Ch. 22
Be warned--- this chapter contains torture and general creepiness.
Disclaimer: "It doesn't hurt less if you struggle."
Gan Ning managed to wrench his eyes open, and found himself experiencing the most disturbing déjà vu ever. The chains were back. Except this time, he found himself not laying more or less comfortably in bed, but upright in a cold, black room, sagging against the chains with his back pressing painfully into a jagged stone wall. His head screamed with pain, and wrists ached from the metal shackles digging into them. He straightened himself up and shakily stood, relieving some of the pressure on his wrists. "Ah, I see you are awake. How wonderful. Now we can finally get started!" The voice was cultured, yet cruel, and Gan Ning could not find its source. A stranger's face swam into view, and smiled coldly at him. The punch to the gut that immediately followed was completely unexpected, though it certainly got Gan Ning's attention. "There now, that's much better. You're wide-awake now, aren't you? That's good. That's very good. Can't have you dozing off, you know. You'd miss out on all the fun!" This statement was punctuated by a fist slamming into the side of his head and mashing against his ear. A ringing noise that Gan Ning knew was not a good sign filled his head. He tried to speak. "What…what the hell…?" The stranger laughed, and it hurt Gan Ning's ears. "Hell? Oh yes, I've heard this place called that before. I myself happen to find it quite cozy, though I suppose I'm a bit prejudiced. After all, I'm the one who designed and furnished it. Tell me, General Gan Ning, what do you think of my little den?" The darkness was suddenly replaced by torchlight that blinded Gan Ning's unprepared eyes. When his vision had adjusted, he looked around and immediately wished he hadn't. He was in what was unmistakably a dungeon. The bleak, colorless walls were decorated with heavy chains, and he could see two large tables littered with unspeakable devices, strewn about as carelessly as if they were mere carpenter's tools. He also noticed a large, menacing trunk, and an elevated slab of stone that appeared to be a combination butcher's carving block and surgeon's operating table. Stains of reddish black discoloration painted the macabre stone with meaningless patterns and splotches.
"I suppose you're wondering why you're here. Would you like me to tell you?" Gan Ning made no answer, but the man continued anyway. "You've been duped, my friend. By your own illicit lover, no less!" Gan Ning thought he heard a gasp from somewhere in the shadows. Before his bewildered mind could recognize it as Ling Yi's, his attention was diverted by another punch in the gut. "You really should pay attention to people when they speak to you, friend. It's just polite. Now where was I? Oh yes. General Zhang He. Isn't he just lovely? And so sweet, too. Unfortunately for you, my friend, he's also quite cunning, and an excellent actor to boot. Though I suppose you already knew that." Gan Ning sagged against the chains, the will to stand evaporating. He didn't care if his wrists hurt, not anymore. Compared to the pain he was feeling now, it barely even registered. "You're a liar." He said, and his voice was calm and strong and steady, though he felt like curling into a ball and sobbing. "I don't know who you are, or what you think you know, but you're either lying, or terribly misinformed." Again, the laugh that hurt his ears. "Sorry, friend, but it's you who are misinformed. You see, our dear little Zhang He was under orders to get information from you. But seeing as how his method wasn't working, he turned you over to me, so I could try my methods. I find that I'm often quite successful." He walked over to a table and began fondling various instruments.
"My tactics, however, are quite brutal. Does permanent damage to the body and mind, I'm afraid, which is why we were hoping to use Zhang He's… gentler method. You would have been able to give us information on multiple occasions, where as with my way… let's just say that most people are useless after the first session. Cheer up, though, sometimes they make it through! Are you familiar with the Shu general Wei Yan? He's familiar with me. We had a nice little chat a few years ago, and despite all my friendliest efforts to make him open up to me, he managed to hold his tongue. Of course, now he can't talk very well even when he wants to, although I suppose that will happen when you shove a hot poker down someone's throat. And then there was that nasty business with the boiling oil, which is why he wears that fascinating mask, these days. But I digress. We're here to talk about you. Have you enjoyed your stay here? Zhang He is wonderful company, isn't he?" Gan Ning screwed his eyes shut, and the man whose name was Sima Yi laughed and laughed and laughed.
GASP! How does Sima Yi know about Zhang He and Gan Ning if Ling Yi didn't tell him? What's up with all of the crazy lies he's telling about Zhang He? What the heck is this kook planning? And why am I asking you? Stay tuned, kiddies! Next chappie: Zhang He gets an unpleasant surprise…
