Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing at all! All I own is Skree, and Lai (Original characters). I'm a poor lonely writer, scraping a living by trying to please people with my measly work…ahem, well, uh, glad I got that out. On with the story!

"…"-talking

'…'-thinking

"Sun Ce! Come on!" shouted Zhou Yu as he ran, "We have to get to Dong Zhuo's camp as quickly as we can!" Zhou Yu and Sun Ce had received news that the two Qiaos had been kidnapped by Dong Zhuo, and taken to a small encampment not too far from Hu Lao gate.

"I'm coming, Zhou Yu!" Sun Ce shouted back. The two warriors were running, sprinting rather, through the surrounding trees, on their way to where Dong Zhuo was last reported seen. Zhou Yu being the strategist he is, had set up Wu officers nearby, should anything go wrong. Gan Ning, Zhou Tai and Lu Xun volunteered to help. (Zhou Tai was kinda told to go.) As Zhou Yu and Sun Ce neared the camp, their run slowed to a jog, then to a careful walk. Peering from behind some bushes, they spotted an array of tents and people surrounding a wood stronghold. 'No towers, that's good,' thought Ce, towers meant archers and lookouts. Zhou Yu motioned to Sun Ce to follow, and they skirted the camp toward a thicket of brush closer to a tent. The tent connected straight into the fortification, and there weren't many men patrolling the area. The duo ran inside and carefully sneaked around the base.

"Zhou Yu."

"Yes?"

"Where do you think a power hungry maniac would hide Da and Xiao?" Zhou Yu chuckled.

"I would think somewhere out of the way, considering Xiao's temper." The twosome stifled small laughs as they crept through dark corridors, searching for the sisters.

"…I'm sorry Da…" whimpered a small voice. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce froze and looked at each other, then turned their heads around, listening for the voice again.

"It's ok Xiao, I'm sure someone will-"

"Da? Is that you?" Sun Ce whispered. Zhou Yu spotted a grate in the floor ahead, and ran over to it.

"Lord Sun Ce! Where are you?" Da quietly called out.

"Da, Xiao, you're ok?" Zhou Yu asked. Sun Ce had joined them.

"Better now," said Xiao, "How will we get out of here?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A tall, thin girl slowly walked down the corridors leading inside from the training grounds. She seemed to be around fifteen years old, but at times, she felt as if she were older. Strands of long, coppery hair hang in her face, partially covering her dark blue eyes. The torn brown clothes she had were stained with dirt, and in some places, with her blood. This girl's real name was unknown, but somehow ended up with the name Lai. Lai painfully ambled down the darkened hallway, still cringing from her last beating given by Lu Bu. Just the thought of Lu Bu made her blood run cold. 'Well, at least I can go help the two sisters. I'll try to get something for them to eat, that always cheers me up,' she thought. Lai's mind drifted back to about ten minutes earlier, and she shuddered.

'…Wham! Lai hit the ground hard. Lu Bu kicked her over and picked her up by her neck. "Did you think you could try to escape me?" shouted Lu Bu, tightening his grip. Lai tried to wrench herself free, but no avail. Lu Bu's face reddened. "Answer me!!" he roared. "No, no! I could never escape this place, my lord! Never!" Lai pleaded. He threw her to the ground again and spat. Once more he kicked her and mounted Red Hare, his horse. "Pitiful scum." he muttered before riding off. Lai slowly brought herself up from the packed dirt and watched the crowd of officers dissipate. She sighed, not only in defeat, but in pain as dark bruises began to form.'

Lai held her head in her hands as she shuffled down the hallway that lead to the storeroom to try and snitch food for the Qiaos. Then she turned a corner and stopped. There were two men leaning over the grate that covered the cell that she visited everyday where the Qiaos were kept. One turned his head around and Lai gasped and hid behind some crates. She could hear his footsteps growing louder as he neared.

"Zhou Yu, what is it?" Sun Ce asked. 'Zhou Yu?' Lai thought, 'They must be from Wu. They must be-' She didn't get to think further, because Zhou Yu pulled a box out of the way and found her. Lai's heart skipped a beat.

"Please don't tell anyone I'm here! Please! I w-was just-"

"Whoa, slow down. Nobody's going to tell you're here, so long as you help us." Zhou Yu calmly said. Lai sat up and looked around, then after making sure nobody was near, nodded. "Alright, then."

"Zhou Yu, who's that?" Ce questioned.

"Never mind that, Sun Ce. We need to get Da and Xiao out of here." Zhou Yu walked back over, with Lai following close behind. Xiao's face brightened as Lai walked over.

"Oh, Lai! There you are! Where were you earlier?"

"Um, hi Mistress Xiao, Mistress Da." Lai answered.

"What happened to you? How'd you get hurt?" Da inquired.

"Um, n-no time for that now. I'll help open th-this grate and you can get out of here."

"Lai? Is that your name?" Ce said. Lai nodded and pulled out a small bent piece of metal. She slipped the metal into the lock holding the grate shut and started to turn the metal in the lock. 'Lai seems like she's so scared of everything. It looks like she's had a rough life for a while. I wonder how she ended up here?' Ce thought to himself. After a minute of turning, the heavy deadbolt unlatched. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce lifted the grate up and pulled Da and Xiao out of the dirty cell. "Come on, we need to go," Sun Ce said. "Maybe this way will-"

"No! Not that way, this way." Lai whispered.

"Can we trust you to get us out safely?" Zhou Yu asked.

"…Hm? Oh, yeah. You can trust me." Lai assured, an edge of fear in her voice. "Please just be quiet as we go. I don't think this'll sit to well with Him." Sun Ce cocked his head.

"Who, Dong Zhuo?"

"No, not him," Lai paused, "…Lu Bu." she finished. "I-I'm sorry, I just have a dead fear of him, that Lu Bu."

"Why is that?" Xiao Qiao asked.

"I just do, okay?" Lai said quickly. "I-I'll tell you later, we need to leave." Lai began walking through the fort with Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, and Da and Xiao Qiao following close behind.

………………………………………………………………………………………………