting with her."

"Are you sure?" he checked. "What exactly were you doing?"

"I was seeing if I could reach out to her," she admitted. "I'm sure it was a bust."

"I'm not so sure," he disagreed, glancing at the sleeping princess. "You know when you transform into Sailor Venus, or when you use your powers that you exhibit that orange glow?" She nodded. "Well, you were glowing, like you were reaching her somehow."

"How?" she frowned. "Serena… she's not in there."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she's not in there," she stressed. "It's like she's there but nobody's home. I don't know what it is the silver crystal has done but it's not like I can reach into the recesses of her heart and pull her out or speak to her unconscious mind. She's not in there, Killian."

"So, you're saying that she's, what, brain dead?" He looked at Serena a little startled.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She peered at him. "I'm sorry. Did we have a date?"

"I knew you'd be here," he said, stroking his finger down her cheek to her jaw. "I came to get you, so you weren't going to be late."

"Oh, you needn't come over here," she scolded him. "I could have met you."

"It gives me the excuse to see you sooner," he replied, leaning over to kiss her sweetly on the cheek. He felt her smile against his skin.

"Come on then," she breathed, feeling the flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

She got to her feet then immediately felt her legs go from under her and she saw the ground rushing up to meet her face.

"Whoa," Killian exclaimed, catching her round the waist and pulling her down onto his lap. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I guess I stood up too fast."

"Do you want to do date night at my place instead?" he suggested. "I can cook, and we can put on a movie. We can go dancing another time."

"You just don't want to go salsa dancing," she teased, but leaning against him, nevertheless.

"True but you look exhausted," he stated.

"Awesome," she said flatly.

"You can barely stand on your own two feet," he continued. "I don't know what it is you were doing but it's taken it out of you. We will ponder the Serena question later. She'll only kill you if you exhaust yourself in the process of looking out for her."

Mina nodded with a soft giggle.

"You're right," she agreed. "Come on, help me up."

They both got to their feet, his arm around her body and they paused to look at Serena once more before leaving this question mark for another day.