Chapter the third

Hi! Thanks again 4 the reviews! Here comes chapter 3!

It had been a dank night for the gang of three, trapped in that tiny carriage, pondering what was to come. They were all asleep except Ling. He found it impossible. All that has happened was a blur to him. He shook his head and attempted once more to sleep when he heard voices outside the carriage. He leaned his ear closer to the side of the carriage to pick up on the conversation. He recognized the voice of Chi-Fu and another soldier known as Fi Wan. Chi-Fu had appointed him second in command after Shang and Mulan's departure.

"What will we do with them, sir?" questioned Fi Wan.

"I'll take care of that. I think I can talk the emperor into a thing or two with the right wording." Answered Chi-Fu. "With any luck, the traitors will be executed.

"Sir, I don't mean to sound unfaithful," said the soldier. "But what if the emperor lets them go?" Chi-Fu smiled deviously.

"Then I take an ax and do it myself." He answered coyly. Ling's eyes widened. His stomach turned flips. It wouldn't matter what the emperor thought, if they didn't escape, they would be dead meat anyway.

"Yao, Chien Po, wake up!" he said as he shook his comrades. They stirred, but did not awaken. Ling sighed and whispered in Chien Po's ear.

"Dinner time! Fresh soy beans!" Chien Po woke up immediately.

"Where?" he asked before he remembered they were stuck in a carriage awaiting trouble. Yao was still snoozing and Ling was getting impatient, so he woke Yao up with a swift kick in the behind. Yao woke up after that. They were about to question, but Ling silenced them.

"Listen to me." He said. "we have to get out of here."

"How can we possibly get out?" asked Chien Po, "I would rather just save the energy and drown out my sorrows thinking about all the food I could've eaten."

" Yeah." Agreed Yao. "Our only hope of survival is that the emperor lets us keep our heads."

With that, Yao and Chien Po sighed and prepared to go back to sleep. Ling kicked them again.

"We have to! I heard Chi Fu and that guy called Fi Wan talking. It won't matter what the emperor says, Chi Fu is planning to kill us anyway. Escaping is our only chance!" he said in a loud whisper.

Yao responded while Chien Po just looked at Ling in his normal serene way.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Ling, but you seem to be forgetting the fact that we have no idea where we are, our hands and feet are still tied and there are soldiers guarding us day and night!" Yao said, gesturing as he spoke.

"But let's not forget." Said Ling, " We are advanced warriors and I think we could easily use our skills to get rid of ant guards Chi Fu has had hired to keep us here." Chien Po and Yao eyed each other before breaking into grins.

"okay. Here's the plan." Whispered Ling…..

MEANWHILE…

Mulan and Shang had decided to rest and found a pile of leaves to use as a pillow before saying goodnight. They both pretended to sleep, but very similar thoughts were crossing their minds.

Mulan lay to the left, wide awake. She had been feeling the strangest things. Now, whenever she saw or thought about Shang, her stomach tickled. The more she got to know him, the more she wanted to be around him. She was debating with herself mentally. Do I like him? Maybe even love him? I hardly know him, but then he did stand up for me when we were little and again against Chi Fu. Oh, why am I even bothering? He's a general's son and I'm just some clumsy peasant. It's still nice to imagine though.

On the other side of their little cave, Shang was thinking almost the same thing. Why am I feeling like this? I've never felt like this about anyone, much less someone who lied to me. Oh, who am I kidding? There's no way she could ever feel for me.

At the same time, they both sighed dreamily. They looked up at each other, blushed, and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, back in the carriage, the gang had constructed an escape plan. On the signal, Ling lay back against the carriage wall, and Yao started to yell.

"Help! He's dead!" called Yao. Chien Po put on a look of utter terror. Chi Fu sent a soldier to check on them. The man entered the carriage and inspected Ling. When he got close, Chien Po snuck up behind him and gave him a hard nerve pinch. The man let out a quiet moan before falling to the floor. Ling got up and rolled the man onto his back. He then grabbed the dagger that was attached to the soldier's belt and cut them free. Just to take extra percautions, they used his scarf and put it over his mouth to prevent him from making too much racket when he came to. Quietly, They crept out the back of the carriage, delivering a firm kick to the man behind it. With that, they scampered into the nearby woods to seek temporary refuge.

"Isn't he back yet?" muttered Chi Fu, annoyed. "Halt!" He dismounted his horse and walked up to the carriage and pulled open the doors. Chi Fu's mouth dropped.

"It can't be." He said "They've escaped!" The other soldiers gathered around him, equally startled.

"Sir, let me lead us to find them. We can't let them escape!" Fi Wan said. Chi Fu consented and sent Fi Wan and a few other soldiers to check the woods.

Yao, Ling and Chien Po knew nothing of this. They were crouched behind a large tree, planning what they would do next. Suddenly, Chien Po heard a small noise.

"Guys, do you hear that?" he asked. Yao and Ling exchanged glances and shook their heads. Chien Po decided that it must've been his imagination, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He heard the rustling again. This time, he couldn't ignore it.

"Guys, I really think we should move. I swear I heard something." He tried to explain.

"Just relax." Said Ling. "No one is going to find- "

"FOUND THEM!" A voice echoed through the air. The gang flipped their heads around to see Fi Wan staring down at them.

"Now do you believe me?" asked Chien Po, terrified.

"Shut up and run!" screamed Yao, Yanking his friends to their feet. They tried to run, but were soon caught up to by the soldiers. They fought, but a lot of the soldiers were equally matched in skill and agility. Sweat beaded down the gang's faces, but they refused to give up.

The total of 8 soldiers fought with the gang of three. Kicks, punches and flips were all delivered and blocked. When the soldiers lay unconcious on the ground, the gang's hearts were still beating fast. All were down, except for Fi Wan. He had slipped off, but the gang didn't see.

"I think we beat them." Said Yao, as he high-fived his friends, faint an exasperated smile on his face. Suddenly, all three were hit from behind with a blunt object, knocking them out.

"Not quite." Said Fi Wan, standing behind them, beside him was the soldier the gang had knocked out in the carriage and another soldier. Chi Fu came up to them.

"Good work, men" he said. "He ordered them to be taken back to the carriage and tied tighter this time.

When the gang awoke, the room swirled. Their heads throbbed and they recalled what had happened the previous night. They noticed that their whole upper torso's were bound as well as their hands and feet.

"Our plan seems to have backfired." Said Chian Po quietly. Yao and Ling nodded in agreement.

Chapter 4 will be up soon! Hope the whole "help help he's dead" thing wasn't too far fetched. My school is doing a play of Romeo and Juliet, so I got the idea from that. Please review this chapter! Thanks.