Ch. 2

"L-Lord Y-Yuan Shao, I have urgent news!" The messenger rushed into Yuan Shao's tent. He quickly bowed in front of his Lord, out of breath and worried that the news that was about to be told was going to cost him his life.

"G-general Zhang He….has…has defected to Wei!" The messenger stumbled. Yuan Shao widened his eyes in surprise. "What? We've lost him too! Get him back here now!" Yuan Shao demanded, scaring the messenger out of his wits. "Y-YES MY LORD!" The messenger scurried out of the tent as quick as possible, tripping over his own feet outside of the tent. Once the messenger went outside he immediately tried to wipe the make-up off, but only to get it all over his hands. He sighed and continued on his way.

Yuan Shao stepped outside to see the messenger running into the direction of the Wu Chao Depot. He sighed heavily and put his hand on his cheek. "What am I going to do now? I have just lost the two most powerful generals I have. Not to mention, that my son hasn't come back." He walked to his horse which was tied up outside of his tent and patted it on the nose. "Well, I guess this will have to be the end for us." He slowly mounted his horse and trotted off towards Wei's main camp.

Zhen Ji and Zhang He had just arrived at Wei's main camp to alert Cao Cao that he had two new officers join him. At first, Cao Cao was worried that they had come to kill him quickly and end the battle, but when they told him that they swore to be under his rule he was astounded.

"What? You're both joining my army? The two prized generals of Yuan Shao?" Cao Cao asked surprised. 'I-I can't believe it! Yuan Shao must have abused his generals too harshly…now I have the chance to win!' Cao Cao thought to himself. He knew that the only way to win was to either take out these two generals…but now, instead of having to resort to that plan, he got them to deceive Yuan Shao and come join his army. This was great!

"I also ask permission to marry your son." Zhen Ji spoke up, causing Cao Cao to widen his eyes even more. He looked at his son who was talking to a messenger that had just arrived. Cao Cao thought about her question for a second and then approved of her loyalty in marriage. She smiled at her to-be husband and then back at her to-be-father-in-law.1

Cao Pi then walked over to the bunch with the news he received. "It seems that Yuan Shao wants to see Zhang He for a moment." This caused Zhang He to get up from his bowing position, eyes widened. "He says immediately. If we don't let him go back then he will kill the captive that he has held in his tent." "What? When did he capture one of our generals and which one?" Cao Cao asked, concerned for this man's life.

"It seems to be that they captured Xiahou Dun. How they managed that, I haven't a clue. But, they say they have him tied up and in position for being beheaded." Cao Pi explained without any passion in his voice.

"…I'll go." Zhang He told them forlornly. He turned to Zhen Ji to see her expression showed worry. "Don't worry Lady Zhen, I will be fine. I promise to come back." He set off towards Yuan Shao's camp. Zhen Ji suddenly got up and followed.

"What are you doing Zhen Ji?" Cao Pi asked, catching her arm and jerking her back. "Noble Ass will end up lowering Zhang He's morale…do you want our morale to go down as well?" She countered and jerked her arm back. Then she continued to follow.

"Maybe they're up to something." Cao Cao said suspiciously. "You should go and follow them too. Make sure this isn't one of Yuan Shao's plans." He ordered Cao Pi. He listened and took off after them.

When Zhen Ji had finally caught up to Zhang He, she tried to stop him from going any farther. "Why do you choose to go back?" She questioned still trying to steer him away from his path.

"Because, I'm going to finish this battle once and for all." He said confidently as he clenched his hands around his claws. Zhen Ji understood what he was planning to do. He was going to assassinate Yuan Shao and get his revenge for past hardships between the two. Zhen Ji reluctantly let him continue on his way, fearing what might have been in store for him in the future. 'I wish you good fortune on your way. Make sure to come back or I'll never forgive you for leaving a childhood friend behind.' Zhen Ji thought to herself as she lagged behind her friend. She began to think about the past times that she had shared with Zhang He.

She was always there for him, even if she had the same troubles; she tried to help him first. Why? She never really knew why she cared for him so much. Maybe it was the fact that she had met him in the more stressful time in her life. Her parents were giving her a hard time and when she was wandering around the forest that had once filled her life with joy. That one day she wandered through that forest, she wasn't having the best time. As she paced herself through the forest as a good pace that was fit for her, she kept hearing things like twigs breaking behind her and bushes being pushed out of the way. She was only ten years old, who would want to take a small child like her? What use would she be?

By the time that she had caught herself daydreaming about the perfect family, she had noticed that she had gotten herself too deep into the woods, not knowing which way she was facing. She looked around nervously as simple objects turned into complex and evil looking creatures. She became frightened; her heartbeats speeding up to what she didn't think was normal. She backed up from what she saw in front of her and bumped into a nearby tree. She jumped and turned to look and see what she backed up into and noticed it was only a tree, but it transformed right in front of her eyes. She gave a high-pitched scream as everything around her went into a deep black oblivion.

When she woke up, she noticed that she had been neatly propped against a tree on the outskirts of the forest. She slowly got up as she looked around, wondering how she had gotten to this place. It was definitely nowhere near her home. Zhen Ji began to ponder if she should look for a house so that she could ask if she could be walked back home. She began to walk forward, but stopped herself as she heard laughing coming from somewhere near her. Should she go to see who was laughing and ask them if hey could help her get home? Then again, she would be embarrassed if they knew that she got lost in a forest. She was one of the more tomboy-ish little girls in the area and to take a chance of the voices being her friends would make her feel worse about herself.

Zhen Ji thought for a while, then, making her decision, she walked quickly to the group of voices. The laughing had suddenly disappeared, leaving her with out the direction of where the people where. She just kept walking in the direction that she was facing, hoping that they were still there…whoever they were.

On her way to the site of the voices, she saw a slim figure approach her. Zhen Ji couldn't really see the figure very well, but she could tell that the person wasn't in the best of shape. She/he walked with a heavy limp, holding her/his arm and slightly slouched over. She stopped where she stood as the figure got a little bigger as it approached. The person suddenly fell to the ground motionless. Zhen Ji inhaled heavily and hard, causing a small squeak to come from her as she slowly put her hand to her mouth. She hesitated for only a few seconds before running to go to the person's side. As she approached, she saw that it was a boy, about her age with a medium-long black ponytail. He looked pretty beat up and she wandered why.

"Ummm…a-are you okay?" Zhen Ji stuttered shyly. She got no response, wondering if he was dead. "E-excuse me, but are you okay?" She repeated. She only saw the boy try to push himself up off the ground. She tried to help, but he pushed her away. "Do you need some help?" She offered verbally. The boy shook his head. She sighed and watched as he weakly got himself into an up-right sitting position.

She noticed that he didn't really seem to be too social. She kneeled down by him, still trying to offer her assistance to him. He still refused, finally managing to get to his feet on his own.

"Who are you and why are you trying to help me?" The boy asked, frustrated somehow, but not at Zhen Ji. "Well, I am Zhen Ji. I was traveling through the forest when…oops!" Zhen Ji caught herself telling her whole story. She quickly turned aside and blushed, hoping that he wouldn't see her.

"Why were you in that forest? You should know that it was cursed by one of the gods. It causes people to hallucinate and they always…well, normally never come out." The boy explained. His temper had finally lowered a bit and Zhen Ji began to feel more comfortable to talk to him.

"Well, now that I know that and you know who I am, could you tell me who you are?" She quickly changed the subject.

He was taken by surprise with the sudden change, but he sighed saying, "I am Zhang He…I'm really nothing very special…I'm normally just the kid they beat up on." Zhen Ji felt her heart skip a beat at the tragedy. "So then…is that why your such a mess right now?" She worried, not knowing that she was somewhat blushing. "Uh-huh. I'll be fine though. Not like I have anyone to worry about me. My family was killed in the war against the Yellow Turbans. I guess you could call me a wanderer…" He said as he walked past her, on his way to nowhere. "Maybe, I should go into the forest. Then, I won't have to feel such pain anymore." He dramatically continued.

Zhen Ji turned to touch his shoulder, shaking her head side to side. "No, you shouldn't give up so easily. You should escort me home, and then you can become my brother. I mean, we are kind of alike…were both misfits. I'm claimed to be a tomboy, but I guess you could call me kind of a prissy girl." She explained, with some sympathy in her voice. He looked at her, wondering if this is what she really thought.

"But there's something to your kind thoughts that worries me. Would your parents be able to accept a child that is suicidal? Wouldn't it bring shame to your family name to have a son who was a wanderer?" He considered. Zhen Ji looked at the ground; she had become confused and wondered why he kept putting himself down like he was now.

"Don't think that way. They all ready have a disgrace in the family, so why would it matter?" She countered. He only sighed as she looked back up at him with pleasing eyes. "Plus, I wouldn't mind having a brother. How old are you anyway?" She switched the subject again.

"I am 13. How about you?" He asked back, seeming like a copycat. "I am 10. I think I'm much more mature than how old I am." She said playfully. Then she grabbed Zhang He by the arm and dragged him to where she had woken up.

"Are you sure that we should be going back through this forest?" He asked shakily. "Why not? This is the way that I came here…even though I don't know my way back, but I'm sure that we'll find the way." She said confidently as she continued dragging him through the forest. The group of boys that had harassed Zhang He watched as the two dissipated into the forest. "He'll never come back." One of the boys said, the others, nodding and agreeing with their leader. They turned and walked to the houses they lived in, all except for one.

Summary for the next Chapter: Will Zhang He and Zhen Ji make it through the forest? Who is the last boy standing? Will Zhen Ji's parents accept the boy she found beaten down and on his own? And will the fight between Wei and Yuan Shao ever come back…ummm, that last question I can actually answer. You see, I didn't want Zhen Ji's memory to be so long, but…heh…I guess it kind of ended up that way. Anyway, I will try to make the next chapter have the battle continue...all though it will be a shorter part of it. Crap! Too much info…I guess I'll talk to ya all in the next chapter. TTYL

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