So, several months ago our computer died. And it sucked, because all of my files were saved onto it.

I despaired quite frequently because I feared that I would lose all the chapters I had written up so far (which is about 33) and I would have to start all over again.

However! Fate decided that our computer would live again. After months of work and many dollars put into this machine, it is up and running and almost as good as before, with some features that are even better!

I am so sorry for the inconvenience. This is not a story I plan to give up on, I've put too much thought into it.

So! Here it is! Act X, enjoy!

Act X

wanted

'Mulan!?' Sora's mind raced behind that rock. He kept his hands placed firmly over his mouth to keep himself from audibly reacting.

"She used to be China's greatest hero," went on the guards, completely unaware of Sora's eavesdropping. "It's no wonder they can't find her."

A horn blew in the distance. Footsteps followed it, the voices of the two soldiers trailing off. Sora waited until he could hear nothing before he finally creeped out from behind the rock. He straightened up, his lower back sore from keeping that crouching position. The palm of his hand was moist from his breath. "Mulan," he said to himself through chapped lips.

'I've got to find her,' he thought to himself with a frown that was hard to muster: The cold seemed to have numbed his features. 'First, I'll go to the army. Shang-san must know something!' he thought and ran off through the reeds.

-xxx-

The frozen trailer quickly shifted as Sora came out from his cover. Snowflakes had mounded over the trail into great heaps of snow that smoothly engulfed all the land and its trials. Jagged blue peaks stuck out farther in the distance, completely frozen over at their height. The trail Sora was on was barely-used, so he waded through the boot-deep snow, cringing every time a bit slipped into his black and yellow boots and touched his skin. The only sound for a long time was the crunching sound and the sound of his heavy breathing, but the Camp soon came clearer into view.

The 'village' Sora had seen earlier was actually a camp for the Imperial Army. Surrounded by a great wall taller than he was, with many snow-drifted tents set up around one side. There were wooden structures where the guards sat, keeping an eye out for their enemy. They shivered in the frost, bundled tightly in armor and clothes to keep their warmth. Only two breaks were in these walls for the single entrance and exit – as Sora had grown accustomed to using them.

Even in the distance, he could see spots of black and duller colors where the Soldiers were, which grew and took humanoid-shapes when he neared. It was very hard for Sora to sneak up to the camp when he was dressed in black, yellow, red and blue that stuck out further against the pure-white snow. He tried to keep himself hidden by ducking low into his own tracks, and soon his face and hands were completely numb. He was lucky, however, when the horn blew once again and the guards looked away: It seemed that the Captain had come out and was now addressing the troops.

Frozen from the knees down, Sora dashed to the wall as quickly as he could and flattened himself to it. The guards could not look directly beneath them, or else Sora's efforts would have been pointless. However, he made it in time and stood there, waiting for the sound of Li Shang's voice to carry over to him. He snuck his way to the break his trail would have led him to, and peeked around: Every soldier in camp was standing at attention, backs straights and shoulders back, following a single man with their eyes.

Sora dashed around the corner and hid behind a rather large tent. One or two soldiers glanced back at the noise, but when they saw nothing, they dismissed the sound. His heart racing, Sora lowered himself and peeked underneath the tent. It was empty. He crawled beneath the tarp and straightened up into the warmth. It wasn't as warm as he would have hoped, but it was much warmer with the frigid winds and flakes blocked from the outside. 'I can't believe I'm doing this,' Sora continued to think to himself over and over again. His fingers and jaw were both shaking from the cold.

He creeped over to the entrance and peered out. He knew, the best way to do this was to impersonate a soldier himself. Sora regretfully glanced out of the comfortable tent, shabby as it was, back into the cold. He looked around for the tent that kept their supplies and eventually spotted it: On the other side of the camp. He remembered where it was from his last visits to the Land of Dragons, but lamented it all the same.

"Gotta do this," Sora murmured to himself through chapped lips.

With a combination of awkward stealth and luck, Sora creeped from tent to tent, avoiding Captain Li and his troops as much as possible. He cleared the edges of the tent and, after what felt like eons, Sora finally made it to the equipment tent. Without a second glance, he dashed inside and bound the front together so no one could peek inside.

Breathing heavily, Sora searched the tent: Various weapons and armor were placed towards the back of the tent. Around the front were items, oils and matches and things Sora didn't have any use for. He immediately went to the back and seized a suit of armor. 'I just hope they don't think much about my clothes,' Sora thought. He pulled the armor on over his clothes and then put on a helmet to hide his noticeably-spiky hair.

"Ni zai gan shen ma?"

Sora froze.

He slowly turned around to find a soldier standing behind him. He had no idea what the man had just said; he knew very little Chinese.

The man, a burly soldier a bit taller than him, saw his expression and changed, "What are you doing?" he asked in the same harsh of tone.

"Ano ..." Sora gaped and quickly said, "just ... thought I heard someone in here! So I came to check it out!" he said quickly.

"I see," said the soldier. He eyed Sora's clothes beneath his armor. "Who are you?" he asked.

Sora hesitated. "I'm ... you don't care who I am, do you? I'm just a new recruit from Japan, and that's all anybody really needs to know! C'mon, let's go see what the Captain has to say!" he said and marched right out the door.

The soldier nodded and left with him. A bubble of hope swelled within Sora as they made their way to the middle of the camp.

Li Shang was a tall, masculine soldier Sora had previously met. He had an elongated face with high cheekbones and a short, slender nose. His brown eyes were shaped like almonds, the irises so dark they appeared almost black. His short black hair was captured at the back of his head, tied up to keep out of his face. He wore the same black armor everybody else wore, with a red cloak thrown over his shoulders for warmth. A sword was strapped to his side.

"... are going deep into the mountains, so gather all that you can to keep warmth. It will be much colder up there than down here, but travel light. We have been given information that the enemy is constantly on the move, so sacrifice all that you can," Captain Li was saying when Sora and the soldier returned. Sora stayed at the back as much as possible and kept his eyes on the snow-covered ground. "We are searching for an artifact that the Emporer seeks. As soon as we recover it from its place in the mountains, we are to bring it to the Emporer himself. We will be leaving soon, so pack now!"

-xxx-

Since he had nothing to pack, Sora wandered around. He was still worried about Mulan, but he couldn't risk himself being exposed. He wandered around the camp, asking questions about Mulan wherever he could.

"Have you seen Fa Mulan?"

But he always got the same answer, through various re-phrases. "Bu shi."

"Dui bu qi, but I've never seen her."

"The one on the posters? Never seen her."

"Why are you looking for her?"

At this, Sora stuttered quickly, "I'm going after the ... ano, bounty."

"Too bad. Dunno where she is."

"And there he is! A soldier looking for Fa Mulan? And what business would you have with her?" at this, a stout soldier punched Sora's side. Sora visibly winced, although it didn't hurt next to the armor, he still had memories of the last time he was punched and it was rather painful. Sora turned to see who had spoken to him and gasped audibly. He was dressed in the same black armor with a red cape over his shoulders. He had a wide mug a bit too big for his short stature, with black hair pulled up into a tight bun and his left eye swelling profusely. Sora recognized him immediately as Yao.

"Ano," Sora hesitated once again, "didn't I just say it? I'm going after the ... bounty."

"Hah!" Yao laughed. "Think you're tough enough to go against Fa Mulan herself? I used to know her, she wasn't all that bad. Come on, I think you should meet a few friends of mine."

And Yao dragged Sora off before he could protest.

-xxx-

Sora recognized all three people in the tent that he was led to, including Yao himself. Ling was a tall, scrawny soldier with a long face and small eyes. The cape he wore was a thick, heavy goldenrod. Chien-Po was the biggest of them all, a great big soldier with a small face and friendly eyes, garbed in a blue cloak a bit too small for his body.

"Who's this guy?" Ling asked as the two entered.

"Never caught his name," Yao said.

Knowing neither remembered him, Sora said, "Sora."

"'Sora'? Never heard of it. Where'd you come from, Sora?" Ling asked.

"Ano ... Japan," Sora said. Which wasn't that much of a lie; Japan was an island just like Destiny Islands, rather, it was many islands under the same country.

"He says he's gonna capture Fa Mulan for the bounty," Yao said.

"You think you're tough enough to do that sorta thing?" Ling asked. "We used to train with her. She's pretty tough for a woman."

Sora decided not to remark on just how that sounded and nodded in agreement. He used to fight the Heartless with Mulan, and he was grateful she was on his side.

"What would make you want to go after her?" Yao asked.

Sora couldn't look any of them in the eye so he settled with speaking to the ground, "Ano ... it's sort of a long story."

"We got time," Ling said.

"Don't you have to pack?" Sora asked.

"We've got time to spare," Yao said with a shrug.

Sora sighed and settled upon the floor. "You wouldn't believe me," he said thoughtfully after a very long pause.

"Trust me, kid, we've seen some pretty weird things out there," Yao assured him.

"The problem is what you've forgotten," Sora muttered to himself.

"Shen me?" Yao asked suddenly.

Sora wasn't sure how to respond. "Er ..."

"Never mind," Yao said.

"Just get on with the story," Ling said. Chien-Po remained silent as he usually was, but offered a nod of agreement.

"First, I need to ask you something," Sora looked at them seriously. The three settled down on the floor around him with quick nods. "How well do you know Mulan? Do you want her to get captured for a bounty, or are you against it?"

They exchanged looks, but it was Chien-Po who said, "Bu shi. Mulan is our friend, she doesn't deserve to be simply captured."

Sora nodded and then launched into his story.

-xxx-

Sora wasn't sure why – he figured it was probably because he had already met and trained with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po – but he went ahead and started from the very beginning. Him and Mushu fighting together against the Heartless, his, Donald and Goofy's arrival in the Land of Dragons, training with Mulan under her alias of "Ping" and so on. He didn't skip a detail, although some of his statements were a bit off from a slipping memory, Sora stuck to his story firmly. He ended with the appearance of Xigbar, Number Two in the Organization and currently-deceased with the rest of the Nobodies, and the summons of the Storm Rider.

The three listened silently. Yao's jaw hung slack, especially during the times that the three of them were mentioned.

When he finished, there was a long pause.

"... so that giant Heartless attacked the Emporer," Yao began.

"And then you and Mulan defeated it?" Ling finished.

Sora shrugged. "With Goofy and Donald's help, of course. But ... I don't want to actually capture her. I want to help her. Can you help me?" he looked at them pleadingly.

They shifted uncomfortably and glanced at each other.

"I suppose," Yao said, drawing the word out for as long as possible, "shi. We might as well, but we don't know nothing about it."

"No one knows where Mulan escaped off to," Ling said.

The horn blew from outside. It was a sound that Sora had been dreading for some time.

"Time's up," Yao said, "we gotta hurry into the mountains."

"Hai," Sora sighed and straightened up. His back and bottom were both sore from sitting in the same position for so long. "But can you guys keep it a secret? Until I find out where she is?" he asked.

"Shi, shi, don't worry about it!" Yao said off-handedly and exited the tent. Ling and Chien-Po followed with their own agreement, and Sora, who still felt uneasy, followed them.

-xxx-

The trail up through the mountains was not as bad as Sora thought it would be. The troops first headed through a rocky trail mounted with many lingering boulders, so far down that any touch of the snow had yet to fall. Sora walked in the very back of the troops, his head down where others walked proudly in their place of the Imperial Army. He thought about everything that they had talked about in the tent. The small pebbles on the ground were lazily kicked aside as the boy followed the group of men through the trail.

Beyond that trail was a village. It looked much like the camp: A great wall surrounded the most of it, but rather than tents, there were actual houses. They were tall and cream-colored, some with bent wires in their windows and all had pointed and oriental roofs of scarlet. There weren't many people out as there was frozen snow on the ground and on any point of surface that it could possibly reach. Captain Li ordered the troops for a brief rest right before they would be embarking on their journey to the mountains, and Sora hung lazily behind closest to the wall where he hoped he couldn't be seen.

Unfortunately, Captain Li had noticed him a while ago and walked over as the other soldiers departed. "Soldier!" he addressed Sora firmly.

Sora almost forgot to jump to attention and did so at last moment, gaining a peculiar look from his Captain. "Hai, sir?" Sora asked quickly.

At this point, Shang began to speak in a quieter tone, "I have noticed that you have been asking around frequently for the whereabouts of Fa Mulan. Is this correct?"

Sora swallowed and then slowly nodded.

"You were once her friend, is this correct as well?"

"H-how did you ... them! I made them promise not to -," Sora sputtered.

Shang shook his head. "Bu shi, it wasn't them. It was ... me. I had my suspicions of you," he eyed Sora's clothes beneath his armor, "and heard you talking to the other soldiers. I heard your story as well."

Sora kept his mouth shut, even though he wanted to ask what Shang thought of his story.

Shang cast a quick look over his shoulder and steered Sora beyond the guarding wall. "Is it true?" he asked. "About those ... 'Heartless' and Shan-Yu? Is it true that you were there?"

"Aa," Sora said quietly.

"No one could have made that up," Shang said, "because your tale is true. Not long ago, the Emporer was attacked by Heartless around the time that Fa Mulan snuck into my squad. Since then, the Emporer has become withdrawn and guards himself constantly with Imperial Soldiers. Not long afterwards, a bounty was set out for her inquisition. The Emporer wishes to speak with her personally -"

"Iie!" Sora protested. "The bounty is for her head! The Emporer doesn't care about talking to her and learning her side of the story!"

A mixture of emotions came to Shang's face. A part of him looked like he wanted to scold Sora for speaking so ill of the Emporer, the other part was the shock that he had been betrayed. "You ... I ..." he stuttered. "I have been lied to," he lowered his head, ashamed of himself.

"Then help me," Sora said, "I don't care about that stupid reward. But if we get to the Emporer before the hunters come for her, then I can make that Emporer learn about Mulan's side of the story. She wasn't behind the assault, she was just an on-looker who defended China with her life!" Sora said bravely.

Shang stared at him for a very long time and then nodded.

-xxx-

Some time later, Sora abandoned the troops and began down the rocky trail. He was alone, and the armor had already been discarded. Shang's final order still rang clear in his head, "I order you to find Mulan. We will put a stop to this before the Emporer can order any harm. Make sure that she is safe, I think I might know where she is ..."

A look of determination was on his face.

Sora's course of action was to head to the Palace itself. As he left the rocky trail, he headed up a northern path that would lead to the palace. Sora ran as fast as he could, even though it should have taken him such a long time to make it to the Palace, he was stopped well before he ever made it there. A set of double red doors blocked off the path to the Palace. The handles were chained together.

Sora licked his lips and began to think of a way to get beyond them. Now, the ground wasn't frozen but fresh green. The dirt was loose. He was beyond the snow of the heights, where the trees shadowed the path that he was on. It was only then that he heard voices.

Coming from an attractive young woman hiding in front of him. She hadn't heard Sora approach and was talking to something he couldn't see in a hushed voice. She had a round face with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, with large brown eyes that seemed almost black. Her black hair was cut to shoulder-length in a jagged line, done haphazardly and in speed. She was dressed plainly in a tunic and pants of gray and green, and a jagged sword was held close to her belt.

Fa Mulan heard Sora's gasp and whirled around. A tiny red lizard was perched on her shoulder with a heavy jaw and big black eyes; golden spikes ran down its spine. "Who's there!?" she demanded with the sword out.

Sora gave a nervous look. "It's ... just me," he said, already knowing her response.

"And who are you?"

Next Chapter: Mulan doesn't fully understand Sora's story, but he's one of the few that really believe in her innocence, so she's willing to form an alliance with him. After pointing at the problem of Mulan's current status, the two break into the Palace - in quite formal attire. The end result is a clash of blades and the destruction of two, innocent dresses.

Next time!