Disclaimers: Don't own, Don't sue, don't tell. But do own some characters. Nobody better kill me for this…
Chapter 3
Soi cursed as she hid behind some bushes while a group of soldiers ran past her.
"Damn it! I almost made it to the exit…" She then wondered at the weird clothes that everyone wore…and what was the last thing that she remembered again? She remembered running away from the old weirdo and tripping…then she saw that she was falling…and everything went black…when she woke up, she was in Twilight Zone!
…What the #$ is going on here?
She took a deep breath and shook her head. It will have to wait…first priority is to get out of this prison…but judging the way things are now and how screwed up this world is, she wouldn't be surprised if a purple chicken suddenly comes dancing right before her very eyes.
She eyed the grounds and the exits. All were pretty covered up…there was only one place left to go. She sighed as she sneaked towards the safety of the castle again.
At the main gate…
"Open the gates! It is I, Taishi Ci!" he shouted as he had just come back from an errand for Lord Zhou Yu. He was surprised when he found that the castle was shut and guarded and wondered what was happening.
Lu Meng looked from the top of the gate and ordered it to be opened.
"Lu Meng! What in heaven's name—"
"The Falling Star has escaped! But she have not gotten far!"
"How can you be sure?"
"Princess Sun Shang Xiang saw her moments after her escape and all the gates were shut at once! She is still inside the grounds!"
Taishi Ci looked at the castle. "The Falling Star…"
Inside the castle…
"Everything is pretty much covered…" Sun Ce said as he looked down. "No way she could find a place to hide anywhere outside! Even a rat couldn't find a decent place to hide its face with all the soldiers and officers looking! Unless of course they are stupid enough not to see a weird looking, gray boyish girl traipsing around with the birds and daisies!"
With Ce's remark, an idea struck Zhou Yu. Maybe…"Ce, Lord Sun Quan, we should split up and search the castle."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because there is the possibility that she is inside!" Zhou Yu concluded.
"But Zhou Yu," Sun Quan refuted, "She was last seen outside the castle! The last thing she would do is to return to where her prison is!"
"Yeah Yu…that would be…stupid" Ce smirked.
"Actually, it's brilliant" Zhou Yu replied.
"Um…Yu? You haven't been sniffing any opium now…would you?"
"Of course not, Ce" the strategist replied, exasperated. "Seeing as the exterior of the castle is quite congested with soldiers and officers willing to drag her into custody if they as much catch a glimpse of her hide or a strand of her hair, the best choice for her would be to find a decent hiding place until everything, shall we say, 'blows over' and afterwards when the coast is clear, she would come out and make a break for it."
"And…? How can you be so sure it's in the castle?" Ce refuted.
"Because one: there are not much soldiers running around and two: no one would ever think of looking for her in here!"
Sun Quan nodded. "I think that argument is sound…."
"Alright! I'll trust you Zhou Yu! Let's split up! I'll take the east wing! Quan, the west wing!"
"And I'll take the kitchens and the lower rooms. If anyone does not find anything, immediately go to the upper floors to search!"
With that, the three separated.
At the castle library…
Lu Xun was just replacing the books and scrolls that he had just read as a homework for Lu Meng. He was still in training, but he had hoped to be ready and given the chance to serve his lord and prove himself.
As he replaced the last of the material, the silent ambience of the room was suddenly disturbed by the loud bang of a door. He heard someone quickly get in and close it, then rushed footsteps that died on the other side of the room, just beyond the bookcases, and heavy breathing.
At instinct, Lu Xun tensed. But then he relaxed. Maybe it was just one of the 'children' playing hide and seek…namely Gan Ning, Xiao Qiao, Ling Tong or Sun Shang Xiang. But then again…why didn't they ask for his help to hide them like they usually do…? There was not a sound of giggle or laughter…and the sounds the intruder was making sounded like ones from exasperation and exhaustion. Maybe it was Lord Sun Ce, hiding from another strategy meeting? Or Lord Zhou Yu, from lady Xiao Qiao? He relaxed his grip and mustering up his courage, turned to the corner, and was surprised at what he saw.
Soi had just caught her breath after a mad dash from the bushes. Sure, she knocked a few soldiers out with her body bag and whatever was available at the moment—a potted plant, curtains, chairs and the likes. She ran and got inside a random room—and wouldn't you know it, she found herself in a library.
She took several deep breaths and wiped her sweaty face—only to find her cheeks wet. She had not realized that she was crying. She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically; she has not eaten a thing, she was suffering from dysmenorrheal pains since it was her period and for the first time, she realized that she was scared. Scared of what will happen to her, of the unfamiliar surroundings…she began to sob quietly.
Just then, she perceived a movement and looked up to see a boy, probably the same age as her, stare at her with his brown eyes and hair, wearing an almost pink shade of red. She looked into his eyes and him in hers.
Simultaneously, Soi stood and dashed towards Lu Xun as he drew his swords and lunged at her. She used the slippery floor to her advantage as she slid and twisted her legs around Lu Xun, making him fall.
As he did, he twisted his upper torso so that the side of his body hit the ground instead of lying down flat and exposed. He swung one of his swords as her yet she caught his wrist and twisted it as she pinned him on the floor, making it hard for him to use his other sword. As she twisted his arm, he let go of his sword and she caught it. He suddenly kicked his legs and twisted his body, sending Soi flying, his sword in her hand.
Soi broke her fall with a little somersault and rested her hand on the floor, the other holding Xun's sword and her legs bent, ready to attack.
Lu Xun ran towards her, yet she held put her hand and sent all the books and scrolls from the shelf flying towards him with a swipe. As the sudden move stunned him, she quickly side stepped him and dashed out of the rooms with his weapon.
Lu Xun cursed and ran after her.
Sun Ce, meanwhile, was kicking the doors open, his frustration growing. The sun was already setting, and yet he wasted another day, wasted an opportunity to get wasted in the towns or anywhere for that matter.
"I swear, when I find her, I'll make her regret the day she messed with Wu's number one—"
He was cut short as the girl in question ran past her, followed by a determined Lu Xun. "There you are, weird looking, gray boyish girl! We finally meet!" He ran after her, right behind Lu Xun
Sun Quan has just finished checking the west wing and was coming back to the rendezvous point when he heard a shouting from the hall he had just passed. When he came back, he saw a group of people run towards him with the noisy voice of his brother, shouting, "QUAN! STOP HER!"
Quan immediately held out his arms to stop the girl. She did and when she stepped left, he blocked her. She stepped right and he blocked her again. She stepped left and when he successfully blocked her, she suddenly sidestepped to the right and turned left, slipping past him and running towards the stairs.
Lu Xun ducked and ran past his outstretched arms, followed by Ce who said "Who told you to dance and play! Let's go!". Gathering his wits, he ran after the party.
Going up the stairs, Zhou Yu heard a racket, and when he looked up, he saw the girl sliding down the banister, past him and jumped on the ground floor. He turned to pursue, only to have Lu Xun slam into his back as he attempted to imitate the girl but failed by losing control, sending him and Wu's strategist rolling down the stairs, and ultimately landing on top of him.
"Lu Xun…" Zhou Yu moaned. "GET OFF!"
As he said this, Sun Ce fell on top of them as he also attempted the slide, followed by Sun Quan, who did not, yet tripped over the tangle of arms and legs none the less. After they quickly sorted themselves, they resumed the chase.
Da and Xiao went inside the castle after a fruitless search for the Falling Star.
"We weren't able to see her in the end!" Xiao Qiao pouted.
"Don't worry Xiao…" Da reassured "I'm sure they'll find her."
As if on cue, Soi rounded up in the corner and almost knocked the two Qiaos back.
"Hey!" Xiao shouted, yet stopped when she saw Lu Xun, Sun Ce, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu in pursuit.
"Da! Alert the other officers!" Ce said as he passed her.
"Tell them to come here!" Quan said as he rushed by.
"Xiao Qiao, go with Da!" Zhou Yu ended as they disappeared into the corner.
"No way!" Xiao called as she joined them in the chase.
Da Qiao hurriedly went to the castle gong in order to get everyone's attention. When they heard the gong, she shouted. "THE FALLING STAR IS IN THE CASTLE! LORD SUN CE HAS ORDERED PURSUIT!"
The officers immediately went inside.
Soi felt her sides hurt as she was being relentlessly pursued by Cotton Candy boy and his Gummi Men. Outrunning the enemy was not always the best option. She has pulled some tactics in order to slow her pursuers. She threw vases, pitchers of water on the floor, or anything she could find.
Just then, she saw two huge men blocking her. "Zhou Tai! There she is!"
"Let's go Taishi Ci!" Zhou Tai said as he drew his katana.
"Do not hurt her!" Zhou Yu shouted.
Soi ran straight towards them as they poised to swing their weapons, with the intention of merely knocking her out. She did not slow her pace down but instead, using the momentum, slid on the floor right between them as they both swung their weapons, the result is them hitting each other instead.
Seeing this, Ce hooted with laughter as they ran past the two. Hey! It wasn't you don't see things like that everyday!
Lu Meng ran towards her as he held his halberd and used its length to stop her. "Cease your running and—"
She suddenly placed both of her hands on his shoulders and used him as a leverage as she catapulted towards his back. This resulted in a painful, face-first, drop on the floor.
"She's good!" Sun Ce cheered, as he was obviously enjoying the show.
Ling Tong was next, along with Gan Ning and Sun Shang Xiang. "Let's see how well you do with three people!" Ling Tong shouted. They all held out their arms and waited for her to come.
She retrieved the rope she made earlier and threw the other end at Ling Tong. She would just have to take a gamble!
Ling Tong caught the silk rope before it hit him in the face. What is this, some kind of distraction? Even if he was caught off guard, Sun Shang Xiang and Gan Ning would be there to cover for him! There was no way she could escape!
Suddenly, the girl smiled and ran towards the window, and jumped! Ling Tong looked at the rope that he was holding, his mind still processing the situation, and was unable to let go of it, and felt a powerful tug that almost sent him flying through the window.
Fortunately, Gan Ning and Sun Shang Xiang caught him and pulled him back. Seeing the girl dangling from the ground, he felt that he should not let go of the rope…that is until the girl let go and dropped four feet from the ground. Ling forgot that they were on the second floor.
As Soi plopped down, she ran across the backyard and was blocked by a huge figure.
"Get her Huang Gai!" Sun Ce shouted as the others went down to the first floor.
"Stop!" Huang Gai shouted as he threw a bomb at her.
"Huang Gai, no—" Zhou Yu's warning was cut short by an explosion.
When the smoke cleared, they were all surprised to see that it was Huang Gai that was hit by his own bomb, yet luckily, it was one of those bombs who would merely stun and hurt someone.
Before the bomb hit her, Soi shouted and hit it back with Cotton Candy boy's sword and was able to send it back to its owner. Now she was scared…these people are going to kill her!
They all saw the girl making a mad dash for the walls and saw that their soldiers were all in hot pursuit, some waiting for her.
She stopped and stared. No way she was going to break through them. Well…only one thing left to do.
She turned as the Wu officers caught up to her.
Sun Ce stepped up, with his hands on his hips. "You gave quite a performance there! I am impressed. However, this is the end of the line, Falling Star. Or should I say, weird looking, gray boyish girl."
Soi raised her eyes at him. Who the hell thought of that nick name?
Sun Ce surveyed her carefully then spoke up. "Hey…are you really a girl? You look more boyish than my sister…and Lu Xun looks more feminine than you. No offense Lu Xun" he quickly added as Lu Xun's eyes went wide and Sun Shang Xiang felt her temper rise.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?"
"Hey! You answered me with another question! Answer me! Are you really a girl!"
"Do chickens fly?"
"Of course they don't!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I am Sun Ce!"
"That doesn't mean anything. How can you be so sure that chickens can't fly?"
"Because I have never seen a chicken fly!"
"Oh, so just because you have never seen anything, that meant that they do not exist? What if I told you that I have seen a purple chicken that was bent on ruling the world and dancing the tango, would you believe me then?"
"Of course not! First of all, chickens do not have the brains for that! And second, there are no dancing chicken, and third, I don't know what a tango is!"
"But what if I told you sincerely that I did see them, heard them and danced with them, would you believe me?"
"NO!"
"Why?"
"You're a complete stranger!"
"Can dogs look up?"
"What? Of course they can!"
"How can you tell?"
"Because…they can just can!"
"Have you ever seen a dog look up?"
"No!"
"Then how can you be so sure?"
"Because I just know!"
"So you just believe what you want to believe, and it's not really on the issue of whether you seeing for yourself to believe. Such as you believe that there are no psychopathic purple chickens and that dogs can look up, its up to you to answer your own question to a problem that seems to bother you and seemed to have made an impact on your life and has to be answered for it is a life and death matter: whether I am a boy or not. I leave it to you then."
"Argh! Now I know you are a girl!"
"Why is that?"
"You talk so much! It's irritating!"
Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao and Sun Shang Xiang all glared at him.
"You just demeaned the integrity of women with that offhanded remark…"
"Lord Sun Ce!" Da Qiao protested.
"Da…" Ce started, when the girl grabbed her and made a mad dash with her.
"Da Qiao!" Sun Ce shouted.
Soi bit her lip. She had to do it! Do it to survive! She didn't want to take a hostage but she was left with little choice.
They stopped in a hill for a quick breath. Soi looked at her captive and said "I'm sorry…I promise I won't hurt you. I just needed a way to escape."
Seeing the young girl's scared eyes, Da felt pity for her. She was just a child…
"Why do you run? We are not going to hurt you…my husband just wanted to talk…"
She laughed sarcastically. "You think your husband would forgive me after this? He'll have my head, I am sure…" as she said this, she felt exhaustion and hunger and pains fall on her at once.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine…"
Da Qiao steeled herself and took out a little bottle. It was a special scent—it could knock anyone out with just a whiff. It is an important self-defense weapon and can also come in handy whenever she found difficulty sleeping beside a snoring Sun Ce.
"Here, this would make you feel better…" she held the bottle under Soi's nose.
"No thank…you…" Soi said quietly as she felt everything become hazy and her body heavy. She slumped down and before she knew it, she was sleeping.
Sun Cce and the others finally caught up to them.
"Da Qiao!" he screamed.
He wrapped his arms around her as he caught up to her. When he saw Soi sleeping, he slapped her on the back. "Good work Da! Unbelievable! You did it!"
Da placed her finger on his lips to tell him to be quiet. The poor girl was tired…
TBC
Author's notes: Well! There you have it! Thanks again for the review! I got the purple chickens to guest in the fic! Paired with dogs and Sun Ce! Just tell me if you were offended in any way and I'll gladly make it up to you. All in all, Wu was in chaos and it was an attempt at comedy…sorry if it sucked. I'll do better next chapter. There might be a song insertion next chapter, so ja matta ne!