(play Dynasty Warriors 7 BGM - Opening)

Hey there! This is KnightMan1890 coming at ya with my first FanFiction story! (alright, fanboy moment over) Anyways, my first tale will be one based off my spring break-acquired Dynasty Warriors 7. It will be a OC-centric story mainly following the Shu storyline.

Warnings:

Strong OC: He won't be extremely overpowered(or Gary Sue-like, hopefully), but he'll be tough enough to handle some of the stronger characters(i.e. Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, etc.).

OOC characters: I've been playing this game for a good while now, but don't expect me to get all of the characters personalities down to a T. Some might be off, so I apologize for that in advance. Hope you enjoy.

"speech"

'thinking'

narration

(author's notes & comments)

(Let's get started…)

(play DW7 BGM - Shu Overture) (this will apply to any narration unless noted otherwise)

It was the spring of the year 184.

During the Later Han period, the signs of impending rebellion were everywhere. Corruption within the Imperial Court had thrown the land into chaos and caused the people to suffer greatly. In this time of uncertainty, the people found themselves yearning for change.

Zhang Jiao, the leader of a religious sect known as the "Way of Peace", fanned the flames of rebellion and formed an army. This uprising would later come to be known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the threat of which looming like a dark cloud over the Han. Sensing its impending doom, the Imperial Court raised a call for troops across the land.

Among those who answered was a man who fought on behalf of the people. His name was Liu Bei, and he was a descendent of Han royalty.

"Though we may have been born separately, we will die together as one."

With this oath, taken in the peach garden with his two sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei joined the battle against the Yellow Turbans. For within his heart, there was no greater cause than to ease the people's suffering.

However, unbeknownst to the three, their first major encounter with these rebels would prove to be more significant than any of them would have ever thought…

(play DW7 BGM - "Escape From Hell")

Fire.

That was all he could see as he ran through the burning village.

Pain.

That was all he could feel, dragging a bloody right arm and head wound as he went along as fast as his young body would carry him.

Death.

It was all around him. Although the other happenings were shrouded by the flames, he could hear the dying screams of the villagers, whether it be by burning to death or being slaughtered by the attackers.

Escape.

It was all he could think of doing. It was all he could do. Despite his moderate skills in the ways of fighting(as his village was located near a military outpost, so weapons and training methods were sometimes "acquired"), he wouldn't be able to stand up to an entire mob of these bandits by himself. It was moot point anyways, since his body, especially his arm, was highly damaged in the assault.

The boy was only 9 years of age, with cerulean-blue eyes and vibrant silver hair, now matted with blood. He was wearing a simple black vest and pants with dark brown casual(as in, non-fighting) shoes. However, his clothing was now tattered and ripped with spots of blood, dirt, and grime shining through. His face was slightly thin and angled, with little baby fat, but it was now marred with tears at the thought of what was driving him away from his home all alone.

'Mom…Dad…Sis…' he thought with melancholy at the fate of his family members. They were dead…all of them.

Freedom.

He noticed he had managed to escape the village into the world beyond. But, what would he do now?

Danger.

That was the feeling that suddenly sprang up in him as he saw various bandits coming out of the woodwork around him, each with some sort of weapon in hand. He froze as if encased in ice. Fear rose in his expression.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" one of the bandits spoke with a smirk as the child backed away, unfortunately finding himself surrounded. "A little kid survived the purge. We can't have that, can we, boys? For the glory of our Great Teacher!"

A resounding chorus of approval met the declaration as a new wave of fear and apprehension surged forth within the boy.

The bandits began to advance forth, slowly, enjoying the increasing look of terror on the child's face. 'A-Am I really…gonna die here?' "N-No…stay back…s-stay back…" the boy began to plead with the enemies, tears returning to his eyes. The bandits merely scoffed and laughed at his misfortune, continuing their advance.

Something happened within the boy at that time. Whether it was out of self-preservation, desperation, some sort of anger, or a combination of the three, something snapped. A fierce snarl coming to his lips, he suddenly sprang forth. "GET AWAY!" he nearly roared, drawing a hidden dagger from within his vest, and attacking the nearest bandit in a fit of blind rage, slashing his neck open before he could react. If one looked closely at the boy's eyes, one would see that they had become a strange crimson color.

The bandits, not expecting this sudden attack, could only watch in shock as their comrade grabbed his neck and fell to the ground, convulsing for a few seconds before becoming still.

The boy stood, his face still stuck in fury until his mind fully caught up with what he had just done, turning his expression to one of horror as he dropped his now bloody-red dagger, his eyes returning to their normal blue.

He had killed someone, in cold blood…and the bandits had now fully realized that as well. "Hey! How dare you kill one of us, you little punk! Get him!" one yelled as they surged forth, forgoing all thoughts of mercy.

"N-No…I-I didn't…mean to…" the child whispered nearly to himself, the bandits too engrossed in their anger to listen or care. "H-Help…" the boy silently cried as he braced for impact, throwing his arms to cover his face.

It seemed time had slowed to a standstill. The memories came to him in a whirlwind.

Helping around the house with his mother…

Hunting with his father…

Playing with his little sister…

None of it mattered anymore…they were dead, and he was about to join them.

"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" he screamed out, hoping against hope that someone, anyone, would hear and come to his aid. (end song)

The bandits had closed in, preparing to strike.

It was over…

That is, until…

…his cries for help were answered.

"HRRAAGHH!" A yell was suddenly heard, echoing across the clearing. However, it was neither the boy nor any of the bandits who did it.

Perhaps…

It was the giant of a man who had seemingly dropped from the sky, appearing in the bandit's way. With his battle cry, he slashed his blade in a wide, circular arc, killing all the bandits in a single stroke.

The boy, easily hearing the war cry(as the man had landed right in front of him) and noticing he wasn't dead, uncovered his face and looked up to see his savior.

The man was tall, extremely so to the child, and he wore a majestic-looking armor with a double-sided sash at the waist and dark brown pants and shoes underneath. The color was predominately green with his left arm being a long sleeve and his right arm with no sleeve, but having a green armband instead. What struck the boy most about his appearance was the giant, black beard on the man's face. (can ya guess who it is yet)

His weapon was a long pike with what appeared to be a golden dragon wrapped around it, a green and silver blade protruding from the dragon's mouth.

Whether it was the war cry, his stature, or the huge weapon in his hands, something just screamed powerful about him.

"Brother!" Another voice was heard, seeming to address the man in front of him. The boy turned to see who it was.

Two men were walking towards them. As they came closer, the boy got a better look at the other two newcomers.

One was a man slightly similar to the one before, albeit more burly with a basic sameness about the armor, but the hair is what set the two apart. This man's was shorter and more scraggly than the first's, most likely being more unkempt. He carried a double-bladed pike.

The other was the most different out of the three. This one had similar armor to the other two, some sort of animal emblazoned on the golden areas, but that was were the similarities ended. Unlike the others, this man had no facial hair, showing his quite young-looking face. His eyes radiated a calmness that, when looking at them, the boy felt somewhat at peace, even in this most stressful of times.

Perhaps that was the reason…

He collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The last thing he saw was the other two rushing over to his downed body, with the first man picking him up. Left behind was the village, now a smoldering pile of ashes.

'Thank…you…' That was his last thought before finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

Notes

And there you have it.

Eventually, I'll start giving out the ages of all the main characters at the end of a chapter, once the names of those characters begin to be known(although I'm sure you know who the boy's saviors are already).

KnightMan1890, signing out! R&R, please!