"MULAN!"

The three soldiers sprinted across the room, eager to be reunited with their lost friend. Yao was the first to reach her. "What happened?" he asked. Ling was next, "We thought you were dead!" And Chien-Po, of course, was the more patient and concerned one, "We heard you were injured?" he asked.

Mulan laughed aloud, relieved to see some familiar faces, "Yes, I was a little bruised. But I'm fine," she assured.

"Good," Chien-Po said with a smile before scooping up his three friends in a huge hug. "How did you guys find me?" Mulan managed to ask. Once Chien-Po set everyone down, Ling answered. "Well, to be honest," he began, "... we weren't trying to."

"Yeah, I mean," Yao shuffled uncomfortably in place, "... we though you were, y'know... dead."

"Oh... right." Mulan was having such a wonderful time sharing her stories with the townspeople, she had nearly forgotten about how she ended up here. She could only imagine how surprised her friends were to discover she was alive.

"But we're glad you're alright."

Mulan turned her head to face the source of the voice.

"What?" she blurted, confused. It was Mei, Ting-Ting, and Su. But they were dressed in simple clothing, adding to Mulan's confusion.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the princesses, then turned to the three soldiers, "All of you, I mean?"

Mei approached Mulan, "I think we should talk somewhere more private," she whispered.

"So... you actually do want to go through with it?"

Ling half scoffed, "Well, we don't really WANT to," he corrected, plopping down onto one bed, his arms crossed. Chien-Po quickly intervened, "But we know it's the correct thing to do."

The group had moved their conversation into one of the rooms they had rented, and the soldiers and princesses had been telling Mulan about their plans to finish their mission.

"Yes," Mei assured, "We each have a duty to our country and to our empire, and we must do what is necessary to protect our people."

Yao spoke up, "Yeah! If there's anythin' we learned in the army," he straightened up, a large grin on his face, "... it's that we gotta do what we gotta do to protect China!"

"We know General Shang wanted us to finish this mission," Ting-Ting commented, sitting next to Ling, "We would like to honor his memory by doing this, as well."

"Right..." Mulan sat on the other bed, lowered her gaze to the floor.

As upset as she may have been, Mulan was deeply saddened about disobeying Shang's orders. She knew he could sometimes be a little strict and difficult, but he was a general and he had a job to do.

But she, too, could be quite hard-headed, and their conflicting personalities led them to an argument Mulan wished had never taken place.

"The problem, Mulan, is you!"

"What?" she gasped at the accusation.

"You place your own feelings above everything," he continued, "Duty, obligation, tradition - It all means nothing to you."

"It means everything to me!" she argued, "My heart tells me my duty, and I follow it."

But try as she might, Shang was not budging.

Mulan sighed, "You're a brilliant warrior, Shang. You're brave. You're loyal. But you don't trust your heart.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even have one."

"Mulan? Are you alright?"

Chien-Po gently placed a hand on Mulan's shoulder as she slowly came back to reality, only to realize her eyes were tearing up.

"Uh, yes. I'm fine," she replied, sniffing as quietly as she could. However, she was not as quiet as she hoped, "Are you sure?" Su asked, sitting next to her.

Mulan didn't want to cry in front of them, but the past few days had just been so overwhelming for her, she allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks.

"I..." she choked up, "I just can't believe I'll... I'll never see him again..."

So much had happened so fast, she never got a chance to mourn for Shang.

If Mulan had known she would never see Shang again, she would never have disregarded the mission, and would have treasured those final hours more than anything.

She didn't even have Mushu anymore, but why would she? Especially after those awful things she said to him. Even though he had tried to destroy her relationship with Shang, she knew he was just afraid of losing her. But she ruined everything.

Mulan had lost the love of her life and her best friend in a single day, and all because she decided that her duty to her heart was more important.

What was the use of following her heart if it was broken?

The soldiers and princesses stayed silent, Mulan quietly sobbing. Ling finally spoke up, "But like we said, we want to finish the mission we started," he placed his hand onto Ting-Ting's own hand, looking into her saddened eyes, "Even if we'll never see each other again."

Ting-Ting threw her arms around him, "Oh, Ling!" He responded with a tight hug, shutting his eyes, knowing very well they may never embrace each other ever again.

"Mei..." Yao said firmly, "Whoever you end up marryin', make sure he treats ya with a lotta love!" He stamped his foot to make his point, "If he does anythin' to ya, just say the word and I'll give him so many bruises, everyone will think he's a cow!"

Despite his violent claims, Mei leaned down and ever so lightly kissed him on his cheek, "Thank you, Yao," she smiled. Yao turned nine shades of red, "Oh, boy..."

Su looked up at Chien-Po with a big grin, "Chien-Po, before we get there, I'm going to make you the most delicious chicken dumplings you'll ever have!" Chien-Po smiled back, "That sounds exquisite."

"No."

The group turned in confusion towards Mulan as she spoke again, "I'm in charge of this group," she said quietly, "And my orders are for you to forget the mission, and that you take care of each other."

"But... but the alliance..." Mei said. Mulan shook her head, "Their will be an alliance, but you won't need to be a part of it."

Everyone looked at each other, not fully understanding.

She continued, "Shang is gone, and there's nothing we can do about it," she explained, "But I'm still here, and I'm going to Qui Gong in your place."

The group gasped at her words. Chien-Po tried to argue, "But, you don't have to-"

"I want you all to be happy, to be together," she shot back, "I lost Shang, but I don't want you all to lose each other. I'm going to honor his orders and finish this mission.

"... No matter what it takes."

A/N: Woohoo! I finished this chapter much faster than the last one.

I'm trying to keep some things the way they were originally, but with my own twists.

I can't wait to finish this...

~Pizza