*Disclaimer: We no longer have men in white
suits chasing after us. They finally accepted
our ownership of sailor moon - yay yay!
RS: coughbehindyoucough
(men in pink suits walk in all of a sudden)
Man One:  Okay, which one of you two put a
red shirt in our laundry?
RS: (coughs and points to CP)
CP: (looks innocent) I did say that we
weren't getting chased by men in *white*
suits...they're pink now...(grabs kii's hand)
Let's go!

Desert Mirage
Chapter 9
By: Eternal Angel and The Rose Society
Rating: R
Email: stargazing12@hotmail.com
	EtrlSlrMn@aol.com
http://www.steelpenguin.com/~fromangeltofoes/
http://www.geocities.com/the_rose_society/


	He ran in the murky darkness, his
heart pounding and his lungs burning. He was
chasing something with all his might.

	But what was it?

	He didn't know what was the thing he
was chasing. He only knew that whatever it
was, it was very important to him. Despite
the complaints the his body was throwing at
him, he ran on, trying to find what he was
seeking.

	Eventually, the darkness grew a
little lighter, until he could make out a
figure in the distance. Something inside
him drew him towards that figure and he
sped as quickly as possible toward the
small beacon. As he neared the figure, he
could tell it was a woman, with long,
silvery hair.

	"Serenity," he cried out, as loudly
as possible, the sound echoing in the still
darkness. But it seemed as if his voice was
swallowed by the dark stillness. Serenity
never gave any indication that she had heard
him call her name.

	Endymion ran on, trying to get closer.
As he neared Serenity, she still sat in her
same position, her back facing him. Her hair
had spilled free from any confinement; it
was like a carpet of liquid silver, shining
against the darkness. She was again dressed
in her belly dancer costume, the soft cloth
waving in a non-existent breeze. She seemed
so small, so fragile against the oppressive
darkness that surrounded them both. But yet,
she was the focus of Endymion's entire world
as he ran.

	Finally, he slowed, coming closer to
his silver siren. "Serenity?" She didn't
move, didn't answer. She didn't seem to be
aware of him at all. Confused, puzzled, and
a bit annoyed, Endymion placed his hand on the
woman's creamy shoulder. She didn't react.

	"Serenity? Talk to me." But she did
not turn around. Endymion walked around her
so that he could look at her face. But instead
of finding her blue eyes glaring at his face,
what he found shocked him to his core.

	It was a skull, it's eye sockets
empty and accusing, the jaw in a horrible
caricacture of a grin. Gasping in horror,
Endymion wrenched himself from the corpse,
staring with wide eyes. The figure that was
Serenity toppled to the ground, the eyes
still eerily staring at him accusingly.

	Horrified, Endymion raised his hands
to wipe the feeling of the cold body from them.
He screamed. His hands were also stripped of
flesh, the white bone glinting in the darkness
with shreds of dried tissue barely clinging
in a few areas.

	"You are dead to me."

	Still reeling, Endymion turned to the
direction of the voice. There, not five feet
away from him, was Serenity and Kunzite. She
was embraced in his arms and her steely blue
eyes glared at him. The ice-blue eyes of the
other figure also were turned upon Endymion,
but they were not filled with anger. Instead,
there was triumph in those icy depths, as well
as contempt. Frightened, Endymion raised a
skeletal hand towards the couple.

	"Serenity!" He stumbled towards the two
but he fell, exhausted from his earlier
exertions. On his knees, he turned his gaze
back to the woman who had become the center of
his world. The couple spared him one last glance
before they turned away and disappeared.

	"SERENITY!"

	Endymion woke up from his dream with a
jerk, covered in sweat.

	'Serenity...'

	***

	Searing, sizzling sand brushed against
her bare feet. Her eyes stared into the distance
at the dozens of sand dunes that littered the
horizon. So much heat, so much longing... and
those beautiful eyes haunting her once again...

	She stomped at the sand, ignoring the
pain that it was bringing to her bruising and
blistering feet. She should not and would not
reminisce for something she truly did not have.
A passing fancy was all she was to him. A good
romp in the bed...

	She really did believe that he was
better than that...

	Then again, she did believe that he
thought she was better than that...

	Her feet dragged on, as the sun, the
cruel sun, rose higher in the sky, its harsh
rays changing the grains of sand to flecks of
burning coals against her feet. 'I must
continue...'

	Sweat beaded down her face.

	'I will move on...'

	Another step forward, yet each step
took her nowhere. Desert, so much desert
surrounding her. But she must continue on. For
at least every step that she took was another
step further away from him.

	***

	The dream haunted him for the rest of
the day. He stared oddly at the papers that
fluttered gently on his table by the soft breeze
that had entered his chambers, but other than
that gentle relief, there was only a great amount
of heat that rippled about the palace and the
thousands and thousands of miles of desert.

	What was this deep aching within him, a
pulsing that he could not ignore? He picked up
one of the documents and attempted to read it
only to find his eyes unable to comprehend
anything.

	He felt as if he lost everything.

	But why should he? Was she not just a
mere girl? Was she not just a possession for a
man's pleasure? It was not like he was in love
with...her...

	He blinked back the appalling thought.
No. That could not and will not ever be. For he
was not in love with her. He couldn't be! For
to be in love was...

	to be...

	in...

	love...

	with...her

	he...was...

	in love...with...her ...

	Never!

	He stared at the space where Serenity used
to sit for days on end, and then out his window,
his eyes staring at the far distance of the
desert sands.

	'Serenity...'

	She was out there, he knew it.  He
imagined her walking through the desert sands
in the sweltering heat of the day. And then,
he saw her, imagined her with that man he saw
her with, in his dream...

	'You're...'

	He bolted up.

	'...dead...'

	He had to find her.

	'...to me...'

	***

	Water... how she longed for the sweet
tasting refreshing coolness to slide down her
throat to relieve her of this quenching thirst.
She continued to stumble along, her eyes
drooping with fatigue, her mouth dry, and her
body shuddering from the heat.

	The desert was endless.

	She continued to stumble along, only to
trip on her own two feet. She fell the ground
exhausted. 'I need to continue on...'

	Her body ignored that weak command, her
eyes drooping, her mind slowly becoming lost.

	The air felt different all of a sudden,
causing her to look up, into the distance. She
squinted her eyes, attempting to examine what
was before her.

	It was a figure, the beautiful, tall
figure of the man she loathed, and the man she
loved all at the same time.

	"Endymion..."

	She crawled forward, her arms, her
legs slowly pushing herself closer to the
man, who just stood there, staring down at her
with his arrogant expression.

	"Endymion..."

	She could not find the strength to
crawl any more, her body too weak, her thirst
too strong. But so close...she was so close...

	"Endymion..."

	She reached out to him, hoping to
grasp onto the figure. But instead, her arms
went through the figure, through the vision.
She gasped in surprise.

	Then, she let out a choked laugh.

	Just a mirage...

	She let out another bitter laugh, her
body shaking with frustration, anger, and pain.
'Everything hurts too much...'

	It was a damned mirage, just like his
feelings for her, her belief that he truly
loved her. God, everything she had known was
a mirage. The bond between parent and child,
the idea that true love conquered all, even
that love existed at all...

	Mirages, dreams, lies.

	She had no more will to continue
forward. Her heart beat slowly in her chest,
her lungs drawing a ragged breath. Her eyes
fluttering shut for the last time, she let
infinity claim her.

	***

	"This is not a good idea Endymion," the
old man told the Sultan, as he mounted his
horse. "You should not leave the safety of the
palace. I'm sure that the guards could find
her a lot faster than you looking by yourself,
sire."

	Endymion shook his head. "No, this is
the only way. I let her leave and I'll bring
her back."

	"But all this for a woman sire?"

	Endymion frowned.  "She is not just a
woman, old man. She's...she's special...I...I
can't explain it old man. I just can't let her
leave...not knowing that..."

	The advisor looked at Endymion. This
was a man that he had seen grow up before his
eyes. He had played with the boy-sultan,
listening to his laughter echo in the lonely
halls of the palace. This was the young man
he had watched anxiously conquest after
conquest. This was a man that did not believe
in love, that scorned the emotion as weak.
Now, this man that he loved like a son was
going to ride out, alone and unprotected, to
look for a woman he had cast aside, a woman
that he loved. Pride in Endymion welled up
in the old man's heart. His young charge was
now truly a great man. "I understand, your
majesty. May God grant you safe passage and
a speedy return."

	Endymion nodded then looked back at
his palace, at his kingdom and his people.

	"Take care of my kingdom for me old
man." He gave the man who thought of him as
his son a smile. "I will be back, don't you
worry about that." Endymion then willed his
mount forward. "Goodbye old man!"

	The advisor watched as his sultan
rode off alone, into the desert sands. He
prayed silently that Endymion would return
soon with the girl.

	But Endymion never returned, forever
lost in the desert sand...


The End

CP: Wow, it took us FOREVER to get this out,
but yes, it's finally here. The end. (dances
happily). Yay yay! The end! (smiles deviously)
aren't you just glad we finally finished the
story?
RS: See? Aren't we good little authors? We
finally finished DM! WAI WAI! =D No more men
in white suits. Just bishies in birthday suits!
::claps her hands happily:: I feel so proud!