A/N: Hello! This is what I thought could happen if Mulan was still given the punishment even after killing Shan-Yu. Mulan 2 does not exist here!

Oh! And I don't really know any of China's history during the predicted time of Mulan's existence, so keep in mind that I am making things up.

Chapter 1: Failure

Shang sighed hopelessly.

It had been five years. Five years since the emperor had sent him to look for a certain woman who had infiltrated the army pretending to be a man, and who had won the hearts of many while doing so.

Himself included.

Apparently, saving the emperor's, his advisors, and altogether China's skin was not enough to redeem her from the crimes she had committed while being the finest soldier in the whole troop. And Shang had grown fond of him (no, her) - how low he had sunk.

And when she had been revealed to have been a woman, his admiration for her increased. He was aware that she was to be executed by the commanding officer's hand with the soldier's own sword, but how could he?

How could he have killed the one person who had defeated an entire army of thousands with a single cannon?

How could he kill the one soldier who had not hidden from the enemy and ran out to risk his life for them?

Most of all, how could he have killed the man – no, woman – who had saved his life? Who had earned his trust?

The simple answer was: He couldn't.

The more complicated answer would be that while it truly repulsed him to do something so unjust, he had no choice but to comply to the emperor's wishes, for his own life was on the line if he did not capture Ping – no, Mulan – or return her head to the palace, no matter how long it took.

And now, not only was he sure Mulan had disappeared off the face of the land, the troop he had been given for assistance in tracking her down was also dwindling slowly as they were put through the harsh changing climates and all the moving they had done to avoid being spotted and attacked by enemies who now seemed to be growing stronger as Shang's own forces weakened.

He didn't know how, but he was sure it had something to do with Fa Mulan's disappearance.

Or as she was now known among the whispers of townsmen, the Fleeting Phantom.

Shang had thought he knew Ping, so he had first tracked down his hometown and gone there, hoping to catch the hero-turned-criminal as quickly as possible. But that was the problem.

Shang knew Ping, a clumsy but bright and kindhearted soldier, but he didn't know Mulan.

Mulan was the only daughter of the Tactical Commander Fa Zhou, who had no son to pass on his teachings. Of course, he taught Mulan strategy and the works of the mind, and she must have known they would come to her home first.

There was no sign at all of her arrival there, and her family was oblivious to the orders given by the Emperor to find and/or kill Fa Mulan on sight.

And when had he told them of this, of the whole story from the avalanche to the Ruler's command, her father had turned the palest shade of white, and her mother and grandmother were trying to hold on to the last few shreds of composure.

"Why would His Majesty do such a thing?" her father had asked, "After all she did for China? Instead of bestowing upon her the honor she deserved, he ordered to kill her?! This is blasphemous!"

Shang stayed quiet, even though on the inside he agreed. Why shed the blood of one who had been crucial to allowing China's fitful sleeps to come to an end?

"She only wanted to save her Father's life, hoping to redeem herself," her mother had hiccuped between sobs, "she didn't realize that it – it was an – an honor to have her as our daughter."

Mulan's grandmother put a hand on her shoulder and Fa Zhou put one on her back, "Captain, do as you wish and look for her," he had choked out, looking pained. "But please, we beg of you, bring her home before you take her for her execution. We must say goodbye, at the very least."

Fa Zhou's eyes watered and he had left the room before he lost his calm. The mother didn't bother, weeping rivers while praying for Mulan to her Ancestors.

Shang had watched the spectacle with a heart and expression of stone, but wilted on the inside. Who was he to rob a family of their daughter, of the one person who they knew deserved better than death at the hands of those she had almost died to protect?

Shang lacked the courage to do so, but he had no choice. He couldn't kill his finest and most important soldier, but he had to at least bring her to her family and then to the palace, if he couldn't end her life.

He couldn't throw away the one shred of morality that he had left.

And not to say, Mulan deserved to get the chance to see her family at least one more time.

A part of him hoped Mulan was no longer in China, so that he wouldn't be able to find her, and another part wished she was dead and didn't suffer much - she had a heart of gold, no doubt poisoned by the harsh reality of the world.

But one more part of him longed to find Mulan so he could apologize for not believing her, for not trusting her, for not standing up for her like she had stood up to the Huns in their troop's name.

So when they had left the Fa household, he decided to go north, the very opposite of the place where the Fleeting Phantom lived. He hoped that was where she went, but he could never be sure with the person who had brought down an avalanche to kill a thousand men's army. He went to taverns and shabby inns where whispers reigned and gossip dominated.

He had hoped to find out where she might have gone, but all he heard was talk of how the 'Fleeting Phantom' had killed an army of Huns and Shan-Yu, with one cannon and one firework respectively, and destroyed the palace while doing so. He didn't hear any mention of himself, Yao, Ling, or any other soldier who had aided her.

But then, as he and his men scoured every single inch, nook, corner, and cranny for any sign of the woman-turned-boy previously known as Fa Ping, the whispers changed. They had once been about the girl being a disgrace to the Land, about the pride with which she had held herself. But now, they were different.

Rumors started circulating that Fa Mulan died in the cold, harsh winter, angry and resentful at the Emperor and at all of China for ordering her death. They whispered that she had returned as a ghost, immortal, to haunt the ones responsible for her death. That she had gone out of China and was helping the Mongols and Di Tribes to come and overthrow the rule of the Emperor's dynasty.

Which earned her the name, 'Fleeting Phantom'.

People started believing these rumors as the amount of invasions in China started to increase, and all the while Shang and his troop looked tirelessly for Mulan.

He had heard, of course, these words among the men, but he had a distinct feeling that told him that their enemies were getting stronger and their army weaker because they'd heard of Mulan. They thought their military was weak, if they had begun to rely on weak, pathetic women to defend them.

His head throbbed whenever he thought about her. He still remembered how she had cowered on the floor the first day at Wu Zhong Camp while the others all fought. She had looked so weak then, and her attempts at masculinity were feeble, at best. But she had begun to get better at it, Shang had noticed, but she always stuck out for reasons.

He remembered going hard on her, but taking pity at the same time. He remembered having made up his mind after she collapsed halfway through an exercise. He remembered commanding her to go home before she dishonored her family. How was he supposed to know she already had, and was trying to bring win back their acceptance once more?

But most of all, he remembered the way Ping's eyes had shined and his smile widened when he saw that his captain had taken him back in after he brought the arrow-on-the-pole down. Shang thought he had seen a flicker of admiration in his expression, and made it his duty to get the troop back in order.

From then, Ping had excelled in every practice, and the troop started coming together. The moment of true pride, however, was the time when Ping had bested him at spar, despite his weak frame. Shang had never felt more fulfilled, but what followed next had been hollowing.

The troop had headed to the defense border, only to find it in ashes and the helmet of the General left. Shang had never felt more heartbroken, but he had to suppress his feelings and mourn later for the sake of the troop.

He had made a simple warrior's memorial at a cliff overlooking the Tung Shao Pass. As he tried to say goodbye, one soldier stepped up. He had no doubt who that was.

"I'm sorry."

Shang could still remember that soft, sympathetic voice. It was very different from the voice he heard at camp. But he was grateful nonetheless.

Then had come the attack of the Huns, and the avalanche Ping had created that had incapacitated the whole army. What people nearly always failed to mention was that Shang himself almost died during the ordeal, had it not been for Ping's sudden burst of adrenaline.

And when they had come upon the safe place that the men had taken refuge at, they realized that Ping was wounded. They called a medic from a nearby village, and he was sent in.

Shang had remembered exactly what he had felt then, and what he had felt after.

When he heard that Ping was a woman, he didn't believe it; he didn't want to believe that he'd been blindsided by one of his best – if not the best – soldiers.

He went in, and saw for himself. It was the unmistakable form of a woman. Ping – if that had actually been her name – smiled at him as her short hair framed her face.

How could he not have seen the signs?

The high-pitched voice, the light weight, the lack of strength, and the unusually delicate features?

He couldn't believe himself. He had observed the boy with keen eyes, and yet his secret had slipped him.

His mind was fogged the whole time as Chi-Fu had entered the medic's tent and dragged her out to showcase her to the whole troop, bruised and battered and having nothing but bandages and a threadbare blanket to cover herself. Gasps had echoed around him, as Chi-Fu had declared all of her crimes. He only returned to reality once she spoke.

"My name is Mulan! And I did it to save my father!"

That had struck a chord within him; he, after all, knew how it felt to lose a father.

"I didn't mean for it to go this far. Please, believe me!"

Shang wanted to, but he knew that this was treason, and that treason was punished with death. He hadn't wanted to, but he had no choice; he took Mulan's sword from its sheath, making her horse go rampant. Chi-Fu ordered someone to restrain the mare as Shang moved to strike the blow.

But then, seeing her head bow down in acceptance of her fate brought back a memory that had been clouded in the heat of the moment.

"Ping, you're the craziest man I've ever met. For that I owe you my life. From now on, you have my trust."

One phrase repeated.

"For that I owe you my life."

How could he take the life of the person who had saved his?

He threw down the sword before the girl.

"A life for a life."

Shang had looked away.

"My debt has been repaid."

Shang remembered how he and the rest of the troop had ridden off toward the Imperial City, leaving a downcast Mulan shivering in the snow with nothing to keep herself from the cold but a ragged blanket. Her wound must have reopened as well.

Then she had returned to them, even after all they had done to disgrace her. She had come back on her horse wearing women's clothing and her hair down. She had come to warn them that the Huns still lived.

Shang refused to believe her. He didn't want to believe that an avalanche failed to kill them. It was his fault, really, for being so presumptuous.

Then he saw for himself the shadow of Shan-Yu as his bird delivered his sword to him, after which chaos unfolded. The Emperor was taken and Shang and his troop were left with no way into the palace.

Then Ping – no, Mulan – came along, and found them another way to enter. The soldiers she was more acquainted with decided to follow her lead and dress as women to deceive Shan-Yu's men. Only Mulan could have come up with such an idea, having done it once herself.

All the while, Shang followed them. Mulan saw him and gave a blinding smile, and told him to go after Shan-Yu as soon as his followers were dealt with.

Shang did so, but his mind had gone blank - some captain he was - so he slipped in his motions and was crippled. Just as Shan-Yu was about to land a killing blow with an enraged, "You took away my victory!" came a shoe hurling at his head.

Shang still remembered her voice then, full of confidence and determination and so much like Ping.

"No."

Then, she had pulled back her hair, and Shang felt like he was once again back with the boy at the camp, sparring as equals.

"I did."

Shan-Yu also recognized her, and went after her. Shang's memories after that were fuzzy, but he could make out a whole in the wall and remembered a large explosion with fireworks going off, and a man's shrill scream of terror.

Then he remembered Mulan falling on him with such brunt force that he had toppled to the ground. Chi-Fu had come stomping in to punish her, but Shang had had enough.

Just as he was about to give the Emperor's consul a piece of his mind, the Emperor himself showed up and demanded to see Fa Ping himself. Mulan came forward, and Shang heard from the man he had once admired, the cruelest words he had ever heard.

"Fa Mulan, you have stolen your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a man, deceived your Commanding Officer, dishonored the Chinese army, destroyed the Imperial Palace, and brought disgrace to all of China."

Shang remembered Mulan's face as it had crumpled more and more with every accusation, but snapped up in alarm at the Emperor's next words.

"You must face the consequences of your actions."

Shang had only stood blankly as Mulan grunted resisted the Guards who tried to take hold of her, and she mounted her horse with the most venomous look he had seen on her face in all his time of knowing her.

"I refuse to face an unjust death for saving my father's, yours and all of China's life. Next time, I won't bother standing up against a sword at your throat."

Then she had ridden down a few steps, and looked back at the Emperor with blazing eyes as the rest of them looked on dazedly.

"You're no Emperor of mine. Nor will be anybody else."

Then she had ridden off; never to be found for the next five years.

Why hadn't he said anything?

The same evening, the Emperor had ordered a search for Mulan, saying that she was a lethal weapon with too sharp a mind to be allowed to roam free with question of her loyalty. She could be a valuable asset to the Mongols and the remaining Huns, which was why she must be brought back and executed.

That same day, Shang had lost his most trusted ally, and had seen to her a side he hadn't imagined she'd have.

Surely that was the same person who had cowered on the ground the first day of camp?

Shang didn't know who to trust anymore, so he didn't get close to anyone, out of fear of making the same mistake he had made half a decade ago. He refused to meet another Fa Ping.

Because he knew it would leave him broken. Just like it had left him broken when Mulan had fled from the Imperial City. They had, after going to her family and scouring the north, tried to follow what little of her horse' prints remained, but he had again underestimated the works of Fa Mulan's mind.

They had been led in circles through a dense forest, and they hadn't realized that until they tried marking the trees they had already passed. Then they had come upon an area of damp soil, which meant that she had hidden her path with water.

Since then, Shang rethought every single decision he made, tried to think the way Mulan thought. But no matter how hard he tried, she always escaped him, and there was no sight of her in any of the villages they'd gone through.

Shang had looked for both Fa Mulan and Fa Ping, knowing that she may be using her identity as a man, because not many people knew her as so. The Imperial City had only seen and heard of her as a woman, but only Shang and his troop had known her as the nonexistent son of Fa Zhou. Or, she may have seen the ingenuity of hiding in plain sight as herself.

Shang couldn't believe that the woman who had disrespected the Emperor was the same person who had brought an avalanche down on a Hun army. And now, he had to go find her and have her killed.

Five years had gone by.

Shang had changed immensely during the hunt for the Fleeting Phantom. He hardly felt for his subjects. He barely cared for those who died in their many brawls with street thugs and whatnot. He no longer wished to be the Emperor's soldier.

He wanted only to be himself and live his life in peace. But that wouldn't be possible until Mulan was found, which was why he put all of himself into getting to her.

Not that he was very successful.

Shang only wanted it to end – the wars, the battles, the deaths, and most of all, the doubts he had of his own loyalty.

Shang had done everything he could, but it still wasn't enough. He was no closer to finding her than he was to behead himself and stitch his head back onto his neck.

But he knew it would be equally hard to do either of those things.

For he had sorely underestimated the daughter of the Strategic Commander, Fa Zhou. Because she had, without a doubt, inherited his creative mindset.

And Shang knew that she would make her existence in the world as painful as possible while Shang searched for her.

And she truly did, evading him like wind he tried to catch in his hand, while torturing him in all his waking and slumbering moments with taunts of failure in catching a woman. One who was the better part of them all, who had created the better part of them all.

Not that she was any ordinary one, in any case.

A/N: How is it? Please leave your comments in the reviews!