Love or Law

Begin the Climb!

Mulan shoved her way through the crowd, not caring who got in the way. She had to get to the Palace! She prayed to all of her ancestors and any Gods she could remember. She needed Shang to be alright.

"Hey! Young woman, get back here!"

"Stop that girl!"

A pair of palace guards at the base of the stairs had caught sight of her as she slipped past. She couldn't be stopped now! Putting everything she had into it, she forced herself to run up the stairs, forced her legs to continue on even when they screamed at her to stop. Luckily for her, the guards were weighed down by full armor. Slowly, slowly, she was able to pull away from them. Thank goodness for Shang's brutal training regimen! Any time she was able to buy with her speed was more time she could spend finding Shang.

She reached the top just as a massive, booming, crash resounded across the square. Instinctively, Mulan ducked and spun towards the source of the sound. A group of men had lifted one of the huge statues guarding the palace doors and were using it as a battering ram. To Mulan's intense relief, she was able to spot Shang in their midst. He was alive!

The battering ram was a good idea but...

"They'll never reach the Emperor in time." Mulan muttered to herself as she caught her breath, her panic receding upon knowing Shang and her friends were safe. Her eyes traveled over the palace thoughtfully, looking for weaknesses. The huge red pillars supporting the roof caught and held her attention, something tugged at her memory...

"Hey!"

The guards had caught up! With no time to waste Mulan put two fingers to her lips and let go a piercing whistle. "Hey guys!" The men holding the statue paused and looked over to where she stood.

"I've got an idea." Mulan let her gaze move to Shang's, holding his for a second before flicking her eyes to the stairs where the sounds of the approaching guards could be heard. Shang's expression didn't change but he did share a glance and a subtle nod with Po, Ling and Yao, who were all staring at him expectantly. At his signal, all three men abruptly dropped their hold on the statue and took off after Mulan, who was already making her way around the corner of the palace.

Shang let a small smile grace his face. She was putting her trust in him. Without any verbal communication between them, he knew she wanted him to stall the guards so she could put her plan into action. Shang just hoped that whatever she had in mind would be enough to tip the scale in their favor.

"Hey..." Two puffing guards stood at the top of the stairs, "Did you see...a girl run past... just now? This area is prohibited to civilians and..."

"The Emperor's life is at stake and you think I care about one civilian girl?" Shang asked harshly, "Forget the girl. Get over here and help my men knock this door down. We can't waste any more time and we need as much manpower as we can get!"

The chastened guards immediately bowed their heads and with quick, 'yes Captain!'s took their places in the openings Po, Ling and Yao had left in their wake.

Now the rest was up to Mulan. Shang prayed she would be safe.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

With the boys in tow, Mulan ran around the edge of the palace, searching for anything that might help with her evolving plan. As they rounded yet another corner of the massive building they spotted a small group hurrying away from the palace.

"What's that about?" Yao muttered.

"Don't know, but it might be worth checking out." Mulan answered quietly, then she raised her voice, "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" A woman's voice cried out in relief, "You have to help us! These terrible men invaded the palace. We barely made it out alive!"

"Who are you?" Po asked in his gentle manner.

"We are...servants. We work in the palace." Another woman answered. There was a slight hesitation in her voice but Mulan didn't have time to figure out why. Her plan was now fully formulated with the appearance of the women.

"Ladies. We are part of Captain Li's fighting force. It is our job to infiltrate the palace. Will you help us?" She explained quickly, her voice automatically deepening to Ping's.

"Of course. Whatever you need, soldier, we will try to be of help." A third woman answered from the shadows.

"Excellent." Mulan cast her eye over the group of women; there were five in all; and then shot a slightly wicked grin in her friends' direction.

Twenty minutes later found five women dressed in men's clothing and armor standing before three men dressed as women, putting on the final touches to their makeup. The women were smothering their giggles as the men tried to put up with their treatment stoically, biting back the moaning they really wanted to do.

This is for the Emperor. Do this and we'll be heroes.

Mulan could practically hear the thoughts in their heads as they grimaced and scrunched their faces up in an effort to remain where they were. Shaking her head in amusement, she continued surveying the surrounding area. Absolute secrecy was key if this was going to work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Shang paused at the corner of the palace. He could hear voices, just out of sight. They sounded like...women? Deciding to risk a peek, he carefully edged closer until he caught sight of four figures, who were roughly the same height and build as his missing soldiers, except they appeared to be wearing hanfu!

"Alright guys, that's the plan. Let's get this done. The Emperor's life is on the line. We cannot fail."

Now that was a voice he would recognize anywhere. Making his decision, Shang approached the group just as all of them approached a supporting pillar near their persons. He watched in fascination as they each removed their sashes and wrapped them around the pillar in front of them. This certainly looked familiar. Pin...Mulan was closest to him so he reached out and gently tapped her shoulder.

She swung her head around in surprise and watched with wide eyes as he removed his ceremonial cape and copied their movements. With a nod and smiles all around, the five began the climb.