AN: Is anyone still reading this? My apologies for my nearly 6 year absence. I've started & finished college since then, and I'm currently in grad school. However, the other day I was struck by inspiration, so bear with me. I WILL finish this bloody thing eventually. :) I'm a bit ashamed at my writing level (and how it hasn't changed in 6 years), so I would greatly appreciate constructive feedback.

Short recap: Shang's been presumed dead, Mulan was kidnapped from the battlefield and then "rescued" by Sui Fu, our villainess

Chapter 14

Mired in Fear and Politics

Mulan's training as a soldier had not prepared her for such treachery. At some point, her travel companion, Sui Fu, had decided to use a poison dart on General Fa (the same ones she had used on Mulan's Japanese captors). Mulan was still too trusting in human nature and had let her guard down around her "savior." Now she knew the woman called Sui Fu must have hidden motivations. Disgusted with herself for being caught, she tried to beat back the dull throbbing of her head. Being unconscious twice in such a short span of time could not be good for her mind.

'Out of the fire and into the frying pan,' she thought, trying to keep herself still for as long as possible. It was a good idea to keep her options open by feigning sleep. Her wrists were bound behind her back, most likely attached to the chair she uncomfortably sat on. This time, her feet were bound and her eyes were covered too. She noticed that there was no nature sounds, like the rush of the sea or of wildlife abuzz. All that she could hear were the eerie slow drips of water that she suspected accounted for the damp smell. 'Perhaps I'm underground?'

A slight shuffling sound could be heard from her right, and Mulan tensed when something lukewarm and smooth touched her leg.

"Mulan?" a desperate hiss accompanied a familiar scratching up her leg.

"Mushu?" Mulan inquired, afraid to hope that her guardian actually could be present and potentially help her escape.

"Now hold still, we're gonna get you outta here," Mushu warned, as he tried to direct a small flame from his nostril around the ties on Mulan's wrists. He managed to only minimally singe her sleeves. She rubbed her wrists gratefully. Crikee worked at her blindfold while Mulan undid her leg restraints. Her limbs would be sore for a bit, but nothing seemed permanently damaged.

"How did you find me?" Mulan whispered, afraid to alert any guards. "And how are we getting out of here?"

"Special guardian powers of course!" Mushu answered briskly, and a bit too loudly. He wasn't about to let her know how worried he had been.

"Mushu? Are there any guards? Do you have any backup?" Now that she could see, she realized that she probably was underground. It was practically pitch black in this room. She would have to wait for her eyes to adjust a little more.

"Backup, whatsa matter with you? The Fa family can take care of its own," Mushu grumbled. Mulan rolled her eyes and allowed Mushu his ramblings.

"Thanks guys, but we better get a move on!"

With her eyes now adjusted to the dark, Mulan grabbed Mushu and Crikee, and took stock of the small entrance. There were small slatted bars at eye level that were large enough to see through, but not to get through. Mushu and Crikee could easily fit, but a human could not.

"Guys, a little help with the door?" Mulan looked through the bars, hoping to find something to help her escape. Mushu and Crikee slipped through, and after some time, Mushu managed to melt the lock. With a swift kick, Mulan broke the lock and moved quickly. 'Someone could have heard that,' she thought, quickly assessing the dark hallway. 'It looks like some kind of prison,' she thought, noting the evenly spaced doors with small barred windows, not unlike the one she had just escaped.

As she swiftly moved down the hallway (she had picked the direction that smelled cleaner and was on a slightly upward incline, hoping that she would reach the surface if she was underground), she got glimpses of other prisoners, many in what could have been Chinese military uniforms. No one seemed to notice her, and frankly, she wondered if any of them were still alive. 'I will come back for you,' she promised silently, but she knew she needed to get out first.

However, for one room she passed, she had to go back.

Even gaunt, blindfolded and bound, she recognized him. 'Shang,' Mulan thought desperately, fearing to say his name aloud. Too much hope and grief kept her suspended in shock. She saw the unmistakable general's crest and red cape hanging inside his cell. He was shackled at the wrists; blood caked over the twisted metal. He had lost weight, and his body looked softer from inactivity, and bruised from impacts. His skin held an unhealthy pallor, and she could see him shivering, even from ten feet away. 'That means he's alive at least,' she thought. She noticed the wicked looking hook hanging above his head, and suddenly understood why his wrists were in that condition.

Without prompting, Crikee leapt off of her shoulder, through the bars, and over to Shang. There would be no time to explain about supernatural-ancestor-sent-guardians unbinding him. 'He's in no condition to ask questions,' Mulan thought, partially in guilty relief. She was clamoring to get to him, but was still in shock.

Mushu diligently began working on the lock, melting the inner mechanisms enough to weaken the structure. When Mulan broke through, she ripped off his blindfold, feeling the contours of his face. One of his eyes was swollen black, and the opposite cheek was bruised. His jaw looked swollen shut. Crikee had unbound his legs, and Mushu was working on his shackles, but he didn't move other than to shiver.

"Shang," Mulan cried, "we're going to get you out of here." She noticed moonlight at the top of his cell. "Maybe we can escape through there," she mused. The stars twinkling through the skylight gave her hope for a way out, but it would be extremely difficult without help, and even more difficult with Shang in his current state.

His only response was to open the non-black-eye, missing her gaze by a little in his disorientation. 'He must be feverish,' Mulan thought, looking around for anything to help move him. Even with the weight loss, he was too heavy for her to move alone for very long.

Suddenly, an eagle cry filtered faintly through the hole in the ceiling above her. "That sounds like Shan Yu's eagle," she thought. Her time was running out.

-

"Over here!" Hamano yelled, noting the circling bird-of-prey. His small reconnaissance team quickly sped ahead of him, all dressed in black.

His men had quickly deduced that Shan Yu had taken their prisoner General Fa, or at least he knew where she was. Sui Fu had convinced the Japanese emperor that Shan Yu could help them in their political endeavors. Hamano was less trusting of the conniving woman and the golden-eyed Hun, and the disappearance of General Fa confirmed his suspicions.

A political storm was brewing centered around the relations between Mongolia, Japan and China.

The Huns had been aggressively advancing on their eastern coast, threatening to send troops to Japan and take over the smaller country. Japan's naval ships had suffered a major loss from last year's tsunamis, and they were severely weakened at this time.

According to Japanese intelligence reports from Sui Fu and her family's division of the military, the Huns vastly outclassed the Japanese in fighting skill and numbers and were looking to be aggressive soon. Hamano wasn't sure if he could trust these reports, but kept his doubts to himself.

The Hun diplomat sent to the capital of Japan had insinuated that some of the Chinese emperor's council had been pushing for war with Japan. Although it was a clumsy political maneuver, the Huns were leveraging the Japanese to join them in stealing territory from China, a role the Japanese had been trying to resist.

Sick of the political games, the Japanese emperor had concluded that Fa Mulan would be a good pawn to acquire for political bargaining, from either side. Unfortunately, Hamano's division had lost her rather quickly due to what must have been sabotage, and he had a hunch about who had taken her. Hamano would not allow himself to be disgraced, and was determined to redeem himself and his men.

No one knew what the facts were anymore, only that the Huns had been stirring up mischief, and that someone, either Chinese or Japanese, had been manipulating information. Hamano /definitely/ had a hunch about that.

Considering the knowledge the kidnapper must have had, Hamano only knew of one outsider that could have taken her: Shan Yu.

Hamano would bet his life that Shan Yu knew where Fa Mulan was. His notorious eagle may have been Shan Yu's eyes, but the bird was also a clear signal of its master's whereabouts. They only needed to follow the eagle to find Fa Mulan.

Meanwhile at the capital…

"The Japanese emperor has been hoping to establish a long term alliance with China. I have been sent as an emissary to request an audience with your Emperor Tang, and to negotiate terms with your great nation."

A young man in Japanese full formal military dress addressed Chi Fu, the first bureaucratic barrier to seeking an audience with the emperor of China. Chi Fu quickly assessed the man as a military brat, a field he was oft to take a dislike to.

"Emperor Tang is a very busy man. You'll have to stay and wait a week before meeting with him…what did you say your name was?" Chi Fu inquired with a small sniff. The young man arched a brow, indicating his disbelief in Chi Fu's statement. He so did hate bureaucrats.

"A week is quite a long time, considering how time sensitive my information is. My name is inconsequential at this time." The man named Tengoku hid a smirk. 'My name would just give me away, and this nosy councilmember does not need to know who I am just yet.'

"Just tell me, I am the council reporter and will see that His Majesty gets your message," Chi Fu said, trying to keep his manner lofty. He was truly curious about this man and his news now.

"My information is to be shared first with Emperor Tang, as per Emperor Jun's request," Tengoku replied, not bothering to hide his smirk now. Chi Fu practically burned with curiosity now, his left eye twitching with his dislike of this cheeky envoy.

"Very well then, I'll schedule you this week, but only because I'm being nice!" With a flourish of his brush, Chi Fu wrote in the appointment for later in the week. He would have to keep an eye on the secretive young man.

Note: Tengoku means 'heavenly' in Japanese