Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan.

Falling

Chapter 2

Victory

Shan-Yu came to China for one thing and one thing only.

He came to take it.

China was once their land. It had been theirs to claim and hunt, to build and raise their young on. They had once been considered part of that great empire . . . but not anymore.

Forced out of their homeland and their legacy, his people had been driven North into the cold, harsh mountains and grasslands that dominated the northern border. This harsh land had nearly killed them. Little food or water and cold conditions killed off their young faster than the wild predators that roamed the land, unafraid to attack a small band of people for easy prey.

His son had been among those that had died in such an attack.

Those that survived were stronger. They became like the harsh land they grew up in, cold, desperate, and dangerous. Once, they had been Chinese; now they were Huns.

And China would pay for what they had done.

Nearly ten thousand strong, they had slipped over the great wall meant to keep them out and into the land forbidden them for generations. Not even the great army sent to defeat them stood a chance. They had been tested, tried, and given strength.

They wouldn't fall.

Which is why the small band of soldiers, barely more than boys fresh out of training, had taken him by surprise.

Or rather, one boy.

Small, skinny, and baby faced, the soldier had been like all of the others, he'd seen it when he'd looked in his eyes. There was fear, yes, but there was also determination. Determination to protect his country, at the cost of his own life.

In that soldier boy from China, Shan-Yu saw himself.

Unexpected, daring, dangerous. The boy had done what no other soldier would have done in his place. He shot the mountain.

One cannon could take out maybe ten tightly clustered men . . . one avalanche could take out ten thousand. It was ingenious, uncounted for, and insane. It worked.

In that soldier, Shan-Yu saw himself, and that is why the boy had had to die.

His own army could have benefited from a man such as this soldier, but one among his enemies was too dangerous to let live.

If the wound that San-Yu had given him hadn't killed him, then his own avalanche did, of that he was sure.

There was one thing that the surviving Huns could thank the boy for, however. They would never have been able to get so close to the Emperor in such large numbers. What little remained of his army was a pitiful few, but they were strong, they would survive.

They would have their victory.

Below him, his hawk swooped and snatched the gleaming sword from the young Captain's hands just as he was about to hand it to the Emperor. The shock on the other's face as he stood up to catch his own weapon made him grin.

Let the fight begin.

Before anyone in the crowed, or even the soldiers, could react the large parade dragon ripped open to reveal his men. Screams echoed through the gathering as people, young and old, scrambled away in panic. Ignoring them, the Huns dashed up the stares, shoved the soldiers aside, grabbed the Emperor, and slipped inside the palace with the doors closing firmly behind them.

Shan-Yu felt his grin widen. The palace had been fortified to withstand siege from an outside force lager than the one China currently had. Their pitiful resistance was pitiful.

By the time they broke through the Emperor would be dead and China would be theirs for the taking.

0~o~0

Despair warred with desperation as Shang and the soldier's pounded the heavy statue into the closed doors of the palace. Deep in his mind, however, he knew that this would never work. His father had been the General of China, he knew the palace inside and out and he knew that there was no way there were going to be able to get through those doors in time to save the Emperor.

Ping's sacrifice . . . would be in vane.

He closed his eyes even as he gave all he had into another swing. A small, crystal tear slipped unseen down his cheek.

I'm sorry, Ping. I failed you.

Ping was a hero. He had saved all of them at the cost of his own life. He had wiped out almost the entire Hun army with one cannon . . . he had been Shang's best student, even if it had taken a while to get there.

At first, Shang had been sure that he had been sent a kid, not worthy of training. He had given the other a chance, and he had failed it. Shang had been ready to send Ping home. There would have been no small disgrace in being sent back, but he had been sure it was for the best at the time.

And then Ping had proved him wrong.

It was like he had changed overnight; as if confidence and determination that had been missing the entire time had suddenly reared its head for the first time.

For the first time, Shang had seen something that gave him hope.

Ping's grinning face flashed before his eyes, looking down at him from the top of the wooden pole he'd placed in the center of camp, weights tied to his thin arms and an arrow shot at the base of Shang's ten.

That day, they had all changed. They had all become more than normal soldiers, they were brothers in arms.

. . . and now he was failing Ping. If Ping was here, he'd know what to do. He would have thought outside the box and be inside the palace by now. If they were the soldiers, Ping had been their strategist.

What would Ping have done?

Opening his eyes Shang looked around with a fresh mind, and narrowed in on the poles that led to the second floor of the palace, and he was again reminded on Ping's miraculous change and subsequent climb for the arrow.

There was no way in on the ground floor.

But the second floor was unfortified, and that would be were the Emperor was.

He dropped the statue and his men followed his example.

"There's another way in."

They would do this. They would succeed.

For Ping.

0~o~0

Roku was a simple palace servant, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. When the fur clad bulks of flesh had broken through into the Palace he did the first logical thing that any servant would do.

He hid in a broom closet.

The Palace was large for those who didn't know it, but Roku had worked there for several years. He knew a thing or to that most didn't.

One of those things been that all the doors were made of sterner stuff than wood . . . and were good for knocking people out.

The first lone Hun who was sent to patrol this particular hall was met with a sudden door to the face and instant darkness.

Above his unconscious form Roku peeked out of his hiding place, "Oops. I think I might have hit him too hard," he paused and then shrugged, "Oh well."

Now, too find another broom closet. This one had blood on it.

0~o~0

Climbing the side of the palace turned out to be easy, and Shang pushed down a frown at the now obvious flaw in the defense. He could think about that later.

He and the men moved swiftly through the halls, encountering trouble only once when they ran into a group of Huns guarding the door out to the balcony that Shan-Yu held the Emperor captive. Thankfully, though, they were able to take them down quickly as it seemed one of their members was missing somewhere and they were in an argument of who was going to look for him.

Shang was the first one to make it through the doors, just in time to stop Shan-Yu's downward swing toward the Emperor. The elder's blade skimmed his shoulder as he deflected it and he winced but didn't move from his place.

The Hun scowled. "Get out of my way!"

In response Shang lunged, only to be knocked to the side and barely able to avoid the razor sharp edge of the wavy short sword as he rolled. His arm, which he had landed on, complained loudly and he forced himself to his feet again.

This is for you Ping.

They fought viciously, Shan-Yu to get to the Emperor and Shang in memory of his best soldier and friend. Neither was willing to give in. In the background Poe broke through the fighting and snatched up the Emperor, taking the elder back the way that they had come to find a more defensible position.

Shan-Yu only seemed to fight harder. Again Shang was knocked aside and pushed up onto a pillar, sword inches from his neck and barely held back by his own small dagger.

For a second everything seemed to freeze as they looked into each other's eyes, hatred and determination shining through. The Hun seemed to realize something and his scowl deepened.

"You are like the Soldier in the Mountains."

Ping.

With a strength he didn't know he had Shang pushed the Hun back suddenly and spun away, the cut on his arm throbbing and his bruises aching. He barely seemed to have escaped before he was once again fighting, retreating back into the palace as the Hun's superior strength showed itself. The other was fighting with more viciousness than before.

Shang knew he wouldn't survive.

Father, give me strength.

A pillar was knocked down and Shang ran along its support as it hung over the massive crowd below. Shan-Yu followed even as he lunged for the rooftop. If he had to make a final stand, he would do it on his own terms. Once on semi stable grounds Shang turned once again to face Shan-Yu who didn't seem phased at all at the change of locations.

His dagger, the only weapon that he had left, was raised defensively in front of him even as he tried to calm his raging heart. He would fall today, just like Ping.

Or so that's what he thought.

An unlucky misstep as Shang backed away sent him sliding down one side unexpectedly just as Shan-Yu lunged at him. Frantically he flung his dagger out to catch himself and only ended up embedding it in his opponent's cloak, pinning him in place.

Shang could never really recall what happened next, it was all too fast. He remembered letting go of his dagger and sliding down to where he could catch himself and Shan-Yu suddenly vanishing in a ball of fire and smoke as he was shot toward the firework stand on the opposite roof.

For years afterward Shang swore that he'd heard someone shout, "That one's for Mulan, sucker!" as the Hun was blown away.

All he knew was that he was still alive. China was safe. They were all safe.

And Ping was dead.

0~o~0

The End

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Just kidding! I've got a much better ending planned out for this story than the one that you just read. Look forward to at least one more chapter! Here's a sneak peak at what might be coming.

0~o~0

Biting his lip nervously as he stepped into the busy camp he couldn't help but feel inadequate.

His sister had trained and worked here, hiding her secret for months and later becoming one of the greatest hero's of all China. He, a scrawny, baby-faced boy was nothing compared to her, but he knew that he had to try.

He was Fa Li, son of Fa Zhao and younger brother of Fa 'Ping'.

He was just beginning his new life. The life of a soldier.

Taking a deep breath, Li puffed out his chest to make himself look bigger and marched into camp, unknowingly matching the actions of another soldier from many years ago.

Looking up from his post Li Shang did a double take as what looked like Ping's duplicate marched through camp.

What in the world . . . ?

0~o~0

Anyway, hope you all stick around for the next chapter! Review?

(Updated: 8/9/2016)