Disclamer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors, and neither do you. Unless you're a Koei executive... cause if you do, you rock. :P
Author's Note: No more biographies until further notice, so here's back to where we left off: a beat-up and exhausted Ling Tong and SSX are heading back to the main camp after a long battle with Gan Ning.
"Ow..." I groaned, landing on my bad leg.
"Shang Xiang, are you alright?" Ling Tong asked, concerned.
"Yeah, Tong, I'm fine..." I muttered. Every time I said "ow", Ling Tong would stop and make sure I was okay. Got a little tiresome after the first few times.
"Ugh... I just want to get back to the camp. Maybe all of this is just a bad dream..." Tong said sadly. "Once I get you back to the camp, I'm going to try and find my father's body... it's the least I can do for him." I didn't know what to say, except for the usual. "I'm here if you need me, Tong... any time you want to talk about anything, you know where to find me."
"Yeah... thanks, Shang Xiang..." Tong mumbled. I sighed. He was so sad, I would do almost anything to bring Ling Cao back myself... but that was damn near impossible. One of the terrible things about war was the losses...
"Well, at least we made it in one piece," Tong said. "Come on... let's get your leg bandaged up..." We headed through the camp gates. A few troops offered to help us get to the healer tent, but we shook them off. "We'll be fine," I grumbled. I hated having people fussing over me. (I hated having Ling Tong worrying about me, too, but he's my friend, so I forgive him. I don't forgive my stupid brother. You suck, Quan!)
A soldier led us to the healer tent, where 2 lady guards were pacing about, waiting for more injured soldiers. "Aieee! Lord Ling Tong! Oh, and Lady Sun." one said, saying my name quite unenthusiastically. "Have you been injured?"
"I haven't, but Shang Xiang has," Ling Tong said, pulling my arm off his shoulder and setting me down on the 2-person sized camp bed.
"Alright, stretch out your leg, Lady Sun," said one of the guards, fishing out the leg wrap. I glanced up at Ling Tong, who was shaking off the other lady guard (he didn't know it, but the majority of the women in Wu had crushes on him. He even had a fanclub, which he didn't know existed) and grinned up at him.
"C'mon, Tong, you can sit down if you want," I said, patting the bed. Ling Tong's face turned red as he shook the lady guard off him again ("I'm fine! Get offa me!") and shook his head, looking embarassed. "No way, Shang Xiang. Not decent."
"Oh come on, look at you, you're beat. Quit being a baby," I replied. Ling Tong looked like he wanted to sit down, but shook his head. "No. What if your brother walks by and thinks I'm molesting you or something?"
"Then I'll tell him, A, I'm not being molested, B, We're just friends, C, Mind your own business. and D, get the hell out of my tent." I said. Ling Tong rolled his eyes and sat down at the foot of the bed. "Alright... but if Lord Sun Quan sees me, it's YOUR fault! Not mine!"
The lady guard nurses looked severly jealous, (but if they liked Ling Tong, they could have him, since I don't like him like THAT anymore-- if I ever did) and left the tent without any good wishes. My leg was bandaged up, though, so I didn't care.
Ling Tong groaned and flopped back so he was lying down. "Ugh... today just sucked," he mumbled. I had to agree. "Yeah it did. It'll be good to get home, though."
"...Shang Xiang, do you think... if I had been more careful I could have saved my father?"
"Ling Tong, please... just stop talking about it," I pleaded. He sat up. "What do you mean, "stop talking about it?" I have to talk about it, Shang Xiang! I can't just say, "Oh, okay, time to put it behind me," or something stupid like that. He was my father! I thought you, of all people, would understand how I'm feeling!"
I guess I had a hurt look on my face, because Ling Tong's angry expression softened and he took one of my hands in his. "I'm sorry, Shang Xiang... I'm just frustrated... I shouldn't be taking all this hostility out on you, of all people..." he muttered. I smiled at him. "It's alright. I promise, the pain'll go away after a while... don't get me wrong, you still miss them like crazy, but... soon you'll be able to accept he's gone and move on with your life."
Ling Tong gave my hand a squeeze and dropped it, then wrapped his arms around me and hugged me unexpectedly. I was quite suprised, but softened up and hugged him back, trying to make him feel better. "Shang Xiang... did you... did that disgusting pirate really kiss you?" he whispered, squeezing me a little tighter.
I wasn't going to lie to my best friend. "...yeah. He did." Ling Tong swore under his breath angrily, and I could understand why. "Did you kiss him back?" Ling Tong said, looking at me in the eyes now. This time I didn't have to feel guilty. "No, I didn't. He was on and off me so fast I didn't even know what hit me."
"Good." Ling Tong still hadn't let me go, but I didn't mind. I hugged him tighter. "You still remember... when I hit you in the face when we were little kids, right?"
"Yeah I do. I don't think I can forget that... it wasn't even my fault, your brother said he'd give me some candy if I went over to you and kissed you on your mouth."
"And I punched you in the face," I said, laughing.
"Yeah. I had a black eye for a week, and a scar on my ego for the rest of my life," Ling Tong said. We were quiet for a little while, just sitting in each other's embrace.
"Shang Xiang... If I tried to kiss you now, would you still hit me in the face?" he asked.
"What? I, uh-" I was cut off by Ling Tong kissing me, right on my mouth. (AN: Oh you saw that coming.)
He pulled away quickly, probably scared that I'd kill him, but before he completely lost his nerve I grabbed his shoulders, pulled him towards me and kissed him on his mouth, knocking him flat on his back on the bed. He didn't seem to mind; instead he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.
He was nervous, I was shy, but the second our lips hit it that all disappeared. My mind kept yelling at me, "He's your best friend! What are you doing! Get off of him! This is WRONG!" but hey, I didn't care. Sure, the thought of kissing my best friend SEEMED wrong, but it felt so right.
We stayed like that, in our happy little together moment, until the sound of the tent flap flying open was heard. I pulled away from Ling Tong almost immediately, and he sat up with a groan. Zhou Tai, in the flesh, was standing there, with a disgusted look on his face.
"What?" I asked sheepishly.
"I come in here to ask for reinforcements, and this is what I find," Zhou Tai grunted. "Ling Tong... assist Lord Sun Quan. NOW!"
With that, my brother's annoying self-proclaimed guardian grunted again and strode from the room.
"Heh heh... sorry about that," Ling Tong said, rubbing the back of his head and looking embarassed.
I grinned shyly and looked down at the ground. "Don't mention it... well, enough of that. We better go help my stupid brother."
We got up, me wincing a little when I landed on my leg. Ling Tong grabbed his nunchakus and made to leave, and I grabbed his hand. He turned around, looking embarrassed again, and I grinned at him.
"Just so you know... that was a lot better than anything Gan Ning could do," I said, blushing all the while.
Ling Tong's old smile flashed for a brief second. "Yeah, well, it probably wasn't much to beat," he said. I still had his hand, and he pulled me along. "Come on, before Lord Sun Quan dies..."
"Damn it! How are we supposed to get into that fortress?" I said angrily.
"Like THIS!" Ling Tong screamed, charging the gate troop standing guard outside of the fortress. "I coulda thought of that," I muttered, then half ran, half limped over to where Ling Tong was whacking everyone in sight with his nunchakus.
"THERE WE GO!" Ling Tong said triumphantly, after successfully defeating the five men guarding the gate.
"Uh... Tong, how do we get in if you just slaughtered the men in charge?" I asked.
"Shoot... I don't know," Ling Tong said.
"HEY! LET US IN!" I screamed, pounding the door with our fists.
"Why would I do that?" a voice on the other side said.
"SO WE CAN TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" I screamed.
"Hah, fat chance!" The voice replied.
"Nice job, Shang Xiang," Ling Tong said sarcastically.
"Well, what do YOU suggest we do?" I said, getting frustrated.
"I could throw you over the gate, then you could open it from the other side," Ling Tong suggested.
"Uh, naw, that's not such a good i- HEY! PUT ME DOWN, I NEVER AGREED TO THAT! TONG! PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed, since Ling Tong picked me up anyways.
"Oh shut up, do you want to get in or not?" Ling Tong said. "I'm not going to miss... what's the worse that'll happen?"
I looked at the top of the gates, which were topped with barbed wire. "I dunno... I could either fall and break my neck, or be stabbed to death by the barbed wire! YOUR CHOICE!" I screamed.
"75 chance of death, 25 of survival. I like taking risks," Ling Tong said, preparing to throw me over the fence.
"NO! HAVE MERCY! DON'T DO IT!" I screamed, clinging on to Ling Tong's back and pretty much anything I could hold on to. "LEMME GO! HELP!" I grabbed a handful of Ling Tong's girly little ponytail and yanked on it.
"OW! LEGGO MY HAIR!" Ling Tong yelled. "THEN PUT ME DOWN, YA BIG JERK!" I screamed, now holding on for dear life.
(Yes, this is quite the scene.)
I assume to any bystanders who had no idea what was going on right now, this sight would look rather... disturbing. And unfortunately, lo and behold, Zhou friggen' Tai galloped by and witnessed the insanity.
"I'm not going to say anything," he said.
"ZHOU TAI! DON'T LET HIM THROW ME!" I screamed.
Zhou Tai looked disgusted. "If you two are done eloping, I'd appriciate your assistance," he growled.
"WHAT? I'M NOT ELOPING HIM!" I screamed. "HE'S TRYING TO THROW ME OVER A FENCE!"
"YEAH! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ELOPING MEANS AND I'M PISSED OFF!" Ling Tong screamed.
I groaned and whispered the definition in his ear. "Oh. WELL, IF I WAS GONNA ELOPE HER I'D DO IT WITHOUT MY CLOTHES ON!" Ling Tong screamed. "I mean... uh..."
(AN: This is a very loud fic. I just realized the people are screaming at each other.)
No comment. Zhou Tai's look of disgust upgraded into one of pure revulsion. "Yeah... I'm getting away from you two..."
I slapped my forehead angrily. "Tong, you're a dumbass..."
Zhou Tai grabbed the door handle (which I hadn't noticed) and pulled on it. The door opened as though it wasn't even there. "DAMMIT! Why didn't I see that?" Ling Tong wondered.
"Because you were too busy thinking dirty thoughts," Zhou Tai said with a smirk.
"Zhou Tai, I dislike you with great intensity," Ling Tong said, obviously resisting the urge to grab Zhou Tai and murder him.
"I don't care. I have a Lord to save," Zhou Tai said, galloping into the fortress.
Not even a minute later, an "ARRRGH!" was heard, and Ling Tong and I ran in. Typically enough, the only decent warrior Wu had left had been shot down in the only vulnerable place of his body, his arm.
"Ugh..." Zhou Tai groaned, ripping the arrow out of his arm with a horrible squelching noise. I winced horribly.
"I would say something right about now about karma, but I don't want to be shot," Ling Tong said, while helping Zhou Tai up, and turned to me. "Shang Xiang, get him to the medic tent!"
"YOU do it!" I cried. "My brother's over there!"
"Shang Xiang, come ON! What if that's Gan Ning over there!" Ling Tong said angrily.
"It's not that far, YOU hurry up and go!" I said angrily.
"No! You go!"
"Ow," Zhou Tai growled. "You kids go ahead and argue while I bleed to death, alright?"
Sarcastic asshole. "Shang Xiang, please," Ling Tong whined. "Come on, hurry up!"
"No! He's my big brother!" I said angrily, referring to Quan.
"Excuse me," Zhou Tai growled.
"Hey, butt out, will you?" I screamed, rearing on Zhou Tai. "Yeah, shut up! Mind your own business!" Ling Tong added.
We both looked at each other and said, in unison, "Alright, I'll go."
"No, I'LL go," Ling Tong said. "You go save Sun Quan, Shang Xiang."
"No way! What if that is Gan Ning again?" I asked. "I don't want your last chance of revenge to get wasted by me!"
"Shang Xiang, seriously, I don't mind--"
"THAT DOES IT," Zhou Tai screamed, the loudest reaction I've ever heard from him in my entire history of living. "I'LL WALK MYSELF THERE."
"Sheesh, what's got his boxers in a bundle?" Ling Tong asked, as Zhou Tai stormed off, muttering words under his breath I never knew before. I shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. COME ON, LET'S GO SAVE MY BROTHER!"
Sun Quan was, as usual, up to his ears in danger, surrounded by hundreds of troops, and, unfortunately, we were blocked off thanks to the miles of wooden fences blocking the way to the center. (basically the fortress is where Rampage mode in DW5 takes place, with the weaving of the fences)
"Alright, I've got a plan," I said to Ling Tong.
"Me too!"
"YOU'VE got a plan..? What is it?"
"To listen to your plan!"
I smacked Ling Tong on the arm. "Good plan. You go that way, I'll go that way. Got it?"
"Ouch, and got it."
We ran off in our seperate directions, both trying to get to my isolated brother the fastest. Unfortunately Ling Tong beat me there. "HEY!" I said angrily. "Wait for ME!"
"All I'm saying is, women and directions!" Ling Tong yelled, running over to the troops surrounding my brother.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" I screamed angrily.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity in weaving between the fences, I lost patience and climbed over them. Ling Tong had fought off some of the men surrounding Sun Quan, and all that was left was him, Quan, the enemy general who was talking to my brother... and maybe a hundred dozen soldiers.
"Hey!" Ling Tong said, turning around to see me. "You finally made it!"
"Yeah, no thanks to YOU! C'mon, let's clean up this cannon fodder!" I said, thirsty for blood.
"Alright, you take that side, I take this side!" Ling Tong yelled, charging the side he picked.
"No fair! You got a head start!" I yelled. Even though we were best friends, we always had the urge to compete on the battlefield. (much to the dismay of our enemies.)
"Yeah? Well, see if you can catch up, Princess!" Ling Tong yelled, smacking someone with his nunchaku.
"FINE! Hope you brought a fork, because you're gonna be eating my dust!" I slashed one troop across the chest and kicked him, knocking him over. "One down!" I yelled, slashing another in the throat. "Two!"
Ling Tong's attacks were faster than mine, but when I was angry I killed anyone in a 2-way radius of me. And boyyy, was I mad. "Hey, Tong! Having trouble keeping up?"
"Nooope! How 'bout you, Princess?" he yelled, killing another guy.
"I'm fine! But, y'know, this is pretty boring! What do you say we make this a little more interesting?" I yelled, slashing some guy trying to pull a fast one.
"Sure, OK! What do you have in mind?" Tong asked, hitting some troop who tried to sneak up on him in the face.
"Let's switch weapons! I wanna try your nunchakus out!" I yelled.
"Alright! Catch! And try not to hit yourself!" Ling Tong yelled, tossing me the nunchakus. I caught them and threw my chakrams to him.
"Whoa! Watch it!" Tong yelled, catching the chakrams. "How the hell do I use these things?"
"Just throw 'em! Ow!" I whined, hititng myself on the head with the nunchakus. "Heeeeya!" I thwacked a couple people in the face, and hit myself in the nose. "Ouch."
Ling Tong, on the other hand, seemed to be a natural with the chakrams. I would never admit it, but he was almost as good as I was! Well, he was better with the damn chakrams than I was with his stupid weapon.
"God dammit, Tong, quit KILLING PEOPLE!" I yelled angrily, succeeding in hitting myself in the eye (again). "Whose stupid idea was this?"
"Quit the whining, Shang Xiang! You're just mad because I kick more ass with your weapon than you do!"
"NOBODY KICKS MORE ASS THAN SUN SHANG XIANG!" I screamed.
"Yeah, whatever! Just try to keep up!"
"...um, are they always like this?" The enemy general whose troops Tong and I were slaughtering asked.
"Yup." Quan said, rolling his eyes.
Finally, a few minutes later, Tong and I cleared the entire fortress of enemy soldiers, yelling sarcastic remarks and cheap insults at each other the whole time. (he mainly killed all the troops, I was sporting a lovely black eye thanks to the stupid nunchakus)
"Hey, would you look at that? Ling Tong scores again! And with a girly weapon, none the less!" Ling Tong said, surveying the area now littered with blood and corpses.
"HEY, pal, for every person YOU kill, I obliterate 10 more at the same time! And of course YOU'D be good with a girly weapon, you're a girly man!" I snapped. I didn't take losing very well, especially when the contest was MY idea.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! NOBODY CALLS ME A GIRLY MAN AND LIVES!" Ling Tong screamed, quite angry. (it always pisses him off when someone calls him girly.)
"Oh look, I'm Ling Tong," I said, mocking him. "Does my hair look okay? Look at me, with my purdy nunchaku-thingies! OW!" I attempted to flail the nunchakus again and ended up whacking myself on the OTHER eye.
"Well, LOOK AT ME, I'm Sun Shang Xiang the man-lady! Act like a civilized female? Nooo way! I'm too busy acting like a guy! Hell, half the people in Wu don't even know if I really AM a girl!" Ling Tong said, mocking me in return.
Apparently the enemy general had had enough of our senseless bickering, and yelled, "ALRIGHT, THAT DOES IT! I DON'T GET PAID ENOUGH TO PUT UP WITH THIS!" He walked over to Ling Tong, who was still trying to act like me, ("HEY! What do you think you're doing?") and stabbed him in the lower chest.
"OW!" Ling Tong yelled angrily, grabbing his chest and sinking to the ground. "YOU... YOU... YOU BIG JERK! The part that really bugs me is that I didn't see it coming!"
"HAH! You have been officially owned by Cai Mao!" The general, apparently named Cai Mao, said.
Not being able to stay angry at my friend while he was on the ground bleeding, I ran over to him. "Tong, are you okay?"
"Yeah, just splendid," Ling Tong said sarcastically, trying to stop the blood from pouring. "Ugh, go kill that guy already! I'm bleeding here!"
"Alright, but... you know I didn't mean any of those horrible things I said about you, right?"
"Yeah, whatever... quit sucking up and go kill him.." Tong muttered.
"No, seriously! If you die, I want you to know I'm sorry!"
"I'M NOT GOING TO DIE! GO KILL HIM!"
"Geez, fine! I was only trying to be-"
"GO! And take your stupid chakrams!"
I rolled my eyes, grabbed my chakrams, and stormed over to Cai Mao. "Quan, get Tong outta here! I'll take care of this loser!"
"You got it, Shang Xiang. Good luck, sister," Quan said, hurrying over to Ling Tong. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"DO I-- WHAT DO YOU-- NO, I AM NOT ALRIGHT!" Ling Tong screamed furiously. "I'd LIKE to get out of here before I BLEED TO DEATH!"
"I'll have you know screaming furiously at the emperor is a crime! So shut up!" Quan said, puffing his chest out, trying to look emperor-esque.
"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE! JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ling Tong bellowed.
"Geez, fine, don't get your briefs in a bunch. And you can kiss your Christmas bonus goodbye, pal!" Quan growled, helping Ling Tong up and half-supporting, half-dragging him out.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Cai Mao. "As for you, you're going down! Don't think it's gonna be easy just 'cause I'm a woman, either!"
Cai Mao snickered. "Yeah, well, I certainly hope you know who you're dealing with! HRAH!" He yelled, swinging his sword at me.
Compared to Gan Ning's swordplay, this guy was about as skilled as a three-year-old. I blocked almost easily with my chakrams. "Oh please. See if you can make me break a sweat," I said.
"Grr... CAI MAO LOSES TO NO ONE!" Cai Mao screamed, bringing his blade down. I blocked as fast as I could, and Cai Mao's leg swung out of nowhere and kicked me in the stomach, knocking me down.
"Ow... guess you're not as weak as you look," I said, standing up and coughing. I swung my chakrams again, this time breaking his guard so he was wide open for punishment. I successfully slashed across his armor, which cracked under the pressure of my attack.
"You sneaky little brat! You won't have my head!" Cai Mao said, and, regaining his sword, swung at me, slashing my arm. "Ow!" I yelled angrily, and slashed him, without thinking, across the first area my chakrams could hit, his face.
I gasped in horror as Cai Mao's blood shot out from his wound. "Y-you... you... I can't believe it!" He gasped, blood pouring down his face.
I could almost hear my deceased brother Ce's voice, yelling to me, "Finish it, Shang Xiang! Do it now!"
"That does it! I've had enough of you Sun family animals! RETREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Cai Mao screamed, for no particular reason, as his troops had been previously slaughtered by Tong and I.
As he ran, I knew I should finish him off, but I was exhausted. He's not a threat anymore, I told myself. He wouldn't dare try anything... what the?
Cai Mao stopped suddenly, then turned around and snickered at me. "This is the end, you little brat! Once this place catches fire, there's no escape for you!"
"Wh-what? Fire?" I yelled. "How can you start a fire?"
I didn't know how, but somehow, Cai Mao managed to set the entire fortress on fire. "Oh no, I have to get out of here!" I cried, damning myself for having mercy on him. I made a break for the exit, but as the door sealed shut behind Cai Mao's fleeing figure, I realized I was doomed. I had enough trouble getting through the maze at the front of the fortress before; how would I get out NOW?
"Father, brother... lend me your strength! I'm gonna need it!" I said, taking a deep breath, and charging into the flames. As expected, the flames were hot, burning, and I could feel myself growing hotter and hotter. To make matters worse, my stupid leg was aching, and I wasn't going to be able to keep this up. I evaded one of the crashing fence structures, and with some of the last of my energy, I screamed, "SOMEBODY, HELP ME!"
The fact that the smoke was clouding my thoughts and my vision also wasn't helping. I thought I heard the door crashing down... but it was probably nothing. I collapsed to the ground, my chakrams fell from my hands and my eyes closed... but before everything blacked out, I heard the sound of... bells?
AN: Ouch, my hands hurt. It's friggen 11:52 PM and I want sleep. :( TTYL, folks, PLEASE review! I'm not updating until I get 10 more reviews!