Disclaimer: As usual...I don't own anything except my own characters. Thanks!!

CHAPTER SIX – Stories

A/N: Yay, reviews! Thank so much to everyone who reviewed. Thank you to choc-cookie, Heather, Lobs-StAcEy-Ters and serilia for their reviews! Special BIG BIG BIG thank you to my very loyal reviewers: Mii-chan1, pepe ok, narfgirl and Dragon Spirit Fighter.

I'm really sorry for taking forever to update. I was really stuck and then I wasn't in the writing mood for most of the time, and when I was, I wrote another story... :D

By the way, I've planned most of the story out, but I'm stuck on one thing: Should I have a big bunch of marriages in the end? I've planned about two 'couples' to get together, but I don't know if I should marry them in the end, or in a possible sequel. Please leave a review and just tell me what you think! Thanks!!

"I expect you're all wondering who I am," Tao started.

They were in the Emperor's throne room (A/N: The room where General Li – Shang's dad – tells the Emperor of the Hun invasion). Tao was lounging on the Emperor's throne, his back leaning against one arm-rest, his legs slung over the other. Lao Ren and Kai Bo were also lounging in two chairs that they had pulled over next to Tao. The Emperor, the Gang, Shang and Mulan were standing in front of them, each of them wearing a different expression. The Gang and Shang looked majorly pissed off. The Emperor looked sad while Mulan had a look of anger, sadness and confusion on her face. They were all being held by Hun guards. Wong lay, forgotten, outside on the Palace steps.

"No shit," Fung muttered, loud enough for the rest of the Gang to hear. Yao sniggered. The guard tightened his grip on Yao's arm. Yao clenched his teeth in pain.

"My name is Tao. True, I am the Emperor's son, but I am not proud of it," Tao paused and looked around the room. "I was kidnapped from this very Palace when I was five years old by Shan-Yu. He became a father to me, when my own did not come for me,"

"My son, why are you doing this to yourself?" The Emperor pleaded. Tao stood up, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Your son died the day you refused to pay my ransom!" Tao cried. "You always told me that you would do anything for me, but when the time came, you never did!"

"Your ransom would have me give away my throne for you. I could not do that. I had no choice but to let you go," The Emperor said.

Tao ignored him. "Shan-Yu brought me up in the ways of a Hun. I was able to ride a horse a week after my kidnapping. Sword-fighting and archery routines were drilled into my head, over and over again. There were no other children in the camp. I used to sit up at night and wait for my father. I had to cry myself to sleep many a night. Then, after a week, I realised my father was not going to come for me. I chose to leave the Empire behind me, I was a Hun and I had to go by what Shan-Yu told me. He did not accept me into the Hun Clan because I was far too young (A/N: That's the right word, yeah?) but then, when I had killed my first victim at the age of six, he took me in and became a father to me. He was not kind, but he kept me alive. I might have gone hungry for months, but at least I was alive," Tao stopped. He walked slowly over to Mulan and looked at her. She looked sad, pitiful and sorry.

"That's how you reminded me. You used to wait for people to rescue you, didn't you? When we were in the Hun camp, I watched you and I could see the suffering you were going through. I couldn't help you, even the first night when you cried yourself to sleep. You couldn't wipe your tears away because of your bonds. I could see the dried tears on your cheeks," Tao said, almost sadly. He turned to Shang. "Where were you? Come on, General, tell us your story," Tao sauntered back to the throne and threw himself on it.

Shang paused and met Mulan's eyes. Her face was blank and expressionless.

"We first learnt of Mulan's capture the morning after. We were going to go after you but then...," Shang's voice trailed off, not wanting Mulan to know the reason of the delay. "She's going to think I'm the biggest jerk in China, worried about my honour instead of her," Shang thought miserably to himself.

"I can see the General is not comfortable with talking about this particular subject," Tao commented menacingly. "Guards! Lock them in the dungeon. Leave my father here,"

The guards shoved Mulan out the door first. Fung and the Gang followed, Shang bringing up the rear. He watched Mulan from the front and could actually feel his heart sinking. While he had been saying his explanation of their pathetic rescue, he could see Mulan out of the corner of his eye. She looked upset and, not surprisingly, annoyed. "I can hardly blame her. Yao was right, the whole rescue thing seemed like a joke! Why the hell didn't I leave someone at the camp?! I'm a friggin' General! I could have just ordered someone to stay there!" Shang angrily thought to himself.

×××

The dungeon was a black darkness. Around 20 cells were in there, five on each wall. The floor was slippery and there wasn't a single window. As Mulan was shoved past a cell, she could see a skeleton of a man lying at the back of the cell. She shuddered in disgust. (A/N: I kind of based that on a scene from 'Snow White', so please no one sue me).

Mulan was in the cell nearest the door, on the left hand side of the room. Shang was opposite her, Fung was next to him, Yao was next to Mulan and Ling was next to Yao. After locking them in their cells, the guards strode out the door, slamming it behind them.

Shang turned to Mulan as soon as they had gone. "Mulan, are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

Mulan shook her head. "No,"

Yao raised his eyebrows at her answer. "What happened?"

"Yeah, how do you know that Tao guy?" Fung asked, sitting in front of his cell door. Mulan sank down to her knees, her head lolling against the steel bars.

"He was my guard when I was at the camp," She said. Fung wanted to ask more, but he could see from her short responses that she was not in the mood for talking.

"But are you all right?" Shang persisted. Mulan nodded.

"I'm fine," She said, her voice monotonous.

"Mulan..." Fung started gently. She looked up at him, avoiding Shang's eyes.

"Why isn't she looking at me? Is it because of the screwed up rescue? Does she think I don't care for her because I didn't come and help her? You're a jerk Shang. Why the hell didn't you just leave someone behind?! Argh!!" Shang grimaced.

"-talk about it," Fung finished. Shang, wrapped up in his own thoughts, hadn't heard a word what Fung had said. He assumed it was something to do with the Hun camp.

"I don't want to talk about it," Her reply came. Her head was still hanging, her long ebony hair hiding her face and her expression. She looked so miserable.

"Okay," Fung replied. Mulan got up and walked to the back of her cell, everyone watching her. She dropped to her knees and hid her face in her knees. She began to sob quietly, but not quietly enough. Everybody could hear her.

Shang wanted to break down his cell door and go and comfort her. She looked so weak and helpless. He had no idea why she was this upset, but he had to give her a bit of leeway, she had just been captured by Huns after all.

Within five minutes, the sobbing had ceased and Shang could only assume she had fallen asleep. Yao and Ling were spread out on the floor of their cells, fast asleep. Ling was lying on the side furthest away from the neighbouring cell. Poor Ling had had the unfortunate situation of being in the cell directly next to the skeleton. Fung was awake, leaning against the bars that separated himself and Shang. Shang was awake also, out of worry for Mulan and the Emperor.

"Shang?" Fung whispered.

"Yeah?"

Fung sat up properly and turned to face his childhood friend. Shang looked depressed. His dark eyes were drooping and his shoulders sagged.

"You look terrible,"

"Cheers," Shang snapped back. He was not in a good mood.

"Maybe you should get some sleep," Fung suggested.

"I can't. I feel guilty," Shang said back.

"Why?" He asked gently. Shang shook his head.

"For not helping her. That rescue turned out to be a disaster. Now, I feel like she's blaming me all for it. That's why she was not looking at me, I think," Shang said, trying to explain what was going through his head.

"Shang, don't blame yourself for what happened. You can't help the Law,"

"I know, but surely I could have just ordered someone to stay behind? I'm the General! My first big-ish mission has already gone pear-shaped," Shang could feel his own tears coming on. He sniffed and opened his eyes wide to stop them from falling.

"I guess," Fung's lame reply was. Then, they heard stirring from the other side of the room. Mulan's face emerged from her knees, her eyes red.

"Mulan?" Shang asked.

"What happened?" She asked. They both instantly what she was talking about.

"Mulan, we had problems," Shang started before Mulan cut him off.

"I don't want excuses. Just tell me what happened," Her voice was stern, but kept breaking. Shang could hear her trying to hold her tears back.

As briefly as he could, Shang, with some help from Fung, explained to her about the rescue. It sounded even worse when he told her. "How the hell is she ever going to forgive me now?" Shang thought desperately.

In spite of everything Shang had just said, Mulan started to laugh. Amazed, Fung and Shang gaped at her while she sat at the back of her cell, chuckling to herself.

"It's not so much funny," She said. Her voice sounded much lighter, and more like her usual happy self. "It's just how you tried to help me but then you kept going wrong,"

Shang was confused by this. Then the dreaded question came.

"Why didn't you just leave someone at the camp?"

"Um...er....um...we...er...." The words caught in Shang's throat, which was rapidly growing dry. He could feel his face flushing but no one could see this because it was almost pitch black in the dungeon. "I didn't think of it," He finished. Fung's eyebrows disappeared into his hair and Mulan wasn't impressed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I just didn't think. I was worried about you," He said, crawling forward to his cell door. Mulan watched him out of wary eyes. "I wasn't thinking straight. Please don't be angry with me," His eyes grew round and pleading. Both Mulan and Fung had to fight down laughs.

"I'm not," She smiled. Shang's drooping smile was replaced by a scary grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Whoa..."

"What?"

"Your smile. It was creepy,"

"I have a creepy smile?" Shang snapped, offended. Mulan started to laugh. Fung, who didn't actually find it that funny, sat with a perplexed look on his face.

"We're okay though?" Shang asked hesitantly.

"Sure,"

×××

The throne room was empty apart from Tao and the Emperor, as Tao had requested an audience with his father alone. He knew the Emperor wouldn't hurt him as he was his son and he was getting old.

"What is your story Father? What happened to you after I had been kidnapped?" Tao said, still sprawled all over the throne. The Emperor was kneeling in front of him, for the second time in his life, Mulan being his first.

"My son, I went to pieces when you were taken. Your mother went hysterical when she found out, which led to her death soon after," The Emperor paused for a second, in respect for his wife.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard about Mama's death," Tao said, sounding bored. "What happened to Ming Hua?" (A/N: Ming Hua is actually a name, is doesn't mean anything. I checked)

"Ming Hua was upset over your kidnapping as well. He was very fond of you, you know that Tao,"

"I know. He wasn't a very good brother you know, always following me around. He was two years my junior and he acted like such a baby! He still sucked his thumb!" Tao snapped. The Emperor looked on sadly.

"You weren't always like this. What happened? Before you were taken, you were the happiest boy in all of China. Nothing ever upset you, you had loving parents, fame, wealth and you were close to your brother. Is there nothing left of my son in you?" The Emperor pleaded. Tao turned tortured eyes to his father.

"I did die the day you left me. I felt betrayed by you, I felt unloved, unwanted and hated. I was so angry at you, at the Empire, at everybody. I had to cry myself to sleep until a year after my kidnapping. Why did you never come after me?"

"I could not give up China. I had to protect it, my people and..." The Emperor paused. "I couldn't give so many lives just for one. I had to leave you. Likewise, you cannot imagine the pain I went through, every single night, knowing that I had two peoples blood on my hands, you and my wife. She never recovered from your capture, she went insane. She would run around the Palace screaming for you. She wouldn't eat, nor sleep or do anything. In the end, she stabbed herself. She said that she would see you when you died, in the Ancestral World," (A/N: Are they the right words?)

Tao shrugged. "I was not close to Mama. She was, in many ways, a pain. I am glad that she's dead," The Emperor felt revolted but chose not to say anything, wisely.

"Why can't I do it?" Tao said suddenly to his father. "Why can't I take China?"

"I do not know. What is stopping you from killing me and claiming my throne? You are my eldest son; you know that you are next in line. All that is in the way is me," The Emperor said. Tao glared at him.

"I could easily kill you. Yet, there are still people out there to challenge me and try to force me off the throne,"

"You are talking of Mulan and her friends," The Emperor prompted. Tao remained silent. "There are always two problems,"

Tao frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The mind and the heart,"

Tao cocked his eyebrows. "Yeah, all right. The mind is obviously you. You're the person on my mind now, seeing as you're the person in the way of my throne," Tao paused. He knew what was next.

"What about your heart?"

"I have no person in my heart," Tao snapped. He knew his father would not believe him, yet he said it anyway.

"Really?" The Emperor seemed to be mocking him.

"I can kill you. You are no problem to me, old man," Tao turned away from him.

"What about your heart?"

"I could not kill my heart,"

"Yet you've killed so many people Tao. How can you not kill this one person?" Tao turned around to face his father, anger written all over his face.

"Where is your pendant?" The Emperor asked.

"What?" Tao snapped back. He looked down. His usual jade pendant was missing from his chest.

"I gave you that pendant when you were a baby. Where is it?" The Emperor asked.

"I gave it to Mulan," Tao answered sullenly. He began to feel like the Emperor was now in control.

"Mulan?!" The Emperor repeated, astonished.

"What?" Tao snapped back. He was getting angry now, his fists were clenched and his face was slowly turning red.

"You know who your heart and mind are. Should you get rid of both of them, you could rule China," The Emperor said. He was hiding his surprise that his son was in love with Mulan very well.

"I could not kill my heart," Tao repeated.

"Why not?"

"Because she is my heart!" He snapped. "You're not making any sense. Mulan doesn't come into this!"

"Yes she does. If I die, she'll try and stop you. Knowing her, she'll succeed as well. Her friends would help her as well. If she were to die as well, they would break apart,"

"What is my pendant?" Tao snapped. "You asked for it suddenly. What is it?"

"It is a key,"

"To what?"

"I don't know. I think only Mulan can tell you,"

Tao glared at him. "I am glad I was kidnapped you know. I count myself lucky to have not grown up here, having to listen to you all the goddamn time," Tao walked slowly over to his father and towered over him. "I don't care what the pendant is, how Mulan comes into this, or you but I promise you I'll have my revenge on you for leaving me. I don't forgive easily," He hissed into his father's ear before striding out the room.

×××

Mulan's head was hurting, remembering the past few days.

FLASHBACK (When Tao gave Mulan the pendant):

"Mulan?" Tao bent over her. "You awake?"

Mulan yawned and longed to stretch. "Yeah. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was bored,"

"So you woke me up?" Mulan snapped, grumpily. Tao began to smile.

"Here," He reached around his neck and pulled off his pendant. It was made of jade and carved into a dragon. It sparkled in the sun, which didn't happen often with jade. It was smooth with no sharp edges. "I want you to have this," He hung it around her neck.

"Why?" She craned her neck forward to look at it. "It's beautiful. Thank you,"

"So you'd remember me," Tao smiled.

"I don't really want to know if I want to remember a Hun," Mulan grinned.

"How about to remember a friend?"

"Yeah...I could do that," She smiled.

END FLASHBACK

"Why did he give it to me?" She whispered to herself. "It's not like he's my friend..." Her voice trailed off. She knew what she just said was a lie. "What am I feeling for him? Is he really just my friend?" The word 'friend' kept pounding in her mind.

She looked over to Shang's cell, where he was sprawled on the floor, fast asleep. She knew that, in her heart, she loved Shang yet...now Tao had come in, he was clouding her feelings (A/N: That makes sense, right?). "I've only known Tao for a few days and can I already feel so weirdly for him? I've known Shang a lot longer and I know I love him while I don't know what I'm feeling for Tao," She thought. She watched as Shang began to stir in his sleep. His head was tossing and turning and she could hear groans coming from him.

Fung, by now, had also woken up. "Anyone awake?" He called out.

"Yeah," Mulan said quietly back. Fung heard her, however. He looked over at Shang who was almost rolling around in his sleep. "You reckon he's all right?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," He gulped. "I think," Mulan smiled.

"You know what? I think that the relief of seeing you alive and well is making him feel weird," Fung said cleverly. He knew that this would annoy Mulan, or get her to talk properly. She was always evasive when it came to matters of the heart.

"I'm fine," She replied, blankly.

"Was the camp really not that bad?" Fung asked her.

"It wasn't,"

Fung could tell that she was uncomfortable with the whole subject, but he knew that if he could keep pressing on her, she would let everything out.

"They didn't hurt you or anything?"

"No. Well, not physically. They would laugh at me...and...jeer at me..." Her voice trailed off again.

"We're getting there. At least she's talking about it now," Fung thought. He had to stop himself from grinning.

"How do you know Tao?" He probed her a little further.

"He was my guard," She repeated from earlier. "...and my friend,"

Fung's eyebrows shot up. He knew that Mulan was semi-friendly towards the Hun leader, but he had no idea she was on friendly terms with him.

"He would...talk to me. We would talk about our life...our friends...our likes and dislikes. We would sing also. He could make me laugh...he would help me when I was upset...he would feed me when I was hungry...he made me feel good," Mulan carried on. She felt surprised at herself, she had never realised how much she had come to appreciate Tao.

"He's a Hun, Mulan," Fung said gently.

"I know...yet he doesn't seem like one. He's too...nice,"

"Nice? He pointed a sword to his father's back!" Fung snapped.

"Yes, he did. But...he isn't like that,"

"Mulan, he was deceiving you from the start! He was the Hun leader, when you just thought he was a guard. He was the Emperor's son when you thought he was just some Hun. Don't you realise that he might have been lying to, all along?" Fung reasoned. It all sounded so simple.

"I've thought about it," Her responses were getting shorter. Fung noticed this and decided to back down. He gave a long, loud fake yawn.

"Well, I'm getting tired now-,"

"Didn't you just wake up?" Mulan interrupted. "Fung, if you don't want to carry on talking about it, then just say so," She began to smile.

"I thought you didn't," He replied.

"I don't. Yet, it feels good that I have," She began to smile. Fung grinned too.

Then, the dungeon door clicked and flung open. A large Hun guard stood there, his huge frame blocking most of the light. He stamped over to Mulan's cell and inserted a key into the lock. The cell door creaked and swung open.

"The Leader wishes to see you," He rasped. Mulan nodded and got up slowly, her legs hurting. She tottered out the door and walked past Fung to the open door out the dungeon.

"Try to escape, won't you?" Fung whispered through the cell. Mulan grinned.

"I'll try," She hissed back. The guard pushed her through the door then slammed it behind them. It echoed around the room and brought Shang back from his sleep.

"What? What was that?" He looked over at Mulan's empty cell. "Where's Mulan? Oh god, what have they done to her?" He jumped up.

"Shang, sit down! She had to go talk to the Tao guy," Fung replied.

"Oh," Shang's heart sank. He lowered himself to the floor. "This sucks. I hate being captured,"

"No one likes being captured, dumbass," Fung snapped. Shang smiled. "How are going to get out of here?" Fung went on. Shang shrugged.

"I think all we can do is wait,"

"Some General you are," Fung smirked. Shang glared at him.

"Shut up..."

"Maybe we should send Mushu," Fung said. "Where is he anyway?" He added.

"I don't know. I only remember seeing him when I found Mulan's ribbon in the Emperor's hat." Shang said, reliving the past. "I hope she's going to be all right," He added, more to himself than Fung.

"She'll be fine. She's strong," Fung comforted.

"I know. I worry about her," Shang pulled out something from inside his cape. He ran Mulan's ribbon through his fingers and let the material waft through the air. "I hope she'll be all right,"

A/N: Not a very long chapter, but I wanted to finish it because I hadn't updated for weeks. This one isn't very well written either, when I look back on it. I need to include more thoughts. Please leave a review and remember that there are no negative reviews, only constructive ones! Also, remember to add a comment of whether I should have a big bunch of marriages in the end! Thanks!!