A Little Night Ride
Chapter 6
By Yukira Tsurama
Disclaimer: The Dynasty Warriors series belong to Koei, you know the rest...
Author's Notes: ...(speechless, oh, and thanks to the people that reviewed~!)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sun Ce woke peacefully sometime at noon, glancing around at the emptiness that surrounded him. He had slept rather soundly, and he felt as if there were no monsters or "evil creatures of the night" to terrorize him. He stretched out his arms widely, and yawned as he entered the kitchen. What he saw next made him recoil in surprise.
There was a short, hooded man with a cape and ragged pants. He looked filthy and he was now relaxing on a chair.
"W-Who the hell are you and what are you doing here!?"
The strange little man glanced up, his face, except for his eyes, covered with a few rags. The man only snorted and glanced forward.
"Who are you!?" inquired Sun Ce, more forcefully this time.
The man only glanced oddly at Sun Ce again, then lazily replied, "Do you deserve to know who I am?"
Ce frowned indignantly. "You're in my--uh--my fiancé's house and I have no idea who you are!"
"Fine..." The man propped his feet up on the table. "I am Master Pang Tong."
" 'Master' Pang Tong? What are you--"
"Shut up." Snapped Pang Tong.
Their little exchange was interrupted as Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, and Zhou Yu entered the house through the front door. Each of them were holding large stacks of books. "Not a good sign," thought Sun Ce.
It was Xiao Qiao that greeted Sun Ce cheerfully. "Oh, hi Ce. You're up. Did you get acquainted with Master Pang Tong?"
Ce gritted his teeth and glared at the now-triumphant strange little man. "Yes."
Da Qiao set down the books and began to search through them, glancing at their titles. Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao followed suit.
Sun Ce now looked surprised and somewhat fearful. "We-We're going to read through all of THOSE?"
Zhou Yu smiled. "No, you and Master Pang Tong get the job of 'demon- proofing' the house. All you need to do is buy these items." Yu picked up a long list of items and handed it to Sun Ce.
Da Qiao nodded as Sun Ce and Master Pang Tong were about to leave. "And if you come back while the house is empty, just go to sleep. Me, Xiao, and Zhou will be at the library for a long time. Okay?"
Sun Ce groaned. "Okay."
~*~
Ce skimmed through the list of items quickly as he drove Master Pang Tong to a secluded little marketplace featuring merchandise that claimed to exorcise demons, summon ghosts, and the like. Truth was, although Ce put up a tough front, things like this really scared him.
Master Pang Tong made no effort to start a conversation and just stared out the window as they passed vast fields and dilapidated buildings. Sun Ce tried to read his expression, but it seemed impossible.
Ce found that there were many parking lots available. He parked the car in one and began to walk to the market, reluctantly.
Sun Ce felt scared as he viewed the inside of the market. Strange, horror-movie-like items were propped up on shelves and displays. There were hardly any people inside...
Ce surveyed the list again and began to search for the items in the store. As he walked through vast collections of "merchandise", he didn't notice the shopkeeper.
Master Pang Tong stared towards the front desk. Ce noticed it too. A shiveled old woman stood there, no more than 4 feet in height. She looked Ce straight in the eye, and he shivered, gazing back into her cold eyes.
Master Pang Tong snatched the list out of Ce's hands and brought it up to the shopkeeper. The little shopkeeper woman smiled an eerie, cold- looking smile and nodded. "Oh yes, we have these items here."
Sun Ce and Pang Tong waited as the little woman gathered all the items on the list with extreme agility, to Ce's amazement. After a few minutes of waiting, she told Sun Ce that the price for the items happened to be a little over five-hundred dollars.
Muttering to himself, he pulled out a large stack of bills and handed it to the shopkeeper. He and Master Pang Tong walked out with their arms full.
~*~
It was 4 already, and she, Xiao, and Zhou Yu had already gone through all of their books. No vital information at all.
"Alright," sighed Da Qiao. "Let's go to the library."
As the trio walked out the door, Da Qiao strangely felt someone--or something-- watching her, as if it were predator and she was prey. She paid no further attention to it as Zhou Yu drove them to the local library.
~*~
The library was a huge place, and Xiao Qiao felt as if she'd get lost easily in there. Endless numbers of books filled countless bookshelves and lots of people--mainly college students--were moving about, searching for books, studying at tables.
There was a computer lab in the east wing of the library that had internet, as well as a snack bar.
Zhou Yu headed off to find some books while Da Qiao went to the computer lab. Xiao Qiao went in her own direction, probably to the snack bar.
~*~
(A/N: Focusing on Zhou Yu cuz I never do!)
Zhou Yu gasped when he saw the bookshelfs in the vast room. Each shelf must have been 40 feet high, and very wide, with thousands of books. He had a headache just looking at it, but he would still search everywhere; his life as well as his loved ones' were at risk. Sighing dutifully, he began to forage in the depths of the deep dark library.
However, someone else was in there as well.
~*~
Da Qiao noticed countless lists of rules plastered on all of the walls in the computer lab and seated herself gingerly at a nearby computer, then opened an internet browser. After going to a search engine, she typed her query and found some useless junk. After typing in other key words, still junk and useless filtered information that looked all too similar to previous information she had already encountered.
After trying other various search engines, Da Qiao felt like quitting.
~*~
Xiao Qiao was eating popcorn rapidly by the handful. So what if she wasn't helping out with the research? Research wasn't her thing. And every time she at least tried to help, she ended up making the situation worse than before. The only thing she was good for was...looking cute.
Sighing heavily, Xiao went back in the line to buy a drink.
~*~
Zhou Yu had wondered before on how to reach high enough to see the titles of the books, then he found a few tall ladders that were somewhat shifty looking, but the only method of reaching high enough.
Trying to balance his weight evenly, Zhou Yu steadily got up the ladder. Looking down, he saw that he was 20 feet from the ground. This made him a bit nervous.
He scanned the spines of old crumbly books that were on the shelves, but found nothing useful. He kept searching...and then--
" 'A Guide to Defeating Creatures of the Night'", quoted Zhou Yu as he brushed some dust off a leather-bound book.
Unfortunately, the shelf right in front of him tilted over...Zhou Yu tried to shout for help, but no sound emerged from his throat. He could only await his fate as the bookshelf tumbled down, sending him and the ladder to the ground.
~*~*~
Demon-proofing the house didn't seem so hard anymore. He and "Master" Pang Tong had secured most of the area, and it was getting late.
Master Pang Tong noticed that Sun Ce was yawning. "Hey...kid, go turn in for the night. I'll go take care of the rest of this."
Sun Ce, obviously very tired, showed resentment at being called "kid", but he was grateful that he could go to sleep now. He rushed out of the living room into the bathroom, where he took a quick shower.
~*~
Sun Ce was taking a shower. Master Pang Tong was almost finished demon-proofing the house, until he heard a strange sound. Pang Tong knew what this was, and he tried to cast the incantations at a faster pace.
Then the lights in the living room went out. Pang Tong was in trouble now. Something large and menacing loomed over his fallen body in the darkness, feeding on his current fear.
Master Pang Tong's shriek was never heard in the depths of the night.
~*~
After a nice, refreshing shower, Sun Ce forgot that he had run out of toothpaste. Then he saw Master Pang Tong's tube of toothpaste on the counter.
"Hey! Master Pang Tong! Can I borrow your toothpaste?"
No reply.
"Master Pang Tong!?"
Still silence.
"Alright," thought Sun Ce. "He won't mind if I just use...a little."
Sun Ce brushed his teeth using some of Master Pang Tong's toothpaste, then settled off to bed.
~*~
Zhou Yu woke up sporting odd bruises all over his body. He tried to move, but his leg hurt too much. What had happened?
As his vision got clearer, Zhou Yu recognized a color...a pale-ish green. Hospital green, in fact. He was in a hospital.
Xiao Qiao popped in the room holding a bag of jelly beans. Da Qiao followed Xiao in Zhou Yu's hospital room.
"You're awake." Xiao Qiao looked cheerful. Zhou Yu only turned in his bed.
"Xiao Qiao will keep you company here," said Da Qiao, exiting Zhou Yu's room. "I have to check up on Sun Ce and Pang Tong."
"Okay," was Zhou Yu's muffled reply as he buried his face in a pillow.
~*~
When Da Qiao entered the house through the front door, she could hear Sun Ce snoring contentedly, but no sign of "Master" Pang Tong.
But, as she reached the living room, she could only cry out in horror upon seeing Master Pang Tong's mangled and dismembered body.
If Master Pang Tong knew about this creature and still got killed by it, how would she, Xiao, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu ever survive?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Please...review...for...chapter...even...though...it was...DISTURBING!
Hehe. So tired.
Chapter 6
By Yukira Tsurama
Disclaimer: The Dynasty Warriors series belong to Koei, you know the rest...
Author's Notes: ...(speechless, oh, and thanks to the people that reviewed~!)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sun Ce woke peacefully sometime at noon, glancing around at the emptiness that surrounded him. He had slept rather soundly, and he felt as if there were no monsters or "evil creatures of the night" to terrorize him. He stretched out his arms widely, and yawned as he entered the kitchen. What he saw next made him recoil in surprise.
There was a short, hooded man with a cape and ragged pants. He looked filthy and he was now relaxing on a chair.
"W-Who the hell are you and what are you doing here!?"
The strange little man glanced up, his face, except for his eyes, covered with a few rags. The man only snorted and glanced forward.
"Who are you!?" inquired Sun Ce, more forcefully this time.
The man only glanced oddly at Sun Ce again, then lazily replied, "Do you deserve to know who I am?"
Ce frowned indignantly. "You're in my--uh--my fiancé's house and I have no idea who you are!"
"Fine..." The man propped his feet up on the table. "I am Master Pang Tong."
" 'Master' Pang Tong? What are you--"
"Shut up." Snapped Pang Tong.
Their little exchange was interrupted as Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, and Zhou Yu entered the house through the front door. Each of them were holding large stacks of books. "Not a good sign," thought Sun Ce.
It was Xiao Qiao that greeted Sun Ce cheerfully. "Oh, hi Ce. You're up. Did you get acquainted with Master Pang Tong?"
Ce gritted his teeth and glared at the now-triumphant strange little man. "Yes."
Da Qiao set down the books and began to search through them, glancing at their titles. Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao followed suit.
Sun Ce now looked surprised and somewhat fearful. "We-We're going to read through all of THOSE?"
Zhou Yu smiled. "No, you and Master Pang Tong get the job of 'demon- proofing' the house. All you need to do is buy these items." Yu picked up a long list of items and handed it to Sun Ce.
Da Qiao nodded as Sun Ce and Master Pang Tong were about to leave. "And if you come back while the house is empty, just go to sleep. Me, Xiao, and Zhou will be at the library for a long time. Okay?"
Sun Ce groaned. "Okay."
~*~
Ce skimmed through the list of items quickly as he drove Master Pang Tong to a secluded little marketplace featuring merchandise that claimed to exorcise demons, summon ghosts, and the like. Truth was, although Ce put up a tough front, things like this really scared him.
Master Pang Tong made no effort to start a conversation and just stared out the window as they passed vast fields and dilapidated buildings. Sun Ce tried to read his expression, but it seemed impossible.
Ce found that there were many parking lots available. He parked the car in one and began to walk to the market, reluctantly.
Sun Ce felt scared as he viewed the inside of the market. Strange, horror-movie-like items were propped up on shelves and displays. There were hardly any people inside...
Ce surveyed the list again and began to search for the items in the store. As he walked through vast collections of "merchandise", he didn't notice the shopkeeper.
Master Pang Tong stared towards the front desk. Ce noticed it too. A shiveled old woman stood there, no more than 4 feet in height. She looked Ce straight in the eye, and he shivered, gazing back into her cold eyes.
Master Pang Tong snatched the list out of Ce's hands and brought it up to the shopkeeper. The little shopkeeper woman smiled an eerie, cold- looking smile and nodded. "Oh yes, we have these items here."
Sun Ce and Pang Tong waited as the little woman gathered all the items on the list with extreme agility, to Ce's amazement. After a few minutes of waiting, she told Sun Ce that the price for the items happened to be a little over five-hundred dollars.
Muttering to himself, he pulled out a large stack of bills and handed it to the shopkeeper. He and Master Pang Tong walked out with their arms full.
~*~
It was 4 already, and she, Xiao, and Zhou Yu had already gone through all of their books. No vital information at all.
"Alright," sighed Da Qiao. "Let's go to the library."
As the trio walked out the door, Da Qiao strangely felt someone--or something-- watching her, as if it were predator and she was prey. She paid no further attention to it as Zhou Yu drove them to the local library.
~*~
The library was a huge place, and Xiao Qiao felt as if she'd get lost easily in there. Endless numbers of books filled countless bookshelves and lots of people--mainly college students--were moving about, searching for books, studying at tables.
There was a computer lab in the east wing of the library that had internet, as well as a snack bar.
Zhou Yu headed off to find some books while Da Qiao went to the computer lab. Xiao Qiao went in her own direction, probably to the snack bar.
~*~
(A/N: Focusing on Zhou Yu cuz I never do!)
Zhou Yu gasped when he saw the bookshelfs in the vast room. Each shelf must have been 40 feet high, and very wide, with thousands of books. He had a headache just looking at it, but he would still search everywhere; his life as well as his loved ones' were at risk. Sighing dutifully, he began to forage in the depths of the deep dark library.
However, someone else was in there as well.
~*~
Da Qiao noticed countless lists of rules plastered on all of the walls in the computer lab and seated herself gingerly at a nearby computer, then opened an internet browser. After going to a search engine, she typed her query and found some useless junk. After typing in other key words, still junk and useless filtered information that looked all too similar to previous information she had already encountered.
After trying other various search engines, Da Qiao felt like quitting.
~*~
Xiao Qiao was eating popcorn rapidly by the handful. So what if she wasn't helping out with the research? Research wasn't her thing. And every time she at least tried to help, she ended up making the situation worse than before. The only thing she was good for was...looking cute.
Sighing heavily, Xiao went back in the line to buy a drink.
~*~
Zhou Yu had wondered before on how to reach high enough to see the titles of the books, then he found a few tall ladders that were somewhat shifty looking, but the only method of reaching high enough.
Trying to balance his weight evenly, Zhou Yu steadily got up the ladder. Looking down, he saw that he was 20 feet from the ground. This made him a bit nervous.
He scanned the spines of old crumbly books that were on the shelves, but found nothing useful. He kept searching...and then--
" 'A Guide to Defeating Creatures of the Night'", quoted Zhou Yu as he brushed some dust off a leather-bound book.
Unfortunately, the shelf right in front of him tilted over...Zhou Yu tried to shout for help, but no sound emerged from his throat. He could only await his fate as the bookshelf tumbled down, sending him and the ladder to the ground.
~*~*~
Demon-proofing the house didn't seem so hard anymore. He and "Master" Pang Tong had secured most of the area, and it was getting late.
Master Pang Tong noticed that Sun Ce was yawning. "Hey...kid, go turn in for the night. I'll go take care of the rest of this."
Sun Ce, obviously very tired, showed resentment at being called "kid", but he was grateful that he could go to sleep now. He rushed out of the living room into the bathroom, where he took a quick shower.
~*~
Sun Ce was taking a shower. Master Pang Tong was almost finished demon-proofing the house, until he heard a strange sound. Pang Tong knew what this was, and he tried to cast the incantations at a faster pace.
Then the lights in the living room went out. Pang Tong was in trouble now. Something large and menacing loomed over his fallen body in the darkness, feeding on his current fear.
Master Pang Tong's shriek was never heard in the depths of the night.
~*~
After a nice, refreshing shower, Sun Ce forgot that he had run out of toothpaste. Then he saw Master Pang Tong's tube of toothpaste on the counter.
"Hey! Master Pang Tong! Can I borrow your toothpaste?"
No reply.
"Master Pang Tong!?"
Still silence.
"Alright," thought Sun Ce. "He won't mind if I just use...a little."
Sun Ce brushed his teeth using some of Master Pang Tong's toothpaste, then settled off to bed.
~*~
Zhou Yu woke up sporting odd bruises all over his body. He tried to move, but his leg hurt too much. What had happened?
As his vision got clearer, Zhou Yu recognized a color...a pale-ish green. Hospital green, in fact. He was in a hospital.
Xiao Qiao popped in the room holding a bag of jelly beans. Da Qiao followed Xiao in Zhou Yu's hospital room.
"You're awake." Xiao Qiao looked cheerful. Zhou Yu only turned in his bed.
"Xiao Qiao will keep you company here," said Da Qiao, exiting Zhou Yu's room. "I have to check up on Sun Ce and Pang Tong."
"Okay," was Zhou Yu's muffled reply as he buried his face in a pillow.
~*~
When Da Qiao entered the house through the front door, she could hear Sun Ce snoring contentedly, but no sign of "Master" Pang Tong.
But, as she reached the living room, she could only cry out in horror upon seeing Master Pang Tong's mangled and dismembered body.
If Master Pang Tong knew about this creature and still got killed by it, how would she, Xiao, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu ever survive?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Please...review...for...chapter...even...though...it was...DISTURBING!
Hehe. So tired.