( Author's Note : I just wanted to clear up the outfits. I didn't like the outfits from Dynasty Warriors 1-5, so I'm using the ones from Dynasty Warriors 6 in this Fanfiction. Well, okay, obviously not for the Orochi and Samurai Warriors characters. They use their outfits from Warriors: Orochi 2 and Samurai Warriors 2.
As always, thanks for reading, R & R! :D )
It started out as just a series of small, subtle quakes — a tree shivering as she passed it; the ground shaking a bit here and there; ponds rippling. Akata didn't pay too much attention to it.
Shadow Runner seemed a bit apprehensive, though he continued on a full speed.
Akata thought she heard a loud, thundering sound in the distance, though she couldn't really be sure with the horse's hooves making so much noise. She tugged on the reins, and Shadow Runner eased to a stop. Akata slid herself off of the saddle with an inaudible thud, looking around herself.
She didn't know where she was, but she was sure it was no longer Cao Cao's territory. She heard the thundering, though this time it was much louder. She turned around, towards where she heard the noise.
And nearly screamed.
The ground had split in half, a mile wide and as long as she could see. On either side was an army — at least, it looked like an army, though not one Akata had ever seen before — of blue-skinned men, most of which were equipped with spears.
As she watched, the army on the right side separated from the left one, disappearing into the forest. Akata was sure they had seen her, and she knew she should run away, but it was as if her feet were rooted to the ground. She looked to her horse, who was staring at her worriedly. She shivered, then found she could move once more.
She hurriedly unhooked the saddle and the bags, so Shadow Runner wouldn't be as weighed down. She then pulled herself back up, and he didn't need her approval to start sprinting at full speed to avoid the demon-men at their backs.
They rode for nearly an hour before the horse couldn't take it anymore, and Akata leapt agilely from his back before he stopped completely.
After taking a long look at their surroundings, — the sun was waning, and the sky was turning a dark purple color — Akata patted the great warhorse, who was panting heavily.
She smiled as he nuzzled her shoulder, "I will go find a stream. If I'm not back here by the time the sun sets, head to the nearest military base. I will find you," she knew he understood what she was telling him. "Just please, do not go to a Wei base."
The great horse touched his forehead to hers, closing his red eyes. She stroked his mane, and then she was off, searching for a water source, all the while cursing herself for not at least bringing one of the canteens.
She was shoved into a tree unexpectedly, as another violent earthquake jostled everything around her. She gasped as a huge tree came crashing down, only two feet from where she was standing. Everything stopped as suddenly as it had began five minutes later, and Akata cautiously edged her way through the forest now.
She froze as soon as she entered a clearing. There was a stream, but she had a feeling she wasn't alone. She looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"…went in here…" Her head whipped in the direction of the voice, and her swords snapped out of their scabbards. "…couldn't have…" That came from the other side of her.
Then, a stick snapped in front of her, and she heard cursing. "Shh!" another said from behind her.
Her breathing becoming slightly shallow, she tightened her grip on her weapons. This is it. I'm trapped.. This can't be how it ends.. Can it?
A moment later, someone came crashing into the clearing, followed by three others. The men all had grayish-blue scaly skin, with white hair and gold eyes. They were a medium height and very skinny.
Normally, Akata wouldn't have been afraid of four small, poorly trained men, as she would be able to dispatch them easily. However, after the small men fanned out, cutting off her escape routes, three huge, bulbous, disgusting snake men also emerged, each wielding a wicked edged halberd.
"It's just a woman," one of the smaller men said, obviously disappointed.
A big snake man smacked him, "Don't be stupid! She's a warrior. Just look at her clothes, and her weapons! Just what Lord Orochi wants!"
"She might've stole 'em." one from behind her said.
"I say we test her out…" another large one said.
Akata looked around at them, grimacing at each of their devilish grins.
The small ones all stepped forward, their smiles growing wider.
She raised her swords in front of her defensively, her emerald eyes narrowing dangerously.
One of the big men in front of her was about to lunge toward the young warrior when there was a sudden, loud crash from Akata's left side. She, unlike all the others, didn't stop and stare dumbly at whatever made the noise, she kept her eyes forward and jumped onto the demon-man that had nearly lunged at her.
If I'm going to die, she thought furiously, it will be fighting!