Chapter 10 is here at last!
Probably should have included a disclaimer for legal purposes earlier...but obviously, I don't own the rights to the characters or anything related to DW for that matter.
Also, this story desperately needs a theme song! I have ideas of my own, but I'd like to have someone's opinion on that. Anyway, enough talk. Enjoy!
The plan was set into motion. That very evening, a private jet flew upon high along the night skies. A man sat by himself in a most grandiose presentation of first-class luxury. The scraps and shell of a gourmet lobster dinner littered his plate. A lovely looking flight attendant swiftly cleaned the mess and replaced it with a small bottle of red wine accompanied by a single glass. He took the glass rather boorishly into his large, calloused hands and poured himself a drink. He swished its contents around the bottom rather coarsely; two tiny droplets appeared on the table in front of him. Before he could begin to voice his displeasure, the flight attendant returned with a white cloth which she used to wipe the table until it returned sparkling clean.
"So this's Cao Cao's way of introducin' himself is it?" He muttered to himself as he downed his entire glass of wine in a single go. Refreshed, a brazen exhale escapes him. He joyously poured himself another glass. "I could get used to this!"
"Attention: We are preparing to land, please fasten your seat belt" The pilot instructed him over the PA system.
"I guess it's time…"
The jet plane descended toward the Academy airstrip in a calm, controlled manner. The man stared at the massive runway from his view nearby the windows. Bright neon lights illuminated the track in the midst of fallen darkness. He casually glanced around the area for a sight of the man who invited him here. However, aside from the runway, the airstrip was poorly lit.
The plane's landing gear made final contact with the ground and its rubber wheels spun ardently along the asphalt. Eventually, they slowed to a halt. The man was ushered by the flight attendant down a side staircase. A military jeep painted black as the night welcomed their arrival. Xiahou Dun leaned impatiently against the side of the vehicle with his arms crossed in an expression of boredom.
"Huh? Where's Cao Cao?!" The man demanded to know, having realized that he was not present at the runway.
"I'll take you to him. Follow me…" Dun invited the man into the rear passenger seat of the vehicle. The driver stepped on the gas as the jeep departed for Han Academy.
…
The two men reached the wrought iron gates that separated the Academy campus and the Wei Dormitory. A couple of prefects stood vigilantly on the other end. Dun gave a small nod their way before the gates were opened and they were allowed to enter. They followed a stone tiled walkway that led into a small, decorative courtyard complete with stone benches and a large, ever-flowing fountain located at the very centre. Just after that stood the Wei dormitory itself, an impressive sight to behold or so the man offhandedly thought to himself. Totaling at four storeys high, the Wei dorm was rivaled in size only by the main building itself. In addition, its whitewashed walls and stone layered façade designs worked in tandem with the spectacular array of blue banners to positively bring the place to life.
"Looks like Cao Cao is overflowing with money…This'll be interesting!" The man pondered with an evil, scheming grin as they entered inside.
"He should be in his office…this way" Dun guided the man up the flights of stairs until they reached the top floor. Students in the hallways glanced over at them with wonder, suspicion, and a few murmurs of dialogue being exchanged around the Wei student populace.
Around the corner and into the final hallway they went. This particular hallway was completely empty apart from the two of them. Dun stopped at a door labelled as the Head of Wei's office. The man also confirmed this upon seeing a large portrait of Cao Cao hung on the opposite wall. Dun knocked, an austere voice commanded them to enter. Cao Cao was at his desk, a neatly organized pile of papers laid next to him. There was also another sheet of paper in front of him which he appeared most interested to look at. In addition to Cao Cao and themselves, the presence of Xiahou Yuan, Xun Yu, and Guo Jia filled the spacious office respectfully.
"…You must be Dian Wei!" Cao Cao looked up from his work, a gleam of anticipation and desire written clearly in his expression.
"The infamous underground duelist…" Xun Yu uttered from aside with a cool shudder that raised the hairs on one's spine.
"Said to have never been defeated!" Xiahou Yuan joined in with his humble praise.
"…and whose opponents were left in a crippling pain" Guo Jia added with mock grievance, an acted sense of sympathy that overshadowed a secret sadistic tendency.
"Perhaps you are able to defeat him…" Cao Cao led on ever so temptingly as he twirled his pen in a weave through his fingers. Like a carrot tied to a stick, he dangled the mysteriousness of a new challenge over Dian Wei's head with a manipulator's showmanship.
"Hmph. You're sending me in to fight little kids…I won't even break a sweat!" Dian Wei responded frankly as he gloatingly smiled.
Cao Cao smirked at the rather confident brute as he towered over his entourage. He wore the scars of his previous battles with pride as a testament to his infallible glory. The image of his bloodied opponent left in a cowering heap gave Cao Cao the tremendous rush he had longed for quite some time. Cao Cao quickly returned to seriousness as he eyed him silently from his seated position.
"Your opponent is no ordinary child..." Dun interjected.
Dian Wei, however, appeared confused by this remark. Cao Cao motioned to Dun who quickly retrieved a metallic, rod-like substance. With a press of a button, an 8x10 holographic screen shot out from an opening on the side of the device. An image of Zhao Yun along with a compilation of any pertinent data associated with his name appeared on the screen. The device was then handed over to Dian Wei for review.
"Your task will be to break him!" Cao Cao emphasized his point with his fist slammed onto the polished birch desktop. The members of his entourage jumped from their spots but remained silent nonetheless. Cao Cao reveled at the situation. "How exactly you work to carry out my plans is entirely up to you…"
"Sounds very interesting…" Dian Wei sinisterly laughed. "I'll beat this Yun kid until he can't even move, but I want double pay when I do!"
Dun and the rest of Cao's entourage were simply shocked by the outrageousness of such a demand though the Head of Wei appeared calm, overjoyed in fact. Xiahou Yuan stepped in to protest, but Cao Cao waved away his concerns with a hand before he turned his attention back to the eager duelist before him.
"Very well, if you win, I will give you double the pay I originally promised you!"
The others stared at Cao Cao in shock. Such a bold demand and yet he had quickly agreed to the man's ascribed conditions. Though Dian Wei was more than satisfied with the agreement, the others exhibited some confliction of thoughts.
"Master Cao Cao, please reconsider!" Xun Yu, who had mostly hid in the background throughout the majority of this conversation, decided to step into frame.
"Yeah! This guy's charging way too much for his services!" Xiahou Yuan joined in.
Guo Jia slouched comfortably against the wall as he watched this on-going argument unfold. His eyes stared carefully at Cao Cao in analysis. He pondered the situation in front of him as it hastily occurred. The inner workings of his mind raced to decode his master's true intentions although the only reasonable answer was plain and simple.
"Perhaps the end justifies the means…" He offered up in defense of Cao Cao's decision.
"Zhao Yun and Shu have been a nuisance for far too long now" Dun stated with a look of disgust. His words flowed with a venomous disdain of their ilk. "Cousin, this is our chance for revenge!"
"I understand. Dian Wei, make it so!" Cao Cao stood passionately from his seat and gave the final order within a single motion of his steel-heartened gesture towards the door.
"As you wish!" He said before he stomped loudly out of the room, that very same devilish grin still written clearly on his face.
…
Yun's chopsticks flurried at an alarming rate as he gulped down his bowl of rice without remorse. His stomach roared with content as though it had just accessed its first food source in days. Chao appeared to follow suit, their bowls were empty in a flash. Xu Shu watched with a knowing smile as they proceeded to swipe, in unison, downward at their vacant bowls with the expectation of witnessing another clump of rice ascend toward their mouths. Then he observed the disappointed frown on their faces when the sad truth had finally dawned upon them. Xu Shu covered his mouth to supress a chuckle as his two dumbfounded friends struggled to come to grips with the reality.
"NO WAY…!" They groaned loudly together. A cry of pain was heard from their stomachs, the demands for more food were almost ceaseless.
"Rice today, rice yesterday, maybe even rice tomorrow…" Chao said with a frown. He was hunched over the table; his eyes stared hopelessly into the empty bowl in front of him. "How are we supposed to survive like this?!"
"I wish there was more for us to eat…" Yun sighed in disappointment.
"Here" Xu Shu slid his bowl of rice down to the end of the table where it met their hungered eyes at an intersection. Their chopsticks raised, ready to swoop in for the kill, although by some miraculous feat of willpower, their hands were stayed - though they shook with excitement. "You can share mine"
"Are you serious?!" They both gawked at the boy incredulously. His bowl of rice, only a quarter of it eaten, was enough to cause them to salivate. The temptation grew excruciating for them to bear.
"Yeah. You guys trained harder than I did today, so I guess you deserve it more. Besides…"
"Thank you!" This was all the confirmation they needed. Yun and Chao raced each other in snatching mouthfuls of rice. Big, hearty smiles replaced their gloominess in a split second.
"…You're both clearly hungrier than I am" Shu proceeded to finish, though also aware that his friends no longer paid attention to anything he said.
They emptied the bowl of rice in possibly record time. Two pairs of chopsticks were dropped to the wooden table with a clang. Their gratified exhales told everything there needed to be known.
"I think my stomach is finally pleased!" Ma Chao patted his lovingly with his hand.
"Thank you, Xu Shu! You really saved us!"
"I-it was nothing…" He mumbled quietly and bashfully hung his head; a tiny smile crept up onto his face. "I'm glad you enjoyed it"
Meanwhile, seated at tables all around them were the horrified faces of students who did not get to have seconds. Instead, they were left to sit and scowl at the sight of their empty bowls until Liu Bei inevitably came to collect them. Afterwards, they would be sent away to their rooms, hungry and disillusioned.
"This sucks!" One student complained. His negative comment sparked a symphony of hungered moans.
I'm so hungry…!" The student sitting opposite to the first at one of the other tables expressed with sorrow.
"I hear the students at Wei are served gourmet dishes from all over the world…" A third student joined in as they begun to dream of such a fantastic paradise, where food of all diversities was presented to them in a copious amount. They could eat to their heart's content, then even eat some more. It was a never ending vision of a fantasy land, the one thing that could moderate the plummeted morale that was widespread amongst the Shu ranks.
Naturally, the topic of Wei's fine dining habits spurred much discussion throughout the table, mostly of an envious manner. However, in this mix of chattering students, there was one student in particular who appeared to be lost in thought. He said nothing as the others continued to outwardly share their displeasure. Rather, the boy started to smile a very scheming smile.
"I just thought of something! Listen closely; I've got a plan…" The boy stated as he gestured with his index finger for the other members of his table to gather around. His beady little eyes scanned suspiciously around the room to make sure nobody spied on them. "We'll sneak into the Wei dorm and steal some of their food for ourselves!"
"Alright! We bring our weapons and then raid the Wei dorm in the middle of the night!" The first student whispered secretively. A newfound fire reached the pupils of his eyes.
"What if our dorm heads spot us?" The second glanced worryingly toward the kitchen as if they would appear at that exact moment.
"If we leave now, they won't notice that we're gone!" The third chimed in.
"It's settled, we'll head for Wei!" The mastermind boy privately announced as they all stood from their table at once and sprinted out of the cafeteria.
The other students of Shu also rose from their seats and trudged dejectedly back to their respective rooms. Seconds later, Liu Bei and Guan Yu emerged from the kitchen area and started to collect the empty bowls from each table. A bright smile appeared on the Head of Shu's face when he noticed Yun and company remained in their usual seats and immediately approached them.
"Ah! It is a pleasure to see you three down here tonight. I hope you are adjusting to the new school routine"
"We are!" The three boys nodded their heads in agreement. "There are so many interesting faces around here, like Pang Tong for example…"
Liu Bei appeared taken by surprise, he then chuckled to himself. Yun suspected that he was keenly aware of the old man's odd behavioural patterns. Chao and Shu, on the other hand, were left safely in the dark. Ignorance is bliss, he thought.
"Yes, Pang Tong is especially interesting to say the least…" Liu Bei sagely responded.
"He's the only one that can keep up with Zhang Fei's drinking habits…" Guan Yu commented from aside as he carried a large tray of bowls into the kitchen.
From what he could recall, Yun did notice the excess amount of wine jugs on the concrete floor of Tong's experimentation shed. Also, the incident he had with Zhang Fei which ultimately saved his life – there's no way he could forget about that. With the amount of wine they apparently consumed on a daily basis, Yun wondered if they had developed a precarious drinking problem.
"Speaking of Master Zhang Fei, where is he right now?" Chao inquired.
"Too drunk to be of any use to us, unfortunately…" Bei frowned.
Ma Chao scoffed at his reply and crossed his arms in a dramatic show of disappointment.
"If I were you, I'd ban him from drinking wine for good! It is a selfish and unjust way of dealing with one's own problems! Anyone who has ever resorted to drinking is a coward!"
"Is the noble warrior, Ma Chao, insinuating that he is in fact a coward?" Guan Yu chided the boy in his return from the kitchen area at just the perfect timing to have caught wind of Chao's mini-tirade. The other three did their best to suppress their laughter, though they fought a losing battle.
"I-I was unaware that Zhang Fei had poured wine in my cup at the time…so it doesn't count!" He replied adamantly in defense of himself. It appeared as though Shu wanted to say something though instead he had dropped the matter entirely with a carefree shrug.
"Anyway…" Bei quickly changed tact before an argument could erupt in the cafeteria. "I believe you boys should be spending this time in your room studying. We wouldn't want our students to be surpassed by the other dorms now!"
"Yeah!" Yun nodded. "I will see you again tomorrow Master Liu Bei, Master Guan Yu!"
The three boys bowed respectfully to their dorm heads before being ushered out of the cafeteria. They proceeded up the rickety old staircase and walked down the way into their room.
…
"Clear!" The mastermind boy whispered to his comrades as they hurried around the corner of the main building. With the Wei dorm in their sights, he took point. Only the sound of their feet against the cobblestone and the clang of their iron weapons could be heard in the eerie silence of the night.
"Keep your eyes peeled for prefects" The first boy quickly surveyed the surrounding area as they ran.
"Be quiet!" The second boy whispered. His body shook in a combination of starvation and an erratic excitement. "They might hear us!"
"Look out! There's someone up ahead!" The third boy was the first to notice the presence of a faded silhouette in the moonlight. He pointed his finger straight ahead where it stood perfectly in place.
Unfortunately for them, there was no alternative. The path to Wei was laid through whomever this mysterious person happened to be. Despite the inherent risk, the boys pushed onward. As they drew closer, they had begun to see that the faded silhouette was actually Dian Wei. The boys finally stopped within earshot, their hands tightened around their weapons as a precaution.
"Going somewhere?" He sneered at them. His menacing glare alone was enough to elicit the buckle of their knees.
"Who are you?" The boy noticed Dian Wei did not dress in the standard school uniform.
"That's the least of your worries..." Dian Wei replied.
"Move out of our way or we'll move you with force!" The mastermind threatened, he raised his sword threateningly at the man – the other three followed his lead.
"By force you say?" Dian Wei calmly toyed with the battle axe in his hands. Its iron blade, both sharp and thick, reflected the terrified expressions of his opponents. "That sounds very exciting!"
"Cut the bullshit!" The mastermind glared daggers at his brutish foe. The other three watched with awe as he firmly held his ground against such a threatening opponent just some feet ahead. "There are four of us and only one of you, you'd never defeat us!"
"Yeah! We have the advantage, there's nothing for us to fear!" The first boy rallied behind his leader. He raised his spear into an attack position. The tip of his blade pointed directly at Dian Wei's head.
"You made a big mistake challenging us four to a duel!" The second boy, sparked by confidence, raised his throwing knives into a combat ready position.
"You're going to regret this!" The third boy readied his great sword. An image of his opponent's inevitable defeat flashed through his mind.
Dian Wei cracked his neck before he prepared himself for battle. Tensions thickened as the stare down between the two parties spanned greater lengths of time. Their unjustified arrogance surged excitement through his veins with great delight. With his reputation and Cao Cao's reward on the line, a loss to these peons would do him no good.
GONG!
Immediately, a dark cloud formed over top of the duelists in combat…it was the beginning of the end for the poor, unsuspecting duelists of Shu who had hopelessly confronted the wrong opponent. Despite their bravado and combined efforts, Dian Wei looked forward to the torture they would receive tenfold. Their final screams of agony as they succumbed to the power of darkness rang like music to his ears.
As always, let me know what you think. Hate is also accepted...in fact, it's encouraged!
If anyone is interested in playing some Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires Online, let me know!
Otherwise, farewell for now!