Hello! Well, here is a chapter with some actions in it, finally. ^_~ In addition, this chapter will mention a few more new characters that I'll see if you can guess. ^_~ I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! PLEASE EMAIL!!!! ^_^ me and tell me what you think of my story. Critiques, compliments, suggestions, questions, anything would be fine. Just drop me a line! My inbox is getting really! lonely!! ^_~ Usual disclaimers: Sailor Moon and all its characters and likeliness belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha/Toei. English translation is made possible by DiC and now Cloverway/Bandai (?). My email address: ml_eclipse@hotmail.com << >> = thoughts [ ] = author's note Rated: PG Please enjoy! ============================================================================ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A Shepherd's Kiss <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ========================= << By Cosmos >> ================================== Chapter 9: Breach of Faith It was almost the dawn of a month gone. The illusory colors of deep purple and haunting blue mixed with the remaining night painted the incredible sky that met his gaze when he awoke. For a moment, he remained where he was, lying silently on his back watching the slow turn out of a new day. It was an experience few had the chance to witness. The silence, the reverie of the still atmosphere calmed his tired soul and aching heart. He let out a sigh as if he longed to grasp the invisible stars with his bare hands…a sigh that echoed the cry in his heart. His breath created puffs of misty-white clouds in front of his cool lips in the crisp air of early dawn. Much had happened…many changes have occurred…and many more will come… In his mind, the past month rolled by event by event by event, flashing in his head like minute pictures in a camera, but one image lingered behind when others have long disappeared. It was her image. A radiant angel captured in stillness, forever to imprint in his heart and forever to inflict pain to it. He sighed again. How much more could he endure? How much longer must he withhold this secret? Eternity. The single word he feared answered him. Could it…must it…will it be so? <> he thought, <> His brows crinkled with grief, <> For the past month, he watched her carefully with a yearning desire burning deep inside him that slowly ate away at his soul day by day. He noticed her silence, her solitude, and her endurance to withstand the pain evident in her heart. She seemed to be waiting for something, or someone, he could not be sure. He never asked her, and she would probably never tell. A common question, but a painful one for someone so deeply in love, rose in his head whenever he caught her gazing forlornly at the moon, was she waiting for someone? If her heart was truly taken by another, then he would not intervene them. A mournful sigh escaped him. When he finally knew what it was to love, the woman he cared for would not return his feelings. Unrequited love, perhaps this was the only kind he would ever experience. "Fight!" someone yelled in the distant darkness interrupting his reverie. He glanced toward the direction of the sound, but remained motionless with his ears perked and his mind alert. "Is that the best you can do?" the voice cried again. "Come on! Fight like you mean it!" Then the eerie noise of a duel soon covered the region. He could hear the sounds of swords clanging against each other with cries of attacks emitted by the tired fighters. Suddenly, silence overtook all. He remained where he was on his back, but his senses were fully alert, waiting for…waiting for…he wasn't sure what. But something…in the atmosphere…strange… foreboding…a change was to come. Perhaps it was only a change in the wind, or something much more, he was not sure; but he could sense the great anticipation, as if the very world around him was waiting for this moment. The atmosphere, once serene, now felt heavy with expectancy. His body was poised like a snake readying itself for an unexpected attack. Then it came. It was not a gradual invasion like the rising of an ocean's tide, but a burst of wildfire spreading in madness among a dry grassland, unstoppable and completely unexpected. Displacing the silence, an uproar of screams filled the still forest as a surprise attack was made against them. Two silhouettes ran toward him, one of which screamed, "RUN ENDYMION!" "What?" his confused mind cried as he jerked upright. The two silhouettes, with the tallest carrying a young child, passed him with one grabbing his arm and pulling him with them. He looked at the owner of the arm and found an angry expression upon her face mixed with fear. Her cold blue eyes were focused directly in front of her. Suddenly, she glanced his way when she noticed him looking at her with an expression of a million unanswered questions. She simply frowned and said in a clipped voice, "Later," and continued to run, dragging him with her. The four could hear the great battle raging behind them, they could feel the hopelessness of the situation, and the guilt for leaving the others behind, but the two women knew this was the only way. It would be useless to all if everyone was captured that early dawn; and victory was an impossible achievement in this battle where they were greatly outnumbered twenty to one. It was better to run and return to fight another day. And they would return. As the dreaded noise of the surprise attack grew fainter with distance, he turned to her and yelled, "What the hell are you two doing?" "Trying to evade capture, what do you think?!" Serenity snapped. "We can't just leave them behind!" he argued. "They'll be slaughtered. I'm going back!" He pulled his arm free from her grasp. "And what," she turned abruptly to face him, "get yourself captured? Or worse killed?" "They are being defeated without our help!" he cried in anger. At the moment, his rage blinded him of insight into the proper decisions. Momentarily, he thought she was being selfish for running away to simply save her own skin. "If you're such a coward then you can stay here," he yelled at her, "but I'm returning to help them!" Her cold blue eyes for a moment revealed an emotion he did not expect. She turned away from him without replying, but not before he could see the hurt expression so evident in those blue crystals. Haruka noticed it too. She turned toward Endymion angrily with Hotaru held protectively in her strong arms, "They will be defeated with or without our help!" she yelled. "It will prove useless to us all if every one of us were captured by those damn M officers." "M officers? Those Green Soldiers were led by the M Officers?" he asked in shock. "Yes they were. Now not only were we greatly outnumbered and caught totally off guard but also do you think we had any chance at all fighting against the M's great foot battalion? Think, Endymion! You know I am right!" Through it all, Hotaru watched with saddened eyes as the two argued among themselves. Her gaze fell upon Serenity whose attention was laid somewhere else in the distance. A sorrowful expression could be seen beneath the coldness she was attempting to hide behind. Endymion glanced angrily back in the direction of the battle with fists clenched tightly at his sides. His heart raged with multitudes of emotions from anger to guilt, but in his mind he knew Haruka was right. It would be useless to be captured. And returning to help fight a futile battle was plain suicidal. If he remained free, then there would be a chance he could help his comrades escape. Yet, two questions lingered in his mind, <> The M officers were the greatest Lieutenants within the Green Army, the main military unit of Kingdom Earth. Usually, they engaged in battles at the North Post, which held the greatest importance in this war. The North Post, one of two posts that Era soldiers have been unable to capture—the South Post being the other one—held a strange source of power deep within the womb of its majestic mountain known to all as Crystal's Child. No one knew who named the mountain or why it was given that name, but it remained with the people unto this day. A great power could be sensed from deep within the mountain's belly but no one has yet been able to reach it. Currently, Era soldiers were desperately trying to gain the post before the Green soldiers have a chance to retrieve that power, but so far it has been unsuccessful for both parties. Serenity gave a silent glance toward the tall young man standing close to her with his attention greatly absorbed in this painful decision. His harsh words still rang clear in her heart where it caused further wounds. She turned away and began to stroll on alone. Whether they will follow her, she did not care. Where she was heading, she did not bother to think. What she wanted was to escape all this. She simply wanted to fall into a deep slumber where nothing could be felt, where pain was only a distant memory, guilt a forgotten sorrow, and peace a welcomed companion. But alas, her desire would not be fulfilled. Instead, she continued on following this path wherever it may eventually lead her and to whatever fate awaiting her. Endymion sensed her presence gone from his side. A sudden wash of sorrow overcame him. His very words now surfaced in his mind to inflict pain against him. How could he have been so thoughtless, so cruel as to say that to her. He turned and found her slender form moving slowly away from him. She looked so forlorn walking down that forest trail. He watched her with mournful eyes that filled with a secret love. Haruka watched aside in silence. All that surpassed between these two, she could see full well. No words were needed. No explanations required. The eyes, the gestures, the evident sorrow was enough to let her know that a unique attraction, love if one wanted to call it, was pulling these two together. Looking at Endymion, she knew he could feel the full force of the emotion surging in his soul, but he has yet to reach for it. Watching Serenity, Haruka realized that she has yet to accept it. Shaking her head dejectedly, Haruka whispered, "Come Endymion. Let us follow her, it is best we not leave her alone. I fear what she would do if left on her own." Endymion looked at Haruka questioningly, but the young woman only shook her head again and turned to follow Serenity. Endymion was not far behind. Serenity could sense them following her, but she did not slow down nor did they make any intent on catching up to her. Once they have given great distance between themselves and the place of battle, they all stopped near a small brook for a quick rest before they continue on again, to where…none of them knew. Haruka and Endymion sat down by the bank, chatting silently about the possible places their friends could have been taken and how they were to carry out a rescue plan. Serenity watched them from beneath a cherry blossom situated upon a small hill with Hotaru sitting quietly by her side. Her eyes appeared emotionless and indifferent, but a strange light reflected in them that to an unobservant eye would not have been noticed, but Hotaru saw it. "Where do you think they could have been taken?" she heard Haruka asked. "Your guess is as good as mine," he replied with frustration. "Possibly to one of the two posts they held." "No," Haruka responded, "they wouldn't take them their. The prisoners would only get in their way. Possibly to those caves to the west." "Maybe," Endymion replied although with great doubt, "but it would take us forever to locate them. You know how many caves there are in those rocky cliffs?" "Perhaps," Serenity spoke up, "they did not take them anywhere." She instantly caught their attention. Even Hotaru looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?" Haruka asked slowly. Serenity looked across the brook, her eyes dark and brooding as she replied, "Prisoners are not always taken in a battle." Endymion frowned angrily. He stood up and walked toward her with determined strides. She noticed him approach, but remained where she was. He bent down and grabbed her by both arms pulling her up until her face was leveled with his. In a low whisper, he spoke words intended for her ears alone, "I have tried many times to understand you, and now I truly know. You care for no one but yourself. Do you think that your sorrows are the only ones in this world? Do you think that perhaps there are others out there that may have suffered just as much as you? I suggest, *Princess*," he emphasized her title in an irritated voice, "that you drop this self-pity act and start thinking for once. Wallowing in your grief will get you no where and it wouldn't help your situation or anyone else for that matter." He paused to let his words sink in before continuing in a calmer voice, "If you don't want to come with us, then you're free to go wherever you please. I have never, and will not now, hold you from your wishes." She gazed at him for a moment. Her dark azure eyes searched the depth of his Prussian blues for something that she wanted to see but somehow could not manage to find at the moment. Without a response, she broke from his grip and began to walk away. She gave neither a word of farewell nor a backward glance as her form disappeared among the large trunks of the surrounding forest. Hotaru hesitated, glancing back to her other two friends but quickly followed the young woman into the dark undergrowth. He watched Serenity disappear with mournful eyes and a deep emotion of regret. They had only managed as far as a few steps when Serenity heard a small twig snap toward her left. She immediately grabbed Hotaru and pulled her down behind a thick shrub. Cautiously, Serenity peered through an opening between two branches and to her surprise she saw Faith carefully approaching Haruka and Endymion by the bank. She heard Faith call his name as she stepped into the open. Endymion turned and a joyful light lit his face when he saw his friend alive. Haruka was welcoming the young woman with great warmth as well. Her brows knitted together in pain as Serenity felt a strange emotion overcame her. It was not jealousy, but perhaps envy. Faith was their friend. She was a part of their group, while Serenity was only an outsider that could never fit in and be truly accepted. It appeared that she was destined to be alone. Her eyes grew dark again as she pushed these emotions aside. <> she thought, <> "Stay here, Hotaru," she told the child as she carefully edged her way toward the forest edge in hopes of overhearing their conversation. She hid herself behind a dense wild rosebush. At this distance she could hear them perfectly well. She arrived in time to catch the beginning of a question placed at Faith, "…you manage to escape?" Haruka asked in surprise. "I was working in my garden when I heard people screaming that we were under attack. I was so scared that I just dashed headlong into the forest in hopes of escaping capture. The Green Soldiers have been hunting for me for quite awhile and knowing that they were so close just scared me to death," Faith gave a shudder at the thought. "It's alright now," Haruka comforted giving the younger woman a slight hug. "Did you see anyone else escaping?" Endymion inquired. Faith shook her head dejectedly, "No, everyone was captured." Endymion frowned with concern. "Oh Endymion!" Faith cried as she threw herself into his arms, "I'm so scared! What if they search for us…and….and found us?" "They won't," he reassured her. "How…how can you be sure?" "Because they won't waste their time and energy searching only for five people," he answered as he gradually let go of her. "Five?" she asked in confusion. "Where are the other two persons then?" "They're gone," he replied in a tight voice. <> Faith thought. "Where did they go?" Faith asked inquisitively. Endymion shrugged, "I don't know." "Faith," Haruka interrupted, "did you manage to see where the others were taken?" "Well," Faith said hesitantly, "after the battle, I returned to see whether the Green army was gone, but they were still there. I heard one of the M officers gave an order to head for the South Post. I stayed just long enough to see them gather up the prisoners and march out. I noticed that you and Haruka weren't with them so I began to search for you both." "You returned?" Endymion asked incredulously. "Well, you are a very brave girl, Faith." "Indeed," Haruka agreed, "and thanks to her courage, I think we know where our friends are being held prisoner." Endymion nodded, "The South Post." <> Serenity thought with great suspicion, <> she thought sarcastically. <> Serenity had heard all she needed. She returned to Hotaru with a strange expression on her face. Once within hearing distance, she whispered, "Hotaru, do you know your way around these parts?" The child answered in bewilderment, "Yes, but why?" "Do you know where a place called the South Post is located?" Hotaru nodded. "Great, can you take me there?" Serenity asked. "Yes I can, but why do you want to go there? That place is fortified to the teeth with Green Soldiers. You're crazy if you want to go there." "Perhaps, I am," Serenity replied as she gave a strange glance back toward the stream, "but that is where we're heading." It took them the entire week to travel on foot to reach the South Post, and Hotaru was correct when she said the place was fortified with Green Soldiers. The South Post, as Serenity soon observed, was merely a cliff by the side of a large ocean spanning as far as the eye could see. The ocean's sparkling dark blue surface lapped at the foot of the jagged cliff in bursts of white foam that barely reached half the side. Hiding behind large jagged rocks that jutted from the ground like icicles from a shingle, Serenity and Hotaru watched as Green Soldiers (of which Serenity approximated to be five hundred) stood guard in front of the cliff, while a hundred of them were going behind the side of a slab of limestone rock that rose from the ground as tall as a great red oak tree. Serenity frowned in confusion, <> Serenity scanned quickly around, but all she could see were regular foot soldiers. There were no officers that would rank as Lieutenants among these soldiers. But then again, she was not familiar with Earth military dress codes. Thus, Serenity asked Hotaru if she could possibly recognize the so-called M officers among these soldiers. After taking a cautious peak over the top of the rock, Hotaru sunk back down with a negative shake of her head. "No," she said, "I can't see any of the M officers at all. Are you sure they were heading here?" Serenity did not reply. She returned her attention to the numerous forest green soldiers dotting the landscape before her gaze. <> she thought carefully. <> Her eyes widened in surprise as a single word rose instantly to her mind, <> Hotaru noticed her sudden change of expression and asked fearfully, "Serenity? What…what is wrong?" <> Serenity thought in astonishment, <> "Hotaru," she said hurriedly, "We must get out of here and warn the others!" "What?" "This is a trap!" Serenity said as her eyes flashed with dangerous fury, "Faith lied! The prisoners were never taken here in the first place. She is leading them directly into a trap!" "Oh my God!" Hotaru cried in fear. "Come on! We must hurry! If we move quickly we might intercept them in time!" The two rushed out as quickly as possible without getting detected and ran back along the trail they came, but they were too late. Before they managed a few meters, they could hear yells and screams back at the Post that marked the beginning of a desperate struggle. > Serenity thought with anguish, <> "Hide here Hotaru!" Serenity commanded before she rushed away. "Wait! Serenity!" Hotaru called out desperately, "Don't go back there!" But Serenity was out of hearing distance. Instead, the child hid among the forest brushes in silent dread praying for the return of her companion. Serenity rushed maddeningly toward the place of battle. <> she thought. The fight opened before her like a scene in some play. She saw Haruka fighting desperately against five Green soldiers, while Endymion was struggling hard to fight against five other soldiers a short distant away. One of the soldiers looked familiar, but Serenity could not discern the face from this distance. However, this soldier was wearing a slightly different uniform than the rest. To her horror, Serenity saw Endymion quickly being defeated. They were greatly outnumbered. Victory was impossible. Serenity scanned around quickly in search of Faith, but the traitor was no where in sight. > she thought, her cold blue eyes flashed with hatred. Serenity realized that escape for any one of them was almost impossible. It would take a miracle to help them retreat, but she could not leave them to fight alone. Instead, she pulled out a sword she had with her during training with Haruka that early morning and rushed in. Haruka was nearest to her, so Serenity reached her first. During her fight, Haruka saw Serenity quickly approaching her. In surprise and fear she yelled, "Get out of here! It's a trap!" Upon hearing Haruka's voice screaming at someone, Endymion turned to look. He saw a flash of silver hair before a Green soldier blocked his view in an attack. <> his mind managed to think before his attention was quickly occupied again. Twirling around like an unstoppable whirlwind, Serenity skillfully defeated the soldiers rushing to block her from reaching Haruka. Slashing left and right, she struck down the soldiers one-by-one as she met each attack. Soon back to back, the two female warriors fought. Their two swords flashed dangerously around them preventing any of the soldiers from penetrating their tight defenses. "I told you to get the hell out of here!" Haruka managed to yell through the roars of battle. "Like I ever listened to you?" Serenity yelled back sarcastically. Haruka gave a laughing cry and said, "You're a fool, Serenity! But I'm glad you're here now." Serenity made no reply. A Green soldier attacked her from the side, his sword flashed seriously close to her side but she managed to block it. She used her sword to shove him back. He staggered backward under the force and she used the opportunity to strike him down. <> she thought fearfully, <> "We must get out of here!" she yelled. "We can't leave Endymion!" Serenity frowned and gave a quick glance over at the mob surrounding him. <> was the word that rose to her head, <> Suddenly his voice rose above the din of battle as if in response to her thoughts, "Get out of here!!!!" he yelled. "Save yourselves! Serenity! Haruka! Get the HELL OUT OF HERE!" "NO!" Haruka cried, "We're not leaving without you!" "Listen to me!" he cried angrily, "It is useless! You must free the others, so move it! That is an order!" "But…," Haruka protested. "He's right," Serenity said in a tight voice, "We can't save him. We must escape or we'll all get captured!" Haruka growled in frustration. "All right," she muttered reluctantly, "but we'll come back for him." Serenity nodded silently. "Hold on fast!" Haruka yelled. "What?" Serenity cried out in surprise. Haruka did not reply. Instead she held out her hand at the soldiers blocking their way of retreat into the forest and yelled, "Terra Winds! Demolish!!!!" Suddenly, a blast of power was emitted from her open hand and sliced through the soldiers in a single clean sweep. The powers of wind raged around her as Serenity tried desperately to retain her footing. <> she thought in amazement at the unbelievable force this woman just demonstrated. For a moment, the incredible energy of the blow held the soldiers at bay, but that moment was brief. "Come on!" Haruka cried as she ran quickly toward the forest. Serenity followed close behind. Before she reached the safety of the trees, Serenity gave a fleeting glance back toward Endymion fighting desperately alone. His body was covered with blood and sweat. His left arm was wounded, but he continued to struggle on. She knew he could not last much longer. A pang of sorrow swept though her. She turned reluctantly away and followed Haruka but not before she whispered, "Fight Endymion! I'll come back for you." A soldier fighting against Endymion noticed their retreat and cried out to his commanding officer, "They're escaping Major!" "Never mind," his Major replied, "He is what we're after. Don't let *him* escape or I'll have your skins! I want this man alive. Capture him! Get him NOW!" Although alone and physically exhausted, Endymion fought on with a spirit that was unwilling to be defeated. A single man with one solitary sword, he fought as if ten men were with him. Major Silica frowned in frustration, <> Watching him fight with amazing skills, Silica thought admiringly, <> Endymion just managed to dodge the blade of a Green soldier when another met his attention flashing close to his throat. He swerved in time to allow his sword return the attack by hitting its mark in a flash of crimson. "Enough!" he heard someone cried, "You are mine, shepherd!" Suddenly a sphere of energy whizzed toward him at an incredible speed. His eyes narrowed instinctively as he quickly did a forward flip high into the air, barely escaping the attack as it hissed by singeing the tips of his ebony hair. The attack met an unwanted target in the rock slab's face and exploded. <> he thought nervously, <> Landing heavily on his feet, Endymion's dark Prussian-blue eyes focused on the woman dressed in a moss-green uniform standing directly in front of him. His raging azure eyes pierced her glare as the hatred of one met the fury of another. "Fighting any further is plain stupid," she said, "I suggest surrender, shepherd." "Never," he hissed. "I'd rather die than allow you to capture me." She responded in a mocking smile as she attacked again letting go another powerful attack. This time two blades of gray energy flew at him. With a body that was plagued with fatigue and a mind muddled with pain, Endymion was unable to dodge both the attack. He managed to drop to the ground and rolled away from the first blade, but the second came instantly leaving him no room for escape. It struck him a forceful blow in the back sending him reeling against the lime slab. His bloodied body crumbled to the ground in a sounding thud, which left him unconscious, and a prisoner of his enemy. A sinister smile crept to her lips as Silica whispered in a smooth voice, "Let us see how she will deal with a traitor like you." They have been running for a very long distance and fatigue has now caught up with them. Gradually, they slowed down to a walk. Haruka gave a sad glance back toward the direction where, in her mind's eye, she could visualize Endymion struggling for his life. She hated this. She hated to leave him behind, to run from a fight. But she knew she could not have helped him if she stayed, and being captured was never an option. "What are we to do now?" Haruka asked in a hopeless tone. "We can't return to help Endymion and we have no clue where the others could have been taken." Serenity remained silent as she looked back toward the struggle they left behind. <> she thought in confusion, <> Her thoughts quickly switched to another direction when she heard Haruka's comments. For a moment, she pondered carefully the words Faith had said. Maybe there was something in her alibi that might give them a clue to the others location. Meanwhile, Haruka slumped down dejectedly beneath the shade of a large oak. A hopeless and mournful look occupied her lovely face. For once, she felt completely lost. There didn't seem any possible paths they could take. All the available roads appeared to lead only to a dead end. "I can't believe Faith would betrayed us," she said in a low whisper, anger evident in her tone. "I can," Serenity replied. "What?" "What she told you this morning was simply too foolish on her part to be true," Serenity said in an icy tone. "I mean, working in her garden before the break of dawn? That is simply absurd. And she actually returned to see if the Green soldiers are gone. Hah! Give me a break! The girl said she ran in dead fright when she *heard* they were attacking, where did she suddenly get her courage to return. I knew her story sounded too ridiculous to be true, but I had no evidence to prove my suspicions correct." "So you decided to check out the South Post in case she was telling the truth?" "Yeah," Serenity said in a deadly tone, "if I weren't so stupid, I could have prevented you and Endymion from getting into her trap in the first place." She stood looking into the distant with her hands clenched in a tight fist as her eyes raged with such intensity of hatred that Haruka for a moment feared her. "No," the older woman spoke quietly from below, "Endymion and I were the fools here. We should have caught up with her story in the first place instead of believing her wholeheartedly like we did. It's just that we never suspect a girl like Faith to hand us over to the Green soldiers. I mean, she was hunted by Green soldiers as well." "Maybe she wasn't hunted by them," Serenity said thoughtfully. "Perhaps, she was their spy all along. It was probably she that revealed your hideout." "Most likely. Betrayed by one of our own. I…I don't know who to trust anymore." Hotaru watched Haruka with great sympathy. Here was a woman who has committed herself to a desperate struggle in order to save the heart of a kingdom from oppression and injustice. It appeared that the peace and happiness of so many always fell upon the shoulders of so few. Serenity remained silent for a moment before she said, "There is one you can trust." The older woman looked up at her in surprise. Expecting a cold gaze, Haruka was met instead with calm azure eyes that held a deep hidden emotion. The coldness at the moment was pushed back into the depths of those blue crystals. "And who would that be?" "The one who would sacrifice his life for the sake of others." "Endymion," Haruka whispered the dear name, "he has always been pure of heart." Unexpected, she asked Serenity, "what about you?" "What about me?" Serenity replied coldly. "Can I trust you?" Serenity remained silent for a moment. Her azure eyes became dark and grave. "You can do whatever you want," she replied impassively, "but it is best you don't place such hope on me." "Why?" Haruka asked bewildered by the strangeness of her personality, "Will you be betray us as well?" Serenity did not reply. She returned her gaze back to the distant horizon as she thought carefully on their next actions. Quietly she spoke, "I know where your other friends are being held." "What?" Haruka jumped up in surprise, "You do? How? Where?" "If Faith said they are being held in the South Post, then the only other place is the—" "North Post!" Haruka interrupted in her excitement. "Right," Serenity replied in a definite tone. "But with only the two of us," Haruka began, "how in the world can we fight past the hundreds of soldiers stationed there?" "There is more to gaining a victory than simply fighting your way through," Serenity said. "If they used the element of surprise on us then why not return it back to them. It is only respectful to give another a surprise when they have given you one." A cold smile spread across her beautiful face as the iciness returned to her gaze set in the distant northern horizon. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [Well, I hope no one is angry with me for having Endymion call Serenity a coward, but you must understand how frustrated he was. Besides, he didn't mean it. ^_~ I try to make my characters be as realistic with their emotions as possible so they are not perfect angels. ^_~ Anyway, sorry for making this chapter so long. Now, can you guess who the M officers are? There are three of them and they are all characters you know. Hint: The letter "M" is the key. ^_~ Thanks goes to you all for being so patient with me as I try hard to have a new chapter released each week. I'd also like to thank all who emailed me. I love reading your comments! ^_~ Keep them coming people! ^_^ Oh! Announcement to those who are interested: Fox channel is airing "Vision of Escaflowne" this August 19-00 at 11 AM Eastern time (10 AM Central and Pacific time), and Cybersix at 10 AM or later Eastern (I watched that already, it is a pretty interesting show. It is an anime although the character style is quite different.) Teletoon is airing Cardcaptor Sakura this August 23rd, unfortunately I don't know what time. I have to find out if I want to watch it though. ^_~ I like to see what it is like. I am anxiously waiting to see Escaflowne. From what I heard, it should be really good. ^_~!!!!!! I am also waiting for YTV to air the new SM episodes and (hopefully) Gundam Wings. Wow, what a line up this fall! ^_~ Whoa, this is the longest author's note I have ever done. ^_^ *********** Well, chapter ten coming next week! "Trust" *******] =========================================== Copyright (c) 2000, Cosmos.