Author's note: Whew, I had fun writing this one. I thank you again, people
who reviewed. Thanks for all the nice things you said about this story. I
Hope you like this one, and I'm sorry for ending it in such an evil place!
Part 1
Rise of the Stars
Chapter 7
Shining
Zhang He raced down the hill on his brown horse, Talons raised. He was hoping that they would take the Yellow Turbans by surprise, but he eventually learned he was wrong. A whole line of men wearing yellow armor stood at the slopes end spears raised, ready for collision. Zhang He sped up and tugged upwards on the reigns and the steed sailed right over the Yellow Turbans. Dian Wei has blasted most of the others away with his ax, making a spot for Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao to get through. Sun Ce barricaded through the men whooping and cheering, followed by Zhou Yu, who had a steely look in his eye. Sun Shang Xiang looked timid but nonetheless she was riding into battle, courageously swinging her Chakrams. Sima Yi was having difficultly controlling his horse, which wanted to turn and run. "Zhang He!" Yuan Shao called. Zhang He rode up quickly to Yuan Shao and they sped off north. They passed small troops of Yellow Turbans, which Zhang He easily cut down by sticking the Talons where they were standing. The speed of the horse mixed with their running speed was so much it ripped huge hunks of flesh from their chests. No time to feel sorry, I can't stop to think.Zhang He rode right behind Yuan Shao's horse, beating the Yellow Turban peons out of the air. He was riding just fine until they came upon a group of archers. They launched their arrows straight into the rib cage of his horse. The animal bucked wildly and fell to the ground, bleeding. Zhang He was flung off and he got his leg caught under the creatures flailing body. He thrashed around trying to free himself, and then felt an arrow whiz by and graze his shoulder. The horse slowly gave up and died and Zhang He heaved the heavy remains off. He ran through his own troops to protect himself from the malcontent archers. He approached them from behind and swung his Talons, taking a man's head clean off. The others notice and tried to attack, but to no avail, they were dead in seconds. After most of the Peons were cleared, Zhang He looked for Yuan Shao, but could not find him. He ran up the narrow canyon north, in hopes of catching up. As he ran down the narrow trench, he came face to face with a bearded man. "NOW!" He yelled. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then a great gust of wind came tearing down the trench, almost knocking Zhang He down. He fought against the invisible force, trying to reach the now laughing man. "Witness, you traitor, the miracles that Way of Peace has in store!" He said opening his eyes insanely wide. Try as he could, Zhang He was unable to inch forward. Suddenly a beam a black light shot out from behind and cleared a hole in the laughing man's stomach. He grasped his body and collapsed to the ground, bleeding out. Zhang He felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder and looked back. Sima Yi stood smiling and holding up his fan. "You did that? How?" Zhang He yelled, trying to over power the roar of the wind. "My skill is dark magic!" Sima Yi yelled back "I can only us it with the Black Feather Fan, though!" Zhang He nodded and they both slugged their way down the windy canyon bottom. Soon, the cause of the wind was evident. Three large, wooden windmills stood spinning with odd-looking gears and cranks. Yuan Shao was being held captive by the peons with sharp swords. Zhang He and Sima Yi ducked out of sight of the evil men. "What do we do?" Zhang He said. Sima Yi considered the situation. "If we destroy those windmills, the wind will stop, obviously, the trick is doing it without the men noticing. Can you shoot?" "Ha! I'm the best archer in my entire family!" Zhang He said. "Good, because I'm absolutely terrible at it." Sima Yi said handing his a bow and arrow. "Where'd you get this?" Zhang He said, putting the arrow in the bow and raising to his eye. "I stole it off of a dead guy, shoot directly for the gears." Sima Yi advised. Zhang He took careful aim and pulled the string back slowly on the bow. Once he knew that he had perfect aim, he let the arrow fly. It soared straight into the gears and jammed them. The peons guarding Yuan Shao noticed the malfunction and went to investigate. "Shoot them! Hurry!" Sima Yi whispered handing Zhang He some more arrows. He easily landed them in the heads of all the peons and the fell to the floor before they knew what had hit them. They rushed out and tore the three windmills to pieces with their weapons so that people could easily get through the canyon now. They then went over and unbound Yuan Shao. "Thank you, Zhang He, I am once again saved by your courageous acts, and I shall report how smart and calmly you acted to your father, Sima Yi!" Yuan Shao said gratefully. "Thank you, sir." They said. "I'll just go back now to, uh, check on the others, yes." He said, and ran down the canyon. They smiled at his cowardice and headed north to the Yellow Turbans. Up ahead was a wooden gate with many peons inside and strangely placed stones all over the ground. When they stepped inside, all the peons surrounded them. Sima Yi whacked one at a time fiercely on the head with his metal fan, while Zhang He tore through them with his talons. As soon as they thought the number of men was overpowering them and they were getting tired, but then troops from their own side arrived and started attacking. Just as it looked like they were taking the upper hand, Zhang Bao stepped out from the other side.
"Now you will pay! You have trespassed far enough into this holy land, you life ends here!" He yelled. He raised his hands up to the sky and shook them. "I summon the holy powers of the earth, allow me to use them at my whim, oh great God! Bring forth the essence of Fire and Water!" Zhang Bao called to the clouds. It became totally silent. When Zhang He tried to speak, there was no sound. The colors of everything inverted and a mighty earthquake began. Sima Yi fell to the ground and Zhang He dropped to his knees. All at once everything subsided save the horrible tremor. Suddenly, water licked with white-blue and orange flames shot from the magical stones. A man on their side was standing very near to one of the stones when it went off. His arm was engulfed in flames and his armor began melt away. He cried out and writhed in pure agony as his skin was burnt and melted off. Sima Yi stood up and got away from another stone. Seconds later it erupted with the acid like substance, showering another peon. Zhang Bao sang a grand tune with his deep voice as more and more men we're being killed. Zhang He backed himself against the wooden wall where there seemed to be none of the death geysers. Sima Yi was having a difficult time escaping; he was completely surrounded by the stones. He stood directly in the middle and dropped to his knees. He closed his eyes and began a quiet chant. "NO, YOU'LL BE KILLED! SIMA YI!" Zhang He yelled as he watched in horror. Just then, Sima Yi shot up to his feet and twirled his body around, shooting the black light from his fan at the ground. The stones ignited, then exploded. He ran over and stood next to Zhang He. "Just amazing." Zhang He said, shaking his head. "You little brats! I'll show you true pain!" Zhang Bao screeched in his rage. He performed a quick incantation and he became unearthly fast. He raced over to Zhang He and Sima Yi, brandishing his long, bright sword. Zhang He blocked lightening fast and tried to get a slash at Zhang Bao, but he was too fast. As soon as Zhang He would spot him, he zoomed to a different place. "What's wrong? Can find me? No, over here!!" He yelled, grinning like a maniac. Zhang He noticed that Zhang Bao was always moving in a circle to the left. Zhang He stuck out both the Talons and spun around and around. He felt the claws strike something and hoped severely it wasn't Sima Yi. He opened his eyes and found that one of the Talons had lodged it self into Zhang Bao's face. Blood dripped down from the wounds, and by the lack of movement, Zhang He could tell that Zhang Bao was quite dead. He also noticed the hellish substance wasn't erupting from the stones anymore. He carefully removed the Metal Talons from Zhang Bao's face and wiped off the blood. "What was that stuff?" Zhang He said to Sima Yi. "It had to be some form of magic, I've never seen or heard about anything like it in my entire life. We'd better keep on our guard; the Yellow Turbans have more than just cheap trickery on their side." Sima Yi said. They walked across the desolate ground, now litter with half melted bodies. Zhang He was intent on making his way farther north, but Sima Yi stopped. "I'm very curious." He said bending down near an unfortunate man. He ran a slender finger down the chest of the liquefied man. He looked at the tip of his finger waiting for something to happen. Smoke began to rise from it and a horrible sizzling noise was heard. Sima Yi screamed and tried to wipe the liquid of on the ground. The tip of his finger was being eaten away and blood was dripping down. He wiped his finger over the cloth on the dead mans pants and it stopped. "Why the hell did you touch it!?" Zhang He exclaimed. "I-I wanted to know." "Let's get going before you want to know what a sword in the neck feels like." Zhang He said starting towards the exit. "Those poor men." Said Sima Yi, looking back and following Zhang He. Finally they reached a place where the ground dipped down to a bowl like depression. As they stepped into the hole, a cold wind blew. A man jumped down from the hill ahead and landed in the very center of the bowl. "Welcome." He said, hiding his eyes from view "To my phantom sphere." Peons started to emerge from all sides and encircled to depressions. "Here, you are extremely unlucky and I do have another slight advantage." He waved his hand to the left and a glowing urn appeared out of thin air. "They can hurt you, but you can hurt them!" He cackled and disappeared. The men rushed at them and when Zhang He reached out to bring one down, the Talons went right through. Sima Yi kept swatting furiously at the ghost- like men but nothing happened. One of the men lifted his sword slowly, and brought it down to Zhang He's face. He smiled and grazed it down Zhang He's cheek. His flesh tore and blood dripped down his neck. He gasped and ran as fast as he could, right through the man. He ran up the curved slope onto the flat ground. All the soldiers surrounded Sima Yi and knocked him to the ground. "Help me!!" He called from somewhere behind the men. "How?" Zhang He yelled back. "The urn, go for the urn!" Sima Yi said desperately as he was being beaten by the men. Zhang He ran towards the pot, slashing it madly and trying to break it. He heard a crunch from within the massive structure and continued to claw at it. After a very powerful slash the magic urn shattered. The men became solid once again and Sima Yi fought back. Zhang He jumped into the fray and cut down four men in one swipe. He jumped and kicked up some dust as he was taking down another peon. After all the men lay dead, the man's cruel voice was heard again. "Well done, very well done. But you are definitely no match for Zhang Man Cheng!" The man popped back into visibility and swung his long pike at Zhang He. Zhang He blocked several times and backed away from him. "Come on, cousin! I thought you were better than that!" Zhang Man Cheng taunted. Sima Yi ran towards Zhang Man Cheng with his fan raised in the air. Zhang Man Cheng stuck his pike into the ground, grabbed on and swung himself around, landing a forceful kick on Sima Yi's chest. "This battle, it between me and him, butt out!" Zhang Man Cheng snarled at Sima Yi's crumpled figure. "How dare you hurt my friend." Zhang He said, with a hot surge of rage. He launched himself at his cousin, but Zhang Man Cheng forced him off with the pole. "Your skills need work, dear cousin!" He said, twirling his pike around with one hand. He threw it up in the air and caught it so the end was facing Zhang He. He thrust it at Zhang He's head and it struck. Zhang He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Zhang Man Cheng laughed out loud and swung the evil looking blade back to Zhang He. He laid the sharp metal on Zhang He's throat and stepped closer. "You're going die, cousin He.How's it feel?" He taunted coldly. All of a sudden a cheer rang out from behind them. Zhang Man Cheng removed the pike from Zhang He's neck and pointed it towards the mouth of the entrance. "WHOOOOHOOO!!!!" The voice cried out again and hoof beats were heard. Sun Ce rode in faster than you could say "Amazing" on a Red Hair. Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang also burst into the canyon on horses. The surrounded Zhang Man Cheng, riding around him in circles. Zhang Man Cheng took great swipes at the beasts and missed. Sun Ce swung his pole around at an enormous speed and they impacted with Zhang Man Cheng heads. His skull crunched and blood rushed out. He fell to the floor and quickly died. Sun Ce laughed and leaped off his horse onto Zhang Man Cheng's body. "Yuan Shao said you guys needed saving, but we never expected anything this pathetic! You are sooooo lucky we got here, you would have been toast." Sun Ce said, helping Zhang He to his feet. "We were in quite a fix, I would have been dead if you had arrived 2 seconds later! Thank you!" Zhang He said to Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang. "We saw the bodies of those soldiers back there." Zhou Yu said, "Something really horrible must've happened." "I-is he alright?" Sun Shang Xiang interrupted, pointing at Sima Yi. She went over to him and rolled him onto his back. She put her head to his chest and waited apprehensively. She sighed audibly and said, "He's alive." "Sima Yi?" Zhang He said in his ear. "Wake up!!" He said shaking him. "Pinch him, that's what my father does to me to wake me up!" Zhou Yu suggested. "Move out of the way, you weaklings, let me handle this." Said Sun Ce, moving in. He cleared his throat and bent down to his ear. "WAAAAKE UP TIIIIME!!!" He bellowed, shaking Sima Yi vigorously. His eyes sprang open and he cried out in surprise. Zhou Yu pushed Sin Ce off and gave him a dark look. "What?" Sun Ce said. "We wanted to wake him up, not reenact a seizure!" Zhou Yu said. "Sor-ry." Sun Ce said. "It's fine, I'm ok." Sima Yi said sitting up. "Great, let's get going, Zhang He said, "Zhang Jiao should be up next." Just as they started going ahead, they heard more footsteps behind them. Sun Quan ran up on his squat little legs and made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a whine. "He wants to come." Sun Shang Xiang said, clapping a hand to her face. "Just let him tag along, sis." Sun Ce said. "Zhou Tai and father should be up soon, they could take care of him!" Sun Shang Xiang said. Sima Yi stepped up to her and said "It would be a lot less trouble if we didn't have to wait, do you think he can handle it up ahead?" "S-sure." She said gazing starry eyed in his direction. "Come on, let's go!" Zhang He said, running forward. They ran through the stone gate to the other side. Outside, waiting for them, was about 400 soldiers fully armed. "Oh, shit." Sun Ce said quietly. They stood for a while staring at each other, then someone spoke. "Unleash your rage, my chosen children, show them the miracles of the Yellow Turbans! Kill them and bring their heads to me, go, and teach them pain!" Zhang Jiao said in his flamboyant way. All the men rushed forwards, weapons raised. The group tore forward into the mass of bodies, cutting and smashing anything that got in their way. Zhou Yu performed graceful maneuvers that took out many men at a time and looked beautiful. Sun Ce just swung his bamboo poles around carelessly, crunching heads and pushing in stomachs. Sun Shang Xiang made diagonal slashing movements across the men that got in her way. Sima Yi spun around, releasing the powerful Black Light. Zhang He's claws were leading his soul on the battlefield. He danced around, swinging he powerful arms, lopping of heads and limbs as he went. Everything was going well until they started getting tired. Sun Shang Xiang movements slowed and swear poured down Sun Ce's face. "How many are there? This is never going to end!" He said breathlessly. Suddenly, from the mouth of the cave rode Sun Jian and Zhou Tai. They coming assisted them greatly. After a while, both their horses had been slaughtered and they had to fight on foot. While Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Sun Shang Xiang, and the other fought on the left side of the field, Zhou Tai was all alone on the other side. Right after killing a very short Yellow Turban, Sun Shang Xiang froze and screamed. "SUN QUAN!" The ten year old was surrounded by Yellow Turbans inching ever closer. He was all the way over by Zhou Tai; there was no way they could reach him in time. Just as they were about to strike, Zhou Tai launched over and grabbed the screaming child. He sheathed his sword and ran towards the exit. The Yellow Turbans slashed him all over his face and stabbed his body, but he sped on relentlessly. He finally reached the cave and disappeared inside.
Sun Shang Xiang had stopped fighting to watch the heroic rescue of her brother, this turned out to be a horrible mistake. An arrow came out of nowhere and struck her in the shoulder. She shrieked and fell down crying. The Yellow Turbans seized their chance and were all over her. Zhang He tried to fight his way over to help, but there were too many soldiers. "SIS!" Sun Ce yelled, his face horror stricken. Sima Yi jumped over and wrenched the peons off that were trying to stab her. He whacked and magicked the rest of them away. As soon as they were gone, a fresh wave came after the injured girl. Sima Yi threw himself onto her, absorbing all the attacks meant for her. He grabbed her limp body and tried to escape, Yellow Turbans attacking him all the way. He ran over to Sun Jian and fainted on the ground. "My only daughter. please, let her be alive." Sun Jian said, taking her from Sima Yi's grip. His gnarled fingers ran down the arrow sticking out of her shoulder. "Sun Ce, Zhou Yu!" He called out. The two boys came up to him and bowed. "Take your sister to safety, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, get him out of here." He said, pointing to Sima Yi and they both obeyed at once. Most of the Yellow Turbans lay dead, and Zhang He only had a few injuries. He looked around to survey the situation. Sun Jian was still attacking the remaining peons, and all his friends were gone. "I'll get him for you, Sun Shang Xiang, Sima Yi." He said to himself. "Zhang Jiao, show yourself!" He yelled angrily. The man stepped from the back of the courtyard, grinning in a deranged sort of way. He started laughing his deep menacing laugh and toyed with his Magic Rod. "You think you can defeat me, do you? You are not worthy to face me! HAHAHAHA, you are mistaken, boy. One soldier cannot make a difference in this world, no matter how wonderful a fighter he thinks himself. Look at yourself! You are a scrawny, scared child in the middle of this terrible turmoil and I am to be the one who will quell this fighting. You have killed my brother and nephews, you are indeed talented, but you have found yourself in one terrible position. You think your little friends will be fine, but there you are wrong as well. Already the girl is slipping into shadow; her meaningless life is ebbing away. She bleeds onto the ground, wondering if she will ever see the one who saved her alive again, but she is wrong there. He is also dying, with every second, his heart beats and slower. And the other boys, their time will come to, they will be killed while swallowed in their grief. ripped apart by my chosen children. Face it, boy, you are alone." Zhang Jiao said. "Shut Up! You're lying!" Zhang He yelled. "Why would I need to lie? It is time to face what is happening around you.death." His uncle hissed. "Face me if you the courage, but know that you will lose. Do you still come forward?" "DIE, YOU BASTARD!" Zhang He bellowed, running straight towards Zhang Jiao's open arms.
Part 1
Rise of the Stars
Chapter 7
Shining
Zhang He raced down the hill on his brown horse, Talons raised. He was hoping that they would take the Yellow Turbans by surprise, but he eventually learned he was wrong. A whole line of men wearing yellow armor stood at the slopes end spears raised, ready for collision. Zhang He sped up and tugged upwards on the reigns and the steed sailed right over the Yellow Turbans. Dian Wei has blasted most of the others away with his ax, making a spot for Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao to get through. Sun Ce barricaded through the men whooping and cheering, followed by Zhou Yu, who had a steely look in his eye. Sun Shang Xiang looked timid but nonetheless she was riding into battle, courageously swinging her Chakrams. Sima Yi was having difficultly controlling his horse, which wanted to turn and run. "Zhang He!" Yuan Shao called. Zhang He rode up quickly to Yuan Shao and they sped off north. They passed small troops of Yellow Turbans, which Zhang He easily cut down by sticking the Talons where they were standing. The speed of the horse mixed with their running speed was so much it ripped huge hunks of flesh from their chests. No time to feel sorry, I can't stop to think.Zhang He rode right behind Yuan Shao's horse, beating the Yellow Turban peons out of the air. He was riding just fine until they came upon a group of archers. They launched their arrows straight into the rib cage of his horse. The animal bucked wildly and fell to the ground, bleeding. Zhang He was flung off and he got his leg caught under the creatures flailing body. He thrashed around trying to free himself, and then felt an arrow whiz by and graze his shoulder. The horse slowly gave up and died and Zhang He heaved the heavy remains off. He ran through his own troops to protect himself from the malcontent archers. He approached them from behind and swung his Talons, taking a man's head clean off. The others notice and tried to attack, but to no avail, they were dead in seconds. After most of the Peons were cleared, Zhang He looked for Yuan Shao, but could not find him. He ran up the narrow canyon north, in hopes of catching up. As he ran down the narrow trench, he came face to face with a bearded man. "NOW!" He yelled. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then a great gust of wind came tearing down the trench, almost knocking Zhang He down. He fought against the invisible force, trying to reach the now laughing man. "Witness, you traitor, the miracles that Way of Peace has in store!" He said opening his eyes insanely wide. Try as he could, Zhang He was unable to inch forward. Suddenly a beam a black light shot out from behind and cleared a hole in the laughing man's stomach. He grasped his body and collapsed to the ground, bleeding out. Zhang He felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder and looked back. Sima Yi stood smiling and holding up his fan. "You did that? How?" Zhang He yelled, trying to over power the roar of the wind. "My skill is dark magic!" Sima Yi yelled back "I can only us it with the Black Feather Fan, though!" Zhang He nodded and they both slugged their way down the windy canyon bottom. Soon, the cause of the wind was evident. Three large, wooden windmills stood spinning with odd-looking gears and cranks. Yuan Shao was being held captive by the peons with sharp swords. Zhang He and Sima Yi ducked out of sight of the evil men. "What do we do?" Zhang He said. Sima Yi considered the situation. "If we destroy those windmills, the wind will stop, obviously, the trick is doing it without the men noticing. Can you shoot?" "Ha! I'm the best archer in my entire family!" Zhang He said. "Good, because I'm absolutely terrible at it." Sima Yi said handing his a bow and arrow. "Where'd you get this?" Zhang He said, putting the arrow in the bow and raising to his eye. "I stole it off of a dead guy, shoot directly for the gears." Sima Yi advised. Zhang He took careful aim and pulled the string back slowly on the bow. Once he knew that he had perfect aim, he let the arrow fly. It soared straight into the gears and jammed them. The peons guarding Yuan Shao noticed the malfunction and went to investigate. "Shoot them! Hurry!" Sima Yi whispered handing Zhang He some more arrows. He easily landed them in the heads of all the peons and the fell to the floor before they knew what had hit them. They rushed out and tore the three windmills to pieces with their weapons so that people could easily get through the canyon now. They then went over and unbound Yuan Shao. "Thank you, Zhang He, I am once again saved by your courageous acts, and I shall report how smart and calmly you acted to your father, Sima Yi!" Yuan Shao said gratefully. "Thank you, sir." They said. "I'll just go back now to, uh, check on the others, yes." He said, and ran down the canyon. They smiled at his cowardice and headed north to the Yellow Turbans. Up ahead was a wooden gate with many peons inside and strangely placed stones all over the ground. When they stepped inside, all the peons surrounded them. Sima Yi whacked one at a time fiercely on the head with his metal fan, while Zhang He tore through them with his talons. As soon as they thought the number of men was overpowering them and they were getting tired, but then troops from their own side arrived and started attacking. Just as it looked like they were taking the upper hand, Zhang Bao stepped out from the other side.
"Now you will pay! You have trespassed far enough into this holy land, you life ends here!" He yelled. He raised his hands up to the sky and shook them. "I summon the holy powers of the earth, allow me to use them at my whim, oh great God! Bring forth the essence of Fire and Water!" Zhang Bao called to the clouds. It became totally silent. When Zhang He tried to speak, there was no sound. The colors of everything inverted and a mighty earthquake began. Sima Yi fell to the ground and Zhang He dropped to his knees. All at once everything subsided save the horrible tremor. Suddenly, water licked with white-blue and orange flames shot from the magical stones. A man on their side was standing very near to one of the stones when it went off. His arm was engulfed in flames and his armor began melt away. He cried out and writhed in pure agony as his skin was burnt and melted off. Sima Yi stood up and got away from another stone. Seconds later it erupted with the acid like substance, showering another peon. Zhang Bao sang a grand tune with his deep voice as more and more men we're being killed. Zhang He backed himself against the wooden wall where there seemed to be none of the death geysers. Sima Yi was having a difficult time escaping; he was completely surrounded by the stones. He stood directly in the middle and dropped to his knees. He closed his eyes and began a quiet chant. "NO, YOU'LL BE KILLED! SIMA YI!" Zhang He yelled as he watched in horror. Just then, Sima Yi shot up to his feet and twirled his body around, shooting the black light from his fan at the ground. The stones ignited, then exploded. He ran over and stood next to Zhang He. "Just amazing." Zhang He said, shaking his head. "You little brats! I'll show you true pain!" Zhang Bao screeched in his rage. He performed a quick incantation and he became unearthly fast. He raced over to Zhang He and Sima Yi, brandishing his long, bright sword. Zhang He blocked lightening fast and tried to get a slash at Zhang Bao, but he was too fast. As soon as Zhang He would spot him, he zoomed to a different place. "What's wrong? Can find me? No, over here!!" He yelled, grinning like a maniac. Zhang He noticed that Zhang Bao was always moving in a circle to the left. Zhang He stuck out both the Talons and spun around and around. He felt the claws strike something and hoped severely it wasn't Sima Yi. He opened his eyes and found that one of the Talons had lodged it self into Zhang Bao's face. Blood dripped down from the wounds, and by the lack of movement, Zhang He could tell that Zhang Bao was quite dead. He also noticed the hellish substance wasn't erupting from the stones anymore. He carefully removed the Metal Talons from Zhang Bao's face and wiped off the blood. "What was that stuff?" Zhang He said to Sima Yi. "It had to be some form of magic, I've never seen or heard about anything like it in my entire life. We'd better keep on our guard; the Yellow Turbans have more than just cheap trickery on their side." Sima Yi said. They walked across the desolate ground, now litter with half melted bodies. Zhang He was intent on making his way farther north, but Sima Yi stopped. "I'm very curious." He said bending down near an unfortunate man. He ran a slender finger down the chest of the liquefied man. He looked at the tip of his finger waiting for something to happen. Smoke began to rise from it and a horrible sizzling noise was heard. Sima Yi screamed and tried to wipe the liquid of on the ground. The tip of his finger was being eaten away and blood was dripping down. He wiped his finger over the cloth on the dead mans pants and it stopped. "Why the hell did you touch it!?" Zhang He exclaimed. "I-I wanted to know." "Let's get going before you want to know what a sword in the neck feels like." Zhang He said starting towards the exit. "Those poor men." Said Sima Yi, looking back and following Zhang He. Finally they reached a place where the ground dipped down to a bowl like depression. As they stepped into the hole, a cold wind blew. A man jumped down from the hill ahead and landed in the very center of the bowl. "Welcome." He said, hiding his eyes from view "To my phantom sphere." Peons started to emerge from all sides and encircled to depressions. "Here, you are extremely unlucky and I do have another slight advantage." He waved his hand to the left and a glowing urn appeared out of thin air. "They can hurt you, but you can hurt them!" He cackled and disappeared. The men rushed at them and when Zhang He reached out to bring one down, the Talons went right through. Sima Yi kept swatting furiously at the ghost- like men but nothing happened. One of the men lifted his sword slowly, and brought it down to Zhang He's face. He smiled and grazed it down Zhang He's cheek. His flesh tore and blood dripped down his neck. He gasped and ran as fast as he could, right through the man. He ran up the curved slope onto the flat ground. All the soldiers surrounded Sima Yi and knocked him to the ground. "Help me!!" He called from somewhere behind the men. "How?" Zhang He yelled back. "The urn, go for the urn!" Sima Yi said desperately as he was being beaten by the men. Zhang He ran towards the pot, slashing it madly and trying to break it. He heard a crunch from within the massive structure and continued to claw at it. After a very powerful slash the magic urn shattered. The men became solid once again and Sima Yi fought back. Zhang He jumped into the fray and cut down four men in one swipe. He jumped and kicked up some dust as he was taking down another peon. After all the men lay dead, the man's cruel voice was heard again. "Well done, very well done. But you are definitely no match for Zhang Man Cheng!" The man popped back into visibility and swung his long pike at Zhang He. Zhang He blocked several times and backed away from him. "Come on, cousin! I thought you were better than that!" Zhang Man Cheng taunted. Sima Yi ran towards Zhang Man Cheng with his fan raised in the air. Zhang Man Cheng stuck his pike into the ground, grabbed on and swung himself around, landing a forceful kick on Sima Yi's chest. "This battle, it between me and him, butt out!" Zhang Man Cheng snarled at Sima Yi's crumpled figure. "How dare you hurt my friend." Zhang He said, with a hot surge of rage. He launched himself at his cousin, but Zhang Man Cheng forced him off with the pole. "Your skills need work, dear cousin!" He said, twirling his pike around with one hand. He threw it up in the air and caught it so the end was facing Zhang He. He thrust it at Zhang He's head and it struck. Zhang He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Zhang Man Cheng laughed out loud and swung the evil looking blade back to Zhang He. He laid the sharp metal on Zhang He's throat and stepped closer. "You're going die, cousin He.How's it feel?" He taunted coldly. All of a sudden a cheer rang out from behind them. Zhang Man Cheng removed the pike from Zhang He's neck and pointed it towards the mouth of the entrance. "WHOOOOHOOO!!!!" The voice cried out again and hoof beats were heard. Sun Ce rode in faster than you could say "Amazing" on a Red Hair. Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang also burst into the canyon on horses. The surrounded Zhang Man Cheng, riding around him in circles. Zhang Man Cheng took great swipes at the beasts and missed. Sun Ce swung his pole around at an enormous speed and they impacted with Zhang Man Cheng heads. His skull crunched and blood rushed out. He fell to the floor and quickly died. Sun Ce laughed and leaped off his horse onto Zhang Man Cheng's body. "Yuan Shao said you guys needed saving, but we never expected anything this pathetic! You are sooooo lucky we got here, you would have been toast." Sun Ce said, helping Zhang He to his feet. "We were in quite a fix, I would have been dead if you had arrived 2 seconds later! Thank you!" Zhang He said to Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Sun Shang Xiang. "We saw the bodies of those soldiers back there." Zhou Yu said, "Something really horrible must've happened." "I-is he alright?" Sun Shang Xiang interrupted, pointing at Sima Yi. She went over to him and rolled him onto his back. She put her head to his chest and waited apprehensively. She sighed audibly and said, "He's alive." "Sima Yi?" Zhang He said in his ear. "Wake up!!" He said shaking him. "Pinch him, that's what my father does to me to wake me up!" Zhou Yu suggested. "Move out of the way, you weaklings, let me handle this." Said Sun Ce, moving in. He cleared his throat and bent down to his ear. "WAAAAKE UP TIIIIME!!!" He bellowed, shaking Sima Yi vigorously. His eyes sprang open and he cried out in surprise. Zhou Yu pushed Sin Ce off and gave him a dark look. "What?" Sun Ce said. "We wanted to wake him up, not reenact a seizure!" Zhou Yu said. "Sor-ry." Sun Ce said. "It's fine, I'm ok." Sima Yi said sitting up. "Great, let's get going, Zhang He said, "Zhang Jiao should be up next." Just as they started going ahead, they heard more footsteps behind them. Sun Quan ran up on his squat little legs and made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a whine. "He wants to come." Sun Shang Xiang said, clapping a hand to her face. "Just let him tag along, sis." Sun Ce said. "Zhou Tai and father should be up soon, they could take care of him!" Sun Shang Xiang said. Sima Yi stepped up to her and said "It would be a lot less trouble if we didn't have to wait, do you think he can handle it up ahead?" "S-sure." She said gazing starry eyed in his direction. "Come on, let's go!" Zhang He said, running forward. They ran through the stone gate to the other side. Outside, waiting for them, was about 400 soldiers fully armed. "Oh, shit." Sun Ce said quietly. They stood for a while staring at each other, then someone spoke. "Unleash your rage, my chosen children, show them the miracles of the Yellow Turbans! Kill them and bring their heads to me, go, and teach them pain!" Zhang Jiao said in his flamboyant way. All the men rushed forwards, weapons raised. The group tore forward into the mass of bodies, cutting and smashing anything that got in their way. Zhou Yu performed graceful maneuvers that took out many men at a time and looked beautiful. Sun Ce just swung his bamboo poles around carelessly, crunching heads and pushing in stomachs. Sun Shang Xiang made diagonal slashing movements across the men that got in her way. Sima Yi spun around, releasing the powerful Black Light. Zhang He's claws were leading his soul on the battlefield. He danced around, swinging he powerful arms, lopping of heads and limbs as he went. Everything was going well until they started getting tired. Sun Shang Xiang movements slowed and swear poured down Sun Ce's face. "How many are there? This is never going to end!" He said breathlessly. Suddenly, from the mouth of the cave rode Sun Jian and Zhou Tai. They coming assisted them greatly. After a while, both their horses had been slaughtered and they had to fight on foot. While Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Sun Shang Xiang, and the other fought on the left side of the field, Zhou Tai was all alone on the other side. Right after killing a very short Yellow Turban, Sun Shang Xiang froze and screamed. "SUN QUAN!" The ten year old was surrounded by Yellow Turbans inching ever closer. He was all the way over by Zhou Tai; there was no way they could reach him in time. Just as they were about to strike, Zhou Tai launched over and grabbed the screaming child. He sheathed his sword and ran towards the exit. The Yellow Turbans slashed him all over his face and stabbed his body, but he sped on relentlessly. He finally reached the cave and disappeared inside.
Sun Shang Xiang had stopped fighting to watch the heroic rescue of her brother, this turned out to be a horrible mistake. An arrow came out of nowhere and struck her in the shoulder. She shrieked and fell down crying. The Yellow Turbans seized their chance and were all over her. Zhang He tried to fight his way over to help, but there were too many soldiers. "SIS!" Sun Ce yelled, his face horror stricken. Sima Yi jumped over and wrenched the peons off that were trying to stab her. He whacked and magicked the rest of them away. As soon as they were gone, a fresh wave came after the injured girl. Sima Yi threw himself onto her, absorbing all the attacks meant for her. He grabbed her limp body and tried to escape, Yellow Turbans attacking him all the way. He ran over to Sun Jian and fainted on the ground. "My only daughter. please, let her be alive." Sun Jian said, taking her from Sima Yi's grip. His gnarled fingers ran down the arrow sticking out of her shoulder. "Sun Ce, Zhou Yu!" He called out. The two boys came up to him and bowed. "Take your sister to safety, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, get him out of here." He said, pointing to Sima Yi and they both obeyed at once. Most of the Yellow Turbans lay dead, and Zhang He only had a few injuries. He looked around to survey the situation. Sun Jian was still attacking the remaining peons, and all his friends were gone. "I'll get him for you, Sun Shang Xiang, Sima Yi." He said to himself. "Zhang Jiao, show yourself!" He yelled angrily. The man stepped from the back of the courtyard, grinning in a deranged sort of way. He started laughing his deep menacing laugh and toyed with his Magic Rod. "You think you can defeat me, do you? You are not worthy to face me! HAHAHAHA, you are mistaken, boy. One soldier cannot make a difference in this world, no matter how wonderful a fighter he thinks himself. Look at yourself! You are a scrawny, scared child in the middle of this terrible turmoil and I am to be the one who will quell this fighting. You have killed my brother and nephews, you are indeed talented, but you have found yourself in one terrible position. You think your little friends will be fine, but there you are wrong as well. Already the girl is slipping into shadow; her meaningless life is ebbing away. She bleeds onto the ground, wondering if she will ever see the one who saved her alive again, but she is wrong there. He is also dying, with every second, his heart beats and slower. And the other boys, their time will come to, they will be killed while swallowed in their grief. ripped apart by my chosen children. Face it, boy, you are alone." Zhang Jiao said. "Shut Up! You're lying!" Zhang He yelled. "Why would I need to lie? It is time to face what is happening around you.death." His uncle hissed. "Face me if you the courage, but know that you will lose. Do you still come forward?" "DIE, YOU BASTARD!" Zhang He bellowed, running straight towards Zhang Jiao's open arms.