Mulan and Velle sat in a clearing just outside the army's camp. Khan, Mulan's horse, looked bored and completely unimpressed as the two prepared for how they would talk and act once they were in a camp full of men. Velle sighed and leaned against the rock that the horse was resting his head on.
"Okay, try it again, Mulan. I think we're really close!" Velle encouraged.
"Okay, okay...How's this?" Mulan puffed her chest out dramatically and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, where do I sign in-Ah! I see you have a sword! I have one too!" She patted the hilt of the sword fastened to her waist. "They're very manly and tough!" She moved to unsheathe the sword but lost her grip and the weapon clattered to the ground with a clang. Before Velle could say anything Khan through his head back and landed on the ground, neighing so loud it sounded like he was laughing at Mulan.
Velle glared at the horse, "Well, that's not very helpful, Khan!"
When the horse didn't let up Mulan took her shoe off and threw it at the horses head with a clonk, "I'm working on it, alright!" The brunette girl sighed and walked to peek through the bamboo thicket and look down at the camp. "Aw, who am I kidding...it's gonna take a miracle to get us into the army...I mean, sure, there's me...but you, Velle...you're a whole other lost cause..." Mulan turned and gestured to the violet haired petite girl who was swimming in the pair of imperial armor they borrowed from Mulan's father.
Velle sighed in defeat, "I know..."
Suddenly an explosion behind them caught their attention, the two girls snapped their heads in the direction of the fire. "Did I hear someone ask for a miracle!?" The shadow of a giant ferocious dragon was painted against a large rock as it spoke, "Let me hear ya say AH!"
"Ah!" Mulan shrieked as she turned and ran to hide behind a boulder. Velle immediately summoned her keyblade.
"That's close enough!" The dragon conceded. He continued his speech to Mulan and Velle narrowed her eyes. She looked around, something wasn't right, if the dragon was that big she'd be able to see him somewhere through the bamboo. She furrowed her eyebrows and took a few steps forward, quietly she walked behind the rocks to see a small red dragon. "Who am I? Who am I!" He shouted, "I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful...the pleasurable-Ack! Let me go!"
Velle raised an eyebrow and grabbed the dragon by the scruff of his neck before holding him up to Mulan. "What a mighty dragon!" She gushed sarcastically before dropping it on the ground. Khan, scared that the dragon was a mouse, began to stomp on the red shrimp of a creature. Mulan pushed the horse away to give the creature some room to breathe. She knelt down and picked the dragon up, "Mulan, your ancestors sent a lizard to help you?"
"Hey! Hey! A dragon!" he snapped,brushing Velle's hand off of him. "DRAG-GUN, not a lizard...I don't do that tongue thing." He pretended to slither his tongue while he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Whatever you say Drag-gun, we need to get moving if we want to make it to the camp by roll call." Velle scooped the dragon up and put him on her shoulder.
"It's Mushu!" he snapped.
"Fine, Mushu...Well as you can see, we need all the help we can get, and...uh...hello there?" Velle knelt down to see a little cricket by her foot that seemed to be listening to her every word. "Can you understand me?" The cricket seemed to smile and nod, "Do you wanna come too?" It nodded again and Velle scooped him up too. "Guess it's gonna be a party, Mulan." Velle grinned.
Mulan sighed, "Good, maybe we can use them as a distraction because there's no way the army will believe we're men…"
"Oh, come on, Mulan...I think there's something I've been practicing that might help us, but for now we have to keep going."
The two continued through the bamboo thicket with their new additions. After some time Mulan stopped to peek through the bamboo again. She let out a gasp and Velle ran to her side to see what she was seeing.
"Oh my god..." The violet haired girl gasped as her eyes fell on the remains of a newly burned village. "This was recent..." She commented she could see a large man standing amongst the ruins of the village. Suddenly another explosion from behind them made Velle summon her keyblade and stand in front of Mulan. Velle looked less than impressed when she saw it was Mushu again.
"See that, guys? It's Shan-Yu, leader of the Hun army! C'mon girls this is your big chance!" Mushu cheered, "I can see it now Fa Mulan and Velle...what's your last name?"
Velle snorted, "It's just Velle."
"Alright, I can work with that! Fa Mulan and Just Velle whups public enemy number one! Ya'll are gonna be famous! I'm talkin' A list!"
Velle sighed and ran a hand through her purple hair, "You can keep me out of the headlines...I'm technically not even supposed to be here." She snickered.
"That's fine, more credit for Mulan!" Mushu cheered.
Mulan peeked back through the bamboo at the man who was now walking away, "Mushu, I'm not sure...I haven't even joined the army yet. I have to take my father's place to preserve the Fa family honor...I just hope we don't get discovered…" Mulan looked at Velle with worry.
"Whatever! You're just scared!" Mushu denounced.
"Aren't you?" Mulan asked.
Just then three people walked into the clearing, a large dog in green stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them. "Huh?" He asked curiously as he noticed Mushu's fire display. Mushu's shadow was large and it's eyes were red. A boy with spiky brown hair who was with the dog stopped and knelt to whisper to a white duck in blue.
"A heartless?" The duck asked quietly.
The boy nodded, "Let get the jump on 'im!" the boy decided.
The dog looked worried, "Gwarsh, maybe we better look before we leap!" However, the other two disregarded him and charged towards Velle and Mulan.
"Rah!" the boy growled, Mulan gasped and jumped back. Mushu hopped out from the fire and into Mulan's hands as she sheltered them both from their imminent doom.
Velle summoned her keyblade and stood in front of the two cowering forms, "Not so fast! Who are you!?" She growled. She froze when her eyes landed on the brunette, he was the spitting image of Vanitas. Her heart began to race with excitement until she noticed something off. This boy had big blue eyes and brown hair, not yellow and black. "Who are you?" She repeated.
The three intruders stopped dead in their tracks when Mushu jumped into Mulan's arms. "Is that Mushu?" The dog asked happily.
"You know Mushu?" Velle stammered.
"That's right! I know you heard of me! I'm little, lethal, and legendary!" He goded. "Now, y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up."
"Hey, Mushu! We missed you!" The boy greeted with a wave. Velle regarded him warily, why did this boy look so much like Vanitas...but his eyes...his eyes were almost identical to Ventus.
"Well you better HOPE I MISS YOU, or else you're-you're- SORA! DONALD! GOOFY!" Mushu finally stopped rambling to look at them, Velle scrunched her nose up, even their names sounded familiar.
"Do you know them?" Velle asked, lowering her keyblade just a bit.
"Know them!?" Mushu hopped off of Mulan's shoulder. "Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know I've helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon, right!?" He walked over and leaned against the boy's leg.
He took a step back, causing the dragon to fall. "Something like that..." The brunette boy chuckled. "And...you two are?" Sora asked as his eyes fell on Mulan and Velle.
Mulan stood, "I'm mulan! Ah! Uh...I mean," She cleared her throat and spoke in a low voice, "Um, no. I mean-"
"Ping!" Mushu suggested from the ground.
"Mulan Ping?" Donald asked, crossing his arms over his chest in disbelief.
"Just Ping!" Mulan clarified. "I am Ping, son of Fa Zouh!"
"And you?" Goofy asked Velle, something about her seemed very familiar to him but he stayed silent about it.
"I'm-oh, hold on I want to try something!" She lifted her keyblade into the air and purple light began to rain down on her, her appearance changed and before them stood a male version of Velle.
"Woah! Velle?" Mulan gawked.
"Nope! I'm Voal, now!" Velle grinned.
"A Keyblade!?" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.
"Huh?" Sora stepped up to Velle and grabbed her hand, looking closely at her keyblade.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Velle snapped, she snatched her wrist away from the taller brunette boy and glared at him.
"Oh, sorry! I was just looking at your keyblade. Look! Me too!" Sora summoned his keyblade and threw it over his shoulder with an easy grin. His blue eyes closed happily and Velle couldn't help but stare, the boy reminded her so much of Ventus. Her concentration slipped and the magic failed, Velle's mascaline image melted off of her and returned to purple light before disappearing all together.
"Aw, man...I'm not that good at that spell yet...but I'll get better!" Velle turned to Sora "Seriously!?" She gushed as she examined his Kingdom Key. "What a coincidence!?"
Sora chuckled and scratched his cheek, "Yup! So how do you guys know Mushu?"
Mulan stood to her feet, "Mushu is one of my family's guardians."
"We didn't know we were borrowin' somebody as important as a family guardian!" Goofy apologized.
"Yeah! That's right!" Mushu hopped on to Mulan's shoulder. "And that puts you three up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here! Well, guess what, Kiddies? It's payback time!"
"...Mushu..." Velle warned.
"Aw, they don't mind. Ain't that right?" Mushu asked.
Sora put his hand on his chin in thought, "Hm...sounds fair." He grinned at Velle and she felt her heart stop. Who was this boy?
"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the imperial army! We gotta find the other recruits over at the training camp." Mushu explained.
"Would you join us?" Mulan asked in a deep voice. "It'll be easier to fit in if we're with guys, like you."
"What do you mean fit in?" Sora asked, confused.
"Uh-um...don't you worry about that!" Mushu cut in.
Goofy put a finger on his chin in thought, "You're pretendin' to be boys, aren't ya?"
When Mulan and Velle remained silent Donald and Sora turned to them and gawked, "You're girls!?"
Mulan smiled triumphantly and Velle turned to her with a smirk, "See, I told you I could pass as one!"
Mulan frowned, "Maybe they're not that good at judging after all…"
Goofy snickered, "Aw, don't worry. I think you can pass with the spell, Sora is pretty oblivious."
"Hey! Who are you calling oblivious!" Sora complained. The group chuckled at the poor brunette's expense.
Mushu rolled his eyes, "Those two would fall for anything..."
"Hey!" Donald quacked as Mulan walked past them with Mushu on her shoulder.
"I'm right here!" Sora shouted.
Goofy chuckled and continued on behind Mulan, followed by Donald, then Sora, and finally Velle. She fell back from the group lost in thought. Sora looked identical to Vanitas, it couldn't be a coincidence. What if he became Sora after he fought Ventus? No, that couldn't be right...she felt it in her heart that Vanitas and Sora were not the same person. The brunette in question seemed to notice her lack of presence and slowed to walk beside her.
"Voal, right?" He asked innocently.
Velle snorted, "No, my name's Vellum, but everyone calls me Velle. I'm gonna go by Voal once I get enough strength to cast the spell again."
Sora counted the names she gave him on his fingers and sighed sadly, "That sure is a lot to remember..." Velle chuckled, "So...you have a keyblade?"
Velle summoned her keyblade and looked down upon it in admiration, "Yup! You've got one too?"
Sora summoned his as well, "Yup! I've only ever met one other keyblade wielder before."
"Really? I know a few…" Velle conversed, thinking fondly of her friends.
"I'd love to meet them some time...sometimes it feels like I'm learning this keyblade stuff on the fly..." Sora mumbled. He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky as they walked. Velle smiled to herself, Sora's mannerisms were very similar to Ventus's. She closed her eyes and enjoyed a light breeze that tousled her hair, she could feel Sora's warm light emitting from his soul. It felt familiar and safe in more ways than one. She then realized what he'd said and she opened her eyes.
"You don't have a Master?" Velle asked, astonished.
"A Master?" Sora asked, confused.
"You know...someone to train you?" Velle explained.
"Uh...no, there are Master's out there?" Sora asked with excitement.
Velle frowned, "There were...I don't even know what's out there anymore..."
"Huh?" Sora examined the violet haired girl's face. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know...I think I'm homesick...and I miss my friends..." Velle sighed sadly. Luckily for her, Donald and Goofy were talking animatedly to Mulan and Mushu and no one had noticed their absence.
"Where are your friends?" Sora asked sadly, she reminded him of himself.
"Um...there was this bad guy who was after us..he hurt them and now they're hearts have basically been scattered...I came here to get stronger so I could go save them." Velle sighed.
"That's funny..."
"How is that funny?" Velle snapped.
Sora jumped, "I didn't mean funny ha-ha, I just...well, I lost my friends too. There were these bad guys who were trying to steal the light from the worlds, they stole one of my friends...and convinced the other to join them but I knew something wasn't right. Donald and Goofy helped me stop them...but...We still have to find my one friend..."
"Oh...I'm sorry I snapped at you..." Velle blushed.
Sora grinned, "Don't worry about it, I got thick skin. I can take it!" He paused and looked at her curiously, "I hope you don't mind me saying this...but you're really pretty...even with all that dirt on your face." Sora snickered.
Velle blushed a deeper shade of red, "Oh...um...thank you, but-"
"I wasn't coming on to you or anything, just an observation." Sora smiled and looked back up at the sky. "When we find the King and Riku, I'll finally be able to go home and be with Kairi" He smiled to himself.
"Who's Kari?" Velle asked curiously.
"She was my friend, the one those bad guys took. It's been so long since the three of us have been able to just be together...let alone relax." Sora explained sadly.
"I understand completely, I'm looking for all my friends too, of course...but there's one that I'm looking forward to seeing the most...I really miss him...That's why I'm here actually!" Velle quipped.
"Why are you here?" Sora asked.
"So I can get stronger. I need to get stronger so that I can find his heart and return it to him." Velle mumbled almost to herself.
"This guy must really mean a lot to you…" The brunette commented.
"He does...he means more to me than anyone or anything…" Velle affirmed. Sora felt his heart start racing and the sudden urge to smile. He didn't fight it, he smiled broadly at her as if she were talking about him.
"I'm sure he feels the same," Sora grinned.
Velle looked at the brunette keyblade wielder, he was really something special. She'd never bonded with anyone so quickly she felt as if she'd known him for years. She smiled at him thankful to be bathed in his warm healing light, if only for a moment. "Thanks Sora…"
"Wow, we really are alike, Velle!" Sora decided.
"Yeah, I guess we are!" She conceded.
"Hey, you two! What cha doin' all the way back there?" Goofy called from ahead.
Velle gasped and jogged with Sora to catch up, they'd apparently been lost in conversation and had fallen farther back than they'd meant to. "Sorry Goofy!" Sora apologized.
"Ah!" Mulan's scream grabbed their attention and the three sprinted towards her. Mulan, Mushu, Khan, and Donald were surrounded by black shadows.
"Heartless!" Velle and Sora snarled in unison. They summoned their keyblades in a flash of light and charged towards the shadows. As they destroyed the heartless more spawned and took their place. The commotion and grabbed the attention of the odd white monsters Velle had come across a few times.
"Nobodies!" Sora shouted in warning to Donald and Goofy.
"Leave 'em to me!" Donald replied. He jumped in the air with his magic staff above his head. "Fira!" The magician bellowed.
The fire spell hit two nobodies but three more spawned, "There's too many of them! Get Mulan and the others out of here!" Velle called to Sora.
"No! I'll fight too!" Mulan declared.
"A-are you sure?" Velle stammered.
"Positive!" Mulan replied with a look of determination.
Just then a heartless pounced on her and Mulan swung her sword out, slashing the creature in half. "Nice! Alright let's do this guys!" Velle cheered. A nobody swung near her and Velle jumped out of the way. "Waterga!" Velle shouted as she pointed her keyblade at the white wriggling creature. The attack was so powerful it engulfed the group of monsters in a bubble of water, when it dissipated several hearts floated into the sky.
"Woah!" Sora gawked. "You're strong!"
Velle blushed "...I...thank you!" Her keyblade disappeared in a flash of light and she turned to Mulan. "You did great Mulan!"
"Yeah Mulan! You did amazing!" Sora cheered.
"Th-thank you guys!" Mulan stuttered, she was still pretty shaken up from the ambush. "The camp is right around the corner, maybe we should rest a little before we head over?" She suggested.
Velle exchanged a look with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, knowing full well Mulan needed some time to hype herself up for the task ahead. "Sure, take all the time you need." Velle sat on a small boulder as she watched Sora, Donald, and Goofy explore the area. Donald waddled up to her after a moment while Sora and Goofy continued to to search the area for any hidden treasures.
"So...you got a keyblade, huh?" Donald asked curiously.
"Yup, you're friend Sora's got one too!" Velle grinned and nodded towards the brunette who was standing on top of Goofy's shoulders looking in a tree for god knows what.
"Yeah...well there aren't many keyblade wielders left you know…" Donald noted.
Velle remained silent, what had Xehanort accomplished while she was under his control? Had he wiped out all the keyblade wielders so he would be the strongest? If she hadn't broken out of his hold by chance would he have destroyed her too? No, she couldn't think like that, she wouldn't think like that. Her friends were not lost. Aqua needed help returning to the light, she had simply lost her way. Terra needed his friend's help to break Xehanort's hold on him. And Ventus's wounded heart needed to be found and returned to his body. Velle would set things right, she knew now that she should have never let Aqua go to Terra alone.
"Th-that's...crazy..." Velle stuttered in response after a pregnant pause.
"Yeaaah….Well, I heard you say you know a few keyblade wielders..." Donald continued suspiciously.
Velle sighed, "I did...I haven't seen them in a very long time..."
"Oh..." Donald mumbled. "Sorry to hear that." He added awkwardly. "Sorry to...you know...badger you..."
Velle chuckled, "No, it's fine, really. I get it, you just want to protect Sora. If someone's out there hunting keyblade wielders then it's better to be safe than sorry. I admire that…"
Donald blushed, "Thanks! Boy, Velle...You sure look familiar..."
"You think so too!?" Velle gawked. "We must have met before!"
Donald shrugged, "Maybe in a past life?"
Velle shrugged as well, "Maybe..."
If only someone had mentioned King Mickey-
Then maybe one of us would remember.
There's no way I've run into these three so much-
And it's just a coincidence.
Sora, why do you look like Vanitas?
Sora, why do you remind me of Ventus?
Sora, who are you?
...
"Alright, Mulan, are you ready to go?" Sora asked after a while.
"I-i think so…" She replied, unsurely.
"It's okay, Mulan. We'll be right beside you and there's strength in numbers." Velle chirped, she patted her friend on the shoulder.
"You're right!" She forced a smile to her face and squared her shoulders back. "Alright, I'm ready to go!" Mulan started to walk forward in a very awkward motion.
"Is that what it looks like when I walk?" Sora whispered to Velle, Goofy and Donald.
Velle smirked, "She's trying to walk like a manly man, Sora."
"Huh? I'm a manly-Hey!" Sora protested. "Not you too!" He complained when he realized Velle was poking fun at him.
Goofy and Donald snickered and the group continued on to the training camp. They rounded the corner to see some other recruits, Mushu popped out of Mulan's armor. "Remember girls, manly!" He reminded them. Mulan squared her shoulders again and continued walking in her odd fashion. Velle looked at her friend and shook her head slightly, she was sticking out like a sore thumb. Quickly, Velle hid behind a tent and summoned her keyblade.
"Time to change," She held the key above her head and closed her eyes, when she opened them she looked down at her arms. "It worked!" She cheered as she noticed her muscles become more toned. She hopped to action and ran to catch up with the group, just as she spotted Sora, Donald, and Goofy she saw a short stout man push Sora to the ground.
"Hey! No cutting!" Sora shouted.
"Get out!" Donald squawked.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Velle sneered as she helped Sora to his feet.
The short man growled and punched Sora square in the face. "Ah!" He exclaimed as he fell to the ground.
"Hey!" Velle and Donald shouted. "Let's get him!" Velle decided. The two pounced on the man and started beating him to the ground.
"Back off!" The man growled and threw them off of him, but Velle was fast. Before he could react she was right back on him punching him in the face.
"Don't touch my friends!" She snarled. Mulan and Goofy watched helplessly as Velle and the short man fought, Donald jumped back into the fight.
"Hey! A space in line!" A skinny man cheered, he walked beside an extremely large man who bumped the fighting trio to the side with ease.
"I wonder what they're serving for lunch." The large man hummed.
"Knuckle sandwiches!" The short man growled before punching Velle in the cheek.
"That's it!" Sora shouted as he jumped back into the fight. He pulled back his fist and punched the man square in the jaw before pulling his hair back and allowing Velle to get some punches in too. The skinny man who walked up with the large man somehow got pulled into the fight as well. Mulan watched in horror unsure of what to do.
"Please!" Mulan begged.
The group stopped and looked at her oddly, "Please?" The skinny man sneered.
"What a girl!" The short man mocked.
"Uh! I mean Knock it off!" She corrected herself.
"Knock what off?" The man asked innocently.
"You punched me!" Sora snapped.
"Cutting in line!" Donald added.
"What a shrimp!" The skinny man laughed.
"Who you callin' a shrimp, panda lips!? I'm a bonafide guardian dragon." Mushu snapped, hopping out of Mulan's armor. She looked around frantically and pushed him back in place.
Mulan cleared her throat, "Let's just get back in line, okay?
"Who's side are you on?! I just got slugged!" Sora shouted.
"Want some more?" The short man antagonized.
Velle glared and quickly swiped his legs out from underneath him, she leaned over him with a smirk. "Do you?" She asked slowly.
"Haha! Thanks!" Sora patted her on the back.
"Soldiers! Get back in line!" A stranger yelled. They turned to see a man with a sword walking toward them.
"The captain!" The skinny man whispered. They all stood at attention immediately as the captain walked closer to them. Velle watched as the captain walked away and Sora balled his fist up, contemplating whether or not to sock the short man in the back of the head.
Velle turned her head and gasped when she saw several shadows in front of them. "Heartless!" She warned as she summoned her keyblade. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped into action as well.
Sora looked at the heartless warily before turning to Mulan, "Ping...I hope you're ready." He warned.
"He'll do fine!" Velle chirped before running after a group of heartless. Sora moved to stop her but Goofy put his hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"I think she's gonna be fine on her own, hyuck!" Goofy assured.
"But..."
"Don't worry, Sora, I think Velle is really strong..." Goofy interjected.
"...Oh okay...if you say so..." he ran behind the guard dog but paused to shoot the violet haired girl a look. "...But something makes me not want to leave her on her own…" Sora shook his head and decided to listen to his heart. He left Ping to Goofy and Donalds capable hands and ran to help Velle. When he reached her he could tell that she in no way, shape, or form needed his assistance.
"Sora? What are you doing here? Where's Ping, Donald, and Goofy?" Velle asked as she dispatched of a shadow and landed gracefully on her feet.
"I...I didn't want to leave you on your own…" Sora admitted with a blush.
Velle snorted and pointed her keyblade in front of her, aiming at a soldier heartless who was rushing towards her. "Freeze!" She shouted. A cold blast of arctic wind emitted from her weapon and froze the heartless in spot and with one quick swipe she hit it with her keyblade and it shattered. "I'm not some damsel in distress, Sora. I can handle myself-"
Sora froze, he felt like he was experiencing deja vu for a moment. Even though Velle was disguised under her magic spell he could see a different version of her. Her long purple hair was loose and fell just past her waist. She wore a tight bodysuit with buckles and belts instead of the oversized armor. He watched in awe as her violet hair whipped around and she elbowed a shadow who was creeping up on her. "Watch!...out…" he mumbled the last part as his warning came too late.
Velle jumped up and whacked a flying mage heartless, "Take that!" When she landed back on the ground, she turned and winked at the brunette. "Trust me, I'm fine. Ping's the one we should be worried about."
Sora shook his head and tried to break out of his trance. "Y-you're right! I'll go back to them, just shout if you need help."
"Got it!" Velle shot him a smile over her shoulder. Sora lingered for another moment as if something was holding him rooted in place. He forced himself to run back to the others even though every fiber in his body told him not to go. When he reached his friends he noticed they were struggling with a few heartless.
"I'm here guys, back off!" He shouted, casting a thunder spell to knock the heartless back a few feet.
He felt as if he fought on autopilot, he was confused by the sudden strong emotions he felt for the violet haired girl. He had always formed strong connections with people but he'd never formed one so fast, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He genuinely cared for Velle, he didn't want to see her get hurt. Sora considered himself a pacifist unless he had absolutely no choice. However, when he saw the short man punch Velle he became livid. It was as if something inside him snapped, forcing him jumped back into the fight and hooked the man in the jaw. When he watched Velle fight he was mesmerized by her beauty. He felt guilty immediately, he didn't understand the emotions he was feeling. Kairi had always been the apple of his eye, but for a brief moment in time...Velle was the one thing that mattered.
"I don't get it..." he mumbled aloud as he jumped back after dispatching of another shadow.
"Ya don't get what?" Goofy asked as he blocked a red nocturne's fire blast with his shield.
"Huh?" Sora looked at Goofy, confused. "Oh nothing..." He launched forward and attacked a soldier heartless. He hadn't meant to speak out loud, but his mind was reeling. It almost felt like he was feeling someone else's emotions. Sora sighed as he shot a final fire spell at the last heartless. What was even going on anymore?
"Hey guys! How'd you do?" Velle asked as she jogged towards the group.
"We did great!" Donald exclaimed, jumping in the air.
"Great!" Velle cheered.
"It was all thanks to Sora..." Mulan admitted.
"Well, I'm glad you left when you did!" Velle winked at the brunette. Sora turned his head quickly to hide his blush and noticed someone walking towards them.
"It's the captain!" He exclaimed.
The captain stopped right in front of him, "You four. What are your names?"
"Sora."
"Donald."
"Goofy."
"Voal."
The captain nodded at them, "You're welcome in my troup. Your battle skills are encouraging."
Mulan cleared her throat, feeling left out. "I am the son of Fa Zouh-"
"You should return home." He cut her off. Velle's attention snapped to her friend with worry.
"B-but...That would dishonor my family!" Mulan protested.
The captain turned to her with a cold look, "You'd rather dishonor my troops?"
Velle's eyes widened as she heard Mushu growl, "Ergh! Don't make me-"
Sora cleared his throat to grab the attention of their captain, "If Ping trains hard and does his best, he'll get stronger in no time!" Sora assured him.
"Hm..."
"Sora's right, just give us an assignment! We'll show you first hand!" Velle joined. After a few well thought out remarks the captain finally conceded. Before they accepted their assignment the group left to train Ping a little more. When they returned, the captain informed them that they were to head to the summit to be the advance party to cut off the Hun invasion.
Velle, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan trudged up the mountain side alongside the group of men they'd fought when they first arrived at camp. Velle suddenly ran into the large man and fell back onto Sora, who collapsed on Goofy, and Goofy landed on Donald who was smashed under the group.
"Muh-muh-muh-monsters!" The skinny man stammered.
"Huh?" Velle jumped back to her feet and summoned her keyblade. "Where?" She came around the large man to see three large heartless. "Sora, Donald, Goofy! I need your help!" Velle quipped.
"You got it!" Sora hopped up and summoned his keyblade, followed shortly by Donald, Goofy, Ping, and the others. Velle and Donald charged towards a Nightwalker heartless while Sora, Goofy, and Ping headed towards a large Assault Rider heartless.
The nightwalker heartless swiped its large claw at Velle and she dodge rolled out of the way. "Donald! Watch out for its claws!"
"Okay! Fire!" Donald shouted as he swung his staff at the creature. It flung backwards from the force of the fireball.
"Woah! That was just a fire spell!?" Velle exclaimed.
"Once I remember the rest of my magic I'll be even stronger!" Donald replied as he whacked the heartless with his staff.
Suddenly a mage heartless flew into view and cast a blizzard spell. Velle through her keyblade in the air, "Reflect!" A barrier appeared around them and the blizzard spell shot back and killed the heartless. "Now for you!" Velle turned her attention back on the Nightwalker. Velle sprinted towards it, she hopped over the top of the heartless and pointed her keyblade at it. "Graviga!" The Nightwalker was smashed to the ground by an invisible force. Before it could move Velle slammed her keyblade down on the creature and destroyed it. Velle jumped back and watched the Nightwalker disappear in a wisp of darkness, leaving the crystal heart ascending towards the heavens.
"Woah...You really are good..." Donald commented in awe.
Velle giggled and threw her keyblade over her shoulder, "Thanks! It's been a long time coming, trust me. Sometimes it feels like I've been training all my life..."
"Voal! Donald!" Sora called as he ran up to them with the others. He felt like he could finally breathe now that he knew Velle was okay. Why was he acting like this? It was driving him crazy, he knew his heart belonged to Kairi...so why was he so enamored by Velle? The three imperial army soldiers they fought at the camp walked over to them.
"Hey, you ain't half bad." The short stout man told Ping.
"A man among men!" The skinny soldier added.
"Thanks!" Mulan grinned.
"I'm Yao," The stout soldier introduced.
"Ling!" The skinny man quipped.
"And I...am...Chien Po…" The large man spoke slowly and pleasantly.
"Ping!" Mulan replied. The three soldiers walked away and Mulan let her shoulders drop. "...But...the captain..." Mulan sighed hopelessly.
"Captain!" Sora exclaimed as he strode over to them.
"Ping sure did great!" Goofy commented.
"You bet he did!" Donald added.
Captain Li Shang thought for a moment before he spoke, "Hm...Fine. I'll let you join my troops...But I'm still not convinced you have what it takes to be a worthy soldier.
"Why not!?" Sora exclaimed.
"It's alright, Sora." Mulan replied quietly. "I'll find a way to show him what I'm made of. Just give me a chance."
"That's the spirit Ping!" The captain encouraged.
The troup reached a snow covered village on the way to the summit. They were ordered to rest at the village and the soldiers went their separate ways. Mulan, Velle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood behind a small hut, Mushu had crawled out of Mulan's armor and was now standing in the snow.
"Now's your chance girl! I just saw this real shady guy. And I just know it's Shan Yu, even if he was wearing a hood." Mushu informed them.
"Shan Yu!" Mulan exclaimed.
"That's the Hun leader! We've gotta tell the captain!" Sora advised.
"A hood?" Velle asked suddenly. "Are you sure it was Shan Yu?" Her mind immediately snapped to Xigbar. He did say he'd meet up with her eventually.
"Of course, I'm sure! Don't you think I'd know Shan Yu when I saw Shan Yu!" Mushu snapped.
"Then all the more reason to tell the captain," Velle mused.
"Right!" Mulan agreed.
"Wait! Wait! Wait-wait-wait! Everybody use their heads a sec." The group paused and thought hard, what could Mushu possibly want them to think about? "Now, why are we here?" When no one answered he continued, "To make the captain see Mulan's-I mean-Ping's talents and bring honor to her family!" The group nodded in realization. "So, let's find out where Shan Yu is by ourselves. Then if we're lucky, we can fry him up good! Though just tracking the guy down should earn us our stars...Captain Musclehead will have to notice my girl!"
The group deferred to Mulan on the final decision, after all, it was her family's honor at stake. Mulan's expression hardened and she nodded, "Okay, let's go!" She said with finality.
"We'll go too." Sora offered.
"Me too!" Velle quipped.
"Now we're cookin'!" Mushu cheered. "Shan Yu is in a cave just outside this village."
"A-are you positive it's Shan Yu, Mushu?" Velle asked him quietly as she walked behind the group to the cave.
"Of course, I'm positive! Will you relax? This is just what Mulan needs to win over the captain!" Mushu assured. He quickened his pace and crawled up Mulan's leg, taking his place back inside her armor. Sora had quickly picked up on Velle's reluctance to believe that the hooded figure was Shan Yu.
The brunette boy fell back to match her stride, "Hey."
"Hey?" Velle replied with a smile.
"You didn't seem too sure that the guy Mushu saw was Shan Yu...Why? Have you seen other hooded bad guys walking around?" Sora inquired curiously.
"I...uh...no…" Velle lied quickly. She knew she was supposed to keep her odd friendship with Xigbar a secret. She didn't completely understand why, but she felt like she owed it to him for giving her the book from Daybreak Town. "It's just, how can you be sure someone is who you think you are if you don't see their face?" She added.
Sora shrugged, "I guess you're right."
"Hey, Sora?" Velle said after a moment of silence.
"Hm?"
"I'm glad I met you...I feel like I've known you all my life...it's weird…" Velle admitted quietly.
Sora grinned and folded his hands behind his head as they walked, "Me too! I feel the same, like I've always known you...it really is weird!"
The group reached the mouth of the cave and they entered. Scattered here and there were firecrackers and barrels, Sora even found some hidden treasure in the cave. They continued further until they could go no more.
"Dead end." Donald huffed. "There's nobody here."
"You're crazy, check again!" Mushu snapped.
Velle shrugged, "Oh well..." She turned to Donald who shrugged as well and the two turned to walk back out of the cave.
"Wait for me guys!" Goofy called, running behind them. Just as they reached the mouth of the cave they heard Sora.
"Hey! Wait up!" He shouted. Suddenly the cave began to rumble and Velle ran back to see what was going on but ran smack into a barrier.
"Huh?" She slammed her palms on the barrier but nothing happened.
"Sora! Ping!" Donald and Goofy yelled.
"Velle!" Sora shouted. Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw a hooded figure standing beside a large man behind his friends.
"That's Shan Yu!" Mushu exclaimed, popping out from Mulan's armor.
"Then who's the guy in the hood?" Sora demanded as he summoned his keyblade. Shan Yu let out a malicious laugh before turning around and walking out of the cave, leaving the hooded figure.
Velle gasped as she watched Sora and Ping being ambushed by a group of heartless. "Sora! Ping! Don't worry I'm coming!" She summoned her keyblade but screamed when she felt a gloved hand around her mouth, pulling her backward.
"Velle! No!" Sora bellowed. "Donald, Goofy! Help her! Please!" Sora choked, he felt his eyes sting. He was genuinely terrified of what would happen to Velle, but it was too late. The figure and Velle disappeared through a dark portal before Donald and Goofy could even turn around. Sora felt like the image of Velle's outstretched hand and terrified wide eyes were burned into his memory. "Velle..." He whispered hopelessly, he felt his heart break in two...no not his heart...a heart inside of his own.