Summary: Somewhere between her best friend's car and her house, Victoria got a little lost... How did actual history go again? And why the hell couldn't she have wound up in Shu?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but various and assorted DW games and WO2. If only my ownership extended beyond mere copies of said games...

Queen's Quornor: Yes, I know time-jump fics are kind of common here. But you know how you sometimes get that idea that just won't die, no matter how many times you try to kill it? I finally gave in, and figured I'd try to put my own spin on things by limiting Tori's knowledge of Three Kingdoms history to what is represented in WO2. The games themselves fictionalize a lot of things, even moreso than Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so I decided I'd try mixing those two versions with actual history and a few little things of my own. I'm not sure if I want to send Tori back to our own time or not; let's just see how the story develops.

A Miserable Day

"Stop the car."

"Tori, what's the big deal? I just want to double-date to prom."

"Kate, if you don't stop this car right now, I am going to make your suicide doors exactly that," Victoria hissed, gripping the door's handle in emphasis.

"Fine, I'm pulling over. You're such a drama queen!" The car began swerving to the side of the highway. "What's up with you? I thought you said it was okay if I went out with Jeff!"

"I didn't think you would! He broke my heart, Kate! You're supposed to be my best friend!"

"I am your best friend!" Kate glared at her through oversized sunglasses, a pointless accessory when the sky was as overcast as it was today.

"You're an insensitive bitch!"

"It's not like he cheated or anything! He just didn't want a monkey distracting him from soccer!"

The car had already stopped, but it was beginning to rock with the force of two teenage girls screaming at each other. "So why the hell did he say yes to you?" Victoria demanded, resisting the urge to rip out her friend's shiny black hair and jam those stylish shades down her throat.

Kate sneered at her. "Maybe he thinks I'm hotter. At least I'm willing to put out."

"Fuck you!" Victoria slammed the door open and clambered out, dragging her backpack after her.

"Fuck you and your bigass momma!" Tires squealed and gravel flew as the car peeled out, leaving Victoria seething on the highway shoulder. She glared fiery death at the vehicle long after it vanished around the nearest curve, then hitched her backpack over her arm and started walking.

How could Kate just go and steal Jeff like that? She knew how much she had loved him. Hell, she'd been Victoria's shoulder when they had broken up! Best friends weren't supposed to date each others' exes. It was a rule. Sure, Jeff was a star athlete and the hottest catch at Lincoln County High School, and a shoo-in for Prom King, but Kate should have known he was off-limits!

And to have the nerve to ask her if she wanted to double-date to prom, when Victoria hadn't even rebounded yet... Kate had bigger balls than Jeff, that was for sure. She just wanted to rub salt in Victoria's wounds, knowing that it would kill her to see them together. Bitch probably dreamed about the look on her face when she got the spotlight dance with her best friend's ex, the crowns gleaming atop their heads while Victoria's mascara ran.

"Why did I ever become friends with that selfish, backstabbing whore?" she muttered, swiping at her eyes. "When I see her on Monday, I'll break all those perfect teeth of hers." Kate would never know what hit her. Victoria had five brothers, and she'd picked up a few things over the years. One well-placed right hook, and the would-be Prom Queen would be sporting a black eye during her coronation.

Victoria felt something splatter against her nose, and looked up in time to see the sky open. She cursed and kept walking, thankful that her backpack was waterproof and she'd thought to put her cell phone in there instead of her pocket.

Maybe after she decked Kate, she'd go teach Jeff a lesson, too. He knew she and Kate were best friends. It would have crossed his mind that they would be going to prom together. Bastard probably wanted to hurt her even more, taking Kate to the big dance instead. Victoria resolved to put his groin in a splint the next time she saw him.

The rain was really coming down. Victoria lowered her head and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She could barely see anything through the relentless curtain of water. If Kate hadn't opened her big mouth, she wouldn't be walking home like some drowned rat. Maybe the bitch had checked the weather forecast on her iPhone before school ended.

Stupid Kate. Stupid Jeff. Stupid prom.

She pushed her sodden blonde hair out of her face. Stupid rain.

At least her house wasn't too far away. Next turnoff into the hills, then the second driveway on the left, and she'd be home. It was easy to walk, even when it was pouring like this. She would be home a little later than usual, but not to the point that her parents would get worried. Her brothers, on the other hand... A grin split her face as she thought about their predictable reaction. Being the only girl in a family of boys definitely had its perks. Jeff should have thought before asking Kate to prom, because once Victoria sobbed out the story, he would be attending the dance in a body cast.

Even if she didn't sic her brothers on her ex, Victoria could still reap a lot of benefits from this mess. If she really played up the car-fight and worked the drowned rat look, there was a damn good chance Jesse would let her have Zhao Yun in the versus tournament later.

Her family had put their own spin on the whole Game Night thing. Every Friday after dinner, they would fire up Warriors of Orochi 2 on the PS2, pick their individual trios, and fight according to numbers drawn from a hat. The last person standing would then challenge the previous week's victor, and whoever won that match would be awarded custody of the family's third car for the next seven days. Victoria never got to play her favorite character because her second oldest brother always nabbed him first.

Zhao Yun, Ginchiyo Tachibana, and Jiang Wei. Her best team, for once. She wouldn't have to swap in Guan Yu, if she played this right. Then she'd get the car and wouldn't have to bum rides to school next week. Not only did that mean some precious freedom, but she wouldn't have to negociate favors with Christian if he emerged triumphant. She paused to kick an inviting piece of gravel across the road; a college boy like him should have gotten a car of his own long ago. It wasn't fair that he still had a right to the third car.

Envisioning the sweet victory that awaited, and hindered by the obscuring rain, Victoria did not pay much attention to where she was going. So she was caught completely by surprise when she tumbled head-over-heels down a hill.

At the bottom of a long and steep incline, Victoria lay flat on her back, blinking up at the downpour in a daze. Where had that hill come from? Even if she had overshot the turnoff, the guardrail should have stopped her fall before it began. Some jerk in a truck must have torn a hole in the steel or something.

"Is the world out to get me today?" she asked the sky.

No answer was forthcoming, so Victoria began peeling herself out of the grass. Retrieving her backpack, she wiped the rain away from her eyes and began plodding back up the hill.

In the midst of sullen indignation, she somehow forgot Newton's laws of motion and gravity, as applied to friction. In other words, her foot slipped on the slick grass. Back where she had started, with muddier jeans this time, she took a moment to reacquaint herself with the physics of Mr. Newton.

When the vegetation presumably failed to wither after five minutes of death-glare, Victoria got to her feet and swatted at the mud caking her knees. "Stupid hill!" She decided not to give her nonexistent audience further satisfaction by trying to get back up to the road. With a flip of her middle finger in the hill's general direction, she began stalking towards her turnoff, based on a wild guess.

As she trekked through the soggy grass, still shrouded by the pouring rain, Victoria began dreaming of a game plan for tonight's tournament.

Assuming she got Zhao Yun, Jesse would fill out his usual team of Magoichi Saika and Taegong Wang with Yukimura Sanada. The Japanese spearman was pretty speedy, but Zhao Yun was a more balanced character with better sweeping attacks. She'd have to beware of Magoichi, but Jesse wouldn't be too much of a problem otherwise. Her two youngest brothers, Sam and Charlie, also presented little concern. Sam had a habit of relying on Orochi too much, and he often sent Da Ji dancing over the arena's edge in his enthusiasm. Charlie was fond of using Xing Cai, Xiao Qiao, and Gracia but he tended to forget that a good running start could send his favorite careening into a ring out. Joey was an all-around lousy player, so he was an easy victory if she had to fight him.

Christian, her oldest brother, would be the opponent to beat. His team of Zhang He, Ling Tong, and Gan Ning was pretty tight, both quick and powerful with a wealth of attacks designed to send an opponent flying. He got the car more often than anybody else. But after many casual matches, she knew that with Zhao Yun she had the best chance at the keys. Christian's team lacked one critical factor: range.

Victoria smirked. Tonight his unholy alliance would be defeated by her (almost) fully Shu team. She could almost feel the car's leather steering wheel beneath her curled fingers.

Man, this rain was persistent. Shouldn't it have ended by now? And where the hell was the turnoff? Surely she should have stumbled across it by now, even with her off-road detour. She had kept the hill on her right this entire time, barely visible but still there. Just how long had she been walking, anyway?

"I can't be lost," she told herself. "The rain's just making me think shit. I'll probably get there soon."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The rain was beginning to slow, but Victoria was in no mood to celebrate. It felt like she had been walking for hours, her shoulders were sore from the weight of her backpack, and she still hadn't found her turnoff. Now a little scared, she stopped and considered the hill again as a thought came to mind.

Where was the traffic?

Victoria backed up a bit, and began lunging up the hill. Her feet slipped a few times, but she clawed at the long grass, determined to get back to the road. Maybe the rain had just muffled the traffic, or slowed it to a crawl. Visibility had been pretty low, so it might have been too dangerous to drive at the normal speeds. She kept repeating this to herself as she scrambled to the top. After resting for a moment, she finally lifted her head to look around.

There was no road. All her astounded eyes could pick out through the rain was more grass.

"...the fuck?" she breathed. A quick rub at her eyes did not make the scenery change. How the hell had she lost the road? It had been right beside her sneakers until she fell down that damn hill, and she had been careful to keep the miserable excuse for geography close enough to see through the rain. There was no way she could have gotten lost.

Victoria shoved a hand through her hair, gripping the roots tight between her fingers. How was she supposed to get home? She couldn't see any landmarks, thanks to the damned weather, and she didn't dare use her cell phone in case it shorted out. Her family was going to have a cow if she didn't call or something; it had to be getting late, if the gnawing in her stomach was any clue.

"Where the hell am I?"

She jumped and nearly slid back down the hill again as she received a reply. She didn't understand a word of it, but to her mind it sounded like Chinese, maybe Japanese. Her sneakers slipped on the wet grass as she backed away from the unseen speaker.

"Who's there?" she demanded, envisioning rapists and kidnappers. The thought of retrieving her jackknife arose, but for some reason her hand stayed well away from her pocket. If nothing else, she had her fists and feet.

More jibber-jabber, and a figure emerged from the rain and mist. Victoria misplaced her jaw somewhere in the vicitiny of her knees then, instantly recognizing the man. She and her brothers had spent many game sessions mocking his hair, reminiscent of a giant nailbrush, and that ugly, prune-colored tattoo over his right eye. Victoria whipped away from the apparition, knuckling her eyes hard.

She had to be dreaming, or hallucinating. This was crazy. There was no way Zuo Ci was here, no way the highway had vanished! That was impossible!

The grass kept swishing with the tread of approaching feet and Victoria shook her head, throwing one hand out in a childish attempt to ward the insanity away. He said something, and suddenly her hand was engulfed in cool heat. When she tried to jerk free, she found herself unable to do so. For such a frail old man, he was pretty damn strong.

"Let me go!" she yelped, tugging backwards.

He spoke again, the tone gentle, before reaching his free hand to touch her forehead.

Her entire body jerked with the shock that rippled across her head. Victoria's fingers immediately began rubbing at her scalp, attempting to ease the ache deep within her brain. "What did you do to me?"

"I have merely helped you understand that I mean you no harm."

"Yeah, like that didn't..." Something clicked in her head, and Victoria looked at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "Wait. You speak English?"

He chuckled softly. "Not a word of it. I only enabled you to speak and understand our language, as if you had heard it from the moment of your birth."

Her heart plunged and raced at the same time. She didn't think that was possible. "Where am I?"

"I will tell you, and explain as best I can. But first we must get you inside, lest you freeze or become ill. You must be hungry," he added when her stomach voiced its opinion.

Victoria hestitated. Bad stuff happened to girls who went traipsing off with strange men, even if the guy in question wasn't supposed to be real. Especially then. But she was hungry, and soaked, and confused as all hell... "Who are you?" spilled from her lips.

He bowed slightly. "I am Zuo Ci, and I was sent to help you. Now come. My home is not far."

Speechless, Victoria allowed him to guide her along.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"To answer your earlier question," Zuo Ci began, handing Victoria a wooden bowl filled with rice and a pair of chopsticks, "you are in Xia Kou, in the Jing Province. This area is controlled by Lord Sun Quan, who conquered it just yesterday. His army has yet to return to Wu, so you will be interacting with them very soon."

Victoria fumbled with the sticks, not at all sure how to hold them, let alone scoop rice from the bowl balanced on her thighs. Further complicating matters was the blanket she held shut with one hand, her only attire while her sopping clothes and shoes dried near the fire. "Who said anything about interacting with Wu? I just want to go home, not play some role in a video game."

"This is no game, Lady..."

She mentally smacked herself for forgetting her manners. "Sorry. I'm Victoria Townsend, but my friends call me Tori."

"As you wish." Zuo Ci reached across to position the chopsticks in her fingers, and she clumsily began eating as he went to sit on the opposite side of the small fire. "This is all too real, I am afraid. You will meet Lord Sun, and you will get involved."

"Don't I get a say in this?" she grumbled. "I don't even like Wu that much. I prefer Shu."

"That is not an option," he informed her solemnly.

"Riiiiight." Her eyes rolled and she continued wolfing down the rice. "You still haven't answered my biggest question. How the hell did I get here?"

"Heaven sent you."

The sticks clattered against the rim of the bowl, and she stared at him. "What? That's crazy. Even if there was such a thing as Heaven, what's so special about me? I'm just a regular girl, not some great such-and-such. Sun Quan already has plenty of advisors and strategists and kickass warriors. He doesn't need some useless teenager from the future."

Zuo Ci folded his hands, regarding her with quiet dignity. After a brief staring contest, Victoria sullenly picked the sticks back up and fell back to her meal. "Heaven makes no mistakes, Lady Tori. There is a reason why you were sent, although I cannot presume Heaven's will. All I know is that you must meet with Lord Sun and aid his cause."

"But what can I do?" she asked again, thinking that he sounded a lot like that crazy preacher, Zhang Jiao.

"At the very least, your presence will garner the loyalty of fickle men. You are quite unlike any woman ever seen before, so Lords Sun and Zhou may use you as a representative of Heaven's favor." Zuo Ci took the empty bowl when she handed it to him.

"And how, exactly, am I different?"

"Your hair and eyes are the most obvious. You are crowned with the sun's golden majesty, and gaze upon the land through eyes of cloudless sky. You resemble the heavens, Lady Tori, and that is quite unique. The lords of Wu will use that to their advantage, once they determine that you are worthy of their trust."

Victoria shook her head, wishing this was all some crazy dream. Maybe she'd hit her head when she fell earlier. "So just because I'm the all-American girl, I get to play Heavenly Messenger? That's just great. Don't I get the option of going home and pretending this never happened?"

"I am afraid that is quite impossible, Lady Tori," he replied, his tone colored with sympathy and resolve.

"That's usually the case," she sighed. "So when do I get to meet Sun Quan?"

He stood and waved a hand at Victoria's clothing, which had been drying on bamboo rods near the cookfire. She blinked as the dripping articles became as dry as if she had just pulled them from a machine. Why hadn't he done that earlier? Guy had probably just wanted to see her legs. Pervert. "If you will dress yourself, I will arrange for you to meet him. Your appearance will serve to grant you an audience, and your personal effects will ensure his full attention. I suggest you prepare yourself for an extremely thorough meeting."

Victoria grabbed her clothes and scurried to a darker corner of the cave. Zuo Ci turned his back to her, but she kept a careful eye on him as she struggled to keep the blanket from slipping off her shoulders while she dressed. "He's not going to have me strip-searched, is he?" she called.

"I doubt it. In the event that he does, however, you will be searched by a guard."

She glanced his way, then shrugged off the blanket and tugged on her shirt in one swift move. Now somewhat safe from wandering eyes, she reached for her bra. She had long since mastered the art of donning and removing that particular garment while fully clothed. "That's not encouraging, man."

"I am afraid there is very little encouragement I can offer. You are in a unique and awkward position, Lady Tori. You will be asked questions you will find uncomfortable, and to which you have no answers." Victoria stuck her tongue out at his back and began slipping on her sneakers. "But Heaven will provide. However you arrived here, there is a reason. I do not believe you were sent merely to be killed."

"The way my luck's been today, I wouldn't be surprised," she grumbled. Folding the blanket over one arm, she made her way back to the fire and her unexpected mentor. "Shall we?"

Zuo Ci gave her a tiny smile, then vanished. In his place stood a youngish man dressed in rust-red clothes and scuffed, worn armor. To Victoria's astonished eyes, he bore a close resemblence to the generic Wu soldiers in the game. "If you would be so kind, Lady Tori?" he prompted, pulling a length of rope from somewhere behind him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. Clearly Zuo Ci's abilities as a sorceror were not just virtual hoopla. Victoria really hoped she wouldn't be running into Zhang Jiao anytime soon.

"The quickest way for you to meet Lord Sun is as a prisoner. The battle is over, but the Wu army remains vigilant. I will explain that I discovered you during my patrol and found you too suspicious to allow passage." He held up the rope in emphasis. "You will be treated as a suspicious character, but not a potential spy. Believe me when I say this is the better approach, Lady Tori."

Victoria sighed. Who knew what they would do to a spy? She couldn't imagine an interrogation being as hands-off as one conducted by modern policemen. Prisoners definitely wouldn't have the same rights in this day and age. "Will you stay with me?" she asked, presenting her hands.

Zuo Ci began binding her wrists, careful not to tie the rope too tight. "I will only remain so long as I am needed. But I imagine that you will not need me too much longer. If what I have heard of the battle is true, you may find a powerful ally shortly."

Victoria tilted her head, confused. The only game she'd ever played involving these characters was Warriors of Orochi 2; she had no idea what happened in the original canon, let alone actual history. Additionally, she had only ever played as Shu or Samurai characters. Wu and Wei had never struck her as being interesting, and green was her favorite color. "Why couldn't I have been dumped into Shu?" she grumbled. "I'd rather hang out with Liu Bei and Zhao Yun than Sun Quan and Zhou Yu. And why's Quan in charge, anyway? I thought Wu was ruled by Sun Jian."

"Lord Sun Jian is dead, Lady Tori. This battle was partially fought to avenge his death at the hands of Huang Zu," Zuo Ci explained, tying the knot.

"What? Then what about Sun Ce? Wasn't he the eldest son?" she asked, shocked.

"Lord Sun Ce was killed some time ago, assassinated by followers of a man he executed."

Victoria licked her lips, shaken. It hadn't occured to her that people could be dead. "What about the others? Liu Bei still rules Shu, right?"

"He has never ruled Shu. That area is currently under the control of Lord Lui Zhang. Lord Lui Xuande and his brothers are currently wandering fugitives seeking protection from Lord Cao Cao, along with Zhao Zilong and Zhuge Kongming." The disguised sorceror bent to retrieve Victoria's backpack, ignoring her dropped jaw.

"'Xuande'? 'Zilong'? 'Kongming'?" was the next series of question.

"Those are the styles of Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, and Zhuge Liang, a kind of alternate name used by people other than a man's elders. All adult men have one," he explained patiently. His serene expression grew more serious, and he took her arm with a firm grip. "Lady Tori, it sounds as if you know at least part of the future as it pertains to us."

"Didn't I say I was from the future?" she retorted, trying to pull away.

"I would advise you to be very careful with that knowledge. The future is never certain. What is history to you has yet to happen to us."

"So you're telling me to keep my lips zipped?" she challenged.

The dark eyes remained serious. "True diviners are often reluctant to give specific details when they peer into the future, because if someone believes that an outcome is certain, something else may occur in its stead. Overconfidence can ruin even the greatest of men."

Victoria bit her cheek, now extremely nervous as the sorceror's meaning sank in. What if she screwed up history? If she wasn't careful, would this turn out like some bad sci-fi movie, where she wound up destroying the future? She'd have to watch every word she said...

Wait. She had plenty of experience with that, she realized. She had done that every weekday for the past six years, ever since entering the sixth grade. "Sounds a lot like high school," she thought aloud.

"You attended school?" Zuo Ci inquired, beginning to lead her out of the cave.

Victoria shot him a harsh glare, then sighed heavily. Prisoners weren't the only people who enjoyed more rights in her century. Women would be treated as possessions and baby machines at this point in history, not independent human beings.

Stupid Kate!