ROTK - War of the Gods

Chapter 4

Because the cell door and the shackles on Liu Bei's hands and feet were enchanted, Zhao Yun knew he would need to find the key somehow, but he had no idea where Dong Zhuo would keep it. "Please, do not fear father," Zhao Yun said to him. "I will return as quickly as I can to get you out of here. Then we will lock Dong Zhuo up and see how he enjoys to be caged like a Titan."

"Though he is cruel my son, he is still my brother. I could not bear to see him locked away. Perhaps he simply did not know it was truly me because of what happened..." Liu Bei knew something happened to knock him from the spiritual plain, but he did not know the extent of what had happened.

Zhao Yun started to head back to the stairs that would take him back up to the main levels of the Temple, but he was stopped when he heard a voice calling to him. "Zhao Yun, don't go!" The God of War turned from the stairs and went toward the place where the voice had come from. In another cell, away from the one containing Liu Bei, there was another man, arms and legs shackled.

"My son," the man said, rushing forth from the darkness. It was Sun Jian. "Quickly, you've got to find the key to my cell so that I may escape and challenge Dong Zhuo properly. He was able to imprison me only by capturing me through a ruse. Once I'm free, I know I'll be able to defeat him for good." Though the man did not look like his father, he had an unmistakable courage and a fierceness in his eyes - the same look that Cao Liu Sun had when he first defeated the Titans three thousand years before.

But how could both men be his father?

"I will do my best father," Zhao Yun said, his head spinning. He began to retreat to the stairwell again, but another voice called out for him.

"Zhao Yun, you act without thinking."

Zhao Yun went to where the voice was coming from. It was another man, locked in a different cell. This man though, looked far more sinister than the last two men, and had a knowing look in his eyes. "Come here my son," Cao Cao said, sensing the hesitation in his son. "Though my appearance may be different, I will have the wisdom needed to defeat Dong Zhuo at his own game. After I escape here, we may begin work on rebuilding my Dynasty."

If there was any resemblance between this new man and Cao Liu Sun, it was only by stretch of the imagination. "What do you propose?" Zhao Yun asked hesitantly.

"If I know my brother at all, I know he would have thrown away the key as soon as the had finished locking me away." "What can be done then?" Zhao Yun asked.

"Your brother, Xu Shu, is the God of Metalworking. Bring him here as quickly as you can without drawing the attention of Dong Zhuo. If he can create a lock needed to undo my bonds, then I think together me and you can enchant the key enough to work on these devices. Hurry now before word reaches Dong Zhuo."

"What about the other two," Zhao Yun asked.

"What other two?" Cao Cao eyed his son suspiciously, expecting a ruse of some sort. Obviously, the three men locked in the dungeon did not know of the others existence.

"Never mind," Zhao Yun said quickly. "I will fetch Xu Shu and hopefully he will be able to manufacture a proper key." Zhao Yun then left the dungeon, more confused than he had ever been before. One of these men is my father, he thought. But which one...?

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Cao Cao's plan worked perfectly and Xu Shu was more than happy to help out. He had no love for Dong Zhuo and also wanted to see his father again. When he saw Cao Cao, he fell down and wept with joy. "You fool," Cao Cao said, "You will surely draw the attention of the guards. Look at this lock. Hurry." Xu Shu looked at the lock and knew that he could make a key that would suffice.

The next day, Zhao Yun and Xu Shu returned with a key. Combining their efforts, Zhao Yun and Cao Cao were able to enchant the key properly and free Cao Cao from his bonds. When this happened, Zhao Yun suddenly felt a shiver run through his spine and had the overwhelming sense that he would regret his actions someday.

"Let us go now my sons," Cao Cao said, rubbing his wrists where the shackles had been.

"First we have to free the others," Zhao Yun said, taking the key from Cao Cao. Neither Cao Cao nor Xu Shu knew what Zhao Yun was talking about, but they followed him through the labyrinth of cells. The first one they came to was Sun Jian's. Zhao Yun quickly unlocked the door and his shackles.

"Excellent work Zhao Yun," he said, as he stepped out of his cell. Suddenly, Cao Cao came around the corner and froze where he stood. Both men eyed each other suspiciously. Something was definitely wrong here, though neither could place there finger on what it was.

"Who are you?" Sun Jian demanded.

"I'm Cao Liu Sun," Cao Cao responded with a definite edge to his voice.

Zhao Yun waited to see what would happen, but Sun Jian said nothing. He seemed to just think it over carefully. Cao Cao seemed threatened by the other man, but Sun Jian just seemed intrigued.

"I hate to interrupt father," Zhao Yun said, "but we've got one more to free."

The God continued through the dark corridors to where Liu Bei's cell was. The man quickly rushed to the cell door and took Zhao Yun's hand. "You've returned already Zhao Yun! And with a key! Heaven is surely smiling upon us both."

Just as he said this, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Xu Shu came around the corner and all three of the men had to do double takes of each other. "What is the meaning of this," Liu Bei suddenly asked. "Who are these men?"

"These men are Cao Liu Sun father," Zhao Yun said, opening the cell door with the key and stepping up to Liu Bei. "These men are your shadows."

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Zhao Yun had figured it out while Xu Shu was working on the key. He realized that Cao Liu Sun had been too powerful of a God to be destroyed by Zhang Jiao's spell, even if he WAS in the spiritual realm at the time. He had understood that part, but what he didn't understand was that all three men had the same right to call themselves Cao Liu Sun. In Zhao Yun's eyes, Liu Bei was the real father, and the other two were shadows.

"How dare you," Cao Cao said, stepping forward threateningly toward Zhao Yun. "My own son has turned against me? So be it! I will crush you into dusk along with Dong Zhuo!" He started to walk away toward the stairs, but Sun Jian called out for him to stop.

"Cao Cao," he said, "Now is not the time to argue and fight. Dong Zhuo must have put us all here together without revealing the existence of the others so that we would fight if we ever escaped."

"What did you call me?" Cao Cao said, turning around.

"I called you..." Suddenly, all three of the men knew what their name was and that none of them were in fact Cao Liu Sun. That great father was dead, and in his place were the three aspects of himself... Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian.

"Sun Jian is right," Liu Bei said stepping forward past Zhao Yun. "If we do not work together to defeat Dong Zhuo, we will have succumbed to another one of his schemes. Since we were once the same individual God, it should not be that difficult to work together to defeat him."

Cao Cao reluctantly agreed, but deep down inside him, hatred for the other two men had been born.

To be continued....