General Lee Shang kneeled before the ancestral tablets as a gentle wind flowed into the Fa-Lee temple and seemed to finger his long black hair as it sailed past.

A small scuffle overhead reminded Shang that he was not alone. Then again the temple has never really empty. Even if they could not be seen his and Mulans' ancestors could be any or every where watching his every move. The tablets served as a kind of bacon for the souls they represented that allowed them to come back from the star and "visit" when ever they pleased. He like, so many who were born in Chinamora, often found him self praying to his ancestors.

Tonight he had been awaken by a dream or more like a nightmare once more. Although yet again, once out side the fresh air chased it off and he could not remember anything about it. He did know it had something to do with one of the princesses. Come to think of it he had not seen the Princess in several weeks, not since she had returned to her birth world.

He could not stop himself from thinking back to when the sextuplets first came into his life. It had been nearly six of his worlds' years since the World Lord had informed him that he and his wife Mulan were to be entrusted with the six princesses and princes training. Six long years.

In those years he had watched as the sextuplets (as the empire had affectionately dubbed their young royalty) had grown from practically clumsy toddlers to nearly graceful warriors. He could see that one day they would be great protectors of the Empire. Though try as he might there where no words to describe how he felt toward them. He knew he cared deeply for them. He always dreamed of the day they fulfilled their destinies. They were not quit like his own children to him but closer to him then if they were just normal kings and queens to be.

He had not always felt this way. In fact when the World Lord of Chinamora told him and Mulan the Emperor had selected them to train his grandchildren he wanted to turn the job down. He had trained warriors before, including his own wife. But they where all adults then. Not, that he did not think he could handle children; he actually liked kids a lot. What scared him was not even that they were royal, it was that they where sacred. That one of them, Princess Kaira is believed by many to be the god who created not only his world but the dimension in which it resided.

At the time Shang did not understand how the empire could think that he, a mortal man could teach a god, his own god. Even if she was in human born form she was still a god, if only a childgod. No, he did not think he could lead his god down the path that the High King sent her to human form to walk. But Mulan knew different, it was by her encouragement he finally agreed.

Slowly he began stand up again. "I have had a similar nightmare three days in a row now." He told the tablet of his late father, "First thing tomorrow morning I am going to see Sly." He declared,

Then he turned to leave the shrine. The shrine was a hexagon shaped gazebo. All but one side was walled in, the sixth side held an arc way which opened out on to the long stair way which lead down a hill back to the Fa- family home. High up in each of the four corners, furthest from the entrance hung four pedestals. On three of these sat a stone statue, the fourth, the closest to Shang was empty.

Shang barely had taken a step away from the back wall when something hit his head from above. Before he even reached up he knew what his fingers would feel as they closed around something long skinny and scaly.

"Mushu what do you think your doing!" Shang cried out as he lifted the lizard sized dragon of his head.

Now situated on the general's palm Mushu snapped "don't you get cocky now. I'm just trying to look after my own."

"Oh really?" Shang's eyes narrowed at him. Since the first time Shang had met Mulans' guardian was after the dragon tried to sabotage their wedding, he was always cautious of when to and when not to believe him. "So jumping on me from nowhere without warning and in the near pitch black is your way of looking out for me. You should probably find a better strategy that doesn't end in possible injury."

"Oh sure, it's my strategy that's flawed." Mushu stood up on his hind legs and crossed his front ones. "Not like you haven't shown up in here for the last ten nights at one o'clock in the morning waking up the ancestors. They have been intolerable lately. You know the dead need their sleep to."

Ya right, their the ones who have been intolerable. Shang though, "First off it has only been three nights, secant I think I can handle it without a cracked skull thanks."

Mushu sighed, "All right spill it pretty boy or I tell Mr. Fa that you're the one who trashed his armor and hid it in the pig sty."

Shang could not suppress his laugh as he reached up to place the dragon back on his pedestal. "You're kidding right? If that's the best black mail you've got then you have a lot of work to do. He'll never buy it."

No, I have more where tha- Hay where are you going, got back here I'm not done with you yet." By the time Mushu finished his strung of inaudible words and curses the general was already half-way down the stairs.

Shang slowly creped back into the house and started down the hall but soon realized it did not matter much any way as no one could probably hear him over the snoring reverberating from the living area. No one had been in there when he had left the house; every one had been asleep in their respective beds. Although this did not mean much as both Mulans' father and grandmother were known for sleepwalking. Mulan how ever sleep fought.

Slowly he edged his way into the room keeping to the shadows incase whoever was inside was less then friendly. With a sigh of relief he saw that it was indeed Grandmama. She was sound asleep on a stack of sitting pillows at the back wall of the room. He walked across the room to kneel beside her

"Grandmama wouldn't you be more comfortable in your own bed" he asked her reaching out to touch her arm.

As soon as their skin came into contact she turned over on to her back and the opposite arm slowly began to rise. Shang watched the movement with a vague curiosity, but a moment later wished the movement had been him moving away as his left cheek stung where the hand had impacted.

Jerking his head back he could not stop the cry escaping his lips, though he could not say if it was from the pain or the shock more. He did not even have time to regain him self before a second blow. This time it was from a pillow to the top of his head. He looked up just in time to see that it had been reloaded and prepared for a third blow.

"Get out' a here ya bandit" Grandmama yelled as the pillow began to fall again.

"Uhg, I don't think so" Shang had jumped up and grabbed it just as she had said "ya". He tried to gently yank it from her, but she pulled back with all her might. With this an all out tugging match began The amount of force on the other end came as no surprise as he had long ago learned she was a lot tougher then she looked.

"Give me the pillow Grandmama"

"Beet it you good for nothen, dirty, heart stealing, Nobody of a Romulen.

"Ouch" Shang thought, "I think that being called be two enemy names hurt more then the slap."

"I am not a Nobody or a Romulen. Please just give me the pillow!"

"No, I won't give you the prophecy you stupid space cow, go chase some other kid."

"It's just a stupid pillow and space cow seriously?! What in the universe are you dreaming about?!

"Shang, what's going on?"

Slowly the general turned his had to see Mulan standing in the arc way with her arms crossed. Her typical "I am going to get to the bottom of this or else" pose. She had on her classic look to match it. Her mouth pulled down with some force into a frown her piercing eyes getting narrower by the secants. Her parents were standing behind her with looks on their faces that bordered somewhere between bewilderment and concern.

He had not heard them coming, had not even noticed when the light from the candle Mama held had filled up the room. Shang stood still shocked for what seemed like an eternity. He could feel himself turning red.

Finely he managed to stutter one almost inaudible sentence.

"Sss- She won't give me the pillow."

Papa sighed "Yes we see that, but way do you need it so bad. Surly there are enough in yours and Mulans room or you can take one of the others that Grandma is not so intent on keeping."

Judging by the tune of his voice Papa was actually quit amused by the whole thing.

He barely had time to understand this though as he soon found himself laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling.

All that time neither he nor grandma had let go off the pillow in fact they still had both been pulling at it. Apparently the sound of her sons' voice had woken the old women up and she had released her hold on it. Because Shang was now compensating for a force that was no longer there his balance was a little off.

"What's going on, are we having a slumber party?"

With Mulans help Shang pulled himself to a sitting position.

"No we are not," he yelp "lets just say that Mulan is officially not the only one in this family who sleep fights any more."

"What?" Both Mama and papa asked in unison. It was Mulans turn to turn red.

"It's kind of a long story." She told her parents who seemed less then satisfied. "Come on dear, I think we should all go back to bed."