You know...it's taken this long to get past Nanman...this long to get to the end of what I call the second stage of the war (calling up to Chi Bi the first btw) and I know that people are looking forward to that considering how this story is set up. To be honest, having 2 per force (at least by the way) who know each other (albeit Derrick and Melissa barely) is going to be entertaining to work through at least. Heck, Fan is going to be entertaining as that is where the first Wu/Shu face off occurs, and I have a plan there as well.

I also thought about a few things which I found out and had to think over in the history. Obviously, if you know the games or the history, you'll know of a few things that I have to work around.

Anyway...where was I...oh yes. DICLAIMIER: I don't care for disclaimers. I don't own Dynasty warriors blah de blah de blah.

Chapter 55

'Look as bad as you feel'

Somehow we had all gotten out of the mess in one piece thanks to my actions.

I had nearly gotten my ass handed to me, only just managing to take down Meng Huo.

But at least I got a trophy for my troubles.

I just had this feel I'd regret doing this...

"You know, I have to ask sometimes" Nu spoke, pacing as myself and Meng were being treated by the army's doctors. We were sat down in a tent, on some stools and surrounded by medical gear. "If you can ever not pull the hero act and just keep doing the job you were given" I winced as a bandage was wrapped over my chest wounds, swallow back the pain.

"It got the job done" I told her, turning to Meng and seeing him leaning on his halberd. "You OK there, Lu Meng?"

"I'll live...starting to wonder if that 'Goddess' was really burning things up" Oh god, the jokes. Lu Meng turned away at this, someone entering the tent as Nu turned to it.

"You're late Chen" Nu spoke. I turned to the entrance, seeing a Shu officer looking us over.

"My apologies lady Nu Wa" She closed the flap behind her, bowing to her. "I encountered some enemy soldiers on the way, and I had to deal with the supplies we were sending to Jing Province" She walked over to me and Meng, looking between us. "Are these the two I heard of as I entered?"

"Yep, Meng and Xi respectively. Meng took a dagger to the back and Xi...well"

"Looks like he got into a fight with an elephant and lost"

"That's almost right" I told her. Well it was half true, he was as big and strong as an elephant. I heard Meng groan as he tried to move.

"Lord Lu Meng. You need to stay here" one of the doctors told him, Meng fought him off, lifting himself up and using his halberd as a crutch.

"I need to fulfil my duty to Lord Sun Quan" He replied, walking slowly over to the tent flaps. I watched him, Chen getting in the way of the door, forcing Meng to stop. "Get out of the way, My lady"

"Lord Lu Meng, if you don't get that wound seen to, the wound will only make things worse for you" Chen tells him, Lu Meng turning away. "Not only will it keep you off the front lines and away from active duty, it could also lead to your death, especially in this environment. Lord Fu Xi is also in the same condition, but he's doing the wise thing"

Meng looked back at Chen, I couldn't tell what face he was pulling, but my knowledge of him made me think he was thinking things over. She was making perfect sense, that's what Meng didn't like. It wasn't the fact that it was someone telling him he needed to relax and not do his job, he took that from our officers enough.

It was coming from a Shu officer. That was what was burning him up inside. As much as I liked the officers of Wu and Shu, we always had divisions in ideology. I just hoped this didn't lead to anything worse.

Meng turned away from Chen eventually, spitting at the ground in contempt. This was killing him inside, knowing that she was right, but as he sat down, I knew he'd live to be able to thank her. I had a bit of a chuckle as the medics patched up my chest.

"Look on the bright side Meng" I told him, smiling then wincing as they bandaged a wound with a herb that stung like a bitch. "If I look as bad as you feel, then you know she's right" Everyone in the tent looked at me as I said that, only getting a chuckle in response. I looked around, the awkward silence only broken by the rain and thunder.

And then...the one thing I never thought would ever happen occurred, making this a miracle in itself.

Lu Meng started laughing...heartily.

We all turned to him, seeing him laughing his heart out. Nu shook her head, laughing a bit as well, and Chen herself was just moving away from the tent flaps. I guess this was something no one could ever predict, not even the best of both sides.

Despite the line Chen had pulled out, I left the tent almost as soon as the medics were done with me. Like Meng, I wasn't one to just sit around doing nothing, but unlike Meng, I did stupid things at times. Heck, the last battle going on alone. For what it was worth, I was like a freaking Cyclops with a bandage over my eye...the same one I had gotten the scar over before. I'm guessing I had a to deal with this at some point. Was this wound going to keep acting up or was it going to heal? I had to know eventually.

I was barely surprised when the soldiers were looking at me as I wandered through them, staring at the number of wounds I had covering me and yet I remained walking. I didn't even have an objective of such, I had been told that my weapons were being taken care of by Shang Xiang whilst I was getting treated, same with the iron side of my armour. Thank god most of it was the leather. I had re-purposed the cape as a kind of cover for the bandages over my chest, but it just looked...weird. And that's coming from the guy who has to wear it.

"Didn't think you'd be out so soon" I heard someone say. I turned towards them, seeing Su walking up to me, looking worse for wear herself. "Any news on Tong?" Wait, wha?

"Tong got injured?" I asked. She gave me an icy stare at this point, sighing.

"An Elephant knocked him out...haven't heard anything about him since...last I knew they were fixing him up" my mouth opened slightly as I gasped, but then looking down, eye half closed as I looked away from her.

"...sorry" I told her, looking back. She shook her head.

"You couldn't have done anything Fu...you did what you had to...just be thankful we're still here, alive and kicking" Literally in her case. I nodded, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll make it...I know he will" I told her. She smiled, nodding back.

"If he doesn't I'll kill him myself" I wasn't entirely sure if she was joking to be honest, but I smiled anyway. "What about Meng? I heard he got injured"

"Dagger in the back. But now we can add pissed off at Shu to the list" She raised an eyebrow at this point, but otherwise remained silent. "Come on...we've got to get packed up to leave...not going to hang around here forever...and you've got a wedding coming up"

She nodded, smiling to me as we both went back to our routines...well, she did. I did whatever I was doing before, which was just mindlessly wandering.

I made my way into the command tent, seeing Quan talking to Xun and Shang Xiang. The trio stopped, turning to look at me as I entered. I walked over to the table, looking over it as if nothing was wrong.

"Sorry I'm late" I told them, looking between the trio. "What have I missed?" Quan and Xun both looked at me with concern, Shang Xiang walking around the table and throwing her arms around me.

"Fu Xi" She spoke. I gritted my teeth as she put pressure on some wounds.

"Shang Xiang...could you..." she pulled back, taking her arms away before looking at me.

"Sorry...didn't think..."

"Relax...I can understand it..."

"Lord Fu Xi, you should be resting. We don't want you dying of a wound you didn't let heal" Lu Xun told me. I looked at him, sighing.

"I understand Xun...I won't be dying any time soon" I turned to Quan, nodding to him. "Anyway, I have to fulfil my duty right now"

"As long as you feel you are well, Lord Fu Xi, I won't question it. But at the point when I believe that you are beyond your limit, I myself will take you off the front line" He told me. I nodded, knowing that he'd be able to tell that much having known me this long.

"So...what have I missed?"

"We were discussing who we should send to Shu in our agreement" Xun told me, pointing to the map.

It was practically a map of the Three Kingdoms as it stood, with generally how both Shu and Wu were deployed. It was weird looking at the map as it was. The North belong to Wei, with Shu owning Yi and southern Jing. We now held the southern most province of China, with the East in our hands as well. It had what we knew of troop deployments around the country, with a large group of Shu troops around Northern Jing. Guan Yu's Battalions pushing up I presumed. There was also a large group around Han Zhong, so I guess that's where Liu Bei will be next.

"If Shu seeks to attack Wei at Han Zhong...then we'd need to send someone who is good at assaulting entrenched positions" Lu Xun spoke, pointing to the area. "Mount Ding Jun is bad to attack, even if the enemy are unprepared for you"

"Then we'd be looking at sending Lady Su Zhi or Lord Lu Meng, and that would help Lu Meng learn more of Zhuge Liang" Quan replied.

"But, if Shu were to strike at Wan castle, then we'd need someone who has participated in a siege and knows Jing"

"So That would call for either Lord Gan Ning, Lord Ling Tong, or Lord Ding Feng" I looked over the table, nodding a few times.

"Who have we got that's good in both situations?" I asked, looking at them. Xun put a hand under his chin.

"Well...we have you, of course, Lord Zhu Huan or Lord Zhu Ran" Not going to ask why Su Zhi isn't in either list, but I presume she's getting a let off due to her marriage.

There was a long pause at this point, everyone thinking over the options we had available before us and wondering what was best. Whoever we sent would be gone for a while, and then we don't know if Shu would turn on us whilst they were out. That was when it hit me...the best choice was one with friends on that side.

"I'll go" I told them, everyone turning to me in surprise. "Give me time to heal up and I'll go and be the exchange officer"

"You can not be serious" Shang Xiang spoke. I nodded, turning to her.

"I am...we need one who can deal on both fronts with the issues presented, along with the simple fact that with Nu Wa and Shinra over there, I have a better chance of getting back then most of Wu does" I turned back to the others, doing the best I could to smile. "Besides...with the skills I have...I'm one of the best for the job"

"This isn't going to be easy Lord Fu Xi" Lu Xun started telling me. I looked at him, seeing him take his hat off. "Not only will you be fighting Wei a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised Zhuge Liang will be trying to get you to join Shu...not to mention the ties you hold with your friends" I gave him a toothy grin at this point.

"I'm an officer of Wu my friend" I told him, giving him a wink, but then realising it was hidden behind the bandage. "I won't be betraying our side any time soon"

Thinking about it, maybe I shouldn't have volunteered.

It would have been nice having some downtime to recover from getting smashed to the ground by Meng Huo.

But really...it's something I needed to do. I don't know why I just had to.

But little did I know how much I would know why that was...


Just thinking about it, yes, I am aware that Shang Xiang is meant to die in 222. For what it's worth I have an idea of how I'm going to run that, but I've also had the annoying thing about what I traded for that. I'll let you see what I mean later on.