Chapter 10. Mulan
"You're crazy man!" Mushu exclaimed. "The end of season football party doesn't have any teachers around, it's at a public place so it's safe in that way... but people can be as rude as they want, and you know it too."
She took into consideration what he said, but there was no stopping her now. "I understand that, but what are we going to do? Let them ruin the night and mess with the team?"
"Did you see those huns? They look like they can kill me with just their thumb!"
"I'm going, if you decide to help or not."
Mushu sighed, knowing there was no way out "Oh alright. Let's go kick some hun-ny buns then!"
Mulan smiled, grateful for having him around. She looked back toward the huns, and knowing that she had no time to lose, she took a shortcut straight to the park. Mushu huffed behind her to keep up, as he obviously was not the most athletic of the two.
"Could have been at home by now, with a bowl of popcorn and junk food while watching some of my favorite shows, but no we just have to help out a bunch of brutes not look like sissies," Mushu retorted as they crossed the street.
"Don't be rude, Chi Fu is a pain, but the rest aren't all brutes," Mulan defended. They had finally made it to the park, which was crowded with Disney High students. She tried looking through the gaps between people's heads to see if the football team had arrived together yet, but it wasn't working out too well.
"What about Gaston?" Mushu smugly asked, already knowing the answer.
"When he bothers to show up I can't argue with you there," Mulan said.
A hearty laugh erupted from behind, causing both of them to jump. She was relieved when it turned out to be the Muses laughing, or more specifically Thalia laughing.
"Girl, with all the time Gaston spends staring at himself in the mirror, he ain't got time to play football. I swear, there hasn't been so much love in one room since Narcissus discovered himself," Thalia said.
"Thalia..." Calli warned.
"Oh I wasn't saying anything that bad, so quit your yammering."
"Not to be rude, but what are y'all doing here? The teachers usually don't come to the end of season celebration," Mushu asked.
"Why don't they?" Poly replied.
"It's informal and you only know the details about it by word of mouth. Not an official school thing," he explained.
Erato smiled brightly, "I heard the students talk about it so I wanted to come!"
Poly shrugged, "I need some inspiration to write the songs for our competition."
Calli looked around the swarm of students surrounding them, "I thought it would be nice to join in, since it's our first year at this school and all."
"Wait are we giving reasons as to why we came?" Clio asked, confused. "I honestly thought we were going to the store to get this week's groceries."
"And I'm here for the free food and drinks I heard we're supposed to get!" Thalia shouted, as the volume increased due to the blasting of music from large speakers. It was hard to hear one's own thoughts, and it was darn near impossible to hear someone one foot away. The Muses waved goodbye and left Mulan and Mushu to once again face the problem of finding the team. After a few minutes she spotted them, all in a unison line, marching up to the stage as everyone cheered. Mulan grabbed Mushu's wrist and pulled him with her to the front where Shang was.
"Shang!"
He looked back over his shoulder, looking for the owner of the voice. "Mulan?"
"Shang, the Huns are here. They're going to attack, tonight!"
"Go home Mulan," he ordered.
"I saw them at the shopping center across the street twenty minutes ago, you have to believe me!"
Shang's step faltered for a second. "Why should I?"
"Why else would I come here? You trusted Ping, didn't you? Why is Mulan any different?"
He didn't answer and instead kept on walking forward. Her words hadn't fallen on deaf ears though as Yao, Ling, and Chien Po had been right behind him. She turned to the three of them, clinging on to the hope that at least they believed her.
"Keep your eyes open," she said, "I know they're here."
The three dubiously looked at each other but nodded and marched on.
Mulan kept an eye out for the huns and even tried to inform her schoolmates about them. Most simply ignored her.
"Why won't they listen?"
"Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?" Mushu teased.
Mulan was not amused.
"Hey you're a girl now, remember? Plus, it's supposed to be a fun night for everyone, they won't believe the huns are here till they'll seem 'em."
The music completely went silent and the two turned around to face the stage where the whole team was lined up. An old man with a long white beard stood next to Shang, Mulan recognized him as one of their main contributors for the sports program. The man regularly attended games and had been one of Disney High's best football players during his youth.
"Who's the old dude with the beard?" Mushu whispered.
"He played for our team when he was younger, everybody calls him 'the emperor' for some reason, but they say he's the best player Disney High has ever had."
"OHHHHH. I know him now."
"Shhh.. they're starting."
Shang walked back off to the side of the stage where he picked up a golden trophy shaped like a football and presented it to the emperor. The emperor opened his mouth to speak but static cut him off.
"Oh what a lovely moment," a voice snarled over the speakers. Shan Yu emerged from the darkness, microphone in hand. "Too bad it's all about to end. Take both of them."
The huns attacked the stage, taking hold of the emperor and dragging him off. They had a tougher time with Shang, as he wasn't going down without a fight, and as a last minute decision the huns let go of him, running away instead with the old man. Mulan grabbed Mushu and followed behind the team as they ran after the huns.
"So... so much running," Mushu wheezed. "Did you... see those huns? They just popped out like daisies!"
Mulan whacked his side as they sprinted even harder to catch up. The huns entered an empty clubhouse building, locking the door just as they all arrived. The boys tried messing with the lock and ramming down the door but they were getting nowhere. She scanned the area and found an open balcony door that wasn't too high up.
"Hey guys! I've got an idea!" Mulan yelled. Mushu, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po immediately went to her side. They caught along to her plan when she pointed to the balcony, and a moment later Shang appeared, willing to take orders. As the 6 crawled up to the balcony, the boys kept chanting under their breath.
"Be a man."
"You must be swift as the coursing river."
"Be a man."
"With all the force of a great typhoon."
"Be a man."
"With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon."
"Okay, any questions?" Mulan whispered, their plan about to be set into action. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po were dressed in women's attire they had borrowed from the lost and found, while Shang and Mushu waited around the corner.
"Does this dress make me look fat?" Yao commented, referring to the flowery pink summer dress he had thrown over his regular clothes. Mulan rolled her eyes walked out to where the huns stood guard. The three "ladies" followed behind, looking down at their feet and giggling in high pitched, shrilly voices.
Mulan did a mental facepalm at their bad acting, but it seemed to be attracting the huns' attention. When they got closer, Ling dropped a small hand purse (once again courtesy from the lost and found) and allowed one of the guards to retrieve it. The four attacked, punching the daylights out of the two men.
"Shang, go," Mulan shouted, opening the door. He burst in, grabbing Shan Yu by surprise when a fist came flying. Yao, Ling,and Chien Po took the time to get the emperor out, while Mulan joined a struggling Shang.
"You took away my victory!" Shan Yu growled, his last punch knocking Shang out.
Mulan took off her shoe and threw it at Shan Yu to catch his attention. If looks could kill, she was pretty sure the one she was receiving from him would have her dead in an instant. "You're also on the team!" He lunged forward, and Mulan rolled out of the way, grabbing her shoe at the last minute. She quickly slipped it on and ran out of the room. Mushu still stood at the corner, but when he saw who was chasing her he started running too.
"So what's the plan now?" he asked, as they turned the corner.
"Ummmm..."
"YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN?"
"Hey, I'm making this up as I go."
Mushu randomly opened a closet door and squeezed himself into the small space. Inside she spotted a box labeled "New Year's Eve Smoke Bombs/Sparklers" written in thick cursive writing.
"Mushu-"
"Way ahead of you sister!" Mushu started opening up the box, but quickly slammed close the door when Shan Yu's footsteps could be heard. Mulan ran straight ahead, to a different balcony than the one she had entered through. It was higher up, but taking a closer view of it, a fire escape ladder on the side.
"Guess you're out of ideas," Shan Yu smirked, probably assumed that she had no way of getting out. He then threw a punch, she easily sidestepped in time and elbowed him in the gut.
"Not quite. Ready Mushu?"
Mushu jumped out of the closet, smoke bomb and a box of matches in hand. All at once he lit five of them, throwing it at Shan Yu. The heavy smoke wrapped around, thick, heavy, and colorful. It was even starting to disorient Mulan and Mushu.
"Get off the balcony, get off the balcony," she said, dragging Mushu along with her. They quickly scaled down the side of the building, and were ultimately shocked to see that everyone from the Disney High celebration had moved over to clubhouse. They were cheering for Mulan, and she was simply flabbergasted with all the attention. She bumped straight into a now conscious Shang, who smiled brightly at her.
"Where is she?" Chi Fu shrilled, ruining the moment. "Now she's done it! What a mess! Stand aside, that creature's not worth protecting."
Shang took a step forward, "she's a hero!"
"She's a girl!"
"Someone's still afraid of cooties," Thalia yelled out. Mulan looked over to where the Muses stood, watching the whole affair.
"Listen you pompous-" Shang started only to be cut off.
"That's enough," the emperor calmly stated.
"Sir, I can explain."
The emperor walked right past Shang and instead went to Mulan. "I've heard a great deal about you, Mulan. You pretended to be a boy to try out, fooled the team, and in the end... You saved the night." He handed her the golden football trophy, and bowed to show great respect.
"YEAH MULAN!" Thalia shouted, getting the others to cheer along. Merida clapped and stomped her feet, being one of the loudest supporters. The two set off a chain as the rest of the crowd joined along, chanting Mulan's name. In response she grinned and gave the emperor a hug.
"Can she do that?" Yao whispered to the other guys.
They all shrugged.
She went over to Yao, Ling, and Chien Po and hugged them too for their help.
Shang came up to her next, seeming a bit lost at words. "Uh... Um, you... You fight good."
Mulan didn't show it but she was a bit disappointed that he didn't have anything else to say. "Oh. Thank you." Looking down at her watch, she knew it was getting late. She waved goodbye to everyone and walked back home with Mushu.
Shang watched as she left, and didn't know the emperor was right next to him till he cleared his throat.
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all."
"Sir?"
"You don't meet a girl like that every few football seasons!"
The emperor strolled off, leaving Shang to his thoughts.
While the night had been an eventful one, once Mulan got home the household was quiet. Her parents hadn't said anything else about participating in football, but she knew not having told them put a strain on their relationship. Her father was sitting outside, looking out at the sky. She knew it was time to fix everything, so she went over to talk to him.
"Father, I've brought home the football championship trophy. It's a gift to bring honor to our family."
Her father wrapped his arms around her in a hug, "the greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter. I'm sorry."
Mulan's mother and grandmother watched the sweet father daughter moment from the entrance of their house.
"Huh, she brings home a trophy," her grandmother commented. "If you ask me, she should have brought home a man!"
"Excuse me, does Mulan live here?" Shang asked.
The two women had their eyes wide open, but pointed towards to Mulan.
He nodded, "thank you."
The older of the two whistled, "sign me up for the next football season."
They watched as he walked up to Mulan's father, "Hello sir- oh... uh, Mulan! You forgot your medal. They were given out to the team and since you weren't uhmm..."
Mulan put him out of his suffering, "would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Would you like to stay forever?" her grandmother called out.
"Dinner sounds great," Shang answered.
Mulan thought back to her worrying before tryouts and the season started, and realized that her wish had come true. In the end she had been able to pull it off -and to quote her chorus teachers- that's the gospel truth.