Ah! I am so, so, so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! Blame my relatives, they were over here shootin' off all these fireworks and stuff (okay, so I was doing it too, but still...). Then I got sick again (highly unusual...I'm a very healthy person...). And then I kind of forgot where I was going with all this...eh-heh... Since it's been so long, I included a bit of last chapter at the beginning of this one. So don't panic.

Hey, no flames! Whoot! (I probably just jinxed myself, but whatever)

And, yet again, I made up a new word. You'll know it when you see it.

Disclaimer: Let's use the Spock method, shall we? I am writing a fanfiction. Therefore, it is only logical to assume that I don't own Dynasty Warriors...it's also true.

Chapter 9: Partnership

"You don't even remember, and yet it hurts." Sao Li stepped into Shang Xiang's field of view, seemingly from thin air. "I told you to remember the pain. This will work to your advantage."

"Not now." Shang Xiang hissed in her mind.

"Listen!" Sao Li commanded sharply. "You don't have much more time. The most recent battle turned the enemy back, but it also made them more intent on crushing you. You have to act now."

"The army won't be able to march again for another week, at least."

"Not the army. You. You have to kill the one you fought in the battle."

"If it's one man, then surely it can wait."

"Do what you will and in your own time, but don't let your hesitation be the doom of all you love."

Shang Xiang had thought on Sao Li's words for two days. Storming Wei's gates would have been nerve-wracking enough, but now she was supposed to assassinate one of the kingdom's premier generals? A fool's errand, if I've ever heard of one.

Then don't go alone. Sao Li suggested, once again stepping from thin air.

Since she was in the privacy of her own room, Shang Xiang didn't hesitate to answer aloud. "Why do you insist on doing that?"

"Because I can't just stay in this form forever." Sao Li answered, also out loud. "Not since Yin took over everything. Normally I'd just stay in the other realms, but since you can help me regain what I've lost... here I am."

Shang Xiang stood and glared daggers at Sao Li. Suddenly, her blood was boiling. "Is this all some power game to you? Does it even matter that there are lives at stake?"

"I thought we agreed that this was a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"Yeah, for my memories, I know. But," the princess of Wu paused, considering her words carefully. "if I forgot in the first place, how can I be sure they're worth remembering? Maybe there's a very good reason that I forgot."

"Don't think like that." Sao Li snapped. "You're considering the coward's path." With that, the spirit woman disappeared.

Well, it's true, isn't it? Shang Xiang thought. I'm hesitating.

It wasn't in her character to watch and wait when the consequences could be so dire. Yet here she was, forestalling her decision while, if Sao Li was to be believed, other people's lives could be at stake. Her room suddenly seemed stifling, so she headed out onto Jian Ye's walls.

Fresh air and calm scenery did wonders for the mind. And, thanks to Zhou Yu and Lu Xun's idea for signal towers, there was no need for Jian Ye's battlements to be manned constantly.

Don't go alone. Sao Li had said. But who could she trust? Moreover, who would believe her tale of otherworldly spirits and transworldly contracts? She tried piecing the story together in her head. Even she wasn't sure she believed it. "I sound like I'm crazy." She told herself.

"Ah, lighten up. I talk to myself all the time!"

Startled, Shang Xiang whirled to find the source of the voice. She shouldn't have been surprised to see who she did. "Ning. I see that we're on speaking terms again."

He laughed in his usual jovial manner. "'Course we are, princess." When he realized she wasn't sharing his laughter, he stopped and gave her an appraising look. "What's the matter?"

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"Why wouldn't I? You haven't lied to me yet."

"And I wouldn't dream of it. But this is different."

Ning wasn't too fond of how distracted and uncertain his friend was. "Tell me."

Shang Xiang looked at him briefly before turning back across Wu's land. "Shortly after I came back, I had dreams." She leaned on the wall; Ning did the same. "I was on a battlefield, fighting obviously, but it wasn't...me? It doesn't make sense, but someone else was using my body to fight another person. I didn't recognize anyone." She paused to gauge his reaction. And, of course, the one time she needed him to be transparent, he was unreadable.

"Go on." He urged.

"And then," Shang Xiang breathed out heavily, "some sort of spirit offered me a pact. She said that if I helped her wrest control from another spirit, she could restore my memories."

"That's...different."

"I told you so. Anyway, I'm leaving soon. I have to set things right again."

"Whether all this is really happening, or if you're really crazy, you can't go alone. I'm going with you."

"Ning, you don't even know where we're going."

He shrugged. "And it's probably better that I don't until we get there. Wherever you're going, I'll follow."

"The sooner we leave, the sooner this will all be over. Let's leave now."

It was early afternoon.

If they made good time, they could reach Luo Yang in three days.

--

In case you didn't find it, I made up the word "transworldly." Hey, I'm the next Shakespeare! No, just kidding...I'm not that cool... (sigh)

I'm thinking by now that the pairing is pretty obvious...its Sun Shang Xiang/Gan Ning for all you "geniuses" out there. Uh, but any romance will be very light, since that's not what the story's about (and I can't serious romance to save my life).

Here's your Deep Thought.

Reality is for people who lack imagination.

Isn't that the truth!

For a limited time only, reviewers get one million dollars (US)! ...Okay, not really. But you will get loads of thanks from this stressed out author.