Shang's shout drew Mulan's attention to her leader, General Li. She ran over and brandished her sword, deflecting the Huns. General Li scampered out, leaving her battling with the huge giant.

*Set after Mulan, before Shang proposes. General Li didn't die in the film, he is fighting off another smaller Hun army with the use of Shang's troops.*

Mulan loved fighting. A strange thing, sure. But when she was on the battlefield, she was just a soldier. Not a delicate woman, or a glass vase. She was a valued soldier who was protecting her country.

She was an equal.

She rejoined after the Shan-Yu incident and was accepted instantly. Shang was now a Captain under his father, in the same group. General Li was not happy when Mulan joined. He tried to send her home on multiple occasions or set her impossible tasks. Such as the arrow. Mulan knew Shang fought for her on several times, so she was thankful for that. When General Li shot the arrow at the pole and commanded her to get it, she bit back a smirk. "Yes sir," She said instead. She tied the weights on and scaled the pole in record time.

When she bested him in a spar, he finally accepted that he wasn't going to get rid of her anytime soon. When the emperor sent them off on a mission to take out the rest of the huns, General Li almost didn't let her go. It was only when Shang argued with him over it he relented.

That was one thing she didn't like about being in the army. Some of the men seemed to think she was only there to please Shang and bare him children, despite them not even being engaged.

She mounted Khan and was at the front of Wu Zhong Camp before General Li or Shang.

She rode at the back, keeping an eye on everything. Shang rode in the middle, while General Li took the helm. Mulan kept to her own thoughts, sometimes chirping in when the men asked her questions or involved her in their conversations, but otherwise was silent. They rode through the Tung-Shao Pass which Mulan hated. She knew Shang did, as well as some of the other men. They walked through, as silently as possible. Mulan listened to the mountains.

It was quiet.

Far... too quiet. She urged Khan on and met Shang in the middle. "Hey, you ok?" He asked quietly. She shook her head, "Listen," She whispered. He stopped Qiang and listened to the mountains. "I don't hear anything," He frowned. Mulan grimaced, "Exactly. It's way too quiet for mountains." She whispered. "You think it's another ambush?" He asked back. Mulan sighed quietly. "Maybe? I don't know... it's just far too quiet... and I don't like it," She bit her lip. "Go let my dad know... see what he wants to do. I'll keep an eye out,"

She smiled briefly and urged Khan on again, and met up with the General. "What are you doing here? You should be at the rear," He scolded. "If I may, General, as I just said to the captain, it's way too quiet. Something's wrong. I think we're walking into an attack or ambush." She said quietly. The general glanced around briefly before scoffing, "I know these mountains like the back of my hand. We're fine, go back to the rear, and don't move," He snapped. Mulan bowed her head and dropped back to the rear.

She looked around, trying to find something out of the ordinary. Her skin itched and she turned in her saddle. Someone was watching her. She stared at a rock in particular and focused on listening.

Distantly, almost silently, she heard an arrow notch. Mulan spun in her saddle and flicked over the troops. Not one person had an arrow notched. She scanned the mountains again. Had she looked in a different direction, she'd have missed the moving rock.

Wait... moving rock?

Another arrow notched.

"Ambush!" She yelled. A sudden barrage of fiery arrows shot from the sky. Khan whinnied and flicked his head. The general yelled from the front. Shang darted to the left, about 100 of their 300 troops following. She darted to the right, about 50 following her. She glanced around. "Anyone hurt?" She asked. The men check themselves over and shook their heads. "No, we're ok,"

She looked across the white ground to where Shang was hiding. "We can't hide forever!" She yelled. "Wait for the general signal!" He yelled back. Mulan looked at the general, who had hidden a little ways past her. "It doesn't look like a large army! We can take them! Who has the archers!?"

Mulan looked to the group behind. "Anybody?" She asked. 40 raised their hands. "I have 40!" She yelled. "I have the other 10!" Shang yelled. "Take out their archers!" General Li yelled. Mulan spun and faced them. "Are you ready? Aim at anything that moves up in the mountains, don't hesitate. Got it?" She said. The archers nodded and called out of their hiding spot. Mulan crouched to the side of the rock, out of sight from the huns, but able to see what was going on. "On my mark!" She yelled. More arrows were notched. "NOW!" She yelled.

A sea of arrows shot from their hiding hole, followed quickly by Shang's archers. They sailed through the air, making their targets fall into the snow, or roll down the hillside.

"HOLD!" The general shouted. Mulan held her hand up and her archers stopped.

The general whistled and everyone jogged over. Like they did a month ago, the huns appeared at the top of a snowbank. It was easily 3 huns to a soldier. Mulan cringed, not everybody was going to come out of this alive. "If we die, we die with honour. Kill every hun you see. No mercy,"

She exchanged a quick look with Shang. He nodded and she smiled. She readied Khan's reins. "CHARGE!"

Despite probably riding to her death, Mulan felt a grin split her face as the wind rushed through her hair. There was a certain freedom to this: being able to fight for her country.

The huns ran at them, shouting and riding. She jumped off, letting Khan ride off to safety. She rolled into a fighting stance and swung at a Hun's ankle. He roared and dropped to the ground. The men shouted behind her and began slicing huns down, one by one. 3 huns were behind her. "You must be Fa Mulan," One of them sneered. Mulan didn't answer. She readied her sword and blew some hair out of her face. She twiddled it in her hands.

With a shout, Mulan spun her sword in a circle and sliced out at their hands. They jumped back with a shout. She grabbed her dagger out of her sash and flicked it at the hun to her left. He yelled loudly and dropped to the ground. She twisted it through his arm and slashed across his midsection. She yanked it out and flicked the blood off. She spun her sword and slipped the dagger back into her sash. The middle one charged at her, his dagger raised just as the hun on her right ran. She ducked into a roll and sliced at their ankles. They dropped down, shouting and swearing. She stabbed them in their stomachs. She panted slightly and scanned to see if anybody needed urgent help.

Shang's shout drew Mulan's attention to her leader, General Li. She ran over and brandished her sword, deflecting the huge Hun. General Li scampered out, leaving her battling with the giant. She glared into his amber eyes. He pushed against her sword glaring. She strained against him but held. She kicked upwards and into his man area.

He rolled off, yelling. Mulan rolled into a crouching stance. "You're as good as the rumours say," He mumbled. "Is your captain?" Mulan spun her head just as Shang was pushed off of his horse. "NO!" She screamed. She spun at the hun's feet, slicing them with her sword. The hun dropped to the ground, yelling, but swung at her head. She ducked and thrust her sword into his thigh. It dug into the ground behind him, pinning him. He roared and gave one final swing at her calf. She screamed and grabbed it. Blood leaked from between her fingers.

Mulan whipped out her dagger and threw herself at the stuck hun. His eyes widened with fear.

She pushed it through his throat, killing him instantly. Mulan knew she wouldn't get it back... not that she'd try. That was fine... she didn't really like the dagger anyway.

She panted in the snow and looked around. General Li was fighting strong, and Shang was winning against 4 huns. She breathed out a sigh of relief and collapsed into the snow.

~

When she woke, she was in a tent. "You're lucky Bo found you. We thought you were dead," An authoritative voice spoke. Mulan licked her dry lips and turned her head. "General Li," She said. The man gave a small smile. "I never thanked you for saving my life. If you hadn't come when you did, I'd be dead right now. So, thank you, Fa Mulan." She smiled softly. "It's nothing. I'd've done it for anyone," She whispered. "Shang left some water for you, for when you woke," He said abruptly. Mulan smirked a little but grabbed it.

"Is she awake yet father?" The voice she knew and loved panicked. "Relax son, she is awake and well," General Li called. The tent flap opened and Mulan gazed into her boyfriend's eyes. "Thank you for saving him," Shang said. Mulan sat up in the medical cot. "All in a day's work," She teased.

"I told you she was a good fighter," Shang said as he sat on the medical cot next to her. General Li made a face but didn't comment. "Yes... perhaps I was unfair in my treatment of you, Fa Mulan. You are a strong warrior," He complimented. Mulan blushed. "Thank you, sir," She said. General Li stood up as he cleared his throat. "Yes well... I must see if the others are well," He dipped his head and opened the flap.

"Oh, Shang?" He said. Shang looked up. General Li smiled, something that shocked Mulan. "You have my permission," Then he left. Mulan elbowed Shang in the ribs. "Permission about what?" She asked. Shang shook his head with a smile, "I'll tell you when we get home,"