I'll Make A Man Out Of You, Again

Chapter Ten

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For what seems like an eternity, the silence is deafening. Suddenly, Mulan hears the people gasp and shout and she knows what has happened. But if she's been decapitated, why can she still hear the fast beating of her heart? How can she feel the soft breeze whipping at her neck? Is she still alive? Mulan tests this theory by trying to open her eyes. They open alright, and her nose is filled with the pungent aroma of blood.

Her vision focuses. She tentatively lifts her head to see the crowd exactly where she left them, but this time something's different. Standing in the gateway is somebody chillingly-familiar; he sits on his white horse with his fingers still on the bow string, the bow still aimed at a target directly behind Mulan. And she doesn't have to turn around to know who that target was, or if the arrow met his skull. But then it finally sinks in.

"Shang!" she screams, a throaty sound resonating from her chest as she jumps to her feet, lunging across the landing. For a split second she sees his face and so much joy has never surged through her body, like adrenaline almost.

Then a strong hand grabs her face and another clenches around her waist, and the next thing she knows, she's being carried up the flights of stairs in a flash. She can see her name form on Shang's lips and she watches in horror as an arrow strikes his collarbone.

"Shang!" she screams again, this time not happily in the least. As the giant door slams behind her, she watches the Mongolian soldiers charge at her husband and few comrades. Mulan is completely helpless.

()-()-()

"Hurry!" Shang yells at the soldiers. The gate to the Emperor's Palace is in view now, just down the street. It's only a matter of seconds and a few men have dismounted to drag the heavy doors open. They hardly budge at first, but with the help of Chien-Po they give with ease.

All ten gasp at the sight before them.

The Mongolian leader has his sword drawn high in the air, about to swing down upon a kneeling Mulan.

"No!" is the strangled cry from Mushu, who leaps off of Kahn's saddle. Shang, fast as lightning, draws up his bow, slings an arrow, and does not hesitate to release it into the Mongol's forehead. The entire crowd gasps; everyone is frozen with shock.

Shang watches her small body remain completely still at the edge of the tile landing. After a while, she slowly raises her head and he feels his heart pounding in his chest. His breathing becomes very heavy with his rising emotions and he watches her find him excitedly.

"Shang!" he hears her scream. Mulan starts across the landing and her new figure makes his breath catch in his throat; he'd almost forgotten about the child. All he can think is, She's alive! The baby's alive! This is real! She's really here! This is real!

But then as quickly as she had gotten up, Shang watches with dismay as a Mongol grabs her again and flees away up the stairs. Panic floods his vision. No! he thinks fretfully. I can't lose her again!

"Mulan!"

The wind is knocked out of Shang as the force of an arrow throws him from the stallion. It sticks to his chest, but luckily is only armor-deep and he yanks it out, rage beginning to boil in his blood. Mongolian soldiers trample the body of their dead leader as they race down the stairs and toward the gate entrance. But, as Shang looks back at his nine men drawing their swords and then back to the fifty Mongols, he has no fear.

Shang practically rips his sword from its sheath and swings it with perfect precision, slicing the necks of two Mongols. They collapse to ground. As he continues to swing with a mad fury, he briefly glances to his sides and finds that his soldiers are fighting with the same passion, much to his satisfaction. But they are still outnumbered by dozens.