He opened his eyes, and realized three things. It was extremely dark, he couldn't feel half his body, and what he could feel hurt like hell. Experimentally he tried to move his arm and yelped when the pain made tears appear in his eyes. Taking deep breaths, he relaxed the arm and twitched the other one. It didn't hurt as bad. He raised his left arm to find he was buried by rubble.
"Great," he mumbled, pushed against a piece lightly. He somewhat hoped it would miraculously just all fall away, leaving him air to breath and room to move. The slab fell inward some, making him yelp again. Evening out his breathing again, since suffocating wasn't one of the most pleasant of deaths, he tapped the slab one more time. It didn't move. "Yeah, fantastic. This explains why I can't feel my legs."
He lay still for a moment, eyes closed, and tried to think. He didn't have the strength to hold the slab if it fell inwards onto him, and he didn't really think he could reach up and push out enough to make it fall back. But even then, it would land on his already numb legs. And his right arm still burned.
His brown eyes shot open when he heard a distant yell. Wetting his lips he gave a shout. It was worth the air if he could get out. He screamed again and again until his voice cracked. The sound of rubble moving made him smile, but the voice made him cry in relief. "Don't worry, I'll get you out," the man on the outside said, and more rubble was being moved.
The dangerous slab was pulled away, and the light blinded him for a moment at first, but the cool air made him give a small sigh. "Ce? You're so lucky, I don't know if its fair." The man blinked to see. The face peering into the hole looked horrible. The once beautiful brown hair was matted, cut, and tangled. Blood and mud covered his pristine face, one eye swollen badly.
"I've never seen you this ugly, Yu," Ce said with a small chuckle.
"If not for the fact that I've already got you half out I think I'd leave you," Yu said, disappearing from the hole to move some more of the rubble away. Ce gave a small laugh, which died his chest clenched in pain.
"I take it we lost?"
"I don't know. I pulled myself out of a similar position you are in to find the area looking like this. I think, from the looks, neither side really won this battle, my friend."
"Help me stand if you can," Ce said as the last of the mess fell away, extending his good hand up. Yu took it and slung it over his shoulders and half lifted Ce. As they found balance, Ce glanced around. Fog, smog, or dirt filled the air, and he couldn't see far. Everything was destroyed. He could count the buildings that still stood, or parts still stood. Wood, iron, clay littered the ground. As he skimmed over it all he couldn't see a patch of the earth. Everything was covered in the destruction.
"We lost." Ce looked over to Yu, who nodded.
"If nothing else, we did not win." Ce shook his head, hand clutching Yu's shoulder. Neither voiced their concerns about getting out of the dead town, instead hobbling through the destruction together. They moved with a sense of hurry, not stopping when one would stumble but dragged them along until they again got footing. Both silently agreed they had to get out, that staying too long was out of the question.
As they made their way around a group of poles sticking from the ground, not looking at what was stabbed under them, they heard a shrill cry. Tense now, muscles straining further in their fear, they looked up. They slowed to a stop, mouths dropped. "The Worms are here," Ce mumbled, his grip on Yu's shoulder making his knuckles white. The six forms in the sky, barely visible between the dirt in the sky, looped and spiraled as they came closer, the cries growing louder. "Think we could ask them for a ride home?"
"I think we'd have a better chance of asking them to aim at us so the death would at least be painless," Yu said, voice deadpan. The slim line of hope was lost.
"If nothing else antagonize them to aim at us right?"
"You are very good at that," Yu conceded. Ce chuckled, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. He sighed then as he watched the little rocks fell from his brown hair and bounced down the little slope. "Come. Maybe we can continue on and not be spotted."
"Or Lu Bu will fly in and beat them all up only after swearing his undying loyalty to you," Ce said, smiling when Yu gave a small one breath laugh.
"That would be nice, though rather unwelcome." The two stilled when the flap of wings was heard, and then the gust of wind that caused the men to topple over with a crash. Turning, ignoring the pain, they looked up. The wyvern was massive as it perched upon one of the walls that still stood, its wings spread at full length for balance. Its horned head swung a little, the glowing mark upon its skull almost entrancing before its rider jerked the reins and it straightened.
"Holy shit," Ce murmured, Yu nodding. The worms mouth opened, wisps of green spreading from its mouth like smoke, the flames in its mouth lighting its black form eerily. The woman upon its back spoke, her words a messy language Ce and Yu did not understand. She raised her hand, the staff held above her head as her voice rose. The wyvern opened its mouth wider, the flames lighting the area now. "Holy shit," Ce repeated.
The wyvern clamped its mouth shut, the green wisps filling the area in a dance, and it gave a giant leap to another perch with a cry. Yu and Ce covered their ears, flinching. The red wyvern landed with more grace then the black one, its slender body more adapt to speed and lithe movements then the bulky black worm. It extended its long neck and gave a roar, spreading its wings to look larger and swung its spiked tail dangerously.
The two women atop the monsters started yelling at each other in the rough language, the worms becoming antsy as they roared back on forth. Ce, leaning towards Yu, pointed upwards. Yu craned his neck to see three more worms circling around the gathering. The two men glanced at each other both looking ready wet their pants as they inched away from the brewing fight. Their slow escape was stopped by the black whip like tail snapping at the ground near them, sending the rubble flying.
They covered their faces, giving a scream as they curled up. The women's screams got louder as the rubble smashed into the ground, and the pressure of wind informed the cowering men of a third worm landing. Unfolding his arms, Ce twisted the best he could to see the third, getting all he could from the deathly experience. The wyvern was white, speckles of red giving the worm more character then the others. Its long neck extended out to them, its large crystal blue eye causing both men to still in awe and fear.
Its rider joined in the argument, her hood almost falling in her dramatic movements as she argued. Finally the black wyvern hopped away some, the green wisps leaving a trail as it took off towards the sky. The men and the white wyvern rider watched as the red dragon reached towards the sky and gave a long shrill howl after it. "Why aren't we dead yet?" Ce asked quietly, praying the others couldn't hear him. Yu shrugged, still watching with wide eyes as the red wyvern turned to face them, the hooded lady holding her hand to her chest.
"You are… alright?" the soft voice said slowly, the words coming out unsure.
"Excuse me?" Ce said, eyebrows rose as high as they could go.
"Are you alright?" she said again, with a little more force. The woman on the white wyvern said something in the other language and the red rider waved it away. "The Black One did not inflict harm upon you?"
"I don't think she's fluent," Yu mumbled, eyes even wider then before.
"No?" Ce said slowly, as unsure as the woman.
"Very good."
"Yes?" Ce looked to Yu for help, though he doubted he'd get any. The woman on the white wyvern again said something, to which the red replied with a quick answer.
"You must come," the red rider said, turning back to the men.
"Come? Where? How?"
"I'm officially lost," Yu said, looking as bewildered as Ce sounded.
"No. You Zhou Yu yes?" the white rider interjected, sounding far too cheery to be somebody with her job. Both the men jumped and tried to turn, but ended up rolling in pain. "Oh no! They pain!" Ce forced himself to sit straight, and watched in awe as the red rider instructed the wyvern to move before them. If the situation had been any different, Ce would have laughed at watching the worm hop like a sparrow. Ce could no longer see the red rider, the giant reptile filling his view, and he was shocked to see her swing down around the side and land in a crouch.
The sound of walking made him crane his neck to turn, and the white hooded woman walked behind them, a bounce in her step. She said something again to the red girl, pointing at Yu. The red rider replied, sounding almost exasperated. "You ride with me," she said slowly, pointing to Ce. "He ride with her." She pointed from Yu to the white lady.
"What?" both men said together, again looking terrified.
"We ride. We take you to Wu land."
"Ride? On… them?" Yu floundered for the right, inoffensive word.
"No worries. She nice." The white lady clapped, making Ce doubt his earlier guess of her age.
"Yes. Prince and friend are safe now," the red lady nodded. "Come. You must be healed soon. Dangerously pained." She walked forward, reaching for Ce's arm. Ce, in shock, could only comply until the pain hit again. He fell, making the lady fall as well with a yelp. He tensed as the wyvern tensed.
"Alright?" the white lady asked, stepping towards them. The red lady replied in her language, sitting up under Ce's arm with a sigh. The white lady put her hands on her hips and looked to Yu. "I doubt I carry you. Big man," she pointed to him, "little lady" she pointed to herself. Yu simply nodded, still looking dazed.
The red lady stood, untangling herself. Ce trying to help got a look under her hood. A beautiful oval face, framed perfectly by almost black hair had him loosing his breath. Her red lips were slightly parted; her big doe brown eyes scrutinizing her cloak made him suddenly feel very self conscience. He did remember to avert his eyes as she straightened, not wanting her to know what he saw.
"Please, stay brave," she said, turning to him. He nodded, not trusting his tongue. She then nodded to the lady in white and then turned to the Wyvern. She spoke in her language to it, as did the lady in white, and the worms gave a growl from deep in their chests before hopping around to a sage position. From there they lowered themselves to lie on the ground. "We need speed now, please." The lady in red grabbed his arm and tried to support him as she directed him to the Wyvern.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Ce mumbled, watching the dragon with wide eyes and quick breaths, concentrating on that and not the pain. Trying to crawl up onto the beast was painful. The strap was thin that wrapped around its chest to hold the small saddle, and Ce wasn't sure how to pull himself up. With the ladies less then fluent speech he ended up leaning on her minutes as they tried to figure it out.
A crash had them looking back to see the white lady lying on the ground, groaning as Yu leaned against the Wyvern, looking absolutely terrified. The red lady shouted something, and when there was a mumbled reply she went back to trying to instruct Ce. "She's okay?" he asked, interrupting her.
"Yes-" she was interrupted again, but by a roar. They all looked up to see the other four flying low. The lady in red said something that sounded dangerous in her language and shouted to her worm. The white lady jumped to her feet and did the same. The dragons sat up with might roars, heads swooping towards the couples. Ce and Yu screamed as the monsters neared tripped them. Lying on his stomach, Ce stared at the forehead of the dragon, holding onto one of its horns and no longer thinking.
Yu clung to the white wyverns head, holding onto the large goat like horns of the dragon, eyes closed and praying. The girls swung up to the saddles and the wyverns launched into the air. The four other worms started to swoop over the battlefield, their flames lighting the battleground. The wyverns furiously flapped their wings, hoping to escape the heat. The girls sat in the saddles, urging their worms on in their language, glancing back momentarily to watch the magnificent display as the men prayed on the wyverns heads.
The wyverns neared each other, allowing the girls to converse as both guys looked to each other for help. Ways away, the wyverns again landed, hopping until they found their balance. Lowering their heads, they let the men slide off and onto their butts. "I think," Ce started, "it'd have been easier on my heart to of just stayed under the pile of rubble."
"I'll keep that in mind next time," Yu mumbled, laying on his back and covering his eyes. "I'm so lucky I didn't drink anything before the battle."
"That's a plus." Ce nodded. "I still hurt though."
"I've gone numb. I think it's the shock."
"Alright?" the white lady bounced before them, rocking on her feet.
"Why the hell did you save us?" Ce asked, trying to run his good hand through his destroyed hair.
"Paid lots of gold to find Prince of Wu. Friend come along because we assume you decide not to come without friend," the red lady said, more fluent then the lady in white apparently, stepping before them.
"Thank you," Yu said, not sitting up.
"You are welcome," the white lady said.
"Please rest. Me and her discuss plan now." The red lady turned to the other and the two went off in their language, probably trying to figure out how to get the two men home. Ce watched them for a moment, particularly the lady in red before groaning. Yu let his arm fall away from his eyes and turned his head to look at him. Ce started to peel away his armor, grinding his teeth.
"Do you know how freakishly lucky we are?" Yu asked, eyeing the shoulder guard that landed near his head from where Ce tossed it.
"Some would say annoyingly freakish. I say I got skills. Or connections." Ce pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it into the pile. "You don't happen to carry bandages do you?"
"It's already scabbed over. You just need to pray it doesn't get infected." Yu looked to the sky, trying to ignore the pillar of smoke in the corner of his vision.
"I wonder how Pops paid for it."
"How do you know it was Lord Jian?"
"I'm being optimistic." Yu didn't respond. Ce fell silent as well, and started to roll up his pants. He needed to see the damage.
The fire crackled before them, reminding the men all too much of the scene they had fled. The white lady had stayed with them, her Wyvern curled with its head resting on its tail to protect them from wind. The red lady had flown off towards camp to tell the soldiers where they needed to go to pick up Ce and Yu. The lady now hummed as she leaned against the wyvern, hood still up. She had bandaged them both, using up all her and the other lady's bandages.
Ce had never before seen the worms, not many had, and had been just as surprised that the rider was a small girl then a large man. The worms were a species of dragon that lived farther in the mountains. The story went that humans had made a bond with them, and thus the species had been interlinked to the humans of the area for eons. The riders now made money by destroying battlefields, burning the remains forever. From all the stories the riders were none too nice about it. Half of the stories Ce had heard made them out to be as monstrous as demons. Much like the black wyvern rider.
There were many ups though, the whole reason they were paid to do so was to keep away the Scavenger Demons. Dangerous beasts that loved to feed and live in areas like destroyed battlegrounds. They find the grounds by the smell left behind, and in groups were even more dangerous then alone. The worms and there riders burned the grounds to keep the species away, as well as to help the vegetation. The only real downfall was that everything was lost, from valuables to survivors. That and their prices sometimes became steep.
Steeper still were their prices for other things. The Worms could be hired to fight, or scout areas but the prices were amazingly high. They claimed that they did not want to be apart of the petty wars of the lowlanders, but if the price was right they could not refuse. Ce was unsure how anybody got them the message quick enough to save him, unless he had been under the rubble longer then he had imagined, but knew he'd have to thank the person face to face. Slowly, Ce lowered himself to the ground and onto his back. He closed his eyes with a smile, thinking back to the pretty face he had seen under the hood. It was a pleasant, most welcome surprise.
So yeah, I was really bored and wrote this out in about two hours. Along with surfing the Internet and dinner during the two hours. I kind of like it, but at the same time I'm iffy. In any case, I didn't want to make a whole new story for it so I added it to Better Half. If it (somehow) becomes my next big story, I'll just take it down from there and add it to a new one. Or just skip the deletion part and just make a new one too. However it works. Yes, the two girls on the wyverns are Da and Xiao.
Worms is an older term for dragons
Wyverns are dragons where their front legs aren't legs but wings. Look it up.
