A/N: Many apologies for the slow update! I've had a busy couple of days. v.v But in return for your patience, I'm putting up TWO chapters (though originally one chappy, but I decided to split it). The first is mostly a made-up Wu documentary (ficumentary?), though, and so I hope that doesn't bore anyone too much.

Shuwazi: I admit, I don't have a lot of experience with writing battle scenes! I gave it a whirl here with these installments, though, although I'm not sure how well it was executed. My goal, though, is to provide the set up for...well, you'll see! But in combination with what clogz said, I do plan on revising the timeline a bit more and making sure there's good enough "space" between events once this story draft is complete. In that way, perhaps I'll be able to smooth out some of the shifts in character.

Also, I added in apostrophes to denote thoughts in this chapter to test it out. Thanks again for your continued advice

clogz: Thank you for your detailed review! I'm happy that you're finding the story entertaining despite not being a fan of yaoi/shonen-ai stuff. I hope you'll keep reading. And you're absolutely right about the confusing timeline--I will correct it! Thank you again.

Suuki: Thank a lot as well for taking the time to review. I'm slipping in lines from DW games all over the place--not because I'm unoriginal (hee hee), but also because I wanted to make this story seem like it could integrate with the games.

Thanks again to everyone who has read this far, and I hope you enjoy!


Ling Tong was up before the sun had a chance to rise again. The call to arms roused him from a restless slumber--a slumber disturbed by intermittent patches of nightmares, as far as he could recall. He knew they had arisen from his unassuaged doubts about today's advance. He strapped on his leather armor piece by piece, wrapping the rest of his body under durable linens, all the while praying earnestly that his bad feeling was unfounded.

With halberd in tow, he left his tent prepared both physically and mentally as best as he could. He fetched his mount quickly and headed to the northern gate of Wan castle, where the main army was assembling. He kicked his horse into a gallop, the familiar rush of excitement before a battle temporarily anesthetizing all other feelings.

He reined his horse when he caught sight of Sun Quan and Lu Meng. "My lord, Sir," Ling Tong greeted Sun Quan and Lu Meng respectively. They both turned and nodded at him. Ling Tong looked around, internally beginning to fume at the possibility that a certain blonde barbarian comrade of his had slept in.

"Where's Gan Ning?" Ling Tong asked as level-headedly as he could muster.

"He already left," Lu Meng said. "He said to start out once the sun had breached the horizon, which should be in just a few minutes."

"Ah," Ling Tong said, ashamed of his temper. He looked around at the sea of battle-ready soldiers who seemed barely able to confine their emotions within a low hum of chatter. If there was a time to let his own emotions get away from him, this was it.

After some moments of listening to the background noise of restless, anxious soldiers, Lu Meng suddenly said, "I'm off." As Lu Meng hollered for his men to march, Ling Tong looked to the horizon where indeed the sun had broke.


It was mid-morning by the time Lu Meng's vanguard reached the border of Yue Jin's camp. Campfires were still smoldering. Lu Meng gave the order for the raid, and his troops swarmed the grounds, spearing through tents and destroying stockpiles. It was not long, however, before they noticed something was amiss when they pulled back clean blades and barrels and crates burst with nothing inside them.

"The camp is deserted?" Lu Meng asked, mostly to himself while looking around at the wreckage but seeing no other sign of the enemy. After the fact was confirmed, Lu Meng ordered a full halt before the Xiao Shi bridge, suspicious of a trap and uncertain whether or not to risk walking into it. He weighed the possibilities quickly but carefully: his forces were still in high spirits, and Gan Ning would likely be hung out to dry if he stalled for much longer. "Advance carefully, men, and keep a sharp eye out!" he ordered.

With silent apprehension, Lu Meng crossed over the bridge.

"Finally!"

Gan Ning's unit came around a bend and caught sight of the shore he was after: north of Yue Jin's camp, at a crook in the river before it curved around eastward then south for about a mile before bending west and passing underneath the Xiao Shi.

"The enemy!" one of his soldiers said.

Surprised, Gan Ning looked to shore where, upon a hill up from the banks, he saw a sentry disappear behind the cliff.

"Damn. Looks like this is ain't gonna be subtle," Gan Ning said, "but we can still catch 'em with their pants down."

He and his hundred troops dragged themselves ashore through a border of swampy overgrowth, then, while drawing their weapons, ascended a sloping bluff along the bank. Crawling over the hill, Gan Ning froze in surprise. Before him and his troops were about a dozen or so Wei soldiers on horseback, flanked by a garrison of infantry.

"Gan Ning, we've been expecting you, you sea rat!" a horseman said. The horse itself, a rich chestnut color, had its shanks plated in silver, and royal blue tassels adorned the saddle and reins. The rider himself was unusual as well, with lamellate armor straited to look like feathers. His shoulderguards held a regal arrangement of steel-shafted plumage and talons, and his head was crowned with an embroidered helmet, sprouting horns from the back, but sculpted to look like crane's wings folded over past his ears. To Gan Ning, it was obvious that that his adversary held high rank.

"And just who the hell are you?"

"I am the great General of Wei, Yue Jin! And you, filthy cur, aren't worthy to stain my blade with your blood," the horsemen said, spinning a thick spear behind him effortlessly before thrusting it in a gesture toward Gan Ning.

"You may know my name, but you clearly haven't heard much else about me."

"Oh, I have. You were once Huang Zu's lapdog, and only because of--who was it? An aunt of yours? No matter, I'm sure she made lovely spoils for Sun Quan."

"She got away long before he came along, and I made sure of it. Any more hot air you wanna float my way?"

"Hah! You mock her honor! The only thing a used goods like her will be good for is a brothel! I wouldn't be surprised if she were baiting crows with a rope 'round her neck by now."

"Quiet! I'll tear your head off for those words!" As Gan Ning spoke, he gripped his daggers and lunged. Yue Jin grinned at him, and reined his horse back as his cavalry closed around and blocked Gan Ning's assault. Undeterred and enraged by Yue Jin's insult, Gan Ning leapt with the grace of a tiger. Airborne, he parried incoming spear jabs, before planting his own blades deep into an enemy horseman's torso. He used his implanted daggers to hoist himself upon the back of the horse properly, completing the hijacking by extracting the daggers and shoving the unfortunate soldier from the horse's back.

Yue Jin, now having backed off and wading amidst his infantry, could not mask his surprise at Gan Ning's determination. The Wei General shouted to attack, and with some hesitation, his infantry thrust their spears forward and charged. Following Gan Ning's lead, however, were the one-hundred soldiers who had charged right behind him with inspired ferocity. The forces collided with an explosion of shouts that split the calm morning air for miles.

With effort Gan Ning maintained balance on his stolen horse, lashing out in bursts of rapid strikes to cut down every last horsemen that threatened to trample his men. He found himself tangling with two at once when he heard a shout: "Fall back!"

Gan Ning knew he would never even dream of hearing that order fall from his own lips, and so realized that Yue Jin had ordered the retreat. "What, already?" he shouted. He and his horse staggered after Gan Ning parried a particularly brutal blow from his adversaries, who then took the opportunity to spur their mounts and gallop away. Growling indignantly at the backs of his enemies, and at Yue Jin's in particular, Gan Ning bellowed, "Cowards!" He spurred on his horse, shouting, "Don't let that bastard escape!" He and his army sprinted as well as they could to keep the Wei soldiers in sight. Gan Ning neither noticed nor cared that he easily pulled ahead from the cover of his troops over the

He slowed his pursuit of the Wei general when he watched him and his cavalry vanish into the thick foliage of woods. "Hold it!" Gan Ning shouted to his men who were catching up.

"Hang on. I'm pissed, but I'm not stupid enough to have us rush into a deathtrap like that. I'm happy to believe that he's a pants wetter, though," Gan Ning said to his men, but turning to yell the words 'pants wetter' through the trees.

Ambush or not, he considered the fact that Yue Jin had clearly anticipated his assault. And where was Lu Meng? The thought struck him that he had been led out on purpose. Cursing, he ordered his men to turn back.

"Let's go find Lu Meng," he said.


Meanwhile, Sun Quan had grown rather impatient. His horse stamped its hooves as if it, too, were sick of waiting.

"Why do you think there hasn't there been any word, Ling Tong?" Sun Quan asked over his shoulder.

"He may still be engaging the enemy, lord," Ling Tong replied.

"Even if that is so, there's no harm in having a look,"

"I don't believe that is wise. Shouldn't we wait for Lu Meng's word?"

"Is it not often hesitation that allows victory to elude its pursuers, is it not?"

"How poetic. Sounds like you've already made up your mind."

"Hah! Indeed! You know me better than anyone."

Ling Tong sighed to himself as the order was given to advance. The sun had just passed its peak in the sky when they moved upon Yue Jin's 'camp'. Ling Tong took a brief nip from his canteen, despite having to wipe what felt to him like lakes of sweat off of his brow every few minutes--well aware that it had to last him for the rest of the day at least.

'The place looks ransacked, but there's no sign of a battle,' Ling Tong thought, resecuring the canteen on his waist. 'Perhaps it was trick after all.'

"That Lu Meng probably got so caught up that he's chased them across the bridge, and he didn't bother to let us know," Sun Quan said, bringing his horse around to casually inspect the wreckage.

"Something doesn't seem right," Ling Tong said, approaching him in his horse. "There's no sign of bloodshed. Sir, I beg that you reconsider this advance."

"Nonsense! It looks like they took what they could and escaped before Lu Meng could engage them. Why on Earth would we let them scurry away, just to infest more of what ought to belong to Wu?" Sun Quan replied. Ling Tong held his tongue, suddenly unsure of his point--after all, it was merely based on a hunch.

Sun Quan sighed. "I know you've been worried. Alright, in case you're right, lets advance as far as past the Xiao Shi, then wait for Lu Meng's word."

Uncomfortable as the idea was, Ling Tong was far less comfortable with going any further than that. "Sounds fair," he said.


Lu Meng's forces had well enough cleared the Xiao Shi bridge, but he could still not determine any sign of Wei activity. He, with his sizable force, had made them take the main road--despite the heat, he hoped to aid tall grass and trees as much as possible, and had the men march close together to intimidate any ambush parties. The further they marched, however, the clearer to him by the minute that an ambush was likely--the air was much too silent. The stretch of road they were on now cut through a forested patch, with little grassy buffer on either side. The pass was thin enough so that some leaves from trees on each side overlapped. He heard his men sigh in comfort when they passed through the welcome, albeit small clumps of shade. His paranoia grew exponentially, making him wonder if every tree had an enemy soldier behind it, or up in its branches. He analyzed every scent that passed under his nose, scruitinized every sound that entered his ear, and let not even a quiver of a leaf pass by him unnoticed.

"Sir! There is someone approaching our front, on horseback" a lieutenant reported.

"Stop the men," he said to his mounted lieutenants nearby. "Quietly."

The lieutenants brought their horses around to the divisions and halted them with gestures. The troops were visibly confused. 'Now let's keep them from panicking,' Lu Meng thought. Concerned, Lu Meng rode to the front of his forces to see an individual on horseback. The rider spurred his horse on and held high in his hand a red scarf. He also had trailing him a thin outfit of soldiers on foot.

"Ah, it's Gan Ning," Lu Meng said. He rode out to greet him and to lead him and his men to where the vanguard was halted.

"Hmm, so you saw Yue Jin?" Lu Meng said after hearing Gan Ning's report of events.

"Yeah. I couldn't catch him, though. I think that was the point, though. We should go check on Sun Quan."

"Agreed. We'll send someone ahead to inform him. We need to reassess what Wei is up to."

He then returned to his troops and pulled aside a lieutenant, saying, "Ride back and inform Sun Quan. We are pulling back to the bridge, with a demand that we reassess what the hell is really going on out here."

"Sir!" the lieutenant acknowledged. He spun his horse around and galloped off. Lu Meng watched the lieutenant until he was out of sight.

"That's it, men," Lu Meng then said. "Let's head back."

Suddenly, an arrow struck the haunches of a lieutenant's horse, causing the animal to buck and throw its rider.

In seconds, dozens more were falling upon the army. Bloodied soldiers fell around him dead, and the panic in his men that Lu Meng hoped to avoid swept over like a tidal wave as man and horse were struck down by a shower of arrows. "Ambush!" they shouted, scrambling into defend themselves and view their attackers. They hardly had time, for in the moment the arrows were still falling, Wei soldiers had sprung from behind the tree trunks to smash the Wu forces in a vice.

Aided by Gan Ning's voice, Lu Meng desperately ordered a general retreat, wanting above all else to get the troops away from the woods and away from the concealed archer fire. He readied his pike and swept it through the sea of blue armor at his horse's flanks, trying to make it easier for his men to escape with life and limb. As the last of his men fled down the road to bask in open sky, Lu Meng himself then fled, ignoring the whizzing of a myriad arrows. As he left the sun-speckled shadow on the road, he saw that his men were already staining the meadows with blood as more Wei troops sprung from the grass to engage them.

Striking down Wei soldiers, Gan Ning shouted over the loud cries of battle frenzy and death throes. "Yue Jin! Show yourself!"

"Miss him already? Sorry, both of you idiots are my prey today," a voiced called back, belonging to a large man on horseback. His appearance was as intimidating as Yue Jin's--his shoulder mantle held the impression the heads of mad bulls, one on each shoulder, with glided horns sprouting out from the heads. His helmet, too, held bull horns instead of crane wings. He also gripped a sturdy pike in one hand, and the severed head of the messenger in the other. He tossed the head by its hair toward the officers, saying, "We're one step ahead you, so to speak!"

"And who are you, asshole?" Gan Ning asked.

"It's Li Dian!" Lu Meng said to him. "What an unpleasant surprise." He then blanched, thinking, 'Could Zhang Liao be here as well?' He speared through a half a dozen more enemy soldiers and yelled to Gan Ning, "Gan Ning! Take your men and return to our lord! He may not be safe!"

"Like hell, old man! I can't leave ya in the middle of somethin' like this!" Gan Ning replied.

Furious, Lu Meng barked, "I am giving you a direct order! You will not disobey me!"

Unphased by Lu Meng's tone, Gan Ning replied, "I'll go, but my men will stay."

"Fine, but just go!"

"Good luck, old man!" Gan Ning shouted, spurring his horse out of the clashes of blades and back onto the road toward the Xiao Shi bridge. Suddenly, his horse whinned in agony, and Gan Ning pitched forward along with the beast into the dirt. Cushioned a bit by the animal, Gan Ning tucked and rolled back onto his feet. He turned around to see an arrow lodged into the horse's rear flank, with many more flying toward him and landing dangerously close in the soil around him.

"Dammit," he absent-mindedly said as he bolted into the tall grass to escape.


'Why did I think he'd keep his word?' Ling Tong thought. 'I guess I don't know him that well.'

Indeed, Sun Quan's main force had advanced well beyond the Xiao Shi bridge along the main road after seeing the fresh tracks of Lu Meng's vanguard. Sun Quan was being overeager, Ling Tong knew, but he couldn't think of a good reason yet to check his lord's enthusiasm.

'It's too quiet,' was all Ling Tong could think. He scanned his surroundings, and his eyes came to rest on a patch of forest just a couple dozen yards out. Suddenly, his heartbeat quickened.

"My lord, I think this is far enough," Ling Tong said, bringing his horse alongside Sun Quan's.

Sun Quan sighed. "Ling Tong, where on earth has your courage been?" he said.

"With all due respect, there is courage, but then there is prudence."

"Is something the matter?"

Ling Tong paused to gaze at the forest again. The same chill of suspicion ran him through. "There are no birds singing. Somebody might be out here," he said.

Sun Quan laughed. "Who? Yue Jin? Let him come to his own slaughter, then."

Ling Tong looked away as Sun Quan's laughter faded. He then brought his head back and stared intently at the forest that disturbed him. The front of the army was already beginning to pass by it.

"I'm going to ride ahead," Ling Tong said. Sun Quan furrowed his brow but nodded, and Ling Tong spurred his horse to trot toward the front in order to investigate his doubts. Though the distance was a hinderance for him in dispelling his fears, he passed the forest with the front without detecting a clue of an ambush. He looked behind him at the passing trees, then brought his head to the front and sighed. 'Maybe I have forgotten my courage,' he thought.

His jaw slacked and his mouth dried, however, when behind him he heard the rolling thunder of a stampede, followed by the troops howling in fright. Ling Tong roughly jerked on his horse's reins, causing the animal to rear in a swift turnabout. He watched as over a hundred cavalrymen charged out of the forest that he had been watching not seconds ago. Leading the charge was a robust man, clad in armor that blazed and glinted in the sunlight like dragon scales, with a deep blue cape flapping behind him. His shoulders were gilded, feathered dragon wings, and a silver helmet adorned with the sharp, black antlers of a dragon as well. In both hands, he wielded twin short-handle, concave-bladed axes, flaring one out to the side as he gripped his reins with one hand and rode hunched over close to his horse's mane.

With the voice of one possessed by a demon, the horseman roared, "I, the dragon Zhang Liao, have come to tear the heart out of Wu!"