Chapter 58: Guests of honour
It is now we're at the top floor of the Wei flats and the lift opens to their main area. As I look around I feel as though it's a very nice place to live in.
The place is open plan, and while it's nice to see a distinctive Ancient Asian theme to go with the characters themselves, it's equally nice that it's fused with the familiar wonderful high tech black look of the place. This gives the room a feel of Lastation interior design which is very nice, as it's full of high tech equipment that goes with the Asian decorations. One thing I do notice in this room, along with the future theme of the place, is it has a good amount of blue along with the silver and blacks of Lastation. It's a very nice place and I'm impressed that the different looks go so well together.
It isn't just the interior design I can appreciate; it's also the furniture that is inside this place. This place has plenty of comfortable sofas that surround a large TV, as well as tables full of various board games from the series. There are other features as well including table tennis, a snooker table and even their own firing range, as well as a few easels and tubs of paint. There's even a climbable wall full of ledges and poles to swing on. There is music that I enjoy being played in the background, and I remember it being called In the Castle which was from Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires.
It's great to see some of the characters having fun together: I see Cao Cao and his loyal right hand man Xiaohou Dun playing a board game together, which I believe is called, Go. Though while I remember the game being referenced in the series I never had any idea how it was played. I then look to see three men playing snooker together, and it is at that point both myself and my new wife go over to them, to see them play.
As I go over to greet them I then recognise the threesome. They are: A Wei strategist Jia Xu, A Shu strategist Zhuge Liang as well as another Wei strategist Guo Jia who is having his turn to play snooker.
Jia Xu who has brown eyes and mid length black hair, with a pointed goatee and moustache, is dressed like a pirate captain of the period from the colonial era. His clothing consisted of black shoes with gold buckles, white stockings as well as a blue long coat with gold buttons, he also has a parrot sat on his left shoulder and he wears a pirate's hat on his head. I find myself amused with his costume. This is because from what I remember him wearing in the original series, even though he was meant to have a Middle Eastern theme, I always felt that he resembled a pirate, so to see him dressed like this? Could it be that they're all wearing what I wanted them to wear? As for the man himself I liked how clever he was though there was something else about him that I liked, though unfortunately I'm not really sure. Though I admit I'm not sure what to make of him seemingly being only loyal to himself from the series, if Cao Cao likes him and if he's on our side now what does it matter?
Guo Jia a short blonde haired man, who has his hair styled to cover his right ear, also has different attire to anything he wore from Dynasty Warriors. For he simply wears formal black trousers, polished black shoes, as well as a short sleeved white shirt with a blue waistcoat and tie. As opposed to a regular snooker cue he used his gold and blue sceptre. Like the cue as opposed to a regular white snooker ball, he used one of his blue orbs that surround themselves with electricity. The orb is the same size as an actual snooker ball, and it is at that point he strikes the ball which successfully hits a different ball into the pocket. I liked this man as he had helped Cao Cao to win against Yuan Shao. Unfortunately he ended up catching an unknown illness and died, if it weren't for that Guo Jia would have helped Cao Cao to win the battle of Chibi, and I remember from history how significant that battle was. If Wei did win that battle then perhaps the land would have been united sooner, and there would have been no more chaos. Though the man knew that he would die soon, I do admire how he wishes to enjoy life and lives each moment to the fullest.
Last but not least there is Zhuge Liang, a brown eyed man who has mid length black hair as well as a black goatee and quite a long moustache. He is dressed in some green chemical suit, only without a mask with black rubber boots and gloves with a black letter Z, and the Taoism symbol on his chest. Like the other two I liked the man's intelligence, but I also liked how he appeared to be a kind individual who happened to take the heat off of Liu Bei, as some of his strategies were considered to be cold by some.
It would be interesting to see what words of wisdom they have to say as we watch Guo Jia's snooker playing. And he is indeed a talented snooker player as with some of the hits, he doesn't even look at where he's aiming. Other times he hits the ball to the wall with such force and at such an angle, that it bounces across different sides, only for the ball to reach the pocket. One time he even hit a group of balls at such an area and force that all of the balls fall into the holes.
"That's very impressive snooker playing Guo Jia; I never knew you could do that." I said.
"I had plenty of practice in battle; why not put what you've learned in battle, in pleasure if possible. After all we should make the most out of what time we have." He replied laughing casually.
"Indeed, keep up the good work." I said genuinely.
"You too, I am impressed with your hard work so far, to be able to stop the enemy at least a few times like you have done, very incredible." He replied commenting on the success on our recent missions.
"Likewise, I'm guessing you guys are some of Lastation's finest strategists." I reply to them.
"That's indeed correct, hopefully we will be able to devise a strategy to liberate Lowee, if we have the means to do so which I'm sure we will." The Wei snooker player replied with confidence.
Yeah Lowee, I can't help but think the thing that I believe will interrupt our celebration will involve Lowee, perhaps it's just as well if it's logical for us to liberate the place.
With that thought we then look to see a male and a female doing a tango together. The male is a Shu strategist called Fa Zheng, while the female is a Wei warrior by the name of Wang Yi.
Fa Zheng is dressed exactly like how he was in his debut in Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends. He has a distinctive look about him particularly his face, his hair is black with half a fringe and his eyes are brown. For clothing it appears quite casual, and the colour scheme is black with light green and a green blue sort of shade. He wears an under shirt with a t shirt on top consisting of gold patterns, with a purple belt and broach around his waist. He wears black baggy trousers as well along with some cloth that goes over his left leg, and green boots that go up to his knees. Finally he wears black gloves with a green pattern and a purple necklace.
Wang Yi is also dressed in the same costume as one of them she wore from her Dynasty Warriors wardrobe. It's her fantasy costume from Dynasty Warriors 7. To some extent she kinda looks like a tango dancer. With that said instead of her hair being the usual grey, it is in pink though it is mid length with a fringe. Her hair on one side is longer than the rest, though it's only long enough to go over her right shoulder. On the left side of her head is a blue rosette. She wears what appears to be a black tight corset with blue patterns on it, and lace like those from a shoe on her hips. The corset appears to cover her torso but at the bottom it splits up into sections, that goes around her upper legs though a few of them at the back go down to her feet. The corset is worn on top of what looks like a black undershirt, with upper arm bands and the corset also goes over black leggings that has some patterning on them. For footwear she wears what appear to be black pumps and she also wears some fancy elegant black elbow gloves, which consist of flowery patterns as well as blue feathers around the end.
It's interesting to see them both together considering how they have a lot in common. Mainly that they both desire revenge as well as perhaps dare I say their alignment. I wondered whether either of them would have been willing to be friends with someone from opposing factions, have it not be for the different circumstances we have here. Never the less I can relate to them, even with their traits am I any different to them? I must admit I would like nothing more than to punish that incompetent idiot Neptune, for the crimes she committed as well as for her crappy games she has produced. Most of all for all the stuff she has done to me and my CPUs over the years, and she's not the only scumbag I want to get revenge against. As for alignment well I always try to be good but if people were to think I may be evil, I can understand. I believe in being good, but if I have to be evil to be what I consider to be good, and for the best of the innocent then so be it.
"That's quite some impressive tango dancing there. It's definitely perfect." I say to them.
"Thank you, I have been practicing with Fa Zheng for quite some time, and I always like to give it my all." The Wei tango dancer replied.
"What brings you to Lastation?" White asked them.
"I remember meeting a god by the name of Koei who explained we were all actors, and that Ma Chao never actually killed my family. After which I ended up here in the Wei flats in Lastation, it was then that our Land lord Cao Cao took me under his wing, and so I became an elite soldier in Lady Black Heart's army. After hearing what that stupid CPU from Planeptune has done to innocent people and our leader in the past, I vowed revenge for our CPU." Wang Yi explained.
"Yes I was also informed by Koei about us being actors, and I also ended up here only for me it is the Shu flats and I assisted Land lord Liu Bei. Eventually we both met and we also realised how much we had in common, as well as how we both click together. Like Yi I also desire revenge against Planeptune for what they have done in Gameindustri." Fa Zheng spoke in his distinctive tone.
I can't help but notice how they appear to be more noble than they were in the original series; perhaps this land has that effect on people which is nice. It's nice to see the people that are on Lastation's side, to appear in a more positive light than before.
After which I see Wang Yi exchange thumbs up with two men painting. They are both none other than Ma Chao a man with blue eyes and Ma Dai a man with messy brown hair and brown eyes. Both of whom are from Shu.
Both of them wear the same clothing, but their clothing is not from anything I'm seen in Dynasty Warriors. They wear green camouflage trousers and boots, along with a long green shirt for painting in as well as large black berets on their heads. If I was to be honest I never had much of an opinion on them, but I do respect Chao's seriousness and desire for justice as well as Dai's easy going nature. Though for me justice is a matter of perspective, especially considering what I remember him doing in the series. To be honest I'm unsure if I can call myself easy going, even if I try to be with friends and people around me. Never the less I'm sure I'd grow to like them if I were to get to know them.
After seeing them do a good job of painting Wang Yi and Fa Zheng as they dance their tango, we then go over to see Guan Yu with his sons who are now joined by his daughter.
As we look closer it is then I see Yu sat down with all of his children sat on his lap. As I notice what he wears it is then I can appreciate more with what they're doing.
Guan Yu, a large tall muscular man with a long black beard is dressed as Santa Claus only he retains his black hair colour and his suit is green.
To his left sat on his knee is Guan Ping, a young man of average build with short brown spiky hair. His costume is quite something as he wears a large green bird costume, which I can only guess is part of his job which I'm assuming is to entertain children.
Next to Ping is Suo, another young man of average build though his hair is messy and brown. He also wears a costume like Ping's only his is that of a flower with green leaves and stems, though the flower itself has pink petals.
On Guan Yu's other knee is Guan Yinping only she's changed costume to her modern day job one, in which she's dressed as some sort of female bell boy. Her costume consists of a long posh formal jacket which is mostly green with gold seams, black cuffs with red and gold seams, along with a black centre and collar with gold seam and buttons. To finish, on her left bust are a couple of flowers. Though she retains her sexy long black hair and green ribbon with petals, she wears a posh green beret on the side of her head. She also wears elegant white gloves, along with a red skirt with black flowery patterns on. She wears black silk stockings with gold seams on, and finally she wears polished red high heels with a gold leaf pattern on them.
Finally next to Yinping, there is her short brown messy haired brother Xing. Like his sister he wears a bell boy costume which is the same as his modern job costume. He wears a bell boy hat on his head that's green, with black and gold seams along with some form of badge on it. He wears a posh looking green jacket as well consisting of red, gold and black cuffs, along with gold buttons with a black lapel. He wears medals on the left side of his chest, and his jacket consists of a black and gold coloured collar, as well as gold shoulder pins. He wears white gloves like his sister, but he wears long posh black trousers with gold seams, as well as black shoes.
Though I am amused with their unique costumes I have much admiration for Guan Yu. As though he's big and strong, he's very noble and is well educated using his strengths for good. The same goes for his children as they do their best to carry on his legacy, and I admire them for that. Perhaps I may end up being in charge of Lastation at some point, and it would be nice to keep Lastation as good as when Noire ruled it, though with that I think Noire is doing a wonderful job as our CPU as it is.
"Welcome to Wei Flats my lords and ladies, it is honour for all of you to finally come here. I marvel at your skills as leaders and as warriors on the battlefield." The Shu Santa spoke in his distinctive voice and stroking his long beautiful beard.
"Thank you Guan Yu, it's nice to meet all of the Guan family in one place, while your costumes are nice, I'm curious to know is there any significance behind you wearing them?" I ask them.
"Along with fighting for Lastation we also do this during our free time, for the children as well as in honour of Lady White Heart. We always go to various public places so that the people can see us, and sometimes we even give presents to children that come from Lady Black Heart herself." Xing explained.
"Lady White Lead, would you mind if you could take a picture of us sat together?" Suo asked.
It is then I notice White becoming attracted to him, perhaps she thinks he looks cute in his outfit, or it could be that Suo is really handsome towards ladies, especially with how kind and polite he really is.
"It would be my pleasure handsome." White replied as she took a photo of them.
"Thanks for the photo guys, please keep up the good work and leads us to victory my lords and ladies." Ping nodded in appreciation.
We all nod in agreement, while Yinping giggles a little bit while nodding.
After which we then head to the firing range on this floor. When we get there we see Xing Cai already there instructing Liu Bei's son Liu Shan, how to fire a semi-automatic rifle though he appears to have trouble aiming.
I then see Liu Shan wearing an extremely amusing costume. I forget where I've seen the costume from before, but it is a large lime green felt suit which covers everything except for his face. The suit makes his tummy look quite large and has a grey rectangle on it, large ears as well as an antenna on his head. I never had good opinions of him to be honest, though it's down to how lazy he is and how he doesn't seem to have a clue what he's doing as a leader. It's just as well that Xing Cai is here to help just as she always has.
"Xing Cai couldn't you please give me a pistol instead? This rifle is so heavy, and this suit makes me feel all hot and embarrassed." Liu Shan moaned and groaned even panting as he struggles to hold the gun.
"How much longer do you intend to keep on making the same excuse? Lastation weapons are designed specifically to be ultra-light, and you have drunk the perk a colas meaning you are able to carry heavier loads." The Shu warrior replied showing plenty of signs of anger and irritation towards him.
"I'm not making excuses; I'm giving you an explanation." He pleaded though it's definitely in vain.
"You just don't want to do your duties, that's your problem and until you actually perform your duties you will forever wear that suit. Speaking of duties, here are a group of special guests who perform their duties very well. In fact they always go beyond the call of duty and they deserve medal of honours without question." She replied gesturing with her hands that she's referring to us.
It was then she gets out her SPAS12 and starts shooting at the targets, we also decide to join her firing our own weapons at the targets themselves. We only fire about a hundred bullets at the targets before stopping. It's great that we manage to hit the bulls-eye and like the ones at the previous firing range the targets resemble different people that we despise, which are mostly the CPUs of Leanbox and Planeptune.
I then see Xing Cai smile at our shooting, impressed that we were able to show Shan how to use a firearm.
"See Lord Liu Shan? That is how you take down a target; we'll leave you in peace now. But when I get back, I expect to see you no longer complaining and actually shooting the target properly, OK?" The Shu warrior ordered.
"Yes Xing Cai, why are you so strict with me?" He spoke sounding quite upset.
"I don't do it to be mean; I need to do it because I want you to be a good leader for your father as well as for Lastation, a land that knows benevolence." She answered in a much more calmer tone.
"I am sorry; I am such a worthless fool." The Shu leader's son Liu Shan replied sounding even more upset than before.
After saying that he hangs his head in shame, only for my waifu to approach him as a gesture of reassurance.
"It's OK; I understand if you struggle to find the motivation to work, I think a lot of us do from time to time. All I ask from you is that you do your best for Lastation, like everyone does here. If it helps try and set some targets with Xing Cai, just think if you were to work harder then perhaps Xing Cai won't be as strict with you. If we all work hard, then together we can prosper and perhaps we can find peace with the other nations." Miss Lastation explained in a very understanding and caring voice.
"Yes you're exactly right; I will do my best for you my lady. Thank you very much for the talk." He replied bowing in appreciation.
It was then we walked away to leave him to it, only for Xing Cai to say something to us.
"He's a kind man and maybe I can be mean towards him, but I just wish he wasn't so lazy all the time and actually did his training like the rest of us." The Shu warrior spoke with concern.
"I do wish that as well, but like you said at least he has some good qualities and like his father his heart is in the right place. Perhaps he just needs more motivation to work. After all though I value hard work a lot, it's also important to enjoy the life we have. It is fun that makes us human and makes lives worth living. All we can demand of each other is our best and as long as we do that, that is all that matters. Perhaps he needs to find ways of coping with his training, so it can be more fun and rewarding. Maybe he has some sort of inferiority complex where he won't try because he feels he's not good enough, and that bothers him a lot. I'm sure he'll get better with the right encouragement. At least when he wears that suit he's very good with the kids, they all find him funny." Noire explained.
"You make a very valid point, thank you very much. I wonder how my father and brother are doing. Probably drinking and having fun no doubt." Xing Cai smiled in appreciation of Noire's words of wisdom.
I never had much positive thoughts on Liu Shan to be honest. I remember him being lazy and not really competent, just like Neptune really. At least he does have a few redeeming qualities in that he isn't nasty or a bully to anyone like Neptune is. At least he does have his father's kindness but it is his laziness and lack of good qualities as a leader that led to his downfall as well as Shu being the first kingdom to fall. Another redeeming quality is that I don't consider Shan to be evil like I do with the egotistical, bullying, villainising and humiliating Neptune. Another thing I can say is that hopefully Noire and Xing Cai will one day turn Shan into a capable person that trains and can lead. I must admit after seeing this with Shan, I do have a brief thought as to could the Neptune I know of change? But I'm not sure if I want to try and change her being as it will probably not work, not to mention with all the stuff she has done. I dunno if I'd want to forgive her, I much sooner I just give her the extremely severe punishment I truly feel she deserves.
With that thought the Shu warrior Xing Cai leads us to her family, which consists of her father Zhang Fei and her brother Zhang Bao. We both see them on a luxurious black leather sofa drinking wine, from an expensive gold goblet with gold decorations of the Shu dragon surrounding them.
Like with the other people I see here, their appearances amuse me. With Zhang Fei he is cosplaying as Wario. I find it very funny because his original appearance does resemble Wario; he even wears a large pink fake nose just like him. He wears a large yellow cap but instead there is a letter F on his cap, he also wears a yellow t shirt with a purple dungaree with white buttons. He wears green shoes along with white gloves which also have the letter F on top as well.
Like his father Zhang Bao is also cosplaying as a similar character, though with him it's Waluigi. He does resemble him a lot, as he even has a large pink nose. For his clothing he wears a purple cap though rather with an upside down L, he has a letter B on the cap. For his clothing he wears a purple t shirt with long arms, as well as what appears to be a black dungaree with yellow buttons. For footwear he just wears orange shoes, and finally like his father he wears white gloves but with the letter B on them.
I remember Zhang Fei being one of the sworn brothers with Guan Yu and Liu Bei, and out of the three of them he's the funniest. He's quite the character though, he's the strongest, yet the angriest but even then his heart is always at the right place. I do respect the man even if his anger and love of wine has caused him to lose battles. Thing is like with Blanc here, does the man ever get angry and what of the wine being as it's from Lastation? I'm willing to bet Lastation wine tastes exactly like the originals, but do not contain any alcohol what so ever. As for his son unfortunately I do not know much about him, due to only seeing him in the most recent of games. Yet I know he's a good older brother, always looking out for his friends and family.
"Welcome back guys, it's lovely to see you. You've done very well in defending Lastation, we're all proud of you all. Hopefully that'll teach them to invade our turf like that, the sooner we can defeat them, the sooner this chaos can come to an end." Wario Fei applauded.
"Thank you father, I'm pleased to have made you guys proud." Xing Cai bowed in appreciation.
"Oh yeah, you've definitely proved that you're more than capable of looking after yourself sister." Waluigi Bao added.
"Indeed, I'm guessing all that hard work you guys have done have made you thirsty, would you like a drink?" Fei offered.
"Sure, thanks for offering but we'll get them. Do you fancy the usual guys or do you want me to get some of their special drinks?" Noire answered only to then face us to ask about our choice of drinks.
"What kind of special drinks do they have?" I ask her with much enthusiasm, eager to try out their cuisine period.
"Well one of their specialties is fusing wine with other soft drinks, giving them rather unique but amazing tastes. Of course they do other drinks that are very popular with the residents." She explains in her usual prideful flirtatious friendly manner.
"Surprise us, I'm sure whatever we have will be amazing." I ask casually, smiling at her.
"I'll see what I can do everyone." She replies, waving and winking at me in a flirtatious theatrical manner, only to then walk in a sexy way as she goes and gets the drinks.
It's not long at all before my waifu comes back with the drinks, and passes them around to each of us with which we thank her for.
"Thanks a lot Lady Black Heart, that's very kind of you. If you don't mind can we do a toast?" Zhang Fei proposed as he held his drink up high.
"Of course, the occasion calls for it: I'd like to propose a toast together, here's to us and our glorious victories we've had over the enemy as well as the impending ones we will have. Hopefully one day this chaos can come to an end. I would also like to do this toast in celebrating our victories here with you guys." Noire announced as she held our drink high with the rest of us. She's full of pride as she spoke.
"Indeed, you folks have fought very well on the battlefield, I'm beyond impressed. It's an honour for us to welcome you here; you're always welcome to visit us whenever you wish." Fei replied.
After doing that glorious toast together in appreciation of us celebrating our victory at their flats, as well as for how well we have all done. I can't help but feel happy with how I, along with the rest of us are making a positive difference here. Even if we could be postponing the inevitable, we are doing what we can to ensure that our paradise lasts as long as possible. And right now we appear to be successful, though I can't help but feel that maintaining our land could become more difficult as time goes by, with what Leanbox and perhaps Neptune herself are trying to do.
"Would anyone object if I was to perform a melody to accompany this toast?" Cai Wenji proposed.
"Play right ahead, I'd love to listen to your music right now." I answered.
"Ooooh good idea Wenji, I think I'll join you with my flute." Zhen Ji flirted in her usual way.
And so the Wei musicians play a tune for us all to listen to. The song's very inspirational to listen to and it's very soothing and relaxing too, even dare I say very moving as well. The drink is also very refreshing. In fact it's amazing how the taste of the various exotic fruits all mix together with my favourite Pepsi, to form what has become one of my favourite drinks.
After listening to that beautiful harp and flute playing, we give the ambitious talented musicians a round of applause as a sign of appreciation. They respond by giving curtsies to us.
As if on cue Cao Cao announces dinner and so we all follow him to where we will all dine together.
Despite meeting the various Dynasty Warrior characters and enjoy spending time with them, I still can't help but think that our fun will be cut short. Despite having that thought at the back of my head all of this time, it's only now that my gut is telling me it will end during dinner.
In any rate, all I can do now is enjoy the tasty mouth-watering food I'm sure they'll offer. And enjoy the witty bantering, as well as the chemistry between We Obey and Cao Squared. One thing is for sure; at least we'll get to finish our dinner before we have to deal with any potential though probably inevitable threats. I know this because of how one of Noire's many excellent traits, is ensuring that those concerned are well fed before their battle. As Cao Cao once said: … something about this is troubling me, what I can't say, I can only wait and see.