Alright, folks~! Four years later, and I'm still in love with DW. However, thanks to all the practice on LJ, I am a much better writer now *laughs*

Those of you who had somehow by some means kept a piece of this fic in memory, this is "Rescue for a tortured soul" reloaded. Means you take out all those horrible grammar and spelling mistakes, the rather frequent illogic of characters' words and actions then and there, cut the sappiness and fangirly wording in half, and replace it with a good portion of seriousness, more proper wording, phrasing, syntax, more IC and more reality-closeness. It's of course still far from perfect, but I'm trying my very best.

Honestly, I've been embarrassed to death reading some of the older version's passages *face-palms* But! Practice makes the master, right, and I had a lot of it in the past few years. Thus I'm fairly positive that this time around, I can guarantee you a much more sensible and pleasurable read! =3

I always loved the idea I had for this fic, but I admit four years ago, I lacked some serious skill to develop it properly. So now, having strayed through the dusty DW fanfiction files on my computer, I stumbled upon it again and yeah. Reactivated my fanfictiondotnet account again because my muses had stirred and wanted to proceed. Reading through the whole piece however, I realized it DEFINITELY needed a complete overhaul if I really wanted to continue it. So. Here it is.

Rewritten to the greatest extent, and stuffed with everything it lacked to make it a lot nicer and smoother (hopefully). I now present it to you and will be anxiously awaiting your opinions on it :o

BEFORE YOU PROCEED!

A few things you should be aware of:

First, this is a Yaoi Fanfiction. I'm very sure you know what it means since you have clicked on it after reading the brief summary. As stated, this is not the typical Yaoi either, but an actual threesome where my muses and I will try with all our might to bring together three of the hottest Shu Generals – Zhao Yun/Ma Chao/Jiang Wei (- this order does not reflect any top-bottom-middle hints, by the way XD)

Second. This story is not very Wei-friendly (but I plan to remedy that later on, should it be possible). I don't even know why, because it's actually my favourite Kingdom and Xiahou Dun is my favourite character... Maybe my muses are simply very sadistic.

Third. It's M-Rated for a big, fat reason. A lot of violence, abuse and nasty-angsty evil things in here, people. Nothing for faint hearts. For that, I reimburse you with occasional fluffiness, romance and later on, of course, lime/lemon (- which also adds reason to the rating, btw.) I've never really written a threesome before, I bet it will be interesting.

Okay, enough with the blahblah, on with the story! Off it goes!

Prologue

Two stately, mounted men brought their horses to halt as they saw a lonely figure on the empty marketplace of the huge town of Xu Chang. That was the young boy they were looking for and also the reason for the whole present campaign against Wei.

While dismounting, they kept an alert eye on mentioned boy standing with his back towards them. They knew he was good with that spear which he held in plain sight, the hilt stemmed into the ground and its sharp tip pointing straight up to the skies. Although he was outnumbered, he was not less of a danger as he would be face to face with only one of them.

"So they did leave you as their rear guard, didn't they?" The older one of the two horsemen asked, his smooth voice calm. So far, things were going exactly as they'd been planned by Zhuge Liang.

"And who wants to know this?" The youth turned around and looked them over with drooped, tired eyes. There was no surprise in them as he saw two Tiger Generals of Shu in front of him, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao. He looked shattered and seemed not to care much about the own plight.

"Hm, I thought as a to-be-strategist, you should be able to answer that yourself." Zhao Yun's placid response broke the momentary silence that had been left by the boy's question.

"Shut up. I had never wanted to be given that title." The boy retorted, the contempt both emphasized and contradicted by the sad smile that curled his lips.

"That's why we're here. Jiang Wei, don't you want to join us? You deserve something better than this." Zhao Yun continued with meek persuasion, his eyes never leaving that slender figure. He knew Ma Chao watched the boy as carefully as he did; they both were prepared for him to strike.

Jiang Wei's face twitch at the other's last statement. "What do you know? There's nothing I deserve. Now get lost." The sentences coming out of his mouth were quiet and sharp, yet his inflexion was weary and lost. His grip on his spear however, tightened as Zhao Yun moved closer a step.

"We don't want to fight you." Ma Chao stated, also taking a step forward and lowering his own weapon in supplementation of his words. He really didn't want to hurt the boy more than he likely already was, but he would have to if the other wouldn't join them on his own. He remembered what Zhuge Liang had said to them before the battle, and anger passed his face in a dark shadow. They had to bring the young warrior to safety; there was no way they would let him return to Wei.

"That's your problem." Jiang Wei answered, remaining on alert. The anger in the Tiger General's eyes frightened him a bit; he had heard plenty of rumours about Ma Chao's ferocity. He was in pain, and he acknowledged the bad situation he was in clearly. Two against one, and he might have tried to give them a hard time if he hadn't been through one himself not that long ago. He hadn't yet recovered properly, he didn't know if he ever would. After swallowing hard he tried to keep both men in vision and his muscles tensed, preparing his body to intercept the strike that was surely to come.

Zhao Yun sighed visibly, and ultimately lunged forward, aiming to knock the boy off his feet using the dull end of his weapon. Jiang Wei jumped up and rotated his spear in front of himself to let it clash with Ma Chao's, the collision pushing them away from each other.

"You're good." The horseman fleetingly commented on the agility and swift reaction, launching forward once more.

"Save your compliments." Jiang Wei spat back, perfectly aware of Zhao Yun's spear coming from the side at a deadly speed but there was nothing he could do to block both moves at once.

The sudden pain in his right shoulder made his body flinch and he jumped back, panting softly. Jiang Wei's right arm refused to hold his weapon up any longer, so he had to switch and take it into his left hand in order not to drop it altogether. His shoulder ached in a throbbing twinge yet he felt no wetness of blood. His opponent had aimed aptly - having used the flat side of the spear's head Zhao Yun hadn't cut him but the blow had been more than strong enough to deny him his right arm's service for a small but perfectly sufficient amount of time. That meant Jiang Wei would lose this fight without a possibility to defend himself and thus without the possibility of getting injured any further.

A twinkle of hope kindled somewhere in his heart, quickly smothered by the pain dominating the entire space there. Not the pain in the shoulder but a stronger pain deep inside, built up by years of torture and humiliation. No, he was not in the position to hope. He had forsaken hope long, long ago. And still...

"Give up the resistance. Whom are you trying to fool? Jiang Wei, we only want to help." Zhao Yun noticed that inner struggle well, those refined features had trouble hiding it. He saw anguish flashing across them, and he saw the hopelessness in the sad brown eyes. His heart hitched painfully at the sight, in all worry, sympathy and compassion. They had to get the young one out of there. They had to.

"Just, shut up!" The yet-Wei general gritted out aggressively and desperately alike, raising his spear in defence at the next strike from Ma Chao. His left arm strained with the effort to hold the weapon properly, trembling and bending in the elbow, though he understood perfectly that the Tiger General used not even half of his strength to push.

The desolation seized him in a firm grip and now, he fought to keep his tears from breaking out. Why was his life like this? What was Suzaku punishing him for? From the corner of his eye he caught another figure moving, but in his current position, there was little to nothing he could do to stop that figure from doing whatever it would want to. Somewhere, he wished he would simply get finish off... Quick and painless.

Jiang Wei flinched hard as an arm curled around his torso from behind, pulling him up against a well-build, warm body. The pressure on his raised spear decreased and disappeared, the person who held him in place now charily tracing a hand up his outstretched arm, gripping his wrist and compelling the hand attached to it to lower the weapon altogether.

"If you're fighting until your very last because of your mother - let it be. She's safe now." Zhao Yun's calm voice reached his ear while his grip around the boy softened. There was no longer need to restrain him - after hearing his statement the youth seemed to have lost all his will to break away.

Jiang Wei's lithe frame stiffened, his breathing seemed to have stopped. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, not able to find his voice. His head was empty; completely at loss of coherent thoughts.

He flinched yet again at the sound of his own spear hitting the ground as he lost grip on it. He wanted to cry in this one moment of desperation, helplessness and... hope? His eyes eased open upon perceiving Ma Chao coming closer, unable to jerk his hand away when it was carefully taken. The long sleeve was pushed up slowly, and revealed a terrifying image of bruises and scars. The abrasions of ropes could be seen clearly on the pale skin, scars of cuts and marks of too strong holds - all marring the tender surface.

"So it really is true." The Tiger General murmured more to himself, and looked up into vacant brown eyes. The misery in them and the glistening to-come tears were more of an answer than he needed.

"Let me go. I won't run." The boy pleaded in a shaky voice and Zhao Yun complied, releasing the hold on the young warrior's waist.

"So you know..." Jiang Wei immediately turned around to face the Little Dragon. "All of it...?"

"Most of it, yes." Zhao Yun nodded, and despite the solemnity of the situation he directed a reassuring smile at the boy. It was okay.

"Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you." Ma Chao added, putting his hand onto the boy's shoulder, giving it a soft but firm squeeze.

"I..." Jiang Wei trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Were they really here to help him? But... why? The images of yesterday surfaced in his mind again, and oh, did they hurt. The past three years had been hell for him, no, it'd probably been much worse. How often he had thought about suicide he couldn't tell, they were too many to count each day. His tortured spirit and body simply couldn't trust the fact that it was actually over. Just like that... within one day. If it was true, if these two really were here to help him, to get him out of the nightmare he'd lived in the past three years, then it was more than he could ever dare to believe.

Zhao Yun was right, he stayed in Wei only because of his mother who didn't even know of the danger she was in every day. She did not know that the neighbours living next door were in fact Wei assassins; ready to execute their orders if he would make a mistake. The debt he had to his mother, the love he harboured for her, his only living family, the will to protect her - that was the only thing that had kept him from cutting open his wrists many, many times. That was the only thing that had held him back every time he walked by the palace lake tempting him to just jump in with a stone around his neck. The thoughts of her were the only thing that always carried him through nights full of crying and silent screaming. That was it...

Not seeing the grave affliction these recollections had on his emotions, Jiang Wei didn't even notice the tears that overflowed and spilled at last, starting to creep down his face in translucent rivulets. Beneath the great potential of a warrior and a tactician... Just a kid. He was just a kid, scared and distressed and alone. Broken.

"Hey. It's okay." After a brief moment of hesitation, now knowing how the boy might react, Zhao Yun reached out and gently pulled the smaller, shivering existence closer, wrapping his arms around the slender, suddenly so very breakable-seeming form. By Suzaku. Whatever madness had possessed those who had wrecked the poor creature in his hold... they would have to pay for it.

With his eyes closed, Jiang Wei only tucked his face away against the older man's chest, frightened and comforted at the same time by that consoling gesture. Solace... Comfort... He had never exactly known the meaning of these words because he never had anybody who would offer it. There had been so many of those nights he'd wished for someone to hold him when he'd crumble under the burden he was bearing. So many lonely nights spent licking the wounds and crying in solitude. Still, he never allowed himself to cry in front of other people. Afraid to be ridiculed for his tears, aware they only added up pleasure to those who were the cause of them. But now...

"It's all right." Now it was... alright. "You're safe now." Now it was... safe. "It's over." Holding the boy close non-forcedly, Zhao Yun wished he could somehow ease the pain that seemed to smother the young life that pressed up to him. He looked to Ma Chao who was staring silently at the sun sinking under the line of the horizon, colouring the skies in a variety of warm, reddish hues. No doubt that the younger Tiger General was having similar thoughts, but there was yet little they could do to help the boy out of his misery. At least, he was safe now.

Zhuge Liang had entrusted them both with this task after the scouts confirmed the reports they'd received from the villagers around Xu Chang. They were saying that the guards who spent lots of time in the village tavern often talked about a boy kept in the palace. Rumours told the youth to be very talented both in strategy and martial arts, but being ill- and mistreated by his fellow officers. The scouts had managed to catch a view of those treatment, and their reports had been horrible.

Immediately after, a small army had been raised quickly. The time was perfect because Jiang Wei had been re-stationed to an outpost on the Wei-Shu border and it was the ideal opportunity for a surprise attack. The Wei forces were indeed surprised as the Shu forces breached the gates, not at all having expected them to strike this area. Like anticipated, Jiang Wei was left as a rear-guard to give Cao Hong and Cao Ren time to withdraw. Zhuge Liang's plan was a success thus far. The most difficult part of that plan was still ahead of them - restoring Jiang Wei's life back to normal. To heal his shattered soul and body.

"I'm sorry. I..."

Zhao Yun's thoughts snapped back to reality as a shaky, jagged whisper caught his and Ma Chao's attention. Jiang Wei had eventually calmed down and finally found his vocal cords able to produce sounds again. He didn't really know what to say about his sudden tearful outburst or how to explain it to the two Tiger Generals. He just hoped they could understand... since they knew...

"You have nothing to apologize for. We should be the one to apologize, for not arriving to your aid much sooner." The older Shu general spoke softly, slightly rubbing the boy's back.

"It's... I... You couldn't know... Nobody did." The boy stepped back, freeing himself out of Zhao Yun's embrace. His head hung low as if in shame that his secret was not much of a secret any longer.

It was strange that someone knew and was not trying to use him further but to help him. It was strange that someone knew and was not trying to deliver another blow but to help him stand up again. It was strange that someone cared... The words of the last night... 'You're so lovely, squirming in pain like this...' a nasty echo in his head. His hands clenched to fists and he forced back the tears again. Again, like so many times before. No more crying... He'd sworn. But it was one of those promises that were near impossible to keep.

"Come. We should ride back." He felt a firm hand touch his shoulder and looked up into Ma Chao's hazel eyes, the man smiling warmly at him.

"Back...?" He asked, a little dumbstruck.

"Yeah. Back home." The horseman answered, leading him towards his white mare.

He helped Jiang Wei up and swung himself into the saddle behind him. Spurring the horse gently, he coaxed the animal to set its well-trained legs into motion, trotting first and then quickly gaining speed. The echo of another horse's beating hooves close behind them, Jiang Wei leaned back as the exhaustion took its toll on him, nudging him to close his eyes.

He was still vigilant, as always when he got a chance for a doze but a strange feeling of safety crept up into his heart. A feeling he had forgotten for the past three years and hardly adjusted to. He simply still couldn't believe that it was over. The fear was still there as was the pain. The sharp pain that still devoured him from the inside, it was ever-present. Yet still... the spark of hope was gaining strength and he was not about to give up on converting this spark into something more.

It was then, riding into the sunset away from the outpost and away from his tortures and his tormentors, that the thoughts finally struck him fully. He was safe. He was out of his daily nightmare, away from his daily sufferings. Was it real? Or just a dream? A heavenly illusion cast upon him? Could it be the beginning of something new? Something he could discover the meaning of freedom and happiness in? He could only hope, and once in his life, he was desperately willing to.

Phew. It was a piece of work to work this piece of work over, I tell you. The prologue, as a prologue should be, is rather short, but don't worry, the chapters themselves are quite a bit longer. And after I've fine-brushed them, they'll probably grow in length all the more.

Read and Review, my dears, and I will love you for it 3! *laughs*

See you next chapter!

Kate