We hiked up the Tung Shao Pass in low spirits; no one said anything or even
tried to joke around. Cri Kee and I stayed inside the cart with deep
thoughts on our mind, we never really said anything either even though Cri
Kee did say a few chirps like "are you okay" or "You want to hear a funny
joke." I said yes to the okay part but I was in no mood for jokes, I was
more worried about Mulan. Cri Kee got the hint after I did not answer that
question and just stayed close to me.
It was a few days after we left the burned village when we reached the high areas of the mountains. It was quite cold and a swift breeze would enter the cart ever so often sending shivers down mine and Cri Kee's spine. One breeze that came in tickled my nose a little too hard though and I sneezed. Of course forgetting my manners I did not cover my nose with my hand. Cri Kee chirped and tapped my shoulder suddenly and I looked in the direction he was pointing to find that I had accidentally lit a cannon and now it was going to explode. I had to stop it. I ran over and licked my finger so I could put the string that connected it out with just a pinch, but it did not work and the sparks got closer and closer until suddenly.
BOOM!
The cannon shot out of the cart and flew into the air before it exploded like a fire cracker. The soldiers all turned to Mulan who turned around and looked at me angrily. I pretended it wasn't my fault by blaming it on Cri Kee who looked at me like I was such a tattle tale.
"What happened?" asked Shang who galloped over to Mulan all angry and ready to scold her.
Mulan was lost for words and was not really sure of what to say since I was supposed to not be real or be seen or anything.
Shang then decided to yell at her. "You just gave away our position, now we're...." he was then cut short by an arrow that hit him in the shoulder and knocked him off his horse. He quickly recovered and pulled out the arrow. "Get out of range!" he yelled.
Everyone listened and began to run as arrows from the Huns began to rain down upon them. Mulan tried to get Khan to follow her but he was being too stubborn and would barely move. Mulan soon became more desperate with Khan when the Huns began shooting with arrows that had fire on them. "Save the cannons!" yelled Shang since the cannons would explode some more if fire got on them.
The soldiers began to empty the cart while Cri Kee and I dodged arrows that shot into the cart. I was almost hit by many arrows and two nearly pinned me to the cart. I was glad I was skinny enough to move fast and not get hit.
Of course the cart was not as lucky in only a few seconds time, it was ablaze. Mulan then cut Khans rope and galloped away from the cart in hopes of avoiding the flames and the sudden explosion that sent me and Cri Kee flying. Mulan must have not gone far when that happened because I landed right next to her in the snow.
I stood up in a daze and looked at her. "Oh sure save the horse," I said before I collapsed back into the snow from shock.
Mulan quickly got up and carried me out of range of the arrows and towards the soldiers who were already lighting the last of the cannons and aiming at the Huns. They fired and the cannons hit the mountain that the Huns were on. Shang stopped them from aiming the last of the cannons and watched as the smoke cleared.
Once the smoke did clear they found that the Huns were gone. At first we thought that we defeated them until we looked over at the ridge where the smoke had moved to. That was when we saw the evil figure on a horse.
It was Shan Yu.
At first a few of his men joined him and at first we all thought that this fight would be no big deal until even more joined him. At least a thousand, more than Fa Dang had to fight, and we only had one cannon left.
Suddenly Shan Yu reared up on his horse and roared. As soon as his horse touched the ground it ran down the mountain in high speed. The rest of the Huns soon followed. Mulan and I watched as the Huns ran down like a large black avalanche. The only thought that came to my mind was how were we going to win this, or was it we're done for? I can't remember I was too nervous about Mulan's safety to remember.
"Yao, aim the cannon at Shan Yu," said Shang. I thought that was a good idea since maybe once he was dead then the Huns would be leaderless and hopefully powerless.
I don't know how Mulan got the idea but suddenly she jumped in front of Yao and grabbed the cannon running in Shan Yu's direction. "Ping, come back!" yelled Shang. Mulan ignored him and kept running. I stayed on her shoulder the entire time wondering what plan she had under that smart brain of hers.
Mulan then stopped a few feet away from Shan Yu and set the cannon in position. She seemed to take a long time and I had to hurry her. "Alright you might want to light that right about now, quickly, quickly!" I yelled.
Just when Mulan was about to light the cannon, Shan Yu's falcon flew past and hit Mulan sending her falling to the ground.
That was not good, she lost the flint to light the cannon with, what was she going to do now? For that quick moment I totally forgot I could breathe fire until Mulan grabbed me and caused me to spit out enough fire to light the cannon.
I then stood on top of the cannon ready to watch what was about to happen when I remembered that I had lit a cannon and cannons explode. Yes I know that was a line out of Toy Story but that was a rocket and rockets are a little different from cannons.
Just when I was about to jump off I was sent flying toward a nearby mountain. I thought the cannon was meant for Shan Yu so I yelled at her as I disappeared. "You missed, how could you miss he was three feet in front of you."
BOOM!
The cannon hit the mountain with a heavy force and exploded. Again I was glad that I was mortal or there would be bits of me everywhere and that would have not have been pretty.
I tried to cling onto a rock but it quickly crumbled and fell down with all the snow and other rocks that were falling to earth. As I was falling it suddenly hit me, Mulan had meant to hit the mountain so she could send an avalanche and bury the Huns in the snow. What a smart girl.
Everything began to race through my eyes as I fell down the mountain. I began to see visions of what I had done in the past.
My mother scolding me for burning little Tiru in the butt
Me punching Ping in the face for stealing my girlfriend.
Me arriving at the temple asking for a job and getting the job.
My first guardian duty of helping a young boy in the family learn to be nice.
Being hit by the young boys' mother who thought I was a pest in the home.
Fu Yong being beaten by his fellow friends and me doing nothing to help him.
First Ancestor telling me that I was now an incense burner.
Khan stepping on me during the first meeting.
The burned down village.
Was I dying? I couldn't have been, I was mortal and nothing could destroy me. My mind must have been reviewing all the mistakes I made but that did not explain Khan or the village, it must have been the times when I was the most scared. Well whatever it was I did not have time to think because I landed in the snow and began sliding down
I thought I was dying when I did hit the snow because everything was dark around me but it was because I was under the avalanche but soon I was able to climb up and see the sky above me until I was consumed again by another wave of snow.
I had to get to the top. I began to swim for the top even though I kept being consumed by more snow. It seemed like forever until I finally reached the top and found a shield that a Hun had lost. I climbed on it and used it as a sled so I could get to the bottom and find Mulan.
The shield could easily maneuver through the avalanche and I was making good time. I would often see a struggling Hun try to reach the top but he was soon consumed and never seen again.
I soon realized that I was close to the bottom of the mountain so I called to Mulan, hoping she would show up. I could not find her. Once I thought I had found her but it turned out to only be a Hun who I quickly pushed back into the snow.
I continued to call her, I then thought I saw a hair sticking out of the snow and I pulled it out to reveal Cri Kee. "Man you are one lucky bug," I said to him. Cri Kee rubbed his eyes and shook himself until he finally knew where he was. He then looked up at me and smiled, "Thanks, I thought I was going to be a goner," he chirped. "What are pals for," I said to him. "Now come on help me find Mulan."
Cri Kee scanned around for her and then chirped at me. "She's down there," he said. I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw her struggling in the snow with Khan and Shang on the horses back. I then steered the shield toward her.
I soon reached her and held Cri Kee up to her. "Hey Mulan, I found the lucky cricket," I told her jokingly. She did not see it as funny. "We need help," she said seriously.
Suddenly an arrow shot next to me, at first I thought it was a Hun arrow until I saw a string attached to it, one of the soldiers must have done it. I then decided to climb on top of Khan with Cri Kee who I set beside me. We smiled happily at each other knowing that we were all safe until I saw the end of the mountain. We both screamed.
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die! I know we're gonna die! No way can we survive this, death is coming!" I said to Mulan all scared and panicky.
Mulan though remained calm and was able to shoot the arrow with the string on it up to the top of the mountain where it landed in the hands of one of the soldiers.
For a few seconds we dangled in mid air hoping the string would not snap and send us to our doom. Suddenly we began to move and I got all excited.
"All right I knew we could do it, you da man," I said to Mulan and hid in Khans knapsack. I then remembered I had made a mistake by calling her a man. "Well sort of," I said when I popped back up.
I could soon hear Khan step on back on the earth and walk a little before stopping. I then watched the men cheer for Mulan saying that she was the bravest and king of the mountain, actually queen but they did not know.
Shang then helped Mulan up and she flinched. "Ping what's wrong?" asked Shang. Mulan then clutched her side and showed a bloody hand. She had been wounded, but how? Was it from Shan Yu or was it from hitting the rocks? She did not say anything to any of the men but instead fell back down and lost consciousness.
I knew that this was not going to be good; they would discover her secret no matter what. I knew what would happen once they found out; she would suffer the same fate as Fa Dang only from her friend's side.
I could not help, all I could do was pray and hope that if anything bad happened to her, I would not be in too much trouble for it. Cri Kee and I then jumped off of Khan and hid near the side of the tent they had just set up and waited to hear the news.
Man what a guardian has to put up with.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well there's chapter 6 for ya. I hope you liked it and sorry it took so long to get up because I've had a lot of papers to write for some of my classes for midterm. It might be a while before the next chapter is up since I have another paper to write for spring break. Yuck!!! And I thought Spring Break was a time to take a week off from College stress. Any way just be patient and I will review your stories when I can. Have a nice week.
It was a few days after we left the burned village when we reached the high areas of the mountains. It was quite cold and a swift breeze would enter the cart ever so often sending shivers down mine and Cri Kee's spine. One breeze that came in tickled my nose a little too hard though and I sneezed. Of course forgetting my manners I did not cover my nose with my hand. Cri Kee chirped and tapped my shoulder suddenly and I looked in the direction he was pointing to find that I had accidentally lit a cannon and now it was going to explode. I had to stop it. I ran over and licked my finger so I could put the string that connected it out with just a pinch, but it did not work and the sparks got closer and closer until suddenly.
BOOM!
The cannon shot out of the cart and flew into the air before it exploded like a fire cracker. The soldiers all turned to Mulan who turned around and looked at me angrily. I pretended it wasn't my fault by blaming it on Cri Kee who looked at me like I was such a tattle tale.
"What happened?" asked Shang who galloped over to Mulan all angry and ready to scold her.
Mulan was lost for words and was not really sure of what to say since I was supposed to not be real or be seen or anything.
Shang then decided to yell at her. "You just gave away our position, now we're...." he was then cut short by an arrow that hit him in the shoulder and knocked him off his horse. He quickly recovered and pulled out the arrow. "Get out of range!" he yelled.
Everyone listened and began to run as arrows from the Huns began to rain down upon them. Mulan tried to get Khan to follow her but he was being too stubborn and would barely move. Mulan soon became more desperate with Khan when the Huns began shooting with arrows that had fire on them. "Save the cannons!" yelled Shang since the cannons would explode some more if fire got on them.
The soldiers began to empty the cart while Cri Kee and I dodged arrows that shot into the cart. I was almost hit by many arrows and two nearly pinned me to the cart. I was glad I was skinny enough to move fast and not get hit.
Of course the cart was not as lucky in only a few seconds time, it was ablaze. Mulan then cut Khans rope and galloped away from the cart in hopes of avoiding the flames and the sudden explosion that sent me and Cri Kee flying. Mulan must have not gone far when that happened because I landed right next to her in the snow.
I stood up in a daze and looked at her. "Oh sure save the horse," I said before I collapsed back into the snow from shock.
Mulan quickly got up and carried me out of range of the arrows and towards the soldiers who were already lighting the last of the cannons and aiming at the Huns. They fired and the cannons hit the mountain that the Huns were on. Shang stopped them from aiming the last of the cannons and watched as the smoke cleared.
Once the smoke did clear they found that the Huns were gone. At first we thought that we defeated them until we looked over at the ridge where the smoke had moved to. That was when we saw the evil figure on a horse.
It was Shan Yu.
At first a few of his men joined him and at first we all thought that this fight would be no big deal until even more joined him. At least a thousand, more than Fa Dang had to fight, and we only had one cannon left.
Suddenly Shan Yu reared up on his horse and roared. As soon as his horse touched the ground it ran down the mountain in high speed. The rest of the Huns soon followed. Mulan and I watched as the Huns ran down like a large black avalanche. The only thought that came to my mind was how were we going to win this, or was it we're done for? I can't remember I was too nervous about Mulan's safety to remember.
"Yao, aim the cannon at Shan Yu," said Shang. I thought that was a good idea since maybe once he was dead then the Huns would be leaderless and hopefully powerless.
I don't know how Mulan got the idea but suddenly she jumped in front of Yao and grabbed the cannon running in Shan Yu's direction. "Ping, come back!" yelled Shang. Mulan ignored him and kept running. I stayed on her shoulder the entire time wondering what plan she had under that smart brain of hers.
Mulan then stopped a few feet away from Shan Yu and set the cannon in position. She seemed to take a long time and I had to hurry her. "Alright you might want to light that right about now, quickly, quickly!" I yelled.
Just when Mulan was about to light the cannon, Shan Yu's falcon flew past and hit Mulan sending her falling to the ground.
That was not good, she lost the flint to light the cannon with, what was she going to do now? For that quick moment I totally forgot I could breathe fire until Mulan grabbed me and caused me to spit out enough fire to light the cannon.
I then stood on top of the cannon ready to watch what was about to happen when I remembered that I had lit a cannon and cannons explode. Yes I know that was a line out of Toy Story but that was a rocket and rockets are a little different from cannons.
Just when I was about to jump off I was sent flying toward a nearby mountain. I thought the cannon was meant for Shan Yu so I yelled at her as I disappeared. "You missed, how could you miss he was three feet in front of you."
BOOM!
The cannon hit the mountain with a heavy force and exploded. Again I was glad that I was mortal or there would be bits of me everywhere and that would have not have been pretty.
I tried to cling onto a rock but it quickly crumbled and fell down with all the snow and other rocks that were falling to earth. As I was falling it suddenly hit me, Mulan had meant to hit the mountain so she could send an avalanche and bury the Huns in the snow. What a smart girl.
Everything began to race through my eyes as I fell down the mountain. I began to see visions of what I had done in the past.
My mother scolding me for burning little Tiru in the butt
Me punching Ping in the face for stealing my girlfriend.
Me arriving at the temple asking for a job and getting the job.
My first guardian duty of helping a young boy in the family learn to be nice.
Being hit by the young boys' mother who thought I was a pest in the home.
Fu Yong being beaten by his fellow friends and me doing nothing to help him.
First Ancestor telling me that I was now an incense burner.
Khan stepping on me during the first meeting.
The burned down village.
Was I dying? I couldn't have been, I was mortal and nothing could destroy me. My mind must have been reviewing all the mistakes I made but that did not explain Khan or the village, it must have been the times when I was the most scared. Well whatever it was I did not have time to think because I landed in the snow and began sliding down
I thought I was dying when I did hit the snow because everything was dark around me but it was because I was under the avalanche but soon I was able to climb up and see the sky above me until I was consumed again by another wave of snow.
I had to get to the top. I began to swim for the top even though I kept being consumed by more snow. It seemed like forever until I finally reached the top and found a shield that a Hun had lost. I climbed on it and used it as a sled so I could get to the bottom and find Mulan.
The shield could easily maneuver through the avalanche and I was making good time. I would often see a struggling Hun try to reach the top but he was soon consumed and never seen again.
I soon realized that I was close to the bottom of the mountain so I called to Mulan, hoping she would show up. I could not find her. Once I thought I had found her but it turned out to only be a Hun who I quickly pushed back into the snow.
I continued to call her, I then thought I saw a hair sticking out of the snow and I pulled it out to reveal Cri Kee. "Man you are one lucky bug," I said to him. Cri Kee rubbed his eyes and shook himself until he finally knew where he was. He then looked up at me and smiled, "Thanks, I thought I was going to be a goner," he chirped. "What are pals for," I said to him. "Now come on help me find Mulan."
Cri Kee scanned around for her and then chirped at me. "She's down there," he said. I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw her struggling in the snow with Khan and Shang on the horses back. I then steered the shield toward her.
I soon reached her and held Cri Kee up to her. "Hey Mulan, I found the lucky cricket," I told her jokingly. She did not see it as funny. "We need help," she said seriously.
Suddenly an arrow shot next to me, at first I thought it was a Hun arrow until I saw a string attached to it, one of the soldiers must have done it. I then decided to climb on top of Khan with Cri Kee who I set beside me. We smiled happily at each other knowing that we were all safe until I saw the end of the mountain. We both screamed.
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die! I know we're gonna die! No way can we survive this, death is coming!" I said to Mulan all scared and panicky.
Mulan though remained calm and was able to shoot the arrow with the string on it up to the top of the mountain where it landed in the hands of one of the soldiers.
For a few seconds we dangled in mid air hoping the string would not snap and send us to our doom. Suddenly we began to move and I got all excited.
"All right I knew we could do it, you da man," I said to Mulan and hid in Khans knapsack. I then remembered I had made a mistake by calling her a man. "Well sort of," I said when I popped back up.
I could soon hear Khan step on back on the earth and walk a little before stopping. I then watched the men cheer for Mulan saying that she was the bravest and king of the mountain, actually queen but they did not know.
Shang then helped Mulan up and she flinched. "Ping what's wrong?" asked Shang. Mulan then clutched her side and showed a bloody hand. She had been wounded, but how? Was it from Shan Yu or was it from hitting the rocks? She did not say anything to any of the men but instead fell back down and lost consciousness.
I knew that this was not going to be good; they would discover her secret no matter what. I knew what would happen once they found out; she would suffer the same fate as Fa Dang only from her friend's side.
I could not help, all I could do was pray and hope that if anything bad happened to her, I would not be in too much trouble for it. Cri Kee and I then jumped off of Khan and hid near the side of the tent they had just set up and waited to hear the news.
Man what a guardian has to put up with.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well there's chapter 6 for ya. I hope you liked it and sorry it took so long to get up because I've had a lot of papers to write for some of my classes for midterm. It might be a while before the next chapter is up since I have another paper to write for spring break. Yuck!!! And I thought Spring Break was a time to take a week off from College stress. Any way just be patient and I will review your stories when I can. Have a nice week.