The Gummi ship was flying in space, heading back to the worlds they visited before. "So where to, everyone?" Sora asked the team.
"Hmm, looks like there are only two other worlds we can visit right now." Yui answered, tapping away at the screen, The reason of why we can't visit the others is unknown, but if we solve the solutions of the other worlds, we can probably progress forward.
"So what are the two worlds?" Kirito asked her.
"They are...the Land of the Dragons and Beast's Castle." Yui answered him.
"It's been a while since we've been to either one." Asuna stated, "Though it would be nice to see Mulan again."
"Then let's go see here!" Donald declared. "You know what to do, Yui." Kirito told her. She smiled and tapped away at the computer, and the team ventured to Mulan's world. When they arrived at the atmosphere of Mulan's world, they walked to the transporter, and they warped down to the surface.
When they landed, they found themselves in the middle of the destroyed mountain village. They looked around, and saw no life near them. The team started walking around the place. "I wonder how everybody's doin'?" Goofy asked.
"Look!" gasped Donald and Yui, pointing in front of them. At the exit of the village, a man in an Organization XIII outfit was there, with his hood up. He turned to their shout, saw who it was, and took off up the mountain.
"Wait!" shouted Sora, and he was about to lead the charge when someone behind them called out his, Kirito and Asuna's name. They turned to see Mulan run up to meet them, breathing heavily.
"Hey, Mulan!" Asuna greeted her, "I would love to stay and chat with you, but we need to catch that guy!"
"I'm following him, too!" Mulan told them.
"Then let's go!" declared Donald. They recruited Mulan into their team, and they charged up the mountainside.
"So what's been happening to you?" Asuna asked as they ran up the mountain, "Your honor hasn't broken yet?"
"No." Mulan answered her, "Thanks to you and everyone, the honor of my family hasn't been shamed at."
"And the captain?" Asuna asked her, "How are you two getting along?"
"What do you mean?" Mulan asked, blushing a bit.
"You know what I mean." Asuna said with a smirk.
Kirito was looking for the Organization member while hearing their conversation. Is it really the time to ask such things? Kirito thought as they made it to the ridge. Kirito then noticed the man they were looking for, continuing up towards the summit. He tapped Sora's shoulder so he could draw his attention to the man. They got the girls' attention, and they ran up the mountain, chasing after the guy. They made their way up to the summit, where they noticed that the man disappeared from their sight. There was no sign of him there. "Looks like he got away." moaned Mulan, looking around.
"How come you're after somebody from Organization XIII?" Goofy asked her.
"What is that?" questioned Mulan.
"The guy in black." Sora answered.
"One of the bad guys!" Donald added.
"And they control creatures called the Nobodies." Kirito finished.
"I knew it!" Mulan confirmed, "There's a rumor in the Imperial City about a spy in black, lurking in the mountains. I'd been up here tracking him, but when you arrived, I lost him." The five heroes looked to each other, feeling that they were the ones to blame.
"Er, sorry about that." Asuna apologized, bowing deeply.
"Don't apologize." Mulan shrugged off, "But I do wonder where he went."
"Probably opened up one of those black portals." Kirito assumed, "That's their way of getting around." The team looked around, hoping the man would reveal himself to them.
Suddenly, The group heard something, and they looked up towards the top to see a horde of Rapid Thrusters swarming at the top, bearing down upon them. It was like before when they fought Shan-Yu on this very summit.
"Again?" Donald moaned.
"This is deja-vu all over again." Asuna muttered. The horde of Heartless charged down the slope towards them. The team readied their weapons, ready to take them.
"Okay, first things first!" Sora declared. The team charged ahead, but Sora stopped. He felt a mysterious presence of some sort. He turned to see the man in black standing there, facing Sora. "Hey! You!" barked Sora, waving his Keyblade at him, "Quit sneaking around!" The man merely lifted his hand, pointing at a spot behind Sora. He turned just in time to knock back a Rapid Thruster. "This isn't gonna be easy." Sora muttered to himself, "I have to fight this guy while I deal with the Heartless. Oh well, here's hoping." He raised his Keyblade, and went to work.
This guy produced a sword of his own, one that looked like a red bat wing with a blue eye at the handle. Sora felt like he recognized the sword before, but he couldn't remember where. The guy was definitely well skilled and enduring, because he was blocking Sora's attacks, and the ones he couldn't avoid didn't make him flinch. His swordplay was strong, but Sora was fast enough do avoid them. However, the Heartless swarming around them proved to be a problem. For some strange reason, the mysterious man also attacked them while attacking Sora. Was this because they were in the way? He thought the Organization wanted Sora to take out the Heartless.
As the battle kept going, the man started doing other moves; sword spins, and shooting black spears of energy at Sora. He was having a hard time avoiding all the attacks, but he was managing somehow thanks to potions and his Cura spell. Sora kept striking when the opportunity seemed fit. All in all, the battle seem to go in Sora's favor. After a while, the place was cleared off all Heartless thanks to the to fighters and everybody else. Sora stood there, realizing they were all gone, then turned to the man who he was fighting with. He felt like this guy was not actually fighting Sora to the death, more rather fighting him while dealing with the Heartless. They looked at each other for a second, then the man waved his hand in a 'whatever' kind of way, then took off down the mountain.
Sora chased after him, but he was too fast, and he disappeared. But he felt like he knew that guy, and one name came into his mind. "That guy..." Sora muttered to himself, "No... Why...would he? Riku?" Sora stood there, wondering if it was really Riku he saw and was fighting with.
Kirito, Asuna, Mulan and the gang walked up to meet him. Kirito noticed Sora's expression on his face. "Are you okay, Sora?" he asked him.
"Did ya get 'im?" Goofy asked.
"Hmm..." he hummed, then he realized he was being spoke to, "Oh, he's gone."
"What?! You lost him?" squawked Donald.
"Looks like that guy got away from us again." Asuna muttered, sighing somewhat. Yui and Mulan both made eye contact with Sora, and they started to see the look of concern on Sora's face.
"Anyway..." Sora stammered, trying to divert the subject, "What now?"
"I think the best thing we can do right now would be to take care of all the Heartless first." Kirito suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement. It did seem to be the best idea they have right now.
Suddenly, the ground suddenly quaked by the sound of a roar coming from inside the mountains. It startled everybody, and they looked around in concern. "What was that?" Mulan asked, looking around, then she turned to Asuna, "Come on, we better get off the mountain."
"Okay." Asuna agreed, and the two ladies led the group down the mountain.
Sora paused to look back at the summit again, wondering where the man in black was at. "Hey, Sora!" shouted Kirito, "You comin'?"
"Y-Yeah, sorry." Sora replied, and he ran to catch up with them.
As they trailed down towards the ridge, the ground shook again, more violently this time. This shocked everyone again. Then from one side, something shot out of the snow. From a distance, the crew could see that this was a vicious Heartless, and a large one too. It had the form of a dragon, and it's gleaming yellow eyes bore down at them. It roared at the group as they readied their weapons.
"Yui, tell us what that is!" Asuna asked her daughter as she poked out of Kirito's pocket.
"A Storm Rider!" cried Yui in response, "It's an extremely vicious Heartless, and it's thunder-based."
The Heartless looked down at them, then took off down the mountain...towards the city! "It's heading towards the city!" cried Mulan, "We got to warn Shang!" The group went from a walk to a full dash as they charged down the mountain.
"How many deja-vus do we have to deal with today?!" Asuna questioned as they ran, recalling Mulan saying almost the exact same thing the last time they were on this mountain.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, the man in black had just knocked down Shang to the floor. He put his dark sword away and turned toward the Emperor, just as Shang was struggling to get up. He walked up the steps towards the throne, where the Emperor stood there, glaring at the new enemy. The two looked at each other, the tension rising in the room.
Back with the heroes, they were just passing the ruined mountain village, charging down the trail. There were more Heartless there than the last time, and they were stronger two. This included two new Heartless; Emerald Blues, which were a pain to deal with what with the gust of winds they developed, and Neoshadows, the upgraded forms of the standard shadows. Through a troublesome trip, they made it down the mountain, to the checkpoint, and through the gates towards the city. They were prepared for a fight when they realized something; there were no Heartless around. The Storm Rider hadn't made it's presence yet. It was...too peaceful.
"Huh? Everything's fine." Sora stated as the team looked around.
"That can't be right." Asuna stated, growing more concern the more she looked.
"Well now..." said a gruff voice. The team turned to see Yao, Ling and Chien Po walking towards them. "Look who decided to show up." Yao said to them.
"Sorry you missed me, handsome." scoffed Asuna in a sarcastic tone. Yao growled at Asuna. He really didn't like her since she knocked him down the first time they were in this world.
"What? Is that a problem?" Donald asked.
"Nah!" Ling waved off.
"We're just glad you're not in black cloaks." Chien Po stated.
"You saw him?" exclaimed Mulan.
"Yeah, he's in the palace." Yao answered, looking towards the palace.
"And you guys didn't stop him?" Kirito asked, surprised they weren't stopping the man.
"We tried, but..." started Ling, but his voice trailed off. Kirito assumed that they did try, but failed miserably.
Mulan charged ahead to the palace, with Asuna, Sora and the others in tow. Just as they rushed in, however, three Assault Riders and four Bolt Towers blocked their path. They were certainly difficult to deal with, what with the lancing, ramming and hammering shockwaves. Asuna and Mulan skidded back to one side as the boys were surrounded by the infernal Heartless.
"Hey, Mushu!" shouted Asuna.
Mushu came popping out of Mulan's uniform, shouting, "I didn't eat those dumplings!" Apparently, he was just waking up or denying something he actually did.
"Never mind that!" Asuna retorted, "How's that 'dragon dandruff' of yours? Is it burning?"
Mulan understood what she meant, and so did Mushu. "I'm on fire, baby!" declared Mushu, and the trio went into their Limit Break. Mushu started by firing a barrage of fireballs at the start, then the other two went in. While Asuna leapt toward the enemies enveloped in flames, Mulan kept delivering fireballs from her hand. They went on like this, going one after another. Finally, Mushu finished it by sent a volley of large fireballs into the air, and the trio got together again as the fireballs came exploding down to the ground like meteors all around them.
The full attack took out all the Heartless, leaving the place clear of opponents. The team gathered together again. "To the palace! Hurry!" declared Mulan. The team nodded in agreement, and they charged towards the steps towards the entrance.
When they got to the doors, they found it locked. "Open up!" shouted Sora, banging against the door. The boys all shoved as hard as they could at the door, but it didn't budge.
Asuna and Mulan looked around for any alternative routes inside. Mulan eyed the pillar close to them, and came up with an idea. "Over here!" Mulan told the heroes, and she led them to the pillar. Goofy and Donald got to it first, and one by one, they grabbed ahold of the pillar, and started climbing up it. Kirito and Sora went up next, finished by Asuna and Mulan. The team were like monkeys as they climbed up the wall, especially the boys. Asuna was struggling a bit, but she was also worried about Mulan right beneath her. At one point, Mulan lost her grip, and she looked like she was gonna fall. Asuna reached out to grab her, but Mulan got her grip back onto the pillar. She looked up to Asuna, and nodded at her to signal that she was ok. The girls managed to make it to the top.
They went through an open space, and managed to get around the door by going through the rafters. They looked down at the hallway before them. It was lit with Chinese lanterns, and at the end were another set of doors, and a man in Organization XIII garments stood there facing the door. The team leapt down to ground level. Donald couldn't keep his balance when he landed and fell, but he got back up again. They looked ahead at the man in black.
"Think that's the same guy?" Kirito whispered to Asuna.
"Probably." she replied, "Let's get a closer look." The team ran down the hallway towards the man.
The man reached out to open the door before Mulan shouted, "Wait!" the cry startled the man, and he turned to see the team standing there, their weapons raised.
For a while there was stillness, then Sora surprisingly lowered his weapon, walking slowly towards the man before them. "…Riku?" Sora asked, and all but Mulan looked startled. They knew about Riku, but was this really the man?
The man lowered his hood, revealing a man with long black and grey streaked hair, a scar on his face, and an eyepatch. "Nope. Never heard of him!" replied the man in an amused tone. This guy was not Riku. Sora raised his weapon again as Nobodies surrounded them, new purple ones with crossbows.
"Sniper Nobodies!" warned Yui, "They're really tricky!"
"Gotcha." Kirito replied. Sora noticed the man run around them, heading back outside once more. Sora couldn't give chase because of the Nobodies.
The new Nobodies were tricky indeed. There were Dusks mixed into the crowd, at times blocking the team from getting close to the Snipers. This gave enough time for them to charge up before firing their shots at them, which instead of natural arrows, it looked like red, laser like arrows. The arrows paused for a second in midair, giving the team time to avoid them or in Sora, Kirito and Asuna's case, teleport right in front of them and sending them back at the Snipers, causing massive damage. It was fairly difficult, apart from Kirito, who felt like this was just as easy as blocking bullets in GGO, but they managed to take them out.
The team cleared the hallway, and put away their weapons. "Guess it wasn't Riku." Goofy stated to a concern Sora, "Sorry, Sora." Sora looked up at his friends, and smiled as he shook his head, showing that he wasn't that worried. Kirito and Asuna wondered why Sora thought that guy was Riku. Was he thinking that during his fight with the Organization member up in the mountains?
"I can't stay." Mulan said to the team, "I'm worried about Shang."
"Oh, right!" Sora remembered.
"Then we better get moving." Asuna stated, and the group head to the next room. They entered the throne room, and there was Shang, somewhat battered, but ok, standing next to the Emperor, who sat at his throne. It seemed like Mulan's concern for Shang was falsified.
The team dashed up to the Emperor, Mulan was in the lead. "Your Excellency! Shang!" she gasped, "Something terrible has happened! We saw a huge monster fly out of the mountains and toward the city!" Asuna and Donald nodded in confirmation.
"Ahh. So it is as the young man said." the Emperor replied, turning from them to Shang, "Isn't that right, Captain?"
"Y-yes, Your Excellency." stammered Shang.
"What young man?" Kirito asked, his eyes narrowed.
"You see, a young stranger visited us not long ago." the Emperor explained, "The Captain fought the visitor, but was quickly defeated."
Hopefully not as fast as my fight with him. Asuna thought secretly.
"To my dishonor." Shang muttered, turning to the Emperor.
"It seems that the young man was the one in black that I have heard whispers about." the Emperor continued.
"Did he mention the name Riku?" Sora asked the man.
"He didn't offer his name." the Emperor replied, "He was rather rude." Asuna looked to Kirito, remembering in the past that he was kind of like that. Kirito saw her glance, and looked away, not wanting that comparison.
"Rude? Then it WAS Riku!" Sora stated excitedly. Asuna and Kirito looked to Sora.
"How does 'being rude' mean that it was Riku?" Kirito asked softly, "Is he really like that?"
"Riku's in the Organization?" Donald asked Goofy as Yui flew over to them.
"Gawrsh…" muttered Goofy, thinking about the possibility.
"Well, we don't know that for sure, do we?" Yui asked them.
"But why would he come here?" Mulan asked Sora. Sora folding his arms and thought about it. Kirito and Asuna both were in thought. If Riku was here, and he was Sora's friend, why didn't he reveal himself to him? Was he trying to hide from Sora? If so, why?
Suddenly, there was a loud crash, followed by a booming roar, startling the group. "Sounds like it's here." Asuna stated, looking up above her.
"I'll check outside." Mulan told the Emperor.
The team turned to leave when they heard Shang cry, "Mulan!" They stopped abruptly and turned to the captain.
"Shang, guard the Emperor!" Mulan ordered him, "I'll be fine, with them!" she addressed Sora, Asuna and the team.
"Th-that's right!" stammered Sora.
"You bet she's safe with us!" Asuna assured Shang.
"Indeed." agreed the Emperor, "That is true: We need not worry while you protect us." Shang turned to the Emperor, nodding in understanding.
"Hurry!" squawked Donald, drawing the teams attention.
"Here." Shang said, walking over to a chest and opening it, revealing a strange shield, "I'm sure this will be useful."
"That's the Ogre Shield." Yui whispered as Sora took it and gave it to Goofy for him to use. Kirito also noticed another piece of Pooh's Storybook in a corner of the steps, and picked it up before they took off to take on the treacherous opponent outside.
The team ran through the hallway to the doors that led outside. Mulan and Asuna were the first to reach the big doors, and they slowly pushed them open. As they opened it halfway, they were startled by the large Heartless they saw before; the Storm Rider. It lowered it's head towards the girls and roared at them. They backed off to Sora and Kirito's side, but the boys reassured the girls, and the team charged outside.
The Heartless flew up into the air, and started circling them. After circling around once, it swayed around, then it dived bomb at the team. They scattered about, avoiding being hit by it. Kirito and Sora got quickly to their feet and charged at the level Heartless, grabbing its' tail. Asuna and Mulan ran up to meet them, followed by Donald and Goofy. They all got onto the Storm Rider just as it flew up once again into the sky again.
The dragon roared as the team stood there on his back. "We need to knock him down!" Asuna shouted.
"Take out the horns near wings!" cried Yui, "Attacking the head will also do too!" The team nodded in response, but just as they were about to start, Sora's instincts told him to grab onto one of its' back spikes. Kirito, Asuna and Mulan also felt like they had to, and they all grabbed ahold of one of the spikes. Their instincts were right on, cause the Storm Rider suddenly looped in the air, trying to shake them off. Donald and Goofy fell to the ground below, but the others held on.
When the Storm Rider finished, they let got and got to striking at the spikes one either of it's wings. Kirito and Sora attacked one horn while Asuna and Mulan attacked the other. It was a bit difficult what with the small room they were given, not to mention the Heartless tried shaking them off twice more. It even started summoning lightning bolts onto the team, which added to the inconvenience. Sora and Kirito's side took out one of the spikes, and saw that Mulan and Asuna were almost done with their side. Just as they were about to finish however, the Heartless spiraled in the air, and the team fell to the ground, not expecting it to do that.
"Now what do we do?!" Asuna asked solemnly.
Sora looked around, and noticed small, tornado-like winds spinning around the place. He went up to one and started floating in the center. He guided the wind up close to underneath the Heartless, and used the wind to send himself flying high into the air above the Storm Rider. "I didn't think of that." Kirito said as Sora managed to get his foothold onto the Heartless' back.
Sora started swinging at the horn until it too broke. This caused the Storm Rider to go spinning to the ground, phased by the attack. The team went to work on striking it anyway possible. Through this, the team realized that electric attacks were non-effective to it. They also realized that it was gonna take a whole lot to take down the beast.
Suddenly, the dragon let out a tremendous roar, and it sent everybody away from it. Then once the coast was clear, it took off into the sky once more. It got to one side of the courtyard, and it clapped its' cymbal like feet, and it flew in a straight line, dropping a plethora of bombs down as it went. Mulan almost got hit by it, but Kirito made a dive for her, pushing her out of the way, but he got blasted instead.
"Kirito!" shouted Sora and Asuna in unison.
Kirito flew in the air, but then spun around and landed on his feet again. "No worries here." he assured them, feeling damaged, but still strong.
Sora and Asuna each went to different small tornados, and attempted to use them to get on top of the Storm Rider. The dragon Heartless was moving around quite a lot, and they failed to land onto it. Then it got to one side of the courtyard, and aimed it's sights onto Kirito, Goofy and Mulan as it dived down to tackle them. Kirito dashed forth and went into a slide, getting underneath the belly of the beast, then he slashed at it strong, ending with an uppercut, sending it flailing in the air. Kirito landed in a pose as the Storm Rider landed right behind him, dazed from the attack.
Asuna and Donald took this chance to shoot a barrage of Blizzara attacks as the Heartless stayed there. Kirito, Mulan, Goofy and Sora all started striking its' head, their combined effort knocking it silly. This still wasn't enough cause it roared once more, sending the close combatants flying backwards as it took off once more. The Storm Rider was now even angrier. Thunder attacks kept shooting around the stadium as it flew, which were in most cases easily avoidable. What wasn't easy to avoid were the lightning bolts that it shot out of its' wingtips. They always seem to curving towards the spots where the team stood. The attack knocked Donald and Goofy out cold, while the others were already having trouble avoiding its' attack.
It then shot out more bombs, giving Kirito a chance to find a tornado. He waited for the beast to pause before he shot himself at it, transforming into his Valor Form as he did so. He managed to land onto his back, and started a flurry of attacks on the horns on its' wingtips. He took one out, paused to grab ahold of one of the Storm Rider's spikes as it tried to flip Kirito off. "Hold onto him, Kirito!" shouted Asuna. Sora took this time to revive Donald and Goofy. Mulan decided to make an attempt of riding one of the tornados, sending her up straight at the back of the beast. Kirito let go of spike, and started attacking the other horn once more.
Mulan landed onto the Heartless' back just as it started attacking with more lightning attacks from its' wings. The target, however, was Kirito and Mulan as they curved around to meet them. The attack electrified the two, and Mulan was knocked out cold as she fell to the ground. Asuna made a sliding catch for her, and she landed safely. Kirito witnessed this, sighed in relief, then furiously took out the other horn, causing it to collapse to the ground once more.
Asuna revived Mulan again, and the girls charged in as Donald, Goofy and Sora went ahead of them. Sora went into his Wisdom form, and started shooting a barrage of shots from his Keyblade at the dazed beast, while Kirito attacked with all his might at the beast's head. The team felt like the Heartless was on its' last leg, but they couldn't defeat it at that moment, cause it let out another deafening roar, causing the team to fall back as it spiraled up into the air, only to land onto the bridge that led to their platform.
"What's he planning?" Kirito wondered as it roared again. Suddenly, from either side of the courtyard, walls of lightning shot from the ground, enclosing started to move inward, causing the team to move into the middle of the field, where the head of the Storm Rider was at. Kirito and Sora made an attempt to strike it, and they scored a few attacks before it started charging up for an attack using the horns on its' head. Kirito and Sora tried backing away, but it then shot out a massive beam of lightning at them, not only striking them but Donald too. The attack, knocked the trio back, electrocuted.
"Guys!" Asuna cried to the trio that got fried.
Sora and Kirito shakily got to their feet again, their body feeling a bit numb. Donald was knocked out cold once again. Asuna, Mulan and Goofy watched their struggle to get up as the lightning streaked across the walls, attempting to attack them. Asuna turned to see the Heartless already charge up for another blast, and she signaled the other two to grab the boys. Asuna grabbed Kirito, Mulan got Sora, and Goofy grabbed Donald. They barely dodged the Storm Rider's next assault.
"Th-thanks!" stammered Kirito as Asuna let go of him.
"No problem." Asuna replied, "You, Sora and Donald recover here, okay? We'll handle the rest."
Asuna, Mulan and Goofy all turned to where the Storm Rider was at, getting back into the sky again as the walls of lightning disappeared. It soared high into the air, and attempted to shoot lightning bolts from its' wingtips at the three remaining. Asuna stepped forward in front of the two. "Reflect!" she cried, and she formed a barrier that not only stopped the lightning attack, but sent a beam right back. However, the Heartless was too far away to damage it.
Asuna, Mulan and Goofy all charged towards three different tornados, and Asuna cued them to shoot straight up towards the Storm Rider. They landed onto it's back, and instead of attacking the horns on the wings, they started attacking it's head. They delivered a good amount of damage to it's head, but then it spiraled in the air, shaking them off again. They neatly landed onto the ground just as it spun into a dive again, aiming its' sights on them. Asuna dashed forward, slid underneath the monster as it drew close to Mulan and Goofy, and uppercut it into the air. She then leapt upward and mustered all her power to unleash her Shooting Star sword skill at it while in normal form.
The attack was intensifying, and she landed onto her feet and one hand as the Heartless started to fall from the sky… down towards Mulan and Goofy! Goofy ran out of the way, but Mulan was too terrified to think about running. All of the others watched as the Storm Rider fell down towards her.
"Mulan!" shouted someone. Shang came dashing over the bridge to Mulan, and attempted to shield her just as the Storm Rider was about to topple onto them. Before it could, it started to vanish as a large, crystalized heart flew into the sky and disappeared, notably going to where all the other hearts were at. Fortunately. Mulan and Shang stood there, unscathed.
"Way to go!" cheered Sora. Asuna sighed in relief for Mulan's safety. Kirito smiled at Asuna and then at Shang, who was lifting Mulan to her feet. They looked into each other's eyes, and smiled.
Sora and the others looked on at the scene that took place, grinning at the moment. Asuna walked around them towards Kirito's side. Yui popped out of Kirito's pocket now that the fight was over to watch too. "Seems like those two have a really nice bond with each other." Yui muttered out loud. Mulan and Shang remembered that the others were there, then turned to each other, and let go of one another, embarrassed at the display they just shown.
Asuna giggled encouragingly, then Kirito patted Asuna's shoulder to draw her attention. "You did great out there, Asuna." he complimented her.
"Hey, I just did what I could." Asuna replied with a cheeky grin.
"Look!" Yui squeaked, pointing to where the spot the Storm Rider disappeared. Three more magic orbs appeared, flying towards Sora, Kirito and Asuna. "They're Thunder Elements!" Yui explained, "They'll turn your Thunder into Thundara."
"That'll come in handy." Sora implied as the trio took the orbs.
Kirito and Asuna held each other's hands as they stared at one another, smiling, the feelings they have for each other flowing between the two. It's been a while since they had a moment like this, not since their first day in this crazy dimension. Their moment was interrupted by fireworks that shot into the sky above the group, celebrating their victory against the Storm Rider. They all looked up at the display, taking in the moment as the fireworks lit up the cloudy sky.
The group gathered once more at the Emperor's throne room. Shang went to his place next to the Emperor's side once more. "Once again, you have served China well." the Emperor said to the group before him, "It would please me to reward you. What is it that you wish?" Donald was thinking about money. Goofy thought about food. Kirito and Asuna wanted to go back home, but they didn't think that the Emperor had such a power.
"Well…" Sora started, drawing their attention, "You say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?"
"That is all you request?" the Emperor asked, puzzled.
"Yes." Sora replied, causing Donald and Goofy to drop their heads. Kirito and Asuna didn't argue with Sora's request.
"Dragons have crossed our land and left a great web of paths." the Emperor explained, "These dragons wield much power, and they are the source of many gifts to both man and nature. But it would seem someone of evil intent disturbed on of our dragons, and transformed it into what you call a Heartless. It is my belief that this young man came to warn me of that danger. Then, I could alert and prepare my troops." Kirito and Asuna were puzzled from this. They guessed that the Organization wouldn't act in such a kind manner.
"Did you?" Sora questioned the Emperor.
He chuckled in response. "I was about to, be he told me the situation had changed." he told them.
"He said four 'wise guys' and a girl had arrived, and they would take care of things." Shang explained with a smirk. The five heroes looked to each other, Sora, Donald and Goofy laughing in excitement.
"That's gotta be Riku!" Sora cheered.
"He called me a 'wise guy'?" Kirito asked in a confused manner as Asuna and Yui laughed at him. Donald and Goofy stopped laughing and looked to each other, worried.
"But what's he doin' hangin' out with Organization XIII?" Goofy asked.
"No idea." Sora replied, "But at least I finally know he's okay. That's good enough."
"He could be disguised as one of them so he can infiltrate them from the inside." Kirito suggested, "I've seen that happen a lot." Sora turned to Kirito, smiled and nodded, considering that possibility.
"Yeah, that's good!" agreed Donald.
"Now then, Fa Mulan." the Emperor continued, "Do you have a request?"
"I like Shang…I-I mean… well… The Captain…" Mulan stammered, trying to put her request into the right sentence.
"Yes, yes, my dear. What is it?" the Emperor asked hastily, interested in what she wants to ask.
Mulan paused before asking, "Could the Captain have a vacation, please?" Shang looked surprised at her wish. Asuna wasn't surprised, since she understood what Mulan was asking for.
"I hardly expected such humble requests." chortled the Emperor as he stood up and walked forward, "In this case, I'm afraid I must refuse. Captain Li's responsibility is to protect the Emperor." Mulan looked down in solemn. "And yet, Mulan…" the Emperor continued, "Would you like to serve alongside him and protect me?"
"What?" gasped Mulan and Shang.
"Two reeds together are stronger than one." the Emperor quoted as he turned his back to them, "But the choice is yours alone."
"Thank you, your Excellency!" Mulan replied happily, bowing to him in respect.
As Mulan and Shang looked to each other, Sora couldn't help but feel a little teary-eyed at this moment. As he wiped them away, Donald and Goofy drew close to him, and Sora tried to shake off so as to act cool. Asuna knelt her head onto Kirito's shoulder in a loving manner, and Kirito didn't shrug it off. The held each other's hand once more as they saw Mulan and Shang together. This feeling of love and pride they had for one another was surely something that all of them would remember for the rest of their time.