[Author's Quickie: Another Tuesday, another chapter. Hoo-ray. Okay, from now on it's going to be fast-paced, so I hope you can keep up! If you're confused, don't worry, it'll all be explained sometime in the near future. Leave me a message!]

[No, I do not own SSX or Lu Xun or DW. If I did, I would make this fanfic into a game instead.]

The Phoenix Project:

Chapter two: the Ascension

Sun Shang Xiang passed the rest of the day in a daze; she drifted by her fifth and sixth period classes, her pencil hovering over the top of her notebook but never descending to touch the paper. Her mind existed elsewhere; over and over she repeated Zhao Yun's words to herself, wondering what he could have meant. Something was being kept from her--something she should know. A rueful smile flitted past her face as she thought how melodramatic it might have seemed, but there was something in his eyes--the intense, seriously thoughtful look that was in them at the time--that made her push her doubts aside. Danger. What kind of danger? She wished he could have told her more.

The clanging of the bell dispelled her thoughts and she shuffled to her feet, moving on to lunch. Fortunately enough Ce had pointed out the Cafeteria to her beforehand, and fifteen minutes later she found herself balancing a tray over her left arm, walking in the fresh outdoors. A light touch at her elbow made her spin around.

"Hey." It was Lu Xun. He offered her a smile, and held up his own lunch for her to see. "Mind if I eat with you?"

She flushed faintly, and nodded. "Sure. Where do we sit?"

"Over here," he said, leading her across the Quad towards the tree groves, "The others usually sit here too." Sure enough, they found Quan and Ce's friends sitting behind one of the large trees, talking and laughing uproariously.

"Hey! If it isn't Ce's little sister!" Ning cried out, his attention diverted from his sandwich for the moment.

"I have a name," she bit out angrily, noticing how Quan shook his head at her, as if warning her not to let loose her temper. "Can you please not call me that?" she said, a bit more grudgingly polite.

"Yeah, okay." Ning shrugged, and returned to his sandwich. "You do play good volleyball though, I'll admit," he said between bites, grinning cheekily at her.

"Thanks," she returned dryly. "Hey…where's Ce? He's not here."

She could almost see every single one of them freeze up in response to her question. Suspiciously she regarded them, wondering if they were the ones hiding a secret from her. It couldn't be, could it? What was going on?

"Ce?" Zhou Yu repeated aimlessly, picking at his egg and ham croissant, "He's probably talking to our Biology teacher. He failed another test today…I wonder how he's going to pass that class." He grimaced, and pulled out a slice of cheese from his sandwich. "I do hate these 'Americanized' lunches. Makes me miss old fashioned fried rice and chow mein."

"You've never eaten fried rice and chow mein," Lu Xun observed wryly, "You always order fillet flounder and snow-pea leaves…"

Zhou Yu shrugged. "Hey, I like high-class food. What's wrong with that?" The others joined in picking at his taste, and Shang Xiang was left with the formless displeasure of knowing they had rather abruptly changed the subject. She sat in silence, staring at each of them with narrowed eyes, and pushed away the food on her tray. Last of all she glanced fleetingly at Lu Xun's laughing face, and then she returned to jabbing at her salad. What were they hiding from her?

A sudden scream made her drop her fork onto the tray with a loud clatter. "What was that?" she asked, her face turning white. The faces around her tensed up in expectant apprehension. "What's happening?" she cried, as around her students began running back towards the building in a panic.

"Shit. Huang Gai, find Sun Ce," Zhou Yu ordered, standing up in a sudden move and assuming a leadership position. "Lu Xun, take Shang Xiang back inside. Quan, Gan Ning, Lu Meng, come with me."

"What? Wait!" Shang Xiang cried, resisting as Lu Xun tried to take her by the hand to lead her inside, "What are you doing?"

"Shang Xiang," Xun said tensely, "You have to get out of here. Now." She jerked around to stare at him straight in the eyes, and without blinking he calmly met her furious, challenging gaze. "Please."

"…" Without speaking she followed him into the school, her eyes darting around so that she might pick up something, anything… What was happening? Something was happening, damn it. She'd never seen Quan so anxious, nor Lu Xun so deadly serious. Why wasn't she a part of things?

They ran into Sun Ce in the hallway, breathless and uneasy. Ce met Lu Xun's gaze and quickly he pulled him to the side, exchanging short, brief messages. A few steps away Shang Xiang caught snippets of their conversation: "Scream…looking…Wei…stupid....hurry." She saw Ce nod rapidly, and he turned around to pin her with a piercing look.

"I'm going to look for the others. Lu Xun's coming with me. Shang Xiang, promise me you'll stay inside," he said in clipped, hurried tones. She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could do so Ce shook his head quickly. "Shang Xiang, promise me!" he said sternly, sounding remarkably like their father as he did so.

Sullenly she looked down and nodded her head once. She knew better than to argue with that tone of voice. Ce, relieved, hurried down the hall and out of sight with Lu Xun, while she dragged her feet down the opposite direction.

She was always left behind. Obviously they didn't find her important enough to tag along, not even her older brothers. Some things never change, no matter how old she got or how much she tried to be responsible. It was like her family had some secret life they kept her away from. Even at school it was no different.

"What's this? A lost little girl?" A soft voice from above reached her ears, and, startled, Shang Xiang looked up. A man she had never seen before stared down intently at her from the top of the stairs, a coarse grin on his face. "Better not wander around, little girl--there are many wolves in the forest."

"Who the heck are you?" Shang Xiang bit out, scowling deeply. Stupid, chauvinistic males--why was almost every guy in this school labeling her weak? Ce, Ning, Zhou Yu--did they all enjoy reminding her she was female?

The tall man unwinded his arm from the railing, and step by step he approached her with the aura of an animal tracking its prey. Something unfamiliar gleamed in his eyes--cold, cruel eyes that narrowed in sharp dislike. "You're the little Wu girl," he said slowly, turning his head this way and that as he stared at her. The grin on his face widened immensely when he saw her unconsciously take a step back.

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped, unwilling to let him see how much he terrified her. "What the hell are you talking about?" She stopped and tightened her fist, promising herself that if he took one more step closer she would knock him out.

Just at that moment, he stopped as well. "I wonder," he said slowly, "What Sun Ce would do to me if I touched his little sister?" Shang Xiang's eyes widened in a mix of terror and despair, and she wondered fleetingly if she should run--run where? Outside? Damn it all, where were her useless brothers when you needed them?

When he reached out a hand towards her, she ducked and aimed a kick below his abdomen, hoping to catch him by surprise. He easily caught her leg in midair and shook his head in disapproval. "That's getting old," he said chidingly, letting go of her ankle.

In the next split second, his head snapped back from the force of her backslap, and he snarled in fury. Shang Xiang glared at him with a triumphant smile. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?" she said sarcastically.

The man smirked as he rubbed his chin, nodding almost as if in agreement. "Do you know what you just did?" he said pleasantly, folding his arms over his chest.

"I just slapped a bastard," she retorted, wary of his next move.

Surprisingly, he burst out in laughter. "Oh, you are the daughter of a tiger, for sure! Hmm. But no," he concluded, "You just slapped a guy…who will make your life a living hell. I am Zhang He."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, "That intimidation crap won't work on me."

"Are you brave? Or just stupid?" he wondered out loud, studying her. "Let's find out, shall we?" He grabbed at her arm, but she was too quick for him this time. She dropped down and rolled onto the floor, scrambling to her feet once she was out of his reach. The door, the door! she screamed silently, the adrenaline pumping in her heart, the years of self-defense training kicking in, as she fumbled at the door handle. She shoved it open and ran down the path to the tree groves, hearing Zhang He call out behind her, "Oh, good. I like a little chase before the hunt!" Self-confident bastard, she thought, gritting her teeth in anxiety.

She turned sharply to the right, the landscape whirling by her as she ran heedlessly. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps behind her and she spun around, fighting hysteria. "The game is over," Zhang He said coldly, all trace of laughter gone. I can't…I don't…keep running… A jumble of thoughts flew around in her head, but Shang Xiang knew her energy was spent. She was built for speed, not for endurance. I can't…give in…

With the barest of smiles, Zhang He lunged in for the kill.

[End Notes: Ah hah ha. Forgive me for the cliffhanger, couldn't help it. Another round of thanks to all the reviewers, new and old! Especially to Black Aura-Sama: Yet again you got Zhao Yun's personality exactly right. Wow. You and I seem to have the same perceptions of the characters. And how did you know I was going to drag Zhang He in here? I had this chapter written way before you even read the 2nd one! I'm impressed.]