Nearly three days out in the desert, and no other sign of life, civilization; only jagged moutains lay many miles ahead?

Lina collapsed, her eyes red from irritation. She brought her roughened hands to her face and gasped. "We're gonna die! No shelter, no food...the water's gone and I'm gonna go mad!" She screamed then burst into a coughing fit. She jerked to her feet and pulled at her hair. "We are going to die!" She clutched her throat painfully and bent over.

Zelgadiss struggled through the knee-deep sand and grabbed her. "LINA!" His voice was hoarse. "Stop saying that!" He swung her around to face him. "Breathe slow, calm down; panicking is the worst thing you can do." He closed his eyes. "Breathe through your nose, not your mouth, you'll dehydrate much faster otherwise. Don't loose your mind Lina." The redhead slowed her ragged breathing and stared into his eyes. He lifted the hood back over her gaunt, sunburned face. "That cloak of mine won't do you any good if you don't keep the hood over your head?"

"Zel?" Lina's voice crackled. Her eyes stung, but no tears fell. "I'm sorry...I am not as strong...as-I thought...I was."

Zelgadiss took her face in his hand. "Listen to me, we are not going to die."

"Zel..." Lina laid her head against his chest and sobbed. "What's the matter with me?"

Zelgadiss closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair. "It's this heat; let's sleep the rest of the day away, too hot...to...travel a foot further." Both sank to the ground and fell into a fitful, uncomfortable, sleep.

"Zelgadiss..." She struggled to sit up and rested her chin on her knees, clutching herself tightly. "For you, I will be strong."

A new set determination flashed in Lina's eyes. Tonight, she would put her spirit to the test, give it everything she had, go on until she couldn't possibly move an inch further.

She smiled as she made this decision, this was more like her. "I won't give in so easily!" she shouted into the night. With a huff, she rose to her feet, staggering a little from the wooziness in her head.

Zelgadiss jerked awake, and gaped at Lina. "What is it?"

"Nothing Zelgadiss; let's go." She spoke in an unwavering voice that surprised him.

"Lina?" He rose slowly and faced her.

"I'm going to go on, until my body gives out completely." She declared, her eyes wild. "...and without your help."

Zelgadiss rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course Lina." But sadness overshadowed him. In spite of the brave appearance she put on, it didn't look good. Many miles lay between them and the mountains ahead. There wouldn't be a trace of life, animal or plant, if anything at all, until they reached that mountain range; but it was so far, and time was running out. Lina's body couldn't hold up too much longer against the elements, and he knew he wouldn't last much longer than her. It would all be in vain...

Lina took him by the arm, interrupting his thoughts. "What are you standing there for, Zel? Let's go!"

And so, they determinedly pressed on, slowly. They had all but traveled four excruciating miles, before Lina dropped to the ground. She grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into the air. "Come on legs, come on feet; work with me." Lina muttered. She rose again and continued.

Zelgadiss remained silent as he followed close beside her. He listened to her groaning as she took each step forward. They should be taking a short rest, but Lina kept pressing on. He admired her will, but she was pushing her body over its limit. It was almost too much for him to bear, but perhaps they would cover more ground this way, than if they rested in between. He now realized that only near death would prevent Lina from continuing.

Early morning of the fifth day found their seemingly lifeless bodies half buried in the shimmering white sands. But a closer look, and one would see that they still stubbornly clung to life, though they were so far gone, neither could lift their heads without putting out all their strength.

Zelgadiss was half in a black dream. He muttered words no one could understand, then reality hit him and his eyes slowly opened, finding his face buried in the sand. With a great effort of will, he rolled onto his back, gasping. Hoplessness filled his entire being, his spirit low. What was happening to him, he should still have some strength left, he was stronger than this. Wasn't he? How many days had it been now? He'd lost count. He wanted to scream, so angry was he. Zelgadiss' thoughts then turned to Lina; if he was just about finished for, then she?

"Lina!" His voice came out in a hoarse whisper. He rolled onto his stomach, anger and fear surging through his limbs. He crawled determinedly over to her limp form a few body lengths away. Then gasped and lifted himself to peer down at her. He turned her over and slapped the sorceress lightly on the face. "Lina." He wheezed then bent over in a coughing fit. He turned to her again, eyes wild. She hadn't moved. "Lina...wake up." He shook her gently, then roughly. No reaction, she lay very still. Was she breathing? Zelgadiss laid his index finger to her neck, feeling for a pulse. He recoiled as if a snake had jumped out and bit him. Her skin felt clammy to the touch. No pulse.

Zelgadiss' mind screamed inside. "No, Lina..." the words caught painfully in his throat. His eyes stung him as he bent down to administer artificial resuscitation. The touch of her icy lips against his made his body shudder. Between breaths he kept calling her name.

Minutes dragged by with no results, and he finally lost all reason. "Lina!" he wailed. "You stupid stupid woman, you can't leave me, not now!" He slapped her angrily on the face and tried resuscitation once more. His expression showed that of a mad man and he slammed down on her chest, still receiving no reaction from Lina. His inner voice told him to let her go. He shuddered uncontrollably, leaving his trembling hand on her chest, waiting to feel a heart beat. Nothing. He put his hands to his face and wept inwardly.

How much time had passed Zeladiss didn't know,he didn't feel, until something brushed across his face. Zelgadiss started to alertness. Lina stared at him, eyes partially open. Her face was relaxed, but her skin as pale as a sheet. Lina closed her eyes, struggling for frail breaths. It seemed to her, she was aware of all around her, and then again, she wasn't. It made no sense to her, but she didn't care. All Lina felt in that otherwise numb body of hers, was a continuous sharp pain in her chest, which made breathing difficult.

Zelgadiss could only stare right back, full of disbelief. Was he dreaming?

The sorceress moved her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She took a long breath and tried again. "My spirit...was leaving my body..." she paused then took a gulp of air. "Then...heard you call...me back...Zel."

Zelgadiss rose to a sitting position. He wanted to shout out for joy. This wasn't a dream; she was alive. A landslide of emotions burdened his heart. There were so many things he wanted to make known to her, but all he managed to say was. "I'll carry you." Then he thought to himself. "Give me strength."

He slid his arms under her and drew her close, swaying, as he fought to balance himself. Zelgadiss grinded his teeth and began to ascend another sand dune.

Hours crawled by like an eternity, the heat pounding at his back, head burning. Still he trudged on, dragging one leg at a time through the sizzling sand. Zelgadiss wondered at this newfound strength he had acquired, obviously not of his own will, but some higher power. Lina was beginning to feel very heavy. He looked down at her, making certain she was still with him.

He tried to quicken his pace as he crossed the flat ocean of white glistening sand, wanting to reach the next dune before late afternoon. But he just couldn't get his legs to move any faster than they were already. Despair of this torturous, never ending journey was leaking back into his mind like a deadly poison. He was sick of looking ahead at the mountains that didn't seem to be drawing any nearer, in fact they seemed to tauntingly pull further away from him every step he forced, but common sense told him it was wild illusions. So he bent all his consentration on the barely consious young woman he held in his arms. "Lina, I'll find us a way out of here or I'll die trying." With that, his voice failed him, throat much too sore to utter another word.

Lina sat over him, her face both pained and joyous at the same time.

"L-Lina, you're-" He began, but she put a finger to his mouth to silence him.

Lina smiled weakly. "Hush, don't waste your voice! I found water Zelgadiss!" She lifted his head and put the flask to his mouth. He drank some, but then pushed it away.

"Lina? Where'd you get it?"

"I found a well, a couple yards away..." She pointed to a dilapidated wall, with piles of rubble around it. "I didn't think anything was in it because the bucket took so long to reach bottom..."

Zelgadiss smiled at her. "Lina you are a wonder, do you know that? I thought you were too weak to raise your head, let alone get up on your own, how did-"

"When you care a great deal about someone, you can achieve the impossible, Zelgadiss." She grinned back, then her checks colored as she felt a blush coming on. "I woke earlier this afternoon to find you had collapsed and passed out...so I determinedly crawled my way over to the wall to see if there was anything we could use, and then I discovered a small opening in the sand and realized it was a well." She sighed and lay down next to him. "That pretty much explains it...kinda..." Lina closed her eyes and sighed. "I wish there was something around here that's edible, don't you? I mean, we are very lucky to have stumbled across a well, but ...damn it...I sure could use something to eat!" She grumbled now.

Zelgadiss turned his head and stared at her, with a pained look. "Don't think of it, it'll only make things worse. I'm sure that we'll come across something sooner or later. At least we have water and it'll keep us going for a bit longer." He struggled into a sitting position. "So, shall we keep going Lina? I know you haven't got any more strength left, but neither have I, so I won't be able to carry you. But we have to keep moving, we are almost to the mountains; there must be settlements there...we have to press on, while we still have life in us...Lina?"

The redhead nodded slowly. "Hai, Zelgadiss!" She coughed and rolled onto her feet. "Let me get more water first..." She stumbled over to the well and poured the remainder of the water left in the bucket, into her flask. Lina looked back at him. "Ready!"

He rose himself and went to her side. "Then let's go; I would say we have a couple miles between us and the mountain range. If we've come across a well, then we must be close to the source that is feeding it, which I imagine is somewhere in the mountains..." He took her hand and began walking, struggling rather, through the still warm, knee-deep sands. Lina let herself be half dragged until she got her balance.

Minutes later, Lina shattered the silence. "Zelgadiss-san?"

He shrugged and turned his head. "Lina? Something wrong?"

She smiled. "No, I just wanted you to know that I'm glad it's you who is here with me. You are the reason I keep going...I don't want to fail you."

Zelgadiss choked at those words. "I...Lina you have never failed me." He slowed down and spun around to face her, taking her face in his hands. "I'm glad I'm here with you too."

His sharp blue eyes penetrated the darkness, and Lina sweatdropped; heart fluttering in her chest and a giddy feeling passing through her head. She blushed brightly and pulled away from him. "I uh..." She raised her head and gazed at him, biting her lip. 'Oh what the heck,' her inner voice echoed. She let a smile escape and drew near to him and gave him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder.

Zelgadiss tensed in surprise then sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Lina..." He smiled and kissed her forehead softly.

Lina was melting; this was more then she could handle right now. She slowly pulled away and began fighting her way through the sand again. "Let's not waste anymore time Zelgadiss..." The sorceress waved him on. "Come on!"

Zelgadiss smiled back at her. "That was a waste of time?" He shook his head and followed.

A couple minutes later Lina fell behind, gasping for breath. "Damn, I didn't think I'd ware out so quickly." She bent over, feeling nauseous. "Gods, water on an empty stomach is awful, I feel sick..."

Zelgadiss nodded. "I second that, but we have to keep on.." He went to Lina and took her arm and pulled her along with him, set determination expressed on his face. She groaned and forced herself to keep up with him.

Lina's inner-voice kept repeating; Gods I wanna die, I wanna die...oh Gods. She narrowed her eyes and grumbled. "Shut up!"

Zelgadiss blinked. "N-Nani?"

Lina blushed. "Nothing, just talking to myself..."

Under the fading night sky, the two friends sat in silence. The faltering starlight whispered of the coming morn. A small, but lively fire crackled, it's blinding orange fingers reaching skyward in a wild dance.

Lina held out a stick over the blaze, on which a medium sized lizard was pierced. She stared half consciously at the flame as it cooked, and made a face as she thought about eating the creature. Lina muttered and her eyes traveled over to Zelgadiss who was staring out into space, seemingly. "I wonder if lizards taste like chicken."

The chimera raised an eyebrow. "Maybe, do you have a problem with eating a lizard?" He grinned slightly.

Lina shrugged. "Well, anything would sound good right now, I'd just as soon eat my boot, eh heh heh." She forced an uneasy laugh.

Zelgadiss smirked. "You know, I don't see why you'd have a problem with lizard...since I remember a certain occasion where we went to a restaurant that served Lake Dragon. You seemed so enthusiastic to try it too."

Lina chuckled. "Yeah...well, dragons are big lizards after all, heh."

Zelgadiss didn't answer, but snatched the catch away from the sorceress. "You are burning the chow, Lina!" He laughed, not believing the desperate circumstance.

Lina sweatdropped and rubbed the back of her head. "Gomen! But I thought you might like it extra tasty crispy!"

"Umm, no." The shaman replied. "It seems to be done though. I never thought I'd be saying this but..." He pulled off a leg and bit off some of the meat. "...it actually tastes good, could use a bit of spice though..."

Lina grabbed the meal away from him. "Hey! Don't eat all of it!" She tore it in half and gave the remains to the chimera.

Zelgadiss blinked. "You are actually giving me an equal share? It's not every man for himself, or woman?"

Lina smiled. "You have a problem with that? If you don't want it I'll take it. I could eat a house."

Zelgadiss shook his head. "Oh no, this is mine..."

The sorceress and chimera finished their meager meal in silence, and then laid back to watch the last of the flame linger and die. For the first time, both felt reassured and hopeful. They had reached the foot of the mountains and had even noticed signs of travelers along the way. They had beat the odds and now things seemed to be taking a turn for the better.

Lina propped herself up and turned to look at Zelgadiss. "It's kind of funny..."

Zelgadiss looked questioningly at the redhead, through his shaggy wiry strands.

She continued. "That I really don't feel so empty in the stomach anymore; it was such a small meal too."

Zelgadiss nodded. "Yeah...your stomach must have shrunk."

Lina's eyes widened. "Ceiphied forbid!!!" She grabbed him by the arm and jerked him close. "You don't think it'll stay that way, do you?"

The look on Lina's face was so genuinely comical, Zelgadiss couldn't hold back from laughing. He fell back into the sand and gasped for breath.

Lina punched him, though it wasn't a very strong punch; they still hadn't gained much strength. "Why are you laughing? It's not funny." But then she found the corners of her lips curling up in a grin. Zelgadiss laughing himself silly was an unbelievable sight. She started giggling herself and was soon clutching her side for breath.

Zelgadiss found his eyes tearing. "I-can't...stop, I think I'll laugh myself to-death!" He was convinced he was out of his mind.

"You...said-the D word!" Lina squeaked.

"Death?" Zelgadiss forced out a reply.

"Yeah! Don't-say-that!" Lina rolled on to her side and held her breath painfully as she tried to stop laughing.

"Sorry!" Zelgadiss cried as he slowly calmed down.

They both lay there gasping, hearts racing, and bodies aching severely.

"Oh, gods!" Lina whispered, a bead of sweat trickled down her neck. "I feel terrible."

"So do-I," The chimera laid a hand to his forehead, his temple throbbing. He reached for her hand and took it into his own. "Sorry..."

Lina gave his hand a light squeeze. "No, it was funny." She stared into his eyes, and found the sapphire orbs glistened with more life then she'd ever noticed before. She was beginning to wish Zelgadiss would act more light hearted in normal circumstances.

Zelgadiss closed his eyes and sighed softly. Just a long rest was all he wanted now. He loosened his grip on her hand as sleep slowly overcame his senses. Lina watched him quietly as she listened to him breath. He looked so tranquil.

"Zelgadiss-san..." She whispered and took his right hand; and scooting close to him, brought his arm over her petite shoulders. She laid her head on his chest and relaxed as she listened to his rhythmic heartbeat. Sleep came to her quickly. Back to Fan Fics