Disclaimer: Neither W.I.T.C.H. Nor Sailor Moon nor anything else that might pop up belong to the writer of this story.

Chapter I: Beginnings, Part 1

"Dear Will, Hello... my name is Hotaru Tomoe. I live in Tokyo, Japan – the Minato Ward. I received a letter addressed to me, or someone with my name, at least. I do not believe I am the actual recipient of the letter I received, though, because I don't remember ever meeting anyone with your name. I have no problems at school, and though I don't have very many friends, at least I'm not picked on as your letter implied. My condolences to you for losing contact with your friend... I'll pass the letter on and ask Setsuna-mama if she can find out anything... she knows a lot of people and might be able to help... I hope you find your friend, Will. - Tomoe Hotaru."

Will's hand shook as she held the letter. 'It's her handwriting... same city, country, and ward... she even wrote her name backwards, even though she was writing in English! This has to be her, but... she doesn't remember?'

"Mom!" Will shouted as she rushed into the house, letter in hand.

"What is it?" Her mother, Susan inquired, a bit worried at Will's attitude.

"I got a letter from Hotaru! But..." Will handed the letter to her mother, stepping back and allowing her mother to read it. Susan's face paled and froze up. She was extremely still.

"Mom?" Will asked, waving her hand in front of her face, only for her mother to fall over. Will only just managed to catch her.

Irma walked in without knocking to find Will placing Susan on a couch. "Woah, what happened to your mom, Will? You don't look so good either... what is that, a death-letter?" It was a half-joke.

"No... it's from my little sister..." Will wasn't in the mood for Irma's usual banter.

"Your sister? Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

Will shook her head, "Kind of... thing is... she wrote it as if we were strangers. She stopped responding to my letters a few weeks ago – we keep in touch via letter – and I kept trying to contact her. When I finally do manage to get a letter through..."

"Well, maybe it's not your sister?" Her friend put forth, only to be shot down.

"Same name, same place of residence, same handwriting... she even has the same writing style. Just..."

"Different?" Irma inserted as she picked up the letter and began to read.

"...She doesn't remember anything... Now I know why I could contact her." Will replied.

"Your sister is Japanese?"

"...Yeah. Her father got kind of absorbed in his research and the two split up. I've kept tabs with Taru though..."

At the Same Time in Tokyo, Japan (If time-zones didn't exist)

Hotaru was in a park playing hide and seek with her best friend, Chibiusa. At the moment, Chibiusa was it, and thus Hotaru was hiding behind a rather large tree. Meanwhile, off to the side, Michiru and Haruka were conferring with Setsuna.

"Have you found anything out about the letter Hotaru got in the mail?" Haruka inquired while Michiru watched the children from afar.

"No... The Soldier of Silence is static at best when viewed through the Time Gate, and simply impossible to locate at worst. Whoever this Will person is... they're just as bad. I can't find anything out other than Heatherfield's location. It's in the northeastern United States."

Haruka knuckled her right temple, "Things are never easy for us, are they?"

Rather than respond to the rhetorical question, Setsuna continued, "The fact that I can't view 'Will' through the Gate means something's up with her, though. I can't say for sure if she will cause us any trouble or not... but it'd be best to try and keep tabs on her somehow."

Off to the side, Hotaru came running up with Chibiusa, "Setsuna-mama, are you talking about Will?"

"...Nothing serious, just wondering at the coincidence that her letter found you." Setsuna lied, her face as straight and calm as usual.

"Ah! I was meaning to ask... Could you try and find the Hotaru she's looking for? It must be awful not being able to talk with such a close friend..."

"I'll see what I can do..." Setsuna replied non-commitively.

Chibiusa looked between the elder women and Hotaru and immediately knew something was up. "Come on Taru, tag, you're it!"

"Will addressed her letter with 'Taru' too..." Hotaru mused aloud.

"Hotaru-chan, you don't remember everything, right? Maybe Will's actually someone you knew?" Chibiusa spoke up, having overheard Hotaru's musings.

"I don't know... maybe..." Hotaru replied, sounding uncertain.

"What if we go to your old house? Maybe there's something there to connect you to her." Chibiusa ,said.

"I guess it's worth a shot..."

"Alright!" Chibiusa spoke, contrasting Hotaru's passive mood. "Hotaru-chan and I are going to my house, alright?"

The elders nodded, "She staying over?" Haruka called out.

"Maybe." Chibusa replied as the two set off out of the park.

Heatherfield

"Well, come on. We're going to be late... no use moping around all day, right? We'll get together with everyone else and pool our thoughts." Irma spoke, trying to cheer Will up.

"Yeah... You're right." Will fetched her pack, looking to her mom before leaving.

Tokyo, near the Tomoe Mansion

After leaving the outer's sight, they broke out into a full run. They reached Hotaru's old house quickly. Now that Hotaru's original father had died, it had been passed on to her, but currently was being 'watched over' by Setsuna until the day Hotaru reaches adulthood. Not that Setsuna did anything other than ensure that it wasn't vandalized or similar – the house was in the same condition that it was left in. Pushing open the front gate, the two walked up to the door. With the use of Hotaru's key, it swung open, an eery creaking noise heralding their entrance.

The foyer beyond was dark and dusty... a few pairs of shoes sat next to the door along with slippers, and a coat hung on a coat-rack. Proceeding through the dark, dimly lit halls resulted in similar findings. Things had just been left where they were – the only evidence someone once lived here. Hotaru's room was neatly made and stripped bare of the lamps that once adorned her walls. A deck of tarot cards lay on the end-table and the dresser was empty of clothes.

Most of the nick-nacks and accessories one would expect to find in a young girl's room were suspiciously absent. While Chibiusa looked under the bed, Hotaru opened her old desk up, shaking a small amount of dust into the air. Within lay several papers, a few textbooks, and a large book that was thin and unmarked.

"I think I found something Chibiusa-chan." She called out.

"What's this?" Chibusa asked, walking over and sifting through the papers as Hotaru took the book to the bed. "This is homework... homework... ah! A letter!"

"And a photo album." Hotaru finished, flipping through pages depicting her, when she was younger, as well as a girl with red hair and, occasionally, her father or a woman with dark, blue-tinted hair.

"Taru, listen to this!" Chibiusa called out excitedly, garnering the other girl's attention.

"Dear Will, I'm sorry I haven't sent a letter to you... I made a new friend, Chibiusa, the other day... My illness is getting worse, and I haven't been able to go to school or go out much. My caretaker was trying to burn your letter, so I'm lucky I walked in at that moment. Papa's odd, as usual, but still kind. I think he's getting odder though... I'm afraid I'm worrying him. Chibiusa and her friend have been helping a lot. I'll try and check the mail more often... - Tomoe Hotaru." Chibiusa turned to Hotaru, "This is exactly what we were looking for... We should mail it to Will."

"But I already sent a letter that basically said I didn't know her..." Hotaru replied guiltily.

"So we send her another letter saying that we found this." Chibiusa replied in turn.

"I guess... if you think it'd help."

"She's probably freaking out right now wondering why you forgot about her! Of course it'd help!" Hotaru's friend lectured.

Heatherfield

At school, Will was very obviously distracted. Her head was up and her eyes open, resting on her hand, but she wasn't focusing on anything the teacher said, lost in her own thoughts. As a result, her friends were distracted too, turning toward her and looking worriedly at her expression. The teacher turned and called her out often, but in the end her demeanor didn't change. This state of affairs continued until lunch.

"Alright, what's up with you?" Cornelia spoke up upon them sitting down.

"You know those letters I keep mailing? I got a response..." Will responded.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Taranee interjected, but Will shook her head.

"She doesn't remember me."

"Are you sure it's even the right person?" Cornelia inquired.

"I'd recognize my younger sister's handwriting and manner of speech!" Will snapped, prompting Irma to try and pacify her.

"Come on, calm down now. No need to chew Corny's face off, anyone would ask that question."

Will sighed as she back down, sinking into her seat. "Yeah, I guess you're right... Taru would be upset..."

"Come on Will, cheer up! Things will work out somehow." Hay-Lin cut in.

"Yeah... I guess so."

The rest of the day continued similarly. Will was a bit more attentive after lunch, but still distracted. When she got home, after shaking off her persistent friends, she discovered a letter sticking out of her mailbox. 'Already? But the mail came in earlier, it shouldn't arrive again for a while...'

Her confusion grew deeper when she removed the letter to find that it was sent by Hotaru. A note written on the front said, 'A friend of mine found this in a deserted mansion.'

She opened it quickly and took it inside, walking as she read. "Dear Will, I'm sorry I haven't sent a letter to you..." And so she read the letter discovered by Hotaru and Chibiusa in the Tomoe Mansion. The writing was old and faded, but it was a letter from Hotaru... apparently from before Hotaru forgot about her. While relieving, the letter still rose more questions than answers. Maybe Hotaru forgot her because of the illness? What friend of hers found the letter? The was when Will noticed something as she folded it back up to place it in the envelope again... there was a message written on the back, written in fresh ink. It wasn't in Hotaru's handwriting.

Sorry. I can't help her too much without making things worse. Please bear with it. - Silent S.

"What on earth is going on over there?" Will exclaimed in frustration.

"Er... I have bad timing, don't I?" Irma spoke up from behind, prompting Will to jump in surprise.