Author Notes: This is historically inaccurate. There will be people in this story that were not alive during this time. However, seeing how this is a fan fiction, I am allowed to alter history to make my story the way I would like it.
"You're going to have to do better than that to defeat me! Let's go!" Ma Chao lunged forward with his spear. Zhao Yun sidestepped and deflected his attack, countering with one of his own. Ma Chao deflected Zhao's attack right back at him. The two went back and forth deflecting each others attacks and returning one of their own.
"Come on Ma Chao!" Zhao quickly unleashed a few fast paced thrusts followed up with a spinning attack. Ma Chao blocked all of the trusts, but as he blocked the final attack, it knocked him back a few paces giving Zhao Yun the advantage. Zhao Yun quickly spun his spear around and thrust the blunt end of the spear into Ma Chao's chest armor, knocking him back onto the ground. Zhao Yun smiled and walked over to Ma Chao, putting out his arm to help him up. Ma Chao sighed and used Zhao's hand and arm to help himself up.
"You got lucky this time!" Ma Chao told Zhao with a serious look on his face. Zhao Yun raised his eyebrows for a moment, then saw through Ma's trick and laughed. Ma Chao dropped the serious look and smiled. Ma Chao spun his spear around and taunted Zhao Yun a bit to continue their training.
-----------------------------
"The time for battle is drawing near, my dear." Zhuge Liang turned from the window to see his wife, Yue Ying, sitting down by some scrolls. She looked up at him and gave him a slight smile and nodded.
"It seems like there are always battles going on now. The time is a very turbulent one." Zhuge Liang nodded to her and sat down next to her, fanning himself. He looked over a scroll in front of her and then looked back up to her.
"In times of turbulence, one mustn't lose one's main goal and purpose. All of these battles and sacrifices will not be in vain. It is to help our lord find his true place on earth. We will fight and continue to fight, until our lord's dream is met. Until then, we must be patient and cope through all of this." Zhuge Liang gave Yue Ying a sympathetic smile. Yue Ying returned his smile and nodded, she knew that there was a price for making the country a better place.
"I understand my love. Let us retire for now, we need to be well rested for when the time of battle comes. You've been overworked lately and have hardly had any chance to sleep. Let us do so, this way you can be at your best." Yue Ying gently took Zhuge Liang's hand and led him towards the bed.
-----------------------------
"The night air is peaceful, if the land were the same we wouldn't have to go through all of this pain. All the lives that have been sacrificed for my cause, all the innocents lost… None of this would have happened if we could just have lived in a time of peace." Zhang Fei put his hand on Liu Bei's shoulder to stop him.
"Brother, a world of peace would be great. However, it can't just happen out of nowhere. Someone has to be the one that sacrifices all they have to make it happen themselves! That's our job to make sure that others are in peace!" Liu Bei sighed and nodded.
"Zhang Fei is right, brother, it is our duty and our job to put an end to the chaos that plagues the land. To do so, war is inevitable. But we will continue to fight, until your dream is met, no matter the price we must pay. Brother, we have made an oath to live, fight and die together; we must stay strong for each other and for our country's future." Liu Bei stood up and put a hand on each of his brothers' shoulders.
"You're right Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, let's fight chaos and rid the country of it for the people!" Zhang Fei and Guan Yu smiled and nodded.
"But first, let's drink for our safety!" Zhang Fei laughed as the three of them sat down by a jar of wine and drank to their hearts content.
-----------------------------
Guan Ping rested on the ground, with his back propped up against the tree his father and uncles swore their oath. He sat by his brothers and friends. Next to him sat his brother Guan Xing and by his side his other brother Guan Suo. On his other side sat Xing Cai and her two brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Shao. Liu Shan stood in front of them all and sighed.
"War is coming guys, we need to work hard and win for my father!" Xing Cai stood up and lifted her weapon up.
"Then let us fight with all our heart! Our fathers would want it this way, so let us help them in any way that we can." Guan Ping stood up as well and lifted up his halberd.
"I agree, my father helped your father, Liu Shan, and your father, Xing Cai, since they started against the Yellow Turbans. We need to join up together just like our fathers once did in the past, and be united as one to live up to their dream! For our fathers, let us be brave enough to win this war and find peace for the land!" Guan Xing, Guan Suo, Zhang Bao and Zhao Shao then stood up and raised their weapons in agreement as well. Liu Shan smiled and raised his sword.
"That sounds good to me then! For our fathers we will win this!" They all shouted a chorus of agreement.
-----------------------------
Jiang Wei sat in a garden reading and studying different battle strategies. He gently closed the book he was looking at and stared into the sky. He saw Zhuge Liang's star twinkling. He then shuffled his books and papers around to find a scroll. Unrolling it he read it to himself. After reading it all he thought to himself out loud.
"So… something indeed is wrong, I knew something felt amiss… but why would he not say anything… I wonder…" Jiang Wei began to roll up the scroll when he heard a noise. He quickly turned his head and saw Pang Tong standing there. "Oh, it's you Master Pang Tong, what brings you here?"
"Enjoying the night air and the starry sky, what about you? What are you doing out here at this time?" Pang Tong sat down on a rock near Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei looked down at the scroll, then back up at Pang Tong.
"Well… I was looking at this scroll, and up in the sky and…" Jiang Wei stopped and thought for a moment.
"And you were wondering what was wrong with your teacher, Zhuge Liang, right?" Jiang Wei's eyes grew a bit larger and stared at Pang Tong with a bit of a shocked look.
"How did…?" Jiang Wei began, but Pang Tong cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"I too saw the twinkling of his star, the way he's been acting… not to mention I heard you talking to yourself." Pang Tong laughed slightly and Jiang Wei nodded a bit and felt a bit embarrassed for being heard talking to himself. "It's true though, Zhuge Liang's time with us may not be lasting too much longer."
"But this can't be, Prime Minister is an important part of Shu, what will we do without him?" Jiang Wei's face tightened with sadness at the way the conversation was going. Pang Tong shook his head.
"I don't very much know if he will or if he will not die any time soon, but with my luck, he will live a very long time, bugging me every day trying to prove how much more intelligent he is, and doing so in a way that annoys me the most." Jiang Wei laughed a bit at Pang Tong's comments. Pang Tong rolled his eyes at his laughter and stood up. "Don't worry so much about it, just be prepared for the upcoming war. That is what you should really be concerned about."
With that, Pang Tong walked off back to his house. Jiang Wei sighed and stared off into the distance where Pang Tong had followed. After a few moments of staring he nodded and began to read more scrolls.
-----------------------------
Wei Yan sat, cross-legged, in front of a fire. He sat meditating and thinking. Next to him laid his two double sided voulges, sharpened and ready for battle. The fire flickered quietly as he sat there, motionless. His face, although hidden behind his mask, was menaced, just like his thoughts, with the upcoming war. He wanted to fight right away, however, the agonizing wait was driving him crazy. Wei Yan's eyes shot open and he leapt to his feet. As he jumped up he instantly grabbed both voulges in a fluid motion. He looked around and realized there was no one around. With his meditating interrupted, he decided to put out the fire and go rest in his own room.
As he walked back, he saw Huang Zhong shooting arrows into targets. Wei Yan, never understanding the need to use long range weapons, shrugged to himself as he walked past him to go to his house. Huang Zhong noticed Wei Yan and stopped him.
"Wei Yan, come shoot a couple arrows with me!" Huang Zhong said with a smile on his face. He really just wanted to get his mind off things and talk with someone. Wei Yan grunted and shook his head.
"Arrows… I don't… like…" Wei Yan lifted his voulges in the air and spun them wildly. "This… I like…"
Huang Zhong nodded and laughed. He knocked back his arrow and, while looking at Wei Yan, fired it at a target, nailing near the center of the target. He shook his head a bit.
"Rats, almost got it! That's okay that you don't use arrows, with your strength and speed, you don't need the use of long range weaponry. Your speed and movements are as deadly as my accuracy with the bow. But, maybe I'll use my sword as well." Wei Yan made no comments and just stared at him. "I'm sure it doesn't matter to you what weapon I use really, just making conversation. What is it that troubles you anyway?"
"Zhuge Liang… no trust me…" Wei Yan said with a annoyed voice. Huang Zhong nodded.
"Maybe, you should try to do as he directs you to do, instead of trying to run out and be a hero all the time. War is not all about attacking. Sometimes you need to attack, other times you need to defend. Sometimes you need to stand your ground, while others you need to retreat."
"I never retreat! Must keep fighting!" Wei Yan threw his one arm in the air in a menacing taunt.
"No Wei Yan, strategy is a key point in victory. If you were to follow orders well, then maybe you could gain the trust of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang." Huang Zhong smiled as it appeared that what he said to Wei Yan may have actually sunk in and made sense to him. "Let us rest, the war is quickly approaching every minute. We need as much rest as we can get."
Wei Yan nodded and walked off. Huang Zhong fired three more arrows into the targets and then threw his sword into the dead center of the target, also splitting one of his arrows in two. With that he gathered his arrows and his sword and headed back to his house.