She threw her shoe at Shan-Yu's head. "No! I did!" She proclaimed. His eyes widened and he brandished his sword. She caught Shang's wide eyes, probably at her audacity to come back as a woman, and glared at the Hun. "The soldier from the mountains," He mumbled.

*Set during the Hun attack scene in Mulan, at the palace. Mulan gets Ling, Yao and Chien-Po to help and they buy Shang enough time to go through. Mulan follows, ignoring that her wound has re-opened slightly*

*not very long*

Mulan, with thanks to Mushu, healed enough to race to the palace. She had to inform Shang that Shan-Yu was still alive. Mushu, to his credit, managed to get her side re-stitched enough. It pounded with every beat of Khan's hooves, but it was worth it. She finally got to the city, in pain and drenched in sweat. She raced up to Shang and passed the army, who stared in shock. "Mulan!?" He gasped out when she met his eyes. "The Huns are alive! They're in the city!" She warned. He ignored her and spurred his horse on to move around Khan. Mulan frowned and rode in front, blocking his path. "Why should I trust you?" He hissed. Mulan glared. "You said you would Ping. Why is Mulan any different?" She snapped. Shang glared back for a few seconds but chose to ignore her and move on. She scoffed.

~

Mulan rushed through the double doors of the emperor's balcony viewing area. Shang himself had rushed through about 5 minutes ago. She ran up the stairs, followed by Chein-Po, Ling and Yao. "Chein-Po! Get the emperor!" She yelled. She tore her sash off and wrapped it around one of the metal wires of the palace. Chein-Po grabbed one and, with the emperor under his arm, slid down to safety. Ling and Yao followed suit, shouting for Mulan to grab Shang and go.

But she couldn't. Despite him leaving her to die in the mountains, he followed her lead to save the emperor. Even though he knew she was Mulan and not Ping. In her hesitation, Shan-Yu growled and launched towards the metal wire. Thinking fast: Mulan grabbed his sword and swung it at the wire, slicing it completely. It fell to the ground, followed by cheers from the crowd. She dropped to her knees by Shang and shook his shoulder. "You've gotta wake up!" She hissed. "YOU!" Shan-Yu yelled, spinning around. Mulan spun in fear. An arm came across her front, and she turned to stare at Shang in shock. He was protecting her?

Shan-Yu grabbed his sword from the pole and yanked Shang up by his shirt. Mulan crawled away desperately. She clambered upright. "YOU TOOK AWAY MY VICTORY!" Shan-Yu yelled in Shang's face. Mulan looked around for something to get his attention. So what did she do? She threw her shoe at Shan-Yu's head. "No! I did!" She proclaimed. His eyes widened and he brandished his sword. She caught Shang's wide eyes, probably at her audacity to stand up to a hun as a woman, and glared at the Hun. "The soldier from the mountains," He mumbled. Shan-Yu's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits so Mulan bolted. She ran down the stairs and slammed the double doors shut.

She continued running through the corridors. What was her plan? Oh, that went out of the window ages ago. She screeched to a halt: "MUSHU!" She shouted, pointing at the firework shack just over the roof. "Already on it," Her guardian smiled, hoping out the window. Mulan smiled. Maybe something good would come out of this after all?

But then Shan-Yu rounded the corner with an animalistic growl. Mulan cried out in shock and tried to dart away.

She clambered onto a pole and climbed high enough to avoid being sliced open... again. Shan-Yu swung at the wooden pole, and it collapsed, falling through the wooden walls. Mulan screamed as she dropped. Luckily, she held on tight enough to not fall. Her side crashed into the wood, sending waves of pain down her body.

~~

Shang ran down the stairs. He escaped from the balcony the second Shan-Yu left. Truthfully, his head felt so full of cotton, he had no idea who distracted the hun leader, but whoever it was had saved his life. Then the firework hut exploded in a series of colours and whistles. Shang wanted to stop and admire but didn't. What if it was Shan-Yu who lit it? Maybe it was an escape ploy? He continued running but abruptly crashed to the ground as something hit his back. They rolled across the small platform in a series of groans. Shang blinked harshly to try and clear the blur away. He pushed himself into a sitting position and prepared to grab his dagger.

But upon looking at who crashed into him, he dropped his hand. It was just the girl: Mulan. "What the hell happened?" He asked. She sat up with wide eyes. "Shan-Yu?" He asked. Mulan laughed. "Long gone... for definite this time," She smiled. Her smile did something strange to his insides, so he ignored it. "So... you exploded the leader of the hun army... in a firework display?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "It would seem that way, yes." Mulan groaned out as she tried to stand. Shang instantly grabbed her hand and helped her up. Shang smiled and was about to speak, when-

"THAT WAS A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE!!" A nasal voice screeched. "WHERE IS SHE? NOW SHE'S DONE IT!" He continued. Shang stood in front of Mulan, but front of Yao, Ling & Chein-Po. Shang glared. "She is a hero!" He snapped. "Tis a woman! She'll never be worth anything!" Chi-Fu sniped. Shang grabbed him by his singed robe. "Listen! You POMPOUS-" He began. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" The emperor shouted. Shang dropped Chi-Fu and bowed. "Your majesty! I can explain!" He tried. The emperor waved his hand, forcing everyone to step away from the woman of the hour. Mulan dropped her head low. "I've heard a great deal about you... Fa Mulan,"

Shang, truth be told, zoned out. His head felt like cotton was stuffed in tightly. And honestly, he didn't want to hear the emperor scold the person who saved Shang twice, and China twice. But when he saw the emperor bowing, he let a smile grace his usually stoic face. It was going the way he'd wanted it to initially: the emperor was accepting Mulan as his saviour. And keeping her alive, with a personal honouring from him. Shang stood back up and placed a hand on her shoulder, proud.

He expected her to turn around and grin. Or stay still and smile at the emperor.

He didn't expect her to fall back into his arms.

He exclaimed and struggled to get a grip. She'd gone completely limp. "Mulan?" He asked. "Chi-Fu, summon the medic. Now!" The emperor commanded. "Uh... Shang?" Ling hesitantly asked. "What?" He snapped. "She's bleeding," Ling pointed to a rapidly growing red spot just under her left breast. He cursed. "Her wound must've reopened. She needs it re-stitching asap, your majesty." Shang spoke. "Go, Captain Li. Take her to the double doors, my medic will meet you there,"

Mulan woke up confused and in pain. "What happened?" She asked out loud, pushing into a sitting position with a hiss. "Hey, whoa. Stay back down, you tore your stitches." Somebody said as warm hands pushed her back down. "Shang?" She asked. Her vision was still blurry. "Yeah. Are you feeling ok? No pain?" He asked, sitting down next to her. Mulan licked her lips. "No more than I was expecting," She answered. "What happened?" She asked again. Shang sighed but smiled wearily at her. "You saved everyone... again," He chuckled. Mulan did as well. She basked in the friendly quiet that surrounded her and her former captain. It was a nice change from previous times. "Am I exhaled? Or dishonoured now?" She asked quietly. "Nope, quite the opposite. The emperor had granted the Fa family the highest honour, and has invited them to a celebratory banquet tomorrow night, in honour of all of your victories," Shang answered. Mulan laughed breathlessly at this and dropped her head back down on the pillow.

Unwillingly, her eyes sipped closed. She smiled. "Good... I'm glad,"

And she was gone.